18/02/2014 North West Tonight

Good evening. Welcome to NorthWest Tonight, with Graham Liver and

Annabel Tiffin. Our top story: Warnings about the party drug Geebs,

as three students collapse in Liverpool. Just mixing Geebs after a

couple of drinks can lead to death and their keys `` and there are

cases every year. It brings the total taken to

hospital to six. Also in the programme: Spain Manco

is in Manchester, but can Barca mess up their hopes?

The 60`foot problem on a Liverpool house.

And meet Roger the train`fare dodger. He was lost, but could there

be a new lead? It is taken as a party drug and it

is known as Geebs. In reality, it is little more than an industrial

cleaner that can kill. Over the last three days, a total of six people

have now ended up in hospital on Merseyside, after it is believed

they used the substance. Tonight, Merseyside Police are

warning students and party goers about the dangers posed by the

chemical. They say it could be lethal, even in small doses. This

report, from Peter Marshall. It is colourless, it is odourless.

Take so`called Geebs and you could be gambling with your life.

Emergency services were called to this student accommodation at Hatton

Garden, in Liverpool yesterday evening when two 20`year`old men and

a 19`year`old were taken to hospital. On Sunday, three others,

including a 16`year`old girl, were taken to Intensive Care at the Royal

Livepool University Hospital after it is suspected they took the drug.

We were very unfortunate that they got to hospital so quickly. And they

were given the expert treatment they needed, so the key message to the

educational community across Merseyside is, this is a dangerous

substance. It is not meant for human consumption, it is illegal.

All six casualties have now been discharged.

Well, this is GBL, or Geebs, as it is better known. It is normally used

to clean alloy car wheels, but it is also effective as a paint stripper

and rust remover. It is an industrial solvent. It is illegal to

sell it for human consumption, then it is deemed a class`C drug.

Mixed with alcohol, even in small doses, it can cause unconsciousness,

respiratory failure, coma and even death.

21`year`old medical student Hester Stewart died after taking GBL with

alcohol in April 2009. Her family campaigned successfully for it to

become a class`C drug. They set up the Angelus Foundation to warn of

the dangers. One small accident and just mixing GBL after a couple of

drinks, not even when you are drunk, can lead to death and there are

cases every year. Two people have been questioned in

connection with the incident. Now, it is arguably the biggest

match of the season so far. Manchester City take on Barcelona,

one of the giants of world football, in the last 16 of the Champions

League tonight. A sell`out crowd will be at the

Etihad Stadium for the first`ever competitive game between the sides.

Stuart Pollitt is there for us. And, Stuart, it is a symbolic meeting

because of the path Manchester City have taken in the last few years to

get here, isn't it? Yes, a path which leads all the way

back to Spain and back to Barcelona. When Sheikh Mansour bought this club

five and a half years ago, nights like this were his objective. That

objective to compete with the best has seen Manchester City learning

from the best. Barcelona. They have hired former Barca players, their

former Chief Executive and Sporting Director, and emulated many of the

models which have made the Catalan club the most

feared in the world. A commitment to be part of the elite

has meant the recruitment of personnel including... From

Barcelona. 14 trophies in five years, including five Champions

League titles followed. This former player and nonexecutive director can

see a Barcelona blueprint at Manchester City. When you look to be

the best comic you see what is the benchmark of being the best and

Barcelona for the last five or longer years has been the benchmark

for every four or club in Europe, possibly the world. `` darts club.

You take the good parts of that There has been player recruitment

and training facilities, expended by weighing clubs in Australia and New

York to realise a global ambition. A commitment to home`grown players

would be something most clubs would go along with, but they aim to have

400 the best young players. This concentration on youth development

worked for Barcelona. Messi is one example to have come from Barcelona

`` the Academy. This fan from Singapore was mixing with Barcelona

fans. City has influenced people in my country, a lot of fans. They can

play as much, as well as Barcelona used to play. The kind of players by

signing and the football they are playing. The FA Cup was their first

trophy in 35 years, the league Trophy `` the league title followed

and confirmation on the world stage will only follow from winning the

Champions League title. The club has made progress towards winning the

European cup by making it to the knockout stages for the first time.

More in the build`up to this later. Thank you. A house in Liverpool has

become an unlikely tourist attraction after a huge tree fell on

it in last week's storms. Jim Brennan arrived home in Maghull to

find the giant leylandii had destroyed his garage and crushed his

car inside it. It has become quite a draw for visitors, who have been

turning up to photograph the unusual sight. But it is a big headache for

the tree's owner, as Naomi Cornwell has been finding out.

It is hard to imagine in daylight, but when Jim Brennan arrived home in

the dark last Wednesday, he didn't notice the 60`foot tree that had

fallen on his house. Jim only realised something was wrong when he

discovered the back door had been broken down by the Fire Brigade

trying to check if he was trapped inside. For his neighbour Elsie the

owner of the tree, it was a huge relief that he wasn't. I was plunged

into darkness. I saw what had happened, which was an enormous

shock. He is very stoic about it but I am so anxious about his property.

Jim is still living in his house. He didn't want to speak on camera

today, but considering what has happened to his garage and to the

car inside, he is taking it in remarkably good spirits and told me

he has always wanted a convertible. Meanwhile, his home has been

attracting quite a lot of interest. Nature has taken over the world It

is amazing, let's hope they get to the root of the problem!

And Elsie says so far, no`one has been able to help her remove that

problem. By cars draw `` are trapped on the drive and I cannot get out ``

might cause. I have never been of the phone ringing the insurance

companies, the water board, everybody, it has been that a

nightmare. It is an entry `` it is an interesting feature. You could

say that, but I would rather not have it, I would have to say.

It is remarkable he did not notice the tree had fallen his house.

The last thing you want is people outside taking photos.

Exactly. Families of those killed in the Hillsborough Disaster have made

a formal complaint to the Independent Police Complaints

Commission over alleged police surveillance. 12 families have asked

the IPCC to investigate claims they were monitored in the aftermath of

the 1989 tragedy and, in some cases, had their phones tapped. They have

also made a separate complaint about previous refusals by the police to

comment on the issue. A petition signed by over 6,000 thousand Isle

of Man residents calling for a so`called "toilet tax" to be

scrapped has been handed over to the Manx government. The Water and

Sewerage Authority has announced plans to introduce a ?50 charge for

all households on mains sewerage from April. The charge follows a

reduction in its revenue grant, but the public want the charge scrapped.

We have had enough of this government and their stealth taxes.

You have nothing for the rich and we keep getting hit. An old lady living

in a small flat struggling with cots has to pay the same tax as a

millionaire, how can that be right, how come up the modern? `` how can

that be modern? Think of the First World War and you

think of trenches, men, mud and barbed wire. But this was a World

War and its impact stretched far beyond Flanders. The scale of the

conflict changed lives forever here at home. A hundred years on from the

war, the BBC in the North West will be taking a close look at how those

lives were changed. Dianne Oxberry can tell us more about it. She is

over the canal in the Imperial War Museum North. The evening. One of

the things the museum does really is bringing home the human stories of

conflict. Behind me is the gun that fired the first shot in World War I.

This is significant. And behind that gun sat five men who all back at

home and family, friends and communities. And tonight, we are

launching coverage of the centenary of World War I am we are looking

that the stories from the Home Front. The experience of those men

had on those back at home so reporters from the Northwest have

been scouring the area for the best of those stories and here is a

taster. Within three weeks, 80 men had

enlisted from this street. Out of 161 altogether. Harry gave every

conscientious objector a fair hearing, he looked at each case on

its own. He was good at questioning potential conscientious objectors to

get to the bottom of whether they were conscientious objectors. He is

a real legend in city Mark Webb which you could never put a face or

understand the story `` `` in Liverpool. He was voted with the

Beatles as one of the most recognisable people. The men who had

not been drafted after the Somme were called up so the women manned

the munitions factories. The worry was that the regular army was off to

France and the territorials and reservists is would not far behind.

So who would do the job of protecting this country? The answer

was, the volunteer force. The stories will be fascinating and

they want on your local registration and on the programme on Monday, and

you will hear more in the coming months. We can talk to the director

here. The museum have been very kind and you have a massive hive ``

archive and you have the collaborating with us. The Imperial

War Museum has been collecting material, photographs, documents,

diaries, since 1917, since before the first World War finished. It was

so important when they realised what a traumatic event the first World

War I is, that they had to capture the memories. And that is what we

have done and what we have here We have the material and through the

BBC, we can make it widely available. It will be educational. I

learnt about the Home Front in the second World War cobbler ``, but not

so much World War I which was just as interesting. Through some of the

research we did, we found that the first World War is mixed up with

World War II. This is a great chance for people to understand the

difference. I have heard stories through perhaps their parents or

grandparents and great grandparents. And essentially,

through those stories, they can connect with what really happened

such as through this project with the BBC and the exhibition we have

in the Imperial War Museum is `` in April. And the role of women in war.

You talked about the five men that would have been behind this God who

took their jobs? `` this God. The women worked in factories, munitions

factories, sometimes very dangerous jobs. It will be fascinating and we

are grateful for the cooperation of the museum. I will be back later

with the weather forecast which is white I have my coat on inside! ``

why. A year ago, doctors from Liverpool

made their own bit of medical history by performing the first`ever

kidney transplant in Gaza. They have been back several times

since. But now medics from there are in Liverpool to discover how to go

about setting up their own transplant programme. Our chief

reporter, Dave Guest, has been to meet them.

Nick Brickland is getting ready to go home after undergoing a kidney

transplant at the Royal Liverpool Hospital. The kidney was donated by

his wife Jill. It is a procedure which is relatively commonplace in

this hospital. But for these medics, it is all very new. They are from

Gaza, a place which has no transplant programme. We hope with

this project we can take this knowledge with others to establish

such a system. Surgeons from Liverpool carried out Gaza's

first`ever kidney transplant operation just last year. They have

been back several times since, carrying out eight successful

operations. Mr Abdul Hammadis, Director of the

Transplant Unit at the Royal Liverpool. He says it is time for

Gaza to establish its own programme. They need a continuous programme.

Having people from Gaza here for training will help to form the

nucleus of the team. People here so friendly, kindly, they respect us,

they give us so many things. The team will be here for another three

weeks and they will go home when the big job begins, putting in place the

resources necessary to put into bat is what they have learnt here. ``

into Pratt is. Did he just perform that operation?

I hope not! Now time to head back to the Etihad Stadium, ahead of the big

game tonight between Manchester City and Barcelona.

Stuart is there. And, Stuart, this is a milestone match for Manchester

City, isn't it? A milestone because it is the first

time City have reached the knockout stages. It is what the manager,

Manuel Pellegrini, was brought here to achieve. But the main reason

there is so much anticipation around this ground tonight is because these

two teams mean one thing. Goals They have scored 228 between them

already this season. In the months since the draw was made, that single

fact is pretty much enough to keep everyone excited. Now, finally,

Manchester City v Barcelona is no longer on the horizon.

A romantic and iconic club, with the world's best player. They have been

the dominant footballing force of the last decade. So no wonder

Barca's fans are confident. Today is Barca day. One `` two. To Barcelona?

All the way! Manchester City are a very good team but Barcelona this

year is amazing. But City, too, have confidence

though. They can match their opponents' firepower.

This season, City have scored 1 7 goals. Barcelona 111. City lie third

in the Premier League and still in with a chance of four trophies. Yaya

Toure won the European Cup with Barca, and knows what it takes. We

have to compete and be 100% because Barcelona is at the top level and if

we want to be move on and be the top club in the world, we have to beat

those teams. It is what I have been waiting for, we are having it! We

have to score at least three goals to go over to Barcelona but I think

we were winter night. `` we were winter night. `` we will win

tonight. What does the City boss make of Jose

Mourinho's claim that Barca are past their peak? It is a different team,

it is not fair to compare. We can go tomorrow and show the world that we

can still be the best. So the stage is set for one of the

most eagerly awaited matches of the season so far.

It is equally awaited for fans of Fleetwood town. But they have it all

to do to reach a Wembley final. Graham Alexander's side travel to

Chesterfield with a 3`1 deficit for the second leg of the Johnstone

Paints Trophy Northern Area final. The Winter Olympics dream is over

for Alsager's freestyle skier Rowan Cheshire. She has been withdrawn

from the half pipe event on Thursday after suffering a serious crash in

training The 18`year`old suffered concussion and spent a night in

hospital under observation. Rowan says she is hugely disappointed And

finally, the date has been announced for the funeral of Sir Tom Finney.

It will be on Thursday 27th February at Preston Minister at one o'clock.

I am sure he would have loved to have seen this game tonight,

especially with Messi in the team, a man many people say is the

equivalent of Sir Tom Finney. There is a sense among fans that

Manchester City can get to Barcelona if they can just get the ball of

them! Should be a game tonight. Now we

come to the story of a Methodist Minister with a one`track mind.

Malcolm Lorimer is a railway enthusiast who already has a small

railway running around his church in Nantwich.

Now he ia trying to persuade Network Rail to shunt a plan to demolish a

disused signal box into the sidings. And as Mark Edwardson found,

Reverend Lorimer wants the building transported across the town to his

church. Nantwich Methodist Church, and its

Minister. We are the only church in England with a permit and `` with a

permanent miniature railway on. `` railway. A man with a mission, and

his own giant train set. Next to The Reverend Malcolm Lorimer's track, a

car park, and he wants to use it to save this. Nantwich Signal Box. 200

years ago, Hillary was decommissioned and we do not use

that any more here. Somebody said, let's keep it and they have, and why

not? In 50 years, somebody will say, I am glad they kept the signal box.

Built in 1948, the same year British Railways was born, now disused. A

relic of the past. Due for demolition, it is a tight

timetable for the Reverend Lorimer. We can get sponsorship, people to

donate, the town council can help and of the grant`making bodies. We

do believe in walking on water as a church! He is stoking support, with

the help of former railway workers in Nantwich. It represents the best

part of mechanical engineering we had which meant the ball could

safely move trains around. To see something like this going is a

shame. After 66 years, the signal reached the end of the line when

control was transferred to Cardiff. Network rail have said alternative

uses for the building have been considered at because it is so close

to the railway line, it has to go. Now meet Roger. A very familiar name

on this programme, but maybe not what you were expecting. This is

Roger the Lurcher, who has been a very naughty boy.

This morning, the furry fare dodger was off on an adventure. After

unlocking the patio door, he took himself walkies and jumped on a

train. 25 miles later, he was lost and a long way from home. Suzanne

Hailey has more. Who doesn't enjoy a day out in the

city? Roger here certainly does The platform staff said a dog was

running loose so we had to bring him into making safe. `` to make him

safe. Making himself at home with the Customer Service team at

Manchester Victoria. He may not have made it beyond the station walls,

but he is definitely making some new friends. He has been lying down

quite a bit. I think he has taken to us here and he does not want to go

home! Would be a good station dog, the staff have loved him and made a

fuss of him. Arriving just before eight o'clock,

Roger made an early start. His journey took him over twenty miles.

It is believed he climbed aboard at Smithy Bridge, then travelled

through Rochdale, Castleton, Mills Hill and Moston, before reaching his

final destination. When it comes to usual passengers,

this one really does take the biscuit. But there is one thing for

sure, staff here have certainly got him well`trained! Really enjoying

himself here. It would be sad for him to go. But when the warden

arrives, the fun is over for this dog about town.

Well, I'm pleased to say we do have a happy ending. But he is a little

camera shy. Until he is ready, we are going to Diane, who is not

camera shy! It does not surprise me because I

met him and I gave him a warm welcome and he just looked at me. He

looks to have had the longest day in the world, he looks really fed up so

I am not surprised he is not an easy as Dick. We have not had a bad day.

`` and use your stick. We talked about showers and because winds have

Ian Wright, there is nothing to drive them through the region. ``

light. Through this evening, you might catch a stray one and a break

in the cloud cover. Down to around three Celsius. In towns and cities,

towards the early hours, six, seven degrees, which is still good for the

time of year. It felt mild today and it will again tomorrow. Tomorrow, a

lot of cloud to start the day. A disappointing start. But it will

brighten up. The morning is overcast and the winds are light. Into the

afternoon, the cloud cover will break every now and then. An

improvement from morning to afternoon is all we can hope for,

and temperatures, nine, 10 degrees. Wednesday night into Thursday until

lunchtime, wet and windy all over again.

We had our lovely story about Roger and he has returned and is with us.

But he is not called Roger. He was named Roger after Manchester Dogs

Home who have been looking after him. His owner and is on her way. A

neighbour spotted him on our news and recognised him so she is on her

way. What an adventure! He has been on an adventure, certainly. He got

on the train and has had a 25 mile journey into Manchester. The local

train people phoned the local animal wardens and that's when he came into

our care. We came up with a microchip and we can say we have

managed to get hold of the owner. You said about the chip and that

cuts down problems. It does help a lot if they have a microchip and the

owners keep up with the details A lot of dogs when people move home,

they do not keep up with the database, so unfortunately when a

stray dog comes into our care, they have not kept up. You have matched

him up with her owner. Thank you for bringing him in and for watching,

good night.