12/08/2013 North West Tonight

Welcome to North West Tonight with Roger Johnson and Jayne McCubbin.

Our top story: Bovine TB - the North West is now

the new front-line against a disease that's claiming the lives of 100

cattle a day. Herod, my income goes. -- if I lose my hair. The Government

says it wants to eradicate the disease in a decade. Also tonight:

Getting on your bike. A multi-million pound cash boost for

Greater Manchester and the Peak District, to make cycling easier.

Creating a home from whole. The �30m plan to transform Chester Zoo into

one of Europe's finest. The watch-like device which could

predict how healthy you are and how long you might live.

And honoured for his bravery, seventy years late. The war veteran

from Ellesmere Port finally recognised for his courage.

The North West today became the new front line in the battle against

bovine Tuberculosis. The Government is to spend millions

on stopping the spread of the disease - with Cheshire and

Derbyshire as the priority areas. Stuart Flinders has more.

Bovine Tuberculosis is the biggest single animal health issue in

Britain and the biggest threat to the dairy industry. Its spread has

been dramatic. From a few isolated cases in the South West in the

1980s, it now affects large areas of the country and it's been steadily

moving north. The costs in animal lives, as well as money, are

horrific. Around 100 cattle a day are being slaughtered. 12,000

between January and April this year alone. And it's costing the tax

payer around �1 billion a year in compensation, to farmers and funding

preventative measures. Today, the Government announced plans to stop

the disease spreading any further North. Dairy herds in Cheshire and

Derbsyhire, the so-called "edge areas", will be at the centre of

that battle. TB has already been found in Richard

Fair's herd, so now, he's carrying out new tests to see if it's still

there. Increased testing is at the heart of DEFRA's new measures, which

are broadly welcomed here, where TB isn't just a matter of animal

welfare, it threatens the very future of the farm. We've borrowed a

lot of money to build a brand-new, state-of-the-art dairy unit. I've

got to pay that back. I need my milk income to pay that money back. We

are talking millions? Oh, yes. If I was half my haired, half my income

goes. -- loos have my heard. In the country's worst affected

areas, further South, a cull of is to target the edge areas, to stop

the spread of the disease. In the country's worst affected areas, a

cull of badgers which spread bovine TB has been authorised but is

controversial. Vaccination's been tried in some parts of Cheshire and

DEFRA wants to extend tests of its effectiveness. But how confident can

the rest of the north west be that TB won't spread? It would be very

foolish to say categorically. What I am saying is that what we are doing

is the best that we can offer on the best scientific advice in order to

minimise the chance of that happening. It is about time that we

remembered that over the last 20 years we have seen this disease

spread without remorse. The Government says its strategy is

sensible and comprehensive, but farmers here say the policy can be

judged only by results. Only last month, the Government

declared its intention to rid the whole of England of TB within 25

years. But that may be too long for some farmers. Last October, I

visited Phil Latham on his farm, in Cheshire. He lost 80 cows to TB.

This morning, he told me that he's in the process of selling half his

herd - 270 cows - because he simply can't afford to expose his business

to the risk posed by TB. Farmers are having to make hard decisions with

no real sign that the disease is in retreat. Thanks.

A murder investigation's underway in Lancashire after a woman's body was

found in a house. Detectives say the woman's death may be linked to an

apparent suicide, after the body of a man was found on a railway track.

Let's get the latest on this from our reporter, Ian Haslam. Let's take

these two bodies, individually. What can you tell is about the woman?

Rodger, the woman has been named locally as Judas, 57, although the

police have -- are yet to confirm that. -- Judas. It was just after

830 when the police were called to this house. A post-mortem

examination has been called out and as revealed because of death to be

multiple injuries, including stab wounds. What about the man who was

found in the real weak track? man has also been named as Nigel,

58, Judith's husband. They are treating this as a murder suicide.

His body was found yesterday morning. Police say he had been hit

by a train and his death has not being treated as suspicious. It has

left the community in shock. They don't socialise. They are always,

you know, seeing low and have lived here a long time and I have known

them a long time. -- they always say hello. It is just a shock, it really

is. We are quite a close-knit community. Everyone is shocked. It

is out of the normal. Lancashire Police tailors the investigation is

in its early stages but they are not looking for anyone else at the

moment. A tragic story, thank you very much.

Manchester's to share in millions of pounds being made available to

improve cycle routes. The Government wants to see more of us getting on

our bikes and invited cities to bid for cash.

So what exactly will it be spent on? Our chief reporter, Dave Guest, has

been finding out. This is near to the city centre. It

is a very busy thoroughfare. Loads of buses and cyclists, especially

during term time, because there are schools abroad. This is one of the

roads that will benefit from that �20 million made available by the

Government today. I've been finding out more.

Cycling in a city centre is not necessarily for the faint-hearted.

It is quite entertaining because there are a lot of cars and you have

to avoid them. I quite like it, personally. Scary?Quite a lot of

people are scared. Cycling in and around Manchester should become

safer over the coming years. The city has been awarded �20 million

from the Government's grants. will enable us to introduce a number

of measures to really change the landscape for cycling within this

area, the position of safe, secure facilities. Really, a cultural

change to make cycling much more attractive. Some of the money will

be used to create exclusive cycle lanes along Oxford Road in

Manchester. The route is already due to undergo a major revamp in the

next couple of years which will see part of its length devoted entirely

to buses, taxis and bicycles. The rest of the money will be used to

link up some of Greater Manchester's disconnected cycleways.

It will mean that eventually, people will be able to cycle directly into

the city centre from outlying areas. It will -- it will definitely

encourage people. I know a lot of people who have been skewered.

Government were keen to stress that they want to increase people

cycling. The opposition government points out that since it has come to

power this government has withdrawn funding for a lot of cycling

initiatives. What of cities that have not received some of the money

Mr Michael Liverpool were turned down. The city said it was

disappointed at Liverpool has been given other funding to set up a

citywide cycle hire scheme, a kind of Merseyside equivalent of the

Boris bikes in London. That is due to be launched next year. Around

Greater Manchester, cyclists are looking forward to a safer future.

According to the statistics, many -- there are many more bike journeys

made in Holland and the Government wants us to get to their level.

Let's talk more about this with Eleanor Roaf is regional director

for the charity Sustrans which works with Local Authorities and transport

bodies to develop strategies for better cycling. We will take it as a

given that this is good news for Manchester and the Peak District,

what about those who have missed out? It is a real disappointment

that some cities have missed out but all of cities put in fantastic beds

and often had to match funding so I am really hoping that they will be

able to access that to start making some of the changes that need to be

made to the roads. I don't think people can afford not to. We've got

economic, environmental and health benefits from cycling. The country

needs us to cycle. At a time when everybody's budget, whatever city

ER, their budget is being squeezed. How do you prioritise cycling?

need to look at some of the costs of not doing this. We have some of the

busiest roads in Europe. Not all traffic can be fixed by bikes but

some can. You only for journeys under five miles. We need to look at

the health benefits we will get if we can get more people active,

either walking or cycling. It is a divisive issue. Whenever we talk

about people using bikes to commute to work there are drivers who are

enraged by the leader of drivers under cyclists who are enraged by

drivers. Why is it so important that we get onto bikes? It is really

important that we do this for our own health but also for the

environmental benefits and the economic benefits. We know that

people who cycle take half as many 60s -- six days of other people. We

know the cost of congestion. Part of the reason may be that it is really

annoying if you're sitting in your car and somebody zooms up on the

inside of you. Exactly. Let's hope it can be made safer for everybody

to get there quicker. We are out of time. Thank you very much. ?NEWLINE

A trial date has been set for January, for three men accused of

the murder of a man in Cheshire. Remains, believed to be Frenchman

Christophe Borgye, were found at a house in Ellesmere Port, in May.

He'd been missing since 2009. Sebastian Bendou and Dominik Kocher

face murder charges. Manuel Wagner, who faces charges of burying and

concealing the body, has been sectioned under the Mental Health

Act. The Prime Minister's given his full

temples in the North West has officially re-opened after a �2.5

million renovation. There have been extensions to classrooms and the

prayer room at the Swami-Narayan Mandir in Bolton. It can now cater

for almost 1,000 worshippers. A new daily pill could help dozens of

patients with skin cancer to avoid surgery.

Large tumours on the head and neck can sometimes be unsuitable for

operations or radiotherapy but the drug can help shrink their size. You

may find some images in this report distressing.

Imagine these skin cancers on your face or neck. As well as being

potentially life-threatening, patients say the confidence is

shattered and the disfigurements can be extremely distressing. But these

pictures from the manufacturers of a new drug show trials in the US and

now here in the north-west are bringing significant improvements.

Though, they say, results varied magically from patient to patient.

have had tumours from down here, across here and over here. And under

both eyes. Sally Webster needs regular surgery to remove tumours.

For many like her, the only option is painful surgery and radiotherapy.

But that can lead to new problems and leave bad scarring. Over 40

people have so far successfully trialled the new drug. I have seen

some patients that within three or four weeks, all of the ulceration

has healed and over the next few months the tumour shrinks so very

dramatic results very quickly. hopes that if hereditary cancer

deteriorates, she could benefit in the future. Without a doubt, I would

take it. Life is so important to me. I have met somebody recently who

is on trial who visibly these tumours have almost disappeared.

Doctors who want to give patients the new drug have to apply for

permission and funding. Good stuff. Also coming up:

A home from home, Chester zoo's ambitious plans to bring exotic

habitats to Cheshire. Cake to celebrate his courage -- the

war veteran given his medals after a 70 year wait. Now I've got them and

I am very grateful. I think I've liked to hang onto them for a while.

You can already get wristwatches would slink into the Internet,

monitor your heart rate and tell the time but there is no one which tell

you how healthy you are and, perhaps, how long you'll live for.

Scientists at Lancaster University are working on a prototype device

that fires a laser pulse through your skin to analyse blood cells and

give an early indication if you are heading towards heart disease or

stroke. Peter Marshall explains. The device being fitted here is a

prototype of a prototype. The hope is, with funding, the final version

will be wireless, the size of a wrist watch. Using a laser pulse, it

measures how a person's body will decline with age by analysing

endothelial cells which line all our blood vessels. It is fantastically

important because everything that goes wrong with the cardiovascular

system, stroke, heart attack and so on, starts off as a problem there.

The aim is not to create a watch that counts down your remaining days

on earth but to have a device that can give early warning of problems.

If you're into steel ages looking at it larger than your real age then

you need to get worried. -- if your age on the watch is looking larger.

For example, you might stop smoking, drink a bit less or stop eating

deep-fried Mars bars or whatever you do that is undesirable.

Such a device, it seems, can't be introduced soon enough with new

research today showing that couch potato culture is in danger of

raising a generation of children who'll die younger than their

parents. The British Heart Foundation report

reveals that in England, 80% of children don't eat the recommended

five a day portions of fruit and veg. Two in five 13-year-olds have a

can of fizzy soft drink each day. And around a quarter of children

spend at least six hours sedentary on a weekend day. A class of 40, ten

would be overweight or obese and by year six, all for one third could be

overweight or obese. If you actually think of the numbers and the classes

and the children at school, you can see it's so common.

Scientists at Lancaster University hope their device will be available

to all GPs in three years. Genius!

It is, isn't it. Do you want to know how long you've got left?

Chester Zoo has announced a �30 million plan to make it one of the

biggest, and the best zoos, in Europe.

We always get artist impressions but never quite as good as these. With

the like, wonderful. They are putting together a series of islands

connected by waterways are to be built. Each one will replicate the

environment and feature wildlife from islands such as Sumatra, Java

and Papua New Guinea. Elaine Chester zoo is home to thousands of

animals from exotic locations all over the world. Some of those

locations will soon feel a little closer to home. How exciting is

this? Really exciting. It's not easy to create Southeast Asia in

Cheshire... From the Philippines to Papua New Guinea, this area is been

transported. This has been here for 80 years and is already world-class

zoo. This takes us to the next step. You can see it happening over here,

off the current side, and it will take Chester into the future. Hugely

exciting. Chester is already home to various exotic animals. This is what

it will look like. There will be an Indonesian jungle house and visitors

will be able to take a boat trip around the islands. Extremely

unique. It's obviously the biggest kind of zoo development in the UK

for a long time. From an engineering point of view, we've got to go in

there, create this very natural looking watercourse through the site

with this varying bridge structure and make it look as authentic as we

can. Many of the species that will be on the island are endangered.

This project is the result of major conservation work in Chester and

overseas. We are particularly interested in things like I species.

They are from small areas and so are more threatened than others. This

enables the Jews to come down and CDs animals, learned a lot about

more about them, and do some into putting them. -- this enables

visitors. It will be open to the public in 2015.

Richard's here with the sport and somebody's being tipped for the very

top. Absolutely. It's Liverpool

heptathlete Katerina Johnson-Thompson who's competing at

the World Athletic Championships in Moscow. The 20-year-old, who is

seventh after two events, has what it takes to be an Olympic champion

like Jessica Ennis. That's not my opinion but that of Toni Minichello,

the man who guided Jess to gold in London last year. She is better than

jess, pound for pound. If you look at what jested as a junior, Katarina

has performed better than that every time. If she keeps going, then she

will probably be a better heptathlete Jessica Ennis.

Well, one man who maybe hasn't lived their first silverware under David

Moyes. Robin Van Persie was the difference once again as United won

the Community Shield at the expense of FA Cup holders Wigan. The

Dutchman scored both goals in his side's 2-0 win. United start their

season proper at Swansea next Saturday.

The football league is into its second league and a couple of

championship clubs are among the pacesetters. The first-half headers

from Danny ends against Sheffield Wednesday proved decisive. Blackpool

beat Barnsley thanks to this injury time goal. Very timely.

Cricket now. Lancashire are flying high at the top of County

Championship Division Two, but many of their key names are flying under

the radar. Lancashire have had some of the biggest names in the history

of the sport playing for them over the years. The likes of Clive Llloyd

and Wasim Akram. But this team of largely young Lancastrians doesn't

have many household names. I went along to training today to find out

more about what makes them tick. I am the Lancashire bowler and water

boy and we will meet some of the team. Don't be alarmed by the size

of his forehead, it's usually puts people off but he is very talented.

This is Steven Croft, he was a captain last year. Very good bowler.

Very complimentary. He's usually taking as a pop bit more but these

are nice words. What about him? Apart from being the worst dressed

man in England he was quite funny, like a practical joke and keeps is

now everybody's fees. How well does Stephen Jones team-mates? We decided

to give him the ultimate test. First contestant. Name? Stephen Croft.

Specialist? By team-mates.You will have to minister and questions. Who

has the worst fashion sense? Oliver. If the team needed runs quickly who

would you need? All. LAUGHTER

Incorrect. When Lancashire are returning from a long-awaited trip

and stop of a refreshment, who would be last to pay? Chapel.Incorrect,

Aaron. Which player thinks he should be playing for England? Quite a few.

Simon. Correct. What do you put on a toaster? Bread.Correct. At the end

of that loan, you have no passes and you have a total of three points. --

that ground. With impressive stats on the pitch, this Lancashire team

certainly seems to have all the answers this season.

Does he think he is John Humphrys? He was not to be full. It was a

television that made me look small. If you want to watch the lads they

are playing tomorrow against Derbyshire, starting at 340. Thank

you very much. A veteran of World War Two has

finally been presented with four prestigious medals recognising his

bravery and courage, 70 years after he was awarded them.

Friends, family and other servicemen joined the celebrations for

88-year-old Fred Mullis at the care home where he lives in Ellesmere

Port. Naomi Cornwell went to watch. I don't suppose you get these

everyday, do you? Almost 70 years after he drove an

amphibious truck in the D-day landings, Fred Mullis today finally

received his medals. My father's never really spoken about the war

into about five years ago. And then a few little things came out and he

showed does this photo of himself with three of his former colleagues,

all sat on a bench, and they all had their medals except for him. He

never picked it up at the time. It's a played on his mind a little bit of

late and we thought it would be a great idea if we could get hold of

them for him. Fred volunteered for duty two weeks

before his 18th birthday and served throughout Europe and North Africa

as a driver, delivering much needed ammunition and food to the front

line. Now I've got them and I am very grateful. They look lovely

medals. I should think I would like to hang onto them for a while.

in 1945, the landings, the weather was atrocious so we mustn't

underestimate the level of bravery that was achieved in bringing those

supplies ashore. It was too much needed soldiers. I don't think I

have really earned them but medals are medals. I suppose I've done my

service and so has anybody else. Fantastic. Very well done to frayed

in my hometown. Congratulations. Let's have a look

at the weather. It is all about at the weather. It is all about

showers? Yes, major showers. Let's talk about

the weather first. I have got a bit of good news. We saw temperatures to

about 18 Celsius today and they will improved towards the end of their

week but to not be expecting 30. We will be very lucky to see

temperatures in excess of 20 by the end of this week. Those meteor

shower 's Roger was just talking about, Edwards is that there is a

very good chance you will be able to see them tonight. We're expecting

lots of clear skies. However, if you do have plans to go outside, you

will need to wrap up warm because underneath clearings skies it will

be a chilly night. Both are starting to melt away so some late evening

sunshine. We hang onto the clear skies initially so you can see those

showers hopefully between 11 11pm and to earn. However, towards John

the clouds will come back. I think temperatures will drop into single

figures in many rural areas. For tomorrow, the afternoon looks to be

the better part of the day. We do start off, as you can see, rather

cloudy tomorrow morning and again the clouds will continue to second

to bring you lighter, patchy rain throughout the morning and

afternoon. Then, the showers fade away. Some good spell. Shame

expected through the afternoon. A disappointing 18 Celsius, this time

in August. And plenty more clouds coming your way for the rest of the

week. So did you just, I was hanging on

your river word, but did you just see if anyone gets pictures?