The first coronavirus vaccinations for care home workers in Yorkshire will take place in Leeds today.

Image source, PA Media

A total of 180 care workers will get the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine at Saint James's Hospital.

Vaccinations are also due to start at Castle Hill Hospital in Hull.

Meanwhile, Dr Mike Tildesley an expert in infectious disease says it’s vital for people to take the vaccine when they’re offered it.

He says: "We need to encourage as many people as possible to take the vaccine because the more people who do, the closer we get to minimising the number of people who get the disease.

"And, further down the line, the closer we get to towards achieving herd immunity, so we can start to relax some of the social distancing measures."

An East Yorkshire train company is to add extra daily services over Christmas and New Year because of increased demand and to help with social distancing.

Image source, Hull Trains

Hull Trains restarted daily services to London following the lifting of the coronavirus national lockdown last Thursday.

It now says it wants to make travelling at Christmas as easy as possible for people.

Managing Director of Hull Trains, Louise Cheeseman, says: "I've always said it's foolhardy of us to run trains which we know customers are not going to travel on.

"But we do know the Christmas period is very busy so we do want to accommodate those additional numbers."

A Bradford MP's accused the government of discriminating against people who live in more deprived communities by claiming more "affluent" areas of West Yorkshire were benefiting from Covid-19 vaccine centres.

Image source, PA Media

The Labour MP for Bradford West, Naz Shah, told the Commons: "not a single one is in inner city Bradford and yet the government's own review accepts Covid does affect black and minority ethnic communities disproportionately.

"When will this government stop discriminating against those that live in inner city areas and prioritise them because of their health risks?"

Health Secretary Matt Hancock dismissed the criticism, saying everyone should have access to the vaccine in the coming months.

He said the decision over the locations was decided by the NHS, not the government.

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PA Media

People in South Yorkshire should not become complacent following the start of the roll-out of the new Covid-19 vaccine, the mayor of the Sheffield City Region has warned.

Dan Jarvis said there was a risk of a new wave of coronavirus if people did not continue to take precautions.

Mr Jarvis said the first vaccinations in South Yorkshire, which started on Tuesday, were "a moment for celebration, but also for caution".

"While this marks a decisive turning point in the effort to control Covid, the vaccine will take months to fully roll out and, until then, it remains dangerous," he said.

"This is when we most need to hold the line. If we let our guard down too early, the deaths that will result will be all the more tragic for being so unnecessary."

Mr Jarvis said Covid-19 rates in South Yorkshire had reduced due to the tier three restrictions and national lockdown, but asked people to continue following social distancing rules.

He added: "If we relax too early, there is a serious risk of a third wave early in 2021."

Pantomime producers are finding creative ways to make sure the show does go on despite the pandemic.

Leicester City Under-21s are the only academy side to make the last 16 of the Papa John's Trophy after six go out.

Josh Koroma and Isaac Mbenza get the goals as Huddersfield Town beat the Championship's bottom club Sheffield Wednesday.

Gordon Bonner, from Leeds, has shared how he struggled to grieve over his wife's death from Covid-19.

Local Democracy Reporting Service

Rebuilding Sheffield's economy after the coronavirus pandemic will be top priority for the city, the council's new leader has said.

Image source, Google

Councillor Bob Johnson, 49, who was born and brought up in Hillsborough, will officially take the reins in January, following the resignation of Julie Dore.

He says: "We will still continue our wider vision for Sheffield, but at the moment it has to be all hands on deck dealing with the current situation.

"In an ideal world and normal times I could have listed where I see things in six or 12 months, but I can’t forecast anything right now.

"Hopefully, with the vaccine we may see things return to some sort of normality next year, but we have more people than ever using foodbanks, unemployment is going through the roof and we need to support both small and large businesses. It’s about retaining those jobs."

Stephen Loryman was accused of sexually abusing the boy under 13 between 2008 and 2010.

The roll-out of the new coronavirus vaccine is under way in Leeds, with the first people receiving the jab from today.

Front-line NHS staff and people over 80 will be the first to get the jab - with 800,000 doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine set to be dispensed across the country in the coming weeks:

A man who raped two teenagers he met on a dating app is jailed for 17 years.

A trapped car passenger had to be freed by emergency crews after a tractor and slurry tanker ended up on top of the vehicle during a crash in North Yorkshire, police say.

The collision, between a black VW Beetle and a yellow JCB Fastrac which was towing the slurry tanker, happened on the A19 at Escrick at about 21:15 on Monday night.

The VW passenger was taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries after being freed, while the driver of the car suffered minor injuries. The JCB driver was uninjured, according to North Yorkshire Police.

The slurry tanker was damaged as a result of the crash and a "large amount" of its contents leaked onto the road, officers add.

The road was closed for several hours while officers carried out their investigations and the carriageway was cleared of the slurry tanker's contents.

Anyone who saw what happened, or who saw either vehicle before the collision, is being asked to contact the North Yorkshire force.

Court staff and officials have paid their final respects to a Sheffield man who was described as the UK's "longest serving court watcher".

They stood outside Sheffield Crown Court to line part of the funeral cortege route for Andrew Mollison, who died last month aged 74.

Mr Mollison (pictured below), from Parson Cross, spent 42 years observing proceedings at the court.

During a eulogy at the court, the Recorder of Sheffield, Judge Jeremy Richardson QC, described Mr Mollison as an "institution" who will be sadly missed.

Image source, Wayne Digby

Three men have been arrested after several vehicles were damaged in a Halifax supermarket car park by men wielding baseball bats, police say.

Image source, Google

Officers were called at about 21:45 yesterday evening to the Tesco car park on Haugh Shaw Road.

A number of males armed with baseball bats were smashing up vehicles in what police say was a "targeted" attack.

Two men aged 23 and one aged 25 were arrested on suspicion of violent disorder and remain in custody, police said.

Insp Jim Graham said: "We believe this to be a targeted and isolated incident. My officers are conducting reassurance patrols in the area."

Anyone with information about what happened is being urged to contact police.

People in Sheffield have been among the first in the world to be given the Pfizer Covid-19 jab as part of a mass vaccination programme.

Front-line NHS staff and people over 80 will be the first to get the jab - with 800,000 doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine set to be dispensed across the country in the coming weeks.

Kirsten Major, chief executive of Sheffield Teaching Hospitals, says: "Today offers us real hope that next year will be very different.

"It's fantastic, it's a moment of hope. It's a route out of the pandemic and what has been a bleak and challenging year".

Ms Major adds that the run-up to the roll-out of the vaccine has been "really difficult and challenging".

"The logistics are unbelievable complex, but everyone has been so up for being part of making today happen."

One of the first people to receive the vaccinations at Northern General Hospital in Sheffield said: "I feel very fortunate. It seems to have happened so quickly."

In an emotional tribute to NHS staff, she added: "I'm so surprised and very grateful, because people who work on the front line deserve it so much more than me."

The Yorkshire Dales and North York Moors national parks have been designated Dark Sky Reserves.

Image source, Matt Gibson

The special status was awarded by the International Dark-Sky Association which said the parks were "global leaders in dark-sky conservation".

It's granted to areas with low levels of light pollution with good conditions for astronomy.

Both parks have some of the darkest skies in the country, with little to no light pollution making thousands of stars, meteors and the Northern Lights visible, the national parks said.

It's one of the largest areas in Europe to be designated simultaneously.

The parks hope the status will improve tourism through autumn and winter when the sky is at its darkest.

Jim Bailey, chairman of the North York Moors National Park Authority, said: "This designation as an International Dark Sky Reserve is the culmination of immense dedication and teamwork.

"It will continue as we encourage more people to think carefully about our night time environment."

Neil Heseltine, chair of the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority, said it was "thrilling" for the Dales to receive the recognition.

Fundraising efforts by Leeds Rhinos' director of rugby Kevin Sinfield have passed the £2m mark after he finished seven marathons.

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 over £2,269,000.

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 few moments after finishing his final marathon he said: "I'm so happy we got it done."

A Leeds United fan living in the US has decorated his house with a Christmas light show in the team's colours, set to its "Marching On Together" anthem.

Image source, Chelsey Pinder

Richard Pinder used 3,500 lights at his home in the city of Orting, Washington State, to make the flashing blue and yellow display.

A video of the lights has been watched more than 20,000 times on Twitter after it was shared by his wife, Chelsey.

Mr Pinder, an electrician, born and brought up in Leeds and a lifelong Leeds United fan, moved to the United States eight years ago.

Image source, Chelsey Pinder

The light display was only installed after he was working out how to decorate the house with lights, and stumbled across a YouTube tutorial.

He said: "The song I know the best is 'Marching on Together', so I did it as a complete test sequence. I got it together, played it on the house, and it all worked like I wanted it to.

"I uploaded it onto the Leeds United Americas Facebook page, which is a big fanbase group over here, and it just started taking off."