Stories from across Yorkshire to make you smile

Every week in Yorkshire we cover uplifting and feel-good stories about people, places and animals across our region - and we like to shout about them.

This week we are featuring a six-year-old motocross champ, busy beavers helping to reduce flood risks, and England's over-75 football team gearing up to recreate the 1966 World Cup triumph.

Footballers who make up England's over-75s side are gearing up for a match against Germany to mark the 60th anniversary of the country's only World Cup win.

The team, known as the Silver Lions, have worked alongside 1966 World Cup winner Sir Geoff Hurst as part of preparations for the game on 30 July at Boundary Park, Oldham.

"It's normal football, 11-a-side, on a full-size pitch, same rules as always and it's exciting and enjoyable at our age to still be involved in football," said team member Johnny Molloy.

Molloy added he had always dreamed of playing for England and is happy he has been given this opportunity later on in life.

A six-year-old boy who has always been obsessed with bikes is now a rising star in the world of motocross racing.

Junior, from Sheffield, travels around the country competing. So far in 2026, he is unbeaten in 10 race meetings and tops the standings in three national leagues.

According to his parents, Jack and Rachel, his passion for riding began as a toddler on his balance bike.

"Every time he comes off a track I've never seen a kid wear a smile as big, literally from ear to ear, and that's why we do it," Jack said.

Beavers released into the North York Moors have contributed to reducing the risk of flooding and helped to boost wildlife diversity, according to researchers.

Two Eurasian beavers were released in 2019 into an enclosure in Cropton Forest, where natural flood management had already taken place, and monitored over a five-year period.

During that time, they built six dams, one of which was the biggest in England, researchers at the University of Leeds said.

The academics said the beavers' efforts had increased the impact of existing natural flood management infrastructure and helped to reduce downstream flooding.

More than 600 school children gathered at Bradford City's Valley Parade stadium to share ideas about how communities can overcome division and live well together.

The Year Six pupils from 16 schools across Bradford joined together as part of The National Conversation, a UK-wide initiative exploring community cohesion.

The youngsters were tasked with answering the question, "how do we live well together?".

"Our differences don't matter," said 11-year-old Sharoon. "We get to know each other and we get to be friends. We can all be as one."

A boom in wild flowers is among the benefits of a "right to grow" initiative, organisers say.

Hull became the first city in Britain to pass a motion giving people a right to grow in September 2023.

It means communities can apply to grow food and flowers on unused council land.

John Pickles, a "postcode gardener" with Friends of the Earth, said a patch of grass on the Orchard Park estate had been brought to life with flowers including ox-eye daisies, purple thistles and yellow poppies.

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