The woman spearheading the restoration of a Grade I-listed mansion says it will "reopen in style" once the coronavirus crisis is over.

Image source, PA Media

Wentworth Woodhouse, which is undergoing a £130m programme to save the building, was closed to the public on 20 March as a result of the outbreak.

The Trust said its 52 staff have been paid until the end of March and its 212 volunteers, who gave more than 22,333 hours of unpaid support in 2019, have been stood down.

However, work to repair the roof which is the size of six tennis courts is continuing under government guidelines in order to "keep the building safe" and keep the project on schedule for as long as possible.

Dame Julie Kenny, founder and chair of the Trust, said: "Wentworth Woodhouse will reopen in style as soon as the Covid-19 crisis is over and we want everyone back in force - all our staff, volunteers and loyal supporters.

"In the meantime, a very carefully managed roof-work programme is keeping the building safe."

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Two members of the public who confronted a pair of knife-wielding robbers as they attempted to leave a petrol station have been praised by police.

Image source, Google

The robbers had threatened staff at the Esso station on Wetherby Road in Leeds and taken cash and a builders sack full of cigarettes.

It happened on Tuesday just after 20:30, according to West Yorkshire Police.

But as the men tried to leave they were challenged by members of the public and forced to leave the bag of cigarettes by the door, say police.

They left the scene in a Ford Focus, which was found later on Redmire View in the Seacroft area.

Det Insp James Entwistle said: “This was obviously a frightening experience for the staff and members of the public involved.

"While we never encourage people to put themselves at risk, we should recognise the efforts of those who intervened and tried to stop them."

Anyone who witnessed the robbery or saw the suspects abandoning the Ford Focus is asked to contact police.

Self-isolating residents were sent cards, cakes and flowers after an appeal on social media.

Police checkpoints are to be set up on some roads in North Yorkshire, with officers set to ask drivers if their journey is "essential" during the current coronavirus lockdown.

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North Yorkshire Police says it will start setting up the checkpoints from today in an effort to ensure drivers are complying with government restrictions.

Officers will be stopping vehicles and asking motorists where they are going, why they are going there and reminding them of the message to stay at home to save lives.

Assistant Ch Con Mike Walker, said: "The new and significant restrictions announced by the Prime Minister on Monday evening spell out very clearly what each and every one of us must do to save lives. The message is clear and the warning stark. "

"These are the lives of the people we know and love. You may never be in such a position again where your simple actions will lead directly to saving lives.

"Alongside the new restrictions, the government announced new powers to enforce them. I know the vast majority of people will follow the restrictions without question, as they have done so already."

Mr Walker added that while he "sincerely" hoped officers wouldn't have to resort to enforcement action, "if people do not comply, we will".

The checkpoints will be unannounced and could appear "anywhere, any time", according to the North Yorkshire force.

Huddersfield Town must repay £35m in loans made by former owner Dean Hoyle between this summer and August 2022.

A man has been arrested on suspicion of murder following the death of a 26-year-old man who was earlier found injured in a Sheffield street.

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The injured man was found unconscious at about 03:30 on Tuesday morning on the junction of Union Street and Charles Street in the city centre.

He later died from a head injury, police say.

Last night, a 25-year-old man was arrested in connection with the death.

Anybody with information about the man's death, or who saw a fight about two hours before the man was found, is being asked to get in touch with police.

These are the latest pictures as workers create a fish pass to encourage salmon back into the River Don in South Yorkshire.

Image source, Environment Agency

The passes are being created between Sheffield and Doncaster to enable salmon to swim freely up the river.

The last pass is being installed at Masbrough Weir, which will help the fish return to their spawning grounds in Sheffield.

Last year, an adult salmon was found in the River Don, external after the species had been absent from there for about 150 years.

Yorkshire Water says it's been working with partner agencies, with the last pass due to be finished in May.

What's known as a cofferdam has been created which allows this final pass to be created, the Environment Agency said.

Firefighters who have recently retired might be asked to come back to help if staffing levels become "critical", South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue (SYFR) has said.

Image source, South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue

SYFR said it's been contacted by some retired firefighters asking if they'll be needed should staffing levels drop.

The coronavirus pandemic has seen some SYFR firefighters forced to self-isolate - meaning they won't be able to help on the frontline.

However, the fire service says it has a list of recently retired firefighers and "will be contacting them in the event of our staffing levels reaching critical levels".

More than a third of pharmacy staff in North Yorkshire say they have been subjected to violence and abuse in the past few days by people stockpiling medicines.

Image source, George Frey/Getty Images

Community Pharmacy North Yorkshire (CPNY) say 43% of the 152 pharmacies it represents have reported incidents since Saturday.

It said its staff are also dealing with "unprecedented" demand for medicine.

A spokesperson said: "This unprecedented demand for medicines is due to patients ordering their medicines ahead of the due date, ordering medicines they haven’t had for some time ‘just in case’ and are attempting to stockpile medicines.

"Whilst working under immense pressure to ensure patients get their medication, they are also experiencing violent and abusive behaviour from a number of them."

CPNY has urged people not to stockpile and order repeated prescriptions saying there is enough to go around if people do not place extra orders.

Veteran West Yorkshire-born actor Sir Patrick Stewart is among the ever-growing number of famous faces doing their best to raise people's spirits as the coronavirus lockdown continues.

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The Star Trek and X-Men star, who's originally from Mirfield, is performing Shakespeare's sonnets, recording one a day and sharing it via his Twitter page.

Introducing the plan, he said: "When I was a child in the 1940s, my mother would cut up slices of fruit for me - there wasn't much - and as she put it in front of me she would say, 'An apple a day keeps the doctor away.' How about, 'A sonnet a day keeps the doctor away'?":

A Yorkshire technology firm has launched a new coronavirus symptom checker for patients in Hull.

Since the outbreak, nurses at the City Health Care Partnership have had to screen people daily for symptoms before seeing them.

Now a symptom checker has been developed by Inhealthcare, which uses responses to a questionnaire filled in by patients on their mobile phones to gauge whether they are safe to be seen.

Bryn Sage, the firm's chief executive, said: "This service is really important in the current climate because it frees up NHS staff and keeps them from harm.

"Without this technology this particular NHS provider would have to phone up to 2,000 people a day before their appointment, which isn't really practical."

Leeds' players, coaching staff and senior management volunteer to take a wage deferral because of the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

A woman who was reported missing from Wakefield earlier this week has been found, police say.

Kara Ford, who went missing on Monday, has now been located, according to West Yorkshire Police.

The Doctor has issued a message to people who are worried about the coronavirus outbreak - telling them, "We will get through this".

Jodie Whittaker, from Skelmanthorpe, West Yorkshire, is the current Doctor and wanted to do her bit to help others who might be worried.

She posted a video on the Doctor Who Twitter account outlining five things people should do.

They are:

1. You will get through this and things will be alright
2. Tell jokes - even bad ones
3. Be kind - and look out for each other
4. Listen to science and doctors
5. Stay strong and stay positive

Local Democracy Reporting Service

Details have been released of a three-month council tax break for people in Doncaster who are struggling financially due to the coronavirus outbreak.

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Council bosses say people who take up the offer will be contacted at the end of the three-month holiday in June and will be issued with a new bill.

The amount left to be paid will be collected over the remaining months of the year.

The council says it's drawn up a £5m 10-point action plan, external to help the most vulnerable in Doncaster, and one of the points included is a three month council tax holiday.

Mayor Ros Jones said: “We recognise the huge challenge before all of us and Doncaster Council is absolutely committed to supporting all our residents, especially our most vulnerable.

“This is not a discount, just a break from paying. We have set it up so anyone facing financial difficulty as a result of the coronavirus outbreak can let us know so we can help them.”

The plan also includes a three-month rent holiday for struggling council house tenants.

Police in York say they've been left "perplexed" by some people who are not taking coronavirus restrictions seriously.

Image source, Peter Church /Geograph

Writing on social media yesterday, external officers who have been carrying out foot patrols in the city said: "Lots of people of all ages sunbathing and having picnics at Millennium Bridge (pictured) and the Knavesmire."

They urged residents: "Please do so in your own back gardens or not at all.

"This is not a over-reaction but in the interests of coronavirus being stopped in its tracks as soon as possible."

More about corona virus:

• LIVE: Latest updates
• A SIMPLE GUIDE: What are the symptoms?
• AVOIDING CONTACT: What is self-isolation?
• LOOK-UP TOOL: Check cases in your area
• MAPS AND CHARTS: Visual guide to the outbreak

Plans to reduce high-polluting vehicles travelling around UK cities are set to be delayed due to the coronavirus crisis.

Image source, Getty Images

Councils in Leeds, Birmingham and Oxford have written to the government asking permission to postpone their plans to reduce city centre traffic.

At the same time, levels of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) have fallen since people were told to work from home last week.

The government said it was "sympathetic" about Covid-19's impact.

Leeds City Council was due to launch a Clean Air Charging Zone in September.

Council leader Judith Blake said it would "not be appropriate" to work on introducing the measures yet.

"We are asking for more time, it's not appropriate at the moment to move forward with the current timetable," she said.

This year's Magic Weekend could be rescheduled or cancelled as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

Roads are deserted in Lincolnshire and East Yorkshire after strict curbs on everyday life were announced.

A restaurant in West Yorkshire is dishing up hundreds of free meals to NHS workers and their families amid the coronavirus outbreak.

The Punch Bar & Tapas in Honley has taken orders for 200 meals for doctors, nurses and other staff each week for the next three months.

It comes due to a £20,000 donation from residents Ian and Jill Swire.

Co-owner and chef Richard Dunn said: "These workers are absolutely exhausted and hopefully this will ease the burden at home a little."

Mr Dunn said the response had "gone nuts" and that he and business partner Wayne Roddis were working flat-out to prepare the orders, which will go out three times a week.

"The limelight is not on us, it's about those people in the NHS who are saving lives," said Mr Dunn.

Mr Swire, who is the former chairman of Sheffield Eagles rugby league club, said: "We are extremely lucky to be in a position to help out like this, but this is a payback to the NHS."

Mr Dunn and Mr Swire said they were being careful to follow social distancing rules, and had taken advice from Colne Valley MP Jason McCartney.