:00:12. > :00:15.Hello and welcome to Wednesday's Look North. Tonight: A survivor of
:00:15. > :00:25.the Italian cruise ship disaster talks exclusively about his
:00:25. > :00:27.
:00:27. > :00:30.horrifying experience. I found time to look back at the ship and the
:00:30. > :00:32.final, thinking, what am I doing here?
:00:33. > :00:39.A two week reprieve for Darlington FC after extraordinary scenes at
:00:39. > :00:42.the club's stadium. They cannot liquidate the club now, we have the
:00:42. > :00:45.money to keep going until the end of the month.
:00:45. > :00:47.36 arrests as police across the North launch a major crackdown on
:00:47. > :00:50.metal theft. How did Betty die? A new appeal for
:00:50. > :00:52.information one year after a grandmother was found dead in a
:00:52. > :00:55.Cumbrian quarry. And Happy Anniversary York - the
:00:55. > :00:59.city celebrating 800 years of history.
:00:59. > :01:02.In sport, we'll meet the man hoping to save the region's top rugby
:01:02. > :01:04.union team from relegation. And following in the footsteps of
:01:04. > :01:14.Jackie Milburn and Alan Shearer - the striker who's Newcastle
:01:14. > :01:20.
:01:20. > :01:23.First tonight, a horrifying account of events on the Costa Concordia
:01:23. > :01:28.cruise ship from a County Durham man who was on board when it ran
:01:28. > :01:31.aground off the Italian coast. Singer Ian Fraser describes how
:01:31. > :01:36.passengers screamed as the liner listed and its contents crashed
:01:36. > :01:41.around them. Ian swam frantically to safety after he realised there
:01:42. > :01:44.was no other option but to plunge into the bitterly cold water.
:01:45. > :01:54.Tonight he's safely back at home in Esh Winning and is talking
:01:54. > :01:59.exclusively to Look North. Our reporter Peter Harris is with him.
:01:59. > :02:03.I am sure we are familiar with those dreadful scenes, but few of
:02:03. > :02:08.us could imagine what it must actually have been like. One man
:02:08. > :02:14.who can tell us is this one. You have just got back tonight, welcome
:02:14. > :02:20.home. Descried for us, can you remember the moment the ship
:02:20. > :02:26.actually struck the rocks? Yes, I can, it appeared sharply to
:02:26. > :02:33.the right, much more exaggerated movement than usual. And then a
:02:33. > :02:38.terrible juddering sound. It was clear something had gone wrong.
:02:38. > :02:43.From then, 1.5 hour has passed. Then you find yourself standing on
:02:43. > :02:53.the deck, thinking about jumping. Show us where you were when you
:02:53. > :03:06.
:03:06. > :03:12.board. It was like stepping out Described the atmosphere. There
:03:12. > :03:18.were about 40 people. There was a complete blackout, some people
:03:18. > :03:24.screamed. There was water around our ankles now. Luckily the White
:03:24. > :03:30.came back on and everyone said, go, now. If we do not go now, we might
:03:30. > :03:39.not make it. So we jumped and we swam. He described that moment of
:03:39. > :03:43.opportunity. You were then in the water. Yes, my
:03:43. > :03:48.trainers were gone and I had my life jacket, thank goodness, and I
:03:48. > :03:54.remember looking back over my shoulder, thinking, what am I doing
:03:54. > :04:00.here. Two hours previously I was in the cabin, watching television,
:04:00. > :04:05.enjoying myself. And then I was swimming away from the place I work,
:04:05. > :04:09.the ship alive, trying to save my life.
:04:09. > :04:15.People you know have lost their lives.
:04:15. > :04:21.There is one crew member that I have found out passed away. And you
:04:21. > :04:27.do not get over things like that, he is gone and it is dreadful.
:04:27. > :04:30.We wish you well. A truly incredible story.
:04:30. > :04:33.It's been a day of drama and extraordinary twists and turns in
:04:33. > :04:37.the life of one of our oldest football clubs. The campaign to
:04:37. > :04:42.save Darlington FC had until midday to come up with a rescue plan. As
:04:42. > :04:44.the hour passed staff and players were told the end had come. But
:04:44. > :04:50.minutes later Darlington supporters turned up at the stadium and
:04:50. > :04:53.announced they'd raised �50,000 to help keep the club going. And that
:04:53. > :04:58.has won them a fortnight's reprieve. Keith Akehurst watched events
:04:58. > :05:02.unfold. A fan lays his scarf in remembrance
:05:02. > :05:08.of the club he loves. The moment the administrator told players and
:05:08. > :05:15.staff Darlington Football Club was no more.
:05:15. > :05:20.We got taken into an office, and told that as of now, Darlington
:05:20. > :05:25.Football Club ceased to exist. We were in shock. We were handed a
:05:25. > :05:34.cheque for playing in the game against Barrow. We were all
:05:34. > :05:38.devastated. Everyone was sad, and everyone associated with the club.
:05:39. > :05:44.Then members of the supporters rescue could desperately not on the
:05:44. > :05:48.locked Stadium doors. We have the �50,000 needed to keep
:05:48. > :05:54.the club going till the end of the month. We just need a few moments
:05:54. > :05:59.with them. At the last minute, the supporters' Trust has put them
:05:59. > :06:07.�10,000. This was one of the first football
:06:07. > :06:15.clubs formed. For the sake of five minutes, speak to us. A meeting was
:06:15. > :06:21.held in a secret location, observed by the local newspaper editor.
:06:21. > :06:28.row people, very upset, and people were phoning and asking about
:06:28. > :06:35.finances, I saw tears in there. A be 13th hour is upon us, and I
:06:35. > :06:42.have had discussions with the group. It is the club said. We're will be
:06:42. > :06:44.out in two minutes. A we have enabled the club to play their
:06:44. > :06:50.home-and-away games until the end of January.
:06:50. > :06:56.The have got the outcome that everyone wanted. It was enough for
:06:56. > :06:59.the fan to hastily retrieved his scarf.
:06:59. > :07:02.And BBC Tees will have the latest reaction to that story tomorrow
:07:02. > :07:12.morning from six with Alastair Brownlee, who'll be talking to
:07:12. > :07:15.
:07:15. > :07:19.Commuters left stranded or facing long delays as trains are cancelled.
:07:19. > :07:23.Householders left with no phone lines. And churches facing huge
:07:23. > :07:27.bills to replace the lead on their roofs. Those are the consequences
:07:27. > :07:32.of metal theft, the fastest growing crime in our region. Last year,
:07:32. > :07:41.Cleveland Police investigated 2,349 cases of metal theft. Durham Police
:07:41. > :07:47.dealt with 3,627 and Northumbria a whopping 4,864 cases. That's a
:07:47. > :07:49.total of more than 10,800. But the police are fighting back. This
:07:49. > :07:52.morning, they shut down ten scrapyards as they carried out
:07:52. > :08:02.their biggest combined operation, also arresting suspects at their
:08:02. > :08:06.
:08:06. > :08:15.After months of planning, they set off in convoy. Within minutes of
:08:15. > :08:18.arriving, the first arrests were made. The you are under arrest on
:08:18. > :08:24.suspicion of money-laundering which occurred in the East of England in
:08:24. > :08:32.2,000 and it. Metal theft has become a profitable
:08:32. > :08:36.business carried out by both small time criminals and organised gangs.
:08:36. > :08:40.It affect communities at all levels whether you have had led stolen
:08:41. > :08:46.from your porch or you are a big engineering company on a service
:08:46. > :08:52.provider for communications. police believe that this yard has
:08:52. > :08:56.been making thousands of pounds every week from selling on stolen
:08:56. > :09:03.metal Brotton by criminals. This could be anything from cables from
:09:03. > :09:08.rail, phone that works, stolen from churches. More recently, the arts
:09:08. > :09:11.have seen metal stolen from war memorials. The owner of the yard
:09:11. > :09:15.was arrested and officers later carried out a search of his home in
:09:15. > :09:18.North Yorkshire. Today's raids were designed to send out a warning.
:09:18. > :09:28.Those making money from metal theft would now be targeted and their
:09:28. > :09:33.
:09:33. > :09:35.Whatever's been going on here, today wasn't business as usual.
:09:36. > :09:41.Another scrapyard, this one in Gateshead, and the arrests timed to
:09:41. > :09:43.coincide with the rest of those around the region. All of them
:09:44. > :09:53.targeting people involved in yards where police believe stolen metal
:09:54. > :09:54.
:09:54. > :09:59.has found a buyer. There were 5,000 cases of metal
:09:59. > :10:04.theft in this area alone last year. This is the police response. As
:10:04. > :10:07.well as his yard, five others are also being raided as well as eight
:10:08. > :10:10.private homes. It's reckoned metal theft costs the nation up to �1
:10:10. > :10:14.billion a year. This is still a largely self-regulated industry
:10:14. > :10:24.with voluntary codes of practice. The police say that just hasn't
:10:24. > :10:25.
:10:25. > :10:30.worked. The scrap metal industry is not as people might think. This
:10:30. > :10:35.industry, and this theft, has now been infiltrated by organised
:10:35. > :10:38.criminality. Is his big business and as a consequence we need a
:10:38. > :10:42.significant police response. This is copper Telecoms cable, highly
:10:42. > :10:52.attractive to thieves. Some will go to extraordinary lengths to get at
:10:52. > :10:59.it. It is not uncommon for people to put up road signs, traffic signs,
:10:59. > :11:02.and traffic lights, and steel in plain sight, when people think it
:11:02. > :11:04.is a legitimate operation. Northumbria's area alone today's
:11:04. > :11:07.operation involved 250 police, trading standards, and other
:11:07. > :11:15.officers. Across the Northeast, 36 arrests were made on this one
:11:16. > :11:20.morning. If these yards continue to take stolen metal, we will continue
:11:20. > :11:23.to target them. Unemployment has risen again in the North East. The
:11:23. > :11:28.number of people without a job now stands at 153,000, or 12% of the
:11:28. > :11:30.workforce. That's a rise of 11,000 on the previous quarter, and the
:11:31. > :11:35.highest rate of any region in the country since 1995, when
:11:35. > :11:38.unemployment in London outstripped the North East. Meanwhile in
:11:38. > :11:41.Cumbria, where the figures are collated differently, 16,400 people,
:11:41. > :11:49.or 6.% of the workforce, were without a job in the year to June
:11:49. > :11:51.2011, a slight fall on the previous year.
:11:51. > :11:54.Unions representing staff at troubled hospitals in Carlisle and
:11:54. > :12:00.Whitehaven have launched a scathing attack on the trust which runs them
:12:00. > :12:03.accusing bosses of mismanagement, and demanding they resign. A
:12:03. > :12:05.statement signed by a number of organisations says the North
:12:06. > :12:11.Cumbria University NHS Hospitals Trust is trying to force through
:12:11. > :12:14.grossly irresponsible cuts. But managers have hit back, saying
:12:14. > :12:24.patient safety is at the heart of everything they do.
:12:24. > :12:25.
:12:25. > :12:28.<this is the latest stage in an This is latest stage of an
:12:28. > :12:33.increasingly bitter war of words between management and unions. Late
:12:33. > :12:38.last year, trust managers angrily denied claims by the Royal College
:12:38. > :12:42.of Nursing that patient care was at risk. But today a range of
:12:42. > :12:46.operations have lined up to condemn the Trust in the strongest language.
:12:46. > :12:51.We have been working with the Trust on behalf of our members, and this
:12:51. > :12:56.is all of the unions to sound that press release today, to get
:12:56. > :13:00.assurance that the issues that are causing our members' concern are
:13:00. > :13:05.going to be addressed. The Trust have given us assurances but those
:13:05. > :13:08.were just empty words, it would appear.
:13:08. > :13:13.This joint statement is uncompromising stuff and offers
:13:13. > :13:18.little ground for agreement. It says the planned cuts of �15
:13:18. > :13:23.million ark, in its own words, grossly irresponsible. It says that
:13:23. > :13:27.morale among staff is at an all- time low. It goes on to say that
:13:27. > :13:31.managers and board members you should consider their positions
:13:31. > :13:37.accordingly. But the Chief Executive will not
:13:37. > :13:40.accept these allegations. A BR the principal provider of hospital
:13:40. > :13:45.services in this area and we provide good-quality services as I
:13:45. > :13:51.have said, that has been validated. If I was a patient in North Cumbria,
:13:51. > :13:58.and I have been a patient at this hospital on two occasions, I would
:13:58. > :14:01.be concerned about these statements. This is an important year for the
:14:01. > :14:05.Trust. They can only achieve foundation status that they are
:14:05. > :14:15.taken over by another trust. For that to happen they must balance
:14:15. > :14:21.
:14:21. > :14:26.their books. Acrimonious with the Still to come, why a father once a
:14:26. > :14:32.children's heart unit to stay up -- to stay in the north.
:14:32. > :14:35.I will be back with the weather later.
:14:35. > :14:39.It is a year since the body of a missing grand mother was found in a
:14:39. > :14:46.quarry near Longtown in Cumbria. Police say they still don't know
:14:46. > :14:50.how Betty Brown from Edinburgh died and are appealing for help.
:14:50. > :14:56.Elizabeth Brown have known as Betty, had been missing for eight months.
:14:56. > :15:02.The 56 year-old was from Edinburgh. When her body was found 90 miles
:15:02. > :15:08.away at a disused quarry in Cumbria, questions were raised. A year on,
:15:08. > :15:13.many of those questions have not been answered. Her body was found
:15:13. > :15:17.in thick undergrowth but the mystery as to how she ended up here
:15:17. > :15:21.and how she died still remains. Police say they have ruled out
:15:21. > :15:26.suicide because of the thick wooded location in which she was found.
:15:26. > :15:31.She says she had injuries to her ribs which suggest an attack but
:15:31. > :15:36.there are no other signs of assault. Frustrating that we haven't got to
:15:36. > :15:40.the bottom of what happened. We have exhausted all the inquiries we
:15:40. > :15:43.can do at the moment. We are appealing for anyone out there with
:15:43. > :15:48.information that will help us get the answers for the family. They
:15:48. > :15:54.are craving for these answers as to what happened to their mother,
:15:54. > :15:58.sister, a mad wooded area. Betty had family who lived nearby a
:15:58. > :16:03.incorrectness and would often get the bus to a stop near to where she
:16:03. > :16:08.was found to visit them. Betty had no visit planned at the time of her
:16:08. > :16:18.disappearance. Police say although they have no strong Leeds, the
:16:18. > :16:19.
:16:19. > :16:25.He is a multi-millionaire but the most important thing to Graham
:16:25. > :16:30.Wylie and his wife, Andrea, is the health of their daughter, K re-.
:16:30. > :16:35.She is recovering after heart surgery. The surgery was carried
:16:35. > :16:40.out at Newcastle's Freeman Hospital. It's child heart unit is still
:16:40. > :16:45.under threat as a result of their review. Graham told us about his
:16:45. > :16:52.daughter pass mark heart problems and why he wants the unit to stay
:16:52. > :16:58.here. -- daughter's. She is two better showing her dead
:16:58. > :17:02.what is what on his ipad. Her dad is one of the richest men in the
:17:02. > :17:10.country and like his daughter, Graham Wylie knows a thing or two
:17:10. > :17:18.about computers. His daughters -- his daughter is no ordinary little
:17:18. > :17:25.girl. She is recovering from latest heart surgery. She was a blue baby.
:17:25. > :17:34.At any point, she can turn blow. Her heart wasn't working properly.
:17:34. > :17:38.We were cautious that we had a child with -- without a fully
:17:38. > :17:44.functioning heart. Her heart problems were detected before she
:17:44. > :17:50.was born. When my wife found out she was pregnant, we found out she
:17:50. > :18:00.was having twins. At the 20 week scan, twin number-one was fine but
:18:00. > :18:00.
:18:00. > :18:10.when the cheque to member to, there was silence. Her sister thrived
:18:10. > :18:10.
:18:10. > :18:20.when she was born but Kay re-went for a life-saving surgery. -- Ciara.
:18:20. > :18:25.They have to do the surgery to make her heart the right way round.
:18:26. > :18:31.month, she underwent another operation. They effectively re
:18:31. > :18:35.plumbed her heart and she is fine now. Her life was saved by the
:18:35. > :18:41.surgeons at the Freeman Hospital. The surgery unit is under threat in
:18:41. > :18:46.a review. Graham is hoping it will be saved. The terrible time was
:18:46. > :18:50.when she collapsed. She was at hospital when it happened. If we
:18:50. > :18:58.hadn't have been there, she wouldn't have survived. There was
:18:58. > :19:02.the most anxious time. I will do everything I can to raise money to
:19:02. > :19:10.help the hospital sustain the great work they do.
:19:10. > :19:15.She is beautiful. It is a big year for York. It is
:19:15. > :19:19.celebrating the 800th a year of the city charter. The Queen is to pay a
:19:19. > :19:29.visit in April when she will distribute the Maundy money from
:19:29. > :19:30.
:19:30. > :19:38.York Minster. Here in your kit in 12 -- 1212, the
:19:38. > :19:43.foundations were laid. King John signed a charter and in hit -- it
:19:43. > :19:48.he said the people could rule the city. For the last 800 years, 0 --
:19:48. > :19:53.York has proved adept at managing its own affairs. With 7 million
:19:53. > :19:58.visitors a year, you can understand why they are celebrating 22 1/2
:19:58. > :20:07.with a whole year of events. The highlight will be the school -- the
:20:07. > :20:13.Queen's visit. She will be created at the Royal entrance to York.
:20:13. > :20:17.is exciting. It is not every day you get to meet the monarch. I met
:20:18. > :20:22.her briefly in 2000 when she visited the city. I would get more
:20:22. > :20:27.time to meet her this time. Another event which was causing excitement
:20:27. > :20:32.was rehearsals for the Festival of rivers in July. A flotilla of
:20:32. > :20:36.hundreds of birds were sail along the River Ouse and York choirs will
:20:36. > :20:41.come together to perform a specially commissioned work. We are
:20:41. > :20:49.looking for choirs to get involved. If you are a York-based choir,
:20:49. > :20:54.signed up for this because it is going to be the most amazing event.
:20:54. > :20:58.Back in 1212, at York found his voice for the first time. They want
:20:58. > :21:04.to make it clear that their voices will be heard again in this special
:21:04. > :21:14.year. That is your university city, isn't
:21:14. > :21:15.
:21:15. > :21:18.It is. Now for the sport. We kick-off with
:21:18. > :21:26.rugby, the region's only professional rugby club were
:21:26. > :21:34.showing off Alan Tait's replacement. Newcastle Falcons of rock bottom of
:21:34. > :21:38.the table, nine points adrift from the rest.
:21:38. > :21:45.As the resistant code, he helps them with the quarter-finals.
:21:45. > :21:53.Having jetted in from warmer climes, he needed an overcoat on a
:21:53. > :22:00.supposedly milder day. Does he have the Midas touch? Half a season to
:22:00. > :22:04.go. A big hill to climb. I am confident that we can improve. Nine
:22:04. > :22:11.points clear at the bottom of the table, if teams around us win, we
:22:12. > :22:18.will not go up. It is unfortunate. The important thing to focus on is
:22:18. > :22:27.to do things that we can control and that is improve. He has a
:22:27. > :22:33.three-year spell with London Irish. They understand the wider benefits
:22:33. > :22:37.of avoiding relegation. It is important that there is a footprint
:22:37. > :22:43.around the whole country, particularly in the North East.
:22:43. > :22:48.They have a proud rugby tradition and it is important that Newcastle
:22:48. > :22:52.Falcons showed some improvement in a short space of time. Whether that
:22:52. > :22:57.is enough, we will have to wait and see.
:22:57. > :23:01.Good luck to them. On to football and Newcastle
:23:01. > :23:06.United's new No. 9 is hoping to fall in the footsteps of Jackie
:23:06. > :23:12.Milburn and Alan Shearer. The striker completed his transfer to
:23:12. > :23:17.United from the German club, Freiburg. He was at the Magpies
:23:17. > :23:23.training ground to agree the move before flying out to the Africa Cup
:23:23. > :23:28.of Nations where he joined his new club mate in the Senegal squad.
:23:28. > :23:36.TRANSLATION: I would like to say hello to the supporters. It is a
:23:36. > :23:43.transfer that I am excited about. It is a club that I wanted to join.
:23:43. > :23:49.If I had some opportunity to steep -- speak with Demba Ba in the
:23:49. > :23:54.summer. I have had little opportunity to discuss with him
:23:54. > :23:58.since because this materialised quickly yesterday. I am looking
:23:58. > :24:05.forward to showing what you can do. -- what I can do. In Sunderland,
:24:05. > :24:10.Ryan Noble is on his way out. He has gone out on loan to Derby
:24:10. > :24:13.County for the second time. He was briefly at Pride Park two years ago
:24:13. > :24:17.when his loan spell was cut short by injury.
:24:17. > :24:22.Middlesbrough have sold their tickets for the cup-tie at the
:24:22. > :24:29.Stadium of Light on Sunday week. They could be entitled to 7000 but
:24:29. > :24:32.allegation was set to 3000. Boro fans we minute seated area three
:24:32. > :24:38.years ago. Boro have been offered more tickets than they were for
:24:38. > :24:47.that game. You mentioned earlier that we don't
:24:47. > :24:52.know whether to put the heating up It is very cold at the start of the
:24:52. > :24:59.week that it has been mild today. It gets colder tomorrow. It is
:24:59. > :25:04.milder at the weekend. For tomorrow, we have sunshine and showers. It
:25:04. > :25:09.will be brighter in the east. Overnight tonight, star-gazing
:25:09. > :25:14.whether in the North East. Some clear spells in Cumbria. One or two
:25:14. > :25:20.isolated towers blowing in on a strengthening westerly wind. Rough
:25:20. > :25:25.seas around the region but we to avoid a frost in those places.
:25:25. > :25:31.Temperatures down to four Celsius. Generally frost-free first thing
:25:31. > :25:37.tomorrow. Sunny spells in the east but showers blown in on a north-
:25:37. > :25:42.westerly wind. There will be showers hanging on for North
:25:42. > :25:46.Yorkshire. Through the afternoon, they become more widespread. A
:25:46. > :25:53.flurry of white on the map behind me. Those showers could be wintery
:25:53. > :25:59.over the tops of the hills. They will be wintery and sleet and snow
:25:59. > :26:04.for the Cumbrian fells, the Pennines and the North York Moors.
:26:04. > :26:09.They could be some slippery roads with ice forming. The Met Office
:26:09. > :26:19.have wished -- issued a weather warning for those icy roads. Top
:26:19. > :26:26.temperature tomorrow, 5-seven Celsius. A cold afield to Thursday.
:26:26. > :26:34.Shell was across the much of the region. It gets better towards the
:26:34. > :26:42.rest of the week. Cloudier generally but the temperatures rise.
:26:42. > :26:47.A change in the wind direction to a mild, south-westerly by Friday.
:26:47. > :26:52.Saturday you was good, especially further north. It gets milder for
:26:52. > :27:00.most places. We will notice the strength of the wind. Will be
:27:00. > :27:06.breezy over the weekend. We have low-pressure so those wins staying
:27:06. > :27:16.strong over the weekend. If you tune in to BBC2 tonight, face more
:27:16. > :27:18.
:27:18. > :27:22.action with Professor Brian Cox on Finally, tonight's headlines. An
:27:22. > :27:26.upward has reached a 17 year high. The unemployment rate in the North