Behind the verdicts they record, some will have been tragic accidents, some premeditated acts of violence.

Perhaps the most difficult are the ones that were preventable.

According to coroner Andrew Tweddle the killing spree at Horden on New Year's Day 2012 by Michael Atherton was "avoidable".

The triple murder of Susan McGoldrick, Alison and Tanya Turnbull was horrific, but the coroner was so concerned about the way gun licensing was administered by Durham Police he publicly called for "root and branch" reform.

The inquest heard there were numerous opportunities to revoke Atherton's permit to own weapons.

As we exclusively revealed in November 2012 this is on top of criticism by the Independent Police Complaints Commission who found there was a "wanton lack of intrusive enquiries, poor practice and woeful record keeping" within Durham Police's firearms licensing unit.

Sadly, even this was not the first time Inside Out had reported on the lax approach to way the Durham force dealt with guns.

In 2010 we exposed the background to the trial of Maurice Allen.

The PC, along with fellow officer Damian Cobain, was convicted of misconduct in a public office.

They'd been selling guns handed in to the police for destruction.

Before he was convicted Inside Out undertook an interview with Allen in which he blew the whistle on how badly the department was being run.

The judge in his case described gun control within the police as "chaotic".

At that time Michael Barton, a senior officer who has since become chief constable, admitted to me: "This was not our finest hour was it?"

He reassured viewers that things had changed.

What we didn't know back in 2010 was the same gun licensing team had been reviewing Michael Atherton's gun licences. Among the team was Damian Cobain.

It's a connection that the public nearly didn't find out about.

It was only after a press intervention during the inquest hearing that an order banning officers' names from being revealed was lifted.

Things have definitely changed now. The inquest heard that since the Horden shootings, Durham Police has reviewed the existing gun licenses and more than 100 have been revoked.

For the family the inquest is not closure.

We can all only hope that past mistakes at Durham Police have been corrected.

The family's eye now is on the future.

I was struck from the first time I met them at the dignity that have shown in the face of the colossal tragedy that hit them.

Bobby Turnbull has coped remarkably well with being reluctantly thrust into the media spotlight.

I was at the National Victims' Association conference at which he summoned the courage to speak about his mother, sister and aunt's killings.

He and the family were determined lessons should be learned and our gun laws reformed.

They are hoping an e-petition will gather enough support to lead to change.

Here in the North East & Cumbria we have an annual shindig where the BBC and ITV news teams, along with colleagues from the world of film, drama, commercials and animation, slug it out to be named top dog in their field.

The Royal Television Society's regional awards are actually quite an amicable affair, but with enough of an edge of rivalry.

You take the rough with the smooth.

Some years you win, others you fix a smile and applaud as someone else's name is called and you try not to wish they trip as they head towards the podium.

In that respect it's just like the Oscars, but on a much more restrained budget.

Thanks goodness we're not expected to sing or dance on stage, even if Red Nose Day is rapidly approaching.

Also, to the audience's huge relief we don't have acceptance speeches.

As it happens I do have a long list of people I would like to thank, as I was fortunate to win the award for 'Best Presenter'.

I'm thrilled to say the other two to be shortlisted in this category were Look North's Carol Malia and Hannah Bayman. A BBC clean sweep.

That my name happened to come out of the gold envelope was probably down to a photo finish.

The team of Inside Out producers are the ones that push me in front of the camera, and make sure I perform, so they are the ones I have to thank for being the one to pick up this gong.

This year we have to hand it to our friends at Tyne Tees who picked up the prestigious awards for Scoop and Best Journalist - take a bow Kenny Toal.

We gave them a run for their money though as Inside Out was shortlisted twice for the Scoop award.

We'd entered our dramatic Grayrigg Rail Crash re-union, where the family of the woman who died met up with the man who should have checked the points that led to the fatal derailment.

Also picked out by the judges was our film where we uncovered the true and heart warming origins of the classic song Seasons in the Sun.

In the best factual category, the Inside Out unit was again shortlisted twice, for our documentary The Queen & I and one of our episodes which focussed on health.

Also shortlisted for excellence in their field was our graphic designer, Tony Bannister and cameraman, Steve Paton.

So we only came away with one actual award to put on our mantelpiece, but all our shortlisted entries were shown to a star-studded audience filled to the rafters with our peers.

That in itself is a great feeling.

A few celebratory drinks in the company of the cream of the region's TV talent whilst rubbing shoulders with the cast of Hebburn (Best Drama winners), Jim Moir (Vic Reeves), Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson, Joe McElderry, to name-drop just a few, is still a thrill.

And there's always next year!

Boris Johnson, just like his predecessor Ken Livingstone, has raised the profile of a city that hardly needs more global recognition.

The role has real power and in the hands of two charismatic mavericks it has meant the capital has ensured its voice is heard loud and clear in government circles.

So do we need a 'Boris of the North' to fight our corner?

Recently the think tank the Institute for Public Policy Research produced a report that suggests we do.

In the style of the current London mayor I decided to put the theory to the test with a decidedly tongue-in-cheek approach for this week's Inside Out.

I certainly had fun travelling around the north seeking out potential candidates, and finding out what they think our priorities should be.

Peter Davies already has the title of mayor. The citizens of Doncaster elected him to be their prime burgher and he certainly knows his onions.

He rules the city with a rod of iron and he took me on a whistle-stop tour of his domain.

As well as what you see in the film, we saw neighbourhood hit squads being dispatched to react to reports of anti-social behaviour.

We also visited a library that was threatened with closure, but was handed over to the local community.

The council pays the bills and insurance, but local volunteers run it.

As they clean it themselves they told me there's no large outsourced cleaning contract to worry about, so the council saves money too.

Peter is proud of what he has achieved and although his time in office has not been without controversy he's particularly keen on ensuring Doncaster isn't playing second fiddle to any neighbouring cities, like Sheffield.

So would he consider becoming the 'Mayor of the North'?

Ludicrous idea he tells me, there are too many rivalries and each northern city should fight for itself. I guess he's not in the running then!

Next I met Dave Fishwick in Burnley.

He's another engaging character on my potential list of mayoral candidates.

The self-made millionaire decided he could do a much better job than the banks at lending money to businesses, so he set up his own.

The 'Bank on Dave' slogan sounds gimmicky but Burnley Savings and Loans is fully licensed to operate.

Technically it's not a high street bank, but a link between people who want to invest their savings and people who need a loan.

Dave says he is unlocking the business potential of his home town by providing the finance to get local businesses growing. He'd like the rest of the region to follow suit.

So could he be the person to champion the whole of the north as our super mayor?

He's so focussed on his mission to spread his banking revolution, the most I could commit him to was a loan of his time to offer advice to whoever got the imaginary top job.

Undeterred I headed to Teesside to see if Jessie Joe Jacobs might be tempted.

She runs A Way Out, a charity that aims to improve the prospects of women and young people, many of whom have led chaotic or destructive lives.

Seeing the underbelly of deprivation as she does, her boundless optimism seems remarkable to many who might otherwise give up.

Jessie wants to unlock potential wherever she sees it.

For the north one of her priorities would be for us to take control of our own transport. The North East feels rather cut off from the rest of the UK.

Major trunk roads like the A1 are reduced to single carriageways. The motorway network is intermittent, and taking the train from Newcastle to Middlesbrough is a one and a quarter hour trundle.

Connecting with the rest of the north is no better.

But why transport?

Jessie says it's the key that unlocks investment, makes it easier for people to take up jobs that might otherwise be beyond their reach, and it could bring in tourism that currently stays away.

Dare I ask if she might take me up on the offer of becoming a mayor for us all?

Jessie is not one to turn down a challenge and was prepared to say that if she felt she could actually make a difference she'd be prepared to give it a go.

What have I learned?

That sparky, feisty northerners are not in short supply. If you could harness all their energy and ideas it would be a real force to be reckoned with.

Whether 'The North' will ever be a real entity, other than on road signs heading out of London, is debateable.

The immoveable Pennines mean we are naturally divided and man-made rivalries may mean we are unlikely to unite under such a broad banner.

Ultimately Boris is only mayor of London, not 'The South', so perhaps it's unrealistic to to expect us to find an individual who could ever speak for anything larger than a mere city.

You can see my hunt for a 'Boris of the North' on Inside Out North East & Cumbria at 19:30 GMT, Monday 25 February, 2013 on BBC One.

As a reporter on Look North I had been documenting the regular problems the yard had faced as its order book would seem to be depleting, only for another military warship order to restore its fortunes.

Why should this time be any different?

The regular highs and lows for the company seemed to make us immune from anticipating the worst would actually happen.

Swan Hunter had enjoyed a fantastic reputation for the quality of its workmanship.

One Royal Navy captain after another would champion his new command's inaugural performance at sea trials, or praise the yard to the hilt when a vessel returned to the port of its birth.

Imagine then, the shock when the crucial order for HMS Ocean was awarded to VSEL in Barrow.

Right up to the moment of the announcement insiders at Swans were confident they had done enough.

Instead the receivers were brought in.

Although the company name lives on, this was the day the final nail went into the coffin of shipbuilding on the Tyne.

There was utter consternation, not just amongst the workforce, but from local MPs, civic leaders, media and indeed an indignant population which had been rightly proud of the river's shipbuilding heritage.

I have just watched a report I did for that evening's news. I've put it online for you to see as well.

What strikes me about it, is the way everyone look so deflated - dare I say it, even me.

The gravity of what had just happened was literally etched onto people's faces.

I was living in Wallsend at the time, so knew only too well what impact it would have on the community, near and far.

Twenty years on, the Tyne is still a working river.

But the sight of a hull sliding down a slipway to the roar of heavy chains and a jubilant workforce is now just a memory. Something to enjoy in archive footage.

I returned to the yard in 2006 when the Pet Shop Boys performed their own soundtrack to the 1925 Russian film classic Battleship Potemkin.

It was something of a surreal experience for the sell-out crowd.

Twenty years on it still seems unreal that a yard that once hummed to the tune of massed hard labour has been silenced.

Inside Out North East & Cumbria can be seen on BBC One at 19:30 on Monday, 18 February, 2013

The government's aim is to cut the welfare bill.

Housing benefit costs the UK taxpayer £23 billion a year.

Ministers don't think it is unreasonable to ask why the state is paying benefit to people who are renting properties bigger than they need.

From April tenants with 'spare' rooms will lose some of their benefit - around £13 week on average for one extra room.

The alternative is to move into somewhere smaller.

As with all universal laws, the principle becomes tested when applied to the myriad of personal circumstances.

In anticipation of this, pensioners are exempt.

It would have been politically difficult to ask the elderly to move out of their homes as they enter their twilight years.

Sue Brannigan however isn't.

She and her husband brought up their four children in their council home in Spennymoor, County Durham.

They never claimed benefits.

But when her husband Peter died just over a year ago, Sue had to sign on.

As a claimant she faces losing £100 a month unless she moves. Losing her partner ultimately means losing her home.

Sue wants to downsize and agrees that a four bed home is too big for someone on her own.

What she resents is being told to do so and when.

Her children live nearby on the same Tudhoe Estate. However, there is nowhere small enough in the area for her to move in to.

She faces leaving the community, friends and family she has lived with for decades.

The local housing association estimates it has 1,400 homes that are under occupied, yet it only has four one-bedroom flats available.

Across the North East other housing associations report similar concerns.

Department for Work and Pensions

This is not what the Jacques family want to hear.

They also live on the Tudhoe estate but with a sixth child on the way, they need somewhere larger than their three-bedroomed house.

Tonight's programme also looks at the grey area of just what constitutes a spare room.

One example is of a couple who have split up and the father has his teenage son stay over on occasions.

Should the state be deciding whether or not he needs a second bedroom?

The government is adamant the changes are fair.

It insists the benefits bill is out of control and must be addressed.

But critics fear the nanny state is quite literally crossing a threshold and should be shown the door.

As always your thoughts and comments are most welcome...

Inside Out North East & Cumbria is broadcast on Monday, 11 February at 19:30 GMT. It is also available nationwide for seven days thereafter on iPlayer.

The best compliment I get is people saying: "I've lived here all my life and I never knew that!"

I think it's down to the unique mix of investigative current affairs and original tales of individuals and places that surprise and delight.

But where, I am often asked, do we find these stories?

Naturally I'd have to sing the praises of our team of journalists, but the reality is that it is the viewers themselves who also play a huge role in what appears on screen.

After each show I often get a reaction to the films we've made, and sometimes it leads to a follow up.

That was certainly the case when we highlighted concerns with the now collapsed Southern Cross care homes.

Each week I also get correspondence from people suggesting topics for us to examine.

It seems people naturally think of Inside Out if they have a burning issue which they feel needs wider exposure.

If that's you and you want to get in touch it couldn't be easier, just email me:

Next time you tune in and wonder how we found out about a particular story, it might just have been someone down your street!

Inside Out is on BBC One on Mondays at 19:30m

We didn't set out to examine the environmental and safety issues surrounding the nuclear store on this occasion.

You may recall a 30 minute documentary when I travelled to Finland looking at precisely those issues last year - and caught up with expert opinion on both sides.

This time we decided to look at the pressures facing councillors who have such a critical decision ahead of them, given the amount of money that both the government and the nuclear industry put into the region both in wages and community projects.

I asked the question: "So is this just a local business doing the right thing, being socially responsible and supporting their community? Or is the relationship all a little too close?"

We pointed out that some of the councillors have previous connections with the nuclear industry and help hand out funds from the industry to local people.

We asked if they were able to set aside this pressure and take an independent, balanced view.

A representative from Friends of the Earth described relationships as being "too cosy".

The councillors and process were defended by the local MP, a statement from Cumbria Council, and one of those directly involved.

We fully accept that this is just one issue facing the decision makers - but one we thought might merit a closer look.

Our colleagues on BBC Look North, BBC Radio Cumbria and BBC News Online will keep you up to date with the outcome of tomorrow's meetings.

More from the Inside Out programme can be found here including the iPlayer watch again.

Beneath each of those yellow circles is a container of vitrified high level nuclear waste.

It's the end product of Britain's nuclear programme and will remain radioactive for the next 100,000 years.

On the one hand it's deadly, on the other it can be contained and managed so that humans can be within close proximity.

Where it is right now is just a temporary fix.

It's housed above ground at Sellafield in Cumbria, but what the government would really like to do bury it deep underground - forever.

It has asked councils across the UK to volunteer to become the home of the subterranean repository.

Of the few that initially put themselves forward only Cumbria is still happy to be considered.

On Wednesday three councils; Copeland, Allerdale and Cumbria County, will make their minds up whether to go to the next stage - geological investigations to see if the potential sites are indeed suitable.

The councillors were due to come to a decision last year but asked for a delay - this week is crunch time for Cumbria's nuclear waste dump vote.

Some think a "yes" is a forgone conclusion given how vital the nuclear industry is to Cumbria's economy.

The government has reassured the councils that saying 'yes' now still leaves the door open for them to pull out in the future.

Nevertheless some fear that once this next stage is approved it would start a ball rolling whose momentum could not be stopped.

Either one or both of the district councils saying 'yes' is not enough, the county has to agree as well.

It's hard to imagine any local representative on any council having to take a more important decision.

The potential consequences will be felt for the following 100,000 years.

In tonight's Inside Out programme we've been looking at those who'll have to bear the responsibility of making that call and the pressures they're under.

Last year I travelled to Finland to see what an underground store might look like as they have already built their underground test facility. I wrote about it in an earlier blog.

Whatever sleepless nights the councillors may have had, it may yet be nature that decides the final outcome.

If the Cumbrian rock isn't up to scratch the government will have to look elsewhere.

With no other volunteers on the cards it's hard to see what plan B might be.

Inside Out can be seen at 19:30 GMT on BBC One on Monday, 28 January, 2013

He's been living with a diagnosis of multiple sclerosis for a year.

He celebrated his birthday because the one thing Mark won't do is give in.

It's been hard for me to produce tonight's film about Mark because I have known him for more than a quarter of a century.

With the best will in the world this was never going to be just another assignment.

Mark had it all. A great career began where we met at Radio Newcastle, but Mark went on to network reporting and eventually he was the voice of Farming Today on Radio 4.

He'd bought a Quayside flat overlooking the Tyne, long before the area was trendy.

He has one of the most spectacular views over the cityscape.

Best of all, he has Jane, his partner for many years.

As Mark reveals, a diagnosis of MS is not just for the patient, but for those around them too.

It attacks the brain and leaves scars which gradually reduce the body's ability to control function.

He has always been frank and direct, and with this it's no different.

He and Jane know that his particular form of MS is aggressive and unstoppable.

He already needs a stick to walk and knows a wheelchair will be needed before long.

Worse still lies ahead.

I was shocked to learn that he is on no drugs whatsoever.

Unlike other forms of MS where medicines can slow down the deterioration in the body's functions, for Mark there are no periods of remission and little chance of putting off the inevitable.

He lost his job as presenter of Farming Today.

At the time no-one knew that that his need to do more and more takes during recordings and increasingly slurring speech was down to MS.

As his consultant neuroscientist at the RVI Dr Martin Duddy told us during filming, it's unusual for problems with the voice to be the first symptom of MS to emerge.

Mark fears he may lose all ability to speak.

He wondered if he'd been a bad boy - and that had led in some way to his getting MS.

He had smoked in the past and was not exactly one of life's great exercisers.

Dr Duddy reassured him, it was more likely to be genetics at play.

Mark is still writing. As well as being paid to pen articles for publications like The Northern Farmer, he has his own blog.

True to form Mark has provocatively called it The Trainee Cripple.

In it he recounts the day to day challenges of living with MS.

When he decided to tell his story on Inside Out my boss asked me if I'd produce it for him.

I had worried that with my TV producer head on I might have to push and prod Mark into areas of emotion he might not want to go.

He'd already accepted his broadcasting career is now over, but next he faces giving up the flat he loves so dearly.

It's only accessible by a long flight of steps and his legs are already struggling.

I knew I'd have to ask him to speak about that on camera.

It was difficult but our personal friendship survived the professional one.

I had always admired Mark.

When we first met in 1986 he very kindly let me stay in his flat as I had just moved back to Tyneside and had not yet sorted out anywhere to live.

That kindness is a mark of the man then.

Now the cruelty of the lottery of life has set him an immense challenge.

It's not one I think that I could bear, so it's to his great credit that Mark is facing the future with a smile and a determination to live life to the full as best he can for as long as he can.

Mark Holdstock has written this piece for BBC Inside Out about the challenges he faces living with MS.

"I had achieved just about everything I had wanted to in life, a wonderful wife... although together for a quarter of a century, we've only actually been married for seven years; a home I adore close to Newcastle's Quayside and Tyne Bridge; and a career, latterly as a BBC Radio 4 presenter that I could only dream of.

"Now though, I've lost some of that, and face losing much of the rest as my body degenerates, and my nervous system literally attacks itself.

"Four years ago my bosses at Radio 4's Farming Today programme started to raise concerns that my radio presentation wasn't as good as it should be.

"I was having to go over too many bits of script during programme recordings because of stumbles... I was eventually dropped as a presenter.

"Three years later, a year ago, I discovered what was causing my problems.

"I was diagnosed with a degenerative neurological condition, Multiple Sclerosis (MS). Sclerosis means `scarring', in short the body's own immune system attacks the brain's nerve cells.

"I use the term condition, rather than disease, because this isn't something which can be passed on to others as an infection.

"It's a degenerative condition, because gradually the nerve cells which have lost their protective cover, myelin, cease to function properly.

"In my case one of the first bits of the nervous system to be affected was the bit which controlled my speech, next was the part of the nervous system which controls my balance.

"The prognosis is that my body will, with time, stop functioning properly, my mobility will deteriorate to the point where I will almost certainly need to use a wheelchair. I will need help to dress myself, to eat and probably `bath' myself.

"For the moment the priority is to keep going for as long as I possibly can. My wife Jane is a wonderful support, and my friends mean the world to me and I am really, really grateful for their presence.

"The most immediate loss will be giving up the flat where I live, close to Newcastle's Quayside.

"It's the practicality of it, more than anything else... up a set of steps which would make it inaccessible in a wheelchair. It's only a small flat, and by a cruel twist of fate is completely wheelchair friendly once you're in, it's just getting to the front door that's the problem.

"Having an illness like MS, with the degeneration of the body can concentrate the mind.

"Accumulating wealth and ambition for status, or fame or success are no longer important, or specifically not as important as they once were.... and no I haven't got God, if anything the opposite has happened.

"What has become increasingly important is the value of friendship, and also the realisation that time is a major factor now.

"I'm not terminally ill, but my legs are, and the big fear is that the loss of the use of the legs, which will happen, will curtail the contact with friends.

"In many ways this is a `tale of the unexpected' as nobody, who is otherwise healthy, contemplates the disintegration of their body at a relatively early age of 50."

You can watch Mark's film on BBC Inside Out on BBC One at 19:30 GMT on Monday, 21 January 2013 and nationwide on the iPlayer thereafter,

Tom Temple ran the family farm near Morpeth but his love of the land was matched only by his passion for making films.

If it moved he would capture it on his cine camera.

In doing so he created a unique archive of daily life in the Northumberland market town.

His collection spanned five decades starting in the late 20's.

The many hours of film have been acquired and digitised for posterity by the county Archives Service.

I am one of the few privileged enough to have seen every frame he took.

I spent several very happy days at the Archives at Woodhorn Museum near Ashington watching 50 years of Northumberland life unfold as I researched the entire collection for our BBC Inside Out film.

A favourite moment has to be the cigarette smoking athlete in the Morpeth Olympics. The event used to be annual gathering of sporting hopefuls.

Tom captured the epic moment when a man leapt over the bar in the high jump and who stands up after his tumble with a fag end still pursed between his lips.

He surely deserved some kind of medal!

The range of things caught on film is astounding.

The side-car racing at Druridge Bay and seriously dangerous water battles on the River Wansbeck in the Morpeth regatta would surely be banned today.

It seems the whole town appears on film as they hold rallies, parades and community celebrations over the many decades.

There's every chance the scenes will bring back great memories of those days - you might even recognise yourself on film!

If so I'd love to hear from you - so please do email me at chrisjackson@bbc.co.uk

As a farmer, Tom naturally documented agricultural life.

For several generations the Temples grew crops as market gardeners and sold them in stalls in Newcastle.

To the modern viewer it dawns on you that it really wasn't that long ago that ploughs were being dragged up and down by horses, and trains were belching steam as they thundered by.

What struck me is just how many people you used to see working in the fields, whereas now you're lucky to see a lone farmer in his tractor.

Tom would probably be amazed at all the attention the fruits of his lifetime's hobby is now getting.

His sons Clive and Geoff are thrilled the collection of cine-film is now has a prized place in Northumberland's historical records.

The boys were extras in many of Tom's films, notably when he made his own documentaries, such as following the Wansbeck from source to the sea.

He even made his own captions and edited them together as well as any modern professional.

He had an eye for cinema and even managed to blag a lift in a helicopter to film Warkworth from the air - at a time when there was only the one ancient bridge over the river Coquet.

These films are now available for the public to view at Woodhorn - although you're best making an appointment. You may be there quite a while!

In the meantime you can watch extracts from the archive films here:

BBC Inside Out North East and Cumbria is broadcast on Monday, 14 January on BBC One at 19:30 GMT and nationwide on the iPlayer for seven days thereafter.

Many of us hit the high street sales and online shopping proved a welcome alternative to left-over Christmas pudding and mince pies on Boxing Day.

But how will you pay for it all?

I've been hearing from people who are increasingly relying on so called payday loans - even though you don't actually have to wait for pay day to apply.

In the North East, a region with some of the highest levels of personal debt, Wonga will soon be the name splashed over the shirts of some of the region's biggest earners - Newcastle United players.

Wonga, headquartered just round the corner from London Zoo, is to become the Toon's latest sponsor putting up a reported £32 million to back the black and white army.

Depending on your point of view, Wonga is either an innovative player in the world of personal finance - or should be shown a red card for wooing people who have little chance of meeting repayments into loans with cripplingly high interest rates.

As I've discovered, part of Wonga's success is to make the process of applying for money very easy.

Their advert shows a bunch of silver surfer puppets demonstrating just how straightforward it is to apply for a loan - with money in the bank in less time than it takes to cook your tea.

According to Wonga around a million people in the UK have taken up the offer.

The company says most of its customers are single, childless and under 35.

It also says that the average loan is made for just 16 days and that most people pay off the loan without any difficulty - and are charged 1% interest a day.

An official study in 2010 said pay day loans provided a legitimate, useful service that helped cover a gap in the market.

But that's not the experience of everyone.

For some of the people in tonight's BBC Inside Out film the attraction of the loan has proved too much to resist.

Pamela Smith from North Tyneside admits she has a terrible credit rating - with debts of around £40,000 - but she was still able to get a loan of £300 from Wonga.

She has no chance of paying it back.

Wonga says it has created a computer programme, called an "automatic risk decision engine", which collates data from lots of sources about applicants before deciding on whether to sanction a loan.

About two thirds of people are rejected.

But critics say too many people like Pamela are sucked into the chance of what looks like easy money.

They also argue that interest on loans is an astonishing 4,000% when calculated as an annual percentage rate.

Just before Christmas two leading figures from the region, the Bishop of Durham (and Archbishop of Canterbury-to-be), Justin Welby and Paralympic superstar, Dame Tanni Grey Thompson helped persuade the government to change the law.

This gave the new financial watchdog, the Financial Conduct Authority, the power to limit interest charges.

But will that be enough?

The new watchdog will not impose automatic limits - and will deal with companies on a case by case basis.

Campaigners also want to see people given more education about how to manage money which might help flag up the pitfalls of what at first sight seems like a straight forward way to get yourself some fast cash.

And what about the Wonga deal in Newcastle?

Well, Wonga's John Moorwood told me that the deal with Newcastle United isn't about winning more customers in an area of Britain with high levels of deprivation.

"This deal is about raising brand awareness.

"If we wanted to target the North East there are a lot cheaper ways of doing that - this isn't about selling loans to anyone.

"This is about developing a long term partnership with the club and community."

Have you taken out a short term loan? Let me know your thoughts by commenting below.

At primary school I remember learning how to identify trees by their leaves or bark.

The one I was most interested in spotting was the one that would deliver conkers; the horse-chestnut.

Sad to say the ash was no longer lodged in my memory banks when news first broke of this new threat to our woodland.

Once pointed out it's relatively easy.

In younger ash there is a distinctive smooth silver grey bark and sooty black buds.

The branches split off at directly opposing points and the stems bear between nine and 13 leaves in symmetrical pairs with a lone one at the tip.

The Forestry Commission website has a more detailed guide.

Not only are we being asked to look out for ash, we are also being urged to identify ones that might be infected.

When in leaf it's easier to spot because it seems as if the foliage has been damaged by a severe frost and turns limp and black.

In winter of course healthy and sick ash trees are difficult to tell apart as the leaves will all have fallen to the ground.

A tell tale image is a diamond like mark near a branch joint.

You should report any sightings of ash dieback to the Forestry Commission.

As the Inside Out programme discovers tonight, there is a high-tech means of identifying stricken trees using equipment originally designed for checking war zones for chemical weapons.

But this all feels a bit like watching helplessly by as the black death moved relentlessly across Europe centuries ago.

There is no cure for ash dieback as it's more commonly known. All we can do is monitor and try and limit its spread.

If Denmark's example is anything to go by, then we can expect 90% of our ash to succumb. That equates to around 5% of British woodland.

The good news if there is any in this situation, is signs that some ash appear to be either resistant or tolerant of the fungus and do survive.

In evolutionary terms it is survival of the fittest in action.

It might be time to make sure primary kids can spot an ash tree the next time they are out in the woods.

Inside Out North East and Cumbria is on BBC One at 19:30 GMT, Monday, 17 December, 2012.

We asked psychological mind reader Kennedy to use his magician's skills and see if he could convince people he had a special insight into their lives.

Our street experiment was to demonstrate just how easily people can be manipulated into offering up information without realising it.

What seems like incredibly personal information, known only to them, is apparently being revealed by a stranger who they've only just met.

It's the kind of technique employed by entertainers to baffle their audiences. That's fine because everyone knows it's a trick.

On tonight's Inside Out we examine whether it's also being used by Stephen Holbrook.

He's an incredibly popular medium who sells out venues across the North.

But critics worry that his claims that he can hear the dead could be harmful to those desperate to make contact with relatives who've passed away.

Stephen categorically denies he uses 'cold reading' techniques insisting he does not advertise his evenings as "entertainment shows" because they are genuine.

Interestingly since we got in touch, his website was changed to say his shows are for "entertainment only".

You can be your own judge by watching tonight's programme - details are at the bottom of this page.

So what is 'cold reading'?

On the streets of Newcastle Kennedy showed just how it works combined with a bit of traditional magic.

Our volunteers secretly wrote down a name of someone they hadn't seen for a long time.

Using his magician's repertoire Kennedy was able to get that name - so he already knew the sex of the individual, and chances are that would be someone who was dead.

The changing fashions for names can also hint at a possible age or generation, providing more clues to work with.

Next he throws out a question that seems specific to that person but has in fact got a good probability of being relevant to just about anyone.

"What's this about dogs?" That question is so open ended we probably could all respond to that.

The thing is that our volunteers are filling in the details. Either it's a pet, or maybe they had a phobia of them.

Either way it starts to sound convincing.

"Why are there too many flowers?" This sounds a bit more specific, but is it really?

Flowers are part of our every day lives - but something young men probably don't care for much.

His mum made the connection with the flowers she had planted in his memory and saw it as "scary" that Kennedy would know this. But he never said it.

Asking the right question in the right way is vital to cold reading.

Another example would be if a young man has died; our mind-reader could ask if cars were important to him.

Statistically more young men die in car crashes than most other causes.

If we hit the mark with this our subject would be amazed. How did we know the young person died in a car crash?

If we didn't, chances are that cars will have had some significance in his life - either because he loved them, wanted one, or was forever asking his parents for lifts.

At the end of it, all you remember is that the mind reader seemed to know every detail of the person you were talking about.

In fact you were doing all the hard work, and the man or woman with the gift was simply playing a game of probability and clever questioning.

You can watch Inside Out on BBC One at 19:30 GMT, Monday, 10 January, 2012

I have only ever been a fair-weather leisure cyclist, but on my way to work I see those on two-wheels for whom it is the daily commute.

For tonight's Inside Out programme I got on my bike to experience rush hour through the eyes of a cyclist.

If the British weather weren't enough of a deterrent, the accident statistics don't make great reading.

One hundred and eleven cyclists have been killed on our roads so far this year.

Needless to say I had no intention of adding to the latest statistics that show an 18% rise in the number of cyclists killed or seriously injured in the North East and Cumbria.

The figures for the region comparing 2010 with 2011 are worse than the national average.

I had a high vis jacket, lights, safety helmet and reflective bands on my legs.

Even so, as a two-wheeler you feel very vulnerable when cars are only a matter of inches away in the rush hour.

The route took me along a seven mile journey where there is currently little provision for bikes, so it was me versus the car.

For the most part I was travelling faster than the motorists who were caught up in the usual peak time snarl ups.

I suspect that didn't endear me to some, but I actually found most motorists were courteous at junctions and lights, giving me room and time to cross.

I noticed that sometimes it was difficult to stick to the kerb because drain covers were often below the road surface; it wasn't just bumpy but potentially could have thrown me out of the saddle.

On the odd occasion that cycle lanes appear they often take you right over these hazards.

I also rode through the streets of York which claims to be one of the more bike-friendly cities in the UK. But even here the cycle lanes can be so short and random as to be more hindrance then help.

At one point the dedicated lane was interrupted by official parking bays so you end up zigzagging in and out of the path of the other traffic.

In Newcastle city centre the council have installed a cyclists traffic light.

If you are heading from the City Baths towards Northumberland Street the dedicated light turns green while all other car approaches are held at red.

It sounds great, but if you set off on green and go straight over the junction you are led into head-on conflict with pedestrians whose crossing light is also on green.

It seems we need more joined-up thinking.

There are lots of campaigners arguing we need to follow the example of places like Holland where 60% of journeys are made by bike.

There are also many more cycle ways and there is even a heated one to keep the surface clear in winter.

The UK average for cycle trips is only 2%. The difference can't be explained away by the flatness of the Dutch landscape.

Cyclists and non-cyclists seem to be at loggerheads.

When we were filming a woman tapped me on the shoulder to ask whether we were doing something about the menace of bike rider on pavements.

I've heard some motorists say cyclists don't pay road tax so should not be on the highway.

Maybe if more of us cycled more regularly it wouldn't be such a 'them and us' situation.

Motorists might have a bit more sympathy if all cyclists followed the highway code.

We've all seen those on two-wheels go through a red light as if it didn't apply to them.

In fact when I was using that special cycle traffic light, I was crossing over when another cyclist flew across my path having run a red.

Similarly my other nearest collision was when I was turning left at some lights when a pedestrian decided to ignore the little red man and tried to cross in front of me as I turned the corner.

The experience did open my eyes and as a motorist I will certainly give cyclists more time and space.

Would I be tempted to use my bike instead of the car?

Well, the experiment taught me I could actually do the distance.

However, the unpredictability of the weather forecast and what may lie ahead on the next stretch of road means until it becomes a pleasure, my bike will be reserved for leisure.

Watch Inside Out on BBC One North East and Cumbria at 19:30 GMT on Monday, 3 December 2012

But was it a freak accident or the sign of things to come? On Monday's Inside Out we're asking just that.

Before the flooding that washed away the foundations at Spencer Court in Newburn few people knew what a culvert was.

It's now clear we should all know about them and, crucially, whether we live, work or play above one.

After the culvert collapsed above Newburn it literally all went downhill from there. Problems cascaded down its length.

Sorting it all out will be a legal and insurance nightmare.

This event revealed what was hitherto a hidden problem. With culverts each section is the responsibility of the relevant landowners.

How many of us realise that if one runs underneath our feet we are supposed to maintain and clean it? This all assumes you even know there is one below you.

After the mayhem caused at Newburn, Newcastle City Council's attempts to draw up a map of where they all are is even more urgent.

Amazingly such mapping had never been done before.

Scores of culverts were built piecemeal over the decades and many were not plotted officially. If you find one, your local council would appreciate a call.

I was the first journalist allowed into the collapsed Newburn culvert.

As we waded in there was a tree wedged into the roof.

Alongside, there was a whole mass of rubble no human could hope to lift.

The sheer force of water had brought it all down through the tunnel which measured some three metres wide.

At the exit near the Tyne it had simply all become clogged up.

As the pressure built up massive concrete slabs that had been laid above simply popped up like cardboard, creating another massive flood.

The fear is that these ageing culverts are not being inspected and cleared of rubbish.

With many predicting a wetter climate, consultant engineer John Knapton warns Newburn could be a warning of more problems to come.

We are seeing the legacy of rapid urbanisation in centuries past.

As cities looked to expand they found themselves at loggerheads with age old streams and becks.

Centuries of water flow had worn away the land along its path, creating slopes, ravines and cuts on which you couldn't build. At least not until they came up with culverts.

The theory is simple - build a tunnel over the waterway, cover it over with spoil to fill in the hollow and you create a new flat landscape which you can develop.

One of the biggest such projects in Newcastle was to reclaim the Ouseburn.

Today the underground waterway runs 660 metres between Jesmond Dene and the bottom of Byker Bank close to the River Tyne.

At one time there were plans to build a city stadium on the land that had been clawed back from nature.

The trouble is no-one really thought how we would deal with culverts as they aged. Out of sight really has been out of mind.

What has happened in Newcastle is a lesson for all cities to learn.

Watch Inside Out on BBC One at 19:30 GMT, Monday, 26 November 2012

So, it is hard to imagine what it must be like to have three of your own family taken at once.

Susan McGoldrick, her sister Alison Turnbull, and Alison's daughter Tanya were all shot dead on New Year's day, 2012.

Susan's partner Michael Atherton was described by locals as a quiet, friendly taxi-driver. The family knew different. He would come home drunk and launch violent attacks on Susan.

Durham Police knew this, as they had been called out to the house on more than one occasion. Despite that he was granted a licence to hold guns. Six in all.

A yet-to-be published report by the Independent Police Complaints Commission reveals that the police missed many opportunities to rescind the licence.

The examination into the way the firearms licensing unit was run is damning.

Despite finding individual officer actions 'unacceptable', the report does not name names and it seems no one will be held directly accountable.

Durham Constabulary says the report is right not to identify the individuals concerned publicly, and that procedures and policies have since changed.

The family's concerns over the way guns are administered has given them a focus.

This summer Inside Out filmed them when they addressed a meeting of the National Victims' Association.

It is an organisation no-one would ever wish to join.

By definition its members are united in tragedy. What it provides is support and the knowledge that others have a real understanding of what you're going through.

Susan McGoldrick's partner Michael Atherton shot her, her sister and niece before turning the gun on himself.

The family's account of the day of shootings is harrowing. However, with the killer dead revenge is obviously not on their agenda.

What they want is a change in the gun laws. They have launched an e-petition.

Among their demands is an outright ban on anyone with a criminal record, a history of mental illness, domestic violence, alcohol or substance abuse owning a gun.

If you have an opinion then please feel free to add your comments to this blog.

Inside Out is on BBC One North East and Cumbria at 19:30 GMT, Monday, 19 November, 2012

Financial ruin, ill health, derision - all have failed to dampen her determination.

She has a love of coloured horses and believes their look should not be a bar to them competing on the racetracks of Britain.

However, there are those within the sport who simply don't agree.

For many, a horse that has any markings beyond a splash on a head or limb is deemed inferior and certainly not able to race alongside thoroughbreds.

That makes Heather even more inspired to prove them wrong as we reveal on Inside Out on Monday, 19 November.

She's certainly done her homework. Heather identified a stallion whose genes meant he would always throw a coloured foal.

Ricco is a big brute, but has some thoroughbred in his lineage.

Not enough to race himself, but pair him with a suitable pedigree mare and the offspring would be both coloured and pure enough to satisfy Weatherbys, who administer the studbook of British racing.

That match is what produced Angrove RumBaba.

The technical name for his colour is skewbald. The racing community had to come up with a term for coloured horses and eventually settled on "painted".

It's been a hard slog. Husband Alistair's business collapsed and they lost everything.

All they had to their name was a couple of grand with which they bought a disused school classroom.

They plonked it on some land to create Angrove Stud - they lived and worked on site.

Getting 'Rummy', as he's affectionately known, race-ready has been a long hard task as well.

Early attempts to get trainers to take him on fell by the wayside.

It would take a lot for a training yard to expose themselves to potential ridicule if he was to come trailing in, a miserable last.

His striking colours mean he will always stand out in any field of runners and plenty of punters would be happy to see a coloured horse fail.

Trainer Micky Hammond in Middleham decided he's willing take that risk.

Jockey Rebecca Smith says she's been the envy of other amateur riders when taking Rummy out onto the North Yorkshire gallops.

However, of the wider community she feels: "Racing is sometimes too much of a closed book and we need to broaden our horizons a bit."

How did Rummy fare on his first outing? You'll have to watch Inside Out to find out.

Let me know what you think of painted horses on the racetrack, by adding your comments below.

Inside Out is on BBC One at 19:30 GMT, Monday, 19 November, 2012

Charleroi in Belgium is just such a town.

As in the UK, for many working class industrial communities in the grip of hard times, football is a release, a passion, verging on a religion.

That could equally describe Newcastle, Sunderland, Middlesbrough or Carlisle.

However, this Belgian town south of Brussels has not one, but two football teams within its city limits. Loyalties are torn, rivalry all the more acute.

Sporting Charleroi is in the top flight and doing well, Olympic Charleroi is in the fourth division and on its knees.

What they have in common is a North East footballer, turned agent, who in their eyes went from hero to zero.

Peter Harrison was a lower league player in England but in the mid 80's he had a spell on the pitch alongside Philippe Albert with Sporting Charleroi.

His career developed as he went on to manage Blyth Spartans and then acted as agent for the likes of Andy Carroll.

He was so fondly remembered from those Sporting days that when in 2010 he re-emerged as the man fronting the deal to buy the city's other club and rescue it from the doldrums, he was welcomed with open arms.

Harrison gave a press conference on Belgian TV outlining the plans to get the club back into the first division.

On tonight's Inside Out we investigate whether Harrison broke FIFA rules - which forbids football agents from owning or having an official role in a club, as there would be a clear conflict of interest.

While filming at the rather run down Olympic Charleroi stadium I bumped into the grounds man who was busy washing the team's kit ready for the next game.

He was a veteran at the club which at one time graced the country's first division.

He had no idea why we were there, but when he heard we were from British TV he launched, unprompted, into a rant about Mr Harrison and how he had been unpaid for many months.

Peter Harrison denies he was ever anything more than an "ambassador" for the club or made any money from it.

That might be a surprise to club officials, former players and debtors of the club that I met.

They had all been under the impression he had been the main man and it was to him they were looking for recompense.

Olympic players and staff had seen their wages stopped, restaurant and hotel managers had not been paid.

The club had ended up in liquidation with debts topping 700,000 euros.

Mr Harrison wouldn't be interviewed and didn't speak when I caught up with him last week.

In a statement he was adamant that he had not had any official role with the Belgian club.

You cannot but feel sorry for Olympic and its fans.

The old stands in the stadium have seen better times. The scoreboard needs repair, weather beaten yet hopeful of declaring a victory for the home team at the next fixture.

It really is dark days for the club as the floodlight pylons have been amputated.

The ground feels rather hemmed in, surrounded as it is by housing in a city suburb.

Contrast that with the stadium of rivals Sporting Charleroi, whose multi-tiered stands tower above their city centre neighbours. A glossy club shop is testimony to success on and off the pitch.

The die-hard fans at Olympic should be celebrating their centenary this year but can only look on with envy.

They'll need dogged determination to get back to the top flight again.

Appropriately their nickname is "Les Dogues", symbolised by a bulldog, probably not a British one.

Find out more about this story on Inside Out North East and Cumbria on BBC One at 19:30 GMT on Monday, 12 November, 2012.

She chooses to have affairs with married men and has no qualms about it whatsoever.

Former tabloid hack, Richard Peppiatt has had many eyebrow raising assignments, but when Inside Out asked him to meet Karen, even he wasn't sure what to expect.

She told Richard she currently has three men on the go - all of them married.

Karen does not want them full-time, citing the time a former lover intended leaving his wife, so she sent him packing.

Richard challenged her behaviour as selfish.

Karen agreed but was adamant: "I am not encouraging infidelity."

She meets her illicit partners through a website specifically set up for adults wishing to have affairs.

Karen argues the husbands were already using the website and, if anything, she is doing them and their wives a favour, by sending the men home happier than they were before.

It seems there are plenty of women who disagree, as Karen has received a fair amount of hate mail.

As one correspondent put it: "If our paths cross she'll find herself picking her teeth off the ground."

Newcastle University sociologist Dr Judy Richards tells Inside Out that the internet has given women the freedom and power to take control of that aspect of their lives.

It seems society feels more threatened by women taking the lead in looking outside the marital bed than men.

In the programme the spokesperson for the website justified the service saying: "Women are looking for the same thing as men, seeking sexual and romantic fulfilment in equal measure."

The site claims to have 710,000 users and is split 50:50 between the sexes.

However in the last two months the number of women has outnumbered the men 3:1

When it comes to arguing the rights and wrongs it's easy to focus on Karen.

She is single, but of course many of the female website users are also married.

As always your comments are welcome.

Watch Inside Out on BBC One North East and Cumbria at 19:30 GMT on Monday, 5 November, 2012.

On today's Inside Out you'll see the incredible act of forgiveness borne out of the Grayrigg train crash in Cumbria.

A passenger, Margaret Masson, died and 86 others were injured after a train ran over faulty points and hurtled down an embankment.

When Dave Lewis heard exactly where the Virgin train had derailed, his heart sank. He knew instantly that the finger of blame would point at him.

The previous weekend Dave had agreed to do the work of two people.

As well as his own job as overall safety manager of that part of the West Coast Main Line in Cumbria, staff shortages meant he was combining his normal general inspection with another more detailed one.

The two inspections mostly overlapped the same stretch of track. However he didn't go as far as the faulty points.

If he hadn't made that mistake, Margaret Masson might still be alive.

When her son George went to the inquest his emotions were running high.

He had heard the points hadn't been inspected properly and when the man responsible came to give his evidence, he was angry.

Before Dave had even uttered a word at the hearing George wanted to take his fury out on him.

He told me: "I wanted to rip his head off his shoulders."

But George was about to have an unexpected change of heart. Dave's testimony turned everything on its head.

It emerged Dave had kept all his emails to the bosses at Network Rail warning that staff shortages meant safety was being compromised and that a disaster was just waiting to happen.

For George the blame now clearly lay elsewhere.

He went out onto the steps of the inquest hearing to declare to the world's press that, in his eyes, Dave Lewis should be praised not demonised.

As a Scottish former soldier there could be no greater show of that forgiveness than to invite Dave to his ex-servicemen's club in Glasgow to share a pint.

A year on from the inquest the time was right and in another exclusive report Inside Out followed both men as they prepared for their remarkable reunion.

You can see more on Inside Out North East & Cumbria and North West at 1930 GMT, Monday, 29 October 2012

Could you be as forgiving? Let me know - just add your comment below.

Also on tonight's show: