08/02/2017 Look North (North East and Cumbria)

Locked up for six months - the teenager who dressed up

as a clown and brandished an axe at a pregnant woman.

Bomb disposal experts search the former garden of a man

who plotted a massacre at Newcastle College.

Mystery over the sudden deaths of a devoted couple

Hundreds of toys could make big money when they go under

And, can you help unravel a romantic riddle set in stone

Could Yorkshire's Joe Root and Durham's Ben Stokes provide

a potent partnership as England search for Alistair

And, a piece of silverware for one of our rugby league clubs already,

but what will happen when the season proper starts?

First tonight, a teenager from Tyneside who dressed up

as a clown and brandished an axe at a pregnant woman has been

sentenced to six months at a young offenders' institution.

Newcastle Crown Court heard that it happened during the "killer

clown craze" last year, when police across the UK received

hundreds of complaints about people dressing up and frightening members

Mark Mcalindon is live for us at the court now.

Yes, Carol, this was a short lived by terrifying period during late

summer and autumn last year when a number of incidents were reported

across the country of people donning clown masks and jumping out at

others in order to terrify them. A number in our region which you will

probably remember. It left young children terrified and afraid to go

out. In some cases, weapons were brandished, the craze was blamed on

an epidemic of this type in America being reported across the Atlantic.

This was the case of the young man by the name of Michael March from

Gateshead. He decided he would take part in this grace after having been

chased by a man dressed as a clown himself -- in this craze. He decided

when he went on to the streets of South Shields the night before

Halloween last year he would take an axe and look for people to scare. In

the car park of a local pub he and a friend noticed a couple, they jumped

out of them and banged the axe on the ground. The woman was 22 weeks

pregnant at the time. The police were called, Mr Marsh was arrested

and charged with possession of a bladed article which took him to

court today. He certainly wasn't laughing today. The judge said this

offence was so serious that only custody would do, and he sent him to

a Young offenders Institute for six months. What else did the judge say

to Michael March? They had listened to the mitigation made on his behalf

that he had been 17 at the time of the offence and is now 18 and he had

never been in trouble before. But he said, carrying a real axe and

threatening innocent people in the street goes way beyond what is

acceptable at any time of the year. The young woman was 22 weeks

pregnant and by definition vulnerable. Whatever enjoyment you

were getting, they would never have regarded this as a joke, nor would

anybody else. Tonight, Michael March is beginning a six-month sentence.

The former garden of a loner jailed for life for planning a mass murder

at his former college is being searched by bomb

Officers are investigating a report that two potentially harmful items

may have been buried in the garden where Liam Lyburd used to live

Sharuna Sagar has just sent us this report from the scene.

Specialist officers arrived here at Hamilton Crescent in the West End of

Newcastle at around 4pm this afternoon. They were acting on a

tip-off and they have been digging up the garden and using metal

detectors at an address he just behind me behind this cordon. It is

understood that the address is the former home of Liam Lyburd, who was

jailed in 2015 for plotting a massacre at Newcastle College for

making pipe bombs and ownership of explosive devices. The current

occupant of that address has been moved temporarily while the search

continues, and it's thought the search might continue throughout the

night and possibly morning. -- possibly tomorrow morning.

They've been described as a popular and devoted couple.

Tonight though, their sudden deaths on a farm in North

The couple, named locally as Andrew and Jenny Robinson,

ran a turkey farm in the village of Dalton near Thirsk.

Phil Connell is live in Thirsk for us tonight.

Well, behind me, Carol, is idle Beck farm, a turkey farm four all five

miles from first. It is here where this couple had worked and lived. We

know their bodies were found inside the property last Wednesday. But

details of this have only just emerged. We believe that they were

found in two separate rooms of this property, and tonight police have

described their deaths as unexplained. They have been telling

us it could still be several more weeks before they know exactly why

this happened. And what more can you tell

us about the couple? Well, there has been no formal

identification as yet, but locally we know they have been named as

Andrew and Jenny Robinson, who were both in their early 50s. There are

reports that Mrs Robinson had recently been seriously ill. But in

the village of Dalton just down the road from here they have today been

described as a devoted couple who were well liked and well-known. He

used to run the youth club years ago when my boys were the full, they've

grown up now, and, yeah, he was part of the village -- when they were

little. I'll miss them. You don't know what's happened. They were a

lovely couple, loved by everyone and liked by everyone in the village.

Happy and chatting, just really well liked, everybody knew them. It is a

real shock? Definitely. I just feel for, you know, their daughter and

their son. So where does the police

investigation go from here? Well, forensic teams have already

been out this property. And it's expected that police searches will

continue here as well. We know that the Health and Safety Executive have

been here as well, surging, looking at the gas at the property. But that

seems to have been working properly. Tonight, in mystery here as the

investigation continues. Thanks. Police sealed off a street

in South Shields earlier today after reports that an man

was making threats. The operation was centered

on a house on Moreland Road. Fire and ambulance crews were also

sent out to the property. The negotiator spoke to a man who was

arrested and escorted from the premises. Officers have recovered

what they believe to be a loaded crossbow from the house.

A court has heard how a wealthy businessman abused a boy

Colin Gregg, from Gosforth in Newcastle, denies a string

of sexual assaults on boys over three decades.

Today, a trial heard from a man who claims Gregg attacked him

Peter Harris reports from Leeds Crown Court.

Today, Colin Gregg faced in court one of those who said the

businessman sexually assaulted him as a boy. He is now a pensioner. He

says in 1967 when he was 15 and a pupil at a school in County Durham,

Colin Baker invited him to help build an adventure playground in

Northumberland during the summer holidays -- Colin Gregg. Whilst

there, he says Mr Gregg asked him if he wanted to drive his car. He says

he was impressed by that as a teenager, he was interested in cars.

He recalls squeezing in front of Colin Gregg on the drivers seat

holding the steering wheel. He says Colin Gregg then assaulted him, and

he described his shock at what was happening. The witness told the

jury, I just jumped out of the car and ran off, and didn't speak to

anyone about it for many years. ... Under cross-examination, the

witness, who is separate to the four people Gregg is charged with

assaulting, denied cooking up the claim. He said Colin Gregg assaulted

him, no shadow of the doubt. Colin Gregg, described in court as a

wealthy man who helped build up the Greggs bakery chain, has also worked

as a teacher and a social worker. He denies nine assaults on four boys

and the trial continues. Health managers have

refused to explain why they rejected a bid to run

Hartlepool Hospital's The Care Fertility Group operates 15

units across the country, Licensed fertility treatment

will now end in the town, and patients will be forced

to travel as far as Newcastle. Today, members of the local

Clinical Commissioning Group were summoned by councillors

to explain themselves. Here's our News Correspondent,

Mark Denten. This is what health managers look

like facing the music - they've ended licensed fertility

services in Hartlepool. Little Eliza wouldn't

be here without them. This is a product of 4.5 years of

kind, caring compassionate romper staff at the Department, -- from the

staff at the Department. I'm distraught to think that others will

not get that care and compassion. to councillors, members

of the Clinical Commissioning group I think it's deplorable that people

found this information out by the media. It's not acceptable in any

way, shape or form. We are working with the Trust to make sure that

happened in advance. Hartlepool Hospital's

fertility unit. In January last year,

health managers announced it was closing because of

staff recruitment problems. But in April, Hartlepool Council

went to the High Court to A judge ruled it

couldn't shut without It finished in July -

the unit would stay open the Clinical Commissioning group

announced no bidder had met the Care Fertility Group -

it runs 15 fertility clinics across Britain,

was already helping provide Hartlepool

fertility services it said So would those health managers

explain why..it turns out Which may have left Scarlett,

who's three and another Hartlepool We have just been through IVF again.

We have had embryology as from Care, the company wanting to take over who

have been denied, and it has been affected.

The meeting was adjourned until a later date, with both

the CCG and Council saying they'll take legal advice.

So, the Council not getting the answers they wanted.

Well, in a word, frustration, certainly as far as the council is

concerned. The chair of the committee told me after the meeting

that his scrutiny committee couldn't do one important thing today, which

is scrutinised. There are actually concerns beyond whether fertility

unit actually is. The wider concern from campaigners is that they fear

that services at Hartlepool hospital are being gradually taken away,

making it ripe for closure. That is utterly denied by health managers,

who say there is absolutely no closure agenda. Thank you, Mark.

Still to come: Tonight's sports news from Dawn Thewlis.

Romancing the stone - the mystery of the marriage

proposal carved in a rock on a Northumberland hillside.

Another mystery, what's in the weather forecast? And who has won

our January weather picture competition. I'll have the results

shortly. Now, what did you do with the toys

from your childhood? Are they still well-loved,

or gathering dust in your loft? Or perhaps they were simply

thrown out years ago? Well, a Cumbrian auctioneer's been

overwhelmed by the number of vintage Around 650 lots will be on sale

at Mitchell's Auction House It's only the second time a toy

sale's been held there since 1873. Once loved, now packed away -

this is a holding room for toys Some have been well played with,

others preserved with care. 650 lots, all ready

for adventures with new owners. And the auctioneer

has his favourites. And Steiff teddy bears

are particularly valuable. You can tell it's Steiff

because it's got that It probably dates

from about 1910-1920. The shape of the face, the way

Steiff is written on the button. Because of that, I'd probably put

about ?400 to ?600 on it. Down here we've got a Clinker-built

open launch, with a Trojan And what I like about it as well

is this little figure. It adds a bit of

character to the piece. That's it, perfect

for the Lake District. In terms of cost-wise,

do you have any idea? ?400 to ?600, but I think it should

make a little bit more than that. From lots worth hundreds to those

that'll sell for much less, there's money to be made

in the vintage toy market, and the attraction for sellers

in Cumbria seems to be growing People who think that

their toys are worth ?2 or ?3 could end up

making ?50, ?60. So that's really good,

seeing people bidding the toys up. It's just really exciting,

I think, that's the general auction sort of process,

it's just a really exciting sort And you can get involved

in the bidding at Michtell's Auction Megan Paterson, BBC

Look North, Cockermouth. With less than a week

to Valentine's Day, the Northumberland National Park

is looking for help to unravel Nestled 402 metres up a craggy

hill near Rothbury lies a marriage proposal -

very public, yet strangely It's been carved into a rock

off the beaten track, and anyone who knows

about the couple involved Even on the days, the boulders are

pierced with toothache... It digests its antipasto of spider and

flight... A poem by Steinman Armitage, inspired by this moody

place, the hills. In fact, it can only be heard here, on a phone map

triggered by GPS. It has been specially written to lead you to a

rock discovered five years ago by a park ranger. A simple proposal

failed industry. We don't know much about it. We have a poem written

about it because it's such a romantic gesture, but K and J are

out there somewhere, I don't know, Keith and Jane? We think it's quite

old, though. Handwriting is very neat. It has been here as long as a

lot of our staff who have worked here for years and years have been

here. We have asked around, of course. Lots of local people would

come up here, but we can't get an answer. If you know anything about

the proposal, the National Park would love to hear from you. And put

a romantic and, hopefully, to this story, started when this man

stumbled upon the stone. We were working, doing some part of work on

the rich. I came for a one. Off the path. I came upon the stone that

I've never seen before -- I went for a wander off the part. The

description of, K Will you marry me, J? I was surprised that somebody

would go to the lengths to actually do that. It is what it is. You say

you are surprised, are you not a romantic man, Ben, Mark? I'm not

that romantic, no! It has been known, but generally not. Whoever

you are all were, J, I only hope you chose a better day than today to ask

your big question. If you know who J or K might be

or were, or if you've even heard folklore about the stone,

please do tell us about it It might only be February,

but we're starting with cricket, because it's looking increasingly

likely that England's new captain could come

from our part of the world. All the speculation's been

about Yorkshire's Joe Root taking over from Alistair Cook,

who resigned as skipper on Monday. But Durham's Ben Stokes

shouldn't be overlooked, and the pair could be a potent

partnership. There's no white smoke from the home

of cricket yet, but England travel to the West Indies in two weeks'

time, so the announcement Yorkshire's Joe Root,

who's been vice-captain, is still favourite to take over,

but perhaps it's not quite Durham and ex-England captain

Paul Collingwood has thrown Ben Stokes' name into the hat,

and Alistair Cook agrees the all-rounder has a vital part

to play in the future. I think Ben Stokes has got a leading

role no doubt at some stage. I think the way he's improved

and matured as a cricketer, and people, you know,

he's one of those people who people We're very lucky there's a good

group of people pushing it forward. Stokes is most likely to be

appointed vice-captain. And, not surprisingly,

Yorkshire's Director of Cricket is backing his own man

for the top job. Personally, I can't see

beyond anyone else, I'll be honest. It is a big job, but, you know,

Joe's that kind of person I think he's more than capable

of dealing with the pressures And, you know, you say it does

affect people detrimentally, but it can also be, you know,

something that actually improves him So I think it's probably going to be

the case with Joe that it'll I'd be very surprised

if it isn't Joe. Well, as at least one career

is about to go to next level, Former European champion

and Commonwealth medallist Jemma Lowe has called time

on a swimming career that has The 26-year-old from Hartlepool

has represented Wales in three Commonwealth Games,

two Olympics and four World Championships,

and was part of the gold medal-winning 4x100m

Mixed Medley Relay team which set Rugby league fans are welcoming

the new season, and there'll be plenty of so-called regional derbies

to look forward to following the relegation of West Cumbrian

rivals Workington and Whitehaven. They'll be up against Barrow,

York and Newcastle in League One, as well as Canadian newboys Toronto

Wolfpack. Some had a longer journey

than others, but representatives of the top three divisions

in English Rugby League all converged in this building

at Leigh, near Manchester. The home of Super League

new boys Leigh Centurions. After the elite clubs' season

launch, it was the turn of the Championship

and League 1 sides. And if, like me, you thought police

officers were looking younger these days, how about the new head coach

of relegated Whitehaven, Yeah, it's been all

right, to be fair. Obviously I've got a good

relationship with the lads And I spoke to them before

I took the job, so, well, obviously I need to let them do

what they need to do away from me, but also I want to be

involved with it as well. So, you know, it's finding

that happy medium. We've all got respect for each

other, players and coaches, Since relegation, both

Whitehaven and Workington Town have been rebuilding,

with the recruitment of talented youngsters

from the Cumbrian amateur game. In the first of at least four

meetings between the two clubs, a pre-season friendly friendly

playing for the Ike Southward Trophy, Haven even started well,

but Town finished stronger, and will probably feel

the more confident. If we can sort of bring in these

good amateur players and get them interested in wanting to take

the opportunity to play for our club and show them

there is a pathway up to the top, But hopefully, yeah,

we just need to get Cumbria on the map and just get the interest

from elsewhere and just get these lads involved,

and hopefully we can build and be Also beginning his testimonial year,

a player whose club, since renamed and re-homed,

once ended a 64-game run without winning,

is now looking forward It's great exposure for League 1,

Toronto coming down and exposing the league and showing how good

the league is. Because it is a good

league, it's competitive. Obviously, you know,

Toronto are the favourites, But below that I think

there are about five or six teams who are competing for those

top five places. Last year was a building

year for us, and we've We have strength in the squad

and depth in the squad. I think the top four

finish is a must. For others, moving from a full-time

contract with Hull FC to a semiprofessional role

with League 1 York has meant Teaching in schools at the minute,

I'm looking to go to uni in September and do sports coaching

or physical education. You've got to find something to do,

whether it's working or college Finally, comiserations

to Newcastle Eagles, who won't be adding basketball's BBL

Trophy to the BBL Cup League leaders Leicester Riders beat

Fab Flournoy's side, who're second in the league,

104-69 - a record margin. Before the weather forecast,

it's time to reveal our first winning viewer's weather picture

of the year, and to meet It's time to reveal the first shot

that will feature in our 2018 And our guest judge

is the award-winning press I headed off to Bowes Museum

in Barnard Castle to meet the Durham lad whose work for North News

and Pictures has featured I make the most of the weather

when I'm out doing my pictures. I try and incorporate the weather

in my photos, whether it's spring on the north-east coast,

big winter storms, There's something about the North

of England that has such a vast variety of weather

amongst its landscape, it's just... And what would Paul make

of your January selection Well, it was indoors

for a cuppa to find out. There was a really high standard

of pictures that have been sent in, despite not having such a wintry

January that we're used to. The lesson I learned when I first

started taking pictures was to do it bright,

tight, with plenty of depth in the picture, so the picture

would tell the story. So my first runner-up is a picture

by Eddie from Morpeth. Great depth in this picture

from Sheffield Pike, looking north-east up Ullswater

towards Pooley Bridge. You can just make out

the clouds capping off these And it's of Kirk Carrion,

just down the road in Teesdale. It's a gorgeous picture,

with the morning light It's such a patchwork of dry stone

walls where the sun is just starting to melt the snow,

to another great wintry picture My overall winner for January

is by Trevor Earthy. What I like about this

picture is the contrasting You've got beautiful sunshine

shining on the stones And then as you climb up

the fells towards the top, you get into the wintry,

snowy conditions, with that nice bit It's such a wonderful image to start

of the weather calendar. Here here, even Caroline dawn

approved! If you have taken a picture this month or are taking one

that you think I'd be suitable, you can e-mail them to us. More

information on the weather picture competition on the look North

website. Tomorrow, and East- West split again, it's going to be cold

everywhere with an icy start for many and a few wintry flurries in

the east. Generally a bit drier and brighter further west. At East -

West split theme certainly carries through tonight as well. The risk of

icy stretches in the east where these showers have been or will fall

through the night, near the coast there will be rain and sleet, other

than the tops of the hills we won't put down anything more than a white

dusting in places. Drier, clearer further west with a widespread

frost, temperatures down to minus two. Tomorrow, the East - West split

continues, a lot of cloud in eastern areas, more showers coming in off

the North Sea. Again, a wintry flavour to those. Not producing too

much settling snow. Further west, Cumbria is dry with a few bright as

polls. That's where we will see the higher afternoon temperatures,

defies all Sears, more like twos and threes for the north-east. High

pressure over Scandinavia feeds in a cold easterly wind towards the

weekend. The risk of wintry showers becoming more widespread, you might

be trying to see a covering eastern parts through the weekend. It's

certainly going to say chilly over the coming few days. I was Chile

driving back, I have the car heater up to 25 degrees and I still didn't

fall out! Terrible! That's it from us tonight, bye-bye.

when farmers leave their daily routines behind...

Right, here we come, Dorset! ..for a show day.

When author Sir Terry Pratchett died,