:00:11. > :00:14.Good evening. Welcome to Look North. The former Chief Executive of Hull
:00:14. > :00:17.FC has tonight been banned from rugby league for two years for his
:00:17. > :00:20.part in a drugs cover-up at the club. The UK Anti-Doping Agency
:00:20. > :00:26.found James Rule had lied about the circumstances surrounding a failed
:00:26. > :00:31.drugs test by player, Martin Gleeson. Gleeson has also been
:00:31. > :00:34.given a ban, as has conditioning coach, Ben Cooper. It's the first
:00:34. > :00:44.time ever that off-pitch staff have been banned for tampering with the
:00:44. > :00:46.
:00:46. > :00:51.drugs testing process in this way. Linsey Smith has the story. Glee
:00:51. > :00:55.son -- this was the last time Gleeson scored for Hull FC. Soon
:00:55. > :01:01.after he was disqualified from the sport. He tested positive for a
:01:01. > :01:07.banned stimulant. What makes this a landmark case not just in rugby
:01:07. > :01:13.league, but UK Sport, is that two of his staff have also been banned.
:01:13. > :01:16.Former Chief Executive James Rule and conditioning coach, Ben Cooper
:01:16. > :01:20.conspired to cover up the situation after Gleeson left the club
:01:20. > :01:25.unexpectedly. The press were told that Martin Gleeson was away from
:01:25. > :01:32.the club on extended sick leave due to stress-related illness.
:01:32. > :01:35.Obviously, that's not true. Drug tests are regularly carried out in
:01:35. > :01:42.rugby league. It's against the world anti-doping programme rules
:01:42. > :01:48.to tamper with the sample bottles or provide fraudulent information.
:01:48. > :01:52.Andy Parkinson is the Chief Executive of UK anti-doping. It has
:01:52. > :01:56.led to two people being prosecuted, two of which are not athletes and
:01:56. > :01:59.that's the first time that has happened in the UK and this is the
:01:59. > :02:03.first time we have prosecuted under this rule. We normally prosecute
:02:03. > :02:09.under a positive test. This is an affair which is bound to sadden
:02:09. > :02:15.supporters and leave a stain on this club's long history. Linsey is
:02:15. > :02:19.live with more on this. What is the governing body had to say about
:02:19. > :02:23.this? They say that such behaviour is unacceptable and it brings the
:02:23. > :02:29.sport of rugby league into disrepute. They applaud the UK
:02:29. > :02:37.anti-dopgs agency for the hours of work they -- the UK anti- doping
:02:37. > :02:40.agency for the hours they put into this. The UK Anti-Doping Agency
:02:40. > :02:45.have told us this afternoon that they will aggressively pursue
:02:45. > :02:53.anyone suspected of violating the rules, especially as all eyes will
:02:53. > :02:56.be on UK Sport with the Olympics coming up later next year. In
:02:56. > :02:59.tonights other main news - a decision is due in the next few
:02:59. > :03:02.weeks on whether legal action will be brought following an explosion
:03:02. > :03:05.in Boston in which five men died. It's thought the men had been using
:03:05. > :03:08.an industrial unit to make illegal alcohol when the blast happened.
:03:08. > :03:11.The Crown Prosecution Service is currently reviewing the case and is
:03:11. > :03:14.due to make an announcement about any charges early next month.
:03:14. > :03:19.Scientists are investigating the death of a sperm whale on the north
:03:19. > :03:23.Norfolk coast. The 55-foot creature was found dead on Christmas Eve
:03:23. > :03:26.after washing up near Hunstanton. Sperm whales rarely venture into
:03:26. > :03:33.the shallow waters off this coastline, but it's believed to
:03:33. > :03:37.have died at sea. It probably was a natural death. There's nothing to
:03:37. > :03:41.suggest that anything man-made has caused this, so it was a natural
:03:41. > :03:46.death. There's no signs of struggle on the beach or a sign it's been
:03:46. > :03:49.displaced, so it died out at sea and washed up on to the beach here.
:03:49. > :03:52.There's a warning that people in Lincolnshire could face rising
:03:52. > :03:54.prices and hosepipe bans if a water shortage continues to affect the
:03:54. > :03:57.county. Drought was officially declared in June. The Environment
:03:57. > :04:05.Agency says it could continue into next year, unless there's
:04:05. > :04:09.significant rainfall. Siobhan Robbins reports. When drought was
:04:09. > :04:17.declared in Lincolnshire in June, farmers were already feeling the
:04:17. > :04:22.effects. It's all dead at the bottom. Potatoes were parched and
:04:22. > :04:27.the land was bone dry. Six months on, despite the rain, we are still
:04:27. > :04:31.in drought. Two years ago this stream was running. Last year it
:04:31. > :04:38.was just down to a steady trickle and now it's grassed over and
:04:38. > :04:44.there's no water flowing down it at all. Our yields were down 25% on
:04:44. > :04:50.the winter wheats and 60% on the spring barley, which made it
:04:50. > :04:55.uneconomical to grow, but the root crops, and the vegetables, we have
:04:55. > :04:59.they really do suffer. Although the ground may look fairly wet, the
:04:59. > :05:04.water levels below the surface are still really low. The Environment
:05:04. > :05:08.Agency has issued the drought map of 2012 and it says unless there's
:05:08. > :05:12.a prolonged period of significant rainfall that Lincolnshire is at
:05:12. > :05:16.high risk of continuing drought into spring and summer. This is the
:05:16. > :05:26.Beck and there is no flow. This is the result of the driest 12 months
:05:26. > :05:35.since the 1920s. Unless the neck three months are really wet we all
:05:35. > :05:38.-- we could all feel the effects. Farmers may feast -- face
:05:38. > :05:43.restrictions and the public hosepipe bans. Shopping bills could
:05:43. > :05:50.also go up. There would definitely be an increase in pricing, because
:05:50. > :05:53.vegetables don't grow the same and they get loss, so there would be an
:05:53. > :05:58.effect on the green grocers. Environment Agency will continue to
:05:58. > :06:02.monitor levels over the spring, but it's clear, unless there's a lot
:06:03. > :06:05.more rain, drought could also begin draining our bank accounts. A
:06:05. > :06:08.Lincolnshire nursery thinks it might have the answer to getting
:06:08. > :06:12.rid of your Christmas tree and that's to hire one out. Rudie
:06:12. > :06:15.Bertins hires them through December. When they're returned he re-plants
:06:15. > :06:17.them ready for next year. The scheme's already been recognised
:06:18. > :06:27.for being environmentally friendly, which Rudie says is the main reason
:06:27. > :06:31.people want one. We have built this business up from nothing. Obviously
:06:31. > :06:34.we do other things than trees, but this side of it has snowbald
:06:34. > :06:38.because people like the idea of them being environmentally friendly.
:06:38. > :06:41.The trees are not thrown away. We supply schools too and they love it.
:06:41. > :06:44.This year's santa fun run in Lincoln has raised more than
:06:44. > :06:46.�24,000f for charity. Around 1,500 santas took part in the race
:06:46. > :06:55.earlier this month. It's the second-highest amount ever raised
:06:55. > :06:57.since the event started five years ago. Now time for the weather with
:06:57. > :07:02.ago. Now time for the weather with Paul. Hello. Good evening. It
:07:02. > :07:06.remains very unsettled. The next weather system is steaming, meaning
:07:06. > :07:11.it will turn wet through Friday afternoon and Friday evening. In
:07:11. > :07:15.the short term, still a number of sharp showers feeding in from the
:07:15. > :07:21.north-west. They will fizzle overnight. One or two icy patches
:07:21. > :07:24.are possible. Temperatures around 1 and a very strong wind at first. It
:07:24. > :07:30.will moderate later. Friday, icy patches and then a dry, bright
:07:30. > :07:34.start. Hazy sun, but cloud will increase and the will see rain
:07:34. > :07:40.spreading from the west. By the end of the afternoon it will be pretty
:07:40. > :07:44.wet and miserable, with top temperatures around five or six