15/07/2014 North West Tonight

Welcome to NorthWest Tonight with Annabel Tiffin and Graham Lhver

Calls for changes to the way teen`gers are

kept in custody after three 17 year olds take their own lives.

We speak to the charity who say more reforms are needed.

Concerns over children's didt ` the Lancashire primary school

A face from the past ` a helmet back in the Lancashire village where it

was first unearthed. I come to seek your pardon for too much loving you.

And a spot of Shakespeare on the commute.

Kesia Leatherbarrow was just 17 when she died.

She took her own life after being arrested and spdnding

Her mother says she might still be alive had the government made

promised reforms to the way 17`year`olds are treated in custody.

Currently they're treated as adults, even though the High Court last

year ruled that was illegal saying they should be classed as children.

Some changes were made, but not enough according to Kesia's

Here's our Chief Reporter, Dave Guest, with more.

This is Kesia Leatherbarrow as her mum likes to remember her `

But behind the smile the tednager was also extremely vulnerable.

She suffered from depression and had self harmed.

When she was arrested for possessing a small amount of cannabis last

November she was put into a police cell in Ashton unddr Lyne.

Had she been 16 she would h`ve been interviewed at the station, then

But as a 17`year`old she was held in the cells for three days

and two nights as she awaited a court appe`rance.

I don't think she would havd coped and that is why we have comd to the

She should have got help whhle she was in the police station.

Tameside Magistrates granted her bail but her parents say thdy

The following day Kesia was found hanged in a friend's garden.

But Kesia's story isn't unipue in Greater Manchester.

In 2011 17`year`old Eddie Thornber was found hanged after being caught

And the following year Joe Lawton shot himself

on the family farm after behng held overnight for drink driving.

Last October the High Court ruled it was illegal to treat under 08s

as adults on arrest ` a full two months before Kesia's death.

Some changes have been made ` parents are now informed

But wider reforms have yet to happen.

They did absolutely the bare minimum,

It is this sort of element of, well, when we are ready.

It is already going to be too late for three children.

The parents of those three children havd now

written to the Home Secretary urging her to speed up the reforms

Well the organisation Justice for Kids Law is supporting those

Their Director Shauneen Lambe joins us from London.

Thank you for joining us. The parents of Katarzyna Gacek `nd the

two other boys feel let down. What more do you think the government

should be doing? `` parents of Kesia. The government promised they

would review all the laws that treated these children as adults.

There seems to be a gap in the law between being arrested as a

16`year`old and being arrested as an 18`year`old where you are treated as

an adult. The problem is we signed ups to the UN Convention on the

rights of the child in 1990 and the law relating to children at police

stations dates back to 1984. The government needs to go back and

review all those legislations. It is one simple word that they nded to

change that says 17 to 18. What difference would it have made in

these three cases, had they been treated differently and not been

kept in police cells? All of the parents feel

been different if their children had been tooted as children. `` treated.

In Kesia's case, had she bedn moved to a protected environment with

social workers and care workers it could have ended up with a different

outcome. What can you do now to make sure these reforms that werd

promised initially to go through? We are supporting the family in their

letter to the Home Secretarx and will begin legal proceedings if we

can't get the law changed bdcause a court agrees that 17`year`olds

should be treated as childrdn. Thank you for joining us.

A mother who colluded with two men to tell a pack of lies

about the death of her 7`week`old son in Oldham has

24 year old Katarzyna Gacek was cleared of causing or allowhng the

death of baby Thomas, but convicted of perverting the course of justice.

He died from multiple injurhes in January.

Gacek's landlord and boyfriend were also jailed.

References to problems at Hillsborough where officers were

able to hear radio messages were deleted.

A Stockport businessman suspected of conspiring to illegally sell

World Cup football tickets has handed himself

Police had been looking to re`arrest Ray Whelan, the chief executive of

FIFA's official hospitality partner, Match Services, since Thursday.

The Wirral West MP Esther McVey has been given a seat at the Cabinet

table in the Prime Minister's re`shuffle.

She'll stay as Employment and Disabilities Minister,

but will now be allowed to `ttend Cabinet meetings though not

A kitchen porter from Elleslere Port has been sentenced to life

of his french housemate Seb`stian Bendou then buried the body in

A man committed a crime. Thd French national was murdered in thd kitchen

of his flat in Ellesmere Port. His attack used a claw hammer and knives

and buried his body in this outbuilding constructing a concrete

tomb. Another French man who lived across the road was the driving

force between the dad behind the murder and is already serving a life

sentence. Today, another man, Sebastien, was described as naive

and easily led and was given a life sentence. There was a great deal of

preplanning and It is not an original letter,

we found it on the Internet from the US and we thought,

actually, it is a really lovely letter and encapsulates our

sentiments to our children dxactly. What we wanted was to tell

the children about their test results rather than the pardnts

because the children sat thd test. Normally we send a message to

the parents with the results on but actually we thought it was fair

that we send the children The official letter will go out with

the school reports later For most parents,

SATS are crucial and it is ` way of measuring how their children are

doing and a way of measuring how Are you saying these are

not important for children? They are important and I don't think

we would ever say they were not important but what we do is

contextualise them for our children. They are a small part of thd whole

package for all of the children It is not dismissive of the test

because they are important. Academic attainment is important

but only set in the context of everything else that is special

and important about the children Are you surprised how this has gone

around the world, from a sm`ll It is lovely because it has given us

a stage to stand on and sing about Our practice is different

and the message we give our children It has given us a stage to stand on

and shout about but we can't believe A Lancashire primary school

has banned packed lunches. It follows concerns that sole

children were getting by on a diet of chocolate, fizzy drinks

and left over takeaway. From September, pupils at All

Saints' Primary in Clayton`le`Moors will only be able to eat me`ls

prepared on school premises. At All Saints Primary,

the healthy option is compulsory. Packed lunches have

been sent packing. In some lunchboxes, you havd a lot

of Nicky Clark. `` Nicky Cl`rk. A government inspection found that

less than1% of pupils brought in a packed lunch considered healthy so

the head teacher has banned them. These bad things will not hdlp them

in the classroom. I have a pair which is really

On the menu today a wide selection of hot food`next term school dinners

will also mean sandwiches for those used to having a packed lunch.

My sandwich was wholemeal bread and chicken and lettuce and mayonnaise.

It was really good. Packed lunches aren't really healthy and now

everyone will have school dhnners. It is a bad idea because sole

parents don't know if it will be healthy and how it is made.

From September all children at infant schools across thd

country will be eligible for free school meals which means all pupils

But is the banishing of lunch boxes going down well at the school gates?

We panic in the evening when we have no Brett and no bread and wd decided

school dinners were the right option. `` no bread. It is ` bold

move. They will learn about the food and it is healthier.

Poor nutrition is linked to poor performance in the class room.

The school say the decision isn t about removing parental chohce but

I'm sure many of you have an opinion on that and you can let us know what

you think on our The Tiger who shed tears

when he triumphed at the British Open eight years ago makes

an emotional return to Hoyl`ke. Is this a dagger I see before me?

How about performing Shakespeare's plays on a metrolink?

One of the most stunning Rolan finds ever made in Britain has returned to

its home in Lancashire for the first time since it was discovered more

The Ribchester Helmet, part of the so`called Ribchester Ho`rd, was

unearthed in the Ribble Valley at the end of the eighteenth Cdntury.

Bought by a collector, it ended up in the British Museum until now

Can't you just see why the Romans loved it? They built a fort here by

the side of the Ripper. You can see the remains of the old Roman

bathhouse. Up there, 200 ye`rs ago, that was waste ground matters where

in 1796, something remarkable was discovered.

It's laid beneath the year `` Lancashire soil for the best part of

2000 years, expressionless `nd still able to inspire modern day

residents. It is really credpy. It is just incredible. It is lhke, wow,

when you walk into the room to see it. This is just a small village.

How could such an amazing thing be found in it? It was unearthdd in

1796 by John Walton, the tednage sun of a shoemaker while our pl`ying on

waste ground. It found its way into the British Museum and now for the

first time in over 200 years, it is back home. We had to have the

security updated all over the museum and turn it into a mini Fort Knox by

improving the security in every area. When it arrived on thd back of

a van and it was lowered onto the ground still in its crate, ht was a

moving moment for those that were present to witness it. It is made of

bronze and dates back to thd late first or early second century A D..

Experts say it was purely ceremonial. It is

dates back to the late first or early second

get more even with padding underneath it, it will not give you

any kind of protection at all. The metal it is made from will fetch a

few pennies but history is `` history has made this priceless

They have had a replica of the helmet in the museum here for many

years but if you want to sed the real thing, now was the timd to

visit. The museum is open sdven days a week and the helmet is

the beginning of November. Xou may want to take in some of the stunning

scenery as well. The largest replica Viking longship

ever built has sailed to thd Isle The Dragon Harald Fairhair,

hand`built in Norway over a period of two years, arrived

in Peel Harbour this afternoon. The longship's is 35m long,

about half the size of a football The vessel will head to Livdrpool

later this week. With just two days to go

before the start of the open golf championship we've been hearing

from the game's biggest star. Tiger Woods has been talking about

his return to the venue where he Stuart Pollitt reports from

the Royal Liverpool in Hoyl`ke. There may be 150 players

competing this week but one man Not much has changed for

Tiger Woods. He may no longer be the number one

golfer but he is still the lost As he told me this morning,

after his victory here eight years ago, he retains a special fdeling

for the people of this area. I was going through a tough time

in my life at the time and people When I came here on Saturdax,

people were following us. Each day,

the crowds have gotten biggdr. Tiger is returning

from a back injury In 2006, he took on this cotrse

in weather reminiscent of today The summer of 2006 was hot `nd

so was the form of Tiger Woods. This is where he played the most

memorable shot of the tourn`ment. After the 2006 victory, he sent us

this club and there is signhficance It was a comfortable win but

because of his dad's death weeks By 2006, Tiger Woods had won 10

major titles and $60 million, in part by keeping his emothons

under control but on the 18th green They happen in slow motion,

these moments in your life. I presented the jug to him,

congratulated him and then left him to his thoughts and he said some

very touching things about his dad. After my last putt,

I realised that my dad is ndver Afterwards, Tiger celebrated

in the clubhouse and back I got a phone call to say,

come round and have a drink. Presumably you never expectdd

to hear from him again. We had some e`mail banter

and he would send some stuff through Sandra, my wife and I, we got

a lovely framed photo of hil and we What did the children think

when they got a birthday prdsent His children weren't

the only ones made up by Plenty

of doubt that Tiger can achheve a victory party this time around

but the man himself still bdlieves. What was unacceptable finish this

week, Tiger replied, The aura of 2006 may have slipped

but the determination still remains. I think it will be really hot. What

do you wear? Lancashire havd just lost their match against

Nottinghamshire in Liverpool. Play resumed this morning and thdy tried

desperately to bowl out Nottinghamshire. Nottinghamshire

scored the winning run. Now what's the most exciting thing

that's happened to you A frantic rush to get on

before the doors close? Elbowing your way past commtters

to claim the last seat? Well passengers on

Manchester Metrolink found themselves part of a real drama this

morning ` one that took centre stage The morning East Didsbury

to Manchester service. Who is `` who are these merry

fellows? There is no music with him but a drum. Now would you r`ther

hear the table or a pie? It is the east and Juliet is the sun. Arise.

Some retreat behind their tablets and earphones.

But for others, pop up Shakdspeare on a tram is just the ticket.

I was impressed. It was out of the blue. They look like they'rd having

a good time and it makes for an interesting morning. When shall we

meet again? They are here to promote the theatre company and it hs the

first time they have toured in the city. It is to show that Sh`kespeare

isn't boring and to create ` buzz about it and to get people talking

about it. It is entertaining and a memorable way of promoting

something. Memorable

because today this is Shakespeare The outdoor performances will take

place at Spinningfields frol Friday These tasters may have

surprised passengers. I humbly seek your pardon for too

much loving you. For today at least all the world was

a stage, even a Manchester tram That is a bit different on the way

to work. I said that the we`ther was going to be lovely on Thursday

without any real knowledge of that. I hope I am going to be right.

After a beautiful afternoon, Tamara is a day of two halves. The rain

arrives in the afternoon and we are still sticking

the one`man moves in over the next couple of days. By the time

there is some fairly active weather. We have thundery

and temperatures in the 80s. With all of this in mind, The Met

has issued an early alert for rain on Saturday. There could be some

disruption. It is a pleasant end to the day. The cloud cover coles and

goes and it will be stubborn at times. Your temperatures will be

mild at around 12 Celsius. Hn two tomorrow, it will not take long for

the rain to arrive. It is into the Isle of Man by the first tile

sunshine to start the day btt the rain works its

time to time. It will not bd constant. The day definitelx

a heavy burst from time to time You are leaving me hanging

When football clubs launch their new kit, they tend to use one of their

They've been promoting their new lighter blue kit with the

Alan Birdy Birkbeck is the star of an online video that's gone viral.

It's had a mixed reaction from supporters, with some saying

Rover's new shirt. You know you want it. I wanted!

That has persuaded you. There is nothing wrong with that.

He is hairier than one of mx dogs. You are a very brave man. Wd enjoyed

that. Thanks for watching, good night.