St Helens move a step closer to a third Super League minor premiership in a row with a comfortable victory over Leeds.

Catalin Rizea, 43, died in hospital two days after he was found with "significant injuries".

It comes after MPs rejected calls to extend free school meals over holidays amid the Covid-19 crisis.

Maureen Eames hit the headlines when her views about new Covid rules in South Yorkshire went viral.

Championship clubs Norwich City and Rotherham United are both fined £5,000 following a melee in their match on 17 October.

Train passengers in West Yorkshire are being warned to check their journeys ahead of the closure of a landmark bridge as restoration work starts this weekend.

Image source, Network Rail

The landmark Gauxholme viaduct (pictured) is set to undergo a £3.7m investment which will see structural repairs take place.

It means the structure, which was built in 1840, will be closed to trains for eight days starting on Saturday.

Taylors Bridge, which carries the railway over Rose Bank Road near Todmorden station, will also be reconstructed with disused sections removed, Network Rail said.

Kathryn Berry, scheme project manager for Network Rail, said: “This work to restore the impressive Gauxholme viaduct and renew Taylor’s Bridge is essential to improve passenger journeys through Todmorden.

“The Great North Rail Project investment will secure this important piece of railway heritage for generations to come.

Championship club Barnsley name former Wolfsburg and LASK boss Valerien Ismael as their new head coach.

Local Democracy Reporting Service

Whitby's landmark old town hall could be restored and improved in a bid to make it a focal point for the North Yorkshire seaside town, it's been revealed.

Image source, Stephen Craven/Geograph

Scarborough Council has partnered with Whitby Town Council to explore ideas for the building's future as well as the nearby marketplace.

The old town hall has been empty and unused since 2017, an issue which was identified as requiring attention in the Whitby market consultation in 2018.

Last year, Scarborough Council’s cabinet gave approval for officers to work with Whitby Town Council to explore options that could secure the building’s future.

Using a £15,000 project viability grant awarded to Whitby Town Council, a condition survey of the old town hall is to be carried out to see what repairs need to be made.

Architects are expected to feed back their findings and initial ideas to the two councils by the end of this month.

A consultation into the proposals will be held in November, which will include engagement with market traders and local businesses in the area surrounding the old town hall.

The results of the consultation will be used to create draft proposals for the future of the building by the end of the year.

Liz Colling, from Scarborough Borough Council, said: "The building is an important part of the town’s heritage and a prominent feature of the market area and east side of Whitby, so to be able to bring it back into use to support the economy of the area would be wonderful."

More Yorkshire councils have pledged to provide food vouchers over half-term as the row over free school meals provision during holidays continues.

Image source, The School Food Plan

A motion to extend free school meals over holidays during the coronavirus pandemic was rejected by MPs.

The campaign to extend them was championed by footballer Marcus Rashford.

Doncaster announced this morning that it was to provide vouchers for food for more than 11,000 eligible children.

Councils in York and Sheffield have both also said they're to provide a £15 voucher which will be distributed through schools.

Councillor Keith Aspden, leader of City of York Council, said: “We want to ensure children who receive free school meals don’t go hungry this half-term. Nearly 3,000 children can access this support, with vouchers of £15 per child provided to all who are eligible for free school meals.

“Staff at the city’s schools have been incredible in supporting children and families and once again they are stepping up to help administer this programme. I am incredibly grateful for all they are doing.”

Councillor Julie Dore, leader of Sheffield City Council, said: "The vouchers will provide support to people who are most in need and even though the council budget is under massive pressures due to Covid-19, it feels like the right thing to do.

“No child should go hungry. I hope this support goes someway in stopping that and encourages everyone who needs the help to claim it.”

More than 1.4m people in South Yorkshire will be living under tier three rules from 00:01 on Saturday.

A deer had to be rescued after becoming tangled in netting in North Yorkshire, an animal charity has said.

Image source, RSPCA

The male roe became trapped when his antlers wrapped around loose chicken coop netting in Thirsk.

Video from the RSPCA shows the animal jumping up and down trying to shake the netting loose.

The animal charity was called to help cut the netting and release the animal back into the wild.

RSPCA Insp Claire Little said: “When we arrived, the poor animal was thrashing around in a panic. The hen coop netting had tightly wound round his antlers and there was no way he could have freed himself on his own.

"Once he was free of the mesh, we released him and it was lovely to see him bounding off into the woods across some fields."

The RSPCA added that deer can go into shock when stressed, leading to them dying after ordeals such as this one.

A large amount of food which was seized by police during a drugs raid in Sheffield has been donated to local foodbanks.

Image source, South Yorkshire Police

Officers carried out a warrant at an address in Darnall on Monday morning with almost 300 suspected cannabis plants being found.

A "significant" amount of dry food was also found in the property on Main Street, police say.

PC Liam Stewart said: “At lots of properties where we discover cannabis set-ups, there are also large amounts of store cupboard products, such as pasta, bread and tins of veg.

“This food is intended to keep the farmers at these premises fed while they cultivate and watch over the cannabis crop."

The force says it's been working with local foodbanks to give away the supplies, having done something similar with a gardening project earlier this year.

A man was arrested at the scene for drug-related offences, police added.

It follows a campaign by footballer Marcus Rashford and the defeat by MPs of a parliamentary motion.

A "large-scale" cannabis grow discovered in a disused barn in North Yorkshire has been dismantled by police.

Image source, North Yorkshire Police

The cannabis farm was found on Wednesday after local residents reported suspicious activity at the barn on farmland in Hunton, between Leyburn and Bedale, police say.

Officers found a "well-organised" hydroponics system, bypassed electricity meters and a quantity of cannabis plants in the early stages of cultivation, according to North Yorkshire Police.

Image source, North Yorkshire Police

Insp Mark Gee said: "We’re very grateful to the local community who reported their concerns and as a result we were able to act quickly and dismantle this operation.

"Often those involved in the actual cultivation and set-up on the ground can be vulnerable and may be exploited by organised crime groups, so putting a stop to these types of operations has a far wider reaching impact than simply stopping drugs from becoming available," he added.

Lifestyle Gym's Tahier Hussain Shah showed a "blatant disregard for legislation", a council says.

The marked vehicle was on its way to a 999 call and the police watchdog has been notified.

Two women have been injured in a collision involving a police vehicle in Leeds, according to the West Yorkshire force.

Image source, Google

It happened at about 21:45 last night when police officers in a marked Roads Policing Unit vehicle were involved a collision with a member of the public's car at the junction of Selby Road and Dunhill Rise.

The two women, aged 39 and 61, were taken to hospital for treatment for their injuries which are not considered to be life-threatening, police say.

The two police officers weren't injured in the collision.

A road closure and diversion remain in place while collision investigation work is carried out.

The Independent Officer for Police Conduct has also been notified, says West Yorkshire Police.

Local Democracy Reporting Service

Sheffield’s health chief says it is “easy but wrong” to blame students for the wave of coronavirus infections in the city.

Image source, PA Media

Tier three restrictions will come into force on Saturday across South Yorkshire and Sheffield’s director of public health Greg Fell says there is no doubt the tough measures are needed.

Cases are falling in Sheffield – 10 days ago the city had 470 cases per 100,000 but that number is now 415.

But Mr Fell said the student population had masked an underlying problem in the city.

He told a meeting: “The trend over the past two weeks is downwards, which is good news.

“In South Yorkshire, the trend is going upwards in all parts apart from Sheffield. Sheffield is going downwards because new infections in 18 to 24 years are down.

“The demographics in Sheffield are skewered massively by the student population. That’s causing the overall rate in Sheffield to come down. This is in part good news but there are caveats.

“It’s easy but wrong to blame all of this on students. We opened universities and enabled young people to have further education.

“We focus a lot of attention on 18 to 25-year-olds and this was the cohort which was the highest because we welcomed tens of thousands of students back to Sheffield so the result was inevitable and has been seen in all the university towns."

Businesses in Yorkshire have been praised by footballer Marcus Rashford for offering free meals for children over the school holidays.

Image source, Gareth Fuller/PA Media

England and Manchester United star Rashford has been campaigning to end child hunger.

On Wednesday, MPs rejected a Labour motion to offer free school meals during holidays until Easter 2021.

On Twitter, Rashford has been sharing Yorkshire businesses that are offering free meals, including fish and chip shops, pubs and restaurants.

Pearsons Bar, in Hull, said it couldn't "stand idly by" while others struggle, so has offered packed lunches to people.

Mumtaz in Leeds said their offer of food "might literally be a life saver" for some and encouraged other businesses to do something similar:

The council said added pressures of social care due to the Covid crisis have added to the deficit.