15/06/2011 Spotlight

An alleged plot to kill the singer Joss Stone. Two men have been

arrested near her Devon home. Good evening. Police are investigating a

conspiracy to rob and murder. We will be live at the singer's home.

Also tonight. The welfare of ponies on Bodmin Moor. An animal charity

calls for urgent action. We will be talking to a local MP who has

raised the issue with ministers. You just cannot allow people to

keep ponies in these poor conditions. It just isn't possible

in the 21st century. And the local food producers hoping

for a lucrative slice of supermarket business.

The Devon-based soul music star Joss Stone said she was absolutely

fine and getting on with life as normal tonight as police continued

to question two men on suspicion of conspiracy to rob and murder the

singer. The men were arrested close to the home of the singer near

Cullompton in East Devon on Monday. Officers say swords, ropes, maps

and aerial photos of Ms Stone's secluded home were allegedly found

in their car. Simon Hall is outside Joss Stone's house now.

This is a quiet part of a tranquil corner of a peaceful Devon

community. But they are proud of their association with Joss Stone.

This evening there is considerable concern that something like this

could happen, two men arrested on suspicion of a conspiracy to murder

and rob her. In a sign of the concern a Munch

Joss Stone and her family, they were doing their best to preserve

their privacy today as they became the focus of extensive media

attention. There has been a continual police presence at their

home and in the area. Officers had been carrying out house-to-house

inquiries. Two men were arrested on Monday in the nearby town of

Compton after police were called by local people. They are aged 30 and

33, and from Manchester. Joss Stone may be an international star but

she has also won praise for a commitment to Devon, participating

in a range of local events and being a part of the community.

very big part. We are all very proud to be living in the same area

that she came from. I'm proud that she is doing so well and I came

from the same town. Joss has been quoted as saying she is that it

defied and just getting on with her life. She is being kept up to date

with developments in the case by Devon and Cornwall police.

Any further developments from the police?

The police have been very keen to bring people in Cullompton for

alerting them about their suspicions about the car and the

two people which led them to the discovery of the items that we have

heard about, the sort, the body bag, the maps and pictures.

The two men arrested are being held in Exeter where they are being

questioned but the police investigation has reached a crucial

point. It is about now that detectives have to decide whether

to charge the men, whether to release them, or whether to apply

for more time to continue questioning them.

A Devon MP is calling for a government inquiry into welfare

problems with ponies living on moorland in the South West. Neil

Parish says many of the animals are struggling to survive. But because

it is often difficult to track down their owners, the authorities say

it is not easy to step in and help them. Eleanor Parkinson reports.

This pony had a until earlier this week been living on at Bodmin Moor.

But horse charity, along with the police and of that, took her and

her fault of the more because they feared she would not survive. Horse

welfare experts say many ponies on Bodmin Moor, even though they have

owners, are struggling. First, they have had to endure a particularly

harsh winter and then the dry spring affected their grazing. Faye

Stacey has been making regular trips out on to the more checking

for problems. We have ponies in really poor condition. All the way

through, since debris, we still have ponies in poor condition and

even emaciated. Some people might say they are moorland ponies, are

there not used to these conditions? Bodmin Moor is quite different to

other areas. On Exmoor we have a breed that have adapted but on

Bodmin we have a mix of ponies that on native to this area of more so

they have not developed that level of adaptation to the conditions.

The charity says that when the owners of these ponies to come out

and given supplementary feed such as when the weather is bad for the

grazing is poor, and the one them to do more regular checks on their

condition. South West Equine Protection say they need more help

from government agencies, but also admitted is difficult because it is

hard to track down owners. They say this pony now at their stables in

Devon should thrive, but they say yet something is not done about

these animals, many may not survive another winter. Earlier I spoke to

Neil Parish and asked him what needed to be done to improve the

welfare of these animals. They have got to be removed from

the more when they ate in a distressed date. You cannot keep

ponies on the more startling and that is why we have to get the

authorities working together to get good medical attention. South West

Equine Protection claimed there is already provision in the Animal

Welfare Act for that to happen, yet the authorities seem reluctant to

enforce it. Why do you think that is? Sometimes there is not enough

money and they do not take action, and they do not take action

together. That is why we have to make sure that we bring it together.

That is why I want to bring evidence to the select committee to

make sure we can look at the plight of the ponies to get action to make

sure they are removed from the more when they are in this very poor

condition. In presenting that evidence to the committee, what you

hope the outcome will be? I hope that we can do a system more like

Dartmoor and Exmoor where there is some money to remove the ponies, to

get them properly microchip. For most of these ponies are owned by

someone. There are very few if any wild ponies on the more and you

just cannot allow people to keep ponies in these poor condition. It

just is not possible in the 21st century.

The government agency which deals with the welfare of livestock

The number of people out of work and claiming benefit has fallen

across the south-west in the past month. The national rate of

unemployment is 3.7%. In Cornwall it is down to 2.6. Devon's rate

fell to two per cent. In Dorset, 1.6% of the population is out of

work and claiming benefit and Somerset's rate is down to 2.1%.

A 24-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of murder in

connection with the death of a nine-month-old baby in Devon.

Police say he died after being admitted to the Royal Devon and

Exeter Hospital yesterday. A 190-berth marina is to be built

in Plymouth. It will be based in the heart of Millbay, following an

agreement between the developer English Cities Fund and the Sutton

Harbour Group. The area is already undergoing extensive regeneration

with new homes, business space and leisure facilities being

constructed. More details have emerged of the

new eco communities being developed around St Austell in Cornwall. The

scale of this project is huge. Up to 5000 homes will be created over

the next 30 years if all goes to plan. The developers say they will

be building on six former china clay sites. They hope to create up

to 5,000 new jobs. But there are those locally who have expressed

doubts about the impact of all this proposed development. Adrian

Campbell reports. Some people call them the Cornish

Alps, but if the developer Eco-Bos achieves what it intends over the

coming decades, then this area near Penwithick will be transformed. The

company is ready to embark on the first phase of its plans to build

several eco-communities near St Austell. The homes it wants to

build would, it says, emphasise modern and sustainable design.

terms of the designs, I think we're very pleased with people's

reactions to the way that the architects have interpreted the

brief to produce low carbon houses and the diversity and range of

proposals. The other thing that is very noticeable is people's

appreciation of the use of green space and the ecology with in the

sides, to put it within the context of the Environment will setting.

you look on the map you get a very clear idea of the scale of what is

being proposed over the next 30 years, with up to 5000 homes spread

around the new communities. A new marina at Par Docks is part of the

plan and at West Carclaze and Baal there are some striking artists

impressions of what the development will look like. Local campaigners

say that traffic is one of their main concerns. They say that this

area is already very busy. There is the Eden Project not far from here,

holidaymakers and her people already living here. What would

happen if 5000 new homes are built. It is 92 to start with and that is

the first phase. But it is 2000 houses in total. The first 92

houses which will be submitted for planning consent are designed to

inspire local people and persuade them that this will be a high

quality scheme. But Andrew thinks it is the wrong place to build.

This is St Austell's public access space. Eco-Bos disagrees. It says

it is offering to open up huge areas of land currently closed off

to the public. It insists it is serious about low carbon,

sustainable development to enhance the landscape.

If you would like to comment on those plans or anything else in the

programme, you can e-mail us. We are in Somerset next, where a

man is being evicted from his home of 26 years. We will be finding out

why. Also to come this evening. The

children taking to the streets in a drive to break a world record. And

women's cricket comes to school, giving girls a chance to shine.

A man who has spent the last 25 years living in a beachside shack

in West Somerset has been told his occupation is illegal and he has to

leave it. Exmoor National Park said the stone building near Porlock

belongs to them. But David Burgess says he has no intention of leaving

the home he claimed to have created from virtually nothing. Clinton

Rogers tracked him down to his remote hideaway.

Quite a hike, but it does keep you fit. David Burgess does not get

many visitors. It is a 45 minute hike down a steep coastal path to

reach the place he calls home. And then, truly in the middle of

nowhere, it comes into sight. Mr Burgess, a self-confessed nomad,

claims to have spent 25 years living here, perhaps four months

every year. This is what the building looked like when he first

came across it, when its ownership, he says, was unclear. It is

certainly far from civilisation, on the edge of the West Somerset

coastline. In the last 25 years he has, in essence, rebuilt it,

constructing windows and a roof from driftwood, installing a front

door and creating, he claims, a home. This is the bed platform I

have made. It is made from a railway sleepers cut in half and it

is basically where I sleep. It is very comfortable. This is the

kitchen area. While this may have the comfort of home, Exmoor

National Park say this is an illegal occupation and they have

told Mr Burgess he must leave. you called illegal? It is not yours,

is it? We belong to the land, the land does not belong to us. I do

not think I am squatting. bottom line is that Exmoor National

Park say that this woodland and everything in it belongs to them

and has done since 1974. In a strongly worded statement they say,

we deplore the selfish action being taken by one individual in seeking

to take ownership of this building, therefore denying access to the

wider public. Mr Burgess says he is going nowhere.

The South West enjoys a reputation for its food and drink. So perhaps

it is no surprise that supermarket Waitrose is holding one of its

biggest meet-the-producer events in Devon to find new food for its

latest regional stores. We had lovely food at the county shows

over the last few weeks. Around 50 local producers have the

opportunity to get themselves noticed.

Meet Caroline and Jemima, bakers from Bridport. They already enjoy a

good reputation locally, and they are ready to expand. I think the

opportunity to get our product, which we believe very strongly in,

to a range of outlets outside our immediate locality is going to be a

really good opportunity for us. you feel a bit like you're waiting

for a school exam? No! No, I feel considerably better prepared.

for Leakers bakery to make their bid. They are just one of 52

producers facing Waitrose representatives in the hope of a

contract. It would be great, because we distribute all over the

South West at the moment, but we do not do much in the supermarkets are

will be a step forward. There are some challenges out there with the

recession and cost challenges, so to bring aid retailer here and be

able to offer complete the new and additional market for them is

superb. One local company that has already benefitted from a Waitrose

contract is Burts Chips, made in Devon. It put us on the map

nationally and now the company is providing 25 countries worldwide

and we are into all the other big stores as well. The National

Farmers Union has recently expressed concern about the power

of supermarkets, and their impact on local producers. Waitrose say

the relationship should be mutually beneficial. We are happy to grow at

the same pace as any supplier. We do not put pressure on anybody to

do anything at a local level that is not right for the business

appetite for. How did it cope with the Waitrose board? It went very

well. There were very enthusiastic. One of the obstacles, like it does

for many local producers, is to actually package applies in a

retail format. Producers will find out in the nest few days if they

have made it thorough. I'm always hungry at this time of

the day and that does not help! More than ,7000 children across the

south-west have been out of school this morning. They are not playing

truant. Instead, they are trying to break a world record. There is a

serious side to this as well. They want to get drivers to slow down.

They left at 10 o'clock sharp. Pupils from Lipson Vale Primary

School preparing to break a world record. Go walking past, it is

record-breaking and we also tried to make cars go slower along these

rates. Slow down to 20 miles an hour, to be precise. Every year in

the south-west, just over 600 children are hurt walking to school.

The school area itself is very built up. We have traffic

congestion and there are times when we have cars that are speeding and

there are times when we have had close incident. Most of the school

stepped out, including Anya Duke. It is going really could. My legs

are a little bit aching though. times, the pace was brisk. You are

really slow! Older and younger pupils took part, including Freddie

and Lily from the reception class. Why are cars dangerous? Because you

might get run over! The law was on hand to keep an eye on things.

After 45 minutes, the walking bus had snaked its way back to school.

Did you enjoy that? Yes! They will find out whether they have broken

the world record later in the year. Sport, and Exeter Chiefs have a

tough start to the European Challenge Cup campaign next season.

They had been drawn in the same group as Perpignan, Newport Gwent

Dragons and Cavalieri Prato. The Chiefs just missed out on reaching

the quarter-finals last season. The England Ladies' cricket captain

Charlotte Edwards and opening bat Caroline Atkins have been in

Cornwall over the past couple of days. They have been to Redruth and

today Werrington Cricket Club near Launceston. Here we are up at

Werrington Cricket Club, just north of Launceston. This is where we

find a lot of youngsters being put through their paces by two very

well known cricketers. Caroline Atkins, opening bat for England and

the team captain, Charlotte Edwards. Caroline, you were Redruth

yesterday. By are you here? We are one of seven England women coaching

ambassadors, employed by the Cricket Foundation to coach cricket

in schools and clubs for the chance to shine campaign, that basically

is to regenerate cricket in state schools. That gives us a career

outside our playing career and it is brilliant to be in Cornwall. I

have come from Taunton today and Lotte has come from Reading. We

have come for a special visit and the enthusiasm has been brilliant.

Charlotte Edwards, the World Cup winning captain and 2020 winning

captain, is the initiative working? It is. We have been involved for

the last three years and the strides we have made in that time

have been phenomenal. It is great to come down to Cornwall. Some of

the, TWI have had a lot no one comes to call more? I said, Well we

are here. We want to inspire them to take up the game that we all

love. Hopefully many of these girls will now be joining Werrington and

they will get a ladies' team up and running. It has been lovely to have

few here. There we are, at two England internationals, what more

do you want? A painting created by young Devon

girl is being exhibited alongside Andy Warhol and Damien Hirst at the

Saatchi Gallery in London. Leilah Poulain's mother only sent the

picture in to a website for fun and was astounded to hear she had won a

nationwide competition. Leilah loves painting. And while it

normally takes years for aspiring artists to be recognised for their

work, this little girl has done it at the age of seven. Where does her

inspiration come from? My favourite things to draw up animals, plants

and fairies. It was a picture of a penguin created two years ago which

came to the attention of the art world. And it all happened by

accident when her mum uploaded the painting to a website which

automatically entered her into a national competition. I did not

even know it was being publicly displayed on the internet. I

thought it was been privately stored on my computer. When I told

her that it was going to be in a gallery she looked at me a bit

funny and said, does that mean I am a famous artist? And I did not

really know how to answer her. I said, well, sort of! And this is

where a copy of Leilah's picture is now on display, one of London's

best-known art galleries. How would the artist herself rate her work?

think this is it 10 out of 10. I like this much bits because it is a

bit smudged all over. It is a bit pink in some areas. The painting is

on display until the end of June. Remember we saw that budding artist

first. Time for the weather. Before the forecast, David has news of an

It is a lunar eclipse which means the shadow of the earth moves over

the moon. The moon goes quite pink if not read. Still some light

creeps round the earth from the sun, so could look quite spectacular. It

depends on the make-up cloud breaks. The best time to see it is around

9:30pm. The natural lunar eclipse is at 9:12pm but the minister will

below the horizon. Hopefully, with some cloud breaks, you'll be able

to see it. It is could be hit and miss whether we see this lunar

eclipse. There is a chance of a few breaks in the cloud. That is the

time the eclipse is in its mid- point. But our main does not get up

to about 9:25pm to you will not release it until about 9:30pm to

9:45pm. Fingers crossed other will be a few breaks in the cloud to let

us see it. The line of cloud is covering most of the South West at

the moment. It will take its time before it eventually clears out of

the way. Tomorrow we have sunshine and showers, basically. Some

showers 28 be quite heavy and that the new area of low pressure races

across the Atlantic. This will give us burning wet weather on Friday.

It is could be windy and quite what for much of the day. Let us look at

the detail. There is quite a bit of cloud at the moment. But there are

some holes here and there. O fleet later this evening will be a chance

to see the lunar eclipse -- hopefully. Later on, another line

of rain moves in. It is quite slow- moving by dawn tomorrow morning.

For many of us, we could have outbreaks of more persistent rain

later in tonight. A little bit milder than it has been overnight.

Tomorrow, that band of rain lingering across Dorset and

Somerset. That will clear out of the way and we will see sunshine

and the risk of one or two sharp showers. The nature of showers that

means one village get a downpour but a mile or so a weight remains

in sunshine. In the sunshine we will seek to bridge up to 16 or 17

degrees. But a fresher feel compared to today. For the Isles of

Scilly, a will stop showers more The forecast all the way through

and including the weekend is quite mixed. On Friday expect quite a wet

day. Not very warm high that at 14 or 15 degrees, below average for

June. A brisk south will south easterly wind. On Saturday, not

much quieter. Still quite a breezy day. 16 is the highest temperature.

And Sunday does not look too bad. I'll have more details and an

A reminder of our top story. An alleged plot to kill Devon basing

their Joss Stone. Two men had been arrested and dark carrying out

inquiries. And there are calls to end the suffering of ponies on