:00:00. > :00:00.in next year's general election the papers on the news
:00:00. > :00:18.Good evening. Two men accused of an attack on ex`Casualty actor Clive
:00:19. > :00:22.Mantle during which part of his ear was bitten off have been cleared of
:00:23. > :00:26.all charges. Jonathan Swingler reports from Newcastle Crown Court.
:00:27. > :00:32.Both defendants in is in case have been found not guilty. The actor
:00:33. > :00:35.Clive Mantle had been appearing in the Theatre Royal in March last
:00:36. > :00:40.year. The 56`year`old is best known for his role in Casualty. He had
:00:41. > :00:44.been staying at the travel lodge when at 4.30 in the morning he heard
:00:45. > :00:47.a noise coming from the corridor. He said he politely asked 33`year`old
:00:48. > :00:50.Philip McGillvary and 32`year`old Alan French to be quiet. What
:00:51. > :00:54.happened next resulted in him being brought to the ground and part of
:00:55. > :00:57.his ear being bitten off and he is now permanently disfigured. Philip
:00:58. > :01:00.McGillvary admitted biting the ear, but argued he was acting in
:01:01. > :01:05.self`defence after being pinned to the floor. He said it was like being
:01:06. > :01:09.hit by a car. "I was on my back and Mr Mantle was straight on top of
:01:10. > :01:13.me." He said he thought the actor was trying to kill him. Alan French
:01:14. > :01:17.denied attacking him and said he was trying to help his friend. Both
:01:18. > :01:21.faced charges of GBH with intent and a lessor charge of inflicting GBH.
:01:22. > :01:24.After the judge said he'd accept a majority verdict, the jury cleared
:01:25. > :01:28.the pair of all charges. The defendants didn't want to be
:01:29. > :01:35.interviewed. Alan French told me he just wanted to be home with his
:01:36. > :01:39.children. ?500,000 has been paid out to stressed and injured teachers and
:01:40. > :01:42.children in Cumbria in the last five years according to figures released
:01:43. > :01:44.by the County Council. Union leaders say the payments reflect the
:01:45. > :01:47.increasing workloads faced by teachers. Mark McAlindon is in our
:01:48. > :01:57.Carlisle newsroom now. Mark, what exactly are these payments for? Well
:01:58. > :02:01.the figure over five years was ?520,000, revealed in a freedom of
:02:02. > :02:04.information request. What we are talking about are claims made for
:02:05. > :02:15.victims of stress and injuries suffered at school. For example more
:02:16. > :02:24.than ?111,000 was paid for teachers for stress and ?90,000 for teachers
:02:25. > :02:31.who had suffered falls. And money was paid to children, mainly for
:02:32. > :02:36.lack of supervision. What have people in the profession had to say?
:02:37. > :02:40.The Secretary of the national union of teachers said this was the tip of
:02:41. > :02:45.the iceberg, he said teachers were leaving the profession with stress
:02:46. > :02:52.and if all were compensated the bill would be millions. He said these are
:02:53. > :02:55.not claims for frivolous reasons. Thank you. A jury has heard details
:02:56. > :02:58.of text messages between the former Newcastle United footballer Nile
:02:59. > :03:02.Ranger and the woman he's alleged to have raped. In one text, Ranger is
:03:03. > :03:06.described as a "crazy sex pest". He denies rape at a hotel last year.
:03:07. > :03:12.Our News Correspondent Peter Harris reports. Nile Ranger, today
:03:13. > :03:16.described in court as a predator in a lengthy series of text messages
:03:17. > :03:20.between himself and the woman he allegedly went on to rape. Rebuffing
:03:21. > :03:24.texts inviting her to his flat at one point she replied he was like:
:03:25. > :03:29."A crazy sex pest animal let out of its cage." Earlier he had written:
:03:30. > :03:34."You're moving like I'm Jack Da Ripper." She said: "Nile, I'm defo
:03:35. > :03:38.not coming over. Will meet for drinks, but not coming to your
:03:39. > :03:45.house." He later writes: "I will not take you against your will." Under
:03:46. > :03:48.cross` examination, the alleged victim accepted many of the texts
:03:49. > :03:52.were in good humour. Including one exchange in which she had invited
:03:53. > :03:56.Nile Ranger for a drink in a club. He had replied that Newcastle had
:03:57. > :04:01.lost that day and he couldn't be seen in a public place. "The fans
:04:02. > :04:04.are funny," he said. To which she replied that he could still come out
:04:05. > :04:09.wearing a wig and glasses and carrying a blind stick. "No one will
:04:10. > :04:12.ever think it's you," she said. The alleged victim told the court she
:04:13. > :04:14.separately received texts from random footballers, including
:04:15. > :04:17.someone purporting to be former Newcastle player, Andy Carroll. She
:04:18. > :04:23.was unsure where they got her number. It is alleged Nile Ranger,
:04:24. > :04:31.who now plays four Swindon, raped the woman in a Newcastle hotel last
:04:32. > :04:34.January. He says it was consensual. His barrister suggested the hundreds
:04:35. > :04:38.of text between them showed she was interested in developing a
:04:39. > :04:46.relationship. She said that was not true. The case continues. A Teesside
:04:47. > :04:50.Labour MP has defended a decision to take on an apprentice in his office
:04:51. > :04:53.at ?3.37 an hour. The political blogger Guido Fawkes says Alex
:04:54. > :04:59.Cunningham is a hypocrite who has campaigned for rises in the minimum
:05:00. > :05:05.wage. The legal minimum for an apprentice is just ?2.68 an hour.
:05:06. > :05:09.But in the past the Stockton MP has called for all young people to get a
:05:10. > :05:12.minimum of ?6.31. But Mr Cunningham says he's just trying to offer
:05:13. > :05:16.someone an opportunity. I have campaigned for equal pay for equal
:05:17. > :05:20.work and the role that I have in mind is for an apprentice who will
:05:21. > :05:23.work in the office and work towards a qualification. The rate is above
:05:24. > :05:27.the minimum rate for the job of course, but not really enough. I
:05:28. > :05:31.would love to be able to pay more. But what I would really like to do
:05:32. > :05:34.is give the young person the opportunity to get a proper
:05:35. > :05:40.qualification and go on to get a proper job. Following a much needed
:05:41. > :05:43.victory over Aston Villa,some good news for Newcastle United off the
:05:44. > :05:47.pitch. The club's announced profits of just under ?10 million for the
:05:48. > :05:51.year to June 2013. That's up from ?1.4 million ` a 700% increase!
:05:52. > :05:54.Almost ?29 million was spent on new players, with ?11 million recouped
:05:55. > :05:57.on sales. The wage bill fell by ?2.4 million to just under ?62 million
:05:58. > :06:01.pounds. The wages to turnover ratio was 64% ` well under the 70% Premier
:06:02. > :06:09.League average. But the club still owes owner Mike Ashley ?129m,
:06:10. > :06:12.although that debt is interest`free. The Hoppings Fun Fair will be back
:06:13. > :06:16.in Newcastle this summer. The historic event held at the Town Moor
:06:17. > :06:19.was moved out of the city last summer after the Showmen's Guild of
:06:20. > :06:22.Great Britain and the Freemen of Newcastle, who administer the Moor,
:06:23. > :06:25.failed to reach an agreement over rents. At a meeting yesterday, the
:06:26. > :06:29.Showmen voted to bring it back after ironing out disagreements. Well
:06:30. > :06:33.let's hope they have better weather for it than the last time they were
:06:34. > :06:34.here ` and talking of the weather let's have a look at the forecast
:06:35. > :06:37.with Paul Mooney. for it than the last time they were
:06:38. > :06:44.here ` and talking There is rain in the forecast, but not so much
:06:45. > :06:48.tonight. The showers are dying away. Staying breezy, so temperatures no
:06:49. > :06:52.lower than four Celsius. But get a bit of shelter from the breeze and
:06:53. > :06:59.one or two spots could see a touch of ground frost. A dry start, but
:07:00. > :07:05.rain spreads in from the west and that rain will be heavy in Cumbria.
:07:06. > :07:10.Most places do become drier and brighter through the afternoon.
:07:11. > :07:16.Temperatures peak at seven and eight. But once again we will have a
:07:17. > :07:21.gusty south`westerly wind. So it may feel cooler. As we head into
:07:22. > :07:27.Thursday, some blustery showers. A bit of uncertainty about Friday as
:07:28. > :07:33.to how widespread any showers maybe. It turns cooler later in the week.
:07:34. > :07:37.be rain, clearing into sunshine and showers, Buster once. Then it is
:07:38. > :07:42.more difficult. Susan Powell is here to explain more international focus.