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Gun crime is at an all-time high in West Yorkshire, with 626 firearm crimes recorded in the last year. Some argue that guns can be useful when used correctly, but others believe they should be banned due to the danger they pose. Scabies outbreaks have increased by two-thirds in Yorkshire, with poor living standards and lack of access to healthy food being contributing factors. There has also been a rise in needles and whooping cough cases due to a shift in attitude towards vaccinations. West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue are warning about fire safety during Firework Week, emphasizing the importance of checking smoke detectors and staying away from fireworks. Plans to convert an old pub into a McDonald's in York Road have sparked mixed opinions, with concerns about rising obesity rates. Community centers in Leeds are struggling due to rising costs and low funding. Vinyl records are making a comeback, with record fairs experiencing increased popularity. A dog named Rose was rescued after bei Good afternoon, it's three o'clock, I'm Joe Jacklin, and I'm Ben Dinnan, and this is We Touch Radio News. On today's programme we find out why some local residents are not loving it as a new McDonald's is planned. We investigate shocking new figures on scabies outbreaks across West Yorkshire, and we hear from those who rescued a dog stuck on a cliff crag for over a week. But first, West Yorkshire Police have revealed that gun crime is at an all-time high. Statistics from the Home Office show that West Yorkshire Police recorded 626 firearm crimes in the last year. Sophie Nicholson has more. As guns can pose a huge threat to the general public, like Graham explained, we hear from shotgun owner Evie Beaumont, who tells us why they can also be seen as useful. I own a shotgun. When they're used in the correct way, for the correct reasons, like game shooting or playing, you know, it's an actual sport, it's a hobby for people, it's a real lifeline for some people. So with this in mind, the general public explain their opinions on both gun licences and the crime that comes with these weapons. It's really intimidating to know that there are people on the streets that are, like, not even owning such weapons, but using them as well in society as a whole. I think guns should be banned. I think they're dangerous, especially as a mum, and even my daughter, and children growing up around violence. While game shooting may be appalled about that for those who deal with stress, and it does send it to stress release for some, the presence of guns in general can make especially young women feel uneasy when they're not being used reasonably. In short, West Yorkshire police are still committed to prosecuting anyone found to be possessing or using an illegal firearm, now more than ever. A recent report has revealed that hundreds of children across Yorkshire have been treated in hospital for scabies, an increase of two thirds on last year. Scabies is a rare skin disease caused by tiny mites which burrow under the skin. Joseph Paul has more. Over 300 cases of child hospitalisation have been reported this autumn in Yorkshire alone. Experts claim that this increase is largely due to poor living standards, with many children living in cold, damp homes unable to access healthy food. The Health Foundation have spoken about people not having enough income to sustain a basic standard of living, as a consequence encouraging skin disease and light scabies. As well as this, there has been a reported surge in needles and whooping cough cases in Doncaster and York. 30 cases have been announced when they didn't have any last year. This increase has been attributed to a shifting attitude towards vaccinations, where parents are deciding against giving their children the jab. Conspiracy theories have become commonplace on social media, and are one of the main contributors towards this shift in mentality. Healthcare worker Ashley Newman spoke about the problem this brings. West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue have spoken out on Fire Safety Week, warning the people of Leeds about protecting themselves with firework time quickly approaching. Checking smoke detectors and taking other precautions like staying a safe distance away from fireworks are part of the message. Naomi Hurst, the District Prevention Manager, says some people don't have smoke detectors. There's not so many issues in Leeds with problems surrounding fires being caused by fireworks, but more problems with antisocial behaviour. The call outs that the services receive around this time of year is more due to people setting fire to rubbish bins and piles of leaves. Visiting student accommodations and community outreach are just a couple of things which the service are proud of. Plans to convert York Road's old Red Lion pub into a McDonald's have caused a mixture of opinions among local residents. With concerns regarding rising obesity rates in the area, public health officials have advised that the application be rejected. Saffron Carroll has more. I'm here outside the now derelict old Red Lion pub on York Road. You can already hear just how busy this road is and that's without a McDonald's restaurant here yet. Plans to convert this 262-year-old pub into a fast food chain have caused mixed views among local residents. That was Ellie Lipinska who was behind the old Red Lion pub for almost six years now. She says she wouldn't have moved into the house if there had been a McDonald's behind it. Public health officials are recommending rejection of the proposal due to rising obesity rates in the area. Councillor James Gibson represents the Fossgate and Wynmore Ward. He says he'd like to see the site being used for something that promotes good health but acknowledges the safety benefits of transforming the derelict site which has become a magnet for crime since its permanent closure in 2021. McDonald's would not be my number one choice for how to use the site. It's a privately owned site. It's down to the private owners who they sell it to and in the interim there is an immediate risk in the science conversation so all of these things have to be balanced. A McDonald's spokesperson says its menu has contained nutritional information for over 30 years. They say, we continue to evolve our menu to ensure our customers can make informed choices with 54% of our menu now classified as not high in fat, salt or sugar. But despite McDonald's pledge to offer healthier fast food options, some residents are still not sure how to feel about having such a popular food chain on their doorstep. Adam Kennedy is a father who lives on the estate behind the old Red Lion pub. It's going to make the place a bit more dirty with all the stuff getting thrown everywhere but it might help the area because it might improve certain, like maybe the parks, because it's a bit of an investment. A public consultation over the plan found that 61% of the people were in support of the proposal to replace the pub with a McDonald's restaurant. The public consultation will continue until the 14th of October before leaving the Leeds Planning Committee to face a fifth decision. Will they prioritise economic growth and job creation or the pressing public health concerns raised by local officials? Community centres all over Leeds are supporting people of all ages who have nowhere else to turn. But rising costs and low funding is making this work harder to complete. We spoke to members at the Cardigan Road Community Centre about what they do there and what needs to be done to prolong the centre's ability to help. Abdul Hassan runs Cardigan Community Centre and called for more acknowledgement and help for the work these centres do. We need people to recognise the work that we do and we need more strong government policies that direct resources and the appropriate funding so that we can support the people that we need to serve. Theresa Barlow is a local elderly resident who benefits a lot from the centre's work. It's not so isolated and from that you think, oh actually I could give a bit more time to doing this. So you start to get more involved in other community groups. So it's not just for the few people who come from a particular group. It helps me connect with lots of other people in the community. Karl Powell supports conservation volunteers and spoke about what may need to be done in order to properly fund these centres. The bits of the council that I deal with, which is mainly the parks and countryside thing, their budget has been continually slashed for the last 15 years and that's millions in our wheeling department. It's almost like having to do a load of work, maybe even for the next government, like the next parliament, to get to a starting point again to recover These record fairs return to Kirkgate Market this Saturday. You've been looking at this one haven't you Ben? I have, yes. So the idea of the fair is the revival of vinyl in an age where most of us get our music online. I've been down at Crash Records speaking to Erin Clark about her experiences with vinyl. I think it's different. You get different responses based on who you are. So young people, some people just did not know what vinyl records were until now. But I think if you ask some of the older generation then you'll see it's never gone away, but it definitely has. Following the recent resurgence in the sales of vinyl records, Crash anticipate a busy upcoming weekend. The shop will be a lot busier when the record fair is on, so I think everybody's in the mood to buy vinyl, so we get a lot of overflow from that. So it's nice to see it kind of comes, the whole city is excited about music in that one day. Next, I headed over to Jumbo Records to speak with Adam Gillison on the rise in record sales. We've seen more shops open over the past few years, which I think is probably the biggest testament to it. So, with vinyl on the climb, will you be out buying records this Saturday Joe? I might have a look yes, see if I can get any hands on some rare collectibles. Finally tonight, if you're looking at Kirklees or the Calderdale area, you may have seen this story floating around on Facebook. Rose, a Jack Russell from Halifax, has recently been rescued from a cliff in Dudley Crescent. Sophia Kessing has more. On the 26th of September, a small dog got herself trapped between a 12 inch gap for seven days before being rescued by an amazing group of volunteers. Rose, a terrier from Nixenden near Halifax, was being fed and watered through a tiny gap whilst volunteers took it in turn to try to dig her out. Ben Kitchenman, one of the primary rescuers, describes his experience. There were lads coming from all over. People have seen it on my Snapchat story that I know. Scotland, North East, Lincolnshire, there's no come and mucked in. A lot of people down there, a lot of stuff, fuel and anything we needed, fuel, water, to keep us going. Yeah, we're a good, good everybody mucks in like that, when everybody come together they get her out. Whilst attempting to save Rose, a campaign began to raise money for the tools, which managed to amount to over £4,000. Locals were pleased to see that Rose had been saved, after the whole process was live streamed to Facebook to keep everyone updated. Yeah, it's just like really nice to see all of the community coming together, I'm really happy that they've managed to save the dog. Come on Ben! Yeah! Yeah! Get up Ben! Good girl! Good girl! And that's all we've got time for today. We'll have more next week from 12 o'clock noon. This has been Leeds Hacks Radio News, it's 13 minutes past eight.