0:00:00 > 0:00:08Tonight, we are in Blackpool where we will find out what the future
0:00:08 > 0:00:15has in store for the historic North Pier. Tonight, we investigate the
0:00:15 > 0:00:21anonymous cyber trolls Khoury targeting the dead and bereaved.
0:00:21 > 0:00:28The whole purpose is to generate as much hurt and defence as possible.
0:00:29 > 0:00:36After Afghanistan, the volunteer medic settling into life back home.
0:00:36 > 0:00:43The boys have grown, everything has moved on. And they get the flowers,
0:00:43 > 0:00:49we meet the man who bought his wife a Blackpool Pier. I said, I will
0:00:49 > 0:00:59buy you this peer one-day. The opportunity came along, fate, I
0:00:59 > 0:01:06
0:01:06 > 0:01:10Use of the internet is now so widespread we can barely imagine
0:01:10 > 0:01:19life without it. But there is the flipside. Just as the Web can be
0:01:19 > 0:01:24used for a force to good, other people use it to inflict harm. As
0:01:24 > 0:01:34the BBC into -- launches its internet safety campaign, we
0:01:34 > 0:01:41
0:01:41 > 0:01:44investigate the murky world of cyber bullying. Where would we be
0:01:44 > 0:01:47without theinternet? It's brilliant! We can book holidays,
0:01:47 > 0:01:50chat to mates in Australia and send an insult to someone that we
0:01:50 > 0:01:53wouldn't dare say to their face! It's incredible. Reading through
0:01:53 > 0:01:56the threadson forums and in chat rooms you'd be forgiven for
0:01:56 > 0:02:06thinking that we're a planet full of spiteful people looking for a
0:02:06 > 0:02:06
0:02:06 > 0:02:11fight." Student Sophie was 20 when she was badly beaten up by gang of
0:02:11 > 0:02:21youths. Sophie was they got and they had been taunting her and her
0:02:21 > 0:02:25
0:02:25 > 0:02:30boyfriend about her appearance. -- goth. Sophie's mother was horrified
0:02:30 > 0:02:40to when she came across a site on the internet. I remember reading it
0:02:40 > 0:02:43
0:02:43 > 0:02:48and thinking, I can't believe this. They were talking about things that
0:02:48 > 0:02:55we just absolutely disgusting. It was devastating. It must have made
0:02:55 > 0:03:00you very angry? Really angry. How dare they? Who do they think they
0:03:00 > 0:03:05are? What right have they got? They don't even know her, they had never
0:03:05 > 0:03:11spoken to her. They had written the most offensive things. What do you
0:03:11 > 0:03:17think of these people who wore trolling? The air just -- they're
0:03:17 > 0:03:22just cowards. I can't understand why they think it is remotely funny.
0:03:22 > 0:03:31Somebody asked me about Freedom of speech, well actually, Freedom of
0:03:31 > 0:03:38speech brings responsibilities with that as well. You have a
0:03:38 > 0:03:44responsibility, and they should take heed of that. At the
0:03:44 > 0:03:48University of Central Lancashire, Clare has been researching trolling.
0:03:49 > 0:03:58Asked her why people do it. There seems to be an element of provoking
0:03:59 > 0:03:58
0:03:59 > 0:04:06as bigger reaction as possible. It is also trying to end -- impress an
0:04:06 > 0:04:10audience, trying to impress all of the trolls, I can put the most hurt
0:04:10 > 0:04:14full message. Things like that. we bring this into the physical
0:04:14 > 0:04:20world, if I come round to a house and shatter you, you can
0:04:21 > 0:04:25immediately do something about it and call the police -- shout at you.
0:04:25 > 0:04:29When it is online, there are all these extra problems such as, can
0:04:29 > 0:04:39you prove that the person sat at a message to that particular time and
0:04:39 > 0:04:44with that message. Even though we know these things are patently
0:04:44 > 0:04:48wrong, getting the person in question can be really difficult.
0:04:48 > 0:04:56You mentioned it is difficult to find these people. Why? Are to give
0:04:56 > 0:05:00you a simplistic version of how it works, every computer with the
0:05:00 > 0:05:05internet has an IP address. Normally cover going back to that
0:05:05 > 0:05:09home address is straight forward. When you start using types of
0:05:09 > 0:05:13software, it puts a number of different addresses in between, so
0:05:13 > 0:05:23that when new chart -- try to have traced back, you might get sent to
0:05:23 > 0:05:25
0:05:25 > 0:05:29the rank place. By the time you have -- be wrong place. It is so
0:05:29 > 0:05:36hard to trace Bluebird that only two prosecutions have ever been
0:05:36 > 0:05:39made in England. This man from Manchester was brought to the
0:05:39 > 0:05:47attention of the police when evidence of his bats was sent to
0:05:47 > 0:05:51neighbours. He is one of only two people prosecuted in this country
0:05:52 > 0:06:00for trolling. What did you find that led to that prosecution?
0:06:00 > 0:06:04had put different user names. He would make comments about the
0:06:04 > 0:06:08person that have passed away in an offensive way that would really
0:06:08 > 0:06:18hurt either the person who put the memorial site up, the parents or
0:06:18 > 0:06:18
0:06:18 > 0:06:26the person they have lost, and he would try to get a reaction. What
0:06:26 > 0:06:32makes someone like that it? kick was simply for the argument.
0:06:32 > 0:06:41You have got to say the most offensive things. He wanted to
0:06:41 > 0:06:46argue with you and get your upset and angry. I find it amusing. It is
0:06:46 > 0:06:52funnier if you get someone who response. It is my sense of humour,
0:06:52 > 0:06:56my personality. I comments have been so it excessive, that only a
0:06:56 > 0:07:02person who is seeking to be offended would be offended. I don't
0:07:02 > 0:07:08accept that at any point I have abused or genuinely upset anyone.
0:07:08 > 0:07:18This is a very difficult thing to police. How difficult? Extremely
0:07:18 > 0:07:19
0:07:19 > 0:07:23difficult. Sometimes you have to self police. What does that mean?
0:07:23 > 0:07:27If you put up a website, you have to realise it is like putting a
0:07:27 > 0:07:31paper book on the town hall steps on a Friday evening, and don't
0:07:31 > 0:07:36expect there to be lovely messages on a Monday morning. It will be
0:07:36 > 0:07:40full of messages from drunks who have just thought it would be fun
0:07:40 > 0:07:44to scribble something in it. This is exactly the same. You open up a
0:07:44 > 0:07:54Web page because someone has passed away and everybody in the world
0:07:54 > 0:07:59will be able to comment on it. They have got to understand that.
0:07:59 > 0:08:05law has not been updated since 2003 When the communications at made it
0:08:05 > 0:08:12an offence to send messages of indecent nature. Since then, you
0:08:12 > 0:08:22have seen the birth of the trolls favourite hangouts, Facebook and
0:08:22 > 0:08:23
0:08:24 > 0:08:27Twitter. You have got to protect people from this, to look at
0:08:27 > 0:08:31policing it. And then if somebody does it, you have got to prosecute
0:08:31 > 0:08:36them. It is those three things which might have an effect on
0:08:36 > 0:08:40idiots out there who decide two to go on somebody's memorial site and
0:08:40 > 0:08:45leave some horrendous measure -- message. By their very nature of
0:08:45 > 0:08:54this whole thing, once you start to try and suppressed trolling, are
0:08:54 > 0:08:59you not going to cross the fine line of Freedom of speech? There is
0:08:59 > 0:09:02always the danger going down this road to make sure you try to
0:09:02 > 0:09:06balance the civil liberties of individuals and the Freedom of
0:09:06 > 0:09:14speech with responsibility and perhaps the balance is not quite
0:09:14 > 0:09:24right yet. He had been involved in high profile campaigns, had you
0:09:24 > 0:09:29
0:09:29 > 0:09:35been trawled? -- trolled? If I had a memorial site, I think it would
0:09:35 > 0:09:45be a different issue. It is a water off a dark's back for me, but it is
0:09:45 > 0:09:47
0:09:47 > 0:09:57not always the case for other people. -- eight duck -- duck's
0:09:57 > 0:09:59
0:09:59 > 0:10:05back. Every time someone response, that is what the troll wants. If
0:10:05 > 0:10:13everyone just completely -- ignores the messages, it is a fail on the
0:10:13 > 0:10:18troll's Park. It can be extremely difficult, but that is the best
0:10:18 > 0:10:25solution. Do you think, because it is so remote, they don't understand
0:10:25 > 0:10:28the emotion? Or do you think they want to cause the damage? I would
0:10:28 > 0:10:36like to think it is because they don't know the damage that they are
0:10:36 > 0:10:44causing. Cos if you start thinking the other way, it is emotional
0:10:44 > 0:10:48abuse. Tomorrow it is the BBC's internet safety day. If you are
0:10:48 > 0:10:56concerned about any aspect of using the internet, we have lined up some
0:10:56 > 0:11:02expert advice. Go to the address on the screen. In the meantime, if you
0:11:02 > 0:11:08want to say it to someone's face, don't be a coward, don't say it
0:11:08 > 0:11:18online. Coming up, the family trying to restore but Paul's North
0:11:18 > 0:11:22
0:11:22 > 0:11:26appeared to its former glory. -- Black Paul's North Pier. Working in
0:11:26 > 0:11:30one of our busy hospitals is a tough job, but a group of medics
0:11:30 > 0:11:37have taken on an even bigger challenge, swapping a defect
0:11:37 > 0:11:47Afghanistan. Since last year, the world's largest trauma hospital has
0:11:47 > 0:11:51
0:11:51 > 0:11:56been running. We visit a hospital in Afghanistan and rejoin them to
0:11:56 > 0:12:01see their emotional trip home. is the end of a long journey for
0:12:01 > 0:12:07these men and women. The journey that has taken to -- taken them to
0:12:07 > 0:12:11one of the most dangerous places in the world. The men and women of
0:12:11 > 0:12:16this hospital are all from the north-west, and all normally work
0:12:16 > 0:12:20in hospitals and health centres around a region. After a 3,000 mile
0:12:20 > 0:12:27trip home to Liverpool, this was the reunion they had been waiting
0:12:27 > 0:12:33for but the family as they have not seen in four months. This man has
0:12:33 > 0:12:39missed Christmas with his two young sons. This is what is difficult
0:12:39 > 0:12:41about going away. Is the hardest thing to leave them. This woman has
0:12:41 > 0:12:48returned to meet her new granddaughter, born what she has
0:12:48 > 0:12:52been away. I spotted the pink hat and started crying. In just a few
0:12:53 > 0:12:57days, they will be settled in at home and back at work in the NHS.
0:12:57 > 0:13:07Over the last few months, these medics have been through some
0:13:07 > 0:13:09
0:13:09 > 0:13:13extraordinary experiences. Helmand, Afghanistan. Camp Bastion sits in
0:13:13 > 0:13:17the middle of the dusty plains. It is the centre of operations for the
0:13:17 > 0:13:22British military here and the main destination for the casualties of
0:13:22 > 0:13:26the conflict. Far north-west medics, it has been home for several months.
0:13:26 > 0:13:3150 members of the Territorial Army were released from their NHS jobs,
0:13:31 > 0:13:37while the MoD paid their salaries. Their task, to run the busiest
0:13:37 > 0:13:44former hospital in the world, leading an international team. As
0:13:44 > 0:13:51it is a military hospital, we had been asked not to show the patients.
0:13:51 > 0:13:59The patience are assessed outside... Back home, this man is a charge
0:13:59 > 0:14:05nurse at the Royal Liverpool -- a Liverpool hospital. Here, he is in
0:14:05 > 0:14:15charge of the injury unit. Amputees, Gun Shop wins, what you would
0:14:15 > 0:14:16
0:14:16 > 0:14:21expect in a war-zone. -- gunshot wounds. I have got two small boys.
0:14:21 > 0:14:26When you see children have come through of a similar age, it is
0:14:26 > 0:14:30very difficult to deal with. This woman works as a paediatric nurse
0:14:31 > 0:14:40in Warrington. At Camp Bastion, she has been looking after children
0:14:40 > 0:14:46You see them coming in very quiet and sullen. The environment is
0:14:46 > 0:14:51alien to them. It is nice to see the progression to the happy faces
0:14:51 > 0:14:56when they are going home. And they are led by an orthodontist from
0:14:56 > 0:15:03Lancaster. They are very skilled in the hospitals in the north-west. We
0:15:03 > 0:15:10bring them out here and get them to work in this high tempo. Then the
0:15:10 > 0:15:14NHS reaps the benefit of this experience and training. We have
0:15:14 > 0:15:23just heard that two patients are being brought in with serious
0:15:23 > 0:15:28injuries by helicopter. We have some with serious injuries, and one
0:15:28 > 0:15:35with less serious injuries. They are in theatre. One is having a
0:15:35 > 0:15:45scan as we speak. The cost of this war for civilians and the military
0:15:45 > 0:15:54
0:15:54 > 0:15:58This is the message to cut off all communications to the outside world.
0:15:58 > 0:16:03It means that someone has been critically injured or killed. The
0:16:03 > 0:16:13hospital does not want been used to leak out until its contacts their
0:16:13 > 0:16:22family. We heard the announcement three times during our stay. The
0:16:22 > 0:16:26fall and are listed at the National Memorial arboretum. On an afternoon
0:16:26 > 0:16:31when things had not gone as well as we had wanted, one of the nurses
0:16:31 > 0:16:35came up and said, today we have written him off the wall. That is
0:16:35 > 0:16:40what keeps this unit determined to do its best for any casualty who
0:16:40 > 0:16:47comes through the door. 90% of the wounded to arrive here do survive.
0:16:47 > 0:16:51That is the highest success rate in the history of warfare. Such an
0:16:51 > 0:16:54intense learning experience will only benefit the NHS when we return.
0:16:54 > 0:17:03Looking at different types of loans and trauma that you would not
0:17:03 > 0:17:12expect to see in the UK -- different types of the winds.
0:17:12 > 0:17:15four months, those cool, calm exteriors are finally abandoned.
0:17:15 > 0:17:25Does it feel strange coming back and finding a new addition to the
0:17:25 > 0:17:29
0:17:29 > 0:17:39family? Yes, it is someone I have got to get to know. Barry and Celia
0:17:39 > 0:17:43
0:17:44 > 0:17:51have a lot of catching up to do. threw the ball back over Jackie's
0:17:52 > 0:18:01roof. Peduncle Barry get it stuck on they have? Yes. Everything has
0:18:02 > 0:18:06
0:18:06 > 0:18:10moved on. The boys have grown, as you can see. They returned via
0:18:10 > 0:18:13Cyprus for a day of relaxation by the pool. We just chat about
0:18:13 > 0:18:22anything and everything - the things we have been doing while we
0:18:22 > 0:18:32are there. Far from a holiday, this was at carefully planned exercised.
0:18:32 > 0:18:35-- and carefully planned exercise. It is proved to reduce the
0:18:35 > 0:18:38incidence of post traumatic stress. Celia has never talked about what
0:18:38 > 0:18:44has happened. And I can understand why. There are times when you
0:18:44 > 0:18:48expect a phone call and it does not happen because the lines go down.
0:18:48 > 0:18:54When that happens you know that someone has been injured, and that
0:18:54 > 0:18:59is quite scary. It is difficult not being able to speak whenever we
0:18:59 > 0:19:07want to, especially if you had a bad day and wanted to ring home.
0:19:07 > 0:19:14That was difficult. There is a lot of adjusting to do at home, too.
0:19:14 > 0:19:17is very quiet, there are no helicopters or generators or people
0:19:17 > 0:19:27moving in and out when you're trying to sleep. It is peaceful.
0:19:27 > 0:19:35Strange. Lots of rest, get used to the silence of not having
0:19:35 > 0:19:42helicopters. I will introduce you to the washing machine and the
0:19:42 > 0:19:47Hoover! In the next few weeks, Barry and Celia will be back at
0:19:47 > 0:19:53work doing ordinary jobs in the NHS in the north-west. But every medic
0:19:53 > 0:19:58who has served here returns with new skills and experiences, and
0:19:58 > 0:20:06they have proved just how extraordinary they are.
0:20:06 > 0:20:10Now, one of Blackpool's most famous families has been the last few
0:20:10 > 0:20:20months looking after its latest accuse it -- acquisition - the
0:20:20 > 0:20:28
0:20:28 > 0:20:32She is the grand old lady of Blackpool, the town's all the stand
0:20:32 > 0:20:42longest pier, Bill three decades before the tower and stretching
0:20:42 > 0:20:45
0:20:45 > 0:20:51elegantly a third of a mile into the IVC. -- the Irish Sea. It was
0:20:51 > 0:20:54the Victorians who discovered the thrill of the seaside, but as the
0:20:54 > 0:20:59resort's popularity grew, they realised they had to extend the
0:20:59 > 0:21:08prom to cater for the tourists. Instead of going north or south
0:21:08 > 0:21:11they decided to extend into the sea. In the early years, hundreds of
0:21:11 > 0:21:16thousands strolled the decks. It was seen as an upper-class venue
0:21:16 > 0:21:21where ladies and gentlemen could have walk on water without getting
0:21:21 > 0:21:31seasick. A little bit of tranquillity and an antidote to the
0:21:31 > 0:21:32
0:21:32 > 0:21:39hustle and bustle of the Golden Mile. Yes, Blackpool has the
0:21:39 > 0:21:45pleasure business all worked out with factory efficiency. For the
0:21:45 > 0:21:52crowds, it is pleasure first and all the time.
0:21:52 > 0:21:56Nearly 150 years after it was built, there are new owners on the block.
0:21:56 > 0:22:01Meet the Sedgwicks, having their picture taken for the local paper.
0:22:01 > 0:22:04Mum, dad, two daughters, a son, a daughter-in-law, and a
0:22:04 > 0:22:10granddaughter - all committed to restoring the pier to its former
0:22:10 > 0:22:14splendour. But, for Peter Sedgwick, the prep -- the purchase was the
0:22:14 > 0:22:20simple fulfilment of a promise made 40 years ago. I propose to my wife
0:22:20 > 0:22:26on this pier. We always used to come on the pier and we love it. It
0:22:26 > 0:22:32has always been something special to us. I said, I will buy you this
0:22:32 > 0:22:36pier one day. The opportunity came along and, fate, I don't know. I do
0:22:37 > 0:22:43not think there is a pier anywhere like it, to be honest. It has some
0:22:43 > 0:22:49magic about it. When you think, like, Rochdale, Bolton and all the
0:22:49 > 0:22:54cotton towns around here, everybody used to, on Sunday, make their way
0:22:54 > 0:23:04to Blackpool and come for their day off on this pier. You look at the
0:23:04 > 0:23:17
0:23:17 > 0:23:24old photographs and it was packed, The Sedgwicks also run rides on the
0:23:24 > 0:23:28resort's other two piers - South and Central - where they operate a
0:23:28 > 0:23:34giant ferris wheel. The family will have to put millions of pounds into
0:23:34 > 0:23:37this 19th-century relic for it to survive in the 21st century. But
0:23:37 > 0:23:43their roots in seaside amusement are almost as deep as the pillars
0:23:43 > 0:23:50it stands on. Entertainment is in your blood, isn't it? Yes, on both
0:23:50 > 0:23:56sides, and even on my wife's side there was a famous Yorkshire family.
0:23:56 > 0:24:03It has run through our blood very deep. I have photos of my great
0:24:03 > 0:24:10great grandfather with his big show - the menagerie, and the cinema. He
0:24:10 > 0:24:16was very begin to that. He used to employ Mitchell and Kenyon to make
0:24:16 > 0:24:22films and to go round the local towns and film people at work and
0:24:22 > 0:24:26at school in different parts of the towns in Lancashire and Yorkshire.
0:24:26 > 0:24:29Then be used to show them on the big screen and charge a penny for
0:24:29 > 0:24:34people to go and see themselves. They would never have seen anything
0:24:34 > 0:24:40like that, would they? Not in those days. There were no zoos or
0:24:40 > 0:24:44television or anything like that. The pier must feel like a lot of
0:24:44 > 0:24:49responsibility for, because you have been entrusted with it by the
0:24:49 > 0:24:55people of Blackpool, in a way. You have to maintain it and you
0:24:55 > 0:24:59have to make it pay. You need the support of the people to come on
0:24:59 > 0:25:05the pier and play their part as well. But you have to give them
0:25:05 > 0:25:13value for money and you have to run it as a business. For Peter and his
0:25:13 > 0:25:17family, the 1,500-seat theatre is the pier's and therefore the
0:25:17 > 0:25:20business's jewel in the crown. It was one of the most popular venues
0:25:20 > 0:25:30in the north in days gone by. People like Les Dawson, Diana Dors
0:25:30 > 0:25:38
0:25:38 > 0:25:42and George Formby have all played #with my little stick of Blackpool
0:25:42 > 0:25:47rock. Over the summer, the Cedrics
0:25:47 > 0:25:53cancelled all the shows as they realised that the facilities were
0:25:53 > 0:25:58outdated and in poor repair and unlikely to attract modern stars.
0:25:58 > 0:26:02Our refurbishment was launched. First impressions? I think I was
0:26:02 > 0:26:12like, the stars come here? When I talked to an agent about stars and
0:26:12 > 0:26:16one thing another -- one thing and another, he said, you would have to
0:26:16 > 0:26:24tart the dressing rooms up. The stars expect better conditions in
0:26:24 > 0:26:28these days. I thought, he was right. Some people said they were good
0:26:28 > 0:26:36compared to normal dressing rooms. I thought, we will have to do
0:26:36 > 0:26:41something about this. It is going to be an ongoing budget and an
0:26:41 > 0:26:49ongoing project, but we are very much committed to putting it back
0:26:49 > 0:26:55as well as we can do it. In a giant workshop on the outskirts of
0:26:55 > 0:26:58Blackpool, they are building a future based on the past. This tram
0:26:59 > 0:27:03used to run the length of the boardwalk, delivering people to the
0:27:03 > 0:27:09end of the pier - a useful function given the inconsistency of
0:27:09 > 0:27:13Blackpool's whether. It was scrapped in 2004 but now I knew one
0:27:13 > 0:27:19is under construction. The question on everybody's whips is, of course:
0:27:19 > 0:27:23When will the tram be ready? Well, we're working flat out. Sometimes
0:27:23 > 0:27:28it is not down to us, we have to wait for parts to come from
0:27:28 > 0:27:38different places. We are well on with it now, although it does not
0:27:38 > 0:27:38
0:27:38 > 0:27:42look like it! Really?! The seat is there for the driver. We want to
0:27:42 > 0:27:48make North pier the place to come under police to be, and we need to
0:27:48 > 0:27:53do a lot of engineering work on that. We have the experts to do it.
0:27:53 > 0:27:58I would always like to think that, in time, people will turn round and
0:27:58 > 0:28:02say, when the Sedgwicks got hold of the pier the really turned it round.
0:28:02 > 0:28:07That would be a nice thing, maybe put that on my grave! What are you
0:28:07 > 0:28:17on about, great? You're going off the end of the pier! That is what
0:28:17 > 0:28:24
0:28:24 > 0:28:28Well, that is all for this week. If you have missed any of the
0:28:28 > 0:28:38programme, it is always on the BBC iPlayer. I am back next Monday at
0:28:38 > 0:28:42