:00:18. > :00:21.Good evening and welcome to BBC Look North. The headlines tonight.
:00:21. > :00:27.The company sending workers home for Christmas on half pay as they
:00:27. > :00:29.try to save jobs. It is difficult. Dozens of baby seals have died
:00:29. > :00:32.after a tidal surge off the Lincolnshire coast.
:00:32. > :00:39.Developers say dualling this road will boost the economy as much as
:00:39. > :00:49.cutting Humber Bridge tolls. And how a purring engine revealed a
:00:49. > :00:53.
:00:53. > :00:58.feline secret. And some strong winds to come. All very latest. --
:00:58. > :01:03.Unions say it's an act of solidarity which could save
:01:03. > :01:06.workers' jobs. This afternoon, more than 100 staff at a steel mill in
:01:06. > :01:13.Scunthorpe went home for Christmas on half-pay to allow their company
:01:13. > :01:16.to save money in a tough time. They won't return until January. Caparo
:01:16. > :01:26.Merchant Bar has 187 staff and says the unions fully support the shut-
:01:26. > :01:29.down. Sarah Corker reports. A 50% pay cut to stay in work.
:01:29. > :01:35.That's the sacrifice workers here are making to help their company
:01:35. > :01:40.save money and jobs. Like other steel producers across the world,
:01:40. > :01:43.Caparo Merchant Bar are feeling the effects of the recession. And today
:01:43. > :01:53.the unions came out in support of the move to cut pay and extend
:01:53. > :01:58.
:01:58. > :02:07.holidays temporarily. People see what is happening and think, we
:02:07. > :02:15.still have got a job. Hopefully, in January, it will go back to normal.
:02:15. > :02:25.The company has cut back to all but a skeleton staff. It says extensive
:02:25. > :02:26.
:02:26. > :02:29.stoppages and not unusual this time of year, especially when trading
:02:29. > :02:32.conditions -- a-week. Pay cuts and shorter working weeks
:02:32. > :02:36.have been put in place across the UK for years. Manufacturing firm
:02:36. > :02:40.JCB's workers voted in thousands to accept a �50 a week pay cut to keep
:02:40. > :02:50.350 jobs, and similar action was taken at British Airways. One
:02:50. > :02:57.expert says many other firms could opt to go down the same path.
:02:57. > :03:00.expect companies around the country at doing similar things to this.
:03:00. > :03:02.The caravan industry has been one of the biggest victims of the
:03:02. > :03:11.recession across our area. This manufacturer in Hull says flexible
:03:12. > :03:21.working patterns have been the key to their survival. You can extend
:03:22. > :03:22.
:03:22. > :03:25.the holidays. You can go onto a shorter week.
:03:25. > :03:28.Back in Scunthorpe, and more than 150 workers have agreed to the pay
:03:28. > :03:31.cut. It's hoped the money the company saves over the next few
:03:31. > :03:35.weeks will give them a better chance of being competitive in the
:03:35. > :03:45.new year. I'm joined by the MP for Scunthorpe,
:03:45. > :03:50.
:03:50. > :03:59.Nic Dakin. Why do call as positive? -- why do you call this positive?
:03:59. > :04:05.We are facing very difficult times nationally. If the workers can get
:04:05. > :04:13.through this, hopefully they will still be there for the good times.
:04:13. > :04:23.It is not positive if you lose half your wages. No, it is not what
:04:23. > :04:23.
:04:23. > :04:33.people would ideally wish. People would prefer our steel companies to
:04:33. > :04:35.
:04:35. > :04:40.be taking on jobs, rather than take these kinds of measures. These are
:04:40. > :04:49.very difficult times. I think this is a very sensible way of
:04:49. > :04:52.management and unions working together. You mentioned unions.
:04:52. > :05:02.Would they be happy to go down this path if it means avoiding
:05:02. > :05:02.
:05:02. > :05:09.redundancy? They are working together to make sure they can
:05:09. > :05:19.deliver a good outcome. It is a prosperous business, so there are
:05:19. > :05:22.
:05:22. > :05:32.prosperous jobs. It is not what anybody wants. They are navigating
:05:32. > :05:33.
:05:33. > :05:42.this in a sensible way. Would MPs be happy to do this? Clearly,
:05:42. > :05:51.people would be happy for MPs to do this! MPs have not had a pay
:05:51. > :05:55.increase. They have not had a pay reduction. They are things for
:05:55. > :05:59.people to address that the proper time. Thank you very much for
:05:59. > :06:02.talking to was tonight. Would you stay at home and take
:06:02. > :06:06.half-pay for a month if it helped your company and allowed you and
:06:06. > :06:16.your colleagues to stay in work? Are the unions right to be
:06:16. > :06:21.
:06:21. > :06:26.Some other jobs news. 176 people have been made redundant from a
:06:26. > :06:29.commercial vehicle dealership. H and L Garages, which sold Mercedes
:06:29. > :06:33.Vans and Trucks, has gone into administration. The firm has
:06:33. > :06:38.garages in Lincoln Hull, Boston, Immingham and York. Mercedes said
:06:38. > :06:41.it had stripped H and L of the right to sell its brand. It's
:06:41. > :06:45.opened a helpline for staff who want to be redeployed.
:06:45. > :06:55.In a moment: Sheep theft is on the rise. Now
:06:55. > :07:13.
:07:13. > :07:15.there are warnings of the dangers of buying black market meat. A
:07:15. > :07:18.woman accused of murdering her fiance after deliberately hiding
:07:18. > :07:21.their business troubles from him has gone on trial at Lincoln Crown
:07:21. > :07:24.Court. Julie Dixon, who's 43, is charged with killing David Twigg at
:07:25. > :07:27.Burgh le Marsh in March. The court heard that Mr Twigg was locked
:07:27. > :07:29.inside his joinery workshop, which was set alight. The prosecution
:07:29. > :07:33.alleged it was Mrs Dixon who locked the door.
:07:33. > :07:36.More than 70 seal pups are believed to have died at a nature reserve on
:07:36. > :07:38.the Lincolnshire coast. A tidal surge washed them away from their
:07:39. > :07:42.mothers last week. Wildlife experts say they are still assessing the
:07:42. > :07:44.impact on the seal colony at Donna Nook. Tarah Welsh spent the day
:07:44. > :07:47.there. New mothers keeping a close eye on
:07:47. > :07:50.their young. But last Monday, nature stole some of the new pups
:07:50. > :07:53.here. These are the lucky ones, but many others died when bad weather
:07:53. > :08:03.and a high tide caused a surge of water, sweeping them away from
:08:03. > :08:14.
:08:14. > :08:18.their mothers. We had a very high tide. Normally, the sandbanks work,
:08:18. > :08:28.and they get moved around. If left alone, it's unlikely new born seals
:08:28. > :08:29.
:08:29. > :08:37.will survive. This baby has been trying to suckle a mother seals,
:08:37. > :08:45.but of course, they rejected it. -- so-called on other seals. It will
:08:45. > :08:52.join ten others that have been brought in since last week. The
:08:52. > :08:57.seal pup has been brought here and is warming up under that lamp. It
:08:57. > :09:01.will be looked after and released into the wild in about six months.
:09:01. > :09:04.Others were not so lucky. It's hard to know exactly how many seals have
:09:04. > :09:07.been lost, but volunteers here believe it's around 75 out of
:09:07. > :09:17.roughly 1,000 born, and say they've never seen anything like it and
:09:17. > :09:23.
:09:23. > :09:33.hope it never happens again. It's really sad. It's amazing to see.
:09:33. > :09:36.
:09:36. > :09:39.It's sad. It's a shock, because they were thriving when we first
:09:39. > :09:41.came. All surviving pups are now being
:09:42. > :09:45.looked after or have been reunited with their mothers, until they're
:09:45. > :09:48.strong enough to head out to sea all on their own.
:09:48. > :09:50.It's been confirmed the Queen's Park Special School in Lincoln will
:09:50. > :09:54.close, despite widespread objections from parents. The school
:09:54. > :09:57.teaches children with learning difficulties. Lincolnshire County
:09:57. > :10:02.Council says it's too small and will relocate pupils to two other
:10:02. > :10:05.special schools in the area. After a number of sheep thefts in
:10:05. > :10:10.Lincolnshire, trading standards are warning shoppers of the risks of
:10:10. > :10:14.eating black market meat. In the latest raid at Epworth in North
:10:14. > :10:18.Lincolnshire, 23 sheep were stolen. It's thought they will be killed at
:10:18. > :10:22.illegal abbatoirs. The National Farmers' Union says sheep thefts
:10:22. > :10:32.have doubled as the price of meat continues to rise. Simon Spark
:10:32. > :10:35.reports. Trying to piece together how his
:10:35. > :10:45.sheep were stolen, Farmer Paul Antcliff is the latest victim of a
:10:45. > :10:47.
:10:47. > :10:56.rising crime. 22 ewes and one ram were stolen. Most of the females
:10:56. > :10:59.were in lamb and together had a value of just under 4,000 pounds.
:10:59. > :11:09.The Sheba he still had were so frightened, they broke through a
:11:09. > :11:09.
:11:09. > :11:12.two wire fences to try to escape -- the sheep. There's nothing you can
:11:12. > :11:16.do, really. This follows what was believed to
:11:16. > :11:19.be one of the biggest cases of sheep rustling in 25 years, when
:11:19. > :11:21.over 1,400 ewes and lambs were stolen from Stenigot near Louth in
:11:21. > :11:24.September. But with livestock being such a tightly regulated area, the
:11:24. > :11:34.real danger is the use of illegimate abattoirs and food
:11:34. > :11:45.
:11:45. > :11:55.outlets to pass on the meat. real concern is around the safety
:11:55. > :11:56.
:11:57. > :12:00.of the meat going into the human food chain. Have a think about it.
:12:00. > :12:10.Buy from reputable sources. Paul's now weighing up his options
:12:10. > :12:10.
:12:10. > :12:14.on whether to continue with his sheep farming for much longer.
:12:14. > :12:22.That might be another story you want to comment on. Sent me an e-
:12:22. > :12:25.mail. Still ahead tonight: The engineer
:12:25. > :12:29.from East Yorkshire putting his building skills to a different use.
:12:29. > :12:39.And the hardy cat who went on an And the hardy cat who went on an
:12:39. > :12:41.
:12:41. > :12:51.That is a fantastic story coming up in about 10 minutes.
:12:51. > :13:15.
:13:15. > :13:20.John Esser took this near Stainton The outlook is an unsettled one.
:13:20. > :13:29.Tomorrow, we can expect westerly gales and developing and we could
:13:29. > :13:37.have some severe gales later on Thursday. You can see these weather
:13:37. > :13:47.systems pushing in across the Atlantic. Now, it has been a lovely
:13:47. > :13:52.
:13:52. > :13:57.day. We're seeing some patchy rain and drizzle across their region.
:13:57. > :14:04.Longer outbreaks of rain for some, but by the end of the make the main
:14:04. > :14:09.news out into the North Sea. Overnight temperatures between two
:14:09. > :14:19.and three degrees Celsius. Here are the sun rises and higher water
:14:19. > :14:23.
:14:23. > :14:31.It will be the very win the day, with wind in the more exposed parts
:14:31. > :14:38.of the region getting up to 50 or 60 miles per hour. The top
:14:38. > :14:44.temperatures, fairly academic given the wind, but six or seven degrees
:14:45. > :14:54.Celsius. It will turn wet and windy through Thursday and the risk of
:14:55. > :15:00.
:15:00. > :15:07.severe gales. Join me on Twitter. Stop advertising! I love the way
:15:07. > :15:17.you say, or has it been a lovely day? You are supposed to tell us,
:15:17. > :15:17.
:15:17. > :15:20.Humberside Police say jobs will have to go as the force looks to
:15:20. > :15:27.save �30 million. They are concerns about the effect this will have on
:15:27. > :15:37.their ability to fight crime. Michelle from Hull says...
:15:37. > :15:54.
:15:54. > :15:57.Thank you very much for all of these.
:15:57. > :16:03.Upgrading the road between Beverley and the Humber Bridge is as
:16:03. > :16:06.important for the local economy as cutting bridge tolls. That is the
:16:06. > :16:12.view of developers who want to build a �100 million business park
:16:12. > :16:14.close to the ridge. -- the bridge. The A164 will be dualled for a
:16:14. > :16:18.short section at Willerby, after the government agreed to provide
:16:18. > :16:22.most of the money. Last night we focussed on the Lincoln East Bypass,
:16:22. > :16:25.which also received funding. Tonight Rowan Crompton reports from
:16:25. > :16:34.Willerby. Going to work or coming home, rush
:16:35. > :16:39.hour on the A164 can be a frustrating time for drivers.
:16:39. > :16:45.make trouble here two or three times a week and always get stuck
:16:45. > :16:52.in traffic. At rush-hour, it is horrendous. It can and 30 or 40
:16:52. > :16:59.minutes to your journey. I was stuck for about 15 minutes on it
:16:59. > :17:09.this morning. It can get very clogged up when people are going to
:17:09. > :17:13.
:17:13. > :17:16.work. The council has put �2.3 million
:17:16. > :17:22.towards these improvements, to add to the money given by the
:17:22. > :17:30.government last week. Full the developer building a business park
:17:30. > :17:36.on this land near the Humber Bridge, it is a welcome investment.
:17:36. > :17:44.bridge tolls been it Regis, it will allow Labour to flow more easily
:17:44. > :17:50.around the region. It is such an important economic corridor between
:17:50. > :17:59.Hull and other parts of the region. By for some, these plans do not go
:17:59. > :18:09.far enough. A I think they should start at one end of Lincoln and
:18:09. > :18:11.
:18:12. > :18:18.bring a right through. They should have done it 20 years ago. It is
:18:18. > :18:21.here that we will be able to make the traffic move.
:18:21. > :18:29.The improvements works will begin in April and should be completed
:18:29. > :18:32.within a year, but for some they cannot come soon enough.
:18:32. > :18:35.One road that did not get funding from the Chancellor was the A63
:18:35. > :18:38.through Hull. Today, the government told the
:18:38. > :18:47.city's three Labour MPs that even the smallest of improvements were
:18:47. > :18:55.at least three years away. Leanne Brown is beside the road.
:18:55. > :19:01.How badly do the MPs say improvements are needed?
:19:01. > :19:09.The A63 is the main route in and out of Hull. It is heavily used by
:19:09. > :19:16.commuters and traffic heading to Hull Docks. You can see how busy it
:19:16. > :19:26.is by these pictures we took in rush hour. More than 50,000 cars
:19:26. > :19:29.Hughes at each day. -- use it each day.
:19:29. > :19:38.The second problem is that the road cuts off access to the marina area
:19:38. > :19:42.heel behind me. One of the ideas has been to create
:19:42. > :19:52.a tunnel road if you like, by lowering the A63 and building a
:19:52. > :19:57.
:19:57. > :20:01.bridge over the top. As you said, three MPs - Karl Turner, Diana
:20:02. > :20:11.Johnson and Alan Johnson - met with the Transport Minister. They have
:20:12. > :20:22.
:20:22. > :20:25.have made some headway on this. Tomorrow night, we will look at how
:20:25. > :20:28.millions of pounds to upgrade the A18-A180 link road could open up
:20:28. > :20:31.trade on the banks of the Humber. RAF staff who played a role in
:20:31. > :20:34.Operations in Libya were thanked personally by the Prime Minister in
:20:34. > :20:37.Downing Street. Crews from RAF Waddington and RAF Coningsby in
:20:37. > :20:39.Lincolnshire and RAF Marham in Norfolk were among the guests at a
:20:39. > :20:48.reception held by David Cameron. The Prime Minister said he was
:20:48. > :20:52.proud to play host to them. have held a lot of parties and
:20:52. > :20:57.receptions and this soon, but I do not think any of them have given me
:20:57. > :21:06.such a sense of honour as the one today. Everyone in this room gave
:21:06. > :21:11.incredible service to the country in the operations over Libya. They
:21:11. > :21:18.contributed in the air, won this seat and on the ground. I want to
:21:18. > :21:22.thank you all for you're incredible dedication, courage and commitment
:21:22. > :21:25.that you showed. In football, two of our non-league
:21:25. > :21:28.clubs are playing tonight. Grimsby Town, who won their last league
:21:28. > :21:31.game 7-0, owe Mansfield Town in the Blue Square Bet Premier League --
:21:31. > :21:34.host Mansfield. And Lincoln City, who are sixth from the bottom, are
:21:34. > :21:35.at home to Luton Town. Your all local BBC radio stations
:21:35. > :21:38.will have full coverage from tonight's games.
:21:38. > :21:43.BBC Radio Humberside will have the Grimsby game on their FM frequency
:21:43. > :21:46.and online. Sportstalk is on the air now.
:21:46. > :21:56.And BBC Lincolnshire will be at Sincil Bank with commentary on FM
:21:56. > :21:59.from seven o'clock. An engineer from East Yorkshire has
:21:59. > :22:06.been crowned Mr UK's Best Newcomer - at his first bodybuilding
:22:06. > :22:16.competition. Andy Pickering took part after being spotted by a
:22:16. > :22:22.
:22:22. > :22:27.trainer at his local gym. Now he is hoping to be the next Mr Universe.
:22:27. > :22:32.Pandy Pickering has been coming to the local gym for one year. But
:22:32. > :22:40.just a few months ago, his potential for body-building was
:22:40. > :22:46.spotted. It is something I used to do to increase Sybase just for the
:22:46. > :22:53.fun of it. But I do not ever think about the potential for going in
:22:53. > :23:03.two competitions. I always say it is the Honda Sport in the world,
:23:03. > :23:05.
:23:05. > :23:15.because it is 24 caused Adie, seven days a week. -- hardest sport in
:23:15. > :23:25.the world. And this was the moment when he came first in the
:23:25. > :23:33.
:23:33. > :23:43.competition. Weighing in at 17 stone, he is now in training for
:23:43. > :23:47.
:23:47. > :23:55.the Mr Britton competition. He is on a strict diet. I will have six
:23:55. > :24:03.to eight eggs scrambled. And that is just for breakfast. He is hoping
:24:03. > :24:07.this will be the first of many trophies. Hopefully, I can win the
:24:07. > :24:10.British tour fee and go on to bigger and better things.
:24:11. > :24:13.He spent two weeks trapped under the bonnet of his owner's car.
:24:14. > :24:18.Drago, who is 14, was only discovered when a faint meow was
:24:18. > :24:28.heard coming from the engine compartment. Now, after two weeks
:24:28. > :24:32.
:24:32. > :24:40.without food, he is recovering at home in Hull. He does of course
:24:40. > :24:46.have main ways to play with, but Drago used one of them up. His
:24:46. > :24:54.mystery disappearance has finally been discovered. He spent two weeks
:24:54. > :25:04.close to home in a place no one had suspected. I suddenly heard a faint
:25:04. > :25:05.
:25:05. > :25:14.at the Owl and lifted up the bonnet. And there was Drago. His head was
:25:14. > :25:20.there and his body was there and he was just trapped. Inside, he was
:25:20. > :25:26.driven to the emergency vet. Despite losing half his body weight,
:25:26. > :25:36.he was described as the luckiest cat alive and has now received a
:25:36. > :25:41.
:25:41. > :25:51.clean bill of health. It is thought he had may be made twill journeys
:25:51. > :26:00.from his business to his house. It is thought he travelled 60 miles,
:26:00. > :26:10.but any more than that and he probably would not have survived.
:26:10. > :26:12.
:26:12. > :26:22.He should be dead. He really should be. With one life lost, it is hoped
:26:22. > :26:24.
:26:24. > :26:31.Drago will be a little less curious As I say, a great story and if you
:26:31. > :26:34.have one you think we should know about, get in touch at the usual
:26:34. > :26:36.contact methods. Let us get a recap of the national
:26:36. > :26:38.and regional headlines... Unprecedented violence, even for
:26:38. > :26:41.Afghanistan. For the first time, bomb attacks across the country
:26:41. > :26:44.target Muslims at prayer. And a company is sending workers
:26:44. > :26:47.home for Christmas on half pay as they try to save jobs.
:26:47. > :26:57.And tomorrow's weather - mostly dry and bright with plenty of sunshine,
:26:57. > :26:57.
:26:57. > :27:03.but some gale force winds. A top temperature of seven Celsius. We
:27:03. > :27:13.have had a big response about the company which is giving the workers
:27:13. > :27:14.
:27:15. > :27:19.have pay. Keith says, rated a voluntary 20 % cut for one year to
:27:19. > :27:27.help my company survive. I would do it again. This sacrifice was worth
:27:27. > :27:36.it. But another says, this will on the make things more difficult, as