:00:12. > :00:14.Police are investigating the huge gas explosion in Wirral
:00:15. > :00:21.Two people were seriously injured in the blast
:00:22. > :00:25.Dozens more were hurt and a building which housed a dance school
:00:26. > :00:28.was obliterated by the blast in New Ferry on Saturday night.
:00:29. > :00:31.National Grid have confirmed they'd received reports of a smell of gas
:00:32. > :00:35.Our Chief Reporter, Dave Guest, has been speaking
:00:36. > :00:41.Paula Power is trying to sort out a temporary home for her family
:00:42. > :00:49.Her husband, Chris, was home alone at their house a few doors down
:00:50. > :00:53.There was a huge bang, the windows came in, glass
:00:54. > :00:55.everywhere, I jumped up, ran out, lots of people
:00:56. > :00:58.screaming and shouting, I ran to the corner of the estate,
:00:59. > :01:02.I said, what's happened and they pointed to a huge building
:01:03. > :01:10.This is their home, they're not being allowed back yet to assess
:01:11. > :01:13.You're staying here at your sister-in-law's,
:01:14. > :01:16.that can't go on forever, so what is going to happen to you?
:01:17. > :01:19.We have chatted to our insurance and they're going to sort out
:01:20. > :01:21.Sometimes you watch things on television
:01:22. > :01:23.and you think to yourself, that will never happen here.
:01:24. > :01:37.He would have been walking past the very point of the explosion,
:01:38. > :01:40.had it not been for the fact he was delayed collecting his modest
:01:41. > :01:45.If we had been a minute earlier, we would have been in the explosion.
:01:46. > :01:52.A number of locals have said they smelled gas in the area
:01:53. > :01:55.on Friday and National Grid have confirmed they did have people
:01:56. > :01:57.in the New Ferry area on Friday investigating such reports.
:01:58. > :02:06.While the investigation continues, many here have praised the way
:02:07. > :02:08.the community pulled together to rally around and help those
:02:09. > :02:15.Everybody has played their part in helping bring this community back
:02:16. > :02:19.together and we'll continue to do so.
:02:20. > :02:21.And tonight, the investigation headed by Merseyside Police
:02:22. > :02:31.continues to try and establish exactly why all of this happened.
:02:32. > :02:34.One man is believed to have fled the country and a second has been
:02:35. > :02:36.arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving -
:02:37. > :02:40.after a four-year-old died in a hit-and-run in St Helens.
:02:41. > :02:42.Violet Grace Youens was with her grandmother Angela French
:02:43. > :02:45.when they were struck by a suspected stolen car on Prescot
:02:46. > :02:53.Angela remains in hospital in a serious condition.
:02:54. > :02:55.Specialist officers from Merseyside Police have begun
:02:56. > :02:58.an extensive search of scrubland near the M53 motorway at Eastham -
:02:59. > :03:01.after receiving a credible tip off that a man from Merseyside -
:03:02. > :03:04.who went missing nearly 25 years ago - may have been
:03:05. > :03:11.Steven Preston was 23 when he was last seen alive.
:03:12. > :03:12.Police are appealing for anyone with information
:03:13. > :03:22.Police are investigating after an angry cyclist smashed a car
:03:23. > :03:25.This footage was filmed on the driver's dash board camera -
:03:26. > :03:27.on Hathersage Road in Manchester - at around 6:30pm.
:03:28. > :03:33.A cricketer from Manchester has avoided jail -
:03:34. > :03:35.after beating his wife with his own bat and
:03:36. > :03:38.The judge gave Mustafa Bashir an 18-month jail term -
:03:39. > :03:41.suspended for two years - after being told Bashir was set
:03:42. > :03:47.to play professionally for Leicestershire.
:03:48. > :03:49.Our reporter Ian Haslam's been following the story.
:03:50. > :03:52.Today, the County Championship side has denied all knowledge of him,
:03:53. > :03:56.Yes, 34-year-old Mustafa Bashir, who's played in a local
:03:57. > :03:59.cricket league in Oldham, had claimed that a prison sentence
:04:00. > :04:04.would ruin his prospects as a county cricketer.
:04:05. > :04:06.He'd admitted assault occasioning actual bodily harm against his wife,
:04:07. > :04:10.Fakhara Karim but his lawyer said if he was spared prison he could
:04:11. > :04:13.He was subsequently given an 18 month suspended sentence.
:04:14. > :04:16.Except it's since emerged there never was a place on offer at all,
:04:17. > :04:19.with Leicestershire telling the BBC today it was "bemused" by the claim,
:04:20. > :04:28.The judge has been criticised for comments made regarding Bashir's
:04:29. > :04:32.Yes, Manchester Crown Court heard 33-year-old Fakhara Karim,
:04:33. > :04:34.who'd met Bashir in their native Pakistan in 2013, was repeatedly
:04:35. > :04:37.beaten, with Bashir in one instance hitting her over her back
:04:38. > :04:47.She told Police that she feared for her life and still finds it very
:04:48. > :04:51.But the Judge, Richard Mansell QC, said he didn't believe
:04:52. > :04:53.she WAS vulnerable as she was "an intelligent woman
:04:54. > :05:01.with a network of friends" and had a college degree.
:05:02. > :05:03.In response to this, the domestic violence
:05:04. > :05:07.a statement saying, "Judge Mansell's comments show a shocking
:05:08. > :05:09.ignorance around the impact of domestic violence on women.
:05:10. > :05:12.What a woman does for a job, her level of education
:05:13. > :05:14.or the number of friends she has makes no difference.
:05:15. > :05:16.Domestic violence is a devastating crime".
:05:17. > :05:21.Well, regarding the Leicestershire County cricket claim -
:05:22. > :05:24.if a lawyer's told information by a client it's usually accepted
:05:25. > :05:27.in good faith and if the information is incorrect it could be treated
:05:28. > :05:33.We understand the Crown Prosecution Service is now
:05:34. > :05:49.A woman from Cheshire has given the most precious gift
:05:50. > :05:51.to her best friend - a kidney and the chance
:05:52. > :05:55.When Andy Clewes from Crewe was told he'd need dialysis
:05:56. > :05:57.if he didn't have a transplant - friend Helen offered to become
:05:58. > :06:01.Mairead Smyth followed Helen as she prepared for the operation.
:06:02. > :06:04.As dawn was breaking in Liverpool on a cold January morning,
:06:05. > :06:06.Helen Crowther was preparing to do something most of us
:06:07. > :06:10.would never dream of - donate a kidney to her best friend, Andy.
:06:11. > :06:14.Andy's got kidney disease and needs a transplant,
:06:15. > :06:17.because I'm able and fit, I'm donating my kidney today.
:06:18. > :06:20.Helen had months of tests at the Royal Liverpool University
:06:21. > :06:23.Hospital to prepare for surgery as an altruistic donor.
:06:24. > :06:26.The team here need more people like Helen to come forward.
:06:27. > :06:28.There are around 6,000 people on the transplant waiting list.
:06:29. > :06:30.We would want more people to sign for
:06:31. > :06:42.The operation to remove Helen's left kidney took just over two hours -
:06:43. > :06:43.it was then packed in ice and transported to
:06:44. > :06:50.The kidney arrived here just after 1 by blue light ambulance.
:06:51. > :06:53.The kidney was received in theatres and our surgeon
:06:54. > :06:57.and Andy were in theatre, ready to go.
:06:58. > :07:00.Helen's kidney began working as soon as it was transplanted into Andy's
:07:01. > :07:01.body, but his recovery has been tough
:07:02. > :07:04.because of other complications - today though he's healthier
:07:05. > :07:18.As Mairaid said, Andy is now out of hospital and recovering well
:07:19. > :07:21.and earlier he came into the studio with Helen and told me
:07:22. > :07:31.I feel really lucky and I feel great and I've said before, I didn't know
:07:32. > :07:35.how well I was until I had the kidney and that made the real
:07:36. > :07:40.I haven't got the words to say thank you to Helen, you
:07:41. > :07:44.know, she knows how I feel, I'm sure, but it's just, it doesn't seem
:07:45. > :07:48.Did you have any hesitation in doing this when Andy needed the
:07:49. > :07:52.I didn't want to see him getting more and
:07:53. > :07:55.more ill and when I was in hospital and I saw the renal patients coming
:07:56. > :07:59.onto the board, we were going through dialysis and it really
:08:00. > :08:07.brought it home to me that this was exactly the right thing to do.
:08:08. > :08:12.How did you feel in the run-up to it because it's a big thing to do, a
:08:13. > :08:17.And it's a strange thing to think about going in for an operation when
:08:18. > :08:20.Because there was nothing wrong with me, I was
:08:21. > :08:22.perfectly healthy and I knew I was going to them
:08:23. > :08:26.But it was just the thought of Andy, really.
:08:27. > :08:29.I just wanted him to be well and I knew that I had the power
:08:30. > :08:31.within me, as it where, to make him well.
:08:32. > :08:35.And you are recovering well now, what
:08:36. > :08:37.difference does it make to your life now?
:08:38. > :08:38.It has made a difference in everything.
:08:39. > :08:41.I've got more energy, I feel fitter, stronger, I didn't
:08:42. > :08:47.You know, your body is kind of gets used
:08:48. > :08:51.As soon as you get this injection of energy
:08:52. > :08:52.and what have you, it was
:08:53. > :08:59.What would you say to anybody watching who
:09:00. > :09:11.thinks, I'd be quite interested in this altruistic donation?
:09:12. > :09:18.The lack of, and talk to someone about it. Go to your hospital, talk
:09:19. > :09:22.to a donor coordinator. And they will talk you through it and keep
:09:23. > :09:26.you safe throughout. I can't stress enough how well I was looked after
:09:27. > :09:30.by the Royal Hospital. Everyone there was amazing. They made me do
:09:31. > :09:34.number one priority, to make sure I was well and that might kidney was
:09:35. > :09:37.healthy to give candy. Thank you. Lovely to hear you are both doing so
:09:38. > :09:39.well. That's it from me -
:09:40. > :09:49.here's the weather. Good evening. The weekend was
:09:50. > :09:54.glorious. The start of the working week was nice but from here on,
:09:55. > :09:57.things change. It does stay mild, that the positive as we had through
:09:58. > :10:03.the next couple of days but it becomes unsettled. Nice weather
:10:04. > :10:09.watcher pictures. The sun going down, read and beautiful. I don't
:10:10. > :10:20.think you'll get a sunset like like tomorrow. He really change, as we
:10:21. > :10:25.speak, cloud building and temperatures nowhere near as chilly
:10:26. > :10:30.as the last couple of nights. Tomorrow, a cloudy affair all the
:10:31. > :10:34.way through the day. Cloud of Finland brighter skies will break
:10:35. > :10:40.through. But a week when a front brings drizzle. For the Isle of Man,
:10:41. > :10:47.a bit heavier and for the Cumbrian fells as well. Most places, drizzly
:10:48. > :10:53.with a glimpse of sunshine. Temperatures rising to 14 degrees.
:10:54. > :10:57.After that, increasingly unsettled. Wednesday not too code. Outbreaks of
:10:58. > :11:00.rain on Thursday. Showers on Friday. Good night.
:11:01. > :11:03.showery on Saturday, dry and brighter on Sunday and if we go back
:11:04. > :11:06.to the temperatures in the next couple days, you see those highs on
:11:07. > :11:18.Thursday. He is John Hammond with the national
:11:19. > :11:26.this cyclone Debbie crashes onto the Queensland coast with violent winds
:11:27. > :11:29.and flooding rains, that will head southwards in the next few days in
:11:30. > :11:35.the direction of Brisbane. We will keep an eye on Debbie. Meanwhile
:11:36. > :11:38.back home, much more tranquil. This beautiful sunset taken from
:11:39. > :11:42.Stevenage and Hertfordshire earlier this evening. Clear skies for some
:11:43. > :11:46.though not for all of us. Quite a lot of low cloud across eastern
:11:47. > :11:51.areas drifting a little farther west as we go through the night. Areas of
:11:52. > :11:54.fog around, so watch out for those. Where the skies remain clear, it
:11:55. > :11:55.will be cold. It