:00:04. > :00:08.Good evening welcome to North West Tonight, with Annabel Tiffin and
:00:08. > :00:12.Roger Johnson. Our top story: A double murder inquiry is under way
:00:12. > :00:18.in Southport after two elderly women are killed. Police say there
:00:18. > :00:22.may be more bodies. I spoke to a couple of neighbours of mine, you
:00:22. > :00:30.know, they are very upset. We will be live from the scene as police
:00:30. > :00:34.continue to question a 43-year-old man. Also tonight: Voluntary groups
:00:34. > :00:37.brace themselves for more cuts as councils start to set their beens.
:00:37. > :00:44.They're not welcome here. Residents in Crewe force a council debate
:00:44. > :00:54.over plans for a travellers site. Find out how this man, giving a
:00:54. > :01:00.
:01:00. > :01:10.kidney to a stranger, meant his Also tonight, Tony's at Manchester
:01:10. > :01:11.
:01:11. > :01:15.City where they are aiming to reach the last 16 of the Europa League.
:01:15. > :01:20.We will have the sound from Tony in a moment. The game is well and
:01:20. > :01:24.truly under way, which is what he was trying to tell you. A double
:01:24. > :01:27.murder investigation is under way tonight after the bodies of two
:01:27. > :01:32.elderly women were found at separate addresss in Southport.
:01:32. > :01:36.Police say they can't rule out finding more bodies. A 43-year-old
:01:36. > :01:40.man has been arrested and is being questioned by detectives. The first
:01:40. > :01:44.woman, believed to be in her 80s, was discovered at a house on Andrew
:01:44. > :01:47.Lansley last night. The second suspected victim was found a short
:01:47. > :01:51.distance away in another home. Nina Warhurst has been following
:01:51. > :01:57.developments all day in Southport. She joins us live now from there.
:01:57. > :02:01.What is the latest you can bring us? Good evening, Annabel and Roger.
:02:01. > :02:06.It's fair to say this very quiet community in Southport is shell
:02:06. > :02:14.shocked tonight after a most dramatic 4-hours. On Monday night,
:02:14. > :02:18.at about... A local man walked into a police station and as a result of
:02:18. > :02:23.a conversation they had with police they came to this address almost
:02:23. > :02:29.24-hours later. That was at around 5.25pm. They found the body of a
:02:29. > :02:33.woman believed to be in her 0s. They continued their questioning of
:02:33. > :02:37.the man and around six or seven hours later, in the early hours of
:02:37. > :02:42.this morning, police moved on to a second address, less than a
:02:42. > :02:48.kilometer from here, where the body of a second elderly lady, also
:02:48. > :02:57.believed to be had in her 0s was found. She has been named locally
:02:57. > :03:01.as Annie Leyland. Police say there are extra police officers on patrol
:03:01. > :03:06.tonight. An upsetting time for people on this street. It's a
:03:06. > :03:10.surprise. Certainly a surprise. It's usually very quiet around here.
:03:11. > :03:15.It's unbelievable. I feel so sorry for them. I can't believe it.
:03:15. > :03:21.honest, the area has been OK, as far as I know. It's one of those
:03:21. > :03:28.things. I have spoken to a couple of neighbours of mine, they're very
:03:28. > :03:31.upset. What do we know about the man who remains in custody tonight?
:03:31. > :03:35.The 43-year-old in custody tonight has been named locally as Andy
:03:35. > :03:39.Flood. He is believed to be a freelance taxi driver in the area.
:03:39. > :03:44.I was around earlier in the area where he lives. Neighbours saying
:03:44. > :03:49.he comes and goes throughout the day and all night. She a busy man
:03:49. > :03:52.of the police are stressing tonight that he hasn't at this stage been
:03:52. > :03:55.charged. Their investigations remain ongoing. They will have
:03:55. > :03:59.details of the post-mortem examination tomorrow morning.
:03:59. > :04:04.you very much, Nina Warhurst there in Southport for us. Across the
:04:04. > :04:09.north west, councillors are facing a difficult question, how can we
:04:09. > :04:15.save more money? Especially, after a year of deep cuts? Budgets are
:04:15. > :04:18.being finalised by three councils tonight with others to follow. They
:04:19. > :04:24.chopped hundreds of millions last year and shed thousands of jobs.
:04:24. > :04:28.What will the coming financial year bring? Like it or not, councils
:04:28. > :04:33.have to save money, and lots of. It the really big cuts came last year,
:04:33. > :04:39.at the start of their long and miserable mission to slash spending.
:04:39. > :04:43.Take manage Manchester, 2,000 jobs lost, as �170 million was chopped
:04:43. > :04:52.from the budget for 2011/12. The pain's still not over. Manchester
:04:52. > :04:55.must save �250 million over the next four years. In Lancashire,
:04:55. > :05:00.1,500 jobs went during that first year of cuts. During the coming
:05:00. > :05:10.year there should be no more job losses, but the council still needs
:05:10. > :05:15.to find � 19 million worth of savings. Liverpool council has
:05:15. > :05:20.1,200 fewer employs and have to find another �50 million this year.
:05:20. > :05:26.In Bolton the council is meeting right now to consider how it will
:05:26. > :05:31.find �18 million worth of savings for the coming financial years. --
:05:31. > :05:35.year. Those who rely on council cash are worried. These children
:05:35. > :05:38.are experiencing life in the saddle thanks to a Bolton charity called,
:05:38. > :05:44.Bolton Kids Together, which helps autistic youngsters. Autistic find
:05:44. > :05:47.it difficult to socialise. We started Bolton Kids Together to
:05:47. > :05:51.help parents and families to come into small gatherings and get used
:05:51. > :05:56.to each other and the parents can talk to each other as well. Ride
:05:56. > :06:01.something one of various activities which the charity organises. This
:06:01. > :06:05.is the first time he has been horse riding. When it came up as an
:06:05. > :06:10.opportunity we thought we would give it a go. He seems to be loving
:06:10. > :06:20.it. It has made a huge difference in our lives and Sam's life and
:06:20. > :06:22.
:06:22. > :06:27.calmed him down and making him able to face social situations. Bolton
:06:27. > :06:34.Council have been supportive of us. Every penny they cut, we then get
:06:34. > :06:40.cut. That is more we have to spend filling in forms and fundraising
:06:40. > :06:43.rather than with the children and families that need us. It's not
:06:43. > :06:47.just jobs, it's the essential services that our members deliver,
:06:47. > :06:52.in terms of working with vulnerable children and vulnerable adults.
:06:52. > :06:58.This is the real concern that such huge job losses and such pressures
:06:58. > :07:01.on budgets are going to affect thoses services. Bolton's one of
:07:01. > :07:04.three councils finalising budgets tonight. What has been the effect
:07:04. > :07:08.of the first round of council job losses in the region? Well, the
:07:08. > :07:13.news is mixed according to the Centre for Cities, an organisation
:07:13. > :07:17.that has been studying the impact of public spending cuts.
:07:17. > :07:22.headline statistics for the north west is around 40,000 public sector
:07:22. > :07:26.jobs were lost between June 2010 and June 2011. The second largest
:07:26. > :07:30.loss out of all the nations and regions in the UK. There hasn't
:07:30. > :07:34.been an associated increase in unemployment within the region
:07:35. > :07:39.because of that. It suggests that, to date, the north west is managing
:07:39. > :07:46.to, sort of, offset the impact that the public sector job losses have
:07:46. > :07:50.been having. Now, a tale of two councils with different approaches.
:07:50. > :07:54.Preston could become one to raise council tax this year. It says
:07:54. > :07:58.charging the average household an extra �9 will help to protect
:07:58. > :08:03.services. Even with that extra cash, Preston has to save more than �2
:08:03. > :08:08.million over the coming four years. Wirral, however, plans to cut
:08:08. > :08:12.council tax by 3%. It's identified �16 million worth of potential
:08:12. > :08:16.savings. It is using some of its reserves and government grants to
:08:16. > :08:20.make the council tax possible. It is shedding what it describes as "a
:08:20. > :08:26.small number" of jobs. That plan goes before the full council on
:08:26. > :08:30.March 1st. Thank you very much. A photographer from Liverpool has
:08:30. > :08:34.been injured in an attack in Syria in which two fellow journalists
:08:34. > :08:37.were killed. The Sunday Times photographer, Paul Conroy, who is
:08:37. > :08:39.from Anfield, was injured in the city of Homs. His colleague, Marie
:08:40. > :08:44.Colvin and a French photographer died when the house they were
:08:44. > :08:48.staying in was shelled. Police say Vinny Derrick, whose bones were
:08:48. > :08:51.found by the side of the M60, could have been demild a hit-and-run
:08:51. > :08:58.accident. The father of one went missing after a night out in
:08:58. > :09:03.Manchester back in August 2003. His remains were found by a workmen by
:09:03. > :09:06.junk 3 last week. A Manx politician has resigned over cuts to pre-
:09:06. > :09:10.school education. Dudley Butt has quit his role in the Department of
:09:10. > :09:14.Education and Children after it was announced that all of the island's
:09:14. > :09:17.government funded nurseries will close. The Attorney-General is
:09:17. > :09:22.considering call force a new inquest into the death of a teenage
:09:22. > :09:27.victim of the Hillsborough disaster. The original inquest into the death
:09:27. > :09:30.of Mr Williams concluded that, like all the other 95 victims, he died
:09:30. > :09:35.accidentally. His mother has campaigned to have that verdict
:09:35. > :09:39.overturned. Today, after 100,000 people signed an online petition,
:09:39. > :09:45.her fight for justice was debated at the Houses of Parliament. Andy
:09:45. > :09:49.Gill is at Westminster, where he listened to the debate. Why is Anne
:09:49. > :09:54.Williams determined to get this inquest hope? All the Hillsborough
:09:54. > :09:59.deaths were recorded as accidental. It infuriated the families for
:09:59. > :10:03.years. In Kevin Williams' case the coroner decided not to hear
:10:03. > :10:09.evidence after 3.15pm. He ruled everybody who died would have been
:10:09. > :10:15.dead by then. His mum said she had strong evidence to say that he was
:10:15. > :10:21.alive after that. A young Constable said that he died in her arms just
:10:21. > :10:25.before 4.00pm that afternoon. they say there is a cut off at
:10:25. > :10:30.3.15pm where everyone died, some had died, others were badly injured.
:10:30. > :10:34.I know Kevin was still alive. happened at the debate today?
:10:34. > :10:41.debate was held in a small room in Westminster Hall. It doesn't have
:10:41. > :10:46.the same impact as a debate in the full Commons chamber. Anne Williams
:10:46. > :10:51.will be pleased that members from both sides of the House spoke up
:10:51. > :10:57.supporting her. Her home MP said it was remarkable she hadn't had a new
:10:57. > :11:01.inquest granted yet. A Labour MP stressed the importance of that
:11:02. > :11:08.3.15pm cutoff for the Hillsborough families. It has been their get out
:11:08. > :11:13.of jail... Free card. They pointed 3.15pm cutoff and claim there was
:11:13. > :11:18.nothing that they could do. How wrong they are. They could and
:11:18. > :11:23.should have saefd Kevin Williams. What did Anne Williams think of
:11:23. > :11:27.what was said today? It has been a fight she has been carrying on for
:11:27. > :11:32.20 years. She had three requests for inquests turned down already.
:11:32. > :11:39.They thinks things could be moving her way. We are not going to go
:11:39. > :11:44.away. It's strong in Liverpool now. People are realising something is
:11:44. > :11:50.wrong with Hillsborough. Do you think we would waste our lives for
:11:50. > :11:55.23 years if it wasn't to uncover the coverup and give us all peace.
:11:55. > :12:00.It's up to the Attorney-General whether she gets her inquest or not.
:12:00. > :12:10.He has strict legal perimeters on whether he will do that. He said he
:12:10. > :12:11.
:12:11. > :12:16.will approach it with an "open The location of travellers' sites
:12:16. > :12:21.is often an emotive issue, and those in crew have taken issue with
:12:21. > :12:24.a potential site for travellers. The travellers say they desperately
:12:24. > :12:33.need one and without it they will have to make homes on unauthorised
:12:33. > :12:38.sites. Joe and his family have lived in Cheshire for decades. A
:12:38. > :12:42.traveller by birth, he runs a traveller advocacy group in the
:12:42. > :12:47.county because he says many in his community are struggling.
:12:47. > :12:57.problem with Cheshire is not enough sides. Sides they don't want to be
:12:57. > :12:58.
:12:58. > :13:05.on to, one or two taps between them, housing which they don't want,
:13:06. > :13:13.really. Jo thinks this field could help, but the signs make it clear
:13:13. > :13:18.how residents feel. The issue is that the site itself doesn't even
:13:18. > :13:23.cater to the needs of the travellers. It is too crowded,
:13:23. > :13:28.there have been numerous accidents, the local school is overcrowded, it
:13:28. > :13:34.is unsuitable. Traveller sites are often caused friction within
:13:34. > :13:40.society, but pictures now need to be supplied by law. This is the
:13:40. > :13:45.only site in Cheshire East at the moment, of the 146 pitches in the
:13:45. > :13:51.county, most are privately owned. The council needs to create 46 new
:13:51. > :13:57.pitches by 2016. So far they have only created 11. The council says
:13:57. > :14:02.this is the most suitable place for a new site. We want to create
:14:02. > :14:09.something near local facilities, not in the middle of nowhere. This
:14:09. > :14:16.achieves the balance. Joseph says he has travellers ready to move in.
:14:16. > :14:22.We have a list of people, it is unofficial, we are just making a
:14:22. > :14:27.list of people because they are asking us to. Residents have hired
:14:27. > :14:31.a planet to help them pick holes in the scheme, and they will take
:14:31. > :14:41.their concerns to be meeting tomorrow, with a decision expected
:14:41. > :14:41.
:14:41. > :14:45.in March. Still to come tonight, selling the silverware, Liverpool
:14:45. > :14:52.football legend Tommy Smith on why he cashed in on his medals. And
:14:52. > :14:56.given a new lease of life, we will speak to the couple involved in a
:14:56. > :14:58.three-way kidney swap. On to sport, and in a rare move, Manchester City
:14:58. > :15:03.kicked-off their midweek home match against Porto in the Europa League
:15:03. > :15:05.at five o' clock. So you'll not be surprised to learn that Tony's at
:15:05. > :15:15.the Etihad Stadium tonight monitoring developments where the
:15:15. > :15:20.
:15:20. > :15:24.match must nearly have finished. The first few fans are coming out.
:15:24. > :15:32.If they are leaving early I think they have made a mistake.
:15:32. > :15:39.Manchester City were 2-1 up, Sergio Aguero scored after just 21 seconds,
:15:39. > :15:47.put through by Nigel De Jong, intercepting a Porto clearance.
:15:47. > :15:56.Sergio Aguero scored the first, there was a second and then a third
:15:56. > :16:02.for Manchester City. Did you hear that? They have just scored again.
:16:02. > :16:07.A goal a rout, no idea who scored but I will try to let you know. In
:16:07. > :16:17.the meantime, before the game, Manchester City fans were all
:16:17. > :16:18.
:16:18. > :16:22.talking about the striker who they are wondering whether to forgive.
:16:22. > :16:29.At this time of the season I would have him back, he could score and
:16:29. > :16:38.win us the league. We need him, and his abilities. I would have him
:16:38. > :16:45.back, simply because of his talent. I would say "do one." we don't need
:16:45. > :16:48.him when we have Sergio Aguero. manager is expected to have his say
:16:48. > :16:53.after the match in the press conference, but one thing has
:16:53. > :17:01.become clear, he could be on the bench shortly. He has been named in
:17:02. > :17:06.the squad for the rest of the season, it is 4-0 at the moment,
:17:06. > :17:11.now time for some proper legends. Bill Shankly once said that Tommy
:17:11. > :17:16.Smith was not born, he was quarried. It will not surprise you to know
:17:16. > :17:22.that when he sold his medals at auction he did not shed a tear.
:17:22. > :17:28.What might surprise you is that he did not get his most for the
:17:28. > :17:32.European Cup medal, but for the 1965 FA Cup medal which raised
:17:32. > :17:36.�15,000. He was awarded by Liverpool fans when he left the
:17:36. > :17:41.cell in Cheshire, our reporter managed to speak to him and Tommy
:17:41. > :17:48.said he understood the sentence and would be a bit upset, but he was
:17:48. > :17:53.doing it for his family. I have got my family and they are far more
:17:53. > :18:00.important than some medals. I have got memories, things that people
:18:00. > :18:10.have not done but I have done. I scored in the European Cup. Which
:18:10. > :18:11.
:18:11. > :18:19.means the most to you? The B19 65 Cup final. My mum said to Bill
:18:19. > :18:28.Shankly, Liverpool have not won the FA Cup, and she said, "when my son
:18:28. > :18:36.does you will win it." I said "mum, you will embarrassing -- you are
:18:36. > :18:46.embarrassingly". I was only 15. won the Cup, who was waiting, Bill
:18:46. > :18:50.
:18:50. > :18:59.Shankly. I was captain of Liverpool which I am very proud of, in 1973
:19:00. > :19:08.we won the league and the FA Cup. Bob Paisley said "the last time we
:19:08. > :19:17.were here was in a tank!" that was in a Rome. Everybody burst out
:19:17. > :19:25.laughing. A policeman came over and said "what did he say?". Sometimes
:19:25. > :19:30.it was a great laugh. A good man, Tommy Smith, some other football
:19:30. > :19:37.action tonight, a setback for Blackpool when they played West Ham
:19:37. > :19:42.at home and were beaten 4-1. West Ham were already 2-0 up when the
:19:42. > :19:47.goalkeeper, Robert Green was sent off, but they went on to score two
:19:47. > :19:57.more goals. Kevin Phillips got the consolation for Blackpool. A good
:19:57. > :19:59.
:19:59. > :20:05.night for Manchester City, they are up 4-0. They can either play Lisbon
:20:05. > :20:12.or Warsaw, I hope it is Lisbon. It will not be any better in Poland. I
:20:12. > :20:22.hope it is Portugal. More and more fans are coming past, we will let
:20:22. > :20:23.
:20:23. > :20:26.you get away. For six years a woman had been waiting for the kidney
:20:26. > :20:30.transplant she said badly-needed. Her husband was tested but he
:20:30. > :20:34.wasn't a match and he feared there was little he could do to help his
:20:34. > :20:38.wife. But then the couple were told of a scheme they could sign up to,
:20:38. > :20:44.which matches are willing donors in pairs or groups of three. And so in
:20:44. > :20:48.a rare three-way organ swap Forgan he gave his kidney to a stranger
:20:48. > :20:52.and in return his wife got one too. Since the scheme began there have
:20:52. > :20:56.been just 20 of these kinds of exchanges, but doctors hope it
:20:56. > :21:02.could boost the number of organs available. The transplant was six
:21:02. > :21:06.months ago. You look great, how do you feel? Marvellous. I can't
:21:06. > :21:11.explain how fantastic it has been to get the kidney. You waited a
:21:11. > :21:18.long time. You must feel amazing, not withstanding the fact you gave
:21:18. > :21:24.up a kidney to see her look so well. It was instantaneous. Better
:21:24. > :21:28.straight away. A simple process, you just have to find like-minded
:21:28. > :21:33.couples who are happy to enter a transaction. On the face of it it
:21:33. > :21:39.looks like you are short cutting the waiting list but not the case.
:21:39. > :21:45.It is just another option given to you. It is a very good option, I
:21:45. > :21:52.think. You could wait for years and years otherwise. Was it something
:21:52. > :21:58.the doctors suggested to you? He it was five years ago. But, this
:21:58. > :22:05.has only happened 20 times, why not more? It is such a precise
:22:05. > :22:11.procedure. Everything has to be done so politically, you are kept
:22:11. > :22:14.informed all the way through, the consultants and Courtenay does a
:22:14. > :22:22.very good. Did you get the call straight away or did you have to
:22:22. > :22:27.wait? My court later rang us, and said we have got a possible match.
:22:27. > :22:32.Lots of procedures then go on. had some false starts along the way,
:22:33. > :22:40.didn't you? Three of four, yes. When you think you have a match and
:22:40. > :22:46.then don't, how does it feel? feel very down. Down. You just hope
:22:46. > :22:52.and pray there will be a match, they do it every three months.
:22:52. > :22:57.said it felt like winning the lottery. Yes, money is not
:22:57. > :23:01.everything and it has given me my life back. You could not help your
:23:01. > :23:09.wife directly but indirectly you did, that must have made you feel
:23:09. > :23:16.better. The yes, much better. Watching her every day on dialysis
:23:16. > :23:24.was devastating, or fall. Is it an anonymous process or are you in
:23:24. > :23:28.touch with the people who helped you? It is anonymous but we wrote
:23:28. > :23:36.to two couples and one of them wrote back and they appreciated it
:23:36. > :23:41.as well. Brilliant. Six people have gained from this. You would
:23:41. > :23:51.encourage more people to do this wouldn't you? Without a doubt.
:23:51. > :23:56.yes. You both look so well. As a footnote to this, if you want to do
:23:56. > :24:06.it, talk to a donor co-ordinator at your local hospital. If you want to
:24:06. > :24:10.
:24:10. > :24:13.give a kidney talk to your GP or Good evening. Tony confirmed what I
:24:13. > :24:19.did not think, Tony said the weather was not getting better, but
:24:19. > :24:24.it is. Much better. Tomorrow, 17 degrees could be within our
:24:24. > :24:28.forecast. That puts us at 63 Fahrenheit. Not everywhere will get
:24:28. > :24:32.that but it is a possibility across the more southern parts of the
:24:32. > :24:37.north-west. It has been about the rain today which kept on coming.
:24:37. > :24:42.This is our latest picture, the 6:00pm picture, still some rain
:24:42. > :24:47.around. It will move away for the next couple of hours and then is
:24:47. > :24:52.confined to the Pennine areas. As the rain eases down the rivers
:24:52. > :24:58.continue to rise, and will be at a peak over the next few hours. If
:24:58. > :25:03.you are concerned, in Cumbria and Lancashire, ask the Environment
:25:03. > :25:08.Agency for guidance, this is the phone number. Rain in the Pennines
:25:08. > :25:13.tonight, but just about everywhere else should be dry. Many places.
:25:14. > :25:17.But there is missed and Merck around, the rain, it keeps
:25:18. > :25:23.generating over the higher levels so the totals will continue to
:25:23. > :25:27.mount. Temperatures through the day-to-day work at 11 Celsius.
:25:27. > :25:32.Through the night they will be 11 Celsius. Incredibly mild. Then look
:25:32. > :25:38.at it tomorrow, cloud and drizzle hangs around over the tops of the
:25:38. > :25:42.Pennines, the more southern parts of the region, Greater Manchester,
:25:42. > :25:47.starting murky, but then the sun starts to work its way through. Not
:25:47. > :25:54.a huge amount but enough to make a big difference. If you get a bit of
:25:54. > :26:03.sunshine it will allow temperatures to rise. Widely at 13 degrees, 15
:26:03. > :26:13.across the more southern parts, No 16 degrees on the maps but there
:26:13. > :26:13.
:26:13. > :26:17.Can you remember the infamous and filled cat? We did a story about
:26:17. > :26:23.him after a dull football match a few weeks ago. He was taken to the
:26:23. > :26:31.animal rescue centre. Guess what he has gone and done? He has escaped