28/07/2014 Look East - West

Four people die in four days in tragedies in open water.

What more can we do to make outdoor swimming safe ?

Passport officers on strike in Peterborough.

We'll be here later in the programme when they are on the

The latest from the Commonwdalth Games. Plus, training the aviators

of the future, a university offering flying degrees.

First tonight, four deaths in four days

On Friday Look East reported on the deaths

15`year`old Rony John in thd river at Hartford near Huntingdon

and Conor McAll, who was 16, at Clophill Pits in Bedfordshire.

His family has today paid tribute to the teenager.

On Friday evening a 61`year`old man died at the

And yesterday a canoeist didd on a lake at Sixfields in Northampton,

Connor, 16. Dived into deep water and didn't come out again. His aunt

and uncle say the family ard stunned. We were in bits,

devastating. Couldn't believe it. The most horrific news you could

ever hear. We never dreamt this would happen, especially to him He

got into trouble, his friends in the water, they tried to pull him

out, but it was too strong, they were all getting pulled down. They

tried their best, they had to go to get their own breath. By thd time

they looked back, he was gone. Conor's death, was one of four

drownings in the region in four days. At the blue Lagoon, a

61`year`old man died after what has been described as a medical episode.

Flowers on the bank here whdre 15`year`old Rony John lost his life.

Yesterday, a 57`year`old man died after canoeing on the slate. Police

say the man's canoe overturned in the middle of the lake. It hs

believed his body was recovdred still inside it. Another life lasts

on our lakes, rivers and reservoirs. `` another life lost. But abundant

advisories are leading a calpaign, cold temperatures are a killer. Even

in the summer, water is cold. People are taking big breaths in bdcause of

it, they often take in water as well. You can also move into

because it is so cold and also cramp. It is now too late, within 40

seconds, people are incapachtated. Inland water claimed nearly 400

lives last year. Well, earlier I spoke to

Ed Williams, from the Elite Swimming Academy in C`mbridge,

who described the particular risks Well, it is very different

to indoor swimming. You have nature, a huge bodx

of often very cold water. The danger is if people are not

confident enough or able enough they Even quite good swimmers, I know,

have got into trouble in opdn water. It is important that people

understand the risks and respect it. What can people do who insist

on swimming outdoors to redtce The main thing is to make

sure you don't swim alone. Even me, who does a lot of sea

and Channel swimming, I never swim on my own, people will

always be watching and therd will be Important to have an extra set

of eyes. It is important to make surd

you are in the attire. Also make sure you are

in a safe part of water. Assess the risks very thorotghly

and make sure you're not in danger. We have seen over the last few days

and be will dying in open w`ter Is it time to ban people

from swimming in the circumstances? But it is the type of thing that

is done once by most people. Education about the risks

and dangers about it, it's still a rewarding thing to do,

but people still need to be There is also at the moment,

with the hot weather, I understand

your one`year`old daughter recently Yes, yes in fact my one`year`old

fell into a garden pond, but because I am a swim coach and I had been

teaching her what to do, evdn though she can't talk she knew to roll onto

her back and come to the side. If a one`year`old can do th`t,

I think we need to ensure wd pass these skills on to children

at a young age. It is the kind of thing that parents

can do themselves, practising water confidence in the bath alond. A lot

you can do to keep your famhly safe. What are the main danger signs to

look out for? There are manx things, the first one is thd obvious

panicking side of things. If people get into trouble they will

Some people might not, they might be silent. The main thing is to ensure

you have eyes on that person all sight, be responsible for e`ch

other. Recognises something look right, be it overly panicky or

going quiet and slipping under. It happened yesterday during a

race for pre`1966 grand prix cars. The police and

Motor Sports Association will carry The weather has once again been

causing problems in the reghon. This evening two flights to Luton

airport have been diverted And several properties in Thaxted

near Saffron Walden were flooded, forcing residents to try to keep

the rising water out. Cars were also stranded on

the main road through the vhllage. The fire service says

a road has also collapsed bdcause It was devastating. All you can do

is damage control really. It is such a shame, lovely people round here, a

strong community, to see thhs happen to them is heartbreaking.

Civil servants based at the regional passport office in

Peterborough took part in a national strike today in protest agahnst the

The staff union says more pdople are needed to deal with the workload.

The problem has led to longdr delays for those waiting

People arriving to sort that passports today were greeted by a

picket line. The office herd handles 100,000 applications every xear The

union says that passports should take six weeks to come throtgh, now

it is up to three months because of staff shortages. We are herd to

expose the fact that there `re far fewer jobs in the passport office

than there were in 2010 that is causing the backlogs. Yes, while the

strike causes inconvenience, this is about resolving the long`term

problem of low staffing. A lother and daughter at the passport office

today, the rest of the family already holidaying in Egypt. They

couldn't get one today becatse of the strike, they felt. I understand

that they think they are understaffed, but doing it during

the holiday season is madness. Many people are disappointed. Thhs family

to 300 miles to get a rush passport after winning a chance to play at a

chess championship. It is stch a shame that this young person's

potential is not being fulfhlled by these people. It has not affected

me, I was worried this mornhng, but they helped me this morning and my

appointment wasn't affected. It shouldn't affect the time I get my

passport,. The Home Office says it is disappointed the strike hs taking

place, as it says it has bedn in discussion with the unions. It says

it will only inconvenience customers and jeopardise the holidays. They

say they have contingency plans in place to minimise disruption. The

union says it is a backlog crisis with half a million cases still in

the system. The government says today's strike is irresponshble and

is looking for a long`term solution with the union.

40,000 people have signed an online petition, which calls on thd Bury St

He apologised last week after he was cautioned by police

The petition was started on Friday by a women's rights group.

It says the MP's apology is unacceptable.

He says his former partner has forgiven him and he considers the

matter closed. His party will discuss the affair on Thursday.

Meanwhile engineering staff at East Midlands Trains are also

Members of the "Unite" union walked out yesterday in a dispute over pay.

Around 10% of the workforce are involvdd.

Managers say there'll be little disruption for travellers

But passengers from Corby to London will have to use replacement buses.

It's just emerged that a 20`year`old woman suffered

a serious sexual assault at a car racing event earlier this month

And police are trying to find the men who attacked her.

It happened at the Dragstalgia weekend at the Santa Pod Raceway

The Santa Pod Raceway hosts many events like this every year. At one

of these, at 130 in the morning a woman was sexually assaulted as she

was about to leave at the vdnue To white men assaulted her but she was

unable to describe anything else about them because it was d`rk.

are looking for a key witness called Darren from the Wellingborotgh area.

Police really want to find him because he was the last person with

the victim before this occurred The race away is on the border of

Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire, but visitors come from all over the

country. That makes it diffhcult for police. The woman who was attacked

isn't off luggage area and hs 2 years old. She is a victim of one of

the most horrendous crimes that anyone can suffer. It was an

horrendous sexual assault. The woman is from the Northamptonshird area.

It was somewhere near where the woman who is attacked. Thousands of

people were camping here ovdr the weekend, police are hoping some of

them may have heard or seen something that will help thdm solve

this crime. They are asking anyone with any relevant information to

contact them by calling 101. Cricket,

and Northants' long`serving batsman, David Sales, has announced he's

retiring at the end of the season. The 36`year`old made his debut

for Northants in 1996. He's played 249 First Class games,

scoring 14,000 runs. Sales was forced to make

the decision after suffering Later, Dan is here with

the weather forecast First back to Stewart and Stsie

for the rest of the news. who won what at the

Commonwealth Games. As you have probably seen,

the government has been givhng details about the latest rotnd

of incentives to exploit the reserves of shale oil and gas,

buried deep under the ground. Companies are being invited to bid

for new licences Vast swathes of the eastern region

are believed to hold reservds But the fracking technique hs

controversial, which is why the government says, it will protect

areas of outstanding natural beauty, Our chief reporter, Kim Rildy,

has the details. Hydraulic fracturing, or fr`cking,

is certainly controversial. It takes place thousands

of meters underground. Water, sand and chemicals are

injected under high pressurd into shale rock, unlocking gas

trapped for millions of years. It?s revolutionised

the energy market in the US. This map shows areas in red, where

licences have already been granted. But the grey areas are now open

for new applications. Going closer, you can see they

include much of North Norfolk, going into Lincolnshire

and towards Peterborough. North`West Essex,

South Cambridgeshire, And in the West,

parts of Buckinghamshire The government believes shale gas

can improve energy security, boost Today,

it?s promised areas of outstanding beauty would only be exploited

in "exceptional circumstancds". We have increased protection on

national parks and areas of outstanding natural beauty. We need

to explore this opportunity, because domestic secure energy supplies are

important. We need to do it in a sensitive way. Fracking `` fracking

is reckless and unproven. Do we want to let our green land be fr`ctured.

Will it be turned into a nightmare of drilling rigs and cesspools of

toxic waste. We think there is a better alternative. We want a green,

renewable revolution. A flavour of the arguments to come. An expiration

licence is only the start of what to come. It needs permits and lust pass

an inspection by the Health and Safety Executive. Some fracking

could start early next year, somewhere the country. It is

unlikely to be here in the Dast It's Day Five of the

Commonwealth Games and therd were plenty of medals up for grabs

for the region's athletes. And the action is still going

on this evening. Let's go to the National Badminton

Centre, in Milton Keynes, where they have been watching the

progress of our badminton stars Hello. We are watching the best

young players in the county go through their paces, on a d`y where

England are still waiting to find out weather it will be a silver or

gold in the mixed team event. We might be able to show you some

pictures. There is a crucial match that Essex's star is hoping to win.

It will be difficult. She won the first set and it is now the second

match. We are touch and go whether England will win the gold. Ht

stemmed on the second match,. All the players live in Milton Keynes.

Most people expected the st`r to win. Sadly, it did not go hhs way.

It an exhausting past time watching England play sport. Everyond was

hoping he could win. The Commonwealth Games is a hugd thing.

We turned up to watch. After losing the first game, he needed to win the

second to take it to a decider, which she did. In the third game,

the sinking feeling that Malaysians would win. Malaysia are now well and

truly back in the game. It hs one all. We need to regroup going into

the next game. It has never been so close. People are feeling a little

bit flat, now. England had to win, with weaker players to come. It was

Malaysia's match and the omdns were not good. So England are tr`iling by

two games to one, ugly best`of` . Sarah Walker is now playing. Let's

talk to George from Badminton England. It is touch and go. We have

done fantastically to get to the final, beating India, avenghng the

last four years ago in Delhh. We are really happy. Sarah has plaxed

really well. It has been a great team performance, whatever. This is

the first badminton medal to be one. Yes, and we have more tomorrow. Some

fantastic sport coming up. To be superb. Is Badminton in good health?

Yes, we are the six biggest participation sport in the country.

We have over half a million people playing every week. Not a lot of

people know that. We are in really rude health at the moment.

into the next Olympic progr`mme in Rio, some other players now, do they

have possibilities of winning? Yes, the eldest player is 27 years old.

Others are 24 and 22 years old. They have a real opportunity to peak in

Rio. Thank you. Lots of othdr action. Milton team has been a focal

point, because Andrew Baggaley was involved in a team event. S`dly he

won silver not gold. We did also win a medal in the squash. Peter Barker

from Essex helps in self to a bronze medal. He is England's most

accessible table tennis plaxer at the Commonwealth Games. Andrew

Baggaley was banking on his years of experience to beat the Sing`pore

champion. But, Singapore race to a 2`1 lead `` 2`0 lead. Singapore were

in no mood to relent to Andrew Baggaley a second time. A 3`1

victory mean silver for him to add to be five Commonwealth med`ls he

already cherishes. Peter Barker was determined to secure another podium

finish. He beat the Indian player to secure a second successive bronze

medal, but needed the help of the TM oh at match point. It was a huge

honour to play first bronze. I felt the pressure the expectation, too. I

am absolutely delighted. Thd history boys of this year's game secured his

18th podium place in his six successive games, but he finished

inset `` 13th place today. He misses out on claiming the outright medal

haul, but has no regrets. Hd insists, there will be no more

comebacks. I came here to gdt one medal and I did that. That hs great.

It's a disappointing series, but there wasn't much one. I just

couldn't hit the ten. On thd track, Bedford 400 runner struggled to make

an impression. Stuck in land eight, he finished fourth and qualhfied for

the semifinals as the fastest loser. The gymnastic boys lead the

standings after free apparatus. These two gymnasts looked assured

throughout. Dan Keating was a standout performer for Scotland

helping them to second placd after the first day of the compethtion.

Since we have been on air, the medal has become the silver. Engl`nd has

won a silver. The competition runs until the end of the

Tomorrow, we hope some of the gymnasts,

An ambitious plan has been `nnounced to train the airline staff

At the moment, the training system is long and expensivd.

A new college, attached to the airport,

would offer a vocational degree course to everyone involved in

flying, including pilots, engineers and air traffic control staff.

Its backers say, it would be the first facilhty

You have the flight displays here. 19`year`old Stephen Hadley has

always wanted to be a commercial pilot. It is expensive. 18 lonths of

intense training costs around ? 000. The first time, flying and other

aviation apprenticeships ard becoming degree courses. Other

people who dream of becoming a commercial pilot haven't bedn able

to, because of the funding. With a new degree programme, a

people will have the option key to chase their dream. There is more

good news. `` opportunity to chase their dream. A new academy hs being

built at Norwich International Airport. There is a diminishing

number of people entering the profession, against demand. We need

to match this demand. Robbid has seen many changes in the nulber of

years he word as an engineer. He is convinced the

the industry needs. There w`s a downturn of

the main ways in Wasilla military `` was through the military.

they have lessened their nulbers, we need

encourage young boys and girls to come in. The Academy has industry

backing. There are very few training establishments for aviation and they

are usually around the London area or Morimoto. This will provhde `` or

more remote. This will provhde otherwise unavailable trainhng. The

feasibility study is taking place in the next eight weeks. If it gets the

go`ahead, it will begin near the south of the airport next ydar. Up

to 300 students should be starting in September 2016. Time for the

it was a dramatic night in some parts of the region, which `re Matic

downpours. One month's worth of rain fell in an hour. What happened? It

started off dry in the evenhng, but in the early hours of the morning

this narrow line of thunderstorms caused localised studying and hail.

`` flooding. It has cleared away and she's a quiet day. Easterly winds

are coming in and over all, it is pretty cloudy. Many places `re dry,

but there are some showers. To Essex offered to Suffolk. That continues,

tonight. There will be burst of rain in Essex that could be heavx.

Temperatures around 14`16 ddgrees tonight. The strong winds e`se

overnight. Tomorrow, the rahn clears and there is an Atlantic whhch

coming in. `` Ridge. A cloudy start, rain falls to the south, thhngs

brighten up from the North West Some sunshine comes through. A

decent afternoon with a sunny spells and a sunny spells and daylhght

north`westerly wind. In the sunshine, 25`26?. To limit the coast

with those sea breezes. Eventually, clouding over. Wednesday through

Thursday, the rich builds b`ck in and there is dry, fine weather

expected. A small risk of an isolated shower, but many places

they drive. Into Friday, `` stay dry. Into the weekend, and Friday,

it becomes more unsettled. The rain pushes in later in the day. Looking

fine and dry to the next few days, mid 20s and cool nights. Colfortable

for sleeping. At the end of the week, some rain arriving. It looks

quite unsettled for the weekend at this stage. Thank you very luch See

tomorrow. I leave the ashram, travel halfway

across the world to find my father, Oh, well. As Vashrati says,

gotta keep smiling! We don't tend to use the bathroom

together here. All right, well,

I'll catch you later. This ashram of yours,

it might be a cult. I take it back,

he's definitely Cuckoo's son. I just feel like my whole body's

been taken over by an alien. She's my age. She's four years

younger than you, Mum, Nine of 'em made redundant.

What? How long were you going to leave it

before you told me?