09/05/2013 Look North (East Yorkshire and Lincolnshire)

North. The headlines tonight: Her eyes were damaged by laser surgery.

This woman calls for better checks on clinics. I think it is disgusting

that they can offer this on the high street so anyone can walk into their

clinics. Campaigners say 40 should be 30. The

Government agrees that Lincolnshire is out-of-step on road safety.

speed of some the cause is inappropriate.

The Blitz stories still emerging - unearthed thanks to war memorial

campaigners in Hull. And we're on the hunt for Lincoln's

missing ducks. New line it has certainly been whether for ducks in

East Yorkshire today. Join me for whose eyesight was permanently

damaged by laser eye surgery is calling for a change in the law.

Tens of thousands of people have the eye treatment every year, many in

high street clinics. But it is not regulated in the same way as other

surgical procedures. Here is our health correspondent.

Several times a day, Sarah Knapp has to stop what she is doing to put

drops in her eyes. Laser eye surgery was supposed to help her

shortsightedness. Instead she claims it has left her with many other

problems. I would get shooting pains, soreness, unbearable

itchiness and I have seen an independent specialist in the last

two months and I have learnt that they are a result of nerve damage in

the right eye. We asked Optimax, who carried out Sarah's procedure, for

an interview. They declined but told us in a statement that... Over the

past 22 years, they have performed more than 620,000 laser operations.

The vast majority of people are delighted with the results. But they

add that with all surgery, there can be complications for which remedial

treatment is given. Laser eye surgery is not routinely available

on the NHS, and Sarah, like tens of thousands of others, was tempted by

a cut-price deal. But campaigners have criticised some companies for

their aggressive marketing and for playing down any potential

side-effects. I made the biggest mistake of my life when I went to

have the surgery but I trusted that the surgeon would be honest, would

tell me the risks, and this was not true. The surgeons underplay the

risks. The high street clinics are businessmen and it is all about

profit. While all laser eye surgeons must be qualified doctors, they are

not legally required to have specialist qualifications, nor are

they regulated by the Government. think it is disgusting that they can

offer this on the high street so anybody can walk into their clinics

and be offered surgery on your eyes, which are one of your most

precious parts of your body, and that it is not regulated.

Campaigners hope their experiences will now encourage the Government to

share their vision for better regulation of laser eye surgery.

Joining me is Mr Millind Pande, a consultant surgeon who carries out

laser eye surgery in East Yorkshire. Good evening. Something

is going wrong. I think the key to any surgery is to make sure that you

are aware of what you are aware of what you're getting into. It is a

bit like flying a plane. If you are a good pilot you can land the plane

even when there is trouble, so laser surgery is a very successful

procedure but the key is to make sure a proper evaluation is done to

work out whether a patient is suitable for it or not. And that is

not actually happening, anyone can carry out the surgery? Any doctor

can, yes. It is something that needs to be looked into, in terms of

reinforcing what the training requirements for surgeons are.

there some people giving laser eye surgery, in your opinion, who should

not be doing it? In my opinion there are people doing it perhaps not the

way it should be done. Patients need to be seen by the surgeon, they need

to be able to communicate, questioned the surgeon, trust the

surgeon, and I and part of the laser eye surgery committee which has a

qualification. Isn't it still too young for us to know at all if it is

safe and works? It has been 20 years now since laser eye surgery has been

around and I have been doing it for more than 20 years now. It has come

a long way. We know a lot more about it. We know which patients to

operate on and not operate on. your son or daughter was suitable

for the operation, would you let them have it? Telemark absolutely,

but only in good hands. We would like to hear from you. If you have

had laser eye surgery what are your friendship. A handshake seals a deal

to run Lincolnshire County Council. The Transport Minister is backing a

group of campaigners in Lincolnshire who want speed limits reducing from

40 mph to 30. People living in several villages between Grantham

and Sleaford said the council has not listened to them. The minister

agrees, saying councillors are out of step with Government road safety

policy. Years of campaigning resulting in

this, a ministerial visit for residents in West will be. The

village sits on the main road between Grantham and Sleaford but

the speed limit here is 50 mph, and campaigners say that Lincolnshire

County Council have rejected their pleas to drop it. We do not want

someone to die before we get a speed reduction. That is not the way to

achieve policy. What they tell us is they have to balance commercial

activity against road safety. Looking across to my house, we have

an oil delivery just arrived. You can imagine what it would be like if

another HGV came around that blind bend and hit an oil tanker. But how

likely is that? Villagers here and in full back between Grantham and

Lincoln say that is not the point. Accident statistics have always been

a key factor in determining whether or not speed limit should drop but

in the last five years here there have only been one slight injury out

of 7000 across the county, not enough the council said to change

speed limits. But that was before a change of council and other

factors. You can see having stood here for the last ten minutes, the

speed at which some people go through this village is

inappropriate. There are new guidelines for the council to use

and I hope they will. But the council says no change. It still

wants to balance out the needs of businesses, tourism, commuters and

the emergency services. We do not have a 30 mph limit in every village

and it is not a precedent to set. We do not have the money for as large a

public transport network as we would like. If the minister wants to write

us a cheque we would be really grateful. So as a result, the roads

are how we all get about. Residents and their local MPs say it is a

fight they are not going to give up Another one you might have a view

on. Did you think speed limits should be reduced in villages? If

you want to be in touch, send us a Lincolnshire's chief -- Police and

Crime Commissioner will set up an investigation to look into the

suspension of the chief constable. Last month, a High Court judge ruled

that Commissioner Alan Hardwick was wrong to suspend Neil Rhodes. He was

then reinstated. Today the police and the panel for the county set up

a task and finishing working group to examine the decision. The PCC

would be brave to ignore recommendations. The compass I

police and crime Commissioner has been asked to review rules for cycle

events in the area. Graham Stuart, MP for Beverley and Holderness,

contacted Commissioner Matthew Grove after several bike races were called

off because police refused to support them without road closures.

A police spokesperson said they are working with the council and race

organisers on the issue. The bishop of Grantham says he is

standing down in September to take on new challenges. The Right

Reverend Dr Tim Ellis, who is 59, became bishop in 2006. After a week

of deadlock, a deal has finally been done to decide which parties will

run Lincolnshire County Council. The Conservatives failed to win an

overall majority in last week's elections, and will now share power

with the Liberal Democrats and independent councillors. Tim Iredale

is our political editor. Remind us of how we got to this position.

Thursday voters in Lincolnshire decided that no one party should

have overall control of the county council, but after a week of

negotiation, tonight we finally have a deal. It was sealed with a

handshake today at county offices in Lincolnshire and involves the

Conservatives, independent and Lib Dems. The Tories are the largest

party. They were three short of an overall majority but they will get

those three seats from the Liberal Democrats and at least three from

independent councillors, we are told. The council leader, Martin

Hill, said the voters of Lincolnshire had given him no choice

but to do a deal. We could have run with a minority administration but

because we face such difficult challenges we all took the view that

we need some stability and continuity, and I could stress that

even though we have done an arrangement with some councillors,

we will continue to work with all the others as well. What do the

other parties get out of the deal? That is always able big question

with coalitions. What is in it for us? That is a point we put to the

Liberal Democrats and independents today. Why have they decided to

share power with the Conservatives? Lincoln itself has a very poor

infrastructure road wise. There is gridlock. We have over development

of housing and so on. All of those things have been discussed and we

look to a positive way of moving forward. I want to seat Lincolnshire

run efficiently. I think it will be clear in the next few days exactly

where we are going. We will keep everyone informed. So what if you

keep? They of course, won 16 seats last week. They are now the official

opposition on Lincolnshire County Council. They will hold their first

group meeting tonight to elect a leader. They say they will be a

vocal and high profile opposition on the county council, which I suspect

is their way of saying they are not just going to sit at the back of the

council chamber and play quietly. I am sure.

More on this as well on the radio tomorrow lunchtime if you join me

from midday. STILTOCOME are being encouraged to

shows a family emerging from the Blitz. And I am in Lincoln workshops

are being encouraged to stay open later.

Tonight's photograph. Do not forget if you have a picture you are proud

awhile. These e-mail says could you ask

Peter after last night's dreadful pronunciation... I have made amends

and I even played one of the Electric light Orchestra's records

of this lunchtime. The headline for the next 24 hours

is unsettled. We will have quite a strong wind that it should turn

brighter and after the rain we have got this evening tomorrow looks

generally a better day but still the risk of some showers. A broad

westerly... We get some shelter in this region so not looking too bad.

They developed area of low pressure. Some really good rainfall across

parts of east Yorkshire in particular. Lincolnshire just drips

and drugs. This feature will push out into the North Sea, followed,

perhaps by further showery bursts of rain. The showers will not amount to

a great deal. Lowest temperatures down to eight or nine degrees. Very

place but through the boarding it should brighten up with Sunny into.

A few showers whooshing through South Lincoln but generally

speaking, most races are likely to become dry and the coast should

season bright or sunny intervals coming through. Just a few days ago

we had 23 degrees. Tom temperatures -- top temperatures 14 or 15. 16

further side. The outlook looks unsettled. Saturday a bright start.

Sunday perhaps not too bad but into next week it is very unsettled

Eastbourne now but we watch every single night.

What is going on in Eastbourne? Nothing going on there. I have glad

that you said that. There is nothing going on down

there. It is full of retired people. See

you tomorrow. After almost half the stores taking

part in late-night shopping in Lincoln pulled out last year because

of a lack of trade, another attempt is being made to boost the city

centre economy. Longer opening hours and free parking are being used to

encourage shoppers to stay in longer on Thursday evenings.

Lincoln, alive with shoppers. But to give them more time to spend, shops

here are being encouraged to stay open later. I think it would be nice

for the students and that and people who work, yes. I thought it was just

around Christmas and Easter but apparently it is every Thursday.

is a good idea. It gives people time at the weekend not to go shopping.

Marks & Spencer and Boots, two of the big-name stores that continue to

open until seven every Thursday. But many other shops here choose not to.

You have got to have more people to make it worthwhile and we have to

have more shops to encourage more people. So I think we will gradually

see this increase. We have all the big shops open and I think now we

will see some of the small ones joining in. At this sweet shop, they

tried opening later in the past but did not make enough money. We will

give it a go for a couple of weeks and if it does not take off... You

have to look at the costs. We will see what happens. This clothes shop

is also going to open later during the lighter nights. I think it only

applied during summertime. On the cold winter night it did not work.

It is hoped more of the 250 shops here will follow suit, encouraging

more shoppers, who will hopefully spend more in the city centre.

Gemma is live in Lincoln tonight. It looks quite quiet tonight. Is it

likely that more shops will take part this year?

Around a dozen of the larger stores here in the city centre do already

open later on a Thursday evening, so the Lincoln business improvement

group is hoping that the smaller stores will follow suit. A number of

independent stores I spoke to today told me they have tried it in the

past but they did not get enough customers, although the shops in one

report did say they were willing to give it another go. So hopefully

more shops will open, that will bring more shoppers, and there will

be a boost for the city centre Thanks for your responses after last

night's programme when we heard from migrant workers worried about new

immigration measures announced in the Queen's Speech. The Government

wants to reduce the number of people coming to Britain. Immigration is

widely believed to have contributed to the success of UKIP in last

week's local elections, especially in Lincolnshire, where the party

8,000 Hull City fans joined the promotion-winning team at the KC

Stadium for a party to celebrate the club's rise to the Premier League.

The trophy was paraded in front of the fans last night before a

fireworks display ended the evening. Amanda White was there.

The crowd did feel small compared to the thronging masses we had seen at

civic reception in the past, but the party at the KC Stadium did have a

certain charm. Brilliant. fireworks were stunning. We could

have had the civic reception with all of the people of hope but it is

great that the fans are here. -- the people of Hull-macro. It was very

much a family affair, as players enjoyed the lap of honour denied to

them by a huge pitch invasion after Saturday's game. It is a fantastic

day. It is the first time for me. It is a great feeling and absolutely

great fans here and players. It is a massive thing to get to the Premier

League. Everybody has worked hard all season. We are fully rewarded.

The 8000 who were there certainly made their voices heard. -- the

fireworks were spectacular but as finales go, the last ten minutes of

this Championship season will take some beating.

A group trying to raise �250,000 for a permanent memorial to victims of

the Hull Blitz have opened their own shop. Hundreds of people visiting

every day, some bringing along important World War II artefacts.

The bombing in Hull left 152,000 homeless and claimed more than 1000

lives. The memorial sculpture, planned for the city centre, will be

dedicated to those who died and those who helped in the rescue

efforts. The name of the city has now been

released as one of the North East city is under attack. There was

Catherine, who was 39 weeks pregnant. They had a son, Frederick,

and a younger son as well. All five or six members of the family died.

It was during some of the city's worst bombing that an Elliott -- Ann

Ulyatt's family lost so many members. Her aunt and uncle who ran

a pub were told not to use their own cellars for shelter but to go to a

public shelter. Shelter was almost entirely destroyed. This photograph

came through in our family records... The family story is just

one of those being told in an ever-growing exhibition of people's

mementos and photographs. Volunteers here say interest in the shop has

been remarkable. There was one Saturday where we had 464 people in.

People have donated so much and in its own right it has become a

memorial. But the aim is still to raise �250,000 to create this

sculpture on the site of the bond or dental building. A memorial exist in

northern cemetery where a mass grave was created for more than 300 of

those killed, but they feel the wartime community of Hull deserves

more recognition. They did everything themselves, nobody came

in to help them very much, and if it was not for the people of Hull then,

we would not have the people of Hull now. For quite a few years there was

a plaque in the pavement, but people walk over it, they do not know it is

there, and to have this memorial is fantastic. They have a way to go.

They have so far raised between �15,000 and �20,000. Each new

donation here, whether money, objects or stories, they say will be

used to keep the memories of Hull's war alive.

The memorial for the city centre of Hull. We will follow their progress.

To some they are an eyesore but to others they have been a familiar

sight in the centre of Lincoln for years.

Now a flock of distinct to looking Muscovy ducks have gone missing from

the Brayford pool. Lincoln's Brayford pool has always been a

great attraction for our feathered friends.

Just today we were graced with swans. Also ducks and pigeons. But

they used to be a certain duck that had become particularly well-known

to this area. Not a pretty one, in fact a pretty ugly one, and it was

not native to this country and it used to attack the swans, but it was

here and they were here in large numbers, and now they have

disappeared. This is the duck I'm talking about, the Muscovy duck,

also known as the turkey duck, but this couple are at a seal sanctuary

in Mablethorpe. These petty killer birds are native to Mexico and South

America. The larger one with the red around his face is the mail and the

smaller one is the female. They like cold temperatures. These areas,

where it is quite cool, is ideal for them. So back in Lincoln, it was

time to track them down. I have not seen them for a long while. I have

seen them before, but not recently. There was more hope why the boats.

They are probably still around, may be hiding, maybe nesting. And he was

right, because we saw a miraculous reappearance. There is one there,

there is another one over there, they are still here. The problem is

solved and they are still part of Lincoln.

If you have a story you want us to look at and investigate, drop me an

e-mail. Let's get a recap of the national and regional headlines.

Coalition plans for childminders to look after more children are in

doubt after the Deputy Prime Minister questioned them.

A woman whose eyesight was damaged by laser surgery calls for better

checks on clinics. Tomorrow's weather. A cloudy and

damp start. Brightening up later. A few showers are possible. Top

temperature around 16 Celsius. Weighing in Scunthorpe says, I had

laser eye surgery two years ago and it is the best money I ever spent.

Another viewer says, I had it four years ago. It has been fantastic.

Also on the subject of speed limits, speed limits do not need lowering in

the majority of cases. It will produce more accidents and cost the

economy was having little or no impact. This is from Allen, who has