24/08/2014 Look North (North East and Cumbria)

A giant sinkhole which has opened up on farmland in County Durhal

is causing increasing concern as it just keeps getting bigger

Initially it was just a few feet wide,

but it's now grown to over 000 feet wide and several hundred fedt deep.

A few days ago this was just a typical piece of North Pennines

hillside but on Thursday morning, landowner

John Hensby and his partner realised there was a problel.

Sam had been out shooting r`bbits and she saw from the other side

a hole in the earth. It was about five metres across

So she came back and told md, and it was about an hour later I wdnt out

and the hole was about thred times that diameter then, and noisy.

The rumbling from 200 feet down and the crashing great lumps

of stuff falling in there was quite frightenhng.

John works on his ten acres to provide habitat for ground`nesting

birds, asking walkers to kedp to the path, but he's worried curiosity

will get the better of people drawn to see this bottomless pit

which reveals something of the area's lead mining p`st.

We're the ones who will havd to sort out the police, the ambulance, from

a practical point of view btt also I don't want to be responsible for

There's no chance of getting them out of it again

This is as close as it is s`fe to go because not only has this hole

opened massively in a short space of time, it is surrounded bx cracks

which suggest that any further rain may make it bigger still.

and the forecast for next wdek isn't helpful.

John hopes people stay away while he and others work out

A memorial event is being planned tonight on North Tyneside

for Liam Sweeney, one of the two Newcastle United fans

who were killed in the Malaxsia Airlines crash last month.

It's at the Killingworth Social Club,

where Liam himself was a melber and his grandfather still is.

Organisers say that as well as being a celebration of Lham's

an auction to raise money for the Sweeney family's chosen charity

QPR boss Harry Redknapp has offered an open invitation to struggling

former football star Paul G`scoigne to help out with coaching

Gazza, who's now 47, has a long history of alcoholism.

Several newspapers recently showed him being helped

into an ambulance at his Dorset home and taken to hospital.

Around 1000 competitors have been taking part in

They were braving the challdnges of the 10km urban adventure course,

including kayaking, leaping into a lock and walking the plank.

For those who enjoy adventure, this is a leap of faith `

Stockton River Rat Race, a 00km course complete with obstacles.

Kayaking, assault courses and tackling the whitewater course of

the Tees Barrage without a canoe all part of today's extreme competition.

I think they want to take p`rt because it's different to

a normal 10K run, so this is what we're trying to

The water and shore`based activities pushing

The guy in second today is an exceptionally good runner, goes

Managed to get ahead of him after the third mile,

a few hundred metres on him and every time I looked over my shoulder

he was there, so I wasn't losing him and had to dig in, really.

Walk in the park, it's excellent. Hard work, though.

It's the second time I've done it. Definitely coming back.

We did it last year so the challenge was on again, but it was good.

More obstacles this year. Harder this year, a lot tougher

Good. Hard, but good. Would you do it again? Oh, xeah

And although extreme, it sedms some just can't wait for next ye`r.

Today's football now, and Sunderland's first game

of the season at the Stadiul of Light saw them hosting

Manchester United, and it w`s the away team in front throtgh Juan

But Sunderland were having ` lot of possession, and just before

Connor Wickham went close e`rly in the second half, then kedper

Vito Manonne saved the day with what they call a committed clear`nce

Highlights in Match of the Day 2 later,

but final score at the Stadhum of Light ` Sunderland 1, Man United 1.

We are all wondering what the weather has in store. Let's get the

forecast now. It has been a fairly pleasant day and this evening there

are still some pockets of clear sky but temperatures will fall puickly.

The breeze picks up and clotd rules in overnight so temperatures will

not be quite as cold as last night, down to about 9 degrees. Monday

starts off on a dry net, not too bad. There could be hazy spdlls of

sunshine but through the dax we will see cloud increase from the side and

that brings a risk of rain `nd drizzle at acting south`west parts

of Cumbria but Northumberland looks like it will stay mostly drhve. The

breeze will get quite strong and gusty, especially for Cumbrha

tomorrow, so as we go through the rest of the week, Tuesday dozen bad

for Cumbria, a fair bit of cloud around elsewhere, mostly drx and

bright. That's it for now. Have a good evening.

After that cold start this morning, it has been quite a nice day for

most of us. We have seen cloud amounts increasing but it is this

cloud that is coming in from the Atlantic which is going to bring

change in weather. Not too much rain from it, further patchy rain across

Northern Ireland overnight, some rain at times across Wales and the

south-west, shovelling further east. Far north of England and

particularly Scotland, saying drive. Clearer skies, still quite cold

elsewhere, not as cold as it was last night. Cloudy day tomorrow

across England and Wales, some rain at times, heavy rain, brighter

colours coming into the south-west, through the morning, pushing into

the Midlands, towards the south east and parts of Northern Ireland as

well. Further north, Scotland may well stay dry, the North West of

Scotland is the place to be, quite a bit of sunshine. Cool breeze off the

North Sea, picking up for eastern Scotland, may be gusty