A delivery driver in Sheffield has been robbed at knifepoint of cash and takeaway food, police say.

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The driver was called to a car park in Greenland Court in Darnall at about 02:30 on Wednesday morning and threatened with a knife by two teenage boys who demanded he hand over his money, according to South Yorkshire Police.

They suspects took about £300 in cash and a bag of takeaway food, police said.

The man was uninjured in the incident, officers added.

The boys are described as black, slim and aged between 14 and 17 years old. They were both wearing face coverings and dark clothing.

Anyone with information about the incident is being urged to contact police.

A Betfred punter who's won a legal battle after a dispute over his £1.7m winnings has said finally getting the cash is a "huge relief".

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Andy Green, from Lincolnshire, scooped the prize in January 2018 while playing a blackjack game on his phone.

The bookmaker refused to pay out, claiming the error meant the game was not operating properly.

High Court judge Mrs Justice Foster ruled in Mr Green's favour and said the company had no grounds for withholding payment.

The judgement means Mr Green, from Washingborough, will finally receive his payout, plus interest, after a three-year battle.

Mr Green said: "At the time of winning it I just broke down and cried.

"I had a week of being congratulated by members of the Betfred team then a week later a phone call to say they weren't paying out.

"Now it's over with, the relief is huge. It's been a long, hard, struggle - an emotional financial upheaval for three years."

Five men have been arrested in connection with a fight in a West Yorkshire town earlier this week which left two men needing hospital treatment.

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Officers were called at about 17:30 on Tuesday to reports of an ongoing fight on Malsis Road in Keighley.

They found a large group of males who were carrying weapons and two men had suffered injuries to their head and face, according to West Yorkshire Police.

One of them was taken to hospital for treatment. Neither of the men's injuries are believed to be life-threatening, officers say.

A car was also damaged during the incident.

The suspects fled the scene, but a short time afterwards five men were arrested in connection with the incident, police add.

Anyone who saw what happened, or who has information about the circumstances of the fight, is being asked to contact the West Yorkshire force.

The proposed plants would use carbon capture technology and hydrogen to generate electricity.

Three fire crews are continuing to tackle a blaze at a scrap metal recycling plant in Doncaster, as an investigation into the cause of the fire begins.

Image source, SYFRS

Sixty firefighters were called out to the blaze at Carr Hill in Balby at 21:20 on Monday, South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service said.

About 15 remain at the scene today, with crews "working with the site management to separate the waste and extinguish hot spots."

In a statement South Yorkshire Fire Service said: "Several agencies are continuing to work closely together to ensure the fire is fully extinguished and minimise the impact on the environment.

"Officers now hope the fire will be out tomorrow, Friday 9 April."

A full fire investigation into the cause of this fire is now under way, according to officials.

The British Army is set to power an East Yorkshire training base with a solar farm.

Image source, Geograph/Phil Catterall

The Defence School of Transport (DST), at Leconfield, near Beverley is the first of four pilots using the photovoltaic facility, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) said.

Construction of the farm started earlier this year on the site and will span approximately four hectares when completed.

A third of DST's electricity needs is predicted to be supplied by the farm.

The MoD hopes all four pilot schemes will make £1m in efficiency savings and reduce emissions by 2,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent a year.

Major General David Southall, the Army's sustainability champion, said: "The Army remains wholly committed to play its part in meeting the UK's commitment to achieve net zero emissions by 2050.

"To deliver this, we are working hard to reduce energy demand as well as increase 'green' supply across our estate."

The Army hopes to set up 80 further solar farms across its estate in the next seven years.

One of two people who died when a car crashed off a motorway near Sheffield at the weekend has been named by police.

Image source, South Yorkshire Police

Jordan Caster (pictured), 19, from Sheffield, was travelling northbound on the M1 in a white Volkswagen Golf, between junctions 30 and 31 near Woodhall, at about 19:30 on Sunday, say police.

The vehicle left the road and hit the barrier and several trees before coming to rest on its roof, according to South Yorkshire Police.

Mr Caster, and a second man aged 22, were pronounced dead at the scene. No other vehicles are believed to have been involved, officers said.

A spokesperson for the force said: "We are asking any witnesses to the collision, or anyone who witnessed the Golf prior, to get in touch.

"We are especially keen to hear from anyone with dashcam footage which captured the Golf travelling along the M1 between 19:00 and 19:30."

CCTV footage has been released of three people police want to identify after a man was stabbed and a woman assaulted and robbed in South Yorkshire.

Officers were called to reports an 18-year-old man had been stabbed close to All Saints Square in Rotherham shortly after 22:00 on Wednesday 31 March, according to South Yorkshire Police.

On arrival, an 18-year-old woman was found to have also been assaulted and had items stolen from her, police said.

The man was taken to hospital for treatment to a stab wound to his abdomen, officers confirmed.

A spokesperson for the force said: "The people in the CCTV footage could hold vital information about what happened that night.

"They are believed to be in their late teens and mixed race. They were all wearing either grey or dark-coloured clothing."

Anyone with information about the incident is urged to contact police.

A man in Keighley was taken to hospital with a serious injury but died later, say police.

Local Democracy Reporting Service

Plans to extend Grimsby hospital’s A&E department have been given the go-ahead.

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North East Lincolnshire Council’s planning officers have approved Northern Lincolnshire and Goole Health Trust’s application to build a two-storey emergency care extension and new replacement hospital main entrance lobby for the Diana Princess of Wales Hospital.

The proposal will also see a new car parking deck above the existing main car park built, a new bus shelter and extra drop-off points for the hospital.

The new Acute Assessment Units will be staffed by specialists in a range of conditions and illnesses, allowing patients to be seen and treated more quickly, often without the need to be admitted to a ward.

The council’s officers said: “The proposal would support and enhance existing health infrastructure at the hospital and this investment and enhancement to health provision for the borough is welcomed.”

The trust hopes that as a result of extensions there will be a reduced number of people delayed in hospital, therefore reducing the length of stay for patients who are in hospital for more than 21 days and freeing up beds.

The move will increase the number of parking spaces by two for visitors and patients and 33 for staff once completed.

The trust was given £4m to upgrade the Diana Princess of Wales Hospital and another £4m for a similar scheme at Scunthorpe General Hospital — which has also been given planning permission.

Relive the opening day of the 2021 County Championship season as defending champions Essex make a strong start.

One woman and two men have been arrested on suspicion of murder following the death of a man in Keighley, police say.

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Emergency services were called to a property on Fell Lane just before 04:00 this morning to reports a man was seriously injured, according to West Yorkshire Police.

The man in his 40s was taken to hospital but was pronounced dead a short time later, police said.

A spokesperson for the force said: "One woman and two men have been arrested on suspicion of murder in connection with this incident.

"A large police cordon is currently in place whilst officers continue with their inquiries."

Anyone who witnessed anything suspicious in the area, or has information about the incident, is asked to contact police.

Local Democracy Reporting Service

Users of Hull’s newly-opened Castle Street Bridge have been asked to refrain from fitting padlocks onto the structure amid concerns they could cause long term damage.

Image source, Highways England

A spokesperson for Highways England, which maintains the bridge officially known as Murdoch’s Connection, said users could obviously still take selfies instead to mark a “loving moment”.

It follows Twitter comments from Hull City Council chief executive Matt Jukes, who said there was no set policy on padlocks, but some were recently removed from another bridge in the city.

His comments came in response to Twitter users claiming padlocks had already appeared on the new bridge, which crosses the A63, about a month after it opened on Friday 5 March.

The Highways England spokesperson said: “While we are delighted people are enjoying Murdoch’s Connection, we would discourage people from attaching padlocks to the bridge because in the long term it could damage the structure, which would spoil the experience.

"It’s great people are choosing Hull as a place to declare their love, and perhaps there are other ways to demonstrate it. Selfies have become popular since the bridge opened, and would be the ideal gesture to mark a loving moment."

Mr Jukes tweeted: "There isn’t a specific policy against it, although they can cause maintenance problems and we had to remove some at Scale Lane bridge for this very reason.

"Reflecting this, we would obviously rather people didn’t attach them."

A huge sand drawing of a seal surrounded by plastic has been created to launch a nationwide beach clean-up campaign.

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The 164ft artwork was created at Cayton Bay in North Yorkshire in a bid to highlight the impact of plastic pollution on marine wildlife.

Campaigners Surfers Against Sewage (SAS) said they hoped it would mobilise people to clean up their local areas.

The aim was to clear a million miles of the UK's beaches and other outdoor spaces by the end of 2021, SAS said.

SAS said it hoped to inspire 100,000 volunteers to "stop plastic from getting into the sea" when the "million mile beach clean" gets under way next month.

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Jack Middleton, community and events manager at SAS, said: "Every year 100,000 mammals and over a million seabirds die from entanglement in, or ingestion of, plastic pollution.

"Animals that live off the coast here - seals, porpoises and dolphins - are coming into contact with plastic every day and it's having detrimental effects."

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said: "Our priority is to protect public health during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, but this does not dilute existing commitments to tackling single-use plastics and litter.

"It's vital we all dispose of our waste - including used items of PPE - in the correct manner."

BBC Weather

Today will be mostly dry and breezy, with patchy cloud and occasional rain.

Tonight will be mostly dry with patchy cloud:

Local Democracy Reporting Service

York currently has the country’s ninth lowest Covid rate, public health bosses have said.

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The latest rate for York is 15.7 cases per 100,000 people – which works out at about 25 to 30 positive test results a week, Fiona Phillips from the city’s public health team said.

The rate for residents of the city over the age of 60 is even lower, at 12.1 cases per 100,000 people.

Ms Phillips told York's outbreak management advisory board on Wednesday: "We are really seeing the numbers drop.

"That is the lowest rate within the Yorkshire and Humber region. It’s the ninth lowest rate across the country."

She added that the latest statistics for Covid patients at York Hospital Trust showed there were 12 in-patients – nine in general or acute wards and three in the Intensive Therapy Unit.

A university student built and installed a bin bag dispenser in a West Yorkshire park where crowds left stacks of rubbish.

Piles of litter were strewn across Woodhouse Moor, in Hyde Park, Leeds, last week as groups gathered amid warm weather and the easing of lockdown measures.

Jack Colmer (pictured below), 22, said he'd felt "ashamed" so built the black bag device as a potential solution.

Mr Colmer, a Leeds Beckett University student, who is from Newcastle, said: "I do a lot of DIY and building in my spare time as a hobby, so I just started putting something together, making it up as I went along, and it eventually ended up as a bin bag dispenser."

He added: "The litter in the place was unacceptable and I think as a community we can do better than that.

"I genuinely believe that people don't want to litter, but they never really have the supplies or the bin bags there on the day to do it so, hopefully, this will encourage people to go grab a bag and pick their stuff up."

Mr Colmer said he had received lots of positive messages since he installed the dispenser, with one local bar even offering him a tab which he said he was looking forward to spending once pubs reopen.

He also said he hoped his efforts would help remove the "bad image" surrounding students and littering.

BBC Sport

The final of the World Championship is set to be played in front of a capacity crowd at the Crucible Theatre in May.

The return of fans will be staggered throughout the event, with the venue in Sheffield starting at 33% capacity.

World Snooker says face coverings will be required in the venue but social distancing "will not be expected" as the number of fans increases.

The final two days of the 2020 championship, won by Ronnie O'Sullivan (pictured), were played in front of a limited number of spectators.

The tournament is part of the government's pilot scheme to ensure fans can safely return to sporting and cultural venues.

The venue will operate at 33% capacity for the first round of matches between 17-21 April before increasing to 50% for the second round.

The quarter-finals and semi-finals will be played in front of a 75% capacity crowd.

Fans will be required to take a Covid-19 test before arriving and another five days afterwards.

No under-18s, vulnerable adults or pregnant women will be allowed to attend.

Sarah Wakefield
BBC Radio Leeds News

Council and NHS buildings are turning blue in Bradford tonight to celebrate a quarter of a million people getting their first dose of a coronavirus vaccine.

Image source, Google

The clocktower at City Hall in the city centre will be one of the buildings to be lit up.

Chief Nurse Karen Dawber, from Bradford Teaching Hospitals, said: "This milestone is a significant one for all of us as our health and care colleagues, partners and volunteers, have worked tirelessly since the first vaccine was delivered.

"Since December, we've been indebted to the efforts of NHS staff, our local councils and community and voluntary groups across the area."

The NHS is reminding people who've had the vaccine they still need to follow national government guidance to protect both themselves and others from Covid-19.

The Wildlife Trusts says it wants 30% of UK land and sea to be set aside for nature by 2030.