03/01/2017 North West Tonight

The families of two young cousins, who were killed after they were hit

by a car in Oldham, have been paying tributes to them.

Helena Kotlarova and Zeneta Krokova were crossing the road, hand

in hand, on New Year's Eve, when the accident happened.

Police have been given more time to question four men arrested

on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving.

The parents of Zeneta Krokova are joined by the father

of Helena Kotlarova at a makeshift roadside shrine dedicated

It is just hard to believe that she is

She liked dancing, listening to songs,

She likes spending time with the family.

crossing a road hand-in-hand when they were hit by a car.

It happened here, on Ashton Road in Oldham

around 7:15pm on Saturday, New Year's Eve.

The tragedy has left many in this community deeply saddened.

The two girls used to come into the shop?

The girls came in every day, two times, three times.

Today the flowers and messages of sympathy kept coming.

Only 11 and 12 years old, that could be my kids, you know.

Two young ladies lost their lives for no reason at all.

So now the family must plan two funerals.

But this afternoon came news they would get some help with that.

A family member works at this car parts firm in Oldham.

Today the boss said he would foot the cost of the funeral.

We just want to offer them support, which ever way is

possible, without us imposing on their personal grieving.

Police say this Peugeot vehicle was involved in the

They are urging anyone who saw it immediately

prior to or after the collision to get in touch.

They are also keen to trace the driver of this white

The police are keen to stress the van was not

involved in the collision, but it was in this area at the time,

and they believe the driver may have

important information that could help with their enquiries.

Meantime detectives have been given extra

time to continue questioning four men on suspicion of causing death by

A soldier who died in Iraq yesterday has been named

The 22-year-old, from the 2nd Battalion The Duke

of Lancaster's Regiment, had recently become a father.

He's been described by his If commanding officer as utterly

He died from gunshot wounds after an accidental

The death of suspected drugs smuggler, Steven Corkill,

on the Isle of Man, has prompted a series of recommendations

The 27-year-old died under police guard at Nobles hospital in 2015.

An inquest heard he'd ingested a lethal amount of cocaine

Coroner John Needham said officers on guard duty must monitor

A dividend from its part ownership of Manchester Airport means

Manchester City Council's latest cuts won't be as severe as feared.

It had said ?40 million would need to be saved over

But Council Tax will go up by 5% to help

The Government has announced today that thousands of affordable homes

for first-time buyers across the north-west

Sites in Merseyside, Cheshire and Lancashire have been

named among 14 new garden villages in England.

Our environment correspondant Judy Hobson has more.

It's all aimed at easing the housing shortage.

Six areas across the north-west - including Blackpool,

Greater Manchester and Liverpool - will receive money from

a Starter Homes Land Fund of more than ?1 billion.

This cash has been allocated specifically for new developments

The homes will be available to first time buyers aged between 23 and 40,

and they'll get a discount of at least 20% below market value.

One expert says it might not be the answer

The Starter Homes initiative is somewhat controversial.

There is a real question as to whether it will actually

aid affordability - it is a one-time discount.

And it may be that it gets distracted into arguments about the

suitability of starter homes rather than the delivery of the houses.

In a separate announcement, the Government has allocated money

for three so-called garden villages - in Lancaster,

at Handforth in Cheshire, and in Knowsley.

Naomi Cornwell has been to one of the proposed sites.

These fields to the south of Lancaster will one day be replaced

Essentially, this area is alongside Lancaster

University, it sits between the A6 and Lancaster Canal.

We're talking about initially 3500 houses, probably

extending to 5000 in total, over quite a long time period.

It will take several years to complete the village and the

public will be consulted before it goes to a planning committee, but

they hope to start building the first houses here in 2019.

The one thing most people object to is the

feeling that we do urban extensions without getting the infrastructure

By that, I mean schools, highways, and doing a garden village in this

way enables us to plan it all from the start.

It will mean big changes for the few people already living here.

It just seems to be heading towards turning the place

I'm not that impressed, no, I'm not too impressed.

Houses have got to be built and it's always going to be

Unfortunately, in this case it's in my backyard,

which, initially, I wasn't happy about it at all, to be honest.

But now, when I've read the plans, and

how it's going to be developed, and the sound of a garden village

This local estate agents says more homes

are needed, but only if they are affordable.

If they're providing homes for first-time buyers and some

affordable housing, especially on the south side of Lancaster, then

Many of the villages, like the one planned here,

had been on the drawing board for a while, but the

Government's backing means new funds to speed up the design stage

Rebecca Ferguson, the Liverpool singer who became an international

star after appearing on TV's X-Factor, says she's

been invited to sing at President Trump's inauguration.

But the popstar says she'll accept on one condition -

that she's allowed to sing a pre-civil rights protest song

Singing for a new President is one of the highest honours.

Jennifer Hudson did it for Obama, Kennedy had

If Rebecca Ferguson follows suit it will cap a remarkable seven years

Rebecca Ferguson was born and brought up here in Liverpool,

but it was the X-Factor that changed her life.

She didn't win it, of course - in 2010 she was the runner-up.

But it led to a recording contract both here and in the United States.

But will she accept the invitation to sing for Donald Trump?

When Mexico sends its people, they're not sending their best.

They're bringing drugs, they're bringing crime.

Trump's campaign was so controversial that it's rumoured

many performers including Elton John turned him down.

Rebecca Ferguson says she'll accept on one condition -

This is Strange Fruit, made famous by Billie Holiday -

a song about racism and lynchings in America's south.

Back home in Liverpool, many believe Rebecca Ferguson should think twice

So you think she should avoid him? I do, yeah.

I dislike everything that Trump stands for.

Really, I don't care - she can do what she wants, she's a singer.

Rebecca Ferguson joined last year's celebration in Manchester for

But will she help celebrate America's

in a while and today site will be cold. And there will be a band of

rain coming along with that cold air. There is a lot of cloud cover

around, any breaks are very limited. Cover is thick enough a few spots of

rain. There is a week weather front moving in. Temperatures will be not

too bad for most towns and cities. You should see five and six but also

as the clear weather descends it may fall as low as two. Tomorrow night,

many pieces will be minus two degrees. In the morning, and

southern parts of the region will be clarity but the clear air will

descend everywhere. By late morning we will all be in the sunshine and

that is how the weather will look all through the day tomorrow. A very

different data today. Lots of sunshine. The breeze is relatively

light but look at the blues as we head towards four and five o'clock.

The temperatures will really start to plummet. Daytime temperatures

will be around seven or 8 degrees if you are lucky but that is around the

middle of the day. Through the afternoon they will plummet and this

is tomorrow night. This will be quite a big story because everywhere

zero. Subzero many places. I'll leave you with a look at the next

couple of days. The milder later in the week. That is it

from me but coming up next is the national picture. Good evening. But

frost or not of frost, that is the weather question for