:00:07. > :00:13.What happens to young people when they leave care and they have no
:00:13. > :00:21.one to turn to? I was living in a B&B when I was 15. That is very
:00:21. > :00:26.young. We have an exclusive record -- report. What they are doing is
:00:26. > :00:36.facing this cliff-edge. He returns of the working course to our
:00:36. > :00:39.
:00:39. > :00:48.countryside. I could not do that with a tractor! I cannot even
:00:48. > :00:52.explain it. On the search for our rarest plants. I have the honour
:00:52. > :01:00.and privilege of introducing new to the rarest and most precious and
:01:00. > :01:10.unusual plants in southern England. I and Natalie Graham with untold
:01:10. > :01:24.
:01:24. > :01:32.stories closer to home. This is Tonight, I am just outside
:01:32. > :01:35.Tenterden. I will be back here In these difficult economic times
:01:35. > :01:41.many young people turn to their parents for help until they can
:01:41. > :01:45.afford stand on their own two feet. But what happens to the young
:01:45. > :01:50.people who don't have parents to turn to? Who can't go home and who
:01:50. > :01:53.can't rely on the bank of mum and dad? What happens to young people
:01:53. > :01:56.who have been in care for their childhood in foster homes or
:01:56. > :02:02.childrens homes? They can find themselves expected to live
:02:02. > :02:05.indepently at 16 entering adult life alone. Inside Out has been
:02:05. > :02:12.given exclusive access to a new survey studying what actually
:02:12. > :02:16.happens to young people when they leave the care system. Its findings
:02:16. > :02:20.are extremely disturbing. The research the University of Kent due
:02:20. > :02:26.to be published next year shows these young people have a very high
:02:26. > :02:29.chance of becoming homeness. Almost two out of three at some time after
:02:29. > :02:35.leaving care will be without a home - a very different picture to the
:02:35. > :02:42.one painted by the government. The research includes in-depth
:02:42. > :02:45.information from more than 250 care leavers. The highlights have been
:02:45. > :02:49.the sheer number that have been homless with 61 per cent of those
:02:49. > :02:55.sampled being homeless and of those 61 per cent 48 per cent of them
:02:55. > :02:58.have been homeless for longer than three months. Ashley O'Brien has
:02:58. > :03:08.been living rough on and around the streets of Canterbury for most of
:03:08. > :03:10.
:03:10. > :03:13.the last four years since he was 19. He went into care when he was eight
:03:13. > :03:16.years old after suffering abuse. We met him one evening begging in the
:03:16. > :03:19.town streets. At the minute I'm basically out here on the streets
:03:19. > :03:22.fighting for survival sometimes it's that cold no matter how much
:03:22. > :03:25.bedding you've can't get warm you can't get comfortable you have to
:03:25. > :03:30.walk about to keep warm otherwise you are going to freeze to death
:03:30. > :03:33.out here. After spending his childhood in foster care and
:03:33. > :03:39.childrens' homes Ashley was deemed old enough to have a flat of his
:03:39. > :03:43.own when he was just 18. But Ashley wasn't ready and didn't cope. I had
:03:43. > :03:46.a little part time job and couldn't affiord to pay for anything cos my
:03:46. > :03:50.job just wasn't paying the money to pay the rent. When was the last
:03:50. > :03:53.time you saw your social worker who was meant to look after you as a
:03:53. > :03:57.child in care? 18. And what was the last conversation you had with that
:03:57. > :04:05.person can you remember were they like come back if you need us or
:04:05. > :04:09.anything like that? No, all they said is they bought me a kettle a
:04:09. > :04:14.toaster some knives and forks and some cutlery and a bit of food and
:04:15. > :04:19.said we hope you get on. Ashley's story is extreme but sadly he is
:04:19. > :04:23.not alone. Ben King left care only to end up homeless he took me to
:04:23. > :04:30.one of the places that he used to spend many dark nights under the
:04:30. > :04:33.Bridge to the Isle of Sheppey. When I came out of care, they put me in
:04:33. > :04:37.supported lodgings then the woman gave up he surported lodgings she
:04:37. > :04:41.didn't want to do it any more but I had a job at the time a full time
:04:41. > :04:45.job and the people that were in charge of her came to me and said
:04:45. > :04:55.we have foiund you a full time place in Ashford you need to give
:04:55. > :04:56.
:04:56. > :05:00.up your job and I didn't want to do that. Rather than give up the job,
:05:00. > :05:03.Ben chose to sleep in his van but the struggle of living like that
:05:03. > :05:08.meant he lost the job he then spent two years in that terrible
:05:08. > :05:11.situation. It was indescribably cold, wet and it's damp not just
:05:11. > :05:21.the rainwater its damp as well indescribable really something I
:05:21. > :05:21.
:05:21. > :05:31.Ben's now in a council flat and his life is slowly getting better
:05:31. > :05:33.
:05:33. > :05:36.although he is still traumatised by his experience of living rough.
:05:36. > :05:39.According to the government cases like Ben and Ashley's are the
:05:39. > :05:42.minority they say 90 per cent of are care leavers are in suitable
:05:42. > :05:45.accomodation. So how can there be such a discrepancy between the
:05:45. > :05:48.government figures and those of the Kent research? The government
:05:48. > :05:53.routinely collects data on care leavers but unfortunately only goes
:05:53. > :05:57.up to the age of 19 for me. That's akin to evaluating the a wedding
:05:57. > :06:00.after the honeymoon that's far too early but also the data that they
:06:00. > :06:02.collect is from local authrotieis one of the key indicators in being
:06:02. > :06:06.in settled accommodation where on the surface local authroties seem
:06:06. > :06:16.to be doing well but the data that s published by the government is
:06:16. > :06:20.
:06:20. > :06:23.certainly not corresponding to mine. What are the other findings in the
:06:23. > :06:26.survey? Much has been confirmed from previous research of the
:06:26. > :06:36.amounts that have been exposed or found themselves caught up in the
:06:36. > :06:39.criminal justice system. We asked a question whether they had ever had
:06:39. > :06:42.sex for money, somewhere to stay or drugs and it was quite surprising
:06:42. > :06:46.the number who had admitted having sex for somewhere to stay. But not
:06:46. > :06:53.all homeless care leavers end up on the streets many stay with friends
:06:53. > :06:58.so called sofa surfing. Some young female care leavers live with a
:06:58. > :07:02.boyfriend at a young age. Kayla Coley is 19 and living with her
:07:02. > :07:08.fiance, a choice she's happy about. But she hasn't always had much
:07:08. > :07:12.choice. She moved in with a boyfriend at 16 to get away from
:07:12. > :07:16.bed and breakfast accommodation where she felt unsafe. I first went
:07:16. > :07:19.to independent living in a bed and breakfast when I was 15. 15 -
:07:19. > :07:29.that's very young. What was that like? At first I thought it was
:07:29. > :07:32.
:07:32. > :07:36.great. I wanted the independence you like the fact that you are not
:07:36. > :07:38.with adults or anyone to watch over you, but after a while you start to
:07:38. > :07:42.feel kind of vulnerable and then theres the comings and goings
:07:42. > :07:47.because it is a B&B you've got a lot strangers around all the time
:07:47. > :07:57.and drug users people like that. Children in care are not supposed
:07:57. > :08:00.to enter the adult world unsupported. Local authorities have
:08:00. > :08:10.a duty to care to help them make that transition successfully and
:08:10. > :08:10.
:08:10. > :08:13.safely, so what's going wrong? I think there is an issue to be
:08:13. > :08:16.absolutely candid about councils talking to each other, so district
:08:16. > :08:18.and county councils where one tier of authority has responsibility for
:08:18. > :08:21.housing and another has the county council has responsibility for
:08:21. > :08:25.education support social worker and other things and we need to make
:08:25. > :08:27.sure those public agenices are all talking to each other so that the
:08:27. > :08:30.young person doesn't fall through the net and become homeless. I
:08:30. > :08:33.asked her what a person in Ashley's situation should do. Well, he
:08:34. > :08:37.should write if he's not getting the support he should write to the
:08:37. > :08:40.leader of the council and ask to meet with him or her to find the
:08:40. > :08:42.support that's needed. The government is aware of some of the
:08:42. > :08:49.problems facing care leavers recently they launched a care
:08:49. > :08:57.leavers charter which promises lifelong help. Scott King, Ben
:08:57. > :09:00.King's younger brother, was one of the people who helped them frame it.
:09:00. > :09:10.His own situation was that after returning to college at 21 to
:09:10. > :09:16.
:09:16. > :09:19.better himself he struggled to pay his rent. When he he went back to
:09:20. > :09:22.his former social workers for help, he didn't get it because of his age.
:09:22. > :09:26.It was really unexpected because before they had been so supportive.
:09:26. > :09:30.They'd done a lot for me but as soon as I went back into education,
:09:30. > :09:33.I said I've got part-time work and I need a little bit of a top up,
:09:33. > :09:43.because I've done the reseach and can't claim benefits because I'm in
:09:43. > :09:46.
:09:46. > :09:49.full time education the college is The Care Leaver's Charter was
:09:49. > :09:59.launched in the autumn by the Children's Minister it makes many
:09:59. > :10:09.
:10:09. > :10:19.promises but will those promises I think one of the problems we face
:10:19. > :10:33.
:10:33. > :10:36.is the past is that too many people I think the average age a chid now
:10:36. > :10:40.leaves home is 25. We have found through this report and working
:10:40. > :10:43.with kent university they hav done a survey which has 60 per cent of
:10:43. > :10:53.care leavers facing homelessness at some time around 40 per cent of
:10:53. > :10:56.
:10:56. > :11:06.those for more than three months. Is the government aware of these
:11:06. > :11:08.
:11:08. > :11:11.high levels of homelessness? Those are completely unacceptable figures
:11:11. > :11:20.and local authorities need to do more to support children leaving
:11:20. > :11:25.care so they don't end up in that dreadful situation. The charter
:11:25. > :11:35.offers lifelong support. Jenny Whittle has promised that Kent will
:11:35. > :11:36.
:11:36. > :11:39.sign up to it but is it affordable? I think it's possible I'm not sure
:11:39. > :11:41.it's affordable but having said that if a care leaver who has
:11:41. > :11:44.undergone enormous trauma, instability, and a dysfunctional
:11:45. > :11:48.childhood then has mental health issues at 35 40 do we take away the
:11:48. > :11:51.safety net and say sorry you are not entitled to anything now
:11:51. > :11:53.because if we don't deal with hose issues many of them end up in
:11:53. > :11:57.prison, prostitution, drugs, alcohol and then another agency has
:11:57. > :12:00.to pick up the tab. But will the new charter help Scott? He still
:12:00. > :12:10.struggling to stay at college and pay his for his flat. When he went
:12:10. > :12:14.
:12:14. > :12:17.to his social workers for help, his corporate parents, he was let down.
:12:17. > :12:21.You have parents and cousins and aunts and uncles I literally have
:12:21. > :12:24.nothng the only thing I have is you and you are the last resort, and
:12:24. > :12:28.I've tried every other option and now I've come to you not cos I want
:12:28. > :12:31.to or because I'm a sponge but because as my perents you should be
:12:31. > :12:34.there for me when I need it. And what about Ashley the young man
:12:34. > :12:38.living on the streets of Canterbury will the charter change his life?
:12:38. > :12:41.If it can, he's not aware of it. He's living on the streets and no
:12:41. > :12:45.one has come to help him. He's already been in trouble and spent
:12:45. > :12:48.time in prison he fears he may get locked up again, for begging. A
:12:48. > :12:52.bleak prospect. I have no income. I have to beg I keep getting arrested
:12:52. > :12:55.told me if catch me one more time begging, even if I don't see me
:12:55. > :12:59.asking people, hear me asking people if I don't have a sign in
:12:59. > :13:03.front of me or no money out in front of me they will arest me,
:13:03. > :13:07.charge me and and take me to court and possibly imprisonment. Social
:13:07. > :13:10.services is supposed to provide a safety net for the needy in this
:13:10. > :13:20.country. But at the moment, one group, care leavers are prone to
:13:20. > :13:30.
:13:30. > :13:40.Coming up. Rare plants in danger. We are going to be showing you a
:13:40. > :13:43.
:13:43. > :13:52.Working horses used to be a fundamental part of the way we
:13:52. > :14:02.farmed. With the internal combustion engine doing things for
:14:02. > :14:03.
:14:03. > :14:06.our barman, is it time to work with There was a time when they were
:14:06. > :14:10.everywhere - on farms, at factories and docks, by canals or railways
:14:10. > :14:15.and fighting alongside the troops in both world wars. Plodding,
:14:15. > :14:25.sweating, grafting. Our industrial power, agricultural power, even
:14:25. > :14:29.
:14:29. > :14:36.political power, was achieved by horsepower. The importance of the
:14:36. > :14:40.horse in Britain's history is all too often overlooked. Look at this
:14:40. > :14:43.fine fellow. He would pitch almost copped a shame. But life became
:14:43. > :14:46.more and more mechanised and the working horse was almost forgotten.
:14:46. > :14:55.But there's been a revival with more people harnessing the power of
:14:55. > :15:05.It may be on a smaller scale, but some people are demonstrating that
:15:05. > :15:15.the working horse isn't just a nostalgic ideal. Frankie Woodgate
:15:15. > :15:17.
:15:18. > :15:19.from Tenterden has been a horse logger for 16 years. She
:15:20. > :15:24.specialises in the sustainable management of ancient, semi-natural
:15:24. > :15:27.woodland across Kent and Sussex. That means felling trees and using
:15:27. > :15:33.her colleagues Jeton, Esa and Tagus to do the heavy shifting. Why use
:15:33. > :15:36.heavy horses rather than a tractor? Well, in here specifically horses
:15:36. > :15:39.are light, quiet, manoeuvrable, and we cause no rutting which can cause
:15:39. > :15:43.a great deal of damage in the ancient soil and in ancient
:15:43. > :15:46.woodland such as this. Horses are so manoeuvrable. We can get in and
:15:46. > :15:49.out of any of the regrowth you see around you. There are these
:15:49. > :15:58.coppiced trees which have got the summer's regrowth on them. If you
:15:58. > :16:02.brought a tractor in here, you could possibly damage that regrowth.
:16:03. > :16:07.Full woodlands in the South East, that is great. We have some of the
:16:08. > :16:10.finest resources here on our doorstep. Horses can move in and
:16:10. > :16:13.out and extract them causing no damage at all. Frankie uses
:16:13. > :16:16.machinery alongside her horses to get the job done and believes both
:16:16. > :16:25.work beautifully together. Deep in the ancient woods it's the agility
:16:25. > :16:35.of the horse that comes up trumps. And a horse the size of Jeton is
:16:35. > :16:46.
:16:46. > :16:52.happy to haul up to a tonne of At the turn of the 20th Century
:16:52. > :16:55.there were over 3 million working horses in Britain. Most worked on
:16:55. > :17:00.the farms, but you could find many in the cities working for the
:17:00. > :17:08.breweries and even policing the streets. But it was a tough
:17:08. > :17:18.existence and many suffered terribly. The life expectancy of a
:17:18. > :17:18.
:17:19. > :17:23.whore so in London was only 18 months. -- horse. Many horses get
:17:23. > :17:28.up to 20 years old. You have to remember that they were working
:17:28. > :17:35.night and day. And some of them died while they were working? Yes.
:17:35. > :17:40.The expression died in on this is from where the course was working,
:17:40. > :17:42.and drops dead on the road. The advent of the Great War in 1914
:17:42. > :17:48.lead to the British army commandeering a million horses to
:17:48. > :17:56.fight alongside the troops in France. When the war ended four
:17:56. > :17:59.years later, just 62,000 returned home from battle. As the decades
:17:59. > :18:01.rolled by pressure to grow more crops coupled with advances in
:18:01. > :18:11.technology meant the numbers of working horses dwindled, some
:18:11. > :18:14.
:18:14. > :18:17.breeds even came close to Today while some breeds are still
:18:17. > :18:24.very much at risk, enthusiasts keen to keep horses working the land are
:18:24. > :18:32.displaying them in ploughing matches. It's a pastime growing in
:18:33. > :18:42.popularity for people like Ray Dawkins. Why do you do this, Ray?
:18:42. > :18:51.It keeps the tradition going. It's something for the horses as well
:18:51. > :18:55.and it's for the people - they always like to see the horses. And
:18:55. > :18:59.that's why they do this, to keep them going? Yeah, we owe them a bit
:18:59. > :19:03.of debt to keep them going and show people what it used to be. Ray's
:19:03. > :19:11.won awards for his ploughing prowess. He's decided to let me
:19:11. > :19:19.have a go, and I'm feeling the pressure. This is more nerve-
:19:19. > :19:29.racking than taking to the wheel of the car for the first time! Tell
:19:29. > :19:30.
:19:30. > :19:37.them to walk on. War on! 4,! -- walk on! They will only work for
:19:38. > :19:41.Ploughing matches are growing in popularity, but many breeds of
:19:41. > :19:44.heavy horses are still on the endangered species list. It's
:19:44. > :19:54.costly to keep one and essential knowledge is being lost because the
:19:54. > :19:54.
:19:54. > :19:57.horsemen with the traditional know- But despite all the setbacks there
:19:57. > :20:04.is hope because some owners are convinced their horses shouldn't
:20:04. > :20:09.just be a reminder of a world gone by. 28-year-old Ree and her sister
:20:09. > :20:16.Charlie are quite capable of teaching old ponies new tricks. But
:20:16. > :20:19.Ree has combined her horse sense with her business sense. Last year
:20:19. > :20:23.she set up a market garden in Wartling called Court Lodge Veg,
:20:23. > :20:26.using her ponies to do the horse work. Horses live off the land
:20:26. > :20:31.anyway, they eat whatever's around in the field and they convert that
:20:31. > :20:41.to manure and energy. And then the manure we can collect up and
:20:41. > :20:44.
:20:44. > :20:54.fertilise the land with it as well, so they are useful in lots of ways.
:20:54. > :20:55.
:20:55. > :20:59.And they are very much a part of the system. With a tractor you are
:20:59. > :21:01.buying diesel to power it and it's a whole different energy coming in.
:21:01. > :21:03.I suppose the energy here is contained. It's magic working with
:21:03. > :21:08.contained. It's magic working with a horse, there is nothing like
:21:08. > :21:11.a horse, there is nothing like working with a horse. Back in the
:21:11. > :21:14.ancient wood near Tenterden there's more logging to be done and
:21:14. > :21:17.Frankie's handed over the reins to me! Through their business success
:21:17. > :21:27.Frankie and Ree are proving it is still a viable proposition to use
:21:27. > :21:31.
:21:31. > :21:38.horses to earn a living. Keeper off to the right. We are now at a time
:21:39. > :21:42.when we need to assess what we are, and see how we can slot the use of
:21:42. > :21:47.draught animals backing to our lives. That is not to say that we
:21:47. > :21:57.have to slow the whole thing down and become ponderous, but I think
:21:57. > :22:01.
:22:01. > :22:08.it is vital, a role that they can play. Through their picnics --
:22:08. > :22:12.business success, they are proving that they are showing they can make
:22:12. > :22:22.a living. After all, horses have served us for centuries so why
:22:22. > :22:28.
:22:28. > :22:32.shouldn't they be a valuable part Tom Hart Dyke knows a thing or two
:22:32. > :22:38.about the extreme length people will go to in search of rare plants.
:22:38. > :22:41.He nearly lost his own life trying to get an orchid in the South
:22:41. > :22:46.American jungles. He should have stayed closer to home because we
:22:46. > :22:53.have some equally precious plants and they are being held under heavy
:22:53. > :22:59.security to keep them away from thieves. I am Tom Hart Dyke and
:22:59. > :23:03.welcome to my garden at our family home. Today I have got the Honour,
:23:03. > :23:10.the privilege, of introducing you to some of the rarest and most
:23:10. > :23:15.unusual plants in southern England. On a sadder note, bringing a tier 2
:23:15. > :23:20.my horticultural I, I am going to be showing you the darker side of
:23:20. > :23:30.the plant world. First, I am going to give you a mini-tour of my world
:23:30. > :23:45.
:23:45. > :23:49.garden. There are 8000 varieties of Deep down here in the UK section of
:23:49. > :23:54.the garden I have got my first orchid that my grandmother bought
:23:55. > :24:00.me at the Age Of seven. It is a common spotted orchid, marsh orchid
:24:00. > :24:05.hybrids. After purchasing this plant, I have never looked back in
:24:05. > :24:10.the world of orchids. I have gone to every corner of the globe to see
:24:10. > :24:14.these plants in the wild. I know what it is like to be mystically
:24:14. > :24:23.seduced by these wonderful plants. People go to any lengths to see
:24:23. > :24:29.these plants. And don't I know it. I was even kidnapped in Colombia
:24:29. > :24:33.and held hostage for nine months while I was trying to find a rare
:24:33. > :24:38.orchid. But even in England people can be just as obsessed by rarities,
:24:38. > :24:44.like the one we are going to see. I am just about to show you one of
:24:44. > :24:48.the rarest plants in this country. I may have been to every far corner
:24:49. > :24:56.of this globe looking for orchids, but now on my doorstep, I have
:24:56. > :25:03.never seen the red helleborine. It is fabulous. It is on the brink of
:25:03. > :25:07.extinction. An excessive phrase? has been on the brink of extinction
:25:07. > :25:11.for the last 20 years. This delicate and very fussy orchid only
:25:11. > :25:16.grows on three sides in England and that is why dislocation is secret,
:25:16. > :25:21.to protect it from plant thieves. They even put up a fence as a
:25:21. > :25:26.deterrent after a nasty incident. We turned up one day and we came
:25:26. > :25:31.round here and all but one of them had been cut off and the flowers
:25:31. > :25:36.had been taken. What was the point? I do not know, people want to deny
:25:36. > :25:40.the pleasure and the excitement of it to other people. I cannot
:25:40. > :25:45.understand it. The Wild Life Trust is working with Kew Gardens to try
:25:45. > :25:55.and find ways of spreading the plant, but the closest I am going
:25:55. > :25:57.
:25:57. > :26:02.to be able to get to the red helleborine is this. Next, I have
:26:02. > :26:06.come to the Nymans Estate in Sussex to look at another rarity that was
:26:06. > :26:15.targeted by unscrupulous collectors. It is a fantastic place up here.
:26:15. > :26:22.Look at that beech tree. This is that tiny fern, with the delicate
:26:22. > :26:27.little fronds. This is the tiny Tunbridge filmy fern and all that
:26:27. > :26:33.much that remains from a larger patch which was last year ripped
:26:33. > :26:38.from the rocks. The empty space below is where it was before it.
:26:38. > :26:45.This whole patch here? I spotted it from way down in the valley because
:26:45. > :26:51.after it was pulled off it was a bright white piece of rock. How old
:26:51. > :26:56.would it be? I would have to say it was hundreds, because it spreads so
:26:56. > :27:02.slowly, it was the equivalent of taking a whole forest. What was the
:27:02. > :27:07.point? Was it a specialist collector? I do not understand,
:27:07. > :27:15.because you have to be a specialist to know exactly what you are
:27:15. > :27:23.looking for. It is a fantastic name. Seeing it for the first time it is
:27:23. > :27:27.as exciting as seeing an orchid in the Bolivian Highlands. I am now on
:27:27. > :27:36.my way to the Isle of Wight to see my third and final rare plant which
:27:36. > :27:41.grows here and know where else in Britain. I have found it, I have
:27:41. > :27:47.discovered it, the best location in the country and the only location
:27:47. > :27:52.in the UK where to find the wood calamint. The plant was only
:27:52. > :27:56.discovered in the 19th century in Great Britain. The seat was under
:27:56. > :28:02.licence and we scattered it here and transplanted four plants from
:28:02. > :28:09.another area and the following year we had quite a nice show, which was
:28:09. > :28:13.the impetus to get us to take it elsewhere. You have saved one of
:28:13. > :28:23.the rarest plants in this country from extinction in your work and it
:28:23. > :28:30.
:28:31. > :28:37.is fantastic. In your capable hands If you want any more information
:28:37. > :28:44.about tonight's show, you can visit our Kent or Sussex websites and you