:00:00. > :00:00.Welcome to NorthWest Tonight with Annabel Tiffin
:00:00. > :00:09.Anger among campaigners as they lose their latest battle
:00:10. > :00:17.The company says it's a good decision for local jobs.
:00:18. > :00:25.The evil Catholic priest convicted of the repeated sexual
:00:26. > :00:29.It's a safe haven for natterjack toads and red squirrels.
:00:30. > :00:39.The National Trust celebrates 50 years at Formby.
:00:40. > :00:42.The four-year-old boy from Cheshire who's become
:00:43. > :01:02.A Catholic priest has been found guilty of repeatedly sexually
:01:03. > :01:05.abusing a teenage boy at a school in Lancashire almost 40 years ago.
:01:06. > :01:07.Father Michael Higginbottom had denied the abuse and said he didn't
:01:08. > :01:09.remember the victim, who had been a pupil
:01:10. > :01:11.at St Joseph's Roman Catholic seminary in Upholland
:01:12. > :01:15.But a jury at Liverpool Crown Court found the 74-year-old former teacher
:01:16. > :01:18.guilty of eight counts of abuse, as Ian Haslam reports.
:01:19. > :01:20.Father Michael Higginbotham had arrived for the start of his trial
:01:21. > :01:25.last week accused of horrifically breaching his position of trust.
:01:26. > :01:28.Today a jury at Liverpool Crown Court decided he had.
:01:29. > :01:32.I feel it's a very satisfying result.
:01:33. > :01:35.The evidence heard that he was described as an evil man and that's
:01:36. > :01:38.not a description I'm going to argue against.
:01:39. > :01:42.He breached his trust in the capacity of a teacher at that
:01:43. > :01:46.school, as a teacher who was meant to be giving pastoral care.
:01:47. > :01:48.He breached it in the worst way imaginable.
:01:49. > :01:50.The abuse took place at St Joseph's Roman Catholic
:01:51. > :01:57.From the late 1800s into the early 1990s, this now disused building
:01:58. > :02:04.During the trial, the court heard Father Michael Higginbotham had
:02:05. > :02:07.sexually abused the boy who was aged 13 and 14 at the time
:02:08. > :02:14.If the boy had failed to turn up at the appointed time,
:02:15. > :02:19.St Joseph's, the victim said, was a cold, dark and forbidding
:02:20. > :02:22.place for him with horrific memories he'd spent 40 years desperately
:02:23. > :02:29.After six months of abuse, the victim stole a watch and made
:02:30. > :02:34.He was subsequently expelled and returned home with his parents.
:02:35. > :02:38.The purpose of the school was to train boys potentially to go
:02:39. > :02:44.Within days of him getting there, he was seriously sexually abused
:02:45. > :02:51.The victim managed to get himself out of that situation and,
:02:52. > :02:55.nearly 40 years later, the victim came forward to report
:02:56. > :03:04.The jury was told previous allegations have been made
:03:05. > :03:06.against Higginbotham by another St Joseph's pupil and that
:03:07. > :03:10.the Catholic Church had settled the claim out of court but,
:03:11. > :03:23.a decade later, he's facing prison and is due to be sentenced tomorrow.
:03:24. > :03:26.A man who stabbed his accountant wife to death after he discovered
:03:27. > :03:28.she was having an affair has been jailed for life.
:03:29. > :03:30.Stuart Gallear claimed he didn't intend to kill mother-of-two Mandy
:03:31. > :03:33.in the kitchen of their Wigan home but that he momentarily
:03:34. > :03:40.He was sentenced at Manchester Crown Court.
:03:41. > :03:43.The Manchester Central MP Lucy Powell has requested a meeting
:03:44. > :03:45.with the Home Secretary about the problems caused
:03:46. > :03:50.She said she was worried how the use of the former legal high had spread
:03:51. > :03:52.to the streets and warned it was only a matter
:03:53. > :03:55.of time before somebody in the city would die from it.
:03:56. > :03:59.The number unemployed in the North West has fallen by 27,000.
:04:00. > :04:01.The latest figures for December to February show 162,000
:04:02. > :04:11.The Government's investigating Lancashire County Council's
:04:12. > :04:14.Dozens are being shut by the authority who say
:04:15. > :04:16.they are under pressure to make savings of ?200 million
:04:17. > :04:28.They had taken their legal challenge to the highest court in the land.
:04:29. > :04:31.But today a group of Lancashire residents were told they had been
:04:32. > :04:33.defeated and that fracking can go ahead at Little Plumpton.
:04:34. > :04:36.The Preston New Road Action Group said they were bitterly disappointed
:04:37. > :04:40.the high court had ruled in favour of Cuadrilla.
:04:41. > :04:42.The company said it was a good decision for local
:04:43. > :04:49.Our reporter Judy hobson is at the site near Blackpool for us now.
:04:50. > :05:00.Yes, this is a site behind me here. Cuadrilla thought the High Court
:05:01. > :05:05.would rule in their favour but residents thought they had a chance
:05:06. > :05:08.to overturn the decision. This wasn't about fracking, but about
:05:09. > :05:13.planning regulations. Residents had to prove planning rules had not been
:05:14. > :05:18.followed. The High Court today said they had been. And the residents say
:05:19. > :05:25.that the fracking process was flawed and this could have been their last
:05:26. > :05:31.chance to get the process stopped. Near to the fracking site of Preston
:05:32. > :05:35.new Road, police and protesters clashed. This is happening almost
:05:36. > :05:39.every day with the confrontation is becoming more heated. Campaigners
:05:40. > :05:42.say they are not surprised by today's decision, which ruled in
:05:43. > :05:46.favour of Cuadrilla but they say they are angry. The only course of
:05:47. > :05:51.action now left open to us is more direct action. We followed all the
:05:52. > :05:56.legal routes, all the legal processes available to us. So the
:05:57. > :06:00.site is over there. Some residents who live near the site had spent
:06:01. > :06:03.years fighting the application to frack here. This was perhaps their
:06:04. > :06:10.last chance of stopping it going ahead. I was bitterly disappointed.
:06:11. > :06:16.We thought we had a good case. We thought we had strong arguments, we
:06:17. > :06:23.thought our legal team had put our case over well. Three years ago
:06:24. > :06:27.frack tested at Preston new road but the council refused planning
:06:28. > :06:30.permission. Cuadrilla appeal which led to a six-week public enquiry and
:06:31. > :06:34.on the back of that, a report was sent to the Secretary of State who
:06:35. > :06:38.said fracking could go ahead and then the residents asked for a
:06:39. > :06:43.judicial review. Today, they found out they had lost. It's one of the
:06:44. > :06:46.most looked at applications we've ever seen and we are very pleased
:06:47. > :06:51.and it's good for Lancashire because it means we can now go ahead and
:06:52. > :06:55.hopefully develop a shale gas there and bring jobs and gas to the county
:06:56. > :06:57.in the country. Local businesses say they were delighted with the
:06:58. > :07:14.outcome. In a statement, they said:. But these campaigners say that won't
:07:15. > :07:19.happen. This man climbed on top of a lorry yesterday afternoon. This
:07:20. > :07:22.protest has now been on this lorry for 24 hours and it looks like the
:07:23. > :07:29.police are now going to bring him down. The lorry left with him on
:07:30. > :07:34.board. Tensions appeared to be rising here as Cuadrilla continues
:07:35. > :07:37.its operations at the site. The company plans to bring in a drilling
:07:38. > :07:45.rig next month and start fracking by autumn. Susan Holliday and her
:07:46. > :07:50.neighbours live just about 200 metres from the site here full
:07:51. > :07:55.thought they had 21 days to appeal this decision and don't know if they
:07:56. > :07:59.will, but the chances of having this decision overturned a game is very
:08:00. > :08:03.slim indeed. Thanks, Judy.
:08:04. > :08:05.A North West University is leading the international fight
:08:06. > :08:08.Lancaster has been named as a centre of excellence
:08:09. > :08:11.Researchers there are developing ways of identifying future threats
:08:12. > :08:15.and, more importantly, ways of defeating them.
:08:16. > :08:21.Our chief reporter Dave Guest has been finding out more.
:08:22. > :08:24.Barely a day passes without news of another case of cyber crime.
:08:25. > :08:27.There has been a data breach at the payday loan firm
:08:28. > :08:30.Wonga involving a quarter of a million customers.
:08:31. > :08:33.A serious hacking attack targeted up to 4,000,000 customers
:08:34. > :08:37.The Defence Secretary's warning Russia is using sustained cyber
:08:38. > :08:46.Already there is huge scale of the problem and as we connect
:08:47. > :08:49.more and more systems to each other the scale is only going
:08:50. > :08:53.This is the security at Lancaster University and it's
:08:54. > :08:56.just been named as one of a small number of specialist centres that
:08:57. > :09:01.will lead Britain's fight against cyber attacks.
:09:02. > :09:05.Here they aim to stay one step ahead of the cyber criminals,
:09:06. > :09:09.identifying potential future threats and targets.
:09:10. > :09:12.And those targets are manifold as so many areas of our lives depend
:09:13. > :09:17.on computer technology, anything from banking and finance,
:09:18. > :09:24.What we're seeing here is the set up which will exist
:09:25. > :09:30.We actually test these devices for potential vulnerabilities
:09:31. > :09:33.so we test how attackers might attack them and when we find find
:09:34. > :09:35.vulnerabilities we disclose them to the manufacturers.
:09:36. > :09:38.We also develop new types of defences.
:09:39. > :09:41.This is what a cyber attack looks like.
:09:42. > :09:45.This is an example of a cyber attack we've set up to show how an attacker
:09:46. > :09:48.can actually gain information about such a system and then
:09:49. > :09:50.they can use that information to launch an attack.
:09:51. > :09:55.In this case, disrupting the actual water treatment process.
:09:56. > :09:57.Jonathan is working on a project to identify and repel attempts
:09:58. > :10:05.Attacks which reduce speed can be very potent like time sensitive
:10:06. > :10:08.stock exchange transactions which don't go through in
:10:09. > :10:11.time so costs companies millions of dollars.
:10:12. > :10:13.So presumably as you come up with defences against attacks,
:10:14. > :10:15.the attackers come up with new forms of attack.
:10:16. > :10:20.The challenge is, as a defender, you start at a disadvantage
:10:21. > :10:23.because the attacker only has to find one vulnerability,
:10:24. > :10:27.whereas you you have to potentially find and guard against all possible
:10:28. > :10:30.vulnerabilities in the system and that makes it a challenging
:10:31. > :10:33.but also very exciting area to work in.
:10:34. > :10:38.Dave Guest, BBC Northwest Tonight, Lancaster.
:10:39. > :10:42.A little bit of history will be made in three weeks' time.
:10:43. > :10:44.Greater Manchester and the Liverpool City Region,
:10:45. > :10:46.that's Merseyside and Halton, will elect a mayor
:10:47. > :10:51.They'll have powers over transport, housing and training,
:10:52. > :10:57.Our political editor Nina Warhurst has been to meet
:10:58. > :10:59.the Barbers in Grassendale, South Liverpool, to find out what's
:11:00. > :11:13.Gerard and Patrick, their mum Claire and nanny Anne.
:11:14. > :11:20.Among the 1.5 million people of Liverpool city region who,
:11:21. > :11:22.in just over three weeks, will have their first mayor.
:11:23. > :11:25.I'm hoping that they will be able make decisions that will lead
:11:26. > :11:30.So instead of somebody in London saying, "Is this a good idea?
:11:31. > :11:40.we will actually see things happening.
:11:41. > :11:43.something the mayor will have a major say on.
:11:44. > :11:46.Aged 40, she is moving home to save for a deposit,
:11:47. > :11:51.I mean, we had to save a deposit which was what you would spend
:11:52. > :11:58.I'm at a point in my life where it's going to be difficult to get
:11:59. > :12:00.a mortgage for how long they are going to want
:12:01. > :12:04.you to pay it off by, so I think we need to sort of look
:12:05. > :12:11.at housing and maybe give people a few more options.
:12:12. > :12:13.A new mayor means a new deal for transport.
:12:14. > :12:15.Would you like to take the bus more often?
:12:16. > :12:19.And why do you think you don't take the bus more often?
:12:20. > :12:25.And the bus has to stop at all bus stops and pick people up.
:12:26. > :12:27.Something I'm guilty of is driving into town,
:12:28. > :12:31.but if you can park for the same price as it is on the bus,
:12:32. > :12:40.Especially if I've got to carry 14 bags home with me.
:12:41. > :12:45.By the time Gerard hits 16, the new mayor will have had ten
:12:46. > :12:50.When I was 16, most of the boys were going, "I've got
:12:51. > :12:53.an apprenticeship" but that seems to have died a death.
:12:54. > :13:12.What does this family make of the Liverpool super ports,
:13:13. > :13:15.HS3 or the Northern Powerhouse that the government
:13:16. > :13:23.Everybody know the phrases and you hear them bandied about so much.
:13:24. > :13:27.For the normal Jo Elvin, that doesn't matter that much at all.
:13:28. > :13:29.You go, "Oh, that's nice" and you keep ironing.
:13:30. > :13:33.It goes in one side and out the other.
:13:34. > :13:36.So you're optimistic he or she can make a big difference?
:13:37. > :13:40.If they live here, they are for the people here,
:13:41. > :13:43.and they are making the decisions here, then it's going to be better
:13:44. > :13:56.And you can find a full list of candidates for the Mayoral
:13:57. > :13:59.elections in the Liverpool city region and in Greater Manchester
:14:00. > :14:07.The National Trust celebrates a half century of looking
:14:08. > :14:19.And running the show at just four years old.
:14:20. > :14:25.We meet the country's youngest cicus ringmaster.
:14:26. > :14:29.The fact that that's what he wants to do and he loves it.
:14:30. > :14:40.It's home to endangered red squirrels and is
:14:41. > :14:43.recognised as a site of international importance.
:14:44. > :14:45.Today, the National Trust celebrated 50 years of managing
:14:46. > :14:51.The conservation charity is hoping the transfer of land
:14:52. > :14:54.from the council will allow it to take care of more
:14:55. > :15:00.of Sefton's Coastline, as Lindsey Prosser reports.
:15:01. > :15:03.From the wild sand dunes to the dense pinewoods, this
:15:04. > :15:15.There's an awful lot of different things happening
:15:16. > :15:17.here from the moving coastline itself to obviously dealing
:15:18. > :15:19.with the weather and some of the natural events that happen,
:15:20. > :15:24.and obviously managing the visitors that come here.
:15:25. > :15:27.It's a very fragile, very delicate landscape so it's
:15:28. > :15:31.quite a difficult balance to manage all those different factors.
:15:32. > :15:33.The site was bought by the National Trust as part
:15:34. > :15:35.of a scheme to protect Britain's coastline.
:15:36. > :15:37.Over the past 50 years, the number of volunteers
:15:38. > :15:47.giving their time to protect this landscape has grown dramatically.
:15:48. > :15:48.I'm always outside, always doing something,
:15:49. > :15:54.I just like being in the outdoors to be honest.
:15:55. > :15:57.Volunteer Brian is now an expert squirrel feeder.
:15:58. > :15:58.The squirrels, they are thriving now.
:15:59. > :16:03.They were under threat from the squirrel pox
:16:04. > :16:07.The aim of protecting the landscape was to secure it
:16:08. > :16:13.It was really nice to see how people care for the squirrels.
:16:14. > :16:17.It's great for walking on the beach, though, and it's got
:16:18. > :16:28.I think it's good here cos there's lots of trees and I like trees.
:16:29. > :16:32.The National Trust and Sefton Council are discussing how the local
:16:33. > :16:35.authority can hand over more of this coastline for the Trust to manage.
:16:36. > :16:45.Lindsay Prosser, BBC NorthWest Tonight, Formby.
:16:46. > :16:50.I love Formby. I've never seen a red squirrel, though. They are there,
:16:51. > :16:57.News today of a major blow for cyclist Mark Cavendish?
:16:58. > :17:02.It looks that way. His season is in serious jeopardy after he was
:17:03. > :17:05.diagnosed with glandular fever today.
:17:06. > :17:07.His team says the recovery time from the virus is uncertain.
:17:08. > :17:09.Cavendish himself tweeted that he hoped to be back
:17:10. > :17:11.within weeks, but that does seem optimistic.
:17:12. > :17:14.The Manx rider's main goal will be to make sure he's ready
:17:15. > :17:18.Cavendish needs four more stage wins to equal the tour record
:17:19. > :17:22.Wayne Rooney hasn't travelled with Manchester United ahead
:17:23. > :17:25.of their Europa League quarterfinal with Anderlecht tomorrow.
:17:26. > :17:27.Rooney trained at Carrington this morning, but didn't fly
:17:28. > :17:35.He's missed the last two matches with ankle pain.
:17:36. > :17:38.Liverpool Council have set aside half a million pounds to campaign
:17:39. > :17:45.Liverpudlian Brian Barwick, the chairman of rugby football
:17:46. > :17:48.league, will head a team of advisers working on the project.
:17:49. > :17:50.Mayor Joe Anderson also confirmed the city's interest
:17:51. > :17:52.in hosting the event in 2022, following Durban's
:17:53. > :18:02.It will be a real catalytic effect for the city.
:18:03. > :18:06.It will help us regenerate north Liverpool so, yeah, I'm excited.
:18:07. > :18:09.But it's an exciting opportunity for the city and, as I've said,
:18:10. > :18:16.I'm determined to make sure we lead this bid with passion.
:18:17. > :18:18.It's coming to the end of the skiing season across Europe.
:18:19. > :18:21.But for one man from Lancashire it's been a winter to remember.
:18:22. > :18:25.Slalom skier Dave Ryding, from Chorley, became the first
:18:26. > :18:28.Briton in 35 years to finish on the podium at a race
:18:29. > :18:30.in Austria during his best year ever on the slopes.
:18:31. > :18:32.Now Dave's targeting success at the Winter Olympics
:18:33. > :18:52.He is known as the rocket and this was the season his career really
:18:53. > :18:57.took off. His best result, second at a World Cup race in front of 60,000
:18:58. > :19:02.fans in Austria. I never thought I'd say it but it was a life changing
:19:03. > :19:07.moment, especially in Austria. They were going crazy for us. Yeah,
:19:08. > :19:10.obviously over the moon. I never really planned to get on the podium.
:19:11. > :19:13.He's now 30 but Dave's skiing story started 25 years ago
:19:14. > :19:23.My mum and dad said, if you want to come on a family holiday with us,
:19:24. > :19:27.you have two ski because were not waiting for you. I guess that was
:19:28. > :19:31.the motivation are needed. It all came about from the dry slopes and
:19:32. > :19:42.now this hold world of Alpine skiing opened up to me. He has dedicated
:19:43. > :19:45.himself to the sport of skiing. And, you know, he's gone for it.
:19:46. > :19:48.Coach Tristan has been by Dave's side for the last six years.
:19:49. > :19:51.The big event for the pair next season is the Winter
:19:52. > :20:01.I think everybody else is thinking about it but, first things first,
:20:02. > :20:06.have to have a good summer training because that's where you make
:20:07. > :20:13.yourself better. Dave will just try to improve as a skier and then we
:20:14. > :20:16.will see the results. The rant off a fine season of result of an eight
:20:17. > :20:18.successive British slalom championship.
:20:19. > :20:21.Already the best in Britain, now Dave knows he can match
:20:22. > :20:29.And you can see more from Dave and the rest of the British ski team
:20:30. > :20:32.And that's all the sport this evening.
:20:33. > :20:40.We heard you say he is best in Britain but what chances has he got?
:20:41. > :20:45.Winter Olympics our January and February next week in South Korea.
:20:46. > :20:49.The second in the World Cup, 11th in the World Championships, fourth
:20:50. > :20:53.after the first run, so he is definitely a contender and we can't
:20:54. > :21:04.say that about downhill skiers very often. Thanks, Stuart. Now, who
:21:05. > :21:10.doesn't like the circus? I love it. The smell of the greasepaint and the
:21:11. > :21:11.roar of the crowd and all that? Who does not dream about being the star
:21:12. > :21:13.of the show? We've been to see a boy
:21:14. > :21:16.from Congleton who's become master of the circus ring and is quite
:21:17. > :21:19.a bit younger than you might expect. All sights you'd expect
:21:20. > :21:32.at a day out at the circus. But I bet you've never
:21:33. > :21:34.seen anything like this. Robert Price junior,
:21:35. > :21:36.or Booboo as he's known, is the youngest ringmaster in the UK
:21:37. > :21:50.at just four years old. Come on then, it showed time. -- it
:21:51. > :21:53.He's currently performing in Salford as part of a ring master
:21:54. > :22:09.Ladies and gentlemen, girls and boys, welcome to the 2017 tour!
:22:10. > :22:14.APPLAUSE He's doing incredible.
:22:15. > :22:20.Nowadays, the kids are on iPods and iPads but he is not waiting to get
:22:21. > :22:27.into the show. Please welcome into the ring, from
:22:28. > :22:36.Mexico... Chico! Booboo's family has long been
:22:37. > :22:38.involved in the circus. His mum even works
:22:39. > :22:46.in the ticket office. He's been with us obviously from day
:22:47. > :22:50.one of the circus. Even when he was really, really small, he would watch
:22:51. > :22:56.every single performance and sits there in his pram and try to join
:22:57. > :23:01.in. He's dead cute, and it's good that he's into it. Very good,
:23:02. > :23:05.amazing how controlled he is. His presentation is really good. Did you
:23:06. > :23:06.think he is funny, yeah? If you want to see Boo Boo
:23:07. > :23:09.in action, he'll be performing with Gandeys Circus in Salford
:23:10. > :23:14.until next Monday, 17th April. Juliet Phillips, BBC
:23:15. > :23:27.North West Tonight. He has really got it. Ibis once
:23:28. > :23:31.dragged up on stage and forced to ride a horse at a circus and kept
:23:32. > :23:36.falling off. The most embarrassing night of my life. They should've
:23:37. > :23:43.stuck a red nose on you and be done with it. Time now for a look at the
:23:44. > :23:47.weather. I don't know how the son is dead to come out in the next few
:23:48. > :23:53.hours because we did not get the forecast right at all. -- how the
:23:54. > :23:59.sun did to come out. Many places have had a disappointing day but the
:24:00. > :24:03.sun is here now. Sunshine in the south-east and parts of Scotland. We
:24:04. > :24:07.have been under the cloud for a huge portion of the day. I know it's too
:24:08. > :24:11.late to save the day but is not a bad picture right now. This evening
:24:12. > :24:17.and overnight, one or two spotty bits of showery rain here and there
:24:18. > :24:20.but for most of us, clearer whether. Temperatures falling lower than
:24:21. > :24:26.recently. We could be talking down to around four. Six, seven, eight
:24:27. > :24:31.for most cities when you get up first thing tomorrow morning. For
:24:32. > :24:35.tomorrow, it won't be as bad as day but it's not a brilliant day. We
:24:36. > :24:39.start the week saying it would be cool during the daylight hours. We
:24:40. > :24:44.are sticking with that story all the way through the weekend. For
:24:45. > :24:49.tomorrow, sunshine in short supply. Quite a bit of cloud. Once again, a
:24:50. > :24:55.few spots of rain turning up here and there. Not as bad as it was
:24:56. > :25:00.today. Nothing as bad. Anywhere over the hills, the heaviest of the rain
:25:01. > :25:06.it's not too heavy. It does put the dampener. The map is shoving a huge
:25:07. > :25:10.amount of cloud cover. There will be some breaks in the cloud cover every
:25:11. > :25:14.now and then and you will season bright spells working their way
:25:15. > :25:18.through. That is not a brilliant day. The fly in the Mint is the wind
:25:19. > :25:25.direction. Not as strong as yesterday. -- fly in the ointment.
:25:26. > :25:31.The numbers won't be that great. 10-11 at the very best. We would
:25:32. > :25:35.expect something better at this time of year. After that, as we head
:25:36. > :25:40.towards the Easter weekend, quite unsettled from time to time. Showery
:25:41. > :25:45.rain. High-pressure trying to build but the weather fronts are coming
:25:46. > :25:47.towards us so the picture for the weekend is fairly mixed. We want the
:25:48. > :25:52.pressure to build but as we go through Good Friday, a couple of
:25:53. > :25:56.weather fronts so cloudy at times and fairly cool through the weekend.
:25:57. > :26:03.The funny thing about the stories June was just telling me, I had this
:26:04. > :26:13.image he was a little boy. He was 36! That's all we have got time for.
:26:14. > :26:39.Tell us more. See you later. Bye-bye.
:26:40. > :26:46.'The UK has voted to leave the European Union by 52% to 48.