23/11/2017 North West Tonight

day on Sunday. That chilly weather

is set to continue into

That's all from the BBC News at Six.

Good evening.

Welcome to North West Tonight with

Annabel Tiffin and Roger Johnson.

Our top story: Record rainfall

as floods cause havoc

in Lancashire and Cumbria.

70 houses are evacuated.

My housemate went to get his wellies

and had to climb out the window

because he tried opening the front

door and water came through like a

tsunami. It was like a film.

The coastguard joined

other emergency services

rescuing stranded residents.

James Bulger's mum hits out -

as one of his killers is jailed

for possessing child pawn.

for possessing child porn.

A blast from the past -

the strike that went

on for over a year.

Putting their backs into it -

the local teachers who went

to Zambia to get a lesson

of their own.

And picking up a hard back -

but is it fantasy or fiction?

Why they are limbering up at the

library.

Floods have once again

struck the region.

North Lancashire saw Maureen than

storm Desmond two years ago --

sought more rain -- saw more rain.

Flood warnings and flood alerts

remain in place tonight

in Lancashire and Cumbria

as the clean-up goes on.

Beccy Barr is in Galgate

for us this evening.

Galgate is really was a huge amount

of flood damage overnight. Serious

flood warnings are still in place

include Ecclestone and Keswick in

Cumbria. In those areas, people are

told to prepare for floods. The

alert is still in place which means

of flooding is possible across

various parts of Lancashire and

Cumbria share.... In Galgate and

Lancaster, it was last night when

the floods really hit and today I've

been looking around the area,

speaking to people affected to find

out about their experiences.

Another flash flood,

another clean-up, this

time in the Lancashire

village of Galgate.

Just up the road at Lancaster

University, the weather station

recorded its greatest ever rainfall

in a 24-hour period.

The deluge caused the River Condor

to overtop its banks.

It was relatively quickly at that

point then came through the back

door as well. Through the back door,

it properly flew into the house and

Roseberry quickly from then until

about one in the morning. -- is very

quickly. My housemate went to get

his wellies from the car and had to

climb through the window because he

opened the front door and water came

in the tsunami. It was like a film.

On Hala in nearby Lancaster, a beck

flooded Lentworth Drive so severely,

the coast guard were brought

in to search properties.

There were power outages,

trainlines and roads were closed

and schools were shut.

Emergency services received 500

calls overnight. Dozens of people

and animals were rescued as

floodwaters rose. High volume pumps

and Lancaster kept businesses dry,

which otherwise would have flooded,

but today the operation turns to a

clean-up job.

Here in Galgate,

basements are being pumped out and

this operation is likely to continue

for some time.

It's only two years since

Storm Desmond in North Lancashire

and South Cumbria caused devastation

to homes, businesses and

infrastructure in these same areas.

There have been floods on a smaller

scale since then too and it's tough

for small businesses.

Go Burrito in Lancaster shut

for weeks after the 2015 floods.

As these pictures show,

July brought flash floods, too.

And again last night.

Go Burrito has invested in flood

defences so they were

back up and running,

but the Environment Agency warns

this is an ongoing trend.

Year in year out, we're seeing more

and more extreme events and this is

our cause of the change in the

climate so we're seeing sharp

rainstorms coming in over the last

couple of days.

That is cold comfort to those living

in these flood risk areas.

It's only November and for people

here it looks like a long,

hard winter ahead.

I'm joined by Kat Smith, the MP for

Lancaster and Fleetwood and in whose

constituency we are now. Thanks for

joining us. There have been

questions recently over the

council's maintenance of gullies and

rivers. Do you think there is any

accountability in this instance to

the local council?

Following last

night, they will be investigations

into what the causes were for the

mass flooding, particularly here in

Galgate. I want to see what impact

the council's funding cuts have had.

I have had constituents raising with

me concerns about trains being

blocked with leaves and debris and

not being cleared by the council

regularly. It's something I oppose

Lancashire County Council about

recently and asked them to maintain

the maintenance, and I have not

heard back about it so there will be

serious questions for the council

but also questions for the

Environment Agency who faced huge

budget cuts and by what maintenance

of the rivers and gullies and dikes

around this area have been because

local farmers have been raising

concerns with me about the

maintenance of them as well.

the

result was going to be a political

element to this in a Labour

constituency with the Conservative

controlled council but the council

today said that it's just sheer

volume of rain. We did have a huge

amount of rain yesterday will stop

sometimes these things happen.

There

is no doubt the climate is changing

and we should expect wetter and

wetter weather and I'm not trying to

score political points as I think

the Government has a lot to answer

for in terms of funding because it

is struggling to keep up with the

needs of adult social care and

maintenance of gullies and dikes.

There housing developments in this

area. Should this have an impact on

those decisions?

The Garden village

is closed for this area. If there

was any evidence that this would

make the flooding issues worse, I

think it should be stopped in its

tracks. The housing development is

needed and I had constituents

waiting for housing but it has to

take into account the flooding risk

to the local area.

We did have a 500

homes across Lancashire without

power, 250 of those have now been

restored, 250 still to be restored

but the authorities are working on

that, too. Back to the studio for

now.

One of the killers of toddler

James Bulger has been recalled

to prison suspected of having child

abuse images on his computer.

It is the second time Jon Venables

has been sent back to jail under

similar circumstances.

He killed James Bulger with his

friend in 1983.

He was released in 2001 on licence,

after serving eight years

for the murder of two-year-old

James in 1993.

Our Merseyside Reporter, Andy Gill,

has been following this story

and joins us from our Liverpool

newsroom now.

Jon Venables, who's now 35,

was recalled to prison last week.

It was because he was suspected

of having images of child abuse

on a computer linked to him.

He hasn't been charged,

but an unnammed police force is now

carrying out an inquiry.

Venables and Robert Thompson

were just 10 when they abducted

two-year-old James Bulger

from the Strand shopping centre

in Bootle and murdered him

on a railway line in Liverpool.

Both killers were released

on licence after serving eight

years of life sentences.

A legal ruling gave them

lifelong anonimity.

But in 2010 Venables,

admitted downloading indecent images

of children and given

a further sentence.

He was released again in 2013

with a second new identity.

Whether and when he's released

for a third time will depend

on the parole board,

who'll no doubt take into account

that he seems to be re-offending

in simlar way to 2010.

We've had a statement

from James Bulger's

mother, Denise Fergus.

I saw a tweet from his mother last

night, saying, here we go again. Has

there been any further statement

from the family?

We've had a statement

from James Bulger's

mother, Denise Fergus.

In it, she says:

James's father Ralph Bulger also

issued a statement expressing

concern that some media have made

reference to the current

whereabouts of Jon Venables,

something that's forbidden by law

under the court order

which accompanied his

and Thompson's original release.

Mr Bulger goes on to say that

on legal advice he will not be

making any comments on what has been

reported by the media.

An application by the Hillsborough

match commander David Duckenfield

to have his legal costs paid

by South Yorkshire Police

has been rejected.

The former Chief Superintendent

wants the courts to uphold a judge's

previous ruling that he should not

be prosecuted again.

But the Crown Prosecution Service

plans to get the order lifted so it

can charge him with manslaughter.

South Yorkshire's Police

and Crime Commissioner turned down

Mr Duckenfield's request

for public funding.

A High Court Judge has continued

an injunction obtained

by energy company Ineos.

It prohibits unlawful activities

such as trespass and obstruction

at its shale gas sites.

The company wants to avoid

the kinds of scenes seen

at Cuadrilla's Preston New Road

site in Lancashire.

Campaigners had challenged

the injunction, said it will limit

the right of people to protest.

The inquest into the Manchester

Arena bombing will go ahead after an

error on a website which said it

would be postponed. It has been six

months since 22 people were killed.

Arriva bus drivers across

the North West have rejected

the company's revised pay offer.

It means drivers look likely

to strike on nine days in december,

including a four day walk-out

in the run up to Christmas Eve.

The Company's calling for more talks

between both sides at ACAS.

A group of fire cadets

from Cheshire who've been

rebuilding a school in Nepal,

say the experience has changed them.

More than a dozen teenagers made

the trip to an earthquake damaged

region of the Hymalayan country.

They raised tens of thousands

of pounds to pay for it

and they've just returned.

I thought we were building a small

school but it is an amazing high

school which will benefit loads of

people in the future.

It made me

really happy to know that I have

contributed to their happiness.

Labour have announced that they've

suspended the Bury South MP

Ivan Lewis from the party.

It is over sexually inappropriate

behaviour. Nina, what do we know

about these allegations?

This came

to light last week that at a Labour

Party event in 2010, Ivan Lewis

touched a woman's leg and invited

her to his house. The berry South MP

who stood for mayor earlier this

year said he never sexually harassed

anyone but was sorry if his

behaviour made anyone feel awkward.

The party then consider the

allegation and that led to a

suspension today. The party told us

it takes all allegations of sexual

harassment extremely seriously. He

remains the MP and denies the

allegations ever took place and is

fully cooperating with the inquiry.

That takes the number to 12 of MPs

facing investigation or suspension

relating to sexual assault or

harassment.

It was one of the longest

workers' strikes in history.

For nearly eighteen months,

machine-makers at a factory

in Stockport took on the company's

American owners.

In 1967, 30,000 engineering workers

elsewhwere in the North West walked

out in their support.

And there were violent scenes

as thousands joined the picket line.

50 years on, Stuart Flinders has

been talking to some

of those who were there.

Harold Wilson was Prime Minister.

Jimi Hendrix burnt his guitar.

And if there was a summer

of love going on somewhere,

it wasn't in Stockport.

Roberts Arundel, a textile machinery

factory in Chestergate,

was at the centre of

a bit of dispute.

Betty Ridgeway's husband, Deborah's

father was one of the strikers.

Malcolm Hopwood was

on the strike committee.

The site's changed hands.

The memories are as strong as ever.

I had just come out of my

apprenticeship. Suddenly I was in

the middle of a big strike. It was

horrendous. I had also signed up for

my first house.

The police were

really violent with them.

The factory had been bought

by an American firm,

determined to modernise,

but with little time

for local union agreements.

When 150 workers went

on strike, they were sacked.

They have set a plan to break trade

unionism in that firm. The North

West is a strong area of the country

and if they break it here, they

break it for the whole country.

There were sympathy strikes

across the country.

And those defying the picket line

were given a hard time.

This area was Old Trafford -- was

like Old Trafford. You could not see

foreheads. Helmets would fly, fists

would fly -- you could not see for

heads.

We want to make it clear to

everybody but we depreciate

interference with the police at an

industrial dispute.

Bricks flew, the

windows got put in on the factory.

The police attacked the pickets.

Three picketers received over

thousand pounds worth of

compensation from the police after

being arrested.

A levy on engineering union members

across the country meant strikers

continued to have an income

while the dispute lasted.

But the American owner,

Robert Pomerantz, wasn't

for giving in either.

In the end, after 18 months of

strike action, Robert simply shut

the factory down. The dispute has

cost his factory about £1 million

and cost the workers their jobs.

It

was a victory for the men on strike,

but the factory closed down, so

whose victory was it? It wasn't

really a victory because everyone

lost their jobs.

Although the

factory closed, it wasn't the case

that people stayed out of work as a

result. It stopped what have a union

town and for me, that is a victory

-- it meant Stockport remained a

union town.

Staying with people making

a difference around the world

and two teachers from the Channel 4

series Educating Greater

Manchester have travelled 5000 miles

to see how different

teaching can be when you don't have

access to even the most

basic of facilities.

Alicia Shanks and Simon Humphries

swapped Harrop Fold in Salford

for a school in Zambia that had no

running water and only

two makeshift toilets.

Alicia and Simon are with us tonight

but first let's see how they got on

Students leaving school

to walk to find clean water

should not be normal,

but sadly, here it is.

They can aspire all they want,

but they've not got the basics.

So you go in the hole and once it's

full after months...?

Oh, my God.

It's really important

for the benefit of education

for these students that we do get

on board with it and do something

about it, not just sit

there and let this happen,

because it is happening and just

because you can't see it does

mean is not happening.

Today we have arrived

at the school, a different school

to yesterday.

We're here to look at the difference

and the impact Water Aid has had

as this school has recently received

help from Water Aid.

Flushing toilet, let's try it.

Brilliant.

So much cleaner to what you had.

It's only 20 minutes away

from the school we have visited

in the past few days,

but that 20 minutes

feels like a world away.

The two can't even compare to each

other, it's so different.

Thank you for coming in. We saw

there at the end of the school that

has had Water Aid and what a

difference it makes but the original

school, Simon, when you say it was

basic, how basic?

Incredibly. We got

there on the first day. And they did

warn us to say, it is incredibly

basic, and we got there, there is no

toilet at all, no running water, the

hygiene is quite poor as you can

imagine and that affect attendance

because the pupils at school and it

has a domino effect on the local

community, leaving school without

qualifications, the lack of progress

and it means shops are affected, it

makes a big difference.

Alicia, you

come from a school that lots of

people have seen on television, but

it must make you realise whatever

problems you think you have in an

urban school in this country, it's a

world away, isn't it?

Yes, it really

opened my eyes and the fact that we

add in the same world, sometimes you

don't realise that sometimes what's

going on, even when we sat here now

and I think about the children and

the stab at that school in Zambia

and what their life is like.

Do you

think the children their treasure

the education more?

Yes, that was

really evident when we were there.

We asked what they wanted to do when

they left school and was teachers,

nurses, doctors. One said she wanted

to be a history teacher or the

president and she was very set on

that. They do have high aspirations.

Over here, we take it for granted

and over there they don't have that

and they understand that a lot of

pupils around them don't go to

school at all so they really are

respectful for what they have.

What

effect has this had on your pupils?

We have said, look what you've got,

you've got the world in front of

you, you got everything you need to

get to where you want to be and

please understand that a respected

because pupils over there, if they

had that, they would grasp the

opportunity.

Water Aid is the

charity, tell us exactly what it

does and what the idea is.

The

reason I was really interested in

the first place was I always assumed

that charities like Water Aid

withdrawn help and then leave --

would go and help and then leave.

But there is also education, they

don't just put the facilities in and

leave, you saw the children singing,

that is the hygiene club so they

learn about hygiene and what it

means about why hygiene is important

like washing your hands. It is

long-term solutions and then we

talked to a student called Ruth who

said she goes back home to her

community and teaches the elders the

importance of hygiene.

People who

are interested can go to the Water

Aid website and find out how they

can be made. The Government will

match donations. As the programme

Educating Greater Manchester changed

your school?

A lot of teachers have

reflected and changed the way they

teach. It has been really useful.

People see the weaknesses but also

the strengths and it has given us as

a school a real boost to think, we

do everything we can and we had a

great community.

It has given us a

platform to do work for charities

like Water Aid and if we can help in

any way.

Congratulations on all what

you have done.

Football, and Everton host Atalanta

in the Europa League tonight,

but regardless of the result,

can't progress further

in the competition.

Last night in the Champions League

Manchester United failed

to book their place in the knockout

stages, after losing

one-nil in Basel.

A point from their final group match

will guarantee qualification.

Bury presented their new manager

to the media today

and Chris Lucketti says his

appointment feels like a homecoming.

The former defender made close

to 300 appearances for the club

and since last year had

been assistant manager

at Scunthorpe United.

Bury are currently

bottom of League One.

It means everything to me.

The most successful time I had in my

career was at Bury Football Club,

especially when we took the club

from the bottom of the Fourth

Division into a Championship club.

The impressions that I've got off

the lads have been positive

and the calibre we've got is more

than enough to stay in this

league and that has got

to be our first port of call.

You might think libraries

are for reading in, but this weekend

performers will be dancing around

the shelves of Manchester's

Central Library.

Illuminate combines dance,

music and light art in the reading

rooms and on the staircases of one

of the city's most famous buildings.

The dancers have been

rehearsing this week,

weaving among the somewhat-surprised

library users.

Naomi Cornwell reports.

A quiet afternoon in one

of Manchester's historic buildings

takes a colourful turn

as the staircases and

shelves become a stage.

I just didn't expect to see two

partially naked men fighting

or whatever they were doing covered

in glitter in the library.

It not what you'd expect see.

I think it's great.

I think anything that gets

people into the library

is brilliant and I love the idea

of using the different spaces.

It's a promenade performance,

moving around the building

from the Corinthian columns

to the main Reading Room.

It's very, very good,

we just saw something was happening

so we came in to see what it is.

It's a lovely idea to attract

people in, isn't it?

It's a beautiful building

anyway and you should come

in to see what it's like.

I found seven different spaces

within the library and a duty one

I found seven different

spaces within the library

and I created each one

of these stories so,

in essence, what the audience will

do is stand outside of the library,

they will see one of the stories

happening and then they will go

on a journey as they walk

through the library and they will

just happen upon each one of these

stories taking place.

Inspired by seven themes that

underpin literature,

Illuminate uses 50 dancers to bring

to life the stories and characters

living in the library's books.

When we are on the stairs,

you really need to be careful

of what is around you.

The audience is going

to be interesting,

because they are active,

they have to walk in the building,

so that's going to be interesting.

It's really strange to see almost

a really weird divide

like you see people getting

on with their ordinary lives

then there's all of this

mayhem in the background!

Tickets are free, but must be booked

online ahead of the performances

tomorrow and Saturday night.

It's very impressive. It made us

laugh that people were still doing

their photocopying, totally

oblivious!

The weather now with Dianne.

It was really bad 24 hours ago and

coast all sorts of problems. Rivers

cannot react to the volume of rain

when it falls in such a short space

of time. There was a huge amount in

just two hours in Lancashire and it

is the water can go other than over

the side of the rivers. From here

onwards, the picture does change.

This is a beautiful shot from one of

our weather Watchers, stunning

rainbows across the North West of

England. Scattered showers and a

chill in the air. The showers have

kept coming across the northwest of

England and have added to the

problems in some places but the

story over the next couple of days

about the drop in temperature, you

can clearly see the wind direction

dragging in that cool air and we

stay like this all the way through

the weekend so you will have to get

used to low daytime temperatures at

quite cold overnight and that starts

tonight. Because we got so much

moisture on the ground, we got low

temperatures already and a warning

for ice on untreated surfaces.

Mainly for the north of the region

but we could be at risk from time to

time. The showers will keep on

coming, we will bump into the cold

air and it could be a bit of sleet.

Not expecting any problems but

temperatures overnight

Not expecting any problems but

temperatures overnight are

significant. We will be down 2-2 and

minus three Celsius. Frost first

thing tomorrow morning. The sun will

be there from the word go, but it is

cold if you're out and about all

stop showers continue. Temperatures

through the afternoon. At the start

of the week we saw 17 Celsius.

Tomorrow at best, most places will

struggle to 78 Celsius tomorrow

night there could be some snow which

could be around first thing on

Saturday morning. -- seven or eight

Celsius.

At least the cold might kill Roger's

Jams! -- germs.

Thanks for watching. Good night.

Bye-bye.