29/10/2013 Look North (North East and Cumbria)

Hello, welcome to Look North. In the programme tonight: No more going on

a summer holiday ` the world's biggest charter airline says it's

pulling out of Durham Tees Valley Airport.

The premature identical twins who've had to be cared for at hospitals

more than 40 miles apart. Bottom of the class ` we investigate

why the East Coast Main Line has the worst punctuality record in the

country. We investigate why the mainline has the worst punctuality

record in the country. Turning waste into energy ` the

plant that takes food not fit to eat and turns it into green power. And

yet another major sporting event comes to the region were live in

Workington. And I'll be revealing the last three

pictures in our 2014 Look North Children In Need weather calendar.

It is being a day of mixed economic news for the region with

announcements of job cuts and jobs created. More on that shortly.

But first, news that came as a shock to many that use our second largest

airport. Thomson has scrapped its entire 2014 summer schedule at

Durham Tees Valley Airport. It says it was forced by the airport itself.

Tomorrow the airport is expected to reveal plans which will see an end

to other holiday flights. The final flight. Today's flight

from Majorca, the last time a Thomson plane will land here. A

down`to`earth moment for the passengers. I think that is really

sad. We wanted to fly from a local airport which is why we went on the

holiday we have just been on. It is a shame. Now we will have to drive

to Newcastle every time. Thomson was one of the airport's biggest users.

It operated flights for Alicante, Tenerife, and Majorca. But it has

scrapped these. Passengers who have already booked our being advised to

check its website. Passenger figures have fallen. Thomson said the

decision was out of its control but no one has been available to expand

on that statement. This begs the question, if this is not Thomson's

fault then who's fault is it? No one was available from the interview you

to answer that question. It wants to look at the implications of the

decision first. It will unveil plans to the media tomorrow. It is

believed that it will confirm that the airport is turning its back on

the holiday market and will concentrate instead on scheduled

services and other aviation business. Meanwhile, the duty`free

shop at the airport held a closing down sale today will stop another

tell`tale sign that changes in the ear. `` change is in the air.

Around a people are to lose their jobs at Tata Steel. It is cutting 90

jobs at its site in Workington. The company says the losses will be

mainly white`collar jobs and blames the losses on a slump in demand for

steel which is really two thirds what it was before the global

financial crisis. It is a lot for people to take in here. What we want

to do is work with the trade union representatives but also the local

agencies and work out how we can minimise the impact and protect

skills and protect employment in West Cumbria. But there is some good

news. CSI Durham, who specialise in drugs

and alcohol testing, are taking on extra staff at the site in

Sedgefield. The site near Houghton`le`Spring is looking to

double its workforce, taking up to 150 new staff.

Seven weeks ago, Adele Joicey went into labour in Newcastle, ten weeks

before her due date. A bed shortage meant she had to be taken by

ambulance to Middlesbrough to deliver her identical twin boys, as

both needed urgent medical care. One of the twins was then transferred to

Gateshead's Queen Elizabeth Hospital. Since then, the twins have

been cared for by two medical teams at two different hospitals, with

Ryan in Gateshead and look in Middlesbrough will stop this has

meant a lot of driving for the parents. Today, Ryan, at least,

could finally go home. Today was a big day for Ryan. At

Queen Elizabeth Hospital. He has been years since he was born seven

weeks ago and can now go home. It is absolutely amazing. We've been

waiting for this day for such a long time. They were born ten weeks early

but they have both survived and is now Ryan is coming home and I just

thought this would never happen. It is fantastic. But his twin brother

is still in hospital in Middlesbrough, 40 miles away.

Adele had already had emergency surgery while the babies were in the

womb, to save their lives. In nearly two months before she was due to

give birth, she went into labour and was brought here to Newcastle Royal

Victoria Infirmary. But there were no intensive care beds for the

twins, so she was taken by ambulance down to Middlesbrough. While Ryan

was then transferred a cup to Gateshead, Luke remained in

intensive care in Teesside. It is difficult for the family because

they are having to manage travelling from location to location. One of

the twins is being managed in another hospital and there is a lot

of distance to travel. That has been the difficulty. All in all it has

been quite steady progress. Back`up the A19 to Gateshead and they are

finally able to save your goodbyes and thank you is to the staff who

helped save their son's life. And it was home at last for Ryan but the

real celebrations will happen when his twin brother Luke can come home

to. Staff at a school in North Yorkshire

have been attacked almost 70 times since it opened 18 months ago. It

has been described as unprecedented and disturbing as by an education

expert. Foremost School is for boys with emotional and educational

issues. Foremost School near Harrogate was

built to give vulnerable children at chance to succeed. But a year after

opening, Ofsted inspectors found leaders had failed to control

students. Governors and teachers resigned, leaving the school in

turmoil. A Freedom of information request has

revealed that the school costs 200 million pounds a year to young.

Students have assaulted teachers and carers. The police have been called

to the site nine times to deal with violence. This man worked in similar

schools for 13 years and says the number of assault is disturbing. My

immediate reaction was shock. We had to check with colleagues and many

assaults were taking place. I went to some of the leading experts and

this school is exceptional. The director of education declined to be

interviewed, seeing that the number of assaults is decreasing.

We want the council to be as transparent and open as possible. It

is a difficult situation here and we all want to do our best to come up

with a positive solution. If the situation improves, Foremost School

can begin accepting new students. The council says that it is in the

middle of important reflections on the role of the school.

Forensic science officers have been back at Claudia Lawrence's home in

Yorkshire today, more than four years after she vanished without

trace. North Yorkshire Police's Major enquiry team believe that

fresh clues may reveal what happened to her.

We're relying on railways more than any time in the last century. Hasn't

numbers are claiming, along with the fears, of course! The East Coast

Main Line has long been called a flag ship route. But it is moved to

the bottom of the national punctuality week and the Government

has threatened to fine the company. What's going on? Why over so many

delays and he scores lying? Some days will travel is easy. A

pleasure, even. Some days, it is anything but. And what sort of day

you're going to get is hard to predict. Today I have missed the

connection and have been diverted to your because of the points failure.

With investment this should be getting better. We need better

services to meet increasing demand. There are many reasons why a train

might be delayed. The train might break down, but these days it is

just as likely that the signalling, the overhead wires, or the track

might be the problem. And that's where these guys come in. They run

the stations and trains themselves but everything else is down to

network rail. This work gang is responsible for more than 100 miles

of track. And the overhead wiring. Worked at the guys are doing this

evening is to replace the wires above us. These items are around 26

years old will stop. Despite the good weather, the summer was

especially bad on the East Coast Main Line. Time after time, trains

were delayed. Over the last year, East Coast Trains are more likely to

be late than any other train line in Britain. Just over 83% of East Coast

services were classed as on time which was the lowest figure in the

country. Compared to a year ago, the figure was over 93%. Network Rail

made a public apology. The real regulator has threatened to find

them if things do not improve. Only last week a wiring failure meant a

London to Edinburgh train arrived eight hours overdue. Last year, East

Coast paid out 6 million in compensation to passengers for late

trains. Almost 70% of the delays which occurred throughout September

were down to overhead power line problems. The infrastructure of the

railway is what is causing the delays. The really needs to be made

more reliable. If the delay is because of signalling I am tolerant

about it but when you are sitting on a train and you do not know, that

can really get you going. Work gang is about every night of the year

will stop Network Rail gets ?4 billion of taxpayers money annually

and it is spending a quarter of a billion on this line in the next

five years. At the end of the day, our network is very old and has

suffered from decades of underinvestment. We're doing our

best to catch that up. When you look elsewhere in the world, there is

perfection in the world. Perhaps they should take out a leaf of the

book and stopping so polite. Meanwhile, another winter

approaches. Coming up shortly, we'll be joining Jeff Brown live from the

Rugby League World Cup in Workington.

And which of these beautiful weather images will grace next year's

calendar? And will be here towards the end of the programme to reveal

the final three winning shots. The region's first plant to deal

with waste food has opened. Built at Newton Aycliffe in County Durham, it

means tens of thousands of tonnes of food don't have to be dumped in

landfill sites. And its by`product ` gas ` produces enough energy to heat

and light 2,000 homes. Our Business Correspondent Ian Reeve reports.

Now this is rather clever. Waste food from all over the region is fed

into this plant. It's processed, introduced to a bacteria and then it

eats itself, creating gas as an end product. It's called anaerobic

digestion. The benefit was always environmental and that is the most

important benefit at the moment, the fact that they do not have food

decomposing in landfill and methane going into the environment. The new

plant, the only one in the region, takes waste food from places like

food factories, supermarkets and pubs. But it's an industry that

could be about to boom. Labour has said it will ban food from being

dumped in landfill sites, if it wins power at the next general election.

There's already a ban in Scotland. It is only a matter of time before

food waste in landfill gets banned. We have got planning on the site for

a further three stages. And that's good news for people like Simon.

He's lost jobs in traditional industries but this new sector has

given him security, even if plants like this one will only ever employ

workers counted in their tens. I think the prospects are good. They

are going to put another digester in and hopefully they are going to

double the size of the building, the buildings behind you, so it is

looking good. The technology may appear terribly new and innovative

but the theory behind it actually goes back to the 17th century.

Robert Boyle, the first modern chemist, noted that gas was produced

by decomposing organic matter. Technology that's been a long time

coming but is finally here. Time for sport now. Jeff's on his

travels again, with the latest event in what's been a terrific sporting

year for the region? Carol, it's been a terrific sporting

year when you look back. It has been absolutely fabulous and kept me very

busy. We had European athletics at Gateshead in June, then the Ashes

Test match at Durham in August and now the Rugby League World Cup has

come to west Cumbria, with two matches here at Derwent Park in

Workington. The tournament itself kicked off at the weekend, with

England taking on the favourites, Australia, at the Millenium Stadium

in Cardiff. The Aussies winning a tough game by 28`20. And you might

remember the Fijians, who we featured recently on Look North when

they took over a North Yorkshire pub? Last night, they hammered

Ireland by 32`14. And they're also in England's group.

Here in Workington, though, it's Scotland who're taking centre stage.

And they're expecting a big crowd for this evening's game with Tonga.

Possibly double the 4000 who came here to see Samao beat the New

Zealand Maoris when the World Cup last came to Derwent Park, 13 years

ago. Of course, it helps that the Scottish border's not too far away,

so there should be a few fans who've made the journey South.

The squad has been based in the Town since last week. The Scottish

squad. They've been training at Whitehaven and there's a West

Cumbria connection. Former Whitehaven coach Steve McCormak is

in charge of the squad, and he's included two Workington players, in

Brett Carter and Brett Phillps, whose grandfather is from North of

the border. It is a massive honour. It means everything, especially for

that side of my family. We are all very proud and there is going to be

a lot of people, everybody is going down. There should be a good crowd.

I don't think you can't underestimate how important this is

to the region. We are very proud to have a base camp here and walking

around the Town everybody is stopping us and asking questions and

everybody wants to be part of the Scotland team. We are training at

the stadium. This is a fantastic place to play Rugby League.

It certainly is and I'm sure this gentleman will echo those sentiments

` Mark Fryer, a member of Allerdale Council, but, just as importantly,

vice`chairman of Workington Town. Mark, how big a deal is this for the

club and the Town itself? It is absolutely fantastic for us. It is

the greatest place in the world to play Rugby League. I am a bit

biased! We are looking for a big crowd. We have three guys in the

squad from the place. It is West Cumbrian, we have always said that,

it has been a long 18 months but we are here. We have got another game

on Sunday. I think it is the greatest place in the world. You

have had people working on the ground all day? Some have been here

since 6am. We just went home and had a quick wash and change and are back

now. If we are needed we will work behind bars. This is a game, this is

a family club. The kids will be running around, we won't be

bothered. We are really looking forward to it. How much does it mean

to Workington itself? I have just left the master of the March, just

to set off, we have had brothers afternoon, a play, the Reading

campaign later this summer. We have really put our heart and soul into

this. Important `` how important is it that Rugby League spreads out? We

have got ourselves into a hotbed. We are on the margins. It is not just

about Rugby League. It is about participation. You will see all the

kids dancing and singing tonight. It is also about that. We will have a

great game. I hope Scotland do really well. Best of luck, enjoy the

evening. Banks for joining us. Onto the ball. There is a big week

ahead for Newcastle United with Manchester City tomorrow night in

the capital one cup. Then Chelsea coming to Tyneside Premier League on

Saturday. Like the fans, the manager Alan Pardew is still smarting from

the derby defeat by Sunderland at the Stadium of Light on Sunday. He

is still insisting that it was the Magpies who should have won. The

result was before disappointing for our fans and for us. It was a game

we wanted to win but there were a few elements of attack in play that

I would have preferred to achieved better on the day. The performance

was a solid performance against a rejuvenated Sunderland. We should

have won the game. We look ahead to that on tomorrow's

show. In the late news tonight, we will bring you all of the news from

the Rugby League cup match between Scotland and Tonga.

It's time to reveal the final three photos that will complete the 2014

Look North Weather Calendar. Of course, to get the calendar printed

in time for Children in Need we use pictures that were submitted in

October, November and December last year. So, Hannah, who had the job of

judging this lot? We felt it would be nice to use

judges with experience in the feel of charity calendars. So, Pudsey and

Paul headed off to North Yorkshire to meet the ladies of Rylstone and

District WI ` the original Calendar Girls.

The Women's Institute do a traditional calendar every year

which features pictures of hills and she and I turned a tarantula and

said we could do an alternative featuring the crafts but in the

nude. `` turned to Angela. We never would have done it but when

Angela's husband was diagnosed then the idea came back. John died in

1998 and we thought we should do it in his memory and never imagined it

would last 14 years. They have raised almost ?40 million

in those years and in the process have become famous the world over,

with blockbusting movie and stage show versions of their amazing

story. `` ?14 million. They have kindly agreed to help avert. They

also called for the assistance of the man responsible for taking the

iconic pictures in the original calendar. We presented Terry and the

girls with the selection of your October, November and December

weather pictures and stood well back. It was very hard but we have

chosen this one and we are very happy with that. Yes, for October.

It is of German water. It is a beautiful... Just so restful. `` it

is of a lake. All of the reflections are beautiful. Even of the mask on

the boat reflected in the bottom and the clouds. There is not a ripple on

the lake. It is just so still and camming. You could sit and fall

asleep at that. You could. Do you agree? All three of us would like to

congratulate Ian on a fantastic photograph. He has done a good

rodent job. `` a brilliant job. The one we have chosen is called a

leaves by Moira Woodridge. Woolrich. We chose this one because it just

reminds us of November, doesn't it? The leaves on the ground. You feel

you could run through. Kick them. It is the light. It is the light and

makes you want to go into the picture. I think she has taken a

most beautiful photographs so well done Moira. Well done, Moira.

We have chosen this one for December. It is by Robert Smith. It

just made me think of when you are out in the awful December weather

and it is snowing and you are really glad to get home. It looks cosy. You

just want somebody to open the door and give you Mold wine. Which I am

sure they would do about his! It looks like a country inn. I can

imagine the Stagecoach drawing up. Congratulations, Robert. Very well

done. Excellent photograph. That is good praise from Terry Logan,

photographer of calendar girls! So thanks to Terry and the calendar

girls, we have our last of the thanks to Terry and the calendar

girls, we have images and the 2014 Look North weather calendar is

complete. Great judges and images. Let's have

a look at the weather. a

Just to say, are colander will be launched next week. We will be

giving you all of the details on how you can get it. `` our calendar.

Thank you tonight to Michael Bradley, who snapped the rainbow

over the leak at Haydon Bridge. `` over the lake. Overnight tonight, a

few showers in the West but generally in North Yorkshire and

then North East clear skies. This could allow the first touch of frost

to develop. Temperatures falling under those starry skies as low as

four Celsius. Possibly cold the matching countryside locations.

Dry, clear and chilly first thing tomorrow morning I cross the east of

the region. A little bit cloudier in the West but some bright spells at

first before rain spreads from the south and through lunchtime. That is

take a tour through the afternoon tomorrow. It is dry in North

Yorkshire but make not be for long. It is cool here, 11 Celsius as the

high. That is just below the October average. Southerly breezes but they

do not do much for the temperatures. Touring westwards, it is raining

heavily through tomorrow afternoon across Lakeland and the rest of

Cumbria. The temperatures here will possibly not be quite so low

underneath those rain clouds. Over the next couple of days, we are

expecting more showers or rain in the West. Low pressure in charge.

Thursday will probably be wet with spells of rain or one or two

showers, it will be drier across the region on Friday. Notice the

temperatures struggling in many parts of Cumbria to get into double

figures. Just nine Celsius at most through the afternoon. In the North

East, very similar weather. Here it is likely to be drier. Not much

warmer on Friday. Bright skies, long spells of fun but it is crisp and

chilly with temperatures only up around ten or 11 Celsius.

It is here, Hannah! What an!

That is it from us. I will be back at 10:25pm. See you then.

Goodbye.