:00:00. > :00:08.stories on the BBC News Channel That's all from me,
:00:09. > :00:12.Good afternoon. A project which uses hens to help
:00:13. > :00:15.combat loneliness in the North East has won a major grant from the
:00:16. > :00:19.lottery. The Tyneside`based charity HenPower has been awarded a million
:00:20. > :00:25.pounds to expand its servicds. Jonathan Swingler reports.
:00:26. > :00:28.The people at the Wood Green sheltered housing scheme re`lly like
:00:29. > :00:32.their chickens. The featherx friends were brought in over a year ago
:00:33. > :00:36.Alan thought the idea was a bit odd at first. Believe it or not, when
:00:37. > :00:42.the idea was first approachdd, I thought it was an absolutelx
:00:43. > :00:49.ridiculous idea. But it's m`de, what, 200% difference to my life of
:00:50. > :00:53.getting out of the house. And the people involved in this project say
:00:54. > :00:57.they have noticed the difference it makes to people with dementha. When
:00:58. > :01:04.we take the hens, a live thhng, they take interest in it, you know? And
:01:05. > :01:09.once they take interest... H mean, the medications have dropped in the
:01:10. > :01:14.home, so it must be doing some good. So far, there are eight projects
:01:15. > :01:17.running in Gateshead. But a million`pound lottery grant means
:01:18. > :01:20.this idea is being rolled ott across the country. We looked further
:01:21. > :01:23.afield, and into Cumbria, and we're speaking to organisations in
:01:24. > :01:29.Barnsley, in Birmingham, in London, in south London. So it's colbating
:01:30. > :01:37.loneliness and getting people outdoors. This could become a
:01:38. > :01:40.regular sight. The Bishop of Newcastle says the
:01:41. > :01:43.Government's welfare reforms have led to a crisis, with thous`nds of
:01:44. > :01:47.people in the region relying on food banks. While the Government says its
:01:48. > :01:50.changes are designed to bring people out of poverty, the Bishop says at
:01:51. > :01:53.the moment they are making life harder for some of the North's
:01:54. > :01:57.poorest people. In the relatively affluent society which we are, the
:01:58. > :02:00.fact that people are having to resort to such measures ` they're
:02:01. > :02:04.literally on the breadline ` we have got a crisis, and I think that the
:02:05. > :02:07.food banks are merely putting a sticking plaster over a wound, but
:02:08. > :02:16.it's the longer`term solutions we need. And there will be reaction to
:02:17. > :02:20.the Bishop's comments from LPs on Sunday Politics tomorrow at eleven.
:02:21. > :02:23.Two teenagers remain in a critical condition in hospital after a
:02:24. > :02:28.serious two`car crash in North Yorkshire. It happened near the MOD
:02:29. > :02:31.ranges near Leyburn on Thursday The 17`year`old driver of a black
:02:32. > :02:35.Vauxhall Corsa has been discharged from hospital.
:02:36. > :02:38.A popular North East wedding venue has suddenly closed. Longhirst Hall,
:02:39. > :02:41.near Morpeth in Northumberl`nd, closed yesterday because thd company
:02:42. > :02:47.which operates it, Hotel Le`se (Number 3) Ltd, has ceased trading.
:02:48. > :02:50.Dozens of couples who had booked to get married there now face finding
:02:51. > :02:53.an alternative venue. The closure does not affect the adjoining golf
:02:54. > :02:56.club. In 24 hours' time, Sunderland
:02:57. > :03:00.players will be getting ready to walk out onto the Wembley phtch for
:03:01. > :03:04.the Capital One Cup final. Homes and shops on Wearside are flying red and
:03:05. > :03:07.white flags, and more than 30,0 0 Sunderland fans are travellhng to
:03:08. > :03:10.the match this weekend as the players take on Manchester City and
:03:11. > :03:15.try to bring silverware back to Wearside for the first time since
:03:16. > :03:17.1973. We will have a full rdport from Wembley tomorrow.
:03:18. > :03:21.Let's find out what the weekend weather has in store.
:03:22. > :03:24.Here's Jennifer Bartram. Hello there, good afternoon. It was
:03:25. > :03:28.a spring`like morning for m`ny of us, seeing some good spells of
:03:29. > :03:31.sunshine, but there are a fdw showers just starting to edge in
:03:32. > :03:35.from the west this afternoon. They will be fairly few and far between,
:03:36. > :03:38.so many of us will enjoy a fine dry afternoon, with temperatures today
:03:39. > :03:42.up to a high of seven degreds Celsius. Now, through the nhght we
:03:43. > :03:45.start off dry with some cle`r spells, but we will start to see
:03:46. > :03:49.some rain edging in from thd west. It will fall as hill snow for a
:03:50. > :03:52.time, clearing by tomorrow lorning, with temperatures overnight getting
:03:53. > :03:56.down to three or four Celsits. That's all for now. We're b`ck with
:03:57. > :03:58.an update plus the day's football results at around five past six
:03:59. > :04:14.Have a good afternoon. Hello there. The first day of
:04:15. > :04:18.March, and quite a wintry chill to the first thing, but conditions have
:04:19. > :04:24.improved a lot, a lot of sunshine have there, so the daffodils you can
:04:25. > :04:25.see behind me, a good sunny Saint David's day across