25/09/2013 Look North (Yorkshire)

Bradford Good evening and welcome to Wednesday's Look North. On the

programme tonight — we're out with West Yorkshire Police tackling

off—road nuisance motorbikers. Some of them are driving death traps.

They are disturbing hundreds and hundreds of people with the

ridiculous amount of noise they make. If you consider that the

batteries have been taken out of the exhaust, they are making as much

noise as an aircraft. Also tonight a scammer where a bus

was deliberate the crashed to claim for injuries.

Also tonight, And with the number of high—street shops dwindling, York's

butchers go on a meat crusade. And there has been some brightness.

Here at —— we should get some more brightness tomorrow. Join me later

for the forecast. Tonight, police are warning that

it's only a matter of time before someone is killed or seriously

injured by off—road bikes being driven recklessly on footpaths and

public roads. West Yorkshire Police say they receive up to 25 complaints

a week about anti—social behaviour caused by trial and quad bikes. They

say many of the vehicles are death traps, with drivers uninsured and

under age, some as young as 12. Phil Bodmer has been given exclusive

access to the West Yorkshire Police off—road bike team. He joins us now.

Well, this is a golf club between Leeds and Bradford. It is popular

with off—road motorcyclists and quad bikers because of its terrain. It is

fairly quiet but that a headache with the revving of

engines. Seven years ago, the belief that of a specialist union to deal

with it. In 2006, they dealt with 1400 calls in north—west Leeds

alone. By 2008, the number of complaints had been reduced by

almost half. But there is a persistent problem. The latest

figures show almost 500 calls to police with four months of the year

still to come. Police motorcyclist follow an off—road bike being ridden

at high speed on a street. The rider is not wearing a helmet and he is

not keen on being stopped. The pursuit is then on. It lasts for

over one mile. It is a typical example of the problem police face

in dealing with anti—social behaviour caused by off—road is

plaguing many neighbourhoods. Pull over! The rider is given stern

advice and issued with a ticket. If he is caught again, the machine will

be seized. A lot of the bikes we come across have no breaks. They are

death traps. The majority of them will not be insured, he will not

have a drivers license, he will be under age. With no licence and

insurance, you fines and ultimately the bike could

be seized as well. For communities blighted by this form of anti—social

behaviour, it is not just a noise nuisance. There are real safety

fears for the riders themselves. Somebody could be seriously injured

and I don't think it will be long before it happens. They are not

written well, they are ridden dangerously. They are ridden to

quickly through the area and quite frequently they are written on side

wheels, on two wheels. Two wheels of the floor. Police say that some

riders are as young as 12 and catching suspects is not easy. They

come face—to—face with two bikes coming the other way and narrowly

avoided a face that a head—on collision. For Ron Woodhouse, it is

not just young lives at risk, animals can be at risk. I have seen

a horse staked out to graze within a circus —— within a circle and a quad

bike coming within that circle and the halls dodging out of the way

each time —— the halls dodging out of the wage time. Yorkshire police

say that if drivers are caught behaving anti—socially they can

expect to be prosecuted and face losing their vehicles.

It is fairly quiet this evening and residents will be hoping it stays

that way. This summer months because the winter

nights draw in. Police say the number of complaints will diminish.

But notwithstanding, they say they will continue to work with the local

authority to combat this ongoing problem.

Thanks Phil, well one of those responsible for tackling the problem

is Sergeant Mo Gother from West Yorkshire Police. A little earlier

we asked him what's being done to solve it. We can ensure that

resources are specifically targeted to where we have a specific problem.

We rely on the public to tell us where the problem is. If we don't

know about it, we can't do anything. We need to do it —— we need to know

where it's happening and we will target resources in the area. We can

use the police helicopter in extreme circumstances. It is a question of

needing intelligence in order to act. How typical was the behaviour

we saw there, riding over pavement, no helmets, no breaks on the bikes.

Unfortunately, a lot of the culprits for this type of offence are young

children, as young as 12. Up to about 18 years. It is a dangerous

problem. There is confusion surrounding the law. Where can these

people ride illegally? The simple answer is nowhere other than private

land. And on private land, there has to be permission from the landowner.

If it is a farm, there has to be permission from the farmer. On parks

—— on public lands, permission from the council. So absolutely not on

the footpath or bridleways? There is a law prohibiting that. Still

receiving hundreds of complaints every year although nothing like the

peak in 2006. What sort of penalties can these riders face? They can be

issued with fixed penalty tickets and have their vehicles seized.

These vehicles can be destroyed. They can go to court, there are a

number of options available to the police and law enforcement agencies.

Thank you. A detective has described his shock

at finding the mummified remains of a boy's body in his home in

Bradford. Richard Dove told a jury he couldn't stop his hand shaking at

the horrific discovery of four—year—old Hamzah Khan who'd lain

dead in his cot for nearly two years. Hamzah's mother Amanda Hutton

is denying the manslaughter of her son by gross negligence. John Cundy

reports from Bradford Crown Court. Richard Dove was an experienced

comfortable in West Yorkshire Police's child protection unit on

the day when he was called to Amanda Hutton's house to investigate a

report of possible child cruelty. He had been warned of the house was

squalid, described as a tip. When he went upstairs, he was to make a

shocking discovery. Richard Dove said that as he entered the master

something was wrong. He described how he pulled back, —— pulled back

piled up layers of bedding to reveal the head and face of a child. It was

the mummified body of four—year—old Hamza Khan, he had been lying dead

in a cot for nearly two years. Now it detective sergeant, he told the

court, I was shocked. I ask myself, am I really seeing what I am

saying? Amanda Hutton went through 20 police interviews before being

charged. Detectives were told that she had had an abusive relationship

with a long—term partner and Hamza's father. They had split up

before his death. Amanda said that she did not know what to do when her

son died. She put her son back in the cot and said that she was numb.

She kept saying, I'll do something tomorrow. Every day it became harder

and matters got out of hand as she began to drink heavily. The

prosecution has alleged because —— that the boy died because he was

starved by his mother. Amanda Hutton denies manslaughter and says her son

died of a natural illness. Later on Look North, a blow for

mums—to—be? York Hospital replaces traditional antenatal classes with

online videos. Sheffield in order to get pay—out

for injury have been convicted of conspiracy to defraud insurers. 26

of the 33 passengers on the bus had been told by claims company to be on

it so they could make claims. The bus driver Adam Herbert admitted

agreeing to deliberately crash his bus into the back of a Vauxhall

Zafira driven by Mohammed Gulzar. Gulzar ran the firm City Claims For

You. The investigation found Herbert had switched off the onboard camera

on his bus moments before the crash on Scott Road. After the vehicle

stopped, a passenger ran down the length of the bus and threw himself

at the inside of the windscreen, to fake injury. Seven people have

already pleaded guilty and today the jury at Sheffield Crown Court

convicted Gulzar and three others. A short while ago South Yorkshire

Police gave us this reaction. They are good convictions. This was a

serious crime in Sheffield. I'm glad that we have had 11 people convicted

out of the 14 people involved. This was a brazen crime, wasn't it. ——? .

One passenger throwing himself at the windscreen, was it hard to prove

the case? It was a lengthy investigation and it took some

proving. But we were able to do so. We were helped by the insurance

fraud bureau and health by genuine passengers who were on the bus. The

sea, we had some information that this might have been a fake

accident. —— obviously we had some information. I suppose the

surprising nature of this crime is that there were so many people

involved. Is that worrying? Is that the kind of thing we are getting

now? It just shows how this company or this group of governors had

escalated this prime, the fact that they were prepared to recruit 26

people to put on the bus to make claims in a staged accident. That

really shows the level of organisation that they went to. And

the fact that they staged the accident with a bus presents a

problem for the public as well. How widespread is the problem? It is a

widespread problem. Not necessarily in this area, this is the first of

the kind in our area. Sentencing, when will that be? Sentencing will

probably be the 4th of November. I am not sure of the actual date yet.

Tonight, firecrews across Yorkshire are back in work after a four—hour

strike this afternoon. There were just a handful of incidents in our

region as pumps manned by a mixture of volunteers and managers stood by.

Members of the Fire Brigades union say they're angry about the

retirement age going up from 55 to 60. Union leaders called it a

"warning shot" and have not ruled out further strikes if they can't

reach a deal with the government. Tom Ingall reports.

Sheffield at midday. A scene repeated across Yorkshire and the

North Midlands. Fire crews leaving work and joining a picket line. This

is a dispute about the retirement age being raised from 55 to 60 and

changes to pensions as a result. The government won't listen to us any

more. We have tried to get a negotiated settlement for two years.

We have two take action. We cannot let firefighters rescue people in

the —— in their late 50s, it is not safe. Why have you decided to come

out and support your husband? I see the risks. He comes home from work

absolutely shattered and he is a fit young man. I can't see any

firefighter at the age that they say you have to work to being able to

keep up with how hard the job is. It is putting the public at risk and it

is putting firefighters at risk. In Leeds, a demonstration was held in

millennium Square. No firefighter wants to go on strike. We did not go

into the fire service to not putting the public. When we respond, we have

to do it quickly and it takes a lot out of you. Less than half of the

firefighters voted for strike action. We have a good settlement,

fed to the taxpayer and to firefighters. One of the best in the

public sector. —— fair to the taxpayer. The pumps were manned by

fallen tears and managers. In South Yorkshire, they are preparing in

case the strike continues. The numbers that we have

case the strike continues. The give the members of the crews

respite during extended strike action. My worry would be more about

experiencing a busy period. It seems to have been a relatively calm

afternoon with a few incidents. However, the volunteers were filling

in May yet be called upon again. York Hospital is the first in the

country to scrap traditional antenatal classes for expectant

mums. Teenage mothers will still get to go but for everyone else, the

classes will be replaced by online videos from next month.

The birth of a baby, undoubtedly one of the most important moments in any

parent's life. Traditionally, they have had face—to—face antenatal

classes to help them prepare. But at York Hospital, that is about to

change. They are virtual classes, delivered by midwives who have

written the script for them, who are on film. We have expanded what we

are offering. We offering what the classes covered traditionally and we

are also extending that. About 3400 babies are born here at your

hospital every year. But only about one quarter of their mothers attend

antenatal classes. The hospital says that by switching to videos, more of

those parents will be able to access the help that they need. It leading

charity says National childbirth trust says that

parents could miss out on the support they get from meeting other

parents and there is no evidence that online courses are as good as

traditional ones. At this York play centre, opinions were mixed. We are

having our second baby and I'm still going to look at going to active

glasses because it is of benefit, packed with people who know what

they are talking about. Video would be useful, rather than having to go

to the hospital at a specified time and date. I would use videos for

antenatal classes. Teenage mothers and those with multiple births will

still get traditional face—to—face courses. The rest will hope online

classes can deliver the same level of support.

Campaigners hoping to take over the running of Sheffield's Don Valley

Stadium will find out later if they have been successful. Sheffield City

Council is going to make a ruling tonight. The group, save Don Valley

Stadium are fighting a decision to close it to save money.

The Department for Transport has appointed Sir David Higgins as the

new chairman of the High Speed two rail line. It's planned to link

London, with Sheffield and Leeds and is expected to open in 2033. Sir

David ran the Olympic delivery authority responsible for

construction of the venues used in London 2012. He's currently the

chief executive of Network Rail and will take over as chairman of HS2 in

January next year. The future of the historic village

of Saltaire in West Yorkshire is being discussed at a meeting

tonight. Business owners, residents and councillors will be among those

attending. On the agenda will be preservation, economic

sustainability and tourism. It'll help form part of a new management

plan for the village. Before 7pm... We like a bit of bling

don't we? And it was ever thus! We're talking about two gold

bracelets, dating back to the Iron Age, which the Yorkshire Museum is

trying to buy. When was the last time you bought

meat? And where did you buy it? High street butchers say they're in

danger of disappearing from our town centres because of competition from

supermarkets — but they're fighting back. As Cathy Killick reports, in

York, they're taking steps to make sure they're not consigned to

history. It is one of York's most famous

street, loved by tourists for its crooked houses and old world charm.

Its cables give a fairy tale glimpse of its medieval past. But this day,

it is full of boutique shops. There is evidence of a more gory past. The

shells were called flesh elves and they were used for meat. When I was

younger, my dad used to enjoy telling me about all the butchers in

the shambles when he was a lad. And he used to delight in saying that

all the gutters ran with blood. Now, the York sausage shop is the last

surviving butchers in the shambles and one of the few surviving

butchers in the city walls. We have a lot of competition from big

supermarkets. We have about nine within the city centre. There are

about nine —— five to ten within walking distance from the shop. They

have massive buying power and can buy more for less money. At this

festival of food and drink, the butchers are fighting back with a

campaign they are calling The Meat Crusade. It is not just York which

is losing its butchers. We are now down to 7000 independent butchers.

If people want to save the high Street, one of the way they can do

that is to go back to their local butcher. Consumers will ultimately

decide the fate of local butchers. If enough people use them, they

should survive. But if we want them in our towns and is, they will need

our support. —— in our town centres. In cricket, Yorkshire look as if

they are about to finish the season with one final flourish. They are

certainly in a strong position on day two of their last match, away to

Surrey. Gary Ballance fell just short of the 150 mark, in

Yorkshire's first innings total of 434.The hosts have made a decent

reply though — 172 for the loss of just one wicket at the close.

The businessman who helped save the Bradford Bulls last year has handed

over ownership of the last September after the Bulls had

spent more than two months in administration.

last September after the Bulls had spent more than two But Khan issued

a statement today confirming that he and fellow directors Gerry Sutcliffe

and Vipin Joshi also are stepping down from the Bulls' board. Ryan

Whitcut and Mark Moore are expected to take over, in a move which is

still subject to approval from the rugby league authorities. ?NEWLINE

Onto football. Sadly for Huddersfield Town, they couldn't

pull off a cup shock against Premier League opposition last night. Hull

City scored the only goal of the game in the second half through

striker Nick Proschwitz. Huddersfield's defeat means Leeds

United are our only team left in the Capital One Cup and they play at

Newcastle tonight. Super League fans! Tonight is your

last free evening before two mouthwatering playoff semi finals,

that will decide whether Huddersfield Giants and Leeds Rhinos

will be going to this year's Old Trafford Grand Final. But today, the

Rhinos squad were already in great voice, at a recording studio! The

Rhinos have decided to produce a compilation of their own fans'

songs, which they hear from the terraces on a matchday. The finished

product will be on sale before Christmas. Proceeds will go to the

Lymphoma Research and Leeds Rugby Foundations.

Now you women love your jewellery. I'd bet you'd fancy a couple of

expensive gold bracelets? Did somebody tell you it was my birthday

today? Is that for me? They're not only gold, they are very, very rare.

In fact they are the first pieces of Iron Age jewellery ever to be found

in the north of England. They're currently on display in the

Yorkshire Museum in York. And curator Natalie McCaul is here with

us now. Tell us about the history of these gold bracelets? This is the

first Iron Age gold jewellery found in the North of England. It is

incredibly rare and it is completely rewriting what we know about this

region free the Romans. —— before the Romans. We have two pieces, this

one would the museum already owns and the one that we are looking at.

Exciting as this one is, and wonderful as it is, this one is even

more exciting because it is much more intricate. It is a more

technologically advanced design and it is a much rarer type. Because

they come from the same find, it is important that we save this one as

well as keep the two together. We were speculating as to who could

have owned this? This could have been wealthy, good it? Absolutely.

This is jewellery fit for a queen in the Iron Age. North Yorkshire is

ruled by a woman in this period so absolutely, the Queen is even

written about by the Romans. A local celebrity in the Iron age. Head of

the Brigantes? Absolutely right. It isn't. —— incredibly heavy and ought

to think that it stayed in a riverbed near Towton and look at it.

That is the duty of gold, it doesn't tarnish. We want to keep it in

Yorkshire, how do we do that? Help us to raise the final bit of money

that we need. £20,000 it has been valued at. We have 16,000 already

from donations. We need to get the rest. I wish you well. It deserves

to stay since it was found here. The metal detectors will be out in

Talton over the next few days! Finally, the Bradford—born best

selling author, Barbara Taylor Bradford is to auction off part of

her huge collection of valuable jewellery. Many of the items were

given to her by her husband of 49 years, Robert Bradford, whom she

describes as 'very generous'. They include a 14 carat cushion—shape

diamond ring, an antique sapphire and diamond brooch and an 18 carat

sapphire ring. The collection, which is valued at between £1.5 and two

million, will be auctioned off at Bonhams in London in December.

Unbelievable, isn't it? Are the security guard still over

there? The ladies I spoke to at lunchtime

spent —— send their best wishes. I can show you two nice pictures.

Look out atmospheric that is. —— look how atmospheric that is. Keep

your pictures coming. So for the next 24 hours, an improving trend.

We will start off with a lot of clout in western and southern areas

but it will brighten up with sunny spells. High pressure coming in

keeping the areas of low pressure at bay. It looks like we will be fine

on Friday at the weekend. Some sunshine. There is still a loss of

cloud on the satellite picture. But look at tomorrow's whether lurking

in the north—east. Gradually, this weather front will come southwards

and we were all brighten up. This evening is dank and cloudy. Light

rain and drizzle heading in from the north—east. Especially the North ——

the North York Moors, the Yorkshire Dales. But there will be clear

spells in the East. Further west, it will stay damp and drizzly. The sun

will rise in the morning at these times. A West —East slate early in

the morning. The cloud she gradually breaks up in the morning —— a split

early in the morning. Early dampness in the West. Top temperatures close

to average in land. The good news is that Friday and the weekend are

looking quite pleasant. We have just heard that Sheffield

council has said no to those campaigners wanting to take over and

save Don Valley Stadium. That means that the stadium will be demolished.

Good night.