Schoolchidlren across West Yorkshire are to take part in the biggest survey of birdlife in UK schools this winter.

Up to 2,000 schools take part each year in the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds’ s Big Schools’ Birdwatch focussing on the bird population.

The survey has helped to track bird populations through involvement of schools for the last decade.

The survey runs from January 16 to 23. It encourages children and their teachers to discover and learn about the birds that share their school environment.

The survey also helps the RSPB build a picture of bird populations and the changes they are experiencing – including threatened species.

Almost 90,000 schoolchildren and teachers took part in the survey last year. Nearly 3,000 classes from more than 2,000 schools were involved – a record-breaking number for the survey.

Since its launch in 2002, more than 70 different species have been recorded in school grounds, ranging from starlings and house sparrows to kestrels and even pheasants.

Emma Reed, the RSPB’s Education Officer for Northern England, said: “For the past 10 years, we’ve been asking young people to count the birds in their school grounds. As well as contributing to our understanding of the changes in bird numbers, Big Schools’ Birdwatch does a fantastic job of inspiring thousands of children about nature.”

Last year in West Yorkshire, the most common bird spotted was the blackbird with an average of 4.52 per school. The house sparrow and starling completed the top three, with an average of 3.14 and 2.85 per school respectively.

A host of curriculum-linked learning can flow from the survey, with flexibility built-in to run as simply as teachers would like. Some schools make the activity the centrepiece of a week devoted to learning about wild birds while others hold after-school wildlife clubs or as part of work to improve their school grounds.

The project involves different categories for different-sized schools and age groups Visit www.rspb.org.uk/schools watch or ring 0300 456 8340.

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TWO people were cut free from their cars after a collision in Leeds.

The crash happened outside the Tommy Wass pub in Dewsbury Road in south Leeds at 8.23 on Monday (January 9).

A Honda Accord and a Volkswagen Passat were involved.

Firefighters from Hunslet and Morley were called out.

They cut the roofs from both cars releasing a male driver from the Honda and a female driver from the Volkswagen. Both were taken to Leeds General Infirmary suffering suspected spinal injuries. The injuries were not thought to be life-threatening.

A male passenger in the Honda was unhurt.

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Fears are mounting that children could drown in a ‘crater’ left by a developer.

Residents of The Pastures estate, in East Ardsley, were shocked to find two steep-sided dry detention beds had been dug from a meadow on the development last year.

Bloor Homes, who are responsible for the landscaping, responded to complaints of rubble and fly tipping on the field last year by digging the drainage beds that are meant to remain dry.

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But resident and mum-of-two, Charlotte McGahey, fears that the larger bed, which filled with water last year and froze over before Christmas, could cause a tragedy.

The 37-year-old events manager said: “When they started digging I was horrified to how deep it was and how steep the slopes were.

“The worst case scenario is one of my children falling down that slope and ending up in the water and drowning, I don’t let my little boy play on his own outside.”

Disputes between residents and the developer have been raging for four years over incomplete roads, their failure to build another exit from the estate and the beds.

A 43-year-old resident, who wished not to be named, said: “They have got the nerve to call it landscaping but all they have done is build over a load of rubble and put down poor quality muck.”

She said metal piping buried in the rubble pierced her shoe while she was out walking her dog.

Water rings and ‘danger deep water’ signs were put on the site last year, as it emerged that the drainage system was built higher than the ditch’s water line.

Coun Lisa Mulherin (Lab, Ardsley and Robin Hood) said: “We need to make it safe before something does happen.

“There just doesn’t seem to have been any thought as to how people can live next to it – that is the scandalous thing about it.”

She said that Bloor Homes had sent in several planning applications to amend the beds that were “not acceptable”, with the latest issued in November last year.

A Leeds City Council spokesman said the resident group’s reaction to Bloor Homes’ most recent proposals has been sent back to the developer and the council was awaiting a response.

Bloor Homes declined to comment on the issue.

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A POLICE incident closed the M1 in Yorkshire today, causing long delays for motorists.

The motorway in South Yorkshire was closed, causing queuing traffic and long delays in both directions between junction 38, A637 (Woolley) and junction 37, A628 (Barnsley).

A diversion was in operation but drivers faced delays of up to an hour.

A source said police had closed the road following a threat from a pedestrian to jump from the Higham Bridge at Barnsley.

Police advised drivers to leave the motorway at junction 36.

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The family of a Leeds student who was found dead in a halls of residence following a night out with friends have paid tribute to their “wonderful son.”

Adam Dixon died at his halls of residence in Beckett Park, Leeds, on Sunday. (January

The 18-year-old, a first year multi-media technology student at Leeds Metropolitan University, came from Shelf near Halifax.

Before going to university he was head boy at Hipperholme and Lightcliffe High School and played in at least one rock band. He is also believed to have been interested in snow-boarding.

In a statement, his parents, Dave and Tracey, said: “Adam was a wonderful son and brother, who we were extremely proud of. He touched the lives of all the people he met.

“We are absolutely devastated by our tragic loss, and would ask that we be left to grieve in peace at this extremely sad time.”

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Standing in the stalls 60 metres from the stage, it’s easy to get excited about the arrival of the new £60m Leeds concert arena.

The Yorkshire Evening Post was given a sneak peek behind the scenes as the 13,500 capacity venue on Claypit Lane takes shape.

Foundations have been laid, the concrete structure is in place and the stage is coming together.

Construction started in May last year and is due to be completed by March 2013.

Once it is finished, the arena will include 12,500 seats, a 1,000 capacity standing area, private boxes and restaurants.

Gordon Alexander is construction manager for BAM – the company building the arena – and lives in Wakefield.

He said: “Someone told me if you lay every piece of steel in the arena end to end it stretches from here to York.

“The roof will be the size of a football pitch and there are around 100,000 green shingles that will be go on the outside of the arena.

“It’s unusual but nice to have a hand in such a big scale project so close to home.

“This is the first purpose-built music arena in the country. All the others were mainly built for sports events.

“I haven’t worked on anything like this before and won’t again.

“It is brilliant for the people of Leeds to have a venue like this on their doorstep.”

A pivotal moment in the construction came in November when a 54-metre long steel beam weighing in at 180 tonnes was lifted in by two 500-tonne cranes. It took three days to put in place and workmen grafted overnight to get the job done.

The arena will also be able to host a variety of sporting events, including boxing and tennis matches and it is hoped it will boost the city’s economy by £25.5m a year.

BAM also worked on the Carnegie Pavilion at Headingley Stadium and Leeds City Varieties as well as Johannesburg’s Soccer City stadium – the host venue for the 2010 World Cup final.

Coun Richard Lewis, Leeds City Council’s executive member for city development said: “The arena project is one of the most exciting developments we have seen in Leeds for a long time.

“It’s an imaginative building which will attract visitors in their thousands every week from all over the north of England and is already leading to the regeneration a whole area of the city.

“It’s fantastic to see the building take shape before our eyes and to know that the project is progressing so well.”

Yorkshire Forward contributed £10m to the cost of the scheme with the remaining amount being paid by the council.

The council is encouraging people working or living near the arena to send their own photos of the site to communicationsteam@leeds.gov.uk

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