Police are looking for a "Good Samaritan" who helped a woman who was sexually assaulted while walking along the banks of a South Yorkshire canal.

Image source, Google

The victim, 47, was walking along the Dearne and Dove Canal between Swinton and Mexborough on 15 May between noon and 13:00 when she was approached from behind by an unknown man, according to South Yorkshire Police.

The man grabbed the woman and sexually assaulted her before being interrupted by a passer-by, who chased him off, police said.

The attacker is described as white and wearing a black hoody.

A spokesperson for the force said: "I'm keen to identify the Good Samaritan who helped the woman, as he later returned and gave the victim a lift home.

"He could provide key information to assist our investigation."

Anyone who witnessed suspicious activity on the canal path or who knows who the man who helped was is urged to contact police.

A Hull street which saw the beginnings of the English Civil War has been awarded a £100,000 grant to help bring it "back from the brink".

Image source, Ian S/Geograph

Whitefriargate leads from Queen Victoria Square to the Old Town area.

It was here Charles I was refused entry to the city in 1642, leading to the first shots of the Civil War.

Hull City Council has been given the money to develop new commissions, performances and exhibitions aimed at revitalising the street.

Duncan Wilson, chief executive at Historic England, said the programme was a new way of "bringing high streets back from the brink".

Whitefriargate was one of the city's major shopping areas but has been badly hit by the retail downturn.

It's hoped the money will help celebrate the street's role in Hull's social and political history and as a commercial centre.

A 20-year-old man's jaw was broken in a sustained attack in Sheffield, say police.

Image source, Google

The victim was with a group of people - some he didn't know - on Tuesday morning, shortly after 04:00 on Portland Lane, when one of the unknown men punched him in the jaw, according to South Yorkshire Police.

A police spokesperson said: "When the man got into his vehicle, one of the unknown men smashed the front passenger side window.

"The victim then got out of the car and was hit with a glass bottle."

In addition to the man's jaw being broken he suffered a cut to the head and lost two teeth in the attack, the force added.

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

BBC Weather

It will become overcast, wet and windy today.

Outbreaks of rain will move in this afternoon, these will be heavy and persistent in places.

Tonight, outbreaks of rain are expected to continue but should become patchier through the night:

Four masked men armed with weapons, including machetes, robbed the Halifax bank branch in Hunslet, say police.

Image source, Google

The men threatened staff and fled the scene in a silver Fiat Punto with cash after the robbery yesterday at the bank at the Penny Hill Centre in Church Road, according to West Yorkshire Police.

Following the incident which took place shortly after 12:30 BST, the car was found abandoned in Gardeners Court in Hunslet, police said.

Anyone who witnessed the robbery, or who saw the Fiat Punto being abandoned on Gardeners Court is asked to contact police.

Brennan Johnson nets as Lincoln take control after the first leg of a hectic League One play-off semi-final against Sunderland.

League Two side Mansfield Town sign versatile defender Elliott Hewitt on a two-year contract.

Tracy Brabin stepped down as the constituency's MP after being elected as West Yorkshire's first metro mayor.

Kirklees Council's health boss has said that speeding up Covid vaccinations and increasing testing capacity can help bring the borough's rate down.

The West Yorkshire council, which covers Huddersfield and Dewsbury, has the fourth highest Covid infection rate in England with just over 72 people per 100,000 testing positive in the seven days to 15 May - up from 53 the previous week.

That increase as well as confirmed cases of the Indian Covid variant has led to the area being labelled as an "area of concern" and being selected for surge testing by the government today.

Rachel Spencer-Henshall (pictured above), strategic director for public health at Kirklees Council said: “We are submitting proposals today to work with government to bring in extra vaccination and testing capacity.

"We have positive levels of vaccine uptake in Kirklees but, by speeding up its delivery and adding more pop-up clinics where they’re needed most, we can reduce infection rates and protect local people."

Ms Spencer-Henshall said work was already going on to bring down the number of people testing positive for coronavirus in the area.

She also said that close contacts of confirmed Indian variant cases in Kirklees were undergoing PCR tests to check whether they too were positive.

Ms Spencer-Henshall added: "It’s difficult to know why our infection rate is as high as it is, but we do know how to prevent the virus from spreading because it remains the same.

"We all need to play our part so we can get Kirklees through the roadmap out of lockdown safely."

The partnership deal comes after Labour lost the city to no overall control in the local elections.

Kirklees in West Yorkshire will receive surge testing and extra vaccines after being identified as an "area of concern" as cases of the Indian Covid variant increase.

Image source, PA Media

There have now been 2,967 cases of the Indian - or the B.1.617.2 - variant identified nationally, Health Secretary Matt Hancock said.

This is up from about 2,300 on Monday.

He told the Commons that extra testing and vaccinations would now be introduced in Bedford, Burnley, Hounslow, Leicester and North Tyneside as well as Kirklees, which covers Huddersfield and Dewsbury.

The decision followed the use of an "extensive bio-security surveillance system" and techniques that showed these to be areas of concern, Mr Hancock said.

Further testing sites and vaccination doses will be made available for the over-35s in the affected areas.

On Tuesday, Kirklees Council said a number of cases had been identified in one household and some of them were pupils at a local school.

A 17-year-old boy from Huddersfield has sustained "life-threatening" injuries in a serious car crash on Saddleworth Road near Halifax, say police.

Image source, PA Media

The boy was with three other males in a blue Ford Fiesta which crashed at the junction with Church Lane, Barkisland at about 21:15 on Tuesday night, according to West Yorkshire Police.

The car came off the road on a bend and collided with a parked vehicle and a wall before striking another vehicle and coming to rest outside a farm building, police said.

Four males in the car were taken to hospital for treatment, with two suffering serious injuries, officers confirmed.

Anyone who saw the Ford Fiesta prior to the collision, witnessed the incident itself, or who has any mobile phone or dashcam footage of the crash, is asked to contact police.

A crowd of more than 3,000 fans is expected at Lincoln City's LNER stadium tonight as the Imps take on Sunderland in the League One play-off semi-final first leg.

Image source, PA Media

It'll be the first time Lincoln have played in front of spectators in more than 400 days, due to the Covid pandemic.

Maria Ryder from the Lady Imps Supporters Association said: "The feeling of being in Sincil Bank when a match is on and the place is full and bouncing and singing is amazing.

"As our team comes on to the pitch we'll rise from our seats and welcome them on."

For tonight's match Lincoln have signed goalkeeper Josef Bursik on an emergency loan from Stoke after regular keeper Alex Palmer suffered a head injury in training.

This is Lincoln City's seventh Football League play-off campaign and they are yet to get promoted via this method in any of the previous six attempts.

Imps manager Michael Appleton said: "We are a dangerous team and we go in looking forward to it rather than worrying about who the opposition are.

"We have given ourselves a fantastic opportunity to get promoted. Our attitude will be to try to win both games."

Relive all the action as Lincoln City beat Sunderland to take charge of their League One play-off semi-final.

Local Democracy Reporting Service

Labour and the Green Party have announced they will lead Sheffield Council together, putting an end to two weeks of speculation about how the city will be run.

Image source, LDRS

New Labour council leader Terry Fox, deputy leader Julie Grocott, Green leader Douglas Johnson and his deputy Alison Teal made the announcement together in the city's Peace Gardens, stressing they were not a coalition but a "co-operative administration".

The Liberal Democrats will remain in opposition but will play no part in the new administration, it's been confirmed.

The Cabinet has been retitled as the Executive and it will be politically proportionate with Labour taking seven seats and the Greens having three.

The Lib Dems declined the offer of seats but the "door remains open," if they change their mind say the parties in charge.

Both Labour and the Greens said they were under no illusion it would be plain sailing but were determined to work together.

Mr Fox (pictured wearing red tie), said: "This is a very exciting day and a new way of working. All through our talks with the Greens we have tried to put Sheffield first. "

"We hoped to have a triangular arrangement with the Lib Dems too, unfortunately that has not happened, but we have an agreement with the Greens which will give us an administration and take the city forward."

A teenager has been arrested after a 31-year-old man was stabbed in the back in Lincoln, say police.

Image source, Google

The man's suffered a "small stab wound" which is not thought to be serious, in the incident on Silver Street at about 16:00 on Tuesday, according to Lincolnshire Police.

A 17-year-old male was arrested and remains in custody, police said.

It's thought the suspect was in a group with several others, officers added.

Anyone who witnessed the incident is being urged to contact police.

The council will use the money to develop cultural activities aimed at revitalising a Hull street.

Corinne Wheatley
BBC Radio Leeds

Business owners near the scene of a huge fire in Bradford this morning say the blaze couldn't have come at a worse time.

Image source, WYFRS

The fire on Legrams Lane, next to a mill complex, is now "under control," the fire service has said., external

The blaze started just before 02:45 with 18 engines called to the scene.

Ten fire engines and one aerial ladder platform are currently on site and smoke can be seen rising from the complex.

Image source, WYFRS

At one of the police cordons, a local business owner was waiting anxiously this morning. His premises are right next to the furniture warehouse where the fire started.

He told me he still doesn’t exactly how much damage has been done to the building and his stock.

Other business owners in the area said they weren’t too worried when they saw smoke on their way in, but arrived to find the electricity out and they can’t open.

They all say the timing couldn’t be worse, this is the week when they hoped trading would return to normal.

Local Democracy Reporting Service

A "small number" of cases of the Indian variant of Covid-19 have been discovered in North Yorkshire, it's been confirmed.

Image source, Reuters

The number of cases and their locations have not been revealed, but North Yorkshire’s director of public health says each case is being followed up.

Louise Wallace said: "There have been a small number of cases of the Indian variant identified across North Yorkshire.

"As the public would expect national Test and Trace and Public Health England have been working together to identify and follow up the cases and their contacts to minimise the risk of spread."

The overall coronavirus rate in North Yorkshire remains low at 17 cases per 100,000 people, which is below the national average.

Richard Webb, North Yorkshire County Council’s director for health and adult services, said it was to be expected the county would encounter "turbulence" but said despite the cases of the Indian variant the picture remained positive.

He said: "We don’t have a situation like that is being seen across the Pennines fortunately, which is good news.

"However, Covid is still out there, the situation is a lot better than it has been for much of the last 15 months, but we should all expect turbulence at various points."

Power to homes has been restored following a huge fire at a warehouse in Bradford, according to Bradford City Council., external

Image source, WYFRS

The fire on Legrams Lane, next to a mill complex, is now "under control," the fire service has said., external

The blaze started just before 02:45 with 18 engines called to the scene.

Ten fire engines and one aerial ladder platform are currently on site and smoke can be seen rising from the complex.

Power to homes and businesses in the area, external was affected for several hours earlier, Bradford Council said.

The council said four primary schools had also been affected., external

People in the Shearbridge are being urged to keep doors and windows closed.

Incident Commander Chris Lawton said: "This incident will go on throughout the day so please bear with us and be patient."