11/01/2017 Spotlight

That's all from the BBC News at Six, so it's goodbye from me

Tonight, a murder investigation is launched after an early-morning

It was found in this playground in St Austell.

Three men have been arrested on suspicion of murder.

Also tonight, calls for a fresh inquiry into the death of a man

Josh Clayton's family say they have no confidence in Devon and Cornwall

Police after the inquest was abruptly halted.

The first golfer to win all three major English

women's amateur titles - and she's live here

in the studio - we'll be talking to Cornwall's Sammie Giles.

Some wintry weather coming our away but I will be telling you just how

much snow we are going to be getting later on in the programme.

Three local men have been arrested in connection with the murder

The man's body was found near a children's play area and officers

have been carrying out enquiries throughout the day.

In the last few moments police have taken down the cordons behind me but

there has been intense police activity here in Saint Austell and

it has been a fast paced murder investigation. The body of a man was

bound in the park behind me at 5am and a few hours later police

announced they had arrested three local men in connection with the

case. This tent marks the spot where the

body of a man was found by a member of the public. Dozens of police

officers arrived at the park just after 5am. The whole area was

cordoned off. Turo Road, Bridge Road

and Edgecombe Road have all been I have spoken to Detective Inspector

who is part of that team, who has confirmed that a 24-year-old man,

22-year-old man and a 21-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion

of murder and are in custody. People living in the nearby block of flats

say they are shocked. The flashing lights of the police cars work me up

at 6:20am. We did not what -- not know what was going on until we

heard on the radio. I thought St Austell was a pretty safe area, I

have only just moved here. Last week as well, because there was a death

up the road. I didn't think it was this rough to be honest, I woke up

and I was like on oh my God. So I am quite worried. The police are

appealing for witnesses, they say they would like to speak to anybody

who heard or saw anything suspicious, but they have confirmed

that they are not looking for anybody else in connection with the

incident. House-to-house enquiries continue.

So far we know very little about the man who died but police say a

forensic postmortem examination is being carried out on his body to

establish the cause of death and next of kin are being informed. Only

then will the police revealed the name and age of the man who lost his

life. -- the police reveal. The family of a 23-year-old bar

manager from Taunton who went missing on the Isles of Scilly

are calling for a fresh Josh Clayton's body was found

on rocks near Tresco in September 2015, ten days after leaving a party

on the island. His family have said they have no

confidence in Devon and Cornwall Police.

Josh's family turned up for day three of this inquest,

not sure which direction it would take.

Yesterday, Leroy Thomas, who works as a painter and decorator

on the Isle of Tresco, who had been at that party that

Josh was last seen at, told the court that he saw Josh

in an argument with a group of foreign men.

Up until this point, Devon and Cornwall Police

have treated the case as a missing person enquiries.

Josh's body was found ten days later, washed up

A postmortem found no drugs in his system and alcohol equivalent to 2.5

times the driving limit, but cause of death could not be confirmed.

The barrister representing the family said right

from the outset that they voiced their concerns about

We heard how a potentially key piece of evidence,

a bloodstained shirt found on Josh's body, had not been retained

Today the barrister called for the case to be

referred to the Director of Public Prosecutions and said

the family had no confidence in Devon and Cornwall Police

to conduct an effective investigation.

The barrister representing Devon and Cornwall Police said that

everybody who attended the party that night had been spoken to,

and nobody had mentioned the altercation involving Josh before.

He said they'd also spoken to Mr Thomas on two previous

occasions, and this new account would now need to be corroborated.

The inquest has been adjourned and suspended

Now a look at some of the other news around the South West.

Staffing cuts at a Devon prison are damaging prospects

according to an Independent Monitoring Board.

It also found that a smoking ban at Channings Wood near Newton Abbot

appeared to have led to an increase in drug use and illegal

There are calls for Plymouth to introduce a food-waste collection

service when it starts fortnightly bin collections in May.

The Plymouth Food Waste Partnership says weekly food collections

A Cornish MP is calling for the Government's help

in opposing plans for a so-called super quarry on the Lizard.

The Conservative, Derek Thomas, says proposals for Dean Quarry

Campaigners will return to court later this month to oppose it.

The quarry's owners say they have nothing to add at this time.

The Conservative MP for Totnes, Sarah Wollaston, is calling

for the NHS to take over responsibility from councils to deal

with "social care" for elderly and disabled people.

She told the Commons a pilot scheme in Torbay is under threat.

A woman from Devon has named runner up at the regional

finals of the School Chef of the Year competition.

Catherine Deane, who works at Yealmpton Primary School,

was highly commended for her Fish Thai Green Curry.

A man has gone on trial in Somerset for sex offences alleged to have

been committed when he was just ten years old.

It's claimed that 31-year-old Andrew Margetts was actually

abusing children younger than himself when he was just eight

- but he can't be tried for that because he was below the age

of criminal responsibility at the time.

It is the prosecution's case that Andrew Margetts

was a sexually precocious, physically developed

and disturbed child with an obsessive interest in sex.

At Taunton Crown Court Margetts denies 23 charges, including rape,

sexual activity with a child and false imprisonment.

The alleged offences involved three victims,

two girls and a boy who were aged between six and 11 at the time.

The prosecution say these are just specimen offences and in reality

Margetts abused his victims hundreds of times for more than ten years.

Barrister Sean Brunton told the jury that this was a serious,

highly unusual, shocking case, complicated, he said,

by the fact that Margetts was actually below the age

of criminal responsibility, ten, when some of the alleged

It's claimed he tied up some of his victims at times,

threatening them with a knife if they told anyone.

The prosecution say his actions only came to light when one of those

involved told her mother two years ago.

In court today a woman, now aged 27, who claims she was abused

by Margetts many times as a young child, gave evidence from behind

Under cross-examination, many times it was put to her,

Andrew Margetts denies all the charges against him.

Rural communities in the South West are disadvantaged when it comes

to caring for people with dementia according to a new study

A number of families in Devon were interviewed as part

of the research, which has identified problems of isolation

and safety for those dealing with the condition.

Our Environment Correspondent Adrian Campbell reports.

Sitting around the dining-room table, this South Devon farming

family are looking back to happy times.

Eric Smerdon farmed near Rattery in South Devon

and was a keen contributor to community life.

His family recall him coming to see how construction

was going when the village hall was built 20 years ago.

Eric's family say that in his later years he struggled

Regardless of the time of year he could always see snow outside,

you know, he'd look out the window and he'd say that there's

That appeared to be something, you know, which sort

Eric didn't sleep well and I used to say, I think you need to get

up and see the sheep, if they're lambing and things,

and they weren't, but he would wake up in the night, thinking things

Luckily I forget a lot of it and I'm glad I do.

The study by Plymouth University highlights the risks in isolated

places, with many dangers, including heavy machinery

Relatives do most of the caring but others in the wider

There are people who come to the farm regularly who can

also help, actually, as part of that informal network

of support, so people like vets, people like feed merchants,

tanker drivers, who often come to the farm on a regular basis,

can actually help to spot when things are not quite right,

help to raise a concern with the key people who need to know.

And it won't be prime ministers and it won't be

strategies that change this, it will be people living

The study says families are reluctant to ask for support

but all of us need to be aware of dementia and how to help.

An amateur golfer from Cornwall is planning to turn professional,

we'll be talking to Sammie Giles in a moment.

The project to rescue bats, we'll meet one woman

who's turned her attic into a home for them.

# Oh, come with me to the rolling sea...

We'll meet the man behind the music on this children's TV favourite.

A former dairy which has been derelict for almost a decade

is about to be transformed into homes, businesses and leisure

space providing jobs and affordable homes.

Turning an old creamery into a space for the community has been dubbed

a project by the people for the people.

The Dairy Crest site in Totnes closed in 2007,

Now a community group has taken over and has plans

and financial backing to breathe new life into the site.

Ten years ago Dairy Crest was an important employer in Totnes.

Atmos Totnes is run by local people who

have taken over the site and secured a community right-to-build order.

It meant the people who lived here decided for themselves whether this

scheme should go ahead rather than the planners.

Something that hopefully has some iconic sort of architecture

in it in some respects, liveable architecture

in other respects, so it is comfortable, like a...

I don't want to say like an old pair of shoes but

I'm going to say it, like an old pair of shoes.

Somewhere you know that you can go, you know the offer

is going to be a good quality offer, yeah, somewhere for the whole

The plan is to provide a community area which will

have a hotel, affordable homes and employment space which will link

The scheme is by the people for the people, not a developer

This site will be owned by the community in the

majority of the sense and what that means is the buildings can serve

this community and can evolve with this community.

It means any return that comes through this building can

That is obviously partly to service the

site itself but it also means that this community control

what happens with any profit that comes from

running this site or any monies that come from that.

Work to clear this site will start in the summer.

Once that is done it should take about five years to build.

Somerset is a haven for bats - a specialist conservation area

And now a new group's been set up there to help rescue the threatened

mammals and release them back into the wild.

Frome Bat Care takes in bats which have been grounded or injured.

Pam Caulfield has been to meet one of its trained volunteers.

The thought of having bats in your home might scare you,

She's been taking them in for the past year,

converting her attic into a bat cave.

We've got some whiskered, some pipistrelles, some Natterer's,

and they do nung-nung-nung all night, you can hear them,

but not at the moment, because they're hibernating.

She's rescued around 60 bats and currently

She is licensed to handle them, so we're allowed a quick look,

but if you find bats in your home don't disturb them,

Sometimes they wake up when it's warm and they think

there will be insects around, so I have to still feed them.

And Liz has to sift a lot of mealworms.

The most common pipistrelles species can eat up to

With the babies needing round-the-clock care,

she even took one to a wedding hidden in her outfit.

And the little baby, it was about as big as my thumbnail,

really, and it was on milk, so I spoke to my trainer.

She said, you pop them in a little bag inside your front,

tuck them down, and then tuck the milk the other side,

because that will keep it warm, and then disappear into the loo

They only take a few drops, it doesn't take long,

then you pop them all back in and they're quite happy.

Because in the wild they're tucked under their mum's wing.

In the spring her spare room becomes a flight training centre,

I mean, that's what it's all about, isn't it,

putting them back in the wild, so that none of my grandchildren can

They may look scary to us but bats themselves are under threat.

We've become more developed in Britain, we've become more

mechanised, more intensive with our farming and we've

used pesticides as well, which have all impacted on bats,

so they've seriously declined, about 97% since the last war.

It's hoped with a bit of care and compassion that

I wonder if you can name many female golfing greats.

Well, if you can, to add to that list may be our next guest,

Sammy Giles from Saltash is 22 years old and is the first golfer to win

all three major English women's amateur titles.

I hope I have got your age right. Yes. Last night you said you weren't

going to turn professional. I just thought it was time, I have achieved

everything I want to achieve as an amateur. You have one so much. Yes,

I think golf is a difficult sport to win in, you have the whole sport to

compete against, there is no draw like in tennis. Which trophy have

you brought in? This is the English amateur closed championship that I

won last season. How much of a step up visit from amateur to

professional? It will be a lot more travelling. I travel a lot around

the UK for the tournaments but next year only one tournament is based in

the UK, the rest are abroad, so it will be more expensive and getting

used to flights and a whole new bunch of people. What sort of help

have you had along the way? Any young person watching Will think, I

would like to do that, but have you had any help in the South West? Yes,

I have had a lot of good coaching, my coach Dominic is awesome, and my

parents were really helpful with me. My school were great when I was at

school, helping me out. I think I have got a lot of support. That

moves up to a whole new level if you turn professional. You talked about

travelling, how much effort is there in mobilising a team around you to

help you go professional? It is definitely a different situation,

turning professional. I am not sure how we will completely go about it

yet, we sorting it out. Yesterday was the first step to apply for my

access to a card and soon I will find out the status of that and then

once you know where you are you can start planning better. It is almost

like a circle, because you have to be successful on the professional

circuit to gain the support and the financial backing. Exactly. A lot of

people I have spoken to have said, we are really impressed by what you

have done as an amateur, but get back to us when you have done

something as a professional. It is difficult to make that jump but

hopefully I will have a good season next year. Ultimate goal? I would

love to play in the Salter cup for Europe.

For most Dogger, Cromarty, Portland and Fastnet are locations

in the shipping forecast, but for some of us they'll bring

back other memories of characters in the children's TV series

The programme first aired in the early '80s and the footage

and music has now been sold to a company in America.

Alexis Green has been to meet the man who co-wrote the music.

The 1980s saw the birth of a large number of children's TV programmes,

Button Moon, Bananaman, Postman Pat and many, many more,

but one that sticks firmly in my memory is based

on this lighthouse, The Adventures Of Portland Bill.

# Oh, come with me to the rolling sea

# While the weather's calm and still.

It was the brainchild of John Grace, who taught

TV animation to graphic design students in the 1970s and 1980s.

Sadly John passed away in 2004 but his colleague Mitt Parsons, who

lives in Bournemouth, co-wrote the music.

John entered a photographic competition and won the competition

and it's based on these three plasticine characters, Portland

And as a result he was contacted by the

company who made the Wombles and Paddington.

Graham Clutterbuck, the director, asked him if he would like

to make a series, and John said, well, I will write all the story

script, and, Mik, would you like to write the music?

So we kind of collaborated, it was quite a nice

project to work on while we were teaching at the same time.

Ross was having a terrible time trying to

Most of the characters were named after sea

areas and coastal stations around the British Isles, mentioned in the

West 40s, Cromarty, Forth, Tyne, Dogger.

There were two series, 26 stories, and I think the theme tune was the

most memorable. # Oh, come with me to the rolling

sea while the weather's calm and still. Dot.

It is very much a cult thing so it has lasted years, and sometimes my

students will come to me and say, did you write the music to Portland

Bill? I think, that was 30 years ago!

I think we have somebody who has heard it for the first time here.

Yes, but I know the names from the shipping forecast.

Any snow? I think we will get a little bit,

not too bad. That might be my Michael Fish moment. We have had a

lot of sunshine today. It is all change as we go through tomorrow,

very cold and windy. Through the bulk of the day it will be rain but

as the weather system moves eastwards there is the risk of some

rain turning to sleep and snow. The main risk will be tomorrow night

into Friday. It is worth keeping an eye on your local radio forecast. I

think we will see some ice and snow showers, so it is worth keeping

up-to-date. We have the north westerly flow, the winds will ease

as we go through tonight, they were fairly gusty winds today. This

weather system has been giving us a bit of a headache. It seems the bulk

of that will fall as rain but as it moves further east parts of Dorset

and Somerset, we could get snow over high ground. Anything that falls out

of the sky on Friday is likely to be wintry and we also have the risk of

some ice first thing on Friday. Very little changes into the weekend,

Saturday, marginally lighter winds, the risk of wintry showers, but it

turns my other through Sunday. We have had a fair bit of sunshine

across the South West, a bit more cloud wishing in over the last few

hours, relatively quiet for the first part of the night, the winds

gradually easing through the evening. The bulk of the rain will

come through the day tomorrow but with the breeze and the cloud

temperature is not getting too low, four or 5 degrees. Then we start to

get the rain pushing in. Initially it is rain, heavy at times, but when

it clears eastwards on the back edge of that it could turn to sleep and

snow, particularly for parts of Dorset, Somerset we could see a

couple of temperatures. For most of us it will be over high ground. Much

colder air behind so we could see some wintry showers. I think the

temperatures will be colder than this with the strength of the winds.

For the Isles of Scilly, most of us will see it falling as rain. The

winds will be quite strong and gusty, 30 to 40 mph at times. In

terms of our surfing forecast, I wouldn't recommend going out, very

messy along the north coast, big waves quite widely across the

south-west. South-westerly through to north westerly for the coastal

winds. A lot happening over the next couple of days, it is worth keeping

an eye on the forecast. Tomorrow, fairly heavy rain, turning

increasingly wintry. Then the cold air starts to dig in, so the risk of

ice on Friday with some wintry showers, but turning milder for the

weekend. You are up to date so far but there

will be late news at 10:30pm. We are back with Spotlight tomorrow at

6:30pm.