23/09/2013 Inside Out South East

The stonemason from Sussex who failed to deliver gravestones for

the bereaved. What have you done other than rip off people? I have

not ripped anybody off. Nobody. Behind the scenes in the battle for

Dreamland. I think they saw an opportunity to buy the site on the

cheap. Simple as that. They dragged their feet and they haven't done

what we originally were hoping to do. And helping the children who

need assistance at school. When I went there all the time, I wasn't

very good. Because everyone kept on making me angry. Children need to

learn social skills, they need to recognise their rights, but equally,

they need to accept their responsibility.

I'm Natalie Graham with untold stories close to home. From all

around the south east, this is Inside Out.

Hello. We are in the Medway town of Strood at Temple Manor to be

precise. We're back in the town later, but first up, here is John

Hunt. This is Lee Fouracres, a stonemason who promises to deliver

rock—solid results. But in some cases, getting what you paid for

from him can be like getting blood from a stone. Lee Fouracres operates

here in the Eastbourne area, making gravestones for bereaved families.

Vulnerable people who have lost those most dear to them. According

to some of his customers, he's charming and pleasant at first, but

once he's taken your money, that is when the grief can really start to

set in. Debbie Smith is visiting Langley cemetery to tend to her

mother's grave. But for a whole year following her death, there was no

headstone to help her family focus their grief. Winifred died in April,

2011, aged 84. Lee Fouracres was paid £1,000 and said it would take

about three months to produce the stone memorial. But after six

months, he still had not delivered. When Debbie's sister challenged him

about the delay, she says he was extremely rude and ordered her off

his property. At the time, we were coping with the death of our mum. We

thought he was someone that we could trust. And it just seemed incredible

that someone who was in that position, who was dealing with

families who were bereaved, could then turn around and be so

unpleasant. Mrs Smith decided enough was enough. She felt as if she had

left her mother down. She asked Lee for a refund, but he didn't respond.

She had to find another company and fork out again so her mother could

finally have the memorial she deserved. I think he is completely

ruthless. He hasn't got any consideration for the impact of his

behaviour on other people. And he is incredibly selfish.

Sit with Mummy, then. Sit with Mummy. Liz Martin feels the same way

about Lee Fouracres. Her 75—year—old dad, Ray, paid him a £1000 deposit

in August 2011 for a headstone after his wife, Billie, died. But months

and months went by. The his wife, Billie, died. But months

wasn't erected and Ray was getting distressed by the delays and

excuses. It was upsetting because you can't lay anybody to rest until

there is something solid up. That is what he wanted to do. He had plans

for what he wanted to do with the gravestone after, you know, the

area, afterwards, the grave and that afterwards, and,

area, afterwards, the grave and that couldn't do it. Ray was sick with

grief. Eight months had passed since he parted with his cash and he still

didn't have a finished gravestone he could visit. He became more and more

upset, more and more unwell and he died in April last year. I think he

gave up the will, to be honest. He gave up. It didn't kill him, but it

certainly didn't help. Liz Martin tried to get her dad's money back,

but got nowhere. Problems like this are really the last thing you need

when you are dealing with such a terrible loss. Getting the grave and

headstone right is pretty much the last thing you can do for someone.

But Lee Fouracres hasn't only let down bereaved families, he also owes

thousands to a World War II charity. Almost half of the airmen who flew

with Bomber Command in World War II never returned. Their average age

just 22. Joe Williams did return. He is 91 now. But, in 1945, he was a

rear gunner on board the Lancaster bombers of 625 Squadron. That is the

constant speed unit. It keeps the speed of the propeller at a

constant. Joe still treasures the wreckage of his plane that was shot

down over Czechoslovakia and the memories of his comrades. There is a

bullet hole coming up through there. He has dedicated his retirement to

honouring them. And in 2010, having received enough donations from the

public, he asked Lee Fouracres to produce a large granite memorial to

the more than 55,000 men who died. Lee was paid £7000 so he could order

the stone, but five months later, there was little evidence that Lee

had done very much at all. On the day that I gave him the cheque for

£7000, I stated an assurance that you are receiving acknowledgement of

the order. I said, you are to send me a copy. And that is

of course. And did he send you any paperwork? Never did. No. So you

didn't get your materials, you didn't get any paperwork. No. What

did you get for your £7000? Nothing at all. Lee did do some preparation

work, sent some documents and eventually laid the foundations and

base for the memorial. He was paid an additional £1800, but he did not

follow the plans and the committee were unhappy with what he had done.

In the end, he wouldn't meet or even talk to Joe and his fundraisers, so

they pursued him in the courts. The case wasn't defended, so a judge

ordered Lee to pay back more than £8000. He has not done so and the

stress has taken its toll on this celebrated war hero. I had a mental

breakdown. And for no other reason. And I have difficulties with speech,

etcetera. I'm not the man that I was two years ago. No thanks to Lee

Fouracres, a bomber command memorial was eventually put in place at

Beachy Head. Joe Williams had to use his personal savings to cover the

I asked this Hastings stonemason could finish the job.

I asked this Hastings stonemason to review the complaints about Lee

Fouracres. Roger has been in the business for 13 years and is a

former president of the industry body, the National Association of

Memorial Masons. He believes Lee Fouracres is letting the whole

profession down. It is absolutely appalling. I don't think you need me

to condemn that kind of behaviour. I would not put up with it for two

seconds. If I had heard that he had treated anybody else in that way, I

know where I would be taking my money. You cannot treat the public

in that sort of way and hope to continue in business. No excuses. I

have spoken to Lee Fouracres, told him what Joe Williams and the other

customers are saying about him. He says he has done nothing wrong. He

blames them for the problems and he has agreed to meet with me. So let's

go and find out what he has to say. He has asked me to come to his

workshop at Westham, near Pevensey. He says he has got nothing to hide,

so I get down to business. We start talking about the headstone for Liz

Martin's father. Tell me why people are waiting so many months. One

person in particular, they died waiting for the memorial for their

wife. Am I responsible for that? But they waited. Right, go on. It seems

as if Mrs Martin's headstone is here, but it was meant to be

installed in the cemetery a year and a half ago. This is all complete

nonsense. If you would like to look at this now. Just tell me, why is

this here and not in the cemetery? Because they refused to pay for it.

They paid you a deposit. Yes, and I wanted my balance. They should be

paying the balance when you finish the goods. Says who? You? Well,

that's the normal practise for stonemasons. Mrs Martin says they

were never asked for the balance and in fact, were told that because of

the circumstances, Lee was going to complete the remaining works free of

charge. He disputes this. Lee tells me that he has hundreds of happy

clients and promises to send me their details. We're still waiting

for that. Turning to Debbie Smith, he says he had a difficulty getting

the stone she'd ordered at first, but Mrs Smith accepted an

alternative and should have waited just another three weeks for her

headstone, as they had agreed in writing. He denies being rude to her

sister. He says he is out of pocket because he paid for the materials.

We have spoken to his supplier and they have no record of the order.

But I really want to know what he has to say about the Beachy Head

memorial. A 91—year—old war hero who was shot down in World War II. I

know Joe's story. Held prisoner of war. And that's why... And he has

done that, he's done that to protect your freedom. And so did my

grandparents. So did my grandparents. What have you done,

other than rip off people? I haven't ripped anybody off. Nobody. He

blames Joe's committee for the delay, saying they couldn't make

their minds up and didn't provide him with the designs on time. He

said the conditions at Beachy Head made it difficult to carry out the

work and claims he did not know about the County Court claim against

him or he would have defended it. But he does admit ignoring Joe's

committee because they had become a pain. I'm going to tell you now, and

this is the truth, there their letters and e—mails because

they were down here on a daily basis. We have done that at such low

margins, we have... You agreed to do that, remember. We did, but we

didn't agree for it to impact on our business and for it to become a

nightmare. It was a big, big project that you took on and you saw the

benefit of being part of that. You took on too much. Not correct. No.

No. Not correct. He says he refused to do any more work because they

paid £1800 into the wrong bank account. But we have checked with

the bank and they did pay it into his account. Are you telling me that

all of these customers are wrong, that you provided them with an

exemplary service and it is their fault that they haven't got the

products they paid for? No. I am not going to say that. That would be

total nonsense. What is the truth? It's six of one and half a dozen of

the other. But he sees no reason why he should pay anyone their money

back. I have done nothing wrong. OK, my only fault as an individual is

perhaps a slight lack of organisation from time to time. If

that makes me a bad man, then so be it. But I'm not a crook. Lee

Fouracres has a lot of answers, but the customers we've featured are

still out of pocket and haven't received the goods they paid for.

And the odds of them ever getting their money back now are extremely

slim. Mr Fouracres says the company has ceased trading because he owes a

lot of money. He says the company's bank account has been frozen and he

claims he is now working for his girlfriend's daughter who set up a

new stonemasonry business at the same address. East Sussex trading

standards are investigating. John Hunt reporting. Coming up on

the programme... Sit down on your beanbag. CHILD SCREAMS.

There's no such thing as a naughty child. All behaviour is just speech.

Good morning, Tamsin. Good morning, Mrs Duncan.

Good morning, Tamsin. Good morning, Well, Dreamland, Margate's famous

amusement park has been derelict for the past seven years. But can it be

brought back to life as the first seaside vintage theme park in

Britain? Margate has enjoyed a sparkling

summer in the sun. The Turner Contemporary attracted its millionth

visitor. New steps on the beach proved popular. And Margate old town

was bustling. But at one end of the seafront, there is a dismal blot on

the landscape. Dreamland in decay. The owners closed it finally in

2006, saying it was no longer financially viable as a theme park.

These days, Dreamland is in a sorry state. The grounds are there, the

buildings are empty and the scenic Railway was badly damaged when

arsonists set fire to it in 2008. Inside Out was given exclusive

access to the Dreamland site to view for ourselves the extent of the

decay. We saw the old rides that are awaiting restoration. The grade two

listed cinema building, where the ceilings are hanging down and wires

had been ripped out. For the best part of a century, Dreamland was a

thriving amusement park, attracting crowds from around the country. The

Scenic Railway was the star of the show, introduced in 1921, its wooden

frame was a mile long. On the face of it, it appears that for the last

seven years, nothing has been going on and the site has been left to

rot. But behind—the—scenes, a battle has been raging over the best way to

develop this iconic site at the heart of Margate. The battle is

between Thanet District Council, who now wants to develop the land

themselves, and developers who paid £12 million for the site in 2005.

Both sides wants to see vintage rides back on the site, but there

has been a massive row over who should do it and how much of the

site should be given over to a heritage amusement park? We want to

see it up and running, an attraction for people from across Kent and the

South East of England. And abroad even. To come and see it. And to

balance with the Turner Contemporary at the other end of the seafront.

And for another offering here in Margate. That's where the theme

park, the amusement park is due to stop. The developers who fell out

with the council are the Margate town centre regeneration company.

They want to use half the land for housing and the rest as a heritage

theme park with public gardens. They worked on this plan alongside the

Council for several years. Our residential was going to cross

subsidise the amusement park. The amusement park could rely on that

cross subsidy. It was a very good deal from the council's point of

view. Their planning deal from the council's point of

worked, as they had intended to work, and they would have had a very

good housing scheme alongside a well funded park. But there was a

spectacular falling out. The council took ownership of the land under a

compulsory purchase order early this month. A move that the developers

are still fighting. They're going to the High Court this Wednesday to

appeal what they see as a grossly unfair decision to take the land

from them. The principal thing about living in this country is that you

consider the land that you own is yours. I think they saw an

opportunity to buy the site on the cheap, simple as that. We lost

patience with them, to be honest. Because they dragged their feet. And

they haven't done what we originally were hoping to do. And yes, the

council, cross—party, has taken a decision that we needed to take

control of the situation, and that is what we have done. But they feel

that you have got the land on the cheap?! Well, I'm not sure about

that. I think the final bill is not known yet. Toby Hunter believes that

the council has bitten off more than it can chew in taking over

Dreamland, and that it is incapable of managing the project. The council

took possession of Dreamland's cinema building two years ago,

claiming that the developers were not maintain it properly. But he

claims the council haven't looked after it at all. Since the council

have had it, all the brass railings, the listed brass railings, they have

all been stripped out. At the moment, there are squatters in the

building. The shame is, the local authority have spent £2 million.

They said they would spend £1.2 million, they spend £2 million. And

there's supposed be a fire alarm, a security system, CCTV, and security.

And yet, you know, it's open. The door was open. It's open to the

public. There's an argument coming from the Margate regeneration

company that you have wasted money on what you have done to the cinema.

It hasn't been made safe. People have been going in, they say,

squatters, stealing metal from inside the building. You've put that

to me this morning, that is the first I have heard of that. That

there has been squatters in there. I have had no reports of that until

today. Despite the accusations and legal wrangling, the council's plans

for the new Dreamland are forging ahead. Every vision needs a

visionary, and designer Wayne Hemingway has been appointed to look

after the big picture. The vision for Dreamland is twofold. One is to

create the world's first amusement park of thrilling historic rights,

so that is kind of renovating the wonderful scenic railway that is

there. —— rides. And some of the rides that were there. And bringing

in some other wonderful rides. And we are scouring the country, and

internationally for artefacts and rides into things. Secondly, it is

to create a site, really evocative site, you know. Based on the history

of seaside amusement. It's an ambitious plan, but given where we

are now, an empty site, no working rides, and a target of opening the

year after next, can the council pull it off? I am not going to

exaggerate and say that it is not tight. It's very, very tight, it

really is. And it is public money, and as you say, we have got to watch

every penny of it. But, it's been costed, it has been, for phase one,

we can get it done for the £10 million that we have in place. And

funding is in place to do what we have proposed to do with phase one

of the project. The council has £10 million to bring the damaged scenic

railway up to full working order, to restore other vintage rides, and to

reopen Dreamland. They haven't got the money to invest in

infrastructure. They haven't got the quality of rides that any generation

of riders would expect. And yes, obviously, the heritage of the great

theme. But in a way, heritage is not a cheap option. Heritage is a more

expensive option, because you have got to, you know, you have got to

shine the brass. You've got to polish the steel. It's got to look

even better, because people have got to be in thrall by it. —— enthralled

by it. It's been an epic struggle, but whether it is the council or the

developers who when, Margate needs a dreamland that can bounce back.

Doing nothing with dreamland is not an option. An end to the legal

wrangles is inside, and a new future beckons. A future which harks back

to the past. Now, when a child falls behind at

school, it can lead to exclusion, and serious problems later in life.

But here in Strood, Anna Thomas has been looking at a scheme which helps

children achieve their potential in Kent and Sussex.

Luke is only six, but was nearly excluded from school. When I went

there all the time, I wasn't very good. Because everyone kept on

making me angry. I couldn't control my anger. I got angry. Because I was

hurting. Luke's behaviour was so disruptive, he was only allowed into

class for a few hours a day. And he had to be kept away from other

children. His mum had tried everything, from employing child

behaviour experts to cutting down her time at work to look after him.

There were occasions that I felt that I wasn't a good enough parent

for him. All you want for your child is for them to be happy. Good

morning, everyone. Good morning. Good morning, Luke. Good morning Mrs

Duncan. Luke was sent here to the rainbow room. It's a nurture group.

Good morning, Tamsin. Good morning Mrs Duncan. It helps children with

social, emotional and behavioural issues who are at risk of falling

behind are being excluded. Heidi Taylor is the school's headteacher

and helps to set up the group. It takes in children from her school

and surrounding ones. She says there are a lot of reasons why children

come here. A nurture group aims to replace those vital part of

nurturing that the children have missed out on, for one reason or

another. Luke, I am looking at the list and your job is going to be to

put the cops out. —— cups. There are around 35 nurture groups in Kent and

Sussex. The charity that helps set up and run them says that early

intervention is vital to stop children from falling behind. The

earlier we intervene with children, the better, because we change

behaviour early, we don't have to change it later on. Once upon a

time, there was a prince calls Luke. Luke's behaviour has improved so

much that he should soon be rejoining his classmates at his old

school. Jean Duncan is one of his teachers and remembers when he first

came here. He presented as a very out for a child. —— outward child.

He had temper tantrums, he refused, he screamed, he hit, he hurt. And in

all of that, in all of those behaviours was the constant theme of

I am really scared. I do not know what to expect. I do not know how to

tell you that I'm scared. So, a lot of the time when we were working

with Luke, it was looking at these really quite big behaviours, and

seeing the very scared child inside. Jean Duncan runs the rainbow room

with Julie Anderson. There are usually eight to ten children in the

group. A small class means that teachers can quickly spotted the

children are having any problems. Routine is important, and if there

are any changes to it, these have to be explained carefully to the class.

This afternoon, when you come back from your lunch, we will have

somebody new in the room. Shall we find out? Yes. This. This is David.

Today will be a real test for Luke. A new boy is starting who will

eventually take his place. Like Luke, David has had to come here

because he is having problems at school. He's been disrupting lessons

and is at risk of exclusion. In nurture, Miss Anderson will be

looking after him. My role is to support David on his journey. David

will take from me what he needs. Children need to learn social

skills, they need to recognise their rights. But equally, they need to

accept their responsibilities. They need to take a bit of responsibility

for their own actions and be self—regulating. David was really

gentle with Isabel. And, just to let David put his socks and shoes on.

David needs to learn the rules of nurture. He's finding it difficult

to adjust to the new routine. No throwing. If you throw, David, if

you throw, then you are going to go back to the bean bags. Now! You

through! Excuse me, children. Lucas, Tamsin, move out of the way. David

has a go to the bean bag. I do not want to go! I spoke to you about

throwing, David. Now! Now! No! Sit down on the bean bag. HE SCREAMS.

There's no such thing as a naughty child. All behaviour is just speech.

He's saying, I am upset or I am angry, I am worried. They don't have

the words, but they show I am thinking when I look at David, what

can I do to help? And maybe what do I not do? Do you need me to sit back

at this point? Do you need a cuddle? The other children are taught to act

as role models and ignore one another's behaviour. So their lesson

carries on the table. Come on, David! That's that! Your friends are

waiting! Hello, David. And after 40 minute, Miss Anderson 's Patience

pays off. She manages to get David to calm down and rejoin his

classmates. Thank you for my banana bread, Luke. Luke is now spending

more and more time at his own school, and it is hoped he can soon

return there full—time. Teachers say that he is now a calm and resilient

boy, ready. And his mum is delighted. I am hoping that Luke

would be able to return to mainstream school. And that he will

fly. He's a very clever little boy. He's very caring. He's very funny

and charming. And before the nurture unit, it wasn't very obvious how

lovely he was, because obviously, all the negative behaviour impacted

on people's views of him. And now I think they get to see Luke for the

boy that he is. He's wonderful. And he deserves every opportunity to

succeed. The butterfly flies away. Flap flap. It's great to see

children re—engaged in understanding the joy of learning, when all of a

sudden, it is not a threat to them. They're not having to compete within

the classroom, which is what it can feel like to a lot of children.

Particularly those that are slightly behind on the learning curve. It

feels like a race. It feels like a competition that they cannot keep up

with. So, nurture takes them out of that environment. It builds them up,

give them the tools to do the job and sends them back in the race. The

butterfly flies away. Emma Thomas reporting. Now, if you

want any more information about the programme, you can visit our

website. You can also watch the programme again on the BBC iPlayer.

Coming up next week. Is the Balcombe tunnel safe? We investigate the

partial collapse on the London to Brighton line. If you went through

at a time when there had been a fall, there could be no amount of

injuries. Everyone would just sue Network Rail, so it is a false

economy not to get the job done properly. And who were the Saxons of

Eastbourne? We put flesh on the bones. This kind of looks African.

That's it from us for tonight from Strood. Thank you for watching, good

night.