24/03/2017 Look North (North East and Cumbria)

Welcome to Friday's Look North. alone.

Welcome to Friday's Look North. Tonight... And offshore worker from

Wearside is exposed to radiation on a North Sea oil rig. Thank you for

saving my life, a North Tyneside man meets the people who came to his

rescue when his heart stopped. The new Street Rangers hoping to tackle

anti-social behaviour in one of our city centres. And strutting their

stuff for comic relief, how we in the US drug North are raising money

for Red Nose Day. A surprise England call-up for one of the region's top

defenders, big game at both ends of the two and Northumberland welcome

some of the top questions for a weekend of top-class action.

A North East offshore worker has been exposed to radiation

while working on an oil rig in the North Sea.

Steve Innes, from Sunderland, was cleaning and repairing part

The job, he was told, didn't require extra protection.

However, he's subsequently been told he was contaminated

with alpha radiation - and there are no guarantees

on how his health might be affected in the future.

Our business correspondent Ian Reeve reports.

Steve has worked offshore for 30 years.

But late last year he was exposed to radioactive materials

during a shutdown on an oil and gas rig in the North Sea.

It was, he says, a massive failing on behalf of the company

he was working for, as well as the owner of the rig.

Something that shouldn't have happened.

They came down when we were working down on one of them and they told us

they had done a reading the night before and it was off the chart so

then they did a reading on the one we were on and that was off the maps

of the work stopped. The company that Steve was working

for - the Wood Group on the Thistle platform in the North Sea -

says the health and safety All six workers involved in the

incident were medically examined. With the unions that is not enough.

They believed they were working in a safe environment. No one would

expect that to happen and obviously you would expect safeguards the

burdens of that couldn't happen and people would be protected. Once

everyone was aware it had happened, they were taken to a room, there was

a professor brought then who explained the dangers, I think it

was the radiation they were exposed to, the long-term effects could be

cancer or leukaemia and they would have to get regular blood checks and

that this could onset at any time. Steve can't claim for personal

injury until there's proof that his health has suffered

because of the incident. But he does want the issue to be

taken more seriously than he feels it has been,

given the effect on him Some of the lads, some of them can't

go to work, on medication, can't sleep, worried about it, he has been

sent for blood tests and everything. Waiting for results coming back like

we all are. And we are just hoping that somebody will step forward and

take a hold of the situation and start doing the right thing, you

know? Rather than trying to sweep it under the table and under the

carpet. Well, in a statement,

the owner of the rig - Enquest - said six workers were exposed to low

levels of naturally occurring The level of exposure was less

than 1% of the level reportable However, following an investigation,

additional precautionary steps have been taken to further ensure that

personnel avoid any such exposure. Colin Flannery was at home

in Whitley Bay on North Tyneside Four months on, he's fully recovered

and leading a normal life. And today, Colin met the paramedics

who helped save him. Here's his dramatic story,

in his own words - and the words of those

who came to the rescue. I was sitting in the front

lounge on my iPad. Next thing Gail knew my iPad had

dropped to the floor. She looked over and I was

slumped in the lounge. I was just calling his name

and he didn't come round, so I phoned the services

straightaway and they told me to get him on his back and try

and start resuscitating him. I think because it was my own,

I was in a panic, and I rang to get The worst-case scenario

was unfolding. He didn't look well at all,

so it was just a case of getting air Seemed like minutes, probably was,

but I carried on and all of a sudden Colin just gave this huge gasp

and I thought, "Well, His neighbour Derek

was doing very good CPR. I asked him to continue while I put

the pads on his chest. And from there deliver

a controlled electrical shock. Derek did an absolutely

fantastic job. And we may not have had that outcome

that we have today had it not been for Derek's actions and been

so quick in delivering CPR. I would encourage anyone who knows

CPR, if you ever have It was things I forgot about,

checking airways, tilt the head back, nip the nose,

blow into the mouth and get It's all I did and it

worked very well. It's nice to see you in far

better circumstances. I mean, I was sitting

there and I think when you came I feel so grateful that

the paramedics have saved my life and also my neighbour,

who initially started A new scheme's been launched in York

to tackle anti-social A team of Street Rangers is being

paid for by local businesses, in the hope of creating a more

pleasant experience for visitors As Michelle Lyons reports,

the new blue uniforms deal with everything from shoplifters

to missing people. We will come and

have a look for you. We are just going to go

and make our presence known, hopefully deter them

from going into any businesses. Two known shoplifters

are doing the rounds in York. The Street Rangers have been called

in to warn them off. They work in partnership

with the police to keep the streets The likelihood is that they will get

issued a banning notice from town just for maybe 24 hours or two days,

just to keep them out We work with Street Rangers,

on a daily basis really. Town centre, they are

a good resource for us. They don't have any powers

unfortunately, but they certainly help us out with finding

missing people, shoplifters. They get involved and we work

really well together. The Rangers are paid

for by the businesses themselves They are managed by the York

Business Improvement District. And already the benefits

are noticeable. The Theatre Royal have issues

with people who are going in to use their toilets maybe to take drugs

or for people who use drink. So, we actually engage with these

people and we act as a deterrent. And if someone is homeless,

we give them support and refer them to partner agencies,

so just the Salvation Army and local Well, you have got our number,

so just give us a call any time. They check up on us,

make sure everything is all right. If we have any troubles,

they will come in and make sure they are dealt with and basically

relieve us from any Some of us have addictions,

drink and that, and there is nowhere for us to go anywhere we can chill

and that, is there? And it's this type of friendly

approach which seems to be working. Their presence in York city centre

helps to reduce crime as well as give support to those

who may need it. Sunday is Mother's Day -

a lovely day for many, but if your mum has died recently,

it can be really tough. Well, Tynedale Hospice at Home

in Northumberland has been working with children who've

suffered that loss. They go to a club where they can

spend time with other children who've gone

through the same experience. To help explain the important

bereavement work the charity does, This film is made by young people

who go to Rainbow Club My favourite memory

of mum is when we went to Disneyland Florida

and road on dolphins. I remember roller-skating

for her and slipping over I am seven years old

and my name is Casper. My memory is going on the plane to

England with my mum, dad and sister. My name is Michaela

and I am eight years old. My name is Maddie and

I am nine years old. My favourite memory

of my mum is dancing We are all unique, so different

things have helped us Still to come on

Friday's Look North... The weekend's sports

news with Dawn Thewlis. The Hairy Bikers visit one

of the many projects And we are finally in for a weekend

of blue skies and warm sunshine. Join me later for the full forecast.

Until now some of the most important artefacts in the history of British

mountaineering have been kept in a dusty room above

But today climbers and explorers celebrated the opening

of a new archive that will house the belongings of some

of the sport's most daring and famous practitioners.

Mark McAlindon's been to see the new building near Keswick,

and to investigate some of the tales it'll tell.

Two Eric Limer, one wants to try -- to a climber, you want to be tested

to the utmost, climbing the highest mountain in the world is obviously a

big challenge. They now hunting words of a man revered in

mountaineering. Joe Tasker, who died in Everest 1982. The Mountain

Heritage trust will store his diary and belongings in a centre near

Keswick. Instead of being shut away in a little room it is actually

there and for people to see and feel. It keeps him alive and we are

really proud as a family that that is actually happening, because it is

or brother and our hero. But Joe Tasker isn't the only pioneer the

feature. Mabel Barker was a pioneering rock climber in the Lake

District and the 1920s and 30s. Mountaineering has traditionally

been dominated by men but Mabel pushed the limits and did something

different. Time after time in the 1920s and 30s her name appears

again, Mabel Barker, Mabel Barker. Until recently all this history was

stored above Penrith railway station and the trust needed a new home.

Suddenly there was a solution. What better place to be done on one of

Britain's most iconic mountains that can capture. It gave us the

virginity to not only set up a new office facility but also a custom

archive where we can develop the mountaineering collection. All the

young kids will not know about all this, so anyway we can enlighten

them on this glorious past British rock climbing is a great thing. And

across the valley to date a reminder of why the sport was born here and

why the Heritage will remain. It's Red Nose Day,

and across the region all kinds of fundraising is going on for Comic

Relief. This was just one of many events -

after weeks of planning, practising and perfecting,

more than 1200 pupils from Newminster and Chantry Middle

Schools in Northumberland came out in the glorious spring sunshine

to perform two special dances. They strutted their stuff

in the playground to the sounds Well, among the places

to benefit from Comic Relief is the LiveWell Dementia Hub

in Stockton-on-Tees, As Stuart Whincup reports,

TV chefs the Hairy Bikers have been to visit the project,

to see what it does. Their entrance was never

going to be low key. But the Hairy Bikers are here to see

where Comic Relief's money is spent. Great, these, but when you put them

on you go slightly... Because here, I've

got a really short... The LiveWell Hub says it offers

a voice to people with dementia and help and support to those

who care for them. Pauline's husband Brian was 62

when he was diagnosed with dementia. I mean, there was one guy kept

seeing him, and he said, But one day somebody came up

and basically swore at him and said, And Brian came home that day

and he was devastated. Really everything he liked now had

been taken out of his life. This centre is helping him break

down that stigma and it wants to show life goes on after dementia

has been diagnosed. The money goes directly

to the people that need it, so there is no infrastructure

that is costing a fortune. It is simply about making sure that

that money is targeted to charities. Make no bones about it, it is only

part of the funding needed for this, but it makes you realise that

you never know that one day it Sadly Pauline's husband

Brian died in July 2015. She has now become a volunteer

at the centre and is I mean, when Brian died,

as I said, it was horrendous. I just didn't know

what to do with myself. I didn't want to be in the house,

I didn't want to be out. I just feel, what I have been

through, I understand what everybody But dementia here doesn't

stop you doing things. And Red Nose Day's evening

of fundraising programmes, Comic Relief 2017, starts

here on BBC One straight And I want to see that remake of

love, actually. That'll be worth waiting in for.

His form has been one of the bright spots for Middlesbrough

in a difficult first season back in the Premier League.

Now centre-back Ben Gibson has been called up to the England

Gibson, who's 24, will train with Gareth Southgate's squad ahead

of Sunday's World Cup qualifier against Lithuania.

He called the deceiving and social media and unbelievable honour. --

called it this evening. He's been drafted in

following an injury Middlesbrough have just confirmed

that Carlos Cachada has left his position as first team fitness

coach. Now, Hartlepool United -

like Sunderland - are a club which has got used to mounting

"great escapes" from relegation. This year - under ex-Premier League

manager Dave Jones - they're edging towards safety

at just the right time. Eight points now separates Pools

from the bottom two with a trip to in-form but troubled

Blackpool looming. 2017's not only seen the appointment

of Dave Jones as Hartlepool boss, the club's switched training base

as well - moving to the Racecourse Ground in Durham

where staff are preparing A usual sign that spring has sprung

and that we're approaching the final We were chatting about it as we

drove in this morning, seeing the covers and then getting ready to

move them off so it is nearly summer and cricket season and we are at the

business end and it is a battle at the moment and it is one we want to

come on the right side. The business end of the season is from the start

to the finish. Nine or ten months hard slog and you have to make sure

you're up there and the priority is to try and get safe and keep

building to try to move the club forward. Three wins will do it as

long as we are mathematically safe, then we can relax but the more that

we are not so we keep going. The next two matches

are against promotion hopefuls, starting with a tough trip

to the seaside where Blackpool have been enjoying success on the pitch

but fan unrest off it. Would have to go into this weekend

and almost treated like a home game because we will have a lot of fans

there and I know what is going on at Blackpool at the moment. A lot of

their fans are still staying away with the owners and whatever is

happening there, but we have to take that as a positive and make it a

transformation of our home form into the waveform and build on the back

of Cambridge last week. As for the summer signing, who's

already got 13 goals to his name, can we all pronounce his name right

from now till the end of the season? I have been called everything, a lot

worse than what I have been called the season, but it is one of those,

people always find a way of saying it and stick with it even though it

is wrong every time. I used to it at the States. -- used it at this

stage. I think I could write at least once.

Carlisle manager Keith Curle, who's today signed midfielder

Samir Nabi and striker Ben Tomlinson, is convinced he can

help his side shrug off the five defeats in six matches which have

seen them slip out of the automatic promotion places.

Crewe are tomorrow's visitors to Brunton Park and Curle has

told his players the slate is wiped clean for the final run-in.

That has been the focus this week, getting into the players' minds,

getting into what's gone on before, but what you need to do

is you to give the players something else to buy into.

And that is what all the work has been on, readressing

the focus of the players, giving them good direction,

good understanding, roles and responsibilities of the minimum

But also then still giving the freedom of going and expressing

themselves in the right areas of the pitch.

All we need is a win and then we start again.

Meanwhile in the National League, both of our sides

Gateshead can consolidate their play-off place

with victory at Eastleigh, while York can ease their relegation

worries at promotion-chasing Dagenham and Redbridge.

Now, one of the country's top equestrian events,

The Burgham Horse Trials, is underway in Northumberland.

The only international event in the region attracts

the top names as well as up and coming young riders.

And as I found out when I went up there this morning,

organisers are determined not to let the recent wet weather put

And then it will be one stride, take off from here...

David Evans designs and builds courses all over the world and it's

the second year he's been responsible for the cross

Course builder for the 2008 Olympics, David's chairsaw

sculptures often adorn his jumps, but creating a course to accommodate

world champions and grassroots competitors can be tricky.

It is always quite difficult whatever the level we are designing

for, because we wanted to be a true test, but also educational and a

challenge. To do the Olympics, you are challenging the best and the

best and when you are doing the burdens you have got the best and

the ones that are up and coming so it was a different balance. The one

thing missing hits today is the courses. It has been so wet here and

they have had to move the dressage just a few miles up the road to

address I centred -- a centre of the road.

It's always good to have a plan B, and top British eventer Ben Hobday

has particular reasons for wanting to embrace this event.

I recently got married and my wife is from Morpeth and they shipped me

up here at the end of last year and that is it now, living the dream in

the north-east. You are no stranger to the area for quite different

reasons. A few years ago, welcomer 2015, I got diagnosed with cancer

and I had my treatment in the Friedman hospital where the staff

looked after me and Robbie back to full health so I am very grateful to

the people in this area for saving my life so there are a few quite

dark point of the forces kept going and it feels like home for me now.

It's one of the few sports where amateurs can compete

alongside Olympians like Nicola Wilson Pippa

Funnell and Andrew Hoy - all in action over the weekend.

And for former European Young Rider champion Emily Parker,

the chance to test herself against her idols.

Yet, it is amazing, riding with the stars next to you. It feels humbled

Bing to be in the arena of them. You make sure you try to write to the

best of your ability. In speedway, it's the first full

weekend of the season. Workington open their campaign

tomorrow night with the Cumberland Open Championship -

that's a 20-heat individual meeting. Also tomorrow, Berwick Bandits take

on Newcastle Diamonds in the first leg of the Tyne-Tweed Trophy,

with the return match Plenty to look forward to. Onto the

weather with Jennifer. Springlike this morning but I nipped out of the

car there before the programme and it is freezing out there. That is

the deal, warmed by day but cold by night. A couple of pictures first of

all, lovely blue skies here. Thank you for sending back then. Also this

lovely spring scene at Morpeth Castle. This weekend it is going to

be dry with plenty of warm sunshine but warm sunshine I date means it

can be quite chilly by night at this time of year. That is what it will

be like tonight. Across the map not much on it at all. Clear skies and a

touch of frost developing. By tomorrow morning some pitching

missed off particularly a the Vale of York. Temperatures dropping down

to around two or three but we will see frost in the countryside. That

bug is with us first thing tomorrow it clears quickly. Bright blue skies

across the board and the sunshine turning a bit hazy through the

afternoon. Across Cumbria around 12 or 13 or possibly 14. It will feel

lovely in the sunshine. Light winds as well. We could get up to 15. It

will be lovely tomorrow. Once again as we go through Saturday night

Sunday it will be quite chilly. Not quite as quite as cold as the night

but we could still see a touch of frost and temperatures still down to

around three or four Celsius. The clocks go forward one hour into

Sunday morning. Sunday looks lovely again. Dry and bright through the

morning but into the afternoon the cloud will roll in from the West.

That might mean that from the East, a bit cooler in the afternoon.

Cumbria store doing well with highs of 14. As we go into the start of

next week it looks a bit cloudy on Monday, a little bit cooler

temperatures still in double figures by Tuesday. Very nice, thank you. We

will settle for that. A reminder about the clocks going forward on

Saturday night. See you on Monday, bye-bye.