25/01/2017 Look North (North East and Cumbria)

And he's not much of a looker - but will somebody love Fester?

First this lunch time, a court's heard two Northumbria University

students suffered "life threatening reactions" during an experiment.

The sports science students were given caffeine in March,

2015, to test its impact on exercise.

But Newcastle Crown Court has heard they were given 100 times

One student was in hospital for a week with the other spending

The University has admitted failing to ensure their safety and will be

A man accused of strangling a Hartlepool pensioner and then

setting fire to her home has been giving evidence in his own defence.

Gareth Dack is accused of killing Norma Bell in April of last year.

Jonathan Swingler is live at Teesside Crown Court.

Jonathan, what's been said this morning?

This trial has heard how 79-year-old Norma Bell, a mother of three and

foster carer to over 50 children during her lifetime, was murdered in

her own home. Gareth Dack was accused of strengthening with a

piece of electrical cable in April last year and is accused of setting

several fires and turning on a gas hob in an attempt to cause an

explosion which never happened. The heard how he used her phone to call

a soft porn TV channel and then stole her TV. Today, Gareth Dack

spoke in his defence. He had grown up in Hartlepool and gone to a

number of schools and had ADHD. He described himself as having

dyslexia. We had about his previous jobs, working in pubs, a hospital

porter, how he had become a thermal insulation engineer and described

being depressed and taking cocaine on a regular basis. We had about a

drug deal he was involved in that he denied being a major drug dealer. A

Bell's foster carer. She described Bell's foster carer. She described

-- he described as a wonderful woman. He said she would always ask

after his children. We heard that he had gone to her home to borrow ?10

and how that came about and how he paid the money back. We heard about

odd jobs he had done around her home. The trial continues. Thank

you. Police have released CCTV footage

of the moments an arson attack caused a fire to rip through a pub

in Newcastle while the landlord and his family, including his young

children, slept upstairs. The two men smashed a window

of The Jubilee in Fawdon in the early hours of Sunday

morning, poured accelerant The blaze spread quickly

causing serious damage. Emergency Services said

it was a miracle no one was hurt. Two men have been arrested

after a pensioner's life savings were stolen in a raid on his home

in Bishop Auckland. It is alleged he was attacked

with a coal shovel and later The 77-year-old was taken

to Darlington Memorial Hospital where he was treated and later

released. He has features best

described as quirky - Fester the boxer was abandoned

and found wandering the streets. But staff at the Dogs Trust,

near Darlington, fear his unusual looks mean he'll never get fixed up

with a loving owner. Well, here I am at the Dogs Trust

near Sadberge in Darlington. I've come to me the star

of the show, which is Fester. And Francesca, you've been

looking after Fester. Why are you having problems

finding him a new home? We think he's really handsome

but beauty being in the eye of the beholder, no one seems

to have picked him yet. I mean, some might say

he's a little bit ugly. Do you think that

might be the problem? We wouldn't say, we wouldn't use

that word particularly. He's different, he's not a designer

cockapoo or labradoodle. Maybe not trendy but he

has a heart of gold. Tell us about his personality.

What's he like? He's exuberant, he loves life,

he loves his food, he loves people, he loves cuddles.

What kind of home would suit him? Who would make a good

owner for Fester? We are looking for a family

with older-age teenagers. And for him to be the only pet

in the home because he does And he would actually

prefer to be like that. And possibly someone who's used

to a bouncy natured dog. What should people do if they think,

"Oh, I like Fester, let's phone up the Dogs Trust,

I want to give him a home"? Yeah, phone us up, have a chat,

pop down to see him. We can take your details

and go from there. Well, Fester, I think you're

incredibly handsome. And I hope that someone

somewhere out there thinks And I hope everyone back

at the studio agrees too! The boss says we cannot adopt him as

an office dog! It's a club staffed entirely

by volunteers, with all its active But the Hetton Hawks Cycling Club

has beaten off national competition to stage one of the region's biggest

sporting events of 2018. As Jeff Brown reports,

it'll bring thousands of spectators to a former colliery site in County

Durham. It was a big enough coup that

back in November that Hetton Lyons Country Park should be

the venue for round three of the But the course and the hosts

made a huge impression. And it gave the Hawks

a taste for the big time. So, in January next year,

they'll stage the sports's For a small Go-Ride club

in the north-east, running the national championship,

it's just, it's not There will probably be around 5,000

people at the weekend who will come You will have two days of racing

spread over 18 different categories. Go-Ride clubs are for youngsters

from the age of 5 to 18, designed to offer an introduction

to cycling, which could lead When you get going,

just keep pedalling. And hold your hands

nearer to the centre. Is the aim to turn out

champions or is that just For me as a coach, I just

want to see bums on seats. I want to see people riding,

they might drop it and come We all know the health

benefits of cycling. But essentially, if we do find

somebody who is talented, and maybe the ones who are very

talented, we can nurture them, and that's the difference

with this type of club. Through the winter, Tony,

his coaches and an army of volunteers host weekly indoor

sessions, which look It's like running on a

treadmill, for a runner. It allows you to control

your environment. So, they're not out on the road

in the dark, they're not And you can repeat

any of the efforts. On to the weather,

with Abbie Dewhurst. Most places now seeing plenty

of sunshine and nice blue skies. It will turn cloudy,

cloud building from the south and it A pretty decent picture

with plenty of sunshine. Still some southern fog affecting

the Vale of York but this afternoon, a southerly breeze will lift

and clear that. Most places should

see some sunshine. Highs of about nine degrees,

that's 48 Fahrenheit. This evening and overnight,

some cloud will creep up towards the North.

With it, some cold air. Quite a strong and southerly breeze

bringing up cold air from the near continent,

from Europe. Temperatures will be right down

in the minus figures. A risk of frost and ice tomorrow,

so take things nice and steady first thing.

Allow time to defrost the car. The cloud will thin through the day

and brighter skies will develop. A quick look at the temperatures,

this is what we will see but factoring in the wind,

my goodness, it will feel cold. Temperatures feeling like -6.

Definitely time for the winter coat. Friday, turning gradually less cold,

albeit unsettled, and we will have wet weather into Friday

and overnight into Saturday. Saturday, heavy showers but Sunday

looking dry and settled. Not just colder, but much, much

colder! We're back with the

evening news at 6:30pm. Should've seen Hillary's face.

She was stood there with Bill. Because she's going to an

event to celebrate a job that she didn't get and the

person closest to her, to reassure her, to tell her it's

going to be OK, is a person who's already had

that job. Yeah. She must be thinking,

"Where can I go?"