25/07/2011 Look North (North East and Cumbria)

Hello and welcome to Monday's Look North. Tonight: Holiday tragedy - a

17-year-old boy falls to his death from a balcony in Bulgaria.

Call was a fine, thoughtful, caring young man. --, was a fine

thoughtful, caring young man. Taking its toll - the London-style

congestion charge is heading North. The crackdown in the countryside on

advertising signs - but could it cost jobs?

How litter louts have turned England's highest mountain into an

endangered destination. And greedy gulls with a taste for

fish and chips swoop in on one of In sport, the latest Twitter rant

by a top footballer, news of a world swimming final, and nearly

one year to go - the scramble to attract the world's finest to pre-

Olympics training camps here in the It was his first summer holiday

away from his family. But it ended in tragedy.

17-year-old Tom McNeill from Carlisle fell to his death from a

balcony at a flat in Bulgaria. It's believed Tom fell asleep on the

balcony at the Sunny Beach resort on the Black Sea coast and then

rolled over the side. His parents, friends and head teacher have today

all been paying tribute to him. Adrian Pitches reports: Tom McNeill

was on holiday with his best friend and his family. Initial reports

suggest he fell from a first floor balcony while sunbathing. Many

tributes to the young man who his family described as "a charming,

mature and loving boy who always put family first" have been posted

online. His devastated parents said His headteacher has also praised

him: He was a fine, genuine young man with a good future ahead of him.

He was loved and cared for by everyone. His gentle sense of

humour was much appreciated and he will be a bigamist at the Academy.

-- paid huge missed at the Academy. Tom had a part-time job at Walby

Farm Park near Carlisle. We had a lot of youngsters working here who

were a close-knit group and it was a shock when we heard the tragic

news. Tom's parents will fly out to Bulgaria to bring him home. But it

may be more than a week before they If you've driven in Central London

in recent years, you'll no doubt have paid the congestion charge.

Cameras capture the number plates of vehicles within the capital's

congestion zone and drivers face a hefty fine if they fail to pay the

charge. Well now a similar system is coming to the North, to Durham

in fact. It'll replace a previous scheme involving a controversial

rising bollard, which became notorious for damaging cars. Gerry

Jackson is in Durham for us now. Welcome to the evening piece of

Palace Green, part of the world heritage site where hundreds of

thousands of people come to enjoy the castle, the university and

Durham Cathedral every year. The problem was that eventually so many

of us insisted on driving the last few hundred yards up a single,

narrow, essentially medieval street, that the council decided to slap a

�2 congestion charge to try and deter people. As I'm sure you'll

remember, the cost was not the cause of the controversy. It was

probably Britain's best known bollard because whatever the

reasons, hundreds of people came to grief on it, or at least their

vehicles did.. Now, Durham's old Market Square has been revamped and

relaid. The bollard idea has been buried. Now it is a not so fond

memory, as there is no sign it was never -- ever hear. Instead their

recognition cameras, who are snapping every vehicle coming in or

out. It's technology is commonplace now. You can see them in car parks

at supermarkets. The system has developed over the last few years.

And here's where the pictures go. Not exactly a control room, more a

bloke with a laptop. It's really just policing by computer, rather

than the summary justice of a rising lump of steel. A lot better.

You've don't worry about being spied on by cameras? Now, if you

have nothing to hide, why worry? have been coming past when they had

the bollard up and I heard the horrible crunching, and it

frightens you. It could lift your car right up. That won't happen any

more. I think it is better having the camera and just sending them

the bill. We don't mind if we make no money whatsoever. All we want is

the barest essential amount of vehicles coming in, not on the off-

chance. Now, if you're a registered trader, public transport, or a taxi

driver, the cameras will clock your plate and ignore it. Otherwise,

you've got a day's grace to pay your �2, either here in the city

centre, or over the phone. If you don't, well, a �30 fine might thump

your doormat, but it's better than a bollard under your engine.

It is quiet now, but not during the day. In the last few months it has

been a free-for-all, but today the council has been handing out a

guide, warning that the new regime will take effect in a fortnight's

time. There has been a lot of speculation that the charge may

rise from �2 per day up to �5 per day. The council has been non-

committal about that but says if the traffic levels don't go down

and the �2 level is not a deterrent, it will look at increasing the

Police are investigating allegations of assault at a

children's home in Newcastle. Howestead Lodge was searched by

officers earlier this month. Police say they've spoken to the young

people believed to be involved and staff at the home are co-operating

with their enquiries. Northumberland County Council has

now rehoused the eight children it had placed there.

Police searching for a man who jumped into the river Ouse in York

at the weekend have found his body. They say 21-year-old Richard

Anthony James Horrocks, who was from York, paid "the ultimate

price" for a moment of "misplaced exuberance". He leapt into the

river from a balcony on Coney Street early on Sunday morning.

Unfortunately this is an all-too frequent occurrence. We had a body

recovered from the river recently and it seems to be a pattern of

young males, often drunk, high- spirited, and they don't realise

what a dangerous place the river is. It looks inviting on a hot summer

day, but it is a dangerous place on the water is cold with fast-moving

Corrins and it is full of debris. I urge anyone not to go in the River

-- fast moving currents. A teenage mother from North Yorkshire whose

disappearance sparked a major police alert has been found safe

and well with her baby son. Natalie Foster went missing on Friday night

after her father was violently assaulted at a caravan park in

Stokesley, near Middlesbrough. Two men have been remanded in custody

on assault charges and are due at Teesside Crown Court on Thursday.

It seems we're in the middle of a baby boom. Last year one baby was

delivered in the UK every 40 seconds. But it appears here in the

North the boom started even earlier. Staff at the region's largest

maternity unit, the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle, say they've

seen an increase over the last five years. The trust has been bringing

in more staff and beds to cope with the trend.

There's been a big rise in the number of people visiting Yorkshire

this year. According to the latest figures from the Great Britain

Travel Survey, the figure went up by 14% in the first three months of

this year compared with the same period last year. Nationally, the

rise was 5%. People stayed longer in Yorkshire as well and spent more

money on their visit. One of our councils has come in for

criticism after cracking down on advertising signs which it says are

illegal. One of the signs is for a village fair. But Northumberland

County Council is also getting tough with a cafe and farm shop

business which says 32 full and part-time jobs could be lost. From

Widdrington Village, here's our Chief Reporter, Chris Stewart.

Monday is the day that the cafe's closed. The worry is that it will

soon be closed every day, and this is one of the offending signs,

removed just before the school holidays were about to bring in the

business in at its busiest time of the year. We receive the letter on

Wednesday and they said we had until Friday to get the signs out

of our own fields. If we did not do that, they would enter the fields

and remove them themselves and Bellis �40 per signed for the

privilege of taking them out of our own fields. That is as bad as you

can get, to now be told we cannot advertise our business. It just

does not make sense. So five years after it began, the business could

go bust. There is another part to this story, because this sign and

the three others like it were paid for with the help of a grant, and

that Grant came from Northumberland County Council. The council says it

took action following a complaint and that the signs are in breach of

national legislation. It has offered Sarah two brown tourist

signs like this, but says the council wants �3,000 for that and

wants to put the sign in a position she did not think would help. Now,

not a lot happens here, so when it does, they liked to tell people.

But the council says this I must come down as well. The parish

council thinks it is Big Brother gone barmy. They shouldn't be

sending letters, they should be ringing up and saying it is your

show next month, can we put up some signs for you? Where are they

coming from? The county council says an authorised signed age can

clutter the countryside and also distract drivers and anyone wanting

to but other sign must have permission. But back at Widdrington,

Sarah says she cannot have hers Taxi marshals are to be introduced

in Middlesbrough in an attempt to reduce late night trouble and

disorder. They'll operate on a trial basis on Friday and Saturday

nights. Their aim is to ensure the safety and security of taxi drivers

and their passengers. Here's Stuart Whincup.

As the clubs close, Teesside's taxi drivers prepare for the worst.

Heading home in the early hours, few revellers are at their best.

Some drivers suffer abuse, a few are even attacked. But it's hoped

the new marshals will tackle any town centre trouble. It makes us

feel more safe doing the job than normally. When we get customers to

have had a bit too much to drink and sometimes they are rowdy, but

when someone attacks them, then we know what we are doing. Rasub Afzl

has been a taxi driver in the town for20 years. He believes the

marshals will help reduce the number of illegal taxis in the town

and provide resasuurance for drivers and passengers. It is a

brilliant idea. A bit more law and order. A bit more organisation in

the way that we are doing things. The marshals will be supported by

the police and will work in the two centre, initially on a three-month

You're watching Look North. Still to come this Monday evening, Mark

Tulip is here with the Sportsdesk. Plus, why greedy gulls have got

tourists in a tizz in one of our seaside towns.

It's the first full week of the school holidays and I will be back

with a full weather forecast after An RAF communications team, based

in North Yorkshire, is about to join the air war being fought over

Libya. The intelligence experts from the 90 Signals Unit are flying

to Italy, where they'll be based, as they help direct the planes

carrying out the bombing campaign against Colonel Gaddafi's forces.

Damian O'Neil has been following their preparations for tonight's

Behind every bomb that's dropped over Libya, there's a long and

complex chain of commands. Getting orders from the politicians to the

military commanders and on to the front line is at the heart of how

any campaign is fought. 1,500 miles away in North Yorkshire, 90 Signals

Unit has been camped out in all weathers for the last 10 days,

preparing for their deployment to Italy in a few weeks time. Our role

is absolutely vital. Some might argue that delivering information

might be a little bit dull, actually it is critical. My example

is from a background in Afghanistan where we needed information at the

right time, and when the information existed and in our

systems, and as we invested more money and got it right, we can make

better decisions and did not put soldiers in the way of harm.

Drawing that parallel here, if you get the right information to the

command in the right time, you can put the right typhoon or tornado in

the right Configuration to support the operation in the right way.

have come to we read Broadcast Station, there are two big masts.

Let's go and find out what they are about. What are you actually doing

here? What we are doing is that we are deploying the units, and it is

a job to establish and in between link, so both sides can talk to

each other without any need for cabling. These mastheads send the

information along a very narrow bandwidth. They need line of sight

to each other and it makes it very secure. It also passes through this

wagon which is crammed with equipment we're not allowed to show

you. There is a lot of secret equipment in here, because we get

the information from other people and then we get it onto the servers.

And at the end of the line is the base station which features a

powerful satellite link, allowing orders to come in and reports to go

back to the United Kingdom. From the station it comes over on a

radio link into our equipment, and then it is filtered through

different types of equipment and sent out on the dish behind me and

then up into the ether, into a satellite, and then it is broadcast

down into another station somewhere in the UK. He basically means we

can take the equipment anywhere in the world and we will have a link

to the UK. This exercise is drawing to a close. It is day 10, and

tomorrow all of this will be packed away and returned to base. But all

the people you see here will be doing it for real in Italy in a few

months' time. One of Cumbria's most famous peaks

has been put on a list of Endangered Destinations. It follows

fears that Scafell Pike, England's highest mountain, is becoming

eroded through over-use and damaged by careless walkers who drop litter.

The beautifil Cumbrian fells. Numerous peaks with mile upon mile

to roam. Heaven on earth for walkers. But it seems some walkers

are treating the fells with the respect they deserve - and locals

say they're leaving plenty of evidence of their visits behind.

Scafell Pike near Waswater is the English leg in the popular three

peaks challenge. Unlike the more leisurely attempts being made by

walkers today, those taking part aim to scale it and the two other

highest mountains in Wales and Scotland in just 24 hours. It means

several hundred can turn up here over any one weekend, often in the

early hours, in a hurry and sometimes unprepared. The main

problems are the disturbances at three or four in the morning, and

the later you have seen, and people using the mountains as a toilet.

Could you hope for the challenge to be stopped? And no, we absolutely

wanted to continue, but we want people to do it respectfully and

raise money for charities, but they do have to show a bit more respect.

As well as the litter, the path up to the 978-metre summit is becoming

drastically eroded. Not speaking for the team, but as an individual,

I think there are far better ways to raise money for charity,

something that we actually put something back into communities,

rather than destroying what a lot of other people have come to the

Lake District for. I was on one of the paths yesterday and I would say

it has tripled in its wake in a year. While locals don't want

charities to lose out on money raised in the challenge, they want

participants to show more care for this treasured area.

Now, there's nothing like indulging in a portion of fresh fish and

chips if you're visiting the North Yorkshire seaside resort of Whitby.

But right now, you may well have to share your meal with some rather

greedy and aggressive fellow visitors. Tourists are reporting

that seagulls are swooping in and stealing their fish and chips like

never before. Amanada Harper Fish and chips. Who can resist? But

when it comes to this seaside treat we are not the only ones coming

over peckish. Look what I've got! They swoop in and out with their

insatiable hunger. No, no, no! And it seems to be getting worse. Terry

has been frying fish for more than 30 years in Whitby and is all too

familiar with the unwelcome guests. We even have them walking into the

takeaway, the seagulls, to take the chips, or if someone has dropped

them, they are in as soon as the customers have gone. It's a

nightmare. And it is the same all the way down the road. They are

quite up close and aggressive. They don't care how big you are, I

suppose, if they want to eat, they will eat. The RSPB says Segal

numbers are in decline and of being forced in land, so should we stop

encouraging them? People can take easy steps and not feed the birds.

It is a night -- nice things to do if you don't come into contact with

them very often, but living with an day-in, day-out, that is not very

nice. You cheeky monkey! I have worked for eight years on this boat

and I've never seen the sea gulls as aggressive as this year. They

just see the fish and chips, and they are in. The seagull appeared

out of nowhere and the before when flying. Luckily it didn't get any

fish, but now we have come back here. It was a bit scary. They look

bigger when they are up close. have to eat them quickly and make

sure they are out the way, otherwise the sea gulls get them.

And you should and feed the birds. I think they are flying rats.

have to put up with the seagulls. They were here before us, I suppose.

So, if you are coming to the coast and you are partial to this family

favourite, hide your chips, because the sea gulls are hungry and you

could beat left wanting more. -- be left. I think that's more common

than you think. That happened to me in Northumberland. For me it is

sandwiches and swans, they don't mix. It is a food free zone in the

sport. Let's start with the World Swimming Championships in China,

where Hartlepool's Olympic hopeful Jemma Lowe has been competing for

Great Britain. The Commonwealth bronze medallist, now 21, had been

in top form, achieving a new personal best in the National

Championships in Sheffield last month to qualify for Shanghai.

Today Jemma, second top of your screen, achieved the fourth fastest

time of her career to finish eighth in the final of the 100m Butterfly,

although she was a little disappointed. It is my first world

finals so I'm glad I got there and gave it my best shot, even though

it didn't work out. It is nights to be back competing on this sort of

stage for next year. It is exciting that the Olympics are next year and

exciting to start training again at the end of the month and will see

what happens next year. She did well to get to the final though,

didn't she? Well, on Wednesday it'll be exactly one year to the

opening Ceremony of London 2012. We're one of the few regions

outside the South-East to be hosting an event - Olympic football

at St James's Park. But there are hopes of attracting some of the

world's leading competitors to hold pre-Games training camps here. In

fact, a top gymnast from Poland has already arrived.

A bit of a coup for the 10-year-old City of Newcastle Gymnastics

Academy which has been playing host for the last week to Polish gymnast

Marta Pihan-Kulesza, ranked third in the world, for the always

popular floor discipline. We were approached by the Polish gymnastics

Association and they were going to bring the full team, but then they

just sent Martha and her coach to try the facility out and hopefully

Booker's prior to the Olympics. It might be Poland, it might be

Romania, it might be Russia. We have to wait and see after the

qualifying. Word has it that quite a few hits on the Academy's website

have come from Russia but Marta will giving some positive feedback

about the facilities and the city itself when she returns with her

coach to Poland. They have good apparatus, so it is good to learn

new elements. And the City of Newcastle is also very nice, very

pretty. I was in the centre and I like the shops, of course, and the

part of Newcastle along the river. Marta's training sessions have

caught the eye of the next generation of young British

gymnasts. It is very inspiring for them. Sometimes you lose gymnastics

because they have to do other things up after they turned 15, but

they have seen her carrying on until 23, so maybe it will keep

them in the sport a bit longer. there could well be more than just

the football to look forward to on Tyneside ahead of the Games with

hopes of training camps and open training sessions elsewhere in the

region too. Football, and Newcastle's hopes of

persuading defender Jose Enrique to sign a new contract look slim after

the Spaniard used Twitter last night to air his grievances about

the club's transfer policy. Enrique, who's been strongly linked with a

move away from St James' Park, accused his employers of a lack of

ambition, although manager Alan Pardew says he's still hopeful of

signing one or two "big" players. Meanwhile one of Sunderland's new

signings Wes Brown, who'll feature in tomorrow's Look North, should

make his club debut against Kilmarnock on Wednesday, a game

Titus Bramble, seen here on the right, will miss after his red card

in Germany. Finally in cricket's county

championship damaging weekend defeats at either end of the

Division One table for leaders Durham, whose lead has been cut to

just five points and third-bottom Yorkshire, who've played two games

Should be an exciting finish, and hopefully a sunny one. Talking of

which, Hannah, we had a glorious start yesterday, but today has been

Not a nice day on the north-east beaches, but it has been bright in

the West. Let's have a look at some of the lovely weather pictures to

start the forecast. This was the scene on Hadrian's Wall. Joan

captured the waves coming down and the sunshine breaking through.

Thank you for that. This is the scene in Allenby on the Cumbrian

coast. Thank you Christine Morgan. I'm we are forecasting another

great sunset in Allenby. Here is Tuesday's headlines, always sunny

in the West, and a gloomy day in the north-east. As we head through

the evening, some evening sunshine in the West, but rain in the North,

and then it stays gloomy and cloudy across the North East overnight

tonight with a little bit of brain getting into the west of Cumbria as

well. Temperatures overnight down to 89 Celsius, so a fairly fresh

start to the morning in the West -- 8 or 9 Celsius. The school holidays

start this week, and plenty of fine weather tomorrow to get out and

about in in the West. But always gloomy and greyer in the north-east,

especially in the morning. He will be bright room places through the

afternoon. Let's see how Tuesday shapes up. It is the temperatures

where we know it is the real difference. 14 or 15 on the

Northumberland coast, but across the Pennines, the temperatures rise

to around 20 Celsius with a high of the 60s in Fahrenheit. A real split

between East and West tomorrow, like today. The weather system

driving the weather is the pressure coming in, low at the moment, but

then it gets higher over the next couple of days so the weather

systems in the West are squashed out and then by Thursday and Friday

the weather really settles down. Let's look at what that might mean

in the West for the next few days. It could be cloudy on Thursday with

one or two showers, but generally a fine week to come in Cumbria with a

high pressure dominating by Friday, and the temperatures rising as well.

So a great week to be out and about in the lakes and across Cumbria and

a similar picture in the north-east as well. It is more cloudy on

Wednesday for a time after the cloudy day tomorrow, but from

Thursday onwards, things brighten up and by Friday it will be fine

and dry, although maybe a little bit colder. The temperatures very

pleasant on Thursday, hitting 70 in Fahrenheit with the calling a

north-easterly breeze is on Friday showing things down to the high

teens. Lots of grey weather to be doing things for the school

holidays. If you're out and about and enjoying a fine weather towards

the end of the week, when the High starts to dominate we would love to

see your weather pictures. You know where to send your pictures. We

will look at every one of them, and you could feature in our July the

2012 Look North weather calendar. Get snapping and send your pictures

into was. You can always be male them on the website. -- in to us. -

- you can always be mailed them. The weather fine towards the end of

Thanks Hannah. And now a final look at tonight's main headlines. In the

Norwegian massacre, the self confessed killer says he had links

with other underground cells. And holiday tragedy as a teenage