20/04/2017 Look North (North East and Cumbria)

Hello, welcome to Thursday's Look North.

Tonight: Forced to live in bare and unfurnished houses.

16 months after Storm Desmond tore through parts of Cumbria -

more than 300 families still have nowhere to call home.

I sometimes go to the swimming baths so I can get a shower, or go to

someone else's house for dinner, sometimes I get paid. -- I get a

bed. Town centre traders who refused

to pay a business levy because they claim it

doesn't help them. How a bid to see the largest number

of people dancing at one time, Brendan Foster announces his

retirement after nearly 40 years Staying with sport, I've been

with the Boro head coach Steve Agnew ahead of two of the biggest games

of the season. And we ask a former Premier League

boss whether he can prevent another of the region's clubs dropping out

of the Football League They're the images many people

in Cumbria will never forget. And almost a year and a half

after the floods of Storm Desmond, nearly 300 householders

in the county are still Others have been forced to return

to bare and unfurnished property because insurance companies will no

longer pay for temporary Some say it's left them

feeling stressed and ill. Cold, bare houses with the comforts

of home stripped out were a common sight in the weeks

after Storm Desmond...except this is Debbie Kirsopp's Carlisle terrace

in April 2017, 16 months on. But I needed to get home, because my

rent that the insurance was paying has stopped, and I couldn't afford

to pay a mortgage and rent as well, so I have had to come home and make

the best of a bad job. Debbie tells me she's struggled

with constant headaches, high blood pressure,

the frustration of not knowing when she'll stop living

rough in her own home. I sometimes go to the swimming baths

so I can get a shower in the morning. Apple will maybe go to

somebody's house for IT, my brother or my mother, anyone that will have

me that has got a shower. Sometimes I will get eight read there as well,

so it's a bit more comfortable. Cases like Debbie's leave some

to fear the real numbers of those still out of their homes after storm

desmond are higher We are seeing unbelievable problems

with people trying to manage that sort of experience on top of being

flooded originally, so at the moment they are not coping well at all.

Entre expedients, we're looking at probably a minimum of two years

before they agree to be home. Tash before and they will be home.

Another is Ann Hume, who's riverside cottage

After floods 12--years ago, her insurance leapt to ?1,000

She's now relying on the goodwill of friends.

At which point it will be well overrated even have since you were

flooded. I thought I'd be back within six or seven months, but it's

been over a year now, so we've got to fight on and see what I can do

myself. returned home after the latest

floods is better than in the past - but that's little consolation

to those still waiting. And Mark is in our Carlisle

newsroom tonight. Is there one single,

biggest reason why some people There are a number of reasons, I

don't think there's one you could point out and say the single biggest

cause. In many cases, work has not been completed and people's homes,

which kicks away. Some may have got better accommodation as a result of

the floods and may prefer to stay there. Some do have problems with

insurance and and conflict with builders. Then the raised this

question and you have praised tonight that some insurance payments

for rents have stopped and that has forced people back into homes that

have not been finished. The Association Of British Insurers

denies that is a widespread problem and wants to see the figures on

that. We're not saying it's a lot of people, but the problem is there.

The bottom line is that some people are likely to face a wait of two

years before they are back in their homes.

Tough times ahead. Thanks very much for that.

A soldier - accused of the murder of his ex-girlfriend -

has told a court that a knife slit her throat as he tried

Lance Corporal Trimaan Dhillon told Newcastle Crown Court he'd gone

to Alice Ruggles' flat in Gateshead in October last year,

She'd ended their relationship after discovering he was cheating on her.

Lance corporal Trimaan Dhillon told the court he had gone to see Alice

Ruggles the day she died, because he wanted to get his belongings back.

But he told the court that after searching for his things, he went to

leave her flat in Gateshead, but found Alice holding a carving knife.

Trimaan Dhillon described a struggle in which Abbas lost consciousness

and dropped the knife. The defendant said that when Alice came he told

her she was -- he was going to meet another woman that night. He said

this infuriated Alice and she grabbed the knife and came towards

him. He said he tried to defend himself with his arm and this sent

the knife across her throat. Alice fell to the floor and the defendant

said he had to remove the knife from her neck. He said, this was the

point where I held the knife on my chest and the initial thought was to

stab myself. Trimaan Dhillon said panic stopped him for bringing the

help. He told the court that Alice had been violent to him and accused

him of looking at other women, ending the relationship went she

found out he had been unfaithful. The prosecution alleged that Trimaan

Dhillon had been stalking Alice Ruggles, but he told the court he

had turned up at her house and unannounced just weeks before her

death because he thought she was testing him. The defendant admitted

hacking Alice Ruggles's Facebook account to find out if she was

seeing other people, because that would be the last role for their

relationship. Tomorrow, he will be cross examined by the prosecution.

The MP for Blaydon, Dave Anderson, is the latest to announce he'll NOT

be standing as a Labour candidate in the General Election.

He's served in Parliament for 12 years but says he's "reluctantly"

decided to stand down for reasons of health, age and his

He says he'll be campaigning hard with the new candidate,

and the policy platform put forward by Jeremy Corbyn.

Plans to sell off Northumberland County Council headquarters

for housing have collapsed after the developer -

Police have named the victim of a fire as Teresa Boreham.

Plans to sell off Northumberland County Council headquarters

for housing have collapsed after the developer -

The council had approved proposals for shops,

a school and two hundred houses on its County Hall site.

A council spokesman said it: "remained committed to progressing

The John Lewis store is to close its distribution centre in Carlisle.

The depot in the city's Kingmoor Park Industrial estate

The firm blamed "changing shopping habits" for the decision,

which will see around 30 jobs being lost.

A group of Hexham traders have been fined by magistrates after refusing

The Hexham Business Improvement District is designed to boost

the town's economy - it's paid for by charging traders

But more than a hundred firms have refused to pay it -

saying the new scheme won't help them.

And today Northumberland Council took them to court.

Our Correspondent Mark Denten is in Hexham tonight.

Listing two lives, that the objective of this business

improvement district. But it's been controversial in this town. It's

divided traders and today, it all ended up in court.

All small business owners from Hexham.

Today, they were heading for a courtroom instead,

because they have all refused to pay a new business charge in the town.

They say it simply won't help them, so today, they were summoned

It feels like a bullying tactic, actually.

I don't really want to be here and away from my

At the heart of this row, Hexham's Business Improvement District -

it's a scheme to boost the economy and the town.

But it's also an extra charge for businesses on top

Northumberland Council says 89% of it has been paid

by other traders in Hexham, but not these ones.

There was then an extraordinary stand-off for an hour and a half.

The usher of the court wanted the traders come

They refused unless they could come in all together.

Eventually, the traders were allowed into the courtroom together.

They were each given liability orders of ?185 for the original

Basically, what it means is that the council insist we owe

them the money and they sent a liability order off,

which gives us a certain amount of time to pay the liability order.

And if that's not the case, they will send debt collectors in.

So you are prepared to see debt collectors come round, are you?

If that's how far the council want to take it, then I'm afraid so.

Northumberland Council says it has taken the traders

to court with regret, but the Business Improvement

District in Hexham has already generated ?102,000 to boost

Now, it's not just any waltz - it's a Teesside waltz.

The traders have 14 days to pay the fines, but one footnote to this,

some of those traders in court today have invoiced the council themselves

by the time they say they have lost attending court today and PCB will

pursue their claims as vigorously as the council has pursued bears. We'll

follow that with interest. This might get you up on your feet.

Now, it's not just any waltz - it's a Teesside waltz.

And now volunteers are being asked to help set a world record

for the largest number of people up and dancing at the same time.

To make history, the organisers need more than 3,000

people to step forward in Saltburn next month.

But, as Peter Harris found, it has a more serious purpose as well.

In a rehearsal room in Middlesbrough, they are preparing

to waltz their way into the record books.

Organised by Age UK Teesside, it's about more than just dancing.

We wanted to raise the issue about loneliness and isolation

It's not just at Christmas, it's all year round.

And taking the first step to engage in the community can be difficult

for a lot of people, so using the waltz was taking

The current waltzing record was set in Bosnia in 2010.

Saltburn's attempt to smash it has attracted the backing

We're going to take the world-record back from Bosnia, back to the Boro.

Now, in order to beat the world record, they will

need 1,510 couples - that's obviously more

than 3,000 people - to do this for five minutes

I'm finding this harder than it looks.

Those signed up for the seafront plans include 96-year-old war

veteran Eddie Straight and then there 87-year-old Netta.

How does it make you feel when you dance?

I don't think age has anything to do with it.

Age UK's world record waltz attempt takes place in Saltburn on May 19th.

Plenty more to come on Thursday's Look North.

And Harrogate Flower Show gets underway, with visitors asked

Will the weather impress? Tomorrow looks mostly cloudy. Join me later

for the full forecast. Just ahead of the sport with Mark -

news that Brendan Foster is to leave his post as the BBC's

athletics commentator One of the best-known voices

on the box, Brendan - the founder, of course,

of the Great North Run - turned to TV when his own career

on the track ended, back in 1980. I caught up with him

before he headed off to cover his final London Marathon,

this weekend. Leaving the BBC commentary box

after the World Athletics Championships will be a bit

of a wrench, but actually, You sometimes have to know

when the time is before they bump you off and say,

that's no good, wait till you make some error in the commentary,

which I have done many, many times. How did you become

a commentator, then? Was it something you thought

about while you were running? I was running in 1980

in the Olympics, my last Olympics, And I was disappointed

with my performance And then Alan Hart, head

of BBC Sport said to me, would you like to stay on and come

into the commentary box? So I then was in Moscow with

the British Olympics Association, and I said, the BBC have asked me

to stay on and do And they said, "Oh,

that's fantastic." They said, "You are here with

the British Olympic Association. You now go home to London and get

on a plane and come back I said, no, I'll just go across,

they'll pay my accommodation, But I was told, you have

to go home first. So I got on an aeroplane and then

and promised Alan Hart that when I got to London,

I'd ring him and tell him what I was going to do,

and I rang back and said, So my first commentary would have

been the Coe/Ovett 1980 Olympic You also shared the commentary

box with Steve Cram. He retired and we joined together

in the commentary box. And we often have a little comment

or two about Newcastle and Sunderland, which has been

in his favour for the last couple of years, but I might give a little

mention in my last London Marathon Your last Great North Run as well,

you'll be commentating on. A couple of years ago, they had

Mo Farah, Haile Gebrselassie And at one point, I was commentating

and they were running past Gateshead Stadium,

and I thought, I never thought I'd see the day when three

of the greatest distance runners of all time are running together

in a race we conceived many years ago, next to the stadium

where my own athletic career was. So I probably should

have resigned that day, So is there anything

left in your career that When Newcastle get promoted,

maybe I should come on Team Talk and give you my proper analysis

of the match, with bias. You should be careful what you wish

for, Brendan. As one for the boss. Was he misty eyed? No. Some football

news. The Middlesbrough head coach

Steve Agnew has confirmed that midfielder Grant Leadbitter

and goalkeeper Victor Valdes will be side-lined for Saturday's crucial

Premier League game at Bournemouth due to hamstring and rib injuries

respectively, although defender Agnew's been given the task

of making the Teessiders a more potent attacking force but,

although they're creating more chances they still haven't won

a league game this year. It's difficult to actually put your

finger on why it has not gone in. I think what we can do is continue to

put the ball into dangerous areas, work on numbers into the box, work

on various different ways of scoring a goal. That final touch is

something that we'd like to see more frequent.

No Middlesbrough OR Sunderland players in the PFA Premier

But promotion-chasing Newcastle do have three members of their first

team squad in the Championship team voted for by the Professional

No surprise that striker Dwight Gayle and midfielder

Also included - despite recent criticism about his form -

defender and captain Jamal Lascelles.

The Magpies take on Preston at St James's on Monday.

And Carlisle midfielder Nicky Adams is named in the League Two team.

Now at the wrong end of League Two, Hartlepool United are scrapping

against relegation for the FIFTH season in a row.

Pools are just one point above the drop zone

And do Pools have enough to save themselves from dropping out

It wasn't just the result but the manner of the defeat.

Three days ago, Pools lost 2-1 at rock bottom Leyton Orient.

This is a dogfight. How much do you want it? How much are you wanting to

make sure we stay in this division and we then can go on and build? I'm

not used to it, I don't like it, because if it doesn't, there are no

good to you. What we did on Monday as to hurt us.

They've three games to give relegation the brush off -

starting with Barnet at home on Saturday.

Admission prices for the match have been slashed.

None of the players want to be in this situation, with all fighting to

get out of it. None of the fans want to be in it either. We it in our

hands to make our fans happy and make sure things are done right on

the pitch, because we have let yourself down for quite a bit of the

season. Since

they fell out of League One in 2013, Hartlepool have found themselves

in a seemingly perpetual Why does this keep happening at

Hartlepool? If I had that answer from the start, I it from day one.

You have to look at it, work at it, change it. We're trying to change

that culture. Keep all the good things, make sure you keep them and

develop them and grow them and add the things that are hopefully not

going to get you to where -- are hopefully going to get you to where

you want to be. And still in the Football League

next season would be a good start. The former Newcastle United player,

the late Gary Speed, has been inducted into

the National Football The ex-Wales captain and manager,

who died six years ago, receives the award posthumously

for his dedication to the game. He made 285 appearances for

the Magpies between 1998 and 2004. Before the weather -

thousands of people have been heading to North Yorkshire

for the first day of Yes, they've been treated

to eye-popping displays And if there's a plant

you fancy, chances are There is only one phrase for it,

blooming marvellous. The Harrogate Spring Flower Show

really cocks a snook at the winter with a gorgeous

celebration of what is to come on They say florals are in fashion,

so how about these leafy waistcoats? And specially for this show,

these amazing floral costumes Some of them take about

three months to make. I had to do this one in a hurry,

because this is actually meant to be the York Rose,

and I was actually doing the stamens at about four o'clock the night

before we left. This was one of the short garden

plots last week, just look at It is to be a memorial garden

for the Royal Logistic Corps. The military wives

choir was on hand to fill this can template

of space with music. The forestry

displays are inspiring. Thousands have enjoyed

them today and will Time for the weather now. I heard we

had some nice weather somewhere in Northumberland today.

Yes, some unexpected sunshine today, but there was a real split, as

displayed by our viewers. This was the Cumbrian coast, but the

Northumberland coast that are plenty of blue sky and sunshine and 18

Celsius this afternoon. Tomorrow, I don't it will be quite as much

sunshine. Cloudy skies and a few spots of rain, breezy as well. In

routine now and then, we have some bright spells, but the cloud will be

thick enough for light patchy rain and drizzle, especially in the West.

Temperatures will not drop any lower than about eight or nine Celsius

during the night. Tomorrow, a little brightness and eastern areas, but

that will tend to feed through the day as the weather fronts sink

slowly southwards. The temperature is just a bit cooler than they were

today, picking tomorrow at about 14 Celsius, maybe 15 in somewhere like

Whitby. The breeze could be quite brisk at times. Things will turn

cleaner and cold out tomorrow night. Into Saturday, high pressure starts

to build again, so we should have the fine, dry day for most of us on

Saturday. This weather front will bring thicker cloud and patchy rain

in and a breezy feel for Sunday. Temperatures mid-teens at best.

Quite a breezy day on Friday. After a cold night tomorrow night,

Saturday looks essentially dry and bright, but a bit cooler. It will

still feel quite warm when you add in the sunshine. Another cold night,

and then a fine, dry start. Clouding over during the day, some rain at

times, that westerly breeze picking up again. Overnight at the weekend,

temperatures will be cold enough for some frost in places. Chilly over

the night-time. Frost? I've just put new plants in!

We'll be back at half past ten, join us then.

In two weeks' time, voters will be choosing the first directly elected

Later tonight from Middlesbrough on BBC One, we'll be hearing

from the four candidates who want this job.

And they'll be facing questions from an audience of local people

from across the area that they are seeking to represent.

Now, public awareness of this job is probably pretty

limited at the moment, because it's new.

But they will have millions upon millions of pounds to spend

on a series of powers, over the likes of housing,

So, if you want to find out what impact that person might have

on your life and who you might want to do the job, then join me

me Richard Moss later tonight after Late Look North at 10.45

on BBC One, as we debate who should be the first mayor