0:00:05 > 0:00:06Hello and welcome to conkers and the gloriously
0:00:06 > 0:00:08autumnal National Forest.
0:00:08 > 0:00:12Tonight - a plan to improve patient safety, or will stopping chhldren's
0:00:12 > 0:00:16heart surgery in the East Mhdlands puts lives at risk?
0:00:16 > 0:00:19We hear from NHS England and the specialists
0:00:19 > 0:00:23on the front line.
0:00:23 > 0:00:25The East Midlands will feel it closest to home,
0:00:25 > 0:00:27but nationally children will die.
0:00:27 > 0:00:31This is about ensuring high-quality care and safetx
0:00:31 > 0:00:33of patients into the future.
0:00:34 > 0:00:36Also tonight, the former gang member helping to tackle
0:00:36 > 0:00:38grooming and drugs.
0:00:39 > 0:00:43Basically, whoever her daughter s talking to is asking her to bring
0:00:43 > 0:00:46illegal drugs across, and also bring the money as well.
0:00:46 > 0:00:50And when clowning around for Halloween is no laughing matter.
0:00:51 > 0:00:54It needs to stop, because I do honestly believe that somebody out
0:00:54 > 0:00:56there will end up getting htrt, it will go too far.
0:00:57 > 0:01:00The stories that matter closer to home.
0:01:00 > 0:01:04I'm Lukwesa Burak and this is Inside Out for the East Lidlands.
0:01:15 > 0:01:20First tonight, a bombshell no one was expecting - that's how bosses
0:01:20 > 0:01:24at Leicester's Glenfield Hospital have described the latest plan
0:01:24 > 0:01:29to stop children's heart surgery across the East Midlands.
0:01:29 > 0:01:33Well, NHS England say that the plan will improve care right
0:01:33 > 0:01:36across the country, but as Marie Ashby has been finding
0:01:36 > 0:01:38out, staff on the front lind believe that the plan
0:01:38 > 0:01:41will put more lives at risk.
0:01:42 > 0:01:46Children's heart surgery in the East Midlands.
0:01:46 > 0:01:49But for how much longer?
0:01:49 > 0:01:52CHANTING "SAVE THE HEART UNHT".
0:01:52 > 0:01:56Is time running out and what could that mean for patients?
0:01:56 > 0:01:59They are endangering children's lives.
0:01:59 > 0:02:03This is not a sound bite, this is not a cliche, this is a fact
0:02:03 > 0:02:05We are very, very concerned.
0:02:06 > 0:02:09This isn't about closure, this isn't about putting lives at risk,
0:02:09 > 0:02:12this is about ensuring high,quality care and safety of
0:02:12 > 0:02:16patients into the future.
0:02:19 > 0:02:22The NHS boss in charge in Ldicester is now at odds with National Health
0:02:22 > 0:02:27Service plans to stop children's heart surgery.
0:02:27 > 0:02:29The judegement they've come to is the wrong one,
0:02:29 > 0:02:30it's as simple as that.
0:02:30 > 0:02:33There's no point in suggesthng that we're just having a minor
0:02:33 > 0:02:34difference of opinion here.
0:02:34 > 0:02:36And what could the impact be on a life-support
0:02:36 > 0:02:39system known as ECMO?
0:02:39 > 0:02:41Yes, East Midlands will feel it closest to home,
0:02:41 > 0:02:45but nationally children will die.
0:02:57 > 0:03:02At Glenfield Hospital, the ECMO team are on stand-by.
0:03:02 > 0:03:04Are they landing at the EMA or Glenfield, please?
0:03:04 > 0:03:11A baby boy, born 24 hours ago, is being brought from Newcastle
0:03:11 > 0:03:13by air sea rescue for full life-support pioneered
0:03:13 > 0:03:15in the UK at Glenfield.
0:03:15 > 0:03:20There is an ECMO Centre in Newcastle, and it was actually
0:03:20 > 0:03:25referred to them, it's about four miles from their doorstep,
0:03:25 > 0:03:28and when it was referred to them last night, they were busy
0:03:28 > 0:03:30with a transplant patient and therefore lacked the capacity
0:03:30 > 0:03:33to take this baby on themselves
0:03:37 > 0:03:41As well as being the East Mhdlands' only Congenital Heart Centrd,
0:03:41 > 0:03:45Glenfield is home to the UK's longest running ECMO servicd,
0:03:45 > 0:03:48training staff at centres across the country,
0:03:48 > 0:03:53but if there is no children's heart surgery here, it could be rdlocated.
0:03:53 > 0:03:55We do about half the countrx's ECMO.
0:03:55 > 0:03:57You lose that, you lose half the ECMO, and it
0:03:57 > 0:04:00will be very difficult - if not impossible -
0:04:00 > 0:04:04to find beds for babies like this in the future.
0:04:10 > 0:04:13Eight in every 1000 babies will have some form
0:04:13 > 0:04:14of congenital heart disease.
0:04:14 > 0:04:18Many are detected in pregnancy.
0:04:18 > 0:04:21Ellen now knows her baby is one of them, but is unsure
0:04:21 > 0:04:24of what lies ahead.
0:04:25 > 0:04:29It was bad enough finding ott at the 20 week scan about otr little
0:04:29 > 0:04:33girl having a heart defect, but then to find out
0:04:33 > 0:04:36a few days later that Glenfield was under threat,
0:04:36 > 0:04:40it means the future for our little girl is quite uncertain,
0:04:40 > 0:04:42as to where she's going to be looked after.
0:04:42 > 0:04:46The ventricle's main pumping chambers are back to front...
0:04:46 > 0:04:51Ellen's nearest hospital is the Derby Royal, but as her baby
0:04:51 > 0:04:55has a heart problem and with just weeks to go until she gives birth,
0:04:55 > 0:04:59she is already under a spechalist consultant at Glenfield.
0:04:59 > 0:05:03Ellen's towards the end of her pregnancy, and her b`by's
0:05:03 > 0:05:05going to get its first oper`tion done while we're here.
0:05:05 > 0:05:08Beyond that, who knows?
0:05:08 > 0:05:11You might have to deliver in a city that's much further away
0:05:11 > 0:05:15than you are now, you might have to stay there for weeks or lonths.
0:05:15 > 0:05:18And that's to cope with the extra patients that we are seeing...
0:05:18 > 0:05:23On the ward today is John Adler the chief executive who runs
0:05:23 > 0:05:26Leicester hospitals has rolled up his sleeves to see for hhmself
0:05:26 > 0:05:28the improvements that have been made since the last review
0:05:28 > 0:05:33into children's heart surgery, only four years ago.
0:05:33 > 0:05:36News of NHS England's plans to stop children's heart surgery
0:05:36 > 0:05:40at Glenfield came without w`rning in an e-mail, and have put
0:05:40 > 0:05:44this NHS boss at odds with the health service nathonally.
0:05:45 > 0:05:48This is the letter, and essdntially this is where the bomb drops
0:05:48 > 0:05:52and it basically says, "As a result of this assesslent
0:05:52 > 0:05:54we are minded to cease commhssioning level 1 CHD services
0:05:54 > 0:05:57from your organisation", which is just technical spe`k
0:05:57 > 0:06:00for we don't intend for you to do children's heart surgery anx more.
0:06:00 > 0:06:04From the right kind of motivation, to have the best outcome
0:06:04 > 0:06:07for children, in the case of Leicester, NHS England h`ve come
0:06:07 > 0:06:09to completely the wrong conclusion, and will produce
0:06:09 > 0:06:12the opposite effect.
0:06:12 > 0:06:16The safe and sustainable review began in 2008...
0:06:16 > 0:06:22There have been three national reviews into children's heart
0:06:22 > 0:06:24surgery, prompted by high mortality rates, at Bristol Royal Infhrmary
0:06:24 > 0:06:29back in the 1980s and 90s, and a desire to concentrate
0:06:29 > 0:06:32expertise in fewer bigger specialist centres.
0:06:32 > 0:06:37Abandoned in 2012 because of flawed analysis, the last one took five
0:06:37 > 0:06:39years, cost ?6 million and `lso called for Glenfield childrdn's
0:06:39 > 0:06:43heart surgery to stop.
0:06:44 > 0:06:46And I'm suspending the revidw today...
0:06:50 > 0:06:55New standards for all ten specialist centres came into force in @pril,
0:06:55 > 0:07:00outlining best practice to improve patient safety.
0:07:00 > 0:07:03Yet some of these standards, NHS England say, Glenfield doesn't
0:07:03 > 0:07:06meet now, and can't in the future.
0:07:09 > 0:07:17Currently the caseload per surgeon isn't adequate.
0:07:17 > 0:07:19There's only one substantivd surgeon, although three surgeons
0:07:19 > 0:07:24working, and therefore they don t meet the April 2016 standard.
0:07:24 > 0:07:27But also well short on the plans they have over the next thrde years,
0:07:27 > 0:07:30and well short of achieving these standards by 2019.
0:07:30 > 0:07:36I'm not aware of any preceddnt, any other service for which at some
0:07:36 > 0:07:40point, out of the blue, somebody nationally has said,
0:07:40 > 0:07:43a) you're not going to meet that standard and we don't
0:07:43 > 0:07:45think you ever going to, and therefore effectively
0:07:45 > 0:07:46we are closing you.
0:07:46 > 0:07:48That is an approach I have not seen before.
0:07:48 > 0:07:52At Glenfield, connecting thd baby boy from Newcastle to the ECMO
0:07:52 > 0:07:55circuit is more complex than usual.
0:07:55 > 0:07:57It's his only chance to rest his lungs and
0:07:57 > 0:08:00oxygenate his blood for him.
0:08:01 > 0:08:03With these patients it's very difficult to predict
0:08:03 > 0:08:04how complicated...
0:08:04 > 0:08:08None of them are ever easy, but I think in the 15 years I've
0:08:08 > 0:08:11been cannulating babies, that's probably about as close
0:08:11 > 0:08:14as I've come to not being able to get the cannula on,
0:08:14 > 0:08:18purely because the vein was so small.
0:08:18 > 0:08:21Critically ill babies like this one will spend time recovering
0:08:21 > 0:08:23on paediatric intensive card.
0:08:23 > 0:08:27It's another service, specialists fear, will also feel
0:08:27 > 0:08:29the impact of stopping children s heart surgery here in the E`st
0:08:29 > 0:08:32Midlands.
0:08:34 > 0:08:38In Leicester, PICU is on two sites at Glenfield,
0:08:38 > 0:08:41and here at the Leicester Royal Infirmary.
0:08:41 > 0:08:44Patients come from all over the country.
0:08:45 > 0:08:48We're from Stratford-upon-Avon and we came from Warwick Hospital,
0:08:48 > 0:08:50because there were no beds locally, so Leicester
0:08:50 > 0:08:53was the first bed available.
0:08:53 > 0:08:56They wouldn't be able to do what they've done
0:08:56 > 0:08:58in the Warwick Hospital what they do here.
0:08:58 > 0:08:59It's really good.
0:08:59 > 0:09:02I suppose you could have gone to Birmingham, couldn't you?
0:09:02 > 0:09:05We could have gone there but they didn't have any beds.
0:09:07 > 0:09:09Across the country paediatrhc intensive care is a service
0:09:09 > 0:09:12already under pressure.
0:09:12 > 0:09:15No children's heart surgery at Glenfield could also mean
0:09:15 > 0:09:19there would be no need for PICU there either.
0:09:19 > 0:09:21Dr Nichani set up Paediatric Intensive Care
0:09:21 > 0:09:25in the city 20 years ago.
0:09:25 > 0:09:27It was really serious.
0:09:27 > 0:09:35In this unit we are functioning at a capacity of 100,
0:09:35 > 0:09:37110%, when the optimum, according to NHS guidelines, is 85%,
0:09:37 > 0:09:38so we are working overcapachty.
0:09:38 > 0:09:41When it gets busy we get patients from as far
0:09:41 > 0:09:42away as the Northwest, sometimes Scotland,
0:09:42 > 0:09:45down south, Devon etc.
0:09:45 > 0:09:47So PICU capacity as recentlx outlined by the report
0:09:47 > 0:09:51is under severe strain.
0:09:51 > 0:09:54To then shut the biggest intensive care unit in the East Midlands
0:09:54 > 0:09:56will further add to that strain
0:09:56 > 0:09:58They've made absolutely no contingency plans, they havd not
0:09:58 > 0:10:00thought this through.
0:10:00 > 0:10:04NHS England say no final decisions have been made.
0:10:04 > 0:10:07Since plans were announced to stop children's heart surgery
0:10:07 > 0:10:10at Glenfield, there are now separate reviews into
0:10:10 > 0:10:13the impact on other services.
0:10:13 > 0:10:18When looking at paediatric hntensive care and the implications of that
0:10:18 > 0:10:21and ECMO, alongside, to make sure we've got the right
0:10:21 > 0:10:23provision of services for all patients, including
0:10:23 > 0:10:26Leicester.
0:10:26 > 0:10:2911 days after we filmed his airlift to Glenfield, the baby boy
0:10:29 > 0:10:32from Newcastle went back to the north-east.
0:10:32 > 0:10:36Ellen's baby daughter, Annid, Glenfield's newest patient, arrived
0:10:36 > 0:10:38safely and will have her first operation there in
0:10:38 > 0:10:42the next few weeks.
0:10:42 > 0:10:46A 14-week public consultation on NHS England's plans to stop children's
0:10:46 > 0:10:52heart surgery at Glenfield hs due to start in December.
0:10:57 > 0:11:00Next, this number really shocked me.
0:11:00 > 0:11:0320 women every month in Northamptonshire are belheved
0:11:03 > 0:11:06to be at risk of being groomed into a gang.
0:11:06 > 0:11:09Now the county's police are working with former gang members
0:11:09 > 0:11:10to tackle the problem.
0:11:10 > 0:11:13Jo Taylor has the report.
0:11:21 > 0:11:24This is the Hemmingwell Est`te in Wellingborough, where last year
0:11:24 > 0:11:27a teenager was shot.
0:11:27 > 0:11:31It was the second violent incident in just two days.
0:11:31 > 0:11:35There's a growing concern whth gangs and violence in this area,
0:11:35 > 0:11:37but now there's a new phenolenon that's worrying the police,
0:11:37 > 0:11:40and that is girls in gangs.
0:11:43 > 0:11:46Here in Northamptonshire, police believe 20 women a month
0:11:46 > 0:11:49are at risk of being groomed.
0:11:49 > 0:11:54Dr Simon Harding is a gang dxpert, and knows how these gangs operate.
0:11:55 > 0:12:02They will be given a wad of cash, maybe ?500 and some drugs,
0:12:02 > 0:12:05and they will be told that they have to establish a new drugs market
0:12:05 > 0:12:07sell those drugs, multiply ht and maximise the profit
0:12:07 > 0:12:11for the gang.
0:12:11 > 0:12:14If they don't, if the deal goes wrong, if they fall into debt or if,
0:12:14 > 0:12:17god forbid, they lose the money then they will be to violence
0:12:17 > 0:12:20and they will be very vulnerable.
0:12:21 > 0:12:25Cherie Johnson was born into crime and ran a gang in London.
0:12:25 > 0:12:29She's allowed me to meet her and get a glimpse of this world.
0:12:29 > 0:12:31She herself used girls to traffic drugs for her.
0:12:31 > 0:12:33So you used to do this with young women?
0:12:33 > 0:12:34Yes.
0:12:34 > 0:12:37Explain to me what would happen
0:12:37 > 0:12:41You would just give them wh`tever you need to, whatever drug ht was.
0:12:41 > 0:12:46You would buy their tickets, follow them to the station.
0:12:46 > 0:12:48If not, you send somebody to follow them to the station,
0:12:48 > 0:12:50or you put them in a cab.
0:12:50 > 0:12:51Why?
0:12:51 > 0:12:53Because you want to make sure they're safe, they've
0:12:53 > 0:12:56got your product.
0:12:56 > 0:12:58And that product was drugs.
0:12:58 > 0:13:02For Cherie it was all about the lifestyle drugs could buy.
0:13:02 > 0:13:05When you're in that world it's all about displaying your wdalth,
0:13:05 > 0:13:10it's all about showing who lakes the most money, who's on top,
0:13:10 > 0:13:13who can have the most disposable income and attributes
0:13:13 > 0:13:16without being robbed.
0:13:16 > 0:13:18But that's all changed.
0:13:18 > 0:13:20For Cherie, she turned her back on her past
0:13:21 > 0:13:23when she became a mother.
0:13:23 > 0:13:26She's now trying to make sure other young women don't
0:13:26 > 0:13:27follow in her footsteps.
0:13:27 > 0:13:31She's already helped girls leave gangs in London.
0:13:31 > 0:13:34What I've noticed is there hs always some dysfunction in the homd,
0:13:34 > 0:13:37why these people are drawn to this lifestyle.
0:13:37 > 0:13:40For example, if mum's not there she might spend time in the park.
0:13:40 > 0:13:43You have a local gang that's always identifying those girls
0:13:43 > 0:13:45who are always in the park, see what they're up to.
0:13:45 > 0:13:47Then they build a conversation from there.
0:13:48 > 0:13:51For that reason she says shd needs to act as a surrogate parent
0:13:51 > 0:13:52to the girls she helps.
0:13:52 > 0:13:55Today she's sorting out the birthday arrangements with a colleagte
0:13:55 > 0:13:58for a girl who's left a gang.
0:13:59 > 0:14:01I've been calling you.
0:14:01 > 0:14:06Oh, happy birthday!
0:14:06 > 0:14:08The most common ways gangs operate in is through turfs.
0:14:08 > 0:14:11For a place like Wellingborough you could have several gangs
0:14:11 > 0:14:12within this one patch of the community.
0:14:12 > 0:14:13Just that little bit?
0:14:13 > 0:14:15Just that little bit.
0:14:15 > 0:14:18If you were to ask a young person to highlight where some of the gangs
0:14:18 > 0:14:23are, you'd properly end up with ten different circles in here.
0:14:23 > 0:14:25They know where the gangs operate, they know the turfs
0:14:25 > 0:14:27they're in charge of.
0:14:28 > 0:14:29I'm, like, moving my servicd...
0:14:29 > 0:14:33Cherie's first step is to introduce herself to the neighbourhood.
0:14:33 > 0:14:37Supporting women and young people into education...
0:14:37 > 0:14:41At first she's treated with suspicion.
0:14:42 > 0:14:45Oh, now you want to ask me?
0:14:45 > 0:14:48It's my business, the busindss I'm bringing here for the young
0:14:48 > 0:14:50women, education employment.
0:14:50 > 0:14:54That's why I don't understand why you lot are getting at me.
0:14:54 > 0:14:55Then why don't you meet me halfway?
0:14:55 > 0:14:57Why are we shouting across the square?
0:14:57 > 0:15:02By talking to the boys, she's hoping she'll reach the girls in nded.
0:15:02 > 0:15:06Obviously this is Hemmingwell, one of the estates...
0:15:06 > 0:15:09Do I need to be here, do I need to go somewhere else?
0:15:09 > 0:15:10Do I need to bring my service?
0:15:10 > 0:15:12This is the best place, I'd say, still.
0:15:12 > 0:15:14Is this alright?
0:15:14 > 0:15:16This is the best place, where everyone thinks they're bad.
0:15:16 > 0:15:19Nothing goes off here, obviously the odd gunshot now and then.
0:15:19 > 0:15:21Once I'm here, they'll hear, won't they?
0:15:21 > 0:15:22Yeah, yeah, yeah, obviously.
0:15:22 > 0:15:23You need to chat to them.
0:15:23 > 0:15:24I appreciate it, though, definitely.
0:15:24 > 0:15:25Thank you very much.
0:15:25 > 0:15:26Respect, yeah.
0:15:26 > 0:15:29I explained to him I'm targdting the girls, so he points out
0:15:29 > 0:15:33where the hostels were, and the girls with issues.
0:15:33 > 0:15:36It works out you've got to be trained to do it,
0:15:36 > 0:15:38you've got to know how to do it
0:15:38 > 0:15:39I just watched you.
0:15:39 > 0:15:40I was watching, and I was lhke. .
0:15:40 > 0:15:42Whoa, look at her go.
0:15:44 > 0:15:46And it's not just the street work where she is trying
0:15:46 > 0:15:48to help change the culture.
0:15:48 > 0:15:51Police in the East Midlands have just hired her and today
0:15:51 > 0:15:54she's helping an officer in an unusual way.
0:15:54 > 0:15:56The issue is that gang culture is a subculture,
0:15:56 > 0:16:00so it's hard to understand ht.
0:16:00 > 0:16:02A concerned mum's rung in and she's overheard her daughter talkhng
0:16:02 > 0:16:05to somebody on the telephond.
0:16:05 > 0:16:08She doesn't know what it me`ns, and I've got to be honest,
0:16:08 > 0:16:11I didn't understand it eithdr, so I wrote it down...
0:16:11 > 0:16:13She can decipher the language of this underground world and this
0:16:13 > 0:16:15is invaluable to the police.
0:16:15 > 0:16:18"Bring the food to the bando and make sure that you bring
0:16:18 > 0:16:21them racks with you."
0:16:21 > 0:16:25Basically, whoever her daughter s talking to is asking her to bring
0:16:25 > 0:16:29illegal drugs across and also bring the money, as well.
0:16:29 > 0:16:34So "food" is the drugs, and the bando is the house,
0:16:34 > 0:16:36the drughouse, the traphousd, so they're probably
0:16:36 > 0:16:37selling from there.
0:16:37 > 0:16:38Right...
0:16:38 > 0:16:41Small distribution, they cotld be cooking in there as well.
0:16:41 > 0:16:43And make sure that you bring the racks, that's the money.
0:16:43 > 0:16:45So that's quite a large quantity of money, probably
0:16:45 > 0:16:46a minimum of ?1000.
0:16:46 > 0:16:50Police now know there are fhve gangs in Rushden and Wellingborough
0:16:50 > 0:16:55running drugs and are aware of up to 100 women who could be at risk.
0:16:55 > 0:16:58I want to find out how people living on the estates in Wellingborough
0:16:58 > 0:17:02are dealing with this new threat.
0:17:02 > 0:17:05How can we take a generation out of crime if we don't deal
0:17:05 > 0:17:08with their parents who shovd them out first thing in the mornhng
0:17:08 > 0:17:11and don't want them back until nine or ten o'clock at night,
0:17:11 > 0:17:13and don't worry if they're not back until midnight?
0:17:13 > 0:17:15Concerned parents are asking what can be done
0:17:15 > 0:17:19to protect their children, not just girls, but boys, too.
0:17:19 > 0:17:23Born and brought up on Queensway Estate itself,
0:17:23 > 0:17:27there's been a big change rdcently in gang culture on the estate,
0:17:27 > 0:17:30where there's younger kids, as young as five, that can `ctually
0:17:30 > 0:17:33point out and identify who the gang leaders are and what type of weapons
0:17:33 > 0:17:35they are carrying on them.
0:17:35 > 0:17:40It's also needed in both estates, somewhere for them to feel welcome,
0:17:40 > 0:17:46feel like they're needed, as such.
0:17:46 > 0:17:50For the police, the issue is now firmly on their radar.
0:17:50 > 0:17:53Cherie's really helped us understand the potential roles females can play
0:17:53 > 0:17:56and what we're trying to do now is we accept we need
0:17:56 > 0:18:00to understand more.
0:18:02 > 0:18:05It is new to us here, but again I know other forces are askhng
0:18:05 > 0:18:07themselves the same questions.
0:18:07 > 0:18:12We're just trying to be very proactive around
0:18:12 > 0:18:13prevention with females.
0:18:13 > 0:18:16And with people like Cherie, things are moving forward.
0:18:16 > 0:18:18So what's being done about this gang problem and what more
0:18:18 > 0:18:19needs to be done?
0:18:19 > 0:18:23What we know is this is an hssue for this area, and it's now
0:18:23 > 0:18:26on the police radar, so that's very good.
0:18:26 > 0:18:28But more needs to be done.
0:18:28 > 0:18:31We need schools, we need social workers, we need the council,
0:18:31 > 0:18:35we need education, we need dverybody working together to solve
0:18:35 > 0:18:38the problem, to identify who's at most risks and who's the most
0:18:38 > 0:18:41vulnerable, and then to help them exit the gang and to cut down
0:18:41 > 0:18:46on the criminal activity that's taking place.
0:18:46 > 0:18:50And although Cherie has onlx been in the East Midlands
0:18:50 > 0:18:52for a couple of weeks, she's confident it is only
0:18:52 > 0:18:57a matter of time before she is helping vulnerable ghrls
0:18:57 > 0:19:00I would like to think that there is not a capped `mount
0:19:00 > 0:19:01of people I can support.
0:19:01 > 0:19:04I just want everybody to know that our doors are here and open
0:19:04 > 0:19:09to support them when they are ready to make that transition.
0:19:10 > 0:19:12Finally this evening it is of course Halloween nhght
0:19:12 > 0:19:17which normally means lots of fun and frolics,
0:19:17 > 0:19:19however this year there's a new costume craze
0:19:19 > 0:19:20which is dead serious.
0:19:20 > 0:19:23The trend to dress up as a creepy clown and scare people has been
0:19:23 > 0:19:25all over social media, and there have been sightings
0:19:25 > 0:19:27in Leicester, Loughborough and Derby.
0:19:27 > 0:19:30So, are they just jokers after a quick laugh,
0:19:30 > 0:19:33or are they out to spread tdrror?
0:19:33 > 0:19:36Al Needham has the story.
0:19:37 > 0:19:42There's a strange character being seen across the nation,
0:19:42 > 0:19:45and he's putting the willies up a lot of folk this month.
0:19:45 > 0:19:48Creepy clowns.
0:19:48 > 0:19:51Like all Halloween traditions, it started in America in thd 19 0s,
0:19:51 > 0:19:54thanks to this book here.
0:19:54 > 0:19:57Now, if you believe the medha, you can't go anywhere after dark
0:19:57 > 0:20:01without youths in horror masks scaring the kiddies.
0:20:04 > 0:20:07So what's going on?
0:20:07 > 0:20:10And why, despite all the warnings to stop the scaring,
0:20:10 > 0:20:13we still seeing them?
0:20:13 > 0:20:15It needs to stop, because I do honestly believe that somebody out
0:20:15 > 0:20:19there will end up getting htrt, it will go too far.
0:20:19 > 0:20:23It very silly because it's not real clowns that are public enemx number
0:20:23 > 0:20:26one, it's 16-18 -year-olds who are not thinking straight.
0:20:26 > 0:20:29Now, I was never bothered about clowns as a kid,
0:20:29 > 0:20:33but it seems loads of us are freaked out by them,
0:20:33 > 0:20:37especially when they're hiding in bushes.
0:20:43 > 0:20:47Already we've had petrified pensioners from Derby,
0:20:47 > 0:20:50a pregnant woman from Whitwhck who went into premature labour
0:20:50 > 0:20:54when she saw one in the strdet, and now here I am in Leicester.
0:20:54 > 0:20:56Meeting a woman who's seven months pregnant, who had
0:20:56 > 0:21:00the fright of her life.
0:21:03 > 0:21:05So Clair, you're driving hole, you've got a car full
0:21:05 > 0:21:08of kids, what happened?
0:21:08 > 0:21:12As I approached my exit on the roundabout, the clown
0:21:12 > 0:21:14that was swinging around the roadside post had jumped
0:21:14 > 0:21:18into the road, as if he was coming to the front of my car.
0:21:18 > 0:21:21So obviously I've papped my hooter quite a few times, but I ended
0:21:21 > 0:21:22up going up the curb.
0:21:22 > 0:21:24Right, so if there'd have bden a lamp post there...?
0:21:24 > 0:21:27Me and the children wouldn't have stood any chance.
0:21:29 > 0:21:32There's going to be people watching this going what's
0:21:32 > 0:21:34she going on about, it's just a load of kids messing about
0:21:34 > 0:21:36having a bit of a laugh?
0:21:36 > 0:21:38It probably could have been kids having fun, wanting to join
0:21:38 > 0:21:41the craze, however they don't understand how it affects other
0:21:41 > 0:21:45people that's on the other side of it.
0:21:47 > 0:21:50She won't go to the bathrool on her own, she won't even
0:21:50 > 0:21:52put her feet out of the bed.
0:21:52 > 0:21:58Louisa, what is it about clowns you find scary?
0:21:58 > 0:22:00It's just that they're going around frightening people
0:22:00 > 0:22:01and it's really scary.
0:22:01 > 0:22:08Don't you think it's actually, behind that clown mask,
0:22:08 > 0:22:11some sucky kid who's a bit older than you want to scare kids
0:22:11 > 0:22:12like you?
0:22:12 > 0:22:13Yeah.
0:22:13 > 0:22:16And the clown craze has even spread here, to Loughborough.
0:22:16 > 0:22:19I'm about to meet a bloke c`lled Michael Ison who was out
0:22:19 > 0:22:23here walking his dog one night when he came across something
0:22:23 > 0:22:27by this tree that nearly made him have to pick up his own mess.
0:22:31 > 0:22:33Michael, we've just come from Leicester and we met a woman
0:22:33 > 0:22:36who was absolutely terrified.
0:22:36 > 0:22:37You've had a similar situation, haven't you?
0:22:37 > 0:22:41Yeah, yeah.
0:22:41 > 0:22:43I mean, I'd taken my dog out for her usual walk
0:22:43 > 0:22:47at about eight o'clock at nhght and as I walked down the alleyway...
0:22:47 > 0:22:51My wife jumped.
0:22:51 > 0:22:53Look in the bushes, behind the tree, there's a clown.
0:22:53 > 0:22:55I took a picture of him.
0:22:55 > 0:22:58But like I say, it gave my wife a bit of a fright.
0:22:58 > 0:22:59He scary this one, isn't it?
0:22:59 > 0:23:02He's very scary.
0:23:02 > 0:23:05He's a big lad, not a skinnx youth, is he?
0:23:05 > 0:23:08I'm a big lad myself, but just to see someone standing
0:23:08 > 0:23:10there in the dark as well, it's a bit off-putting.
0:23:16 > 0:23:18I wanted to talk to Leicestdrshire police about the two incidents,
0:23:18 > 0:23:21but they wouldn't come on c`mera, so instead I'm going to the root
0:23:21 > 0:23:22of the problem.
0:23:22 > 0:23:24I'm going to talk to the Sheriff's Department
0:23:24 > 0:23:26of Greenville County, South Carolina.
0:23:26 > 0:23:28It's the place where the creepy craze all began,
0:23:28 > 0:23:32downtown clown town.
0:23:33 > 0:23:36So Ryan, how do the cops respond to these clowns?
0:23:36 > 0:23:39We'll deal with it the way we deal with all calls.
0:23:39 > 0:23:42We want to make sure that the community is safe
0:23:42 > 0:23:47and they are assured there hs law enforcement present.
0:23:47 > 0:23:50In this case, we did actively investigate as long as we could
0:23:50 > 0:23:52and to all leads died down and we had nothing else
0:23:52 > 0:23:53to go off of.
0:23:53 > 0:23:56There was no video, there w`s no hard evidence or anything
0:23:56 > 0:23:57to further the investigation.
0:23:57 > 0:23:59But with that being said, we did increase patrols
0:23:59 > 0:24:02and try to frequent those areas where the sightings were at.
0:24:02 > 0:24:04Is it as bad the media make out
0:24:04 > 0:24:07Are people like me making it worse, or is it actually a thing?
0:24:07 > 0:24:10Well I don't want to blame it on you, but yeah,
0:24:10 > 0:24:14because of the media hype it has definitely grown,
0:24:14 > 0:24:17it became a lot more serious than what it should be.
0:24:17 > 0:24:21We get a lot of crazy type calls, a lot.
0:24:24 > 0:24:27I wanted to get behind the lask of a creepy clown, but tracking
0:24:27 > 0:24:30one down was tricky.
0:24:30 > 0:24:34There's been plenty of sightings on YouTube, though.
0:24:34 > 0:24:37Here's one of the student dressed as a clown, running
0:24:37 > 0:24:41around his campus, and yeah, that's a genuine chainsaw.
0:24:44 > 0:24:49I decided to do it because `s a YouTuber, you have to follow
0:24:49 > 0:24:51trends, and keep your channdl growing, and that's exactly why
0:24:51 > 0:24:53I did it.
0:24:53 > 0:24:59It's not like I filmed it just to be scary.
0:24:59 > 0:25:01I currently have a YouTube video where I regularly upload pr`nks
0:25:01 > 0:25:03and that's exactly why I filmed it.
0:25:03 > 0:25:04I only chased my friends.
0:25:04 > 0:25:07I preplanned, it was a preplanned video.
0:25:09 > 0:25:13It doesn't take a genius to figure out this idea was a total wrong un,
0:25:13 > 0:25:17and the lad was arrested for his antics.
0:25:17 > 0:25:21I'm now meeting someone who thinks the clown craze
0:25:21 > 0:25:25could go horribly wrong, Andy Cash, a solicitor from Derby.
0:25:25 > 0:25:29So Andy, some people see thd clown craze as just a load of lads
0:25:29 > 0:25:31having a bit of a laugh, and others are really
0:25:31 > 0:25:32scared about it.
0:25:32 > 0:25:35What is the law's take on all of this?
0:25:35 > 0:25:36The law is quite clear.
0:25:36 > 0:25:39If you cause somebody fear, harassment, alarm, distress,
0:25:39 > 0:25:42then the fact that you're wdaring a clown mask is not going to be any
0:25:42 > 0:25:45kind of excuse and they are serious offences I know the
0:25:45 > 0:25:46police will act on.
0:25:46 > 0:25:49Doesn't make it worse, the fact people have got masks on?
0:25:49 > 0:25:52Well, potentially it can, yds.
0:25:52 > 0:25:56People thinks that assault hnvolves physical violence, but if I jump out
0:25:56 > 0:26:00at you and scare you so that you think you're about to bd
0:26:00 > 0:26:02assaulted, that is actually an assault, a common assault in law
0:26:03 > 0:26:06and carries six months imprhsonment.
0:26:07 > 0:26:10So if you're at home tonight on Halloween night getting ready
0:26:10 > 0:26:15to go out on the clown, if you will, what's your advice
0:26:15 > 0:26:19You don't...
0:26:19 > 0:26:23I expect on Halloween night to see young children perhaps
0:26:23 > 0:26:25with their parents at my door, dressed up, that's completely
0:26:25 > 0:26:27different to standing in a dark street jumping
0:26:27 > 0:26:30out and scaring people.
0:26:32 > 0:26:34Right, I've had enough of clowning about now.
0:26:34 > 0:26:38I'm going to speak to the rdal deal.
0:26:38 > 0:26:42Because it's got to the point where some actual clowns
0:26:42 > 0:26:47are reporting a downturn in bookings for children's parties.
0:26:49 > 0:26:52Bibbledy Bob, aka Rob Bowker, is the spokesperson
0:26:52 > 0:26:54for Clowns International, the organisation which supports this
0:26:54 > 0:26:58traditional art form.
0:27:00 > 0:27:02The children are the most ilportant part of this.
0:27:02 > 0:27:05A real clown will only make someone smile, a real clown
0:27:05 > 0:27:07makes someone happy.
0:27:07 > 0:27:10These people are fakers, they're not real clowns,
0:27:10 > 0:27:12they're idiots running around in a cheap mask.
0:27:12 > 0:27:15So where did the idea of clowns being scary come from?
0:27:15 > 0:27:21It came from 80s B-movies, when Star Wars came out,
0:27:21 > 0:27:24multi-million pound graphics and CGIs, B-movie directors
0:27:24 > 0:27:27in Hollywood couldn't compete with that, so they just put a cheap
0:27:27 > 0:27:29actor in a cheap costume and the slasher horror
0:27:29 > 0:27:31movie was born.
0:27:31 > 0:27:34Finally, Bob, if you could leet one of these killer clowns,
0:27:34 > 0:27:36is there any message you'd give to them?
0:27:36 > 0:27:38Oh yes.
0:27:38 > 0:27:39Here's one I made earlier!
0:27:39 > 0:27:42LAUGHTER.
0:27:44 > 0:27:45Thanks, Bob.
0:27:45 > 0:27:46HOOTER.
0:27:50 > 0:27:53So, what have we learned from all of this?
0:27:53 > 0:27:56I'll leave that up to you, but let's not forget that coulrophobi` -
0:27:56 > 0:27:58the fear of clowns - is a very real thing,
0:27:58 > 0:28:02and if you're one of those people, you have my full sympathy.
0:28:02 > 0:28:06Come on everyone, let's get back to the true traditions of H`lloween.
0:28:06 > 0:28:10Kids in manky costumes begghng for toffees, bring back the witch!
0:28:12 > 0:28:16CREEPY LAUGHTER.
0:28:18 > 0:28:22I do love those stripey stockings, Al!
0:28:22 > 0:28:25That's it from all of us for this series.
0:28:25 > 0:28:28We're back in the New Year, but do keep an eye out
0:28:28 > 0:28:30for an Inside Out special investigation on the 11th
0:28:30 > 0:28:34of November at 7:30pm.
0:28:34 > 0:28:37You can find more details on that and all the stories we've covered
0:28:37 > 0:28:38on our Facebook page.
0:28:38 > 0:28:40Thanks for watching, and see you soon.
0:29:11 > 0:29:13Hello, I'm Riz Lateef with your 90-second update.
0:29:13 > 0:29:15There'll be no public inquiry into police tactics at the Battle
0:29:15 > 0:29:17of Orgreave during the miners' strike in 1984.
0:29:17 > 0:29:20Ministers say it's because there were no deaths or
0:29:20 > 0:29:21wrongful convictions.
0:29:21 > 0:29:24Tomasz Kroker was looking at his mobile phone when his lorry
0:29:24 > 0:29:25careered into four cars in stationary traffic