07/04/2017 Look North (North East and Cumbria)

Good evening. for the news where you are.

Overcrowded hospitals in parts of our region were forced

to close their doors to ambulances 115 times over the winter.

Patients had to be taken to hospitals often miles away and it

has prompted fresh warnings about pressures on the NHS.

Our Health reporter Sharon Barbour has more.

Well, patients are diverted away from other hospitals

because they are just too busy, often, to take them.

Three hospital trusts are amongst the worst five in the country.

Northumbria, who run Cramlington hospital,

Durham and Darlington Trust, and South Tyneside Trust.

Many of those patients are being brought here to Newcastle

partly because it is a specialist hospital, but the head

of A told me earlier it is putting real pressure

It seems to us, when we are at the receiving end,

that we get diverts regularly, almost daily, and quite a few.

It is frustrating because when we are already under pressure,

then we get this call that we need to take some more patients and,

in general, we haven't ever turned patients away.

Well, the hospitals that are having to divert patients to other

hospitals say that it is a last resort for the patient's safety.

The North-East Ambulance Service said it can mean longer journeys,

but it can actually save time in some cases.

I also spoke to some paramedics today, who wanted

They told me they really hate taking both their ambulances

is and the patients further away to find another hospital.

NHS England said they are reviewing the situation.

They said it may be that some ambulance trusts

were trying to hit targets, so a review is taking place.

The parents of Bradley Lowery have revealed that what they have called

the "last-option" treatment for his cancer isn't working.

The five-year-old from County Durham has been receiving treatment

Tonight, his mum and dad told social media followers that

following a recent scan, they had just returned from hospital

with the news that no parent should ever have to hear.

They say they will "continue to make memories and enjoy our super-hero

A Catholic priest who stole ?50,000 from his parish and spent it

on his housekeeper has escaped a jail sentence.

Father John Reid lavished gifts on her and her family

He was in charge of St Cuthbert's Church

in Chester-Le-Street in County Durham.

The judge described his fraud as an aberration and gave him

Since being introduced last June, a digital ticketing system

for the Windermere ferry has caused anger, confusion and delays.

One local councillor threatened to throw the machines in the lake.

But it seems a compromise might be on the cards.

It seems the shoreside ticketing system at Bowness

on Windermere is continues to cause some frustration.

On the old system, as you were coming across on the boat

the attendants used to come round and collect the cash.

The council over this period has steadfastly refused to listen to any

of the locals who know what goes on here.

Business owners here too say it is causing them problems.

We get a lot of international customers and they can't use

the machine because they need to be able to speak English to use it,

Getting staff over from the other side of the lake is very hard.

In a statement, Cumbria County Council told us that it realises

the ticket machine system here has fallen short of customer

expectations, but it says it is in a process

It says in the near future, a card payment system will be

operated on board the Windermere ferry.

It is still going to be a very confusing and chaotic system.

The really important change that needs to happen is to revert

to all on-board payment, both in cash and in cards.

You don't want to initially kind of dismiss what they have put

in place, but if it doesn't work, it doesn't work and we will keep

Now, this lady has finally received recognition for her work

for an organisation which helped win the Second World War.

Jennie Johnson, from Stokesley, was a radio operator

in the Special Operations Executive, but it wasn't until today

that she received a war medal from the Government.

Mum, do you remember we had the letter to say

you were going to get a medal for your World War II service?

72 years after the war ended, Jennie Johnson's contribution has

Back in 1944, along with her twin sister,

she joined a section of the SOE, the Special Operations Executive.

As a radio operator, she would tune in to transmissions

I was with the unit that sent people abroad to Europe, you know?

It was keeping in contact with these people.

Twin sister Margaret, here on the right, died seven years

ago, but attempts are being made for her to receive

Only recently have efforts being made to give awards to these

The medal arrived at my home this morning.

Mum had an idea she was going to get something, but she didn't know

She is 91 tomorrow, so what a wonderful birthday present!

Modest and slightly overwhelmed by the attention, today the memories

I did my bit and that was the important thing.

Which is what we're hoping the weekend weather will be, Jen!

I think you will be fairly happy with it. It'll be as lovely weekend,

if you like fine, dry and sunny weather, that is. Tonight, there

will be clear skies and under those clear skies, temperatures will drop

to two or three degrees. A touch of frost first thing tomorrow morning,

but things will warm up rapidly. Sun Chang across-the-board during the

day will see cabbage is rising to 16 or 17 degrees, possibly even 18 in

some spots. Cumbria will be a bit cooler, with highs of 1415. On

Sunday, we do it all again. Mist and fog first thing in the morning, but

another bright day, with highs of 17 degrees. Here is

drag in more cloud and temperatures will be down by 8-9 .

Hello, my advice would be to make the most of the weather this

weekend, if you can. Because there will be a good day love sunshine on

offer and it will continue to warm up as well. This picture was taken

in Cumbria, at