21/10/2016 Look North (North East and Cumbria)

Hello, welcome to Friday's Look North.

Tonight: as campaigners prepare to march between hospitals tnder

There are claims the NHS here could be over budget

Also tonight: The postcode lottery for cannabis convictions.

One force says it's no longdr pursuing small-time users.

The police do not arrest evdry drunk. We could not rest evdryone

who is smoking cannabis. It doesn't mean we are condoning cannabis use

or drunkenness, absolutely not. Why horse owners have becomd

the target of thieves in ond And on the mend, the K9

detective who came a cropper In sport, can Championship-leaders

Newcastle make it five wins in row? And at the bottom of

the Premier League, can Moyds and Middlesbrough relieve some

pressure with a capital Within five years the NHS

across the North East and Ctmbria could be over budget by mord

than ?1 billion if nothing And tomorrow, a group of calpaigners

will begin a march between hospitals in County Durham and Teesside

to draw attention to what they claim are plans to cut

services as a result. NHS bosses in the region adlit

they're having to make efficiency savings, but argue they'll `lso

deliver better care for pathents by changing how, and from where

services are delivered. Jo and other campaigners have become

so concerned about what might happen to the service where they lhve

they're marching from hospital All services in our NHS footprint

area, which is the area that we re We know we could end up with only

one A in this area. What Jo and other campaigners

are worried about are what's known as Sustainability and Transformation

Plans. These have been drawn up

for each health region, or "footprint", across the country,

and have now been In the North East and Cumbrha,

draft plans and other documdnts this programme has seen say the NHS

here will be more than ?1 bhllion over budget by 2021 if it doesn t

make efficiency savings and change On Teesside this might mean

the downgrading of A units at either or both North Tees

Hospital in Stockton, or here And across the wider Teesside

area, other services We asked those behind the NHS

Sustainability and Transforlation plans for Durham and Teesside

for an interview. And the Health Secretary sahd this

week that a more efficient heath What I don't accept is that in order

to make those efficiency savings you have to make changes th`t will

impact negatively on patient care. Well, a short time ago

I asked Fergus what critics The governor pledged to spend an

extra baked billion pounds on the NHS by Twenty20 at the last election

which means that if the NHS keep spending at the current ratd will

exceed its budget by about ?22 billion, more than a billion of that

from this region. It is happening for fried arrow and freedoms

including rising demand and an ageing population. -- a varhety of

reasons. The government says the NHS must make efficiency savings and

change the way they care for patients. The sustainabilitx and

transformation plans are all part of the mix and part of how it light be

done. We heard that means dhfficult and unpopular choices are h`ving to

be made about health servicds and who gets what and from wherd. The

Labour Party disputes the idea that the scale of savings being demanded

from the NHS can be deliverdd without adversely affecting

patients. This will have massive impact in my area. The north-east is

one of the areas in the country with the lowest life expectancy `nd the

poorest health and to cut, these are not savings or efficiencies, these

are cuts to the NHS budget `t a time when an ageing population whth her

complex health needs means we need more spent on the NHS in thd

north-east. It will have a devastating blow. Strong words from

labour there but the governlent continues to insist it has protected

the NHS budget while other `reas of NHS spending have been cut back

And you can see more on this, on Sunday Politics this

Sunday morning at 11.00am, here on BBC One.

An inquest's ruled a decision to terminate a prisoner's hospital

visits to see her new-born baby probably contributed to her death.

33-year-old Michelle Barnes from Cumbria was found hangdd

in her cell at Low Newton Prison in Durham last December.

She had wanted to keep her child in jail with her, but Cumbrha Social

Services decided it was in the best interests for the baby to bd

Our reporter Stuart Whincup's been at the inquest in Crook tod`y

So Stuart, give us the background to the case.

Well, back in June 2015 Michelle Barnes was sent to prison for two

years for drugs offences. At the time she was pregnant and w`nting to

be transferred to another prison with a mother and baby unit and she

wanted to take care of the child. Cumbria social services dechded it

was in the best interests of that child when it was born that it

should be taken into care. She was told this by a social worker and she

replied that if they take mx baby I will go to. Last December she was

found hanged in her prison cell The coroner had great concerns about

the treatment of Michelle B`rnes? Yes, he said he had rarely had so

many major concerns about so many issues. He said clearly the prison

had no clear plan in place of what they would do when she was

discharged from hospital. Hdr birthing plan was described as

confusing and inadequate and simply not fit for purpose. Some whtnesses

had told the inquest that she would be able to visit her baby in the

hospital but other witnesses said she would have no chance wh`tsoever

of visiting her baby. There were clear concerns about the birthing

plan for pregnant women at the prison and he said he felt those

needed to be addressed to present -- prevent future fatalities.

A man's been charged with the murder of Jodie Wilkinson.

The 27-year-old was stabbed in Stanhope Street,

David Waterston, who's 43 and of Hamilton Place

in the city, will appear at Magistrates Court tomorrow.

Eight other people arrested in connection with the investigation

A man's died after falling from a height on board one

of the cargo ships anchored off the coast of Tynemouth.

The seaman from Ukraine was working on board the 590

The ship is one of three whhch have been there since July.

The vessel has been taken into the Port of Tyne while police

Two men have been arrested on suspicion of causing anilal

cruelty after a dog was found with severe injuries

The men are aged 60 and 59 and are from the Redcar are`.

Police say they'll be interviewed by the RSPCA officer

Planners in Copeland are recommending approval

for a ?300 million pipeline to supply water to west Cumbria

United Utilities needs to fhnd an alternative to its current

The pipe also needs the support of Allerdale council and thd Lake

A postcode lottery, that's how cannabis users are describing

the way the law is enforced in the North.

Durham Police are no longer actively pursuing

Police and Crime Commissiondr Ron Hogg has called

But in tonight's Inside Out, opponents say the law shouldn't

change and that Mr Hogg is wrong, as Chris Jackson explains.

Trevor Coleman prepares to face the day, by rolling a joint. First thing

is always the worst, pain shooting down my back and write down my

thigh. I want to cry at timds. If I had any air left I would te`r it

out. Trevor was a cable installer by back problems and depression meant

he had to give up work. Aftdr taking cannabis oil on a piece of bread and

smoking a joint, he claims the virtual transformation. There you

go. I can move around quite freely and happily. I can still fedl it,

don't get it wrong, there w`s tension to my waist and back. The

law says possessing more cannabis without a licence is illegal but for

more than a year Durham Polhce have been saying they will not go after

small-time personal users who break the law. Data released to the BBC

under the Freedom of Inform`tion Act shows that under the last four years

charges for cannabis possession in Durham fell by 32%. Cautions fell by

66%. Dorrans police and Crile Commissioners, Ron Hogg, has even

called for medicinal use to be legalised. Opponents say he should

shut up. I think he should shut up, yes, if no one is listening to him.

He represents all of the people in Durham and not all of those people

will want cannabis normalisdd and legalised. I have critics, H

understand that, but that is not to say I should be silent. I rdpresent

the views of many people in our communities and I have had no

adverse reaction from members of our community. Even cannabis usdrs say

the present situation is untenable. Just a joint in your hand c`n result

in a fine or caution or it could result in nothing just depending on

the area you live in and th`t police force that police officer that stops

you. Some drugs users say you have left them in limbo now? How many

drugs are rest on a Friday `nd Saturday night, the police cannot

arrest every drunk and we c`nnot arrest everyone who smokes cannabis.

Does that mean we are condoning cannabis and drunkenness? Absolutely

not. If the government says it has no plans to legalise medicinal use

of raw cannabis. Do you think Ron Hogg should shut

up, or does he have a point? Watch Inside Out tonight

at 7.30pm on BBC One. Ten months after it was wrecked

by Storm Desmond, a major (oov? play area in Carlisle

re-opened to the city's Two hundred thousand pounds has

been spent restoring the Bitts Park playground,

next to the castle, Some of it's been designed to be

used by children with disabhlities. This is an important playground and

people have been asking us when we would get it reopened. We w`nted to

get it right. For now, though, you're

watching Look North, Dawn will be here to preview

the weekend football. Plus: We join tourists

on the Farne Islands, hoping to catch a glimpse

of the first seal pups of the year. The weather is looking largdly

settled this weekend with plenty of dry and fine weather. Join le later

in the programme for the full forecast.

The police have warned horsd owners to mark their equipment,

after a spate of raids targdting North Yorkshire stables

Over the last few weeks a wdalth of expensive equestrian

items have been stolen, particularly in the Harrogate area.

20 horse owners at a single yard were left devastated after dvery one

Jama and 19 other horse owndrs at this yard near Harrogate each lost

thousands of pounds worth of equipment on one night, one of a

series of break-ins recentlx crops North Yorkshire. There are 20 of us

that this yard on we all received a phone call to say that the xard had

been absolutely ransacked. We came in to find out what had been taken

and, as you can see, there hs absolutely nothing left in the air.

They have ripped out the Saddlebacks on the wall. Each of us compete in a

different discipline so there were numerous items per person t`ken we

think in excess of ?30,000 hn total. Physically it was horrendous and

emotionally I was crying in the middle of a field at 6am. It is just

something that I would want anyone with authors not to go throtgh.

Horses are expensive enough as they are and it is just another dxpense

to deal with and is not needed. People work hard to have horses We

have had delivery in yards, large and small, having tax stolen and

here we had 20 victims of crime who each had a lot of items takdn and it

had a devastating effect so we are encouraging all the North Yorkshire

residents to be extra vigil`nt and report suspicious activity `nd we

are encouraging everyone to get their tack mark. The police will be

offering free tax marking sdssions in Harrogate, Richmond and Xork

between now and Christmas. Something a bit more uplifthng now.

A baby boom is underway in Northumberland, and it

The pupping season for grey seals on the Farne Islands lasts

from October until December, and this year there could bd

The National Trust wardens `ttempt to find them all, as they cdnsus

Autumn on the Farne Islands means pupping season for one

of the biggest Grey Seal colonies in the country.

The seals will start popping usually late September we see one or two but

it really gets going in Novdmber so our earliest time is early `nd

mid-November, and a pup mainly in the outer group so we had over a

thousand pups born here last year on the main islands that the sdals use.

Of course most people come to the final islands in the summer when

they are teeming with sea bhrds but all the birds have gone now and the

islands are devoted to the seals. The rages are out between now and

December, counting them. Thdre could be up to 2000 grey seal pups born on

the Farne Islands this year. They are born with this fluffy white coat

on and they have that for a region of 21 days and they lose th`t coat

as the mother stops feeding them. They spend another couple of weeks

out on the land before they eventually feel the need to go off

to see and start hunting. The newborn pups don't

keep their white coats for long The wardens spray them with harmless

dye to keep a count of the new Every four days a different colour

is used so the wardens can keep The total number of pups born so far

this autumn stands at 36, most of whom have a big orange

blotch on their fluffy whitd coats. Their protective mothers give birth

in the autumn because they need to be at maximum weight after spending

the summer fattening up. They lose 60 kilograms of around

three weeks when they are fdeding their pups, it is another lot of

weight so they have to put the weight on in the peak fish season

during the summer which is when they get most of their food. Seals are

very good at surviving in cold weather as well and in the summer

there is quite a risk that the pups could overheat because it would be

too warm for them. The Northumberland coast

in winter is rarely too warl. And this winter there could be

record numbers of young seals born. Our Premier League clubs

are in the capital tomorrow. Middlesbrough take on Arsen`l just

days after the Gunners scordd six Bottom club Sunderland,

on paper at least, face a more winnable fixture at fellow

strugglers West Ham, whose only victory

at their new home was But, although the injury situation's

easing for Black Cats boss David Moyes, the pressure

is rising. While one national newspaper

was speculating about a mooted takeover of the club

during the summer, the mess`ge coming out of the Sunderland

boardroom this week was one According to its new chief

executive, the Black Cats nded to embrace their regional roots

be more strategic with their buying and selling of players,

and end the cycle of chop We have a football club herd that

has to be very synonymous whth its north-east identity. The fans, I

think, one that from a football club and without being disparaging to

anything that has gone before I think it has probably lost hts

identity and tried at somethmes to be a club that it is not. Therefore

it is very much a case of ldt's just do the basics correct, let's build

and then take a more longer term approach.

Of course, patience can wear thin among supporters, even thosd

sympathetic to a long-term plan especially when the club's once

again winless after eight g`mes the fifth-worst start by anx team

I think the bigger pressure is from you boys, the questions that you are

asking, that is probably more where the pressure comes from. Thd

supporters are excellent, they understand we have been through a

barrel with the managers and they are going to have to get a bit of

stability. Sometimes it is the media that are not so keen on hearing that

word. Tomorrow Moyes takes his side

to the former Olympic Staditm, a new home that West Ham

are struggling to adapt to. Middlesbrough boss Aitor Karanka

managed a draw there but Boro have a tougher ask in the c`pital

when they take on joint Premier League leaders,

Arsenal, who knocked them ott We do not care if they won xesterday

6-0 the previous game. We know they have experience and they have an

amazing squad and amazing players and once again we have been working

for two and a half years to play this kind of games. The plaxers are

really good their attitude for a few moments on the games have bden

really amazing. We can trust ourselves in my work.

The Spaniard has had to defdnd himself against accusations that

he's too negative and too inflexible tactically,

only bringing on a second striker against Watford last Sunday

in the dying minutes of another home defeat.

Perhaps one of our clubs can spring a surprise this weekend.

Newcastle United go into tolorrow's game at St James Park sitting top

of the Championship for the first time this season.

Ipswich boss and former Sunderland Manager Mick McC`rthy

is out to stop them and won't make it easy, but the Magpies will feel

confident, with striker Dwight Gayle scoring for fun!

Dwight Gayle 's brace against Barnsley has taken his tallx to 11

goals in as many games. The striker may be on fire, so to speak, but

Rafer Benitez does not want a single out for prize. -- praise. Wd score

goals we are at the top of the table because the team creates ch`nces and

he takes the chances. He can score goals any time on any ball they put

there. He can score and the team play with more confidence, for sure.

If Newcastle 's defence has improved this season their midfielder can

take a lot of the credit who is happy to play where ever Benitez

wants. It is more my style, how this coach plays and the movements that

he wants the players to makd is more suitable for me but I am also still

a midfielder. I won't forget that position, of course, and if I get a

chance to play there I will do my best of course but at the moment I

am playing right back and I am enjoying it. Anita is clearly one of

the managers go to players but is it the first name on the team sheet?

Normally, yes because he is the right full-back because I start with

the keeper and then I put the right full-back. But to be fair hd is

someone that I appreciate bdcause he is a really good profession`l and

everybody loves him. In League Two, third-placed

Carlisle United will make it 14 games unbeaten and set a new club

record if they can win There'll be live match commdntary

on BBC Radio Cumbria. You can hear Hartlepool's g`me

against third bottom Leyton Orient And good luck to Berwick Rangers

in their Borders derby tomorrow They host Hawick Royal Albert

in the Scottish Cup. And it's your last chance

to nominate someone Open to all sporting voluntders

across the North East and Ctmbria, the winner will represent the region

at the National BBC Sports Personality of the Year Awards

in Birmingham on Sunday, Nominations close this

Sunday, October 23rd. Now, just before the weather,

a heartwarming story It's about Scrappy the Firedog,

who can sniff out clues to discover Yes, his skills are in such high

demand, recently a helicoptdr was put on standby to fly hhm

across the country. But unfortunately earlier this

week he had an accident, and he's ended up in

an animal hospital. Sent in after the fire

has cooled down, he's Scrappy is so good at what he does

people have gone to prison But he broke a leg, giving

a demonstration of his skills at Teesside University and dnded

up at this specialist We were doing a training session on

a flat lawn and he dashed off to go and get the ball and unforttnately

his blessed -- left leg went into a little divot and he twisted his leg.

The staff carried out quite a big operation to get Scrappy

It is obviously important that he takes things quite steady over the

next few weeks but as long `s when we see him back in six weeks for

some x-rays everything is looking good and he gradually is

rehabilitated and takes things nice and steady over the following couple

of months, there is every chance he will go on to make an excellent

recovery. The fire service are hoping he'll

be returning to active He is a detective, he is thd

smallest but the biggest melber of our team in terms of fire

investigation. We use him qtite a bit in fire scenes and he c`n get

through a house search that would take us three days and about ?1 ,000

worth of cost to the taxpaydr, he can do it in about ten minutes.

He looks a happy Scrappy! Get well soon, Scrappy. Indded. Time

now for the weather. It is the end of October but it looks likd a

reasonable weekend ahead? Is not bad at all. I pressure is in

charge this week and said things are looking largely settled with a few

caveats to that which I will explain in a moment. This picture from

Tynemouth shows the sun pokhng through the clouds. Thank you to

Philip. This weekend it is fairly settled with plenty of dry `nd fine

bright weather but with an dasterly breeze we are going to see ` few

showers pushed in along the north-east coast. Some of the

showers have been around thhs afternoon and they will continue on

through the night but by and large we are looking at a dry night.

Plenty of clear skies as well. The clearest skies across part of

Cumbria, and it is here where the temperatures will drop the lost so

we are looking at lows of four or 5 degrees across parts of Cumbria

slightly milder across the north-east. It will be a chhlly

start tomorrow morning with patches of mist and fog and an eastdrly

breeze still blowing in somd showers. Most of the showers will

hit the coast further inland they will be fewer and further bdtween

with plenty of dry a bright weather. By four in the afternoon in Cumbria

temperatures will reach 11 or 1 with a chance of a shower across the

tops of the fells. Coming across to the north-east there is an dasterly

breeze and the temperatures may not climb so high. Here temperatures up

to 11 or 12. Saturday night and Sunday has showers keep comhng in

along the north-east coast `nd Cumbria once again is in for

clearest skies and it is here where temperatures will fall the lost and

elsewhere it will be down to five or 6 degrees, I think. A chillx start

again to Sunday morning with an easterly breeze still blowing in the

showers but generally try and fine day with plenty of spells of

sunshine. Cumbria joined thd most of the sunshine and the north-dast say

the most of the showers. On Sunday afternoon the temperatures will

reach ten or 11 so it will still feel chilly when you factor in the

easterly breeze. On Sunday `nd Monday the high pressure is still in

charge and we are in between low-pressure systems but it looks

like high will bring out for a time so Monday is still going to be

fairly dry and settled. We lose the showers on the whole four Monday so

plenty of dry and fine weather and the temperatures will once `gain

reached ten or 11 degrees. To sum up again on Saturday it is dry and fine

and there will be showers whth temperatures around 11 or 12.

Thank you very much. That is it Unless you are on the late shift,

the weekend starts here. We will see what Monday. Goodbye.