03/11/2011 North West Tonight

Good evening. Welcome to North West Tonight. Our stop story: Time

running out on the sands? The lucrative cockle beds of Lancashire

could be closed in days. What are they going to do - are they going

to pay us our wages? We're live in Lytham, where fishermen are angry

they will suffer because of the illegal activities of others. A 35-

year-old mystery reopened - police search farmland in New Mills after

they receive new information about a missing man. John Lewis pull out

of Preston's dream �700 million shopping development. And an old

lady gets ready for retirement - we pay our last visit to HMS Liverpool

as she finally heads home. When I see it, I get a bit emotional. I

Over the last three nights we have brought you news from the cockle

beds of Lancashire. Tonight the picture there looks as confusing as

ever - despite a meeting of the regulators and the Fisheries

Minister in London this afternoon. One of the options discussed at the

meeting was the early closure of the beds. That would mean the loss

of thousands of pounds for some of the men who go out and dig for

cockles. Dave Guest went out with some of them this morning - and

he's still in Lytham for us tonight. Tonight they are talking about

closing the beds. Last night at the raised the spectre of bringing in a

dredgers. -- they raised. That suggestion brought protest from

fishermen. They say they are sick and tired of being criticised for

the actions of the legal cocklers. I spent the day with them. I went

out with them to see what they do and to hear some of their concerns.

Another morning and the start of another day for these fishermen.

Proposals to use dredgers to harvest the remaining cockles met

with anger. It is terrible, basically. It has been brought

about by the incompetence of the fish Rhys. They introduced a

Parrett scheme and have not tried to enforce it. The fisheries

authority has been under pressure to do something to stop the

stampede for cockles. Among the old hands, there is a feeling there

should have been tighter regulation from the start. You pay �1,000 for

a permit in other parts of the country. That helps to stop the

illegal people. It has worked in South Wales and Scotland. Also

Miller has spent years fish in these waters. He is annoyed the

majority are being punished. It is a complete over-reaction. Using a

hammer to crack and not. I followed him and some of his colleagues

about to witness them at work today, and to hear more about their

concerns. We are on the edge of the date today. Most of the bed is

still in the water. We have not got long today. And maybe a couple of

hours. The catches will be fairly low. It is very physical work. It

is like a full workout in the gymnasium. Dredging would

effectively put an end to this. The dredgers would scoop of the top

layer of sand. Vacuums would sulk up the shellfish. But as well as

wiping out the remaining reserves of cockles, they could also have a

wider effect on the environment, say fishermen. I am concerned it

will affect the shrimping. It will damage all of the animals that live

in the sand. Food for the birds. It is not a very environmentally

friendly way of taking shellfish at all. The fisheries authority say

they have no choice. My advice that it then would be to think again.

Everybody agrees the industry should be made safer. Nobody can

agree on what should be done. Back to Dave in Lytham later. But

earlier this afternoon, representatives of the agencies

involved in regulating and policing the cockle beds - including the

Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authority - discussed the situation

with Fisheries Minister Richard Benyon. I asked him what they had

decided to do. I think the key issues the

authority and are looking at is firstly at closure of the fishery,

which would be a great shame. A lot of people have invested time and

money in equipment and training, and our fishing safely. We should

be supporting them. It is the reckless behaviour of some, and the

illegal behaviour of others, that has put the closure of this fishery

as a real prospect. That is likely to happen and now, is it? What

about the Dredge and? It is a possibility. The other things they

are looking at is the change to the arrangement which may make it

easier to police. The decision on that will be announced within days.

The issue around dredging is not a simple one. It is not attractive.

It removes a lucrative fishery from a large number of people and put it

in the hands of just a few. It would be safer. There are

complications, both legal and environmental. It is not something

they can bring forward overnight. It may be at medium-term solution.

One of the issues that fishermen had been telling us is that

although the Parrett system is in place, it has not been policed. --

Parrett system. A big operation has taken place in recent days. It has

seen a lot of people turned away, or in some cases, more draconian

measures. It would not matter if you had all the resources in the

world. You cannot please these sort of fish Rhys through the night and

you cannot police are stupid actions of some people. How do you

stop them? You can close the fishery in the Sirte term. That

causes risks. -- short term. We cannot avoid the fact that the

actions of a few people are putting in jeopardy be lucrative fishery

for the north-west. I totally support the commission. If they

make the decision to close at or reduce the number of people who go

there. Richard Benyon, the Fisheries

Minister, speaking to me earlier this afternoon. Let's go back to

Dave Guest in Lytham again. What's the latest there this evening?

should imagine the cocklers will be equally disappointed if the beds

closed early. This afternoon we are told an emergency bylaw has been

drawn up. The detail will be passed to members of the Fisheries

Committee. It looks like Fisher men here will be disappointed. Police

are tonight searching a Derbyshire farm after receiving new

information about a man who went missing 35 years ago. Fred Handford

disappeared in mysterious circumstances in 1976 and was never

seen again. For the latest we can join Laura Yates at Ballbeard Farm

in New Mills. Tell us more about Fred hand Ford

and how he disappeared? -- Fred Handford. It is more than three

decades since he disappeared. His friends and family have no idea

what happened to him. He was a very hard-working man. This farm had

been in this family for generations. He was last seen in 1976, 18th

March. Police launched a huge search. Mountain rescue and the

fire brigade were involved. A number of people mine shaft were

searched. Fred had not left a suicide note. There was no obvious

disappearance gapped -- Rhys and for his disappearance. It has

remained a mystery. What is the new police investigation --

Information? We know Derbyshire Police are looking into a number of

lines of inquiry, including a search of some of the land behind

me. We have seen a number of police vans and police men going in. We do

not know what they're doing. The case has never been closed. Police

say as soon as new information comes to light, they will look at

it. This is what has happened here. They are taking the information

seriously. Perhaps 35 years on, we may find out what happened to Fred

Handford. The jury at the inquest into death

of a woman in the Grayrigg train crash has been sent out to consider

their verdict. 84-year-old Margaret Masson died in the crash four years

ago. 88 other people were injured when a Virgin Pendolino train

derailed in February 2007. An inquest has opened into the

death of a 16-year-old girl from Warrington who was killed in a hang

glider crash. Lois Preston was taking part in a training flight at

Ashbourne in Derbyshire when her aircraft crashed on Friday.

New information about the discovery of the body of a baby which was

found in a stream in Lancashire, will be revealed on the BBC's

Crimewatch programme later. The child was found near Spen Brook at

Kirkham last month. Police trying to trace the baby's mother will

appear on the BBC One programme at 9pm tonight.

A new food bank for people in extreme financial need, opened on

Merseyside today. It will provide boxes of groceries for needy

families in North Liverpool. It's the sixth food bank to open in the

North West in the last two years. Eleven years after it was announced,

the �700 million revamp of Preston city centre should have been

completed by now. But the work to transform 40 acres of land hasn't

even started. Today the city council finally announced that the

Tithebarn scheme will not be going ahead after all, after the

project's flagship store, John Lewis, pulled out. Naomi Cornwell's

been to find out why. It was supposed to rejuvenate

Preston, a �700 million project to reshape 40 acres of the city centre,

with 500 homes, a cinema, a new bus station and shopping centre. For 11

years Preston waited, as the plans were hit by delays and legal

challenges. Now finally they've pulled the plug. We are still

looking for opportunities to develop at Preston city-centre, but

not a massive shopping scheme. That will not happen in the prevailing

economic conditions. John Lewis, they hoped, would attract other

businesses to Preston. But today the company issued a statement, one

line, confirming it had withdrawn from the scheme, with no further

explanation. There are so many people unemployed, that would have

been a fantastic development. not think it will affect Preston.

There are a lot of shops empty. It needed a boost. It's a further blow

to a city already reeling from job losses. With local authorities and

businesses in the area making cuts, people here don't have as much

money to spend in the shops. There have been redundancies in the

public sector. There have been redundancies at BAE Systems. I

think those have been considered by John Lewis as a reason not to come

to Preston. The scheme had been controversial from the start, and

neighbouring Blackburn even took a legal challenge as far as the High

Court, fearing the project would draw shoppers away from its town

centre. You cannot go in for a development which has so grandiose,

it will gratuitously harm your neighbours. It seems the city will

have to make do with smaller changes to its appearance, rather

than the radical facelift it had been waiting for. Still to come:

How do you stop the pirates in the Gulf of Aden? We are in Fleetwood.

This is not the Irish Sea. And Mancini works his magic in Europe

Pirates are back on the high seas - and they're nowhere near as

friendly or charming as Johnny Depp or Errol Flynn. As we speak, it's

estimated that nine ships and nearly 250 people are being held

hostage by pirates. The Gulf of Aden has become particularly

dangerous. But could a college on the Lancashire coast be making the

shipping world a safer place? Stuart Flinders reports.

A rocket-propelled grenade has been fired at a cargo ship in the Gulf

of Aden. Time to call for the Royal Navy. This is an exercise at the

Blackpool and Fyled College. But it's not a game. Lea Balmforth has

actually been on board a cargo vessel when the vessels launched an

attack. The cargo was explosives. On that particular occasion we had

a helicopter above the vessel within 18 minutes. It frightened

them. The simulator shows the pirates closing in. The timing of

the course could not be better. The Prime Minister has announced that

vessels flying the British flag are to be allowed to have armed

security on board for the first time. This is how the Dutch navy

rescued one ship hijacked by pirates. Nearly 500 ships were

targeted last year, with Somali pirates off the Gulf of Aden a

particular concern. This course will help protect crews from all

over the world. The intention is to make sure that the people and

they're doing the job of C Marshall, her fundic -- are aware of their

own safety. A helicopter from a nearby warship has come to the

rescue and the pirates are in retreat. This Lancashire college

hopes to provide happy endings in Sport, and after a mixed run of

results lately, Blackpool last night pulled off the result of the

week in the Championship. Meanwhile, after making slow starts to their

Champions League campaigns, Manchester City and Manchester

United look well on course to qualify for the knockout stages.

However, City boss Roberto Mancini left Villareal with a headache, as

Ian Haslam explains. There was pain in Spain, and

possibly a sore head on the plane for City manager Roberto Mancini,

after he hit his head on the dugout. An ice pack and an easy win over

Villareal was just what he needed. It might be City's first Champions

League campaign, but Yaya Toure's been there before in his Barcelona

days and the stage suits him. As is the case with Mario Balotelli,

who's simply getting better by the week. He got his seventh of the

season, before Toure stylishly rounded off the win with his second

and City's third. It leaves City second in Group A. Meanwhile, a

back injury to David Silva isn't thought to be serious. It's

expected he'll be fit to face QPR at the weekend. At Old Trafford

Manchester United were in action for the first time since the Derby

defeat against Manchester City. They have gone some way to put in

that behind them. It is played three, won 3. United took an early

lead through Antonio Valencia, the downside being that Michael Owen

picked up a thigh injury in the build up to the goal. Wayne Rooney,

playing in an unfamiliar midfield role, sealed the win late on,

helped by a big deflection. There has been a lot of criticism

of the team's defending this season. That is three games without a goal.

That is a step forward. In the Championship Blackpool pulled off a

stunning win at former manager Simon Grayson's Leeds. Loan signing

from Liverpool Jonjo Shelvey played a huge part in the 5-0 rout,

scoring a hat-trick. Blackpool are now up to eighth, two points off

the play off places. Cracking result by Blackpool. Did

you not like my Spanish accent? Very Continental. I am a from

Preston! Sean Long, one of the greatest rugby league players of

his generation, has been speaking for the first time about his move

to rugby union. The scrum half won everything in the game with St

Helen's, but has now decided to put his boots on for Preston

Grasshoppers, who play in one of union's lower leagues. It's a real

coup for Hoppers, who now have a world star on their books. Richard

Askam has been speaking to Sean and a few minutes ago sent us this

report. Welcome to the home of Preston

Grasshoppers. It is my local club. When somebody told me the rugby

league legend, Sean Long, was going to play here, I was not too sure.

But he is. He is going to take part in his first training session

tonight. Sean, how are you? I am good, thank you. Glad to get down

here. Why have you decided to come here? I came down pre-season to do

some coaching. Car Fitzpatrick is a good friend. He is assistant coach.

I came to help him out. I was talking to him about going back

playing. I want to get my boots back on. He asked me if I fancied

again. Next minute, Bill, the chairman, brought me here. It's

nobbled pretty quickly. You played at a very elite level in Rugby

League for the Saints and Great Britain. People did not -- people

will expect you to run through everybody? That was not really my

game when I played. I am more of a ball player. The Grasshoppers have

been a springboard for many players to have gone on to play for England.

I am coming towards the end of my career. I have just finished with

rugby league. I am not that ambitious to play for England. I

want to do my best here and enjoy myself. I would not mind betting

that when he makes his first appearance on 19th November we will

see a record crowd. We might be in the front seat for that. Richard

missed himself off the list of great players who played for the

club. Great for Grasshoppers. A bit like Freddie Flintoff going to

Pemberton. Now for our final report from HMS Liverpool. We've been

filming as the Merseyside-built warship returns from her final

operational mission in Libya, before she's decommissioned next

year. Tonight Nina Warhurst takes a look back on almost 30 years of

history of the ship, and her links with the city she was named after.

It is almost time to say goodbye to HMS Liverpool. In the coming months,

her flight will be lowered for the last time and she will cease to be

a Royal Navy ship. Those who sailed on her, are likely to forget her.

She is a beautiful ship. She is built in Liverpool. She has a real

heart which generations of sailors coming through and are developing a

special bond with the city, with each other, and with the nation.

When HMS Liverpool was ordered... Commissioned in 1982, HMS Liverpool

was built in Birkenhead and finished a year ahead of schedule.

In 2000, she escorted the Invincible, supporting the campaign

in Kosovo, and in 2003, supported Ark Royal. There have been

diplomatic and humanitarian missions. In 1996, the BBC covered

her journey to Bordeaux as a naval agreement was signed with the

French. A year later, she was called to the Caribbean to help

evacuees. This year, she played a major role in the summer's conflict

of the cost of Libya. This is the smallest landing deck and the

entire Royal Navy. I am about to go up in that helicopter. Patrolling

from air and sea, she helped to enforce the no-fly zone. She used

flares to help NATO aircraft. She was fired on by pro-Gaddafi forces.

These sailors have witnessed the fall of Tripoli. At they are ready

for home. I love the city of Liverpool. It has always been my

home. When I see the Liverbird, I get added emotional. Especially

when I see my mother. It get emotional. She may have been sent

across the world and back, but a HMS Liverpool has never forgotten

the City that shares a name, or the river she first sailed from.

It will be very emotional when they return. Nunez and there on Monday.

It is great for the crew. They were at the siege a very -- Misrata and

the full of Tripoli. They are incredible people who choose to be

away from their families for all Good evening. We are heading

towards the weekend. It will be just a few degrees cooler. Cooler

air passing and on Saturday. It is pushed back out on Sunday. You will

know it as a dropper the temperatures. -- he dropping the

temperatures. Tonight it stays very mild. We had a showers today. They

were piling in this afternoon. Some of them have been really quite

heavy. In the last couple of hours they have died away. This is how it

looks. You will be unlucky to see more showers. For many places, and

largely dry picture. The cloud cover will stay fairly constant. As

we head towards the early hours of the morning, showers of the central

part of the country. It looks as if it will hangover to the south and

eastern parts of the region. The Pennines will see more than

anywhere else. The closer you were to the coast, you will avoid them.

Overnight temperatures, milder. 12- 13 degrees. Watch these showers.

Some of them may drift a little further inland. You can see they

really want to stay concentrated. Away from them, at cloudy start.

Some of them will be really very heavy for a time. They are

trundling north. Just about everywhere will see an improvement

through the day. Many places will become drier. At limbs of sunshine.

You will still see some showers and the afternoon. And mixed up, lively

picture. The breeze comes from the south-west. Temperatures really

quite good. 14 and 15 degrees. The outlook for the next couple of days,

look at that. Most of Saturday is dry. We are Paris the close to a

line of whether that comes in late run that day. -- perilously close.

Fingers crossed that will be largely drive. That weather front

is creeping a little bit too close for comfort. That is how the

computer wants to see it during daylight hours. Saturday night

could see some rain from time to time. Temperatures cooling off a

Now you two look very cosy on that sofa over there - but not sure how

comfy we'd find this one. It's an ice lounge, it will weigh 2.5

tonnes and will be created from nine giant blocks of ice. It will

be installed at Manchester Piccadilly Station next Wednesday

as part of a public information campaign. Does your bottom get wet?

Your bottom goes Phnom! -- norm. I do not know if I would sit on it.

You know how you get stuck to ice lollies? There is an ice hotel. Who