:00:21. > :00:24.Welcome to Tuesday's Look North. In tonight's headlines: will they miss
:00:24. > :00:27.the winter? An investigation after it's revealed a new fleet of snow
:00:27. > :00:30.gritters won't arrive until January at the earliest. More bad news for
:00:30. > :00:33.troubled Cleveland Police. After a six-year low - crime is up. Some
:00:33. > :00:36.say an internal inquiry's to blame. The mother of a 12-year-old boy
:00:36. > :00:40.killed by a young driver calls for government action to make our roads
:00:40. > :00:46.safer. Still very angry. We kept him safe all that time then someone
:00:46. > :00:52.just wiped his life out. And Gloria's Garden. The broadcaster
:00:53. > :00:55.lends her support to a Durham hospice. Motorsport fans are left
:00:55. > :00:58.reeling as the region's main circuit turns down one of its
:00:58. > :01:08.biggest events. And, fancy seeing you again! Jockey and horse re-
:01:08. > :01:10.united six years after one of their After two years of early snowfalls
:01:10. > :01:13.in the region, our local authorities have been telling us
:01:14. > :01:16.how they're ready for the worst the weather can throw at us. But
:01:16. > :01:25.Northumberland County Council will not be as well-prepared for the
:01:25. > :01:28.start of winter as it had had hoped. An urgent investigation has been
:01:28. > :01:31.launched after news that a fleet of new snow gritters won't arrive
:01:31. > :01:33.until January at the earliest. Officials say it won't affect the
:01:33. > :01:36.winter gritting schedule, but some politicians say the council's
:01:36. > :01:44.winter preparations are in chaos. Here's our Correspondent, Mark
:01:44. > :01:47.Denten. It is almost exactly a year since these scenes. November 24th,
:01:47. > :01:54.2010, and winter came early. Northumberland County Council must
:01:54. > :01:57.It has emerged that an order for five new gritters for the South
:01:58. > :02:06.East of the county was only placed by the council in the summer. The
:02:06. > :02:13.gritters won't get here until January. On the face of it, it
:02:13. > :02:19.looks as though an hour has been made, a major hour, but the reality
:02:19. > :02:24.is, the process may not have been as efficient as it might have been,
:02:24. > :02:28.but we can sort that out. Council says its winter gritting
:02:28. > :02:34.plans are on schedule, but opposition councillors are worried.
:02:34. > :02:39.I am absolutely horrified. These are vehicles that it was agreed we
:02:39. > :02:43.needed last January, in the worst of the winter weather, and almost
:02:43. > :02:50.one year on, we're still not here. And Northumberland Council tax
:02:51. > :02:55.payers we spoke to are looking for an explanation. Are you happy?
:02:55. > :03:00.definite when not. Last winter was bad enough. It is crazy. It is just
:03:00. > :03:10.the same as before - nothing changes. We have a very bad winter
:03:10. > :03:12.
:03:13. > :03:17.last year. In November. It is a disgrace. As you can see it this
:03:17. > :03:23.council depot, there is plenty of grit, but are there enough gritters
:03:23. > :03:28.to get it out on a rose? We have a full complement of gritters that
:03:28. > :03:32.have all been refurbished. We have had a job getting them up to
:03:32. > :03:35.scratch after the severe effect that Winter had upon them.
:03:35. > :03:38.County Council says it won't actually pay the �304,000 for the
:03:38. > :03:46.new gritters until they arrive in the region.But that could be after
:03:46. > :03:49.the winter has already done its worst. A psychiatrist has told the
:03:49. > :03:52.inquest into the death of Ashleigh Ewing how the man who killed her
:03:52. > :03:55.had stopped taking anti-psychotic drugs a little over a fortnight
:03:55. > :03:58.before the tragedy. Ashleigh died at the hands of Ronald Dixon after
:03:58. > :04:01.she'd been sent to visit him alone by the mental health charity she
:04:01. > :04:04.worked for. Dixon was sent to a secure hospital after admitting
:04:04. > :04:10.manslaughter due to diminished responsibility. Chris Stewart
:04:10. > :04:20.reports from the inquest in Newcastle. Ashleigh Ewing was just
:04:20. > :04:21.
:04:21. > :04:26.22 when she died. That was in 2006. But only now has anyone from the
:04:26. > :04:31.NHS given their side of the story. It came here at Newcastle Coroner's
:04:31. > :04:35.Court, where we were told how Ronald Dixon went to Buckingham
:04:35. > :04:40.Palace with his dog, telling a police officer that he was there to
:04:40. > :04:44.kill the Queen, and that led them being detained for 28 days under
:04:44. > :04:49.the Mental Health at, but when he was transferred to Newcastle, a
:04:49. > :04:52.clinical team decided there was no clinical justification for
:04:52. > :04:55.detaining him further, and he was released. Dixon had previously
:04:55. > :04:59.attacked his own parents with a hammer. The inquest heard drugs
:04:59. > :05:04.were used to help keep him stable, and that he had delusions that he
:05:04. > :05:13.was royalty. On May 2nd, 2006, a psychiatrist went to see him at his
:05:13. > :05:16.flat in Newcastle. Ashleigh's family listened as Dr Patrick Keown
:05:16. > :05:20.said Dixon was by now refusing to take anti-psychotic drugs - but the
:05:20. > :05:22.doctor said his mental health was as good as he'd seen it. In the
:05:22. > :05:24.days following, however, mental health workers couldn't contact
:05:24. > :05:26.Dixon. Neither could representatives from Mental Health
:05:26. > :05:30.Matters, a charity based in Sunderland which housed Dixon and
:05:30. > :05:35.which employed Ashleigh. On May 19th, she was sent to visit him and
:05:35. > :05:39.was killed - stabbed as many as 40 times. The coroner, David Mitford,
:05:39. > :05:45.put it to Dr Keown that the lack of contact represented a breakdown in
:05:45. > :05:50.Dixon's care plan. Dr Keown said that if anyone had said during this
:05:50. > :05:56.time that they thought Dixon was mentally ill, he would have visited
:05:56. > :06:06.him, he could not say that, said the coroner, because they couldn't
:06:06. > :06:08.
:06:08. > :06:13.get to see him. Earlier this year - Cleveland Police was voted the
:06:13. > :06:16.country's top police force. Public confidence was at a record high and
:06:16. > :06:20.crime figures an all-time low. But now Cleveland Police is itself
:06:20. > :06:23.embroiled in a high profile corruption investigation. And
:06:23. > :06:26.recorded crime has - for the first time in six years - increased in
:06:26. > :06:31.the area. That's led to some critics accusing the force of
:06:32. > :06:37.taking its eye off the ball. Stuart Whincup reports. It's the headline
:06:37. > :06:40.no police force or politician wants. Recorded crime on the increase.
:06:40. > :06:43.Rises in vehicle crime, burglary, theft and robbery come as the force
:06:43. > :06:51.itself is embroiled in a major criminal investigation into
:06:51. > :06:59.corruption. It is definitely a concern. Other police concentrate
:06:59. > :07:02.more than what is happening with the street comforter -- are the
:07:02. > :07:12.police concentrating more on what is happening with the Chief
:07:12. > :07:13.
:07:13. > :07:16.Constable, Ra than what is happening on the streets? -- rather
:07:16. > :07:19.than. The increase is more significant than dramatic. 335 more
:07:19. > :07:22.crimes have been committed than this time last year. But the force
:07:22. > :07:28.says 84% people were satisfied with the service the received from
:07:28. > :07:33.Cleveland Police. So do people in the Gresham area of Middlesbrough
:07:33. > :07:43.believe the police are doing a good job? I think they do a very good
:07:43. > :07:44.
:07:44. > :07:50.job. We get a lot of police cars up and down the road. It takes them
:07:50. > :07:53.half-an-hour, an hour and a half to come. A I think the police but
:07:53. > :07:58.brilliant job considering the numbers they have banned the area
:07:58. > :08:01.they beat the cover. We see very little crime round here. He
:08:01. > :08:02.increase in crime the force says has more to do with the recession
:08:02. > :08:11.and financial pressures, than Cleveland's corruption
:08:11. > :08:14.investigation. The priorities are in criminal damage. Metal theft is
:08:14. > :08:19.increasing, which has to do with international pressures on the
:08:19. > :08:23.price of metal, and we are targeting shop crime. If we can
:08:23. > :08:26.achieve targets in these areas, the overall levels of crime will fall.
:08:26. > :08:36.Patrols will be increased in areas that are deemed to be crime
:08:36. > :08:39.hotspots. A mother from Sunderland whose 12 year old son was killed by
:08:39. > :08:45.a speeding driver is calling for a change in the way driving licences
:08:45. > :08:48.are issued to young people. Steven Atkinson died in October 2009. His
:08:48. > :08:55.mother, Violet, has been speaking today at the launch of Road Safety
:08:55. > :09:05.Week in the North East. Adele Robinson reports. Steven Atkinson
:09:05. > :09:06.
:09:06. > :09:09.overcame more than most do in a lifetime. Born with health problems
:09:09. > :09:16.and diagnosed with Leukemia at the age of 3, he'd battled to stay
:09:16. > :09:21.alive. But at the age of 12, Steven was knocked off his bike and killed
:09:21. > :09:28.by a speeding driver. I am very angry because be kept in safe for
:09:28. > :09:31.all that time and then someone just white is live out. Last year 21
:09:31. > :09:34.year old Ross Telfer was convicted of death by careless driving and
:09:34. > :09:37.sentenced to eight months in prison. Today for Road Safety Week Violet's
:09:37. > :09:39.backing calls for a graduated driving license. A way of gaining a
:09:39. > :09:42.license over a longer period of time, in stages. The longer you
:09:42. > :09:46.have learned to Drive, the more aware you are of your car, you know
:09:46. > :09:50.what you're doing. Violet's supporting Road safety charity
:09:50. > :09:54.Brake. They're targeting the region's high number of deaths
:09:54. > :09:58.involving young drivers. The problem is not getting better.
:09:58. > :10:06.Every six weeks, Adam Pearce has killed on roads in the North East,
:10:06. > :10:09.and every two days, a young person suffers a serious injury. Today's
:10:09. > :10:12.car crash scene at Sunderland College hit home. Alex was knocked
:10:12. > :10:18.down by a car last week. It shows the seriousness of what could have
:10:18. > :10:24.happened, if I was a passenger in the car. And also if they had been
:10:24. > :10:31.speeding was up yes, if they had been gone that fast. It is very
:10:31. > :10:34.upsetting. My boyfriend had at the very same thing, to see the re-
:10:34. > :10:42.enactment, it brings back bad memories, when I walk past, when it
:10:42. > :10:45.was happening, so I felt really upset. The demand today is for
:10:45. > :10:52.government action. A drive up and down the country for a new
:10:52. > :10:55.licensing plan - it's said - could save lives. This week, the
:10:55. > :10:58.Government announced help for first time buyers struggling to get on
:10:58. > :11:01.the housing ladder. And the news has been welcomed by some in the
:11:01. > :11:04.Cumbrian town of Keswick. A number of greenfield sites have been
:11:04. > :11:08.proposed for building new homes in the area, which is in the heart of
:11:08. > :11:15.the Lake District National Park. But many existing home-owners are
:11:15. > :11:22.against it. Alison Freeman has more. When Daniel Reed goes home, it's
:11:22. > :11:28.not to his own place. At 27, he still lives with his parents.
:11:28. > :11:31.Studying for a PHD, with the hope of becoming a lecturer. He'll end
:11:31. > :11:35.up with an above average salary of more than �30,000 - but it still
:11:35. > :11:40.won't be enough to buy a house in Keswick. I have grown up you all my
:11:40. > :11:44.life. I have friends and family here. I am into running and cycling
:11:44. > :11:50.and I want to continue to enjoy that. I love the countryside. Just
:11:50. > :11:54.to move away because I cannot afford to live here. A two bedroom
:11:54. > :11:57.flat in Keswick costs more than �200,000 - that's at least ten
:11:57. > :12:00.times the salary of a shop worker, so the national parks authority has
:12:00. > :12:02.come up with a solution - it's suggesting four green field sites
:12:02. > :12:12.which affordable housing could be built on - and that's controversial,
:12:12. > :12:14.
:12:14. > :12:17.to say the very least. Some who live near the proposed sites agree
:12:17. > :12:22.there's a need for affordable homes, but the move would set a dangerous
:12:22. > :12:26.precedent. I have a three-year-old daughter. I was walking down here
:12:26. > :12:31.with a, and they said people had suggested building houses on this
:12:31. > :12:35.site, and she said, well, that is horrid. Sheep and cows belong in
:12:35. > :12:40.feels Foster and they think she got it about right. People come here
:12:40. > :12:46.because it is a beautiful place. If you start expanding the town out
:12:46. > :12:51.was, that detracts from a national park. We will end up killing the
:12:51. > :12:55.goose that lays the golden egg if we do not build houses poor. It is
:12:55. > :12:59.that young people are keep the town alive, in terms of teachers, carers,
:12:59. > :13:04.people working in shops, all that economic activity will disappear,
:13:04. > :13:07.as well. Many argue unused brownfield sites in the town centre
:13:07. > :13:17.should be turned into homes first. But the National Park Athority says
:13:17. > :13:21.
:13:21. > :13:25.business sites where jobs can be If you have been falling and the
:13:25. > :13:30.weather forecasts you will know that temperatures are falling
:13:30. > :13:34.tonight. But that is in nothing compared to what one university
:13:34. > :13:40.student will face. She is trekking to the South Pole, beginning
:13:40. > :13:50.tomorrow. She will see more than 700 miles hoping to become the
:13:50. > :13:50.
:13:50. > :13:56.youngest Briton to do so. -- skiing. The weather in Antarctica is never
:13:56. > :14:04.forgiving. In the summer temperatures still dropped to minus
:14:04. > :14:11.ten. But it could become much colder. The expedition team are
:14:11. > :14:15.seasoned traveller's but a Brioni is confident in her own abilities.
:14:15. > :14:21.I have been mountaineering since the age of 17 and have a good level
:14:21. > :14:26.of experience. I can handle myself in a small group. I am quite
:14:26. > :14:31.confident in my abilities. But if they are 20 years older than me
:14:31. > :14:37.then that is 20 years more life experience. So it can be daunting
:14:37. > :14:43.comparing what they have done but I still think I can hold my own.
:14:43. > :14:48.It is all smiles now and before flying out from Chile, Briony sent
:14:48. > :14:58.us this. If this is the moment you have all
:14:58. > :15:01.
:15:01. > :15:06.been waiting for. The latest piece of kit. I have some sewing to do
:15:06. > :15:14.later on tonight to so on my sponsor's logo was. Obviously they
:15:14. > :15:24.support me. This is what I will be living in, pretty much, whenever I
:15:24. > :15:30.
:15:30. > :15:40.Good luck to her. We will keep you updated on the progress. More to
:15:40. > :15:46.come on tonight's programme. Young at art. The 86-year-old about to
:15:46. > :15:54.become one of a Breton's oldest graduate. And most of us around for
:15:54. > :15:59.frost tonight. Join me shortly for the forecast.
:15:59. > :16:06.The broadcaster, Gloria Hunniford, has been visiting a Durham Hospice
:16:06. > :16:14.today. She to have to the newly created garden at St Cuthbert's.
:16:14. > :16:18.Her daughter, Caron Keating, died of cancer. It was an important
:16:18. > :16:28.journey for Gloria Hunniford. She came to see for the first time a
:16:28. > :16:29.
:16:29. > :16:33.pebble with her daughter's name on It is my way of coping. I lost a
:16:33. > :16:39.child. Losing any body is very painful but losing a child teacher
:16:39. > :16:47.to a place, a black and this, you thought you could never reach. --
:16:47. > :16:53.losing a child takes you to a place, a blackness.
:16:53. > :16:57.This pebble as one of 60 each representing the life of a loved
:16:58. > :17:02.one in this garden. It marks a donation from the Caron Keating
:17:02. > :17:07.Foundation. Another grant from the Department of Health has enabled
:17:07. > :17:13.five acres of gardens. Alex's wife died here and he helps look after
:17:13. > :17:21.them. I would rather visit St Cuthbert's
:17:22. > :17:26.than a cemetery, for example. Anybody can visit. My family were
:17:26. > :17:31.happy I was coming somewhere like this.
:17:31. > :17:36.The grant also meant a new green house where they can grow and cook
:17:36. > :17:42.their own food. They have transformed the place. My
:17:42. > :17:47.father was here in September last year. We have seen a transformation
:17:47. > :17:51.with the gardens outside. And there is more to come, with
:17:51. > :17:57.Gloria Hunniford donating a new garden which will be planted next
:17:57. > :18:04.year. He considered himself absolutely
:18:04. > :18:13.useless at painting the yet to more or, grandad, Ken Dixon, will prove
:18:13. > :18:23.his talent at the age of 86. -- yet tomorrow. It comes Eimear of 72
:18:23. > :18:28.
:18:28. > :18:38.years after he left school. -- a media. -- mere. Ken is graduating
:18:38. > :18:41.
:18:41. > :18:45.with a degree and a fine art. -- a degree in fine art.
:18:45. > :18:53.I have been accepted by the students, although I resisted
:18:53. > :19:00.dyeing my hair green or blue! They have made no differentiation
:19:00. > :19:04.between me and themselves. I can say the same of the tutors also.
:19:04. > :19:11.Kenna left school at the age of 14 and believed he had no talent for
:19:11. > :19:18.art but he has proved his point 72 years later. He began painting in
:19:18. > :19:24.1993. He used a pad at originally bought for his honeymoon in the
:19:24. > :19:29.1950s. A formal education as soon followed. He had served in the
:19:29. > :19:37.array effort during the war and that proved useful during a study
:19:37. > :19:42.trip to pride. -- served in the RAF. He helped can down a younger
:19:42. > :19:50.students who was nervous about flying. That was very poetic given
:19:50. > :19:57.his involvement in the Second World War.
:19:57. > :20:07.I remember a-pawn, the last line of it. In another hundred years I will
:20:07. > :20:08.
:20:08. > :20:13.still be 21. Well I am only 86 and still feel 21.
:20:13. > :20:18.The television presenter and fund raiser, Helen Skelton, has been
:20:18. > :20:24.given an honorary fellowship by the University of Cumbria. She returned
:20:24. > :20:28.for a special ceremony to celebrate her achievements. She has walked a
:20:28. > :20:34.higher line at Battersea Power Station and was the first women to
:20:34. > :20:42.can do it the length of the Amazon river.
:20:42. > :20:47.-- canoe. This place holds a special part in
:20:47. > :20:57.my heart. To graduate here once was a big deal, a second time is a
:20:57. > :21:00.
:21:01. > :21:07.massive honour. That is impressive.
:21:07. > :21:10.Time for the sport. The region's motor sport's -- the region's
:21:10. > :21:15.motorsport fans are reeling from the news that North Yorkshire will
:21:15. > :21:19.not host a round of their 2012 British Superbike championships.
:21:19. > :21:23.The number of days Croft circuit can allow racing on the track is
:21:23. > :21:29.limited by a court injunction and they felt in the current economic
:21:29. > :21:34.climate hosting the superbikes was a commercial risk.
:21:34. > :21:40.To not have it is a massive a blow for local supporters and not only
:21:40. > :21:46.that, the teams, competitors, Marshalls, officials, probably
:21:46. > :21:56.something like the tiny wheeled Derby not taking place. It is that
:21:56. > :22:08.
:22:09. > :22:13.equivalent in the motor sport Let's hope it is just for this year
:22:13. > :22:17.and superbikes will be back here in 2013.
:22:17. > :22:24.One of the top events in the Horseracing calendar was switched
:22:24. > :22:27.last here because of the snow on Tyneside. One Year On and the
:22:27. > :22:33.Fighting Fifth Hurdle should, fingers crossed, have no problems.
:22:33. > :22:40.All eyes will be on one of the superstars of British Horseracing.
:22:40. > :22:45.The 16 time it champion jockey, A P McCoy, winning last year at the
:22:45. > :22:53.Grand National. All being well he will ride one of the favourites,
:22:53. > :23:02.Binocular, at the famous Fighting Fifth Hurdle.
:23:02. > :23:09.He he is a great ambassador. A legend. The way that Nicky
:23:09. > :23:13.Henderson's horses have been running lately, they will be flying.
:23:14. > :23:22.Tony Dobbin, who trains horses in Northumberland, was reunited with
:23:22. > :23:27.the now retired 11-year-old, Arcalis. The early Cold snap last
:23:27. > :23:33.year meant the race went south. With cold wind blowing through the
:23:33. > :23:38.economy it is just as well that a repeat is unlikely this year.
:23:38. > :23:45.We have to find ways of bringing people low on income to the
:23:45. > :23:50.racecourse. Saturday is a huge day and financially a large pay-day for
:23:50. > :23:56.us. The more support we get the more we can improve racing's fall
:23:56. > :24:01.of the future. The Royal regiments -- the Royal
:24:01. > :24:05.Regiment Fusiliers will provide the marching band.
:24:05. > :24:11.The funeral of Middlesbrough football scout Alan Keen to place
:24:11. > :24:19.this afternoon. The Cortes past the Riverside Ground as a mark of
:24:19. > :24:24.respect. He later became an MP and died of cancer at the age of 73.
:24:24. > :24:31.Last night we were unable to bring you the goal of the weekend. It was
:24:31. > :24:41.scored by Paul Robinson of Whitley Bay. What about this effort? 35
:24:41. > :24:42.
:24:42. > :24:50.yards. And the one that their game 4 - 1. They are attempting to win
:24:50. > :24:56.the FA vies for the 4th time in a As we have heard through the
:24:56. > :25:06.programme temperatures will be called tonight. So we have put our
:25:06. > :25:11.
:25:11. > :25:17.Yes, we have heard mentions of the winter weather. Bailey cloud in
:25:17. > :25:23.this guy heading into this evening however. -- barely a cloud in the
:25:23. > :25:31.sky. But temperatures will continue to drop overnight. Clear spells
:25:31. > :25:40.with Frost for many of us. Temperatures will fall and there
:25:40. > :25:44.will not be much wind around. Cold enough for widespread ground frost.
:25:44. > :25:52.Later in the night the cloud will thicken the from the West. Back
:25:52. > :25:55.thicker cloud will produce the odd spot of rain. It will slowly left
:25:55. > :26:05.temperatures as well. It will be accompanied by a south-westerly
:26:05. > :26:07.
:26:07. > :26:13.breeze. Windscreen Frost for many in the morning. Tomorrow, a fairly
:26:13. > :26:19.cloudy picture. Lots of cloud in the West. Drizzly rain over the
:26:19. > :26:25.Cumbrian fells and the Pennines. Eastern areas have the best chance
:26:25. > :26:32.of seeing breaks in the cloud and brighter intervals. A cold day and
:26:32. > :26:35.temperatures will eventually reached beyond today. But it will
:26:35. > :26:42.be tempered by the fact there is lots of cloud around with outbreaks
:26:42. > :26:47.of rain and a gusty south-westerly wind. Let's take a look at the
:26:47. > :26:53.pressure sequence. As that front moves away it will eventually be
:26:53. > :27:03.followed by a North Western called Front and a band of rain. That will
:27:03. > :27:03.
:27:03. > :27:13.clear away on Friday. -- cold front. Friday, dry and brighter but cool
:27:13. > :27:13.
:27:13. > :27:18.A final look at their headlines: Egypt's military rulers have agreed
:27:18. > :27:23.to speed up presidential elections as thousands continue to protest on