25/01/2012 Look North (Yorkshire)

Welcome to Wednesday's Look North Tonight - fit to keep their licence

or not? The family campaigning to have motorists banned immediately

if charged with death by dangerous driving.

My son was killed by a drunk driver on the New Year's Eve. He did not

lose his licence. The law seems crazy to me. If he had been stopped

for drink-driving, he would have lost his licence straight away.

Also, is it worth having a job? Debbie Purdy's husband's advised to

give up work and go on benefits to pay their council tax bill.

And the high-tech robots shaping our future - and it's all about

working in a team. Wharfedale was looking pretty cloudy today. That

will bring heavy rain in places Good evening. First, should

motorists accused of dangerous driving have their licences taken

away? One family says yes, that is what should happen. The son was

killed by a drunk driver but was allowed to continue driving for

eight months on telly was found guilty. We will be talking to them

in a moment. First, this report. 31st December, 2010 was a day that

changed Karen Strong's life forever. While most people were celebrating

New Year, she was identifying the body of her son, Jamie, who died

after being hit by a car without buying Chinese food. Jamie was

knocked down here in Otley town centre. He was knocked over by a

car which mounted the pavement. The driver had been drinking and

driving. He had been on his mobile phone and had been doing twice the

speed limit. He was sentenced to four years in jail after pleading

guilty to all charges. His trial came eight months after the

accident and in the meantime he was allowed to continue driving and

keep his licence. Karen Strong wants drink-drivers to have an

immediate ban. In the case of this particular serious offence, where

somebody has lost their life through drink driving or driving

under the import of drugs, it seems common sense they should not be

allowed to drive until the case is heard. Although drink-driving

offences can be heard by magistrates, in this case it formed

part of a more serious charge of causing death by dangerous driving.

One expert says changing the law would be difficult. Unfortunately,

as the law stands, the charges must be heard together. The Superior

Court takes precedence. That delay meant that offended could keep on

the road for eight months. Jamie's younger sister has set up on online

petition and hopes the Government will look again at the law.

Let's now talk to Karen and to Rebecca, and also to Jamie's friend,

Tom. You were there that night. It is still very vivid, isn't it?

We just went out for a bag of prawn crackers, that is all it was. As it

happened, the car came speeding. It was obvious something was going to

happen. You ended up cradling your best friend as he died? I held my

hand on his heart as he lay on the ground. Obviously dying. That has

stayed with me ever since. This campaign is why it is important to

you, a legacy for your best friend? Jamie always put people first. It

is what he did. If by this petition it means it will not happen to

anybody else, that his Jamie's memory. Rebecca, the petition was

your idea. What do you hope it will achieve? Hopefully people will not

get into a car when they have been drinking. Hopefully nobody else

will have to lose their big brother. What has it been like for you? Do

you think the law is too relaxed? Yes, it is evidently not strict

enough. I presume you hope to get that Magic 100,000 and tried to get

at debate in Parliament? Yes. you must be very proud of these

young people, your daughter and Tom, because in a way they are not

letting go, are they? No. They are so mature for their age. I am so

proud of both. Shortly after Jamie died, Tom came to the hospital. Not

many 16 year-old boys are strong enough to see their friend who has

just been killed. Some of the comments from viewers. People

saying, I'm not defending drivers who were drunk, but you are

innocent until proven guilty. What you're saying here is that the

presumption is you are guilty until proven innocent? I knew the minute

Jamie died and I walked back to the relatives room, I knew exactly how

much over the limit the driver was. It was very clear cut. There was no

doubt. You had been told? Yes, I had been told. The minute we pulled

up outside accident and emergency, I was told. I was told he was a

drunk driver. They told me precisely how much alcohol was in

his system when Jennie died. So you are saying if it is no dispute

about the alcohol involved, and that is why it is dangerous driving,

that is a different category almost? It is. If he had just been

stopped for drink-driving and hadn't killed Jamie, he would have

lost his licence straight away. There is no doubt at all there was

alcohol in his system. I'm sure people will continue to debate this

interesting development. For the moment, thank you.

Also tonight, Debbie Purdie is well known for a campaigning on the

issue of a person's right to die. Now she has begun to fight other

battle. -- another battle. She has appeared at Bradford magistrates

court today accused of not paying her Council tax. She is furious

after being told she would get more benefit to Evra husband gave up his

job. She is no stranger to a courtroom.

There'd Purdie has long campaigned to change the law on assisted dying.

-- Dowdie Purdie. Today she was summoned before Bradford

magistrates for not paying her Council tax. I am a bit scared.

Maybe it is an opportunity. I have been trying to get this sorted out

for a year. I cannot believe that somebody in the Benefits Office is

saying that it would be better if my husband didn't work and Claymore

benefit. It seems Ludacris. owes more than �700 in Council tax

and is in debt by around �20,000. She has multiple sclerosis. She

claims disability living allowance and incapacity benefit, but

struggles to get by. I haven't got the money to pay a bit of the

Council tax. If you pay a bit of the Council tax, we just do not eat.

Debbie's was bent is a musician and music teacher. He cannot work full-

time because he looks after Debbie. He mostly works in London and takes

home �90 a week after travel expenses. The Benefits Office say

it would be better if he gave up work. Today, Debbie was referred to

Citizens Advice with help for her benefit. Frustrating. All that has

happened is I have been told to speak to a more helpful person. I

just wanted it dealt with. I wanted the court to say, this is the

situation, and this is how we will resolve it. With welfare reform on

the way, Debbie does not know how her benefits could change in the

future. It is a confusion she believes is shared by many people

living with disabilities. After the court hearing I asked the

local MP, Liberal Democrat David Ward, how it could speed up that

the Government says it needs to reduce welfare dependency, but at

the same time somebody is being advised not to work because they

would be better off. It is not right. That is why we're doing what

we're doing with the Welfare Reform Bill. Across the parties now there

is an agreement that welfare needs to be reformed. That will be very

difficult at that time when we are looking to reduce Government

spending. It has to be done. You cannot have this situation where

people can be better off on benefits. That is at huge

disincentive for people to take work. Al marra is a very talented

musician. But when he is being advised that he would be better off

on benefit, something is sadly going wrong. As a local MP, what

pressure can you exert on the Government? What we are going to

introduce is the universal credit in 2013. What that will seek to do

is to make sure that people are literally better off in work than

they would be on benefit. There is a cliff edge at the moment where

people receive benefits. If they work for a certain period of time

and earn a certain amount of income, there is an immediate withdrawal of

benefits. It always pays people to take the job. Is the state right to

prosecute somebody of Debbie Purdie's condition for not paying

Council tax? Should it have reached this stage? No, it should

definitely not have reached this stage. Difficult enough as it is

for Debbie. The added burden of having to deal with being summoned

to court is simply not acceptable. We will offer additional support

and advice if we can. We need to sort this out. The system needs to

be changed. We need to make sure this kind of the thing never

happens again. Still ahead, the Yorkshire soldier

killed in Afghanistan are saving the life of an injured comrade.

All of today's news. Detectives have had more than 10 phone-calls

and five more approaches from families believing that they may

know the identity of a woman found dead near Sutton Bank 30 years ago.

The remains of the woman's body would be buried at Malton cemetery

this morning. It was exhumed on Monday.

For the second time, there remains of an unidentified woman were

buried today in Olsson cemetery. Assured service was conducted

behind barriers where the body had been exhumed on Monday night.

buried the body, a fording the woman the dignity and respect he

would afford to anybody whether you knew them or not. That is what we

have just done. It is a closer to the exhumation. In 1981, the

remains were discovered close to Sutton Bank. Detectives hope the

woman, whom they made a wax image of in the first investigation, can

now be identified and because of her death discovered. Samples were

taken yesterday from the femur and ankle bones. For the next four

weeks these will be studied at the forensic science laboratories in

whether the to establish a DNA profile. In response to the newly

reopened inquiry, there has been some reaction. Some of those calls

have been from families who have reported relatives missing. The

second one we have had from members of the public, including an ex-

police officer, information that may be of value. For now, Malta and

cemetery has been reopened as investigations continue. -- Malton

A Huddersfield-based businessman has today received a suspended

prison sentence for promising people he could get their council

tax reduced if they paid him a fee. Jack Henry, a director of Council

Tax Review, targeted homes in Leeds, Halifax and Huddersfield - telling

residents that by paying �175, he could get their house put in a

lower council tax band. But he didn't tell them that any home

owner can appeal to their council for free. He was sentenced to a

nine-month suspended sentence and told to repay thousands of pounds.

Mr Henry has made a great deal of money charging for air service

available for three. He has used misleading sales techniques to

deprive the elderly and vulnerable people of their cash. The judge has

commended the speed of the investigation, and awarded full

cost. There is also a clear message that any recurrence will lead to a

series custodial penalty. Elections for up to eleven new city

mayors are being fast-tracked to November if they are given the go

ahead during referenda in May. The Communities Minister, Greg Clark,

has said that mayoral elections will be held on a "Super Thursday"

of November 15 in cities including Bradford, Leeds, Sheffield and

Wakefield. Our intention is to hold the first collection on November

15th. That is the same day as the elections for the police

commissioners, and hence the day but I hope will be a landmark day

in the shift of power and influence from Whitehall to communities.

could have a democratic system where everyone has a voice and has

access to lead to. To leave the conclusions of the hands of a

person who is not an expert is in my view, it wrong.

The future of local BBC radio looks a little more secure this evening.

The BBC Trust has today called for a re-think on one of the most

controversial proposals of the Delivering Quality First plan. As

the BBC looks to make cutbacks, the Trust chairman, Lord Pattern, said

local radio should be protected and warned against sharing afternoon

programming. A soldier from Bradford who died after going to

the aid of a friend was remembered today. A plaque was unveiled today.

As Michele reports, it was an emotional day.

It is a year to the day since Private Martin Bell was killed in

action. He was fatally wounded by a roadside bomb in Afghanistan while

trying to save a fellow soldier. Today, the second battalion

regiment travelled up from Colchester. A plaque was unveiled

at Waheed served as a poet -- police community support officer.

It is fantastic that this is a permanent reminder of the

friendliness, giving and caring and compassion when he was a police

community support officer for three years. And among the soldiers

paying tribute was the man who owes him his life: Private Scott both --

lost both legs in Afghanistan. Martin defied orders to rescue his

friend. Today, he stood proudly with their regiment to pay his

respects. It has been lovely to see the police and army to get the.

People have been a fantastic. It is a great honour. The Bell family

also learned that they rode in Bradford it is to be named after

Martin: Another on it which will keep the memory of this brave

soldier alive. Last month, was Britain's newest a

monument. The peaked at Star Carr has become more and more acidic, so

the artefacts are disappearing. But thanks to a grant of 1.5 million

euros, new excavations have become this very summer.

Rural North Yorkshire as we know it today, but the distant trees were

once an island in a fast and late, beside which was found Britain's

oldest house - a wooden causeway over the lake. The earliest

evidence of carpentry in Europe. Generations of continuous

occupation, 11,000 years ago. Not nomadic hunter-gatherers, but

settlers. This side is one of the most important in a Europe. We tend

to find pieces of flint because that is what survives. But the

Peter has helped would become a bone and and less survive, so rare

that they give us a unique insight into this point of our past.

this big has become a race against time. Funding was desperately

needed to finish the work before the archaeology is lost her ever.

This antler was found when the excavations first started 60 years

ago, but unfortunately, there has been a deterioration on side. The

Peter is beginning to degrade, and now, sadly, we found aimed at low

which is more like pieces of leather. A lot of the bone has

disappeared because it is very acidic. In five years' time, it is

likely it will complete leaders appear. The team has secured 1.5

million euros to help finish the work, particularly to understand

how these people reacted to rapper and dramatic climate change. --

rapid and dramatic. When is the last time that three Yorkshire

clubs were virtually at the troubled Third Division, all on the

same points? Goodness may? I have got a bit of research am my hand.

On to sport, and in football, the fight between Yorkshire clubs for

promotion from League One took another turn last night. Sheffield

Wednesday pulled level with neighbours Sheffield United and

Huddersfield Town. To keep up with their rivals, it

Wednesday had to win at last night, and the striker got them off to the

best start. He brushed aside the Scunthorpe defence to score inside

two minutes. Not long after, O'Grady did it again, this time

with a header to put them in control. Them, step forward

Jermaine Johnson. A direct run and cool finished. Scunthorpe later

pulled back, but Wednesday stayed in control and 13 haven't won. So,

our teams are clumped together at the top of League One. -- 3-1. It

seems they will only be two chances of promotion for our three teams.

That means we are set for a dramatic conclusion to the season,

and we will bring you every twist and turn.

Blades fans, do you remember winning Division at four in 1982?

1981, of Rotherham were champions of division three. We have been at

there before, and we will discuss this throughout the cause of the

season, I am sure. Still on football, as if Doncaster

Rovers didn't have enough on their plate at the moment, there have

been some dramatic changes in the club's boardroom today - four

directors have resigned. These include Vice Chairman Dick Watson,

who has stepped down for health reasons. No explanation has yet

been given for the resignations of Terry Bramall, Andrew Watson and

Sarah Kell. Rovers Chairman John Ryan has issued a statement saying

that he is disappointed, and has thanked all four for their

contributions to Doncaster Rovers. What about that Seventies? That is

half an hour programme! Robots may be the kind of things third spring

to mind - do you remember K9 from Dr Who?! But in York today, robots

have become high-tech. They can make decisions, work as a team, and

even television presenters, I bet! It is a long way from NASA, but

behind closed doors, research is being carried out into robotics

which could be used by the rest of the world one day. Hidden in the

campus is the land where robots are being developed, not owning robot

used on earth, but also in outer space. I was lucky enough to have a

look inside the base where robotic systems are tested and developed.

The research team is led by Professor John. It is these little

fellow's up that are the stars of the show. Their size is small, but

their potential is huge. They work and a team, working out where the

need to go, and what they need to do. As I was blinded by science, a

professor explained why they are so clever. The idea of these robot is

that they can communicate within themselves, do simple communication

and co-ordinate their behaviour without humans getting involved. We

could use this in environmental monitoring or accidents, such as

oil slicks. You have to double hardware we want to control a

number of them, to contain an oil slick, for example. Because there

are so many of them, these micro troubleshooters are ideal for use

in search and rescue operations, and even space exploration. But

today was also a chance for the site is to show off their other

robot as well. -- the scientists. All this talk of robots that can

control was a lot for an English graduate climax after taking, and

the scientists was the there were fighting a losing battle. But the

technology here could have a huge impact on planetary and deep-sea

exploration. I make no comment about small

Look at that lovely picture! The second one, Dewsbury. The daffodils

are out. That is a very early for January. Keep the pictures coming

in. Their headline for tomorrow - sunny spells and scattered showers.

A bit of a wintry flavour to some of them, and a similar story on

Friday. We have had temperatures of 11 degrees today, there is a cold

front bringing heavy rain in from the West towards midnight and the

early hours of the morning, but in the short term, it is dry. The wind

will strengthen from the South. It clears the western areas later

pulls top temperatures could dip down to two Celsius. The sun will

rise in the morning at 83 am. A wet start towards the coast. That rain

is soon out of the way, and then skies brightened. There will be one

or two pretty sharp showers, a bit of sleet and hail possible. There

will be some sunshine in between those showers. Temperatures back to