I live not too far from Peter and what he saw is common here. I regularly see helos in awful conditions. I think part of the problem is the nearest TAF is Blackpool which can be totally unrepresentative at Darwen. I was caught out by this some time ago- frightened me to death.
Nearly all my hours are over the Lancashire hill country. The place needs to be treated with respect. There is more to met than the nearest TAF being OK.