27/08/2012 Look North (North East and Cumbria)

Hello, good evening. $$NWELINE Detectives on Teesside are hunting

a prisoner who failed to return to jail after a day working on a

community farm. The police are advising the public not to approach

Bernard Sharkey, who was last seen on Thursday. Julie Smith has more

details. This is the man police have

urgently been looking for for the last four days - 34-year-old

Bernard Lee Sharkey. He failed to return to Kirklevington Prison on

Thursday. Police say he poses no threat to the public but are

working with an individual they have concerns about. If you see him,

please dial 999, my officers will respond to try to arrest him and

locate him. And this is where he was last seen - Newham Grange Farm

in Coulby Newham. Last Thursday he'd been carrying out community

work here, mucking out and feeding livestock. He's not been seen since

12:30pm that day. Bernard Sharkey was serving an indeterminate

sentence for threats to kill, affray and possession of an

offensive weapon. Police are warning members of the public not

to approach him. But despite being deemed low risk and allowed in a

public place, there was an opportunity for trust to be broken.

Around 12:30pm, Sharkey left the farm in a silver car. Surprised to

hear about them. I wonder what sort of supervision they have had.

Certain people in the local area should not be put at risk. It is

worth bearing in mind that prior to him going to prison, and prior to

him being allowed into the community, he undergoes a rigorous

risk assessment from the Prison Service, which deemed him as low

risk. I'm sure that had they been aware of the information which I

now have prior to Thursday, he would not have been working at the

8th -- at the farm. A successful campaign to encourage

people to stop smoking is being re- launched this week. Fresh's Every

Breath campaign aims to raise awareness of chronic obstructive

pulmonary disease. In the vast majority of cases, COPD is caused

by smoking. The lungs are destroyed and sufferers describe it as though

they're suffocating. Keith Akehurst 22-year-old John Stoddart pushes

his mum in her wheelchair. For six years John has been Janet's carer.

He's had to do all the jobs around the house and even personal things

the house and even personal things This Ashington family's life has

been devastated by chronic obstructive pulminary disease.

could tell when she was real, you could see it in her face and you

don't want to think that of your family members. Especially my mum

who has raised us all my life. You want to repay the favour. Janet has

to use her nebuliser four times a day and has a box of medication

that's keeping her alive. Some sufferers are totally housebound.

It is a progressive lung disease. It is the UK's 5th biggest killer.

We have a huge amount of cases in the North East that have never been

diagnosed. Too often, smokers thing, it is just a smoker's cough, I am a

bit out of breath. They don't recognise it is an early symptom of

COPD. When you have the late stages of COPD, sufferers say it feels

like they are suffering -- suffocating or choking to death.

The North East has the largest number of patients with COPD in the

country. Yet it's also had the biggest drop in over all smoking.

There are fresh hopes the TV, radio and cinema campaign beginning this

week will improve those statistics further. -- Fresh hopes.

The Foreign Office says it hopes a North Yorkshire man who was

detained in Africa on suspicion of mass murder will soon be allowed to

return home. David Simpson, from Pickering, was working as a pilot

and safari farm manager in the Central African Republic when he

and his colleagues discovered 18 bodies in a forest, in March. The

24-year-old was jailed after reporting it to the authorities,

but has now been released and all charges have been dropped.

A last minute bid's been launched to delay signing the deal which

would see Virgin Trains lose its franchise for the West Coast Main

Line. The track, which passes through Cumbria on its way to

London Euston from Glasgow, has been run by Virgin since 1997, but

they lost the franchise to First Group two weeks ago. Now Labour's

asked that Wednesday's signing of the new deal be delayed.

The tiny North Yorkshire village of Hebden has been celebrating the

success of Olympic Champion Andy Triggs Hodge today. Andy won a gold

medal in the coxless four rowing, and was back home to join in the

village sports day. Dan Johnson put It was certainly weather for

wellies, but only one man was in golden boots. The sports day was

wet, even for a rower. It is chucking down, but everyone is

enjoying it so this is what it is all about. Watersports were not

supposed to be in the programme, but the rain didn't deter the

athletes. A proper old-fashioned sports day, being held under some

atrocious conditions. From the fun and games here to the serious fell

race later, everybody is itching to get a glimpse of that gold medal.

The tombola tent became a photo studio. Quite a queue for a moment

with the local hero. It is three weeks since that gold medal was won

in the coxless fours, adding to the gold Andy won in Beijing four years

ago. Since he started doing his rowing, he has been away quite a

lot, but he comes back fairly regularly, so a lot of people know

him. And we are proud of what he has done. It is 15 years since I

have been here. It brought back memories of my winning -- running

some of the stalls and collecting the 20 P's. The stakes are higher

now, but from village champion to Olympic gold medallist, success

round here is hard earned. It's hoped that artists from Spain,

Argentina and Brazil will take to the skies 40 metres above

Whitehaven harbour tonight as part of the Lakes Alive festival.

Because of the wet and windy weather earlier, street shows were

cancelled and it's not yet clear if tonight's performance can go ahead.

A decision will be taken by 7:30pm at the latest.

Let's take a look at that all- important weather forecast now with

Blue he had more rain to come up with almost dollars. It does tend

to dry up. Temperatures -- more rain to come for most of us. The

supply winds will ease slightly. Tomorrow, bright and breezy -- the

southerly winds will ease slightly. Plenty of sunshine. Temperatures in

the brisk south-westerly wind, from 16 Celsius on the Cumbrian coast,

to 20 Celsius in the North East coast. Make the most while it lasts,