Please see the following link detailing the support offered and steps being taken by Selby District Council to protect residents during this time: https://www.selby.gov.uk/monday-27-april-update

Smoke and bonfires:

Bonfires are often used to dispose of unwanted green waste, but they are a common cause of complaints to the Council. Bonfires can pose a risk to health and worsen air quality. It is an offence to cause a nuisance from a bonfire. Smoke from other appliances such as wood burning stoves, chimineas and fire pits can also cause a nuisance and pollution.

To avoid causing a smoke nuisance you can follow these simple steps:

Only burn dry materials – nothing green or fresh.

Never burn household waste or anything that contains paint, plastic or foam.

Never use oil, petrol or any ignition fluid to light a fire – it is unsafe and harmful to the environment.

Avoid lighting fires in unsuitable weather conditions – on damp, still days smoke can hang in the air, and on windy days smoke may blow across into neighbouring gardens and properties. 

Avoid burning and lighting fires near to residential properties.

Speak with your neighbours to let them know you are going to have a fire – most people are not aware they are causing a nuisance.

Avoid burning when your neighbours are enjoying their gardens, have washing out and windows open.

Burn later on in the day, such as dusk or on an evening where neighbours are less likely to be out enjoying the garden.

Never leave a fire unattended or leave it to smoulder.

If you are affected by a bonfire or burning, it is best to approach the person causing it and politely make them aware. Often people are not aware they are causing a nuisance and may be more considerate in the future. 

If this fails and the issue continues, you should contact the Council and notify us. It is an offence to emit smoke, fumes or gases which are a nuisance. However, if a fire is a one-off it may be difficult to prove a statutory nuisance. 

If the smoke is caused by an industrial or trade premises or burning trade waste creating dark smoke, it may be an offence under the Clean Air Act 1993. 

If you would like to make a complaint you can report it here.

Further information on bonfires, waste burning and suitable alternatives can be found here. 

Each week at 4pm officers in the Economic Crime Unit have undertaken to do a Facebook Live session on the North Yorkshire Police Facebook page to give advice on staying safe from fraud. This weeks presentation/advice will be given by the Cybercrime unit. Please join us at 4pm for advice on how to stay safe online

The below has been received from the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau (NFIB) and we have seen a large increase in these types of scams in the North Yorkshire area.

A total of 9,473 phishing emails linked to sextortion have been made to the NFIB phishing inbox between 31/03/2020 – 19/04/2020.

There has also been just over 200 reports made to Action Fraud in the last week.

Sextortion scams are a type of phishing attack whereby people are coerced to pay a BitCoin ransom because they have been threatened with sharing video of themselves visiting adult websites. These scams are made to appear all the more credible because they provide seemingly plausible technical details about how this was achieved, and the phish can sometimes also include a password used by the recipient.

The current campaign threatens that if the victim does not provide a payment within a specific timeframe (payments usually ranging from $1,000 to $4,000), which is requested into a bitcoin wallet, then a compromising video will be shared to all their contacts and social media channels.

What you need to do

• Do not reply or click on any of the links in the email. You can report the email to Action Fraud at actionfraud.police.uk/report-phishing.
• Don’t be tempted to make the Bitcoin payment. Doing so may encourage more scams as the fraudster will know they have a ‘willing customer’.
• If you have made the Bitcoin payment, you should report it to your local police force by calling 101.
• If the email includes a password you still use then change it immediately.
• For more information, visit: actionfraud.police.uk/sextortion

North Yorkshire Police have received a lot of emails from concerned North Yorkshire residents who have received suspicious emails concerning the Corona virus. This is being replicated across the country. As a result, the Government Communication headquarters (GCHQ) is asking members of the public to report suspicious emails they have received that seek to exploit fear of Covid-19 to enrich cybercriminals. 

The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), has launched the suspicious email reporting service with a simple request of the public: forward any dubious emails to report@phishing.gov.uk, and the NCSC’s automated scanning system will check for scam emails and remove the criminal sites.

If you need to contact North Yorkshire Police please call 101 or in an emergency dial 999.  Alternatively please email any non urgent enquiries to: generalenquiries@northyorkshire.pnn.police.uk

Leaders of North Yorkshire’s response to the Coronavirus pandemic will give an update on the work they are doing, and take questions from residents and businesses, in a live broadcast on, Tuesday 21 April. 

North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner Julia Mulligan will lead the live update and will be joined by: 

• Chief Constable Lisa Winward – North Yorkshire Police
• Chief Fire Officer Andrew Brodie – North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service

Watch live on YouTube: https://youtu.be/KgFU3Fche_M 

Members of the public are invited to watch the meeting from 1.00pm on Tuesday on YouTube and submit questions in advance by emailing info@northyorkshire-pcc.gov.uk, posting on Twitter using the hashtag #NYscrutiny or commenting on Facebook. Not all questions will be able to be used, but they will inform the Commissioner’s questioning and the general discussion. 

Julia Mulligan has decided in these uncertain times that there should be a regular update on the Coronavirus response direct to residents and businesses, and this is the third of those broadcasts. 

These updates replace the regular public accountability meetings which are an opportunity to ensure the police and fire service are performing as well as possible to keep North Yorkshire safe and feeling safe. 

All are invited to find out more about the meeting and watch live at www.northyorkshire-pfcc.gov.uk 

Agenda:

• Police – operational response update
• Fire – operational response update
• Police hot topic – Criminal justice
• Fire hot topic – Nightingale hospital preparations
• Any other business

Watch live on YouTube: https://youtu.be/KgFU3Fche_M

Watch live on the Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner’s website: https://bit.ly/CV21April

If you need to contact North Yorkshire Police please call 101 or in an emergency dial 999.  Alternatively please email any non urgent enquiries to: generalenquiries@northyorkshire.pnn.police.uk