29/04/2014 Spotlight

at night. There is frost on the way. Thank you very much. Goodbye from

me. And on BBC Figures we've obtained under the

Freedom of Information Act reveal the impact of multi`million pound

austerity cuts. The Government says spending has now been significantly

increased to deal with the aftermath of this winter's storms. Our home

affairs correspondent Simon Hall has this exclusive report.

The Somerset Levels became the focus of national attention when villages

were cut off weeks in this winter's floods. Local people complained that

underfunding to flood prevention contributed to their suffering. They

have been angered further by these figures showing sizeable cuts in

flood defence spending. Yes, they keep saying there are budget cuts

and obviously it is very true. The thing about it is, we need more

money. That is the be all and end all. We're just a small population

so flood them and keep more houses, including Taunton and Bridgwater,

without floods. The figures show that spending on flood defence in

the south`west before austerity cuts took effect was just over ?45

million. The next financial year, that fell to just over ?36 million.

Then spending rose to more than ?39 million as the Government gave money

to help you with the effects of flooding that year. But in the last

financial year, the Environment Agency's planned spending fell to

just over ?32 million ` a drop of almost 30% on the 2010`11 figure. In

the Cornish port of Looe, they also suffered serious flooding this

winter. Here, too, there is concern about the cuts to funding for flood

defences. I think that is terrible. I don't think there is enough in

Cornwall, really. Plymouth have got defence, they have got a defence

barrier. They have an out`harbour and everything. But we have got

nothing here, we're just open to all of the elements. Neither the

Department for Rural Affairs, Defra, nor the Environment Agency would be

interviewed. The agency said: We have finite resources for flood

defences, we prioritise investment in high`risk areas where it benefits

most people and property. Defra said: We are spending more than ever

before on flood management and protection from coastal erosion and

continue to build flood defences where they are needed. The

Government has also announced another ?270 million to deal with

the aftermath of this winter's flooding. Significant spending on

flood defence still does go on, as here in Exeter, but these figures

demonstrate just how much it has been curtailed. And that'll be a

concern, particularly as most scientists believe the climate is

changing to become more unpredictable and extreme.

A petition, signed by 100,000 people, calling for a reprieve for

the Portland Search and Rescue helicopter base was handed in by

campaigners today to ten Downing Street. It's hoped it will trigger a

parliamentary debate. The base is due to close in the next few years

as part of restructuring. Spotlight's John Ayres reports.

The Portland coastguard helicopter is valued highly along the south

coast. In 2012, Alan and his daughter were rescued from their

Land Rover in the floods. He has been involved in a campaign to keep

a helicopter here. I would not be speaking today if it was not for

them. They are a vital service and save lives. That is all you can ask.

If you are in a situation where you need the emergency services, you

want to know they are on their way within minutes. Today, a

100,000`signature petition was handed in at Downing Street, calling

on the Government to revise its decision. As it stands, the Portland

service will end in 2017, with helicopters working out of ten other

bases in the country, the nearest being at Lee`on`Solent and Culdrose.

Divers in this area think it is madness. Ron used to run a diving

business in Portland. I think it is imperative that the helicopter stays

here for the safety of children falling off the rocks and getting

into difficult situations. The Maritime and Coastguard Agency says

that search and rescue is a national service and that provision is set to

improve. It says that the modelling of historic data shows that

helicopters will be able to reach a larger part of the country's search

and rescue area within one hour. It says that flying times will improve

by 20%, going from 23 minutes to 19. They will use state`of`the`art

helicopters, which are faster. The Portland coastguard helicopter is

one of the busiest in the country. The petition does not force the

Government to act, but the campaigners hope it will make them

think again. Divers are working to make temporary

repairs to a tug in Fowey harbour. The Cormilan, which is one of

Fowey's own tugs, was holed and started to sink when she hit a rock

near the harbour entrance early this morning. It's thought part of the

tug's propeller system is now lying on the sea bed. Spotlight's David

George reports. The 30 metre Cormilan. On board,

fire service crews are using pumps to keep afloat. Antipollution blooms

have been placed around her. She was on passage to Plymouth and she had

rocked at the entrance to Fowey harbour at 3:30am this morning. Phil

's how could this have happened? It is a good question. We are

investigating at the moment and interviewing the sailors. We don't

really know yet. The tug's crew tried to return to their mood

rings, but it could not cope with the water coming in. We had a

significant amount of water coming into the engine room, which require

both pumps to maintain buoyancy. This tug is equipped with two

propellers beneath her whole. Divers found one of them this afternoon. I

can see an oily substance floating to substance near these buoys. This

photograph shows it being recovered. The investigation Branch has asked

the harbour master to carry out an investigation. These are important

assets that we cannot afford to take out of service, so we're going to

work hard to get it back in service as sinners we can and to learn any

lessons that may emerge from the investigation. Once they have

completed a temporary patch to the whole, it will be taken to a dry

dock for repair. Meanwhile, the investigation will continue.

A woman from Devon has been killed taking part in a round`the`world

cycle ride for charity. Sharon Bridgman, from Zeal Monachorum, near

Okehampton, was cycling with her husband when she was hit by a van in

Bolivia on Saturday. The van driver has been arrested.

The Avon and Somerset force is to close more than half its police

stations to save money. Four will disappear altogether while 23 will

move to a smaller base nearby, in some cases sharing a building with

the local council, fire or ambulance service. Many of the staff will be

transferred to three new police and custody centres due to open later in

the year. More than 30 extra nurses are being

taken on at North Devon District Hospital. The trust has also agreed

to employ 25 health care assistants. It says it's to help deal with the

growing number of elderly patients with more complex health needs.

And staying with health, a new study out today paints a mixed picture of

our health in the South West. On the down side, we drink too much coffee,

don't do enough exercise, and more than a third of us say we're

unhappy. But, on average, we're amongst the least overweight people

in Britain, eat plenty of fruit and veg, and are the best at growing our

own food. I like to think I am reasonably

healthy. I do not smoke, drink and I have my five a day. I want to work

and play rugby once a week and I go out on the bike when I can. But does

all of this mean healthy? I ask for professional advice from BBC

Radio's medic. Your blood pressure is good and your BMI is 21, which is

very good and in the normal range. According to the survey, 75% of

residents in the south`west are exercising once a week and also 25%

are exercising once per day. Obviously you should be trying to do

30 minutes of exercise five times per week. People are eating lots of

fruit and veg, we would advise eating up to seven A.D. . Other good

news is that 33% are growing their own fruit and veg. Have you seen

much change in what people are buying? Definitely. They buy a

multi`range of stuff. You see cookery programmes, and people like

to change what they buy. Are people growing their own? Most definitely,

but only seasonal, we supply at all year round. But one thing we are bad

at here is drinking too much caffeine. 35% of those drink more

than five cups per day. For me, it is hard to give up!

And here at Spotlight, we'd like to hear what you do to keep healthy.You

can get in touch with us in the usual way via e`mail, Twitter, or

Facebook. There are more than 700 of them,

they spend billions of pounds of our money and they decide everything

from workers' rights to fishing and farming policies. And in just over

three weeks, we'll be asked to vote for them. But what do MEPs really

achieve? And what will the European Elections on May the 22nd mean for

us in the South West? Spotlight's political editor Martyn Oates has

swapped Westminster for Strasbourg to find out.

Picturesque Strasbourg is most of the time just a biggish provincial

city in eastern France. One week in every month, though, it becomes the

self`styled capital of Europe as MEPs from the European Union's 28

member states descend on this building. There can be a tendency to

associate European legislation with the infamous Brussels bureaucrats

but the people that actually decide what becomes law in the European

Union are ministers from the governments of each member state and

the 700 odd MEPs all meet in this place. I'm here for the last sitting

of the present crop of MEPs before the parliament goes to the polls on

May the 22nd. A quick glance at the agenda for this last plenary session

shows that MEPs are debating, amongst other things, plans to boost

pension rights for people working in other EU member states, measures to

reduce noise at airports and a new budget to promote EU farm produce.

At home in Devon, that is going down well with an organisation which

exists to promote local produce. We have launched a brand`new brand to

take products under that brand into new markets, both in Europe and

worldwide. What we are lacking, of course, is the funds to be able to

do that sort of thing, so this initiative and plans in Europe, we

would be very pleased to see that. Back in Strasbourg, Lib Dem MEP

Graham Watson, the party's candidate for the south`west, agrees that it

is good stuff. I think the promotion of farm produce is an important one

and whether it is Gloucestershire perry to Somerset cider brandy or

Dorset blue cheese to Cornish clotted cream, these are products

that would benefit from that promotion in overseas markets. It is

adding value to what our farmers and food producers are doing. His

Conservative counterpart, Ashley Fox, also insists that much

worthwhile work goes on here. I work on the Internal Market Committee and

what we aim to do is to complete the single market, that market of 500

million people, that we can trade and do business with. And I worked

on a consumer protection dossier that aims to signify and reduce the

burdens on businesses of consumer protection. But not everybody voting

on the week's wide`ranging business is quite as enthusiastic. William

Dartmouth, UKIP MEP and candidate, says the agenda is certainly packed,

but not with good things. I have just had a quick look through the

agenda and there was only one beneficial item and that is

requiring members of the European Parliament to be much more

transparent than they have been hitherto in their dealings with

lobbyists. That is the only one good thing. The rest is a complete waste.

Not just a waste of time but it is also job destructive and prosperity

destructive for the UK. It is a rather green place, this. But some

think it should be greener still. As the Green Party, yes, we are keen

that environmental protection is strengthened but we're also

interested in where power is exercised. Europe has a rather nasty

word, subsidiarity, which nonetheless I think is a very strong

green principal, which is about exercising power at the lowest

appropriate level. Greenery is also on the mind of the Labour candidate.

The Greens incidentally beat Labour in the south`west at the last

European elections. For example, the way we have done in Cornwall, which

is funded with European money, and the fact that wave technology is the

next generation of environmental`friendly energy

sources, and we are in a position in this region to lead the world in

this technology and the development of it and we need to be sure that we

do not miss that opportunity. As the present MEPs walk into the

Strasbourg sunset, we must now set about the business of choosing their

successors. There are three other parties

standing in the South West: An Independence from Europe, the

English Democrats and the British National Party. The full list of

candidates is available on the BBC website. Next week, Martyn will be

looking at the European Union's finances.

On to sport and, in rugby, the Exeter Chiefs wing Jack Nowell is to

have surgery on his knee and shoulder next week which will keep

him out of England's summer tour to New Zealand. The 21`year`old, from

Newlyn, played for his country in all the Six Nations games this year,

scoring his first international try against Italy. Nowell missed the

start of the current campaign with a damaged knee, but the Chiefs expect

him to be fit for the start of next season.

A teenager who was paralysed following a motocross accident says

he never gave up hope of riding again. Spencer Watts, who's 18,

spent five months in hospital after he was injured at the age of 15. But

now his dream is to race again on a specially adapted bike. Spotlight's

Carole Madge has the story. For young Spencer Watts, motocross

has always been his passion. At the age of 15 he fractured his spine in

an accident and it looked like his riding career was over. He told me

that I would never be able to walk again and I would never be able to

ride again. And my response to that was, whatever it took, I would be

back on a bike, whether it be in five months' time or in two years'

time. My legs tuck in either side here. My back brake is here. The

front brake is here. And this is Spencer's solution ` a uniquely

adapted motocross bike. But conditions are challenging.

Especially when it is wet like this, I could go out there and fall off on

the first corner. That is what worries me. You would have to lay

there and wait for somebody to come and pick you up! It gets the

adrenaline going. In conditions like this, the riders use their feet to

keep them upright. Spencer has to rely on skill and technique. To

start off with it was really hard, to keep balance, for instance. For

an able`bodied person, it is hard. Gearing, changing gear, it is quite

a tricky thing to get used to. Nothing stands in his way. I

couldn't believe it. He gets himself out of his wheelchair, he bumps

himself up. Instead of going, I can't do that. And now Spencer has

another goal in his sights. He wants to start competing again. I rode

from the age of eight years old. It is just something that I would never

want to give up. It's just awesome, really. It's just great to ride.

Now, for the story of one couple's love of trains and just how far

their hobby has taken them! Roger and Barbara Stimpson from Devon have

spent a lot of money and time creating their own model railway.

Yes, ?32,000, ten years and 'model railway' probably doesn't do it

justice! Both have serious illnesses and now want the county's air

ambulance to benefit from their creation. Spotlight's Andrea Ormsby

has been to take a look. Out with the lawn and in with the

rails. It took three tonnes of concrete to lay this track in Roger

and Barbara Stimpson's backyard, and it is as long as the football field.

We have been married for 54 years which we are both very proud of. ``

55 years. We both love the same things so we can't argue about

what's wrong and what's right. I just say 'yes dear'! That's the way

to have a perfect marriage. As if having this in your back garden

isn't enough, what about the 50`foot long model railway in the loft? We

get used to it, don't we? Yeah. It's just normal to us. To a lot of

people it is a surprise. They are quite shocked when they go into the

loft and see it. We have air conditioning and carpeting too. The

house and garden are full of model railways and carriages. They have

replicas of the Eurostar, First Great Western and a reproduction of

the Babbacombe Cliff Railway in Torquay. Everything, Barb has done

herself. I just carried it up to the loft and Barb's just built at all.

Anything I build is rubbish and ends up being taken to bits. Anything

Barb builds is perfect first time. LAUGHTER

Roger and his wife are ill and have both had to use the Devon air

ambulance. Now, to show their gratitude, they want to open their

home to the public on June the 15th to raise money for the charity.

Now we were talking about the health of the region early and have had

e`mails. Thank you for your comments. Mark was quickest to

respond, he is obviously very fit! He says at 68, he cycles 20 males

per day, four days a week. Keep the comments coming. David is here with

the weather. We have had reasonable temperatures,

but we have had showers. They are already dying away tonight. A

slightly different problem tomorrow. It will be dry, but misty with the

risk of fog patches. Recently, some sunny spells, then rain spreading

in. Don't be disappointed because the news is good for the weekend.

Here is a circle of cloud. That is the low pressure moving towards us

that will bring rain tomorrow, nudging to Cornwall in the middle of

the day and spilling across us through the afternoon. As that low

pressure begins to move away through Thursday and into Friday, we have an

area of high pressure to replace it. From the coasts of Spain and

Iceland, the pressure will bring is nice weather for the weekend and

bank holiday Monday. The satellite picture shows you what we have seen

today, but just some showers left today. Early, we had some fine

weather and a bit of blue sky to enjoy. Whence had been light ``

winds, and it has been a pleasant day indeed with the top temperature

of 16 Celsius. We make to get those figures again tomorrow, but for the

most part, temperatures are down. Tonight we will have lengthy clear

spells once the showers fade, but low cloud will form and it might be

marquee tomorrow morning with temperatures as low as seven Celsius

`` murky. The best place for prolonged sunshine will be Devon.

Temperatures, well getting up to 16 Celsius, will be towards the North.

That is the force cast `` forecast for the Isles of Scilly. Here are

the times of high water. For sufferers, it is likely to be choppy

along the north coast between three and four feet along the south

coast. The forecast for the coastal waters is three or four at first,

but the ring westerly and packing up force. Thursday is very showy,

widespread across the region, but try on Friday and fine as we head

into the weekend. Have a nice weekend.

The next update is that PM and at 10:25pm. Goodbye. `` 8pm.