South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service were called to Eccleshall Road in Sheffield shortly before noon on Sunday. Five fire engines attended the blaze to tackle the flames, and members of the public were advised to avoid the area.

A number of people managed to escape the house before the firefighters arrived at the scene, and three people were taken to hospital.

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Crews wore breathing apparatus to search the rest of the house, before hoses were used to put the fire out.

A statement from South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service said: “Well done to firefighters and control for their excellent response to the serious house fire on Ecclesall Road in Sheffield.

“Several people managed to escape the house before firefighters arrived on the scene. Three people were taken to hospital. Firefighters wearing breathing apparatus entered the house to search for any further casualties, before all people were accounted for.

“The inside of the house was completely destroyed. It's thought the fire started accidentally in the living room of the property. The cause was a lithium-ion e-bike battery which was charging.”

Related topics:YorkshireSouth Yorkshire Fire and Rescue ServiceSheffield

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Simon Thake

BBC News

Members of a Sheffield croquet team will represent Yorkshire against the best players in the rest of the country after winning their league.

The Sheffield Croquet Club, which in recent years has overcome an arson attack and a sloping pitch, finished top of the 2023-24 Yorkshire Croquet Federation league.

Formed in 2013 and playing at Hillsborough Park Bowling Club, the club has now qualified for a national cup competition.

Captain Ki Hulme said the league title and the opportunity to play around the country had made him very "proud".

"We will now be representing Yorkshire around the nation, which we’re so happy about," he added.

The success comes despite a difficult few years for the club.

Its members were forced to find a new court after an arson attack destroyed the pavilion at their previous home at Bolehills Pavilion in Crookes in 2017.

Since moving to Hillsborough, the club had struggled to increase its membership and Mr Hulme admitted its facilities were not as fancy as other teams.

However, he said: "There’s definitely a home advantage here. We do get a few grumbles from visiting teams about the slopes on our lawn.

"There’s a few posh clubs down south and in North Yorkshire. We’re definitely no-frills here."

Jayne Spaven, a member of the club for just over a year, said the perception of croquet as elitist was something that had initially bothered her.

“I thought it was a toffs game, but I soon realised it’s for everyone, young and old," she said.

There are two forms of the sport: golf croquet and association croquet.

In golf croquet, each player plays one stroke per turn in colour sequence - blue, red, black, yellow.

The first player to score a given hoop earns the point, then all balls challenge for the next hoop in turn.

Meanwhile, in association croquet, the objective is to make all hoops twice - once in each direction - per ball, then hit the centre peg.

The side completing this with both their balls first is the winner.

'Skill and viciousness'

Sheffield Croquet Club players said they were now actively looking for new members, with no experience necessary.

Kay Bott, one of the club's most recent joiners, said she was surprised how "competitive" the game was.

“It’s all about skill, strategy and viciousness," she said.

"You have to try and smack your opponents out the way and make yourself number one."

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Archaeologists have uncovered new evidence of Sheffield's industrial heritage during recent excavations at the site of the city's castle.

Undocumented remnants of a 19th Century steelworks were found during work in the area once home to Sheffield Castle.

Experts at Wessex Archaeology said the findings highlighted the role steel had played in the city's development.

The team is carrying out a 10-week dig at the site as part of the council's plans to redevelop the Castlegate area.

Their work has revealed the remains of the steelworks' crucible furnace, which is not recorded on contemporary maps.

As well as helping the archaeologists to better understand the layout and workings of the furnace - which would have been used to refine blister steel into higher quality crucible steel - the team said they had uncovered several clues about the people who operated it, and the working conditions at the steelworks.

With temperatures reaching 1200C, the firing process was "unpleasant and challenging", say experts.

The team said they had found the letter 'H' scratched into the brickwork on the walls of the crucible cellar and posited whether it was "the initial of someone who toiled in the cellar day in and day out".

The archaeologists also uncovered a hole in the wall which had been dug out and then concealed with another brick.

They said they believed this to be "someone's secret hiding place".

Ashley Tuck, the archaeologist leading the dig, said: "These remnants of Sheffield's industrial past not only remind us of the role steel working played in the growth and identity of this city, but also encourage us to consider the people behind it - who would, by modern standards at least, have worked in an unpleasant and challenging environment."

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Castlegate is the oldest part of Sheffield and has been inhabited since at least the 11th Century.

Mary, Queen of Scots, was imprisoned for 14 years at the castle and at Manor Lodge in the 1500s, under the care of the Earl of Shrewsbury.

The castle complex was destroyed in 1648 during the English Civil War. The remains were covered by Castle Market in the 1960s, with the only visible evidence of the original castle found in basements of the complex.

The indoor market was demolished in 2015, allowing excavation work to begin.

Members of the public have been joining in with the current dig with further opportunities for people to get involved in May.

Conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, high cholesterol and chronic kidney disease are common in the UK — around 5.5 million adults in England have undiagnosed high blood pressure. These diseases are much easier to manage when detected early, as this enables individuals to make informed lifestyle choices which can help to slow down and even, in some cases, prevent their progression.

The reality, though, is that many people don’t find out that they’re living with these conditions until the time for early and straightforward interventions has passed. These conditions often don’t have symptoms until the issues have progressed; and so diagnosis relies on indicators being picked up by general practitioners, pharmacists or other health care professionals. That’s why Google Health is teaming up with the University of Sheffield to study whether smartphone sensors could help to tackle this issue.

The sensors on smartphones can detect a range of different mechanical and electrical signals from the heart, and use AI to facilitate early detection of some common conditions.

Google Health and the University of Sheffield will pilot a feasibility study called PUMAS — Phones for Undetected Diabetes Mellitus And Hypertension Screening. This first-of-its-kind research will assess whether, in the future, these signals could provide a reliable, non-invasive alternative to current screening methods, facilitating early disease detection and free up valuable NHS resource. The opportunity here is huge: Optimal treatment for everyone known to have high blood pressure could avert up to 9,710 heart attacks and 14,500 strokes, saving the NHS up to £274 million.

PUMAS is the first of a series of studies set to take place in the South Yorkshire region that explore the role digital tools could play in improving patient health. We’ll also provide 500 Fitbit devices for a separate study on post-surgical rehabilitation. These experiments are part of a digital health partnership where we’ll invest in medical research, apprenticeships and digital skills training to uncover innovative ways that technology can drive change throughout the region and beyond.

We’re also working with the South Yorkshire Digital Health Hub, a group of private and public sector organisations in the region, including: The University of Sheffield, Sheffield Hallam University, Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA). This partnership is a powerful example of the technology, academic and healthcare sectors coming together to drive the development of innovative digital technologies to improve the way diseases are diagnosed and treated.

We believe technology can transform the nation’s health — but we need experts to support that effort. So, we’re also working with the University of Sheffield and Sheffield Hallam University to fund 500 Google Career Certificate scholarships. These qualifications will equip individuals and groups working or aspiring to work in digital health across the region with job-ready, entry-level qualifications in subjects such as cybersecurity, data analytics, project management, user experience and IT support.

We’ll also work with the SYMCA Apprenticeships Hub to fund 30 digital apprenticeships for small businesses across the region. Our funding will enable small businesses across South Yorkshire to retain and develop employees, as well as expand, creating high-impact job opportunities in the region.

The South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority announced the collaboration today at a Google Digital Garage event at South Yorkshire Digital Health Hub based at Sheffield Hallam’s Advanced Wellbeing Research Centre (AWRC). At the event, more than 150 local business owners and individuals were given the opportunity to learn digital skills and take part in our recently-launched, AI-focused “New Fundamentals” free training series, which helps people and businesses gain practical skills and knowledge to capture the benefits of AI, whether it’s to save time, get a new job or grow their business.

We’re looking forward to seeing the positive impact that this investment will have on the lives of real people. The studies, scholarships and apprenticeships will unlock opportunities, creating a ripple effect that will benefit South Yorkshire and serve as a model for positive change across the UK.