:00:06. > :00:09.Good evening and welcome to BBC Look North. The headlines tonight:
:00:09. > :00:12.Police step up the battle against gangs killing wild animals in
:00:12. > :00:14.Lincolnshire. They're driving across the fields
:00:14. > :00:21.at night using high-velocity rifles, night-vision technology and heat-
:00:21. > :00:25.seeking technology, as well. Cracking down on metal theft - one
:00:25. > :00:30.council says it's seen a significant reduction.
:00:30. > :00:36.How people power could be harnessed to generate electricity.
:00:36. > :00:40.And the revival of vinyl as LPs come back in fashion.
:00:40. > :00:50.And it looks mild in the run-up to Christmas. Join me for the latest
:00:50. > :00:55.
:00:55. > :00:59.Police say armed gangs with high- powered rifles are spreading fear
:00:59. > :01:03.though rural communities in Lincolnshire. They shoot wild
:01:03. > :01:06.animals for sport or for food. There have had more than 600
:01:06. > :01:12.reported cases in the last four months of hare coursing - an
:01:12. > :01:15.outlawed practice where hares are chased and killed by dogs. Simon
:01:15. > :01:20.Spark is live with this story in the village of Nettleham near
:01:20. > :01:30.Lincoln. Simon, this isn't a new crime, but how concerned are
:01:30. > :01:31.
:01:31. > :01:37.police? The of they are concerned and the figures that you put do
:01:37. > :01:43.sound horrific. They also are based on the weather we had last year
:01:43. > :01:50.which was very bad and not us many cases were reported. But they are a
:01:50. > :01:57.worry for farmers and also for villages like the ones here. Here,
:01:57. > :02:01.we have more damage caused overnight. They were shooting as
:02:01. > :02:04.they went around the corner. It's another farm in another battle
:02:04. > :02:11.against rural crime. This time, trespassers coming onto land to
:02:11. > :02:18.shoot, maim and kill any wildlife they can. Anything that has moved
:02:18. > :02:22.has been shot at. General of damage to gateposts, chains broken, block
:02:22. > :02:25.smashed, anything to get them into the land. This latest incident was
:02:25. > :02:33.on the land of Christmas tree grower William Rose, but it's a
:02:33. > :02:39.common problem for many farmers. They are driving across the fields
:02:39. > :02:42.at night, using a high-velocity rifle, night vision goggles and
:02:42. > :02:48.heat-seeking technology as well. They callously leave the carcasses,
:02:48. > :02:54.the dead bodies on the ground, really. They are not doing it for
:02:54. > :03:02.food, they are just doing it for the hell of it. It adds to a
:03:02. > :03:06.growing list of major crimes in recent months. During a nine-month
:03:06. > :03:08.period last year, 40 tractors were stolen from farms. In September
:03:08. > :03:11.this year, 1,400 sheep were stolen from Stenigot near Louth, and
:03:11. > :03:14.another 23 were taken from Epworth just this month. And between 1st
:03:14. > :03:16.August and 5th December, 630 hare coursing incidents were reported to
:03:16. > :03:18.Lincolnshire police. And they too are getting equipped. Special
:03:18. > :03:21.vehicles with numberplate recognition cameras and night
:03:21. > :03:30.vision are helping but vigilance and working together is still a
:03:30. > :03:38.main defence. It is not just about me trying to combat it on my own,
:03:38. > :03:44.it is about working together and working with the local fans --
:03:45. > :03:53.farmers and the landowners and the gatekeepers.
:03:53. > :03:57.Simon, what are the police doing to reassure people? You could say they
:03:57. > :04:00.are casting their net wider, they are collaborating with other forces
:04:00. > :04:05.to gather intelligence and of course, they are gathering help
:04:05. > :04:09.from farmers. Earlier in the month, one farmer factory called a meeting
:04:09. > :04:15.with the police and another 50 farmers turned up in support to
:04:15. > :04:19.raise their concerns. From that, they have managed to start up a
:04:19. > :04:24.scheme were they all liaise with each other and talk to each other.
:04:24. > :04:27.A lot of these gangs are coming in from other counties and better
:04:27. > :04:30.something that is dangerous, obviously, to tackle head on with
:04:30. > :04:34.the weapons that they have and also, with the intelligence they can
:04:34. > :04:39.gather from farmers and other forces, they can use that to help
:04:39. > :04:41.bring them to justice. I'm joined by Louise Robertson from
:04:41. > :04:51.the League Against Cruel Sports which campaigns against hare
:04:51. > :04:58.coursing. Good evening. Why should we be so concerned about hare
:04:58. > :05:01.coursing? This is a barbaric form of animal cruelty. Fees are not
:05:01. > :05:06.people accurately, a cross hairs and allowing their dogs to chase
:05:06. > :05:12.them. These are organised gangs of criminals killing wildlife just for
:05:12. > :05:16.the sake of it. The members of the public are aware of this, and then
:05:16. > :05:20.as reported to the police. Some will say this isn't a blood sport
:05:20. > :05:24.but actually, a traditional activity that has gone on in the
:05:24. > :05:28.countryside for a long time. Hare coursing, organised traditional
:05:28. > :05:32.hare coursing is illegal and the types of hare coursing we are
:05:32. > :05:37.seeing now is illegal and must be reported to the police. Often, the
:05:37. > :05:43.people carrying out these types of activities are often involved in
:05:43. > :05:46.other sorts of crimes. When you hear that it is not for food or
:05:47. > :05:52.anything else but just for fun or just for the hell of it, how does
:05:52. > :05:56.that make you feel? It makes me livid, it is horrific that people
:05:56. > :06:00.can inflict cruelty on animals and get pleasure out of it. It is also
:06:00. > :06:05.worrying for the people living in these communities that these
:06:05. > :06:09.individuals are going out in the dead of night with lethal weapons.
:06:09. > :06:14.How seriously do the police take such crimes when it is in the
:06:14. > :06:19.middle of the night? I think the police take it very seriously. The
:06:19. > :06:22.number of incidents that have been reported is very encouraging. Often,
:06:22. > :06:26.these sorts of crimes to go under- reported because of the remote
:06:26. > :06:30.places they are happening in and the fact that they are taking place
:06:30. > :06:37.at night but we are seeing joined up working from police forces those
:06:37. > :06:43.that these criminals are being prosecuted and brought to justice
:06:43. > :06:48.for what they are doing. Thank you. Can the police stop the gangs
:06:48. > :06:51.killing wild animals in the county? What is the impact on the rural
:06:51. > :06:57.areas? What measures should be taken to deal with crime in those
:06:57. > :07:07.parts of the county? Your thoughts on this one if you like to get in
:07:07. > :07:15.
:07:15. > :07:24.In a moment: The children getting messages from
:07:24. > :07:26.the Middle East because their The world's biggest security firm,
:07:26. > :07:31.G4S, has won a �200 million contract to run office departments
:07:31. > :07:34.at Lincolnshire Police. 500 civilian staff could be affected in
:07:34. > :07:39.the police control centre and several other departments could be
:07:39. > :07:45.privately run when the deal is finally concluded. Chief officers
:07:45. > :07:48.say it will save millions of pounds, but secure jobs.
:07:48. > :07:53.A man from Hull has been remanded in custody after being charged with
:07:53. > :07:55.the rape of a ten-year-old girl almost 30 years ago. Magistrates
:07:55. > :08:01.heard how 49-year-old Michael Acey was arrested after detectives re-
:08:02. > :08:07.opened the case. Police say new DNA evidence has come to light. Michael
:08:07. > :08:10.Acey will appear before Hull Crown Court in the New Year.
:08:10. > :08:14.A woman has broken down in tears in the witness box, as she told
:08:14. > :08:17.Lincoln Cown Court why she'd murdered her partner. 43-year-old
:08:17. > :08:23.Julie Dixon has been giving evidence in a hearing to decide why
:08:23. > :08:29.she killed David Twigg. The 46- year-old was locked in a cupboard
:08:29. > :08:39.before his business in Burgh Le Marsh near Skegness was set on fire.
:08:39. > :08:44.
:08:44. > :08:47.and joins me now. What did Julie Dixon say? She started by answering
:08:47. > :08:50.the most important question. Julie Dixon's Barrister asked "why
:08:50. > :08:54.did you strike the match and start the fire?" She replied "I was going
:08:54. > :08:58.along with the plans we'd already made and to go along with his
:08:58. > :09:03.wishes." Asked "Whose idea was it that David Twigg should die in a
:09:03. > :09:06.fire? Julie Dixon replied: "David's" Her Barrister asked: "For
:09:06. > :09:14.about how long had David been talking about suicide?" Ms Dixon
:09:15. > :09:24.said "Probably since he heard about the bankruptcy." David Twigg
:09:25. > :09:32.
:09:32. > :09:35.declared bankrupt last year. Julie Dixon's family - see here -
:09:35. > :09:38.listened as she said that over seven years, the couple had
:09:38. > :09:41.borrowed almost �400,000 to pay off business debts and bills. She said
:09:41. > :09:44.he'd known about the debts for past four years and she had never taken
:09:44. > :09:47.money from the business for herself. She said Mr Twigg was "distraught"
:09:47. > :09:50.when he was made bankrupt, but despite that the couple had gone on
:09:50. > :09:53.to spend two thousand pounds on a holiday in America. Julie Dixon
:09:53. > :09:56.originally claimed David Twigg had been attacked by masked men, before
:09:56. > :09:58.changing her story to say they'd made a suicide pact. The hearing
:09:58. > :10:00.continues tomorrow. North Lincolnshire has seen a
:10:00. > :10:03.significant reduction in metal thefts. Humberside Police figures
:10:03. > :10:06.show that during two weeks in June there were 72 reported thefts of
:10:06. > :10:11.metal in that area. Six months on the latest figures show just 15
:10:11. > :10:14.thefts. Scrap metal dealers have been working more closely with the
:10:14. > :10:17.police and local council. This scrap metal merchants in
:10:17. > :10:24.Scunthorpe has always tried to turn away metal they suspect is stolen.
:10:24. > :10:31.But taking a stand is sometimes not easy. Some who were accepted and
:10:31. > :10:35.walk away but we have been threatened. It can be quite
:10:35. > :10:38.frightening. But Steve is among a number of dealers who've signed up
:10:38. > :10:47.to a new scheme with Humberside Police and North Lincolnshire
:10:47. > :10:52.Council. Any new customers, will start asking from ID. It has got to
:10:52. > :10:54.stop asking -- stop people selling stolen metal. Metal theft is a
:10:54. > :10:56.widespread problem. In East Yorkshire and Lincolnshire we've
:10:56. > :10:59.seen churches lose their lead and cables snatched from substations
:10:59. > :11:07.and railway lines. In North Lincolnshire, they seen a downward
:11:07. > :11:11.trend in thefts and say it's down to a number of initiatives. We have
:11:11. > :11:15.been increasing the amount of visible patrol. We have been
:11:15. > :11:19.targeting the offenders. We have been doing awareness raising and
:11:19. > :11:23.perhaps most importantly, working together with the scrapyards so
:11:23. > :11:28.that we are working together so they can help us to try to
:11:28. > :11:32.eliminate the way of disposing of this type of metal. But local
:11:32. > :11:37.initiatives, while apparently successful, can only go so far.
:11:37. > :11:43.British Transport Police now set- aside from terrorism, metal theft
:11:43. > :11:48.is now the biggest concern. A group of MPs are pushing for need
:11:48. > :11:52.legislation to bring in a national licensing scheme for dealers.
:11:52. > :11:57.Honest dealers simply want a level playing field and hope that local
:11:57. > :12:00.initiatives like this one will help bring this about.
:12:00. > :12:03.Bosses at BAE Systems in Brough are believed to be looking at ways of
:12:03. > :12:06.redeploying their workforce in the green energy sector. The aircraft
:12:06. > :12:10.manufacturing site faces being mothballed with the loss of almost
:12:10. > :12:20.900 jobs. Management at the defence giant have told local MPs they're
:12:20. > :12:20.
:12:20. > :12:24.looking at other options for staff facing redundancy. I think the fact
:12:24. > :12:28.that the Humber could become a hub for renewables is quite important
:12:28. > :12:32.in this debate and we need to look at the possibilities that that
:12:32. > :12:35.opens up. There is potential, there, as well.
:12:35. > :12:39.Passengers on a ferry into Hull arrived more than four hours late
:12:39. > :12:42.this morning. The Pride of York was unable to use the King George Dock
:12:42. > :12:46.terminal because of a broken lock gate. The vessel eventually docked
:12:46. > :12:49.at the Rotterdam quay in the Humber just before midday. P&O Ferries say
:12:49. > :12:59.tonight's sailing to Rotterdam could also be delayed by up to an
:12:59. > :13:00.
:13:00. > :13:09.Still ahead tonight: How we could soon be making every step we take a
:13:09. > :13:19.step towards saving the planet. And the return of retro music players
:13:19. > :13:20.
:13:20. > :13:29.as vinyl sees an increase in If you have a big you are proud of,
:13:29. > :13:35.send it in. -- if you have a picture. Tim Everett says this is a
:13:35. > :13:40.low light shot, and he is trying to bring some class to defer to a slot.
:13:40. > :13:50.We do not mediate, but thank you very much for that! -- we do not
:13:50. > :13:55.
:13:55. > :14:04.Someone says, where does Paul Hudson get his Beenham shirts from?
:14:04. > :14:07.-- doing home shirts from. Let's look at a headline. It is a mild
:14:07. > :14:12.one. Temperatures are in double figures, and it looks like that
:14:12. > :14:22.will last through tomorrow. Christmas Day looks very mild
:14:22. > :14:23.
:14:23. > :14:28.indeed. No chance of a white Christmas. We are in a warm sector.
:14:28. > :14:34.Tomorrow will see temperatures around 11 degrees. There has been a
:14:34. > :14:38.lot of cloud. Some subtle breaks in the cloud sheet. I think this
:14:38. > :14:44.evening and overnight will be dry it with variable amounts of cloud.
:14:44. > :14:49.There will be some clear spells. Certainly, a mad and frost-free
:14:49. > :14:59.night, with temperatures down to eight Celsius -- a mild and frost-
:14:59. > :15:01.
:15:02. > :15:11.free night. The sun will rise at 8:17am, setting at 3:42pm. A dry
:15:12. > :15:14.
:15:14. > :15:21.day tomorrow with a variable amounts of cloud. Some spells of
:15:21. > :15:31.sunshine a possible, and some quiet -- some quite nice temperatures. We
:15:31. > :15:33.
:15:33. > :15:42.are looking at 10 in Hull Garbutt 11 in Lincoln, Grimsby and towards
:15:42. > :15:52.Boston -- 10 in Hull, but 11 in Lincoln. Christmas Day looks cloudy
:15:52. > :15:57.
:15:58. > :16:03.I was humiliated yesterday. Somebody said, poll has a day off,
:16:03. > :16:09.has he done to get your fake tan? Scientists at University of Hull
:16:09. > :16:18.think they may have found new ways to harness human energy. It would
:16:18. > :16:25.mean every step we take is helping to save the planet. Caroline Bilton
:16:25. > :16:30.has more. It is a typical rush-hour at York railway station, where
:16:30. > :16:33.thousands of commuters are hurrying to get to their next destination.
:16:33. > :16:40.Approximately 11 million people pass through this station every
:16:40. > :16:44.single year. With every step they take, they generate up to six Watts.
:16:44. > :16:49.At the moment, that his energy that is wasted, but what if that could
:16:49. > :16:57.be collected in some way and used to power things, like display
:16:58. > :17:01.screens, audio systems and even the light? It is something Jim Gilbert
:17:01. > :17:07.from University of Hull has spent years working on. How on earth
:17:07. > :17:11.could we use humans in a train station to generate energy? There
:17:11. > :17:15.are lots of people around, all moving, and if we can take a bit of
:17:15. > :17:20.energy from each of those people, and put it together, we get a
:17:20. > :17:25.useful amount of energy. We do not need to take large rebate to make a
:17:25. > :17:33.useful contribution. Do you need to have a constant food for? You can
:17:33. > :17:38.store energy. -- constant foot fall. One man who shot the -- one man has
:17:38. > :17:41.are the potential of human energy was Trevor Bayliss, famous for
:17:41. > :17:48.inventing the wind-up radio. They invented issue that could charge
:17:48. > :17:56.your mobile as you walk. -- a shoe. We developed a device that fits in
:17:56. > :18:04.the bottom of the shoe. When you walk, it stores energy. You could
:18:04. > :18:12.charge your mobile phone, and I part -- and iPod, any electrical
:18:12. > :18:18.device. At that idea was sadly ruined after September 11th.
:18:18. > :18:21.idea of harvesting energy, however, is not new. This company in Israel
:18:21. > :18:25.has developed a system to use vibrations from passing cars and
:18:25. > :18:31.trains to generate power. Back at Hull University, Jim is working on
:18:31. > :18:35.a staircase that can generate energy with every step you take.
:18:35. > :18:39.That movement converts to electrical energy. We have a lot of
:18:39. > :18:44.work to do to find out how much force people can apply to it, make
:18:44. > :18:48.it comfortable and reduce the nice, and make it so people do not notice
:18:48. > :18:52.their giving energy into their system. -- reduce the noise. It is
:18:52. > :18:56.one of the number of ideas that the team are working on. The staircase
:18:56. > :19:05.is far from Venice, but there is a lot of Minister -- there is a lot
:19:05. > :19:07.of interest in it. Harvesting energy from our movements and
:19:07. > :19:12.vibrations and is to be cost- effective, but the research being
:19:12. > :19:22.carried out at Hull University maybe a small step towards saving
:19:22. > :19:24.
:19:25. > :19:28.the planet. Fascinating. At now, for five-year-
:19:28. > :19:33.old Phoebe Birney, hearing a recorded message from her mother
:19:33. > :19:37.will be an early Christmas present. Claire Birney is serving with the
:19:37. > :19:43.RAF in the Middle East, and is one of many parents who have sent a
:19:43. > :19:53.special CD home for Christmas. Tarah Welsh reports from RAF
:19:53. > :19:54.
:19:54. > :20:01.Waddington. She has got brown hair, blue eyes, she sometimes wears
:20:01. > :20:08.earrings. Claire Birney has been working away from October. She will
:20:08. > :20:18.not be home for Christmas, but has sent her daughter his special gift.
:20:18. > :20:19.
:20:19. > :20:25.She is rarely far away. That is why she sent me a little story. I hope
:20:25. > :20:33.everything is OK. Through this initiative, Claire professionally
:20:33. > :20:39.recorded a story for her daughter. 50 other parents at RAF Waddington
:20:39. > :20:45.have done the same. It is quite difficult sometimes. It is very
:20:45. > :20:52.emotional. You can stab the recorder with a personal message to
:20:52. > :20:56.your child or children. -- you can start the recording. They realise
:20:56. > :21:02.they will not be with their children. Then they record the
:21:02. > :21:07.story. Phoebe's dad is making sure it will be a good Christmas. He
:21:07. > :21:12.said the surprise recording makes it extra special. The CD comes in
:21:12. > :21:17.the post, and it is to her. I managed to pick it up and give it
:21:17. > :21:23.to hair. It was really nice. I could listen to her voice. Cloud
:21:23. > :21:31.will not be home for two months, Sophie B has her own message to
:21:31. > :21:35.send. -- Sophie B has her own message to send. Merry Christmas!
:21:35. > :21:37.These well on the verge of extinction. Now, thanks to the
:21:37. > :21:44.dedication of wildlife experts and Lincolnshire, the dormouse is
:21:44. > :21:46.enjoying a revival. When Crompton has been to Chambers Woods Farm
:21:46. > :21:50.near Horncastle. It is nearly a decade since his dormice were
:21:50. > :21:56.reintroduced into the wild hero Chambers Farm Wood, and they have
:21:56. > :22:01.been going from strength to strength. This box has been used,
:22:01. > :22:05.and we have found some mice here. Dormouse are rarely seen as they
:22:05. > :22:08.are nocturnal and hibernate for over half the year. Ecologist
:22:08. > :22:12.Adrienne Bennett says they are still able to unlock how many are
:22:12. > :22:18.living here. We have a series of boxes and a series of troops. We
:22:18. > :22:25.check them every month through the year. -- a series of troops. Using
:22:25. > :22:32.these checks, we report any mice we find. We can compare that from year
:22:32. > :22:36.on year. The in 2002, 32 dormouse were released here. Since then, the
:22:36. > :22:42.population has been growing. Ecologists here say it has been a
:22:42. > :22:45.bumper year. The mice were released in this area here. Anne Goodhall is
:22:45. > :22:50.a volunteer who has been caring father mice since they were
:22:50. > :22:57.released. We went round in August and found 20 mice. That was a
:22:57. > :23:02.record. Each month, we seem to double it. The project has been so
:23:02. > :23:10.successful that the team are hoping to introduce a similar population
:23:10. > :23:14.near by. Digital download may be on the
:23:14. > :23:20.increase as music CD sales fall, but it seems that vinyl has not had
:23:20. > :23:25.its day just yet. Sales have increased by 40 % so far this year.
:23:25. > :23:35.One record shop in Hull says that the revival is being driven by
:23:35. > :23:40.
:23:40. > :23:45.young people. Sarah Corker has been Christmas 1987. That was the last
:23:45. > :23:50.time vinyl and sold CDs, and the Pet Shop Boys were number one with
:23:51. > :23:57.this classic. Now, it looks like a record is making a comeback. Always
:23:57. > :24:04.On My mind... This music shop owner says people of all ages aback by in
:24:04. > :24:12.vinyl. I average customer age has fallen to about 25 -- my average
:24:12. > :24:17.customer age. My oldest customer is 86. 17-year-old Helena became
:24:17. > :24:21.hooked after listening to her father's collection. I come up here
:24:21. > :24:28.every few weeks, and bright end up with a stack of vinyl. It is
:24:28. > :24:33.addictive. It is the satisfaction of having something in your hands
:24:33. > :24:41.that you do not get with Internet downloads. For many, nothing quite
:24:41. > :24:47.compares to the first time you drop that needle. People are discovering
:24:47. > :24:54.older music in their family's collection. There may be becoming
:24:54. > :25:01.fond of there snap, crackle and pop that final gives. Having listened
:25:01. > :25:06.to this. -- that vinyl gives. have got a few friends who have
:25:06. > :25:16.started buying it. I think people appreciate music more than what
:25:16. > :25:26.they used to. I think it is seen as retro. Lady GaGa is even getting in
:25:26. > :25:31.on the action. There we are. The revival of vinyl.
:25:31. > :25:37.Some news just in. Is this the oldest Christmas tree of any Look
:25:37. > :25:43.North viewer? Derek Upfield says history is as old as he is, 77. It
:25:43. > :25:52.survived the Blitz, and the flood of 2007, and still even holds some
:25:52. > :25:58.of the original decorations bought by his parents in the 1930s. It has
:25:58. > :26:06.sentimental value. I cannot throw it away after all these years.
:26:06. > :26:10.There we are. That is Derek and history, 77 years old. -- Derek and
:26:11. > :26:17.his a tree. If you have a story you think we should know about, get in
:26:17. > :26:22.touch. A recap of the headlines. John Terry is to be charged with
:26:22. > :26:32.racist abuse. He will appear in court by February. Police step up
:26:32. > :26:36.
:26:36. > :26:41.the battle against gangs killing Response coming in on the subject
:26:42. > :26:46.of the killing of wild animals after our discussion. Somebody says,
:26:46. > :26:50.armed police should apprehend these people, take their firearms and
:26:50. > :26:53.animals away from them and send them to prison for a long time.
:26:53. > :26:57.Dave said, perhaps that the punishment was more severe, it
:26:58. > :27:03.might make a difference. All equipment should be put in the
:27:03. > :27:10.crusher. Schon said, these criminals shooting animals -- Sean
:27:10. > :27:15.said, at the police able to defend themselves? Mac says it is soul-
:27:15. > :27:23.destroying to look around your crops to discover her courses had
:27:24. > :27:28.been driving on them all night. Someone else says the shooting