A MAN found hanged in a garden at Spring Bank, Scarborough, has been named as William Howard, aged 49, who had been living temporarily at the address.

Police said there were no suspicious circumstances surrounding his death. The North Yorkshire East Coroner, Michael Oakley, has opened and adjourned an inquest.

ELECTION STEP-DOWN: Councillor Mike Nesfield, the Labour leader on Scarborough Borough Council, is to step down in May. A retired college lecturer, Coun Nesfield, 66, said he would not be seeking re-election in the Woodlands ward because he wanted to spend more time with his grandchildren. He has been a member of the council since 1991 and is the cabinet member for land and property.

SALE DATE: Richmond Amateur Dramatic Society will hold a jumble sale in the club rooms, on Castle Hill, from 11am on Saturday, February 8. Money raised will help fund this year's shows, including an old time music hall production, which will be staged in the newly refurbished Georgian Theatre Royal.

CUBS CLEAN: Richmond's Cub Scouts will join the town's mayor, Councillor Stuart Parsons, in helping to tidy up the town. The clean-up will be in Scots Dyke, Cross Lanes and the Easby footpath areas. To join in, meet at the town hall at 10am on Sunday.

COFFEE MORNING: A coffee morning will be held at Richmond Town Hall, from 9.30am to noon tomorrow, in aid of repairs to the riverbank at Easby. Admission is 50p.

CADETS MARCH: More than 200 cadets from the Air Training Corps will march through York, on Sunday, to celebrate the group's 62nd anniversary, setting off from Duncombe Place at 9.35am.

BAG SNATCH: A thief stole a woman's handbag from under a chair in the out-patients' waiting area at York District Hospital. Police are looking for two men, both aged about 20, seen in the area at the time.