Police are investigating a barn fire which broke out following a large party at a holiday cottage in North Yorkshire.

Officers want to speak to a couple of men who were seen talking between two barns in Jervaulx, near Masham.

The owner of the barns shouted at the men to move before the fire, which started in the early hours of Sunday morning.

The blaze destroyed £8,000 worth of hay, but pigs in an adjoining barn were moved to safety.

A busy road through the Yorkshire Dales is currently closed following a two-vehicle collision, police say.

Traffic constable Andrew Ingram says the A65 in North Yorkshire is shut between Clapham and Ingleton:

This was the aftermath of a lorry crash in Brierley, Barnsley, earlier this afternoon after an HGV crashed into a house:

Police were called at about 13:40 to reports of a crash on Park View.

Park View remains closed from the junction of Common Road.

More details as we get them...

Work has begun on new flood defences which will make a "significant difference" to Pocklington, according to a local councillor:

The 600m-long dam structure to the north east of the town will create a water storage reservoir to stop the beck overflowing.

When it's finished next year, it will hold back enough water to fill 36 Olympic-sized swimming pools - that's about 90,000 cu m of water.

Symon Fraser, at East Riding of Yorkshire Council, said: "Pocklington has frequently flooded and this will make a significant difference."

Work got under way yesterday on the scheme which has been part-funded by York-based developer Persimmon:

There's been a collision involving a heavy goods vehicle in Barnsley.

Police were called at about 13:40 to reports of a crash on Park View in Brierley.

Three fire engines attended the scene for an hour and a half, according to South Yorkshire Fire Service.

Park View is currently closed from the junction of Common Road:

A University of Hull student is raising awareness of cervical cancer after she and her mother were saved by being tested for the disease.

Rachael Haukvik, 32, says she wants to "break through the stigma" around the disease with an increasing number of women missing tests.

Ms Haukvik, whose mother had cervical cancer at 23, said: "This is a really important test, it can save your life. It saved my life, and it saved my mother's."

In this video, Doctor Philippa Kaye tells the Victoria Derbyshire programme what's involved during a cervical screening test:

Meet Ian Neale...

He clearly knows his onions after winning three categories in the vegetable competition at Harrogate Autumn Flower Show, entering a cabbage the size of a washing machine in the contest.

Image source, Danny Lawson/PA

It was a "turnip for the books" when he wowed judges with his 66.6lb cabbage, but that was just the tip of the iceberg.

Mr Neale, from Newport, South Wales, also picked up prizes for his 42.5lb beetroot and a 9.5lb carrot, before being told, er, "that's shallot".

If you want to take a leaf out of his book and grow a giant cabbage, Mr Neale says it's easy: all it takes is time, patience and a little bit of cash.

Image source, Danny Lawson/PA

He said: "There really is no secret. It's just about having the right seed and the right growing conditions and you have to put in plenty of time.

"You do need a little bit of money - for compost and fertiliser - but that's it."

The Hull KR coach tells Gwilym Lloyd how they'll cope without Adam Quinlan for a year

A national charity based in Sheffield is on the lookout for more dogs to help people who may need a companion to detect seizures or to help young children with autism.

Support Dogs takes animals from rescue centres and trains them as assistance dogs which can transform people's lives.

Managers at the charity say they simply can't meet the huge and growing demand for services and has held a special open day to increase recruitment.

Bin workers in part of West Yorkshire have voted to go on strike indefinitely.

The walkout, by members of Unison, is planned to take place at the start of October.

Karl Battersby, Kirklees Council's Strategic Director for Economy and Infrastructure, said the authority was "extremely dissapointed" a the move.

Members of Unison in Kirklees walked out for a week in July over claims of bullying and not being allowed to take holidays.

Hull's rugby league clubs have welcomed the result of a vote to scrap Super 8s in favour of "one up, one down" promotion and relegation.

Hull FC and Hull KR were both in favour of the decision which was reached at a Rugby Football League (RFL) extraordinary general meeting in Manchester.

In a statement, Hull FC said it was a "positive day for rugby league", while Hull KR tweeted to say it was "great news".

Hull FC’s chief executive James Clark (pictured) said: “This is a significant and very positive day for rugby league which will reinvigorate our ambition for the sport and provides much required stability, unity and vision."

Witnesses are being asked to come forward after a woman was raped near York Railway Station on Thursday.

Image source, YorkMix

The victim, who's in her 20s, was attacked by a man in an alleyway leading to the station.

No arrests have been made so far.

Det Insp Granville Sellers, from British Transport Police, said: "A number of urgent lines of enquiry are under way and I am appealing for witnesses to this incident to get in touch.

"If you were near York station yesterday afternoon and saw anyone acting suspiciously, please get in touch as soon as possible," he added.

A baby snake has been rescued by RSPCA officers after being found at the bottom of a wheelie bin in Bradford.

Image source, RSPCA

The animal welfare charity was contacted on Tuesday afternoon after a member of the public found the snake underneath the rubbish in the bottom of a bin in Pembroke Street.

A local inspector went to collect the snake and took it to a nearby reptile centre for specialist care.

An RSPCA spokesperson said: "Unfortunately, given that the snake was found inside a wheelie bin with no obvious way of getting in or out of the bin, I suspect it has been dumped, which is very sad."

And RSPCA exotics senior scientific officer Nicola White said: "We are seeing a worrying number of snakes coming into our centres because owners are no longer able to care for them."

A 20-year-old man is in a critical condition in hospital after his motorbike collided with a car in Leeds yesterday evening.

Image source, Google

The rider came off his bike after colliding with a Land Rover which was turning from Calverley Bridge onto the A6120 at about 20:00 on Thursday.

He suffered serious injuries and was taken to hospital.

Police are appealing for information from anyone who may have witnessed the crash.

Prison staff in England and Wales, including in Yorkshire, have returned to work following this morning's protest action.

Image source, PA

The action stopped following "meaningful engagement" with Prisons Minister Rory Stewart, the Prison Officers' Association (POA) has said.

They will now meet to agree "a plan of action to address the concerns of the union", according to the POA.

The protest action followed a report which warned of a "dangerous lack of control" at Bedford jail.

A new base for a children's air ambulance is set to be unveiled today at Doncaster-Sheffield airport.

Image source, Children's Air Ambulance

It'll be one of just two in the country, with the other aircraft being based at London-Oxford airport.

Six years of fundraising have helped make it happen, with the Children's Air Ambulance charity saying flying patients to hospital will be four times quicker than by road ambulance.

Leeds is claiming to be the first city in the country to tackle "period poverty" in its schools - the problem of girls missing lessons because they can't afford sanitary products.

Leeds City Council is starting a pilot project at Carr Manor Community School to study the impact of period poverty and what to do about it.

Freedom4Girls is a Leeds-based group which provides sanitary products to women in Kenya, but is now doing the same in West Yorkshire.

Tina Leslie, from the organisation, says the problem is getting worse:

Plastic waste is becoming so widespread that a new layer will appear in the Earth's crust, according to a Hull academic.

Image source, PA

Professor Dan Parsons says plastic is being "locked away in sedimentary deposits across the bottom of our oceans".

The sedimentologist, from the University of Hull, predicts plastic will be found in rocks "10 million years from now".

"The geologists of the future will be scratching their heads and trying to understand what it was we were actually doing," he adds.

The location of knife amnesty bins in East Yorkshire and North Lincolnshire have been revealed by Humberside Police.

Members of the public will be able to drop off knives in Hull, Beverley, Bridlington, Goole, Grimsby, and Scunthorpe as part of a national amnesty.

They will not be required to fill in any forms or speak to a police officer if they drop off a knife as part of Operation Sceptre", which begins on Tuesday.

Det Supt Jo Roe, overseeing the knife amnesty for Humberside Police, said: “No questions will be asked, even if the knife is banned."

The plans include an extension to the terminal building with a new arrivals area and more shops.