BBC Local Live: York and North Yorkshire

Letters to a Victorian murderer are expected to sell for up to £700 at auction today in North Yorkshire.

Mary Ann Cotton was found guilty of murdering three of her four husbands and was strongly suspected of also murdering 11 of her children. She was hanged in March 1873 at Durham jail.

The letters to her in her cell are going under the hammer at Tennants Auctioneers in Leyburn.

Tennants AuctioneersCopyright: Tennants Auctioneers

Quote Message: Letters sent from her sold in 2012 for about £2,000, but these are letters actually to her, which give an insight into her final days." from Steven Stockton Tennants Auctioneers

Letters sent from her sold in 2012 for about £2,000, but these are letters actually to her, which give an insight into her final days."

A mock-up of a car hit by a train was the focus of an exercise on the Embsay Railway by North Yorkshire firefighters last night, with volunteers acting as casualties.

North Yorkshire County CouncilCopyright: North Yorkshire County Council

It was a way for fire crews to test themselves and for them to show local authorities and councillors what might be expected of them and how they might be involved in an emergency.

North Yorkshire's Emergency Planning Unit, responsible for preparing for potential emergencies which could affect the county, later tweeted it was "a great and vital opportunity".

Here's a sentence I didn't expect to be typing when I first came into the office this morning...

A man from Yorkshire has ambitious plans to build a pyramid.

The man with the plan is Steve Ward, from Leeds, who's the founder of what's known as the Earth Pyramid Project.

He aims to build it in Malaysia - and the first stones for the project have already been chosen from a quarry in Tadcaster.

If the project goes ahead, it's thought it'll be the first pyramid to be built in over 4,500 years.

A pilgrimage has taken place around York to mark the UN's International Day of Peace. 

The UN's General Assembly has declared 21 September as "a day devoted to strengthening the ideals of peace, both within and among all nations and peoples".  

As part of the walk, York's Peace Bells were rung at Fossgate and in the Merchant Adventurers' Garden, while at Holy Trinity on Goodramgate, the Lord Mayor of York, Dave Taylor, did his bit to mark what he says is an "important" day:

A solar-powered car which completed the 3,000km World Solar Challenge in Australia has gone on display in York.

The car visited St Peter’s School as part of a lecture programme where Oliver Headlam-Morley, a St Peter's old boy, delivered a lecture entitled Blood, Sweat and Carbon – A Solar Challenge.

YorkMixCopyright: YorkMix

This afternoon will stay mainly dry with some spells of sunshine.

However, there is the chance of one or two sharp showers later on.

It'll be pleasant in the sunshine with light winds and highs of about 19C (66F).

BBCCopyright: BBC

The top stories from our York newsroom this lunchtime include:

• An objection from Samuel Smiths Brewery over plans to widen Tadcaster's Grade II listed bridge which was damaged by winter flooding is dismissed by Selby Council
• Officials in York are due to find out how the Environment Agency plans to spend £45m to cope with future flooding in the city
• A pilgrimage around York to mark the UN International Day of Peace has included the ringing of the city's Peace Bells and a minute's silence

York City striker Richard Brodie insists the current squad is more than capable of being among the best in the division.

GoogleCopyright: Google

City currently find themselves eight points adrift from the National League play-off places, after a run of three games without a win - or a goal.

Brodie's told BBC Radio York Sport they're not doing themselves justice: "We've seen on the training ground and spells in games when we get the ball down and pass it that nobody can live with us.

"It's just being able to do that and being able to put it all together. We seem to be doing it in spells. And when it all clicks we're a really good outfit."

Hundreds of army medics are taking part in a big military exercise in North Yorkshire to see if they're ready to face any emergency anywhere in the world at a moment's notice.

I've been allowed access to their 52-tent field hospital at Dishforth Airfield, which is being tested to make sure everyone's prepared.

I've just watched the fascinating process involved in treating a soldier injured by explosives:

More on the news that an objection from Samuel Smith's Brewery over plans to widen the Grade II listed Tadcaster bridge has been dismissed.

The bridge was damaged by winter flooding in North Yorkshire (see video below) and the council plans to widen it as part of ongoing repairs due to be finished by the end of the year.

In a letter to the council, the brewery said the proposal contradicted planning policy and said it was concerned about the effect widening would have on "the behaviour of flood waters".

The letter claimed the decision to approve the plans "was legally or procedurally flawed".  

Rejecting that, Selby Council has now responded: "Having considered your letter... we do not agree the decision reached was legally or procedurally flawed."

The authority also said some of the points raised by the brewery were not applicable as changes had been made to the proposals, including its appearance.

Dormice released into the Yorkshire Dales National Park in June are feeling right at home – in fact, they've already started raising young.

Twenty breeding pairs of rare hazel dormice were released into a woodland near Aysgarth in Wensleydale in the hope they would settle in to their new surroundings.

Yorkshire Dales National Park AuthorityCopyright: Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority

The creatures were once a familiar sight in England and Wales, but the species is now rare and vulnerable to extinction, according to the People's Trust for Endangered Species.

The dormouse reintroduction programme, run by the trust and the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority, aims to restore them to areas they were known to exist in Victorian times.

Yorkshire Dales National Park AuthorityCopyright: Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority

Now, after the first checks, it seems the initial results of the reintroduction programme are looking good.

Ian Court, Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority wildlife conservation officer, says: "We did a spot check on the nest boxes we put up and 11 of them were occupied with 34 dormice. This included 13 juveniles."

"The presence of so many young so early in the scheme is extremely encouraging and bodes really well for the project – it all looks good for the coming years."

Details about how £45m worth of funding could be spent by the Environment Agency on improving York's flood defences are due to be set out later. 

The government promised the extra cash following the devastating Boxing Day floods. 

Proposals include raising the height of the river banks and building new flood walls. 

Lib Dem councillor Andrew Waller says he's keen to hear more about any plans to dredge the River Foss:

Yorkshire are in action at Lord's in their crunch County Championship clash against Middlesex.

Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images

Looking to win a third title in a row, the match is currently finely poised.

Get all the latest with live BBC Radio commentary and catch up with our live scorecard.

A pilgrimage is taking place around York this morning to mark the UN's International Day of Peace. 

Holy Trinity Church, GoodramgateCopyright: Holy Trinity Church, Goodramgate

The UN's General Assembly has declared 21 September as "a day devoted to strengthening the ideals of peace, both within and among all nations and peoples".  

As part of the walk, York's Peace Bells will be rung on Goodramgate at 11:00, Fossgate at 11:15 and in the Merchant Adventurers' Garden at 11:30.

A global one minute's silence is then due to be held on Coney Street at noon.

The latest headlines from our York newsroom so far this morning include:    

• A council has dismissed an objection from a brewery over plans to widen a Grade II listed bridge damaged by winter flooding in North Yorkshire
• Details of how £45m could be spent by the Environment Agency on improving York's flood defences will be set out later

• Hundreds of army medics are taking part in a big military exercise in North Yorkshire to test their readiness for emergency situations anywhere in the world

Theodore Roosevelt said: "Politeness is a sign of dignity"...

If that's the case, then the people of Skipton are the most dignified in the country, it seems.

The town's won the award for the most polite place from the National Campaign for Courtesy.

Thinkstock/MarkousticCopyright: Thinkstock/Markoustic

The award goes to the town which has "demonstrated it is the most courteous as a result of the community working together".

Skipton hotel owner Malcolm Weaving says he believes the town's residents are especially considerate and polite:

Quote Message: You can't do without Yorkshire hospitality and we can't lose it. It's built in, it's in our blood and the people in Skipton, there's no doubt, are very courteous." from Malcolm Weaving Hotel owner, Skipton

You can't do without Yorkshire hospitality and we can't lose it. It's built in, it's in our blood and the people in Skipton, there's no doubt, are very courteous."

A couple of traffic hotspots in York are being reported at the moment:

• Queuing traffic on the A1036 Foss Islands Road in both directions in York at the Layerthorpe Bridge junction
• Queuing traffic on the A1079 Hull Road westbound in Dunnington between the Coneygarth Lane junction and Grimston Bar Interchange