26/09/2014 Look North (North East and Cumbria)

Hello and welcome to Friday's Look North.

Fresh calls for better warnhng signs on the River Tyne

15,000 children have their say on what it's really

And why this tiny new arriv`l has caused a bit of a headache

In sport, we'll look ahead to another big weekend of football

And as the basketball season prepares to tip`off tonight, we cast

First tonight, a Newcastle family are being

consoled by Police Welfare officers after their three year`old son

It happened yesterday evening at a house on Elswick Road,

Police have described it as a tragic incident.

They say toddler Callum Grednwood was playing in the garden

when it appears he tripped and fell into the pond.

From early this morning, visitors laid flowers

at the garden gate of where this tragedy happened, the shock of it

It was very frightening and awful for us to witness what was

The police were called to this property after 7:00pm last night

A number of officers quicklx came down and started a search.

After just ten minutes, they found Callum in the pond.

He was taken very quickly to the RVI Hospital but they couldn't save him.

His family are said to be absolutely devastated and are being consoled

They were a nice family but I've never thought something

Obviously they're absolutely devastated now.

Yeah, well, I just want to give all of them my

Police say their enquiries will be continuing and a report will

Northumbrian Water says it wants to explore what more can be done to

prevent any further tragedids on the River Tyne

As we reported yesterday, a coroner is to write to the company `fter the

deaths of brothers Mark and Darren Thorpe and their cousin Gavhn

Their families say warning signs should be improved.

Peter Harris is live for us at Tyne Green in Hexham where the men

Peter, what further developlents have there been today?

If yesterday was about the hnquest and about how these men met their

deaths, today we have been `sking what can be done to stop tr`gedies

like this in future. First of all, but they are from a family friend we

spoke to yesterday, who raised a particular issue.

If anything at all can come out of it, we would like to makd sure

nobody ends up in this position again and that signage is ilproved

for a much further distance back from the weir, and it convexs the

Better signage, because the coroner is writing to Northumbrian Water.

There is no blame, but it is simply to raise the question of wh`t can be

done. The company are receptive of that. They will look seriously at

the coroner was by letter. The questionnaires, with more shgns have

helped these men? Educating them? Of course, because these men went

reckless. They thought they had done the right thing but they were caught

out. It was a tragic mistake

in that they've presumably gone on to the river

when they certainly shouldn't be. They should have been

in closed kayaks. But even then with their experience,

they shouldn't have entered Would improved signage make

a distance? A sign saying 'Danger: Weir' would

definitely improve the situ`tion. The final word, then, on thhs

tragedy. Possibly improved signage in future and the need for better

education for kayakers and canoeists. This is a rising sport

and increasing pastime. This peaceful rubber can quickly become a

killer. A convicted arsonist, who sdt fire

to his neighbours' homes, h`s failed John Brown, who's 48, startdd fires

in seven houses in Keswick, including five which were occupied

and a number in his own strdet. He was jailed for life at C`rlisle

Crown Court in February last year. He appealed to the Court of Appeal

to have his minimum nine`ye`r sentence reduced, but today

the court dismissed his appdal. Councillors

in York have approved proposals to The decision was made

at a meeting last night. There'll now be

a public consultation on the city's local plan, and ` final

decision will be made next xear Newcastle City Council's johned

forces with seven other loc`l authorities to demand

a meeting with the Prime Minister to Following the No vote

in last week's Scottish refdrendum, the councils have written to

William Hague, who's been charged with delivering devolution

and constitutional change. They've asked to meet him and

David Cameron stating they'll not accept 'delays' or 'half me`sures'

when it comes to giving mord powers Durham MP Kevan Jones has s`id

Virgin Money boss Sir Richard Branson 'should hang his

head in shame' after the region s biggest charity, the Northern Rock

Foundation, announced it was to close

after donating ?220 million to good Sir Richard told the Foundation

in May to find ?3 million pdr year from local donors

for every ?1 million that Vhrgin would give to good causes btt that's

proved an impossible task. It comes at a really diffictlt time

for charities in the North Dast particularly with the loss

of public sector funding. The cuts that affected local

authorities and public sector bodies have had

a knock`on effect because they've been less able to support charities

and voluntary sector organisations. Looking forward, Virgin Mondy

announced they would be givhng 1 million to the charities in the

North East and I hope we can work with Virgin Money to make stre that

kind of commitment continues into Just recently we've seen yotng

people north of the border having their say in a big way, with 16`

and 17`year`olds getting a vote Well, even younger people are

getting a say in North Yorkshire. A new three`year plan called 'Young

and Yorkshire' has been launched. It aims to listen to the concerns

of primary and secondary school children on issues like education,

bullying, road safety, even obesity. Up to 15,000 children

and young people across They wrote the foreword to the Young

and Yorkshire plan from their tiny school on the edge of

the North York Moors Nation`l Park. It seems

their voices have been heard. We, the children of North Yorkshire

would like you to make sure that we are healthy, sporty, happy, clean,

eco`friendly, inspired, clever, too cool for school, given our say, to

be heard, to be supported, to have a place in the crowd

and to be loved. As children, they have a refreshingly straightforward

approach to regional politics. I think it is good that young people

get a say as well as adults It is better than just

an adult's idea. At 16, Olivia has taken her

involvement in regional polhtics to the next level as part of the

Youth Council of North Yorkshire. We have a lot more support

in schools through the three aims of this projdct,

better schools, better support for families and healthier children

both physically and emotion`lly It's part of our culture th`t we

include children and young people, even to devise priorities that have

no realities for young people. So that is a huge consultathon

with young people. For Grace, to achieve her albitions,

she is wise enough to know she will need the support

of the people running her county. I'd like to be a vet becausd I

like caring for animals. I would probably stay in

North Yorkshire because it has a nice landscape

and lots of wildlife, good schools. I'd need quite a lot of help

but I'll get there. Plans for a 'mansion tax' won't work

in the North East, according to The Labour leader Ed Miliband has

unveiled plans to levy the tax on properties worth more th`n ?

million if he becomes He argues it'll raise more than

?1.5 billion for the NHS. According to estimates, there are

only around 200 properties hn the North East that might incur the

mansion tax but one critic says it wouldn't be a good way of r`ising

money for the health servicd. They've obviously costed it so they

think they can raise quite ` lot of money, but it's going to take some

time for that money to come through We're very much in favour

of having a temporary rise in income tax and then focusing

on where you can really savd money in the NHS, which is to abolish

the market system in the NHS. That could save up to

?5 billion per year. And Middlesbrough's Labour LP Andy

McDonald will be among thosd discussing his party's new NHS

policy on Sunday Politics at 11 00pm The world's greatest cyclists are

returning to our region next year, A deal worth millions

of pounds has been signed for either the main Tour of Britain

or its smaller sister race to come And over in another county,

the provisionally`titled Totr de Seen as a lasting legacy

from the Tour de France, it'll run People in Northumberland ard

being loaned motor scooters The scheme has the backing

of the former MP Alan Milburn, who now leads the

Government's Social Mobilitx In six months, more than 850 people

have used the Wheels 2 Work scheme. Scooters can be taken on lo`n

for ?20 a week. The aim is to help people who are

struggling to get to work or who may have turned down jobs

because they couldn't get there What it's doing is helping people

get into a job, stay in a job and make a real difference

for themselves and their falilies. I don't drive or anything,

I tried that, but I just cotldn t I got my pushbike but, of course,

poorly knees! It's a new lease of life for me

I just love it. Jeff Brown joins me shortly for a

look ahead to the weekend's sport. Also coming up,

the surprise new arrival at I'll be back shortly with a full

weather forecast. A tractor and trailer

as a hearse and a jazz band to accompany motrners

may not be the obvious choice for a funeral but it seems that more and

more people are looking at novel According to a new survey,

less than 25% of people in the North East would choose

a traditional church funeral and Each fire work is filled with

gunpowder and the ashes a Txneside woman who wanted to go out with

a bang. The man responsible

for the event is Carl Marlow, He says more and more peopld are

opting for wicker and cardboard An alternative funeral is jtst

reflecting the individual, depending You don't have to spend

a lot to have a good funeral, it's So have we turned our backs on

the traditional church funeral with According to a survey by thd

Co`operative funeral care, 33% would like a humanist or non religious

ceremony whereas only 22% of people in the North East want a tr`ditional

church service for their send`off. The rest were either undecided

or hadn't thought about it. We are celebrating the life that is

gone rather than thinking, `s some people do and as we did long ago, of

their future destiny and whdre we I'm waiting

for a recycling binbag my hdight! You need to be put

in a proper coffin, otherwise it's I don't want it to have to

be expensive for the family. I've told them

a cardboard coffin will do le fine. More and more it seems we'rd

choosing to link our life style with death style, selecting a send

off that reflects our personality. They're in the process of moving

around 1700 animals from a Cumbrian rescue centre but staff havd been

held up by a surprise discovery ` The sanctuary at Wetheriggs

near Penrith is relocating to But

the tiny new arrival means there'll have to be some re`organisation

as Mark McAlindon reports. They say never work with chhldren or

animals and this tiny baby leerkat has certainly caused Easter here ``

a stir. We discover they had had a single baby so we had to put it off

for a couple of weeks. It's such a cute little thing. Meerkats are

great. Hundreds of animals `re still to make the move to the new home but

now the meerkat community whll have to be among the last. They seem to

be getting used to the new fame The new arrival has become a media

sensation but what is truly remarkable is the behaviour of the

mum. She keeps picking the baby up and putting it down for the best

possible view. They work hard to raise babies, which is the focal

point of any group of meerk`ts. That is all of their jobs. They don't

make good pets. That is how we've ended up with a lot of them. The

only thing missing now is a name. Surely coming up with something

should be simples! We'll kick off with the

Premier League. Newcastle will still be bottom of

the table after the weekend as they And like the Magpies,

Sunderland are still looking But it'll be tough

against a high flying Swansda side. It's been a frustrating start to

the season for the Sunderland boss. His team could have won

the majority of the five le`gue Instead, he's witnessed four draws

and a defeat which have left the Black Cats in the bottom fotr but

Gus Poyet isn't too concerndd yet. Is if we were losing begins badly,

then it would be worrying and we would be searching for changes. I

think we're very close. We have one chance. I don't think it's time to

worry. And with Swansea just outside the

top four, the Black Cats will be An impressive performance from

Will Buckley last week means he s likely to play tomorrow and Poyet

says he won't hesitate to drop players who aren't performing no

matter who they are. They definitely need to raise their

game. I do not care what thdir name is or what age they are. I just kill

about the team. `` care abott the team. You need to be the best.

The most in`form of our six leading clubs is Middlesbrough,

fifth in the Championship and a whisker away from knocking Liverpool

out of the League Cup after that amazing penalty shoot`out.

But the Boro boss has a sobering message for fans

Middlesbrough may have lost at Anfield but he was brimming with

trade afterwords. But after three straight wins, everyone is `lready

talking as a promotion is a given. Now we have to keep our feet on the

ground. Everybody is enjoying it and I am the first one to do so, but I

had to repeat to everybody that the game was amazing for the melories

and the future, but now we have to go in tomorrow. Tomorrow's game at

Charlton, it might be less glamorous but not any easier. I'm surd it will

be a more difficult game th`n Liverpool. It is a team which is

unbeaten in seven or eight games. They are doing very well. Hd might

make a few changes after assessing tired limbs at a training sdssion at

lunch time. Carisle take on Tranmere at

Brunton Park tomorrow, when new manager Keith Curle will begin

the task of lifting the Cumbrians He didn't pick the team at Lansfield

last week, but gave a half`time pep talk which almost saw United sneak

a point, after being 3`0 down. In their position, Carlisle will

need that sort of fighting spirit. As a player, I would say yes. I m a

confident person. I believe in my philosophy and how we want the game

played. Have I got an error of aggression? Yes. I don't good tool

to talk with people I don't need to, but I will stand my ground when I

need to. Even a win won't lift Carlisle

from the foot of League Two, because they're four points behind

second`bottom Hartlepool, who are at home to Portsmouth, having taken

Middlesbrough's under`21 captain York, who are only a couple

of points ahead of Pools, And in Scottish League Two,

Berwick are away at Queen's Park. And promotion`chasing

York City Knights will reach rugby league's Championship One Grand

Final if they can beat Gateshead's It's three years since they were

the new kids on the block, but The university`based team,

with one of the youngest sqtads in the British Basketball Ldague,

begin their campaign in Sheffield tonight, with their first home match

in Newton Aycliffe on Sundax. They might not be able to boast the

trophy halls of Newcastle E`gles, but Durham Wildcats have a success

story of their own. They have become play`off contenders. Is a top eight

finish realistic this season? We'll do it again and do it better. Last

year was the start but it's not where we want to finish. We want to

get deeper into the play`offs and the cups every week. The mahnstay in

the squad is the 38`year`old captain and assistant coach. You have to

take time off in the summer but I try to keep myself in shape. I think

I'm in good shape. We want to keep building each season. We have gotten

better over the three years and that is our goal this year, to m`ke an

improvement over last year `nd get into the play`offs again. Hot off

the plane from Texas, is a new signing. He is a little

underdressed! I did come with any gear but my team`mates let le borrow

their jackets so it was cool! It is called here compared to when I'm

used to. John is relishing ` fresh challenge. What brought you to year

look `` Europe? A connection through my coaches. That's how I ended up

over here. I want to continte playing basketball and conthnue

studying. Durham ended their season whth

defeat at Warwickshire yestdrday, but they have confirmed that John

Hastings will be back next season. Yorkshire just managed to overcome

Somerset. They finished top and other were fifth `` Durham.

Now let's get the weather. The sun setting over Northumberland. Plenty

of sunshine this weekend. There will be a few showers as well. This

evening and overnight, it is dry and clear in the north`east. Not a bad

night for stargazing. The nhghts are getting longer. Cloudy in the West,

possibly with showers in Culbria by dawn. Temperatures don't fall too

low, maybe seven or eight Cdlsius. First thing tomorrow, some sunshine

for North Yorkshire and the north`east. Scrappy cloud coming and

going over Cumbria and the Borders. We could see isolated showers.

Through the afternoon, most places are dry and fine at 17 Celshus, not

bad for the end of September. There will be generally light, westerly

winds.