20/01/2014 Look North (Yorkshire)

the windscreen first thing in the morning. That is all

Good evening, welcome to Monday's Look North. On the programme

tonight: The York man seeking controversial

stem cell treatment abroad in a last`ditch attempt to slow the

progress of Parkinson's disease. I just feel that this is his last hope

and it is what he wants. We'll be asking a stem cell expert

just what the chances of success could be.

Also tonight: warnings that fracking in Yorkshire

could have disastrous consequences for tourism and farming.

And it's all happening in Sheffield tonight. 6,000 Yorkshire

schoolchildren at the Sheffield Arena, along with the one and only

Stacey Solomon. I will be talking her shortly.

What a beautiful day it has been, but note the fog in Hathersage

Valley this afternoon, that will become more widespread across the

region tonight. Join me for that detailed forecast.

A man from York with a form of Parkinson's Disease is planning to

travel to Ukraine for a controversial treatment using stem

cells. James DeLittle has slurred speech, poor balance and

difficulties controlling his limbs and this is his last`ditch attempt

to slow down the progress of the disease.

The clinic in Kiev hasn't performed clinical trials on its techniques

but claims to have good results. Experts here, though, say stem cell

science isn't yet sufficiently advanced to treat Parkinson's

patients. In a moment, we'll hear from James himself, but first our

health correspondent Jamie Coulson reports.

49`year`old James DeLittle has a form of Parkinson's disease called

Parkinson's`plus. For ten years, it has gradually eaten away at his

quality of life, as his movement and speech have become increasingly

difficult. You see people with their families and kids and things and...

I will never have that. James used to be a soldier in the British Army

and a long`distance lorry driver, but now he sometimes struggles to

leave the house. His condition is degenerative, so before things get

worse, he has decided to embark on a radical and controversial approach

to treatment. NARRATOR: Ukraine was the first

place where unique methods of human foetal stem cell therapy was

invented. James is is planning to travel to a clinic in Kiev in

Ukraine for stem cell therapy. For just over ?6,000, doctors there say

they will inject him with stem cells harvested from aborted foetuses.

They claim to see improvements in 75% of cases, but there have been no

clinical trials or published scientific evidence. Stem cells are

the building blocks of the human body, and those found in embryos can

reproduce themselves and transform into any cell found in the human

body, including the heart, lungs and the brain. Those found in adults are

more limited, but it is this ability to replace damaged cells that make

experts believe they can one day lead to medical breakthroughs. But

they also warned that the science isn't yet that advanced for

Parkinson's. We don't know enough about how stem cells work and

potentially what the problems are, what the side`effects are, to be

able to carry out human trials, particularly for Parkinson's. There

are some human trials ongoing for conditions such as heart disease,

eye disease and even multiple sclerosis, but we really need to

find out much more about how stem cells work before we can move on to

do some clinical trials for Parkinson's.

NARRATOR: The key to our treatment is our cell suspensions. The clinic

in Kiev says it is fully licensed and the treatments they offer with

foetal stem cells are legal and approved in Ukraine. James, medicine

time. James and his family say they are aware of the concerns but feel

it is a risk worth taking. Although it is very unknown, this treatment,

we have got nothing to lose at this point. So, yes, he is going to go

and he will go with my blessing. I dare say there are people who have

got their reservations, but they haven't got Parkinson's, they don't

know what it is like to live with it. `` there are objections. James

will fly out to Ukraine at the end of this month. What is not known is

whether his visit will provide anything more than hope.

James and his mother Rosemary join us now in the studio. In Ipswich,

stem cell expert Professor Brendon Noble.

James, there are obvious concerns about this treatment, there have

been no clinical trials yet. While you putting yourself through it? I

have had Parkinson's ten years now, and the breakthroughs in many cases

has been too slow for me, I can't wait another ten years, so it is

just frustration, ready. Explain what it is like living with

Parkinson's. It is infuriating. My whole body feels like it has got

cramp. I balance goes, `` my balance goes, I produce too much saliva and

in the last two months, I have broken my thumb, two ribs and my

nose. Rosemary, you care for your son James. You get a real sense that

this is the last chance, not just for James to have a quality of life,

but for you to also have that. Yes. I have watched James deteriorate the

last ten years and it is soul destroying and this is what James

wants to do and this I want him to have some hope. Let me bring in

Professor Noble. Thank you the joining us. Do you appreciate the

kind of situation that James and his Mum are in at the moment? You

understand why they are trying this? I completely understand why they

would wish to consider this sort of thing, not least because, of course,

there is a lot of advance in cell therapy and stem cell `based

medicine, so I completely understand why they would consider it. Of

course, they do also need to take on board that if it has not been

tested, that there are concerns, shall we say? We know, obviously,

that you need to test these things, not only to see whether they work,

whether they do something useful, but also that they are safe. You

think there is any likelihood that James could see improvements? I know

that as far as you are concerned, you know nothing about the Kiev

clinic at all, you don't know whether their claims are even

remotely true, is that right? I don't know much about the company, I

wouldn't wish to comment to directly. What I do know is it is

very important that when you produce cells, from stem cells or elsewhere,

that you prove they may actually do something useful, that they are

maintained in the body and you know which part of the body you have to

put them into, because just squirting them into the blood

system, for example, doesn't mean to say they will go to the correct

place and do something good. Isn't that the point, Professor Noble? I

will put that to you Rosemary, you heard the risks from the expert.

Yes, but he hasn't said yet that it will do him any harm. If it doesn't

work, well, I don't think we have lost anything. And what if it

doesn't work as what is next? We will just keep hoping someone

produces something in this country. His consultants did say to him once

that they hadn't gone down the surgical route. I don't quite know

what that means, but when James next goes to his consultant, I will go

with him and seek what else is available. James, the best of luck

with it and do come back and let us know how it all goes. I will. And

back row one, thank you joining us. The two drivers involved in the M62

motorway crash which killed an 18`year`old girl on her way to a hen

party have appeared in court charged with causing her death by dangerous

driving. James Johnson, from Wyke, near Bradford, and Kevin Ollerhead,

from St Helens, will have their cases heard at a Crown Court. Our

Crime Correspondent John Cundy reports.

The horrific crash on the westbound carriageway of the M62 near

Castleford on April 26th last year, in which Beth Jones died. Beth Jones

was in a group all in a minibus on the way to a hen party in Liverpool.

It was in a collision with a lorry. Nine months on, 63`year`old James

Johnson, the minibus driver appeared in court for the first time together

with the lorry driver, Kevin Ollerhead. Both are accused of

causing Beth Jones's death by dangerous driving. 12 other

passengers, including the bride`to`be and the driver himself,

were badly injured. Today is the first court hearing since the tragic

crash. James Johnson and Kevin Ollerhead appeared for just four

minutes at Wakefield Magistrates' Court. They heard that their case

can only be heard by a Crown Court, so it will appear at Leeds next

month. Neither Mr Johnson nor Mr Ollerhead spoke as they left court

with their families and lawyers after the short hearing.

Later on Look North: the fans appeared on Look North on Friday and

there were Vital wins for Barnsley and Doncaster Rovers in the

Championship. And a point apiece for Sheffield

United and Bradford in League One's Yorkshire derby.

A former police officer from Doncaster who offered to supply

cocaine has been spared jail. PC Sarah Greaves, who's 29, offered to

supply the Class A drug to a friend in text messages but no drugs were

exchanged. She was given a 12`month prison sentence, suspended for two

years, and 200 hours of community service. Reporting restrictions

prevent us showing any images of her.

West Yorkshire Police are being investigated over their handling of

the Hamzah Khan case. The body of the four`year`old was found at his

home in Bradford in 2011, almost two years after he'd died. Last October,

his mother was found guilty of manslaughter and jailed for 15

years. Allegations of neglect had been made to police and other

agencies before his body was found. The Independent Police Complaints

Commission will examine what action the force took and why the case

wasn't referred to them in 2011. 35`year`old woman's appeared in

court charged with murder. Police were called to a flat at Rosemary

Gardens, in the Ollerton area of Bradford, early on Saturday. A

41`year`old man was found with serious injuries and died at the

scene. Alexia Heckles, who's also from Rosemary Gardens, was remanded

in custody. Police have confirmed there were no

suspicious circumstances surrounding the death of a pensioner whose body

was found in Leeds yesterday. Edward Roberts, who was due to turn 90

tomorrow, had been missing for a week. His relatives have been asked

to come forward. A leading expert on gas and oil

exploration is warning any move towards fracking in Yorkshire could

have disastrous consequences for tourism and farming.

Test drilling has already taken place at one site in North Yorkshire

and there have been expressions of interest in other sites near York,

and Bawtry, in South Yorkshire. Here's our business correspondent

Danni Hewson. It looks innocuous, but this is

where Yorkshire has had its first brush with the fracking industry.

Samples from deep underground have been taken for further analysis to

see if lucrative shale gas can be extracted from this site at Kirby

Misperton, near Pickering. It is expected to be the first of many

such sites, with the Bowland shale stretching right across the region

and the Government offering councils cash incentives in the form of

business rates. There has been much resistance to the potential

industry, amid fears of water pollution and earthquakes. One oil

and gas expert fears it will harm the countryside. If you look at your

tourism industry in Yorkshire, and you look at your farming industry in

Yorkshire, they could suffer very, very badly as a result of fracking

and so, consequently, you are left with a legacy of thousands of Wells

abandoned, leaking, agricultural industry destroyed, tourism wrecked,

through flaring and through trucks. So what is fracking? Well, it works

by drilling deep underground, jetting water, sand and chemicals

into the rock and collecting the gas that escapes. We are just beginning

to look at the potential value of shale. In America, it has brought

down gas prices but there is growing evidence that in some cases,

fracking has had major health implications. A situation companies

wanting to frack in the UK say couldn't happen here because of

tight regulations. There has been evidence of some contamination, but

that has been caused because the well has not been constructed

properly and there is absolutely no evidence that it has been caused by

fracking per se. But companies like IGas will be largely self`regulated

and we have discovered that the Health and Safety Executive will not

be carrying out site inspections for Wells unless there is a specific

cause concern. It is not possible for a health and safety inspector to

stand in every single corner of every single factory in this

country, or every single chemical plant. The onus of responsibility,

rightly, has to be placed on the owner or operator of that site. But

even if fracking becomes a reality here, not everyone is convinced it

will solve our energy needs. We might be lucky to get 1% out, we

might get 0%. We have to be realistic about this. It is quite

hard to imagine, you know, a big shale gas industry in the country so

densely populated. But companies are lining up to try. Uphill and down

dale. Mike Hill is an oil and gas

engineer. He joins us in the studio. We should probably start by saying

you are not against fracking as a whole, you have worked on oil rigs

yourself, but you are against the self`regulation. Yes, I am, that is

exactly the case. The companies here are entirely self`regulating, they

decide what is important and they tell B Health and Safety Executive,

they go away, they drill the Wales and they construct dams themselves,

sending a fax to the regulator saying it is OK `` do wells. You

have had the year of the Government, they have listened, but they are

saying you have saying too much now `` you are saying. Particularly the

consequences were tourism and forming. Why are they so serious

about this question marks they want to give a big green flag to the

operators in the US. There is a suggestion that it is heavily

regulated but it is not, the Government has done its best to

remove as many regulations as it can, and many other new regulations,

as such by the Royal Society... So you are not over egging this? If

anything, the opposite. There have been zero inspections in Yorkshire

and Lancashire. So what are your objections for Tories and farming?

There are a number of dangers. In terms of agriculture, if there are

leaks from the wells, which they do if they are not regulated properly,

as was said in the piece, that will get into the food chain. Once it is

into the food chain, the European Commission told me it would make the

BSE crisis we had a few years ago look like kindergarten. We would be

looking at widespread bans of UK produce for maybe three decades, not

three years. The Government says it is safe, yet you experience some of

those potential dangers in Blackpool? Yes, we had to

earthquakes in Blackpool. Earthquakes? Proper earthquakes?

Proper earthquakes, and the reason to not dismiss them is because those

earthquakes damaged that well near Blackpool over a very large

interval, they crushed the casing, which means Cuadrilla have had to

abandon it. When you crush the casing colour you move it away from

cement and methane and radon gas fracking influence can migrate into

the agriculture, and studies coming out of the United States,

independent studies, are saying that if you are planning to start a

family, don't live within 1.5 miles of fracking. You say you are not

against it but you're making a very good case against it? It needs

regulating, and we do not have that. So if it was regulated, you would be

happy? Yes, coupled with strict enforcement, like the Royal Society

says, then yes, but in its present form, it damages our unborn

children, it increases cancer rate and is extremely dangerous to the

general public. And you can see more on this story

on Inside Out tonight on BBC One at 7:30pm.

Before seven o'clock: We've got your weekend sport

highlights plus: Charging forward.

We talk to the new Bradford Bulls owner about his plans to keep the

club afloat. And why schoolchildren in Sheffield

have got the X`Factor tonight, singing live with Stacey Solomon.

Football now, and it was a good weekend for both Barnsley and

Doncaster Rovers, but both remain in the Championship relegation zone.

Doncaster were very impressive. And there was also a hotly contested

Yorkshire derby in League One. Shamir Masri can tell you more.

There were good results for our lower`placed clubs in the

Championship, although Barnsley remain bottom, despite a win against

Blackpool. Shamir Masri can tell you more.

There were good Chris O'Grady with both goals for Danny Wilson's first

win back as manager and their first league win at Oakwell since October.

Doncaster Rovers also won, but, like Barnsley, are still in the bottom

three due to teams around them also picking up points. Chris Brown

scored goals either side of James Coppinger's sneaky effort to record

an impressive 3`0 win against Wigan, their first at the Keepmoat

since November. After their goal bonanza against

Leeds, Sheffield Wednesday fought for a well`earned point away at

Burnley. They came from behind. Chris Maguire's goal giving the Owls

a well earned 1`1 draw. In the capital, Huddersfield lost

2`1 to Queens Park Rangers, but new signing Nakhi Wells scored his

second in two games since joining the Terriers from Bradford city.

Leeds United, who had conceded ten in the last three league games, were

much improved for the visit of Leicester. However, the chances came

and went and it allowed the Foxes to snatch a 1`0 win late on at Elland

Road. In the Yorkshire derby at Bramall

Lane, Sheffield United made the perfect start and goals from Jamie

Murphy and Harry Maguire gave the Blades a comfortable lead at

half`time. But Bradford launched a second`half fightback. Goals from

Gary Jones and the ever`present James Hansen saw it finish level at

2`2. If you missed any of the action from

the weekend, the Football League Show is now available on the BBC's

iPlayer. You were there at the weekend.

I was at Doncaster. There was more excitement on off the pitch. One of

One Direction was there. Did you know who it was?

No. Now, the rugby league season doesn't

start until next month but it already looks like being a long and

difficult campaign for one of our Super League sides.

The chairman and soon`to`be owner of Bradford Bulls says the next few

months are vital to the club's future. Mark Moore spoke exclusively

to our reporter Ian Bucknell. Gathering for the squad photo,

Bradford Bulls were in good spirits today. That is partly relief that

the club has got this far. Last month, it was revealed they had to

make savings of ?400,000, and, when a takeover deal fell through, the

chairman and two directors resigned. That takeover has now been agreed,

but there are still tough times ahead. We are not out of the woods

yet, there is still a lot that we have to deal with and all I would

say is just be patient for the next three to six months. We are hoping

that with the plans we have in place, that within the next three

months, we will be in a much better place than we are now. As I say, we

are still in the woods. Last season, the Bulls finished outside

the play`offs. They will do well to better that this time around. I

don't think the club is in a position to bring anyone in. I'm

really happy that we have got to the photoshoot with the squad that we

had before Christmas, because it was looking like we were going to lose

players, so that is a big relief. So the short`term aim is survival but,

in the long`term, Moore wants to bring the glory days back to the

Bulls. That will take time, it will be a tough year, but we are now

starting to see a light at the end of the tunnel, which a few months

ago, we didn't know we could get a light. At the start of the season,

the Bulls are here and raring to go. If they are talking about

performances and not financial problems by the end of it, that

would count as a success. Now there are some very giddy

youngsters in Sheffield tonight. In fact, 24,000 of them will fill the

Motorpoint Arena over the next few days as part of the nationwide Young

Voices tour. Young Voices is the world's largest

children's choir and is led by X Factor finalist Stacey Solomon. And

we've sent our very own songbird Ian White to Sheffield to tread the

boards. # We're halfway there.

# Living on a prayer. # Take my hand, will make it I

swear. # World, living on a prayer.

I have found the star of the show, Stacey Solomon. Welcome to

Yorkshire. Thank you by having me! What is a girl like you doing in a

place like this crash and Mark singing with thousands of children.

You have children of your own, so this must be so exciting for them.

They are so excited, thinking of my kids and me as a child, I would have

loved to have done this, said to be a part of it is incredible. What are

you doing in the show? I'm singing some tracks from a new album, which

I am excited about, and a couple of covers for the parents, and just

having fun. # The only man who could ever reach

me. # Was the son of a preacher man.

The only boy who could ever reach me.

# Was the son of a preacher man. # Oh, yes he was. We did a song, and

a bitter dancing, and then Stacey Solomon came on stage. Have you been

singing with Stacey Solomon? # Oh, he was.

# What an incredible atmosphere. Come on, sing us a song!

This is what it is like right now, live in Sheffield. Look at the

kids, they are so excited, they are from all over Yorkshire, in and

around Yorkshire, they have been here all day rehearsing and, behind

us, all of the mums and dads, who are waiting. They are really

excited. Let's talk to the guy behind this, something that gets

bigger and better. Absolutely, we have over 100,000 children taking

part and here tonight, we have 5,000, who have been practising for

for months and you can see they are pretty excited. What do they get out

of it? So much confidence and self belief, the chance to perform in a

major arena in front of their parents with incredible artists like

Stacey Solomon and the others we have with us. It is a pretty big

deal for them. We hope it goes really well, thank you for having

us, and Stacey Solomon will be on this very stage very, very soon.

We would have loved more on that but we are pushed the time.

Get on with it. A few pictures which are beautiful, the first when you

saw at the top of the programme, it gives you a hint of what is in store

for tomorrow. The next picture, this was taken last night, this is just

outside Huddersfield and we will quickly move on to the next one,

this was a very frosty looking adding, and the last one, my

favourite, not biased, of course, the outskirts of Howarth, looking

down on a beautifully clear valley. Keep the pictures coming in. Right,

the warning of fog will become fairly widespread by dawn tomorrow

morning and any sunshine will probably be restricted to the coast

and over the tops of the hills and then this weather front will bring

rain, perhaps a short spell of snow, about above 1,000 feet over the

Pennines, it won't cause any problems. This afternoon, it was

lovely, we had eight degrees at Bingley, 800 feet up in the Pennines

and as we had through this evening and overnight, mist and fog

gradually developing. Before the end to the night, make a note that under

widespread frost, temperatures in room rolled areas as low as minus

three Celsius. `` rue role. So with the exception of the coast

and the top of the hills, it is a grotty start. That fog is quite

dense in places, particularly the Vale of York and the Trent Valley,

lifting but only into low cloud, so the many others, a different feel to

the weather tomorrow and then rain comes in through tomorrow evening

and tomorrow night, a short spell of sleet and snow over the highest

ground of our region. The top temperatures, the average is seven,

so it will feel pretty chilly, particularly well fog persists, four

or five Celsius if you are lucky. 41 Fahrenheit. A wet Tuesday night,

Wednesday looks cloudy with rain at first, slowly clearing. Thursday

improves, Friday looks fine, but rain after dark again and a bit of

snow right above the tops. Thank you, it has been lovely today.

A very nice winter's day. That is it from us, I will be back at 10:25pm,

alongside Paul. Good night.