25/09/2013 Look North (North East and Cumbria)

Welcome to Look North. In the programme tonight: Standing down.

Firefighters walk out in their first national strike for a decade in the

row over plans to make them work until they're 60. Asking

firefighters to work until they are 16 really is an unsafe situation for

the public. Also tonight: Heart of gold — the

woman whose life was saved by surgery is named Volunteer of the

Year by the British Heart Foundation.

Battling butchers — the campaign to persuade shoppers to buy meat from

the High Street, not the supermarkets they claim are killing

their trade.. And green therapy — how a Royal

Horticultural Society project has led to an award for this North East

school. And in sport: Can Newcastle follow

Sunderland into the fourth round of the League Cup tonight?

The arguing's over as the Black Cats put their Di Canio debacle behind

them with a confident win over Peterborough.

First tonight, the fire strike. At noon, as threatened, members of the

Fire Brigades Union walked out of many of our fire stations. It was

only a four—hour strike, but it left many communities feeling vulnerable,

The Union says it's been forced into the action because of Government

plans to raise firefighters' retirement age from the current 55,

to 60. It says older members can't be expected to carry out the heavy

physical work involved. The Government says they could be

offered alternative posts within the Fire Service. So how has our region

coped? Ian Reeve has been following developments and joins us now from

the Cleveland Fire Brigade headquarters in Hartlepool.

This is where Cleveland Fire crews are dispatched from. There are 41

potentially hazardous sites. But today it was quite to the relief of

everyone involved. The first firefighters' strike in more than a

decade. At this station, 50 firefighters were on the picket

line. This man complains that he now has to work until he is 60 and

maintain strict fitness levels. If not, he will have to leave and lose

money from his pension. You don't know what could happen over the next

few years and the way the government are talking, you could be sacked if

you are not capable of reaching your fitness levels. It is frightening.

According to the Fire Brigade Union, the public have sympathy. Asking us

to work until we are 60 is an unsafe situation for the public. I don't

think many people out there, who the Fire Service belongs to, who would

want a crew of firefighters with an average age of 58. But the

government says older firefighters don't have to do this. They could be

found other jobs. It is claimed that the pension is one of the most

generous in the public sector. Here, volunteers were working along the

non—striking firefighters. This team attended the fire but then spent the

rest of the day driving around. We had two calls. In terms of

operationally, we didn't have a lot to do. Hopefully that is due to the

prevention messages we have been sending out and the message we have

been communicating which is take extra care. The union still has a

mandate to call its members out, though. This strike may only be an

opening shot of an intensifying dispute.

So that's the picture on Teesside, Ian. How have brigades in other

parts of our region coped? It has been quite quiet. We have six

Fire Brigade 's. Two incidents in Durham and Darlington. North

Yorkshire had five incidents. The brigade is on the scene at an

incident in Scarborough. Cumbrae I had just one incident.

Northumberland also had one incident. Time and we are Tyne and

Wear so a few incidents. Somebody was trapped between a Metro train

and the platform. But, in the main, rather quiet.

The Bishop of Newcastle has launched a campaign against wind farms,

calling them a blot on the landscape of the Northern Saints. The Right

Reverend Martin Wharton says Christians have a duty to protect

the countryside from more turbines. He says he was dismayed by what he

saw as a proliferation— of wind farms while travelling through

Northumberland for celebrations of the return of the Lindisfarne

Gospels. A group of energy companies says it

can't confirm reports that the government could auction off land it

bought to build a new nuclear power station in West Cumbria. NuGen wants

to develop the land near Sellafield, but reports suggest the government

could put the plot up for sale as NuGen failed to make progress on a

new power station. NuGen says the information is too commercially

sensitive to discuss. A volunteer for the British Heart

Foundation — whose life was saved by a triple by—pass — has been honoured

for her voluntary work. Wendy Patterson from Berwick has been

named regional Volunteer of the Year. As a thank you she met one of

the researchers trying to find a cure for heart disease. Alison

Freeman reports. She may be taking the money, but for

Wendy it's all about giving back. 15 years ago, she went to hospital for

what she thought would be a routine check up. But it led to her life

being saved by a triple heart bypass. So for the past six years

Wendy's been volunteering at the British Heart Foundation's charity

shop in Berwick. She's now been named their regional retail

volunteer of the year — despite even more personal tragedy.

Two years ago she lost her son to heart disease. She was back

volunteering four months later. She is fantastic with the customers and

has a passion to make money. The 69—year—old was showing off her

skills at the Newcastle shop. She was under the watchful eye of

Research fellow Dr Helen Phillips. Her work aims to find a cure for

heart—disease.. It puts it into perspective because

you can get a bit blinkered in the lab. To meet people, it makes you

realise how important it is. Volunteers like Wendy raise around

£30 million per year, and pretty much all of that goes towards

funding research laboratories like this at the centre for life.

As a reward Wendy got to find out more about the research.

It is mind blowing to think what they do. What motivates you to keep

working? To do something useful. If it wasn't for volunteers, this

wouldn't happen. Wendy wants her story to encourage

others to donate time and money to research.

Nine libraries are to close in Sunderland. Council bosses have

agreed to cut the number of static libraries from 20 to 11, saving

around £850,000 a year from their budget. Campaigners are hoping to

get the decision changed by the full council which meets tonight.

A former Newcastle footballer has been honoured with a commemorative

plaque in the city. Colin Veitch led the Magpies to three League

Championships and five FA Cup finals, winning the cup in 1910. The

following year, he co—founded the People's Theatre in the city. The

plaque is at number 1 Stratford Villas in Heaton, where he lived

while he was Newcastle's captain. Now it's a tough job, you need to be

fit, but it's no doubt rewarding. One of our region's busiest rescue

services is on the look—out for more volunteers to help people in trouble

on the North York Moors. The Cleveland Mountain Rescue Team are

on call 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. They're holding a recruitment

drive tomorrow at their base at Great Ayton near Roseberry Topping.

Phil Chapman's been to see the work they do.

Anyone who enjoys the great outdoors could potentially find themselves on

mountain rescue stretcher. Recent incidents for the Cleveland Mountain

Rescue Team have included walkers lost in the fog, mountain bikers

with head injuries and even dementia sufferers missing from home. So,

could you help out? You have to be a good team player and an experienced

mountaineer. You also have to have a knowledge of the North York Moors.

We never know what the next call is going to be. Any advice from recent

recruits? Don't be scared. As long as you are someone with a reasonable

degree of ability and go walking regularly, you will probably find

the training stimulating and interesting and a bit of a walk on

the wild side. If you are open—minded, you will cope fine. And

there is a lot of kit to get used to. We have various equipment from

specialist to straightforward. In the changing times of mountain

rescue, water kit is also used. Teams have to be trained to operate

around water margins and areas. The team have had a record 55 callouts

this year so far. If you are an experienced hill walker or

mountaineer, you could volunteer and help them save lives.

And that recruitment event starts at 8pm tomorrow evening at the team's

headquarters. When was the last time you bought

meat? And where did you buy it? High Street butchers say they're in

danger of disappearing from our town centres because of competition from

supermarkets. But they're fighting back. As Cathy Killick reports, in

York, they're taking steps to make sure they're not consigned to

history. It is one of York's most famous

streets, loved by tourists for it's crooked houses and charm. These

days, it is full of new shops but the old wooden shelves are evidence

of a more gory past. They were called flesh shelves and were used

for meat. My dad used to really enjoy telling me about all the

butchers that were here. He said the gutters ran with the blood. Now, the

York sausage shop is the last surviving butchers and one of just

two in the city. We have a lot of competition from supermarkets. We

have around nine in the city centre. They are very close by so we have a

lot of competition. They have massive buying power. They have

massive buying power. Taken by more than we can and sell it cheaper. At

York's Festival of food and drink, the butchers are fighting back. It

is not just York that is losing its butchers. We are down to just under

7000 independent butchers. One way to save the High Street is going

back to a local butcher. If enough people use them, they should survive

but they are vulnerable. At if we want them in our town centres, they

need support. Coming up shortly: Dawn's here with

the sports news. And former Newcastle United goalkeeper Steve

Harper proves that home is where the heart is. He's become honorary

president of the team his dad used to play for. Tomorrow most of us

will have some brighter skies. I'll be back later.

Now, most people regard gardening as a relaxing hobby. But, at a school

in North Tyneside, it's actually improving the behaviour of some

pupils. Southlands School, which teaches some children with

challenging behaviour, has been working with the Royal Horticultural

Society on the project. Those involved say spending more time

outside is having a positive affect on the students, as Tolu Adeoye

reports. It's a welcome change to sitting in

a classroom. These students have got green fingers. They've been growing

vegetables, looking after hens and now they're even building a pond.

You need to put all the planks in and join them together. It helps me

a lot because you can plant stuff and cruel stuff and the teachers

help you. It helps you concentrate on lessons and calm down.

The push outdoors is part of a project with the Royal Horticultural

Society and the Children's Foundation. The students have fun,

but those involved say there are far—reaching benefits. All our

children have learning difficulties. This started out as a

small programme designed to try and get an alternative when children

were struggling in the classroom. Now they want to be in school and

working. It is taking off. It gives a chance to students who find it

difficult to be behind a desk in a small classroom. They can move more

freely and it is not a disruption. This is some of the stuff the

students have grown. The lessons don't end there. They will learn how

to make things in class, too. And these flowers show why the

school recently won the Young Gardener of the Year category in

this year's North Tyneside in Bloom competition. It's hoped more schools

will see the example here, and get more students learning outdoors.

He spent 20 years with Newcastle United, which was marked earlier

this month with a charity match in front of more than 50,000 fans, but

now former Magpies goalkeeper Steve Harper is turning his attention

closer to home. He's just been made honorary president of his hometown's

football club — Easington Colliery AFC. And there's another reason why

he loves the club — his dad used to play for the team. Stephanie

Cleasby's been speaking to both of them.

A chance for father and son to reminisce. A photo on the club wall

— a reminder of Alan Harper's playing days. His team even won some

silverware. That's the morning after. We won it the night before.

This place was Steve's playground as a child. Now, after two decades

playing for Newcastle United he's returned. And, as honorary

president, he hopes to help turn around the club's fortunes. It's my

home. My parents still live here and I am proud to be from here. Anything

I can do to help promote the town and its football team and help the

area, I am more than happy to. It is an honour to be honorary president.

Looking round the area, it needs a boost. If Steven can help out, all

the better. This is where it all began. The club has become very run

down and they are struggling to find money to fix the floodlights. But

they hope that over the next 12 months they will secure funding to

build a new community clubhouse and changing rooms.

It's quite a reunion. Steve's childhood friend, Paul Adamson is

the club's chairman. It's great to have someone like Steve involved

with the club. More so for the junior kids, you know? It is great

for them. It raises the profile of the club, which is what we want to

do. We might get some more people through the door.

And Steve might discover a few things about his dad's footballing

past. Did you ever play in goal? Yes. Did you? Yes. I didn't know

that. A couple of games. And there'll be more stories from

Easington all next week on BBC Tees. The station will be looking at what

the future holds for the people of the former pit town, after Education

Secretary Michael Gove's critical comments about its schools.

Sunderland's search for a new manager is likely to go on into next

week, but last night the players put a turbulent few days behind them

with a confident win over League One Peterborough. A dressing room revolt

cost Paolo Di Canio his job on Sunday, but the Black Cats showed a

united front to book their place in the next round of the League Cup

last night. Peter Harris reports. 48 hours from the dressing room coup

that ended Paulo Di Canio's revolution, Sunderland's players

restored order on the pitch. And, ironically, they took the lead

through the link—up play of two of those heavily criticised by the

former manager. Deposed captain Lee Cattermole setting up Emanuele

Giaccherini. Having survived a scare against League One opponents in the

last round, an upset was never on the cards from then on. Jozy

Altidore, a Di Canio signing, almost doubled the lead on the stroke of

half time. The second eventually came 16 minutes from time as

Valentin Roberge headed home Adam Johnson's cross. 2—0 and praise

afterwards for Cattermole — whose training ground confrontation with

Di Canio had set in motion the manager's departure Every time he

has trained with us, he has been first class.

When he is on the pitch, he is a winner.

If this win proves cathartic, next up is the far stiffer test of

Liverpool. The caretaker boss enjoyed his night with the first

team, whether he'll still be there after Sunday is anyone's guess. To

be fair, there a good chance. Anyone of them would do for me. What next?

Well, Newcastle are hoping to follow Sunderland into the fourth round of

the League Cup tonight. After the weekend's defeat to Hull, they take

on the once mighty Leeds United at St James' Park — Alan Pardew's first

home tie in the competition as Magpies manager. And, like the fans,

the Newcastle boss would love to get his hands on some silverware.

A recent local newspaper poll showed that almost 67% of fans thought

winning a trophy was more important than a top—six finish in the Premier

League. Managers, of course, can't afford to ignore the financial

importance of staying in the top flight. Alan Pardew won't be making

the kind of wholesale changes to his team that we've seen elsewhere this

week, but he will be fielding some youngsters tonight. To a degree, I

think we need to see what options we have for the Premier league. We are

putting out a strong side tomorrow but I do need to look at one or two

to see if they can push to the stars for this team. In particular, two

young players who have done absolutely brilliantly. This will be

a team that I hope it makes up for a disappointing game on Saturday. I am

still lived about the result. Make no mistake, we will be at the races

on Wednesday night. It's only the third time the two

Uniteds have met in the League Cup. Leeds have won on both previous

occasions and, with 5000 travelling fans in the stands tonight, Brian

McDermott's side will be hoping to revive the glory days. I know the

manager well. He is a friend of mine. This is a big game. It puts

them back in the spotlight. They are a fantastic club and they are a

Premier league club which is outside of it at the moment. But on this

particular night, we want to put them out.

And, as always, you can hear full match commentary on BBC Newcastle

with Mick Lowes and John Anderson and there'll be highlights on the

League Cup Show here on BBC One at 11:05pm.

Durham's cricketers will parade the County Championship trophy at

half—time during the Sunderland/Liverpool match at the

Stadium of Light on Sunday. But the champions are struggling in the

final game of the season. Sussex took a first innings lead of 164.

Bad light stopped play when Durham were two without loss in the second.

Runners—up Yorkshire missed out on maximum batting points despite a

huge century from Ashes—bound Gary Ballance. But Surrey had lost just

one wicket for 172 at stumps. And this time last year, we had some

fairly dramatic scenes. Remember this?

These pictures ended up going around the world. This was Newburn, just

west of Newcastle. September the 25th saw more torrential rain

falling, after a sodden summer turned into an equally drenched

Autumn. A collapsed culvert caused serious flooding around the new

flats at Spencer Court. It was so bad the block had to be demolished,

and some families living nearby still haven't been able to return to

their homes. And further down the hill, in Walbottle, the devastation

continued. Debris blocked the roads, burying cars, and the floodwaters

swept through businesses forcing them to shut for months. Well, one

year on, it's a quite different picture. While some residents are

still in temporary accommodation, the businesses are back. There's

been a major engineering operation to replace the culvert and, looking

at today's pictures of a quiet September afternoon, it's hard to

believe what was happening a year ago. Thankfully things are much

quieter at the moment. Tomorrow, we are in for a much

brighter skies in many areas, eastern areas especially. In the

West, maybe a slightly different story. In the evening today, a

blanket of cloud. One or two areas so some brightness. To the north,

some clearer skies heading our way through the night. It is drizzly and

misty just now but we will see broken cloud and clearer skies

extending south and west by the tail end of the night. We will see

temperatures dipping further than they have done over the last few

nights. Where the sky is clear, it could be as cold as five or six

degrees Celsius. So, cold first thing tomorrow morning where the sky

has cleared. The clear sky will spread further west during the day

so it will be a much improved picture. Western parts of Cumbria

will hang on to a bit more Clyde, maybe even a spot of rain. —— a bit

more cloud. The women's tomorrow —— the wind tomorrow comes from an

easterly direction. Things are pretty quiet for the next few days.

As we head through the tail end of the week and into the weekend, it

looks fairly settled. For the next few days, Thursday onto Friday, some

bright spells. Many places will stay dry through the weekend as well. The

best of the brightness is probably during Saturday. A bit more cloud on

Sunday. Mostly drive for the weekend. Remember to keep your

weather pictures coming. Now for a look at tonight's

headlines. Over £1 billion is wiped off the value of two of the biggest

energy companies as Labour proposes a freeze on energy prices, but Ed

Miliband sticks to his guns. And firefighters throughout the

region have been taking part in the first national strike for ten years.

They're protesting at government plans to make them work until

they're 60. We are back at 10:25pm.