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 feature a five-year-old kickboxing her way through transplant recovery, a "very soggy moggy" rescued from a canal and a town celebrating Christmas - in August.

Specialist nurse Simon Corcos is hanging up his NHS lanyard after 36 years working on the front line of HIV treatment.

Corcos, a nurse at Bradford Teaching Hospitals' HIV Clinic, joined Middlesex Hospital in London in the late 1980s at the height of the HIV crisis, when there was no treatment for the disease.

But over the past four decades he has seen a transformation in outcomes for patients with HIV - from what he describes as a "death sentence to a normal healthy life expectancy".

Corcos says "love for the patients" helped him throughout his career, adding: "I like to think I've tried to normalise HIV as a chronic illness, which it is. So, people can live their lives and feel normal about having it."

Colenso Mount in the Holbeck area of Leeds has become the latest residential street to temporarily close to traffic, so children could play and socialise outside.

The idea behind the concept is to encourage greater access to outdoor play in a safe environment. Charity KidzClub in Leeds has organised about 100 Play Streets across the city in the past few years, supported by Leeds City Council.

Ten-year-old Mohamed said he hoped to get the chance to play football in the street with his friends again soon.

"It's a good idea, because lots of children will come and then [they] will be excited and happy and they'll have something to do in the summer holidays," he added.

It's a sight you might not expect to see at the height of summer - Santa Claus taking a paddle by Bridlington seafront.

But, Christmas really did come early to the seaside resort this week with a packed programme of festive entertainment.

The town has celebrated "Bridmas Day" in August for the past three years, with the idea that the quirky event will highlight what the town has to offer all year round.

Visitors were able to meet Santa on the beach, complete a Christmas cracker trail and listen to live music - feeling festive yet?

A five-year-old girl who spent six months having treatment for a rare immunodeficiency has taken up kick-boxing during her recovery.

Autumn, who lives near York, was diagnosed at 18 months old with Hyper-IgE syndrome, a condition which affects the immune system and can make a person more susceptible to infection.

She underwent a successful bone marrow transplant from a donor in Germany in December and, after a period of isolating with her parents, now lives an active life.

Her mother Louise said: "Watching her kickboxing, which is so physical, is wonderful to see. It is such a joy to see her having a go at stuff and being back to that little social butterfly."

A "very wet, very soggy moggy" has been rescued after falling in a canal after his night wanderings went wrong.

Ronnie was found stranded in the Leeds Liverpool Canal on Sunday morning near his home in Leeds and rescued by the fire service and Control Blue Watch.

He was rescued using a water rescue sled and taken to Bradford Cat Watch Rescue and Sanctuary, before being reunited with his relieved owners.

Bradford Cat Watch Rescue and Sanctuary volunteer Katie Lloyd said Ronnie had happily "settled up at home enjoying some Dreamies."

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