The group, which also included a nude jogger, gathered near Millennium Bridge on Saturday afternoon (September 12) before setting off at 4pm on an 11km route around York.

It was the 18th World Naked Bike Ride event to be held in York, aiming to highlight the dangers faced by cyclists on roads dominated by motor vehicles while raising awareness about the environmental impact of fossil-fuel-dependent transport.

Organiser Sadie Tann, a naturist from near Manchester, said she decided to lead the group to ensure the message continued for another year.

“It’s a scream, it’s great!” she said when asked how it feels to cycle through York naked.

The naked bike ride returned to York for its 18th year on Saturday (September 12) (Image: Dylan Connell)

A naked bike ride attendee in York on Saturday (September 12) (Image: Dylan Connell)

Sadie, 36, said she has been a naturist – a person who practises non-sexual social nudity – since she was 12 after being brought up in foster care and struggling with her body and confidence.

“I always struggled with me – just the core of me,” she said. “But naturism is just a release from that.

“It helps me to feel like me, without all the stuff we weigh ourselves down with – all the modern-day stuff that we don’t really need to be worrying about. I manage to get rid off all that as soon as I take my clothes off.”

She started being a naturist in public around six years and with her partner, Colin Unsworth, now even goes to the pub and to gigs naked which she said is “amazing”.

“The village where we live has got quite used to us being naked,” she said, adding: “It makes getting ready really easy as well!”

Sadie and Colin made headlines in 2022 after they cycled naked from John O’Groats to Land’s End to raise money for mental health charity Mind.

“It was cold,” Sadie said of the more than 874-mile journey.

‘It’s a scream, it’s great’ … Naked bike ride returns to York on Saturday (September 12) (Image: Dylan Connell)

Sadie said she spends most of her life nude because “this is who I am”. “It’s more for acceptance.”

She said she has experienced misogynistic comments from men while clothed but not when nude because “they just don’t know what to do with it”.

“We do get the odd person who can see past that and is very inspired by it,” she added. “We don’t want people to run around naked – that’s not what this is about – it’s about making people feel that they can be themselves however that is.”

‘We are told to fear nudity before we are taught to understand it’

John Cossham was also in attendance at the naked bike ride and said attitudes towards cyclists “haven’t really changed much” in the almost two decades that he has been involved with the event in York.

He said cars have become larger and roads busier with fewer cyclists on the roads than there once were.

“Some cycling facilities have improved, some are still inadequate,” he said.

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John said he felt it was important to continue the ride’s calls for slower speeds and switching from cars to zero carbon transport.

“I’m not a naturist,” he said, “but I like it that people are comfortable with their bodies. And we shouldn’t be body shaming somebody.”

Barry Fairbrother, who travelled from near Skipton to attend the naked bike ride, added: “The problem with society is that we are told to fear nudity before we are taught to understand it.”

The The Inner Circle host Amanda Holden opened up about how Britain’s Got Talent helped transform her public image after an affair rocked her marriage to her first husband, Les Dennis

Amanda Holden credits Simon Cowell with helping her transform her public image in the wake of her affair with Neil Morrissey. The television presenter made front-page news in 2000 when it emerged she had been unfaithful to her then-husband Les Dennis.

The former couple briefly separated following the revelation before eventually divorcing in 2003. Four years on, Simon selected Amanda to join him and Piers Morgan on the judging panel of Britain’s Got Talent – a position she has held ever since.

In an interview with The Mail on Sunday, the 48-year-old maintains that allowing viewers to see her true personality on the programme helped her put the scandal firmly behind her.

“People might not have thought I was a girls’ girl when I went into Britain’s Got Talent, because there were all the stories about me,” she shared.

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“But any myths people might have believed, with tabloid headlines to do with marriages and affairs, were dispelled by what people saw.”

In the same interview, she also admitted to being a devoted fan of Family Fortunes, which Les hosted from 1987 to 2002. “I thought Les was brilliant on it and I loved it,” she gushed.

This follows her appearance on the Tea At Four podcast last year, during which Amanda spoke candidly about the difficulties of rebuilding trust within relationships. She shared: “If the trust’s been broken, you have to repair the trust, and that can be tough.”

The Britain’s Got Talent judge says she is fortunate not to face such difficulties in her second marriage to Chris Hughes, with whom she has daughters Hollie and Lexi.

While filming the Netflix programme Cheat: Unfinished Business, Amanda revealed she was “grateful to be in a lovely, secure relationship”, in contrast to some of the show’s contestants.

Speaking to Hello! Magazine, she said: “We have ups and downs like everyone else. But when I was looking at the pain and suffering that some of the people we were working with were going through, I felt so grateful that I had somebody in my life with no complications.”

Amanda frequently speaks about her home life and marriage on Heart Radio Breakfast, which she co-hosts with Jamie Theakston.

Last year, she candidly revealed how the couple lead “very separate lives” owing to their demanding schedules.

“Obviously, we’re very happily married, but we do lots of things separately. I love my Peloton and running, he goes and plays squash,” she added of her husband, who works as a talent manager.

“He’s got a massive career as well. We’re always separate, you know.”

Amanda is back on screens for a new series of The Celebrity Inner Circle, which airs tonight at 8.15pm on BBC One.

A former barrister who plotted a revenge attack with a gangster pal; a ‘highly organised’ burglary gang; and a ‘predatory’ sex offender are among the criminals locked up this week in Greater Manchester.

Samreen Akhtar told her criminal mate – and client – Tabish Ali ‘we get him, we kick the f*** out of him and we send him back with broken legs to whoever sent him’ after he was shot amid a ‘turf war’ between rival gangs.

Also locked up this week were two arsonists who targeted a business causing £300,000 worth of damage and two brothers who attacked a man after he claimed one of them had been ‘hitting his dog’.

Click here to hear the latest from Manchester’s courts in our newsletter

Prison terms are handed out to the worst offenders. Each week Manchester Evening News court reporters are on hand to cover the most serious cases.

These are the criminals locked up in Greater Manchester this week…

David Owen, Wayne Jones, Lucas Staines, Rohan Brown and Liam Dodds

A ‘highly organised’ burglary gang brought terror to Greater Manchester in a £500,000 crime spree over 16 months, with children forced to hide as masked thugs broke into homes.

The gang were behind a ‘persistent burglary network’ which saw family gold and jewellery stolen from homes, as well as designer handbags and other valuable goods.

Greater Manchester Police said ‘affluent households’ across Salford, Bury and Trafford were targeted between January, 2024 and May, 2025.

Masked burglars smashed down doors and windows to access homes, with most of the break-ins taking place in daylight when the gang believed they would be empty.

But GMP said that in one burglary, a child hid inside a wardrobe while crooks searched a bedroom. In another break-in, another child also ran to a bathroom to hide as they tried to get inside.

David Owen, 24, of no fixed address, was sentenced to five years and four months for nine counts of burglary. Lucas Staines, 20, of HMP Forest Bank, was jailed for the same period for 15 counts of burglary.

Liam Dodds, 34, from Salford, got six years, four months in relation to eight counts of burglary. Wayne Jones, 23, of Dunedin Drive, Salford, was jailed for eight years for five counts of burglary.

Rohan Brown, 22, of Riverside Way, Salford, got five years, four months for seven burglaries.

Read the full story here: ‘Highly organised’ burglary gang brought terror to Greater Manchester in £500k crime spree

Samreen Akhtar

A barrister plotted a revenge attack with a gangster friend after he was shot by a would-be assassin amid a violent turf war fought between rival drugs gangs.

Samreen Akhtar, 38, was a qualified barrister specialising in criminal law. On September 14 2021, client and family friend Tabish Ali was shot in a violent incident in Blacker Road, Huddersfield. A court heard he was blasted as a bitter war between opposing gangs was fought.

The day after Ali was shot, Akhtar suggested in a recorded phone call they ‘locate and cause serious harm’ to the gunman.

Manchester Crown Court heard Akhtar suggested Ali that once the man’s location was known: “We get him, we kick the f*** out of him and we send him back with broken legs to whoever sent him.”

Akhtar, of Sufton Street, Birkby, was jailed for three years and three months.

Read the full story here: Barrister hatched revenge plot with gangster pal after he was shot by would-be assassin amid violent turf war between rival drugs gangs

Sohail Aurangzeb

A man left a pensioner with fatal injuries after smashing into her in his wife’s car. Sheila Rowan, 70, was knocked down by Sohail Aurangzeb in his partner’s Nissan Juke, which he took without her permission on the afternoon of August 10 last year.

Aurangzeb, 42, had no driving licence and wasn’t insured. He said he got lost and drove onto a rural, cobbled road in Ashton-under-Lyne. He claimed he drove into a ditch, which caused the car to swerve and hit Mrs Rowan.

Manchester Crown Court heard Aurangzeb drove away and didn’t report the incident. Mrs Rowan was found by passers-by who called 999. She died in hospital later that day.

Aurangzeb was jailed for seven years and four months. He earlier pleaded guilty to aggravated vehicle taking, with court documents stating Ms Rowan’s death was ’caused by accident’.

Read the full story here: When his wife finally got hold of him, he didn’t even mention the horrific events that unfolded hours earlier

Jacob Berry

A thug who ‘abused and terrorised’ four women has been jailed for life.

Jacob Berry left his victims with ‘lasting emotional and psychological trauma’.

Berry, 34, was found guilty of seven counts of rape; four counts of engaging in controlling or coercive behaviour; and one count of assault by penetration following a trial, Greater Manchester Police said.

Read the full story here: Thug ‘abused and terrorised’ four women

James Davidson

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A ‘predatory’ sex offender has been jailed again after he was found to have been posing as a teenage boy during sick chats with young girls.

James Davidson, 60, from Stockport, was first sent to prison in 2020, being sentenced to two years behind bars for attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child, attempting to meet a girl under 16 following sexual grooming, and attempting to cause a child under 16 to watch a sexual act.

As part of his sentence he was made subject to a sexual harm prevention order (SHPO), which restricted his online activity and was monitored by Greater Manchester Police’s Sex Offender Management Unit.

In March 2025, officers from the unit raided his home after a tip-off he was breaching the order. After interrogating a number of devices, they found he had been communicating with multiple girls while using aliases and pretending to be a 17 year-old boy.

Davidson admitted sexual communication with a child and 25 breaches of his SHPO and was sentenced to two years and seven months.

Read the full story here: The Stockport monster who said he ‘didn’t care about age’ and thought he could hide from police

Jody Lynam

Jody Lynam targeted an innocent family’s home by setting it alight.

Stuart and Claire Marsden had enjoyed a night out together before returning home and going to bed just before 1am. But they were woken up shortly after by a ‘loud crash’. Mr Marsden went to investigate and found a large fire in their rented end-of-terrace home in Bury.

He and his wife were able to escape the blaze, but their house was severely damaged and nine months on, remains uninhabitable. Their children had been staying elsewhere for the night.

Police recovered footage which showed Jody Lynam and a second, unknown offender approaching the house, at about 1.40am on January 18 this year. The unknown man smashed a window before Lynam poured petrol inside. An ‘explosion’ was caused and the pair fled.

Lynam was caught after DNA from a balaclava which he discarded nearby was traced to him. Minshull Street Crown Court was told that drug addict Lynam and his co-offender had been acting on orders from a drug dealer, who pressured them into targeting a rival dealer to ‘send a message’ and intimidate.

Lynam, of Hardfield Street, Heywood, pleaded guilty to arson being reckless as to whether life was endangered. He was jailed for six years and nine months.

Read the full story here: Innocent family caught up in gangland feud as men in balaclavas poured petrol into wrong home and set it ablaze while they slept

Reece Taylor and Paul Taylor

Two brothers brutally attacked a man in broad daylight after he claimed one of them had been ‘hitting his dog’.

Reece Taylor threw his victim to the floor before punching and kicking him outside a block of flats in Ashton-under-Lyne. Minshull Street Crown Court heard the ‘unprovoked’ attack came after the man had asked Taylor to stop ‘hitting his dog’.

Taylor denied he had hit his dog and was not convicted of an animal cruelty offence. He then proceeded to attack the man, before his brother Paul Taylor became involved after mistakenly believing his sibling had blood on his face, after the victim had sprayed Reece Taylor with red dye.

The pair have now both been handed extended sentences for public protection.

Read the full story here: ‘Dangerous’ brothers in the dock following ‘absolutely brutal’ attack – before one decides he can’t behave and goes back to the cells

Diogo Cabral and Emanuel Simoes

Arsonists were caught on CCTV breaking into a business and starting a fire while one of them was still inside. Portuguese nationals Diogo Cabral, 21, and Emanuel Feliciano Simoes, 36, organised the attack on Snapchat, carried out with an unknown third man.

“Let’s do this mission today,” one message discovered by detectives read. Manchester Crown Court heard they were seen pulling up in a car outside Shzsr Enterprises Ltd, on Broughton Street, Cheetham Hill at around midnight on March 1, 2023.

They prised open the shutters with crowbars before two of them ran back to the car and grabbing bottles of accelerant. One of the three remained inside the building after a door was smashed and a fire started.

There was a ‘spontaneous explosion of light and flames’, prosecutor Henry Blackshaw said. The third man, who was behind the shutters, was seen on CCTV fleeing like a ‘scalded cat’, appearing to be on fire.

After the flames died down, he joined the other two in the car before it sped off. Firefigthers raced to the scene and the blaze was extinguished. Around £300,000 of damage was caused at the bedding supply business.

Cabral, of no fixed address, was jailed for five years and four months. Simoes, of Smedley Lane, Cheetham Hill, was jailed for three years.

Read the full story here: ‘Let’s do this mission today’: Snapchatting arsonists thought they had the perfect plan – now they’ve been locked up

Cameron Caswell

A Salford drug dealer hid a gun behind the fridge at his mum’s house. Cameron Caswell, 23, was arrested after police made the discovery following a raid at the Salford property in 2024.

Manchester Crown Court heard cops executed a warrant on Aspinall Crescent in Little Hulton, on December 14. A black bag was found behind a fridge freezer in the pantry. Inside was a gun and ammunition.

Experts determined the weapon was a Turkish-manufactured Zoraki 917. Caswell was jailed at Manchester Crown Court on Friday (September 11).

Read the full story here: Salford drug dealer behind bars after police make discovery behind fridge at his mum’s house

Daragh Burke, 37, is taking on the world’s biggest half marathon in place of PC Matthew Blades, determined to make sure the number his friend was due to wear still crosses the finish line.

PC Blades and his colleague, PC Tom Clough, died when a VW travelling the wrong way along the A66 at South Bank hit their marked police car head-on on Saturday, August 22.

For Daragh, who says “we couldn’t have been closer”, taking Matthew’s place is a fitting tribute to a friendship that stretched from primary school to adulthood.

The pair went through primary school, secondary school, college and university together, remaining inseparable into adulthood.

PC Matthew Blades, Daragh Burke and Conan. (Image: DARAGH BURKE)

Matthew asked Daragh to be his best man and Daragh later became godfather to Matthew’s children.

The business owner said: “We couldn’t have been closer.

“Since the incident I just feel like I’m waiting for him to get in touch as he was always at the other end of the phone.

“That’s one of the hardest parts for me.”

PC Blades was due to complete the Great North Run for Parkinson’s UK tomorrow (September 13).

“I didn’t want to see his number go to waste.

“Me doing it will get that number over the line and hopefully raise a bit more money.”

Unlike many runners who spend months training for the 13.1-mile challenge, Daragh has had only weeks to prepare.

He said: “I haven’t done much running over the past few years but I’ve given it my all in the weeks I’ve had.

“Matthew would be laughing his head off at me doing this as I’ve only had two weeks training but he would be immensely proud as I know Parkinson’s UK is something he felt so strongly about helping.”

The challenge carries added emotion after Daragh joined Matthew’s family, friends and colleagues at his funeral this week.

He said: “I was in the police for a period of time so I know what the job entails, but for all those police officers to come out and show their support was unbelievable.”

Daragh remembered the final weeks he spent with Matthew.

Daragh’s son Conan was christened just over a month before Matthew died.

Matthew became Conan’s godfather and wrote him a card saying: “Dream big, always believe in yourself.”

Daragh said: “That sums him up, that was just who he was.”

On Sunday, thousands of runners will race from Newcastle to South Shields.

Matthew’s funeral took place on Emergency Services Day, a national day of remembrance for those who have died in the line of duty.

Hundreds of people packed St Joseph’s Church in Hartlepool to pay their respects to the 37-year-old father of two who died on duty. Standard bearers from every force across the country lined the route as PC Blades’ hearse made the journey to the church.

His coffin was draped in the Union Jack flag. The hearse carried a floral tribute at its front: “Dad”.

Donate to the fundraiser here: Parkinson’s UK – Matthew Blades