A York couple who had to live in a tent after losing their home are handing a 20,000-signature petition into Downing Street today.

Image source, End Hunger UK

The petition, calling for changes to the new Universal Credit system,, external has been organised by the End Hunger UK campaign and has been circulated and signed in food banks around the country.

Sue Rimmington and Tony Carson spent the summer living in a tent after they were moved to Universal Credit.

They were surviving on £4 a day between them and when their business collapsed they were left homeless.

Tony said: “Universal Credit does not work and it’s the fault of the system. It doesn’t help you get back on your feet, it traps you.”

In last week's Budget. Chancellor Philip Hammond announced an extra £1bn over five years to help those moving to the new payments and a £1,000 increase in the amount people can earn before losing benefits.

An inquest into the death of a young girl who was killed by a rock fall on a North Yorkshire beach has concluded it was an accident.

Image source, Family photo

Nine-year-old Harriet Forster, from Oxford, died in Staithes in August.

She suffered serious head injuries during the rockfall while on a family visit to Seaton Garth.

The coroner said it was "simply a case of wrong place at the wrong time".

Pte George Edwin Ellison had served from the outbreak of the war but was killed on its last day.

The boss of building firm Persimmon Jeff Fairburn has been forced out after a row over his £75m pay award following an interview with a Yorkshire journalist.

Persimmon said he left by "mutual agreement and at the request of the company".

It said the issue was having a "negative impact" on the firm's reputation and on "Jeff's ability to continue in his role".

Last month, Mr Fairburn walked away from a BBC Look North interview when asked about his pay.

"I'd rather not talk about that," he told BBC reporter Spencer Stokes when asked in October about the pay award:

More beds are to be provided for rough sleepers in York this winter, it's been revealed.

The number of beds for homeless people in the city is going up from 18 to 29, with the extra emergency beds being offered whatever the weather until 28 February, according to City of York Council.

Anyone found sleeping rough will be encouraged to go to The Salvation Army in the city where they'll be allocated one of the emergency beds.

Councillor Carol Runciman said: "Help is routinely offered to rough sleepers on the early morning walks undertaken several times a week.

"Everyone is offered a bed, even if it is just for one night."

Last October, a homeless man was found dead in a shop doorway in York city centre.

Police in Hull are looking for a man who pushed a woman from her bike and then tried to steal it.

Image source, Humberside Police

Officers say the attack happened on Stanley Street at about 20:30 on Tuesday 2 October.

The woman managed to escape unharmed.

Officers have released an e-fit image of a man they wish to speak to about the incident.

Anyone who recognises the man in the picture is being asked to contact police.

A company stripped of NHS contracts in Yorkshire after clinical waste from hospitals was allowed to pile up at its sites is to pursue legal action against 17 health trusts in the region.

Image source, Science Photo Library

The Environment Agency said Healthcare Environmental Services (HES) was in breach of its environmental permits at some of its storage sites, including one in Normanton, West Yorkshire, by having more waste than their permit allows and storing waste inappropriately.

HES said although it did also collect some body parts, anatomical waste was correctly stored according to guidelines.

Earlier this month, Health Minister Stephen Barclay said new arrangements have been made to replace the service formerly provided by HES.

Now, the company says it's sent letters to the trusts seeking damages "upwards of £15m" from NHS trusts in Yorkshire for unlawfully terminating its contracts.

HES managing director Garry Pettigrew said: "Our contracts were terminated without first discussing any performance issues with the company. We were given no opportunity to fulfill our obligations.

The Home Secretary is being asked to set up an inquiry into the child grooming scandal in Huddersfield.

It comes after 20 men were found guilty of more than 120 offences against 15 girls in the town, some as young as 11.

Victims were plied with drink and drugs and then "used and abused at will" in a seven-year "campaign of rape and abuse" between 2004 and 2011.

Councillors in Kirklees are expected to debate a proposal later for an independent inquiry, similar to that set up after the child exploitation scandal in Rotherham.

Conservative councillor Michael Watson, who's behind the motion, says people need answers about what happened and says "an investigation is needed to get to the truth".

The front desk at a police station in Hull has been closed to the public after a man threw an unknown liquid.

Image source, Google

A man is in custody following the incident inside the enquiry office at Clough Road Police Station this morning, according to Humberside Police.

Officers say they are currently analysing the liquid to work out what it is.

All other enquiry offices across the force area are open as usual.

A blaze which destroyed a store on a retail park on the outskirts of York was most likely started by "discarded smoking materials", according to North Yorkshire Fire Service.

Following an investigation, the cause of the blaze at the B&M store on Clifton Moor Retail Park in October is not thought to be suspicious, the fire service says.

In a statement, the fire service says: "The blaze appears to have started by means of discarded smoking materials within the rear loading area of the store."

Shoppers fled as flames broke out in a storage yard behind the store last month. No-one was injured in the fire.

A former area manager told the BBC he had emailed senior staff to warn them about a build-up of combustible material in the yard.

A B&M spokesperson did not wish to comment on the claim.

BBC News Travel

A lane on the M1 near Sheffield is out of use after a crash this morning.

There are a few small delays in the area:

The site of the former cattle market in Driffield could be brought back into use, after new owners announced development plans.

The site has been empty since the cattle market was sold in 2001.

Plans are now being drawn up by new owners Gatsby Property, who want to redevelop the site with housing and possible commercial buildings.

The owners said they were working with East Riding of Yorkshire Council about what would work best for the site.

Footballer Ched Evans is suing lawyers who defended him against a rape allegation which saw him jailed for two and a half years.

Image source, Wales News Service

Mr Evans was released on appeal following a five-year battle to clear his name and is now attempting to recoup millions in lost earnings.

The case will be heard at the High Court in London in April, according to the Press Association.

Former Sheffield United and Manchester City striker Mr Evans, 29, was originally convicted following a trial of raping a 19-year-old woman in a Premier Inn near Rhyl, Denbighshire, in May 2011.

At the time, he was playing for Sheffield United and was earning a reported £18,000 a week.

Mr Evans, now on loan with Fleetwood Town, is seeking damages from the legal firm which represented him in the original trial.

His former legal representatives Brabners said in a statement: "Brabners put forward a strong defence of the criminal case against Ched Evans following a thorough process and we are vigorously defending our handling of the case.

"We believe the claim for damages is entirely without merit."

The former director of Sheffield's Tramlines festival has been awarded a posthumous honour for her outstanding contribution.

Sarah Nulty died weeks before the 2018 festival at the age of 36.

Festival organisers said she had died following "a brief illness".

Last night, she was honoured with an Outstanding Contribution award at the 2018 Independent Festival Awards.

Tramlines was launched in 2009, with the help of Miss Nulty, and attracted about 35,000 music fans.

She was appointed director in 2013.

Students in Hull will get the chance to learn what happens during an autopsy from one of the country's leading pathologists.

Image source, Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust

About 200 school pupils have been invited to watch the so-called "living autopsy" at Hull Royal Infirmary.

A volunteer will lie on the autopsy table and doctors will explain what happens during the process.

South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue service has issued five tips for people celebrating Diwali.

Image source, Getty Images

The festival coincides with the Hindu New Year and celebrations will last until Friday.

The fire service has posted five tips for keeping everyone safe during the celebrations this week:

• Always place diyas, tea lights and candles on heat-resistant surfaces and well away from curtains and decorations
• Children and pets should be supervised at all times near flames
• Don't let yourself get distracted whilst cooking - this is a leading cause of fire
• If a pan with oil catches fire, don't throw water on it. Get out, stay out and call 999 urgently
• Make sure, if you're using fireworks, that they meet British Safety Standards and never go back to one once it has been lit.

A Yorkshire university has pledged to stop using single-use plastics by 2023.

Image source, University of Leeds

The University of Leeds said it would "phase out the amount of plastic products and packaging" entering its whole site within five years.

It's vowed to use reusable alternatives to plastic cups and says it's already reduced the use of disposable cups by more than 100,000.

Instead its catering outlets sell reusable cups and the student union bar has replaced single-use plastic cups and glasses "with vegware or paper, all recyclable and compostable."

Image source, Getty Images

University Chancellor, Professor Dame Jane Francis, says: "I think this will inspire people to think about how the university, as an institution that leads the way on sustainability, can make a difference."

Friends of the Earth plastic campaigner, Julian Kirby, said: "It's fantastic to see one of our top universities showing leadership on single-use plastic."

According to UN Environment, an estimated 8.3 billion tonnes of plastic has been produced since the early 1950s, external, with 60% of it ending up in landfills or the natural environment.

An 88-year-old woman with dementia was conned out of thousands of pounds for products she didn't need or use, her son has warned.

Paul Evitts, from Wombwell, says he only discovered the extent of the problem when his mum Barbara moved to a care home and he started to clear out her house.

He found piles of boxes, many containing products and medication worth hundreds of pounds, most of which had never been opened.

He believes his mother was targeted by unscrupulous salesman who took advantage of her health issues.

People will be able to find out more about £3m plans to refurbish a park in Hull today.

Image source, Google

The money from the Heritage Lottery Fund will be used to return Pearson Park back to its Victorian splendour, according to Hull City Council.

The plans include restoring the main gateway into the park, which will need to be taken away from the site so it can be worked on by specialists.

A drop-in session for people to find out more is being held this afternoon.

Oly Woodcock
Broadcast Journalist, Yorkshire

Happy Diwali everybody!

West Yorkshire will be illuminated by the Hindu festival of lights over the next few days.

No Diwali is complete without sweets of course and I'm lending a hand with the Diwali rush at Anand Sweets in Leeds this morning.

The Anand family make and sell their own special snacks and sweets for a big Diwali party taking place at Odsal stadium in Bradford at the weekend.

Diwali is celebrated every autumn in the northern hemisphere by millions of Hindus, Sikhs and Jains across the world.

The festival, which coincides with the Hindu New Year, celebrates new beginnings and the triumph of good over evil, and light over darkness.

The word Diwali comes from the Sanskrit word deepavali, meaning "rows of lighted lamps".

The celebrations will continue until Friday.