Martin Lewes
Reporter

It's been another day dominated by the inquest into the death of the Barrow toddler, Poppi Worthington, with coverage starting here. Some of the details are distressing.

In other news:

• The academy chain running the troubled Whitehaven Academy said it was looking for a new sponsor to take over;
• Inspectors who looked at the performance of police helicopters found they often arrived after the incident was over, and sometimes took an hour or more to get to Cumbria;
• And new owners at the Windermere Manor Hotel said they would would maintain its special expertise in giving visually impaired people a good time in the Lake District.

We'll be back to do it again from 08:00 tomorrow morning.

As always, if you want to pass on news you think we should know, or share a photo with the county, you can email them to us, send them using Twitter where we're @BBC_Cumbria, external or head to our Facebook page, external.

Have a very good evening.

A meeting's being held in Ulverston later to assess how resilient Furness is to flooding.

The Labour MP for the area, John Woodcock, says that last week's disruption on the roads and September's flooding in Kirkby-in-Furness require a new solution.

People representing the Environment Agency, United Utilities and South Cumbria Rivers Trust are also expected to be at the meeting at the Coronation Hall from 19:30.

The former officer in charge of the Poppi Worthington investigation has admitted she was not fully trained for the job.

Amanda Sadller, who was then a Det Insp but has since retired, was asked by Kate Stone, representing Poppi’s mother, if she was the senior investigating officer (SIO).

Mrs Sadler said: “I wasn’t an SIO but I certainly ran the investigation with Chief Insp Forrester.”

She added she had not had the relevant training on child death or on being an SIO.

Ms Stone also asked Mrs Sadler why it took an hour for the whole of Poppi’s house to be sealed off, which led to vital evidence being thrown away.

Mrs Sadler said: “I would agree in an ideal situation the scene would be the whole house but there were difficulties in (finding places for those in the house to go).”

The officer in charge of the Poppi Worthington investigation has said she went Furness General Hospital on the day of the toddler's death and met Dr Osama Braima.

Alison Hewitt, counsel for the coroner, asked former Det Insp Amanda Sadler what the focus of her inquiry then was.

Mrs Sadler said: “It was still at that time gathering information because there were still people to speak to.”

She confirmed Dr Braima said it was potentially a suspicious death but she reiterated she still needed to speak to other people.

The former police officer who led the investigation into Poppi Worthington’s death has started giving evidence at her inquest.

Amanda Sadler was a Detective Inspector at Cumbria Police’s Public Protection Unit at the time of 13-month-old Poppi’s death in December 2012.

She said she got a call from the control room inspector at about 06:45 on 12 December as an “early heads up” that a child had been taken to hospital.

Mrs Sadler told senior coroner David Roberts that she had not had the full training to be a senior investigating officer so called Chief Insp Mike Forrester to alert him.

BBC Weather

It will be a cold and clear night, with temperatures soon falling below freezing, although the frost is likely to be a little patchier towards the Irish Sea coastal areas, such as Barrow.

Inland minimum temperatures could fall to about -2C (28F).

You can find the latest BBC weather forecast for where you are, here.

There's one more cold night until it apparently gets a little warmer at the weekend.

The county highways department doesn't routinely grit all the roads, but you can see a map of how they plan it here, external.

Cumbria County Council says it's delighted by news that the Bright Tribe Trust, which runs Whitehaven Academy, is looking for another sponsor for the troubled school.

Councillor Sue Sanderson, who is in charge of education, said the authority had been making the case for a year that a new sponsor was needed.

Patients prescribed physiotherapy at Carlisle's hospital will go to the city's biggest sports hall for their treatment and exercises from Monday.

Staff say it's a step towards moving services that don't need to be in a hospital, into the community.

Image source, Google

Helen McGahon, head of physiotherapy at North Cumbria University Hospitals NHS Trust, said: “It means they’ll receive the same excellent treatment they’re used to in a venue where they can access exercise and leisure services to support their recovery.

"We also want our patients to undertake exercise and keep up their physio once they have finished their treatment with us and this move will really help to encourage them.”

Three new "hubs" are being set up to tackle anti-social behaviour in Cumbria, following the success of one in Whitehaven.

The Copeland Hub was set up in the town's police station a year ago to get bodies like the police, local council and housing associations working more closely together.

The independent elected Mayor of Copeland Mike Starkie says that the hub led the way in a new project called Men in Sheds for Mirehouse in Whitehaven:

Image source, Mike Starkie

A detective assigned to investigate the death of the Barrow toddler Poppi Worthington found bedding and other material used for her hospital treatment at Furness General Hospital had been destroyed, an inquest has heard.

Det Insp John Carton also led a search of the house, although he did not seize a laptop which photographed in the lounge, because that was not normal practice when investigating the death of a child, he said.

Mr Carton said he'd checked on police computers and found two records relating to Poppi's father, Paul, one unsubstantiated and another involving an associate arrested for "undetected matters".

No more details were mentioned.

He said he had briefed the Home Office pathologist, Dr Alison Armour, about the matters before she carried out a post-mortem examination.

Paul Worthington refuses to answer when asked directly if he sexually abused his daughter.

The Bright Tribe Trust says it is trying to find a new sponsor to take the troubled Whitehaven Academy off its hands.

The trust took over the Whitehaven school in 2014, but it has failed to make much progress with what was already an establishment in difficulties.

Last year Ofsted inspectors defined the school as inadequate under nearly every heading and it was put into special measures; it's now involved in a row with the town's MP Trudi Harrison, and teachers have held strikes.

This afternoon Bright Tribe said that as it had not achieved its aim of taking over a number of schools in the county that could work together, it would "pursue alternative options for the school".

The chief operating officer of the Bright Tribe Trust, which runs the troubled Whitehaven Academy, has left her job.

Mary McKeeman's role has been taken over by Heidi Hoskin, who's been given the post in an interim basis.

The academy was criticised by the local Conservative MP Trudy Harrison earlier this week, and a public meeting to discuss community concerns will take place at Whitehaven golf club at 19:00 this evening.

Duncan Leatherdale
BBC News Online

The inquest into the death of Poppi Worthington, the Barrow toddler who died in unexplained circumstances in 2012, has been told what was recovered by three police officers who searched her home eight hours after she died.

The 19 items included bedding used by her and her parents, nappies, dummies and drinking bottles, according to statements made by the three officers.

The officer who seized the nappies from outside, PC Samantha Silveri, said she was only told to seize nappies from the top of the bin and could not recall if she had searched the entire wheelie bin.

None of the officers could recall seeing a laptop computer.

Image source, Family photo

BBC News Travel

Traffic is very slow through the roadworks on the A7 Kingstown Road.

A laptop computer on which Paul Worthington is thought to have watched pornography the night before his daughter Poppi died was later said to have been destroyed, the inquest into her death has heard.

Det Con Lindsey Bolton said Mr Worthington told her he'd sold the one he used the night before Poppi's death to a friend.

She said that later she returned from leave to be told the laptop had been destroyed and was unobtainable.

Kate Stone, acting for Poppi's mother asked whether she or anyone else had chased up what happened to the computer.

Det Con Bolton replied: "Not to my knowledge."

BBC Cumbria Sport

Carlisle United defender Clint Hill says he'll wait until the end of the season before deciding whether he'll continue playing.

The 36-year-old last week extended his stay with the club until the end of the season and has plans to move into coaching and management after hanging-up his boots

Image source, Getty Images

A Cleator Moor man who beat his victim with a bat and a bottle and then stabbed him with part of a wheelchair has been told "the starting point" for his jail sentence will be 12 years.

Jordan Smith, 25, of High Street, Cleator Moor, admitted maliciously causing Neil McLaughlin grievous bodily harm.

Judge Barbara Forrester remanded Smith in custody for reports. He'll be sentenced on 12 January.

The Cumbrian MP John Woodcock says he believes the Ulverston Post Office has been saved, after Post Office Limited said a local retailer had offered to take it on.

Image source, John Woodcock

More than 8,000 people signed a petition to keep the County Square office open after the Post Office said in January that the branch could not continue as it is now alone in its building in the town centre.

The Labour MP for Barrow John Woodcock, says the company has now found a retail partner which means the branch can continue to run without any losing any jobs or services.

The post office has now started a consultation period, after which the business will change hands in March.