06/01/2012 Look North (North East and Cumbria)

She almost died after rid breast implant went wrong.

I feel Asif I am living with a ticking time bomb.

Left paralysed after a row over a spilt drink. A man is jailed for

three-and a-half years. A big-screen hit for her flop. How

will the movie about Margaret Thatcher go down in the North?

She is a strong woman. My kind of woman. We have to make sure that

something like Maggie Thatcher never happens again.

It is a dog's life for Buster, the pet with an extraordinary allergy.

A big weekend of sport ahead. The third round of the FA Cup and if

you are old enough to recognise these fashions you will know it is

nearly three decades since the trophy last came back to the region.

First tonight, the harrowing story of a woman who had the

controversial PIP breast implants. Anna, as we will call her, had the

implants to boost her confidence but the procedure nearly killed her.

The implants had such a bad rock show that silicone it spread

through her body. -- rupture. Tonight our government announced

there was no evidence to recommend the routine removal of PIP implants

in the UK. Anna, as we will call her, is

trying to get back her life. The last five years have been a

nightmare. After her PIP breast implants ruptured, she became

critically ill and still lives under a shadow. She had silicone

deposits throughout her body and needs a regular medical checks.

I have blood tests every few months to see if my white cells are doing

any better, and they never are. And I am tested to make sure I have no

cancer. I have just discovered another lump on my wrist and

another lump in my left armpit. She is still suffering. After years

of pain and a six hour operation to have her breast implants removed,

implants which left her fighting for her life.

He opened us up and the implant had ruptured that bad that it was stuck

to my breast wall. She had wanted a bigger breasts to

boost her confidence. I had my daughter and ended up what

I called floppy boobs. I would bend forward travelling into tunnels.

When I first had them the breast was fool, you could when Lola T

shirts and tops and felt confident in swimwear. -- you could wear T-

shirts. Her surgeon said it was one of the

worst cases of breast implant rupture he had ever seen.

He said he had never come across anything like it in his life.

She is one of 40,000 British women to have the PIP implants, which are

now banned after they were found to contain industrial rather than

medical grade silicone gel, a silicone gel that Anna has

throughout her body. I feel like I am living with a

ticking time bomb because you don't know what his next. It has left my

life devastated really. I have been to hell and back.

Sharon Barbour is in the studio. We have been talking to a solicitor

today who is promising to help women across the UK who have

problems with breast implants. Yes, marker snicks and was

approached by a barman who had damaged the implants. -- Marcus

Nickson. He acknowledges that it will be a difficult process taking

legal action. I am determined to do it because I

think this is outrageous. It is a product liability case, who is the

defendant? We need to consider that very carefully. It is very early

stages. I know other firms of solicitors are involved and we will

be liaising to discuss who we Sue and how.

A lot of people will be worried. What is the advice to women who

have had implants? The latest advance tonight is, if

you had the implants on the NHS, and around 5 % of women did, and

you are concerned, talk to your doctor. The NHS will take the

implants out. If you have had them done privately, the NHS expects

private companies to do the same. The key thing is that if anybody is

experiencing swelling or pain they should seek help.

A teenager who survived the Durham -- Durham shootings have spoken

about the tragedy. 19-year-old Laura McGoldrick and witnessed her

mother's death before leaping for her life from an upstairs window.

She said it had been extremely Durham police have confirmed the

gunman, Michael Atherton, and Laura's mother Susan had a volatile

relationship. Officers were called to four domestic incidents between

2002 and 2004 and in 2008 he was arrested and released after he

allegedly threatened to shoot himself.

It all began with a spilt drink in a pub and ended with a woman

paralysed and in a wheelchair. Today Claire Hilton described how

her life had been ruined by an attack outside a south Tyneside bar

which left her unable to walk properly. Christopher Towers was

sentenced to three and a half years for grievous bodily harm and actual

bodily harm. She says her life has been changed forever.

Claire Hilton, now paralysed after an attack which broke her neck and

back, a high price to pay over a spilt drink worth �2.80.

It has totally ruined my life and my little boy's life.

The row started at this pub after one of her cousin's accidentally

knocked over a drink. Shortly after, this man, Christopher Towers,

punched Claire Hilton in the face. She fell and hit her head on a wall,

crushing her spine and leaving her in a wheelchair.

One punch can be as catastrophic for the victim as a number of blows.

This would appear to be a trivial matter but where intoxicants are

involved people do irrational things.

Towers said he was ashamed and apologised but the judge gave him a

prison sentence for what he described as a catastrophic injury.

As the sentence was handed down, Claire Hilton and her family broke

into applause and cheering. One of them shouted, I hope you enjoy it.

The judge gave Christopher Towers three-and a-half years in prison

for agreed his bodily harm as and a further 30 weeks for a separate

attack. Two others were given community

orders, Christopher Towers' a mother and his partner. As Claire

Hilton left, her words in court describing the incident as earth-

shattering resident -- resonated. I wish it was long -- longer. But

it is better than nothing. How do you feel? I am angry. I don't know.

It has ruined my life and my little boy's.

The driver of a school bus which crashed into a Darlington railway

bridge has pleaded guilty to dangerous driving. 12 of the 50

teenagers on board suffered minor injuries in the accident last

September. They were students at Queen Elizabeth Sixth Form College.

Trevor Wilson will be sentenced by Darling -- Darlington Magistrates'

later this month. A taxi driver has been jailed for

four years after heroin worth �200,000 was found in his car on

Teesside. Mohammed Nadeem told the prosecution he was acting as a

courier and would receive a fee of �150 to �200 for the journey. He.

Travelling south near Middlesbrough. -- he. Travelling south. He

admitted intent to supply. Some regard her as the woman who

described the North East so you might expect a film about the life

of Margaret Thatcher to go down like a lead balloon in this part of

the world but almost every cinema here is screening The Iron Lady

with Meryl Streep starring in a Hollywood take on the former prime

minister's time in power. This is a multiplex cinema in part

of a regeneration area which used to be a mining community. The local

council leader says he will be boycotting it and others say it

will only be seen by middle-class types. But others think that

Margaret Thatcher's legacy is not only the closure of industry but

also the opening of other industries. Can there ever be an

audience for a film about Margaret Thatcher in the North East?

I will never be one of those women, Dennis, who stayed silent despite

silent and pretty. Many in the North East see the

north-east -- see Margaret Thatcher through a much harsher focus.

It is the way to persuade more people to come to the North East,

not standing there has moaning minnies.

Those who clashed with her in the Eighties don't want to pay money to

pay tribute to all woman who they say destroyed their communities.

There are places where they won't want to be reminded of her. She did

so much damage to our community. I will not be watching it.

But some can barely hide their excitement. This young man met

Margaret Thatcher in her pomp and went -- pomp and went on to be a

Conservative counsellor. I will be there with my friends and

it will be a great film hopefully and hopefully it will betray her in

the way she should be remembered. She has left a lasting legacy

across the body politic and in this region.

What about the rest of the North East public? Quite a few were keen

to reacquaint themselves with her but for -- for different reasons.

She is strong. My kind of woman. thought it was quite authentic.

thought she was vicious, but how can you not? She did so much in the

North East. We need to teach people responsibility and make sure that

something like Maggie Thatcher never happens again. The film does

show an ageing Maggie Thatcher declining into senility. At times

she thinks she is still Prime Minister. For some that is a

pleasant prospect Book -- but for others it is like a plot from a

horror film. How was this film Performing?

Despite the fact it has to beat Sherlock Holmes and even dancing

penguins, it has had the top selling tickets of the day. Love

her or loathe her, even 20 years after leaving power she is still

box-office in the north-east. Still to come, Friday sports desk.

Plus, we meet Buster, the dog with an astonishing allergy.

And the weekend weather will not have this yelping with delight but

It's a title the region would rather not have - the North East is

the metal theft capital of Britain. Transport networks have been

disrupted - war memorials desecrated and all to fuel an

illegal trade in metal. Well today, a Government Minister launched a

new scheme to fight the thieves. But some politicians are already

saying it won't work. Our Political Correspondent Mark Denten reports.

A scrap metal yard in Shildon- 2,000 tonnes of metal's recycled

here every week. This is the legal face of the scrap metal industry.

All the metal here, about to be recycled, was legally obtained.

There is another picture. 15th 1000 tons of metal were stolen last year,

and where is the problem worst? Here in the north. In the North

East, there were 4,000 metal thefts last year. This yard is now part of

a voluntary scheme across the region. Everyone trying to sell

metal here must provide proof of identification. Home Office

minister and Cumbrian peer Lord Henley picked his way through the

old fridges and crushed cars to launch it. But if metal theft's a

big problem, why is this just a voluntary scheme? Most reputable

yards will take the pass, and we are grateful for that. But there

will be a number that will not, but we hope they will consider doing it.

We will also look closely at changing the legislation.

there's the problem -there's no agreement on how that 48-year-old

law should change. The police want cash payments banned from places

like this. The presence of cash, and the absence of traceability

measures such as effective i d Once, mean that that generates and

supports the crime cycle. adoption of a cashless system

without proper safeguards in terms of enforcement will encourage

illegal operations to grow even farther. And some opposition MPs

say a voluntary scheme to tackle theft won't work. I don't think

they have gone far enough. I think the only way you can stop this is

to get hold of these, whatever they are, scrap dealers can make you

want to call them that, get hold of these, and find them out of

existence. The voluntary metal theft ID scheme is due to run for

six months. Now, they say it's a dog's life - but not for Buster.

Like all dogs, there's nothing he enjoys more than running about or

going for a walk. But with Buster, there's a twist. If he puts so much

as a paw on the grass, it can cause some pretty unpleasant problems.

Richard Thomas went to meet him. Play time for Buster at the dogs

trust re-homing centre near Darlington. As with most dogs here,

this is what he enjoys the most. However, for this seven-year-old -

the fun is limited to the concrete. Basically, in the grass, trees,

anything like that, he needs to avoid. He is allergic to grass, so

unfortunately, he's going to need somebody there is to purge to walk

in some way he can have fun. allergy, known as atopy - is

similar to hayfever in humans. But despite medication, the condition

is permanent. He flares up, he get itchy, he can get very red and sore.

He is on a treatment, which keeps him at bay, but it doesn't actually

cure him, so he will be have to be honoured for the rest of his life

to keep to a minimum. What he ideally needs is a home with a lot

of space, away from the grass, somewhere near the coast, maybe.

Yes, I know! He is looking for a specialist home, doesn't have to be

by the seaside, but that would be the best thing for him. And for

anybody who wants to re-home Buster - the cost of his medication will

be covered by the charity. The world's biggest fundraising

swim is celebrating its 25th anniversary and one of Newcastle's

Olympic hopefuls has been helping to launch this year's event.

European Junior swimming Champion and Commonwealth Youth medallist

Phoebe Lenderyou is hoping to make it to London this summer but you

don't have to be a top class athlete to take part in the

Swimathon. The 16-year-old Olympic hopeful

held a master class for local children and club swimmers at West

Denton pool in Newcastle hoping to inspire a new generation to take up

the sport and get involved with the Swimathon and it seems to have

worked. I would love to be East winner like her. She is dead fast.

I'm happy to do it, because I would love to raise money for charity.

The event's in conjunction with the BBC's Big Splash, Sport Relief and

Marie Curie Cancer Care will take place in almost 650 pools around

the UK in April. You don't have to be Olympic standard to take part -

you can swim as little as a mile or 64 lengths or as many as 200 and

some come back year after year. go swanning quite regularly. I have

also supported it married Curie court for a number of years. --

married jury for a number of years. So the swanning, and the married

Cury, came together in the swim at -- Swimathon. Phoebe's already made

a big splash in the swimming world, winning medals at the European

Junior and Commonwealth Youth Games - and while London may have come a

little too soon for her, she's still in with a chance of making

this year's Olympics. There is an outside chance. I will try my best,

trained as hard as I can, I have got as much chance as anyone else

at the trials, but I am not ranked to make it. I suppose, it is any

one's if you are there. I could take it into the next one, had

fully winsome medals. Now, Darlington still in the sports news.

Yes, it could be the last game in their history. Hoping not. Their

chairman is on the radio right now, until 7pm, answering questions by

fans. He said the complicated it dealings with the councils and

businessmen Graeme's got over the ownership of the ground has

contributed to the difficult decision to put the club into

administration. Looking back, I made two big mistakes. One is

thinking that if I work with the council, they will play ball with

me, and the other was thinking that if George doesn't pay, I can

negotiate with them and buy them out. They are the two biggest

mistakes and reasons why I am not getting out of it now.

And to hear that interview with Mr Singh again, go to:

No league action for our top three clubs this weekend, because it's

round three of the FA Cup. Sunderland are at Peterborough on

Sunday afternoon. Tomorrow, there are home ties for Middlesbrough -

at home to Shrewsbury of League Two - and Newcastle, who take on the

Premier League's bottom team, When you've just hammered the

Premier League champions 3-0, the next game can't come along soon

enough. Even if the Magpies are up against a Rovers side who knocked

them out of the Carling Cup this season. But the boss thinks there's

a chance his side could go all the If you look at the competition, you

would have to put us down as 7th favourite, because that is where we

are in the league. Two of them are playing each other, so it gives us

a chance to win a trophy, and we It's four wins out of six for

Sunderland, since Martin O'Neill took over. And he's promised those

fans making the trip to Peterborough that he won't be

changing his team around just to give one or two reserve players a

Whatever side we put out, it will be the strongest we can do on the

day. Meanwhile, it's congratulations to Boro boss Tony

Mowbray - he's just been named the Championship Manager of the Month

for December - the second time he's won the award this season. And

Mowbray speaks for a lot of fans when he talks about how the FA Cup

used to be the highlight of the football year. The sparkle of the

FA Cup probably isn't there, as it was 20 years ago, when it was huge,

everybody grew up watching the FA Cup, with curtains drawn, watching

the final. I went through a spell Boeing the two finalists from every

year. It is not quite the same these days. Boro made the final in

1997. Newcastle were there for the two seasons after that. But it's

coming up for 39 years since the trophy last came back to the region.

As Sunderland fans of a certain age could tell you, the FA Cup means an

awful lot - when you win it. It's a big weekend for Hartlepool

United head coach Neale Cooper. He's seen his new team lose twice

since it was announced he was to have a second spell in charge.

While Pools have been slipping down the League One table, though,

Carlisle are on the brink of the play-off positions. Here's Mark

Tulip. Wembley glory was the highlight of

the calendar year just gone, but will these Carlisle fans be

celebrating next Christmas in the championship, after promotion this

coming may? The victory over Sheffield United left Carlisle

outside top six only on goal difference. If tomorrow's game is

against Leyton Orient. The feeling of winning in the dressing room is

a fantastic feeling. We need to go and do that again, it will be no

less fantastic on Saturday if we get a result. It is also the style

of football that has been pulling them in of late. Things are tight,

people are not going to go somewhere where they do not think

they're getting value for money. People cannot argue they are not

getting value for money at the moment, I have enjoyed it, and I

get a free ticket! Also in good plates is their flamboyant French

striker, enjoying the consistency his striker -- manager demands.

does complain about the cold a lot, I don't think he can move on the

pitch, some of the deer he turns up in, but he strips off on a match

day, he is finding some good form for us, he has been a nice bonus.

Can the new management duo find the winning formula at Victoria Park

for the first time in 10 matches? Commentary on the radio.

In rugby union's Premiership, bottom of the league Newcastle

Falcons take on Exeter tomorrow in a must-win game. They're hoping to

claw their way back from a ten point gap at the foot of the table.

BBC Newcastle will have full match commentary from Kingston Park -

kick off is at 3 o'clock. And in basketball, the BBL's bottom

club - Durham Wildcats - are at home to Leicester Riders. But

before that, table-topping Newcastle Eagles take on third-

placed Glasgow Rocks at Sports Central tonight. They're aiming to

put some distance between themselves and rivals Worcester

Wolves - who, last month, became the first team to beat the Eagles

this season. Another busy weekend! Not too bad bearing in mind we are

slap-bang in the middle of winter. In the West, some lovely

crepuscular raised over the lakes. Further east, a lovely, January

sunrise. I think that red sky in the morning might be a slight

warning that it is not going to be bone dry over the weekend, there

will be some rain around. But on the whole, a lot quieter than it

has been recently. As we head through the evening, a lot of cloud

and some drizzly rain as well. Most places will dry up, but the cloud

will start to break up. Fairly breezy, south-westerly winds and

then westerly winds later on in the night. Most places should stay

frost free as we head into Saturday. Bright and breezy it is a summary

for Saturday for many of us. East of the Pennines, seeing the best of

the blue skies, but more in the wake of cloud for Cumbria at times.

But again, most places should stay dry through Saturday. Again, at the

westerly winds, or turning more north-westerly during the day. You

will certainly never sit along both coasts, but nowhere near as windy

as it has been -- you will certainly notice it. A bit of high

pressure keeping places dry, through the second half of the

weekend, more cloud around and some rain. Into the next working week,

we're sandwiched with a high pressure and low pressure, so brisk

westerly winds, the order of the day. Some cloud and rain as well.

To recap, essentially dry and bright for Saturday. Sunday,