A woman was dragged to the floor and her jewellery was stolen in a knife-point robbery in a Leeds park, police say.

Image source, Google

The attack happened in Hembrigg Park in Morley at about 20:40 on Friday 4 December as the woman was walking her dog, according to West Yorkshire Police.

When she was near the football changing rooms at the Quarry Lane entrance she was pulled to the floor and threatened by two males with a blade, officers say.

Det Con Dan Johnson says: "This was a particularly nasty attack against a lone female.

"The two attackers stole jewellery of great sentimental value including an engagement ring with a square diamond, a silver thick tiffany band, a white gold ring and a plain diamond white gold band."

Image source, West Yorkshire Police

One of the men spoke with a Leeds accent and is described as in his early 20s, white, about 5ft 10ins tall, with dark hair and brown eyebrows. He was wearing a hooded top, jogging bottoms tucked into his socks and dark Nike trainers.

The second male is described as white, with a fleck of ginger in his hair.

Anyone who saw the incident, or who is offered the items of jewellery pictured above, is being asked to contact police.

Fundraising efforts by Leeds Rhinos' director of rugby Kevin Sinfield have almost reached the £2.5m mark after he finished seven marathons in seven days earlier this week.

Image source, Reuters

After beginning his first marathon on 1 December, he finished his seventh on Monday morning, running each one in under four hours.

Sinfield set out to raise £77,777, but the total raised now stands at about £2,486,000.

The former Leeds Rhinos, England and GB star is raising money for his teammate and friend Rob Burrow, who has Motor Neurone Disease, and to raise awareness of the condition.

He ran seven marathons because Burrow always wore the number seven shirt on the rugby pitch.

A South Yorkshire Police officer was left temporarily trapped in her car after it was hit and seriously damaged by a drink and drug-driver in Sheffield, the force has said.

Image source, South Yorkshire Police

The crash happened at about 10:00 on Sunday 6 December when the officer's stationary police car was hit by a blue Ford Fiesta on Coisley Hill roundabout.

The officer, who suffered minor injuries, was able to free herself and the driver of the Fiesta was arrested with the help of other officers, police say.

Image source, South Yorkshire Police

The driver of the Fiesta was found to be in possession of drugs, tested positive at the roadside for drugs in his saliva and he was also found to be above the prescribed alcohol limit, according to South Yorkshire Police.

On social media, the force said, external: "For those telling us to target proper criminals, drink/drug drivers are those proper criminals. They kill and injure people on the road."

Huddersfield Town forward Josh Koroma is sidelined for up to three months with a hamstring injury.

Local Democracy Reporting Service

A P&O ferry’s final voyage from Hull marks a “sad” end to the vessel, one of the city's MPs has said as he warns seafaring jobs and supply routes for coronavirus vaccines are under threat.

East Hull Labour MP Karl Turner joined other well-wishers at Hull’s Alexandra Dock to bid “bon voyage” to the Pride of York yesterday.

The ferry, formerly known as the Norsea, began sailing between Hull and Rotterdam in 1987 before moving to the Zeebrugge route in 2003.

P&O Ferries announced in October it would close the route to the Belgian port due to a drop in demand because of coronavirus.

The MP said the vessel’s final berthing at the Zeebrugge port this morning followed the “dramatic decline” in maritime jobs in Hull.

He added its loss risked disrupting supplies of the new Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine, set to be made in Belgium.

Mr Turner said: "It’s a sad day as the Pride of York sails off from Hull to Rotterdam for the last time."

Two roads in Leeds which had been closed in a bid to tackle speeding drivers and traffic rat-runs are to be opened again, the city council has confirmed.

Image source, Leeds City Council

Royal Park Road and Alexandra Road, in the Hyde Park area of the city, had been made "no through traffic" roads as part of a "low traffic neighbourhood" scheme.

They will now be reopened to traffic by Friday following a review of the scheme and a public consultation.

A council spokesperson said: "We promised to listen closely to local residents and their experiences, the positives and the negatives while they are in place.

"After reviewing the Hyde Park scheme, we’re going to make some changes to two roads in the scheme."

BBC Business News

Bradford-based Morrisons is joining Sainsbury's in opening its shops on Boxing Day despite calls to give staff the day off.

Image source, Reuters/Peter Cziborra/File Photo

Unions say supermarket staff should not have to go in on 26 December as a thank you for their work during the pandemic

Leeds-based Asda, as well as Marks & Spencer, Pets at Home, and toy store The Entertainer have all said they will close.

But Morrisons said it would stay open to help customers and working on the day would be voluntary, with staff getting double pay.

A Morrisons spokeswoman said it would open its stores for a limited number of hours on Boxing Day but it was "working hard to ensure all colleagues get a meaningful break during the Christmas period".

It said anyone who worked on Boxing Day would also get time back in lieu.

The Usdaw union, which represents shop workers, has been calling on all retailers to close their doors on Boxing Day.

The family from Scarborough have home-schooled their son as they claim he was not allowed to wear a face mask in class.

Local Democracy Reporting Service

Fly-tipping across Doncaster is rising and the coronavirus pandemic has slowed down the ability to get it cleared up quickly, council bosses have said.

Doncaster Council’s director of environment, Dan Swaine, says between July and September, there were 3,314 reports of fly-tipping across the borough - up from 2,950 in the previous three months.

The council’s 80% target of clearing fly-tipping within seven days of it being reported is down to about 61%, figures also show.

Mr Swaine says Doncaster's fly-tipping clearance teams are working hard to clear the dumping, but it has been made harder by the pandemic.

“In terms of deploying resources, we do try our best where we can but the reality there has been some impact in terms of people reporting Covid-19 symptoms,” Mr Swaine says.

"This isn’t a service you can do remotely. In some instances some of the dumped material doesn’t enable us to remove it as quickly as we’d like...and with some items it needs more people to move it."

New recruits are in the process of being hired to "react quicker" to reports, Mr Swaine adds.

PA Media

The Co-op has unveiled plans to replace its fleet of delivery vans with electric vehicles by 2025, starting this month with stores in West Yorkshire.

Image source, Co-op

The retail giant said it was accelerating zero emission deliveries and intended to follow up the introduction of electric vans in Holmfirth and Hebden Bridge with more in Whitby in North Yorkshire early next year.

The Renault vehicles will be used to deliver groceries ordered through the Co-op's online shop, the firm says.

Chris Conway, head of e-commerce at the Co-op, said: "By replacing all our vehicles we can ensure we further reduce greenhouse gas emissions, which is essential if we're to have a healthy and sustainable natural environment to pass on to future generations."

An 80-year-old woman has died after being hit by a car in Barnsley last week, police have confirmed.

Image source, Google

The woman, a pedestrian, was involved in a collision with a red Nissan Juke on Hoyland Road in Hoyland at about 12:30 on Thursday 3 December, police say.

She suffered critical injuries in the collision and subsequently died.

Anyone who saw what happened, or who has dash camera or CCTV footage from the area at around the time of the incident, is being asked to get in touch with South Yorkshire Police.

The nurse who administered the first coronavirus vaccine at an East Yorkshire hospital has said it was a "quite emotional" moment.

Chief Nurse Beverley Geary gave the Pfizer/BioNTech jab to 84-year-old Sheila Page at Castle Hill Hospital in Cottingham, near Hull, yesterday.

Chief Nurse Geary said the vaccine was "the light at the end of the tunnel" everyone has been waiting for and it "signifies a new beginning".

For her part, Mrs Page said she was "absolutely chuffed" to receive the jab.

All lanes have been reopened on the M1 near Sheffield following an earlier multi-vehicle accident which caused 11 miles of tailbacks.

Image source, Traffic England

One lane was closed on the southbound carriageway between J29A (A6192) to J29 (A617), following the incident.

Writing on social media, external,Traffic England says: "All lanes have been reopened and traffic has been released.

"There are delays in the area, please allow extra time for your journey."

A North Yorkshire woman is making final preparations to try to become the youngest woman to row 3,000 miles solo across the Atlantic.

Image source, Jasmine Harrison

Jasmine Harrison, 21, a swimming teacher from Thirsk, is taking part in the the Talisker Atlantic Challenge.

The race, from La Gomera in the Canary Islands to Nelsons Dockyard in Antigua, sets off on 12 December.

Image source, Jasmine Harrison

Ms Harrison expects to have to drink about 10 litres of water each day and to burn off more than 5,000 calories.

She says: "Getting enough nutrition will be vital. I've got to take 85 days' worth of food including snacks like chocolate bars, protein shakes and big boxes of peanut butter."

By completing the challenge she's hoping to raise as much money as possible for the Shelterbox charity and the Blue Marine Foundation.

The abuse is alleged to have happened in Kirklees, Bradford and Wakefield between 1999 and 2012.

A multi-vehicle accident on the M1 near Sheffield is causing tailbacks of about 11 miles.

Image source, Highways England

One lane is closed on the southbound carriageway between J29A (A6192) to J29 (A617), following the incident.

Writing on social media, external Traffic England says: "If travelling on the M1 southbound in this morning please be aware traffic has been stopped between J29A / Markham Vale Services to J29.

"There are delays of at least 45 minutes above usual journey times from J30. "

A total of 32 men, mostly from the Kirklees area, have been charged with "a variety of offences" as part of an investigation into non-recent child sexual exploitation in parts of West Yorkshire, police say.

Image source, Geograph/Stephen Richards

The allegations against the defendants are from 1999 to 2012 and involve offences committed against eight female victims, aged between 13 and 16-years-old at the time, according to West Yorkshire Police.

Some of the victims were also subjected to offences when they were young adults.

The offences are said to have taken place in parts of Kirklees, Bradford and Wakefield, say police.

The men are due to appear at Kirklees Magistrates' Court on 11 and 14 December.

Huddersfield Giants secure the signing of Wigan Warriors forward Joe Greenwood on a two-year deal.

A "distinctive" snow plough, believed to be one of only 20 similar vehicles in the country, has been stolen from a Sheffield hospital.

The "Bobcat" plough and gritting vehicle was taken from a contractor's compound at Northern General Hospital at about 17:30 on Tuesday 1 December, police say.

The two-seater white plough was stolen without a key, officers add.

PC Gurdeep Atwal said: “Our inquiries are continuing, but I am urging anyone who was at the hospital that day and saw the vehicle on the move, to contact us.

"Even the smallest bit of information might help us piece together what happened and possibly locate the vehicle."

Anyone who has seen a similar vehicle for sale, or who has been offered one of the machines, is also being asked to contact South Yorkshire Police.

A bust of Captain Sir Tom Moore - complete with medals and his trademark blazer - is being unveiled at St James’s Hospital in Leeds today:

Capt Sir Tom, who is originally from Keighley, raised more than £32m for the NHS by completing 100 laps of his garden.

Now his efforts have been commemorated with a bronze bust.

The work will be displayed in the Bexley Wing, which has received some of the money raised by Sir Tom.

It was the idea of Garry McBride from the organisation Monumental Icons.

Mr McBride says: "What he achieved was phenomenal, he became our champion against the dreaded virus.

"I didn't want his achievements to be forgotten in five years' time, so I commissioned a bust of him as a permanent memorial."

Sculptor Andrew Edwards, who made the piece, said: "When someone connects with the subject in the way that Tom makes you, then you get that extra bit of love coming through the piece hopefully.”