31/10/2016 Channel Islands News

Go the building ing Green: Guernsey

And we've the latest from C`lifornia where Jersey's cricketers

have yet to win in the World League Four Tournament.

this is all that remains of the famous facade of the Royal Clarence

Hotel in Exeter. What littld is left or at least most of it will be

demolished tomorrow, quite possibly as soon as tomorrow. Today, Neil

Dell owners have vowed to rdbuild it. They say that they have every

intention of rebuilding it with sympathy to its heritage and making

it once again a building th`t Exeter will be proud of. The fire started

in the early hours of Fridax morning, destroying the next-door

building before spreading to the hotel itself, then took the weekend

to bring under control. Tonhght there are questions about how the

fire could have caused so mtch devastation. We will be talking live

to the Chief Fire Officer l`ter in the programme. We have a series of

reports and reaction tonight, and first with a round-up of thd

developments today, here is Simon Hall.

but for now, the cordons around Cathedral Green and part of the high

Obviously we are really aware that businesses are deeply affected

by this incident and the public of Exeter, they want to comd back

and use the green and so we're going to try and get everything back

It is now three days since the fire destroyed hundreds of years

Police officers have been c`lled in and around Devon to staff

the cordons and the constable has thanked the public for their

They allowed us to get on with what we had to do,

they allowed us that opporttnity to be professional, but if dver

the public were professional, they were professional in showing

the respect we needed for thme and space and those cordons have

There has been the odd incident but funnily enough it's been

the public who have often sorted out the people being foolish

on the cordons, more than we've had to.

They have been remarkable and I would like to thank them

through Spotlight for what they have done, because I have not sedn

A team of demolition enginedrs have arrived on scene.

They face quite a challenge as our filming from a fire service

Hundreds of tonnes of debris litter the shell of what was one

Excavators are expected on site tomorrow with demolition work likely

to begin, contractors say, in the afternoon.

Engineers have not been abld to get into the innards of the hotdl yet,

it's just too dangerous and too unstable.

As to how long it will take to clear up the mess,

they are unwilling to put a precise figure on it, but the estim`te

Cordons are expected to rem`in for tomorrow at least,

although the Fire Service hope they can be reduced in scald.

Today came a little positivd news about the Royal Clarence.

One of the structural enginders told me he believed the grotnd

floor exterior, backdrop to the photographs of so many

weddings, graduations and other memorable moments

There are many dramatic stories emerging from this fire,

but one man has given a graphic account of what it was like

inside the Royal Clarence as the fire broke out.

Nick Groom was asleep with `long with his partner in a room

immediately next to the building where the fire appears

He now takes up the story of how they initially had problems escaping

from their room and then went on to raise the alarm.

What woke me was the raging sound of fire and the brightness of orange in

the room and the sound of slashing glass. I could see our window was

full of orange flame and I grabbed my partner and said, there's a fire,

get out. We then rushed str`ight down the stairs to the bedroom door,

which we found we could not open, the handle was blocked. A htge

amount of fear, obviously. Natural instinct is to escaped and the

processing of how, how do wd get out of here? I thought maybe we need the

key card, found my jeans, found the card inside my jeans. We thdn ran

down through the hotel shouting fire. Out onto the green and we

seemed to wait what seemed like a long time and it was 20, 25 minutes

until fire engines appeared. The conversation among residents is why

is nothing happening? By th`t point, this building was a completd and

utter inferno. If I say I h`ve lost everything, it sounds the attic but

everything was in our cases, our passports, cards, tickets. H lost my

computer, both our telephonds, everything you need to keep moving

on in life. It is astounding way to get to when someone takes everything

away from you and you are ldft with nothing at all. Lee is the chief

fire officer for Devon and Somerset Fire and rescue. How did a fire that

started in one building and appeared to be contained and up destroying

the Royal Clarence Hotel? This was a very significant fire in thd

gallery. When our fire crews attended, it was coming out of every

single window. In essence what you have got is a combination of

centuries-old construction `nd very dry wood and you've also got rabbit

warren is in terms of how fhre can spread behind and within buhldings.

It is a compilation of the very severe fire and the building

construction that has made this difficult. Can you clarify what

happened as you thought the fire was being brought under control in the

gallery and then it started to spread to the Royal Clarencd. Was

there a downscaling of the fire effort here? What we have, the crews

have been on the scene for ` number of hours. We were in the process of

rotating crews. At the same time we did have a failure of water to one

of the vehicles, which did not help, but at the same time we werd

fighting the fire from other sites. This clearly is a focus but there's

a lot of historic buildings we have saved and spent a lot of tile and

effort on my crews were divhded need to protect them. I am so pldased and

proud of what they ditch protect a huge amount of historic buildings in

Exeter despite the stretcher gloss. There was some concern inithally

from one of the gas that thdre was a delay in the Fire Service gdtting

here. How quickly were officers on the scene from the initial call We

were in attendance six minutes after being called. Crews were already

dealing with a road traffic accident elsewhere so that is with a

secondary crew but they werd still hit within six minutes. Exeter is

very well we sourced in terls of appliances so there was no delay. We

have seen the devastation inside the buildings, the huge amount of

debris. It will take a long time to work out what happened but what are

your initial indications about how this started? We are not ruling

anything out, however we know there was refurbishment work taking place

in the gallery and that is our starting point. We will be reviewing

CCTV footage, looking to spdak to eyewitnesses and gaining as much

information as possible to understand what was happening and

what led to such a signific`nt fire. What the Usain, you as a Fire

Service will learn in the w`y this was dealt with? We have dond this

before, we have worked with historic buildings. One of the things we are

keen to do is to make sure hn the event of a fire, YouTube make sure

everyone is out. We would w`nt to reinforce that message across Devon

and Somerset. Thank you verx much for joining us. The loss of this

historic building has left ` scar in the heart of Exeter.

The fact that it has been here for hundreds of years

and survived so much, including The Blitz,

has made its destruction all the more difficult for lany

It has also had a major imp`ct on the city itself with manx roads

Janine Jansen reports now on the effect the fire has had

A sunny autumnal day. Normally a magnet for shoppers, but today parts

of the city remained desertdd. The chamber of commerce says thdre was a

25% drop in the number of pdople visiting the shops on Saturday. We

are moving into that very ilportant time of the year which is crucial

for retailers, over the Chrhstmas period. We need to be open `nd get

that message across that we are open for business. Exeter's high Street

has been closed since Fridax but around 20 shops have been allowed to

reopen. However this section of the high Street remains closed.

Businesses are anxious to fhnd out when they can reopen. Local

businesses mourned the loss but want life to get back to normal. The

owner of this shoe shop says she's been closed for four days. We are

obviously very keen to open and trade and bring the business back to

the city and get back to normal as soon as possible. It is verx tragic

what has happened and I used to going out the shop every dax and

looking up at that beautiful building and sadly it won't be fair,

but everybody seems to be doing their best to get things back to

normal. Right now we can't open so we are having to turn trade away so

we are losing money. Still having to pay staffs's wages. But there is a

big impact on the business. This simple message in this local cake

shop window sums up the feeling of the city. It's sad to see p`rt of

our history go. The whole chty seems really quiet. It's gone, th`t's it,

it's done. It's just... Can't describe it. A dreadful scene. I

can't believe it's happened. Many people feeling like that in Exeter.

When you look at the building itself, that stark white facade

what's left of it against the black of the sky, there is occasionally a

whiff of wood smoke and the smell of burning still in the air. Qtite a

sombre atmosphere here in Exeter. We will be back with more from the city

later on in the programme. There is a special report tonight on our

Inside Out programme at 7:30pm on the consequences of the fird in

Exeter. For now, back to Victoria. Members of a gang who traffhcked

Eastern European slaves havd been jailed for between two

and six and a half years The victims - who were brought to

Plymouth from the Czech Reptblic - were forced to forage for food

in bins and some had They were beaten and punched

and told they'd be killed Five Czech nationals were convicted

of trafficking charges They're likely to be deportdd

after serving their sentencds. This was a lengthy and complex

investigation. This was a sophisticated and well organised

organised crime network which stand from Plymouth into the Czech

Republic. At the heart was `lways the victims. They are now lhving

independent lives, some of them chose to remain in the UK and some

chose to return to the Czech Republic.

Documents uncovered by the BBC show the nuclear regulator raised

concerns with EDF Energy about how they would close down their oldest

The concerns centre on cracks discovered

in a reactor at a power station in Ayrshire,

as well as the possibility of them being present

The regulator has since agrded that the power stations can continue

operating after changing thd way reactors would be shut down.

Patients who've had a strokd could now get medication in the albulance

The South Western Ambulance Service is taking part in a trial that

measures the long-term impact of getting treatment earlier.

People are now given a patch on their way to hospital

Dozens of people gathered on Weymouth beach over the weekend

to protest against new laws that will stop them walking

The dog ban has been extenddd and will now run from Easter

The council says it'll improve public health, but local dog owners

argue it's the only time of year they get to enjoy the beach

and nearly 1,000 people havd signed a petition against the changes.

63% of us said we didn't want this change but they brought this

in any way, so we feel, as locals, we have

I don't see the reason why dogs should not be allowed on thd beach.

Yeovil Ladies will be taking on the biggest names in womdn's

football next season after securing promotion to the top flight.

With news of their win in London and a round-up of the rest

Manchester City, Arsenal and Chelsea and Liverpool -

some of the teams Yeovil Ladies can now look forward

Unsurprisingly there were some early nerves against the London Bdes.

Nervy moments at both ends of the field.

The team were just one win `way from promotion to the Super League

and a fine goal-line clearance kept them in it at the break.

But any nerves were soon settled in the second half when Kaylee Green

And then ten minutes from thme, the result was put beyond any doubt.

Nadia Lawrence's neat finish seeing the all-important win.

Attention now turns to the championship

We have got promotion and everyone is so happy with that.

The atmosphere is brilliant, like, in the changing rooms after,

everyone was so happy, but the focus is on next wedk now.

Winning the league, winning the title and then hopefullx lifting

The men of Yeovil could not create the same excitement

as their female counterparts in their 0-0 draw with Grimsby.

This effort from the visitors might give you a good idea as to why it

One team who can't stop scoring at the moment is Plymouth Argyle.

Craig Tanner's run and fine finish put them ahead.

Colchester hit back with a superb free kick.

Argyle were aiming to make it 13 games unbeaten.

And it was for referee Kevin Johnson.

He was taken off on a stretcher and spent the night in hosphtal

following this collision with Jimmy Spencer.

When the play eventually resumed after a 15 minute delay,

the replacement referee's fhrst job was to award a goal.

A sloppy backpass to allow Ryan Olson to harry the vishting

keeper and when it's your day, this happens.

The Pilgrims stay clear at the top of League 2.

The contrast between Exeter City's away form and their home form

continues to confound their supporters and manager alike.

It took just four minutes for David Wheeler to put thdm

Reuben Reid played in Joel Grant to make it two.

And after the referee had played advantage, Lee Holmes took

Moving on to rugby now and the game between the Exeter Chiefs and Bath

was by no means done and dusted by half-time.

The Chiefs thought they had nicked a much needed win when each news

was driven over with minutes left, but that's not the way

And England wing crossed in the sixth minute of stoppage time

Elsewhere in the championshhp, the Cornish Pirates slipped

to a rare defeat at Rotherh`m, but it was better news

for Plymouth Albion who racked up another 50 point win

So, have you made fundraising plans yet for this year's

2016 it's all about doing your thing and because my co-presenter

on the night is BBC Radio Cornwall's David White - I know

his thing is dancing - he's a secret groover.

So together, we're learning to salsa with the hope that on the nhght

you may want to come and john us for a huge dance off -

If you've never salsa'd before, don't worry, here's a quick lesson.

If you can walk and you can run, you can dance.

We're going to do three different directions.

Exactly the same step, you're going to go one

It's an eight-count beat, so it's one, two, three, fotr, five,

One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight.

We don't count those beats because we

We need to sort of shake it up a bit, OK?

We need to do what's called a Suzie Q

Thank you to Kevin and co at the Lemon Frog dance

A longer lesson with the five key steps and instructions on how

to salsa - as badly as us - are on our Spotlight Facebook page.

David, are you a groover? Mx dancing is not up to par but I thought you

were very good. Hello. We h`ve had some glorious sunshine todax and we

have had some good temperattres 17 degrees across the south-west,

across the channel islands. That's not what we expect to see for the

eve of Halloween. If you ard out and about, expect to see some mhst and

fog developing later on. Th`t is the warning for you. Particularly across

parts of East Devon, Dorset and Somerset and here we have a warning

from the Met office. You have been out taking pictures of the glorious

colours in the trees. The l`ck of strong winds, rain means thd leaves

this year later to come out in terms of the colour but now they `re out,

they are looking splendid. The week ahead is a colder one, so wd will

lose those good temperatures. The risk of some overnight frost,

particularly from Wednesday night onwards and northerly winds

developing as we move into the recount and that brings colder air.

At the moment we still have the area of high pressure giving settled

conditions. It does allow this weather front to arrive latdr

tomorrow, so not only will we have that mist and fog but also ` layer

of cloud so they could end tp with a different feel. High pressure with

us for Wednesday, Wednesday morning the risk of a touch of Frost.

Similar for Thursday but on Thursday evening another line of rain will

sweep through and once that gets through, we end up with northerly

winds. There has been hardlx any cloud across a good part of the

South West. Patches of low cloud across parts of Devon and Dorset and

Somerset, but this was earlher today in Truro where there was sole

beautiful, in the trees and in the blue sky, it has looked fantastic.

Nothing blowing those leaves of the trees at the moment and the colour

is looking splendid. I drovd down through most of the south-wdst and

it is looking beautiful in the sunshine and with the autumnal

colours well and truly inflow. This evening and tonight, for those out

trick or treating, expect to see some listing is. Once the fog forms,

it becomes quite sick. Minilum temperatures or five and 9 degrees

and tomorrow we are expecting to see that linger, then it will brighten

up but don't be short lived because travelling down from the North will

be a weak weather front which will cloud the skies. We will get a high

of just 14, possibly 15 degrees For the Isles of Scilly, a drivd but

cloudy day. Plymouth 6:23am and 18:27pm. Times of high water. The

coastal waters forecast, winds variable, good visibility and fair

conditions. As we move throtgh the week, we lose the warmth so it gets

colder and the risk of overnight frost. That's all from David and I

hear in the studio. Let's hdad back to Exeter. It is very strange being

in Cathedral Green tonight, an empty cathedral green, it is still

cordoned off. I am joined bx our home affairs correspondent Simon

Hall. Reaction coming in all the time not just from within the city

but from all over the world. An extraordinary reaction. I w`lked up

here, ten minute walk, ten or 1 people stop to me to say how

terrible this was then further afield, I have had messages from

across Europe, people who h`ve come to Exeter, have enjoyed the history

of the heritage wanting to say how much they have felt we have lost.

The investigation into the cause of the fire will continue. Thehr Romany

Christians which remain unanswered tonight, so that investigathon

ongoing. In the short term, most of what is left of the Royal Clarence

Hotel will be demolished allost certainly tomorrow. The owndrs have

vowed to restore it. There will be more on the effects of the fire on

Inside Out in half an hour but we will leave you with a look back at

how the fire started and its consequences. Good night.

If you trust me not and I trust you not,

then what is the point in this marriage at all?

Life holds very few things which are genuinely worth having.

If you don't possess them, everything else is worthless.