:00:00. > :00:23.And he's not much of a looker - but will somebody love Fester?
:00:24. > :00:29.First this lunch time, a court's heard two Northumbria University
:00:30. > :00:30.students suffered "life threatening reactions" during an experiment.
:00:31. > :00:32.The sports science students were given caffeine in March,
:00:33. > :00:34.2015, to test its impact on exercise.
:00:35. > :00:37.But Newcastle Crown Court has heard they were given 100 times
:00:38. > :00:47.One student was in hospital for a week with the other spending
:00:48. > :00:51.The University has admitted failing to ensure their safety and will be
:00:52. > :01:00.A man accused of strangling a Hartlepool pensioner and then
:01:01. > :01:03.setting fire to her home has been giving evidence in his own defence.
:01:04. > :01:07.Gareth Dack is accused of killing Norma Bell in April of last year.
:01:08. > :01:16.Jonathan Swingler is live at Teesside Crown Court.
:01:17. > :01:21.Jonathan, what's been said this morning?
:01:22. > :01:28.This trial has heard how 79-year-old Norma Bell, a mother of three and
:01:29. > :01:32.foster carer to over 50 children during her lifetime, was murdered in
:01:33. > :01:36.her own home. Gareth Dack was accused of strengthening with a
:01:37. > :01:40.piece of electrical cable in April last year and is accused of setting
:01:41. > :01:45.several fires and turning on a gas hob in an attempt to cause an
:01:46. > :01:49.explosion which never happened. The heard how he used her phone to call
:01:50. > :01:54.a soft porn TV channel and then stole her TV. Today, Gareth Dack
:01:55. > :01:59.spoke in his defence. He had grown up in Hartlepool and gone to a
:02:00. > :02:03.number of schools and had ADHD. He described himself as having
:02:04. > :02:10.dyslexia. We had about his previous jobs, working in pubs, a hospital
:02:11. > :02:13.porter, how he had become a thermal insulation engineer and described
:02:14. > :02:17.being depressed and taking cocaine on a regular basis. We had about a
:02:18. > :02:24.drug deal he was involved in that he denied being a major drug dealer. A
:02:25. > :02:30.Bell's foster carer. She described Bell's foster carer. She described
:02:31. > :02:34.-- he described as a wonderful woman. He said she would always ask
:02:35. > :02:38.after his children. We heard that he had gone to her home to borrow ?10
:02:39. > :02:42.and how that came about and how he paid the money back. We heard about
:02:43. > :02:45.odd jobs he had done around her home. The trial continues. Thank
:02:46. > :02:49.you. Police have released CCTV footage
:02:50. > :02:52.of the moments an arson attack caused a fire to rip through a pub
:02:53. > :02:55.in Newcastle while the landlord and his family, including his young
:02:56. > :02:57.children, slept upstairs. The two men smashed a window
:02:58. > :03:00.of The Jubilee in Fawdon in the early hours of Sunday
:03:01. > :03:02.morning, poured accelerant The blaze spread quickly
:03:03. > :03:12.causing serious damage. Emergency Services said
:03:13. > :03:14.it was a miracle no one was hurt. Two men have been arrested
:03:15. > :03:17.after a pensioner's life savings were stolen in a raid on his home
:03:18. > :03:19.in Bishop Auckland. It is alleged he was attacked
:03:20. > :03:22.with a coal shovel and later The 77-year-old was taken
:03:23. > :03:25.to Darlington Memorial Hospital where he was treated and later
:03:26. > :03:30.released. He has features best
:03:31. > :03:32.described as quirky - Fester the boxer was abandoned
:03:33. > :03:36.and found wandering the streets. But staff at the Dogs Trust,
:03:37. > :03:39.near Darlington, fear his unusual looks mean he'll never get fixed up
:03:40. > :03:44.with a loving owner. Well, here I am at the Dogs Trust
:03:45. > :03:50.near Sadberge in Darlington. I've come to me the star
:03:51. > :03:53.of the show, which is Fester. And Francesca, you've been
:03:54. > :03:55.looking after Fester. Why are you having problems
:03:56. > :03:58.finding him a new home? We think he's really handsome
:03:59. > :04:02.but beauty being in the eye of the beholder, no one seems
:04:03. > :04:05.to have picked him yet. I mean, some might say
:04:06. > :04:07.he's a little bit ugly. Do you think that
:04:08. > :04:09.might be the problem? We wouldn't say, we wouldn't use
:04:10. > :04:15.that word particularly. He's different, he's not a designer
:04:16. > :04:17.cockapoo or labradoodle. Maybe not trendy but he
:04:18. > :04:21.has a heart of gold. Tell us about his personality.
:04:22. > :04:23.What's he like? He's exuberant, he loves life,
:04:24. > :04:27.he loves his food, he loves people, he loves cuddles.
:04:28. > :04:32.What kind of home would suit him? Who would make a good
:04:33. > :04:35.owner for Fester? We are looking for a family
:04:36. > :04:38.with older-age teenagers. And for him to be the only pet
:04:39. > :04:42.in the home because he does And he would actually
:04:43. > :04:44.prefer to be like that. And possibly someone who's used
:04:45. > :04:48.to a bouncy natured dog. What should people do if they think,
:04:49. > :04:51."Oh, I like Fester, let's phone up the Dogs Trust,
:04:52. > :04:54.I want to give him a home"? Yeah, phone us up, have a chat,
:04:55. > :04:57.pop down to see him. We can take your details
:04:58. > :04:59.and go from there. Well, Fester, I think you're
:05:00. > :05:01.incredibly handsome. And I hope that someone
:05:02. > :05:03.somewhere out there thinks And I hope everyone back
:05:04. > :05:14.at the studio agrees too! The boss says we cannot adopt him as
:05:15. > :05:21.an office dog! It's a club staffed entirely
:05:22. > :05:24.by volunteers, with all its active But the Hetton Hawks Cycling Club
:05:25. > :05:28.has beaten off national competition to stage one of the region's biggest
:05:29. > :05:30.sporting events of 2018. As Jeff Brown reports,
:05:31. > :05:33.it'll bring thousands of spectators to a former colliery site in County
:05:34. > :05:35.Durham. It was a big enough coup that
:05:36. > :05:37.back in November that Hetton Lyons Country Park should be
:05:38. > :05:40.the venue for round three of the But the course and the hosts
:05:41. > :05:44.made a huge impression. And it gave the Hawks
:05:45. > :05:47.a taste for the big time. So, in January next year,
:05:48. > :05:50.they'll stage the sports's For a small Go-Ride club
:05:51. > :05:54.in the north-east, running the national championship,
:05:55. > :05:56.it's just, it's not There will probably be around 5,000
:05:57. > :06:03.people at the weekend who will come You will have two days of racing
:06:04. > :06:12.spread over 18 different categories. Go-Ride clubs are for youngsters
:06:13. > :06:16.from the age of 5 to 18, designed to offer an introduction
:06:17. > :06:19.to cycling, which could lead When you get going,
:06:20. > :06:26.just keep pedalling. And hold your hands
:06:27. > :06:29.nearer to the centre. Is the aim to turn out
:06:30. > :06:32.champions or is that just For me as a coach, I just
:06:33. > :06:41.want to see bums on seats. I want to see people riding,
:06:42. > :06:44.they might drop it and come We all know the health
:06:45. > :06:47.benefits of cycling. But essentially, if we do find
:06:48. > :06:50.somebody who is talented, and maybe the ones who are very
:06:51. > :06:53.talented, we can nurture them, and that's the difference
:06:54. > :06:55.with this type of club. Through the winter, Tony,
:06:56. > :06:57.his coaches and an army of volunteers host weekly indoor
:06:58. > :06:59.sessions, which look It's like running on a
:07:00. > :07:11.treadmill, for a runner. It allows you to control
:07:12. > :07:13.your environment. So, they're not out on the road
:07:14. > :07:16.in the dark, they're not And you can repeat
:07:17. > :07:22.any of the efforts. On to the weather,
:07:23. > :07:25.with Abbie Dewhurst. Most places now seeing plenty
:07:26. > :07:29.of sunshine and nice blue skies. It will turn cloudy,
:07:30. > :07:34.cloud building from the south and it A pretty decent picture
:07:35. > :07:42.with plenty of sunshine. Still some southern fog affecting
:07:43. > :07:45.the Vale of York but this afternoon, a southerly breeze will lift
:07:46. > :07:48.and clear that. Most places should
:07:49. > :07:51.see some sunshine. Highs of about nine degrees,
:07:52. > :07:59.that's 48 Fahrenheit. This evening and overnight,
:08:00. > :08:02.some cloud will creep up towards the North.
:08:03. > :08:04.With it, some cold air. Quite a strong and southerly breeze
:08:05. > :08:06.bringing up cold air from the near continent,
:08:07. > :08:12.from Europe. Temperatures will be right down
:08:13. > :08:14.in the minus figures. A risk of frost and ice tomorrow,
:08:15. > :08:24.so take things nice and steady first thing.
:08:25. > :08:30.Allow time to defrost the car. The cloud will thin through the day
:08:31. > :08:34.and brighter skies will develop. A quick look at the temperatures,
:08:35. > :08:40.this is what we will see but factoring in the wind,
:08:41. > :08:47.my goodness, it will feel cold. Temperatures feeling like -6.
:08:48. > :08:52.Definitely time for the winter coat. Friday, turning gradually less cold,
:08:53. > :09:00.albeit unsettled, and we will have wet weather into Friday
:09:01. > :09:05.and overnight into Saturday. Saturday, heavy showers but Sunday
:09:06. > :09:16.looking dry and settled. Not just colder, but much, much
:09:17. > :09:22.colder! We're back with the
:09:23. > :09:29.evening news at 6:30pm. Should've seen Hillary's face.
:09:30. > :09:45.She was stood there with Bill. Because she's going to an
:09:46. > :09:52.event to celebrate a job that she didn't get and the
:09:53. > :09:58.person closest to her, to reassure her, to tell her it's
:09:59. > :10:01.going to be OK, is a person who's already had
:10:02. > :10:04.that job. Yeah. She must be thinking,
:10:05. > :10:08."Where can I go?"