24/04/2012 North West Tonight

Good evening. Welcome to North West Tonight with Roger Johnson...

And Ranvir Singh. Our top story... Unlawfully killed. A coroner rules

on the deaths of these women in Southport. Their suspected attacker

hanged himself. The inquest heard how Barry Morrow

invented a bizarre story about a Russian spy in an attempt to escape

justice. Left for dead in an alleyway. The

alarming rise in animal cruelty cases in the region.

Find out why this plane could mean an extra 500,000 passengers a year

for Manchester Airport. Ramblers on the rampage. 80 years

on from the Kinder Scout mass trespass, which helped open-up the

countryside to walkers. And made in Manchester - training

with the British women's waterpolo The man police believe killed two

women at a house in Southport invented a bizzarre story about a

Russian spy in an attempt to escape justice. An inquest today was told

54-year-old Angela Holgate and her mother Alice Huyton, who was 75,

were found dead at Mrs Holgate's home in December last year.

When her lodger, Barry Morrow, was arrested for murder, he claimed to

have been taken hostage by the spy. Morrow was later found hanged in

his cell. Stuart Flinders has more. Exactly what happened at this house

in Southport remains a mystery. But in December, two bodies were found

together in a bed here. Angela Holgate and her mother Alice Huyton

had been murdered. Mrs Holgate lived here with her

lodger, Barry Morrow. He'd also been her lover. When she

disappeared, Morrow told her family she was ill. Her mother, Alice

Huyton went to investigate and was never seen alive again. Morrow

drove Mrs Holgate's car to France and was arrested on his return to

Dover. Alice and Angela were both very special in our lives. They

brought much happiness to us and many others who knew them. It is

still difficult for us to come to terms with these senseless killings,

knowing we will never see them again. It still hurts. Both their

lives were needlessly cut short. Morrow claimed Mrs Holgate hanged

herself here. The coroner said that wasn't feasible.

Barry Morrow told the police say strange story about a man called Mr

Bryan, who had such links to the Russian secret intelligence

services. Brian held him hostage here, he claimed, for days on end,

before forcing him to take a package to Spain. The police say he

does exist but the rest of the story is nonsense.

A police inspector told the inquest into the deaths this afternoon both

women had been strangled. I just hope that today's verdict of

unlawful killing bring some closer to some really devastating event

for the family. -- sum closer to what has been a really devastating

event. Is there any reason why a Barry Morrow went through with this

killing? It is a day for the family and I will not comment on evidence.

The women's families have been denied the chance to find out why

this happened. Morrow was found hanged in his cell before he could

be brought to trial. It's an age old problem, but one

which appears to be getting worse. Animal cruelty. The RSPCA has today

released figures which show a sharp rise in the number of people

convicted of cruelty and neglect. Indeed, the North West is one of

the worst areas in the country. The animal victims include Hope.

She was dumped in an alleyway in Accrington on Christmas Day and was

so thin that vets didn't think she'd survive. Naomi Cornwell is at

Manchester Dogs' Home now and can tell us more.

There are around 300 animals here, all looking for a new home. Most of

them are trying to get their voices on the television! We can show you

some of the dogs at the moment, but I'm not going because they're all

rather excited to be on television. These dogs have not been neglected

or treated cruelly, but many that come here have been. Like many of

those RSPCA centres around the North West, Manchester dogs home is

one of many centres that have seen a rise in those cases over the last

year. Happy and healthy, with a new owner.

She's been named Hope. It was Christmas Day just past when I got

a call about 10am to say that she had been dumped in an alleyway in

Accrington. When I got there, she was then they collapsed, extremely

initiated state. It really was touch and go as to whether she was

going to survive. It is one of the worst of I have ever seen that is

still alive. Fortunately, she made it through.

The people who dumped Hope have never been traced. But the total

number of people being caught abusing animals has increased.

The number of people convicted for cruelty and neglect to animals rose

by nearly a quarter in England and Wales last year. And here in the

North West, there were 157 successful prosecutions.

I think the financial climate probably has something to do with

that. People are taking on animals when the temperament is not

suitable to what they want - whether the dog is too aggressive

or not aggressive enough, in many cases. The animals are then dumped.

Especially if they develop the illness.

Hope now lives with Gareth and seems to be enjoying every minute

of her new life. She is brilliant. Quite, good with

her food, good with the family - what more can you ask for? She

likes having her belly robbed quite a lot, don't you?

Be a very happy and lucky ending to that story! DC Graham is the centre

manager here, and you can see she is hard at work. This dog is

convalescing with a broken pelvis at the moment - not a result of

neglect and cruelty. But she has been keeping you busy. Just tell us

- you to have seen a rise in these cases over the last year. Yes. We

have seen a lot of dogs coming in under a weight or with a lot of

ongoing medical problems. With a lot of stray dogs, the owners

cannot save or what is wrong with them. The RSPCA has come up with

these figures, quantified the rise in prosecutions and convictions,

and you actually refer cases to them, don't you? Were will refer

cases to them. If we have concerns over owners, we will put them on to

the RSPCA. A couple of years ago, we were doing two three a year.

Since Christmas, it has been almost one a month. Cannot be put down to

the state of the economy? I don't know. I think there are many

factors. The people want to hold on to their pets as much as they can

have. Many find it difficult letting go. That is possibly wear a

lot of the low grade neglect could be coming in. One problem is when

the animal becomes sick and people realise the cost of their spells.

That is the same in this case, isn't it? Her owners brought her

him voluntarily. She came to us as a stray, but we reunited with the

owner. She had cost issues and could not cope. We have offered to

take her on. Then she will be returned to the owner when she can

afford it. What message will you have for people, given that these

cases arising? People need to reach out for help before it is too late.

There is not any one message. Pets are very valuable to humans, but

reaching for help before it gets to me it would be the most important

thing. Thank you. A couple of happy

stories that there. But the message we can all learn from this is how

expensive it can be to have a Pep. Astonishing number of dogs there.

A post mortem examination has revealed a two-year-old boy, who

died in Bolton, suffered severe injuries to his abdomen. Rio

Smedley was rushed to hospital on Sunday, after claims he'd had a

heart attack. A 22-year-old man is being questioned, on suspicion of

murder. A man has been arrested in

Blackpool because of a merger in Northern Ireland over 40 years ago.

The questions over killing a 20 its old Catholic in 1973 in Belfast.

Women from North Lancashire and South Cumbria will no longer have

to travel to Lancaster for breast cancer clinics. A �250,000 centre

has opened at the Furness General, and is already providing routine

screenings. It'll start symptomatic services next month.

It has emerged that tickets for the crucial Manchester derby next week

are on sale on the internet at some rather high prices. One website is

apparently offering a pair for �2,600 - that's �1,300 each!

It might be cheaper just to nip down to the pub and watch it on the

television. The candidates hoping to become the

first elected Mayor of Salford have been setting out their plans for

the city. The election will take place on May the 3rd. We'll be

hearing from all of the candidates over the next few days. Here are

the first two. I was very honoured about four

years ago to you check out the council. I was able to see Howard

ran and saw what their problems worse. I'd joined the Green Party.

It is a modern party and there are some great ideas there. Some ideas

could help and work with Salford and generals.

This is a chance for everybody in Salford to have a fresh start. At

the moment, be have been dominated by 40 years by Labour. This year,

we can change things around and have a woman ruling the city.

The name captions did not come up there. The first voice was Joe

O'Neill from the Green Party. The second girl was Karen could we go

from the Conservative Party. There's a full list of candidates

standing for the Mayor of Salford on our website,

www.bbc.co.uk/manchester. One of the world's most luxurious

aircraft has arrived at Manchester airport for the first time. The

Boeing 7872 minor is designed to use less fuel, which means it can

go further without making its stock. It looks like any other plane, but

it is quite special. It is the way it is made. It is hoped it could

bring an extra 500,000 passengers to Manchester Airport every year.

In some ways, playmaking is a simple science. You need a unique

selling point, something that makes you stand out from your rivals.

Impressed the crowd. Often, it is about speed your size. But not this

time. What sets this playing a part is what she has made of. Not of

metal, but of a mixture of carbon- fibre and plastic. It is normally

used to make Formula 1 racing cars. It means she is far lighter and

therefore uses 20% less fuel. That means she can fly further without

stopping. Long-haul trips will bring in 500,000 more passengers to

Manchester Airport every year. They can travel to Iraq from

Manchester to the likes of Cape Town, Hong Kong, Bangkok, all

within 10 hours. Instead of 22 yards or more for travelling to

London. Financially, that means more passengers are travelling in

from Manchester rather than Heathrow.

Inside the plane, they have made a bit of effort, too. This is the

latest in a long haul luxuries. More space, bigger windows,

controllable lighting, all to reduce jet-lag and help you sleep

better. We are not designed to sleep

upright. Ideally, we should all be horizontal. But the majority of us

cannot do that when we fly. Every little thing that you can do will

be helpful. Here to have a look around his Jim

Hawkins, a former flight engineer. The dream liner is so very

different from the claims he used to five.

It is unbelievable. Would you like to fly this claim?

I only wish I could. Today was just a chance to display

her at her best. Passengers will be You can see the attraction. I am

just back from holiday and I could hardly move on the plane.

It will still be quite noisy if you live on the flight path.

Still to come on North West Tonight:

Going down to the wire. Bolton battle a growing injury list as the

fight for Premier League survival heads to Villa Park.

And it is not just the Queen in diamond celebration mode. The

husbands and wives celebrating 60 years together in this special year.

There is no secret. You just get to know each other very well.

Football now and we really are getting to the business end of the

season. The fight for survival in the Premier League affects three of

our North West Clubs. Just four points separate Wigan, Blackburn

and Bolton at the bottom of the table. Bolton have two games in

hand. So it is crucial for them they get a result at struggling

Aston Villa tonight. A short time ago, we put it to the BBC's Ian

Winter who is at Villa Park that it is a massive game for both clubs.

It is a massive game. Both sets of supporters, I am sure, very anxious.

Bolton have five games left to play themselves to get themselves out of

the bottom three. There are six points behind Aston fell off. On

Saturday, both teams picked up a point while Aston Villa were

drawing 00 against Sunderland, there was another draw against

Swansea. Bolton have a couple of games in

hand. Yes, one game in hand against Aston

Villa. Bolton supporters will be hoping to win tonight. Wigan

Athletic and Blackburn Rovers fans will be hoping that Aston Villa can

help them. The weather tonight is foul.

Try to get some dry spells. The Olympic Football tournament

fixtures have been announced. Old Trafford will play host to many of

the matches. Great Britain will play Senegal at the stadium on 26

July. The men's quarter and semi finals will also be played here as

well as the women's semi final. Organisers of this years open golf

at Royal Lytham St Annes say they expect more than 180,000 people to

attend. Ticket sales have been strong despite the event being held

just a week before the start of the Olympics. And this time around

mobile phones will be allowed on the course.

In 2006, we had a bad experience with fans using mobile phones as

cameras and distracting players. Mobile-phones will be limited to

inside the tent. I read something saying that people

are now so attached to their phones that it seemed outdated that they

had to be left at the gate. With just 94 days until the

Olympics, you may be getting ready to cheer Team GB. But when it comes

to women's water polo, you may as well be cheering on Team North West.

Three quarters of the squad play for local clubs and all of them

train at Manchester's Aquatics Centre. So ahead of the London

games, we sent our reporter to find out what you need to know about

water polo. One of the most physically

demanding sport in the world. There is nothing ladylike about water

polo. People try to pull your costume so you get scratches

everywhere. There are seven people on each team. The game is divided

into seven minute quarters. The aim is to score as many goals as you

can. All that whilst keeping your head above water. That in itself is

a skill. This is called the egg beater. It is the basic movement.

You use it to stay afloat and get higher in the water. Impressive,

isn't it? And there is even more reason to root for this part of

team GB. 15 of the 19 strong squad are from clubs in this region. So

it is more like Team North West. am personally really proud of the

north-west and we have something to show for our sporting talent that

we haven't the region. It is nice to represent them for Team GB.

coach is Hungarian. Apparently water polo is huge there. He is

aiming high. Everybody wants to score goals. And with little to

separate the top team, who knows? An Olympic medal could be on its

way to Manchester. Hopefully there are still some

tickets left. I was never good enough to play that. Some of the

things that happen in the men's game under the water would bring

tears to your eyes. I am pitch. -- ouch.

We take rambling in the great outdoors for granted today, but

back in 1932 you could easily find yourself on the wrong side of the

law for it. It was 80 years ago today that more than 400 walkers

trespassed onto private land on Kinder Scout in the Peak District.

It has led to the opening up of the countryside for future generations.

Our Environment Correspondent reports.

Listening today, this 96-year-old man. He was 16 when he joined 400

ramblers who walked to Kinder Scout 80 years ago. As they left the path,

they were confronted by the Duke of Devonshire's gamekeepers. People

who are walking up there now should remember that all of this was done

at that meeting on Kinder Scout. To give them the right to walk

whenever they wanted to. Five of the Ramblers were arrested and

jailed for unlawful assembly. Among them, any Wrotham. -- Ben. He was

not egotistical. He was part of our movement. This iconic event we are

celebrating today was part of that movement. The arrests caused a huge

amount of anger. Several weeks later, 10,000 ramblers gathered to

voice their opposition to what had happened. It was a turning point

for access to the countryside. It led to the creation of the National

Parks and more recently the right to roam legislation. It was also a

pivotal moment in what was seen by many as an end to discrimination by

class. Everyone is united by a desire to be free and exercise

their freedom on the hills. It is like folk music. You don't get many

right wing folksongs because it is the music of the people. Alongside

the event today, there are organised walks all week and a

festival across the Peak District. Beautiful. Many a childhood spent

there. Lot of people get lost there. I went with the Scout as a teenager.

Great fun. It is a rather special Royal year.

And students at the University of Central Lancashire have set

themselves a rather special challenge. They are organising a

series of 60 community events to celebrate the Queen's Diamond

Jubilee. Today was one of those events, bringing together couples

who were celebrating 60 years of marriage. Our reporter went along

to the Burnley campus to see what happened.

When these couples vowed to stay together, they meant it. They will

celebrate their diamond wedding anniversaries today. This couple

met at a local dance. You have to trust each other. Don't have any

secrets. This couple met as teenagers. They got married in the

year that Elizabeth it became our monarch, but their trays of date

had nothing to do with royal events. You wanted to get married in March

for tax reasons, not April. It has changed now. We got some things for

free. Did you ever think you would celebrate 60 years? Never. Students

brought together a dozen couples celebrating diamond anniversary is.

We have 16 volunteer projects to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee.

was a chance for generations to swap notes about love, marriage and

life. What is the secret? I don't think there is a secret. Does get

to know each other. We are sometimes told that marriage is an

outdated institution, but the students here have seen what can be

achieved. Has it inspired them to get married for the long-haul? Will

you still be married for 60 years. Hopefully. The students have

certainly been learning from the experts.

I love the realism of that. They I love the realism of that. They

can get a tax return. I have to admit I was getting a bit

bored of saying sunshine and showers. We have had sunshine and

showery weather for 10 days. We need a water in the reservoir has

and it is all going to change tomorrow. There is an area of low

pressure behind me. It makes its way it over us tomorrow. Wet and

windy. That will linger on Thursday to bring us light and patchy rain.

It will leave behind some cloud for Sunday. This evening is not looking

too bad. We will see the clouds melting away and the showers easing

away this evening. We start off with some clear skies. I think this

will allow the temperatures to fall away. It should be mostly dry

overnight. Maybe some spit and spot of rain over the Isle of Man. The

easterly wind will pick up towards dawn. Temperatures should hold up

well above freezing. They will be between four degrees and seven

degrees. Four tomorrow, a lot of rain in places. The winds will be

the pecker up. We hopefully start of mostly dry tomorrow. Cloudy in

the south with the best of the sunshine in the north. The win back

a really strong. By late afternoon it should clear away for the south

of the region leaving us with dry conditions. Generally quite

persistent rain and breezy. Highs of ten degrees expected tomorrow.

If you factor in the wind, it will feel much colder than that. The

rain will hang around on Thursday and we are likely to see some

funder, possibly some hail. By Friday, hopefully less rain around

and probably slightly cooler also. That summary out for it was just a

That summary out for it was just a ruse!

A reminder about the weekend's sea odyssey event in Liverpool.

Liverpool's Titanic Girl, a documentary about the giant weekend,

was due to be shown tomorrow night, but in a change of schedule the

programme has been moved to next Monday, 30th April, at 8:30om. --pm.