:00:06. > :00:09.Good evening and welcome to BBC Look North. The headlines tonight...
:00:09. > :00:16.She told "a pack of lies" - a judge's verdict of murderer Julie
:00:16. > :00:21.Dixon. "Someone came up and attacked us
:00:21. > :00:25.and set fire to the place." Does it matter who delivers your
:00:25. > :00:27.local public services? Calls for a shake-up of councils in
:00:28. > :00:32.Lincolnshire. A seasonal warning about Christmas
:00:32. > :00:35.light safety, as fire ruins one woman's festive plans.
:00:36. > :00:45.And the end of a year-long challenge - the whiskery story of
:00:45. > :00:55.the men growing their beards for charity. Under not forget to join
:00:55. > :00:56.
:00:56. > :00:59.me for your Christmas weekend "A pack of lies" - that was the
:01:00. > :01:03.ruling of a judge on the stories told by Julie Dixon, as she tried
:01:03. > :01:07.to get away with the murder of her long-term partner.
:01:07. > :01:17.It comes at the end of a hearing at Lincoln Crown Court to decide why
:01:17. > :01:19.
:01:19. > :01:23.she had killed 46-year-old David Twigg. The judge decided that when
:01:23. > :01:33.she locked him and his workshop and set it on fire, it was a planned
:01:33. > :01:39.
:01:39. > :01:46.killing. What did the judge say? She showed no emotion as the judge
:01:46. > :01:53.said there was a pre- meditated murder. He said that he her account
:01:53. > :02:03.of how he came to die a was untrue, in fact, I am sure it is a pack of
:02:03. > :02:06.
:02:06. > :02:09.lies. These lie started the moment she called 999.
:02:09. > :02:12."Someone came up and attacked us and set fire to the place."
:02:12. > :02:15.A 999 call from Julie Dixon, apparently the victim of a
:02:15. > :02:19.terrifying attack. "They were dressed in black with a
:02:19. > :02:24.hoody on and a mask or something." Despite combing the scene, police
:02:24. > :02:27.found no evidence of masked men. It was an elaborate story Julie Dixon
:02:27. > :02:37.told police and David Twigg's family to hide the fact she had
:02:37. > :02:38.
:02:38. > :02:42.murdered him. The police and emergency services were misled
:02:42. > :02:48.right from the period of the original emergency call and even to
:02:48. > :02:55.this point now, she has not accepted the truth and has shown no
:02:55. > :02:59.remorse and his family were really close to her. They confided in her
:02:59. > :03:02.and the betrayal of their trust that the field is terrible really.
:03:02. > :03:10.David Twigg's grieving family were lied to for months.
:03:10. > :03:15.Today, the police gave a statement from his parents outside court.
:03:15. > :03:18.This has been a very difficult and emotional nine months for us.
:03:19. > :03:22.We've lost our only son David at the hands of someone who we have
:03:22. > :03:28.loved and treated as a daughter. The loss of David is more than we
:03:28. > :03:31.can bear and we have a massive hole in our world."
:03:31. > :03:34.It was Sunday, March 13 when Julie Dixon locked David Twigg inside
:03:34. > :03:36.this tiny store cupboard at their joinery business in Burgh-Le-Marsh.
:03:36. > :03:40.She doused the premises in petrol and set them alight.
:03:40. > :03:43.Neighbours were surprised Julie Dixon did not come to them for help.
:03:43. > :03:52.And once her lies were exposed, friends who had mourned alongside
:03:52. > :03:59.her felt betrayed. This funeral was massively well attended, because he
:03:59. > :04:09.was a very popular character. quite sickening really, heart
:04:09. > :04:15.
:04:15. > :04:24.insincerity. The father was distraught at the service. The
:04:24. > :04:29.words that he read it was said in some be the for the women who ate
:04:29. > :04:32.now turns out had murdered him. And people were so shocked at those
:04:32. > :04:35.lies because Julie Dixon and David Twigg had seemed a happy couple.
:04:35. > :04:38.She even claimed they were planning to marry and Michael Capes says
:04:38. > :04:41.there was nothing out of the ordinary when they were working for
:04:41. > :04:44.him just before the murder. But in June, police arrested Julie
:04:44. > :04:47.Dixon. Now, she admitted lying and began
:04:47. > :04:52.claiming she had actually made a suicide pact with Mr Twigg because
:04:52. > :04:55.of their financial troubles. David Twigg had been declared
:04:55. > :04:59.bankrupt, something Julie Dixon tried to hide from him.
:04:59. > :05:04.And that was not the only secret. Mr Twigg's family say she had
:05:04. > :05:07.hidden the fact that bills had not been paid. They say money was taken
:05:07. > :05:15.from his business account and she had also remortgaged their home
:05:15. > :05:19.here without telling him. Police say because Julie Dixon has
:05:19. > :05:28.told so many lies, they feel they will never know the real why she
:05:28. > :05:31.killed. We really do not know. We do not nor have something has
:05:32. > :05:38.happened a weekend which led to are carrying out this cold-blooded
:05:38. > :05:43.killing. She has never expected excepted full responsibility for
:05:43. > :05:46.the action she carried out. police say because Julie Dixon's
:05:46. > :05:48.told so many lies, they feel they'll never know the real why she
:05:48. > :05:51.killed. She faces a life sentence, but now
:05:51. > :05:54.the judge has ruled it was pre- meditated, he can decide the
:05:54. > :06:04.minimum time she will serve in prison when the case resumes on
:06:04. > :06:08.
:06:09. > :06:18.January 3. Thank you very much. In a moment, the damage caused by
:06:19. > :06:19.
:06:19. > :06:24.Christmas lights. It acted like a blowtorch. It tall erect that the
:06:24. > :06:26.whole of the inside of the house. Two teachers have resigned after
:06:26. > :06:29.being involved in an internet discussion where people from East
:06:29. > :06:32.Hull were called "thick" and "inbred".
:06:32. > :06:37.Parents at Hull's Westcott Primary, have been told that headteacher
:06:37. > :06:47.Debbie Johnson and Nyanza Roberts have both left. They were suspended
:06:47. > :06:49.
:06:49. > :06:54.following the comments on Facebook. The school now needs to move on. It
:06:54. > :07:02.came out of special measures and October of this year. It needs to
:07:02. > :07:07.move on any positive way now. Parents have been delighted that
:07:07. > :07:11.the teachers have decided to call. Associated British Ports says it
:07:11. > :07:13.hopes to have a broken lock gate at Hull's King George Dock fixed by
:07:13. > :07:15.next Thursday. P&O says it has cancelled two ferry
:07:15. > :07:19.crossings over the Christmas weekend because of the problem.
:07:19. > :07:23.Tonight's Zeebrugge sailing and the return journey are cancelled.
:07:23. > :07:26.It has ignited a debate about who you pay your council tax to and who
:07:26. > :07:30.empties your bin. The leader of Lincolnshire County
:07:30. > :07:33.Council has warned a big shake-up is coming.
:07:33. > :07:43.Martin Hill says the seven district councils in the county could be
:07:43. > :07:47.
:07:47. > :07:52.scrapped and a new single authority should then take charge. From a
:07:52. > :07:57.team begins to running the local swimming baths, more than 700,000
:07:57. > :08:01.people are served by Lincolnshire seven district councils. But we do
:08:01. > :08:11.be more cost-effective to of one single authority looking after the
:08:11. > :08:20.whole of the county? The two-tier system of county and district is
:08:20. > :08:24.probably in the minority now. Many other places now have one council
:08:24. > :08:34.and it seems to work better. I have not seen any great problems with
:08:34. > :08:40.that. So, who will people they pay their council tax to for services?
:08:40. > :08:47.I have been asking local people. think they should be left to the
:08:47. > :08:53.people in the places they will have to decide. A but the leader of the
:08:53. > :09:01.city of Lincoln council is not convinced either. Lincoln has a
:09:01. > :09:10.very proud history of governments, going back 2000 years to the Romans.
:09:10. > :09:17.Understandably, they take great civic parade in the people having a
:09:17. > :09:23.council that they feel is accountable to them and them alone.
:09:23. > :09:26.The seven councils could now emerge into a single unitary authority,
:09:27. > :09:29.but the authorities say there is coming no plans to change the way
:09:29. > :09:32.Lincolnshire his government. Martin Hill, the leader of
:09:32. > :09:40.Lincolnshire County Council, is here now. Martin, who should things
:09:40. > :09:46.not stay as they are now? I am not calling for immediate change. As
:09:46. > :09:50.has just as been said, the government has said there will not
:09:50. > :09:55.be local government restructure in this Parliament or maybe not even
:09:55. > :10:05.the next. It simply needs us to look at ways we could become more
:10:05. > :10:05.
:10:05. > :10:08.efficient. Lincoln has had a city council
:10:08. > :10:15.since Roman times. Are there not historical reasons
:10:15. > :10:21.for keeping our present local authorities? Yes, I ate not that
:10:21. > :10:26.people care who is looking after their services. But in this present
:10:26. > :10:33.day and age, we have to look at the best way to present services to the
:10:33. > :10:38.public. What they have said is that in the future we have to look at it.
:10:38. > :10:46.Because of financial pressures on us, we are trying to work closer
:10:47. > :10:53.together with other county councils. We are saying later, a year's time,
:10:53. > :10:58.we all have to look at different options in the future. But surely
:10:58. > :11:08.the whole party is all about making things local? Does this not go
:11:08. > :11:12.
:11:12. > :11:22.against this? No, in any sort of the area, we bid still focus on
:11:22. > :11:22.
:11:22. > :11:31.individual areas which would have the local and packed. The person
:11:31. > :11:38.who is elected by the council will stand up for their area and make
:11:38. > :11:45.sure that the get the services they deserve. What do you think people
:11:45. > :11:49.at home in the county will be thinking about this? I do not know.
:11:49. > :11:53.I need to reassure people that nothing is happening in the
:11:53. > :11:58.immediate future, but we need to keep looking at this in years to
:11:58. > :12:00.come, so that we are providing the best services possible.
:12:00. > :12:03.I would like to hear your views on this.
:12:03. > :12:06.Is it time to scrap the seven district councils in Lincolnshire
:12:06. > :12:10.and allow the county council to provide all services? Or would you
:12:10. > :12:20.prefer to keep the local district councils as they are now. Here are
:12:20. > :12:25.
:12:25. > :12:28.Firefighters are making an urgent plea for everyone to check the
:12:28. > :12:32.safety of their Christmas lights after a house was almost destroyed
:12:32. > :12:42.by fire. It started when the lights came
:12:42. > :12:42.
:12:42. > :12:48.into contact with an electric heater. Sarah Corker reports.
:12:48. > :12:56.Salvaging what is left from the charred remains of this home. When
:12:56. > :13:01.Paul arrived at his sister-in-law's house.the fire was spreading fast.
:13:01. > :13:06.With the back door open, it acted like a blowtorch. It has wrecked
:13:06. > :13:11.the whole of the inside of the House. Everything in their had just
:13:11. > :13:18.been refurbished over the last couple of years. It is all gone.
:13:18. > :13:23.Within half an hour, it had all gone. The ambulance, police cars
:13:23. > :13:26.all came. We wear all petrified. The fire started yesterday
:13:26. > :13:29.afternoon in the front bedroom and spread throughout the house.
:13:29. > :13:37.Luckily, the 60-year-old woman who lives here escaped through the
:13:37. > :13:45.front door, unharmed and raised the alarm. It is thought it began when
:13:45. > :13:47.Christmas lights fell onto an electric fire. Please be aware that
:13:47. > :13:53.where you put your Christmas decorations is very important,
:13:53. > :13:56.because of the fall, you have to make sure they are not going to
:13:56. > :14:00.fall on to the naked flame. As loss adjusters arrive to access
:14:00. > :14:03.the scale of the damage inside, one small comfort for the owner maybe
:14:03. > :14:13.that one of the few things that escaped undamaged were this year's
:14:13. > :14:15.
:14:16. > :14:21.Still ahead, how the area's food producers are helping the nation to
:14:21. > :14:28.serve up Christmas dinner. It is nearly time for a close shave
:14:28. > :14:38.for these crimes be men who have reached the end of a year-long
:14:38. > :14:47.
:14:47. > :14:52.beard growing challenge. -- Grimsby Good evening, young man. How are
:14:52. > :14:58.you? Very well.
:14:58. > :15:04.John Kelly has stuck his neck out and given a forecast for the whole
:15:04. > :15:07.of 2012 in one national newspaper. Karen says, show us what you are
:15:07. > :15:11.made off. He probably has a very good
:15:11. > :15:16.solicitor. Any plans on polling a cracker this
:15:16. > :15:21.Christmas? Do you want to give before cost?
:15:21. > :15:28.The forecast is not bad, it looks like tomorrow will be brighter and
:15:29. > :15:33.mostly dry as well. But there will be a chilly wind. We are looking to
:15:33. > :15:37.the West because Christmas Day will be one of the mildest for many a
:15:37. > :15:42.year. It was 10 Celsius this morning but temperatures in the
:15:42. > :15:47.North have dropped back down and we still have rain and drizzle. It has
:15:47. > :15:52.been a miserable day across our region. But the rain will get a
:15:52. > :15:57.move on in the next few hours and we will see a clear sky is. With
:15:57. > :16:02.all of this moisture we have to watch out for the potential of icy
:16:02. > :16:10.patches. Temperatures down to one Celsius in one or two spots. The
:16:10. > :16:18.sun will rise at 8:18am. It will set at 3:44pm. These are the times
:16:18. > :16:22.of high water. A much better day to come, a bright start, chilly, and
:16:22. > :16:28.the cloud will gradually increase from the West so it turns bright
:16:28. > :16:34.rather than sunny. Essentially it is dry but it will tend to cloud
:16:34. > :16:39.over. It will be windy and it will probably feel quite chilly out
:16:39. > :16:46.there, temperatures close to the average by December, around seven
:16:46. > :16:52.or eight Celsius. Seven in Grimsby. The all-important forecast for
:16:52. > :16:56.Christmas Day, it looks very mild and very windy and mostly cloudy.
:16:56. > :17:02.Apart from the odd spot of rain it should be dry. A similar forecast
:17:02. > :17:11.for Boxing Day. What a con -- contrast with this time yesterday,
:17:11. > :17:18.I mean, this time last year! I don't think you would get that
:17:19. > :17:28.kind of service from John Kelly. He is being modest, he has made a
:17:29. > :17:44.
:17:44. > :17:47.prediction bet every day of 2012. It is a busy holiday period for our
:17:47. > :17:48.football teams. Unusually this year, though, there are no games tomorrow,
:17:49. > :17:51.though, there are no games tomorrow, so the festive fixtures begin on
:17:51. > :17:54.Boxing Day. Our sports reporter Simon Clark takes a look.
:17:54. > :17:59.Christmas gives teams like Scunthorpe a chance to put some
:17:59. > :18:03.impetus into their season, something Hull City seemed to have
:18:03. > :18:07.achieved. The Tigers make the trip to
:18:07. > :18:11.Middlesbrough. Here are two former Premier League sides seeking a
:18:11. > :18:17.return to the big time. It should be a really good game, we
:18:17. > :18:20.are looking forward to it. It might be tough but it is there for us and
:18:20. > :18:25.we have to put on a good performance.
:18:25. > :18:29.With home games coming up, Scunthorpe United know that a
:18:30. > :18:33.couple of wins will help them avoid looking over their shoulder at
:18:33. > :18:39.relegation. That game against Bury will see Alan Knill pitted against
:18:39. > :18:44.his former club, something he has been looking forward to.
:18:44. > :18:50.At most of the players are the same, only three or four have been
:18:50. > :18:58.brought in command base still have the same qualities when I was there.
:18:58. > :19:05.At Lincoln City it is non-League derby Day as Grimsby city make the
:19:05. > :19:08.trip to the fallen Lincolnshire big boys.
:19:08. > :19:13.Most of the vegetables that will be eaten on Christmas Day in the UK
:19:13. > :19:18.have been grown here in East Yorkshire and Lincolnshire. And the
:19:18. > :19:20.growers say they are enjoying one of their best years. A local
:19:20. > :19:27.Yorkshire pudding maker and a cheese producer will also be
:19:27. > :19:30.helping fill our festive plates, as Crispin Rolfe has been finding out.
:19:30. > :19:33.Shopping for seasonal veg or even a cheese platter? Chances are this
:19:33. > :19:36.year it has come from either East Yorkshire or Lincolnshire. East
:19:36. > :19:41.Anglia may be Britain's breadbasket, but our area is certainly its main
:19:41. > :19:45.source of Christmas veg. This year around three-quarters of seasonal
:19:45. > :19:55.produce comes from here. Quite a contrast to 2010, when wintery
:19:55. > :19:55.
:19:55. > :20:00.weather crippled producers and saw imports grab a market share.
:20:00. > :20:08.The weather has been with us, compared to last year when we had
:20:08. > :20:11.temperatures down to minus 12. Today it has been 11 degrees.
:20:11. > :20:16.Trading is also up for this Lincolnshire cheese producer. Their
:20:16. > :20:20.supplies have been maturing for months and are selling fast.
:20:20. > :20:27.Business this year has been very good but Christmas particularly has
:20:27. > :20:32.been good for us, with sales up by over 50 %. Very exciting times for
:20:32. > :20:34.And the cows are also being kept busy by Hull's Yorkshire pud
:20:34. > :20:39.producer, currently making 20 million paddings a week, for which
:20:39. > :20:42.they get through 2 million litres of milk a year.
:20:42. > :20:46.Here at Aunt Bessie's we produce up to half a million Yorkshire
:20:46. > :20:50.puddings every year and it really takes a hike in the run-up to
:20:50. > :20:56.Christmas so at the moment we are producing up to 20 million
:20:56. > :20:59.Yorkshire puddings a week. So, despite the downturn, it seems
:20:59. > :21:02.Aunt Bessie's goods are still selling like hot cakes. But the
:21:02. > :21:05.real boost for our region has been this year's healthy vegetable crops,
:21:05. > :21:15.with farmers hoping this season will more than make up for the
:21:15. > :21:17.
:21:17. > :21:20.white wipeout they had to overcome in 2010.
:21:20. > :21:24.The star of the night is the man who stands at the side of the
:21:24. > :21:27.Yorkshire puddings. They have been growing their beards
:21:27. > :21:30.for a year and have raised thousands for charity. Now Dave
:21:30. > :21:33.Clixby and Richard Wall in Grimsby are itching to shave them off after
:21:33. > :21:43.enduring a year of teasing and funny looks. Simon Spark has been
:21:43. > :21:57.
:21:57. > :22:01.$NEWLINE they have been growing their beards for a year to raise
:22:01. > :22:07.money for Help For Heroes, and now they are just a few days away from
:22:07. > :22:13.shaving them off. The wife is doing it with a cut-
:22:13. > :22:16.throat wait -- cut-throat razor. It has been an ever lengthening
:22:16. > :22:20.year and, while Richards has gone for the goatee look, Dave's gone
:22:20. > :22:23.for the full bush and kept a photo diary of his growth. It started
:22:23. > :22:26.sensibly but got progressively out there, with his latest snap as you
:22:26. > :22:32.would expect. But family and friends are getting ready for the
:22:32. > :22:36.new look. Some days you don't notice it is
:22:36. > :22:43.there. I have grown these for the last couple of months, not to be
:22:43. > :22:47.too overshadowed by him. It will be so weird. He will look
:22:47. > :22:53.much younger than he does. If he picks me up from school I usually
:22:53. > :22:59.look at his beard. It will look so weird without it.
:22:59. > :23:03.With just a few days before they shave that such a festive time of
:23:03. > :23:09.the year, what can we do with what they have grown.
:23:09. > :23:16.We think they should dress up as Santa Claus.
:23:16. > :23:20.With a Santa and a sparrow, it was time to catch the thoughts of
:23:20. > :23:26.Grimsby. It might need to be died a bit more.
:23:26. > :23:33.Is that grey hair? It looks good, especially with the white on it.
:23:33. > :23:43.Mine is natural! From a festive bet to new year
:23:43. > :23:57.
:23:57. > :24:02.relief it will be all change on This from Alan, what a good idea
:24:02. > :24:07.for one not overall council. This should include parish councils.
:24:07. > :24:13.John says, in some towns there are three municipal authorities and I
:24:13. > :24:19.feel this is a waste of council tax. Next says you can't have a
:24:19. > :24:23.councillor from Lincoln determining decisions in Leicester. Richard
:24:23. > :24:28.says it is ridiculous that taxpayers should have to fund
:24:28. > :24:32.district councils as well as the county council. Jo says we need
:24:33. > :24:42.districts to represent the different needs of each area. If it
:24:43. > :24:45.
:24:45. > :24:48.is not broken, don't fix it. We will end tonight's Look North
:24:48. > :24:51.with the children from Victoria Dock Primary School in Hull. They
:24:51. > :25:01.were the winners of our Children In Need choir contest, and they are
:25:01. > :25:19.
:25:19. > :25:29.# In the bleak mid-winter frosty wind made moan.
:25:29. > :25:39.# Earth stood hard as iron, water like a stone. # Snow had fallen,
:25:39. > :25:47.
:25:47. > :25:55.snow on snow, snow on snow. # In the bleak mid-winter, long ago.
:25:55. > :26:05.# Our God, heav'n cannot hold Him, nor earth sustain.
:26:05. > :26:15.# Heav'n and earth shall flee away, when He comes to reign.
:26:15. > :26:15.
:26:15. > :26:25.# In the bleak mid-winter, a stable-place sufficed.
:26:25. > :26:25.
:26:25. > :27:11.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 45 seconds
:27:11. > :27:18.# The Lord God Almighty, Jesus Christ. # What can I give Him, poor
:27:18. > :27:27.as I am? # If I were a shepherd, I would