06/02/2014 Look North (East Yorkshire and Lincolnshire)

Peter, thank you. That's all from the BBC News at

Good evening and welcome to BBC Look North. The headlines tonight: The

father of a teenager who killed his grandmother while on drugs says he's

standing by his son. This was not my son. He wouldn't

have done this. The plan to upgrade a major east

Yorkshire road. 18,000 vehicles use this road every day. It's hoped the

scheme will cut congestion and boost businesses.

Also tonight: The electronic implant which could help one woman hear

clearly for the first time in four decades.

Keeping the rats at bay. The new calls for a Westminster cat.

And other wet night on the way. We'll have a forecast shortly.

The father of the Hull teenager Lewis Dale who murdered his

grandmother, while high on the banned drug M`Cat, says his son was

not to blame. David Dale blames the drugs for affecting his son's mind

and has told Look North about his struggle to get Lewis away from a

persistent drug dealer. After taking a large quantity of M`Cat, the

17`year`old stabbed both his grandparents as they slept in their

east Hull home last April. A jury found him guilty of murder and

attempted murder earlier this week. Vicky Johnson reports.

Every day, David Dale writes to his son. It's bizarre, it does not add

up. I love my son, I love my parents, and that is how I am, but

this was not Lewis Dale, it was not my son.

Last April, Lewis was staying with his grandparents in East Hull while

on bail for an alleged assault when he attacked them during the night

with kitchen knives. He'd been taking M`Cat in the hours before.

There is no sense in it. Nothing adds up. From the studies I have

done, it is just a terrible drug. M`Cat or to give it its official

name mephedrone has gained quite a following among teenagers. It's a

synthetic drug which was once a legal high. But head teachers lead a

campaign to get it banned because it was so widespread. In 2010, the

Government made it illegal and it became a Class B drug. But it can

still be bought for around ten pounds a gram. David says they'd

moved to Brough from Hedon two years ago to get Lewis away from local

drug dealers. But they followed him. Four months before the killing,

David claims he reported them to the police. I went into the police

station on the 20th of January, I explained to them what the situation

was, I gave him his name, I gave him where he lived, I think I even

showed them text messages as he was text in the F1 point to see if I

wanted any. `` at one point. Humberside Police though says that

all the information they receive is reviewed and dealt with in the most

appropriate way. When Lewis' mum died from cancer seven years ago,

David promised to support him always, as have the rest of the

family. This was his granddad after Tuesday's guilty verdict. We are a

close`knit family. Always have been, always will be. He was my first

grandson. You never know what around `` what is around the corner. It has

destroyed everything. I don't see anything in the future. How do you

reconcile the fact that the boy you lot are killed your mum? I cannot. I

cannot understand why it has happened. While David struggles to

make sense of the tragedy, he's having to mourn the loss of his

mother. Professor Richard Hammersley from

Hull University is a psychologist and an expert on addictions. I

started by asking him for his reaction to the murder.

It is awful. It is very unusual for drugs to lead to this sort of

tragedy. It is very worrying, I think. Some people watching will

think he is a bad person. Can this drug really alter the mind that

much? As far as you can tell from what limited information we have, he

was taking large quantities. At the quantities he was taking, it can

have unfortunate effects. How does it change the state of mind? A small

dose makes people feel a bit high, euphoric and loving towards people.

He seems to have been taking something like ten, 20, 30 times the

amount people normally take over 24 hours before what happened. At that

level, people get paranoid. There have been reports of people phoning

helplines worried about delusions. That seems to be the sort of state

he has described himself as going in. To go from being loving, to be

able to kill, that is conceivable, is it? We don't know how many nights

he had gone without sleep. That can have unfortunate effects on people.

Many will think it was his desperation for the drug that

allowed him to kill. It is not addictive in the sense that heroin

or something is. What does happen is that when you are taking high

doses, apparently, you tend to want to keep going, taking more and more.

What should parents watch out for? What are giveaway signs? I don't

think there are any giveaway signs of the drug. But I think parents

should watch out for the fact that almost any drug, including alcohol,

it is one thing to take a small amount, it is another to take a lot

for days on end. They should watch out for signs that that is what is

going on. We have a huge problem with binge drinking. Two drinks are

good, five of fun, does not mean that 20 are even better, does it? It

is the same with any drug. Thank you for your advice.

In a moment: The fight for places in Lincolnshire schools after a baby

boom in the county. We have people in the immediate

community unable to get children into their local school.

The cost of council tax in the East Riding could stay the same for the

next four years. The Council's leader Stephen Parnaby has approved

a freeze on council tax bills for the next financial year, but has

made plans to do so for the next four. The authority has made savings

of nearly ?24 million pounds from its budget, but says it won't impact

on services. Things like libraries, moving all of those things together,

people accept that. That's releases money and energy cost. But you need

the people to be able to drive that. If you get rid of the people first,

there is no one went there to do it for you. If you have talented

people, you should keep them. Police say a man who turned himself

in over the theft of a handbag in Bridlington never came into physical

contact with the victim. Pam Roddis from Sheffield died of a brain

haemorrhage four days after her bag was taken in January. Police say

CCTV shows the bag being picked up shortly after it was dropped. The

man who turned himself in has been charged with theft and will appear

at magistrates' later this month. The leader of North East

Lincolnshire Council says the Government needs to step in to help

Grimsby after news of possible job losses. Around 250 workers are

facing redundancy at Icelandic Sea Chill after the company said it was

to stop making some ready meals. Lizo local people who shop in local

shops. `` these are. We need a task force to come and talk to businesses

to try and keep jobs. For years, there have been calls to

make the road between Hull and York a dual carriageway. Today it's been

announced that a five`mile stretch could be dualled between Pocklington

and Wilberfoss. East Riding Council and City of York Council have joined

together to ask for ?13 million to fund the upgrade. Our reporter Kate

Sweeting is next to the road. Kate, what benefits would this bring?

This is potentially where it will start. Of the 18,000 vehicles that

use this stretch of road every day, many are heavy goods for

agricultural. If you get stuck behind one of those, your journey is

likely to be very slow. The idea behind the dual carriageway is to

get things moving. It is a route that can get drivers

are little... It is horrendous. Going to work, it can take for ever.

It is a very tedious road, at Italy since there are a lot of tractors.

Some say slow traffic is having a negative impact on the economy. I

think it acts on a restriction. I have complaints from many businesses

that at certain times of the day they had difficulty with access. We

need to do something to improve prospects in the area. There's a

plan to upgrade the stretch of road. The idea is to turn the single

carriageway into a dual carriageway, something that is being

welcomed by safety campaigners. A big problem with people overtaking

when they shouldn't. They were getting frustrated. We have young

people who have just started college, they have just got their

first car, they are driving down the road, in the rush hour with the rest

of the traffic, it can be quite intimidating. Must you think about

them dual carriageway for that bit? It'll be better if it longer. It

would probably be quite a good thing. What difference would it

make? That you can drive at a proper speed. The bid is being submitted to

the Government next month. Even if it is successful, it could be a long

time before the work starts. They have already been some

improvements to the road, this roundabout behind me at Pocklington

is relatively new. There's another one planned after a long campaign.

Whilst we have been told that this dual character goes ahead, it was

more about economic growth and safety, this stretch of road is

known for being relatively dangerous. There have been several

fatalities. Thank you.

Should the Hull to York road be improved? Is a five`mile stretch of

dual carriageway enough to reduce congestion and improve safety?

Thousands more school places are being created in Lincolnshire after

a baby boom. The birth rate's up 17% in the last decade. It means many

classes are full, while some are held in temporary cabins. This year,

many parents will struggle to find a place at their local school. Gemma

Dawson reports from Witham St Hughs near Lincoln.

It's a growing estate, with a growing problem for parents here.

People have had problems coming here, but it is a select school.

Every year, there is a problem. My daughter's friend who is in the year

above her had to go to a different school. Many mums and dads want to

send their children to this school, but that's not always possible. We

have people in the immediate community unable to get their

children into their local school and that can create a bad feeling out on

the estate and from the school's point of view we want to get all of

the children in our immediate community into our school. Parents

I've spoken to today have told me they struggled to get their children

into this school, despite only living a few streets away. Two mums

told me that they had to appeal, before their children got a place

here. To cope with demand, the school is now going to be made

bigger. New classrooms will be built in front of these mobiles. But this

isn't the only school that's expanding. More than ?30 million of

Government funding is going to be spent increasing the size and number

of schools in Lincolnshire over the next three years, with new schools

planned for areas including Gainsborough, Lincoln, North Hykeham

and Spalding. The County Council says the extra

places are needed, not just because people are moving into the area, but

because of a baby boom. We know that babies are still being born at the

moment. Those figures are rising to what they were ten years ago. I

don't think it's the moment, it is a blip. `` at the moment. The council

hope the extra investment in schools, like this one, will provide

enough school places for the future. What is your experience? A reminder

of the number on the screen. Still ahead: The call for a House of

Commons cat to keep the rats at bay. To get a cat for pest control, if it

was that easy, we would all have one.

Another picture tomorrow night. Have you got man flu or something?

You want to tread carefully after last nights.

I wore the shirt to remind people of the colour Peter went.

The headline