Ferret Unlocked: what you missed in news last week

The environment took centre stage in news last week, in particular over the state of the Harrogate district’s waterways.

We spent time with volunteers on Oak Beck who have been testing the quality of its water in the aftermath of pollution two years ago.

In 2022, a toxic spill turned the beck in Harrogate brown and killed off the river’s wildlife, including hundreds of fish. On Saturday, we published an in-depth piece looking at how the beck has bounced back.

Soon after our feature hit the headlines, we received reports that a dam wall near Pateley Bridge collapsed raising fears over pollution into the River Nidd.

The Stray Ferret covered the story over the course of the weekend, including the assessment of the Environment Agency which visited the site soon after the collapse.

Elsewhere in news, we interviewed the Knaresborough brothers who have gone viral on social media after playing cricket in their back garden.

Called Backyard Cricket, the pair’s Instagram and TikTok pages have reached millions of views and led them to meet England cricket captain Ben Stokes. You can read the full feature here.

Meanwhile, our senior journalist, John Grainger, caught up with the Odeon cinema in Harrogate’s longest serving employee.

Kevin Langford has worked as manager at the cinema for 37 years and only started working there to pay off his overdraft. He took us behind the scenes at the historic building, including telling some disconcerting ghost stories.

In politics, we took a closer look at the lack of women in the political landscape in North Yorkshire and questioned why so few are entering the political arena.

One woman described local politics to us as "a metaphorical bog of ancient prejudice". You can read the full story here.

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