25/01/2017 Look North (North East and Cumbria)

Northumbria University has been fined ?400,000

after two students nearly died taking part in an experiment.

Alex Rossetto and Luke Parkin, who were both sports science

students, were mistakenly given enough caffeine for 300

Our News Correspondent Mark Denten reports.

This was an experiment that had been done many times before,

The volunteer students were given caffeine,

they then exercised and the effect on the body was measured.

On the 23rd of March, 2015, something went badly wrong

We were told in court they should have had 0.32 grams

of caffeine but were actually given 100 times that, 30.7

grams of caffeine which is equal to 300 cups.

On the left-hand side of the screen, you can see the spoon, this is how

And on the right-hand side that pile is the amount

The court was told it had an immediate physical effect,

it was highly toxic, they had palpitations,

blurred vision, they also vomited and went to hospital.

One of the students ended up in intensive care and also

on dialysis to remove all of the caffeine from their system.

Fining Northumbria University ?400,000, the judge said

the university had inadequate training and supervision in this

case and outside court, the Health and Safety Executive

who brought this case gave their reaction...

University completely failed to control the risks during these

experiments and two young students fell seriously ill and in

intensive care in hospital for a number of nights.

In other reported cases, persons have died after taking doses

which were far less than those administered to the two students.

All organisations engaging experiments where people are given

chemical substances should ensure the risks fully identified

and strict procedures are followed to ensure that the experiments can

The court heard only their youth and their fitness saved the lives

Northumbria University s Vice Chancellor was not in court today

but left without speaking to the press.

The university has issued a statement tonight saying

it is genuinely sorry for what happened to the two

students and this was an isolated incident and the welfare of staff

One footnote to all this, the two students both graduated

and are both back to full fitness and one of them took a Masters

Police have released CCTV footage of the moments an arson attack

caused a fire to rip through a pub in Newcastle, while the landlord

A window was smashed at The Jubilee in Fawdon in the early

hours of Sunday morning, and accelerant was poured inside,

Officers say it's fortunate nobody was killed.

The real worrying thing is that the family of the licensee

were in bed above the pub, in the accommodation above the pub.

Obviously, they're really quite shaken by what has gone on.

Had one of them not woken up as a result of the sound

of the breaking glass, this could have been a real tragedy

and I think it has really shaken the family up quite badly

and they are thinking about what could have been,

A Hartlepool man accused of the brutal murder of a pensioner

has been giving evidence in his defence today.

The body of Norma Bell was found in her burned out home last April.

Garreth Dack told Teesside Crown Court she was a "wonderful woman"

and denied having anything to do with her death.

caring for over 50 children during her lifetime.

Norma Bell was found dead at her home in Westbourne Road

is accused of using little cables to strangle her inside the home.

He is accused of setting several fires inside the property

and turning on the gas hob, hoping an explosion

Gareth Dack denied calling a soft porn TV station from her landline

The jury heard he sold drugs and was an occasional cocaine user.

Today he spoke in his defence and said he had known the women

for a number of years and lived just down the road from work

and described her as a wonderful woman and in the past had

He had borrowed money from her and had fixed

He spoke at the shock of being arrested and said

he did not expect for one moment to be charged with murder.

The prosecution asked them why he responded, no comment,

Why should I make their job easier, he replied.

Norma Bell's injuries were read out by the prosecution.

Northumbria Police say 25 victims have come forward since they started

investigating allegations of sexual abuse in sport.

The force says it relates to eight suspects across nine different

sporting clubs including Newcastle United and Sunderland's

The police are urging anyone who hasn't come

Most visits to patients at the Cumberland Infirmary

in Carlisle have been suspended as staff try to tackle a continuing

The Trust which runs the hospital says the virus

which causes it is dangerous for vulnerable patients.

People are being asked not to visit until further notice -

with the exception of maternity, children's, intensive care

The Conservative Party has selected its candidate to fight

the parliamentary by-election in Copeland in West Cumbria.

It's Trudy Harrison, who's a married mum of four from Bootle.

The by-election will take place on February the 23rd.

Fifteen months on from the closure of the Thai company SSI's blast

furnace and steel works on Teesside, the task force set up to deal

with the aftermath of the closure has revealed new figures showing

The majority of former workers are no longer claiming benefits,

and over three hundred new businesses have either been set

up by former steelworkers or are in the planning.

Our Business Correspondent Ian Reeve reports.

It was an event - more than a year ago -

After 170 years of iron and steel-making, the end,

as SSI's Redcar blast furnace was shut down.

But the unemployment fall-out has been less than expected.

So, today, of the 2,150 people who claimed benefits in the wake

of the 2015 closure, 2,107 no longer are.

And also revealed today, a staggering 248 businesses have

80 more are in the pipeline, thanks to help from the task force

Businesses like Matthew's Middlesbrough-based truck training

and haulage company, built up to a fleet of 26

We cannot believe how well it is gone.

By the middle of February we will have ten people working

for us who used to be working in the steelworks.

Many love it, they are earning more than they did at the steelworks.

So tonight, in Redcar, there's another task force event

offering advice for former steelworkers who might

want to emulate Matthew and work for themselves.

Or for those now in work but who want something better.

About 60% of people are taking a significant drop in their wages

and they ask us to help them to really step up to a better job,

and what we want to do now is to work with people

so that they can make that step up and get a better job

This event then for those planning a life after steel...

But there is, it appears, still life in steel.

British Steel, which sprang out of Tata's unloved

long products division, including here at Lackenby

on Teesside, said today that after seven months of independence,

Maybe steel is starting to take centre stage on Teesside once more.

It's a priceless piece of silver which for 125 years has taken

pride of place at one of our best known museums.

Now though, the famous silver swan at the Bowes Museum

in Barnard Castle is taking flight and heading to the Science Museum

The swan will feature in a new exhibition there -

The swan will be back though, in time for Easter.

Time for the weather now with Paul Mooney.

Lovely sunshine today, but it's turning bitterly cold...

Yes, cold is a word you will hear several times, temperatures dipping

to freezing under clear spies dashed clear spells. A widespread frost,

cloud thickening through the night, it may bring wintry flurry dashed

flurries and one or two snow drifts running the risk of icy patches.

Temperatures down to minus two Celsius. Tomorrow, cold and cloudy

from many places, a a few breaks in the cloud, we will see afternoon

temperatures reaching three Celsius at best. Elsewhere, the number is

struggling to get much above freezing and with the brisk south

easterly wind, it really will feel bitterly cold tomorrow. A cold

nights to Roy Knight as well, we are heading towards the weekend before

any significant change, a cold day on Friday and the weekends he's more

cloud and the winds tending south-westerly with temperatures

slightly recovering. Friday, cold and cloudy, a south-easterly wind,

temperatures slightly up on Thursday, highs of four or five

Celsius. The weekend sees a slight improvement in temperatures, some

showers, but mostly dry and bright on Sunday. A chilly summary.

take a look at the Outlook towards the weekend.

Good evening. If you think it was cold today, for many it will be

colder still tomorrow. Cold even when we have the sunshine today.

This was one of the wonderful weather watcher pictures we had sent

in from Cornwall. It contrasts with a cloudy and foggy eastern half of

the country, and a bank of cloud. Still foggy, but it is starting to

lift. It is being pushed north and west, this bank of cloud. That will

continue through the night. We will still have some fog sitting on the

hills. Even with the cloud, it will be a cold night, with temperatures

away from the far north and west falling to freezing. In the

countryside, well below freezing. And on the wind and it will feel

better, it already feels better. Giving us some freezing drizzle and

snow as well. Although the fog will not be as extensive as recent

nights, it will still be heading on the hills and ice will become a

player in places. Some drizzle and snow grains falling