A volunteer with a set of healthy lungs and the gift of vocal projection is being sought in York to make public announcements in the streets.

Image source, Stephen Richards/Geograph

The council is looking for a volunteer town crier, after the current Sheriff of York said they were not announced when attending several events in the city centre.

The last town crier retired in 2007.

Applicants for the new role will be invited to do a "trial cry" audition on the steps of York's Mansion House.

If the plans go ahead, £1,600 would be spent on livery for the role and a further £150 would go towards a bell, scroll, travel expenses and other accessories.

The successful applicant will be expected to announce newsworthy events, such as the birth of a royal baby, and provide advice and directions to tourists.

Tram-train services between Sheffield and Rotherham Parkgate have been cancelled until further notice.

Problems with the power supply on the railway are to blame, according to operators Stagecoach:

There have been significant delays across the rail network this morning because of the cold weather.

Points failures at Dore and Totley and Meadowhall have affected a lot of services out of Sheffield.

With the temperatures starting to rise throughout the day and repairs being made by Network Rail staff, services are beginning to run on time again.

Major work is expected to begin soon to repair the 16,000 sq ft roof of the Grade-I listed Wentworth Woodhouse, thought to be the UK's biggest stately home.

After it was sold for £7m in 2017, many of Wentworth Woodhouse's 365 rooms across 83 acres of South Yorkshire, in the village of Wentworth, near Rotherham, were found to be in a vastly decayed state.

Stable blocks were full of asbestos, huge sections of roofing had collapsed, carpets were left ruined by water damage and 18th Century silk wallpaper was peeling from the walls of its grand bedrooms.

Builders and volunteers removed 350 tonnes of rubbish and 100 structural surveys were carried out, with organisers admitting the scale of the task in hand remains difficult to comprehend.

The original building was once the home of Thomas Wentworth, the 1st Earl of Strafford, who was executed at Tower Hill on the order Charles I in 1641.

It is expected roof repair work costing £5m will take two years to complete.

It's part of a 25 year plan to fully renovate the whole house.

People in Wakefield who are concerned about their drinking can now get over-the-counter help from their local pharmacy.

In the first scheme of its kind in the district, local pharmacies will be offering a service to tackle excessive drinking and offer early intervention to people at risk of alcohol-related illnesses.

The project, known as the Alcohol Identification and Brief Advice service, is funded by Wakefield Council.

The new scheme involves ten pharmacies.

Ruth Buchan, the chief executive officer of Community Pharmacy West Yorkshire, says: "It's an option for people to chat about alcohol, about what they're drinking and how they drink and to get some individual feedback on the risk to their health.

"And if you want to make some changes the pharmacy team can give you free advice on how to change things to reduce your alcohol intake."

Local Democracy Reporting Service

Campaigners have warned a council which has banned lorry drivers from staying overnight on an industrial estate in North Yorkshire "not to bite the hand that feeds them".

Image source, Google

National campaign group Truckers Toilets UK said, while it sympathised with residents near Leeming Bar Industrial Estate, Hambleton District Council's Public Space Protection Order would not tackle the root of the issue.

Earlier this month, the authority approved a trial of the order, which would see officers empowered to fine anyone staying overnight in vehicles on the estates up to £100.

If the trial is considered successful, it's proposed to launch a second Public Space Protection Order at Thirsk Industrial Estate.

Image source, Google

Recent late evening spot checks have shown up to 40 vehicles are parked on each estate or surrounding area on most weekday evenings, leading to complaints the areas were being used as "open toilets".

The council said multi-agency discussions had not identified a suitable long-term solution to the concerns about persistent anti-social behaviour by lorry drivers.

Councillor Bridget Fortune, the authority's leisure boss, said: "We want a better quality of life, we do not want open toilets as a result of lorry parking."

Cycling groups in York are calling for action after a series of accidents in the last few week on a city centre road.

Cyclist have been coming unstuck at the junction of Fishergate and Piccadilly, with some riders breaking their wrists and needing hospital treatment.

Jim McGurn, from the Get Cycling group, is one of those to have crashed in the area.

He says: "Now we're up to 20 people who've announced themselves, many with broken bones, one with 16 stitches in her chin - it's a really nasty business."

The City of York Council says it can't see any issues with the road, but is going to put down an anti-skid treatment on the road surface.

A leading homeless charity in Leeds says up to 50 people are probably sleeping rough in the city every night.

That figure, up from 28 recorded last year, comes from Simon on the Streets, which works with homeless people in Leeds, Bradford and Huddersfield.

New official figures on rough sleeping are due to be released later today.

There were 4,751 people thought to be bedding down outside in England in autumn 2017, a 15% rise on the year before.

Fahad Khan, from Simon on the Streets, says they have their unofficial total and claims the government count is notoriously unreliable.

Mr Khan says: "The figure that comes out each year is based on one single night, but people could be temporarily housed on that particular night, but are regularly rough sleeping, so that figure's not accurate."

An organisation in East Yorkshire has set up a campaign to encourage people to complete an online suicide prevention programme.

Image source, #TalkSuicide

Organisers hope the #TalkSuicide Campaign, which involves video-based training, will help people feel comfortable talking about suicide and help them spot the signs in someone experiencing suicidal thoughts.

There were 5,821 registered suicides in the UK in 2017, with the Yorkshire and Humber region having some of the highest suicide rates in England.

Michele Moran, chair of the Humber, Coast and Vale Mental Health Partnership Board, said: “By taking 20 minutes to complete the online training, you could help save someone from taking their own life.

“The training will help you to be better in identifying suicidal thoughts and behaviour and give you the information to direct them to the most appropriate support services.”

The training and all information is available by clicking this link, external.

BBC Weather

Today will start cold with some freezing fog which will slowly clear to leave some sunshine.

Tonight will be cold and mostly cloudy with the chance of some snow flurries.

Visiting restrictions to tackle a novovirus outbreak at York Hospital remain in place today.

Image source, York Hospital

The hospital's introduced restricted visiting due to an outbreak of the so-called winter vomiting bug.

In a statement, the hospital says: "The safety of our patients is our top priority.

"While we recognise the importance of having people visit when you are in hospital, we need to introduce these measures in order to protect our patients, as well as keeping our staff safe."

Several wards have had to be closed over the past few weeks.

Visiting will only be allowed in exceptional circumstances, for example patients in intensive care, the children’s ward, maternity ward and patients receiving end-of-life care.

The hospital says the situation will be reviewed on a daily basis and as soon as it is safe to do so restrictions will be lifted.

If you're making a journey on the rails in Yorkshire this morning, services seem to be running pretty much to time at the moment.

However, rail commuters in Sheffield are facing delays this morning.

Due to a points failure between Sheffield and Meadowhall all lines are currently blocked.

At the moment Northern are unable to say when services will return to normal.

For all the latest live updates from the county's main railway stations, click on the links below:

• York Station, external
• Leeds Station, external
• Sheffield Station, external
• Hull Station, external
• Doncaster Station, external
• Wakefield Westgate, external
• Bradford Interchange, external
• Bradford Forster Square, external

A fifth person has been arrested in connection with the fatal shooting of a professional boxer.

Image source, DONCASTER PLANT WORKS ABC

Tom Bell, 21, was shot at through a window of the Maple Tree pub, in Balby, Doncaster, on 17 January.

South Yorkshire Police said a 33-year-old man arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender had been bailed pending further inquiries.

Two other men, Joseph Bennia, 28, from Balby, and Scott Gocoul, 29, from Bilton, have been charged with murder.

A 21-year-old woman and man, 37, have been arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender.

The woman has been released under investigation and the man was bailed pending further inquiries.

Mr Bell died from shotgun wounds to his chest and abdomen.

Tom Bell died from chest and abdomen injuries after he was shot at through a pub window.

Barnsley chief executive Gauthier Ganaye will leave the League One club to take up a position at French side OGC Nice.

Former Ch Supt David Duckenfield is accused of the gross negligence manslaughter of 95 fans.

West Yorkshire's police officers have clearly been kept busy on the streets today...

An initial stop and search turned into an arrest when a hammer, knives and masking tape were found on a man.

The man was arrested for a burglary offence, but after the items were discovered, this could change:

Oli Constable
BBC Yorkshire Live

Students who have spent months crafting stop-motion films have seen them shown on the big screen at a special premiere in Sheffield.

Flycheese Studios put on the event at The Light Cinema to showcase the work of its students.

Almost 100 people turned out for the screening which they hope will be an annual event:

An array of animals with very sharp teeth are being kept as pets in Scarborough.

The Borough Council has revealed what dangerous animal licences it's granted to private addresses in the area - and they include a number of different crocodile and alligator species.

There are two adult American alligators, which can grow to 4.8m in length and live for 50 years, along with two juveniles, a female Siamese crocodile, two juvenile saltwater crocodiles and six caiman crocodiles.

The saltwater crocodiles kept in the town are only juveniles, but the male can grow up to 6m in length, making it the largest of all living reptiles.

Applicants hoping to keep anything listed under the Dangerous Wild Animals Act, external must show their pets will be cared for, have access to food and an area to exercise.

Owners must also detail that the animal won't be a danger to the general public.

Scott Wade kicked and punched the National Trust volunteer in a row over a parking space.