10/03/2017 North West Tonight

degrees. Fiona. Thank you, Sarah. That's all from the BBC News at Six.

Welcome to North West Tonight, with Stuart Flinders

Narrowing the North-South divide. Could better schools be the answer?

We hear from the Children's Commissioner for England.

20mph zones - Manchester halts its scheme,

after accident rates fail to drop as much as expected.

The drowning of five women in Derwent Water is remembered,

And could the record funding given to Manchester clubs turn

Britain's paralympic goalball players into world-beaters?

We start tonight with a claim from the Children's Commissioner

for England that many children born in the North grow up believing

Some figures certainly suggest that there is a North-South divide,

in terms of opportunities for young people.

Just over 14,000 businesses were opened in Greater

That is more than in the whole of Wales.

And yet three of the local authorities in Greater Manchester

are in a top ten of the country's most deprived areas.

Liverpool is home to more than 7,000 creative and digital firms,

contributing ?1.4 billion to the local economy.

But Liverpool's employment rate is the worst in the country.

A young person leaving school or college in London

or the South East is 57% more likely to go on to a top university,

compared to a child in the north of England.

The Children's Commissioner, Anne Longfield, who was

in Manchester today, has launched a project to address

the divide, called Growing Up North. She has been talking to Andy Gill.

This afternoon, Anne Longfield was at Reclaim,

a Manchester charity which teaches young working class people

overcoming what it calls stagnating social mobility

And the teenagers who come here are aware of the North-South

I do believe there are a lot less opportunities for young people up

here than there are don't so. There is definitely that divide.

Earlier, the children's commissioner was in Trafford,

meeting local experts, who have ideas on how to tackle

the lack of opportunity some Northern children face.

Too many families do not get that opportunity at the moment. Children

just have that expectation of being able to have choice and succeed.

And she thinks forthcoming political devolution in Greater Manchester

That devolution could include new abilities and new opportunities for

vulnerable children. It would help them move from the transition from

primary school into secondary. Also, help with business and further

education. How important our children to the project? They are

central to it. It is the family and final environment which ships the

thinking and the view of the world. Obviously, the family informed their

own experience and expectation. She is travelling next to me as they

say, to hear of the problems with an Liverpool and the surrounding area.

She will report in the summer. Cheshire Police are tonight still

at the scene of an armed stand-of, Officers were called to a house

in Weston just outside Crewe yesterday lunchtime,

over concerns about a man's welfare. When they arrived, he had

a crossbow and was refusing Our reporter Ian Haslam

is there for us tonight. Yes, this stand-off has been

going on for quite some time, officers were called to an address

on Kingsdown Road at Wychwood Park shortly after midday yesterday

after that report of concern Now, Wychwood Park is a private

estate, with the houses, as you may be able to see,

set some way back from Police are still there

and still negotiating with the man, who has not been named,

as they have been for over 30 hours. Armed officers were also deployed,

along with the police helicopter, as these pictures filmed

from the scene show. A cordon was put in place

and the road was sealed off as a precautionary measure,

as negotiations continue with the man, who is armed

with a crossbow and still refusing Police believe he is been the only

person in the property throughout Cheshire Police dealing

with a highly sensitive situation and, clearly,

it is also a concerning time for local residents.

What are police saying to them? Well, they have thanked them

for their patience and cooperation, and say they will continue to keep

them up to date with the situation Obviously, a very strange

time for people arriving home from work last night, to find

armed officers on their street. The hope then from those residents

and police here that this ongoing incident can be brought

to a peaceful conclusion. One of Britain's most

senior female judges, ruling on her final case

in Manchester before retiring, has begged all women to protect

themselves from predatory men It came as 19-year-old

Ricardo Rodrigues-Gomes was sentenced to six years in jail

for raping a woman Lindsey Kushner QC said, whilst

there was no excuse for such crimes, women put themselves in danger

of being raped by men, Four libraries that were due

to be closed in Liverpool have been saved, after

the government increased the amount it was giving

to councils to pay for social care. The extra ?27 million means

the council will not have to divert as much money from other areas

to fund social care. But Mayor Joe Anderson says

the extra money over three years is still only

a "sticking plaster" solution. And the minister responsible

for social care, Warrington South MP David Mowat, is among the guests

on The Sunday Politics this weekend. That is at 11am

on Sunday on BBC One. New figures show Lancashire

and Cumbria are among the ten areas Motorists will be given refunds for

fines imposed for driving in the bustling in Preston.

New figures show Lancashire and Cumbria are among the ten areas

of Britain with the highest number of sub-standard bridges.

The RAC Foundation is warning that thousands of council-maintained road

bridges are not fit to support the heaviest lorries

and many are under programmes of managed decline.

Research carried out by North West Tonight suggests most

of the region's police forces are making little or no effort

The new zones have been set up in residential areas, at a cost

But in Lancashire last year, not one single person was fined

for driving too fast in one of these zones.

Meanwhile, Manchester has halted the expansion of such zones,

amid concern they are not reducing accidents by as much as was hoped.

The speed limits were imposed to make the roads safer.

Lancashire spent nearly ?6 million setting up the zones.

Using Freedom of Information requests, North West Tonight has

found that, last year, Lancashire Police did not fine

or prosecute anyone for breaking a 20mph limit.

In Greater Manchester, where almost ?3.5 million

was spent on the zones, only one driver was fined.

Merseyside Police appear to have been the most active.

Lancashire Police admit that cuts to police budgets has forced them

to concentrate on motorways and main roads rather than 20mph zones.

The zones have been implemented on 100 streets. This week, Manchester

said they were halting the roll-out and instead are spending the

available budget on more traditional traffic Cal Ming measures, such as

pedestrian crossings. We have seen the level of police funding cut and

that has impacted on how the police have been able to enforce this. But

it is understandable, even though it is disappointing.

This week, a study found average speeds in Manchester's 20mph zones

In Manchester, as a whole, including areas without the new zones,

accidents have gone down around 33% since 2014.

But results from a sample of the city's 20mph zones

showed accidents there had only reduced by between 12-16%.

Some campaigners are sceptical about the research figures. We would say,

give this longer and do more research. I think 20 mph is

reasonable. If you go more, it could be getting to the stage where it

could be dangerous. There are children's lives involved. Go for

it. However it is achieved, road safety remains an important issue

for our communities. The government is to look into why

a report into the contamination of water supplies in

Lancashire 18 months ago has Residents in 300,000 homes had

to boil drinking water for a month, The Conservative MP for Fylde,

Mark Menzies, told the Commons 18 months on, the Drinking Water

Inspectorate still refuse to publish a report, still refused to say

when it will be published, saying, we will publish it

when we are good and ready. Can the Leader of the House set

aside some time to debate the responsibility of organisations like

the Drinking Water Inspectorate I have to say that I am

surprised this report has not yet been published

and I will draw this to the attention of

the Secretary of State Tens of thousands of commuters

could be affected by a strike on Monday by conductors and drivers

on Northern Rail and Merseyrail. The RMT union is disputing

plans to bring in more Huge disruption is expected

across the region - Naomi Cornwell is at

Manchester's Victoria Station this will not just perfect train

passengers? -- affect. Yes, the 24-hour walkout planned

for Monday is because the RMT wants Northern Rail and Merseyrail to give

more assurances that it will not take away the job of opening

and closing train doors from guards. The companies deny they are

putting safety at risk, It is about cutting safety and

boosting profits of the already rich train operators.

If you are travelling around the region on Monday,

Northern Rail is not just the biggest train

It is the biggest train operator in the UK.

It expects that most of its services will not operate.

Only 40% of services will and they will be extremely busy.

They will run around 300 rail replacement bus

services across the North of England and Northern Rail tickets

will also be accepted on all Arriva Bus services.

Northern Rail is the trading name of Arriva Rail North.

We will focus our timetable and moving people where we have

conductors available. We are looking at the key fall between cities and

locations. We will not be able to be in every area. I would urge

customers to visit the website. They have urged anyone

who would normally be commuting to work to ask

employers if they can work from home or be flexible with working hours.

Merseyrail will also be affected. It hopes to run trains every half

hour on all routes from 7am to 7pm, but that depends on who crosses

the picket lines. And it is not just rail passengers

who will be affected. There will be extra trams on some

routes in Greater Manchester and some roadworks will be

suspended, but buses to be busier than normal,

as are the region's roads. So, the advice to everyone

travelling on Monday is check before you set off,

have a Plan B and leave extra Thank you. We will all pay

attention. It is going to be very difficult.

Is this the next world champion from the Fury family?

Tyson's cousin Hughie says there is no stopping him.

And Amelia's aim - the 14-year-old hoping

for Paralympian success in the sport of goalball.

It was the worst loss of life the Lake District had

seen during its time as a tourist destination.

And it led to new safety rules governing pleasure craft.

Yet, few people remember the Derwent Water disaster of 1898.

Now, a retired policeman aims to put that right,

One of the nation's most popular tourist destinations in the

20th century, but it was just as popular in the late

It provided respite for those who worked in the grimy North -

among them, Mary Jane Smith, Nancy Pickles, Frances Crossley,

They were in a party of mill workers from Nelson

who headed for the lakes in August of 1898.

Sadly, the five young women never returned home.

This was the worst loss of life on a British lake

The highlight was to be a trip out on Derwent Water.

The ladies boarded a rowing boat and set sail.

Out in the middle of the lake, one of the ladies lost her handbag

overboard and in the scrabble to try to recover it,

It was already overladen and it capsized and sank.

A verdict of accidental death was recorded.

This retired policeman from Cumbria has documented the tragedy in

From my research, I could find no-one from the Keswick area

who knew anything about this as a subject and that disturbed me.

It was such a significant incident that it should be remembered.

And in Nielsen, the women were buried together in a memorial was

evicted to remember them. It was such a tragedy, that the five young

women, Haut having it holiday came should day.

Following the accident, new rules were introduced,

so that the legacy these women left behind was to make

leisure time on the lakes safer for us all.

Following this, councils were able to take over the regulation of

boating. That was very important. It looks so atmospheric. I had not

hear the story before. It is something we did not know enough

about. Richard is here now with tonight's

sport and it is Manchester City's goalkeeper situation causing

debate again tonight. Yes, all because of an interview

that Joe Hart has done with the BBC. City boss Pep Guardiola says

he will consider Hart's future there at the end of the season.

You will recall that the England 'keeper was let go by Pep

pretty much as soon Joe's currently on loan at Italian

club Torino and told The Premier League Show

that he is unsure I love the club and I have always

said, if they wanted me, I would be here. But that big clubs, things can

change quickly. Not everyone is going to wake you. That is the

business side of it. Manchester City are at Middlesbrough

in the FA Cup at lunchtime tomorrow, while there is a couple of Premier

League games this weekend, too. Everton host West Brom at 3pm

tomorrow, while itis Liverpool v Burnley

at 4pm on Sunday. All the best coverage

of all the weekend's games There are two huge local derbies

in League One this weekend, with Oldham hosting Bury

in a basement battle, and Fleetwood taking on Bolton

at the other end of the table. Second-placed Fleetwood

are on an 18-match unbeaten league run and on the back of four

straight wins which have moved them Wanderers, a pre-season

promotion favourite, are fourth, but without

a win in four games. And you can see a special

report from the game On to Super League now

and it is four defeats for Warrington Wolves now this

season, after Wigan Warriors ran out comfortable winners at the Halliwell

Jones Stadium last night. The Warriors look to have

unearthed another new star in winger Liam Marshall, who scored

four tries in only his second Wigan's 38-16 win moves them

to the top if the table, BBC Radio Merseyside

and the Manchester equivalent will keep you across tonight's

action which sees St Helens go to Hull and Leigh look to build

on their solid start to the season One other sad piece of Rugby League

tonight, is that former Widnes captain Mick Adams,

a veteran of 400 appearances and four Wembley wins,

has died, at the age of 65. The cousin of former heavyweight

boxing champion Tyson Fury says nothing will stop him from winning

the world title himself. Hughie Fury fights Joseph Parker for

the WBO belt in New Zealand in May. Hughie, unbeaten as a professional,

has been a boxing fanatic And earlier today, I went down

to the Fury gym in Bolton, to talk to him about the sacrifices

he has made, how far Tyson is from a return to the ring and,

first, what he makes I think he is one of the best only.

Here's a big talent. What do you need to do to beat him, because he

is one of the rising stars of heavyweight boxing? It is always

going to be the same income. I have the willpower and determination to

win. What have you had to sacrifice to get to this point, to Iran as

shocked at the Warren potato? I have been doing this since I was six. I

had my first fight at a one years old. I have sacrificed all the

normal teenagers things. Parties, get your friends. It has just been

boxing. I have not really heard the childhood, having friends and

everything else. I have just been so focused on boxing. Could you have

done it with anyone else, without your father being your trainer?

Definitely not. I trust him. I listen to him. We have never lost a

fight since he started training me. You said that you and your cousin

will dominate the division like the Ukrainian brothers have done for

many years. I think, mean and going forward, we could dominate the

heavyweight division. If Tyson does come back, and I believe he will, we

could do that. Will he come back? I think his head is at the great poise

at the minute. There is talk of a comeback know. Maybe the end of the

-- this year or the beginning of next year. How confident are you

that you will return with this model title? I will definitely be coming

back with it. There is no doubt about that. Complete boxing fanatic.

The total all his life. Is he as big as Tyson? Just about. Not quite. He

has something of a dwarf compare to him, at only six feet six. Tyson is

six feet name. -- Maine. Britain won a record 147 medals

at the last Paralympics, but the team is not resting

on its laurels. It is now going for gold

in the sport of goalball. Two Manchester sports clubs

for the blind are directly benefiting from record funding given

to them by Sports England. The ?1.3 million grant has been

given to the organisation behind goalball, with the aim to find

the next Team GB stars. Our reporter Mohammed Salim Patel

donned his tracksuit Remember this face, because you

could be looking at a future gold medallist in the sport of Goalball.

This is 14-year-old Amelia. She dreams in Manchester with her team.

She recently returned from a talent,, funded by money given to

the sport. When I got the news about it, they could not sleep that they,

because I was so excited. The money given to the sport in is to expand

the minority Paralympic sport and to increase its participation at

grassroots level. It is usually important. We are very much she

grows sport. It was invented in 1946 to rehabilitate visually impaired

World War II veterans. It is the only sport specifically designed for

the Blind and partially sighted. The aim is to get the ball into the

opposing net whilst wearing a blindfold.

How does it feel for you to be on the way to possible sporting

stardom? It feels like a dream come true. She will have to do a lot more

dodging and diving to reach the top level. If she does, remember that

you saw her here first. We will keep an eye on her. The ball looked quite

heavy. Looks like a great game and that funding will make a huge

difference. We can now have a look at the weather.

As the good weather going to continue?

We got this beautiful flower. That was from Pauline. Over the weekend,

rather cloudy. The saving grace is that it will be milder. A lot of

sunshine this week, but not so much at the weekend. A lot of cloud.

There was light rain and drizzle today. Nothing substantial, but just

very irritating. Spots of rain this evening. Overnight temperatures

around it- name Celsius. Tomorrow, a lot of cloud. This weather front

pushing from the north and west. Just about anywhere, drizzle could

break out. Finn cloud overnight, too. It came temperatures in

11-15dC. On Sunday, another big weather front pushing through. It

has been lovely this week, as will. We all get excited. At least the

daffodil photograph was lovely. Have a lovely weekend.

So, like, you get sponsored to swap clothes with somebody for a day.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. OK, I don't get that. So, maybe...

I don't get that. ..you wear your mother's clothes?

I don't get it. What does she wear? No, no, she wears someone else's.

OK, I don't get that, it's too complicated. Do another one.

So, like, you get sponsored to let people lick stuff

No, but, like, you get these flavoured... Cool, yeah.

Not going to happen. Peanut butter. Do another one.

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Let's Sing And Dance exploded onto our screens,