08/03/2012 North West Tonight

Tributes to the fallen. A mother lays flowers to honour her son

killed in Afghanistan. We'll hear from the families of Sergeant Nigel

Coupe and Private Daniel Wade. Cutting jobs while patients wait

for operations - criticism for a Health Trust by a North West MP.

This is the 2000 year-old skull of a young man. Baxter new technology,

I can tell you much more about him. Champagne Super Mario. City's

superstar striker opens his heart to their rock-star fan. A Mancini

was not here, I would not have come here. Now I am here, I am happy.

And somewhere over the rainbow. We'll tell you why one city will be

"Sgt Nigel Coupe was, quite simply, the best." Those were the words of

his commanding officer as Sgt Coupe from St Annes was named as one of

six killed in Afghanistan on Tuesday. Alongside him, Private

Daniel Wade from Warrington, killed within weeks of his first tour of

duty. Today, his mother wrote a tribute saying simply, ''My baby

boy. My hero.'' The deaths bring the total number of Northwest

servicemen killed in Afghanistan to 47. More than half of the lives

lost have come in roadside bomb attacks of the kind that killed Sgt

Coupe and Private Wade - a terrible toll. But this latest tragedy is

the biggest single loss of life for British forces in Afghanistan since

operations began. At two homes, two Northwest

families in mourning for two fallen soldiers. One, Private Daniel Wade,

aged just 20. The other his commanding officer, 33-year-old

Sergeant Nigel Coupe. Each and every one of us who knew Daniel

have been privileged to have their lives touched by such a loving, a

brave man. Whilst we have lost annual from our lives, he remains

in our hearts forever. Joining the army had been Daniel Wade's boyhood

dream. He was an army cadet and signed up straight after leaving

school. And a very short period, he had made a great mark. In his spare

time, Daniel of speed on wheels and he had a real passion for motor

across and superbikes. His former headteacher said today he also had

a passion for basketball. He had been back to visit pupils before he

started his army training. We have got very fond memories of him when

he was a student here. He was a great lad. He had a very strong

moral purpose. He was only deployed three weeks ago, on Valentine's Day.

Both Private Wade and Sergeant Coup, from Lytham, had been in a Warrior

armoured vehicle in southern Afghanistan. It was hit by a

massive explosion on Tuesday, believed to be caused by a Taliban

bomb. Both were serving with 3rd Battalion the Yorkshire Regiment,

but Sergeant Coupe was on attachment from 1st Battalion the

Duke Of Lancaster's Regiment. He was proud to be a Lancashire

soldier in a Yorkshire battalion. His technical prowess was un

matched. He was, quite simply, the best. Today, we have lost one of

her brothers. He led and the entered those above and below him

with truth humility. Sergeant Coupe lived in St Anne's and was married

with a child. His father said today he was perfect in every way and

neighbours paid this tribute. Do we all had our children at the same

time. They used to come over and play quite a lot. To hear about

that yesterday was so upsetting. Tonight, two communities are coming

together to remember two men they both described as he rose. We have

some breaking news now. More details. A British man, believed to

be from the north-west, he was taken hostage in Nigeria has been

killed by his captors. David Cameron had said he would give them

a goal ahead for a rescue mission. That operation has failed. What do

we know about Chris McManus? He was from the north-west. We believe he

might have been from the Greater Manchester area but we're trying to

confirm that. We definitely know that he was an engineer, he was out

in Nigeria, he was helping to build a bank out there and we know that

he and an Italian colleague were kidnapped on May 12th. They had

been in their apartment when it had been stormed by crook of men. A

German colleague managed to escape. Chris McManus did not escape.

Within the last hour, David Cameron has issued a statement. He said

come off when their whereabouts became known, and it was known that

they were an imminent and growing danger, he gave the go-ahead for a

rescue mission. That would have involved British forces.

Unfortunately, that rescue mission has failed. It is with great regret

that both Chris and Franco have lost their lives. We are still

awaiting confirmation of the details but the early indications

are Clear and both men were murdered by their captors before

the could be rescued. David Cameron, but there has also been a statement

from his family. This has just come through. They say that they are

naturally completely devastated. During this ordeal, we have relied

heavily on the support of family and friends which has never waned

and has enabled us to get through the most difficult of times. We're

aware of the many people working -- to work to try and get Chris back.

We knew that he was in an extremely different -- dangerous situation.

We knew that everything was being done to bring him home.

Unfortunately, this evening, the worst news they could have had.

Operations are being cancelled and patients are not being told under

changes taking place in the Northwest. The Heywood Primary Care

Trust is one which has decided certain procedures, such the

removal of varicose veins, should not longer be carried out on the

NHS. GPs are complaining they are being inundated with patients who

are unaware of the health cuts taking place. Paul's leg is a mess

but after waiting two years to have his varicose veins removed, they

will not be in operation. He was not told. I am keeping my end of

the bargain with the NHS. I eat well, I don't smoke. I look after

myself. They will be people there who are not being told their

operations are being done. - my not being done. I think that is a

scandal. According to his GP, the local primary care trust has

decided there is not a clinical need. They're hoping I can do

something for them and they're walking out the door, shaking their

heads, and happy. Sometimes I think it is causing a rift between the

doctor and the patient because I think they are blaming the doctor

for the failings in the NHS. The operation should have taken place

here at the Fairfield General Hospital in Paris. -- in Bury. Jobs

are needed to be cut here because fewer patients are being

transferred for non-urgent procedures. It just shows that this

top-down reorganisation of the NHS by the Government is not working.

The people at a feeling the brunt of that our workers in the NHS but

We it says urgent operations will not be affected but Paul and other

patients will now have to go private rather than being looked

after and the NHS. No weapons have been found in the

car in which a man was shot dead by police in the Cheshire village of

Culcheth. Anthony Grainger died from a single gunshot wound to the

chest on Saturday evening. The Independent Police Complaints

Commission also say that no firearms or weapons were found on

him. The IPCC report says the vehicle had been stolen and had

false registration plates at the time of the incident.

The airline Flybe is making Manchester Airport its main hub in

the UK. It's means there will be an extra 12 flights a day and an

additional 86 connections to destinations across the country.

Manchester Airport says it hopes the increase in passenger numbers

could create jobs. A plaque has been unveiled in

memory of six men who drowned off the Isle of Man more than half a

century ago. They were crew members on the trawler Fleetwood Lady,

which anchored in Ramsey Bay so the men could visit their families. All

six died when their rowing boat capsized as they returned to the

ship. 56 years on, relatives came to see the plaque being unveiled.

The Windermere cruiser taking part in the Royal Jubilee pageant in

London has been lowered back into Windermere after a winter of

restoration. Queen of the Lake can usually be seen taking up to 84

passengers around England's longest lake. She'll be one of a thousand

boats in the pageant that accompanies the Queen, on her royal

Barge, down the Thames in June. Disabled people have reacted with

dismay to the news that several Remploy factories may close. We

went to one of the affected factories. There was only one item

of discussion on the menu and the staff canteen. The news that this

place could soon close. I think it is appalling. There are no jobs for

anyone else. I and 58, I have been here 21 years. There is nobody

going to give a disabled 50 year- old a job on the other side. We

have done everything possible to keep the factory opened. The

government wants to reduce the subsidy pays to Remploy, saying the

money would be better spent getting disabled people into mainstream

employment. If I going to mainstream employment, there would

be bullying, because they know you're disabled and it is not right,

so I would like this place to stay open because I have made new

friends I am going to lose them all. This is not the only Remploy site

in a region that is under threat. Those in Barrow, Bolton, Birkenhead,

Preston, Oldham and Manchester are all you marked a foreclosure. In

all, they're looking to shut 36 factories. Almost 1800 jobs could

be lost. Brian has worked at Remploy for 30 years and he is also

the Union ret. He says that losing his job would be a disaster. His

son Jamie has inherited his brittle bone condition. He has found it

impossible to get work. It seems that Brian is destined to join the

ranks of unemployed. I will have to sell my house. This house has been

great because I've had it adapted to suit me. That sense of despair

is shared by many of Remploy today. Worrying times for them.

Now to the final part of our series finding out what it is like to be

widowed at a young age. All this week, we've been hearing from Peter,

whose wife Sophie died two years ago and Claire, who lost her

It doesn't get easier. I think you can learn how to cope better. -- it

does get easier. Everything we do, you always think,

you sit at parents' evening, you sit at two chairs, one of them is

empty, and everything is tinged with sadness. We have things like

In Memory Box, so if they do things like pictures, you can put them in

the Memory Box. On Mother's Day, they bought presents and flowers.

As the years go by, memories make you smile rather than make you cry.

We do have bad days - the kids' birthdays... But you learn to live

with it. One of the things I have learnt to

feel positive about is that Sophie was an organ donor, she saved the

lives of five or six people, one of whom was a baby.

So what is your role now, Clare? job is to contact new members in

the area, in the Wirral area. I am the person saying, hang on in there,

it gets easier. She is making sure that she is with us all the time.

You just have to get through it as best you can, because that is all

you can do. It makes you think, hang on, this is not a dress

rehearsal, let us get on with life. It certainly makes you worry less

about the little things, and you focus on the big picture, which is

your family and your friends, and the rest of it doesn't really

matter. Thanks to Clare and Peter for

speaking so bravely and candidly this week about their experiences.

Thank you also to those who have got in touch with your own stories.

Still to come on North West Tonight. Somewhere Over the Rainbow. We will

tell you why one city is lighting up the night sky. And Super Mario

speaks - city's superstar striker in conversation with superfan Noel

Gallagher. For years, staff at the Manchester

Museum have known very little about one of their exhibits, the

preserved head of Worsley Man. He is not to have lived around 100 AD.

Now experts have used a hi-tech hospital scanner to reveal more

about what happened to him. It is not a pretty tale.

The well preserved skull of Worsley Man. 2000 years old but until now

little was known other than he was in his 20s when he died. This is

the man's right ear. So you have to imagine this piece being up against

his right cheek, and the slightly better preserved piece of flesh,

soft tissue underneath the neck. The body of Worsley Man was found

in 1958, about two miles from the village of Astley green. At that

time it was thought he had been the victim of the fairly recent murder,

but it was only later it was discovered the body was much, much

Alder, preserved by the peat. Now using downtime at a CT scanner

at the Manchester Children's Hospital, experts have pieced

together more details. It appears he was bludgeoned over the head,

garrotted by his attackers, and then beheaded,'s -- possibly as a

sacrifice. Chopping the head of somebody was an act of reverence

towards the gods, we think. There are similarities with the

remains of Lindow Man, discovered in a peat bog in Wilmslow and now

in the British Museum. It seemed as clear that the Romans

could not stamp out the ritual sacrifice of human beings. And that

people were being killed and being put in peat bogs under the noses of

the Romans, with the Roman garrison at Chester for example.

Experts are hoping to find out more about the life and times of Worsley

Man. They wanted to make sure the job

was done, didn't they?! Show will lighten the mood? He set

his house on fire with fireworks, and dressed up as Santa and handed

out cash and bought everyone in the pub and drink. Mario Balotelli

livened up English football, but the City strikers seldom speaks

publicly. But he is in bid Oasis fan so he

agreed to an interview if it was conducted by Noel Gallagher, a huge

City found himself. With City hoping to extend their lead at the

top against Swansea this weekend, Balotelli!

Two stars who need little introduction - a rock icon whose

football colours are very definitely sky-blue, and one of the

sport's most colourful characters, Super talented Super Mario, a

player who dances to his own tune. It is said you are quite shy and

retiring, you want to keep yourself to yourself. Maybe some think I am

arrogant. If Mancini was not here, I would

not be here. Mancini said you need to mature, but we do not think that.

If Mancini says something, he is right. But I am still young, and I

think all ready from last year I am bigger. They say a lot of stuff

about me, which is lies. If I go in the street, one man takes a picture

and they say, Mario is there. I go to the pop... At you go to the pub?

I have been to the pub, not to drink but... It to play darts!

to play darts! One to watch whether you are his

City fan or not, it is on Football Focus on Saturday.

Balotelli on the substitutes' bench tonight for the game against

Sporting Lisbon. The score is 0-0. United are also in action tonight -

Sir Alex Ferguson says he will put out a strong side against Athletic

Bilbao after struggling against Ajax in the last round. Full

commentary on BBC Radio Manchester. For any swimmer, breaking one arm

is his setback, breaking both a disaster, but Preston's Dan

Sliwinski has shown great character to fight back from those injuries

and qualify for the Olympics in the 100 metres breaststroke.

He spoke to Olympic medallist and BBC commentator Steve Parry.

How would you rate your performance, when you saw you had qualified?

What did that feel like? It felt like three years of torture have

come to an end. My injuries had been up and down, it was like it

had all come past in a huge flash back in 60 seconds. Last week you

didn't know whether you were going to the Olympics or not, now you are

the fastest person from Great Britain. It has got to be good.

you try to explain the process of going to the Olympics, and

hopefully now I can shortlist that and say I am going. You not

Donnybrook on one arm, you broke both your arms. That must have been

a challenge to overcome. You think, I am unstoppable, but you get the

second one broken and it is twice as hard. Your mother was so nervous,

it has got to be nice for your family that you have finally got

there. Yes, all the support they gave me after my first injury, I

just would say thank you. What can you go on to do at the Olympics?

Added to go there and do my best. - - I need to go there and do my best.

I want to get to the first step, the semi-finals, and then anything

can happen. That is my aim. This is Steve Parry for BBC North West

Tonight with a rather successful 100 metres runner.

The weather is here in a minute, but I can assure you there will be

a rainbow in the North West Tonight and tomorrow and Saturday and

Sunday. It will stretch for miles across

the region's skies. A striking sign to mark the Cultural Olympiad year

of bringing sports and arts together. Eno Eruotor has been

given a little book. -- a little look.

Climbing miles into the sky from Preston Marina, Seven beams of

light, matching the seven colours of the rainbow, will mark the start

of the 2012 Olympic Games in the North West Tonight. The rain will

mean something to everyone, but for me it is about diversity and peace.

It is a universal symbol, in a way. It fits really well with the

Olympics. The this is the first of many large

scale but works for the Cultural Olympiad, and although this is in

Preston, the chances are you can see it as far away as 40 and 50

miles from the city. Organisers want people right across the region

to take part in what they are calling the challenge.

The thing that connects art and sport is play. Artists play,

athletes play, but everyone can play.

The is laser show will play tricks on your eyes depending on where you

are viewing it from. Should you see lights in the sky above Lancashire

over the next fortnight, it is a work of art. It is very magical. It

kind of makes you... Think that anything can happen.

Eno Eruotor for BBC North West I still bet there will be so many

calls to the police about strange lights in the Sky! The cloud cover

today did not move in as early as we fought, but tomorrow, you

picture will be slightly different. It will be much more cloudy, and I

am afraid there will be some drizzly rain. We saw some in parts

today, but the afternoon was pretty good. This little line of drizzly

Sheri rain moved into many parts, and it is not done with us yet. It

is not a good -- big deal, but that story continues through the night

time. It will not last for two longer -- too long, but it will

bring in spots of drizzly rain from time to time. The wind is westerly,

with a temperature of about 15 miles an hour, but what all of this

does is keep our temperatures up. When you set out first thing in the

morning, there has been a real shock chill in the air - tomorrow,

six or even it running along the coast. Tomorrow, there will be two

weather systems. All we will be left with is the cloud and drizzly

rain. It could pop up just about everywhere, but I don't think it

will be the feature of the weather. That will be wall-to-wall cloud

cover. It is actually very quiet at their however, the wind is going

back round to the south-west, dragging in slightly milder air.

Temperatures, without any sunshine, are actually quite good. 12 or 13

degrees. If you got a few hours of sunshine you would get more, but

you will not get it. The weekend, high pressure builds, so it is a