The 77-year-old is charged with indecent assault on four boys under the age of 16.

The extension of the HS2 high-speed rail link to Yorkshire is "fundamental" to prevent half of the country being left behind, ex-Transport Secretary Lord Adonis has said.

Image source, Siemens/PA

The eastern side of Phase Two, linking Birmingham to Leeds, may not be finished until 2040.

Lord Adonis told a House of Lords debate there was a danger of ministers scrapping or delaying the section.

The government said plans for the high-speed line to Sheffield and Leeds would be set out in an integrated rail plan.

Labour's Lord Adonis warned a failure to complete the Yorkshire leg of HS2 would be the equivalent of the Victorians building a railway to Manchester but leaving the canals to serve Sheffield and Leeds.

"If it's a project just for one half of the country then it will by definition leave the other half behind," he told the Lords.

During the debate on Monday, an amendment aimed at committing ministers to legislate for the eastern leg of HS2 from the West Midlands was narrowly rejected by 274 votes to 265.

It followed assurances by transport minister Baroness Vere of Norbiton, who told the debate: "The prime minister has been very clear that the government's plans for the HS2 eastern leg will be set out in the integrated rail plan and that this will be laid before Parliament in the same time frame of the amendment."

A buried 18th Century prison is one of the finds from an archaeological dig taking place next to a busy Hull road.

Image source, Highways England

The £355m Castle Street scheme is set to improve travelling in the city, but before work can take place in one area a team of specialists are excavating an ancient burial site.

Tents have been sheltering the remains of the Trinity Burial Ground where 19,000 people were buried between 1783 and 1861.

Highways England said the bodies must be exhumed before work could start on the improvements at A63 Castle Street.

Teams excavating the site also found the remains of a suspected World War Two bomb explosion and unknown buildings that don’t appear on any maps.

The jail has been found at the onecorner of the burial ground, featuring six large rooms and 13 smaller individual cells.

The excavation work is set to take a year and could shed new light on the history of Hull.

A close friend of rugby star Rob Burrow is taking on a marathon challenge to raise money for a motor neurone disease (MND) charity.

Image source, PA Media

Leeds Rhinos director and former player Kevin Sinfield is running seven marathons in as many days to raise money for charity.

He's doing it after Rob Burrow, who he played alongside for Leeds Rhinos, was diagnosed with MND in 2019.

More than £85,000 has been raised for MND Association from Mr Sinfield's efforts, with him setting off on the challenge today.

Councils are urging all bird keepers to make sure they're aware of new rules after a recent outbreak of avian flu.

Image source, PA Media

More than 10,000 turkeys have been culled at a farm in Northallerton after they tested positive for the virus.

Rotherham Council said people keeping birds either commercially or as pets need to be aware of the requirements following the outbreak.

Wild birds should be kept aware from captive animals to stop the virus spreading, with footwear being disinfected when moving between between pens.

Areas where birds are kept should be clean and tidy to minimise the risk of the virus spreading.

While the government says the risk to the public is "very low", it's a high infectious disease and can spread.

Local Democracy Reporting Service

Libraries across the Harrogate district are to reopen their doors as the latest England-wide coronavirus lockdown is lifted on Wednesday, it's been confirmed.

Image source, Google

Libraries will reopen for browsing and with new safety measures in place at Bilton and Woodfield, Boroughbridge, Harrogate, Knaresborough, Ripon, Masham, Pateley Bridge and Starbeck.

Harrogate Borough Council says face coverings must be worn and visitor numbers will be limited to ensure social distancing can be maintained.

Customers are also being asked to comply with test and trace requirements and restrict their visits to 20 minutes.

Councillor Greg White says: “We are delighted the latest government announcement enables our much-loved libraries to reopen their doors.

“We have made a lot of changes to the way we work, with the safety of customers, staff and volunteers our main priority."

Local Democracy Reporting Service

A trial closure of Whitby's landmark swing bridge to vehicles is to take place next year despite concerns it could lead to traffic “mayhem”.

Image source, Robin Drayton/Geograph

If the measure is approved, the swing bridge would be closed to traffic between 10:30 and 16:00 daily for a trial period starting in April 2021.

The experimental order would see the bridge and Grape Lane pedestrianised.

Image source, Christine Matthews/Geograph

The Whitby Town Deal Board has secured £400,000 of fast-track government funding to pay for the infrastructure needed to carry out the trial which would be implemented by North Yorkshire County Council highways team.

During a meeting discussing the trial, Councillor Derek Bastiman called the idea “nonsense” and said he feared it would cause “mayhem” for traffic and drivers in the town who may have no idea if the bridge is open to vehicles or not.

A public consultation is now under way, with the deadline for comments at this initial stage being 24 December, the council said.

The artificial tree, which was bombed during the Blitz, is thought to be one of the oldest in the country.

Adamo Canto, from Scarborough, took medals, signed photographs and other valuables.

Hull City left-back Brandon Fleming agrees a contract extension until the summer of 2023.

The future of East Yorkshire's last remaining pleasure cruiser is in doubt after the coronavirus pandemic put a stop to business earlier this year, its owners say.

Built in 1947, the Yorkshire Belle has been entertaining visitors to the east coast for decades.

But now its owners, the Richardson family, say the Bridlington-based vessel has earned no income this year due to coronavirus.

They say running the Belle at reduced capacity while making sure it is "Covid-secure" and safe wouldn't have made sense financially.

A Save Our Belle fundraising campaign has raised almost £4,000 as the family looks to restart cruises next year.

Writing on Facebook, the Richardsons said: "We really didn’t want to have to ask for help and we put it off for as long as possible.

"But we felt Belle is as much your boat as she is ours, and her supporters would want the chance to help before we reach the worst possible outcome of having to sell her."

The closure of several streets in York to vehicles, including blue badge holders, which were pedestrianised under coronavirus rules is set to continue until September next year, it's been confirmed.

Image source, Google

The city's pedestrian area was extended in the summer under emergency Covid legislation in a bid to help with social distancing.

Now the council has voted to keep the roads closed for several more months, external.

City of York Council says: "The temporary city centre footstreets extensions in response to Covid-19 are set to continue, with improved Blue Badge parking, until September 2021.

"The changes have allowed social distancing and helped York’s city centre to recover more strongly than most other cities in the UK.

The council added there has been “extensive engagement” with disabled residents and there is “broad support” from the city overall for the road closures.

The council also noted "dissatisfaction with the arrangements put in place to replace the lost Blue Badge parking."

Mass Covid testing of students, so they can go home safely for the Christmas break, is getting under way at many universities across Yorkshire.

It's ahead of the government's planned "travel window" for those in higher education which begins on Thursday.

Bosses at the universities of York and Hull say they've converted their sports halls to deal with the high number of students who are expected to sign up for tests.

It means students will be able to use the free tests to indicate if they do or do not have the virus.

The tests are specifically being targeted at students who don't have coronavirus symptoms, but might be unknowingly carrying the virus.

The University of Bradford's vice chancellor, Professor Shirley Congdon, told students the tests "offer extra assurance to you, your families, friends and community".


The government advises students should have two tests three days apart before they return home.

Those who are negative will be encouraged to travel immediately, with all learning moved online.

An order to close a Bradford hair salon will last until just after midnight on Wednesday.

The final "Pacer" train to be run by operator Northern has finally been retired, the company has confirmed.

Image source, Northern

On Friday, the final passenger train marked the end of more than 35 years of service - clocking up 300 million miles - in the north of England.

Chris Jackson, regional director at Northern, said: "While they have served us well and provided some communities with rail services they may have otherwise lost, it is time to give them a well-earned rest."

The first Pacers were built in 1984 to create reliable and affordable trains to replace ageing diesels from the 1950s and 1960s, the National Railway Museum said.

Based on a Leyland National bus, many of the fittings are shared by both vehicles.

PA Media

A documentary about the life of an NHS paramedic from Sheffield has won recognition at a global film festival.

Image source, PA Media

Lock Down, Rock Up follows the life of Jerome Mowat, 31, as he uses rock climbing as an escape from working on the front line during the Covid-19 pandemic.

It took the Best Short prize at Kendal Mountain Festival, which celebrates mountaineering and outdoor culture.

Director Nico Hambleton, 31, said: "This win isn't just for Jerome, it's representative of all front-line workers surviving out there."

The film focuses on Mr Mowat, who worked for Yorkshire Ambulance Service and the London Ambulance Service during the height of the coronavirus crisis.

According to festival organisers, the film demonstrated "his coping mechanism of rock climbing and how he used this hobby as a means to escape the visions that constantly circled round his mind".

Mr Hambleton said: "I didn't set out to make an award-winning film, just to document a means of escape from this worldwide crisis we are in, thinking it might inspire others who need it.

"I'm so thankful to Kendal Mountain for accepting the film and understanding the themes. I'm blown away."

Introducing more pedestrian zones into York city centre has left some disabled people "frustrated".

A seagull had to be put down after it was found with both feet severed by fishing line.

Image source, RSPCA

The RSPCA said the bird "must have been in so much pain" and had to be "put to sleep" because it wouldn't have survived, as it was unable to stand up or fly.

It was seen collapsed in the garden of a house on Terry Street in York on 20 November.

RSPCA Inspector Claire Little said it was "heartbreaking".

"He couldn't get out of the garden so I was able to catch him quite easily, which is never a good sign," Insp Little said.

"As soon as I had hold of him it became clear what the problem was: he was missing both feet.

They'd been severed off and he still had a small bit of fishing line twisted around the stubs, embedded very deeply in the skin."

She urged anglers to follow the Angling Trust's Take 5 campaign, external and also highlighted the Anglers National Line Recycling Scheme, external to dispose of tackle and line waste "in the hope of preventing future casualties".

The body of a 55-year-old man was discovered at an address in Doncaster on Sunday afternoon.

Broken track fastenings caused the derailment of a freight train at Sheffield station, a report finds.