BBC Local Live: York and North Yorkshire

Prize money for this August's Welcome to Yorkshire Ebor Racing Festival will exceed £4m, it's been announced.

York racecourse says the £226,000 increase will be spread over 15 races.

Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images

The richest race of the four-day event is the Group One Juddmonte International which is Britain's highest rated race.  

The event attracts the world's top trainers and jockeys and is broadcast around the world.

Tadcaster businesses are still rebuilding their trade six months after the main bridge through the town collapsed.

I've been to visit the town earlier this morning to see how they're coping with the temporary footbridge which now unites the two sides of the town. 

It was teatime on 29 December 2015 when floodwaters from the River Wharfe washed away part of the bridge which links the town.  

Work is still continuing to repair the main bridge. Meanwhile, motorists still face long detours to get from one side of Tadcaster to the other. 

Quote Message: The bridge is probably strangling a little bit of life out of the town. I'm financially worse off with the petrol because of the drive round." from Nick Devine Butcher, Tadcaster

The bridge is probably strangling a little bit of life out of the town. I'm financially worse off with the petrol because of the drive round."

This afternoon will be cloudy with heavy rain at first, becoming brighter later as the rain clears but with one or two showers.

The top temperature will be about 17C (63F) with a moderate or fresh southwest wind.   

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York Central Labour MP Rachael Maskell won't yet confirm if she will back Jeremy Corbyn if there's a Labour leadership challenge.

Ms Maskell has told BBC Radio York she currently supports him as leader.

You can hear some of that interview here:

Last night, there was an overwhelming vote of no confidence in Jeremy Corbyn's role as leader of the Labour Party. 

MPs are expected to announce a challenge to his leadership following last night's vote.

Quote Message: Jeremy has my support. He is the elected leader of the party." from Rachael Maskell Labour MP, York Central

Jeremy has my support. He is the elected leader of the party."

There's currently slow and heavier than usual traffic on the A171 Birk Brow eastbound in Guisborough between the Whitby Road junction and the Jenny Frisk Road junction.

Thanks to the lovely Summer weather we're experiencing at the moment - rain, in other words - it's all over at Headingley in the Yorkshire v Pakistan A match:

The top stories from our York newsroom this lunchtime include:

• Tadcaster is to get two new flood pumps six months after the main road bridge collapsed following flooding at Christmas
• Officials in Harrogate are preparing to bid to host the first ever Great Exhibition of the North
• Two North Yorkshire war memorials have received greater protected status to mark the centenary of the Battle of the Somme

Harrogate Borough Council is expected to decide later if it will bid to stage the first ever Great Exhibition of the North.

The 2018 event will be all about showcasing culture and the arts in the north of England. 

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Towns and cities can apply to host it and councillors in Harrogate are expected to say later they want to go ahead.   

A report highlights the town's experience of hosting large events and it's wide open green spaces.

The government is putting £5m towards the exhibition and then promises to invest a further £15m into a fund to attract more spending on culture in the North.

Earlier I told you about the Premier League Trophy's visit to Barlby Community Primary School.

Here are two of the students with some interesting facts about one of the most famous trophies in the world.

It has created lots of excitement among the children, staff and parents who spent the day having their photo taken with it.

National Army Museum/PACopyright: National Army Museum/PA

With the news that two North Yorkshire memorials are being given special protected status to mark 100 years since the start of the Battle of the Somme, here are some of the key facts about what's considered one of history's bloodiest battles:

• The Somme offensive was part of a coordinated effort by the United Kingdom and France to achieve a decisive breakthrough on the Western Front  
• The idea was to destroy German trenches with seven days of intensive bombardment
• The first day of the battle, 1 July 1916, saw nearly 60,000 British men, all volunteers, killed, wounded or listed as missing
• The Battle of the Somme ended on 19 November 1916
• In total, the battle saw about 400,000 British casualties for a maximum advance of only eight miles 

When political managers and spin doctors are fighting one of the tightest elections in living memory they will often go to the point of absurdity to ensure television pictures tell the message they want.

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With the EU Referendum stubbornly stuck at neck-and-neck for weeks before we went to the polls, stand-offs between TV crews and party organisers demanding to "check the shot" before their politician steps off the battle bus became an everyday occurrence.

Even with that level of scrutiny it did not always go to plan when the politicians came to Yorkshire. Find out more about what happened in my latest blog.

Here are some beautiful pictures to brighten up a dull day across North Yorkshire. 

Thanks to BBC Weather Watchers Michiko Sunshine for the sunlit whalebones of Whitby.

Below left there's Weather Fairy's striking picture of the sun forcing its way through a gap in the clouds at Catterick Garrison and, on the right, is Yorkshiregrit's shot from Harrogate looking northwest towards Kirby Malzeard,

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There was a special visitor for children and staff at Barlby Community Primary School on Tuesday as the Premier League Trophy dropped in.

I popped in to share their excitement and amazement at being able to stand so close to one of the most famous footballing trophies in the world.

And of course there had to be a team photo with nearly 400 of them.

Deputy headteacher Carla George won a competition and the prize was for the trophy to spend a day in school so everyone could have their photo taken with it.  

Drivers are being warned the A172 remains blocked in both directions following an earlier accident between the Great Busby turn and the B1365 Thirsk Road.  

It's affecting traffic between Stokesley and the A19.

GoogleCopyright: Google

The latest headlines from our newsroom in York include:

• York Outer Conservative MP Julian Sturdy says he's backing Stephen Crabb and Sajid Javid in the Conservative leadership contest
• A fund set up to help people after the floods in Tadcaster has raised £26,000
• Harrogate Borough Council will decide later if it'll apply to host the first ever "Great Exhibition of the North"

York Outer's Conservative MP Julian Sturdy has told BBC Radio York it hasn't been a difficult decision to decide who he's backing in the fight to lead the Conservative Party.

Nominations open today for the next leader of the party.   

Conservative PartyCopyright: Conservative Party

Mr Sturdy, who backed Brexit, says he believes Stephen Crabb and Sajid Javid are the right people to unite the party and the country.

Quote Message: There has to be a period of healing over the next few years. It is important that we reunite the party and the country." from Julian Sturdy Conservative MP, York Outer

There has to be a period of healing over the next few years. It is important that we reunite the party and the country."

Harrogate Town boss Simon Weaver says the club's new artificial grass pitch will allow them to become a more professional outfit.

Like most semi-pro teams, Town currently only train a couple of times a week, sometimes due to a lack of facilities. 

But once the new surface has been laid, Weaver says Town will be available to train and play matches on their new surface whatever the weather.

"We're going to take full advantage of that. It's high-spec, it's nothing like the QPR, Preston and Luton 'astroturfs' of the 1980s. This is as close as you get to the best possible grass pitch," he says.

If you're heading north, you need to be aware that the A172 at Carlton in Cleveland is currently blocked following an accident.  

It's causing queuing traffic in both directions between the Great Busby turn off junction and the B1365 Thirsk road junction.  

It'll be a pleasant start to the day in North Yorkshire, with some cloud around but also some brighter spells.

However, similarly to yesterday, cloud will build from the West throughout the morning followed by a heavier and more persistent band of rain - and things turning noticeably windier later.

Watch my full forecast here: