Sixty-eight young people from Bradford attended the 29th annual Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Lane Fox Challenge event. The event is held at Parkwood 4×4 Centre in Tong and is run by staff and volunteers from Bradford Youth Service. Teams were entered from Duke of Edinburgh’s Award groups from across the district – including Youth Clubs, Schools and Cadets.
Competing in teams of five, the young people faced 11 challenges. Navigation had to be precise as they made their way between activity bases. At each base there was a task to complete such as archery, problem-solving or the dreaded rope-over-the pond! Needless to say, most participants completed the course wet, muddy or both!
The Fastest Team prize was won by the team representing Menston Youth Club, who were just one minute ahead of their closest challengers. In the Best Teamwork category, where points were awarded at each base for teamwork and communication, the prize was taken by one of the teams from the Bradford Open Award Unit. The George Reid Trophy, which is awarded to the fastest Cadet team was won by the Shipley Spartans Team.
Nikeeta, who took part in the challenge, said: “It was a fantastic day. We had so much fun doing it, and it was great working as a team. I didn’t think we could get so muddy!”
Heather Wilson, Bradford Youth Service, said: “This was a great challenge for everyone and I’m very proud of all who took part! We had zip wires, rafts across lakes, rope climbing as well as a host of other activities. It was great fun and what was fantastic was how young people worked together in teams to support each other.”

Police in Bradford joined members of the local community on November 20, 2012 in a city walk to support the Transgender day of Remembrance.
The annual event pays tribute to those who have lost their lives to murder or suicide throughout the world.
The Transgender flag flew at half mast outside City Hall as people gathered to mark the occasion.
Sergeant Claire Hargreaves and PC Charlotte Jones from West Yorkshire Police’s Hate Crime Team were there.
PC Jones said they work very closely with local groups to raise understanding and awareness:
“We joined a number of people from the transgender community for a walk about of Bradford’s City Centre.
“It was a very positive experience and I think Bradford in particular is a city of diversity which embraces people from every background.
“As the Police, we are always looking to work with different sections of our community to ensure they feel safe in the place they live and work.
“In particular, we do a lot of work in tackling hate crime and raising awareness right across the District.
“We regularly hold Scrutiny Panels in Bradford which allow local people to assess how we have dealt with any hate crime incident.
“There are also a number of Hate Crime Reporting Centres throughout the area which provides people the opportunity to report any offences.
“We will not tolerate nor accept hate crime in Bradford and I think events such as this reinforce and support an acceptance of all.”
Bradford based Transgender Group SafeT have been working with the police to encourage the reporting of hate crime.
A spokesperson for the group said:
“It is reassuring to see that West Yorkshire Police are taking this issue seriously and actually taking steps to encourage the transgender community to come forward and report hate crime.
“Thirty four percent of transgender people attempt suicide. It is widely believed that this is due to social pressure, isolation and ignorance.
“Today we have walked through Bradford and were treated the same as everyone else. This is a positive way to mark this important day.”
Should anyone want to report a trans-phobic incident or any other hate incident you can contact the non emergency number 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

Five cash machine criminals have been sentenced to a total of 71 months’ imprisonment as a result of an operation led by the banking industry-sponsored police squad, the Dedicated Cheque and Plastic Crime Unit (DCPCU).
The criminal gang involved were stealing money from ATMs through the use of a device known as a ‘cash claw’. When this device was fitted to a machine it prevented cash from being dispensed to customers. The criminal gang would then return to the machine and remove the device along with the non-dispensed cash.
The successful three-month operation involved officers and bank staff from the Unit identifying the gang members by analysing crime patterns and establishing routes the organised criminal networks were using.
Adrian Niculita, Andrei Chioran, Iancu Oleacu, Ciprian Dumitru and Violeta Alecu were all found guilty of Conspiracy to Steal and Possession of Articles Used to Commit Theft, and were sentenced at the Old Bailey on 8 November.
DC Martin Godsave, the DCPCU officer in charge of this case, commented:
“Putting this gang behind bars will undoubtedly lead to a significant decrease in this type of crime, and should help drive down cash machine crime losses, which fell by three per cent in the first half of this year. Officers from the DCPCU worked in tandem with bank investigators on this operation and quickly accumulated overwhelming evidence, which led to the arrest and imprisonment of those responsible.”
The DCPCU, which is a specialist police unit sponsored by the banks to investigate serious and organised payment fraud, is working with the industry to stamp out organised card and cheque fraud across the UK. The Unit comprises officers from the City of London and Metropolitan police forces working alongside bank investigators and case support staff.

Bradford Teaching Hospital’s design for the refurbishment of two of its wards, undertaken to improve the hospital environment for elderly patients suffering from dementia, has won a national award.
The team were named Winners of the 2012 Building Better Healthcare (BBH) award for best interior design project. These are the main UK awards for healthcare building and design.The hospital team were named winners of the 2012 Building Better Healthcare (BBH) award for best interior design project. These are the main UK awards for healthcare building and design.
The nationally acclaimed ‘Enhancing the Healing Environment’ project which transformed wards 23 and 29 was the largest refurbishment of its kind for patients with dementia in an NHS hospital.
It saw the Foundation Trust invest more than £450,000, with a further £50,000 awarded from The King’s Fund, towards upgrading facilities to create a more calming space to influence patient behaviour and improve the wards for patients with dementia, visitors and their families.

But one in six believe they are accessing some illegal content.

Nearly half of all internet users are unsure whether the content they are accessing online is legal, Ofcom research has found.
However, one in six people online believed they downloaded or accessed content illegally over a three-month period this year.
The findings come from the first wave of a large-scale consumer study into the extent of online copyright infringement among internet users aged 12 and above, published today.
This ongoing research will identify trends over time, examining infringement of copyright on music, films, TV programmes, software, books and video games.
According to the report, 47% of users cannot confidently identify whether the online content they download, stream or share is legal or not1 – highlighting the importance of increased efforts to educate and inform consumers.
In June, Ofcom published a draft Code2 that would require large fixed internet service providers (ISPs) to inform customers of allegations that their internet connection has been used to infringe copyright, and to explain where they can find licensed content on the internet.
Under the amended Communications Act 2003, Ofcom will report to the Government on efforts made by content owners to invest in awareness campaigns to help educate consumers about the impact of copyright infringement.
The consumer study also found that:
• One in six (16%) internet users aged 12+ downloaded or accessed online content illegally during the three month period from May to July 2012;
• Reported levels of infringement varied considerably by content type: 8% of internet users consumed some music illegally in the three months, but just 2% did so for games and software;
• The most common reasons cited for accessing content illegally were because it is free (54%), convenient (48%) and quick (44%). Around a quarter (26%) of infringers said it allows them to try before they buy;
• Infringers said they would be encouraged to stop doing so if cheaper legal services were available (39%), everything they wanted was available from a legal source (32%) or it was more clear what content was legal (26%). One in six said they would stop if they received one notifying letter from their ISP;
• Those who consumed a mixture of legal and illegal online content in the form of music, films and TV programmes reported spending more on legal content in these categories over the three-month period than those who consumed entirely legal or illegal content.
The research follows a recommendation in the Hargreaves Review of Intellectual Property and Growth that Ofcom should start gathering independent data and establishing trends in the area of online copyright before its formal reporting duties begin, under the Digital Economy Act 2010, when the Code comes into force.
Consumer research is only one perspective on levels of online copyright infringement. For a more complete picture, it should be considered alongside direct measurement of behaviour on file-sharing websites and wider industry data. Ofcom expects to consider all these data sources as part of its statutory reporting duties in the near future.
The full report, the OCI Tracker Benchmark Study, is available here. It was funded by the Intellectual Property Office (IPO), and carried out by Kantar Media on behalf of Ofcom. The report contains details about the methodology used, and the underlying data is also being made available for further analysis.

Lady hares, minotaurs and dogs sculpted by Sophie Ryder are to stalk the grounds of Lister Park and Cartwright Hall Art Gallery.
The internationally acclaimed artist uses manipulated wire or cast bronze to create hybrid animals that offer tender and insightful commentaries on universal human emotions and interpersonal relationships.
Small and large scale sculptures, drawings and tapestries will be shown at the Bradford Council-run venue from Saturday, 1 December until Sunday, 14 April 2013.
Sophie is best known for a narrative series based around the Lady Hare, which is a creature of her own invention with a hare’s head and a female body that is modelled on her own. She is often portrayed alongside a masculine minotaur and a canine companion.
The mythical creatures – which are portrayed walking, crawling or standing – are frequently made out of scrap materials. These include sawdust, wet plaster, old machine parts, and acid baths.
Sophie will support the exhibition with a talk, during which she will discuss her work and exhibition in the gallery and outside in Lister Park. It will be held on Sunday, 16 December between 12noon-1pm. Admission is free but it is necessary to book a place in advance by contacting cartwright.hall@bradford.gov.ukor 01274 431212.
Coun Susan Hinchcliffe, Bradford Council’s Executive Member responsible for Culture, said: “It is wonderful to bring Sophie Ryder’s work to Cartwright Hall Art Gallery and it will be great to see some of her large-scale works in the grounds of Lister Park which acts as a fabulous back-drop.” яндекс
Sophie Ryder was born in London and studied Combined Arts at the Royal Academy of Arts. She received a diploma in painting but during her studies she was encouraged to develop her sculpture. Inspired by Picasso, Goya and Henry Moore, she developed the Lady Hare as a counterpart to Ancient Greek mythology’s Minotaur.
Her work has been exhibited in solo and group exhibitions since 1984 in many parts of the UK, mainland Europe, Canada and America. She has also undertaken a number of residences including at the Yorkshire Sculpture Park and Salisbury Cathedral.
Read more about Sophie’s work at http://www.sophieryder.net/
For information about exhibitions and events being held at the Council’s museums and galleries, please visit http://www.bradfordmuseums.org// www.facebook.com/bradfordmuseumsor follow @BradfordMuseums

Two Bradford students, who have been highlighting homeless issues and encouraging their school and the local community to give to those in need within Bradford, visited a Food Bank that distributes vital food parcels across the area.
Samira Afzal and Ikra Ali, both 17, who are studying at Feversham College in Undercliffe, travelled to Bradford Metropolitan Food Bank, accompanied by Lib Dem MP David Ward.
Going since 2005, the charity run entirely by volunteers, supplies donated food to social services and other local charities such as the Keyhouse Project that deal directly with families and individuals who are in dire need of food provisions.
Samira and Ikra have already implemented their own initiatives to help the homeless, including organising a can drive where they collected 500 tins of food. The girls, who hope to set up their own charity, first became involved in homeless issues during a citizenship lesson in year 10.
Ikra explains: “We’ve already donated to different charities and we came here for some inspiration to help give us ideas for the work we’re doing”
Samira said:  “Britain in itself has so many problems, nobody here should be homeless, but as a tight community we should be there to help them.”
David told the Asian Sunday: “It’s important to come here to see what’s going on. People who are struggling, either the homeless, or those in pretty poor financial straits need to be fed. They are more or less catered for by the people of Bradford. It’s an example of the complicit heart that there is in Bradford.
“Samira and Ikra have really taken to heart the plight of homeless people to heart.”
The Joseph Rowntree Foundation in 2008/9 found there were 13 million people living in poverty in the UK, with 5.8m living below the poverty line. Government statistics showed homelessness had risen by 23% from autumn 2010 to autumn 2011.
Bradford Metropolitan Food Bank says a few years ago they supplied 70 bags a month, this has now increased to 400 bags.
The food bank is always in need of donations, to find out how visit: bradfordfoodbank.com

Police in Bradford are sending the underage sale of alcohol down the hatch.
A series of test purchase operations have taken place to coincide with Alcohol Awareness Week, running between Monday 19 and Friday 25 November.
Twenty five separate off licences have been visited throughout the area, three of which sold alcohol to youngsters no older than 15.