The biggest stories in Bradford of 2021 - May to August

There’s never a quiet day in Bradford and 2021 proved no different, with a whole host of different events and incidents taking place.

They range from tragic to bizarre, as well as displaying the incredibly humanity and community spirit that Bradford has in abundance.

We’ve looked back through our archives over the past year to bring you the most important and most read stories from each month.

Today, we bring the top stories from the second four months of the year, May to August.

Nina Farooqi's (draped in a flag) trip to the Euro 2020 semi-final cost her more than the price of a ticket in July

You can take another look through the first four months’ top stories by clicking here.

May

Local elections took place in May, a year late due to Covid-19, with some shock winners in some wards and Labour retaining control of Bradford Council, and also winning the inaugural West Yorkshire Mayorship.

There was also a Baildon man jailed after his partner died in a sex game gone wrong, and also a major fire just outside the city centre.

One of the most shocking incidents in May however came in Myra Shay, Barkerend, when the local community was left reeling and devastated after a woman’s death in a fire related incident.

A police scene remained in place for days with parts of the park cordoned off as police continued enquiries into the incident, which was deemed non-suspicious.

June

There was more tragedy in June, as teenager Rahees Mahmood died after a collision between a quad bike and a car in Holme Wood, and shortly after his family’s home was “deliberately” damaged. Jordan Glover, 23, has been charged with his alleged murder.

An Otley burger firm caused outrage after publishing a sick Father’s Day advert which featured the likes of Peter Sutcliffe, Josef Fritzl and Jimmy Savile, while health bosses revealed how hospital Covid wards were full of very sick people who had refused the vaccine.

One of the biggest stories of the month was the beginning of demolition work on the old Marks & Spencer store in Darley Street, as the building is torn down to make way for the new multi-storey Darley Street Market.

July

Euro 2020 fever gripped the district in the summer, too much for one Ilkley woman who skived off work to go to the semi-final – only to get caught on camera in the crowd – and promptly sacked by her boss.

There was also a shocking court case where a woman’s car was destroyed after crashing at 88mph while filming herself on Snapchat. Despite being thrown the vehicle she miraculously survived.

The story which captured the city’s attention was the tragic case of 34-year-old dad Matthew Keenan who contracted Covid-19. He hadn’t had the vaccine and despite being healthy succumbed to the virus, leaving his huge friendship group in mourning.

August

Malakye Hall, who died aged seven

The brutal reality of the natural world descended on a garden in Idle, when a bird of prey swooped in and caught a seagull perched on a conservatory, before being spotted soon after suffered by a pile of feathers, having devoured its meal. Gnarly.

There was also carnage at Eccleshill Pool when yobs smashed windows and fought with staff to the horror of onlookers.

The biggest story came a year after the initial incident, the tragic death of seven-year-old Malakye Hall, who was hit by a car in Manchester Road. His mother, Wendy Hall, was jailed for three years for the neglect of her son, after leaving him home alone to go meet her partner, with devastating consequences.

Read the biggest stories from January to April and September to December.