25/10/2011 Look North (North East and Cumbria)

Tonight: A warning to anglers, as a man dies after being swept into the

scene. An inquest hears how a track

inspection should have taken place at the scene of the Grayrigg train

crash five days before the accident. Who will benefit from the

Government's changes to welfare? And the mysterious blancmange like

blobs found in the Lake District. Where did they come from?

It is a mystery! In sport, the first of our football managers to

be sacked. What is the future for the game? We

have a report on the shake-up facing food by oil finances.

-- the facing football finances. First tonight: The warning to

anglers after a fish a man died after she was swept from a pier on

Teesside. It happened on South Gare, where dangerous sea conditions led

to 10 ft-high waves. Lifeboats were scrambled to the scene. The man

died later. A second man fell into the sea, but

he managed to make his way into land, and was treated for

hypothermia. What more can you tell us?

The South Gare is one of two pier has, and it has claimed a life, and

it is not the first, rescuers fear it may not be the last. The two men

were in the 60s. So far tonight, they have not been named.

The two anglers were fishing from South Gare yesterday afternoon. The

64-year-old man from Europe was swept off the pier into the water.

The police called a coastguard and a lifeboat. Two lifeboats from

Hartlepool were launched. The police helicopter was in the area,

and were able to gauge the vessel to where the man was. He was found

floating in the sea. Conditions were difficult yesterday.

There were 10 ft waves, and a strong wind. It was difficult to

get the lot -- lifeboat to close to him.

He was taken to the James Cook University hospital, where he died.

The second man also from York, was treated for hypothermia. The

conditions were very rough and similar today.

To give you an idea of how a treacherous South Gare is in

conditions like this, the coastguard advised us not to go

past this point, because it is too dangerous.

It is the law platform that many anglers use. In conditions like

today, you do not need to be down there, because as you have probably

seen, it breaks over the walkway. Access to the end of the South Gare,

if you get caught by the waves, you will end in be sea. -- end up in

the sea. Every time they go down to carry out fishing, they are taking

a bit of a risk in conditions like this. The sea is very unforgiving,

it shows no respect for anyone who is in it, so you have to respect it

or tragedies like this happen. For the lifeboat volunteers to risk

their lives to save people in difficulty, it was a tragic outcome.

They spent many minutes giving the man CPR hoping he could be saved.

There was great sadness among men today, that he had died. -- among

them. An inquest heard how a track

inspection should have taken place at the scene of the Grayrigg train

crash five days before the accident. But the inspection did not happen.

The revelation came on day two of the hearing in Kendal. 84-year-old

Margaret Masson, a passenger on the London to Glasgow express, died

when the train career off the rails in February 2007.

-- Korea it. It took around six weeks for the

falls on the line to build up, and the result was catastrophic. The

final defective and the points at Grayrigg happened on 23rd February

2007, the day that the train derailed. 84-year-old Margaret

Masson died that evening, soon after the London to Glasgow train's

first carriage overturned and turned 180 degrees. Today the rail

accident investigator told the inquest into her death that it took

a period of time for the bolts and brackets to break or fall out. The

track Engineer inspected the points on the evening of the crash, and

despite the darken preconditions he said he could see the defect. Mr

This afternoon, Mr Kay told the jury that an inspection of the

track where the points lay had been due to take place on 18th February,

five days before the train derailed. By then, two of the four faults had

happened, and that inspection of a happened, he said. In the next few

days we will hear from those who were responsible for looking after

A man has died after he was hit by a bus at Middlesbrough bus station.

It happened at around 8pm last night. He was pronounced dead at

the scene. It is thought he was hit shortly after an Arriva bus left

the stand. And invested in it -- an investigation is under way.

Five people have been arrested over the suspected drugs death of a

County Durham teenager. 18-year-old Gareth Forster -- Gareth Forster

died on Sunday after being taken to hospital. Durham Police said

toxicology tests were under way, but indications were that Mr

Forster may have had access to a tape of Ecstasy called Red Rock

star. Police say they are monitoring a

large group of gypsies who have set up camp on a site in Tyneside. They

have told us that they are here for a wedding. They're camped next to

Sainsbury's, who say they are working to try to resolve the

situation. We have spoken to them, and they

have given us confidence that we will be all right. The children

have been coming round, and they are very well-spoken and well-

mannered. No problem with them. A milestone in relating the

mothballed Redcar blast furnace has been ignited with the first

delivery of iron ore. The steel plant was mothballed last year, but

the Thai company SSI is hoping to be started in December.

-- the restart production. 139,000 tons of iron ore. It has

come from Brazil on a Taiwanese ship, and has taken 19 days to get

here. Its significance cannot be overstated. It will be used in the

first batch of steel to come out of the reviled -- idolised Redcar

plant. This is tremendous news. It makes

relating of the blast furnace realistic. It is great to see the

first by a run or coming on board. We have not had car go like this

for two years. -- car go. Andy Linfoot has 10 years of unloading

coal before the blast furnace breathed its last. The crane driver

is happy to see them back. A lot of the lads have not done this because

it is 18 months since we have done it. The new owner of the blast

furnace, SSI, says the company will make steel again in early December.

The delivery today, an essential part of the process.

This is just the first shipment of fire nor. About 35 vessels a year

will come here when the blast furnaces back online. But for

symbolism, on the road back to Still to come: The Sports Desk,

plus the mystery in the mountains. What has left blancmange like blobs

on the Lake District fells? And we're saving the best of the

sunshine and to will the rest of the week -- the end of the week.

Thousands of people across the north-east and Cumbria are facing a

big change. The Government is redesigning the event -- benefits

system. It is the biggest shake-up for years. Ministers say it will

help people back into work, but some people on benefits say they

will struggle to survive. We are asking the big question about dose

changes. Who benefits? -- those changes.

Changes to the welfare system matter so much more up in our

region, simply because of the number of people claiming benefits.

The north-east has an unemployment rate of 11%, 88,000 people in the

region are claiming jobseeker's allowance. In Cumbria, 86,000

allowance. In Cumbria, 86,000 people get different types of

benefits. The government says it will make work pay, and will save

�18 billion from the benefits bill by 2015. We will look at the detail

of those plans over the next few days. A few days ago, a 1,000

protesters marched through News Cat -- Newcastle, protesting against

Today, Donna Marie as well enough to take a walk. She has a condition

that comes and goes without warning. I could be in bed for days at a

time. I suffer from problems with my joints. I hips and ankles at the

moment, and my back. And she once received disability living

allowance, and Employment Support Allowance, but both were stopped

after claims where reassessed. She says finding work with her

condition is almost an possible. cannot say to my boss, I am

possibly going to be ill, and will possibly need time off. I cannot

tell you how long, managers cannot employ someone who is going to be

off willy-nilly. Her case highlights how difficult it can be

who should and two should not receive disability living allowance,

which costs the Government �12 billion a year. Reforms are on the

horizon. In 2013, it will be replaced by personal independence

plate -- Personal Independence Payment, which include stuffer

assessments on claimants. The Government says this could save �2

billion a year. Those helping claimants deal with changes to

payments say that they are already seeing more people, but Citizens

Advice Bureaux say they are seeing funding cut too. We used to have

far more benefits workers than we do, and the whole future of legal

aid is under if -- under threat. If these cuts go ahead, there will be

no specialist help here. Steve Wilkinson has campaigned around

issues of disability for years. He believes benefit reform should not

mean that those in need should to lose a out. If you are genuinely

disabled, you should not suffer. I do not think overnight anyone is

going to lose anything immediately that is going to make their life

any worse than it is now. government says changes to support

for disabled people will change -- save money and make the system

fairer, but others are not convinced that those in need will

Tomorrow on Look North we will hear about the family cannot afford to

live on their benefits. You BBC local radio station will be looking

at a range of benefits issues throughout this week.

Estate agents not infrequently use the expression "a rare opportunity"

when they're selling something a bit special. But the latest

offering from Sale and Partners in Northumberland is precisely that.

Just over four miles of the River Tweed is up for grabs. 22 ponds.

The price, �825,000. And that buys you one week's fishing on a prime

salmon beat at the peak of the season. The agents say the deal has

attracted interest right around the world. For the record, the buyer

and up to five chums can expect to catch 50 or so fish in that week.

One Show presenter Matt Baker is to attempt to cycle a rickshaw from

Edinburgh to London in eight days to raise money for Children in Need.

Matt, who's from Easington in County Durham, will set off on

November 11th and will call at Hexham, Barnard Castle and York on

the arduous 484-mile journey. Throughout the challenge, he'll be

picking up passengers, including a variety of surprise guests.

The relationship between Queen Victoria and Prince Albert is one

of the world's greatest love stories. They were only married for

21 years, but after his death she went into mourning for 40 years.

Now a little piece of that love story has ended up in North

Yorkshire and it's going under the hammer. Olivia Richwald's been

taking a look. By the time these very early moving

pictures were taken of Queen Victoria, she had been in mourning

for her husband for almost four decades. This story begins many

years before that, when Victoria and Albert had just built Balmoral

Castle and were both very happy. On 20th August, 1860, the royal couple

gave some very special wedding presents. The brooch and pendant

matched and complemented each other much like the people who had given

them. They were given to a lady called Joanne Robertson on the

occasion of her marriage. Her father was the estate's manager of

Balmoral. The royal couple had just rebuilt the home and were said to

have fallen in love with the Scottish Highlands. After an

excellent day's shooting on the estate, Prince Albert give the

Robinson family and engraved cravat pin, at present he had received

from his wife. Now, generations later, the Robinson family live in

Yorkshire and have decided to sell. There will be international

interest. I just cannot recall anything with such direct line to

the royal family before. This is about the first one. It is very

exciting. Their three items are being sold separately and go under

the hammer in the November. Each is expected to sell between �3,000 and

�8,000. Now, it's a mystery which is

perplexing even the brightest minds - the discovery of a jelly-like

substance in puddles high up in the Lakeland fells above Patterdale in

Cumbria. Like pale blancmange, the substance has been seen by locals

and walkers, with some believing it may be evidence of an astral shower

of meteorites. Others think it may be related to the deer rutting

season, or worse, similar to an American incident which inspired

the horror film, The Blob. No one, though, knows for sure, so we sent

Mark McAlindon to have a look. These two local men - one a

shopkeeper, the other a holiday cottage owner - may be unlikely

pioneers. But they've set pulses racing in Patterdale after one

followed the other in making a strange discovery in pathway

puddles. I would like it to be something a little more exciting

than fungus. I don't know. I like it if -- are like the idea of it

falling from the sky, the way it is scattered about. It seems to make

me think that it might have been scattered. A no one really seems to

know exactly what it is. There are various theories out there, from

decaying frogs to rutting stags. The one I like best is the debris

from a meteor shower. And this is it - photographs taken

by Rob show balls of a cloudy white jelly, some of which has been sent

off for analysis in Edinburgh. Both are eager to know what's lurking in

this bucolic corner of the country. But so far, scientists are unsure

where it could have come from. There is an interesting history to

these kind of discoveries. In 2009, something similar was offered and

Scotland and folklore suggests that these sightings have been made all

the way back to the 14th century. The most famous one was in 1950,

when two police officers told -- find a lump of jelly 6 ft in

diameter which inspired the blob, starring Steve McQueen. Spielberg

may be on his way here for the remake already, as others have seen

this strange stuff as well. looks like a clear to Mr frogspawn.

We saw it in other years and that my other family members stopped to

look at it as well. It is very odd! We should invite

emails! Why do I find blobs and using?

I have no idea. Time for sport.

Less than two months since the big kick-off, and we have our first

managerial casualty of the new season. Mark Cooper's the man to go,

sacked by Darlington just a couple of weeks after a vote of confidence

from the chairman. And not long after he guided the club to one of

the biggest days in their history. It was only back in May that

Darlington beat Mansfield to lift the FA Trophy. Manager and players

celebrated a famous extra-time win, and thousands turned out to see

them show off the silverware. But that was then. Only a handful of

the Wembley heroes are still at the club. And now Cooper and his

assistant, Richard Dryden, have gone as well, even though it's only

a couple of weeks since he told us he'd received the backing of

chairman Raj Singh. He said to me, get on with it. He

said I could turn it round and he would give the all the help he

could. That was great. It strengthens by position with the

players. They know that they have to put the work in a night.

But since then, the Quakers have slipped to 14th in the Blue Square

Premier - closer to a drop into the Unibond League than promotion back

to the big-time. And after going through six managers in the last

two and half years - that's roughly one every five months - the hunt is

now on for Cooper's successor. Former skipper Craig Liddle is in

temporary charge, but former England boss Sven-Goran Eriksson is

now available, having left Leicester City today. Now there's a

thought. Elsewhere, more worrying injury

news for Newcastle United. In-form midfielder Chiek Tiote will miss

tomorrow night's League Cup tie at Blackburn after picking up a knee

injury during Saturday's home win over Wigan. He's also a doubt for

Monday's league trip to Stoke. Now, the tough economic climate is

affecting even our leading football clubs. Newcastle's season ticket

initiative, to fill empty seats at St James's Park, has been well

received. But a conference held in the city has been looking at the

longer term viability of clubs. That's in the light of new European

rules aimed at a more level playing field and preventing a financial

meltdown. It's not hard these days for

newcomers to St James's Park to spot who's in charge. Owner Mike

Ashley's other main business interest really doesn't need

another namecheck here. But whatever fans may think of the

Ashley regime after a series of controversial decisions, there is

growing evidence on and off the pitch that the club is moving in

the right direction again. It looks that way. They have managed to cut

costs and it looks as though they are planning towards the break-even

point. Financial fair places you have to reach a break-even point,

so they sound as though they are planning towards that.

Financial Fair Play, a set of phased-in rules partly aimed at

preventing top clubs from going bust, was the subject of a

conference looking at the future of football. It's the brainchild of

European football's governing body, UEFA.

The rules him to get clubs to break-even, not spending more that

they earn, owners should invest by permanent shares and the

subsidising of losses should be phased out. These rules are

designed for a club like Newcastle United United. It is a

comparatively well run club if, regardless of how you feel about

the owners. They try to live within their means. All clubs will have to

adapt their businesses over the medium term to make sure their

self-sufficient. There will be some interesting tightening of the belts,

which will be interesting for fans to accept, because you might not be

able to buy a player or you might not be able to sack the manager.

While many Newcastle fans still demand better communication with

the hierarchy, the cut-price season ticket annoucement is a rare thing

- sensible business and popular. But it's the financial decisions

being made out of the public glare which will have deeper long-term

significance. Mark Tulip, BBC Look North.

The ex-Newcastle striker Lomano Lua Lua has joined Blackpool on loan

after training with Hartlepool following a spell in Cyprus. And on

BBC Tees tonight, there'll be coverage of Pool's home game with

Tranmere in League One, the club back on track after that weekend

win at Chesterfield. Over on Radio Cumbria, you can

follow Carlisle against Sheffield Wednesday, the Blues hoping for

better luck after having a man sent off, conceding four and missing a

penalty at Charlton on Saturday. Students at Northumbria University

are being offered a once in a lifetime opportunity to run with

the Olympic Flame during next year's games in London. The Olympic

Torch Relay Team visited the students' union today to appeal to

would-be torch bearers. Northumbria is one of 20 universities across

the UK being invited to nominate runners for the honour.

It would be fantastic! It would be! And nominate me!

Please give us some whether to get the kids out of a house that have

term! I'll see what I can do!

A little story, first. Karen Atkinson got in touch with me this

morning and she had gain confidence in her photography by sending her

pictures in to Look North and having them on the screen. She put

this one in for the landscape photographer of the Year

competition. She will be in the final exhibition. Congratulations!

From black-and-white to enhance colour. I have put this in as a

contrast. It is very pretty, capturing some of the enhanced

autumn colours. Talking of light and bright, it is

the start of the Hindu festival of lights tomorrow. Will it be light

and bright were you celebrating? If you're in the North East, you will

have the best of sunny and bright spells. In Cumbria tomorrow, a few

more showers. Here are those showers, not from the South

overnight tonight. There will be some heavy ones around and the West

in particular. Despite the fact that we have all at cloud overnight

tonight, temperatures will deploy there were then they have done for

the last few nights. Lows around the seven Celsius mark. You can see

just how much the winds have died down by the end of tonight. Much

camera as we head into Wednesday. To start a day tomorrow, cloudy for

most of us with the view showers leftover. There was a period of the

way to the North East, leaving the way clear for some sunshine and dry

weather. There will be more cloud and showers tomorrow in Cumbria,

but it does not make much difference to the temperatures -

twelfths and third teams right the way round the patch tomorrow. The

winds will be relatively light so you will get the full benefit of

those temperatures. Thursday, a very brief dry start before rain

and cloud surges up from the south and by Friday, we managed to push

that lot out into the North Sea courtesy of this lovely ridge of

high pressure. It surges up from the south and gives us a very nice

sent to the week. Lots of sunshine and a very light breeze on Friday.

Every word drive. It will be a little bit cooler at the end of the

week, and we can see that of the Tipler that the North East.

Wednesday, looking fine. Thirsty, the rain comes up late run from the

south, and by Friday, it is all gone but temperatures are left a

bit fresher than they have been for the start of the week. Cumbria, a

similar pattern. You were likely to have the shores to Wednesday and

Thursday, but Friday is the one to wait for. In the West, the

temperatures will pick up slightly. Thanks, Trai. Now a final look at

tonight's headlines. In Turkey, rescuers have managed to

In Turkey, rescuers have managed to save a two-week-old baby from the

rubble two days after a powerful earthquake struck the east of the

country. And anglers in the region are being