01/08/2013 North West Tonight


01/08/2013

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with Nina Warhurst and Stuart Flinders.

:00:09.:00:16.

Liverpool council is told to pay outs to hundreds of foster carers.

:00:16.:00:19.

We will be asking the council why they let down the people they should

:00:19.:00:25.

have been supporting. I will be explaining why Russian

:00:25.:00:31.

vodka is off the menu in Manchester 's gay village in protest at what

:00:31.:00:34.

they are describing as President Putin 's draconian anti-gay

:00:34.:00:40.

legislation. Jobs alive - the same work for the

:00:40.:00:46.

same firm for 50 years. And what wildlife can you spot in

:00:46.:00:51.

the urban jungle? And Ashes cricket returns to one of

:00:51.:00:59.

its most historic homes. Superb. Fantastic day. It is good to have

:00:59.:01:09.
:01:09.:01:12.

Liverpool City Council has apologised to hundreds of families

:01:12.:01:15.

after an investigation found it failed to pay them enough to clothe

:01:15.:01:18.

and feed the children they were fostering. The authority had been

:01:18.:01:21.

underpaying allowances to more than 300 carers in the Merseyside area.

:01:21.:01:27.

In one case alone, the underpayment was more than �10,000.

:01:27.:01:30.

The council is now repaying the money, but there are fears other

:01:30.:01:33.

authorities could have made the same mistake. In a moment, we'll be

:01:33.:01:36.

speaking to Liverpool's councillor in charge of children's services,

:01:36.:01:41.

but first Naomi Cornwell on what went wrong.

:01:41.:01:44.

Yes, this affects 340 people who care for children in Liverpool,

:01:44.:01:49.

where the city council had been underpaying them for years. It was

:01:49.:01:52.

discovered after a woman who'd been looking after her nephew after a

:01:52.:01:54.

domestic violence incident complained because the council

:01:54.:01:57.

refused to consider him a "looked after child" so she missed out on

:01:57.:02:02.

the support available to foster carers. These allowances aren't pay

:02:02.:02:06.

as such, they're to clothe and feed the children and help carers buy any

:02:06.:02:11.

equipment they might need. Wendy Meehan is a foster mum in Wigan, so

:02:11.:02:15.

she wasn't affected by this, but she had to prepare to look after a baby

:02:15.:02:19.

with just 24 hours' notice, so knows just how important these allowances

:02:19.:02:27.

are. I don't think you should go into

:02:27.:02:31.

fast stream with it being about the money, it should be the child 's

:02:31.:02:37.

needs. It does help because you can buy equipment and they should be

:02:37.:02:42.

able to live like every other child. In Liverpool, the Local Government

:02:42.:02:45.

Ombudsman investigated and found the council was failing to pay the

:02:45.:02:48.

National Minimum Fostering Allowance set by the government each year, and

:02:48.:02:50.

failing to pay the Special Guardianship Allowance at the same

:02:50.:02:55.

rate - that's a separate benefit for carers.

:02:55.:03:02.

Both of those payments to those 340 people in the area need also to be

:03:02.:03:07.

reimbursed and the council, to its absolute credit, has agreed to pay

:03:07.:03:09.

those amounts and in fact has already made the payment to the

:03:09.:03:13.

individual. Yes, the woman who finally exposed

:03:13.:03:15.

this mistake has now received backdated allowances of over

:03:15.:03:19.

�10,000. But the Lib Dem opposition leader in Liverpool told me he's

:03:19.:03:22.

worried not about the money, but about signs that agencies aren't

:03:22.:03:29.

working together. The police asked a family to be the

:03:29.:03:32.

guardian for one of their relatives. Because it was the police that

:03:32.:03:39.

asked, the council refused to act. I think that is wrong. We know from

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the baby Peter Case and the case that was reported only yesterday

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that we badly need to get all of the agencies working together.

:03:48.:03:51.

The Local Government Ombudsman has now urged other authorities around

:03:51.:03:54.

the country to check that their foster carers aren't missing out

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too. Thanks, Naomi.

:03:59.:04:02.

Well, Councillor Jane Corbett is the Cabinet Member in charge of

:04:02.:04:07.

children's services and joins us now from our Merseyside studio. Thanks

:04:07.:04:16.

for joining us. Foster parents do something absolutely extraordinary.

:04:16.:04:21.

They were let down by the council but also it may never have come to

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light if not for the tenacity of one foster parent. Is that good enough?

:04:27.:04:37.
:04:37.:04:42.

No, and I apologies wood apologise profusely. It is sad that the family

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have to -- had to go through that trauma. We have families, and teas,

:04:49.:04:54.

uncles and friends who look after children for specific reasons in

:04:54.:05:03.

specific circumstances and we should be giving them the right help.

:05:03.:05:07.

was a technical error originally but it took six months for them to get

:05:07.:05:11.

the justice they deserve. They will be wondering if there is a wider

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problem within children's services. That is why I organised an

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investigation straightaway and that will be finished soon. We need to

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get to the root of what was happening here, with families not

:05:23.:05:28.

getting listened to, children not getting listened to and respect not

:05:28.:05:35.

being given to the families. If you take on, whether it is your daughter

:05:35.:05:40.

's child or your friend 's child and you give them the best chance they

:05:40.:05:44.

can be given then you should be given the financial support and

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respect, so I am concerned that this family had to go through all this

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before this came to light. People will be relieved that you recognise

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the issues and an investigation has been launched but we are talking

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about �10,000 for one family, potentially this could go into

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millions of back payments when councils are under a lot of

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financial pressure. Yes, and the minimum foster care allowance goes

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right back to 2006 but it became law in 2010 in terms of parity, so I

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want to look at this across the board because I want to make sure

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that our network families and our extended families, particularly in

:06:26.:06:29.

Liverpool when families are under pressure at the moment, are listened

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to. What you picked up earlier about people getting listened to, we

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should have picked this up a long time ago and reacted very quickly,

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so I am very sorry for that. Thank you to speaking to us.

:06:48.:06:51.

A 44-year-old man has appeared before Halton magistrates after a

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dog attack in Warrington. A Pomeranian dog was killed last month

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by a Staffordshire bull terrier. David Savage admitted being in

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charge of an out-of-control dog and will be sentenced in September. His

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co-accused, Susan Campbell, failed to appear.

:07:09.:07:11.

A police watchdog investigation is to be launched into the

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disappearance of a woman from her home in Manchester. 25-year-old

:07:14.:07:17.

Rania Alayed from Cheetham Hill hasn't been since June. The

:07:17.:07:19.

Independent Police Complaints Commission will investigate how

:07:19.:07:21.

previous domestic abuse claims were dealt with by Greater Manchester

:07:21.:07:29.

Police. Two people have since been charged with her murder.

:07:29.:07:32.

BAE Systems, which operates sites across the North West, has recorded

:07:32.:07:37.

a drop in profits. There's been an �18 million fall on last year. But

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the half year results also show an order backlog of over �40 billion.

:07:42.:07:45.

Last month, work began at the Cumbrian shipyard in Barrow on the

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sixth of a fleet of seven new submarines for the Royal Navy.

:07:50.:07:53.

Cutting edge radiotherapy treatment for cancer patients is going to be

:07:53.:07:57.

available in the North West. The Christie in Manchester is getting a

:07:57.:08:00.

share of �250 million for the proton beam therapy machine, which targets

:08:00.:08:07.

tumours more directly without damaging as much healthy tissue.

:08:07.:08:11.

It'll be offered to patients from 2018.

:08:11.:08:15.

Preston's Guild Hall is up for sale. The Council says it can no longer

:08:15.:08:19.

afford to run the building, which was built in the 1970s. It's been

:08:19.:08:22.

losing a million pounds a year. Now investors are being invited to

:08:22.:08:28.

sponsor, run or buy it. Drivers in Cumbria could soon pay

:08:28.:08:32.

less for their petrol and diesel. Ministers want to extend a rebate

:08:32.:08:35.

scheme to places where fuel prices are higher because of how much it

:08:35.:08:39.

costs to transport it there. Retailers in the area are being

:08:39.:08:43.

asked to send their pump prices to the government. It could mean prices

:08:43.:08:50.

are cut by five pence per litre. One in four women and one in six men

:08:50.:08:53.

will experience domestic abuse - a stark figure that means every one of

:08:53.:08:57.

us will know a victim. But it's a crime many victims refuse to talk

:08:57.:09:00.

about and today Greater Manchester Police launched a campaign to

:09:00.:09:04.

encourage others not directly involved to report it.

:09:04.:09:08.

Chief Constable Peter Fahy says it's one of the policing issues that

:09:08.:09:12.

keeps him awake at night, and we all have a responsibility to tackle it.

:09:12.:09:22.

Abbie Jones reports. He has punched me on the face and I

:09:22.:09:30.

have gone on the floor and I had to have an operation. Jo was abused by

:09:30.:09:34.

a man she loved but it was not until he kicked her in the stomach when

:09:34.:09:40.

she was pregnant that she felt able to go to the police. He threatened

:09:40.:09:45.

to kill my family if I was ever to report it. There were threats to

:09:45.:09:51.

kill my grandmother. When he went to prepare -- to prison previously it

:09:51.:09:58.

was my mum who reported that. Reporting by families, friends,

:09:58.:10:04.

neighbours who risk -- who suspect abuse is what the police want to

:10:04.:10:13.

encourage. After a conviction people say, we knew what went on but we

:10:13.:10:17.

didn't want to reported. It keeps me awake at night, knowing of the

:10:17.:10:23.

number of incidents we deal with. Four people were murdered by

:10:23.:10:26.

domestic violence in the year ending in June. In the year before eight

:10:26.:10:30.

people lost their lives. Police have been given powers to remove people

:10:30.:10:38.

from their homes to up to a month. In Manchester Clare's Law makes it

:10:38.:10:42.

possible to find out if a partner has a history of violence. Reporting

:10:42.:10:46.

domestic abuse can cause friction with victims who are not ready to

:10:46.:10:49.

help so people are being encouraged to ring helplines as well as the

:10:49.:10:59.
:10:59.:11:02.

police. Jo now has a baby son and a new life. Reported if you respect it

:11:02.:11:09.

-- suspected because if you don't you could never see them again

:11:09.:11:19.
:11:19.:11:26.

because they are dead. Bars in Manchester 's gay village

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are fusing to sell Russian vodka in protest to new laws which have led

:11:30.:11:34.

to the persecution of gay and lesbian people in the country.

:11:34.:11:39.

Manchester City Council has written to its twin city of Saint Petersburg

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expressing its concern about the situation there. Dave Guest is in

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the gay village now. Yes, on a warm summers evening such

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as this it is a popular spot. This is one of the most vibrant parts of

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Manchester's city centre but there is a sense of disquiet about what

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they are describing as Draconian laws introduced by President Putin

:12:03.:12:06.

in Russia which they say are leading to the persecution of gay and

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lesbian people. That is why they have decided to join this boycott

:12:12.:12:16.

against one of Russia's best-known exports.

:12:16.:12:23.

They have Russian vodka at this bar, just -- they are just not prepared

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to sell it to you at the moment. need to start taking action on

:12:29.:12:36.

putting pressure on our politicians. New laws in Russia restrict

:12:36.:12:43.

promotion of so-called nontraditional sexual identities.

:12:43.:12:45.

Some say it has led to the persecution of gay people in parts

:12:45.:12:50.

of Russia. In Manchester's gay village today there was support for

:12:50.:12:55.

the vodka boycott. Definitely something we should be seen to be

:12:55.:13:00.

standing together on. The government needs to say they are where of the

:13:00.:13:05.

situation and it needs to stop. Boycotting vodka is one approach.

:13:05.:13:09.

Today Manchester City Council tried another, writing a letter to the

:13:09.:13:16.

Governor of St Petersburg, Manchester's twin city, and

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expressed its concern. Whilst it did not directly see it wanted to end

:13:20.:13:26.

the twin arrangement, it said we will need to continue to monitor the

:13:26.:13:32.

situation in your city in the context of our ablation ship. -- our

:13:32.:13:38.

relationship. It outlines what we would expect in a reciprocal

:13:38.:13:43.

agreement. Is it really the Manchester to start interfering in

:13:43.:13:50.

Russia's policies? I don't think it is right to stand by when there is a

:13:50.:13:54.

declining situation. As the gay community we need to make sure that

:13:54.:13:58.

long-term we keep the fight going because it is an awareness campaign

:13:58.:14:03.

to support our brothers and sisters in Russia. Manchester says it is a

:14:03.:14:06.

city that celebrates diversity and it is not prepared to sit back and

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watch if it feels any minority group is being persecuted in any part of

:14:11.:14:17.

the world. So nobody is saying at this stage that they planned to end

:14:17.:14:21.

the twin arrangement with Saint Petersburg but there is certainly a

:14:21.:14:25.

feeling in Manchester that stand has to be taken against what has been

:14:25.:14:28.

happening in Russia and they need to let the Russian authorities know

:14:28.:14:37.

that they disapprove and they want things to change.

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Still to come, all set to kick off - are four League one club is looking

:14:43.:14:48.

ahead to the football season. On the lookout, as birds of a

:14:48.:14:54.

feather flock to Warrington. There was a time when the idea of a

:14:54.:14:58.

job for life was commonplace. But it's hardly the case in the modern

:14:58.:15:01.

era, where some workers swap jobs as often as they change cars.

:15:01.:15:04.

John Stamp from Merseyside has seen plenty of car changes, but only one

:15:04.:15:08.

job. He's worked at the same place for half a century. Eno Eruotor

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joined him on his last day. This has been his job day in and

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they are for the last 50 years. Car mechanic John Stamp has worked in

:15:20.:15:27.

the same role for the same firm fixing the same engines since 1963

:15:27.:15:37.
:15:37.:15:42.

but now, at 66, he has made his last repair. I will miss work. I have two

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grandchildren and they go bowling in the afternoon so I can go with them.

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Beatlemania was just sweeping through England and John F. Kennedy

:15:50.:15:55.

and Martin Luther King were still alive when John first started out as

:15:55.:16:03.

an apprentice mechanic at Hatfield. They don't make them like John any

:16:03.:16:07.

more. To accumulate that knowledge doesn't happen because it is all and

:16:07.:16:14.

it try Nick. When John started you needed the knowledge in your head.

:16:14.:16:20.

-- it is all electronic. They had seat belts back then but they were

:16:20.:16:25.

not the law. We did not have heated seats, electric windows, you had to

:16:25.:16:33.

wind them. I have seen a lot of changes. And there is one person who

:16:33.:16:38.

is really excited about the changes to come. I am looking forward to

:16:38.:16:41.

having him at home because I miss him sometimes. Especially in

:16:41.:16:50.

winter, I do miss him. He has worked a long time. After half a century of

:16:50.:16:55.

fixing cars it is only fitting that his parting gift is a brand-new car.

:16:55.:17:05.
:17:05.:17:05.

Shame it is not a Jaguar, though. He is a survivor, isn't he?

:17:05.:17:15.
:17:15.:17:22.

He is, one hour. -- wow. Richard is at Old Trafford for us.

:17:22.:17:29.

Did the game live up to the billing? You have to say yes and no. Most of

:17:29.:17:35.

these fans had hoped to see James Anderson take a host of wickets and

:17:35.:17:41.

a dominant England in the field. It hasn't happened. It has been

:17:41.:17:45.

Australia's day. We will see Michael Clarke now. He moved himself up the

:17:45.:17:53.

order, made a century, 125 not out as part of a huge total for the

:17:53.:17:58.

Aussies of 303-3. England have to come back tomorrow and be up against

:17:58.:18:07.

it and make some kind of impact. get the impression that anybody who

:18:07.:18:13.

was lucky enough to get a ticket was determined to enjoy it. It has been

:18:13.:18:19.

a long time, 2005 the last time we saw an Ashes test at old Trafford.

:18:19.:18:24.

We have had the silly costumes, one or two people still cheering on the

:18:25.:18:28.

way out. People have been determined to enjoy themselves, make the most

:18:28.:18:35.

of it even though it has been Australia's day.

:18:35.:18:38.

It was pretty much sold out and the rest of the Test matches pretty much

:18:38.:18:46.

sold out so it is good to have test cricket back in the north West.

:18:46.:18:51.

lot of good following from all over the country. Brilliant day, kids

:18:51.:18:59.

enjoyed it. Didn't we? Yeah, brilliant.

:18:59.:19:03.

The new Football League season is just a couple of days away now. And

:19:03.:19:07.

tonight we're taking a look at our four sides in League One who for

:19:07.:19:14.

different reasons will be hoping things could click this time round.

:19:14.:19:20.

Last season was one to run another clue Garrigues and -- for clue --

:19:20.:19:27.

for Crewe Alexander. They won the Saint Johnstone 's paint Trophy. The

:19:27.:19:31.

manager appears to have strengthened wisely since then. Oldham athletic

:19:31.:19:36.

enjoyed cup moments in the spotlight, staying in the division

:19:36.:19:42.

was the cry or TiVo and after keeping them up Lee Johnston has

:19:42.:19:52.
:19:52.:19:52.

totally refashioned his squad. -- was the priority and after.

:19:53.:19:58.

should we not say that we can get promotion? We are in the division

:19:58.:20:04.

and we want to win it. Tranmere Rovers spent a large part of last

:20:04.:20:11.

season at the top end of the table. They fell away to finish 11th. In

:20:11.:20:19.

Ronnie Moore they have a manager who knows the division inside out.

:20:19.:20:21.

Preston are understandably amongst the promotion favourites, in no

:20:21.:20:27.

small part down to Batman, Kevin Davies.

:20:27.:20:34.

-- to that man. We have high expectations, the players and the

:20:34.:20:40.

staff, there is a good feeling that we can do something good this year.

:20:40.:20:44.

North end have a tough start with promotion favourites Wolves the

:20:44.:20:52.

visitors on Saturday. There is excitement around the place. I think

:20:52.:21:02.
:21:02.:21:02.

people can't wait for it to happen. What a signing Kevin Davies was for

:21:02.:21:08.

Preston. Let's hope tomorrow it is the same weather but a slightly

:21:08.:21:10.

different outcome. Let's hope James Anderson in particular can do the

:21:11.:21:17.

business. It does seem early to be talking

:21:17.:21:25.

about the football season. Trafford Council has approved an

:21:25.:21:29.

application by Manchester United supporters trust to protect Old

:21:29.:21:33.

Trafford stadium. The ground is designated an asset of community

:21:33.:21:37.

value, meaning fans or other locals could try to prevent it being sold

:21:37.:21:43.

or bid for it themselves if the club tried to sell it. The club says it

:21:43.:21:45.

has some concerns about the decision.

:21:45.:21:48.

Chester Zoo's released the first pictures of two rare northern

:21:48.:21:52.

cheetah cubs that were born eight weeks ago - helping to save the

:21:52.:21:55.

species from extinction. Over the last 100 years the wild population

:21:55.:21:59.

has plunged by 90 per cent and it's feared there may be as few as 250

:21:59.:22:09.
:22:09.:22:10.

northern cheetahs left. The pair have been kept away from the public

:22:10.:22:14.

while they bonded to mother, KT, and underwent a full health check.

:22:14.:22:17.

If you know where to look there is plenty of wildlife to be found under

:22:17.:22:26.

our noses. Coming up on BBC One, look at the

:22:26.:22:29.

amount of wildlife living in the towns and cities of our region. He

:22:29.:22:36.

has been to Warrington to investigate the plight of the Swift.

:22:36.:22:39.

High in the north-west sky, spectacular visitors have arrived

:22:39.:22:45.

for the summer from Africa. These swifts set up home on a council

:22:45.:22:49.

estate in Warrington, with good reason. These houses provide them

:22:49.:22:55.

with what they want, nest sites, and the houses are old enough for there

:22:55.:23:04.

to be holes in the roofs. They just go in behind the roof space, not

:23:04.:23:10.

causing any problems. Brian knows more about swifts than anyone in

:23:10.:23:15.

Warrington. He has been surveying the birds for a quarter of a century

:23:15.:23:21.

and has found a disturbing trend. The population has declined severely

:23:21.:23:27.

in the last 20, 25 years, the bubbly by around 50%. The houses have got

:23:27.:23:37.

to an age when people are wanting to put on new roofs. They are using

:23:37.:23:41.

UPVC, which completely cuts off the nesting sites and the birds can't

:23:41.:23:47.

get into the roofs to breed so they have lost their breeding site.

:23:47.:23:52.

is hope for the Warrington swifts. A new development in town has included

:23:53.:24:00.

a specially designed Swift tower which will hopefully provide home

:24:00.:24:05.

for up to 20 nesting pairs in times for -- in time for next year's

:24:05.:24:11.

breeding season. I once found a fox outside my house

:24:11.:24:16.

in the early hours of the morning. I have never seen one in the flesh.

:24:16.:24:25.

We have some pretty chubby pigeons round our way. That is a special BBC

:24:25.:24:31.

One programmes straight after our bulletin.

:24:31.:24:38.

It is part of the BBC's summer of wildlife. Go to this address to find

:24:38.:24:48.
:24:48.:24:52.

at Old Trafford and it is Australian weather today. Temperatures on the

:24:52.:24:58.

Isle of Man have struggled, 18 degrees. In Manchester, up to 28

:24:58.:25:08.

degrees. Many places have got a huge amount of sunshine to end the day. A

:25:08.:25:11.

bit of patchy cloud but it is all about the sunshine. If you are

:25:11.:25:18.

heading to old Trafford tomorrow your picture is similar. Not quite

:25:18.:25:22.

as hot or completely dry. I don't think that will spoil the day for

:25:22.:25:26.

many people. This is how we look right now. A lot of sunshine

:25:26.:25:33.

around, for most places it will be too warm. We have a line of whether

:25:33.:25:37.

making its way in from the Isle of Man, running up the Irish Sea and

:25:37.:25:46.

clipping the coast. The rain will not cool you down at all. For most

:25:46.:25:53.

of us it will be dry with light winds. Temperatures in 11 to 18 and

:25:53.:26:01.

19 degrees. The numbers on the map are minimums for the towns and

:26:01.:26:06.

cities so it will be a bit of a struggle tonight. In the morning you

:26:06.:26:10.

might have quite a lot of cloud along with the rain but it will thin

:26:10.:26:16.

and break relatively quickly. If you watch the timeline, once you get

:26:17.:26:22.

past lunchtime, that is when you start to see the peak temperatures.

:26:22.:26:27.

I will not be surprised if from around two o'clock you start to see

:26:27.:26:32.

them drift in and they could drift absolutely anywhere. If you get one

:26:32.:26:37.

it is a disappointment but it shouldn't ruin your day. You could

:26:37.:26:42.

have a hefty downpour from time to time. Not expecting massive rumbles

:26:42.:26:47.

of thunder but they get lively by the end of the day. I would not be

:26:47.:26:52.

surprised if the Isle of Man saw temperatures of 18 or 19 at the best

:26:52.:26:58.

but we could see 23 hey and there, a perfect English summer day. -- here

:26:58.:27:08.
:27:08.:27:13.

good summer? I think it has been a great summer.

:27:13.:27:17.

I'm not speaking officially but it feels like that. We are only on the

:27:17.:27:27.
:27:27.:27:28.

1st of August. It feels like A summer.

:27:28.:27:34.

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