10/04/2012 North West Tonight

Good evening. Welcome to North West Tonight with Ranvir Singh and Tony

Livesey. Our top story: Tributes to a great leader - the soldier who's

died two months after being injured in an explosion in Afghanistan. It

brings the total number of servicemen from the North West

who've died in Afghanistan to 49. The search for a runner from

Cheshire who has gone missing during a marathon in Greece.

The rising cost of IVF as two generations celebrate 25 years of

pioneering treatment. These days, anything is possible.

And a first sighting of the little giant girl as she prepares to wow

the City of Liverpool. Also tonight: The Cod Army could

soon be swimming with the big boys of the Football League. Peter

Marshall's at the seaside on the biggest night in Fleetwood Town's

history. Long yes, can Fleetwood Tarn are no

place in history? Three points tonight will put them

in the top league for the first time ever. Join me later.

For two months Corporal Jack Stanley clung to life after being

blown up in Afghanistan. Despite the terrible injuries he'd suffered,

his close family hoped for a miracle. They stayed at his

hospital bedside, desperate to see signs of improvement. Sadly, at the

weekend, the last vestiges of hope ebbed away as Corporal Stanley died.

Today, colleagues spoke of a born leader who loved the military life.

And in Littleborough his mum paid her own moving tribute. Here's our

chief reporter, Dave Guest. Jack Stanley was just 26, but he was a

man who made an impression on many during his all-too-short life.

Raised in the Rochdale area, he was football-mad, an avid fan of Bolton

Wanderers. However, he chose the army as his career. He signed up in

2003, and was serving with the Queen's Royal Hussars. He was

deployed to Afghanistan last October, based at Lashkar Gah it

was in February that he fell victim to an improvised explosive device,

suffering terrible injuries. He was quickly airlifted to Camp Bastion,

where he received a initial treatment before being flown to the

UK, where he was admitted to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in

Birmingham. There his close family remained at his bedside until the

weekend when Corporal Stanley lost his fight for life. It's a loss

felt by many. He had been a regular at this pub in Todmorden. They had

raised money for him during his time in hospital. Today, one of his

commanding officer described him as "professional, fit and utterly

determined". Meanwhile, in Littleborough, Corporal Stanley's

mum, Brenda, was back home but too upset to speak on camera. However,

in a statement, she described him as "kind and generous". She added,

"He fought so hard to stay with us." she said she could not

describe the devastation the family felt right now. But it's

devastation experienced by so many north-west families in recent years,

Corporal Stanley being the 49th fatality from the region since the

operation in Afghanistan began. Search teams in Greece are looking

for a man from Cheshire who went missing while he was running a

marathon there. John Lawton, who is 63 and from Alsager, was taking

part in the Taygetos Challenge near Kalamata in western Greece. The

alarm was raised when he failed to finish the course on Sunday. Kate

Simms reports. Looking forward to fulfilling an ambition - this was

John Lawton just a few hours before he started the Taygetos Challenge

in Greece on Sunday. He was, says his wife, ready for the challenge.

He was absolutely raring to go. He had stuck to his training, the

weather was perfect - warm but not absolutely blistering. It was a

perfect day for running in the mountains. The 35-kilometre course

is run every year around the village of Kardamilli, near

Kalamata in western Greece. It's a challenging course, as this footage

from last year shows, set along rough mountain tracks. John Lawton

hopes to finish it in around six or seven hours. I gave him a case at

the start, waved him off. -- I gave him a kiss. When he did not finish,

I started to talk to the race organisers, who told me that he had

not have reached the checkpoints. They started to look for him.

and John had hoped to be enjoying a relaxing break by-now. Instead she

is waiting for news as the search for her husband enters its third

night. I do not know how much longer he could be out there and

still possibly be alive. Lynda says her hope is that John's many years

of running in all conditions will help him stay alive until they can

find him. A Greater Manchester Police

firearms officer has been questioned by the Independent

Police Complaints Commission as part of its investigation into the

fatal shooting of a man from Cheshire. Anthony Grainger, who was

36, died as a result of a single gunshot wounds to the chest

following the incident in Culcheth last month. The IPCC say a range of

offences are being considered, including manslaughter and murder.

Nearly �9 million pounds worth of cannabis has been seized in the

north west in the past month. 17,000 plants have been destroyed

after being discovered in homes and warehouses across the region.

Police say by targeting those who are farming the Class B drug they

are reducing the amount of violent crime.

We have seen this link to gun crime, to the trafficking of higher

classifications of drugs, and two serious violence. If people are

making a lot of money out of the sand, as a result, they are

fighting for turf in order to carry out that criminal activity.

An animal sanctuary in West Lancashire says it is in desperate

need of �40,000 to rehouse its rescue horses. Three Dartmoor

ponies, which were due to be sent to Italy for their skins, were

rescued by the Woodlands Animal Sanctuary near Rufford. Along with

a Shetland pony called Merlin, they are now living in a stable block

which needs rebuilding. As time goes on, they do need their

own stables. We cannot take anything else until we have more

stable blocks because we're at maximum capacity. The need to take

horses in has never been so high. The recession ribby has hurt the

horse world greatly. Police say they are treating the

discovery of a burnt body in Leigh The north-west's first independent

fertility centre is celebrating its 25th birthday. Since it opened,

Manchester Fertility Services have helped bring nearly 4000 babies

into the world. But, for those struggling to become pregnant, how

much treatment they get and how it is paid for can vary significantly

depending on where they live. Our health correspondent, Nina Warhurst,

explains. Phil is the first person whose life started here and

Isabella is the most recent. This is the north-west's first fertility

clinic, set up 25 years ago when IVF was still seen as controversial.

We did not know anybody who had experienced it, gone through it,

thought of it, even. It was when, if you could not have children, you

did not get children. These days, anything is possible.

Or them was the birthplace in IVF. In 1978, pictures of baby Louise

Brown were beamed across a fascinated world. This clinic sees

a mixture of private patients and those whose treatment is funded by

the NHS. Whereas three years ago 40% of care was funded by the NHS,

now that has dropped to just 10%. IVF is expensive. Despite national

recommendations that each patient is offered a three free runs,

whether you get that depends where you live. In some parts of the

north-west you will only get two or one attempt funded. If you live in

traffic -- Trafford and Warrington, you do not get any at all unless

you have exceptional circumstances. Mary was not entitled to NHS

funding and has subsidised IVF by donating their eggs. I am glad to

get that opportunity to somebody. If my children could not have

babies, I would hope there is someone out there to we do that for

them. Big changes in the NHS mean that,

from next year, GPs at a more local level will decide who is entitled

to treatment. Here in the studio is a very happy

family. The Thomsons are from Lancashire and they spent �35,000

after remortgaging their form. It did clearly pay off because you

have your son with you. Talk to us about those 12 years when you were

trying. It was something amazing like 132 embryos implanted in you

during 44 attempts. It sounds harrowing to keep hearing that it

has not worked. People ask us how we kept going. All I ever wanted to

be was somebody's mother. I could not just walk away. Lloyd did say

at one stage, you are destroying us. There is a huge emotional price to

pay. What did it do to your relationship? It put strain on it

on a regular basis. In 12 years, there were 144 months. You know

that, month after month... And the agony every time when you knew it

did not work. He had to pick yourself and bouncy as -- and

bounce back again. Trudi did that time and time again.

You run out of money, the pair of you. So you sold everything?

remortgaged until we could not do it any mother. Then my mother and

my stepfather came in with the money for another cycle, which

produced JJ. Their body must have been exhausted by this point.

said, take it, because I have to live with you if we do not have

this baby. JG came along. He is their best friends now. -- their

best friend now. What would you say to people who are struggling?

keep trying. Keep trying. decided we were going to write to

each other about stories to do with our lives, how we met and how we

felt. It was a long time ago - at the late 70s, early-Eighties. I

could not remember some of the things that he came up with an vice

versa. We fell in love with each other again. There was a time when

we did not think that we would be able to keep going together, never

mind have a baby. Life is just a big adventure. I just think that

you should never give up because dreams really do come true.

You have written a book about it and you are raising money for St

Mary's. Why did you not adopt? did. I was running the adoption

process alongside the IBF. At the time, you were not allowed to do

that. Lloyd said, if they find out you are lying you will not be any

body's mother. I thought I had to keep Mike options open. For we are

running out of time. Let JJ say hello. Hello. Hello.

Thank you so much for coming in. Police say they are treating the

discovery of a burnt body in Leigh as suspicious. The man's body was

found yesterday afternoon in a wooded area behind Pennington Road

in the town. Detectives are trying to establish the man's identity.

Elaine Dunkley reports. This wooded area is popular with dog-walkers

and joggers, and is overlooked by houses on the busy Pennington Road

area of Leigh. Today it was the scene of a major police

investigation after a badly burnt body was discovered yesterday

afternoon. It would appear to be an area that is frequented by people

who go to have a drink and sleep rough. There are empty beer bottles

and bits of rubbish that people have discarded. Most of all,...

Most distressing of all, you have the body of a burnt man. At this

stage, the investigation is not being treated as murder and

detectors are now trying to establish the identity of the man

and why he was in the woods. Neighbours and people who use the

area are shocked by the discovery. I walk my dogs twice a day. I have

never felt worried there. It is quite a big surprise. It is really

scary, yes, definitely. I don't think I will be coming down here at

night time from now on. Police are reassuring residentss by

increasing patrols in the area. In the meantime, they want to speak to

anyone who may have seen or heard anything that may be useful.

Still to come: Members of crew from Liverpool remember the day when

Titanic set sail. That and can Fleetwood Town book a

place in the big league? It would be so exciting to go into the lead.

This week marks the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the

Titanic. Questions about why it happened, why so many died and who

was to blame continue to provoke passionate debate. The human

stories, the heroism, the cowardice, the tragedies still fascinate and

resonate with each new generation. All this week, I'm looking at the

ship's links with the north-west. And my Titanic trail begins where

We are here in Liverpool, where we are surrounded by monuments to the

city's Maritime and commercial power. But one of the greatest

monuments to that power is not here, it is lying at the bottom of the

ocean. The Titanic had Liverpool painted on its stern, but the ship

never came here. Even so, Liverpool can claim to be the doomed ship's

spiritual home. Birthplace of the Titanic - Albion House, the

headquarters of the White Star Line. In the early 1900s, the company was

battling with Cunard for the lucrative transatlantic passenger

trade. The building of the Titanic was a bold business move that ended

in catastrophe. Titanic enthusiast David Hill takes up the story. What

was the reaction here when news filtered through of the accident?

Great shock. On April 16th, a letter went out from this office to

the Board of Trade saying, referring to the telegram yesterday.

We have received word that the steam are funded. A and they came

out on the balcony. They did, and read out the list of survivors to

the crowds of people who go into the office to find out what had

happened to their friends and relatives.

We have a pool's biggest contribution to the Titanic was

manpower. There were 90s Gaza's in the crew. -- 90 Scousers. This was

the highest paid captain in the world that the time. He was a local

man. A you have other interesting entries. We have Frederick Fleet,

another Liverpool man who was a lookout. They were on duty when

they discovered the iceberg. The musicians commemorated here in

the Philharmonic Hall were booked by a Liverpool company. We have

come over to the waterfront for the final part in this Titanic story.

This is the Titanic memorial. It is under wraps for a centenary spruce

up. If you look at its these pages taken earlier, you can see the very

realistic looks on their faces. That is because they were based on

Liverpool engineers. We will never know who they were. When the

memorial was finished, the First World War broke out. The Empress of

Ireland had been sunk, the Lusitania had been sunk. So this

became a general memorial for those who died, not just those on the

Titanic. A tomorrow we follow the trail to

Bolton, home of two captains. I have learned a lot doing that.

The exhibition at the Maritime Museum is, Liverpool and the

Titanic. It looks at the links between Liverpool and Bishop. --

and the ship. Fleetwood Town are on the verge of

history tonight, with the chance to win a place in the Football League

for the first time. Three points against League rivals Wrexham will

make them champions of the Blue Square Bet Premier League and

secure promotion to League Two. Peter Marshall is at the club's

Highbury Stadium, and joins us now. Peter, how is the atmosphere

building? The atmosphere is building up quite

nicely. They have had a good night's and bad nights here Robbie

years. It does not get much better than this, though. Three points

against Wrexham will make them champions of the Blue Square Bet

League. It will also put them into the League proper for the first

time ever. A big day for Fleetwood, even bigger for the local football

team. It would just be the world, wouldn't it? Going to the Football

League - brilliant, can't wait. To us three points from history and

a place in the Football League for the first time. At this fish bar,

fingers are crossed. We have a statue just outside Fleetwood. We

will be there tonight with scarves. People here agree that it is a in

no small part due to the luck -- the local chairman Andy Pilley that

they are in this position. We have had five promotions in eight

seasons. I am not sure that has ever been done before. He has

invested heavily, now the fans are living the dream. The town is

absolutely buzzing and has been for the last three or four years. For

them to be promoted and to go into the league, it will only get better.

It is going to be unbelievable. It is going to be an absolutely

fantastic at the sphere, 5,000 fancier. Probably the best

experience of my life so far. What is really happening is that

you now see kids in Fleetwood with Fleetwood shirts on rather than

Manchester United once. -- Manchester United shirts.

If they do not get the points that they need they have another chance

at home on Friday against Lincoln. Good luck to them and let's hope it

all goes well. While we're on it, can prep -- congratulations also to

Chester, who had just been crowned champions of the Northern League.

We can see their celebrations there. We will bring you the result of

this match on our late bulletin at 10:25pm.

Now, earlier we heard some people's stories which link Liverpool with

the Titanic. One of them, a letter written by 10-year-old May McMurray,

which never reached her father, William, who died on the Titanic,

forms the basis of an incredible piece of street theatre of which

lands in the city next week. The Sea Odyssey will see three giants

up to 50ft high roaming the streets of Liverpool. Stuart Pollitt's been

meeting the man behind it. What kind of mind does it take to

think up something like this? Mrs Jean-Luc. He is from France, in

case you had not guessed. He has been planning the maxi odyssey for

eight years. How do you like Liverpool, Barack

Obama? Incredible. Five minutes ago it was raining and now there is

nothing. It is a miracle. The maxi odyssey includes three

giants covering 23 miles around the city. 250 volunteers will be on

hand to try to keep things under control. Busy ban -- this event

starts next Friday. When it ends three days later, they estimate

that it will have been seen by more than 250,000 people. What do you

want people to feel when they see the show? It is very important that

the people love other people. The problem is a couple fighting.

Come on, any glimpse into this man's imagination has got to be

worth watching! That girl looks like Diane on a

night out in high heels! Shall we take a look at the

weather? Just remember how big that Dali's.

A and how she will be stomping around a city near you very soon! -

Aircraft have been having to avoid the weather around the Manchester

Airport today. Very cloudy. We have had some thunder, some hail and

some sleep. There will be more of that as we head through the week. -

- some sleet. The wind has been over 40 mph at times. The showers

will keep on going for some. There is room for a touch of frost in

some parts. Tomorrow morning will be the same as this morning. The

showers will cumin from the West. There could be a rumble of thunder.

The wind will not be so strong tomorrow which means that the

showers will not move away as quickly. The best temperature will

be ten Celsius. Here comes that big girl!