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Live Reporting

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  1. Through the day: BBC Cumbria Live

    Martin Lewes

    Reporter

    We've now finished posting news, travel reports, a regular weather forecast, and other things that catch our eye from around the county, for today and this week. Here's a reminder:

    A Carlisle school still in temporary premises since it was inundated by Storm Desmond, was put into special measures after inspectors called;

    A Whitehaven mother who plotted with one of her sons to kill his brother was jailed for 17 years ;

    And if you can afford £165,000 for the new Bentley SUV, you'll get two champagne flutes made in Ulverston , free.

    We'll be back early on Monday, starting at 07:00 because one of the county's train operating companies is affected by strike action .  

    Until then, as always, if you have a photograph you'd like to share or you have news you think we should know, you can  email ustweet us  or get in touch  through our Facebook page  .

    Have a very good weekend. 

  2. Cumbrian three shortlisted for tourism awards

    Three Cumbrian attractions have been shortlisted in the VisitEngland awards for excellence for this year.  They are:

    Almost 600 businesses entered the awards. The winners will be announced on April 24 in London.

  3. Brampton volunteers take aim to slow traffic

    Residents in Brampton have been issued with a radar speed gun by the Cumbria Police and Crime Commissioner Peter McCall, making them the latest community speedwatch group in the county.

      Drivers caught over the limit will get a warning letter.   

    Speed gun

    Drivers caught over the limit will get a warning letter. 

  4. Cockermouth team and air ambulance rescue woman

    Volunteers from the Cockermouth mountain rescue team were called to the 2,012ft summit of Great Borne, at the head of Ennerdale, after a 74-year-old woman,  fell and cut her head.

    The Great North Air Ambulance was able to land close to the casualty and flew her to the West Cumberland Hospital in Whitehaven for treatment.

  5. Penrith's bandstand among assets hived off by council

    Penrith Bandstand and the town's Musgrave Monument clock tower are among assets that Eden District council's transferring to Penrith town council  to save money.

    Musgrave monument

    Bus shelters, a war memorial, benches and other public seating are also being passed over.

    The aim is that the district council eventually reduces spending and cuts costs. 

    Council officials are now examining whether it would be possible to pass on play areas, the coronation Gardens, and public toilets.

  6. Your photos: Grasmere's fifty shades of grey

    With only last year's reedbeds showing any real colour, Carmen Norman's moody and misty shot of Grasmere is well ... grey.

    View more on twitter
  7. NSPCC: Child groomer was 'every parent's nightmare'

    The children's charity NSPCC says the case of Christopher Hodder, the Kirkby Stephen man jailed today after he admitted 19 charges including grooming boys, was "every parent's nightmare".

    A spokesman for the charity said: “We hope this sentence not only serves to protect children from Hodder, but that it also acts as a warning to other online abusers that they can and will be caught and brought to justice."

    Hodder, 31, from Union Square, posed as a girl on Facebook, targeting 13 victims, Carlisle Crown Court heard. 

    View more on twitter
  8. Cumbria's weather: Cloudy but mainly dry

    BBC Weather

    It'll be cloudy but mainly dry with a bit of drizzle over the hills. Temperatures will drop to about 8C (46F).

    Weather graphic

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

  9. 'Perverted monster' who groomed teenage boys jailed

    A man who groomed young boys using Facebook posts where he pretended to be a girl has been sent to prison for four years.

    Christopher Hodder

    Christopher Hodder, 31, of Union Square, Kirkby Stephen, admitted 19 charges including five counts of causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity when he appeared at Carlisle Crown Court. 

    One of his victim's father's said in a court statement: "This perverted monster should never be allowed to walk the streets again."

    Judge Tony Lancaster said the offences were "mean, volatile and predatory", and said Hodder should serve a licence period of three years as well as the prison term.

  10. Travel: Slip road crash on M6 junction

    BBC News Travel

    There's been an accident on the northbound entry sliproad at junction 44, Carlisle North, on the M6.  So far traffic's coping well.

  11. Anger as flood-hit Carlisle school put in special measures

    The Newman Roman Catholic School in Carlisle has been given a highly critical inspectors' report and put into special measures , just over a year after it was severely flooded.

    Newman School

    In  a letter to parents , the head teacher, John McAuley, says the aftermath of the flood on school life had not been considered in the report.

    He also says dimisses criticism of pupils' behaviour as "simply ridiculous".

    The report, from an inspection in January, lists a range of problems, from indecisive leadership to variable teaching standards and attendance levels below the national average.

    The comprehensive school's 600 students have been taught in the former Pennine Way primary school and temporary classrooms, since the floods following Storm Desmond indundated classrooms and offices.

  12. Canadians check in for Whitehaven match in RL first

    BBC Radio Cumbria Sport

    The Canadian team, Toronto Wolfpack , the first transatlantic side to play in the British Rugby League, is expected to arrive in West Cumbria today.

    Whitehaven entertain Toronto Wolfpack at the Recreation Ground for the first time on Sunday at 14:00.

    There's full coverage on BBC Radio Cumbria's AM frequencies from 13:30.

  13. Work to start on facelift to Bowness foreshore

    Work's about to start on a facelift to the foreshore on the of the busiest tourist hotspots in the Lake District.

    Bowness foreshore with swans

    Around £300,000 will be spent on new surfaces, steps, flower beds and replacing what South Lakeland council describes as "over-mature" trees.

    It's part of a major project which has already seen new parking bays created along the nearby Glebe.

  14. Driver dies five days after crash

    A driver's died five days after a crash on the Crook Road, the B6284 between Kendal and Bowness.

    Allan Lofthouse, 61, was seriously hurt in the accident, which involved only the Jaguar X type in which he was travelling.

    It happened outside the Gilpin, a Michelin-starred restaurant and hotel.

  15. Carlisle skipper pins hopes on two home games

    BBC Radio Cumbria Sport

    Carlisle United captain Danny Grainger has described the side's next two games as "massive" in their bid to get back into the top three automatic promotion places in League Two. 

    Portsmouth overtook Carlisle on Tuesday, pushing the border team out of the top slots for the first time this year.

    United host Cambridge tomorrow at Brunton Park followed by another home game against promotion rivals Luton Town on Tuesday night.

    Danny Grainger
    Quote Message: The lads are all behind each other, it's a great bunch, the lads that came in at Christmas can hopefully give us another little boost and get us over this line." from Danny Grainger
    Danny Grainger
  16. Murder plot mother sent 'death messages'

    A mother who plotted to kill her son sent text messages saying she wished he'd die.

    Alison Murphy, 52, was convicted of the attempted murder of Tony Murphy, 26, who was stabbed in the neck by his brother Gary Murphy at her Whitehaven home in April.

    Carlisle Crown Court heard she sent a string of text messages to her accomplice 22-year-old son Gary before the attack. One read: "I definitely think he should be killed".

    During Ms Murphy's trial, in November, the court heard she had sent texts including "I wish I'd never had him", and "I'm fine with whatever as long as he dies".

    Another read: "Not sure stabbings [sic] is the right method. We should make him fall in the harbour or off a cliff."

    Alison Murphy
  17. Cumbria's weather: Cloudy, but mostly dry

    BBC Weather

    It'll be a cloudy afternoon, most places staying dry, but with a spot of drizzle over the hills. Temperatures will rise to about 11C (52F)

    Weather graphic

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

  18. Mother jailed for plot to kill son

    A mother who teamed up with one of her sons to try to kill another of her sons has been jailed for 17 years.

    Text messages between Alison Murphy, 52, and her 23-year-old son Gary showed they were plotting to kill Tony Murphy, Carlisle Crown Court heard. 

    Gary Murphy, who slashed his brother's jugular vein, was said to have a mental disorder and made the subject of an indefinite hospital order by Judge Peter Davies. 

    Gary Murphy had admitted attempted murder, but Mrs Murphy denied the charge. She was found guilty during a trial at the city's crown court. 

    Judge Davies, sentencing her, said: "The jury concluded you instructed your son to kill his brother. You knew he wasn't well. You knew he wanted to kill Tony in the past."

  19. How Cumbria makes the "footless flutes" for a £165,000 car

    Neil Smith

    South Cumbria journalist, BBC Cumbria

    Take a close look at the glasses each side of the bottle in this picture. 

    They come free with the car, the Bentley Bentayga Mulliner , which retails from just over £165,000 and they're made in Ulverston.

    Bentley interior showing glasses

    Cumbria Crystal 's won the contract to make the glasses, which unlike classic flutes have no "feet", simply slotting into the refrigerated socket provided in the car.

    Crystal flute in glass workshop

    The flutes take three people to make, and can't be obtained except by buying the car.  The contract is for three years, but the firm says it's already discussing extending the deal.