:00:06. > :00:10.Welcome to Look North. Tonight: The region's unenviable binge drinking
:00:10. > :00:14.culture is in the spotlight. The Prime Minister promises action to
:00:14. > :00:21.tackle public drunkenness. Republicans say the blame lies with
:00:21. > :00:24.supermarkets. They are, in many incidences, socially irresponsible.
:00:24. > :00:28.-- pub landlords. It is not push us who are at fault, it is
:00:28. > :00:34.supermarkets. Little relief in the latest
:00:34. > :00:37.unemployment figures, but it is boom time for the hotel sector.
:00:37. > :00:42.More breathing space for Darlington Football Club - but the prize for
:00:42. > :00:45.saving it stands at �750,000. And the countdown to the Kielder
:00:46. > :00:49.Marathon begins, but this year the organisers will be keeping a
:00:49. > :00:55.special eye open for bus passengers! We might just have a
:00:55. > :00:59.word with bus drivers and say that if anyone is wearing a number and
:00:59. > :01:02.asks the bus to stop, unless they are hurt, please don't stop!
:01:02. > :01:05.have will have the best of the football action from last night
:01:05. > :01:10.with Middlesbrough's bid back on track.
:01:10. > :01:20.And on his bike for Sir Bobby - why Robbie is cycling all the way from
:01:20. > :01:25.
:01:26. > :01:30.Good evening. Newcastle used to be proud of its party city tag. Then
:01:30. > :01:34.when pictures of drunken revellers began to circulate, that image was
:01:34. > :01:37.played down. But today the Prime Minister used a Newcastle hospital
:01:37. > :01:42.to launch an attack on a binge boozing hospital blighting British
:01:42. > :01:48.cities. He said he wants to curb public drunkenness, not just to
:01:48. > :01:51.improve health but to save the NHS the cost of treating alcohol abuse.
:01:51. > :01:55.Our political correspondent Mark Denten joins us.
:01:56. > :02:00.This is where the Prime Minister has been today - the RVI in
:02:00. > :02:05.Newcastle. Like many hospitals in our region, it deals with the fall-
:02:05. > :02:10.out of problems with alcohol. The fights that break out on Saturday
:02:10. > :02:13.nights or people with liver disease for a lifetime spent drinking. The
:02:13. > :02:19.Prime Minister was touring the wards, meeting staff and patients
:02:19. > :02:24.to try to get some detail about the picture here. Let's be clear - we
:02:24. > :02:30.have an unenviable record in terms of alcohol figures. It has got
:02:30. > :02:37.worse over the last 20 years. In 1991, there were 170 deaths through
:02:37. > :02:43.alcohol in the north-east. Look at the figure by 2010. The figure
:02:43. > :02:49.rockets to 469. There is particular concern about deaths of men. Male
:02:49. > :02:52.deaths from alcohol are 40% above the UK alcohol -- the UK average.
:02:52. > :02:55.So no wonder perhaps that David Cameron was here today,
:02:55. > :02:59.particularly concerned about those issues. He said he had learned some
:02:59. > :03:03.new information from coming here. have been impressed in this
:03:03. > :03:08.hospital, where there is a police officer on duty on Thursday, Friday
:03:08. > :03:12.and Saturday nights. I want to make sure local councils have the powers
:03:12. > :03:16.to close down bars of they need to and that the police can set -- step
:03:16. > :03:20.in. It is against the law to sell to people who are under-aged and
:03:20. > :03:24.you can close down bars. We also need to look at the issue of
:03:24. > :03:29.pricing and how we handle alcohol in our hospitals. We will take
:03:29. > :03:32.action right across the board. This is a national problem. Although the
:03:32. > :03:36.government and members of the health professions are at daggers
:03:36. > :03:41.drawn over changes to the health service, on this issue they seem
:03:41. > :03:48.pretty United. And particularly over the issue of a minimum price
:03:48. > :03:54.for alcohol. A liver specialist in Newcastle told us this. Alcohol has
:03:54. > :03:58.got progressively cheaper. It is 140% more puff - at more affordable
:03:58. > :04:04.than it was 30 years ago. That means it is being sold for a third
:04:04. > :04:08.of the price. With that, consumption has escalated and has
:04:08. > :04:16.gone up 2 1/2 will fold. Alcohol- related harm has escalated in the
:04:16. > :04:22.same ratio. David Cameron faced criticism today, didn't he? Yes, he
:04:22. > :04:27.did. Although Labour also want to see a minimum price for alcohol, I
:04:27. > :04:35.have been talking to the Labour MP for Blaydon who says that is a's
:04:35. > :04:41.announcement by David Cameron was just a diversionary tactic. -- are
:04:41. > :04:44.today's announcement. He will not solve the problem by just setting a
:04:44. > :04:49.minimum price but by having programmes in place that involve
:04:49. > :04:52.people in the care side of things, giving people education. What we
:04:52. > :04:57.are doing is drawing support for those projects that have actually
:04:57. > :05:01.been helping people. David Cameron coming here to talk about alcohol
:05:01. > :05:05.problems with the figures that we have puts Newcastle in the
:05:05. > :05:12.spotlight. Although there have been attempts to shed the city's image
:05:12. > :05:17.as a party city, tourism is still important. My colleague has been
:05:17. > :05:23.talking to the tourism industry hearing Newcastle and also took
:05:23. > :05:28.publicans who want a minimum price for alcohol, who put to the blame
:05:28. > :05:32.at the door of the supermarkets. Newcastle has thrived on its
:05:32. > :05:35.reputation as one of the world's best party cities - and a
:05:35. > :05:39.reputation earned from its hundreds of clubs and pubs. But by selling
:05:39. > :05:43.ourselves in such a way, are we now seeing a backlash? The
:05:43. > :05:48.NewcastleGateshead Initiative has the job of marketing Tyneside.
:05:48. > :05:54.is about a wide offer. The cultural attractions - a retail is
:05:54. > :05:59.incredibly important. It is not just about coming here and getting
:05:59. > :06:03.smashed. It is about that wide sector of all the bars and clubs
:06:03. > :06:07.and everything else that the city has to offer. One a northern pub
:06:07. > :06:11.chain supports a minimum price for alcohol and blames the supermarkets
:06:11. > :06:16.for binge drinking. They will drink at home. They may be drink more
:06:16. > :06:20.than they should drink because it is so ridiculously cheap, and then
:06:20. > :06:25.they may go out for an odd pint or two in the pub, by which time they
:06:25. > :06:29.have had enough of. So the public tends to get the problems and the
:06:29. > :06:32.supermarkets get the trade. It is not fair and it is not socially
:06:32. > :06:36.responsible or even economic the correct for the government. That is
:06:36. > :06:39.because the government gets less VAT from each pint sold in the
:06:39. > :06:43.supermarket compared with the pub. The Wine and Spirit Trade
:06:43. > :06:53.Association, which represents retailers, says minimum unit
:06:53. > :07:00.
:07:00. > :07:04.Let's go back to Mark Denten at the RVI, who has been following the
:07:04. > :07:08.Prime Minister's visit. When can we expect more on the Government's
:07:08. > :07:13.alcohol strategy? Today the noises and the general mood than the
:07:13. > :07:16.government wants to make towards tackling alcohol problems have been
:07:16. > :07:26.outlined by we will not get the detail until the strategy comes out.
:07:26. > :07:30.We are expecting that next month. The latest unemployment figures
:07:30. > :07:36.show a reversal of fortune across our region. The jobless total in
:07:36. > :07:40.the north-east fell by 4,000 in the three months to December, leaving
:07:40. > :07:50.143,000 out of work. In Cumbria, which recorded a fall in the last
:07:50. > :07:50.
:07:51. > :07:53.quarterly figures, the total went up by 800. During his visit, the
:07:53. > :07:58.Prime Minister said the government is working at reducing unemployment
:07:58. > :08:02.here but still needs to do more. The government is investing in
:08:02. > :08:08.enterprise zones. We are putting money into apprenticeships and
:08:08. > :08:11.building infrastructure, investing in the Tyne and Wear Metro and all
:08:11. > :08:15.of those projects. We need to do more to get the economy growing
:08:15. > :08:19.faster so we can provide more jobs. As those figures show, things are
:08:19. > :08:23.still hard for Industry and Business in the region but there is
:08:23. > :08:26.one area which does not seem to be suffering. New figures suggest
:08:26. > :08:30.Newcastle's hotel sector is more buoyant than anywhere else in the
:08:30. > :08:34.country except London. The city is experiencing a burst of development
:08:34. > :08:42.and openings, giving it the highest occupancy rates of any provincial
:08:42. > :08:46.city. In the latest of his Economy Check reports, here is Ian Reeve.
:08:46. > :08:55.David Myers Sherrin of Newcastle's latest hotel on the city's Westgate
:08:55. > :09:01.Road. An addition to a sector that is booming. -- showing off. On a
:09:01. > :09:06.weekend, 86% of the rumours in the region of all. The national average
:09:06. > :09:12.stands at just 65%. What explains the anomaly? Why does the City beat
:09:12. > :09:16.Manchester, Leeds and Birmingham? Newcastle has got very strong
:09:16. > :09:21.corporate and leisure business, and a lot of big businesses are based
:09:21. > :09:27.in Newcastle. We have some top- class sports teams, at leading
:09:27. > :09:32.universities, as well as a really, really vibrant evening economy.
:09:32. > :09:37.a year, that all attracts 18 million visitors, spending over �1
:09:37. > :09:45.billion. Above all that shows no sign of bursting. The fat all these
:09:45. > :09:49.new hotels are opening is a tremendous vote of confidence. --
:09:49. > :09:52.the fact. Hotel operators are very hard headed in the decisions they
:09:52. > :09:57.make. They will not invest in a place they don't think will give
:09:57. > :10:02.them a return long term. Newcastle and Gateshead's buoyancy can be
:10:02. > :10:06.seen in other spots across the region. This is a five-star hotel
:10:06. > :10:12.in County Durham, the sort of place you might think Ofsted times are
:10:12. > :10:16.making life difficult for. -- austere times. But we are
:10:16. > :10:21.apparently cutting back elsewhere. People who may have previously
:10:21. > :10:30.enjoyed more overseas holidays will translate that into a mortgage
:10:30. > :10:34.arrears weekend -- a more luxurious weekend. We see golf as a day out
:10:34. > :10:38.increasingly, rather than just a round of golf. There will be
:10:38. > :10:41.hoteliers having a much harder time but with 40,000 jobs dependent on
:10:41. > :10:47.the hotel sector in the region alone, it is surely a relief that
:10:47. > :10:51.so many are not. A man has been arrested on
:10:51. > :10:56.suspicion of murder following the discovery of another man's body
:10:56. > :11:01.after a fire at a property in Northumberland. The 30-year-old's
:11:01. > :11:04.body was found at a flat in Blyford shortly before midday yesterday. A
:11:04. > :11:08.20-year-old of manner has been arrested.
:11:08. > :11:13.Part of a shopping street in Workington will remain closed until
:11:13. > :11:15.tomorrow morning at least after a gas leak. Businesses and flats in
:11:15. > :11:20.Murray Road were initially evacuated but all residents have
:11:20. > :11:24.been allowed to go home. The majority of shops has reopened. The
:11:24. > :11:26.gas company says it has fixed the first league but is ticking for a
:11:26. > :11:30.second, as there are still high levels of gas in some properties.
:11:30. > :11:33.It is not clear when the road will be fully reopened.
:11:33. > :11:38.Darlington Football Club has been given a stay of execution until the
:11:38. > :11:42.end of April. In administration since early January, a new
:11:42. > :11:47.community company will try to sell shares and the club and raise
:11:47. > :11:52.�750,000. Ian Reid is in our Teesside newsrooms. What is the
:11:52. > :11:57.chance of this scheme working? new company has been set up
:11:57. > :12:03.comprising businesses and supporters' grips with the aim of
:12:03. > :12:08.raising �750,000. It wants to do that by selling 7,500 shares at
:12:08. > :12:15.�100 each. The administrator has set a deadline of 30th April of for
:12:15. > :12:20.that total to be raised and to to get the ball rolling, his company
:12:20. > :12:24.will start by buying �500 of shares. He says if that total is reached,
:12:24. > :12:29.that will be enough to take Darlington out of administration
:12:29. > :12:33.and to give it enough cash to successfully trade on. He does say,
:12:33. > :12:38.though, that the club will remain in administration until the end of
:12:38. > :12:42.the season, which will give the caretaker manager some problems.
:12:42. > :12:46.am delighted that we have still got a football club to fight for. We
:12:46. > :12:51.are still surviving, only just, but there is a lot of work to go on
:12:51. > :12:55.behind the scenes to get us through this. The downside of it is that we
:12:55. > :13:02.will still be in administration for the rest of the season. Backed up
:13:02. > :13:08.will enable us to make do with a small squad but we have got.
:13:08. > :13:13.exactly euphoric. The administrator acknowledged that there is along
:13:13. > :13:17.way to go. He also said that the crowds need to turn up at the Arena
:13:17. > :13:20.to support Darlington. But he took heart from the fact that Wrexham
:13:20. > :13:30.Football Club has carried out a similar scheme and carried it out
:13:30. > :13:34.
:13:34. > :13:39.Do your children or grandchildren have braces to straighten their
:13:39. > :13:43.teeth and give them a perfect smile? Orthodontic treatment on the
:13:43. > :13:47.NHS is free to and ratings and thousands of children benefit from
:13:47. > :13:51.it. We revealed that dental contracts with the service were
:13:51. > :13:55.being put out to tender, raising the prospect that young patients
:13:55. > :14:00.could be transferred to another dentist, possibly many miles away.
:14:00. > :14:03.Those contracts were awarded this week. The longest established
:14:03. > :14:11.orthodontist practice in Newcastle has been dropped. What now for
:14:11. > :14:20.patients? What it be said to? May have be in saying that they are
:14:20. > :14:26.shocked and saddened. -- they have been saying. Everyone
:14:26. > :14:30.agrees that the NHS provides value for money. They had been put out to
:14:30. > :14:36.tender, those contracts. At the same time, you have to think about
:14:36. > :14:42.patient care, about continuity. I spoke to the mother of a 13-year-
:14:42. > :14:47.old about other daughter cheap treatment. -- about orthodontic
:14:47. > :14:51.treatment. You have to have a relationship with the dentist. If
:14:51. > :14:55.that dentist then loses the contract to continue that work, I
:14:55. > :14:59.provides drama. I had braces and Mike teenage years, I know how
:14:59. > :15:05.traumatic it can be. What do the commissioner say? They have said
:15:05. > :15:15.that they are hoping to provide continuity of care that can
:15:15. > :15:15.
:15:15. > :15:21.reassure patients. They are making a commitment.
:15:21. > :15:23.Ali working too hard? Also, preparations under way for the
:15:23. > :15:33.Kielder Marathon and the promise that everyone will do it on foot
:15:33. > :15:38.
:15:38. > :15:45.this year. And coming up, how long This week, we are asking the big
:15:45. > :15:48.question - are we working too hard? The region still has the highest
:15:48. > :15:53.unemployment in the country. Are we really working as hard as we could
:15:53. > :15:57.be if we are lucky enough to have a job? Six days, surfing the internet,
:15:57. > :16:02.cigarette breaks. They'll make a dent in working hours. Some firms
:16:02. > :16:06.have responded by changing the way they do business. They have been in
:16:06. > :16:15.business for over a century. This engineering firm in South Shields
:16:15. > :16:22.has had to change to survive it is not only the machines they are
:16:22. > :16:27.getting more from. Workers and managers both agreed to could have
:16:27. > :16:31.drastic cuts in stick -- drastic cuts in sick pay. There is no sick
:16:31. > :16:37.pay for the first two weeks you're L. We introduced a profit share
:16:37. > :16:41.scheme. As sick pay goes down, profit-share goes up. It is dog-
:16:41. > :16:44.eat-dog. If we are late delivering to a customer, because we have
:16:44. > :16:50.people off sick, we have to do something about it because simply
:16:50. > :16:54.the customer will go elsewhere. This firm and Middlesbrough has
:16:54. > :16:58.also changed things. They now work a four-day week, taking every
:16:58. > :17:02.single Friday off. We get better productivity from the four days we
:17:02. > :17:07.are here but also people are more refreshed when they come back from
:17:07. > :17:13.the weekend. Go to get the chance to properly unwind in the three
:17:13. > :17:17.days. But people like Graham, there is a double benefit. He gets to
:17:17. > :17:21.work from home two days per week. A five-day commute from Newcastle has
:17:22. > :17:27.turned into a much more economic goal today journey. The few of us
:17:27. > :17:32.from Newcastle have managed to car share. We have saved a lot of money
:17:32. > :17:36.that way. Whether you work on Friday or not, the chances you will
:17:36. > :17:46.spend a fair chunk of your working week surfing the internet. Should I
:17:46. > :17:48.
:17:49. > :17:53.feel guilty? Apparently not. Dr Berry is an expert on social media
:17:53. > :17:57.and the net. She says surfing is not necessarily skiving. The
:17:57. > :18:00.ability to take a couple of minutes out of your day to do something
:18:00. > :18:07.that satisfy is an immediate purge, be that checking that the poor
:18:07. > :18:10.scores, or hitting a send button on at Tesco shop, could be of
:18:10. > :18:15.significant value to bosses because it means they have a more settled
:18:15. > :18:19.and productive workforce. Whilst some of us may be taking time out
:18:19. > :18:26.to surf inside the office, others are still nipping out of the operas
:18:26. > :18:32.for a quick fag. -- the office. Anyone who gives up cigarettes for
:18:32. > :18:36.a year here gets �1,000. Once people realise that it has cost
:18:36. > :18:42.them an awful lot of money, and I am also prepared to be my own money
:18:42. > :18:46.towards it, a cash prize to help them along with their motivation,
:18:46. > :18:52.we found that a couple of people actually stopped. This is an extra
:18:53. > :18:57.bonus. It is fantastic! He is so kind for doing that. But I would
:18:57. > :19:01.not start smoking again. The places where we work have changed out of
:19:01. > :19:10.all recognition. It is not just about changing technology. The way
:19:10. > :19:16.we work is changing too. I do nothing my boss is going to pay for
:19:16. > :19:24.me to go 10 score shopping. -- I do not think my boss will pay
:19:24. > :19:30.for me to shop online. Kielder Marathon last year was overshadowed
:19:30. > :19:35.when Rob Sloan was of a ship -- was disqualified for cheating. But the
:19:35. > :19:40.publicity has given a marathon a boost. The marathon runner who ran
:19:40. > :19:45.out of steam, jumped on a bus and then rejoined the race. Rob Sloan
:19:45. > :19:49.still denies cheating but he will not be welcomed back. He jumped on
:19:49. > :19:56.a bus for spectators and we will be keeping those buses in place. It is
:19:56. > :19:59.to move spectators from one viewing point to another. We might have a
:19:59. > :20:07.word with the bus drivers and say that if anyone is winning a number,
:20:07. > :20:14.do not stop. -- waving a number. It might be that Mr Sloan's bus trip
:20:14. > :20:18.has done the event a favour. It might be no bad thing. They're
:20:19. > :20:23.hoping to expand this event this year, possibly doubling the number
:20:23. > :20:30.of entrants. Even illegitimate runners can see how he might have
:20:30. > :20:35.helped. Every time it was on the television, I was in the background.
:20:35. > :20:39.I had a lot of people saying, I see on television again. People saying,
:20:39. > :20:45.is that the race he won? When I tried to explain it to people
:20:45. > :20:49.otherwise, the people don't understand. It almost felt a bit.
:20:49. > :20:55.The real sales pitch remains the duty of the course. Being at the
:20:55. > :21:02.front right at from the start, with no one took the shares, they gave
:21:02. > :21:11.us time to lift my head up and have all about. -- no one to push me. It
:21:11. > :21:15.is a beautiful marathon and it is lovely looking back across the lake.
:21:16. > :21:22.This year's Kielder Marathon is on October 7th. You could always join
:21:22. > :21:31.the spectators - on the bus, of course! It went round the world,
:21:31. > :21:40.didn't it! It is going to run and run! You have to say it! A mixed
:21:40. > :21:45.bag of results. Middlesbrough got their first win in the Championship
:21:45. > :21:49.since Boxing Day. Tony Mowbray had claimed there was no panic and
:21:49. > :21:53.Middlesbrough. But he will be mightily relieved with this. They
:21:53. > :22:02.had to wait until stoppage time in the first have before taking the
:22:02. > :22:06.lead. Marvin Emnes scored. 1-0 up at the interval and it was 2-0 just
:22:06. > :22:16.after the restart. It looked like game over. Nottingham Forest pulled
:22:16. > :22:17.
:22:17. > :22:23.a goal back when a free-kick from Andy Reed was flicked in. Kevin
:22:23. > :22:29.Thomson was sent off for two yellow cards. They held on for a win that
:22:29. > :22:33.takes them to within one point of the play-offs. Hartlepool's five-
:22:33. > :22:38.match unbeaten run came to an end at Preston. Be dominated the game
:22:38. > :22:44.but fell behind to a fabulous strike. Despite a frantic scramble
:22:44. > :22:51.near the end, they could not quite force an equaliser. They dropped to
:22:51. > :22:58.14 to the table. Gateshead and York are through to the next stage of
:22:58. > :23:05.the FA Trophy whilst Derek drew 2-2 at Clyde. -- whilst Berwick Rangers
:23:05. > :23:10.drew 2-2. Robbie Elliott played under Kevin Keegan and Kenny
:23:10. > :23:13.Dalglish at Newcastle but it is his association with another Magpies
:23:13. > :23:18.boss, Bobby Robson, which has inspired his toughest challenge yet.
:23:18. > :23:25.As a player and later a fitness coach, left-back Robbie Elliott
:23:25. > :23:31.enjoys these bells -- enjoyed three spells at Newcastle. Today, he
:23:31. > :23:36.wants to a charitable foundation in his name. He has to cycle 3,500
:23:36. > :23:42.miles, starting in Lisbon, going through Barcelona, Eindhoven,
:23:42. > :23:46.Craven Cottage, Wembley Stadium and Ipswich before arriving in
:23:46. > :23:53.Newcastle, hope will a match day. The group pays homage to their
:23:53. > :23:57.clubs managed by the late Sir Bobby Robson. The Sir Bobby Robson
:23:57. > :24:01.foundation will be one of their first beneficiaries, as well as
:24:01. > :24:06.Breakthrough Breast Cancer. The PFA have been brilliant at backing me.
:24:06. > :24:09.The first event had to be a big event. Hopefully this is one that
:24:09. > :24:17.will attract the attention it deserves. Who knows what will
:24:17. > :24:21.happen in the future. For this time, it is a big ride. I have thought
:24:21. > :24:25.about the distances involved. To travel right from Lisbon to
:24:25. > :24:35.Barcelona as a long, long way. De Gaulle from Barcelona are right up
:24:35. > :24:39.through France into Holland, that is even further. Stephen Tomkinson
:24:39. > :24:46.is amongst their celebrities backing Robbie. He has just
:24:46. > :24:53.finished filming at British detective movie. Because Arthur
:24:53. > :24:57.also represented Great Britain at discus and shot it, -- and shot
:24:57. > :25:01.putt, I thought I should make the effort to get a little bit run.
:25:01. > :25:11.Robbie dreamt up a fitness programme that I kept up and said
:25:11. > :25:13.
:25:13. > :25:23.Africa. -- in South Africa. Here is the weather. It was very mild
:25:23. > :25:27.
:25:27. > :25:37.A cameraman got some warm and glowing pictures this afternoon.
:25:37. > :25:41.
:25:41. > :25:47.Thank you for that. We have a matching gold in colour here.
:25:47. > :25:57.Beautiful flowers, making us feel very very likely are coming into
:25:57. > :25:58.
:25:58. > :26:01.spring. -- a very light we are. This weather front is going to
:26:01. > :26:08.start collapsing. This cold front is coming down. There will be some
:26:08. > :26:18.rain. It will be slow to clear on Friday morning. By Saturday, that
:26:18. > :26:23.rain will be sending away. -- fading away. We could see some ice
:26:23. > :26:31.on Sunday morning. As you can see, it looks like a good end to the
:26:31. > :26:35.weekend. Plenty to look forward to. Tonight, a lot of cloud. One or two
:26:35. > :26:44.clear spells in the North East. Enough of a breeze to keep
:26:44. > :26:52.temperatures above zero. Free of frost in the region. Enter tomorrow,
:26:52. > :26:58.we have a cloudy start. It will be dry to start with, but cloudy later
:26:58. > :27:04.on. Some rain will come in from the north-west. It will be lighter and
:27:04. > :27:14.more patchy as it hits the Pennines. There will be some heavier
:27:14. > :27:16.
:27:16. > :27:21.outbreaks. Top temperatures, a mild tomorrow. Through the rest of the