27/01/2012 Look North (Yorkshire)

Thank you. Good evening and welcome to Look North.

6 Yorkshire's top stories tonight: Mindless vandalism or something

more sinister? On Holocaust Memorial Day, a

soldier's statue is defaced with yellow paint. Police won't rule out

a race-hate crime. They're not just children that have done this. I

think there is more to it than that. I think it's the new speciality of

today. Standing down: the boss of a

troubled NHS Trust decides it's time to go.

Also coming up on tonight's programme:

How Dolly Parton's begun a reading revival in one South Yorkshire town.

And what chance a conversion? The England Rugby Union players

attracting a sell-out crowd. There are some nasty conditions across

some Pennine areas. These pictures were taken in the last few hours in

the Peak District. All the very latest coming up shortly.

Our top story tonight is, Scarborough have reacted with shock

and disgust after a much-loved statue was vandalised overnight.

The figure of an old soldier who sits on a bench overlooking the

North Bay was given to the town by a pensioner last year. But last

night someone threw yellow paint all over him, prompting a huge

response on Facebook, and it's feared it could be an anti-semitic

attack. Let's go live to Scarborough and our reporter Cathy

Killick. 8.00am this morning, and this is

the scene that greeted council cleaners - yellow paint slung over

Scarborough's much-loved sculpture of Freddie Gilroy. The towns folk

reacted with outrage on Facebook and Twitter. It was bought for them

by Maureen Robinson last year. She cashed in her life savings to keep

Freddie by the sea. The attack has left her utterly dismayed. I

couldn't believe it. I thought I was dreaming. I felt my heart drop

into my shoes. I said to my husband, "We'll have to go down and see

what's happened", although I didn't wish to see it at all. I felt too

upset. He was a miner-turned- soldier who became one of the first

of the allied troops to liberate the Belsen camp. Marching across

the fields of Gemini he could have little inkling of the horrors he

would have uncovered there, but his links with that terrible time may

have provided a warped motive for last night's attack. There has been

a lot of speculation about why this has happened. Today is Holocaust

Memorial Day, and yellow is a colour associated with the

persecution of the Jews. It was the colour of the stars the Nazis made

them wear. The fear is that this was a calculated anti-Semitic

attack. When my phone rang at a quarter to 7.00am for someone to

tell me this had happened, I was absolutely mortified. Apparently,

so is the rest of Scarborough according to the feedback I have

been getting. It was a gift to the town. I just feel so sorry for Mrs

Robinson who has gifted it. I am outraged. This is disappointing,

but it will go. We'll get past that. The sculpture will be just as it

was, so hopefully people can enjoy it as it was, and hopefully it

won't happen again. The police are keeping an open mind as to the

motive. They have certainly not ruled out an anti-Jewish connection.

As for Maureen Robinson, she wants the culprit a caught. They need

naminged a shaming. It's no good sending them away on a holiday

because the poor deprived innocents, as you might say, they have to be

taught a lesson, hard one. clean-up took hours of hard work,

but was successful. Fortunately, the sculpture isn't permanently

damaged, but one can't help wondering, what would the man have

made of it all? Thank you.

We can speak to Councillor David Jeffels from Scarborough Council.

Two emotion I think from Scarborough folk tonight - anger,

and a sense of shame as well that it could happen there. Yes. I mean,

Scarborough woke up this morning to the horrific news - absolutely

disgusted that this could have happened in our town to a much-

loved piece of public art that, as you say, was given to us only a few

weeks ago by the wonderful Maureen Robinson as a gesture to the town,

and people have just been amazed all day, but I think the point is

that what we have seen is the graffiti team from the Borough

Council have done a wonderful job in ensuring all the paint has been

cleared up as quickly as possible before it had chance to dry, so the

Freddie you see behind me now is back to normal. Sorry I have to

interrupt. What credence do you actually give to the point this

could have been anti-Semitic because if you look at the location

of that statue, you have to determine how to get there,

especially at night I would have thought. You do indeed. You

wouldn't just stumble across it certainly. I think when you look at

the coincidences - it is Holocaust Memorial Day. They have used yellow

paint, and Freddie has Belsen connections - it's too much of a

coincidence. I hope those that have been responsible for it are caught.

I think the way the public have reacted in Scarborough today in

giving money to help catch the culprits in terms of a reward I

think speaks volumes. Briefly - you're offering a reward? Indeed.

We have had hundreds of pounds coming into the council today.

People are determined that the culprits of this attack on this

wonderful piece of public art are caught and brought before the court.

Thank you very much indeed. You can see the graffiti team have done a

fantastic job there. Thank you very much indeed for joining us this

evening. Council tax payers who handed over

cash to a Yorkshire company to have their property rebanded are

demanding their money back. Earlier this week we told you about Jack

"Darrell" Henry who was found guilty of fraud after making

misleading promises to slash council tax bills. His company in

Huddersfield has now closed, but a new firm's set up on the same site,

and the problems are continuing. Nicola Rees reports. Martin and Ann

McGwire live in this bungalow in Leeds. They pay more than a

thousand pounds in council tax each year, so when a company contacted

them to say that could be reduced, they called. We made an appointment.

He came the next day. He was very pleasant, and he promised us both -

he said based on figures back in 1994 and if your house was worth

less than �30,000 back then, you were on band A. We were on band C.

He promised us we could get up to band B or maybe A. The company,

Council Tax Review delivered promises that for a one-off fee of

�100, they could deliver council tax rebates. They said we could get

our money back if after six months they didn't complete and we didn't

go up any bands. It was a win-win. But the McGwire's property was

never rebanded. They weren't entitled to a rebate. Despite

dozens of letters to the company their fee has yet to be returned.

Every house in the country is placed in a band. They go from A to

H. The higher the band, the more you pay. If you think your band is

too high and you're paying too much council tax, you can appeal to the

Valuation Office Agency. You can do this yourself, though. You

definitely don't need to pay a company to do it for you. This week

the Director of Council Tax Review Jack Henry Henry was given a

suspended sentence. The new name of the company is

Reband UK, but the problems continued. They have been found

guilty of using unfair, illegal council tax practisings. The

company is shifting to Reband UK. We're already receiving complaints.

We'll investigate any complaints. Jack "Darrell" Henry resigned as

director two weeks ago. Tonight nobody from Reband UK was available

to talk to us. Thank you.

Stay with us... For the only Yorkshire stayers in the FA Cup.

It's the two Sheffield sides providing our only hopes in the

fourth round. The Chief Executive of the trust

which runs Pontefract Hospital has announced she's standing down.

Julia Squire's departure follows controversy about the overnight

closure of the accident and emergency department and reports

that the trust is facing a deficit of almost �20 million. She's to

take up a new role with the NHS. Another week, another crisis at the

mid Yorkshire hospital's NHS Trust. They may have new hospital

facilities, but the exterior masks a troubled organisation overspent

by �20 million.S this time it's the sudden departure of Chief Executive

Julia Squire that's attracting attention. She'd headed the trust

for the last five years, but over recent months there has been

mounting criticism over management of its finances and sol of its

services. The decision in November to close Pontefract accident and

emergency overnight prompted protests from local people. At the

time Julia Squire said it had been a difficult decision. It has not

been the easiest. I didn't come into the NHS to restrict services.

Earlier this week a controversial proposal to staff the department

with Army medics so it could open for 24 hours was rejected. As local

MPs have held crisis meetings with the trust, accountants have spent

months pouring over their books. The health of the finances wasn't

helped when they were asked to pay out �4.5 million to a doctor who

alleged sexual discrimination today. Julia Squire didn't return any of

our calls, and no-one was available from the hospital's NHS Trust.

Instead they issued a statement thanking Julia Squire for her

positive contribution over the last five years and wished her well in

her new role with the NHS Confederation. Now MPs are asking

was she pushed, or did she jump? Was she sacked or did she resign?

It seemed inevitable to me she'd go. We have to get some changes in this

trust. We need to get some fresh thinking, and we need to get moving

forward. In the end this is a welcome development a new person

coming in. He needs to quickly get a grip on this trust which is

clearly having lots of complex difficulties. The new Chief

Executive will take over in March. MPs plan another meeting on next

Friday. Our health correspondent is here.

Put this into context. This is a trust with long-standing problems,

isn't it? It has had a decade of debts caused by a combination of

factors - the difficulties of running hospitals across three

sites, raising patient numbers and some would say underfunding in an

area with a lot of deprivation and health problems. In 2004 they were

put into special measures. They had deep financial and service measures.

They were �30 million in debt. The Government stepped in and wrote

that off, but still the debts continued to pile up. By 2008, they

had a debt of �77 million, which was the biggest of any hospital

trust in the country. The Government said, "We're not going

to bail you out. The Yorkshire Strategic Health Authority came in

and gave them some money, but they had to get a loan for the other �30

million, and they got that at 5.2%. In the first year of that loan, it

cost them �1 million in interest alone. You have to factor in the

cost of two new hospitals? Penderfields and Pontefract cost

�33 million. They were financed through the Private Finance

Initiative where the private company comes in, builds the

hospitals and then leases them to the NHS. They have to pay interest

on those every year for 35 years. That began to build up a debt. In

2009 the hospital said, we're going to get a grip on this situation and

cut 15% off our budgets - that's �55 million over the next two years,

and I understand they thought we were on course to achieve that, but

then last year it became apparent there was a hole in their plan. The

Finance Director retired. Ernst & Young accountants were brought in

to look at the books. When it became apparent there was a �20

million deficit, it was obvious Julia Squire, the Chief Executive,

was going to have to go the Government has insisted all

hospitals become what are called foundation trusts - that is they

become independent of the Department of Health by 2014. It is

obvious they're a long way off that target. Do we think Pontefract A&E

is going to open up overnight? it was shut because of safety

concerns, not having enough doctors, and given their debt of �20 million

deficit, I think we're looking at more service cuts. Thank you very

much. The Ministry Of Defence says a

sonic boom heard by thousands of people across North Yorkshire

yesterday was caused by an RAF fighter in training. As we reported

here on Look North, RAF pilots have been taking part in a training

exercise ahead of the Olympics where they'll be protecting the UK

airspace during the games. A Typhoon jet from RAF Coningsby was

authorised to go supersonic overland yesterday afternoon.

Bullying at work is the top complaint made by staff at North

Yorkshire Police. 20 grievances were made in an 18-month period

according to reports looking at equality and diversity in the force.

Last May, North Yorkshire Police said "master classes" for managers

would be introduced to try to address the issue, but unions say

that's not happened. Customs officers have raided a

replica U-boat museum moored in Leeds. Its 64-year-old owner

Richard Williams was arrested yesterday and bailed as part of an

inquiry into a suspected �1 million VAT fraud. Mr Williams says the

investigation has nothing to do with the U-Boat Trust which runs

the museum. Police in Barnsley are appealing

for help in tracing a man who's been missing from his home since

last Saturday. Shawn Lockwood, who's 44, was last seen walking

down Hoyland Road in Wombwell. Relatives have described Mr

Lockwood as vulnerable. The husband of Euro Democrat MP Wallace who

became involved in a nepotism row says he's not taking her seat. He

would have been entitled to take over his wife's job after her

departure, but it's now been announced the seat will be offered

to the third-placed candidate. A scheme that encourages pre-school

children to read by sending them a free book every month IS helping

improve literacy in South Yorkshire. The Imagination Project was

launched four years ago by country singer Dolly Parton who pioneered

the idea in the United States In fact, it's proved to be such a

success in Rotherham that an MP is now calling for it to rolled out

across the UK. Here's Spencer Stokes. Every month a free book

drops through this letter box. It's personally addressed to Josh. He's

one of the children in Rotherham who receives a book from the

Imagination Library, but unlike a normal library, these are Joshua's

to keep. I think it's definitely helped him. He likes to get

involved and read his books as soon as they come through. He opens them.

He likes the one about the giraffe and how he got his head stuck in

the tree, and that's how he got his long neck. I am Dolly! Imagination

got off to a glitzy start four years ago when Dolly Parton

launched the scheme in Rotherham. She was behind the original library

in the US - seeing it as a way to boost reading and communication

skills. Ever since that time, my dream has been for every child to

have a library of books. It costs �24 per child per year to run. 84%

of preschool children are members, and attainment levels among those

children are up 6%. That's led for one local MP to call it to become a

national scheme. -- for children whose parents are soldiers and

children who are in care. It's showing a modest investment at the

earliest years can make a big investment to all children. Times

are tight. Finances are tight, but I am saying to the Government, look,

there are some groups of children who may benefit most from this. You

should look at extending this. Rotherham is currently the only

place in the UK where all children, no matter what their background,

can receive the books. By the time Josh is five, he'll have a

collection of 60, but even at three-and-a-half, he seems to have

a rough idea of who is to thank. Is it from Dolly? Yeah! Dolly.

Shall we go and read it? Yeah. You know, they all laughed at

Rotherham four years ago about that, but they ain't laughing now. Let's

turn to football. It's the FA Cup coming up. We have a serious,

Yorkshire, in round five. But there aren't many teams to choose from.

They might just have other things on their minds.

It's still only round four of the FA Cup this weekend, and here we

are already down to our last two Yorkshire candidates, and blow me,

if it isn't the Sheffield Neighbours who are already locked

into a pattern of matching each other's attempts to gain promotion

But with a League One match against the MK Dons coming up on Tuesday

night, what do you think is most important? Comm, Dons. So -- MK

Dons. What is the FA Cup? It's the game before that. If you were going

to lump two games, I would have to go with the league. The financial

side is a bonus for everybody. It's not affected us in our focus, so I

don't see why it should start now. Sheffield Wednesday have already

seen off the Championship's West Ham in the last round. Both they

and the Blades should have round five in their sights. Here's an

idea - an FA Cup "steel city" derby. It's on Sunday afternoon. Let's

hope we have two reasons to be watching.

Sheffield's Nick Matthew has beaten Pontefract's James Wilstrop to win

the Squash Tournament of Champions in New York. It caps a great return

from injury for Matthew, who has now beaten Wilstrop in their last

thirteen meetings. It's Matthew's first Tournament of Champions win

of his career, and will move him back to number one in the world

rankings, while his rival Wilstrop drops back down to number two. It's

quite some... It is indeed. I wonder if they shook hands.

A sell-out crowd in Leeds earlier for nothing more than a training

session. England's Rugby Union squad is preparing for their Six

Nations campaign next weekend. the interest in the national side

prove Rugby Union is thriving in a traditional Rugby League

stronghold? The crowd of 2,500 just to watch

England train - organisers say today's session in north Leeds was

four times oversubscribed, and that's just amongst the rugby clubs

and schools who were invited. Temporary head coach Stuart

Lancaster used to be in charge at Leeds Carnegie and head Yorkshire

ahead of Portugal. I wanted to come north. Something like this today

has been absolutely, to get 2,3500 people on a freezing Friday morning

to watch is unbelievable. Is a turnout a sign union can thrive

alongside or even become more popular than Rugby League in

Yorkshire? Heidi lives in Dewsbury and teaches at a school in Mali.

She's deep in Rugby League territory, but is on a mission to

change that. In my house Rugby League doesn't exist. It's always

Rugby Union. We're trying to show the students there's not only rugby

League but also the proper Rugby Union. The process has started but

has some way to go. All the different rugby clubs... I have

found Rugby Union interesting. We have been in a lot of tournaments.

I have found it interesting. current leader of Rugby Union's

team says he's not surprised at the support. Yorkshire is one of the

main counties for Rugby Union. There is a lot of competing teams,

but fundamentally people support Rugby Union. It's great they

support the national team. Is today further evidence of the two rugby

codes moving ever closer together? Controversial. We won't go there.

Staying with sport because final training is under way for one of

Yorkshire's hardest fought Championships - the grudge match

which will see Florida go head-to head with Cherie. Blair? It's

rabbits! We're joined by the organisers. How serious is this as

a competition? It's a really serious sport, actually. This

competition over here is kind of serious, but English - rabbits

doesn't compete the same as the Swedish. So we're behind Sweden?

That's not good. No. When did you find out flora had a bit of a

talent for jumping? I bought her because in Sweden we breed jumping

rabbits. What do you have to have to look for in a jumping rabbit?

Long legs, lots of muscles and a great deal of... A great bounce by

the look of that. The training routine, Paul, is what? How do you

make them do that? Rabbits we're familiar in the wild - they're fit,

agile creatures, but the point of bringing in rabbits from Sweden to

Harrogate is all the pets should be out of their hutch and running

around. There are going to be over 300 pets out. They should be out

and handled. This will be great for families and to engage your pet and

do something interesting with it. It's an interesting addition to the

show. How popular has it been with the public? It was an absolute

smash. We had more people through the door - particularly families

coming through because most of us start our pet owning life with a

small furry pet. They're not that well understood. Too many rabbits

are kept in hutches. We want to make the point, get them out of the

hutch, let them run around whether it's indoors or in the garden.

can we see them? All weekend at the Yorkshire Centre in Harrogate. The

Swedes are the champs, but the UK be lively and wintry. Thank you for

looks pretty bad there. The showers moved through quickly, put a couple

of centimetres down. Certainly the high roads especially around South

Yorkshire are very icy. That's where we start the forecast because

we have a warning of ice. That's for much of tonight. The head line

tomorrow is dry with sunny, but there is some good cold weather on

the way for next week because at long last, the mild Atlantic air is

giving up the ghost, and it will be replaced by a drift from that very

cold near continent as we head into Monday, and as I say, for much of

next week into February. But there is the hook of angry looking clouds

which brought the hail, sleet and heavy snow showers. They're

currently moving through South Yorkshire, but they're moving

quickly. That's the good news. We're left with clearing skies from

the north-west, hence widespread ice on untreated surfaces.

Temperatures in the west as low as minus 3 Celsius. That's 27 degrees

Fahrenheit. So the sunrises in the morning at 8.00am. Your high water

line in Filey at 7.27am. Many of us off to a frosty start. May be some

mist and low cloud in place, but that'll break up. It looks like

Saturday will be the best day of the weekend - dry and bright with

sunshine, which may be hazy at times - certainly towards the coast

- may be a bit of patchy cloud drifting in from the north sea, but

all in all, a pleasant day - a light, north-west breeze. Top

temperatures not too bad - ever so slightly below average - 6 Celsius,

33 Fahrenheit, nearer 4-5 Celsius over the Pennine hills. Sunday

starts dry and bright. It will cloud over. Western areas are at

risk from a little patchy, light snow. It doesn't look as though it

will be overly heavy and shouldn't cause too many problems. That'll