A union calls for more action to stop phones entering jails after a prisoner posts on social media.

Local Democracy Reporting Service

Firefighters were threatened with weapons, pelted with missiles and verbally abused over a three-month period, a new report has revealed.

Image source, Anthony Devlin/Getty Images

A report into work by West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service between April and June reveals that there were 22 attacks on firefighters.

In Bradford there were nine incidents, including an occasion where a weapon was brandished at a crew from Bradford Station, and four incidents of stones or other missiles being thrown at crews.

Although there were no serious injuries during these attacks, one of the incidents damaged a fire engine.

A man died after having his leg almost hacked off by masked attacker wielding a machete, a court has heard.

Image source, Lincolnshire Police

Jordan O'Brien was attacked on his mother's doorstep in Gainsborough and died in hospital in March.

Lincoln Crown Court heard Kieron Walker, 22, of Auckley, Doncaster, had a grudge with Mr O'Brien who he accused of losing £2,000 worth of drugs.

Jurors were told Mr O'Brien repeatedly named Mr Walker, who denies his murder, as he lay injured

The trial continues

A group wanting to "make Bradford beautiful again," is appealing for people to join in with a mass clear up at the weekend.

Image source, Google

Bradford4Better says it wants to find ways of making the city "safer, cleaner and better for everyone."

It says dozens of street and public space clean ups will be held simultaneously.

Muqadas Khan said: "We all live in our community and we all expect clean streets and the only way to put a seed in the minds of our children is if we're clean ourselves.

"So if adults are doing a clean up hopefully the children will be influenced and want to keep their area clean too."

Former Sheffield United owner Kevin McCabe has questioned new owner Prince Abdullah's suitability to run the club.

Plans to reduce the number of South Yorkshire firefighters per crew from five to four have been halted.

South Yorkshire's fire authority had put forward the proposal as part of plans to save £4m.

But, at a meeting on Monday night authority members voted against the plan, though they said if no solution to the funding crisis could be found "the adoption of four firefighters on all frontline fire engines would be implemented in 2020/21".

The authority also called on South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue to explore other means of saving money and to recruit more firefighters in order to reduce spending on overtime

The union say the decision means 84 jobs have been saved.

Neil Carbutt, FBU South Yorkshire brigade secretary, said: “We’re ecstatic that the Fire Authority has rejected these unacceptable cuts.

"South Yorkshire firefighters are committed to keeping the public safe, and these proposals would have seriously undermined our ability to do so."

Ceara Thacker, 19, was found dead in her University of Liverpool halls of residence in May 2018.

A drink-driver left a trail of destruction in his defective road sweeper in two crashes, forcing one car onto its roof and another into a ditch.

Image source, North Yorkshire Police

Ariel Babiarz, who has been jailed, told police he had drunk nearly a litre of rum the night before the collisions.

The 7.5 tonne vehicle came to rest when he rolled it on the A65 in North Yorkshire, Bradford Crown Court heard.

At the time the defendant, 29, of Maudsley Street, Accrington, was almost double the legal alcohol limit.

Babiarz fractured his back and broke his ankle in the crash, near Austwick in March.

He has been jailed for 36 weeks.

Image source, North Yorkshire Police

Staff working in businesses beside the River Ouse are being given water rescue training after a spate of river deaths.

The RNLI is teaming up with North Yorkshire Fire Service and the York Rescue Boat today to teach staff from bars, clubs and restaurants how to rescue people who've fallen in.

Five people have died in the river in the past six months and three more were rescued by the emergency services.

Image source, Sirius Minerals

Politicans have been giving their views after the news that Sirius Minerals, the company behind a huge potash mine in North Yorkshire, ran into funding difficulties.

Sirius blamed "market conditions" and also lack of support from the government after cancelling plans to issue a bond.

The prime minister's official spokesman said: "When examining any request for financing, we have to assess the potential of a project against the need to protect taxpayers' money."

The MP for Redcar, Labour's Anna Turley, said it was "devastating news" and added on Twitter: "That the government are refusing to step in and secure this enormous project is an absolute disgrace."

Middlesbrough's MP, Labour's Andy McDonald, tweeted: "Sirius is critical to Teesside's future and if government stands aside as they did with the Redcar Blast Furnace they will never be forgiven."

Robert Goodwill, the Conservative MP for Scarborough and Whitby, said it would be "unprecedented" for the government to step in. "The government looked at it and said it wasn't the sort of thing it could do, it is a commercial project and if it is a viable project then other companies will back it."

Students in Sheffield are being warned about the risk of burglaries as thousands of people descend on the city for the start of the new academic year.

The scheme is being run in a collaboration between South Yorkshire Police, Sheffield Hallam University and the University of Sheffield.

As students come to the city for the start of the new term, they're being asked to think carefully about home security.

Work is set to begin on York’s first co-operative housing scheme.

Image source, Google

The YorSpace development of 19 homes at Lowfield Green in Acomb aims to create permanently affordable houses that are also environmentally sustainable.

Most of the homes in the £3.5m development have now been allocated and work could start on the site before Christmas.

Sheffield strip club Spearmint Rhino will have its Sexual Entertainment Licence renewed despite calls for it to be revoked.

Campaigners had argued the venue, in Brown Street, should have its licence removed and, last month, a council investigation into claims dancers were performing sexual acts found evidence of 74 licence condition breaches and 145 of the club's code of conduct rules had been broken.

Despite the objections Sheffield City Council's licensing committee ruled in favour of renewing the permit for another year following an eight hour meeting yesterday.

A council spokesperson said: "The decision of the Licensing Sub-Committee was to grant the renewal application for Spearmint Rhino Sheffield.

"Members heard a wealth of information both against and in support of the application and spent a lot of time examining this alongside the documentary evidence.

"The determination notice containing the full reasons for the decision will be available soon."

A 12-year-old girl from East Yorkshire who was reported missing overnight has been found "safe and well", Humberside Police say.

A number of cars were damaged after a herd of cows escaped from a field near Sheffield.

Image source, South Yorkshire Police

The animals were seen on Bradway Road and Mickley Lane in Bradway early this morning.

The farmer was called to take the animals home in what police say was an "udderly surprising" call.

A York academic is calling for more to be done to tackle bullying on school buses.

Image source, PA Media

A report by Nathalie Noret, senior lecturer in psychology at York St John University, says children aren't being adequately protected while travelling to and from their school.

She's been working with Paul Vodden who's 11-year-old son Ben took his own life after being bullied on a school bus in West Sussex.

Nathalie says as part of her research she spoke to bus drivers about bullying and "about 70%" of them said they regularly witnessed bullying and it was something which is "quite a distraction."

Ms Noret says: "In an ideal world we'd have adult chaperones on school buses to help make them safer.

"An alternative measure is the use of CCTV."

A man accused of murdering a 21-year-old University of York student is expected to go on trial next year after failing to appear in court.

Image source, West Yorkshire Police

Paul Crowther, 35, is charged with murdering Bethany Fields, who died after she was found injured in a street in Huddersfield last Thursday.

Crowther was due to appear at Leeds Crown Court this morning, but didn't attend.

It's understood he elected not to appear and has been remanded in custody.

Ms Fields, an environmental geography student, was described as "the brightest star of them all" in a tribute released by her family after her death.

The University of York today issued a tribute to her saying: "It was with great sadness that we heard the news of Beth’s untimely death.

"She was an enthusiastic and committed student and popular with her classmates."

A private company could run the new Category C prison planned for Full Sutton, according to people objecting against the plans.

Image source, Ministry of Justice

The news came to light during a meeting last week involving the Ministry of Justice and campaigners.

No final decision has been taken.

Councillors controversially gave the go-ahead to the 1,400 capacity jail last week despite more than 2,800 objections.

Humberside Police objected fearing it would increase violent crime within the jail and raise demands on the force.

The existing HMP Full Sutton facility has a capacity for about 500 male inmates.

The new Category C prison is being built under plans to enable inmates to integrate back into the community ahead of their release.

Volunteers at riverside venues in York are helping to reduce the number of drownings.

The University of York has paid tribute to a woman who died after being found injured in a town street.

Image source, West Yorkshire Police

Bethany Fields, 21,who was studying Environmental Geography at the university, was found on Fitzwilliam Street, Huddersfield, on Thursday.

Professor Mark E Hodson, head of the Department of Environment and Geography, said: "It was with great sadness that we heard the news of Beth’s untimely death.

"She was an enthusiastic and committed student and popular with her classmates.

"Beth particularly enjoyed the field work involved in her degree programme and was all set to carry out her final year dissertation project on glaciers.

"Our thoughts are with her family and friends."

Paul Crowther, 35, of Elm Way in Birstall, is due to appear at Leeds Crown Court later today charged with murder.