A date has been set for the introduction of the delayed Clean Air Zone in Leeds.

Image source, OPEN STREET MAP

Leeds City Council say the zone, which had been due to go live in January, will now begin on July 1 2020.

The government instructed the council to introduce the zone to tackle air pollution after predicting parts of the city would fail legal air quality levels by 2020.

It will see a £50 daily charge for non-compliant buses, coaches, and HGVs, with a £12.50 charge for non-compliant taxi and private hire vehicles.

Private cars, light good vehicles, and motorcycles will not be charged.

Local Democracy Reporting Service

Plans to remove scaffolding put up in Sheffield city centre two years ago have been delayed to allow developers time to prove work on a £4.6m building project is ongoing.

Fargate Evolve were given until 6 September to remove the scaffolding on Chapel Walk before the council removed it themselves and forced them to pay.

However, the authority has granted an extension until Saturday after the developer, which said it took control of the site "a few weeks ago", said it was "looking forward to recommencing work".

Some traders in Chapel Walk say the scaffolding has resulted in a huge loss of trade.

Mazher Iqbal, cabinet member for business and investment, said: “We have issued a notice regarding the removal of the scaffolding and hoarding, and have been informed in the course of our ongoing dialogue with the developer that there is a credible prospect of the development now continuing.

“To allow the developer to evidence this and to show if and how they will finally quickly progress the development we have allowed a week’s extension to the notice until Saturday."

Scientists in York have found early humans were drinking milk and eating dairy products 6,000 years ago despite being lactose intolerant.

Image source, SOPHY CHARLTON / DORSET COUNTY MUSEUM

By analysing the teeth of prehistoric farmers, archaeologists at the University of York identified milk protein in dental plaque taken from the teeth of prehistoric farmers from Britain.

Researchers say this could suggest they processed the raw milk into cheese, yoghurt or some other fermented product to reduce its lactose content, making it more palatable.

Image source, University of York

Racegoers heading to the start of the St Ledger Festival at Doncaster today are being encouraged to arrive early to allow police security checks to be carried out.

Image source, South Yorkshire Police

South Yorkshire Police are asking people to allow plenty of time as "everyone will be searched on arrival".

Thousands of people are expected to attend Doncaster racecourse over the next four days for the meeting which culminates on Saturday with the world's oldest Classic race, the St Leger.

Fewer people are being prosecuted for homophobic hate crime, despite police calling on victims to come forward.

A BBC Radio 5 Live investigation found the numbers of people reporting such crimes across the UK more than doubled in the last five years to more than 13,000.

Charges or court summons fell by 10% during the same period.

Lily Cherry, from Woodseats in Sheffield, spoke to the BBC about her experiences:

A teenager has been killed in a crash in Bradford after the car he was travelling in collided with a van.

Image source, Google

It happened just before 23:00 last night when a Renault Megane collided with a VW Transporter van on the A650 Wakefield Road near to the junction with Neville Road and New Hey Road.

According to West Yorkshire Police the VW then struck a Ford Transit.

Police say an 18-year-old male, who was a passenger in the Megane, was pronounced dead at the scene.

Two males, aged 17, and a third male, aged 16, have been arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving.

Police want anyone who saw the incident or who has dash cam footage to get in touch.

The "Brid Bus" will ferry people from Sheffield to Bridlington for a weekend break in October.

Lisa Gallagher
Weather presenter, BBC Look North

It's a very mild start to the day with a few outbreaks of rain in places.

This afternoon there could be one or two isolated showers but for most of us it'll be dry with temperatures up to 21C.

Drivers in East Yorkshire are being advised to avoid the Bainton and Lund areas after a "serious collision" on the B1248.

Image source, Google

Police say emergency services are at the scene of the crash and the road is closed between Lund and Eastfield cross roads.

The force says the road closure is expected to be in place for some time.

At the moment there's stationary traffic from the A614 Main Street, at Bainton, to North Road, in Lund.

Four Super League clubs face a perilously terrifying Friday 13th, as relegation will haunt one of them in the final round.

Three men wearing balaclavas have attacked and robbed a 21-year-old delivery driver in South Yorkshire, police say.

Image source, Google

The incident happened at about 08:15 on Monday after the man was followed by a blue Ford Transit van while driving along Tickhill Road in Maltby.

Officers say the delivery driver stopped in a lay-by close to the old Maltby Colliery after the driver of the Transit flashed his lights to get him to pull over.

Three men in balaclavas then got out of the blue van, assaulted him and stole the contents of the delivery van, before driving off.

South Yorkshire Police wants anyone who witnessed the robbery or saw the blue Ford Transit van to get in touch.

The rise in the number of reports of homophobic hate crimes to two of Yorkshire's police forces are among the most dramatic in the country, figures suggest.

Image source, PA Media

It comes as new figures show fewer people are being prosecuted despite rising numbers of potential victims coming forward.

West Yorkshire Police has seen reports increase from 172 to 961 over the past five years, while South Yorkshire police has seen reports rise from 73 to 375.

Angela Williams, of West Yorkshire Police, said rising reports were in part down to "improvements in the way we record crime and the fact that many victims have the confidence to come forward".

The proportion of crimes resulting in a charge or summons, however, fell over the same time, from 19% to 4% in West Yorkshire and from 10% to 3% in South Yorkshire.

Across the UK as a whole recorded reports of homophobic abuse increased from 5,807 in 2014-15, to 13,530 in 2018-19.

But during the same period, the number of prosecutions fell from 1,157 to 1,058 - from 20% of all reports to 8%.

The National Police Chiefs' Council said those cases often involved a lack of witnesses and evidence.

Geoffrey Boycott said his knighthood had been "soured" by BBC Radio 4 "setting me up", to talk about domestic violence and "make publicity".

Hull KR captain Joel Tomkins has been banned for two games, which includes an extra match for a "frivolous challenge" added to his charge for punching.

Three weeks of work to improve safety on one of North Yorkshire's busiest roads has begun.

Image source, Google

Work on the A64 at Staxton crossroads, south of Scarborough, includes new traffic islands, improved road surfaces and better crossings.

The work will be carried out on weekdays between 21:00 and 06:00.

More than £22m is being invested along the road between the A1(M) at Bramham and Seamer, to improve safety and reduce congestion.

A total of 25 separate schemes are planned along the 55-mile route between now and the end of March next year.

South Africa spinner Keshav Maharaj takes 5-54 as Yorkshire deny title-chasing Somerset any batting points on day one at Taunton.

Holidaymakers are being offered free bus travel to an East Yorkshire seaside resort in a bid to boost tourism outside of summer.

Image source, Getty Images

The bus will ferry 48 people more than 80 miles from Sheffield to Bridlington for a weekend in October.

The idea has come from businesses in Bridlington which are keen to promote the town out of season.

If successful, it is hoped the "Brid Bus" will be available from other cities and towns.

Kerry Carruthers, chief executive of Yorkshire Coast Business Improvement District, said Sheffield was chosen to trial the project after research showed many people in the city wanted to visit the resort.

A man who allegedly brandished a machete in front of a car full of people in Sheffield has been charged with a number of offences.

Image source, Google

South Yorkshire Police said the man was arrested in connection with an incident in Weston Street, in Netherthorpe, on Sunday evening.

The force said he has been charged with attempted robbery, common assault and threatening a person with a bladed article.

A group of nine men and one woman cynically groomed vulnerable girls and treated them as "objects to be used and abused at will", a court has heard.

Leeds Crown Court heard four socially isolated girls aged 12 to 16 were treated by the gang as sexual commodities.

Prosecutor Richard Wright QC said there was a sense those in authority "did not do enough to engage with these girls.

The men and woman, all from Huddersfield, deny a range of sexual offences against the girls.

A technical report into last month's major power cut - which was partly due to a failure at the Hornsea offshore wind farm - says energy network protection systems worked "in line with their design".

Image source, PA Media

However, National Grid says security standards should be reviewed to determine if higher levels of resilience would be appropriate.

Lightning strikes caused Hornsea and Bedfordshire's Little Barford gas power station to experience independent outages.

The scale of the loss meant that the level of back-up power required under regulations wasn't enough to cover things.