A Kurdish community group have been organising mass litter picks in parks across Leeds.

Dozens of volunteers from Kurdish House Leeds regularly clean up areas across the city and share their work on social media.

Rebwar Sharazure, one of the volunteers, said: "Basically for the Kurdish community, environment doesn't have a border."

"If each of us care about the front of our own house, we will have a clean street, we will have a clean city, we will have a clean country."

Four wild birds have been given a second chance at life after being found as eggs in a house by police.

Image source, South Yorkshire Police

The four eggs, three Golden plover and one curlew, were found among a collection of 200 birds' eggs at a house in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, by police and the RSPB.

The eggs were taken to a nursery in Thorgumbald, East Yorkshire, where they were cared for until they hatched.

Charles Hardcastle from the nursery said: "We're so pleased with how well they've done, they would have had no chance of life had they been left as they were."

Image source, South Yorkshire Police

Howard Jones, RSPB Investigations Officer, said: "We're delighted to see a happy end to this story.

"Thankfully very few egg collecting cases come to light these days, but finding live eggs, which have then gone on to hatch, is unprecedented."

The birds were released yesterday.

A 63-year-old man has been arrested and released under investigation as inquiries are carried out by South Yorkshire Police, the National Wildlife Crime Unit and the RSPB.

Police are searching for a man who was seen "brandishing a machete" in Doncaster last week.

The man was seen on Brodsworth Community Woodland near to Long Lands Lane at about 13:45 on 30 July.

Police were called after witnesses reported the man was "behaving erratically" before disappearing into nearby woodland.

He is described as white, wearing black clothing, a baseball cap and a face mask.

Despite searches by officers, the man couldn't be found.

PC Adam Wigley, from South Yorkshire Police, said: "I would like to reassure residents that a full investigation is being carried out in relation to these reports. No one was injured or threatened during the incident.

“Officers have been carrying out extra patrols in the area to offer reassurance to local residents.

“If you have any information about what happened, or witnessed the incident, please contact us as you may be able to assist our enquiries.”

There has been a surge of interest in moving to the country due to city dwellers' priorities changing during the coronavirus lockdown, estate agents have said.

People are looking for more outdoor space, and may have more flexibility to work from home, Rightmove said.

Across the UK, enquiries about buying a home in a village jumped by 126% in June and July compared to the same period last year, it said.

Knight Frank reported similar trends.

In some cities, such as Liverpool and Edinburgh, searches more than doubled while in Sheffield interest has increased by 81%, Rightmove said.

More than £6,000 has been raised by campaigners hoping to resurrect a Hull pub and music venue.

Image source, Google

The Polar Bear pub on the city's Spring Bank went into administration in July.

It was closed at the same time as the Welly Club, in Beverley Road, as both venues were owned by the VMS group.

The decision to close them came after financial strain caused by the COVID pandemic, said the company.

On Wednesday a crowdfunding campaign was launched with the aim to raise £15,000 to purchase the pub's sound systems, music equipment, and a Polar Bear statue when it goes up for auction next week.

If successful the venue would be run as a community interest company, or non-charitable limited firm, benefiting the community rather than simply making a profit.

A South Yorkshire Army veteran who has played the Last Post every night since lockdown began has vowed not to stop until there are no more coronavirus deaths in England.

Paul Goose, from Barnsley, began his nightly routine on 29 March and has so far kept it going for 130 days.

Each performance is live-streamed and dedicated to NHS staff, key workers and victims of the pandemic.

He said he hoped he had brought comfort to victims' families and has pledged to keep playing "as long as it takes".

The 52-year-old, who spent 10 years in the Light Infantry, said the daily renditions of the Last Post - a bugle call most commonly associated with military funerals - began following the death of his former regimental sergeant major.

He said the response to the first video, external, which has been viewed more than 3,000 times, prompted him to continue playing each night and from there he began receiving requests to dedicate performances to people who had lost friends or relatives to coronavirus.

"I hope it gives comfort to the families of people who've died because of Covid-19, it means a lot if I can give people that and I'll carry on playing until there are no more deaths."

Local Democracy Reporting Service

Covid-19 has hit a council’s finances like “a tsunami of horror” which could seriously affect services for the coming years, according to the authority's deputy leader.

Image source, LDRS

Jane Scullion told Calderdale Council's cabinet on Monday the pandemic had brought increased costs and vastly reduced income.

She said government help would cover around £13.6m of an estimated £17.7m budget deficit this year and of the remainder the council needs to find around £3.7m in savings.

But she said lost revenue, including an estimated £10m in lost Council Tax and Business Rate due to coronavirus, would have implications for budgets for a number of years to come.

Mrs Scullion said she feared things were "going to get worse" and warned the council may have to run to a "business critical model" with the authority only running those core services it has to provide by law.

“I sound like Job, but really, really this is very serious for the council," she said.

BBC Weather

A misty and muggy start today, becoming largely dry and warm, with areas of cloud around.

The cloud will disperse in the afternoon to allow for some sunny spells.

Tonight will be mostly dry and mild with large areas of cloud and light southerly winds:

Police in Harrogate say they are growing "increasingly concerned" for the welfare of a 16-year-old girl missing since 2 August.

Image source, North Yorkshire Police

Officers believe Casey Ackerly (pictured) may have travelled to the Leeds area over the last few days and stayed in a number of hotels.

The teenager is described as white, about 5ft 6ins tall and of slim build.

She has very long light brown hair and was last seen wearing a salmon pink coloured tracksuit and white trainers.

Anyone who knows where she is, or who sees her, is asked to contact police.

Rappers, comedians, influencers - and they're doing it all from the backstreets of Bradford.

People were recorded on CCTV partying in the garden of The Capri@TheVine restaurant during lockdown.

The man was airlifted to hospital after suffering leg injuries while working on a ride, police say.

Calderdale's contact tracing system will "plug the gaps" of the national service, bosses say.

A worker at Flamingo Land has been airlifted to hospital after being seriously injured at the North Yorkshire theme park.

Image source, @AndyCharlton85/Twitter

Emergency services were called to the theme park and resort near Malton at about 13:30 after reports of a member of maintenance staff suffering leg injuries.

The man was injured while working on a ride, police say.

The Yorkshire Air Ambulance transported the injured man to hospital.

His injuries are serious but not believed to be life-threatening.

The Health and Safety Executive has been informed, North Yorkshire Police added.

Image source, Ashleigh Logan

Castleford's Liam Watts will miss Sunday's Super League game with Catalans Dragons after injuring his arm in a sawing accident.

A cinema chain with sites in Bradford and Sheffield is to reopen its doors later this month - almost five months since it was forced to close because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Image source, Light Cinemas

Contactless card payments, food delivery to seats and amended seating plans are being brought in to keep customers and staff safe, Light Cinemas said.

Staff will receive extra training about the new coronavirus rules ahead of their opening on Friday, 21 August, the company added.

Many films have seen their release pushed back because of the pandemic, including the new Avatar and Star Wars films.

Christopher Nolan's Tenet is due to be one of the first screenings at the end of August having already been delayed by more than a month.

Local Democracy Reporting Service

A West Yorkshire council currently subject to local restrictions after a spike in Covid-19 cases is developing its own track and trace system to help prevent the virus spreading.

Image source, PA Media

New restrictions came into force today following a spike in cases of Covid-19 in Bradford, Calderdale and Kirklees as well as part of the North West of England.

Leader of Calderdale Council, Tim Swift, said the council's own track and trace system is being developed to build on the national system and is expected to be in operation “very soon”.

Mr Swift said: “Testing is a really important first line of defence in controlling the spread of coronavirus and we’re working hard to make it easier for more people to get tested in Calderdale.

“We have doubled our local testing in the last week, focusing on areas with the highest infection rates."

He added: “We are also working with community groups and Public Health England to develop a local contact tracing service, which will build on the national system and we expect to be up and running very soon."

New animal reserves have been opened at a wildlife park near Doncaster.

Image source, PA Media

Experience Ethiopia is the first phase of a planned expansion at Yorkshire Wildlife Park that is home to two reserves; Hyenas of Harar and Simien Mountains, with its troop of gelada monkeys.

The expansion also contains the Himalayan Pass, which features red pandas and smooth coated otters.

Image source, PA Media

TV presenter Helen Skelton visited the park on Tuesday to get a preview of the new reserves.

She told the PA news agency: "What I love about this place is that it's very much a park.

"I loved wandering around. You feel spaced out. You feel like the animals are enjoying themselves.

"For me, this is a golden opportunity to say to my kids 'This is why I nag you to recycle, this is why I nag you to protect the planet, this is why I want you to care about animals.

"It's a real showcase of why we should be protecting the planet."

Image source, PA Media

An online fundraiser is organised by Polar Bear's former staff who hope to reopen the Hull venue.

New pop-up cycle lanes are to be installed in Hull from tonight, the council says.

Image source, Google

The lanes will be created in Spring Bank and Ferensway, with some roads seeing restricted parking.

On Spring Bank (pictured above), the left-hand lanes in both directions are to be converted into combined bus and cycle lanes between Ferensway and Princes Avenue.

On Ferensway, the council says there will be a green designated cycle and bus lane, from Spring Bank to Anlaby Road.

Kerbside parking bays are to be removed, but parking lay-bys will remain on Spring Bank.

Overnight works are to take places on Ferensway from 19:00 until 06:00 to keep disruption to a minimum, with the work taking place from tonight.

It's hoped the work will be finished by Friday, 28 August, with money coming from the Department for Transport.