BBC Local Live: Cumbria for Monday 4 September 2017 (2024)

A cyclist was injured in what police describe as a "road rage" incident on a narrow and winding stretch of the A591 through the Lake District.

Officers would like to hear from anyone who saw the confrontation between the rider and the driver of a white Volkswagen Transporter van just before 15:00 on Saturday, between the Low Wood Hotel and Ambleside.

It's not thought the cyclist was seriously hurt.

BBC Weather

There'll be a fair amount of cloud this afternoon with some sunshine here and there, before cloud thickens again from the north.

The maximum temperature will be about 19C (66F).

You can find the latest BBC weather forecast for where you are here.

A month-long excavation of a Roman Bath House at Carlisle Cricket Club will get under way this week.

A team of volunteers has been recruited to help with the dig after the remains of the fourth century building were discovered unexpectedly earlier this year.

They'll be digging down to see if earlier remains survive beneath the impressive masonry already discovered.

Lynn Gardener, a senior environmental archaeologist, says even the earth around any artefacts can shed light on the lives of the Roman soldiers who would have used the baths.

A man who attacked his wife four times within weeks of their wedding in Las Vegas has been banned from contacting her for 10 years by a judge at Carlisle Crown Court.

Wisdom Patrick Lee, 30, of Bridge House Road, Blackpool, admitted four charges of assault, two of which took place in the Penrith area, and putting a person in fear of violence.

The court was told Lee had already served the equivalent of a 10-month prison term, on remand. He was given a 12-month community order and was also ordered to complete 180 hours unpaid work.

Plans to dual the A66 between Penrith and Scotch Corner could make it safer, according to Highways England engineers.

Last year, the Treasury confirmed the entire stretch between Scotch Corner and Penrith would become dual carriageway some time after 2020.

The single-carriage sections of the road have a bad record for accidents and add an estimated 20 minutes to the journey from Scotch Corner to Penrith.

The bad weather that sometimes sweeps across the Cumbrian side of the Pennines is an important part of training at the huge Warcop firing range, according to the officer in charge of live iring there.

Capt Neil Gerrin says recruits take part in their first live firing exercises at Warcop towards the end of their basic training and while Cumbria can't equal the extremes of heat and cold soldiers might meet around the world, the variety of weather is part of the experience.

Homes in Station Road in Wigton were evacuated after arsonists set fire to a van carrying tyres and a Vauxhall Astra in the small hours of Sunday morning.

Four fire crews spent three hours dealing with the blazing vehicles. Police have appealed for witnesses.

BBC Cumbria Sport

A new media suite at Carlisle United's stadium has bene named in memory of Derek Lacey, the BBC Radio Cumbria commentator who covered more than 500 of the club's matches over 13 years.

An £8.5m fund has been set up to help smaller Cumbrian businesses, external avoid what's described as a "looming skills shortage", but the grants are only available until next July.

The county's chamber of commerce says about 80,000 new workers will have to be recruited by 2021 to replace staff who leave or fill new jobs.

Currently only 28% of workers in the county have a level four qualification such as an HNC, but 40% of the new jobs will need people trained to this level.

Rob Johnston from the Cumbria Chamber of Commerce, which is running the scheme, says factors such as an ageing population will make recruiting harder.

• Temperatures at 3,000ft: 12C.
• Winds: Fresh southerly becoming southwesterly gusting 30mph.
• Cloud: Extensive down to 1,600ft, perhaps down to 1,000ft in the southwest.
• Visibility: Good in the east, moderate to poor in the southwest

BBC Weather

It'll be a cloudy and murky start with patchy light rain and drizzle, mist and extensive hill fog. The low cloud will lift and it will gradually brighten in places.

There will be light southerly winds and a maximum temperature of 19C (66F).

You can find the latest BBC weather forecast for where you are, here.

BBC News Travel

Northern rail services are affected again today by a strike, part of the continuing dispute over the role of guards. Services are severely reduced.

Passengers are advised to check, external before travelling on the Cumbria Coast Line, the Lakes Line, the Settle to Carlisle line, or across from Carlisle to Newcastle.

Martin Lewes
Reporter

We'll be keeping up with the news and travel reports, posting a regular weather forecast, and dropping in the odd other nugget from the county, through until about 18:00.

As always, if you want to pass on news you think we should know, or share a photo with the county, you can email them to us, send them using Twitter where we're @BBC_Cumbria, external or head to our Facebook page, external.