Police say Claudia Lawrence inquiry is not closed 15 years after she disappeared
Detectives have marked the 15th anniversary of the disappearance of university chef Claudia Lawrence with a plea for those with information to break their silence.
Ms Lawrence was reported missing after she failed to report for work at the University of York in March 2009.
Her disappearance has been treated as a murder inquiry by North Yorkshire Police almost from the start, and the case had become one of the best-known unsolved crimes of the last 20 years.
On Monday, Acting Assistant Chief Constable Wayne Fox insisted the inquiry was not closed.
PM sets out plans to support women entrepreneurs and boost apprenticeships
Rishi Sunak has set out plans to support female entrepreneurs, cut red tape for businesses, and boost apprenticeships.
The Prime Minister said he wants the UK to be the “best place in the world” for women to start a business.
He also pledged to create up to 20,000 more apprenticeships with plans to fully fund training for young people.
Change Lab launches a campaign to advocate for legal personhood for the River Don
Change Lab has launched an exhibition to raise awareness of the ongoing decline of the River Don as well as to campaign for the river to receive legal personhood.
The Social Action Group's exhibition, held at Sheffield's Student Union, is the latest step in their activism towards protecting the river.
If the River Don was granted legal personhood, it would be given additional rights, including specified guardians with the power to sue polluters.
Historically, the River Don was one of the most polluted rivers in Europe due to the chemical pollution from Sheffield's industrial activity.
Change Lab, as well as other environmental organisations River Don Project and the Don Catchment Rivers Trust, have pledged to protect the river.
Alban Krashi, Rights of Nature Advocate and co-founder of the River Don Project, which advocates for the legal personhood of the river, emphasised the importance of protecting landmarks such as the River Don. He said: "We often see ourselves as detached from our local environment and yet we see ourselves as holding dominion over the environment.
"Change Lab is essentially trying to demonstrate the future rights of nature in South Yorkshire. So we're not saying we have all the answers but we're just saying we recognise that there is a problem."
Ziqing Guo, a member of Change Lab, is also working to protect the river and its surrounding areas. She said: "If you want to protect the river you need to know how the river is and you need to interact with the river. But the constraints currently around the river stop people from interacting."
Change Lab has made the River Don Project one of its key advocacy themes for 2023/2024, and will be continuing the project throughout the year.
Two men charged in connection with alleged fraudulent banking schemes
Two men have been arrested in connection with fraudulent banking schemes in Glasgow and Manchester.
The pair, aged 36 and 45, were charged and will appear at Glasgow Sheriff Court at a later date.
The arrests were part of a Police Scotland investigation into several frauds, with victims reporting information being used to bypass bank security to access their accounts.
The total value of the frauds being investigated is about £2 million, police said.
Sparks fly as Sheffield robots square off at Kommune
Roboteers from across the UK descended on Kommune for a day of Robot Wars-style robot combat on Saturday.
Competing robots were equipped with a variety of different weapons, such as flippers, hammers, and spinning blades, with the aim of either incapacitating the other robots or causing the opposing team to ‘tap out’, and concede the fight.
Gus Collier, who runs SCAR (Steel City Antweight Robots), the organisation behind the competition, said: "Sheffield is certainly the gem of the north for robot fighting events.”
Mr Collier said: “What’s really driving up at the minute is the amount of audience that we’re getting. People are watching and bringing their kids. We’re seeing new people all the time - new faces coming in with their robots, whether it’s professional engineers or a parent and child who are just giving it a go.
“People are coming from as far as Bristol or the far reaches of Scotland to fight here."
Unlike the televised competition, in which the robots could weigh well over 100kg and be expensive and time-consuming to build, Saturday’s event was restricted to a maximum weight of 1.5kg, making the competition more accessible to roboteers from all walks of life.
Dylan Stanley, one of the roboteers competing in the tournament, told Sheffield Wire: “My son started watching old Robot Wars on Dave with his grandfather, and came back and said ‘Can we do it?’
“At the time, I thought our only option was to do the large robots - the 150 kilo ones that are £20,000, so I said no, we can’t do it, it’s too expensive. But he kept going on, so I found you can start with the smaller ones - so we built a couple!”
In the end, despite a closely fought final, the competition was won by Ice Breaker, a robot whose devastating vertical spinner made light work of the competition.
Friends band together to run the Sheffield Half Marathon in memory of an ‘inspirational’ racing driver
The death of an “inspirational” Rotherham racing driver by suicide has led a group of friends from Sheffield to raise money for mental health in his memory.
Jake Cook, a father of two, had competed in a variety of competitions, including the Formula Ford EuroCup and British Formula Renault Championship. His death led to 14 of his school friends coming together to honour his memory by raising money for the mental health charity, MIND.
His friend Jojo Quattrocchi, 32, said: “It’s been something so tragic but we’ve managed to try and spin that into something positive by running for Jake’s family, for MIND, and just sharing our solidarity for mental health and how we can maybe break these stigmas.”
Miss Parker detailed why they had chosen a marathon to raise money and pay tribute to their friend: “He had competed as a Formula racing driver for his whole life. He was an extremely sporty and inspirational person and I think we thought what more could we do in his honour than a sporting challenge?”
The group decided to start a fundraiser for the mental health charity, MIND, to help increase awareness of men’s mental health. Men make up 80% of suicides that happen in the UK each year.
Sheffield woman left traumatised after attempted break-in
An attempted break-in that felt like a “horror movie scene” left a Sheffield resident shaking, as the culprit hid from the police on her roof.
She said: “I heard a loud bang, and then another one. I thought it was my cats playing in the wardrobe.
“I opened the blind and saw a man and his hands on my window. It was like a horror movie scene. A man was at my window which is very difficult to get to.
“As a woman, this was terrifying.”
The resident called the police and asked a neighbour to come to her flat. Her and the neighbour assumed the intruder had climbed over the roof to the abandoned building next door, where the police searched for him.
It was then that the neighbour realised he could hear someone breathing, and spotted the intruder hiding on the roof near the window.
Tennis club saved from collapse by parish council funding
An Ecclesfield tennis club has beaten the odds to survive after “phenomenal” support from the public led to a burst of funding.
The £10,000 from Ecclesfield Parish Council was critical to meet the crowdfund target goal of £25,000 needed to ensure Thorncliffe Tennis Club would retain its £7,500 Sports England pledge.
The funding comes after the only club in Sheffield's north was on the brink of collapse, unable to raise enough money in time to urgently resurface its courts.
Without this funding, the three outdoor courts would have been unable to pass safety standards, and the club might have been forced to close.
Karen Lyon, fundraising manager for Thorncliffe Tennis Club, said: “When we started out with this I can tell you people really didn’t think it would succeed. It took us nine weeks but we did it.
“The public has been phenomenal. The support from local tennis clubs, the offers from companies helping us to resurface the courts, and of course the parish council have been incredible.”
The non-profit organisation, based in one of the poorest areas in Sheffield, raised £8,000 from crowdfunding thanks to the support of the Thorncliffe community.
Cheryl Lunn, 60, the club's secretary, said: "We were totally elated to discover we had been awarded the funds. It has made us realise that our local councillors recognise the value of our facilities to the local community and the negative impact it would have on people of all ages, genders and backgrounds if it was unable to survive as a result of the financial difficulties it faced."
The funding has meant that league matches are able to resume for the players at the High Green venue, with players ranging from four to 92 years-old.
The secretary said: "We have been totally overwhelmed by the support we have received via the crowdfunding platform, having received support both local and nationwide.
"We certainly did not expect this type of response for which we are eternally grateful and are astounded by 'the power of the media'."
Initially the bill for resurfacing was estimated at £54,000, but offers from local businesses to surface paint the courts and to produce a suitable tennis surface for free have knocked £20,000 off the bill.
An additional sum of over £1,000 was raised by local tennis clubs and members including Barnsley Pickleball Club, Rustlings Lawn, Hallam Grange Lawn, Grove, and Brentwood Tennis Club.
Since the crowdfunding campaign began the club has gained five new members, which has contributed to the affordability of these major repairs.
The reserves from the money saved by the non-profit organisation will go towards upgrading the club’s floodlights. The club have since extended their crowdfunding target to £35,000 to raise even more money to change the existing floodlights, which are currently unusable.
To donate to Thorncliffe Tennis Club see their crowdfunding page.
Santander UK launches new £185 offer to switch current accounts
Santander has launched a new offer of £185 to switch to an eligible current account, as banks’ battle to attract customers heats up.
The offer is open to new and existing Santander UK customers, using the Current Account Switch Service (Cass) to switch to either an Everyday Current Account, Santander Edge Current Account, Santander Edge Up Current Account, or Private Current Account (v2).
To qualify for the payment, customers must complete the switch in 60 days, pay in at least £1,500 within 60 days of requesting the switch and set up two direct debits within 60 days.
Money Saving Experts compares the top bank accounts that pay free cash for switching.
Cycle ride for cancer charity helps preserve legacy of Killamarsh murder victims
A cancer charity cycle ride in memory of the victims of the Killamarsh murders took place between Sheffield’s football clubs on Saturday.
Organised by the chairman of Sheffield City Football Club and friends and family of the victims, the event has so far raised over £1,300 for the Youth Cancer Trust.
The cyclists endured a 40-mile trip spanning Chesterfield, Dronfield, Stocksbridge and Sheffield, visiting eight football clubs en route.
Cameron Barton, 15, who was best friends with the Killamarsh victims, participated in the ride and said: “Going up to Stocksbridge, I pulled my quad and I thought I couldn’t do it.
“I just kept thinking I’ve got to get through it for the cause and for them.”
John Paul Bennett, 13, Lacey Bennett, 11, and their friend Connie Gent, 11, were murdered in 2021 by John and Lacey’s stepdad.
Their pregnant mother, Terri Harris, 35, was also killed in the incident.
Shortly before the tragedy, the children had been selling sweets to raise money for the Youth Cancer Trust.
Cameron’s uncle, Jamie Barton, is chairman of Sheffield City FC and wanted to help preserve their legacy by continuing their fundraising efforts.
Mr Barton said: “There were a couple of times we were fatiguing and I just kept saying it’s what we’re doing it for to push us on.
“The support has been amazing from the club and the community.”
Six people participated in the cycle ride, including Mr Barton’s 12-year-old daughter.
They began outside Chesterfield Stadium at 7am, before tackling Sheffield’s gruelling hills up to Stockbridge.
The group then returned to the city, crossing the finishing line at the Olympic Legacy Park before Sheffield City’s final match of the season.
Reflecting on the route, Mr Barton joked: “Why in God’s name did we choose to do it in Sheffield? It felt like the training had done nothing!”
The club continued to fundraise during their match with a raffle and a crossbar challenge.
70% of all money raised will go towards the charity, with the rest being used to support the grassroots football club's growth.
The campaign has far exceeded its £1,000 target, but Mr Barton would like to see it reach double this figure.
If you would like to donate to the team, the GoFundMe is available here.
International book-hiding campaign celebrates seven year anniversary this March
Nearly 18,000 readers have hidden their favourite books in more than 100 countries as a worldwide book-hiding campaign celebrates its seventh anniversary.
The Book Fairies, launched in March 2017, is a volunteer-led international campaign which aims to share books with other people by hiding them in public for others to find and keep.
Cordelia Oxley, the founder of the project, said: "There are people who like to read, and to share the books they’ve read. And guess what – everyone loves a nice surprise."
Volunteers can purchase special stickers to mark the books with: "take this book, read it, and leave it for the next person to enjoy," and a ribbon.
Actor Emma Watson, and climate-activist Greta Thunberg, are some of the famous people who have taken part.
Bex Thorp, the official Sheffield representative, said: “I love to share the joy of books which is why being a book fairy is so amazing. We spread book joy around wherever we go.”
To celebrate this year's anniversary, Ms Thorp will be hiding books all around the city and encouraging everyone she knows to join in.
She said: “I have a bag of second hand books all stickered and ready to be hidden in lots of places.
“Sometimes the hiding place is picked because of the book, there might be a theme or a quote that matches a hiding spot.
"As a book fairy, you are always looking for a great hiding spot and whenever I spot a good site I make a note so I can use it in the future.”
Katie Price has been declared bankrupt for a second time over an unpaid tax bill worth more than £750,000.
The former glamour model, who was previously declared bankrupt in 2019, owes £761,994.05 to HM Revenue and Customs.
At a short hearing at London’s Rolls Building, Insolvency and Companies Court Judge Sebastian Prentis said Ms Price had not responded to HMRC over the debt and declared her bankrupt.
He said: “There has been no response from the debtor. The papers are in order.
“There is substantial debt due from Ms Price to HMRC and therefore I will make a bankruptcy order.”
Ms Price did not attend the hearing on Monday.
This follows a Daily Mirror article published earlier today in which reporter Katie Wilson writes "Tory MP James Wild has called for tougher punishments for repeat driving offenders like Katie Price, who has been banned six times and has convictions dating back 20 years."