20/12/2011 Look North (North East and Cumbria)


20/12/2011

Similar Content

Browse content similar to 20/12/2011. Check below for episodes and series from the same categories and more!

Transcript


LineFromTo

Hello and welcome to Look North. The police force at the centre of

:00:06.:00:10.

eight separate investigations into the conduct of officers.

:00:10.:00:13.

New hope for the little girl born with an eye disease that could

:00:13.:00:19.

blind her. A spending frenzy or freeze? We are

:00:19.:00:22.

with the seasonal shoppers in the countdown to Christmas.

:00:22.:00:28.

The Olympic ding-dong, why ringing church bells to kick-off 2012 has

:00:28.:00:33.

struck the wrong note. And why life on the Wearside is

:00:33.:00:38.

under the spotlight on the Paris stage. A new world record has been

:00:38.:00:43.

set in the region. And we meet the final sports kid of the year, a

:00:43.:00:53.
:00:53.:00:57.

The First tonight, it's emerged that a police force at the centre

:00:57.:01:00.

of a corruption inquiry is now the subject of eight separate

:01:00.:01:04.

investigations into the conduct of its officers. Six of the eight

:01:04.:01:06.

inquires are being managed by the Independent Police Complaints

:01:06.:01:09.

Commission. It's examining claims that officers perverted the course

:01:09.:01:14.

of justice, misused public funds and were guilty of misconduct. The

:01:14.:01:16.

Police Federation says the Cleveland force is now under

:01:16.:01:22.

unprecedented attack. Stuart Whincup has this exclusive report.

:01:22.:01:30.

The fight against crime goes on. The force says front line policing

:01:30.:01:34.

has not been affected by the controversy and criticism. But the

:01:34.:01:36.

Police Federation says the many investigations are proving a

:01:36.:01:46.

distraction to officers. The amount of attacks on the police, I have

:01:46.:01:51.

never seen or knowing the likes of it might policing career. The

:01:51.:01:55.

officers I represent do the best they can. They are trying to

:01:55.:01:59.

deliver the best service they can and they are being distracted by

:01:59.:02:02.

what has happened around them which they have no control of.

:02:02.:02:05.

corruption allegations which saw the arrest of Chief Constable Sean

:02:05.:02:08.

Price and his deputy Derek Bonnard has led to criminal and misconduct

:02:08.:02:10.

inquires. Among the other six investigations there's claims

:02:10.:02:14.

officers perverted the course of justice. One is focusing on the

:02:14.:02:18.

conduct of a former scenes of crime officer. And inquires are

:02:18.:02:20.

continuing after a current and former police officer were arrested

:02:20.:02:30.

as part of an investigation into the misuse of public funds. It is

:02:30.:02:33.

concerning because the investigation has been going on for

:02:33.:02:40.

a long time. It is divided into eight investigations. For a small

:02:40.:02:45.

police force, it is an awful lot of pressure and will distract officers

:02:45.:02:48.

from the job they are supposed to be doing, protecting and serving

:02:48.:02:50.

the people. Cleveland Police has always said

:02:50.:02:53.

the various investigations centre on a small number of its 2,000 or

:02:53.:02:58.

so staff and have had little impact on day to day policing. The force

:02:58.:03:08.
:03:08.:03:08.

has so far not commented on these She was born with an eye disease

:03:08.:03:11.

that will probably blind her but now a mammoth fundraising effort by

:03:11.:03:15.

her parents could lead to a breakthrough. Four-year-old Ella

:03:15.:03:17.

Chapple suffers from a genetic condition called aniridia and has

:03:17.:03:22.

very little sight. But now the family has raised thousands of

:03:22.:03:25.

pounds - cash that's allowed doctors in London to start new

:03:25.:03:31.

research to help children like Ella. Peter Harris reports.

:03:31.:03:35.

For Ella, life has been a struggle at every turn. Cancer and breathing

:03:35.:03:41.

problems have been conquered, now the battle is to save her sight.

:03:41.:03:46.

She suffers from aniridia, which is a rare genetic eye condition. But

:03:46.:03:51.

her parents fundraising means there is hope. They raised �67,000 -

:03:51.:03:59.

enough to part fund a research project in London. Because they are

:03:59.:04:02.

young enough and children coming through, it means they have a real

:04:02.:04:06.

chance of preserving their vision and making sure she has the best

:04:06.:04:10.

quality of life and she can see as well as she can for as long as

:04:10.:04:13.

possible. Ella attends Newcastle's Northern Counties School. Her mum

:04:13.:04:17.

was 36 weeks pregnant before a scan picked up a problem. The family

:04:17.:04:19.

threw themselves into helping doctors tackle the eye condition at

:04:19.:04:29.
:04:29.:04:32.

Moorfields Hospital in London. She is coming on leap and bans and

:04:33.:04:36.

it's hoped the new project in London will help her and many other

:04:36.:04:40.

children as well. And hopefully start a process towards finding a

:04:40.:04:46.

cure. We are hoping we will alleviate the problems associated

:04:46.:04:52.

with it so patients can experience a much fuller life for a longer

:04:52.:04:58.

period of time with improved vision. By doing the research now,

:04:58.:05:02.

hopefully it will help her and we are sure it will help other

:05:02.:05:07.

children who have the disorder and from an early age so they will have

:05:07.:05:10.

a much better vision. Aniridia patients often lose their sight

:05:10.:05:20.
:05:20.:05:26.

completely. Thanks to Ella's family, It's the final countdown to

:05:26.:05:29.

Christmas in our stores and shopping centres at the end of a

:05:29.:05:36.

year full of cuts, job losses and general gloom. For retailers of

:05:36.:05:39.

course, Christmas is a vital time - some of them make 30% of their

:05:39.:05:44.

profits in December alone. But has it been a festive shopping frenzy

:05:44.:05:48.

or has the spending spree fizzled out? Gerry Jackson is live at

:05:48.:05:56.

Gateshead's Metrocentre, where it's late night shopping of course.

:05:56.:06:02.

Yes, but how much will the shoppers spend, is this still the cathedral

:06:02.:06:07.

to consumerism or is it getting more of the downturn Abbey? You

:06:07.:06:12.

might think what is there to worry about, has it been exaggerated, the

:06:12.:06:18.

downturn or was it never as bad as we were led to believe? Or are we

:06:18.:06:21.

determined to have a good Christmas come what may. We have three

:06:22.:06:24.

reports from the region. Mark McAlindon has been gauging demand

:06:24.:06:27.

in Penrith, Richard Thomas has been in Darlington, but first, from here

:06:27.:06:37.
:06:37.:06:38.

It opened its doors 25 years ago yet this could be the toughest

:06:38.:06:43.

Christmas in its history for MetroCentre customers. We are aware

:06:43.:06:48.

of the Christmas countdown, five days to go but also we are counting

:06:48.:06:52.

the cost of Christmas in a recession-hit Britain. I will

:06:52.:06:59.

reduce my spending by 50%. I have been cutting my hours at work. I am

:06:59.:07:03.

thinking more of things closer to family, spending more time with

:07:03.:07:08.

family rather than buy expensive presents. We are spending less this

:07:08.:07:13.

year definitely. We are looking for bargains. We are birthday shopping

:07:13.:07:18.

today. We are spending birthday many as well as Christmas money.

:07:19.:07:27.

Cutting back, definitely. There is too much. You get plenty anyway. We

:07:27.:07:31.

come to see the decorations. tightening our belts but Christmas

:07:31.:07:39.

is not cancelled. Darlington, a typical market town.

:07:39.:07:43.

Plenty of festive signs around but our shoppers in the spending

:07:43.:07:48.

spirit? I am trying to keep everything to minimum but by things

:07:48.:07:54.

everybody in my limits. She is buying a present for her boyfriend.

:07:54.:08:00.

Spending more than I do! She has decided she needs to get their

:08:00.:08:06.

Christmas shopping. You came to Darlington from London? Yes. There

:08:06.:08:12.

are some lovely shops here. There are so few shopping days left, you

:08:12.:08:17.

expect the streets to be heaving but they're not. Our survey shows

:08:17.:08:21.

finding a parking space was a Buteby easy and of the shops we

:08:21.:08:24.

have been in, very few queues. Shoppers are watching what they

:08:25.:08:29.

spend, traders are feeling the effects. I think shoppers are being

:08:29.:08:34.

more savvy. They are shopping earlier so in general we have

:08:34.:08:39.

noticed there's been a trend of steady progress rather than a mad

:08:39.:08:43.

last-minute rush which happened last year.

:08:44.:08:49.

Penrith is a traditional town at the heart -- heart of the valley.

:08:49.:08:54.

Small shops survive here but like any where trading has been tough.

:08:54.:08:57.

Business owners know to keep people coming back, they need to do some

:08:57.:09:02.

things better than anyone else. firmly believe customers are loyal.

:09:02.:09:06.

They will come back time and time again. That is one of the things

:09:06.:09:11.

small businesses have a big advantage over the big boys, I am

:09:11.:09:16.

not sure if everyone will take it. A few days until Christmas and it

:09:16.:09:20.

seems to have been a mixed picture for local traders. Some say they

:09:20.:09:27.

have been busy while others say foot fault is down. Penrith is

:09:27.:09:32.

still full of little shops which are doing OK. But what happens in

:09:32.:09:37.

the next year or two is the key to the future of Penrith. We have to

:09:37.:09:40.

have eight or 10 weeks of good trades to see you through the rest

:09:40.:09:45.

of the time. So, traders in Penrith hope that Hill's will keep ringing

:09:45.:09:53.

for the next few days. David is chairman of the retailers

:09:53.:09:56.

Association here. I know there are not hard and fast figures but you

:09:57.:10:02.

must have a feel, how does it feel compared to last year? Firstly, we

:10:02.:10:07.

do not have snow this year so it is better. It has been a challenging

:10:07.:10:16.

year. The food for his holding up. It is looking good. What about the

:10:16.:10:19.

notion of the people are here but have less to spend? Customers are

:10:19.:10:24.

looking for a good deal and an incentive to shop. Retailers are

:10:24.:10:30.

offering that. Retailers can offer a deal and also make a decent

:10:30.:10:36.

margin and they will do well. Those that are not will suffer.

:10:36.:10:40.

Competition from the internet is strong. Are you feeling it?

:10:40.:10:44.

definitely increases but the people in the north-east a resilient. They

:10:44.:10:49.

love shopping here and when they shop on the internet as well, it is

:10:49.:10:53.

holding up. What about this idea you will put a positive gloss on

:10:53.:10:58.

things and by January we may have a December party but a January

:10:58.:11:03.

hangover. I can only speak for the north-east in terms of the

:11:03.:11:07.

MetroCentre. The MetroCentre is holding up. Nationally it may be

:11:07.:11:10.

different but the people of the north-east will have Christmas,

:11:10.:11:14.

they are resilient and they will shop and have a good Christmas.

:11:14.:11:22.

They want a good deal. Thank you very much. We will have the figures

:11:22.:11:29.

for you early in January as to what happened here.

:11:30.:11:33.

He is off to do his shopping now! Now come the opening of the Olympic

:11:33.:11:37.

games on the 27th of July next year - there's a plan for all the bells

:11:37.:11:41.

in the country to ring out at 8 o'clock in the morning. That's

:11:41.:11:44.

doorbells, bicycle bells, hand bells - you name it. But the idea

:11:44.:11:48.

is already causing a bit of a ding dong! Because the nation's church

:11:48.:11:52.

bell ringers have pulled out of the celebration. Our reporter Nicki

:11:52.:11:55.

Hornby has been finding out why. There's nothing more atmospheric

:11:55.:11:58.

than the peal of church bells on a crisp winter evening. These bell

:11:58.:12:04.

ringers belong to the Christ Church Tower in North Shields. They want

:12:04.:12:06.

to be part of the Olympic celebrations but say what the

:12:06.:12:10.

artist wants for them to ring the bells at eight in the morning -

:12:10.:12:15.

won't be easy. 80 clock in the morning is not convenient for

:12:15.:12:21.

people living nearby and the bell ringers and volunteers do not get

:12:21.:12:25.

paid and they might not get time off work. They might be on holiday

:12:25.:12:30.

or have children to look after. It's a difficult time to assemble a

:12:30.:12:35.

large number of people. The man behind the idea once the bells to

:12:35.:12:40.

be run as fast as possible but that's another stumbling block.

:12:40.:12:44.

Ringing in this country is not done fast. It does not do rebels any

:12:44.:12:52.

good. Above your head now, you have three 1/2 tons of bells. The bell

:12:52.:12:58.

here is three-quarters of a ton. So, there is a risk of damaging the

:12:58.:13:03.

bells and damaging fittings and also a risk to the bell ringers.

:13:03.:13:10.

Then began the great march past. was 1948 when Great Britain last

:13:10.:13:12.

hosted the Olympic games and festival organisers says this is a

:13:12.:13:17.

once in a lifetime opportunity. hope churches that have any

:13:17.:13:22.

concerns will contact us and we can work through any issues they have

:13:22.:13:26.

and make sure they can all join in the fund. It will be great fun.

:13:26.:13:29.

bell-ringers say the artist should have talked to them before coming

:13:29.:13:35.

up with this idea. If you talk to the bell ringers, we

:13:35.:13:39.

can find opportunities to ring in a more significant way for longer

:13:39.:13:44.

periods when people are more likely to hear it and in ways which are

:13:44.:13:47.

more musical. We're in the season of goodwill and bell ringing right

:13:47.:13:57.
:13:57.:14:00.

now. Hopefully, harmony can be That is a shame, because you will

:14:00.:14:03.

be missed, not taking part. Still to come this Tuesday evening:

:14:03.:14:06.

We meet the French writer whose play about life on Wearside has

:14:06.:14:11.

gone down a storm in Paris. Ever since the Cumbria floods of

:14:11.:14:14.

2005 and 2009, work has been continuing to protect homes in the

:14:14.:14:18.

worst hit areas. In Keswick the building of flood defences started

:14:18.:14:21.

in May of this year and today a unique feature was added. Alison

:14:21.:14:31.
:14:31.:14:33.

Freeman went to find out more. It was a frightening scene for

:14:33.:14:39.

householders in November 2009. It was a major flashpoint for the

:14:39.:14:45.

flooding of homes and businesses, but today saw a milestone in the

:14:45.:14:48.

development for the �6 million flood development scheme. A series

:14:48.:14:53.

of windows put into the wall which aims to keep the river at bay.

:14:53.:15:00.

These new glass panels have two purposes: First, to protect homes

:15:00.:15:05.

from water coming from the river, and the second, to ensure the the

:15:05.:15:09.

EU of the romance -- the river remains protected. In this location,

:15:09.:15:15.

it is about choosing defences that are appropriate. It is one of the

:15:15.:15:19.

main routes -- routes into Keswick so the flood defences have to be

:15:19.:15:24.

high. We are confident this scheme will be able to protect against

:15:24.:15:30.

floods that we expense in 2005 and 2009. The Environment Agency says

:15:30.:15:34.

the defences will protect 180 homes by the time they are finished next

:15:34.:15:41.

summer. People are anxious. We have an event a couple of weeks ago

:15:41.:15:47.

which made people nervous, but they can now see something concrete, but

:15:47.:15:51.

in my case it is and, but that something is moving forward. We

:15:51.:15:56.

only have another few months ago. By next winter, we will be

:15:56.:16:00.

hopefully cosy behind these new defences. This is the first time

:16:00.:16:04.

transparent panels have been used in flood defences in Cumbria and

:16:04.:16:10.

today, locals said they were thrilled with the design.

:16:10.:16:13.

He's a Frenchman who studied at Durham University and worked for a

:16:13.:16:17.

time at the Nissan plant on Wearside. And it was his time here

:16:17.:16:21.

in the North that inspired him to write a play set around the life of

:16:21.:16:24.

a family in Sunderland. Well that play is now wowing audiences and

:16:24.:16:27.

theatre critics in Paris, where its run has been extended by three

:16:27.:16:31.

months. In the first of two Look North reports, Adele Robinson's

:16:31.:16:34.

been to the French capital, to meet writer Clement Koche and find out

:16:34.:16:44.
:16:44.:16:59.

The City of Light. The city of love, not a setting you would expect for

:16:59.:17:07.

a setting -- a play about Sunderland.

:17:07.:17:11.

And it is here at this theatre that the red and white stripes are being

:17:11.:17:14.

celebrated and depicted in a plate described as a cross between the

:17:14.:17:24.
:17:24.:17:25.

Full Monty, a brass of and local And behind this colourful play,

:17:25.:17:31.

this is the man: Clement Koche. He studied at Durham University back

:17:31.:17:36.

in 1989 and worked at Nissan in Sunderland, inspiration for his

:17:36.:17:46.
:17:46.:17:50.

work. People smell food, the atmosphere, every single thing was

:17:50.:17:56.

different. And from these memories, he began the story of Sally who

:17:56.:18:03.

loses her job in a chicken factory -- chicken factory. To support her

:18:03.:18:10.

autistic sister, she takes another job. But she is supported by her

:18:10.:18:20.
:18:20.:18:26.

larger and her friend, the All in all, beams of loose morals,

:18:26.:18:32.

beer and something poignant. Will people in Sunderland see it as a

:18:32.:18:37.

stereotype? It is a story, not a postcard of northern England. If

:18:37.:18:41.

people came to see the play to see how they live, it is not necessary

:18:41.:18:49.

to come. It is a story which could take place in other parts of the

:18:50.:18:56.

world, but I used to the north of England and the aspects of life

:18:56.:19:02.

there to pick football, the girls, the clothes, and my love for

:19:02.:19:08.

English social stories. But for the Parisian the viewer, the trip to

:19:08.:19:13.

Sunderland has been described as uplifting in a depressing sort of

:19:13.:19:17.

way, a caricature of a northern perhaps, but one that is receiving

:19:17.:19:27.
:19:27.:19:56.

rave reviews. It is going down a Soak in slice of Wearside here in

:19:56.:20:03.

this most romantic of settings. It is being hailed as a breath of

:20:03.:20:07.

fresh air on the Parisian it is seen. More than 50,000 people will

:20:07.:20:11.

have been to see the play by the time its run in the capital comes

:20:11.:20:21.
:20:21.:20:23.

to an end. What a lovely piece! Sunderland in

:20:23.:20:33.
:20:33.:20:35.

The Games are coming thick and fast for new Sunderland boss Martin

:20:35.:20:41.

O'Neill. Tomorrow, he takes his team to Queen's Park Rangers. And

:20:41.:20:44.

he's relying on the club's high- profile loan striker to start

:20:44.:20:47.

scoring the goals which would help drag them away from the Premier

:20:47.:20:48.

League's danger zone. Here's Keith Akehurst.

:20:48.:20:52.

Two goals in 11 games is way short of what the Wearsiders were hoping

:20:52.:20:54.

for, when they took Nicklas Bendtner off Arsenal's hands for

:20:54.:20:58.

the season. And after missing their recent win over Blackburn, and

:20:58.:21:01.

falling foul of the law, the Danish international found himself on the

:21:01.:21:07.

bench at Tottenham, two days ago. But with Connor Wickham likely to

:21:07.:21:10.

miss tomorrow's match after aggravating a knee injury, Bendtner

:21:10.:21:19.

is needed now, more than ever. Sometimes I think that players

:21:19.:21:22.

coming on loan need a bit of time to settle down, particularly if

:21:22.:21:26.

they think that it is not their club. That is the message we are

:21:26.:21:34.

trying to get across to him, here, this is it will be season. I think

:21:34.:21:44.

he wants to play despite the fact the potential shenanigans from

:21:44.:21:49.

before. It is really up to him. But then again, I would say this to all

:21:49.:21:54.

the players, it is up to him. You have a cause and it is worth

:21:54.:21:56.

fighting for. News now of a world record that's

:21:56.:21:59.

been broken in the region, within the last hour. The incredible

:21:59.:22:01.

Sharon Gayter, an ultra-distance runner from Guisborough in North

:22:01.:22:04.

Yorkshire, has beaten the all-time record for non-stop running on a

:22:04.:22:07.

treadmill. She's been pounding away at Teesside University since last

:22:07.:22:10.

week, and she's passed the previous best of 753 kilometres, which is

:22:10.:22:20.
:22:20.:22:21.

more than 470 miles. Well done to Sharon.

:22:22.:22:25.

Time to meet our final Sportskid for 2011. And last but by no means

:22:25.:22:28.

least is a youngster from County Durham who, despite being very

:22:28.:22:30.

level-headed, isn't about to keep his feet on the ground. Katie

:22:31.:22:40.
:22:41.:22:43.

Gornall can explain what that's all My name is on a vote, I am 11 and I

:22:43.:22:53.
:22:53.:23:05.

It is a sport about speed, power and skill, all things that appear

:23:05.:23:09.

to come naturally to honour but. But he still puts in a huge amount

:23:10.:23:13.

of hard work and trains here at this gymnastic centre in County

:23:13.:23:22.

Durham for around 16 hours a week. Certain kids you find, you can tell

:23:22.:23:27.

they'd look good and they are willing to put the hard work in.

:23:27.:23:32.

There is a lot of hard work that goes into reach the top levels. He

:23:32.:23:37.

has motivation, he has the Times and he would do it without

:23:37.:23:42.

questioning. I was really rubbish when I first started, but then I

:23:43.:23:49.

got the hang of them. My friends kept on encouragingly and I got

:23:49.:23:54.

better and better. After a year of doing it, I could see that he had

:23:54.:23:59.

got a lot a of the ability there and he seemed to pick it up really

:23:59.:24:05.

quickly. He came so far in such a short space of time. He has already

:24:05.:24:09.

been crowned British champion for his age group and recently made the

:24:09.:24:13.

GB team for the World Championships although an injury prevented him

:24:13.:24:15.

from competing, but his coach is confident will be other

:24:15.:24:22.

opportunities. When 2013 comes, I'm sure that one of a will be on that

:24:22.:24:26.

team. Hopefully he will be there to go ahead in a challenge for the top

:24:26.:24:32.

three. What would you like to achieve? I would like to be the

:24:32.:24:37.

first person to do a triple back on the Champany Inn. -- quadruple back.

:24:37.:24:45.

Four fits in one bounce. That does not sound too hot!

:24:45.:24:52.

-- too hard. Talented editing, Katie!

:24:52.:25:02.
:25:02.:25:03.

Hannah, she said last night, the stuck her neck right out and said

:25:03.:25:11.

that we are not going to have a She is absolutely right. We are

:25:11.:25:17.

going to get some snow into our pictures. This is a beautiful scene.

:25:17.:25:21.

With a rise in temperature over the coming days, it looks like we could

:25:21.:25:26.

put per route to a white Christmas even in the hills. -- put paid.

:25:26.:25:30.

Tomorrow feeling a lot milder than it has done for the past couple of

:25:30.:25:36.

days. Durham got six Celsius today. Tomorrow it will be 12. That gives

:25:36.:25:40.

you some indication of deep in temperatures. It is because of this

:25:40.:25:46.

front coming through with a brain, but it is warm. In this big wedge

:25:46.:25:50.

of air, we have got all this air, it really mild, trapped in here. It

:25:50.:25:54.

will last through Wednesday and Thursday, but by Friday, we get the

:25:54.:25:58.

next front through, which is cold. Behind that, cooler air will come

:25:58.:26:03.

in for Friday and for Christmas weekend. But not could enough to

:26:03.:26:09.

give you a white Christmas. Tonight, the rain will push in across

:26:09.:26:17.

Cumbria. It will settle across the region, heavy in places, so it so

:26:17.:26:21.

the night. It means that at the moment, this is about the cold as

:26:21.:26:25.

part of the night before the rain comes in. Temperatures down to one

:26:25.:26:30.

or two degrees. The temperatures will bounce back as the cloud comes

:26:30.:26:35.

in. A wet night means a wet start tomorrow morning. The sogginess

:26:35.:26:38.

chugging away through the morning and so tomorrow afternoon looks

:26:38.:26:43.

drier. If you are lucky, it will be brighter as well, especially down

:26:43.:26:47.

the north-eastern coast. Those temperatures, as promised, into

:26:47.:26:56.

double figures. There be, very mild for the time of year. Into Thursday,

:26:56.:27:00.

we keep the mild weather going so elevens and Wells, mostly dry with

:27:00.:27:05.

a bit of rain in Cumbria for a while. For Friday, ahead of the

:27:05.:27:09.

brain, we keep the temperatures. But when the rain comes through, a

:27:09.:27:12.

few showers behind it and the temperatures will dip a little by

:27:12.:27:18.

the weekend. Last night, Hannah also promised you'd be a dress for

:27:18.:27:28.
:27:28.:27:31.

Download Subtitles

SRT

ASS