York Live

Several roads have been closed in the city centre this morning (Sunday) following what police are describing as a serious accident.

Road closures are in place on Station Road, Lendal Bridge & Rougier Street.

Traffic can turn left out the rail station to access Leeman Rd only.

North Yorkshire Police first tweeted about the accident at 5.18am.

The closures will be in place until around 9am – please find alternative routes.

Two cyclists have been taken to hospital after an accident on Strensall Road this morning (Saturday).

They were in collision with a car near to the army barracks. The Yorkshire Air Ambulance was called to the scene. It took a male casualty to hospital, and a woman was taken to hospital by road ambulance.

The road is closed as investigations continue.

Bus services have set up diversions.

⚠️ UPDATE ⚠️

We are providing a shuttle service between Huntington Avon drive and Strensall via the A64 and Flaxton. ????

This will be a 40 minute service to allow access to Strensall.

We apologise for the disruptions caused. ^TC

— First York (@FirstYork) February 8, 2020

???? SERVICE UPDATE – 5 ????

Due to the Road Traffic Accident near Strensall Camp, the road has been closed and is expected to be for up to 4 hours. Service 5 will be terminating at Avon Drive until further notice.

We will keep you updated on this. ^TC

— First York (@FirstYork) February 8, 2020

It’s Time to Talk Day (Thursday, 6 February) and York’s mental health champions are out and about.

Throughout the day, the champions will be visiting cafés, restaurants, bars, community organisations and venues across the city to talk about Time to Change. They have been delivering coasters and spreading the word about the support available in York.

Time to Change is a growing movement of people changing how people think and act about mental health problems and aim to tackle the stigma around mental health.

City of York Council is supporting a local Time to Change hub in the city to help raise awareness of and challenge stigma around mental health.

Time to Change York coordinator Emma Williams said:

• No one should feel ashamed to talk about their mental health.

  We all have mental health and as Time to Change community champions in York, we use our personal experiences of mental ill health to have conversations with residents and visitors of York to help dispel myths and to end mental health stigma and discrimination.

  There are no ‘entry requirements’ or a need to have a formal diagnosis of a mental health condition to be a Champion. Anyone with a lived experience of mental illness can get involved!
  

To find out how, contact [email protected].

A house on Earswick Chase was broken into in York between Saturday 25 January and Friday 31 January.

The offenders gained access at the rear of the property where the patio door was smashed setting off the alarm.

Items taken included a Moncler navy blue padded outdoor jacket worth £700, a Moncler navy blue hooded jacket with soft padding inside and a white zip up the middle worth £600, and a Canadian Goose grey bomber-style outdoor jacket with grey hood and black trim on the cuffs worth £550.

Anyone with information that could assist the investigation should contact North Yorkshire Police on 101, select option 2, and ask for Lucy Watson, and quote reference number 12200018072.

Hawkin’s Bazaar on High Ousegate has now closed.

We reported last month that the store, which sells gifts, novelties and toys, was closing down.

It shut up shop over the weekend. The Norwich-based chain was the latest retailer to enter insolvency after struggling to make the High Street pay.

Four police vans have been involved in an ongoing incident in Strensall today.

The police teams were in the Westpit Lane area of Strensall at about 10am this morning.

Witnesses said four vans were involved in the operation.

Our picture shows one of the vans which was involved, but the house in the picture was not connected to the incident.

A North Yorkshire Police spokesperson said: “This is an ongoing incident regarding concerns for the safety and welfare of an individual.”

 

Police are investigating an attempted robbery at a York newsagent today.

This is what a North Yorkshire Police spokesman said:

• We are investigating reports of an attempted robbery at Holgate Bridge newsagents on Holgate Road at around 1.50pm today and officers are still at the scene.
  

According to an interview with the shop manager in the York Press, a man came in with a knife and threatened people in the shop.

But he was scared away by a male employee at the store.

The shop closed for a couple of hours but has now reopened. The member of staff has gone home to recover.

This is how it’s looking in the Craven area this morning (Tuesday).

The picture shows the A59 at Kex Gill where heavy snow is making driving dangerous. North Yorkshire Police are warning motorists that affected roads are becoming icy, and urge everyone to slow down.

Further afield, snow over the Pennines is causing slow traffic on the M62. Take care people.

*WEATHER UPDATE* Craven area is currently experiencing a heavy snow fall.

Higher ground and roads are becoming slippery and icy. Please slow down and keep your distance from the vehicle in front. #A59 #KexGill is shown below.#slowdown #StaySafe pic.twitter.com/lDJYCLwRZA

— North Yorkshire Police Traffic Bureau (@NYTrafficBureau) January 28, 2020

#SnowUpdate – We are currently seeing snow from J25 across the #Pennines. Traffic is very heavy from J25 #Brighouse. No incidents to report so all lanes open, just slow traffic due to the weather. Our team of gritters are out treating as required.

— Highways England (@HighwaysYORKS) January 28, 2020

Police have issued CCTV of a man and woman they would like to speak to following a series of shop thefts in York.

The first happened at the Co-Op Regents Building on York Road, Acomb, on Sunday 22 December.

This was followed by further thefts on 13 January at the BP Garage on Lawrence Street when a large quantify of meat was stolen.

Officers are asking members of the public to get in touch if they recognise the people in the images as they believe they will have information that will help the investigation.

Anyone with any information is asked to contact North Yorkshire Police on 101, select option 2 and ask for PC 536 Webster or email [email protected]

If you wish to remain anonymous, you can pass information to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

Please quote reference number 12190233647 when passing on information.

This is the scene in York at rush hour this evening (Friday, 24 January).

A two-vehicle accident – described as ‘serious’ by First York – has happened at the junction of Beckfield Lane and Boroughbridge Road.

Emergency services are at the scene.

The picture was tweeted out by Kez Smith at 5.17pm. He said traffic was building in the area.

More as we get it.

Service 5/5A, 10 and 59 – disruption due to a serious accident on Boroughbridge Road/Beckfield Lane. A number of buses are currently unable to pass the scene of the accident and are being delayed. More information to follow

— First York (@FirstYork) January 24, 2020

Service 5/5A in both directions unable to serve these stops:
Norman Drive
New lands Drive
Beckfield Lane End
Low Poppleton Lane
Wheatlands Grove
Plantation Drive
Cram room Avenue
Ours Acres
Bus are diverted via Carr Lane and Ostman Road.

— First York (@FirstYork) January 24, 2020

This will become a familiar sight over the coming weeks.

But the large crane working on York’s Guilhall restoration looks particularly striking against the blue sky of a winter’s afternoon.

The crane will be here for the best part of the year as the renovations and rebuilding continue.

An improved path open 24/7 for cyclists and pedestrians has been formally opened today (Wednesday, 22 January) at Burnholme.

The path, called the Burnholme Link, connects the city centre to Stockton Lane, Malton Road, Osbaldwick and the countryside beyond.

It has had new lighting and partial resurfacing and pedestrians and cyclists will be able to share the path which will be open all day and year round.

The path’s new lights have been installed by Joseph Rowntree Housing Trust which built the neighbouring development of Derwenthorpe.

The new path now connects that community’s residents to the Burnholme hub with its new sports centre, the vibrant community hub and library and its open spaces.

The path used to be gated for the benefit of students of the former Burnholme school and, since construction work began on the Derwenthorpe site, it was closed completely for safety reasons. Now work to improve the Burnholme sports pitches and to create the new Burnhome Sport Centre has completed, the path is safe to reopen permanently.

Cllr Andy D’Agorne, Deputy Leader of City of York Council and Executive Member for Transport, said: “I’m very pleased to see this sustainable connection which makes it even easier for people to walk or cycle to the fantastic facilities at Burnholme.”

Yorkshire Water are investigating after a main York road was flooded with what is said to be raw sewage.

Leeman Road has been affected, and drivers are asked to drive with care through the water.

According to Holgate ward councillor Kallum Tayor, the leak originates near the Siemens site.

He described it as “a serious health and safety risk”.

Hi @YorkshireWater @YWHelp can you plz confirm you're aware + acting on sewerage leak on #LeemanRoad near @Siemens site. I and others have reported thru website but FAST action needed. Serious health + safety risk. @CityofYork are aware. Plz call me on 07931557982 to update.???? pic.twitter.com/ly0yy44HBM

— Kallum Taylor (@Kallum_Of_York) January 20, 2020

Yorkshire Water has told Minster FM that they are investigating.

They said:

• We were made aware of sewage in Leeman Road in York late this morning with a team sent to the site as quickly as possible.

  The team jetted a number of sewers in the area and found no blockages.

  They also inspected the road gullies which were blocked with silt and could be causing the issue.

  The council are going to attend to unblock the gullies.
  

Gordon Brown has waded into the debate about relocating the House of Lords in York.

The former Prime Minister has told the present one that the change would be ‘cosmetic’ and that more radical reform was needed.

Speaking at a Westminster event organised by the group Hope Not Hate on Monday (20 January) Mr Brown said:

• Boris Johnson yesterday started floating proposals to move the House of Lords from London to York or Birmingham, or Leeds.

  He started floating proposals to rotate members of parliament, moving around the country. But I tell you, cosmetic changes will not make the difference that is needed…

  And Labour should be leading this debate about what we do in the future
  

‘We need not cosmetic change but fundamental change from top to bottom to renew and reboot Britain so Scotland does not secede and the regions feel respected.’⁦@OfficeGSBrown⁩ addresses ⁦@hopenothate⁩ event in Westminster. pic.twitter.com/pfoufl4daM

— Gordon & Sarah Brown (@OfficeGSBrown) January 20, 2020

Today (Monday) gets a lot of headlines for supposedly being ‘Blue Monday’ – the most depressing day of the year.

There’s not a lot of scientific evidence to back this up, but it’s almost a self-fulfilling prophecy with so many headlines about people being down and stressed.

The Samaritans have come up with a great response. They are reclaiming the day as Brew Monday.

And they have teamed up with LNER which means volunteers will be on hand at their railway stations for a cuppa and a chat, including York.

They are even giving away free teabags.

We will be at York train station today, Blue Monday. Come and meet us, have a chat and get some tea bags for you and a friend to share a cuppa together and celebrate 'Brew Monday'.

☕️☕️#York #LNER #BrewMonday

— York Samaritans (@YorkSamaritans) January 20, 2020

We’re welcoming volunteers from @Samaritans to @LNER stations today for #BrewMonday, supported by railway colleagues.

Please support them at King’s Cross, Peterborough, York, Newcastle, Grantham, Newark, Durham, Doncaster, Darlington & Berwick stations.#SmallTalkSavesLives pic.twitter.com/Yd1cGnV83L

— David Horne (@DavidHorne) January 20, 2020

Firefighters have been called out to Shambles this morning.

Two crews arrived at opposite ends of the famous street after receiving a call at about 10.50am.

They were responding to an automatic fire alarm.

Thankfully there was no sign of any smoke or flames on the street. Firefighters went in to do an inspection of Ye Olde Pie & Sausage Shoppe.

It proved to be a false alarm, and after the all-clear the firefighters left Shambles to the tourists and shoppers.

Police are appealing for witnesses after a collision between a vehicle and a bicycle in York.

The driver left the scene in an unknown vehicle after the incident on the Micklegate junction next to Popworld on Saturday 21 December at around 7pm.

The cyclist suffered bruising to both legs however, luckily escaped without serious injury.

A North Yorkshire Police spokesman said:

• We are requesting the public’s assistance to help establish the full circumstances around the incident, in particular information about the vehicle involved which also failed to stop at the scene after the incident.
  

Anyone with information that could assist the investigation should contact North Yorkshire Police on 101, quote the North Yorkshire Police reference number 12190234496. You can also email [email protected]

If you wish to remain anonymous, you can pass information to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

Rachael Maskell has backed Emily Thornberry for the Labour leadership.

The York Central MP, recently promoted to be shadow employment rights secretary by outgoing leader Jeremy Corbyn, lent her support to Emily Thornberry.

The shadow foreign secretary was short of the 22 nominations required to make it through to the last stage of the contest until shortly before the 2.30pm deadline, but finally managed to secure 23 – with Ms Maskell’s help.

The MP tweeted:

Today I extended the opportunity for the members to have the widest choice by nominating Emily Thornberry to get her on the paper in the leadership election after Clive Lewis withdrew. Our members must decide.

— Rachael Maskell MP (@RachaelMaskell) January 13, 2020

Emily Thornberry joins Sir Keir Starmer, Rebecca Long-Bailey, Lisa Nandy and Jess Phillips in the race for Labour leader.

If you’ve been following the story about the end of the York Theatre Royal panto as we know it, we’re going to hear from the man at the centre of the storm this lunchtime.

Executive director of the theatre Tom Bird is going on BBC Radio York after 2pm to make his first public statement about the plans.

We’re told that Tom is not announcing next year’s pantomime – that’s still scheduled for early February – but he will be talking about the current situation, about the next pantomime, and the situation with the actors.

You can listen online here.

These photographs by YorkMix photographer Richard McDougall show the early work underway on Queen’s Staith as part of the big Guildhall refurbishment.

Cranes and other infastructure are in place on the riverside.

Next week we’ll see the arrival of the crawler crane on pontoons, across the river on to the Guildhall site, which will happen next week.

Barges will deliver all the steelwork for the construction and the precast concrete floor slabs that would be near impossible to deliver by road to the Guildhall.

The £20 million renovation will turn the historic site into office space and conference rooms – while part of the south range is also being rebuilt to provide a cafe and a new riverside restaurant will be created on the north side of the site.

Reports are coming in this morning of a raid on a cash machine at a York petrol station.

Readers have contacted YorkMix to say that the ATM has been attacked at the Co-operative petrol station, on Great North Way, Nether Poppleton.

One witness said: “I was driving past at half six this morning and the police had it cordoned off.”

We have contacted North Yorkshire Police and will update the full story when they come back to us.

 
10.06 am update
We now have official details of the crime here:

 

Jane McDonald continued to film in York for her Channel 5 travel show today.

Among other things the singer and presenter did a piece to camera on Shambles.

And she called in to the York Roast Co on Low Petergate.

Owner of the business – home to the famous YorkyPud – Wayne Chadwick said she was due to film at their place on Wednesday:

• Jane was filming in York for her latest series of Holidaying With Jane McDonald.

  She was ill yesterday and they fell behind on filming. They were wanting to include us today but could only manage to catch up from yesterday.

  They called in to see us to apologise and had a cuppa at our store.
  

You can read about her visit to Stonegate Teddy Bears here.

It was the York City FC fans forum last night – and one of the concerns raised was the number of parking spaces on match days.

The club live tweeted some of the exchanges. And when asked about parking provision, the club’s sporting director Dave Penney told fans at the Haxby Sports Bar:

• To get the stadium developed there had to be a travel plan in place.

  The idea was to get as many people walking, cycling and park and riding to the ground.

  We have 400 car parking spaces to sell as a club.

  We have tried from the very early days – we said there’s not enough parking spaces, we have said that time and time again, but that’s the green travel plan [set by York City Council].
  

The forum also heard that there is no set date for the move to the LNER Community Stadium. But when it happens it will increase the ‘income generation opportunities’ for the club, said stadium development director Ian McAndrew.

Ian McAndrew on the stadium move:

“It’s getting nearer and nearer and nearer.”

“To give you an actual date, I can’t do it. It’s not our decision.”#ycfc ????????

— York City FC (@YorkCityFC) January 8, 2020

Following our post yesterday about part of the York city walls being closed, local democracy reporter Chloe Laversuch has been doing some more digging.

She reports:

Part of the city walls between Lendal Bridge and Station Rise is closed for an investigation into damage.

A spokesman for City of York Council says a team is looking into an area where the 1960s cladding is flaking away.

They will then be able to decide what repairs need to take place.

The council continuously monitors the condition of the historic walls.

The stretch between Station Rise and Lendal Bridge will be closed for structural inspections until Friday.

We reported on the blog yesterday that a water main burst was causing traffic problems in Strensall.

The work to fix the problem is now underway, and could last till Sunday.

Traffic is barred from The Village between numbers 64 and 100 to allow for repairs to take place.

A diversion is in place. According to the council notice, the restrictions will last until “2400hrs on the 12th day of January 2020 or when the works have been completed, whichever is earlier”.

Last night North Yorkshire Police were involved in the pursuit of a dangerous driver which finished like this near York.

Sgt Paul Cording revealed on his Twitter account that he was alerted by Durham Police to a driver wanted for an offence.

Sgt Cording said the drive “clearly didn’t want to stop and drove dangerously from the A1M to York when he was prevented from going any further”.

The car was stopped on Station Road in Upper Poppleton using what police call “tactical pursuit and containment” tactics.

The driver was arrested for taking without consent, dangerous driving, failing to stop, affray and trespassing on a railway “to name but a few”.

Sgt Cording said his car was damaged in the operation to stop the driver, “but was driveable”.

Finished off with a report from @DurhamPolice regarding a driver wanted for an offence. Clearly didn’t want to stop & drove dangerously from the #A1(M) to #York when he was prevented from going any further #TPAC My thanks to all those who assisted in the safe resolution????????‍♂️???????? pic.twitter.com/b4Rw50Jo6V

— Sgt Paul Cording ????+????=❌ (@OscarRomeo1268) January 7, 2020

Firefighters came to the rescue of a stranded kitten today.

The adventurous kittie had managed to climb onto some guttering high up on a house in Sterne Avenue, Tang Hall.

But then it realised it couldn’t get down

First the RSPCA were called in. But they could not rescue the pet, so inspectors called in the fire brigade.

A crew from Acomb responded to the call at 9.33am today (Tuesday).

Firefighters used a triple extension ladder to reach the kitten and bring it safely down to earth.

This pile-up of chairs and tables is outside the Judge’s Lodging which is now closed for a refurb.

The Lendal hotel is shut until 14 February for work on its cellar bar, restaurant and bedrooms.

Grade I listed, the hotel has plenty of history. It was built between 1710 and 1727 for a York doctor on a former churchyard, and “several cartloads” of human bones were dug up when the foundations were laid.

From 1806, judges visiting to sit in the Assize Courts stayed here.

It last had a major makeover in 2014, when owners Thwaites invested £1.7 million in a six-month upgrade.

A section of the York City Walls is closed this week.

The stretch over Station Road, close to the junction with Rougier Street, is shut off to the public.

A note from City of York Council says they are undertaking structural inspections.

Wall walkers are asked to return to road level and rejoin the fortifications at the next entry point.

The closure is expected to last till close of play on Friday.

The York Press is reporting that the police helicopter has been hovering over Upper Poppleton “for about an hour this lunchtime”.

It seems there are conflicting reports at the moment. The Press states:

• One eyewitness said it appeared to be flying primarily near the River Ouse.

  Another villager said several police vehicles had been seen near the railway station.
  

We’ll check with the police and update.

3.36pm update

We now have a full story here:

This from police:

• Please be aware that we have had three Catalytic Convertor theft in York in one day.

  Two of these were from public car parks during the day. These being at Rawcliffe Park and Ride and the Vue Cinema at Clifton Moor. Both of these vehicles were Toyotas.
  

If you are not aware what these are then there’s a helpful guide on the BBC. Any information, please call police on 101 and quote 12200003298.