19/07/2011 Look North (East Yorkshire and Lincolnshire)

Good evening and welcome to BBC Look North. The headlines tonight.

Claims that metal prices have turned parts of North Lincolnshire

into one of the worst areas in the country for cable theft. You hear

it on the news all the time. People do not see the dangers and just see

the money. After the protests against the changes there's fresh

criticism of the government's new system of supporting poor

students.As the future of two RAF bases was secured businesses

celebrate a boost to the economy.The Humber Bridge at 30 -

we take a look at some of it's most We have seen a number of heavy

showers and thunderstorms. There are more tomorrow. We will have the

Villages in North Lincolnshire are being targeted by thieves stealing

copper phone cables. Many homes have been without regularly working

landlines for weeks. The increase in the theft of cables has

coincided with the rise in the price of copper. In 2001 it cost

�240 per tonne. By 2006 it had more than trebled to eight hundred

pounds. And earlier this year the price peaked at fifteen hundred

pounds per tonne. Tarah Welsh has No, it is not on Five days without

her phone. And it's not the first time. Copper has been stolen from

phone lines here three times this month. For further information. We

cannot do that because we do not have a telephone line. Someone

comes in and greens the Post Office. They cannot come, because it comes

off the BT line. We are without our pension. It is three weeks that

this has hit. Hundreds of people have been affected in Alkborough.

And in Horsham businesses suffered when the lines were cut twice.

card machine stopped working, and this is paramount because many

people It's not phone lines that have been affected. Railways cables

are often stolen. And church rooves target, even last night �2000 worth

of lead was stolen from the Doddington Hall near Lincoln.

you can see, scrap metal is a lucrative business. But there's no

copper cable is there. Traders like this one now ask for a photo ID.

you bring it in burnt, it is twined. That is how all you can recognise

burnt Telecom's cable. The police have to step up their patrols, and

the public has to be more vigilant. But most of time the theives are

long gone leaving residents inconvienced, cables have been

stolen from Thorne 17 times - leaving this couple without a phone

for 6 weeks. But as metal prices continue to rise, the temptation to

steal is still there for a few Tarah Welsh is in Alkborough

tonight. Tarah, when repairs are done, what's to stop thieves just

taking the copper cables again? you can see, I am in an isolated

location. When the thieves come a long, they are quite difficult to

spot. This area has been targeted three times already. What they are

doing is that they are lifting of these manhole covers and lifting

the copper cables underneath. It is costing BT millions of pounds every

year. They are trying to secured these. What they are also doing

these are rolling out fibre-optic cables to replace copper ones,

because they are not as by -- valuable. They are 5 million miles

of cable to replace. It is going to cost money. Ian Hetherington

represents scrapyards all over the country. How big a problem is

people stealing metal to sell? Metal theft is a problem throughout

the UK. It tends to majorly inconvenience committees as well as

businesses. That is because scrap metal prices are very high at the

moment? Scrap-metal prices are high, and has grown over the last five

years. Also, I suspect, anecdotally the recession has hit people hard,

and inquisitive crime has grown as a consequence. How could you tell

us the scrap-metal someone is trying to sell you is there's

always stolen? At the point of processing, it is really difficult.

In the early stages after a theft, it is easier. They are usually

indicate is as to how to determine whether the metal is stolen or not,

but once it has been through one set of hands, it becomes incredibly

difficult. What are the penalties that your man so far for selling

stolen goods? The penalties are rigorous. They can lead to

imprisonment or certainly very serious fines. Sir the confiscation

of property. It is not something to be taken lightly. What do you think

about those people who have committed crimes? They deserve

everything that they get. It is a major problem. They provide unfair

competition for legitimate trade. Thank you very much. I would like

to know what you think about this. What more can be done to stop the

theft of cables and metal at the moment? You might have a view on

In a moment... Find out what prompted this performance in

Mablethorpe. An East Yorkshire MP has criticised the Government for

the way it's introduced a new bursary scheme to help the poorest

teenagers stay in education. The government says it's come up with

an adequate alternative to the former Education maintenance

allowance. But Graham Stuart, the MP for Beverley and Holderness,

says the changes have been rushed It sparked a wave of protest. The

scrapping of the cash given to stop students dropping out has left many

worried. It's meant to be replaced by a bursary-but some schools and

parents still don't know how much money they're getting. We talk

about fuel poverty, but we should have a new term, we should have a

school poverty. There will be families out there, perhaps

families I know, who are going to have to disappoint their 16-year-

olds. They say I have to feed you, I have to close to, we have to have

heating and light here. We need to let our children go to school. EMA

is for 16-18 year olds. With students from the poorest

backgrounds getting �30 a week to help them stay in education.

government says its new scheme will still deliver cash where its needed

most, but the pot of money available's been cut by 70 per cent.

A report today says the reforms were rushed and students have

suffered. It wasn't fully thought through. The amount that was going

to be allowed in bursary changed. Young people were given too little

information too late. In Grimsby, 17-year-old Gareth relied on EMA to

pay for books and travel. He thinks the new system is too confusing:

EMA is a simple scheme. People knew the rules. But now it is too

confusing. And while application numbers at Hull College are up for

this this September - they've had to work hard to find news ways to

By the end of the academic year, the EMA comes to an end. And while

MPs agree change was needed - many are far from happy with its

replacement. Graham Stuart is the chair of the Education Select

Committee. Mr Stuart, Many colleges still don't know how much money

they can give out instead of the Education Maintenance Allowance,

why is that? Because the decision has been made by the government to

delegate responsibility for the allocations to colleges, and they

made the decision made to do that and made the allocation so late

that night that colleges nor the students who were going to apply

there were able to know in advance what the situation would be.

your government had made the mistake so that people no idea

whether they could afford to study. Or can be done without? The door

has been cast. Now what we are asking is for heads and principles

of colleges to be creative and look at the best way to support students.

In my constituency, transport is absolutely critical. We need to

make sure the support is in place. We are seeing support from colleges

to make sure the people get to college. People cannot get there

and so they have little tosser don't well with their studies.

have mentioned one area, but it is going to affect those families who

are not so well off, in such places as Hull and Grimsby. Yes, it is --

they would have been aimed production no matter who had been

in power. Labour were going to review it. We decided as a cross-

party group of MPs that it should not -- that it was not handled as

well as the should have been. your critical of your government.

What difference does that make? will make precious little

difference to those who have suffered this year. Hopefully, it

will mean that changes in future will be more considered, and

therefore will have less negative impact on students to be or what

Seiden well at college. They grow Customs officers investigating the

manufacture and sale of illegal vodka in Lincolnshire say they

believe the practice may be widespread. The warning comes as

five shops in Boston have had their licences revoked for selling

smuggled and counterfeit alcohol. It's nearly a week since five men

died in the town following an explosion at an illegal vodka

factory. Five out of six licences revoked sends a message, but with

trading standards and police, they will try to get a grip of it.

are celebrations today after the jobs of Lincolnshire servicemen and

women have been safeguarded at 2 military bases. The defence

secretary, Liam Fox yesterday announced that RAF Cottesmore near

Stamford will become home to the army while RAF Marham in Norfolk

has had its future secured. Amanda Thomson reports. The last Harrier

jump jet flew from RAF Cottesmore near Stamford last December and

with all RAF personnel following suit by next March the future

looked bleak. But yesterday the Defence Secretary Liam Fox

announced that RAF Cottesmore will become home to the army. At least

it will give jobs to somebody, won't it? We have lost a lot of

income from the base. Hopefully we will regain some money on it comes

back. Better than going to waste! In will help the local a four --

economy somewhat. While the Army's plans have saved Cottesmore, it was

the economic argument that has saved RAF Marham near Kings Lynn.

More than 5,000 jobs have been saved here. News the Tornado is

staying, along with its staff has been welcomed by local businesses.

It is embedded in our Committee, the business we do with them. 10 %

of our business is with Marham. do a lot of business with Moran,

the different squadrons. It is good news to hear. Young chaps on their

own, sometimes two or three of them, joining together from a mental

perspective. Absolutely crucial. The familiar Tornados then remain

part of North Norfolk life while Stamford looks forward to welcoming

military personnel of a different kind. Military jobs in Lincolnshire

and its surrounds have been safeguarded for the time being. The

time is 17 minutes to 7 o'clock. Still had: The garden designed in

an East Yorkshire prison goes on display. And of the UN the bridge

at 30. We meet some of the artist Do not forget. If you have a photo

you are proud of, ascended into us. This is Wetwang. Jennifer said in

her note attached to its that they just saw some ducks.

Did you manage to dodge some showers today or did you get wet?

No, I got soaked through. Never mind, you only read it!

I only read it? I'm sorry.

There have been torrential thunderstorms in places. There is a

Met Office severe weather warning. It is valid throughout the evening.

Tomorrow the weather will not improve a great deal. Low pressure

is never far away and there are further show was developing. There

is a risk that some of them will be heavy in places. The satellite

picture shows where the cloud is and that is where the heavier

showers are. It will fade away to the south through the night. It

will turn drier with some clear spells in Lincolnshire. Looking at

the sometimes tomorrow... Here are the times of the high water.

Tomorrow we will see some brightness developing first thing,

particularly in Lincolnshire. Later we will see showers developing and

in the afternoon they will start to become heavy and thundery and

places. The Met Office morning his valid for tomorrow with a risk of

torrential downpours. The temperatures are average for this

time of the year. On Thursday we are still looking as Shell was but

they should have lost their intensity so there will not be

thunderstorms. It will mostly be dry on Friday and Saturday starts

bright bubble cloud over. I have never been pounced on so

quickly in my life! I am not Tocher, really ex!

A butcher from East Yorkshire has taken the radical step of putting

huge notices in his shop window, to try to stop malicious rumours about

his private life. Brian Fields says when his three children came home

asking if he was leaving them and their mother for another man, he

says he had to act. Brian Fields runs an award winning

family business. So when rumours started circulating he'd left his

wife Joanne for a man, he felt he had to retaliate. Together, they've

stuck huge notices in the window of the shop in Anlaby near Hull -

asking people to stop the malicious gossip. A necessary measure, they

say, when their three young children became upset. The rumour

had not subsided. It has been going on a fall three months. Once it was

affecting my children I felt it was time to correct people and have my

say. It is not fair on the children. When one of your daughter's asks

for who she will live with if you split up and there is no problem,

you feel you are to take a stance. We have to sit them all down and

have a tour can tell them mummy and daddy are happy and we are a happy

family and so to ignore it if they hear it. Everybody I have spoken to

said they have heard it. It is just not nice at all.

And today, customers felt the butcher had done the right thing.

He has worked all hours God sends to build his business up and now he

get somebody like that trying to knock him down. It is very wrong.

The you want to make sure people know the fact rather than horrible

gossip. I think, as good on him. There is a slur on his character.

His reputation is being tented. I think he is doing the right thing.

Brian says despite the devastating impact on his family, his business

has been unaffected. He suspects jealousy may be the motive for the

rumours. Now he's hoping his shop front will put a stop to them.

It's a craze that's swept the country and in Lincolnshire today

it was used to highlight the dangers of coastal flooding. In the

middle of the day and without any warning, 300 school pupils suddenly

gathered in Mablethorpe's High Street to perform in front of

passers by. The impromptu performance was used to kick start

a touring exhibition that aims to raise awareness about the danger

and power of the sea. Lincolnshire has a lot to offer,

though its coastline has not always been as peaceful as this. Over the

years, sea defences have been breached here. In 1953, high tides

and stormy weather left 43 people dead. Since then investments and

campaigns have reduce the dangers and today, here in Mablethorpe,

there has been an unexpected campaign to raise the public

awareness further. It came from all directions and gathered momentum

and then it if -- quickly disappear. It is all passed -- it is all part

of the latest craze, flash mob. A seemingly impromptu performance but

one that has been well rehearsed. It was by 300 children whose

Mexican wave in Mablethorpe aims to highlight the power was an danger

of the save. Her I think we did well at getting the message across.

We shop a few people. Are people were asking what we were doing.

Most people wondered what was happening but once they saw the

demonstration they started getting into it. Flash mob has also been

used in good effect in other parts of our area. Esquire recently took

shoppers by surprise in Hull. In Mablethorpe today there were plenty

of puzzled expressions. wondered what was going on and then

realised it was simulating a flood. It has done its job. We have been

11 years. It has not happened yet but, like I say, you never know

what is going to happen. When the weather is like this you do not

think it is something you even have to consider or think about but it

needs to be very much part of your life to plan for an event that may

or may not happen. The performance was filmed for an exhibition which

starts in Lincolnshire on Friday. A modern craze will highlight and alt

-- age old problem. A prison garden in East Yorkshire

has won a best in show award at Tatton Park. The knife garden was

created by inmates at Everthorpe jail near Brough to highlight the

dangers of knife crime and won a competition to feature at the

Tatton Park RHS show in Cheshire from tomorrow. The designers say

it's helping to turn around the lives of some of the inmates who've

worked on it. They come on with different agendas but once they get

involved in a project like this, you can see the thought process

change, the mindset change and they really become involved and proud of

their achievements. We've had plenty of reaction to

last night's programme about the Humber Bridge and the tolls. Just a

few of the responses. Robert in North Ferriby emailed to say...

We are celebrating 30 years of the Humber Bridge. For all its

controversy and disputes over the years, for many the Humber Bridge

has one constant theme. It's a source of inspiration! From

poets, painters and photographers, the Bridge is an icon - and even

inspires the many pictures sent to He's been painting the Humber

Bridge for ten years, from Barton bike night to drinks with friends -

you can always see it somewhere. The Humber Bridge has had a great

influence on my paintings. Every day away Cup tour wonderful view of

the bridge. In that respect it has had an influence on what I tend to

paint. Most pictures have the Humber Bridge in the background.

And his newest project reflects on the current controversy surrounding

the bridge. The latest work is entitled bridged tales explained.

Half of the bridge is missing. It is like a bridge going nowhere. The

birds represent money floating about. A lot of my paintings do not

have meanings but this when it came to me and that is how what evolved.

David's exhibition Beyond The Humber Bridge will soon be on

display for all to see. But of course it's not just the art world

this iconic structure has inspired, there's the spoken word too.

Wynne's play on it like a harp. This Poem Bridge For The Living was

writen by Phillip Larkin to commemorate it's opening.

And more recently it featured in the Symphony For Yorkshire, a song

celebrating everything local. But one person in particular has

possibly had the longest relationship with the bridge,

photographer David Lee. I have been photographing it for 40 years. We

were taking progress photograph from the beginning of the bridge.

It grew very slowly so a lot of things did not change much but it

was fabulous. Getting up on the cables and on the catwalk was

amazing. And many stunning photo's have

followed since then David says he never gets bored of

the Humber Bridge, through summer or winter, day or night it never

fails to inspire. One morning they ran from the control room and told

me I might be interested in something. It was a fabulous same

width fluffy clouds and the cables coming out of them. It made a

fantastic picture and we had it printed and we have sold over 2000.

David says he never gets bored of the Humber Bridge. It never fails

to inspire. I have a copy of that one at home,

where the cloud sticks up above the clouds.

Let us recap the headlines: Under scrutiny by Parliament, Rupert's

and James Murdoch and Rebekah Brooks give evidence to MPs.

Claims that metal prices have turned parts of North Lincolnshire

into the worst area in the country for cable theft.

The weather for tomorrow, sunny spells and heavy showers.

There is a response coming in on the subject of Cable and metal

theft. Malcolm says tarmac there are no police available at night to

stop these thefts. Peter says... We had two tons of lead stripped from

our church. The effect has been devastating for those involved in

running and fund-raising for the Church.Let's make an example of

these thieves. Lock them up and throw away the keys. This could be

seen as attempted murder, just to get their hands on some cash. It is

disgusting. We should ban scrap-metal dealers

buying scrap wire. We should take a photograph of the seller. If they