:00:11. > :00:14.One person has died in a fire at a tower block
:00:15. > :00:17.The top three floors of the 12-storey building
:00:18. > :00:20.were evacuated after the fire broke out shortly before two
:00:21. > :00:24.Ten fire engines were needed to bring the blaze under control.
:00:25. > :00:31.The pictures tell the bare facts, but details of this
:00:32. > :00:37.Anson House is one of two 12-storey tower blocks that dominate
:00:38. > :00:44.Last night at just after 1:30, five fire crews from the surrounding
:00:45. > :00:52.Fires in blocks of flats are complex by nature,
:00:53. > :00:55.and if they do spread, they can cause obviously mass
:00:56. > :01:05.You can see from the outside of the building that the flames have
:01:06. > :01:08.Fortunately with it being the top floor, it didn't get
:01:09. > :01:18.The windows came out, and there were a couple more
:01:19. > :01:20.as the fire was going on, things obviously exploding
:01:21. > :01:24.It must have been a heck of a shock for you.
:01:25. > :01:29.When you see it on TV and things like that,
:01:30. > :01:32.but seeing in front of your eyes, you know, where you live,
:01:33. > :01:38.Dozens of residents from the top three floors were evacuated and sent
:01:39. > :01:40.to the Thornaby Pavilion leisure centre in the early hours,
:01:41. > :01:42.although most now have been allowed to return.
:01:43. > :01:45.A joint Police and Fire Brigade investigation has continued
:01:46. > :01:53.The top floor of the building still sealed off.
:01:54. > :01:56.So far, there's been no indication that the death here this morning
:01:57. > :02:02.Gerry Jackson, BBC Look North, Thornaby-on-Tees.
:02:03. > :02:04.Meanwhile, firefighters on Wearside have been tackling a blaze
:02:05. > :02:08.at a former soft play centre in Washington.
:02:09. > :02:10.It broke out at Junglerama on Victoria Road this afternoon.
:02:11. > :02:13.Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue said the roof of the building collapsed.
:02:14. > :02:19.Go North East said the nearby Concord bus station was closed due
:02:20. > :02:24.to the number of people in the road watching.
:02:25. > :02:26.A second Labour politician in our region has announced
:02:27. > :02:29.he won't be standing in the general election on June the 8th.
:02:30. > :02:32.The decision by Iain Wright not to fight the Hartlepool seat comes
:02:33. > :02:34.after Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland MP
:02:35. > :02:36.Tom Blenkinsop revealed yesterday he was leaving Parliament.
:02:37. > :02:37.Here's our news correspondent, Mark Denten.
:02:38. > :02:43.Iain Wright, born and bred in Hartlepool, still in his early
:02:44. > :02:48.30s and with only a couple of years as a local councillor,
:02:49. > :02:54.suddenly found himself in the political deep end.
:02:55. > :02:58.Peter Mandelson had stepped down as the local Labour MP.
:02:59. > :03:01.Iain Wright held the seat for Labour at a by-election.
:03:02. > :03:03.A key issue in that contest was the future
:03:04. > :03:08.Labour had said it was safe in their hands, but their critics
:03:09. > :03:16.Because despite the campaign pledges, a Labour government review
:03:17. > :03:17.soon threatened maternity services there.
:03:18. > :03:19.Iain Wright resigned as a ministerial aide.
:03:20. > :03:21.He came back as a junior minister under Gordon Brown,
:03:22. > :03:24.but really found his niche in the cut and thrust
:03:25. > :03:29.Last summer, perhaps his finest moment, the star witness
:03:30. > :03:36.The docking of 15 minutes' pay if you were a minute late.
:03:37. > :03:44.It definitely wasn't a policy that I put in.
:03:45. > :03:47.But since 2005, Ukip have been closing in on his seat,
:03:48. > :03:53.In 2015, buoyed by rallies with Nigel Farage, they came
:03:54. > :04:00.The man who did that says Iain Wright's departure means Ukip
:04:01. > :04:05.I got the best result against the Labour Party
:04:06. > :04:09.If the people want change in the table, they've
:04:10. > :04:13.got to vote for Ukip, because we are the only ones who can
:04:14. > :04:19.So what do Hartlepool voters make of the departure of their MP?
:04:20. > :04:22.I think it's sad, because I don't know whether they'll get anybody
:04:23. > :04:33.So, I mean, it depends who comes in to replace him.
:04:34. > :04:36.Well, I didn't know why he's not standing the next election,
:04:37. > :04:44.As Labour's man in Hartlepool for 13 years heads for other projects,
:04:45. > :04:47.his successor will now be plunged straight into the middle
:04:48. > :04:57.A soldier who's denied murdering his ex-girlfriend has told
:04:58. > :04:59.a court she was insecure and had accused him of looking
:05:00. > :05:04.Alice Ruggles, who was 24, was found dead in her flat
:05:05. > :05:05.in Rawlings Road in Gateshead in October 2015.
:05:06. > :05:07.Lance Corporal Trimaan Dhillon, who's 26, is accused
:05:08. > :05:10.of breaking into her home to kill her after she
:05:11. > :05:17.Today the defendant told the court he'd been behaving immaturely
:05:18. > :05:20.when he received a restraining order against another former partner
:05:21. > :05:22.after she accused him of spitting in her face.
:05:23. > :05:30.It seems the experience of a 95-year-old war veteran
:05:31. > :05:32.could have forced a change to parking policy at
:05:33. > :05:39.There was an outcry when former World War II airman Douglas Newham
:05:40. > :05:42.was charged ?130 by a firm which manages car parks at the
:05:43. > :05:47.Douglas had been attending a routine appointment which overran.
:05:48. > :05:55.Douglas Newham had been at the hospital for an appointment
:05:56. > :05:59.that was usually over within the hour.
:06:00. > :06:02.Instead, it was late, and outside, on the windscreen of the 95 year
:06:03. > :06:13.I just think it is totally unjust, not just for me, but I mean,
:06:14. > :06:17.For Douglas, it was less an inconvenience than a show
:06:18. > :06:19.of heartless inflexibility, and he was determined
:06:20. > :06:25.It got to the point that never mind the money,
:06:26. > :06:27.let's just try and get the company to have some feeling
:06:28. > :06:42.All I can do is to stir public opinion.
:06:43. > :06:44.It's not a supermarket car park, it's a hospital car park,
:06:45. > :06:46.and I think they should have appropriate procedures.
:06:47. > :06:52.Douglas Newham has now coughed up the ?130 he was charged,
:06:53. > :06:54.but his refusal to accept what he believes is the injustice
:06:55. > :06:59.of that levy seems to have forced the hand of the trust here.
:07:00. > :07:03.It told us in a statement today that by the end of the year,
:07:04. > :07:08.pay-as-you-leave gates will be installed here.
:07:09. > :07:11.If they have a lifting barrier system and you go in and you only
:07:12. > :07:14.pay for the period that you are there, that would be
:07:15. > :07:16.an infinitely fairer system than what they have got
:07:17. > :07:27.Mark McAlindon, BBC Look North, Carlisle.
:07:28. > :07:32.Sport now, and Matt Wylie, from Washington received
:07:33. > :07:34.his MBE in a ceremony at Buckingham Palace today.
:07:35. > :07:36.The 20-year-old City of Sunderland para-swimmer
:07:37. > :07:39.was presented with his honour by the Duke of Cambridge.
:07:40. > :07:46.He's been recognised for services to swimming.
:07:47. > :07:49.This year's Great North 10K in Gateshead will take
:07:50. > :07:52.It's one of the region's biggest road races, attracting
:07:53. > :07:55.Today's launch at the International Stadium involved a group
:07:56. > :07:58.of toddlers, and as Andrew Hartley reports, all didn't quite
:07:59. > :08:10.An impromptu run for toddlers to launch one
:08:11. > :08:25.They say don't work with animals and children.
:08:26. > :08:34.We are here to all have a really great time, and I think it's
:08:35. > :08:36.going to be a fantastic atmosphere of the day.
:08:37. > :08:41.The toddler dash over 70 metres is part of a series of events
:08:42. > :08:44.on the day of the grown-ups' version of the Great North 10K.
:08:45. > :08:50.He actually broke his leg when he was about 18 months old,
:08:51. > :08:54.so he was in a cast for about six weeks also.
:08:55. > :08:57.Ironically, he broke it while he was running.
:08:58. > :09:01.But since he had his cast off, he just never stops running.
:09:02. > :09:05.He was born with a condition called a trachaeoesophageal fistula,
:09:06. > :09:08.which means his oesophagus wasn't connected all the way down,
:09:09. > :09:16.So he spent the first month of his life in the special
:09:17. > :09:18.care unit at the RVI, which is why we are
:09:19. > :09:25.Andrew Hartley, BBC Look North, Gateshead.
:09:26. > :09:30.Time for the weather now with Paul, and it looked a bit grey
:09:31. > :09:43.It was a bit grade, and there is a lot of cloud around. It is thick
:09:44. > :09:49.enough for the spot of rain, generally speaking cloudy but dry
:09:50. > :09:55.covers the night-time period. That cloud does stop the temperatures
:09:56. > :09:58.dropping below about seven Celsius. Tomorrow again the cloud could be
:09:59. > :10:05.thick enough to cause a few spots of rain. We could see a few breaks in
:10:06. > :10:10.the cloud, a glimpse of blue sky and a little bit of sunshine.
:10:11. > :10:16.Temperatures should be a bit better than today, 15 Celsius at best. A
:10:17. > :10:21.light to moderate west or north westerly breeze is the order of the
:10:22. > :10:24.day from tomorrow. High pressure in charge of the weather situation
:10:25. > :10:27.again at the minute. These weather fronts come around the hive,
:10:28. > :10:33.thickening the cloud up, bringing some patchy rain again. But
:10:34. > :10:38.generally speaking, not a great deal changes as we head towards the
:10:39. > :10:42.weekend. Friday looks like another mostly cloudy but mostly dry day,
:10:43. > :10:48.temperatures peaking at around 15 Celsius. For the weekend, a subtle
:10:49. > :10:52.change, temperatures are little cooler, only just into double
:10:53. > :10:58.figures, and it will be most notable overnight. We could see temperatures
:10:59. > :11:00.cold enough I touch of frost. I leave you know with the summary for
:11:01. > :11:03.going into the weekend as well. A similar story across the UK. Thomas
:11:04. > :11:13.matter has that story. Good evening, before we get to the
:11:14. > :11:19.forecast, I want to show you a map which depicts how dry it has been
:11:20. > :11:24.during the course of April. Brown is below average rainfall, blue is
:11:25. > :11:28.above average. You can see how Brown the map is. Some areas in the south,
:11:29. > :11:35.some counties have only seen a few percent so far in April. Not
:11:36. > :11:37.necessarily a good thing at all. The rest of the week, not