26/01/2017 Look North (North East and Cumbria)

In the headlines this Thursday lunchtime:

The Conservative councillor and hunt master who's stepped down

after making offensive comments to a protester.

And the Clown Doctors are celebrating a landmark -

after being forced to postpone by last year's killer clown craze.

A huntsman has resigned from his position as a Conservative district

councillor after being caught on a video camera making lewd

comments to a protestor during a meet of the Middleton Hunt

Charles Carter was heard making the improper comments

He's been condemned by the Conservative party in Norfolk,

where he lived before moving recently to York.

John Cundy has the story - and we must warn you,

you might find some of the language in his piece offensive.

The moment when Linda Hoggard fox hunting is illegal. The processor

challenges Mr Carter, and I I will tell you something I will tell my

Charles councillor has been a district councillor in Norfolk out

after revelations about his conduct. The council leader said he was

appalled, as there were the residents of the Norfolk village he

had represented. A -- should know so much better anyway, and a woman

should not be spoken to like that by anyone.

He should not be representing anybody. But if he

Charles Carter is now living near York.

The hunt with which he rises described as one of the most

historic and North Yorkshire, dating back more than 200 years. In June

2015, Charles Carter was master of the West Norfolk foxhounds, and was

interviewed about the ban on fox hunting. Having to look over 1's

shoulder all the time for is not what North Yorkshire Police say they

were alerted to what they call Charles Carter and Linda Hoggard on

Monday. A motorcyclist from County Durham

who was paralysed from the waist down in a road accident is making

progress in his bid to walk again. 30-year-old Andrew Bell,

from Chester Le Street, almost died in the crash

nearly two years ago, spend the rest of his life

as a wheelchair user. But now, following pioneering stem

cell treatment in Thailand, he's been able to stand and take

steps using a walking frame. We'll be hearing from Andrew

in tonight's Look North. Cumbria Constabulary needs

to improve its protection of children who are at risk

of abuse, according to a new report. HM Inspectorate of Constabulary,

which carried out the report, concluded that the force

is committed to improving its services and that they responded

quickly, but found a lack of understanding of the extent

of child sexual exploitation and an inconsistent response

to the problem They also found that some serious

cases were allocated to non-specialist teams which lacked

the necessary skills. The force says it is already

addressing any shortfalls. the report highlighted the fact that

not every officer had access to computerised information.

That has now been done. We have improved the amount of intelligence

by 750% on vulnerable children, and the force are analysing that now.

That is another recommendation that is complete. There are many more,

but there is still some more work to be done.

Two men have been charged with aggravated burglary

following an incident in County Durham when a pensioner's

life savings were stolen in a raid on his home.

It is alleged the 77-year-old from Coronation near Bishop Auckland

was attacked with a coal shovel and robbed on Saturday.

He was taken to Darlington Memorial Hospital where he was treated

Two men are due before magistrates today.

The Conservatives have revealed their candidate

for the Copeland by-election. She's Trudy Harrison.

Last week Labour named Gillian Troughton and UKIP named Fiona Mills

Rebecca Hanson is contesting the seat for the Liberal Democrats.

The by-election, caused by the resignation of

Labour's Jamie Reed, will take place on February 23rd.

You can see a full list of candidates on the BBC News website.

Now - they say laughter is the best medicine -

and for the last decade a group of clowns who dress up

as doctors have been entertaining sick children

at the Great North Children's Hospital in Newcastle.

The Clown Doctors were due to celebrate their birthday

in October but had to postpone their celebrations after

the so-called "killer clown" craze. Steph Cleasby reports.

Hello, hello, hello, hello, hello. Celebrating ten years of raising a

smile during the toughest of times. One-year-old Ross recently had a

bone marrow transplant. He sees different people, but he

doesn't have normal interaction that he would at 18 months, if he was

going to nursery. So the Clown Doctors coming in and just giving

him a better one-to-one entertainment when he really enjoys

seeing a different face, and it is really nice just to give him

something different rather than looking at my face everyday! Like he

normally does. The Clown Doctors dress up and,

well, clown around to help make hospital less scary for the

children. Being hospitalised can be a

traumatic and frightening experience for children and for their families,

so we are here to work using play, very child learnt, or use

improvisation, we use singing, we use puppetry. But we is listening,

really. We listen. Celebrations to mark the anniversary

had to be postponed last year because of the so-called killer

clown greys. We were gutted, absolutely

first-rate, but the children knew we were coming, they were expecting us

that day, and we had to turn it down. So today is a really special

day for us to come back and go, actually, we are, if you like, we

beat the killer clown greys. We are stronger than that.

The work they do with the youngsters here is part of the therapeutic

treatment they received. And over the 10-year that they have

worked with more than 30,000 children. -- over ten years.

I think Steph was enjoying herself! The only bar in Teesside

which caters for people who don't drink alcohol opens tonight,

and the owners claim it will offer a night out with a difference

whilst supporting people Bar Zero will serve food and soft

drinks, and it's claimed it will provide all the fun of a night

out without the hangover It's part of a charity-run social

enterprise which includes the Fork In the Road restaurant,

which offers training Volunteers are being sought

for this year's Kynren with a session taking

place at Flatts Farm Anyone who signs up can take part -

last year over a thousand volunteers made up the cast and crew

over 15 evenings. This year the organisers

want to put on 17 shows, and they say they'll welcome

applications from anyone Now for the weather forecast -

here's Abbie Dewhurst. Hello again. Good at it. A very

chilly morning and quite cloudy as well. There is some sunshine

starting to make an appearance, but a bitterly cold wind pulled up some

very cold air from a near continent, really adding a big, big wind-chill.

You can see on the isobars as it moves up from the south. It really

affects coasts and hills, bitterly cold if you get caught in a big cost

of wind. But quite cloudy picture, and that hasn't really changed from

the blue colour we saw overnight last night. Some sunshine for part

of Cumbria, and it will feel a touch less cold. Temperatures up to 3-4,

but not feeling like it if you factor in that southerly breeze.

Feeling more like minus one. Elsewhere, where temperatures hover

around zero, it is looking more like -4 or minus five. Tonight, similar

story. Here we could cease patches of mist and fog and some freezing

fog over higher ground as well. Elsewhere, clearer skies, but for

everyone, widespread frost and temperatures down in the minus

figures. Still sticking with a southerly breeze, so feeling even

colder. A cold, cloudy start tomorrow. Temperatures a little less

cold, but there is still this southerly breeze, so still a

wind-chill, feeling more like 2-3 C, and where they are 2-3, more like

minus one. Through into the weekend, unsettled on Saturday, the risk of

some potentially heavy, wintry showers, but things calm down. They.

So if you are stepping out tonight, but on a thicker T-shirt. That is it

from the lunchtime team. Have a good afternoon. We would be back at 6:30

p.m.. Until then, goodbye. TV: He's not your father.

WOMAN GASPS so why not pay your TV licence in

weekly instalments, too?