:00:06. > :00:11.Welcome to Look North. The headlines: A bionic bid - soldier
:00:11. > :00:15.from South Tyneside is set to make little history.
:00:15. > :00:20.The families of victims of asbestos related cancer struggling to get
:00:20. > :00:24.compensation. Mission accomplished, a Newcastle
:00:24. > :00:28.student becomes the youngest Briton to ski to the in South Pole.
:00:28. > :00:32.And fans and well-wishers gathered around to give Darlington Football
:00:32. > :00:38.Club a sporting chance of survival. The plenty of other big games ahead.
:00:38. > :00:48.We will look to those. And from Ivory Coast to Cumbria - quite a
:00:48. > :00:53.
:00:53. > :00:56.A soldier from South Tyneside is about to make medical history when
:00:56. > :01:00.he becomes the first person in this country to be fitted with a
:01:00. > :01:04.pioneering bionic limb. Corporal Andrew Garthwaite, from South
:01:04. > :01:08.Shields, lost his right arm during a rocket attack in Afghanistan.
:01:08. > :01:12.This weekend he is travelling to Austria for specialist surgery. The
:01:12. > :01:18.doctors hope he will be able to control his new prosthetic arm
:01:18. > :01:24.using his mind. For corporal Andrew Garthwaite,
:01:24. > :01:28.making a cup of tea is no longer an easy task. Yet this soldier was
:01:28. > :01:34.once fighting the Taliban on Afghanistan's front line. It was
:01:34. > :01:38.there that he was hit in a rocket attack.
:01:38. > :01:44.A rocket just came straight in from the side.
:01:44. > :01:50.E then became the first person in the UK to have a bionic arm fitted.
:01:50. > :01:54.The hand will open. Another arm was made so he could
:01:54. > :01:59.write his motorbike. But now corporal Andrew Garthwaite's story
:01:59. > :02:03.is said to make medical headlines. This weekend he is flying to
:02:03. > :02:07.Austria, where surgeons will undertake a complex operation for
:02:07. > :02:11.one of the most advanced bionic reconstructions in the world.
:02:11. > :02:15.This is all going to be happening on Tuesday morning, so it is going
:02:15. > :02:17.to take six hours. I'm excited about going over, a bit nervous,
:02:17. > :02:22.but I think the outcome will be great.
:02:22. > :02:25.Now he can move his arms through flexing his chest muscles, but the
:02:25. > :02:30.movements are limited. Indiana, Andrew will undergo what is called
:02:30. > :02:34.complex targetted reinervation. That involves re-routing the nerves
:02:34. > :02:39.that controlled his arm to his chest. He will then learn to
:02:39. > :02:43.control those muscles and surgeons hope he will be able to have a
:02:43. > :02:47.sophisticated limb which she moves with his mind.
:02:47. > :02:52.Instead of me having to flex my muscle back and forth when I want
:02:52. > :02:58.to move stuff, I should do it all in 11 movement. It will be one
:02:58. > :03:04.actual movement. -- in one movement. What does it mean to you to be put
:03:04. > :03:12.forward like this? I am lost for words. The MoD and
:03:12. > :03:22.everybody else... It has taken a long time, but to be the first
:03:22. > :03:23.
:03:23. > :03:28.And Sharon will be in Vienna talking to both Andrew's surgeons
:03:28. > :03:35.and the bionics team and will bring you a special report next week.
:03:35. > :03:39.She is exhausted, but Bryony has succeeded in her bid to become the
:03:39. > :03:42.youngest Briton to ski the some hundred miles to the South Pole. It
:03:43. > :03:50.took her to the six days and she celebrated her 21st birthday on the
:03:50. > :03:55.way. At times, temperatures dropped to -45 degrees.
:03:55. > :04:00.These are Bryony Balen's latest pictures from Antarctica. In 56
:04:00. > :04:09.days, she coped with high winds, white outs, and an uphill struggle
:04:09. > :04:17.on the earth's hardest content. She was the youngest Briton to Dougie
:04:17. > :04:21.trip and described the journey. We had been going for 15.5 hours by
:04:21. > :04:27.the time we got to the South Pole. We could see the research station
:04:27. > :04:31.from 24 miles away. We thought we must be nearly there, and renew,
:04:31. > :04:35.finally, that we had four kilometres left.
:04:35. > :04:41.The three of the group of six had to pull out. Bryony believes her
:04:41. > :04:45.three stone in weight that she put on hold to complete the expedition.
:04:45. > :04:51.Before she left England, Look North introduced her to Conrad Dickinson,
:04:51. > :04:55.who did the trek with his wife eight years ago. He gave Bryony
:04:55. > :05:02.some tips. It is magnificent. She will be
:05:02. > :05:05.there exhausted but elated. She will be really suffering. She could
:05:05. > :05:11.have filled a doctor's surgery 10 times over. She will have muscular
:05:11. > :05:17.skeletal injuries. Her feet will be killing her. She will be going
:05:17. > :05:25.through a lot of pain in her joints, knees and hips.
:05:25. > :05:30.A truly remarkable achievement. Amazing! Well, Bryony's mother and
:05:30. > :05:35.father joined us now. How proud are you?
:05:35. > :05:40.We are thrilled. It has been an ambition for Bryony for the past
:05:40. > :05:43.three years. She is determined and she has shown that she can pull it
:05:43. > :05:48.off. Did you ever had any doubts,
:05:48. > :05:56.knowing that the extreme conditions would be there?
:05:56. > :06:02.Know. We knew she was determined. We thought there if -- that if
:06:02. > :06:08.anybody could do it, she could. We're glad that it is over.
:06:08. > :06:12.Have you had a chat with her? brief chat this morning after she
:06:12. > :06:17.reached the South Pole. She did sound very tired but absolutely
:06:18. > :06:22.over the moon. So elated to be there at last.
:06:22. > :06:27.So, relief for you guys, I imagine, but as parents, you must think she
:06:27. > :06:32.is one to watch, really? What his next?
:06:32. > :06:37.We're used to it after the time she climbed a mountain when she was at
:06:37. > :06:42.school. I hope the next thing will be returning to Newcastle and
:06:42. > :06:47.finishing her degree. Do me a favour and safer some of the
:06:47. > :06:57.champagne and a short there's enough hot water for a bath!
:06:57. > :06:59.
:06:59. > :07:02.certainly will. An international karate champion
:07:02. > :07:07.has been jailed for five years after committing sex offences
:07:07. > :07:13.against a teenage girl he had been training. Liam O'Grady had groomed
:07:13. > :07:17.his victim over a number of months. He is a 30-year-old, married,
:07:17. > :07:19.father of two. He has been expelled from the Karate Club of Great
:07:19. > :07:22.Britain. The police in Cumbria have revealed
:07:22. > :07:26.that drink-drive cases in the county were down by a third over
:07:26. > :07:29.Christmas. Compared to last year, they tested more than double the
:07:29. > :07:35.number of drivers this fear. The 88 people were either over the limit
:07:35. > :07:39.or refuse to give a breath test. The North East has one of the
:07:39. > :07:42.highest rates of asbestos related cancer in the whole country. But an
:07:42. > :07:46.increasing number of victims cannot claim compensation. This because
:07:46. > :07:52.their companies have gone out of business and their insurance cover
:07:52. > :08:01.can't be traced. Now they are cause for their families to be helped.
:08:01. > :08:06.He could walk in the room and he would just fill it. He was quite
:08:06. > :08:10.shy, Geoff, until he got known. He was just amazing.
:08:10. > :08:14.Liz Bradshaw remembers happier times with her husband. He died a
:08:14. > :08:19.year ago from mesothelioma, a result, she says, or workplace
:08:19. > :08:23.exposure to asbestos. Geoff worked as a photographer in a
:08:23. > :08:31.publishing firm that published car manuals. He was present when they
:08:31. > :08:37.were taking the photographs when they were taking the engines apart.
:08:37. > :08:41.That is where he got the dust from. That was back in the 1970s. The
:08:41. > :08:45.Bradshaws are currently unable to claim compensation because Geoff's
:08:45. > :08:51.employer has gone out of business. Their solicitor says many others
:08:51. > :08:59.are equally frustrated. There's a need for a fund of last
:08:59. > :09:03.resort. There's a long time between when the victim of a civilian was
:09:03. > :09:07.exposed to asbestos dust and the disease developing.
:09:07. > :09:12.The idea of a fund is being considered by the government. But
:09:12. > :09:15.the insurance industry is not happy. We do not think it is right that in
:09:15. > :09:22.circumstances where there may not have been injured in place for two
:09:23. > :09:27.of 50 years ago, for today's employers to fund that. -- 40 or 50
:09:27. > :09:32.years ago. As for Liz Bradshaw, she has vowed
:09:32. > :09:39.to continue her husband's fight to get compensation and to hold summer
:09:39. > :09:49.to account for is a necessary death. -- to hold someone to account for
:09:49. > :09:51.
:09:51. > :09:57.New shopping figures released today show that sales grew last month.
:09:57. > :10:00.December saw a rise of over 0.5% on a month before. That was a relief
:10:00. > :10:04.for retailers. But for one city, York, Christmas shopping figures
:10:04. > :10:07.were more buoyant than the national picture. That is even though some
:10:07. > :10:13.retailers say they are wary of the threat of the economy slipping back
:10:13. > :10:18.into recession. During the fat over December's
:10:18. > :10:22.shopping figures in York. The city's retail forum meets to
:10:22. > :10:26.analyse how should speak and small performed last month. Nationally,
:10:26. > :10:31.sales grew. Not as much as predicted, but in York, things
:10:31. > :10:35.really took off. Very positive, actually. I was
:10:35. > :10:40.expecting it to be worse than it has been in my view of the fact
:10:40. > :10:45.that the figures that are out from Tesco and others, but it was
:10:45. > :10:51.positive. December was up on the previous year and two years before.
:10:51. > :10:57.York is strong at the moment. The figures for the Minster City bear
:10:57. > :11:01.him out. Footfall for the last weekend for Christmas showed
:11:01. > :11:08.245,000 shoppers. That was a rise of over 6% on the same period last
:11:08. > :11:13.year. It was a giant leap on 2009's figures. So what explains it?
:11:13. > :11:18.The power of Christmas cake the word recession away. We are going
:11:18. > :11:21.to find late in the mud that we are back in recession. It was just that
:11:21. > :11:30.power bubble on Christmas Day that people did want to buy in advance
:11:30. > :11:38.of that which kept December say. This so does my disposable income -
:11:39. > :11:48.- disposable income is more under I certainly watch the price is now
:11:49. > :12:00.
:12:00. > :12:05.and make decisions which I did not We are seeing shoplifting almost as
:12:05. > :12:09.a profession. A problem, no doubt, but perhaps
:12:09. > :12:19.not as pressing as enduring those buoyant figures continue into the
:12:19. > :12:24.
:12:24. > :12:34.Still to come - what was Jo Brand doing in one of her hospitals? The
:12:34. > :12:35.
:12:35. > :12:38.wind is picking up for the weekend. The comedian Jo Brand is in the
:12:38. > :12:42.North-East today officially opening the new emergency care centre at
:12:42. > :12:50.South Tyneside Hospital. She is also giving this year's South
:12:50. > :12:58.Shields lecture. This is organised by it David
:12:59. > :13:03.Miliband. Jo Brand made herself a hard act to
:13:03. > :13:07.follow this afternoon and David Miliband concentrated on the
:13:07. > :13:12.importance of the new 8 million pound care centre to the South
:13:12. > :13:17.Tyneside community. Having worked in the NHS as a psychiatric nurse,
:13:17. > :13:21.she was well placed to remark on how much things have changed.
:13:21. > :13:26.I was in the NHS Florence Nightingale was a colleague of mine
:13:27. > :13:32.and it was a bit rough. All right, I was a nurse in the 1970s and
:13:32. > :13:37.1980s, totally different. This is a fantastic place. It is great
:13:37. > :13:42.because they are paid a huge amount of attention to the staff in
:13:42. > :13:46.designing it. Staff said what they need, how many toilets they need,
:13:46. > :13:56.because they work here and they know. Why are you interested in
:13:56. > :13:56.
:13:56. > :14:02.this? Get you! I am spending the day up here, I am doing a lecture
:14:02. > :14:06.tonight on behalf of David Miliband. And doing that because he asked me!
:14:06. > :14:15.I have turned him down on a couple of occasions because I had been too
:14:15. > :14:21.busy, so I would just trying make political as J as the last 25 years
:14:21. > :14:27.fits in with my personal experience with political changes. The lecture
:14:27. > :14:32.is being hit -- held at Harton Technical College this evening.
:14:32. > :14:36.Our region has produced some unforgettable moments in Olympic
:14:36. > :14:40.history. This summer there will be a new generation of viewers from
:14:40. > :14:45.the north competing in the capital. This Sunday there is a programme on
:14:45. > :14:51.BBC One at 5:00pm, called Olympic dreams, following athletes from our
:14:51. > :14:56.region as they hope to make their mark in sporting history. The
:14:56. > :15:04.presenters are with me here now. Just a promising is the talent from
:15:04. > :15:09.our region. Very promising. We're saying assets from all over our
:15:09. > :15:13.region who dream of competing. We meet the Middlesbrough a long
:15:13. > :15:19.jumper Chris Tomlinson who is probably one of our best hopes for
:15:19. > :15:26.a medal. He is recovering from a knee injury. We met his wife who is
:15:26. > :15:32.expecting a baby this year. He is preparing for his third Olympics.
:15:32. > :15:37.We met Hartlepool boxer Amanda Coulson. Women's boxing is making
:15:37. > :15:43.its debut at 2012 Olympics. This could be too late for Amanda
:15:43. > :15:49.Coulson. Right now she's facing a fight of her life just to qualify.
:15:49. > :15:57.There are some great stories. does 2012 mean for our Amanda
:15:57. > :16:02.Coulson? A huge amount - she has been competing for 14 years. There
:16:02. > :16:06.are only three weight categories for women at 2012 and abysmal only
:16:06. > :16:16.enter one fighter for each category so there is huge pressure for a
:16:16. > :16:21.place. -- Britain will only enter. She is working for the police and
:16:21. > :16:25.can only train part-time. A any Aspley will tell you there are
:16:25. > :16:31.sacrifices, my friends about parting and going on holiday and I
:16:31. > :16:36.cannot go. If there is a family party, I will not be there. I miss
:16:36. > :16:40.a lot of social events and also I have had to give up my job which is
:16:40. > :16:47.a financial burden. It is like putting your life on hold but it
:16:47. > :16:54.will be worth it in the end. Amazing. She it's really hard as
:16:55. > :16:57.well! The programme will be shown on BBC One on Sunday at 5:00pm.
:16:57. > :17:00.They thought their football club was dead but tomorrow Darlington
:17:00. > :17:05.will take to the field once more after being granted a last gasp
:17:05. > :17:08.stay of execution. Today, fans are pulled together - sweeping steps
:17:08. > :17:10.and tending the pitch as the Quakers race to get ready for a
:17:10. > :17:13.game they thought would never happen. The team is also
:17:13. > :17:16.desperately short of players, even the 40 year old manager might have
:17:16. > :17:19.to play against Fleetwood. This weekend sees the last Premier
:17:19. > :17:28.League action before the FA Cup first back into life for the 4th
:17:28. > :17:34.round. This is what real fans do. Ernie loves the Quakers so today he
:17:35. > :17:41.volunteered in the kitchen. Sears I had been coming here. It
:17:41. > :17:47.means the world to me. Everywhere the work went on, readying the
:17:47. > :17:54.stadium for what they hope will be a bumper crowd. Some of the
:17:54. > :18:01.volunteers had been here since Don. There is plenty for them to-do. As
:18:01. > :18:05.well as the dirt, a quirk and stars to seize up as well. It has been
:18:05. > :18:11.standing in damp and frost for the last couple of weeks so it is hard
:18:11. > :18:16.to get things going. We do have more time, so we have to get on
:18:17. > :18:26.with what we have got. lawnmower --: More proved
:18:27. > :18:32.
:18:32. > :18:38.especially difficult. Donations as well. Everything from pies, beer
:18:38. > :18:42.from a local brewery, fantastic. steady stream of fans arrived
:18:42. > :18:48.throughout the day to buy tickets, but for the manager it is about
:18:48. > :18:53.scrambling a team together. A walk up in the middle of the night and I
:18:54. > :18:58.have two teams to piece together, I used team and the first team. The
:18:58. > :19:03.afternoon is a big game. I had that restless night last night but
:19:03. > :19:08.hopefully And now focused on where we will go on Saturday. Back at the
:19:08. > :19:14.stadium, a pleasant surprise, a player they thought had left turned
:19:14. > :19:20.up again. I just thought I am a part of it now. Although I was
:19:20. > :19:24.leaving, it was hard to walk away. Not everyone has rallied to help
:19:24. > :19:28.the Quakers, they have suffered a cable theft which meant the phones
:19:28. > :19:35.were not working. This was a minor problem for a club which very
:19:35. > :19:44.nearly died. Time for the sport now. You will be
:19:44. > :19:50.at that game tomorrow? Yes, I well. There will be extensive coverage on
:19:50. > :20:00.BBC all day, including all line commentary. All being well, I will
:20:00. > :20:00.
:20:00. > :20:03.be live on Look North at the lunchtime and teatime bulletins.
:20:03. > :20:05.Both our teams have so-called a winnable games tomorrow then
:20:06. > :20:09.neither will be straight forward. It isn't very often Arsenal are
:20:09. > :20:11.given a football lesson, but their 3-2 defeat at promoted Swansea has
:20:11. > :20:21.meant many Sunderland fans will be wary of tomorrow's Welsh visitors,
:20:21. > :20:24.despite their indifferent away record. Great credit to them. And
:20:24. > :20:34.of the City the manager. That is the way he believed the game should
:20:34. > :20:37.
:20:37. > :20:41.be played and it is commendable. He needs some resorts to go with it.
:20:41. > :20:45.- results. O'Neill hinted that he may well keep his powder dry for
:20:45. > :20:48.the summer transfer window unless a good deal comes his way, but he is
:20:48. > :20:54.hoping to hang on to summer signing Craig Gardner - reported to be
:20:54. > :20:59.unsettled since his move from the Netherlands. He is beginning to
:20:59. > :21:01.show the form I know he's capable It has been a busy week for Alan
:21:02. > :21:05.Pardew, who unexpectedly tied up the club's latest number nine
:21:05. > :21:07.Papiss Cisse, a move which had not been possible last summer. All eyes
:21:07. > :21:10.will now be in defensive reinforcements will what about
:21:10. > :21:20.tomorrow's trip to a Fulham side half Fyffes for for hefts chastened
:21:20. > :21:23.
:21:23. > :21:28.They are going to be a big threat. I think the second half of this
:21:28. > :21:31.season they will do better. It is a tough game for us.
:21:31. > :21:34.In the championship, Middlesbrough are at Coventry. But there will be
:21:34. > :21:37.no return to East Midlands for the Sky Blues' top scorer, Lucas
:21:37. > :21:41.Jutkiewic who moved to Teesside this week. He scored when the teams
:21:41. > :21:44.met at the Riverside back in August. City said they would only sell him
:21:44. > :21:46.to Middlesbrough if manager Tony Mowbray agreed not to play him this
:21:46. > :21:51.week. Mowbray thinks Coventry will be a handful for a Middlesbrough
:21:51. > :21:57.team who have picked up just one point from the last three games.
:21:57. > :22:03.is a tough game, when you see them at the bottom of the table, looking
:22:03. > :22:08.at the statistics, 11 of their 14 defeats was done by the odd goal.
:22:08. > :22:11.I've seen them come back. The air decent football team.
:22:11. > :22:14.In League One, both teams are going pretty well. Hartlepool have picked
:22:14. > :22:18.up since the return of Neale Cooper for his second spell as manager.
:22:18. > :22:22.Carlisle are on the fringe of a play-off, with the help of their in
:22:22. > :22:25.form African striker. He is a long way from the Ivory Coast, but
:22:25. > :22:34.Francois Zoko has finally settled into life at Brunton Park.
:22:34. > :22:39.With six goals in his last six games, you can see the difference.
:22:39. > :22:47.I came here for the first season and the first month was difficult
:22:47. > :22:57.because I was alone. Now it is OK. It is nice. Our love with my family,
:22:57. > :23:00.
:23:00. > :23:04.my wife and children. Everybody Turks to me and it is OK. -- talks
:23:04. > :23:07.to me. There's more competition for places up front, with Sunderland
:23:07. > :23:09.youngster Jordan Cook starting a month's loan, and in the squad for
:23:09. > :23:12.tomorrow's home game with struggling Walsall. So far there
:23:12. > :23:15.has been no one trying to tempt players away from the club. On
:23:15. > :23:20.reflection the manager thinks this is probably a good sign.
:23:20. > :23:25.mainly! Where either not as good as we think we are or people will come
:23:25. > :23:27.in as a last gasp. By the moment there is nothing happening. There
:23:27. > :23:31.is not much happening for Nobby Solano at Hartlepool. A regular
:23:31. > :23:33.under Mick Wadsworth, so far he has been left on the sidelines under
:23:33. > :23:40.Neale Cooper who says the system they're playing at the moment
:23:40. > :23:44.doesn't suit the Peruvian. Tomorrow, Pools are at Sheffield Wednesday.
:23:44. > :23:47.This week all eyes have been on the night skies as BBC Stargazing Live
:23:47. > :23:52.returned to our screens. A group of local astronomers are hoping this
:23:52. > :23:54.will inspire their new project for a would-be stargazers in Africa.
:23:54. > :24:04.Sunderland Astronomical Society want people to dig out broken
:24:04. > :24:10.
:24:11. > :24:13.binoculars to be turned into telescopes for children in Ethiopia.
:24:13. > :24:23.Enthusiasts at BBC Stargazing Live, one of the best night's for
:24:23. > :24:24.
:24:24. > :24:31.observing so far this winter. Now astronomers here want to help
:24:31. > :24:35.children see the night sky thousands of miles away. The
:24:35. > :24:41.project came about because a friend of mine from South Shields is
:24:41. > :24:47.working as a teacher in Ethiopia. He went out to remote school and
:24:47. > :24:52.decided to give a lesson on astronomy. They fall did a piece of
:24:52. > :24:58.paper and pointed at the sky and said imagine what it is like when
:24:58. > :25:02.they are closes -- closer. Famine and nutrition and wore a big
:25:02. > :25:10.problems out there but if we can show them science and the universe,
:25:10. > :25:15.we think we can make a difference. This is an 18 inch telescope...
:25:15. > :25:20.their grip is also preparing a telescope mirror for a major new
:25:20. > :25:26.observatory near Addis Ababa. will get this move and then polish
:25:26. > :25:36.it. At Sunderland manager will be out in Ethiopia. Unwanted
:25:36. > :25:37.
:25:37. > :25:45.binoculars can be dropped off at Washington wildfowl Trust.
:25:45. > :25:50.It is not the weather this weekend to get stuck into star-gazing.
:25:50. > :25:56.Last weekend was a cracker for Last weekend was a cracker for
:25:56. > :26:01.star-gazing, cold and frosty. Sound you for this picture. This weekend
:26:01. > :26:05.it is a complete U-turn in the weather, then a windy and gusty.
:26:05. > :26:12.There will be rain coming through which will turn wintry on the tops
:26:12. > :26:17.of hills. We have had a taste of the rain today. The dregs of the
:26:17. > :26:25.rain still with us this evening. It will take some time to clear the
:26:25. > :26:32.region. A lot of cloud leftover which will combine with the strong
:26:32. > :26:36.westerly winds, gusts of 50 miles an hour, which will keep
:26:36. > :26:43.temperatures up. Frost should not be a problem tonight. Tomorrow -
:26:43. > :26:48.most of the rain will be gone, a mostly dry day with the odd shower.
:26:48. > :26:54.Cloud over the Pennines and the North East should have some bright
:26:54. > :26:59.and clear spells tomorrow afternoon. Temperatures are steady, in line
:26:59. > :27:07.with today. The edge is taken of the temperatures by the strong
:27:08. > :27:15.winds. Tomorrow we can expect us up to 60 mph in the North East. Not
:27:15. > :27:19.great if you're driving on the A1 and A19. For the rest of the
:27:19. > :27:25.weekend bash into Sunday and overnight, another batch of rain