Local Democracy Reporting Service

County lines drug dealers are increasingly using children under 10 because they're too young to be arrested, senior police have told a conference in North Yorkshire.

Image source, North Yorkshire Police

An event at Harrogate’s Grove Academy, for professionals working with young people, heard how criminals are exploiting loopholes surrounding criminal responsibility which starts at 10.

In England and Wales, children under 10 can't be arrested or charged with a crime, external, although they can be given curfews and supervision orders and in some cases they might be taken into care.

County lines sees gangs from cities sell drugs in suburbs, towns and coastal areas, often recruiting local people, including children.

Det Insp Stuart Liddell of the National County Lines Coordination Centre, told the event that the practice had seen children recruited in a way that was unprecedented.

Image source, North Yorkshire Police

The event heard that North Yorkshire is the highest importer of county lines drugs in Yorkshire, with 72 identified mobile phones lines used to call for drugs, while the highest exporter is West Yorkshire, with 69 identified phone lines.

According to current information there are nine county lines operating in North Yorkshire but police suspect that there are more which haven’t been picked up due to a “massive intelligence gap”.

A specialist police team in Harrogate has made more than 100 arrests since its formation in March 2018, including local children and those from elsewhere in the country.

These photographs were taken during North Yorkshire Police's county lines crackdown in October last year, which saw arrests in York, Thirsk, Scarborough, Harrogate and the Filey area.

Incidents involving a machete and a petrol bomb in Huddersfield are being linked as "targeted attacks", say police.

Image source, CYCLE TRACK

• On 3 May, a male was reported to be carrying a machete on the cycle track on Alder Street at about 18:35.
• On 7 May, a male was seen again with the weapon on Wentworth Street at about 14:00.
• On 9 May, two bricks were thrown through a property's window on Riggings Rise at about midnight.
• Later that day at 17:10, a petrol bomb was thrown at a car, and bricks were hurled at a property on Peridot Fold.

No-one was injured in the incidents.

Police believe the suspects are youths and were wearing hoodies.

Image source, Google

An 18-year-old man has been charged with using abusive and threatening language in connection with the machete incident and is due before magistrates.

A second 18-year-old man has also been arrested in connection with the same incident and has been released.

Det Ch Insp Fiona Gaffney said: "These incidents are all believed to be linked and are all believed to be targeted attacks.

“This level of disorder and violence is understandably causing concern to the local communities."

A 23-year-old man suffered a fractured skull and other facial injuries after he was robbed and left in the street for two hours in Beeston.

Image source, Google

The victim was found outside the Sylhet supermarket on Lady Pit Lane at about 07:10 on 28 April.

The man had been walking home after a night out but has no recollection of the incident.

Officers urge anyone with information to get in touch.

...Well here's your answer.

We told you earlier that a Lincolnshire firm was already printing thousands of royal baby tea towels and this is how they're doing it.

Oddly satisfying, eh?

North Yorkshire Police stopped a car which had allegedly been stolen from a cubs group on the other side of the Pennines.

Image source, North Yorkshire Police

Officers used "tactical pursuit and containment" to stop the vehicle, suspected of driving with false plates after being stolen from cubs in Greater Manchester.

On Twitter, North Yorkshire Police said the operation on the M1 had been "great teamwork" with two people arrested.

A 15-year-old boy was arrested in connection with the theft of a delivery driver's motorcycle in Hull.

The motorcyclist was using a cashpoint on Beverley Road when two people wearing bright coloured crash helmets and high-vis vests stole his black Taiwan Goldenbee bike.

The teenager arrested in connection with the incident, at about 16:20 on 5 May, has been released pending further inquiries and Humberside Police are appealing for witnesses to come forward.

A former Bradford security guard who repeatedly raped one teenage girl and sexually abused three other children has been jailed for 22 years.

Image source, WEST YORKSHIRE POLICE

David Bolton, 77, was found guilty of more than a dozen sexual offences against four girls between the 1970s and 2016.

Judge Rose said Bolton had "not shown a morsel of remorse for the wickedness" of what he had done to his victims.

In what the judge called "a campaign of rape", one girl was plied with expensive gifts by Bolton while he repeatedly abused her.

Another victim was sexually assaulted after he tied her hands to the pedestal of a washbasin.

Bradford Crown Court heard how he had now been diagnosed with early stage dementia.

Recovering addicts from Lincolnshire have taken up art to help with their addictions.

Art students in Lincoln have been working with people who've struggled with substance abuse.

Their work is now on display in the city as part of a special exhibition.

A celebration is being held tonight to mark the 10th anniversary of the Yorkshire Wildlife Park.

Image source, Geograph/Graham Hogg

The zoo opened near Doncaster in 2009.

It's home to more than 80 species including polar bears, lions, meerkats and baboons.

In January last year a £50m expansion to the park was approved by Doncaster Council.

A mill engine at Leeds Industrial Museum is coming out of retirement in a bid to let off some steam this weekend.

Image source, Leeds City Council

The machine, called Fiona Elizabeth, is being fired up for National Mills Weekend to show people how steam became the driving force behind the country’s biggest and most powerful industries.

The engine takes its name from Fiona Lister, descendant of Steward Tempest, owner of Armley Mills in the early 1900s, and Elizabeth Tempest, daughter of the last owner of the mill, which today houses Leeds Industrial Museum.

Made by Woodhouse and Mitchell of Brighouse in about 1887, the engine is said to be a typical example of the types of machines used to power many of Yorkshire’s smaller mills from the late 1800s.

Image source, Leeds City Council

After being employed at a dye works in nearby Lower Wortley, at the end of her working life, the engine fell into disrepair.

From 1980, a team of volunteers spent almost 5,000 hours restoring the engine.

John McGoldrick, Leeds Museums and Galleries’ curator of industrial history, said: “Seeing a mill engine in action helps us imagine what it must have been like working in a building powered by one of these machines.

“Engines like Fiona Elizabeth were once the beating heart of Yorkshire’s mills and helped propel the city and the region to the pinnacle of some of the world’s most important industries."

Lincolnshire Echo

A teacher died after she overtook a school bus on her way home, external, an inquest has been told.

Image source, Lincolnshire Echo

A large number of bags thought to contain asbestos have been dumped in a South Yorkshire village.

Image source, Jane Finney

Local residents in Mosborough spotted about 20 bags labelled "Asbestos Waste" dumped on Gashouse Lane.

Amey, the company which operates Sheffield City Council's Streets Ahead maintenance project, said it will remove the bags.

Image source, Jane Finney

In a statement, the contractor said: "Amey Streets Ahead were not previously aware of the bags containing asbestos located on Gashouse Lane.

"However, now that we are aware, we are making arrangements to collect them as soon as possible.”

Retailers across Lincoln City Centre are swapping their shop window mannequins for real-life models today:

It's part of the annual Fashion Week which will include in-store events and promotions across the next eight days.

Micheal Armstrong, from Lincoln's Business Improvement Group, says the event will finish with a catwalk in the city's most iconic location:

Local Democracy Reporting Service

A lap-dancing club in North Yorkshire will have to fix panic buttons and keep a log of “rule breaches” by clients, as part of new conditions.

Image source, Google

Kings Club, on Oxford Street in Harrogate, had an application for a renewal of their sexual entertainment licence approved by Harrogate Borough Council earlier this month.

However councillors have imposed multiple new conditions on the club, including the fixing and maintenance of panic buttons for workers.

Club owner, Paul Kinsey, says: "A lot of people have an inaccurate and completely outdated impression of lap-dancing clubs, and what actually goes on in them.

“But they are highly regulated environments, and we regularly liaise with police and the council and have regular inspections.”

Do you recognise this man? Officers want to identify him in connection with a serious sexual assault on a 14-year-old girl in Huddersfield:

Image source, WEST YORKSHIRE POLICE

The victim met the suspect outside Primark on New Street at about 12:00 on 25 April.

He then took her to an an address off New North Road, where the alleged attack happened.

The suspect is described as being aged in his early 20s, of skinny build, tall and with light-brown hair. He spoke with a London accent.

Det Insp Alex Bacon said: "This was an extremely traumatic ordeal for this young woman and she is being supported by specialist trained officers.

"We would like to hear from anyone who recognises the male or who has any information that could assist the investigation."

Over 40% of people in Lincolnshire aren't doing enough exercise, according to new figures.

According to Sport England, residents on the Lincolnshire coast and in the South Holland area are among the least active in the country.

The police and councils have set up a scheme called Let's Move Lincolnshire.

One of its organisers, Jayne Mitchell, says the trend is alarming:

A Yorkshire artist has refurbished the landmark Pavilions of Harrogate with a collection of works inspired by rivers of the region.

Image source, YORKSHIRE AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY

The Pavilions of Harrogate was built to host royals and VIPs during the Great Yorkshire Show in 1996.

Harrogate-born Hugh Miller was commissioned to create works for the 14 rooms, which are named after Yorkshire rivers.

One of the main painting is a 7ft-by-7ft piece to be placed in a suite where royals and VIPs are entertained.

The piece was inspired by the scenery on the River Swale below Richmond Castle.

Image source, YORKSHIRE AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY

Police have released CCTV of two men they want to speak to after a burglary at a Doncaster takeaway in which a cash till was stolen.

Image source, South Yorkshire Police

Officers believe the men can help them with their enquiries after the raid on Town End in Bentley at about 11:15 on Friday 29 March.

South Yorkshire Police are also keen to hear from anyone who may have seen or heard suspicious activity in the area at the time.

A new bench has been installed in Stamford to commemorate the aircraft which have flown from RAF Wittering.

Image source, South Kesteven District Council

It's now in place and ready to sit on in Castle Dyke and is one of three planned for Stamford.

They've been funded through donations and grants from the Civic Society and the South Kesteven District Council Community Fund.

A man arrested in connection with the disappearance of Hull student Libby Squire has appeared in court charged with a further unrelated offence.

Image source, Geograph/Peter Church

Pawel Relowicz, of Raglan Street, Hull, pleaded not guilty to a single charge of voyeurism when he appeared at Hull Crown Court. The allegation dates back to 16 February 2018.

The 24-year-old is also accused of 12 other offences, including five counts of burglary, three counts of voyeurism, three counts of outraging public decency and one of receiving stolen goods, between 2017 and 2019.

He's been remanded in custody and no application for bail was made.

A new trial date has been set for 12 August at Sheffield Crown Court.

Mr Relowicz was arrested on suspicion of abduction on 6 February in connection with Miss Squire's disappearance.

He has not been charged, but police previously said he "remains under investigation".