27/07/2011 North West Tonight

Good evening. Welcome to North West Tonight with Gordon Burns.

And Ranvir Singh. Our top story: 650 nuclear workers in Cumbria lose

their jobs as a whole plant at Sellafield is shut down.

We'll be examining the impact on the South Cumbria economy.

Also: A new expenses row - the chairman

of Mersey Travel under pressure for using taxpayers' money to attend

Labour Party conferences. Within an inch of his life - Arnie

miraculously survives being stabbed with a five-inch blade.

Fun at an American zoo for six- year-old Kieron, but ahead is the

big operation that could transform his life. He knows exactly what's

going to happen. He's quite clued up, I would say. And how often do

you get to see a world-record- breaking athlete right on your

doorstep? You get to meet the north-west's newest champion later

Also tonight, Tony's here, and he's getting quite excited.

I am, yes. 11 teams, thousands of fans and

just 72 hours till the Football League's back. Actually, it's 48

hours if you count Blackpool at Hull on Friday night! Tonight we

begin our look at all our team's fortunes. Join me later to see

what's being said about your side. First a month ago we reported how

councillors on Merseytravel were setting their own allowances and

had created numerous paid posts. Critics dubbed it a gravy train,

and now there is a fresh attack. But this time it's focused on the

expenses claimed by its Labour chairman, councillor Mark Dowd, as

our political editor reports. Some want him to consider resigning

after using public money to attend Labour Party Conferences.

Critics say Mark Dowd himself needs to steer a safer course. His

corporate credit card statements show he's claimed public money for

party conferences. I think it's an inappropriate use of the public

purse. I have no problem with - I do believe people should pay for

their own conference fees and accommodation. And these payments

were never declared. At the moment, there is a system where supposedly

every trip to a conference is supposed to be reported to a

committee which is chaired by Councillor Dowd. He's sat there

chairing those meetings completely in the knowledge he's accepted this

money to go to conferences and not reporting it.

The Councillor again refused an But this will be his first year at

a Conservative conference. He normally only attends Labour

conferences - even last year when the party was in opposition. He's

used the public credit card for personal transactions, which is

allowed - �422 for theatre tickets, �53 for a day trip to the famous

Alcatraz prison - all properly paid back, plus a total of �862 to the

Labour Party, which he didn't. Independent experts believe there's

a problem with the culture of the organisation. The councillor is one

of the highest paid in the country as a consequence of his work for

Merseytravel. He may be a very hardworking councillor, but the

lack of accountability is what's telling here. If there is nothing

to hide, then why not publish all the details? Why not have this

panel deciding what level should be paid and why not? If there is

nothing to hide, get on with it. After defending its allowances

system, Merseytravel is now defending its chairman's expenses,

but the district auditor is considering whether to launch a

formal investigation. There are certainly important questions here

that Mark Dowd is yet to answer. Part of the Sellafield nuclear site

is to close with the loss of 650 jobs. The closure of the MOX fuel

plant is largely due to the earthquake and tsunami in Japan.

One union has described the move, though, as ill-conceived and

shortsighted. It's hoped most of the workers will be given new jobs

at Sellafield, but there are fears that many redundancies - or any

redundancies - will harm the wider economy.

The company's main customer for Japan is in crisis. The Fukushima

power plant remains closed and the country's nuclear future is

uncertain. Terrible events in Japan have meant our first customer for

fuel from SNP is no longer able to take it. There were further delays

in Japan, and as a result of that, it's no longer practical to

continue operating the plant as it is. With deep regret we have had to

inform the workforce. The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, which

runs the plant, says 600 jobs are at risk. Some say the figure is

closer to 800, but there is hope many will be deployed within the

Sellafield complex. We have 600 families who will be concerned. We

need to reassure them that we will work on their behalf and try to get

them redeployed. The company are confident they can redeploy them.

In south Cumbrian towns like Barrow the loss of any skilled jobs is a

cause for concern. It's really bad news. I got a lot of family that

work up there. There is enough job losses in this area, so yes, we

need it. Cumbria has always been a set rich and income poor and I

think to lose the employer would be a tragedy. The nuclear industry is

extremely important to this area. Therefore, any job losses there

will impact throughout Cumbria as well as just barrow infurnes.

Economic development experts insist the area is well placed with the

submarine-building industry. They're one of the few programmes

in the strategic defence review that was secure. I don't see it as

a negative impact. For ourselves we need to be concerned, but obviously

we're concerned for the people being made redundant in west

Cumbria. The closure of the MOX plant will take several months.

More news stories from around the north-west:

Two brothers have been jailed for the killing of a care worker in

Salford. Adam Steele was murdered in the early hours of New Year's

Day. 17-year-old Direece Roche, who had already pleaded guilty to

murder, was jailed for life. His older brother Owen Roche was given

an indeterminate sentence for public protection.

A man's died after being hit by a train on the West Coast Main Line

near Kendal in Cumbria. The accident happened a short distance

north of Kendal's mainline station, Oxenholme, on the Manchester to

Glasgow service. The line is likely to be closed for several hours,

which is could cause major delays to Virgin and TPE services.

More than 60 people took their deck chairs to the street to stage a

demonstration in Congleton today. They were protesting against

Cheshire East Council's demand that every business with an outdoor

eating area pays up to �550 for a license. The council says they're

enforcing a safety law which has existed for more than 30 years. But

protestors say the fees will cripple business.

I sell tea at �1.30. How long is it going to take me to recoup �550?

It's going to take longer than four, six months, and you're only going

to get two months of decent weather. It's impractical and not something

I can afford. Vets say a pet dog is lucky to be

alive after being found on a Manchester street with a five-inch

knife sticking out from his side. Arnie, a six-year-old bull mastiff,

was stabbed at the weekend. The blade came within an inch of his

heart. Abbie Jones reports. After three days of treatment,

Arnie is now on the mend. But it could easily have been a different

story. It was about kind of five inches long, and this is probably

the outline of his heart here. It's slightly difficult to tell. It's

very close. It's come very close to his heart, which would have been a

fatal injury. He's a very lucky boy. Lucky too that he was found by 92-

year-old Mary Coughlan. Arnie had got out of the family home in

Wythenshawe before he was stabbed. Mary and her granddaughter rang an

animal charity. "Granny, he's injured" she said, a very bad cut,

and obviously, he was well cared for, but he was definitely in pain.

When Arnie arrived at this Worsley vets, the blade was still sticking

out from his side. We see some horrendous things kind of in here

from time to time. It's amazing what people will do to animals, but

yeah, it just really shocks you to your core. Arnie's owner is too

upset to talk to us on camera, but she said she can't understand how

somebody could do something so awful to a dog. She said he's a big

softy who loves children. He's already been around to thank Mary.

Arnie is the second dog to be treated at the vets for stab

injuries in two days. Thankfully, he'll make a full recovery. He

should be reunited with his owner today. When five-year-old Kieran

Forde-Thain appeared on this programme a few months ago, there

wasn't a heart that didn't melt. Keiran's personality and cheeky

smile also persuaded hundreds of you to help him raise thousands for

a life-changing operation. He has cerebral palsy and struggles

with walking and needed to go to America for pioneering surgery,

which isn't available here. And thanks to the generosity of North

West Tonight viewers, he's made it to St Louis in Missouri. Elaine

Dunkley's been following his progress.

St Louis, Missouri is famous for rhythm and blues and the tallest

monument in the USA, but it's the zoo which has Kieron excited.

all the way across - MUSIC

Animals! Wow! I'm glad that we've got a day in. You know, before the

surgery, before all the hospital appointments, I am glad we have

been able to get him out for a day. It has been really warm and hard

work, but the zoo is really fantastic. He's really enjoyed it.

I think we all have really. What do you think his name is?

Ralph the rhino? George. George! Did you see him? Like that. See?

yeah! And it's thirsty work. Temperatures have reached 40C. St

Louis is in the grip of a heatwave. It's really sunny, and I need to

wag my hat to make it cold. trip has helped to keep his mind

off the operation. He knows exactly what is going to happen. Whether -

how that is in his mind, I don't know, but, you know, he's quite

clued up, I would say. following day he meets the doctor

who will perform the surgery to help him improve his mobility.

has very good arm function. Let me see. Move this foot up. And Kieron

has a surprise for him. Show me. Whoa, Whoa, Whoa, Whoa! Look at

that oh, my goodness. Obviously, he's a very active child,

and he learns how to compensate with his limitations, so he could

flip over on his head. It's just amazing. After the surgery, he'll

be able to use his legs better. I think he'll be able to learn how to

use his legs very effectively. is an emotional time for the family.

Thousands of miles away from home and in just 24 hours, Kieron will

undergo surgery. Find out how he gets on tomorrow on BBC North West

Tonight. Still to come in North West

Tonight: The ups and downs of the Football

League. How will YOUR side cope with the weekend's big kick-off?

And flying high - the north-west's newest sporting champion who broke

a few records on his way to the top flight. I went there expecting the

top three or four places, but to win every day with world records

every day is just a dream. Holidaymakers turning up at

Manchester Airport tonight for a flight to Turkey with the company

Holidays 4 U are in a for a big disappointment. The firm's gone

into administration, and they won't be going anywhere. Manchester was

one of several UK airports from which the Brighton-based company

operated. It currently has around 12,000 holidaymakers overseas. Our

chief reporter, Dave Guest, is at the airport now. And Dave, how many

of those people are likely to have flown from Manchester?

As you say, there was a flight due out at 9.00pm tonight. There has

been publicity saying this company has gone under. Not everybody heard

how it would affect one family. They were expecting to fly out at

9.00pm. It fell to me to tell them they wouldn't be going anywhere.

Yeah? We didn't know that. We paid for a holiday and were looking

forward to it. We're just not going now. How many of those 12,000 that

were going abroad will have flown through Manchester? It has to be

said this wasn't the biggest company operating from Manchester.

It's one of more than a dozen airports that this particular

company uses, but it did operate seven flights a week from here.

It's fair to say several hundred of the people in Turkey at the moment

will have started their holidays from Manchester. What'll happen to

them? The Civil Aviation Authority says they will all get back under

the terms of the ATOL protection scheme, so they're arranging

flights to bring everybody back. Nobody should be stranded.

those who have spent money and are going no-where, how long will it

take to get their money back? That's the big question because

people will get their money back from holidays they have booked and

not been able to go on, such as the chap we heard from earlier, but the

CAA say they have 20,000 bookings they have to deal with, so it's

going to take several months, so in the short term, there will be a lot

of disappointed people. They'll get their money back eventually, but

they won't be flying today. It's not the summer holiday they wanted.

Thank you very much, David Guest. We move on the sport with Tony here.

Well, it hardly seems a moment since the Football League season

ended, but it's back on Friday night, and the question is, will

there be as much drama this season as last? Too long. And believe it

or not, it starts again this Friday. Well, we had Blackpool relegated

from the Premier League to the Championship. They kick off on

Friday at Hull. A lot happened. I think yes, we'll get similar

excitement this time around. Every fan is optimistic at this

point in the season. Who are the favourites for promotion and

relegation? I haven't a clue. Thanks for coming along! That's why

I get paid. No. Over the next three nights we've got three famous faces

to say how THEY think our clubs will fare.

When it comes to the Football League few have more experience

than former Rochdale player Paul Simpson. How does he see the season

in League 2? Last year Accrington had an unbelievable season. I

thought they were absolutely superb football-wise and getting to finish

fifth in the table. They did really well. Over the summer there has

been a turnaround of players. They have lost the likes of Ryan and

Garnel to Shrewsbury, but they have made good signings as well with

McIntyre coming in. I think they'll get off to a slow start, but as the

season gets going, I think they'll be up there again. Last year was

really disappointing for them, finishing 20th. It was a tough,

long season for MacIll Roy. They have a new management team in place.

They'll be fresh and enthusiastic, not been a massive change in

players to date, but I would imagine there will be more deals

that'll be done before the end of the transfer window. I am sure

Bentley's enthusiasm and passion he played with will rub off on the

players, and they'll be a tough side to play against.

Last season finishing 15th, they would have been reasonably

satisfied with that so on the field things were okay, but off the field

they had another traumatic season and some terrible things going on

around the club. I am sure they'll be looking for a more settled

season this year. I think Gary has made good signings with Scott Kaye

coming in from Manchester City, so he seems to be going along the line

of young players. Hopefully they'll be able to bed in and do well for

the club and hopefully make a bit of money for the club in the long

term as well. Dario Gradi has bags of experience

in League football, so I am sure he'll be look forward to the season

again. They have had a very good preseason results-wise. Not been

Mavis turnaround in players but the big loss will be Donaldson leaving.

As the winter comes in, they could struggle with a lot of young

players, and I think it could be a tough season for them, but I would

still expect them to catch a few teams out.

Tomorrow I'll be discussing the prospects for our League One teams

with Andy Ritchie. And League One is where Graham Alexander will be

playing next season after re- signing for Preston. The 39-year-

old defender played his 1,000th professional match for Burnley last

season. He had been released by the Clarets, and has agreed a one-year

deal to return to Deepdale where he played for North End 400 times.

Liverpool have paraded their summer signings today. The Reds snapped up

Jordan Henderson, Charlie Adam, Stewart Downing and goalkeeper

Alexander Doni. Manager Kenny Dalglish is pleased with the

business he's done in the transfer window. Everybody you bring in you

hope is going to improve the quality you already have here and

enhance what's already here. That's what I'll be hoping for tomorrow -

for them to be themselves, go about the work as they did at their

previous clubs, and that'll do us fine.

Lancashire have awarded their England paceman Jimmy Anderson a

benefit next year. The Burnley Express, who's now ranked second

best bowler in the world, joined Lancs in 2002 and has taken more

than 200 wickets for the county despite spending most of the summer

on England duty. And Lancashire could do with Jimmy

tomorrow as they press for victory over Warwickshire in their county

championship match at Liverpool. A century from Steven Croft and 91

from Karl Brown helped Lancs into a healthy lead of at going to

A lead of 283 into the final day. Well done.

They've come from all over the world for a very Victorian

celebration. The Gilbert and Sullivan Festival at Buxton is

attracting record audiences as organisers mark the centenary of

the death of WS Gilbert. But just what is it about the music that has

such lasting appeal? David Sillitoe We're in Buxton for a celebration

of Gilbert and Sullivan. It's magic if you like good music and singers,

if you like to laugh and be entertained, I can't think of

anywhere else to go. SINGING And everywhere you go, it's final

rehearsal time. That was one - HMS pin that fore.

This is another - HMS Pinafor. Meanwhile, next door, they're

rehearsing the Mercado. Here we are backstage for the Yeoman of the

Guard. And it is for the festival director, Ian Smith, a record

breaker. How many productions altogether? In total in Buxton this

production, we'll have 50 full- scale productions. 50 operas, 2,000

costumes and an audience with high standards. It's quite nerve

Wragging, but the atmosphere - because they know their Gilbert and

Sullivan inside out - there are people with scores on their lapse

turning the pages as you sing the song, which is rather off-putting.

So 50 casts - some young, some not so young - professional, amateur,

British, American, Australian - all for operas, deeply Victorian and

very, very English. That's fantastic. Pretty amazing, isn't

it? The weather is not making us We'll wake you up over the next

couple of days because it's all about to change. Good evening. A

perfect English summer day. We had an awful lot of sunshine. A bit of

patchy cloud from time to time. We had, as we always do in the English

summer one or two showers. They have moved across the region. Some

showed up on the radar over the afternoon - didn't manage to hit

the ground. They evaporated. This lot running up the coast weren't as

bad as they look. Temperatures were exceptional today - 25C, 77 in

Fahrenheit, but it cools off over the next couple of days. Even

Friday at 21, that's the magical 70 in Fahrenheit. That's still a

pretty good temperature. We're just adding a bit of rain to the mix.

This is Manchester City centre now. It's probably similar where you are.

We have fine weather to end the day. All the way through the night the

cloud will be moving in from the Irish Sea because we have quite an

area of weather that's going to push its way across as we head

through the early hours of the morning into breakfast time and

lunch time. Watch it moving in - probably into the coast by the time

we get to 3.00pm. That's quite a big area of rain - does not cool

your temperatures off. Overnight once again warm and humid - 15-16C,

but probably the last mild night for some time. Temperatures falling

away, so becoming more bearable. That's what you wake up to - an

awful lot of cloud cover, and that line of rain is moving around

across the north-west of England tomorrow morning, but I think it

will be with many places up until about 11.00am. It starts to leave

the coast, then following across towards the Pennines and clearing

out of the way. Into the afternoon, sunny spells start to return, so

the temperatures aren't too bad - between 19C and 22C. Back to you.

Now, it's not often that someone breaks a world record four times in

a single event. But that's exactly what Ken Morrisey from Cheadle did

when he was crowned European champion in the F2A speed class in

Poland last week. To you and me that means he's the

best in Europe at flying model planes very fast. Kate Simms went

to meet the regions newest champion Mark Cavendish, Amir Kahn, Beth

Tweddle - north-west champions all - and now Ken Morrisey. This is the

Formula One of the model flying world. Ken is its European champion,

coaxing his craft to fly at faster and faster- breaking the world

record four times and reaching 191mph. I went there expecting the

top three or four places, but to win every day with world records

every day is just a dream. Ken has been working on his plane two years.

This is a physically demanding sport, so he exersises for six

hours a week. But he attributes much of his success to the

facilities of his flying club at Barton Aerodrome. It's as good as

anything that's around the world, and without this I would not have

achieved what I have achieved, honestly. It's fantastic. For two

years of training here to become world and European champion, what

records at this site. All the club members build their

own planes. They fly in four different classes. It's a sport

that takes skill, determination and athleticism. But they're not

getting any younger. I'm worried, really, that we're not

going to have another generation coming behind us. There's a gap at

the moment that if we had some young people in the age range 20 to

30 that would be superb for the sport. We have the expertise. We

need to develop the youngsters. Ken isn't ready to have his wings

clipped yet. He has his sights set on the World Championship next year.

Who knew, eh? Not me.Er With all a bit stunned by that. Anyway, who is

the new girl? Old girl. No, you're better than that old girl we used

to have on before. I am glad we can finally talk about her. She were

rubbish. It's nice to be back. you were at home, were you watching

the cosy little... I was actually, thinking, who is that girl in my

chair? I have known Kate for years. But it's glad to be back on the