10/06/2014 North West Tonight

Welcome to North West Tonight with Roger Johnson and Annabel Thffin.

The Hillsborough inquests are told the tragedy would never havd

happened if the previous match commander had still been in charge.

Chief Superintendent Brian Lole was replaced just three weeks

More turmoil at troubled Morecambe Bay trust ` as two senior

figures resign ahead of what's expected to be a critical rdport.

Sniffer dogs find heroin woven into rugs at Manchester Airport

The boy soldiers who fought and died in the Great War.

A Lancashire school re`discovers letters from the trenches.

And we'll have another report from the hometown of the Giants to see

what we can learn about the event in Liverpool at the end of Julx.

The Hillsborough tragedy wotld never have happened if the police

commander who'd overseen prdvious matches had still been in charge.

That was the view expressed today at the new Hillsborough inqtests

by Richard Chester, a former secretary of

A little earlier I spoke to our reporter Ben Schofield,

who's been following today's evidence at the special coroner s

I asked him exactly what Mr. Chester had said

He was Chief superintendent, described as simply the best police

officer he had ever worked with He would liaise on match days puite

closely, seeing each other, at half time and at the final whistle. They

would talk about crowd control matters and how things were going on

match days. Mr Chester menthoned him during his interview and told

officers that if he were thdre, it would not have happened. He was

asked what he meant and he confirmed he meant that if Brian mole was

there on the date he believds the disaster won't have happened. Did he

say what he bought the Chief superintendent would have done? The

jury heard on two occasions when achieves used to be intend `nd took

the decision to close the g`tes that would lead down the tunnel behind

the goal. Mr Chester said this happened on two occasions when the

pair cleared of at ten bladds and cause overcrowding if they were

allowed down into that central pen. He said my association with the

Chief superintendent would, I think, have resulted in action being taken

before we got into a situathon of severe overcrowding. He went on to

say if you're going to let people through the turnstiles without

control in the pen, it is inevitable you'll have problems. Why w`sn't he

imposed on the day of the dhsaster? The jury has heard he was moved onto

a different position within South Yorkshire police in the weeks

leading up the disaster. There's mounting concern tonight

over the controversial NHS Trust which runs hospitals in Cumbria

and North Lancashire. Within four days, two senior board

members have resigned from the University Hospitals of

Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust. It's thought

the Trust is going to be strongly criticised in a report due out later

this month from the health watchdog, Peter Marshall is here

with more details. Ever since the death of

Joshua Titcome in 2008 highlighted failings in the

maternity unit of Furness Gdneral Hospital ` the Morecambe Bax Trust

has been under intense scrutiny There's a criminal investig`tion

into Joshua's death. Health watchdogs have criticised

maternity and emergency card. There's to be an inquiry

in public into failings. It?s had a new board `

and there've been improvements. But two key members

of the new board have now rdsigned George Nasmyth resigned as

Medical Director on Friday. And today John Cowdall,

the chairman, The turmoil is a matter of deep

concern. It is clear the new management has been doing the best

job at Cannes in trying to stabilise the trust. The real issue `` it

can. It doesn't say terriblx available things.

It?s been reported that in ` letter to the trust, Mr Cowdall saxs, we

have had sight of the draft in order to check it for factual acctracy.

I am deeply disappointed at some of the content of the report

and also disappointed as much for what it does not say.

All through those patients have wanted to make sure their hospital

stays where it is and services are as good as this can be. I h`ven t

seen the report. I know manx people will be concerned about what it

says. The new CQC report is

expected later this month. We have launched a big camp`ign and

are concerned that if the rdport comes out and says some services are

not as good as they could bd, those services may be cut.

If it?s not good, they could lose local services.

The Trust has thanked both len for delivering improvements and helping

The Health Secretary, Jeremx Hunt, has said he will act quicklx to

tackle any problems highlighted in the new report.

In the last hour, the A department at Arrowd Park

hospital in Merseyside has been closed because of flash flooding.

Patients are not currently being accepted ` instead they're being

The adjoining All Day Health Centre is also affected.

Anyone with a serious injurx or illness are advised to use

It's emerged Merseyside polhce were the target of a 40`year`old man `

who today admitted a string of terrorist`related offencds

Images of the force headquarters were collected by Kevin Concannon

He admitted to collecting or making records of information

He's due to be sentenced in September.

A former soldier ` wanted on fraud charges

in the United States ` has lost his final appeal against extradhtion.

David McIntyre, from Hyde, is accused of overcharging for

He served in the Queen's Lancashire Regiment ` and claimed he stffered

from post traumatic stress disorder ` and was a high suicide risk.

But today judges said there was no legal reason to delay

Manchester's ten`year plan to reduce carbon emissions is falling short

of its target, according to a new report.

The city aims to reduce emissions by forty one by 2020.

A group which is monitoring its progress

says the metrolink expansion and more cycle routes have helped.

But it says unless more changes are made, the targets won't be let.

It's being described as one of the biggest drugs hauls dver

discovered in the North West ` and all of it was hidden

Sniffer dogs found the multi`million pound concealment

of heroin in a parcel which arrived at Manchester Airport.

Stuart Pollitt is at the airport for us.

Stuart this was a well organised attempt to smuggle a lot of drugs?

Yes, so large that it's takhng officers weeks to work out just how

This bundle of bags is what arrived in the

airport terminal on a flight from Peshawar in Pakistan via Abt Dhabi,

But it didn't take sniffer dogs long to discover that there was lore than

Once they were rolled out and picked apart, officers found

heroin had been carefully woven into the fabric of the carpdt.

It was, the UK Border Force said, a highly sophisticated concdalment.

Two men have been bailed on suspicion. Difficult to find as

Difficult to find as well.

Well the drugs pulled out of these carpets

so far weigh 50kg but the rtgs are still being unravelled so the final

The street value is estimatdd at ?5 million.

To put the scale of the seizure in context,

last year 800kg of heroin w`s seized across the UK so this haul when it

is finally weighed could amount to close to 10% of that total.

It is likely the drugs will be the biggest haul the airport have ever

found. I think you're found the newspaper headlines. The drtgs in

the rucks. `` rugs. A report

into a Lancashire care home has found management didn't do dnough to

protect residents from abusd. The review,

by the Lancashire Safeguardhng Adults Board, looked at the events

at Hillcroft Slyne with Hest Care Home, where four former card workers

were convicted of abuse. Hillcroft said it welcomed

the review and was considerhng Work has started on the building

of new roads and homes around Preston and South Ribble `

at a cost of ?430 million. The government and county council

believe the "City Deal" plan will Four main new routes will bd built

into Preston, to relieve traffic congestion and

help local businesses to develop. We are the first dealers because

government sees the potenti`l that Preston has and this is going to

unlock the potential we havd. It will provide growth that we needed.

Liverpool football legend Ian St John is battling cancer.

The former player ` who madd over 400 appearances for the Anfheld club

` has recently had both his bladder and prostate reloved.

The 76`year`old spent two wdeks in hospital in April.

It's been called a national food scandal.

Every year 15 million tonnes of food is wasted in the UK.

Yet ` as we heard yesterday on North West tonight `

the demand for foodbanks across our region has never been hhgher.

The Birkenhead MP Frank Field has today attacked the government

for refusing to use EU cash to help supermarkets deliver desper`tely

Instead he claims the Coalition is making it easier for food to

At FareShare, every bit of food is preciots.

The charity rescues surplus produce like this from wholesalers

Last year its Greater Manchdster depot provided 750,000 meals.

If more food was donated, it could offer double that.

Its manager comes from France where there are tax incentives

for retailers to donate waste food ` here he says there's nothhng.

I visited this in Paris. Thdy did in a week what we do in a year or more.

We need funding to help us. It saves society and the charities money from

buying it on their budget. The government could use EU funds

to help supermarkets deliver waste It does use public money to support

energy plants like this which use It means retailers can get rid of

their surplus produce here cheaply. MP Frank Field,

who's leading an inquiry into food The richest part of the world does

need to have, to draw breath and think seriously how wasteful of food

we are. How important it is to our lives and existence. We need to

behave as though we believe it. Last year British supermarkdts

donated just 5,900 tonnes In comparison, Spain

gave 118,000 tonnes. The Department for work and pensions

says the government does usd money to help disadvantaged communities.

It says Everett was to use DU cash to subsidised food aid, there would

be less money `` if it. But for FareShare that

doesn?t stack up. It says much more needs to be done

to win over supermarkets If you are the type

of person who dreads the postman coming for fear of the

debt reminders about to comd over The BBC commissioned

a special survey for a day The survey found that

the vast majority of people have So Jayne McCubbin decided to take

the advice to the people of Preston, the city with the highest average

debt in the region. This is where people from press and

come to find a deal and we `re here to offer a free deal. Can I offer

you free tea and coffee? And also debt advice? That is a problem in

Preston where they have the highest level of average debts you hn debt?

Just a little bit. Have you tallied it up? No. The BBC commissioned a

survey. 25% described that `s a problem. 69% said they had never

asked for advice. 20% said they don't know who to ask for advice but

we do. This is a man from the council debt team. Are you

struggling to pay your monthly money? There are things that can be

done. Carol is a market trader with around ?13,000 of debt. Is this

because of overspending or the cost of living? It is the cost of living.

I work six days a week. I know someone who can help. Carol is like

people we meet today, in de`th. She is surprised at what is out there.

This could be the answer to my prayers. For Carol, a debt relief

could be the start of her journey out of debt. The important thing to

remember is that debt doesn't have to be the end of the road. Death

won't kill you. We can help. `` debt.

Walking and talking, the French grandmother expected to

wow the crowds when the Giants return to Liverpool next month.

The poignant World War One letters sent home by boy soldiers

How many of us realised that we should take part in this terrible

business? The political row `

between David Cameron and Angela Merkel ` over the new

President of the European Commission But it's only one

of the presidential jobs up The European Parliament also needs

a President. That's similar to the Speakdr

in the House of Commons. Why do you want this post? H wanted

to come back yet but the arguments as to why it is important wd have a

president who wants to carrx out a programme of reform. It is puite

clear after the latest election results that people across the

European Union want to see change and they want to see reform. That

isn't going to happen if we have the same faces tried and tested, the

same is quite another matter and indeed

the role of the speaker is to try and address those issues as well,

but it will only become reldvant if we are dealing with the isstes that

matter the people in a way they matter the people will stop at

present we are not doing enough I'm sure David Cameron would love to

have one of us men in that position. Will you get that support

you need given the fact you are a British MEP? There is a need for us

to understand what the people of Europe want. They don't want the

same tried and tested polithcians coming forward and don't want any

piece sticking at the Haven. I am only 43 years old. I have 20 years

of service, ten of which... I am a solicitor by profession and I've

been in business throughout. I have done ten years in Parliament, is

there is a tried and tested track but people want the politichans to

reach beyond party politics and put forward people who can deliver the

reform, that is so needed in the European union. We wish you luck in

the future. Chester have bedn readmitted into the conference.

Hereford have been expelled after they failed to meet a deadlhne to

pay their creditors. Officials at Liverpool Council say

they hope next month's Giants event will be bigger

and better than the one in 2012 Three giants

from a French street theatrd company will be in Liverpool in Julx `

to commemorate the centenarx And one of the giants will be rather

different from those which came two This weekend the new giant,

the Grandmother, made her ptblic debut in Nantes, the town

in north west France where the Royal One obvious difference with

their previous giants is her face. Here, telling stories about

herself and the history of Nantes. In Liverpool she'll tell

of the optimism of young men who The subject matter is at thd heart

of what we are trying to do which is to reach the communities in some

meaningful way. When the Giants are at the Cathedral

in Nantes, the crowds are so deep a planned meeting between the

Grandma and the boy can't h`ppen. Crowd control an important dlement

of what the Liverpool deleg`tion There are different giants which are

coming. We are keen to come across with the council and have look at

how it is working to make stre our plans are as good as can be.

The Giants are in Liverpool from July 23rd.

But the French technicians who bring them to life will be there

The two places are similar, traditional port which saw xears of

decline and are trying to rdvive themselves. It we do this on a

regular basis the sheer voltme of people that are out and abott in

France on a summer's afternoon is phenomenal. The Giants are here on

January 23, but those who bring them to live will be here in less than a

month. I hope the sunshine hs here when they come to Liverpool.

They were little more than boys when they left Lancashire to fight

And they wrote to tell pupils at their old school about lhfe

Their letters lay forgotten at Rossall School for almost a century.

But now they've been rediscovered and given pride of place

in the school archive as Dave Guest reports.

Rossall near Fleetwood is a place steeped in history,

So when the storm clouds of war gathered over Britnex

in August 1914, the boys were keen to do thdir bit.

They would even practice thhngs like using machine guns.

They were too young to think about anything other than shmply

Most of them did so very effectively.

Members of the teachers' colmon room began to finally have less

and less time to teach them lessons and more and more time was being

Whilst researching the schools's archive, the deputy head sttmbled

across a collection of lettdrs unseen for almost 100 years.

They are from those serving on the frontline to pupils who were

How many realised that in our youthful days whilst serving

in the cadets that we should take part in this terrible busindss?

I sincerely hope that you m`y all be spared having to take a turn in it.

The present`day pupils readhng these excerpts are only

a year or two younger than the young soldiers who wrote the lettdrs.

They came out of France in @ugust 1914.

Ralph, who was wounded on the first day, John Henrx killed

The spirit of my old days has carried me through

many tight corners in serving our King and country in far off lands.

Now they have found the letters they don't want them to stax hidden

They intend to put them on display in the school archive

and to share them with the wider community by contacting the civic

community to see how best they can make them available to the public.

A fantastic discovery. Such young boys. Onto the weather.

A fantastic discovery. Such young boys. Onto the weather. We have had

everything bar kitchen`sink today. We had a lot of sunshine. Wd have

had some heavy downpours recorded in Merseyside this afternoon. Some

flash flooding in places. Btnder and lightning in a Lancashire. Lots and

lots of rain `` thunder. Thd high pressure should kill off thd showers

on Wednesday and Thursday, so the next couple of days you are in for

very settled conditions. It should be drier and brighter as we head

into the weekend. But not this evening. Still plenty of showers

lurking around. You can see them pushing in from the Irish Sda. We'll

hang onto them for the first part of the overnight period. They will ease

away by dawn. We to cloud and it should be less humid as it was last

night, but temperatures still in double figures, lows of 12 Celsius.

It'll be a cloudy start tomorrow morning. One to cloud still lurking.

We hang onto them for a bit and hopefully in the afternoon the

sunshine should sneak through. Very light winds so a pleasant d`y on

offer. We could see highs of 18 or 19 Celsius, which is not bad at all.

Thursday is even warmer. Maxbe 0 or 21 Celsius and as we head into

weekend we should sue the temperatures still hanging `round

the 20 Celsius mark, hopefully drier too. `` see.

Two men from Manchester are attempting to break the world record

for the longest hug to highlight the unsung worker of carers in the city.

John Bland and Oliver Wiggldsworth are hugging each other at Phccadilly

station and are hoping to break the record of 27 hours.

Did you ever have to do the old hug at the disco? Speak for yourself.

Only you would do that. Havd a good night.