:00:12. > :00:15.A North East homeless charity says cuts to its funding
:00:16. > :00:18.means it faces a constant battle to survive.
:00:19. > :00:21.For more than 20 years Coatham House in Redcar's
:00:22. > :00:23.provided accommodation for young people in need.
:00:24. > :00:26.But homelessness is no longer considered
:00:27. > :00:28.a statutory funding provision for many councils,
:00:29. > :00:35.Across the country - the Charity Crisis says it's latest
:00:36. > :00:37.figures show around 180,000 people affected by homlessness.
:00:38. > :00:41.Housing shortages and changes in benefits are often blamed -
:00:42. > :00:53.I couldn't find a job. I got depressed, started arguing with mum
:00:54. > :00:55.and stepdad and everyone in the family and just never left the
:00:56. > :00:58.Over the years John stayed with his mother, father and brother.
:00:59. > :01:01.But he says he argued with them all and became
:01:02. > :01:09.They want you when no one else does. I don't know where I would be. If I
:01:10. > :01:12.kept getting moved out I would probably be living on the streets. I
:01:13. > :01:12.don't even know if I would be alive, genuinely.
:01:13. > :01:16.Coatham House supports 35 young homeless people in Redcar -
:01:17. > :01:24.If it is survivors of abuse you would usually find there may be more
:01:25. > :01:27.understanding of what it is all about. If it is challenging
:01:28. > :01:30.behaviour, it is challenging behaviour so therefore it is
:01:31. > :01:32.difficult for them to fill a form or talk to someone without storming out
:01:33. > :01:34.talk to someone without storming out the room.
:01:35. > :01:38.Now the town's mayor is sleeping on the streets - for two nights -
:01:39. > :01:41.on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day to raise money for Coatham House.
:01:42. > :01:46.People just ignore them and people just think they are scum because
:01:47. > :01:49.they are living on the streets and they are not. There are people who
:01:50. > :01:50.have got real problems and all they need is help.
:01:51. > :01:53.The charity needs ?350,000 a year to survive.
:01:54. > :01:55.And with grants reducing - every year - they say -
:01:56. > :02:06.Two men arrested on suspicion of murder
:02:07. > :02:08.after the death of a woman in Middlesbrough
:02:09. > :02:11.The 44-year-old was found at an address in the
:02:12. > :02:16.The body of a man's been found in the River Wear in Washington.
:02:17. > :02:18.The police were called to the stretch of water
:02:19. > :02:23.It's not thought there are any suspicious circumstances.
:02:24. > :02:26.And a man's body's been recovered from the Riven Ehen at Egremont.
:02:27. > :02:28.Cumbria Police say formal identification's yet
:02:29. > :02:32.to take place, and there are no suspicious circumstances.
:02:33. > :02:34.The family of local man, David Hornsby, who went missing
:02:35. > :02:41.Well, despite the shops only being closed until Monday,
:02:42. > :02:44.that's not stopped thousands of us spending Christmas Eve getting those
:02:45. > :02:51.Megan Paterson's spent the day with shoppers in Carlisle.
:02:52. > :02:54.We've all got our Christmas traditions and, for some,
:02:55. > :02:58.the last-minute shop is as much a part of the festivities
:02:59. > :03:09.I never ever shop before Christmas Eve. You get the bargains, and save
:03:10. > :03:12.loads of money. It is a man thing. Buying a feud
:03:13. > :03:16.last pieces. Helping my dad by my mum are
:03:17. > :03:20.present. I just always leave it to the last minute. I thought it would
:03:21. > :03:22.be quieter but it is always busy. Have you got every thing you need
:03:23. > :03:27.now? That's it. Finish now.
:03:28. > :03:29.Home. Feet up? Yes. Will you be more organised next
:03:30. > :03:30.year? Definitely not. Extreme flooding in the early part
:03:31. > :03:34.of December last year kept shoppers away but this year customer numbers
:03:35. > :03:36.at the Lanes in Carlisle are healthier than
:03:37. > :03:42.the national average: Comparing the figures from early
:03:43. > :03:48.December this year versus last year when we had the floods, we have seen
:03:49. > :03:51.an uptake of about 31% one footfall figures but that is obviously...
:03:52. > :03:56.You've got to compare what was going on in the city at that time.
:03:57. > :03:59.The Christmas Eve rush ended in most shops here at five o'clock,
:04:00. > :04:01.for the dedicated shopper it'll start all over again
:04:02. > :04:05.Megan Paterson, BBC, Look North Carlisle.
:04:06. > :04:08.Football - and just Berwick playing today.
:04:09. > :04:11.Not a happy Christmas for them though - losing 3-1 away at Annan.
:04:12. > :04:14.And in Rugby Union's Premiership: Newcastle Falcons losing 21-6 to top
:04:15. > :04:19.So onto the weather forecast for Christmas day now -
:04:20. > :04:30.Good evening. The windy weather looks set to continue. In fact
:04:31. > :04:34.tomorrow we've got another warning for gales. The strongest of the cast
:04:35. > :04:37.are likely to be to the east of the hills. It is going to be quite wet
:04:38. > :04:41.across country and western parts overnight. The rain will become more
:04:42. > :04:47.light and patchy as the rain wears on and mild air will spread from the
:04:48. > :04:51.west. On Sunday very mild state. Damp and drizzly across Cumbria but
:04:52. > :04:55.largely dry elsewhere. The risk of gales. Very mild at 13 degrees with
:04:56. > :04:55.some persistent rain by tomorrow evening.
:04:56. > :05:00.No bulletin tomorrow, but I'll be back with the latest
:05:01. > :05:05.It just remains for me to wish you a very happy Christmas,