22/12/2016 North West Tonight

Welcome to North West Tonight with Annabel Tiffin

The man who died falling down a lift shaft.

A court hears the operators knew it repeatedly broke down.

Craig Jones was trying to get the lift working when he fell.

How pioneering surgery using bionic eyes to overcome blindness.

How university astronomers spotted something unusual in the night sky.

Having conquered Collyhurst, Attila the Nun is moving on.

A court's heard how a young man fell to his death when he tried to escape

from a lift that got stuck in an apartment building in Bolton.

Craig Jones was 27 - he fell five floors,

suffering injuries so severe he died later in hospital.

Clare Fallon has been at Bolton Crown Court for us today,

and is live there this evening for us.

A difficult day, you'd imagine, for Craig Jones's relatives.

It has been a really tough day for them. They in mind, his mother

arrived at court this morning, hoping and expecting that by this

evening she would have some kind of closure, that she would know what

punishment had been handed down. At the end of the day in court, the

judge said he needs more time to consider the sentence. Craig Jones

was 27 years old, worked as a plasterer, has been described as a

man who was full of fun and laughter. He lived in an apartment

building, only a couple of hundred meters away from where I'm standing

in Bolton town centre. In 2014, he got stuck in one of the lifts while

going up to his flat. We heard in court there had been previous

problems with the lifts, they had broken down on a number of

occasions, sometimes the fire crew had been called out to rescue people

from the lifts. There was a problem with the emergency contact button,

they did not always connect. On this occasion, he decided to get himself

out of the left. He managed to get the doors open and tried to lower

himself out, but he fell about five floors and suffered injuries that

were so seriously died in hospital later.

It is the management company which had responsibility for ensuring the

safety of the building which is due to be sentenced? That is right, a

company called Warwick Estates, which was in charge all the coding's

safety. It has admitted to some health and safety breaches. The

lawyer acting for that company did try to argue that he should have

stayed put in the left, should not have tried to get himself out,

although the judge did say he felt the argument lacked a sense of

reality. The judge, as I say, has adjourned this case. It may be we

get a sentence tomorrow, or it might be there is a longer delay. Thank

you. A drink-driver who killed a woman

in a hit and run incident in Greater Manchester

has been jailed for six years. Susan Smythe was walking

home from playing bingo when she was hit by a speeding car

in Stretford in September. Paul Tomlinson from Sale Moor has

been sentenced to six years, which has angered

Susan Smythe's family. The justice system

stinks in this country. For taking someone's life,

three years is nothing. and her children are doing

the life sentence too. A murder inquiry is underway

after the death of man following reports of a large fight

outside a bar in Altrincham. The 31-year-old was found

with serious head injuries on The Causeway in the early hours,

and died in hospital. Police are searching

for a group of around ten men, who were involved

in the disturbance. A drugs fugitive from Ormskirk,

who was in hiding in Ghana, David McDermott was a member

of a gang involved in a conspiracy to import ?70 million worth

of cocaine, seized from a container of frozen Argentinian beef

at Tilbury docks in Essex in 2013. He's the final member

of the gang to be jailed. Tranmere Rovers' footballer

James Norwood has apologised after posting a photograph

on social media, in which he'd painted his skin black

for a fancy dress costume. by the anti-discrimination

charity Kick It Out, who called it "out of date

in today's modern world". In a few days' time,

many communities in the North West will be marking the first

anniversary of the devastating

Boxing Day floods. One of the Lancashire

villages hardest hit Today, a new flood defence

system aimed at protecting Tomorrow, Storm Barbara is expected

to lash parts of our region with winds of nearly

70 miles an hour, making Christmas journeys

even more difficult. The new flood defence for Croston

has been built a couple of miles upstream from the village. From

today, it protects 400 properties to stop the Environment Agency spent ?6

million building a dam which will hold back the river Yarrow if

needed. One of the problems is that when heavy rain produces surface

water, which would normally run into the river, if the river is full, it

has nowhere to go. Now these new gates can be closed, damning the

river here so thought water builds up further upstream, meaning there

is more room further downstream in Croston for the surface water to get

into. Last December, it was one of many Northwest communities affected

by floods and torrential rain. One Trinity leader said the floods

caused huge stress for many people, some of whom are not in their house

now. She is confident the new scheme will work. People often stand here

and say, it could not possibly have flooded. Oh, yes it did except --

yes, it did! If we had that out of rain again,

their steam would cope with it. Storm Barbara could affect the

north-west tomorrow. Very still and from the Isle of Man are likely to

be cancelled or delayed. An extra freight ship has been brought into

mate sure that supplies storage the island. Bad weather and Christmas

traffic mean some road journeys could take three times longer than

normal. The M6between Stoke and Warrington is expected to be one of

the busiest routes, the MS 60 and M6 G2 near Rochdale could also be slow.

Police plan your journey well ahead. Get onto our website or download our

app and look at the route you have to take and plan your journey on

plenty of time. Engineering work and station closures will affect some

rail journeys. A planned strike by British Airways having crew is due

to take place at Christmas. -- cabin crew.

So weather problems to come - here's Dianne.

Good evening. Storm Barbara is due to reach us tomorrow. Gusts reaching

70 miles an hour. There is the potential for high sided vehicles to

be blown over on motorways, so they could be problems there. Indeed,

rail services may be disrupted because trains have the slowdown

because they cannot cope when the speeds are that difficult. I will

have the full details for you at the end of the programme.

The Food Standards Agency has begun an investigation

after six food poisoning cases in South Cumbria.

It's believed the cause of the outbreak of the campylobacter

bacteria is the consumption of raw milk from a vending machine

South Lakeland council says the owner is helping

with the investigation and has suspended the sale

The body of a dog with severe injuries has been found

Also in the bag, found in Prenton, was a pink sweatshirt

The RSPCA says the female shih tzu had suffered a number of injuries,

The charity doesn't believe the dog was hit by a car.

Iran Air has placed a multi-billion pound order for 100 new Airbus jets.

The wings will be built at the company's plant

Airbus is one of many western businesses attempting to

take advantage of the easing of international sanctions

The Royal Blackburn Hospital and Burnley General will be known

as "teaching" hospitals from now on, to reflect their roles in education.

The East Lancashire Trust, which runs the hospitals,

says they already have a well established reputation for providing

placements for students, and they're significantly increasing

A new trial of technology which could help hundreds

of thousands of blind people to get some sight back

Initial trials on the so-called "bionic eye" have been

so successful, the NHS is now funding further research.

Our health correspondent, Gill Dummigan, reports.

Keith Hayman from Fleetwood suffers from a rare progressive condition

In the mid '80s, he finally went blind,

and that's how he stayed for the next 30 years.

I've missed seeing my grandchildren grow up.

That's the biggest heartache, really.

But in 2009, Keith had a revolutionary operation

at the Manchester Royal Eye Hospital.

Surgeons implanted a chip like this at the back of his eye,

which has allowed him to see light and shapes.

Not full sight, but still a life-changing improvement.

It just gives you more of an interest,

because instead of walking around in total darkness everywhere,

you have got all these shapes to work out what they are.

You know, windows and lights and people, cars, everything.

The system uses special glasses with a built-in video camera.

That sends wireless signals to that chip implanted on Keith's retina.

The chip then helps send that visual information to the brain.

Keith's operation was funded by the company

This new trial with five patients, also with the same condition,

the technology could eventually become widely available.

Retinitis Pigmentosa, the condition which Keith

and the five patients in this new trial suffer from, is fairly rare.

But there's a second trial being run here to see how the same technology

can help people with Age-Related Macular Degeneration,

the most common cause of sight loss in the UK,

I think a lot of ophthalmologists think this is in the realms

of science fiction, but it's very much become science fact.

So we are very, very excited about it.

Keith helped researchers shape this technology.

The hope is that, within a few years,

the benefits he's had from it can be shared with thousands of others.

to help those who need it most this Christmas.

I would like to present you with this BBC Christmas star.

A Christmas Star for the buskers who've piled on the pounds

The stars and planets in our dark and wintery sky

can sometimes seem extremely remote.

could make outer space feel a lot closer.

One student is recording data about asteroid orbits

to help Nasa gather vital information

which could help protect earth in the future.

An astroid the size of a mountain, coming within a whisker of Earth.

This recording shows a mile-long object, speeding past our planet

The images were caught by a student at the University

He is working on a project to track asteroids.

They are pieces of rock, not quite big enough to be planets.

Millions of them orbit the sun in our solar system,

Even though it is at two lunar distances,

which is twice the distance to the moon,

so about 500,000 miles, it doesn't seem like it is very close.

But then if you think about how big the whole solar system is,

then really it has just grazed by the Earth.

a state-of-the-art telescope at the Alston Observatory near Preston,

This telescope is the largest just at any university

On a clear night, it can see galaxies

hundreds of millions of light years away.

Like this, a distant supernova, the light from which

has taken 245 million years to reach us.

It also took this image of an unbarred spiral galaxy,

We have such a world-class piece of equipment that,

you can do science at a very high level.

Nasa have requested information about the list of asteroids.

They fund the Minor Planet Center in Massachusetts,

where Simon has submitted his data.

Most of the discoveries are made by the big, professional surveys.

But they are not currently at the stage

where they are observing all of the sky all of the time.

So we need amateurs to sort of fill in the gaps.

While this astroid may not a danger to our planet,

the work being done here in Lancashire is helping

to shed light on our dark and mysterious night sky.

She's only five feet two, but she's larger than life.

Her fearless stand against poverty in Manchester

earned her the nickname "Attila the Nun".

Sister Rita Lee even featured in her own TV series.

But today she's been saying goodbye to the people

in Collyhurst she's devoted her life to.

It's the end of an era at the Lally Centre in Collyhurst,

a drop-in centre for those struggling to cope.

I'm talking people with no beds, you know?

I'm talking people who live around here

who wouldn't have a fridge freezer or a cooker

She's compassionate but, as she showed in a TV documentary series,

So either come in now or we'll have to phone him and tell him you didn't

No wonder they call her Attila the Nun.

A disagreement about the future of the centre has led to her departure.

And there's even talk here of protests

It's just a very sad day, we're all very upset.

from the volunteers and the visitors.

Just don't know what's going to happen without her.

I have to find out, what does the Lord have in store for me now?

Doesn't he just want you to put your feet up?

I mean, you're in your 70s now, aren't you?

I will definitely put my feet up, for the best part of six months.

The TV programmes helped raise money for the centre.

But Sister Rita puts her success down to prayer.

My prayers, they're the most essential thing for me.

I couldn't go without getting up in the morning,

talking to the Lord and saying, "It's going to be tough today,

you've got to be around, I need you."

And sometimes I feel like I can put my hand up and he's there.

We're surrounded at this time of year by messages from people

about what to eat Christmas, what to drink,

What would your Christmas message be?

Bearing in mind your experience here.

I would say the message of Christmas today should be trying your best

to spread just a little peace and joy to those people

next door, upstairs, downstairs, in your family.

But it's hard to imagine her opting for a quiet life.

The Rio Games marked a new high for disability sport

with Paralympics GB scooping 147 Medals.

But four months later, what is the reality like for

some of the team who often have to rely on little or no funding.

Stuart Pollitt has been to meet two of the competitors.

It may be a chilly winters afternoon in Sefton Park,

but these wheelchair racers aren't winding down for Christmas.

Nathan Maguire and Dan Bramall both made their Paralympic debuts in Rio.

Right now, it does feel a long, long way away, but it it really isn't.

They're both determined to taste the big time again despite the cost.

They both get lottery funding, they're grateful for it

but Nathan for example receives just 7,000 a year.

That has to pay for his chair, which costs up to 5,000,

plus food and travel costs around the world.

That helps a lot. But it still doesn't cover everything. I still

live at home, so my parents help a lot. Anything I can't afford myself,

they will help we with. Even though you are a Paralympian, you still

rely on your parents to some degree? Yeah.

Dan is slightly better off receiving ?15,000 per year.

Do you have enough to live on and train properly? Not really, no. But

it helps. His club is reliant on the odd grant

to buy new chairs for new starters. Our club is based in Kirby, but we

have athletes coming in from Preston, athletes from Chester,

athletes from Liverpool. There is still a cost for athletes to start

out the sport. There is a constant need for funding. And funding is the

key point here. Nathan and Dan are grateful for they get, but is it

enough for them to compete with the best in the world?

Now a story in the true spirit of giving.

A group of friends in Manchester were so upset by the plight

of the city's homeless, they decided to something about it.

They've handed out hundreds of Christmas gifts to spread cheer,

and help build understanding between communities.

and give Christmas gifts to the homeless.

Just some of their hundreds of gifts Mohammed Sarwar

and his friends have been handing out to the homeless

it's not long before you pass a homeless person.

If you're in a position to help people,

The only way we're going to get help and stuff as well.

If you look at some of these people, they really nice people,

they're just unfortunate that they don't have anywhere to go.

Giving charity is one of the requirements

It's led to these young Muslims developing a good relationship

with some of those sleeping rough in Manchester.

When I was a kid, I wouldn't have gone up to a tramp

I'd have been like, "It's your own fault."

But now, the way the world has turned, young kids will come up

to people on the streets, "There's 10p."

You know the person who lives here quite well, do you?

had extended conversations with him, which he loves.

We've given him tea, coffee and hot food and stuff,

So I think we still leave him a gift.

We will leave it in his tent for him, yeah?

Fantastic for community cohesion to get young men

from the Asian Muslim community going out of their way

from all backgrounds who are unfortunate,

who find themselves homeless at this time of the year.

With the charity Shelter estimating that more than 250,000 people

are homeless in England alone, Mohammed says the festive period

is a good time to bring people together.

Now to this year's penultimate Christmas Star which tonight,

goes to a group of fundraising buskers from Altrincham.

They're called the Loose Change Buskers, and since 2010,

have raised more than ?300,000 for Cancer Research UK.

Today they were performing in their home town,

so we sent our reporter, Ian Haslam, to surprise them.

These are the Loose Change Buskers, doing what they do week in, week

out. Then use might change, but they are a popular attraction wherever

they go. Amazing to hear it here. It is fantastic. Amazing, really good.

To give that time and raise that money is fantastic to do and really

valuable. Getting the band together isn't easy. Basically, whoever is

available comes down their instruments. They don't even

rehearse. Not that it sure is. For their work, they are about to

receive a Christmas Star. If we can stop them from playing! We

are from BBC Northwest and night. A lady has got in touch with us to

tell us about all the magnificent fundraising you have done over the

years and all the smiles you put on peoples faces across the West. On

behalf of her at many other people, I present you with this, a BBC

Northwest tonight Christmas Star. The fact that they turn up week

after week, several times a week, it is wonderful. It is that positivity

that has kept the group going from strength to strength, but Italy

after the deaths of two of the members from cancer. That makes it

more serious all the time. We tried to make it fun, but we are here for

the money, for Cancer research. We are very successful at raising

money. So successful, they have raised more than 323,000 pounds. We

pitch up, the matter the rain or shine, we cannot feel our fingers,

but it is good. The feedback we yet and the smiles we get as people go

past, it is a fantastic feeling. Look lovely on the mantelpiece,

that. We do appreciate it. They hope to raise ?500,000 by 2018.

That is a huge amount of money in six years. Tomorrow night, all good

news,. You said all good news tomorrow

night, bar the weather, because Storm Barbara is on the way. It is

the warmest Christmas for several years as well. It will be good for

people wanted to get out and their new bikes and so forth. You will

have to wait. In the next 24 hours, it is not good news. We hope you

have been able to amend your travel plans, because the gusts are

potentially up to 70 mph. It is a really, really poor day. Once

Barbara moves through, Saturday does not look too bad. Women get to

Sunday, we have another storm coming through. It is not named as we

speak, and that will move through quickly, bringing strong winds. As

we start next week, high pressure takes charge and it should settle

down. Next week looks quieter. As we go through the afternoon today, some

showers have popped up here and there. The story tonight is to get

rid of the little line of showers and then we are dry and largely

clear. Temperatures are largely cool, with temperatures down to

zero. Most towns and cities between three and 5 degrees. In the morning,

there will be some spells of brightness for a time, but it is all

about the arrival of Barbara. There is a yellow wind warning. That is

everywhere across the north-west, so we will all be seen bees strong

winds. There may be one to showers around in the morning, but spells of

sunshine as well. By late morning, here comes the rain. It is not

necessarily about that, but it will make an impact. It is about the

wind. We could see vehicles being blown over on the motorways, because

they are very strong, and train to be happy slowdown to cope with it.

There will also be structural damage as well, with trees coming down. By

6pm, the warning expires and hopefully things will get better.

Temperatures ten or 11 degrees. Very strange weather!

People me to stay inside and watch our Christmas special. There is no

danger we are over 18 this? It is certain this is coming?

It is absolutely coming, 60 or 70 mph in gusts.

Stay safe and thank you for watching. See you later.

Let's make this the best Christmas ever.