:00:13. > :00:16.Hello and welcome to Thursday's Look North. Tonight.
:00:16. > :00:22.Two die and another person is seriously injured in an horrific,
:00:22. > :00:25.early morning crash. Balancing the Boro's books - Ray
:00:25. > :00:28.Mallon confirms plans to save �14 million from the council's budget.
:00:28. > :00:30.But for some, it's spend, spend, spend! Why business is booming and
:00:30. > :00:34.bucking the trend in this Cumbrian shopping centre.
:00:34. > :00:35.# It was a big river #. Joe McElderry joins us live in the
:00:35. > :00:38.studio to talk about his latest success.
:00:38. > :00:48.And in sport, Newcastle boss Alan Pardew talks of incomings and
:00:48. > :00:55.
:00:55. > :00:57.outgoings in the new transfer Two people are dead and two others
:00:57. > :01:00.are seriously injured after an horrific, early morning crash in
:01:00. > :01:04.Cumbria. It happened on the A7 at Blackford, north of Carlisle, at
:01:04. > :01:08.around 7.30. A mini bus, a car and a lorry were involved. A woman in
:01:08. > :01:11.her 20s and a man in his 40s were killed.
:01:11. > :01:19.The road has been closed for most of the day. Our reporter Alison
:01:19. > :01:24.Freeman is live at the scene now. Alison, what's the latest? It has
:01:24. > :01:29.been a terrible day here. Two people lost their lives in that
:01:29. > :01:39.crash that happened around at 20 to 8 this morning. Despite that crash
:01:39. > :01:42.
:01:42. > :01:48.happening, the road has been closed all day. Investigators have been on
:01:48. > :01:51.the scene up trying to work out exactly what happened.
:01:51. > :01:55.It was a difficult scene that faced officers. A collision between a
:01:55. > :01:59.lorry, a minibus and a car on a busy route in Cumbria. The debris
:01:59. > :02:04.showed the ferocity of the impact. The lorry driver, a man in his 40s,
:02:04. > :02:08.lost his life. His vehicle came right off the road into a field. A
:02:08. > :02:12.woman in her 20s who had been travelling on the bus also died at
:02:13. > :02:16.the scene. The lorry was being driven north on
:02:16. > :02:21.the A7 when, for some reason, the police don't know why, it crashed
:02:21. > :02:28.into this minibus. The driver of a car also involved escaped with just
:02:28. > :02:30.minor injuries, but the passenegers on the bus weren't so lucky. The
:02:30. > :02:37.56-year-old bus driver from Newcastleton suffered serious chest
:02:38. > :02:41.and leg injuries. A 61-year-old man from Canonbie was also seriously
:02:41. > :02:51.hurt. Both are being treated at Cumberland Infirmary. A 33-year-old
:02:51. > :02:52.
:02:52. > :02:59.woman woman from Newcastleton escaped with minor injuries.
:02:59. > :03:04.I think we were lucky there were not more serious injuries. I
:03:04. > :03:11.understand there were only four or five people on the minibus. It was
:03:11. > :03:17.not fool. Was the ice to blame? It's only
:03:17. > :03:22.speculation at this stage, but our officers are investigating. We
:03:22. > :03:24.would appeal for anyone who saw the accident to get in touch.
:03:24. > :03:34.The clear-up operation went on throughout the day as officers
:03:34. > :03:38.
:03:38. > :03:43.tried to piece together how and why this terrible crash happened.
:03:43. > :03:47.Police do not know exactly what happened. What will be key to
:03:47. > :03:55.finding out is if people who were at the seams of what happened come
:03:55. > :04:00.forward. The police want anyone who has any information to speak to
:04:00. > :04:04.them. It's a budget reduction of nearly
:04:04. > :04:06.�14 million. And it means Middlesbrough will face cuts to
:04:06. > :04:09.services across the board. Sports and leisure facilities will be
:04:09. > :04:12.closed, and council tax will rise by 3.5% from next April. The town's
:04:12. > :04:18.mayor, Ray Mallon, says his administration has been forced to
:04:18. > :04:23.make some extremely difficult choices. Peter Lugg reports.
:04:23. > :04:29.The headlines made grim reading. A 3.5% rise in council tax and cuts
:04:29. > :04:32.to services right across the borough. Sports and leisure
:04:32. > :04:35.facilities, crossing patrols, street wardens and CCTV. Among the
:04:35. > :04:38.casualties, the Middlesbrough deaf centre and the Clairville Stadium,
:04:38. > :04:46.the latter to be replaced sometime in the future by a state-of-the-art
:04:46. > :04:55.sports village. But today's users were unconvinced. They might shut
:04:55. > :04:58.this term and nothing else will get build. -- shut this down.
:04:58. > :05:03.The council will end its funding for the Park End community centre,
:05:03. > :05:06.but remains hopeful it will stay open. The council calls this its
:05:06. > :05:10.big society solution. They give up the lease here and hand it back to
:05:10. > :05:20.the residents themselves allowing them to take over the running of
:05:20. > :05:27.the building. But we will be get the money from? -- but where will
:05:27. > :05:30.we get? We do not know what is going to happen.
:05:30. > :05:33.The Southlands Centre, though, will stay open as will a number of
:05:33. > :05:39.branch libraries. The mayor says the town has done the best it could
:05:39. > :05:43.under difficult circumstances. whole economic landscape has been
:05:43. > :05:47.transformed the present time. We will never get back to where we
:05:47. > :05:54.wear. We were a country that lived on debt, and where we are now is
:05:54. > :05:57.not normal. Hopefully, we will be balanced ourselves in the future.
:05:57. > :06:07.In total �13.8 million in savings with three more rounds of cuts
:06:07. > :06:13.
:06:13. > :06:16.still to go. Peter Lugg, BBC Look Most of the Alcan aluminium smelter
:06:16. > :06:19.in Northumberland is still out of action tonight more than 36 hours
:06:19. > :06:21.after a massive power cut at the plant. A spokesman for the
:06:21. > :06:24.operators says work is continuing to try to restore electricity to
:06:24. > :06:29.about three-quarters of the site. The owners, Rio Tinto Alcan, want
:06:29. > :06:32.to close the smelter next year, with the loss of 500 jobs.
:06:32. > :06:35.New figures show that we spent less money in the shops last month
:06:35. > :06:39.despite it being the run-up to the usual festive frenzy. Retail sales
:06:39. > :06:42.fell by 0.4% in November compared with October. And the statistics
:06:42. > :06:44.indicate that our high streets and shopping centres could be in for a
:06:44. > :06:47.tough Christmas. However, in our region, one shopping centre is
:06:47. > :06:53.defying that gloomy trend. Our Business Correspondent Ian Reeve
:06:53. > :06:56.reports. Look at the figures and they tell
:06:56. > :06:59.you the retail market is weak. Come to Carlisle's shopping centre and
:06:59. > :07:02.the crowds tell you the opposite. The Lanes has seen growing crowds
:07:02. > :07:12.of shoppers for a number of weeks, pretty much from last month's
:07:12. > :07:15.strike day. We had a 42 per cent increase in football that day. Then
:07:15. > :07:25.the Friday and Saturday of that week, every day was a record day
:07:25. > :07:26.
:07:26. > :07:30.for the year in terms of foot fall. So what explains that contrary
:07:30. > :07:33.behaviour? Well, one reason is that Carlisle's shoppers are paying with
:07:33. > :07:36.cash, more than with credit cards. And that big rise in sales
:07:36. > :07:38.coincided with many people's payday, suggesting that shoppers had
:07:38. > :07:42.weighed up in advance precisely when they were going to start
:07:42. > :07:45.Christmas shopping. And there's another theory. The mild weather
:07:45. > :07:54.that depressed sales in much of the country turned with a vengeance in
:07:54. > :07:59.Cumbria last month. You notice a difference in the mindset with the
:07:59. > :08:05.cold burst that has been kicking in and the mindset is really good now.
:08:05. > :08:08.There is a real appetite for it within the store.
:08:08. > :08:12.And in this shop, part of a national chain, there's no
:08:12. > :08:15.discounting going on. Very unusual. Just a lot of canny buying, with an
:08:15. > :08:24.eye on the post-Christmas sale. It sells the second highest amount of
:08:24. > :08:27.gift cards out of the whole nationwide chain. I think our
:08:27. > :08:30.shoppers a lot cleverer with their money compared to people down south.
:08:30. > :08:34.They probably just buy it, whereas up here, we are more clever with
:08:34. > :08:37.our cash so a gift card is a great gift because you can give it at
:08:37. > :08:40.Christmas and that person can get what they want and they will get
:08:40. > :08:43.double for their money. So Carlisle's shopping appears more
:08:43. > :08:53.than buoyant. The real test though comes in January with the release
:08:53. > :08:53.
:08:53. > :08:56.of another set of stats - December's retail sales figures.
:08:56. > :08:59.The leader of Sunderland City Council says the new bridge that
:08:59. > :09:02.will span the River Wear in 2015 could bring 6,000 jobs to the city.
:09:02. > :09:05.The Government announced yesterday that it was allocating more than
:09:05. > :09:15.�80 million to the new Wear bridge. Construction work should start next
:09:15. > :09:18.year. Adrian Pitches reports from It will be the tallest bridge in
:09:18. > :09:21.England with twisted steel towers reaching 600 feet into the air. But
:09:21. > :09:31.it won't be just a landmark. This new transport route could transform
:09:31. > :09:34.the south bank of the River Wear. The north bank has already being
:09:34. > :09:40.regenerated with enterprise parks booming there. Here on the South
:09:40. > :09:46.Bank, this is where investment is needed. The council says the new
:09:46. > :09:50.bridge will bring investment and thousands of jobs potentially.
:09:50. > :10:00.need to open up the south bank of the river, that used to be the
:10:00. > :10:03.
:10:03. > :10:08.industrial heart of the city. The Pallion New Road site. It is pretty
:10:08. > :10:12.landlocked it there with the road network. If we can open it up, we
:10:12. > :10:17.can bring in jobs. But do the people of Sunderland
:10:17. > :10:24.think they need a new bridge? think it does, for the jobs as well.
:10:24. > :10:31.It will bring employment into Sunderland. At the moment, with the
:10:31. > :10:41.economy, it needs a bit of a lift. A lot of people come from different
:10:41. > :10:43.
:10:43. > :10:49.ends of the North East. At the moment, it is too congested. People
:10:49. > :10:52.might just come and visit to look. The North East is defined by its
:10:52. > :10:58.iconic bridges. The new Wear crossing looks set to become
:10:58. > :11:03.another one. Adrian Pitches, BBC Look North, Sunderland.
:11:03. > :11:06.You're watching Look North. Still to come this Thursday evening. Joe
:11:06. > :11:09.McElderry's live in the studio to talk about his latest venture. It's
:11:09. > :11:19.a messy picture weatherwise, but it will certainly stay cold.
:11:19. > :11:21.
:11:21. > :11:24.For many of us, Christmas Day involves lots of eating and
:11:24. > :11:27.drinking in a warm house, surrounded by loved ones. But for
:11:27. > :11:30.hundreds of homeless people in the North, the day will be very
:11:30. > :11:33.different. Help is at hand though from the kind-hearted volunteers at
:11:33. > :11:36.the People's Kitchen in Newcastle. They look after some of those who
:11:36. > :11:40.are at their most vulnerable at this time of year. Stephanie Lloyd
:11:40. > :11:50.has been to the centre as part of our series of films to find the
:11:50. > :12:13.
:12:13. > :12:19.A lot of dancing and a lot of saving. Just a lot of happiness.
:12:19. > :12:21.lively jazz band provides the music at a Christmas party.
:12:21. > :12:24.At first glance, it's like any carol service. But behind every
:12:24. > :12:26.face here there's a story of hardship and homelessness. However,
:12:26. > :12:28.tonight, all that matters is celebrating Christmas and
:12:28. > :12:31.friendship. Some have got a bed in a hostel -
:12:31. > :12:34.the lucky ones. Others still face life on the streets. Hearty meals
:12:34. > :12:44.are prepared for them by chefs from a local department store. They're
:12:44. > :12:49.
:12:49. > :12:54.served up underneath the railway arches. When they come here, they
:12:54. > :12:57.come to our home were people laugh them and look after them. The party
:12:57. > :12:59.is the culmination of that. All year round, the People's
:12:59. > :13:02.Kitchen volunteers work with hundreds of disadvantaged people,
:13:02. > :13:09.and surprisingly, 60% of those helped are under the age of 24.
:13:09. > :13:19.Like 21 year-old Daniel. I am in a hostel. It means a lot to me. It
:13:19. > :13:20.
:13:21. > :13:26.needs help, support, friends. It is just absolutely brilliant. They
:13:26. > :13:33.helped me with bits of furniture. I was homeless. They have kept coming
:13:33. > :13:43.back. If it wasn't for the volunteers, everybody would be in
:13:43. > :13:45.
:13:45. > :13:48.trouble, there would be no where. If it wasn't for the volunteers, we
:13:48. > :13:51.would be here. More than 100 volunteers who give
:13:51. > :13:58.up their time to provide friendship and food and, over 25 years, many
:13:58. > :14:02.lives have been transformed. Last week, we did carol-singing. A lady
:14:02. > :14:11.came up with a pushchair who opened her purse and gave me some money.
:14:11. > :14:16.She said, I used to the homeless and came to you. She walked off,
:14:16. > :14:19.reasonably dressed with a child in a pushchair. She was a success.
:14:19. > :14:26.Colin is one of several volunteers who will be giving up his Christmas
:14:26. > :14:33.Day to help. When they go round, they say you do so much good. But
:14:33. > :14:39.that is rubbish, because we get so more much -- so much more out of it
:14:39. > :14:45.than we give her. They it is bitterly cold. But people here face
:14:45. > :14:49.that every single night. The volunteers do not get paid, but
:14:49. > :14:57.they say they get much more in return. Friendship and the
:14:57. > :15:01.knowledge that they are showing a lot of people that they care.
:15:01. > :15:04.Some terrific work there. And we'll bring you more stories on
:15:04. > :15:07.the true spirit of Christmas right up to the big day.
:15:07. > :15:11.Still on a big theme, a host of Tyneside celebrities are starring
:15:11. > :15:14.in a new DVD which is in the shops for Christmas and is raising cash
:15:14. > :15:17.for charity. Big River Big Songs features Sting, Jimmy Nail, Mark
:15:17. > :15:21.Knopfler and Joe McElderry among others. We'll talk to Joe here in
:15:21. > :15:23.the studio in a moment. But first, we went along to meet the two men
:15:23. > :15:33.behind the DVD - Lindisfarne's Ray Laidlaw and top music video
:15:33. > :16:02.
:16:02. > :16:07.MUSIC. Blaydon Races, it is one hell of a song. It sums up
:16:07. > :16:17.everything that is great about Newcastle to me.
:16:17. > :16:35.
:16:35. > :16:45.But the one I love is to meet the # I came along... #
:16:45. > :17:01.
:17:01. > :17:10.I love this stuff. I love this It is such beautiful Geordie
:17:10. > :17:20.musical humour. -- music-hall humour. Another one from the DVD I
:17:20. > :17:27.
:17:27. > :17:37.love is still I love him. She performs it beautifully. # I'll go
:17:37. > :17:43.
:17:43. > :17:47.We asked Joe McElderry to be part of this. The only song he wanted to
:17:47. > :17:53.do was Big River. # I want you all to know that I'm so very proud.
:17:53. > :18:03.# This was a very big river. # But that was long ago.
:18:03. > :18:14.
:18:14. > :18:24.# That's not now it... In my heart I know it will rise
:18:24. > :18:25.
:18:25. > :18:32.Great voices. We had a lot of fun doing it. It is a celebration of
:18:32. > :18:42.the music of Tyneside. We were so pleased to do it. I could not put
:18:42. > :19:01.
:19:01. > :19:05.Well I'm delighted to say Joe McElderry, one of the stars of that
:19:05. > :19:11.DVD, is with me in the studio now. How did you get involved in it,
:19:11. > :19:18.Joe? It was a lot of fun. I was asked by the guys if I wanted to be
:19:18. > :19:23.a part of it. I am all for putting the North East on the map. It is a
:19:23. > :19:29.great thing to celebrate songs from here so I jumped at the opportunity.
:19:29. > :19:34.I came up from London in between rehearsals. They always all I said
:19:34. > :19:41.I would do is Big River because it is such a good song. I was the sure
:19:41. > :19:48.of it was going to be included. -- I was not sure if it was going to
:19:48. > :19:51.be included. It's not the only thing you're
:19:51. > :19:55.doing at the moment - the Classic Album is selling nicely and so is
:19:55. > :20:00.the Christmas Album? Yes, it has been a brilliant here. I am looking
:20:00. > :20:05.forward to some time off at Christmas.
:20:05. > :20:07.And South Shields is in the news again! Jade and Perrie from Little
:20:07. > :20:17.Mix, following in your footsteps and winning X-Factor - that's
:20:17. > :20:18.
:20:18. > :20:21.extraordinary! I think the girls are incredibly talented. But people
:20:21. > :20:27.in the North East are extremely supportive. The girls deserve to
:20:27. > :20:31.them. They did incredibly well. I am really good friends with Jade.
:20:31. > :20:36.It is quite strange watching one of my friends go through. I am sure
:20:36. > :20:40.they will do amazingly well. The girls have been catapulted into
:20:40. > :20:50.a whole new world - any advice on how to cope with it all? I give
:20:50. > :20:57.them some advised to start them they went to London. It is quite a
:20:57. > :21:02.stressful time. This next week especially. But it is brilliant.
:21:02. > :21:12.is a different world, you are suddenly different world of
:21:12. > :21:17.property. The decree that you would not have expected. -- it is a
:21:17. > :21:20.career. They're hoping to have a Christmas
:21:20. > :21:24.number 1 with their new single - any chance of Big River being
:21:24. > :21:34.released? It is not planted to be a single, but I will definitely
:21:34. > :21:34.
:21:34. > :21:37.perform it in my shows. Great to see you again.
:21:37. > :21:40.On to another young man enjoying life at the moment! Going to
:21:40. > :21:43.Buckingham Palace to receive one of the highest awards for bravery
:21:43. > :21:46.would make for an unforgettable day in anyone's book. But for one
:21:46. > :21:49.soldier, it got even better. After receiving his award, he went down
:21:49. > :21:56.on one knee and proposed to his Geordie girlfriend and won a
:21:57. > :22:00.fiancee to go with his Military Cross. Gerry Jackson has the story.
:22:00. > :22:04.He got this for his bravery under fire. She got this for his bravery
:22:04. > :22:08.at the Palace. Glasgow born Bryan Johnson had just been presented
:22:08. > :22:10.with the rare Military Cross by the Prince of Wales. The Royal Scots
:22:10. > :22:13.private had rescued a wounded comrade after their patrol was
:22:13. > :22:20.ambushed in Afghanistan. But after the medal ceremony, the pressure
:22:20. > :22:30.wasn't over. With Prince Charles, I was all right. I knew that was
:22:30. > :22:33.
:22:33. > :22:36.coming. But proposing, my heart stopped. For Kirstie Ward, from
:22:36. > :22:39.Newcastle, her pride in her soldier boyfriend could not have been any
:22:39. > :22:44.greater until, suddenly, he was her fiance. I just wanted the day to be
:22:44. > :22:54.about him, but he turned it around. And to do it in front of so many
:22:54. > :23:01.
:23:01. > :23:04.people in such a high class plays as well, it was the biggest shock.
:23:04. > :23:10.Kirstie describes her husband-to-be as amazing. He's probably earned
:23:10. > :23:12.enough brownie points to be getting on with!
:23:13. > :23:15.It's just over two weeks before the transfer window reopens. And
:23:15. > :23:18.Newcastle United Manager Alan Pardew says one player will
:23:18. > :23:20.certainly come in, maybe two. But that's if they don't lose
:23:20. > :23:23.anybody. After their great start to the season, there's increasing
:23:23. > :23:25.speculation that some of their players could be transfer targets
:23:25. > :23:28.themselves. We have some players here that top clubs will be
:23:28. > :23:38.interested in. But they will have to be a lot of money to take
:23:38. > :23:45.
:23:45. > :23:49.anybody out of here. We are always on our guard. The players are all
:23:49. > :23:52.very important. Blyth Spartans have parted company
:23:52. > :23:56.with their manager, Steve Cuggy, after just seven months in charge
:23:56. > :23:59.at Croft Park. Cuggy picked up only two wins from his 20 league games
:23:59. > :24:01.in charge, leaving the club bottom of the Blue Square Bet North. The
:24:01. > :24:04.former Sunderland player previously enjoyed success as Whitely Bay's
:24:04. > :24:07.assistant boss when the club won the FA Vase three years running.
:24:07. > :24:10.Rugby Union finally, and the Newcastle Falcons are gearing up
:24:10. > :24:14.for their rematch with Jonny Wilkinson's Toulon in the south of
:24:14. > :24:17.France. Although 6 points adrift at the bottom of the Premiership, Alan
:24:17. > :24:20.Tait's side have performed well in the Challenge Cup. They currently
:24:20. > :24:26.top their group after beating Toulon 6-3 in the first leg at
:24:26. > :24:30.Kingston Park. I think they will look to relieve
:24:30. > :24:38.the roll the ball about and play in the style that French sides are
:24:38. > :24:42.accustomed to. But that is good for us. I do not want to go down there
:24:42. > :24:51.and pick up any injuries. The more open the game, the better it is
:24:51. > :25:01.sometimes. He was well wrapped up sometimes. He was well wrapped up
:25:01. > :25:08.Yes, very necessary. It is a bit of a messy picture today. Some chaotic
:25:08. > :25:17.skies this afternoon. Over the next few days, there will be some sleet
:25:17. > :25:23.and snow, some icy lights. But one thing is for certain, it will stay
:25:23. > :25:33.cold. As we heard through this evening -- as we head through this
:25:33. > :25:34.
:25:34. > :25:42.evening, wintry showers moving him. A mixture of sleet and snow over
:25:42. > :25:50.high ground. Temperatures falling to freezing. Widespread ice in the
:25:50. > :25:57.north of the region. Not such a problem for the south. After the
:25:57. > :26:04.Cold start tomorrow morning, still a lot of showers around. Snow makes
:26:04. > :26:13.him around the showers. Temperatures will struggle once
:26:13. > :26:22.again, typically around five degrees. The wind is coming more
:26:22. > :26:28.from the north. And that is a trained that carries on through the
:26:28. > :26:31.weekend. It will be cold with the wind coming down from that
:26:31. > :26:36.direction. But we will get a bit of shelter from the high ground of
:26:37. > :26:40.Scotland. There will be some wintry showers around, but it may be icy
:26:40. > :26:45.roads and pavements that will be the major problem over the weekend.
:26:45. > :26:50.For Saturday, a few showers with sleet here and there, but there
:26:50. > :26:58.will be gaps in between and many places might makes the showers on
:26:58. > :27:05.Saturday. Temperatures of four or five Celsius at very best. On
:27:05. > :27:10.Sunday, the wind will turn to the north-west. That brings in a bit of
:27:10. > :27:16.protection so we will miss most of the showers. Most places dry and
:27:16. > :27:20.bright. But that a week winter sunshine will not help temperatures.
:27:20. > :27:30.That is the way it is looking for the weekend. We will keep you