06/05/2014 Spotlight

A highly respected serviceman ` more tributes are paid to Corporal James

Walters whose body was among five flown home from Afghanistan today.

Good evening. Welcome to Spotlight. It was one of the biggest single

losses of British troops in the conflict. The 36`year`old from

Cornwall died along with his comrades in a helicopter crash.

We'll report from the base where the plane touched down. Also tonight:

The football referee who needed hospital treatment after being

attacked by a player. The team has now withdrawn from the League.

Donald Distin said he was shocked by what happened to him. It should be

treated as a criminal offence. The police are investigating an hour. I

think there may be a prison sentence possibly. And a warning about a team

of scammers who've been persuading people to part with thousands of

pounds in cash. The families of five servicemen killed in a helicopter

crash in Afghanistan have been at the RAF base where his body, and

those of his four comrades, arrived home today. Among those who were

repatriated was Corporal James Walters who came from Leedstown near

Hayle. An investigation is underway into the cause of the fatal crash `

the first in the conflict involving a British military helicopter.

Carole Madge reports The body of Corporal James Walters was one of

five servicemen which arrived back at RAF Brize Norton today. They were

killed when a Lynx helicopter crashed in southern Afghanistan last

month. Corporal Walters group near Leedstown. He had been in the Army

for 18 years. Most recently, with the Army Air Corps. And lining the

streets, the largest such gathering for the last two years. Corporal

Walters commanding officer said he was well respected, always liked,

and then tour and a friend to the less experienced members of the

units. He said he was never afraid to face the challenges of operations

in Afghanistan. The families also gathered to pay their respects as

the five were driven through the town. Corporal Walters leaves a

widow and a baby daughter. His family described him as a beautiful

and loving husband, daddy, Sun and brother. The BBC's Jon Kay has been

at Brize Norton today. There may be sunshine here now, but it was not

like that of the cortege came through. And the very moment the

nurses arrived the sky turned black and heavens opened. That's really

suited the mood here. It was very sombre and a very poignant occasion.

Family and friends here from Cornwall were here to remember

Corporal James Walters. But there were five different families here to

number five servicemen. They had all fallen. There are five different

groups of friends travelled `` who travelled from the Midlands, South

Wales and the south`east of England. Many of the families said they took

great comfort in being able to support one another. They also took

great comfort in the fact that we are there were people from the

surrounding community who turned out. These were strangers. They

turned out to pay their respects. The Football Association has told

BBC Spotlight there should be the "strongest possible sanction" for an

assault on a referee in an amateur match in Devon. Donald Distin

suffered serious injuries when he was punched in the face in front of

dozens of spectators. In his first television interview, he spoke to

our home affairs correspondent Simon Hall. You may find some of the

pictures in his report distressing Spectators said the attack on Don

Distin was the worst they had witnessed on a football field. He

has to have more x`rays and see a doctor and dentist after being

punched by Grant Hardwick in an unprovoked assault. The intros were

dramatic. Quite serious. But they can get better, but emotionally, I

am still upset. The attack happened at Ashburton's gram on Saturday and

there is a `` and they took on Hardwick's team. He was playing on a

false name, something which is an utterly common. He was sent off for

assaulting another referee. He has since apologised. I would not except

that apology. What you have done after the fact is just awful. It

should not happen in football. Simple as that. You do not put a

referee. You don't punch anybody. Not if it is a kids and women. It

should be treated as a criminal offence, police are actually

investigating it now. He needs to be shown that something is being done.

He needs a prison sentence possibly. In a statement is the football

Association said we urge for police and criminal justice system to bring

the strong as possible sanction for what is a criminal offence.

I spoke to Grant Hardwick on the phone and he said he did not want to

be interviewed until he had spoken to his solicitor. He did say he was

cooperating fully with the police investigation that he intended to

make a formal apology for what he had done. Mr Distin is now

considering whether to give up refereeing. A Polish man has

appeared before Plymouth crown court charged with a burglary in which

documents relating to Navy subs and warships were allegedly stolen.

Marcin Kostrzewna was told he may face charges under the Official

Secrets Act following the break`in at his neighbour's home in Ker

Street. The 31`year`old who works as a night foreman pleaded not guilty.

He was remanded in custody. It's claimed the future of a hospital in

Cornwall is under threat because there will be less money for health

and social care in the county in the next two years. That's despite

Government figures which appear to show funding is increasing. The

warning about St Michael's in Hayle comes from the patients' group

Health Initiative Cornwall. David George has been looking at the

details. Saint Michael's Hospital in Hayle. The care he is widely praised

by patients, but the future of this 48 bed hospital is once again in

question according to the patient group Health Initiative Cornwall.

The care quality mission Ajit said in a report that they cannot

understand how they are able to deliver services across three sites.

The site that appears to be the one which is at risk is a Michael's. So

it does give me concern about the future of said Michael's Hospital.

In a 13 page document the authors say they have looked at all the

health money which comes into Cornwall and all the debt repayments

and surpluses which come out of it. To produce figures which have not

been publicly available before. When you factor in all of this deductions

that have been taking place as a result of having to give money to

Cornwall Council, having to return surpluses, additional

responsibilities for historic debts and loans in the health service, and

ultimately, Cornwall has suffered a 5.1% reduction in its allocation.

The report claims that in the last financial year, Cornwall's average

health care spending per person was ?1134. For the current financial

year, the average has increased to 1000, ?212 because of deductions to

pay off loans, overheads and VAT, that amounts will actually be more

like ?1136 per person, a reduction when inflation is taken into

account. For the 2015, 2016 year, they estimate the average amount

will drop below the scheduled amount of 1000 ?155. The Royal Cornwall

Hospital trust which runs Saint Michael's Hospital says they are

working on a plan to make better use of the bed space available here.

Meanwhile, our requests for interviews with some of the other

bodies involved have resulted in a sheaf of written responses. NHS says

it and Cornwall Council are both committed to integrating services to

reduce duplication and they say they have set an ambition to integrate

health and social care to bring together elements of the health and

social care budget that had been separate in the past. Cornwall

Council echoes that, saying they agree with some of the report's

findings on underfunding, but points out that it has to make huge savings

in itself. Our political editor joins us. Is Cornwall getting a fair

share of the national funding? NHS which divides up the funding, say

yes. They said the funding formula focuses purely on the health needs

of an area, its use a more detailed level of information and ever

before, taking into account key health factors will stop and let me

ask them who wants to be the next Labour MP, if it is the case that

Cornwallis getting a fair share, he was reluctant to disagree with NHS

England. I'm not sure that you can say that, in the sense that Health

England are looking at all these issues quite well. But, it would be

better to have more transparency, but in the end, it is about

allocation of scarce resources and if too much money spent on

management and managing resources, rather than providing health care

directly to the old and the ill, then of course that is a waste. The

Conservative MP for Truro was also sceptical as to whether the figures

in this report could be verified. There was no hesitation over Lib Dem

MP for Saint Ives, Andrew George who sits in the Commons health select

committee. Is a pull something I been saying for some time. The

result of underfunding has left a legacy of ?220 million which the

Government has not given us which we deserve. When you have little trust

with a multi`million pound debt, quite frankly, we should have that

debt written off. This to seem familiar doesn't it? Familiar to

Andrew George, but also to the rest of us. In a broader sense, because

coalition MPs in the south`west are constantly complaining that the

regional and rule parts of the region do not get a fair share of

police funding, fire service funding, local authority grants,

money for schools. The Government acknowledges the problem with school

funding, and says it is putting that right. But all of the complaint in

the other areas seem to fall on deaf ears in Whitehall. You're watching

spotlight. Later in the programme ` the countdown begins. 500 days until

the Rugby World Cup comes to Devon ` the Chiefs get ready to play host.

And the Princess Royal embraces the old and the new in Clovelly. A

warning's been issued about a scam in which someone phones up posing as

a police officer. About 50 people are known to have been duped in

Devon and Cornwall, sometimes to the tune of tens of thousands of pounds.

Our South Devon reporter John Ayres explains how fraudsters are getting

people to part with their money. Eleanor Wilson is one of the lucky

ones. She was called by somebody posing as a police officer from

London claiming they had somebody in custody who had used one of her bank

cards. They wanted her to help them catch the people doing it. He said

what we would like you to do is put ?5,000 in your account, go to the

bank, draw it out, take it home and we'll get somebody to come and

collect it. Then I thought, there's something wrong here. The police

would never ask me to draw money out and keep it in the house. It is part

of a national fraud. Elderly and vulnerable people across Devon and

Cornwall have been targeted, but particularly in South Devon. The

police are now issuing advice. The police or the bank would never

contact a member of the public and ask for their cards or the PIN

number over the phone. The police or the banks would never go to a home

address and collect either cards or cash. Now the police believe the

number of people may have been caught out by the scams and are too

embarrassed to admit it. They are urging people to come forward saying

there is no embarrassment and this kind of information will help them

build up a picture of what is going on and provide more evidence. Mrs

Wilson has the support of her family, but she is now much more

wary. The police are keeping an eye on her to make sure she feels safe.

I had no idea there were so many scams going around. You don't think

of it at my age. God, years ago you could leave your front door open,

you could leave your back door open and nothing would happen. Anyone who

thinks they may have had a call like this is urged to contact the police.

Thousands of extra visitors have started arriving in Dorset as a

bumper cruise ship season gets underway. Portland Port, once a

naval base, is now a stop`off for international tourists and is

celebrating year`on`year increases in passenger numbers. A trade body

representing ports across the South West says business is going from

strength to strength. I got up nice and early to watch the first of the

ships come in to Dorset. Without a sound, 1,200 international tourists

arrive in Portland. That is until... But there is plenty to shout about

here. No celebrities or royalty, despite the Hollywood welcome.

Visitors coming ashore are of great value to the local economy. How

though, if they step off the boat and onto a coach? But they travel

far and wide. 25% of the passengers will go on an excursion further

afield but 50% of the passengers will stay local. They will use the

complimentary shuttle buses and go in and out of Weymouth. Every year

the number of cruise ships coming into Portland grows. They are

getting bigger and bringing more passengers. 24,000 people will come

through here now the season is underway. That is an increase of

5,000 on last year. But at the same time, 50`odd ships will visit the

Scilly Isles and Plymouth is looking at extending its offer. This points

to a growing industry in the south`west. If you get a cruise

liner of 2,000 passengers coming into a port or harbour and they all

go ashore and they all spend in the region of ?80 to ?100, that is a

considerable amount of money towards the local economy. What did you

think it was before you came here? ??yellowWe thought it was just a

port that we had to go through. Like customs. I like it. This is the

first time I've come through here. We have come back to find our

heritage. The berth may now be accommodated to accommodate even

larger ships as this business appears to inherit the Navy's

firepower from the past. So how did you get it? 6am! That is not early

for a postman. A little question for you ` what are you doing in the

autumn of 2015? Well, if you're a rugby fan, all eyes will be on

England, and for the first time ever, here on the South West.

Exeter's Sandy Park will host three matches in the group stage of the

Rugby World Cup, and Brent Pilnick has met the Chiefs' player today who

might be playing in one of them. Get your diaries out, because the dates

to buy tickets for the free world cup games being held in Exeter has

been announced. One of the chief's players is taking it home turf for

the first game here in September next year. Whereby cure my home

ground. It is exciting and looking forward to it. I can pretty much

guarantee will be packed. It will be a special moment. Fingers crossed.

The Rugby World Cup as a global audience of around four million and

Sandy Park is getting an upgrade ahead of the big tournaments. They

are really hosting three games in Exeter, but despite that, it is

going to be worth millions of pounds to the city's economy. We did a

short analysis of the one months ago about the impact on the economy

within the city. It comes in at about 5.6 million and that is about

50% of people who bought tickets staying overnight and the other 50%

day visitors. And that is an underestimation. It is not take into

account the visiting press and the staff officials. They merely stated

in a 40 metres World Cup rugby, but the impact on the city and here at

the chiefs, could be felt for years to come. Once owned by the King and

with plenty of royal connections in its long history, today came another

as Princess Anne visited Clovelly. She met families who also have a

long history in the area as they descend from those lost in one of

North Devon's worst fishing disasters nearly 200 years ago.

Leigh Rundle was at a ceremony held in their honour. On a calm day there

is arguably no finer place to be. But 176 years ago on October the

28th, and an unexpected storms swept across Bideford Bay, claiming the

lives of 21 local fishermen. Today, Clovelly held a commemorative

ceremony attended by Princess Anne, together with descendants of those

who perished. I great`great`grandfather was lost at

sea in the great storm in 38. They reckoned that a lot of sailors had

the earring and when they were drowned, they took the gold earring

and I was away paying for the funeral. They should not be

forgotten. It is essential the names are kept alive for future

generations. Otherwise these things gets forgotten that too easily. In

the aftermath of this terrible disaster, the shipwrecked mariners

society was born. Since then, it has helped hundreds and thousands of

seafarers and their families in need. It is celebrating its hundred

and 75th anniversary. Accompanied the unveiling, a song combo spice

Cornish singers. This is a memory of those who lost their lives. The

first baby swan, or cygnet, of the year has hatched at the Abbotsbury

Swannery in Dorset. The birds have laid more than 500 eggs this season.

The Swannery is the only place in the world where visitors can walk

through a colony of mute swans and see cygnets hatching. We are pleased

to say that we have a good start to the nesting season. We had a rotten

winter with storms, floods and the entire swannery was submerged in

February. But things are going well now. We have a 93 pairs that have

laid eggs and we are actually 11 days ahead of last year. It is nice

to see cygnets again. Quite the cast there. `` quite overcast there. Good

evening. For many of us, another reasonable day. And some sunshine as

well. Not everywhere. The general theme is unsettled,

breezy and with plenty of showers. Thursday will be all about

persistent rain and windy conditions to. So, no sign of any

high`pressure, no sign of anything settling down. We have no pressure,

which is not far from the southern half of Icelander. But gets closer

over the next 24 hours brings with it a scattering of showers. Later,

more weather fronts sweeping in from the Atlantic means more persistent

rain on Thursday. As a result, not overly warm either. Through the week

and we had temperatures up, but the next few days, between 13 and 15

degrees will be the top. Assign a mention, most of us had a nice day

today, but you can see a line of quite bright colour on there, that

is a line of showers which have been very slow moving through the

afternoon, not too far away from here and not too far from Exeter and

up towards the M5. Here, we have at some fairly hefty downpours of rain.

Those shells will fade away late on this evening and overnight tonight

for a while. More showers coming around the middle of the night, and

then, in yearly hours of the morning, the winds drop a little bit

apart from a few showers moving to the Bristol Channel, most of us will

get away with with a dry second off of the night. Temperature is not

falling much, so eight or 10 degrees tonight. Tomorrow, a blustery day

with plenty of showers dotted around. Again, they may well form

lines, so some of us could get drenched, others really will get

some sunshine. Brisk winds, so even though temperatures get to between

14 and maybe even 16 degrees, it will not feel very warm. Especially

along the coastline, where there will be a blustery or south`west

wind, which will hold temperatures down to 12 or 13 degrees. In the

hours of Scilly, expect a little bit shelter and 14 degrees, but it will

be a breezy day and some sunshine, but equally some sharp showers

developing. High water, along the north coast, . If you are heading

for surfing it is not good. It is fairly big, but pretty choppy. It

will be messy among the north coast sees and the other good news is the

seat and bridges come up due to the fine weather through the weekend.

Possibly at 11 or 12 degrees. The coastal waters forecast, winds

forced five or six, and visibility all the way through this week. There

may be as much as a force seven by tomorrow evening as a new area of

low pressure turns up. That is the one which will give us a miserable

day on Thursday. That can be quite a wet day with outbreaks of rain off

and on, low cloud and a bit misty as well. Temperatures not too bad.

Possibly up to 17 degrees with a bit of shelter. Maybe in Exeter or

Taunton. But for the rest of us, outbreaks of rain replaced by

showers on Friday and hopefully some sunshine in between the showers. It

does not last though. The weekend forecast is unsettled and with the

risk of shop showers. For the gardeners amongst us, bit of rain is

appreciated. Night time to beaches probably frost free, but certainly

unsettled over the four or five days. Have a good evening. That's

all from us this evening. We'll leave you now with a round up of the

action from the World Pilot Gig Championships which were held on the

Isles of Scilly over the Bank Holiday weekend. Have a good

evening. Bye for now. Not too much sloppy water, just nice

and calm. That is what we like. It is a bit of a challenge. A perfect.

`` but perfect. Nobody could have foreseen under way this has grown.

People come down on holiday to Cornwall, see them, fall in love

with it and want it for themselves. It has spread and spread.

at the European elections on May the 22nd.

even though that would wreck the recovery and destroy jobs.

The Conservatives are now openly flirting with exit.

they just don't have the courage of their convictions on this.