:00:03. > :00:06.Good evening. Welcome to North West Tonight, with Annabel Tiffin. And
:00:06. > :00:09.Roger Johnson. Our top story: Jailed - the man who left his
:00:09. > :00:12.father's dead body in the living room for months and carried on
:00:12. > :00:15.claiming his benefits. We'll be live outside the house where it
:00:15. > :00:18.happened in Preston. Also tonight:
:00:18. > :00:24.The couple planning for a wedding, thanks to breakthrough medication
:00:24. > :00:29.developed in the North West. wanted to get out of bed, but I
:00:29. > :00:39.wasn't allowed. But now my body is coming back to normal. I am feeling
:00:39. > :00:40.
:00:40. > :00:50.stronger again. On the day that Bolton and Stockport missed out in
:00:50. > :00:51.
:00:51. > :00:54.the race to become cities, I have come to Preston, which became a
:00:54. > :00:57.city ten years ago, to find out if it has made any difference.
:00:57. > :01:00.A tale of Viking passion and knowledge - the Merseyside
:01:00. > :01:02.scientist being knighted by Norway. And setting the benchmark - Grange-
:01:02. > :01:09.over-Sands decides it is time to slow down the spread of
:01:09. > :01:13.commemorative seating. For almost five months, Christopher
:01:13. > :01:16.Blackburn lived with a ghastly secret. He was sharing his
:01:16. > :01:19.Lancashire home with the body of his dead father. He carried on
:01:19. > :01:24.claiming the dead man's benefits and told family and friends his dad
:01:24. > :01:29.was fine. He even told his 10-year- old daughter that her grandad was
:01:29. > :01:32.just sleeping. Tonight, Blackburn is beginning a three year jail term
:01:32. > :01:35.for concealing a death and benefit fraud. Our chief reporter Dave
:01:35. > :01:45.Guest is at the house where it all happened. Looks like a pretty
:01:45. > :01:48.
:01:48. > :01:53.ordinary street? That's right, as you say, it is a quiet suburb of
:01:53. > :01:56.Preston. The house behind me is an unremarkable terraced house. If you
:01:56. > :02:00.go through the door today, there is nothing there to suggest what
:02:00. > :02:06.happened, because now there are new residents there who have nothing to
:02:06. > :02:11.do with the case. In November 2010, Christopher Blackburn lived in the
:02:12. > :02:15.house with his father. In November, Mr Blackburn senior died of natural
:02:15. > :02:19.causes, but Christopher did not tell anyone, but carried on living
:02:19. > :02:22.in the house upstairs while the body lay downstairs for up to five
:02:22. > :02:32.months. He also carried on claiming his late father's benefits from the
:02:32. > :02:35.local post office. Did anyone suspect anything? Well, one of the
:02:35. > :02:39.people who raised the alarm initially was Christopher
:02:39. > :02:43.Blackburn's ten-year-old daughter. He was estranged from the girl's
:02:43. > :02:47.mother, but she was not allowed access visits, and he took her into
:02:47. > :02:51.the house on a number of occasions. He said to a number of people,
:02:51. > :02:55.grandad's dead. Christopher past that off by saying, grandad is just
:02:56. > :02:59.a slip. Eventually, neighbours noticed the stench, called the
:02:59. > :03:04.police and then the truth unfolded. The case has touched everyone
:03:04. > :03:08.involved, be it police officers or neighbours. We had not seen him for
:03:08. > :03:12.a while. I had seen his son, Christopher. Every time I asked, he
:03:12. > :03:15.said he was fine. He is a very bizarre individual, and the
:03:15. > :03:17.circumstances of this investigation have been unusual. You called the
:03:17. > :03:21.police. Why? Because my girlfriend smelled something, and I was just
:03:22. > :03:27.talking with her, and then I alerted the police immediately. It
:03:27. > :03:30.just went from there. I'm sickened. I would hate to think that my son
:03:30. > :03:38.was living at home and left me dead, and you're still living in the
:03:38. > :03:42.house. The house was extremely smelly. It is a scene that I don't
:03:42. > :03:45.think many officers would want to face throughout their service.
:03:45. > :03:51.yet he allowed his young daughter to go several times into that
:03:51. > :03:57.house? He did allow his daughter to go in. It's quite likely that his
:03:57. > :04:06.daughter has seen her grandfather. I wouldn't know what to say to him,
:04:06. > :04:09.like slap him or what. I'm so angry, like everyone else round here.
:04:10. > :04:14.So three years in jail for Christopher Blackburn. What did the
:04:14. > :04:18.judge say to him? He said his crimes were abhorrent and callous.
:04:18. > :04:19.He said Blackburn had shown no shred of remorse for what he had
:04:20. > :04:28.done. Just two weeks ago, Charlie Jones,
:04:28. > :04:30.who has skin cancer, was given hours to live. He'd just had
:04:31. > :04:33.emergency surgery on tumours that had spread to his kidneys. But
:04:33. > :04:35.doctors at The Christie in Manchester decided to treat him
:04:36. > :04:43.with a revolutionary new drug tested there and now, Charlie's
:04:43. > :04:47.been told he could live for months longer.
:04:47. > :04:52.Feeling stronger by the day, and able to plan optimistically for the
:04:52. > :04:55.future. 24-year-old Charlie is terminally ill with advanced
:04:55. > :05:02.melanoma, but a new treatment has given him an unexpected new lease
:05:02. > :05:06.of life. I was ill on the Thursday night, but by Sunday, I wanted to
:05:06. > :05:10.get out of bed, but I was not allowed. But I felt like my body
:05:10. > :05:14.had come back to normal. That came just days after Charlie was on the
:05:14. > :05:19.brink of death following surgery, his lowest point since originally
:05:19. > :05:24.being diagnosed two years ago. the Friday, she told me, you only
:05:24. > :05:29.have a few hours to live. How did you feel? I was shocked. I had
:05:29. > :05:39.thought I would be fine. This treatment now offers some hope to
:05:39. > :05:42.
:05:42. > :05:45.the dozens of melanoma patients across the north-west. Zelboraf
:05:45. > :05:55.targets a gene mutation found in 50% of sufferers like Charlie, and
:05:55. > :05:59.can extend life expectancy by two years.
:06:00. > :06:03.Figures suggest 1235 people are diagnosed with malignant melanoma
:06:03. > :06:09.every year across the north-west. Rates have almost trebled in the
:06:09. > :06:13.past 20 years, and it is the most common cancer in 15-34-year-olds.
:06:13. > :06:17.It is the second big step forward in the treatment of advanced
:06:17. > :06:21.melanoma in the last year. Prior to that, we had gone 20 years without
:06:21. > :06:27.any development. Next up for Charlie is a return to running and
:06:27. > :06:30.playing golf. And of course, organising a wedding. A couple of
:06:30. > :06:40.weeks ago, I could have lost him and we would never have been able
:06:40. > :06:40.
:06:40. > :06:43.to do it. So now, you just have to do the right thing, don't you?
:06:43. > :06:46.We wish them the best. That is great news.
:06:46. > :06:53.The North West has seen the biggest increase in unemployment in the UK
:06:53. > :06:55.over the last three months. Figures from the Office for National
:06:56. > :06:59.Statistics show the unemployment rate rose by 16,000 between
:06:59. > :07:01.November and January. It takes the total out of work in the region to
:07:01. > :07:04.317,000. The health trust that runs Furness
:07:04. > :07:10.General Hospital has been ordered to apologise to the father of
:07:10. > :07:13.Joshua Titcombe over an email sent about his case. The baby boy died
:07:13. > :07:16.at just nine days old in 2008. The health ombudsman found the
:07:16. > :07:20.offensive email by midwives at Barrow's maternity unit caused
:07:21. > :07:24.unnecessary and unjustifiable distress. A police investigation
:07:24. > :07:27.into the deaths of a number of babies and mothers at the hospital
:07:27. > :07:29.is continuing. Lancashire Police has been fined
:07:29. > :07:35.�70,000 after papers containing sensitive information about a 15-
:07:35. > :07:38.year-old girl were found on a street in Blackpool. It's the first
:07:38. > :07:41.time the Information Commissioner's Office has served a penalty on a
:07:41. > :07:46.police force. Lancashire Police says it will learn lessons from the
:07:46. > :07:53.event. A serving soldier has been charged
:07:53. > :07:56.with the murder of his girlfriend. Leanne McNuff was found by police
:07:56. > :08:00.at her home in Droylsden on Sunday night with multiple stab wounds and
:08:00. > :08:02.died a short time later. Ian Lowe, who is 25, and from the First
:08:02. > :08:04.Battallion of the Duke of Lancaster's Regiment, is due to
:08:04. > :08:08.appear before magistrates tomorrow. They've been fighting for justice
:08:08. > :08:12.for half a century. But war veterans involved in British
:08:12. > :08:20.nuclear weapons tests in the 1950s lost their bid to claim for damages
:08:20. > :08:23.today. They claim exposure to radiation has led to the
:08:23. > :08:29.development of cancers. In a moment, we'll be talking to Arthur Hart,
:08:29. > :08:32.one of the region's veterans, but first this report.
:08:32. > :08:38.Atomic testing in the Pacific during the 1950s exposed thousands
:08:38. > :08:40.of servicemen to radiation. It was only later that veterans began to
:08:40. > :08:45.link the radiation fallout with illnesses including cancer,
:08:45. > :08:47.disability and eventual death. Their claim for compensation has
:08:47. > :08:53.been fought by the Ministry of Defence, which has denied putting
:08:53. > :08:55.servicemen at risk. Today in the Supreme Court, Britain's highest,
:08:55. > :09:01.judges ruled the majority of the 1,000 claims couldn't proceed
:09:01. > :09:05.because the veterans lacked evidence. They also said many of
:09:05. > :09:07.the claims had been made too late. It is a tragedy that this
:09:07. > :09:10.Government continues to expend resources on fighting the veterans,
:09:10. > :09:18.rather than co-operating with them, testing them, establishing the
:09:18. > :09:21.truth and compensating them. MOD said it recognises the debt of
:09:21. > :09:30.gratitude to the servicemen, but said the court had ruled the claims
:09:30. > :09:33.were barred because of the time gap in bringing them. It said today
:09:33. > :09:36.ends the false hope for the veterans that the claims had a
:09:36. > :09:42.chance of success. We're joined now by Arthur Hart,
:09:43. > :09:47.who was an 18-year-old sailor during the tests. He suffered
:09:47. > :09:57.several tumours, which he claims are linked to his experience. What
:09:57. > :09:57.
:09:57. > :10:02.exactly did you do during the tests in the 1950s? It was National
:10:02. > :10:07.Service, and I was in the Royal Navy. I was in the engineering
:10:07. > :10:12.department. My function during the atomic tests was to stay on the
:10:12. > :10:21.upper deck to screen people who were going into the boiler room in
:10:21. > :10:26.case there was any contamination of radioactive fall-out. I was very
:10:26. > :10:32.junior, just an 18-year-old boy. But nevertheless, I was on the ship
:10:32. > :10:39.for two tests, and sailed through I amazing -- ionising radiation.
:10:39. > :10:43.you have any idea that it might be dangerous? At 18, being a northern
:10:43. > :10:48.lad, it was the high tough excitement to go to Australia. The
:10:48. > :10:57.excitement of that was with you. We were not told by anybody about any
:10:57. > :11:02.danger. In fact, it was done in a cavalier fashion. Yes, there will
:11:02. > :11:09.be washing down of the deck by the ocean. It was done in a very
:11:09. > :11:16.relaxed, lackadaisical way. We were not aware of any specific dangers.
:11:16. > :11:26.It was only later, and perhaps I am jumping the gun here, that I began
:11:26. > :11:27.
:11:27. > :11:32.to develop this horrible condition. As 75, it has not made much
:11:32. > :11:36.difference, but if I was to show my forearm, my whole body is riddled.
:11:36. > :11:44.Abdomen, legs, thighs for us but how has it made day-to-day life for
:11:44. > :11:47.you? I used to wear shirts all the time and keep my sleeves rolled
:11:47. > :11:53.down because of people's feelings. At 75, it has not made much
:11:53. > :11:57.difference. But it was always in your mind that this might be the
:11:57. > :12:04.causation. You have lost this right to claim, but other countries have
:12:04. > :12:10.paid out to their veterans. Do you feel betrayed about that? Totally.
:12:10. > :12:18.The Governments, to use the plural, and the MoD, have been cavalier. An
:12:18. > :12:22.enormous wrong has been done. We were not volunteers. We were taken
:12:22. > :12:29.out of the army and the RAF, and used it totally as guinea-pigs
:12:29. > :12:35.without any sort of voluntary aspect. To treat them in this
:12:35. > :12:43.offhand fashion, I think is scurrilous. It goes with the
:12:43. > :12:48.territory when you think of the First World War home fit for heroes
:12:48. > :12:53.argument. I hear that the lads in Helmand Province have to buy a kit
:12:53. > :12:56.to keep themselves fit. It is shameful.
:12:56. > :12:59.Bolton and Stockport have heard today they've failed in their bids
:12:59. > :13:05.to gain city status.They were competing against more than 20
:13:05. > :13:08.towns across the country. But is it really such a blow? Ten years ago,
:13:08. > :13:11.Preston became a city amid high hopes of new investment and major
:13:11. > :13:15.redevelopment. Stuart Flinders has been finding out if the change of
:13:15. > :13:25.status has made any difference. "We're a city", proclaimed the
:13:25. > :13:25.
:13:25. > :13:30.local paper. It seemed to promise a new start. Preston had plenty to
:13:30. > :13:33.build on - a mention in the Domesday Book, a big role in the
:13:33. > :13:38.industrial revolution and fine buildings that speak of a proud
:13:38. > :13:47.past. But winning city status was meant to push Preston on to a
:13:47. > :13:49.confident future. 500 homes, a cinema... Had the �700 million
:13:49. > :13:52.Tithebarn shopping scheme gone ahead, it would have been easier to
:13:52. > :13:55.claim city status had been a real advantage. But the scheme collapsed
:13:55. > :14:01.last autumn, leaving city leaders searching for a less ambitious
:14:01. > :14:07.alternative. Has being a city really made a difference to
:14:07. > :14:11.Preston? I believe it has, because as far as the world of business is
:14:11. > :14:16.concerned, it is important that they are located in a city. We are
:14:16. > :14:20.not on the scale of Manchester and Liverpool, obviously, but we are a
:14:20. > :14:23.European city that is open for business. It's hard to avoid signs
:14:23. > :14:26.of a lack of investment, but then Preston's not alone in feeling the
:14:26. > :14:33.pinch. And it has a real success story. The university's doubled its
:14:33. > :14:37.student intake in the past decade. When people choose a university,
:14:37. > :14:41.they also choose an environment. So the fact that Preston got city
:14:41. > :14:45.status has definitely helped us. But do they care if it is a city or
:14:45. > :14:49.a town, when you get the same environment? I think the term city
:14:49. > :14:51.has a meaning, certainly if you are coming from outside the UK.
:14:51. > :14:57.university's public relations students are divided about the
:14:57. > :15:02.value of city status. City just sound more exciting. You think
:15:02. > :15:06.there will be more going on, more shops available, more things to do.
:15:06. > :15:10.I did not choose this university based on it being a city. I have
:15:10. > :15:13.been to towns that are not cities and I did not notice any difference.
:15:13. > :15:19.The council hopes to make a major announcement about investment in
:15:19. > :15:21.the city later this year. Still to come on North West
:15:21. > :15:24.Tonight: Stevie wonder - Gerrard's hat-trick
:15:24. > :15:34.wins the derby for Liverpool, to spoil David Moyes' ten-year Everton
:15:34. > :15:35.
:15:35. > :15:37.anniversary. And our young school reporters are
:15:37. > :15:40.getting to the bottom of a new sport.
:15:40. > :15:44.Handball is one of the fastest growing sports in the UK. We'll
:15:44. > :15:49.find out why and if Team GB has a chance of winning a medal at the
:15:49. > :15:52.2012 Olympics. At New Year and on the Queen's
:15:52. > :15:55.official birthday, we often bring you news of people from the north
:15:55. > :16:00.west who've been awarded an honour, a knighthood or being made a Dame,
:16:00. > :16:09.an OBE or MBE. Tonight, though, we have news of a different kind of
:16:09. > :16:13.award. A scientist from Merseyside has been made a Knight of Norway by
:16:13. > :16:16.King Harald V. And it's all to do with a grand passion for Vikings
:16:16. > :16:21.which began at a very early age. Imagine the Wirral coast in the
:16:21. > :16:31.year 902. A bunch of Vikings get kicked out of Ireland. The English
:16:31. > :16:31.
:16:31. > :16:38.Queen says they can settle here. 1000 years later, a small boy hears
:16:38. > :16:42.that his local football team has a Viking name. Not many people knew
:16:42. > :16:48.about this. It was a heritage that we in the North West did not really
:16:48. > :16:52.know. The Viking place names, like Tranmere, provoked a lifelong
:16:52. > :16:59.fascination for Stephen Harding. When he grew up to be a scientist,
:16:59. > :17:02.I used DNA techniques to prove that Viking genes live on in our old
:17:02. > :17:07.will families to a much greater extent than anybody had previously
:17:07. > :17:10.thought. Today an ancestor of those Norwegian Vikings came to
:17:10. > :17:13.Liverpool's Nordic Church to honour Stephen Harding's work. The King of
:17:13. > :17:20.Norway's made him a Knight of the Norwegian Order of Merit for making
:17:20. > :17:23.the area's Viking heritage much more widely known. I feel a bit
:17:23. > :17:33.embarrassed, because it represents the work of a large number of
:17:33. > :17:39.people. It is fairly unusual. It is an excuse of award in that sense.
:17:39. > :17:42.It goes to foreign nationals that have done a great service. Part of
:17:42. > :17:45.the ceremony was a church service in Norwegian, the knighthood the
:17:45. > :17:55.highest honour the Norwegians can give someone who's not a head of
:17:55. > :18:00.
:18:00. > :18:07.state. Sport now. Another Stephen. I bet
:18:07. > :18:09.David Moyes' milk on his cornflakes tasted a bit sour today. Yes, what
:18:09. > :18:12.a difference a record breaking hat- trick makes. Steven Gerrard wrote
:18:12. > :18:15.his name all over last night's Mersey derby with Liverpool's 3-0
:18:15. > :18:18.win over Everton, ending their three-match losing run in the
:18:18. > :18:21.league. Both sides had one eye on their big FA Cup matches this
:18:21. > :18:28.weekend, but after 90 minutes, Stevie G only had eyes on the match
:18:28. > :18:31.ball. From Steven Gerrard, it was another
:18:31. > :18:37.mother of all performances. He had his second win of the year. Imagine
:18:37. > :18:41.if he had been fit all season. Captain Marvel's superhuman feats
:18:41. > :18:45.last night are already the stuff of legend. He hit the first Derby hat-
:18:45. > :18:50.trick in three years. It was the first Derby hat-trick at Anfield in
:18:50. > :18:54.more than 77 years. Most importantly, it was Liverpool's
:18:54. > :18:59.first three points since January. We had been a bit inconsistent. It
:18:59. > :19:05.was a chance to find that winning streak. There is nothing new you
:19:05. > :19:12.can say about him. He has been fantastic when we needed him.
:19:12. > :19:17.Nothing new? Let's give it a go. is a one-man team. He is there all
:19:17. > :19:24.the way for can be in. For him to be out for so long and comeback
:19:24. > :19:28.proves how good a player he is. Different Class. Best in the world,
:19:28. > :19:33.apart from Messi. At the final whistle, David Moyes was less
:19:33. > :19:43.impressed. I think the goals were our own fold tonight. We have been
:19:43. > :19:44.
:19:44. > :19:49.good defensively recently, but the goals tonight were down to bad play.
:19:49. > :19:52.Gerard will be flying for his last tie against oak. He must have
:19:52. > :19:55.thought or his mother days -- mother stays had been rolled into
:19:55. > :19:58.one. Carlos Tevez could play in Manchester City's next Premier
:19:58. > :20:01.League game. Tevez trained with the City squad this morning. He hasn't
:20:01. > :20:03.played since last September after his dispute with the club. Although
:20:03. > :20:06.the Argentinian striker isn't eligible for tomorrow's Europa
:20:06. > :20:09.League second leg tie against Sporting Lisbon, both his manager
:20:09. > :20:19.and teammates hope he could play a part in next Wednesday's home game
:20:19. > :20:22.
:20:22. > :20:32.against Chelsea. We will see in the next week. It depends on his
:20:32. > :20:32.
:20:32. > :20:36.problem and a lot of things. He is always an asset for every team.
:20:36. > :20:39.The pressure is already growing on Preston's new manager after North
:20:39. > :20:45.End lost 2-1 at Tranmere last night, despite taking the lead after 12
:20:45. > :20:53.minutes. A header put Preston ahead, but Rovers levelled three minutes
:20:53. > :20:57.later. Andy Robinson hit Tranmere's winner. Since Graham Westley became
:20:57. > :21:01.boss, Preston have won and once in 10 games.
:21:01. > :21:03.Now, it's one of the fastest growing team sports in the UK - but
:21:03. > :21:06.how much do you know about handball? The UK Handball
:21:06. > :21:10.headquarters are in Warrington, and there are more clubs in the North
:21:10. > :21:13.West than anywhere in the UK. It is, of course, School Report week here
:21:13. > :21:16.on the BBC, when we hand over the reins to the journalists of the
:21:16. > :21:26.future - so pupils at Cardinal Heenan school in Liverpool decided
:21:26. > :21:29.
:21:29. > :21:32.to find out more. Hello, I am Jamie. And I am Sam.
:21:32. > :21:36.Handball is one of the fastest growing sports in the UK. We will
:21:36. > :21:41.find out why and if Team GB has a chance of winning a medal at the
:21:41. > :21:48.London 2012 Olympics. This is John Jacobson, captain of England
:21:48. > :21:51.handball team. He played in the Olympic Games. He came to our
:21:51. > :21:56.school for a training session. John told us that although handball was
:21:56. > :22:05.becoming more popular in the UK, we were still some way behind other
:22:05. > :22:08.European countries, where some players are full-time professionals.
:22:08. > :22:13.Our team have done extraordinarily well with limited funding to get to
:22:13. > :22:19.a high performance level. Our women's team are fantastic. I hope
:22:19. > :22:23.for high performances from them. Handball is also one of the fastest
:22:23. > :22:28.growing sports in Asia and Africa. We do not have handball goals in
:22:28. > :22:35.our school, so we simple -- improvised with yellow tape on the
:22:35. > :22:41.walls. Here rather rules. No. 1, no barging. Number two, you can't take
:22:41. > :22:47.more than four steps. Too many steps. Number three, no double
:22:47. > :22:52.dribbling. You can't pass the ball, stop, and bounce it again. Although
:22:52. > :22:57.a lot of people have never played handball before, they soon got into
:22:57. > :23:06.the swing of things. It is a bit like football, but you can use your
:23:06. > :23:09.hands. I found it good fun. I was in defence. Did not really do well.
:23:09. > :23:13.The north-west has more handball teams than any other region in the
:23:13. > :23:17.country, and John said Liverpool was where it all began in the UK.
:23:17. > :23:21.When Team GB lines up at the Olympics this summer, plenty of
:23:21. > :23:27.players will represent the North West at all levels, including the
:23:27. > :23:31.men's captain. Somehow, I do not think they will be calling up our
:23:31. > :23:37.goalkeeper any time soon. This is salmon Jamie for BBC News School
:23:37. > :23:40.Report. -- Sam and Jamie. Finally from me, a quick reminder
:23:40. > :23:45.to sign up for the Sport Relief mile. It's a week on Sunday. All
:23:45. > :23:48.the details are at sportrelief.com. You might think it's the perfect
:23:49. > :23:52.way to remember a loved one - a memorial bench in their favourite
:23:52. > :23:55.place. But you might have to think again if that favourite place is
:23:55. > :24:02.the Cumbrian resort of Grange Over Sands. It seems it's full to
:24:02. > :24:05.bursting with commemorative benches. So the town council wants people to
:24:05. > :24:08.think of other ways to remember the dear departed.
:24:08. > :24:18.In life, you can be certain of death, taxes, and never being far
:24:18. > :24:23.
:24:23. > :24:27.from a bench in Grange Over Sands. To a certain degree, they have
:24:27. > :24:30.popped up like daisies. You are right. The trend for memorial
:24:30. > :24:37.benches, it seems, has taken off. The council accepts it's a suitable
:24:37. > :24:42.way to remember a loved one, but the trend needs to be checked.
:24:42. > :24:47.the past four years, the number has doubled, and there are no places to
:24:47. > :24:49.put them. There are half a dozen within 20 walking paces. We want to
:24:49. > :24:54.find more innovative ways that people can remember their loved
:24:54. > :24:59.ones. They are not so jesting anything so dramatic as a cult. It
:24:59. > :25:02.is more a gentle suggestion. A polite request that people consider
:25:02. > :25:10.alternatives. You could buy a memorial shrub, they suggest, or
:25:10. > :25:14.plant a tree instead. But you can't sit on a tree, can you? No! We
:25:14. > :25:18.appreciate why people like the seats, and we will do all we can to
:25:18. > :25:25.help them find somewhere to put a seat. So has the council got a
:25:25. > :25:29.point - or are they one leg short of a sensible seat? The benches are
:25:29. > :25:34.fine. Visitors and residents love them. You go to a lot of places
:25:34. > :25:37.where there are not many chairs. I can't see any problem here. There
:25:37. > :25:47.are more important things to worry about than how many benches we have
:25:47. > :25:49.
:25:49. > :25:53.got! The council just wants other options considered.
:25:53. > :26:02.A surprise confession now. I am a bit of a bench watch it! I love
:26:02. > :26:07.Anyway, now the weather if. You saw the pictures there from Grange-
:26:07. > :26:12.over-Sands. The skies were overcast. This quiet spell will eventually
:26:12. > :26:16.come to an end as we head through the tail-end of Friday. A week
:26:16. > :26:21.weatherfront will come through this weekend. There will be wet weather
:26:21. > :26:26.at times. But things will not change over the next 24 hours. It
:26:26. > :26:31.is more of the same. Huge amount of cloud cover again. If you have been
:26:31. > :26:35.stuck under that, you temperatures will have been eight or nine
:26:35. > :26:39.degrees. The cloud did try to break this afternoon, but not
:26:39. > :26:47.successfully everywhere. If you have a break now, you might keep it
:26:47. > :26:51.overnight. Temperatures could be as low as two overnight tonight. But
:26:51. > :26:55.under the cloud, you are talking about six or seven degrees. This
:26:55. > :27:00.thing tomorrow morning, it will continue to be grey and overcast
:27:00. > :27:07.and again quite chilly first thing. But we are optimistic that through
:27:07. > :27:11.the day, although there may be some drizzle, it should be largely dry.
:27:11. > :27:17.As the day goes on, brighter skies will try and work their way through.
:27:17. > :27:24.I am not promising sunshine tomorrow, so if it does not come
:27:24. > :27:30.off tomorrow, don't be disappointed. It is a mix.