:00:00. > :00:00.Welcome to North West Tonight with Annabel Tiffin.
:00:00. > :00:09.Tributes to the cousins killed in an apparent hit-and-run,
:00:10. > :00:13.as family members struggle to come to terms with their loss.
:00:14. > :00:29.As the government backs new homes and three Garden villages, we visit
:00:30. > :00:31.one of the sites where they will be built.
:00:32. > :00:32.Commuter fears over Mersey engineering works
:00:33. > :00:34.fails to materialise - but is the biggest
:00:35. > :00:38.But the Liverpool singer sets strict conditions to perform
:00:39. > :00:53.Police have been given more time to question four men,
:00:54. > :00:56.who were arrested after the deaths of two young girls
:00:57. > :01:06.Cousins Helena Kotlarova and Zeneta Krokova were hit by a car,
:01:07. > :01:08.as they crossed the road hand-in-hand on New Year's Eve.
:01:09. > :01:11.Detectives are keen to trace the driver of a van who may have
:01:12. > :01:13.witnessed the tragedy, as our Chief Reporter
:01:14. > :01:22.The parents of Zeneta Krokova are joined by the father
:01:23. > :01:24.of Helena Kotlarova at a makeshift roadside shrine dedicated
:01:25. > :01:30.It is just hard to believe that she is
:01:31. > :01:36.She liked dancing, listening to songs,
:01:37. > :01:41.She likes spending time with the family.
:01:42. > :01:50.crossing a road hand-in-hand when they were hit by a car.
:01:51. > :01:52.It happened here, on Ashton Road in Oldham
:01:53. > :01:54.around 7:15pm on Saturday, New Year's Eve.
:01:55. > :01:57.The tragedy has left many in this community deeply
:01:58. > :02:07.The two girls used to come into the shop?
:02:08. > :02:09.The girls came in every day, two times, three times.
:02:10. > :02:12.Today the flowers and messages of sympathy kept coming.
:02:13. > :02:15.Only 11 and 12 years old, that could be my kids, you know.
:02:16. > :02:22.Two young ladies lost their lives for no reason at all.
:02:23. > :02:25.So now the family must plan two funerals.
:02:26. > :02:27.But this afternoon came news they would get some help
:02:28. > :02:32.A family member works at this car parts firm in Oldham.
:02:33. > :02:35.Today the boss said he would foot the cost of
:02:36. > :02:42.We just want to offer them support, which ever way is
:02:43. > :02:46.possible, without us imposing on their personal grieving.
:02:47. > :02:48.Police say this Peugeot vehicle was involved in the
:02:49. > :02:51.They are urging anyone who saw it immediately
:02:52. > :02:54.prior to or after the collision to get in touch.
:02:55. > :02:57.They are also keen to trace the driver of this white
:02:58. > :03:02.The police are keen to stress the van was not
:03:03. > :03:05.involved in the collision, but it was in this area at the time,
:03:06. > :03:07.and they believe the driver may have
:03:08. > :03:12.important information that could help with their enquiries.
:03:13. > :03:13.Meantime detectives have been given extra
:03:14. > :03:16.time to continue questioning four men on suspicion of causing death by
:03:17. > :03:29.A soldier who died in Iraq has been named as
:03:30. > :03:31.Lance Corporal Scott Hetherington, from
:03:32. > :03:34.The 22-year-old from the 2nd Battalion The Duke of
:03:35. > :03:39.Lancaster's Regiment had recently become a father.
:03:40. > :03:41.He's been described by his Commanding Officer as utterly
:03:42. > :03:44.He died from gunshot wounds, after the accidental
:03:45. > :03:51.Detectives are investigating the rape of a 12-year-old girl
:03:52. > :03:55.She told police she'd been attacked by a man in a balaclava
:03:56. > :04:00.It's the third rape in the area in recent months, but police say
:04:01. > :04:07.they are not linking them at this stage.
:04:08. > :04:09.The death of suspected drugs smuggler Steven Corkill
:04:10. > :04:12.in the Isle of Man has prompted a series of recommendations
:04:13. > :04:15.The 27-year-old died under police guard at Nobles hospital in 2015.
:04:16. > :04:18.An inquest heard he'd ingested a lethal amount of cocaine
:04:19. > :04:24.Coroner John Needham said officers on guard duty must monitor
:04:25. > :04:32.A dividend from its part-ownership of Manchester Airport means
:04:33. > :04:35.Manchester City Council's cuts won't be as severe as feared.
:04:36. > :04:37.It had said ?40 million would need to be saved over
:04:38. > :04:50.But council tax will go up by 5% to help pay for social care.
:04:51. > :04:58.Non-tonally does it put council tax up, it does not raise that much
:04:59. > :05:08.money either. -- not only. That raises about ?3.9 million. Next year
:05:09. > :05:13.we will spend more than twice that alone just for the cost of adult
:05:14. > :05:16.social care with the national minimum wage and inflation.
:05:17. > :05:18.The Government has announced that thousands of affordable homes
:05:19. > :05:20.for first-time buyers across the North West
:05:21. > :05:22.It follows news that sites in Merseyside,
:05:23. > :05:25.Cheshire and Lancashire are among 14 new garden villages
:05:26. > :05:29.It's all aimed at easing the housing shortage.
:05:30. > :05:30.Six areas across the North West including Blackpool,
:05:31. > :05:36.Greater Manchester and Liverpool will receive money from
:05:37. > :05:38.a Starter Homes Land Fund - of more than ?1 billion.
:05:39. > :05:40.This cash has been allocated specifically for new developments
:05:41. > :05:46.The homes will be available to first time buyers aged between 23 and 40 -
:05:47. > :05:50.and they'll get a discount of at least 20% below market value.
:05:51. > :05:53.In a separate announcement, the Government has allocated money
:05:54. > :05:56.for three so-called garden villages in the region - in Lancaster -
:05:57. > :05:59.at Handforth in Cheshire - and in Knowsley.
:06:00. > :06:04.These newly-built communities are eligible for a share of a more
:06:05. > :06:09.than ?7 million of Government funding.
:06:10. > :06:11.This comes after thousands of people protested yesterday
:06:12. > :06:14.against plans to build two hundred thousand homes in Greater Manchester
:06:15. > :06:19.Naomi Cornwell has been to one of the proposed
:06:20. > :06:35.These fields to the south of Lancaster will one day be replaced
:06:36. > :06:39.by a garden villages. Is essentially this area is alongside Manchester
:06:40. > :06:51.University -- Lancaster University, and the Lancaster Canal. It is going
:06:52. > :06:58.to be up to 5000 houses over a long time period. They hope to start
:06:59. > :07:03.building the first cases here in 2019, after a consultation period.
:07:04. > :07:06.The most thing that people object to is doing extensions without getting
:07:07. > :07:12.the infrastructure right in the first instance, including schools
:07:13. > :07:17.and highways, flooding, making sure water courses are dealt with and
:07:18. > :07:21.captured in the first place. Doing a village in this way enables you to
:07:22. > :07:25.do it all from the start. It will mean big changes for the few people
:07:26. > :07:32.already living here. It seems to be heading towards turning the place
:07:33. > :07:40.into a community, so I am not too impressed. Houses have to be built
:07:41. > :07:44.and it will always be in somebody's back garden, and unfortunately in
:07:45. > :07:48.this case it is in mine. Having read the plans and how it will be
:07:49. > :07:57.developed, and the community, it sounds really good. Nobody ever
:07:58. > :08:00.wants thousands of homes near them, but it is better for Lancaster to
:08:01. > :08:04.global at the edge rather than way out in the countryside. This local
:08:05. > :08:08.estate agent says new homes are needed, but only if they are
:08:09. > :08:14.affordable. If they are providing homes for first-time buyers and some
:08:15. > :08:19.affordable housing, especially on that south side of Lancaster, then I
:08:20. > :08:23.think it is an excellent thing. Many of the villages like the one plant
:08:24. > :08:26.have been on the drawing board for a while, but the government's backing
:08:27. > :08:28.means new funds to speed up the design stage and create new homes
:08:29. > :08:35.faster. Joining me now from London
:08:36. > :08:48.is planning lawyer Daniel Farrand. Thank you very much for joining us.
:08:49. > :08:51.The government has made two announcements, this is for the
:08:52. > :08:57.starter homes and the garden villages. Given the housing crisis
:08:58. > :09:02.we have, how much do we think these will go towards helping that? They
:09:03. > :09:09.will. Both of these initiatives are good news. It is not new money, it
:09:10. > :09:11.is money already put into funds by the government, and today and
:09:12. > :09:15.yesterday we heard allocations of that money to specific areas. And
:09:16. > :09:19.that has got to be good news for the bringing forward of housing more
:09:20. > :09:26.quickly, and in the areas the government thinks is important to
:09:27. > :09:29.bring it forward. Whether it is the complete solution to the housing
:09:30. > :09:35.crisis is a different question. It is only a drop in the ocean. Yes,
:09:36. > :09:39.this government, the Labour government and the coalition have
:09:40. > :09:43.tried different initiatives, and they have not worked. What you think
:09:44. > :09:48.is the difference this time? Well, the starter homes initiative is
:09:49. > :09:54.somewhat controversial. There is a question as to whether it will
:09:55. > :09:57.actually help with affordability. It is a one-time discount, and it may
:09:58. > :10:01.be that it gets distracted into arguments about the suitability of
:10:02. > :10:06.starter homes rather than the delivery of houses. As regards the
:10:07. > :10:09.garden villages, they are good idea, but governments of various different
:10:10. > :10:18.flavours have tried to deliver over the years, usually with some sort of
:10:19. > :10:21.garden village or equal time branding, and you're not always
:10:22. > :10:26.successful and do not always survive with a change of government. One
:10:27. > :10:30.thing the government could do is put forward some sort of development
:10:31. > :10:33.Corporation or other vehicle that is properly funded that drives this
:10:34. > :10:40.forward, those can be controversial as well, but if they have the right
:10:41. > :10:43.kind of consultation, as we were hearing earlier, where people hear
:10:44. > :10:48.about the proposals and have an opportunity to properly feed into
:10:49. > :10:52.them, they can be useful a useful delivery vehicle that takes it
:10:53. > :11:01.outside the day to day delivery of the local authority. As a planning
:11:02. > :11:04.lawyer, is there an appetite for builders to want to build on
:11:05. > :11:11.Brownfield sites? They are very difficult. They have been this
:11:12. > :11:15.starting point for a few years now, but they can be difficult to
:11:16. > :11:18.deliver, particularly where they have an industrial heritage, where
:11:19. > :11:26.there might be contamination. That is where the starter homes money is
:11:27. > :11:29.about, the money is for site assembly, bringing sides together,
:11:30. > :11:33.maybe from different ownerships, and then making sure they are clean and
:11:34. > :11:38.they have proper planning to be delivered, and that will help a lot,
:11:39. > :11:47.that is a really important barrier that needs to be overcome. The other
:11:48. > :11:51.one is infrastructure, and we were hearing that their eco-towns and
:11:52. > :11:54.garden villages proposals throughout history have all been about
:11:55. > :11:56.delivering the infrastructure to allow developments to take place,
:11:57. > :12:00.and if they have access to that money, these garden villages could
:12:01. > :12:04.work. Very interesting, thank you very much.
:12:05. > :12:07.A drugs fugitive from Merseyside - who was convicted of being involved
:12:08. > :12:10.in a multi-million pounds conspiracy to supply heroin and cocaine -
:12:11. > :12:13.Stephen Bennett was also wanted by police for breaching
:12:14. > :12:15.the conditions of his licence, after serving a prison sentence
:12:16. > :12:19.Footage has been posted on social media, apparently showing inmates
:12:20. > :12:21.at Hindley Prison near Wigan fighting and taking part
:12:22. > :12:30.The videos and pictures have since been removed.
:12:31. > :12:31.The prison was recently heavily criticised by inspectors
:12:32. > :12:37.Plans for a major expansion of the Bentley Motors
:12:38. > :12:44.site in Crewe went out for public consultation today.
:12:45. > :12:47.The company - which employs 4,000 people in the town -
:12:48. > :12:49.wants to create a campus-style facility for manufacturing, design,
:12:50. > :12:52.It would involve the permanent closure of two public roads.
:12:53. > :13:03.A final decision will be made in the spring.
:13:04. > :13:05.Mersey Travel set out on a charm offensive -
:13:06. > :13:08.at the start of a six week closure of the line from
:13:09. > :13:11.They were handing out free bacon and sausage
:13:12. > :13:12.sandwiches to commuters, as workers started relaying
:13:13. > :13:17.Major disruption was expected, but it appears it's so far
:13:18. > :13:19.so good for travel bosses and many passengers alike.
:13:20. > :13:41.But thankfully for these rush hour commuters this morning -
:13:42. > :13:43.the disruption failed to materialise.
:13:44. > :13:55.Not too bad today. And they sausage sandwich helped. I cannot fault them
:13:56. > :14:03.on this, plenty of buses. Engineering work to replace
:14:04. > :14:05.the old track bed means there's no rail service across the Mersey
:14:06. > :14:08.for six weeks and further disruption on the line right
:14:09. > :14:17.through until June. We are asking people to stagger
:14:18. > :14:19.their journeys, to help alleviate the congestion and have the buses
:14:20. > :14:24.running smoothly. 30 buses are on a continuous
:14:25. > :14:29.loop throughout the day to ferry the 40,000
:14:30. > :14:37.passengers every day who travel under the Mersey between
:14:38. > :14:56.Liverpool and Birkenhead, Hopefully we will be able to deliver
:14:57. > :15:01.as effective service next Monday as we could this morning. Passengers
:15:02. > :15:07.have been warned that the journey times might be increasing by 20 to
:15:08. > :15:12.25 minutes next week. We wish them well. As my colleague pointed out,
:15:13. > :15:17.bacon and sausage sandwiches are not to everyone's Test!
:15:18. > :15:23.The cows grazing Merseyside's dunes to keep the weeds under control.
:15:24. > :15:25.And Rebecca receives a proposal from The Donald.
:15:26. > :15:34.But she sets a condition to sing for America's new President.
:15:35. > :15:37.A secret weapon is being used to conserve the Ainsdale sand
:15:38. > :15:46.No ordinary cows but a herd of rare breed Red Pol cows.
:15:47. > :15:48.They're being used by Sefton Council to graze the rough ground
:15:49. > :16:05.They may be more used to Chesterfield, but these cattle have
:16:06. > :16:09.happily made their home on the Sefton sand dunes. They have been
:16:10. > :16:14.chosen as they will eat the tough shrub is threatening to ruin the
:16:15. > :16:17.sand dunes as a home for wildlife. We are hoping the eat the coarse
:16:18. > :16:21.grasses and the shrubs and scrub that grow here. One of the reasons
:16:22. > :16:30.is that the sand dunes are supposed to be open, they are supposed to
:16:31. > :16:34.have plenty of standard name, and the animals on the course need this
:16:35. > :16:39.environment. Hugh Rollins has come to see how his cattle herd are
:16:40. > :16:44.doing. He has been working with conservation charities to naturally
:16:45. > :16:49.preserved the landscape. Be like a varied diet of as many different
:16:50. > :16:55.plants as they can get their mouth 's round. Batch they like. The
:16:56. > :17:02.bovine land managers. The Rangers have now got to know the animals and
:17:03. > :17:09.their personalities. Definitely, some of them are boisterous and
:17:10. > :17:13.friendly, and others are keeping a distance. They will be moved to
:17:14. > :17:20.graze in another nature reserve in spring. Hugh Rollins believes they
:17:21. > :17:25.are thriving. They have got good feed, they are active, bright, and
:17:26. > :17:32.they very contented looking cattle, which is really good sign. They are
:17:33. > :17:34.lovely, aren't they? Onto sport now and
:17:35. > :17:39.Stuart Pollitt's here. We hope you're in a more talkative
:17:40. > :17:44.mood than Pep Guardiola. Yes, he's not particularly jolly
:17:45. > :17:51.at the moment is Pep. Even before yesterday's game he told
:17:52. > :17:55.an American TV channel and said he was arriving at the end
:17:56. > :17:58.of his coaching career. He did though reiterate
:17:59. > :18:00.his commitment to City But then after the win over Burnley,
:18:01. > :18:05.Pep was tetchy to say City haven't even had
:18:06. > :18:08.a bad Christmas, in fact all our Premier League teams picked
:18:09. > :18:11.up at least six points from the three games
:18:12. > :18:54.over the festive period. What was your view of the red card?
:18:55. > :18:58.His mood did not improve in the press conference. Any complaints
:18:59. > :19:08.about the red card? The referee, not me. There were more smiles across
:19:09. > :19:12.Manchester, where things are looking up for United. They are up to fifth,
:19:13. > :19:25.thanks to six straight wins. Marcus Rashford caught the eye, even though
:19:26. > :19:33.one matter give the finishing touch. We play with Manchester United DNA,
:19:34. > :19:37.and the United quality. Jurgen Klopp was not on the fixture list
:19:38. > :19:41.yesterday, and offered to rest all his players. If someone does not
:19:42. > :19:48.want to play, they can come to me and we will speak about it. I am not
:19:49. > :19:55.sure if we can play better football with a great. Three second-half
:19:56. > :20:00.goals for Everton, enough to beat his former club, Southampton. They
:20:01. > :20:04.are looking for signings in the transfer window. Maybe the board
:20:05. > :20:08.will be busy to bring some players and, yes. They may have lost
:20:09. > :20:17.yesterday, but two home wins have made Manchester City Mac people.
:20:18. > :20:25.These are still a top-class side, we have made a good fist of it so far.
:20:26. > :20:28.We have plenty more to do, but I am happy. It is not often the losing
:20:29. > :20:31.manager is happier than the winning manager.
:20:32. > :20:34.In the football league it was a welcome case of d j vu
:20:35. > :20:37.They beat leaders Newcastle 1-0 for the second time this season.
:20:38. > :20:39.Both winning goals scored by Charlie Mulgrew.
:20:40. > :20:43.The win didn't get Rovers out of the bottom three though or stop
:20:44. > :20:44.fans protesting against owners Venky's before and after
:20:45. > :20:51.Elsewhere, Preston won 1-0 at Burton Albion thanks to this
:20:52. > :20:54.Tom Clarke goal but Wigan - like Blackburn - stay
:20:55. > :21:04.In League One, it's now five wins in a row for Rochdale.
:21:05. > :21:07.The latest, 2-0 at Walsall yesterday, puts Dale into fourth.
:21:08. > :21:09.Fleetwood Town joined Rochdale in the play off places
:21:10. > :21:11.after extending their unbeaten run to 11 games.
:21:12. > :21:15.Devante Cole, son of Andy, with the only goal at Shrewsbury.
:21:16. > :21:20.Quite a contrast at the other end of the table where Oldham are bottom.
:21:21. > :21:23.They could have done with this injury-time effort from Billy McKay
:21:24. > :21:30.In League Two, Accrington are four points clear of the drop zone
:21:31. > :21:32.with Morecambe and Crewe just above them.
:21:33. > :21:35.And if you thought your new year got off to a bad start it was probably
:21:36. > :21:37.better than Walsall's Amadou Bakayoko.
:21:38. > :21:40.Check out this miss against Rochdale.
:21:41. > :21:58.We are glad he missed! Thank you very much indeed.
:21:59. > :22:01.Rebecca Ferguson, the Liverpool singer who became an international
:22:02. > :22:02.star after appearing on TV's X-Factor, says she's
:22:03. > :22:11.been invited to sing at President Trump's inauguration.
:22:12. > :22:14.But she says she'll accept only if she can sing a protest song
:22:15. > :22:20.Back home in Liverpool, some people say she should have
:22:21. > :22:23.nothing to do with the country's controversial new President.
:22:24. > :22:32.Stuart Flinders' report contains some flash photography.
:22:33. > :22:35.Singing for a new President is one of the highest honours.
:22:36. > :22:44.Kennedy had Frank Sinatra and Nat King Cole.
:22:45. > :22:47.If Rebecca Ferguson follows suit, it will cap a remarkable
:22:48. > :23:00.Rebecca Ferguson was born and brought up here in Liverpool, but it
:23:01. > :23:06.was the X factor that changed her life. She did not wind it, in 2010,
:23:07. > :23:07.she was the runner-up. But it led to recording contract here and in the
:23:08. > :23:10.United States. But will she accept the invitation
:23:11. > :23:18.to sing for Donald Trump? When Mexico sends the people, they
:23:19. > :23:25.are not sending their best. They are bringing drugs, crime. Donald J
:23:26. > :23:30.Trump is calling for a shutdown of Muslims entering the United States.
:23:31. > :23:31.Trump's campaign was so controversial that it's
:23:32. > :23:33.rumoured many performers, including Elton John,
:23:34. > :23:50.Rebecca Ferguson says she'll accept on one condition.
:23:51. > :23:54.This is Strange Fruit, made famous by Billie Holiday, a song
:23:55. > :24:10.about racism and lynchings in America's south.
:24:11. > :24:22.# Black bodies swinging in the breeze
:24:23. > :24:27.Back home in Liverpool, many believe Rebecca
:24:28. > :24:32.Ferguson should think twice about going to Washington.
:24:33. > :24:41.I think she should boycott. If she sings a protest song, she should
:24:42. > :24:48.attend. I think Donald Trump is a bad influence. You think she should
:24:49. > :24:50.not do it? Really, I don't care. She can do what she wants, she's a
:24:51. > :24:55.singer. Rebecca Ferguson joined last year's
:24:56. > :24:57.celebration in Manchester But will she help
:24:58. > :25:14.celebrate America's Watch this space. We will see. We're
:25:15. > :25:23.going to watch Diane now, with the weather forecast. Happy New Year. I
:25:24. > :25:28.said to her that I like her here, and she said she had it done before
:25:29. > :25:34.Christmas! I am never the quickest. But always very polite.
:25:35. > :25:40.The weather has no consistency this week, one day it is mild, then it is
:25:41. > :25:46.cold, and that is what will happen. It will be back into the colder air
:25:47. > :25:50.tomorrow. It is temporary, with yellow indicating the mild air
:25:51. > :25:54.today. Through Thursday you keep the cold weather, and on Friday it will
:25:55. > :25:59.be mild again. That is because we have a weather front bringing us
:26:00. > :26:03.some rain. So there is a little bit of everything as we go through this
:26:04. > :26:07.week. Today there is a lot of cloud cover keeping the temperatures up.
:26:08. > :26:13.From time to time you may have spotted some drizzle, which
:26:14. > :26:16.continues to be the story overnight. Yesterday was a fantastic night for
:26:17. > :26:19.stargazing, for the crescent moon and Venus. You might get the
:26:20. > :26:24.opportunity tomorrow, but you will not see it tonight because of the
:26:25. > :26:29.cloud cover. The numbers on the chart for towns and cities, you may
:26:30. > :26:33.get two in Cumbria towards the early hours of the morning, but for the
:26:34. > :26:37.rest of us we're talking about five and 6 degrees for the most part.
:26:38. > :26:41.Tomorrow morning it will be fairly cloudy to the south of the Ribble
:26:42. > :26:47.Valley, but the sun will be out for other places. It clears everywhere,
:26:48. > :26:51.with sunshine developing. Through the afternoon you will see a state,
:26:52. > :26:55.a real contrast to today. Your maximum temperature will come in at
:26:56. > :26:58.around lunchtime, so temperatures around seven. But the minute the sun
:26:59. > :27:03.starts to go down, the temperatures will start to fall away. Here is
:27:04. > :27:08.what you can have tomorrow night. Stargazing will be great, but look
:27:09. > :27:16.at that. It will be down to -5 in the countryside. In towns and cities
:27:17. > :27:19.it could be -2. But it is temporary. Line it was very mild and Christmas
:27:20. > :27:30.Day. 14 degrees. Did you have a good Christmas?
:27:31. > :27:36.Yes, I did. I have a six and two-year-old, so
:27:37. > :27:39.you cannot go wrong. Surely we will see the weather
:27:40. > :27:44.improving. Over the next six months we probably
:27:45. > :27:56.will! Have a good evening!
:27:57. > :28:04.Magical new drama... The Worst Witch.
:28:05. > :28:05.Something like this could change my life.