Hull will trial a new style of pedestrian crossings to help reduce crashes in the city.

Image source, So-Mo

The city has some of the highest rates of pedestrian against vehicle incidents in the UK with 38 casualties per 100,000 people.

Now, almost £200,000 has been awarded to Hull City Council and Liverpool City Council as part of a joint partnership to look at ways of reducing the crash rate.

The people who have designed them say they will look a bit like a red carpet a to make people notice them and see that they're the quickest and safest way to cross.

The two-year project is a trial to see if people are persuaded to use the crossing and is delivered with behavioural science company So-Mo and data company Agilysis.

Councillor Anita Harrison, from Hull City Council, said: "We hope that this targeted intervention will help to support some of our most vulnerable road users and improve overall road safety, in order to have an impact on achieving low levels of casualty reduction that are long lasting.

Army bomb-disposal experts have arrived at the scene of an ongoing police incident in Grimethorpe, Barnsley.

South Yorkshire Police have closed Coronation Avenue and Queens Road in the village and a cordon has been put in place.

The force say officers are dealing with "an incident".

Pictures from the scene show a number of ambulances are in attendance.

Police in North Yorkshire have issued the highest number of fines in England for breaches of the coronavirus regulations during the lockdown, it's been confirmed.

Image source, Catherine Ivill/Getty Images

A total of 1,082 fines have been given out by officers in the county between 27 March and 8 June, according to the National Police Chiefs' Council, external.

Over 50% of those fines were issued to visitors to North Yorkshire rather than local residents, the county's force has said.

The second highest number of fines - a total of 1,063, was issued by the Metropolitan Police force.

Julia Mulligan, North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner, said: "Over the past few weeks and months we've had to deal with large numbers of visitors from outside the county.

"Police have engaged with those breaking the rules and issued fines only when they refused to comply.

"In this process, they have faced incidents of verbal abuse, had their authority questioned and been spat at – all completely unacceptable responses to perfectly reasonable requests."

Ms Mulligan added that she wanted to thank police officers and staff and the "majority across North Yorkshire who've followed the law and stayed at home as much as possible".

Two roads have been closed in Barnsley this afternoon because of an ongoing incident, police say.

Coronation Avenue and Queens Road, Grimethorpe have been closed as officers deal with the "incident", South Yorkshire Police said.

Two former pupils of The Grammar School in Leeds say their reports of racial abuse were ignored by teachers.

Sheffield's annual Cliffhanger outdoor festival has been cancelled because of the coronavirus pandemic, it's been confirmed.

Image source, Sheffield City Council

Cliffhanger has taken place in the city since 2016, but this year's event won't take place now due to the pandemic.

Councillor Mary Lea said the decision to cancel Cliffhanger 2020 was taken "with regret".

"Throughout the coronavirus pandemic, we have prioritised keeping people safe and limiting the spread of the virus, and although some restrictions are being relaxed it would be irresponsible to continue with plans for the event," she said.

"But, as with our many other events, we’ll be working hard with our partners to bring back a safe and exciting events programme in 2021."

The La Sportiva British Bouldering Championships, which were due to be held during Cliffhanger, will return next summer, the council added.

Over 600 patients have now been successfully treated for coronavirus at North Yorkshire's hospitals and allowed to go home, it's been revealed.

Image source, PA Media

Of those patients, over 500 were cared for at York or Scarborough hospitals, while 125 people have been successfully treated at Harrogate Hospital after being diagnosed with Covid-19.

York Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, which runs York and Scarborough hospitals, says reaching this milestone has taken "an amazing, dedicated and resilient team".

A friend said Mr Albufera, who died on Tuesday, was "the epitome of what the NHS is all about".

Local Democracy Reporting Service

Multi-million pound work to protect hundreds of homes and properties in Filey from flooding will get under way next month, it's been confirmed.

Image source, Google

The Filey Flood Alleviation Scheme will involve the construction of a series of embankments, ditches and temporary flood storage areas around the edge of the town.

These are designed to catch flowing water from the surrounding land during extreme rainfall before it reaches the town.

The flood water will be temporarily stored before being released at a controlled rate into the existing drainage system and ravines.

Filey has a history of suffering from surface water flooding, with records of properties flooding dating back to 1985.

The most significant flooding occurred in October 2000, August 2002, and a major flood event in the summer of 2007.

As well as homes and businesses, the £4.37m scheme will also help to protect Filey’s only secondary school, the Scarborough to Hull railway line and the town’s two access roads.

In total 739 properties will see their risk of flooding reduced, according to those behind the scheme.

The construction work will start in July and will be completed by spring 2021.

Councillor Michelle Donohue Moncrieff, from Scarborough Council, said: "Once complete, the scheme will give the people of Filey the reassurance they need that the town will be able to cope with the impacts of flooding and protect homes and livelihoods for the next 100 years."

Mayor Dan Jarvis urges the government to make good its promise to help flood-hit residents.

A fundraising appeal to help the wife of a hospital scientist in Hull who died after battling "severe complications" associated with coronavirus has raised more than £5,000 in 24 hours.

Image source, HULL UNIVERSITY TEACHING HOSPITALS NHS TRUST

Richzeal Albufera, 45, a biomedical scientist at Cottingham's Castle Hill Hospital, died on Tuesday.

Now, friends of Mr Albufera are hoping to raise £7,000 to help pay to fly his body to the Philippines, where he was from.

Writing on the Go Fund Me page, his friends said: "We would like to give Rich the send-off he deserves back at home in the Philippines alongside his family.

"Therefore, any kind donations will be given to Rich's wife and will go towards reuniting Rich with his family in the Philippines and to cover arrangements for his funeral."

Local Democracy Reporting Service

Over a quarter of care homes across one North Yorkshire borough have reported a coronavirus outbreak, new government statistics reveal.

Image source, Reuters/Eddie Keogh

A total of 16 out of the 57 care homes in Scarborough - including residential homes, nursing homes, rehabilitation units and assisted living units - have seen a suspected or confirmed Covid-19 outbreak since 9 March.

No new care homes recorded outbreaks for the week commencing 1 June - the first time there were no new homes added since 6 April.

Any individual care home is only included in the dataset once, the data shows.

If a care home has reported more than one outbreak, only the first is included in the government data.

Across Yorkshire and the Humber there have been 665 suspected or confirmed outbreaks in care homes since March, meaning almost half of care homes have been affected.

Local Democracy Reporting Service

Talks over the long-term future of a maternity unit in West Yorkshire will be held this summer, it's been confirmed.

Image source, Google

The Friarwood Birth Centre at Pontefract Hospital has been shut since since last October because of a serious shortage of midwives.

NHS bosses had initially pledged to reopen the unit at the end of September this year, or sooner if the staff shortage could be addressed beforehand.

But now Wakefield Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), which oversees all local health services, says the centre will remain shut "for the time being", to allow hospital staff to focus on battling coronavirus.

In the meantime, the CCG will make a proposal to NHS England about whether or not the unit should stay open long-term.

The future of the birth centre has been in doubt for nearly two years and health chiefs had considered shutting it permanently before last November’s staff shortage forced its sudden temporary closure.

Speaking at a virtual public meeting last night, the CCG’s finance director Jonathan Webb, said: "We’ve agreed the suspension of births at Pontefract Hospital will remain in place while the pressures associated with the pandemic are live and present.

"Work will continue over the summer to assess the feedback we got from patients and public prior to Covid."

The CCG says it will look at holding a public consultation if the proposal is to shut the birth centre.

An education campaign is planned after an influx of first-time visitors led to overcrowding and littering.

Michael Buchanan
Social Affairs Correspondent, BBC News

An area of Sheffield has had the highest number of coronavirus deaths in England and Wales, according to new research.

Image source, Google

Figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show there were 66 confirmed deaths from the virus in the three months to May in the Crabtree and Fir Vale district of the city.

The data shows that while there were no deaths there from the virus in March, but 45 in April and a further 21 in May.

The area has a number of care homes in it, including a group which is currently being investigated by the health and safety executive after whistle-blowers claimed they were told not to wear face masks.

The number of deaths is almost twice that of the next highest area, Church End in the London borough of Brent.

The data from the ONS confirms that deaths from Covid-19 in areas with high levels of deprivation are twice as high as they are in the poorest districts.

In England, the age-standardised mortality rate of deaths involving Covid-19 in the most deprived areas was 128.3 deaths per 100,000 population.

This was more than double the mortality rate in the least deprived areas (58.8 deaths per 100,000).

Local Democracy Reporting Service

Hand sanitiser stations will be set up around Scarborough, Whitby and Filey as one of a number of measures for when non-essential shops reopen on Monday.

Image source, Dan Mullan/Getty Images

"Eye-catching" signs will also be in place advising people to maintain social distancing, practise good hand hygiene and use contactless payment if possible, according to Scarborough Council.

The messages will feature on street signs and lamppost banners, in shop windows and on floor stickers.

A council spokesman said: "We are installing 30 hand sanitiser units throughout the three towns to help people keep their hands clean when they are out and about.

"Ambassadors are being employed to operate in the town centres and busy seafront areas to offer advice and help businesses and customers to remain COVID-19 safe," he added.

Selected road closures and on-street parking suspensions will also be in place on busy days to help manage flows of people and help them to maintain the crucial social distancing.

Councillor Liz Colling said: "Next Monday will be an exciting and anxious day for everyone as we all learn to adapt to a new normal.

"Many local retail businesses are pulling out all the stops to be ready to open safely and we are doing everything we can to support their efforts."

Leeds must show they are over last season's promotion disappointment by sealing a Premier League return, says Patrick Bamford.

Primary and secondary schools across Doncaster have been given the all-clear to begin reopening from next Monday after concerns over pupil safety were addressed.

Image source, PA

The government said schools could open to more pupils from 1 July, however Mayor of Doncaster Ros Jones advised headteachers to wait until the council had a better understating of coronavirus transmission levels, access to PPE and class numbers.

In a statement, Ms Jones said that on the advice of Doncaster’s director of public health, Dr Rupert Suckling, schools could now begin to implement their plans for welcoming back pupils.

Dr Suckling said the launch of the Track and Trace system had allowed him to get a better understanding of the number of new cases at a local level.

"Although the number of cases has not steadied yet, the risk of catching COVID-19 in Doncaster is reducing," he said.

"Encouragingly, there have not been any coronavirus outbreaks in schools.

"Therefore, I am confident we are now at a stage where schools can consider how and when they reopen to a wider cohort of pupils, if they are able to do so, meeting all of the government’s safety guidance."

Liam Gallagher, former Oasis singer and now solo artist, has praised the city of Hull, where his latest album was recorded.

Gallagher's MTV Unplugged album, which is out today, was recorded at Hull City Hall, where the star performed a one-off gig last August.

The singers says he decided to bring the show to the venue because his brother, Noel, had made negative remarks about the city.

He says: "Remember our kid slagging Hull off? He was going, it's not a very nice place.

"So I jumped on the bandwagon and said, no I love Hull. I'll do a gig there - just to make him look really bad.

"The building was beautiful, the people of Hull were lovely. It turned out pretty nice, man," he adds.

Mariam Issimdar
BBC News

One person who will be making use of the "social bubble" rule is learning disabilities and mental health support worker team leader, Cath Donnelly, from Leeds.

Ms Donnelly is planning to "bubble-up" with her boyfriend and his daughter who live in Spalding, Lincolnshire.

The single parent of two boys said: "It's just been me and boys since we went into lockdown. Usually I would have a lot of help from my parents but can't with lockdown and can't use them for a bubble because my mum is shielding."

Image source, Cath Donnelly

Her children have seen their father a couple of times, for a couple of hours outdoors, but cannot meet inside as he has a son who is vulnerable.

One of the hardest points for Ms Donnelly was "probably when I fell flat on my face and broke my nose, had concussion and bruised my jaw".

"I had had no one to help me with the boys and obviously they're too young to understand. So it was hard to recover," she said.

Ms Donnelly said it had been especially hard for her boys not to see their grandparents.