A video of a man collecting discarded tents for the homeless during the aftermath of Leeds festival has been shared widely online following the end of the Bank holiday weekend knees-up.
Carl Simpson, the founder of Hull homeless charity Raise the Roof, videoed himself collecting hundreds of sleeping bags and tents that had been left behind by revellers at campsites around Bramhall Park - sharing images of the destruction first hand via Facebook live.
“Just thousands, after thousands, after thousands, of just discarded tents, sleeping bags, we’re trying to get what we can but as you can see it just goes on and on," you can hear Carl saying into the camera as he pans across a huge expanse of fields littered with debris and discarded camping equipment.
"And this is only a little part of it. Unreal."
A still from the video shows litter all over the floor and discarded but perfectly useable blow-up beds and tents just left by festival-goers / Image: Raise The Roof Hull Homeless Project
The footage is sure to shock some, although it is a typical reality of many festival campsites at the end of a long weekend of partying. Sadly, it isn't unusual for people to buy a cheap tent and then simply leave it behind when it comes time to pack up and go home.
The floor is shown to be covered in litter, there are partly-destroyed tents simply abandoned alongside others that are perfectly fine to be used again - and the mess stretches out for miles.
Where some might see something to complain about, though, Mr. Simpson saw an opportunity to help - traveling down to Leeds with a team to collect the discarded items, which would have otherwise ended up in the bin.
Instead, he will now repurpose them for vulnerable service users of his Hull homeless charity before sharing the rest with other similar projects that work with vulnerable people.
These will then be distributed to various outreach projects and charities across Yorkshire.
Carl Simpson, who runs the Raise The Roof Homelessness Project, turns the camera on himself to speak to his page's followers / Image: Raise The Roof Hull Homeless Project
"Just remember any homeless organisations next year when this is on," continues Carl as he speaks into the camera.
"Get yourselves down here because this lot can save many lives during the winter."
Amongst their haul of sleeping bags and tents, the team also collected a pop-up gazebo, which they say will come in handy for their on-street outreach, as well as a number of blow-up beds and chairs.
The recovered items from the festival will now be used to help both refugees and homeless people across Yorkshire and the rest of the UK.
Farmer Copley's Tulip Festival is back and it's just as beautiful as we remember.
Spring has officially sprung and with it, so does Farmer Copley's iconic Tulip Festival that officially opened last Sunday.
Based in West Yorkshire, nestled between Pontefract and Featherstone, the Copley family really know how to get you feeling ready for the season ahead.
Just moments after entering the festival, we can assure you that winter will feel like a distant memory.
Images: The Hoot Leeds
Spanning over 8 acres, Jack and the team have planted over 600,00 tulip bulbs consisting of 100+ different varieties of all shapes and colours that arrived directly from the Netherlands.
In addition to the 500,000 planted last year, that means there's over one million tulips to enjoy - now that is pretty impressive if you ask us.
Varieties include Carnaval de Rio, Tom Pouce, Gavota, Lily Flowering Mix, Blushing Appledorn, Wedding Dress and Rodolfo.
Images: The Hoot Leeds
The festival includes five sections that have been split by 5 metre walkways enabling the best customer interaction in the field.
There's two dedicated pick your own areas where a mix of bulbs have been planted to ensure that visitors have a wide range of tulips to explore, pick from and create the perfect bunch of tulips. How lovely is that?
Of course there's plenty of photo opportunities, fairground rides and a bar to enjoy the view with a tipple or two.
This really is the perfect family-friendly day out and with the weather looking gorgeous (for now), we'd take the opportunity to see the tulips looking their best whilst you can.
The festival is on until Sunday 3 May 2026, with tickets starting from just £9.
To find out more and to book your ticket, take a look at Farmer Copleys website. We'll see you in the tulip fields.
Popular Channel 4 series The Dog House is looking for people from Yorkshire to adopt rescue dogs
Emily Sergeant
Could you give a rescue dog a second chance in life? Now’s your chance.
The next series of hit Channel 4 show The Dog House is currently in the works, with producers on the lookout for people willing to give rescue dogs a forever home, and people from Yorkshire are being encouraged to apply.
Since first hitting our screens back in 2019, the award-winning series – which is currently in partnership with Woodgreen Pets Charity – has captured the hearts of viewers across the UK, sharing emotional stories of rescue dogs and the people hoping to give them a forever home.
Viewers get to watch incredible journeys of rescue dogs finding their perfect match.
Image: Channel 4
But the show demonstrates that it’s not just the dogs who are being rescued, many of their new owners also find their lives transformed in the process.
“Once again, we’ll be following the expert team of dog-matchers, meeting this year’s rescue dogs, and of course, getting to the know the amazing people who are looking to offer them a lifelong home,” a casting call for The Dog House reads on the Channel 4 website.
“We’re looking for people who are considering taking the incredible step of welcoming a rescue dog into their lives and are happy to share their reasons for doing so.
“If that’s you, then we’d love to get you know you.”
Does this sound like you then? Channel 4 is keen to hear the reasons why you may be looking for a new canine companion, so anyone who fancies applying for the show is asked to fill out an application form online.
Georgina Pellant -
31st August 2021 
