20/06/2014 Look North (North East and Cumbria)

the man who thought he'd got away with murder.

Homes evacuated after a late`night arson attack

A claim that some are leaving the profession because

And Tour de France bunting hs removed from this town's lalpposts

Liam Plunkett's impressive return to test match cricket continues

And 40 years on, Carlisle remember their one and only

He thought he'd got away with murder.

But nine years after a wealthy heiress dis`ppeared,

Janet Brown was a film extr` from Hexham in Northumberland,

who'd been planning to go on holiday with married man

But he murdered her and concealed her body in order to gain htndreds

of thousands of pounds of hdr money to fund his lavish lifestyld.

Today, Graham, who's 60, was jailed for 32 years at

Janet Brown booked a holidax with her lover ` then vanished.

Donald Graham had murdered her and disposed of her body.

He spun an elaborate web of deceit to try

and cover his tracks ` sendhng fake postcards and letters from France to

her elderly parents, claiming to be Janet and telling them she'd found

He went on to gain their trtst when, in fact,

he was defrauding the familx out of hundreds of thousands of pounds.

He bought expensive cars for himself and a house for his new girlfriend.

Despite an extensive search of farmland in Northumberland close

to the former JCB digger drhver s home, Janet, who was 45 when she

Sentencing Graham, the judge Mr Justice Opensh`w, said,

"He must have believed he'd got away with murder

His undoing was trying to m`ke fraudulent withdrawals

from her father's bank accotnt after he'd passed away."

The court heard Graham is a controlling and manipulativd bully.

A man who made it look like Janet was alive when

in fact he had murdered her ` all for financial gain.

Elizabeth Todd ` seen here on the right on the phone ` was accused

of taking part in the fraud and perverting the course of justice.

A jury was unable to reach a verdict in her case

Graham has been jailed for life with a minimum term of 32 ydars

Meanwhile, a Carlisle drug dealer in the jigsaw is still misshng.

in a savage knife attack has been sentenced to 25 years in prhson

Jamie Armstrong attacked Luke Hollingsworth in an argument over

Today at Carlisle Crown Court, a judge said Armstrong didn't have "an

It was in this house in the Stanwix area of Carlisle that

Jamie Armstrong murdered Luke Hollingsworth last Julx.

In a row over cannabis the pair dealt, Armstrong l`unched

Today officers who investig`ted said they were satisfied with

Justice has been done for the family.

It's the right outcome for those who've seen the trial

who've sat through the trial and heard all the lies.

Luke's family were too upset to talk about what happened,

but this statement was read on his mother's behalf.

Clearly, this has had a dev`stating effect on my family and I

and I can now rest in the thought that Jamie Armstrong has bedn

brought to justice for the brutal murder of my much`loved son Luke.

Today, the judge said the killing would not

have happened were it not for the corrosive effect of drug de`ling.

He said to Armstrong that as Luke fled for his life, "you caused him

severe mental and physical suffering before his death.

You have shown not a tinge of regret or a flick of remorse and you

As far as I can see," he sahd, "you have not got an ounce of human

The police say this case illustrates the problems the illegal drtgs trade

People talk about heroin and cocaine but you can see

People talk about legalising it but cannabis has caused

The number of people arrestdd as part of an investigation

into alleged sex crimes agahnst vulnerable young women and girls

The total number of people charged in connection with

Northumbria Police launched Operation Sanctuary in Janu`ry this

year and so far about 80 wolen and girls have come forward.

An investigation's underway after an explosion at a second`hand

Nearby homes were evacuated as fire crews tackled

Police are treating the fird as suspicious and are urging anyone

A big bang alerted people in Wallsend to this scene last night.

There was a big explosion then when I came out, that whole place

And in a few moments, the rear yard of Community Link

a shop that recycles unwantdd furniture, went up in flames.

My friend was there and saw three kids messing `round

They ran and then the next thing, there was just police.

She thought they had somethhng in the back.

The emergency services were called shortly before 11pm.

They moved some residents ott of their homes as a precauthon.

When they arrived at the scdne, it was a large amount

of furnishings and electric`l and on fire at the rear of the xard

As you can see, potential for the fire to spread to adjacent places.

I don't think they realise, the people who start these fires,

the possible implications of the spread and possible danger to life.

Obviously, it's a deliberatd fire, is it?

This time nobody was injured but fire crews are warning

offenders that next time, that might not be the case.

Now, it's Britain's biggest car factory

Ministers are frequent visitors to Nissan on Wearside `

But Look North has learned the government has spent ovdr

?800,000 on ministerial cars ` but not one was a Nissan.

Our political correspondent Mark Denten has unearthed this

Well, of course, Government ministers need to get around.

Remember the famous Two Jags stories from the last Government about

But we now have more detail on exactly what's

This is run by the Government Car Service.

The information is in a written parliamentary `nswer to

Houghton and Sunderland South MP Bridget Phillipson.

Since 2010 the Government h`s taken delivery of 29 cars

?245,000 was spent on cars that are not made in Britain.

But a glaring omission from the list, Mark.

Government ministers frequently visit Nissan's plant ` we'vd seen

the Prime Minister David Caleron, of course, but also Deputy Prime

Minister Nick Clegg and Bushness Secretary Vince Cable all extolling

the virtues of the firm and its importance to our economy.

The plant supports over 10,000 jobs and has been part of the big push

But here's the crucial thing ` the Government have not orddred

a single Nissan car for the Government car pool.

Houghton and Sunderland South Labour MP Bridget

David Cameron talks a good game but is failing to put

He's visited the plant on a number of occasions,

as have other ministers, and rightly praised the excdllence

But when it comes to cars available to government ministers, thdre isn't

It is a glaring omission th`t we have the most productive car plant

on our doorstep on Wearside, which produces more cars th`n

the whole of Italy combined, and yet government ministers aren't

Well, they say the Government Car Service did trial the use

of the Nissan Leaf in 2012 `nd it operated the Nissan Primera within

Tonight a spokesman for the Department for Transport

told me, "The government car fleet is chosen on specific criteria

including the journeys requhred the environmental impact, and value

We believe we have the corrdct mix of vehicles for the fleet, which

But in the meantime, if you see a Government minhster

in a ministerial car, it will not, it seems, be a Nissan.

Now, are we losing our head teachers

Well, a group that represents schools in the North East h`s warned

that pressure on senior teaching staff cotld make

it harder to recruit heads. Schools North East

was speaking after a survey suggested many

of them are thinking of leaving the profession ` with

some complaining about political interference in education.

The Government insists vacancies for head`teachers are low

and says more teachers are being trained for senior positions.

Luke Walton has been to a school in Newton Aycliffe to find out more.

Can I see people walking sm`rtly, please?

Whether it's keeping order in the playground or keeping up

standards in the classroom, the buck has always stopped

But this County Durham head also feels growing pressure

There's been a very fast rate of change in education.

The head teacher is ultimately responsible.

Sometimes you feel a little bit like football managers, I think, in that

if something goes wrong, yot are going to be the head that rolls

And I do think that this might put off middle leadership from loving

For all that, she's happy in her job.

More than 100 heads responddd to a survey by the teachers network

Around two thirds said they were considering leaving the job

Among the most commonly cited reasons were

workload, political interference and pressure from Ofsted.

We're hearing from governors that they're not get the applications

so people aren't put through that challenge because of the instability

We need a period of stability and to make sure that we can grow

So is there a danger we've put people off wanting to

The Government rejects any suggestion of an impending crisis

in head teacher recruitment and retention.

It points out that vacancy rates are actually very low and it saxs

by getting extra powers and freedoms to head through

the academy programme, it's making the job more attractive, not less.

What we need is more heads to come into the system and we're doing

that by making a situation where academies are more availabld to

people, with greater freedols, and we want to get out of the w`y of

head teachers who are doing all they can to support their ptpils.

How the young are taught is a hot debate among politici`ns.

But education depends on the people leading our schools.

Ensuring they're of the quality required is `lso

And you can see more on that story on Sunday Politics ` that's this

They're little knitted jersdys made specially to mark the arriv`l of

But the people of Masham in North Yorkshire have had thdm pulled

down from their lampposts ` because the county council says

The council says they're catsing the lampposts to lean over `

and it could be worse if the woollen jerseys get rained

These are the offending itels. There are 25,000 of them and the ladies of

the WRI and local schoolchildren have been knitting them now for six

months. But along came the len from the council, who were taking them

down and were about to take them away. Until Ruth decided to take

direct action. She demanded the workmen at least hand the jdrseys

over. You're like the leader of the mass Popular Front. No, everybody

was on board with this. It was a fantastic response from the people

in the square and the residdnts So, leaving on the lamp post. It was

happening and the jerseys wdre to blame, according to North Yorkshire

county council. `` Leeming on the lamp post. Are they called lamp

columns these days? Oh! Thex're made of steel. I find it really odd,

considering they are all usdd to hang Christmas light decorations,

which are far heavier than hunting. This bodes badly for people who have

got steel posts in their back garden to hang the washing from. Ndxt

thing, health and is to will be telling people to drive thehr

washing before they put it out. `` health and safety. Its killjoy,

isn't it. No health and say involved. Every other village has

got them, every other place I know, but not Masham. Jill has got hold of

one end but this is the sort of length that you would have strung

between two lamp posts and H've got to say, even if it was all wet it

really isn't that heavy. OK, then, not that scientific but the jerseys

are still here, just not on the lamp posts. The council now seems

content. We did offer the Council the opportunity to be interviewed

about its decision to spokesman said, " no, thanks". Oh, well, never

mind. And that story has already got

people going on our Facebook page. If you'd like to add your comment,

log on now Residents of a town in County Durham

have come together to try to raise ?85,000, to buy a sculpture

which has attracted visitors The steel statue,

made by local artist Ray Lonsdale, has been on loan to the town

of Seaham, but it's been such a hit that a campaign to raise thd money

to buy it is now in full swhng. Ray Lonsdale left school to make

money as a steel fabricator and then, 12 years ago, the arthst in

him started to emerge and hd used his skills to create pieces like

1101, a striking meditation on the horrors of the great War. Hd

expected to loan it out to sea and then sell it but wasn't prepared for

the reception it got. It's been tremendous. When they said they

wanted to be given a chance to raise the funds, I've been involvdd with

this before and you think that people don't realise how hard it is

but they went with it and it has been unbelievable. I can't believe

how well it has gone. You'd already had offers for the full amotnt.

Yeah, I had two offers for the full amount within a few days of it

hitting the ground, one frol a private buyer and one from `nother

council. A fundraising camp`ign was started by a local businesslan, who

is delighted and surprised with the level of support. It's absolutely

incredible. I can't believe how many people have come to see it. They've

come from far and wide. Sunday morning, I was here very early and

we'd had people from Scotland to come and have a cup of coffde, see

it, look around Seaham and then go. The local support has been `mazing.

Everybody has put their heart and soul into bringing something nice

and the man that did it, Rax Lonsdale, has done a marvellous job.

I think it's absolutely amazing The detail of the First World W`r

soldier is absolutely amazing. I think it's absolutely wonderful

I've looked at it in the papers and I couldn't believe it's this big. I

think it's amazing. She keeps asking all the time to come down and see

it. She says, "can we go and sit next to Tommy?" The campaigners have

eight weeks left to hit thehr target of ?85,000 to be able to bux Tommy.

When you think they've raisdd ?58,000 in two weeks, it gives you

an idea about where this is probably going.

They've really taken him to their hearts.

Well, many people are heartbroken tonight so we can't throw to the

sport without mentioning th`t England are out of the World Cup.

Yes, but it's too depressing to go on about so I'm not going to mention

it any more. Let's concentr`te on the domestic game.

Long serving Hartlepool United midfielder Antony Sweeney is set to

join Carlisle on a two year deal after agreeing

And Blues fans will know th`t the opening League Two fixttres

announced on Wednesday have paired relegated

Older fans will know that both clubs went down at the end

of the 1974`75 season ` the Cumbrians' one and only campaign

Well, this Sunday in Carlisle, a "Seasons in the Sun"

40th anniversary dinner will re`unite surviving members

Mark Tulip's been to meet one of them.

The first free kick of the latch given. He's being watched bx Harris.

Here is Clark. Greene puts ht in. It was wonderful. We went ott and we

played good football and got good results to start with. But `fter

that, it was very difficult. Big teams got to know how you played and

we didn't have a big squad, really. But it was fantastic. Going to

Chelsea in the first match `nd winning 2`zero, that was good enough

for us. Top of the table after three games, the stuff of legend for Hugh,

who has his statue outside the local park and scored 70s extols hn three

spells with the local pub. Whew now 74, and just doesn't `` livhng just

outside Carlisle, was a sad but not surprised to see his beloved team

sink to the lowest tier of football last season. He can't see the club

reaching the dizzy heights of top league football again. Monex is a

big thing to do with where xou are in the system, fourth divishon or

first division. It's basically all about money. We, unfortunatdly,

don't have a big pile of it. 1974`75 was his last season as a

professional footballer. Sunday s sold`out charity dinner, organised

by BBC radio Cumbria and thd club, should be a good opportunitx for a

catch up. I'm really looking forward to it. To see some ex`players you

haven't seen for maybe 40 ydars .. I'm really looking forward to it and

it will be a good thing for the fans to see some of the old playdrs.

In cricket, Yorkshire fast bowler Liam Plunkett

has been in fine form for England on the first day of the second test

The former Durham paceman from Middlesbrough ` who was rec`lled to

the team for the first test at Lords last week after seven years was

clearly enjoying playing on his home pitch, clean bowling opening batsman

Dimuth Karunaratne before dismissing Mahela Jaxawardene

His third wicket followed whth his very next ball.

And he ended the day with fhgures of 5`64 his first five wickdt haul

in a test match and a well deserved standing ovation as well!

It's just over a fortnight until the Tour de France arrives

And while there's no disputhng that it's the greatest show on two wheels

ever to hit the North, the region's biggest annual festival of cycling

is taking place this weekend in Newcastle and Northumberland

It's the Virgin Money Cyclone ` a series of races for elite

and amateur riders which is already under way.

Andrew Hartley is in Leazes Park in Newcastle for us now.

Hello. We're in the shadow of St James's Park, where a series of

races called Criteriums are taking place. They involve riders racing

round and round a loop. In this case, it's exactly one kiloletre

and, in the elite race, thex'll be going for about an hour. Th`t's just

the start is. For the whole weekend, there's a series of events

for riders of all standards. To tell me more about that is the organiser

Peter Harrison. What will bd happening? Tomorrow we've got about

3000 riders out on the roads of Northumberland at different

distances, some riding for different charities. Some very serious riders

with long distances, and sole reasonable distances. Peopld of all

abilities taking part. On Stnday, we've got a ladies' national series

race with some of the top rhders in the world riding. They will be

warming up for the Commonwe`lth Games. In the afternoon, we've got

men's race. We have a lot of the guys for whom this is the w`rm up

for the Commonwealth Games so we have a team from the Isle of Man,

Northern Ireland, GB under 23, all trying to prove they're the best.

The West of Scotland team and the Yorkshire Composite team ard out to

prove they should have been selected for other games as well. It's all

looking very positive. Hopefully the weather holds out. We'll have good

racing. That's great. The elite race is about to start so if you fancy

coming down and you live ne`rby it's free to watch and it whll be

great, fast, thrilling and dxciting. Thank you. He's so excited, I think

he's going to hop on one of those bikes!

Great weather tonight. But ht is a bit quieter. No samba band or

dancing girls! I hope you enjoyed some sunshine today. North

Northumberland's wild poppids seemed to be thriving on it. It looks like

more of the same, broadly speaking, for the weekend. A loss of dry

weather for most of us and some sunshine. With light winds, it will

feel every bit as warm as over the last day or two. One or two showers

this evening but it stays dry foremost through the night. With

broken cloud, one or two misty patches and temperatures th`t should

stay in double figures with the low of ten overnight. Winds are fairly

light from the north`west. Tomorrow, any early mist should clear away

fairly quickly and then it's a dry day. Some cloud around, likd there

was today, but some decent sunny spells. The summer solstice tomorrow

with the sun in its highest point in the sky just before midday so it

really will feel warm in between the clouds when the sun comes ott.

Feeling warmer than 20 Celshus, with very light winds. A shade cooler

along the coast but even at the seaside, high teens for most places.

High pressure is keeping us fine and dry at the moment and it hangs on

through the weekend but gradually starts to decline as we head into

the next working week as we`ther fronts start to force their way in

through the falling pressurd and things start to turn more unsettled.

If you're out and about over the weekend, most places fine and dry.

Gaps in the cloud line to good sunny spells and when the sun comds out,

we will easily see temperattre is up to 20. At Chester`le`Street on

Sunday there is a big classhc car show at the riverside. Get xourself

along. Entry is free and thdre's loads of stuff for the whold

family, apart from the castle stop more unsettled into next wedk.

You can't just go along and take a car? !

That's it from us. Have a great weekend. Good night.

I saw you before and I thought you were so beautiful.

I wish that love could come into my life.

You were with someone! Who was it? Who were you with?

Murdered By My Boyfriend, a true story.