:00:05. > :00:14.Well, today's developments came late this afternoon at a news
:00:15. > :00:15.
:00:15. > :00:23.live now to Peter Harris who's on our BBC Tees news camera.
:00:23. > :00:28.Darlington FC is dead, long live Darlington FC. I would question how
:00:28. > :00:36.many people will be an caught in the Champagne at the issues. The
:00:36. > :00:41.club is saved, let's hear the moment that announcement came.
:00:41. > :00:51.completion of the sale of the assets of the club to Falmouth Town
:00:51. > :00:57.
:00:57. > :01:05.Darlington FC 1883. I would like to put on record it all like gratitude
:01:05. > :01:15.to the players and officials of the club. A bit old club took 1009 is
:01:15. > :01:15.
:01:15. > :01:21.bust, and a new club, Darlington FC 1883, as it will be called, will
:01:21. > :01:31.walk away from the debts. They will face action from the
:01:31. > :01:35.
:01:35. > :01:44.tos. There is another problem of. They feel that running the existing
:01:44. > :01:51.ground, the Arena, is too expensive. For the time being, they will no
:01:51. > :01:57.longer be a professional football club. They will play outside that
:01:57. > :02:07.town, but hope to get back to the town with them at 12 months. --
:02:07. > :02:08.
:02:08. > :02:12.within too. There was no. Am running out of working capital.
:02:12. > :02:22.That would have been stupid. We have been there three times and we
:02:22. > :02:29.do not intend to go there again. It is far better to were -- to wipe
:02:29. > :02:37.the slate clean. So is this the end of the saga or are there more
:02:37. > :02:42.dramas ahead? What will the creditors make of all this? We will
:02:42. > :02:47.have to see that over the next 24 hours. And will the Football
:02:47. > :02:52.Association be happy with this? A lot of well intentioned people have
:02:52. > :03:02.been involved here, they have salvaged something however. There
:03:02. > :03:03.
:03:03. > :03:06.is good news, let's celebrate that. Thank you very much.
:03:06. > :03:09.Concern is growing for a man from North Yorkshire held without charge
:03:09. > :03:12.in an African jail. David Simpson from Pickering was working in the
:03:12. > :03:15.Central African Republic as a safari guide when he says he
:03:15. > :03:18.discovered massacred bodies in the bush. He reported the find to the
:03:18. > :03:21.authorities in the capital Bangui, but was then arrested on suspicion
:03:21. > :03:30.of committing the murders. His family are campaigning for his
:03:30. > :03:39.release. Cathy Killick reports. On the edge of the North York Moors,
:03:39. > :03:43.the family farm is flourishing. But one of their family is locked up in
:03:43. > :03:51.jail in the Central African Republic. David Simpson was working
:03:51. > :03:58.for a Swedish company that took clients big-game hunting. He found
:03:58. > :04:02.the bodies of 18 men, killed him horrific circumstances. He said
:04:02. > :04:12.that they were lying face down, hands behind their backs. They had
:04:12. > :04:15.
:04:15. > :04:20.wounds to the back of the head. a bore the hallmarks of an army
:04:20. > :04:29.massacre. A rebel group has been operating in that part of Africa
:04:29. > :04:33.for many years. David reported the massacre to the authorities, but
:04:33. > :04:38.instead of being questioned as a witness, he and his Swedish boss
:04:38. > :04:43.were put in jail as suspects. They were interrogated for hours on end.
:04:43. > :04:51.They should have been charged with them six days or released. But one
:04:51. > :04:55.month later, they remain in jail. Advice council has visited him in
:04:55. > :05:05.prison, but e-mails it to the family make it clear they have to
:05:05. > :05:13.
:05:13. > :05:18.My big fear is that they tried to pin it all on David with no
:05:18. > :05:23.evidence and it will end up having to go to trial and he will be in
:05:23. > :05:29.prison for six or seven months. That is my big fear. They cannot
:05:29. > :05:36.convict him of it. He has lawyer's on his side. Very good people. But
:05:36. > :05:41.if they try to charge him with that, then he could be there for months.
:05:41. > :05:46.A in the meantime, David's family can only wait and worry, trusting
:05:46. > :05:56.lawyer so to pick their way through a justice system very forum to our
:05:56. > :06:00.
:06:00. > :06:03.own. -- a foreign. The mother of an eight-year-old boy
:06:03. > :06:06.from County Durham, missing after he fell into the River Wear, says
:06:06. > :06:09.she still hopes her son will be found. Ian Bell fell into the river
:06:09. > :06:12.near Crook on Friday. The emergency services have now scaled back their
:06:12. > :06:15.search, but the local community is continuing to look for Ian.
:06:15. > :06:19.A takeaway owner accused of paying young girls for sex has told a
:06:19. > :06:22.court he was in a relationship with one of them and she was above the
:06:22. > :06:26.age of consent. On the first day of the defence case, Carlisle Crown
:06:26. > :06:29.Court heard how Azad Miah had only ever given money to women because
:06:29. > :06:34.they needed it. He denies all the charges against him. Alison Freeman
:06:34. > :06:37.sent us this report. Azad Miah told the court he married
:06:37. > :06:47.in 1989. BY 2006, the father of four said he had started having
:06:47. > :06:50.affairs with other women. The 44-year-old took to the stand
:06:51. > :06:53.for the first time today as the defence opened its case here at
:06:53. > :06:56.Carlisle Crown Court. Accused of paying young girls for sex and
:06:57. > :07:00.trying to persuade others under the age of consent to sleep with them,
:07:00. > :07:03.Azad Miah insisted he had only ever had relationships with women over
:07:03. > :07:08.16 and he had only ever given them money because they needed it, not
:07:08. > :07:10.in return for sexual favours. Defence barrister Stephen
:07:10. > :07:20.Meadowcroft QC described how Mr Miah had three relationships with
:07:20. > :07:31.
:07:31. > :07:40.different women. The most recent with one of the prosecution
:07:41. > :07:44.The charges relate to when Mr Miah ran this takeaway, formerly known
:07:44. > :07:47.as the Spice of India on Botchergate in Carlisle. When
:07:47. > :07:52.questioned about a 12-year-old girl he allegedly offered money to have
:07:52. > :07:55.sex with, he said he didn't know her. He said he was well-known
:07:55. > :07:59.because of the location of his business and the girl had maybe
:07:59. > :08:03.lied to try to stop him having a relationship with her older sister.
:08:03. > :08:05.As well as eight charges of paying for sex with children and eight of
:08:05. > :08:15.inciting child prostitution, the defendant is also accused of
:08:15. > :08:16.
:08:16. > :08:20.running a brothel from his takeaway premises. Mr Miah denies all 17
:08:20. > :08:22.charges against him. He is due to appear again tomorrow for cross-
:08:23. > :08:28.examination by the prosecution. The case continues. Alison Freeman for
:08:28. > :08:32.BBC LN at Carlisle Crown Court. Another man has been charged in
:08:32. > :08:35.connection with the raid on Durham University's Oriental Museum. 32-
:08:35. > :08:39.year-old Justin Clarke from Walsall handed himself in to police after
:08:39. > :08:42.his photo appeared on Tuesday's Crimewatch programme on BBC1.
:08:43. > :08:45.During the raid thieves cut a 3 foot wide hole in the wall of the
:08:46. > :08:48.museum and stole a Chinese bowl and figurine worth �2 million. Another
:08:48. > :08:54.man has been charged with conspiracy to commit burglary, and
:08:54. > :08:57.two women and a man are still in custody.
:08:58. > :09:01.The North East's beaches are the best they have ever been, according
:09:01. > :09:04.to the Good Beach Guide. A total of 29, from Saltburn to Bamburgh, and
:09:04. > :09:08.a further eight in North Yorkshire, are recommended in the guide
:09:09. > :09:13.because of their excellent seawater quality. But Cumbria doesn't fare
:09:13. > :09:22.so well. Only St Bees makes it into the guide. Our News Correspondent,
:09:22. > :09:25.Adrian Pitches, reports from Seaton Carew near Hartlepool.
:09:25. > :09:28.Once upon a time, the seaside town of Seaton Carew truly was the last
:09:28. > :09:33.resort, branded the dirtiest beach in Britain because of raw sewage
:09:33. > :09:35.pollution which made its seawater unsafe to swim in.
:09:35. > :09:38.But the tide started to turn with water privatisation and investment
:09:38. > :09:42.of hundreds of millions of pounds in new treatment works all along
:09:42. > :09:45.the North East coast. Within a decade, Seaton was reaping the
:09:45. > :09:55.rewards with a European Blue Flag. And today, all three of its beaches
:09:55. > :09:56.
:09:56. > :09:59.were listed in the latest edition of the Good Beach Guide.
:09:59. > :10:08.The North East is the best- performing region in the Good Beach
:10:08. > :10:13.Guide. 83% of our beaches have passed muster. 29 beaches in total.
:10:13. > :10:18.In contrast, the north-west it is the worst region, only one beach is
:10:18. > :10:23.recommended. I think it is wonderful news for the time and for
:10:23. > :10:32.Hartlepool. It is a prestigious thing to be acknowledged by the
:10:32. > :10:37.Marine Conservation Society and the Good Beach Guide. For Seaton Carew,
:10:37. > :10:42.it illustrates the hard work everyone has put him to try to
:10:42. > :10:45.improve the environment of the coastal area.
:10:45. > :10:50.And the brave souls enjoying a bracing beach walk today were
:10:50. > :10:55.unanimous in their support for the Seaton seaside experience. It is a
:10:55. > :11:05.good walking spot for us, especially since the cleaned it up.
:11:05. > :11:05.
:11:05. > :11:15.It is just the weather spoils it. It is a very good at beach. It used
:11:15. > :11:17.
:11:17. > :11:19.to be very popular. I have always loved it here.
:11:19. > :11:22.But despite that ringing endorsement, and the lifeguard
:11:22. > :11:27.patrol, no-one was swimming in the sea today. Adrian Pitches, BBC Look
:11:27. > :11:30.North, Seaton Carew. And you can see what others are
:11:30. > :11:34.saying about that story on Look North's Facebook page. The details
:11:34. > :11:37.on your screen now. You're watching Look North. Still
:11:37. > :11:41.to come this Thursday evening. We meet the winter sports athlete
:11:42. > :11:51.who's snowboarding down one of Alaska's highest mountains.
:11:51. > :11:54.And what will the weather be like for the weekend? Voters are going
:11:54. > :12:02.to the polls today in local elections across the North East and
:12:02. > :12:04.Cumbria. 208 council seats are up for grabs across the region.
:12:04. > :12:07.Councils including Carlisle, Hartlepool and Newcastle are all
:12:07. > :12:10.going to the polls. And voters in Newcastle are also deciding whether
:12:10. > :12:13.or not they want an elected mayor in the city. Our Political Editor
:12:13. > :12:20.Richard Moss joins us live from one of the counts in Hartlepool now.
:12:20. > :12:27.There are elections across our region. In Cumbria, there are
:12:27. > :12:32.elections in Carlisle. Also in North Yorkshire. A third of the
:12:32. > :12:37.seats are up in most of these councils. In Hartlepool, the whole
:12:37. > :12:47.council is up for election because of boundary changes. There, 17
:12:47. > :12:50.
:12:50. > :13:00.wards are coming down to 11. You Kemp still vote if you get to the
:13:00. > :13:02.
:13:02. > :13:07.polling 11 with by 10 o'clock. Voters have another decision to
:13:07. > :13:14.make in Newcastle? Yes, they will be voting on whether
:13:14. > :13:24.to have a mayor. Everyone in Newcastle could be allowed to
:13:24. > :13:28.
:13:28. > :13:31.choose a directly elected mayor. It is quiet here, but I will soon be
:13:31. > :13:39.joined by lot accounting staff and anxious candidates.
:13:39. > :13:42.It is going to get very busy there. If you want to keep up-to-date with
:13:42. > :13:45.the results of the local elections, you can join David Dimbleby on BBC
:13:45. > :13:48.One, and on the News Channel, from 11.35 this evening. Richard, of
:13:48. > :13:51.course, will be in Hartlepool bringing you the results as they
:13:51. > :13:54.come in from across the North East and Cumbria. The Newcastle mayoral
:13:54. > :13:57.referendum will not be counted until Friday. You can follow events
:13:57. > :14:00.on BBC Two from noon. A winter sports athlete from
:14:00. > :14:03.Cumbria has set off to snowboard down one of Alaska's highest
:14:03. > :14:10.mountains. Julia Pickering is leading a team of seven, including
:14:10. > :14:12.her husband, Warwick, and a Newcastle-based TV documentary crew.
:14:12. > :14:15.Julia is experienced in climbing and snowboarding in hazardous areas
:14:15. > :14:25.remote from civilisation. Her goal is to take on Alaska's 15,000 feet
:14:25. > :14:47.
:14:47. > :14:57.high Mount Bear. Paul Mooney has The feeling of riding the powder is
:14:57. > :15:00.
:15:00. > :15:08.like being in another world. I have been him to slow ever since
:15:08. > :15:15.I was a child. I started skiing and then got into snowboarding. It
:15:15. > :15:22.started by getting away from resorts. Julia and her team are
:15:22. > :15:29.need specialist equipment for this adventure. I will be using a split
:15:29. > :15:35.snowboard. It can split into two. The bindings a move around. It
:15:35. > :15:40.means you can climb up hills without sliding back down. After
:15:40. > :15:45.one week of acclimatising, it will take three weeks it to get to the
:15:45. > :15:55.summit of mind to bear and just one hour to get back down. -- led to
:15:55. > :16:06.
:16:06. > :16:13.-- Mount Bear. We have been out trying to train to make sure the
:16:13. > :16:18.other safety measures spot on. trip represents a real risks.
:16:18. > :16:23.dangerous. We take the most safety precautions that we cannot using
:16:23. > :16:32.our knowledge and equipment to keep a safe. Do you ever feel scared?
:16:32. > :16:36.Yes, I do. Avalanches are always in the back of my mind. We are
:16:36. > :16:45.constantly assessing their danger in any situation. I am also scare
:16:45. > :16:55.that we are making a film and I am scared that I might not right that
:16:55. > :17:07.
:17:07. > :17:14.well -- ride that well. The task of The biggest challenge will be the
:17:14. > :17:24.called, minus 30 degrees, and there might equipment we have to carry. -
:17:24. > :17:34.- the amount of equipment. It will not be an easy trip. It will be
:17:34. > :17:34.
:17:34. > :17:40.very steep and very cold. There are a lot of safety issues. But they
:17:40. > :17:50.equipment packs down into small rucksacks. Being away from
:17:50. > :17:51.
:17:51. > :18:01.civilisation and in such an extreme We are just going to go up this
:18:01. > :18:08.
:18:08. > :18:18.peak and do something nobody has Beautiful shots. Blue skies and
:18:18. > :18:23.
:18:23. > :18:26.sunshine. Newcastle United striker Sammy Ameobi visited the city's
:18:26. > :18:29.Moorside Community School today to give pupils a lesson on how to
:18:29. > :18:32.manage asthma. The player has suffered from the condition since
:18:32. > :18:36.he was 12, but says it did not stop his dream to play professional
:18:36. > :18:38.football - a message he was keen to pass on today. No, you told me that
:18:38. > :18:48.you have scored a goal like Papiss Cisse.
:18:48. > :18:50.
:18:50. > :18:53.The wind was behind me. I get it and it went in!
:18:53. > :18:56.It was, surely, the impossible dream. But Newcastle United's hopes
:18:56. > :18:59.of playing in the Champions League next season are still alive and
:18:59. > :19:02.kicking. That is after a stunning first league win at Chelsea for 26
:19:02. > :19:05.years. Both goals were scored by man of the moment Papisse Cisse.
:19:05. > :19:08.His first was pretty good. His second? Well, judge for yourself!
:19:08. > :19:11.So how does a team that has been walloped by struggling Wigan go out
:19:11. > :19:21.and beat the Champions League and FA Cup finalists, just four days
:19:21. > :19:26.FA Cup finalists, just four days later? Well, with goals like this.
:19:26. > :19:36.And like this. When even the opposition applaud, you know you've
:19:36. > :19:42.seen something pretty special. first goal is special, but the
:19:42. > :19:52.first goal is special, but the second goal, he has just taken a
:19:52. > :19:54.
:19:54. > :19:59.chance and hit it absolutely true. It is one of the great goals. Drop
:19:59. > :20:02.buddying -- Didier Drogba just smiled. Even without Cisse's
:20:02. > :20:05.spectacular efforts - his 12th and 13th goals for the club in just a
:20:05. > :20:08.dozen games - this was a terrific performance by the Magpies. And
:20:08. > :20:11.while a nasty-looking injury to Chiek Tiote caused a 10-minute
:20:11. > :20:13.stoppage, a few stitches to a head wound should not stop the
:20:13. > :20:16.midfielder making a swift return to action. Tottenham's win at Bolton
:20:16. > :20:19.means they stay fifth in the Premier League. But with just two
:20:19. > :20:22.games to go, third place, and a guaranteed trip to the Champions
:20:22. > :20:25.League next season, certainly is not beyond them. Even if one of
:20:25. > :20:33.those games is against the current leaders Manchester City in three
:20:33. > :20:39.days' time. They are going for the title, we
:20:39. > :20:49.are going for the Champions' League, it will be a tough game. For us, it
:20:49. > :20:51.
:20:51. > :20:54.is a big hurdle to try to beat them. Elsewhere last night, York City had
:20:54. > :20:57.to settle for a 1-1 draw in the first leg of their Conference Play-
:20:57. > :21:00.Off semi-final against Mansfield. The Minstermen were caught out by a
:21:00. > :21:02.long throw midway through the first half, a header from Ross Dyer
:21:02. > :21:05.beating the former Sunderland goalkeeper Michael Ingham. But
:21:05. > :21:09.three minutes from the break, an own goal by Mansfield's Exodus
:21:09. > :21:15.Gohagen means it is all still to play for in the return leg on Bank
:21:15. > :21:19.Holiday Monday. It was a tough game. They looked a
:21:19. > :21:25.good side. But I think we have done enough for the away game. We have
:21:25. > :21:35.got the advantage. The can beat them up for sure. We have their own
:21:35. > :21:37.
:21:37. > :21:40.momentum after tonight. Confidence indeed.
:21:41. > :21:43.They may be too young to make this year's Olympic Games in London, but
:21:43. > :21:46.the North's brightest athletic prospects will still get the chance
:21:46. > :21:49.to compete at the new Olympic Stadium. The UK School Games is
:21:49. > :21:52.being held there next week, and one athlete looking to come away with
:21:52. > :21:55.the top prize is javelin thrower Natasha Wilson. The 16-year-old
:21:55. > :21:58.from Wigton in Cumbria is ranked first in her age group and fully
:21:58. > :22:04.expects to compete for England in the Glasgow Commonwealth games in
:22:04. > :22:14.2014. Andy Smythe went to meet her. If I am not doing javelin, I am
:22:14. > :22:14.
:22:14. > :22:21.thinking about it. She is naturally talented. She is number one in her
:22:21. > :22:29.age group, number two in the under twenties. Natasha Wilson has big
:22:29. > :22:39.expectations resting on her shoulders. Scottish champion,
:22:39. > :22:39.
:22:39. > :22:45.English champion, I have just broken loads of records. I am
:22:45. > :22:51.warmly four centimetres away from a Jessica Ennis's record. This
:22:51. > :23:01.weekend, Natasha heads into the school games with only one purpose,
:23:01. > :23:06.
:23:06. > :23:14.to better what she did last year. want to get it right, a want to do
:23:14. > :23:22.better. I think she will go out there and annihilate them. It is
:23:22. > :23:32.nerve wracking, but you don't think about it. I have got a
:23:32. > :23:35.
:23:35. > :23:39.We will kick you up-to-date with her progress. Cricket finally, and
:23:39. > :23:41.the rain's back. What a surprise. Before the showers, Durham let
:23:41. > :23:44.Warwickshire off the hook at Edgbaston. From 14-4, the home side
:23:44. > :23:47.closed on 195-7. And at Scarborough, Johnny Bairstow hit 182 as
:23:47. > :23:57.Yorkshire made 447 and the Tykes then ripped through the
:23:57. > :24:06.
:24:06. > :24:16.Leicestershire line-up, bowling The weather is looking a bit glum.
:24:16. > :24:25.
:24:25. > :24:30.Yes, but the weekend does not look Another gloomy day tomorrow however.
:24:30. > :24:35.But some sunshine tonight for Cumbria. Cloudy end up North
:24:35. > :24:39.Yorkshire and the North East. Every there will term cloudy by dawn.
:24:39. > :24:44.This weather system in Scotland will move down into our region
:24:44. > :24:48.tomorrow morning. It will not get much warmer for many parts during
:24:48. > :24:53.the day tomorrow. That rain increasing through the morning.
:24:53. > :24:59.Many places will become dry. Some spells of sunshine for North
:24:59. > :25:09.Yorkshire, but temperatures quite low between 8 and 11 Celsius.
:25:09. > :25:11.
:25:11. > :25:20.Feeling quite better in that wind. -- better. In Cumbria, a bit drier,
:25:20. > :25:25.but still quite low temperatures. Probably about 12 degrees. And
:25:25. > :25:31.getting colder over the weekend. This cold front moving down from
:25:31. > :25:37.Scotland will be bringing called it air. However, it should be mostly
:25:37. > :25:46.dry and bright. Bright skies for much of the region on Saturday.
:25:46. > :25:53.Mild in the west, but really chilly for much of the rest of the region.
:25:53. > :25:56.And we could have a frost on Saturday and Sunday morning so.
:25:56. > :25:59.Thanks, Hannah. Finally a look at tonight's headlines. Documents
:25:59. > :26:01.released today reveal that right up to his death, Osama bin Laden was
:26:01. > :26:06.hoping to carry out another spectacular terrorist plot. And
:26:06. > :26:08.Darlington Football Club has been saved. The existing club will be