Gemma Dillon
Political Reporter, BBC Radio York

• John Blackie, North Yorkshire Independent, has held Upper Dales
• Patrick Mulligan, Conservative, has been elected in the Airedale division
• Steven Paul Haslam has been elected for the Conservatives in the Bilton & Nidd Gorge division and Geoffrey Frederick Webber has gained a seat for the Liberal Democrats in the same ward
• In the Harrogate Central division Eric Richard Cooper and John Edwin Fletcher have both held for the Conservatives
• Greg White has taken Pickering by two votes for the Conservatives
• Robert Heseltine (Independent) has been elected in Skipton East

There's currently a recount taking place in the Knaresborough division.

Police have released CCTV images of two men they want to trace over the theft of Roman jewellery from a shop in York. 

Image source, North Yorkshire Police

Two men went into The Red House Antique Centre in Duncombe Place and forced open a cabinet, stealing a number of valuable gold and silver pieces.

North Yorkshire Police said the items were distinctive, unique and of historical importance.

Image source, North Yorkshire Police

They include three pairs of gold earrings, a bracelet and a necklace dating back to the 3rd Century AD.

Anyone with information about the theft, which happened at about 09:55 on 22 April is asked to contact police.

This is the current state-of play on North Yorkshire County Council following the announcement of the first results:

Gemma Dillon
Political Reporter, BBC Radio York

The local election results are starting to come in quite quickly now in North Yorkshire:

• In Ryedale, Lindsay Burr, Independent, holds Malton 
• Jim Clark holds Harrogate Harlow seat for Conservative Party
• Margaret Atkinson has held the Masham and Fountains seat for the Conservatives 
• Harrogate Oatlands is held by John Ennis for the Conservatives 
• Michael Harrison has held Lower Nidderdale & Bishop Monkton for the Conservatives 
• First result announced for Bedale. Conservative John Weighell retains his seat with a big win, getting 1,653 votes. He's the former leader of the Conservatives in the County council
• Ripon North is staying Conservative. Mike Chambers has been voted in after Bernard Bateman stepped down
• Don Mackenzie has held Harrogate Saltergate for the Conservatives
• The Liberal Democrats have lost the Ainsty seat to Andy Paraskos of the Conservatives
• Current Conservative Party leader in North Yorkshire, Carl Les, holds Catterick Bridge

Police have released a CCTV image of two people they want to speak to after a purse was stolen and used on a spending spree in shops and nightclubs in Wakefield.

Image source, British Transport Police

A 27-year-old woman travelling on a train from London to Leeds left her Mulberry purse on a seat on the train, and when she arrived at Leeds she realised it had been taken. 

It contained her debit and credit cards, which were then used in Wakefield, including at B&M stores and in various nightclubs.

If you think you know who the two people in the picture are, you're being asked to call British Transport Police on 0800 405040.

Gemma Dillon
Political Reporter, BBC Radio York

Some local election results are reaching us from North Yorkshire:

• Val Arnold of the Conservatives holds Kirbymoorside
• Caroline Goodrick is declared the winner of Hovingham and Sheriff Hutton for the Conservatives
• Stuart Martin of the Conservatives takes Ripon South, a former independent seat
• Cliff Trotter holds his seat in Pannal & Lower Wharfedale for the Conservatives
• Keane Duncan takes Norton for the Conservatives from Elizabeth Shield of the Lib Dems 
• There's a new councillor for Pateley Bridge, but it stays Conservative as Stanley Lumley wins after John Fort stood down 
• Harrogate Oatlands is held by John Ennis for the Conservatives

An interesting fact: Keane Duncan becomes North Yorkshire's youngest county councillor, and he brings down the average age on the county council whatever else happens today.

Andrew Barton
BBC Local Live, Yorkshire

The life of a North Yorkshire traffic cop is a varied lot...

However, this glimpse of the Dark Side must have come as a bit of a surprise.

Darth Vader. On a Sinclair C5. Near Harrogate. 

He's come down a bit in the world, it has to be said.

No coincidence this was snapped on May the 4th, which is, of course, Star Wars Day.

Adam Pinder-Smith
BBC Local Live, Yorkshire

A South Yorkshire woman has warned of the dangers of pets being suffocated by plastic bags after she returned home from work to find her Jack Russell terrier had died.

Image source, Phoenix Public Relations

Melissa Saville, who lives in Kilnhurst and who is a vet's receptionist in Hoyland, lost her dog, Pip (pictured), last week after he suffocated on an empty bag.

Archie Norman, the former boss of Leeds-based Asda, has been named as Marks and Spencer's new chairman.

Image source, PA

Mr Norman, who built his reputation as chief executive and then chairman of  Asda, will replace Robert Swannell, who joined M&S in 2010.

The announcement comes days after M&S hired the boss of Halfords, Jill McDonald, to take charge of its clothing, home and beauty business.

Mr Norman stood down as ITV chairman last year.

Andrew Barton
BBC Local Live, Yorkshire

And so across North Yorkshire the local election counting continues...

I'm not sure the sports gear will come out if there's a break, though!:

More on the news that a man believed to be in his 50s has died in a house fire in Halifax.

Image source, West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue

Fire crews were called to Savile Road at about 05:40 this morning.  

The body of a man was found inside the house and police say their enquiries into its cause are "ongoing".

A post-mortem examination is expected to be carried out later to determine a cause of death.  

A man, believed to be in his 50s, has died in a house fire in Halifax

More details to follow...

Richard Stead
Presenter, BBC Radio Leeds

The man in charge of the Piece Hall restoration in Halifax has said the future of the building is "the future of the town".

The £19m restoration work at the Grade I-listed cloth trading hall is due to be completed by August after a number of delays. 

Robin Tuddenham, director of communities at Calderdale Council, says the refurbishment has been a catalyst for bringing money, focus and investment to Halifax.

Why not join me on a grand guided tour of one of West Yorkshire's crown jewels?:

Work has begun on 65 new trains set to boost capacity and reduce journey times on the East Coast Main Line.

Image source, PA

Virgin Trains' Azuma fleet will provide an extra 12,200 seats and cut up to 22 minutes off journeys.

Work on the body shells has begun in Japan, before the trains arrive in the UK to be built at Hitachi's factory in Newton Aycliffe, County Durham.

The introduction of the fleet will also see the launch of direct routes to a number of destinations.

The Conservatives have enjoyed their biggest success in local elections in England and Wales in at least a decade.

They've so far picked up five councils from no overall control, at the expense of Labour and UKIP.   

Hundreds of people are counting the votes in North Yorkshire where 72 seats are up for grabs and 262 candidates are standing. 

Although counting of votes has only just begun, we already know two Conservative seats in the Hambleton district are uncontested.

That means Caroline Patmore remains councillor in Stillington and Gareth Dadd remains councillor in Thirsk.

Adam Pinder-Smith
BBC Local Live, Yorkshire

Some good news from South Yorkshire Police this morning as they've confirmed that missing Doncaster woman Sarah Hobbs was found "safe and well" yesterday afternoon.

Image source, South Yorkshire Police

Yorkshire take their 100% record to Worcestershire in the One Day Cup at New Road today.

Andrew Gale's side is further depleted with Joe Root and Wednesday's batting hero Jonny Bairstow on England duty.  

Play starts at 11:00.

You can listen to ball-by-ball commentary by clicking this link here.  

Adam Pinder-Smith
BBC Local Live, Yorkshire

A young writer from Sheffield has composed a story about a monkey-faced bat to raise funds in memory of his older brother. 

Paddy Newton, aged six, from the Crosspool area of the city is selling copies of his short story The Adventure to Find the Monkey-faced Bat in aid of The Children’s Hospital Charity,, external a cause championed by his family since older brother Benjamin passed away in 2009 aged just 20 days.

Image source, The Children's Hospital Charity

He originally wrote the piece for the BBC's 500 Words competition.

Hundreds of people are getting ready to start counting the votes following yesterdays county council elections in North Yorkshire.

Image source, PA

All 72 seats council seats were contested across 68 divisions, including in the Richmond North Division, which has been vacant since the death of councillor Michael Heseltine in December.

Counting begins in Harrogate from 09:00 and in the rest of the county from 10:00.

The first results are expected about 13:00.

Paul Walker
BBC Radio Sheffield presenter

About 24,000 bees, including four irreplaceable queens, plus four hives containing honey have been stolen from an estate in Hooton Pagnell near Doncaster.

The theft is believed to have taken place on Wednesday 26 April.

Amanda Clayton is the owner and reckons it'll cost about £2,000 to replace the swarm and thinks it must have been a professional job: