13/02/2014 Look North (North East and Cumbria)

First Minister, Alex Salmond, what he would

Good evening. They were befriended, given alcohol and taken to parties.

Then they were exploited and abused. This afternoon, two men who

"groomed" and had sex with six vulnerable young girls were

sentenced to a combined total of 16 years in prison. A 17`year`old youth

was sent to a young offenders' institution for his role in helping

the men meet the girls. Stuart Whincup reports. Under the cover of

darkness, some girls were picked up from their homes in the early hours

of the morning ` given free taxi rides, drink, drugs... They were

taken to nightclubs and parties. They were all befriended and

exploited. This woman's daughter was one of six girls sexually abused by

the men. I was devastated. I couldn't believe a person could do

that to a child. That's what she is ` a child. This was the man who

abused her daughter ` a 32`year`old local taxi driver, it was claimed

he'd been in contact and messaged 200 girls. Today he was sentenced to

eight years in prison. He picked up one girl in the middle of the night

while she was in her pyjamas and slippers. He had sex with her in a

lay`by. Young people don't see what's happening to them. They don't

see the grooming. They don't see the fact this is a huge con. They want

to believe in the goodness ` that he wouldn't really treat me that way...

He didn't act alone. This 19`year`old was also sentenced to

eight years in prison for sexually assaulting five girls. A 17`year`old

was found to have helped him meet the girls and was sentenced to three

years in a young offenders' institution. Parents have now been

warned to monitor their children's social network sites after all three

men used Facebook and BlackBerry Messenger. Some children, perhaps

for the first time, are being showered with affection. Gifts.

Mobile phones. Drink. Drugs. Further down the journey, they realise

they've been exploited. Thousands of people in the south and

west of England are going through misery because of the floods. But

spot the difference. These are scenes from Morpeth in

Northumberland ` also flooded in 2008 and 2012. The Prime Minister

has said that "money's no object" in helping victims down South. But

that's brought an angry response from one of our MPs ` as Jonathan

Swingler reports. The destruction the weather's caused down south has

dominated the national headlines. The government has responded with

firm offers of financial support. Money is no object in this relief

effort. Whatever money is needed, will be spent. What about here? This

place has had a rough time of it. There were floods in 2008 and 2012.

One MP says there's a north south divide when it comes to the response

to flooding. We've seen the Prime Minister saying there's an open

chequebook, that finances aren't a problem with regard to defences in

that area. That wasn't the case when we had problems here in the north.

Money was tight. People are entitled to ask why that's the case. It's

running behind schedule, but work is continuing to finish the fences

here. `` defences. People we spoke to believe there's more support for

those down south, compared to what's happened here. David Cameron on the

television.. He said money was no object. I've got sympathy. It would

have been nice if money were no object when we needed help up here.

Now it's in the south, there seems to be more of a response. It feels

unfair. We do feel sorry for them though. As a nation, we get obsessed

about the weather, but moreso if you live here. Hopefully they won't have

any more problems with flooding in the future. So Jonathan, it sounds

like the government is going to be in trouble whatever it does? The

government can argue that what has happened in the south was on a far

larger scale. Being in Morpeth, people are annoyed. It has added to

the perception of a north south divide.

Mark Arthur ` who stabbed his wife to death at the Newcastle home last

April ` has been given a life sentence. Yesterday, at Newcastle

Crown Court, he was convicted of murder ` and today he was told he'll

serve a minimum of 18 years in jail. Here's our news correspondent, Peter

Harris. Mark Arthur. A killer who showed no genuine remorse. Here at

the family home he attacked his wife Heather with a knife after she told

him she'd had an affair. Now we can report the Arthurs' lived here with

their two children, a boy and girl aged seven and nine ` effectively

orphaned. The court was addressed by Heather's dad Alan ` describing her

as beautiful, he said she was the best daughter anyone could wish for.

She was devoted to the children. He said they were the biggest losers in

this tragedy. The tragedy is that Heather won't get to see her

children grow up. They'll grow up without their mother, and in real

terms, their father. Heather had been an enthusiastic jazz singer.

Her marriage unhappy, she confided in sax player Paul Gowland and they

started a relationship. Those in the region's jazz scene speak highly of

her. She was lovely. You felt like you'd known her all your life. She

had that personality. If it had been somebody who you thought wasn't so

pleasant, you could halfway understand. But not her. Sentencing

Mark Arthur at Newcastle Crown Court, the judge said he'd been a

controlling husband who subjected Heather to emotional abuse. The day

he stabbed he through the heart he'd been in a violent rage, his

intention to kill. Jailing Mark Arthur for at least 18 years, the

judge said Arthur would be haunted by the suffering he had inflicted on

his children ` who will now grow up without a mother.

High winds caused delays for rail travellers on both the East and West

Coast Mainlines today. There were also power cuts in parts of Cumbria.

The owner of this car in Carlisle woke up to a nasty surprise. The car

was crushed by a tree in Currock Park Avenue. Elsewhere, this pylon

near Houghton`le`Spring in County Durham took a battering, but the

power lines remained intact. That's all from me for tonight `

time for the weather forecast for tomorrow and the weekend, from Paul

Mooney. Fairly quiet tonight. Many places

will stay dry. However, temperatures dipping to freezing. Tomorrow starts

off dry. There will be some hill snow as well. It will blow around

with a gusty wind. Five or six Celsius. Sunday looks the better day

weather centre for the national forecast from Nick Miller.

Hello, in this winter of perpetual autumn, it seems we're never more

than a day away from a storm so we must be due another one and as

you've just heard, here it comes, deepening in the Atlantic Trio

heading for us. Overall for the UK, we're not expecting this to be as

severe as the storm yesterday that there will be some significant

impact, particularly where the Met Office has weather warnings in force

and that means more rain will serve to heighten the floods. All the

while, the wind is picking up, reaching its peak tomorrow night in

southern England. This is the rest of tonight and where we've had

showers, south-west England and Northern Ireland and Scotland, as

icy patches developing. Quite a cold start but, for Scotland, Northern

Ireland and northern England, a dry start for most of us. Look at this -

the rain from that area of low pressure I showed you is already

across much of southern England and South Wales. These triangles are Met

Office amber warning is for rain in south-west England,