Unauthorised "car meets" at a West Yorkshire industrial estate led to dozens of motorists being issued with fines.

CCTV was installed at Bradford’s Euroway Trading Estate after it was identified as a hotspot for anti-social driving.

More than 100 fixed penalty notices were handed out after two large gatherings there in October, according to Bradford Council.

But one councillor said the problem was only dealt with after the council's Green Party representatives “made a big fuss”.

A new report by the Safer Bradford Partnership said the estate had been popular for the car gatherings due to its proximity to the M606.

The report said: "There has not been a further meet since October, and we hope the issuing of fines is having the desired effect of deterring these events."

'Not a harmless thing'

A public space protection order was introduced across Bradford in 2019 in a bid to tackle driving that is anti-social but not necessarily illegal.

Motorists can be handed fixed penalties of up to £100 for loudly revving engines, shouting at people out of their windows or attending unauthorised gatherings.

Tong councillor Matt Edwards, the leader of the council's Green Party group, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that the bulk of the tickets were handed out after his party raised concerns that very few motorists were being punished.

"Up until the summer of last year only nine tickets were issued," he said.

"Green ward councillors made a big fuss of this and since then 123 penalty notices were issued just from a few car meets."

He added: "There is actually a road of houses in Euroways and Rockhill Lane is well used by residents in Bierley so this is absolutely not a harmless thing to do."

A Bradford Council spokesperson said: “We take the anti-social use of motor vehicles very seriously.

"After two larger meets at this location in October 2023, over 100 fixed penalty notices were issued and no further meets have taken place."

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A new push to encourage Bradford families to get their children vaccinated against childhood diseases begins on Monday.

It comes after an increase in measles in the area, with vaccination rates across the country at a 10-year low.

More than one in 10 Bradford children aged five have not had the MMR vaccine, according to NHS data.

An NHS spokesperson said the "ongoing measles outbreak is a very present threat".

Bradford health chiefs will be targeting areas where the vaccine rate is lowest and encouraging parents and guardians with children up to five years to get any missed jabs.

NHS research shows that 83.6% of five-year-olds in the district have had two doses of the vaccine.

The World Health Organisation target rate is 95%.

In December, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) declared a national incident in response to an increase in measles cases in England.

A number of special clinics will run from schools across the Bradford district from Monday until mid-April, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Sarah Muckle, Bradford Council's director of public health, said: "Childhood immunisation has been one of the major health successes in the UK preventing thousands of deaths.

"We've seen recently that childhood diseases are on the increase again so it's vital that parents and carers protect their children.

"We're urging them to make sure their child is up-to-date with their vaccines."

The school immunisation service will only be using the Priorix® vaccine which contains no pork gelatine.

The UKHSA said it had recorded 650 cases of measles since October - the majority of cases were recorded in the West Midlands but clusters were now being seen in other parts of the country, including Yorkshire and the Humber.

Last week Professor Dame Jenny Harries, chief executive of the UKHSA, said: "We need an urgent reversal of the decline in the uptake of childhood vaccinations to protect our communities.

"Through this campaign we are particularly appealing to parents to check their children's vaccination status and book appointments if their children have missed any immunisations.

"The ongoing measles outbreak we are seeing is a reminder of the very present threat."

Incident Room: Measles Outbreak: Why now?

BBC Health reporter Smitha Mundasad examines why the virus is back and what can be done to get rid of it.

Plans for a new £2 billion tram system connecting Leeds and Bradford have officially been unveiled. That’s right: Leeds, often bemoaned as the biggest European city without a mass transit system, might finally get one!

Local government office the West Yorkshire Combined Authority has ambitions to initially build two tram lines in the region – creatively named the Leeds Line and the Bradford Line. If that all goes well, there’s hopes to build a third line to Dewsbury (south of Leeds and Bradford) shortly after.

The Leeds Line will run from St James Hospital to White Rose Shopping Centre while the Bradford Line will join the two cities, stopping by Bradford’s upcoming new railway station. Exact stops for that one haven’t been finalised yet, but the BBC reports that it could run via Bramley, Pudsey and Laisterdyke.

Tracy Brabin, mayor of West Yorkshire, said that the project would be ‘transformational for the north’ and revolutionise the region’s transport network. It comes after several failed attempts to kickstart bus and tram schemes in Leeds over the years. This marks the first time that West Yorkshire has focused on creating a region-wide trams network.

Susan Hinchcliffe, leader of Bradford Council, said: ‘West Yorkshire is currently the biggest region in the country without a mass transit system. These tram proposals are part of a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for comprehensive new transport links, which will undoubtedly enhance people’s lives.’

Next steps will see the scheme sent to the government for approval. If everything goes to plan, we’ll still have to wait a while before we see a tram network come to fruition – work would start in 2028 at the earliest.

Transport transformations with Time Out

There’s a lot of money going towards upgrading and creating new travel networks in and around the UK. And we’ve got our eye on a lot of them. There’s plans to create undersea tunnels between the Channel Islands, to launch a new luxury rail route in Scotland and big investment going towards making journeys between England and Wales faster.

Did you see that two UK cities are officially the cheapest in the world for expats?

Plus: All the winners of the British Pie Awards 2024.

Stay in the loop: sign up to our free Time Out UK newsletter for the latest UK news and the best stuff happening across the country.

A planned ban on disposable vapes was "too late" for many young people, according to a West Yorkshire charity.

Last month, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said measures would also be introduced preventing vapes being marketed at children.

The government said the ban would stop the rise in youth vaping and protect children's health.

But Liz Robinson, from Step 2 Young People's Health in Bradford, said "lots of young people are already addicted".

The most recent figures from the Action on Smoking and Health charity suggested 7.6% of 11 to 17 year olds now vaped regularly or occasionally, which was up from 4.1% in 2020.

Ms Robinson, the charity's chief executive, said: "They've let disposable vapes become really common."

"I've talked to young people in a school who say 75% of people in their class are [vaping]," she added.

Ms Robinson said Step 2 ran vaping awareness workshops in secondary schools in Bradford and also intended to start them in primary schools later this year.

She said the devices should never have been made available in places like corner shops and supermarkets,

"They should have been where the other nicotine replacement therapies are."

'It's shocking'

Dixons Sixth Form Academy is among a total of 25 schools in Bradford which have called for tougher rules over vaping.

One student, Maliha, said she was concerned young people were not aware of the potential health risks they posed.

"When you see little children walking to school, primary school children, with a vape in their hand, it's shocking.

"You think, why is that child being given a vape? Why is nobody intervening?"

However, fellow student Atira, who used vapes, said she believed it had helped her quit smoking cigarettes.

"For people who have genuinely gone through stuff and turned to a vape, they've done something that they thought has helped them.

"Vaping has helped so many people come off of cigarettes and having nicotine patches," she said.

'Can help quit'

According to the NHS, while vaping was substantially less harmful than smoking, it had not been around long enough for its long-term risks to be known.

Rose Dunlop, deputy director of public health for Bradford, said reducing accessibility and increasing enforcement were key to tackling the issue, but so was balancing the messaging.

"Tobacco is still one of our leading causes of death in Bradford," she said.

However, it was important that people who used tobacco knew that "as part of a quick programme" vapes and other therapies "can really, really help them quit", Ms Dunlop said.

The government has previously said the proposed ban on disposable vapes was part of "ambitious government plans to tackle the rise in youth vaping and protect children's health".

It is already illegal to sell any vape to anyone under 18, but the proposed ban would see new fines for shops which sold vapes to children and new measures to tackle black market sales.

Fire crews in West Yorkshire are to step up their moorland wildfire training in a bid to reduce incidents as the busy Easter holiday approaches.

In recent years, both Ilkley Moor and Marsden Moor have suffered devastating damage from blazes.

Over the next few days, fire crews are due to carry out extra training and will test equipment on moorland.

But Andy Flynn, fire service wildfire officer, asked people to do their bit and enjoy moor areas "responsibly".

Public Space Protection Orders (PSPOs) are in place on moors across West Yorkshire, banning bonfires and the use of barbecues, sky lanterns and fireworks.

Last year, firefighters were called to a spate of eight separate incidents in just four months on Marsden Moor, with many miles of birdlife, frogs and soil destroyed.

West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service (WYFRS) has asked people to enjoy moors such as Ilkley and Marsden safely to avoid a repeat.

West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service

Mr Flynn, from WYFRS, said: "Typically, when Easter arrives and the weather starts getting drier and warmer we do unfortunately see an increase in moorland fires.

"We don't want to stop people in West Yorkshire enjoying our beautiful countryside - but we do want everyone to enjoy it responsibly."

"Little things can make a big difference," he added.

"Things like taking rubbish home and obviously not BBQing or lighting fires on our moorland.

"These types of fires cause pollution, kill vulnerable wildlife and can take up a huge amount of firefighting resource, so we really want to avoid these types of fires in 2024."

Wildfire emergency planning by WYFRS has been stepped up significantly since a fire service review in early 2020 found that crews had "insufficient dedicated wildfire capability" to tackle two fires in Marsden and Ilkley in 2019.

Firefighters in high-risk areas, such as Ilkley, have since received specific moorland firefighting and rough-terrain driving training, as well as training for using special protective equipment designed for tackling wildfires.

A major report by the Forestry Commission found there were 51,555 wildfires reported in the Yorkshire and the Humber region in the 12-year period to 2021.

Across England, 4,026 wildfires were recorded in special conservation areas like the West Yorkshire moorland sites, with 14,326 hectares (55 sq miles) burned.