:00:02. > :00:05.Good evening. Welcome to NorthWest Tonight with Ranvir Singh and Roger
:00:05. > :00:08.Johnson. Our top story: The thinner blue line - Merseyside police to
:00:08. > :00:15.lose 250 officers to balance the budget. So what's the impact on
:00:15. > :00:25.frontline services? Also in the programme, it's highly
:00:25. > :00:32.
:00:32. > :00:37.charged in the chamber as Liverpool Join me to find out why vitamin D
:00:37. > :00:47.is being added to cornflakes. How Morrissey, Marr and the songs
:00:47. > :00:47.
:00:47. > :00:56.of The Smiths inspired this science And beware of the blob - the
:00:56. > :01:06.mystery substance baffling some of the biggest brains in the lakes.
:01:06. > :01:13.
:01:13. > :01:19.It has left a lot of people confused, that final story. If you
:01:20. > :01:22.have figured it out already, let us know. Also tonight, Tony's at
:01:22. > :01:25.Edgeley Park, where the Sharks are on the march.
:01:25. > :01:28.Yes, Sale are third in the Premiership and could go second
:01:28. > :01:32.tonight with a win over Leicester. And it's all down to their prodigal
:01:32. > :01:42.son who returned from Russia with a love of winning. Join me to meet
:01:42. > :01:42.
:01:42. > :01:47.First tonight, it's been 24 hours that could shape the way Liverpool
:01:47. > :01:49.and the rest of Merseyside are run and policed for years to come. Last
:01:49. > :01:51.night, in a sometimes confrontational debate in the
:01:51. > :01:57.council chamber, people told the city council where they thought
:01:57. > :02:03.cuts should be made. Today, Merseyside police announced the
:02:03. > :02:06.loss of more than 250 officers to balance its budget. In a moment,
:02:06. > :02:09.our economics correspondent Jayne Barrett will report on the fallout
:02:09. > :02:19.from last night's meeting. But first, Andy Gill looks at the
:02:19. > :02:21.
:02:21. > :02:23.Merseyside Police tackle the summer riots. But over the next few years
:02:23. > :02:28.there'll be more than 200 fewer frontline officers available for
:02:28. > :02:37.this kind of police work. The force says the cuts will have an impact
:02:37. > :02:42.on the service it provides. I do not think we will deliver a less
:02:42. > :02:46.good police service. We try to deliver a professional service. We
:02:46. > :02:51.will put the resources in the places we think they can deliver
:02:51. > :02:55.the best possible service. I understand the figure. Those
:02:55. > :02:57.officers are going and the next three years, not overnight.
:02:57. > :03:01.Government cuts mean Merseyside must save more than �60 million
:03:01. > :03:04.over four years. This round means 254 fewer officers. They're to be
:03:04. > :03:14.lost through retirement, not redundancy. People we spoke to are
:03:14. > :03:14.
:03:14. > :03:21.worried. It is just more danger on the streets. It is disgusting.
:03:21. > :03:25.is disgraceful really. Without the police, you have got nothing.
:03:25. > :03:29.have to minimise the administration and bureaucracy. The police have
:03:29. > :03:34.tried to protect what the public want, more bobbies on the beat and
:03:34. > :03:39.swift response times. The cuts will make a difference. There will be
:03:39. > :03:44.fewer detectives in the antique gun crime unit. If you live in a quiet
:03:44. > :03:48.area of Merseyside, you may find neighbourhood officers moving to an
:03:48. > :03:55.area where anti-social behaviour is more of a problem. The force says
:03:55. > :04:05.it still can tackle gun crime. No police stations will close. Inquiry
:04:05. > :04:06.
:04:06. > :04:09.offices will. Everybody in this room... It was
:04:09. > :04:15.noisy, it was angry. It was meant to be a discussion about a budget.
:04:15. > :04:20.It turned into a shouting match. Everyone here represents the people
:04:20. > :04:23.behind difficult cuts and difficult priorities. You stand in my shoes,
:04:23. > :04:30.Joe Anderson. Audrey O'Keefe is concerned about services for her
:04:30. > :04:39.son. Peter is autistic in a city without a day care centre
:04:39. > :04:46.specifically for autistic people. It is not my son's problem. Mr
:04:46. > :04:50.Anderson has defined the money to make the service for my son.
:04:50. > :04:52.council is working towards a care plan for Peter. They say one of
:04:52. > :04:58.their biggest priorities will remain children and vulnerable
:04:58. > :05:01.adults. Su Stringfellow is a concerned parent facing the loss of
:05:01. > :05:06.a much loved Surestart Centre. Their centre is one of four under
:05:06. > :05:15.review in less deprived areas of the city. I feel like the council's
:05:15. > :05:19.already made up it's mind. We are only 1.1 miles away from where the
:05:19. > :05:26.riots were in July. My concern is it is not truly representing the
:05:26. > :05:30.people using it. Su and her friends are professionals. But three of the
:05:30. > :05:37.four here have been made redundant this year. This is a tough budget
:05:37. > :05:41.in a tougher climate. No wonder emotions ran high. I understand
:05:41. > :05:48.people's anger and frustration. I know people are suffering and
:05:48. > :05:51.hurting. I cannot help that. I cannot set and a legal budget.
:05:51. > :06:00.budget will be set in March. Tough budgets will follow each year until
:06:00. > :06:05.at least 2015. I'm joined now by Arif Ansari. Two
:06:05. > :06:12.separate developments in a sense. The Council cuts and the police job
:06:12. > :06:18.cuts as a result of central Government spending cuts? Yes, that
:06:18. > :06:22.is right. If people thought the cops are over, that is not the case.
:06:22. > :06:27.That the Government has set out a four-year programme. There was a
:06:27. > :06:31.lot of pain in the first year. Effectively, we have the debt
:06:31. > :06:36.collector knocking on the door for the second time. They want less
:06:36. > :06:40.money than the first year, but strangely it will hurt more. In the
:06:40. > :06:46.first year, you could make efficiency savings, the so-called
:06:46. > :06:50.waste the Government goes on about. All that is gone. Now you're
:06:50. > :06:57.cutting into services. That is why you see Merseyside police no longer
:06:57. > :07:01.getting rid of back office staff, but frontline police. More on
:07:01. > :07:07.Sunday morning in the Politics Show? Yes, we will be looking at
:07:07. > :07:13.that meeting. We also have an interview with BNP leader Nick
:07:13. > :07:17.Griffin. Their conference is being held in the north-west this weekend.
:07:17. > :07:20.The inquest into the death of a woman killed in a train crash at
:07:20. > :07:23.Grayrigg in Cumbria has heard that maintenance records for the track
:07:23. > :07:27.were "worthless". Margaret Masson died when the Virgin West Coast
:07:27. > :07:30.Mainline train was derailed by faulty points. The inquest in
:07:30. > :07:33.Kendal was told that on one occasion a Network Rail engineer
:07:33. > :07:41.filled in maintenance forms for the track, even though he hadn't
:07:41. > :07:44.The body of a man has been found on the beach at Blackpool. The
:07:44. > :07:47.discovery was made by a dog walker at around half past seven this
:07:47. > :07:50.morning. The police are investigating how the man died.
:07:50. > :07:54.A young offenders' institute in the North West has the worst juvenile
:07:54. > :07:59.re-offending rate in the country. Lancaster Farms Prison has a 90%
:07:59. > :08:04.re-offending rate. Figures show the average number of crimes committed
:08:04. > :08:12.per re-offender at the prison was almost five. The Ministry of
:08:12. > :08:15.Justice say they are taking steps to reduce this figure.
:08:15. > :08:18.Police in the North West have carried out a series of raids to
:08:18. > :08:20.tackle the problem of metal theft in a national day of action.
:08:20. > :08:23.Officers from Greater Manchester Police visited 20 scrapyards to try
:08:23. > :08:25.and uncover stolen metal, while Lancashire Police carried out
:08:25. > :08:28.checks on vehicles. The number of metal thefts have been rising
:08:28. > :08:38.across most of the region, with churches, war memorials and care
:08:38. > :08:39.
:08:39. > :08:44.homes all targeted. I think this type of crime has increased simply
:08:44. > :08:50.because the price of metal and the demand, the worldwide demand, and
:08:50. > :08:55.small communities are suffering. Secondly, some of these buildings,
:08:55. > :08:57.they are not used every day of the week and they're quite vulnerable.
:08:57. > :09:00.A significant hoard of Viking treasure has been found at
:09:00. > :09:06.Carnforth in Lancashire. The 200 pieces of silver jewellery, coins
:09:06. > :09:12.and ingots were found by a local metal enthusiast. The haul is now
:09:12. > :09:15.being studied by experts at the British Museum.
:09:15. > :09:18.It was a disease associated with poverty in the 1930s, but decades
:09:18. > :09:20.later, cases of rickets among children are on the increase. A
:09:20. > :09:25.leading Manchester child nutritionist has warned that
:09:25. > :09:29.families need to do more to boost their Vitamin D intake. The news
:09:29. > :09:32.comes as a major cereal maker has begun adding the vitamin to its
:09:32. > :09:37.products. Environment Correspondent Colin Sykes reports.
:09:37. > :09:42.Young bones damaged by a lack of Vitamin D and sunshine. But this is
:09:42. > :09:47.no disease of the past - it's back. In the last 10 years, there's been
:09:47. > :09:50.a 140% increase in children admitted to hospital with it. 80%
:09:50. > :10:00.of child dieticians have reported an increase in the number of cases
:10:00. > :10:01.
:10:01. > :10:08.they've seen. Ricketts is due to lack of vitamin D and children's
:10:08. > :10:14.bones not forming. Some children may end up not walking properly.
:10:14. > :10:20.There is also a large number of examples among adolescent girls who
:10:20. > :10:22.have low vitamin D status. Later in life they will develop osteoporosis.
:10:22. > :10:29.At the giant Kellogg's factory in Manchester, they've started adding
:10:29. > :10:35.Vitamin D to cereals. These are the first Corn flakes to have vitamin D
:10:35. > :10:40.added. Children tend not to like the things with vitamin D in, like
:10:40. > :10:43.oily fish. They will not eat those, but they will eat cereal. Many
:10:43. > :10:45.children simply don't get enough sunshine and Vitamin D is missing
:10:45. > :10:55.from their diet. There's currently no recommended daily intake for
:10:55. > :10:56.
:10:56. > :11:01.vitamin D. Looking at the vitamin D content. For those high risk groups
:11:01. > :11:03.identified by the Department of Health, supplementation. But after
:11:03. > :11:13.the latest findings, healthcare professionals say they'll be
:11:13. > :11:14.
:11:14. > :11:16.The NHS is reassuring thousands of patients at a doctor's surgery in
:11:16. > :11:20.Wirral that their personal records are safe, after the Sandstone
:11:20. > :11:25.Medical Centre was closed by the landlord last weekend in a row over
:11:25. > :11:32.rent. Earlier today, health service staff went into the surgery to
:11:32. > :11:37.retrieve the files, as Mark Edwardson reports.
:11:38. > :11:43.First the briefing. Then the removal of confidential documents.
:11:43. > :11:46.The GPs claim they were facing a rent hike. The landlord says the
:11:46. > :11:55.valuation was fair, and today he defended his decision to close the
:11:55. > :11:59.building. I believe the action I have taken his fare. We have given
:11:59. > :12:04.everybody ample opportunity. Nobody else is offering to pay my
:12:04. > :12:07.commercial mortgage. Otherwise I leave the building and I go
:12:07. > :12:10.bankrupt. I cannot let that happen. Earlier this week staff were
:12:10. > :12:15.working out of car boots to help and advise confused patients caught
:12:15. > :12:18.in the crossfire. The records of 4,000 patients have been locked
:12:18. > :12:22.inside the surgery since the weekend. Some patients have
:12:22. > :12:28.expressed concern about confidentiality. Today those
:12:28. > :12:33.records are being removed and taken to safe keeping in Birkenhead. All
:12:33. > :12:38.sides agree the rent increase row cannot be resolved. The building
:12:38. > :12:44.has been stripped. The patient's medical records had been removed
:12:44. > :12:50.today. Had the landlord not granted access, we would have sought an
:12:50. > :12:53.emergency High Court injunction to secure access to the premises.
:12:53. > :12:56.Patients will be able to access services elsewhere in West Kirby
:12:56. > :13:00.from Monday. Mr Roberts says his next tenants are unlikely to be
:13:00. > :13:10.Sector. Still to come in North West
:13:10. > :13:17.
:13:17. > :13:20.Tonight: Bringing science out of the laboratories into the community.
:13:20. > :13:30.And the battle to beat the drop - we look at the early season
:13:30. > :13:31.
:13:31. > :13:36.Now if you've ever fancied being a film star, here's your chance. The
:13:37. > :13:43.BBC is making a film of a day in the life of Britain. It will all be
:13:43. > :13:50.filmed on 12 November, and you could help. All you need to do is
:13:50. > :13:53.record a message, story, or just part of your daily routine that day.
:13:53. > :13:56.The results will be put together with the help of top Hollywood
:13:56. > :13:58.director Ridley Scott. So how will it work? Naomi Cornwell's been
:13:58. > :14:05.finding out. Whatever you do, wherever you go,
:14:05. > :14:09.you could be part of a unique portrait of Britain. The project is
:14:09. > :14:18.aimed at capturing a snapshot of life on 12 November, filmed by and
:14:18. > :14:28.starring you. It was inspired by Ridley Scott's feature film, Life
:14:28. > :14:32.
:14:32. > :14:38.in a Day, filmed all over the world. You do not need one of these. You
:14:38. > :14:44.can record your contribution on a camera, even on your mobile phone,
:14:44. > :14:48.and all loaded into a YouTube site. You have got the coast, the
:14:48. > :14:55.mountains, lakes. It is not just about scenery. It is about normal
:14:55. > :14:59.everyday things. We want to say, this is what we are as a nation.
:14:59. > :15:03.Anything you want, it will not be boring. The vast majority of my day
:15:03. > :15:11.is spent at work. The bit in the morning when everybody is waiting
:15:11. > :15:14.up. The results will be broadcast on national television just before
:15:14. > :15:24.next year's Olympics, when the eyes of the world are on Britain.
:15:24. > :15:28.
:15:28. > :15:35.And if you'd like to be part of the What does the iconic Manchester
:15:35. > :15:39.band, The Smiths, and science have in common? Well, the answer is the
:15:39. > :15:41.Manchester Science Festival. In an effort to take science from the lab
:15:41. > :15:48.and onto the streets, and get families involved, scientists are
:15:48. > :15:58.using music as part of their experiments. We've been for a sneak
:15:58. > :16:06.
:16:06. > :16:13.The 5th Manchester Science festival rolls into Greater Manchester with
:16:13. > :16:21.a bang. This year scientists are bringing show business to science.
:16:21. > :16:31.Their experiments have been named after an iconic Manchester band.
:16:31. > :16:33.
:16:33. > :16:38.We're doing about 12 to 15 experiments through format -- four
:16:38. > :16:48.classic Smiths songs. We will begin with panic, which will introduce
:16:48. > :16:48.
:16:48. > :16:56.gas. While the doctor has been well in the audience with the Smiths and
:16:56. > :17:00.science, the audience were mesmerised. The chance to find out
:17:00. > :17:06.what science is going on in the City and the science of every day.
:17:06. > :17:13.We move into hand in glove, where we take laughing gas and creating a
:17:13. > :17:23.lot of smells. Do I have to? Yes. It is like A-level chemistry all
:17:23. > :17:24.
:17:25. > :17:34.over. Horrible! It was brilliant. Really enjoyed it. My favourite bit
:17:35. > :17:42.
:17:42. > :17:46.was the laughing gas. It was fun. I The festival runs until Sunday.
:17:46. > :17:53.Happy little faces. Great way to get the kids are enthusiastic about
:17:53. > :18:03.science. Stand by, we have got the blog coming up. Now to the sport,
:18:03. > :18:05.
:18:06. > :18:09.and Tony's out with the Sharks Yes, and it's an exciting time to
:18:09. > :18:19.be here, with Sharks lying third in the Premiership and in with a
:18:19. > :18:22.
:18:22. > :18:26.chance of going second tonight if they beat Leicester. There should
:18:26. > :18:29.be about 9,000 fans here tonight. Former player Steve Diamond has
:18:29. > :18:34.turned this place around since returning to take over earlier this
:18:34. > :18:39.year, and in a moment we'll find out his secrets.
:18:39. > :18:41.Now for your daily Carlos Tevez update. No comment from City, but
:18:41. > :18:44.Manchester United's manager Sir Alex Ferguson has described the
:18:44. > :18:54.rule which forced the blues to halve the striker's fine as "a bit
:18:54. > :18:56.
:18:56. > :18:58.crazy". City had to cut it to two weeks' wages, 400 hundred grand or
:18:58. > :19:01.thereabouts, after the Professional Footballers' Association refused to
:19:01. > :19:04.support a four-week penalty. The PFA said because the club hadn't
:19:04. > :19:07.shown that Tevez refused to play, fining him a fortnight's pay was
:19:07. > :19:10.the limit. This is what Fergie had to say on the matter. I think it
:19:10. > :19:13.was a bit strange, of course. The regulations are there. It seems a
:19:13. > :19:18.bit crazy in that particular situation. There is nothing you can
:19:18. > :19:21.do about it. United, who are at Everton tomorrow, will be hoping to
:19:21. > :19:24.get their title defence back on track after last weekend's
:19:24. > :19:28.thrashing by City. But some of our clubs at the other end of the table
:19:28. > :19:38.have got even bigger problems. The bottom three does not look good if
:19:38. > :19:38.
:19:38. > :19:45.you're a fan of Blackburn, Wigan or Bolton. Here's Ian Haslam.
:19:45. > :19:49.Just nine games in and not even in November, you do not need me to
:19:49. > :19:55.tell you the Premier League is in its infancy. The warning signs are
:19:55. > :20:01.there for Bolton, Wigan and Blackburn. Alton propping up the
:20:01. > :20:06.Premier League table. A hard-fought midweek Carling Cup win over
:20:06. > :20:11.Newcastle has only slightly raised hopes of a Blackburn revival.
:20:11. > :20:20.anybody is negative, they see the way the lads are fighting for each
:20:20. > :20:25.other. Give him another few weeks. After that, he will have to go.
:20:25. > :20:29.just want to survive. Otherwise it is back to square one. The owner
:20:29. > :20:33.needs to get involved a bit more and maybe a change of manager.
:20:33. > :20:39.Rarely has a manager been as popular with his chairman as
:20:40. > :20:45.Roberto Martinez at Wigan. Even after six consecutive defeats.
:20:45. > :20:50.had an incredible football story in what I consider to be the best
:20:50. > :20:55.league in world football. It is a real achievement. If they do not
:20:55. > :21:01.pull it together soon, they will get relegated. It is not Martinez's
:21:01. > :21:06.fault. It is the players. As for Bolton, they ended last season
:21:06. > :21:13.poorly. That at Ron has continued. They are struggling to score goals.
:21:13. > :21:16.They have conceded 24 L already. was always going to be a season of
:21:16. > :21:22.transition with the younger players we have brought in. As the season
:21:22. > :21:27.progresses, we will pick up the points. If he does not start
:21:27. > :21:30.picking up the points, they will be increasing frustration. We have
:21:30. > :21:37.been like this in the past. You would think we would learn from the
:21:37. > :21:44.mistakes. We have always come back before. We're not down and out yet.
:21:44. > :21:48.Bolton, Blackburn and Wigan would welcome three points this weekend.
:21:48. > :21:51.One win and two draws. Now to Sale, and he could have been fresh from
:21:51. > :21:54.coaching Russia in the World Cup, but he couldn't resist the call to
:21:54. > :22:02.come back and take over the club he represented almost 300 times. Steve
:22:02. > :22:09.Diamond, Director of Sport, what a Steve is stuck in traffic. I am
:22:09. > :22:14.joined by the chief executive. have moved out of more than 35
:22:14. > :22:19.players and backroom staff. We have a new squad. And number of new
:22:19. > :22:25.coaches, analysts, medical support staff. Steve has brought an no
:22:25. > :22:29.excuse culture. From what I believe, he came in and said, the club
:22:29. > :22:37.starts from now. He has brought the winning mentality, hasn't de?
:22:37. > :22:41.has. The club has under delivered in three of the last four seasons.
:22:41. > :22:46.From 2006, we found ourselves in the bottom three. That is not good
:22:46. > :22:51.enough. If we're going to sell at this sport in a region with a lot
:22:51. > :22:55.of Canter attractions, we have got to be successful. Can you win it?
:22:56. > :22:58.Definitely. And if you can't get here tonight there's full match
:22:58. > :23:01.commentary on BBC Radio Manchester where you'll also hear updates from
:23:01. > :23:04.the New Zealand v Australia game at Warrington's Halliwell Jones
:23:04. > :23:14.Stadium. If you're heading for the hills in the Lake District this
:23:14. > :23:19.
:23:20. > :23:25.It's a strange sticky substance that some believe may have come
:23:25. > :23:28.from outer space. It's been found in puddles on paths near Patterdale.
:23:28. > :23:33.It's sparked memories of an old Steve McQueen film from the 1950s
:23:33. > :23:43.about a sticky blob that threatens to take over the world. Ever
:23:43. > :23:47.
:23:48. > :23:57.fearless, Stuart Flinders has been I like the idea of it being
:23:57. > :24:00.something that fell from the sky. It looks like frogspawn. We were
:24:00. > :24:03.walking as a family group and everybody stopped and went, what is
:24:03. > :24:08.that? Those of a nervous disposition should look away now.
:24:08. > :24:13.Here is the blob. A cloudy white jelly it appeared mysteriously in
:24:13. > :24:16.footpaths near Patterdale. The people of the Lake District are a
:24:16. > :24:26.little more level headed than the locals in the Steve McQueen film,
:24:26. > :24:33.but it is odd. Nobody seems to know what it is. There are various
:24:33. > :24:39.theories from a decaying frogs to something to do with stags. The one
:24:39. > :24:43.I like best is definitely the debris from a meteor shower.
:24:43. > :24:46.would like it to be something a little more exciting than fungus.
:24:46. > :24:50.Evidence of an astral shower, something to do with rutting deers?
:24:50. > :24:53.Nobody seems to know. In the old film they send the blob to the
:24:53. > :24:56.Arctic to freeze it to death. Our blob's been sent to Edinburgh for
:24:56. > :25:06.analysis by scientists. You can only hope they know what they're
:25:06. > :25:13.
:25:13. > :25:23.doing. An old man finds it, touches Never to make a drama out up a
:25:23. > :25:24.
:25:24. > :25:29.crisis! Now the weather. It is going to rain on most of us
:25:30. > :25:37.on Saturday. The weekend will be split into two hands. Wet weather
:25:37. > :25:45.on Saturday, milder on Sunday. Whether France on Saturday. We're
:25:45. > :25:50.in between weather fronts on Sunday. Things will turn its fairly lively
:25:50. > :25:56.on Monday. If you're going out this evening, it is a drive. It has been
:25:56. > :26:03.a lovely day. As the night progresses, rain putting into parts
:26:03. > :26:08.of the Isle of Man. -- pushing. It will clear-up as it creeps towards
:26:08. > :26:13.us. Many places will look cloudy in the morning. The rain parking
:26:13. > :26:20.itself out on the Irish Sea. Temperatures could be as low as
:26:20. > :26:26.five Celsius tonight. Temperatures will be boosted. Saturday not
:26:26. > :26:30.looking great. The rain looking -- moving in a diagonal line. Pushes
:26:31. > :26:34.into the coast first and tries to move across the region. The best of
:26:34. > :26:40.the weather will be in the southern Pennines. Through the afternoon it
:26:40. > :26:44.will take hold virtually everywhere. A cloudy day with outbreaks of rain.
:26:44. > :26:53.Temperatures same as today. The rain clears on Saturday night.
:26:53. > :26:58.First Sunday, it should be dry and Let's find out what this block
:26:58. > :27:08.should be. This one says, "Do not mention my name on air because it
:27:08. > :27:09.
:27:09. > :27:16.is near hollowing. Aliens, intelligent amphibious creatures."
:27:16. > :27:22.Sioux things they are deposited by birds. They are known as Star jelly.
:27:22. > :27:29.Another reviewer has all the answers. It is caused by a