Otters!

I've been out filming on the River Don in Sheffield on the search for otters! There's new evidence that the animal's thriving in that was once thought to be the most polluted in Europe. Staff and volunteers from the Sheffield and Rotherham Wildlife Trust have tracked down the elusive animal thanks to a series of infrared cameras dotted along the River Don. I thoroughly enjoyed filming this : )



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Live Reporting on Terrorism Arrests

I've been reporting on the terror arrests in Sheffield and Chesterfield this week.

I headed to the Meersbrook area of Sheffield soon after the story of the four arrests broke and reported live on the BBC News Channel...



On BBC Radio 2...



I was then live on BBC Look North's main programme...



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It was a very full-on day. Just to give you an insight into what it's like to be a regional TV reporter - in-between reporting on the terror arrests in the morning and evening I filmed for two hours at the Mother Goose panto at the Lyceum in Sheffield! The job is very varied and that's one of the aspects of it that I really enjoy.

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Loneliness

I've been filming a really important story in Doncaster which highlights a wider problem. The charity b:Friend has estimated around one in four older people are chronically lonely, where someone feels lonely all or most of the time. I really enjoyed meeting Alan and Julia...



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Since my story was broadcast I'm really pleased to report that more than 100 people have contacted the charity to volunteers as befrienders - showing that by highlighting issues in our society, us journalists can help make a difference.

Brian Cookson Interview

Earlier this week I was at the Tour de Yorkshire launch in Halifax and was determined to use the opportunity to film the first broadcast interview with Brian Cookson since he lost the UCI (world cycling's governing body) presidency. I had prepared the areas I wanted to ask him about. Among many other things, he said Sir Bradley Wiggins and Team Sky should have their reputations "reinstated" following unproven doping allegations. Here's a clip from my tweet...

In his 1st broadcast interview since losing UCI presidency Brian Cookson told me Wiggins & Team Sky should have their reputations "reinstated" following unproven doping allegations. I started by asking him about Shane Sutton's comments on using TUES to "find the gains" #cycling pic.twitter.com/GkgC5J9sQu

— Mark Ansell (@MarkAnsell) December 6, 2017

An extensive article on the BBC Sport website used practically the whole interview. After the BBC's Sports Editor Dan Roan tweeted about my interview, it went viral.

Cookson on Wiggins & Team Sky... good work by @MarkAnsell of @BBCLookNorth https://t.co/Hml3qOTihU

— Dan Roan (@danroan) December 6, 2017

My interview was picked up by The Times and many cycling websites including Cycling Weekly: http://www.cyclingweekly.com/news/latest-news/reputations-team-sky-bradley-wiggins-reinstated-jiffy-bag-investigation-says-cookson-361669 

Cycling News: http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/brian-cookson-calls-for-wiggins-reputation-to-be-reinstated/

And TCNEWS in France: https://todaycycling.com/brian-cookson-ex-president-de-luci-veut-retablir-la-reputation-de-bradley-wiggins/  


More than a week and a half after my interview with Cookson, newspapers were still quoting it. Following the interview, Cookson admitted he knew of Chris Froome’s adverse analytical finding for salbutamol before telling me Team Sky's reputation "should be reinstated":
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/cycling/2017/12/16/former-uci-president-brian-cookson-knew-chris-froome-failed/

This just shows that if you can secure interviews with the right person at the right time and know the right questions to ask, your story can have a big impact.

Westways Primary Strike

Parents have been demonstrating in support of teachers who are due to go on strike at a primary school in Sheffield. Teachers at Westways Primary in Crookes are due to start four days of strike action next Wednesday over changes brought in by the new executive headteacher. Their union says there's a loss of morale and increasing stress caused by growing workloads and management style at the school - but the head says the children are making better progress.


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Flood Church

A church in Mytholmroyd has re-opened, two years after it was badly damaged in the boxing day floods. St Michael's was under four feet of flood water after storms hit the Calder Valley in 2015. The community had to replace floors, renovate pews and rebuild the organ. The Archbishop of York helped to re-dedicate it.



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Ginetta

I've been to see a very talented teenager who's been selected for one of the most sought-after positions in British motorsport for young drivers. James Taylor from Rotherham had competed in karting for a number of years but, remarkably, had never actually driven a car before. He pipped sixty five other drivers to the post as the scholar for Yorkshire race car manufacturer Ginetta. My cameraman Lee and I had a lot of fun putting this together...



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Price of Football

This week I've been out filming a story about the cost of watching football. Sheffield Wednesday fans pay the most for adult season tickets of any club in Yorkshire including Premier League Huddersfield Town. The high cost of supporting the Owls is revealed by the BBC's annual Price of Football survey.



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Bolsterstone Choir

I was really moved by covering this story about a choir which is marking 70 years since an horrific coach crash claimed the lives of nine people as they travelled to a music competition. Bolsterstone Male Voice Choir had high hopes of winning silverware at the event, before tragedy struck in Holmfirth. Current members - including relatives of some of the men who died - returned to the town for an emotional concert. I felt a sense of responsibility to tell this story as well as I possibly could - to do the choir and its history justice.



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Innocent

Over the last few months I've been working on a story about a Sheffield dessert bar owner who was wrongly convicted of paedophilia and sent to prison for a year and a half. Rassaam Ali says his reputation and livelihood is being damaged by outdated online articles on the South Yorkshire Police website and Facebook page from the time of his conviction which say he was found guilty of a child sex abuse. He says he and his legal team have spent months asking the force to remove the articles. I gave an update on the story live after my report was broadcast...



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Sanctuary School

I loved filming at the primary school in Sheffield which has 33 different nationalities represented! Oasis Academy Watermead in Shirecliffe has been designated a School of Sanctuary. The feeling I was left with when I finished filming at the school was that the school is an antidote to the divisions in society.



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Fracking Demo

I've been to the North Yorkshire village of Kirby Misperton to report on an anti-fracking demo which was led by trade unions. The Third Energy site there is set to become the first place in the UK to frack for shale gas.

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Fake Running Events

I've been reporting on a story to do with female runners in Yorkshire fearing they've fallen victim to a running event scam. 'She Runs The Night' was advertised as a women's only race in Sheffield on Friday night and in Leeds on Saturday. Runners paid around twenty pounds each but both city councils say although they did receive enquiries, the bookings were never made and the events are not due to take place. Running events elsewhere in the country under the same name, with the same organiser also failed to materialise.

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Puppies Stolen

I took a call whilst out and about on Saturday from a very upset farmer who told me 7 sheepdog puppies had been stolen from his farm in the Peak District. On Monday I went and filmed a story with him...



Thankfully there was good news that night. After it was on Look North, five of the puppies were found in a plastic box in a wood a few miles from their home. Two of the puppies are still missing and Derbyshire Police are investigating. The family are convinced that it was thanks to the story being on Look North that the puppies were dumped and ended up being found. It's either that or their Facebook campaign that went viral. It feels good to have been able to help. Here's my story from the next day when I got to meet them : ) They call it puppy love and I've got it!



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My story went viral on social media and my three tweets got more than 800 retweets, likes and replies. I think this story shows the positive side of social media...and regional TV news!

HS2

I've been to Barnbrugh in Doncaster to meet residents who are campaigning against plans to built an HS2 high speed rail embankment through their village. I met a couple who have lost out twice because of HS2. But the company in charge of the project says minimising the impact of the railway is at the heart of their designs...



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Doncaster...Unfit & Out of Shape

I've been looking at some seriously troubling stats about the health of people in Doncaster. It has the second highest proportion of overweight and obese people in the country and is the least active place in Yorkshire - nearly 1 in 3 people do less than 30 minutes of moderate exercise a week. I went to film at Fit Rovers, which is one of the programmes that authorities are funding to try to get people fit and into shape...



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Retractable Pitch Exclusive

For the last few months I've been working on a story about a Sheffield company that's making the world's first dividing retractable pitch for Tottenham Hotspur's new stadium. It means different sports and music concerts can be hosted at the stadium in London on the same day. SCX Special Projects gave me exclusive access behind-the-scenes in their factory in Sheffield and test facility in Doncaster. My report was on BBC Look North and BBC World News which is broadcast in more than 200 countries and territories...



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Paddle Board

I've been down to Sheffield and Tinsley canal to report on a new way of encouraging people to volunteer with clearing up rubbish. And I had a great time and learnt a new skill!

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Grouse Shooting

The grouse shooting season is under way and I've been to Ilkely Moor to report on a demonstration calling on Bradford Council to stop licensing grouse shooting on the land. It's the last publicly owned place in the UK where it takes place.


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Special Olympics

I've been to film a story about the Special Olympics which has been taking place in Sheffield this week. More than two thousand athletes who have learning disabilities have been taking part. Instead of trying to cover the whole competition or even a whole team, we decided to tell the story of one of the competitors, Alex Thompson.



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Huddersfield Town in Austria

Reporting at Huddersfield v VfB Stuttgart in Schwaz

Cameraman Gareth late night editing in a restaurant

I've been in the Austrian Alps this week reporting on Huddersfield Town's training camp as they prepare for their first season in the Premier League.
On Monday we were at their training session in Brixen im Tal at the village football ground where Huddersfield were training. A stunning setting to play football!

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Then on Tuesday night we travelled to Schwaz to cover Huddersfield's pre-season friendly against Bundersliga side VfB Stuttgart...


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Reporting from Austria was a great experience but believe me it was hard work in 30-plus degree heat! It was a pleasure to see Huddersfield prepare for the Premier League and spend time with their fans who'd made the near thousand mile journey to the beautiful Austrian Alps.

Swift Cousins

For months I've been trying to arrange doing a story on Yorkshire professional cyclists Ben and Connor Swift who are cousins. With Ben's back from the Tour de France and before Connor headed to France to race I got them together for an interview and a ride in Rotherham. As a huge cycling fan, reporting on stories like this is the next best thing to being a professional cyclist!

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Diving

I've been reporting on Yorkshire divers winning medals at the World Aquatics Championships in Budapest. This is a good example of having to rely on footage from elsewhere to put together a report. I had access to the broadcast of the Championships (which was on the BBC red button) and thankfully BBC Sport had gathered some good interviews with the divers which I also made use of.


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Wimbledon Roof

I've been to a film with Sheffield company SCX Special Projects that's got the job of building a roof for Court Number One at Wimbledon so play can take place whatever the weather.



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Roma CSE Drama

I've been to Rotherham to do a story with a group of Roma teenagers in the Eastwood area of the town who've made a film warning their community of the risks of child sexual exploitation. It comes after the Alexis Jay Report on child grooming in Rotherham highlighted increasing concerns about the sexual exploitation of Roma children in the town. The film was made by young Roma people in collaboration with the charities Rotherham Ethnic Minority Alliance and My Place Rotherham.

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Spital Hill

I've been reporting on a troubling story in the Burngreave area of Sheffield where residents told me that they fear for their safety after a shooting and a stabbing in the area this week. On Wednesday afternoon a man was taken to hospital after being shot on Spital Hill. It follows the stabbing of a teenager in the same place on Monday.


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London Marathon

It's hard to put into words the magnitude of the London Marathon experience but I'll give it a go.

After 4 months of training made up of 69 training runs, covering 448 miles in a total of 64 hours I felt ready for the marathon!

I was given the opportunity to run London by the miscarriage charity Tommy's after Emily and I did Ride London to raise money for the charity last summer. I'd always wanted to do the London Marathon once and this was the perfect opportunity.

The training demanded real commitment and determination but also gave me the wonderful life-affirming experiences of running in Cape Town, the mountains in the Franschhoek wine region of South Africa, along the coastline in Lisbon, around reservoirs in the Peak District and on frozen pathways in the Cotswolds.

When I registered for the London Marathon I put my estimated finish time as four hours. But after training with Sheffield running club Steel City Striders I felt I could go for a faster time. Then I was set the challenge of beating the time of one of my best friends! James did the marathon a few years ago in 3 hours 33 minutes and 17 seconds. His dad said he'd sponsor me £200 if I beat his son's time! The challenge was set.

The problem with me predicting my finish time as 4 hours was that the runners in the pen I started in were too slow for the pace I needed to go of 8 minutes per mile. The course was so busy for much of the first 15 miles that it wasn't possible to run at my own speed. The packed course, an anxiety-induced tightness across my chest and the knowledge that I had so many miles still to run meant that by 18 miles in I was about 3 minutes down on the pace I needed to do to beat James' time. I resigned myself to not hitting my target, but to put that at the back of my mind and to enjoy the rest of the marathon. Thankfully it was at mile 18 that I saw my wife Emily in the crowd and ran over and gave her a kiss which gave me a big boost! I started to feel stronger and there was much more space on the course to run my pace. Then at mile 20 I saw Emily again with my good friend Dave who'd made me a hilarious banner to encourage me to beat James' time (see below)! I shouted to them as I passed, "I need to speed up" and they bellowed encouragement.


Having done lots of reading on marathon running I'd learnt that the final six miles is what makes or breaks a marathon - while some hit the wall because they have not taken in enough energy gels and liquids and haven't trained sufficiently, others are able to push on. Thankfully the hours of training paid off and I was able to speed up and overtake precisely 1,409 runners in the last 4.5 miles - with no one overtaking me! The 25th mile was my fastest, at 6 minutes 55 seconds.

Perhaps it sounds overly sentimental but I'd read that you should devote each of the last four miles to different people that are important to you to help distract you from the exhaustion and for me it really worked - repeating the names of the people I love over and over helped inspire me. And as I did, I was regularly checking my pace on my GPS running watch - it was dropping closer and closer to 8 minutes per mile. I was now confident I'd be able to beat my friend James' time.

Running along the Embankment the course swings right past Big Ben and with less than half a mile to go I happened to be on the right side of the road to unexpectedly see James in the crowd (the friend whose time I was hoping to beat!) I let out an almighty roar as he cheered me on. Then I just had to stay focused, passing Buckingham Palace to my left and then onto the Mall for a sprint finish. I finished in 3 hours 32 minutes and 13 seconds, 1 minute and 4 seconds quicker than James.

Crossing the finish line was the moment in my life when I felt the most proud of myself because I'd put so much into preparing for the marathon. To go from about 3 minutes down on my target time at 18 miles, to finish one minute ahead of it was particularly pleasing. I dug incredibly deep physically and mentally to achieve it.

Here's a short clip of me running and then finishing the marathon - look out for the maroon vest!
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Just as an aside - something I'd not accounted for is that you actually run more than 26.2 miles when you do a marathon because you don't run the racing line. I ended up doing 26.4 miles and that extra point two of a mile added more than a minute and a half to my finish time.

Most importantly, Emily and I have been able to raise more than £6,000 for the miscarriage charity Tommy's. Earlier this year, I blogged about why I ran for Tommy's.

If you have a good level of fitness and you ever get the chance to run a marathon, I'd definitely recommend it. I shan't be doing another one though, the time needed to train and the potential for injuries means once is enough for me. I'll spare you the detail on the toenail I had to have removed a week after the marathon as I don't want it to put you off running a marathon yourself!

A big thank you to everyone who supported and encouraged me in my marathon effort.

Flies!

I've been to Rossington in Doncaster to investigate reports of a fly infestation. Residents there are complaining of hundreds of the insects in their homes.

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Cycling in Yorkshire

With the Tour de Yorkshire starting today, I've been looking at whether there's a growth in the number of people cycling. According to Sport England, since the Tour de France came here in 2014, Yorkshire has the second highest number of cyclists in England.  But campaigners say there's still a long way to go.



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40 Years of Snooker in Sheffield

The World Snooker Championships has been taking place at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield for forty years! Apparently it's brought £100 million pounds to the city over the last four decades. I've been to the Crucible to interview the Chairman of World Snooker, Barry Hearn and former World Snooker Champion Cliff Thorburn. As a snooker fan this was a real joy to put together and my report was used on Look North...



...and a shorter version on the BBC News Channel...



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Bradford Markets

I've been to Bradford to find out about £15 million plans to redevelop the markets in the city.



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Robot Surgery

I've been to the Hallamshire hospital in Sheffield which is to become the UK centre for pioneering robotic brain surgery which could change the lives of thousands of patients. Rosa the Robot uses a GPS-like system to map the human brain and carry out neuro surgery with the kind of pinpoint accuracy which was previously impossible.



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Huddersfield Town at the Etihad

I had a thoroughly enjoyable night at the Etihad stadium reporting on Huddersfield Town's FA Cup 5th round replay against Manchester City. I've seen Town play four times in the last few weeks and have been really impressed by their free-flowing football and the enthusiastic, uplifting atmosphere created by the fans. Here's my report on Look North before the match...



Despite going one nil up, Huddersfield were outclassed and eventually went down 5-1. I did a live on Look North after the match...



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Ice Ultra

I've been to the Peak District to film a really enjoyable story. It's about a man called Will Roberts who a year ago was overweight, out of shape and a heavy drinker. But watching his mum suffer from debilitating multiple sclerosis made him determined to get up off the sofa. In that short space of time he's become running obsessed. Now he's about to take part in the 150 mile Ice Ultra race in the sub-zero temperatures of arctic Sweden to raise funds for the MS Society.


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Murder Investigation

A murder investigation has been launched after the fatal shooting of a man in Sheffield. The incident happened on Daniel Hill in the Upperthorpe area of the city. Residents say the victim was going to a family gathering when he was attacked...



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Joe Root

I've been along to Sheffield Collegiate Cricket Club to interview Matt Root, the father of Yorkshire batsman Joe Root, who has been named the new test captain of England. What's remarkable is that Joe Root is the second cricketer to become England captain from Sheffield Collegiate, following in the footsteps of Michael Vaughan.



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FA Cup Preview

I've been digging into the FA Cup archive to preview the FA Cup fourth round this weekend. Both Leeds United and Huddersfield Town are in the race for promotion to the Premier League - but a cup run could be a good distraction and bring in extra funds. I've been digging into the archive...



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Sport For All

I've been in Wakefield to meet double Paralympic gold medallist Danielle Brown who's launched a project that helps disabled children compete alongside their able-bodied classmates. Danielle - who's an Archer from Lothersdale near Skipton - became the first disabled person to represent England in an able-bodied event at the Commonwealth Games. She's now backing the 4 All Games.

Here's the report I put together on the story:



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And this is the lunch bulletin as live:



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Gary Caldwell

I've been down to Chesterfield to meet their new manager Gary Caldwell. The former Wigan boss has the challenge of keeping the Spireites in League One.

Filming, editing and scripting this story in a few hours was a challenge as there's a lot to think about - who are you going to interview? What shots do you need to make a good package? How can I make this of interest to people who aren't into football? Fortunately I could film with the fans who'd been invited down to the press conference so I focused the story around them...



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London Marathon

I've been offered the daunting but exciting opportunity of running the London Marathon for Tommy’s, a charity which I feel passionately deserves support.

Over the last two and a half years of trying for a baby, my wife and I have had two miscarriages. The pain and upset this has caused is hard to put into words. So many couples suffer a miscarriage - around 1 in 4 women lose a baby during pregnancy and birth.

And this is where Tommy’s comes in. They fund research into pregnancy problems and try to end the stigma around miscarriage. Tommy’s and its supporters refuse to accept that a baby's death is just 'one of those things'. Their target is to halve the number of babies that die during pregnancy or birth by 2030. There’s loads more about the charity here: www.tommys.org

My wife and I are determined to do something positive to help. We raised more than £3,500 after both doing Ride London in July 2016.

I've since been given the chance to do the London Marathon in April 2017 for Tommy’s and I simply could not turn it down. It'll be the first marathon I've ever done and to say I'm nervous about it is an understatement! I want to continue where we left off and aim to raise a total of £5,000 for both Ride London and the London Marathon. 

If you'd like to donate: uk.virginmoneygiving.com/markansell 

Thanks for your support.

Mark

Dentist Iraq

I've been to film a story with a really inspiring young Muslim man. Dr Mohammad Mozaffree is a dentist from Leeds has been giving up his time and money to volunteer in war-torn Iraq in what he describes as the worst health conditions he's ever seen. He treats hundreds of patients, including orphans and widows of victims of the so-called Islamic State, through the charity A World Without Barriers...