:00:00. > :00:00.Hello and welcome to Wednesday's Look North.
:00:00. > :00:00.Tonight: Our MPs describe events at Westminster from the Houses
:00:00. > :00:08.Also coming up: The charities struggling to survive
:00:09. > :00:19.A government report says 16 road projects should be
:00:20. > :00:25.Will the A1 upgrade in Northumberland be one of them?
:00:26. > :00:28.Snow hits towns and villages across the North.
:00:29. > :00:30.Roads are closed and travel is disrupted.
:00:31. > :00:35.And why we're being urged to stop paving over our front gardens.
:00:36. > :00:37.In sport: An eight goal thriller as Wembley-bound York City
:00:38. > :00:40.And the bikes without brakes are back!
:00:41. > :00:56.We look at what the new speedway season has in store.
:00:57. > :01:00.Some of the North's MPs have been describing events at Westminster,
:01:01. > :01:08.The Houses of Parliament were put into lockdown shortly after events
:01:09. > :01:16.began to unfold just before 2.45pm this afternoon.
:01:17. > :01:19.So far we know a police officer and three other people
:01:20. > :01:23.MPs were kept inside Parliament following the attack and have
:01:24. > :01:29.been talking to the BBC about what they saw and heard.
:01:30. > :01:38.On my way around the building I have kind of come across the view out of
:01:39. > :01:43.some stairs looking down across Westminster Bridge, where there is
:01:44. > :01:46.quite obviously ambulance staff and police officers. As I was moving
:01:47. > :01:50.from one part of the building to another I heard a lot of shouting
:01:51. > :01:58.and I gather that there were armed police officers within the confines
:01:59. > :02:01.of the building running around, but, you know, irony can't tell you much
:02:02. > :02:07.that I witnessed myself other than looking across Westminster Bridge
:02:08. > :02:09.from one of the stairwells where it is quite obvious that there is
:02:10. > :02:18.police and Ambulance Service personnel attending to people. We
:02:19. > :02:23.were in a meeting of Liberal Democrat peers and we could hear
:02:24. > :02:26.shouting going on outside which was obviously police officers shouting
:02:27. > :02:32.instructions to each other and at that point the House of Commons
:02:33. > :02:34.sitting was suspended. My main concern is for the people who have
:02:35. > :02:43.been killed or injured in various parts. You worry that somebody
:02:44. > :02:47.somewhere is going to get injured but I am reasonably confident that
:02:48. > :02:52.we have good procedures in operation to keep people are safe as possible.
:02:53. > :02:56.We have been marshalled around various parts of the building as
:02:57. > :03:01.they have been clearing the building and searching it, sweeping it. We
:03:02. > :03:06.have just left, the group I am with has just left Westminster Hall. They
:03:07. > :03:10.have taken us across Westminster, which is completely eerie and scary
:03:11. > :03:16.empty, and we are now being taken into Westminster Abbey where
:03:17. > :03:22.everybody will be individually processed and, given that is 3000
:03:23. > :03:27.staff and 1000 Lords and 250 -- 650 MPs, I think we're probably going to
:03:28. > :03:32.be if most of the night. We're on our way to go and vote and we heard
:03:33. > :03:36.a shot. I think that wasn't particularly the moment that you
:03:37. > :03:40.realise that there is something up, it is more that when there is a
:03:41. > :03:44.stream of people streaming towards the chamber and then they'll start
:03:45. > :03:48.streaming back again. Terrible incident in what must be one of the
:03:49. > :03:53.most secure locations in the country. Yes, you walk around
:03:54. > :03:58.Parliament and UC smiling and very reassuring characters, officers in
:03:59. > :04:03.your -- uniform, with guns. I think the obvious thing to say is that the
:04:04. > :04:07.police did a stunning job with the way they reacted so swiftly. Just
:04:08. > :04:11.immensely impressive and they were so brave, unbelievably brave and
:04:12. > :04:18.obviously the officer who has been attacked himself is the ultimate
:04:19. > :04:19.example of that bravery. Other news here this evening.
:04:20. > :04:22.Charities in some of the poorest parts of our region are facing
:04:23. > :04:25.a struggle to survive because their public funding has
:04:26. > :04:27.That's the finding of research from Durham University
:04:28. > :04:30.which analysed the financial health of more than 3,000 voluntary bodies.
:04:31. > :04:32.It found those in low income areas were more
:04:33. > :04:35.dependent on council support, but that help is being cut.
:04:36. > :04:39.Our Political Correspondent Luke Walton reports.
:04:40. > :04:41.Prince William at Centrepoint in Sunderland in 2013.
:04:42. > :04:44.The charity helps homeless young people.
:04:45. > :04:48.But four years on, it faces the closure of hostels
:04:49. > :04:51.like this one after it lost local authority funding.
:04:52. > :04:53.The city council has to make big savings,
:04:54. > :04:57.and says it's setting up a new service for the homeless.
:04:58. > :05:00.But the plight of this good cause reflects a wider problem.
:05:01. > :05:04.Durham University studied thousands of charities across the north.
:05:05. > :05:06.It found those in the poorest 20% of neighbourhoods were twice
:05:07. > :05:13.as likely to be financially weak than those in the richest.
:05:14. > :05:16.Three out of ten medium-sized charities in poor areas reported
:05:17. > :05:24.The main reason for that is that they are reliant upon money
:05:25. > :05:26.from either from national government, government departments,
:05:27. > :05:32.or from local authorities or health authorities locally.
:05:33. > :05:34.They are reliant on those, quite often the bigger charities
:05:35. > :05:36.in particular for contracts in medium-sized
:05:37. > :05:42.This furniture project in Gateshead distributes donated items
:05:43. > :05:48.It still gets a council grant but says rising demand
:05:49. > :05:54.We have more and more people coming into us,
:05:55. > :05:57.people who a few years ago probably would never have thought of having
:05:58. > :05:59.to come to a furniture project to furnish their homes.
:06:00. > :06:01.Some of these families are families who are working.
:06:02. > :06:07.The charity has started a separate online business
:06:08. > :06:12.I think lots of charities now are looking at ways
:06:13. > :06:18.I think it is a sign of the times you have to look to subsidise
:06:19. > :06:22.Fundraising may be part of the solution, but many charities
:06:23. > :06:27.have only limited opportunity to generate income.
:06:28. > :06:30.This organisation encourages charitable giving, linking
:06:31. > :06:36.But it says more can be done to get help where its needed.
:06:37. > :06:41.Some of these organisations in less well-off parts of the community
:06:42. > :06:44.are perhaps a bit shyer about going to some of the big
:06:45. > :06:48.national funders and that is where an organisation like ourselves,
:06:49. > :06:50.which has great strong connections to grassroots organisations
:06:51. > :06:53.can perhaps help to build some of those connections.
:06:54. > :06:58.The Big Society, with its emphasis on the voluntary sector,
:06:59. > :07:05.was a favourite theme of the last Prime Minister, David Cameron.
:07:06. > :07:09.But researchers say charities are more important than ever.
:07:10. > :07:11.The Big Society rhetoric never caught on as well as
:07:12. > :07:20.I think we are very lucky in this country to have an extremely
:07:21. > :07:22.strong civil society, but it can't work entirely
:07:23. > :07:24.on its own mettle, it needs support from the government,
:07:25. > :07:27.it needs support from foundations to keep it going.
:07:28. > :07:29.Their help and their handiwork is vital to some of the most
:07:30. > :07:38.But charities will need more of our backing too if that
:07:39. > :07:48.Luke, just how serious is the pressure on our charities?
:07:49. > :07:52.But these findings also show a mixed picture, with many charities
:07:53. > :07:56.The research says the sector as a whole has been very resilient
:07:57. > :08:00.and that it continues to make a huge contribution.
:08:01. > :08:02.For example, charities employ more than 37,000 people
:08:03. > :08:08.But clearly there are a significant number that are struggling,
:08:09. > :08:11.and some charities complain they spend so much time
:08:12. > :08:13.fundraising that it leaves less time to do good work.
:08:14. > :08:16.This squeeze comes at a time when charities are being asked
:08:17. > :08:21.We see more cases of local authorities saying they can't afford
:08:22. > :08:23.to run services like libraries and leisure centres,
:08:24. > :08:25.and giving volunteers the chance to take them over.
:08:26. > :08:27.We've reported in the last few weeks that Newcastle council
:08:28. > :08:29.is considering transferring all its parks and allotments
:08:30. > :08:35.The worry is that this only increases competition
:08:36. > :08:38.between charities for a limited pot of charitable money and that
:08:39. > :08:49.will make these funding pressures even more intense.
:08:50. > :08:52.It was announced in a blaze of publicity four years ago.
:08:53. > :08:55.Former Prime Minister David Cameron stood by the side of the A1
:08:56. > :09:02.in Northumberland and announced the road would be dualled.
:09:03. > :09:04.Communities have waited for decades for that work to start,
:09:05. > :09:07.but tonight there are new questions over the scheme.
:09:08. > :09:09.A Government report says 16 road projects announced in 2014 should be
:09:10. > :09:13.But officials won't say if the A1 upgrade is one
:09:14. > :09:16.Well, our News Correspondent joins us live beside the A1
:09:17. > :09:42.We are on a bridge over the road and somewhere 40 miles in that direction
:09:43. > :09:47.is Morpeth. The scheme would see a dual carriageway A1 southbound from
:09:48. > :09:54.here and 17 miles in the opposite direction. There was a blaze of
:09:55. > :09:58.publicity in December 2014 and the then Prime Minister, David Cameron,
:09:59. > :10:03.with the obligatory high vis jacket just a few miles from here came to
:10:04. > :10:07.see what was happening and also to launch those plans. Very exciting at
:10:08. > :10:10.the time but it is fair to say also that there was an element in local
:10:11. > :10:15.communities that they would believe it when they saw it and I met up
:10:16. > :10:18.with David Cameron four years ago and I have this question for them.
:10:19. > :10:21.This is not, to be clear, unpickable, there's no way this can
:10:22. > :10:24.I think it would be very difficult for anyone to stop this.
:10:25. > :10:27.The green light has been given, the money has been made available,
:10:28. > :10:32.It is there for many years to come and woe betide any politician trying
:10:33. > :10:38.to stop the great green light that has been given today.
:10:39. > :10:45.That is a pretty strong reassurance. Why does it now seem in doubt?
:10:46. > :10:49.This is because of a report that came out today from the National
:10:50. > :10:54.Audit Office which is the government 's spending watchdog. The report
:10:55. > :10:58.says that highways England had recommended that 16 of those schemes
:10:59. > :11:03.that were announced in 2014 should be cancelled or delayed, or they
:11:04. > :11:08.should be reviewed. Here is the problem. Not the National Audit
:11:09. > :11:12.Office, or the Department for Transport or highways England, none
:11:13. > :11:16.of those organisations will tell us which of those 16 schemes are
:11:17. > :11:19.actually under threat. The Department for Transport have told
:11:20. > :11:23.me today that highways England will be reviewing the schemes and
:11:24. > :11:27.reviewing them for cost and effectiveness and there is no plan
:11:28. > :11:31.to actually scrapped a complete scheme. The reality is we will not
:11:32. > :11:37.know fully until June when highways England produced a detailed plan of
:11:38. > :11:38.what is actually happening. Decades of uncertainty and it looks like
:11:39. > :11:42.more to come. Thank you. Northumbria Police say a man
:11:43. > :11:45.and a woman have been arrested after two young children were taken
:11:46. > :11:47.from outside a Newcastle school. The five-year-old girl
:11:48. > :11:49.and a two-year-old boy were picked-up by a female relative
:11:50. > :11:52.outside a school in West Denton After an investigation the children
:11:53. > :11:55.were found at a house later in the afternoon,
:11:56. > :11:57.safe and well. They're now being returned
:11:58. > :12:02.to their foster parents. The owners of a North Yorkshire care
:12:03. > :12:05.home where an elderly resident died after jumping from a second floor
:12:06. > :12:08.window have said there were no Dora Strickland, who was 90,
:12:09. > :12:12.jumped from the window at Red Lodge At York Crown Court today
:12:13. > :12:18.the Joseph Rowntree Housing Trust said assessments by a doctor gave no
:12:19. > :12:20.indication Mrs Strickland was suicidal and there was no
:12:21. > :12:23.evidence to change her care. In Cumbria three recommendations
:12:24. > :12:35.have been made by county councillors With the lambing season underway,
:12:36. > :12:37.North Yorkshire Police are leading a national initiative that
:12:38. > :12:40.could lead to a tightening up of the law against dog
:12:41. > :12:42.attacks on livestock. Since September 2013 there have been
:12:43. > :12:45.325 such attacks in the county, with around 30 sheep killed
:12:46. > :12:48.in a single incident just last week. Now the police force want
:12:49. > :12:51.to modernise the law on dog attacks, Attacks on livestock can be
:12:52. > :12:55.devastating and costly North Yorkshire Police have joined
:12:56. > :13:00.up with Sheep Watch UK and the Animal Health And Welfare
:13:01. > :13:02.Board to investigate They will then present a report
:13:03. > :13:07.to the government in the shape of the all-party parliamentary group
:13:08. > :13:10.for animal welfare The powers of seizure,
:13:11. > :13:13.the powers of entry, the way that we deal with people,
:13:14. > :13:18.they are reflected in the Acts that came about in 1953
:13:19. > :13:20.and we are looking for In relationship to the penalties
:13:21. > :13:26.that the act concerns as well, it doesn't reflect
:13:27. > :13:28.the type of livestock. We have some quite expensive
:13:29. > :13:30.livestock and the penalties, the maximum fine for it would be
:13:31. > :13:33.?1,000 which in some respects doesn't reflect the value
:13:34. > :13:36.of the livestock. What we're asking is for people
:13:37. > :13:40.to report, have the trust in us to report these matters
:13:41. > :13:42.to North Yorkshire Police and other surrounding police forces
:13:43. > :13:46.because it is important that we get a national collation in relation
:13:47. > :13:49.to incidents so we can report that Judith Skilbeck Farms near Thirsk
:13:50. > :13:53.and she says there have been horrendous attacks just
:13:54. > :13:55.in her immediate area. This valley has been quite badly
:13:56. > :13:59.hit one way or another. We have the Cleveland Way walks
:14:00. > :14:01.right up through the valley and so you get a lot of people
:14:02. > :14:05.coming through with dogs and not everybody respects the fact
:14:06. > :14:08.that there is stock in the fields and when they go through
:14:09. > :14:11.the fields they can just be It may just be one that they pull
:14:12. > :14:15.down, but then I've also seen cases where they've chased them
:14:16. > :14:18.into a corner and they've maybe only pulled one down but, in fact,
:14:19. > :14:22.I know of a case locally where just this week there was about 30
:14:23. > :14:26.of them suffocated. If they all get huddled
:14:27. > :14:30.into a corner they just pile on top of each other and they actually
:14:31. > :14:32.suffocate each other because they are just
:14:33. > :14:33.panicking so much. This initiative is expected
:14:34. > :14:36.to last around six months, with an initial report going back
:14:37. > :14:44.to MPs in September. Still to come on Wednesday's
:14:45. > :14:46.Look North: Dawn Thewlis joins me with Wednesday's
:14:47. > :14:48.sports news shortly. Also why there's a move to green
:14:49. > :15:04.up our grey gardens. There is some good news for
:15:05. > :15:07.gardeners as things turned drier and brighter over the next few days but
:15:08. > :15:09.you have to be prepared for some chilly nights. Join me later for the
:15:10. > :15:20.full forecast. Winter returned with a vengeance
:15:21. > :15:23.this morning, at least in some In Cumbria, County Durham
:15:24. > :15:26.and the North Pennines especially roads were closed and journeys
:15:27. > :15:29.disrupted by some of the most If it came as a shock to you,
:15:30. > :15:36.how do you think they felt? On the higher ground
:15:37. > :15:38.across the region, Parts of the M6 were amongst
:15:39. > :15:45.the worst affected routes, with long The A66 was closed between Brough
:15:46. > :15:52.and Bowes, and further East, as was the Kirkstone Pass and Corney
:15:53. > :15:54.Fell. The A68 here at Castleside
:15:55. > :16:02.in County Durham was cordoned off. At Blanchland and Slaley
:16:03. > :16:12.in Northumberland, school buses For many it was a morning
:16:13. > :16:16.of disruption and Well, we were going to Otterburn
:16:17. > :16:22.but we have had to cancel that. As you can see from our ages,
:16:23. > :16:26.in our youth we experienced Do you think we make too
:16:27. > :16:34.much of the odd inch? It was a bit snowy, the village
:16:35. > :16:41.was completely white when I got up at 6:30am,
:16:42. > :16:44.but it seems to be We had a couple of staff
:16:45. > :16:47.who couldn't get through this morning, but everyone is clearing up
:16:48. > :16:50.and getting on with it. We live out here, work out here,
:16:51. > :16:53.we just get on with it. Well, it's been six years
:16:54. > :16:56.since we had anything like a severe winter and you might have thought
:16:57. > :16:59.you'd seen the back of this one but, as any of the farmers around
:17:00. > :17:02.here could tell you, some of the harshest conditions,
:17:03. > :17:04.including snow, can But from those who remember many
:17:05. > :17:14.a worse day than this, So, the days are getting longer
:17:15. > :17:34.again and at the weekend we'll be No excuse then to ignore
:17:35. > :17:37.the garden any more. And in North Yorkshire a timely
:17:38. > :17:40.campaign has been launched By that, they mean putting
:17:41. > :17:43.plants wherever you can, With more cars on the road
:17:44. > :17:49.there is pressure on parking, but paving front gardens can
:17:50. > :17:51.contribute to flooding and pollution, so a campaign has been
:17:52. > :17:54.launched to do things differently. Here is a possible solution,
:17:55. > :17:57.laid out by the Royal Horticultural Society
:17:58. > :17:58.at Harlow Carr Gardens in Harrogate. Over the last ten years more
:17:59. > :18:03.and more people have been paving over their front gardens
:18:04. > :18:06.and in Yorkshire and Humber we know that 19% more front gardens
:18:07. > :18:08.are now being paved over As well as looking more grey
:18:09. > :18:12.it is actually not a great space for natural habitats and also
:18:13. > :18:15.was not very good in terms of creating flooding issues
:18:16. > :18:17.and water management. The first thing is to know
:18:18. > :18:20.that there is paving and paving. This limestone aggregate is sitting
:18:21. > :18:25.on a porous membrane underneath so water can drain
:18:26. > :18:28.through it into the soil beneath. Not into drains
:18:29. > :18:31.are causing flooding. This gutter shield still does
:18:32. > :18:34.the job, but it helps the whole place look like a garden rather
:18:35. > :18:36.than a car park. Other tips include planting
:18:37. > :18:39.in the awkward corners. They provide somewhere
:18:40. > :18:48.for the birds. We are looking at how we can add
:18:49. > :18:52.more containers to every garden, window boxes, containers,
:18:53. > :18:58.and then keep changing the displays. It adds interest to all of our lives
:18:59. > :19:01.walking through a street Green space is proven
:19:02. > :19:04.to reduce pollution, improve air quality,
:19:05. > :19:06.so every little bit helps. A pretty front garden adds kerb
:19:07. > :19:10.appeal and value to houses, but then so does a parking space,
:19:11. > :19:15.so a garden combining the two really County Durham schoolchildren
:19:16. > :19:24.are being encouraged to get their families involved
:19:25. > :19:27.in an exercise programme which offers rewards
:19:28. > :19:31.for exploring their home towns Beat the Street is an activity
:19:32. > :19:37.using smart cards which are swiped against electronic boxes installed
:19:38. > :19:39.on lamp-posts at various locations. This week the activity
:19:40. > :19:42.is centred on Ferryhill, where local children have been
:19:43. > :19:48.practising at school. The way it works is that we will be
:19:49. > :19:51.giving cards to adults in the community as well as fobs
:19:52. > :19:55.to children in schools, who are then encouraged to use those fobs
:19:56. > :19:57.and cards to tap on boxes When they tap the lamp post they get
:19:58. > :20:02.ten points and points make prizes so the more boxes they tap,
:20:03. > :20:18.the more travelling they do We only had skipping ropes and
:20:19. > :20:20.roller-skates! Shall be stop there? Shoving our age!
:20:21. > :20:22.Gateshead remain in the National League play-off zone
:20:23. > :20:24.after extending their unbeaten run to nine games last night,
:20:25. > :20:27.And in the basement battle an impressive comeback
:20:28. > :20:30.from York City saw them pull off a dramatic victory against bottom
:20:31. > :20:35.club Southport, in an eight goal thriller at Bootham Crescent.
:20:36. > :20:39.York hoping their FA Trophy success could be the catalyst
:20:40. > :20:45.And it was the Minstermen who took the lead after just four minutes,
:20:46. > :20:51.But Southport responded with two goals in the space of a minute.
:20:52. > :20:53.Louis Almond curling in the equaliser before Rory McKeown
:20:54. > :20:58.fired in from 30 yards to give the visitors the advantage.
:20:59. > :21:01.When Almond's second of the night took the score to 3-1,
:21:02. > :21:04.it looked like it might be game over for York, but in first-half injury
:21:05. > :21:07.time Vadaine Oliver's header gave them renewed hope.
:21:08. > :21:10.John Parkin's deserved equaliser provided a platform for Gary Mills
:21:11. > :21:15.side to step up a gear and Parkin turned provider for Amari Morgan
:21:16. > :21:22.And Parkin wasn't finished, heading in Sam Muggleton's long
:21:23. > :21:27.throw to bag all three points and close the gap on Torquay who're
:21:28. > :21:32.With a game in hand Gary Mills could have the momentum he now needs
:21:33. > :21:38.At the other end of the table Gateshead remain in the play-off
:21:39. > :21:41.positions after picking up a point against Guiseley.
:21:42. > :21:46.Against the run of play the West Yorkshire side took
:21:47. > :21:48.the lead courtesy of Jake Lawlor, but after the break break
:21:49. > :21:51.Wesley York made the most of a mistake from former Carlisle
:21:52. > :21:54.man Derek Asamoah to send the equaliser into the top corner
:21:55. > :22:00.The new speedway season is already underway,
:22:01. > :22:02.with Berwick Bandits the first of the region's four teams
:22:03. > :22:04.to take to the track for what is, remarkably,
:22:05. > :22:08.The Bandits, along with Newcastle Diamonds,
:22:09. > :22:11.Redcar Bears and Workington Comets, will race in the renamed Speedway GB
:22:12. > :22:16.And for two of our clubs it's been a winter of change,
:22:17. > :22:25.The bikes are turning over once again, as they tend
:22:26. > :22:30.But more than a decade after bringing the sport
:22:31. > :22:32.back to his local track, a familiar name is
:22:33. > :22:46.He did a sterling job in Redcar in the last few years and kept us in
:22:47. > :22:51.the league and kept it running but he has decided to step down in the
:22:52. > :22:54.director has asked me to get involved and I have been running the
:22:55. > :22:55.junior side speedway and the directors think I can do a great job
:22:56. > :22:57.and hopefully I will them right. Back in 1992, Brian Havelock's son,
:22:58. > :23:00.Gary, was crowned World Champion. His career cut short
:23:01. > :23:03.by this dreadful crash Now Gary, from Yarm,
:23:04. > :23:10.is back in the region, but as team manager of the new-look
:23:11. > :23:17.Berwick Bandits. Speedway clubs come and go and yet
:23:18. > :23:23.Berwick have been going for 50 years. What is it about speedway
:23:24. > :23:26.here? We don't have big shopping complexes and cinemas and things
:23:27. > :23:31.like that, our primary form of entertainment on Saturday night is
:23:32. > :23:34.speedway. We have a lot of areas around us in the Borders where
:23:35. > :23:37.people travel from and we're lucky to have a lot of those towns that
:23:38. > :23:38.are very enthusiastic about the speedway.
:23:39. > :23:40.Workington look to have pulled-off one of the best signings
:23:41. > :23:42.of the close season, bringing Whitehaven-born Craig Cook,
:23:43. > :23:44.a former National League and Premier League Riders' Champion,
:23:45. > :23:49.back home to West Cumbria after eight years away.
:23:50. > :23:56.It has been a long time coming to come back and work here. It is a
:23:57. > :24:03.fantastic track and a track I love to ride and nobody ever wants to be
:24:04. > :24:06.away from their home club and to be back and Captain and leading them in
:24:07. > :24:07.the backlit is really exciting times for me.
:24:08. > :24:10.And if the Comets think they can challenge for honours this season
:24:11. > :24:20.We have got two of Britain's most exciting and best young riders and
:24:21. > :24:22.to keep both of them was a tremendous achievement really. We
:24:23. > :24:29.had those two top British riders to lead the way back to a very good
:24:30. > :24:30.squad. For all of our clubs, let us hope for a productive and injury
:24:31. > :24:33.free season. Teesside's Paul Drinkhall has been
:24:34. > :24:35.named in the England squad for the World Championships
:24:36. > :24:38.in Dusseldorf at the end of May. Drinkhall and two other members
:24:39. > :24:42.of the squad won team bronze last year and reached the Olympic
:24:43. > :24:57.quarterfinal of the team Now it is time for the weather.
:24:58. > :25:01.Our weekly of the snow now, do we think? It is getting better. And
:25:02. > :25:05.improving situation. It couldn't be much worse after this morning! It
:25:06. > :25:09.was a fairly miserable day to day. With the rain and the sleek and the
:25:10. > :25:13.snow earlier on today at to rain for most places as the day went on and
:25:14. > :25:17.we have gradually seen an improvement over the next day or so.
:25:18. > :25:28.There is still plenty of rain around tonight but the next few days will
:25:29. > :25:31.see things drying up nicely and we see some good sunny spells by day.
:25:32. > :25:34.It is still cold enough for a touch of frost overnight, even as we had
:25:35. > :25:37.through the weekend and next week. This evening a lot of cloud and
:25:38. > :25:40.still outbreaks of rain and a bit of hill snow around it. It is mostly on
:25:41. > :25:42.the very tops of the hills this evening and overnight. The rain
:25:43. > :25:45.tends to be a bit more intermittent but it will not die away completely
:25:46. > :25:49.as we head into tomorrow morning. Temperatures drop down to three or
:25:50. > :25:54.four and it will feel cold wet you are exposed to the wind. Not the
:25:55. > :25:57.most promising start tomorrow with a lot of cloud around and some rain
:25:58. > :26:02.but the ranger Peter out fairly quickly through the morning and the
:26:03. > :26:05.cloud will lift them break and essentially by lunchtime there is a
:26:06. > :26:10.nice and sunny picture across the region with quite a change. With the
:26:11. > :26:15.sunshine temperatures will lift just about into double figures and in the
:26:16. > :26:19.west we see 11 degrees. It will feel a bit cooler, especially in the
:26:20. > :26:23.east, as we still have quite a brisk and fresh wind coming off the North
:26:24. > :26:27.Sea. It will be eight or nine near the north-east coast and it will
:26:28. > :26:31.feel fresher. A much quieter spell of weather as we head towards the
:26:32. > :26:36.weekend. I pressure builds and it quiet and is the weather down. The
:26:37. > :26:40.ridge of high pressure stays over the top of us as we had through the
:26:41. > :26:47.weekend and probably into the next working week as well. It will keep
:26:48. > :26:51.us mostly dry as we had through Friday. Still an easterly breeze
:26:52. > :26:54.there and not feeling tropically warm, I don't think, but when you
:26:55. > :27:00.get a bit of brightness it should feel quite pleasant with
:27:01. > :27:03.temperatures up to 11 or 12. That is 54 Fahrenheit. This weekend more the
:27:04. > :27:07.same and the winds are light on Saturday with not a lot of cloud
:27:08. > :27:13.around at all underneath the high pressure. Plenty of blue sky,
:27:14. > :27:17.sunshine and highs of 14. It is another fine and dry day for most of
:27:18. > :27:21.us on Sunday. Perhaps a bit more clout than similar temperatures and
:27:22. > :27:26.light winds but in between times cold enough for maybe a touch of
:27:27. > :27:30.Frost through the weekend at night. That is a nice looking weekend.
:27:31. > :27:35.Thank you very much. I should have checked this of course, but I think
:27:36. > :27:38.it is Steph with us tonight. I believe it is, yes. That is it
:27:39. > :27:45.from us tonight. Goodbye.