A theme park operator being prosecuted after a seven-year-old boy was injured falling from a rollercoaster says it accepts the decision to bring charges and is "cooperating fully" with the investigation.

Image source, Simon Moran/Getty Images

The boy was seriously injured when he fell from the Twister ride at Lightwater Valley, near Ripon, in May last year.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) announced earlier it is to prosecute park operator, Light Water Valley Attractions Ltd, under the Health and Safety at Work Act.

In a statement Lightwater Valley chief executive Ian Cunningham said: "The incident at our park last year has greatly affected all those involved and the thoughts of everyone at Lightwater Valley are with the young boy who was injured and his family. I want to again say how personally sorry I am for the distress it has caused.

“We accept HSE’s decision to proceed to a prosecution and have cooperated fully throughout their investigation.

“Since the incident we have been providing support and assistance to the family and will continue to do so.

“The health and safety of visitors to our park remains our top priority and we have taken steps to avoid a repeat of this very sad incident.”

The HSE says it's currently liaising with Leeds Magistrates’ Court to fix a first hearing date.

Sheffield City Council has apologised after it missed the planning deadline to stop a 5G mast being put up in the city.

Image source, Steve Parsons/PA Media

The council has 56 days from when it receives a planning application to decide whether to approve or refuse it.

However, after receiving three applications for mobile phone masts at Greenhill Parkway, Archer Road and Rustlings Road, the authority admits it didn't process them quickly enough.

As a result, Cornerstone & Vodafone Ltd, which made the application, can go ahead and build the masts due to what's called "deemed consent", the council says.

While two of the sites would have been approved, the proposal for a mast at Rustlings Road would have been rejected, the authority added.

In a statement, the council said it was now working with Cornerstone & Vodafone to "express our view that this is an inappropriate site for this mast and are actively working with them to discuss alternatives".

Councillor Bob Johnson said: "The council apologises for this mistake but hopes people will understand we are operating in extraordinary circumstances which have led to these oversights occurring.

"We understand residents’ depth of feeling about the location of these masts and we are sorry they were not properly determined within the time limit."

Scott Westlake has been handing presents to key workers across Meanwood in Leeds.

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Sheffield golfer Matt Fitzpatrick has helped a charity to buy specialist ventilation equipment for a local children's hospital whose staff are fighting the coronavirus outbreak.

Image source, Kenny Smith/PA Media

The Children's Hospital Charity (TCHC) has bought a £22,000 video laryngoscope for the intensive care unit at Sheffield Children's Hospital.

The machine will allow medics to quickly establish an airway in patients who have difficult breathing conditions.

Mr Fitzpatrick, 25, is a patron of the TCHC and the charity said the new equipment was largely bought thanks to his "substantial" but undisclosed donation.

The Ryder Cup player said: "My thoughts go out to the patients and all the staff on the front line. Hopefully this donation will help them through the coronavirus pandemic."

Dr Rum Thomas, consultant in paediatric intensive care medicine at Sheffield Children's Hospital, said the video laryngoscope will help doctors place breathing tubes in children safely.

She said: "In terms of the coronavirus, it also means equipment is at hand to help manage children with difficult airways more effectively. This will reduce the risk of exposing staff to potential infection.

"We anticipate the equipment will be in ever-increasing use in the future, as the number of children and young people with complex airway problems attending our hospital continues to rise."

A man has had to be winched to safety by the coastguard in Bridlington, prompting a plea to the public to not stretch resources.

Image source, Bridlington Coastguard Rescue Team/Crown Copyright

The rescue team was called to Green Stacks, Flamborough, on Bank Holiday Monday to reports of a man being stuck at the top.

The helicopter was brought in to winch the man to safety.

Bridlington Coastguard Rescue Team said the rescue came after "an extremely busy weekend".

Members have asked people to stretch their legs "but not our resources".

Image source, Bridlington Coastguard Rescue Team/Crown Copyright

The operator of a theme park where a seven-year-old boy was injured after falling from a rollercoaster is to be prosecuted under health and safety law, it's been confirmed.

Image source, Simon Moran/Getty Images

The boy was airlifted to Leeds General Infirmary with head injuries after the incident on the Twister ride at Lightwater Valley, near Ripon, on 30 May last year.

Witnesses at the time said the child fell about 15ft from the ride.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) says it has informed Lightwater Valley Attractions Ltd, which is based in Sherborne, Dorset, that it will be prosecuted following the incident.

The HSE says it's currently liaising with Leeds Magistrates’ Court to fix a first hearing date.

A vehicle spotted travelling at 131mph was just one example of "horrendous" driving seen in North Yorkshire during the Bank Holiday weekend, according to the county's police force.

Image source, Ben Birchall/PA Wire

Other cars were seen being driven at twice the speed limit through residential areas, while another driver was caught driving at 121mph on the A19 in Northallerton, police say.

It comes after the North Yorkshire force warned it would be intensifying efforts to prevent speeding and other motoring offences as roads become busier as some lockdown measures were eased.

More than 50 offences were enforced by officers on the B6479 Settle to Ribblehead road in just an hour and a half at the weekend, police added.

Supt Paula Booth said: “While many motorists took our advice on board, sadly the standard of driving and motorcycling by a minority this weekend was appalling.

"We warned motorists we were stepping up our response to the horrendous driving and motorcycling we’ve seen, and we dealt with a high number of significant violations this weekend."

The drivers and motorcyclists involved in all these offences are currently being dealt with by officers, the force said.

As she turns 100, Joyce Richardson, of Thirsk, is raising funds for a hospice that cared for her son.

Have you seen Patrick Doran? Police in Kirklees are appealing for information to help locate him as he's wanted on recall to prison.

Image source, West Yorkshire Police

The 29-year-old is from the Cleckheaton area and has been recalled for breaching the terms of his prison licence.

A number of inquiries have been carried out in the north of England, including in Dewsbury, Leeds and Rochdale, to locate him, police say.

It's possible he is still in West Yorkshire, officers add.

Anyone with information about his whereabouts is being asked to contact police.

Several Halfords stores in Yorkshire are among 53 of the firm's outlets across the country to reopen as its bosses say there's been a surge in bike sales as coronavirus lockdown rules are eased.

Image source, Reuters/Peter Cziborra

The bike and motoring stores - in Doncaster, Sheffield, Huddersfield, Wakefield and York - will allow a limited number of shoppers through their doors under a model described as "retail lite".

Halfords has been allowed to remain open throughout the pandemic and subsequent lockdown, classed as an "essential" business, but many of its stores have not been open for browsing.

The decision comes a day after the government said most non-essential retailers could reopen from 15 June.

Halfords said: "There's no timetable or deadline for doing so and the pace will instead be dictated entirely by the company's confidence it can keep its colleagues and customers safe."

The firm's chief executive, Graham Stapleton, said: "There's been a big surge in demand for our bike products and services as people have taken to cycling during the lockdown.

"We're anticipating a similar demand for our motoring products and services in the coming days, as people begin to use vehicles again that in some cases will have been off the road for many weeks."

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It will be fine, dry, warm and sunny today.

Overnight, it will remain clear, with light winds and isolated showers:

More than 50 fines for breaches of coronavirus regulations were issued over the Bank Holiday weekend in North Yorkshire, police say.

Image source, North Yorkshire Police

A total of 52 fines were handed out, with 39 of those being issued in the Scarborough area, four in Harrogate, four in Selby, two in York, two in Craven and one in Hambleton.

Breaches of the regulations included overnight stays in motorhomes, door-to-door selling, and groups of people from different households drinking in public areas, according to North Yorkshire Police.

Supt Charlotte Bloxham said: "We urge people to remember we are not yet out of the woods in terms of the spread of the virus.

"People can still catch it, including your children, parents, grandparents, brothers and sisters."

'Lots of soap' is crucial, say childminders who have stayed open for key workers' children.

Refuge says the lockdown can aggravate abusive behaviour as website traffic surged in a fortnight.

Don Gill was discharged 34 days after being admitted to hospital but his brother died with the virus.

Officers are investigating a second "targeted" shooting in Sheffield over the weekend.

Police were called to Fishponds Road on Sunday evening in Woodthorpe after reports of shots being fired at a house by a man on a bike.

Nobody was injured, police said.

It comes after a shooting yesterday in Heeley where shots were fired at a car and a house on Myrtle Road.

Although police aren't linking the two shootings, officers are "keeping an open mind", South Yorkshire Police said.

Det Ch Insp Jamie Henderson said: "We are treating these incidents as two separate shootings, but we understand them both to be targeted attacks.

"I can understand how concerning it must be for local people to read about these incidents happening in our city. Please be assured my officers and our specialist teams are working around the clock to progress our investigations and keep our communities safe."

Four other shootings took place in different parts of Sheffield earlier this month, including shots being fired in Nether Edge, Sharrow and Burngreave.

A North Yorkshire beauty spot was left in a "disgusting" state on Bank Holiday Monday after visitors flocked there to enjoy the sun, police say.

Teenage volunteers had to clean up the litter left behind at the River Sale Falls in Richmond:

About 60 firefighters continued to tackle a blaze on moorland near Doncaster over the Bank Holiday weekend:

Image source, South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue

The fire, at Hatfield Moors, has now been burning for almost 10 days, with South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue and Humberside Fire and Rescue crews fighting it.

Yesterday saw about 60 firefighters trying to contain the blaze, with a helicopter being used to douse the moorland and fire breaks.

The cause of the fire is currently unknown.

People have been asked to avoid the moors as firefighters work, with South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue thanking people for staying away.

BBC Business News

UK supercar maker and Formula 1 team McLaren, which has a plant in South Yorkshire, plans to cut more than a quarter of its workforce after the coronavirus crisis hit sales and advertising revenue.

Image source, Mclaren

The firm employs about 4,000 people, and of the 1,200 to be made redundant, the vast majority will be in the UK.

Formula 1 racing has been suspended, while orders for McLaren's supercars have fallen because of the pandemic.

McLaren, which has a composites technology centre in Sheffield, said it had been "severely affected" by the crisis.

The company said it had worked hard to cut costs and avoid layoffs.

"But we now have no other choice but to reduce the size of our workforce," McLaren chairman Paul Walsh said in a statement.

"This is undoubtedly a challenging time for our company, and particularly our people, but we plan to emerge as an efficient, sustainable business with a clear course for returning to growth."

French firm Danone hopes to acquire Britain's oldest bottled water company - Harrogate Spring Water.