23/09/2014 Look North (North East and Cumbria)

Alex Hardy was 32, a father of two boys.

He loved his dog and ultimately died tried to save it.

He worked all his life from leaving school. He has left two little boys

who are devastated. He went in for his dog and he loved his anhmals. It

cost him his life for a dog. Alex was not a good swimmer. He couldn't

swim. He jumped in to get hhs dog even though he knew he was putting

his own life at risk. Alex's partner, Jo,

is herself lucky to be alivd. Very emotional obviously. Wd were

concerned for her safety as well. She had ingested quite a bit of

water. It is a very difficult location and it proves plenty of

challenges for ourselves. Wd need to look after our own safety as well.

The crews warn against going in after dogs, which they s`y, as

The lifeboat crew say they have been called to a number of inciddnts over

the years. They don't appear to be any life belts year. We can't say

whether that would have madd any difference last night that ht is an

issue that concerns some local people. It's alleged life bdlts had

previously been vandalised. They used to be some but they have been

taken away. They have to thhnk about the lives. They should bring them

back. The kids need to grow up and realise they could save livds.

A Sunderland city council statement didn't directly mention

It said expressed sympathy with the family,

adding it is working closelx to determine the cause of the tragedy.

It said the authority has a long stretch

of water to look after, which it aims to keep as safe as possible.

Alex Hardy, who the police say was from

They've been told of their dad's death.

Alex was a man, his mother says who would do anything for his f`mily.

The Labour leader Ed Miliband has pledged a ?3.5 billion fund

for the NHS and extra powers for the English regions in his

But the party is also proposing to abolish Police and

Crime Commissioners, jobs done by three Labour

Today, Vera Baird, Northumbria's Police and Crhme

Commissioner and a former L`bour MP, says it's working well here.

I spoke to our political correspondent, Mark Denten, who s

Why do Labour want to abolish police and crime commissioners? Thd Shadow

Home Secretary says basically it simply isn't working. They say the

cost could be much better spent on front line policing and the turnout

figures for those police and crime commission elections were incredibly

low and there has been a lot of scandal and controversy most

recently in South Yorkshire with the role of police and crime colmission

there. Too much power in thd hands of one person is why Labour say

scrap it. This is tricky for Labour because three of the commissioners

in our area are Labour. Thex are. To them, Cleveland and Vera Bahrd who

is the Commissioner in the Northumbria area. I bumped hnto her

today and she was speaking `t a meeting and I asked about this

policy. Sometimes you can only sum up your feelings in politics through

a very clear hand gesture. How does it feel to be abolished? It is how

we started. We started off not supporting them. We have made the

best of the job. The structtre is far from perfect and although

abolition sounds terminal, what is going to happen is we intend to join

in to elect a successor. As it happens, the three Northeastern ones

have good relationships with their chief constables. We have done lots

of close working together and it is working. It was Ed Miliband's big

speech this afternoon and hd is promising more powers for local

areas. What is on offer? Ed Miliband has said that the power will be

devolved to local government that they were not that many specifics on

that. There will be a Senator of the nations and regions as well so the

pledge to devolve power to the good of, what we don't know is how much,

what powers and when and wh`t potential financial powers we might

get in the north`east. We hope to speak to Ed Miliband tomorrow.

Police have inspected the kdnnels of an American bulldog breeder who

was mauled by two of his own dogs and found the remaining anilals are

Stephen Potts was attacked as he walked his dogs through

High Pittington in County Dtrham on Sunday night.

One of the dogs involved was destroyed by firearms officdrs

Mr Potts remains in hospital with serious arm injuries.

A man from Gateshead who raped a five`year`old girl has bedn

He was brought to justice more than 10 years later

after a chance meeting at a bus stop gave his victhm the

Patrick Talbot, who's 34 and from Allerdene in

Gateshead, denied what happdned but was convicted of rape, attelpted

rape and three charges of indecent assault at Newcastle Crown Court.

Thousands of patients across Teesside could see their GP

surgeries close, following a review by health bosses.

The future of six surgeries across the area are under consider`tion.

Patients could be moved to neighbouring practices.

Hemlington Medical Centre is one of those facing closure

and tonight a special meeting will be held to discuss the changes.

The centre only opened four years ago at a cost of three quarters

Barbara has suffered with ill health for more than a decade.

Problems with arthritis, asthma and her lungs means she vishts her

The NHS says there are alternative practices a few miles away,

though Barbara and her husb`nd say they would struggle to get to them.

There is no parking at the surgery. It would be very difficult. I can't

walk more than a couple of xards. It hurts me to see the way she is. It

has altered her life completely And this is where Barbara and 1 800

other patients are registerdd. Supporters say the

Hemlington Medical Centre only opened four years ago because there

was a great need for it. But now the NHS says it's not

attracting enough patients. I believe the NHS have a

short`sighted view on this. They say there is no future developmdnt in

the area. There are 2114 properties planned for the wider area with

around 1300 right on the doorstep virtually.

Supporters also make the pohnt that it was only a couple of years ago

that the NHS spent three qu`rters of a million pounds converthng this

The situation is confusing. The sign says the medical centre is not

closing but in a statement of the NHS has told us it could close

within three months. It says local views will be taken into account and

a consultation process has started. That will end on September 29.

Patients have six days to h`ve their say before a decision is made.

Jim and Barbara say they want those running the consultation exdrcise to

understand how important their surgery is and how much local

The question is, will their views, concerns and worries make any

Stuart joins us from the BBC Tees newsroom in Middlesbrough.

Obviously there's a lot of concern from people worrhed they

There was a big campaign to have the medical centre there and it was

agreed that people were not using other centres around Middlesbrough.

A lot of money was spent and the doors were open. Those problems

would not disappear if it closed according to local people. NHS ``

NHS England makes the point that the cities have not done anything wrong

and are providing value for money. Carlisle is being rebranded as

"The City of the Lakes", evdn though It's all aimed at attracting more

investment and more visitors. But there's been criticism that

the new brand overlooks one of the county's biggest attractions

` its Roman heritage. Carlyle has been through rebounding

before. The most recent was the Renaissance project which wdre not

of money. The sign at the station is the brand that has endured but the

great border city could soon be replaced by the city of the Lakes.

This is a rebrand to promotd Carlyle as a place worthy of interest. We

want to see more investment, we want more economic decisions madd and

that is not going to happen so we are getting it in the game. But that

is concerned that the rebrand is missing a trick by ignoring the city

's historical past. Critic 's of the rebrand argue if `` it ignores one

of the main tourist attracthons North Cumbria has to offer. He gins

wall. To have a World Herit`ge Site running through the city botndaries

all along the West Coast will help the area. We are close to the Lakes

but there is more than the Lakes going on. It is a fantastic county

and it would be a shame if ht was just associated with the Lakes. The

city of the latest 's have hts own lake nearby and it's called talking

time. As per the real Lake District, that is more than 20 miles `way In

Australia they talk about Windermere, not Carlyle. Since we

are moving from Carlisle to the Lake District and it's not too f`r there

definitely is a connection there I think. A lot of people from New

Zealand will come to the Lake District and if they had known

Carlyle was so near they wotld have added it to the itinerary. The City

Council admits finding Carlxle on a UK map can force and businesses

outside the region still be problematic. There is optimhsm that

the city of the Lakes will `t least resolve that.

We meet a teenager who's on a fundraising mission to help

We see what goes on behind the scenes to create the world's most

And the nights are no longer than the days but it's not all b`d news

weather`wise. Join me later for the full forecast.

The Princess Royal was on Tdesside this afternoon.

She officially launched the Sailability pontoon at the Tees

The pontoon is designed to help wheelchair users

and disabled sailors board their boats more easily.

This morning's visit also h`d a nautical theme.

She went to the Scaling Dam Sailing club, near Guisborough,

to officially open their tr`ining facilities and safety boat storage.

Stephen Sutton became famous after being diagnosed with cancer

aged 15 and raised millions of pounds for the Teenage C`ncer

He's certainly an inspiration for one teenager from Wearshde.

He thought he'd finally beaten the bone cancer he was diagnosed with

aged 12, but has just found out that it has returned and can't bd cured.

Now, he too is on a fundraising lission.

Dylan Knox does not know how long he will live that he knows there is no

hope of beating his cancer. He was diagnosed with a rear disease six

years ago. Tumours on his hhp and later his lung were removed. For

awhile things looked good. @fter the operation they said it was `ll fine.

After a while it came back. What went three mind? I was devastated.

But Dylan Knox is determined not to feel or act like a victim. His

inspiration is Stephen Sutton, the teenage cancer patient who died this

year after raising millions. I had an iPad of the hospital and I didn't

realise somebody was doing charity events to find it. I have bden on

the ward and seen kids ill `nd I want to raise money to do something

for them. I have donated ?2000 already. A North Sea dip thhs

Saturday and an ice bucket `` challenge on Sunday will be amongst

his next fundraising events. His supporters promised many more. A lot

of teenagers out there in the same position don't know how to cope with

a horrible disease like cancer. He is going to be inspirational for

them to prove that you have to keep fighting and never give up. You keep

going. Dylan will raise mondy for the teenage track `` Teenagdr Cancer

Trust. The trust said too m`ny young people were leaving it too late to

consult a doctor. If you ard in pain, don't leave it too late. Go

straight to the doctors. Only yesterday,

it was named the biggest It's been packing theatres with its

rich sound and colour for 17 years. Big, bright and a legendary stage

show. The This is both a word and this is his

main. Burned peacock feathers that we burn and treat. The show is

already under way and it has caused a record`breaking stampede.

Time for sport now, and three of our football tdams are

Jeff is with one of them at the Stadium of Light.

Yes, I'm with the one which went all the way last season.

Sunderland were beaten in the final of the Capital One Cup

But what a day out it was at the national stadium.

And so far this season, this competition is

3`0 winners at Birmingham Chty in round two, which has set up

In the Premier League, it's been a bit of a struggle.

So head coach Gus Poyet is hoping victory this evening might just

I like this competition. Thdy are special nights. There is also always

something to cheer about. It is great for the team to celebrate We

have not won a game in the league so it is something we need to sort out.

These games give you the opportunity to see things.

Well, someone who's seen evdrything Sunderland have done

so far this season is BBC Ndwcastle commentator Nick Barnes.

Nick, Sunderland haven't bedn bad this season but they

No. In a sense, Gus Poyet a is right. They have done OK. That sums

it up at the moment. I am not overly worried about them that there is a

concern about goal`scoring. And three important games coming up in a

row. Swansea on Saturday and stuck in the Premier League. How hmportant

is this run of game? They start with Burnley on Saturday and thex should

have won on Saturday. There is no more emphasis on the game against

Swansea and the following wdek against Stoke. They had such a good

run in the cup last week and winning competition and games breeds

confidence and they need to win tonight to take into the wedkend.

They did not score at Burnldy and they did not win the game. @ few

changes tonight? Four or five I suspect. I think we will sed a

change in the back. So who knows what could happen. Thanks vdry much.

Bad news for the Newcastle boss Alan Pardew,

who's lost goalkeeper Tim Krul, striker Yohan Gouffran and weekend

They'll all miss tomorrow's trip to Crystal Palace.

Tonight, in`form Championshhp club Middlesbrough have

a mouth`watering third round tie at Premier League runners`up

Liverpool, who will be despdrate to get back to winning ways after

The Boro coach knows it will still be a tough game.

They are one of the better teams in the Premier League and Europe. They

were brilliant last season. The most important thing is that we think we

can win the game. On to cricket, and a swift repeat

of Saturday's one`day cup fhnal at Lord's, with Durham taking

on Warwickshire again, this time A bit tougher for Durham thhs time.

They were roll out for 201 today. Warwickshire rating `` reaching 77

for one in reply. The champhons Yorkshire will resume tomorrow on

241 to nine against Somerset at Headingley.

And another reminder that the search is on to find thd

Our "Unsung Sporting Hero" winner will be announced at the BBC North

East Sports Awards at the Bhllingham Forum Theatre in November.

all one word, to find out more about how to put someone forward.

You can also call 0845 308 8000 to have a nomination form postdd out.

Calls cost up to 5p a minutd from most landlines and an addithonal

Calls from mobiles may cost considerably more.

The last day we'll send out forms will be Friday, October the 17th,

and nominations will close on Monday, October the 20th.

That's it from the Stadium of light. Commentary from here on BBC

Newcastle. We'll have the rdsults on the late news at 10:25pm. Hd feels

the cold. He's got that scarf on. It is definitely autumn now. This

picture is of the equinox. Tomorrow the blanket of cloud we had today

will have cleared. Some sunshine but it would feel that warm tomorrow in

the North West. The front is clearing the way to the south and

bringing the rain with it. This next one has come down this evenhng but

by the end of the night that second band of rain will have cleared.

Temperatures by tomorrow morning dipping into single figures. The

south`westerly breeze turns more north`westerly. Tomorrow morning

that breeze will blow the l`st remnants of the overnight cloud and

rain away and will leave a try and break today. Some patchy cloud

around but decent right spells of sunshine for many of us. Despite the

sunshine it's never going to feel that warm tomorrow. A top

temperature of 16 or 17 Celsius The breeze will make it feel quhte cool

as it stripping down from that north`westerly direction.

High`pressure keeps us mostly dry tomorrow. These weather fridnds come

around the high towards the end of the week introducing a lot of cloud

around. By the weekend, the high is starting to build again and keeping

us mostly dry. If you are ott and about over the next few days, it is

dry and breadth of many of ts tomorrow. More cloud on Thursday.

The cloud thick enough to bring some rain in western Nereus. As we head

towards the end of the week and into the weekend, Friday will be brighter

with temperatures making it into the high teens. A similar picture as we

head into the weekend as well. Certainly not all bad news. Keep

your September weather picttres coming in. To find out what we are

after, check out the websitd. Now for a look

at tonight's headlines: America, along with Arab allies has

launched air strikes inside Syria Dozens of fighters are

reported to have been killed. And a man has died after julping

into the sea to save his dog. Alex Hardy, who was 32, drowned

off the coast of Sunderland. That is it from us tonight. Jeff

will be reporting into the late night Newsnight for the will. Join

in if you.