12/08/2013 Look North (Yorkshire)

the programme tonight - the hunt for a missing schoolgirl. Police say

they're getting closer to finding the truth. Detectives make another

plea for Erika Kacicova to come forward as a 37-year-old man is

arrested on suspicion of child abduction. The information from the

excellent support from the public who have been making the calls, it

is starting to knit together and I feel like we are closing in. Also

tonight... The farm where a young boy was tragically killed raises

funds for the Yorkshire Air Ambulance which flew him to

And the teenager from Doncaster signed up to a record deal by the

man behind Oasis and Primal Scream. And in sport Bradford get their

first win back in league one. Three goals in nine minutes - the first,

this brilliant effort from Mark Yeates. A bright but breezy day

today, what is in store tomorrow? Fewer showers and a light breeze.

the missing schoolgirl from Sheffield say they're closing in on

where she might be and they're confident she's still alive. Erika

Kacicova has now been missing for a week. Today a 37-year-old man was

arrested in Bradford on suspicion of child abduction, and this afternoon

her school support worker joined police in appealing for her to come

home. Kate Bradbrook joins us now from her school in Darnall.

Well, concern continues to grow tonight for 13-year-old Erika

Kacicova. Behind me is the school where she went and her house is up

the road where she was last seen last Monday. Despite two arrests

being made, one this morning, Erika tonight remains missing.

Police appealed for help a week after 13-year-old Erika Kacicova

vanished from her home in Darnall. The case is being described as

critical and pleas were made in English and Slovak for her to come

Monday. On Friday, a 22-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of

abduction, yesterday he was released on bail. This morning another man, a

37-year-old was arrested on suspicion of child abduction. The

information we are getting from the excellent support from the public

making the calls through to us, it is starting to knit together and I

feel we are closing in. The arrest is most certainly a man known to

Erika, and I feel has had some contact with Erika over the last 48

hours. Erika had celebrated her 13th birthday, family and friends say

they want her to know she is not in trouble and to contact the police as

soon as she can. Erika, please, come back with Mum, dad, sister and

brother. Comeback. Erika, are you OK? We love you so much, comeback.

We want you. Unconfirmed sightings have been reported in Sheffield and

Bradford. Several properties in the Bradford area have been searched

today as part of the investigation. Detectives say they are not ruling

anything out. Well, Erika has been missing before but never for this

long which is why there is so much concern. The police say finding

Erika is their top priority and urged anyone with any information or

think they know where she is to contact them.

A West Yorkshire farm has been receiving messages of sympathy

following the death of an 11-year-old boy. Harry Whitlam died

in hospital after he was hit by a tractor at Swithens Farm in Rothwell

on Friday. It's a popular visitor attraction but the accident happened

on the working part of the farm. It is another working way but staff

are devastated. Swithens Farm has been receiving messages of sympathy

from right across the country over the weekend. It follows the death of

11-year-old Harry Whitlam. His mother works at the farm and he died

after being hit by a tractor on Friday. The farm is split into, part

is open to the public and then there is the working side where the

accident happened. Today, it operated as normal at a very

difficult time. A farm cannot stop, it must go on. It is full of

livestock which have to be cared for 20 47 and fed every day, it must

carry on. We are doing our level best. Yesterday, �700 was collected

during a fundraiser at the farm and dedicated to Harry. It was a charity

event for the Yorkshire Air Ambulance which is poignant because

it was the ambulance service that try to save Harry's life couple of

days ago. I do not think he is far from our thoughts. The tractor was

arrested on dangerous and drink driving. The health and safety

executive has confirmed it is investigating the accident and

officers have been at the farm and they are now supporting West

Yorkshire police with their enquiries. -- the driver of the

tractor. This month will mark five years since the campaigning

journalist and blogger Adrian Sudbury died from Leukaemia. The

27-year-old from Sheffield dedicated the months before his death to

raising awareness about bone marrow donation. Well, since his death

thousands of teenagers have been inspired to register as donors

thanks to an education programme he started. In a moment we'll speak to

Adrian's parents Keith and Kay but first here's our Health

Correspondent Jamie Coulson. Adrian Sudbury was a reporter who

became the story when he chose to use the last few months of his life

to campaign against bone marrow donation. The journalist had two

types of leukaemia and used his experiences to raise awareness about

the disease and its treatment. I was in a unique position to try to

change something. A simple solution to a major problem. Adrian wrote

about his illness on a blog which invited insight into his life with

leukaemia. He later launched a campaign to educate pupils about own

marrow donation and that led to Downing Street where he impressed

the then Prime Minister. The key issue is to encourage people to be

donors and we can move forward with proposals to assist if not Adrian

Sudbury then many people who suffer as a result of these illnesses.

After I have spoken, you will say I want to give load. The legacy of

Adrian lives on. Volunteers speak to young people about being -- giving

blood and being donors. Since the launch it has reached 96,016 to

18-year-olds over 4300 have signed up as potential donors, more than

5400 have joined as blood donors and over 1400 have registered as organ

donors. One person who understands the importance of donation is Jane

who had a transplant in July last year. It gave me the chance of

getting a cure and staying alive without the transplant I would not

be here today and my husband would not have his wife and my children

would not have their mum. So, the transplant has given me my life

back. It is five years since Adrian died but the legacy of those last

two months of his life lives on. More than 4000 people have signed up

to the bone marrow donor register. We are and it was something that

Adrian was really keen to promote when he was so ill because he knew

that if people could be informed about the process they actually

would act on it and it has turned out to be exactly as he thought.

Keith, you called for a new law requiring schools and colleges to

teach people about the importance of bone marrow donation. Should that be

the case? Ideally, yes. At the moment the programme is delivered by

up to 100 volunteers who are passionate and committed and the

students when they are taught by these people are totally engaged so

in the long-term the legality will be good but we are growing slowly

but we are growing with such successes. Are enough young people

aware of the difference they can make? Well, we have a good committed

volunteer team and they are joining all the time. They are finding out

about the programme, one of the most heartening things is that when

people get in touch and so can I join the scheme, they actually have

never heard of Adrian and they don't know whether came from. That shows

how powerful the message is and how welcome students find it. Schools

are getting in touch to say we have heard about you, please deliver the

talks and the schools that have been having talks from the outset are

still having them four years later. It grows to be part of the culture

and it is what students look forward to, the students are saying we have

had the fact we now want to sign up to be blood donors, we will go on

the organ donor register and will you come into school and examples of

saliva so we can go one to the bone marrow register. You are continuing

where a June left off but how has it been for uses he died?

It is difficult but we do not do this as grieving parents, we do it

because it is a good idea. The figures are outstanding but the

other figures are already three of the students who had the

presentation have registered and have come up as a match and donated

and we have saved at least three lives so far. What a legacy. What

would he be saying to you now? Keep going. It doesn't mean we don't miss

him and we miss him every day. wonderful for us to be able to see

him still, we have met people in the same situation as us and have had

huge support from people who have also lost children. You become a

member of a club nobody wants to join but it is incredibly

supportive. So, I can't believe five-year is gone by. What a special

young man. Thank you. In other news 350 jobs are being lost at the Rural

Payments Agency in Northallerton. Staff have been told they will be

offered jobs at sites in Newcastle or York - but some say they won't be

able to make the move. The Agency says the decision wasn't made

lightly and it will do everything possible to ensure a smooth

transition. Two men have been remanded in custody, charged with

murdering a man in Scarborough last week.

41-year-old Jonathan Binns died in Eastborough on Wednesday - he'd been

assaulted. David White, who's 34, and Kevin Pickering, who's 29, will

appear in court again this Wednesday. They're also accused of

conspiracy to commit robbery, along with two other men. Fire crews have

returned to a fire at a Worksop recycling centre that's been burning

for more than a week. Local residents have also complained

about the amount of smoke still being given off by the blaze on

Shire Oaks Road. The fire service had intended to let the fire burn

itself out, but will now return to the warehouse to take out the

rubbish in stages. A charity that helps young people

who've been abused in the Scarborough area is facing closure.

Staff have now written to councillors asking for help. Safety

Net has been operating for two years, but has had bids for money

from various sources turned down. It says it will have to shut at the end

of the month, and that many young people will suffer if the service is

lost. If you could see the kids that come in here, it is heartbreaking. A

lot of them, as I say, are more vulnerable to suicide which is why

we started Safety Net to help those kids and some of the kids have moved

on fantastic. Kids coming in at 15 and 16 that have had absolutely no

future and are now getting degrees. More than thirty six million pounds

is going towards improving cycling schemes in Yorkshire and the Peak

District. West Yorkshire gets the bulk of the money. The Cycle City

grants will pay for a new cycle super highway to link Leeds and

Bradford. And fourteen miles of the Leeds Liverpool canal tow path is to

be upgraded, which will make it the longest continuous cycleway in the

north of England. If you look at the long-term health

benefits, the investment is worth it. Other cities have seen a payback

of ten times on the investment and studies show cycling to work in half

your risk of getting diabetes later in life. I am a cyclist. I am

thinking of investing in a new one. Save the pennies first though. The

government's benefit cap is extended to the whole of Yorkshire from

today. Households in Leeds, Bradford and Sheffield are the last to be

affected. It's the latest in a raft of reforms to the welfare system. So

what does it mean for those on benefit and for the region as a

whole? Here's our business and money correspondent Danni Hewson.

Of all the benefit changes this is probably the most straight forward

and most popular. From today everyone who claims benefit will

have the amount they can access capped at �500 a week for couples

and lone parents. �350 a week for single people. If you're thinking

that's a lot to live on - well few people actually qualify for those

kind of sums in fact less than 2,000 across our region will be affected

by the cap. When the blueprint for today's benefits system was drawn up

in the 1940's it was intended the payments would be a stop-gap

measure. But rising unemployment has led to people claiming for longer

periods of time - sending our benefits bill soaring - hence the

cap. But a Yorkshire charity says that capped figure is nowhere near

what's required for a decent standard of living. The research is

based on what the public thinks. We all need unacceptable level of

living from paying bills to clothing to the food you need so for a large

family of a couple, to parents and four kids, the figure is around �740

a week. That is some level higher than the �500 in the benefit cap.

you're thinking none of this affects you - think again. It's estimated

the whole string of benefit cuts will take over a billion and a half

pounds out of the region's economy every year. That's an average of

�500 per working age person. Money the region sorely needs to get the

economy moving. It affects the number of shops available, jobs and

services. We all have to pay more, we all pay more because of the loss

in benefits. What is important is to break that cycle and get people into

work and help the local businesses to grow. While this is the last of

the big cuts this year arguably the biggest upheaval is still to come.

Universal Credit - which rolls all separate benefits into one single

payment begins in October. Before seven o'clock... We'll look

back on the weekend's sport and we'll also hear from a musician

called John Lennon... # The pubs have closed, we will send you on a

course. This is 15-year-old John Lennon McCullagh from Doncaster, and

Sounding good. Now for the sport here's Tanya. We've just had the

second full weekend of football league fixtures with a few of our

sides experiencing a stuttering start to the new season. But we do

have a couple of teams who are having a better start to their

league campaigns. Shamir Masri starts with Leeds United. The trip

to Leicester was a cagey affair both defences dominated the majority of

the game. Leicester hit the woodwork but United came home. Huddersfield

will hope James Vaughan carries forward his form, he scored his

third league goal against QPR. Shaun Wright Phillips levelled the

tie. Though both had chances to win it. It ended in a draw.

Bradford City recorded their first win in league one, they scored three

in nine minutes. Mark Yates scored his first against

Carlisle with a great strike. Wells continued his good form and deserve

to put the second home for Bradford. James Hansen added a third.

Gary Jones competed the rout in the second half attacking in a cross to

make it 4-0. Chesterfield continued their 100% start.

Roberts forced a shot into Cheltenham's goal. They are joint

top. Log on to the BBC iPlayer for the highlights programme. Well the

football's just underway but the rugby league season's coming to a

climax with Huddersfield Giants at the top of Super League. They

powered past Wigan in the second half on Friday night to win 30-12

and they're top of the table by a point. With three games to go,

they're closing in on the League Leaders Shield and the chance to

finish top of the rugby league pile for the first time in 81 years.

I would like to say we are not looking at it but we are. It is in

the back of your mind. This is the first opportunity so you would be

lying if you said you were not looking further down-the-line to

pick up silverware. There are three games left, it will be tough.

you can hear more from Eorl and see the highlights of all our teams on

the Super League Show. That's on BBC One tonight at 11.20.

Nearly two million pounds has been given to sports clubs in Yorkshire

from the Olympic and Paralympic legacy fund by Sport England. West

Riding Sailing Club in Wakefield has received fifty thousands pounds to

fund a new boathouse and race box. Other groups receiving money include

the New Earswick Bowls Club, Brodsworth Miners Welfare and

Barnsley Gymnastics Club. The money has been given so local clubs can

improve facilities. It will make a great difference to

grassroots sport, local clubs do a great job providing opportunities

but it is a bit of help to make sure the facilities are up to standard.

That is it from me. It is a busy studio tonight.

Now you may remember last April, we featured the residents of St John's

House, in Kirk Hammerton who were aiming to become the oldest choir in

the world? # Moon River wider than a mile! #

Wel,l the good news is, they are now Guinness World Record holders! The

13 members, whose average age is 91, have today been officially

recognised as the World's Oldest Choir, congratulations to them all!

There is hope for us all. And talking of singing - our next guest

is set to take the music world by storm. He's 15, he's named after

singing legend John Lennon, his influences include Blues and Bob

Dylan, and he's recently been signed by the man behind Oasis and Primal

Scream. John Lennon McCullagh - yes, that is his real name - is from

Doncaster and he's getting rave reviews from his gigs locally. He

and his manager - dad John - join us now. John Junior and John senior.

This is so exciting because you did not take the guitar up until

recently. No, not until I was 12. started writing songs last year. Bob

Dylan. When I was 12 I heard it on the radio and that was it. It

changed my life. Dad, you have a talented than but I believe you were

into music yourself. I tried a little bit, I wrote a fuse songs.

Something has passed over onto him. And he is writing his own material

and that isn't easy. It is unbelievable. He is writing his own

song. I could never do that. Tell us about the moment you were discovered

because it is like a fairy tale. Yes, amazing. I always... I never

thought it would happen. He said I will sign new. This is Alan McGee

who discovered the Libertines and Oasis. It was amazing. Such an

honour to work with Alan McGee. Your songs have a political commentary.

You're quite astute for someone so young. Yes, well, I was brought up

in a mining village in Doncaster and I wrote about what I saw. It all

comes from there. You have a tour coming up and an album. Yes, the

single is out on September 16. album is out on October 14. I am

playing a gig on the 29th of November. And that your dad keeps

your feet on the ground. Yes, just a bit! We will hear from you in a

moment. First, the weather forecast. Some pictures to show you from the

course of the weekend. This is a dramatic sky before sunset

yesterday. The second picture is a nature reserve sent in by Beverley.

The third picture is Ilkley Moor. Lovely fluffy clouds. You can keep

hail and thunder in places, there will be one or two tomorrow but

lighter in nature and not as many. The breeze will be lighter, a fair

amount of cloud so not such good sunny spells. As we make our way on

Wednesday, a week whether future, a warm front and temperatures on the

rise in the humid spell of weather by the end of the week. The

satellite picture shows the mottled effect, the shower clouds and some

have been heavy, hail and thunder in places. They will clear await used

wood, clear skies spreading from the West. An ideal night for the meet

your shower. The temperatures falling back to single figures. More

-- the sun rises: The odd patch of mist around, otherwise a fine day

with plenty of sunshine, Cloud spilling up from the south, turning

cloudy, quite cloudy and the cloud could be thick enough to produce

showers. Many places will avoid them. The breeze will be lighter

through the day, temperatures up a notch, 19 or 20 degrees. A similar

day on Wednesday. Heavy showers on Thursday. Great stuff. Well that's

about it from us - we leave you tonight with the sound of John

Lennon McCullagh. Hopefully he will come back and CS. What a talent.

took as for a ride, believe me it is a North South Divide. I am not

saying that, I am not that cool but there is more to life than the books

I read in school. The factories have closed down, what is left from a I