12/08/2011 Look North (North East and Cumbria)

In tonight's headlines. A four-year jail sentence for the

detective who harassed vulnerable women for sex. We do feel quite

annoyed, angered, dismayed. This is somebody who has let everybody down.

Praise for members of the public after two police officers are

attacked. A four-year ban for racehorse

trainer Howard Johnson. He's found guilty of doping and welfare

offences. And a hero's welcome for the

Geordie runner who made it across the States. He has made us laugh,

he has made us cry, he has made us happy for him. We are very proud of

him. And so he should be. In sport, the wait is nearly over

for Sunderland and Newcastle fans, but will they be celebrating on

Saturday as the Premier League A police officer from Cumbria is in

prison tonight after harrassing vulnerable women he wanted to have

sex with. Detective Constable Mark Fisher was jailed for four years

after he used a police computer to track the women down. The Deputy

Chief Constable of Cumbria Police said that Fisher's colleagues were

dismayed and angered by his actions. Damian O'Neil reports.

DC Mark Fisher faced 8 charges of misconduct in public office and was

found guilty of five. He used a police computer to find out

confidential information about women, some of whom he went on to

have sex with. In one instance, he offered to settle a drug debt for a

woman if she agreed to sleep with him. The trial has cast a shadow

over the Cumbrian police force. do feel quite annoyed, angered,

dismayed. All those sort of things come to mind. This is somebody who

has let everybody down. He has let himself down, he has let his family

down, he has let the people of Cumbria down. They give us a lot of

trust, they expect us to behave properly, they allow us to do

things that normal citizens cannot do and Mark Fisher has abused his

position in a very cynical way. As a consequence, he will be

imprisoned for four years. He is paying a heavy price. It is a very

heavy sentence for somebody in his position. Go back a few years and

he was a very good detective. But of recent, he has changed his way

of working. He has abused people, he has put people in a position

where he can take control of them and he has had to face the

consequences now. The judge told Mark Fisher that he had taken into

account his good character, his many years a police service and the

fact that his life was now in ruins. But he said that Mark Fisher was a

disgrace to the office which he had held.

Another blow for our beleaguered police. Tonight, two officers are

being treated after being stabbed by a man in Darlington. It happened

in Gurney Street near the town centre. But as our Chief Reporter

Chris Stewart found out, this was a tale that also brought the police a

welcome reaction from the public. Tonight, the police were still on

the scene asking about something that could have been tragically

wrong -- could have gone tragically wrong.

A suspect turned on two police officers. He had a blade. He

stabbed one officer in the arm, the other in the head. As the officers

struggled to subdue him, passers-by intervened. I am pleased to say

that members of the public came to the assistance of the police

officers. With a persistence, the officers managed to restrain this

individual. In this week of all weeks, it is pretty heartening.

is, but it is no surprise at all. It has happened to me and to most

of my officers. Members of the public have come to their

assistance. It is heartening and make it long continue.

Tonight, a 22-year-old man is in custody. The officers attacked here

were not seriously hurt and say they are looking forward to being

back on duty as soon as possible. Chris Stewart, Darlington.

One of the North's best known racehorse trainers intends to

retire after he was banned from racing for four years. Howard

Johnson, who is based in County Durham, was found guilty of doping

and welfare offences by the British Horse Racing Board. It found he ran

a horse in eight races after its legs were cut so it could run

through the pain barrier. Our Correspondent Mark Denten is

outside Mr Johnson's stables near Crook and joins us now.

These are the stables of Howard Johnson, all is quiet tonight. You

can understand that because it seems that it is the end of the

road for one Howard Johnson has been in the sport for 25 years and

won some of the major events. But he has been banned for four years

and he as indicated that he will retire. The heart of the story is a

horse called Striking Article which had been run in eight races when it

the nerves in his left leg had been severed. This is a procedure

against the Horseracing Board's rules and is designed to get

animals through the pain barrier. The board said that Howard Johnson

had a reckless disregard of the rules of welfare and would not be

tolerated. What has Howard Johnson had to say

this afternoon? He has not spoken in an interview.

He has promised a statement next week. But he has said he will not

be appealing. He says he has done nothing wrong. This is him arriving

at the hearing last month. He has been insisting all along that he

did not know that he had broken any rules or done anything wrong. But

tonight, he is banned from racing for four years and from every

racecourse in the world. That is a huge banner. What is the

reaction locally? Yes, racing is a big industry in

this part of County Durham. We got the views of some punters.

deserves it, abusing horses like that. What chance as a punter got?

It is going wrong all the time. am sorry the staff will lose their

jobs. What does it mean for this area? It is a disaster, there is no

word here to start with. We expect Howard Johnson to give his side of

the story next week, but for now, one of the biggest names in the

racing industry and the North seems to have ended his career.

A woman has been arrested on Tyneside for allegedly posting

messages on social networking sites encouraging people to cause trouble.

The 21-year-old woman from Hebburn was arrested for inciting others to

commit disorder and has been released on bail pending further

inquires. The Thai steel company SSI has

revealed the date it hopes to start making steel again on Teesside. It

recently took over the mothballed plant and blast furnace at Redcar

from Tata, where 1,600 people lost their jobs. But the new owner now

plans an early Christmas present for the area. Our Business

Correspondent, Ian Reeve, reports. Idle now, but these contractors

working on bringing the blast furnace back on line now know when

it has to be making steel again. December 8th is the target date,

just over four months away. We live with that kind of sword hanging

over ahead, but the date is what we have to work to. It is the start of

the process. There are many things that can get in the way of that

date but we know when them. Meanwhile, recruitment at SSI goes

on as the company builds itself up from scratch. And it's not over the

top to say there's a real buzz about the steelworks, a sense of a

positive future. There certainly is a feel-good factor on the site. The

hardships that we have gone through recently seem far away. We have

seen a lot of work on the site in preparation for 8th December.

company say that the start date might slip. There is no shortage of

people who want to work for SSI. 6700 people have expressed an

interest are the jobs on offer. 2500 have made a firm application.

And the enthusiasm for SSI from Teessiders appears to be a two-way

street. These billboards have sprung up all across Teesside, an

apparent commitment to a long-term A man from County Durham has

described the moment when a teenager held a gun to his head in

an attempt to steal his sandwich. 51-year-old Garry Bell was on his

way to work on Sunday night in Bishop Auckland when a young man

tried to grab his carrier bag. He hung onto the bag and the teenager

got away. Adele Robinson reports. He does put the gun here. He

pressed it against my temple. It was a couple of inches away.

For Garry, a usually uneventful walk to work last Sunday evening

resulted in a gun being held to his head. It was just after 9.30, on

his way to start a nightshift, when Garry came across a teenager on the

A688 road. He asked what was in the back. I told him. He pulled a gun

out. He put it to my temple. I shouted at him and I swore at him.

Garry believes the teenager was under the influence of drink or

drugs. He says that by simply walking away, it may have saved his

life. I do not know if it was a real gun. If I had reacted, it

could have gone off. He might have got nervous.

And all for what was in the bag - a cheese and onion sandwich, a packet

of crisps and a bottle of pop. did this to be on a busy main road.

-- to me. Next time, someone might not be as lucky as I am.

Police are investigating and Garry says he has been told they are

looking at nearby CCTV to hopefully catch the robber. Garry though

remains philosophical about his experience. Being a believer in

fate, if that is going to happen, it is going to happen.

He ran more than 3,000 miles across the USA and, today, the Geordie

runner flew home to a hero's welcome. Mark Allison trekked from

California to New York through deserts and sweltering temperatures,

all for charity. And though he says his feet are killing him, he is

already planning his next run. Peter Harris went to meet him.

A cheer, a hug - this hero's welcome was earned the hard way.

What a welcome. So many people. I feel famous. My feet are run a bad

state. There was a heatwave towards the end of the run at my feet

swelled up pretty badly. There are blisters there.

So vast was the distance Mark ran across the US that he has been

through snow and 115 degree heat. And then this week - the finish

line. Coney Island. 3,000 miles in It is the Atlantic. 100 days.

Brilliant. I cannot believe it. It is all over. All over. Very, very,

very proud. I cannot describe how proud I am of them. He has done

something that no one could ever do. He has made us proud, he has made

us cry, he has made us laugh. has raised almost �80,000 for St

Benedict's Hospice where his mother was cared for. But here or not, his

wife will bring him back to earth. When he gets home, there are jobs

waiting for him. Deserves a cheer tomorrow at St

James's. And still to come tonight. Previews

of the weekend's two big games. Plus Joe McElderry pops in to tell

us why it's good to be home. It's the date that will put certain

birds into a bit of a flap. The so- called Glorious Twelfth. Today

marks the start of the grouse shooting season, which means four

months of a sport that brings millions of pounds into our rural

economy, as Olivia Richwald reports. The elusive and exclusive wild red

grouse. These words are worth �22 billion to Yorkshire's economy.

They are known as the ultimate shooting bird, and the price of

this board reflects that. Each shooter will pay about �2,000 for a

day out on the moor. They contribute towards the preservation

of the moor. They are worth a lot of money to associated businesses.

The Yorkshire Dales has some of the best gross grounds. Every year,

wealthy tourists come to Yorkshire to take part. They need places to

stay, eat and shop. This is his first grouse season. He is taking

some practice at a clay pigeon shooting centre. We went to York,

we went fishing, we went to see lots of things. A as with most

country sports, etiquette is very important. This shock turned over a

quarter of a million pounds last year thanks in part to the Kate

Middleton effect. This year has been very tough, so it is very

important to us that we have a good shooting season. We specialise in

shooting and last year was a record year for grouse shooting and we had

the benefit of it. Grouse shooting is still controversial and there

are some who want all bloodsports to be banned. But for many others

in Yorkshire, it is a vital part of a fragile you rural economy.

Now, he's one of the best-known faces and voices on the current

music scene. X-Factor champ, the winner of Popstar to Operastar. And

now he's about to release a new album of classic songs. But South

Shields' finest - Joe McElderry - found himself caught up in the

riots this week. He was in Hackney filming the video to accompany his

new single when the violence began there. Which could not have been

much fun? It was quite scary to see it, not on the television, but at

first hand. We are not used to that. Could you hear it? Yes, you could.

You could hear the banging, the helicopters, see the smoke from the

cards. What do you do? We carried on. We had a contingency plan that

if it got any closer, we would have to leave. You could hear it getting

closer, but then they moved away and went somewhere else. This video

is all part of a new album. You are just tried to find an issue that

you enjoy? -- our nation. This is similar to what we did on X Factor.

It is all the big songs. Just a different slant on them. Is this a

bit of a mood of way from pop music? There are still some pop

ballads on there. People would still classify them as a pop

ballads. You new label, what happened with Simon Cowell? Is he

still a mate of yours? Yes, I am now signed up to universal. Are you

still friends with them? Yes, definitely. It is down to Simon

Cowell but I got the platform one X Factor. When this better way, it

was nothing vicious. It was made out to be like that, but it was not

like that. I am back for for the opportunities I have been given.

Are you glad to be home, away from the riots? I love coming home,

going out with my friends and family. It is great to come back

home. What a nice land. -- a nice lad.

Good luck to him and a tour football teams.

The eagerly awaited opening game of the season sees Sunderland pitched

against a transformed Liverpool side expected to be in serious

contention for Europe. Among their expensively assembled squad will be

former Black Cats' star Jordan Henderson, the first time he will

play against his home town club. The Liverpool fixture has brought

controversy in recent seasons. Who can forget the infamous beach ball

into 1009 of the refereeing decisions last season that upset

manager Steve Bruce? -- in at 2009. The penalty awarded for a foul

outside the box. There have been lots of incidents. But I hope to

give a good account of or sells. We could not have wished for a more

difficult start, but it is upon us. Sunderland are a much changed squad

with 10 arrivals and about half a dozen departures. Much of the

movement paid for by the sale of Jordan Henderson to Liverpool. The

midfielder is still an inspiration for Wearside's finest youngsters as

they take part in a training camp organised by former Sunderland

defender and Middlesbrough coach Martin Scott. Also, instructing the

boys is Henderson's former teacher. I think he has made a good choice

of Liverpool. I was sad to see them leave, but as his teacher, I hope

he does really well. As a Sunderland supporter, I hope he has

a good game and Sunderland won. -- Sunderland win.

After reaching 10th in May, fans can be forgiven for expecting an

even better finish this season. But BBC Newcastle's Sunderland

commentator cautions against wild optimism. They have an outside

chance of Europe, but I would not like to see supporters raised their

expectations are believed the squad is this cord double-takes

Sunderland into Europe. -- this squad could take.

If Sunderland can win at Anfield, it will be the first time in 28

years. Well there could be another

familiar face in the line-up at Anfield tomorrow after Jose Enrique

today completed his transfer from in a repeat of one of the most

exciting games of last season. But it's been a challenging summer for

both clubs. Preseason was marred by player

unrest, big name departures and even the weather. Last season's

top-scorer Kevin Nolan is now at West Ham and Jose Enrique has just

joined Liverpool. Both were influential in the Magpies'

incredible fightback from 4-0 down against Arsenal last season.

Although Alan Pardew insists his new-look side can still impress.

We have got a much younger team this year. They should be more

energy on the pitch. -- there should be. We do not have the depth

of experience, but we hope to make up for that with exuberance. We

have made good signings in the summer. We will have new players on

the pitch that will impress us. Five new faces have come through

the door at St James's and they all have one thing in common. It helps

that the majority are all French speaking, they know one another,

but there is a question mark over it. To bring in that number of

players who are Premier League unknowns is a gamble. If it goes

the right way, Newcastle could be the surprise package of this season.

I am looking forward to seeing them. It could be what we needed end of

it field. We have also got a new winner.

Meanwhile Arsenal have had struggles of their own this summer

and face losing two of their best players in Samir Nasri and Cesc

Fabregas, both of whom have been left out of squad for tomorrow's

match. Arsenal are arguably in more turmoil than Newcastle. They are in

the process of losing big players. There is pressure on Arsene Wenger.

Arsenal Football Club are in danger of dropping out of the top four. I

think they are ideal opposition. It is perhaps too much to expect a

repeat of last season's incredible 4-4 draw, but with Newcastle United,

you never know. The midfielder Julio Arca has re-

signed for Middlesbrough in a two year deal. The 30-year-old's

previous contract expired in the summer and he had looked likely to

leave Teesside after talks broke down last week. The Argentine will

now go straight into the squad for Boro's trip to Leeds tomorrow.

Elsewhere, in League One, Carlisle will be after their first points

and goals of the season when they travel to Bury. Hartlepool will

look to bounce back from their Carling Cup defeat to Sheffield

United as they take on Walsall at Victoria Park. And as well as the

Premier League, the Conference season gets underway this weekend

with Darlington, York and Gateshead all hoping to get their campaigns

off to a winning start. And don't forget you can follow

commentary of all our Premier League and Football League teams

throughout the season on your local And of course online on the BBC

sport website. And in cricket, after three miserable days, the

first innings of the game between Durham and hunts is still going on.

It is looking brighter tomorrow. We have got an iced cloudy weather

picture send them to us. -- sent in to us. It will feel a lot more like

summer tomorrow. But more rainfall over night. It will become patchier

in the east, a disappointing night for those of us hoping to see the

meteor shower. It is mild overnight, temperatures of 12 or 13 Celsius.

It will be a mild start to Saturday. The room was soon clear, leaving

sunny spells. It will dry up in the West. -- the rain will it soon

clear. Temperatures up to 20 Celsius in part of the North East.

Around about 16 or 17 in Cumbria. Westerly winds. Sunday looking very

nice as well. Bright skies in the West. It will stay that way for

much of Monday and Tuesday. Just isolated showers, nowhere near as

heavy or as persistent as recent showers. In the east, some delivers

glorious. We could hit 21 Celsius. -- Sunday looks at glorious. And a

brooding story of the next few days. It is cloudy tonight, so with the

rain and cloud, or we will miss the peak of the year's biggest meteor

shower. But Saturday and Sunday night, those skies should clear so

look in the opposite direction of the full when. If you have the full

moon behind you, look anywhere in the sky and tried to get as far

away as you can from street lights and you could see a shooting star,