Froglife has been given nearly £250,000 to protect the common toad at sites across Yorkshire.

A Santa's sleigh with a difference is due to pay a visit to a South Yorkshire village at the weekend - but this one's not using reindeer power.

Image source, Ash Jackson

Instead, children in Cudworth, near Barnsley, will see the great man arrive by speedboat.

It's the idea of Ash Jackson, who says the "sleigh" will be towed up and down every single street in the village during the two-hour trip.

Image source, Ash Jackson

Ash says: "Because of Covid we can't hand out presents to the kids, but we'll drive up and down each street waving.

"We did it last weekend and the kids loved it and waved back. Children all over the village came in to the street to see Santa on his boat."

Beni Nami and Hussein Semusu are jailed for the murder of Tcherno Ly in Leeds in August 2019.

A police officer in Hull has been treated in hospital after being bitten by a suspected burglar.

Image source, Google

Two officers were assaulted at the scene of a suspected burglary on Fremantle Avenue on 8 December, when they attempted to detain a 47-year-old man, according to Humberside Police.

Neither officer's injuries are thought to be serious.

The man is being held in police custody on suspicion of burglary and two counts of assaulting a police officer, the Humberside force says.

Keri Joelle Liu qualified as a junior doctor just before the coronavirus outbreak.

New electric scooters have been used more than 6,000 times since they were launched in York in October, according to the firm providing the machines as part of a one-year trial in the city.

Image source, Tier Scooters

The scheme is part of City of York Council's plans to reduce carbon emissions.

E-scooters, which travel at a maximum speed of 12.5mph, are available to rent at the city's hospital and at the University of York.

Fred Jones, from Tier Scooters, says: "I think people have really engaged in the need to do things differently.

"I think there's a real positive shift in people's mindsets and a belief we can move away from using our cars into more sustainable modes of transport."

Next week, councillors are due to discuss a report which says York won't meet its target of being carbon neutral by 2030.

It comes as a new study says this year has seen the biggest annual drop in CO2 emissions since World War Two, largely due to restrictions imposed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

A man who stabbed a rival to death with a "vicious, Rambo-style" knife has been sentenced to at least 18 years detention.

Image source, West Yorkshire Police

Beni Nami, 20, stabbed Tcherno Ly (pictured below), 21, during the 2019 Leeds Carnival weekend.

Mr Ly died from a single stab wound to the chest, which cut through his stomach and two major blood vessels.

Nami (above left) was convicted of his murder after a trial at Leeds Crown Court together with accomplice 21-year-old Hussein Semusu (above right), who has been sentenced to a minimum of 16 years in jail.

Image source, Family handout

Sentencing Nami, Mr Justice Cavanagh said: "You were the prime-mover. It was your idea and it was carried out to further your feud with Mr Ly.

"You were the person who brought the knife to the scene and you were the person that stabbed him."

A Leeds mum whose baby died is "bringing joy" to families financially struggling at Christmas in memory of her son.

Donna Varley's son Kaison died in April from mitochondrial disease at eight months old.

Ms Varley, from Morley, has since set up Project Kaison Saves Christmas to raise awareness of the condition and to thank the community who supported her.

"It's helped me so much. It brings joy to my Christmas, especially as it's the first one without Kaison," she said.

After seeing how other families have struggled during the coronavirus pandemic, she set up the project to provide everything from Christmas decorations, food, clothes and toys to those in need.

She has helped over 150 families since launching it six weeks ago.

Ms Varley said: "Christmas wasn't really something I was looking forward to, but this gives me a shove in the right direction, knowing I'm making other families have a better Christmas while doing it in his memory.

"There have been so many donations, it's been overwhelming. It's been shocking how many people have come forward needing help this Christmas."

A man's been taken to hospital with serious injuries after the van he was travelling in hit a traffic light on the A63 in Hull.

Emergency services are currently at the scene of the incident, which is affecting traffic heading between the Humber Bridge and Victoria Park.

The road's closed eastbound from the A1079 Ferensway to Market Place.

Highways England says it's expected to remain closed until about 12:15, external.

Local Democracy Reporting Service

The first batches of the new Covid-19 vaccine will be in Calderdale "in the next few weeks", health bosses say.

Calderdale NHS Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) says the roll-out of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine is still in the "early stages".

A CCG spokesperson says: "At first, the vaccine will be available to NHS and social care staff, people over the age of 80 and those who are most vulnerable to the Covid-19 virus.

"When further supplies or alternative vaccines become available to us, they will be offered from a number of different locations to make sure everyone who needs a vaccine is able to get one."

While the vaccine is "very positive news", there is still "lots of work to do and it will take time to give the vaccine to everyone who needs it", the spokesperson adds.

Emergency services are currently at the scene of a "severe accident" involving one vehicle on the A63 in Hull.

The road's closed eastbound from the A1079 Ferensway to Market Place, with traffic backed up to the Madeley Street junction on Clive Sullivan Way.

The incident is affecting traffic heading between the Humber Bridge and Victoria Park

Highways England says the road is expected to remain closed until about 11:00.

The UK's first ever drive-in boxing event is taking place at Sheffield Arena tonight.

A special ring has been set up in the car park, allowing fans to watch safely.

Top of the bill is unbeaten Sheffield fighter Tommy Frank, who who takes on Mexico’s Rosendo Hugo Guarneros for the IBF Intercontinental Title.

Boxing promoter Dennis Hobson, who organised the event, says: "In 20 or 30 years' time, when fans there tonight are asked 'what did you do in 2020?' they'll be able to say 'I went to the first ever drive-in boxing show in history.'"

Local Democracy Reporting Service

Dewsbury's Victorian arcade and the town's market are to be "re-imagined" as part of a major revamp.

Image source, GoDewsbury

The 19th Century arcade (pictured above in its heyday), considered to be Dewsbury's first shopping mall, was bought by Kirklees Council earlier this year after having stood empty since 2016.

It's now set to form part of the council's so-called Dewsbury Blueprint and will be at the heart of a "significant" revamp of the town centre, including the market area.

Image source, Google

Designers have now been taken on with the aim of creating what's being described as a "world-class" attraction for Dewsbury.

Work on the arcade, which dates back to the 1890s and is pictured above in 2015, is expected to start in early 2022, according to Kirklees Council.

Councillor Peter McBride, the authority's regeneration champion, says: "The renovation of the arcade and Dewsbury Market will help to bring more independent and local businesses to the town, increasing its cultural offerings."

Two men have been arrested over allegations of child sexual abuse in South Yorkshire.

Image source, Geograph/Ian S

A 73-year-old man was held in Rotherham on suspicion of 10 offences between 2005 and 2015.

A 37-year-old man has been detained in Leicester on suspicion of arranging or facilitating another to commit rape in Sheffield between May and August 2004.

The National Crime Agency (NCA) said the arrests were made on Thursday under the Operation Stovewood inquiry.

In total about 170 people have been arrested under the operation, the largest investigation into non-familial child sexual abuse in the UK.

BBC Weather

Today will be mostly cloudy with patchy light rain and drizzle and a moderate south-easterly wind.

Tonight will be often cloudy with further patchy light rain and drizzle. Misty in places with a risk of hill fog:

Local Democracy Reporting Service

Shop staff, restaurant and hospitality workers and people with jobs in transport will be the first to have access to mass asymptomatic coronavirus testing in York before Christmas.

City leaders decided people working in retail, transport and leisure should be given priority over those working with vulnerable people in the voluntary sector.

The testing, for people without symptoms of the virus, will be carried out at a hub at York St John University and could start within days.

Workers will not be forced to get tested and if demand is low the test centre will open to more key groups.

York’s outbreak management board was asked if the first mass tests should focus on workers in retail, hospitality and transport, who come into contact with lots of people on a daily basis, or on people who work with vulnerable residents.

Fiona Phillips, from York’s public health team, said there are likely to be more asymptomatic cases of coronavirus among hospitality workers, but there are worse consequences if people who work with vulnerable residents pass the virus on without realising it.

She said from a scientific viewpoint it would be better to test hospitality staff because more asymptomatic cases are likely to be confirmed.

Warrington Wolves sign Hull KR prop Robbie Mulhern on a two-year deal, with second-row Luis Johnson going the other way on a one-year contract.

The sculpture celebrates the 100-year-old's fundraising efforts during the pandemic.

Dale Tarbox was found guilty of murdering Susan Howells, who went missing in February 2019.

Offshore workers are being trained in how to deal with disasters by a team of actors left unemployed during the coronavirus pandemic.

Image source, Anete Sooda

The performers act out scenarios at a new £1.4m centre in North Lincolnshire built by wind farm developer Ørsted.

The Danish firm is currently constructing the world's biggest wind farm off the East Yorkshire coast.

Trainee offshore workers interact with the performers during scenarios at the training centre in Immingham.

Actress Laura Peterson, from East Yorkshire, said the work was "supporting me 100%" during the pandemic as theatres had shut their doors.

Ms Peterson, who appeared in Little Women at Beverley's East Riding Theatre last year, said she was surprised to be offered the job.

"I think it's a brilliant way of emotionally engaging people that are doing this sort of work in order to make them recognise that health and safety is a massive part, " she added.

Dozens of workers will receive the training over the next few months and Ørsted said it hoped the facility would be used by other offshore companies.