15/11/2011 North West Tonight

Good evening. Welcome to North West Tonight with Ranvir Singh and Roger

Johnson. Our top story. Stealing as the region remembered.

Police hunt the thief who stole eight poppy tins, one of them on

Armistice Day. I thought it was absolutely despicable and I

couldn't believe that somebody would go out there and steel poppy

tins. Police tell him to hand himself in for his own safety. Also

in the programme: A cocaine dealer but not a killer.

Former Brookside actor Brian Regan gives evidence at his murder trial.

It may look as easy as colouring in but this mobile-phone application

could improve treatment for burns treatment -- burns victims.

Saying goodbye to Mr Aintree. The people of Liverpool pay their

respects to racing legend Ginger McCain. Pipe-trained or by coach,

the holidays begin. And chronicling half a century of

Lancashire life. The film club Also tonight, we'll be speaking to

an award-winning slimmer. Carole Wright lost an astonishing 20 stone.

She's less than half the woman she used to be. And she'll be leaving

our Spartan hospitality room a little later to tell us how she did

Last week on Armistice Day, thousands of people stood united in

remembrance and respect for those who gave their lives for our

freedom. All apart from one a thief who saw an opportunity to steal

from the charity set up to help servicemen and their families. He's

stolen poppy collection boxes from across Cheshire over the past week.

Now, police are on his trail and warn that such is the anger in the

communities he's targeted, that he himself may now be in danger. Naomi

Thousands paid their respects to the fallen. But one man stole from

the charity set up to help the injured and bereaved. The thief was

captured on CCTV stealing poppy collections across Cheshire. And is

suspected of making off with at least eight charity boxes in the

last week. I thought it was absolutely despicable. I couldn't

actually believe that someone would go out there and still poppy tins.

Police are investigating a string of incidents, including thefts of

collection boxes from this accountants in Warrington, and this

sports club nearby. I was laying a wreath at Warrington together with

servicemen were -- from Afghanistan, said to me it is abhorrent the

nature of this offence and the fact that somebody would stoop so low as

to steal this money in this way. Friday, as the rest of the North

West remembered all those who'd lost their lives in conflicts, the

thief helped himself to a collection box here in Frodsham.

came in, he asked for some details. She turned to get the details and

he went out, came akin to ask for some more details for his sister.

He took the box while we got the details. The thefts have so

sickened the community, that police are now warning the thief to hand

himself in for his own safety. would say he is at risk from

alliteration from the members of the public so I would like to

invite him to hand him something so that we can deal with the matter

effectively. -- to hand himself in. Anyone with information should

contact Cheshire Police. A former soap star has told a jury

he's a drug user and dealer but he isn't a murderer. Brian Regan, who

appeared as Terry Sullivan in Brookside for 15 years, is accused

of being part of a group that organised and carried out the

killing of a nightclub doorman. Mr Regan and his co-accused all deny

the accusations. Today was his chance to tell the court his

version of events. Our Chief Reporter, Dave Guest, is outside

Liverpool Crown Court now. Tell us more about Brian Regan and what

he's accused of doing. That's right. Of course, Brian

Regan was best remembered as Terry Sullivan, the character he played

in Brookside. That role gave him a national celebrity. When he left

the show in the late 90s, the acting work dried up as did his

savings. But his drug use, which she had started in her early 90s

had expanded. He became a supplier as well. One of his co-accused is

one of his friends and he said he used Mr Reagan as a cocaine courier.

Another of the accused said that this pair supplied him with drugs.

The accusation is that Brian Regan drove one of these men to and from

the scene of a fatal shooting earlier this year. Who was the

victim? The victim was a barman. He was up 44-year-old nightclub

bouncer. He was also a father of one. He was shot dead outside a pub

in Liverpool in February. The Crown's case is that Brian Regan

acted as the getaway driver and that one of his co-accused fired

the fatal shot but both of them deny any involvement. What did

Brian Regan say happened? He said that at the time the bouncer was

killed, he was sitting in a car snorting cocaine. He accepts he

drove them to Liverpool but as far as he was concerned, the co-accused

was going to collect some money. He said the man was out of the couple

of few minutes. There was nothing untoward, no blood and no sign of a

gun. All of the accused deny any involvement in the murder.

Jobs at BAE Systems in Warton could be protected if the Indian

government places an order for the Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft. The

company is cutting 1,400 jobs in Lancashire because of falling

orders. The Defence Secretary Philip Hammond told the Commons a

decision on the order is likely within the next few weeks.

More than 11,000 children run away in the North west every year,

UK ministers have been assiduous in the last few weeks for promoting

fast jets. We understand that there is likely to be an announcement in

the next few weeks on a decision made by the Indian government.

than 11,000 children run away every year in the North West. The charity

says a quarter of them have been the victim of a harmful or

dangerous experience. It's asking the Government to do more to help

them. The Royal Navy's newest submarine,

HMS Astute, built in Barrow in Furness, has completed its first

missile firing test. The Astute, which is nuclear powered, is

can carry a combination of up to 38 Tomahawk missiles and Spearfish

torpedoes. Manchester United have announced

another set of healthy financial figures. Turnover for the first

quarter of the year was up by 16.5% to almost �74 million. Match-day

income has also grown to almost �22 million thanks to the first

complete sell-out of seasonal hospitality boxes.

A former army medic from the Wirral has designed a mobile application

which could improve the accuracy of treatment for burns. Chris Seaton

worked with two doctors from Whiston Hospital to create the app.

It allows doctors to work out how much fluid a patient needs either

out in the field or in hospital using an iPad or iPhone. Tests show

it reduces errors by a third. Our health correspondent Laura Yates

reports. All the physician has to do is touch the screen and draw

where it has been burnt. Think of it as a sort of medical

calculator designed to help a patient who's been badly burned.

Next you need to know age and weight. If you don't know how much

he weighs, you can do an estimate. I can say perhaps he was burnt four

hours ago. With that, quickly and efficiently and accurately, it

works out a treatment plan for the patient, how would we would they

need and where. -- how much fluid they need. Its designer Chris

Seaton spent four years in the army. A captain in the medical corps he

knows only too well the pressures doctors can be under. These

calculations he says normally made on a piece of paper. We have learnt

a lot of protocols and complicated information. We could simplified is

using an application. We have made this procedure faster and easier

but more precise as well. Chris worked with doctors at Whiston

Hospital's Burns Unit to create the app. Today, there are three

patients here in intensive care. Another nine beds in the specialist

unit. But it's calculating just how much fluid a patient needs when

they're first brought into A&E that they say is so difficult. One of

the difficulties is not so much weighing the patient or the age of

the patient, which is quite straightforward, it is the

assessment of the amount of their skin that has been burnt. Tests

show errors were reduced by a third when using the application. They

hope it will be regulated for use across the NHS.

Hundreds of people turned out at Liverpool's Anglican Cathedral this

afternoon to pay tribute to one of horse racing's most colourful and

best loved characters. Ginger McCain, who trained Red Rum to

three Grand National wins, died in September. Today, the stars of

horse racing and the wider sporting world came to Liverpool for his

memorial service. Our Merseyside Music to remember the man they

called Mr. Aintree. Family, friends and fans packed the Anglican

Cathedral. Ginger McCain was born and bred in Southport where, the

congregation heard, his passion for horses began. They were filled with

working horses. He used to sit and catch a ride on the butcher's tray

or the milkman's float and from that his great love of horses

developed. McCain trained Red Rum on the sands of Southport beach.

They won the Aintree Grand National three times in the 70s. McCain's

fourth triumph coming on Amblerleigh House in 2004. The

congregation heard how proud he was when his son won the National this

year. That is what he said. A lot of fuss about nothing. But if -- if

it was somebody else's do, he thoroughly enjoyed it. But he

Stars from racing and other sports paid tribute. In 80 years, you burn

the candle at both ends. But looked down now. Assembled here are at

1,000 of your front. You can tell what sort of person he was. He was

a scamp, really. But he loved the game. He kept race -- horse racing

alive. Discussions are underway about a permanent memorial at

Aintree. Still to come. I find out why an

important milestone is being marked here in Moss Side for the Olympic

double drop the keyboard to the next 50 years, the amateur film-

makers that documented life in Lancashire for five decades.

Tonight, and the second of our reports on how Children In Need

money is spent, we meet a mum who had to go without a meal for three

days because she had no money. Her life has been dramatically improved

by key to the door. It is a charity in Oldham which helps young single

mums. She always made sure that her ten-month-old baby was properly fed

but now financial hardship forced It is very difficult being a single

mum. I always made sure he was fed. He eats and art, he has got a good

appetite. He is always dead happy. Early this year, I found myself

short of money because my benefits for not paying me as much as they

were supposed active. How didn't have enough to buy myself for food.

I had to starve myself and went without food for three days. I

would buy at chocolate bar, a packet of crisps. Few of that

hungry and you get cramps in your belly and it is not nice. -- you

are really hungry. I would go to the corner shop and beg them for a

10 out of electric. I had to give them a spare house keys are they

knew I would come back and pay. It was so embarrassing begging but you

have to do stuff when you have a This place is for single mums and

the age of 22. We do different activities like bike riding in the

park, canoeing, we went to Blackpool for the day. It is nice

to meet people in the same position. My situation is a lot better than

it was a few months ago. Key to the Door are going to help me pay my

money back. Without it, I wouldn't have a roof over my head. I would

be lost without them and wouldn't get over the problems I have had. I

would like to say a big thank-you to children and need and Key to the

Door. I wouldn't be here now without my little son. -- I

wouldn't be here now with my little son.

Friday is the big day for children in Need. You can find out how you

can help children like Tyler as Some sport now and St Helens have

opened their new stadium to the cameras for the first time. The

development will be called Langtry Park. The state -- Abbey Stadium

may be new but some things will stay the same. The club has

installed the old goalposts from Knowsley Road.

Knowsley Road didn't be fit the actual team that was on the pitch.

It was time for a new stadium. What we sought to achieve was a stadium

that was the same calibre as the team that was playing on the pitch.

That is hopefully what we have achieved. That is a very different

home for them. When London was chosen to host the

2012 Olympic Games, a promise was made that the legacy would spread

throughout Great Britain. Today a boxing gym in Moss Side

became the first sports club in the country to be awarded money from

the Olympic legacy fund. If the �41,000 they have been given makes

-- is set to make a lasting difference.

30 years ago after the Moss Side riots, a group of friends to crave

a room above some shops on Princess Road with the dream of creating a

club that the whole community could be proud of. They didn't disappoint.

If you go back to the late nineties when they have the British

champions in the gym, it is what makes it special. I became a

champion. It is a fantastic place to be. Finding funding has been a

non-stop struggle but today it was the first club in the country to

secure a chunk of the legacy funding. That programme is about

facilities at the heart of the community. What better example than

this facility in Moss Side. It is an important part of the community.

The idea of a legacy friend is that it pays for long term and lasting

improvements. Here, once that route has been fixed and once the windows

had been instigated, energy bills will drop down and more money can

be invested in equipment. It is good news for Beverley. She is in

her late fifties and she says it is the gym that has kept her body and

mind positive. What I like about it is a doesn't matter about the age,

as long as they can hit the bag and move about, you are welcome here.

understand you come here with your daughter as well. Absolutely, oh

yes. 82 groups from the region have applied for a share of the legacy

funding and will find out if they have been successful before

Christmas. Most of us at one time or another

feel like we have to watch our weight. We have just had our photos

taken recently and we were practising breathing in at the same

time. It is the will power to lose the weight which is sometimes

easier said than done. Our next guest is the queen of dieters.

This was 54 year-old Carol Wright from Southport before she became

2011's Slimmer of the Year. She lost 20 stone, dropped 12 dress

sizes and is now 10 stone. Here she is now.

If how did you do it? Slimming World. I got to the stage where I

was 30 stone and life was unbearable. A friend suggested that

I joined a slimming club. Slimming World popped up and I could eat

what I wanted. I joined two days later and was shown the food plans

and have the support of a group that is amazing. I lost a stone in

the first week. That is quite dramatic. The food plans on

Slimming World are so amazing. They don't make you feel guilty about

eating and you are allowed to eat. If you are for, you stick to the

plan. When we were reading out the dramatic change, used to look

shocked and you reacted as if you can't believe it. What I can't

believe it's all the attention because I have lost the weight. The

last two years have been the easiest of my life. What was it

that made you think that this cannot continue? You were stuck in

a house and had only been out four times in a year. I had such pain in

my knees and back. I was using inhalers all the time. It was all

weight-bearing things. The doctors said if I don't do something in

about it -- if I don't do something about it, I will die in two years.

I still didn't do anything about it because I didn't know how to.

how did you let yourself get into that position in the first place?

was 29 stone at I got to on that picture. How did you get to that

position? I was �11 when I was born and I was a big target and grew

into a big adult. I have been morbidly obese since I was 20. It

was only in the last two years that the few stone crapped on as I was

getting older. You had a teenage son that was suffering as well.

would put my shoes on and Hoover for me. Now you look fantastic and

I'm sure everyone will agree. Were people crawl? People have always

been cool and the thing that stairwells, you have that support.

Even the morning I jumped on the scales, I burst into tears.

Everyone got up and hoped they. It was the first time I had got a hope

of a stranger. I stayed with the same friends because they knew what

size I was. People used to wind their window down and Abbey's nave.

Fat people have feelings too. sure a brand new wardrobe would be

exciting to. His is fabulous. Congratulations and long may you

half continue. 50 years ago, a group of amateur

film-makers set out to capture everyday life in a Lancashire town.

Nelson's shops, its factories and the school classrooms. They were

making a rare record of a disappearing world and they are

still at it. 1962, the Americans squared up to

the Russians over Cuba, Nelson Mandela was jailed, Nelson,

Lancashire, welcomed Miss World. Donald Carter took his duties very

seriously as escort to this lady whose charms was so outstanding.

must have seen -- seemed that this life would never change. Against

the background of momentous world events, some people must have

wondered what is the point of filming people wandering along a

street organ to the shops? The genius of the people who made this

film didn't realise that over time, even the ordinary becomes

extraordinary. They called their film, Nelson 62. They are

determined we won't forget 2011 A there. Here they are at the opening

of Nelson town centre earlier this year. It will go up to 13 ft and

you have a viewfinder here which you look through. It looks like a

periscope. Yes, it does. Once a month, they meet to plan new ways

of reflecting have their corner of the world is changing. There's more

filming to be done of an Asian market which is completely Asian.

Nelson has changed in the last 30 or 40 years. Ken Holgate appeared

in Nelson 62 and continues to make sure they will remember Nelson 11.

The film is a story telling. If you like telling stories, film-making

Gorgeous stuff. You could watch his all day. It is deeply fascinating.

Good evening. We saw a little more sunshine than we thought we would

see. The good news is it stays fairly mild. If you are looking for

frosty nights, you might get a touch of it in Cumbria. Over the

next couple of days, a temperatures stay into double figures, even

through the night. But not for tonight, our cloud cover is

bringing temperatures of three Celsius. After midnight, the cloud

rolls back in. We are not too worried for temperatures first

thing tomorrow morning. However that cloud cover is fairly stubborn

tomorrow and it looks like we will have a fairly grey day. A breeze is

coming from the South East. It will try and break this cloud cover

along the coastal strip. For late morning, the closer you are to the

coast, the better. There is not too much going on. Even if you get a

glimpse of sunshine, the cloud rolls back in towards teatime.

There is another band of rain waiting in the winds -- wings. It

should be dry but predominantly cloudy, dull and dismal, a top

cloudy, dull and dismal, a top Something for the ladies, you may

catch the eye of my to fashionable colleagues as well. Look at

distress. �50,000. It took 300 hours to make. What do you think it

is made from? Crepe paper.

It is made from hair. Human hair. It was created by a rise in Edwards

in conjunction with Thelma, the dressmaker from a mighty big fat