Live: Huddersfield breaking news, M62 and travel

Travel update

An update from the roads:

1) Queueing traffic and traffic heavier than normal on M1 Southbound between J41 A650 (Carrgate) and J40 A638 (Ossett / Wakefield).

2) Slow traffic on A62 Castlegate at A640 Trinity Street Traffic Lights.

3) Very slow traffic on A629 Cow Green at Bull Green Roundabout, Halifax.

Appeal after Paddock attempted robbery

A woman was threatened with a baseball bat by two men in Paddock.

The incident occurred on Monday December 11, around 5pm, near the Premier cash and carry in Paddock.

Two male suspects rushed over to the victim, a woman in her 40’s and pushed her to the floor. One of the suspects has tried to take the victim’s handbag but she resisted. The suspect then threatened the victim with what is believed to be a baseball bat.

A passerby intervened, causing the suspects to run off towards Clough Lane.

The victim was not injured during the incident.

PC Tracy Boucher of Huddersfield CID said: “This has clearly been a frightening experience for the victim, who was thankfully unhurt. I am appealing to anyone who may have been in the area and who has any information about what took place to come forward. Enquiries are continuing.”

Police say the first suspect is a male in his 20’s, around 5ft 8 tall of slim build with dark coloured eyes. He is described as wearing dark clothing with a hood up and his face partially covered.

The second suspect is described as a male in his 20’s, around 6ft tall and of slim build. He was also wearing dark clothing, including a dark coat with a reflective light coloured logo on the left arm. He had his face covered and was carrying a small baseball bat.

Anyone with any information is asked to contact Kirklees CID via 101 quoting 13170578388. Information can also be passed to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

Halifax Road is busy

Usual delays on A629 Halifax Road out of town from Blacker Road (Edgerton Cemetery) to A643 Brighouse Road (Ainley Top).

But the travel time is 12 minutes more than usual.

Rush-hour travel round-up

Here’s an overview of what’s happening on the roads:
1) Queueing traffic on A629 Salterhebble Hill and Huddersfield Road at the roadworks near the hospital by A646 Dryclough Lane. Travel time is eight minutes more than usual.

2) Very slow traffic on A62 Castlegate at A640 Trinity Street Traffic Lights.

3) Slow traffic on A62 Gelderd Road at A643 Leeds Road traffic lights. Travel time is seven minutes.

Evening grit

Gritters are heading out onto our roads in Kirklees and Calderdale shortly:

Motorway alert

The M621 Eastbound exit slip road lane is closed and there’s slow traffic due to accident at J2 A643 (Elland Road).

Lane one (of two) is closed.

'Damage only' in Brighouse crash

Here’s the latest on the crash in Brighouse...

The collision involved a Honda Civic Max and a Ford Focus. It’s thought the Civic was driven by a pensioner who was shaken but otherwise unhurt.

Paramedics travelling in a rapid response car helped at the scene but no-one was taken to hospital. The Focus was damaged to the nearside wheel arch.

Anyone who saw what happened should contact police on 101.

Christmas lights raise more than £1k in a week

This fantastic Christmas lights display at a house in Mirfield has raised hundreds for charity in just a week.

Derek Highe has once again turned his house into a festive spectacle in aid of Kirkwood Hospice, and the kind-hearted public have already been digging deep in response.

A JustGiving page set up to help him raise the cash has so far raised £1,086 for the hospice in Dalton. You can donate yourselves here.

Pictured: Crash in Brighouse

Some pictures of the collision in Brighouse this lunchtime.

We understand that nobody has been injured in the crash.

West Yorkshire Fire's newest recruit

It’s first day on the job for fire pup Jessie!

The ridiculously cute 13-week-old pup is training to be a search and rescue dog at the service’s headquarters in Bradford.

So far today, Jessie has had her photo ID taken, inspected the uniform and training facilities and been meeting fellow canine colleagues. Her handler John from Urban Search & Rescue has now taken her home after a long day.

Good luck Jessie!

No reports of injuries in Brighouse crash

Nobody is believed to have been injured in the crash in Brighouse

Crash in Huddersfield Road

Two cars have crashed in Huddersfield Road in Brighouse - here’s some video from the scene

Travel reports say traffic is partially blocked on the A641 in both directions at Daisy Road.

National news

Here’s a round up of the main headlines this lunchtime...

COUNCIL AT CENTRE OF GRENFELL TRAGEDY ‘REVEALED MORE THAN 1.5M PAPERS TO POLICE’
The council at the centre of the Grenfell Tower fire has disclosed more than 1.5 million documents to detectives as part of the criminal investigation, an inquiry was told. The public inquiry into the fire, which killed 71 people, was told that the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea (RBKC) was committed to its duty to be “open, transparent and fully cooperative” and not attempt to “defend the indefensible”. James Maxwell Scott QC, representing the council, told inquiry chairman Sir Martin Moore-Bick the local authority was asked to retain all its data on its servers by the Metropolitan Police on June 20.

TRUMP ATTACK ON MAY ON TERRORISM WAS ABOUT PROTECTING AMERICANS - US AMBASSADOR
Donald Trump’s attack on Theresa May on tackling terrorism was about protecting Americans and the whole transatlantic row over his sharing of anti-Muslim videos online was probably misinterpreted, the United States ambassador in London has said. Woody Johnson said the US president was not “namby-pamby” in his commitment to dealing with radical Islamist terror and would “take some chances” to achieve his goal. He said he still expects and hopes Mr Trump will visit the UK in 2018 despite the extraordinary diplomatic flare-up.

INFLATION HITS 3.1% IN NOVEMBER, A NEAR SIX-YEAR HIGH
Inflation unexpectedly jumped to a near six-year high last month, forcing the Bank of England to explain to the Chancellor how it will tackle Britain’s surging inflation. Figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) rose to 3.1% in November, up from 3% in October. It means inflation has climbed to its highest level since March 2012, with economists expecting CPI to hold steady for the third month in a row at 3%. The outcome spells more misery for households as they face a further squeeze on their finances ahead of the Christmas period.

Accident on the M62

Problems on the motorway this lunchtime...

Very slow traffic on the westbound carriage around junctions 23 to 22 due to an accident. One lane is closed and queues are building. Here’s the scene...

There are also queues further along on the same carriage around junction 19 due to an earlier broken down vehicle. All lanes have been re-opened here.

Homophobic violence in West Yorkshire has hit a 10-year high

The number of homophobic attacks in West Yorkshire is at its highest level in a decade.

Worrying figures obtained from West Yorkshire Police by a Freedom of Information request show that the figure of hate-fuelled violence this year was more than six times (62 - as opposed to nine in 2007) that recorded ten years ago. The number of crimes reported has seen a steady increase since then.

Police say this is because of changes made to how people report hate crimes.

A police spokesperson said: “West Yorkshire Police continue to raise awareness of hate crime and how to report it through its ongoing ‘Hate Hurts’ awareness campaign in partnership with the Police and Crime Commissioner. The campaign aims to give people a better understanding of what hate crime is and encourage victims of hate crimes and non-crime incidents to report them.

“The force has made improvements to how information about hate crimes are recorded. A number of sub-categories for the recording of faith and disability hate crimes have been introduced to get a better understanding of the impact of national and international events on local communities and improve and target services for victims.”

Major commuting route to shut tomorrow

Leeds Road at Shaw Cross, Dewsbury, will be partially closed tomorrow as roadworks are carried out.

Yorkshire Water will be shutting one lane as repairs are undergone.

MP pledges support for football fans' safety campaign

Thelma Walker has announced her support for a campaign for Town fans’ safety.

Stand Up For Town is committed to persuading the Government to make the case for safe standing areas in football stadiums.

The Colne Valley MP said: “As a child, I used to stand with my Dad at matches, and I’ll never forget that sense of excitement and the atmosphere it generated! So, if the technology for safe standing exists, the authorities should seriously consider permitting its introduction in English stadia.”

Heavy traffic on the M62 heading east

One lane is closed on the M62 eastbound near to junction 29 due to a lorry having a tyre changed. Looks like this is causing heavy traffic in the area.

WATCH: Moment Jo Cox's sister shares a brew...with the son of the man who tried to save her

After the success of this summer’s Great Get Together, Jo Cox’s family are doing it all over again for Christmas.

Here is the moment Jo’s sister Kim sat down with Phil Kenny, whose father Bernard intervened when the MP was attacked last June, trying to save her.

Sadly, Bernard Kenny passed away of cancer earlier this year. In a bizarre twist of fate, his son Phil taught Kim and Jo geography when they were at Heckmondwike Grammar.

WYP given 'good' rating

West Yorkshire Police have been rated a good force in a report published today.

Police watchdog HMIC have said the force is effective in keeping people safe and reducing crime, as well as treating people with fairness.

The report said: “West Yorkshire Police is judged to be good at how legitimately it keeps people safe and reduces crime. For the areas of legitimacy we looked at this year, our overall judgement is the same as last year. The force is good at treating all of the people it serves with fairness and respect. It is also good at ensuring its workforce behaves ethically and lawfully and it is good at treating its workforce with fairness and respect.”

Chief Constable Dee Collins said: “I am committed to ensuring these are principles which are embedded in West Yorkshire Police’s culture, as it is vital that we treat our own officers and staff in a way that, in turn, we expect them to treat members of the public.”

Snow to melt as milder temperatures are forecast

Looks like we may have seen the last of the snow for a while.

Weather across Huddersfield has been bitingly cold over the weekend but luckily temperatures are set to return to a slightly milder figure this week. Minus marks on your car dashboard will disappear as temperatures return to between two and three degrees, while forecasters have predicted snow to return to heavy rain this evening. Read more here.

Seasonal singalong at Kingsgate

Christmas shopping today? There’ll be live musical entertainment from BBC Leeds...

Broadcaster Richard Stead is at the shopping centre today to host a seasonal singalong. It’s part of a week’s whistle stop tour around West Yorkshire spreading a little Christmas cheer.

Update on missing man

A Dewsbury man reported missing has now been found, police say.

Shaun Parkin is safe and well.

Road closed due to collapsed sewer

Motorists warned about black ice

Black ice. It’s a thing. And it’s everywhere this morning.

Please stay safe and if possible avoid some of the exposed, bendy rural roads

Today's Examiner

Here’s today’s front page, leading on tributes to Sarah Oldham who died in Turkey after being struck by lightning.

M62

Here’s where it’s busy on the motorway this morning:

• Eastbound at junction 24 for Ainey Top
• Westbound at junction 21
• Westbound at junction 19

Latest on the roads

No major incidents to report on the roads this morning - traffic is running smoothly on the M62 with just routine morning traffic on the local roads, too.