22/02/2017 Look North (North East and Cumbria)

It was a shocking image - a pet dog left for dead

in a woodland grave after having a nail driven through its skull.

Today the men responsible faced a court on Teesside to admit

They argued that the dog was sick and they were merely trying to put

We should warn you, this report from Peter Harris contains upsetting

Still alive when discovered, 16-year-old Scamp had been the

victim of an attack described as barbaric. Brought here to the woods

near Redcar, its owner hammered the nail through its skull. Michael

Heathcoat, seen here on the left, thought it was for the best. The dog

was sick. He and his friend Richard Finch then buried it. As they left

court today, Finch was confronted by a member of the public.

don't put a nail in its head! don't put a nail in its head!

The dog was knackered. It wasn't my direct macro he then explained his

that. friend had said he could not afford

that. Was too expensive. It doesn't

matter! You don't know what you're talking about.

He thought he had no option, and I He thought he had no option, and I

thought the same thing. I had told them to go to the vet's,

and I did not know he had not been to the vet's, he had been to some

idiot in the town who had come up with the wrong price.

You could face jail as a result of this.

If I faced jail for going in supporting my mates, while he did

have to face jail. have to face jail.

The court heard when the dog was found in the woods by a passing

water, I was still alive, semiconscious, and a vet said it was

the worst case he had ever come across. The dog was then put down.

The man's old solicitor said they had been extremely naive and had

been concerned they would not be able to pay a vet's fee, so they

took matters on themselves. They now except that doing so was stupid.

Heathcock, it was claimed, had been upset as Scamp's health deteriorated

in old age. They will be back for sentencing on March the 1st.

The plan by Northumberland Council to loan more than ?8 million

to the charity that runs the Alnwick Garden

The controversial proposal was being debated as part

of the council meeting to fix its budget

The Garden - created by the Duchess of Northumberland -

wants to build a major new tourist attraction.

But a number of councillors are opposed to the loan idea,

They began talking at 3 o'clock and were still debating at 7.

The vote to agree a 5% council tax increase was no surprise.

It's the highest increase for years, with most of it to be spent

But the most politically charged topic was the plan for this council

to borrow ?8.5 million to then lend to the charitable trust running

Alnwick Garden, created by the Duchess of Northumberland.

The trust wants to build a new Play Village attraction

near the existing Tree House, great for tourism and job creation,

according to the Labour group on the council.

Critics say it's inappropriate, given that the council has to make

cuts of ?6 million this year, ?36 million by 2020,

while the Duke and Duchess are one of the wealthiest

Residents are unhappy that taxpayers' money going into a

pockets of one of the wealthiest man pockets of one of the wealthiest man

in Northumberland, never mind the country. It may not be his actual

application, but it is the Alnwick Garden, and it should stand on its

own, and there has been very little scrutiny.

His voice was added to by a number of others uneasy or downright

After a number of strongly worded interventions by councillors, that

part of the budget was suddenly withdrawn, at least for now, by the

Labour leader of the council himself, who had been defending it

up until that moment. The loan proposal will now go before

a Risk Assessment Panel. It's not clear when and in

what form it might return For now, taxpayers' investment

in this big new tourist attraction The parents of a football-loving

five-year-old boy with terminal cancer say scans have revealed

he has developed a new tumour. Sunderland fan Bradley Lowery,

who has neuroblastoma, recently underwent further treatment

in an effort to prolong his life. However, on social media tonight,

Bradley's parents said scans showed a tumour had developed

at the base of his back. They said they are devastated,

but are waiting to receive More than 600 jobs have

been saved on Teesside, after one of its biggest chemical

companies converted its plant The gas - often seen

as controversial - is shipped from America and used

at Sabic's Wilton site. The company claims the move saves

money as well as jobs, at a plant that had been

at risk of closure. Our Business Correspondent

Ian Reeve reports. The very heart of Teesside's

Wilton chemical site. Known as the 'cracker',

this plant takes in gases and liquids and turns out ethylene

and propylene, the building blocks for many of our everyday items -

packaging, shampoo, detergents. And from today the cracker has been

modified so that it can process fracked gas,

shipped from America. And that, says its company

owner, is good news. We have really brought this from a

very near-term future, with some concern as to whether or not we

would be here in the next year or year and a half, to a position where

all of a sudden, we are making plans for the next 20 years.

But what if it was fracked gas from this country -

probably coming in the years ahead, and possibly more controversial?

If those feed stocks all of a sudden come close to us, we will definitely

study it, and then see whether or not, within the opportunities that

arise, we can use them. The move to US fracked gas though

means the 630 jobs here are safe, And Emma, an apprentice,

now has good prospects, It has given me a loss of hope and

anticipation for when everything gets up and running to its full

potential, because it is going to make Teesside the capital that it

60 years ago, the Queen visited the 60 years ago, the Queen visited the

Wilton site, then owned by ICI. Imperial in name, Imperial in

Outlook. An exhibition showing a number of

Wilton products... The Queen's visit was a mark of how

important the site was. The cracker is now owned

by a Saudi Arabian company. But today's news -

that the plant is here for another generation -

probably merits more They're best friends who are now

multi millionaires after scooping Paula Barraclough and Lorraine

Smith, from Sunderland, They have been best friends for

they've always dreamed of. They have been best friends for

nearly 20 years, and now, they are multimillionaires. Paula and

Lorraine, who call each other poly and Lolly, skipped over ?50 million

on Saturday's lottery draw. It still hasn't sunk in.

You can't imagine. You can't get your head round it.

You always think you know what a lottery won't feel like.

But it is nothing like that. Your head is spinning and you can't take

it in at all. It is a sickly it in at all. It is a sickly

feeling, really, isn't it? Because you can't believe how six numbers

can just change your life. Lorraine only bought the Lucky Dip

tickets from a newsagent as she was waiting for her bus to work to

arrive. The following morning, she checked the numbers.

I just went, oh, I am seeing things, I am hallucinating. I started to

feel sick. I thought I was going to have a heart attack, and I rang

I was on the bed, and the phone I was on the bed, and the phone

rang, and rang, and I it said, you had better be ringing to tell me we

have won the lottery! And she went, we have!

But they say the win will not change them.

We are still down-to-earth people, and we will be ourselves. It is a

lovely feeling, it is, but once it settles down, we will get back into

as much normality as we can. They are planning on celebrating by

flying first class to Las Vegas. But Lorraine, who works as a care home

cook, says her first purchase will be less glamorous. A new frying pan.

Lucky ladies! Now, let's take a look

at the weather - Jen, what has Storm Doris got

in store for us? Well, we have quite a lot of rain to

come over the next 24 hours, and some strong winds and hill snow as

well. Let's look at how that pans out through the night tonight. That

rain already spreading to all parts. You can see it falling as snow over

part of the Cumbrian fells into North Northumberland as well. For

most of us, it will fall as rain. Quite a wet night come, temperatures

3-4. First thing tomorrow morning, quite a wet rush-hour. Still snow

across parts of Northumberland, on and off through much of the day. The

rain too will tend to come and go, but the winds whipping up into the

afternoon, so gusts widely, anywhere around 40-50 mph. Temperatures

around nine Celsius, so it will be a around nine Celsius, so it will be a

wet and windy day tomorrow. This storm moves away as we head into

Friday morning, and then things are looking much better for Friday is

self. Plenty of blue skies, winds will be dying down, and it looks

like it will stay dry through much of the day. Temperatures on Friday

getting up to 6-8 Celsius, but we have some further wet and windy

weather on the way just behind it, hedging in towards the weekend.

Saturday looks like it could be fairly unsubtle, quite a lot of

rain as well. A similar picture on rain as well. A similar picture on

Sunday, temperatures around 9-10. You can get all the latest weather

warnings online. The national forecast is next.

some sunshine around and light winds. For more on Doris and its

impact, here is the national weather.

Good evening, a rough patch weather on the way. Time to fasten your seat

belt. A high wind warning from the Met office, an