:00:00. > :00:00.than 40,000 have made the journey so far this year.
:00:00. > :00:00.Hello and welcome to Friday's Look North.
:00:00. > :00:08.Shocking new figures show the North is the worst area of the country
:00:09. > :00:11.for alcohol`related admissions to hospital.
:00:12. > :00:15.New arrests in Operation Sanctuary ` 91 men have now been held
:00:16. > :00:18.in the police investigation into alleged abuse of women
:00:19. > :00:23.Army doctors demonstrate what it's like to work in some
:00:24. > :00:32.of the most hostile and dangerous parts of the world.
:00:33. > :00:35.And the street busker turned top musician `
:00:36. > :00:39.we meet the young saxophonist who's won a prestigious new award.
:00:40. > :00:42.In sport, Ashes cricket hero Andrew 'Freddy'
:00:43. > :00:44.Flintoff could face Cumbrian opposition this weekend as he
:00:45. > :00:49.And why one of our best`known ex football managers
:00:50. > :01:05.One drinker is admitted to hospital with
:01:06. > :01:10.an alcohol`related problem every eight minutes here in the North.
:01:11. > :01:13.That's one of the shocking statistics revealed in a new survey
:01:14. > :01:17.which shows this region as the worst in England for alcohol abuse.
:01:18. > :01:21.Middlesbrough is top of the list, with nearly 3,300 hospital
:01:22. > :01:26.But it's closely followed by South Tyneside in fourth place,
:01:27. > :01:31.Sunderland in seventh place and North Tyneside in ninth.
:01:32. > :01:34.Look North has been gauging reaction to those figures.
:01:35. > :01:37.Let's cross live now to Phil Connell who's at James Cook Hospital
:01:38. > :01:50.The North East is still top of this league table Dornoch, despite
:01:51. > :01:55.concerted efforts by health officials to try and persuade people
:01:56. > :01:58.to drink more sensibly. Here at the James Cook Hospital in
:01:59. > :02:04.Middlesbrough, doctors say they are treating patients for all kinds of
:02:05. > :02:09.drink related problems. They are doing themselves and their families
:02:10. > :02:14.incredible amount of harm. Some of the most tragic cases we see are
:02:15. > :02:16.people that have developed complications to their brain
:02:17. > :02:21.function related to long`term alcohol abuse and are unable to look
:02:22. > :02:29.after themselves. Or people with severe liver problems that are
:02:30. > :02:34.irreversible. We can only patch it up, not cure it. Middlesbrough is
:02:35. > :02:40.being described as the worst place in the country, with almost 4.5
:02:41. > :02:44.thousand hospital admissions. 65% of those are said to be men, and today
:02:45. > :02:50.we have been in Middlesbrough to ask people why they think the town has
:02:51. > :02:54.such a significant problem. Drink is always cheaper around here. It is
:02:55. > :03:01.probably because people drink at home and then go out and do not know
:03:02. > :03:08.their limits. Educating people is good. People do not know their own
:03:09. > :03:15.limits. When employment. People have nothing to do, youngsters have
:03:16. > :03:18.nowhere to go. So they just drink. Anti`social behaviour, a lot of
:03:19. > :03:22.children start trading early because they see their parents doing it and
:03:23. > :03:29.think it is the norm. A vicious circle. Five years ago in the
:03:30. > :03:33.north`east, a special project was launched to look at alcohol`related
:03:34. > :03:38.issues. It is called the balance north`east and is the only project
:03:39. > :03:41.of its kind in the country. They campaign on three main issues: The
:03:42. > :03:50.availability of drink, its promotion and its price. We the voice of the
:03:51. > :03:53.north`east and carry out year`on`year perception surveys. We
:03:54. > :03:57.are sending a clear message from the north`east that enough is enough. We
:03:58. > :04:01.have run many campaigns saying there is a lot of support here for things
:04:02. > :04:07.like minimum unit price. We trying to a message to Government and hope
:04:08. > :04:11.they hear it. Doctors here are James Cook say they are beginning to see a
:04:12. > :04:15.slight fall in alcohol`related admonitions, but despite that,
:04:16. > :04:18.Middlesbrough is still top of this league table with no clear
:04:19. > :04:20.indications tonight as to when its position will improve.
:04:21. > :04:23.And you can have your say on that story by logging onto
:04:24. > :04:35.A charity working with vulnerable children on Tyneside has warned
:04:36. > :04:38.of men trying to lure teenagers into sexual abuse.
:04:39. > :04:40.The comments, from The Children's Society,
:04:41. > :04:44.come as a police investigation into the alleged abuse of women
:04:45. > :04:50.Today Northumbria Police's Operation Sanctuary made further arrests `
:04:51. > :04:54.meaning almost 100 men have been held in the last four months.
:04:55. > :05:01.It's an investigation into a twilight world.
:05:02. > :05:05.Women and girls, often under the influence of drink or drugs, who
:05:06. > :05:09.are taken to addresses and then, it's alleged, raped or assaulted.
:05:10. > :05:13.Allegations which brought the launch of Operation Sanctuary.
:05:14. > :05:19.Those in the frontline say the risks to the vulnerable are clear.
:05:20. > :05:23.There are adults in the city who will try to lure
:05:24. > :05:26.vulnerable young people to addresses in the city where really horrible
:05:27. > :05:32.Young people will be plied with alcohol or drugs
:05:33. > :05:40.Operation Sanctuary started in January when the first
:05:41. > :05:43.Within days, 27 people had been arrested
:05:44. > :05:49.By then, the police had identified dozens
:05:50. > :05:58.Today two further arrests brought the total to 91 in four months.
:05:59. > :06:03.These are allegations yet to be tested in court.
:06:04. > :06:06.The police have been keen to stress those arrested come
:06:07. > :06:15.from different communities, not one ethnic or religious group.
:06:16. > :06:18.They've been at pains to avoid community tensions
:06:19. > :06:21.` a point clearly not accepted by members of the English Defence
:06:22. > :06:23.League, who marched through Newcastle earlier this month.
:06:24. > :06:27.This kind of grooming is not limited to one race or one religion.
:06:28. > :06:31.It can be a rock star it can be someone in the shop down the road.
:06:32. > :06:35.What we need to do is make sure the victims are protected and those
:06:36. > :06:44.who prey on the vulnerable like this are identified and jailed.
:06:45. > :06:47.There is no clue as to when Operation Sanctuary will end.
:06:48. > :06:54.Peter, Operation Sanctuary is now four months old.
:06:55. > :07:01.How much help have the police had in tackling this kind of abuse?
:07:02. > :07:07.They have a information from taxi firms, from the public and from
:07:08. > :07:10.hotels. They believe that some women and girls were taken to hotels where
:07:11. > :07:15.there were allegedly abused. In other cases it was houses. It is
:07:16. > :07:19.also clear this is broad ranging. For instance, those arrested are
:07:20. > :07:24.from right across Wear and it seems we are not dealing with an organised
:07:25. > :07:27.gang as such, it's really pockets of abuse. It's also clear that we are
:07:28. > :07:31.likely to be talking about sanctuary for a long time to come, because it
:07:32. > :07:33.far too early now to say exactly what has gone on and who might be
:07:34. > :07:35.responsible. Thank you. They've worked in some of the most
:07:36. > :07:39.hostile and dangerous parts of the world, dealing with the worst
:07:40. > :07:41.battlefield injuries imaginable. But today,
:07:42. > :07:43.British army reserve medics were hoping to persuade health staff from
:07:44. > :07:47.the North East to join them and An exercise on the Tyne gave NHS
:07:48. > :07:53.workers a glimpse of what life in countries like Iraq
:07:54. > :08:09.and Afghanistan has been like. Volunteer today came from health
:08:10. > :08:12.trusts across the north`east. Some front`line medical staff others were
:08:13. > :08:18.from management or admin. They all had to attend to and deal with the
:08:19. > :08:23.terrible of casualties. These are a compliment part of the Army's reach
:08:24. > :08:25.into providing medical support to our soldiers in the field wherever
:08:26. > :08:28.they are serving. Recently we were they are serving. Recently we were
:08:29. > :08:33.in Afghanistan and we have also been based in Iraq and wherever there is
:08:34. > :08:37.a requirement in reserve service for medical personnel to be involved.
:08:38. > :08:38.Nationally there are 19,000 army reservists,
:08:39. > :08:41.with the government hoping to push that figure up to 30,000
:08:42. > :08:45.And reservists admit they face key shortages.
:08:46. > :08:47.So, could they be persuaded to join up?
:08:48. > :08:56.We are short in specific areas. At the moment we have one IT nurse. A
:08:57. > :09:02.is another field we are looking for as well. We are always desperate for
:09:03. > :09:07.a knee nurses and doctors. Theatre and scrub nurses, too. There are
:09:08. > :09:11.always specific ones we looking for. These people face challenges in
:09:12. > :09:14.their everyday lives as professionals anyway. The Army is
:09:15. > :09:18.keen to give them a glimpse of what life is like as a reserve medic. The
:09:19. > :09:21.hospital runs hospitals in combat zones across the world and hope
:09:22. > :09:29.these people may be tempted to join up. Could they be persuaded? I like
:09:30. > :09:34.the physical side of it. But it is just time and shifts and I do not
:09:35. > :09:40.know how it would work. It has been good so far. It has been a good
:09:41. > :09:43.experience so, maybe. I do not know an awful lot about the Army. I knew
:09:44. > :09:45.something of it, but they have really show me what they do and it
:09:46. > :09:51.looks quite impressive. After all the excitement of
:09:52. > :09:54.One Direction's appearance at Sunderland's Stadium of Light this
:09:55. > :09:57.week, it's the turn of Newcastle's American rock band Kings of Leon,
:09:58. > :10:02.seen here on Later With Jools Holland, will entertain
:10:03. > :10:05.the crowds tomorrow night. They're the first act to play
:10:06. > :10:08.at the Newcastle United ground for seven years and the football
:10:09. > :10:12.club says it will make more than And the football club has called
:10:13. > :10:25.in specialist help for Chris Vaughan was the production
:10:26. > :10:31.director for the closing ceremony It is a very imposing
:10:32. > :10:34.and beautiful stadium. It has massive high stands meaning
:10:35. > :10:37.it will be great from the public's point of view
:10:38. > :10:40.and also for any artist who walks It is great experience
:10:41. > :10:50.for the artist. In recent years it's been
:10:51. > :10:52.Sunderland's Stadium of Light, where big bands
:10:53. > :10:56.like Take That have performed. And you have to go back to 2007 for
:10:57. > :11:01.the last big concert at St James But before that, big acts like
:11:02. > :11:16.the Rolling Stones played there. So there's just one question `
:11:17. > :11:19.why have we had to wait so long? Just getting the right model
:11:20. > :11:22.and the right people on board. This is obviously our first year
:11:23. > :11:26.for seven years to have a concert here so we have to get our name back
:11:27. > :11:31.out there and get people to want to We are doing it ourselves
:11:32. > :11:35.and there is a lot of a risk The football club says it will make
:11:36. > :11:54.more than ?500,000 Around 25,000 people will gather on
:11:55. > :12:01.the pitch for tomorrow's concert. The club says if it is a success,
:12:02. > :12:05.more events will follow as once again it tries to attract
:12:06. > :12:07.the biggest names Now, the moving
:12:08. > :12:21.and remarkable story of ten brothers from York who all served in
:12:22. > :12:26.the First World War ` and survived. At the end of the 19th century,
:12:27. > :12:29.the Calpin brothers grew up in the city's slums with little
:12:30. > :12:32.money or prospects. The war offered them
:12:33. > :12:35.a chance to escape their impoverished lives, so they joined
:12:36. > :12:38.up and were sent into battle. They were hailed as heroes ` but
:12:39. > :12:41.their story was quickly forgotten. In the late 19th century,
:12:42. > :12:45.York was notorious Sarah Macdonald and Patrick Calpin
:12:46. > :12:51.were born in the slums. Both
:12:52. > :12:54.their parents had moved there from The couple married
:12:55. > :13:02.and had 11 children. They all lived in a house on
:13:03. > :13:11.Hope Street. By the time World War I had broken
:13:12. > :13:15.out, the boys had grown into men and one by one they signed up to
:13:16. > :13:19.fight for King and country. And miraculously, one by one,
:13:20. > :13:30.they all returned home again. Today, the grandson still proudly
:13:31. > :13:36.displays an original poster of all My dad had had this
:13:37. > :13:43.since I was little.