04/11/2011 Look North (North East and Cumbria)

Welcome to Friday's Look North. In the headlines. Reaction from the

family of the woman who died in the Grayrigg train crash, an inquest

jury rules that badly maintained points caused the train to derail P

Do you think that Network Rail have done enough to prevent a recurrence

of this? We will wait and see. I think they put money over life.

cost of sick days to our local councils. A million working days

lost last year. A grandad who plot add bomb attack on his neighbours

walks free from court. And final destination. The 2011 Jarrow March

chers reach London. In football do you have an old piece of Ayresome

Park stuck in your loft? If you do a Middlesbrough museum wants to

hear from you and find out why Newcastle fans hope that Sunderland

An inquest jury has ruled that a badly maintained set of points

caused a high speed train to derail in Cumbria. It happened in 2007

when a Virgin Train came off the rails near the village of Grayrigg.

84-year-old Margaret Masson died and more than 80 people were

injured. During the inquest the jury heard that workers were often

not given enough time or the right tools to properly check and

maintain the line. Our reporter is live for us in Kendal tonight,

where the inquest has been taking place. Fiona.

PROBLEM WITH SOUND Sorry we have problems receiving

Fiona there. We will try to return to her when we can. Moving on.

Almost one million days were lost through sickness among council

staff in the North East and Cumbria last year. That is according to new

figures obtained by The Politics Show. Gateshead Council has the

highest rate, with each member of staff taking an average of just

over ten days a year off work. Here is our political correspondent. A

Newcastle gym, council workers get reduced membership fees. It has cut

the council sickness rate by a third but overall there is a big

issue with sickness levels. Council workers in the region took nearly a

million days off sing in 2010 to 2011. Darlington council has the

lowest, in Newcastle it is.5 days and Carlisle staff took 9.2 but

where would you find the sickest council workers? Well according to

the survey it is here, this is Gateshead Council, where staff

members take an average of just over 10 days a year off sick. Why

is the sick's rate so high here? The council say its has reduced the

rates but it faces an ongoing problem.. The number of factors

undertaken by council, particularly those that retain still a lot of

manual workers in the work force, construction, maintenance --

maintenance. But at this company workers take four days off sick.

Could they cope with the council sickness rates? At this company it

would be an unsustainable position. We would have certainly a distinct

impact with regard to our service and supply situation, to customers,

and we would certainly have an impact directly through to the cost

to our business. But Brian is one of those people behind the council

sickness figures, he is a teacher who has had to take large amounts

of time off through stress. Teachers are working so hard and so

long, to try and maintain these standards, that they are actually

having emotional break downs. councils face budget cuts, could

some of their workers be running out of steam. And MPs will be

discussing that survey on The Politics Show this Sunday at noon

on BBC One. Now we are going back to Fiona Trott at the Grayrigg

train crash inquest in Kendal for us tonight. It has been a two week

hearing as we heard earlier on.. Sorry about that technical problem

earlier. As I was saying the Margaret Masson relatives today

pointed the finger of blame at Network Rail. They said that

lessons should have been learned from the Potters Bar crash, they

weren't. They said there should have been a weekly inspection of

the line on the West Coast Main Line and there wasn't. The result

was that Margaret Masson lost her life. And the family solicitor made

this statement after the verdict. In is an incident that could and

should have been avoided. It wasn't, and tragically Margaret Masson lost

her life. This inquest has enabled Mrs Langley to find some answers to

what happened on 23rd February 2007, and achieve some form of closure.

Let me tell you another way the family achieved closure, they shook

hands with David Lewis, the very man who failed to inspect the

faulty point, which is what caused the derailment. Margaret Masson's

son George said the family reconciled with him. It was a

mistake on his part. He has to live with that. This man was sincere,

showed remorse. And he has my utmost respect, none of my family

will hold anything against him. I have met him, shook his hand and

thanked him for what he tried to do and nobody listened to him.

believes that Network Rail didn't listen because what we heard during

the inquest was that David Lewis e- mailed them a year before the crash

about the staffing issue, he asked for agency staff to clear the

backlog, that request was refused and he e-mailed the bosses and said

sort this shambles out. Today, Network Rail told us we have not

hidden from our responsibilities, and substantial changes have been

made since the tragedy. So what happens next? What we know is the

Office of Rail Regulation is carrying out its investigation to

see if Network Rail will be prosecuted in the future. Thank you.

A County Durham grandfather who plot add napalm bomb attack on his

neighbours has walked free from court. 53-year-old Nicholas Smith

wanted to take venge after claiming he was terrorised bier their anti-

social behaviour. Smith who served six months in custody was given a

six month suspended sentence at Teesside Crown Court today. Walking

free from court Nicholas Smith says he endured a living hell. Tormented

by neighbours he searched the internet for instructions to make a

bomb. Unable to cope, he described his actions as a cry for help.

felt as though I were uncapable of looking after the family. It was

pointless living. But it has been a real nightmare for the wife. I are

have been in tears wondering how she is coping and that has been a

sheer living hell itself. months he said he was terrorised by

youngster, they would throw eggs and rubbish at his windows and kick

footballs against his house. He made several complaints to the

police. In fact, after one attack officers came to his house and said

he was in the kitchen and appeared angry and irritated. When they went

to see him to find out what he was doing, they found he was mixing

ingredients together to make a bomb. When officers checked Smith's

computer, his Facebook page had this message "I'm going to die

tonight, what has been declared. To hell with the cop, I will be burn

them." The court heard Smith suffered depression after the death

of his daughter, and had been drinking heavily. But he responded

well in prison, and showed remorse and regret for his actions. I had a

lot of people coming up to me telling me my dad's a bomber. No,

he is nothing like that, he is a harmless man. The only thing he was

guilty of is protecting his family and kids. Having served six months

in custody, he was given a six month suspended prison sentence.

And warned by a judge that this would be his last chance. Now, we

have the unenvabl reputation of having the country's worst

unemployment rate and its is worst among the young. Almost one million

16-24-year-olds are without a job, so five weeks ago a group of young

people left South Tyneside to walk 330 miles to London following in

the footsteps of the original Jarrow March cher, now, near

journey's end Keith Akehurst has been with them. When they set aef

from Jarrow five weeks ago there were 500 of them. Supporters

swelled the number. But North Yorkshire there was just 15. But as

in the origin a Jarrow crew said 75 years ago, local people were

lending support to the hardy few. Now, the modern march is in London,

and only a few miles from their destination. Once again, they have

attracted more marcher, students from colleges across the capital.

One of those who has walked every mile from Tyneside is Bobby, a 26-

year-old who lives in Newcastle and has been unemployed for more than a

year. It has been hard, it has been really hard but fantastic, because

we have had so much support from people in local community, we had

so much support from the trade union, we have had support from the

public. I have had terrible blisters, the couple of days they

were unbelievable but they are better now. So, still marching. It

is, I mean there is a great sense of achievement getting to the end

of it all. You know, in some ways I am glad it is over. Another who has

walked more than 300 miles is 23- year-old Tony. I came hope with the

intention of losing a bit of weight but I have put a load on. Is that

because people have been good to you? Yes, everyone wants to throw

food at you. And like, you feel rude not accepting it. One day we

had to go through about six different community centres, where

people wanted to flow food at us and to feed us, so we had to run to

it. Get a quick drink, go to the next one and keep going. In 1936

when the 200 marchers arrived in London the Prime Minister Stanley

Baldwin refused to see them and no Government minister met them. This

time, the Work and Pensions Secretary did see some of them, in

his constituency. Exclusively filmed by Look North. Yes, I

absolutely have sympathy for they plight. That is why I was prepared

to meet them. We are trying programmes to get young people back

to work, we looked at the work experience, new apprenticeship

programmes, there is lots going on, there is the work for yourself

stuff, the academys were setting up. We are doing as much as we can to

get young people back to work. the few returned to the main march.

The march continues on, and finishes with rally tomorrow, in

Trafalgar Square. Arriva the Sunderland based transport company

has bought Grand Cemtral Trains, which runs services between

Wearside and London. Grand Central was set up four years ago, and now

carries round 700,000 passengers a year. It is not known how much it

cost. NHS bosses who spent hundreds of thousands of pounds on a

decision to sack a nurse and sack him unfairly, could find themselves

having to answer to the House of Commons. As we reported last night

Yunus Bakhsh was accused of bullying by his employers at the

Northumberland and Tyne and Wear NHS Trust. But an employment

tribunal said that wasn't the case, and ordered the trust to take him

back. The trust refused, leading an employment judge to deliver a

stinging criticism of the way it spent money on lawyers rather than

healthcare. Our chief reporter has more. Utterly reprehensible. The

way public money was used to run up a bill of hundreds of thousands of

pounds, after this man was sacked. They were the words of an

employment judge, who also ruled that Yunus Bakhsh was sacked in

reality, because of his trade union activities. Now, his MP is involve

and he says the Commons Public Accounts Committee should

investigate. Every pound spent on manager of this nature is a pound

that is not spent on the care of public in health terms. That has to

be of concern to everyone. Is this a case where people should be

considering their position? I think potentially yes, I am afraid that

would seem to be the case. I think that they have dug themselves into

a trench and carried on digs. trust released a statement saying

its actions were justifiable, buttup -- Yunus Bakhsh and his MP

wants the trusts bosss to appear before Look North's cameras. We can

only try. We asked for an interview yesterday. We were told no. We

asked for one today, we were told no. But with this affair now

seemingly heading to Westminster, the trust may have to speak

publicly, sooner rather than later. OK. Plenty more to come tonight.

Including while the Magpies are hoping the Black Cats don't lose

this weekend and veterans reveet -- retreat. Homeless soldiers get a

place to stay in County Durham. Will the weather put a dampener on

Bonfire Night? Probably not. I will have your full weekend forecast and

how to get your hands on the new Look North weather calendar. It is

claimed the opening of a renewable power plant in Cumbria producing

electricity from farm waste could be the start of a green energy

revolution in the countryside. The Anaerobic Digestion plant at

Dryholme farm was officially switched on today, with the owners

saying there are real cash incentives for local farmers. The

official switch on say supporters is a landmark moment, green energy

from farm waste that any farmer can provide. And an alternative to wind

power. Even the most efficient wind turbines only produce energy 30% of

the time. This produces 24-hours of the day so it is a different

proposition, we are providing base load for the distribution network

as opposed to when the wind is blowing at the right speed. The by

product that are used are stored here. They are used to power local

communities abroad. At the moment here power will be fed into the

National Grid but supporters believe it won't be long before

power plants backbench powering local homes. This plant has been

given serious support. In this area they are complimentary because it

is a farming area and the produce that goes into these type of plants

comes from the farming community. So they are particularly

complementary to the type of industry we have in this area.

Germany there are round 5,000 Anaerobic Digestions. In Britain

only 15, but more are planned including others in Cumbria.

Described as a lifeline service for those suffering the aftereffects of

war, St Peter's Court in County Durham was officially opened today.

It offers a temporary home with support for veterans at risk of

becoming homeless. It was set up by a local charity and is funded by

the Royal British Legion, with money raced from the North East

Poppy Appeal. Afrpblgts new start in life, which a lot of people

don't get the chance of having. And after losing my house, becoming

homeless, no -- not having a clue, one it has provided a roof over my

head but helped me get on and sort my life out and get training and

move on. Moving on, after conflict. David Tindale served in Northern

Ireland during the 190s, and for the last four months he has lived

at speed ear -- St Peter's Court. Today the centre was officially

opened. Not just a home, but a provider of emotional and practical

support. It is a step up for those who need it. A local charity set

this up. We are able to support them. The local community is

involved in supporting, and the real beneficiary is those veterans

who unfortunately have found themselves homeless. As a nation we

have a duty to look after those who have served on our behalf and the

legion stands shoulder to shoulder supporting them. Through this

support David will sit exams later this month. Hopes to set up his own

business. There is no limit on the time you can stay here but nay say

normally between six months to two years. I intend to be out before

two years, to give somebody else the opportunity that they need.

There is always somebody worse off than you are. Hadrian's Wall is

going to feature in the celebration round next year's Olympic Games as

part of the programme for the London 2012 festival, the wall will

be the site for an art in stalaition. You will be able the

site on the internet. There will be celebrations along the River Tyne

featuring artists from here and Brazil. Whatever the Chinese can do,

we have a wall as well! In sport tonight, intriguing, Newcastle,

Sunderland. This doesn't happen very often, I have to say.

Sunderland can do their neighbours and of course they rivals Newcastle

a big favour if nay can avoid defeat at Old Trafford and the

Magpies beat ev none thrun ch time kick off. Alan Pardew's side will

find themselves second in the Premier League by tea time.

Clutching at straws? Here is Mark. First the easy bit, on paper.

Actually the visit of Everton may not be that straightforward. They

won at St James' Park last season. I think they are the only team that

beat us this calendar year, they deserve to beat us. They thumped us,

so we got something to look back on and maybe put right. Gabriel

Obertan is the latest injury to disrupt what has been a settled

starting 11 and so is it three points or nothing tomorrow? We took

a point on Saturday I would be pleased. If we can go to Manchester

City unbeaten which is our next game, that would be a hell of a

coup. If we win, it will be a bonus, because you know, we can't, you

know, continue as brilliantly as we are. We will have some flaws here

and there. It will be interesting to see how we do against Everton.

That will be a test for us, to see like how we do against United and

stuff like that after, but tough November, but if we can get a few

points out of November, we should be all right, so it is pretty good.

Steve Bruce handed his then boss Sir Alex Ferguson the first Premier

League title 1 years ago. What party pooper would be if Sunderland

won at traf for the first time since 196 with Sir Alex about to

mark a quarter of a century at the helm of Manchester United. When

they talk of retirement with him, I don't think he is anywhere near it,

after speaking to him last week, you know, he's still striving.

Typical when he has a terrible result. Then they win three on the

trot. That is typical of the mentality. We have a run of

fixtures where we feel we can get some points on the board and

hopefully we can do that. So that is one game kicking off at

lunchtime. One at three and Middlesbrough take on Watford at

5.20. The bro Boro are unbeaten at home. They could do with a few more

wins and the organisers of a new exhibition looking for help from

fans who remember the good old days P It was back in 1995 that Boro

left Ayresome Park, their home patch since the early years of the

20th century. So many great game, so many great memories. Now an

appeal has gone out for fans who might have their own souvenirs.

Last week Dave and I were at Middlesbrough football club, and

they have got a Papal blessing that was received from Pope John Paul.

It is stuff like that that is so off the wall and relevant. We are

looking for the unusual that will get people talking. Bernie Slavin

is not old enough to be an exhibit yet but he gave the fans so many

golden moments in his eight years in the red-and-white. His party

piece was to celebrate each goal by climbing the fence, usually at the

hol gate end. When the ground was demolished he took a section away

with him. I did put it in the back garden for a year then the missus

says that is a heap of junk. Put it where you should in the scrap heap,

but I kept it and it put it in individual pitches. I put it to

good use. Now the former striker is hoping Boro's good form will bring

back Premier League football, and the fans. We are entertaining. Tony

Mowbray has done well since he arrived sh I think the team deserve

the back at this minute. Elsewhere tomorrow our two League One sides

are on their travels. Carlisle at Exeter and Hartlepool at Leyton

Orient. While many clubs are wearing special shirts, Pools are

marking it with a chance to be squad number 90 for the day. It

will be presented at the FA Cup tie against Stevenage. Changing sports

and good luck to Newcastle Falcons tonight. In Rugby Union. They face

a crunch game with Worcester. That is bottom against second bottom.

Commentary from Kingston Park on Newcastle's AF frequency. There is

action on the basketball court. Newcastle Eagles are at home to

Milton Keynes Lion, here they are in white in a preseason friendly

with Durham wide cats who play their first league game tomorrow

night. That is against Cheshire Jets. Carol. When you stop

coughing! This year's BBC Children In Need appeal for the North East

and Cumbria has been launched in County Durham today. It will be fab.

The extravaganza is taking place at Beamish on Friday November 1th.

That is two weeks tonight. Pudsey will be joined by Paul, Colin

Briggs, Charlie Charlton and a 200- strong choir of youngsters. It will

be a great chance for people to celebrate and raise money for

Children In Need at Beamish, and our town will be open, the doors

open at six, so make sure you come early, we will have to shut the

doors when the car parks are full but we expect thousands for

entertainment, all sorts of thing to see. We have 120 students from

the Hermitage Academy and over 102 from the plools, a lot of local

schools that have come together. There is a secret song that we have

been practising and we can't sing that until 8.30 on the evening of

Children In Need. And then the nation will come together, in a

national choir, and we will all sing. A secret song. That is

intriguing. Let us go to Paul, he is on the roof, it is Bonfire Night

is on the roof, it is Bonfire Night this weekend. It is. We had a great

time at Beamish and it will be a great venue for Children In Need.

Of course Children In Need would be nothing without the Look North

weather calendar. I am in full sales mode now. Now I can

officially tell you how to get it. If you would like to purchase a

copy. It costed �6 including post and packing, that is the same as

last year, the easiest way is to go to the Look North website. Go to

bbc.co.uk/Look North with your credit or debit card a and you can

buy them that way. Or you can buy them over the phone. If you want

the buy one for cash, why not join us on or stop me and buy one tour,

that starts this Monday, Monday 7th and myself will be at the Lanes

shopping centre in Carlisle. Come along, say hello, buy aical de, BBC

Cumbria will be broadcasting live from there. It should be a great

atmosphere. We would love to see you there. Now, on to the weather.

I think you might hear that one or two fireworks going off already,

but if we look at tomorrow night, is it going to be a decent Bonfire

Night? Probably yes. Most places dry and calm, so good conditions

for tomorrow night. Some more weather to come in between now and

then, if we take a look at this evening and into the night. We have

heavy showery rain in Cumbria, over the north peen nines and into the

North East. That rain will be heavy at times but as it becomes more

confined to eastern areas so we get drier clearer weather into couple

cup. Things could turn misty. It could turn chilly, temperatures

down to 4C. Much milder further east where we keep the cloud and

some rain. So tomorrow morning then, eastern areas start off cloudy with

rain at times. Cumbria starts off mostly dry. That early money

morning mist and fog, they might be slow to clear. Eastern areas will

dry up and brighten up. Many place also see sunny spells as we head

into the afternoon. Never that warm. 12C your high, is 54 Fahrenheit.

The winds should be light so it shouldn't feel that cold. Bonfire

Night, it is fair, if you at Bets Park in Carlisle, most places

should stay dry, and a quick look at the outlook for the following

couple of day, Sunday dry and bright with high pressure, more

cloud round on Monday, with drizzly rain at times, that is the way it

is looking at the weekend, including Bonfire Night. Back to