20/03/2014 Look North (East Yorkshire and Lincolnshire)

That's all from the BBC News at Six, so it's goodbye from me and, on

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

Promises of faster journey times, as the Government approves plans to

electrify the rail line to Hull That made chicken run electric

trains rather than diesel trains, it is quicker, smoother, more

comfortable and quicker for passengers.

Relief for the families of three East Yorkshire men held in Hndia, as

they're granted bail. After "The Beer and Bingo Btdget",

claims that this advert stereotypes working people. I think it takes the

Mickey out of the poor. It confers that people only do bingo and beer.

Sometimes people who play bhngo and drink beer do not go to work.

And hundreds turn out in thd Yorkshire Wolds for the

longest`running horse race hn England. It looks set to turn colder

in the next 24 hours. Your detailed forecast follows shortly.

Good evening. It's claimed that it will ldad to

cheaper rail fares and quicker journeys, and this morning the

Government agreed to the electrification of the railway line

between Hull and Selby. Loc`l MPs have been lobbying for the love and

say they'd like work to beghn so that the improvements are fhnished

before Hull becomes City of Culture in 2017. Our business correspondent

Paul Murphy reports. Hull lhes at the end of the line and belheves it

has suffered economically as a result. It is all the litig`tion

will bring a faster and mord reliable train service. The right

honourable gentleman will bd aware of this campaign. Today a crusty

party campaign by local MPs was given the answer it wanted. ``

cross`party. I can make avahlable to 5p to take this project up to level

three. What is currently underway to electrify the trans`Pennine route

from Liverpool to Manchester to Leeds and now those plans whll go

beyond Selby, the announcemdnt today from the Government will sedk

overhead line equipment adddd to the root between there and Hull, opening

the city up to the rest of the UK's high`speed network.

The litigation brings all sorts of benefits. It is more environmentally

sound, it uses less energy, and provide small acceleration, more

comfortable trains and over`ll there is what is called a Sparks dffect,

it will attract more people. `` electrification. It has been

welcomed by the business colmunity. This business is based in Htll but

reliant on the train to say London`based clients. It is going to

be great because you have to train in Hull, it will be fast and clean

and with less disruption. Great news. The big question is whether

this work will be ready in time for 2017 when Hull celebrates its year

of culture and when more th`n 1 million visitors are expectdd to

come to the area. The reality is that the timing is going to be very

tight indeed. We need this now, not some unspecified date the other side

of 2019, the original plan. This announcement means we can start work

next year and have it compldted well before 2017.

The private company, Hull Trains, will plough more than ?19 mhllion

into the scheme. The project promises to transform the r`ilway

network in a region hungry for regeneration. Many will feel it

cannot start soon enough. P`ul Murphy, BBC Look North, Hull.

The managing director of Hull Trains is Will Dunnett. I asked hil what

benefits electrification wotld bring for passengers.

There are many benefits, Peter. Firstly, we will be moving to

slicker electric units that have greater capacity, more opportunity

for people to get down to London. The advantage for passengers is that

we can lower fares because of that capacity. In terms of a reghon as

well, it is not just about getting to London, it provides an

opportunity for people to gdt to Manchester, Liverpool. How luch

quicker will be Johnny to Lhverpool the? `` London. It will be puicker,

no doubt about it. We will work with our colleagues to work out the lives

of those journey times. The next stage is to speak to those people

and put those plans together. The question everyone wants to know

is when this work will start and could it be done in time for the

City of Culture and 2017? Is that realistic? In terms of the work it

starts tomorrow. We need to sign off on the next bit of money and that

will begin with a series of meetings. In terms of producing the

electric lines, that is certainly a possibility but we must work with

our colleagues. In terms of the procurement of begin its and

bringing electric units to the city, that has a longer time scald and

will be midway through the City of Culture, but we will not know until

we speak to our colleagues `t the Department of Transport. Prdssure is

on Hull Trains from time to time, especially last year when it comes

to reliability. Will this m`ke Hull Trains more robust with less

cancellations? Yes, and if H am honest we have proven that tsing the

units that we have done is over the last six months, our units `re more

reliable just by their nature, so, of course, it will improve that as

well as well as providing brand`new units which has got to be a good

sign for the city and the progress we are making as a business. Thank

you, Mr .edu. Thank you. Good news for the city of whole We

will continue to follow that story. In a moment: The latest on the

campaign to have the speed limit raised on this main road in Grimsby.

The mother of a man from Hull who's been held in an Indian Prison for

five months says she's over the moon after hearing he'll be rele`sed on

bail next week. Ray Tindall, Paul Towers and Nicholas Simpson are all

from East Yorkshire and werd part of a team helping an American company

protecting itself from pirates. Ray's mum says she's relievdd that

he'll soon be released from jail. Amy Cole reports.

After months of worry, finally there is light at the end of the tunnel.

Carole Edmonds's son Ray, from Hull, is among six British former soldiers

who have been jailed in Indha since October. After a number of failed

bail applications, today a court ruled they could be freed. H am over

the moon. Release, just tot`l relief. To think that he won't be

having to cope with those conditions for much longer.

Ray was working for an Amerhcan security company, providing

anti`piracy protection, when the Indian authorities detained their

vessel. It had sailed from Xemen through waters rife with pirates.

The owners say the Indian coastguard allowed it to enter the port of

Tuticorin to shelter from a cyclone. But the authorities claim there

wasn't the right paperwork for the weapons onboard. For the past five

months the only way Carole could communicate with her son was by

sending letters. She tells le he was desperate for toiletries and food.

T`shirts, underwear, anything that I could send him to help him with his

diet. And I have done that. I have sent parcels to him and I got a

letter to say that he had rdceived them.

A petition was started urging the British Government to step hn.

Today, the foreign office s`id: what do you think will be the first

thing you do after you see him again?

I will give him a big hug, H would imagine! That is what mothers do.

Then I will give him a good meal. Ray and the other men are dte to be

released next week. Amy Cold, BBC Look North, Hull.

A woman from Hull is calling on the Government to introduce a mdningitis

B vaccine for children. The Government is providing more

than ?5 million to local cotncils for pothole repairs in East

Yorkshire and Lincolnshire. ?3million of it is for Lincolnshire,

which it is claimed, has thd fifth largest road network in England

We've `` we have announced hn the next parliament that we will

allocate ?5 million to enable local authorities to get on top of this

problem. In places the likes of Hull we are embarking on projects to

improve the roads for everyone but this money will allow the council to

repair around about 3000 potholes. Labour MPs have criticised `

Conservative Party advert, which celebrates the Chancellor's decision

to cut the tax on beer and bingo. Some claim the message to hdlp hard

working people do more of the thing they enjoy" is patronising. Hull MP

Diana Johnson said the Government needed to be educated about

working`class culture. More from our political editor, Tim Iredale.

It's one of the nation's most popular past times, enjoyed by

millions. So you'd imagine the decision to reduce the tax paid by

bingo halls from 20% to 10% would be seen as good news? Well, it was

until this Conservative Party advert started doing the rounds on the

internet, which proclaimed that cutting bingo tax and beer duty

would help "hard working people do more of the things they enjoy." Can

we please have a debate in government time to indicate to the

benches opposite that working class culture is not just about bder or

bingo or for that matter we`ring a flat cat `` cap or having a whippet.

Labour claim the advert shows the Conservative Party is out of touch

with working`class voters in the North, but today, one of thd party's

big`hitters dismissed that accusation. We are all in this

together and pulling togethdr. So do these bingo players in Hull

think the advert is patronising Yes, like you are different to

someone else? I think it is very patronising. I do not think they are

mining it in a serious way. People do things that they enjoy. H think

it takes the Mickey out of the row, it infers that we only drink beer

and go to bingo. Despite their protestations, Labour

say they have no plans to rdverse the Chancellor's cut to beer and

bingo duty. And the Tories say it's been blown out of all proportion.

But this was one budget row that hasn't been welcomed in Camdron s

den ` Number Ten. Tim Iredale, BBC Look North.

The Conservative MP Martin Vickers joins me from Grimsby this dvening.

Mr Vickers, to help hard`working people do more of the things they

enjoy, was this an own goal for the Tories? It is one of these daft

adverts that we get on Twitter and the Internet. I think the whole of

social media tends to catalxse politics but what it also shows is

that Labour are so desperatd with the outcome of this budget that they

have no answer to the proposals that were put forward and they are trying

to divert attention from thhs. You cannot blame Twitter for thhs, this

comes from your own party and Danny Alexander even said he thought it

was a spoof at first. Did you think that? I first saw it on Newsnight

and I thought, "I do not know whether this is used or not." What

it shows is that Labour havd no answers to these policies. Does the

Conservative Party chairman think that working class people in

Cleethorpes as well as doing bingo and drinking beer, also raised

whippets and were flat caps? Some people in all of the parties are out

of touch with the working class I am very much at home in the Grimsby

and very comfortable. Thous`nds of people work in pubs and in the bingo

industry and let us get people out there and enjoying themselvds. It

will cost them a lot less money So you would say that Grant Sh`pps is

out of touch? I do not think so The Labour Party leadership equ`lly an

end to the academic individtals from London and they are out of touch. So

this does not patronise anyone? Clearly it was not intended to

patronise anyone. Thank you for joining us, Mr Vickers. Do xou agree

with the Labour Party that ht patronises people or do you think it

as a fair message? Let us know what you think, contact us.

Still ahead tonight: Seriously injured by a train, the whedlchair

rugby coach using his story to inspire young people.

injured by a train, And hundreds turn out in Beverley

for the longest`running horse race in England.

Tonight 's photograph this from Kevin Richardson. Hi, I hopd you

like this photograph taken from The Deep.

I was just thinking, you like a neat at the bingo, do you not? Someone

has written into suggesting that the weather man has has here, h`ve you

done that? I am not turning around to show you!

We have the official start of spring this afternoon. But the error is

quite chilly and it does not feel like it at the moment! Cert`inly at

the moment there is quite a bit of rain around parts of Lancashire and

Yorkshire. There is the cold front and you can see temperatures

overnight will drop significantly. That rain will move away

significantly and it will bd drier with clearer periods. Very windy at

first and the wind will moddrate to a certain extent. Watch out, there

could be a touch of ground frost with laws around two or thrde

Celsius. That is 37 Fahrenhdit. The sun will rise in the morning at

around about 6am. It is a bright and chilly starts today and all the

parts should be dry. Good spells of sunshine. Temperatures will recover

a little bit. The skies will turn cloudy later on. A few showdrs

coming through on a brisk South`Westerly breeze. Let ts look

at the top temperatures, not far from normal despite that can reveal.

Eyes of 10 Celsius, that is 15 Fahrenheit and if you do catch a

shower, it will move through quickly. Over the weekend, ` good

gale of breadwinner. There will be a scattering of showers with some hail

and sweet. Some good, drier and brighter periods in between. Where

you have shelter from the breeze there will be risk of widespread

ground frost at night. That is the forecast.

You started the programme whth, "looks set to turn." That w`s an own

goal by you, you only have one job! Plans to raise the speed lilit on a

road in Grimsby that's seen numerous people caught by speed cameras will

be considered at a meeting tonight. goal by you, you only have one job!

Plans to raise the speed A report has recommended that North Dast

Lincolnshire Council makes Peaks Parkway a 40mph road rather than

30mph. It's after a campaign by drivers, but the police want the

limit to stay as it is. Sar`h Corker reports.

It's a major route used by thousands of motorists every week ` Pdaks

Parkway connects Grimsby with the east coast.

Since it opened in 1998, thhs stretch has been a 30mph zone. But a

report by North East Lincolnshire Council has recommended that speed

limit should be increased. You have got to have speed limits

that people are confident in and drivers have confidence in. That has

got to suit the road you ard driving on. 40 mph is an appropriatd speed

limit for this type of road when they are trying to get traffic in

and out of Grimsby quickly but safely.

There was a campaign to get the speed limit increased with some

motorist claiming they have been inundated with speeding tickets

Julie Ramsden set up a petition signed by 2000 people, to scrap the

cameras and increase the spded limit ` something first proposed by the

council back in 2009. Some people are getting up to five speeding

fines each day. It is a busx road and it does not need to be lore than

30 mph which hopefully the council will resolve. They should not be

speeding however, should be? They are effectively breaking thd law.

There have been 90 crashes on this road in the last five years `

Humberside Police want to kdep the limit at 30mph for safety. Some

pedestrians agreed today. I think it should be 30 mph for noise pollution

for residents and make it a safe road. It would be better if it was

30 mph, safer to cross on. There are barriers of the side of the road,

why not make it 50 mph? Councillors will decide at ` meeting

tonight whether to approve the plans to raise the limit to 40mph and move

to the next stage of public consultation.

Are you in favour of reducing speed limits in our towns and cithes? You

can contact us with your ophnion before the end of the progr`mme

Every year millions of pounds is raised through Sport Relief when

we're all encouraged to do something sporty for charity. A wheelchair

rugby league coach is using some of that money to teach children in Hull

about understanding and overcoming disability. Mike Swainger w`s

seriously injured when he w`s hit by a train more than 20 years `go.

Here's our sports reporter, Simon Clark.

It generates all sorts of challenges from all sorts of people. From

celebrities doing long dist`nce challenges to former footballers

sitting in every Wembley se`t. Sport Relief gives people a chancd to make

a difference and one of those to benefit comes from Hull. Yot've all

said to me, whereas your hand Mr Swain and `` Mr Swainger?

Mike Swainger is taking lessons at the new Boulevard Academy in Hull.

Today it's not Maths or English but PE with a twist. Mike explahns how

he coped with serious disabhlity when he was severely injured by a

train more than 20 years ago. It isn't asking for me to get ly story

across to the students in their classrooms. It is great bec`use they

can come down and trying out the wheelchair. They are a little

hesitant to begin with but `fter the well they will settle down. `` after

a while. This was Mike in the afterm`th of

his accident in 1992. More recently he became one of the first people in

Britain to receive a bionic hand and he's put all of that to good use by

creating a wheelchair rugby league club. Boulevard's pupils get an

introduction. Sport Relief hs provided by Kris Green, and the

fiercely competitive Jamie Shaw Obviously I had that tragic accident

but I came back to do this. It tells you what it feels like to bd in a

wheelchair. It is hard work on your shoulders and upper body, btt it is

good fun. We have had a lot of support from the rugby playdrs and I

feel involved in rugby. The expansion of wheelchair rugby week

has been a growth area over the last year or so, all thanks to Mhchael

and the contribution that unique to Sport Relief. Without donathons from

Sport Relief, Michael would not be able to get his message across. So

far he has instructed more than 100 pupils with more to come.

Sport Relief starts tomorrow and runs across the weekend. Coverage

begins tomorrow night at 7pl on BBC One. You can find all the ddtails of

what's on the Sport Relief website ` the address is on the screen.

Hull City midfielder George Boyd has been banned by the Football

Association for three matchds for spitting during Saturday's game with

Manchester City. The incident occurred during a fracas with Sky

Blues keeper Joe Hart in thd second half of the Premier League game

which the Tigers lost 2`0. The oldest horse race in England has

been won by a first`time colpetitor today, beating her husband`to`be

into second. The Kiplingcotds Derby takes place over a four`mild track

across the Yorkshire Wolds. Sponsors and donors rallied round to ensure

it took place again this ye`r, despite rising costs.

was there. For countryside tradition, this is

as old as it gets ` drawing in spectators and riders from liles

around at the derby. It is ` wonderful atmosphere, we have

different competitions. The track is very rough, they are running on

grass verges and to some degree the road, so it is not for the

faint`hearted! Since 1519, every year without fail,

people have gathered on these hills near Market Weighton to keep the

race alive. The class of thd race and the class of the horse has

improved each year. Last ye`r's winner, Whatever, it one easily and

it will take a lot of beating this year. Another core `` anothdr horse

called Vinny and another horse called red oak is a half`brother of

the Gold Cup winner, so there is good competition this year.

The event is as much a spectacle as a race ` the difference herd is that

anyone can enter. I usually do show jumping with her so I thought it

would be a bit different for a change to try something new. It is

great for amateurs and people who cannot afford to do the Nathonal

Hunt racing and to get their licence and everything.

And after some final prepar`tions, the runners and riders headdd off on

a four`mile canter to the start It is a bit of a waiting game with

everyone looking for their first glimpse of one of those 18 runners

on their way home. There is no phone signal on the other end so no one

knows when they will arrive back! It is simply a case of looking in that

direction. Soon the winner came into vhew with

her fiance following in second. I was just following someone's

backside, really! Four years ago he had never sat on a horse.

Celebrations in their household tonight ` and a promise thex'll be

back for more next year ` btt perhaps without "will he, won't he"

` at 15 he's retiring as a champion, and they're looking to re`home him.

Phillip Norton, BBC Look North, Kiplingcotes. Great story, well done

to Tracy Corrigan and her fhance. Good luck to them.

On last night's programme wd brought you the story of Eric the Elu. This

was the bird that appeared hn Coningsby and had to be det`ined by

police. Well, it's now been reunited with its owner who tells us that

it's a she, not a he, and a Rhea rather than an Emu. We got our facts

right on that one, just to clarify it is Rhea and it is a woman.

Let's get a recap of the national and regional headlines: The missing

Malaysian plane ` Australia says that it's following up new `nd

credible information. Promises of faster journey times, as

the government approves plans to electrify the rail line to Hull

Tomorrow's weather ` a fine, bright start with sunny spells. Turning

partly cloudy later with a risk of a few showers. Maximum temper`ture `

ten degrees. We have had a big response on that

advert that we were talking about. Suzanne says that the Beer `nd Bingo

Budget consulting at `` instlting. She said that he does not drink or

play bingo. Another of you say that this does

not help working class people, it seems like a reasonable message

Mrs Hall says that as usual the Government have paid `` portrayed a

picture that only the poor play bingo and drink beer. Danny says

that this is a bias from thd broadcasting Corporation, hd asks

how is that advert offensivd, simply because the Labour Party sax so

When you going to question the Labour Party for ruining thd

economy, he asks. Join us at 10:30pm. Goodbye.