27/03/2017 Look North (Yorkshire)

Our top story: so it's goodbye from me,

A crackdown on illegal money lenders.

Police raid a house in South Yorkshire,

and one suspected loan shark is arrested.

We've had a case recently where the APR

we calculated to be about 4,500,000%.

In those sort of circumstances, you're never going

Tonight we're asking what's being done

to protect vulnerable people in debt.

the future of one of England's grandest country houses is secured.

We catch up with the Rotherham quadruplets who defied medical odds

and celebrated their fourth birthdays.

where a murder has been committed here at the National Railway Museum.

Well, after such a fabulously sunny weekend,

what's the next few days looking like?

So-called loan sharks in Sheffield are being targeted by police

and a specialist team of trading standards officers.

The Illegal Money Lending Team travels the country investigating

what they describe as "very nasty individuals"

who prey on vulnerable people who've found themselves in debt.

victims have been kidnapped, beaten and raped.

I joined the operation this morning and this is what happened.

ATM at Sheffield Arena. Around 150 police and other law enforcement

officers gather for a briefing. They are off to execute warrants across

the city. They have an early-morning surprise for a man suspected being a

loan shark. With police back-up, the team arrived at his house in Shire

broke. It is clearly is not at home. After a call from his son, he

returns and not impressed to see his house being raided. Get off. Get

them off. Get off me! Get off me! There has been a big effort to crack

down on loan sharks, the illegal moneylenders who charge extortionate

rates of interest and use violence and intimidation and the more people

who turn to them as a last resort. This is the start of the

investigation. The warrant we conducted this morning will be used

to carry out a search, which will help us to establish what is going

on. At this advice centre, they have helped 1300 people in two years, who

have found themselves in debt. Some of those struggle to pay bills by

food and have become victims of loan sharks out of desperation. Loan

sharks are the lowest of the low, they destroy lives. They are today

those macro slave traders. That is what I think they are. They want

people to be their slaves. They will trap for life or as long as

possible, creating total misery and pain. We had a case recently where

the APR we captivated to be about four point 5,000,000%. You will

never get out of debt. From that perspective, when we are dealing

with these illegal lenders, we have seen some of the tactics they used

to enforce the debts because we know that those debts are illegal. We

have charged people with wounding, with kidnapping and even as far as

rape. This is not a committee service, I cannot say that enough.

We need to stop it. After the raid, they arrested a man and he was taken

away the for questioning. Officers seized several bags of evidence, and

asked anyone who has been the victim of a loan shark to come forward.

a former MP who now campaigns for the West Leeds Debt Forum.

Some really shocking examples that of the links that these loan sharks

will go to to intimidate and scare the people that they lend money to.

How easy is it for these victims to fight a loan shark in the first

place? Incredibly difficult. We're talking about illegal moneylenders.

Legal moneylenders were capped by the Government, who register to lend

money. The problem here is those underneath that, the illegal ones

who come as a friend and then come back as someone who is going to want

you for the rest of your life because you are in debt to them.

They may be brutal with it. They need to be taken out of the game.

Thank goodness for that unit, who are finding people. People are

terrified of even telling their partner that they are in debt or

have borrowed money from a friend, let alone reporting them to the

police. Unless people reporting to the police or to that unit in

Birmingham, there is not much action to catch them. To expose, like are

doing, saying that they will be caught and tracked down, they will

be taken to court and prosecuted for what they had done. It is illegal

and does an incredible amount of damage to families and personal

relationships was not what the worst examples you have heard of? Children

have been taken from families and told, we will not give them back

until you give us the money. People have been threatened with money

leading to demonstrate how hard it can be to get out of the grip of a

moneylenders you think is a friend. A key way is that people should get

to credit unions, Leeds city is one of the best in the country. They can

help you manage your money without going informally to someone who is

illegal, and they can undercut the rates of legal lenders. You know who

you are dealing with, a local committee bank. What advice do you

have for anyone who has fallen victim to these illegal loan sharks?

If they are personally threatened, they can go to the police in

confidence or onto the hotline, there is a forum, where they are

giving out numbers to bring for covered a chill advice. You can also

go to the offices and get advice there. I had to say, it is a bit of

a crisis at the moment, debt advice is drying up because it is running

out of funding. We need to fund debt advice to allow people to balance

their debt and budgeting better. We need more of that because there are

thousands of people who owed thousands of pounds of debt on

credit cards, Castle catalogues and the rest of it. There is help out

there, isn't there? Yes. Thank you. One of Europe's largest

stately homes, Wentworth Woodhouse,

has a new owner. The Grade I listed building

near Rotherham by the Wentworth Woodhouse

Preservation Trust. following the death

of the owner, Clifford Newbold. But it will need a lot of work

to make the house shipshape again. The repair bill is

estimated at ?42 million. It is believed to be the largest

private house in the UK, with 250,000 square feet

of floor space. is wider than Buckingham

Palace at 606 feet. Back in 1841, 1,000 staff

were directly employed on the estate, including a rat

catcher and state bed maker. an impressive 76 bedrooms

were made available for him. And Tom Ingall has been allowed

in for the first time to see what lies in store

for the new owners. I know I'm really lucky

in my job some days, and this is definitely one

of those days. In terms of grade one listings, this

is about as grade one as it gets. I'm finally, after 20 years

of living in this part of the world, which, today, celebrates

some fantastic news. Julie Kenny of the

Wentworth Woodhouse Trust. Well, the good news

is that the trust has managed and we've managed to then save it

and preserve it for the nation. Because it's been in and out

of private ownership, hasn't it? We got the point where it might have

been lost for future generations and it had two local

authority ownerships, But the money and the amount

that was needed was just too much, and so the trust has managed to,

with help from many foundations and different trusts, be able

to secure the money to acquire it. I love poking my nose

in around here - and everywhere,

the detail is exquisite, isn't it? How fortunate are we to still

have a building in what's reasonably good order,

give or take the emergency works? I can take you, some other time,

through the rooms that really do some in which you can

see the sky today. That is why we've got a grant

from the Chancellor of the Exchequer to actually plug those rooms up

in the south part of the house. But there are similar holes

in the north part of the house. So the rooms here, in the principal

mansion, are slitty fantastic. But there are some really big repair

works still needing to be done. When you total it all

up, it's 42 million. We'll start with

anything you can give. I take it, ultimately,

you're going to let people Oh, no, we're going to let

them in from day one. I mean, the whole point

of this, really, is that people can

see the transformation. we will let people see

those works being done. There's nothing better

than seeing artisans at work, So you'll new apprentices

coming into their new skills. I'm hopeful we will be

able to create If you do have ?42 million,

phone in now, pledge money. We'll round up

the weekend's sport... Including Sheffield

United's efforts, as they edge ever

closer to promotion. Householders in South Yorkshire face

paying more in council tax as their police force tries to find

an extra ?14 million to deal with the legacy

of the Hillsborough disaster South Yorkshire Police documents

seen by the BBC suggest taxpayers will have to provide

the additional funding to cover the cost of events

in the force's past. Our data journalist, David Rhodes,

has been looking at the figures. The events that unfolded at

Hillsborough may have happened nearly 30 years ago, but their

legacy still impacts on Yorkshire police. The latest budget reports

shows the Government will be asked for an additional ?9 million to help

with a range of legacy costs. Local taxpayers next year will be asked to

pay more in council tax, with a typical household bill increasing by

?5 a year. In the documents, the forces say they have no choice but

to raise council tax by the full amount possible. If this didn't

happen, the Home Office might not look favourably on any application

for additional funding. The extra money is needed to fund the rising

legal bills as the families of the disaster bring claims against the

force. It's not only Hillsborough. Those who suffered during the Bob

child sex abuse scandal are also suing the police will stop in total,

it needs ?40 million to deal with matters from its past. They were in

discussion with the Home Office about securing the extra funding.

The force in total expected to money aside each year until the year 2020

to deal with its past. from outside South Yorkshire

Police Headquarters. David, what affect could this have

on front line policing? There are pressures on the budget,

and every force in the country is having to make a vision sees

savings. However, South Yorkshire Police say this, they say that if

they did not raise council tax by the full amount, they would be left

with ?1.7 million black hole in their budget, the equivalent of

losing 34 front line police officers.

And the forces back in the news again tomorrow, the High Court is

due to hear the case of the former chief is double, who is asking the

court to rule on whether it was right for the Police and Crime

Commissioner to asking to retire or resign.

That's correct. It's a High Court hearing tomorrow. A judicial review,

this is all brought out in the immediate aftermath of the

Hillsborough board. There were two statements, in which the police and

Crime Commissioner said they questioned the Liverpool fan's

behaviour in 1989. That eroded trust in South Yorkshire Police. David

Crompton denies that. He wants a judicial review to examine the

decision. A court in Rwanda has ordered

the release of a pregnant Leeds woman who'd been charged

with spreading state secrets. after travelling to a family

funeral last month. A judge today said there was no

evidence to back up the charges Her husband and sons

had written to the British and Rwandan governments,

asking for her to be freed. The widely-renowned Wakefield-born

novelist, playwright and screenwriter David Storey

has died at the age of 83. The miner's son struggled to

support himself through art college before his breakthrough novel,

This Sporting Life, in 1960. It depicted the tough life

of a professional Rugby League player based on Storey's earlier

experiences, later becoming the iconic film of the same name,

starring Richard Harris. Once you're past 50, the downward

slope becomes significantly marked. Your views on what you're doing with

your life go through a great deal of reassessment.

A new law has come into effect today to try to prevent scam mail.

It follows a campaign by Marilyn Baldwin from Chesterfield

whose mother, Jessica, was conned out of ?50,000.

The new law stops people sending anything intended to deceive

I think we could probably do more around it -

prosecution would be good, rather than just threatening them

with getting the mail returned to them.

We'd like to see tougher sentencing on that.

But, on the whole, I'm pretty pleased.

A French Cold War aircraft is beginning its journey

This Mirage Four nuclear bomber is being taken from Paris to

More than 70 years after French airmen based at Elvington

during World War Two brought Halifax Bombers home to France,

the French Government is now gifting the Mirage Four to the base.

The French government are gifting another bomber back to Elvington,

So we had the Mirage Three, which is the fighter variant.

But the Mirage Four is very symbolic

because it represents the bombers

that were taken from Elvington to France.

So it's a very, very exciting time coming up,

this unique gifting of a nuclear-capable aircraft

but to an independent organisation within that country.

Sport now, and Castleford Tigers are back on top

of the Super League table after coming back from 14-0 down

including this one from Michael Shenton,

as they became the first team to pass 200 points

They had too much attacking flair for their opponents,

winning the game fairly comfortably in the end by 43 points to 26.

We've been pretty sharp with the ball today at times.

We've conceded a few to many, but I thought after a 14-0 start

against us, we've done well to dig ourselves out of it.

It's certainly fun to watch for the neutral, I have to say.

Yeah, it's interesting, but the boys have been great again today.

They did really well to win that game.

And you can see all the weekend's action on the Super League Show,

None of our teams in the Championship were in action

so the focus was on the teams at the top of Leagues One and Two.

Sheffield United edged closer to promotion with a draw at Oldham.

Captain Billy Sharp says the players were disappointed

after what he called a horrible game on a horrible pitch.

The pitch at Oldham's boundary Park was more brown than green.

Not exactly conducive to Sheffield United's usual brand

It seemed to help the home side, though, as they went ahead.

The equaliser was one of the few moments of quality on show,

We were disappointed coming off the pitch at the end,

having a few chances at the end to nick it,

but it was a horrible game, horrible pitch.

Hopefully that will be a good point at the end of the season.

Bradford City took on promotion rivals Scunthorpe yesterday.

This man took the Bantams to the play-offs last season.

Can this man get them into the Championship?

Scunthorpe went ahead early on, but Kevin Toner soon equalised

with no-one near him at the back post.

Plenty of defenders near Alex Jones, though.

But that didn't matter, as he put Bradford 2-1 in front.

Despite the Bantams bossing the second half,

Scunthorpe came back and took the lead with eight minutes to go.

Cards are always welcome and Mother's Day,

He stayed on and helped Scunthorpe snatch an important win.

We had too many opportunities in the second half -

hit the bar, goalie saves, off the line.

The second half, it was almost one-way.

Really disappointed to lose a game we should have won.

So Sheffield United are ten points clear of third place,

Bradford look like they'll have to settle for the play-offs now.

Surely it is too late for Chesterfield -

ten points from safety after losing 3-1 to Rochdale.

Doncaster haven't lost at home all season

until yesterday's 1-0 defeat to Plymouth.

Maybe someone should remind manager Aaron Ferguson that Rovers

could still be promoted as early as this Saturday.

Now, over the last few years, we've followed the progress

of a very rare set of quadruplets from Rotherham.

despite a few health hiccups along the way,

the girls have just celebrated their fourth birthday.

Our health correspondent, Jamie Coulson,

Four times the work, four times the fun,

One minute, it can be really, really hard, when they're ill.

The next minute, you've got the enjoyable rewards.

When the girls were born, they were ten weeks premature

and weighed less than 10 lbs between them.

A single round of IVF had ended a nine-year struggle for Justin

and Christine to have a child, in dramatic fashion.

Not only were these quadruplets conceived from a single

round of IVF, the family have now been told that they are identical.

That makes these girls very, very rare indeed.

Caroline and Darcy are the two monkeys

BBC Look North first filmed the quads when they were

ten weeks old, and we've followed their progress ever since.

But life for the girls hasn't been all plain sailing.

They just generally keep getting poorly and picking up one

infection after the other, ending up in hospital,

Respiratory problems, meningitis, tonsillitis.

Yes, to other people, perhaps it is not so normal looking.

Even when they've been ill, you still enjoy the love

and the affection that you get from the children.

The girls turned four at the weekend, chalking up

another major milestone in their extraordinary little lives.

Now, who doesn't love a good murder mystery?

Hercule Poirot aboard the Orient Express.

A new "mystery on the rails" season has been unveiled at

"Come along and unleash your inner detective," they said!

Sherlock, you've nothing to worry about.

and why do you need me, the great sleuth?

Edward Roby, the 1930s theatre agent, was discovered dead

of the Inverness to London sleeper train.

One hour before he went for breakfast, he

discovered his wife's necklace that he'd purchased for her had gone

All of these are clear suspects, but what's the motive in this?

We've commissioned this new murder mystery

trail from Geraldine Pilgrim, which is an absolutely

It's like nothing we've ever done before.

So we're just looking forward to when the public coming and can

start to investigate this murder mystery and hopefully solve it.

And I wonder if this is another interesting suspect.

Who was it?! He's not going to tell us. What a

tease. What a hat. What a fantastic weekend it was. Two

fantastic pictures have come in. That provides truly what do

Bradford, and famously nearly ran out in 1995. That is a beautiful

sunrise near Sheffield at Dinnington. Keep those pictures

coming in. The headline for the next few days

is not a straightforward as it was. There will be more cloud tomorrow,

it turns brighter after cloudy start. There will be some showers

courtesy of this little weak occluded front. In fact, the breeze

will be coming from the south-west all week, so it will be on the mild

side. Any rain amount will be pretty small. It took a long time, but the

cloud broke up. Fylingdales is the second coldest place in the country.

We were 10 degrees higher than that yesterday. Weather cloud breaks, it

will push from the Easter. A cloudy night and dry, with some mist in

place. Patchy fog as well, with temperatures down to four of five

Celsius. That's around 39 Fahrenheit. Here are your times of

high water. Fairly uninspiring first thing, pretty cloudy with some mist

in places. Gradually through the course of the morning, the cloud

will break up from the south-west. That is ahead of the week weather

front. Write with some sunshine, but the weather front brings in some

showers. Hit and miss, and quite a few places, especially in the East,

will stay entirely dry. With the change in wind direction, it will

feel warmer. Chilly in Scarborough, but when you get into West and South

Yorkshire, highs of 14 Celsius. That's 57 Fahrenheit. Wednesday

looks pretty cloudy. Patchy rain is possible at first, then again later,

especially in the West. The front is hanging around on Wednesday, a week

feature. Thursday looks bright and breezy, with some showers. That is

the forecast. It was stunning at the weekend! And

beautiful evenings as well. More of that, please.

We're back later. See you later. Goodbye.