21/07/2011 Spotlight

A marine surveyor from Plymouth has been killed in a car bomb attack in

Yemen. Good evening. David Mockett has been described by locals in

Yemen as "a man of peace". We'll hear tributes from his family. Also

tonight, a radical change as one the region's daily papers is forced

to go weekly from today. And parents are urged to get children

vaccinated after a jump in cases of measles. I think it is our duty if

you have a child or Grand children, why wouldn't you want your child to

be vaccinated and keep them healthy? The Foreign Office has

confirmed that a British national killed in a car bomb blast in Yemen

was from Plymouth. David Mockett, a marine surveyor, died when his car

exploded in Yemen's southern port city of Aden as he got into the

vehicle and started the engine yesterday. Scott Bingham reports.

This was the aftermath of the explosion in Aden yesterday. The

blast happened near a hotel housing the office of the shipping company

David Mockett worked for. Witnesses said the car exploded when he got

in and started the engine. Mr Mockett was killed and a passerby

was badly wounded. Mr Mockett was in his sixties and had worked as a

shipping consultant in the Middle East for 34 years. He leaves a wife,

two daughters and four grandchildren. While he spent much

of his time living and working overseas, his family home is here

in Plympton. The Foreign Office said the family has asked that the

media respect their privacy at this extremely difficult time. In a

The Ministry of Interior in Yemen has ordered a full investigation.

Police would not comment on any possible motive for the attack. But

Yemeni officials have blamed a rise in violence in Aden on militants

The body of a Plymouth soldier killed in Afghanistan has been

brought back to Britain this afternoon. Corporal Mark Anthony

Palin, who was serving with One Rifles, was killed by an improvised

explosive device in Helmand Province. The body of the 32-year-

old was flown in to RAF Lyneham this afternoon. After a service at

the base, friends and family paid their respects as his coffin was

driven through the nearby town of Wootton Bassett. Corporal Palin was

32 and was married with a young son. His wife is expecting their second

child. The Government has announced a �32 million package of help for

Westland Helicopters in Somerset. It came on the day the company

unveiled a brand new helicopter which it is hoping will help

safeguard thousands of jobs at its Yeovil factory. Clinton Rogers

reports. Quite a fanfare as Westland unveiled his great hope

for the future. The Government is short of money... Then the business

Secretary told -- said the tax payer would help them out to the

tune of �32 million. Doesn't this breach European guidelines?

absolutely not. It has been through all of the prosthesis. It is a

valuable exercise. What we hope here is to convert an industry for

the military to civilian application, nurture a valuable UK-

based technology, a big supply chain, thousands of jobs involved.

This is a positive development. years, Westland's core business has

been military helicopters. That market is shrinking fast as defence

budget are cut. This is a determined attempt by Westland to

break into the commercial market. And Vince Cable was a very welcome

visitor here today, especially as he had a come with Government cash.

22 million is alone. 10 million will be in grants. The money is

important. But beyond that, it is the commitment the Secretary of

State may it today. In high technology generally. That is why

it is important. Today West and publicly signed off the first two

sales, to Warwickshire and Northamptonshire air ambulance. The

company predicts 1000 more at the next 25 years. Dr Cable also

visited Plymouth University and South Devon College which, between

them, have won more than �2 million from the Government's Regional

Growth Fund. Our Political Editor Martyn Oates met him in Plymouth -

where people were celebrating presumably? Yes, this was the

official launch of the growth fund. Also, a new era in terms of

regeneration funding. Yesterday we had a farewell to the South West

Regional Development Agency. That invested �240 million in the last

financial year at the same time as preparing to be abolished. So quite

a contrast in the figures there? Very much so. Cornwall will be

hoping for more money. The growth fund got less money than at the

Regional Development authorities. Vince Cable was quite clear that

this kind of modest support in partnership is the new way of doing

things rather than grandiose projects and spending money like

water. South West cancer experts are pledging more support for those

who survive the disease. 70,000 people in Devon and Cornwall have

had cancer treatment, but not everyone gets enough care

afterwards. A conference today was aimed at giving every cancer

survivor the help they need to get on with life. Here's Sally Mountjoy.

Bob Macintyre has worked for a 40 years. Six years ago he had surgery

and radiotherapy for throat cancer. He had to take six weeks off work.

He was able to ease gradually back into his work with the support from

the company. It was a very helpful because it allowed me to

reintegrate with the business on a gradual basis, allowed me to regain

my strength and actually the game my working relationship with my

colleagues. -- regained. We keep in touch with them while they are away.

When they are ready, they come back on to cite. It might mean shorter

hours, other past. And the way we can help them to rehabilitate.

Latest figures show that four in 10 are likely to get cancer.

Improvement in treatment means more will survive it. Not all cancer

survivors get the support they need. Today cancer experts have held a

conference aimed at offering people more help after treatment.

conference brings together carers, employers, charities etc. It is

really important that we work together, focusing on the patient

to make sure that each individual patient receives the support and

services they require. Every patient will have a customised care

plan to give them as healthy and active alive as possible beyond

cancer. There have been leaps and bounds done by the medical

profession. It is not the end of the word. There is life after

cancer. -- ended the world. A 25- year-old man has appeared in court

charged with murder after the discovery of two bodies buried on

farmland near St Austell in Cornwall. Thomas Haigh is accused

of killing David Griffiths and Brett Flournoy. Mr Haigh made no

plea and was remanded in custody. A second man has been charged with

disposing of a corpse to obstruct a coroner. Funding for nine of

Dorset's libraries is to stop. Campaigners lobbied county

councillors who were meeting today. The decision will save �800,000 a

year. If volunteers can't be found to run the libraries in places such

as Portland Underhill, Charmouth, Burton Bradstock and Chickerell,

the buildings will close completely next April. They have been trying

to get volunteers to work in libraries. Only four libraries do

so. Only two for three years. It is a fairly new thing. We are finding

it difficult to find enough volunteers to keep the library open

for a four hours a week. This is an incredibly sad day for the library

service. The nine community libraries will face huge hurdles

trying to come up with a scheme to save them. There's still plenty to

come in tonight's programme, including: Fancy becoming a

jellyfish spotter? We'll be live on Maen Porth beach in Cornwall to

tell you how you can get involved. This market today is the first one

in 20 years. Long may it rain and Today has seen the biggest change

in the south west newspaper world for a generation. Torbay's Herald

Express has gone from daily to weekly. The change has been forced

on it by the strength of the internet and the weakness of the

local economy. Just a handful of local dailies circulate in our

region. The Herald Express is no longer among them, but several of

its stablemates are still daily - the Western Morning News, the

Plymouth Herald and the Exeter Express & Echo. And in Somerset,

the Western Daily Press. The Dorset Echo, under separate ownership,

also publishes daily. Our business correspondent Neil Gallacher

reports. It looks similar, but this is now a weekly, with around half

the editorial staff that the daily paper required. This switch has

been made by a handful of other British regional papers in the last

few years. A sombre day for the Herald Express? Not sombre today.

We have been through the sombre process. This was a very difficult

decision. We have to say goodbye to some very valued and respected and

good friends. We have been through that part of the process. Today is

an exciting day. There is excitement in the newsroom. It is

about looking forward. The paper was formed in 1925. International

and national stories all over the front page 20 years later. This is

a paper with years of evolution behind it. That process is carrying

on today. Evolution is not always welcome. It partly reflects current

problems in the Torbay economy, with low incomes and rapidly rising

unemployment. The newspaper's own research says advertisers will back

the new weekly. Not everyone's delighted though. I think it

reflects badly on the area and we will be losing a much more instant

way of advertising. People have always bought a newspaper every day.

A different response at the newsagents. This morning it has

been very busy. People want to know what it looks like. The quality

seems to be better. There is a lot in it. It will be positive. So one

of the country's smallest dailies has become one of the UK's biggest

weeklies. Plymouth diver Tonia Couch has finished ninth in the

women's 10 metre individual platform at the World Diving

Championships in Shanghai. The 22- year-old's presence in the final

ensures Great Britain's place at next year's Olympic Games in London.

China's Olympic champion Sheen Wahlin took the gold, the country's

seventh of the tournament. For the first time in more than a decade,

the region's grammar schools are on the verge of being able to expand.

It could herald big changes for the future. All this week we've been

looking at how grammars fit into our education system. The region's

seven remaining grammar schools have all but one become academies,

along with many of their non- selective neighbours. In fact the

south west has one of the highest proportions of academies in the

country. So what does it all mean for pupils? Clare Casson has this

report. Over the decades, grammar schools have had no shortage of

both supporters and critics. They've been praised for giving

poorer children the education they deserve, while also accused of

being elitist. Now the whole educational landscape is changing,

with a blurring of some of the old definitions. We are right in the

moment of change and we do not know how those changes will play out. We

understand grammar and comprehensive. We understand the

difference in public and private. Independent schools are entering

the state sector and becoming free schools. We have academies. We are

having schools joining up. Some of the academies in Devon are

Federation's. -- federations. fact, the south west is leading the

way with schools converting to academies - our area now has more

than 50, including six of the seven grammars, and many others are

applying. They remain state-funded but run their own budgets. Teaching

unions argue they're undemocratic and leave other schools worse off.

It's all happening as the Government is planning changes to

the rules on admission. There's been a ban on any new grammar

schools opening for years, and a cap on any expansion of existing

ones. But the Government now wants to allow successful academies - for

the first time including grammars - to take on more pupils. So will

they? Well, it's early days and most say they don't have the space,

but there's no doubt it's seen as an encouraging signal for grammars.

There are no plans to end academic selection in grammars, or to

introduce it into other schools. am pleased that selective schools

are not under threat. It ficus very broadly him with the climate were

different types of schools, the choice that parents have to select

a school, is increasing. That flexibility is a good thing.

Different schools suit different children and families. Grammar

schools may well be here for the future, which is marvellous. There

are no plans to end academic selection in grammars. But there

may be more collaboration. Many already work together - for example,

sharing students and teachers to put on A-level courses. The

Government wants more of that. It seems grammars may have a new lease

of life even if some would rather they weren't here. In some parts of

the country they have moved away from grammar schools and things

have been successful. A local community has to have the

educational system it wants. Clearly in Torbay at the present

time, the view is that the grammar schools system is appropriate. For

me it would make things easier if we did not have quite so many

selective schools in Torbay. any changes are politically very

sensitive. A survey commissioned by the National Grammar Schools

Association this year suggested that 76% supported the idea of new

grammars being built. The consultation over changes to

admissions finishes next month. As to whether it'll mean more

selection, or bring about closer links with comprehensives, watch

Doctors are warning parents to book their children in for MMR jabs as

cases of measles continue to rise in Devon. It follows an outbreak at

the independent Sands School in Ashburton last month where there

were 12 confirmed cases. John Henderson reports. Mary knows how

serious German measles can be. She was pregnant when she contracted

rubella. 33 years ago she gave birth to Richard. He is deaf. He is

registered blind. He has a heart problem. He needed heart surgery as

a child. And one of his legs is weak. He meets a Caliber -- he

needs a caliper. All because I had rubella. She is a keen advocate of

the MMR jab. Measles has not gone away. In Devon there were six cases

in April, seven in May and 19 in June, seven of which centred on the

sands School in Ashburton. Health officials are encouraging children

to get as my parents to get their children immunised. The target is

for seven out of 10 to get the jab. When levels drop below 70%, it

means the immunised children will be OK, but those not immunised will

be at increased risk of spreading the virus. The virus reappears in

the population rather than being absent. In 1980 it, that -- Dr

Andrew Wakefield suggests that our link between MMR and autism. His

findings were discredited and he was struck off the medical register.

Even now, some are still worried about the MMR jab. There are things

on both sides I can agree with. I have come to think that I will not

be doing it. I will try to do it homeopath get fit. -- homeopathic

leave. A lot of people have done it that way and their children are

fine. The injection is not compulsory. But people like Mary

would say not having it is too risky. Most of us will steer clear

if we spot a jellyfish in the sea. But this summer, scientists want us

to have a closer look. They are becoming more numerous in the

south-west. David George is on the beach. What a sight! I have been

looking for these jellyfish and I am pleased to report there are non.

You never find them when you want them. The water is beautifully

clear. It is the Marine Conservation Society that wants us

to count jelly fish this summer. They were used that data. I'm

joined by Dr Matthew Wicks from... You want us to count jellyfish, Y?

They are a good indicator of the state of the seas. They tell us

what is going on. If we collect data all over the UK, we can get a

really good idea of what is going on in the marine systems. We have

some lovely pictures here. Tell us about these? This species is local

to the UK. During the summer when they are adults, they will start to

reproduce. The small fertilised eggs will drop to the seabed. Over

time and through the winter they will grow. Into the spring and

summer we get these big blooms. People will not necessarily know

the species. How accurate will the day to be? The important thing is

if you see them on the beaches, write down what you see, take a

picture. With those little bits of information, you can go to our

website and match your jellyfish to what you saw on the beach. We will

give it a try. Thank you. If you would like to take part in the

survey, you can get all the information you need on the BBC

Cornwall or Bevan website. -- Devon. I wonder if we should warn people

about your knees! What is the water like? Very chilly but very

beautiful. No jellyfish. Quite often we receive emails following

the programme telling us how depressing the news is. There have

been many stories over the past year of local shops closing and

people losing their jobs. On Monday I received an email from Sarah

Horne in Bodmin about a community trying to buck the trend. So today

I thought I'd go and see how local traders there were fighting the

doom and gloom on the high street. It is a first for Bodmin in 20

years and it is certainly drawing a crowd. When I became mayor of

the market. It has always been a market town historically. In fact,

in written records it goes back to the Domesday Book. We were the only

market town in the Domesday Book. Over 20 stalls occupied by local

people and local producers, and an opportunity for some two start

their own business. We are trying to make sure that all other

produces locally sourced. We have worked hard to get this going. We

have run out of bread. We are running out of cheese. It is going

really well. This is not only for local businesses. It is a great

place to meet people. The market itself, it is lovely to have it

back. It is attracting a lot of people just walking around. It is

like a meeting of all the friends. Everyone knows everyone, which is

brilliant for the town. I really want to give Bodmin a boost, to get

people to set up their own businesses and make things happen.

It is fantastic. Everybody is happy and smiling. They are spending

their money in Bodmin. This has been great. I did not expected to

be so busy. It is the first one. We have done a lot of public relations.

There are so many people. Sales are great. It is nice to come to a

market like this. As long as the weather is nice. Come rain or shine,

the market will be on every first Thursday of the month. Time for a

little brows. That looks perfect for Justin, I think. Could not

think of a better present. Cornish girl go -- gargoyle. That is the

last time I let you out! There it is. By saw the cake area. What a

Now the weather. Good evening. What a difference a day makes. Compared

to yesterday, summer has returned today. Not everywhere, granted.

Most of us have been basking in very nice sunshine. Cloudy

developing to the north is bringing showers tonight. More showers

generally through the day tomorrow. As we move into the weekend, the

area of high pressure which has been tempting us so far this week,

is still to the west of Ireland. By lunchtime on Saturday it is a thin

sliver of high pressure. It is still there. These weather fronts

will try to make progress towards us but they were not really arrive.

This was the picture earlier. A clutch of share was beginning to

appear. -- showers. Earlier today we have some lovely views. It was a

lovely day in Plymouth and indeed across much of Devon and Cornwall.

Lot of fine weather to enjoy. Quite a different story today in the

sunshine. This ship is saving later this evening. They should have a

fine sailing. Further east, the last showers. These have been

developing across the south of Wales, Dorset and Somerset. They

are coming our way later. After a fine start to the evening, there

may be some showers. Northerly winds. Overnight temperatures down

to ten degrees. Tomorrow, some sunshine. The risk of showers. They

could be quite heavy in the middle of the day. They will fade away in

the afternoon. The best of the sunshine, Devon tempered his

tomorrow 90 degrees. A brisk breeze means the north coast will not feel

quite as warm. The Isles of Scilly, mainly dry with sunny spells. Good