Leeds news LIVE: Traffic building on M62 westbound as two lanes closed after multi-vehicle crash between Lofthouse and Tingley

Starting with cloudier but sunny days on Friday and Saturday, Leeds is in for a mini-heatwave as it heads into the Bank Holiday weekend.

The Met Office is forecasting bright sunshine starting on Friday and lasting right through until Wednesday.

Although as the heatwave begins there might be some cloud and a small chance of rain on Friday and Saturday, once this is out the way the sun will be out in full force for the next few days.

With highs of 21C throughout, it’s going to be a ‘hot and sunny weekend’.

Forecast in full:

Thursday: Sunny start for most although cloudy near the coasts, the cloud will quickly retreat back towards the sea leaving a bright and sunny day everywhere. Feeling warmer than recently. Maximum temperature 19 °C.

Thursday night: A dry night with clear skies across the region. Fog patches forming in rural areas inland, but dissipating in the early hours as high cloud moves in from the west. Minimum temperature 8 °C.

Friday: A bright morning with hazy sunshine. Some cloud bubbling up during the afternoon with a chance of a shower. Feeling warm with strong sunshine. Maximum temperature 17 °C.

Outlook for Saturday to Monday: Cloudy with outbreaks of rain early on Saturday, but clearing to a hot and sunny weekend. Feeling very warm throughout with strong sunshine, particularly on Monday.

Welcome to the Yorkshire Evening Post’s live blog on Thursday, May 27.

Catching up on the latest news? Here’s a selection of our main stories this evening:

Lockdown is gradually lifting in Leeds and across England - but there are some areas where coronavirus cases are still high.

And although case rates have predominantly fallen across the country, the so-called Indian variant is fast becoming a cause of concern for the Government with infections identified across the UK.

The latest figures show 35 out of 107 Leeds neighbourhoods saw an increase in infections in the latest seven-day period, the third week of May.

Read more: The 10 Leeds neighbourhoods where Covid rates are highest 

People died unnecessarily because of Government failings during the coronavirus pandemic, Dominic Cummings has told MPs.

Boris Johnson’s former aide said he was sorry that ministers, officials and advisers had fallen “disastrously short” of the standards the public should expect in a crisis.

Mr Cummings was giving evidence to the Commons health and science committees, with No 10 braced for explosive claims about the Prime Minister’s handling of the pandemic.

Read more here: Dominic Cummings - ‘When the public needed us most the Government failed’

Zucco Leeds has thanked its ‘crazy generous’ customers who have raised more than £7,000 in less than 24 hours for the restaurant destroyed in a horror crash.

The owner of the Meanwood Road restaurant took to social media to thank its customers after the crash “just couldn’t have come at a worse time”.

They added that they “never thought they’d ever be in this position and would never want to ask for this”.

The Facebook post assured customers that the restaurant is insured but that it is currently unknown what would be covered - “especially with bookings full for the next few weeks”.

Full story here: Zucco Leeds thanks ‘crazy generous’ customers for donations

The Department of Health and Social Care said it would instead be issuing advice to people living in Burnley, Bedford, Blackburn with Darwen, Bolton, Kirklees, Leicester, Hounslow and North Tyneside after ministers were accused of bringing in rules on socialising and travelling “by stealth”.

The advice, which the Government said is not new regulations, will highlight “additional precautions” residents can take, such as meeting others outdoors rather than indoors, staying two metres apart from people not in the same household, and minimising travel in and out of the area.

The move follows a day of confusion over the measures which appeared on the Government website on Friday, but without an official announcement and local leaders being made aware of any change.

About one million people aged 30 and 31 will get a text message in coming days asking them to come forward for their Covid vaccine.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock praised the “phenomenal pace” of the vaccination programme.

Health officials have sped up the timetable to offer second jabs in a bid to ensure that those at highest risk are protected from the variant of the virus first identified in India.

At the same time, the programmes are extending to younger age groups to try and mitigate risk.

Mr Hancock said: “Our vaccination programme is moving at such a phenomenal pace and I am delighted that less than six months after Margaret Keenan received the first authorised jab in the world, we are now able to open the offer to everyone in their 30s and over.

“The vaccine is our way out of this pandemic and recent data has shown the life-saving protection (that) a second dose of the jab can give, especially against the new variant.

“I urge everyone to come forward when you get the offer and play a part in getting us back to normality.”

GP and national medical director for primary care for the NHS in England, Dr Nikki Kanani, said: “Getting the vaccine is the single most important step we can take to protect ourselves, our families and our communities against Covid-19 with the jabs saving thousands of lives already.

“The offer of a vaccine doesn’t expire so, if you are eligible and haven’t booked, please do come forward when you’re invited to.”

Vaccination experts have previously advised that people under the age of 40 should receive an alternative vaccine to the Oxford/AstraZeneca jab due to the link between the jab and extremely rare cases of blood clots.

This means that most under-40s will be offered the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines.

The investment announced today includes £15m to help two new stations to be built on the outskirts of Leeds, one at White Rose between Morley and Cottingley on the Transpennine route and another at Thorpe Park, a parkway station on the Leeds to York section of the line.

In total the two stations will cost £55m to build, with the costs being met by sources including the Government’s Transforming Cities Fund, the Leeds Public Transport Investment Programme and private contributions.

Transport Minister Andrew Stephenson will visit major works taking place along the Transpennine route in Yorkshire today, including at Leeds, Hambleton and Colton, to see electrification works.

He said: “Additional investment into the Transpennine Route Upgrade will cut delays and create a more punctual network, with electrification helping deliver greener journeys on this key route.

“Only by investing in, modernising and expanding our railways can we provide passengers with the reliable and resilient services they expect, and create a transport network that is fit for the future.”

The funding for the Transpennine Route comes on the back of £589m promised by Transport Secretary Grant Shapps last summer to kickstart work on the route.

Mr Shapps said that most of the line would be electrified and that the most congested section of the route will be doubled from two to four tracks, allowing fast trains to overtake slower ones, improving journey times and reliability for passengers across the North.

He said today: “Modernising and upgrading our vital transport links is critical to levelling up every part of this country, unleashing our economy and spreading opportunity as we build back better.”