21/04/2017 Look North (North East and Cumbria)

Welcome to Friday's Look North. news teams where you are.

Tonight: The former Middlesbrough and England footballer,

Ugo Ehiogu, dies aged just 44, after suffering a cardiac arrest.

Out in the cold - why this former Soviet spy says he's facing a life

And the millionth robotic lawnmower rolls off the production line

In sport, tributes will be paid to Ugo Ehioghu before

And can Rafa Benitez expect any favours from Newcastle's promotion

rivals this weekend, ahead of the Magpies'

First tonight, the former Middlesbrough and England

footballer, Ugo Ehiogu, has died at the age of 44,

He collapsed yesterday, while on the training ground

of Tottenham Hotspur, where he'd been coaching

He died in the early hours of this morning.

Boro chairman and owner, Steve Gibson, called Ehiogu

"one of our heroes" for the part he played in helping the club

win its first major honour - the Carling Cup - in 2004.

Gerry Jackson is live at the Riverside Ground now for us.

It is one thing to lose a gifted sports man or woman before their

time but perhaps even more poignant to lose someone so suddenly, that

has played a key part in shaping some of your best memories of your

football club, for example. Ugo Ehiogu will most certainly be

forever and fondly linked to Middlesbrough's days.

It was Boro's finest hour in just one of the reasons that Ugo Ehiogu

The club paid a then record ?8 million for the already seasoned

He was soon to form a legendary defensive partnership

Today, fans found themselves drawn back here to pay tribute

He was a big fella and he could tackle as well.

I turned on the phone this morning and breaking news is he has died...

How can someone so fit, 44, younger than me, and I'm thinking...

Many others paid tribute on social media platforms today,

and the club chairman, Steve Gibson, said...

If Southgate had not been captain, he would have had

He went out every time and you could see that,

every time you step on our pitch he went out to win.

He was a winner, through and through.

Back to that Carling cup final, and neutrals may have forgotten,

Because Middlesbrough might never have written that glorious chapter

if Ugo had not made a crucial intervention in the dying moments.

Right near the end, he stopped a goal ball...

There was a bit of suspicion of handball, but we will forget that.

Just typical of the man, and it had to be Ugo that would get

He was totally dedicated, a real professional,

and a great character, so absolutely what you need to...

Somebody to pass on those sort of traits to younger players.

Ugo's former boss, Steve McClaren, said...

And today another clue to the character of the man

Ugo's final tweet, seen and shared by thousands of fans, old and new.

Tonight, Gareth Southgate, who won two league cups with Ugo, described

him as a gentleman, a credit to football and a credit to his family

and he will be missed by everyone lucky enough to know him.

Middlesbrough's under 23 team are holding a minute of silence today

before their game with Newcastle, and there will be a minute of

applause before the Premier League game in Bournemouth tomorrow. Back

to you. Prison chiefs are investigating

after footage was released of disgraced footballer

Adam Johnson in jail. The former Sunderland and England

midfielder was sentenced to six years in March 2016,

for grooming and for sexual activity The video, published

by The Sun newspaper, shows 29-year-old Johnson apparently

talking to other inmates at Moorland jail about his child sex abuse

case and his victim. A soldier - who's charged

with murdering his ex-girlfriend by cutting her throat -

has admitted he was "obsessive", Lance Corporal Trimaan Dhillon

denies murdering Alice Ruggles after breaking into her flat

in Gateshead last October. His trial at Newcastle Crown Court

heard how he made three round trips of 240 miles from his barracks

to Tyneside and back He admitted it was obsessive

behaviour, but said he didn t Criminal charges against a Teesside

butcher, at the centre of an E-coli outbreak two years ago,

are to be dropped. 15 people were affected,

and it was linked to Stockton Council brought criminal

charges against the firm, but following a review,

the council says the case is "extremely complex" and it's

decided not to continue He's a former Soviet Cold War spy,

who, in recent years, Victor Makarov spent 13 years

as a member of the KGB before he was arrested on suspicion

of selling secrets to the British. He was sent to a Russian labour

camp, before eventually making it to this country,

with the help of MI6. But now he says he's

facing a life of poverty, Victor Makarov lives

alone in a small flat He claims his life has been ruined

by the security services Because they suspect me

of being an enemy agent. He joined the KGB in

1975 and the age of 20. He grew disillusioned

with the Soviet regime After suspicions were raised,

he was put in a labour camp When there is no dignity,

there is no strength. He never admitted to

being a double agent In 1992, MI6 helped

him come to Britain. After that, he says,

he was abandoned. A legal battle with the British

Government resulted in him The BBC filmed him in 2005,

40 days into a hunger strike outside He wanted to be classed

as a defector and given a pension. Back then, an historian

and intelligence expert vouched I think Victor did pass valuable

information to the British, because not a great deal

of information had come to either the United States or Great Britain

dealing with 12 years on, his benefits have been

cut by 40% and he is now He has applied for all kinds

of jobs, including refuse collector. I have not received any answer,

any reply from my application. I could have, ironically,

worked as a benefit fraud investigator, but, again,

I was... He suspects the security services

are thwarting his attempts to find work, and thinks they have been

inside his home. The people penetrate into your home

and check something, So you feel they have been looking

into your home here? When was the last time that

happened, do you think? So, what do the security services

make of his allegations? You probably won't be surprised

to hear that MI5 and MI6 don't have But we were advised to get in touch

with the Foreign Office We heard back and were told this

is an intelligence issue Could Viktor Makarov's past work

have made him overly suspicious? This former spy struggles

on with his financial problems He says the people of

Haltwhistle have helped him. It's just three days

since the starting gun was fired on a general election,

but, already, speculation is growing about how the political map may

change across our region. One of the hottest contests

is expected in the Labour seat of Middlesbrough South

and East Cleveland, where the party is defending a majority

of just 2,000 against Our political correspondent

Luke Walton has been Guisborough - a market town

since medieval times and a place where political control has a habit

of changing hands. It's part of a constituency that's

been Labour for the last 20 years, Now the current labour

MP is standing down, blaming irreconcilable differences

with Jeremy Corbyn - a decision that's not gone

unnoticed by voters. He's a loser.

He's a loser. You have only got

to look at their... We have been Labour all our lives,

but a Jeremy Corbyn, when I hear what he's saying

and I watch on television, He is a breath of fresh

air for the politics. He is straightforward,

a regular guy. I mean, you know, the other

establishment, you know, they are all, kind of,

it's all a bit too complex and a bit Pitching the right product,

whether yellow, red or blue, is as important for political

parties as it is for market traders. For Theresa May the promise

is a strong Brexit - for some of her opponents,

a break with austerity. So, what is the issue that will seal

the deal with voters? The EU is obviously the most

important at the present moment, and a strong Government

is going to get the country Working people get tax

taken off them a lot for people who don't work,

and I just think that With the evidence of the EU

referendum and recent by-elections, this is an electorate increasingly

keen to shop around - a challenge for politicians, then,

as they set out their stall More on that - and the rest

of the week's political news - on Sunday Politics at the later time

of 3.15 on Sunday afternoon. The weekend's sports news

with Mark Tulip coming up shortly. Also, we visit the County Durham

factory that's produced Where the weekend looks mostly dry

with the risk of overnight frost and next week April showers could turn

wintry, join me for the full forecast later. Back to politics

now. The four candidates competing to be

the first Mayor of the Tees Valley have clashed over the economy,

transport, and even whether or not They came face-to-face with each

other, and local voters, in a BBC debate last night,

ahead of the election Our political editor, Richard Moss,

was the man in the middle, Cases are going to be brought

against a number of... Four candidates going for one job -

under examination from an audience of voters wanting answers

on everything from job creation to public transport,

and even whether there should Especially as Ukip candidate

John Tennant says he'll hold a referendum on whether to abolish

the post and the Tees Valley combined authority of

councils if he wins. He's the only man I've known

in all of my long life involved in politics who has said,

please vote for me, and if I am If I was not standing

for election in this election, there wouldn't be the offer

of a referendum on the Tees Valley The point being that there

is so much voter apathy out there about the combined authority,

nobody is interested in it. Give us a referendum and let

the people have their say, and I think you will find it

would be overwhelmingly that we do not want a mayor

and we don't want this devolution. The fact is that it is not possible

to have a referendum, The second thing, I was not

going to turn down an opportunity to create jobs, bring

infrastructure, build houses and actually create a better

place for people to live. By delivering this deal,

we've got up to ?450 million additional that can be leveraged

against private investment. I will be leveraging against,

for example, the Teesside pension fund and contributing

towards mass investment. We are talking about a fund of well

north of ?0.5 billion that And another pledge

led to another clash. The Conservative candidate's promise

that he hopes to revive Durham Tees Valley Airport by buying

it from a private company and I am really shocked that you say

the state can't pick a winner, so why is he trying

to buy an airport? What we do about the current owners

who are not interested in running Teesside airport as an airport,

and are currently holding all five Teesside airport will not be

here in five years... If we run out of money,

there will be no money left. I think the most important thing is,

as regards to the airport, as mentioned already,

it needs infrastructure around it. We need stability for people

to get there and it I would not buy an airport

that is losing ?2 million a year and pass that debt onto every single

one of you. I will invest in the airport

and turn it into the thriving international gateway that we should

have in the Tees Valley. The one thing that is stopping us

having the thriving airport that we need is the recent decision

by the Labour-controlled Darlington Borough Council to give planning

permission for 350 houses right next That decision has to be

reversed if the airport The race to become the Tees

Valley Mayor has less Richard Moss,

BBC Look North in Middlesbrough. The millionth robotic lawnmower has

left the production line Husqvarna UK makes the automatic

garden machine at its Up to 3,000 a day can be

manufactured in peak season, and it's a product so popular it

helps to support more Our business correspondent,

Ian Reeve, reports. They may be working very hard here,

but it's work tinged with irony, because what's made in this

Newton Aycliffe factory It's a robotic lawnmower, under

development for the last 22 years, made in County Durham since 2006,

and enthusiasm for the product In 2006, when the product

was actually transferred to the UK, in that first year we produced

11,000 products in the full year. As we stand at the moment,

we are actually producing more So this season we are expecting

to produce around 400,000 products, and today we are celebrating

the production of our 75 new jobs have recently

been created here, Hundreds more are taken

on for the summer season, and we haven't yet reached

peak lawn. In terms of the growth

of the market, we have actually seen over the past few years a 20%

increase in volume from So, obviously, our challenge

is basically to make sure we have enough capacity here on site to be

able to actually keep Greg is a beneficiary

of the urge to be idle. He's been an apprentice, is doing

a degree, and sees his future here. There's many, many

projects coming along. I mean, it's, like,

20% growth year on year, so the job security here is great

for myself and for the guys here. Long, then, may our own inertia

and indolence keep Greg, and over 1,000 more here,

in useful industry. Ian Reeve, BBC Look North,

Newton Aycliffe. If you missed our top story, the

incredibly sad news... Shocking news, and the world of

football was not expecting it at such an early age.

Middlesbrough's Premier League opponents Bournemouth have confirmed

there'll be a minute's applause ahead of tomorrow's game

at the Vitality Stadium to honour ex-Boro favourite Ugo Ehioghu,

Fans at the Riverside will be able to pay their respects on Wednesday

By then, Sunderland, who have the weekend off, could be

Boro, though, still believe they can pull off their own

January signing Rudy Gestede will return to Bournemouth tomorrow,

43 matches after his goal for Aston Villa saw him last taste

His new boss is hoping the striker's and Boro's luck is about to return.

Rudy has been a good striker since day one.

He is a top professional and works ever so hard every day.

He is always asking for extra work on whatever part of his game

he needs to improve on, and, yeah, so Rudy is fully focused,

Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe, touted as a future England boss,

knows his side are nearly safe, despite a recent blip.

He has brought the club from the lower divisions

and they've established themselves in the Premier League,

which we all know is very, very difficult.

It is where we were finding out with our first season back in,

and obviously through coming through the division,

They're going through a bit of a tough patch as well,

and Steve Agnew will be looking to capitalise on that, really.

The Sunderland game is the one, isn't it?

That is the game in hand that is giving all Boro fans hope

But you've got to get the points on the board.

These next two matches, now, are vital for the survival hopes.

Newcastle United's wafer-thin hopes of winning the Championship

title will end tonight, if leaders Brighton win at Norwich.

But the far bigger prize, of course, is automatic promotion,

which could be secured as early as Monday's home game

against Preston, if rivals Hudderfield, who've played a game

Newcastle's slack display in Monday's 3-1 defeat at Ipswich

provoked a bad case of the jitters amongst fans around Tyneside,

but the mood was to change in a heartbeat later that evening,

thanks to Derby's late equaliser against Newcastle's main

It meant, by the end of the day, United's odds of going

It might end up that everything is fine and we go up.

In six months' time, nobody will remember if we win

games, it's just if we are promoted that is the target.

Benitez is quick to point to out that in the last four years only one

relegated team has been promoted automatically at the first attempt.

If Huddersfield only manage a draw at home to in-form Fulham tomorrow,

a win against Preston at St James' Park under the lights

on Monday will be enough for Newcastle to all but seal

promotion, thanks to a vastly superior goal difference over both

the Terriers and third-placed Reading.

But with just two wins in the last eight, are Newcastle

My message from the first training session this week

was the same, to our players - concentrate on our job -

keep doing well like we did against Leeds and then

if we play at this level, we can beat anyone.

So it's just so simple, that it depends on us.

There's mixed news on the injury front -

ham-strung striker Dwight Gayle's not ready, but Ciaran Clark,

who's been sorely missed at the heart of Newcastle's

defence, could return after resuming training.

In League Two, it's turning out to be one of the tightest

races for the promotion play-offs in years.

Carlisle will hope to get back into the top seven

with victory at Crawley, while third-bottom Hartlepool,

who we featured last night, may need three points against Barnet

Commentary on Radio Cumbria and BBC Tees.

Darlington supporters attending tonight's fans forum will hear how

the club plans to deal with the fall-out from its failure

to meet ground criteria regarding the number of covered

It means the Quakers will be denied a National League play-off place,

It's been a happier week for South Shields, who will be

promoted after winning the Northern League Division One

title, helped by their ex-Boro and Sunderland star Julio Arca

The Mariners have still got an FA Vase final at Wembley to look

forward to as well as two other cup finals.

A few weeks ago, we sat there setting a target for the lads,

putting almost a blank canvas in the dressing room and we just

said, you go and fill it with your performances.

So we are obviously getting closer to the date now.

We have got a league game and two cup finals to cement their places

With just a week to go until the start of the Tour de

Yorkshire cycle race, preparations are under way

Decorations have been put up in some towns and villages ,

The first stage - from Bridlington to Scarborough

via the North York Moors - takes place next Friday,

with tens of thousands of spectators expected to line the route.

Finally, in division one of cricket's County Championship...

Hampshire had made 281-4 in the first innings against Yorkshire when

bad lighting stopped play and similar problems for Durham in

division two. Gloucestershire on 265-7 at Bristol, when play ended.

Now let's find out what else is coming, is it's no?

The S word has been mentioned but not tropical over the weekend.

Whether pictures to show you, April weather pictures. One of those

hopeful misty, spring mornings, thank you to Gary for the lovely

photograph. Further east, Northumberland coast, beach cuts at

Amble getting ready for summer. Before we get to summer, we have a

bit more winter to deal with over the coming few days. The weekend

itself should be mostly dry, but night-time is with a touch of Frost.

Heading into next week, some April showers and a bit of a wintry

flavour to them. This evening, a lot of cloud around and still a bit of

rain around as well. Rain slowly drifting away southwards, cod

becoming more broken in the West. Eventually some of those gaps in

Cloud will appear in Easter areas as well. Lighter winds and clearer

skies, coldest temperatures. Hanging onto Cloud in South and east, lows

of nine and six or seven Celsius further north and west. Two or three

Celsius is enough for a ground frost in the tail end of the night. A cold

start in places tomorrow. Looks like a fine and dry day. The remains of

that cloud attending to break up through the morning. Most places

seeing good sunny spells developing through the day. It should be just

about right with the risk of an odd passing shower and the exception

rather than the rule. Despite the sunshine, temperatures nothing to

write home about. Exposed to northerly breeze, nine or 10 Celsius

at best. In shelter, highs in part of Cumbria around 12 Celsius, which

is 54 Fahrenheit. That is the picture as we head into the weekend.

Still high pressure sitting out to the west of the UK, dominating the

charts. This weather system comes close to us from the North on

Sunday, but it is that cold front we are watching as we had through

Monday and Tuesday, introducing cold I northerly wind and showers coming

down on that wind, as I say, could be wintry at times. They will be all

colder through Monday and Tuesday. To sum up the weekend, tomorrow

mostly dry and highs were sheltered from breezes around 12 Celsius, and

a cold night tomorrow night with widespread frost, and a similar sort

of day for Sunday. Temperature recovering slightly at highs of 14

Celsius, and most places seeing brightness, but it will tend to

court over in the north. Worried about was wintry showers? Those

first few nights can up-to-date with latest forecasts on the BBC weather

app and of course, as ever, we will keep you posted on your BBC local

radio station. Always the BBC weather website to keep up-to-date.

Thank you, Paul. Wintry showers, it will not lie?

It might in the hills. We look forward to that. That is it for

another week. Have a great weekend and we will see you again on Monday.

Bye-bye.