Alexandra Wood

A second case of BTV-3 bluetongue has been confirmed in North Yorkshire as Great Britain records 493 cases since 1 July, including 473 in England. The midge-borne disease affects livestock but poses no risk to people or food safety. The Pirbright Institute is reportedly overwhelmed, with 2,401 suspected cases still under investigation. The National Sheep Association is urging farmers to vaccinate sheep before breeding and animal sales, although current vaccine stocks are short. Farmers are also facing concerns about animal deaths, reduced fertility and the wider spread of the outbreak.

A 34-year-old Hull door fitter received £90,000 in an out-of-court settlement after a drill left on a nine-metre ladder fell and punctured his calf while he was working in Kirk Ella. The injury became infected, required three days of hospital treatment, and has caused continuing nerve damage, impaired mobility and psychological distress. Hudgell Solicitors said former employer Conservatec accepted responsibility for failing to provide a safe workplace and adequate personal protective equipment.

Physics teacher Lee Nicholson, who taught at Aston Academy near Rotherham, has been banned from teaching indefinitely after a disciplinary panel found he developed an inappropriate and partly sexual relationship with a pupil between 2014 and 2018. The panel found that he spent extensive one-on-one time with her, encouraged drug use and masturbation, engaged in inappropriate physical contact, gave her gifts, and hid and locked her in school rooms to conceal the relationship. Nicholson was also convicted of possessing drugs, including cocaine, but was not prosecuted over the allegation involving the pupil. He expressed regret, but the panel rejected his claim that the conduct resulted from naivety or poor judgment. He can appeal to the High Court within 28 days.

Two boys from Harrogate were injured by shattered glass from a steam-room door at the Green Nature Diamond Hotel in Marmaris in September 2022. Their father spent 10 months obtaining CCTV footage of the incident, which showed the glass falling onto the children and helped Hudgell Solicitors challenge Jet2Holidays’ initial denial of liability. Jet2Holidays ultimately agreed to pay the family £7,000, with the younger son’s claim settled at Harrogate County Court because he was under 18.

Ryan Richardson, 20, of Brough, East Yorkshire, was sentenced at Hull Crown Court to two years and eight months in prison after pleading guilty to causing death by dangerous driving. He was scrolling through songs on his mobile phone while driving a Toyota Yaris at 67mph on the M62, where traffic was nearly stationary in a roadworks-related 50mph zone, and collided with a Toyota Aygo. The 68-year-old driver of the Aygo died at the scene. Richardson was also disqualified from driving for six years, while Humberside Police warned that mobile phone distraction can have fatal and preventable consequences.

A drone crashed into the mast stay of the Yorkshire Belle shortly after it left Bridlington Harbour, striking one passenger on the forehead and causing a serious cut. The noise and disruption apparently triggered an epileptic fit in another passenger, who was taken to hospital after continued seizures. The vessel returned to harbour, where police and paramedics attended, before the birdwatching trip resumed. The drone operator reportedly attributed the crash to a malfunction, while Peter Richardson speculated that signal interference may have played a role. Police referred the incident to the UK Civil Aviation Authority, and the Yorkshire Belle urged drone operators to remain at least 50 metres away and never fly directly toward the boat.

Northern plans to terminate its direct Hull-to-Halifax service at Leeds and replace it with separate Hull–Leeds and Leeds–Huddersfield services via Bradford, requiring passengers to change trains. The operator says the change would improve reliability by reducing knock-on delays on a busy route. Hull Liberal Democrats and Coun Mark Ieronimo oppose the proposal, arguing that it penalises passengers for operational failures and harms access to jobs, education, healthcare, family connections and businesses.

Funeral director Robert Bush is being sentenced at Hull Crown Court after admitting 67 offences linked to Legacy Independent Funeral Directors. Police found dozens of bodies stored in varying stages of decomposition, and families were allegedly given the wrong ashes. Court evidence showed Bush spent tens of thousands of pounds on holidays, motorbikes, shopping and home improvements while understating his income and transferring £369,612 to his wife. He is also accused of withholding between £5,000 and £13,500 in donations intended for charities including Macmillan Cancer Support, Help for Heroes, the RNLI, the Salvation Army, Dove House Hospice and WISSH.