26/12/2013 Look North (North East and Cumbria)

That is it for now. There is more throughout the evening on the BBC

News Channel. We are back with the Good evening.

People queued since the early hours this morning to grab a bargain in

the Boxing Day sales. Hundreds stood in subzero temperatures at retail

parks and shopping centres. Many stores opened at 7am, as Amy Lea

reports. You might be forgiven for thinking

that this was the last minute rush of shoppers on Christmas Eve. But

this car park is almost full, and its not even 7am. Welcome to the

Silverlink Retail Park on North Tyneside, and the Boxing Day sales.

It is mad, but everyone makes an effort to do it. When you get here

and realise you are not the first, it is not too bad. What time did you

get into the shop? 6:20am. Is it your money she is spending? It

certainly is. For some, this is as much of a tradition as Turkey,

heading to the shops for a bargain. WHITE Some online retail sites were

visited 117 million times yesterday. But that doesn't seem to have put

these people off hitting the shops to try and grab a bargin.

A woman's been raped in the toilets of a Newcastle bar. Officers were

called to Easy Street in the early hours of this morning. The offender

is described as a man in his 20s, of Eastern European appearance.

It's been a week since a Northumberland woman went missing.

Janis Hall, 65, disappeared from her home in Catton near Hexham last

Thursday. Searches have been ongoing throughout the Christmas period.

The Boxing Day hunt has been taking place in Bedale in North Yorkshire.

Around 100 riders set off from the town, which has been part of the

hunt for almost 200 years. It's been ten years since the ban on hunting

with hounds was passed. Thousands of people across the

region have been taking part in the annual Boxing Day dips. People have

been taking the plunge at Whitley Bay, Redcar, South Shields and at

Seaton Carew. What's thought to be the first Boxing Day dip in

Windermere has also been taking place. But by far the biggest event

in the country is at Seaburn in Sunderland, from where Stuart

Whincup reports. Brave or foolish? At this point,

there was no turning back. But was it as bad, was it as cold as we

imagine? Freezing. Freezing cold. I cannot feel my late 's. Are you

regretting the decision? It is really hot, lovely and warm. You

want to get in. It is great. Tropical. Exhilarating. I am doing

it in memory of my sister`in`law, who died last year. Seeing everybody

here is fabulous. Trillion. For all the impressive costume, one man

deserved special berets. `` special praise. What was that like?

Freezing, absolutely cold. The sea have been raising thousands of

pounds for local charities. `` the majority.

Onto today's football now, and great Christmas results for our top two

teams. Newcastle were easy 5`1 winners against Stoke at St James'

after the visitors went down to nine men. Everton's goalie was also shown

the red card, which helped Sunderland beat the Merseysiders

1`0, the Black Cats' first win at Goodison Park since 1996.

Let's get the weather forecast for this Boxing Day night now, and a

warning of gales. Here's Paul Hudson.

Good evening. Some adverse weather on the way. In the short`term, very

quiet, but wind and rain sweeping into night. A short spell of snow

over high ground. The lowest temperatures in the next couple of

hours. There is an amber warning in place tomorrow. We are expecting

severe gales across all parts of our area. That strong wind driving in

frequent, squalling showers. At times it will be quite wet.

That's all for now. We're back with the late news at 10.15pm. Have a

good evening. Hello there, most of us have had a

quiet Boxing Day, mostly dry, chilly, lingering mist, light winds.

That is all about to change. The next storm