29/07/2013 Look North (North East and Cumbria)

children are winched to safety from a swollen river.

Runners range as a ten K challenge is cancelled because of rain.

Competitors claim the whole event was a shambles. It was chaos, and a

lot of annoyed people because it was �25 to enter. To turn up and stand

in the rain. Bus travellers face an unusual

challenge to encourage them to better understand bitterly impaired

passengers. And crowds turned out in their

thousands for the 25th Sunderland International Airshow.

In sport, Newcastle have another offer rejected, while CC prepares

for his preseason debut. And Crystal and Sun is sweating after another

disappointing performance at the warning to stay away from swollen

rivers, after a woman and two children had to be winched 100 feet

to safety when they became trapped by rising waters in North Yorkshire.

The group were clinging to a tree stump on an island in the River Ure

at Grewelthorpe near Ripon. RAF pilots said the rescue was "as

difficult as they get". Later the same helicopter was sent to rescue a

man who'd fallen overboard from his boat, two miles off the Scarborough

coast. It's July, but this river is practically in full spate, a result

of the weekend's heavy rain. Nearly a month's worth fail in 24 hours,

and this was the result. Steady. The height is good. A dramatic rescue of

a woman and her two daughters, caught out at the river rose. You

can see that distal ones in the arms of their rescuer. The survivors were

above the level of the water on a small island. Normally we would only

winched to people at a time, but we got them on board, major they were

well, they settled down quickly, and then be redeployed the winchman to

rescue the mother. All three were checked by medics and went home. To

say this site is inaccessible is putting it mildly. It is a steep

half hour walk to the nearest road, and looking at the height of the

trees, it is amazing FA Cup could get down into the steering to do the

rescue. As for the river itself, it is usually an easy paddle and

scrambled to the island, but that rain came down the river and

transformed it into this current you can see now. The levels have dropped

considerably since trapping the family, at the river is still

dangerous. It is something for the public to feed from this incident,

how quickly the river can change from what may look inviting and

benign to a raging current in a matter of minutes. There has been

very heavy rainfall in the hills further up the Dales before the

incident. The continuing rainfall is still pouring off the hills into the

river system, making current rapid and levels of unpredictable. Rescue

services warned, take care. A Hartlepool man has been remembered

with custody, charged with manslaughter. Paul Nash has been

charged over the death of Andrew Simon. Simon died following a fire

at his home on Devon Street. A large crane which caught fire beside the

A66 near Penrith is being removed this evening. There were delays

yesterday, with the road closed in both directions after the fire. One

name is currently closed westbound rather crane is removed.

There will be more nurses on the wards of North Comriehospitals after

a report criticised patient care at Carlisle and Whitehaven. Some senior

nurses will return to the core nursing team, with a consultation

period under way. The changes will be introduced in October.

1000 athletes all trying to win a medal or the first ever Norse

challenge, a ten kilometre extreme obstacle in during Thrace in

Northumberland, but the race didn't even get underway. Entrants told us

the event was a complete shambles. Organisers say it was because of

safety concerns and heavy rain. All smiles despite the rain, 1000

runners, but these pictures would be the only ones taken by the race

photographer, because the hours later, the event was abandoned, an

event which included obstacle such as barbed wire, giant hay bales and

a water slide. The obstacles wouldn't have begun there. Racers

who contacted us say the first obstacle they faced was trying to

find the start line. They say the organisation was so shambolic that

the marshals couldn't even tell them that much. So all trained up and

nowhere to run. People like Sophie had an even more fundamental

problem. She couldn't even find a Marshall. Utter chaos. A lot of

annoyed people, because it was �25 to enter to turn up and stand in the

rain. One of the organisers is a full-time amylin striver and a keen

runner. He insists it was called off for one main reason, the fear that

runners could suffer hypothermia as the rain came down. He did hint

there was something else. We are saying the weather but there were

other issues that will be looked into, but we took the decision

because of the weather to cancel that competition on the day. What

were the other issues? We will look into those in the future. What are

they? There was a feud, but all I can say is that we will look into

them. We laughed it off at the end of the day, but two girls from our

team came from Derby, which is a lot of money, so it was meant to be a

fun day out and it wasn't, it was an absolute nightmare. We are as

disappointed as anybody. We put a lot of hard work in and it was with

a lot of regret that we cancelled it. Refunds should be available and

a new date is being organised for those who still want to do the

event. Sophie says that doesn't include her.

You can find out what people are saying about the race that wasn't on

our Facebook page. A number of north-east striver 's

face an unusual challenge when they shop -- they swapped places with

blind and partially sighted people in support of a new campaign from

the Royal National is a treat of blind people when it's discovered

how many of its members struggle when using public transport. The

charity is calling on bass tribe is to remember, "stop for me, speak for

me -- speak to me. " Hopping on a bus is something many of us take for

-- take for granted, but for a blind or vision impaired passengers, there

are challenges. I can't see the bus coming, so my number one thing is to

make sure it stops. Buses are a lifeline for blind and partially

sighted people, but a recent survey by RNIB found that nine out of ten

people say they can't see an approaching bust in time to heal it,

and eight in ten say they missed the bus they want. If you are at the bus

stop and you can't tell if its a bus, lorry or a fire engine coming

live alone what number it is, it becomes difficult for people like

us. People say to bus they have had one or two good experiences but

plenty of bad experiences. We're not asking for a huge changes, but some

basic changes in driver attitude and behaviour, and improved driver

training to make that happen. drivers and managing director of a

Riva Nick Knox experienced what it is like for passengers with sight

loss to board a bus. I didn't think about how listening to people is

difficult it is all the noises around you are much more acute, so

it is difficult to concentrate on one person. What would be amazing is

that all these companies could install audiovisual announcements on

buses. This would give people like myself the independence to travel

anywhere on a bus, safely and independently. The RNIB hopes all

bus companies will get on board and train their drivers so they know

what kind of help they should offer. Every second counts when people are

missing or get injured. Locating people so they can be rescued and if

they require taken to hospital is often a difficult task, especially

in the Lake District. As with so many things, there could be a new

technology solution. A drone, and unmanned multi-controlled aircraft,

is now being tested to see how effective the idea might be.

When recovering a T, speed is of the essence in the Lake District, so for

the Mountain rescue team, and I in the sky can be helpful. This is the

unmanned aircraft developed by the University of Central Lancashire,

which is being tested by mountain rescue volunteers. I am about to go

and hide on the fellside, and the guys will put up to unmanned drones

that will see whether they can locate me. Images will be beamed to

people who were watching, all over the world, actually, and then see if

they can spot for IM. These things can scale eight or ten square

kilometres in about ten minutes. We have been looking at images, the

public have tagged images, identified were there might be

people on the fells, we have had three or 4000 spots in the last ten

minutes. That will help the team looking for people who are missing.

Testing the drone is expected to continue in order to see how it

copes in bad weather and at night, so it could be many years before it

is adopted by mountain rescue teams. Plenty more to come tonight. Dot is

here with the sport and the latest from our clubs, and the music and

entertainment world throughout for a little girl left without her mum and

sister after a car crash. And after a mixed weekend

weather-wise, it stays volatile but warm over the coming days. Join me

later for the full array. Richard Branson's virgin money,

which bought Northern Rock last year, has donated �500,000 to the

charitable arm of the bank. Business has returned to a position of

profitable trading on a monthly basis, so virgin money decided to

make the gesture to the Northern Rock foundation, which helps

vulnerable people in the north-east and Cumbria.

Two commemorative postboxes which mark the success of our athletes at

the Olympics and Paralympics will remain cold. The post box in Jarrow

has had a threat coast of gold paint, and a plaque detailing his

achievements. Team GB won the men's 400 metres freestyle swimming event,

and this post racks -- this postbox in bark has a plaque commemorating

the gold medal in rowing. Funding for the arts has been hit

hard, but the theatre by the lake in Keswick has kept its head above

water with a wide range of shows. Its remote location on the shores of

Derwent water hasn't hampered its ambitious programme, and it remains

one of a handful of theatres which employs a rectory company of actors

Use your sex appeal. Uncle is very broad-minded. Husband and wife

onstage, and soon to be in real life too. Heather and Ben met while

working as part of the company as the theatre by the lake in Keswick.

Then fell down the stairs, I ran around a lot in my underwear and a

blonde wig, and I think that was the great start for a relationship.

Yeah. And after completing another summer season at the theatre, they

are getting married. What is it like being married onstage knowing you

are getting married soon? It's helping pay for the wedding. It's

sort of a detached relationship. In comparison, in the other play we do

together, we can't stand each other, to the extent that I thought to

poison then's character, and he is rescued by his servant, who poisons

me instead. That is more realistic. Heather and then's story is part of

the unique history of the theatre by the lake. 20 years, it was known as

the blue box, made from portable theatre carbons. Some seeds beneath

a leaky spot were a no-no when it was raining. And theatre-goers will

remember being given a torch and a key they needed a kit to go to the

locked block across the car park, but in 1999, the new building was

created. Since then, things have gone from strength to strength. Last

year, the turnover was �3.3 billion. Revenue from ticket sales was �1.7

million last year. The theatre also gets arts Council funding of

�600,000, and the army of volunteers who help to run the theatre saved

around �100,000 a year, enough to employ five other members of

permanent staff. It is great fun, you meet people, you meet wonderful

audience members, it is a wonderful place and we wanted to be

successful, which it is. It gives people a chance to get involved in

something local, and this is good for the theatre because they can

handful in the UK which employs a repertory company of 14 actors --

actors to take part in six plays throughout the summer. It is

exciting. There are not many other theatres doing this. Actors used to

finished training, go into rap and stay in a theatre for a good amount

of time and learn their craft. There are so few chances nowadays for

young actors to do that. This season's shows run until early

November, so in the meantime, tanning for next year's programme

and Ben and Heather's wedding goes Organisers of a celebrity football

match on Teeside hope to raise �10,000 for charity. The game was

held in memory of a mother and daughter who died in a car crash

near Newcastle in August 2010. Too young to remember the crash he will

never forget. Ava Richardson was just ten weeks old when her mum Jo

and sister Meyer died. She and her dad survived when the pickle he was

driving was hit by a car going the wrong way. Grief has now being

turned into something positive. couldn't find any help and I thought

I wanted to try and do something, we need to try and help others, so that

was the foundation for the charity. It's going from strength to

strength. Stars from television and music turned out to play in a

football match in support of the Jo and Meyer Memorial fund. People say

actors want to be footballers, footballers want to be actors, that

all the lads enjoy a game of football. It's nice to come and meet

the people who have come out. We appreciate them coming out and we

like to have a bit of fun and hopefully give people an

entertaining day. These guys travel around Dane football for their

charity. We help them with the fundraiser we did, and we were keen

to come back this year. We all love it up here, so fingers crossed we

will be back next year. Yesterday's match is one of a series of events

to support the trust which helps children who have lost a parent or

sibling. We hope they reach their target.

Newcastle united have reporter of the pulled out of negotiations to

sign a striker from Lyon. The French club turned down an improved offer,

although it is thought the bid remains on the table. It means new

director of the bowl Joe Kinnear has failed to sign anyone this summer

and remains desperate to build his squad. United are still interested

in the signing, Ravi pulled out of the deal in favour of a move to QPR,

but one striker set to make his debut tomorrow night is C say, who

has resolved his dispute with the club over wearing kit sponsored by

wonder. He will return to action tomorrow, bringing his summer of

exile to an end. It is a boost for the manager, since this club's

search for striker 's house reduced nothing. He has not been involved in

any of United's preseason games, including yesterday's victory over

Blackpool, after refusing to wear the new shirt on religious grounds.

A solution was brokered last week and he is now back in the fold.

Sunderland have let their midfielder go to a Turkish side at which meant

he played no part in the game in Hong Kong. The atrocious pitch was

ruined by torrential rain. They go after 11 minutes sealed the win for

city, although Sutherland had a late chance to level the score. City held

on to win their first trophy under the new manager. But they look

forward to returning to Wearside. Colin Cooper has added to his squad

with defender Christian Burgess joining them on loan, and Boro's 21

win over Bordeaux... Barrack Rangers beat Livingston, who played two

divisions above them in the Scottish league after extra time.

She has been to two Olympics, and this evening's Hartlepool's Geller

wrote hopes to swim in her final event, the butterfly at the World

Championships in Barcelona, but she fails to make the final by just 0.02

seconds. Someone who hopes of making the athletics Championships are now

hiring by a thread it Middlesbrough's Chris Tomlinson.

Chris is witting for a phone call which will determine if he makes the

team for Moscow. He failed to achieve their long job a standard at

the Anniversary Games, his best leap writing him that at the stadium.

That leaves this letter is with a straight choice between him and

Olympic champion Greg Rutherford, who is best jump this evening is one

metre longer then Tomlinson 's but has had a hamstring industry.

injured, I'm not, but I do understand he was in the Olympics

last year, whereas I finished sixth. If it wasn't for the Olympics last

year, I'm sure I would have been selected already. At the IPC World

Athletics Championships in Lyon, Jade Jones, lined up alongside the

great American Tatyana McFadden. She went on to her sixth gold medal

while Jones finished seventh with a time of 15.4 seconds.

The wet weather played havoc with several speedway fixtures over the

weekend, . These were the scenes on Tyneside, as the rain had paid to

Newcastle's Premier league match against Edinburgh. There was a

narrow home defeat. The weather was pretty decent over

the weekend for the 25th Sunderland International Airshow. The cloud --

the crowd turned out in their thousands and it was a fabulous

line-up, gently to see and do. Here is a chance to see what you missed.

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 80 seconds

And if you did go, time to enjoy Very nice. A glimpse there of the

Northeast weather over the weekend. Volatile is the word that springs to

mind. Nice one minute, not so much the next. This was Whitley Bay

seafront earlier this afternoon. Sunny one minute, then a downpour

resulting in a waterfall leading onto the beach, and many places did

have some sharp, thundery showers through today, with good Sunny

spells in between. There was that spell of very wet weather over the

course of the weekend, sunny for many, sunny eventually on Sunday,

but for 12 hours in between there was a month's worth of rain on

Carlisle on Saturday night and Sunday morning, almost 80

millimetres. As we head into the night, still one or two showers, and

that theme continues. Temperatures will stay on the warm side, but

always the risk of some volatile thundery showers. A few heavy

showers this evening. Most of those will die away tonight, just one or

will die away tonight, just one or two in western Cumbria. Temperatures

will nip down to 12 or 13 Celsius at the lowest. Tomorrow morning, many

eastern areas will start off dry and sunny, but we will see those big

shower clouds bring up, and you could easily catch a thundery shower

tomorrow. There will be some bright spells in between, some for parts of

north Yorkshire where we will see the highest temperatures, around 20

Celsius, with a noticeable south-westerly breeze. That is the

picture for tomorrow on the pressure chart. For Wednesday, this warm

front works up from the south, that will bring rain to most places, also

introduces some higher temperatures for the end of the week, so it will

be even warmer than over the last few days, so choosy and Wednesday, a

risk of a few showers, that rain spreading up from the south.

Temperatures generally in the low 20s, but Thursday and Friday, again

I rest showers, 25, 26, maybe a few spots a bit warmer than that. You

can keep up today with the BBC weather app. Thank you for that. Now

for tonight's headlines, this single biggest provider of the NHS 111

service has announced it will pull out of its remaining contracts. NHS