27/01/2014 Inside Out East

Naming and shaming. Is it the answer? Bad parking is a nuisance

and it can cause accidents. I headmistress in Northampton thinks

she can stamp it out. You do need to park safely. Because it is breaking

the law, double parking. I know, I know. Shattered dreams. I'm off to

Spain to try to find an end to the property nightmare that has left a

couple from Suffolk badly out of pocket. We love the outdoors, so

that is what we were going to do, but it has all been taken away. And

we look back 70 years to the summer when Essex was targeted by were

mechanical monsters, the Doodlebugs. Revealing the story is

closer to home, this is Inside Out. The night, Inside Out is in

Northampton. Welcome to Northampton. When you see somebody badly parked,

it can really wind you up, but apart from being irritating, it can be

potentially dangerous. Iwan Thomas I spent the day with a headless

mistress who thinks that she has the answers. It's the start of the

school day for Jackie Lapsa, the head teacher of Vernon Terrace

primary school in Northampton. But it's not teaching that is taking up

her time. It's policing the parking outside. It is actually against the

law to double`park. The pick`up and drop`off outside any school can be a

nightmare for parents, teachers and kids Jackie invited us to take a

look at the problem she faces outside her school gates. So I sat

in my car, and waited to see if parking chaos would unfold. There's

the problem right there. What the issue is, you've got quite a narrow

street. You've got residents' parking as well. So with vehicles on

both sides, all it takes is one car to stop, like it has now, and it

blocks the whole road up. Jackie Lapsa is so concerned that there

could be an accident that she's taken the extraordinary step of

taking photos on her mobiles of those parked illegally. You're quite

passionate about this, to say the least. I am. I'm very passionate

about it because I'm really worried that a child or an adult is going to

get knocked over and seriously hurt. And when you turn up with a mobile

phone, checking the license plate, that can't go down too well with

everyone. It does not go down well at all. Some parents will apologise

and Seo are properly future. But there are others who will either be

downright rude although totally ignore me. Excuse me. That is

double`parked. Laws are laws. I would listen to her. She looks quite

daunting. But some people aren't. A parent just completely blanked her.

She said, you are parked illegally, and he blanked her and just walked

straight past and ignored her. So, obviously, people have to drop their

kids off. Their argument is there's nowhere else to go, but can be

dangerous for the kids. I see both sides of the story, but some of the

parents clearly don't care. So with her message not getting through to

everyone, Jackie decided to go a step further than just taking

pictures. So what's happening here? Is this the culprits written down in

your pad? That's right. Those are the numbers that I've taken photos

of this morning of cars that have been double`parked or illegally

parked. Quite a few. I notice you put them into your computer. That's

a lot of data. It is. There were a lot of cars this morning, but on a

cold or a wet morning it's fairly typical. So this is what Mrs Lapsa

will do. If you park badly and you're a danger, you're going to get

found out. Because everyone who comes through the school gate, and

your licence plate is on the bottom. So beware. You will be shamed. Prime

example right here. Two cars illegally parked here, with massive

writing, bold writing. Children Keep Clear. They blatantly don't care.

Bad parking outside schools is a familiar sight across Britain.

Parents on the school run parking on double yellow lines or sometimes

even on the zigzags. And that's illegal, but worse than that, it's

putting young lives in danger. According to the research group Road

Safety Analysis, over 1,000 children a month get injured on local roads

around British schools And insurers say 37% of local school areas had at

least one child road injury each year from in the past five years.

Last year, Newcastle Council introduced a manned camera car to

try and catch bad parkers. It waits outside Newcastle's schools and

films drivers breaking the law. Drivers who are caught can be fined

up to ?70. But while the camera car is effective, it's also expensive to

run. And it can't be outside every school all of the time. That

technology seems a world away from Vernon Terrace in Northampton. And

as the school day comes to an end, it's just Jackie and the camera on

her mobile phone. This car is parked on the zigzag. So is that one.

They've been here all day. We filmed with them this morning. So I don't

know whose they are. Where have you parked this time? I was able to find

a place today. You found a place. Excellent. Normally it's very hard

to find a place. I know, but you know that we need you to park

safely. And to be fair, local parking spaces are limited. There is

no parking facility. If there was a traffic warden here, you'd have to

move. We have to move their all the time. So your daughter's at the

school. And you are very passionate, as is the head, about this parking

issue. Definitely, because it's a very dangerous situation. It's a

good thing, knowing what she's like, just wanting to cross the road. At

any point a car could just hit. So really it's good, because she's got

the safety of the kids at heart, really. Twice I've nearly been

knocked over. I've got a two`year`old daughter as well. I've

also reported it to the police and I've had several dealings with the

local council and with the highways department, and I've had no support.

You know you do need to park safely. I know, but this is as safe as you

can get because of the rain. It isn't. Because it's breaking the

law, because it's double parking. I know. But it is not safe to do. We

do need you to park safely. Some might say that Jackie should be

spending more time teaching and less time preaching. Jackie wishes she

could. If only it were that simple. Or safe. Well, I must say that we've

been here all day and so have those cars down there, still on the

zig`zags. I must say, you certainly have a battle on your hands. I wish

you all the best with it. Thank you. I appreciate you coming today. And

yes, we have. But we'll win. In the end. You're a winner. If there is

something you think we should be looking into, you can send me a

tweet, or you can e`mail me. Robert Inside Out for the East of England.

Still to come, going back to 1944, when the East was under attack from

Hitler's Doodlebugs. Germany's indiscriminate bombing that run riot

with the use of the flying bomb. Everyone looks forward to their

retirement. One couple from Suffolk wanted to spend theirs in the sun

and they have lost their life savings, and sadly they are not

alone. I have into the south of Spain to find out whether any end to

the nightmare is in sight. This is Andalucia in southern Spain

and it's not hard to see why the British retire here in their

thousands. In fact the British love this region

so much, that many have invested their life savings to build their

dream home right here in the sun, and who can blame them?

The evidence of the building boom is clear to see all around here. The

hillsides and valleys are peppered with flats, villas and swimming

pools, it's all pretty idyllic. Except much of what you see here is

an illusion. Many of those who built homes here in Andalucia have been

told they were put up illegally. These homes haven't even been lived

in. So instead of having a stress`free retirement people have

had years and years of worry and its cost them hundreds of thousands of

pounds. Because if the authorities here

decide your home is illegal then you could pay the ultimate price. This

British villa was bulldozed in Andalucia just a few months ago, and

it's a future which could now face the Coopers from Suffolk.

We'd have been sat on the veranda there overlooking the pool but also

overlooking the countryside, which was completely open views for us.

You think, we should have been out there now. Like many people, Paul

and Sue Cooper had always wanted to build a home abroad, somewhere warm

to enjoy their retirement. But their plans to live in Spain have brought

nothing but pain. I wanted the life, and to get the bikes out going to

the villages just we loved the outdoors so that's what we were

going to do but its all Their villa is one of as many as

300,000 properties in Andalucia caught up in a legal wrangle.

Declared illegal, they stand in limbo. No`one has received a penny

in compensation, including the Coopers, who have invested thousands

in a home now cannot even live in. I seem to think it was around about

160,000 Euros, the villa itself, at the time. And we had some extras

built onto that so I think the total cost would have been about 180,000

Euros. So as far as you were both concerned you had all relevant

checks everything in your mind was totally above board and legal? Yes,

because our solicitor is one that will dot the Is and crosses the Ts.

If But also we had some of own checks if you like, built in checks

that we wanted to test. Those checks included ensuring the developer had

installed all the essential services for the estate before they handed

over any money and taking out a mortgage from a bank for part of the

property. Our belief there was that if a bank was prepared to give a

mortgage on the property, they would do their own checks to make sure it

was legal and that would be extra comfort for us. So when did you get

the devastating news that everything had gone catastrophically wrong? I

think it was round about October 2006 that we had a phone call from

our lawyer one day, that there appears to be a problem with the

development and the Junta of Andalucia had put a temporary stop

notice on the development. So how did this all come about? Well for

years it seemed that people were able to build on these hillsides

with little or no restriction, but then about ten years ago the

regional authorities decided to get tough in a bid to stop the

urbanisation of the countryside. In 2003, a planning law was introduced

by the regional council, or Junta, which meant it was illegal to build

in the countryside unless for agricultural use, but it's how that

law is interpreted, and enforced, which seems to be causing a major

headache. The Coopers should have moved into their home here seven

years ago. But in all that time, their case has been tied up in a

legal battle between the regional and local council about whether

their homes are lawful or not. The Coopers villa is on a small estate

in the Almanzora Valley, around a 40 minute drive from the coast.

Do you no, it's incredible to think that this actually should be a

thriving bustling community of ex pats from Britain all enjoying their

retirement but in fact its abandoned, there's no`one here and

if you just listen it's incredibly quiet, its so eerie, this is just a

ghost town. For the best part of a decade a battle has been going on to

try and get developments like this declared legal. Along with hundreds

of others, the Coopers have joined a campaign group which has hired

lawyers to fight their cause in the courts, but the case has been

delayed again and again and again. Maura, whose fault is this? Well

ultimately we think the responsibility lies with the

regional government because this sort of lack of control in the

planning systems happens in a vacuum, the problems occur in a

vacuum when there is no control and we think that the situation is not

good for anybody its not good for the economy of Spain its not good

for the image of Spain, it most certainly is not good for the

unfortunate people who purchased these houses from developers and it

just needs to have some common sense and some rational decisions made to

sort this problem out rather than letting it drag on and on and on to

the detriment of everybody concerned. Why did you join the

campaign Brian? Because I had an illegal house I didn't know it until

three months after I purchased, moved in with my family, found out

from my neighbours there was a problem and I was on the list. Are

you facing the probability that you could lose your home? Yes, the

ultimate that I have all the paperwork I have all the what they

call as Escatora I have utilities services from the main suppliers I

have the licence for everything of the house and what they call a first

habitation licence which allows me to live in there with all those

facilities and yes if I lose my case it is potential it could go to

demolition and I lose everything. The Coopers could also face a

demolition order as could the entire estate, if the courts uphold the

decision that the development is illegal. I went in search of the

Coopers villa, but sadly it no longer looks much like the photo

they showed me. The couple haven't been out here for years

understandably they find it far too upsetting to see all of their hard

earned money go to waste so I've said that I'll have a look at it.

It's devastating to see what remains of their house. Its so close to

being finished I mean the tiling is done it looks like they were

probably a few weeks from finishing it and you go inside and the

fireplace has been ripped out, its been ransacked, loads of stuff has

gone, wiring has been ripped out window fittings other fixtures, its

just a shell now and its at the very top of the development and it should

have been where they were enjoying their retirement looking out across

this beautiful vista but instead its just sitting here with shrub and

other things just growing all over it, its heartbreaking, its

absolutely heartbreaking, its not my place and I feel so sorry for them I

find it distressing just seeing this. What the people who've bought

villas here don't understand is why it has taken so long for this to be

sorted out. The authorities here have agreed to speak to me about the

Coopers situation. A representative from the local councils told me the

fault lies squarely with the Junta for changing the law retrospectively

and making homes built legally, now illegal. How do you go about

changing things is there hope for people in this awful situation?

Translation: As president of the local mayors I've been asked to put

together a legal proposition to the regional government which would

change state law and legalise around 96% of these properties. This must

happen there is no way we can defraud the British people who came

here in good faith. But the Junta, puts the blame squarely on the local

councils like the ones Snr Salas represents. Translation: The town

halls did it on the whole because they were looking to prosper and

felt they had to grasp the moment of the boom but they didn't respect the

rules and regulations which were in place as far as the state law is

concerned. The regional council told us it was also working on a plan

which would see the majority of these properties legalised, so it

seems both councils are singing from the same hymn sheet with a

resolution perhaps as early as next year. That is a lot worse than when

we saw it, yeah. Meanwhile back in Suffolk the Coopers are still

waiting, and their villa continues to deteriorate. So how does it make

you feel seeing the condition your villa is in? I'm sad because it was

such a lovely place and I'm so angry that through no fault of our own we

can't have it. We were two weeks away from more or less having it

ourselves. Let's be clear. What has happened is the Junta have put a

stop on this development six or seven seven years ago and not

allowed the developer and the bank to actually maintain the assets they

have built, so the Junta is now responsible for the assets

depreciating in the way that it has. We've spoken to the authorities out

there who have both told us independently that they will have

most of these properties legalised in the near future. Did you get it

in writing? No not in writng, obviously you've laughed at that

Sue, you don't believe it? No I don't even think if you got it in

writing it wouldn't happen, they've been promising this for how long,

Paul? Years. So you don't think this is going to happen? No, it's not

going to happen. The Coopers have resigned themselves to the fact they

will never move into their Spanish villa and will live out their

retirement in Suffolk. They don't expect to ever get their money back.

70 years ago, the East of England was under attack, terrorised by an

advanced weapon. Natalie Graham has been looking back to the summer when

the East was attacked by hecklers mechanical monsters, the Doodlebugs.

It was in the early hours of the summer 's morning nearly 70 years

ago that an unidentified flying object was spotted over the East

Coast. Diver, diver, diver. 101. The

descriptions at the time said the mysterious aircraft emitted a law,

rhythmic tone as it flew. It travelled at a terrific speed with

flames and bright lights trailing behind it. The year was 1944 and

Britain was under attack by robots. The Doodlebugs. I'd even though they

were the intended target, the people of Essex found themselves under

attack. Germany's indiscriminate bombing effort run riot in the use

of the later `` latest terror weapon the flying bomb. Nazi Germany had

finally unleashed its secret weapon. The V1, the Doodlebugs, was the

origin of the modern cruise missile. In the first week of June in 1944

Britain was euphoric. The successful Allied D`day landings across the

Channel in France just seven days before the first Doodlebugs landed

at giving the nation the feeling that at last we were winning the

war. But then the Doodlebugs were launched from secret sites along the

French and Dutch coasts. Their target, London. But the first one

was a little off target. Luckily enough it landed in open farmland in

north Kent, but it was quickly followed by the other flying bombs.

One would the doors of the pigsty, another landed in countryside. And

the other made its way to Bethnal Green, London, and claimed six

lives. The first fatalities of the bombings. The great legends of the

V1 's was that the fuel ran out as they came down and it sounded like

that, the thing was buzzing along with its pulse jet engine and

suddenly would stop at the explosion would take place 15 seconds later.

What actually happened is that the missile had a guidance system, a

little propeller on the front trying to go round a certain number of

times and when it had gone round a certain number of times the elevator

is on the missile was also added began to dive and as it's died its

fuel injectors and system could not overcome gravity and it stopped. The

Germans spent a lot of time trying to stop that happening but actually

it probably had a greater morale effect because of this dreadful

ominous silence. Into it, 2419 Doodlebugs fell on London. And the

effect on morale was devastating. The terror of the Blitz was still

fresh in the minds of Londoners, and many people left the city believing

rural areas to be a safe haven. What was the Essex countryside any safer

than the big city? It's gone on RDF intelligence that if you used our

control of the German spies we would use that as the deception at D`day,

we have control over every German spy in Britain. If we got them to

send misleading information back home then the Lovecraft upward

actually think that the weapons were overflying London and they would

shorten the range. When looked at coldly it was better that they

landed in the sparsely populated areas and the more densely pocketed

areas around here. It is estimated that bringing the V1 rockets don't

save as many as 50% of the potential casualties. So, the government was

prepared to sacrifice the lives of those in the countryside for London.

We can publish secret films from the killing grounds in England.

Intelligence plots, barrage balloons, anti`aircraft guns and

fighter plane patrols made Kent, Sussex and Essex the three most

dangerous places to live outside of London. Amongst the tales of tragedy

came some tales of survival. Such is the story of one little girl from

Essex who became a symbol of hope throughout the doodlebugs summer.

Irene Clements was the 11`year`old girl living in a terraced cottage in

maiden Stone, she was with her sister in her bedroom when they

heard the sound of a flying bomb. The engine stopped, a moment of

terror. She ran into the garden, into the Anderson shelter, the

doodlebugs fell on the cottages. She was thrown from one end to the other

of the shelter and when eventually she crawled out, totally confused

and dazed, she found the cottages had gone. There was just a heap of

rubble. Her mother and father were at the cinema at the time, the. ,

they rushed home and what happened, the rescue squad had already arrived

and the fireman had picked up little Irene, 11 years old, in his arms,

and delivered her to the peasants. That picture was used in the Daily

Mirror and it became a symbol of those days in 1944. It was not just

the Doodlebugs that were at the forefront of technology. The RAF

Gloster meteor was Britain's first jet fighter and had a unique way of

bringing down the V1. And one of the first doodlebugs the jet plot down

crashed into this field. This one was brought down by the media pilot

getting his wing underneath the wing of the flying bomb, and the flying

bomb was controlled by the gyroscopes or if you could uncouple

that he could make it crash. He put his wing underneath and literally

tipped the aircraft over causing it to crash. This tree, this Oaktree,

remarkably, has survived the blast and survived the past 70 years. If

you look closely here you can see the impact marks of the shrapnel

from the excluding bomb. And 70 years on, pieces of shrapnel from

the excluded doodlebugs can still be the excluded doodlebugs can still be

found in the fields surrounding the crash site. That is a piece of

flying bomb. Shrapnel from the flying bomb. How do you know that?

It is completely typical of the shrapnel, you can see the way it is

distorted in bed. That has been blasted into that shape. That is a

piece of flying bomb from the summer of 1944. That is heavy with sharp

edges, that could do serious damage. There was approximately one tonne of

explosives and the flying bomb was literally shredded by the explosions

were this would have gone flying several hundred yards, so this

flying through the air was lethal. It was jagged, it would have been

white hot with the explosion, pretty lethal things. The whole of

south`east England is littered with these. On Friday, September eight,

1944 a rumour that Hitler had surrendered had reached London.

People left work early, flags began to fly, doodlebugs summer was at an

end. The Second World War was at an end. Or was it? At 6:43pm, a rocket

crashed into Chiswick. Unlike the doodlebugs, the rocket made no

warning sound and took just five minutes to reach London from the

Dutch coast. The V2 rocket had replaced the doodlebugs and brought

with it even more destruction and devastation. Albert Speer, Hitler's

architect, mentioned in his book that he vetoes could have been fully

operational at much earlier date, if they had received more support from

Berlin. If that had happened the outcome of the war might have been

very different indeed. That is it from Northampton, you can get in

touch with me through e`mail. I am also on twitter. See you next week.

I will have the amazing story of an incredible musician. He is wowing

audiences all over the world, Nicholas McCarthy only has one hand.

Could really is returned to the UK? We find out by experts are worried.

And as an East Coast wind farm celebrates expertly, we would at the

numbers, is this cost`effective power?

Jude Law has given evidence at the phone hacking trial. The court heard

a family member had sold stories about him. A former reporter said he

discussed intercepting