AN overturned lorry blocked traffic in both directions on Dearne Valley Parkway for more than seven hours on Thursday.

The lorry, operated by Roadway Container Logistics, overturned at the Jump roundabout at about 6.25am. Firefighters were called but driver, Bob Pierce, managed to get out of his cab before they arrived and was unhurt.

The Dearne Valley Parkway was closed in both directions and traffic was slow on the Wood Walk junction until about 2.30pm while the lorry was recovered.

It's not the first time a lorry has been overturned on the roundabout but Cllr Roy Miller said this was always due to driver error rather than the design of the bend.

"Sometimes the speed of some of the lorries and cars exceed what they should be. If they go around that corner too fast, they go over."

PRE-SEASON got underway for the Reds on Friday evening with a 1-1 draw against Club Brugge.

The sun shone on Oakwell and the home side rewarded the 3,000-strong crowd with a spectacular strike from Chris Dagnall in the 10th minute.

The 13-time Belgian champions were quick to respond and levelled a minute later through Victor Vasquez's deflected effort.

Youngsters such as Paul Digby, Sam Patterson, Jake Scott and Jordan Clark all impressed, with the latter rattling the bar late on.

David Flitcroft said: "It was the first proper run-out for the lads that started and the lads that came on gave us a real impetus. I enjoyed the match and it was very useful for us."

A BARNSLEY MP has called on ministers to take action against the town's unemployment rate.

Michael Dugher, MP for Barnsley East, has called on ministers to get people back to work, after recent figures showed the government’s Work Programme is still failing the people of Barnsley.

Figures released by the DWP show that, for the JSA 18-24 and JSA 25+ payment groups, performance in the town did not exceed the DWP’s ‘non-intervention rates’, meaning that in South Yorkshire, the Work Programme is actually worse than doing nothing.

Dugher has called for the introduction of a compulsory jobs guarantee for anyone out of work for more than two years. This would help hundreds of people in Barnsley and nearly 14,000 across Yorkshire.

Training would be given as well as time to job search for those who can work - or they would lose their benefits. 

Mr Dugher said: “The Work Programme is still failing the people of Barnsley and South Yorkshire badly.

“Three years in and the Work Programme has failed 74 per cent of the JSA 18-24 payment group and 84.5 per cent of the JSA 25+ payment group in South Yorkshire. 

“This is simply not good enough and ministers need to take action. We desperately need a change of course starting with a compulsory jobs guarantee to get anyone out of work for more than two years back into a job - a job people must take or lose their benefits.”

PLANS for a two-storey gym at Shaw Lane Rugby Club have been approved by planners.

Agent Peter Thompson applied for the development on behalf of David Clayton in April.

The idea is to provide somewhere for user groups, consisting mainly of vulnerable people, to take part in activities to improve their health, self-esteem and well being.

The plans show the gym will house a fitness area together with a multi-purpose social, learning and activity area, and a community cafe.

The location of the building means removing part of the existing tearooms at the club. Plans show it will have a lift for disabled access to the first floor and access to the building will be from the existing disabled ramp or directly from the main bar area.

A MUM-OF-THREE and her karate club are celebrating a haul of nine trophies from two competitions at world and national level.

Melanie Charlesworth, 32, and six other members of the Katsu Kai Karate Club in Mapplewell competed in the world championships in Romania and in a national children's championship in Nottingham.

Melanie came back from Romania this month with a third place team trophy. Then her team-mates scored a fistful more at the Federation of English Karate Organisations (FEKO) children and cadets national championships.

Melanie, of Central Drive, Royston, said: "I'm well pleased and so is the club. My children loved it too - they made me little cards and bought flowers."

A TEENAGER who overcame bone cancer has been given an excellence award at college after gaining the highest grade in information technology.

Daniel Binney, 18, of Dodworth, was put forward for the award by his teachers for his high grades in level two ICT.

He was presented with the award at a ceremony at the Metrodome last Thursday.

Mum Trish said: "I'm so proud of him. IT is something he's always been interested in and he wants to get into games design."

He underwent nine months gruelling chemotherapy aged 16 and had an operation to replace his femur with a titanium bone.

Trish added: "He was quite laid back about it, although he had 'moments' when he wasn't well. He was so poorly he almost ended up in intensive care. But he took it in his stride."

He's now looking to study a further two-year course in ICT which is the equivalent to A levels, before he heads off to university.

A DEDICATED grandson celebrated his grandparents' 50 years of marriage - by having their wedding photo tattooed on his upper arm.

Craig Hartley, 27, originally from Elsecar, decided on the grand gesture a few weeks before the golden wedding anniversary of Brian and Christine Stuchbery.

He kept the £180 design a secret from the Mapplewell couple before revealing it at a family celebration on Saturday.

"My nan burst into tears as I had kept it as a surprise," said Craig. "She then started giving me a bit of a lecture and said I was silly as it's there for life.

"I'm chuffed to bits with it and it was nice to show it off. They're an inspiration and I look up to them."

Craig, a former Kirk Balk pupil, who now lives in Hornsea, spent two-and-a-half hours under the needle, with the ten-inch design completed in one sitting last week.

Grandparents Brian, 74, and Christine, 68, married at All Saints' Church, Norwood, after meeting when they both worked in Sainsbury's, Croydon.

Christine said: "I was aghast when I saw the tattoo. I don't really agree with them and said he was a silly boy.

"But never mind, it's done now."

WORKERS at Ardagh Glass will be balloted on industrial action after they were offered a two per cent pay rise.

Unite is balloting members at the Monk Bretton-based firm after the offer was rejected by 97 per cent of members in a consultative ballot.

The glassworks employs about 490 at Monk Bretton and made £65million in pre-tax profit last year.

Unite's Tas Sangha said following months of negotiations, the company offered a two per cent rise - which was way below the increase in the cost of living.

"Our membership made big sacrifices when the final salary pension scheme was closed and there have been changes to the sick pay scheme which were, again, detrimental to our members.

“It's very disappointing the management has refused to engage with the conciliation service, ACAS, and will not meet the trade union side without preconditions, which we don’t think are conducive to meaningful negotiations.

"We are, therefore, going to a ballot for industrial action on this very inadequate offer, given that this company is highly profitable - profits that our members help generate."

The ballot opened on July 8 and will close on July 29.

POLICE are appealing for information after a child was left with serious injuries following a road traffic collision in Barnsley.

At 7pm on July 11, police received reports that a red Vauxhall Corsa was travelling along Barnsley Road in Darfield, when it's thought to have overtaken a silver parked car.

Officers believe that as the Vauxhall Corsa passed the parked car, it collided with a 10-year-old boy from Barnsley who was crossing the road on his bicycle.

He suffered serious injuries including a fractured leg, a head injury and grazing to his chest. He is currently being treated at Sheffield Children’s Hospital. The driver did not sustain any injuries.

Police would like to speak with the owner of the silver parked car, which was believed to be parked on Barnsley Road at the time of the incident, as the owner of this vehicle may be able to assist officers with their enquiries.

Police are appealing to anyone who witnessed the incident or anyone with information that could assist officers to call South Yorkshire Police on 101 quoting incident number 1090 of July 11, 2013.

A BOOMING Barnsley company has entered a prestigious Sunday Times list for companies with the fastest-growing profits.

Tankersley-based Dransfield Properties, which celebrated its 20th anniversary last year, entered the Sunday Times Profit Track 100 - its first entry in the league table.

The firm's directors attended a special reception in London to mark the achievement joining companies from across the UK.

The league table ranks Britain's privately-owned companies with the fastest-growing profits over the past three years of available audited accounts.

"It was a surprise to be named in the list," said Mark Dransfield, the firm's managing director. "We're a private company that has expanded in a difficult climate.

"Over the past two years we have invested heavily in our staff and in our shopping centres which has had a positive impact on the company’s performance.

"The business has focused heavily on customer service and despite a tough trading environment, our pro-active approach to management has kept our shopping centres fully let and growing."

In South Yorkshire the company delivered the town centre regeneration scheme in Penistone and work has just started on the final phase of the scheme bringing new office and commercial units to a key gateway site in the town.

BARNSLEY College students have completed the Race for Life challenge - and raised more than £400 for Cancer Research UK. 

The hairdressing students ran, walked, or jogged 13 laps at Dorothy Hyman sports centre to raise the money and were cheered on by supportive tutors, parents and friends.

All fundraisers crossed the line in less than one hour, the fastest two finishing together in a time of 48 minutes and 50 seconds. Training started for the students at Easter with help from staff at the Barnsley Sports Academy.

The money raised will be donated to Cancer Research UK via the Barnsley branch in Market Hill and to show their support, staff from the branch attended the race.

Sports Participation and Project Coordinator Michala Spacey said: “The students have been brilliant. They have worked really hard and supported each other throughout their training which has given them the self confidence in making them believe that they can do it!”

Level two hairdressing student and fundraiser, Zoe Whorton said: “I decided to do this for my uncle. I have enjoyed training for the last couple of months and the support that I have received has been amazing. I would like to do it again next year because it’s great to do something like this for charity."

MOBILE speed cameras will operate on the following roads from Monday. 

A633 Rotherham Road, Monk Bretton

A628 Cundy Cross to Shafton Two Gates

B6411 Houghton Road, Thurnscoe

Brierley Road, Grimethorpe

A61 Park Road, Barnsley

Pogmoor Road, Barnsley

A633 Rotherham Road, Athersley South

A6023 Doncaster Road, Mexborough

Pontefract Road, Brampton

Melton Green, West Melton

A633 Sandygate, Wath-upon-Dearne

A6022 Rowms Lane, Swinton. 

A PAINTER and decorator has hit out at Barnsley Council for ditching cheque payments for council tax.

Stuart Howarth and his wife Vicki have always paid their council tax in monthly instalments by cheque, but now the council has scrapped cheque payments because it says they're too expensive to process.

The council has asked people to pay by other methods such as direct debt and online banking.

But Mr Howarth, 53, of Thurlstone Road, said this would be a barrier, especially for older people who might not be familiar with online and telephone payments.

"Individuals should be able to pay by whatever method they prefer," he said. "The council is pushing direct debit but we're reluctant to do it because of historical problems we've had."

He added many people had found in convenient to pay council tax 'over the counter' at the former Connexions office - now closed - in Shrewsbury Road, Penistone.

"Why can't they have a payment counter, for example, in Penistone Library?" he said.

The council said it had to make savings, given the government's efficiency drive.

A council spokesman said: "Payments to Barnsley Council for council tax and other fees can be made online, by direct debit, telephone or bank giro."

He added that customers who preferred not to use direct debit could pay by standing order.

FIVE new schools will have to be built in Barnsley over the next five years if the council is to tackle a shortage of primary pupil places.

Cllr Tim Cheetham warned a shortage of primary school places in the borough is 'not a temporary problem'.

Council figures show a shortage of about 88 reception class places in 2015, and in 2016 a shortage of 84.

"If a school has a spare classroom and can take one extra class, instead of taking 30 pupils it would take 60 in two classes," said Cllr Cheetham. 

He is worried there is a danger of stripping schools of their libraries and IT suites to accommodate extra pupils.

"Looking at the forecasts we have made it's a permanent problem - and the town centre is where the real pressure is coming up.

"We have the capacity in secondary schools to cope but at primary level we have an issue."

A CRICKET match between Hemingfield and Elsecar has been organised to raise money for a seven-year-old boy with leukaemia.

The two villages will come together as the Elsecar Legends and Hemingfield All Stars as part of a family fun day on July 14 at Elsecar Cricket Club from 1pm.

It's being held to raise money for Jack Palmer, of Tinglebridge Lane, who has been in and out of hospital throughout the year in his battle with leukaemia.

As well as the match, there will be a bouncy castle, a live band at half time, barbecue a raffle and auction including prizes such as signed and framed Freddie Flintoff shirt.

A GUIDE leader has described the thief who has put a children's summer camping trip in jeopardy as 'scum'.

Silkstone Guides worked hard to raise funds to buy a trailer that carries all their camping gear, and had been looking forward to using it this month at an international guides camp in Lincoln.

But a man was seen stealing the jockey wheel of the trailer last month, and unless the money can be found to buy a replacement the trip will be off.

The guide's leader, who does not want to be named, said: "The only word I could use to describe someone who would steal from little children is scum," she said.

"The trailer is parked in the same place all the time - everyone knows it belongs to the guides. Try as I might I just can't imagine how anyone could do a thing like this.

The wheel was stolen from the trailer as it was parked off Sheffield Road, Barnsley, last month.

The guide said: "The trailer cost us £400 which is an awful lot of money for a guide group like ours - everyone worked very hard for a long time to raise the money and now this happens.

"I don't know yet how much a replacement wheel will cost but I do know we haven't got any spare money.

"The camp, later this month, will be our first trip of the year. I don't know how I will break the news to them if I am forced to that we might have to cancel it.

"But the sad fact is without a replacement wheel the trailer and the guides are going nowhere.

"It would be nice if the horrible person who stole it would show some compassion and give it back - but I'm not holding my breath."

FINAL preparations are being made for this year's Fake Festival at Locke Park.

Taking place on July 13, Barnsley Fake Festival will be kicking off with some of the greatest local musical talent, hand-picked by the Fake Festivals team.

Jez Lee, organiser of Fake Festivals, said: "At last year's festival in Barnsley we were knee-deep in mud - it was a true festival atmosphere.

"We’ve been showcasing local unsigned talent for seven years now. The success of some of the artists has been remarkable."

Eddy Anderson, aka Tom Meighan of Kazabian, said: "We love the fact that Fake Festivals stays true to its name.

"The event is all about re-creating the look and feel of a major festival, not only with the sound and lighting, but also with the stage and tribute bands."

As well as the headlining tribute bands, there is a also a variety of local artists performing.

Fake Festival is at Locke Park on June 13. Will you be heading down?

A BARNSLEY bridal shop came to the rescue as a bride-to-be was left without a dress.

Laura Ridings had seen advice on a money-saving website to search for dresses on eBay to help cut costs.

She ordered two bridesmaid dresses from Hong Kong for her fiancé Christopher's daughters Becky, 14, and Bethany, 12, which arrived without problem.

But her made-to-measure, white, strapless wedding dress did not. She received an email saying that the all-important dress wouldn't be ready until August.

Laura, from Dodworth, said: "I could have cried, it was an awful feeling. I was upset with it being so close and thought it might be left without a dress.

"I was mad - we'd sent the wedding date. That's the last thing you want to be worrying about. I'll never order anything so important off eBay again.

After receiving the email three weeks before the big day, she went to Olivia's not expecting to be able to afford a dress.

But they found her an ivory discontinued dress which had been customised with sequins, chiffon and diamante.

Laura has not received her money back for the eBay dress and has opened a case with the auction website.

Laura, 24, wore her new dress and married Christopher, 37, at Barnsley Register Office on July 6.

A MAN who was given just 18 months to live three years ago is hosting a fundraising event on July 13 for a brain tumour charity.

Father-of-two Karl Martin, 34, was diagnosed with a grade II glioma in 2006. After his tumour showed initial signs of being stable, in March 2010 he was told that his tumour had progressed and it was then that he was given his bleak prognosis.

An operation could have caused paralysis so he underwent a six-week course of radiotherapy at St James's Hospital in Leeds. Now Karl is stable despite his terminal condition and has been fundraising since 2008 to highlight the devastating effects of his type of cancer. His team have raised over £15,000 for Brain Tumour Research and Support.

Karl said: "I know the funds we raise will not find a cure or new treatments in time to save me, but if all my own and my family's hard work can save one person's suffering and loss of life in the future then it will all be worth it."

Karl, from Shafton, also believes that his children need to understand when they are older just how much he fought for himself and others and wants to show them that caring, compassion, selflessness, desire, courage and strength are life skills second to no others.

Taking place at Regents Bar this Saturday, you can find more information on the event by clicking here. For more information on Karl's fundraising efforts, click here.

THE mother of a young schoolgirl with cancer feared her daughter had died just weeks before she was due to celebrate her ninth birthday.

Brave Katerina Tawn, who has acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, suffered a series of seizures last month.

Mum Lia, 35, frantically tried to resuscitate her daughter at their Thurgoland home following the first fit, while dad Duncan dialled for an ambulance.

"Her leg started shaking and I thought 'that's not right' and she started fitting, frothing at the mouth and going purple," said Lia, of Copster Close.

"I screamed at my husband 'call an ambulance', and the way I screamed he thought she had died and, at the time, I thought she had died."

Katerina, who was diagnosed last August, suffered a second fit in the ambulance and further episodes once she arrived at Sheffield Children's Hospital on June 5.

The class four pupil at Thurgoland Primary School was due to celebrate her birthday with a party the following week and Lia was worried her daughter would not make it.

"We were just praying she would be well enough for the party because she was looking forward to it so much.

"You daren't plan anything in case anything goes wrong but you have to make plans to carry on life as normally as possible for Katerina."

Katerina recovered to make the 'do' at Thurgoland Village Hall and, rather than receive presents, she asked for the money, a total of £600, to be donated to the CLIC Sargent charity and Briony's Gift.

AN electrically-powered car used by Barnsley Council employees has helped to reduce its carbon emissions in its first month in operation.

The Nissan Leaf travelled 1,106 miles to site visits and business meetings - which saved 0.353 tonnes in carbon emissions.

The vehicle costs just 2p per mile to run, incurs no road tax and has a range of approximately 109 miles on a full charge.

It brings other benefits, too. Employees who have somewhere in the borough to visit on business can leave their own car at home that day and this in turn can free up town centre car parking spaces and further reduces carbon emissions.

The purchase price of the vehicle was covered by grant funding from the Department for Environment and Rural Affairs (£14,500) and the Air Quality and Climate Group (£7,000).

A NEW school is set to open in Goldthorpe in late 2015.

The new primary school and nursery, which was planned as part of the Goldthorpe masterplan, will be located on a cleared site in central Goldthorpe, just off the Doncaster Road/Main Street area.

The existing Goldthorpe Primary School is more than 100 years old and currently requires an estimated £1.3million worth of repairs.

It's also recognised that the school isn't big enough to cope with the projected population growth for the area.

Cllr Roy Miller said the new school would act as a catalyst for investment in the area and bring a much-needed uplift to Goldthorpe.

“An improved school facility for the children in the Dearne is fantastic and the community has waited for a new school for a number of years, since the regeneration funding was cut,” he said.

“The school will also raise the confidence of businesses and housing developers in Goldthorpe and will we hope make a significant contribution to the future economic prosperity of the area.”

By early August, the last remaining properties on Main Street are due for demolition. A total of 107 properties have been demolished, which have all been secured via negotiation with home owners and businesses.

The economic renewal of Goldthorpe is a key priority for Barnsley Council. In 2012 the council began the consultation process on the potential allocation of 157 hectares of land for employment uses.

There's recently been improvements made to the high street that have improved the appearance of the town centre and there are plans to provide further assistace, subject to funding approval.

Further updates will be provided and the community will be consulted as part of the planning process.

PUPILS at Shafton Primary took a step back in time to celebrate the school's 100th anniversary.

Black and white uniforms, The Lord's Prayer and even a dunce's cap were the order of the day in the Victorian class room created for the special event on Friday.

Former pupils met children and staff and shared memories about their time there.

These included 93-year-old Iris Baker who came along to see the displays and old photographs.

Headteacher Ruth Lyons said the day was a great success.

"It was absolutely brilliant, we had so many people," she said. "We had a lot of people visit who used to come here and some ex-teachers. They were wonderful and they told us a lot of what the school used to be like."

INFORMATION comparing the mortality rates of surgeons with the national average shows those operating at Barnsley Hospital are within the expected limits.

There are four audits relevant to Barnsley Hospital: orthopaedics, endocrine and thyroid, urology and colorectal.

The orthopaedics audit was published last Monday and lists eight surgeons: Abraham Odumala, Aly Hany Mohammed Aly Ismaiel, Janos Patko, Kalid Abdlslam, Muhammed Rashid, Muhammed Zakariya G M Khan, Nebal Shaath and Zafar Nur.

The mortality rates of all eight are all in line with the expected rate of 0.4 per cent for knee replacement surgery and 0.6 per cent for hip replacement surgery.

Data relating to colorectal surgery will be published later this year.

The hospital has not submitted any data for urology and endocrine and thyroid surgery audits, as they do not have to but surgeons will be submitting data for publication in the future.

No surgeons at Barnsley Hospital have withheld consent to their data being published.

THREE former leaders whose combined ages total 257 years were among those celebrating the 80th anniversary of the Monk Bretton Scout Group.

Len Norris, 86, Ernest Horbury, 89, and Don Booker, 82, joined all sections of the group and supporters from over the years at a celebration event at the Air Scout Group centre on Rotherham Road last week.

Len, who was a leader in the war years, said: "We took years to get a full uniform because of clothing coupons and we just got a shirt, shorts or hat when we could afford them. There were no cars or vans to take gear to camp and everything went on a handcart."

Ernest, a former miner, said he had always been proud to be a member of the then 39th Barnsley Monk Bretton Group because it had great traditions.

"I liked the Air Scout connection and it led me to serve 22 years in the Royal Air Force," he added.

Group Scout Leader Gavin Doxey thanked all leaders and supporters who had helped the group over the years and to establish the scouts as the village's longest-running youth organisation.

TWO daughters have raised more than £4,500 for charity after completing a tough 46-mile walk in memory of their mum.

Deborah and Amanda Holmes put on their walking boots and tackled the boundary walk around Bradfield Parish on June 22 and 23.

Their mum, Peggy Holmes, died five years ago aged 73 and lived in Grimethorpe and South Hiendley.

As well as remembering Peggy, Deborah and Amanda decided to raise the money for Diabetes UK as Amanda's eldest son, Oliver Timms, 15, was diagnosed with type one diabetes last year.

Deborah, 51, said: "We have been really overwhelmed by how much support we've had from people and it's been so lovely to hear from many old friends.

"Lots of people joined us along the route which certainly kept us going. We had 16 people who did the whole walk with ages ranging from 14 to nearly 70 which is fantastic.

"It has been a really tough challenge with some big climbs and difficult terrain but we're thinking of making it an annual event as everyone seems keen to do it again next year."

Amanda, 46, added: "The money is still coming in but we will have raised at least £4,500 which is almost double the target we set ourselves and a fantastic team effort from everyone."

THE Court of Appeal has decided not to interfere with the sentence of Jordan Sheard, the 20-year-old who is serving a three-and-a-half year jail term for the manslaughter of Steven Simpson.

After Sheard's original sentence, campaign group Stop Hate UK asked the Attorney General to examine whether the sentence was too lenient.

Simpson, who was set alight at his 18th birthday party in Cudworth on June 22 of last year, died from his injuries a day later.

The court heard on July 10, 2013, that Steven was vulnerable, who suffered from Asperger's syndrome, was speech-impaired, epileptic and had learning difficulties.

Openly gay, he was described as a sociable person who had a large group of friends.

Lady Justice Rafferty said his friend, Miss Sweeney, said he was easily influenced and people could badger him into doing what is asked of him.

Jordan Sheard, 20, arrived at the party with a group at around 9pm. Over the course of the night, a large amount of alcohol was consumed.

Sheard and his friends persuaded Simpson to strip. It seemed good-natured fun, but the court heard Sheard had verbally mocked Simpson's sexuality as the night wore on.

At around 11pm, the police were called to the address on Pleasant View, after a complaint was received about the noise. The party continued after the police left.

A witness then saw Steven, now fully dressed, angry with Sheard and Brendan King. He told them to leave his bedroom but horseplay soon resumed.

By 2am, a number of people had left. The court heard that Steven's trousers were pulled down and his genitals were sprayed with tanning oil.

Sheard then held a lighter to his groin. Simpson was engulfed in flames. Those who were present then fled the scene. A guest attempted to extinguish the flames and rang 999.

After Sheard ran away, he later returned to the address and was arrested at 3.15am. In his original interview with the police, he claimed that Simpson had set himself alight, although he did later admit to holding the lighter to Steven's groin after being egged on.

Sheard claimed he did not intend to cause injury and that his actions were down to his drunken state. The Attorney General did concede that he did plead guilty, he is remorseful and he had been of good character.

In their conclusion, the Court of Appeal sided with the original sentencing. "We are wary of going further. We decline to interfere with the sentence of three-and-a-half years detention in a young offender institution."

HOMEOWNERS affected by the route of the HS2 rail link will now be able to ask the government to buy their property.

It follows the announcement that the route for the first phase of the £42.6bn project has been protected from future development.

Homeowners will get the market value of their property, plus 10 per cent (up to £47,000) and moving costs.

But campaigners said the money would help only a "tiny fraction" of people.

The new high-speed railway line is intended to link London to Birmingham by 2026, with branches to Manchester and Leeds, via Sheffield and through Barnsley, planned by 2032.

Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin said: "I understand the distress of those who live along the line of route and can assure people that we will process claims to purchase their property swiftly so that those who qualify can move as quickly as possible."

What do you think to this latest development? Have your say below.

REDS midfielder David Perkins is full of confidence ahead of the new season.

Perkins, 31, won the club's player of the year award last season and he believes success is on the cards if they can fulfil their potential.

"There’s a big buzz around the club and the town ahead of the new season," he said. "All the lads have come back in brilliant shape and we’ve taken the buzz from last year and taken that into our pre-season.

"Hopefully we can keep the momentum we got from staying up last season and build on that. To be honest we can do anything we put our minds to."

SAVINGS of almost £274,000 have been made by South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service.

The Fire Authority revised its budget in December, settling on £52.396m, but the final figure spent came to £52.095m - leaving an underspend of £273,716.

Underspends on support staff, indirect employee costs, premise costs, transport costs, and an increase in income have contributed to the saving.

Alan Atkin, vice chairman of the Fire Authority, said a number of efficiencies had been brought in as the budget was cut.

He added: "People have left the service, which we haven't expected. Seventy per cent of our budget is spent on firefighters' salaries.

"It costs about £30,000 a year to employ a firefighter, so if one leaves that we're not expecting, we're saving that.

"We also got more money from outside work which we charge for, such as fire extinguisher maintenance."

He said the savings would go into the 'general reserves' fund, which now stand at £19.7million.

RESIDENTS in Cawthorne who opened their gardens to the public have raised £20,000 for the parish church.

Cawthorne Open Gardens is held every two years and the money from this year's event, the ninth to be held, will go towards the refurbishment of All Saints' Church.

People flocked from far and wide to enjoy strolling around the village and looking at the 20 private gardens on display.

Other attractions included children's competitions and a tennis tournament.

John Walker, one of the event's organisers, said: "All the hard work and weeks of preparation beforehand paid off and the generous contributions from villagers and visitors was overwhelming.

"It was truly a village event and an occasion for everyone to feel a part of the community."

A TATTOO shop owner who was raising money for the British Heart Foundation has had his collection tin stolen by callous thieves.

Andy Longden, who owns Arcadia with his wife Wendy, was due to take part in a skydive for the British Heart Foundation on July 13 - but now that's in jeopardy.

The thieves broke into a tattoo shop on Tuesday night and made off with a charity collection tin, containing around £200.

Also stealing Andy's valuable tattoo equipment, the tin's contents were donated by customers and the proceeds of a raffle the pair are doing.

"They got in through the upstairs window," said Wendy. "The machines are insured but the collection tin obviously was not.

"Although Andy will be without his equipment for a while, we're urging people to still come in and take part in the raffle competition so he can go ahead with his skydive."

THE police are re-appealing for witnesses after a 71-year-old woman pedestrian died when she was involved in a collision in Barnsley.

The collision happened around 9.52am on June 13 on Hough Lane, Wombwell, near the crossroads with Woodwalk, Dovecliffe Road and Hemmingfield Road near to the entrance to Wombwell Train Station.

It is reported that a green Mercedes Vito driven by a 28-year-old man from Barnsley was travelling along Dovecliffe Road and arrived at a junction controlled by give way markings, with Hough Lane crossroads, intending to turn left.

The Mercedes is then believed to have turned left into Hough Lane and collided with the 71-year-old woman.

The woman was reported to have been crossing from the Hemmingfield Road direction towards the train station at the time of the collision. The driver of the Mercedes did not sustain any injuries.

Anyone who witnessed the incident or has information that could assist officers are asked to call South Yorkshire Police on 101 quoting incident number 293 of 13 June 2013. Alternatively people can phone Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

AN emaciated dog in an appalling condition was found collapsed on a quiet village road.

The black and tan terrier, believed to be between 14 and 16 years old, was close to death when RSPCA inspectors arrived at Old Mill Lane, Thurgoland last week.

It was severely arthritic, suffering from dermatitis and fur loss, and had a large tumour on its throat.

RSPCA chief inspector Matt Bell, who attended the incident at about 11pm, said: "It’s really sad that, at a time when the RSPCA has been reporting that animals are being treated like rubbish due to the alarming increase in them being abandoned, I get a call to such a vulnerable, elderly dog abandoned on an isolated country lane.

"This dog clearly could not have strayed anywhere as she was in such an appalling condition."

Inspector Bell took the animal home overnight and made it comfortable. However it had to be put down the following day because of chronic illness.

"Had we not got the call she would have died of exposure overnight," Matt added.

"I take some comfort that she was found and did not spend her last night alone, cold and exhausted, dumped in a country lane."

Any information about the incident should be reported to the appeal line on 0300 123 8018.

THE police has confirmed that the man who allegedly attacked a Barnsley soldier is a white male.

They also said the attack is not believed to be racially or religiously motivated, after much speculation.

At 12.05am on June 30, police received reports that a 25-year-old man had been assaulted on Mottram Street in Barnsley.

Officers understand that the 25-year-old is a serving member of the armed forces, however the assault is believed to be unrelated to his occupation.

A local man was arrested on suspicion of assault. He has been released while enquiries continue.

TWO teenagers who fell in love and got engaged are being forced to live thousands of miles apart by the UK's tough new immigration red tape.

Alex Firth, 18, is in Barnsley while sweetheart Jamie Freeman, 19, is in Georgia, USA - but they but can't get permission to live together even though he has written to Home Secretary, Theresa May, asking for help.

The couple met online last year when Alex visited a website to help him learn a foreign language.

He said: "I thought I'd try learning German. Jamie was on there also looking to learn German. We started chatting online and found we had a lot in common."

After a month, the couple realised they had a special bond and in January, Jamie came to visit Alex in Barnsley. It was there that Alex popped the question.

"She liked Barnsley and we felt a lot better together," Alex said. "I took her to Barnsley FC matches - she even went home with a Barnsley scarf on."

The two thought getting a visa for Jamie to move to the UK would be a formality. But the UK government's tough new rules introduced in July 2012 say that a non-European spouse or partner must be sponsored by a person "with a minimum income."

Young couples are at a particular disadvantage because they tend to earn less and with Alex suffering from Asperger's syndrome and a blood pressure condition, it means he can't work to earn enough to support Jamie, as specified by the government.

Alex said: "For me to get a visa for Jamie I have to be earning £18,600. I'll never be able to earn that because of my health and I can't afford to emigrate to the US either."

An inquiry is currently looking at the migration rules and Barnsley MP Dan Jarvis is supporting the case of the young long distance lovers.

The Barnsley Central MP said: "Alex is the victim of a tightening of the rules which penalises him for being a young person. He is fortunate enough to have found someone he wants to be with, who makes a profound difference to his health and quality of life.

"They cannot do the most basic things that a young couple would do - like plan their new life together - because they don't have the kind of income this government thinks is necessary."