:00:00. > :00:13.Hello and welcome to Thursday's Look North. Tonight: Oh, my God.
:00:13. > :00:16.Making the grade — thousands of students across the North receive
:00:16. > :00:23.their A level results. And the pass rate remains high. I got what I
:00:23. > :00:26.wanted, so I'm really happy. She has worked so hard.
:00:26. > :00:28.A steep rise in thefts at railway stations and on trains. British
:00:28. > :00:32.Transport Police go undercover to try and catch the culprits.
:00:32. > :00:37.The man who scooped half a million pounds after winning twice with the
:00:37. > :00:44.same lottery ticket! When I go to the bank and I see zero, zero, zero
:00:44. > :00:47.— I think that is when it will hit me.
:00:47. > :00:51.And we're on the road with some die—hard football fans as they get
:00:51. > :00:53.ready for the return of the Premier League. And what do some
:00:53. > :00:57.ex—footballers think of their team's Premier prospects? We've been out on
:00:57. > :00:59.to that favourite haunt of former players — the golf course — to find
:00:59. > :01:09.out. The waiting and the worrying is over
:01:09. > :01:13.at last. Thousands of students across the North got their A level
:01:13. > :01:17.results this morning after a long, nail biting summer. And the picture
:01:17. > :01:22.around the North East and Cumbria is one of high pass rates. Here's just
:01:22. > :01:25.a selection of what our colleges are reporting: Churchill College in
:01:26. > :01:28.Wallsend had a 100 per cent pass rate for the sixth year running.
:01:28. > :01:33.Middlesbrough College is celebrating a 99.7 per cent rate. Sunderland
:01:33. > :01:37.College had its best set of results with 99.6 per cent passes.
:01:37. > :01:41.Scarborough Sixth Form College achieved 99 per cent for the second
:01:41. > :01:49.year in a row and in Cumbria, Cockermouth School's pass rate was
:01:49. > :01:52.98 per cent — up on last year. We've reports from around the region.
:01:52. > :01:55.First to Alison Freeman who joined students in Brampton near Carlisle
:01:55. > :02:04.as they arrived at college to open those dreaded envelopes. Oh, my God.
:02:04. > :02:08.A happy ending to all those school years of hard work. Many pupils at
:02:08. > :02:16.William Howard School in Brampton were in at 7am to find out if they'd
:02:16. > :02:29.made the grade in their A—levels. Oh, my God. What are you going to do
:02:29. > :02:39.next? Celebrate. I got what I wanted, so I'm really happy. She has
:02:39. > :02:45.worked so hard. It gets me where I want to be. At William Howard, 75
:02:45. > :02:48.per cent of students who took their A—levels this year will go to
:02:48. > :02:52.University, despite the fees which could leave them tens of thousands
:02:52. > :02:55.of pounds in debt. But the mood in the school this morning was one
:02:55. > :03:03.mainly of excitement about the future. We've got the results that
:03:03. > :03:12.we need to go onto university, so we are really chuffed. I'm going to be
:03:12. > :03:18.a midwife. I'm so excited. It just means I've got so many more
:03:18. > :03:25.options. I can do things I wouldn't otherwise be able to do. We are
:03:25. > :03:28.celebrating fantastic results and it is about students moving forward to
:03:28. > :03:33.the next stage of their life. So that's it — the results are in — as
:03:33. > :03:37.they say and now its time for the pupils to get online to check to see
:03:37. > :03:40.if they've got that all important university place, and of course
:03:40. > :03:43.there might be time for some celebrating, too. Well, of course
:03:43. > :03:46.good A—level results can open the door to a university education and
:03:46. > :03:52.start students off on their path towards a particular career. Our
:03:52. > :03:55.Correspondent Mark Denten's been to Middlesbrough College to meet one
:03:55. > :04:02.student who's beaten all the odds to achieve top grades.
:04:02. > :04:06.300,000 students and lots of percentage rates — A—level results
:04:06. > :04:11.day is all about big numbers. It's also about small ones. One student.
:04:11. > :04:18.One results slip. Just listen what it means for Intersha. It feels
:04:18. > :04:24.great, really. I was worried last night and last week whether I'd get
:04:24. > :04:27.them, but I got them now. Today Intersha picked up two A grades and
:04:27. > :04:31.an A star at Middlesbrough College —he's off to Durham to study maths.
:04:31. > :04:41.But he started his education in Bangladesh. I moved here with my
:04:41. > :04:45.family and my mum couldn't speak English, so I stayed at my auntie's
:04:45. > :04:54.in London. I stayed there for three or four years. It has been like
:04:54. > :04:59.this. Intersha had trouble even finding a school that would take him
:04:59. > :05:05.when he arrived in England. They were reluctant to take me. My dad
:05:05. > :05:14.and uncle came and tried to explain that I do want to work hard. I had
:05:14. > :05:21.admitted that I wasn't great at school in Bangladesh. I said I
:05:21. > :05:25.wanted to work hard and do well. When you go to Bangladesh you see
:05:25. > :05:30.that you are really fortunate here. You have got lots of opportunities.
:05:30. > :05:35.If you want to work hard you can get to where you want. Mark Denten, BBC
:05:35. > :05:38.Look North Middlesbrough. That is inspiring. For some, though,
:05:38. > :05:41.despair. Thousands of A—level students didn't get the grades they
:05:41. > :05:44.were hoping for. And that, of course, means possible rejection by
:05:44. > :05:47.the university they were hoping to attend. Lucy Parry's been to
:05:47. > :05:50.Northumbria University where a call centre's been set up to help those
:05:50. > :05:55.who didn't quite make the grade. It can be a worrying time for those
:05:55. > :05:58.who're still looking for a place on a course. Here at Northumbria
:05:58. > :06:03.University, 50 call handlers are dealing with hundreds of calls in a
:06:03. > :06:06.process known as "clearing". Students who haven't received
:06:06. > :06:09.offers, or who've failed to get the required grades for their first
:06:09. > :06:18.choice, are matched with available courses. Someone who hasn't achieved
:06:18. > :06:25.their grades, of course, will have a range of concerns. What we try to do
:06:25. > :06:29.is help them the best way we can. Part of it will be, is their
:06:29. > :06:35.accommodation available for them to take courses? But mainly, I think,
:06:36. > :06:40.it is helping them and matching them to a course that is good for them.
:06:40. > :06:43.In a change to the system this year students who've done better than
:06:43. > :06:49.expected can trade up to a different course or institution. Calls have
:06:49. > :06:55.been coming in Saint Etienne this morning and staff will be on hand to
:06:55. > :07:01.support prospective students. —— since 8am. An open day is being held
:07:01. > :07:04.here at Northumbria tomorrow for anyone still interested in starting
:07:04. > :07:07.a degree course. Any extra students will be a bonus to the university
:07:07. > :07:09.which is celebrating its highest—ever number of applications.
:07:09. > :07:11.Lucy Parry, BBC Look North, Newcastle.
:07:11. > :07:15.Well, one question many A—level students will be asking themselves
:07:15. > :07:18.is, "Will I be able to get a decent job when I've graduated from
:07:18. > :07:20.university?" Earlier I spoke to Alex Hurrell, an analyst at the think
:07:20. > :07:24.tank organisation Resolution Foundation. He told me the North has
:07:24. > :07:28.a jobs gap of more than 40,000 posts and that it was vital young people
:07:28. > :07:36.here got a good education despite the cost. The North East does have a
:07:36. > :07:41.particular challenge because it has this jobs gap that we have
:07:41. > :07:44.identified and it was already one of the regions with the lowest
:07:44. > :07:49.employment rates. It is already struggling and has been hit hard by
:07:49. > :07:53.the recession, so there is an issue about the number of available jobs
:07:53. > :07:58.out there. That must be a concern for the young people, but I would
:07:58. > :08:02.say they should still do the qualifications, because if there are
:08:02. > :08:05.fewer jobs out there it is that much more important that they have good
:08:05. > :08:11.qualifications because there are fewer to go round. Does that not
:08:11. > :08:15.create a brain drain in the North East, where they moved to more
:08:15. > :08:24.affluent areas knowing the jobs are there? That is a possibility. On the
:08:24. > :08:29.other hand, if the North East is to recover the employment rate, plug
:08:29. > :08:32.this jobs gap, it will need investment in the area and that will
:08:32. > :08:37.require companies that come to the North East to see it as a good area
:08:37. > :08:42.to do business in and one factor that will be if the North East has
:08:42. > :08:45.lots of young people with very good qualifications. It would be worth
:08:45. > :08:57.situation —— a worse situation... Officers investigating the murder of
:08:57. > :09:01.a mother of three who used to live on Teesside are continuing to search
:09:01. > :09:05.a lay—by between the A1 and Thirsk in North Yorkshire. Rania Alayed
:09:05. > :09:08.vanished in June and two men have been charged with her murder.
:09:08. > :09:12.Detectives have been searching a stretch of the A169 and A19 near
:09:12. > :09:20.Thirsk today and are trying to trace a white camper van that could have
:09:20. > :09:23.been used in her disappearance. An undercover police operation has
:09:23. > :09:27.been launched after an unprecedented rise in thefts on trains and at
:09:27. > :09:31.stations. Rail passengers are being urged to keep their valuables and
:09:31. > :09:34.luggage safe as police try to combat the problem. Hundreds of incidents
:09:34. > :09:38.have been reported so far this year here in the North. Phil Bodmer's
:09:38. > :09:47.been given exclusive access to the undercover operation by British
:09:47. > :09:52.Transport Police. Watch the pregnant woman on the left in the pink top.
:09:52. > :09:57.While the couple to her right are in conversation, she moves a handbag
:09:57. > :10:02.under the screen with her foot and an accomplice in a striped shirt
:10:02. > :10:07.woks by, turns and picks up the bag. It is another example of increasing
:10:07. > :10:13.thefts on trains in Yorkshire. I was shocked at how slick it was and how
:10:13. > :10:18.unaware I was that it was happening at the time. It is just that moment
:10:18. > :10:21.when you realise everything is gone. You feel absolutely devastated and
:10:21. > :10:27.then you are really frustrated because it leads to a huge amount of
:10:27. > :10:33.work to sort things out. Just to make you aware, keep your property
:10:33. > :10:36.with you at all times... Transport police are today reminding
:10:36. > :10:42.passengers to keep their belongings secure. Potential fees are also
:10:42. > :10:47.being targeted. These passengers in front are actually undercover police
:10:47. > :10:54.officers. On this train it is not long before they spot suitcases that
:10:54. > :10:58.are vulnerable to theft. Well, it is not just luggage left here in the
:10:58. > :11:03.vestibule is that has been stolen. Even items like bicycles are
:11:03. > :11:10.vulnerable as well. Laptops and phones are also at risk, especially
:11:10. > :11:21.in the carriages. With the launch of Operation Magnum, police are
:11:21. > :11:29.warning... It is a CCTV rich environment, and we will prosecute
:11:29. > :11:32.you at the end of the day. By highlighting her experience, Sarah
:11:32. > :11:35.is hoping others can avoid a similar ordeal.
:11:35. > :11:38.Let us know if you've experienced theft on the railways on the Look
:11:38. > :11:42.North Facebook page. The details of how to log on are on your screen
:11:42. > :11:45.now. Police have reopened an
:11:45. > :11:47.investigation into sexual abuse at a former County Durham detention
:11:47. > :11:50.centre. Prison officer Neville Husband and store man Leslie Johnson
:11:50. > :11:53.were jailed in 2003 after being convicted of sexually abusing
:11:53. > :12:00.inmates at Medomsley juvenile detention centre in the 1970s and
:12:00. > :12:02.'80s. Both men are now dead. Now Durham Police have reopened the
:12:02. > :12:07.investigation after a former inmate claimed he was also abused.
:12:07. > :12:11.Medomsley closed in the late 1980s after the abuse came to light. It
:12:11. > :12:15.has since reopened as a secure training centre.
:12:15. > :12:18.Police are appealing for help in finding a missing man from
:12:18. > :12:22.Newcastle. Peter Chapman, who's 54, was last seen near the Copthorne
:12:22. > :12:26.Hotel on the Quayside on Monday. He was wearing a blue/grey denim jacket
:12:26. > :12:31.with a striped brown jumper, blue jeans and white Lonsdale trainers.
:12:31. > :12:37.Anyone who has any information is asked to contact police.
:12:37. > :12:40.She's the UK's first successful baby heart transplant survivor. Now 26,
:12:40. > :12:42.Kaylee—Ann Davidson—Olley, from Houghton—le—Spring, has just
:12:42. > :12:46.returned from her fifth World Transplant Games in South Africa,
:12:46. > :12:53.having won a gold medal in the 100 metres relay and a ten pin bowling
:12:53. > :13:03.bronze. It takes her total medal haul to seven, and banishes memories
:13:03. > :13:08.of four years ago. I never say nothing is impossible, but two years
:13:08. > :13:13.ago this wouldn't have been possible. I nearly had to have
:13:13. > :13:17.another heart transplant in 2009, so this is a dream come true and the
:13:17. > :13:20.icing on the cake and what I have been working for for the last four
:13:20. > :13:22.years. Relatives of 9—year—old Katelyn
:13:22. > :13:26.McAleavy from Whitehaven, who received a heart transplant earlier
:13:26. > :13:29.this week, say they can't thank the family of the donor enough for
:13:29. > :13:32.giving her a second chance at life. After ten months waiting for a donor
:13:32. > :13:37.heart to come available, Katelyn's family received the call on Sunday
:13:37. > :13:46.night. Katelyn is due to leave the intensive care unit and go back onto
:13:46. > :13:49.the ward. Cumbria police have issued a warning
:13:49. > :13:55.to young people after a man fell through a window doing what is known
:13:55. > :13:59.as Park or. He suffered serious injuries.
:13:59. > :14:03.You're watching Look North. And still to come this Thursday evening
:14:03. > :14:05.we meet a very lucky lottery winner. Plus: More celebrations as the
:14:05. > :14:12.Premier League returns and we follow two fanatical fans who worship
:14:12. > :14:16.everything red and white. And I'll be here shortly with a full
:14:16. > :14:22.weather forecast for the region of the North East and Cumbria. Pressure
:14:22. > :14:34.charts, and looks — we've got a lot —— the lot.
:14:34. > :14:38.Right, this fella one two lines on the lottery on the same ticket. One
:14:38. > :14:40.netted him a tenner — the other a cool half million. Supermarket
:14:40. > :14:45.worker Andy Gowling from Darlington says he's now planning to chill out
:14:45. > :14:51.for a couple of years. And have a few treats of course. Damian O'Neil
:14:51. > :14:54.has been to meet him. On any normal day, Andy would be
:14:54. > :14:57.doing his jobs around the supermarket warehouse where he
:14:57. > :15:01.worked until very recently, but today is different. Posing for the
:15:01. > :15:04.cameras in a polyester Camelot shirt and being manhandled by a fussy
:15:04. > :15:08.photographer, he managed to keep smiling throughout, and with half a
:15:08. > :15:14.million quid in the bank, who can blame him? The darts fanatic says he
:15:14. > :15:22.found out about the win after a bad day at Redcar races. It was the best
:15:22. > :15:29.hangover cure I've ever had. I checked the top line and I had all
:15:29. > :15:34.the numbers. I had to shout my son down because I couldn't believe it,
:15:34. > :15:41.and then he came down and said, you've won. You've won half a
:15:41. > :15:48.million. The obvious question is what do you do with half a million
:15:48. > :15:53.pounds? First of all, I'll have a little holiday with my son and then
:15:53. > :15:59.I'm going to buy my son a car and then hopefully I can go to Brazil
:15:59. > :16:04.next year, the World Cup. It's one of my ambitions to go there and now
:16:04. > :16:09.I have the money to do that. What about the longer term? Will you go
:16:09. > :16:17.back to work? Worker have been good to me because they said I could go
:16:17. > :16:25.back part—time. —— work. A couple of years to chill out. We can always
:16:25. > :16:29.dream. One happy man, there. For some it's been... Torture. An
:16:29. > :16:34.emptiness. For others, undoubtedly, a welcome break. But like it or not,
:16:34. > :16:37.football's Premier League is back. Football League fans, of course,
:16:37. > :16:40.have already had two weeks of it. So, for the die—hard, truly
:16:40. > :16:43.obsessional fan it means dusting down the team shirt and getting back
:16:43. > :16:47.to those match day rituals. Tomorrow we'll look at Newcastle, but tonight
:16:47. > :16:50.we focus on what it all means for two Sunderland fans. Vic Downey and
:16:51. > :17:00.his grandson, Lorne, as they worship anything and everything Red and
:17:00. > :17:08.White. We took them back to their seats in the Stadium of Light for
:17:09. > :17:13.tonight's Look North report. You know you're going to the game.
:17:13. > :17:20.You've been looking forward to it and at the start you almost, sort
:17:20. > :17:31.of, release the energy. THEY CHANT He always has to wear a
:17:31. > :17:36.shirt, the same shirt. He always has to wear his little
:17:36. > :17:43.white Sunderland had. It is everything, from getting dressed,
:17:43. > :17:51.you know? I wear long johns because it gets cold. See, even I didn't
:17:51. > :17:57.know that. I could have gone my whole life without knowing that. It
:17:58. > :18:06.is the whole process. Certain years aren't quite the same, you know? I
:18:06. > :18:11.mean, it's a terrible thing. You do miss it, don't you? The close of
:18:11. > :18:17.season? You can't wait to get back to it. Animals hibernate, we should
:18:17. > :18:27.do the same. We should hibernate until the start of the next season.
:18:27. > :18:35.Amazing. Well, I said we were going to win, but it's one of those
:18:35. > :18:42.things. You make the statement, but you don't really believe it. You
:18:42. > :18:51.just hope. The thing is, we got the goal and then we just kept going. I
:18:51. > :19:00.do know who supplies the manager's trousers... Your excuse to start
:19:00. > :19:04.coming to the matches, that is what it was. I was your little excuse,
:19:05. > :19:13.you're innocent excuse. How old was I? Ten, maybe? I couldn't stop
:19:13. > :19:18.coming now if I tried. We are so much closer because of going to
:19:18. > :19:23.football. It is something you believe in, it is something you want
:19:23. > :19:38.to enjoy. We talk about the same things... It is everything, isn't
:19:38. > :19:42.it? It's magic. I can't wait to see the new team, like. We have ten
:19:42. > :19:49.signings now. Some really exciting names. As a Sunderland supporter you
:19:49. > :19:57.can't expect that much. We've had so many downs it's unbelievable. You've
:19:57. > :20:08.got to hope. We have got it pretty bad, yeah. It's a lovely feeling.
:20:08. > :20:20.Seat, I like that line. That shopping is terrible. I'd rather sit
:20:20. > :20:23.in a stadium wearing long johns. I must reiterate, before we get the
:20:23. > :20:28.e—mails, we are doing Newcastle fans tomorrow.
:20:28. > :20:32.We have our radio commentators looking through a crystal ball. It
:20:32. > :20:36.is a bit cheesy. Two days to go, then, although
:20:36. > :20:39.Newcastle don't play till Monday — and for those with a connection to
:20:39. > :20:42.our clubs it's a mixture of excitement and anxiety ahead of the
:20:42. > :20:46.new Premier League campaign. Today former players from all the teams in
:20:46. > :20:49.our region were at a golf tournament at Ramside in Durham. And Peter
:20:49. > :20:57.Harris found the banter in full flow.
:20:57. > :21:02.A day on the golf course with thoughts never too far from the new
:21:02. > :21:14.Premier League season. One above Sunderland. What do you want to
:21:14. > :21:17.avoid? Getting relegated. I think Sunderland will finish well up the
:21:17. > :21:26.table. I think they will be above halfway. This is the tournament
:21:26. > :21:31.which features players from all of our region's clubs. And while the
:21:31. > :21:36.Premier League clubs can still dream, the early start of the
:21:36. > :21:42.football league means there have been a few bunkers already. There
:21:42. > :21:49.are few people wondering what is going to happen, but you've got to
:21:49. > :21:56.stick with people. Against Charlton we were a different team altogether.
:21:56. > :22:05.Some things do change, though. The magpies have a sneaking admiration
:22:05. > :22:09.for their neighbours. I think our manager might have a problem
:22:09. > :22:25.whipping up that kind of independence. You can put that in.
:22:25. > :22:33.Peter Harris, BBC Look North. The Italian one is made ten signings
:22:34. > :22:37.head of Saturday 's game. Sunderland's head coach hasn't ruled
:22:37. > :22:52.out further recruits before the transfer window slams shut.
:22:52. > :23:00.It can help the club to get a result and see what is going on in the
:23:00. > :23:02.future. Some transfer news, and Carlisle
:23:02. > :23:06.have signed teenage striker Adam Campbell on loan from Newcastle for
:23:06. > :23:09.a month. The 18—year—old, who can play up front or on the wing, is
:23:10. > :23:12.expected to go straight into the Cumbrians' squad for Saturday's home
:23:12. > :23:15.game against Coventry. While most Magpies fans would like to see
:23:15. > :23:18.another striker arrive at the club, there's optimism that some of the
:23:18. > :23:26.players recruited in the last transfer window have found their
:23:26. > :23:30.feet. I think we will see the best out of the French guys who are
:23:30. > :23:34.coming in January. It isn't easy coming from France into the
:23:34. > :23:38.Premiership so quickly and they will be struggling a little bit with
:23:38. > :23:42.injuries and the amount of games. Now they will be prepared for it.
:23:42. > :23:47.They won the Europa League which will make a massive difference. I
:23:47. > :23:57.think they will really excel this year. Our Premier League preview in
:23:57. > :24:05.tomorrow night's Look North. Durham are still harbouring the hope of
:24:05. > :24:12.making the semifinals. They were 153—5 in the third over a minute
:24:12. > :24:23.ago. They need another 66 runs to beat Yorkshire. I get the feeling
:24:23. > :24:27.the weather is on the turn, now. It might be like that for the next
:24:27. > :24:34.couple of days at times. Generally the forecast is pretty good.
:24:34. > :24:41.The weather is looking pretty good as we approach the end of the school
:24:41. > :24:46.holidays. We begin with a weather warning for parts of Cumbria, a
:24:46. > :24:50.weather warning from the Met Office for heavy and persistent rain, and
:24:50. > :24:55.we are expecting that rain to be heavy across the rest of the region
:24:55. > :25:01.as well. You can see those lurid greens and yellows on the map.
:25:01. > :25:09.Through the early hours of the morning the rain will start to ease
:25:09. > :25:16.in many parts, and the temperatures will be pretty high overnight. 17
:25:16. > :25:20.Celsius is quite possible. Those are the temperatures we had in the
:25:20. > :25:26.afternoon a few days ago, it is around the same temperature we had
:25:26. > :25:29.last night, so very mild. Increasing amounts of sunshine for North
:25:29. > :25:34.Yorkshire and parts of the North East, but still a few showers to
:25:34. > :25:38.come at times in the West. Through the afternoon tomorrow, things will
:25:38. > :25:49.brighten up with one or two isolated showers in the North. It will be
:25:49. > :25:57.fine, dry and warm for North Yorkshire with temperatures of 21
:25:57. > :26:10.Celsius, 70 Fahrenheit. In the North and West it will be dry.
:26:10. > :26:14.Temperatures will be between 17 and 19 Celsius. A much more pleasant end
:26:14. > :26:18.to the day tomorrow. This is the big picture. A fine day tomorrow and
:26:19. > :26:31.then another weather systems sweeping in from the west. That will
:26:31. > :26:34.squeeze the ice bars. Differences in pressure can mean some strong winds,
:26:34. > :26:42.possibly gale force over the Cumbrian fells on Saturday. Fine
:26:42. > :26:49.weather returns for Sunday, the white lines broaden and the wind
:26:49. > :26:53.will ease. The sunshine returns. There will be heavy rain across
:26:53. > :27:00.Cumbria on Saturday, clearing to bright spells on Sunday. Very
:27:00. > :27:06.similar in the North East as well. There will be showers for much of
:27:06. > :27:11.the region on Saturday, Sunday will look like the pick of the two days
:27:11. > :27:15.over the weekend. Bright skies will return and next week the weather
:27:15. > :27:18.will take a turn for the warmer. Thanks, Hannah, now for a last look
:27:18. > :27:21.at tonight's headlines. More than 520 people are officially confirmed
:27:21. > :27:24.dead in the violence in Egypt. But supporters of ousted President
:27:24. > :27:27.Moursi claim the death toll is four times higher.
:27:27. > :27:30.And targeting the sneak thieves. British Transport Police launch a
:27:30. > :27:41.crackdown on luggage theft on our railways. That is it from me
:27:41. > :27:43.tonight. See you again soon. Bye—bye.