:00:00. > :00:00.independent Scotland. That is all from the News at six, so
:00:00. > :00:10.Good evening. Welcome to North West Tonight with Roger Johnson and
:00:11. > :00:13.Annabel Tiffin. Our top story: Bill Roache's Coronation Street family
:00:14. > :00:16.tell his sex abuse trial he's decent and kind to everybody.
:00:17. > :00:19.We'll have the latest from Preston Crown Court. Also tonight: The
:00:20. > :00:27.gambling addict who's begging the bookies to turn him away before he
:00:28. > :00:34.loses it all. 100 years after ordinary working men
:00:35. > :00:43.formed a regiment in World War I, a new look at a completed memorial to
:00:44. > :00:53.them. It is to the Commonwealth Games what the torch was to the
:00:54. > :00:57.Olympic Games. Find out about the baton as it heads to the north`west.
:00:58. > :01:01.William Roache was always the perfect gentleman according to his
:01:02. > :01:07.screen wife, the actress Anne Kirkbride. She was one of three
:01:08. > :01:09.Coronation Street actors who gave evidence to support the 81`year`old
:01:10. > :01:12.today. William Roache denies two rapes and
:01:13. > :01:18.four indecent assaults against five women aged 16 or under between 965
:01:19. > :01:22.and 1971. Our Chief Reporter, Dave Guest joins us from Preston Crown
:01:23. > :01:33.Court. It must have been quite an unusual day in court today? That is
:01:34. > :01:36.right. We saw some of the most famous faces on British television
:01:37. > :01:41.turning up here today to speak up for one of their own. Those
:01:42. > :01:45.colleagues of Bill Roache have described him as a true gentleman, a
:01:46. > :01:50.father figure, an inspiration. They said they couldn't believe that this
:01:51. > :02:02.man could became bowl of the type of crimes of which he has been accused.
:02:03. > :02:04.`` be capable. They have appeared in countless scenes together and Anne
:02:05. > :02:11.Kirkbride and William Roache appeared together in court room She
:02:12. > :02:15.arrived at court this morning to support the actor who she has played
:02:16. > :02:22.alongside for more than four decades. Anne Kirkbride described to
:02:23. > :02:31.it `` during the cast in 1972 as a terrified teenager.
:02:32. > :02:41.Asked how he behaved around female members, she said:
:02:42. > :02:49.The theme was taken up by Chris Gascoyne, the actor who plays Peter
:02:50. > :02:58.in the TV soap. He told the court...
:02:59. > :03:12.Next came Helen Worth who has played Gayle for more than 40 years. She
:03:13. > :03:27.said she had never seen him do anything untoward in all the time
:03:28. > :03:37.she had been there. This afternoon, William Roache has denied all
:03:38. > :03:42.charges against him. This case will move into its closing stages over
:03:43. > :03:44.the coming days before the jury then retires to consider its verdict
:03:45. > :03:47.Nominations have closed for the Wythenshawe and Sale East
:03:48. > :03:51.by`election, caused by the death of the former Labour MP Paul Goggins.
:03:52. > :03:55.The Liberal Democrats have chosen Mary di Mauro a local Councillor who
:03:56. > :04:04.says local people should be helped to take advantage of new jobs.
:04:05. > :04:15.We need to invest a lot in skills, training and getting people's
:04:16. > :04:19.English and maths up to scratch I will work hard to get investment and
:04:20. > :04:22.match it with the skills. A total of seven candidates are standing in the
:04:23. > :04:27.by`election, they're on your screen now.
:04:28. > :04:33.Voting is on Thursday 13th February. And tomorrow our Political Editor
:04:34. > :04:35.Arif Ansari will be giving us an overview of the by`election and
:04:36. > :04:38.what's at stake. An off duty police officer who
:04:39. > :04:42.serves with Cheshire police has been arrested after stealing a police car
:04:43. > :04:45.and ramming into the gate of Cheshire Constabulary headquarters.
:04:46. > :04:49.Kevin Szabo who is 39 is said to be suffering from ill`health and stress
:04:50. > :04:51.and is reported to have been at the centre of an earlier six hour
:04:52. > :04:54.stand`off in Prestatyn, in north Wales, on Monday.
:04:55. > :04:57.A compulsive gambler who tried to ban himself from betting shops in
:04:58. > :05:01.Stockport says rules need to change to stop people like him from
:05:02. > :05:04.frittering away thousands of pounds. Alex Woolliscroft recognised his
:05:05. > :05:08.problem and left photos with bookies asking them to turn him away when
:05:09. > :05:12.they saw him. But he says none did. Now he wants
:05:13. > :05:16.casino`style memberships extended to bookies. We'll get the view from the
:05:17. > :05:24.gambling industry in a few moments. First, this report from Mark
:05:25. > :05:29.Edwardson. Hard at work in his successful
:05:30. > :05:34.Stockport barber's shop. Alex Woolliscroft started gambling at 18.
:05:35. > :05:47.Bets of ?10 have turned to hundreds. His losses are serious. I reckon I
:05:48. > :05:51.have lost about 50,000. In one five minute session he lost ?700 on fixed
:05:52. > :05:59.odds machines. A tattoo reminds him of the date, an attempt to
:06:00. > :06:07.discourage himself. What a drug addict the class as a school, my
:06:08. > :06:10.school is going into a betting shop. Recently a father, the 26`year`old
:06:11. > :06:13.and his fiance have left photos of him with Stockport's bookmakers with
:06:14. > :06:21.instructions not to let him gamble. But some bookies are ambivalent I
:06:22. > :06:25.have lost a fair few times and they let me do it The Campaign for Fairer
:06:26. > :06:28.Gambling says ?159 million was staked in Stockport in 2012 with a
:06:29. > :06:31.total of ?5.3 million lost. More than once. ?53 million of that was
:06:32. > :06:40.through fixed odds machines with punters losing ?1.7 million. Alex
:06:41. > :06:50.once casino style membership in bookmakers. Before you place a bet,
:06:51. > :06:53.you should swipe a card. If you are self excluded, it will turn red and
:06:54. > :06:56.you can't gamble. William Hill told us they have
:06:57. > :07:00.repeatedly tried to help Alex and will continue to do all they can to
:07:01. > :07:04.support him. Earlier I asked Rupert Adams from
:07:05. > :07:11.the company if there's more they can do to help people who have a
:07:12. > :07:17.gambling problem. It is an interesting one. Self exclusion is
:07:18. > :07:21.an important weapon in our armoury where we are trying to organise
:07:22. > :07:28.responsible gambling. There is 000 interactions on a monthly basis
:07:29. > :07:33.where I `` whereby a staff member will say they are not comfortable
:07:34. > :07:42.with a person's gambling. We understand about 80% are successful.
:07:43. > :07:51.It is a good bit of kit but the onus has to be on the individual. We
:07:52. > :07:56.can't police it perfectly. You do accept you have a duty of care to
:07:57. > :08:05.people who use your premises? We have spent 12 months creating a new
:08:06. > :08:11.policy. It started in September and should be finished in March which
:08:12. > :08:17.requires staff to get retraining on self exclusion. There is a
:08:18. > :08:22.responsible gambling message on all machines. What about the idea of
:08:23. > :08:29.having memberships? Someone might have a card that they have to swipe
:08:30. > :08:36.before they can play. That then would enable you very easily to stop
:08:37. > :08:41.people. It is such a transient population and it is extremely
:08:42. > :08:46.difficult. I used to be a member of a casino in London and if you lost
:08:47. > :08:51.your card, you couldn't get back in. It causes all kinds of
:08:52. > :08:56.complications. You have betting shops or around the country and they
:08:57. > :09:01.could be a William Hill member and good bet in any of your betting
:09:02. > :09:08.shops or be barred from them. If you lose the card, you can't get into
:09:09. > :09:18.the shop and have to go into the process all over again. That happens
:09:19. > :09:21.all the time is with credit cards. I am not sure what will go through and
:09:22. > :09:27.won't go through that they are all kinds of issues.
:09:28. > :09:31.Still to come on North West Tonight: The missing VC. Bury museum's search
:09:32. > :09:37.for the bravery medal won by a Lancashire hero.
:09:38. > :09:38.And remember this? The North West prepares to relive torch`fever all
:09:39. > :09:53.over again. But where this time The Liverpool Pals were formed in
:09:54. > :09:59.1914, four battalions of friends who would stand shoulder to shoulder as
:10:00. > :10:03.they fought in the first World War. Thousands volunteered. Thousands
:10:04. > :10:07.died. Until now there's been no memorial for them in Liverpool.
:10:08. > :10:10.But there's been a big campaign to ensure they have one to mark the
:10:11. > :10:15.centenary of the start of World War One. Now work on the memorial is
:10:16. > :10:26.almost complete. Our Merseyside Reporter, Andy Gill has the story.
:10:27. > :10:38.August 1914. The call to arms. Your country needs you. It reached the
:10:39. > :10:45.heart of every man. Thousands would die in the Battle of the Somme. A
:10:46. > :10:56.Liverpool sculptor has spent a year working on two memorial panels. The
:10:57. > :11:04.city's first monument to the Pals. To me, they all become real. It is
:11:05. > :11:08.about remembering each person and remembering the family, the mothers,
:11:09. > :11:12.the girlfriends, Liverpool. One panel, now away for casting, shows
:11:13. > :11:22.happy volunteers. The second shows the horror of the war. When the
:11:23. > :11:27.panels are put together, they will show the whole story of the war from
:11:28. > :11:31.the horrors of the trenches to the modern day and the new memorial will
:11:32. > :11:36.be unveiled opposite Saint George's Hall. Lord Derby helped recruit the
:11:37. > :11:44.Pals. And they trained in trench digging at his Knowsley Hall estate.
:11:45. > :11:52.Of 5,000 who joined up, 3,000 died. If you can imagine one street where
:11:53. > :11:54.ten families lost somebody, it must have had a tremendous effect on
:11:55. > :11:57.them. Among those seeing the panel today 12`year`old Bethany McGivern
:11:58. > :12:04.who's helped with fundraising. The panels will be unveiled in August.
:12:05. > :12:09.Staying with the commemorations of World War I and the Fusilier Museum
:12:10. > :12:12.in Bury has launched an appeal to find one of its most treasured
:12:13. > :12:15.medals. Six men from the Regiment were
:12:16. > :12:20.awarded The Victoria Cross on the same day during the ill`fated
:12:21. > :12:24.Gallipoli landings in 1915. Five of the six VCs have been traced now the
:12:25. > :12:28.hunt is on to add the final one in time for an exhibition next year.
:12:29. > :12:41.Sarah Stevenson is from the Museum and she's here now. Remind us what
:12:42. > :12:47.exactly the Fusiliers did in Gallipoli. They were part of the
:12:48. > :12:50.29th division that went in 1915 It was hoped the campaign would knock
:12:51. > :12:55.Turkey out of the war and ease the stale male `` stalemate on the
:12:56. > :13:09.Western front. It was on the first day of that campaign that the famous
:13:10. > :13:17.six Victoria Crosss were awarded. `` Victoria crosses.
:13:18. > :13:32.The one we're looking for is the son of Lord and Lady Bromley. His
:13:33. > :13:38.Victoria Cross was putting up for sale many years ago. It was
:13:39. > :13:44.withdrawn and we can only hope it was still with the family. This is a
:13:45. > :13:47.coup for the museum because the other three have come from Lord
:13:48. > :13:58.Ashdown who doesn't usually give these out. I'm sorry, Lord
:13:59. > :14:03.Ashcroft. He has the largest collection in the world. He has said
:14:04. > :14:09.he will loan us three of the crosses. He has never loaned them
:14:10. > :14:14.out before and they have never been shown outside of London. If it comes
:14:15. > :14:20.off, it will be the first time the six have been displayed together. If
:14:21. > :14:25.anyone knows anything about Major Cuthbert Bromley and we can find his
:14:26. > :14:32.family now, how can they get in touch? If they go to our website at
:14:33. > :14:39.the Fusilier Museum, all our details are there. Good luck with the hunt.
:14:40. > :14:42.It would be fantastic to have oral sex together again. Thank you for
:14:43. > :14:46.coming in. A judge says Blackpool Council may
:14:47. > :14:49.have been vindictive in the way it dealt with a lawyer who kept winning
:14:50. > :14:53.compensation for people who'd suffered trips and slips on the
:14:54. > :14:57.town's pavements. After months of wrangling, the High
:14:58. > :15:00.Court last week ruled the Council acted unfairly when it refused to
:15:01. > :15:10.renew Joanna Trafford's lease at the New Blackpool Enterprise Centre
:15:11. > :15:15.Beccy Meehan reports. Personal injury lawyer, Joanna
:15:16. > :15:21.Trafford, has run North Solicitors for nearly six years but last year
:15:22. > :15:26.Blackpool Council said the arrangement was over. Blackpool
:15:27. > :15:29.wrote to me in June 20 13th saying that the lease would cease and we
:15:30. > :15:33.were not going to have another lease given to us. When I questioned why
:15:34. > :15:50.that was, they said it was because my firm had been blacklisted. She
:15:51. > :16:01.had `` had sued Blackpool for problems with pavements. The review
:16:02. > :16:14.said the council of practice and personal injury lawyers... If they
:16:15. > :16:20.want to stop the claims against them, they should fix their roads
:16:21. > :16:26.instead of evicting a legitimacy business out of the centre.
:16:27. > :16:31.Solicitors should never be prevented from representing clients are the
:16:32. > :16:36.people that come to see them in all sorts of distress to the best of
:16:37. > :16:41.their abilities. The council has yet to make a decision on Joanna
:16:42. > :16:44.Trafford's tenancy. Richard's here with the sport now and after a
:16:45. > :16:45.one`sided Merseyside derby last night Liverpool could be about to
:16:46. > :16:54.add to their squad? Yes, the reds are in talks with
:16:55. > :17:04.Ukrainian club Dnipro over a deal for winger Yevhen Konoplyanka.
:17:05. > :17:07.Manager Brendan Rodgers says he s hopeful of completing a deal before
:17:08. > :17:18.the transfer window closes on Friday and Konoplyanka may well be the man.
:17:19. > :17:27.Onto last night's derby then and a 4`0 stroll for Liverpool.
:17:28. > :17:30.Yes and to compound the misery for Everton, striker Romalu Lukaku could
:17:31. > :17:34.miss several weeks after picking up an ankle injury. But fourth placed
:17:35. > :17:35.Liverpool were irresistible and have moved four points ahead of their
:17:36. > :18:06.neighbours in the table. Confidences there. Get in. Nervous.
:18:07. > :18:11.Too many injuries. We haven't won it for 15 years. But it took just 0
:18:12. > :18:17.minutes to rain on Everton's optimism.
:18:18. > :18:23.Then Everton lost Romelu Lukaku to injury and by half time they'd lost
:18:24. > :18:30.the game too. Daniel Sturridge showing no matter which way he's
:18:31. > :18:34.looking. He knows where the goal is. When Luis Suarez made it four, the
:18:35. > :18:38.Blues feared a hiding. Sturridge spared them further pain but it was
:18:39. > :18:53.Everton left with head in hands at the final whistle. A brilliant win
:18:54. > :19:00.for us. To school four goals, we could have had a few more. We wanted
:19:01. > :19:09.to perform so well for our fans and we knew how much it means. They
:19:10. > :19:13.arrived with hope tonight but the fans are living with expectation
:19:14. > :19:18.that with many of their title rivals still to visit here, it could be a
:19:19. > :19:26.season to remember for the red half of Merseyside. We could win it. We
:19:27. > :19:31.had disappointing games against Chelsea and Man City. 100% one of
:19:32. > :19:35.the best games. We know our limitations. On a night when Everton
:19:36. > :19:37.perhaps found out their limitations, there's no telling the limit of
:19:38. > :19:47.Liverpool's ambitions this season. Juan Mata's Manchester United debut
:19:48. > :19:52.was a winning one, they beat Cardiff 2`0. You can see the action on Match
:19:53. > :20:02.of the Day tonight. 10:35 on BBC One. Manchester City could go top of
:20:03. > :20:09.the Premier League if they win tonight. It started with a
:20:10. > :20:21.demolition in November. Manuel Pellegrini says Spurs are different
:20:22. > :20:29.team now. Have improved a lot. I saw the last two games that they played
:20:30. > :20:32.and they are playing very well. That's all from me, just a reminder
:20:33. > :20:37.that Spurs`Manchester City will be live on BBC Radio Manchester from
:20:38. > :20:42.7.45. Let me take you back to 2012 and
:20:43. > :20:52.that summer when the Olympic torch went through the north`west. It
:20:53. > :20:57.captured the spirit of the games. This year, it is a Commonwealth
:20:58. > :21:01.pattern which is making its way around 71 countries before going
:21:02. > :21:09.from Britain to end up in Glasgow. The list of places in England has
:21:10. > :21:18.been announced. It is starting its journey in Cheshire. They are
:21:19. > :21:23.excited there. They clearly are They haven't got full details here
:21:24. > :21:30.but if you caught that glimpse of that church `` torch when it
:21:31. > :21:36.arrived, they are about to relive it here because the Queen's batting
:21:37. > :21:40.will be here. David Brown joins me. How did you manage to convince them
:21:41. > :21:49.to bring it here? The it must have been a very good application. We
:21:50. > :21:53.have hundreds of applications. Most of the people in Congleton turned
:21:54. > :22:04.out for the Batten relay and 24 000 people were here that day. There
:22:05. > :22:11.would be a full range of activities and we will organise a big leisure
:22:12. > :22:20.run. Sharon is a mother here. You turned out for the torch. Same
:22:21. > :22:31.interest? I wouldn't miss an event of a lifetime. Hopefully the same
:22:32. > :22:38.with the baton? Yes. We will have all the pictures right here on the
:22:39. > :22:43.programme. Only a matter of time before the crowds turn out in force.
:22:44. > :22:52.I remember in Manchester it came to the end of my road.
:22:53. > :22:58.Onto the weather now. We hope for good weather when the baton arrives.
:22:59. > :23:05.I have three different weather warnings all the way up until the
:23:06. > :23:12.weekend so be prepared for unsettled conditions. I start this forecast
:23:13. > :23:17.with a weather warning for ice. We have had a lot of rain over the next
:23:18. > :23:23.`` over the last few days and tonight it should be mostly dry but
:23:24. > :23:28.we have clearing skies. And that, the temperatures will fall below
:23:29. > :23:34.freezing. All that rain lying on the ground is likely to freeze over
:23:35. > :23:40.Watch out for icy patches. It would be a frosty night and a frosty start
:23:41. > :23:46.tomorrow. It is going to be bitterly cold and we have an easterly wind in
:23:47. > :23:50.charge of your weather tomorrow The frost will linger for a time and
:23:51. > :23:56.there will be a lot of cloud around. The breezes coming from the
:23:57. > :24:06.east and it may blow some snow flurries. It will feel more like
:24:07. > :24:12.freezing outdoors. For tomorrow we have a different weather warning.
:24:13. > :24:18.This one is for snow. We could see some snow on Friday. We will see
:24:19. > :24:22.heavy rain spreading in from the Atlantic but where that heavy rain
:24:23. > :24:33.bumps if the cold air, there could be some snowfall for a time. It will
:24:34. > :24:37.be a very wet day. The good news is it won't settle. As we headed to the
:24:38. > :24:45.weekend, it will turn very wet and very windy. It would be a touch
:24:46. > :24:50.milder. We are expecting gales on Saturday into Sunday. Very
:24:51. > :25:08.unsettled. You got through all those warnings.
:25:09. > :25:11.You called yourself and evil witch! Yes, it is because of all the
:25:12. > :25:13.weather warnings. Goodbye.