28/02/2012 Look North (East Yorkshire and Lincolnshire)

Good evening. The headlines tonight: They man demanding the law

is changed after being told to prove his dead son was the father

of his grandchild. To be denied his birthright seems

terribly cruel. An East Yorkshire loan shark

escapes jail after preying on dozens of local people.

The county roads which are cracking up as drought conditions continue.

How the beached whales of our past have shaped the way we treat them

today. It has been one of the mildest

February days on record along the East Yorkshire coast. The latest

coming up shortly. A Lincolnshire father has described

the law as terrible and demanded changes following a fatal car crash.

Matthew Anderson died in a crash near Lincoln three days before his

fiancee gave birth to their baby. Instead of having time to grieve

his death, the family were forced to prove that he was the baby's

father using DNA evidence. It is because the couple were not married.

It took more than six months and thousands of pounds just to get

Matthew's name registered on the birth certificate. His family are

calling for a change in the north. -- the law.

Cherished memories of a loving son and father. John Anderson was in

the car behind his son and witness the moment he was killed in an

accident. I'd tried to check his paws. I knew he was dead. A vehicle

crashed into the side of the car, killing Matthew instantly. His

heavily pregnant fiancee survived the crash, and gave birth three

days later to their son. When they tried to register the birth, they

were told that because the couple was not married, they needed DNA

evidence to prove Massey was the father. They decided to call him

Matthew after him, and then John after me, and to deny his son his

birthright seems terribly cruel. We had to get a DNA tests done on the

baby and use some of Matthew's remains. We had to go to court and

get a judge to rule, yes, he is the father. Home Office rules say if

the father has died before the birth and the couple is not married,

the mother must apply to a court for his name to be on the birth

certificate. If parents are married, I'd do one can register the birth.

There is a need for the government to look at the legal situation many

unmarried couples have to face. It does create unfairness and needs to

be reviewed because of the number of people who choose not to get

married these days. A we need safeguards around the edges, so you

cannot just declare her the father is, but as the law currently stands,

this is an added burden for families who have been through a

terrible trauma. The family are calling for the law to be changed,

and hope they can stop others from going through the pain they have

endured. Justine Devenney is from a group

which campaigns to raise awareness about your legal rights if you're

not married. She told me that this kind of case is not that unusual.

It is fairly common. We have been going for 40 years, and one thing

we campaigned for his more information for people who were not

married. There are lot of mess that exist around common law marriage.

People wrongly believe they have the same rights whether they are

married or cohabiting. Is it fair for a couple who might have been

together for many years, that they are not treated the same way as a

married couple, like in this particular story? I am sure when

you were going through a tragedy, it feels very unfair. What we have

in this country is a huge problem with getting people to access

information at the right time. We would like people to be better

armed with knowledge when they go into their relationship. When they

decide to move in together, or decide to get married or not get

married, that they go into that with the knowledge about the

differences in law. Of course, that is not terribly romantic. A big

cultural shift is needed to get people to get the right information.

In this day and age, does something need to change legally? I do not

know if anything needs to change legally, but we have to get

complicated legal information to people in a simpler way, so they

can make informed choices. Very good to talk to you.

I would like your thoughts on this one. Have you or your partner

suffered legally simply because you Coming up: Why has it taken so

long? Work starts to replace BT cable to three weeks after a fault

was reported. The mother of a baby who was

seriously injured after being attacked by her partner has

described him as a monster whose crimes will stay with them for the

rest of their lives. The woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons,

was speaking after a report into the case of Adam Hewitt from

Bridlington. He was jailed for five years after fracturing her baby's

skull, and leaving her second baby with permanent brain damage. A

serious case review says East Riding Social Services and the

police failed to co-ordinate what they knew about him. This report

begins with the words of one of the mothers. We have changed her voice

to protect her identity. Words distress as Mazda has inflicted

upon our family. He not only assaulted my chart, but then went

on to point fingers at close family members and friends. My son is not

aware of the injuries he sustained, or why he lives apart from his

mummy and siblings. This woman's baby, who has been referred to as

Chardy to protect his identity, was left with a fractured skull in 2007

after being assaulted by her boyfriend, Adam Hewitt. After 10

days, police closed the case. In 2000 Nurmi, -- in 2008, additional

information emerged but Humberside Police failed to properly assess it.

In 2009, Adam Hewitt squeezed and shook another baby. It was left

with permanent brain damage. Several members of police staff

faced disciplinary action and two social workers lost their jobs. The

authorities are sincerely apologised for their failings. New

social workers have been appointed and police have tightened up their

record-keeping. But we were told there is no guarantee it will not

happen again. When you get people like Adam Hewitt, dangers people

who were determined to injure children, it makes it very

difficult for social services and the police to prevent these things

from happening, and even to detect them. They ran a guarantees these

things will not happen, but we have learnt lessons -- there are no

guarantees. The mother of Hewitt's first victim said she approached

the authorities with fears about his violence. I can't explain what

I feel about it. I was treated disgustingly. If they had listened

to me, it would never have happened. We have had more social workers

commander caseloads in the East Riding out very manageable. We have

quite low caseloads. Adam Hewitt is serving a five-year prison sentence.

The family of one of his victims say their pain will remain with

them forever. Joining me is Ray Gray from the

union Unison, which represents social workers. Good evening. What

more can social workers do to protect children in this area?

think one of the key things was picked up in that report. At the

time, social workers were under a lot of pressure. They now have

seven new social workers. One of the key things is that we learn

from it and do not make the same mistakes again. It could happen

again? The police constable was right. Behind closed doors, you

never know what goes on. Unless somebody tell someone and they act

on it, things like this will continue to happen. Is it your

experience that they are not overstretched? I think social

workers still have a difficult job to do. There will never be enough

of them. Their workload will increase. The agency is not working

together has been bled. Is that the experience of social workers, who

work as part of 18? -- who work as part of 18. Hindsight is a

wonderful thing. They could have been better liaison between the

agencies. I think a lesson has been learned. What do cases like this do

for morale or more on social workers? The job is bank Close, in

a way. People do not become social workers because of the money. They

do it because they believe they can make a difference. Things like this

does affect morale and it affects recruitment. People see the impact

on social workers. Thank you very much for coming in tonight.

Unregulated exploitation. The words used in court today to describe the

activities of an East Yorkshire loan shark. 37-year-old Lea Bates

from Cottingham was sentenced to a two-year community order for

illegally lending money. His unlicensed loan company is believed

to have preyed on dozens of local people. The full extent of Lea

Bates's money-lending may never be known. As he was unlicensed, very

few records were kept. Hull Crown Court head how his victims were

never given written agreements as they were drawn into murky deals.

We are angry. We did not realise how much money we owed him. It is

so hard, to be dragged into something like people like that,

you do not realise because they come across as a friendly.

court was told that Lea Bates used to work for a licensed lender, and

when he left that company, he purged former clients. In

sentencing him to a two-year community order, the judge

condemned him for what he described as unregulated exploitation. People

wouldn't understand what they had to pay back. That is what

legitimate firms are there for. You have paperwork, you know how much

you have to pay and can make informed choices. With illegal

lenders, they abuse the system. number of illegal lenders has

doubled nationally in the last three years. The court heard how

Lea Bates was motivated by nothing Hundreds of residents in Scunthorpe

still cannot use their telephone or internet three weeks after a fault

was reported. British Telecom have only just begun to lay new cables

on the A18. Our reporter Leanne Brown is there now. Leanne, why is

it taking so long to get this fixed? You can just about make out

of the Vance behind the. Engineers working to fix the problem. About

250 people are without services. Water damage to a cable caused loss

of service in the area. The cable was damaged beyond repair and when

BT went to run a new cable, they were unable to because the duct had

collapsed. Now, our cameras were here earlier

when 90 metres of new duct was built to house the cable. Traffic

management was needed. It is a busy route, so it has caused some

disruption. You can see for yourself, this is a busy roundabout.

BT has released a statement saying that a new cable is being run

through the dock today and they will begin at restoring services in

They expect all customers to be back up and running by the weekend.

Thank you. Still ahead tonight: Cracking up -

how the ongoing drought is causing millions of pounds damge to our

roads. And how a beached whale on our

coastline helped inspire one of our most famous novels.

Tonight's photograph. Cleethorpes Pier taken by Patrick

Cheeseman. It has been a beautiful day.

It has. But I have had a tweed from you. Anybody who knows are female

going to propose tomorrow, please get in touch with me!

Top temperatures this afternoon in Bridlington. That is where the

excitement has been. Just short of excitement has been. Just short of

a record set in 1960. But just well in Lincoln. Tomorrow, variable with

some large amounts of cloud as well. High pressure is still in charge.

Lincolnshire is desperately in need of some rain, but there is nothing

in the forecast until later in the weekend. You can see that clear

patch there. Over the next few hours, we will keep these gaps in

the cloud. But the cloud will push him from the south-west, that means

it will be a very mild night for the time of year. Temperatures

around eight or nine Celsius. The sun will rise in the morning at

around about 6:51am. A milder -- a milder day tomorrow. Most places

should have some sunshine. Temperatures of 13 or 14 Celsius.

Similar on Thursday. Friday looks over cast with the risk of some

drizzle. Possibly some rain over the weekend.

On Twitter, they are saying that they knew why you would be a

gloating. I did not get lucky!

More than 150 roads in Lincolnshire have been damaged by the current

drought conditions and now the county council is asking the

Government for extra cash to repair them. It says it is unclear what it

would cost to fix all of the damage, but the bill could amount to

millions of pounds. Jake Zuckerman They've been appearing in roads

across Lincolnshire. Huge long cracks, caused by the recent

drought. This crack is so big you can fit your hand inside it.

Ligature county council says there are so -- a Lincolnshire County

Councils says there were 150 sites across the country are. They are

asking for more money to repair the damage. This will have to be

resurfaced. How much do you need for that? How long it is a piece of

string? We do not have sufficient funds to put this matter right on

our own. But the Government may take some convincing. It says

Lincolnshire has already been allocated �100 million for road

repairs between 2011 and 2015. In a statement Transport Minister Norman

Monica Lees runs a cat shelter in Moulton Chapel.

Just a few hundred yards away from her home, the road is breaking up

and becoming dangerous. Like many living in the area she's worried.

It is a bit like a roller coaster. If you go too fast, the front

bumper of your car will hit it. You can damage your motor.

The county did experience similar drought damage in 2004 and then it

received just over �5 million. But this time, the problem is worse,

and money is far harder to come by. Jake Zuckerman, BBC Look North,

Moulton Chapel. A new service for people who care

for dementia sufferers has been launched in Hull today. The

Dementia Academy will be a single point of access for family members,

carers and professionals in the city. It is hoped it will reduce

admissions to residential care and A&E through better carer support

and training. It is really about raising

standards, improving training to help the lives of sufferers of

dementia are, but also of their carers and families.

On last night's programme, we talked about calls for better care

for people suffering from the early onset of dementia. Steve Borjak's

wife Michelle was diagnosed with a form of Alzeihmer's at just 28

years old. He struggled to find a suitable care home for her as most

of them would not take someone so young. He is calling for more

services for people like her who get the disease earlier in life.

Thanks for getting in touch on this one, many seem to have had a

Thank you very much for all of those.

Hull City's manager Nick Barmby has been giving his support to the

BBC's Sport Relief today. He's been at the KC Stadium seeing how money

raised is helping to end the discrimination surrounding mental

health. Our sports reporter Simon It was straight from our Hull City

training session to this for Nick Barmby. He was lending support to a

project backed by the club's community department called Imagine

your goals. It is funded from cash you raised for Sport Relief and is

aimed at getting those with mental health issues back into the

committee. People do not realise what great work is done in the

community. In the background. We are not privy to that sort of thing.

There are some great people working behind the scenes. Every week,

these young men and women turn up on these artificial pictures for a

game of football. We used the money from sports relief -- Sport Relief

for people to come down and access the pictures for free. You can get

involved in this year's event. Choose your Ram, and walk or run

the 26 miles. More details on the website. Mick has been a supporter

of the charity for a long time, and even coach a BBC team are several

years ago. But clearly, he had better success today.

There is a strong maritime tradition is our part of the world.

And part of that tradition used to be whaling. In a series of films

this week, we're looking back at that industry. Tonight Jo Makel

reports on how we treated stranded whales and the East Yorkshire

beaching that helped inspire the novel, Moby Dick.

The whales that washed up on our coast caused surprise and confusion.

And while we still don't really know what really brought these

creatures to our shores, the over- riding feeling is that this was a

tragedy. But 200 years ago, stranded whales were viewed very

differently. They brought excitement and the promise of money.

In 1825, a sperm whale stranded on Tunstall beach. Local woman Sarah

Stickney wrote in her journal. "You will doubtless have heard of the

monster washed up on this shore. The bustle it occasioned in the

neighbourhood was marvellous. There were crowds flocking to see

it. People started hacking into the blubber straight away. There were

scientific people dissecting it. He smell, after a day or two

particularly, was horrific. You can imagine it was both gory and a

carnival atmosphere. It had been a profitable exercise in the past,

especially with a sperm whale. The oil would be used to make candles,

to burn in oil lamps and then, of course, there is the blubber.

this whale was also to have a scientific significance. It was

dissected on the beach. And then the Constable family, who owned the

rights to anything that washed up on the Holderness coast, kept the

whale's remains. It was the first scientific study of a sperm whale

ever recorded. We still have a copy of the publication with detailed

drawings. The skeleton also was studied by other scientists. Of

course, all this was source material for Herman Melville when

he was in England carrying out research for his book Moby Dick.

But our ancestors were not content with just making use of the whales

like this one that washed up naturally on our coastline. In our

area, we were active hunters. At its peak Hull was at the centre

of the whaling industry. Tomorrow we'll see how it made the city an

early energy port and turned its captains into heroes.

Some great pictures there. Join us again tomorrow night, round about

the same time. If you have a story you think we should know about, get

in touch. Let's get a recap of the national and regional headlines. A

wounded British photographer trapped in Syria for days has been

smuggled out of the country. Paul Conroy was carried on a stretcher

by Syrian activists. A Lincolnshire father is calling for a change in

the law after being told to prove his dead son was the father of his

grandchild. Dry with variable, often large,

amounts of cloud, but with sunny breaks again developing in places.

Maximum temperature 14 Celsius. Light southwest wind.

Response coming in on a story about the Lincolnshire family calling for

a change in the law. Far distressing for the people in this

case, the law has to stop unscrupulous false paternity claims.

Why should the person prove her partner is the father? When you