18/04/2013 Look North (North East and Cumbria)

$$CLEAR $:/STARTFEED. Hello and welcome to Thursday's

Look North. Tonight: The 56,000 holes in the

road that are costing millions to repair.

How the horse meat scandal has seen sales soar at this quorn factory

and could lead to new jobs. The new campaign to raise awareness

about a condition that affects one in 100 of us.

And the birds-eye view of Hadrian's Wall that has helped unlock secrets

from the past. In sport, too many of our football

teams are facing a nerve-racking end to the season.

And one has already fallen through the trapdoor. We speak to the

Hartlepool manager about the pain They are a danger to both motorists

and cyclists. And potholes are costing millions of pounds a year

to put right. Figures show that an estimated 56,000 road defects have

been dealt with by councils in the North East and Cumbria in the last

year. And today one of our MPs unveiled a dossier of pothole

pictures sent to him by people concerned about the continuing poor

state of our roads. Live now to our reporter who is on Teesside for us.

This is a problem that just won't go away, isn't it?

There are two topics that keep coming up. They are related. The

first as a was paid a terrible weather and the second is these

things. Potholes like this have become a common sight on our roads.

Near Middlesbrough, you can see this one was reported as dangerous

to driver has a fortnight ago. It has been filled in, but already it

is starting to a road away and becoming another pothole. An MP has

collated a dossier on the subject. I have been out and about across

Teesside this morning to see if our region's roads are really going to

pot. It is a familiar site. The AA

reckons a third of motorists nationwide have damaged their cars

on poorly kept roads. Every time you hit a pothole, you know that

they're doing some damage. The fact is that we can't avoid them. We

wish we could. You can't avoid them. If you're not striving trait --

driving straight, you will get pulled over. A recent survey

revealed a third of drivers have suffered damage to their cars over

the last two years. There has been a vast increase in car tyre wear

and coil spring breakage from excess of potholes. Buckled wheels

as well. An industry body survey estimates a timescale of 11 years

to get a roads pothole free. It could be a while yet until we see

the back of the British potholes. Today, Liberal Democrat MP Tim

Farron handed in a dossier of 100 potholes that are among those

causing Cumbrian's problems. This stage of the roads is shocking. The

county council Gilfillan pot holes badly rather than resurfacing. It

is not just inconvenience -- inconvenient, it is dangerous for

motorists and cyclists. The county council's budget for reactive road

maintenance has dropped by �800,000 this year, but is still at �10.5

million. The severe winter weather has caused more defects in the road,

but a rolling programme of maintenance is ongoing.

Responsibility for each area is devolved to local committees. Today

Mr Farron was accused of electioneering. The coalition

government gave additional funding to Cumbria County Council to help

repair potholes. I find it surprising that he is out there

claiming that more money should be spent. The local authorities during

the best job they can despite massive cuts coming from central

government. I find it astounding that MPs can criticise this when

they're the ones faulting for these centralised cuts. Just last month,

Cumbria was found to be the second worst county in the country for the

amount of miles undergoing roadworks with more than 200 miles

under repair. But to solve this pothole problem it seems they are a

necessary evil. Fixing these things does not come

cheap. Two figs 1 pothole costs �55. It is not just -- to fix one pot

hole. It could also be leaving holes in drivers' pockets.

Police have released CCTV images of 19 men. They want to trace them

after violence broke out following Sunday's Tyne and Wear derby. The

men in these pictures were all captured during disorder on

Westgate Road immediately after the end of the match. 29 people have

already been arrested. He was a hero who lost his life

saving others. That was the reaction today from a former

workmate of Maurice Wrightson, the coach driver from Northumberland

killed in a crash in the French Alps on Tuesday. More than 50

passengers were either thrown from the bus or escaped before it

erupted in a fireball on a mountain road.

Maurice Wrightson from Ashington in Northumberland was driving more

than 50 people on their way home from the French Alps when the coach

left the road on Tuesday. It smashed into rocks before bursting

into flames. French police say they suspect there was a problem with

the vehicle's brakes. I think if he didn't do what he did do, there

would have been a lot of fatalities, if not all of them. I think he

really is a hero. He lost his life, but saved the day for everyone else.

No doubt about it. The French transport minister said Mr

Wrightson had displayed remarkable courage. He said the 64-year-old

had let the coach hit rocks to slow down rather than risk it going over

the edge. The British ambassador to France went in the area and spoke

to the French media. TRANSLATION: Were here to support the victims.

We're doing all we can to see things progress quickly. We will be

in contact with the families if necessary regarding compensation.

Three seriously injured Britons remain in hospital after Tuesday's

crash. The chartered coach had been transporting ski resort staff back

to the UK at the end of the ski season. The bus company, Classic

Coaches, is based at Annfield Plain in County Durham. The firm said

today it had had launched a full investigation and is working

closely with the local authorities. The horse meat scandal has damaged

the reputation of a number of companies and supermarkets. But one

of our region's businesses has benefited. The North Yorkshire

maker of meat substitute quorn has seen its sales soar. And new jobs

could even be coming to its factory in Stokesley. Our Business

Correspondent reports. Quorn is already a big seller. It

is the 30 fifth-biggest food brand, selling more than Heinz tomato

ketchup. After the horse meat scandal, it is getting bigger.

have increased by 7%. In the current financial climate, that is

a good performance. We have seen that a cut to 20% growth in the UK.

We believe that was timed as the horse meat concerns appear in mid-

February. To build on that rise in sales, expect to see more newspaper

magazine -- newspaper, magazine and television sports encouraging us to

try the product. We have been increasing our advertising. We have

spent �5 million this year. That is a large spend for a food brand in

the UK. The North Yorkshire company already sells and to 12 companies -

- 12 countries. They're coming up with new products to appeal to

buyers at home and abroad. Pork pie and chicken dippers are in

development. There is always something you we can do. We made a

picnic egg last year. We're always looking and two other areas we can

move into. Our protein is so versatile. In five years' time, we

will be beyond where we are just now. A in the short term, it is a

food scandal that has given this company a lift. Temporary staff

have been increased. Full-time staff are working longer hours for

overtime. They will shh -- they will soon be applying for new

vacancies. Now, if you came across someone

having an epileptic seizure, would you know what to do? Epilepsy

affects about one in every 100 of us. Now campaigners are trying to

raise awareness of the condition here in the North. They say there's

still far too much of a stigma about it.

You wouldn't know it to look at her, but Moira Copeland from Newcastle

has lived most of her life with a condition it seems most of us don't

want to talk about. She has had epilepsy since she was 13. I used

to fall down in class. In later life, my ex-husband used to walk

away from me in the morning. People have thought that I was drunk.

Other people have thought I was on drugs. Epilepsy has many forms, but

essentially it's a brain condition 600,000 people in the UK have it.

It can appear at any age, but more commonly as we get older. It can be

successfully controlled, but not cured, with the right medication.

If you find someone having a seizure, the advice is not to try

to restrain them, but gently to lie them down in the recovery position.

And don't put anything in their mouth. In most instances an

ambulance is not needed and the episode should pass quickly.

need to raise awareness of all neurological conditions. Epilepsy

is prime. Moira is leading a normal life, but others have reported

being stepped over in the street. One in five of us will suffer a

seizure at some time in our lives. The Labour Party leader Ed Miliband

has been campaigning in the North East ahead of the local elections

and the South Shields parliamentary by-election. The South Shields

contest was triggered when his brother David resigned to take up a

job with an international charity based in New York. Emma Lewell-Buck

has been chosen as the Labour Party candidate. Mr Milliband said the

key issue for the Labour Party in all the elections was jobs and

getting people back into work. Let's take on the energy companies.

It starts with the recovery of the many, not just a few millionaires

at the top of society. That is the big difference between ourselves

and the Conservatives. Meanwhile, the Foreign Secretary

William Hague's been in Cumbria today campaigning for the

Conservatives. Mr Hague first went to Penrith before being taken on a

tour of the Stead McAlpin factory at Cummersdale, one of Carlisle's

oldest manufacturers. The company makes fabrics for a number of major

retailers. This is a good example of what we can achieve in this

country. This is a business employing three times what it did

three years ago, exporting all over the world. It is bringing

manufacturing processes back to Britain. This is the sort of thing

that can succeed in the UK. Those council elections are in just

two weeks' time. Voters will be deciding who controls the four

county councils across the North East and Cumbria. More than 330

seats are up for grabs, and over 1,000 candidates will be contesting

them. So how do you choose between them? Our Political Editor has been

to the site of another big event of 2013 in search of illumination.

The splendour of Durham. And in just six weeks, another treasure of

the region will be on show here. The Lindisfarne Gospels are coming

to these galleries. This is a copy and not the real article. There

will be more excitement when they arrive here on 1st July. In the

meantime, there are some politicians who want to interest

you with their gospel ahead of local elections. Hundreds of

candidates will be competing in elections for county councils in

Durham. As well as Cumbria, Northumberland and North Yorkshire.

Voters will also be electing a mayor in North Tyneside. Of course,

there has not been a lot of good news from our councils recently,

and Labour think you should bear that in mind. -- and some think.

want people to use the local elections to send a message to

government that economic policies are not working, especially here in

the North East. I think it is important to send a message about

the way in which cuts have been enforced upon our councils. The

poorest areas have been hardest hit. It is important our councils stand

up for people in the North East. That is the gospel according to

Labour. But Iraq others who say it is more about who is best to run

local services. We have taken responsibility in many local

authorities and have shown it is possible to keep council tax down

and make big savings, but keep libraries and Sure Start centres

open. Maintain local services that win awards. That kind of commitment

is local, not just national. That is something that voters ask us for

and we deliver. The Conservatives say if they keep faith with them,

it will be good for your wallet and the local economy. We often provide

efficient and quality public services. We want to continue the

council tax freeze to help people with money in their pockets. It is

also about jobs and economic development. Conservative councils

will be better at encouraging a job-creation and creating jobs

prosperity further individual communities. Others will also be

trying to spread their message. The UK Independence Party is putting up

more candidates than ever before, the Greens will be hoping to make

inroads, and there'll be a host of independent candidates competing

with the political parties. The Greens will be hoping to make

inroads. There will also be a host of independents competing with the

big parties. So although the May elections might not be as hot a

ticket as the Gospels exhibition, there will be no shortage of

candidates competing for your attention over the next fortnight.

We are taking you back almost 2,000 years now to when Roman rule

stretched from Syria to Spain. North Africa to Britain. Running

between Tyneside and the Cumbrian Coast, Hadrian's Wall was the

northernmost edge of the Roman Empire. Tomorrow, a BBC One

programme reveals new evidence about the frontier gained by

looking at the landscape from the air. For tonight's Look North

Report, archaeologist Ben Robinson flies over the wall to show us how

the view from above is changing the view from above is changing

perceptions. A giant wall tears across the

landscape. It is almost 2,000 years since Hadrian ordered its

construction. And now evidence gathered from up here could re-

write the history of Roman Britain. Vindolanda was just one fort along

the frontier. Here an old aerial photo has prompted a new

investigation. You see the corner of something appearing in the field.

It is a monumental corner which couldn't happen in a natural way.

Somebody has done that. The question is who and why? This is a

small piece of copper alloy we have found. It looks like it is from a

soldier. That is incredible. They think this is the site of a fort

which predates anything else at Vindolanda. If so, it means the

Romans were here earlier than the history books tell us. There is so

much you can see from the air here. This playing card shape is a Roman

camp, lived in by soldiers for just weeks. But it is still visible.

Another camp was discovered on this laser image by archaeologist Bryn

Gethin. I have never been here before. This is just a rough,

Oldfield. If I was walking along the path, I think it would walk

right past that without looking. Humphrey Welfare and his brother

Adam have surveyed the site. soldiers here were two quarry and

select the stone to build the wall. -- to quarry. This was where the

wall-builders lived. But the Roman army is just one part of the story

of this landscape. English Heritage has pieced together thousands of

photos taken along the wall. From coast to coast. Crop marks where

iron age farms stood. Larger native settlements. It is perhaps the

greatest revelation from aerial archaeology here. Hadrian's Wall

was well-populated. Buzzing with life. Before, during and after

Roman Rule. What we thought we saw was a very militaristic landscape.

Sparsely-populated. When we started to fly, or whole new world emerged.

We started to see instead of these very few Hill forts, huge numbers.

Tens of thousands of isolated plot, completely undefended. You cannot

have a landscape like that in an unsecured world. Natives and Romans

learned to live alongside each other. And the presence of the

Roman army was attractive to locals, who saw it as chance to make some

money. Soldiers bought everything from food to bracelets. The sea

glass bottles as useful containers but also a material for making a

brace that. Several of these have been found in Roman forts. They

were probably guests. -- gifts. Aerial evidence is revealing hidden

story of Hadrian's Wall. It is about so much more than the bricks

about so much more than the bricks and mortar we can see on the ground.

And you can see all the discoveries Ben made on his flight along

Hadrian's Wall in The Flying Archaeologist tomorrow evening at

7:30pm on BBC One. Newcastle United, Sunderland, York

City and Gateshead. Four of our professional football clubs

desperately hoping not to follow the lead of Hartlepool United,

whose relegation from League One was confirmed without them even

kicking a ball on Tuesday. So what were the manager's thoughts today

two mornings after the night before?

John Hughes was brought in mid- season to try and preserve

Hartlepool's League One status. While there were signs of

improvement, he couldn't ultimately prevent demotion to the bottom tier

of league football. It is bitterly disappointing to be relegated. The

supporters have played their part, staying with the team. Over the

course of the season. Some fans have been dismayed at a perceived

lack of investment. Whatever the case, no-one at the club is blaming

bad luck. If you want to win a league, you have to score between

70 and 80 goals. We are well short of that. Defensively, you want to

concede 40 or 50. We are well above that. As a team, we have not been

good enough. A canny recruitment policy will now be needed this

summer. You'll be amazed how many players don't want to come to

Hartlepool for one reason or another. That hurts. We have to

bring the guys who want to come here and be part of Hartlepool and

bring success to this club. does the head still want to be part

of all that? It is not in my DNA to walk away after relegation. I

wanted it Hartlepool where it belongs. That is playing football

in the First Division, if not higher. So playing for pride at

home to automatic promotion hopefuls Brentford. Perhaps next

season does begin this Saturday teatime.

So Hartlepool will start next season in League Two, which is

where Gateshead were hoping to be. But instead of challenging for

promotion, to stay in the Conference Premier, the Tynesiders

need a point from Saturday's final game at Middlesbrough's Riverside

Stadium against already-relegated Ebbsfleet. Relegation might mean

they would struggle to stay a full- time professional club, and could

throw doubt on their plans to build a new home ground in the town.

It is massive. It is like a cup final, but you are playing for your

life. Your family and livelihood. That is the size of the task on

Saturday. It if you need more motivation for that, you're in the

wrong business. Cricket and Durham recovered from

five for three and 50 for six. They reaced 259 for seven. It was in

reply to county champions Warwickshire's first innings of 345.

The recovery was led by skipper Paul Collingwood's 74 and Scott

Paul Collingwood's 74 and Scott Borthwick's unbeaten century.

There has been problems with the wind for the cricket.

There were real problems with the wind gusts earlier today. Tomorrow

should be a kinder day for bumblebees and the rest of us.

Still fairly dusty out there does now. Showery outbreaks of rain to

cope with has become through the first half of the night. That

should tend to dry up. The winds will eventually eased into a light

north-westerly. A completely different feel to things tomorrow.

Any early showers will tend to die away. Than most of us will have a

fine and dry day. Well broken cloud with plenty of sunny spells in the

afternoon. Temperatures not exactly tropical. 12 degrees will be the

peak. 0 winds will be light, variable in direction, but much

lighter than of late. The reason it is coming down is there is a big

ridge of high pressure building in. That hangs on as we head through

the first half of the weekend. Eventually giving weight of frontal

system coming in from the north- west, eventually bringing in cloud

and rain as well as stronger winds on Sunday. Makes the most of the

sunshine on Friday. Some bright intervals on Saturday. The breeze

start to pick up through the weekend and the expecting more rain

and thicker cloud coming in from that north-west through Sunday. The

North East will hang on to the sunny spells longer. Some showery

agreed -- showery outbreaks of rain spread to most parts on Sunday.