16/02/2012 Look North (Yorkshire)

Welcome to Thursday's Look North. Tonight, a vigil for Casey.

A woman is remanded in custody charged with her murder. Casey's

family remember their beautiful young girl. She was a lovely,

vibrant young girl who was just snatched away for no reason. Yes,

hundreds of people are lining the park here, Elmfield Park in

Doncaster to pay their respects to a young lady who tragedy lost her

life. Also tonight: taking his union to court - Arthur Scargill

goes into battle with the NUM over the payment of household bills.

And off the streets and into the recording studio - the busker who's

made it big. We sea early brightness today. This

was Leeds early this morning. Will the sun shine again tomorrow? I'll

have the full forecast later in the Good evening. Thank you for joining

us. Our top story: "Beautiful, intelligent and bright"

- those are the words being used by the heartbroken parents of Casey-

Lyanne Kearney to describe their 13-year-old daughter who was

stabbed to death in Doncaster. The teenager was found in Elmfield Park

on Tuesday afternoon after dialling 999 for help. Today 26-year-old

Hannah Bonser has been remanded in custody charged with her murder.

Tonight the teenager's being remembered by friends and family at

a special candlelit vigil at Doncaster's cenotaph. Phil Bodmer

is there. Well, Amy, hundreds of people, as

you say, here in Elmfield Park tonight, many holding candles to

remember a girl who was popular in this community and whose life was

so brutally cut down in this park just two days ago. Family and

friends laying flowers close to the spot where 13-year-old Casey-Lyanne

Kearney died on Tuesday. The teenager was found with critical

stab wounds in a play area in Elmfield Park near Doncaster town

centre. She'd been on her way to meet a friend.

Casey was a lovely, vibrant young girl who was just snatched away for

no reason. It's a close-knit family, obviously. Oh, yeah. How are they

dealing with this situation? Not very well at the moment.

This morning a 26-year-old local young woman, Hannah Bonser, was

brought before magistrates. She appeared in court dressed in a Navy

blue loose-fitting T-shirt. She nodded when asked to confirm her

name and date of birth and spoke only to confirm her address in

Doncaster. She faces one count of murder and two charges of

possessing a knife. No application was made for bail, and she was

remanded in custody to appear before Sheffield Crown Court on

February 23. Alongside an intense media presence, members of her

family were also in court. They left without comment, but in a

Hannah Bonser left court in a prison van to jeers from people

waiting outside. In Rossington, Casey's home village, the local

Baptist Minister says the community will pull together. People will

support one another, and, you know, these sort of things do tend to

bring a community together, and I'm fully confident that the town will

come on the other side of this thing and make it through. The man

who came to Casey's aid in Elmfield Park on Tuesday says the tragedy

has had a profound effect on everyone. Subsequently having now

seen some photographs of Casey being young, healthy and alive on

the internet, you know, the vibrant, young girl - lots of colour, and,

you know, hope - different to the person I saw. As the number of

floral tributes continues to grow this evening, people are gathering

for candle it will vigil in memory of a popular young teenager whose

life was all too brief. Many people here just standing silently with

their thoughts as they remember this young lady. Let's talk to some

people who were behind this vigil tonight. Lee, you were behind

organising it. What do you hope to achieve by it? Just awareness,

really. Knife crime is horrendous. Obviously, she had her whole life

in front of her. Are you pleased with the way this has turned out? A

lot of people have turned out. Absolutely. Let's talk to Charlene.

I believe your young daughters knew Casey. What was Casey like?

only met her the once, and she said she were a really lovely girl.

Really lovely. What's this mean to the community? Because it has

affected the community judging by the turnout. It is a tribute to

such a young child whose life has been taken away. It's quite an

emotional time tonight, people are alone in their thoughts. They are -

sending their respects. Thank you for talking to us tonight. As you

can see, the people here - hundreds turning up - we have seen Chinese

lanterns going up earlier on. Many have candles. They're standing and

thinking of a popular young lady who meant a lot to many people. You

can see how she touched many in this community, and this vigil is

set to continue for the next 40 minutes to an hour.

Thank you. Our thoughts are with Casey-Lyanne

Kearney's friends and family. We're back at 8.00pm and at 10.00pm,

when we'll bring you the latest from that vigil in Doncaster.

Also tonight, he was their champion and their figurehead for decades,

but today Arthur Scargill took his union to court in a row over phone

bills and a �14,000 car allowance which the NUM is refusing to pay.

Mr Scargill was honorary president of the union until the end of last

year and says he was promised the allowances. The union says not.

Alan Whitehouse has sent us this report from Sheffield County Court.

It's a sight many miners thought they'd never see - their former

President and the man who led them into the fight of their lives

arriving at court to launch a legal challenge against the NUM, the

union he led for over 20 years. The row centres on what happened to

Arthur Scargill after he retired as national President in 2002. He took

on a consultancy role with a salary of �35,000 paid jointly by the

Yorkshire and Lancashire NUM. In addition to the salary came

expenses - his phone line, a mobile phone and a car allowance that

helped pay for a new car every two years. They were all paid out of

union funds. In April 2010, the NUM cut off the phone payments, and

later in the same year, when he asked for his car allowance, he was

offered just �50. He claims he's entitled to �14,500. He's wanting

that sum paying, the telephone costs and damages of up to �50,000.

The Yorkshire NUM officials and trustees were in court to give

their side of the story today, but much of the evidence came from

Arthur Scargill himself. Last week he was in Birmingham reliving a

union victory of 40 years ago. Today he was closely questioned

about how much work he'd really done for union members since his

retirement. His time as NUM leader was contentious. He took the miners

into their year-long strike against pit closures. Even his appointment

as honourary President for ten years came under controversy.

not me that thes the position. It's being discussed by the NUC, and

nobody in the National Conference opposed it. Even when this hearing

is over, the arguments won't be. A new set of disputes involving a

�1.5 million flat in London and his gas bills will be heard in a new

court sitting later this year. Thank you.

A little earlier I spoke to Daily Mirror columnist Paul Routledge

who's written an unofficial biography of Arthur Scargill, and I

asked him whether he thought it was wise for the two sides to air their

dirty linen in public like this. It's a very sad day, isn't it, for

both - both for Arthur and for the union that his years and years of

leadership have come to a squalid legal argument about who pays for

his mobile phone bill. That's not the way it should end, surely?

question I would pose would be - he could end this by walking away,

accepting he's no longer President of the union, et cetera, but is he

short of cash? I shouldn't think so he's got a very good pension from

the union and he has his own house, a very nice house. I am sure he's

got his own car. It doesn't strike me he's in need of the money. It's

as if he's still trying to exercise control over the union which he led

for so long in which he was such a prominent figure. You have a tie on,

a very prominent tie. It's the 25th anniversary of the... This

commemorates the 25th anniversary of the strike which he led. You're

very much in touch with miners to this day? Two days ago I was

drinking with them in the Brooky - go there - �2 a pint. What do the

miners think of Arthur Scargill? They don't say he's wrong. He was

their leader, but they're not happy about this. It's not really the way

they want things to be. I suppose the question is, in a sense, does

he have any claim on this money? don't know the legal in's and out's

of it, but whatever the legal niceties, I don't think he has a

model claim on the union anymore, because he's had over 30 years as a

full-time official. He's got a good pension, and he doesn't really have

anything to offer the union anymore, so why should he expect money all

the time from it? What would you can ask him if you got one final

chance to ask him a question here now? I would say, Arthur, leave it.

Just walk away. Stop being a control freak. Leave the miners who

have succeeded you to run the union in the best way they see fit.

you. Thank you. Stay with us for a true double act.

The three-day either training to put her horse first in the run-up

to the Olympics. But next tonight:

Services which were set up to help deprived children and their

families in Yorkshire are being hit by spending cuts. BBC Look North

has discovered that several councils in the region are reducing

funding and services at dozens of Sure Start centres.

Today families in Kirklees have been meeting up to discuss how they

can fight planned changes to their centres. Our local government

reporter Emma Glasbey is here to tell us more. Harry, thank you. For

almost eight years, Sure Start centre s have been providing

activities and support to families. But now as council budgets are

reduced, some of these centres are having to cut back. Funding for

Sure Start has already been cut in Sheffield, Rotherham, Wakefield and

Leeds. No centres have closed, but some councils have made some

changes to the services they offer to help save money. Colderdale

Council is planning to close some nurseries in some Sure Start

centres, but keep the centres themselves. And Kirklees Council

says it needs to save �1.5 million on its Sure Start services. Their

plans have upset many parents. A chance for children to meet up

and play - and for parents to do the same. These families in

Huddersfield say Sure Start children's centres are vital,

especially in the more deprived areas of town. Before the general

election, David Cameron said they would be a big part of the future.

We know how much families rely on tax credits, on Sure Start, on the

minimum wage, so we'll keep these things, and where possible improve

them to help families who need it most. But they've not been

protected from spending cuts. Kirklees has 32 Sure Start centres.

To save money, the council wants to keep some as they are and make

others, so-called associate centres, with fewer services available.

These parents are worried about what that will mean for their

families. Every mum who comes to the Sure Start centre is talking

about it. No-one, like, can believe it. People that, like, don't have

transport can't travel for various reasons wouldn't be available to

get to the - all the services that are offered. There will be more

people coming into the main centres, than they can cope with. I'll be

standing there with the banners - even if I have to chain myself to

do it, I'll be there supporting Sure Start all around the country

because if it wasn't for them, I wouldn't be the person I am today.

This afternoon, parents who use the centres have been talking to their

local MP about what to do next. He believes Sure Start should not be

touched despite budget pressures. feel very sorry for Kirklees

Council. They're being pushed by the Government, I have to say, to

do this. So my heart goes out to them. I don't think they want to do

it, but I still appeal to them - this is the best policy anyone's

introduced by any Government for the last 50 years. Why spoil it?

There is now a petition with almost 5,000 signatures calling on the

council to leave Sure Start centres alone.

So Emma, what have Kirklees council been saying about this today?

Kirklees Council have to save �80 million, so some very tough

decisions have to be made. These planned changes to Sure Start

centres would save them around �1.5 million. I should point out we did

ask to speak to somebody from the Government today, but nobody was

available. Earlier this afternoon, Kirklees Council told Look North

that Sure Start services should still be available to everyone.

universal offer that everybody has at present will still be there.

Some things may not be happening in all the centres, and there may be

ways of looking at that, but we're very conscious and very focused on

delivering a service to the people rather than looking necessarily at

where it happens. It's making sure it gets to the right people at the

right time. No final decision has been made yet, but I am told that

will happen within the next few weeks. The parents who use these

Sure Start centres in Kirklees say they'll be out on the street

protesting if any centres are downgraded.

I am sure they will. Thank you, Emma.

An inquest into the death of a Royal Marine from York who died

from injuries received in Afghanistan has taken place today.

David Hart was killed by an improvised explosive device which

eighteen other British and Afghan soldiers had unknowingly stepped

over. The 23-year-old left the proceeds of his life insurance

policy to thirty two of his friends to allow them to have a holiday in

Las Vegas in his memory. A search involving police divers

and the Mountain Rescue is continuing after the disappearance

of a man from York. Jordan Sullivan was last seen running towards the

River Ouse at Naburn on Tuesday morning. It's been confirmed that

his clothes have been found by the riverside. Police liaison officers

are currently supporting Jordan's family.

More than �2 million has been given to a project which has supported

hundreds of businesses in Barnsley. Enterprising Barnsley was set up

with money from the European Regional Development fund to

encourage entrepreneurs and create jobs. Funding for phase two of the

scheme was announced today by Communities Minister Baroness Hanam.

22 men have appeared before magistrates in Doncaster in

connection with a riot at Moorland Prison. Around a million pounds

worth of damage was caused during three nights of rioting in 2010.

The men are due to appear before Sheffield Crown Court in March.

Lots still to come before 7.00pm: What a difference a year makes.

# Come on # From singing on the streets to

record success - we meet the man dubbed as the next James Blount.

For all our sportsmen and women hoping to compete at this years

Olympics, staying injury free, and making sure you're in the best

possible shape to qualify and compete is key.

Yes, and for North Yorkshire three- day eventer, Nicola Wilson, it's

also about making sure her horse, Opposition Buzz, is in the best

shape too. As Tanya's been finding out, he gets rather more support

than she does. Opposition Buzz is building up to London 2012. He just

doesn't know it. Does he have any idea when it's a

big event or anything like that? hasn't a clue where he's going, but

he knows he's building up to something big. It is a lovely

feeling when they're that experienced and know there is

something special around the corner. Give us an idea of what it takes to

get you and him to the start line of the Olympics? It's a huge team

affair. He has Liz who looks after him on a day-to-day basis. Wherever

he goes, she goes tending to his needs. Obviously, there is farrier.

Sponsors are involved. It's quite huge. Obviously, I do the training

and competing, but I just can't do everything, and everybody does

their bit to make it a successful show hopefully. One of those doing

her bit is British equine physio Vikki whose job it is to give him

his monthly massage. He would be seen regularly over the course of

the event season, particularly this year, so we can keep his muscles

soft and his joints mobile and we can pick up on any problems and

niggles he gets. As any athlete working at this level does, before

they develop into major problems that are going to put him off form

and take him out of competition for awhile. Going the direct route, the

last of four water jumps - makes it look easy. When did you bring him

back into training? He came back in the beginning of November. The

European - his last run was at the European Championships in the

beginning of AUso he's had quite a holiday, then he started in light

work, building him up hopefully to peak fitness in April as he's going

to hopefully run at Badminton. Presumably, he has a programme.

Like any athlete does, you have a set programme for him, do you?

Absolutely. Obviously, you have to be set to change it at any point,

but we have a training programme for him and a competition programme

for him as well. I think just to have the support and for those

people to be a part of my team is unreal, really. He has no idea

what's around the corner. He has no idea what we're hoping and praying

for, but we keep doing our training and hope that dreams can come true.

Good luck to them. Woksop golfer, Lee Westwood, hopes

receiving an OBE from the Queen today will help spur him on to win

his first major. The 38-year-old golfer said it was

"amazing" to receive the honour adding "I can't quite believe it".

Westwood spent five weeks as world number one last year, but has yet

to win a major. I don't know anybody in sport that doesn't wish

that would be the case this year. He's a top guy, and congratulations

to you. Now you may remember a busker we

featured here on Look North back in 2010 called Tristan McEye, who was

wowing audiences in Leeds City centre. Well, he was spotted on the

internet by an award winning producer, and has recorded an album

due for release next week. In a recent review he's even been dubbed

the next James Blunt! A I have heard of him as well.

We'll ask him how he feels about that in a moment. But let's get a

little taste of what we can expect from his debut album Out Along the

Wire # Cos I see your face in my face

# And I feel your heart in mine # And your voice comes out of my

mouth from time to time # Oh, I am a liar

# And I'm a fool # And at times I have been cruel

# So it seems fair to conclude # That I'm like you #

Oh, it sends shudders, doesn't it? He joins us in the studio now.

Lovely to see you. Thank you for coming in. You were a student here

almost a decade ago. Busking was about paying the bills for you,

wasn't it? Definitely. To get by, student life is tough. You're

living on pasta. You have to get out and earn a crust. Guitar was

the only way I could do it. Did you make anything? Yeah, I earned a few

bob? Probably �150 a day, best. I was learning my craft. It was good.

Leeds was the place it started. Yeah, it feel goods coming back for

this gig on the 1st of March. It gave me adrenaline coming back.

was Martin Levin's assistant next door at the College of Music who

spotted you, a couple of years later started you with this pludge

deucer who has worked with the likes of Andrew Lloyd-Webber and

said, I know someone working in Leeds... It was literally a lucky

break. He saw me busking, and we started working in the studio and

started shortly thereafter. It was exciting. Tell us about the album.

It's inspired by my heroes like Eric Clapton. It's a blues record

with a leaning towards pop. You don't hear a lot of that around

these days. I think we're doing something a little bit different.

So a bit of fusion, a bit of blues, pops... Fusion, yeah, yeah!

have collaborated with a lot of well-known producers - Bob Clareot?

Yeah, he's an amazing organ player, people much better than me. I just

try to keep up with them, really. James Blunt you have been compared

to. How do you feel about that? He's loved by many people. My music

is more like Mayer. You have a gig in London? We're

sold out in London, but we have one in Budenel. I think there are 50

tickets left. We'll be hearing from Tristan McEye

at the end of the programme, but Keep your photos coming in at the

website. It has been another mild day. We have seen temperatures

around 10-11 Celsius. Tomorrow seems similar, mild and some

outbreaks of rain at times. You can see the reason why - we look at the

pressure charts - with this weather front approaching from the west, it

goes downhill as this weather front approaches through the day. You can

see the cloud that thickened up around lunch time that brought in

cloud along the coast and Pennines is clearing through this evening,

but we still have that cloud across the Pennines. It's here through the

course of the night we have outbreaks of rain, mostly light in

nature. Further east we'll see clearer spells and to the Vale of

York where we see clear spells, it's here where we the lowest

temperatures - 2-3 Celsius. As we head towards the Pennines, 5-6

Celsius. Let's look at the sun times across the region. It will

rise tomorrow morning at 22 minutes past 7.00pm, setting again at

5.19pm. Those are your times around the coast. Not too cool to start

the day. We'll see a touch of ground frost in the east. Here

we'll see bright, sunny spells. Cloud already in the Pennines.

Through the course of the morning, the cloud gradually thickens as it

spreads east. The morning will be dry, though the Pennines see

outbreaks of rain. For the afternoon, the rain pushing into

the coastline, very light in nature. Through Peak District, the rain is

persistent. We're still looking at the west south-west, so we're still

in the mild air for tomorrow. 9 Celsius along the coast for

Scarborough, 10 Celsius for the Vale of York, and into Leeds, 10

Celsius is 50 Fahrenheit. That's a couple of degrees above average for

the time of year. We'll keep the cloud overnight into Saturday. It

will be frost free to start the day. As the band of rain pushes its way

southwards, it turns cooler. A frost overnight. Plenty of sunshine

on Sunday, but temperatures only Thank you very much indeed. The one

thing I have always wanted to do in my career in Look North is end with

a bit of fusion.So Tristan McEye is already number ten in the pre-album

charts. We think he's due for big things. This is something from his

album. # Though we're miles apart

# You and I # We've valleys and seas between us

# We still share the same sky # So no matter where you are

# I'm always by your side # Wherever you lay your hat

# You are always on my mind. # Oh, now, the ground you walk on

# Is just like mine # Yeah.