06/02/2013 Look North (North East and Cumbria)

Hello, welcome to Look North. In the programme tonight. Bringing up

baby. The grandparents forced to raise their children's children

because they are unable to. An elderly man's in hospital with

burns after an explosion wrecks his home.

Free parking. Middlesbrough tries to stop the

town centre shopping slump but will other councils follow its lead? War

of words. A teacher's plea to parents to make sure their children

talk properly. And in praise of our ghost signs. They're fading

remnants from a bygone age, but are they worth saving?

In sport, a European game for one of our non-league football clubs.

And we have the amazing story of the Olympic athlete who fled his

home country and is building a new She has suffered two heart attacks,

an angina attack and says she receives little help. At the age of

71, that's not the end of her problems. She's been left to bring

up her great grand-daughter because the girl's mother is a drug addict.

Hundreds of grandparents on Teesside find themselves in similar

positions. Bringing up babies without, they say, any emotional or

financial support. Stuart Whincup has this exclusive report.

As a baby, Lucy was taken round drug houses by her mother. At six

months, she too was addicted to drugs. Damaged by her chaotic

lifestyle, she used to bite her great grandmother to get some

attention. I used to have bruises on my neck, on my arms. Took chunks

out of me really. It was terrible. Margaret loves her great-

granddaughter, but the stress has taken its toll. In the last year,

she has suffered two heart attacks and one angina attack. Now, as Lucy

is getting older, she is asking about her mother. Whatever trouble

her mother has been in, she has blamed herself for it. She thinks

it is her fault, and it is wrong. It is very wrong. But Margaret is

not alone. The Bridges Centre in Stockton supports more than 50

grandparents and believes there are hundreds across Teesside. It does

take a toll on their health. We have had grandparents dying with

heart illnesses because of the added pressure and stress. It is

very difficult at that age, when you have all your own illnesses, to

start then taking kids to football, playschool, up and down to school

every day. Foster parents, they say, can receive around �10,000 a year

to care for a child. Grandparents get no financial help. That has

left people like Karen needing pay- day loans to support her two

grandchildren. There are thousands of children out there left with

aunties, uncles, grandparents, great-grandparents. These children

are never checked up on. As long as these kids go to school, nobody

cares. They do not know what goes on behind those four walls. My kids

have never been checked on. In five years, no-one has come to ask if I

am OK. The grandparents say they do not want handouts, they are just

desperate for some help. A man in his 70s has been taken to

hospital following an explosion which wrecked his house near

Harrogate. It happened at about half past 11 last night at the

property in Finden Gardens in Hampsthwaite. Michelle Lyons

reports. Just before 11 o'clock last night,

a loud explosion blew the front window of this house across the

garden, leaving debris strewn across the path. Neighbours were

woken by the loud bang and came running out of their houses to see

what happened. The house was on fire and a man was trapped inside.

It was just a case of we heard the bang, we tried to figure out if

someone had fallen out of bed inside our house. Next thing,

people were shouting. We looked out the window and it was horrible. The

house was destroyed. A neighbour in the next road jumped over his back

fence to get into the burning property. He saw an elderly man,

disoriented, in the kitchen. With the amount of time the fire took

hold of the property, if I had not have acted when I did, he could

have been trapped inside the property and could very well have

died. The victim suffered serious burns and was taken to a specialist

unit at Peterfield Hospital. British Gas and North Yorkshire

Fire Brigade are still at the scene trying to establish exactly what

The Mayor of Middlesbrough has revealed plans to give motorists

two hours free parking in council- run carparks. Ray Mallon says that

he wants to encourage more shoppers to visit the town during the

economic downturn. But the scheme could cost the council �300,000, on

top of the �74 million in cutbacks it already faces. Adrian Pitches

reports. Like any town, Middlesbrough wants

to attract shoppers. But shoppers don't like paying for parking. So

Middlesbrough's mayor is offering free parking, although it could

cost his council �300,000. I've spoken to members of the public and

retailers and they say the biggest problem is car parking. We want to

offer the public three car parking for the first two hours. It is all

about attracting shoppers. And the parking public seem to like the

idea. I think it is the right thing to do. We need to stimulate the

economy in the town itself. Free parking. A lot of people object to

paying the parking fees now and I think if you ask most people, they

will come into town if they don't have to pay parking. I think it

would revitalise the town centre. I used out of town centres when I can.

It is more convenient than having to find that change. I don't think

that two hours' free parking would bring me to Middlesbrough. I think

there is more to do in Middlesborough than just give you a

couple of hours' free parking. Understandably, retailers are keen.

It would be of great benefit to us. It would bring people in from

outside the area. For us, it will hopefully increase football. It is

hoped that the revenue that will the council will offer hope will be

better spent. Perhaps on sprucing up the town to bring more people in.

But will other cash-strapped councils follow suit and offer free

parking too? Northumbria Police have named the

woman found dead in her home in Holywell on Monday. She was 42-

year-old Tina Casey. She had been stabbed to death. A 32-year-old man

and a 57-year-old woman were arrested on suspicion of murder.

The man was bailed last night. A Carlisle woman who swindled the

benefits system of more than �50,000 has been given a suspended

prison sentence. For four years, Susan Lister, who's 60, claimed

income support and council tax benefit she wasn't entitled to.

Today a judge told her that, but for her poor health and a guilty

plea, she would have gone straight to jail. Mark McAlindon reports.

Susan Lister, seen here with the crutches, arrived at court this

morning knowing that an earlier guilty plea and her ill-health

would prevent her from going to jail. But the judge left her in no

doubt about the seriousness of her crimes. Over a four year period

between 2006 and 2010, Susan Lister fraudulently claimed more than

�50,000 in benefits to which she was not entitled, including more

than �43,000 in income support. She had failed to notify the

authorities that she was living with her husband David Lister in

their home just outside Carlisle. Documents, said the judge, proved

that they were maintaining a common home together. He sentenced Susan

Lister to six months in prison, but suspended that for a year. Susan

Lister, it emerged in court today, had previous convictions for

assault and dishonesty. She was told today that any further

offences could see her sent straight to prison.

Now, are YOUS sitting comfortably. Sorry if I made you wince, but it's

that sort of mangling of grammar and pronunciation which is the

subject of our next story. A head teacher in Middlesbrough is so

concerned that speaking incorrectly puts young people at a disadvantage

that she has written to parents, pointing out some basic do's and

don'ts to teach their children. Jill Archbold reports. He has got

an apostrophe... Students getting on with their werk. Sorry, I should

say work. At Sacred Heart Primary School in Middlesbrough, the

headteacher is leading the battle of received pronunciation versus

regional. I am not against local dialect or colloquialisms or

accents, but I do want our children to know that if they are applying

for a job, for example, they should write in standard English. If they

are speaking to somebody, for example in a job interview, they

should speak in standard English. In our writing, we need to know...

A letter sent home to parents asked them to correct their children on a

number of common mistakes including phrases it's nowt and give it here.

My little sister, she might say, I seen a big white fluffy dog. And I

say to her, you saw a big white fluffy dog. She would look at me

like who are you talking to? My mum and dad say naw and I correct them

and say no, it's no. I think there is a distinction to

be made between having an accent and speaking correctly in terms of

the grammar and language that you are using. You. They can understand

what I am saying and that is about getting the language and the

grammar right. I done that. No, I have done or I did that. I would

never lose my Teesside accent, I think it is important. Not dunno.

say you don't know. To have the colourful nature of different

accents, I would not give that up for anything. Jill's with me now.

Jill, this seems a perfectly reasonable thing for a teacher to

expect from her pupils? How many times have we heard the

phrase speak properly, or speak proper. In this case, the head

teacher is not saying that children should not go up without a Teesside

accent, she is asking them to think about pronunciation. But there has

been some criticism. Not everybody thinks it is black and white.

Earlier, we spoke to a senior lecturer in applied linguistics.

think the headmistress is well- intentioned, but I think she is

misinformed about the nature of language. All language is, to a

certain extent, correct, even slang is correct. Our regional accents,

for example, I've seen the letter, there's two columns where there is

an incorrect and a supposedly correct form. But I would say that

both columns are correct. Because language can be used differently in

different circumstances. Interesting. But very strong

support for the school's stance from someone who knows a lot about

how to talk properly? Yes, it is very interesting that

slang was mentioned there. The head teacher has come out and said this

is not about getting rid of slang. You will never get rid of that. She

is saying that it is standard English. In a formal situations

like an interview, that is when it is really important. And somebody

who completely agrees with that is an etiquette expert. I feel that

everybody should speak properly. Enunciation, pronunciation are all

very important. The reason for it, that I am pushing it, especially

for the North East, we want to get top jobs up here. We want to send

our people out, really well equipped to compete with people

from all over the world. I know this whole debate is

generating a lot of interest, which side's winning?

You would think something like this, her head teacher has given a letter

to parents and said this is how you should be parenting your children,

you think it would have a negative reaction. In fact, their support

for the teacher has been overwhelming. It has been debated

on radio. And on our face -- Facebook page. So is correct

grammar and pronunciation still important? You can find out what

other people are saying about this story on our Facebook page. The

address is on your screen now. Coming up next tonight, the

campaign to save the region's ghost signs.

It is set it to stay cold or the next few days, but not a huge

Now, they're all over our region - so-called ghost signs. Old, painted

advertisements that hark back to a bygone era, a window onto our

cultural and commercial history. But they're under threat from eager

developers or modern-day billboards. And many of them are fading. But

now there's a call amongst enthusiasts of the signs to see

them given official protection. Our Business Correspondent Ian Reeve

has tonight's Look North report. They are reminders of another age.

And if you start to look, they seem to be everywhere, the so-called

ghost signs. Painted advertisements for products and services long gone.

The past showing its ghostly face And cataloguing and photographing

ghost signs before they fade completely is Teessider John

Rymer's overwhelming interest. His Facebook page shows how far the

interest has spread. This page shows the demographic breakdown of

the people that are liking my page and also the countries and cities

where they come from. You can see the biggest viewers at the moment

is United Kingdom followed by the United States of America but we go

all the way down to China and the United Arab Emirates, Netherlands

and Turkey. There are people who are interested in history, but have

never thought about these things. I do get people saying, "Thanks for

that great work, it's now got me looking." I think it will continue

to grow just by people learning about them. People like learning

about them. This sign in Redcar is John's first love, the first sign

he noticed, the one that got him hooked. I liked the fact that

somebody 70 years ago would be looking at that and there it is,

still here after the person that painted it is long gone. The region

has perhaps one of the best known ghost signs in the country. It is

less than ghostly though. It has been repainted. The money raised by

the people of York in double quick time because they like it so.

Hundreds of people expressed an interest in it. The main reason, I

think, is because it brings a smile to people's faces. Everybody

driving along this busy road tends to look at it and grin, knowing it

is old, a little bit iconic and knowing that, actually, it's a

laxative that doesn't really work and certainly doesn't make you

bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. not all signs are as loved as

York's Bile Beans, and lots of the ghosts are fading. Some argue they

should be listed, like buildings of architectural merit.

possibility would be to list them so that they would endure for ever.

Unfortunately, you have to have an agency that is responsible for

doing that and for the painting them from time to time. At the

moment, no one owns them so it is down to public goodwill that keeps

them going. And yet not only can they enhance the landscape, they

can be good for business. This cafe is on the other side of the Bile

Beans wall. It is a real bonus. When giving directions, it is an

iconic local sign that the residents of York will know well

and a lot of people that travel through the city have seen it.

one in Middlesbrough is from the 1930s and it is still trying to

persuade us of the merits of Esso petrol. If it cannot be listed, no

one is really responsible for that, the question has to be for how much

longer? Another top band has been lined up

for this summer's Whitehaven Maritime Festival. McFly, who've

sold more than 10 million records with seven number 1s in the UK

charts, will headline the show and say they'll be performing all their

biggest hits. The Whitehaven Festival is now one of the biggest

outdoor events in the UK attracting over a quarter of a million people

over three days. Fantastic news.

Name of those hits. Get away! I have no idea.

We'll kick-off with news of a real coup for Whitley Bay Football Club.

The Northern League club has arranged a friendly, this Sunday

night, with the Ukranian side, Metalist Kharkiv. And if that name

rings a bell, it's because they're Newcastle United's opponents in the

Europa League next week. They've arranged the match at Hillheads as

a warm-up for their game at St James's Park in eight days' time.

The Ukranians are currently on a mid-season break. So, go along, by

all means but don't wear black and white strips or scarves please or

you won't get in. That's at the special request of the Metalist

management. Delicate types, those Ukranians. And while they're

heading over here, many of our players disappeared to all corners

of the globe today. Have a look at this. Newcastle's French quartet of

Cabaye, Debuchy, Sissoko and Yanga- Mbiwa are in Paris for the game

with Germany. Magpies' skipper Fabricio Coloccini comes up against

Sunderland's Seb Larsson in Stockholm. United team-mates Tim

Krul and Davide Santon face each other in Amsterdam. The Black Cats'

keeper Simon Mignolet plays for Belgium in Bruges. Closer to home,

Sunderland's Irish contingent of McClean, O'Shea and Westwood are in

Dublin. Welshman David Vaughan is in Swansea, while Phil Bardsley and

Stephen Fletcher are up in Aberdeen. Stephane Sessegnon has the furthest

to travel. He's back home in Benin. And chasing the sunshine are

Newcastle's Shane Ferguson who's in Malta, and Middlesbrough defender

Rhys Williams playing for Australia against Romania in Malaga. Work

that one out! I am glad that is finished.

Staying with the international theme, an amazing story now about a

young man who was handed the honour any young athlete would dream of.

But just days after carrying the flag for his country at the Olympic

Games, he was on the run, seeking a new life in Britain. Weynay

Ghebresilasie raced for Eritrea at London 2012 but fears he'll face

execution if he goes back home. Now he wants asylum in the UK and he's

rebuilding his life with the help of Sunderland Harriers. Peter

Harris went to meet him. It was a bitter sweet moment.

Leading his nation's athletes at the Olympic stadium, soon Weyney

would turn his back on his homeland. Before the Games were over, he was

to leave the Eritrean camp to seek asylum here. And now he's in

Sunderland, hoping this will be place he calls home. He says he

cannot go back. If I return, there will be a great danger to my life.

If you return after seeking asylum, you are in an even worse situation

than everyone else and that is very bad indeed. Yes, it is a very

dangerous situation. He was constricted -- conscripted into the

Eritrean army when he was 15. His brother was killed in a conflict He

lives on �5 a day as he awaits news of his bid for political asylum. In

the meantime, Sunderland Harriers have an Olympian. We did not

believe it. When they came down our cells to see what was happening, he

was speeding around the track. been different here for Weyney. A

fortnight ago he raced in snow for the first time, next up National

Cross event at Sunderland's Herrington Park. A my dream is to

be a top athlete. I want to compare myself with the best in the world

and then I want to beat them. People here are friendly, but it is

too cold. He will get used it to the cold. If things work out, it's

possible he'll one day be back at the Olympics representing Britain.

Incredible story. Badminton finally, and

congratulations to Carlisle's Lauren Smith who won the English

national doubles' title in the National Cycling Centre in

Manchester. The 21-year-old, together with partner Gabby White,

beat off the challenge of Heather Olver and Mariana Agathangelou,

winning in straight sets 21-9, 21-9. She's the first Cumbrian to lift a

national badminton title since Whitehaven's Margaret Beck won the

singles in 1975. Now Lauren's hoping the partnership can blossom.

We've got a couple of tournaments coming up. We've got European team

championships and all England. They'll be a lot tougher, but it

will be good. If we can keep our form, keep solid and playing as we

are, it's a good sign for the future.

Well done. We could not talk about the

Eritrean runner without talking about the cold.

There was some wild weather on the The showers did put down some more

snow over the North York Moors. But the showers will become more

isolated through the night. Most places will be dry with lengthy

clear spells and cold temperatures. Temperatures can drop to below zero

in some places. Icy patches are worth watching out for as we head

into tomorrow morning. Most places will be dry through the day. The

cloud should be fairly well broken. Blue skies and sunshine. The cloud

will begin to thicken from the West later and by the end of the

afternoon, that thicker cloud will produce a mix of rain, sleet and

perhaps some Arsenal. Temperatures will peak at similar figures into

today. But the wind will be lighter. It will not feel quite as cold if

you are out and about. This weather front we just across from the West

and lingers around on Friday. The high pressure squeezes that weather

a fund, dry so things up by the time we get to Saturday. Dry for

many of the next few days. Some patchy sleet and snow, but not huge

amounts, but staying on the chilly side. Thanks Paul. A reminder of

tonight's main headlines. A public inquiry into the failings

at Stafford Hospital which contributed to the deaths of at

least 400 patients has called for a fundamental change in the culture

of the NHS in England. Here, a call for help for the

hundreds of grandparents left caring for their grandchildren

whose parents are on drugs, but getting none of the usual foster