02/07/2014 North West Tonight

That's all from the BBC News at Six, so it's goodbye from me and on

Welcome to North West Tonight with Annabel Tiffin and Roger Johnson.

who stabbed a youngster to death in a Liverpool launderette.

Sean McHugh's mother says the gang may as well have killed her.

Criticism for the Government's new disability payments

after cancer patients wait months to receive them.

find out the surprise later in the show.

And we live in Cheshire am aware a swan which had two crossbow bolts

through its head and neck has made a remarkable recovery. It is days away

from being released back into the wild.

a marauding mob intent on doing their victim serious harm.

Five youths who pursued a teenager through crowded streets

Sean McHugh was finally cornered in a launderette,

"They might as well have killed me. I'm dead inside."

Our Chief Reporter, Dave Guest, has the story.

A terrified teenager in search of sanctuary as his pursuers close in.

Sean McHugh locked himself in the office at this launderette.

But the gang eventually broke down the door to get to him.

and, bleeding badly, staggered into an alleyway

Why did he do it? Why could they just not beat him up? I would have

looked after him. They did not have to do that.

Two, Corey Hewitt and Joseph McGill, were just 13 at the time.

Reese O'Shaughnessy, the ring leader, is 19.

They were part of a group who lived here in Anfield. They would hang

around in this alleyway and kept and Arsenal `` an arsenal of knives and

other weapons. Sean had been doing his washing

at this launderette with a friend and were spotted by the youths,

who chased them. Sean was chased back

into the launderette ` they believed Sean had previously

attacked one of their mates. This sword stick was used

to stab him in the groin. I wish I had been there that night.

They have destroyed our lives. The five were convicted of murder

at Liverpool Crown Court. They faced the judge

for sentencing today And he said that the attack had been

truly wicked. They said that the defendants at each played their

roles. He said they had quoted in the aftermath of the crime and had

shown scarcely an ounce of remorse afterwards.

Reese O'Shaughnessy was jailed for a minimum of 18 years.

Keyfer Dykstra will be detained for at least 12 years,

Andrew Hewitt and Joseph McGill for nine years

When the Government introduced changes

to the way disability benefits are paid last year,

who've tried to claim the new disability benefit `

known as a Personal Independence Payment ` have faced huge delays.

Now a Liverpool MP has condemned the time it takes

to process the payments ` as Suzanne Hailey explains.

In remission and eager to get back to her job as a cleaner but, in

October last year, 43 rolled Trudi was diagnosed with cervical cancer.

They said I had to have radiotherapy five times a week. The treatment

meant she went from working five days a week to working no job at

all. That meant no income. Sometimes, I just sit here, not

knowing where the money for bills would come from. She applied for

Personal Independence Payments in November. It took seven months to

come through and by then Trudi was in remission. It was like I was just

a voice on the other end. Trudi is not on her own at his cases like

these that has prodded her own MP to speak out in Parliament. The DWP

were aware of Mrs Birchall's diagnosis...

We should be helping people at that time of need. They are the most

vulnerable people in our community and I demand that the Government

takes steps to speed up the process. A recent report by Macmillan showed

that since the Personal Independence Payments were introduced, thousands

of cancer patients have waited more than six months to find out if they

qualify. This is having devastating impacts

on the lives while they are waiting to find out if they can have the

money. A government spokesperson said...

Now on the mend herself, Trudi is hoping for a clean`up of the system.

11 people have been arrested in major operation

in Greater Manchester, which police say has disrupted

a drugs smuggling conspiracy worth ?300 million.

The raids in Altrincham, Prestwich, Salford and Bolton

were the culmination of a year`long investigation

by officers from Titan, which targets organised crime.

We have targeted a group who have brought in around ?3 million worth

of material into this region. It has struck a major blow against

organised crime in the north`west. The Rochdale MP Simon Danczuk

is calling for the publication of a dossier, given to the Home

Office 30 years ago, which alleges paedophiles were operating "in and

around" Westminster in the 1980s. The Home Secretary at the time,

Leon Brittan, says he handed it to

his civil servants to investigate. It was passed onto the appropriate

authorities but it hasn't been kept. Two people including a man and

a teenage boy have been injured at a large fire

in a factory in Hyde. Seven fire crews brought the blaze

on Raglan Street under control but nearby residents have been told

to keep windows and doors shut. Several roads

in the area are closed and neighbouring

businesses evacuated after suspected acetylene cylinders

were found in the property. A group of parents

in Wigan say their children, who all have special needs, have been

let down by the local authority. Six families have joined together to

highlight what they say is a failure to deal with complaints

about their children's education. Wigan Borough Council has been

picked by the Government to pilot changes to the system for children

with special educational needs. It says it's been chosen because

of its excellent record, but the families have told us

they feel their concerns First tonight, Naomi Cornwell's

been to Landgate School in Wigan. Six children,

all with complex needs. Six families who feel that

they've been failed by the system. Some of their complaints relate

to Landgate School, a special school

for children with autism. One day, his mum arrived home to

find he'd been wrongly sent home from school and left without

an adult in the house. My heart went in my mouth

and I said, "He's supposed to be

at an after`school club." I got the apologies but I want

to know what exactly happened, and to this day I still

don't get the full answers. Edward Houlton made

a complaint after his daughter, Amy, returned from

a school trip with what he believed were urine burns caused by a failure

to change her incontinence pads. The only way those uric acid burns

could have been caused so severely is if

a nappy hadn't been changed through The authority says Amy's injuries

could have had a number of causes. Edward is

an opposition councillor in Wigan. The Council says his complaints

are politically motivated. He insists he spoke to us

purely as a parent. Phillip Edwards has complained that

in recent years getting to speak to his son Daniel's teachers

has become a struggle. It's more of a case

of it can't be done on that day, still have not got what they want.

It says they cannot ignore them as many of these children will need

local authority support for the whole of their lives. Local

authorities like Wigan have to find a way of making the solution should

work. Thank you. A group of breast cancer survivors

on the Isle of Man have set up a group to raise funds for the Isle of

Man's first dedicated breast unit. Currently the breast surgeon works

out of a general outpatients clinic at Nobles Hospital and patients have

to walk through a busy waiting room Almost ?1.5 million needs to be

raised for the facility which will mean patients have a

dedicated and more private area to At 33 years old, Claire was enjoying

being a parent when she received the news that she had breast cancer. Her

time was made more difficult by the setup at the hospital. I found out

about Mike diagnosis in a busy department. It is difficult. She

fought and eat the disease but was left with horrible memories. You are

dashing from one area to the other, from radiology to the clinic and

back. You are half undressed, with all of these things going on. That

needs to change. These cancer survivors say the staff and services

are good but a dedicated unit is desperately needed. You will go into

the clinic, received the news you have cancer, you have to walk

through a waiting room full of men, women and children who were

therefore different `` who were there for different disciplines. The

new unit will mean that more people can have the treatment on the

island. It is horrible, I had young children and it is a horrible thing

to have with a family, to have to go away. Thousands of patients are

referred to the unit on the island. We end up spending double the time

on it because people need this clinic area to run surgical clinics.

All we need is a home for ourselves. Hundreds of thousands of

pounds has been raised that there is a long way to go before the staff

and patients have a place of their own. Good luck to them.

Still to come on North West Tonight:

Could this be the greatest World Cup goalie ever?

And down in the woods, something stirred, we are on the site of the

largest Walkabout theatre group in the UK.

Today was D`Day for one of Britain's most famous mountains.

Sealed bids from those wanting to buy Blencathra in the Lake District

The mountain was put up for sale by The Earl of Lonsdale in May

to help pay a hefty tax bill, with a price tag of ?1.75 million.

But locals have been fighting to buy it themselves,

and today around 150 people took part in a mass walk

Best of luck to the friends of Blencathra! Off we go!

On the march for Blencathra. In just a few months, friends of Blencathra

has won the support of thousands. Today, bags to substantial

donations, the group placed a bit to try and keep the mountain in public

ownership. To mark the milestone, members but they're walking boots on

and headed towards the iconic peak. We have organised it as a

celebration. We have all worked for seven weeks now and it was an

opportunity to take a deep breath, there is nothing we can do now. We

wanted to get together, say thank you and it has been a real team

effort. It is not a good thing to have part of our heritage in the

Lake District going to private ownership. If someone is willing to

pay more, it is the worry of what they might do with it when they get

it. Two hours later, they reached the foot of their beloved mountain.

Blencathra to me and other people is very special. I would rather it

stayed with local people. If it goes into the hands of a private buyer,

they cannot possibly spoil it because they cannot do anything on

it. You have the right to roam. How much better it will be if it is

communally owned by local people and people who love the fells and the

beauty of the Lake District and will be looking after it. The agent

selling the mountain say they have received a number of offers for

Blencathra, which are currently being reviewed.

We will let you know when a decision is made on who gets to buy

Blencathra. Richard is here now with tonight's

sport and it seems as though it could be the beginning of

the end for Luis Suarez at Anfield. Is he going? It looks that way. He

is serving a four`month ban for biting that Italian player. He

admitted it in the end. Negotiations between Liverpool and Barcelona are

taking place with a view to a possible transfer. Liverpool value

him at about ?80 million. The intriguing part of this is that the

Chilean striker might form part of the deal. It is worth keeping an eye

on that. The performance of Everton's

Tim Howard for America last night is being talked about as one

of the best in World Cup history. He says he's devastated that his

country was knocked out by Belgium, but without him the 2`1 scoreline

would have been a landslide. The Belgian and Manchester City

skipper Vincent Kompany was full of praise after the game

and others even said he was so good, The United States has a new sporting

hero. Football's Captain America. It was certainly a superhuman

performance. 15 saves in a single game is more than anyone else since

FIFA started compiling accurate statistics in 1966. With the current

American Brazil and a keen observer back home, it turned the Everton

keeper and his team into national icons. A great performance, a great

result. We still have so much patriotism, despite losing. A

well`known television programme had him down as the next resident of the

White House. This supporter gave his own heavy

tribute. Alan Kelly, currently Preston North End's goalkeeping

coach, played for the Republic of Ireland and knows better than most

how good a performance this was. It is magnificent. You go back to your

childhood dreams, playing at a World Cup bid, `` playing at a World Cup,

being man of the match was up he did whatever it took to get in the way

of that ball. After a performance like that, many people will say Tim

Howard looks as though he is one of the best goalkeepers in the world.

You could argue with that. No, the facts do not lie. The Belgian

players looked as though he could not be beaten. In the latter stages,

with tiredness and fatigue, the Belgians were the winners. But on

the world stage, that was immaculate. If they were not already

aware, Premier league strikers will know that they will need something

extraordinary to beat him. Newly`promoted Burnley have made

another signing in preparation for their return

to the Premier League and it's one

which also impacts Blackpool. The Seasiders' Scottish

international goalkeeper, Matt Gilks,

has made the switch to Turf Moor. The 32`year`old,

who also played with Rochdale, was out of contract

at Bloomfield Road and has signed a two`year

deal with Sean Dyche's side. Lancashire's cricketers

have batted out the final day of their County

Championship match away to Somerset to earn a hard`fought draw

at Taunton. Paul Horton, who came back to bat

after retirning hurt yesterday, Usman Khawaja and Steven Croft all

made valuable contributions as Lancs held out

in their second innings. They take nine points from the game

but remain in relegation trouble. Tim Howard tended to Captain America

and then Captain America turned into you! It is a progression, a natural

progression. Apparently, there has been a petition to the name Reagan

airport into Tim Howard airport. It is God 5000 signatures in three

hours. He was amazing, I did not mind that

it meant I was reading the news at midnight last night!

Down in the woods at Lancaster's Williamson Park,

Over the next few weeks, there is a chance to see

a whole host of fairytale characters.

It's all part of a Dukes Theatre production,

which is the UK's biggest outdoor walkabout theatre event,

You will be released soon enough. In the trees, when the shadows

lengthen, prepare for a few scares. Make sure the oven is good and hot!

I will eat you both! Like all good fairy tales, the Dukes

Theatre 's production of Hansel and Gretel and more tales will make you

jump. The writer wanted it to be a mixture of all elements, to be

scary, to move people, to make people laugh. I think it does that.

And fairy tales are scary! Horrible! It is not so much the

story but the logistics which will give the director nightmares was up

there are six locations which stage scenes and all monitor things can go

wrong. `` and all manner of things can go wrong. In our version of

Hansel and Gretel, they bump into other fairy tales. It is like a

magical world, a whole range of fairy tales, with Hansel and Gretel

weaving their way through the middle. I am a wealthy man. Theatre

is magical, theatre in the forest can be even more so. We were

rehearsing here last night at about 9:30pm and when the lights are on,

combined with the forest, it is absolutely beautiful. It creates

such a magical atmosphere. It is amazing. The good news is there is a

happy ending. Opening night for Hansel and Gretel is this Friday and

runs until August 16. You may remember a couple

of weeks ago we brought you the shocking story of a swan

which had two crossbow bolts It happened

on the St Helens canal in Widnes. At the time,

a vet said it was incredible that the swan had survived

and its future was uncertain. But tonight we can tell you that

not only has the swan survived, but it's ready to be released back

into the wild. Our reporter, Andy Gill, is

at the RSPCA hospital in Nantwich. I presume that that is the lucky

bird. That is the lucky swan. One of the number of casualties here at the

RSPCA wildlife hospital. As you can see, he is better. With us is a

better merry officer for the RSPCA. The injuries he had from the

crossbow bolts were horrific, what they question they were. When he

came to us, he was in a lot of pain and had difficulty breathing.

Luckily, he was attended to by a local vet in Liverpool, so they

address that initially. His windpipe had been damaged by one of the bolts

and he was breathing through a chewed in the site. Is that OK now?

Yes, he was breathing through that cheap for a few weeks and then we

saw that his wounds were then healing. We stitched up the wound.

So he is breathing OK, normally now. What other treatment will you need

to give him to get him into the state he is in now? He was on what a

lot of pain relief and antibiotics. We were also feeding him. He then

started to rally and started feeding himself, so we did not didn't

continue feeding him. R said his future was not assured. Did you

think he might die? It was certainly very touch and go. There were a few

worrying days when he was losing weight and we thought infection

might have taken hold. He seemed to come through that. Is he now doing

normal things like others once? Yes, he's doing fantastically well. He

has been on the water with other once, he's eating by himself. We are

pleased with him. You think about a week before you release into wild.

What happens between now and then? Most about work is done. It is all

down to him, we're keeping an eye on him and making sure he is strong

enough to go back into the wild. Thank you. Back to you.

A wonderful story. You could not even see the scars.

On the night we did the story come there was a real concern that the

prognosis would not be good. It is nice that we have some good

news. We have not got any good news on the

weather! We have quite a long run of fine

weather, we have done particular well, it has been dry and bright

with long spells of sunshine. It never lasts for ever and you can see

the change moving in as you go through tomorrow. A larger area of

rain will come in on Friday, with stronger winds. A return to

north`westerly airflow as you go through the weekend, feeling cooler

with showers from time to time. It is not a dreadful forecast, but not

as good as we have had recently. In the last two hours, we have had

showers breaking out across Cumbria. We have this week weather front

creeping towards us and the evening should be as it is now, a lot of

cloud. That will be thickening all the time. You are waiting for this

week weather front to push in as you head towards dawn. It will

probably" saw areas but by dawn, there is a lot of dull, damp and

drizzly stuff coming in. Overnight, 15 and 16 degrees. Very warm and

humid. Into tomorrow, it is not brilliant. This weather front decays

as it moves through and slows down as well. It does not want to move

away, so where you have it, it will come and go all through the morning.

You can see how parts of Cumbria are not too badly affected. Parts of

Cheshire are fine as well. Where you have it, it will be a nuisance. Past

lunchtime, you can see at the `` you can see it decaying. There is a

price to pay for those brighter skies it is as the sun comes out,

because it is warm, it could spark one or two showers. All things

considered, the afternoon is definitely a better picture. In

terms of temperature, we're looking at 1920 degrees. A portion of Friday

is dry but cloudy. Was the afternoon, we will see rain moving

in. A north`westerly airflow through the weekend, not a dreadful forecast

but a shade cooler as well. Friday is definitely the one to

miss! That is great news for anyone who is

camping on Friday night. Like me. Of all the lights! Do you never learn?

10:30pm tonight. Goodbye.