:00:13. > :00:18.Good evening. The television actor Clive Mantle has told a court how a
:00:19. > :00:22.large part of his ear was bitten off during an attack in a Newcastle
:00:23. > :00:25.hotel. Two men from Hamilton in Scotland have denied a charge of
:00:26. > :00:30.wounding with intent at the city's Crown Court. Mr. Mantle told the
:00:31. > :00:38.court the attack was like "two hyenas bringing down an old water
:00:39. > :00:44.buffalo". Jonathan Swingler reports. The trial has heard how Clive Mantle
:00:45. > :00:53.was staying at a hotel on the 24th of March last year. The 56`year`old
:00:54. > :01:00.actor best known as the surgeon in the BBC medical drama Holby city was
:01:01. > :01:06.appearing in the Theatre Royal. He heard shouting in the corridor
:01:07. > :01:11.outside at 4:30am. Then, the actor had his ear bitten off in a series
:01:12. > :01:16.of events. He asked to meant to be quiet. This afternoon, the actor
:01:17. > :01:23.denied losing his temper and said that it didn't say shut up. The jury
:01:24. > :01:28.heard how Clive Mantle felt he was treated as sport, a figure of fun.
:01:29. > :01:33.Said he pushed past the pair saying, right, I am getting security. He
:01:34. > :01:38.described being attacked and pulled to the ground and being punched by
:01:39. > :01:41.two very drunk people. He said he tried to keep his head as still as
:01:42. > :01:49.possible as his ear was being bitten. It was suggested he ran at
:01:50. > :01:55.the defendant. Absolutely not, said the actor, saying it was like two
:01:56. > :02:02.hyenas bringing down water buffalo. Both men deny wounding with intent.
:02:03. > :02:05.The trial continues. Parents in a North Yorkshire town
:02:06. > :02:09.are demanding answers after it emerged that the entire governing
:02:10. > :02:12.body of one of the county's largest secondary schools has resigned. So
:02:13. > :02:16.far none of the governors at Richmond School and Sixth Form have
:02:17. > :02:21.explained why they stepped down. Our reporter Luke Walton joins me now.
:02:22. > :02:30.How unusual is this kind of mass resignation? It is very unusual and
:02:31. > :02:32.more unusual is that none of the governors involved have so far
:02:33. > :02:37.issued a statement as to why they decided to step down. We have had a
:02:38. > :02:41.statement from the council, no word either from the head teacher, we
:02:42. > :02:46.have tried to speak to him and also to the governing body all day but
:02:47. > :02:54.perhaps because it is half term, we have not so far made contact. The
:02:55. > :02:56.council saved the reasons behind the resignation are confidential but no
:02:57. > :03:03.safeguarding issues are involved. In other words, that is no risk to
:03:04. > :03:08.pupils. But it doesn't reassure all parents. Para`macro we are concerned
:03:09. > :03:13.for our daughter's education. For the management of the school to be
:03:14. > :03:17.so dysfunctional, we don't know what it is, we don't know why it has
:03:18. > :03:20.happened and we are very worried, as are many other parents and we have
:03:21. > :03:26.seen this on social media recently where parents are speculating as to
:03:27. > :03:31.what has gone on. so, very concerned parents but the council insist the
:03:32. > :03:36.education of pupils will not be affected? yes, and this is the
:03:37. > :03:42.second full school. `` successful school. Ofsted said it was a good
:03:43. > :03:48.school and they mentioned its strong leadership. So, has anything changed
:03:49. > :03:51.in the last 12 months? I understand there has been a difference of
:03:52. > :03:55.opinion between the headteacher and the governing body. One of the local
:03:56. > :04:00.councillors representing Richmond said there is still a need for
:04:01. > :04:04.answers. It is very rare for an entire governing body to leave. I
:04:05. > :04:09.need to understand why they have gone, from their point of view, from
:04:10. > :04:13.the school's point of view and from the education authority what brought
:04:14. > :04:15.us to this situation so that we can actually make sure nothing like this
:04:16. > :04:22.happens again and we can guarantee that the school flourishes. I
:04:23. > :04:25.understand next week, the school and council will be writing a joint
:04:26. > :04:28.letter to the parents, interest in the day`to`day running of the school
:04:29. > :04:33.will not be affected by these events. We are also told an interim
:04:34. > 9:57:38executive board will take over the governorship in the meantime but
9:57:39 > 9:57:38there will be some new governors appointed eventually.
9:57:39 > 9:57:38Unemployment has fallen in the North East, according to the latest
9:57:39 > 9:57:38figures. The number of jobless people is down by 3,000 to 130,000.
9:57:39 > 9:57:38That's an unemployment rate of ten per cent, which remains the highest
9:57:39 > 9:57:38in the country. The number of people claiming job seekers allowance in
9:57:39 > 9:57:38Cumbria rose between December and January. There are now 6,642
9:57:39 > 9:57:38claimants ` that's a rise of 279. The County Council says it reflects
9:57:39 > 9:57:38the end of seasonal Christmas jobs. But 250 new jobs are being created
9:57:39 > 9:57:38at a Hartlepool shipyard. Engineers are being taken on by Heerema
9:57:39 > 9:57:38Fabrication Group to work on the Cygnus North Sea project ` providing
9:57:39 > 9:57:38gas to one and a half million homes. A flood`damaged bridge in Loftus in
9:57:39 > 9:57:38East Cleveland has left a small community cut off from the rest of
9:57:39 > 9:57:38their town. Residents on Gaskell Lane relied on the bridge to get in
9:57:39 > 9:57:38and out of their street, but violent flooding five months ago has meant
9:57:39 > 9:57:38it's no longer safe to use, and there's no prospect of it being
9:57:39 > 9:57:38repaired. The bridge, it's been discovered, belongs to one of the
9:57:39 > 9:57:38residents here. They can't afford to reinstate it, but then neither can
9:57:39 > 9:57:38Redcar and Cleveland council so, for the people living here, escape looks
9:57:39 > 9:57:38a long way off. Because the council had resurfaced it and repaired it in
9:57:39 > 9:57:38the past, we assumed it was their responsibility. But they are now
9:57:39 > 9:57:38saying one resident owns that bridge, which we were totally
9:57:39 > 9:57:38unaware of and the time. And so they are backing off and saying it is not
9:57:39 > 9:57:38their responsibility. It's predicted that Newcastle will
9:57:39 > 9:57:38become one of the UK's first super`connected cities within 18
9:57:39 > 9:57:38months. Launched today, Go Digital Newcastle will see 97% of the city
9:57:39 > 9:57:38given access to superfast fibre broadband by Summer 2015. It's
9:57:39 > 9:57:38predicted the ?10 million scheme will boost the city's economy by
9:57:39 > 9:57:38around ?150 million. That is all from me tonight. The National
9:57:39 > 9:57:38weather is coming up. First, here is the weather for our region.
9:57:39 > 9:57:38weather is coming up. First, here is the It looks like I update tomorrow
9:57:39 > 9:57:38but overnight rain tonight and showers first thing. It will be
9:57:39 > 9:57:38breezy as well. Strong winds from the south`west, picking up tonight
9:57:39 > 9:57:38and staying strong through the morning, pushing in bands of rain
9:57:39 > 9:57:38first thing and into the afternoon. Through the afternoon parts of the
9:57:39 > 9:57:38region will see some sunshine. In the North Yorkshire coast, we'll see
9:57:39 > 9:57:38the highest temperatures. The inland areas, in the low 50s in Fahrenheit
9:57:39 > 9:57:38but tempered by bees brisk breezes from the South West. It stays breezy
9:57:39 > 9:57:38tomorrow and through Friday and Saturday. Showers expected and
9:57:39 > 9:57:38blogger spots of rain as well. Particularly in the West. Now, a
9:57:39 > 9:57:38reminder of the forecast for tomorrow.
9:57:39 > 9:57:38reminder of the forecast for Friday, a fine day. For the weekend,
9:57:39 > 9:57:38here is the BBC National weather. We have got rain and wind in the
9:57:39 > 9:57:38forecast, but the good news is that it is not severe. Over the next 24
9:57:39 > 9:57:38hours, some of us will get rain and the winds will be strengthening Not
9:57:39 > 9:57:38stormy at this stage. This is the satellite picture, you can see the
9:57:39 > 9:57:38low pressure in the North Atlantic shunting weather fronts in our
9:57:39 > 9:57:38direction. It has been raining heavily in parts of western
9:57:39 > 9:57:38Scotland. Tonight, the rain will be splashing its way across the UK The
9:57:39 > 9:57:38wind will be freshening as well particularly across western areas.
9:57:39 > 9:57:38Very breezy in land. Most of the rainfall will be across western
9:57:39 > 9:57:38parts of Scotland, maybe the hills of Wales, into the south-west. The
9:57:39 > 9:57:38further east you are, the least amount of rain will fall. A very
9:57:39 > 9:57:38mild night, seven, eight or nine degrees. After a cloudy and wet
9:57:39 > 9:57:38start tomorrow, the wind will blow away the clouds and the rain. For
9:57:39 > 9:57:39most of us, Thursday afternoon will be bright,