03/05/2012 Look North (North East and Cumbria)

Well, today's developments came late this afternoon at a news

live now to Peter Harris who's on our BBC Tees news camera.

Darlington FC is dead, long live Darlington FC. I would question how

many people will be an caught in the Champagne at the issues. The

club is saved, let's hear the moment that announcement came.

completion of the sale of the assets of the club to Falmouth Town

Darlington FC 1883. I would like to put on record it all like gratitude

to the players and officials of the club. A bit old club took 1009 is

bust, and a new club, Darlington FC 1883, as it will be called, will

walk away from the debts. They will face action from the

tos. There is another problem of. They feel that running the existing

ground, the Arena, is too expensive. For the time being, they will no

longer be a professional football club. They will play outside that

town, but hope to get back to the town with them at 12 months. --

within too. There was no. Am running out of working capital.

That would have been stupid. We have been there three times and we

do not intend to go there again. It is far better to were -- to wipe

the slate clean. So is this the end of the saga or are there more

dramas ahead? What will the creditors make of all this? We will

have to see that over the next 24 hours. And will the Football

Association be happy with this? A lot of well intentioned people have

been involved here, they have salvaged something however. There

is good news, let's celebrate that. Thank you very much.

Concern is growing for a man from North Yorkshire held without charge

in an African jail. David Simpson from Pickering was working in the

Central African Republic as a safari guide when he says he

discovered massacred bodies in the bush. He reported the find to the

authorities in the capital Bangui, but was then arrested on suspicion

of committing the murders. His family are campaigning for his

release. Cathy Killick reports. On the edge of the North York Moors,

the family farm is flourishing. But one of their family is locked up in

jail in the Central African Republic. David Simpson was working

for a Swedish company that took clients big-game hunting. He found

the bodies of 18 men, killed him horrific circumstances. He said

that they were lying face down, hands behind their backs. They had

wounds to the back of the head. a bore the hallmarks of an army

massacre. A rebel group has been operating in that part of Africa

for many years. David reported the massacre to the authorities, but

instead of being questioned as a witness, he and his Swedish boss

were put in jail as suspects. They were interrogated for hours on end.

They should have been charged with them six days or released. But one

month later, they remain in jail. Advice council has visited him in

prison, but e-mails it to the family make it clear they have to

My big fear is that they tried to pin it all on David with no

evidence and it will end up having to go to trial and he will be in

prison for six or seven months. That is my big fear. They cannot

convict him of it. He has lawyer's on his side. Very good people. But

if they try to charge him with that, then he could be there for months.

A in the meantime, David's family can only wait and worry, trusting

lawyer so to pick their way through a justice system very forum to our

own. -- a foreign. The mother of an eight-year-old boy

from County Durham, missing after he fell into the River Wear, says

she still hopes her son will be found. Ian Bell fell into the river

near Crook on Friday. The emergency services have now scaled back their

search, but the local community is continuing to look for Ian.

A takeaway owner accused of paying young girls for sex has told a

court he was in a relationship with one of them and she was above the

age of consent. On the first day of the defence case, Carlisle Crown

Court heard how Azad Miah had only ever given money to women because

they needed it. He denies all the charges against him. Alison Freeman

sent us this report. Azad Miah told the court he married

in 1989. BY 2006, the father of four said he had started having

affairs with other women. The 44-year-old took to the stand

for the first time today as the defence opened its case here at

Carlisle Crown Court. Accused of paying young girls for sex and

trying to persuade others under the age of consent to sleep with them,

Azad Miah insisted he had only ever had relationships with women over

16 and he had only ever given them money because they needed it, not

in return for sexual favours. Defence barrister Stephen

Meadowcroft QC described how Mr Miah had three relationships with

different women. The most recent with one of the prosecution

The charges relate to when Mr Miah ran this takeaway, formerly known

as the Spice of India on Botchergate in Carlisle. When

questioned about a 12-year-old girl he allegedly offered money to have

sex with, he said he didn't know her. He said he was well-known

because of the location of his business and the girl had maybe

lied to try to stop him having a relationship with her older sister.

As well as eight charges of paying for sex with children and eight of

inciting child prostitution, the defendant is also accused of

running a brothel from his takeaway premises. Mr Miah denies all 17

charges against him. He is due to appear again tomorrow for cross-

examination by the prosecution. The case continues. Alison Freeman for

BBC LN at Carlisle Crown Court. Another man has been charged in

connection with the raid on Durham University's Oriental Museum. 32-

year-old Justin Clarke from Walsall handed himself in to police after

his photo appeared on Tuesday's Crimewatch programme on BBC1.

During the raid thieves cut a 3 foot wide hole in the wall of the

museum and stole a Chinese bowl and figurine worth �2 million. Another

man has been charged with conspiracy to commit burglary, and

two women and a man are still in custody.

The North East's beaches are the best they have ever been, according

to the Good Beach Guide. A total of 29, from Saltburn to Bamburgh, and

a further eight in North Yorkshire, are recommended in the guide

because of their excellent seawater quality. But Cumbria doesn't fare

so well. Only St Bees makes it into the guide. Our News Correspondent,

Adrian Pitches, reports from Seaton Carew near Hartlepool.

Once upon a time, the seaside town of Seaton Carew truly was the last

resort, branded the dirtiest beach in Britain because of raw sewage

pollution which made its seawater unsafe to swim in.

But the tide started to turn with water privatisation and investment

of hundreds of millions of pounds in new treatment works all along

the North East coast. Within a decade, Seaton was reaping the

rewards with a European Blue Flag. And today, all three of its beaches

were listed in the latest edition of the Good Beach Guide.

The North East is the best- performing region in the Good Beach

Guide. 83% of our beaches have passed muster. 29 beaches in total.

In contrast, the north-west it is the worst region, only one beach is

recommended. I think it is wonderful news for the time and for

Hartlepool. It is a prestigious thing to be acknowledged by the

Marine Conservation Society and the Good Beach Guide. For Seaton Carew,

it illustrates the hard work everyone has put him to try to

improve the environment of the coastal area.

And the brave souls enjoying a bracing beach walk today were

unanimous in their support for the Seaton seaside experience. It is a

good walking spot for us, especially since the cleaned it up.

It is just the weather spoils it. It is a very good at beach. It used

to be very popular. I have always loved it here.

But despite that ringing endorsement, and the lifeguard

patrol, no-one was swimming in the sea today. Adrian Pitches, BBC Look

North, Seaton Carew. And you can see what others are

saying about that story on Look North's Facebook page. The details

on your screen now. You're watching Look North. Still

to come this Thursday evening. We meet the winter sports athlete

who's snowboarding down one of Alaska's highest mountains.

And what will the weather be like for the weekend? Voters are going

to the polls today in local elections across the North East and

Cumbria. 208 council seats are up for grabs across the region.

Councils including Carlisle, Hartlepool and Newcastle are all

going to the polls. And voters in Newcastle are also deciding whether

or not they want an elected mayor in the city. Our Political Editor

Richard Moss joins us live from one of the counts in Hartlepool now.

There are elections across our region. In Cumbria, there are

elections in Carlisle. Also in North Yorkshire. A third of the

seats are up in most of these councils. In Hartlepool, the whole

council is up for election because of boundary changes. There, 17

wards are coming down to 11. You Kemp still vote if you get to the

polling 11 with by 10 o'clock. Voters have another decision to

make in Newcastle? Yes, they will be voting on whether

to have a mayor. Everyone in Newcastle could be allowed to

choose a directly elected mayor. It is quiet here, but I will soon be

joined by lot accounting staff and anxious candidates.

It is going to get very busy there. If you want to keep up-to-date with

the results of the local elections, you can join David Dimbleby on BBC

One, and on the News Channel, from 11.35 this evening. Richard, of

course, will be in Hartlepool bringing you the results as they

come in from across the North East and Cumbria. The Newcastle mayoral

referendum will not be counted until Friday. You can follow events

on BBC Two from noon. A winter sports athlete from

Cumbria has set off to snowboard down one of Alaska's highest

mountains. Julia Pickering is leading a team of seven, including

her husband, Warwick, and a Newcastle-based TV documentary crew.

Julia is experienced in climbing and snowboarding in hazardous areas

remote from civilisation. Her goal is to take on Alaska's 15,000 feet

high Mount Bear. Paul Mooney has The feeling of riding the powder is

like being in another world. I have been him to slow ever since

I was a child. I started skiing and then got into snowboarding. It

started by getting away from resorts. Julia and her team are

need specialist equipment for this adventure. I will be using a split

snowboard. It can split into two. The bindings a move around. It

means you can climb up hills without sliding back down. After

one week of acclimatising, it will take three weeks it to get to the

summit of mind to bear and just one hour to get back down. -- led to

-- Mount Bear. We have been out trying to train to make sure the

other safety measures spot on. trip represents a real risks.

dangerous. We take the most safety precautions that we cannot using

our knowledge and equipment to keep a safe. Do you ever feel scared?

Yes, I do. Avalanches are always in the back of my mind. We are

constantly assessing their danger in any situation. I am also scare

that we are making a film and I am scared that I might not right that

well -- ride that well. The task of The biggest challenge will be the

called, minus 30 degrees, and there might equipment we have to carry. -

- the amount of equipment. It will not be an easy trip. It will be

very steep and very cold. There are a lot of safety issues. But they

equipment packs down into small rucksacks. Being away from

civilisation and in such an extreme We are just going to go up this

peak and do something nobody has Beautiful shots. Blue skies and

sunshine. Newcastle United striker Sammy Ameobi visited the city's

Moorside Community School today to give pupils a lesson on how to

manage asthma. The player has suffered from the condition since

he was 12, but says it did not stop his dream to play professional

football - a message he was keen to pass on today. No, you told me that

you have scored a goal like Papiss Cisse.

The wind was behind me. I get it and it went in!

It was, surely, the impossible dream. But Newcastle United's hopes

of playing in the Champions League next season are still alive and

kicking. That is after a stunning first league win at Chelsea for 26

years. Both goals were scored by man of the moment Papisse Cisse.

His first was pretty good. His second? Well, judge for yourself!

So how does a team that has been walloped by struggling Wigan go out

and beat the Champions League and FA Cup finalists, just four days

FA Cup finalists, just four days later? Well, with goals like this.

And like this. When even the opposition applaud, you know you've

seen something pretty special. first goal is special, but the

first goal is special, but the second goal, he has just taken a

chance and hit it absolutely true. It is one of the great goals. Drop

buddying -- Didier Drogba just smiled. Even without Cisse's

spectacular efforts - his 12th and 13th goals for the club in just a

dozen games - this was a terrific performance by the Magpies. And

while a nasty-looking injury to Chiek Tiote caused a 10-minute

stoppage, a few stitches to a head wound should not stop the

midfielder making a swift return to action. Tottenham's win at Bolton

means they stay fifth in the Premier League. But with just two

games to go, third place, and a guaranteed trip to the Champions

League next season, certainly is not beyond them. Even if one of

those games is against the current leaders Manchester City in three

days' time. They are going for the title, we

are going for the Champions' League, it will be a tough game. For us, it

is a big hurdle to try to beat them. Elsewhere last night, York City had

to settle for a 1-1 draw in the first leg of their Conference Play-

Off semi-final against Mansfield. The Minstermen were caught out by a

long throw midway through the first half, a header from Ross Dyer

beating the former Sunderland goalkeeper Michael Ingham. But

three minutes from the break, an own goal by Mansfield's Exodus

Gohagen means it is all still to play for in the return leg on Bank

Holiday Monday. It was a tough game. They looked a

good side. But I think we have done enough for the away game. We have

got the advantage. The can beat them up for sure. We have their own

momentum after tonight. Confidence indeed.

They may be too young to make this year's Olympic Games in London, but

the North's brightest athletic prospects will still get the chance

to compete at the new Olympic Stadium. The UK School Games is

being held there next week, and one athlete looking to come away with

the top prize is javelin thrower Natasha Wilson. The 16-year-old

from Wigton in Cumbria is ranked first in her age group and fully

expects to compete for England in the Glasgow Commonwealth games in

2014. Andy Smythe went to meet her. If I am not doing javelin, I am

thinking about it. She is naturally talented. She is number one in her

age group, number two in the under twenties. Natasha Wilson has big

expectations resting on her shoulders. Scottish champion,

English champion, I have just broken loads of records. I am

warmly four centimetres away from a Jessica Ennis's record. This

weekend, Natasha heads into the school games with only one purpose,

to better what she did last year. want to get it right, a want to do

better. I think she will go out there and annihilate them. It is

nerve wracking, but you don't think about it. I have got a

We will kick you up-to-date with her progress. Cricket finally, and

the rain's back. What a surprise. Before the showers, Durham let

Warwickshire off the hook at Edgbaston. From 14-4, the home side

closed on 195-7. And at Scarborough, Johnny Bairstow hit 182 as

Yorkshire made 447 and the Tykes then ripped through the

Leicestershire line-up, bowling The weather is looking a bit glum.

Yes, but the weekend does not look Another gloomy day tomorrow however.

But some sunshine tonight for Cumbria. Cloudy end up North

Yorkshire and the North East. Every there will term cloudy by dawn.

This weather system in Scotland will move down into our region

tomorrow morning. It will not get much warmer for many parts during

the day tomorrow. That rain increasing through the morning.

Many places will become dry. Some spells of sunshine for North

Yorkshire, but temperatures quite low between 8 and 11 Celsius.

Feeling quite better in that wind. -- better. In Cumbria, a bit drier,

but still quite low temperatures. Probably about 12 degrees. And

getting colder over the weekend. This cold front moving down from

Scotland will be bringing called it air. However, it should be mostly

dry and bright. Bright skies for much of the region on Saturday.

Mild in the west, but really chilly for much of the rest of the region.

And we could have a frost on Saturday and Sunday morning so.

Thanks, Hannah. Finally a look at tonight's headlines. Documents

released today reveal that right up to his death, Osama bin Laden was

hoping to carry out another spectacular terrorist plot. And

Darlington Football Club has been saved. The existing club will be