16/03/2017 Look North (North East and Cumbria)

Middlesbrough Football Club are searching for a new manager

tonight, after parting company with their head coach,

Boro haven't won a Premier League game for three months,

and are now struggling in the relegation zone.

Assistant head coach Steve Agnew will take control of the first team

November 2013 - Middlesbrough are just five points clear

of the Championship's relegation zone, and they unveil their first

non-British manager, and the man who'll ultimately lead

Wembley beckoned in Aitor Karanka's first full season in charge.

The Spaniard took Boro to the Championship play-off final,

The following season, Boro were flying in high in the league,

but in March a training ground bust-up led to Karanka

failing to take charge of the 2-0 defeat to Charlton.

At the end of the season, a draw with Brighton secured

Premier League promotion, and scenes fans will never forget.

He brought some great times here. We didn't look like getting back.

Amazing memories. Boro's return to the top flight

started off promisingly enough, With spirits dampening,

Karanka was increasingly criticised for being too defensive,

as Boro are the top With just four league wins this

season, they recently dropped But just last week, Karanka felt

he had the backing of Steve Gibson. The most difficult moment was when I

arrived, we drew three games and lost one, and he was the first one

who transmitted his confidence. Since that day I have felt his

confidence. In the world of modern

football management, three and a half years at one club

can be considered a big achievement. Despite this season's

disappointments, he'll be fondly remembered for bringing

the promotion party, and Premier League football,

back to the Riverside. Well, our sports reporter Jeff Brown

has been getting reaction from fans, and the Middlesbrough Gazette

and spoke to us earlier... Aitor Karanka was a man who guided

Middlesbrough back into the Premier League just ten months ago. They had

been outside the top flight for seven long years but the last thing

they can afford to do is to slip back out of the Premier League after

just one season, and that is why the club's owner and chairman Steve

Gibson has decided it is time for a change, even though it was only last

week that Tharanga said he thought he had the confidence of his

chairman -- co-anchor. So was his chairman -- co-anchor. So was his

time on a success or a failure? In truth, it was a bit of both, which

was reflected in the views of the fans. Think it will be good for the

club, it is about time he went. I think it will be good

for the club, it's about time End of the season, we need some

points on the board. He should have had a good kick

long ago, out of it. Because he has done nothing for them

over the past few months. And he has just let

Middlesbrough down. When I heard the news this morning,

half of me was gleeful He gave himself a three-year plan

and he got us up but unfortunately I'm just thankful the chairman

has eventually woke up. Maybe he's had something plotted

for the last few weeks, I think things have been going on

behind the scenes with the players and the squad was not as united as

it could have been. Overall a decision was taken was time to move

on and try something new. A big came coming up on Sunday, at home to

Manchester United -- a big game. Steve Agnew will be in charge, will

he get the job of a longer-term basis? I suppose it depends how well

he does for the next few weeks. The favourite at the moment is Nigel

Pearson, former Middlesbrough captain. Did a great job saving

Leicester City from relegation a few years ago. Will he be the man to

come and save the Boro? We will find out soon enough.

Doctors in Newcastle have been given the first UK licence to create

The team at the Newcastle Fertility Centre say it's

The advanced form of IVF will be used to prevent children dying

The first child could be born by the end of this year.

A 29-year-old man has been remanded in custody,

charged with causing death by dangerous driving,

following a police chase in Middlesbrough on Tuesday night.

Brandon Morris, who was 16, died after the car he was travelling

in failed to stop for police, and crashed into another car.

The Independent Police Complaints Commission

The former Sunderland and England footballer, Adam Johnson,

has lost a Court of Appeal challenge against his conviction for sexual

The 29-year-old was jailed for six years last March for sexually

touching and grooming the 15-year-old fan.

This was Johnson's second attempt to appeal against his child sex

conviction; an application he made last year was refused by a single

judge, and following a hearing last week, three Court of Appeal judges

have today announced that his latest effort has also been dismissed.

They also rejected his bid for a reduction in his

The NSPCC has welcomed the decision, and says there is a an urgent need

to bring English grooming legislation up to date

We hope the verdicts today will allow the victim

One of the troubling issues in this case was the extent

It is still not illegal to send a sexual online message to a child.

In Scotland, the law has been changed for some time,

In England, Parliament has passed a law which gives the police

the powers they need, but it has not been brought

into force, which means police are still unable to intervene before

The failure of Johnson's appeal means the only option available to

the former hero of Sunderland football club is to serve out his

sentence. Unless some significant evidence comes out, the case is now

closed. Durham Police as this is been a protracted case for the

victim and everyone connected to the case. Hopefully this will now draw a

line under it and we can all now move on.

Cumbria Police have confirmed people connected to the Conservative Party

have been interviewed about the party's spending

The Electoral Commission has issued a ?70,000 fine

to the party, nationally, for breaching expenses rules.

Cumbria is among 12 forces to have submitted files

It comes after complaints about a Conservative "battle bus"

that visited marginal constituencies, including Carlisle.

Six months ago, his life was saved by the quick response

Matthew Oates, who's 19, had been kicked square in the face

Well, today Matthew had an emotional reunion with the ambulance

team that helped him, and got the chance to say thank you.

It was a grateful thank you delivered by Matthew Oates

in person this morning to the North East Ambulance crew

You couldn't remember what happened, we kept telling you what happened.

I remember just seconds before the accident,

It was at these stables where Matthew was seriously injured

last year, after being kicked in the face by his

In hospital, he underwent seven hours of facial surgery,

and was left with an eight inch scar across the top of his head.

I have known him a couple of years, and he has never kicked out.

It's just one of those things, just a total spook when he kicked.

Yes we are, back on speaking terms, aren't we?

It was quite emotional, for him especially.

He didn't really remember us anyway, all he remembers are bits and pieces

of being in the back of the ambulance.

We get a lot of bad press sometimes, and it's just nice to have a thank

you and someone to appreciate what we do.

Matthew has now been accepted to be a paramedic himself and will start

His relationship with Larry, meanwhile, is fully restored,

Is it going to be wet when we open the curtains tomorrow?

A bit of a wild one tomorrow and a can't win tonight. Clear skies and

the temperature stripping away. Down to the three Celsius, cold enough

for a touch of ground frost. One or two showers and they start to become

a bit more widespread later in the night. Tomorrow morning the showers

start to merge as we head through the morning, especially across

Cumbria and the Scottish Borders. It becomes a wet afternoon across most

places, the rain most heavily in the West. Some of the rain will make it

further east but it is a eastern areas where you at least have a

chance of some try interludes, though there would be much in the

way of brightness. The temperature is down on the last few days, eighth

and ninth. That is how it is looking as the first weather system comes

in. At times, as we have through the weekend it will be wet and windy.

For Saturday, one of those weather fronts will come in. It will bring

outbreaks of rain. The wind is maybe not as gusty on Saturday but still a

lot of cloud cover outbreaks of rain for many of us and temperatures

recovering slightly back into double figures. For Sunday the winds pick

up again but the rain might be a bit more intermittent, more in the way

of dryer brighter spells, especially eastern areas and temperatures back

up to 13 Celsius. I will leave you with

there will be rain around, most occurring overnight.