A bird, more normally seen across Africa and mainland Europe, has been delighting birdwatchers in West Yorkshire after one was spotted in Leeds.

Dave Ward, who is a volunteer at the RSPB in Fairburn and Old Moor, said it was a "rare" sighting of the hoopoe in Collingham this week.

He said: "Around 100 overfly their migration to Spain and Portugal each year, ending up on British coasts - mainly in the south of the country although there are even a few reported in Scotland at the moment.

"However, this is the first sighting of a Hoopoe in Leeds for more than 40 years, after it was last recorded at the RSPB St Aidan's site in 1979.

"This particular one has been in Collingham for a week now and seems happy just picking grubs up from the cricket pitch and local housing estate.

"Hopefully it will return to its normal territory in the near future and we wish it a safe journey.”

Local Democracy Reporting Service

Plans to allow holidaymakers to sleep in train carriages positioned on a stretch of a disused railway near Whitby have been approved.

Image source, Mulgrave Estate/Scarborough Council

Earlier this year, the Mulgrave Estate submitted an application to Scarborough council to use two carriages located at the former Sandsend Station on Lythe Bank as tourist accommodation.

Following a public consultation, Scarborough Council planning officers have now approved the plans after the Highways Authority withdrew an objection after the applicant agreed to make some changes to the scheme.

The two railway carriages will stand at the end of the former station platform near the Station House in Sandsend.

Sandsend Station opened in 1883 as part of the Whitby, Redcar and Middlesbrough Union Railway, but closed in 1958.

Image source, Mulgrave Estate/Scarborough Council

According to the plans: "One carriage interior has already been converted into two bedrooms and bathroom. The other carriage will be used for storage and is currently not converted internally.

"The carriages will sit on a railway track made up of sleepers placed on top of the existing platform."

The first carriage will be a Pullman-style former passenger carriage while the second is of a style known as a “plank truck” which were traditionally used for transporting stone and coal.

Yongqi Liang, who admitted killing another student in an attack in Sheffield city centre, is jailed.

A road in Sheffield city centre has been closed to cars to encourage pedestrians and cyclists and to make more room for social distancing.

The city council said the work was part of wanting to accelerate "active travel" schemes, external.

A rainbow crossing has been painted on Pinstone Street, which also has street armchairs, planters and false grass.

Other measures tested over the summer have included pedestrianised zones and a cycle lane on the ring road.

The council said "Pinstone Street was originally pedestrianised temporarily, using emergency active travel funds, to create space for social distancing as businesses reopened and people returned to the city centre.

"We took the decision to make the area more accessible and attractive as it became apparent that social distancing would be needed for some time."

Businesses had mixed views about the works, some saying they like the "café culture" created by wider pavements and others saying it negatively affected trade.

The council said future plans include more temporary lanes and pedestrian zones, and accelerating the Grey to Green project linking the city centre with routes like the Five Weirs Walk, Canal Towpath and Upper Don Trail.

Two hundred jobs are being created by a company developing a huge potash mine in North Yorkshire.

Image source, Reuters

Anglo American Crop Nutrients is sinking two major mineshafts to access deposits of polyhalite ore a mile deep at its Woodsmith mine near Whitby.

Once processed it will be sold globally to farmers as a natural fertiliser.

The roles include specialist engineers to non-specialist construction workers and the firm said it hoped as many jobs as possible would go to local people.

Sirius Minerals, the firm who who previously ran the mine, was taken over by Anglo American in March 2020.

The firm said the roles would become available in stages over the coming months and would include jobs working directly for Anglo American and construction contractors.

Anglo American is sinking two shafts to access the polyhalite ore that lies over a mile beneath the surface using large boring machines.

BBC Weather

Today will see clouds and showers lingering during the morning.

It'll become dry later with lengthening sunny spells through the afternoon.

Tonight, it is expected to be mostly clear, with a few patches of cloud at times and a fresh westerly breeze:

Volunteers in Bradford will be given their first dose of a new coronavirus vaccine today.

The volunteers are involved in a trial testing the safety and effectiveness of a vaccine being developed by the US company Novavax.

The trial is being overseen by a team from Bradford Teaching Hospitals.

Volunteers will be given two doses and then monitored for a year.

Doctor Dinesh Saralaya from Bradford Royal Infirmary is leading the trial.

He says: "We need to find out whether the vaccine works in all sections of society.

"So it's very important that people from a diverse spectrum of society take part so when the vaccine gets a licence we know it's been proven in clinical trials in that population."

How are independents fairing amid a dearth of blockbusters and reduced capacity due to Covid?

Barnsley sign Celtic striker Jack Aitchison on a three-year deal as full-back Killian Ludewig is recalled by Red Bull Salzburg.

Pedestrian and cyclist zones were planned in Sheffield, but Covid-19 made it more urgent.

A York charity said they were still "going without" educational psychologists and various therapies.

The university figures show 307 reported cases up to Friday, which by Monday jumped to 479.

Several people were left seriously injured when the car they were travelling in hit a lamp-post in Leeds, police say.

Image source, Google

Emergency services were called to Roundhay Road at the junction with Elford Place West at about 02:35 on Sunday morning after a Toyota Yaris crashed into the post.

Two men and a woman who were travelling in the vehicle suffered serious injuries and were taken to hospital, according to West Yorkshire Police.

Anyone who saw what happened, or who saw the car before it crashed, is being urged to contact police.

Sheffield Hallam University says it has seen 373 cases of coronavirus in the last two weeks.

The university has more than 30,000 students and 4,000 staff, with the proportion of online teaching increasing over the next two weeks as a precautionary measure.

An online page, external is recording cases at the university, with 369 students and four staff testing positive with the virus.

A spokesperson said; "We are working closely with our partner accommodation providers to keep students safe, whilst providing a range of support for those self-isolating, including food packages, wellbeing support and access to medicine for those that need it."

A man who called the police to report being shot at and having his car stolen in Sheffield has been arrested on suspicion of supplying controlled drugs and possessing a gun.

Image source, Google

Police officers were called at about 22:00 last night following reports of a firearms discharge in Burngreave.

The caller, a 28-year-old man, reported he'd been shot at by a group of people on Carwood Road who had then stolen his car.Officers responding to the call found no evidence of a firearms discharge and there were no reported injuries, according to South Yorkshire Police.

A police spokesperson said: "Our armed response officers located the stolen vehicle a short time later at a car park off Hoole Street in Walkley - a firearm and a quantity of controlled drugs were seized from the vehicle.

"An 18-year-old man was arrested nearby on suspicion of theft of a motor vehicle, possession of a firearm and drugs offences."The 28-year-old caller was later arrested on suspicion of being concerned in the supply of controlled drugs and possession of a firearm."

An investigation into the incident has been launched.

Sir Ian Botham takes his seat in the House of Lords where he will sit as a cross bencher.

A bird not usually seen in the UK has been spotted enjoying some lunch in West Yorkshire.

Image source, Danny Virr

A hoopoe, which spends most of its time in Europe and Africa, was snapped by photographer Danny Virr in Collingham last week.

The birds do sometimes visit the UK if they overshoot when migrating, but rarely come as far north as Yorkshire.

The RSPB says only 100 of the "exotic-looking" birds pass through the UK every year and do not breed here.

Mr Virr said he believed it was the first time a hoopoe had been seen in Leeds for 40 years.

A medical tribunal found Dr Christian Hanson's behaviour towards the nurse was "sexually motivated".

The exhibition in March 2021 will showcase a Fabergé egg at York's National Railway Museum.

After an 18-month winless run, Sands United Doncaster recorded a 7-0 victory on Sunday.