:00:02. > :00:06.Welcome to Tuesday's Look North. In tonight's headlines:
:00:06. > :00:16.First steps. Pioneering surgery to help children with cerebral palsy
:00:16. > :00:16.
:00:16. > :00:21.to walk will be made available in the North. An exclusive report.
:00:21. > :00:27.give a child and improved quality of life is an amazing gift.
:00:27. > :00:30.Earthing that money cannot buy. -- a thing.
:00:30. > :00:33.A deadline looms and more than 500 jobs hang in the balance at a
:00:33. > :00:35.Northumberland smelting plant. The ex-PM's wife is in the region
:00:35. > :00:38.to show her support for a cancer charity.
:00:38. > :00:40.And we meet the protester who is staging a sit-in on an historic
:00:40. > :00:42.ship. In sport, why Sunderland old boy
:00:43. > :00:46.Jordan Henderson is backing his former team-mates to come good in
:00:46. > :00:56.the derby. And run for home. Why this Carling Cup hero was back at
:00:56. > :01:00.
:01:00. > :01:05.the Riverside eight years after that famous night.
:01:05. > :01:10.Many call it a miracle operation. But it comes at a price, a cost of
:01:10. > :01:13.around �50 thousand and a round trip of thousands of miles. Now, it
:01:13. > :01:17.is going to be made available here. For a number of years, Look North
:01:17. > :01:20.has reported on the stories of families who have had to take their
:01:20. > :01:24.children to America for surgery to help them to walk for the first
:01:24. > :01:27.time. The results have been extraordinary, but it's not cheap.
:01:27. > :01:30.Now, a surgeon based in the North of England is ready to do that same
:01:30. > :01:40.operation on children across our region. Health reporter Sharon
:01:40. > :01:46.
:01:46. > :01:56.Barbour has this exclusive story. Before his operation in America,
:01:56. > :02:00.Ben could not walk. But here he is today. The five-year-old, from
:02:00. > :02:07.Killingworth in North Tyneside, has cerebral palsy. He was told he
:02:07. > :02:16.would never be able to walk. I was given his wheelchair. To receive
:02:16. > :02:22.that, it is heartbreaking. I was devastated. I could not believe
:02:22. > :02:25.this was going to be his life. heard about the selective dorsal
:02:25. > :02:32.rhizotomy operation in the States. It was a chance he could walk on
:02:33. > :02:37.his own and she raised tens of thousands of pounds it would cost.
:02:37. > :02:47.He is five-and-a-half months and the things he is achieving it is
:02:47. > :02:48.
:02:48. > :02:52.amazing. I never thought he would be able to do that. Incredibly,
:02:52. > :02:57.after the operation, he did not need his wheelchair and they left
:02:57. > :03:03.it at the airport. If the operation is successful, why is it not done
:03:03. > :03:09.here? We have come to the hospital in Leeds, where one surgeon to has
:03:09. > :03:15.a dream to do that. He travelled to the States to see the operation.
:03:15. > :03:20.saw children and then walking frames, a cable comes behind them,
:03:20. > :03:25.going from those to crutches to independent steps. What a fantastic
:03:25. > :03:31.gift for our children. operation involves cutting nerves
:03:31. > :03:35.in the spine that are responsible for rigid muscles. It costs about
:03:35. > :03:41.�55,000. After seeing the surgery, this surgeon was determined to do
:03:41. > :03:45.it here. He is set for his first young patient. He hopes to do three
:03:45. > :03:51.in the next few months and he hopes the NHS will find them. You cannot
:03:51. > :03:56.put a price on taking a child out of a wheelchair and improving their
:03:56. > :04:01.quality of life so they can run in the playground. It can make a huge
:04:01. > :04:07.difference to their lives. To do it in this country is paramount. We
:04:07. > :04:12.are not a Third World country. We should be able to look after our
:04:12. > :04:18.children in this country. That is why I went to the States to learn
:04:18. > :04:24.how to do this. That the operation is available here in the North will
:04:24. > :04:28.be big news for other children with her cerebral palsy. It brings new
:04:28. > :04:34.hopes that their child like Ben can leave the wheelchair and learn to
:04:35. > :04:44.walk on their own. It sounds like great news. Sharon
:04:44. > :04:48.joins us. I am joined by just a few of the
:04:48. > :04:55.children across the North East and Cumbria whose lives are confined to
:04:55. > :05:02.wheelchairs and who want to -- walk for the first time. If I can come
:05:02. > :05:09.to Callum. And mother Sharon. How is the fund-raising to go to
:05:09. > :05:15.America again? It is going quite well. We are just over 21,000. It
:05:15. > :05:20.is hard work. It takes over your life 24 hours a day. It is good,
:05:20. > :05:25.but it makes you feel like you are begging, and that is not a good
:05:25. > :05:29.thing to do. But it will change his life. Time is critical for Callum.
:05:29. > :05:36.What do you make of the News the operation will be available here
:05:36. > :05:41.for other families? Why is it such big news? Be it is fantastic.
:05:41. > :05:47.Because they will not have to go through this fund-raising. There is
:05:47. > :05:52.light at the end of the tunnel. you angry it has come late for you?
:05:52. > :05:56.Yes, if we did not have to fund raised, it would have been
:05:56. > :06:05.fantastic but we are halfway there but we need people to donate and
:06:05. > :06:10.help us get to America. Thank you. I am going to speak to Jody and
:06:10. > :06:15.Thomas. What is your story? We just had our first steps of the journey.
:06:16. > :06:21.We have only been going one week. We need constant help to help
:06:21. > :06:25.Thomas to be able to walk and to play with his friends. Because you
:06:25. > :06:31.are in the early stages, and Thomas is four, there is a chance you
:06:31. > :06:35.might benefit from the operation available in the UK. It is a
:06:35. > :06:41.possibility. We will try this avenue. The way things stand, it
:06:41. > :06:47.looks like we will have to fund raised to get to America. That is
:06:47. > :06:52.50,000 per family and per child and more for physiotherapy. Time is
:06:52. > :06:59.critical. Good news about Leeds. But these children need their
:06:59. > :07:02.operation quickly if they are going to walk.
:07:02. > :07:04.More than 500 jobs hang in the balance at the Alcan smelter in
:07:04. > :07:09.Northumberland, where a staff consultation on closure ends
:07:09. > :07:13.tomorrow. The aluminium smelter is owned by mining and metals giant
:07:13. > :07:23.Rio Tinto, which announced the sale of the plant last November. But a
:07:23. > :07:24.
:07:24. > :07:28.buyer has yet to be found. The Alcan plant has dominated the
:07:29. > :07:32.skyline near Ashington almost 40 years. More than 500 people work at
:07:32. > :07:37.the plant, the biggest private sector employer in Northumberland.
:07:38. > :07:42.The job seemed doomed. That is disastrous. With more people
:07:43. > :07:48.unemployed, not just a Alcan, but further down the chain, it means
:07:48. > :07:52.more people will apply for fewer jobs. It is a disaster for the
:07:52. > :07:59.local economy and for the people in the area. In Ashington today there
:07:59. > :08:06.was anger that Rio Tinto is poised to shut the plant it acquired four
:08:06. > :08:11.years ago. I used to work at Alcan for almost 20 years. I was retired
:08:11. > :08:18.when Rio Tinto took over. I said to my friends, when Rio Tinto took
:08:18. > :08:24.over, that was the death knell for Alcan. It will have a massive
:08:24. > :08:29.impact on the area. We are already decimated. It is an area in trouble.
:08:29. > :08:33.For them to be closing a plant like that with the employment in there,
:08:33. > :08:40.it will be massive. The consul station started in November when
:08:40. > :08:47.the plot was put up for sale. ends tomorrow. Matters went there
:08:47. > :08:51.will be a hunt for a buyer. -- that is. None is expected. It means that
:08:51. > :08:55.next week all staff might be issued with 90 days' notice.
:08:55. > :08:57.The news is no better on South Tyneside, where one of its oldest
:08:57. > :09:00.industrial businesses has gone into administration, with the immediate
:09:00. > :09:10.loss of 100 jobs. McNulty Offshore has been in South Shields for more
:09:10. > :09:12.
:09:12. > :09:20.than a century. A big name in the boom times. And a
:09:20. > :09:24.survivor of the decline until now. McNulty Offshore has specialised
:09:24. > :09:29.the 20 years in fabrication and repair for the oil and gas industry.
:09:29. > :09:33.The global downturn in contracts has hit suppliers like this hard.
:09:33. > :09:39.The administrators say it is hopeful of selling the business and
:09:39. > :09:43.its valuable dry dock facilities. 32 staff will stay on at the yard
:09:43. > :09:47.while the search for a buyer continues. The company has an
:09:47. > :09:52.operation at Aberdeen. So far, no redundancies have been announced
:09:53. > :09:56.that. In Tyneside, it is another blow for one of the most
:09:56. > :10:00.specialised work force is in the region and perhaps the end of yet
:10:01. > :10:05.another famous old industrial brand. The Mayor of Hartlepool says he
:10:05. > :10:08.felt he had no choice but to sack six of his cabinet members. The
:10:08. > :10:10.Labour councillors did not attend last week's full council meeting.
:10:10. > :10:14.And Stuart Drummond says without their support, the cabinet's budget
:10:14. > :10:17.proposals, which they had worked on for nine months, did not go through.
:10:17. > :10:27.Mr Drummond says he will work on building a new cabinet after May's
:10:27. > :10:28.
:10:28. > :10:31.elections. I believe they were in a difficult position. Put there by
:10:32. > :10:36.their own party. I believe they were threatened with expulsion from
:10:36. > :10:41.the party if they showed up. They had a decision to make.
:10:41. > :10:48.Unfortunately, for me, it was not to show up and support what I and
:10:48. > :10:53.the Cabinet have been doing. I am afraid circumstances are that, at
:10:53. > :10:58.the moment, there are difficult decisions to be made and I need a
:10:58. > :11:01.team who can take the decisions. The wife of the former prime
:11:01. > :11:04.minister Gordon Brown has been in the region today. But Sarah Brown
:11:04. > :11:07.wasn't here for political reasons. She was starting work on a new
:11:07. > :11:10.cancer centre in Newcastle. Mrs Brown is patron of the charity
:11:10. > :11:17.known as Maggie's. Next year, it will open a base at the Freeman
:11:17. > :11:21.Hospital offering support to those with the disease.
:11:21. > :11:28.For Sarah Brown, time in the spotlight opened up a new world.
:11:28. > :11:34.The profile led her to charity work, which is why, today, she was at a
:11:34. > :11:38.Freeman Hospital as work began on a cancer centre. Part of your life is
:11:38. > :11:43.leading an extraordinary life but keeping an ordinary family life,
:11:43. > :11:49.but the other part was consort for Galton and also using my
:11:49. > :11:54.opportunity to use my voice. -- Gordon. I was a terrible public
:11:54. > :12:00.speaker, but I was so passionate about things like the centre, I am
:12:00. > :12:05.quite a noisy person now. Maggie's Centre to be built here
:12:05. > :12:10.adds to 10 in the country, offering counselling and advice to cancer
:12:10. > :12:14.patients. The idea is that people receive treatment here at the
:12:14. > :12:17.Northern centre and then walk across the road to what would be
:12:17. > :12:23.the Maggie's Centre. These buildings will be knocked down and
:12:23. > :12:29.it should be up and running by spring next year. A one of the
:12:29. > :12:35.things people talking about cancer, is feeling a real sense of being
:12:35. > :12:45.alone and isolated, a sense of outer control. Maggie's is there to
:12:45. > :12:50.
:12:50. > :12:55.help with that through Still to come, a familiar Hess has
:12:55. > :13:05.a heart to heart with us. I am Stefanie Powers and diamond
:13:05. > :13:10.
:13:10. > :13:16.Darlington. You will find out why I. Join me for your weather. He spent
:13:16. > :13:26.years fighting to see an historic ship returned to his birthplace.
:13:26. > :13:33.
:13:33. > :13:39.Peter Maddison reoccupied the City of darkness. -- City of Adelaide.
:13:39. > :13:47.Findings City of Adelaide in derelict wasteland and the dark is
:13:47. > :13:51.hard. Getting on board is even harder, especially for a fat bloke.
:13:51. > :13:59.It is Peter Maddison's second night aboard the clapper and there is
:13:59. > :14:06.little in the we of creature comforts. Things are going great
:14:06. > :14:11.for us. We came on board last night. It is great being back on bought I
:14:11. > :14:21.have brought you a bottle of rum. I will put it somewhere it will not
:14:21. > :14:22.
:14:22. > :14:26.get mislaid. But cannot find any ship's biscuits.
:14:26. > :14:32.He once the ship returned to its birthplace and believes it will
:14:32. > :14:40.cost �2 million to restore her. have the best chance ever to bring
:14:40. > :14:47.this ship back to its former glory. It is not a done deal. The deadline
:14:47. > :14:53.for this to be removed is 31st March. There has not been much
:14:53. > :15:03.activity year. That deadline will come and go or and this ship is in
:15:03. > :15:11.
:15:11. > :15:16.peril of being broken up than ever. At one time, we were great. If we
:15:16. > :15:25.brought this ship back and restored it to its formal glory, it would be
:15:25. > :15:30.great. He says he has enough supply is to keep him on board for two
:15:30. > :15:40.weeks. He does not deny his passion for the Shap. I feel it would take
:15:40. > :15:41.
:15:41. > :15:46.a lot more than �2 million to restore her.
:15:46. > :15:56.I can think of nicer places to spend the night.
:15:56. > :16:06.Everyone has an opinion on art. This is called Flow. It has been
:16:06. > :16:09.
:16:10. > :16:14.created as part of our cultural compilation for the 2012 Olympics.
:16:14. > :16:20.Your average philistine might call it a cross between a shed and a
:16:20. > :16:30.paddle steamer. I will not. It is up half-a-million pound creation
:16:30. > :16:30.
:16:31. > :16:38.which survived a sea journey. It has taken a eight towers to make
:16:38. > :16:45.its journey. Born and in Amble boatyard, Flow was chosen from
:16:45. > :16:52.hundreds of entries. But is designed to be a water driven
:16:52. > :16:58.musical entrant -- instrument. is a mechanical wooden instrument.
:16:58. > :17:08.It is powered by the quail. It responds to the different elements
:17:08. > :17:18.in the water. The amount of salt and the water changes and that
:17:18. > :17:18.
:17:18. > :17:25.affects the torn. Another 10 miles up river, and Flow arrived safely.
:17:25. > :17:31.I'd walk the people of Tyneside love it. We loved it as soon as we
:17:31. > :17:39.saw the original drawings. From a personal point of view, I served my
:17:39. > :17:44.apprenticeship on the Tyne. It is exciting. It will be open to the
:17:44. > :17:54.public from March 25th until September.
:17:54. > :17:57.
:17:57. > :18:07.That was pretty good. After Sunderland fall back, Peter
:18:07. > :18:07.
:18:07. > :18:11.Bardsley's... January signing eight per IPCC has been withdrawn from
:18:11. > :18:20.the Senegal squad for tomorrow night. After leaving the pitch with
:18:20. > :18:28.a groin injury. He left to the North East in search of silverware
:18:28. > :18:38.and he is back with a medal. That is a whirlwind existence of Jordan
:18:38. > :18:44.
:18:44. > :18:49.his education at the Stadium of Light. He moved to Liverpool. He
:18:49. > :18:59.now has a Cup winner's medal. There is little time to rest at this
:18:59. > :19:08.
:19:08. > :19:17.It gives me great confidence to play with such talented players.
:19:17. > :19:23.Everyone wants to play in the senior squad. If we keep doing it
:19:23. > :19:32.right, we will have a chance to stay on. He says he has not thought
:19:32. > :19:38.about the Derby, he is sure his old Ospreys its -- team-mates will not
:19:38. > :19:45.dwell on it. They will bounce-back and they will be up for the game on
:19:45. > :19:55.Sunday. In League One, Hartlepool travel to
:19:55. > :19:57.
:19:57. > :20:07.Bari. Eight hears the call tomorrow at Middlesbrough celebrated their
:20:07. > :20:10.
:20:10. > :20:15.Carling Cup victory. Gaizka Mendieta returned to yesterday. The
:20:15. > :20:20.Spanish superstar will take part in the five key riverside run ending
:20:20. > :20:30.at Borat Stadium on the 18th. He played a key role in the Carling
:20:30. > :20:32.
:20:32. > :20:42.Cup victory and calls on fans to join him. It is not just for people
:20:42. > :20:44.
:20:44. > :20:54.who want to make a record. If they can just finish the race. This is
:20:54. > :20:58.
:20:58. > :21:04.the 4th year of the Five cake. The numbers have grown it year-on-year.
:21:04. > :21:13.Ahead of their Het Premiership rugby clash, Newcastle Falcons have
:21:13. > :21:18.signed new players. Adam Balding returns to that old from Worcester.
:21:18. > :21:23.James Goode joins the squad until the end of the season. The Balkans
:21:23. > :21:33.are waiting for confirmation that Peter Stringer can play for them
:21:33. > :21:43.for the rest of the campaign. signed a contract but there are
:21:43. > :21:44.
:21:44. > :21:54.regulations that we need to do. Peter is out of his loan agreement.
:21:54. > :21:55.
:21:55. > :21:58.When that comes to an end, he should join us here. The Carlisle
:21:58. > :22:06.racing driver Alex MacDowell will make his debut and the world
:22:06. > :22:16.touring car. He will be at the wheel of Bath cruised for bamboo
:22:16. > :22:17.
:22:17. > :22:27.Engineering. -- Cruze. She is the start from the golden
:22:27. > :22:30.
:22:30. > :22:40.era of Hollywood. You must remember it. She is now 70. She is treading
:22:40. > :22:46.
:22:46. > :22:56.the boards at Darlington Civic Theatre. She is in On Golden Pond.
:22:56. > :23:05.You look exactly like Mrs Hart. The years have been kind. It is my
:23:05. > :23:14.mother's jeans. I am very fortunate. Find your mother. What are you
:23:14. > :23:21.doing in Darlington? I am doing a wonderful play. Many people think
:23:21. > :23:30.of it as a movie first. It was a play first. It was about a
:23:30. > :23:40.dysfunctional family headed by a retired professor. It became a film
:23:40. > :23:44.in the 1970s and was iconic because it was the only film that Jane
:23:44. > :23:54.Fonda and Henry Fonda appeared in together. The mother was played by
:23:54. > :23:55.
:23:55. > :23:59.Katharine Hepburn. The two of them won Academy Awards. I had the
:23:59. > :24:06.distinction of playing the role that Katharine Hepburn played. I
:24:06. > :24:16.tried not to sound like her. have done a lot in your career. The
:24:16. > :24:24.one thing you're much loved for his heart to heart. I know that. It was
:24:24. > :24:30.a joyful thing to do. Robert Wagner and I are still in contact. It is
:24:30. > :24:40.lovely that it is so well received in people's memories. One last
:24:40. > :24:47.
:24:47. > :24:57.thing, can you say it murder? said it. You have got to try.
:24:57. > :25:29.
:25:29. > :25:39.Today, you could certainly have had a barbecue. Sizzling at 17 degrees.
:25:39. > :25:54.
:25:54. > :26:04.Some places have been relatively cool. It will stay fairly mild
:26:04. > :26:07.
:26:07. > :26:17.through the rest of the week. There will be a lot of cloud. The
:26:17. > :26:18.
:26:18. > :26:26.thickest cloud will be in the West. Temperatures will not drop too far
:26:27. > :26:36.tonight. Tomorrow, the best of the brightness will be in the North
:26:37. > :26:48.
:26:48. > :26:58.East. Tomorrow, it will be a most late Friday. On Thursday and Friday,
:26:58. > :27:22.
:27:22. > :27:25.we're still under the influence of the system. -- this system.