A total of 14 dead foxes have been found dead at the side of a road in West Yorkshire.

Image source, West Yorkshire Police

A member of the public came across the animals on Muffit Lane in Gomersal at about 16:00 on Monday, according to West Yorkshire Police.

It's thought the foxes were killed elsewhere and then hidden where they were found.

Anyone who has information about the dead animals is being asked to contact police.

Organisers of England's oldest horse race - the Kiplingcotes Derby in East Yorkshire - are due to keep the tradition going today despite its cancellation this year due to the coronavirus outbreak.

The derby, which takes place near Market Weighton, has been held on the third Thursday of March since 1519.

It is believed to be only the fourth time the annual race will not have taken place in its 501-year history.

However, two riders will still walk a horse along the four-mile flat route in order to keep the tradition alive.

The cross-country course includes farm lanes, tracks and public roads in the Yorkshire Wolds.

The winner scoops a trophy and a £50 prize, but the second place rider receives £4 of every £5 race entry fee - which could potentially mean a bigger award.

A set of race rules discovered in a bank vault gave the start year as 1519, when King Henry VIII was on the throne.

One of the rules states the race must be run every year and if it does not, then it must never be run again

BBC Weather

Following a cold start across Yorkshire, it will be dry with spells of sunshine, especially this morning

In the afternoon, it will stay dry but cloud may push in from the south with light winds:

Police in East Yorkshire and northern Lincolnshire are warning people to be careful not to become a victim of several scams connected with the coronavirus outbreak.

There have been reports of individuals offering to do basic shopping for elderly people, but after being given money they don't return with the goods.

Incidents have been reported in the East Marsh area of Grimsby and warning notices have also been put up by the police in areas such as Reedness in East Yorkshire.

The Humberside Police force is urging people to be aware of the scams and to stay vigilant.

Witnesses to a hate crime incident in a North Yorkshire town last weekend are being asked to come forward.

Image source, Google

The victim, a female, was spat at twice by a man at Skipton bus station at about 14:40 on Saturday 14 March before the suspect walked off, police say.

Officers believe the victim was targeted because of her ethnicity.

The suspect is described as white, in his 20s, of slim build, about 6ft tall, with a shaved head and a tattoo on his neck.

Police say they want to establish the full circumstances surrounding the incident, and they particularly want to speak to anyone who saw what happened or who can help identify the man involved.

BBC News Travel

If you're making a journey on the rails in Yorkshire this Thursday morning, many services from our main stations appear to be generally running on time.

However, due to the coronavirus outbreak, train operators are warning that passengers do face some cancellations to services on several routes today.

Passengers are being urged to check the train operators' website for the very latest details.

So far, all these services have been CANCELLED this morning, according to National Rail Enquiries, external:

• 08:19 Sheffield to Leeds via Barnsley
• 08:32 Sheffield to Doncaster
• 08:33 Bradford Interchange to Manchester Victoria
• 08:42 Doncaster to Manchester Airport
• 08:53 Sheffield to Gainsborough Central
• 09:02 Bradford Interchange to Leeds
• 09:06 Sheffield to Nottingham
• 09:09 Leeds to Nottingham

• 09:12 Leeds to Manchester Victoria
• 09:15 Leeds to Harrogate
• 09:18 Sheffield to Leeds via Barnsley
• 09:33 Bradford Interchange to Manchester Victoria

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

School kitchens in Yorkshire are among those being called on to provide dinners for children on free school meals after pupils are sent home due to the coronavirus outbreak.

Image source, Getty Images

Schools across England will close on Friday, except for looking after the children of key workers and vulnerable children.

The prime minister said the government will help parents by providing vouchers to those who receive free school meals.

Almost 1.3 million children, about 15% of those in England's state schools, receive free school meals because they come from low income families.

Charity Feeding Britain, which operates in several parts of the country including Yorkshire, said it was working with schools to provide meals for parents to take home.

Feeding Britain says it's working with a "core group" of schools in areas such as Yorkshire to use their canteens to produce the meals, whereas in normal holidays they would remain closed.

Its plans would see schools offer hot meals for parents to collect and take home. Others would offer "cold but nutritious meals" and in some cases "particularly vulnerable" families would have them delivered.

Other charities are planning to provide food packages to leave on the doorsteps of self-isolating families.

More about coronavirus:

• LATEST: Live updates from around the world
• A SIMPLE GUIDE: What are the symptoms?
• AVOIDING CONTACT: Should I self-isolate?
• LOOK-UP TOOL: Check cases in your area
• MAPS AND CHARTS: Visual guide to the outbreak

Age UK North Yorkshire and Darlington is making "significant changes" to its service to help deal with the "unprecedented" and "once in a generation challenge" of the coronavirus outbreak.

With immediate effect, the charity said it will be temporarily suspending all social activities, home visits and face-to-face appointments and befriending visits with its information service being via the telephone only.

It will also:

• Expand telephone befriending services to prevent loneliness and ensure the wellbeing of self-isolating older people
• Introduce a hot meal referral service for self-isolating over 70s and vulnerable groups aged over 50, initially limited to Darlington and parts of Richmondshire only, to provide a two course basic set menu comprising a hot main course and dessert for £5 including delivery.
• Run a temporary free volunteer shopping service where volunteers will collect shopping for older people and drop it off at their homes
• Launch a local rate helpline number on 0300 30 20 100 for advice and a dedicated email address for concerns at coronavirus@ageuknyd.org.uk, external

The charity is appealing for volunteers to be telephone befrienders, shoppers and meal delivery drivers.

Local Democracy Reporting Service

The traditional democratic process has been suspended in North Yorkshire due to the coronavirus outbreak, it's been announced.

Image source, Google

North Yorkshire County Council says it's stopped the usual decision-making process by elected councillors and instead decisions will temporarily be taken by the authority's chief executive alone.

Council leader Carl Les said the authority is following latest government guidance to avoid all unnecessary contact.

Mr Les said dealing with the threat of coronavirus was now "paramount" for the authority, with senior managers concentrating on developing plans to maintain key services during the outbreak.

More about coronavirus:

• EASY STEPS: How to keep safe
• A SIMPLE GUIDE: What are the symptoms?
• TRAVEL PLANS: What are your rights?
• IN-DEPTH: Coronavirus pandemic

Schools in England are to shut from Friday until further notice, the education secretary has said.

Image source, Getty Images

Gavin Williamson said schools would close except for the children of keyworkers such as NHS staff and vulnerable children.

It comes after Scotland and Wales said schools would close from the same day in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

UK deaths reached 104 as the NHS said a further 32 people had died in England.

Mark Savage
Music reporter, BBC News

Punk-pop singer Yungblud is among a growing number of artists live-streaming gigs to combat the "boredom" of self-isolation due to coronavirus.

Image source, PA Media

On Monday, the Doncaster-born artist put on an ambitious, hour-long show from LA, encouraging fans to mosh at home as he played to an empty room.

"Get on your bed, your kitchen table, your couch - and jump!" exclaimed the musician, staring down the barrel of a camera as he played the recent single Anarchist.

His concert was pulled together in just 72 hours, after his upcoming tour was postponed due to concerns about the spread of coronavirus.

The star said he wanted to "give people a bit of positivity, laughter, and emotion" in the midst of the coronavirus epidemic, but it also helped him stay positive.

"Having the opportunity to connect with fans taken away from me wasn't gonna be an option," he told Vulture, external.

"It's a time to not give up and think out of the box - out of bad situations and despair comes incredible art, no matter what form that may be."

Sheffield's popular music venue The Leadmill is auctioning off "much-loved" memorabillia in order to help it stay afloat during the coronavirus outbreak.

On Monday, the public were told to avoid social settings such as pubs, clubs and theatres to try to limit the spread of Covid-19.

Reacting to the news managers at the Leadmill said the venue would stay open unless forced to shut but that "in an effort to get through this hardship" it would be selling off various items from the club's 40-year history.

Image source, The Leadmill

Among the items being sold are a guitar made from the floor of the venue and signed by the Arctic Monkeys (pictured above), signed posters and set lists from artists including Biffy Clyro (below), Arcade Fire, Feeder and The La's and a poster from American punk band Green Day's appearance at the venue in the early 1990s.

Image source, The Leadmill

Image source, The Leadmill

A 21-year-old woman who was reported missing from Scarborough has been found, say police.

Elisha Stuttard, who was reported missing earlier today, has now been located according to North Yorkshire Police.

Local Democracy Reporting Service

The planned demolition of a landmark Grade II-listed bandstand in a West Yorkshire town has been reversed and its story is to feature on national BBC radio.

Image source, Nic Chapman (nic.chapman.photographs@gmail.com)

Last year, Calderdale Council decided to knock down the bandstand in Centre Vale Park, Todmorden, which dates back to 1914.

It was severely damaged in an arson attack 20 years ago, has since suffered vandalism and has been fenced off for safety reasons for a decade.

However, the decision to demolish it sparked a petition containing over 2,000 signatures and prompted the formation of the Save Our Bandstand group which led to the site being listed by Heritage England in December.

The Save Our Bandstand group wants the construction - believed to be the last of its design in the country -.to be asset transferred to its members so they can plan for its future.

Jane Scullion, cabinet member for regeneration and resources, said the Cabinet’s original advice was that it could not be listed as it was largely a replica, but Heritage England had shown this was not the case.

Now, renowned BBC broadcaster Andy Kershaw (pictured in front of the bandstand), who lives in Todmorden, will feature the bandstand’s history and story of the campaign on BBC Radio 4’s From Our Home Correspondent programme at 13:30 on Sunday.

Volunteers who help keep people safe in a North Yorkshire town say they're stopping the service for the time being because of the coronavirus outbreak.

Image source, Northallerton Street Angels

Members of Northallerton Street Angels patrol the town on Saturday nights between 22:00 and 04:00.

They visit pubs and bars, often with bottles of water to keep drinkers hydrated and flip flops for those whose high heels have taken their toll.

Now the group says in the light of the government's advice on social distancing, members will avoid pubs and clubs.

Today, the organisation said: "It is with great sadness we've decided not to patrol for a while. It's for our safety and the public's safety.

"We hope to be out again helping people soon," it added.

More about coronavirus:

• EASY STEPS: How to keep safe
• A SIMPLE GUIDE: What are the symptoms?
• TRAVEL PLANS: What are your rights?
• IN-DEPTH: Coronavirus pandemic

Leisure centres, youth centres and council offices are also hit as the pandemic continues.

The Army bomb squad was called to an address in Sheffield this morning and several homes were evacuated after "suspicious" items were found by police carrying out a warrant.

Members of the Explosive Ordnance Disposal team were called to "establish any potential risk" by officers searching a property in Jordanthorpe.

A cordon remains in place and several residents have been asked to leave their homes as a "precautionary measure", police say.

A 28-year-old man's been arrested on suspicion of preparation of explosives and being in possession of prohibited items, according to the South Yorkshire force.

If you're planning to travel on Yorkshire's rail network this coming weekend, you're being warned to expect some disruption.

TransPennine Express has tweeted this reminder:

A "large number" of buildings and facilities, including leisure centres, which are run by Leeds City Council are closed from today due to coronavirus, the authority has confirmed.

Image source, Google

Leeds Town Hall (pictured), the Carriageworks and Pudsey Civic Centre as well as all the city's council-run leisure centres, museums and galleries will remain closed throughout March and April.

A council spokesperson said: "Our teams on site have been working hard and continuing to welcome the public in recent weeks, but the safety and wellbeing of staff and the people of Leeds is always our first priority.

"We will be monitoring developments and following government guidance with regards to when it may then be appropriate and practical for us to reopen our sites."

Council-run markets, libraries and community hubs will currently remain open to the public but group events or activities will not be held in community hubs and libraries until further notice, the authority adds.

Leonard Gibson, 78, died in hospital in Sheffield after testing positive for Covid-19.