It's important people know the true history behind some of Lincolnshire's historic towns and estates, one of the organisers of a Black Lives Matter march in Lincoln last year says.

Image source, BBC/Alex Rhodes

Leonard Chatonzwa's comments follow criticism of a Historic England report which names Blankney, Burghley House, Little Ponton and Woodhall Spa in Lincolnshire as having benefited from the slave trade.

Sir John Hayes, Conservative MP for South Holland and The Deepings, has called the report a waste of money, saying it should be "shredded".

Image source, BBC/Alex Rhodes

But Mr Chatonzwa (pictured above) says it's right that visitors to historic properties in Lincolnshire get a proper picture of their background:

A "cold and calculating" teacher who hid a camera in a North Yorkshire school bathroom has been jailed for a year and 10 months.

Image source, North Yorkshire Police

Thomas Ball, 30, planted the device at the school he was working at in 2018.

When the camera was recovered he initially denied responsibility, but police were able to prove he had purchased and placed the device.

Ball, from Atherstone, Warwickshire, was jailed on Wednesday having admitted a series of child sex offences.

North Yorkshire Police's Det Con Adam Fenwick said: "Thomas Ball was in a trusted position of responsibility which he has blatantly abused for his own gratification.

"He is a cold and calculating individual who carefully planned and premeditated his actions.

"He clearly poses a significant risk to young people and we hope his sentencing will give some closure to the victim and their family."

Ball pleaded guilty at York Crown Court to voyeurism, three counts of making indecent images of children, one count of possessing indecent images of children and one count of taking indecent images of children.

A petition calling for street lights in Lincolnshire to be switched on at night doubles in two days.

BBC Radio Bradford

A fund to help students in Bradford get through the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdowns has raised £28,000 so far, the city's university has announced.

Image source, Google

The University's Covid-19 Hardship Fund was set up in December, and raised £5,000 on its first day.

Before then, an existing university hardship fund had been used to support students, but the number of applications increased "exponentially" as restrictions continued, the university said.

Hundreds of students have now been helped by the cash in the form of one-off payments and food donations, as well as other support.

Image source, University of Bradford

PhD student Michael Westfield (pictured above) says: "The Emergency Covid-19 Hardship Fund has been an invaluable resource that has definitely helped my academic progress.

"By providing financial support through a challenging transitional phase between work and alternative sources of funding for further study during lockdown, I consider the Hardship Fund as an integral factor for my recent success in transferring to PhD."

Local Democracy Reporting Service

There will be enough Covid vaccine doses to cover the first phase of the government’s rollout and some second doses as well despite supply issues, Lincolnshire's health bosses have said.

The UK's vaccine supply has been affected by a delay to a shipment from the Serum Institute of India, according to Health Secretary Matt Hancock.

A separate batch of 1.7 million doses was also held up as it needed to be retested, Mr Hancock said.

A spokesperson for NHS Lincolnshire Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) says staff still aim to finish vaccinating people aged 50 and over and the clinically extremely vulnerable before mid-April.

"We have enough vaccines coming to do that over coming weeks. We will spend some time delivering second doses over the coming weeks for those people that are due them.”

However, the CCG urges people who have not yet had their first jab and are supposed to be getting one to make an appointment and make sure they attend.

Changes are to be made to an alleyway in Leeds after women's safety campaigners labelled it a "hotspot" for assaults.

The cut-through, near the rugby and cricket stadiums in Headingley, will have its hedges cut short to improve visibility and CCTV cameras installed by the entrance.

Campaigner Brittany Coffey, from Reclaim The Night Leeds, said: "It is so scary to know there's somewhere so close to you and so close to a student area that's known for this":

The growth in offshore wind turbines off the Lincolnshire coast could have a major impact on local wildlife, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) has said.

Speaking to a parliamentary committee, Helen Quayle, from the RSPB, said many birds and fish species were already struggling because of previous development.

The impact of offshore wind and other developments in the North Sea can include "habitat loss, displacement, disturbance", Ms Quayle told the committee.

Local Democracy Reporting Service

Health leaders in York have been reassuring city residents that the Oxford AstraZeneca Covid vaccine is safe.

Image source, Reuters

Use of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine has been paused in 11 European countries after a small number of blood clots were reported among people who had recently had the jab.

But Sharon Stoltz, York's public health director, said: “The AstraZeneca vaccine is safe to use. There isn’t any reason why anybody should be anxious about it.”

Prof Mike Holmes, chair of Nimbuscare GP partnership, said the MHRA, the regulatory agency for the safety of medicines in the UK, says the vaccine is safe.

“The issue that’s been raised across the continent is the concern that they increase the risk of blood clots forming. These are a common condition that we see any time, not just during pandemics," he said.

“We see people developing blood clots all the time and the key message is that, despite the eleven million vaccines given in the UK, we’ve not seen an increase in the number of blood clots.”

A report which identified historic places and their links to slavery, including several in Lincolnshire, should be "shredded", one of the county's MPs says.

Image source, Google

Historic England has produced a 165-page audit detailing estates, towns, villages and railways which were once linked to the transatlantic slave trade.

Blankney, Burghley House (pictured), Little Ponton and Woodhall Spa in Lincolnshire are all named.

Sir John Hayes, the Conservative MP for South Holland and the Deepings, says it's a waste of money:

Historic England says it's not making a moral judgement, but wants to help people better understand sites and landmarks.

A man who was struck by a lorry carrying cement in a West Yorkshire village has died, police have confirmed.

Image source, PA Media

The 42-year-old pedestrian was hit by a DAF cement truck on Skipton Road, Steeton, just after 11:00 yesterday morning, according to West Yorkshire Police.

The man was taken to hospital but later died from his injuries, police said.

Anyone who witnessed the collision, or who might have dash camera footage of the incident, is being urged to contact police.

Loose Women's Coleen Nolan has revealed paedophile predator Jimmy Savile made advances towards her when she was 14.

Image source, Keith Mayhew/Zuma Press/PA Images

In an ITV interview, she recalls how Savile, who was born in Leeds and had homes in Leeds and Scarborough, invited her to his hotel suite after the Nolans appeared on Top of the Pops.

Savile promised to "look after" her, the singer and TV star (pictured below), now 56, said.

Nolan said she thought the Top of the Pops presenter was a "dirty old man" and was not surprised when his abuse was revealed after his death in 2011.

Savile who was exposed as one of the UK's most prolific sexual predators, who exploited his status to prey on hundreds of people.

In an interview for Piers Morgan's Life Stories, Nolan (above far left performing on Top of the Pops), said she did not accept Savile's invitation.

"At the time I just thought, you dirty old man. As if I'm going to go up there, I wouldn't do it anyway," she said.

"I've got four sisters on the stage that would have beaten the crap out of him."

Coronavirus lockdown restrictions are becoming "almost unpoliceable", a Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) has warned.

Image source, Labour Party

Humberside PCC Keith Hunter (pictured) said fewer people were sticking to the rules since plans for easing lockdown were announced.

The force has issued 555 fixed penalty notices since 1 January, almost double the number issued in 2020.

Speaking to the force's Police and Crime Panel, Mr Hunter said: "Lockdown's becoming almost unpoliceable since restrictions started to ease, the College of Policing has said it is becoming unpoliceable.

"We're still in lockdown now and I've never seen the roads as busy. The signal has been put out there that things are going back to normal."

He said he understood the reason for outlining a relaxation, but said expecting officers "to police the whole population is unreasonable"

"Doing that would take us away from policing everything else," he added

Humberside Chief Constable Lee Freeman said the force had received a total of 11,633 reports of coronavirus breaches, but only had the resources to respond to 44% of them.

The Home Office has been contacted for a comment.

England's deputy chief medical officer has compared the risks of taking the AstraZeneca vaccine to taking over-the-counter painkillers like paracetamol.

At Wednesday's Covid briefing, Professor Jonathan Van Tam, who's Lincolnshire-based and has administered vaccines himself in the county, took out the instructional booklet found in a box of paracetamol and read out the long list of possible side effects.

He was responding to news that a number of EU countries have suspended their rollout of the Oxford jab while they investigate claims of it causing blood clots.

He also said it was key that Britain pressed on with its vaccination programme.

BBC Radio Bradford

Work is set to begin on building a new market in Bradford after the council signed a formal contract with a construction company.

Image source, Bradford and District Markets

The new Darley Street Market (artist's impression above) will host traders across three storeys in the city centre.

As well as non-food and fresh food stalls, 500 seats will be provided for customers at hot food and drink stalls.

The construction project will begin with demolition of current properties on Darley Street between April and December, with the new facility expected to open in summer 2023.

Bosses at Kier, the company responsible for the upgrade, say they'll engage with local residents, including site visits, work experience, and apprenticeships.

Kier's regional director for North and Scotland, Dan Doherty, says: “We are pleased to be starting on site and we look forward to working collaboratively with Bradford Council, as well as our local supply chain to deliver this important project.”

BBC Weather

This afternoon in Lincolnshire will be dull and cloudy, with patchy rain pushing in from the northeast. A moderate northerly wind.

Rain will become more widespread and prolonged this evening, but it should be light.

Rain will tend to ease later in the night, but it will stay cloudy and a few odd spots of rain may linger. Breezy:

A detective investigating the disappearance of Claudia Lawrence 12 years ago has said it is "not too late" for people "to do the right thing".

Image source, North Yorkshire Police

The chef, 35, failed to arrive for work at York University on 18 March 2009. Police believe she was murdered despite her body never being found.

Det Supt Wayne Fox said there were likely to be several people who either knew, or had strong suspicions, as to what happened.

He said: "For whatever reason, they have maintained a silence for 12 years. That is an awfully long time to carry such a burden of guilt.

"The longer you carry it, the greater the anguish you are causing to Claudia's family and friends.

"If you know something that could help us find Claudia, or those involved in her disappearance and suspected murder, please come forward. It is not too late."

Mr Fox, who took charge of the investigation in October, said Claudia's loved ones had endured "unrelenting anguish and trauma throughout this time" and deserved answers.

"Please do the right thing, come forward and speak to me," he added.

To date, nine people have been questioned by North Yorkshire Police in relation to Claudia's disappearance, but no charges have ever been brought.

Nine new solar powered litter bins are to be installed in parks and other popular destinations across North East Lincolnshire, it's been confirmed.

Image source, North East Lincolnshire Council

Solar bins are designed to compress rubbish so they do not need to be emptied as often as standard bins. They can hold up to 10 times more rubbish than a normal, non-compacting bin.

The new solar bins are to be installed in a total of nine locations including Grand Thorold Park in Grimsby, Cleethorpes Meridian Point, Weelsby Woods, Bradley Woods nature reserve and at the southern tip of Cleethorpes beach, near the Humberston Fitties entrance.

Originally, North East Lincolnshire Council installed four solar bins in four parks in July 2019.

As well as the new solar bins, North East Lincolnshire Council is also replacing some of its standard litter bins in Cleethorpes with new recycling bins for plastic bottles, paper and cans.

Councillor Stewart Swinburn, portfolio holder for environment for North East Lincolnshire Council, says: "Our four existing solar bins have proved very useful, and we want to build on their success by installing them in more areas.

“They generate wireless alerts when they need emptying. This saves on time for our staff and ultimately cuts the cost of collection.

“More and more people are recycling in North East Lincolnshire. We are fitting new, street recycling bins to help people recycle even more when they are out and about."

Local Democracy Reporting Service

Campaigners dressed as zebras have staged a protest alongside a road they say is "dangerous" in a bid to urge Sheffield City Council to put safety measures in place.

Image source, LDRS

Protesters held placards which said “this zebra needs a crossing” and “sign our petition” on Abbey Lane.

More than 5,000 people have signed the petition by the Friends of Ecclesall Woods, asking for a crossing to be installed in the area.

Ecclesall councillor Barbara Masters, supporting the campaign, said: “Speeding traffic and the amount of traffic using Abbey Lane and Whirlowdale Road has increased considerably.

“I feel very strongly something needs to be done here."

Image source, LDRS

Councillor Masters says the measures she hopes the authority will consider include lowering the speed limit and putting a crossing in place.

Some of the signatories of the petition left comments saying it's "frightening crossing the road" and that measures would "significantly improve", or even save, lives.

Signatory Holly Smith-Williams said it was "treacherous" trying to cross Abbey Lane.

"I usually cross dragging a barking dog and screaming kids. I’m probably screaming, too. You literally take your life in your hands," she said.

BBC Weather

Today will be dull and cloudy, with patchy rain and a moderate northerly wind.

Rain will become more widespread and prolonged this evening, but should ease later in the night:

A man has died after a crash on the M62 involving four lorries and two other vehicles.

Image source, Highways England/Crown Copyright

West Yorkshire Police said the six vehicles crashed on the eastbound carriageway after one car hit a barrier and "rebounded" on to the carriageway.

The force said a 39-year-old man from Huddersfield was killed in the crash.

Three other people were injured, including a 37-year-old man who remains in hospital with serious injuries.

The force is appealing for any witnesses or anyone with dash cam footage of the collision near the border of West Yorkshire and Greater Manchester at about 14:30 on Tuesday to come forward.