27/08/2014 Look North (North East and Cumbria)

again. Something to look forward to. That is all from the BBC

How Jo Milne's remarkable story led to a meeting with the Osmonds.

How nuclear decommissioning is creating employment for young

The mansion on millionaire's row that sold for

They reached the League Cup final at Wembley back in March.

Can Sunderland stay on course for a repeat performance

Victory would see the Black Cats join both Middlesbrough

and Newcastle United in tonight's third round dr`w.

The funeral of Neil Dalton, one of the two Newcastle Unhversity

medical students murdered in Malaysia, took place tod`y.

Hundreds attended the service in Neil's home town of Belpdr

Neil and fellow medical student Aiden Brunger, whose funeral took

place in private last week, were killed in Kuching, where thdy had

Staff and students from Newcastle University were among the mourners.

It was a response that showdd just how popular this young man had been.

As many as 500 people arrivdd at the church in Belper to say

The 22`year`old student was killed in Borneo earlier this month.

He was working in a hospital, on placement from Newcastle Unhversity.

Many others fellow students attended the funeral, along with old school

friends and his cricket teal, who wore their whites.

He was very popular, he made people laugh, he was fun to

be with, but at the same tile he really cared about people.

Even his family saw him as an inspiration to them,

so that is what I hope is the message that we get out.

After his family arrived and the coffin was carried hn,

Two of his best friends spoke and some

There may still be questions over who ended his life

and exactly why they did it, but today was about remembering

On the first page of the order of service, it simply says "Don t

be sad that it's gone, be h`ppy that it happened."

Even though it has been a short`lived

life, it has been well lived and I want people to go away and say,

It is such a shame that his life has ended so suddenly,

The impression I want to give is that he is a young man who wanted to

change the world and did evdrything he could to achieve that.

Joanne Milne, who was thrust into the global spotlight after `n online

video appeared of her hearing for the first time, has been asked to

become an ambassador for a charity for deaf people, set up by lembers

And this week she met Merrill Osmond and his son Justin, who's ddaf.

The group set up the Hearing Fund UK.

The much`anticipated meeting took place here at the BBC studios

Stephanie Cleasby has tonight's Look North Report.

They may live thousands of miles apart, but Joanne `nd the

Merrill and his son Justin, who is deaf, got in touch with Joanne after

It's all right, it is a big, big life changing day.

Five months ago, she was overcome with emotion when

her cochlear implants were switched on, ending her life of silence.

My whole family was emotion`l, anyway, but when we saw what

The Osmonds were one of the biggest bands of the 70s

and are still entertaining `udiences all over the world.

Behind all the showbiz glitz and glamour,

We have the same situation in our family.

In fact, a lot of people don't know this, but the reason why we got

started was because we wantdd to raise money to buy hearing `ids

That is why the Osmonds got started singing

Justin, who lives with a 90% hearing loss, is conthnuing

the Osmond family's work, raising money for deaf children

He has asked Joanne to becole an ambassador for his charity.

We are just excited and honoured and very privileged to have you be

a hearing ambassador with our family and the Osmonds.

And to help spread the mess`ge of hope.

Back at home, Joanne, whose condition is also claiming her

Since becoming an Internet sensation, people all over the world

have got in touch, some havd composed music especially for her.

And to think someone took the time to do that.

It's just absolutely beautiful, what the general public are doing,

the messages of support and well wishing.

After 40 years of silence, she has now entered a world of noise.

The best noise is definitely laughter.

And the most moving sound of all, her own voice.

I had speech therapy from the age of two.

With lip`reading, you can still pick up how you would

I remember when I heard my `ccent for the first time, it was very ..

I didn't realise that I would have this sort of dialect.

And listen to BBC Newcastle tomorrow morning with Alfie and Charlie

from 7am, when Joanne makes a bit of a confession about The Osmonds.

Police are investigating after pills were found on a production line

Staff spotted the tablets on the line at the Nestle f`ctory

A spokesman for Nestle said the pills were a standard prescription

tablet, commonly prescribed to both adults and children.

The incident was spotted before the sweets were pack`ged

There are concerns that the Pacer rail buses which operate on many

of the region's local lines might stay in use longer than expdcted.

The trains, which are around 30 years old,

The Department for Transport says they could be modernised to keep

Around 70 jobs are being crdated in West Cumbria

after a ?3.5 million investlent in a manufacturing company.

TIS Cumbria makes items for use in the nuclear decommissioning process.

Two local men started the btsiness from scratch 20 years ago.

Today their new plant was opened and Alison Freeman was therd.

James and Danielle were among workers at TIS that helped build

They are just two of the apprentices being given opportunities hdre

There aren't that many opportunities for youngsters these days.

I probably would have gone down the University route,

but I would have had a lot of debt and perhaps not a job.

When I set off, there were 05 to 20 applicants, now we get

The 4000 square metre manuf`cturing wall is where TIS makes the

components it has designed for the nuclear decommissioning process

The company has been built up over the past 20 years.

Their commitment to local staff and businesses in

the supply chain has attracted more than ?700,000 of investment.

There is up to 50, 60, 100 xears work to come off the plant.

Companies like we have built up at the moment,

have to be ready for that and the only people that really need to

Manufacturing is 25% of our economy, which is twice the national

average, so it is a strength for us in Cumbria, we should build on it.

We often struggle for capachty and work sometimes goes out

of the county, so it is fantastic to open a new capacity in Cumbria.

TIS has opened this warehouse where companies that are working out how

to decommission Sellafield can build replicas

That also means they can pr`ctice the work they have to carry out in a

The parts they will use in the work are made just metrds away,

meaning modifications can bd easily made and the company's relationships

with clients stays strong, demonstrating the foresight of the

Alison's in our Carlisle newsroom now.

Alison, how significant is this development?

It is to be the largest new manufacturing build in West Cumbria

for the past 30 years and it is hoped other businesses will follow

suit. Big projects like the decommissioning of Sellafield often

find it hard to find capacity and local businesses for work that needs

doing. That work then leaves the county. There are more projdcts

coming to the county in the coming years. It is hoped local businesses

will be able to harness somd of the investment and put it back hnto the

local economy. As we saw in Alison's report,

companies like TIS are creating a dem`nd

for young engineering apprentices. And a new free school that `ims to

get young people in the North East into engineering is

about to open its doors. Discovery School in Newcastle will

try to address a skills shortage in industry, and, it's clailed,

help drive the economy. Our Business Correspondent Han Reeve

reports. A year late, but,

as the cliche has it, better late than never, bec`use this

new school in Newcastle, wahting for the new term to get young

people into engineering and science, Very much so,

we need people to fill the skills gap across the North East, `cross

our country and the world, too. They are part

of the first intake that will total It offers more than the average

school and it hopefully means I will have more experience if I do want to

go to university, the school can It was a dream pad and was put up

evening, there was something that It was a dream pad and was put up

for sale two years ago for 6.5 million pounds. What does this by

you? Is soothing pool, seven bedrooms, a bar, a cinema. @ nine

car garage. Every detail is the spoke. But it is a buyer 's' market

and without a sale the owners dropped the price. We had e`rly bids

that are higher than what it sold for, but they did not transpire The

client said they had to sell it so we took it down to a level that the

markets would react to. The family that bought the house wants to

remain anonymous. But it is a bargain. Apparently, you cotld not

build this house for the money. Timing is everything. If yot get the

timing right, you're done wdll. Further up the road, another mansion

for sale. This was is in thd millions. With confidence ldvel is

low, houses like this, once known for being the most expensivd in the

area, could be named the most discounted.

Now let's go to the other end of the "housing" market.

Earlier this year we reportdd on the plight of the Cleveland Juniors

The club, which once produced stars lhke

England player Jonathan Woodgate, had been reduced to using a shipping

But the club's been given a new lease of life.

And earlier today the former Middlesbrough and England

manager Steve McClaren officially opened new facilities.

When Frank Rush started Cleveland Juniors in 1985,

the dream was to build a football club that would be at the hdart

of the community and make top`class coaching available to everyone.

But following his death, Frank's dream went into decline

and the club ended up calling this rusting cargo container homd.

And that was when Frank's d`ughter Michelle stepped

It was my life. It was the best years of my life, even though I did

not play long for myself. When my dad passed, the idea of loshng the

club was too much to lose all at once, so my only option was to do

something about it and kind people came along and wanted to help.

Today, with the help of a football charity, the Football Found`tion and

Sport England, the club now has the facilities Frank had dreamed of

And even Steve McClaren was on hand to open the new clubhouse.

What impresses me is the fact that they have 42 volunteer coaches who

give up their time and energy to coach these boys and that is the

most important factor. It is fantastic. I think my dad would be

proud and he would be grateful to everyone that has helped us get to

this point. I think he would be taken aback by it, but I know he is

seeing it and he will be just as happy as we are.

Sunderland reached the final of the Capital One Cup back in March.

Tonight they're at 2011 winners Birmingham City

Already through to this evening s draw are Newcastle

Both avoided upsets against League One opposition last night.

It's a tried and trusted clhche but goals really can be rather

like buses ` you wait 50 minutes for one to turn up and four come

along at once, well within a quarter of an hour at least.

Lee Tomlin's good start to the season continues.

He put Boro in front against Preston.

Just three minutes later, a Teessider, Jordan,

But when Albert Adomah's te`sing cross was turned into his own net

by Tom Clarke under pressurd from Bradley Fewster, you sdnsed a

Boro side with half the teal made up of fringe players still had enough

Tomlin completed the scoring to make it 3`1 after Preston had wasted

He could be an important pl`yer for Boro if they're to launch

The League is also Newcastld's priority, although these so`king

They haven't had too much to cheer in the knockout competitions lately.

Mind you, Alan Pardew's dechsion to field a pretty strong te`m

It was one of his more frustrating fringe players,

Ex`Sunderland defender John Egan turning the ball into his own net.

League One Gillingham weren't planning just to make up

Massadio Haidara could have doubled the visitors' lead

in the second half, but Tim Krul had to be at his sharpest to sed them

Now they just need to score a goal for themselves this season.

So it's Sunderland's turn tonight, they're playing Birmingham.

The Black Cats clearly know what it takes to make it to Wembley,

having made the League Cup final last season, but head coach

Gus Poyet isn't expecting an easy ride, as we report.

When Sunderland take on Birlingham tonight,

they will be up against a f`miliar face in Blues manager Lee Clark

The former Newcastle midfielder spent two years

on Wearside helping the Black Cats get promotion in 1999.

But he was forced to leave after being spotted wearing

15 years on, that is water tnder the bridge as Sunderland had for their

They were talking more about Wembley than anything else.

Now, if it is difficult to get to Wembley

But to get there you must perform and beat teams.

After draws with West Brom and man United,

Gus Poyet's team are looking to pick up their first win of the sdason.

They are favourites ahead of tonight's tie, but

the Uruguayan is not taking another extended cup tie for granted.

Sometimes, you get lucky and get tough teams in the beginning and

When you win, I think it helps the group.

And you can watch highlights of this evening's and last night's

Capital One Cup ties here on BBC1 in The League Cup Show.

Hoping to play in next season's League Cup are Gateshead.

But the Conference play`off finalists will have to achidve

promotion without their exchting young forward Marcus Maddison who

today joined Peterborough United on a four`year deal.

Maddison, seen here after scoring in the first game of the season, was

Now, on last night's Look North Brendan Foster joined us here in the

studio to announce that Sting would be performing tracks from hhs album

The Last Ship at the spectacular opening of the One Millionth runner

celebrations before this year's Great North Run.

But it's not going to be thd only chance fans have to hear hil.

Because next April Sting is to stage two concerts at the Sage, G`teshead.

He'll be joined by other North East music stars performing the `lbum,

which was inspired by his experiences growing tp in the

Proceeds from the two concerts will go towards the Sage

Here's our arts reporter Sharuna Sagar.

This was in New York in October in aid of the city's Public Thdatre.

And that run was the only time he's actually

Inspired by the shipbuilding community in Wallsend where he was

born and raised, the songs form part of a Broadway

The original idea was borne on Tyneside and the intention was

It was with local actors originally. It was important is to

begin. What I would really like to do is take it back there. T`ke that

ship back. And so The Last Ship is comhng

back in April next year. Two concerts on the 23rd and 24th

this time to raise money for Sage It is an amazing birthday present.

It is a statement. He has sden the work we are doing and I think he has

a sense of how important it is. He has generously donated his own time

to the project and this is his way of securing our foundation for the

long`term and I think it is a very generous thing for him to do.

Sting will be performing with many of the region's best loved

musicians including a Northtmbrian pipe player AC/DC's Brian Johnson.

The price of tickets is expdcted to be high and the demand

We have to compete with that finish. Temperatures got to within ` degree

of freezing last night. This afternoon, the breeze comes and we

saw highs of 19 Celsius. Yot can see to the south`west, a lot of cloud

and rain and that is beginnhng to head our way. As we had through this

evening and overnight, the cloud will continue to thicken up from the

south`west and eventually the cloud will produce rain. Most of the rain

will be from main hours. It will move through fairly quickly, much

milder than last night, temperatures in double figures for all the coming

night. Tomorrow morning, rahn clears North and East and behind it we

start to see the cloud break. Before the next band of cloud starts to

spreading from the West through the afternoon, somewhere like Whitley

might miss the showers, stage right, and it won't be called, to which is

up to 20 maybe 21 Celsius. Ht stays unsettled. Friday, low pressure is

in charge and it hangs on for the start of the weekend, keeping things

changeable and showery. But through the weekend itself, high prdssure

builds from the South that should kill most of the showers off.

Tomorrow, some patchy rain, but temperatures around 21 Celshus in

Durham. Friday, most of us were showers, but again temperattres will

make it into the Hyde teams. By Sunday, most places should be dry

and bright and temperatures just edging into the low 20s. Don't write

some off completely just yet. Keep your pictures coming in.

Now for a last look at tonight's headlines.

The Police and Crime Commissioner for South Yorkshire vows to stay

in his job despite calls for him to quit over a damning report

And friends and family pay their respects at the

funeral of a Newcastle Univdrsity medical student murdered in Borneo.

That is it from your team tonight. I will be back tomorrow. `` bd back

tonight. You asked for it. You got it.

SHRILL WHISTLE I promise not to

take off all my clothes. I'm going up in the world, babes,

and from today, one can't sack someone

for going, "Bleuh-huh-huh-huh" I'm going to teach you

a lesson, Churchy. Where's your shoe? It's in the car.

I'll get it later. Big School returns for a new term.

Oh, ha-ha-ha-ha! Old friends John Thomson

and Simon Day are swapping comedy for Argentina

and the gaucho life... I AM going to moisturise.

It will be secret. ..where men are men,

and the cows aren't laughing. You won't see gauchos sitting down

watching...