After going missing for over a year, a local man who used to work in IT near Leeds has been found sleeping rough in Lapland
Nial Atkin went missing in mid-May 2020 from the Huddersfield area, having previously worked close to Leeds in a role with computers.
Until recently, it was believed by both his family and police that he may have travelled to Scotland following a breakdown.
However, it turns out the beleaguered Brit had managed to make it over 2,000 miles away from home - ending up in Lapland, of all places.
Jerry Ahlqvist found Nial in a confused state and offered him a bed and a shower / Image: Facebook
Last Friday, July 9, he was found by a man living in Kiruna, Sweden, who offered the rough sleeper a shower and a clean bed out of concern for his welfare.
Jerry Ahlqvist then took to Facebook to appeal for help to reunite the mysterious homeless Brit with his family, noting that the man was "acting a bit strange" and seemed "confused".
He said ‘I brought him home and cleaned him, gave him some food and new clothes, and a clean bed to sleep in.
‘He is kind of hard to communicate with, he gets lost in his thoughts, takes a long time to answer questions and he just stares into nothing.
An image of Nial issued by West Yorkshire Policein May 2020 (Image: West Yorkshire Police)
‘He has told me some information about himself but he ends every sentence with ‘sort of’ so the information can also be incorrect.’
The post also mentioned Nial's name and that he used to work in an IT role near Leeds and that he was raised in West Yorkshire.
Later, Jerry also set up a Go Fund Me to help pay for flights to get Nial back home to England
It took Jerry some time to locate Nial's family, but finally, he managed to get in touch with his mum who was blown away to receive the message.
Nial disappeared from Huddersfield before being found in Lapland last week (Image: Facebook)
He then put a new post out which read: "UPDATE! We have found his mother and I have spoken with her on the phone."
"Everything will be sorted out.
"The thing is that Nial is in a psychotic state and he does not know what he wants or what’s best for him. But we will figure this out.
"His mother knows and understands because she has a psychiatric education and I know and understand because I have myself gone through treatment for schizophrenia and have suffered psychosis myself so I saw the signs from across the streets."
He added: "Everything will be okay and we will try to get the proper treatment for him!
"THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR ENGAGEMENT! We did it!"
Leeds
Leeds Bradford Airport set for complete ‘shutdown’ as 130 workers go on strike
Leeds Bradford Airport is set for a standstill as almost 130 workers are set to take industrial action over pay.
If you're planning on catching a flight from Leeds Bradford Airport, then you may want to double check the date.
The Unite members planning on going on strike are a mixture of air traffic control workers, customer experience staff, security staff and cleaners.
The workers involved in the dispute have recently come out of a four-year pay deal, with some of the departments having fallen behind other airports in equivalent roles.
Pay talks have been happening since December 2025, with the airport's formal offer not going far enough to address the lack of pay parity.
Strikes will take place from 03:00 Friday 16 October to 06:00 Sunday 18 October for hourly paid staff and from 06:00 Friday 16 October to 06:00 Sunday 18 October for air traffic control workers.
Strike will mean the entire airport will shut down.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: "Leeds Bradford Airport is very profitable and can more than afford to come back to the table with an offer that doesn't fall short of our members' expectations.
"Our hardworking members should not be paid less than those doing the same jobs at other airports. Workers taking action at Leeds Bradford Airport have Unite's full support in their fight for fairer pay."
Unite regional officer Neil Whitaker said: "We know people who have flights planned to and from Leeds Bradford Airport will be concerned to hear of industrial action, however our members have no choice but to strike.
"The airport is profitable, passenger numbers are growing and our members are a major part of its success. They deserve a fair pay rise, and management must come back to the table to deliver this."
Leeds pizza shop hailed ‘exceptional’ and ‘best in the UK’ by major reviewer
Clementine Hall
A Leeds pizza takeaway has received a glowing review from popular review duo.
Edges Pizza opened up their first permanent spot in Leeds back in June this year, after making a name for themselves slinging out pizzas at multiple pop-ups across the city.
Owners Grace and Edge from Harrogate opened Edges Pizza two years ago, taking inspiration from trips to New York over the years.
Images: The Hoot Leeds
Their pizzas are a love letter to the class New York slice, think thin and crispy rather than chewy and floppy. But above all else, think absolutely delicious.
And now, they've caught the attention of a major review page, with Bite Twice Food Reviews (a page with almost 300k followers) paying Edges a visit.
The food review duo of Gerry del Guercio and Paul Delany popped up in Holbeck beneath the arches to get their hands on a pizza, and the outcome is brilliant.
In the video, Bite Twice said that the pizza is 'f**cking exceptional' and up there with 'one of the best pizzas in the UK'.
Before even taking a bite, they said: "On aesthetic, I don't think anywhere in the UK is doing pizza like this".
Images: The Hoot Leeds
Then after the first bite, they go on to say: "There are very few pizzas in the UK that create this, I’m a little bit blown away".
As Londoners themselves, they go on to say that Edges is 'easily hitting with the best that we’ve got down south'.
And if that's not high praise enough, they sign off the video saying: "Leeds has got an absolute gem. I give this a stamp so hard my foot went through the pizza. Edges. Don Level."
Georgina Pellant -
13th July 2021 
