08/02/2012 Look East - East

Hello, and welcome to Look East. In the programme tonight. An hour-and-

three-quarters wait for an ambulance for a pensioner who had

laid helpless on the floor for nearly a day. I think it's

appalling. There is obviously a big propblem somewhere in the system.

The fight against metal thieves. Politicians, police and business

leaders come here to plot the next moves.

A flu jab warning for expectant mothers.

And how do you keep an airport open First tonight. The pensioner who

fell and lay undiscovered on her bathroom floor for 21 hours and

then had to wait an hour and three quarters for an ambulance. Irene

Edwards is 86 and lives just across the road from the Princess

Alexandra Hospital in Harlow. Her family, and her local MP, want to

know why it took so long for the ambulance to arrive. This report

from Gareth George. Irene Edwards in happier times,

cradling a new-born great grandchild. She's now in hospital,

after collapsing at home. Her head was in the bathroom but her legs

were long here, flat on her back. She lay undiscovered at home for 21

hours. It's only because she collapsed near this radiator that

she's still alive. I covered her up with blankets and things to get a

warm and sat and reassured her and said the ambulance will be here any

minute. How long did it take? hour and three-quarters.

Edwards lives in that row of houses, just a couple of hundred yards from

the Princess Alexandra Hospital. You can see the hospital from her

bedroom window. The ambulance station is just up the road as well.

A spokesman for the East of England Ambulance Service said: We would be

more than happy to discuss any concerns the patient and her family

may have regarding our response to their call on Monday. We hope she

is recovering well in hospital. What happened to Mrs Edwards has,

once again, put ambulance response times under the spotlight. 95% of

ambulances should get to a casualty within 19 minutes. In the East of

England, 93.7% make it, slightly under. Also, NHS guidelines say it

should take no more than 15 minutes to transfer a patient from an

ambulance into hospital. But Mrs Edward's family were told the

ambulance that finally reached her had been stuck in a queue outside

A&E, waiting to drop off a previous patient. Other stories of

apparently slow responses Look East has highlighted recently include

that of Riley Murray. His mother had to wait nearly two hours for an

ambulance when she needed an emergency caesarean. Back in Harlow,

Sue Edwards still has text messages sent by her daughter while there

are waiting for the ambulance to arrive. I think it is appalling.

There is obviously a problem somewhere in the system.

mother-in-law is expected to say in hospital for several more days. We

heard about that story because the Edwards family got in touch to tell

us. We always want to hear your stories. You can phone, email or

contact us through Facebook. The police, politicians and

business leaders came to this region today to plot the next moves

in the fight against metal thieves. The soaring price of scrap metal

has led to a surge in crime and it's something that affects all of

us, in our homes and communities, businesses, and when we try to

travel to work. Let's look at the trains. Since April last year,

there have been 98 incidents of cable theft on the railways in the

Anglia region. 3,500 services have been affected. It doesn't stop

there. Underground phone cables, lead from rooves and even drain

covers are routinely stolen. Jozef Hall spent last night with Network

Rail, patrolling the railways for cable thieves.

One way or another, metal thefts affect nearly everyone. From rail

operators, to telecoms - farms to memorials. The war against the

theives is gaining momentum. have just received a call from

control to say the camera has shown an activation. It is a site where

we have had recent cable fare. early hours of this morning with

Network Rail - patrolling known hotspots between London and

Cambridge. Using night vision technology, and liasing with

British Transport Police, not much gets past them. Electric cable. It

has been painted out. People are nicking cable and putting their

lives at risk and begin delays in tour services. Have you seen a

difference in the land that the fees will go to? Yes, we had a

death not so long ago. I do not think they understand and they need

to understand that going on the railway they are going to get

killed. Stripping the Heart Out of Britain - today police chiefs,

ministers and security experts debated the issue in Kettering. At

the top of the agenda - banning cash payments for scrap. We want to

get cash out of the system and bring improper traceability and

make sure payments are made by some means so there we can know how the

payments are made. Limiting thefts like this. Andy Johnson was forced

to invest in CCTV when his crocodile farm's 16-foot bronze

mascot was stolen. They brought a truck into the car-park, loaded it

up and work on. I wish I could have chucked them in but the real ones!

At around ten pounds a metre, British Telecom protect their cable

with an invisible marker dye called smartwater. The mayor of Ely has

followed their lead to protect the City's bronze memorial plaques.

is a shame that we have this sort of culture where people will take

things irrespective of what the meaning is, but what else do we do?

At today's major conference in Kettering, representatives of the

scrap metal industry say plans to outlaw cash payments for scrap

could drive the illegal trade in stolen metal further underground.

Thomas Cook has reported pre- tax losses of �350 million. The company

got into financial difficulties last year but to date they said

they were encouraged by summer bookings. You have to bear in mind

that tour operators nominate losses at this time of year in the winter,

because they have spent money to get hotel space but they have not

yet got money back from punters to pay for it. We also know the

company did not have a good joke last year. Home of their bookings

doing now? They say they are encouraged. They are not doing too

badly. Their summer bookings were down by 1% on last year, which was

better than some competitors. Their share of the market is stable. They

are finding there is less demand for package holidays but more

demand for more expensive, specialist and upmarket breaks.

Most people looking at the results today seem to think the company is

moving gradually in the right direction. They just lost their way

last year. Since the last chief- executive left, the new management

team, I think they know what they are doing. It is worth saying that

if you did buy a holiday with Thomas Cook, or you are planning to,

your money is financially protected. Everybody is trying to be quite a

be but they are closing shops. they are closing 200 shops, but in

a way that is part of their turnaround plan. They are trying to

reduce their costs. They are trying to reshape their business. They are

not out of the wood yet, they have a lot of hard work to go but they

are moving in the right direction. Still to come on Look East. Phil's

here with the prospect of another night of freezing temperatures. And

some thrifty tips to cut your supermarket bills.

This is an G and she has slashed her household budget by more than

half. And the family is not going without.

The NHS in Essex says people are putting their lives at risk by not

having a flu jab. Fewer than 25% of pregnant woman and nearly half of

people under 65 with a medical condition have taken up the free

jab this winter. This is the Primary Care Centre in

Colchester. As the Met Office issues its cold weather alert, the

NHS in north Essex is issuing a health warning. Because less people

have come forward, especially the under 65 at risk and pregnant women,

we urge them to come for because of a flu outbreak happens with the

serious spell of cold weather then there is the possibility that more

people can get the infection and get serious complications. The NHS

estimates that across the country 8000 more elderly people will die

every time the temperature drops one degree below average. One

preventative measure is to have the seasonal flu jab. It seems in this

region that those over 65 are heeding the advice. By 20th

December 11, 73% had had the vaccination. Only 40 so % of those

under 65 with a medical condition had taken up the offer. Just 23% of

pregnant women have decided to have the jab. This season's flu viruses

are said to include a strain of particular risk to them. I do not

agree with having deftly to have, I didn't think it is right for

pregnant women. I was not willing to take the risk with the different

strains of flu that there are. have never had a reaction so I'm

more than happy to have a flu jab this time. The advice is that if

you want the vaccine get it now before it is too late.

Police are searching for a man who held up a bank in Norwich city

centre. Officers were called to the Co-operative bank on London Street

just after midday. A man in his early 20s wearing a grey hoodie

told staff he had a gun. He made off with a quantity of cash in a

carrier bag. A prisoner who escaped from guards

has appeared again in court in Scotland. He was recaptured two

days after an armed man helped him escape from the West Suffolk

Hospital. He appeared at Ayr Sheriff Court and was remanded in

custody. Investigations are continuing after an apparent hammer

attack in Suffolk. The police were called to a nature reserve near

Oaks Close in Bury St Edmunds yesterday afternoon. A 40-year-old

man was taken to Addenbrookes hospital with head injuries. No-

one's been arrested. Now it's time to meet a very young

girl who has been called the snow baby. She was delivered a few yards

from the family home in Norwich. Her parents were just leaving for

the hospital when she decided her time had come. Just two days old,

this is Nina, sleeping throat a visit. When her mother gave birth

to her sister three years ago, nothing happened very quickly, but

when Nina wanted to make her entrance, she did not hang about.

After calling the hospital, her parents got no further than the

snow-covered yard outside their home. Under the archway, Marek

delivered his second daughter, talk through by an ambulance call

handler. We could not go back home, we could not go to the car, we had

to stay there because the contractions were really pick.

After a couple of minutes, it was over. I wanted to be in hospital or

somewhere near. I was quite screaming a lot, Seng, where am I?

I am here and not even in the car on the way to hospital. And he was

very good. Yes, very calm also. And just heard the man through the

phone and just did what he said. Next time, says Marek, they will

stay home. He knows what to do now. A teenage anti-knife campaigner has

helped produce a film. The online film is part of the "Bin A Blade"

campaign run by BBC Radio Suffolk and the local police. It will be

used in schools and community centres and aims to show knife

crime is not a game. 17-year-old Holly Watson started the campaign

after her brother Lewis was stabbed to death in Sudbury in 2009.

In just over a month's time many of us will be running a mile to raise

money for Sport Relief. In 2010, people in this region raised nearly

�2 million. In Essex, the Paralympic champion Danny Crates

has been back to his old primary school to get the children fired up

for the big day. A hero's welcome as a Paralympic

gold medallist and former pupil takes centre stage here at Giffards

Primary. But Danny Crates isn't here to talk about his own

successses. Today he's generating support for Sport Relief. It all

kicks off on Friday 23rd March and I know that this school has done a

lot of good work two years ago in the last sport Relief and they

raised over �650. We are going to try and get people excited and get

them to raise even more money this time around. Danny won the 800

metre gold at the 2004 Paralympics in Athens. For pupils at his former

school that makes him quite some role model. It is not every day

that you get a famous person coming to your school. We are very excited

because I cannot wait to run the mile and he inspires me.

children really do engage with Danny and he has been able to

motivate them with his stories of his own challenges and his

successes, but in this case, to be able to welcome him back for Sport

Relief so that the children understand what they are doing and

why. The visit ends with an impromptu run. There will be Sport

Relief Miles taking place across the East on Sunday 25th March. Full

details are on the website. You're watching Look East from the

BBC. Coming up: the duchess, the filmstar, and some cutting edge

Inflation, rising unemployment, higher food and fuel bills -

there's huge pressure on household budgets at the moment. Many of us

are having to take a long, hard look at where our money is going.

And some, like Angie Knight, who lives just outside Ipswich, have

amazed themselves by how much they can save on their supermarket

shopping. She got in touch to tell us, so we went to see her.

Breakfast time at the Knights. As well as Mum and Dad, there are

Jamie, Lucy and Daisy to feed too. Like many, money's tight. But when

the family income fell recently drastic action was needed. We had

to at the car serviced and I thought where am I going to get the

money from. The money I was spending on chopping worked out at

�600 a month and I thought this has stayed stop. I decided to set

myself a budget of �60 to �70 and stick to it. And she has. Eggs now

come from a farm shop, �2 for 30. As for top brands, you won't spot

many here. This will do two-and-a- half meals. They will do tonight's

spaghetti bowl like days and then there will be a sunnier for

tomorrow and a portion left over. Instead of three trips to the

supermarket a week, now there's just one. Angie's rules - only buy

what's on your list, ignore two- for-one offers. And take your

budget with you in cash so you have to stick to it. Once you know where

everything is you can just come in and buy it. I don't get distracted,

either could buy list and just go for those. This lot, just part of

her weekly shop, came to �35. Angie is three weeks into her new regime.

Her bargain basement approach may not be to everyone's taste. But she

says it's proof that if you're nifty, you can be thrifty.

In the kind of weather we have right now, the gritters are out

every day covering hundreds of miles of the region's roads. In our

airports it's just as important to make sure there is no ice on the

runways and where the planes taxi. Mike Liggins has been to our

busiest airport, Stansted, to find out how it's done. He's there now.

It is about minus to here tonight but with the of wind chill it feels

considerably colder. Ayr side here at Stansted there is about the

equivalent of 12 miles of hard standing, a rum way which is just

short of two miles, and did all these to be kept clear of snow and

ice. This is how they do it. Eight Ryanair flight from Poland

landing at snowy Stansted this afternoon. The snow is not a

problem now but the freezing temperatures and ice Park. Which is

why the airport has two new d I says, costing 200 to �2,000 each

such. They have extending arms which put potassium acetate on the

tarmac. It is effective down to minus 20. What would happen if you

did not do this? It is not worth thinking about. If you did not do

it and the runway froze, the worst scenario is that the plane would

skid off the runway and that is not what we're here for. They cannot

use salt because it is too corrosive and pricked would clock

aircraft engines. Temperature gauges set into the runways and

taxi areas and specialised for Castel the operations team went to

go out. Today there will be just over 300 take-off and landing seer

at Stansted. It the airport was not to stay open there would be a lot

of disappointed passengers. On Saturday night, they had 17

centimetres of snow at Stansted up the new, revised snow plan worked

well. We closed initially around 10pm and opened again at around

midnight for three-quarters of a gnat and then we opened early in

the morning. We have a new state of the art snow ploughed which at one

stage was cutting through snow about a metre and a half deep.

afternoon, a cargo plane left Stansted ground for Chicago. On the

ground, one very important cog in the big airport machine which keeps

these big beasts flying. The cost of all that new equipment

has cost something over �1 million. It is half-term next week and about

50,000 passengers a day flight from here so, if the weather stays like

this, fingers crossed, everything should be fine.

Go and get something warm! Diabetes affects millions of people in the

UK and of course the main treatment is drugs and injections. But

researchers in Cambridge are working on a revolutionary

treatment, an artificial pancreas which could produce insulin. Today

the Duchess of Cambridge went to Addenbrooke's Hospital to talk to

the doctors and the diabetes patients. And one of them is a

rising star in Hollywood. Chatting to youngsters with

diabetes - but there's more than one famous face here. Jeremy Irvine

is Hollywood's hottest new actor - star of the hit film Warhorse. Four

years ago he underwent trials at Addenbrookes hospital for a new

device which could almost be a cure - an artificial pancreas. For me, I

was just a guinea pig relief. I had to come in and spent 24 holes,

overnight, in the ward. They cling to up to the artificial pancreas

system and monitor your clutch of his for 24 hours. All we found,

even though I was in here for 24 hours, was that the blood sugar was

like someone who has not got diabetes. The numbers of patients

with type 1 diabetes is growing. For them it means daily injections

or an insulin pump to keep blood sugar levels normal. BBC journalist

Justin Webb has a son diagnosed when he was five. For them, this

new artificial pancreas is exciting news. Having an artificial pancreas

will mean that there are so many other things that you can do.

project if it is successful is going to change tens of thousands

of lives in Britain, hundreds of thousands of lives, it is going to

be one of those things that you just brush off in the way the we

brush-off diseases that you used to kill people. The next step for us

is to move from the clinic to doing this treatment in people's home. We

have one study to start as soon as possible as soon as we get the

consumables. So the Duchess learned of an exciting new medical

breakthrough. But she wasn't the only Royal in Cambridge today -

husband Charles met teachers and the Education Secretary Michael

Gove as the Prince's Teaching Institute celebrated its tenth

I have to apologise because I said the Duchess of Cambridge and, of

course, it is the Duchess of Cornwall.

Yesterday was not too bad in terms of sunshine but it was cold. Today,

a really cloudy situation across the whole of the East of England

which if anything help to make it feel even colder. There were few

light snow flurries and we still had the last of them but they are

fading away. The main risk tonight is from the frost. Despite cloudy

skies it is going to be a chilly night all the way through. Tomorrow,

it is a similar theme but with one or two differences. It will be

cloudy once again it certainly a feeling cold but also the risk of

some snow coming in. We have a little front a way to the West

which is nudging him from the north-west as we go through the day.

Much of the day will be fine but we may see a little bit more in the

way of snow tomorrow evening. Thursday morning should not pose

too many problems other than a little bit of frost. As we head to

the middle of the day, a little bit of snow drifting in from the north.

I do not think it will amount to very much at all. Further south it

should stay dry but another chilly day all the way through. Top

temperatures of only one or two Celsius. The wind hopefully a touch

gentler tomorrow. It is in the afternoon that I think we have

really got the risk of some snow coming in. It will become more

persistent as it comes down from the north. Tomorrow evening, there

is a risk of a covering of snow across northern Cambridgeshire and

down in for Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire. Perhaps two to five

centimetres. But it will become drier through Thursday night and

clearer as well. Into Friday itself, it looks as though the front that

brings the snow will pull away to the east. Saturday able see the

high pressure more dominant and the sunshine coming back. As we moved

to Sunday, by high pressure news for the West and would allow some

north-westerly winds to come in. That should bring some less cold

air in as well. Friday looking cloudy, sunny spells on Saturday