Liz Roberts
Political Reporter, BBC Radio Sheffield

The Government has given the go-ahead to a devolution deal in South Yorkshire, ending nearly four years of stalemate.

James Brokenshire, the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, has written to Sheffield City Region Mayor Dan Jarvis, and the leaders of Sheffield, Rotherham, Barnsley and Doncaster councils, accepting their recent proposal.

Under the terms of that plan the devolution deal first agreed in 2015 will be implemented but from 2022 any council wishing to leave the Sheffield City Region for a wider Yorkshire deal is free to do so.

Image source, Other

Image source, Other

Traffic cones in York have been fixed into place in a bid to to stop them being damaged or stolen.

The cones on Peckitt Street, near York's historic Clifford's Tower, are part of parking restrictions in place during construction work at the old fire station.

But, apparently, they keep mysteriously disappearing - so builders have taken drastic action to stick them down.

Let's hope it's not a case of here today, "cone" tomorrow...

Police in Rotherham have arrested a man after finding five rooms full of cannabis plants at a property in the town.

Image source, South Yorkshire Police

These photographs show the scene which greeted officers from South Yorkshire Police's Operation Alligator.

Image source, South Yorkshire Police

Police say they found plants in "various stages of growth" at the property on Green Lane in Rawmarsh.

Image source, South Yorkshire Police

The M62 is now open in both directions after two separate incidents caused severe disruption to commuters this morning.

Image source, HIGHWAYS ENGLAND/CROWN COPYRIGHT

Police closed the road near Huddersfield after a crash involving a motorbike and a man fell from a motorway bridge.

Highways England closed the motorway between junctions 22 and 24 from 01:00 this morning.

Police investigation work is being carried out following the motorbike crash.

You may remember earlier us reporting on a 12-year-old girl from Leeds who was missing.

Mandy May Pickles has now been found "safe and well", according to police.

Prisoners placed in an anti-extremism unit at an East Yorkshire jail have complained that isolating them from the main population is an "injustice", a report has said.

Image source, PA/John Giles

Inmates in HMP Full Sutton's separation centre - which is design to house "only the most dangerous terrorists and extremists" - submitted 108 discriminatory incident report forms during the year.

A report by the Independent Monitoring Board, external (IMB) for the high-security jail said: "Prisoners have challenged the notion of being held in a separate unit, seeing it as an injustice.

"Men within the unit have perceived themselves to be discriminated against in a number of ways, and take the view that being held in the unit is discrimination in itself.

"This belief has resulted in prolonged periods of disengagement between prisoners and staff, and prisoners and an imam."

In 2017, plans for "jails within jails" were unveiled as part of efforts to clamp down on radicalisation behind bars with a review warning that Islamist extremism was a growing problem in prisons in England and Wales

Overall, the monitoring board said HMP Full Sutton remains a safe environment for prisoners and staff.

A York man who went missing yesterday has been found safe and well.

Alan Lawson, 49, who was last seen on Victor Street, has now been located.

North Yorkshire Police today thanked members of the public for their support.

Thirty-eight men and two women are being investigated over child sex abuse in Rotherham.

The Freedom Festival marks Hull's links with anti-slavery campaigner William Wilberforce.

Police officers in South Yorkshire are to get body-worn cameras to collect evidence and prevent attacks.

Similar cameras are already worn by officers in North and West Yorkshire.

Last year the Assistant Chief Constable of the West Yorkshire force, Andy Battle, said people "modify their behaviour" when cameras are switched on, leading to 27% fewer Taser incidents in 2017.

In Sheffield, the technology is already used by traffic wardens.

South Yorkshire Police say the cameras are being introduced across the force.

YorkMix

A senior York council officer has given an "unreserved apology" after parking in disabled bay during election count:, external

Image source, YorkMix

Forty people are being investigated over alleged historic child sex abuse in Rotherham.

Image source, Getty Images

The National Crime Agency (NCA) said 38 men and two women had been arrested or interviewed by appointment over the last two months.

The inquiry relates to alleged child sex abuse and exploitation offences against 13 victims and is said to have taken place between 1997 and 2015 when they were aged 11 to 26-years-old.

The NCA said those arrested are from Sheffield, Rotherham, Leeds, Dewsbury and Maidstone

All have been bailed or released under investigation as inquiries continue.

Operation Stovewood began in 2014 after it emerged at least 1,400 children were abused in the town from 1997 to 2013.

A Hull MP wants the government to support the building of a 58-home veterans village in the city., external

Image source, BB

Emma Hardy is due to meet Veterans Minister, Tobias Ellwood, to discuss plans by the charity Hull 4 Heroes to build new homes and rehabilitation and training facilities for retired military personnel in the Priory Road area.

Ms Hardy says: "I hope the Veterans Minister will see the significance of the idea of offering holistic support and helping veterans to reintegrate back into civilian life and will offer his full support."

Drivers are being urged to avoid the M62 in West Yorkshire this morning after a motorcycle crash and a separate police incident lead to it being closed between junctions 21 and 24.

Emergency services were called to the exit slip road of the M62 eastbound carriageway at junction 24 just after 01:00 this morning, following a serious collision between a motorcyclist and a vehicle.

The motorcyclist received life-threatening injuries.

In a separate incident, a man was seen over the motorway in the Scammonden Bridge area at about 05:00.

Major traffic delays are being experienced in the Huddersfield area as police officers investigate both scenes.

Highways England say normal traffic conditions should return between about 11:15 and 11:30.

The West Yorkshire Police force has thanked drivers for their patience.

A man who lives with chronic and excruciating pain has begun a fresh legal challenge to the law that criminalises assisted suicide.

Paul Lamb, 63, was paralysed from the neck down following a car crash nearly 30 years ago.

He lost a Supreme Court case in 2014, but argues that opinions on assisted dying have changed since then.

He says keeping him alive could be considered torture, and that the current law breaches his human rights.

Mr Lamb, from Leeds, requires 24-hour care, and wants to be able to end his life at a time he chooses. But he would need help to do this, and assisting a suicide is a criminal offence carrying a maximum 14-year prison sentence.

Yorkshire sign England spin bowler Dom Bess from Somerset on an initial one-month loan deal.

The closure of part of the M62 in West Yorkshire has been extended to help traffic diverted around a police incident.

Image source, Highways England

The motorway has been shut in both directions between Junctions 22 and 24 since the early hours of the morning and the closure has now been extended to junction 21.

Highways England are currently saying normal traffic conditions will return between about 11:15 and 11:30.

Eastbound traffic is being advised to follow the diversion via the A672 and A58 through Halifax.

Westbound traffic should follow the black square symbol, via the A629, A646 and A58 through Halifax and Sowerby Bridge.

Lisa Gallagher
Weather presenter, BBC Look North

Today will be a cloudy and blustery day with outbreaks of rain, some of which could be heavy at times.

The brisk easterly wind will make it feel chilly.

Detectives investigating the death of 38-year-old Alena Grlakova have released a video reconstruction of her last known movements.

A murder investigation was launched when her body was found in Rotherham, on land just off Taylors Lane, on Monday 8 April.

The footage shows Ms Grlakova’s movements between 18:30 and 20:45 on the night of Wednesday 26 December, when she was last seen alive:

Police say they are also still looking for the clothing she was wearing, which was was quite distinctive and unusual for the time of year.

The South Yorkshire force hopes someone will have seen parts of her outfit discarded in the local area:

Image source, South Yorkshire Police

Police in York have issued an "urgent appeal" for help to find a missing man.

Image source, North Yorkshire Police

Alan Lawson, 49, was last seen by his friend at 18:00 yesterday on Victor Street, York.

He is described as a white man, 5ft 8ins tall, with short silver/ grey hair.

It's though he could have travelled south of York, or could be headed to Scotland.

When last seen he was wearing a black hoodie and blue jeans and was carrying a black Adidas holdall.

A spokesman for North Yorkshire Police said: "Officers are becoming increasingly concerned for Alan’s welfare and urge anyone who has seen him to report it to the police on 101."