BBC West Yorkshire Sport

Bradford Bulls have signed full-back Richie Mathers, four months after he announced his retirement from the game.  

Image source, swpix.com

The 32-year-old was handed a six-month ban last August for breaching betting rules and retired two weeks later.

He was appointed player welfare manager at Super League side Warrington in October and he will retain his role with the Wolves.

Here's some more footage from the aftermath of the fire at Drummonds Mill in Bradford which has left behind scenes that resemble something from a war film.

About 40 firefighters remain at the scene this afternoon, more than 24 hours after crews were first called to the site.

Bridgewater Place in Leeds has been closed to traffic for most of today due to high winds, but it now looks as though - weather permitting - it may at least partially re-open in the next couple of hours:

The latest headlines in West Yorkshire this lunchtime include:

• Forty firefighters remain at the Drummonds Mill fire in Bradford
• The NHS in England is to start funding hand transplants, with the operations to take place in Leeds
• A blind Leeds man will fly a plane on TV tonight on Channel 4's The Last Leg Goes Down Under

Many thanks to Mark Davis for these spectacular pictures of the Drummonds Mill fire in Bradford which really show how devastating it was.

Image source, Mark Davis Photography

Image source, Mark Davis Photography

Image source, Mark Davis Photography

It's a very windy day out there today and it's been causing a few problems for motorists this morning:

And then there's this one. We're pretty sure it's not THE Donald, Trump by the way:

BBC Look North reporter Phil Bodmer's out in Bradford near the scene of the devastating fire at Drummonds Mill on Lumb Lane yesterday which has left the building a burned-out shell.

The latest headlines in West Yorkshire this morning include:

• Fire crews remain at scene of huge blaze which ripped through one of Bradford's landmark former textile mills.
• Bridgewater Place in Leeds city centre has been closed to vehicles because of gales that are raging across the north
• The NHS has announced it'll pay for hand transplants, and has chosen West Yorkshire for the operations

Last night, Bradford-born journalist Anita Rani was in town for the Stictly Come Dancing tour at Leeds Arena.

This morning, she Instagrammed a picture from her hotel room with the caption "Leeds ❤️".

Nice to have you back Anita!

BBC Radio 4

Leeds General Infirmary is to offer the world's first publicly-funded hand transplants, it's been revealed.

From April, the procedure will be available from the NHS and will even give patients a sense of touch and the hand will be able to heal itself.

Professor Simon Kaye spoke to the BBC's Today programme about the surgery and was asked how much of a need there is in the UK for this procedure:

After the fire which destroyed Drummonds Mill in Bradford last night, the Richard Dunn Sports Centre remains open as a shelter for local residents who've been evacuted from their homes.

Nick Wilmshurst
BBC Local Live, Leeds

The route for an elite triathlon in Leeds this summer, external has just been released.

Image source, Leeds City Council

I guarantee the next bit will make you tired just by reading it.

The triathlon will start with a 1,500m swim in Roundhay Park, followed by a 42.5km cycle through Moortown to Woodhouse before completing seven circuits of a city centre loop. 

The competitors will then hop off their bikes at Millennium Square and run 10km in the city centre, crossing the finish line back at Millennium Square. Which is where I'll be sitting with a cooling drink ready to welcome you...

As you can see from this before and after picture, yesterday's fire at Drummonds Mill on Lumb Lane in Bradford has completely devastated the building.

Image source, Google/BBC

As high winds batter West Yorkshire this morning, it's probably no surprise that the roads around Bridgewater Place in Leeds, Yorkshire's tallest building, have been closed to all traffic.

Hand transplants are to be carried out on the NHS in Leeds, health officials have said.

Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust will begin assessing suitable adult candidates and performing the "highly complex procedure" from April.

Hand transplants offer patients the only method of reconstruction that looks and functions like a normal hand.

If transplanted successfully, a new hand will be able to sense its surroundings and heal itself when hurt.

This morning's headlines for Leeds and West Yorkshire include:

• More than 60 firefighters are still at the scene of a massive mill blaze in Bradford
• The world's first publicly-funded hand transplants are to take place at Leeds General Infirmary
• The route for an elite triathlon in Leeds this summer is revealed

Richard Edwards
Journalist, BBC Radio Leeds

The fire at Drummonds mill in Bradford which continued overnight meant about 100 homes surrounding the blaze had to be evacuated.

Local residents living around Lumb Lane were taken to the nearby Richard Dunn Sports Centre for shelter. 

I've spoken to one resident, Naeem Rahman, who tells me they left in a panic.

After the inferno of last night, the shell of Drummonds Mill on Lumb Lane is still smoking quite a bit this morning.

The aftermath of the mill fire on Lumb Lane in Bradford is all too apparent this morning. These are the very latest pictures from the scene:

BBC Travel

There's a lot of queuing traffic on the M621 inbound in Leeds between M62 (J27 Gildersome) and J3 (A653 City Centre).