05/12/2011 Inside Out North West

I am at our new home in Salford, where we will be finding out about

the North West connection to Claude Monet a's famous garden. On

tonight's programme, the people left in agony by faulty hip

implants. I feel robbed of my life. Robert. We investigate deer

poaching, as it increases in Cumbria. They are confrontations.

It is not that. -- connotations. The Merseyside Gardner who has

found his dream job. It is an A Liverpool law firm says it is

seeking millions of pounds in damages after hip implants failed.

Patients say they have been in constant pain. Many are having to

Stephen Ellis leaves his Norris Green home in search of a cure. The

pain he's suffering from a faulty hip replacement is so intense, he

can barely walk. It's there every minute of every day - and he's had

it for 18 months. Two years ago, as this family video shows, Stephen

was much fitter. He's 57 and suffers from rheumatoid arthritis.

That combined with the hip implant - meant he was in pain, but able to

control it. Then out of the blue everything changed. I woke up one

morning and I was in agony. And, I felt sick, really sick with the

pain. And I look back at that film, it's only two years ago, at what I

can do now and the change is massive, it's drastic. I feel like

an old man - that's what I feel like - an old man in his eighties.

And I feel robbed of my life. I've been robbed. Today, he's heading

for an operation which will either cure him, or leave him disabled for

the rest of his life. Stephen had hip surgery in 2005 - using a then

state-of-the-art procedure where his damaged joint was replaced with

a metal cup and socket. Traditionally, surgeons have used

plastic or ceramic cups. But, inside Stephen's leg, the metal

ball and socket have worked loose, allowing microscopic metal ions to

break off. They could have poisoned his bone and muscle. The company

which made the hip is called DePuy - part of the American

pharmaceutical giant Johnson and Johnson. It released the ASR

implant in 2003, but soon surgeons were reporting that it was failing

faster than the manufacturers had predicted. This is how it was

before I went in for the operation, you know just to try to crawl up

the stairs. Norman Sherrington has been through the same nightmare as

Stephen. If the hip was really bad I'd have to go down on all fours.

But surgeons have replaced the damaged device. And Norman's got

his life back. And then just carry on walking around onto the landing.

Ah things are much better now, no problem whatsoever. Norman, a

retired builder from Mossley Hill in Liverpool, had a DePuy implant

fitted into his left hip six years ago. But the pain never got better

and he knew he needed a replacement. I was really worried about the

whole thing. What was going to happen, whether another one would

work or not. But because of the amount of pain I was in I thought

well I've got nothing to lose. Norman, who's 67, the operation has

been a huge success. Just six weeks later, he's mobile and out of pain.

My whole life changed in just a few hours. To wake up and be in no pain.

How bad was the pain when it was at its worst? Well, I felt like

committing suicide. Before that I'd In Australia, medical regulators

had warned of the high failure rate of their hips. It took another nine

months for the device to be recalled here, after experts

produced new evidence. But by then, it had been implanted into about 10

thousand UK patients. It's a month before the operation, and Stephen,

his partner Leanne and their son enjoy a family day out at Croxteth

Park. 8 year old Josh is a keen Everton fan, but he's growing up

without the chance to practice with his dad. I can't play with my son.

Every dad should play football with You can't gamble with people's

lives like this. They're human beings. They've got feelings.

They're not numbers. What's life like on a daily basis for you

living with that kind of pain? personally feel at times that I'm

almost like a single mum. He 100 and gives 100 % every day, but

there are frustrations, arguments. I have met someone whose life has

improved a lot since his hip operation. I would be very pleased

I was just so overjoyed. Within a short of bout of times, I felt

This liveable law firm at is representing loss of clients. --

We may have to prove by legal It must have had an incredible

effect on your clients psychologically? It's had a

terrible effect on my clients psychologically. It's broken up

relationships. And they've been told that they can't find any

clinical reason for the problem, initially, and that the pain was in

their head. That affects their relationships with their spouses as

well, because the spouses look at them differently because there's no

clinical reason. So it has broken down some relationships and I do

know some clients have actually said they would consider taking

their own life because of the pain. There's more faint -- morphine. It

is sometimes taking -- tempting to take that and for the pain to go

away. Two weeks before the operation, and Stephen - lifted by

his meeting with Norman - is visiting his consultant surgeon.

But, it's not good news. The metals used in the hip are cobalt and

chromium - and blood samples show the grinding action has raised

Stephen's ion concentrations. These tiny particles can cause tissue and

muscle damage. You've got raised metal ion levels. You had those

blood metal ion levels done which I've checked and you've got

elevated cobalt and you've got elevated chromium levels. I would

expect a moderate amount of damage... To the muscles around the

hip. Is that going to cause weakness in that hip? There is an

issue with that. Is that going to affect stability? There is also an

issue with that, and that is something I'll have to address when

I'm redoing your hip. We asked DePuy "What assurances they could

give to patients who are worried about potential cobalt/chromium

poisoning?" And in a statement they poisoning?" And in a statement they

told us this: "Clinical studies and monitoring show the benefits of

metal-on-metal technology often outweigh the risks for many

How you feeling, Stephen? Rather slightly nervous. I'd rather be in

Philadelphia I think. It's the end of a long road for you isn't it?

Yeah it is. It's a sense of relief really because I can't cope with

this any longer, honestly. It's been such a trial. I'll have a good

sleep now. Yeah, there you are. Finally get some sleep out of all

Not nice. Eh? Not nice I said. That's another sample too. Tissue

again? Yeah. He's got very extensive soft tissue damage

secondary to the metal debris. There are certain big muscles which

are attached to the top of the hip and they've all been detached from

the bone. So that would mean that they're not going to function very

well which means he will always have a limp. And as far as

movements are concerned, he'll always need to use a stick. He does

now, but that is going to be permanent. There's no way I could

get him back to what he was before. Would you say that was down to the

DePuy hip replacement itself? Looking at the soft tissue damage

itself it looks like it has been caused by the metal debris. Samples

have been sent off both to look at infection, but also to look at the

metal damage. The majority of DePuy's ASR hips have not failed.

The company say that whilst they understand the recall is concerning

for patients and their families, they've worked to provide the

support needed, including covering Six weeks after his operation - and

Stephen is up and about - and at last fit enough for a gentle kick

about. Before I felt I was being poisoned. That was the feeling, I

was being poisoned, and that's gone. I know I'll have to use crutches

but that's a small price to pay for being free of pain. I would say to

DePuy that they should take responsibility for the damage

that's been caused to people like me. There are a substantial

minority of people who are suffering - as I've suffered - and

will suffer in the future, even if Coming up, the man from Merseyside

who is preparing Claude Monet a's iconic garden. Of all his works,

this is the work he was most proud of and he considered this his

It is often said that we are a nation of animal lovers, but

sometimes, that statement does not ring true. In Cumbria, wildlife

crime is on the increase, and one of the biggest problems is deer

poaching. It is a difficult crime to detect, but are the tables

We have seen a couple of lamps. Received. There's a scene upon

Corney Fell, going up on the far side. We are going to turn round

and nip up the fell road, and investigate. What are they doing

out love with lamps get 12:30PM? That is the question we are looking

for. -- 12:30PM. It's a late wet November night in West Cumbria and

PC Stuart Burgess is looking for own prey - poachers. Received it.

We will head up to Corney held -- Corney Fell now. They will be seen

us clearly down here. The most natural thing is to turn the light

out if it is a game. In the pitch dark, the poachers may have slipped

the net. The plant very simply is to look for unusual things which

are giving the game away that something is happening. Who are

systematic poachers? A lot of them have a long criminal record.

confidential report seen by Inside Out from the National Wildlife

Crime Unit reveals Cumbria has overtaken Scotland for the highest

number of reported poaching raids on deer. In fact the report says

poaching in general is the greatest threat to Cumbria's wildlife. Just

in the last few months the heads of six deer have been found. And this

is one way it is done - known as "lamping", the bright light stuns

the animal. At that point it's either shot by the poacher or dogs

are set on it. A far cry from legitimate farming. These are the

tags we used to identify this carcass. It is the time of the shop,

and who shot it. All gained dealers should use this system. Anyone who

has undertaken benison has to be treated as a suspect. Last year a

game dealer in Cumbria received a caution from Police after failing

to have the right paperwork for his stock. Myles Sandys owns the

Graythwaite Estate near Hawkshead and has fought a long battle with

poachers. There is nothing romantic about stealing. That is all that is.

We should call in them poachers, because that has connotations. It

is taking something that does not belong to them. Deer meat - venison

- is now fashionable with top chefs and so demand - and the price for

the meat - is high. This is going to weigh about 40 or �45. -- 45

Albie. It is worth about �60 in It could have been lying in the

gutter overnight. They might not have died very well. You are at

risk of plight -- poisoning your client tell. And it's not just

human health that is put at risk. If... You are potentially looking

at the deer that this disease. It We've not given up, but it's like

looking for a needle in a haystack. People will stay out. They work at

different times. They have got their own quarry, and it is like

you or I doing something. There will be people out. We have not

spotted them, but they will be out somewhere. It is 2am, and this

operation is drawing to a close. We have not been never to link up with

any deer poachers tonight, but what is incredibly evident is that in an

area the size of West Cumbria, the poachers can just turn off the

light and disappear like smoke. As day breaks, it's easier to spot the

clues. Catching the poachers is not easy, but because the carcasses are

not find until daylight, Gavin the evidence can be even more typical.

Hopefully, that is about to change. Hello, Jim! Hello! This is not a

crime scene. It is not. It is something that you have set up

yourself. This is something that you would to be defined if you have

been driving along this road. Poachers will leave the unwanted

parts of the carcass at the scene. Jim is a former police forensic

scientist and now manages deer in Scotland - putting him in a unique

position to combat poaching. It is the same technique that we would

use in the crime scene. Someone has moved into the roadside. They have

had to touch it quite hard to drag the body. They will leave their DNA

on this item. They are recovering the DNA now. Is then easy way round

for the poacher? Might just wearing gloves? That will lessen it to some

at 10 -- some extent, but we will still get DNA through gloves.

it's here at Strathclyde University where the DNA technique was honed.

The first thing we need to do is isolate and purify the DNA.

probable will it be that the DNA will belong to a poacher? Given the

circumstances around a poaching incident, it is very probable and

likely that any DNA recovered well belong to the poacher. A deep -- a

deer in the wild is made difficult to get close to, say it is not

going to change -- carry any human DNA by chance. This is the last

step in a long process? This is the last stage. This is what we take

the labelled DNA. I love all this high-end technology! The results

will come out just over here. Can The DNA profile which is extracted

would then allow the Police to check their database for a match.

The what are the chances that that DNA profile could belong to 40 or

50 different people? Very unlikely. We are looking at probabilities in

one in greater than a million. is astonishing? That has been told

already? We have had very good success rate. When guinea suit is

being rolled out in the police? when can we see it rolled out? It

is out there already. On my night out with Cumbria Police there was

little visible trace of the poachers.But one thing is certain -

the cover of darkness cannot hide their DNA being left at the scene.

If it fades the police, it has to be a good thing. This as a crime

that has gone on in the countryside. Hopefully there is a solution on

the horizon for this age-old problem. Poachers, watch this

There's an old saying. Find a job you love, and you will never have

to work again in your life. - that is what has happened to a gardener

in Merseyside. It's one of the world's best known paintings,

created by Monet here in his beautiful garden at Giverny.

first reason for the garden was so he could cut flowers and he could

paint the flowers on a rainy day and little by little he was taken

in by gardening and it became more and more important to him, he

employed more and more gardeners and the garden went up The garden

is an hour away from Paris and attracts half a million visitors in

the seven months a year that it's As the most loved of all the

Impressionist painters people come from all over the world to see the

garden which inspired him. In a world that goes so quickly in a

world that is changing, there is something so peaceful in his

painting that you find it on everybody's wall, in diaries, in

books, in schools and he is all After Monet's death in 1926, his

house was boarded up and the gardens left to the wild before the

Institute of France reclaimed them in the 1970s. When James was

headhunted for the post this summer, he became only the second head

gardener since the gardens were opened to the public. When the

garden was proposed to me they asked whether I would accept it and

I took a little while to stand back and think about it cos it;s a job

where you are living on site, you've got to be there a lot,

you've got to be available to meet important people and the press and

so it's time consuming and it takes up your private life so i was going

towards a career of consulting and making gardens and so this is a

different step but when I thought about it I knew it was an

opportunity not to be missed. who grew up in Maghull - studied at

Myerscough College near Preston, and Kew Gardens. But for the past

25 years, he's worked as a private gardener in France. English

gardeners are respected in France. We know that English gardens for

plans and qualities. You sound like a Nash -- naturalised Frenchman.

I'm not aware of that although people tell me but I've been

speaking everyday for the past 25 years French so I'm thinking,

dreaming French. Monet once said "Apart from painting and gardening,

I'm no good at anything" and the two went hand in hand. So as Monet

would have a pallete for his paints, so he had an area of his garden

where he would group plants together according to colour.

the purples would be together and the blues to the reds finishing off

with the warm colours, the oranges and the reds at the bottom of the

garden, so by using colours enabled him to then select plants in an

organised way to make scenes in the garden. This was a way of having

his basic material as a painter would use paints to make a canvas.

He would be using his plants exactly the same way to put them

together to make beautiful scenes in the garden. Not all the garden

is how it appears in paintings and this is part of the challenge James

faces. This is the most important part of this garden and we're

trying to get back to how the garden was in Monet's time, and in

Monet's time these are rich, extravagant and full of roses. And

in time they've become weakened and old and have to be replaced. So

we're trying to get back to the roses covering the arches

completely, and if you look at the tableaux, the pics from Monet's

time, they were so rich and so full and that's what we're trying to get

One part of Giverny which IS as Monet painted it is the part of the

garden with his world famous waterlilies. Monet created gardens

and beautiful paintings but of all his works this is the work he was

most proud of this is what he He knew he had something

exceptional, something that no-one He wouldn't allow other painters to

paint he didn't even allow his children to come and his daughter

that he helped to paint wouldn't be allowed to come here so he had

James first visited Paris as a teenager and he fell in love with

the art he saw in the galleries. was like a revelation when I was

very young and we came to France first of all it was in the

impressionist museums in Paris so it was like a shining light to

discover the beauty and the imagination - something unreal, it

was like a different way of seeing objects in my life, so it was

something that surprised me. love of France grew and he was

determined to make it his home. Without realising, yes I am a

Francophile, I chose to live here, I got married here, had children

who are French and this is where I I have adopted the country for the

past 25 years I have woken up in the morning, thinking French,

speaking French after dreaming all night in French so it's quite

So for someone with a passion for art, France and gardening, James

really has landed his dream job, - that of continuing Monet's legacy

for the next generation. challenges of this garden are going

to be the challenges of all gardens, how are you going to manage the

upkeep and how are you going to make it better? I will know that in

time. I need to get to know the garden very well. And those answers

it's obviously something I've done all my working life, come into

gardens and try to keep them up to standard and make them better Just

to make the garden as beautiful as possible. That is all from me. You

can watch again on the BBC iPlayer. I am back next Monday. Have a good