Episode 1

Download Subtitles

Transcript

:00:18. > :00:21.Hello and welcome to That's Britain. Over the next four weeks, we are

:00:21. > :00:26.here to help you let off steam about the things in modern Britain

:00:26. > :00:32.that drive us up the wall. From roadworks, to recycling, we will

:00:32. > :00:35.get to the bottom of whatever makes you grumpy. On That's Britain

:00:35. > :00:42.tonight: Grainne Seoige asks whether we are a nation drowning in

:00:42. > :00:46.junk mail. We go on the hunt for Britain's most perilous pothole.

:00:46. > :00:51.Stanley Johnson tests whether we are a nation of secret say mar tans

:00:51. > :00:57.with a hidden camera sting. EastEnders' Shaun Williamson

:00:57. > :01:03.campaigns to bring back the bus conductor -- say mar tans. There

:01:03. > :01:08.they are, our team of intrepid reporters who will be travelling to

:01:08. > :01:14.length and breadth of the country to try and fix "Broken Britain".

:01:14. > :01:19.Stanley Johnson, Grainne Seoige and Shaun Williamson. Each week we have

:01:19. > :01:23.a report from our special investigator, Ade Edmondson. He's

:01:23. > :01:27.got an access all areas pass to see how Britain works, or sometimes

:01:27. > :01:32.doesn't. Tonight, he slipped past airport security to find out what

:01:32. > :01:40.happens to our luggage when we kiss it goodbye at the airport. We want

:01:40. > :01:44.to hear from you. It is your show. This is our WordWall. Yes! We know

:01:44. > :01:48.it often feels as if you are talking to the wall and you are on

:01:48. > :01:52.That's Britain! The wall talks back. You tell us what is driving you mad

:01:52. > :01:58.and our magic wall turns your gripes into grumpy graffiti.

:01:58. > :02:03.want to know what is getting your goat - queues, fly-tippers,

:02:03. > :02:07.Christmas? If it is getting on your nerves, we want it on our wall. The

:02:07. > :02:11.more e-mails we get, the bigger the word is on the wall. You have been

:02:11. > :02:18.e-mailing us all week. This is what is irritating Britain right now. So

:02:18. > :02:21.far, you are grumpy about - Tube drivers... That's because they are

:02:21. > :02:27.talking about going on strike on Boxing Day. I can understand that

:02:27. > :02:30.one. Bus lanes. Express checkouts. Small one on the left. I don't like

:02:31. > :02:35.express checkouts because I like people. I like people so we agree

:02:35. > :02:38.on that one. Queues at petrol stations. They have turned them

:02:38. > :02:43.into shopping centres! People get their petrol and go off shopping

:02:43. > :02:49.for 20 minutes. I don't get the squeaky bottles. What is going on

:02:49. > :02:55.there? We will find out. Lots of people are upset about it. We will

:02:55. > :02:59.be updating the wall later in the show. So keep the e-mails coming in

:02:59. > :03:04.by going to bbc.co.uk/thatsbritain. Or e-mailing

:03:04. > :03:08.talktothewall@bbc.co.uk and put the thing getting your goat in the

:03:08. > :03:11.title of the e-mail. You can tell us why in the body of the e-mail

:03:11. > :03:15.but put the word you want on the word in the title space. No

:03:15. > :03:19.politics or people's names. Our names might pop up quickly! Of

:03:19. > :03:25.course, you can join in with everything we are talking about by

:03:25. > :03:29.tweeting us - @bbcthatsbritain or go to our Facebook page. One of the

:03:29. > :03:33.things you have been talking to the wall about is junk mail. According

:03:33. > :03:37.to Which? Magazine, we are bombarded with 11 billion pieces of

:03:37. > :03:44.junk mail a year. 11 billion! To give you some idea of the numbers

:03:44. > :03:47.that we are dealing with, that much paper weighs the same as 50,000

:03:47. > :03:52.double-decker buses. Ridiculous! Why do we get so much of it? More

:03:52. > :03:56.importantly, can we stop it? Grainne Seoige has been to

:03:56. > :04:00.investigate. Direct mail or junk mail drives many of us around the

:04:00. > :04:06.bend. We don't ask for it. You have no interest in reading it. It never

:04:06. > :04:10.has to throw it away. Who is responsible for this growing pile

:04:10. > :04:15.of waste paper and how do companies get hold of our details to target

:04:15. > :04:19.us? The answer might surprise you. How do you feel about junk mail?

:04:19. > :04:24.despise it. Don't like it. I never look at it. It goes into the

:04:24. > :04:28.recycling. Do you get a lot of junk mail? Yeah, much too much.

:04:28. > :04:32.don't like it? No. It is a waste of trees! You may think those piles on

:04:32. > :04:35.your doormat are growing and you would be right. Until a year ago

:04:36. > :04:41.there was a cap on how many pieces the Royal Mail could deliver to

:04:41. > :04:45.your home. The bar was set at three a week but then the limits were

:04:45. > :04:50.axed. Royal Mail can deliver as much as they want. I have recruited

:04:50. > :04:53.some help from the kind residents of the North London suburb of Stoke

:04:53. > :04:56.Newington. They will stockpile their junk mail and keep tabs on

:04:56. > :05:01.the amount of it that comes through their doors. I hope they have

:05:01. > :05:05.plenty of room for storage. Some days I only get junk mail. I don't

:05:05. > :05:10.get ordinary post any more! haven't opened it up until now. It

:05:10. > :05:14.is going straight in the bin. when it is finished with, junk mail

:05:14. > :05:18.is a sizeable monster to dispose of. A staggering 11 billion pieces are

:05:18. > :05:22.delivered every year, that is five million dead trees, or chopping

:05:22. > :05:27.down an area the size of Epping Forest annually. Junk mail is the

:05:27. > :05:30.gift that keeps on giving so someone must think it is a good

:05:30. > :05:33.idea otherwise why would we keep getting it? I have come to the

:05:33. > :05:36.place that celebrates junk mail, the Direct Marketing Association

:05:36. > :05:43.represents hundreds of companies sending unsolicited advertising

:05:43. > :05:49.into our homes. How can this be good business practice? Advertising

:05:49. > :05:53.mail generates �16 billions of sales each year and about 300,000

:05:53. > :05:57.jobs. You believe it works as a form of advertising? Absolutely it

:05:57. > :06:02.does. More than 17 million people purchase from a catalogue in the

:06:02. > :06:04.last 12 months and when it is well targeted, it is particularly

:06:04. > :06:07.effective. It's been said to us that without this type of

:06:07. > :06:11.advertising, there would be no Royal Mail. Is that what you are

:06:11. > :06:15.suggesting? I think that is very true. More than a quarter of the

:06:15. > :06:21.revenue that the Royal Mail generates is from advertisers and

:06:21. > :06:26.if you took that revenue out, it would be unsustainable. Even some

:06:26. > :06:29.of those who actually push junk mail through our letterboxs have

:06:29. > :06:34.recognised the Royal Mail's dependency on it. This postie asked

:06:34. > :06:39.us not to reveal his identity. probably deliving 2,000 to 3,000

:06:39. > :06:44.items of junk mail a week. It is like the Royal Mail are competing

:06:44. > :06:48.for the least lucrative market which is junk mail. In Stoke

:06:48. > :06:52.Newington, how is our junk mail spot check going? What our

:06:52. > :06:57.householders are finding is they are receiving a mix of hand-

:06:57. > :07:00.delivered advertising sheets from local businesses and unaddressed

:07:00. > :07:08.and directly addressed material delivered by the Royal Mail.

:07:08. > :07:13.Catalogues. Estate agents. Food. Improving the home. Gardeners. More

:07:13. > :07:15.builders. How do businesses that we haven't given our personal details

:07:15. > :07:20.to get hold of them? That information can come from an

:07:20. > :07:23.unlikely source. It's someone who has to know where we live - the

:07:23. > :07:29.Government. They are selling an edited version of the electoral

:07:30. > :07:33.register which contains our names and addresses. That is how Direct

:07:33. > :07:36.Marketing Companies know who we are and where we live. I'm going to see

:07:36. > :07:41.Caroline Spelman to see what she has to say about the Government

:07:41. > :07:46.trading our details. You sell on an edited version of the electoral

:07:46. > :07:50.register, that is how they have the information. It is one source by

:07:50. > :07:55.which companies acquire information about our address and our name. But

:07:55. > :07:59.there's more than one way in which they receive that information.

:07:59. > :08:03.fact, Caroline Spelman has just launched an opt-out scheme to limit

:08:03. > :08:06.junk mail and she sees no conflict of interest with the Government

:08:06. > :08:10.selling our addresses. You have the perfect opportunity to take back

:08:10. > :08:14.some power and control over what comes through your letterbox. From

:08:14. > :08:18.April next year, you will have an easy way to stop that unsolicited

:08:18. > :08:22.junk mail coming and have some control over what comes through

:08:22. > :08:25.your letterbox. The agreement covers half of all junk mail.

:08:25. > :08:28.What's clear is that this scheme isn't comprehensive and while the

:08:28. > :08:31.Government is making a lot of noise on the one hand about addressing

:08:31. > :08:34.junk mail, while they and big business are still buying and

:08:34. > :08:40.selling our details, all they are going to do is address the effects

:08:40. > :08:45.and not the cause. What about how this could impact on the Royal

:08:45. > :08:50.Mail? If the volume of junk mail drops surely their revenue will

:08:50. > :08:55.drop? Pushing up the price of a stamp perhaps? Will we be willing

:08:55. > :09:01.to pay extra for less junk mail? would be happy to do that. If they

:09:01. > :09:04.could stop it, I would pay more for my stamps. 48p for a first-class.

:09:05. > :09:08.So you don't think you should pay any more? No. We will see the

:09:08. > :09:12.effects on the Royal Mail and junk mail when the scheme launches next

:09:12. > :09:16.April. What about our snapshot of how some householders are being

:09:16. > :09:21.affected now? After three weeks of junk mail collection, the final

:09:21. > :09:26.tally is nearly 800 pieces from just 20 houses. That is 40 pieces

:09:26. > :09:30.per house and a lot of wasted paper. What to do with all that junk mail?

:09:30. > :09:35.We have given it to Michelle Reader to see if she can give purpose to

:09:35. > :09:43.what many people consider to be unwanted, intrusive and unnecessary.

:09:43. > :09:49.Can junk mail ever be a thing of beauty?

:09:49. > :09:55.APPLAUSE OK. You have brought your friend into the studio. Beauty is

:09:55. > :10:03.in the eye of the beholder. This is Michelle Reader's creation. It is

:10:03. > :10:07.an extraordinary amount of junk mail. He is very hardy. He is

:10:07. > :10:11.wearing shorts and a short-sleeved top. That has to say an awful lot

:10:11. > :10:16.for his ability to do the job. is amazing how much rubbish comes

:10:16. > :10:21.through the door? Absolutely. It took six days to make. Tell us

:10:21. > :10:25.about the opt-out clause in April? How does it affect us? You can stop

:10:25. > :10:29.some of it. There is a one-stop- shop replacing a system where there

:10:29. > :10:34.are three websites to go to now. Any company that has signed up with

:10:34. > :10:37.the Direct Marketing Association, you come off that list and you

:10:37. > :10:43.don't get anything delivered through them. Anybody here signed

:10:43. > :10:46.up? It is launching in a while. will this affect the Royal Mail?

:10:46. > :10:50.was said that the Royal Mail really needs the revenue that it gets from

:10:50. > :10:54.people signing up to have their junk mail delivered. So we asked

:10:54. > :10:57.the Royal Mail would they be affected. They said the number of

:10:57. > :11:01.letters that people and businesses send to each other is in

:11:01. > :11:04.significant decline. The UK has one of the most high quality postal

:11:04. > :11:07.services there is. It needs to be paid for. That is why it is

:11:07. > :11:11.important that Royal Mail behaves like any other commercial business

:11:11. > :11:14.and handles as many mail items as possible. They need to do this.

:11:15. > :11:18.Direct mail has a legitimate purpose. Thousands of companies

:11:18. > :11:27.large and small sign up and we are proud to play an important role in

:11:27. > :11:31.supporting economic growth within the UK. LAUGHTER Who said "ah"?

:11:31. > :11:35.Royal Mail aren't the only ones who deliver junk mail? Absolutely.

:11:35. > :11:40.There are other businesses that send junk mail also. I want to

:11:40. > :11:44.point out five million trees! never mind the trees... Yes! Never

:11:44. > :11:47.mind the trees! The thing is, people are finding it hard to make

:11:47. > :11:51.a living. These businesses that are posting these leaflets, if you are

:11:51. > :11:56.running a pizza shop, or a window sales shop, you have to get it out

:11:56. > :12:00.there some way. I was a bit like you in that this stuff annoyed me

:12:00. > :12:05.until I looked into it further. This is the only way they can

:12:05. > :12:10.advertise. They can't pay for big splashes in the magazines. This is

:12:10. > :12:14.the way they get the word out. It is a shame we get so much of it.

:12:14. > :12:24.Grainne will be looking at overcrowding on trains next week.

:12:24. > :12:31.

:12:31. > :12:37.Thank you. Breathe in! APPLAUSE Supermarkets self-checkouts, you

:12:37. > :12:39.can get through an entire day without ever speaking to another

:12:39. > :12:43.human being. That's Britain is trying to change that. We want to

:12:43. > :12:48.bring back the personal touch to our daily lives by bringing back

:12:48. > :12:58.the jobs we have lost to technology and cost-cutting. Here is Shaun

:12:58. > :12:58.

:12:58. > :13:04.Williamson to explain what he would Progress is amazing. It is daunting

:13:04. > :13:11.even if you think about it. In the last 50 years we have built trains

:13:11. > :13:15.which run under the sea, motorways which criss-cross the country and

:13:15. > :13:23.planes which carry over 170 million of us in-and-out of the UK every

:13:23. > :13:31.year. But you know what? I think we have lost something along the way.

:13:31. > :13:41.Now, hang on! Wait for me! Wait for me! Thanks, Mr Conductor. You are

:13:41. > :13:47.

:13:47. > :13:53.Where have all the bus conductor has gone? There is no one to

:13:54. > :13:58.welcome you, no sense of community, no camaraderie. The best you can

:13:58. > :14:04.hope for is a man who keeps his eyes on the road, instead of the

:14:04. > :14:10.yobs at the back of the bus, throwing crisps. Bus conductors

:14:10. > :14:17.were once an everyday sight. Back in 1965, there were nearly 80,000

:14:17. > :14:22.of them, but the drive to cut costs put paid to them, and today there

:14:22. > :14:26.are only a handful left. For one day only, we are begging an old

:14:26. > :14:33.tradition back to the streets of Brighton. The route must of course,

:14:33. > :14:40.a driver called Dale, and me, a bus conductor with a mission. All

:14:40. > :14:48.aboard! Are you working? A I'm trying to. The fantastic. How much

:14:48. > :14:52.do I owe you? Please take a seat. Do you remember bus conductors?

:14:52. > :14:56.you could ask them questions about where you were going, where was the

:14:56. > :15:02.best place to stop. For we are doing this to bring back the bus

:15:02. > :15:07.conductor. How do you feel about that? A very happy, brings back my

:15:07. > :15:14.childhood, when I was going to school. Do you remember them as

:15:14. > :15:19.grumpy or friendly? For an Lea, always. As it gets busier, more of

:15:20. > :15:24.my passengers want to return to the good old days. Young mothers with

:15:24. > :15:31.pushchairs, travelling with the baby in their arms, the conductor

:15:31. > :15:41.would help. If you stood up when the boss was moving, the bus

:15:41. > :15:44.

:15:44. > :15:52.conductor would shout at them. Could you tell me who this is.

:15:52. > :15:57.It is Blakey, the star of sitcom On the buses. I have got to be honest,

:15:57. > :16:04.I am having a great time, and I think the passengers are really

:16:04. > :16:11.enjoying having a conductor back on board the bus. The crunch question,

:16:11. > :16:16.as always, if is would they be willing to pay to see my cheery

:16:16. > :16:21.chubby face every day? It is not cheap running a bus service, and

:16:21. > :16:28.bringing back conductors could bring up fares by a quarter, 20p on

:16:28. > :16:32.a �1 ticket. I would, yes. I have got someone! It sounds good

:16:32. > :16:37.actually, particularly when my children I using the bus to go to

:16:37. > :16:43.school. When you multiply that by the amount of journeys they do, it

:16:43. > :16:52.is a lot. Bringing it back should not just be about money, because

:16:52. > :17:02.most of the people I spoke to said they would feel safer with a bus

:17:02. > :17:03.

:17:03. > :17:07.conductor on the bus. You had fun. I want to be a bus

:17:07. > :17:13.conductor. I know that would be a tragedy for the acting industry.

:17:13. > :17:18.What a lovely job. You yourself mentioned Yorkshire beat cheeky

:17:19. > :17:23.face, do you think that helped you in pursuit of your job? It helped

:17:23. > :17:28.me on the day because a lot of people recognised me, but it is

:17:28. > :17:33.about being helpful, polite. What people wanted was an authority

:17:33. > :17:43.figure on board who could potentially put themselves between

:17:43. > :17:47.

:17:47. > :17:53.you and your boss, or whatever. -- you and yobs. Presumably some of

:17:53. > :17:59.them would never have seen a bus conductor before? There was a young

:17:59. > :18:06.Polish man who got on, I asked him if they had bus conductors in

:18:06. > :18:13.Poland. He said yes, they do. I said, are they popular? He said no,

:18:13. > :18:18.they get killed because they ask for money. I would like to cancel

:18:18. > :18:25.next week pothole bus conductor special from Warsaw! Tell me about

:18:25. > :18:31.the kit. One of the sounds of my childhood. That will get you home.

:18:31. > :18:41.I might need a lift after the show! It is just a wonderful experience,

:18:41. > :18:41.

:18:41. > :18:46.it really was. Thank you for doing that. Shaun Williamson.

:18:46. > :18:56.He says bus conductors would bring back a sense of community, so we

:18:56. > :19:17.

:19:17. > :19:27.Lines will be closing at about quarter to nine, so you haven't got

:19:27. > :19:30.

:19:30. > :19:34.very long. We will bring you the result later. Let's have a look at

:19:34. > :19:43.our WordWall to see what has been vexing you so far this evening.

:19:43. > :19:48.Remember, you e-mail us to tell us what is getting on your nerves, and

:19:48. > :19:56.we put it on the wall. A lot of you were unhappy about duped drivers,

:19:56. > :20:06.bus lanes. Since then... You have inundated us. It has been a better

:20:06. > :20:11.

:20:11. > :20:17.than a good -- been an avalanche. had a feeling dog poo would feature

:20:17. > :20:21.on tonight's show! People are really worried about it. We have

:20:21. > :20:31.got a piece on letter coming up later. That is very interesting,

:20:31. > :20:33.

:20:33. > :20:39.the bin men. Lane hogs, people hanging in the middle laying.

:20:39. > :20:44.your foot down, not the time encouraging you to speed. Steve

:20:44. > :20:53.Ryan pothole says people who park in front of petrol bombs and don't

:20:53. > :20:58.buy fuel. Alice Clark is annoyed about rubbish outside fast-food

:20:58. > :21:03.outlets. It you have a shop that produces rubbish like that, you

:21:03. > :21:06.should do something about it. The last couple of years have been talk

:21:06. > :21:12.for local councils with government cuts forcing them to tighten their

:21:12. > :21:20.belts. It doesn't seem to stop councils spending money on things

:21:20. > :21:23.that many of you feel should not be a priority. This is the part of the

:21:24. > :21:30.show we are calling don't get me started. Staffordshire County

:21:30. > :21:39.Council have got 71 balls! They have been installed outside the new

:21:39. > :21:43.�30 million office building. To us they might look like balls, but the

:21:43. > :21:48.council say the bollards are an essential and two terrorism measure,

:21:48. > :21:58.and they also say they prevent ram- raiding on the offices. Sounds like

:21:58. > :21:58.

:21:58. > :22:05.absolute bollards to me. How much did they cost? 20,000. 8000. The

:22:05. > :22:10.onset is �587 each, total cost 40 grand. �40,000 might get you

:22:10. > :22:14.started, but still in the Midlands, Warwickshire County Council might

:22:14. > :22:19.be getting you started because of the statue. It is called gold Leaf:

:22:19. > :22:29.Buried Sunlight and you can see that being put up in the Pooley

:22:29. > :22:30.

:22:30. > :22:35.Country Park. It is covered in small gold coloured sheets of metal.

:22:35. > :22:39.They say they chose the design because it is thought provoking and

:22:39. > :22:47.would distract people from the nearby motorway. How much do you

:22:47. > :22:55.think it cost? 15,000. I will give you �10 for it. A in fact, it cost

:22:55. > :22:58.Warwickshire council �100,000 to put up. I might fancy looking at

:22:59. > :23:04.the motorway instead, wouldn't you? The way things are going, it's

:23:04. > :23:08.ridiculous. Finally, how about this. This is what some residents in

:23:08. > :23:14.Bristol are calling the bridge to know where. It is the replacement

:23:14. > :23:23.for a damaged road bridge. It used to be used heavily by cars, but

:23:23. > :23:28.this is simply a footbridge. Only pedestrians, pedestrians and horse

:23:28. > :23:36.riders can use this. How much do you think it cost? Quarter of a

:23:36. > :23:40.million. They have gone big this time. �1.6 million. Me and the boys

:23:40. > :23:48.would have quoted a quarter of that and still been very happy with it.

:23:48. > :23:53.While we were... We have slowed down. While we were filming, we

:23:53. > :23:58.worked out an average ourselves. Four people crossed the bridge in

:23:58. > :24:03.an hour. At that rate of use, if everybody paid �1 for the return

:24:03. > :24:09.trip, it would be paid for in 68 years. A local councillor said you

:24:09. > :24:18.just can't get a bridge over a motorway for less than �1.6 million.

:24:18. > :24:23.So, a bargain really. If you know any more of these examples, get in

:24:23. > :24:28.touch. Flying seems to be more annoying

:24:28. > :24:33.than ever these days. Airport security delays, cancellations for

:24:33. > :24:37.fog. This morning I was stuck on the runway at Manchester. There was

:24:37. > :24:42.a point when they thought I would not make the show. I was going to

:24:42. > :24:49.be on my own. Recently one airline even forcing passengers to pay for

:24:49. > :24:57.the plane's fuel. But what drives us up the wall is when it airlines

:24:57. > :25:01.lose our bags. How hard can it be? One man can tell us. Ade Edmondson

:25:01. > :25:10.is our insider, and he has been on a mission to follow his own

:25:10. > :25:15.suitcase on an incredible journey, starting in Manchester. Over 29

:25:15. > :25:20.million pieces of luggage go missing every year. 29 million!

:25:20. > :25:30.Although the people in charge prefer the word mishandled than

:25:30. > :25:31.

:25:31. > :25:35.lost. Get mishandled! He is never going to get that in there! To

:25:35. > :25:44.avoid my own separation anxiety... From Manchester to Heathrow to

:25:44. > :25:54.Amsterdam - yes, two flights. It is handover time. So you are going to

:25:54. > :25:54.

:25:54. > :26:01.print a sticky label? I am, yes. The bag number is completely

:26:01. > :26:07.unique? Yes, it is. So if my bag went to Timbuktu, someone could

:26:07. > :26:11.scam that and say it is my bag. So it is fully international, who

:26:11. > :26:16.knew? It doesn't matter where it goes missing, it should always come

:26:16. > :26:22.back to me. You might think it is on its home from here run-in. It's

:26:22. > :26:30.not, there are cameras everywhere, scanning my barcode, which allows

:26:30. > :26:34.people like Charlie to track every move my bag makes. This is how many

:26:34. > :26:42.times it has been seen, and these are the update afterwards. It has

:26:42. > :26:47.been through the scanner. It is boarding time for me. Let's hope it

:26:47. > :26:56.is boarding time for my bag. In the same way I go through a gate, my

:26:56. > :27:02.bag is separated to make a beeline for my flight. Thank you. These

:27:02. > :27:07.trays are the last step. They read my barcode and tip my bag on to the

:27:07. > :27:13.right section for my flight. We are not allowed to film on the plane,

:27:13. > :27:17.so I will see you at the other end. We are flying south to the hadron

:27:17. > :27:24.collider of baggage sorting. Heathrow's state-of-the-art

:27:24. > :27:29.Terminal 5. I am guessing my bag is going to find this quite a

:27:29. > :27:36.challenge because Terminal 5 is enormous. How will my bag make it

:27:36. > :27:40.amongst the thousands of other bags that are here? Welcome to the

:27:40. > :27:46.baggage sorting plant. It is a quarter of a mile long. It is like

:27:46. > :27:52.an epic version of every game you ever played as a kid. There is some

:27:52. > :27:57.scale extracts, a bit of pinball, some roller-coaster as... And a

:27:57. > :28:01.ghost train. It is like a theme park for bags. Very important when

:28:01. > :28:07.it lands that it is facing the right way, so they have this

:28:07. > :28:11.scanner. That arch is a camera, it takes a shot, says it is facing the

:28:11. > :28:20.wrong direction so it it just the flippers to make sure it is going

:28:20. > :28:24.the right way. Perfect! 40-50,000 bags go through here every day, and

:28:24. > :28:27.how do they know what is going where? Surveillance. This package

:28:27. > :28:33.manager is responsible for everything that passes through here.

:28:33. > :28:43.I can see Scanners everywhere. How many times will my bag be looked

:28:43. > :28:44.

:28:44. > :28:54.at? Up to 400 times, it will pass through scanners. These blue ones

:28:54. > :28:55.

:28:55. > :29:00.go about 30,000 mph, don't they? They do. Can I go on one? No!

:29:00. > :29:10.are essentially intelligent bag machines. There is a computer chip

:29:10. > :29:10.

:29:10. > :29:14.saying exactly where each bag needs to go. After 18 kilometres of

:29:14. > :29:18.sophisticated computer wizardry, your bag eventually comes face-to-

:29:18. > :29:24.face with the most advanced technology the world has to offer.

:29:24. > :29:31.Philip. Yes, no one has yet invented a robot as efficient as

:29:31. > :29:35.the human at packing bags into a They get a last check on that?

:29:35. > :29:39.do. If it goes green, we can load it. If it goes red, we investigate

:29:39. > :29:43.it to make sure it doesn't go on the flight. A green light means

:29:43. > :29:53.this bag is in the right container for the right plane and it can make

:29:53. > :29:56.

:29:56. > :30:02.its way to the aircraft's hold. I better dash! Amsterdam. Cheese,

:30:02. > :30:08.tulips, windmills and clogs - don't think I pack any of them! -- don't

:30:08. > :30:14.think I packed any of them! There's my bag. You can see my bag. Very

:30:14. > :30:17.distinctive. Family heirloom. There you go. There's my bag. And I

:30:17. > :30:21.shouldn't really be very surprised because I have looked at the

:30:21. > :30:31.figures and the chance of your bag going missing, delayed but catching

:30:31. > :30:36.up with you, is 1.2%. The chance of your bag getting absolutely lost is

:30:36. > :30:42.0.00005%. You would have to take 200,000 flights to be guaranteed

:30:43. > :30:49.that your bag would go missing. It is not bad, is it? Right, well,

:30:49. > :30:53.experiment over. I better get back to London. I hope they don't lose

:30:53. > :31:01.my bag! APPLAUSE

:31:01. > :31:05.So, that all went swimmingly? gobsmacked by the amount of

:31:05. > :31:09.technology they got back there. When you see your bag disappearing

:31:09. > :31:12.you think it is going to a big empty shed where three blokes

:31:12. > :31:22.smoking fags and reading a paper might kick it in two or three hours

:31:22. > :31:25.and then put it on to the wrong plane! This is reassuring then?

:31:25. > :31:32.Except we finished filming and on the way back to London my bag went

:31:32. > :31:41.missing. No?! Not stunt missing? went missing. Got it two days later.

:31:41. > :31:51.Right. Who were you flying with? EasyJet! We did ask easyJet what

:31:51. > :32:07.

:32:07. > :32:12.happened to your bag and this is I still think it is the weirdest

:32:12. > :32:17.thing to tie a bit of paper on all your valuables and just chuck it in

:32:17. > :32:21.there. The best bit of advice I had was to write your name and

:32:21. > :32:26.telephone number on an A 4 piece of paper and put it on the inside of

:32:26. > :32:32.the case. If the label comes off, people will see there's your

:32:32. > :32:37.contact details. What if it gets lost lost? If it is not claimed in

:32:37. > :32:42.three months, it goes to auction. Really? Yes. You can buy other

:32:42. > :32:51.people's luggage. LAUGHTER bizarre. Randomly? Yes, we bought a

:32:51. > :32:58.case so this might be yours! LAUGHTER I'm very excited now.

:32:58. > :33:04.seems to be 500 bits of paper giving your name and address, Nick!

:33:04. > :33:09.PHONE RINGS What? When? How? Where? How hard can it be? I'm on my way.

:33:09. > :33:18.Sorry, got another mission to investigate. See you next week.

:33:18. > :33:24.Still to come: We are out on the beat with the men and women who

:33:24. > :33:28.police our rubbish. We will find out where in Britain has the worst

:33:28. > :33:38.pothole. We meet a hidden hero who keeps the

:33:38. > :33:39.

:33:39. > :33:45.blood flowing through the veins of the NHS. APPLAUSE Now, let's talk

:33:45. > :33:50.rubbish. You do every day! Barely a day goes by without another rule

:33:50. > :33:55.telling us how to put our bins out, recycling, it never stops. What is

:33:55. > :34:00.it like for people who have to enforce our rubbish laws and keep

:34:00. > :34:03.Britain tidy? This is a dream job for me. Meet the environmental

:34:03. > :34:07.enforcement officers, or the bin cops. We are following the working

:34:07. > :34:13.lives of bin cops from three different cities - in Preston we

:34:13. > :34:16.will be with Gary and Paul. In Oxford Dan and Mandy. First in

:34:16. > :34:22.Hereford, Craig. Craig likes to lead from the front. This morning

:34:22. > :34:26.he's on litter patrol in Hereford town centre. The team was set up to

:34:26. > :34:29.address environmental crime and part of that is obviously littering.

:34:29. > :34:34.Now, with the team out and about, it makes a big difference. That is

:34:34. > :34:42.what we are trying to do, make a difference. Just seconds into the

:34:42. > :34:47.patrol, Craig's quick to the draw with his fixed penalty pad! I'm an

:34:47. > :34:54.enforcement officer. You just put your cigarette butt on the floor

:34:54. > :34:58.making no attempt to pick it up. That is littering. Is it Mrs, Miss?

:34:58. > :35:01.That is an �80 fine reduced for quick payment but still an

:35:01. > :35:05.expensive habit. Dropping a cigarette on the street became an

:35:05. > :35:11.environmental crime in 1990. come round that corner, you know

:35:11. > :35:18.they are going to be there. I don't miss much! It is not long before

:35:18. > :35:23.Craig has two more smokers in his sights. Craig moves in for the kill.

:35:23. > :35:33.Are we in trouble? You are. Your cigarette butt went down that drain.

:35:33. > :35:34.

:35:34. > :35:35.The penalty? Another �80 fine for littering a water course. There are

:35:35. > :35:39.plenty of bins nearby, positioned on the wall. There is a bin at the

:35:39. > :35:44.far end. Then they walked away. At which point, I approached them,

:35:44. > :35:49.pointed out the offence to them and they fully accepted it.

:35:49. > :35:52.counties east, we are in Oxford, a city of dreaming spires and

:35:52. > :36:00.Britain's brightest young brains. It seems the students aren't so

:36:00. > :36:02.clever when it comes to rubbish. Mandy and Dan are a couple of

:36:03. > :36:06.environmental enforcement officers and it is all about education,

:36:06. > :36:12.education, education. We are with the council. Just noticed the bits

:36:12. > :36:17.that you have got down here. Yeah. Any intentions on moving it? We had

:36:17. > :36:21.it in the recycling bin. Somebody knocked it over. If you could get

:36:21. > :36:26.it back into the recycle bin. If you can pile that back into your

:36:26. > :36:31.recycle bin, that will be brilliant. In Oxford they only collect the

:36:31. > :36:37.rubbish once a fortnight. We are going to go designer! It is an

:36:37. > :36:43.offence to put your waste out too early, too late, in the wrong bin,

:36:43. > :36:47.or in the wrong place. When bags appear where they shouldn't, Dan

:36:47. > :36:55.and Mandy have to find out where the rubbish has come from so it is

:36:55. > :37:01.on with the forensic gloves and time to dig for clues. We call it

:37:01. > :37:07.bin diving! Bin dip! You have to make it slightly entertaining!

:37:07. > :37:12.There's tissues in there covered in blood. This one smells of fish.

:37:12. > :37:19.Hungry work this bin-dipping! want a grape? I will pass.

:37:19. > :37:23.sure? Jiffy bag has been sent to one of the occupants of the flat

:37:23. > :37:28.just here. They have identified a culprit from a letter. From one

:37:29. > :37:33.small carrier bag we've so far got one, two, three, four-pieces of

:37:33. > :37:36.evidence from it so definitely what we deem a good bag. The offender

:37:36. > :37:41.could be prosecuted but Dan and Mandy are keen to talk to them

:37:41. > :37:46.first before taking the matter further. But up in Preston, ex-

:37:46. > :37:50.coppers Gary and Paul take a very different approach. Yes, it is

:37:50. > :37:55.tough love up north. They have been called to a cemetery where rubbish

:37:55. > :38:03.has been dumped. We will have a look now to see if we can find any

:38:03. > :38:07.evidence. LAUGHTER It's a thong! While Gary searches for that

:38:07. > :38:12.evidence, Paul speaks to the womans who house backs on to the site

:38:12. > :38:17.where the rubbish has been dumped. How long has this been here?

:38:17. > :38:24.claims to know nothing about it. Feel the weight of that! That is

:38:24. > :38:30.one soiled nappy. To do that in a cemetery is just ridiculous.

:38:30. > :38:37.have a bag here, it is a white bin bag full of household waste items,

:38:38. > :38:42.you've got cardboard, cans, plastics. Then unfortunately, for

:38:42. > :38:46.her, she's left a letter in it. I've got the evidence here. It's

:38:47. > :38:50.got her address on. Got the tenancy date. It's got to be her. I have

:38:50. > :38:54.proven her to be a liar. She had a brief moment in life where she

:38:54. > :38:59.could have done the honourable thing and own up and maybe we might

:38:59. > :39:03.have taken a different approach. Now that me and Gary have had to go

:39:03. > :39:07.through this mess here, that is it, she will be prosecuted. It is

:39:07. > :39:14.simple as that. Prosecution can mean anything from prison to a

:39:14. > :39:23.maximum fine of �50,000. To come and dump waste in a cemetery is

:39:23. > :39:30.just beyond contempt. Even in death, no peace! I like Gary and Paul.

:39:30. > :39:34.They gave her a chance. She didn't. She didn't own up. As for Dan and

:39:34. > :39:39.Mandy, clearing up after students, good luck with that! Yes. I like

:39:39. > :39:46.Craig. He said he wants to make a difference. My dream scenario...

:39:46. > :39:51.Too fast on the fines, it was only a cigarette! Only a cigarette? Made

:39:51. > :39:56.of plastic which takes 500 years to decompose. As we saw there, make a

:39:56. > :40:05.mistake with your rubbish, the bin cops will nick you. Stop smoking!

:40:05. > :40:10.Makes me cool! What goes in what? I will make a four-course meal.

:40:11. > :40:16.me run you through this. This is for paper and magazines. Clothing

:40:16. > :40:22.and textiles, plastic bottles. Cardboard. Food waste inside,

:40:22. > :40:26.outside. For the squirrels? Glass tins, foil, aerosol. Finally, your

:40:26. > :40:30.general rubbish. I am a recycling queen. We have a responsibility to

:40:30. > :40:34.recycle. This is too complicated and too much! But to be fair, North

:40:34. > :40:37.Staffordshire council toed us this is an award-winning scheme which

:40:37. > :40:40.has doubled the amount of recycling there. I think that people

:40:40. > :40:46.shouldn't recycle. I think you pay your rates and then the council

:40:46. > :40:49.should deal with it. Oh, I get it! People clear up after you? No, it

:40:49. > :40:53.is not that. If the Government cared that much about it, they

:40:53. > :40:58.would tell the supermarkets to make all packaging biodegradable instead

:40:58. > :41:04.of trying to tax people who are finding it hard enough to make ends

:41:04. > :41:08.meet. Personal! Personal responsibility! Earlier in the show,

:41:08. > :41:14.Shaun Williamson launched our campaign to bring some of our much-

:41:14. > :41:18.loved services starts with the bus conductor. We asked would you be

:41:18. > :41:24.willing to pay an extra 25p on your bus fare to bring them back? We

:41:24. > :41:28.will tell you later. The lines are now closed. We British like to

:41:28. > :41:32.think that we are a helpful bunch but is it really true? Stanley

:41:32. > :41:37.Johnson has been testing our public spirit with some hidden cameras.

:41:37. > :41:42.What is it about? We are aiming to find out how helpful are we? Is

:41:42. > :41:46.there a secret say mar tan in us? Are we still opening doors? We went

:41:47. > :41:56.off with the secret cameras to Birmingham and we said just how far

:41:56. > :42:02.can we push this? -- Samaritan. Let's see how he got on. My job is

:42:02. > :42:06.to see how many shoppers will stop and help our actor Harry park this,

:42:06. > :42:10.his beloved old banger, in the parking space. We are conducting

:42:10. > :42:13.our experiment in the car park of a busy Birmingham shopping mall

:42:13. > :42:20.during lunch hour. It's the perfect place to see if we British are good

:42:20. > :42:24.eggs or are rotten stinkers. Here is Harry getting his car in

:42:24. > :42:32.position. Already in character, he is making a complete pig's ear of

:42:32. > :42:37.it! To record the experiment, we have got cameras hidden in the car,

:42:37. > :42:43.our crew van, behind this window, and in this bag. I will be keeping

:42:43. > :42:46.a close eye on the action nearby. Time to see if Harry can get anyone

:42:46. > :42:49.to help. Excuse me, guys, you haven't got a minute have you?

:42:49. > :42:54.Excuse me? You haven't got a second? You haven't got a minute

:42:54. > :43:00.have you? Can you back me into here? Yes, no problem. I'm not very

:43:00. > :43:07.good at parking. It's my wife's car. Frightened to death of banging it!

:43:07. > :43:13.You think you would be able to get a bus in here! I will pull out a

:43:13. > :43:23.bit. His charm has worked. She is guiding him in. OK? He is making a

:43:23. > :43:23.

:43:23. > :43:28.hash of it. A complete hash. Straighten up. Is this kind lady

:43:28. > :43:36.the only one who will help? Every single person he stops agrees to

:43:36. > :43:39.help him. 16 of them no less. And only one of them laughed at Harry's

:43:40. > :43:45.terrible parking. That is marvellous! But now for a bigger

:43:45. > :43:50.test. Stop! I want to see if anyone will go the whole hog and park the

:43:50. > :43:55.car for poor Harry. Can you drive? Yes. I don't want to take it.

:43:55. > :44:00.you sure? Honestly. No, she is shaking her head at that one. Will

:44:00. > :44:05.anyone get behind the wheel? Could you do it for me? No. You couldn't?

:44:05. > :44:13.No. Can you drive? I have to get back to work. She is shaking her

:44:13. > :44:19.head. Just when I was about to lose faith, bingo! Yeah. Jump out, I

:44:19. > :44:24.will get it in for you. Cheers, mate. Oh dear. Don't worry. It is a

:44:24. > :44:34.nightmare. She will kill me if I bang it! We have got it! He is not

:44:34. > :44:40.

:44:40. > :44:48.You might have to Revitt, it keeps cutting out. Amazingly, eight out

:44:48. > :44:53.of the 16 people agreed to drive a complete stranger's car. One final

:44:53. > :45:00.test to see if anyone would go the extra mile. I will just get a

:45:00. > :45:06.ticket, hang on. Harry disappears in search of a parking ticket. Just

:45:07. > :45:14.watch it for me. She's getting out, wondering what has happened to

:45:14. > :45:19.Harry. Where has he gone now? most people, it is a step too far.

:45:19. > :45:25.He has wandered away. She doesn't want to wait. Can this be the end

:45:26. > :45:35.of the story? No, it is not, because four Good Samaritans don't

:45:36. > :45:36.

:45:36. > :45:43.give up on Harry. Where do you get the ticket? Free parking. I'm not

:45:43. > :45:46.from round here. What made you stop? And nothing, he just seemed a

:45:46. > :45:52.bit nervous so there is nothing wrong with taking five minutes to

:45:52. > :45:56.help somebody. I generally always stop if somebody asks for my help.

:45:56. > :46:01.This has proved the spirit of goodwill is a live in Birmingham

:46:01. > :46:11.but right now I'm going to get a free lift back to the studio.

:46:11. > :46:17.

:46:17. > :46:23.I have to say, it warms the cockles of my heart to think in this blame

:46:23. > :46:29.culture that people would have a go at parking the car. I am not sure

:46:29. > :46:33.where the cockles are! Just advising somebody to park a car,

:46:33. > :46:37.moving left and right, if you go in reverse left and right, and getting

:46:37. > :46:44.them to drive the car, it is magnificent. How many people would

:46:44. > :46:49.take the trouble. It was a terrific example of how far people are

:46:49. > :46:54.prepared to go. Eight people were prepared to do it. We wanted to

:46:54. > :46:59.persuade somebody not just to look after the car but a drive Harry

:46:59. > :47:05.home in his car but we couldn't get people to go that far. You are

:47:05. > :47:09.going out doing more of this, what are you pushing for? We are pushing

:47:09. > :47:13.what you might call the ultimate shopping experience. I don't go

:47:13. > :47:18.shopping much, but we are going to see how far we can push people to

:47:18. > :47:23.help other people shopping. We have been talking about getting a bus

:47:23. > :47:29.conductor on, would you pay extra on the offer to bring them back?

:47:29. > :47:39.would, because I am a cyclist, and I liked the bosses where you can

:47:39. > :47:43.

:47:43. > :47:48.just hold on to the poll! Stanley Johnson! Rather surprisingly, one

:47:48. > :47:53.of the words that didn't feature large on our Word wall earlier was

:47:53. > :47:58.pot holes because one report estimate they could cause �320

:47:58. > :48:02.million of damage to our cars every year, but which is the worst one in

:48:02. > :48:12.Britain? Here are some of the candidates we have been tipped off

:48:12. > :48:40.

:48:40. > :48:46.Some horrible ones in there. Every week we are going to be awarding a

:48:46. > :48:53.trophy, this week it is the worst part hole in Britain. Isn't that

:48:53. > :48:57.nice? We were going to award the trophy to this one on the A 20 in

:48:57. > :49:03.sorry, because it is the worst I have ever seen, but we thought

:49:03. > :49:12.about it and we have ruled it out because it has been repaired now.

:49:12. > :49:17.More of the trench! The winner of the worst pothole is this one in

:49:17. > :49:25.Bolton. In their defence, Bolton council said they have put in a new

:49:25. > :49:29.code of practice, and this one is due for repair. What about the

:49:29. > :49:39.other ones we have just seen? West Yorkshire council have said it will

:49:39. > :49:40.

:49:40. > :49:43.be fixed on January 5th. Happy new year! Northamptonshire County

:49:43. > :49:51.Council says they prioritise longer-lasting repairs, and that

:49:51. > :49:55.has led to a 23% drop in reported defects. A lot of them blamed last

:49:55. > :49:58.year's cold winter. Next week we will be handing out the award for

:49:58. > :50:06.the worst road works in Britain and we are looking for nominations from

:50:06. > :50:16.you. Is your rode the most dug up in Britain? Have you got roadworks

:50:16. > :50:18.

:50:18. > :50:23.but no road workers? Tell us where to send our cameras. Now it is time

:50:23. > :50:29.for the That's Britain news with the delightful Nick Knowles. Good

:50:29. > :50:33.evening. Here are the headlines - if you are taking a black cab to

:50:33. > :50:41.Oxford be careful what you say. CCTV cameras have been introduced

:50:41. > :50:45.to taxes. The council says it is to protect drivers in case of attack.

:50:45. > :50:49.We say we can't wait to see the taxi footage from all the Christmas

:50:50. > :50:54.parties. The North Wales council has spent

:50:54. > :50:57.�400,000 to put a carpet on a bridge used by horse riders, it is

:50:58. > :51:03.claimed it is to stop the horses being scared by the sound of their

:51:03. > :51:08.own hooves. The bridge is due to open in 12 days, it is already

:51:08. > :51:12.proving a hit with the horses but not so much with the locals who

:51:12. > :51:19.worry they will be saddled with the bill. That's why, when it was put

:51:19. > :51:27.to the vote, some of them voted neigh. Finally, a shopper in a

:51:27. > :51:36.Tyneside supermarket was almost band of do being told the limes

:51:36. > :51:42.were a dangerous weapon. The till raised an alarm, and the assistant

:51:42. > :51:52.said it was dangerous to buy more than one because the citrus could

:51:52. > :52:00.damage people's lives. She was then told it was part of an elaborate

:52:00. > :52:04.joke. The before we finished tonight, there has been a lot of

:52:04. > :52:09.complaining on the show, and that is what it is about, but we should

:52:09. > :52:13.also point out that Britain is a nation of unsung heroes. We don't

:52:13. > :52:19.even know they exist, but if they weren't there, the nation would

:52:19. > :52:24.fall apart. Meet the first of our hidden heroes. John Kirkwood runs

:52:24. > :52:29.the largest blood processing centre in the world. My job means a lot to

:52:29. > :52:33.me. I have been in the same job for 30 years because I really enjoy it.

:52:33. > :52:39.I enjoy the fact that this organisation makes a difference to

:52:39. > :52:42.people's lives, and gives me a real sense of achievement. At the NHS

:52:42. > :52:46.blood and transplant centre supplies blood to hospitals across

:52:46. > :52:51.the south every year. Half of Britain's hospitals rely on

:52:51. > :52:55.supplies from this centre. order that has just come in his

:52:55. > :53:00.from Cheltenham General Hospital, and it is due to be dispatched at 1

:53:00. > :53:05.o'clock so we have to get moving. John and his team make sure every

:53:05. > :53:10.drop of blood is screened so it is always safe. This will be

:53:10. > :53:16.transfused within the next few days and it gives a higher level of

:53:16. > :53:20.satisfaction to know you are helping to save lives. Here it is,

:53:20. > :53:24.ready to go. If you look at the clock, we are 10 minutes early. I

:53:24. > :53:34.don't think many people can say they do make a difference, but that

:53:34. > :53:34.

:53:35. > :53:41.is what I like about the job. his dedication and others' that

:53:41. > :53:47.keeps people alive. You can also be a hidden hero, and donate blood

:53:47. > :53:53.yourself. Details of how to do that is on our website. Let's have a

:53:53. > :53:59.look at tonight's final wall, these are the things that have been

:53:59. > :54:09.bothering you the most. This is how it looked earlier. Dog poo, as

:54:09. > :54:11.

:54:11. > :54:18.strikingly large! Junk mail, poor customer service... So, we can go

:54:18. > :54:25.through and see how it has changed. Thousands and thousands of people

:54:25. > :54:30.have been e-mail and, and a lot of it seems to be about dog poo, and

:54:30. > :54:36.now it is even bigger! Cold call us, that is something we haven't talked

:54:36. > :54:43.about. Slow drivers, bad driving, we will definitely be looking at

:54:43. > :54:48.that in the coming weeks. Fuel prices. Fireworks, and speed bumps.

:54:48. > :54:52.Some of these subjects we will take a lookout and bring report later in

:54:52. > :54:59.the series. You have been getting in touch with your stories. Do we

:54:59. > :55:03.have e-mails? One viewer says spitting is a horrible habit that

:55:04. > :55:08.seems to be spreading. People should face fines if caught. I

:55:08. > :55:14.agree with that. Bus conductors are a great idea but they need danger

:55:14. > :55:18.money these days as there is no respect anymore. Margaret is

:55:18. > :55:26.annoyed some councils recycle some plastics, others don't, it is

:55:26. > :55:30.unacceptable. Let the council's speak to each other to ensure

:55:30. > :55:34.recyclable things can be put in the bin. We asked do earlier if you

:55:35. > :55:40.would be prepared to stump up more money on your bus fare to bring

:55:40. > :55:49.back the bus conductor. The vote is in, and are we going to see a

:55:49. > :55:59.return of the bus conductor? Let's have a look. Look at that! 81% said

:55:59. > :55:59.

:55:59. > :56:04.yes! Come on! I am really chuffed. I think that says a lot. Do you

:56:04. > :56:10.think it is the security? It is interesting your caller said they

:56:10. > :56:14.would need protection. A lot of the lack of respect came when they took

:56:14. > :56:19.away the uniformed jobs. If you bring them back, hopefully a new

:56:19. > :56:22.generation of children would learn to respect them. When you think how

:56:22. > :56:29.tight times are financially, even in this climate, people are saying

:56:29. > :56:37.they will pay an extra 25% to have that security. The most vulnerable

:56:37. > :56:43.people normally get their travel paid for, don't they? So, sorted.

:56:43. > :56:53.am really buoyed up by that. Thank you to everyone who voted. That is

:56:53. > :56:54.

:56:54. > :56:59.a fantastic result. It must be your chubby cheeks. Shaun Williamson,

:56:59. > :57:08.the best bus conductor in the country! Sadly, that is the end of

:57:08. > :57:18.the show. Thank you to everyone for getting in touch. You can keep e-

:57:18. > :57:24.mailing for nominations for the worst roadworks. Thank you to Shaun