Martin Lewes
Reporter

The mild winter weather of the past few weeks has brought these daffodils out in Egremont, and Mark McCarthy, from the town, was kind enough to send us this picture.

Given what some forecasters are saying, though, the hope for an early spring may be premature...

A man from Workington who lashed out at a nurse and then tried to bite a paramedic at Whitehaven's hospital has been jailed for seven months.

Daniel Little, 21, previously of Darcy Street, was said to have been under the influence of substances when he attacked staff at the West Cumberland Hospital in October last year.

Little admitted assault, a public order charge and resisting a police officer, and after Carlisle Crown Court heard he had breached a suspended jail term, imposed last year for supplying cannabis, he was jailed.

There have been calls in Milnthorpe for more policing after the fourth ATM raid in the area within a year left a shop in The Square with its front window destroyed.

Suzie Kavanagh, a local solicitor, said the damage and the police investigation would have affected the trade of a number of local businesses while the area around the shop was cordoned off.

Within the past 12 months, cash machines have been attacked at Booths and Spar in Milnthorpe, and in a petrol station less than two miles out of the town on the A6.

• Two men from the north east are being questioned about the attack, after police arrested them in Lancashire early today.

Local Democracy Reporting Service
John Connell

The cost of the new shared stadium in Workington has jumped to £25m, because Sellafield Ltd wants to put more staff into an associated office block, according to documents seen by the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Image source, Allerdale DC

The original cost of the stadium, which would be shared by the town's football and rugby league teams, was estimated at £15m, but a new council report says the nuclear company would like to accommodate 300 staff on the site, and this would mean adding a three-storey extension at a cost of £10m.

Sellafield, and the NHS which would also like to use space, would lease the offices to provide an income stream.

Allerdale council is considering whether to borrow the money or work with an investor, and officials also say the Football Foundation and the Rugby League World Cup might contribute.

The report also recommends that the council creates a "stadium management company", allowing the authority to keep a "degree of control" over the project while mitigating the financial risks involved.

Staff at the Penrith and Eden Museum are trying to trace any living relatives of a man called William Robinson, from Tirril, after they were given a tobacco jar that seems to have been presented to him in 1897.

Image source, Eden DC

The museum's joint curator, Sydney Chapman, said the jar, in the shape of a tree trunk, may have been presented to the man whose name is on a white band, perhaps as a retirement present.

Staff at the museum have not been able to trace any records of a William Robinson in Tirril at the time, and say they would like anyone who has information to contact them on 01768 865105.

News and Star
Newspaper

Primary school children are getting their very first taste of university life, external - with some as young as five.

Image source, News and Star

BBC Weather

It will be mostly cloudy this afternoon with some patchy light rain or drizzle possible at times.

It will feel milder, with highest temperatures from 6C to 9C (43F to 48F).

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

Cumbria could be hit by a major cold snap in the next few weeks, according to the Met Office.

Forecasters says the UK could see its first significant snowfall of the winter, and freezing temperatures, towards the end of the month, because of a phenomenon called "sudden stratospheric warming".

But Alan Goodman from the Met Office says it probably won't be as extreme as last year's "Beast from the East".

Image source, Highways Agency

Police have urged drivers in Carlisle to be alert after a number of thefts of and from cars.

So far in the past week, a Skoda Rapid has been taken from Welsh Road, a car and a van have been broken into on successive nights in Newlaithes Avenue, and a satnav and other electricial equipment was taken from a VW Passat in Richardson Street.

One of the county's paramedics is the first in the country to take on a new role to help train the next generation of life-savers.

Vinnie Romano is already one of eight consultant paramedics, and he now has an expanded role to improve education and training.

Image source, NWAS

Two men are arrested on suspicion of burglary after the early morning raid on a convenience store.

A new source of grants for local projects is going to be available to charities and community organisations in Copeland, following the success of a lottery in Millom area.

The Combe Community Lottery, external is working so well, that there are now plans to set up a similar scheme to cover Ravenglass to Parton, including Whitehaven.

The Combe Lottery has paid out £8,000 to good causes, and jackpot winners have received more than £25,000.

Bob Cooper
Political reporter, BBC Cumbria

A petition, external calling on Eden councillors to scrap plans to build thousands of new homes around Penrith, external will be debated tonight at a meeting in the town.

Image source, EDC

Eden council says the plan will make space for businesses and homes for local people, including more affordable housing.

But some campaigners say it would damage the area's character and have presented the council with a petition to scrap the plan.

The matter will be debated at what could be a lively meeting of the council at 18:45 at the Town Hall.

Two men from the North East have been arrested after a cash machine in Milnthorpe was pulled out of a shop early this morning.

Police say the attack, on a newsagents in The Square at 03:53, involved a number of vehicles.

The men, aged 37 and 30, were held in Lancashire, police said.

It is the third such theft in Milnthorpe within six months, with previous attacks happening at Booths supermarket and the Spar.

A driver was cut from the wreckage of her car by firefighters after a crash with a tractor on the road between Kirkbride and Oulton.

Police say neither she nor anyone else was seriously injured in the collision at just after 17:00 yesterday.

Neil Smith
South Cumbria journalist, BBC Cumbria

A series of police raids in Barrow and elsewhere in England are just one part of a two-pronged campaign against drugs, according to the Cumbria Police and Crime Commissioner Peter McCall.

Yesterday, thousands of pounds and supplies of heroin and crack cocaine were seized during the operation in Barrow.

Officers arrested 22 people and 10 were later charged, with other raids taking place in London and Coventry.

But Mr McCall says cutting off the supply is just part of the plan to rid Cumbria of drugs, and that officers are also trying to reduce demand.

The PCC says officers are working with local groups, councils and health services to help people out of addiction.

A young disabled man from Cumbria has started his first term back at a specialist college after a tribunal ruled that Cumbria County Council has to pay his fees for the next three years.

Will Garbarino-Danson, 19, who has complex learning disabilities and is registered blind, started at Beaumont College in Lancaster last September, despite Cumbria County Council's decision not to pay towards his education.

Image source, Google

The council had claimed it was unnecessary for Will to attend a college outside the county, as his needs could be met here in Cumbria.

However, a tribunal in December has overruled the authority's decision and Will's college fees are fully covered for the next three years.

It costs £4,000 a month to care for each child, Cumbria County Council said.

• Temperatures at 3,000ft (900m): 1C to 2C
• Winds: Gentle north-westerly 15-20mph. Gusts up to 30-35mph
• Cloud: Extensive with a base of 1,300ft-1,450ft (400m-450m). Persistent hill fog on summits
• Visibility: Poor on summits, moderate in lower valleys

The Lake District national park assessors who compile the Weatherline report, external had perfect visibility yesterday, but recommend full winter clothing and a map and compass, with the knowledge to use them, for today.

Whitehaven Academy is closed until tomorrow because of a damaged water main.