16/01/2014 Look North (Yorkshire)

Welcome to Look North. Our top stories tonight... 15,000 tonnes of

tyres go up in smoke at a recycling plant near Selby. At its height

smoke from the blaze could be seen from sixty miles away. We'll be live

from the scene. Also tonight. Council jobs and services face the

chop. Doncaster Council considers closing all of its elderly care

homes and shedding a thousand jobs. We have nowhere to go. It is the

first time I have been settled in my life.

And the football`mad youngster who's overcome physical disability to

qualify as a coach. There have been a few showers around. This was

Bolton Abbey earlier. Join me for the forecast later in the programme.

First tonight ` a huge fire is burning at a recycling plant in

North Yorkshire. Around fifteen thousand tonnes of tyres have been

ablaze throughout the day, and fire crews from across Yorkshire have

been drafted in to tackle it. The blaze broke out shortly after 8.30am

this morning at the Gascoigne site in Sherburn in Elmet. It made for an

amazing sight over most of Yorkshire. It's sent a pall of smoke

thousands of feet into the air ` so big in fact, that you can actually

see it from space. Just take a look at this. This is shot from a weather

satellite, and you can clearly see the track of the smoke from

Sherburn, through York and right over to Whitby around sixty miles

away. Our reporter Dave Edwards has spent the day at the scene, and he

joins us now live from Sherburn`in`Elmet.

Yes, the fire has been burning for ten hours. There is no end in sight.

Fire crews are still out in force here and they will be here for some

time yet. The smoke continues to fill the sky. Turning day into

night, clouds of smoke from thousands of tonnes of tyres. The

blaze here in Sherburn. The plumes are thought to have reached heights

of 6000 feet, visible for miles around. We received a call after

8:30am to a fire on this site. On arrival, a significant developing

fire involving waste tyres, approximately 15,000 tonnes, most of

that is involved in the fire. 100 firefighters from stations across

Yorkshire have been here dealing with this, luckily no one has been

hurt but police and the ambulance service have been here just in case

they are needed. Thick black smoke has been pouring out of this site

for Match Of The Day. We have seen flames in the distance as well.

There is a slight smell in the air and people have been told to keep

their doors and windows closed. `` much of the day. Pupils were told to

stay indoors as the smoke bill owed above the building. Some people came

out to see the dramatic scenes themselves.

You didn't need to be that close to get a good view. Your pictures from

across a huge swathe of Yorkshire show the smoke dominating the

skyline. It is seen likely to be repeated tomorrow as this fire

continues burn. I am joined now by Nigel

Hutchinson, we heard from you earlier, what is the latest?

If you imagine a site of seven acres full of tyres stacked 20 feet high,

80% of that site involved in the fire, the strategy is to let the

fire burn out but in the South are two large buildings and our efforts

are to protect those buildings through water curtains to try to

keep heat away from the building. This must have been a difficult day

for you and your colleagues. Logistically, yes, the only access

is from the north and that is the direction the smoke is blowing. We

had to withdraw to allow the fire crews to reassemble and reposition

equipment to mount a second attack. We have heard warnings to stay

indoors and keep doors and windows closed.

Is there a risk to health? Clearly we want people to be well

away from any smoke plumes, monitoring the weather conditions

and the wind direction closely at the moment, the plume is travelling

high and away from the public. The sensible precautions are to keep

indoors where possible if you are in the line of the plume and if you can

smell it, keep windows and doors shut.

Briefly, how long will the operation last? As long as it takes, we have

relieved crews arriving on the scene this evening, they will stay

throughout the night and until the job is done.

Thank you very much. As you have heard, the fire is likely to

continue for several days, the firefighters are getting ready for

the night shift and they have brought in a catering van just down

the road. It will be a very busy night for them and we will have more

free you on the late programme tonight. Incredible pictures. Big

cuts in spending have been confirmed by Doncaster Council today, meaning

more than a thousand job losses. All care homes for the elderly will

close, along with four day centres. There will also be big cuts to

leisure facilities and library services. The council needs to shave

more than a hundred million pounds from its budget by 2017. Kate

Bradbrook reports. These were the scenes in Tonga in

November. Plans were first announced to cut 1200 council jobs. Now, the

plans will become a reality `` in Doncaster. Council bosses are

attempting to balance the books despite a reduction in funding. We

are being presented with a further ?109 million worth of cuts.

And therefore if you relate it to a family, that is asking us to deliver

with 50% less by 2017. Leisure facilities will also lose more than

?2 million in funding, eight more libraries will need to be run by

volunteers and at the same time council tax will go are up by nearly

2%. Council run care homes like this one

will also close under the plans, seven in total over two years.

The council or government is disgusting. Where will people go?

Who will look after people? It is shocking.

We have nowhere to go. It is the first time I have been

settled in my life. These people are marvellous.

Trade unions said the cuts would not be necessary if past budgets have

been better managed. There's been a woeful mismanagement of finances for

a number of years and the unions are still raising questions about the

amount of money being spent on consultants, the amount spent on

senior management posts, seemingly for not large departments.

The plans will be finalised next month.

It is likely to be much longer for the people of plonk feel the full

impact. `` Doncaster. Elsewhere, Sheffield City Council says services

will be cut and 600 jobs could be lost as part of a plan to save more

than 50 million pounds in the next financial year. The proposals were

discussed at a public meeting last night where the council asked for

ideas about where it should make the cuts. The proposals currently

include cutting 22 million pounds from Adult Social Care budgets, as

well as millions of pounds from services supporting young people and

recycling. Later on Look North... We are what

we eat. Why scientists here in Yorkshire believe the next big

health risk will be found in cereals and dried fruit.

The owners of Bridgewater Place ` Yorkshire's tallest building ` have

revealed detailed plans of what they're going to do to make it less

dangerous. One person has died and several others have been badly

injured outside it in strong winds. The current design of the building

has been blamed and the changes to it follow recommendations from a

coroner. Ian White reports. Screens and canopies, this is how

the Yorkshire stood `` Yorkshire tallest building will luck if

planning permission is granted. For independent windbreaks would help

reduce strong gusts suspended six metres above one of the main route

from the South into Leeds. When it is windy, the area around the

building becomes dangerous, when Doctor died when a lorry was blown

on top of him. The company that owns Bridgewater Place presented its

plans today ahead of a formal planning application. A lot of work

has gone into the design, we do not want them to look like motorway

gantries. This is one of the best office

buildings into Leeds. There's no doubt, Bridgewater Place has become

for the Council a real headache. It must be a headache for you. We want

to fix the problem. We know there are issues to be fixed

we think we have something that we can implement, it will work and it

will cure the headache. The start of construction work is a

year away, people who live and work around Bridgewater Place are still

at risk when it is windy. Do you worry when it is windy?

Clearly I want to make sure we get this thing started as quickly as

possible. As a responsible building owner,

there is an issue here and I will not be satisfied until we have put

plans in place and the construction fixes the issue. The company would

not comment about the death and injuries that have taken place

because of legal action but the cost of putting things right will run

into many millions of pounds. Jurors, trying the case of a

children's nursery assistant accused of the manslaughter of a

three`year`old girl, were taken today to view the scene of the

tragedy in York. They saw where Lydia Bishop died

playing on a slide at the nursery at York College. Sophee Redhead denies

the gross negligence charge against her. Our Crime Correspondent John

Cundy reports. The closed playground at the nursery

school which never reopened after the death of Lydia Bishop. The

little girl allegedly unsupervised got her neck caught in a rope which

should never have been left on the slide where she was playing. Court

number one was moved away from Leeds Crown Court to hear York College to

see the site of the former nursery school playground. It was here 18

months ago when Lydia Bishop tragically died on her first day at

the school. The trial judge and barristers and jurors were able to

see themselves the exact layout of the now closed playground. On the

second day of the trial, the Justice spoke to the barristers including

the prosecution team who described the case as a completely avoidable

death of a child. It is alleged that the nursery assistant Sophie redhead

in charge of Lydia did nothing to stop or supervise the child on the

slide, it is said it was 20 minutes before anyone realised Lydia was

missing. By then, it was too late. She denies manslaughter by gross

negligence and the alternative charge of failing to take reasonable

care of Lydia. They deny failings in health and safety and jurors studied

the playground before returning to the court in Leeds to head the first

prosecution witness in the trial which is expected to last up to

three weeks. A dying man has been sentenced to life in prison for the

killing of his wife and daughter. 70`year`old Peter Redfern from

Wath`upon`Dearne, near Rotherham, strangled his wife Jean and then

beat his daughter Sarah to death with a hammer. He admitted one count

of murder and one of manslaughter. The court was told he had been

diagnosed with incurable bone cancer, was depressed, and on cancer

drugs which altered his behaviour. A judge at Sheffield Crown Court told

him he would serve at least 17 years behind bars.

Teachers at a school for children with special needs in Rotherham have

been out on strike today over plans to restructure the school. Members

of the National Union of Teachers at Abbey Special School in Kimberworth

say they fear the changes would have a negative impact on the children.

They're also concerned that teachers will have to reapply for their jobs.

Rotherham Council says a recent assessment of the school found its

'overall effectiveness' was 'inadequate'. The two fishermen

found dead on a boat in Whitby harbour have been named as Mark

Arries and Edward Ide. They were both from Northumberland.

Police were called to the vessel, moored off Pier Road, at around ten

o'clock yesterday morning. It's still not clear how they died,

though police say there are no suspicious circumstances. A

postmortem examination is due to take place in the next few days.

There's been an increase in the number of metal theft incidents on

the electricity network in West Yorkshire. Repair work is ongoing

after thirteen kilometres of copper cable was stolen in the last few

weeks, resulting in power disruption for thousands of homes. The

electricity distributor Northern Powergrid, says innocent people's

lives are being put at serious risk by thieves targeting overhead power

lines. Three vandals, who were caught in the act, have been forced

to clear up their own mess. These men were caught on CCTV

tipping over wheelie bins and throwing rubbish into the street on

Gillygate in York. Police were quickly on the scene and made the

men clean up the rubbish. No charges were brought against them. North

Yorkshire Police said it showed the fantastic partnership between

themselves and the council in tackling anti`social behaviour. Now,

did you change the way you shop following last year's horse meat

scandal? Well it certainly got us talking

about where our food comes from and what's actually in it ` but it's not

just meat that's in question. Scientists at the Food and

Environment Research Agency near York believe changes to climate

could mean the next big health risk is likely to be found in things like

cereals and dried fruit. Our business correspondent Danni Hewson

has had exclusive access to their labs.

It was a food scare that shocked us all. A factory is being investigated

after horse meat was found in burgers. A new system of random

tests on meat is recommended by the European commission. Yorkshire

safety experts were warning for years about the potential for fraud.

12 months since the discovery of horse meat in some supermarket

products, for many of us it was an eye`opener that changed the way we

buy meat. But is meat the only area of

concern? At the Food and Environment Research Agency in York, they are

still running checks on meat products but their focus is

shifting. We are concerned about viruses, some is coming up on the

agenda in terms of threat to health and also micro toxins, natural

products produced by fundi working their way into the food chain

because of climate change. In a nutshell, micro toxins are

naturally a caring found in mould growing on cereals, nuts and spices

and coffee. The most, there is a tolerable daily

limit but some have been found to cause cancer so regulations are in

place to monitor food coming from countries where the risk is higher

or it was until climate change and that is where this comes in. We are

moving to instead of looking at specific entities, we are looking at

things that shouldn't be there, that flags up we can use nontargeted

analysis to look for threats entering the food chain.

Fears over food security have boosted some businesses, places like

this delicatessen which has seen trade up by 20% with customers

seeking more local and more traceable threats.

For a lot of our customers that is why they come here, they know the

product they are buying are from the area and there is a traceability

which is quite important to them. But the traceability comes at a

premium not everyone can afford. It needs scrutiny of the foods that

reaches the table grows more important. Grow your own is the

moral of that story. I don't but if you do, great. Before seven

o'clock. It's little and large! Some new giants of sport in Yorkshire as

Leeds Carnegie tipped off the flight. And how guts and

determination helped this youngster overcome physical disability to

fulfill his football coaching dream. And Paul is forfeit ten! Let's have

some sports news now, and the UK snooker Championship is to stay at

the Barbican centre in York. The competition returned to the venue in

2011 after losing the contract in 2006. During last year's

championship it was suggested it could be moved after some players

complained about conditions. Today the World Snooker Chairman Barry

Hearn confirmed York will host the event and said the centre will be

better equipped this year to meet their needs. The Sheffield Steelers

have a commanding lead in their Challenge Cup Quarter Final against

Dundee. The first leg was on home ice and

goals from Jeff Legue, man of the match Rob Sirianni, Jason Hewitt and

Stefan Meyer secured the Steelers a 4`0 shut out. The return leg in on

Sunday, but before that the Steelers have a league clash with top of the

table Belfast at the Arena. Sheffield's Skeleton world champion,

Shelley Rudman, says she's on track for the winter Olympics. Tomorrow

she in action in Austria in the final world cup race before the team

is announced for Sochi. Last weekend she picked up her first podium of

the season and despite a couple of injuries she insists her campaign is

going to plan. I am still third in the rankings which, considering the

results I have not been hitting podiums all the time, I am still

happy that there is a group of us at the moment which are hit and miss

and everyone is working on different things to bring them together for

Sochi. Until now, when we've talked about

top flight basketball in Yorkshire it's all been about the Sheffield

Sharks. But there's a new kid on the block ` Leeds Carnegie Basketball

team are joining them and tomorrow night they've got their first Elite

Cup game against Glasgow Rocks. Tanya's been to their final training

session before the big game. It is a big night, possibly the

biggest night in this young clubs history. They have been going for

eight years but they take on Glasgow Rocks. The coach joins me. Give us

an idea of what the guys are up against. It is a huge night for the

club and testimony to eight years work.

The programme was based in the community and Leeds Metropolitan

University, we have gone from division for two Division 1 and who

enter next year so it a huge test and a chance to test ourselves

against the best. Add your guys are not as big, they

look big to me but they will look small.

We have a reasonably sized line`up but in the professional domain there

are big big bodies. We have a line`up taking us up to sixth at

nine. They do go bigger again. `` six feet, nine. So, it will be a

battle. Also with me as the captain and Danny Evans. What will it be

like against the elite? Great for us, creating work and we

are practising hard so it is a good experience for us.

Can you pull off a shock? Hopefully, not a shock, they have to

shoot in the same group. For a young guy, you are from Leeds,

what is it like for the club to make this step up? It is amazing.

The steps we have made any improvements is amazing. You are 16

years old. It is fantastic for you to be

stepping up to the elite. I am honoured.

It is fantastic. I'm glad to be part of it.

Unbelievable, six feet, 11. You need to be tall. Good luck to them. Now,

it's not unusual for a young boy in Yorkshire to want to be a footballer

when he grows up. But what does he do when he's told in his teens that

t he'll never realise his dream, because of a physical disability?

Sohail Rehman from Leeds was diagnosed with Spinal Muscular

Atrophy as a child. But through sheer guts and determination he's

established what could be a unique position in the football industry.

Paul Ogden's been to meet him. Header! Well done. On weekday nights

at the sports centre in the shadow of Elland Road, FA qualified coach

Sohail is the voice everyone listens to. Come on, quicker than that. As a

13`year`old when he learned his disability had reached the point he

would be wheelchair`bound, Sohail could have let the footballing

ambitions slip away. But not this coach.

I could feel myself getting weaker, the normal low things like getting

out of bed, I was struggling. I was told by the specialist that in the

next two years I would be wheelchair`bound. For me, that was

like a kick in the teeth. It was one of those things I could not come to

terms with. I started taking my badges and then

the level one and level two and three. I was in a rush to get the

badges. I'll is thought somebody might stop me. That was my

mentality. I got my badges and I passed the course.

21 years old now, Sohail routinely passes on his wisdom to local teams

as part of a new venture set up amongst others I2`macro current

Leeds United players. The coach isn't in it for anything else I have

been offered a few jobs but I don't want to take them.

I want to go into local communities and the youth clubs and help them

develop their skills. That is my goal for the next few years. Going

around to help people develop their skills so they have a chance of

making it. I want to give them a chance of getting their dreams.

Goodlad. All very best. A great coach. And

this is a great weather presenter. An accurate one. Some lovely

pictures which came in. One of my favourite old haunts, some locals

there. A beautiful day, lots of sunshine. This was a nice sunrise.

We have had lots of pictures of the fire. You saw those at the top of

the programme but keep your pictures coming in. Let me tell you, the

weather show this weekend, it is about clouds, it is more exciting

than it sounds! That is across BBC local radio. It is really good.

Sunny intervals and scattered showers, low pressure in charge. Hit

and miss showers but bright and sunny... Shut up! Sunny spells

around. Some of us have been quite lucky. You consider showers have

been banding up. If you coming through in South Yorkshire now. They

continue to push north eastwards. A scattering of showers tonight,

easing off but as you can see, one to showers by dawn. Miss dinners in

places, the wind will fall light. `` mistiness. The sun rises in the

morning at around 8:14am. Some mistiness, patchy low cloud,

otherwise variable cloud, some blue skies and sunshine and a scattering

of showers. Hit and miss, it could be having but some places stay in

Tiley Drive. Temperatures expected to be close to average for the

middle of January, the south`westerly breeze continues. ``

entirely dry. Some uncertainty for the details this weekend, Saturday,

scattered showers could give long spells of rain. Back to bright and

sunny intervals and scattered showers on Sunday with much of next

week below or near normal temperatures. That is the forecast.

The Cloud appreciation Society. It is really interesting.

Guessing what the clouds look like. Yes, we talk about all sorts. And

our! See them. Goodbye.