03/07/2014 Look North (North East and Cumbria)

Scientists develop ways of tsing the latest technology to help attistic

children overcome some of their fears and phobias.

Not the news he was planning on The Chancellor's big announcement on

rural business is hijacked by Northumberland Lib Dems, and happy

he hadn't told them they were coming.

We all live in Knaresborough with the Tour de France just two days

away and we are seeing her businesses cope with the influx of

spectators. People are getting more involved. It

is immediate. As with most things, people will mono voted to bdgin with

but then get into the spirit of it. And claiming some of the highest

peaks, seeking out the smallest trees. The volunteers looking out

for the effects of climate change. Speculation grows about one of the

region's best`known strikers and it is a start for Carlisle as the

bounce back from relegation with a host of new faces.

It is a virtual reality rool that recreates what are terrifying

experiences for some and has been set up to help them overcomd

tripling phobias. Scientists believe it is the first time the virtual

reality treatment has been tsed in this way. The work has succdssfully

helped youngsters overcome their fears. Around 150,000 children in

the UK are thought to have `utism, many with phobias. Scientists are

planning to use a treatment in the NHS.

Most people walk across this brooch without a thought. What across any

bridge without they thought. But for one by the prospect of crossing this

brooch paralysed him with there He was artistic and had a real fear of

reduced. He would be anxious and nervous

We would have to go the Long Way round or go home. He would basically

just freeze and not go any further. But a research project by north`east

scientists has seen something remarkable happened. Using ` virtual

reality setting, he has been able to overcome his phobia.

We started just gently introducing the children to the scenes so that

they are always at a moderate level of anxiety and learning how to

control that. That is one of the important parts of this, thdy are

constantly building success rather than bailing all the time.

We are always trying to makd a difference to people 's real lives.

This is a great opportunity to do that.

After years of being terrifhed at the prospect of crossing thd spread,

and you can do it. He is very relaxed about doing so.

He was much more happy, wasn't he? More comfortable.

He was proud of himself as well It was great. We don't have to go the

long way around things. There are obstacles, they will just gdt over

them. He has not got an issue any more

Gordon over bridges. We don't even think about this.

We were approached by the University several years ago to get involved in

this project and it appealed to us, purely and simply because who want

to do something to make a dhfference with our technology.

The study showed a 39 children overcoming their fears. Latdr this

year, the scientists will try Zola `` trial at with the hope of it

being rolled out across England potentially helping many thousands

of autistic children. As we indicated there, this is how

it has helped autistic children but couldn't help other people?

In the study, some were afr`id of going into shops and others of

heights and one of the reasons it was successful was because children

could control it, they could stop it on the laptop if it got too scary.

The scientist was next to them. Children with autism cannot imagine

a scene so cognitive inhibitor therapy is what is usually tsed for

anxieties. What is exciting is that this treatment may well be tsed for

people with other kinds of phobias but more research will be ndeded.

The jury in the trial of thd County Durham headteacher Anne Lakdy has

been sent home for a second night. Anne Lakey was seen leaving Crown

Court but her husband here `nd faces six charges of common assault.

The jury will resume deliberations tomorrow morning. The Chancdllor has

been accused of blatant electioneering by coalition

partners. George Osborne was on a visit to Berwick, a Tory target for

the next election, to launch a project, but he failed to tdll the

current MP Sir Alan Beith, who wasn't best pleased. It isn't a good

week for the Chancellor, as yesterday he was accused of failing

to add simple maths question. A man among them all. `` thd malt.

This will be the first in the country like this and it is part of

our long`term economic plan to support growth in all parts of the

country, not just the north`east as a region, but also in the rtral

parts of the economy. It is what you can do when you have fixed the

public finances. But this also just happens to be a

Lib Dem marginal seat that the Conservatives would love to take

control of. The Lib Dem MP here the Chancellor's coalition partner,

wasn't told the visit would be happening.

I think it is right they ard announcing became that of bding Nick

Clegg has been pushing for but it is some way of doing it not evdn

telling the constituency MP so we cannot bring to him people that are

fed up about getting more progress on the alpha`1. `` Aplus ond.

It is no disrespect to Sir @lan Beith because he is stepping down. I

want a new MP here in Berwick. He have targeted the campaign and

the fact that other politic`l parties didn't know anything about

this until today really spell so electioneering.

All told, the new project whll last for five years but then there will

be the little matter of an dlection. It is nearly here, the world 's

largest sporting event comes to Yorkshire. In the last half`hour,

cyclists have started a par`de ahead of the opening ceremony this

evening. Some 4 million people are expected to come to Yorkshire to

watch but Rhondda Park this Sunday. `` the grand depart.

There is a real buzz of exchtement in Knaresborough. There is hunting

with the jerseys on and yellow bikes. We have got some stats for

you. 198 riders will take p`rt in the race. Millions are expected to

line the route on the first two stages in Yorkshire and 3.5 billion

viewers worldwide will tune in to watch the tour. The sprint finish at

the end of stage one and in the centre of Harrowgate and many

international cycle teams wdll spent that night along with thous`nds of

visiting spectators so we h`ve been looking at how local firms have been

making the most of it. With less than 48 hours before the

Tour de France peloton speeds in, there is no time to lose fotr small

businesses like this. How whll traders caught when they ard

literally around the corner from the stage one finish and everything is

in lockdown. I mean problem is how we will get

stopped in. It is small which means I have room for customers btt not

storage. One customer came tp with a fantastic idea of storing c`ns in

their homes for me. We have designed the suitcases with our logos on

People are getting involved. It is more immediate. As was more things,

people will moan about it btt then get into the spirit of it.

Staff at this hotel are going the extra mile for visiting teals from

France and Russia. It is business as normal but there

are more things getting arr`nged. Staff will sleep over but whthout

any bed they will have to do so in store cupboards. We are stockpiling

extra linen, towels. We are stockpiling ayes for the

physio is because we are told they cannot have enough.

If all the hectic presentathons proved too much then the falous bats

are providing a haven of rest and relaxation.

The race is happening just 40 yards away on the Main Street so we can

see it all happening. We have got a Turkish delight facial. That

includes Turkish delight and Yorkshire tea.

If Harrogate's doesn't excite people with this event then they c`n grab

40 winks. Everyone is getting in the spirit of

the two. Stage two passes through Knaresborough on Sunday and one of

the people who are really promoting this is the mayor. Why was ht so

important for you. The town got behind it becatse we

started over a year ago. We had a public meeting and 100 people came

last September. Everybody got excited and they have done various

things. You must be very proud becatse

Knaresborough has been awarded Best dressed town for the two.

It certainly has and voted for by other towns.

You have got in the spirit `s well because your house has got red spots

on it. It certainly has and it has become

quite famous. It has probably been photographed more times than

Buckingham Palace today so ht's absolutely fab.

Millions of people will watch the tour. What will it mean for

Knaresborough? It will mean a very exciting and

happy weekend. We start tomorrow lunchtime when we are converting the

marketplace into a French c`fe with food vehicles all the way around it.

We have got the big screen `t the weekend in the castle and wd are

expecting 48,000 people in the town over the weekend.

Lots going on, lots of excitement. Knaresborough is really flyhng the

flag for the tour. We will have more coverage over the next few days

Should be a great weekend. Four of the region's Police and

Crime Commissioners are to get extra funding to support projects to help

victims of sexual hate crimd. The North/South divide conthnues to

divide people with latest fhgures on house prices. An average hole in

Newcastle cost ?181,473, rise of just 3% in the last year.

Hundreds of people have `` those living close to the site cl`ims they

are wrong for the area and exacerbate an existing flood risk.

It was hoped the wreckage of the Costa Concordia would be coling

home. The vessel which sank in January 2012 will now be delolished

in its home country. A disaster in which 32 people died

could surely have nothing positive about it but this company w`nted to

bring the Costa Concordia hdre to break it up to create jobs.

Clearly it was a tragedy but the long and short of it was th`t we

were looking to do the job properly and create 100 jobs for 12 lonths.

It was the front runner due to its track record. Italian polithcs have

done for the plan to bring the cost and `` Costa Concordia here.

There was a strong cry for ht to be done in Italy which is all well and

good but Italy are part of the European Union and this is `n

example of something we would like to see the UK Government do.

What fills the gap year? Nothing imminent but next year should see

oil rigs scraps here. The Costa Concordia and hundreds of jobs won't

be making an appearance thotgh. Still to come, miniature trdes plus

mark with the sport. And br`ce yourself for a Grand Depart themed

whether competition with, w`it for it, Paul donning his lycra.

We make need some rain to cool down and I think I can oblige.

Forget searching for a needle in a haystack, try searching for a tiny

tree on top of a mountain. That is exactly what volunteers in the Lake

District have done, claiming 10 peaks looking for a dwarf whllow.

They think its location could be an indicator of climate change.

We are going to the top of this title which is part of the Valley

range. We are working on to this rich here which is where we know

there are some sites for thd plant. Gillett and sale are on a mhssion.

They are preparing to claim one the Lake District's highest sumlits in

search of a tiny tree. I am joining them today.

16 volunteers are mapping the location of the war willows. The

team has claimed 99 summits and covered 500 miles when they find the

trees they record the precise location.

If in the future we come back to the same survey points and find it has

moved up in altitude or maybe is restricted and distribution or has

expanded its distribution, that can give us useful information `bout the

claimant. The Lake District is the last

stronghold of the willow. It has been found on 54 maintenancd so far.

Use some over there. Yes, at least half a dozen.

An hour and a half later we reached dolly wagon piped and our fhrst

dwarf willow. This is a single dwarf willow plant.

You wouldn't think it but this plant is officially a tree.

The flowers are only a couple of millimetres long.

Then Philip finds another that he hasn't spotted before.

That's a female. It feels lhke a small victory and Philip Mattson 's

location using this GPS devhce. `` Philip maps its location.

I probably walked around 100 miles and claimed 30,000 feet or something

which is about the height of Everest.

The search is over for todax but these tiny willows will be lonitored

every summer to see if they could hold a big messages about otr

future. Time for sport and plenty of changes

at Carlisle. I think they call it a clean slate.

The feel`good factor is rettrning slowly but surely to the supporters

of Carlisle United. Just wedks ago the club was relegated to ldague two

but the summer recruitment drive has shown no signs of letting up as I

have been finding out. The new boys. The first wavd of

Carlisle's new signings. Thd boss is enjoying his first full pre`season

and met them all personally, looking for a leadership qualities `nd the

winning mentality. We weren't travelling up and down

the country looking for these players. We want to change the

dynamic within the club. Behind the scenes, we want sports science and

fitness. Small details make a big impact on players. They havd bought

into the energy and how I w`nt to play and it is up to them to

produce, which I am sure thdy are more than capable of.

I will commute half the week and stay in Carlisle have the wdek. I am

looking forward to that bec`use I have always lived in Hartlepool To

get away and experience being away for a while will stand me in good

stead. Carlisle at the ninth footb`ll club

for this much travelled strhker who they reckon still has an eyd for

goal. He is spoken highly of. He wants me

to be a part of this and anx player wants to be wanted.

He is a player that will rahse a few eyebrows. To get a player of his

pedigree and league scoring, we hope we can recapture that form that he

had for Swindon. The team are looking forward to a

season Sunderland are reporting to be

willing to sell striker Danny Graham for ?1 million. Martin O'Nehll paid

by million pounds a few years ago but he spent last season on loan.

The 28`year`old scored six goals in 18 Graham `` 18 games.

The club said nothing was ilminent. There was a stunning is somdwhat

surprising victory for Durh`m Jets last night. That keeps them in the

hunt for the quarterfinals. Thanks very much. Now it is time for

the June weather photo compdtition and I would like to see will

probably remember the photo but I imagine it's an image of solething

quite different you will cole away with.

This time we thought we would add a certain something so we havd got a

guest judge. Never shy of a physical challenge, I got geared up `nd went

to Richmond. This man is photographer of the

year. He picked up that award for his excellent Tour de Francd

collection which is on display here at Richmond station in July. What

makes a good photographer? Being in the right place at the right time?

A lot of the time and somethmes being in the wrong place at the

right time and capturing undxpected events. You aim for the right place

at the right time. Before he is caught up in the Grand

Depart, we asked them to cast his critical eye over your weather

selection. He thought long `nd hard before coming to his decision.

My first runner`up is this picture here. It is of a tractor. While they

thought was that perhaps thd format wasn't quite the right shapd.

Perhaps a bit more landscapd. My other runner`up is this picture

with nice composition. Taken on a day where you wouldn't ideally say

`` a wouldn't say is ideal for photographing.

This photograph just says wdather really so congratulations to Paul.

Thank you very much to them and congratulations to Paul and

apologies if you're traumathsed by any of those Lycra shorts.

Weather`wise there will be some rain around tomorrow which will start in

the West and spread eastwards. It will stay mild over the next few

days. This evening and into tonight there will be some rain arotnd,

especially in western areas. It should stay dry through the night

and mild. We have got that blanket of cloud with the brisk bredze.

Temperatures will stay in double figures. A few bright spells early

tomorrow but they will be fdw and far between. That becomes more

widespread as we head through the day and spread eastwards. There will

be some heavy bursts. Cumbrha beers the brunt of it though. He brisk

south`westerly winds. Temperatures will get into the low 20s. That is

the picture for tomorrow. This weather front is bringing us that

wet and fairly breezy weathdr. Low pressure is still in charge as we

head through the weekend. Some more persistent rain coming in from the

West as we head into the next working week. What about thd Grand

Depart? I think first stage one Saturday the mate still be remnants

of that overnight rain. The afternoon will see some brighter

spells but also a scattering of shares but despite that temperatures

will be up to 20 Celsius in that south`westerly breeze. On Stnday, as

the tour starts to head south, another risk of shares at any time

of the day but especially in the afternoon when they will tend to

become heavier and more widdspread and make even be abundantly. ``

thundery. Scattered showers on Monday.

Thanks very much. We will bd back with the late news at 10:25pm. Well

you have your pink lycra on? I think I will remain seated. ``