06/02/2012 Inside Out North West

Tonight, we are in Blackpool where we will find out what the future

has in store for the historic North Pier. Tonight, we investigate the

anonymous cyber trolls Khoury targeting the dead and bereaved.

The whole purpose is to generate as much hurt and defence as possible.

After Afghanistan, the volunteer medic settling into life back home.

The boys have grown, everything has moved on. And they get the flowers,

we meet the man who bought his wife a Blackpool Pier. I said, I will

buy you this peer one-day. The opportunity came along, fate, I

Use of the internet is now so widespread we can barely imagine

life without it. But there is the flipside. Just as the Web can be

used for a force to good, other people use it to inflict harm. As

the BBC into -- launches its internet safety campaign, we

investigate the murky world of cyber bullying. Where would we be

without theinternet? It's brilliant! We can book holidays,

chat to mates in Australia and send an insult to someone that we

wouldn't dare say to their face! It's incredible. Reading through

the threadson forums and in chat rooms you'd be forgiven for

thinking that we're a planet full of spiteful people looking for a

fight." Student Sophie was 20 when she was badly beaten up by gang of

youths. Sophie was they got and they had been taunting her and her

boyfriend about her appearance. -- goth. Sophie's mother was horrified

to when she came across a site on the internet. I remember reading it

and thinking, I can't believe this. They were talking about things that

we just absolutely disgusting. It was devastating. It must have made

you very angry? Really angry. How dare they? Who do they think they

are? What right have they got? They don't even know her, they had never

spoken to her. They had written the most offensive things. What do you

think of these people who wore trolling? The air just -- they're

just cowards. I can't understand why they think it is remotely funny.

Somebody asked me about Freedom of speech, well actually, Freedom of

speech brings responsibilities with that as well. You have a

responsibility, and they should take heed of that. At the

University of Central Lancashire, Clare has been researching trolling.

Asked her why people do it. There seems to be an element of provoking

as bigger reaction as possible. It is also trying to end -- impress an

audience, trying to impress all of the trolls, I can put the most hurt

full message. Things like that. we bring this into the physical

world, if I come round to a house and shatter you, you can

immediately do something about it and call the police -- shout at you.

When it is online, there are all these extra problems such as, can

you prove that the person sat at a message to that particular time and

with that message. Even though we know these things are patently

wrong, getting the person in question can be really difficult.

You mentioned it is difficult to find these people. Why? Are to give

you a simplistic version of how it works, every computer with the

internet has an IP address. Normally cover going back to that

home address is straight forward. When you start using types of

software, it puts a number of different addresses in between, so

that when new chart -- try to have traced back, you might get sent to

the rank place. By the time you have -- be wrong place. It is so

hard to trace Bluebird that only two prosecutions have ever been

made in England. This man from Manchester was brought to the

attention of the police when evidence of his bats was sent to

neighbours. He is one of only two people prosecuted in this country

for trolling. What did you find that led to that prosecution?

had put different user names. He would make comments about the

person that have passed away in an offensive way that would really

hurt either the person who put the memorial site up, the parents or

the person they have lost, and he would try to get a reaction. What

makes someone like that it? kick was simply for the argument.

You have got to say the most offensive things. He wanted to

argue with you and get your upset and angry. I find it amusing. It is

funnier if you get someone who response. It is my sense of humour,

my personality. I comments have been so it excessive, that only a

person who is seeking to be offended would be offended. I don't

accept that at any point I have abused or genuinely upset anyone.

This is a very difficult thing to police. How difficult? Extremely

difficult. Sometimes you have to self police. What does that mean?

If you put up a website, you have to realise it is like putting a

paper book on the town hall steps on a Friday evening, and don't

expect there to be lovely messages on a Monday morning. It will be

full of messages from drunks who have just thought it would be fun

to scribble something in it. This is exactly the same. You open up a

Web page because someone has passed away and everybody in the world

will be able to comment on it. They have got to understand that.

law has not been updated since 2003 When the communications at made it

an offence to send messages of indecent nature. Since then, you

have seen the birth of the trolls favourite hangouts, Facebook and

Twitter. You have got to protect people from this, to look at

policing it. And then if somebody does it, you have got to prosecute

them. It is those three things which might have an effect on

idiots out there who decide two to go on somebody's memorial site and

leave some horrendous measure -- message. By their very nature of

this whole thing, once you start to try and suppressed trolling, are

you not going to cross the fine line of Freedom of speech? There is

always the danger going down this road to make sure you try to

balance the civil liberties of individuals and the Freedom of

speech with responsibility and perhaps the balance is not quite

right yet. He had been involved in high profile campaigns, had you

been trawled? -- trolled? If I had a memorial site, I think it would

be a different issue. It is a water off a dark's back for me, but it is

not always the case for other people. -- eight duck -- duck's

back. Every time someone response, that is what the troll wants. If

everyone just completely -- ignores the messages, it is a fail on the

troll's Park. It can be extremely difficult, but that is the best

solution. Do you think, because it is so remote, they don't understand

the emotion? Or do you think they want to cause the damage? I would

like to think it is because they don't know the damage that they are

causing. Cos if you start thinking the other way, it is emotional

abuse. Tomorrow it is the BBC's internet safety day. If you are

concerned about any aspect of using the internet, we have lined up some

expert advice. Go to the address on the screen. In the meantime, if you

want to say it to someone's face, don't be a coward, don't say it

online. Coming up, the family trying to restore but Paul's North

appeared to its former glory. -- Black Paul's North Pier. Working in

one of our busy hospitals is a tough job, but a group of medics

have taken on an even bigger challenge, swapping a defect

Afghanistan. Since last year, the world's largest trauma hospital has

been running. We visit a hospital in Afghanistan and rejoin them to

see their emotional trip home. is the end of a long journey for

these men and women. The journey that has taken to -- taken them to

one of the most dangerous places in the world. The men and women of

this hospital are all from the north-west, and all normally work

in hospitals and health centres around a region. After a 3,000 mile

trip home to Liverpool, this was the reunion they had been waiting

for but the family as they have not seen in four months. This man has

missed Christmas with his two young sons. This is what is difficult

about going away. Is the hardest thing to leave them. This woman has

returned to meet her new granddaughter, born what she has

been away. I spotted the pink hat and started crying. In just a few

days, they will be settled in at home and back at work in the NHS.

Over the last few months, these medics have been through some

extraordinary experiences. Helmand, Afghanistan. Camp Bastion sits in

the middle of the dusty plains. It is the centre of operations for the

British military here and the main destination for the casualties of

the conflict. Far north-west medics, it has been home for several months.

50 members of the Territorial Army were released from their NHS jobs,

while the MoD paid their salaries. Their task, to run the busiest

former hospital in the world, leading an international team. As

it is a military hospital, we had been asked not to show the patients.

The patience are assessed outside... Back home, this man is a charge

nurse at the Royal Liverpool -- a Liverpool hospital. Here, he is in

charge of the injury unit. Amputees, Gun Shop wins, what you would

expect in a war-zone. -- gunshot wounds. I have got two small boys.

When you see children have come through of a similar age, it is

very difficult to deal with. This woman works as a paediatric nurse

in Warrington. At Camp Bastion, she has been looking after children

You see them coming in very quiet and sullen. The environment is

alien to them. It is nice to see the progression to the happy faces

when they are going home. And they are led by an orthodontist from

Lancaster. They are very skilled in the hospitals in the north-west. We

bring them out here and get them to work in this high tempo. Then the

NHS reaps the benefit of this experience and training. We have

just heard that two patients are being brought in with serious

injuries by helicopter. We have some with serious injuries, and one

with less serious injuries. They are in theatre. One is having a

scan as we speak. The cost of this war for civilians and the military

This is the message to cut off all communications to the outside world.

It means that someone has been critically injured or killed. The

hospital does not want been used to leak out until its contacts their

family. We heard the announcement three times during our stay. The

fall and are listed at the National Memorial arboretum. On an afternoon

when things had not gone as well as we had wanted, one of the nurses

came up and said, today we have written him off the wall. That is

what keeps this unit determined to do its best for any casualty who

comes through the door. 90% of the wounded to arrive here do survive.

That is the highest success rate in the history of warfare. Such an

intense learning experience will only benefit the NHS when we return.

Looking at different types of loans and trauma that you would not

expect to see in the UK -- different types of the winds.

four months, those cool, calm exteriors are finally abandoned.

Does it feel strange coming back and finding a new addition to the

family? Yes, it is someone I have got to get to know. Barry and Celia

have a lot of catching up to do. threw the ball back over Jackie's

roof. Peduncle Barry get it stuck on they have? Yes. Everything has

moved on. The boys have grown, as you can see. They returned via

Cyprus for a day of relaxation by the pool. We just chat about

anything and everything - the things we have been doing while we

are there. Far from a holiday, this was at carefully planned exercised.

-- and carefully planned exercise. It is proved to reduce the

incidence of post traumatic stress. Celia has never talked about what

has happened. And I can understand why. There are times when you

expect a phone call and it does not happen because the lines go down.

When that happens you know that someone has been injured, and that

is quite scary. It is difficult not being able to speak whenever we

want to, especially if you had a bad day and wanted to ring home.

That was difficult. There is a lot of adjusting to do at home, too.

is very quiet, there are no helicopters or generators or people

moving in and out when you're trying to sleep. It is peaceful.

Strange. Lots of rest, get used to the silence of not having

helicopters. I will introduce you to the washing machine and the

Hoover! In the next few weeks, Barry and Celia will be back at

work doing ordinary jobs in the NHS in the north-west. But every medic

who has served here returns with new skills and experiences, and

they have proved just how extraordinary they are.

Now, one of Blackpool's most famous families has been the last few

months looking after its latest accuse it -- acquisition - the

She is the grand old lady of Blackpool, the town's all the stand

longest pier, Bill three decades before the tower and stretching

elegantly a third of a mile into the IVC. -- the Irish Sea. It was

the Victorians who discovered the thrill of the seaside, but as the

resort's popularity grew, they realised they had to extend the

prom to cater for the tourists. Instead of going north or south

they decided to extend into the sea. In the early years, hundreds of

thousands strolled the decks. It was seen as an upper-class venue

where ladies and gentlemen could have walk on water without getting

seasick. A little bit of tranquillity and an antidote to the

hustle and bustle of the Golden Mile. Yes, Blackpool has the

pleasure business all worked out with factory efficiency. For the

crowds, it is pleasure first and all the time.

Nearly 150 years after it was built, there are new owners on the block.

Meet the Sedgwicks, having their picture taken for the local paper.

Mum, dad, two daughters, a son, a daughter-in-law, and a

granddaughter - all committed to restoring the pier to its former

splendour. But, for Peter Sedgwick, the prep -- the purchase was the

simple fulfilment of a promise made 40 years ago. I propose to my wife

on this pier. We always used to come on the pier and we love it. It

has always been something special to us. I said, I will buy you this

pier one day. The opportunity came along and, fate, I don't know. I do

not think there is a pier anywhere like it, to be honest. It has some

magic about it. When you think, like, Rochdale, Bolton and all the

cotton towns around here, everybody used to, on Sunday, make their way

to Blackpool and come for their day off on this pier. You look at the

old photographs and it was packed, The Sedgwicks also run rides on the

resort's other two piers - South and Central - where they operate a

giant ferris wheel. The family will have to put millions of pounds into

this 19th-century relic for it to survive in the 21st century. But

their roots in seaside amusement are almost as deep as the pillars

it stands on. Entertainment is in your blood, isn't it? Yes, on both

sides, and even on my wife's side there was a famous Yorkshire family.

It has run through our blood very deep. I have photos of my great

great grandfather with his big show - the menagerie, and the cinema. He

was very begin to that. He used to employ Mitchell and Kenyon to make

films and to go round the local towns and film people at work and

at school in different parts of the towns in Lancashire and Yorkshire.

Then be used to show them on the big screen and charge a penny for

people to go and see themselves. They would never have seen anything

like that, would they? Not in those days. There were no zoos or

television or anything like that. The pier must feel like a lot of

responsibility for, because you have been entrusted with it by the

people of Blackpool, in a way. You have to maintain it and you

have to make it pay. You need the support of the people to come on

the pier and play their part as well. But you have to give them

value for money and you have to run it as a business. For Peter and his

family, the 1,500-seat theatre is the pier's and therefore the

business's jewel in the crown. It was one of the most popular venues

in the north in days gone by. People like Les Dawson, Diana Dors

and George Formby have all played #with my little stick of Blackpool

rock. Over the summer, the Cedrics

cancelled all the shows as they realised that the facilities were

outdated and in poor repair and unlikely to attract modern stars.

Our refurbishment was launched. First impressions? I think I was

like, the stars come here? When I talked to an agent about stars and

one thing another -- one thing and another, he said, you would have to

tart the dressing rooms up. The stars expect better conditions in

these days. I thought, he was right. Some people said they were good

compared to normal dressing rooms. I thought, we will have to do

something about this. It is going to be an ongoing budget and an

ongoing project, but we are very much committed to putting it back

as well as we can do it. In a giant workshop on the outskirts of

Blackpool, they are building a future based on the past. This tram

used to run the length of the boardwalk, delivering people to the

end of the pier - a useful function given the inconsistency of

Blackpool's whether. It was scrapped in 2004 but now I knew one

is under construction. The question on everybody's whips is, of course:

When will the tram be ready? Well, we're working flat out. Sometimes

it is not down to us, we have to wait for parts to come from

different places. We are well on with it now, although it does not

look like it! Really?! The seat is there for the driver. We want to

make North pier the place to come under police to be, and we need to

do a lot of engineering work on that. We have the experts to do it.

I would always like to think that, in time, people will turn round and

say, when the Sedgwicks got hold of the pier the really turned it round.

That would be a nice thing, maybe put that on my grave! What are you

on about, great? You're going off the end of the pier! That is what

Well, that is all for this week. If you have missed any of the

programme, it is always on the BBC iPlayer. I am back next Monday at