A senior coach working with Great Britain's Olympic bobsleigh squad has been accused of racism amid multiple complaints over a "toxic atmosphere" in the sport.

Earlier this year, a host of athletes wrote anonymously to the chief executive of governing body the British Bobsleigh and Skeleton Association (BBSA), to "share concerns over the behaviour of key performance and management staff".
In confidential documents obtained by the BBC, the athletes told Richard Parker their concerns were "of the highest order, mentioning bullying, racism, sexism and discrimination".
However, the following month they were told no disciplinary action would be taken following an internal review because no "formal complaints" were made.
Amid revelations that will add to the athlete welfare crisis sweeping through British sport, and just six months before the 2018 Winter Games in Pyeongchang, we can reveal that among individual letters sent to Parker:
The BBC can also reveal that the BBSA received an earlier allegation of discriminatory language by a different senior coach towards an athlete three years ago.
In April, after a meeting between Parker and a group of athletes, an internal review to investigate the most recent allegations was set up, led by three members of the BBSA board.
Parker - who became chief executive in October 2014 - emailed athletes asking them "to maintain confidentiality" and to "not discuss with anyone outside of the BBSA".
Last month, Parker wrote again to his athletes, telling them that "no formal complaints were made against individual staff members and therefore no disciplinary action will take place".
He added: "It is clear that a number of athletes feel strongly about the performance environment and how they are communicated to.
"We recognise that there is a group of athletes who have a significant level of discontent and the climate for them is sub-optimal…we will look to address this ASAP.
"Equally, we recognise that for some, everything is working well at the moment…we hope you understand that we have listened to you as athletes and want to work together to ensure we can win medals in Pyeongchang and beyond."
In a subsequent letter, he said: "The review could not substantiate the allegations made. The process now moves to looking forward.
"The BBSA takes athlete welfare very seriously…the review did highlight areas which necessitate a further look at existing procedures to ensure the team achieves maximum success."
But Parker then added: "The current coaching and staffing structure has the board's full trust and confidence."
Parker said a sports psychologist would work with coaches and athletes, and that one-to-one support would be made available.
He told athletes: "Please be all reminded that of course it is possible for anyone to file a complaint against a member of staff, or an appeal, but if we receive a formal complaint, there is a proper disciplinary process to follow and these allegations will need to be put directly to the member of staff, who have the right to present their own case."
BBC Sport understands some athletes were disappointed by the outcome of the review and confused that their written allegations had not been deemed formal complaints.
In a statement, the BBSA told BBC Sport: "The BBSA take any matters regarding athlete care very seriously and have investigated concerns raised by athletes regarding the performance environment. No formal complaints have been made.
"However, regardless of this, we have taken steps to ensure all athletes and staff are clear on the process in which to address any concerns. We have also agreed with athletes and staff a plan to continue collaborating on ways of working together to ensure we deliver a positive and open environment for all."
The BBSA also points out that of the 19 bobsleigh athletes in contention for Olympic selection, 10 are black or mixed race.
The BBSA is the latest governing body to become embroiled in an athlete welfare controversy after inquiries into duty of care standards at British Swimming, British Canoeing and GB Taekwondo over recent months.
British Cycling is bracing itself for the publication of an independent review into its culture after claims of sexism and bullying by former rider Jess Varnish and other Olympians and Paralympians.
The BBSA is the best funded of Britain's winter sports governing bodies, receiving around £10m from UK Sport for the 2014-18 Olympic cycle, with £4.5m for the bobsleigh programme and £5.5m for the skeleton programme.
It received a funding increase last year after UK Sport conducted an investment review. Great Britain finished fifth in the men's bobsleigh at the Sochi 2014 Winter Games.
In a statement, UK Sport said: "We are aware of issues raised by athletes within the sport of bobsleigh and that these have been the subject of an internal investigation and ongoing review by the British Bobsleigh and Skeleton Association.
"Athlete welfare and duty of care is of paramount importance to us. We are conscious that as a system we have lessons to learn around culture.
"We have therefore taken the decision to appoint a head of sport integrity to advise on policies and procedures for handling and reviewing cultural or behavioural issues as they arise and to provide assurance on the appropriateness and timeliness of actions taken by individual sports governing bodies."
It can also be revealed that this is not the first time the BBSA has been faced with athlete complaints.
In further correspondence obtained by the BBC, just weeks after the Sochi Games former bobsleigher Henry Nwume raised concerns around "a pervading culture of fear inhibiting questioning of coach or management actions, reinforced by lack of transparency and control of data" and alleged he had been told by a fellow athlete that he had been the victim of discriminatory language by another senior coach.
In a letter to the then chairman of the governing body Sir Andrew Ridgeway dated 21 March 2014 - which was also emailed to members of UK Sport's Performance Advisor team - Nwume alleged a fellow athlete had been told: "I knew you would be late because you're black" and "black drivers do not make good bobsleigh drivers".
Nwume, a former professional rugby union player who won the Heineken Cup with Wasps in 2004 before serving in Afghanistan as a British Army medic, subsequently left the sport to return to his full-time military role. He is not among the athletes who complained to the BBSA this year.
Sir Andrew told the BBC: "[The allegations] were immediately investigated and the individual was formally disciplined and warned as to his future conduct. There has been, as far as I know, no repetition of his inappropriate behaviour.
"In the interests of openness and transparency, British Bobsleigh agreed that the complaint should be taken to the British Athletes Commission, the appropriate authority for dealing with such cases.
"The outcome of this process was that British Bobsleigh policies were deemed to have been entirely satisfactory and that they had been appropriately implemented. The recommendation was that the policies be kept under regular review. There was no mention of a culture of fear."
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A damning view of the culture at the BBSA was also offered by another former athlete, Ben McCullough Young.
Speaking exclusively to the BBC, McCullough Young - who was part of the Great Britain set-up during the 2015-16 season - said: "I decided to break off all contact with British Bobsleigh just because it was such an amazingly unpleasant experience being part of the squad. I basically came away with the sense that I had just been exploited for a couple of months.
"Physical and mental wellbeing was definitely jeopardised…I don't have a history of mental health problems, but it got to the point for me where I was experiencing what I could only describe as bouts of anxiety and depressive episodes every single day.
"I just really didn't want to be there. Sometimes I had my fingers crossed that I would sustain some kind of injury that would put me in a category in which I definitely couldn't slide, it was that bad.
"It was definitely an environment of harassment and bullying."
With the 2018 Winter Games approaching, McCullough Young believes the "toxic atmosphere" he experienced during his time at the BBSA continues to be an issue.
"I still stay in touch sporadically with some of the guys involved in the set-up. From what I could tell, the morale in camp was just as low as it was when I was part of the set-up and there were the same sort of experiences of exploitation and neglect," he said.
"[Some members of British Bobsleigh] think of [their athletes] as expendable assets.
"It's ludicrous. It's just reprehensible really. Ever since I left, things have happened which have made me more and more sure that my decision to just leave the set-up was the right thing to do."


An attack by five men in Edinburgh is being treated as attempted murder.

A 37-year old man was assaulted at about 20:30 on Thursday in the Carrickknowe area  in the city.
He was first involved in an altercation with two men before another three men got out of a parked car and joined in the attack.
Police are now appealing for witnesses to the incident, which took place on Featherhall Avenue.
The victim managed to run off and was taken to Edinburgh Royal Infirmary where he was treated for serious but non-life threatening injury.
The suspects are all described as white males in their 20s.
Det Insp John Kavanagh said: "This incident happened at a busy time of night and it's very possible someone would've seen this attack.
"The vehicle that the men got out of may have been a silver BMW, but anyone who has further information is urged to contact us."


A proposed wind farm off the south coast of England has been refused consent by the government.

Developers behind the Navitus Bay project - for up to 121 turbines off Dorset, Hampshire and the Isle of Wight - say it would have provided electricity for up to 700,000 homes.
Opponents said it would damage tourism and was too close to protected coasts.
It is only the second time the Department of Energy and Climate Change has rejected an offshore project.
The £3.5bn Navitus Bay plan, developed jointly by Dutch firm Eneco and French giant EDF Energy A, would have seen up to 121 8MW turbines at 200m (656ft) high constructed.
The Planning Inspectorate spent six months studying the plans, which developers said would contribute £1.6bn to the UK's economy over 25 years.
MHI Vestas Offshore Wind would have made the 80m-long blades at its factory in Newport on the Isle of Wight - six years after it shut a plant on the island, axing 425 jobs and sparking an 18-day sit-in by workers.
But all surrounding local authorities, except the Isle of Wight Council, were opposed to the scheme, and campaigners feared it would have a negative impact on the area's tourism industry.
Bournemouth Borough Council had claimed the turbines, 13.3 miles out to sea from the resort, would detract tourists from visiting, risking almost 5,000 local jobs and cause a total economic loss of £6.3bn.
There were also fears it could lead to the loss of the Jurassic Coast's Unesco World Heritage Status.
The National Trust had also criticised the plans.
Stuart Grant, project director at Navitus Bay, said: "While we are clearly disappointed by today's decision, we would like to thank the communities of Dorset, Hampshire and the Isle of Wight and all our stakeholders for the high level of engagement they've shown in the project, including their responses to our consultations and during the examination process.
"We will now discuss the options available with our shareholders and update stakeholders in due course."
121
8MW turbines 200m (656ft) high
700,000
homes would receive electricity
13.3 miles from Bournemouth at its nearest point
1,700 local jobs during four-year construction
£6.5bn  Cost to Eneco and EDF for building and operating over 25 years
A Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) spokesman said: "Careful consideration has been given to the application, and the planning and energy issues involved."
The decision letter states there would be a "residual significant adverse impact on the qualities underpinning Dorset and Isle of Wight's Areas of Natural Beauty".
It continues: "Conflict between conservation of the significance of heritage assets, including a World Heritage Site, and proposals for development would not be minimised or avoided.
"The very special circumstances required to justify the harm occasioned by inappropriate development in the Green Belt and other harm would not exist, as the benefits would not clearly outweigh the harm identified."
Navitus Bay joins the proposed Docking Shoal project off the Lincolnshire and Norfolk coastlines, which was also refused consent by the DECC in 2012.


David Denton says Scotland's players are determined to repay the faith shown in them by head coach Vern Cotter when they take on Wales on Saturday.

The Kiwi has made just one change to the team beaten by England, with Duncan Taylor in for the injured Matt Scott.
Denton is "pretty certain" they will take their good training into the game.
"We want to repay Vern for his faith in us but also to repay ourselves for the work we've put in over the last six months," the 26-year-old said.
"It's challenging, coming in having not had a lot of time together before your first game," added the Bath forward.
"But because we've had a bit of consistency with this team and we've been together for a fair amount of time now we're starting to get back into the swing of things quite quickly in terms of the training that we are doing."
Wales opened their championship with a 16-16 draw against Ireland in Dublin on Sunday, the day after the Scots lost the Calcutta Cup match.
And number eight Denton feels Scotland - quarter-finalists in last year's World Cup but without a Six Nations win in two years - need "to prove we are the team we think we are".
"We are a confident bunch of guys and we've set our targets very high for this Six Nations," he added.
"We're by no means out of this competition. We've lost one game. It was at home, which was a big loss for us.
"We never want to lose at home, but now we have an opportunity to play one of the top sides in Europe on their home patch and hopefully beat them.
"We don't want to be that team that's being courageous losers and all those kind of things that we've done in the past.
"It's 'win no matter what' for us and we are going to do whatever it takes to get that."
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A man is facing a lengthy jail term after being convicted of a catalogue of abuse charges against six women, including rape and beatings.

Ben Slee, 30, abused the women while in relationships with them at locations in Helensburgh, Garelochhead, Glasgow and Edinburgh between 2002 and 2015.
He raped one victim, attempted to rape another and subjected four others to beatings and sex attacks.
Sentence on Slee was deferred and he was remanded in custody.
At the High Court in Glasgow, judge Lord Beckett told Slee: "You have been convicted of many serious charges which represent a very concerning catalogue  of bullying and domestic abuse."
One of Slee's victims, a 32-year-old woman, told the court how he pulled her head under water while she was having a bath.
She said: "I couldn't breathe and he was laughing. He said: 'That was brilliant. You should see your face. I could have killed you.'"
The woman said that on a few occasions she woke up to find Slee having sex with her.
She added: "He made out it was a laugh or a joke."
Another victim, a 29-year-old mother-of-two, said Slee was "manipulative" and could be "so aggressive" if her "eyes even looked in the direction of another man".
He forbade her from wearing a bikini during a holiday and also attacked her at a house in Helensburgh in 2004.
She said: "I was screaming. He just ignored me. The look in his eyes was pure evil."
A 27-year-old victim told the court she was subjected to "constant mental abuse".
"He called me ugly and fat and said I would never be anything without him," she told the court.
His fourth victim, whom Slee tried to rape, told the court that he threatened to pour acid in her face or petrol bomb her parents' home and car if she went to the police about him.
The court also heard how Slee often flew into jealous rages and had thrown the contents of an ice bucket over one woman at a hotel in Glasgow.
He fell out with another woman because she was showing her cancer-stricken sister more attention than him.
Slee also controlled another woman's Facebook account - despite working in the North Sea at the time.
In evidence, Slee claimed all his victim's were lying, adding: "They have ruined my life, they have done it, they have done what they wanted."
The jury did not believe him, however, and convicted him of 29 charges involving domestic abuse, including raping one partner and  intent to rape another.
Two other rape charges against two former partners were found not proven.


From prime minister to poet, Mount Stewart has hosted some of history's most famous people, and it is a paradise full of fascinating stories.

Located in Strangford Lough, County Down, the neo-classical house is in the care of the National Trust, who bought the estate earlier this year.
It had belonged to the 7th Marquess of Londonderry and her family since 1740 and over the years visitors to the residence included members of the royal family, top politicians including Winston Churchill and hundreds of artists, aristocrats and writers.
'Wonderful'
The property is home to some of the finest pieces of art in Europe, and has just reopened its doors after a three-year restoration project costing Â£8m.
The manager at Mount Stewart, Jon Kerr, said it was "the most incredible treasure trove - stuffed full with the most wonderful things you wouldn't see outside a national gallery".
Having thrown the doors of the estate wide open to the public once more, it is impossible not to be wowed by the sheer decadence of the place.
The National Trust said it has kept all of the furnishings styled exactly how they looked when the house was occupied by the late Lady Mairi Bury, the youngest daughter of the Marquess.
She had plenty of friends in high places, and decorated the house to the highest standard to show it off to all those who came to stay.
Thanks to her fine tastes, it is still impeccably stylish with thousands of the finest portraits available to view.
One of the paintings, Hambletonian Rubbing Down, by George Stubbs, has been reframed and hangs at the top of the ornate staircase in the main hallway.
Mr Kerr described it as "one of the most important equestrian paintings of the world".
Another masterpiece is the portrait of the Marchioness of Londonderry and her son, Charles. It was painted by the finest artist of the Georgian period, Sir Thomas Lawrence.
Eleven of his pictures hang in the newly restored drawing room along with the very finest of furnishings.
The Arts Show was able to get a special preview of some of the other treasures waiting to be explored in Mount Stewart, including a loaned collection of marble statues and heads, among them Helen of Troy, carved by the sculptor Antonio Canova.
One of Ireland's best-known poets, WB Yeats, was a frequent visitor to the estate and was a great friend of Lady Bury.
To celebrate his 150th birthday, Belfast-based poet Alice McCullough joined the Arts Show at Mount Stewart to perform a piece inspired by Yeats and the grounds of the estate.
Mount Stewart is not just loved by tourists because of its fine art collection. It also houses a rich series of literature in the library, and there is even a little treasure left by Yeats inside one of his collections - a special inscription written to Lady Bury.
It is a fascinating place to see, with a wealth of history to delve into and it is all here on our doorstep once more, ready for new generations of visitors to explore and cherish, just as Lady Bury and her many guests once did.
The Arts Show is on BBC Two Northern Ireland on Thursday at 22:00 BST


A man has died after the car he was driving hit a parked lorry on a major road in the early hours.

Police said the driver, in his early 20s, hit the lorry on the A38 near Newton Abbot in Devon, his car then left the road and crashed into a hedge just before 03:00 BST.
The driver was found unconscious and soon after was declared dead.
Parts of the A38 were closed for accident investigations but the road has since fully reopened.
For more on the accident and updates
The man's next of kin have not yet been informed.
Police have appealed for anyone who witnessed the crash to come forward with information.


Canada and Australia could be the unanticipated beneficiaries from Brexit in the competition for international students, entrepreneur and university leader Lord Bilimoria has said.

The Indian-born chancellor of the University of Birmingham said an "anti-immigrant" backlash from the Brexit referendum and disputes over student visas could see UK universities losing overseas students.
He said he had received racist abuse - expressing "absolutely rabid" views - for the first time since coming to the UK in the 1980s.
There has already been a downturn in applications from EU students, and the crossbench peer said growing numbers of international students from India and China might take their tuition fees elsewhere.
"The Australian high commissioner to India told me in no uncertain terms, 'What are you doing with international students? I need to say thank you, because you're sending them to us,'" said Lord Bilimoria.
University leaders have warned MPs that Brexit could make it harder to attract academic staff and students from EU countries.
Figures published last week showed almost a fifth of academic staff in UK universities were from EU countries.
But Lord Bilimoria said there was also a bigger global picture to be considered and any shift towards isolationism would have a deep negative impact on the UK's higher education system and cutting-edge research.
University research depends on international partnerships, and, he said, "closing doors" would have long-lasting damage.
The number of Indian students in the UK has fallen sharply - and Lord Bilimoria said this reflected how overseas students seemed to be seen as an immigration problem rather than a lucrative economic asset.
He also said Prime Minister Theresa May's visit to India had "played very badly" there.
More stories from the BBC's Global education series looking at education from an international perspective, and how to get in touch.
You can join the debate at the BBC's Family & Education News Facebook page.
Instead of attracting Indian students to UK universities, Lord Bilimoria said, the visit had left Indians feeling "insulted", as the biggest concern had seemed to be whether they would overstay their visas.
As well as the financial benefits - worth Â£29bn per year to market leaders, the United States, he said, international students represented a huge opportunity for "soft power", future influence and bridge-building.
Universities in the UK have campaigned for overseas students not to be counted in net migration figures - and Lord Bilimoria said this had been privately accepted.
"David Cameron told me, in a one-to-one discussion, that he would take them out of the figures after the referendum," he said.
But the events post-referendum took a different direction - and Lord Bilimoria criticised the current approach to overseas students as "economically illiterate".
Annual figures published by the Office for National Statistics last week showed numbers of overseas students had dipped by more than 40,000.
But a Department for Education spokesman said the UK will continue to value the contribution of overseas staff to universities.
"EU and international students, staff and researchers make an important contribution to our higher education sector and we want that to continue," he said.
"The UK has a long established system that supports and attracts global talent, at all stages of their career, and the government will seek to secure the best deal for universities and their staff when negotiations for exiting the EU begin."
For Lord Bilimoria, there is a wider story about a tide turning away from internationalism - a trend he deeply regrets.
"I've seen in front of my eyes the transformation of this country," he said.
"Entrepreneurship was looked down on - and now it's celebrated.
"It's one of the most entrepreneurial countries in the world.
"There was a glass ceiling.
"I was told that as a foreigner I would never get to the top.
"But I've seen that glass ceiling being shattered.
"I've seen the City of London open up from a gentleman's club, where if you didn't go to the right school or university your chances of success were limited.
"Britain and its economy has opened up to the world, becoming far more cosmopolitan, far more multicultural."
But he fears the pendulum is now swinging back.
In the aftermath of the Brexit referendum, he said, he had faced "aggressive and hurtful" abuse.
"I'm not going to be scared," he said. But he saw a "deeply unnecessary" divide opening.
Lord Bilimoria is an embodiment of crossing between cultures.
He is an Indian from a family with four generations of English education - including a grandfather at Sandhurst.
The Cobra beer he helped to create is its own bit of bridge-building - a cross between ale and lager.
But at the moment, this multicultural brew seems to have gone a little flat.


British Transport Police (BTP) have launched an investigation after a child's scooter was thrown at a train, causing lengthy delays to services.

The scooter was thrown from an over-bridge on Gartlea Road, Airdrie, North Lanarkshire, at 17:50 on Thursday, landing on top of a train.
The driver brought the train to a halt and later services on the line were subject to delays and cancellation.
BTP said the incident was "incredibly dangerous".
They appealed for anyone with information to get in touch.
PC Mark Harrigan said: "This was a particularly alarming incident for the driver of the service in question and in particular was a great inconvenience to the wider public who were subjected to lengthy delays and cancelled services as a result of this reckless act of vandalism.
"Fortunately no-one was hurt, but trespassing on the railway or risking coming into contact with overhead wires is incredibly dangerous.
"Criminal damage to the railway can result in serious and even fatal consequences for rail passengers, workers and those committing the damage."
BTP would like to speak to anyone who may have seen people acting out of the ordinary or loitering in the Gartlea Road area, adjacent to Halfords and Morrisons petrol station, around the time of the incident.


A boat carrying 31 people, including at least 28 Chinese tourists, has gone missing off the Malaysian coast, maritime authorities say.

The boat lost contact after departing the eastern state of Sabah on Saturday.
The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency said search and rescue efforts were being hampered by bad weather.
The incident coincides with the first day of China's week-long Lunar New Year celebration, which is also marked by ethnic Chinese in Malaysia.
The catamaran boat left Kota Kinabalu on Saturday at 09:00 local time (01:00 GMT) and was heading towards Pulau Mengalum, a popular tourist island 60km (37 miles) west of the city.
The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency said it received a distress call from the boat but contact was lost soon after.
"I, like all the relatives of those on board, am hoping for progress in the search and rescue operation," the tourism minister for Sabah state, Masidi Manun, told the AFP news agency.
The search area covers 400 nautical square miles between Kota Kinabalu and Pulau Mengalum, according to the New Strait Times.
Storms are common in the area at this time of year.
Three crew members were on board the vessel, alongside the 31 passengers.


Most aid groups operating in Nigeria's north-east are wasting funds meant to help victims of the Islamist Boko Haram insurgency, a state governor has said.

Only eight of 126 registered agencies in Borno state were there to genuinely help, Kashim Shettima said.
He criticised the UN children's agency (Unicef) for buying bullet-proof cars, saying he did not use such vehicles.
Last month, the UN launched a $1bn (Â£825,000) appeal for those facing hunger and starvation in the region.
The UN said that nearly 5.1 million people in three north-eastern states were expected to face serious food shortages as for a third year in a row farmers had been unable to plant, fearing unexploded improvised devices left behind by militants.
Urgent aid was needed for some 100,000 people, mostly children, at risk of dying of starvation.
The military has recaptured much of the land controlled by Boko Haram in 2014, but thousands of people who fled their homes are still living in camps.
Governor Shettima did single out some aid agencies that were doing a good job such as the UN's World Food Programme (WFP), the International Committee of the Red Cross, the International Organization for Migration, the Norwegian Refugee Council and the Danish Refugee Council.
But those agencies only there to profit "from the agony of our people" should leave, he said.
According to the Associated Press news agency, Mr Shettima made the comments on Tuesday night to MPs and journalists at the state legislature in Borno's main city of Maiduguri.
In some ways the Borno governor's gripe may be legitimate. In the last six months his city of Maiduguri has been transformed. Whereas before it was rare to see foreign aid workers, now the tiny airport in Maiduguri is full of staff from non-governmental organisations (NGOs).
It is a struggle to get a booking in the city's few hotels and armoured vehicles - each costing about $500,000 - are visible all around. The UN in particular has a policy of using them, many other NGOs do not. But they have reason - last July a UN convoy returning from a camp in rural Borno was attacked by Boko Haram fighters; Unicef staff survived direct gunfire thanks to their armoured vehicle.
It is not the first time the UN has been criticised for wasting money, but the idea that Unicef is profiting from the crisis is probably a step too far. It is involved in various nutrition programmes in camps around Borno state that are undoubtedly contributing to feeding the thousands at risk of starving to death.
The governor accused some agencies of concentrating too much on the camps for those displaced by the conflict.
"We are in the post-conflict phase of insurgency era where we are concentrating on recovery, reconstruction and rehabilitation. But the foreign NGOs have near fixation on the IDP camps," Nigeria's Premium Times newspaper quotes him as saying.
"We hardly know what the UN agencies are doing. We only see them in some white flashy bullet-proof jeeps; apart from that, we hardly see their visible impacts."
The governor said he hoped the camps would be closed by the end of May this year, according to Nigeria's Leadership newspaper.
Last month, Nigeria's President Muhammdu Buhari accused the UN and aid agencies of deliberately exaggerating the humanitarian crisis and whipping up "a non-existent fear of mass starvation" to get more funds.
Unicef has not yet commented on Mr Shettima's remarks.
Who are Boko Haram?
Torment of a freed Boko Haram 'bride'
The town that lost its girls


Ilie Nastase has been banned from the French Open after his behaviour at the Fed Cup, organisers have announced.

Romania's Fed Cup captain is currently under investigation for comments he made about Serena Williams' unborn child. Williams accused Nastase of racism after he was heard asking if the child would be "chocolate with milk".
He also insulted British player Johanna Konta and captain Anne Keothavong.
Nastase was told on Wednesday he would not be welcome at Wimbledon.
The 70-year-old former world number one won the French Open in 1973.
A statement on the official Roland Garros Twitter account said that "following his suspension by the ITF, Mr Ilie Nastase won't be accredited" for this year's tournament.
At a news conference on Wednesday, All England Club chairman Philip Brook confirmed Nastase, who reached the Wimbledon final in 1972 and 1976, would not be present.
"His actions were not very good and we condemn them. In terms of an invitation to the Royal Box, he is not going to receive an invitation this year," Brook said.
The International Tennis Federation is investigating Nastase's remarks during April's Fed Cup match, when he also directed an angry outburst towards Konta that left the British number one in tears.
In an interview with the BBC later in April, the Romanian defended his remarks about world number one Williams.
And following the announcement that his invitation to the Royal Box at Wimbledon this year would be blocked, Nastase accused organisers of treating Romanians like "morons".


Adam Lyth's third century in a Roses Match helped earn Yorkshire a 150-run first-innings lead against Lancashire.

But Shiv Chanderpaul then led the Red Rose rearguard action at Headingley, as he made an unbeaten 43 in partnership with Dane Vilas to help the visitors close on 141-4, just nine in arrears.
Lyth hit a round 100 as Yorkshire posted 273, Jordan Clark and Saqib Mahmood each taking three wickets.
But, after another failure for England opener Haseen Hameed, Lancs rallied.
Lyth's 22nd career first-class century, his first in the Championship since last September, was his third in this fixture, but a long way short of his career-best 251 at Old Trafford in 2014.
After resuming on 93-2, with help from captain Gary Ballance (28) and Jack Leaning, Lyth looked set to steer Yorkshire to a much bigger score on 178-3.
But they lost their last seven wickets for only 95, Lancashire being held up at the end when Jack Brooks, fresh from his record-breaking ton from number nine in the last Roses match at Old Trafford just a fortnight ago, threatened to do more damage.
This time, however, after putting on 24 with last man Ryan Sidebottom, he had made just 18 when he was caught at deep backward square-leg by Hameed off Tom Bailey.
After losing fellow opener Alex Davies cheaply, Hameed then went for 10 - to continue the bad trot which has brought him just 26 runs in his past six Championship innings.
Luke Procter (23) and visiting skipper Steven Croft (27) both offered dogged resistance before Chanderpaul and Vilas (22 not out) joined forces to give their side hope.
Lancashire, without the injured Jimmy Anderson, were further weakened without Liam Livingstone, who was summoned for England Lions against South Africa A. And he impressed with his maiden List A century - a blistering 129 from 83 balls at Wantage Road, Northampton.
Yorkshire's Adam Lyth told BBC Radio Leeds:
"I'm very pleased with how it's gone for me in this game. I was delighted to get a hundred in tough conditions against a good attack. The next ball, I was disappointed to get out.
"But, if we can get a couple of early wickets tomorrow, we can drive it home and win.
"I've had a tricky few games opening the batting, but I'm really pleased to get a hundred in a Roses match and hopefully in a match-winning performance as well."
Lancashire's Saqib Mahmood told BBC Radio Manchester:
"It was a difficult day. We got shafted a bit after winning the toss and batting. Today was about bowling them out as quick as we could and not letting them get too far ahead.
"If we went bang, bang this morning we were right in the game. It was a case of going hard at them. We stuck with it and got the rewards and the back end of the session.
"They ended up with a 150-0run lead. All we had to do after that was bat well. There's still plenty of time left in the game, and we'll see what happens."


A teenager has been arrested after a teenage girl's body was found on a path.

The body was found on Monday morning near Lordens Hill in Dinnington, Rotherham, South Yorkshire Police said.
The 18-year-old from Dinnington, was arrested on Monday night on suspicion of murder.
The girl has been named locally as 16-year-old Leonne Weeks, also from the town. Friends and family have left tributes on her Facebook page.
For live updates and more from across Yorkshire
Senior investigating officer, Temporary Det Ch Insp Martin Tate, said: "This is clearly a murder inquiry. We're working very, very hard to gather as much as evidence as we can.
"That is going to take us a little bit of time, but we are working with the family and providing them with the information as we get it."
Patrols have been increased in the area to reassure the community and police have asked for anyone with more information to make contact.
At a news conference on Monday night, Temporary Supt Sarah Poolman had said police were treating the death as suspicious.
She said the force received a report of a missing person 20 minutes before the body was found.
Friends and family posted Facebook appeals for Leonne's whereabouts on Monday morning after she failed to return home.
By 18:00, comments hoping she would be found safe had changed to well wishes to the family after "heartbreaking news".
More than 100 tributes were posted on Leonne's Facebook account under her latest profile picture.
One, written by Bommer McLauchlan, said: "Fly high cousin can't believe you have gone miss you."
Another, Danny Bowskill said: "Rest in peace my wonderful niece never thought I would ever be writing this but Leonne Weeks you (were) and still are loved by so many. I'll be there for your dad and mum all the way."
Braden Oldfield added: "Sleep tight Leonne, Can't believe [you have] been taken away so early gone but never forgotten."
Police have asked the family's privacy be respected.
Rebecca Staples, principal of Dinnington High School where Leonne was a pupil, said pupils and staff were receiving support.
A message on the school's Facebook page said it had drafted in additional security staff to "reassure" parents and pupils and added it was "being extra vigilant to ensure all young people remain safe".
Ms Staples said: "We have a lot of upset students because of what has happened in a small community.
"Support for students and staff is available while we wait for more news."


A million-year-long period of extreme volcanic activity most likely paved the way for the dawn of the dinosaurs, a study suggests.

Scientists have analysed ancient rocks and have found traces of emissions from huge volcanic eruptions that happened about 200 million years ago.
This would have led to one of the largest mass extinctions on record, enabling dinosaurs to become dominant.
The study is published in the journal PNAS.
Lead author Lawrence Percival, from the Earth sciences department at Oxford University, said: "The dinosaurs were able to exploit those ecological niches that were left vacant by the extinction."
The researchers looked at volcanic rocks from four continents that date to this turbulent time.
A previous study assessed how levels of carbon fluctuated in the rocks, which is linked to rises of carbon dioxide from volcanic eruptions.
But this research looked at a different fingerprint for volcanic activity: mercury.
When volcanoes erupt, they emit traces of mercury in the plumes of gas that rise into the sky. This then spreads throughout the atmosphere before being deposited in sediments on the ground, where it remains for millions of years.
"If you can see a big spike in mercury in those sediments, you can infer there is volcanism happening at that exact time," explained Mr Percival.
"And that's what we see at the time of this extinction."
The researchers found evidence for huge pulses of volcanic activity that would have continued for about a million years.
Prof Tamsin Mather from Oxford University said: "You get these fissures, these cracks opening up in the Earth's crust, and probably some fire fountains, and also lava flows opening up.
"You probably had different areas active at different times during the million years. And you likely get eruptive periods going on for a decade or so with enormous volumes of magma coming to the surface and gases as well."
Anything living in the immediate vicinity of the eruptions would have fared badly. But creatures living far away would also have been in trouble: the repeated eruptions would have had a devastating impact on the wider environment, blocking out the Sun and leading to rising levels of carbon dioxide.
This would have triggered a major mass extinction:  animals including vast crocodile-like creatures and reptilian-looking mammals and early amphibians were wiped out.
However, early dinosaurs from that period clung on, although researchers are not sure how they survived the hellish conditions.
But once the volcanoes had simmered down, few of their competitors were left, allowing the age of the dinosaurs to begin.
The researchers now want to use mercury to look at other periods of ancient volcanic activity.
Prof Mather said: "I think what's really exciting is that we are talking about an episode of volcanism that happened 200 million years ago, and these mercury records in the sediments are allowing us to say new things about volcanism that happened that far back in deep Earth time.
"This is a new and powerful tool that will really allow us to understand more about the evolution of our planet and how it's come to be how it is today."
Follow Rebecca on Twitter: @BBCMorelle


Britain's Liam Smith has asked for "respect" from the judges in his fight with Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez of Mexico as both men weighed in right on the 11-stone light middleweight limit.

Alvarez has been tipped to take the WBO belt from the unbeaten world champion when they meet in Texas on Saturday.
But if the contest goes to points, Smith said: "If I win the fight then make sure I get the decision.
"Give me the respect I deserve. I'm the champion, even though I am the B-side."
He added: "Canelo's the big name. It's Mexican Independence Day, so I know that. But I hope they'll respect that I'm champion and be fair."
Liverpudlian Smith is unbeaten in 24 contests and won the WBO belt when he defeated USA fighter John Thompson in Manchester last October.
Alvarez, who knocked out Briton Amir Khan in his last fight in May, has lost just one of 49 pro bouts, to Floyd Mayweather on points in 2013.
However, the Mexican vacated the WBC belt he retained against Khan to delay negotiations with the camp of WBA and IBF champion Gennady Golovkin.
The fight, which is scheduled for late Saturday night or early Sunday morning BST, will take place in front of 60,000 at the Dallas Cowboys stadium in Fort Worth and Smith believes victory over Alvarez will make his name in world boxing.
"I'm not in a situation where I have nothing to lose in this fight. I've got a title to lose," Smith added.
"I've taken this fight because it's an opportunity to make a name for myself and establish myself as one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world."


The mother and father of a 22-month-old Birmingham boy have been charged with his murder.

Levi-Blu Cassin was found dead at an address in Nightingale Avenue, Castle Bromwich, on February 20 last year.
Danielle Cassin, 26, and Mark Piper, 31, will appear at Birmingham Magistrates' Court on Friday, West Midlands Police said.
Both are also charged with neglect and causing or allowing the death of a child.
Police said a post-mortem found Levi-Blu had died as a result of "substantial abdominal injuries".


The BBC has confirmed it will broadcast live coverage of the FA Cup sixth-round ties between Everton and Chelsea as well as Reading versus Crystal Palace.

Everton face Chelsea at Goodison Park on Saturday, 12 March at 17:30 GMT.
Championship side Reading, the only non-Premier League club to reach the sixth round, host Palace on Friday, 11 March at 19:55 GMT.
Sunday's ties - Hull/Arsenal v Watford and Manchester United v West Ham - can be seen on MOTD2.
All the previews, highlights, analysis and the FA Cup semi-final draw can be seen on Football Focus, Final Score, Match of the Day, and the BBC Sport website.
FA Cup coverage on the BBC continues to grow with an audience of 5m watching Everton's fifth-round victory at Bournemouth last Saturday.
Manchester City's 5-1 defeat at Chelsea drew an audience of 5.8m on Sunday.
BT Sport will broadcast the other sixth-round ties.


A Flintshire town has celebrated the work of its shops and shopkeepers over the centuries.

About 100 people attended the Festival of Recollections at Caerwys town hall on Thursday evening.
The event documented the town's growth as a service centre since 1490 and shopkeepers had the chance to share their memories of business.
The festival was organised by Caerwys Historical Society, supported by a grant from the Big Lottery Fund.
Society chairman Rowland Ward said: "What we are celebrating tonight is the adaptability and hospitality of our traders."
He said that, while businesses might have struggled in other towns, shops had survived in Caerwys because they have "kept ahead of the trends, of new technology and crucially have been at the heart of the community".
Among those who took part in the festival was butcher Meirion Morgan, who described taking over his father's business in the winter of 1963 and delivering meat to customers over the snowdrifts.
He told BBC Wales: "It was a winter we will never forget... life was pretty difficult on the country roads.
"We managed to get around, nobody went hungry, but it was hard work."
Now in his 70s, he is the last of the mobile traders who have served the farms and cottages in the local area.
Will Hebson, the last grocer and draper in Caerwys, now runs a convenience store and also spoke at the event.
He recalled how there was a ruler along the counter for measuring knicker elastic when he took over the shop 30 years ago.
"I sold the last piece of knicker elastic... a lady asked me to measure a yard and when I measured it she asked me to measure it twice, just to make sure that it didn't shrink," he said.
"I'm convinced that if it did shrink I would never be here today. My reputation would have been finished."


Scotland prop Allan Dell is hoping for a case of third time lucky against Australia after two defeats by a point.

The Wallabies beat the Scots in controversial circumstances at the 2015 World Cup and Dell made his debut in a 23-22 loss at Murrayfield last year.
"You could see how hurt the boys were after the last two losses," said Dell ahead of Saturday's Test in Sydney.
"I feel, as a squad, we have grown since those games. We've developed a lot, we've learned a lot."
The South African-born loose-head, 25, reckons Scotland are better for those experiences but acknowledges playing the Wallabies in Sydney will be a massive challenge.
"Hopefully this time it's third time lucky," Dell told BBC Scotland. "We both play similar styles of rugby. It will be a fantastic game.
"The Aussies have got a certain way of playing, but we can't just read from the computer analysis, because they'll spring something completely different.
"They've always come through with new game-plans and things to try out. It's about reading the game and playing it as it is."
The Scots earned victory in Gregor Townsend's first game as head coach, with a 34-13 triumph over Italy in Singapore last Saturday.
Dell's front-row colleague, hooker Ross Ford, scored two of Scotland's five tries, with fellow prop and compatriot WP Nel making his Test return after a season plagued by neck injuries.
Kelso veteran Ford will equal Chris Paterson's national record of 109 caps, should he feature against the Wallabies.
"We played well but there's room for more progress," Dell said of the performance. "We're all still finding our feet under Gregor.
Media playback is not supported on this device
"It is incredibly important to have a player of WP's calibre and stature back. He'll be rusty but the more minutes we give him, the better it is for Scotland.
"The younger ones like Zander Fagerson and D'arcy Rae can learn from his experience. Knowing you have a solid man like that at tight-head is a huge boost.
"[Ford]'s a brilliant leader and mentor. He's been through it all and he's a fantastic ambassador for Scottish rugby.
"Chris Paterson is a legend and we know when Fordy retires people will speak of him in the same way."


Sony is closing its Cambridge-based video games studio, Guerrilla Cambridge.

The developer's most recent title was the PlayStation VR release Rigs. Prior to that it had worked on Killzone, LittleBigPlanet and MediEvil games.
The studio has been in existence for 19 years. A spokeswoman for Sony said about 50 people were currently employed there.
She added that all staff were at risk of being made unemployed.
"It is regrettable that this decision will lead to compulsory redundancies," Sony said in a statement.
"Whilst we accept that this decision will mean that we risk losing high calibre staff, by focusing on other studios with exciting new projects in development... we believe we will be in a stronger position going forward and able to offer the best possible content of the highest quality to our players.
"This decision should not take anything away from the incredible games and services that Guerrilla Cambridge has delivered."
The move follows the closure of Sony's Cheshire-based Evolution Studio - best known for its Driveclub game - last March, and Studio Liverpool - which made the Wipeout series - in 2012.
However, Sony did open a development base in Manchester in 2015, and continues to operate studios in London and Guildford.
"It is a shock, because the Cambridge studio had been in existence for so long," said Piers Harding-Rolls, a video games industry analyst at IHS Technology.
"But the games sector as a whole is growing, and it's not unusual for the big companies to realign their resources."
Microsoft also closed a long-established British studio - Lionhead, the developer of the Fable series - in 2016.
But the games industry trade association Tiga said that a tax relief scheme, which came into effect in 2014, had helped create jobs elsewhere.
"It's very sad to hear what is happening to Sony Guerrilla Cambridge, but the actual size of the UK games industry is almost at an all time high and we are in a very strong position," said Richard Wilson, the body's chief executive.
Guerrilla Cambridge's last game - Rigs: Mechanized Combat League - was launched three months ago as a launch title for the PlayStation's virtual reality headset.
It was generally well reviewed.
The Gaming Age described it as "the very best VR experience that this system has to offer".
Sixth Axis said: "So long as you're not affected too heavily by motion sickness... you'll find a fast and fluid multiplayer shooter that gets the best out of PSVR."
However, the title was not a bestseller.
"Guerrilla Cambridge's games have been for the [handheld] PlayStation Vita and most recently PlayStation VR, which have low install bases," said Chris Dring, from the GamesIndustry.biz news site
"So, even though its games have been critically well received, commercially they have struggled.
"That may not have been that important to Sony - obviously it wants to make money from its titles, but platform-holders also use their own games to help sell the hardware in the first place and to help show the way for other studios.
"The move suggests that there's a broader strategy at play, where perhaps Sony is slowing down slightly on its internal VR development to give more opportunity to third-party studios."
Sony said that its Guerrilla Games studio in Amsterdam would not be affected by the cuts.


Bayern Munich assistant manager Paul Clement has confirmed he turned down a coaching role with England under new boss Sam Allardyce.

The 44-year-old is working alongside Carlo Ancelotti at the Bundesliga champions, after being sacked as Derby County boss earlier this year.
Reports suggest Clement had been earmarked for a role in Allardyce's new backroom team on a job-share basis.
But on Twitter he said he intended to "concentrate solely" on Bayern.
"Following recent media reports I would like to clarify the situation with regards to a possible role with the England national team," he said on Tuesday.
"After consultation between FC Bayern, the [English] Football Association and myself, it was decided that it is in the best interests of everyone involved for me to concentrate solely on the job I have in Munich.
"I would like to wish success to Sam, the FA and the England team."
Clement linked up again with Ancelotti in June, having previously worked with him at Chelsea, Real Madrid and Paris St-Germain.
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A jury in the United States has ruled that the writers of Blurred Lines - one of the best-selling singles of all time - copied a Marvin Gaye track.

Jurors in Los Angeles decided that the 2013 single by Pharrell Williams and Robin Thicke breached the copyright of Gaye's 1977 hit Got To Give It Up.
The family of the late soul singer has been awarded $7.3m (Â£4.8m) in damages.
Thicke and Williams denied copying the hit, and their lawyer said the ruling set a "horrible precedent".
Meanwhile, the Gaye family's lawyer told Rolling Stone he wanted to stop the sales of Blurred Lines.
"We'll be asking the court to enter an injunction prohibiting the further sale and distribution of Blurred Lines unless and until we can reach an agreement with those guys on the other side about how future monies that are received will be shared," attorney Richard Busch said.
Gaye died in April 1984, leaving his children the copyright to his music.
His children - Nona, Frankie and Marvin Gaye III - sued Thicke and Williams in 2013. Nona wept as the verdict was read in court.
"Right now, I feel free," she told reporters after the ruling. "Free from... Pharrell Williams and Robin Thicke's chains and what they tried to keep on us and the lies that were told."
In court, Williams had told jurors that Gaye's music was part of the soundtrack of his youth but he insisted it was not on his mind when he wrote the song.
But the musician recognised a likeness between the songs and agreed he was "channelling... that late-70s feeling" when he co-wrote the song.
Thicke testified that he had contributed little to the writing of the song.
"While we respect the judicial process, we are extremely disappointed in the ruling made today, which sets a horrible precedent for music and creativity going forward," the pair's lawyer Howard E King said.
"We are reviewing the decision, considering our options and you will hear more from us soon about this matter."
The hit, which earned a Grammy nomination, generated more than $16m (Â£10.8m) in profits and made more than $5m (Â£3m) for both stars.


A former Scottish Television boss has been appointed chairman of the arts body Creative Scotland.

Richard Findlay takes over from Sir Sandy Crombie who resigned from the post in April last year.
Following its creation in the summer of 2010, the organisation has faced criticism including from a number of leading writers and artists.
Last year Creative Scotland published a 10-year plan which promised a simpler funding process.
Mr Findlay, who chaired STV group from 2007 until 2013, said he was "absolutely delighted" to be appointed to the role.
He added: "Having watched the achievements of the organisation since its inception, as well as the challenges it has faced, I feel I am joining at an exciting and pivotal time.
"I very much look forward to working with the board, everyone at Creative Scotland and the culture sector more broadly, to deliver this ambition over the coming years."
Experience 'unparalleled'
Mr Findlay graduated from the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, now the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.
He has held senior posts in the media in the UK and Ireland and chaired the Royal Lyceum Theatre in Edinburgh for six years in the 1990s.
The Edinburgh resident was made a CBE for services to the arts and creative industries in 2013 and currently chairs an online educational apps company based in London.
Cabinet Secretary for Culture, Europe and External Affairs, Fiona Hyslop, said: "Richard's experience in the sector, in the media, screen and theatre, are unparalleled and he has a real understanding of the issues facing our arts organisations today.
"Richard will lead Creative Scotland from strength to strength, supporting and challenging the organisation as it delivers on its ambitious 10-year plan."


Norman Hudis, best known for writing the first six Carry On films, has died at the age of 93.

The screenwriter died surrounded by his family in California on Monday after several weeks of hospice care.
His widow Rita Hudis said in a statement: "He died peacefully at home with myself and Stephen and Kevin, his two sons.
"He did well to reach 93. We will miss him. Our 60th anniversary would have been on the 28 April."
Hudis was born in London and began his career as a journalist before writing for stage and screen.
He wrote the first Carry On film, 1958's Carry On Sergeant, when he was 34.  The cast included future Doctor Who actor William Hartnell, Bob Monkhouse, Charles Hawtrey, Kenneth Connor, Kenneth Williams and Hattie Jacques.
Hudis went on to pen Carry On Nurse, Teacher, Constable, Regardless and Cruising - the first Carry On film in colour.
Carry On films - the Norman Hudis years
Carry On Sergeant - 1958
Carry On Nurse - 1959
Carry On Teacher - 1959
Carry On Constable - 1960
Carry On Regardless - 1961
Carry On Cruising - 1962
Carry On Nurse was inspired by stories from his wife, a former nurse. In a BBC interview in 2008, Hudis said: "I used to call downstairs to Rita and say 'put on the old nurse's cap and tell me something funny'."
In 2008, Hudis published an autobiography titled No Laughing Matter: How I Carried On.
In it, he revealed that he continued to write Carry Ons after he left the series in the early 1960s in the hope that he might be asked back one day, drafting Carry On Under the Pier If Wet and Carry On Shylock Holmes.
After moving to the US, his TV writing credits include The Wild Wild West, The Man From UNCLE and Hawaii Five-O.
Morris Bright, chairman of Elstree Studios and a close family friend, said: "Without him we wouldn't have had the Carry On films, because he wrote the first six - and look what that spawned over the years.
"We owe the man a lot. He leaves a great legacy of joy, entertainment and laughter - something we can look back on and say, 'We're very grateful for him'.
"He was a great guy, I shall miss him a great deal."
Hudis is survived by his widow, two sons, and two grandchildren, Veronica and Cameron.


A bus driver who abandoned his vehicle with 30 children on board has been sacked for "gross misconduct".

The unnamed driver got lost after having to change routes because of a crash in Norfolk on Wednesday.
After leaving the children unattended, he returned to tell them to find their own way home because the bus was stuck down a narrow country lane.
Norse, the firm that runs Norfolk County Council's bus service, said his actions fell "way below standards".
Richard Mack, whose 11-year-old daughter was on the bus, said: "I don't want to think someone's lost their job over it, but it was quite a serious incident, really, to leave children in the dark in the middle of nowhere."
He said the driver told his daughter to phone her parents and "make her own way home", some seven miles away from where the bus got stuck near Reedham.
Paul Bonham, from Norse, said it was fortunate "no child got lost in the dark, fell in the ditch themselves, or got hit on a dark country lane".
The firm said that when the driver left the bus to find out his location, he failed to tell his manager the children were still onboard.
The council said: "All school transport drivers have a duty to remain with children, in the event of a problem, until appropriate alternative arrangements have been made."
Norse has sent a letter of apology to all the parents affected.
It is understood all the children made it home safely.
One person was injured in the crash, which shut the A47 near North Burlingham.


Illegal off-road biking is a problem on the rise in the south Wales valleys, according to Natural Resources Wales (NRW).

Twenty-two people were caught illegally riding motorbikes earlier this month in an operation with South Wales Police.
NRW said it was a form of anti-social behaviour because of the damage caused to the land and the risk to the public.
But many bikers argue they have same right to use publicly owned land as walkers and horse riders.
NRW operational manager for south east Wales, Sally Tansey said not only had the problem of off-road biking increased, but it had become more difficult to manage.
"We're getting commercial operators bringing large groups of paying customers on to the land," she said, adding organised groups were able to "assemble quickly" using social media.
One of Wales' few off-road biking tracks is based near Ynysybwl in Rhondda Cynon Taff.
Despite having a trail cut into the mountainside since the 1960s, the facility was only granted full planning permission eight years ago.
The owner of Bull MX track, Chris Jones said: "The problem can be fixed relatively easily by allocating areas and trails on NRW land - a publicly funded body - and then charging for the use of those trails."
He said the money could then go into other projects and maintaining the trails.
Mr Jones added: "If you're selling tens of thousands of bikes a year and there's nowhere for these bikes to ride then in a way you're promoting illegal riding."


New Saints remain on course for a second successive domestic treble after a comfortable 5-0 Welsh Cup semi-final win over Gap Connah's Quay.

Scott Quigley scored a hat-trick for the Welsh Premier leaders and Word Cup winners at Latham Park.
Matty Williams and Jamie Mullan also scored for Saints, who had been beaten twice by Connah's Quay in the league this season.
Craig Harrison's side will face Airbus UK Broughton in the final in May.
Tony Gray scored a hat-trick as Airbus UK Broughton thrashed Port Talbot Town 7-0 to reach their first Welsh Cup final.
Andy Preece's side led 3-0 at the interval through goals from Gray, Ryan Wignall and Kevin Monteiro.
James Murphy scored two with Gray completing his hat-trick in between Airbus' Ryan Fraughan being sent-off.
Port Talbot Town 0-7 Airbus UK Broughton
The New Saints 5-0 Gap Connah's Quay


Japanese videogame maker Nintendo made its first annual operating profit in four years, which beat its forecast as well as the market's.

Operating profit was 24.8bn yen ($207m; Â£136m) for the year to March, compared with its forecast of 20bn yen and analyst predictions of 23.8bn yen.
The firm said lower costs had offset the impact of slowing revenue growth.
Nintendo was also optimistic about its outlook, expecting its annual operating profit to double in the next year.
It expects to make 50bn yen in the year to March 2016, compared with market forecasts 39bn yen.
Meanwhile, Nintendo's sales for the fiscal year fell nearly 4% to 549.8bn yen.
Analysts said its plans to enter the smartphone market will make up for the weak sales of its traditional video game consoles.
The boom in mobile games has led to a decline in Nintendo's customers, while its latest Wii U console is third in the market behind Sony's PlayStation and Microsoft's XBox.
In March, Nintendo, the maker of pioneering games like Super Mario, announced a partnership with Japanese developer DeNA to create and operate mobile game apps.
"A new source of revenue is expected from a gaming application for smart devices which will be released this year," Nintendo said in a statement on Thursday.
The company also plans to release new game titles to boost sales of its Wii consoles, which it expects to be flat at 3.4 million units this year.


There are hundreds of marathons held around the world each year, from the North Pole to the Sahara Desert.

With so many marathons, here's Newsround's pick of the biggest and the best.
The London Marathon is the best at raising money and holds the record for the largest single annual fundraising event in the world. Since it started in 1981 its has raised a whopping Â£770 million for charity.
The New York City Marathon has grown from a race with 55 finishers to the world's biggest and most popular marathon, with nearly finishers in 2015. The route takes competitors through all five boroughs of New York.
This is the longest running annual marathon in the world. It started back in 1897, inspired by the marathon held at the Summer Olympics in Greece the year before. The Boston Marathon is held in Greater Boston in the state of Massachusetts in America.
For anyone who doesn't mind freezing conditions, the North Pole Marathon - referred to as the world's coolest marathon - takes place on the top of the world, around the North Pole.
This takes place around the world famous Great Wall of China. Since it began in 1999, it has become known as one of the world's most challenging marathons.


Underlying US inflation - excluding food and energy - rose in November, as the Federal Reserve meets to decide whether to raise interest rates.

The Labor Department said its core Consumer Price Index increased 2% last month. It was the third month that the core CPI increased by that much.
US prices including fuel and food were up 0.5% annually in November.
The US central bank's Federal Open Market Committee will on Tuesday begin a two day meeting to set rates.
It targets 2% inflation but uses the price index for personal consumption expenditures, or PCE index, which is running below the core CPI.
Still, the Fed is expected to raise its benchmark overnight interest rate from near zero at the end of the meeting on Wednesday, encouraged by a strengthening labour market.
CPI data showed that rent, airline fares, new motor vehicles and medical care all increased in price. Those gains were weighed down by low prices for petrol.
Earlier this month data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics suggested that US jobs growth remained solid in November as the economy added 211,000 jobs, slightly above expectations.
The data also showed the jobless rate held at its seven-and-a-half year low of 5%.
Those jobs stats showed that the construction, food services and retail sectors all saw healthy job increases.


A memorial garden has emerged as the favoured option of families affected by the baby ashes scandal at Aberdeen's Hazlehead Crematorium.

Baby and adult ashes were mixed together at Hazlehead and given back to relatives of the adult.
The parents of the infants were told there were no ashes.
A working group established to devise plans for a memorial for those affected has agreed that a memorial garden at Hazlehead Park should be created.
It would contain a statue and seating, with planting designed to add colour and attract birds and butterflies.
More detailed plans will now be drawn up.
Aberdeen City Council is processing more than 200 claims for compensation relating to the baby ashes scandal.
BBC Scotland revealed in 2013 that no ashes had been offered to the families of infants cremated in Aberdeen over a five-year period.


The SDLP leader, Colum Eastwood, has called on the first minister to appear before a Stormont committee to explain her involvement in a renewable heat initiative.

Arlene Foster oversaw the scheme while she was enterprise minister.
The scheme, which was meant to encourage users to switch to biomass heating systems, could end up costing the taxpayer more than £400m.
Arlene Foster, who is currently in China, said she would not quit.
She told UTV News she "did all that was appropriate in the circumstances".
1,946 applications were approved under the non-domestic Renewable Heat Incentive scheme - a 98% approval rate.
984 of them were received in just three months - September, October and November 2015 - after officials announced plans to cut the subsidy but before the change took effect.
The assembly's Public Accounts Committee was told that a subsequent independent audit had found issues at half the 300 installations inspected.
14 of these fell into the most serious category where fraud was suspected.
Payments to five of these 14 sites have been suspended.
"I referred it to a senior official and they took it forward and it has been acknowledged indeed by the permanent secretary that I did all that was appropriate in the circumstances," she said.
The scheme was run by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment (DETI).
BBC Spotlight reported that concerns were expressed over the scheme to Mrs Foster in 2013, when she was enterprise minister.
She referred the issue to civil servants but the warnings were not acted on.
A whistleblower outlined serious flaws with the scheme in an email to the department in 2014.
The scheme paid out more in subsidies than the fuel cost, meaning users could earn more money by burning more fuel.
The email was not acted on and the scheme continued until it closed earlier this year amid accusations that it was being abused.
Mr Eastwood said: "Arlene Foster needs to come in front of the public accounts committee and explain every single thing that happened.
"And let's see who's accountable, let's see if we do have an accountable government in Northern Ireland or let's see if we continue to have a more secret and less transparent government that we've seen in the past few months."
Ulster Unionist leader Mike Nesbitt has said Mrs Foster should consider her position over the controversy.
"I want Arlene Foster to consider her position. The current status quo is not sufficient," he said.
"The minister must come back and explain what happened after she referred this case to her permanent secretary."
On Wednesday, Economy Minister Simon Hamilton defended the first ministers handling of the scheme and said Mrs Foster "did not ignore" warnings by a whistleblower.


Former Scotland and Rangers manager Alex McLeish is to leave Belgian club Racing Genk after one campaign.

The 56-year-old took over in August with Genk 13th in the 16-team table after four games.
He steered them to within a point of the top six, failing to reach the play-offs for the league title.
"Communicating this decision creates clarity and will allow us now to put our focus on winning a Europa League place," said McLeish.
"Myself, the staff and players promise to give every ounce of energy as we did in the regular competition."
McLeish, who managed Birmingham City, Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest after resigning as Scotland boss in 2007, signed a two-year contract on his arrival in Belgium.
The teams ranked seven to 14 in the Jupiler Pro League split into two play-off groups, with the winners of each section meeting over two legs.
The winners of that tie go on to meet either the fourth or fifth team from the top six, depending on where the cup winners finish, for the final Europa League spot.


Wolverhampton Wanderers midfielder Dave Edwards says competition for central midfield places in Wales' Euro 2016 squad is fierce.

Edwards, 30, has been included in Wales' 29-man pre-Euro 2016 training camp to be held in Portugal.
Manager Chris Coleman will name his final 23-man squad for the tournament on Tuesday, 31 May.
"I know it's going to be tough to get into the squad," Edwards told BBC Radio Wales Sport.
"I would probably say maybe four or five central midfielders are definitely in like Aaron Ramsey, Joe Ledley, Joe Allen and Andy King.
"But then you've obviously got me, Emyr Huws and David Vaughan.
"There's a lot of quality there and I just hope I can do enough personally.
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"I played a bit of a part in the [qualifying] campaign and getting there so it will be real special getting in the squad. It's everyone's dream to play in a major tournament."
Shrewsbury-born Edwards has played 31 times for Wales, including five appearances during the Euro 2016 qualifiers.
Edwards was out for two months earlier in the season following surgery on a broken bone in his foot.
He missed Wales' friendlies against Northern Ireland and Ukraine in March but has played six times for Wolves since making his comeback in April.
"When I was injured my driving force was the carrot of being at the Euros," Edwards said.
"It was always my aim, when I was injured, to get back fit and playing. I did that and obviously this is the next step.
"I'm looking forward to going there and hopefully doing enough in the week in Portugal to get on that plane to France."


BBC Radio Devon presenter Tony Beard has died aged 79 from cancer.

Mr Beard, known for his love of Devon culture and folklore, died peacefully on Saturday morning, his family said.
Known as the "Wag from Widecombe", he presented a Sunday request show for many years.
BBC Radio Devon editor Mark Grinnell said: "Our thoughts and sympathies are with Tony's wife Wendy and family." Beard announced in April 2015 that he had been diagnosed with bladder cancer.
Mr Grinnell added: "He was as much a part of the radio station as he was of the county. He was recently honoured with lifetime achievement award at the BBC Gillard awards for his contribution to local radio and he was an extremely popular member of the station family."
Listeners and community members have paid tribute to Mr Beard on the BBC Radio Devon Facebook page.
Jason Rice, from the Dartmoor Folk festival, said: "Tony was a loyal and dedicated supporter of the folk festival and all things Dartmoor.
"He was the irreplaceable MC of our Sunday night Music Hall for 35 years and we will miss him terribly."


Christmas trees are to be harvested at a beauty spot known as "Little Switzerland" because of its pine trees, hills and early snowfall.

The National Trust said people were being invited to choose their own tree from Hindhead Commons in Surrey on the Saturday before Christmas.
The trees that are being cut down are non-native and quickly become dominant.
Felling them will help the local ecology, rangers said.
Matt Cusack, head ranger for Hindhead Commons and the Devil's Punch Bowl, said the area of high hills topped with pine trees had its own micro-climate and often saw the first scattering of snow in winter.
He said the Scots Pines being harvested grew rapidly and left fewer nutrients and less light for slower-growing, native species, so felling them would be "a win-win all round".
The pines are being cut down as saplings before they grow into mature woodland that would overshadow the heathland.
Rangers expect all the trees to be taken at the Hindhead Commons event, because a similar event held at Leith Hill in 2012 was so busy that the trees ran out.
It takes about four or five years for enough saplings to grow back so that another Christmas tree harvest can be held.
The charity said it was part of its ongoing conservation work.
There are no set price for the trees, but the National Trust has said donations will be gladly accepted.


Four people were murdered, and their killer was later shot dead by police, in Wednesday's terror attack in Westminster.

At least 50 people from 12 different countries were injured, of whom 31 needed hospital treatment. Two remain in a critical condition, and one person has life-threatening injuries.
Two police officers injured on Westminster Bridge as they returned from an event marking their bravery in service are being treated for "very significant injuries".
Police named the 75-year-old man who died on Thursday night - becoming the fourth victim of attacker Khalid Masood - as Leslie Rhodes, from south London.
Police said his life support had been withdrawn.
Mr Rhodes, a retired window cleaner, is thought to have been visiting a nearby hospital when he was hit by the car driven by Masood.
Neighbours described Mr Rhodes as a "lovely man" who had been "as fit as a fiddle".
Neighbour Philip Williams, 61, said Mr Rhodes was unmarried and had no children.
He said: "We'd known him for 24 years. He was a lovely man. He would do anything for anybody. And it's such a shock.
"It's a crime that he's been taken."
Another neighbour, Michael Carney, had kept a vigil at Mr Rhodes' bedside at King's College Hospital.
Mr Carney, 74, who had known Mr Rhodes for about 40 years, said: "My wife and my two girls went up there and were with him until he died, playing him music. He liked Queen and that.
"He had no-one. You can't have someone dying on their own."
He added: "What harm did he ever do to anyone? He was the nicest man you ever met."
Aysha Frade, thought to have been 43, was walking across Westminster Bridge to pick up her two young daughters from school when she was killed.
A British national, whose mother was Spanish, she worked at nearby DLD College London and lived in London with her children and husband, according to Spanish media.
Her father was of Cypriot origin, while her mother was from the Galician town of Betanzos, where her two sisters run an English school, the Voz de Galicia reported.
The principal of the independent sixth-form college, where Ms Frade worked in the administration team, described her as "a highly regarded and loved" member of staff.
"She will be deeply missed by all of us," Rachel Borland said.
A former neighbour in London, Patricia Scotland, described Ms Frade as a "lovely mother, a lovely wife".
"She was just a lovely person, with two lovely, lovely girls," she said. "You couldn't ask for better neighbours."
A teacher at DLD College, Courtney Weeden, said Ms Frade had been a "great staff member" who was "helpful, supportive, kind" and "a lovely, lovely person".
Betanzos councillor Andres Hermida said the community in Spain was in "enormous pain" and shrouded in an "atmosphere of sadness".
"Aysha spent her summers here and had many friends here since her childhood, so we are all very affected," he said.
PC Keith Palmer, 48, was stabbed to death as he tried to stop Masood in a courtyard outside the Houses of Parliament.
He was an unarmed member of the parliamentary and diplomatic protection squad, who had served for 15 years.
"Keith will be remembered as a wonderful dad and husband," his family said in a statement.
"A loving son, brother and uncle. A long-time supporter of Charlton FC. Dedicated to his job and proud to be a police officer, brave and courageous. A friend to everyone who knew him.
"He will be deeply missed. We love him so much. His friends and family are shocked and devastated by his loss."
PC Palmer, who had a five-year-old daughter, joined the parliamentary and diplomatic protection command in April last year after serving in the territorial support group, based in Catford but working across London.
He had previously been based in Bromley borough between 2002 and 2009.
"Keith was a genuinely nice person; nobody had a bad word to say about him," said PC James Aitkenhead, who had worked alongside him in the TSG.
"When I heard what had happened, I knew it would be him because that's just the sort of guy he was, to step straight in when others might step back."
US tourist Staci Martin posed with PC Palmer for a photograph 45 minutes before he was killed - a picture she believes may have been the last ever taken of him.
She asked him for the photo because she liked his hat, and said he had been "really nice" in agreeing.
Ms Martin told ABC News: "I walked up to him and said 'Do you mind if I take a picture?' He said 'No problem'. He was really nice."
Less than an hour later, Ms Martin was in a taxi when she heard of the shooting and saw a helicopter and emergency vehicles.
She recognised PC Palmer from the photo released after the confirmation of his death, and said she feels "obligated" to pass her picture to his family.
A fundraising appeal from the Metropolitan Police Federation in PC Palmer's memory has exceeded Â£600,000, with the money going to his family.
The JustGiving page was set up by Stephen Redgewell, deputy general secretary of the federation, which represents rank-and-file officers.
Around 25,000 people have pledged support. One, Ken Smith, said simply: "Thanks Keith, I wish I had known you."
Conservative MP and former colleague James Cleverly, who had served alongside PC Palmer in the Royal Artillery before he joined the police, called him a "lovely man", adding: "I'm heartbroken."
In an emotional tribute in the Commons, he described him as a "strong, professional public servant".
Also addressing MPs, Prime Minister Theresa May said PC Palmer "was every inch a hero and his actions will never be forgotten".
A minute's silence was held in Parliament and in front of the New Scotland Yard police headquarters at 09:33 GMT on Thursday.
As a mark of respect, his shoulder number - 4157U - will be retired and not reissued to any other officer.
Charlton Athletic responded to PC Palmer's death by putting a football scarf on his season-ticket seat at the club's stadium, saying it would remain there until the next home game on 4 April.
Kurt Cochran, 54, from the US state of Utah, was in London as part of a holiday in Europe to celebrate 25 years of marriage to Melissa, who was seriously hurt in the attack.
They were also visiting Melissa's parents, who work on a Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints mission, and had been due to return to the US on Thursday.
In a statement, Mrs Cochran's family said they were "heartbroken" by the news of Mr Cochran's death.
"Kurt was a good man and a loving husband to our sister and daughter, Melissa," they said.
"We express our gratitude to the emergency and medical personnel who have cared for them and ask for your prayers on behalf of Melissa and our family.
"Kurt will be greatly missed," they added.
In a statement released by the church, Clint Payne, Melissa's brother, said the family was "heartbroken".
"Kurt was a good man and a loving husband to our sister and daughter, Melissa," the statement said.
"They were in Europe to celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary, and were scheduled to return to the United States on Thursday.
"Melissa also received serious injuries in the attack, and is being cared for in the hospital.
"We express our gratitude to the emergency and medical personnel who have cared for them and ask for your prayers on behalf of Melissa and our family.
"Kurt will be greatly missed, and we ask for privacy as our family mourns and as Melissa recovers from her injuries."
Mr Cochran owned a sound recording studio in Utah called the Onion Street Studio.
His friend, Evan Mullaly, told BBC Breakfast: "He was always happy-go-lucky, very passionate about his work in the music industry.
"The kind of guy who would give you the shirt off his back, a genuinely kind human being. It's a tragedy what happened."
Mrs Cochran's sister, Sara Payne-Mcfarland, wrote on Facebook: "My sister, Melissa, has a broken leg, a broken rib, and a cut on her head.
"While we are glad she survived, our hearts are broken and will never be the same after losing our dear uncle, brother-in-law, father.
"Kurt, you are a HERO, and we will never forget you."
US President Donald Trump paid tribute to Mr Cochran on Twitter, saying: "A great American, Kurt Cochran, was killed in the London terror attack. My prayers and condolences are with his family and friends."
A Romanian woman thrown into the River Thames while she walked across Westminster Bridge with her boyfriend is now stable in hospital, the country's ambassador said.
Andreea Cristea suffered multiple injuries in the attack and has undergone complex surgery, while her boyfriend Andrei Burnaz sustained a broken foot, according to the Romanian ambassador to the UK.
The couple were on a trip to London to celebrate the birthday of Mr Burnaz, who had been planning to propose to Ms Cristea that day, Dan Mihalache told the BBC.
Mr Mihalache said he understood the car had hit Mr Burnaz first, before hitting Ms Cristea, sending her into the river.
She was rescued from the water soon after by Port of London Authority officials.
Mr Mihalache said Ms Cristea had not yet gained consciousness but was stable after having an operation for a blood clot on her brain. Her lungs are also starting to clear.
Thames woman's partner planned to propose
Three French schoolchildren on a school trip to London were among those injured as pedestrians were struck by a car on Westminster Bridge.
They are from the St Joseph's School in Concarneau, Brittany.
The parents of the injured students, aged 15 and 16, were flown to London on Wednesday evening by the French government.
The mother of one of them thought her son was dead for an hour before being told he had been injured.
She told local newspaper La Telegramme that her son was in intensive care with fractures to the legs, a head wound and a localised haematoma behind the lung.
The woman said her son did not remember what had happened.
The mother of one of the group who escaped unhurt told the Associated Press her daughter "was next to her school friends who were ran over by the car. She saw the car driving past near her and saw the terrorist getting out of the car".
The woman, who gave her name only as Martine, said: "She is very shocked by what she saw. She was really scared for her friends."
More than 90 students from the school were on the trip to London.
Portuguese national Francisco Lopes was left with leg injuries and severe cuts to his hands when he was hit by Masood's car on Westminster Bridge.
The 26-year-old was on his way home from working a shift at a shop in St Thomas' Hospital - opposite Westminster - when he was struck.
Mr Lopes said he did not see the speeding car until it was too late, and felt "scared for my life" when he was knocked to the ground.
He said: "He started to move towards the pedestrian pavement and started to just take out the people that were in front of the car, so, literally when I realised this, the car was literally just about one metre away, so I had no, literally, no time to get out of the way."
Mr Lopes, who has lived in London for 15 years, said he could do little but put his arms out to defend himself, before the car "tumbled me over".
He said: "The adrenaline just started to take over me, I didn't want to die so I was just like, 'yeah, I'm going to be okay, I'm going to try to convince myself that I'm going to be okay' and that my legs were going to be okay."
He added: "I was horrified because I was scared for my life, you know, I said I didn't want to die."
Mr Lopes has had surgery on his legs and hands, but says the experience has stayed with him.
He said: "I'm happy to be alive but sleep is more difficult, difficult because I see the car hitting me, I see it all the time."
Four students from from Edge Hill University in Ormskirk, Lancashire were among those injured in the Westminster attack as they visited Parliament.
Owen Lambert, 18, and Travis Frain, 19, were struck by Masood's car.
Mr Frain suffered a fractured leg and left arm, two broken fingers and cuts to his thigh.
His mother, Angela Frain, from Darwen in Lancashire, said her son was thrown over the bonnet of the Hyundai as it plunged along the bridge.
The politics student, who is an aspiring MP, immediately called her, saying: "Mum, I'm safe... I know you will be worrying."
The pair were part of a group of 13 students on a visit, with a lecturer, to the Houses of Parliament.
Mr Lambert, from Morecambe, is understood to have required stitches to a head wound. Two other students needed treatment for lesser injuries.
One of two police officers being treated in hospital has been named as PC Kristofer Aves.
He suffered "significant injuries" on Westminster Bridge as he returned from a ceremony where he had received a commendation for his exceptional work during a demonstration in 2016.
His family said in a statement that PC Aves had gone to work "full of pride" on a day which "ended in tragedy".
"Kris is now being treated in hospital, and as a family we remain at his bedside," the statement said.
Four South Korean tourists, in their 50s and 60s, were hurt in a rush of people trying to flee the attack, South Korea's Foreign Ministry said.
An Italian woman on holiday in London was in a stable condition on Thursday after suffering fractures when she was hit by the car, while a Chinese tourist also received minor injuries.
A Polish man was also released from hospital on Thursday after being treated for minor injuries, the embassy said.
Also among the injured were 12 British citizens, two Greeks, one German, one Irish citizen and one American.
5
dead including attacker
50
at least injured
3,500 witnesses contacted by police
1,000 of whom on Westminster Bridge
10 arrests (9 in custody)
2,7000  items seized by police


Both its president and government are reported to have resigned amid a stand-off with Shia rebels, the Houthis, who have taken control of the capital.
The army has all but melted away but the Sunni tribes, encouraged by al-Qaeda, are busy mobilising to confront the Houthis as they push east.
The entire framework for one of Washington's most important security partners in a dangerous region is now in serious danger of falling apart.
Why does Yemen matter to Washington and the West? After all, this is not Kuwait. Yemen is not a rich country, in fact it is the poorest in the Arab world. Its dwindling oil exports are expected to run out altogether before 2020.
But Yemen sits at the extreme south-west of the Arabian Peninsula, right on the strategic Bab El Mandeb Strait, separating the Middle East from Africa, where an estimated 20,000 ships pass annually through the strategic bottleneck between the Indian Ocean and the Red Sea and beyond, the Suez Canal.
Yemen's second city, Aden, was once a major bunkering port for ships making the long passage from Europe to India. Today, sadly, that city is a sleepy backwater where flamingos feed on deserted mudflats as most vessels steam past, giving it a wide berth.
The US Navy in particular has avoided it since 2000 when al-Qaeda suicide bombers rammed a boat full of explosives into a billion-dollar destroyer, the USS Cole, killing 17 sailors.
For most Yemenis, their daily preoccupation is simply how to get by in a crumbling economy beset with corruption. Many rely on remittances sent from relatives working in the Gulf.
But for Washington there is a different preoccupation: Yemen is home to what Western intelligence analysts consider to be the most dangerous franchise of al-Qaeda. AQAP stands for al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, an alliance formed in 2009 between violent Yemeni and Saudi Islamists.
AQAP's local focus is on seizing and holding tribal territory in the under-governed spaces of Marib, al-Bayda and Shabwa provinces.
Periodically it sends suicide bombers into the capital, Sanaa, to kill dozens of policemen and other security officials. It has also carried out the abduction and assassination of intelligence officials, sometimes using assassins on motorbikes.
But AQAP continues to grab the attention of the CIA and the Pentagon's JSOC (Joint Special Operations Command) because of its international reach.
Earlier this month it claimed to be behind the attack on the offices of satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in Paris, although it has yet to offer any substantive proof.
But three times now AQAP has successfully smuggled viable bombs onboard aircraft on international flights. The first exploded in or on an al-Qaeda operative in Saudi Arabia in 2009, narrowly missing the Saudi counter-terrorism chief.
The next got as far as Detroit where the so-called "underpants bomber" tried unsuccessfully to light a device concealed in his underwear as the plane descended to land.
And then in 2010, AQAP smuggled bombs hidden in printer ink toner cartridges on US-bound cargo planes that got as far as East Midlands Airport and Dubai before an intelligence tipoff alerted the authorities.
The group has vowed to keep trying and it is believed they have shared their bomb making expertise with cells in northern Syria.
Washington has spent more than a decade helping the Yemeni government build up its counter-terrorism capabilities.
US Special Forces have been discreetly training the Yemenis at a base outside the capital, while the US, Saudi Arabia and Yemen all co-operate on conducting airstrikes by unmanned Reaper drones on suspected militants in remote areas.
The drone strikes are highly controversial and have killed dozens of civilians over the years, according to local tribes. In 2011, one killed a US citizen - AQAP's Anwar Al-Awlaki.
But the current political and security upheaval in Yemen means that a question mark now hangs over who Washington should partner with and for how long its security cooperation can last in this troubled country.
The nightmare scenario, both for Washington, its Gulf Arab allies, and for Yemen, is that the country erupts into a civil war pitting the Shia Houthis - suspected of being backed by Iran - against Sunni tribes backed by al-Qaeda.
Little wonder that the US Navy now has two amphibious warships poised offshore to evacuate its nationals if the situation continues to deteriorate.


Centuries from Johann Myburgh and James Hildreth helped Somerset to a huge lead against Hampshire on day two of their County Championship match.

They shared a third-wicket stand of 167 at The Ageas Bowl before Myburgh, in his first four-day appearance of the summer, was dismissed by leg-spinner Mason Crane for 110.
Hildreth was out lbw for 152 to seamer Ryan McLaren (5-104) as Somerset declared on 474-8 - a lead of 255.
Hampshire then closed on 18-1.
Hildreth, one of county cricket's most prolific scorers never to have won an England Test cap, was at his fluent best in a 167-ball knock which included 24 boundaries.
The 31-year-old has now made 721 runs in Division One this season, second only to Durham opener Keaton Jennings, at an average of more than 72.
Myburgh, who has been limited to one-day appearances for Somerset in 2016, was equally as aggressive as he and Hildreth scored at almost five an over.
Once both were out, wicketkeeper Ryan Davies smashed 52 off 39 balls and Craig Overton made an unbeaten 35 in a partnership of 82 in just 10.4 overs, to take Somerset past 400 and earn maximum batting bonus points.
Hampshire suffered a late blow when Jimmy Adams was bowled by Lewis Gregory for nought in their second innings, but captain Will Smith and Tom Alsop held out until stumps.


French President Francois Hollande has condemned a lynch mob attack which left a Roma (Gypsy) teenager badly injured on a Paris housing estate.

A mob took the 16-year-old from a Roma camp in Pierrefitte-sur-Seine on Friday after he was accused by locals of burglary, a police source said.
Found dumped in a supermarket trolley, the victim is in a critical condition.
The 200 or so people in the camp fled the area the same evening, according to Le Parisien newspaper.
Mr Hollande said the attack was "unspeakable and unjustifiable", and he wanted "everything done" to find the attackers.
Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said the judicial police had been mobilised to investigate the attack.
The presence in France of thousands of Roma people from Eastern Europe has been a hot political issue since the summer of 2010 when the conservative president of the day, Nicolas Sarkozy, called for the removal of their illegal camps, saying they were rife with crime.
Since coming to power in 2012, the Socialists have stepped up the policy of camp clearances, and France has also continued to deport thousands of foreign camp-dwellers every year, mainly to Romania.
Human rights organisations have warned against a rise in violence against the Roma in France, where they are often accused of being behind a rise in petty crime. the BBC's Christian Fraser reports from Paris.
The teenager, named by Le Monde newspaper as Darius, had been living with his family in the makeshift camp close to the Cite des Poetes housing estate.
Accused of a burglary a few hours earlier, he was taken from the camp, reportedly by masked men, and allegedly locked in a cellar where he was violently beaten.
It was the boy's mother who alerted police.
According to doctors, his life is now in danger and he has been put in a "medically induced coma".
The mayor of Pierrefitte-sur-Seine said the boy had been questioned by police several times this month in connection with a string of robberies in the housing estate.
It had fuelled the anger towards the Roma who arrived three weeks ago.
Following the attack, Roma people in the camp fled "with what they could carry on foot, by tram or by car", a local Romanian garage owner told Le Parisien.
A 2006 survey (in French) of the Cite des Poetes estate (population 2,980) found levels of unemployment and lack of secondary education well above the average for the Paris region.