10/04/2017 North West Tonight

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

The Government's asked to help amid fears it's

You know, it comes in a little fancy tube, as if

it is sweets, and it is taking people to hell.

Working to people who have used spice.

Also coming up in the programme tonight.

Shale gas investors granted anonymity to protect them

The young people confronting their troubles thanks

To be able to express yourself and feel like people are going

to listen to you and you feel like people are

going to care about what you have to say.

Could a law change help to bring a Grand Prix to the city?

Manchester Council has declared the city's escalating problem

with the drug spice a "crisis", and it wants the Home

The police were called to 60 incidents related to the drug

cannabis, but it can cause hallucinations and paranoia.

Stuart Flinders is in Manchester for us,

I know you have spent the day in Piccadilly Gardens, Kew have seen

for yourself first hand the terrible effects of the drug. Just a couple

of minutes ago, a man was taken to hospital from a Piccadilly Gardens

right here where we are now after becoming like a zombie. That is the

main symptom of this drug. He appears to have been under the

influence. It can cause paranoia, it can cause hallucinations, research

in Manchester suggests that some of the ingredients have led to people

parred death. We were drawn by a commotion this afternoon to that

tram station at the top of market Street where somebody appeared to

have taken spice. This is what we saw.

Mid-afternoon in one of the busiest parts of Manchester.

One man appears to need urgent medical attention.

A woman has dialled 999, asking for help.

There is a man here and he looks like he's going to collapse.

He looks like he has been smoking spice, or something like that.

He seemed unaware that we were there.

Concerned that he might fall and hurt himself,

They have sat him down on the floor now.

As the man lay on the ground, an off-duty doctor stepped

I saw him a bit before as well, and he

seemed to be stood still, almost frozen.

I used to work in A, I have seen a few people like that

Suddenly, the man seemed to recover and simply stood

This weekend alone, Greater Manchester Police

were called to no fewer than 60 spice-related incidents here in the

It is a problem focused mainly on the

homeless community, and there are plenty

of people sleeping rough in

The reason it has become so popular is the price.

You can buy spice for about half the cost of eight packet of

You do not know what is going on, you are literally asleep.

It is horrible. You are literally asleep.

Basically because it was so easy to get and it

Manchester Council has declared it a crisis.

It wants the Home Secretary to intervene.

What is happening in Manchester will happen

nationally, so the next steps we are taking is to see

the Chief Constable and review the situation, and then

we're going to be seeking a meeting with the Home Secretary.

Because the experience of Manchester is going to

It appears that spice is being taken openly and in broad daylight,

A police crackdown at the weekend doesn't appear to have changed that.

You heard Pat Karney predicting that spice

Peter Marshall spent the day in Blackpool where he too found

evidence that this dangerous drug is in use there too.

The use of spice on the streets of Blackpool is no greater

on the streets here is both bizarre and shocking.

stands frozen in the street, and here a suspected user

I haven't seen anyone say they enjoy themselves on spice. I see them

coming and they are acquired or frightened.

Jamie Sargeant runs the Amazing Graze Community Cafe

in the resort to offer food and support to those who need it,

and more and more are turning up having taken spice.

My friend, he had a girl that woke up in a cupboard. She was upside

down in a cupboard. She had deep vein thrombosis. She did not have a

clue how she got there. It is horrendous, to comes in a fancy tube

as if it is sweets and it is hell. He says it can be bought

cheaply and easily. The effect, ranging

from hallucinations, How could you have a good time

pulling the skin off your face or just constantly drooling being a

zombie? The Council is working with health

authorities and police One key will be educating

people about the dangers. That is going to take two, three

generations. In the meantime, we have the problem of dealing with

people blue light services that take up the problems. The very serious

risk of these people dying in the street. Lancashire Police say the

risk is now higher here than in any other town or city. They advise

people should not take the substance is because they are dangerous and

they do not know what they contain the health risks involved.

Here in Piccadilly Gardens, this seems to be the focus of spice use.

It is a cause of concern for the shop owners, it has changed the feel

of this part of Manchester, and it is going on openly in front of

families, young children, everyone can see it.

The Police Federation is calling for a criminal inquiry

who arrested an anti-fracking campaigner at

The Federation claims the Independent Police Complaints

Commission wasted ?200,000 on the case, and alleges it

suppressed evidence which would've helped the inspector's defence.

The IPCC says it's dealing with the Federation's complaint

through its internal complaints procedure.

A KFC drive-thru in Greater Manchester has closed

after a burning car rolled through the driveway and set

It happened at just after one o'clock yesterday

afternoon at the fast food restaurant in Denton.

It took three fire engines around an hour to tackle the blaze.

There were no reports of any injuries.

The Prince of Wales has been visiting BAe Systems

Prince Charles, who is also Admiral of the Fleet,

met workers and was given a tour of the facility.

It included the Devonshire Dock Hall where submarines are built

A five pound coin is being put into circulation in the Isle of Man.

Five pound coins were issued in the 1980s as collectors items,

but they'll now be a lot more common.

A new set of Manx coins was launched today, but it

doesn't include 1ps or 2ps, as they cost more

A priest who is accused of sexually abusing a by was described as a

caring man and a man of entire group T. Friends of Michael Higginbotham

have been giving evidence in his trial in Liverpool. He denies the

charges. Prosecutors have portrayed

Michael Higginbotham as an evil bully who abused his position

of trust to molest a young boy. They say it happened

while he was teaching at St Joseph's Seminary

in Lancashire during the late 1970s. His victim, they say,

is a lad who was 13 when the abuse The boy was at the school

for six months. He claims he stole a watch

so that he'd be expelled The school closed some years ago,

but the trauma of what happened here remains with the victim to this

day, according to the prosecution. And they say the person

responsible for that trauma Today the priest's friends

painted a very different They were parishioners

from a church where he'd gone They described him as a good man,

a kind man, a caring man, The priest's barrister told the jury

that his accuser had been motivated to make up a story of abuse

in the hope of winning compensation. There had been a civil action

against the Catholic Church brought by a former St Joseph's pupil some

time ago alleging abuse. The church had settled out of court

without accepting liability, but had made a payment of ?35,000

to that person. The barrister said this new accuser

had been motivated by that to make up a story which he said was filled

with inconsistencies The judge will continue his summing

up tomorrow and then send the jury Dave Guest, BBC North

West Tonight, Liverpool. The energy company behind

the fracking site in Lancashire has used new legislation to keep secret

the identities of some Cuadrilla says it's to protect them

from being subjected Anti-fracking campaigners say it's

unnecessary and simply Here's our Environment

Correspondent Judy Hobson. With every day that passes,

tensions are rising at Cuadrilla's fracking site

on Preston New Road near Blackpool. Protestors try to slow work

at the site by blocking vehicles In the past few weeks they have

also targeted companies Some have complained

of intimidation. Campaigners say they have been

the victims of heavy handed police Now it's emerged some of the people

who run the fracking company have They say it is due to the risk of

intimidation and violence. Cuadrilla is majority owned two

companies, the investment fund Riverstone Holdings and

Australian Mining group AJ Lucas. Last year the Government said

everyone who runs a company should have their names and addresses

on a public register. But Cuadrilla argued

the names of four of their Some anti-fracking campaigners said

they werent aware of threats As far as I'm concerned, it is just

to influence public opinion against us. We are not troublemakers. We are

against fracking for a number of reasons, but we had decent,

honourable people. I have not threatened anyone in my life.

Since the legislation was introduced, just five companies

But this move shows the level of feeling on both

Still to come on Northwest tonight. educating people

To be able to express yourself and feel like people

are going to listen to you and feel like people are going to care

there was a time when orchards were common across the land but how times

have changed. The only time most of us pick apples is only go to the

supermarket. A new project across

Greater Manchester aims to create and restore community orchards

by teaching green-fingered A charity called the Orchard Project

has teamed up with helping Britain blossom to teach people grafting,

turning tree cuttings into trees. Tell me about the incessant

grafting. That is where we fuse these two things together through a

couple of intricate cuts. And then we can know that, as the spring is

springing at the moment, that will grow and this will grow on to become

a new tree. My children have always grown apples from peps and this

actually is one of the ones we grew. Really useful for me to learn about

how to graft so why can do it on my own plot. It's not hard but you need

practice. Week Debbie is a leader in Seymour Grove allotments in

Trafford. Here, there are 55 varieties of fruit trees. Studies

show urban Orchard offer a wide range of benefits including reducing

loneliness and improving local surroundings. Many of these trees

were planted between seven and eight years ago. A small group of

volunteers come down of an evening once a week and we just keep the

Orchard tidy and we look after the trees and we proved them and we feed

them and if it's been very, very dry we water them. The aim of this is to

help preserve heritage orchards and fruit varieties across Greater

Manchester so cuttings such as this can grow into trees like this. Once

the saplings have much order in around 12-18 months, they will be on

sale to the public who can then start their very own mini orchards.

Apple Blossom looks beautiful, doesn't it?

And the next grafting event is taking place tomorrow

at Parrs Wood Rural Study Centre in South Manchester.

When we said grafting, you are worried we meant working, won't you?

We don't do anything like that. Sport now, and Stuart Pollitt

is here with news of a major Yes, not many coaches or managers

have their own statue outside the ground but that status hasn't

saved Keiron Cunningham The club today sacked him, ending

a 24-year association with Saints. Cunningham's been head coach

for two and a half years, but before that he played nearly 500

games for the club, winning So it must have been a tough

decision for St Helens Yes, he said in a statement today

that sacking Cunningham was "upsetting and disappointing"

but that it was necessary. Saints have had a poor

start to the season. They are seventh in the table

and threw away a 14-0 half time lead There's been disquiet among some

fans for a while and there were He was the best hooker that was

born. But that doesn't necessarily mean you are the best coach. It's a

bit shocking to be honest with you. Here's a stall ward at the club. The

club is in his heart. I wasn't impressed with the last few results

so it's good news, a bit of a change. Paul Wellens, ring him in.

You can get more on the super league show here on BBC One at 11:40pm

tonight. On to football now and confirmation

that Liverpool striker Sadio Mane will have knee surgery tomorrow

and be sidelined for two months. Both the Reds and top four rivals

Manchester City won on Saturday, meaning Manchester United needed

a victory at Sunderland Marcus Rashford scoring

his first league goal Everton remain just three

points behind United Romelu Lukaku taking his goal tally

to 23 for the season. In the Championship,

Blackburn Rovers are four points from safety after a costly home

defeat to Barnsley. Wigan also remain in trouble

despite Nick Powell's injury time winner against already relegated

Rotherham. Oldham beat Fleetwood

in League One to boost their survival hopes but dent

the Cod Army's promotion chances. And Shay McCarten's fifth goal

in five games helped Accrington Stanley come from 2-0

down to beat Crewe 3-2. Well there's no doubt

about the result of the weekend, that came at Prenton Park

where Tranmere beat Rovers equalled the National League

record score as they continued their push for a return

to the Football League. There were hat-tricks for two

Rovers strikers but, as I discovered this morning,

that hasn't stopped them After a hat-trick each you'd have

thought the last thing Cole and Connor needed

was shooting practice. To be fair, as forwards,

we need that. But the only downside,

we didn't have a keeper so when we miss it it looks

a bit dodgy. On Saturday, Cole hit his

hat-trick in the first half I can't moan to be fair

because the chances I had, I weren't expecting,

do you what I mean? I'm made up to make up

for the penalty miss. After the break

it was Connor's turn. What were you thinking

at half-time, Connor? Were you thinking,

I want a piece of this? Obviously, the main thing

was the three points. But with two hat-tricks,

what happens to the match ball? I managed to get the first-half one,

so I took the ball in at half-time Connor had the second-half

hat-trick, so two balls for us. This ground has something

of a history for high-scoring games. Tranmere's record win is 13-4

against Oldham in 1935. That day a man called Bernie Bell

scored nine goals on his own. The game still holds the record

as the highest aggregate score Saturday's win was a sixth

in a row for Rovers. They're level on points with leaders

Lincoln who have a game in hand. It's not about putting

pressure on anybody else. It's about just us dealing

with games, winning them, playing well till the end

of the season and if that's enough, when the points are added

up, then fantastic. And if they keep this run going,

Tranmere could achieve their ultimate goal -

a return to the football league. They are certainly in form,

those two strikers, aren't they? Manchester boxer Terry Flanagan

has his eye on a super bout after successfully

defending his world lightweight It's now 33 wins from 33 fights

for Terry after a unanimous points Ukraine's Vasyl Lomachenko,

regarded by many as the best boxer in the world, is among the names

being mentioned Finally from me, a disappointing end

to Lancashire's opening County Championship match

of the season. Despite dominating their match

at Essex, Lancs failed to take the ten wickets they needed

today for victory. The home side batted out

the final day to earn a draw, And that is all the sport for this

evening. It would be great if Bernie Bell played in a team with Mickey

Mouse. Lots of good names at Tranmere Rovers, aren't they? We

were hoping to give you a report about Formula 1, the Grand Prix,

maybe possibly coming to Liverpool but unfortunately it got stuck on

the starting grid and has been towed away on a low loader but we would

get it started. We will get the jump leads out. Sorry.

The Hay festival is one of the country's most

When it starts next month, among the authors and poets will be

They are from the Young Identity Initiative -

a poetry project encouraging people living in inner city areas

They are so good they've now been asked to perform at the festival.

I'm going to give you no more than ten minutes for this.

Young Identity and Wordsmith are a spoken word collective

They bring young people together through the writing and performing

Having that opportunity to talk about social and global and local

things is really important to people cos often we don't believe

the politician or local government or even our teachers are hearing

what we've got to say and I think this is a place where,

actually, how I feel is really, really important.

There's such a democracy around this table.

They run workshops every Tuesday at the Contact Theatre

and once a month get to showcase their talents at an open

When I'm playing that hip-hop gangsta rap,

It's all about spoken word, art and expression.

This is all about the voice of young people and that's why

I guess we're in a climate where young people are really despondent,

really disaffected with education, with society as a whole.

Some of these young people are very articulate and have got on well

at school and come to this, but we also find young

people who are in corners like that, seething,

you know, and it gives them a voice, it empowers them.

Any art form is good, it's cathartic but the thing

with word is it's language and we've all got it.

I'd like to play Casanova in a long sweeping coat and find a beautiful

young woman to elope in a far-off land.

We, as women, change on each turn, sacrificing our natural beauty

We found that being in a classroom or any setting like that and giving

and sharing like that, some say teaching,

is as rewarding as being on stage, in some ways, richer.

To be able to express yourself and feel like people are going

to listen to you and people are going to care about what you

You feel like your words have weight and that really means

a lot to young people, especially in the current climate

where we feel like we're not being listened to.

I think it's really key, definitely in Manchester

where there is not really a platform to express your views.

For a good five minutes, people are listening to me

It's all about ethnicity cos these days we don't talk about race.

Mark Hilton, BBC North West Tonight, Manchester.

And every day this week you can see a different poety performance

They've made the films especially for North West Tonight and you can

see them on our Facebook page starting this evening.

There is a few sort of sun-kissed faces around today, aren't there?

Stuart is one of them. Such lovely weather but we didn't listen to your

advice about the UVA rays, did we? I hope you enjoyed your weekend,

fantastic, wasn't it? Good evening. Temperatures in the weekend, in the

high teens in the north-west of England but it's a thing of the past

now. A little bit of evening sunshine right now but this week

it's a different kind of picture. Much, much cooler but there will be

some pretty good spells of fine weather at times. Lancashire saw

beautiful sunshine today. If you didn't see too much, sorry about

that. That will be the picture tomorrow, sunny spells and patchy

cloud, which is the story right now. Clear whether around and as we go

through the night, one or two places will feel fairly cool but as the

night progresses, much more cloud cover will push its way back in. A

few tiny spots of rain working its way in across the Irish Sea but

nothing to write home about at all. It's not a feature. A couple of

unlucky spots could have drizzle when you get up first thing tomorrow

morning. In terms of temperatures, 7-84 times and cities. A little bit

cooler rerelease -- towns and cities. By 8am, the sun comes out.

More cloud cover than you might like through the afternoon but the

temperatures 11-12 at the very best. We do still need some suntan lotion.

I will use a sunscreen with. I think it sounds like we need a code,

actually. Have a lovely evening. Bye-bye.

There are times in the life of a nation

when the choices we make define the character of our country,

times when people stand up and demand real, significant change.