:00:00. > :00:08.Welcome to Look North. In the programme tonight: Standing down.
:00:08. > :00:12.Firefighters walk out in their first national strike for a decade in the
:00:12. > :00:21.row over plans to make them work until they're 60. Asking
:00:21. > :00:23.firefighters to work until they are 16 really is an unsafe situation for
:00:23. > :00:27.the public. Also tonight: Heart of gold — the
:00:27. > :00:30.woman whose life was saved by surgery is named Volunteer of the
:00:30. > :00:32.Year by the British Heart Foundation.
:00:32. > :00:35.Battling butchers — the campaign to persuade shoppers to buy meat from
:00:35. > :00:37.the High Street, not the supermarkets they claim are killing
:00:37. > :00:40.their trade.. And green therapy — how a Royal
:00:40. > :00:45.Horticultural Society project has led to an award for this North East
:00:45. > :00:49.school. And in sport: Can Newcastle follow
:00:49. > :00:52.Sunderland into the fourth round of the League Cup tonight?
:00:52. > :00:55.The arguing's over as the Black Cats put their Di Canio debacle behind
:00:55. > :01:08.them with a confident win over Peterborough.
:01:08. > :01:14.First tonight, the fire strike. At noon, as threatened, members of the
:01:14. > :01:18.Fire Brigades Union walked out of many of our fire stations. It was
:01:18. > :01:21.only a four—hour strike, but it left many communities feeling vulnerable,
:01:21. > :01:24.The Union says it's been forced into the action because of Government
:01:24. > :01:30.plans to raise firefighters' retirement age from the current 55,
:01:30. > :01:33.to 60. It says older members can't be expected to carry out the heavy
:01:33. > :01:36.physical work involved. The Government says they could be
:01:36. > :01:42.offered alternative posts within the Fire Service. So how has our region
:01:42. > :01:45.coped? Ian Reeve has been following developments and joins us now from
:01:45. > :01:56.the Cleveland Fire Brigade headquarters in Hartlepool.
:01:56. > :02:03.This is where Cleveland Fire crews are dispatched from. There are 41
:02:03. > :02:13.potentially hazardous sites. But today it was quite to the relief of
:02:13. > :02:20.everyone involved. The first firefighters' strike in more than a
:02:20. > :02:28.decade. At this station, 50 firefighters were on the picket
:02:28. > :02:35.line. This man complains that he now has to work until he is 60 and
:02:35. > :02:40.maintain strict fitness levels. If not, he will have to leave and lose
:02:40. > :02:44.money from his pension. You don't know what could happen over the next
:02:44. > :02:49.few years and the way the government are talking, you could be sacked if
:02:49. > :02:55.you are not capable of reaching your fitness levels. It is frightening.
:02:56. > :03:04.According to the Fire Brigade Union, the public have sympathy. Asking us
:03:04. > :03:13.to work until we are 60 is an unsafe situation for the public. I don't
:03:13. > :03:18.think many people out there, who the Fire Service belongs to, who would
:03:18. > :03:26.want a crew of firefighters with an average age of 58. But the
:03:26. > :03:31.government says older firefighters don't have to do this. They could be
:03:31. > :03:40.found other jobs. It is claimed that the pension is one of the most
:03:40. > :03:46.generous in the public sector. Here, volunteers were working along the
:03:46. > :03:56.non—striking firefighters. This team attended the fire but then spent the
:03:56. > :04:06.rest of the day driving around. We had two calls. In terms of
:04:06. > :04:12.operationally, we didn't have a lot to do. Hopefully that is due to the
:04:12. > :04:16.prevention messages we have been sending out and the message we have
:04:16. > :04:22.been communicating which is take extra care. The union still has a
:04:22. > :04:28.mandate to call its members out, though. This strike may only be an
:04:28. > :04:34.opening shot of an intensifying dispute.
:04:34. > :04:38.So that's the picture on Teesside, Ian. How have brigades in other
:04:38. > :04:45.parts of our region coped? It has been quite quiet. We have six
:04:45. > :04:51.Fire Brigade 's. Two incidents in Durham and Darlington. North
:04:51. > :04:57.Yorkshire had five incidents. The brigade is on the scene at an
:04:57. > :05:02.incident in Scarborough. Cumbrae I had just one incident.
:05:02. > :05:17.Northumberland also had one incident. Time and we are Tyne and
:05:17. > :05:22.Wear so a few incidents. Somebody was trapped between a Metro train
:05:22. > :05:30.and the platform. But, in the main, rather quiet.
:05:30. > :05:33.The Bishop of Newcastle has launched a campaign against wind farms,
:05:33. > :05:36.calling them a blot on the landscape of the Northern Saints. The Right
:05:36. > :05:39.Reverend Martin Wharton says Christians have a duty to protect
:05:39. > :05:43.the countryside from more turbines. He says he was dismayed by what he
:05:43. > :05:45.saw as a proliferation— of wind farms while travelling through
:05:45. > :05:52.Northumberland for celebrations of the return of the Lindisfarne
:05:52. > :05:55.Gospels. A group of energy companies says it
:05:55. > :05:58.can't confirm reports that the government could auction off land it
:05:58. > :06:02.bought to build a new nuclear power station in West Cumbria. NuGen wants
:06:02. > :06:05.to develop the land near Sellafield, but reports suggest the government
:06:05. > :06:09.could put the plot up for sale as NuGen failed to make progress on a
:06:09. > :06:20.new power station. NuGen says the information is too commercially
:06:20. > :06:23.sensitive to discuss. A volunteer for the British Heart
:06:23. > :06:26.Foundation — whose life was saved by a triple by—pass — has been honoured
:06:26. > :06:29.for her voluntary work. Wendy Patterson from Berwick has been
:06:29. > :06:33.named regional Volunteer of the Year. As a thank you she met one of
:06:33. > :06:39.the researchers trying to find a cure for heart disease. Alison
:06:39. > :06:43.Freeman reports. She may be taking the money, but for
:06:43. > :06:47.Wendy it's all about giving back. 15 years ago, she went to hospital for
:06:47. > :06:51.what she thought would be a routine check up. But it led to her life
:06:51. > :06:55.being saved by a triple heart bypass. So for the past six years
:06:55. > :06:59.Wendy's been volunteering at the British Heart Foundation's charity
:06:59. > :07:02.shop in Berwick. She's now been named their regional retail
:07:02. > :07:09.volunteer of the year — despite even more personal tragedy.
:07:09. > :07:16.Two years ago she lost her son to heart disease. She was back
:07:16. > :07:26.volunteering four months later. She is fantastic with the customers and
:07:26. > :07:29.has a passion to make money. The 69—year—old was showing off her
:07:29. > :07:33.skills at the Newcastle shop. She was under the watchful eye of
:07:33. > :07:40.Research fellow Dr Helen Phillips. Her work aims to find a cure for
:07:40. > :07:43.heart—disease.. It puts it into perspective because
:07:43. > :07:51.you can get a bit blinkered in the lab. To meet people, it makes you
:07:51. > :07:54.realise how important it is. Volunteers like Wendy raise around
:07:54. > :07:57.£30 million per year, and pretty much all of that goes towards
:07:57. > :08:09.funding research laboratories like this at the centre for life.
:08:09. > :08:14.As a reward Wendy got to find out more about the research.
:08:14. > :08:20.It is mind blowing to think what they do. What motivates you to keep
:08:20. > :08:26.working? To do something useful. If it wasn't for volunteers, this
:08:26. > :08:29.wouldn't happen. Wendy wants her story to encourage
:08:29. > :08:36.others to donate time and money to research.
:08:36. > :08:39.Nine libraries are to close in Sunderland. Council bosses have
:08:39. > :08:43.agreed to cut the number of static libraries from 20 to 11, saving
:08:43. > :08:47.around £850,000 a year from their budget. Campaigners are hoping to
:08:47. > :08:53.get the decision changed by the full council which meets tonight.
:08:53. > :08:57.A former Newcastle footballer has been honoured with a commemorative
:08:57. > :08:59.plaque in the city. Colin Veitch led the Magpies to three League
:08:59. > :09:03.Championships and five FA Cup finals, winning the cup in 1910. The
:09:03. > :09:08.following year, he co—founded the People's Theatre in the city. The
:09:08. > :09:15.plaque is at number 1 Stratford Villas in Heaton, where he lived
:09:15. > :09:19.while he was Newcastle's captain. Now it's a tough job, you need to be
:09:19. > :09:23.fit, but it's no doubt rewarding. One of our region's busiest rescue
:09:23. > :09:27.services is on the look—out for more volunteers to help people in trouble
:09:27. > :09:31.on the North York Moors. The Cleveland Mountain Rescue Team are
:09:31. > :09:34.on call 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. They're holding a recruitment
:09:34. > :09:37.drive tomorrow at their base at Great Ayton near Roseberry Topping.
:09:37. > :09:43.Phil Chapman's been to see the work they do.
:09:43. > :09:47.Anyone who enjoys the great outdoors could potentially find themselves on
:09:47. > :09:49.mountain rescue stretcher. Recent incidents for the Cleveland Mountain
:09:50. > :09:53.Rescue Team have included walkers lost in the fog, mountain bikers
:09:53. > :10:01.with head injuries and even dementia sufferers missing from home. So,
:10:01. > :10:05.could you help out? You have to be a good team player and an experienced
:10:05. > :10:12.mountaineer. You also have to have a knowledge of the North York Moors.
:10:12. > :10:24.We never know what the next call is going to be. Any advice from recent
:10:24. > :10:27.recruits? Don't be scared. As long as you are someone with a reasonable
:10:27. > :10:30.degree of ability and go walking regularly, you will probably find
:10:30. > :10:37.the training stimulating and interesting and a bit of a walk on
:10:37. > :10:43.the wild side. If you are open—minded, you will cope fine. And
:10:43. > :10:54.there is a lot of kit to get used to. We have various equipment from
:10:54. > :11:00.specialist to straightforward. In the changing times of mountain
:11:00. > :11:08.rescue, water kit is also used. Teams have to be trained to operate
:11:08. > :11:12.around water margins and areas. The team have had a record 55 callouts
:11:12. > :11:14.this year so far. If you are an experienced hill walker or
:11:14. > :11:23.mountaineer, you could volunteer and help them save lives.
:11:23. > :11:28.And that recruitment event starts at 8pm tomorrow evening at the team's
:11:28. > :11:33.headquarters. When was the last time you bought
:11:33. > :11:36.meat? And where did you buy it? High Street butchers say they're in
:11:36. > :11:39.danger of disappearing from our town centres because of competition from
:11:39. > :11:42.supermarkets. But they're fighting back. As Cathy Killick reports, in
:11:42. > :11:49.York, they're taking steps to make sure they're not consigned to
:11:49. > :11:56.history. It is one of York's most famous
:11:56. > :12:06.streets, loved by tourists for it's crooked houses and charm. These
:12:06. > :12:13.days, it is full of new shops but the old wooden shelves are evidence
:12:13. > :12:19.of a more gory past. They were called flesh shelves and were used
:12:19. > :12:25.for meat. My dad used to really enjoy telling me about all the
:12:25. > :12:31.butchers that were here. He said the gutters ran with the blood. Now, the
:12:31. > :12:38.York sausage shop is the last surviving butchers and one of just
:12:38. > :12:46.two in the city. We have a lot of competition from supermarkets. We
:12:46. > :12:50.have around nine in the city centre. They are very close by so we have a
:12:50. > :12:52.lot of competition. They have massive buying power. They have
:12:52. > :12:59.massive buying power. Taken by more than we can and sell it cheaper. At
:13:00. > :13:04.York's Festival of food and drink, the butchers are fighting back. It
:13:04. > :13:13.is not just York that is losing its butchers. We are down to just under
:13:13. > :13:21.7000 independent butchers. One way to save the High Street is going
:13:21. > :13:26.back to a local butcher. If enough people use them, they should survive
:13:26. > :13:32.but they are vulnerable. At if we want them in our town centres, they
:13:32. > :13:35.need support. Coming up shortly: Dawn's here with
:13:35. > :13:38.the sports news. And former Newcastle United goalkeeper Steve
:13:38. > :13:41.Harper proves that home is where the heart is. He's become honorary
:13:41. > :13:49.president of the team his dad used to play for. Tomorrow most of us
:13:49. > :13:58.will have some brighter skies. I'll be back later.
:13:58. > :14:03.Now, most people regard gardening as a relaxing hobby. But, at a school
:14:03. > :14:05.in North Tyneside, it's actually improving the behaviour of some
:14:05. > :14:07.pupils. Southlands School, which teaches some children with
:14:08. > :14:10.challenging behaviour, has been working with the Royal Horticultural
:14:10. > :14:13.Society on the project. Those involved say spending more time
:14:13. > :14:18.outside is having a positive affect on the students, as Tolu Adeoye
:14:19. > :14:23.reports. It's a welcome change to sitting in
:14:23. > :14:27.a classroom. These students have got green fingers. They've been growing
:14:27. > :14:39.vegetables, looking after hens and now they're even building a pond.
:14:39. > :14:45.You need to put all the planks in and join them together. It helps me
:14:45. > :14:52.a lot because you can plant stuff and cruel stuff and the teachers
:14:52. > :14:56.help you. It helps you concentrate on lessons and calm down.
:14:56. > :14:58.The push outdoors is part of a project with the Royal Horticultural
:14:58. > :15:01.Society and the Children's Foundation. The students have fun,
:15:01. > :15:09.but those involved say there are far—reaching benefits. All our
:15:09. > :15:14.children have learning difficulties. This started out as a
:15:14. > :15:17.small programme designed to try and get an alternative when children
:15:17. > :15:26.were struggling in the classroom. Now they want to be in school and
:15:26. > :15:31.working. It is taking off. It gives a chance to students who find it
:15:31. > :15:42.difficult to be behind a desk in a small classroom. They can move more
:15:42. > :15:47.freely and it is not a disruption. This is some of the stuff the
:15:47. > :15:50.students have grown. The lessons don't end there. They will learn how
:15:50. > :15:53.to make things in class, too. And these flowers show why the
:15:53. > :15:56.school recently won the Young Gardener of the Year category in
:15:56. > :16:00.this year's North Tyneside in Bloom competition. It's hoped more schools
:16:00. > :16:07.will see the example here, and get more students learning outdoors.
:16:07. > :16:11.He spent 20 years with Newcastle United, which was marked earlier
:16:11. > :16:14.this month with a charity match in front of more than 50,000 fans, but
:16:14. > :16:17.now former Magpies goalkeeper Steve Harper is turning his attention
:16:17. > :16:20.closer to home. He's just been made honorary president of his hometown's
:16:20. > :16:26.football club — Easington Colliery AFC. And there's another reason why
:16:26. > :16:29.he loves the club — his dad used to play for the team. Stephanie
:16:29. > :16:32.Cleasby's been speaking to both of them.
:16:32. > :16:37.A chance for father and son to reminisce. A photo on the club wall
:16:37. > :16:45.— a reminder of Alan Harper's playing days. His team even won some
:16:45. > :16:48.silverware. That's the morning after. We won it the night before.
:16:48. > :16:51.This place was Steve's playground as a child. Now, after two decades
:16:51. > :16:55.playing for Newcastle United he's returned. And, as honorary
:16:55. > :17:04.president, he hopes to help turn around the club's fortunes. It's my
:17:04. > :17:08.home. My parents still live here and I am proud to be from here. Anything
:17:08. > :17:14.I can do to help promote the town and its football team and help the
:17:14. > :17:21.area, I am more than happy to. It is an honour to be honorary president.
:17:21. > :17:32.Looking round the area, it needs a boost. If Steven can help out, all
:17:32. > :17:37.the better. This is where it all began. The club has become very run
:17:37. > :17:42.down and they are struggling to find money to fix the floodlights. But
:17:42. > :17:45.they hope that over the next 12 months they will secure funding to
:17:45. > :17:47.build a new community clubhouse and changing rooms.
:17:47. > :17:54.It's quite a reunion. Steve's childhood friend, Paul Adamson is
:17:54. > :17:59.the club's chairman. It's great to have someone like Steve involved
:17:59. > :18:04.with the club. More so for the junior kids, you know? It is great
:18:04. > :18:09.for them. It raises the profile of the club, which is what we want to
:18:09. > :18:11.do. We might get some more people through the door.
:18:11. > :18:15.And Steve might discover a few things about his dad's footballing
:18:15. > :18:31.past. Did you ever play in goal? Yes. Did you? Yes. I didn't know
:18:31. > :18:34.that. A couple of games. And there'll be more stories from
:18:34. > :18:38.Easington all next week on BBC Tees. The station will be looking at what
:18:38. > :18:41.the future holds for the people of the former pit town, after Education
:18:41. > :18:55.Secretary Michael Gove's critical comments about its schools.
:18:55. > :19:00.Sunderland's search for a new manager is likely to go on into next
:19:00. > :19:04.week, but last night the players put a turbulent few days behind them
:19:04. > :19:07.with a confident win over League One Peterborough. A dressing room revolt
:19:07. > :19:11.cost Paolo Di Canio his job on Sunday, but the Black Cats showed a
:19:11. > :19:14.united front to book their place in the next round of the League Cup
:19:14. > :19:17.last night. Peter Harris reports. 48 hours from the dressing room coup
:19:17. > :19:21.that ended Paulo Di Canio's revolution, Sunderland's players
:19:21. > :19:24.restored order on the pitch. And, ironically, they took the lead
:19:24. > :19:29.through the link—up play of two of those heavily criticised by the
:19:29. > :19:33.former manager. Deposed captain Lee Cattermole setting up Emanuele
:19:33. > :19:36.Giaccherini. Having survived a scare against League One opponents in the
:19:36. > :19:41.last round, an upset was never on the cards from then on. Jozy
:19:41. > :19:45.Altidore, a Di Canio signing, almost doubled the lead on the stroke of
:19:45. > :19:48.half time. The second eventually came 16 minutes from time as
:19:48. > :19:54.Valentin Roberge headed home Adam Johnson's cross. 2—0 and praise
:19:54. > :19:57.afterwards for Cattermole — whose training ground confrontation with
:19:57. > :20:00.Di Canio had set in motion the manager's departure Every time he
:20:01. > :20:17.has trained with us, he has been first class.
:20:17. > :20:19.When he is on the pitch, he is a winner.
:20:19. > :20:22.If this win proves cathartic, next up is the far stiffer test of
:20:22. > :20:25.Liverpool. The caretaker boss enjoyed his night with the first
:20:25. > :20:39.team, whether he'll still be there after Sunday is anyone's guess. To
:20:39. > :20:50.be fair, there a good chance. Anyone of them would do for me. What next?
:20:50. > :20:54.Well, Newcastle are hoping to follow Sunderland into the fourth round of
:20:54. > :20:58.the League Cup tonight. After the weekend's defeat to Hull, they take
:20:58. > :21:01.on the once mighty Leeds United at St James' Park — Alan Pardew's first
:21:01. > :21:05.home tie in the competition as Magpies manager. And, like the fans,
:21:05. > :21:08.the Newcastle boss would love to get his hands on some silverware.
:21:08. > :21:11.A recent local newspaper poll showed that almost 67% of fans thought
:21:11. > :21:14.winning a trophy was more important than a top—six finish in the Premier
:21:14. > :21:17.League. Managers, of course, can't afford to ignore the financial
:21:17. > :21:21.importance of staying in the top flight. Alan Pardew won't be making
:21:21. > :21:24.the kind of wholesale changes to his team that we've seen elsewhere this
:21:24. > :21:30.week, but he will be fielding some youngsters tonight. To a degree, I
:21:30. > :21:35.think we need to see what options we have for the Premier league. We are
:21:35. > :21:41.putting out a strong side tomorrow but I do need to look at one or two
:21:41. > :21:48.to see if they can push to the stars for this team. In particular, two
:21:48. > :21:54.young players who have done absolutely brilliantly. This will be
:21:54. > :22:00.a team that I hope it makes up for a disappointing game on Saturday. I am
:22:00. > :22:03.still lived about the result. Make no mistake, we will be at the races
:22:03. > :22:07.on Wednesday night. It's only the third time the two
:22:07. > :22:10.Uniteds have met in the League Cup. Leeds have won on both previous
:22:10. > :22:13.occasions and, with 5000 travelling fans in the stands tonight, Brian
:22:13. > :22:18.McDermott's side will be hoping to revive the glory days. I know the
:22:18. > :22:22.manager well. He is a friend of mine. This is a big game. It puts
:22:22. > :22:31.them back in the spotlight. They are a fantastic club and they are a
:22:31. > :22:36.Premier league club which is outside of it at the moment. But on this
:22:36. > :22:38.particular night, we want to put them out.
:22:38. > :22:41.And, as always, you can hear full match commentary on BBC Newcastle
:22:41. > :22:45.with Mick Lowes and John Anderson and there'll be highlights on the
:22:45. > :22:48.League Cup Show here on BBC One at 11:05pm.
:22:48. > :22:50.Durham's cricketers will parade the County Championship trophy at
:22:50. > :22:53.half—time during the Sunderland/Liverpool match at the
:22:53. > :22:56.Stadium of Light on Sunday. But the champions are struggling in the
:22:56. > :22:59.final game of the season. Sussex took a first innings lead of 164.
:22:59. > :23:03.Bad light stopped play when Durham were two without loss in the second.
:23:03. > :23:05.Runners—up Yorkshire missed out on maximum batting points despite a
:23:05. > :23:21.huge century from Ashes—bound Gary Ballance. But Surrey had lost just
:23:21. > :23:28.one wicket for 172 at stumps. And this time last year, we had some
:23:28. > :23:31.fairly dramatic scenes. Remember this?
:23:31. > :23:34.These pictures ended up going around the world. This was Newburn, just
:23:34. > :23:36.west of Newcastle. September the 25th saw more torrential rain
:23:36. > :23:39.falling, after a sodden summer turned into an equally drenched
:23:39. > :23:44.Autumn. A collapsed culvert caused serious flooding around the new
:23:44. > :23:47.flats at Spencer Court. It was so bad the block had to be demolished,
:23:47. > :23:52.and some families living nearby still haven't been able to return to
:23:52. > :23:56.their homes. And further down the hill, in Walbottle, the devastation
:23:56. > :23:59.continued. Debris blocked the roads, burying cars, and the floodwaters
:23:59. > :24:05.swept through businesses forcing them to shut for months. Well, one
:24:05. > :24:09.year on, it's a quite different picture. While some residents are
:24:09. > :24:13.still in temporary accommodation, the businesses are back. There's
:24:13. > :24:16.been a major engineering operation to replace the culvert and, looking
:24:16. > :24:19.at today's pictures of a quiet September afternoon, it's hard to
:24:19. > :24:34.believe what was happening a year ago. Thankfully things are much
:24:34. > :25:01.quieter at the moment. Tomorrow, we are in for a much
:25:01. > :25:03.brighter skies in many areas, eastern areas especially. In the
:25:04. > :25:11.West, maybe a slightly different story. In the evening today, a
:25:11. > :25:21.blanket of cloud. One or two areas so some brightness. To the north,
:25:21. > :25:27.some clearer skies heading our way through the night. It is drizzly and
:25:27. > :25:32.misty just now but we will see broken cloud and clearer skies
:25:32. > :25:38.extending south and west by the tail end of the night. We will see
:25:38. > :25:45.temperatures dipping further than they have done over the last few
:25:45. > :25:51.nights. Where the sky is clear, it could be as cold as five or six
:25:51. > :25:57.degrees Celsius. So, cold first thing tomorrow morning where the sky
:25:57. > :26:01.has cleared. The clear sky will spread further west during the day
:26:01. > :26:09.so it will be a much improved picture. Western parts of Cumbria
:26:09. > :26:22.will hang on to a bit more Clyde, maybe even a spot of rain. —— a bit
:26:22. > :26:28.more cloud. The women's tomorrow —— the wind tomorrow comes from an
:26:28. > :26:34.easterly direction. Things are pretty quiet for the next few days.
:26:34. > :26:39.As we head through the tail end of the week and into the weekend, it
:26:39. > :26:51.looks fairly settled. For the next few days, Thursday onto Friday, some
:26:51. > :26:55.bright spells. Many places will stay dry through the weekend as well. The
:26:55. > :27:04.best of the brightness is probably during Saturday. A bit more cloud on
:27:04. > :27:13.Sunday. Mostly drive for the weekend. Remember to keep your
:27:13. > :27:17.weather pictures coming. Now for a look at tonight's
:27:17. > :27:20.headlines. Over £1 billion is wiped off the value of two of the biggest
:27:20. > :27:23.energy companies as Labour proposes a freeze on energy prices, but Ed
:27:23. > :27:26.Miliband sticks to his guns. And firefighters throughout the
:27:26. > :27:29.region have been taking part in the first national strike for ten years.
:27:29. > :27:40.They're protesting at government plans to make them work until
:27:40. > :27:46.they're 60. We are back at 10:25pm.