11/02/2013 Inside Out North West

Welcome to Inside Out North West. This week we are in Liverpool where

we find out about a local project helping young former football was

finding their feet. More about that later. Tonight, as the number of

cannabis farms on Merseyside hit a record height, we followed the

efforts of the police to break up supply-chain is. There is a good

set-up. Life after football. Whitey said many young players go off the

rails when the bubble bursts? one of the lucky ones. Everybody

thinks that they are going to make it but statistics show you that

does not happen. Motor racing, model and muscleman. Find out what

it takes to enter the world of Formula One. You have got to be

business people and do the results Police here on Merseyside are

fighting a drug war, not on the street but in the lofts and spare

rooms of houses. Small and big-time criminals are cashing in on Marra

one of plants growing on cannabis farms. There is money in it and

links to gun crime in the area. We have got access to a dedicated team

helping police to crack down on the It is the most illegal drug. I am

experiencing side-effects. It is a rich cash-cow for organised

OK, we are going to be doing two... 7.30 am on a cold January morning

at Huyton Police Station on Merseyside. Intelligence suggests

that cannabis cultivation as will be at both addresses. They are not

linked. The risk of both addresses are considered low. We have not got

any intelligence links to to normals. Any questions from

anybody? That is becoming quite a common occurrence. Officers have

just been briefed on the latest spate of cannabis farming in the

area. It is a growing problem and in Merseyside the police recovered

500 last year. We have come to find out why it is happening and how

And they've come prepared. So why are Police finding a record number

of cannabis farms? Well, one plant alone has a street value of �500.

It's easy to get all the gear you need to grow them and there's a

high demand for the drug. And those three things make it very

attractive to criminals. It is not difference to having a green house.

You need heat from dedicated lighting and ventilation. But all

these things are openly available. Finally, the door gives in. Police!

Upstairs officers suspect the spare room of the rented house is full of

cannabis plants. Two people are arrested. Another man was also

later arrested and questioned by police in connection with cannabis

cultivation. While they have become skilled at seeking out and busting

properties and leaving them to have harboured cannabis farms but it

takes up a lot of manpower and resources and it gives many police

forces big problems after budget cuts and they have had to rethink

tactics. So now the force is taking on civilians to do the job and save

money. This time the address is a police garage, but soon the new

members of this team will be getting their hands dirty for real.

They'll be dismantling the cannabis farms that are springing up all

over Merseyside. But first they've got to pass their final assessment.

They will enter the building and identified the initial features.

far, so good. The dedicated team is thought to be one of only two in

the country and come from a wide background. I support working with

two people -- working with people with learning difficulties. This is

completely different but I am looking forward to it. It is a

tactical exercise. It will prove that they are ready to undertake

this role. Back on the streets, the police have had another tip off and

this time it's big. This sophisticated cannabis farm has

three rooms just for growing the plants. Around 1000 in total are

seized. Street value, �1.5 million. What you can see is a number of

growing rooms. Each of them have got a number of plants. And you can

smell it in the air. Yes, you can. Police suspect this farm is run by

a Vietnamese gang - and there's evidence someone has been living

here. It is linked to serious and organised crime groups. These

groups will stick -- steel each other's crops and that will lead to

violence on streets and communities and in Merseyside in particular

there is a link between cultivation and firearms. So the dismantling

team will allow police officers to get back on the beat. Because it

will free up front Line staff, we will not be dealing with cannabis

cultivation is any more. So on people will say it is harmless and

they should focus more attention on bigger scale crime. -- some people.

A lot of people think it is a harmless drug. It is actually not.

There is a real sinister side. thought it was great when I started

making it. It was quite cool. All my mates spent it as well. -- worse

making it. -- were having Ed Balls -- were having it. Ben smoked

cannabis for 14 years, but what started as a bit of fun, soon

escalated. It started to make me paranoid and quite violent and

aggressive. I started using L St, trips, ecstasy and cocaine and I

started moving through the drugs and when I tried one something

happened in my mind and it was all right to try harder drugs. How bad

did it get? It took me to the stage of wanting to end my life because I

could not see any way out and I could not stop. I felt bad and it

was not until I asked for help that I found things turning around.

Using his own experience, Ben has now started a recycling company

which helps and employs former addicts. T any bodies making it, do

not underestimate the power and the impact that it has got on your mind

and brain. It is really strong and it does have serious consequences.

And drugs workers in the city are seeing worrying trend. We are

seeing a younger children having cannabis at an earlier age.

that changed in your time of treating people? Yes, I have been

hit seven years and that age has got gradually younger. It is more

available now. And the Police are not the only ones discovering more

cannabis farms. Fire fighters have also seen a rise. They have been

called to 30 incidents in the last year. 18 properties were on fire,

risking lives. This is effectively a commercial set up, like a small

factory in a residential property. That is the risk because the

chances are the rest of those people residing in that premises do

not know what is going on and do not know the risks. Massive amounts

of electricity are required to force the cannabis plants to grow

quickly under lights and more often than not that is still than

directly from the mains. -- stolen. And research done by this former

police officer estimates it's a huge amount. We calculated that the

amount is somewhere in the region of 200 million. If we bring in the

equation that people steal electricity on a daily basis

sometimes, you are talking about a considerable amount. If this

warehouse operated for a year growing cannabis the electricity

bill would be �130,000! And what a first day on the job for the new

dismantling team. Obviously this morning was our first day and when

you get something like this it is just unbelievable on the first day

when this came in. It was a no- brainer. Seeing this set up you can

see it is sophisticated with the lighting and how it is set up. It

is a good set up. They will be here for two days. We have been put in

the deep end but we have been put together because we were

enthusiastic. But at least have got their work cut out when it comes to

tackling this crime. But shrinking budgets can present a real

challenge. But with this team in place freeing up officers on the

street, they are hoping they can stay one step ahead of drug dealers.

Coming up, we follow this Cheshire champion on his gruelling quest to

enter the world of Formula One. need everything these days because

so many people are fighting for a Go 129 footballers are in jail. It

is a shocking statistic. Most of them were released by clubs who did

not think they would make the grade. We asked a football manager what

happened to these young lads who did not discover their dreams.

Every young lad who ever signs up at a football academy likes to

dream. Dream that one day he'll get to run out at the great stadiums -

Old Trafford, St James' Park, or this place

..and who can blame them? There's no experience quite like playing in

front of a full house in a fantastic arena like this. But

sadly, the fact is that for 99% of those lads that dream will never

come true. And that's when harsh reality kicks in. We all think we

are going to make it. I was one of the fortunate ones. But statistics

show it does not happen. We are Premiership club, you have to find

the best, but there will be a lot of fall-out. Football academies

today sign up boys as young as eight and can release them at any

point if they feel they're not good enough. Some get very close -

possibly a full-time contract with good wages at 18. But the ones who

go all the way are exceptionally disappointment can be shattering.

When they do get released, they think it is the end of the world

and maybe start knocking about with the wrong groups of lads and fall

into crime. That is why football should do a lot more for them or

when they come out of the game. Michael Kinsella was a promising

young goalkeeper. But when his football dream ended he turned to

crime. I'd seen what footballers had. I thought I should have that.

But the only way I could get it was through crime - selling drugs.

all-conquering Liverpool Schoolboys and eventually played for Bury and

Tranmere. But when he walked away from the game he walked into

trouble. Drug dealing landed him in prison for seven years and that's

when he realised the full extent of football's problem. And I know it

is bad. I'd go and speak to lads who were playing football at

different levels. Some of them are actively involved dealing drugs.

The 129 are the ones that have been caught. Now fully reformed, he's

whose football dreams have come to a premature end. Based at Liverpool

Ministry of Justice and Liverpool City Council. My ideal world is for

ONSIDE to be the safety net. If a lad signs for Liverpool, finishes,

signs for Rochdale and then gets finished there, he comes to ONSIDE

If they don't get back into the life and what can happen if they go

has just announced his retirement to play Sunday League football with

Michael. But while Michael was in jail, Jamie was winning England

caps and the Champions League. of Liverpool's brightest young

stars about the pitfalls that could lie ahead. Do the scene you sit

down with young players at Liverpool and give them advice?

It's does happen. It is my job and Steve, all the experience players.

It's also difficult talking about that type of thing because you

don't want them to think that you don't think they're going to make

the football side of things but going to make it. If you get one

out of every year group, especially at a club like Liverpool, where

standards are so high. You've certainly got to be thinking about

things like that. It is always in the back of your mind. You're

coming to the end of your contract and you don't know what else to do.

This will be a great experience for players who are not going to make

it and coming out of football. ignored their education while

But nowadays clubs are becoming aware of their responsibilities.

Here at Sunderland they do two hours in the classroom before they

get to kick a ball. We have to put things into context. We think we

have a responsibility to develop them. It is not just the football

side. We organise a day release programme which is for everybody

part of that day, as well as coaching football, they also

receive an hour's English and mathematics to replace and support

the work they are doing in school. Have you ever thought about a plan

mind when it comes to that time. You have got to stick in because

this does help you in case you don't make it as a football player.

The academy is rightly proud of the players who have made it through

the ranks and into the first team. But there are also 11 who weren't

given contracts who have gone on to University, with five more

the vast majority won't do either and they need to be prepared for

opportunity for them. They need to embrace it and enjoy it. But it

doing now, but it might not sort of ground is where the

majority of professionals go to level is beyond the vast majority

if you're released by Fleetwood or Rochdale, Hartlepool or Carlisle,

Jamie Milligan was released when he was younger but is back in league

football with Fleetwood. He's already got a business set up for

when he eventually retires. When you get released you blame everyone

but yourself. My advice to lads would be sort it out while you're

It's advice that his manager endorses. There is only so much you

can do. Individuals have to take responsibility for their own lives.

You have to be offered the helping hand, then it is up to you whether

One of Fleetwood's newest players is Gerard Kinsella, Michael's

younger brother. He was released by Everton and then got a serious

injury as he was about to sign for Plymouth. He was in danger of going

down the same path as his brother. I had no where to go, I had no

football. A I was knocking round with the lads by ours. They weren't

up to much good, so it could have easily happened. I was associating

It was Michael who intervened, getting him a part-time job and

some qualifications - all through ONSIDE. It's give me an education,

put me through a personal training course. If football doesn't work

out, I've got something to fall It's inevitable that the majority

of young lads won't make it to the very top. But it's a long way down

at last there are moves afoot to catch those who fall. It's

He's hoping to become the next Lewis Hamilton or Jenson Button.

Yes, Cheshire racing driver, Oliver Webb, is in pole position to break

been catching up with the 21-year- old and discovering why he's being

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 90 seconds

tipped for the top. It is hard, there is always a level

above and somebody is always doing better. It pushes you from every

side. A I've come to the headquarters of Fortec Motorsport

to find out why they've chosen Oli to drive for the team this season.

Incredible determination, very strong mentally and really wants it

really badly. Some years you have drivers who say they want it but

deep down they don't really want it enough. So Oli's got what it takes

to be a winner, but what about the car? OK, so look there's a slight

difference shall we say, in our build, our weight distribution is

ever so slightly different, you could hop in there very easily.

Yeah, fairly easily. You are being very kind. But it wouldn't be so

easy for me would it? Well, yes but it all depends. We all get seats

that are moulded to our bodies. would be quite difficult for me to

jump in the way you do. Just to jump in, yeah. OK. Because once

you're in it's not like driving a normal car is it? You're lying

virtually flat on your back aren't you? Pretty much flat on your back.

Your feet are higher than your bum actually is, and they go all the

way to the front of the tub here. The pedals are about here in the

car. So you do use the pedals or do you use paddles? You use pedals

obviously to stop and go and here on the wheel we have all sorts of

different buttons, and paddles that you have on the back as a Formula

One car would have. All sorts of launch control buttons, fuel

settings, clutch and paddles that go on the back and all these get

used by the driver while they are in the car racing. But with speed

comes risk and he knows all too well about the dangers. In 2009 his

team mate and friend Henry Surtees was killed in an accident at Brands

Hatch. And Oli had only been in America for a matter of weeks when

another British driver, Dan Wheldon, was involved in a fatal crash.

I met Dan a couple of times while I was in the States and he raced for

Sam Schmidt, which is the team that I was racing for and he was over

there in Vegas in my first-ever Oval race. A couple of hours later

obviously, the passing of Dan Wheldon occurred, and that being a

UK driver coming over to the States doing what we'd all aspired to do

and then passing doing that is very hard for myself and the family.

What about from your own personal point of view, Oli? The thrill

clearly outweighs the danger but you must always be aware of what

can go wrong? Yeah, I think there's a certain amount of respect when

you're driving a machine such as this, at the speeds that we're

doing in such a close environment such as 200mph, 190 mph side-by-

side with another car. The tracks are very safe these days and the

circuits do everything they can to improve that and Renault and the

Championship do everything they can to improve the cars and I've been

in some pretty big crashes at pretty high speeds and got away

kind of unscathed. With just weeks before the start of the new season,

Oli's putting a lot of time in at the gym. But this is no ordinary

workout. So why do you need to be so physical fit? To withstand the G

forces is a big issue. As the guys go up the series you know from the

junior circuit to possibly F1, you know, the G forces get stronger the

speeds get faster. The heat in the cars is a big concern as well, or a

big factor. So the fitter the guys are the more they can deal with the

constraints in the car. And you look like you're in incredible

shape. Is this the peak of your physical fitness? I'd say so at the

moment. The winter is always good for training because not only can

we afford to have more time for injury because we're not in the car.

We've got five months out of the car to really go heavy and we can

afford to wake up feeling a little bit sore. Can we see these muscles?

No! Come on, let's have a little look. No, that's not happening.

when he's not in the gym or behind the wheel of a racing car, Oli's

test driving for BAC, a sports car manufacturer in Cheshire. Oli was

on our radar from about two or three years ago. As a major motor

sports fan he's very liked within the team, he gets on incredibly

well with everybody, and it puts a spring in everyone's step the fact

that he's involved in motor sport. And for some of the younger guys

particularly, they do tend to look up to him in that respect. Oli has

his sight sets on breaking into Formula One but if he's going to

make it he knows it requires more than just driving ability.

modern-day racing driver has got to be a businessman, a marketing tool

and doing the results on the track, because without the results you

won't get looked at by the team, but without the cash and the

sponsorship they'll try and find someone else. Does it mean though

that you can buy your way to the top? No, no it doesn't. You've got

to be coming first for them to look at you and once they've looked at

you they'll look at your bank statements. With the first race of

the season just six weeks away, he has come to the simulator. But why

don't they just go out on a circuit? Why don't they just go out

and race and practice out on the track? Well it's very expensive to

actually go and run a race car at a circuit. You have to hire a circuit

and you have to take the whole team out there. But also there's lots of

things you can't control. If you turn up at the circuit and it's

very cold temperatures, or it's raining, you're not going to get

much use from it. Whereas in the simulator OK, good job, Oliyou're

your fastest lap was a 135.8, which you did on that final lap. It never

rains on the track. Are you anywhere near as focussed in a

simulator as you are for real? say it's kind of kudos towards the

simulator really, because the better the simulator the more

focussed and the easier it is to think you're actually doing it for

real. And when you're actually doing it enough and you come here

enough and the simulator is as good as it is, you just act like you're

actually there. In a few weeks' time, Oli will be racing at Monza

for real. But does he have what it takes to make it to Formula One?

He's right up there. If he has the right team around him and he

approaches it in the right way, then with a bit of luck he can run

at the front with all the best. need pretty much everything these

days, because there's so many people fighting for 22 seats on

that Formula One grid and unless you've got everything, and I mean

everything, then you don't really get there. How much do you want it?

Everyone will say more than anyone, That's all from me in Liverpool. If

you missed any of the programme you can get it again on the BBC iPlayer.

I am back next Monday night at 7:30pm on BBC One.

Next week, two men whose lives were changed by the Hillsborough