30/12/2016 Look North (North East and Cumbria)

The daughter of a Tyneside man killed by a drink driver has spoken

56-year-old Gavin Bolam was hit in Hebburn

by a driver who'd shared six bottles of wine in a nearby pub.

Ahead of New Year's Eve, police are warning people

I was woken up by the telephone ringing.

The guy on the other end said he was a PC from Northumbria Police

and said that my dad had been involved

in a serious road traffic incident.

So I asked the officer how bad my dad was and he said

that he regretted to have to tell me that my dad hadn't survived.

Kelly Bolam took this nightmare telephone call

Her father Gavin was killed by 39-year-old drunk driver Alan Hale,

who mounted the pavement in his Mercedes, hit Gavin,

didn't stop, and then collided with other cars before

He was later jailed for six years, but Gavin's family now have

You can't help but be angry because that was his choice to go

out that night to drink as much as he drank and then get behind

Because he made that choice, he took my dad's life away from him.

Kelly is speaking out in the hope that other families might be spared

For Northumbria Police, this grim story is all too familiar

It had an absolutely devastating effect on the family.

Kelly might appear that she is altogether now but I can tell

I have to do things like what the family liaison officer

had to do for Kelly, knock on the door and give them that

This is what we don't want to happen again.

Damian O'Neill, BBC Look North, Newcastle.

Meanwhile, North Yorkshire Police have received more than 70 tip offs

about bad behaviour from motorists under "Operation Spartan"

where people can report cases of bad driving

The force says some drivers reported for being distracted

by gadgets or technology could face prosecution.

An online fundraising appeal for the family of baby triplets -

after their mother's death has passed

Rachel Park from Whitehaven died on Tuesday - having just

spent her first Christmas at home - with her three girls.

Police say her death's unexplained - but not suspicious.

As you may have seen on the national news,

the New Year Honours List has been announced.

Northumbria's Police and Crime Commissioner Vera Baird

becomes a Dame for services to women and equality.

Among others honoured are Newcastle Eagles basketball

player Fabulous Flournoy who gets the MBE.

There'll be more on tomorrow's Look North.

She's been singing all her life but this weekend Susan Robertson,

an opera singer from Teesside, will be seen around the world.

After 27 years of teaching others to sing,

she's been given the starring role at this year's New Year's Day

Rehearsing for the biggest role of her life,

this Sunday, Susan Robertson from Wynyard, will be

the star at London's famous New Year's Day parade.

The event, seen here on a previous year, has a worldwide audience

With Susan this year singing the all-important national anthem

and a rousing rendition of Rule Britannia.

For years and years, I've watched things like the rugby

on television and watched people sing God Save The Queen

at the beginning of national events and I've always thought,

wouldn't it be lovely to do something like that.

So, to be asked to do that, it's just wonderful.

Susan, who's been a singing teacher for 27 years,

was talent spotted for the role while singing at a friend's wedding.

A performance which was to impress a very important guest.

A chap just tapped me on the shoulder and said would I go

It's a chap called Bob Rawls who, apparently, organises

So, in that moment, I didn't realise who he was.

I, sort of, said to him, that might be nice.

So, for this north-east singer, the start to 2017

A performance of a lifetime, it'll be watched by millions

In tonight's football, in the Championship

Newcastle got back to winning ways by beating Nottingham Forest

A good end to 2016 for Hartlepool as well.

And in Rugby Union, Newcastle Falcons lost at home

Let's see what the weather holds in store now for New Year's Eve.

Hello there. Good evening.

It's going to be a fairly cloudy night

and quite mild through the night to night, as well.

We will see a few patches is of drizzly rain across Cumbria,

further east there may even be some clear skies so we could even see

the odd patch of mist and some frost in places.

On the whole, it's a mild and breezy night with temperatures dipping down

For New Year's Eve, then, it's a dry start to the day, on the whole.

The cloud will break to give some sunny spells but later

into the afternoon we're keeping an eye on this band of rain.

Temperatures tomorrow will reach a high of ten or 11 degrees.

As we approach midnight, that band of rain is going to sink

gradually southwards so, for many others, it looks

like New Year's Day is going to start off on a fairly wet note

but parts of Northumberland will actually be dry

and clear by the time the clock strikes midnight.

Into New Year's Day, it's a much colder day that it

should be dry and bright with spells of sunshine.

Gerry Jackson is here with Look North tomorrow.

Good evening. Looking ahead to 2017 it looks like we will start off on a

cold note. This weather front will move south in the next day or so

bringing rain with it, but also much colder air following a lull behind.

It will sweep the fog away. It's grey for some places this