27/03/2014 Look North (North East and Cumbria)

That's all from us. Don't forget there's a first look at the papers

Good evening. over on the BBC News

Good evening. An arsonist, who carried out a

terrifying, two`year campaign in his home town, has been jailed for life.

John Brown, a 48`year`old alcoholic from Keswick, even started fires at

the homes of neighbours. Today, a judge at Carlisle Crown Court said:

it was "incredible" no`one had been killed. Mark McAlindon reports.

This was just one example of John Brown's appalling handiwork. Here

are family escaped one night just days before Christmas. Their home

ruined. Today, for that and 15 other attacks John Brown will recdive a

life sentence. The evidence speaks for itself. We were extremely lucky

that no one was seriously injured or killed. If it wasn't for thd fact

that members of the public were valiant in their efforts in raising

the alarm and taking people out of the burning houses, it may have been

a different story. Investig`tors said he was motivated by malice He

carried out this arson attacks against those he believed h`d

previously wronged him. We presented a case to the jury who saw through

his attempts to evade responsibility. One of the lost

chilling aspect of his behaviour wasn't only that he was per pair to

attack neighbours in this, the same street that he lived on, but on one

occasion he posed as a hero and help to rescue a lady from a fird that he

had started. On one occasion, teenage boy found his home `light,

and John was outside drinking a cup of tea. The judge told Brown that he

must serve a substantial service this

The container ship MV Danio ploughed into the Farnes last year, because

all of its crew of six were fast asleep. There had been no`one

keeping look out for an hour and a half. This "shocking failurd to

comply with the regulations" was the reason the huge ship ran aground.

Today, a Crown Court judge ordered the company responsible to pay more

than ?70,000 in fines and costs Dan Farthing reports.

The Danio, carrying timber from Scotland to Belgium, should have two

men on the bridge and awake at all times. But after midnight on the

first day of its voyage south, the captain went to bed and left his

first mate, who'd taken a cocktail of medicines, in charge. He nodded

off somewhere north of Berwhck and the rest is history. They are

professionals, they should have known better. They should h`ve had

better systems in place. Last year, the BBC's Inside Out team tracked

down the ship's owner to Poland where the vessel was sent for

repair. He was quick to blale the captain who he said had turned off

the watch alarm system, a sort of ship's dead man's handle, and also

his first mate who fell asldep at the helm. At sea, there is ` risk

because sometimes there is nothing to do for minutes, everything runs

on automatic, you just sit, this is comfortable, look out fall `sleep.

They have to make sure the vessel is being run properly and with

legislation. They should have systems to make sure that is

happening and in this case ht wasn't. Cuxship Management, the

German operators of the Danho, admitted failing to keep a look out

and failing to have a recognised safety management system. If their

mystery island, they could have gone on and struck other vessels, there

are sufficient boats going out. `` if they had missed that isl`nd. It

is perhaps fortunate that they ended up where they did.

Henshaws Society for Blind People in Harrogate has confirmed it will be

investigating historic allegations of child sex abuse by Jimmy Savile.

Henshaws says the allegations date back to the former school in

Harrogate, which is now a college. It says it'll provide what dvidence

it can, to the inquiry. In 2011, a whale was stranddd on

Redcar beach. Sadly, despitd attempts to save the animal, it

died. But today, some of it went on display in the town. Jonath`n

Swingler has the story. It was an amazing sight for the

people of Redcar. The sperm whale was believed to have weighed 35

tonnes. But it didn't survive. A postmortem revealed it had died from

dehydration and starvation. People here remember the efforts that were

made to try and rescue it. H was phoned to say there was a whale on

the beach. I jumped in the car and raced down here. We thought it may

be a small whale, but it was too big.

Today saw the unveiling of ` permanent reminder of what happened.

The whale's jaw bone is now on display at the Zetland Lifeboat

Museum. We keep it behind lock and key because it is valuable. We need

to keep it safe. When the tdeth were rescued, they had to be burhed in a

mixture of peat and sand for a couple of years. We then took some

advice from a museum in Massachusetts, they gave us a

formula that it needed to bd immersed in. It has taken the grease

out of the bones. It's hoped the exhibit will attract people to

Redcar. For some there's mixed emotions. It is happy to brhng

people to the area, but bec`use it died in front of you it is never a

good thing. Jonathan Swingldr, BBC Look North, Redcar.

That's it for now, so it's good night from me. Paul has the weather

outlook now. Quite a few cr`shes and bangs and hailstones Ali. Lots of

cloud around and outbreaks of rain. Edging northwards at little bit of

sleet and snow. With the bl`nket of cloud, it will stay frost free with

temperatures no lower than for Celsius in the easterly wind. A cold

easterly wind, a lot of clotd around. Outbreaks of rain for most

of us from time to time. Sole dry interludes. Maybe some brightness in

West Cumbria and that is whdre we will probably see the highest

temperatures, an agency 10 Celsius in Whitehaven. More like seven

Celsius along many parts of the north`east. Most places seehng some

rain again tomorrow. For thd weekend, had different storx, a

southeasterly wind, so some shelter, Penrith or Harrogate could see

bright spells and temperatures up`to`the`minute teens. Clotdy but

cool elsewhere. Nick Miller will have a full national forecast.

Hello, as winter becomes spring the atmosphere contains more energy The

shower clouds grow taller. If conditions are right, you get

thunder storms. There have been some today. Bob took this picture near

London this afternoon. The spring flowers will appreciate the re turn

return of warmth. Until then big showers to come, pushing in across

south-west England - some hail and thunder. Sleet and snow on to