The Black Country Living Museum and Lincoln Cathedral are among 22 heritage sites to be awarded grants.

Accounts show the tourism body spent over £430,000 removing and investigating former chief executive.

The Pride of York and the Pride of Bruges stopped their nightly crossings in December.

A 14-year-old boy has been arrested on suspicion of five sex assaults in Leeds, police have confirmed.

The assaults all took place in the Little London and Headingley areas of the city in the last three weeks, according to West Yorkshire Police.

The most recent attack, involving a 55-year-old woman, took place at about 18:15 on Wednesday evening near Oatland flats in Little London, officers said.

The other attacks included a sexual assault on a 19-year-old woman at a bus stop in Otley Road, Headingley, at about 17:10 on 4 February, police said.

That followed an assault on a 29-year-old woman on Grosvenor Hill, Woodhouse, at about 17:00 on 3 February.

Meanwhile, a 30-year-old woman was grabbed from behind and subjected to a sexual assault on Lovell Park Road, near Little London, at about 19:00 on 5 February.

The arrested teenager remains in custody, officers added.

Police are renewing an appeal for witnesses following an incident involving firearms in South Yorkshire.

Image source, South Yorkshire Police

Armed officers were called to Church Street in Conisbrough just after 12:00 on 25 January, following reports two men were wielding guns close to a Sainsbury’s convenience store, say police.

It's thought two men may have been involved in an altercation with the occupants of a silver BMW.

People are being asked to study a CCTV image of two men police believe were involved in the incident.

Det Insp Steve Smith said: “While these aren’t the clearest pictures, I would urge people to have a look and see if they can help identify the two men pictured.

“We are keen to speak to them in relation to the investigation as we think they may have vital information about what happened."

Three men, aged 18, 20 and 22, and a 44-year-old woman, were arrested on suspicion of firearms offences on 26 January, according to South Yorkshire Police.

Two further men, aged 18 and 19, were arrested on 27 January on suspicion of firearms offences, officers added.

They have all since been released while an investigation takes place.

Surge testing is to be carried out in parts of Leeds after two possible cases of the South African variant of Covid-19 were detected in the city.

People living in parts of the LS8 postcode area will be asked to take a test whether they have symptoms or not.

Leeds City Council said there is "no indication of live cases" in the area, but testing would help the city "prepare for new variants".

Victoria Eaton, director of public health for Leeds, said: "We want to reassure local residents the extra testing being announced for people without symptoms is to help us better understand and prepare for new variants in our communities.

"This additional testing will allow us to find any potential asymptomatic cases of new variants and build a more detailed, comprehensive picture of where those cases may come from and how they might spread."

The additional testing will be taking place in parts of the Harehills and the area north of Easterly Road, where the suspected cases were found in January.

Leeds City Council said both the individuals in the cases identified last month had made a full recovery and there was no evidence of transmission to the wider community.

A spokesperson for the Department of Health said: "People living within this targeted area are strongly encouraged to take a Covid-19 test when offered, whether they are showing symptoms or not."

The week-long programme of testing is due to start on Monday.

A man and a woman have died in a crash involving two cars and a lorry carrying livestock.

Image source, Getty Images

The collision happened at about 08:10 on the A65 near Addingham.

West Yorkshire Police said the drivers of both the cars involved, a man and a woman in their 20s, died at the scene.

The driver of the lorry has been taken to hospital with "significant" injuries, the force said.

The A65 is closed in both directions between the A6034 and Main Street.

Anyone who witnessed the collision or who has any dashcam footage is asked to contact police.

A delivery driver is in a "critical" condition in hospital after being hit by a car in South Yorkshire, police have said.

Image source, PA Media

The man, a driver for Amazon, was delivering parcels in Barnby Dun Road on Clay Lane in Doncaster at about 14:00 on Wednesday when he was struck by a car.

The 21-year-old was taken to hospital where his condition is described as life-threatening, according to South Yorkshire Police.

The driver of the orange Nissan Note stopped at the scene and has spoken to police officers.

Anyone who saw what happened, or who has dash camera footage of the collision, is being asked to contact the South Yorkshire force.

People living in a Leeds suburb had a surprise yesterday when they realised someone had left a bunch of daffodils on their doorstep as a "random act of kindness".

Image source, Hannah Lewis/Amy Meek/Kelley Smith

It appears the daffodils were delivered to a number of people living on Higham Way in Garforth after one resident took to social media to say thank you.

Kelley Smith, who lives with her boyfriend, posted in the local community group asking if anyone else had received the kind gesture.

She said: "It was a lovely and totally unexpected surprise on what was becoming a rubbish week."

Kelley added she "didn’t know who had left them so wanted to reach out to get a message to them or their parents to say a big thank you".

Fellow resident Amy Meek said it was such a "lovely, nice gesture" and "it was brilliant to see in these times, with everything else going on, it made my day".

The person, or people, behind the gesture remains unknown but it seems the gifts of flowers were part of "Random Act of Kindness Day" which takes place on 17 February.

Almost one in three children is living in a household claiming at least one form of benefit.

Local Democracy Reporting Service

Bradford Central Mosque is due to open as a coronavirus vaccination centre today.

It's part of an initiative between Bradford Council for Mosques and local GPs to accelerate and increase take-up of the Covid-19 vaccine.

It follows a similar programme which began in Keighley’s largest mosque last week.

Bradford Central Mosque President Zulfi Karim said: "Whatever the barriers to getting a jab, Bradford Council for Mosques is determined to work with our local NHS and council to do everything possible to remove them and widen access.

“That’s why we've offered this centrally located Mosque as a vaccination hub and are exploring other ways of making the jab as accessible as possible for everyone.

“Our mosques are used to playing several key roles in the heart of our community and are well-versed in the continuing fight against Covid-19, so this added dimension is a natural progression," he added.

The venue on Westgate will operate between 08:30 and 13:30.

A man is in a "life-threatening" condition after a serious crash between two cars in Huddersfield on Wednesday, police have said.

The collision happened at about 13:35 yesterday on Penistone Road in Fenay Bridge and involved a Chevrolet Captiva and a parked Renault Captur.

The Chevrolet, which was being driven towards Kirkburton, collided with the Renault which was parked near roadworks, according to West Yorkshire Police.

The driver of the Chevrolet, a man in his 60s, was seriously injured in the crash and was taken to hospital for treatment.

Anyone who saw what happened, particularly the female driver of a white car travelling behind the Chevrolet just before the collision, is being asked to contact police.

A safe containing a large amount of cash has been stolen from the home of a 100-year-old war veteran in North Yorkshire, police say.

Image source, Google

A small brown digital safe about a cubic foot in size was taken from an address on Long Meadow in Skipton at some point between 4 and 12 February, according to North Yorkshire Police.

Officers say they'd like to speak to anyone who saw any unusual activity in the area between those dates, especially on 4 and 5 February.

Anyone who has found the safe, or knows its whereabouts, is also asked to contact police.

Local Democracy Reporting Service

Visitors should soon get the chance to see more of Sheffield's museums free of charge.

Image source, Google

Under new proposals, the two organisations which currently run many of the city's museums are to be merged into a single trust.

Currently, the Millennium Gallery, Weston Park Museum and Graves Gallery come under one organisation, Museums Sheffield.

Meanwhile, Kelham Island Museum (pictured), Abbeydale Industrial Hamlet and Shepard Wheel come under the Sheffield Industrial Museums banner.

But, Sheffield City Council's cabinet has now endorsed a plan to merge both independent charitable trusts from April to form Sheffield Museums Trust.

In a council report, officers said benefits included a higher profile for museums and heritage in the city and better opportunities to display more artefacts in more imaginative ways.

They said: “Sheffield Museums Trust will become one of the largest groups of museum sites in the country, with a unique opportunity to showcase and celebrate the history, development and diversity of the city."

Currently, Abbeydale Industrial Hamlet and Kelham Island Museum charge an entrance fee while Shepherd Wheel and all Museums Sheffield sites are free to enter unless for specific events or exhibitions.

Under the new trust, all sites will have free admission as soon as possible with the aim of increasing visitor numbers and improving access.

Drivers are being asked by police to avoid the A65 in Addingham, near Ilkley, at the moment following a serious collision.

Emergency services, including ambulance and fire service, were called to the scene at about 08:10 this morning.

Road closures are in place on the A65 at the junction with Main Street and motorists are being asked to keep away from the area.

BBC Weather

After a cloudy start, a band of heavy rain will push in from the west, quickly clearing eastwards.

The afternoon should be brighter, but will feel chilly.

This evening skies will clear quite widely and winds will ease:

A man who committed a series of "truly appalling" sexual offences on a young girl has been jailed for 13 years.

Image source, West Yorkshire Police

Kevin Blackburn, 71, of Healds Avenue, Liversedge, raped and abused the youngster between 2012 and 2016.

He was jailed at Leeds Crown Court after pleading guilty to charges of rape, sexual assault and inciting a child to engage in sexual activity.

The court heard Blackburn was arrested shortly after the offences were reported in January 2020.

He was sentenced on Tuesday to 13 years in prison and ordered to serve an additional five years on licence following his release.

Det Con Yvonne Brear, of West Yorkshire Police, said: "Kevin Blackburn has committed some truly appalling offences and we welcome the substantial custodial sentence imposed on him.

"During his sentencing the court found he poses a substantial risk to young girls and this was reflected in the extended sentence which was given.

"I want to praise the female victim who came forward in this case and whose bravery has resulted in us identifying and, with the Crown Prosecution Service, being able to prosecute a very dangerous man."

Scientists at the University of Sheffield have found honey bees can solve a type of maths test without any need for numbers - a discovery they say could be used to help develop smarter artificial intelligence.

Image source, University of Sheffield

In the study, the honey bees were trained to identify placards showing different numbers of shapes and they were found to be using non-numerical cues, to solve a numerical problem.

Some bees learned to find a sugary reward at the placards with the most shapes on display, while others learned to find the treat at the placards showing the fewest number of shapes.

Once the bees learned this rule, they were able to quickly identify the placard with the highest or lowest number of shapes on them in order to find their reward.

Dr HaDi MaBouDi, from the University of Sheffield, said: “The results show animals are incredibly clever and can solve tasks in unexpected ways.

"This will be very practical in the future of artificial intelligence for designing smart machines based on animals that have evolved for some particular tasks.”

Professor James Marshall added: “It's worth bearing in mind that nature usually finds the simplest possible solution to a problem."

The former Lord Ahmed of Rotherham is on trial charged with sex assaults dating back to the 1970s.

A West Yorkshire NHS worker is encouraging members of BAME communities in Leeds to respond to invitations to be vaccinated against Covid-19 after seeing his mum get the jab.

Image source, Reuters/Carl Recine

Ali Aslam issued the plea after his mum, Safoora, received her vaccination at the end of January at her local vaccination clinic run by GPs in Leeds.

Mrs Aslam, 65, is registered as clinically extremely vulnerable so is in one of the groups currently being invited for vaccinations.

Ali Aslam said: “I encourage all Leeds residents invited to receive the vaccine to take up that offer, especially fellow residents from ethnically diverse backgrounds.

“I know it is natural to want further information before you make your decision, so if you do have any questions, please feel free to ask and seek answers from trusted clinical staff when you are invited in."

Dr Jason Broch, Clinical Chair for NHS Leeds Clinical Commissioning Group said: “It is great to see Ali and his mum encouraging others to get their Covid-19 vaccination.

“We know some people from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic communities have been more hesitant about taking up their invite for a vaccination and there's been a lot of misinformation on the vaccines, which has understandably caused concerns.

“However, we want to assure everybody the vaccines are safe. "