A stolen motorbike linked to anti-social behaviour in Pudsey has been abandoned by its rider following a police chase.
Officers from the Leeds District Off Road Bike Team engaged in a pursuit following a ‘fail to stop’ incident in the Swinnow area. The rider eventually abandoned the stolen motorbike and fled on foot.
The bike, which had been reported stolen from Bradford, has also been linked to recent nuisance riding in Queens Park, Pudsey.
It has now been recovered and will be examined by CSI. Enquiries to identify the rider are ongoing.
Bramley park bike abandoned
Following a fail to stop incident this week a rider abandoned a bike in Bramley Park and then made off on foot.
While the male got away, he left behind his helmet, which, along with the stolen bike (taken from Headingley), has been recovered and submitted to CSI for forensic examination.
Leeds mum-of-two Laura Bewick is bringing new award-winning pre-school and after-school cookery classes to Horsforth and Pudsey.
Cook Stars classes offer plenty of hands-on experience in preparing different dishes and having lots of messy fun in the process.
There is something different on the menu each week, alternating between sweet and savoury dishes. Inspiration is taken from dishes around the world, so children have the opportunity to explore and learn about a variety of ingredients and try out new foods.
“Cooking has always been a big part of my life. From a young age, I was drawn to the kitchen, experimenting with baking and learning the value of homemade meals, made with love,” Laura said.
“Sometimes it can be difficult for parents to find time to teach their children to cook whilst juggling an already busy lifestyle. I love cooking and am excited to share my passion with budding little chefs.
“We provide everything at our classes so parents can simply bring their children along and start cooking. Our classes are hands on, fun and interactive. In our opinion there is no better way to teach a child than through play. Our ethos is to ‘make cooking child’s play’ which we certainly do!”
At each class everything is provided, from all the equipment to the ingredients, aprons and a recipe card to take home. The children also get to do a different craft activity each week while their dishes are in the oven cooking.
Cook Stars classes are taking place in Horsforth and Pudsey, with more to be added in September.
The inspirational Transplant Ashes are coming to New Farnley Cricket Club later this month.
England and Wales Transplant Cricket are gearing up to play Lucky Stars Australia in three games held at community cricket clubs across the UK – including one in West Leeds.
Every player taking to the field has overcome life-threatening illness through the gift of organ, tissue, stem cell or bone marrow donation.
The series promises not only top-level cricket but a powerful message of hope, resilience, and the life-changing impact of organ, tissues, stem cell and bone marrow donation.
Dates and venues
June 9 – Chipping Campden Cricket Club, Chipping Campden, GL55 6LB (Start time 1pm)
June 11 – Haxey Cricket Club, Doncaster, DN9 2ND (Start time 12pm)
June 13 – New Farnley Cricket Club, Leeds, LS12 5ES (Start time 11am)
New Farnley Cricket Club. Photo: Graham Hepworth
The England and Wales Transplant Cricket Club is a representative side of cricketers who have received lifesaving and life- changing transplants.
Originally known as Great Britain Transplant Cricket Club, the club was established in 2004 following a challenge set by the Australians at the World Transplant Games, the club was rebranded as England and Wales Transplant Cricket in 2018. 74 players have so far been capped since 2004.
England and Wales Transplant Cricket is open to all transplant recipients, living donors, donor family members, those awaiting transplant and dialysis patients.
A spokesperson said: “Our players have received all forms of transplants including kidney, liver, lung, heart, stem cell, bone marrow, cornea and bowel.
“They are celebrating their ‘second innings’ thanks to the generosity of their donors, be they family, friends or strangers who offered a new chance of life. We aim to provide an opportunity for transplant recipients to play cricket in a team environment creating a strong community feel for our players and families alike which provides invaluable support on their transplant journeys.
“Together we aim to promote the importance of donation and demonstrate the transformative effect it can have, not just for the recipient but also for those around them. Celebrating their second inning, our players are fortunate to be here today and hope to ensure others in the future can be as fortune by sharing the importance of donation.
“Their return to the sport they love is a celebration of life itself. But transplant cricket is about more than what happens between the wickets—it is a chance to bring people together, raise awareness, and share deeply personal stories that inspire and unite.”
How to Get Involved
Attend a match: Witness the matches, meet the teams, and experience the emotional and uplifting atmosphere.
Share the message: Follow and promote the series on social media using #TransplantCricketAshes.
The spokesperson added: “This is more than cricket. It’s community, courage, and a celebration of life. Join us this June and be part of something truly remarkable and celebrate our ‘second innings’.”
Armley residents turned out in force on Saturday (31 May) to collect free plants and containers at Armley Common Right Trust’s (ACRT) annual hanging baskets event.
The event, which aims to bring a splash of floral colour into Armley had 140 baskets and over 700 plants to give away.
Taking place at Moor Top Park, ACRT trustees and a band of intrepid volunteers helped residents in selecting and bedding the plants into hanging baskets to take home.
Many residents made voluntary donations for their baskets and others brought their own empty baskets along to fill.
The event, part funded by Leeds City Council and Leeds Together/LCAN was a resounding success for ACRT and brought the local community together in making Armley a brighter place.
Some of the left over plants were planted in Moor Top on Sunday, and others were donated to various local charitable organisations in Armley.
Friends of Stanningley Park group are holding a big community Picnic in the Park on Sunday 27 July.
The event is free and everyone is welcome.
Come and shake, rattle and roll with the interactive ukulele group The Banstanders or sit and relax to the Tutti Concert Band. Try your hand at bowling, junior or walking football, Yoga. Find out fun facts about bees and spot the queen bee. Get creative in various children’s craft activities.
Interested? then bring the family along with your own picnic, blanket or chair on Sunday 27 July, activities from 11am, live music from 1pm.
Refreshments and cakes available from the tea tent. Please note cash only.
The event is being held at Stanningley Park, near the bowling club, off Half Mile Lane entrance.
The event is sponsored by Love Leeds Parks and made possible with Heritage Funding.
What a contrast it’s been down on the lot this spring compared to last year.
The warmer, drier start to the season has meant that seeds and plants have had chance to grow, unmolested by slugs, snails and soggy roots.
On the downside, I’ve spent a lot of time watering, it’s been so dry the waterbutts ran out weeks ago.
Fortunately we have access to taps on our site and can use hosepipes. A word to the wise, make sure the end nozzle is well-attached, or it will shoot off like a rocket and the water from the hose will soak you to the skin. Yes, this did happen to me, I had to make a quick dash to turn the water off, but I couldn’t find the nozzle, it’s probably reached the Earth’s orbit judging by the speed it flew off the hose. I wonder if they’ll spot it from the ISS?
Even with the fine weather, I’ve brought on the plants I’ve grown from seed in the greenhouse at home, then hardened them off so they don’t get too much of a shock when they’re transplanted into the soil.
I’ve done this with my brassica (sprouts, kale, broccoli and cabbage) and, following on from the successful trial last year, I sowed my peas in a length of guttering to make sure they are big enough to cope with attacks from pea weevils.
These are the little critters that cut out notches in the leaves of peas and broad beans. Providing the plants are strong enough, they won’t suffer.
Broad beans, the seeds I did plant straight into the ground, are coming up very nicely. I ran an experiment a couple of years ago, starting some in the greenhouse and some in the ground. While the greenhouse-grown plants germinated and grew quickly, they were not that much further ahead of the others when they were all in the ground together. And the direct-sown plants seemed to be hardier.
As always, I net young plants. Wood pigeons love fresh shoots and will gobble up the lot. A fine-meshed covering will keep butterflies out, providing they’re not trapped there at the start.
The mesh is expensive though, and I find an old woven shower curtain or net curtain will do the job just as well.
The next couple of months ie before the next print edition of the West Leeds Dispatch, is the busiest time of year on the plot.
Lots of planting, weeding, netting and watering if it’s too dry, plus dealing with the hungry pests ranging from slugs and bugs in the soil to the badgers who dig and disrupt and the deer who are very partial to young beans, rosebuds and strawberry leaves.
With all this hustle, bustle and hard work I do like to take time out when I’m down there. I’m fortunate that my plot is away from roads and noise, so when I’ve done, I’ll sit on my chair, pour myself a cuppa from the flask and simply stare around, marvelling at the loveliness of nature and the miracle of seeing the bare earth transformed into a fine harvest.
School chiefs are looking for people from the Farsley community who have business, financial or management experience. They should not be parents of current Westroyd pupils.
A spokesperson said all training is provided and added: “This is a voluntary unpaid role, but is an amazing opportunity to contribute back to the local community.”
E-mail the chair of governors Jo Boyne at Jo.boyne@westroyd.org for more information or an informal chat about what the role entails.
Community groups in Farnley and Wortley was can bid for funds from a government initiative providing financial assistance to vulnerable households facing the rising cost of living.
The Household Support Fund is now live and runs until March 2026, with funds allocated to local councils to distribute support.
The funds for Farnley and Wortley wards will be distributed by Armley Helping Hands CEO Dawn Newsome, who is keen to ensure funding is allocated to frontline community organisation, groups, churches and schools who have the understanding of their community and the barriers individuals and families are facing.
The purpose of the fund is to help households with essential costs like food, energy and wider necessities.
The fund operates until March 31, 2026 and there is a total of £5,000 to distribute.
More than 50 people came to Stanningley Park Bowling Club on Friday evening, where they were playing a fun version of bowls, known as ‘Killer’.
The event was open to all and many who came weren’t club members. There was lots of cheering and laughter. It was a beautiful setting to enjoy the beautiful weather. Quite a few newcomers said they’d like to come back and play socially.
Some of those attending are social members of the club. They don’t bowl competitively or regularly themselves, but they love meeting up there with friends, enjoy the facilities, and some help out with club activities.
The club organises different teams to play on different days, based on factors such as age or skill-level.
Phil Sutcliffe, who’s in his second season of bowling, joined the club after recovering from a serious illness that had kept him indoors for over a year.
He now bowls two or three times a week and said: “It’s made a massive difference and the social side is just as important as the bowling.”
Cllr Kevin Ritchie (Lab, Bramley & Stanningley) had a go at bowling and said: “It’s great to see Stanningley on the way up, and the positive changes at other clubs, such as Bramley. The clubs are working together to bring the game to more people.”
As well as Killer, the new bowlers took part in a first past the flag competition, which helped them to learn some bowling basics. This event was won by Ruth Ritchie, who had never even picked up a bowl before the event, and is clearly a natural.
Off the green, there was a barbecue stand providing food and drink, a tombola, and competitions to help raise funds.
Club secretary, Alyssa Randell, said, “This ‘Killer’ bowls event was designed to open up bowls to the community by creating a really fun way of playing the game as well as being incredibly social.
“I think that was proved tonight by how many people showed up with lots having a go for the first time and doing better than they expected.”
The eventual winner of Ultimate Killer was club chairman, Andy Marshall. Sadly, the dogs weren’t allowed to play with the balls, though they showed keen interest.
Check out the slideshow of photos below:
The Stanningley Park Bowling Club hosts regular social bowling sessions on Friday evenings and Saturday mornings, which are open to all, and anyone can learn how to play.
Swift boxes at Sunny Bank Mills. Photo: Alex van Zeller
By Dianne Craven
If you are fortunate enough, from early May you can get to see the dark scythe-winged silhouettes of Swifts wheeling about in the sky, often accompanied by their screaming calls.
It is said that Swifts bring the summer with them. Swifts are remarkable birds. They spend almost all of their lives in the air. They eat, drink, and mate on the wing. In late July Swifts return to Africa, making a round trip of approximately 14,000 miles.
But, Swifts (including the West Leeds population) need our help. Swifts are faithful to their nest sites in old buildings.
These sites are always out of sight. Here is the problem. Old buildings are knocked down, repaired or insulated. New buildings have no nooks or crannies, so when Swifts arrive from Africa, they find their nesting places have gone.
Photo of a Swift, by Roger Wyatt
As the government has chosen not to make it mandatory for new builds to include Swift bricks, awareness needs to be raised about providing new homes for them.
Leeds Swifts is one such group. They are actively promoting Swift awareness. The group helps people provide homes, such as retrofitted Swift bricks, soffit boxes, and Swift boxes. People can also get advice and information to help keep existing nest spaces accessible.
The group will be continuing to campaign for Swift bricks.
Swifts are also being affected by intensive farming, Overuse of insecticides, and climate change. Dust storms in Africa and chaotic weather conditions during the breeding season all have a negative impact on the birds. Therefore, the group carries out Swift surveys and Swift rescue. These rescues are particularly important. If you find a Swift on the ground, never throw it into the air.
Linda Jenkinson, co-founder of Leeds Swifts, has recently opened the Swift Sanctuary for another summer.
She said: “We rely so much on members of the public to act rapidly when they find a grounded swift and contact us immediately.
“There are lots of myths about swifts on the internet and even trusted organisations publish confusing advice about grounded birds.
“This results in very poorly adults and underdeveloped chicks being either abandoned to suffer in extreme elements or to be predated upon by cats and magpies. Some birds are launched into the air only to fall once again and sustain more impact injuries.”
Call Leeds Swifts on 07778 76871.
Sunny Bank Mills in Farsley recently helped to raise Swift awareness when Leeds Swifts held a roadshow in the 1912 Mill. With the help of Alex van Zeller, from Leeds Swifts, the mill now has Swift boxes in place on the colonnade.
Sunny Bank Mills have asked that if you see Swift at the mill, please let them or Leeds Swifts know.
World Swift Day is on the 7 June 2025. This is a global event to raise awareness about Swifts and their conservation.
The by-election has been triggered following the resignation of Cllr Natalie Smith in April.
There are three candidates for the Ward representing the Labour Party, Local Conservatives and Reform UK.
Alan Radford
Alan Radford is the Labour candidate.
“Having lived in Brownberrie Ward for over 50 years I am definitely a ‘local’ candidate.
“My children were educated in our local schools. Within the Horsforth community I have served as a governor at St Margaret’s and Horsforth schools, including being chair of the latter for over a decade.
“I have also recently served as a Horsforth Town Councillor, including chairing the council’s planning committee.
“Although I am a scientist by profession, in my leisure time I am a historical re-enactor and early musician, reviving and running The Leeds Waits, the city’s official renaissance musicians.”
Chris Calvert
Chris Calvert is standing for the Local Conservatives.
“It is an honour to have been chosen to stand as a candidate in this Town Council by-election.
“I am experienced having previously served on Horsforth Town Council between 2017 to 2023, representing Woodside Ward. In that time I was a vocal champion for the ward and the residents who put their faith in me to represent them.
“I achieved many things in Woodside Ward in that time and it will be that same passion and commitment that I would bring if elected to represent Brownberrie Ward.
“My family originates from this area of Horsforth; my mum was brought up on Sussex Avenue and my grandma was brought up at Station Cottage so Brownberrie Ward holds a special place in my family’s history.
“I have previously served as a Governor for Westbrook Primary School in the area. I remain active as a volunteer and a local advocate for Horsforth.”
Wenzdae Robbins
Wenzdae Robbins is the Reform UK candidate.
“I’m Wenzdae Robbins, and I’m running in Horsforth for the Brownberrie Ward.
“I stand for creativity, community, and opportunity. Horsforth is a beautiful place to live and work.
“I’m passionate about making a positive impact, and I have a track record of perseverance and dedication.”
Election details
You can register to vote through the Government website. To be eligible to vote in this ward applications must be received by midnight on Tuesday, 10 June 2025.
If you would like to apply for a postal vote the deadline for this ward is 5pm on Wednesday 11 June.
Photo ID is now required to vote at all polling stations. You can check what forms of ID are accepted or apply for a voter authority certificate here.
