20/02/2014 Spotlight

forces and protestors. That is all from BBC News. It is goodbye from

me. The earth moves in North Devon, a

quake measuring 4.1 on the Richter scale was felt across large parts of

the region. Good evening. Experts say it was one of the biggest quakes

in the south`west in recent years, people have been describing how

houses shook for several seconds. Everybody just looked around at each

other as if to say, what on earth was that? Lots of frowning going

on. It was like something strange had happened rather than anybody

being scared or panicked. Hello, also tonight: wide ranging cuts to

services across Devon ` feelings run high as councillors agree to

millions of pounds in savings. And the daily struggle to earn a living

` now there's help for fishermen who are counting the cost of the storms.

If the boat doesn't go to sea, the crew don't get paid. It it is

simple. Houses shook, windows rattled and

some people reported objects falling over and breaking. An earthquake

measuring 4.1 on the Richter hit the North Devon coast at lunchtime

today. Experts say it was centred in the Bristol Channel but its effects

were felt over large parts of the region and as far as Exmouth on the

South coast. Our Environment Correspondent Adrian Campbell

reports from North Devon where the tremor was most noticeable.

The 4.1 magnitude earthquake which affected North Devon and parts of

South Wales was recorded at the heartland of North Devon the British

jeweller to call survey. On paper it looks impressive but on the ground,

it seems to have passed unnoticed by many. My husband got a text message,

and said to us, have you felt the earthquake? And we didn't, not at

all. We are at the top of the highest building in Barnstaple, the

Civic Centre. The higher you go up the building, the hot more likely

you are to feel the effects. Talking to people today, they had a strong

sense of this earthquake. Chief Executive of the Council is the

third floor of the building and says he noticed the earthquake. We were

suddenly aware of the building shaking. It was quite noticeable, we

are here on the third floor. We've got quite a significant shake.

Further up the building, as you get higher, they felt it more than we

did. Other buildings nearby also got the effects of the quake. All of a

sudden there was a very loud thud. It felt more of a side then sounded

like one. Everybody just looked around at each other as if to say,

what on earth was that? Lots of frowning going on. It is like

something strange it happened rather than anybody being scared or

panicked. Experts have been analysing what happened this

afternoon at exactly 1:21pm. This is what we might call a moderate

earthquake. We get an earthquake of this size roughly every three years

or so somewhere in the UK. We are no strangers to earthquakes of this

size. We have many bigger than this. There was a magnitude 5.2 earthquake

in Lincoln in 2008. The weather has dominated conversations recently but

tonight, commuters had the new topic to discuss. The North Devon

earthquake. And Adrian can join us now live from

Barnstaple. Yes, here it is a topic of conversation. We came to the

building here, the top of the building, people tended to feel this

event much more than people further down. People are talking about it on

the streets, talking about how strong it was. To put it into

context, you have to remember that there were nine of these events

around the globe in the last 24. So it's not like one of those big

earthquakes you hear about on the news, but here it is very much the

topic of conversation. Thank you very much that.

Wide`ranging cuts to public services across Devon are in prospect after

the County Council today approved ?27 million worth of budget

reductions. Day centres, residential care for older people, and youth

services are all expected to suffer. Our home affairs correspondent Simon

Hall reports from Devon County Hall in Exeter.

These cuts have caused widespread concern. A demonstration against

those affecting the youth services greeted councillors at today's

budget meeting. Young people are relying on their services for

support about sexual health, domestic abuse, drugs and alcohol,

and many more. These services are valued and worthy of keeping. More

services like this Day Centre are coming from charities, the private

sector and community money as council provision shrinks in the

face of budget cuts. There is a they can be more efficient and effective.

It does everything. I don't know what I would do without it. I look

forward to it every week, I really do. Well, the company, and being

able to use your brain instead of just sitting indoors moping about.

Because we're not County Council and we are an independent charity, we

can react and tailor our services to meet the exact needs, sometimes at

short notice. Devon and Cornwall police have reorganised the way they

work after suffering severe cuts. Crime has been falling and some

analysts believe the cuts may have forced the public sector to be more

efficient. I think there were considerable inefficiencies in the

public sector, so government cuts have forced a rethink. Local

authorities, the fire brigade, police, NHS, all having to rethink

how they do things. More new ways of doing things and services being

provided outside of Devon County Council may now be required as the

Council approved millions of pounds of budget cuts. It is worrying for

the people of Devon. But really, we had no choice. The trouble is not

this year, it is next year and the year after. We would not be able to

have anything but what is mandatory in the way of services to people.

Perhaps this model, with a community group taking over the library and

day care being provided by a charity, may become the way of the

future. The narrative of austerity and budget cutbacks will not end

here, even with a general election coming next year. None of the three

main political parties are talking about increases in public spending.

The Fishermen's Mission has launched a new appeal to provide financial

help for crews and their families, who've been struggling to earn a

living. Some fishermen based in storm hit coastal communities have

only been able to put to sea for five days this year. Spotlight's

Heidi Davey reports. For many fishermen, the last two months have

been incredibly pickled. The severe storms have can find most boats to

port. There has been no money to pay the crew. This boat fishes mainly on

the bottom for white fish such as cod and Pollock. Her crew have only

been the sea for a few days. I left school at 14 to go fishing and this

is probably the worst winter the continuous weather I can remember.

It's been tough. I have kids, a mortgage, there are usually a few

days you can mess and it isn't too much of a financial dense but now we

have it for about seven weeks, it is a long cold winter. That is where

the mission steps in. Since it launched a national appeal,

seafarers UK has committed ?15,000 and within 24 hours, 10,000 have

already been distributed. Here in the south`west, there has been an

unprecedented demand for help. Fishing communities are struggling

to get back on their feet. They are depressed, they depend on being able

to get to see because that is where their money comes from. Fisher men

are proud and they will get a family and friends first and get help from

them. On those channels cry up, then they have to turn to other peoples

`` when those channels cry up. So I'm quite sure, we will be seeing

more more people coming. Donations are coming in from all over the

country, with emergency grants of up to ?500 being made immediately

available to help those who are struggling.

Estate agents in the Southwest say this January was one of the busiest

for house sales in seven years. Many say business is booming and there is

little sign that the recent bad weather put off prospective buyers.

Ali Chitty reports. The ideal time for house selling is meant to be

spring and summer so the current boom may seem a surprising one. It

seems every time you turn on the news, the south`west is the last

place you would want to live. There is flooding in Somerset, homes are

evacuated. There is trouble on the railway lines and there is the power

of the Sea damaging property. It all looks like a stairway to property

sell disaster. But quick to one agent, business is booming. It is

the best January I have known since 2007. We have a lot of people

looking, a lot of interest in the market. Which is remarkable given

the weather we have had. This Plymouth property is for sale in the

?1 million plus bracket. In Plymouth and part of social Cornwall, prices

have traditionally been lower. Sellers can now expect more from

their investment. Being realistic, we always thought there would be a

hypermobility thereby would come from outside the region and what we

have seen in the last couple of weeks has been encouraging, with the

upturn in house prices and also the level of interest that estate agents

have been telling us we have been receiving. There is also a downside

to these property sales. Price rises have gone up by 8% on this period

last year but that means that nationally, your income would've had

to have increased by ?29,000 to have up. Here, it would have been ?22,000

which means you are not already on the property ladder then the picture

looks bleak. Prices are expected to continue to grow this year,

increasing the gap between income and affordability. This year's boom

could be next year's crisis. We'll have more on the aftermath of

the extreme weather later in the programme. Find out where John

Henderson's is in his tour of the region's storm damaged communities.

Plus celebrating the volunteers who give up hours of their time to

support the North Devon Hospice. The annual sale of Dartmoor ponies

at Tavistock has been a traditional event for centuries. Now though,

it's coming to an end. The town's livestock market has taken the

decision not to hold the sale in October because it's no longer

financially viable. A tradition which has been taking place on

Dartmoor for hundreds of years but in recent times, the annual pony

sale has been losing money rather than making it. Lastly, only 14

goals were sold out of nearly 100. It is a big decision, and it is not

what we have come to easily. It is said that history is finished in

terms of ponies in the market. Farmers like Phil are allowed to

keep a certain number of ponies. Those that can't be returned are

sold at Tavistock. His family have done this for generations but with

this news, he feels it might be time to stop keeping them altogether.

There is no money in them at all. The reason we're keeping them, my

dad had them and his dad had a few, as soon as these are gone, we have

to seriously think about getting them to a more manageable number or

losing them altogether. Eight years ago, farmers like Phil were getting

around ?75 each for false like this. Lastly, he only got ?10 each for the

two resold. Charlotte has spent her lifetime trying to save the Dartmoor

fuel pony. Every year hundreds are slaughtered because there is no

market for them. She fears the loss of the sale will be to fewer ponies

on the moor. It is devastating. I think pony herders themselves are

wondering, where will it go from here? It is part of our heritage. We

used to be a marketing virtually every big town, we were down to two

and now we are down to one. This side of the moor is no way of

getting those ponies any more. She is still waiting to see if the last

remaining sale will take place this year.

The Hospice in North Devon says it couldn't survive without its

volunteers. There are around 130 paid staff, but more than 500

volunteers who do a wide range of jobs. The North Devon Hospice is

celebrating its 30th birthday and one of its major themes for the year

is thanking the people who do so much to help make it work. In the

fourth of her series, our North Devon reporter, Andrea Ormsby, looks

at the work of one volunteer. This man retired ten years ago. He had

been the lorry driver and now he is driving again, as a volunteer for

North Devon Hospice. It certainly helps me with my retirement. He

drives patients to and from home for outpatient visits. I spend a lot of

time with the patients in the car, and also in the hospice. There is no

end of subjects that we talk about. Whether it is to do with politics,

the weather, or our own families, really. We really become a part of

their families. To begin with, he was worried they wouldn't cope.

Occasionally it is depressing but you must accept that as part of the

job. It's just great pleasure to be able to help somebody through their

illness and one of the greatest joys I find doing this job is just

hearing that people laugh when they are in the daycare unit. When you

hear them laughing so much, you know that what you're doing is right.

Meeting people who have honed their skills of what quality`of`life they

have left, it teaches you a lot. I can see the change in philosophy of

life. Cyril doesn't just drive for the hospice, he is one available in

tears who do gardening. I know the gardening gives a lot of fish to our

patients, on a nice sunny day like today, they can seal the flowers ``

see all the flowers. Smell the pollen. Sometimes we get bees,

butterflies. It also gives them a great pleasure. The pleasure I get

in gardening obviously gives the patient is much pleasure as I get.

In this 30th birthday year, there is a big thank you to everyone who does

so much to help. Our theme for 30th anniversary is thanks to you. A

plethora of our community, the staff, it is a big chance to say

thanks to all our volunteers. Without them, we wouldn't be able to

operate. Sometimes I feel a bit selfish mind doing it because it's

helping me as much as it's helping the patients. Because I often say to

my self, what would I be doing? I would be set at home, bored to

tears. Of all the jobs I have done, to find the best job I have done, I

don't get paid for, what can you say? It's great. The Cyril, the fear

of retirement has been replaced by the fulfilment of volunteering.

And tomorrow in the final part of her series, Andrea's been to meet a

family who were helped through the loss of a loved one, by the North

Devon Hospice. It was a big night for the

south`west at the BBC Radio two Folk Awards at the Royal Albert Hall last

night. Folk superband, The Full English, which features Seth

Lakeman, won Best Group and Best Album, while Devon's Phillip Henry

and Hannah Martin scooped the Award for best duo.

Phillip Henry, Hannah Martin and Seth Lakeman have all been regular

guests on John Govier's Saturday Show on BBC Radio Devon. Join him

for more live performances from local musicians this Saturday from

9am ` 1pm. Or listen on the BBC iPlayer.

Meanwhile, Plymouth musician Chris Wood has been amongst the winners at

the BRIT Awards last Night. His band Bastille won best UK breakthrough

act at the annual award ceremony. And you can catch up with him on

Saturday when he drums home his support for Plymouth Argyle by

making his debut as a guest in the commentary box, that's alongside BBC

Radio Devon's Gordon Sparks. Now our reporter John Henderson is

spending this week travelling the Spotlight region to see the impact

of the recent storms. Coastal communities from the far west of

Cornwall through to Dorset suffered major damage following weeks of

extreme weather. John's journey started on Monday in Lamorna Cove.

Today he's moved from South Devon up to the village of Bucks Mills in

North Devon. It feels like a long way from anywhere but there moments

where this is the reason 40,000 people visit every year. This is

lovely. I understand you are going to show me something that isn't so

nice. Indeed. Now they would have a job getting onto the beach. The

grade two listed slipway has gone. Perfectly safe? The people in this

tiny community e`mail the BBC about the need to nominate the slipway and

the historic lime kilns after they were destroyed by storms. It has

been unprecedented in terms of the storm damage, but of course, it has

happened before and the community comes together as it has now and it

will get rebuilt. This is the beginning of the slipway commie

conceive of the storm damage has done over my shoulder. That wall is

looking pretty precarious. From the Heritage site to a holiday resort,

one equally affected by wild weather. Crazy golf at West Westwood

home is a crazy assault course. John Martin's nephew runs a tourist

attraction, quite when it will welcome back punters and putters St

Clair. John has got enough to do pull string the differences outside

his own business, hammered by last week's wave. It will be back up and

running, it is a mammoth task to get it ready. Easter we could probably

get the go`karts ready but the extreme crazy golf, as you call it,

we don't know about that. For many communities in North Devon and

across the south`west, the race is on to bolster their damaged sea

defences before the next high tides in March.

A hundred years ago the humble pasty kept Cornish tin miners going

underground. These day they are a handy lunchtime feast and now they

are being used the feed the hundreds of people trying to fight the flood

waters in Somerset. More than 1,000 pasties have been sent from Cornwall

to Somerset ` branded as' Pasty Aid'. The idea was the brainwave of

a Cornish woman who now lives on the Somerset levels. At this bakery,

they are queueing for their lunch. The pasties here are popular with

the local people and visitors. But not all these pasties are being

bought and sold locally. Some of them are going up to Somerset as

Pasty Aid. This family run bakery is one of the number who have sent

pasties to the Somerset Levels, an area that has been under floodwater

four weeks. Not meals on wheels but breakfast in a basket. Do you want

your hot pasty? You are most welcome! Compliments of Sarah, bless

her heart! Thanks very much! Lovely job! Well done. Take care. This is

the woman who has made it all happen. Sarah comes from Cornwall

but now lives in Somerset. She rang pasty makers in Cornwall who are

more than happy to help. There is not much I can do out here, I am a

mum at home. I can make pasties and my friends are happy to make them.

It's really nice just to help people. Plus, we have had lots of

our own customers go on the strength of this, people phoning up and

saying, can I donate ?50 for as many pasties as that will buy? So we

ascended up more than the original 120. For the flood victims and those

trying to help them, these are more than much`needed warm food, they are

a gesture of goodwill from Cornwall. Time for the weather.

Before I give it a forecast, I'm just going to go back over how wet

the winter has been so far. This is more official statistics, it is now

officially the wettest winter ever, 683 millimetres of rain, the average

we have seen. The previous wet year, wet winter, I should say, was

1990. It's not as stormy as it has been, we have some sunshine every

now and then. Tomorrow is a day when we are going to get a mixture of

both, some showers, it'll be breezy and every now and then, the sunshine

will shine. For the weekend, more uncertainty and more unsettled, more

persistent rain, but most of the activity is towards the North`West

of us. One line of showers, perhaps more persistent rain, will trickle

through the English Channel overnight tomorrow and into

Saturday. Then it is the next area of low pressure, which will arrive

on Sunday, although its eastward progress will be erratic. Notice the

ice bars are starting to get more tightly packed. Gale force winds on

Sunday. The breeze is blowing in a pew showers, that will continue

overnight, forming lines for a time. But they do become more isolated and

hopefully we will get some clear spells. When that happens, we'll see

temperatures tumble away. The showers we have now have been quite

lively. Once they died down, lengthy clear spells will develop and

turning quite cold overnight. Temperatures cold enough for a touch

of Frost. Most likely in sheltered inland areas. For tomorrow, showers

are always not far away, but they will be some sunny spells in between

those showers, even though they come along every now and then, there is a

chance of some dry weather for all of us. Breezy and colder of today.

`` than today. For the Isles of Scilly:

the wind direction, West or south`westerly. Should be a fine day

on Saturday, clouding over, more wet weather, becoming increasingly windy

on Sunday. I am back in the late news at

10:25pm. Good evening.