25/08/2011 Look East - East

In Look East tonight: "We've lost all hope in the justice

system". The family of two people killed by this man say plans for

his release have devastated them. Hello from Stewart and me.

Also tonight: Outdated and antiquated. A week

after the A-level results, students and head teachers criticise the

UCAS clearing system. I think the system for sorting out who goes

where is in need of serious review at the moment. I think the system

is creaking to cope with the sheer numbers of students.

Families facing eviction from the Europe's biggest travellers' site

take their fight to Number Ten. And getting back in the saddle

First tonight, the family of a mother and son who were killed in a

brutal attack say they have lost all faith in the justice system

after being told the killer could be released.

Seven years ago, Gregory Davis pleaded guilty to the manslaughter

of Dorothy Rogers and her son Michael. At the time, the judge

said he posed "an extremely grave" danger to the public. But medical

experts decided he is now well enough to be discharged, and today

BBC Look East has learnt he could be released in a matter of weeks.

A man once described as a grave and imminent danger to the public could

be weeks away from being conditionally released into the

community. For most of the last eight years, Gregory Davis has been

detained at Broadmoor hospital. Today, agencies including mental

health experts, police and probation, met to co-ordinate the

conditions for release. I understand that appropriate

accommodation has yet to be arranged, and that could take a few

weeks. Dorothy Rogers and her teenage son Michael had been

befriended by Gregory Davis, but did not know he had a psychotic

condition brought on by a cocktail of medication and alcohol. In 2003,

Davies went to her home armed with a 12 inch knife and claw hammer. In

an attack, she said that there to one knife injuries and 12 with a

hammer. He then chased her son into a playground where he stabbed him

twice. News of his release has appalled her family. We last two

members of our family, and we also lost hope in the justice system.

And in the right of British people to have themselves heard, and in

the right of victims for justice, and victims' families, who continue

to suffer. Tonight, Dorothy's sister was told Davies would be

released under a number of conditions. The data the release is

not yet known. One condition is that he is not to enter Milton

Keynes new town designated area. He could be sent back to a secure unit

if he poses a danger to the public. He has been conditionally

discharged from hospital stay. That is a continuing order which means

that, if at any stage, anything happens to suggest there is a

problem developing, he can be taken back into the hospital. While

mental health teams are confident day this is no longer a risk -- no

longer a risk to the public, campaigners against his release

will continue to fight to keep him detained.

A week after the A-level results came out, a lot of students are

still struggling to get a place at college or university. The

admissions service UCAS has come under strong criticism, with some

head-teachers demanding a total overhaul. The latest figures show

that more than 45,000 applicants are still waiting to hear if they

have been accepted. In this region, only Essex and University Campus

Suffolk have places still available. The rest, including Cambridge,

which does not use the UCAS Clearing system, say all of their

A Clearing open evening at University Campus Suffolk, with a

range of undergraduate and postgraduate courses available,

including business management in Ipswich, computing and networking

in Bury St Edmunds and fashion and textiles in Great Yarmouth. Every

year, there are students at end up not going to university with their

first choices for lots of reasons, sometimes down to grades but for

many they changed their minds about what they want to differ stop

claiming has been stressful, a lot of places have gone, it has been

hard. I had to get in this year because next year I would not be

able to afford it at all. It will go up to �9,000, which is very

expensive and I need a place this year. Charlotte Kershaw is the

first member of her family to apply to go to university, but the whole

process has been confusing and stressful, and she still does not

know if she has a place. It is annoying for me because all of my

friends have got their places and keep asking me, and I still don't

know what I am doing. It is worrying, because I don't want to

end up just with a normal nine-to- five office job. It is not what I

want to do, I want a practical job was stopped the headmaster of

Northampton School for Boys, Mike Griffiths, says UCAS has not

changed since the 70s, when just 25,000 students went to university.

With almost 700,000 applications, he believes it is not fit for

purpose. There are nearly 20 times more students going to university,

but is excellent, but I think the system for sorting out who goes

where is in need of serious review at the moment. I think the system

itself is creaking to cope with the sheer numbers of students and the

time frame it is given to try and squeeze all of the student on to

the right courses at the right universities. Critics say the very

stressful system of conditional -- conditional offers should be swept

away, with students applying to university after receiving their

results. This afternoon I spoke to the head

of UCAS, Mary Curnock Cook. I started by putting those views to

her that the service was not fit for purpose.

I think the first thing to say is that the system is working at the

moment. We have placed over 450,000 people already, nearly 66% of

applicants who have been accepted. Over 33,000 have been accepted

through Clearing, and those numbers are up on this time last year. What

I do accept is that there are significant improvements that we

could make to the system, and in fact UCAS has been engaged in a

fundamental review of the admissions process for several

months, and we are due to publish our bindings and consult on reform

of the system this October. seems amazing, though, that

everybody knew how many more applicants there were this year,

with 700,000 pupils fighting for 350,000 places, and yet UCAS could

not cope, the system crashed, and students say there have been

endless problems since. The reality is that we did not have lots of

additional people applying this year. The total applications were

only up by about just over 1%. Unfortunately, on Thursday morning,

there was an enormous bike in demand on the website, we hit 644

hits per second at one stage, and at that point we felt it was safer

to take the service down for two our eyes. That 1% rise in

applications does not tally with the figures we have for this region,

where applications were considerably higher. If it was only

1%, why were there so many problems compared to previous years? It is

difficult to tell at this stage and we will engage in a full review of

what happened last Thursday, but anecdotal evidence suggests that as

soon as there were some problems getting on to the website, a lot of

people engaged with every single device they had in the household.

We know that some people had iPads, iPhones, laptops, PCs, trying to

get on at once, and despite was just too much. Some head teachers

say it would be better to allow students to get their A grades

before they apply to university. Is that a system that you could see

working in the system at present -- in the future? That is an option we

are looking at as part of our fundamental review. The research we

have done points to several areas that could be improved. Applying

post-results is one of a number of options that we are considering.!

Very much. Thank you. -- thank you very much.

From A-levels to GCSEs, because today was the day thousands of

students across the region got their results.

And it has been another record year for passes. Mike Cartwright was

with students at Swavesey Village College in Cambridgeshire when the

results were handed out. In these, the results. Good or bad.

Time for them to find out. Year 11? OK, wow. I am happy with that, yes.

I got one, two, three... 7 As. have been crying because I am so

happy. I got nine A*s and three As. 1A*, 3 As. It is what I wanted.

Nearly all he had the equivalent of five GCSEs at grade C, some of the

best result ever. All of them are going into some form of education

or training. The vast majority will go into Cambridge to do A-levels or

vocational courses. A number are doing apprenticeships and some of

going into jobs. A City and Guilds survey found 75% of youngsters they

spoke to were considering university. 35% thought degrees

were more valuable than vocational qualifications, but when it came to

employers 89% thought apprenticeships were as important

to their business. With tuition fees going up, what were they

thinking? It will be a lot of money, nine grand a year. Everyone else is

going to college, I was planning on it but have just taken a job.

going to study hairdressing for two years and then make up. I am doing

a hairdressing apprenticeship to be qualified. It is all good now.

were here for five years. At the Coming up later in the programme:

Phil will have the bank holiday weather forecast, and Jonathan Park

has this week's Olympic report. As athletes a pair -- prepared to

take on the world's best, we are hearing where three of them are

from. More after the news where you CCTV cameras could be put up at a

graveyard in the Fens because of repeated acts of vandalism. One

mother has set up her own campaign after her baby's grave in Wisbech

was desecrated for a third time. Every week, and their visits her

son's grey. He died 10 years ago at just three hours old. -- her son's

grave. She tries to keep his memory alive for the sake of her children

but in the last few months is great has been vandalised three times.

have had everything around the grave smashed up, I had some

windows on his heart which were smashed. They have no respect and

had obviously never lost a baby, a child, or even an adult or anybody,

because if they had they would not be here, doing what they are done

in. Other families have had Graves attacked and there has been

vandalism in the past. At that time, the local council cut back trees to

improve visibility. The gates are locked at night. Now it is

considering installing mobile CCTV cameras. We are always concerned

about vandalism, it is not something you want anywhere,

especially in a cemetery where people have been laid to rest. What

I am proposing to do is to see if we can put a camera in the area and

see if that will deter any further vandalism. Some grieving families

might consider CCTV and intrusion. No final decision has yet been

Police are investigating how four people came to be stabbed in

Lowestoft. Two men were found in a house in Grosvenor Road with

knifepoint last night. If 14-year- old boy who had been stabbed in the

arm was found nearby and a middle- aged man was found with a wind to

the head. One of the men arrested at a double

shooting at a site in Suffolk has been released without charge. No

one has yet been charged with killing David Castell and Shane

Hill from Southend. They were shot dead at the site at Beck Row near

Mildenhall. Police are investigating whether a

fire at a disused hotel was started deliberately. A man was seen

running away from the Queen's Hotel in the high street. The building

was wrecked and neighbouring streets were closed.

Around 50,000 spectators gathered on the beaches of Clacton today to

watch the annual air show. The Red Arrows were due to appear but

pulled out after Saturday's fatal crash at Bournemouth. The district

council says budget cuts mean this could be the last year for the show.

Neither the rain nor the cancellation of the Red Arrows

could dampen spirits here today. Tens of thousands of spectators at

so -- swarm to the beaches of Clacton-on-Sea to catch a glimpse

of the aircraft on display. It felt like an old friend was missing.

Red Arrows are very popular, of course. We have done shows

throughout the year without the Red Arrows and we will have a show here

in spite of the tragedy, but we will remember them. First to reach

for the skies was an old favourite - this spitfire. The plane has

graced the country's skies for 75 years. The organisers say this

could be the last ever Clapton air show. The council that funds the

event says, like everyone else, it is being forced to cut budgets and

the air show is expensive. We are demonstrating how much money goes

into the area. It is important to us that this event continues, but

the council cannot continue to fund it, the taxpayer cannot continue to

fund it. If people want it, they will have to help fund it.

Thousands of people are expected to attend the two day showed - a

fitting tribute to its 20th anniversary, with many hoping it

won't be its last. The aircraft used by the Red Arrows,

the Hawk T1, has been cleared to play a game, five days after a

pilot from the team was killed during a display. It is not known

when the Red Arrows themselves will take part in a display again. They

had been due to appear at the Eye Show in Suffolk this weekend.

Flight Lieutenant Jon Egging died last weekend.

At Ipswich Town, manager man -- Paul Jewell is bringing three

players to the club. Ibrahima Sonko will give the team options in

defence. Together again after a short

separation. Jimmy Bullard said it is like he has never been away. Now

he is back amongst friends at Ipswich, where he is happy.

enjoyed myself so much last year. When I knew Ipswich were interested,

the staff and I get on really well and they put their faith in me.

enjoyed four months on loan last year, scoring five goals including

some memorable ones. He has only been a free agent for a matter of

days. They said there were a couple of clubs interested - or one

Premier League and one or two championships, but they said his

preference would be to come here. It has stretched finances to an

extent but the most important thing is that we knew he wanted to come

and we wanted him. Also in his defender Ibrahima Sonko, who has

been playing with Reading, and striker Daryl Murphy, on loan from

Celtic for a year. The new-look squad are training together for the

first time. Three new arrivals, so Paul Jewell has now brought in 11

new players, but can he get them to gel? They will need to and fast,

especially after last week's thrashing. They will try to make up

for their dismal day out at Peterborough in Blackpool next

month. News of today's signings With possible eviction just two

days away, travellers camped illegally in Essex are still

fighting to be allowed to stay where they are. Today, some of them

went to Downing Street to lobby the Prime Minister. Dale Farm in Essex

is the biggest travel as' site in the country. 1000 people live there

and many have been there for 10 years. But travellers own the land

but many pitches are illegal and don't have planning permission. Up

to 400 travellers have until next Wednesday night to leave. Today, a

delegation handed in a petition it to Number Ten.

It was the day Dale Farm went to Downing Street to hand in a

petition and make this final plea to the Prime Minister. Please - I

am begging you so hard, let us stay where we are and stop the eviction

until we find an alternative place to live. What is the atmosphere

like at Dale Farm at the moment? Very bad. Most of the women are run

anti-depressants. Back at Dale Farm, they say the stress of the looming

eviction is making them ill. The council has ordered them to cook up

their caravans and take them off the illegal pitches here by

midnight on 31st August - less than a week. We won't go! To day's

delegation included a member of the House of Lords, Lord Avebury. He

wants the government to stop the eviction. The eviction at Dale Farm

is so stupid I can't believe it is going to happen. We have 50

families living peacefully on the side, who are going to be thrown on

the roadside with the disruption that that involved of family life.

Protests have gone on for 10 years and the legal battle went all the

way to the High Court, but the travellers lost. The council says

they have broken planning law and have to go. The question is, say

the travellers, where? There are reports of sides being prepared in

Cambridge have for some of the travellers. That is the minority of

travellers. The majority of travellers who are to be evicted

are pretty poor. They are not wealthy people and don't have a

huge number of sites or other places to move to. But travellers

may have left it too late to come to Number Ten as it is unlikely

that this appeal is going to be successful. The eviction could cost

�80 million and the government has already agreed to contribute.

Time for our weekly a limpid report, rounding up the stories affecting

this region for London 2012 -- Olympic report. Athlete's are in

their last major competition before the Olympics. Three of the AIDS

taking part in the world championships in South Korea are

from Milton Keynes. To get somewhere, you have got to

start somewhere. For every grade Rutherford, there are thousands

jumping in feet-first. When I first bumped into grade at his school

when he was 10, when I first saw Chris Clark as a ten-year-old, I

now look at them and what they are doing is fantastic. Three of the

region's eight athletes competing in South Korea learned to run, jump

off through here. Now thousands of miles from Milton Keynes, athletes

are preparing to take on the world's best. I am a perfectionist.

I am 24 years old. I started off quite young, so I have a lot of

experience. The top three in the world are out on their own but I

think putting on the best display I can and controlling everything I

can, I am sure I will give most of the world a run for their money.

am always so proud when I wear my Essex best all my eight England

best, you put it on and no need you have earned the right to earn it.

Milton Keynes long jumper -- these athletes are all joining their

colleagues in South Korea. They are aiming for something special, like

these youngsters in Milton Keynes. They encourage you and if you were

doing something wrong, they give you advice. I like athletics more

than football and I like running, javelin, long jump. I like

everything about running. It gives me energy. Would you like to be an

athlete one day? Yes, I would. I would like to go to high jump but I

have an older brother, Dominic, who is an amazing run it past best in

the family. -- amazing run that - Can you remember that bike The

Goodies used to ride? 35 years ago, it inspired a group of men from

Essex to embark on a life-changing journey. They literally got on

their bike - a bicycle made for six - and set off to Germany to raise

money for charity. The bike was then for gotten, until now, because

one of the original team has tracked it down.

1976 - a year of about, punk, Starsky and Hutch, but for six men

from Essex, it was to be the year of a lifetime. They designed and

built a six-seater bike and cycled into Hamburg for charity. 35 years

later, they have tracked down the bike that carried them those 650

miles and are back in the saddle. It all began because I was working

as a product designer and a bill approach me and asked whether I

used to work as a concept by designer and he asked me to design

a multi- man bike. I got on the drawing board at 3am and I had it

designed by 9am. They had a bike and six sets of legs but that did

not mean the trip would be easy. was a really tough ride. We got

lost in Brussels, but we trained and got fit to do the journey. We

would not have done it if we had not done that. As for cycling

through very narrow spaces, there was only one way. Everybody had to

close their eyes apart from the one in front and we just relied on him

to slow us down. It was the only way that we could avoid having a

reaction and falling off. When people in cars looked and looked

again, a couple of cars hit each other while we were cycling. After

the Hamburg adventure, the bike was hired out to other fund-raising

groups but eventually fell into disrepair. We were left with a bike

and a lot of bits which were stored in an old container and that has

laid bare for the last 35 years until now. And after a �2,000

makeover by Tina member Dave Mortimer, it is as good as new, and

the team is hoping that a new generation of enthusiasts will take

the challenge. I think all the men that were here today would do the

same. It was a highlight of our life to do it. His distance buyers

people to get out and do something different. I was reticent about

starting this, but I am glad I did If you like rain, it is good news!

With a bank holiday approaching, we would like high pressure but we

have quite the opposite with an area of low pressure dominating. It

is going to bring some heavy rain tonight and it will stay quite

cloudy and unsettled. The Met Office is concerned enough to issue

a yellow warning fought between 25- 50 mm of rain that grade. Some

fairly heavy rain across the east of the region tonight. The bright

colours show were the heaviest of the rain will be. Temperatures not

falling too far tonight. What the cloud should keep things -- the

cloud should keep things warm. A lot of rain around tomorrow and

they called feel to the day. Rain around in the morning. We will

start to see something in the way of drier, brighter conditions in

the south as we go through the afternoon but most of the area

stays damp. Temperatures at their best around 18 Celsius. A

freshening south-westerly wind into the evening, with the last of the

rain or hanging on. All the bank holiday weekend, things will pick

up. Showers around on Saturday, but high pressure building in for