30/01/2012 Inside Out East


30/01/2012

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Hello. This week, I'm in Huntingdon. This is what is coming up on

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tonight's Inside Out. The father campaigning to find the

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truth about the death of his son Lee Balkwell. When you get a police

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officer give you four different ways your boy was supposed to have

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died. That raised hairs on the back of my neck. I thought, hello,

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there's something wrong here. challenge one of the last people to

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see Lee Balkwell alive. Did you stage an accident? Did you

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kill Lee? No. Absolutely 100% not. We are with the people who are

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happy living on the edge of a cliff. We hear their idea for saving

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threatened coastlines. And we find out why the Huntingdon

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Gymnastics Club produces so many Olympic dreamers.

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There are three surprising stories from where we live on tonight's

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Hello. Welcome to a bit of a soggy day here in Huntingdon. Later in

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the programme, we will be meeting the athletes who first dreamed of

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Olympic success right here in this town. But first tonight, the story

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of a father who is convinced the circumstances around his son's

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mysterious death were covered up. He's also determined to prove that

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it was not an accident. Debbie Tubby has this special

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investigation. In this cemetery in Essex lies the

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body of Lee Balkwell. He was found dead trapped in a cement mixer in

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bizarre circumstances. Nearly every day, his parents Les and Jackie

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come to tend the grave and remember their son. It has been nine years.

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But they have not been able to let go. We should not be doing this.

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Consumed by grief, but above all a sense of overwhelming injustice.

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Les believes his son was murdered. And he has proved the police

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investigation was incompetent. He has also spent �130,000, sold his

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house and classic cars to fund his fight. He now lives here. This is

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owned by a housing association. We need to have justice. It will

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still leave a hole. Because Lee is not here. We are a tight-knit

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family. And still are. But now, we are missing one. It has not torn

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our family apart. But it has torn at us. And the strain and trauma it

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has caused is just unbelievable. One of the reasons it has stretched

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out that long is because we have not been told the truth.

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Lee was 33. He had just become a dad. A keen sportsman, West Ham

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supporter and county golf player. Lee was very patient, very caring.

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He would do anything for anybody. He was always up for a laugh and

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joke. Here he is best man at his friend's

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wedding a year before he died. proud to be Alex's best man.

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He was an experienced concrete mixer driver. He needed extra money

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and went to work for the Bromley's at their family firm. It was a

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decision which would cost him his At 8 o'clock on the night Lee

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Balkwell died, he can be seen on this CCTV returning from a job to

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the company's base at Baldwin's Farm. His employer Simon Bromley,

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in the shorts, is there when the lorry arrives. He and Mr Bromley

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chip out concrete, which had started to set inside the mixer

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after an alleged mechanical failure. At 9:30pm, it looks like they have

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finished the work. At 11:37pm, Lee goes for a Chinese takeaway. He

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rings home to say he will be back late. But why did he return after

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midnight? It is the last time he was seen alive on CCTV. Something

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went wrong. The Bromleys say he was still cleaning the vehicle. The

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tachograph suggests the lorry engine was turned off for three

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hours until 12:57am. Six minutes later, the ambulances called. It

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was too late. Lee was dead. His head was crushed, but the details

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are still disputed. A paramedic questions foul play in his notebook.

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Fire crews are also suspicious. The Bromley's insist it was an accident.

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Within 15 minutes of arriving, the So what happened in this lane more

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than nine years ago? Whether it was an industrial accident or whether

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it was something more sinister, what is certain is Essex Police's

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investigation. It was seriously flawed. Lee Balkwell's father

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believes there was a cover-up. He says he has found the motive, but

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he will not reveal it on camera. seemed a strange time. When you get

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a police officer give you four different ways your boy was

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supposed to have died. That raised hairs on the back of my neck. I

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thought, hello, there's something wrong here. And there were other

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questions. Why were his clothes destroyed days later? Why wasn't

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his death treated as foul play? The amount of mistakes that have

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been made beggars belief. Over the years, Les has uncovered forensic

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testing had been not carried out. He received a CCTV tape from the

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police, but a vital hour is missing. Phone records were unchecked.

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Witnesses were not interviewed. This concrete mixer is the same

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model. But it is from a different, unconnected company. Lee's body was

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found trapped here between the drum and the chassis. How he ended up

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here is crucial to the whole investigation. Did he emerge feet-

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first from the inspection hatch as the drums started rolling? Simon

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Bromley says he tried to stop it, but the emergency button did not

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work. The Bromleys gave evidence at Lee's inquest. The jury found Lee

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was unlawfully killed by cross negligence and manslaughter. --

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gross. Lee had found himself working in the shadows of a murky

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underworld. Simon Bromley has since been jailed for eight years for

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supplying cocaine and selling a rifle to an undercover police

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officer. His father, David Bromley, was jailed for three years for

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conspiracy to supply the class A drug.

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What you see here is all the files that have built up over 9.5 years

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and 10 years now. What people ought to realise is I am just a lorry

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driver. But it has took over my life. There have been five reviews

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into Lee's death. One of those was by West Midlands Police in 2009. It

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made 91 recommendations to Essex Police. As the weight of evidence

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builds up, Les Balkwell made 130 separate complaints. Today, the

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Independent Police Complaints Commission published its report,

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upholding 25 serious complaints. In these 147 pages, eight police

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officers have been criticised. Four of which have since retired. It

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also says in here the failure of the investigation at those early

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stages has left evidential gaps. In total, 25 serious complaints

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were upheld by the IPCC. It found evidence of poor police work. But

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not of corruption alleged by Les Balkwell. Even so, he feels

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vindicated. Essex Police have now sent a letter of apology to Les

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Balkwell. Former Chief Superintendent Graham

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Bull had 13 IPCC complaints upheld against him. He did not consider

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foul play and failed to order forensic tests. He retired in 2009.

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Chief Superintendent Gareth Wilson failed to identify witnesses to be

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interviewed. And Chief Superintendent Simon

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Coxall had five complaints upheld, including failing to supply the

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family with a fool CCTV tape. -- full CCTV tape.

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No one from Essex Police agreed to be interviewed. But they said the

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majority of the complaints were not upheld. They told us three officers

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will be subject to a formal debrief. They also said the approach to

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investigating unnatural deaths has changed. And that their serious

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crime directorate continues to I went to talk to one of the men

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Les accuses of killing his son. was a lovely bloke. Everybody liked

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him. It was just a tragic accident. I keep saying. That is God's truth.

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Did you stage an accident? Did you kill Lee? No. Absolutely 100% not.

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And your son? Would he have been involved? No, no, no. We lost a

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good worker. He is a big loss to all of us. There is no need for

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what he has said. It is absolutely ridiculous. Simple as that. We had

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nothing to hide. Accidents are accidents. How have you felt about

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these accusations that he was murdered? Disgusting.

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Is it time for you to consider that it could be an accident?

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because we know it was not. There is information in the system. But I

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cannot speak about it today. So when will you let this go?

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there is nowhere else to go. We have not reached that stage yet.

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There are other avenues. As much as I want resolution and justice, I am

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going to struggle. The truth about it is I am frightened about that

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situation. I have then... I have then got to face up that he has

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And if you'd like us to look into something here on Inside Out, send

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me an e-mail. You can also follow me on Twitter.

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Later on, living the Olympic dream. We find out what it takes to

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qualify for the biggest competition in the world.

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Our next story is about people prepared to live with the threat of

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coastal erosion. And they even build for the future, despite the

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possibility that their hard work He uses anything and everything he

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finds on the beach. He lives right on the edge, an edge caused by

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erosion. Many people along here are desperately worried about the

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future of their homes. But Peter has embraced his situation. How

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much land have you lost recently? About a foot or two feet over there,

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end a little bit here about three years ago. Where is your land,

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then? It is all the way round to my bungalow. The worst thing to worry

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about is the cliff falling, and a lot of people asked me that - are

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you still there? Yes, I am! Peter is optimistic. But there have been

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times when he was a little worried. When I moved here, at first, I had

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a little bit of caution, especially when the weather cave in the winter

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time. We had some harsh weather, but the bungalow was still standing,

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and my house was still standing. I keep my fingers crossed. He's not

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only learned to live on the edge, the edge is also his workshop.

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dug the sandstone from my garden. If you go down on the beach, it

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took me years to collect at these. I look down the beach, and see if

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anything has been washed up. This has come from a ship, actually.

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From one day to another, you don't know if you will find everything.

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You will find everything from a mouse to a computer to a shoe or a

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chair. It is amazing what you find. But every bit you carry and work

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for, because you have to physically move from A to B. You can't deny

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that this view is stunning. So it's understandable that Peter's not

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alone in actually wanting to be here, despite the perceived risk to

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property from the ever-advancing North Sea. At the moment, the sea

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defences at Overstrand are paid for by the council, but that could

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change. So the villagers are looking at ways to raise the money

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themselves. One proposal might be to have a voluntary tourism tax -

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at 1% on the bill, and the tourists can strike at a. But it is worth

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considering. Do you think it is sad that communities now have to raise

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the money themselves for sea defences, or do you think that is

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the way of the world? I think the latter. But it would not all be

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local money, you are engaging with national and international funds.

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We are taking the initiative to make sure we continue to live a

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fabulous village which we all love. This is Happisburgh, just a few

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miles down the coast. It's been badly affected by coastal erosion.

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But those who live here have already taken matters into their

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own hands. They've raised some of the money themselves for new sea

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The amount of money for sea defence seems to have diminished. On the

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coast, you can lose your home, business, everything you have

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through no fault of your own, and expect no help for everybody.

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have you done to rectify things yourself? The district council have

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put money into temporary sea defences to buy time. The community

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contributed to that - we raised money in five weeks. And

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subsequently, the Environment Agency have made available some

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armour which was surplus to their requirements elsewhere, so the

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process is slowed it down. Dr Sue Brooks is a senior lecturer in

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geography at the Birkbeck College, University of London. She

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specialises in coastal erosion. Norfolk, the cliffs are composed of

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the easily erodible material which can cause higher rates of retreat,

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and we know this because we have historic maps over 100 years, where

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we can look at long-term rates of retreat. Where clubs are protected,

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as they are here, rates drop considerably. -- where cliffs. Here,

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we have raids her mouth to just a few centimetres a year, so we have

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to think about the cost, benefit, implications of managing the

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shoreline or not. It seems that if villages want protection from the

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sea, then they'll just have to take matters into their own hands. So if

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Happisburgh can do it, then others can, too. Businesses are working

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our way to build a new sea defences for the future. Stewart Holmes has

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got the local businesses together - along with a member of the local

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council - to discuss ways of raising money for sea defences.

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What I like is about plans for maintaining the defenders of our

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village. Lorraine has got a wonderful cafe here. All of this

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could go if we don't look after it. On a lovely day like today, 90% of

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my business is coming up the coastal path. It only needs a small

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part of that to go in, and, you know, the business is in trouble.

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This is a fantastic place. I would not have bought a business here, if

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I didn't believe in the future of it. Stewart also wants to know

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whether his idea about a voluntary tourism tax is something their

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customers would be happy to pay to help fund sea defences. If I put

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that to my customers, they would be more than happy to do that. They

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come here just to set, and if you look at there now, it has the wow

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factor. That is what they are after. I don't think that will be an issue

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whatsoever. Meanwhile, Peter Talbot's not worried either way.

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Defences or not, he's staying and still building.It's November 18th

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last year. How many people do you know that have lost their life? Or

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even, their houses that have gone, people have always had time to

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clear them out. I am not bothered at all. Life is for living. If you

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will live somewhere, live way you enjoy living. And you worker, to?

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In yes, it is my life! What more In a few months' time, it will be

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the London Olympics. But many athletes don't know if there will

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be taking part, even though their team may have qualified. So, what

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does that like, preparing for the What you learn about people in

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adversity is how strong their commitment and resolve is. I am

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like, "oh, there's a poster of my son up there"! Huntingdon Gym Club

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is packed to the rafters. The majority don't have a care in the

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world in contrast to the few in the far corner. A month ago, it went

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horribly wrong at the World Championships in Japan. This error

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from Daniel Keatings was one of a number by Team GB which cost them

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the chance of qualifying a team for the Olympics. We have perhaps self-

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belief, and make sure we are working in the right direction, and

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remained a dream. They have had setbacks in the past, and no had to

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pick themselves up. They are very dedicated and understand about

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competition. Corby's Daniel Keatings, Peterborough's Louis

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Smith and Luke Folwell from Huntingdon are in Britain's elite

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squad. With an impressive collection of Olympic, World

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Championship and Commonwealth Games medals between them, they've been

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coming to this gym since they were toddlers. Very vivid memories of

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when I first came. I remember the foam pit, like every youngster does.

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It is the main attraction. I was a loose cannon! I was all over the

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place. When I first started off, I did it for the fund rather than

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results, and then, I started getting more results and realised I

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could maybe do something with it. remember that they were reasonably

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talented boys. But not amazingly talented. If you had asked me 15

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years ago if they would be where they are now, I would say no. I

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remember Daniel was very talented. He picked things up very quickly.

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Louis was very spindly and Corky. And look was a plot of. He was

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always very disciplined and hard- working, and got there through his

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own merits. All three will spend most of Christmas in the gym,

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festivities effectively cancelled following the mishap in Japan.

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Luke's recovering from a serious shoulder injury. For Louis and Dan,

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an Olympic test event is last It is their last chance to qualify.

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It is that looking good for Team GB. They didn't have to wait long.

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Confirmation came after the final rotation the P bars winning the

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event thanks to laid-back Louis. have been constantly telling the

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guys just chill-out and have fun. It is a massive competition, but

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you will get scared and nervous if you treat it like that. Chill-out.

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We put in a lot of hard work. It has really paid off today.

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Everywhere I look, there are posters of him! I am really proud.

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It is nice to see him every level stop I love it. London is probably

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Louis' last Olympic Games. He's keen on a career in fashion design

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afterwards but will always be indebted to a short that has shaped

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his life. My mum is a single parent, and I spent most of my time in the

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gym. There is so much a discipline involved in gymnastics, and it

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taught me to arrive on time. You set goals and targets, and learn to

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sacrifice and the dedicated and achieve those targets. These are

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things that are not just sport related - you could do it at your

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normal job and work. It might have been different, though, for Daniel.

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Father Robert wanted his son to follow him into kickboxing, but Dan

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was too young to join the local club. He's spent the next 15 or so

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years watching his every move. watched every competition, and

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support him 100%. My wife what is it from the toilet! She is very

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nervous, and doesn't eat before anything like that. We will be

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there supporting, definitely. we're into 2012, the harsh reality

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is not everyone will make it. Daniel and Louis are strong

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favourites to be included in Britain's mens' team, but for Luke

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Folwell - who's still struggling with a shoulder injury - his

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chances are slimmer. We have got our fingers crossed that look will

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get fit and he will show them what he can do, and he can make that

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final five or six. Regardless. Everybody in Huntingdon will be

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rooting for them, because they are almost second family for us, so we

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will be as delighted for them as they will be for him. Like their

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families, the three boys who grew up in the gym share in each other's

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highs and lows. They compete against each other but don't

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consider themselves rivals, just team-mates. We are all very good

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friends. We have grown up together. We all wish the best for one

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another. That is why we get on so well and trained so well together,

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because we were over the moon when Lewis came back from Beijing, and

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when Daniel won his silver medal in London. We all felt a part of it.

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It is great to be in a nice environment where we enjoyed,

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because there is nothing worse than being in a gym on eurozone tried to

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train without any friends. -- on a yacht owned. Looking around the

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Huntingdon club, there are plenty of young Dans, Louises and Lukes

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all hoping to one day fulfil an Olympic dream. For the real Mcoys,

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the next six months will be about hard work, focus and luck. After

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all, an injury could wreck everything. If the flag flies high,

0:27:500:27:59

it will all be worth it and might be an emotional end for some.

0:27:590:28:06

London and the UK will really feel it. It is amazing. It doesn't

0:28:060:28:11

matter whether he wins or not. It is about him going in there, doing

0:28:110:28:21
0:28:210:28:25

Good luck to all at our hopefuls from the eastern region. London

0:28:250:28:30

2012 just a few months away. That is it from us. See you next week,

0:28:300:28:35

when I will be backward these surprising stories.

0:28:350:28:39

More aware personal information is on the internet, so how exposed

0:28:390:28:46

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