24/03/2014 North West Tonight

chilly old week, George. Rais thank you. That's all from the BBC

Police say suicide note found for this teenager and her boyfrhend I'm

devastated. For the parents, it s horrendous. We hear from a family

friend and her former headtdacher. Also, two care workers admit

physically and verbally abusing a young man with serious brain damage.

A memorial to the Blitz. Thousands sign a petition to save the church

the bombers couldn't destrox. And this is Belle Vue in Manchester It

used to be one of the biggest entertainment complexes in the

country. Now a new exhibition celebrates its history. It's thought

adoption teenager and her Alerican boyfriend may have killed themselves

after shooting dead a policd officer in Florida. Alex Hollinghurst moved

with her family to the Unitdd States six years ago. It's being claimed

the pair had written suicidd notes and gone missing before the

incident. Friends who knew the family you have spoken of their

shock. Robert German was shot dead Saturday morning. It's a tr`gedy

that has dominated news bulletins in Florida. Exactly how and whx a

police officer and the two teenagers died remains a mystery. The bodies

of 18`year`old Brandon Goodd and 17`year`old Alexandria Hollhnghurst

were found on Saturday near the officer. Each davenport teen dead in

a suspected suicide. 17`year`old Alex Hollinghurst moved to Florida

from the Northwest six years ago. A former junior school teacher in

Hadfield has spoken of his shop This is unbelievable. The lhttle

girl we knew when she was hdre at St Andrews, this is something xou

wouldn't imagine in any amotnt of time that could possibly happen to

her. She had a smiling personality. The way she got on with people, all

the friends she had. It's unbelievable that this has come to

pass. Tonight, the Orange County Sheriff 's office in Florid` says

Alex and her American boyfrhend Brendan Goode, who had a crhminal

record, had earlier written suicide note and gone missing. On S`turday,

the pair were challenged by officer Robert German in a suburb of

Orlando. He called for back`up boat was dead when other officers

arrived. More shots were he`rd on the bodies of Alex and Brendan were

found nearby. I'm devastated, I really am. I can feel for the

parents, it's horrendous. Tony is a family friend and lived next door

when the family lived in Hadfield. He believes Alex was murderdd by her

boyfriend. He shot her and then shot himself. That's what I belidve. The

people we've spoken to here who knew the family say they found it hard to

believe how Alex could have become involved in such a violent, tragic

incident. The overwhelming feeling amongst people who knew the family

in this community is that she was a pleasant, sociable girl who was a

credit to her parents. The shooting has left two communities in shock

and so far raised more questions than answers. Paul Cowdrey hs a

pensioner from Rochdale and he's about to be evicted. He will lose

his home, part of his late father's inheritance, in a row with the

solicitor who handled his f`ther's will. The Solicitors Regulatory

Authority has described the actions of that solicitor as, ''mor`lly

reprehensible''. Even so, the law says he's done nothing wrong. Today

a North West MP told us that law needs to be changed. Jayne LcCubbin

has the story. Paul Cowdrey shows me his home, up for sale. He's about to

be evicted. Every penny frol the sale will go to pay a legal debt. He

wants us out as soon as possible. He is Michael Sandler. An expert in

wills and probate with one of the UKs oldest law firms. Keogh's, in

Athrincham. It's been going on since... When Paul Cowdrey's father

died, Mr Sandler was hired `s the executor of the will. But Mr Cowdrey

had concerns over the amount of hours he was being billed for. He

complained to the Law Society. There is a principle in law which says

that solicitors can't chargd their clients for investigating complaints

made against them. It's a rdally important principle which gtarantees

that solicitors can't profit from potential wrong`doing. It's a

principle Paul Cowdrey thought he could rely on. We've seen documents

which show Michael Sandler was advised not to charge to investigate

those complaints. That advice came from the Law Society. Mr Cowdrey

says they also advised he wouldn't be charged. But he was. A ?07,0 0

bill has now spiralled to a ?13 ,000 debt. Two High Court judges have

ruled that Michael Sandler was entirely right to charge. The law

says he's done nothing wrong. But the assessment from the chidf

executive of his own regulatory body has been scathing. His behaviour is

morally reprehensible. And xet here you are, you are losing your house.

How does that make you feel? Live Aid, angry, upset, all of those

emotions. The law is not on my side. The law has to be changed so that

someone could complain about a solicitor and not end up losing

their house. Keogh's issued a statement saying High Court judges

have agreed with us, we werd right to charge. Two siblings werd

entirely happy with the service They say if Mr Cowdrey had spent a

modest amount in order to t`ke independent legal advice, hd would

almost certainly not find hhmself in this present predicament. You

thought the advice could get no better than the Law Society?

Exactly. His house is about to go to auction. He doubts there will be

enough money in the sale to cover the costs. Jane is here. Let's pick

up on that statement towards the end of the report, saying that he should

have paid full legal advice. But he did go to the Law Society. He

thought he was getting from the horses mouth. That's import`nt

principle, where clients can't be charged for handling of complaints.

In this case, Mr Sandler was the executor of the will. He hired his

own law firm to deal with this. That made him also the client.

Beneficiaries of wills should also be viewed as clients, that hf the

guidance, but it's not set hn law. If there is a moral of the story in

this it is this. The executor of a will, if it is also be solicitor,

you should tread very careftlly if you are going to lodge cont`ined. ``

lodge a complaint. Preston Crown Court has heard from the

Conservative MP who encouraged two men to complain about the Rhbble

Valley MP, Nigel Evans. Dr Sarah Wollaston spoke to the men who say

they were assaulted in Mr Evans home. She took one of them to see

the Commons Speaker John Bercow But Dr Wolaston told the court she was

frustrated the Speaker refused to meet the alleged rape victil

following legal advice. The Manchester based Co`op Bank says it

needs to raise ?400 million after discovering another hole in its

finances. The firm says thex'll issue new shares to raise the cash,

which is needed as a result of unexpected costs and charges. The

shortfall relates to PPI mis`selling and poor management of mortgages.

Lancashire police have begun a performance hearing into how a blind

man from Chorley was mistakdnly tasered by an officer. Colin Farmer

was walking through Chorley to meet friends when he was tasered in

October 2012. Police mistook his white stick for a samurai sword

after responding to a report of a man with a weapon. Two care workers

have admitted ill treating ` young patient with serious brain damage.

The pair verbally and physically abused him at a privately rtn centre

near Bari. They were only brought to justice when the patient's worried

family installed a secret c`mera in his room at the Priory High Bank

Centre. We can't tell you the name of the young man at the centre of

this case, but he's in his 20s and he has severe brain injuries. That's

why he was supposedly being cared for here at this centre just outside

Bury. He needs others to look after just about every aspect of his

life. But two of those who were supposedly looking after hil,

Lynette Krug and Rita Page, or doing anything but that, they werd

humiliating him. His family were concerned, they say the centre

didn't listen to those concdrns so they installed a secret camdra to

gather the evidence that landed this pairing court. Lynette Krug, and

Rita Page arrived at Bolton Crown Court this morning for what should

have been the start of a trhal. But this afternoon the pair admhtted

charges of ill treating a pdrson who lacks capacity. The court hdard that

both had verbally abused thd patient, both had slapped hhs legs.

Crook had jabbed at his head and torso with a pen. The pair were only

caught when the patient's f`mily installed a secret camera in his

room at this centre near Bury. Outside court, the patient's uncle

said they'd become increasingly frustrated because their constant

complaints about his care appear to be falling on deaf ears. Nobody

listened, and that's why thd cameras went in there. They went in

covertly. Here we have a situation where it required a family to pull

together to put a camera in an institution to protect their own

family. The results it has given us now have allowed us... It's a big

weight off the family's shotlders. To know that what we were s`ying was

true. Dude you have anything to say? The pair left court this afternoon

without comment. They will be back here in May for sentencing. The

judge has warned them they could face prison. This afternoon, the

Priory issued a statement s`ying everyone deeply regrets what

happened to this young man. They say these two people have now bden

dismissed for gross miscondtct and described this as an ants d`shed

back isolated incident. The young man is now being cared for

elsewhere. The inquest into the death of a soldier from Gre`ter

Manchester has ruled he died as a result of poor safety practhces

21`year`old James Wilkinson, from Whitefield, was killed when a

machine gun, which had jammdd, went off while being examined by a

colleague. The jury concluddd the decision to fix the weapon was ill

judged" and "inappropriate". Two soldiers were later jailed `nd

demoted as a result. It's bden devastating to find out how utterly

preventable this incident w`s. Although I'm glad to hear that there

has been amendments to safety rules in light of what has happendd, I'm

still absolutely disgusted that there has been no justice throughout

this process. I just wish the men responsible were no longer `ble to

serve in the forces, so an dxample could be made of them. And hn a

statement issued by the Minhstry of Defence today, they say thex've

accepted and implemented thd recommendations to prevent something

like this from ever happening again. The future of one of Liverpool's

best loved landmarks is provoking fierce argument tonight. St Luke's

is better known as the bombdd`out church. It was badly damaged in

World War II and has been a memorial to civilians killed in the Blitz

ever since. But Liverpool Chty Council doesn't want to pay for its

upkeep anymore, so it's looking at new ways in which the buildhng can

be used. Campaigners say it's too important to be given over the

commercial use. Andy Gill rdports. It's a war memorial and a place for

reflection. And many want to keep it that way. But the winter storms have

damaged it and, with money tight, the council has to think about

running costs. It's had a ntmber of expressions of interest in the

church, including one from the private sector. The mayor s`ys it's

not for sale. But he won't rule out any options, like leasing, so long

as they respect what St Lukd's stands for. If you look at the

Anglican Cathedral and the Catholic cathedral in Liverpool, thex both

have commercial activity to help pay for them. We are no different. We've

got to maintain the building, we've got to make sure it stays up and is

therefore another 100 years. St Luke's was opened in 1832. But it

was hit by a German bomb in 194 . You can still see charred thmber.

Any change in use here would almost certainly be restricted bec`use

there is a legal covenants saying St Luke's has to be a churchyard. One

proposal apparently is that it should be used for weddings. But

even that idea has provoked a furious response from some people.

Twitter is buzzing, social ledia generally is buzzing. Peopld want

this building saved for futtre generations. We've got to change the

way we do that, but the savhng is what is in peoples now. An `rts

group which has used the chtrch for the past seven years wants to

establish a community group to run it. I'd like to continue thd use we

have for writ, which is a space for everybody, whether you are `

millionaire or a homeless gty. It's the same value for those people An

online petition set up thred days ago to keep the church has ht is has

attracted more than 19,000 signatures. A spectacular church.

You may remember last week we told you about Tameside Hospital. A

hospital in special measures which was further criticised by the Care

Quality Commission for failhng to meet eight out of 11 nation`l

standards. The interim chief executive said she wanted to get to

the bottom of the problems there. So today she swapped board meetings for

bed pans, putting on her nurse's uniform to see what life is like on

the wards for patients and staff. Elaine Dunkley reports. Those are

the reports we've brought through for this week. Tameside Hospital is

in special measures. After xears of poor standards, things need to

change. And today, chief exdcutive Karen James changed into her

nurse's uniform for a day on the busy wards. This hospital h`s

received a lot of bad publicity Is today just a publicity stunt?

Absolutely not. This is what we do. I'm out and about, along with my

colleagues, all of the time. I'm on the wards to make sure we are

delivering the necessary st`ndards and we do provide excellent care

here. In an unannounced inspection, the Care Quality Commission

identified serious breaches in patient care at Tyneside. It found

staff didn't know how to care properly for mentally ill p`tients

and those with dementia. Thdre was criticism for failing to protect

people's dignity and the shortage of staff. Add to this the fact Tameside

Hospital the ?4 million in debt It is the weekend performance that is

the worrying aspect. It doesn't seem to be many staff about. I'm very

satisfied. I've no complaints. Not the way they are treating md. It has

been let go for over a decade, a decade of demise. That was down to

what the inquiry highlighted, which was bad leadership. What is required

is for the Government to cole forward with 5.2 million, which is

required to implement the fhndings. The trust says it's trying to make

improvements but insists transforming Tyneside take time ``

tame side. Let's move on to sport, but we are not starting with

football. Laura Massaro is top of the tree in squash? Yes, Latra,

who's from Preston, won a dramatic final in Malaysia yesterday. It

looked at one point as though her dream was slipping away, whhch would

have been awful because she's been close many times in the past. She

came back from several points behind in the final set to beat Egxpt's

Nour El Sherbini. Laura, who's the first English woman to win the title

since 1999, is flying home `t the moment. I decided to send hdr on her

way with a phone call from ts. It feels pretty amazing at the moment.

Every time I see myself on Twitter or in the media with the cup and it

world champion, I get butterflies. I guess it's still sinking in a bit.

Do you feel different? Not really, apart from being quite tired today!

I think it is just more of ` really proud moment, particularly for

myself and the people who are really close to me and helped me achieve

this. Absolutely. What has been the reaction of your friends and family?

It's been unbelievable. Really happy and proud. They cracked the

champagne open at 8am when H won, which was amazing. In some ways this

was big your chance, becausd Nicole David has dominated the sport over

the last ten years and she was out. Did you think that big chance was

slipping away because it went to a final set and it looked dodgy? I

absolutely did. It added a bit of extra pressure knowing she wasn t

there and I'd never lost to Nour El Sherbini before, to come through and

take the title afterwards, ht looked like it wasn't going to happen. But

then it did. You get back tomorrow afternoon, what are you going to do?

When I get home, my friends and family have a meal planned for me on

Saturday. I think that will grow and grow and turn into more of ` party!

It was a good weekend for all our Premier League sides. All four won

and there were a couple contenders for goal of the season as wdll.

Wayne Rooney's long range lob in Manchester United's 2`0 win against

West Ham was reminiscent of David Beckham iconic goal against

Wimbledon. Manchester City thrashed Fulham 5`0. The pick of the bunch

was this from Yaya Toure. Liverpool's Luis Suarez scored a

hatrick in their 6`3 win at Cardiff to remain in second place. @nd

Everton boosted their hopes of qualifying for Europe after a 3`2

win over Swansea lifted thel into fifth. In the Championship, Wigan

kept up their push for a pl`y`off spot with another win, this time 2`1

against Watord. Martyn Waghorn's second`half goal secured a ninth win

in ten matches. And Burnley's push for automatic promotion shows little

sign of slowing down. The Clarets won 3`0 at Charlton. Ashley Barnes

scoring his first goal for the club who remain ten points clear of the

chasing pack. The Burnley boss, Sean Dyche, is one of the guests on Late

Kick Off tonight with Tony Livesey. Sean tells Tony about the v`lue he

places on giving his players sufficient time off. People

question, Arsene Wenger was questioned recently about ghving the

players a day off. I couldn't believe it. Do you tell thel to stay

in the house on a day off? Absolutely not. There is a trust

between what you build as a professional unit. Tony's also

joined by ex`Everton, Wigan and Preston player Kevin Kilband.

11.20pm on BBC One. They've won the English Premier League and they re

from Manchester. Not United or City but Phoenix. The ice hockey team

were recently crowned champhons and celebrated last night by showing off

the trophy in front of a capacity home crowd at Altrincham's Hce Dome.

Paresh Patel was there for `n end of season party to remember.

Brilliant, a fantastic achidvement! Unbelievable! Last week's vhctory

over Basingstoke earned Manchester Phoenix British ice's hockex

ultimate prize ` the English Premier League. It's second time thdy won it

since joining the EPL just five years ago. We've been going for this

for about seven months now, this league title. It's great for

everyone involved in the cltb, the owner, the fans and also for the

city of Manchester. That success has ensured capacity crowds at their

home in Altrincham. Last night's final match against Telford was a

formality, but some fans just couldn't wait. It's physical, it's

entertaining and it's good value for money. It was amazing, really good!

So what's the secret to Phodnix s success? Well, stamina is crucial.

Each team plays its opponents twice, home and away over one weekdnd for

27 weekends, making 54 matches a season. Each club is allowed four

foreign players. Phoenix have chosen their's from one of ice hockey's

most successful nations, thd Czech Republic But home grown taldnt is

also key. I've spent sometiles in the United States, Finland `nd

Sweden. Manchester, it's good people, the people around the rink

and the hockey team is great. But home`grown talent is also ilportant.

I'm from Bolton originally, the nearest ice rink to me was

Blackburn. Players like Richard are now inspiring a new generathon of

fans and potential stars of the future.

The former Manchester City `nd England manager and Everton player

Joe Mercer features on a new Royal Mail stamp published to honour his

remarkable achievements. Here he is, pictured in his playing days. Joe

managed City between 1961 and 7 , winning the League, the FA Cup, the

League Cup and the European Cup Winners Cup. Born in Ellesmdre Port,

he lifted the League title `s a player with Everton. Joe, who died

in 1990, also starred for Arsenal. I think I'm right in saying hd was

also the first football person to be featured on this is your life.

Is our boss watching tonight? I like that clip from the football boss

saying he gives his staff plenty of time off! It was once one of the

biggest entertainment centrds in the country, bigger even than today s

Disneyland in Paris. Belle Vue in Manchester had everything from a

circus to a zoo. It closed hn 1 71, but now an exhibition has hope and

which pays tribute to Belle Vue s headache. It's part of this year's

Manchester Histories Festiv`l. It used to be called Pleasure Land a

vast entertainment complex which attracted two million visitors a

year from all over the country. It is circus time at Belle Vue. This

week, an exhibition pays holage to Belle Vue's heyday, with strange and

wonderful artefacts donated by other museums and also members of the

public. I spent about three months asking community organisations,

schools, local history groups, what is it about Manchester's history

that isn't celebrated that we should cover in the Festival? Everxbody

kept saying you've got to do Belle Vue. One of the biggest attractions

was the Speedway, which started at Belle Vue in 1929. These ard a

collection of bikes loaned to us that were written by origin`l

speedway riders. This one w`s Peter Collins' bike, he was world champion

in 1976. Speedway were so popular then. The speedway riders wdre kind

of like the Premiership footballers of their day. Belle Vue had

something for everyone. It had a zoo, a circus, a funfair, Speedway,

boxing, wrestling, even ballroom dancing. It entertained people for

140 years and often with bizarre and memorable acts. Belle Vue today

still has a Speedway, it also has a dog track and cinema. But the

massive entertainment compldx that used to be here closed in 1880s

Nothing remains of the orighnal complex, although this commdmorative

plaque was unveiled yesterd`y. For many, the exhibition is bringing

back happy memories. We werd all very poor in those days. If you

ignored the queue at the front you could always get in the back for

nothing. It was a shame when it was down. It was ours. The exhibition is

on until Sunday. I went to the dogs recently. One of

my earliest memories was gohng to the circus there. I had no concept

it was that huge. Quickly moving on, she's been a bit under the weather

for a couple of weeks but it's great to have you back. I think I've

chosen the wrong outfit, I can hardly see myself below the waist!

The cold, beautifully bright and crisp day we've had today whll be

replaced by typical Northwest weather as we go through thd night.

Rain is coming towards us. Ht's been not making any progress. It's a

lacklustre, slow`moving weather front, but eventually it gets to all

of us. Any clear spells will be replaced by the cloud. Watch it

slowly work its way in, light and patchy initially. Then it whll start

to take hold a little bit, so they could be a few millimetres of rain

falling in places. It means your temperatures, much better than last

night, nothing subzero. Most of us, five and six degrees. Tomorrow

morning, it's all still arotnd. A dull and damp start to the day.

Watch the weather front movd out of the way, clearing the Isle of Man

first. But then it gets hung up and the Pennines and contrary go

anywhere. Then it moves back through the next 12 hours. You are stuck

with the cloud, dull, damp `nd drizzly stuff. Here's hoping you

don't see too much heavier stuff. The most of us, there's no chance of

it even brightening up. The wind lighter than today, temperatures

probably about the same. Relember, nothing in the way of sunshhne.

A good time to come back to work! I do have a theory why so manx people

are getting so many nasty btgs, it's not cold enough. Exactly! Thanks for

watching, have a good night.