0:00:02 > 0:00:05In the next half an hour, are we willing to change?
0:00:05 > 0:00:08Would a charge on plastic bottles make us clean up and put
0:00:08 > 0:00:11an end to wildlife misery?
0:00:11 > 0:00:14As the population increases, more people are using plastic bottles,
0:00:14 > 0:00:15they're not getting recycled, it's just going to
0:00:16 > 0:00:18get worse and worse.
0:00:18 > 0:00:20Will Northern men heed the early warning that
0:00:20 > 0:00:24could prevent hundreds of deaths?
0:00:24 > 0:00:27If it had burst I would've been dead before I hit the bottom.
0:00:27 > 0:00:28That's how bad it is.
0:00:28 > 0:00:30So if you're getting one of these letters,
0:00:30 > 0:00:32follow it up straight away.
0:00:32 > 0:00:37And a change of home for a lethal jet that's landed in Yorkshire.
0:00:37 > 0:00:39It's highly advanced, it's beautiful-looking
0:00:39 > 0:00:42and it's superb performance but it is a bringer
0:00:42 > 0:00:46of death and destruction.
0:00:46 > 0:00:49I'm Chris Jackson and this is Inside Out.
0:01:03 > 0:01:06Now, today's the last day to tell the Government what you think
0:01:06 > 0:01:08about proposals to put the price of a bottle of water
0:01:08 > 0:01:10or fizzy pop up by some 15p.
0:01:10 > 0:01:13Campaigners say charging a deposit on plastic bottles will cut
0:01:13 > 0:01:16the amount of rubbish that litters our countryside
0:01:16 > 0:01:18and our beaches.
0:01:18 > 0:01:21And they also say that will be good for us humans and for wildlife.
0:01:21 > 0:01:27But will it work?
0:01:31 > 0:01:34Tens of thousands of new plastic bottles pour off the production line
0:01:34 > 0:01:40every day and when their contents are drunk, they're thrown away.
0:01:42 > 0:01:44In Northumberland, they come here to be crushed,
0:01:44 > 0:01:47bailed and recycled.
0:01:47 > 0:01:49But what about those of us who haven't taken the time
0:01:50 > 0:01:53to dispose of our rubbish properly?
0:01:53 > 0:01:55We've all seen it before.
0:01:55 > 0:01:58Go to any public place and you'll find a bottle that's
0:01:58 > 0:02:03just been chucked away.
0:02:06 > 0:02:09Sally Williams is a keen kite surfer.
0:02:09 > 0:02:11This is her favourite beach, near Bamburgh.
0:02:11 > 0:02:14The North East coastline is one of the cleanest in Europe,
0:02:14 > 0:02:16but according to Sally, we're not free from
0:02:16 > 0:02:24the scourge of plastic.
0:02:24 > 0:02:26It's mainly people, tourists, coming to the beaches,
0:02:26 > 0:02:28having picnics and they just use plastic bottles and they
0:02:28 > 0:02:29only use them once.
0:02:29 > 0:02:33Even dog walkers will bring water for their dogs in plastic bottles.
0:02:33 > 0:02:37Twice a year, Sally and volunteers from Surfers against Sewage
0:02:37 > 0:02:40stage a litter-pick along the UK coastline.
0:02:40 > 0:02:46They collected 18,000 plastic bottles last spring.
0:02:46 > 0:02:49As the population increases, more people are using plastic bottles,
0:02:49 > 0:02:51they're not getting recycled, it's just going to get
0:02:51 > 0:02:54worse and worse, and then we are going to see what they see
0:02:54 > 0:02:57in the south, on the beaches in the south of the country.
0:02:57 > 0:03:00It's just all going to get washed up here as well.
0:03:00 > 0:03:05And we'll find out later how they get on in the autumn clean-up.
0:03:09 > 0:03:12In Sweden, 90% of all plastic bottles are recycled.
0:03:12 > 0:03:14And that's because there's a cash incentive to dispose
0:03:15 > 0:03:18of them responsibly.
0:03:18 > 0:03:20The main motivation is that people want to get
0:03:20 > 0:03:22their deposit money back.
0:03:22 > 0:03:28The second reason is that people like to do the environment a favour.
0:03:30 > 0:03:34The deposit refund scheme, or DRS, relies on a mark-up of around
0:03:34 > 0:03:3810-15p for a full bottle.
0:03:38 > 0:03:40This is refunded when the empties are disposed
0:03:40 > 0:03:42of via a machine like this.
0:03:42 > 0:03:46So, has it cut down on bottle-dumping in Sweden?
0:03:46 > 0:03:48Normally they don't lay on the ground for long
0:03:48 > 0:03:51because people see that there's one crown laying there and
0:03:51 > 0:03:57they want that crown.
0:03:57 > 0:04:03The system is being trialled in Scottish universities, and,
0:04:03 > 0:04:05according to the country's biggest supplier of vending machines,
0:04:05 > 0:04:06the results are positive.
0:04:06 > 0:04:10If somebody was to buy a bottle on the campus they will indeed use
0:04:10 > 0:04:11one of these machines.
0:04:11 > 0:04:14They will get a reward for using the machine.
0:04:14 > 0:04:16But it's proving that instead of a weekly collection
0:04:16 > 0:04:19from the local kerb-side boys, they don't have to do
0:04:19 > 0:04:21that because the plastic is actually bagged and tagged,
0:04:21 > 0:04:25ready to be lifted.
0:04:25 > 0:04:28Back south of the border, would these shoppers in Carlisle
0:04:28 > 0:04:29bother to use the scheme?
0:04:29 > 0:04:30Yes, I would.
0:04:30 > 0:04:31I would.
0:04:31 > 0:04:33Because you're going to get your money back anyway,
0:04:33 > 0:04:36so you might as well pay out in the first place,
0:04:36 > 0:04:38and to stop the landfills, and you're killing the planet.
0:04:38 > 0:04:43Well, if it works, yeah.
0:04:43 > 0:04:46Gets them to stop throwing them in the gutter and all over the place!
0:04:46 > 0:04:47I don't think so.
0:04:47 > 0:04:49We probably wouldn't but our grandchildren would.
0:04:49 > 0:04:51The grandchildren would have us stashing them for them
0:04:51 > 0:04:53and they would take them back, wouldn't they?
0:04:53 > 0:04:54I like it.
0:04:54 > 0:04:55That's easy!
0:04:55 > 0:04:59Anything recycling's good, isn't it?
0:04:59 > 0:05:01Now, if money isn't enough of an incentive, how
0:05:01 > 0:05:04about this for a thought?
0:05:04 > 0:05:07The plastics we're throwing away are having a devastating
0:05:07 > 0:05:11affect on our wildlife.
0:05:11 > 0:05:13effect on our wildlife.
0:05:13 > 0:05:16And potentially that could harm us, too.
0:05:16 > 0:05:18The large bits of plastic end up being broken up,
0:05:18 > 0:05:21fragmented by the natural wave action, the same sort of thing
0:05:21 > 0:05:24that forms the sand, and they get broken up,
0:05:24 > 0:05:26broken down into smaller and smaller pieces.
0:05:26 > 0:05:29And how long would that take?
0:05:29 > 0:05:33It could take hundreds of years to get some large bits of plastic
0:05:33 > 0:05:34down to these smaller sizes.
0:05:34 > 0:05:37A lot of the stuff we're talking about is what we can't
0:05:37 > 0:05:39necessarily see on the beaches.
0:05:39 > 0:05:41How big is the problem?
0:05:41 > 0:05:44How big is the scale of this?
0:05:44 > 0:05:49Well, the estimates vary but it's probably roundabout sort
0:05:49 > 0:05:51of 12 million tonnes per annum is pushed into the marine
0:05:51 > 0:05:55environment, so that's an enormous amount of plastic that gets
0:05:55 > 0:05:59into the system and that we then have to contend with, really.
0:05:59 > 0:06:02And of course the wildlife - they don't know that it's plastic,
0:06:02 > 0:06:04they think it's food.
0:06:04 > 0:06:06Absolutely.
0:06:06 > 0:06:09They don't distinguish between sort of something that is made by us
0:06:09 > 0:06:15and something that is desirable for them to eat.
0:06:18 > 0:06:21Richard has been researching the causes of seabird deaths
0:06:21 > 0:06:25and his findings are alarming.
0:06:25 > 0:06:27Almost like every sample he has dissected, this has
0:06:27 > 0:06:30plastic in its stomach.
0:06:30 > 0:06:33This is a young bird, it's not had a long time
0:06:33 > 0:06:35to accumulate plastic.
0:06:35 > 0:06:39A more typical bird would have that sort of amount and variety
0:06:39 > 0:06:42of different sorts of plastics.
0:06:42 > 0:06:45A lot of the pieces will be sharp, jagged edges that can actually
0:06:45 > 0:06:49puncture the stomach wall, but just having that volume can give
0:06:49 > 0:06:52the animal the impression that it's actually fed,
0:06:52 > 0:06:55and so may not actually go out and forage properly.
0:06:55 > 0:06:59Just looking at that and comparing it to the size of the bird,
0:06:59 > 0:07:02I'm trying to imagine what that would be in human terms, how much
0:07:02 > 0:07:04plastic that's inside someone.
0:07:04 > 0:07:06An approximation, it's like having something like that
0:07:06 > 0:07:08in your stomach constantly.
0:07:08 > 0:07:09What, all these?
0:07:09 > 0:07:10Yes.
0:07:10 > 0:07:12Wow.
0:07:12 > 0:07:13So seabirds are clearly at risk.
0:07:13 > 0:07:17But what about the implications for us?
0:07:17 > 0:07:19I'm not going to be eating plastic myself.
0:07:19 > 0:07:21Should I be worried?
0:07:21 > 0:07:24Well, you may not be eating plastics directly but you may be
0:07:24 > 0:07:25doing it indirectly.
0:07:25 > 0:07:28All those plastics that we found in the birds,
0:07:28 > 0:07:31it's all in the environment, it's all been weathered down
0:07:31 > 0:07:36into smaller and smaller pieces, and when they are very small,
0:07:36 > 0:07:39microplastics, then they are the sorts of things that
0:07:39 > 0:07:45are ingested by other animals which we are then eating ourselves.
0:07:48 > 0:07:51It seems undeniable there is an urgent need for the safe
0:07:51 > 0:07:56disposal of plastics.
0:07:56 > 0:07:59Back with the bottle mountain, and they've now been sorted, bailed,
0:07:59 > 0:08:02ready for their onward journey, and the next time you see these,
0:08:02 > 0:08:05they could just as easily be another bottle, or it could be furniture,
0:08:05 > 0:08:09a street lamp or even a fleece.
0:08:13 > 0:08:15Suez is a major player in European recycling,
0:08:15 > 0:08:18so what is its position on the deposit return scheme?
0:08:18 > 0:08:21We have been a supporter of DRS as part of a comprehensive
0:08:21 > 0:08:25and competent collection system.
0:08:25 > 0:08:27We've experience of it in Sweden and Northern Europe,
0:08:27 > 0:08:32and it compliments our business.
0:08:32 > 0:08:35It brings more material back, which increases the catch rate
0:08:35 > 0:08:37of bottles, it can reduce contamination for us
0:08:37 > 0:08:39and it will bring more materials away from litter
0:08:39 > 0:08:43and from the residual waste room.
0:08:46 > 0:08:50But there are those who think we're far too reliant on plastic.
0:08:50 > 0:08:54Richard Slade runs an eco-hotel in Northumberland.
0:08:54 > 0:08:57They draw their own water and serve it in reusable bottles.
0:08:57 > 0:09:02He believes the Government could do more to tackle the plastic problem.
0:09:02 > 0:09:05I think there should be heavy penalties for producers of plastic
0:09:05 > 0:09:09that's not eventually biodegradable or reusable, but I think
0:09:09 > 0:09:14the Government could go further and demand and legislate
0:09:14 > 0:09:17for the fact that plastics have to be able to be disposed of safely
0:09:17 > 0:09:24without polluting our environment.
0:09:27 > 0:09:30Back with the litter-pickers, and in the autumn clean-up so far,
0:09:30 > 0:09:35they've collected 12,000 dumped plastic bottles.
0:09:35 > 0:09:40So this is an example of the bottles we got today.
0:09:40 > 0:09:44These will be sent off to Ecover for recycling.
0:09:44 > 0:09:47I do think the deposit scheme would make a considerable difference
0:09:47 > 0:09:55in eradicating the plastic bottles that we do see in the environment.
0:09:55 > 0:09:57People just don't think of the consequences.
0:09:57 > 0:10:01It's just convenience and laziness.
0:10:01 > 0:10:03It's easier just to bury it in the sand and leave it
0:10:03 > 0:10:06there and it's somebody else's problem, but I think everyone's
0:10:06 > 0:10:09attitude needs to change.
0:10:10 > 0:10:13DRS can't be rolled out here for many months yet.
0:10:13 > 0:10:16If it is approved by the Government, perhaps future generations can spend
0:10:16 > 0:10:19more time enjoying the beach and not cleaning up the dangerous mess
0:10:19 > 0:10:24others leave behind.
0:10:26 > 0:10:28So, would a charge on plastic bottles change
0:10:28 > 0:10:30the way that you shop?
0:10:30 > 0:10:34Let me know what you think.
0:10:34 > 0:10:36My contact details are on the screen now.
0:10:43 > 0:10:46They've been described as unexploded bombs sitting inside your body
0:10:46 > 0:10:48and every year hundreds in our region will be
0:10:48 > 0:10:49killed by them.
0:10:49 > 0:10:50What are they?
0:10:50 > 0:10:52They are abdominal aneurysms.
0:10:52 > 0:10:56That's blood vessels that can rupture without warning.
0:10:56 > 0:10:58Now, men here in the North are being offered early
0:10:58 > 0:11:00diagnosis and a fix.
0:11:00 > 0:11:04But are we listening?
0:11:07 > 0:11:09James Cook Hospital in Middlesbrough.
0:11:09 > 0:11:1668-year-old Richard is about to have abdominal aortic aneurysm surgery.
0:11:16 > 0:11:20If it all goes badly wrong, I'll know nothing about it.
0:11:21 > 0:11:24The only person who's going to be left to pick up
0:11:24 > 0:11:26the pieces is my wife.
0:11:26 > 0:11:28At Newcastle's Freeman Hospital, 70-year-old John is also
0:11:28 > 0:11:38about to have surgery.
0:11:40 > 0:11:41I've got faith in it.
0:11:41 > 0:11:42And that's it.
0:11:42 > 0:11:43Do their job and, you know...
0:11:43 > 0:11:47As long as they wake us up!
0:11:47 > 0:11:49Two men, two operations.
0:11:49 > 0:11:50A keyhole repair and open surgery.
0:11:50 > 0:11:56One condition - abdominal aortic aneurysm.
0:11:56 > 0:11:59The aorta is the largest artery in the body.
0:11:59 > 0:12:01Normally it's around two centimetres across but it can weaken
0:12:01 > 0:12:10and balloon into an aneurysm.
0:12:10 > 0:12:12At 3-5.4 centimetres it's monitored.
0:12:12 > 0:12:155.5 and over, it's at risk of bursting, with catastrophic loss
0:12:15 > 0:12:17of blood, and needs surgery.
0:12:17 > 0:12:20In North Tyneside, an ultrasound scanning session is underway.
0:12:20 > 0:12:23The scans can pick up aneurysms and show their size.
0:12:23 > 0:12:31Men approaching 65 automatically get an appointment.
0:12:31 > 0:12:33You've just got a good attraction with a camera there.
0:12:33 > 0:12:34And the women!
0:12:34 > 0:12:36It's natural!
0:12:36 > 0:12:40The black circle is William's aorta.
0:12:40 > 0:12:42Your aorta's looking absolutely fine.
0:12:42 > 0:12:46Thank God for that.
0:12:46 > 0:12:49Just lie down and get your belly rubbed, so great for me!
0:12:49 > 0:12:50Prevention better than cure.
0:12:50 > 0:12:53Men are six times more likely than women to have an aneurysm.
0:12:53 > 0:12:56They've claimed many high-profile victims.
0:12:56 > 0:13:02One of the most famous was the physicist Albert Einstein.
0:13:02 > 0:13:04ARCHIVE: He received highest honours but lived
0:13:04 > 0:13:05quietly at Princeton, New Jersey.
0:13:05 > 0:13:09There, death came to Albert Einstein.
0:13:09 > 0:13:12Aneurysms can be as big as 15 centimetres.
0:13:12 > 0:13:15John's is 5.7.
0:13:15 > 0:13:19At the Freeman, he's having endovascular surgery to fit stents.
0:13:19 > 0:13:22They are compressed cages surrounded by fabric.
0:13:22 > 0:13:25They go through the aorta.
0:13:25 > 0:13:29It's akin to what they do nowadays if you have a blocked drain.
0:13:29 > 0:13:34They'll send a little robot down to realign the pipework
0:13:34 > 0:13:42from the inside and really that's what we're doing with this aorta.
0:13:42 > 0:13:43We are relining it from the inside.
0:13:43 > 0:13:45I think we're sophisticated plumbers!
0:13:45 > 0:13:48They use rods to push the stents up blood vessels from the groin.
0:13:48 > 0:13:50Once properly sited, they will spring open
0:13:50 > 0:13:52and lock into place.
0:13:52 > 0:13:55So we want to do the X-ray to see if the wires are going
0:13:55 > 0:13:57into the right position or not.
0:14:00 > 0:14:01How are you this afternoon - all right?
0:14:02 > 0:14:03Champion.
0:14:03 > 0:14:10OK...
0:14:10 > 0:14:12A patient here is back for a regular scan.
0:14:12 > 0:14:16And he's worried.
0:14:16 > 0:14:18They've found an aneurysm and it's grown because it's 5.4.
0:14:18 > 0:14:21So I've got to come back every three months, get it checked.
0:14:21 > 0:14:23OK, so Alex is going to do her measurements now.
0:14:24 > 0:14:25It does look like it's 5.5, though.
0:14:25 > 0:14:27All right?
0:14:27 > 0:14:30The risk that the aneurysm could burst is too great.
0:14:30 > 0:14:32Bursts kill around 90% of those who have them.
0:14:32 > 0:14:36There are usually no symptoms until it happens.
0:14:36 > 0:14:38Francis is referred for surgery.
0:14:38 > 0:14:42See you.
0:14:42 > 0:14:47I was half expecting it because it had grown last time but...
0:14:47 > 0:14:50Sometimes it misses the three-month, doesn't it?
0:14:50 > 0:14:55Back at James Cook, Richard's aneurysm is 6.5 centimetres wide.
0:14:55 > 0:14:59His open surgery is a bigger operation than fitting stents
0:14:59 > 0:15:04but stitched grafts may stay in place better than stents.
0:15:09 > 0:15:11There's your aneurysm.
0:15:11 > 0:15:14Now, that's what we're going to call the normal bit of aorta.
0:15:14 > 0:15:16The aneurysm is opened.
0:15:16 > 0:15:19They begin by sewing in the fabric graft, which is shaped
0:15:19 > 0:15:20like a pair of trousers.
0:15:20 > 0:15:23But there's a problem with bleeding.
0:15:23 > 0:15:25Sometimes the tissue of the aorta is incredibly
0:15:25 > 0:15:28difficult to work with.
0:15:28 > 0:15:31If you can get the top end to stay in nicely and not bleed, that's
0:15:31 > 0:15:33a big weight off your shoulders.
0:15:33 > 0:15:36One of the rookie mistakes, though, is to think the bottom end
0:15:36 > 0:15:43is going to be much easier and it isn't.
0:15:43 > 0:15:45That's really where we had the problems.
0:15:45 > 0:15:46Another screening session.
0:15:46 > 0:15:48This time in County Durham.
0:15:48 > 0:15:49This is Bill's first time.
0:15:49 > 0:15:55He doesn't know it but he has an aneurysm.
0:15:55 > 0:15:58OK, the top part of the blood vessel was actually slightly wider
0:15:58 > 0:16:01than the bottom part, the bit we had already seen,
0:16:01 > 0:16:03so we've taken your measurements and you have a small
0:16:03 > 0:16:06abdominal aortic aneurysm.
0:16:06 > 0:16:09Well, I didn't know, and now that I've got a clear
0:16:09 > 0:16:12picture of what's going on, I'm relaxed about it.
0:16:12 > 0:16:15It's something to deal with.
0:16:15 > 0:16:19You deal with it and you move on.
0:16:20 > 0:16:23Back at the Freeman, the team insert John's stents
0:16:23 > 0:16:29but they hit a snag.
0:16:29 > 0:16:34So what we're trying to do is get a wire to go into the hole
0:16:34 > 0:16:37in the stent graft that's left, which is quite a fiddly procedure.
0:16:37 > 0:16:39And at the moment we are being slightly frustrated because it looks
0:16:39 > 0:16:43like it's gone end and then it slips out again, so we have a number
0:16:43 > 0:16:47like it's gone in and then it slips out again, so we have a number
0:16:47 > 0:16:48of different wires and catheters.
0:16:48 > 0:16:50If we can't get in with one wire and catheter combination,
0:16:50 > 0:16:52we can try a different one.
0:16:52 > 0:16:54Yeah, so that looks like it's in.
0:16:54 > 0:16:56Around one or two people per 100 scanned will have an aneurysm.
0:16:56 > 0:16:58The screening programme in the North is run
0:16:58 > 0:17:04by Gateshead's Queen Elizabeth Hospital.
0:17:04 > 0:17:07We've actually found over 1,000 aneurysms and they then come back
0:17:07 > 0:17:09to see us regularly, and 240 more men have been referred
0:17:09 > 0:17:13for further treatment in vascular services.
0:17:13 > 0:17:17Back at the Freeman, John's stent is in place.
0:17:17 > 0:17:20We'll put in the catheter that's going to inject the dye in,
0:17:20 > 0:17:23so we can outline all the vessels.
0:17:23 > 0:17:28So I think we're happy we've got it as good as we can get it.
0:17:28 > 0:17:32What we're going to do now is we're going to have to take this equipment
0:17:32 > 0:17:34out and then repair the arteries.
0:17:34 > 0:17:42At James Cook, Richard's open operation is almost done.
0:17:42 > 0:17:45Now we've got the graft sewn in, and then these are the two limbs,
0:17:45 > 0:17:47there's the left limb and the right limb, OK.
0:17:47 > 0:17:55Everything's flowing nicely.
0:17:55 > 0:17:57So all we need to do now is make sure everything
0:17:57 > 0:17:59stops oozing and then we're ready to close up.
0:17:59 > 0:18:02One of the main causes of aneurysms is smoking.
0:18:02 > 0:18:04In Durham, Anthony has come for his yearly scan.
0:18:04 > 0:18:06A regular smoker, he gave up two years ago.
0:18:06 > 0:18:09His aneurysm was 4.1 centimetres.
0:18:09 > 0:18:11Right, I get 4.2 and 4.3.
0:18:11 > 0:18:12Great.
0:18:12 > 0:18:15Relieved.
0:18:15 > 0:18:17Anthony's aneurysm has grown by just one millimetre in a year.
0:18:17 > 0:18:21Lovely, so we'll see you again in 12 months.
0:18:21 > 0:18:25Eight aneurysms were scanned at these sessions,
0:18:25 > 0:18:32but of the 77 appointments, 22 men failed to turn up.
0:18:32 > 0:18:34For the no-shows, a cautionary tale.
0:18:34 > 0:18:39A year ago, George was going to miss his scan.
0:18:39 > 0:18:42I was eventually talked into it by my wife, she just says,
0:18:42 > 0:18:49look, you've got to come, so I did, just to keep the peace.
0:18:49 > 0:18:51On the ultrasound scan they found I had an aneurysm.
0:18:51 > 0:18:53That aneurysm turned out to be 9.7.
0:18:53 > 0:18:56If it had burst I would have been dead before I hit the bottom.
0:18:56 > 0:18:58That's how bad it is.
0:18:58 > 0:18:59So...
0:18:59 > 0:19:01If you're getting one of these letters, follow it up straight away.
0:19:01 > 0:19:04That decision to keep the peace means George can
0:19:04 > 0:19:05continue enjoying life.
0:19:05 > 0:19:12I've never looked back.
0:19:12 > 0:19:16Richard is woken after his operation.
0:19:16 > 0:19:20Recovery will take around three months.
0:19:20 > 0:19:24John's recovery from the stent operation is much quicker.
0:19:24 > 0:19:27A job well done.
0:19:27 > 0:19:30I'll be back home.
0:19:30 > 0:19:33Two men whose lives may have been saved by saying yes
0:19:33 > 0:19:37to a simple abdominal scan.
0:19:39 > 0:19:41And I'm really pleased to tell you that both Richard and John
0:19:41 > 0:19:44are recovering well.
0:19:47 > 0:19:49Now, what's the connection between a nuclear war plane
0:19:49 > 0:19:52and a tiny part of Yorkshire known as La Petite France?
0:19:52 > 0:19:53No?
0:19:53 > 0:20:01Well, Lucy has the answer.
0:20:01 > 0:20:10The Mirage IV in-flight, a supersonic aircraft capable of
0:20:10 > 0:20:14thousands of miles per hour. What is beauty belied its deadly purpose. It
0:20:14 > 0:20:18was built to drop a nuclear bomb 40 times more powerful than the one
0:20:18 > 0:20:26that destroyed Hiroshima. -- but it's beauty.It is highly advanced,
0:20:26 > 0:20:29beautiful to look at and superb performance but it is a bringer of
0:20:29 > 0:20:39death and destruction. The ultimate threat.The Mirage IV, pride of the
0:20:39 > 0:20:43French Air Force, now the latest exhibit at Elvington a museum and
0:20:43 > 0:20:49the plane buffs will love this one. Sleek lines, or like a rocket than a
0:20:49 > 0:20:54plain, and a huge Bombay built into its undercarriage. So why is this
0:20:54 > 0:20:58relic of the Cold War here in a hangar in the Yorkshire air Museum?
0:20:58 > 0:21:03Well, the big clue is right next to it. A British Halifax bomber but
0:21:03 > 0:21:12with French Air Force markings. France was defeated and occupied in
0:21:12 > 0:21:171940 but the bulk of her Air Force was safe in North Africa, and from
0:21:17 > 0:21:21there, air men formed two bomber squadrons that served at Elvington
0:21:21 > 0:21:31from 1944. There were so many French air men here, it became known as La
0:21:31 > 0:21:34Petite France, and this part of Yorkshire became a central part of
0:21:34 > 0:21:43the campaign to liberate Europe. This memorial garden in Elvington
0:21:43 > 0:21:50commemorates over 2000 and men who served with two full-French
0:21:50 > 0:21:54squadrons, and they paid a heavy price for the bombing raids over
0:21:54 > 0:22:01their own country. Over 200 of them died trying to liberate France.
0:22:01 > 0:22:07It is that French connection that lent the gift of the final surviving
0:22:07 > 0:22:13French bomber from a different era. The two squadrons are still flying
0:22:13 > 0:22:22today but during the 60s, 70s, 80s, the French nuclear deterrent was run
0:22:22 > 0:22:26by these Mirage IV aircraft, and the French squadrons based here flew
0:22:26 > 0:22:30them. So there's a really strong connection.It took more than a
0:22:30 > 0:22:35decade of red tape and high-level negotiations before it could be
0:22:35 > 0:22:41moved from France.Any transfer of a major nuclear defence aircraft to
0:22:41 > 0:22:48another country, let alone a museum third-party in another country,
0:22:48 > 0:22:53obviously has to be taken at the highest levels of government.But
0:22:53 > 0:23:00with the final hurdles cleared, earlier this year, on the outskirts
0:23:00 > 0:23:03of Paris, a team started the painstaking task of taking the parts
0:23:03 > 0:23:08of the aircraft apart and loading it onto a lorry. But it is as long as a
0:23:08 > 0:23:13swimming pool and with a 12 metre wingspan, this was never going to be
0:23:13 > 0:23:17easy. After a whole day spent loading, the giant consignment was
0:23:17 > 0:23:25finally on its way to Yorkshire in a convoy of two lorries and two vans.
0:23:25 > 0:23:29I've made the reverse journey to the one that brought it to Yorkshire. It
0:23:29 > 0:23:34was just a few miles from here in Paris that the aircraft was once
0:23:34 > 0:23:39displayed at the city's science Museum. The Mirage IV is an iconic
0:23:39 > 0:23:43aircraft in France. I am here to learn more about it from the elite
0:23:43 > 0:23:48group of pilots during the Cold War. -- pilots who flew it during the
0:23:48 > 0:23:54Cold War.It was the most beautiful aircraft that they built from the
0:23:54 > 0:24:02beginning. It was a fantastic aircraft. Capable of flying at very
0:24:02 > 0:24:09high altitude, 52,000 feet. It was a bomber, but some fighter pilots were
0:24:09 > 0:24:16very surprised. The only problem we had was the visibility due to the
0:24:16 > 0:24:24nuclear flash is very small. ARCHIVE: No doubt she took her pride
0:24:24 > 0:24:30in the Mirage IV... This was the poster boy of the
0:24:30 > 0:24:35French Air Force, built in 1964, and its ultimate weapon of attack in the
0:24:35 > 0:24:43new age. The Cold War began with the final collapse of Germany's Third
0:24:43 > 0:24:47Reich at the end of World War II. Relations between the Allies, the
0:24:47 > 0:24:52Communists of the union in the east and the capitalist West, quickly
0:24:52 > 0:24:56soured. Not the-occupied territories were carved up and the so-called
0:24:56 > 0:25:03Iron Curtain came down over Eastern Europe claimed by the Soviets. The
0:25:03 > 0:25:09Cold War was fuelled by an arms race of nuclear weapons capable of
0:25:09 > 0:25:19previously unimaginable destruction. Against this backdrop, this pilot
0:25:19 > 0:25:27got his wings back in 1970. He would one day fly a Mirage IV, armed with
0:25:27 > 0:25:30a 60 kilotonne nuclear warhead facing the Soviet Union. That
0:25:30 > 0:25:34warhead was a freefall bomb and had to be dropped directly over its
0:25:34 > 0:25:47target.You arrive at 600 knots, 200 feet, you climb at 4.5 G, and when
0:25:47 > 0:25:51the bomb is dropped, you have to descend very quickly by an
0:25:51 > 0:25:59upside-down manoeuvre at -20 degrees at night in the clouds to avoid the
0:25:59 > 0:26:06nuclear flash. It was a very difficult manoeuvre.
0:26:06 > 0:26:11It was a close-knit team of pilots who flew the plane. They shared the
0:26:11 > 0:26:14knowledge that should they undertake the mission they were trained for,
0:26:14 > 0:26:19thousands of people would die in an action that would probably be the
0:26:19 > 0:26:22pilot's last. The Mirage IV carried only enough fuel for the outward
0:26:22 > 0:26:30journey.It's not the question for a military who have trained to launch
0:26:30 > 0:26:37the bombs. And it was absolutely not in our mind to say... Yes or not.
0:26:37 > 0:26:44No. We were following orders and if it's not the case, change your job.
0:26:44 > 0:26:48It took four days of convoy travel for the aeroplane to reach its new
0:26:48 > 0:26:54home. When it arrived here in Elvington to join the collection,
0:26:54 > 0:26:58the prized Mirage IV was in bits like a giant ethics model, and it
0:26:58 > 0:27:05was then that the work to put it together had to begin. -- a giant
0:27:05 > 0:27:10airsix model. It took two weeks of hard work by
0:27:10 > 0:27:16French engineers before it was complete.
0:27:16 > 0:27:20It's now the only one in existence outside of France.People understood
0:27:20 > 0:27:26that this was the place for it to come. It's been a great project and
0:27:26 > 0:27:29you only have to look at it and realised it was worth every minute,
0:27:29 > 0:27:34really! An increasing proportion of the
0:27:34 > 0:27:38museum's collection now comes from the Cold War era and the Mirage IV
0:27:38 > 0:27:41joins planes like the victor nuclear bomb.
0:27:41 > 0:27:46That is its British equivalent. The front line of the French nuclear
0:27:46 > 0:27:49deterrent, the Mirage IV was designed to keep front of the global
0:27:49 > 0:27:53power, and after the bloodshed of the Second World War, able to resist
0:27:53 > 0:27:59ever be invaded again. Pierre believes it played a huge part in
0:27:59 > 0:28:09post-war peace.Absolutely for sure, 100%. Because never, never a
0:28:09 > 0:28:14president took the possibility to push the button first. But now, with
0:28:14 > 0:28:23North Korea, it's a real danger for us.It was once cutting-edge
0:28:23 > 0:28:27military technology. Now it's a museum piece. But the Mirage IV was
0:28:27 > 0:28:33designed to counter the threat of nuclear war, and today, decades on,
0:28:33 > 0:28:39that threat remains ever present.
0:28:39 > 0:28:45Fascinating stuff. But sadly, time for us to fly now.
0:28:45 > 0:28:49Next week, we Northerners missing a trick? We discover why we should be
0:28:49 > 0:28:55casting our eyes to the skies. I will see you next Monday. Until
0:28:55 > 0:28:57then, good night.