24/02/2014 Inside Out North East and Cumbria

In the next half an hour: Durham's Chief Constable sets out why he

wants the government to supply heroin for free. I know what I am

saying is controversial, and some auditions don't like it and you it's

not like it but let's have the debate.

A hundred years on we've a world war one dispatch from the front line in

Hartlepool. She wrote me and said, what is that nice? Bang, bang, bang.

And as North Yorkshire prepares to welcome the Tour de France we ask

one of England's top soccer players to test the route. All, my word!

Stories from the heart of the North East and Cumbria.

We begin with a radical plan to deal with the problem of heroin abuse.

This is from the man who reads Durham police. Make Barton wants the

government to supply addicts free of charge. That wiki says dealers will

be forced out of business and users would need to turn to cling to feed

their habit. Could it work? Make Barton has agreed to report for us

on his ideas, beginning in the city where drug users are helped, not

prosecuted. Copenhagen. One of the world's

wealthiest cities. It was founded as a fishing village. Now it makes its

money from finance and trade, and, increasingly, from its film and

television industry. It also makes its money from tourists. I have here

to see something different. Drug consumption rooms, where addicts are

given the injection kits and a safe, clean environment in which to shoot

up and if that is controversial, I am going to explain shortly what I

think should change in the UK that could be seen as more controversial

still. Back home, I have undercover cops

who catch the drug dealers and seize stuff like this, more than ?2

million worth of cocaine. And the money this particular dealer had in

his car boot. I wanted to speak to these officers before leaving for

Denmark for their views on drug addicts. Are these people bad? Yes,

they are. Let's not forget, one individual I dealt with committed 63

burglaries to feed his addiction. 63 victims of crime. It is the children

in those houses, in their bed at night worrying they will be broken

into again. They make the victims of circumstance but because problems.

You have been spearheading the targeting of organised crime groups.

How many have you successfully destroyed since 2008? Numinous. ``

numerous. In organised crime group is like a business. Tesco wants to

sell more product, drug dealers want to sell more drugs. In your view, if

there was no money in this business... There would be no

business. That last answer convinces me I'm

right. But what happens in Copenhagen doesn't destroy the

dealers either. The addicts buy their own drugs and then bring them

here. We were given extraordinary access. It's a tough watch.

If you overdose, there are nurses on hand to save you. The streets nearby

are no longer littered with syringes. And if you want to get

into recovery, they'll get you help. That last bit is important. Per game

is to provide a safe place for consumption and then we want to make

relations with these people and the ones who want to get into treatment,

get the house, for example, then they can ask those and we have

different possibilities that can help them.

Some of the addicts agreed to be interviewed. Like Kevin, who makes

it clear that this facility doesn't stop crime. As I've said, addicts

get free sterile equipment, but bring their own drugs. Where do you

get the drugs? It depends. Sometimes I go out and steal from the shops,

sometimes I go into the street, you can always make some money on the

street. Help someone, maybe cheat some people who come from Sweden or

somewhere. Like Curt, who makes it clear the

consumption rooms arrived too late to save some. How many friends have

you most? Between... Between 50 and 100.

And like Anneka, who makes it clear how dangerous it can still be on the

street for addicts. If you are not strong you can be `` you can be on

the street. It is very hard. I have been lucky many times. I could have

been killed. 14 days ago I was raped on the street. It is a very hard

street. Anneka is only 22. She's been on

drugs since she was only ten. Danica is part of a much bigger problem.

She blows ?600 that she gets from the state every month on drugs, and

gives it to her drug dealer. I am suggesting is, that ?600 should go

towards her recovery so she is free from drugs and we should provide the

heroine, the state should provide the heroin and take the ?600 out of

the drug dealers pockets. I know there'll be those in high

office who'll be angry at me saying this. But I don't want to be the

former Chief Constable or the retired Chief Constable who says

this ` it's time a serving Chief Constable spoke out. All this work

that you have done, argue being accused of being soft on drugs?

Sometimes. Politicians will say so, but this is a long`term investment

as well as making these areas safe for the people, and working with the

tools we have under the given circumstances. We are except that,

Denmark is a free country and people are rates to say what they feel.

There is good work happening in the UK. We went to Cumbria to see the

Gateway project in Carlisle. A charity that helps addicts recover.

The coordinator of year, Stewart, was a heroin addict himself. One of

his clients was released from his opting to prison sentence just five

months ago. He has been clean ever since. What did they think of my

idea? I think he has a lot of balls of the dog named me using that

word. He seizes from his position and it is the politicians who needs

to change their thinking about the law policy on drugs. We did some bad

things at certain points, to our families and friends. In society.

But we were driven by addiction. When you are driven by addiction you

do things you are not proud of. Sometimes you do things you don't

want to do, but it is the power of the addiction. It is more powerful

than you. We are not bad people. I have the backing of my commissioner

but I have my critics. Peter Hitchens of the Mail on Sunday came

to meet me in Durham to put across his point of view. He was

straightforward. He says the law enforcers have actually helped cause

widespread drug abuse by not properly enforcing the laws which

already exist. The reason why the police, it seems to me, are foremost

in calling for the abandonment of the law is that it is a waste of

your time, going around arresting people when the prosecution service

would prosecute. If they did then the magistrates would punish. What

is the answer? What do you advocate that we change? I am advocating the

pursuit of the possessors of drugs rather than the takers of drugs. If

anyone is called in possession they are arrested, prosecuted if found

guilty and are punished in a deterrent fashion both to deter them

from future action and to deter the people from possessing drugs. This

is what you do not do. I have 1700 registered heroin addict in my area.

I have 1200 police officers. You can just see two police officers, go out

there and arrest people until it stops. Because that is not

practical, Peter. I then told him about a recovering addict I met who

was introduced to drugs at the age of 12 by his own mother. I told

Peter I did not think that man should be treated as a criminal.

This is the interesting discussion of social work which may or may not

work in some circumstances, and terrific if it does, but your

problem as law`enforcement. You're not a social worker. You're the head

of the Durham police force. Your job is the enforcement of the law. The

law prohibits the possession of the drugs which are being used and given

by an adult to a young person. Your role should be in the telling that

adult from daring to do such a stupid criminal thing. When you see

my job is to enforce the law, between 18 and 22% of my work is

law`enforcement and crime`fighting. 50% of my work is concern for

safety. That is what I am in. When you accuse me of being a social

worker I approach to be a social worker. As well as a tough law

enforcer. The Copenhagen team `` the Copenhagen scheme works because it

is based in an area which was already a meeting point for hundreds

of addicts. I don't think it is for us but I am adamant that in the UK

we should provide heroin as part of recovery. I know what I am saying is

controversial in some politicians don't like it. Peter Hitchens

certainly doesn't like it. You might not like it but at least let's have

the debate. So has Mike Barton got a plan that

could work? Let me know what you think. Log on to my blog to share

your views. As we remember the events of one

hundred years ago, we reflect on the terrible sacrifice of soldiers in

the trenches but we shouldn't forget people at home suffered too.

Hartlepool suddenly found itself on the front line when German ships

carried out a surprise bombardment just a few months into the war. What

was it like? I've been privileged to meet someone who was there and I can

now share her memories with you. I was in bed with my mother when she

said, what's that noise? Bang, bang, bang, was all you hear Violet was

just seven when all hell was let loose. On the morning of December

16th 1914, Hartlepool suddenly found itself on the front line. Just four

months after war was declared, German ships approached the East

Coast through the mist and opened fire on an unsuspecting community.

The Germans are here, she said they are on the beach. People were out

with prams with babies in. We couldn't come round. Now, she said,

as I will be killed I will be killed in my own house. That was my mother.

She was like that. Violet's family stayed in Hope Street. If they'd

ventured out, they would have seen the scale of destruction. This map

has never been seen in public before, each green red and black

mark is where a shell hit. It shook the population of Hartlepool to the

core. We had the biggest navy empire. Houses were being knocked

down around us. We couldn't believe what they were seeing.

Out on the headland, the coastal battery tried to defend Hartlepool

and earned an unenviable place in history. The first soldier to be

killed on British soil for over 200 years, the law was a local man and

he volunteered out of patriotism in August. He had been in uniform less

than three months and he was the first casualties. But it was the

civilian population who bore the brunt. They were unarmed and

unprepared. It was terrible. Everybody was crying. More than 100

died. Some escaped with seconds to spare. It is the very famous

bombardment clock, made in Germany of all places. It has been stopped

at a few minutes past eight by the piece of shell fragment hitting the

clock and stopping the works. That tells us, this was literally

invading their homes with courage. Yes, the idea of the Germans coming

to your home and trying to kill you is really embodied in this alarm

clock. Just at that very moment of time, that bit of metal came from

one of these. This is a, or should I say, half of the German 11.2 inch

naval shell. Can I see how heavy this is? Just be careful. How this

flies through the air, I don't know. These things are hideous.

The German Navy brought the front line to British shores. At the same

time they bombarded Scarborough Whitby, and they reserved their

biggest onslaught for Hartlepool. Leading the attack, a brand new

battle cruiser, the Seydlitz, armed to the teeth.

In terms of being a fair match, we were hopelessly outclassed.

The attack was a failed attempt to goad the British Navy into a sea

battle. German propaganda celebrated having caught Britain off guard,

back home the newspapers were stunned and raged at the maiming and

killing of so many women and children.

The Hun had crossed a line, the scene was immortalised by local

artist James Clark. His painting hasn't been seen for a while as it

sent away for restoration. Later, we'll see it just as the locals did

when it was unveiled a century ago. The song is about calling young men

to arms, saying the Germans have bombed us, your country needs you.

I'm from Hartlepool. To come across a piece that was written at the time

about the events that occurred, I think it is amazing.

People feared another attack, the mayor issued what was a Great War

version of Keep Calm and Carry On. The Germans weren't quite finished

with Hartlepool. NAD might have done their worst, but there was another

part of the war machine that could still threaten the town. `` the NAV.

Bombs could now be dropped from the air, usually at night. Targets were

often indiscriminate. Not far away, number 36 air Squadron was

scrambled. The night sky was crisscrossed by searchlights. On the

ground, a young Violet joined the crowds as they ventured out. The

streets were full of people. Everybody was out. Cheering, because

the bombs... It was all lit up. The German attacks were as good as any

recruiting sergeant. But in Hartlepool the community didn't need

any encouragement. The bombardment painting had long been a symbol of

pride for Hartlepool and to mark the centenary it's just come back from

the conservators. You can see the signs come up. He

has done a good job on that. After all the town had been through,

perhaps it's no surprise that Hartlepool rallied to the cause when

the Government tried to raise war funds in what were called tank

banks. Hartlepool was number one in the British Empire, raised the most

amount of money of any town. Street collections for tank banks got ?100

million from local people in modern equivalent. A population roughly the

same size as Hartlepool is today. For Violet's family, the Great War

still had one walk`through blow to deliver. Her father was often away,

he served in the Merchant Navy. An ordinary day would be shattered as

her mother began to read that a's paper. She said, oh, look, she said

your dad is gone. Her father's boat had been heading

for Middlesbrough when it struck a mine. Hartlepool is a reminder that

in the First World War, as well as those who fell in combat, civilians

of all ages would pay a terrible price.

Sadly, as time marches on, there are fewer and fewer chances to hear

those stories first hand. It's a privilege to cherish.

It must have been strange to see the walk on to your doorstep. Yes,

that's right. I can remember it as if it was yesterday. It's funny

that, isn't it? Now, Second World War I cannot remember much about

that! Even in tough times, there are

stories to make you smile. I've more of my chat with the wonderful Violet

on my blog. There is a whole lot more to discover about how the Great

War affected the North East Cumbria and the rest of the UK. Log

on to the BBC's World War One at Home website.

This summer, we'll see a much more welcome invasion as North Yorkshire

plays host to the Tour De France. Some say it's the hardest challenge

in world sport. But just how tough? We've asked England footballer Sue

Smith to swap her boots for pedals to see if she can complete one of

the most arduous parts of Yorkshire's grand depart.

I've been playing football for nearly 20 years at the top level. I

must be pretty fit. I train every day, working on endurance, speed and

stamina all for that 90 minutes on a Saturday. I've played for four

different clubs including Doncaster, Leeds and Lincoln and won 93 England

caps. But what if I was to swap my ball for a bike? Could I cope with

the fitness demands that a totally different sport would throw at me?

I'm about to find out. I've taken up the challenge of cycling 3.8

kilometres. Doesn't sound very far. In fact, it's not even two and a

half miles. But this is the dreaded Buttertubs Pass in North Yorkshire.

Where the elite Tour de France riders will compete in just five

months' time. And I want to see if I can not only complete it, but get up

in a time proper riders won't laugh at.

For a novice like me, the National Cycling Centre in Manchester is a

daunting place to come. Especially when Team GB are training. But at

least it's warm and dry. I'm joined by Dean Downing. He is a multiple

race winner. As he warms up, I'm struggling to keep up. I'm not sure

I will catch him. What have I let myself in for? You will be out on

your own. You still have to concentrate on keeping your speed at

a decent pace. If you stop pedalling up there, you will go backwards! The

gears are different. We only have one gear on the track. The claim in

general strikes fear into most cyclists. Sadly, I am off to

Australia, so I will be out there for a few weeks 14 training, but I

will be checking to see how you are doing. So, I am on my own. I am

going to need a bike. My fitter James puts stickers on all my

joints and a beam of light tracks their movements. I thought it was

going to be a nice session. You are probably on in intermediate

pedalling technique. Your training most of your momentum. `` you are

maintaining. With just a few weeks before my

attempt, I really need to get out on the road. Combining time on the bike

and training is not proving easy. I wonder how my friend, Dean, is

getting on. Hello, Sue, pretty hot here. Hope the road bike is treating

you nice. Hope you're getting used to the gears. Speak to you soon.

Good luck. This is the picturesque Dales

village of Hawes. In just over four months' time, this North Yorkshire

beauty spot will be heaving with visitors from all over the world.

But I'm not here to admire the views. After a three`hour journey,

I'm about to swap my car for a bike. But first I need to limber up for

the challenge ahead. This actually sounds like I'm getting my excuses

in early, but I don't feel like I've done enough training for this. I'm

just hoping my football training and my winning mentality will get me

through this. Here goes! If I'm to make it to the top of the

Buttertubs Pass, I'm going to have to climb 732 feet. That's a lot of

peddling. Oh, my Word!

Early on in the climb, what's coming back to me is the advice I was given

about not putting in too much effort to start off with, but it's really

steep. This is tough. This winding route with stunning

views is Top Gear presenter Jeremy Clarkson's favourite stretch of

Yorkshire road. I'm certainly not travelling as fast as him and sadly

too preoccupied to enjoy the majestic scenery. Look at this bad

boy! But I'm not just battling the road,

I've set myself a goal of getting all the way up in less than 18

minutes. The stop watch is ticking away, and I'm up against the clock.

How far do you think is left? The average gradient on Buttertubs is 6%

and in one part it's 20%. But there's some surprising relief I

hadn't expected. This downhill bit's amazing.

I am the minutes away from the end. I really need to put all I have left

into those pedals. Blimey, that was hard work. At last,

the finishing line. I've made it. And finally a chance to enjoy the

amazing scenery. My reward for completing this incredible climb in

a time of 15:24, not too bad for a novice.

I just heard your time, that is pretty impressive. It's pretty about

third place, congratulations. I will speak to you soon. Cheers, goodbye.

I have done Buttertubs Pass. I am really pleased. Just think of the

riders, they will have to do so much more, 190 kilometres in one day. I

did just one small part of that, and that was hard enough.

Next week: The NHS hired private paramedics for our ambulance

service, but did they carry out a proper health check? See you next

Monday. Till then, from Durham, goodnight.

Hello, I'm Ellie Crisell with your 90 second update. Two women and four

dogs have been found shot dead at a house in Farnham. An 82-year-old dog

breeder has been arrested on suspicion of murder. He's been named

locally as John Lowe. Dave Lee Travis is to face a

locally as John Lowe. re-trial over two charges of

locally as John Lowe. indecent assault and sexual assault.

The former Radio One DJ was cleared of 12 other offences earlier this

month. He said his "nightmare goes on".

They call it a living hell. These They call it a living hell. These

are the faces of men, women and children desperate for food. More

than 20,000 are trapped in a bombed-out area in Syria. Just 0

packets of food made it in today. We've a special report at