09/12/2011 Look North (North East and Cumbria)

North. Tonight: I will survive! The woman who doctors said would die

after an horrific car crash defies all the odds.

I was told I was going to die, I would always be in hospital, I

would never walk again, I would never talk again, all this stuff.

Winter begins to bite - after the floods and gales, snow hits the

north with temperatures set to plummet to -4. The latest on the

weather coming up. A health trust denies it's planning

to shut or downgrade this hospital. And how to have a Christmas free of

In sport, Jonny comes marching home - but the Falcons' World Cup winner

doesn't even get a game! That's rugby, of course - in

football, Martin O'Neill prepares for the challenge of steering

She crashed her car and was put on a life-support machine. Her family

were told she'd probably die. But after two months in a coma, Candace

Emptage opened her eyes. And just over a year later, she's learned to

walk and talk again and is back at home in County Durham with her 14-

year-old daughter. Candace has been talking to Adrian Pitches about her

fight back to fitness - a story she believes should inspire any family

coping with a similar ordeal. Candace and daughter Maddie have a

lot of catching up to do. Not only have they been separated while

Candace recovered in hospital - but her mum has also forgotten much of

Maddie's life. I remember her being two or three, with light brown hair

that was curly. When she came in to the hospital in Leeds, I thought,

who is that? My mum said, that is your daughter. I said, shut up! Is

it really? Mum said, yes. I said, imagined one-day opening the door

and finding the teenager on your door and someone saying, that is

yours. It is not like every day she is light, did this happen, did that

happen? I will tell her story of when I was little. It is funny,

because I am like the mum and she is like a daughter. It is like

telling your daughter what happened, because she can't remember. This

was a blonde Candace a year-and-a- half ago, just before the accident.

Her car crashed into an ambulance near Rowlands Gill, but she has no

memory of the event. It took them over an hour to cut me out, and I

got airlifted to hospital, and I don't remember it, what a shame!

Gutted! You were in a coma for quite a while? Two months. What

were your family cold. I would die. They gave away my cats, dogs, all

my furniture, my Christmas decorations. Every big. --

everything. Candace has rebuilt her life and she wants other families

to know it can be done. Anybody else going through, I was told I

would die, I would always be in hospital, I would never walk again,

never talk again, all this stuff. Always, in the back of your mind, I

remember. People can and will do it. So, for Candace and Maddie it will

be a lot happier Christmas this year than it was last.

More of the day's news now, and a 47-year-old man's pleaded not

guilty to killing a pensioner who was found dead in Hexham. Graeme

Jarman, from Delves Lane in Consett, appeared before Newcastle Crown

Court today to deny murdering 77- year-old Judith Richardson in

August. He was remanded in custody and will be tried next year.

A 19-year-old worker's been killed in an accident at the Port of

Sunderland. Jason Louis Burden from Tyneside was working at the Wear

Dock and Engineering Company when he was struck by a piece of metal

and suffered fatal chest injuries. The Health and Safety Executive is

investigating. The funeral took place today of

Gary Speed. He was found hanged at his home nearly two weeks ago. It

was a private funeral in North Wales, but the family say a public

memorial for the former Newcastle United midfielder will be held at a

later date. Two people remain in hospital

tonight with hypothermia after they were rescued from a swollen River

in North Yorkshire last night. It was a dramatic night, with strong

winds and swollen rivers causing flooding and other disruption

across the region. In total five people were rescued in three

separate incidents. We'll hear more from our reporter Sharon Barbour

shortly - but first, a number of flood warnings and alerts remain in

place across our region. Of most concern this evening is the River

Ouse in York - from there, Cathy Killick sent us this update.

Yesterday, there was a deluge in the Dales, and this is the

consequence. Rapidly rising river levels downstream here in York. The

rain was blinding yesterday, it was just pouring off the hills. This

was the Swale last night, a foaming torrent that looked in danger of

sweeping away bridges in its path. 12 hours later, everything is

totally benign. The pictures you are seeing after an Swale bail to

stop at one point, the water was so high, the bridge was in danger, and

the villagers were fearful. They are heaving a sigh of relief now.

It was just horrendous. It was lapping up over that Walid you can

see there, and the wall over there, it was going straight into my

neighbour's garden. Ever seen anything like it in nine years?

Nothing like it. It is quite frightening, actually. Did you

think the bridge would go? didn't, but there was a lot of

pressure on it, and it was a very scary moment. That pulse of water

has now worked its way through the resistance of the Dales and is now

writing here. It will peak at seven a clock. The Environment Agency

says the usual areas in York will flood, but nothing unusual for the

time of year. It is our first taste of winter.

It was a busy night for emergency services across the region - with

roads closed and rivers swollen At the height of the storm, a car was

swept into the River Ure at Thornton Rust at Wensleydale,

inside three people. One made it to safety. North Yorkshire police

called on RAF Leconfield, who rescued two from the water - a

third made it to safety. By the time we got there it was about an

hour after, and I'm not entirely sure, but the river had definitely

flooded its banks, about two or three feet either side of the river.

Tonight, we understand two people remain in hospital with hypothermia.

North Yorkshire police set up a silver command. In total, five

people were rescued in three separate incidents. Across the

region, road and rail travel was disrupted. In Cumbria, the bad

weather caused us cause of road closures to stop 40 tons of earth

had to be moved from the road at Garrigill. The floodwaters are

receding tonight, but the snow has arrived. This was the scene earlier.

Freezing conditions tonight bring warnings of black eyes, with

drivers being urged to take care. Well, tonight is set to be the

coldest night of the winter so far with temperatures likely to dip to

as low as -4 Celsius. Let's hear the detail from Hannah Bayman,

who's out and about in Newcastle tonight. Thanks. Yes, it is fine on

the ice here in Newcastle, but the ice by tomorrow morning might not

be quite so firm. We have a weather warning in place for icy patches,

grating difficult driving conditions by first thing tomorrow.

The starry skies, really allowing those temperatures to plummet by

dawn. Minus four Celsius our low temperature, a rude awakening to

Saturday morning. I will be back with all the detailed in the

weather forecast. -- details. ''There are no plans to downgrade

or shut the hospital.'' That's the promise from one of our health

trusts after it was claimed plans were being discussed to move

services away from Northallerton's Friarage Hospital. The South Tees

NHS Trust needs to find �30 million of savings next year. It's admitted

discussing reducing the number of beds at the hospital, but says

there are no plans to downgrade it. Stuart Whincup reports.

The Friarage's future has been the subject of rumour and speculation

since a letter was sent to the Richmond MP William Haig. It

claimed the A&E department would be scaled down, services would be

transferred to Middlesbrough and the Friarage would become a

glorified cottage hospital. Nonsense, says the local health

trust. Even so, the unions are demanding guarantees about it

future. Rumour create instability, it creates fair. When we found out

about this letter, week called for immediate and urgent talks with the

trust. We have had meetings, it has been raised, we have not had any

cast-iron guarantees. The Friarage covers a huge geographical area of

North Yorkshire, serving around 120,000 people. The Trust insists

there are now plans to downgrade it. But it says it is considering

reducing the number of beds at the hospital and can't rule out future

changes. I have never, in the eight years we have managed at the Friar

rich, given absolute guarantees about No change. We have changed

things. Patient to have heart attacks in North Yorkshire go

straight to the James Cook, and they are demonstrably better

survival rates. But we also understand as a trust that the

people living in rural North Yorkshire, they need access to a

local hospital. Discussions are now taking place over how the trust is

going to save the �69 million needed over the next three years.

It seems likely that changes will be made in the future here, but the

trust stresses that no decisions will be made without proper public

consultation. More students from the North East than anywhere in the

country have decided not to go to university since the introduction

of tuition fees. The Labour party says the figures

from UCAS show overall UK applications to university have

fallen by 15 per cent, but the number in the North East is down by

21 per cent compared to this time last year - the biggest fall in the

country. The Government says as the main UCAS deadline isn't until mid-

January, it was too early to say this is the case. UCAS also say it

is too early to predict any effects from changes in tuition fees.

The former ITV and BBC broadcaster Peter Rowell has been remanded in

custody charged with various sex offences, including rape. His

barrister today told a hearing at Bristol Crown Court - it's unlikely

there would be a trial. The prosecution will now have to decide

whether or not to accept any pleas made by Mr Rowell. Another hearing

will be held in January. Planners have given the go-ahead

for a new Tesco in Scarborough. Borough councillors voted by five

to four in favour of the supermarket. The new store could

create 350 jobs, but those against the plans say they're worried about

the impact on businesses and will continue their fight.

You're watching Look North. Still to come this Friday evening, the

weekend's sport with Jeff. Plus, a festive yarn. How these ladies got

together to knit their own Christmas tree.

And we are all skating on ice here at the Centre for Life in Newcastle,

but tomorrow, we could be on thin ice. I will be back with all the

The new year will once again bring a rise in rail fares, but what else

could printed 12 mean for rail travellers? The government is due

to set out its proposals on how the railways should be run and funded

in the future, and that might mean giving local organisations like

councils a greater say. Railways, always a subject for

debate. They should be cheaper. Better quality for what you get.

Better food. And a better ride. have been to Glasgow recently, and

it was excellent. It was on time, more or less. I thought it was

excellent. There is a pressing issue, it is very expensive. A

price is out a lot of people from using it. Privatisation has been a

disaster. Fares are due to increase by 6% in the new year in many cases,

but the government is also due to release proposals on how the

railways could be run in future, based on a review already done by

Sir Royal -- Roy McNulty. This may mean giving local councils more

power over fun began how fares are said. That is good news according

to the man who used to run the Tyne and Wear Metro. Their re good

position to monitor a bus services, local rail services that they

procure, but to monitor the entire northern franchise or transplant

franchise, they are in a good position to do that. Proposals like

this alarm rail unions. The report identifies key problems about the

lack of integration in the transport networks, but then comes

up with the wrong prescription to resolve it. It says we should have

more fragmentation, more splits, and more fragmentation of the

Where operators are waiting to see what the government will say.

The North's MPs will be discussing the future of the railways this

Sunday on The Politics Show. Have you got your Christmas tree

up? If yours is up he might be fed up with the pine needles all over

the carpet already. How about this? A need to your own Christmas tree.

It is the work of a group of knitting enthusiasts in

It is 7 ft tall, certainly not plastic and the only needles are

associated with this Christmas tree are of the knitting variety. Every

branch and bauble and even the presence underneath are all hand-

knitted and here is the production line. It is the latest creation of

the net and that a group. It just came out of my head. It started

about June and we have just worked our way through from their. Then it

and natterers meet at the library once a week and in less than 18

months, they produce thousands of knitted garments for the hospitals

sick children unit. We help children who are in desperate need.

Children who are in hospital, people who have small children are

who you cannot buy clothes for and hopefully be make children feel

comfortable and help the hospitals out. While some libraries may

insist on silence, at the knitters and there were the tree are proving

a popular distraction. They love it, especially having it near the

children's library. It is a fantastic decoration for us. A

wonderful thing. So striking. explain to them that it was all

knitted by the ladies. They were very impressed. It might not rival

London's Norwegian spruce in stature but Cramlington's knitted

tree is focusing attention on their good work and keeping the ladies in

stitches as usual. You could have that! Know where to

put it. Some news about Sunderland. Martin O'Neill takes charge of

Sunderland for the first time on Sunday but by then, the Black cats

could be in the Premier League relegation zone. 0 win for Bolton

or bottom-of-the-table Wigan will mean the Irishman will kick off

this latest chapter in his career in the bottom three, but he seems

up for the challenge. Sunderland's training ground can be a chilly

place but the new boss is assured of a warm reception this weekend,

if only because so many fans have wanted him for their manager. He is

under no illusions because he knows what football is like. That is very

nice to hear, but I am totally aware that good will in the game

last as long as the victories are coming. That is nice, it is nice to

have that in the background but I do not think you step into

management, judged from day one, knowing the weaknesses and

strengths of the team is my job. O'Neill is trying to concentrate on

securing the club's 4th home win or year. At this stage, I suppose you

could say the proverbial six- pointer, that is so important for

both teams from. From what you have seen, it is the club in a false

position? We probably are and I think the league is so unforgiving.

If you lose a couple of games, you find yourself not only in terms of

lost confidence but lost position and you cannot afford to keep

losing matches and that is something we have to address.

Striker Niklas Bendtner has not trained because of injury and Ryan

Noble is knocking on the door after scoring four times against

Manchester United reserves. It is the start of a new era but the

first priority is to make sure all the clubs start next season in the

Premier League. Injuries are starting to mount up

for Newcastle United manager Alan Pardew. Although his captain the

bridge Mstill hopes to feature. Pardew be celebrating one year in

the job. Christmas has come early for these

youngsters. Money raised from the auction of the East and the castle

United's died is helping to fund trips to Alton Towers. They are

hoping for an excellent start to the season. Following a tough run

of fixtures, Tarmac p Poor keep asking about the biggest test and I

always say the next game is the biggest test. You have your main

midfielder out, it will always be a test but it is a great opportunity

for others to step up and hopefully perform and keep the guys in the

team. 6th it of the table is beyond even the manager's expectations.

has been an enjoyable experience. When you come into a club, it is

important to make some progress and we have managed to do that. We are

really happy with the team. A great set of players who fight every week

to try to get the result. That is very important. We have had a great

start and looked to continue would. In the championship, French

midfielder Malaury Martin and could start after his spectacular winner

against Bristol City. Boro looked to be losing touch with Southampton

and West Ham. But Martin's winner has given the boss of fresh hope of

capturing the promotion favourites. We did lose to West Ham and it

looks as if there would be a gap opening, and yet we both lost that

weekend in the 90 minutes up. Malaury Martin smashed run in the

top corner and we took all three points. Eight rest of fate.

There will be full coverage of all those matches on your local BBC

Rugby Union finally and the new England coach Stuart Lancaster has

insisted the door remains open for Jonny Wilkinson ahead of the 6th

Nations campaign in February. The fly half was back at Kingston Park

last night with his club friends giants Toulon. Also there was

marked tulip. Not a night for the faint-hearted.

Gales, rain showers and cold temperatures but 5,500 souls turned

up with the hope of seeing one of the former crowd favourites Jonny

Wilkinson, of the bench. In fact, they were to wait in vain as well

consent never got to come on. Although another ex-Falcon Carl

Hayman did play. Wilkinson's replacement as Number Ten Jimmy

Gopperth was never going to find kicking easy on a night like this.

But he did find his range in the second half to give the Falklands a

six points lead in a match ruined by the weather. All the kids came

at once with Toulon producing the home side's advantage. Then it was

the French side stand to defend for their lives. A great result for the

man of the match. We did the right things at the right times and got a

result. These blocks in Europe are a welcome break from the

Premiership. We want the results still, but the blocked over

Christmas is a massive for us because if we can get through that,

we can push on after new year and pushed ourselves up the table.

would have been nice to hear from will concerned but when Johnny met

Jennie, it was not to be. What a Very continental! We are a bit

worried for Hannah but not because of the weather. Look where she is.

Trying to grace filly slide towards you for the weather forecast. We

could all be slipping and sliding around on the ice this time

tomorrow. It will be a frosty and cold night with yet another weather

warning from the Met Office. This time a yellow warning for ice,

particularly for Cumbria and North Yorkshire. Overnight temperatures

are set to dip to their lowest so far this winter, down to minus

three Celsius and maybe even minus five. A bitter cold night

underneath these beautiful starry skies. 84 men and you might seem

Jupiter shining brightly as well, but it is these clear skies that

will allow the temperatures to plummet. This evening there will be

a few showers in the West, over the North Pennines. It is these as they

pass through and then freeze that will create those slippery

conditions on the roads first thing tomorrow. Great fun here tonight,

skating on the ice, tomorrow morning might not be so much fun if

you're out in your car. For tomorrow, it is a bright morning

for much of North Yorkshire. Sunny spells. Cloudy in the West with a

few more wintry flurries making driving conditions tricky. It is

cold everywhere, the top temperature not more than three or

four degrees above freezing. A touch milder in the West but

everywhere feeling cold. That's Saturday, an icy start.

Temperatures very low to begin the day. Further forward, the weekend

gets a bit milder on Sunday. Bright skies for much of the north-east

but cloudy a further west and south. Monday, bright, crisp and clear

everywhere. Expect more overnight frost and they could be a dusting

of snow on Saturday night into Sunday morning. Looking pretty

wintry over the next few days but lot to enjoy here at the Centre for

Life in Newcastle. The ice rink has just opened.

Show we stay and watch that? A last look at tonight's headlines:

Britain became the only member of the EU to roll-out signing a new

deal designing to solve the euro- zone debt crisis.

And a year after a car accident that put her in a coma and nearly

ended her life, this woman has learned to walk and talk again and

is back home. It its fingers crossed for three

singers from the north-east who have made it through to The X

Factor finals this weekend. Deeside is backing Amelia Lily. Tyneside

will be cheering on the group Little Mix, two members of which