18/03/2014 Look North (East Yorkshire and Lincolnshire)

worth up to ?2000. That is all from us,

Good evening and welcome to BBC Look North. The headlines tonight: The

owners of Hull City repeat their threat to sell`up if they c`n't

change the club's name. Fans groups hit back.

This has never been a campahgn to remove Assem Allam from the club. We

just want to preserve our n`me. Claims poor rail links are holding

back the economy in Lincolnshire. Passengers stranded as a lock gate

tears a gash in a North Sea ferry. It had no alternative. If any

captain thinks there is dam`ge, he must stop. It was the right

decision. Faster than a racehorse ` the new

ladybird facts discovered bx a Hull scientist.

And after a windy day, we whll have some sunshine. I will have `ll the

details. The owners of Hull City say they

have been "prejudiced from the outset" as they try to change the

name of the club to Hull Tigers Assem and Ehab Allam have rdsponded

to a Football Association committee which is recommending their plans to

re`brand the club are rejected. Tonight the future ownership of the

club is in doubt with chairlan maintaining he will sell if he can't

change the name. Our sports reporter Simon Clark has been followhng

developments at the KC Stadhum. Behind these walls today, Htll City

plan their response to a decision by the committee to recommend reduction

`` rejection of the name to Hull Tigers. The statement had sdrious

accusations. Today at Wembley, FA said it was

happy with its procedures. Dhab Allam and Assem Allam say that they

will sell the club if the n`me change goes against him. Fans want

him to reconsider. This has never been a campahgn to

remove Ehab Allam and Assem Allam. It is a campaign to preservd our

name. We are happy with how Assem Allam and Ehab Allam R.N. In the

club. `` run at the club. All the fans are very stuck together

and have a strong opinion and the FA has listened. Well done to dveryone

involved. But if Assem Allam goes ahe`d, who

might buy? The current trend that we see is more investment coming from

abroad, so I would expect some sort of investment from either the Middle

East or the far east if he does decide to sell.

The family says that they whll ballot season`ticket holders hoping

that that will give them leverage. But if the FA sticks to that

recommendation, this club could be under new ownership by the start of

next season. Earlier, I spoke to the sports

writer David Conn. I started by asking him if Assem Allam whll get

the ?100 million or so he ndeds for the club quickly, if he puts it up

for sale. He obviously believes that he would

put the club up on the markdt and would put the club up for s`le. But

you do have to wonder whethdr he would find a buyer who would pay him

the price for the club itself and price enough to get... It w`s ? 2

million, as the middle of l`st year, in loans to Assem Allam and his

business. In the current clhmate and for a club like Hull City.

I gather you were quite impressed by the City Till We Die campaign. Did

they perhaps do more and make more of an effort than Mr Allam?

I hadn't seen what Mr Allam has put into the campaign. I understand that

the football club's first chairman went to see the subcommitted. But

City Till We Die, which was the coalition of support groups, did it

all in their spare time, nobody is getting paid. And there werd some

very professional people, some very passionate people. They produced a

21 page document and a film. They made very coherent argument about

the heritage and the football club, but also about the credibilhty of

this case that Mr Allam was making, that changing the name to Thgers

would give it a great commercial uplift. It is a highly imprdssive

job which impressed the FA's committee and I think they have done

themselves and football protd. Do you think that Mr Allam will back

down and just give up with this threat of walking away?

From my conversations with Lr Allam, who is a very successful businessman

in Hull ` he has been in Hull since the 1960s, he has built a vdry

successful business making industrial generators and I have

visited his factory ` I think he prides himself as being a m`n who

doesn't change his mind. But the Football Association is the

governing body of football, they have made the decision on the

credibility of his case, and he says he will walk away. But if no buyer

comes at a price that he wants, would he want to sell Hull City He

says he is a local person, he bought it for the community, would he want

to see it in trouble? I think he would not. Maybe it is time for

everyone to change their minds and get on with the job.

Contact details we will givd you in a moment if you want to copx ``

contact us. You have been commenting on this

story on our Facebook page. Lee says: "I would change the n`me if it

brings in more revenue. He has not come across well at all, but let's

face it, if not for the All`ms we wouldn't be sitting here talking

about a name change as therd would be no club." Ian says: "It's time

Allam stopped behaving like a petulant child.

He always wants his own way and no one is allowed to question his

decision. If you want to sell the club just do it. Just stop showing

yourself up!" if you want to give us your thoughts, here are the contact

details. In a moment: The couple who raised

more than a ?100,000 for Hull Royal Infirmary are awarded the British

Empire Medal. There are claims poor rail links in

Lincolnshire are a barrier to economic growth in the county.

That's according to local MPs who want greater investment in services.

It comes as campaigners call for more trains to stop at Gainsborough

Central, dubbed the worst r`ilway station in Britain.

It's been compared to a station you'd find in a war zone.

Gainsborough Central needs ` bit of TLC. Some trains would help, too.

It's locked up, apart from on Saturdays, when there are three

services. The only way that they could save

the line from closing in thd 19 0s was to put Parliamentary tr`in

service on. That runs at very infrequent times. There are not many

passengers using it, and no money to invest in the station or thd

services. And yet the station's right next to

town centre and its shops. It has been an underused line for a

long time and now we have the perfect opportunity to get lore

services to the station. We can attract more people into thd town

which will be a boost for the economy.

The town does have another train service `` station. This ond has

daily trains. But to get for `` from the high street here, it takes 0

minutes. So people want better connections between Lincoln and

Nottingham and between local stations. People say that journey

times are so another 100 ye`rs ago. There is also an application in to

get a direct link from Scunthorpe to King's Cross. The government says

that it is spending millions of pounds to improve the line. Local

MPs though are concerned ye`rs of under`investment have held the

county back. We need to revitalise the r`il

links. But the area depends on how well we are linked with transport.

Road and rail needs to be lhnked in the benefit of Lincolnshire. The

government is aware that economic well`being is at the forefront of

our minds. While back in Gainsborough, a town

with a growing population, Northern Rail says it's working with

campaigners to make sure improvements match that growth.

This is another story you mhght want to comment on. Do you think our

railways are being short ch`nged? A two`year`old boy has died after

falling into a pond in East Yorkshire. The toddler was taken by

air ambulance to Hull Royal Infirmary yesterday after the

incident in Woodmansey near Beverley, but died a short time

later. This happened at around ten o'clock

at this house. The Ambulancd Service contacted the police after the

two`year old boy fell in thd pond. He was taken to hospital, btt later

died. At the moment, the de`th is being treated as unexplained. A

29`year`old woman was arrested but has been released on bail pdnding

further inquiries. It is understood that the family are being hdlped by

specially trained police officers and I have been talking to

neighbours today, many of whom have only just found out about the

tragedy but are very shocked. The University of Hull says it's

deeply concerned about the safety of one of its students who may have

been aboard the Malaysian Ahrlines flight that has been missing for

more than a week. Yue Wench`o is in the final stages of an MSC course at

the university's Business School. Someone of the same name and age is

on the passenger list for the flight, but it's not been confirmed

that it is the same person. The Unite union has announcdd four

more strike days in the ongoing dispute with the Yorkshire @mbulance

Service. Unite says staff could work ten hours without a meal brdak on

some shifts. Managers say steps have been taken to maintain safe and

effective services. The next walk`out is planned for Friday.

Passengers were left stranddd on board a Hull ferry last night after

the ship was forced to return to port. The Pride of Hull suffered

minor damage as it left the King George Dock for Zeebrugge. But as

Crispin Rolfe reports, experts insist the vessel was right to

return to assess the effects of a gouge in the ship's side.

Stuck in port late last night. The Pride of York suffered a narrow six

foot gouge in its side as it navigated the King George Dock's

lock gates. But as repairs were conducted, complaints by passengers

that they'd been left stranded as a five hour delay became a 12 hour

one. They told us that the boat would be

going out at 12:30am. And then they changed that. It was too late for

everybody to get transport home And for day trippers to the

continent, the overnight ferry's delay means an all too speedy

return. We had to go straight back. We could

not get off the boat. So for ferry`goers time spent simply

on board a floating hotel. This morning though the ferry left for

Belgium. It had no water innovative. If any

captain thinks there is any damage, he must stop. `` there was no

alternative. Safety is the lost important thing, it was the correct

decision. Previous ferries the same shze as

the Pride of York have all squeezed through Hull's King George Lock over

the decades, mostly without incident. But P say last night's

accident came after the 180 metre long ferry was scratched by a piece

of metal. It left a two metre long scratch, two centimetres dedp in the

side of the hull, but one significantly at least six letres

above the water line. This is where it scraped thd lock,

and you can understand why, because the boat is 25 metres wide, it only

has a fee centimetres on either side to clear. The company says that all

the repairs have been compldted and they are happy with the state of

repair. The ferry company insists this has

been a minor incident, and passengers were given the choice

whether to still travel. For those day`trippers who have howevdr, it

will be a frustrating three days, as this cruise comes straight back

overnight from the continent. Still ahead tonight: Why wildlife

enthusiasts are buzzing abott ladybirds.

We are amazed that they could keep on flying for two hours without

stopping. Please send in any pictures that you

have. And here is a surprising appearance

from the weather. We will gdt an accurate forecast.

Yes, it is a nice day, tempdratures possibly 1617 degrees. And xou can

see that it will be breezy, this area of low pressure will affect us

through Thursday. Wet and whndy weather then. We have had wdt

weather today with some showers Still a fewer showers across parts

of Lincolnshire, but they whll die away and it looks like a drx night.

The breeze will ease down for picking up again and a largdly frost

free night with temperatures seven or eight degrees. The sun whll rise

in the morning at 706 AM. Hdre are the high tides will stop `` the

tides. So, tomorrow, it will be a fine and dry day with decent

weather. Some high cloud possibly moving in from the west. Thd

temperatures should be around ten or 11 degrees, so 14 or 15 degrees will

feel very pleasant. It is possible that it could be 16 or sales `` 17

degrees. But then things will go downhill. On Thursday, it whll be a

windy day. As the rain moves southwards, it will become very

windy. There will be a cold front, so it will be colder on Friday.

There will be a frost and also a view showers.

I got a message saying that they were worried about the accurate

forecast, but they were ple`sed that you were on duty.

For the last 15 years they've worked tirelessly, raising more th`n a

?130,000 to buy equipment for the Hull Royal Infirmary. Today Ruth and

Tony Knowles from Sutton on Sea were publicly rewarded for their efforts.

Both were presented with thd British Empire Medal in front of frhends and

fellow fundraisers. Our reporter Jake Zuckerman was there to see the

ceremony. The unexpected reward for 14 years

of hard work. Ruth Knowles `nd Tony Knowles had never asked for any

recognition, raising ?130,000 to buy equipment for the hospital, but

today they were the centre of attention as they were given a

medal. I was really apprehensive this morning when I woke up. I

thought, what will be day bring But every minute has been great and I

have loved it. When we started this 15 years ago, we never thought that

this would happen. We cannot thank people enough for help they have

helped us. Their connection began when their

daughter Emma was treated for a rain infection. Sadly doctors cotld not

save her, but they have helped many others. `` a brain infection.

They have helped us by lots of things that are helpful for our

patients, not the things th`t the trust might pay for, but thhngs that

are really helpful. It is rdally important that people do thhs,

because the whole point of living in a community is to help the

community. The couple say that they will try

and continue to do as much `s they can.

A petition has been handed hn to Downing Street on behalf of six men,

including three from East Yorkshire, being held in an Indian prison. Ray

Tindall from Hull, Paul Towdrs from Pocklington and Nicholas Silpson,

who grew up in Cottingham, were providing anti`piracy protection for

an American company when thdir ship was detained by Indian authorities

last October. We are here because we are trying to

get our boys out of jail whdre they are in India. We don't think it is

right, but we're not coming to shout and scream. We are asking dhplomats

to do the diplomatic thing `nd the best.

One of Lincoln's most well`known restaurants, The Barge on the

Brayford, has been badly dalaged by fire. Crews were sent to thd

historic waterfront area of the city during the early hours of this

morning. Police say they ard not treating the blaze as suspicious.

A big response to our story of a mother of a Royal Marine who was

killed in Afghanistan who s`ys that the British withdrawal from the

country is a mistake. Gerald from Lincoln says that the decishon to

join: Thank you for those messages.

Lincolnshire skier Jade Ethdrington has been celebrating her success

over tea with the Prime Minhster. Jade, from Bourne and her gtide

Caroline Powell went to Downing Street earlier after arriving back

in the UK last night. They became Britain's most successful fdmale

Winter Paralympic skiers evdr at the games in Sochi.

I think he was very happy to see us and he said that we did the country

proud and it was good for us to be here with the team and with our

colours, and we had a surprhse from James scored in, which was funny. ``

James Cord and. It was a re`lly good day.

I am hoping that I will meet her soon.

Hull City's George Boyd has been charged with misconduct by the FA

after allegedly spitting at Manchester City's Joe Hart. Boyd has

until tomorrow evening to rdspond to the charge, which was not sden by

match officials but caught on camera during the Tiger's 2`0 defe`t

against City over the weekend. Two of our local football tdams are

playing this evening. Lincoln City travel to Braintree. There will be

full match commentary on BBC Radio Lincolnshire with the build up

beginning at seven o clock. While Grimsby Town make the trip to Forest

Green Rovers. BBC Radio Humberside will be following that match which

kicks off at 7:45pm. The draw for the fourth round of the

Rugby League Challenge Cup has been made. Hull FC will play the Salford

Red Devils, whilst Hull Kingston Rovers take on Warrington. Both of

those matches are home games. Research lead by the University of

Hull has revealed surprising new facts about ladybirds. The tiny bugs

don't care about their size ` they can fly faster, higher and for

longer than was originally thought. They have long been a gardener's

favourite ` feasting on pests like greenflys and adding a splash of

colour to the average British garden. There are 46 differdnt

ladybird species in Britain. The most common is the seven` spot.

Their colour and pattern helps to protect them by warning potdntial

predators. Now a new study lead by Hull

University has shown that l`dybirds can pack quite a punch in the air.

We built a very basic piece of equipment, like a Perspex ctbe, and

we watch how they were flying and we were amazed that they could fly for

two hours without stopping. They might not look very aerodyn`mic but

they are very strong at flyhng. Research is have found that

ladybirds can reach the samd speed as a racehorse. They can also fly at

heights in excess of 3600 fdet, about the height of Ben Nevhs.

So this is an insect hotel `nd this is where insects like ladybhrds will

hibernate. Staff at this park were exchted

about the findings. It will be great to tell the children, because it

inspires them. It is great for the staff, because we see them dvery day

and to learn something new hs amazing is op.

Aside from the fun facts, researchers believe the information

can help to explain the raphd spread of the invasive harlequin l`dybird,

which settled in the UK frol Asia in 2004.

It has already spread to many consonants. Just having better

estimates about them helps ts to know how far there are likely to

spread in the future. So thdy may be no bigger than a fingertip ` but now

we have a better idea of just how quickly and how far these most

colourful of beetles can flx. It is 6:55pm. Russia formally takes

over Crimea, America says that it is a land grab. And the owners of Hull

City say that they will sell if they cannot change the name. Thex say

that there is prejudice. And tomorrow will see top

temperatures of 16 Celsius, a warm day.

Some comments about Hull City. One man says that they should not be

allowed to change the name, anyone who is allowed to put that luch

money into the team should be allowed to change the name. Another

person said that they must be allowed to continue with thd team.

Another commentator says th`t they should have the right to do call the

team what they like. One other commentator says that what they have

done it for standing up with the heritage of the club is gre`t.

Another person says that thdy should be allowed to call them Hull City

Tigers. I would change the name if they want more revenue. If they

walk, then we are doomed. Join me if you can tomorrow. Good

night.