:00:08. > :00:13.Good evening. Welcome to North West Tonight. Our top story...
:00:13. > :00:17.Killed on a training exercise in Kenya. A family pays tribute to a
:00:17. > :00:20.fusilier married a few months ago. A full investigation is underway
:00:20. > :00:26.into James Wilkinson's death. Also tonight...
:00:26. > :00:30.Post one of those and you might have had a problem last Christmas.
:00:30. > :00:36.Join us later in the new delivery centre to hear a promise. Snow or
:00:36. > :00:39.no snow, these will get through. By royal appointment. When the
:00:39. > :00:43.Queen met Yoko at Liverpool's new museum.
:00:43. > :00:49.Fighting to get out of a life of crime. The Olympic hopeful grateful
:00:49. > :00:58.to his sport. When I was 15, I started going out with petty crime,
:00:58. > :01:01.robbing cars, doing silly stuff. Ho-ho-ho! Merry Christmas!
:01:01. > :01:11.I'm at Blackpool Pleasure Beach where the famous laughing man just
:01:11. > :01:21.
:01:21. > :01:26.got even scarier. I bet you did not The Royal Military Police is
:01:26. > :01:36.investigating the circumstances of the deaf or the 21-year-old soldier
:01:36. > :01:36.
:01:36. > :01:39.killed while on a training exercise in Africa. Fusilier James Wilkinson
:01:39. > :01:48.died during manoeuvres with the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers in
:01:48. > :01:51.James Wilkinson on his wedding day in July. His wife Sarah is seven
:01:51. > :01:56.months pregnant with their daughter. The couple were bringing up Sarah's
:01:56. > :02:00.two-year-old son Connor. Exactly what happened is unclear. But
:02:00. > :02:03.James's wife says she was told he was shot while on a live firing
:02:03. > :02:09.exercise with his regiment in Kenya. In a statement, his family said
:02:09. > :02:11.being in the army was in James's blood. He was treasured by all who
:02:11. > :02:17.knew and loved him. Colleagues described a funny, reliable, and
:02:17. > :02:23.loyal friend and an excellent soldier. Horrified and shocked and
:02:23. > :02:29.Sat, terrifically sad that such a tragic incident has happened. --
:02:29. > :02:34.shocked and sad. Training has to be robust and realistic. But it is
:02:34. > :02:36.rare that we have an incident of this sort. Deaths like James's,
:02:36. > :02:40.which happen outside combat operations, are treated slightly
:02:40. > :02:44.different way by the Ministry of Defence. No formal announcement is
:02:44. > :02:48.made. And a different method of repatriation is used. But the
:02:48. > :02:51.family are given exactly the same level of support. And the soldier
:02:51. > :02:56.is entitled to a full military funeral. James's wife Sarah says
:02:56. > :02:59.she wanted to honour his memory by releasing details of his death.
:02:59. > :03:05.Around one year ago, James Wilkinson wandered into this
:03:05. > :03:10.building, like many do, and signed up for a career in the army. Now he
:03:10. > :03:13.is the latest soldier from this regiment to lose his life.
:03:13. > :03:23.The Ministry of Defence says it is carrying out a full investigation
:03:23. > :03:23.
:03:23. > :03:27.into how James died. Last Christmas, we were inundated
:03:27. > :03:32.with complaints about Royal Mail. There was the Christmas card that
:03:32. > :03:35.arrived in March. The parcels that never arrived. And for too long, it
:03:35. > :03:39.seemed, Royal Mail said things were running smoothly. Of course, last
:03:39. > :03:42.year's shocking weather played a big part. In the end, they did
:03:42. > :03:50.admit things could have gone better. But this year, Royal Mail say
:03:50. > :03:54.things will be very different. Here is Jayne Barrett. We did a lot on
:03:55. > :03:57.this story. It was not just consumers complaining. But also
:03:57. > :04:00.postal workers themselves, frustrated with backlogs. Angered
:04:00. > :04:03.by the closure of many local sorting offices. So will this year
:04:03. > :04:13.be different? Apparently so, because this year they have a
:04:13. > :04:15.
:04:15. > :04:19.secret weapon in Middleton. I never expected to wait this long.
:04:19. > :04:28.Post men with 30 years' experience have never known such at disastrous
:04:28. > :04:34.performance. Something seems to have gone on. -- gone wrong.
:04:34. > :04:41.waited two months. Last Christmas was not the best, terrible meal,
:04:41. > :04:45.huge backlogs. We are seeing this Christmas will be different. This
:04:45. > :04:51.new parcel delivery centre is part of a �15 million investment with
:04:51. > :04:57.the promise that parcels come in and out to the next day for first
:04:57. > :05:01.class, the next day for second, no matter what the weather. We have a
:05:01. > :05:06.much better process in place to manage the eventualities of snow.
:05:06. > :05:11.So the parcels will go? definitely. Last year, everything
:05:12. > :05:18.in and out of this region came here. Warrington with its state-of-the-
:05:18. > :05:22.art machines, but they were swamped. We were e-mailed by frustrated post
:05:22. > :05:28.officers showing the backlog. But now just parcels will be dealt with
:05:28. > :05:33.you. They are already handling 10,000 parcels a day, Peking to
:05:33. > :05:37.about a quarter of a million per day. But even with the bad weather,
:05:37. > :05:44.they are saying they will get the parcels through because of this new
:05:44. > :05:49.facility. This man will be watching. We met him when he was waiting one
:05:49. > :05:56.month for four parcels from Belgium. Two never arrived and he is taking
:05:56. > :06:00.no chances this year. And I am doing it myself, because I know it
:06:00. > :06:08.will get there. He is still trusting his Christmas cards to the
:06:08. > :06:14.surface, although I used that term lightly. Let us hope. -- trusting
:06:14. > :06:17.his Christmas cards to the service. So you heard it here. Unless there
:06:17. > :06:21.is a breakdown on a train or a lorry, parcels should get through
:06:21. > :06:26.first class a day after it is sent. Second class two days after it is
:06:26. > :06:30.sent. Here are the important dates for final deliveries Wednesday 14th
:06:30. > :06:33.December for standard parcels. If you miss that, you will have to pay
:06:33. > :06:38.for a first class recorded signed for delivery no later than the 20th
:06:38. > :06:42.December. I am sure you will tell us how things are going.
:06:42. > :06:47.Wayne Rooney has won a legal battle against the management from that
:06:47. > :06:52.used to represent an. The Court of Appeal has ruled that the agreement
:06:52. > :06:59.made when he was 17 was legally unenforceable. The company was
:06:59. > :07:02.claiming nearly �4.5 million of the Brownies and commission. The judges
:07:02. > :07:07.said that Rooney and his parents were unsophisticated in legal and
:07:07. > :07:10.commercial matters when signing the agreement.
:07:10. > :07:13.A power cut caused disruption at the Royal Preston Hospital today.
:07:13. > :07:16.Power has now been resumed but the hospital cancelled some non-urgent
:07:16. > :07:22.appointments as a precaution. They are now carrying out a number of
:07:22. > :07:25.safety checks and say and there is no risk to patient safety.
:07:25. > :07:29.A housing developer has pulled out of a major regeneration scheme in
:07:29. > :07:32.Cumbria. Russell Armer was going to build affordable housing in the
:07:32. > :07:36.area around the old lido in Grange- over-Sands. But today the firm said
:07:36. > :07:39.it could not get the necessary finance. The remaining funding may
:07:40. > :07:49.have to be covered by South Lakeland Council. It will be
:07:49. > :07:52.discussed at a meeting in January. We could not decide over
:07:52. > :07:55.pronunciations of that swimming pool. This lady could tell us. The
:07:55. > :08:00.Queen came to Merseyside today to perform the official opening of the
:08:00. > :08:03.Museum of Liverpool. Yoko Ono flew in from New York for the occasion.
:08:03. > :08:07.Later, the Queen unveiled a plaque at the rebuilt Floral Pavilion in
:08:07. > :08:12.New Brighton. Stuart Flinders joined hundreds of well-wishers.
:08:12. > :08:16.It was all going so well. Phil Redmond gave the Queen an hour-long
:08:16. > :08:20.tour of the new Museum of Liverpool. Yoko Ono had flown in from New York
:08:20. > :08:25.for the occasion. Then Mr Redmond forgot to ask her to sign the
:08:25. > :08:30.visitors' book. Her Majesty reminded him. That was just that
:08:30. > :08:37.the 18th. He had to remember that was an important part of the day.
:08:37. > :08:40.It looked like he got his hair cut. He was looking very smart. Outside
:08:40. > :08:47.in the crowd, regular Royal watcher Colin Edwards saw the queen for the
:08:47. > :08:53.140th time. I said, lovely to see you again, your Majesty, thank you
:08:53. > :09:02.for coming to us. She then shake my hand. And I said, pleased to meet
:09:02. > :09:05.Juett. I said I was looking forward to the Diamond Jubilee. -- pleased
:09:05. > :09:08.to meet due. The Queen arrived in Liverpool aboard the royal train,
:09:08. > :09:13.which pulled up at Lime Street bang on time. Sophia McDonnell presented
:09:13. > :09:17.flowers. It was a good day. There was a brief stop at the Liver
:09:17. > :09:21.Building. The Queen last came to the region
:09:21. > :09:27.in 2008 when Liverpool was the European Capital of Culture. She
:09:27. > :09:32.had been many times before. Her first visit, as Princess Elizabeth,
:09:32. > :09:39.was in 1949. She met Ken Dodd in New Brighton, who is performing
:09:39. > :09:45.there. He said he hoped she would stay for the show.
:09:45. > :09:49.We do know if she did stay, or what she wrote in the visitors' book. We
:09:49. > :09:53.love Ken Dodd. A lot of people work hard at their
:09:53. > :09:57.jobs. But sometimes, some people really go the extra mile. As did
:09:57. > :10:00.police officer Stephen Hopkins from Warrington. When there were no
:10:00. > :10:03.witnesses to an attack on a local war veteran, DC Hopkins studied law
:10:03. > :10:06.and investigated the case in his spare time until there was enough
:10:06. > :10:08.evidence for a prosecution. He's now been nominated for a national
:10:08. > :10:14.award. War veteran Edwin Stout was 85 and
:10:14. > :10:19.suffering from cancer when attacked in his own home by a man and woman.
:10:19. > :10:25.Money was stolen, and but there were no witnesses and little
:10:25. > :10:30.evidence, so no one was charged. Stephen Hopkins was handed the keys
:10:30. > :10:36.two years later. All the evidence was based on what he told the
:10:36. > :10:41.family and people around 10. In my own time, I studied the law on here
:10:41. > :10:47.say, human rights and criminal justice, looking for ways to try
:10:47. > :10:52.and prosecute the case. It is a bit like Inspector Morse. When you look
:10:52. > :10:58.at it, but this is reality and what we do with that level of commitment.
:10:58. > :11:03.We do the best we can. Eventually, a woman pleaded guilty and was
:11:03. > :11:09.jailed for four years. Edwin's granddaughter says the family or a
:11:09. > :11:14.lot to DC Hopkins. He is one in a million, never gave up when the
:11:14. > :11:17.Crown Prosecution Service wanted him to get out. He battled on, got
:11:17. > :11:23.together with a Professor at Cambridge. He made them change the
:11:23. > :11:28.law, so well done to him. It is not over. There is still the man
:11:28. > :11:37.outstanding, the main offender, it is still ongoing. It is only a
:11:37. > :11:42.matter of time before we get in touch with him.
:11:42. > :11:45.And good luck to DC Hopkins. Still to come on North West Tonight...
:11:45. > :11:55.Tracking down the criminals back in the lab. Lancashire's CSI team
:11:55. > :11:56.
:11:56. > :12:04.searches for hidden evidence. And crashing out of the Carling Cup.
:12:04. > :12:07.An apology after a disappointing performance.
:12:08. > :12:12.Young Libyans in Manchester were amongst the first to leave the
:12:12. > :12:18.safety of this country once the uprising began to fight for the
:12:18. > :12:20.freedom of their homeland. Dozens of young men, some of them under 18,
:12:20. > :12:23.spent months battling Colonel Gaddafi's forces. One of them,
:12:23. > :12:29.Abdul, has been talking about his experiences.
:12:29. > :12:39.Armed with guns, a group of young men from Manchester at Garratt
:12:39. > :12:45.
:12:45. > :12:49.Tripoli's main prison. Abdul is I was watching the news and my
:12:49. > :12:53.friends said we had to go out and fight. After a week of fighting,
:12:53. > :13:02.Abdul was captured and spent several months in the most
:13:02. > :13:12.notorious jails. We were in a small room, 40 of us, we were sharing the
:13:12. > :13:12.
:13:12. > :13:14.food. You just want to die in that moment. Many youngsters from
:13:14. > :13:19.Manchester's 2000 strong Libyan community left their families
:13:19. > :13:26.behind to go and fight. I know some went without the permission of
:13:26. > :13:33.their parents. There were concerns about their children. The families
:13:33. > :13:39.in Manchester, in the Libyan committee he -- community, are very
:13:39. > :13:45.proud. I do not want to go home yet. It is the first time I have lived
:13:45. > :13:50.in my country. My friends are now like a family, living in Libya.
:13:50. > :14:00.Eight months after arriving in the country, Abdul and his friends have
:14:00. > :14:05.
:14:05. > :14:07.decided their future is helping to shape Libya's future.
:14:07. > :14:10.All this week, we have been watching Lancashire's crime scene
:14:10. > :14:13.investigators at work out on the road gathering evidence. But what
:14:13. > :14:17.happens to the potential evidence found? Tonight, we are looking at
:14:17. > :14:23.the work done back in the labs. Dave Guest is at police
:14:23. > :14:28.headquarters in Hutton. But I hope you are not disturbing them. I will
:14:28. > :14:32.talk quietly. This is the Scientific Support Unit, with
:14:32. > :14:38.experts analysing fingerprints to tracing even the tiniest speck of
:14:38. > :14:41.blood. There is even a specialist footwear department. Many of the
:14:41. > :14:45.techniques used are shrouded in secrecy. They will not want to tip
:14:45. > :14:54.of criminals towards the tricks of their trade. But I was allowed in
:14:54. > :14:58.to see some work and how it relates to the work of the CSIs.
:14:58. > :15:03.Crime scene investigators gather evidence that the scene of a crime.
:15:03. > :15:09.Forensic specialists establish the relevance of that evidence. They
:15:09. > :15:16.are trained to spot signs others might miss. This is covered in mud,
:15:16. > :15:25.but there are also traces of blood. We look for what blood looks like.
:15:25. > :15:31.The basic least select one and -- be basically select one, apply a
:15:31. > :15:39.chemical. If it goes pink, we can presume that is a possible
:15:39. > :15:45.bloodstain. It is a possible blood- stained. We can go for work -- for
:15:45. > :15:52.the for DNA profiling. Even for that? Yes. DNA techniques are more
:15:52. > :15:59.sophisticated. Just from that, we can obtain a usable profile. And it
:15:59. > :16:02.seems this has more secrets. It is coated in a mix of chemicals. It is
:16:03. > :16:08.then put under ultraviolet light, revealing a fingerprint that was
:16:08. > :16:12.not visible to the naked eye. When fingerprints are recovered, it is
:16:12. > :16:17.down to people like this man to check the match any held on the
:16:17. > :16:23.offender database. He has just scored. We have a fingerprint on
:16:23. > :16:29.the paper chemically developed. We have made a comparison with the
:16:29. > :16:34.national database. And you have proved the suspect? This is a new
:16:34. > :16:37.one that will be revealed to the police. Adam is the food we are
:16:37. > :16:44.specialists. He is examining impressions taken from the scene of
:16:44. > :16:49.a burglary. We saw the CSI taking them yesterday. We have a good
:16:49. > :16:55.where Mark left behind by a trainer. The you know the make and the style
:16:55. > :17:05.just from that? He yes. We do not know what type of shoes made that
:17:05. > :17:07.
:17:07. > :17:17.mark. Because I do not know, I will use the computer system to help.
:17:17. > :17:19.
:17:19. > :17:28.And their eighties. -- it is. type of technology helps them keep
:17:28. > :17:33.one step ahead of the criminals. An update for you. They have now
:17:33. > :17:38.established that Sue connected to the family. But the trainers look
:17:38. > :17:46.like the belong to one of the intruders. If you have been
:17:46. > :17:51.following this week, sadly no arrests about the theft of our ring.
:17:51. > :18:00.But with the teller machines, that investigation is continuing. Such
:18:00. > :18:04.fascinating stuff. We were teasing him as he was filming himself in
:18:04. > :18:13.the middle of crying scenes, because he was wrecking evidence.
:18:13. > :18:16.Just to avoid doubt, he did know damage. -- no damage.
:18:16. > :18:19.Football, and Sir Alex Ferguson has apologised to Manchester United
:18:19. > :18:22.fans after his side crashed out of the Carling Cup last night. Fergie
:18:22. > :18:29.said the defeat to Championship side Crystal Palace was not worthy
:18:29. > :18:33.of a Manchester United team. Little change out of the Crystal
:18:34. > :18:38.Palace team. Everyone expected Manchester to dominate. I do not
:18:38. > :18:48.think Alex was bothered. Disappointed, I thought we would do
:18:48. > :18:51.
:18:51. > :18:58.better. Palace won 2-1. This is their first win at Old Trafford
:18:58. > :19:02.since 1989, when the two clubs what more frequently. One player on that
:19:02. > :19:12.day said that last night was a missed opportunity. A massive night
:19:12. > :19:12.
:19:12. > :19:18.for a lot of the young lads. They did not step up to the mark. United
:19:18. > :19:22.would have faced Cardiff. City take on Liverpool. Liverpool have not
:19:22. > :19:32.won for a long time. Keeping the Carling Cup is more reporting to
:19:32. > :19:38.them? Definitely. -- more important to them. Winning cups get your
:19:38. > :19:41.confidence going. The Carling Cup is certainly not a priority for
:19:41. > :19:46.Alex Ferguson or Manchester United supporters. But what will have
:19:46. > :19:54.concerned him is that players he will call on as the season goes on
:19:54. > :19:59.seem to have underperformed. City are through to play for
:19:59. > :20:02.Liverpool. But Liverpool fans will be disappointed tonight. The
:20:02. > :20:06.Brazilian midfielder Lucas Leiva is out for the rest of the season. A
:20:06. > :20:10.scan has revealed he will need an operation on the anterior cruciate
:20:10. > :20:14.ligament in his left knee. He was injured trying to make a tackle in
:20:14. > :20:17.the 2-0 win over Chelsea in the Carling Cup on Tuesday.
:20:17. > :20:20.Tom Stalker is one of Britain's best hopes for an Olympic boxing
:20:20. > :20:23.medal. If he achieves that next summer, it will represent a
:20:23. > :20:27.remarkable turnaround in his life. Tom from Huyton was a teenage
:20:27. > :20:30.tearaway until he discovered the sport which changed his life. In
:20:30. > :20:40.the latest of his special reports with our Olympians, Steve Parry has
:20:40. > :20:48.
:20:48. > :20:52.been to meet Tom. Devastated, he gave it everything.
:20:52. > :20:58.He is World number one, a favourite for a medal, but his life could
:20:58. > :21:02.have been so different. I was in jail. I was brought up right by my
:21:03. > :21:10.mother, but when I was 15, I was involved in petty crime, silly
:21:10. > :21:17.stuff. I was drinking on the streets, taking silly drugs. I am
:21:17. > :21:26.not proud. It was a birth and death that changed his attitude. I turned
:21:26. > :21:31.18, my daughter was born. I then went into boxing and have not gone
:21:31. > :21:41.back. Nothing will compare to Mike Mullen -- compared to my amateur
:21:41. > :21:43.
:21:43. > :21:48.Jim. How does the church and boxing next? -- mix?
:21:48. > :21:54.We used to going there every Sunday. We would be helping out the old
:21:54. > :22:02.people. Some people saying boxers are bad people. Tom has become
:22:02. > :22:05.Commonwealth Campion and picked up many medals. -- champion. I will be
:22:05. > :22:12.the first to have their day medal in every competition, going down in
:22:12. > :22:22.history. His current coach believes he can do that. I am not nervous, I
:22:22. > :22:23.
:22:23. > :22:30.know how good he is. He is so fast Anne Sharp. He has everything.
:22:30. > :22:38.is like being in the film Rocky. have had kids running around
:22:38. > :22:44.sometimes. I think it is because I am a normal lad from Liverpool,
:22:44. > :22:54.doing well. I have the best support ever. Let us see what you do, some
:22:54. > :22:55.
:22:55. > :23:03.shadow boxing, then into a run. I kinky will challenge him to some
:23:03. > :23:07.swimming. He is not as fit as he used to be. -- I think he will.
:23:07. > :23:12.Next, you either love him or you hate him. But say what you will
:23:12. > :23:17.about the famous laughing man at Blackpool Pleasure beach. One thing
:23:17. > :23:20.he is is consistent. He's survived two world wars, and one major fire.
:23:20. > :23:23.Laughing and rocking in the same slightly scary way for almost 80
:23:23. > :23:31.years. But this Christmas, he's to have a new, festive laugh. The
:23:31. > :23:38.public was invited to provide it. If you spend your childhood
:23:38. > :23:43.terrified of laughing man, you have not seen anything yet. After a
:23:43. > :23:51.newspaper and online campaign, these were the final, or should I
:23:51. > :24:00.say only, 12 contestants. After hours of practice, we saw the good.
:24:00. > :24:09.Merry Christmas! The standard at best. Merry Christmas! And, as you
:24:09. > :24:16.might expect, the slightly weird. Merry Christmas! After three long
:24:16. > :24:19.heats, local Scott from St Anne's took the prize. Merry Christmas.
:24:20. > :24:25.managed to catch him before he was whisked off to the studio.
:24:25. > :24:33.Congratulations, how do you feel? This is the first time I have done
:24:33. > :24:42.something like this. I do not know how I feel. This was not your first
:24:42. > :24:46.shot at stardom? I have had 6 editions. I have a band doing
:24:46. > :24:52.theatres and hotels. And now you have hit the big-time, how does it
:24:52. > :24:59.feel? Good. So he took it all in his stride. Sadly, that couldn't be
:24:59. > :25:04.said for the runner up. I worked so hard that this, it has been my
:25:04. > :25:10.lifelong dream to be the laughing Santa of Blackpool pleasure Beach.
:25:10. > :25:14.To come so far and have been taking away -- taken away, I do not know
:25:14. > :25:19.what I will do next. In case you're worried, he joined the winner for a
:25:19. > :25:24.pizza. You can hear the all new laughing man from Saturday.
:25:24. > :25:34.That was funny. It is not quite master chef, but it is brilliant.
:25:34. > :25:39.
:25:39. > :25:43.He was good. Look at your face. The Globe tells you what you need
:25:43. > :25:48.to do about -- what you need to know about the weather. The cold
:25:48. > :25:52.weather digs in for the weekend and for next week. Do not expect
:25:52. > :25:59.changes of temperature. A really cold night tonight, and frosty in
:25:59. > :26:05.parts. Some showers today. Top temperatures not great. That is
:26:05. > :26:11.something we have to get used to. You can see quite an act of line of
:26:11. > :26:19.showers. I do not think those will laughed for too long. -- an active
:26:19. > :26:28.line of showers. The cloud cover will clear later. Under clear skies,
:26:28. > :26:33.temperatures zero 2-2 mac. Slightly higher in towns and cities. -- 0
:26:33. > :26:43.going down to minus two. We could have some ice on untreated surfaces
:26:43. > :26:44.
:26:44. > :26:50.tomorrow. Some spells of sunshine in parts of Cumbria. Then some
:26:50. > :26:57.showers moving in, many places cloudy and dry, but some showers.
:26:57. > :27:02.And possibly some sunshine, I am covering almost everything here.
:27:02. > :27:10.Towards teatime tomorrow, turning cloudier and wait for many.
:27:10. > :27:16.Temperatures not great. I am dressed like Santa's wife. I
:27:16. > :27:21.could try and scare you. Lots of you have talked about your
:27:21. > :27:27.experiences about the post. Let me share about what you. One man is
:27:27. > :27:33.still waiting for his Christmas card from his parents last year.