:00:18. > :00:23.Hello and welcome to Thursday's Look North. The shocking truth
:00:23. > :00:25.about liver disease here in the north. Campaigners vowed to fight
:00:25. > :00:34.the so-called Granny Tax. The government insists existing
:00:34. > :00:37.pensioners will not lose out. I am a state pensioner and I have seen
:00:37. > :00:43.real poverty in different parts of the world and it is time we had
:00:43. > :00:47.real perspective. Also tonight: Queue here for work.
:00:47. > :00:50.500 new jobs up for grabs in the call centre industry. And, I am a
:00:50. > :00:53.lumberjill and I'm OK. The unsung heroines of World War
:00:53. > :00:56.Two look back on their vital work during the conflict. In sport, the
:00:56. > :00:58.unsung hero of Darlington Football Club tells us why he's staying on
:00:58. > :01:01.as manager. And clap hands for the Newcastle
:01:01. > :01:11.Eagles - hoping to add the British basketball trophy to their
:01:11. > :01:15.
:01:15. > :01:20.impressive list of honours. Deaths from alcohol-related
:01:20. > :01:23.diseases are up by 25 % according to a new report. The north east is
:01:23. > :01:27.one of the worst affected areas in the country. Now campaigners are
:01:27. > :01:29.accusing the government of failing to tackle the problem. They say
:01:29. > :01:32.that yesterday's budget was an opportunity to control binge
:01:32. > :01:38.drinking by hiking up the price of alcohol or imposing a minimum cost,
:01:38. > :01:48.but that did not happen. Our health reporter Sharon Barbour joins us
:01:48. > :01:53.now from outside Newcastle's Royal Victoria Infirmary.
:01:53. > :02:02.We had been here before for the same story - alcohol admissions
:02:02. > :02:10.like this one. The number of liver deaths is up by a quarter. The main
:02:10. > :02:14.cause is alcohol. One in 10 of those deaths in the under 40s.
:02:14. > :02:20.Staggering and Stan -- sad statistics. Is the government doing
:02:20. > :02:26.enough. The cost of drinking is rising. Because the NHS billions
:02:26. > :02:31.each year. A new report says deaths have increased by a staggering 25 %
:02:31. > :02:36.with alcohol the main cause. The North East is among the worst
:02:36. > :02:44.regions. I have come to a ward for Tait to meet some doctors and
:02:44. > :02:49.nurses to have to cope with the problems. -- Ward 48.
:02:49. > :02:52.Alcohol has so nearly cost this patient her life. She now has
:02:52. > :03:00.permanent liver damage and only in her thirties. If she keeps drinking
:03:00. > :03:06.she may live only a few years. could have one or two bottles
:03:06. > :03:10.easily. I could have spirits as well as wine. My liver has
:03:11. > :03:14.permanent damage and it will never repay itself. And grant as well is
:03:14. > :03:20.back in hospital. He has been admitted more than 70 times in the
:03:20. > :03:29.last year alone because of alcohol. I was drinking about three litres
:03:29. > :03:38.of vodka and. And perhaps six litres of cider. At my worst, I was
:03:38. > :03:42.sitting outside a shop waiting for it to open to buy another bottle.
:03:42. > :03:47.Peto think -- people think they will get warnings this -- signals.
:03:47. > :03:55.In fact, what happens in the liver is feeling at the time by the time
:03:55. > :03:59.they realised something is wrong. Help to control the but -- the
:03:59. > :04:03.problem is are urgently sought. was hoping they would introduce
:04:03. > :04:08.minimum unit price for alcohol in the budget which targets cheap or
:04:08. > :04:12.call which is run by young people and harmful drinkers. The it would
:04:12. > :04:16.have been nice to see something to address the problem. Unlike the
:04:16. > :04:23.government to bring in minimum pricing which is the only way to
:04:23. > :04:30.drive down consumption and reduce deaths from alcoholism. -- I would
:04:30. > :04:40.like. As the number of deaths continues to rise, the North
:04:40. > :04:46.
:04:46. > :04:51.continues to pay a high price for drinking too much. Many campaigners
:04:51. > :04:54.are campaigning father a minimum price increase. The government has
:04:54. > :04:59.been working behind the scenes and the minimum price is expected to
:04:59. > :05:04.come out in the government's alcohol strategy which is due out
:05:04. > :05:07.any day soon. Staying with fall-out from the
:05:07. > :05:11.Budget - campaigners here in the north of promise to fight plans to
:05:11. > :05:14.cut a freeze tax allowances on the income as have many pensioners.
:05:14. > :05:17.George Osborne's plan has already been christened the Granny Tax. But
:05:17. > :05:21.one Northern Conservative MP has defended the move, insisting that
:05:21. > :05:24.no existing pensioners will lose out. Gerry Jackson reports. The
:05:24. > :05:32.newspaper's reaction to a budget normally depends on their political
:05:32. > :05:35.loyalties - not it seems on this issue. At the moment, over-65s can
:05:35. > :05:41.receive �10,500 before paying tax on their income. Quite a bit more
:05:41. > :05:45.than the under 65. From next year, anyone turning 65 will get the
:05:45. > :05:48.standard of allowance of about �9,200. If you are already getting
:05:48. > :05:55.the higher allowance, that will be frozen until the law a figure
:05:55. > :05:57.catches up. It will raise about �3 billion a year. The government says
:05:57. > :06:01.this system will be simple, fair, with less form-filling. Campaigners
:06:01. > :06:11.say it is a stealth tax that will cost some future pensioners over
:06:11. > :06:21.
:06:21. > :06:24.�3,000 a year. And who - �300. of those people have worked since
:06:24. > :06:30.they were 14. They find it very hard to understand why they have to
:06:30. > :06:34.pay tax on their pension and they will have to pay more and more.
:06:34. > :06:41.am really disappointed. It would affect the way it I vote in the
:06:41. > :06:47.next election. Government MPs say the criticism is unfair. Their
:06:47. > :06:55.state pension has gone up under this government. The universal
:06:55. > :06:58.benefits remain. They will be better off, there is no tax loss.
:06:58. > :07:06.Here at Corbridge in Mr Opperman's constituency, it looks like many
:07:06. > :07:09.would take some convincing. Howdy feel about that headline? It was
:07:09. > :07:17.obvious he was going to do something to pensioners, he has to
:07:17. > :07:23.balance the books but he's robbing the wrong people. Inflation for
:07:23. > :07:27.pensioners is about 13 % per year and this will make it worse. Go it
:07:27. > :07:32.was when since Churchill who introduced age-related tax breaks
:07:33. > :07:39.90 years ago, campaigners say it will be worth the fight to keep
:07:39. > :07:41.them. -- Winston Churchill. Many of us have received windfalls
:07:41. > :07:50.from the banks for the mis-selling of payment protection insurance, or
:07:50. > :07:53.PPI. It is believed thousands more people are still to make a claim.
:07:53. > :07:56.So today recruitment began to fill 500 new jobs on Teesside, 72 per
:07:56. > :07:58.cent of which will deal with complaints about PPI. Hundreds of
:07:58. > :08:01.potential staff queued outside Middlesbrough Town Hall to apply.
:08:01. > :08:10.Richard Thomas reports. They have been queuing since before
:08:10. > :08:19.10:00am. 500 jobs in an area of the north east for 12 people chasing
:08:19. > :08:23.every job. Their different levels of jobs. Our management jobs,
:08:23. > :08:27.supervisory jobs and call centre jobs. The first job as the most
:08:28. > :08:31.important job anybody ever gets. There will be a lot of people here
:08:31. > :08:34.looking for their first job and that will be important.
:08:34. > :08:37.The jobs will be based at existing customer service centres operated
:08:37. > :08:45.by Firstsource. One in Stockton and one in Middlesbrough. Both will be
:08:45. > :08:54.expanding. Thousands of people work in call centres in the North East
:08:54. > :08:58.but the 600 jobs are for us but -- particular speciality - they are
:08:59. > :09:02.for payment protection insurance complaint handlers. And people from
:09:02. > :09:05.all ages and backgrounds turned up for a chance of a job. Indeed so
:09:05. > :09:12.many it turned up that by lunchtime the company had to draft in extra
:09:12. > :09:17.staff. There is a lot of call centre work going in the region,
:09:17. > :09:21.and if you want to get you fit in the door it is where you have to go.
:09:21. > :09:30.It has been quite easy to find different jobs but the job I want,
:09:30. > :09:33.is quite hard to find. He in this climate it is everyone for himself.
:09:33. > :09:36.Unfortunately. The jobs are initially for 12
:09:36. > :09:38.months while the PPI payouts continue. After that it is hoped a
:09:38. > :09:40.newly employed staff will find alternative work in the company
:09:40. > :09:43.which employs 30,000 people globally.
:09:43. > :09:48.GlaxoSmithKline has confirmed it is investing �20 million in the firm's
:09:48. > :09:50.factory at Barnard Castle in County Durham. The drugs company says the
:09:50. > :09:54.investment will establish a centre of excellence for the production
:09:54. > :10:04.skin creams and ointments. The investment will help secure the
:10:04. > :10:05.
:10:05. > :10:09.future of a factory that employs 1100 people. A police officer and a
:10:09. > :10:17.civilian worker had been found guilty of assault by Keating after
:10:17. > :10:22.these assault on a man to get him to answer questions. -- by beating.
:10:22. > :10:27.They were convicted at Teesside Magistrates Court and will be
:10:27. > :10:33.sentenced in April. An investigation found they used at --
:10:33. > :10:36.excessive and unreasonable force on a man in custody. The commissioner
:10:36. > :10:41.said it could be argued their actions amounted to a form of
:10:41. > :10:44.torture. Staff at two Cumbrian hospital say
:10:44. > :10:46.they would not recommend them as either places to work or received
:10:46. > :10:49.treatment. The hospitals in Carlisle and Whitehaven have been
:10:49. > :10:52.ranked among the worst in the country in a survey carried out by
:10:52. > :10:55.the Department of Health. The trust which runs them has admitted there
:10:55. > :10:59.are problems but says it is working hard to address them. Mark
:10:59. > :11:01.McAlindon reports. On many counts, this is a damning
:11:01. > :11:06.indictment from staff the Cumberland Infirmary in Carlisle
:11:06. > :11:09.and the West Cumberland Hospital in Whitehaven. Among the problems they
:11:09. > :11:12.cite are poor support from and communication with management.
:11:12. > :11:15.Crucially, a large proportion said they would not recommend the North
:11:15. > :11:25.Cumbria University Hospitals NHS Trust as a place to work or receive
:11:25. > :11:27.
:11:27. > :11:32.treatment. It makes very sad reading. We know that our staff go
:11:32. > :11:36.to work to do the best they can and when these same they would not
:11:36. > :11:39.recommend that the trust as a place to work or a place to receive
:11:39. > :11:43.treatment and are worried they do not have all the resources they
:11:43. > :11:48.need to deliver the care they want to give, it makes sad reading and
:11:48. > :11:50.we want to see that change. In a statement, the trust said it
:11:50. > :11:53.there have been challenges across the NHS, and our trust is
:11:53. > :11:55.undergoing an unsettling acquisition. We also have a very
:11:55. > :11:57.challenging cost improvement programme to follow. The trust is
:11:57. > :12:00.committed to working hard to improve things for staff and
:12:00. > :12:04.patients. We want to encourage staff to get involved - the
:12:04. > :12:12.creation of staff focus groups will provide an arena for feedback.
:12:12. > :12:18.But the challenge will be tough. Results show that pressure fell by
:12:18. > :12:24.staff has increased. The percentage of staff satisfied with work and
:12:24. > :12:27.the quality of patient care is down. Staff motivation has also fallen.
:12:27. > :12:31.wee bit like a trust to say this is the information we have an this is
:12:31. > :12:37.how we will work with staff to address these points and do
:12:38. > :12:46.something meaningful, so that staff next year when they do a survey
:12:46. > :12:49.will come back with improvement. It has to be tangible and meaningful.
:12:49. > :12:52.The new guide book honouring the veterans of County Durham has just
:12:52. > :12:55.been published. Some of them are more than 400 years old! These are
:12:55. > :12:57.the veteran trees scattered across the county, remnants of ancient
:12:57. > :13:00.woodland or planted and country estates centuries ago. The guide
:13:00. > :13:10.features more than 50 of these natural monuments. Ideal planning
:13:10. > :13:16.
:13:16. > :13:23.for your next country walk. This is an. She in County Durham. It is
:13:23. > :13:31.estimated at 400 years old. -- an oak tree. It is one of the trees in
:13:32. > :13:37.a new guide from Durham Wildlife Trust. Tell me more about this tree.
:13:37. > :13:42.The name comes from the fact that the site was opened -- owned by the
:13:42. > :13:46.Bishops of Durham. We do not know when the nicknames started. For as
:13:46. > :13:55.long as the trust have owned the site, it has always been called the
:13:55. > :14:01.bishops Oke. How do you measure in the it age of ancient trees. Most
:14:01. > :14:10.people think you cut it down and measure the Rings, so it is based
:14:10. > :14:16.on the girth of the tree. It is over five metres. So it is probably
:14:16. > :14:25.about 400 years old. Do you tree hard to measure the tree? You can
:14:25. > :14:33.do. When we excepted records for the tree, people could say that our
:14:33. > :14:38.she equalled the three hugs. We lost a lot of her woodland with our
:14:38. > :14:42.industrial heritage so the few we have remaining are exceptionally
:14:43. > :14:48.important and provide a habitat for important species. There used by
:14:48. > :14:58.birds and bats and a number of inverted its species use them as
:14:58. > :14:58.
:14:59. > :15:04.well. Their spread across the whole region. -- they are spread. There
:15:05. > :15:11.is a beautiful whole of ancient sweet chestnuts in Oakland Park.
:15:11. > :15:21.They are really old and have lots of rot and are amazing to lookout.
:15:21. > :15:21.
:15:21. > :15:27.You can obtain the guide for a freak. -- three. I have a favourite
:15:27. > :15:31.local tree as well still to come this Thursday
:15:31. > :15:38.evening: Meet the lumberjills - the heroines who helped the war effort
:15:38. > :15:43.look back on their vital work. I'll be back with a full forecast at the
:15:43. > :15:46.end of the rest of the news. It is one of the older cinemas in
:15:46. > :15:50.the country and to celebrate its centenary here the Ritz in Thirsk
:15:50. > :16:00.has come bang up-to-date by joining the digital revolution. Quite a big
:16:00. > :16:04.
:16:04. > :16:10.step for a picture house dating back to the days of silent movies.
:16:10. > :16:13.Peter Lugg was at the matinee. It is fitting perhaps that the main
:16:13. > :16:21.feature this week harks back to the silent movies of the Ritz would
:16:21. > :16:31.have been showing when opened in 1912. It now hoping it -- in now
:16:31. > :16:32.
:16:32. > :16:42.has new digital equipment. We are looking forward to the challenge.
:16:42. > :16:43.
:16:43. > :16:49.In here, in pieces, the old projector. Sad, really. This is her
:16:49. > :16:55.hundredth birthday, in 1912 the cinema was opened. It has been
:16:55. > :17:00.running ever since. We get very good audiences. We have 20,000
:17:00. > :17:08.people a year come to the cinema so we're very pleased. These are the
:17:08. > :17:15.posh seats minus five pounds a time. Have the cinema now is now run
:17:15. > :17:23.entirely by a staff of volunteers. We have about 70 volunteers to come
:17:23. > :17:27.along and do every sort of job. All our volunteers do everything. That
:17:27. > :17:31.is how we manage to survive. multiplex it is not, it is one
:17:31. > :17:40.feature a week, like it was in the picture houses of old and who would
:17:40. > :17:44.want it any other way? They were known as lumberjills -
:17:44. > :17:46.women who chopped down trees for the war effort. Last autumn the
:17:46. > :17:51.Forestry Commission appealed for former lumberjills to come forward
:17:51. > :17:56.to tell their stories. That appeal was a success. Our reporter has
:17:56. > :18:02.been to meet two of these forgotten heroines of World War Two. Cutting
:18:02. > :18:09.wood in the wartime way at Chopwell Woods.
:18:09. > :18:14.With a saw that has not seen service for nearly a half century.
:18:14. > :18:21.We had a practice with this Awe yesterday and it occurs ages to cut
:18:22. > :18:24.down his cheek. -- it took us ages to cut down this victory.
:18:25. > :18:28.Doreen Morrison and Ethel Oliver are in their eighties now, but have
:18:28. > :18:35.returned to the woods where they did their bit for the war effort as
:18:36. > :18:45.lumberjills. The on the problem was in the winter when it was really
:18:46. > :18:46.
:18:46. > :18:49.called, my hands and feet were always called. -- cold.
:18:49. > :18:52.The Women's timber Corps was set and 1942, and thousands of young
:18:52. > :18:55.women were sent to the northeast forests to replace the men serving
:18:55. > :19:02.at the front. Although it was back- breaking work, it formed a lifelong
:19:02. > :19:09.friendships. We were bridesmaids for each other. We have been very
:19:09. > :19:13.good set -- friends ever since. It was not all bad. I would not have
:19:13. > :19:21.missed it for anything. And not all the friendships were
:19:21. > :19:29.human. One day there was a little squirrel which jumped out and I
:19:29. > :19:32.caught 10. I kept him for several weeks. He used to hide in my sleeve,
:19:32. > :19:42.inside my court. Ethel and Doreen have come to
:19:42. > :19:46.
:19:46. > :19:51.Kielder Forest to see how much the work of logging has changed. And
:19:51. > :19:56.this is a far cry from how they remember the back-breaking work.
:19:56. > :19:59.Ethel was here in 1942 when she was snowed in. Now it is hoped their
:19:59. > :20:07.memories and stories will be passed on to schoolchildren, to keep the
:20:07. > :20:10.memories of the lumberjills alive. What a difference a year makes.
:20:10. > :20:12.This week, 12 months ago, Darlington were celebrating an FA
:20:12. > :20:17.Trophy semi-final win over Gateshead, which booked them a trip
:20:17. > :20:22.to Wembley. They went on to beat Mansfield in the final but it has
:20:23. > :20:28.been downhill ever since, with no sign of them stopping. March 2011,
:20:28. > :20:31.Darlington on their way to Wembley. Victory at the National Stadium was,
:20:31. > :20:41.arguably, one of the greatest days in the club's history. Now it must
:20:41. > :20:41.
:20:41. > :20:46.seem like it was all just a dream? Yes, and the trophy left the
:20:46. > :20:51.stadium last week. A lot of people at the club were sad to see it go,
:20:51. > :20:58.but I was not because I think it has jinxed as. Hopefully, now that
:20:58. > :21:02.it has moved out of big club, that will kick has on words.
:21:02. > :21:05.They certainly need something. Without a win in their last 12
:21:05. > :21:08.games, the Quakers are on course for relegation to conference North.
:21:08. > :21:10.That will mean trips to Harrogate Town, Workington and if they stay
:21:11. > :21:13.up, Blyth Spartans. Earlier this week, almost worn out by the
:21:14. > :21:21.struggles on and off the pitch, Craig Liddle offered to stand down
:21:21. > :21:25.for a more experienced coach. Now he's ready to fight to the end.
:21:25. > :21:32.times it gets too much but I just thought, perhaps someone could come
:21:32. > :21:39.in and produce a spark, but that is not going to happen so I have given
:21:39. > :21:42.my word that I will stick it out. I will fight if the players and
:21:42. > :21:45.administrators are prepared to do the same for me.
:21:45. > :21:48.A couple of players on the move - Carlisle striker Craig Curran has
:21:48. > :21:51.gone out on loan to Morecambe, and Newcastle's Nile Ranger - who spent
:21:51. > :21:53.some time with Barnsley last year - has been loaned to Sheffield
:21:53. > :21:56.Wednesday for the rest of the season.
:21:57. > :21:59.It is not often we talk about fashion in our sports slots, but I
:22:00. > :22:02.am sure you are dying to know what the best-dressed British athlete
:22:03. > :22:05.will be wearing at this year's Olympics. The kit has been designed
:22:06. > :22:09.by Stella McCartney, daughter of the one and only Paul McCartney of
:22:09. > :22:18.course. Among the medal hopefuls on the catwalk, were Middlesbrough at
:22:18. > :22:23.long jumper Chris Tomlinson and Richmond swimmer, Jo Jackson.
:22:23. > :22:31.never expect to go to the Olympics. The hype is amazing. When my son
:22:31. > :22:35.Piquet, it was amazing. It is an honour to be here. -- when we saw
:22:35. > :22:39.the kit. This makes it feel real and it is really exciting that we
:22:39. > :22:42.will be going to the Olympics in a few weeks' time.
:22:42. > :22:45.Another big sporting event is next year's rugby league World Cup and
:22:45. > :22:48.it has been announced today the planned Pow Beck Valley Stadium in
:22:48. > :22:49.Whitehaven is scheduled to host games involving Tonga, Scotland and
:22:49. > :22:53.Italy. One basketball trophy in the
:22:53. > :22:55.Cabinet - three more to play for her - starting tomorrow night at
:22:55. > :22:59.their new sports central city home. Newcastle Eagles take on arch-
:22:59. > :23:06.rivals Plymouth in the second leg of the BBL Trophy, facing a nine
:23:06. > :23:09.points deficit from the away match. He is one of the most successful
:23:10. > :23:19.player coaches in professional sport. Inspirational on court and
:23:20. > :23:20.
:23:20. > :23:30.spreading the word about his beloved basketball offered as well.
:23:30. > :23:30.
:23:30. > :23:33.- off it as well. Flournoy is with GB Olympic hopeful Andy Thomson and
:23:33. > :23:36.other squad members at St Cuthbert's Roman Catholic primary-
:23:36. > :23:45.school head of the second leg of the Trophy final against arch-
:23:45. > :23:53.rivals Plymouth. One a volley two teams to win at sports centre this
:23:53. > :23:59.season. A coach being good is not enough, we want to be the best.
:23:59. > :24:07.When you're good, that is OK, but for arouse, outstanding is not
:24:07. > :24:14.enough. We have to be better all the time. -- for as. It is a legacy
:24:14. > :24:19.we're trying to set. We're starting. Down so we have to make that up
:24:19. > :24:25.writer way. Sports centre will be wild. We have to impose ourselves
:24:25. > :24:34.on ned again. We're not going to give up the trophy easily. -- on
:24:34. > :24:40.the game. Tickets are still available for the game. Earlier in
:24:40. > :24:48.the programme we heard about rain but it has been a lovely day today.
:24:48. > :24:56.We do need the rain. Ago it a glorious day if you had been out
:24:56. > :25:04.and about. There is no significant rainfall in his forecast, however.
:25:04. > :25:10.Thank you very much for this picture of the butterfly. For
:25:10. > :25:20.tomorrow brightening up after a tomorrow brightening up after a
:25:20. > :25:22.
:25:22. > :25:25.dull start. A few spots of drizzle for the hills. They are heading to
:25:25. > :25:32.Cuba for the darker skies in England and they will have fabulous
:25:32. > :25:37.conditions for viewing the skies. - - Kielder Park. Cloudier in the
:25:37. > :25:42.west by dawn. It's in clears and there is no significant rain, one
:25:42. > :25:52.or two isolated showers. For the artiste coast it will brighten up
:25:52. > :25:57.
:25:57. > :26:05.swiftly. Sunshine spreading swiftly. -- North East Coast. And cooler
:26:05. > :26:14.than today on the North East coast on Friday. Towards the West - the
:26:14. > :26:20.warmest spot is Cumbria, reaching 16 Celsius. Another very pleasant
:26:20. > :26:25.afternoon to come in the light winds. This is a big picture - an
:26:25. > :26:35.area of high pressure sitting across their UK. This disappears by
:26:35. > :26:37.
:26:37. > :26:42.Saturday and things become very settled. No rainfall. That high
:26:42. > :26:48.pressure is capping of atmosphere and squashing it down. Know whether
:26:48. > :26:53.happening to speak of. Those gardens will become increasingly
:26:53. > :26:59.parched. Farmers are now desperate for a spell of rain. What does that
:26:59. > :27:05.mean in terms of the detail? A fine weekend to come. It will be cloudy
:27:05. > :27:11.for a time on Saturday but the Sun will return on Sunday. It will feel
:27:11. > :27:20.very pleasant indeed. Well above the March average. Thank you very
:27:20. > :27:23.much. The headlines. The man who murdered a 3 soldiers, three Jewish
:27:23. > :27:24.children and a rabbi in the French children and a rabbi in the French
:27:24. > :27:30.children and a rabbi in the French city of Toulouse has been shot dead