Boss Richard Agar is quietly excited by Leeds Rhinos' promise for 2022, before Saturday's Super League opener against Warrington.

Mason Cowgill was captured on CCTV drinking Bollinger while driving a van in the Yorkshire Dales.

Local Democracy Reporting Service

The planned revamp of Leeds City Square could be the “jewel in the crown” of the city in a jubilee year, a senior civil servant has said.

Image source, RE-FORM LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE

Plans for the central area include closing the area between the Queens Hotel and Mill Hill Chapel to general traffic, giving priority to pedestrians, public transport and cyclists.

The space would double in size, with early blueprints including creating a woodland area with trees, water features and informal play areas for children.

The works are expected to start this April and could be finished by the end of the year.

The scheme’s programme manager, James Bennett, told a West Yorkshire Combined Authority meeting: “We are in this Jubilee year so, for Leeds, I would say this is the jewel in the crown of all schemes that have come before.

“It allows us to open up city square as an events space, for example, for the forthcoming city of culture 2023."

Mason Cowgill was captured on CCTV drinking Bollinger while driving a van in the Yorkshire Dales.

A CQC report finds areas of positive change at the United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust.

A man who drove his work van through the Yorkshire Dales while swigging champagne and calling his friends has been jailed for eight months.

Image source, North Yorkshire Police

Mason James Cowgill, 27, of Gargrave, North Yorkshire, drove along the A65 near Ingleton while drinking from the bottle of Bollinger in June last year.

He drove into the back of another car, which he reported to his boss who then checked in-cab footage from the van.

Cowgill admitted dangerous driving at York Crown Court on 2 February.

He was sentenced to eight months in prison and was disqualified from driving for 32 months, after which he should sit an extended driving test.

Cowgill was seen in the video footage drinking and driving, often without his hands on the steering wheel.

Dave Woods assesses St Helens' chances of retaining the Super League title - and examines the rest of the sides' prospects.

Counterfeit cigarettes worth an estimated £30,000 have been seized by police during a day of action in Dewsbury.

Image source, PA Media

West Yorkshire Police said officers, working with Safer Kirklees and West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service, recovered about 60,000 fake cigarettes.

The cigarettes have been passed on to Trading Standards for further investigation.

The items were discovered during an operation to make the town centre safer.

Sgt Rich Teal said: “The day's operations saw us carry out some valuable crime prevention and reassurance work and send a clear message that illegal behaviour which affects others, whether in the form of ASB or business activity, will not be tolerated."

A Grade II listed bridge in North Yorkshire is to be repaired this summer after being struck several times in "hit-and-run" road accidents.

Repairing accidental damage to the stone bridges that cross our waterways is costing up to £1m a year, the Canal and River Trust has said.

Image source, Tim Green

The charity is asking drivers to take more care as most of the damage is done in hit-and-run crashes, leaving the trust unable to recoup the cost of the damage from drivers’ insurers.

Priest Holme bridge over the Leeds/Liverpool canal near Gargrave, North Yorkshire, has been particularly hard-hit, and repairs are due to be carried out over several weeks.

The project is scheduled to take place between April and October, with dates to be confirmed nearer the time.

Ruth Garratt, heritage advisor at Canal and River Trust, said: “Bridges are such an important part of the canal’s character and the area’s heritage.

"Each time a bridge is hit a small bit of history is lost.

“If motorists just slowed down a bit and paid more attention, they would save a lot of cost and aggravation."

Image source, Canal & Rivers Trust

BBC Weather

Today, will be mainly cloudy and patchy light rain or drizzle is possible at times throughout for most. A mild and breezy day.

Into the evening, rain may turn heavier and a little more persistent in places. Turning drier overnight with a few clear breaks possible.

A man has died after the car he was driving crashed into a wall in Sheffield.

Image source, Google

The driver, named as 24-year-old Tom Collier, was killed when his vehicle crashed on Shepcote Lane at about 10.25 on Saturday.

South Yorkshire Police said Mr Collier, from Sheffield, was the only person in the car at the time of the incident.

Any witnesses or anyone who may have dashcam footage of what happened is asked to contact police.

The deaths involved soldiers based at Catterick Garrison in North Yorkshire, the Army confirms.

Landmark buildings in Leeds are to be lit this week to mark 2,000 Covid-related deaths in the city since the start of the pandemic.

Image source, Leeds City Council

Leeds Town Hall, Leeds Civic Hall and Leeds City Museum will be illuminated from Monday evening until Thursday in blue - as a mark of respect for the city’s NHS and care staff, and yellow, the colour for grief awareness.

Leeds City Council said it was in recognition of both those who have lost their lives and the front line workers who have saved so many others.

Councillor James Lewis, leader of Leeds City Council, said: “This is a sombre milestone for the city which should prompt us all to pause and reflect on the unimaginable toll the past two years have taken on those who have lost family members, loved ones and friends.

“It is also an opportunity for us to be proud of the unity and compassion Leeds has shown throughout the darkest days of pandemic and to look towards the days to come with hope and optimism that having endured so much together, we can be closer and stronger than ever.”

An angler who filmed a porpoise on the Nottinghamshire-Lincolnshire border says it was a sight he and a friend "will never forget".

Matthew Haywood saw the mammal breaching at Torksey Arm on the River Trent on Sunday morning.

Erin McDaid, from Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust, says: "Porpoises are spotted every few years when there are high waters and they head up river.

"It's a nice reminder that, even though we are landlocked here, we are directly connected to the ocean and it's hopefully a sign of healthy populations."

But grade inflation caused by two years of teacher-assessed grades will not continue, exam boards say.

The driver of a car which got stuck on prohibited farmland has been fined by police.

Image source, Humberside Police

The car got into trouble in deep water on Green Lane between Wetwang and Fimber, East Yorkshire, on Sunday.

Drivers are not allowed to use the road between 1 November and 30 April, leading to police issuing a fine for offences.

Image source, Humberside Police

Clive Settle
BBC Radio Leeds

Hundreds of people across West Yorkshire with underlying health conditions are receiving a new treatment for Covid-19 which aims to reduce the chance of them having to go into hospital.

Image source, Getty Images

Involving an infusion of coronavirus antibodies into the blood, or via a course of antiviral tablets, more than 1,400 people in West Yorkshire have so far been assessed for the treatment.

It is administered at an outpatient unit or in people's own homes.

One of the first people to receive the infusion in West Yorkshire was Paul Woodward, 52, who has cystic fibrosis and diabetes and who had a double lung transplant nearly 30 years ago.

Mr Woodward says: "I feel very happy it’s been possible to have the antibody infusion as I have lost several friends to Covid.

"I know anyone in my situation would jump at the opportunity to try and make sure they don’t get poorly from Covid."

People who are at the highest risk from Covid-19 will be contacted by the NHS if they test positive, advising them that they will be assessed for suitability for one of the new treatments.

The 21-gun salute in York celebrates the 70th anniversary of the Queen's accession to the throne.

The East Yorkshire MP who piloted a code of practice to crack down on "cowboy" private parking firms has welcomed its introduction by the government.

Image source, getty

Conservative MP Sir Greg Knight has campaigned to bring the Parking (Code of Practice) Bill through Parliament and onto the Statute Book.

It aims to protect millions of drivers from unfair and extortionate charges and will mean companies will have to display prices more clearly, introduce a fairer system for appeals and give drivers a grace period for lateness.

Sir Greg tweeted: "Pleased to see some action by the government to implement a new parking Code of Practice. This is long overdue."

Sheffield United striker Rhian Brewster is set to miss the rest of the season with a hamstring injury.