09/01/2017 North West Tonight

and on BBC One we now join the BBC's news teams where you are.

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

Six former pupils at a school for blind children in Liverpool

tell us they were abused there in the 1950s.

There's nothing worse than being hit by anyone when you cannot see where

it is coming from. The school says it's

saddened by the claims. Two men from a Lancashire

takeaway are arrested - after Megan died from

an allergic reaction. A century after he died in action -

James is remembered for his role And clubbing together -

the Morecambe manager Jim Bentley thanks fans -

who paid his ?1,000 fine. It really touched my heart. It just

shows the spirit we have at the book club.

Blind, vulnerable people from across the North West have told

the BBC they were systematically beaten and abused by the head

mistress of their specialist primary school in the late 1950s.

Some of them were just five years old when they started

at The Royal School for the Blind in Liverpool.

The school - which still teaches blind children -

says it's saddened by the allegations of historical abuse.

We were borders, five or six years of age, coming from home and leaving

our families. She would line the children up and walk from one end of

the dormitory to the other, smacking or beating every of them. There's

nothing worse than being hit by anyone when you cannot see where it

is coming from. I am I agree, yes, I am angry because my childhood was

taken away from me by that horrible woman. Their stories kept secret but

60 years. But the first time, we living the abuse that took place in

this school back in the late 1950s. At the time, blind permit

schoolchildren from across the North West were sent to the boarding

school. After nearly dying last year, one victim decided she didn't

want to take the secret to her grave. Light is very precious, it is

very, very precious. You must not waste a minute of it. I said, I am

going to do this because I don't know how much time I have left, now

the doors, but this has got to be done now. Rachel was the first to

speak out. Five more people have now come forward to share their shopping

childhood memories. They also they were left out and humiliated by the

headmistress. She was hitting me that much that my left leg was

bouncing up and down. I was absolutely terrified. Pain did not

come into it, the fact it was being done to me made me absolutely

terrified. Stephen has tried to go back to the school in the past but

he suffered flashbacks and could not face it. Others have been back

though. If I tried to tell you how she behaved to bed-wetters, children

who really only deserved a cuddle, that's all they deserved, that is

what mum and dad would have given them. Not with her, rub your nose in

the sheets, make you wash in cold water. She could humiliate. The

headmistress died a few years ago but the school here is still open

and it is still run by the same charity. Its President has sent me a

statement. She said they are saddened to hear the memories of

some pupils in the 1950s but such behaviour would not be tolerated in

any school today. Joining us now is Gary Norton,

who's a lecturer in social work Can something like this happen

again? Firstly let me see that what has happened those many years ago is

very tragic and it shouldn't be happening. It happened back then and

it should happen now. -- should not happen now. I feel very much for the

people who have gone through that, it is a very brave thing for them to

do, to come forward and say what has happened to them. We are, as a

society, becoming more sophisticated in our thinking and I think the way

that we accept people coming forward and understand what they are saying

is getting better. Could it happen again? It is possible. We don't have

an infallible system, but I think that if you go back to the 1950s,

there was an acceptance that corporate punishment within schools

was unacceptable and the Labour Home Secretary at the time wanted to do

something about it and so watch you got, you started to get a growing

paradigms of change to say, actually, this is not acceptable any

more. Children should be nurtured. What legislation has changed to make

sure that children are at the forefront of thinking now? That's

right. What has happened now is that as you move forward in time to 1989,

children act, but you have there is a process now on a number of levels

which really protect children. Not only does it protect children by a

ring is to go in and investigate when children make allegations, it

places the child at the forefront of our thinking and that is called the

paramount to the principle so we place the child died in the centre

of our thinking. It still comes down to the fact that the children must

be they can speak out? That comes to the next part, the voice of the

child, and we are getting better at that. We are not there yet but if

you look at what social services are doing now and the judiciary and

proceedings and all of that now, you will find that people are more

willing and accepting that children have a voice and it is no longer

that children should be seen and not heard, it is children matter. Quite

young children as well. There is no younger age limit with which we

would want to hear what they have to say. Obviously, the old at the more

likely they would be listened to. Having said that, if you look at the

children and you mentioned legislation, the children act is

very clear. The first question is, to ascertain the wishes and billings

of the child, so the idea is that is absolutely important, but it is not

an infallible system. An inquest has heard a transgender

woman from Merseyside who was being held at a male prison

was found hanging in her cell. Jenny Swift from Sefton

was on remand at Doncaster Prison She was found unresponsive

on December 30th and The inquest into her death

was opened and adjourned to 6 June. A man has died after falling

from cliffs in the Isle of Man. Emergency services recovered

the 51-year-old's body He's not been named -

and police say the death is not A teacher who stole more

than ?40,000 which had been given to help children with mental health

needs - has been banned Sharon May who taught at Irlam

and Cadishead College used the money to for shopping

vouchers and holidays. She pleaded guilty to three counts

of fraud at Manchester Crown Court last year and was given

a suspended sentence. Two police officers from Manchester

have raised hundreds of pounds to replace a donation stolen

from the car of a cancer patient. Aman Chabra, from Ellenbrook,

was due to hand over ?300 to Manchester's Christie hospital,

where he had just finished But before he could hand over

the money, his car was broken Two men have been arrested over

the death of a 15-year-old girl - who died after suffering an allergic

reaction shortly after Megan Lee from Oswaldtwistle

in Lancashire died in The men, both staff at a local

Indian takeaway, are being held on suspicion of involuntary

manslaughter by gross negligence. Let's join our reporter Yunus Mulla

who is outside the takeaway. The Royal Spice makes

reference to allergies This Indian takeaway here is a

closed tonight. A sign in the window says it is undergoing refurbishment

but it is also at the centre of a police investigation into the death

of a popular teenager who died on New Year's Day, two days after

suffering a severe allergic reaction shortly after eating a takeaway

meal. As part of a police investigation, two men have been

arrested. A 37-year-old man from Rossendale and a 30 age old man from

Blackburn, both on suspicion of involuntary manslaughter by gross

negligence. Both men work at this takeaway and both are in police

custody. They make reference to customers with allergies on its

website, doesn't it? If you look at the website and its online menu,

there is a reference there, as you say. It makes it quite clear that it

is aware that some customers may have specific dietary requirements

and may have allergies. English police say it is working with

trading standards officers and environmental health as part of its

investigation. Megan was an incredibly popular teenager here,

she was involved in a number of clubs and her parents themselves

have described her as their Princess, a role model and the

parents are being kept fully informed about today's div elements.

A postmortem has been carried out at the full results of which will not

be known for some time. Still to come on North West Tonight:

Cup fever in Cumbria. We're in Barrow for

the Bluebird's biggest match Picking up her award in Hollywood -

but the actress learned When Private James McLaughlin

of the Loyal North Lancashire Regiment lost his life

during the First World War, there was no funeral,

no memorial service. It's not even known

where his body lies. But his grandchildren

are determined his sacrifice Today ? 100 years to

the day since his death - they met at Preston Minster

for a service of remembrance. His home in Preston

was demolished years ago. The factory he worked

at is long gone too. Killed in action on 9th January 1917

fighting the Turks in Mesopotamia The biggest problem as far as the

troops that got injured, they couldn't get them out so the river

was blocked by the Turks. They couldn't get the troops out. It was

hard to get treatment? Horrible. James left behind a baby

daughter who never knew him. Mum was a quiet lady but she always

room at him on the Runs weekend and when the poppies used to fall from

the ceiling on the Saturday night service from the Royal Albert Hall,

she always said, one of those is for your grandad.

Until now, James' story has been a private family affair,

kept alive in these items returned to them after his death.

The identity tag he would be wearing well in action, rather a poignant

item here with a silk handkerchief the grandmother said she bought him

before he left. Why was it so important for you to remember this

man that none of you actually met? Is important in the wider context at

because it is 100th, we need to focus and think about it more.

The body knows where his body is. By Colin Preston, there was no memorial

service in 1917 but now, a century on, his family is honouring his

memory. Hundreds of thousands of British

servicemen and women Today was a reminder that

each had a unique story. Richard's here now with Monday's

sport and we had 14 teams that kicked off in the third

round of the FA Cup over the weekend, how many have

we got left for tonight's More than you might have thought,

thanks to a few teams earning replays, 11 of those 14 will be

in the bag for the draw which follows us over

on BBC Two at 7:00. Accrington Stanley are our

lowest ranked survivor The non-leaguers were at home

to League One Rochdale who had The Cumbrians, who had

never reached round four, were also in form and pushing

for promotion to the football league after a 23 match

unbeaten run of their own. In the home of submarine

building, Barrow's football team has been under

the radar for four decades. Oh yes. Everybody is talking. It has

been crazy. Everyone is excited and couldn't wait for today. Everyone

The weather is next. Is to start.

Dallas based owner Paul Casson has big ambitions.

In a town this size, I don't think League 1 is totally out of the

question. That's our goal, I would like to take the club back to where

Ireland but being as a boy. The last

time barrow had a home tie They played Leicester who had

Peter Shilton in goal. The owner was part

of the crowd that day. About five yards to the right of

that goal there. It was quite an occasion. 16,000 people here. You

could not move. Brian Arrowsmith was part

of the Barrow team. Today he had a stand

named after him. What would it be like if the team

today could do what you could do and get into the fourth round?

Wonderful. I so dearly hope they do. Standing between Barrow

and history is Rochdale. What's it like to go on as they bid?

Unusual! Are you feeling confident? Definitely yes. 3-1 I think we will

win. Barrow had their chances

but Rochdale had plenty more. Two goals from Ian Henderson -

one in each half - Despite this defeat barrows

season is far from over - they still have the chance

of a dream return to Rochdale march on though,

their dream a tie with one of I was really pleased with the way we

attack today and the scoreline should have reflected that but I am

happy with the 2-0 and let's see what we get in the next round. We

got what we deserved, which was nothing today. It sounds sad but it

was a great journey and we still have half a season and so much to

play for. We want more days like this.

For both these clubs with promotion potential -

Liverpool go into tonight's draw despite a replay next

Jurgen Klopp selected the club's youngest starting eleven ever,

but even the second half additions of first teamers Sturridge,

Lallana and Firminho wasn't enough to see them break

The Reds boss says he did expect a better performance from his team

but is asking for a bit of perspective from the pundits.

The biggest challenge in football life is playing against a good

organised deep defending side. This side could have done better and

everybody could see what happened then.

Well here's the full list of our remaining teams.

You can watch the draw over on BBC Two from 7:00 and if you're

keeping a special eye on Accrington, they'll be ball number 31.

We'll bring you the results of the draw in our late

Crewe Alexandra are under new management with the club's

former defender David Artell replacing Steve Davis

51-year-old Davis, also a former Alex player,

was dismissed following Saturday's defeat at Mansfield.

He leaves the club 18th in League Two and on a run

which has seen them just two of their last 21 games.

He'd been in charge for six years and was professional football's

It's not an easy time to be a Morecambe fan.

The football club's under serious financial

pressure, and the manager - Jim Bentley - was banned

from the touchline for the weekend's win against Notts County.

He also faced paying ?1,000 in fines and costs.

But supporters decided to help him out by organising

a collection before the game, and it left him lost for words.

Well earlier today I went to speak to Jim at his home.

He renowned hard man as a player, he is not often brought to tears but

after the game on Saturday, the Morecambe manager was holding them

back. This was why. The fans today would like to pay your fine. Thank

you very much. ?1000 handed over after a whip round by supporters,

enough for him to pay his FA fine, a gesture that came completely out of

the blue. Everybody cares about you and we stand shoulder to shoulder.

Brilliant. What do you have to say to the facts? Speaking to me at his

house today, he was still emotional. You got the money there, when it was

handed over to you, it was a complete surprise, how did you feel?

Emotional, as you can see. It was a fantastic gesture. It really shows

what good people working people are and the fans of the football club,

totally unexpected but very much appreciated. It certainly isn't

surprising the Morecambe boss was touched, he has been a big part of

the club for a decade and a half as a player, coach and manager. I've

been there since 2002 as a player, as a captain at Wembley when he got

promoted. I have a lot of good friends up there, it's like my

second home. We all know the financial problems of the club,

difficulties for you in terms of bringing in players, you and the

players not knowing if he will be paid. Did that make this gesture

even more special? It did, yes, because as you say, it's been a

difficult time. You can get a little bit down and depressed with regards

to the situation but when things like this happen, it makes it all

worthwhile and gives you a boost. I've got a great relationship with

the fans at Morecambe and for them to do this for me was absolutely

brilliant. As was the team's 4-1 win over Notts County, a morale boosting

win the most difficult time in history was on the money.

Jim is handing that money over to the club secretary tomorrow and the

fine will be paid. Therefore I want a Golden Globes

last night. She trained in Liverpool and she is fast becoming Hollywood

royalty. It's a role that's won

Claire Foy global acclaim - I really, really, really wouldn't be

here if it were not for some extraordinary women. One of them is

Queen Elizabeth. She has been at the centre of the world for the past 63

The series follows the Queen's early years.

Alongside her, Prince Phillip, played by former Doctor Who actor,

I'm invested in their lives in a way I wouldn't have been before. Some of

the things we've done really make you understand the pressures they

are under and how much compassion and sympathy.

More recently she played Queen Anne Boleyn

in another BBC drama, Wolf Hall.

It was here at this university in Liverpool but her acting career

started to take shape. Rehearsals and public performances would take

place here and though she left a decade ago, it is fair to say she

has made a lasting impression. She was performing in a play by Jim

Cartwright and it was an image that is fixed in my head with 13 years.

That is an extraordinary thing because clearly in that intervening

period we have had hundreds and hundreds of students but in terms of

her performance, it was extraordinarily memorable. You and

your colleagues was be very proud? You most certainly are and she is so

young that she will obviously go on now to achieve all sorts of things

but her performance in this role is remarkable. Do you suppose I could

borrow it for a couple of days, just to practice?

She's confirmed her reign as the fictional Queen will end

She is brilliant. A big budget performance, just

The weather is next. The weather is changing and you

might not like it. I'm sure you have heard that significant changes in

the weather through the tail end of Wednesday when things will get much

closer -- Calder. This is the weather we have on Wednesday. 9

degrees and lots of cloud cover. A notable change in the wind

direction. It will drag in much colder air so it is that cold front

and that opens the door to much colder conditions. They will stick

with us through Thursday Friday and into the weekend. Today, lots of wet

weather first thing in the morning. The accident, it dry to brighten up

here and there and you can see the latest picture still shows one of

two spot of drizzly, showery Ring around and that will continue all

the way through the night. The wind has been a lot of feature and will

continue to be as we go through the night. When you have the cloud, the

wind and the rain, temperatures should not fall too far. Between

five and six for the most part. Tomorrow is not that different

today. There will be a lot of cloud cover around. There might be a break

first thing in the morning but the showers will start to build of the

morning goes on. Again, a breezy day. This line of rain works its way

in through the afternoon and it will leave us by 3pm on the afternoon and

brighter skies will try to, three but it is not a brilliant day. The

numbers are pretty good, eight or 9 degrees. That is the same story for

Wednesday. This is the transition day but we will have a Met Office

warning on it is already in place with thirsty and Friday. There could

be some snow and the winds will be strong at the tail end of the week.

It will be really, really cold. We had a tweet from a former Lancashire

cricket player who is bidding for a barrel to get back into the league.

Quite right, too! See you later.