:00:00. > :00:07.In the headlines this Thursday lunchtime:
:00:08. > :00:10.The Conservative councillor and hunt master who's stepped down
:00:11. > :00:11.after making offensive comments to a protester.
:00:12. > :00:13.And the Clown Doctors are celebrating a landmark -
:00:14. > :00:34.after being forced to postpone by last year's killer clown craze.
:00:35. > :00:36.A huntsman has resigned from his position as a Conservative district
:00:37. > :00:39.councillor after being caught on a video camera making lewd
:00:40. > :00:41.comments to a protestor during a meet of the Middleton Hunt
:00:42. > :00:48.Charles Carter was heard making the improper comments
:00:49. > :00:51.He's been condemned by the Conservative party in Norfolk,
:00:52. > :00:53.where he lived before moving recently to York.
:00:54. > :00:56.John Cundy has the story - and we must warn you,
:00:57. > :01:03.you might find some of the language in his piece offensive.
:01:04. > :01:14.The moment when Linda Hoggard fox hunting is illegal. The processor
:01:15. > :01:24.challenges Mr Carter, and I I will tell you something I will tell my
:01:25. > :01:32.Charles councillor has been a district councillor in Norfolk out
:01:33. > :01:34.after revelations about his conduct. The council leader said he was
:01:35. > :01:41.appalled, as there were the residents of the Norfolk village he
:01:42. > :01:44.had represented. A -- should know so much better anyway, and a woman
:01:45. > :01:46.should not be spoken to like that by anyone.
:01:47. > :01:57.He should not be representing anybody. But if he
:01:58. > :02:01.Charles Carter is now living near York.
:02:02. > :02:04.The hunt with which he rises described as one of the most
:02:05. > :02:10.historic and North Yorkshire, dating back more than 200 years. In June
:02:11. > :02:13.2015, Charles Carter was master of the West Norfolk foxhounds, and was
:02:14. > :02:22.interviewed about the ban on fox hunting. Having to look over 1's
:02:23. > :02:28.shoulder all the time for is not what North Yorkshire Police say they
:02:29. > :02:30.were alerted to what they call Charles Carter and Linda Hoggard on
:02:31. > :02:42.Monday. A motorcyclist from County Durham
:02:43. > :02:49.who was paralysed from the waist down in a road accident is making
:02:50. > :02:52.progress in his bid to walk again. 30-year-old Andrew Bell,
:02:53. > :02:54.from Chester Le Street, almost died in the crash
:02:55. > :02:56.nearly two years ago, spend the rest of his life
:02:57. > :03:00.as a wheelchair user. But now, following pioneering stem
:03:01. > :03:02.cell treatment in Thailand, he's been able to stand and take
:03:03. > :03:05.steps using a walking frame. We'll be hearing from Andrew
:03:06. > :03:07.in tonight's Look North. Cumbria Constabulary needs
:03:08. > :03:09.to improve its protection of children who are at risk
:03:10. > :03:12.of abuse, according to a new report. HM Inspectorate of Constabulary,
:03:13. > :03:14.which carried out the report, concluded that the force
:03:15. > :03:16.is committed to improving its services and that they responded
:03:17. > :03:18.quickly, but found a lack of understanding of the extent
:03:19. > :03:21.of child sexual exploitation and an inconsistent response
:03:22. > :03:22.to the problem They also found that some serious
:03:23. > :03:27.cases were allocated to non-specialist teams which lacked
:03:28. > :03:33.the necessary skills. The force says it is already
:03:34. > :03:47.addressing any shortfalls. the report highlighted the fact that
:03:48. > :03:50.not every officer had access to computerised information.
:03:51. > :03:56.That has now been done. We have improved the amount of intelligence
:03:57. > :04:00.by 750% on vulnerable children, and the force are analysing that now.
:04:01. > :04:04.That is another recommendation that is complete. There are many more,
:04:05. > :04:07.but there is still some more work to be done.
:04:08. > :04:09.Two men have been charged with aggravated burglary
:04:10. > :04:11.following an incident in County Durham when a pensioner's
:04:12. > :04:14.life savings were stolen in a raid on his home.
:04:15. > :04:16.It is alleged the 77-year-old from Coronation near Bishop Auckland
:04:17. > :04:18.was attacked with a coal shovel and robbed on Saturday.
:04:19. > :04:21.He was taken to Darlington Memorial Hospital where he was treated
:04:22. > :04:24.Two men are due before magistrates today.
:04:25. > :04:28.The Conservatives have revealed their candidate
:04:29. > :04:31.for the Copeland by-election. She's Trudy Harrison.
:04:32. > :04:34.Last week Labour named Gillian Troughton and UKIP named Fiona Mills
:04:35. > :04:41.Rebecca Hanson is contesting the seat for the Liberal Democrats.
:04:42. > :04:43.The by-election, caused by the resignation of
:04:44. > :04:45.Labour's Jamie Reed, will take place on February 23rd.
:04:46. > :04:51.You can see a full list of candidates on the BBC News website.
:04:52. > :04:54.Now - they say laughter is the best medicine -
:04:55. > :04:57.and for the last decade a group of clowns who dress up
:04:58. > :05:00.as doctors have been entertaining sick children
:05:01. > :05:02.at the Great North Children's Hospital in Newcastle.
:05:03. > :05:04.The Clown Doctors were due to celebrate their birthday
:05:05. > :05:10.in October but had to postpone their celebrations after
:05:11. > :05:20.the so-called "killer clown" craze. Steph Cleasby reports.
:05:21. > :05:28.Hello, hello, hello, hello, hello. Celebrating ten years of raising a
:05:29. > :05:31.smile during the toughest of times. One-year-old Ross recently had a
:05:32. > :05:34.bone marrow transplant. He sees different people, but he
:05:35. > :05:38.doesn't have normal interaction that he would at 18 months, if he was
:05:39. > :05:41.going to nursery. So the Clown Doctors coming in and just giving
:05:42. > :05:47.him a better one-to-one entertainment when he really enjoys
:05:48. > :05:50.seeing a different face, and it is really nice just to give him
:05:51. > :05:54.something different rather than looking at my face everyday! Like he
:05:55. > :05:59.normally does. The Clown Doctors dress up and,
:06:00. > :06:02.well, clown around to help make hospital less scary for the
:06:03. > :06:05.children. Being hospitalised can be a
:06:06. > :06:13.traumatic and frightening experience for children and for their families,
:06:14. > :06:16.so we are here to work using play, very child learnt, or use
:06:17. > :06:23.improvisation, we use singing, we use puppetry. But we is listening,
:06:24. > :06:26.really. We listen. Celebrations to mark the anniversary
:06:27. > :06:28.had to be postponed last year because of the so-called killer
:06:29. > :06:33.clown greys. We were gutted, absolutely
:06:34. > :06:36.first-rate, but the children knew we were coming, they were expecting us
:06:37. > :06:40.that day, and we had to turn it down. So today is a really special
:06:41. > :06:45.day for us to come back and go, actually, we are, if you like, we
:06:46. > :06:48.beat the killer clown greys. We are stronger than that.
:06:49. > :06:51.The work they do with the youngsters here is part of the therapeutic
:06:52. > :06:55.treatment they received. And over the 10-year that they have
:06:56. > :07:01.worked with more than 30,000 children. -- over ten years.
:07:02. > :07:03.I think Steph was enjoying herself! The only bar in Teesside
:07:04. > :07:05.which caters for people who don't drink alcohol opens tonight,
:07:06. > :07:08.and the owners claim it will offer a night out with a difference
:07:09. > :07:10.whilst supporting people Bar Zero will serve food and soft
:07:11. > :07:14.drinks, and it's claimed it will provide all the fun of a night
:07:15. > :07:17.out without the hangover It's part of a charity-run social
:07:18. > :07:20.enterprise which includes the Fork In the Road restaurant,
:07:21. > :07:23.which offers training Volunteers are being sought
:07:24. > :07:26.for this year's Kynren with a session taking
:07:27. > :07:30.place at Flatts Farm Anyone who signs up can take part -
:07:31. > :07:34.last year over a thousand volunteers made up the cast and crew
:07:35. > :07:36.over 15 evenings. This year the organisers
:07:37. > :07:39.want to put on 17 shows, and they say they'll welcome
:07:40. > :07:41.applications from anyone Now for the weather forecast -
:07:42. > :07:48.here's Abbie Dewhurst. Hello again. Good at it. A very
:07:49. > :07:51.chilly morning and quite cloudy as well. There is some sunshine
:07:52. > :07:57.starting to make an appearance, but a bitterly cold wind pulled up some
:07:58. > :08:02.very cold air from a near continent, really adding a big, big wind-chill.
:08:03. > :08:06.You can see on the isobars as it moves up from the south. It really
:08:07. > :08:12.affects coasts and hills, bitterly cold if you get caught in a big cost
:08:13. > :08:15.of wind. But quite cloudy picture, and that hasn't really changed from
:08:16. > :08:20.the blue colour we saw overnight last night. Some sunshine for part
:08:21. > :08:24.of Cumbria, and it will feel a touch less cold. Temperatures up to 3-4,
:08:25. > :08:27.but not feeling like it if you factor in that southerly breeze.
:08:28. > :08:32.Feeling more like minus one. Elsewhere, where temperatures hover
:08:33. > :08:38.around zero, it is looking more like -4 or minus five. Tonight, similar
:08:39. > :08:43.story. Here we could cease patches of mist and fog and some freezing
:08:44. > :08:47.fog over higher ground as well. Elsewhere, clearer skies, but for
:08:48. > :08:50.everyone, widespread frost and temperatures down in the minus
:08:51. > :08:55.figures. Still sticking with a southerly breeze, so feeling even
:08:56. > :08:59.colder. A cold, cloudy start tomorrow. Temperatures a little less
:09:00. > :09:03.cold, but there is still this southerly breeze, so still a
:09:04. > :09:08.wind-chill, feeling more like 2-3 C, and where they are 2-3, more like
:09:09. > :09:12.minus one. Through into the weekend, unsettled on Saturday, the risk of
:09:13. > :09:17.some potentially heavy, wintry showers, but things calm down. They.
:09:18. > :09:21.So if you are stepping out tonight, but on a thicker T-shirt. That is it
:09:22. > :09:23.from the lunchtime team. Have a good afternoon. We would be back at 6:30
:09:24. > :09:37.p.m.. Until then, goodbye. TV: He's not your father.
:09:38. > :09:51.WOMAN GASPS so why not pay your TV licence in
:09:52. > :10:04.weekly instalments, too?