10/08/2011 Look North (North East and Cumbria)

Welcome to Wednesday's Look North. Tonight, a police station attacked.

Windows were smashed, an officer hurt and a patrol car set on fire.

Also tonight - I'm innocent. Cleveland's chief constable says

his name will be cleared and he'll soon be back at work.

Walking for the first time, thanks to a simple screw. The five-year-

old whose life has been transformed by a North East doctor. If it is

unbelievable. How severe he was when he was born, with hip

dysplasia on both sides, and the procedures that he went through,

initially we thought he would not walk.

And express-o. The volunteers hoping to break the land speed

record for a car powered by coffee. In sport, I've been meeting North

East football's latest French import. And penalty heartache for

Hartlepool, but better news for our The police say it's connected with

the disorder sweeping major towns and cities across England. -- not

connected. A North East police station was attacked in the early

hours of this morning, which has left an officer with minor injuries

and a police car completely destroyed. But tonight, Northumbria

police say what happened at Washington Police Station was an

isolated incident. Mark Denten is there now. What's the lastest?

What we know is that around 3am this morning, a group of people

gathered here outside Washington Police Station. Now, an object was

thrown, breaking a window in the building, and a police officer

inside the building was hit by glass. They were treated in

hospital for minor injuries but have since been released. Police

say six people ran away from the area after the incident and two men,

a 17-year-old and 19-year-old, were arrested. They are still being

questioned tonight. The police, though, are stressing categorically

that this was very much an isolated incident - it was not a riot and

there were no other incidents of disorder across the force region

last night. In fact, local councillors I've spoken to here

have stressed that crime and disorder levels here have been

falling recently. So what's the mood in the town?

There's been torrential rain here for much of the day. People are

talking up the town. People I spoke to in the shopping centre said they

were proud to live here. Just keep yourself to yourself when you're

right. What to like about it? Is just a nice place. You can come

here and look around the stores, and bring the children, and we've

had no problems at all. It's a lovely place, if you know the right

places. Why do so it's a lovely place? I guess because every where

his love the way you have friends and family. And news of an online

campaign against disorder? Yes, it's emerged that over 4,000

people have signed up to a Facebook page backing the fact that there

have been no incidents of serious disorder in the region.T his is not

London, Manchester or Birmingham and the message online loud and

clear tonight - let's keep it that way.

In a separate incident, the police have condemned graffiti artists who

blocked a rail line so they could paint a train. The vandals put

wooden pallets on the Tyne and Wear metro line at Hadrian Road Station

in Wallsend. When the driver stopped to investigate, the group

began spray-painting the train. Another man then took a photo.

Northumbria Police say there was no danger to passengers, but the

vandals were risking their lives by trespassing on the line. They've

released a CCTV image of a suspect they want to question about the

incident. The Chief Constable of Cleveland -

arrested on suspicion of fraud and corruption - said today he's

"completely innocent of any crime." In a statement released through his

solicitors, Sean Price says his name will be cleared, and he'll

soon be back at work. Chris Stewart has the story.

Arrested seven days ago, today he had something to say on behalf of

himself and his Deputy Chief Constable, Derek Bonnard - who was

arrested at the same time. He says he's, "deeply saddened by the way I

have been treated." That he was interviewed four times - and "no

evidence or allegation of wrongdoing" was put to him. And

that there are "serious questions to be answered about justification"

for what's happened to him. Mr Price and Mr Bonnard were arrested

along with the former solicitor to the Chief Constable, Caroline

Llewellyn. It followed an investigation ordered by Her

Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary, which will say only

that it concerns the way some people connected to Cleveland

Police may have conducted business. We did speak to Mr Price but his

lawyers have advised him not go on camera. He says the officers

running this force in his absence are dedicated and able and deserves

everybody's support. He says he looks forward to returning soon to

leading what he says is the best police force in the country. The

jury in the case of a detective accused of using a police computer

to find information about women he wanted to get to know, has gone

home for the night. 49-year-old father-of-two Mark Fisher, from

Cockermouth, denies nine charges of misconduct in public office. It's

alleged he used the force's Sleuth computer to obtain personal details,

including phone numbers, of several women, some of who he went on to

have sexual relationships with. The jury retired to consider its

verdicts earlier today. There's more good news on the jobs

front on Teesside. Between 500 and 700 construction workers will be

taken on, to build a renewable energy plant near Billingham. Air

Products plans to convert landfill waste into hydrogen gas, and

generate enough electricity to power 50,000 homes. 50 permanent

jobs will be created, once the facility is up and running.

A North Yorkshire surgeon who was found guilty of dishonesty and

misconduct has been sacked by Scarborough Hospital. Naif El-

Barghouti was suspended for a year by the General Medical Council last

month after he botched a series of operations, leading to the death of

a patient, and then lied about it. He'd worked at Scarborough hospital

for 15 years. Five-year-old Thomas Meadows, from Redcar in Cleveland,

was born without properly formed hips. It's meant he's undergone

numerous operations. But now, he's surprised doctors and his parents

by walking. It's thanks to a special hip screw, designed by a

doctor at the James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough. Thomas's

parents say it's transformed his life. Stephanie Lloyd reports.

Walking like any other little boy his age. After numerous operations,

five-year-old Thomas Meadows can now walk unaided, thanks to a

revolutionary hip screw. unbelievable, how severe he was

when he was born, with hip dysplasia on both sides, and the

procedures he went to, conditionally we definitely thought

he would have a limp and even the doctors said so. But it seems to be

that the hip screw has changed all that. Thomas suffered from birth

with severe problems with his hips and legs. When he was 14 months old,

the Montgomery hip screw was put in place during an operation to

realign his hips. Leaving him in a double leg cast for several months.

The screw was removed a year later and since then he's never looked

back. Minute... And now can you run as fast as your friends? Yes, but

not as fast as Ashton! I did have my legs chopped open. You did.

then I got the scars. This is the device that transformed his life.

It kept the hipbones aligned correctly. The man who designed it

is Richard Montgomerie. It is a very pleasing result and this is

the sort of result we are looking for were nineties on this, because

were looking for a good clinical result and the lowest possible

complication rate. Thomas may need a hip replacement in the future.

But for now, his family are enjoying time with their happy

little boy. And there's no stopping him!

There's plenty more still ahead on tonight's Look North - sport and

weather and a car powered by coffee! Plus - jumping from cliffs

into water the safe way. We've a special report on what's called

"coasteering." And, in your forecast, so far, so bad! But how

is the weekend shaping up? I'm Now, it may sound quaint and a

hangover from more rural times, but rustling is alive and well in the

region - and hitting our farmers hard. North Yorkshire's been

particularly badly affected. As Danny Carpenter reports, at one

farm in Pickering, the thieves came back for a second helping.

It may be a bit like locking the stable door after the horse has

bolted, but Andrew Russell has to do something. He has been targeted

by games to have stolen his sheep. Twice. I would say it was very

organised. They knew what they had come for the new head to get them.

The rustlers used dogs to round up the sheet, they had a lorry to take

them away and some way of getting the meat, illegally, into the food

supply. It is very distressing. Even more so now when you are

thinking about replacing them with prices double what they were this

time last year. Stealing livestock is on the rise, a significant

factor in a 17% increase in rural crime last year. Insurers who

specialise in farming so they have no doubt why it is happening.

economy cannot help at the moment where people are going to find it

difficult and those people who what in the industry of taking other

people's property I going to sit there and say it is this a target

that we could next go to? There are Farm Watch schemes and the police

have promised greater visibility but it is the countryside. There

are many outbuildings, and many more animals, and very few people.

The first section of a new bypass linking parts of west Cumbria to

Scotland opened this lunchtime. This part of the Carlisle Northern

Development Route links junction 44 of the M6 with the industrial units

at Kingmoor Park. The whole project's a private finance

initiative, costing �176 million. It's been in the planning for more

than a decade. And it'll bring benefits to both the city and to

west Cumbria. 10 years in the making, a fantastic achievement,

working in partnership with up partners. We on schedule and on

budget, it's a fantastic achievement. It early part of it,

but it will benefit Carlisle and Cumbria.

Test samples have revealed high levels of toxins in a lake where

three dogs died suddenly. The water at Burton Riggs nature reserve, at

Crossgates near Scaborough, tested positive for blue green algae,

which can kill cattle and other animals if it's ingested. Yorkshire

Wildlife Trust, which owns the reserve, is warning people to stay

out of the water and keep their dogs away.

It's killed 14 people in the last five years and badly injured dozens

more. But "tombstoning" is still claiming new victims. Jumping into

water from high cliffs might seem like madness. But a Northumberland

company says it can be done safely as part of an organised group. They

call it "coasteering." But what message does this send out? Does it

encourage people to leap into the unknown whenever they feel like it?

Damian O'Neil joined a coasteering group for tonight's Look North

report. It starts with small steps - this

is the North Sea, not the Med The jumpers then move to progressively

You won't hear anyone talking about tombstoning. We bring people down

and introduce them at close quarters to the coastline. We have

a look and what is on the coastline, in the rock pools, in the sea.

Which is the mother what sector, about the GLC and history of the

area. It stars with small steps. This is the North Sea, not the Med.

I have got a cold shock. I'm thinking about these people who go

tombstoning. He be jumping, you get this and you're in trouble already,

whether or not you hit anything. Absolutely, it is that cold-water

shock that you get. Your stunned momentarily in the water. Yes, it

is quite a shock. The jumpers move to progressively higher platforms.

They're all clear on one thing - that they'd never do this on their

own The instructors say that far from encouraging tombstoning, an

organised session like this will deter people from doing it

unsupervised. The kids already understand the issues of

tombstoning. Very dangerous. You up here pressured into doing it.

instructors say that far from encouraging tombstoning, and

organise social like this will deter people from doing it

unsupervised. Before every outing, they check in with the coastguard,

and they claim intimate knowledge of the local shores. We come down

each spring in low water and map out what is there. Could there has

been a store, we do it again to see what has moved. After a final

safety briefing, the group moves on to the highest platforms of the day.

This is about the limit of what we would take people off. This is what

people rope regard as tombstoning. Yes, but if they are doing

tombstoning, we would not condone it in any shape of form. QC they

have not checked at the height of the conditions or the sea. Stepping

up to make the leap is harder than you might think. But afterwards

you're rewarded with a huge adrenalin rush, as you realise

you're still in one piece. This is why people go tombstoning, but some

of the group admit that doing it under supervision has put them

right off doing it alone. Everybody here is tone the Lions then there

would never do it. Be honest, would you? I've seen it done and I've

seen what can happen, and a not particularly up for it. I think the

way we doing it here, where you know it's safe and you can have a

great time doing it is a better way of doing it. I've seen people doing

it and just stared back, it's not for me. That was a really

interesting taste of the experienced but even in these very

controlled circumstances are still far like a real challenge and the

thought of jumping off some word like that when you do not know what

you're doing and landing somewhere like that, it makes your blood run

cold. You don't want to do it. Even in so carers, I would not

fancy that! Time for the sport. Football season just started.

In the first round of the Carling Cup, there was a comfortable

victory for Middlesbrough last night, with the games involving

Carlisle and Hartlepool both going to a penalty shoot-out. And only

one of them came out on top. Here's the best of the action.

A much-changed Middlesbrough side - due in part to international call-

ups. But 600 travelling Boro fans at least saw their team's first win

of the new season. Their cause was helped by an early red card for

Walsall's Adam Chambers. And it was that man Marvin Emnes, fresh from

his contract extension, who popped up with a first hat-trick for the

club at Walsall. A tougher test awaits at Elland Road this weekend,

but a potential banana skin has been side-stepped by Tony Mowbray's

men. Also through are Carlisle United, although they had to come

from behind and force a penalty shoot-out before getting past North

West rivals Oldham. The home side went in front from the spot. But a

tactical switch saw the improving visitors equalise, with summer

signing Jon-Paul McGoven's expertly taken free-kick. After Carlisle

keeper Adam Collin had made two vital saves in the shoot-out, the

Cumbrians finally made sure of their second round place, banishing

some of the memories of the shocking opening day league defeat.

A power cut before kick-off at Victoria Park meant the mid-evening

sunshine was appreciated by some more than others. Hartlepool were

up against former boss Danny Wilson. Pools also came from behind against

newly relegated Sheffield United. Stephen Quinn gave the Blades the

lead but Pools levelled thanks to Anthony Sweeney's goal. That game

went to sudden death penalties, with Pools missing two of theirs to

allow Danny Philliskirk the chance to seal a 5-4 penalty victory for

the men from South Yorkshire. Less than three days to go before

the scheduled start of the new Premier League season. A decision

will be made tomorrow on whether games will go ahead despite the

England-wide riots. Today, defender George McCartney has left

Sunderland to join his former club, West Ham, on a season-long loan.

Meanwhile, his manager, Steve Bruce, was a guest on BBC Newcastle's

Total Sport radio show last night. He fielded questions on a host of

talking points. The big for me was persuading John O'Shea a Sunday

like Wes Brown to come to the club. That is where the club for me has

progress. Perhaps three or four years ago would not be possible to

get to players of their colour but to try and get through the door.

They certainly got the hell of her reputation and people think they

had been bit-part players. John O'Shea has played 35 off 40 game to

season for Manchester United for the last 10 years, which is

remarkable achievement, so I'm sure that will add something to us. We

could still play with our -- he could still play in a youth team if

he wanted to. He has fantastic potential so we must protect him.

He will be a fantastic addition to the team and a wonderful footballer.

Just briefly upon Jamie Maclean. is raw, he is hungry, he has a huge

desire to succeed and I hope he does. If he comes into the squad

and the next 12 months, fantastic. Can you ask Steve what the story

was with Darron Gibson? We make him a really good offer and stuck with

it but unfortunately Darren and his adviser did not see it that way.

There has been a bit of a stalemate on it. Who knows? There's still a

month to go on it or whatever, but there still seems to be stalemate

for stock Newcastle United striker Shola Ameobi has signed a contract

extension to keep him at the club until 2014. The 29-year-old has

played more than 300 games for the Magpies, scoring 70 goals since he

made his debut 11 years ago. Meanwhile, the club's newest

signing, Gabriel Obertan, has been telling us about his move from Old

Trafford and the new French It's so good to have a better

chance of regular first team football. That was the main reason

the pacy Paris-born winger Gabriel Obertan was persuaded to swap the

champions Manchester United for Newcastle. I couldn't see myself

doing another season like last season because it is frustrating

just to be under benches and to play with the reserves. At some

point you need to play. I spoke to some of my friends in England and

this had Newcastle is quite amazing, the city is good, the fans are

crazy about football. I'm just excited, I would like to see that

first came up against Arsenal. The atmosphere will be electric.

Obertan, who's 22, joins the growing French-speaking contingent

at St James's Park. We played together for three years in France.

And another player as well from Paris. We will bring some other

French players, anyway! In cricket, four wickets for

Yorkshire's Tim Bresnan in the test match and a good day for his county

in the 40 over competition. They won by 22 runs in an match that

started early on police advice. Meanwhile, will rain to Israel

Durham's hopes of a third title in four years, we've reported on a few

world record attempts over the years, but nothing quite like this.

This one involves a car powered purely by coffee. Yes, and it'll be

attempting a land speed record in York next month. Ian Reeve was at

its Elvington test run today. See how many of his dreadful coffee

puns you can spot. Coffee's energizing effect was

supposedly discovered by a 9th century Ethiopian goatherd. Martin

Bacon has happened upon another. Dried coffee pellets in the burner

will power his car...a carpaccino, if you will. Gasification is

burning fuel would limited oxygen so you're getting that flammable

gas coming off. But this test - a prelude to trying to break the land

speed record for a car powered by gasification - has the mochas put

on it. We are going to tear it off and see we can get it going like

that. The battery is running low. tow can't get it going. Playing

along with the coffee jokes, the car actually needs its filters

changing. We just flush the system out, as you can see! This second

effort gets yards before it grinds to a halt...weaker than a double

decaff. But then, au lait, the speed builds. Come on, baby!

Perhaps it's the caffeine talking, but Martin's buzzing. 45 mph!

Gasification. It's the future. have power stations in this country

now that burka gasification. In the second-world-war used to have

vehicles and run on gasification. If it is a teacher is coming in

smoking fits and starts. We have stood around for three or four

hours and the rain and seen three of four passes of the track. Would

it be too cheesy to suggest it is time to go home for a nice cup of

coffee! A thing what was missing was the

chocolate biscuits! Time for the It is extremely wet, looking very

little light summer. We start at South Shields pier where some

hopeful people going off on a cruise hoping for better weather.

Closer to home, the river will be more than P the coloured and there

will be a lot more water coming through in the next day or so. We

start with an Met Office warning of more heavy rain. It will continue

through the night and into tomorrow. On the map you can see it as

Cumbria and Northumberland best place to catch most of the rain.

Some places catching double the 50 mm by the end of tomorrow.

Everywhere getting a good soaking overnight. 14-15 Celsius, quite

mild overnight. Tomorrow, we still have the cloud and rain. Not much

different to today but in the afternoon he will start to see the

rain for breaking up a bit. Parts of Cumbria and into North Yorkshire,

you will start to dry out a little bit. It will make a difference to

the temperatures in the south. Picking up to about 20 Celsius in

the brighter parts later on. That is some cause for celebration, even

if it is only for a few of us. For the rest of the week we see more

front pushing in from the West. Even into the weekend, although

most of the fronts of through, which took its and showers behind.

Both that they and Sunday prone to if you throw me at pricks. So,

Thursday and Friday pretty much water war cloud and a lot of rain

Before we go, tonight's main news again, and After a fourth night of

violence in cities across England, Prime Minister David Cameron has

said police have now been authorised to use water cannons if

needed, as well as plastic bullets, to stop the disorder. And a police

station in Washington in Tyne and Wear has been attacked by a gang of