12/12/2013 Spotlight

The school girl who took her own life. There's anger after an inquest

found no evidence she was bullied online.

Good evening. Friends of Izzy Dix are convinced she was a victim of

cyber bullying. Bullying was a major factor in Izzy taking her own life.

We believe the conclusions reached today are fundamentally flawed.

Also tonight: Plymouth leading the way in dementia care and research. A

Japanese delegation from the G8 summit comes to the city to see the

projects in action. And, fit for a King ` Elvis

Presley's old record player goes under the hammer in Cornwall.

A police officer who investigated the death of a Devon teenager who

killed herself has told an inquest there was "no evidence of cyber

bullying". Friends of 14`year`old Izzy Dix believe it was a factor in

her death and have been campaigning on the issue. The South Devon

coroner said today it was clear she had suffered significant personal

emotional turmoil. Spotlight's Clare Casson reports.

Izzy Dix died at her home in Brixham in September. The 14`year`old was

found by her mother who did not attend today's inquest. The inquest

heard that on the day of her death, she came home from school upset and

that one particular girl, she said, had made her unwell. She was and is

`` upset for the rest of the evening and said no one cared about her. Her

mother tried to reassure her but it was later that night she found her

body. It is this campaign is considered opinion that bullying was

a major factor in Italy taking her own life. We believe the processes

that took place today and the conclusions reached are

fundamentally flawed. Following her death, friends set up a petition

against online bullying and it had the support of her mother.

Giving evidence today, that DC said the police investigation looked into

the Internet use of Izzy Dix but found no evidence of cyber bullying.

Cyber bullying is still going on. We have evidence as recent as yesterday

about the cyber bullying and all this, I will make sure, is dealt

with if it is the last thing I ever do. Why do you think the police

ruled it out? I have no idea. The inquest also heard that she had been

affected by a relationship break`up. The coroner recorded that she had

taken her own life after significant personal and emotional turmoil.

The back office spending of Devon and Cornwall's Police and Crime

Commissioner is again under attack, along with the panel which is

supposed to hold him to account. Devon County Council has been

hearing concerns that Tony Hogg isn't being properly regulated in

his work. Our home affairs correspondent, Simon Hall, reports

from Devon County Hall in Exeter. Concerns are not dimming about the

police and crime commission. In particular, spending hundreds of

thousands of pounds on consultants and the effectiveness of his

watchdog. Today, at Devon county council, the issues were raised by a

member who ran to be commissioner. I accept the panel have got a problem

because the government never really gave them proper powers but I wonder

if they are being rigorous enough. Spending in this period of austerity

is not on. It should go on front line policing. The jury is out on

how effective is the panel and what noticed the Commissioner is taking

of it. There needs to be a real review of exactly how effective they

are. The police and crime panel may be little known but it has an

important role, reviewing the Commissioner 's strategy and can ``

decisions and can call into question. It scrutinises the budget

and can veto it, but only once. The panel has no powers to force the

Commissioner to change policies or to dismiss him. I do not believe we

have enough powers but it is like any scrutiny committee. They

scrutinise the subject and make recommendations and the Commissioner

can take them up or not. If he doesn't and it is serious enough,

all week and that `` ask for is public discontent. Tony Hogg said he

needed to spend significant sums on consultants as he helped set up his

role and carry out his responsibilities. The panel can be

robust in questioning, Mr Hogg said, and he welcomes the opportunity to

be open and transparent about his work. The Home Office says it is

there to provide checks and balances on the Commissioner 's work and to

support him. A Japanese delegation from the G8

summit on dementia today visited Plymouth to find out how the city is

leading the way in research and care of dementia patients. At the summit

held in London yesterday, leading nations committed to developing a

cure or treatment for the disease by 2025. One of the schemes they saw

today was a project at Stoke Damerel Community College. Johnny Rutherford

reports. A spot of croquet for the Japanese

delegation as they begin their tour of Plymouth, finding out how

dementia education is becoming embedded in Stoke Damerel Community

College's curriculum and helping to build links between generations. It

is important they understand about it and how to care for people with

dementia. Today, we have students playing croquet with older guests,

some of whom have dementia, and we see fabulous bonds being formed.

They are breaking down horrible stereotypes a lot of people have

about older and younger people. Some sixth form students have been asked

to prepare a report for the Prime Minister. I have been set a task to

look at three different areas, are and PE, for example, to get dementia

into primary schools. I will speak about that at my next meeting in

January which, hopefully, we'll be in the House of Lords. The older

generation still have a trick or two, by the looks of it, and are

certainly enjoying themselves. The worst thing is to sit at home in

front of the screen and watch endless football and all sorts of

stuff. This helps? Definitely. Along with Plymouth University 's

research, the city is becoming known for its advances in dementia and the

Japanese delegation are keen to find out more.

I want to find about the dementia friendly community. With all the

various groups trying to improve the lifestyle of someone suffering with

the illness, Plymouth is set to become one of the first dementia

friendly cities. Earlier, I spoke to Ian Sherriff

who's leading the Academic partnership on dementia at Plymouth

University. I asked him why the city was seen as such a good example when

it comes to dealing with dementia. It is not only the social services

and our health care, it is our shops and businesses, the basketball team,

the naval base and it goes on. Also, of course, dementia friendly

school, Stoke Damerel, which today has really impressed our Japanese

visitors with the work they are doing. What benefits does that bring

in terms of research into the disease? We will be canvassing

people with dementia and their carers over the coming months,

looking at about 18 different areas. They will be, do you feel

less lonely? What we found out about three years ago with some research

we did in the city on early diagnosis, people with dementia, on

top of telling us about their early diagnosis, also said they were

lonely and isolated. From your experience locally and what you have

heard at the G8 summit yesterday, where do you think we will be in

2025 and how far advanced will we be in terms of treatment or cure? I

would love to see a cure`all, or if not, some sort of medication that

really slows down the process. That is my dream. The other dream I

have, and it is in line with the 12 action points set by the G8, is that

across those G8 countries, we will work closely together to decide on

the best provision and quality of care. We are learning from our

neighbours already on how to work together and provide quality

services for people with dementia. It is good to talk to you. Thank you

for joining us. As a public consultation gets under

way into West Cornwall's health services, some campaigners say they

fear the closure of one of the county's cottage hospitals is

already a done deal. One of the most high`profile issues is Poltair

hospital in Penzance. The unit has been closed to inpatients since

October last year because of staff shortages. NHS Kernow is expected to

announce its final decision on health care in the west of the

county at the end of March. Supporters of the Atlantic Array

wind farm proposal seem to have failed in their attempt to get the

government to reopen the door to the scheme. The Devon and Cornwall

Business Council led a delegation to London to discuss the controversial

proposal off North Devon with the Crown Estate. Our business

correspondent, Neil Gallacher, reports.

The developers of the Atlantic Array were thinking big. Until, that is,

it was announced last month that the company behind it had withdrawn and

that the government no longer considered it a possible site for a

wind farm, much like this one. That was the cue for a last`minute

delegation from some in the business community yesterday. The Crown

estate would ask to keep the site earmarked for possible wind farm

development. They said clearly they do not see any chance for this

project to be reviewed commercially and they believe that for technical

and environmental reasons, nobody should pursue it. Do you have to

accept it is dead in the water? We are told the idea is dead and those

who can grant the permission of saying that. For Lundy and the

Bristol Channel it is finally put to bed. We have always said it is the

wrong scheme in the wrong place and the news from the Crown confirms

that. The Crown estate told us: the spokesman said that long`term

meant beyond 2020. In a moment, it's the next of this

year's Sports Awards. Tonight, we'll be unveiling who the Youngster of

2013 is. And, open house ` Trelissick lets

the public in after nearly 60 years. A talky woman is facing the prospect

of being made homeless because she says a reduction in benefits has

trapped in debt. Louise Fisher says she has been trying to swap her

three`bedroom home for something more affordable and smaller for

months. She is facing a court repossession hearing.

Louise Fisher is stuck in a home that is too big and too expensive.

She wants to move somewhere smaller and cheaper in Torquay, but her

housing association is refusing to let her budge until she clears her

rent arrears, currently ?950 and rising. I have never been in debt

with any housing company until they brought in this spare bedroom tax.

Now I am ?950 in arrears. Louise, who is bipolar, lives in a

three`bedroom home but because it has two spare rooms, she has lost

subsidies and his pen `` paying an extra ?26 a week. She is facing a

repossession hearing in court in the New Year and her MP says it is an

example of a deeper problem. The overall cost could be greater from

evicting people from social housing and having to find alternative

accommodation. We would be far better off tackling the root problem

here which is not enough affordable housing. Spectrum Housing group said

that seeking possession of a property is always the last resort.

We urge people to get in touch with us if they are struggling and we

will always support and help our residents if they work with us and

stick to agreements that have been made.

Louise says she has started selling personal possessions to stop getting

further into debt. Businesses in Exeter are being urged

to pay their staff a "living wage". The call comes from the city council

which will start paying all its staff at least a living wage from

January. But many private sector businesses say it's just impossible

to find extra money in the current economic climate. Spotlight's Andrea

Ormsby has the story. John Selfridge is 30. He has a wife

and a two`year`old daughter and he is about to get a pay rise, one he

says is desperately needed. Very tight. We live with my mum at the

moment and we can't afford to rent. With this extra money, we can look

into this. We still have to go on the housing list because Private is

out of the question. He works for Exeter city centre `` city council

and so does his wife so they will benefit from the decision to pay

everyone at least a living wage. It will cost us about ?26,000 this

financial year. Probably just over ?100,000 a year. The minimum wage is

?6 31 an hour but a living wage is ?7 65. It is not an increased Devon

county council says it can make or many others in the private sector.

Absolutely not. We could not sustain that level of wage. We are being

told by our customers we need to keep prices down and we need to keep

all our costs down. In order to compete against international

competition, we would have to struggle to do that and to maintain

it. John and his wife are lucky. They say if more people could earn a

living wage it would boost the south`west economy.

A record player which used to belong to Elvis Presley has sold for more

than ?4000 at auction in Cornwall. The singer gave the player to a

friend when he was serving in the Army in Germany. She retired to

Cornwall and brought the record player with her.

This is the record player that has had Elvis Presley fans in a spin. In

1958, Elvis Presley arrived in Germany for the first part of his

national service. The rock 'n' roll king was about to

embark on service in Germany. There he met this woman who befriended her

father in a local post office. They were having trouble with language

and the paperwork so she said, can I help you? And she did. She didn't

know who he was at first. He said, I am Elvis Presley 's father. Oh, she

said, would you like to come to a gathering. She did a good turn for

somebody as someone in front of her was struggling with the language in

the post office. She offered to help and it was Elvis Presley 's father

and all these things happened because of it. She went to a party

and melt Elvis and talk to him for a long time. He obviously liked her ``

and met Elvis. When she got there she saw Elvis and everything was

going on. Dancing... It was something special. Elvis Presley 's

`` Elvis Presley and Eleanor became friends and she was invited to many

more parties where he is sometimes played his guitar through the

amplifier. When she told him he was getting `` she was getting married,

he gave her the record player as a wedding present. The auction has

started. There has been quite a lot of

interest from around the country. The record player was sold to a

buyer from abroad for ?4400. Elvis Presley on Spotlight!

I was worried with Eleanor waving her hands around at the auction

whether she had bought the record player by mistake!

Onto the next in our BBC South West Sports Awards which we've been

showing you all week. Today, it's the Youngster of the Year accolade

which goes to world champion swimmer ` 16`year`old Ruta Meilutyte. She

trains with Plymouth Leander, studies at Plymouth College and

lives in the city. Dave Gibbins been to surprise her.

She is riding on the crest of a wave because in the summer she broke yet

another world record and won another gold medal, the world championship

medal to add to her Olympic title. We are going in the room where Ruta

is with her head coach. There they are. Well, Ruta Meilutyte, you

haven't expected this but for the second year running you other BBC

South West Youngster of the Year. Well done! You can stand up now.

Congratulations! It has been another great year, hasn't it? Yes, but I

didn't expect to get this, to be honest, for the second time. It is

great. Thank you. But I do every good woman there is a good man.

John, can she get any better at 16? You would hope so. She is still

relatively young and the guys she is racing with at senior level are a

good five or six years older than her. There is plenty of time for her

to develop and two and a half years till the next Olympics. You're going

to the European Championships now and this is your only day back at

Plymouth College. You have 12 gold medals. What are the chances of

adding to that in Denmark? Hopefully, if I perform well I will

have a chance of winning some medals. It has been an amazing year.

Is there any way you can better 2013? Yes, definitely. Many

congratulations and fully deserved. Thanks to BBC South West for

recognising my hard work. Thank you a lot.

What a great year she has had. Tomorrow we have the sports man and

sportswoman award. Very contested, that has been.

A Cornish country house is open to the public nearly 60 years after it

was acquired by the National Trust. Trellisick, near Truro, was given to

the Trust in 1955. The house was retained for use by

the original owners, so it was the garden, Trellisick Garden, which was

made accessible and which has since become famous for its plants and

footpaths along the River Fal. Now, 58 years later, visitors can

finally see inside. David George has been to have a look.

Trelissick Garden with its 30 acres of hydrangeas, rhododendrons and

camellias is popular with visitors and locals alike. The big house

behind its 18th`century Grecian columns has been a mystery. Until

now. This is the dining room dressed for an Edwardian Christmas lunch

with some of the items the National trust bought in last summer 's ?3

million sale of the house contents by the Copeland family, the original

owners of the Spode china company. Obviously there is a strong link to

the Spode china so we bought a number of services from Spode.

Amazing candelabra. It is and it has been in the family for a number of

years. It would have sat on the table at Christmas for sure so it is

important we have that. Along with it, we acquired one of the finer

services which is delightful and sets off the table a treat. The

dinner service sold for ?6,000 in the auction. Do not `` National

trust appeal helped by the original contents, including sketches and

paintings by the stable master at Trelissick before he came it ``

became a famous horse artist. Is there much demand over the years to

look inside? It is a very frequent question and now it is the magic

moment to be able to offer that. The library is open as well and visitors

will also see this. Now, that is what I call a conservatory! Not a

single piece of UPVC insight. They call this the solarium. The house is

a work in progress as restoration will be a huge project. The plan is

to consult visitors on what they would like to see done but the trust

is to have at least half a dozen rooms open by next spring.

Stunning, wasn't it? And what a view! Time for the weather now and

it is getting wetter, isn't it, David?

Good evening. We have had high pressure close by for several days.

That is changing. We could have a wet start to the day tomorrow but

the good news is changing. We could have a wet start to the day tomorrow

but that it uses the rain is moving quite fast in the afternoon. It will

also be quite breezy. Over the next two or three days, another feature

is the mildness of the air. High temperatures overnight tonight. Two

strikes of cloud. One gave us rain earlier on from the Bay of Biscay.

This second one has a bit more rain in it. The two will get closer

together over the next few hours to bring as fairly heavy rain around

the middle of the day tomorrow. For the first half of the day on

Saturday, largely dry but another system will come in. The isobars are

squeezed up so it could be quite windy on Saturday. The cloud is

fairly extensive so not too many worries for overnight temperatures.

Splashes of rain overnight which will ease for a time but then

returned before dawn. A mild start to the day tomorrow and

a breezy start. Also, you need to dig out your waterproof or umbrella

because it will be a damp morning. The rain will move fast, though, and

by the afternoon, it will be drier. For the fast `` first half of

tomorrow night we will have clear skies but showers possible later.

Unusually mild temperatures tomorrow. Perhaps not feeling quite

as warm as temperatures suggest in the wind and rain. But in the

afternoon, it should feel quite pleasant.

The rain band will move quite swiftly across the Isles of Scilly.

Good visibility should follow. We had good surfing conditions

yesterday but the server is now being messed up by the strength of

wind. Much more unsettled weather.

Temperatures are in double figures and the wind stays strong for the

next four days. A fine start on Saturday but, by dark, rain coming

into callable again. Rain arriving later in the day on Sunday, mostly

at night time. Apart from Monday which could be a mild day, breezy

with further outbreaks of rain. Join us tomorrow when we will find

out who has won our sports awards for 2013. From all of us here, good

night. Good