03/02/2014 Inside Out North West

Hello and welcome to Inside Out North West with me, Dianne Oxberry.

Tonight, ten years after the Morecambe Bay disaster when Chinese

cockle pickers drowned, we talked exclusively to the only man rescued

alive from the waters. I tried so hard to swim through the channel. I

just could not do it. The man who led Cumbria Police tells us about

the day his 30 year career came tumbling down. I felt like I had

dropped out of life basically. And the people bringing their Liverpool

community back to life through food. This to me is a good news story It

is growing and can belong to the community.

Ten years after the Morecambe Bay cockling tragedy when 23 Chinese

workers drowned here, Peter Marshall talks exclusively to the only man to

be rescued alive from the waters and the relatives of the victims speak

of their continuing pain. Morecambe Bay is both beautiful and

brutal. We have visual with one person only

on a sandbank. TRANSLATION: I tried so hard to swim

through the channel. I just could not do it. I thought about my

parents. I thought, am I going to die tonight?

Ten years have passed since this new tourist tides and channels claimed

the lives of 23 Chinese cockle pickers. But time has not diminished

the pain of those who lost their loved ones. In China, Lin Meiqin

still mourns her husband who died in the Bay. He was 38. She has not

remarried. She works hard and raises their grandson on her own. I still

think about him, she says. When he was around, I did not realise how

much he meant to me. When he died, it was such a loss.

It is a community of ramshackle houses and new mansions, built with

money sent back by migrant workers. Her husband's death meant their

hoped for better life never materialised. Charitable donations

from Britain have helped pay the debts to the groups. Sometimes I

think if he had not died I would have a better life, she says. In the

past we owed people money so I have to work to pay people back. In

February 2004, hundreds of people worked the sands of Morecambe Bay in

search of cockles. But the Chinese illegal in the swell controlled by a

gang master with little knowledge of the bay's dangerous. And little

concern for their safety. In the dark on the 5th of February, they

were cut off by the incoming tide. In distress and 999 call, one of the

cocklers, Guo Bing Long, makes a desperate plea for help as the

waters rise. He was washed away and drowned. He

was a young man with a wife and two children, here to earn money to

support them. Cockle picker Li Hua now lives under witness protection,

having given evidence in the criminal trial which followed the

tragedy. He was in seconds of becoming a victim himself, trapped

trying to help others who would not survive the night. When did you

first realise that you were in serious danger? TRANSLATION: That

was when the water covered wheel and the vehicle could not move. Everyone

was panicking. They got out and tried to swim but the water was

flowing so quickly, some were dragged under it straightaway. I was

in despair. I thought, am I going to die tonight? I have parents, wife

and a child. How have I ended up in this situation? I just could not

understand why God would do this to me. He stripped off his waterproofs,

struggled, swam and stumbled in the darkness. I tried so hard to swim

through the channel. I just couldn't do it. I thought about my parents. I

thought, am I going to die tonight? It was pitch black and I was

desperate. I thought I might just as well wait to dive. It was freezing

cold but I didn't feel it. I was numb. Then, I do Howell, a wave may

be turned me around. I was on my own and I was in the shallow water. And

then a helicopter came. I kept praying and praying like my mother

used to do. And I kept waving. They didn't seem to see me. But then they

stopped. We have visual with one person only at this stage on a

sandbank. He was the only person plucked alive from the water by

rescuers that night. The other Chinese survivors had left the sand

before the tides closed in. Believe it or not, I thought I saw God. The

feeling at that moment is very hard to explain. I could not believe I

was going to be rescued and that I was alive again.

What followed was the most complex investigation ever undertaken by

Lancashire Police. From the cockle beds of Morecambe Bay, it was spread

across the globe. Mick Gradwell was the detective superintendent charged

with uncovering the complex web of criminality behind the Morecambe Bay

deaths. Usually, as a senior investigating officer you deal with

domestic type murders. Suddenly you have grown into investigating

international organised crime gangs, snakeheads, triads, international

human trafficking. It would take two years to bring people to justice. In

March 2006, Lin Liang Ren was found guilty of 21 counts of manslaughter

and was later jailed for 14 years. The court heard he had cynically and

callously exploited his countrymen. He tried to mix in with the

workers, the survivors, and pass himself off as just a worker bee on

the night. But what he actually did was threaten people and told people

to tell a particular story. The first story that came out was the

survivors were forced to tell the police they had been on a picnic and

it was nothing to do with cockling on this particular night. Li Hua

almost lost his life because of Lin Liang Ren's actions. I feel this man

is despicable because he, for the sake of earning his own money,

without thinking about our safety, just did not even watch the tide. He

just said, go and work. We were just a tool for him. I think a lot about

those who did not survive. Particularly, at Chinese New Year,

because it happened around that time. From time to time, I wake up

in the night with a panic attack and remember them. We all came for the

same reason. We left our families to make a better life and they were

gone just like that. I was just lucky.

The tragedy here came down to money. The cockle pickers, illegal

immigrants, had no choice but to work where their traffickers sent

them, to pay debts and help support their families back home. At that

time, nationally, ?1 million a day was leaving the UK for China, as a

result of the profit made from human trafficking. That trafficking still

goes on, but after the tragedy, the gang masters licensing authority was

set up to try and protect workers. Since 2007, it has revoked 200 gang

master licenses and brought 70 prosecutions. Permits for fishermen

have been tightened. They now training course. But last time the

beds in the Riddler history were opened, rescuers were called out 26

times in two months. Li Hua has rebuilt his life under witness

protection, together with the wife and son he feared he would never see

again. He hopes no one will experience what he went through My

family are all healthy and we are happy. I have a job. We do not have

a lot of money but we are happy to go through each day peacefully. I am

very grateful to the police and the British authorities. I am glad to be

alive. Coming up: A taste of home, reviving

the Anfield bakery. I had the Scouse one. The best pie I have ever had, I

think. He was Cumbria's top cop But out of the blue, Stuart Hyde was

suspended as police constable. His colleagues had been interviewed and

his diary and emails have been gone through. The enquiry cost taxpayers

hundreds of thousands of pounds It all, Stuart Hyde stayed silent.

Until now. We have to meet him. It doesn't feel like a fair process

at all. What it feels like is a one`sided process. Why don't think

that is what justice is about. You are always told you are part of a

policing family and then the day he was suspended, suddenly, that went.

I didn't understand it but I think I understand it now. The 13th of

September 2012, Stuart Hyde was travelling back from a meeting in

London. 6pm in the evening, received a phone call saying, could I go

immediately to committee room number two and see the chair of the

authority. Just before midnight at police headquarters, he was handed a

letter. I was absolutely devastated. They suspended me. I got

woken up at 1am and both of us did really know what was going on. I

felt as if the world had dropped out of my life. In just a few hours a

30 year police career was facing ruin. Stuart Hyde joined the police

in 1983. I had been involved in fights, been punched... Involved in

riot disorder and things like that. But I have loved every minute of it.

It looked like there might have been some early signs from your

photograph album that you would be in the police force! It had the

right sort of discipline I needed at the time. I also had the chance to

give something back. Stuart Hyde took the number two job here in

Cumbria in 2009. The Queen 's police medal followed. An officer heading

for the very top. The day terror came to Cumbria ` at least 12 killed

as the gunmen goes on the rampage. We are not able to understand at

this stage the motivation behind it. Three years later , after this, he

was promoted to chief constable For almost a year, the man who loved

policing could only walk the fells. Stuart Hyde said he was given no

information about the allegations being made against. South Wales

Police were brought in to investigate but he says he was still

in the dark. It is only now he feels he is starting to piece together the

whole case against him. The South Wales report investigated claims

that Stuart Hyde spent more than a fifth of his time away from the

county. Quite frankly, the numbers given in the report of wrong. I have

been able to go through my diary completely and they haven't take any

account of weekend working or of the work used to do during the evenings.

So why don't accept those figures. The figures also took interest in a

flight to China's ear. Stuart Hyde was taking part in a swimming event.

They were my Emma was and they did not belong to anybody else in the

Constabulary. `` air miles. In hindsight, I should have been very

clear what I was using them for and what I was doing. And the trip

raised eyebrows in another way. This photo was criticised taken during

the event. I was somewhat surprised, particularly as some people might

think I was on duty. I really do not CI did anything wrong in having a

photograph of me. `` I do not see that guy did anything wrong. Had I'd

been stood there in uniform swimming, it would have looked a bit

daft to say the least! The investigation also probed meetings

he held with private companies. Customers said there were grave

concerns about the impression these meetings gave. `` officers. It is a

very large contract with the radios we used and my contact with them was

to get the service being delivered cheaper. They seem to think I was a

very corrupt officer doing dodgy deals but that was clearly not the

case. Investigators asked whether he had been favouring his local pub

holding business meetings in return for favours. I have had no benefits

in kind from the landlord and the only reason to use it is it is very

convenient and it doesn't involve me having to get drivers out to drive

me around the county. Yes, it was convenient for me but it was

maximising my time. Stuart Hyde was speaking about wildlife crime at one

meeting. I have spoken at many conferences. Yes, take the point it

could be considered of supporting a political side but, equally, I was

talking to the other organisations as well. So I was being impartial.

The final allegation levelled at him was that he was tweeting

inappropriately and misusing his police credit card. One tweet which

may have caused offence was a picture of a pie. I'm still not

entirely sure where this has come from. Nobody has come to me and

said, Stuart, we don't like the fact you have posted a picture of a pie.

If they did, I would have removed it if it had caused offence. We'll stop

eating them? Absolutely not! They are delicious! `` will buy stop

eating them? `` will I? Figures were about a private meal and I've paid

for that immediately afterwards Some cash had been handed in for

Sports Relief and thought it was the best way to demonstrate the cash had

got to where it should be and why wasn't pocketing it and spending it

on anything else. `` I. The South Wales Police report concluded there

was no evidence of misconduct in any of the allegations. It made

recommendations for Cumbria police and Stuart Hyde to follow. In

essence, the net result of this investigation, Stuart, get your

paperwork right, tell people what you are doing, talk to them a bit

more, and move on. So, in the clear, Stuart thought you could get back to

work. But there was another twist in the tale. `` he could. The

Commissioner thought there was some discrepancy in the findings and

wanted to suspend him again. This would have sent up an appalling

signal. That you were guilty of something and you thought you would

run away. It is an outcome could have expected. But it is not an

outcome I was happy with. The process took nearly a year. The

suspension was reviewed every month but Stuart Hyde was left in limbo.

He could not work. The investigation costs are estimated at more than

half ?1 million. These are met by the taxpayer. And it was only last

week that he was finally given a copy of some of the statements made

against him. Does this process feel like a fair, just system? Absolutely

not. Not like a fair process at all. What it feels like is a one`sided

view. People have made allegations and their information and

allegations have been treated as correct without any opportunity for

me to address them. Cumbria's Police and Crime Commissioner Richard

Rhodes told us he had given detailed interviews about his Stuart Hyde

back in August and heeded not want to be interviewed again. In a

statement he told us... I have learned a lot about the

support from my family and a lot about the support from my friends.

And I know who my friends are. I have also, unfortunately, learned

that you cannot always trust and rely on everybody who works with

you. I am proud to have done something for Cumbria. And I want to

continue doing that. Irony want to see the county proud of itself. It

is a special place and it will always be a special place for me. ``

I really want. Now, what would you do to improve

the area you live in? Well, a group of people from Liverpool have got

together to bring a much loved part of their community some sunshine.

And field. Home to Liverpool. A world`class football club in a less

than world`class Anfield. `` less than world`class setting. ``

Anfield. It is a dive. But if you just came here, you would think

what have I arrived in?! Tinned up, boarded up, yeah. It looks like a

riot area! They must think the people who live

here have caused all this decline, that they have made it look the way

it is. Vandalised. Boarded up. But actually, I don't believe that is

true. I'd think it has been managed, the decline. `` I do not think. Sue

was born here. There have been plans for the last 20 years for

regeneration. We were told the properties here were not fit for the

20th century. We have probably had five different plans of what is

going to be happening in the area, none of which have come to fruition.

Apart from boarding up more and more houses. And they have just been left

empty. It makes me feel sad because this is my home. It is three

generations. And they are lovely houses. And it is just so sad to see

them boarded up. At the heart of this community lies Mitchell 's

bakery. A family run business which fed the people of Anfield for

generations until it closed a couple of years ago. It belongs to an

field. It is one of the last independent shops on this road. A

road which had every kind of shop that you would want. In the

neighbourhood. Which is a fish shop, chemists, this shop, greengrocers,

absolutely everything. And Michels was the last. The last one that was

left in the area. Now Sue, together with local other people, has stepped

in to reopen it as a community run bakery. This to me is a good news

story. This is something that is growing which can belong to the

community which the community can have a say in, running it, what

happens to it. It is just like a light at the end of the tunnel for

me. To have been involved in this. That is one copy. Last season, they

opened on match day to raise funds for a much`needed new commercial

oven. It is the feeling of togetherness. It is the interesting

and fun with everybody on match day, including the fans. This is my way

of seeing the public again because I've retired as a nurse. This place

has been brilliant since it has opened. You can get something very

good on the day of a game that is just honest cooking. And it fills a

purpose, the places around the ground, but if you want to come and

get a cup of tea and some soup, it is phenomenal. This is the proper

way to make bread. And it is a skill. One of the volunteers is

Jess. She originally came to photograph the project but she

became so infused that she dreamt to be a baker and is now passing her

skills on to local people. I know the bakery and remember what it was

like a conveyor local to the area. I know the issues that the area is

faced with as well. `` remember what it was like because I and local to

the area. They have now raised enough money for an industrial oven.

Hopefully we are going to get it into the bakery because it is just

coming off the van. Amazing! We have been through such a lot. So many

highs and lows. So we have been waiting 12 months to get the oven

and have it put in, and it just means we can open as a bakery. And

with weeks to go before the `` they open full`time, Sue checks on the

progress. So, we can see where, in the middle of the refurbished, you

can have a look at these. We have used these. We have made them into

light fittings, the whisks. Very cute! So we are in the middle of

doing the work. You can see we have the oven. Brilliant! It is

absolutely amazing. And we have got people busy painting. We have the

equipment now, as you can see. We will all learn how to use it. We are

nearly there. Nearly there. Aren't we? The oven is in place, the pies

are perfect and the bakery is open six days a week and doing a roaring

trade. It is hectic! It has been very, very busy. Lots of people

coming in in a big group, which can be a bit challenging. Serving ten

people at once! But it is fabulous we are open! But despite the hard

work and commitment, the bakery has been dealt some bad news. The

Liverpool City Council has unveiled the new Anfield reject. This could

see much of the area, including the bakery, pulled down. Most of the

businesses along here now are either closed during the week or just open

for match days. You know, there is a chemist and a few fish and chip

shops but there isn't much else really, and that needs to change. So

that is what the council is planning. You know, to offer new

premises to new businesses. It is a massive development and it is

exciting. After all these years of living through demolition,

boarded`up houses, I really can t wait to see the area regenerated and

I want to be part of it. As a bakery, we just see ourselves as

part of that community and that we could be a big part of that

regeneration. Although the future of the premises is uncertain, they are

still hoping to serve pies for generations to come. I had the

Scouse one! That is the best I have ever had, I think! Full of taste.

The meat is fantastic. The pastry is excellent. Brilliant value! I would

come here again. Much, much better than the majority of stuff you would

get. Very reasonably priced. And you get the sense you are giving

something back. It is good. Well, wish them all good luck. We

are back next Monday at 7:30pm on BBC One. Then, goodbye.

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