05/07/2011 Spotlight


05/07/2011

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Marching into Merton, the Coldstream Guards are given the

:00:17.:00:23.

freedom of the parish. It was an extraordinary day for small Devon

:00:23.:00:28.

village. Tonight the regiment is honoured. And a couple attacked and

:00:28.:00:33.

left for dead on holiday condemn the compensation they have been

:00:33.:00:38.

offered. Just recognition would be, you know, we're just not forgotten.

:00:39.:00:44.

We did not deserve this. The state of the region's high streets, a

:00:44.:00:50.

report says in some towns a quarter of the shops are empty. Devon has

:00:50.:00:52.

been honouring the bravery of the Coldstream Guards today. The

:00:52.:00:55.

regiment has been granted the freedom of the parish of Merton in

:00:55.:00:58.

North Devon. The founder of the Coldstream Guards, General George

:00:58.:01:01.

Monk, was born in the village. More than 1,000 people are expected to

:01:01.:01:04.

fill Exeter Cathedral this evening for a special concert. In a moment

:01:04.:01:07.

we'll have more from there, but first Leigh Rundle reports on a

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special day in North Devon. If it hadn't been for the rain, this

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could have been a Mirage, her Majesty's most intimate body guards

:01:25.:01:31.

marching through village. The whole thing's fantastic, but almost

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unbelievable that you know, this is a little village, cold stream's on

:01:37.:01:46.

the board we are vand -- Scotland. I wouldn't have missed it. Up to

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1,000 people lined the streets as the regiment was granted freedom of

:01:51.:01:55.

the area. It has been agreed by this council to grant the freedom

:01:55.:02:03.

of the parish to this regiment. This is probably the biggest civic

:02:03.:02:12.

event in the village's history. And weeks of preparation. The ladys

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have sown 500 metres of bunting. And the newspaper says, cut your

:02:19.:02:23.

grass and polish your brass knockers! Even the local children

:02:23.:02:29.

were given the day off. When the inspector came, when he did the

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back rank, we had to go in front of them. Was it scary? I liked it when

:02:37.:02:43.

the guards came with their rifles. And I also liked it when they were

:02:43.:02:50.

waving the flags. The regiment's link with herton, well its founder,

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colonel jorblg Monk was born here 400 years ago. -- George Monk. Here

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was the oldest ex-guardsman. I hope people remember the lads we saw, it

:03:03.:03:08.

is not just ceremonial they do, they also do their time in

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Afghanistan. Having been granted the freedom of the area, what do

:03:12.:03:20.

the soldiers intend to do with it? I don't know. Because I'm from

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Essex. It's not much time to get back here. For Merton this has been

:03:24.:03:32.

the most historic of days. Well earlier we caught up with one of

:03:32.:03:37.

the soldiers, who has been describing his experience of active

:03:37.:03:45.

duty in Afghanistan. For Adam Swift today is a day to remember. He has

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taken part in three tours of Afghanistan and is proud to bring

:03:49.:03:54.

his regiment back to the South West. My regiment has such strong west

:03:54.:04:00.

country roots. We were formed from here. For us to come back and have

:04:00.:04:06.

the freedom of the city, everyone is very proud. Special think west

:04:06.:04:11.

country guys. It -- specially the west country guys. Sergeant Swift

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was awarded the Military Cross and was part of a recent BBC

:04:16.:04:21.

documentary called Our War. The Ministry of Defence issued the

:04:21.:04:30.

troops with led cams and the style wasn't something he was keen on.

:04:30.:04:34.

I'm kite a humble guy and I didn't want to sell -- I'm quite a humble

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guy and didn't want to sell myself. But I thought it is an opportunity

:04:38.:04:43.

for people to appreciate what the average lad goes through. They do

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go through these things and if they come back and they are slightly

:04:48.:04:52.

different. There is a reason. sergeant Swift, his family seeing

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the material was a concern. He did want to keep a lot from me to start

:04:58.:05:03.

with, to protect me from what went on. But when we knew footage was

:05:03.:05:07.

going out, I found out more and more. He just wants to protect us

:05:07.:05:12.

as a family and not realise what he goes through. Then it makes it more

:05:12.:05:21.

anxious for us. But sergeant Swift will treasure the time he has at

:05:21.:05:25.

home as he remembered his colleagues who weren't so fortunate.

:05:25.:05:35.

A service is being held at Exeter katheedial. -- cathedral. Well

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certain think presence of cold stream guards has been a sight for

:05:39.:05:45.

sore eyes. People are starting to queue for concert tonight which

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takes place at 7.30. I'm joined by a couple of guardsmen. We know the

:05:53.:05:57.

regiment for trooping the colour, what does the honour in Merton

:05:57.:06:02.

mean? It means the same. We have taken part in Trooping the Colour

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and the Royal Wedding. To be in Merton is a great honour. It is

:06:07.:06:12.

part of our tradition of having our freedom and being able to march

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through the town. It was a great honour and everyone enjoyed it.

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Darren Hardy, what is happening tomorrow? Basically the cold stream

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guards are getting the freedom of Exeter, which is a great Monday

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nour. About 300 soldiers will march through the city led by the band.

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This is about midday. Later the bishop of Exeter will be blessing

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the regimental colours. So we are looking forward to that. You have

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been practicing for the consefrplt what can we expect? -- concert,

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what can we expert. We had a major record deal and we were No 1 in the

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classical charts for six weeks. And this is a celebration and it is

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about our heroes and the pride of our nation. It starts at 7.30 and

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you can still get tickets. We will have more in our late news. A

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couple from Somerset who were brutally attacked and left for dead

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while on holiday in the Caribbean island of Tobago have been offered

:07:24.:07:26.

less than �3,000 each in compensation. Peter and Murium

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Green say the amount is beneath contempt. Meanwhile Spotlight has

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learned that detectives from Trinidad and Tobago will be

:07:31.:07:40.

visiting the Greens this weekend. Clinton Rogers reports. It doesn't

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even cover our legal expenses. letter from the Trinidad and Tobago

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criminal injuries compensation board has left them angry. Peter

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and Muirial yum were lefpt with injuries that will be with them for

:07:59.:08:09.
:08:09.:08:10.

ever. But the amount was a little less than �2km 500. It is so unfair.

:08:10.:08:15.

Peter, can I ask you, it has affected your wife badly. How are

:08:15.:08:25.
:08:25.:08:26.

you feeling? I'm burnt. I can't continue to be that burden. I need

:08:26.:08:34.

help. Please. Just recognition would be you know, getting, we did

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not deserve this. This chopping as they call it. Chopping, that is

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great isn't it? Two years ago they were attacked with a machete and

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left for dead in Tobago. The BBC has followed their case ever since.

:08:49.:08:54.

At one time a local man was arrested, but later released. No

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one has been brought to justice. Now, we have learned that this

:08:58.:09:04.

weekend police from the Caribbean will fly to meet the Greens to

:09:04.:09:09.

resurrect the inquiry. Not that the couple are optimistic. The one

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lesson we have learned with the area, it disappearing -- disa peers

:09:16.:09:21.

within a week. The local MP has jizz sitted the Greens here and has

:09:21.:09:28.

taken up their case. I spoke to him on telephone and he was about to

:09:28.:09:31.

board a plane on Foreign Office business. He said he was

:09:32.:09:34.

disappointed there had been no progress with the case and has

:09:34.:09:40.

promised to raise it again with the Trinidad and Tobago Government.

:09:40.:09:46.

Peter's health is deteriorating, but he says he is determined to see

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justice done. You're watching Spotlight from the BBC. Thanks for

:09:51.:09:54.

joining us. Still ahead this evening: The fears for one of the

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regions historic livestock markets. Hatherleigh faces closure. And

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happy birthday to the Lynx. Yeovilton gets ready to celebrate

:10:00.:10:09.

its famous helicopter. Cornwall has the largest number of empty shops

:10:09.:10:12.

in the South West according to a new survey. The figures from The

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Local Data Company claim 25% of shops in St Austell are empty and

:10:16.:10:18.

in Redruth 22%. In Devon, Ilfracombe has more than 20% of

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shops vacant, while in Torquay it's 19%. This compares to the national

:10:21.:10:24.

average of 13%. Some in the business community have disputed

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the figures, so we sent reporters to one town in Devon on the list

:10:27.:10:37.
:10:37.:10:44.

and one in Cornwall to find out more. Here in Torbay the percentage

:10:44.:10:53.

of vacant shops is amongst the highest in Devon. It is not good.

:10:53.:10:57.

The reason why they're empty, they're too expensive. People won't

:10:57.:11:02.

pay the rents. My overheads are frightening. Some weeks we're

:11:02.:11:08.

working and can't get a wage from it. But what do shoppers think of

:11:08.:11:12.

the situation? You have lots of charity shops and cheaper shops,

:11:12.:11:17.

amusements. For people that live here, I don't think it is good.

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haven't noticed any empty shops. It wouldn't stop me. Torbay has been

:11:26.:11:31.

seen as a safe harbour for shops with the tourist industry buffering

:11:31.:11:37.

it. Business leaders say that is set to continue, despite the

:11:37.:11:41.

survey's findings. These surveys are always a snapshot in time. This

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is not the picture we see. A number of the units are now full.

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survey suggests shops are still closing, but at a slower rate than

:11:53.:12:00.

two years ago. The high street of St Austell and the town is filling

:12:00.:12:08.

up. Wandering through the town we found vacant shops like this one

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that closed when the company went into administration. Millions have

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been spent in St Austell on trying to improve things. This is the new

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white river place shopping area. It has housing and a cinema. But has

:12:26.:12:30.

it brought people? I think it has got better. But I would say there

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are a lot of empty spaces that could do with something there.

:12:35.:12:41.

quality of shops themselves are better. But I think there needs to

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be a greater variety to bring people in. Rather than like just

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clothes or mobile phones. Chamber of Commerce say there may

:12:52.:12:57.

be empty shops, but new retailers are showing interest. Shopkeepers

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like Karen, who has relocated from Nottingham to Cornwall and chose to

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open her new business here in St Austell. So what is the situation

:13:10.:13:18.

like in your town centre. Contact us on Twitter. Or e-mail us. It's

:13:18.:13:21.

not just the towns and cities that are struggling in the current

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economic climate. There was news today that one of the region's

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historic livestock markets is facing closure. Hatherleigh, in

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mid-Devon, survived the foot-and- mouth outbreak, but now there are

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proposals to redevelop the site as housing. From there our

:13:31.:13:41.
:13:41.:13:43.

correspondent Simon Hall reports. It was the poultry sale today. But

:13:43.:13:53.
:13:53.:13:53.

this could be among the last seen in this historic market. The owners

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of the site are proposing it be re- developed, probably as housing.

:13:59.:14:04.

Well I think it is a terrible thing. Our communities are suffering so

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badly and there is another what is a valuable asset that is going to

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be lost. It is a day out. I look forward to this. It would be a

:14:18.:14:24.

tragedy if it closed. It is dreadful. People come here socially,

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a bit of business and a bit of pleasure. For us it is a day out.

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And I don't think it is needed to be redeveloped. It is important

:14:34.:14:44.
:14:44.:14:51.

that the market stays. Hatherleigh has diversified and even advertised.

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Come to the market today. And support the town. The problem for

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markets is more farmers are selling stock direct to slaughter houses

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and the region has seen many disappear. It would kill any

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business that people are trying to keep going or set up actually in

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Hatherleigh. The owners of the market would not be interviewed,

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but said the fall in the number of livestock being sold here meant the

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market was no longer viable and they had to look at other options.

:15:29.:15:33.

A public meeting will be hold a week on Thursday for locals to give

:15:33.:15:41.

their views on what should happen to the market. Now if you work in a

:15:41.:15:44.

hospital you'll know that one of the most precious resources there

:15:44.:15:47.

is blood. The NHS uses 7,000 voluntary donations of it every day.

:15:47.:15:50.

In the South West, the Royal Devon and Exeter hospital says it's

:15:50.:15:53.

leading the way in a new technique which is helping to save those

:15:53.:16:01.

blood stocks. Spotlight's Andrea Ormsby has the story. Neil is about

:16:01.:16:07.

to have major surgery. He has cancer and has to have his bladder

:16:07.:16:10.

removed. It is a long and difficult operation and he could lose a lot

:16:10.:16:17.

of blood. Normally that would mean relying on blood from a donor. But

:16:17.:16:22.

not here. Instead they will recycle Neil's own blood. It is a logical

:16:22.:16:31.

thing to happen. I'm glad, because it releases the pressure on the

:16:31.:16:35.

Blood Transfusion Service. I know they're under pressure. Where my

:16:35.:16:41.

blood can be pumped back into me, it is better and cheaper. Rather

:16:41.:16:47.

than use other people's blood. is now in the operating theatre and

:16:47.:16:54.

surgery has begun. As he starts losing bloorbgsd it will come into

:16:54.:16:58.

this machine, -- blood, it will come into this machine and be

:16:58.:17:04.

recycled and ready to be used. know patients recover from surgery

:17:05.:17:10.

if they don't have a blood transfusion. We need blood in some

:17:10.:17:15.

procedures, but it is also an expensive resource. Each pint of

:17:15.:17:22.

blood costs �140 and that is a lot to pay for in these cash-strapped

:17:22.:17:26.

days. Now all patients having planned surgery at the hospital

:17:26.:17:33.

will have their own blood recycled and the hospital can keep the

:17:33.:17:37.

pressure bloodstocks for emergencies. -- precious

:17:37.:17:40.

bloodstocks for emergencies. While Plymouth Argyle wait to complete

:17:40.:17:43.

the takeover of the club, they're already planning the next step to

:17:43.:17:45.

take them out of administration. The formalities of the sale and

:17:45.:17:48.

purchase should be agreed this week. After that, they'll have one month

:17:48.:17:51.

to go through the procedure of satisfying the Football League that

:17:51.:17:58.

they can move forward to a brighter future. The next step is for know

:17:58.:18:01.

get together with Dave Jones who has been working with me on the

:18:01.:18:06.

financial side, to put together our business plan, based on the cash we

:18:06.:18:09.

have got. Go to the league and show them that we're in a state to come

:18:09.:18:14.

out of administration. That is not a simple process, but our objective

:18:14.:18:19.

is to do that by 6th August. grisly discovery of 50 ancient

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skulls in a pit near Weymouth two years ago raised lots of questions

:18:22.:18:25.

about who they were and what they were doing there. But strange

:18:25.:18:28.

markings on the teeth have now led archaeologists to believe they were

:18:28.:18:31.

Viking warriors. It's thought the horizontal lines may have been to

:18:31.:18:33.

frighten enemies. Well earlier I spoke to local archaeologist Win

:18:33.:18:43.
:18:43.:18:44.

Scutt and asked him who he thought the remains belonged to. Well the

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suspicion is they're Vikings, because when we analysed the teeth

:18:51.:18:56.

it revealed where the people had grown up. What water they had been

:18:56.:19:00.

drinking. And that had got into their teeth. It showed they were

:19:00.:19:04.

from a cold climate and one was probably from the Arctic Circle. So

:19:04.:19:09.

we think they're probably Vikings. But you can't be certain. How did

:19:09.:19:15.

they end up in what we know as Weymouth. They were probably on a

:19:15.:19:19.

Viking raid. There were a lot of raids in the 10th century. This was

:19:19.:19:26.

probably a raid. And they have been marshalled up and round up and

:19:26.:19:32.

executed. I was going say, what is the thinking behind how they ended

:19:32.:19:39.

up? It is nasty. There are 54 bodies without heads. Their heads

:19:39.:19:43.

have been placed alongside separately. They have been cut off

:19:43.:19:50.

as heads, not as skulls. There are multiple slash marks and there must

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have been the most ghastly mass Kerr with mates looking on at what

:19:59.:20:03.

a horrible death. And they must have been naked. There were no

:20:03.:20:10.

signs of buttons or anything. analysis of the teeth showing these

:20:10.:20:17.

strange grooves. What do you think these grooves indicate? Well,

:20:17.:20:21.

dental modify kaigs is one thing that many societys have done across

:20:21.:20:27.

the world. It is not that common in Europe. But there had been evidence

:20:27.:20:33.

for the filing down and decoration of Viking teeth in Sweden. So that

:20:33.:20:40.

is about the same date, 10th century that. H -- that gives more

:20:40.:20:45.

evidence that may might be Viking. Thank you very much. Last minute

:20:45.:20:48.

preparations for one of the region's biggest air shows have

:20:48.:20:51.

been taking place in Somerset today. Yeovilton Air Day this Saturday

:20:51.:20:54.

will celebrate the 40th birthday of an aircraft born and bred in the

:20:54.:20:57.

county. As well as being a tribute to the Lynx helicopter, the event

:20:57.:21:00.

will also showcase aircraft from around the world and today we were

:21:00.:21:09.

given a preview of the show, as Janine Jansen reports. 40 years old

:21:09.:21:17.

and not showing it -- idges age. Pilots demonstrating what the Lynx

:21:17.:21:25.

is capable of. The aircraft was Somerset born and bred, designed at

:21:25.:21:32.

built at the Westland factory near Yeovilton. It has become a main

:21:32.:21:38.

stay of the British armed forces, excelling during the Falklands war.

:21:38.:21:42.

Remarkably this aircraft still holds the helicopter speed record,

:21:43.:21:50.

400 kilometres an hour. Today as the 21st Century Lynx was showing

:21:50.:21:54.

off, two of the engineers who designed it were looking on with

:21:54.:22:00.

pride. I thought it was an aircraft for the future and it still is.

:22:00.:22:05.

Is that how you feel? Yes, I have been a believer in the aircraft

:22:05.:22:12.

from the start. I said life begins at 40. Saturday's air show will

:22:12.:22:17.

celebrate the Lynx's birthday and show case aircraft young and old

:22:17.:22:23.

from all over the world. It is to demonstrate Royal Navy capability

:22:23.:22:28.

and exposure of what the navy is doing and to just keep the navy in

:22:28.:22:34.

the public eye. One aircraft that was showing its age a little was

:22:34.:22:38.

the Hunter, the 60-year-old jet fighter looked agile enough to

:22:38.:22:43.

start with, but then developed engine problems and landed with a

:22:43.:22:47.

Fire Brigade and ambulance escort. But there was no drama. Organisers

:22:47.:22:57.
:22:57.:22:58.

hope it will stay like that at the weekend. Now the weather, look

:22:59.:23:04.

weekend. Now the weather, look overcast but still OK for flying.

:23:04.:23:09.

Well we have had some wet weather sweeping across the South West

:23:09.:23:13.

today. For the rest of the week we have an unsettled theme with plenty

:23:13.:23:18.

of showers and it will become breezy. There is already a breeze

:23:18.:23:23.

and that will feature for the rest of the week. You can see cloud

:23:23.:23:27.

stretching from central France up the eastern side of England,

:23:27.:23:34.

curving around the low pressure and you can see several bands of cloud.

:23:34.:23:39.

These are lines of showers that will affect us over the next two

:23:39.:23:45.

days. The area of low pressure for tonight has a tight mix of rain and

:23:45.:23:50.

showers just to the south of it. That splits into another area of

:23:50.:23:54.

low pressure that comes into southern Ireland by tomorrow. And

:23:54.:24:01.

we will see the strong winds associated with that and more

:24:01.:24:05.

persistent rain. On Thursday we are between systems and hopefully some

:24:05.:24:10.

sunshine. But also some showers. There this a line of rain. Already

:24:10.:24:13.

some more showers coming into central parts of Ireland. So later

:24:13.:24:18.

on some of the showers will move across the rest of us. And some

:24:18.:24:22.

late unSchlein to enjoy and clear sky tonight to allow the

:24:22.:24:26.

temperatures to dip into single figures. But notice there is more

:24:26.:24:32.

cloud coming and going through the night. But first thing tomorrow,

:24:32.:24:36.

there could be dry weather with the best of the sunshine the more

:24:36.:24:42.

eastern parts of Devon into Somerset and Dorset. A nice start

:24:42.:24:50.

here. Tonight temperatures around 10 degrees. Some places koun to --

:24:50.:24:57.

down to eight or nine. Tomorrow, we have got a scattering of showers

:24:57.:25:05.

for the morning with some sunshine in between. Much more cloud and the

:25:05.:25:11.

blue becoming more widespread. That is more persistent rain. Also

:25:11.:25:15.

becoming windy in the second half of the day. Specially around the

:25:15.:25:19.

coasts of Cornwall and the Bristol channel. Temperatures 16 on the

:25:20.:25:24.

coast. But where we see some fine weather, particularly again across

:25:24.:25:30.

sorm set, 18 or 19. -- Somerset. For the Isles of Scilly some

:25:30.:25:36.

showers and then rain later. Become windy with possible gale force

:25:36.:25:46.
:25:46.:25:54.

winds to the end of the afternoon. For surfers the sur 6 this week

:25:54.:26:01.

will be challenging. Some big waves developing -- developing towards

:26:01.:26:08.

the end of the day. Becoming quite messy by early evening. The south

:26:08.:26:12.

coast will have some shelter. But the wave will be large and messy.

:26:12.:26:20.

Coastal waters forecast, for most of the day the swipbt winds will be

:26:20.:26:25.

south-westerly force five is six, but picking up to force seven in

:26:25.:26:28.

the far west A mixture of sunshine and showers until that rain turns

:26:28.:26:32.

up. The forecast all the way through and including the start of

:26:32.:26:38.

weekend, is blustery winds, we're between weather systems on Thursday

:26:38.:26:41.

and we could see mixture of sunshine and showers. More sunshine

:26:41.:26:47.

on Friday. But still breezy. Saturday, with a sigh of relief it

:26:47.:26:53.

could be a dry day and with more sunshine the temperatures will be

:26:53.:26:57.

higher. And lighter wind, so fingers crossed for air show. Thank

:26:57.:27:05.

you. For your e-mails about empty shops. One said come to lis guard

:27:05.:27:13.

where it is nearer -- lis guard where it is nearer 50%. The same

:27:13.:27:23.
:27:23.:27:25.

point from Alan, who says Lisgard is a dying town. Dawn says in

:27:25.:27:30.

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