26/04/2012 North West Tonight

Good evening. Welcome to North West Tonight. Our top story: under

attack, an alarming increase in assaults on ambulance crews Proms a

call for better protection. Some now say they want body armour.

Also tonight: farewell to Jack, a town pays tribute to a soldier's

sacrifice. Jack disliked the terms hero and brave. He would say he was

just doing his job. A royal day on the Isle of Man with a little

confusion over who is who. Who is going to be with her? Who is her?

Prince charming. And 40 years since they formed,

It is a bewildering but growing problem, the number of assaults on

ambulance staff in the north-west has gone up by more than half. In

the Fylde area alone, there were five attacks just last weekend. The

attackers who were often drunk damaged ambulance equipment and one

union says it may now be time to consider body armour for paramedics.

They go out to help and end up on the receiving end of nasty

behaviour? They do. It is extraordinary. The problem of

assaults on ambulance staff is one that is getting worse. For the last

year there were at 268 Physical and verbal attacks on paramedics in the

north-west. That is more than 50% up on the previous year. Abbas

bosses say the results are so routine that some crews do not even

report them -- ambulance bosses. is unbelievable that people would

assault staff while they are carrying out their duties. They

should not have to be looking after their -- looking over their

shoulders. We do risk assessments but they should be able to get on

with their job without fear. didn't staff in Blackpool have seen

a shocking number of assaults recently -- ambulance staff. There

were five on the weekend just gone. The ambulance service says it will

take anyone who attacks its workers to court. Last year 68 people who

attacked paramedics were prosecuted and some were sent to prison. Often

the people carrying out the attacks were drunk but not always. Managers

think education is the way to tackle the problem. We need to show

a bit of respect. They are coming to help people. They want to do the

best for the patient. We need to make them understand the

consequences of assaulting the group which could lead to the

number of -- the crew being off work. The ambulance service can

flag addresses where they have had problems before. The Association of

Professional Ambulance Personnel says staff may need protection

might body armour. That is not something that all paramedics would

welcome. In other news, a man has appeared

in court charged with the murder of a two-year-old boy in Bolton. Rio

Smedley died in hospital on Sunday. A postmortem showed he had severe

abdominal injuries. 22-year-old Daniel Rigby has been remanded in

custody. 13 people have been arrested

following a series of police raids across Merseyside targeting gun and

gang crimes. Officers went to 15 properties in Croxteth, Norris

Green and Kirkby. Seven guns as well as drugs have already been

seized as part of an ongoing operation.

An inquest has heard how an instructor died and a schoolboy had

to be resuscitated after a canoeing accident near Ullswater. Grant

Kinney was in a canoe with a 14- year-old people when they capsized.

The inquest recorded a verdict of accidental death.

He was a consummate professional soldier who died after just doing

his job in Afghanistan. Those are the words mourners heard today at

the funeral of Corporal Jack Stanley. The 26-year-old was

seriously injured in a bomb blast in February. He went to hospital in

Birmingham but died earlier this month.

In the pouring rain mourners gathered outside the church in a

little Deraa. It was the rain that help some wipe away their tears. As

Corporal Jack Stanley's funeral cortege arrived for the funeral.

There were hundreds of people wanting to pay their respects. Some

wore the colours of his favourite football team, Bolton Wanderers.

The 26-year-old was injured in a bomb blast in February but died two

months later in Birmingham. His family were by his side. His

officer commanding read a statement on their behalf today. It will be

remembered and cherished by those who knew him in our own way and our

own time. Jack disliked the terms hero and brave. He would say he was

just doing my job. The sentiment is echoed by it injured soldiers who

now face a life with disabilities both mental and physical. Before

his death the commander for the Queen's while guards had defied

medical experts to regain consciousness. During the service

he was described as an outstanding soldier and many junior soldiers

aspire to be like him. He also had a cheeky smile and made people

around him laugh. The congregation were also thank for their support.

The military are held in high regard here, not just in

remembrance of those who have died in previous wars but obviously Jack

and others who have made it plain that the sacrifice still goes on.

private service followed the funeral. His family have asked for

donations to be paid for a charity raising money for injured soldiers.

They will be continuing their own money-raising efforts in a charity

match this weekend. On the Isle of Man it has been

quite a day. The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall have

been there to mark the Queen's Diamond Jubilee. It is the first

time the couple have visited the island together. Allah chief

reporter was there. They knew they were here to welcome

some very important visitors but did they know exactly who those

visitors wire? Who is going to be with her? Prince charming. Prince

charming?! Dave Prins certainly proved himself charming with the

children as did his wife -- the Prince has certainly proved himself.

They were visiting as part of the Diamond Jubilee tour. Members of

the Royal Family will be travelling to all of the Commonwealth realms,

and British overseas territories during the jubilee year. We shook

his hand. We will not be able to see him again. I am never going to

wash my hand! Their first stop was the island's National Sports Centre.

This place has produced some world- class cyclists. It is great that

they are coming to see the good work being done here. It is a great

honour the fact that they are coming to the small island and

coming to a lot of places. Those places included visiting this crowd

despite the worsening weather. The couple were particularly taken by

this sheet. He thought it was quite nice. -- this sheep. We are going

to send him some. This is reversed visited the island of the Duchess.

Prince Charles has not been here since 2000. It will be a day to

remember far everyone and not just because of the weather.

They could not have had a worse day for it!

It is always a thrill. When we had her Majesty here in the building,

everybody was with their nose up against the window.

The people of Salford will be voting in the city's first ever

election far a mayor a week today. Salford and Liverpool will become

the first cities in the north-west to have elected leaders. Who should

get the job? BBC Radio Manchester is holding a debate this evening.

Thank you. This is the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra's studio and

it promises to be quite a show. We have got a number of the voters who

will be making a decision in this election as well as nine of the 10

candidates. Labour has decided not to turn up because they do not want

to share a platform with the British National Party. For the

first time, Salford gets the chance to vote for its leader of the

council, its new city mayor. I have been looking at the ways in which

that person could change the image of the city. A city's name projects

and identity. For many, Salford still means terraced housing,

poverty and crime. One old church has seen the city around it changed.

When I first moved here, there were a lot of disadvantaged young people

and a lot of crime. There are still some problems as they are in any

city. But the problems are a lot less. Even fewer problems in this

neighbourhood far from the inner city. A Meyer should be able to

help with initiatives to bring together the community -- a mayor.

I am talking about businesses, the BBC as well as local people.

Looking around Salford Quays and perhaps you can spot the city's

future. One of those instrumental in the regeneration says an elected

mayor is not going to help. What we need in Salford as in many parts of

the North of England is sustained investment to change the reality of

people's lives, changed the skill base, improve housing, improve the

environment. One new figurehead with no new powers and resources is

not going to do that. When riots broke out last year, some felt a

figurehead was exactly what the City needed. Last summer's riots,

it would have given the media, the public, somebody to go to as the

accountable person to talk to and for Salford. 10 people want the

high-profile role. That is 10 different ways to shape the image

of Salford. I am pretty sure that the image of the city is one of

those issues that will come up today. I should say that there is a

full list of candidates who are standing in the election bomb mayor

of Salford on the website. -- in the election for mayor. The debate

on the radio starts at 7pm. It will be a very different kind of

production to what normally comes out of the studio.

Thank you very much. Still to come: when in Rome, drive

like they do in Rochdale. The cars made here with an Italian job in

mind. And an Olympic hopeful drops into

Manchester. How many days is it to go? How many days is it to the

game's? I know it was 100 days... thought you would know off the top

of your head. I am just focusing on my training.

After all the bleak economic news, something brighter to report. Quite

literally. A Lancashire business has won a Queen's Award for Export

after lighting some of the world's most famous modern buildings. Using

state-of-the-art technology designers at ACDC have used special

low energy techniques to bring the structures to live.

-- to bring the structures to live. From the world's tallest tower in

Dubai to Regent Street in London. Modern lighting is much more than

purely functional. The designs are created here. This is the lies that

are in Kew Gardens in London. You have l e d fixtures mounted between

bronze. It brings to the bridge to life in the evening. For today's

architects, lighting is part of the design, creating a mood, a better

place to work or simply an eye- catching statement. This is the

traditional method of making lighting. Gases are ignited within

a glass of two. The future is bright, this time it is LED. Modern

lighting uses the faction of the energy it used to. LED lights go on

for years. The bobbing more creative with lighting,

particularly now as new light sources become available. We have

got energy efficiency and people are more willing to use the light

source and look at different ways you can use it within a space.

Queen's Award for Export is for enterprise within international

trade. The firm has grown by 90% A great achievement. Don't you love

the city by night to? Now, what sort of car to drive? Something

stylish and eye-catching? It is the kind of car you might see at the

Jet Set European resort. But while the athletes gathered in Rome to

compete, the cars rolled off the production line in Rochdale.

Enthusiasts are trying to gather as many Rochdale Olympics as they can

to celebrate the Olympic torch's Forget the Ferrari, put aside the

Porsche. The north-west once had its own brand -- band of sports car,

the Rochdale. It was in a disused cotton mill. In 1960, the company

decided to mark the Rome Olympics with the new model of kit car that

if -- that enthusiasts could assemble at home. It might be a

long way from Italy, but this town was proud of the Rochdale Olympic.

It was so well-engineered. It was just a big lump of plastic, like

formal racing cars are these days. Around 400 had been made by the

time production ended in the 1970s. Now many of those are set to the

unite in their birthplace to mark this year's games. -- reunite.

are going to have some involvement in leading the torch. He is, we

have had cars that nobody has heard of, but hopefully this might bring

it back into the public eye. happens all the time. People come

up and ask you, nice car, it looks like a little Jaguar! Nice

colourful stop what is it? And I go, it is a Rochdale Olympic. He did

Rochdale pass through the town on Saturday 23rd June. -- the Rochdale

will pass through. They are gorgeous little things.

Now, she is the place to go up this year's Olympics. She is just as

likely to appear in the fashion pages as the sports section.

Jessica is one of our great hopes for a medal in three months' time,

but today she met a group of teenage athlete hoping to become

the Olympic stars of feature. Jessica Ennis has this effect on

people, stopping shoppers in their tracks at the Manchester Arndale

this morning. She was there to promote the great City Games, an

event next month which will be her final competition before the

Olympics. How many days is that until the Games? I know it was a

hundred days to go... I thought you would know off the top of your

head! I'm just focusing on my training. Everyone is exciting --

excited about counting down the numbers. For those of you who don't

know much about athletics, Jessica Ennis is a heptathlete. That means

she has to perform well in seven track and field events to win a

medal, and the signs are, she is going to do just that. She is known

beyond athletics. One newspaper offered tips this week on how to

have a stomach like hers. You probably have to follow at a

punishing training regime for six hours a day like her. It was an

inspirational meeting today. She is a very dedicated athlete. She goes

back to the drawing board when things go wrong and trains 10 times

harder. It is not just about Lord Cullen. Just to get suffered an

injury to her for it, forcing had of the Olympics. But thanks to her

determination, she has bounced back and she can't see beyond 2012.

really focusing on this year, but definitely, next it to the bar

championships again which I'm preparing for. It is very hard at

the moment because it is such a big thing. Jessica Ennis will be back

for those Great City Games on May 20th. A bit of football news for

you. Sir Alex Ferguson says Manchester United are in a better

position to win the title than local rivals Manchester City as

both sides prepare for Monday's derby, which is built as a

potential title-decider. United's manager says his side can afford to

draw the game while City must win the match to have a realistic

chance of becoming Premier League Champions. He also told the press

conference that, in terms of trophy - trophies, the battle between

United and City now surpasses the rivalry between United and

Liverpool. If we're going to be contesting for titles, which I

think we will be doing, it will become just as important as the

Liverpool game. Maybe not in terms of the motion, because the

Liverpool United games are emotional, but in terms of

importance, it is. -- in terms of emotion. And some bad news for

Liverpool fans. Charlie Adams - Charlie Adam has been ruled out of

the FA Cup Final at Wembley against Chelsea in nine days' time. He'll

miss the rest of the season with strained knee ligaments. Cricket,

and defending County Champions Lancashire have had a good opening

day against Somerset, with Steven Croft hitting a century. Lancashire

are something big for something small with Croft now on something

large not out. The Red Rose lost their first two matches of the

season and are looking to bounce back at Taunton.

They were the biggest band of their day, Manchester based, all four

members brilliant writers, singers and musicians. Mention 10cc to

people today and they still evoke vivid images and sounds from the

1970s. Do you remember them? They did some great songs. A new 10cc

tour is about to get underway with performances at the Bridgewater

Hall and in Liverpool. Earlier I spoke to original member Graham

Gouldman and asked him whether people were right to call them the

Take That of the 70s. I don't know about Take That, that is very nice

of you to say that! What was it like back in those days? You ruled

the airwaves. I suppose we did. A lot of bands go through periods

when they can do no wrong because they do it right. There was a

wonderful period during the early 70s when it was there for a bus --

when it was the four of us. We were like a gang, a team, it was us

against the world. We were having a great time, we had our own studio.

We all wrote and produced, we all sang, we all played. We were a

self-contained unit. And the idea is that big pop stars go off to LA,

you guys were in Stockport the whole time. I think you can create

dramatic anywhere. What impact of that have, staying in the north-

west to record the biggest hits? think it had a big effect on the

music scene in the north, mainly because of the fact that we had

strawberry studios in Stockport. It was as good or better than any

other studio in the country. are reforming and doing loads of

shows. Yes, you can definitely feel the rebel. -- ripple. You can feel

people going, ah. We will hear more from you later on in the programme.

The special performance will be playing out of the programme with

their performance later. He gets very excited on stage, he says.

Let's take a look at the weather. Guess who is back! Good evening.

I'm back and I haven't bought anything good for you. You weather

does not change through the next three days. In Scotland, it will be

bright, in the south of England, it will be warm. It is going to be

really quite wet. Not as wet as it has been today, it has been about

this area of low pressure. There will be some more rain in now

forecast. Showers through the day- to-day have been belting. The Met

Office is warning that they will continue for a time tonight. We're

not out of the woods yet. The rain was very lively and active today.

We had some thunder and hail as well. We don't have any flood

alerts, but when this rain comes through in the night, they could be

some localised flooding. It will be lighter than it has been.

Temperatures 6-seven degrees for most of us. Things will be better

for the Isle of Man and parts of Cumbria. This weather in the south-

west to move away but does not do so successfully. So you come back