:00:12. > :00:12.Good evening. for the news where you are.
:00:13. > :00:14.Overcrowded hospitals in parts of our region were forced
:00:15. > :00:19.to close their doors to ambulances 115 times over the winter.
:00:20. > :00:22.Patients had to be taken to hospitals often miles away and it
:00:23. > :00:25.has prompted fresh warnings about pressures on the NHS.
:00:26. > :00:28.Our Health reporter Sharon Barbour has more.
:00:29. > :00:30.Well, patients are diverted away from other hospitals
:00:31. > :00:35.because they are just too busy, often, to take them.
:00:36. > :00:38.Three hospital trusts are amongst the worst five in the country.
:00:39. > :00:42.Northumbria, who run Cramlington hospital,
:00:43. > :00:46.Durham and Darlington Trust, and South Tyneside Trust.
:00:47. > :00:48.Many of those patients are being brought here to Newcastle
:00:49. > :00:53.partly because it is a specialist hospital, but the head
:00:54. > :00:55.of A told me earlier it is putting real pressure
:00:56. > :01:00.It seems to us, when we are at the receiving end,
:01:01. > :01:05.that we get diverts regularly, almost daily, and quite a few.
:01:06. > :01:08.It is frustrating because when we are already under pressure,
:01:09. > :01:11.then we get this call that we need to take some more patients and,
:01:12. > :01:15.in general, we haven't ever turned patients away.
:01:16. > :01:25.Well, the hospitals that are having to divert patients to other
:01:26. > :01:28.hospitals say that it is a last resort for the patient's safety.
:01:29. > :01:51.The North-East Ambulance Service said it can mean longer journeys,
:01:52. > :01:54.but it can actually save time in some cases.
:01:55. > :01:56.I also spoke to some paramedics today, who wanted
:01:57. > :02:00.They told me they really hate taking both their ambulances
:02:01. > :02:03.is and the patients further away to find another hospital.
:02:04. > :02:07.NHS England said they are reviewing the situation.
:02:08. > :02:10.They said it may be that some ambulance trusts
:02:11. > :02:21.were trying to hit targets, so a review is taking place.
:02:22. > :02:24.The parents of Bradley Lowery have revealed that what they have called
:02:25. > :02:27.the "last-option" treatment for his cancer isn't working.
:02:28. > :02:29.The five-year-old from County Durham has been receiving treatment
:02:30. > :02:35.Tonight, his mum and dad told social media followers that
:02:36. > :02:37.following a recent scan, they had just returned from hospital
:02:38. > :02:40.with the news that no parent should ever have to hear.
:02:41. > :02:44.They say they will "continue to make memories and enjoy our super-hero
:02:45. > :02:53.A Catholic priest who stole ?50,000 from his parish and spent it
:02:54. > :02:55.on his housekeeper has escaped a jail sentence.
:02:56. > :02:58.Father John Reid lavished gifts on her and her family
:02:59. > :03:03.He was in charge of St Cuthbert's Church
:03:04. > :03:04.in Chester-Le-Street in County Durham.
:03:05. > :03:07.The judge described his fraud as an aberration and gave him
:03:08. > :03:15.Since being introduced last June, a digital ticketing system
:03:16. > :03:19.for the Windermere ferry has caused anger, confusion and delays.
:03:20. > :03:22.One local councillor threatened to throw the machines in the lake.
:03:23. > :03:25.But it seems a compromise might be on the cards.
:03:26. > :03:32.It seems the shoreside ticketing system at Bowness
:03:33. > :03:35.on Windermere is continues to cause some frustration.
:03:36. > :03:39.On the old system, as you were coming across on the boat
:03:40. > :03:43.the attendants used to come round and collect the cash.
:03:44. > :03:48.The council over this period has steadfastly refused to listen to any
:03:49. > :03:51.of the locals who know what goes on here.
:03:52. > :03:54.Business owners here too say it is causing them problems.
:03:55. > :03:57.We get a lot of international customers and they can't use
:03:58. > :04:00.the machine because they need to be able to speak English to use it,
:04:01. > :04:07.Getting staff over from the other side of the lake is very hard.
:04:08. > :04:09.In a statement, Cumbria County Council told us that it realises
:04:10. > :04:12.the ticket machine system here has fallen short of customer
:04:13. > :04:15.expectations, but it says it is in a process
:04:16. > :04:20.It says in the near future, a card payment system will be
:04:21. > :04:23.operated on board the Windermere ferry.
:04:24. > :04:29.It is still going to be a very confusing and chaotic system.
:04:30. > :04:32.The really important change that needs to happen is to revert
:04:33. > :04:39.to all on-board payment, both in cash and in cards.
:04:40. > :04:42.You don't want to initially kind of dismiss what they have put
:04:43. > :04:45.in place, but if it doesn't work, it doesn't work and we will keep
:04:46. > :04:54.Now, this lady has finally received recognition for her work
:04:55. > :04:58.for an organisation which helped win the Second World War.
:04:59. > :05:01.Jennie Johnson, from Stokesley, was a radio operator
:05:02. > :05:04.in the Special Operations Executive, but it wasn't until today
:05:05. > :05:07.that she received a war medal from the Government.
:05:08. > :05:13.Mum, do you remember we had the letter to say
:05:14. > :05:16.you were going to get a medal for your World War II service?
:05:17. > :05:28.72 years after the war ended, Jennie Johnson's contribution has
:05:29. > :05:33.Back in 1944, along with her twin sister,
:05:34. > :05:41.she joined a section of the SOE, the Special Operations Executive.
:05:42. > :05:45.As a radio operator, she would tune in to transmissions
:05:46. > :05:54.I was with the unit that sent people abroad to Europe, you know?
:05:55. > :05:57.It was keeping in contact with these people.
:05:58. > :06:00.Twin sister Margaret, here on the right, died seven years
:06:01. > :06:03.ago, but attempts are being made for her to receive
:06:04. > :06:08.Only recently have efforts being made to give awards to these
:06:09. > :06:12.The medal arrived at my home this morning.
:06:13. > :06:15.Mum had an idea she was going to get something, but she didn't know
:06:16. > :06:21.She is 91 tomorrow, so what a wonderful birthday present!
:06:22. > :06:25.Modest and slightly overwhelmed by the attention, today the memories
:06:26. > :06:28.I did my bit and that was the important thing.
:06:29. > :06:45.Which is what we're hoping the weekend weather will be, Jen!
:06:46. > :06:54.I think you will be fairly happy with it. It'll be as lovely weekend,
:06:55. > :06:58.if you like fine, dry and sunny weather, that is. Tonight, there
:06:59. > :07:04.will be clear skies and under those clear skies, temperatures will drop
:07:05. > :07:09.to two or three degrees. A touch of frost first thing tomorrow morning,
:07:10. > :07:12.but things will warm up rapidly. Sun Chang across-the-board during the
:07:13. > :07:20.day will see cabbage is rising to 16 or 17 degrees, possibly even 18 in
:07:21. > :07:26.some spots. Cumbria will be a bit cooler, with highs of 1415. On
:07:27. > :07:33.Sunday, we do it all again. Mist and fog first thing in the morning, but
:07:34. > :07:34.another bright day, with highs of 17 degrees. Here is
:07:35. > :07:42.drag in more cloud and temperatures will be down by 8-9 .
:07:43. > :07:46.Hello, my advice would be to make the most of the weather this
:07:47. > :07:51.weekend, if you can. Because there will be a good day love sunshine on
:07:52. > :07:54.offer and it will continue to warm up as well. This picture was taken
:07:55. > :07:55.in Cumbria, at