09/01/2017 North West Tonight

Here on BBC One, it's time for the news where you are.

Blind, vulnerable people from across the North West have told

the BBC they were systematically beaten and abused by

the headmistress 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

She would line the children up and walk from one end

of the dormitory to the other, smacking or beating

There's nothing worse than being hit by anyone when you can't see

I am angry, yes, I am angry because my childhood was taken away

Their stories kept secret for 60 years, for the first time revealing

the physical and emotional abuse that took place at this school

At the time, blind primary school children from across the North West

After nearly dying last year, one of the victims decided

she didn't want to take the secret to her grave.

Life is very precious, it is very, very precious.

And I said, look, I am going to do this because I don't know how

much time I've got left, nobody does, but this

But five more people have now come forward to share their shocking

They all say they were left hurt and humiliated

by the headmistress, Margaret McLenan.

She was hitting me that much that my left leg

Pain did not come into it, the fact it was being done to me

Stephen has tried to go back to the school in the past,

but he suffered flashbacks and could not face it.

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 their mum and dad would have given them...

Not with her - rub your nose in the sheets, make you wash them

Now, Miss McLenan died a few years ago, but the school here behind me

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 of the memories of some pupils back

in the 1950s but such behaviour would not be tolerated

Kate West, BBC North West Tonight, Liverpool.

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 Lancashire died in hospital on New Year's Day.

The men, both staff at a local Indian takeaway, are being held

on suspicion of involuntary manslaughter by gross negligence.

This Indian takeaway here in Oswaldtwistle

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 - 15-year-old Megan Lee -

who died on New Year's Day, two days after suffering a severe

allergic reaction shortly after eating a takeaway meal.

Now, as part of that investigation, Lancashire Police

have arrested two men - a 37-year-old man from

Rossendale and a 38-year-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.

Now, if you look at the website of the Royal Spice, there's

a mention about allergies, it makes it clear that it is aware

that some customers may have specific dietary requirements.

Now, police say they are working with Trading Standards officers

and also environmental health as part of its investigations.

Megan was a popular teenager, a member of a number of clubs

here and her parents have described her as a role

They are being kept fully informed about today's developments.

A postmortem has been carried out but the results of which will not be

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 June 6th.

Passenger numbers at Liverpool John Lennon Airport have grown

to their highest level in five years.

Latest figures show more than 4.8 million people used

the airport in 2016, with a busier than expected December

seeing over 340,000 people pass through the airport.

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, in what's now known as Iraq.

The biggest problem as far as the troops that got injured is,

The Turks had blocked the river, so they could not

James left behind a baby daughter who never knew him.

Mum was a really quiet lady but she always remembered him,

especially on Remembrance 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

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

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

And for a decade and a biscuit tin. -- they were kept for decades in a

biscuit tin. 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 Is important in the wider context

but because it is 100 years, we need to focus and think

about it more. 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. James McLaughlin's story

hasn't been forgotten. The draw for the fourth

round of the FA Cup has Manchester United will face

Wigan Athletic at Old Trafford. The region's lowest-ranked team

left in the competition, Accrington Stanley, will face

Premier League opposition with a tie There are potentially two more

all-North West games. Burnley will play Fleetwood if they

both get through their replays and Bolton will host Manchester City

if they can overcome Crystal Palace. Elsewhere, Rochdale's reward

for beating Barrow is a home game against Huddersfield,

and Liverpool will face Wolves at Anfield, providing

they win their replay. Looking at some small, is that

correct? Yes, some big changes are coming.

For Thursday and Friday some strong winds are possibility. It is about

the changing wind direction. At the moment it is coming from the

Atlantic giving us mild conditions. By Wednesday, it comes from the

North and really will be very cold and as it moves across the North

West of England, there is room for snow in places. Showers are still

around in many places and that is the story as we head through the

night, dull, damp and drizzly, just as it was through the day. This

gives the temperatures and the wind is gusty. For most places we are

talking about five or six towards the early hours. Tomorrow is not

that different to the day. Again, quite windy first thing, and you can

see there is a lot of cloud cover and from late morning onwards the

showers will merge for longer spells of rain in the afternoon. By the

clock for clock in the afternoon that should have cleared and there

could be some bright spells the end the afternoon. The numbers are not

too bad, eight or nine in most places, possibly ten for the Isle of

Man. More in the mix of sunny spells on Wednesday. This transition comes

in towards the tail end of the day as they cold air moves on. Any

showers over higher ground could turn wintry. The numbers will be

seven or eight but that is around lunchtime, as you head through the

afternoon the temperatures will drop. For Thursday and Friday, two

separate Met Office warnings, strong winds and wintry showers affecting

many parts of the North West, there could be up to five centimetres of

snow falling. Always difficult this far-away to get the detail correct.

A similar story for Friday. Your national forecast is next but I will

leave with the outlook for the weekend and the picture changes

again, less cold but still someone precipitation we get will be of a

wintry nation and Thursday is one we have to watch out for. The weekend

outlook, it stays chilly with a northerly wind and possibly frosty

nights. The national weather forecast now.

Wet and windy weather across the western side of Scotland.

Blood-pressure is in charge of the weather, lots of isobars and it

remains windy overnight across northern and western parts of

Scotland. It will blow a gale here. That is the north-west quadrant of

the UK, that is where we expect most of the overnight rain. Within

north-westerly breeze it is chilly and by the end of the night it is

three or 4 degrees in major towns and cities, rural spots lower than

that, and a risk of icy patches in some places. Across the eastern side

of Scotland not much rain, more on the west, still breezy but not as

windy as it is now. Northern Ireland will be fairly cloudy with some rain

in the morning, not much in northern England but some in the Pennines,

but for the it will be