Pete Allison
BBC Radio Leeds

An award-winning nature reserve in Leeds has temporarily closed to visitors because of building work taking place nearby.

A derelict mill adjacent to Rodley Nature Reserve, external is being redeveloped, which means an old canal swing bridge needs to be replaced.

As a result, there will be no access to the reserve by car or foot, and so volunteers say they have been left with no option but to close it for an "uncertain" period of time.

However, it is hoped the site, which was named "Nature Reserve of the Year" in 2018 by Countryfile Magazine, could be open again by late spring.

Volunteer Jerry Knapp told BBC Radio Leeds: "It's a bit of an oasis for wildlife, and for people. It's really valued by the local community.

"We'll do the habitat maintenance to keep the birds going, but the local community will lose out."

Hear more about Rodley Nature Reserve below:

Humberside Police is investigating two incidents of objects being hurled at traffic from bridges.

Thaaqeeb Zafar left a Bradford teenager with a brain injury after knocking him down, a court hears.

A court hears Declan Grant's victim had just enjoyed a night out with his mother in Lincoln.

Satish Kumar travelled from his home in Scotland and waited near her family home in Chester.

An appeal for witnesses has been launched after a pedestrian was treated in hospital for serious injuries following a collision with a car in Cleethorpes, police say.

Image source, Google

The pedestrian suffered serious injuries to her leg when she was hit by a black Citroën DS4 on St. Peters Avenue, near to the Co-op supermarket, at about 11:00 on Sunday.

No-one else was hurt in the incident, officers said.

Anyone who saw the collision, or who has dashcam footage from the area at the time, is asked to contact police.

An 18-year-old man's been arrested on suspicion of drug-driving after a motorcyclist was seriously injured in a collision with a car near Rotherham.

Image source, Google

A red coloured Ford Fiesta and a Honda motorbike collided on Manvers Way in Wath upon Dearne at about 23:20 on Sunday, according to South Yorkshire Police.

The collision happened after the Fiesta turned onto Manvers Way at the junction of Cawood Drive, police said.

The motorcyclist, a man in his 20s, was taken to hospital with serious injuries following the collision.

The driver of the Fiesta has been released while an investigation into the incident takes place.

Anyone who saw what happened, or who has dashcam footage from the area at the time of the collision, is asked to contact police.

Local Democracy Reporting Service

A council leader has called for a return to remote meetings amid spiralling numbers of Covid-19 cases.

Image source, Getty Images

Rotherham's Chris Read said it was "perverse" that meetings took place in person despite government guidance urging people to work from home due to the rise in the omicron variant.

Legislation which allowed council meetings to be held virtually from April 2020 expired in May 2021.

Speaking ahead of the next full council meeting on Wednesday, which will see 59 councillors plus staff, public and press meet at the Magna centre, Mr Read said there was a "cost and complication" to in-person meetings.

He added: "But at the time when the government's telling people they should work from home where they can, it seems perverse to say that councillors all have to go in a room all together.

"It seems wrong to me that the government are telling people to work from home where you can, but specifically saying you councillors can put your health at risk by going and all sitting together in one big room."

A judicial review which would have allowed virtual meetings to continue was dismissed by the High Court earlier this year, said the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

A spokesperson for the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities said councils should follow Covid-19 guidance and the government would work closely with them.

They said the department would be "responding shortly" to evidence submitted regarding "a longer-term decision about whether to make express provision for councils to meet remotely on a permanent basis".

Ross Turton stabbed Danny Irons because he was planning to rob his cannabis farm, a court hears.

Rotherham's public health director says there has been a "worrying" rise in Covid-19 cases.

The assault was said to have taken place on a wooded path near to Farnley Academy on 5 January.

A union says it is "another nail in the High Street's coffin" and warned hundreds of jobs could go.

BBC Radio Leeds

A £42m scheme to revamp one of the main routes into and out of Leeds has been approved.

Image source, Leeds City Council

It centres on the Armley Gyratory, which connects Leeds to main roads to Bradford and the motorways.

The planned changes, which have been approved by West Yorkshire Combined Authority (WYCA), will see wider roads and extra lanes added to the area as part of a new push to reduce vehicles in the centre of Leeds.

WYCA officer Melanie Corcoran said: “The aim is to close to Leeds City Square to through traffic.

“The works at Armley Gyratory are critical to improving the capacity and to allow traffic to be routed away from the city centre.”

As well as aiming to make traffic flow better, extra capacity for vehicles will be created.

Other changes will see the demolition and replacement of footbridges, and the addition of more modern traffic lights.

Richard Madden
BBC Radio Humberside

Six Wilko stores across Yorkshire and Lincolnshire will be closing with the potential loss of 98 jobs.

The sites, in Scunthorpe, Cleethorpes, Grantham, Skegness, Rotherham and Shipley, have now entered a 30-day consultation period and will shut over the next 12 months.

In total, 15 stores across the UK are at risk, with the retailer saying it is now talking to landlords to renegotiate leases on more 'favourable terms'.

Jerome Saint-Marc, the chief executive of Wilko, says: "There’s no denying the way people shop with us and where they want to shop with us is changing.

"As a business we’re evolving and this includes working with landlords for more favourable terms, as well as looking at locations and store formats.

"We’ll be doing everything we can to support our affected team members who will be offered any available positions in nearby stores."

The GMB Union says the move is a "another nail in the High Street's coffin" and says it will be meeting with members to discuss the next steps.

BBC Radio York

An online crowdfunding page set up in memory of University of York, external student Harvey Parker has raised £70,000.

Image source, Met Police

Police searching for the 20-year-old, who went missing after leaving a central London nightclub in December, confirmed last week that his body had been discovered in the River Thames.

His death is being treated as unexplained.

The day before Harvey went missing he had spent the afternoon at an escape room with his family, before heading off to see a music concert in Brixton. He then went to the Heaven nightclub at about midnight.

The University of York paid tribute to Harvey saying he was a "dedicated BA Music student who will be remembered in particular for his wonderful flute playing and all-round musicianship.

"He had a bright future ahead of him and our thoughts at this very sad time are with his family and friends and the students and staff he got to know at the university.”

Bradford-based supermarket chain Morrisons is to scrap use by dates on most of its milk in a move it says will stop millions of pints being poured down the sink.

Image source, Morrisons

The retailer will instead place best before on 90% of its own-brand milk and encourage customers to use a sniff test to check quality.

Recycling charity Wrap said Morrisons was the first supermarket to make the move, which starts later this month.

Milk is the third most wasted food and drink product in the UK, after potatoes and bread, with around 490 million pints wasted every year, according to Wrap.

It also estimates 85 million pints of milk waste may be due to customers following use by labels, despite research showing it can be used days after the date.

Image source, Reuters

Morrisons believes the move could save seven million pints of its own-brand milk being poured away each year.

Best before is about quality rather than safety: after the best before date the food may lose some of its flavour and the texture may not be so good.

After a use by date the food may not be safe to eat.

A CCTV image has been released by police after a man who lost consciousness due to a "medical episode" in a Sheffield park had his jacket and bank card stolen.

Image source, South Yorkshire Police

The victim, a 29-year-old man, was on a bench in Weston Park, Sheffield, on 30 December at about 18:00, according to South Yorkshire Police.

While he was unconscious a man approached him and stole his jacket which contained his bank card.

The card was then used at a number of shops in Sheffield.

Officers say they believe the man pictured in the CCTV image might have information about the incident.

Anyone who recognises him is asked to contact police.

BBC Weather

This morning will be cloudy and largely dry.

Some showery rain will develop in places in the afternoon, but it will be mostly light and patchy.

This evening will remain cloudy with some showery rain falling for most areas.

Overnight some further showery rain is likely:

Rail services are being reduced across northern England from today due to the impact of Covid on staffing.

Image source, PA Media

TransPennine Express said it's introducing an amended timetable "due to disruption being caused by increased levels of sickness".

The firm said the changes would provide "a greater level of certainty for our customers".

Services between Scarborough and Manchester will be replaced with an hourly service to York, and extending to Leeds at peak times.

Routes, including between Newcastle and Liverpool, Cleethorpes, Sheffield, Hull and Manchester, are also affected.

The firm's managing director Matthew Golton said the timetable changes would affect all routes and was due to "the ongoing impact of Covid and the Omicron variant, as well as some industrial relations issues".

"While we are disappointed to be making these changes and reducing services, our priority is keeping people moving," he said.

Passengers are advised to check the firm's website, external for the latest information.