06/01/2014 Inside Out East

Why are some high street stores discriminating against people with

hearing loss? Every sign of helping, but is it just for show? We

investigate the shops that stay silent to people with hearing loss.

I am absolutely livid that this is happening. I find the whole

experience extremely frustrating and it is quite common that this happens

in the big retail stores. On the hunt for Baxter the stolen

dog. Can a pet Detective get him back?

And how a clown and some geese led to the greatest loss of life ever

seen in a Norfolk town. He was going to drive a bathtub pulled by for

geese downriver as a publicity stunt. It was the weirdest, wackiest

thing. I do not know where it came from. I have no idea, it is the

weirdest, most wacky thing. Revealing the stories that matter,

closer to home, this is Inside Out East.

This week Inside Out is in Great Yarmouth. Happy New Year and welcome

to the start of the new series. I bet you have seen the signs for

hearing lips, even if you do not have to use them. Most shops and

public places claim to use them, but we have found that in most places

they either do not work or do not exist.

We live in a world of constant sound, there is so much background

noise. It can make a simple visit to the shops a struggle. But there is

technology that can help. And you'd think with one in six of us

suffering some form of hearing loss that businesses would be would be

using it. But in fact most are not. Inside Out have discovered that many

shops are effect of lead breaking the law by failing to They're called

hearing loops, and the people who need them are fed up that all too

often they aren't there or they don't work. Instore simple devices.

What is a hearing loop and how does it work? It can be wired into the

building or it can be a mobile one. It works by the microphone from the

system feeding directly into the hearing aid, it cuts out all of the

background noise and they can just have a clear conversation. Ellen

Kaye who's in charge of Suffolk Hearing Support Services has lived

with hearing loss for the past 20 years. I hearing loop is vital when

you go shopping. Hugo Rifkind the store and you end up `` you go round

the store, people do not look up and they chat to you. If you do not have

a hearing with at that point, we cannot enter into the conversation,

we are lost without it. Ellen agreed to help us find out exactly how many

shops and other public places in the Ipswich area have working hearing

loops. Our first visit was to John Lewis.

The store had signs advertising hearing loops, but they didn't seem

to be working. There was confusion among staff as to exactly which

tills did have loops on them. Despite their best efforts, staff

couldn't get the loop system up and running. I am absolutely livid that

this is happening. Their worst year for people on their knees looking at

this loop system which they could not get to work. I found the whole

experience extremely frustrating and it is quite common that this happens

in big retail stores. This is the Next superstore on the

outskirts of Ipswich. Would we have the same problem here?

Despite a sign at the till, there was no working loop and staff seemed

confused. How about at this Tesco store? Would they do any better?

Finally we stopped off for a coffee at Costa in the centre of Ipswich.

How would that go? The advertiser hearing loop but no one near seemed

to know how to operate it. `` they advertise a hearing lips.

We visited 64 different places. Three quarters either had no hearing

loop and stored, despite one being advertised, or if there was one it

was not working was turned off. National surveys have found a

similar story. You get really angry, I go to these shops that have the

signs on the doors and you think that people will be able to help

you. Especially if you have products that you want to discuss. You ask

them to switch on the loop system and they say, I do not know if we

have a loop system. Then you go on to say, you have the symbol, you

should have the loop system. Nine times out of ten they will not now.

People are very kind, but that is not good enough. It is infuriatingly

thinks that managers of these businesses put symbols on the doors,

they do not follow it through. To have them and stored? Joanna worked

as a lawyer before coming and equality consultant. She has been

deaf since birth. Most people do not want the hassle of bringing a case,

so they claim not to do it. But that means that an act of discrimination

is not taking place, legally. Around two million people in the UK

have hearing aids. But it's not just shops where we found problems with

hearing loops. Surprisingly, a place where you'd expect good access also

fell short. This is the main library in Ipswich.

It seemed there was a loop system, but staff appeared confused. No`one

seemed to know where the loop was or how to switch it on.

After a long wait, somebody was finally found who did know how to

get the hearing loop working. But the experience was not very

impressive. Suffolk libraries told us they were

sorry for what had happened and that all staff were now being made aware

of the loop system and how it works. Meanwhile John Lewis apologised for

the loop not working in their store. They say it's now operating

properly. Next thanked us for bringing the

problem to their attention and promised they would look into it and

sort out the system. Tesco told us they've now arranged for new loops

to be fitted on the tills in the store as soon as possible. And Costa

say that all staff in the shop have now been trained in how to use the

hearing loop system. What are the legal implications for stories that

do not come fly with the equality act? They can be fined a fair amount

of money. But I think that reputational damage is more of a

problem. The amount that they would have to pay would depend on each

situation. One of these large chains, we all know which ones they

are, would be expected to get them right and check them every week.

They could get a much lighter fine. But not all stores are at falling

short. Some are getting it right, Ellen had no problems shopping at

Sainsbury's Warren Heath branch. Lots of the other shops that we have

been to have not paid the attention that you have. Why are you paying

some much attention to it? We would like to think that Sainsbury's as a

business are open to all. Access will to all. And in terms of the

customers shopping here, ease of shopping is important to us. But

it's not just a question of the law here, with so many hard`of`hearing

people in the UK surely it makes sense for businesses to make sure

their hearing loops are working. If there is something that you think

that we should be looking into here on the programme, send us an e`mail.

You are with Inside Out East, coming up on the programme, how for geese

and a clown lead to the biggest loss of life ever in Great Yarmouth. It

is part of our history and it is something that has slipped through

the net. The theft of dogs is increasing.

When one family became a victim, they wrote in an investigator. We

investigate the growing crime and the lengths people will go to to get

their dogs back. My name's Colin Butcher. I run a pet

detective agency and we specialise in recovering stolen animals.

Tonight, Colin's come from his base in Guildford to Northampton on the

lookout for Baxter, a stolen cocker spaniel who looks like a valuable

working dog, but is, in fact, the much`loved pet of the Cave family.

He loves playing in the garden with the children. He loves going on

walks with us. He follows us around. Won't go into the garden without us.

A very loyal dog. The Caves got Baxter at a dog re`homing event.

They were watching the activities when the Tannoy announced, "Baxter

needs a home, anybody interested?" We just fell in love with him there

and then. He came over to us, was licking us, loving us and we've not

stopped loving him since. But one Saturday, whilst on a walk, Baxter

ran away. There was a shoot on, there was a pheasant shoot on and

some pheasants had been released and Baxter ran off after the pheasants

and got distracted because there was other people shouting and whistling

at their dogs. And he ran into the woods. So we spent all day looking

for him, couldn't find him anywhere. Later, a man did find Baxter. He'd

seen Baxter at the side of the road sitting in the rain and he, very

kindly, stopped his car and got out and went up to Baxter and got him by

the collar. He'd still got his ID tag on at this point so he was just

about to ring us and a 4x4 drew up on the other side of the road. A man

got out and got him by the collar and said to the man who had found

Baxter, "Oh, you've found my dog, thank you." So, obviously, the man

handed him over to the chap in the 4x4 who drove off with Baxter and

we've not seen him since. The theft of Baxter is typical of

what thieves are doing. We believe the thieves had already got into the

forest where this big pheasant shoot was taking place ` probably to pick

off a few pheasants that came their way. They saw Baxter running around

in the woods and wrongly assumed Baxter was a fully trained working

cocker spaniel. Sam Thatcher's cocker spaniels were

trained working dogs. One night she was woken by the sound of them

barking. Thieves had driven up a little`known track behind Sam's

house near Winchester and were stealing her pride and joy. We had

four cockers at the time and they took the two youngest ones. Tia was

nine months when she was stolen and Maisie was 15 months. But at that

time of night with all the cockers running around you wouldn't have a

clue which one was which or how old they were. It's like they knew which

two were our youngest. Tia was being trained to work with this Harris

Hawk, which could well have made her particularly attractive to thieves.

These dogs are sought`after, especially good working dogs, and

people want to breed from that stock. They're worth their weight in

gold and if someone comes in and takes that away from you it's

soul`destroying to lose something like that. The dogs were my life.

They literally came everywhere with me. So, from having them in my car

every day going to every single job, even my little cleaning jobs, the

owners let them in the house and said hello. So, to literally be

taken the next day, and they're not there, was horrible. But Sam is

fighting back. Through social networking Sam has raised ?3,000 as

a reward for the return of her dogs and she's campaigning to warn others

about dog theft. She and friends went to Crufts, the world's largest

dog show, to spread the word. It was here she met Dawn Maw who had her

dog Angel stolen too. Angel's a female German short`haired pointer.

She's four years old, she's one of only two full champions within the

breed. She was my pet, she was my show dog, she was my life. Angel was

taken from the front of Dawn's car while she was putting her other dog

in the boot. Someone was watching me. I believe I was targeted and

that they stole Angel for a specific purpose, but whatever that purpose

is, I don't know. She has even put up a reward for which she would have

jury mortgage Harris. If it is the last thing I do on this earth I will

get Angel back. I will not stop searching Neither will hundreds of

other people. During filming we heard about two more dogs going

missing. They do all this and tear around. Look at them. Any minute

now, they are off. How long has it been? They went on the 28th of

November, in the morning. It is too long. Four weeks after Baxter went

missing, Colin thinks he could be getting closer. There were a number

of cars not linked, witnesses not interviewed properly? Lead to one

specific person, who we believe ? COMM Because the suspect held a

firearms licence, properly so we did it again and it

led to one specific person, who we believe was involved in the theft of

Baxter. Colin reported his research to the police. The police questioned

the suspect. Often suspects dump the dog shortly after they are

questioned. Which is exactly what happened with Baxter, who was

dumped, then found and handed in at a local vets. He came back to me and

was very happy. Unbelievable. He will not let us out of his sight.

So, Baxter is one dog off the growing list of stolen or lost dogs.

My Mac but, meanwhile, the search for Tia, Maisie, Angel, Barney and

Robbie, along with thousands of other stolen and lost dogs,

continues. I last story is about a woman's

determination to commemorate the many children who died in the

biggest single loss of life here in Great Yarmouth, and unusual story

involving geese, a clown and circus tricks, and it is an important part

of our history. MUSIC: Metallica, "Ride The

Lightning". Circuses have been wowing audiences

for hundreds of years. The modern circus was invented in England in

the 18th century. And travelling circuses would come up with weird

and wonderful ways to drum up business. But this is the story of a

circus publicity stunt that ended in tragedy. The Hippodrome in Great

Yarmouth is celebrating 110 years of pulling in the crowds. Peter Jay has

been running the circus for 35 years. Peter knows getting publicity

is the answer to big crowds. But it was very different during the

Victorian era. Nowadays, you've got all the news media, you've got the

internet, Facebook, Twitter... In those days, you had to literally

dream up a stunt that would grab people's attention and make people

talk to get in the local newspapers, because that's the only form of

communications, way before radio and television. So they had to come up

with something really strong, every week, when they were moving. In

1845, there was a real buzz in Great Yamouth. The circus was coming. And

the star of the show was a clown called Arthur May Nelson. The

well`rehearsed stunt to advertise the circus was bizarre to say the

least. What did he actually do? He came up with this idea to drive a

bathtub pulled by four geese down the river as they obesity stunt. It

was the most weird and wacky thing. Certainly pulled a huge crowd. It

sounds very odd, but that did get the word out that the circus was in

town. I don't know where the idea came from. Whether it was part of

his act, I have no idea. It was the most wacky, weird thing.

The word spread through Great Yarmouth. Nelson the Clown was on

his way. He'd be coming down the river, being towed by four geese.

Hundreds of people lined the river banks, and just here the suspension

bridge was packed with 400 people, all eager to see this bizarre

spectacle. But as Nelson the Clown rounded the corner, everyone on the

suspension bridge moved to get a better look. The shift in weight on

the bridge was colossal. It collapsed. Virtually everyone was

thrown into the water. The screams of delight turned to screams of

terror as the iron bridge came crashing down. 79 people were

killed. 59 were children. It was, and still is, the single most loss

of life from one event in Great Yarmouth. This pub's name is the

only remaining reference to the bridge, that was never replaced.

There's very little here to tell anyone what happened. Apart from

that blue plaque on the side of the White Swan pub. There's no memorial

to those who died. Julie Staff and her husband run a deckchair business

on the beach at Yarmouth. Julie feels the suspension bridge tragedy

is something that has been forgotten, and is raising money for

a permanent memorial. It's because I'm a mother and grandmother. It's

because I've got eight grandchildren. The thought that they

would've been so excited to watch a freebie, because that's what it was.

Nelson the Clown had advertised the stunt, hundreds lined the

embankments and 400 stood on the suspension bridge. The thought of

him coming down the river ` it's quite bizarre anyway ` but they

would've been so excited, stood on the bridge, waiting for the big

moment, then within seconds it had all been lost, they were catapulted

into the river below. The majority couldn't even bury them because they

were so poor. The bridge owner gave a small amount of money and they're

buried in Great Yarmouth Minster, in groups of 30. Those that died are

buried here. The funerals were held in large groups because the families

were so poor. But even the reverend read over them, "It's the wickedness

of Great Yarmouth people who are being punished because their

children can't read or write." So there was never any respect right

from when it happened, really. It is one of the worst disasters in Great

Yarmouth but there is nothing in the town to say that it ever existed. I

have started a campaign to get a memorial to stand where the bridge

fell. I didn't want grants or funding, I just wanted it to be made

by the people, because I think that's putting the respect back

that's been missing from all these years, really. The Hippodrome is

synonymous with Great Yarmouth. And even though the tragedy happened

decades before it opened, its owner wants to do his bit to help Julie

remember those who died on the River Bure that day.

As well as running the Hippodrome, Peter Jay loves circus memorabilia.

And he stumbled across a piece of history that is connected to the

suspension bridge tragedy of 1845. I only collect stuff from Great

Yarmouth, and somebody said, "I've got 12 old posters prior to the

Hippodrome opening ` are you interested?" I said, "Well, if

they're Yarmouth, I will buy them." And amongst them, amazingly, was

this classic poster. So this is it, here. This is the actual poster `

that is Nelson being pulled by these geese, and it was in this

collection. So when you bought that, you had no idea what was in that

clutch of posters? Something so poignant for the history of

Yarmouth? And it was only really later on that the story came out

about the bridge disaster, and I thought, "I actually have that

poster." So what does it say on there? There's loads of writing on

there. It's amazing, actually, because there is a lot of text on

there, which nowadays we're trying to have as little writing as

possible. Some of this is absolutely bizarre. "Mr Nelson will himself

appear as a candidate for public favour with modesty and deference,

but with a determination to do all in his power to merit the kindness

which may show in him." And it says here, "Mr Nelson, the celebrated

clown and modern Yorick, will sail on the River Bure, starting from

Yarmouth Bridge to Vauxhall Gardens, at five o'clock on the above day."

In the end that day was that fateful day.

Meanwhile, Julie's just hoping the campaign can raise enough money for

a proper memorial at the site of the disaster. It's expected to cost

?5,000. I want a permanent memorial to stand here, because this is

actually where the bridge fell. I've got permission and everything for it

to be put in place. It's going to be a big piece of granite in the shape

of a book, and it's going to have all the names of all the people that

died and also drawings to tell the story. It's definitely part of Great

Yarmouth's history, and it's something that has somehow slipped

through the net, really. For more than a year, Julie has been

campaigning to raise the money for the memorial, and today her dream

finally becomes a reality. And she's since discovered that the historical

records were wrong. 78 people were killed instead of 79. And the

wording on the memorial will reflect that. Today is about the journey I

have been armed. Lots of people giving me lots of support along the

way. I told the story to everyone who would listen to tell the story

of what happened on that terrible day in 1845.

It is 14 months of my life and today is the inner core of everything, and

it feels like it has been put right. `` it is the pinnacle of everything.

What is also really special about the memorial is that all the money

was raised by people right here in Great Yarmouth. That is it for this

week. If there is something you think we should be looking into, you

can send me an e`mail or contact me on Twitter. See you next week when I

reveal more stories from the East. In a special programme, we find out

who owns the East. And who really owns your town and what rights do

you have to walk way you please? There is no such thing, really, in

this country, as a public right to use land.

Plus the plant that can pull down a house. We need the home owners left

with a bill for thousands.