30/01/2017 Inside Out South East

We discover Kent's most extraordinary island. It is a great

world. It is full of bones. Whaler, there will be the bones of people.

You must make sure that you feel that you can take that. OK, thank

you for the warning! The problems on Southern rail caused

by the strikes or the franchise? There aren't actually any strikes

planned for today at all, so this is, you know, a good day.

And football for females over 50. Most of all, I would say, it is

going to be exciting and thrilling to walk out onto the pitch and play.

I'm Natalie Graham McDowell installed Tories I'm Natalie Graham,

with untold stories closer to home. This is all inside out.

Hello and welcome to the programme, which this week comes to you from

the Isle of Sheppey. We start tonight with an extraordinary story,

one which could come from the pages of a Gothic horror novel. In this

part of Kent, if you speak to certain people, you will hear tales

of a mysterious island nearby. Stories which will send a shiver

down your spine. But could those stories possibly be true? Some

people may find parts of this film disturbing.

I've heard stories about this eerie island off the coast of Sheppey.

So I've had to come here for myself to find out whether the truth

I'm going to the small harbour town of Queenborough,

which sits just across the water from this mysterious island.

When I stopped at the hostelry for the night, I was told that

Others who were curious about the strange tales from the island.

They'd heard the story about the hound.

Yes, the hound with the red death staring eyes.

They had heard this story that there were bodies

And people said that the hound had eaten the skulls, you see.

And they were rowing away into the darkness and the fog.

And they suddenly hear the sound and they look,

Scarpered? Scarpered!

This talk of supernatural devil dogs is obviously just myth.

But at the end of the day, can you disprove it?

But there is a more serious claim about the island.

That it is littered with human remains.

You want to make sure you are up to it.

It is a graveyard, it is full of bones.

Where you look will be bones of people who actually lived.

And because it's a bone yard, it will have an atmosphere.

You must make sure that you feel that you can take that.

An island solely populated by the dead.

Its story seems to have been handed down from generation to generation.

And the name of this macabre place is Deadman's Island.

The locals were keen to prove there was more

So keen that the very next morning, the Queenborough rowing

club agreed to take me to Deadman's Island themselves.

The island is a Site of Special Scientific Interest,

It's out of bounds for visitors due to the birds that make

it their home at certain times of the year.

But we've received permission for a special visit.

I've arrived at Deadman's Island at what's known

What I saw will stay with me forever.

This island was covered with human remains.

That's definitely a piece of a coffin.

And that...there are two bones there.

There's the coffin, Natalie, that's just broken away.

So you think this has all come from a recent...

There's rather a large ? it looks like it could be

A thigh bone and are they some ribs there?

I hadn't seen everything this island had to offer just yet.

So here we have, clearly, two pairs of human legs in a wooden box,

and the rest of the bodies could be under this mud.

It's exactly what they said we'd find,

human remains buried 200 years ago now being exposed to the elements

as nature takes its course over the mud, and this

is a really strange sight, there can't be anywhere, I'd

Well, over two centuries ago, the waters around here were a very

They were home to floating prisons, known as the Prison Hulks.

They were dark, they looked pretty forbidding, they were meant to.

The Prison Hulks were former warships stripped of their masts,

Their gun ports were covered with bars and they were given

fitting names, like Justitia, Retribution and Captivity.

A lot of crimes carried the death penalty, but as a way

of being humane and also to inhabit the colonies, it was decided it

would be a good idea to transport convicts.

Also, there wasn't much space in prisons, but -

and this I think has some effect on the inhabitants

of Deadman's Island - you tended to find that if people

were not considered healthy enough to take the voyage to Australia,

I was going to ask about the kind of crimes

There were people who picked pockets, including 10-year-olds,

who'd been sentenced to 15 years' transportation for picking

So we weren't talking about mass murderers off the cost of Sheppey?

These were the people who were suffering from the draconian

And when those prisoners died, they were buried in unmarked graves

An island which is slowly eroding away.

Once you start looking, you start to see what might

This bit of mud, for example, is it me or does that

I would say that that's a coffin and another next to it that

This is where you can see the depth of where they were buried.

Yeah, six feet, pretty much, isn't it?

They were buried properly and deeply.

The major problem really was you had a lot of men together or a lot

of boys together and therefore if an epidemic began to occur then

it would spread and this was particularly important

in the early 1830s when Retribution was here, because there

was the cholera epidemic, and I suspect a lot of the people

I was joined on my trip by archaeologist Dr Paul Wilkinson,

who could help me find out more about these remains.

It's a human pelvic bone of a young male and obviously died from some

disease ? that's why he's buried here.

Can you tell that ? we're surmising because of the circumstances?

Yeah, and I can tell by the bone itself.

What makes you think that's diseased, the holes in it?

Probably the holes in it, but also, this particular island was retained

for the people that died of contagious diseases

and so the policy was to actually bury them all here so that disease

couldn't then erupt through the prison ships

Isn't it extraordinary to think that 200 years ago,

they were six feet under and now these poor souls are about to be

They're about to be exposed to the open air, they're

about to have their bones and their skulls washed

If there were any skulls, there have been skulls,

they will go last and they will roll into the water like footballs.

We've certainly seen some of Deadman's Island's secrets,

but the longer you spend here looking out across the mud,

the more you start thinking about the hundreds of other people

lying beneath the surface who will no doubt be exposed

over the years to come, and you start wondering as well,

what kind of society dumped them all here with no name,

It would be more right if there was a proper memorial to these poor

souls. These have nothing. They just have an island named

after them, Deadman's Island. The tide began to rise faster

than expected, so we had to leave. It seemed as if the island

didn't want to give up too Well, that was an extraordinary

place we visited today. It wasn't quite the way some people

described it for me - it wasn't particularly frightening,

or didn't seem to be a place For me, it was incredibly

still and actually quite magical. And I wonder if those myths

and legends that have grown up over the years have done the inhabitants

of Deadman's Island a favour, by warning the rest of us away

and allowing them to rest in peace. And that is certainly a journey I'll

Out... It's in the back of the net Out... It's in the back of the net

for the older ladies of Crawley Town.

Never thought it was going to be me. Very emotional. A few tears. Never

done anything like lead a football team ever. Feeling very, very proud.

Now, the strikes as Southern rail have caused passengers nearly a year

of misery. So why have they gone on so long? Could it all to one days of

paperRachel Royce reports. It's 8am and rush hour in this

west Sussex village. Over 750 pupils at St Philip Howard

catholic school arrive by train. Over 750 pupils at St Philip Howard

Catholic school arrive by train. The school's site was especially

chosen because it's close Latecomers can expect a ticking off,

but for many pupils, being late is becoming

a regular event. OK, make sure tomorrow

you're on time. I joined a class of year elevens

studying for their GCSES. So, first question is, how

many of you get the train to school? How many of you had problems

on strike days getting to school? And how many of you have

problems getting to school I'm showing a reduction

in the quality of my school work, because not only do I arrive

five minutes late and have missed some of the lesson,

but I might get home, it's been an hour and half,

I'm freezing and I'm just not Obviously, people have been focusing

on the strikes, and they have caused chaos, but there are -- is there

more to the problems at Southern? We're going to be looking

at the franchise. Well, I'm glad you asked that,

because it's a bit complicated. It used to be that the government

owned the railway, They thought that could make it more

competitive and cheaper. Different train operating companies

competed by a bidding process for the right to operate the trains

in different areas. It is sealed by a contract on these

of paper. Usually they make their profit by

collecting fares from passsengers. If they sell more tickets

than expected, then If it sells less tickets,

then it makes less they take a risk. When the government decided

to offer up the franchise When the government decided

to offer up the franchise that included Southern,

they knew it would be Thee were problems of congestion

in the south est and on top of that, Thee were problems of congestion in

the south east and on top of that, there was an upcoming ?6.5 billion

upgrade of London Bridge. Imagine you're living in your house

and you have it reroofed, new electrics, new plumbing

new carpets and have the whole place redecorated while you still live

in it and you get a sense of what the railway had

to do in London Bridge. While all this was going on,

it would make it very difficult to attract a railway operator

who was looking for a profit. So the government decided not

to offer a normal franchise. Instead, they offered

a different deal, and it went to Govia ThamesLink railway,

the parent company of Southern. Instead of Govia getting the fares

from the passengers, the government gets the fares

from the pasengers and the government pays

Govia to run the service, so the difference this makes is,

unlike normal franchises, Govia isn't taking the risk of not

selling enough tickets. Regardless of how much money comes

in, Southern would be paid the same 3% margin, or somewhere around

there, regardless. So all Southern had to do with it

their defined targets, and they would get their money. But their

train service became the worst performing in the country, and that

was before the strikes even started. It's been a nightmare year

for commuters, and there have been calls for Govia to be stripped

of its franchise. David Boyle is a journalist

and blogger who ha a written a book They need to get the new

franchising. They have obviously failed, and need someone else.

The Department for Transport told us it has no plans to strip

The strikes came about because Southern is introducing

driver-only operated doors on trains, a job that is usually

done by conductors. The change has upset the unions.

The strikes have been going on since April.

Miss, why is the strike going on so long?

Well, there's probably more than one reason but some say that special

franchise we talked about is one of the main reasons

That's because the company gets paid whether the trains run or not.

Some people say this has now become a battle not just between the unions

on one side and the train operating company on the other,

but say the government is involved, because basically,

But Nigel says it's not Southern who's forced this battle

The introduction of driver-operated-only doors

was insisted upon by the government as part of the franchise

because they wanted to modernise the railways.

This has not been a desire by Southern, who stood up

one morning and said, "I know, let's introduce driver

"operation and drive it through regardless because we'll

that and that's what the trains with government that they had to do

It was a term of the contract with government that they had to do this.

Every day for many months at Barnham station, there has been huge

uncertainly ? will trains be delayed or even cancelled?

There aren't actually any strikes planned for today, so this is a good

day. She doesn't like sending me

on my own and she gets a bit The fact that

driver-only-operated doors was a clause in the franchise

agreement is not a secret. But it doesn't seem

to be widely known. The government has not been straight

about the fact it is involved, because it's a concession which

it drew up and signed with Southern, who are trying

to meet their requirements. We asked the Department

for Transport whether the special franchise has played its part

in prolonging the strike. To the pupils and staff here,

the politics don't matter. What counts is getting

the trains back on track. I don't really mind what the outcome

is any more. They just have to sort it out. They

are both being stubborn. They are acting like schoolchildren.

Rachel Royce reporting. As you get older, you tend to get fewer chances

to take part in competitive sport, but over in Crawley, one group of

women have not let their age or their gender stop them.

A lot of women like to go to Zumba, they like to do dance classes,

The ideal thing for me is to have a kickabout.

I've spent a lot of time on the side line supporting my husband,

supporting my son, supporting my daughter, never had the chance

myself ? but now it's my time, my time to play football.

I think it was never thought of us older women doing football.

I'm 57, it's something that I would positively encourage.

Carol Bates has been a long-time fan of Crawley Town Football Club.

One day she saw a tweet from the club's community foundation.

They were encouraging female footballers to get involved

The tweet had a hashtag, #ThisGirlCan.

I thought, OK, this girl can, let me try.

So I asked what the maximum age was and they said 25.

Which meant that Carol was 23 years too old to play.

But instead of leaving it there and going back to the ironing,

I was a bit disappointed, put one of those emoji sad faces

and said maybe I can start a group myself.

Crawley Town Football Club agreed to help if Carol could find

other women like herself who would take part.

So she put the word round that there would be a new group at Crawley

for women over 25... Well over 25.

Carol got some funding from the English Football League Trust

And they called themselves... The Crawley Old Girls.

When we first started, there were 10 of us and it really was...

We couldn't kick a ball, and then as the weeks progressed,

other people heard about it, more people came, so a year down

the line, it's slightly different, in that we're not just coming

for a bit of fun, we're actually learning things and we're

Crawley Town became the first football league club

And teaching them to play football is their head coach Marcus Doyle.

They won't mind me saying so, they were quite daunted

They'd just come along to have a kick around, really,

and I noticed initially there were within this group

of sort of mad women, there was the potential to see some

talent there and after a couple of weeks, we sort of ratcheted it up

a little bit and started to take it a little bit more seriously.

You have got the talent and the quality. Drive into that space. We

know we have got the touch. Today, women's football

is a massively growing sport. And it's not uncommon to see

young girls playing the game. But when the Crawley Old Girls

were young girls, they missed out. I'm of a generation that

missed out on playing football. And to actually get the chance

to pull on a shirt, go out there, kick a ball around is the best thing

that's happened to me, best thing. And now it's their head coach

Marcus Doyle who is facing the challenge of bringing the lost

generation up to scratch. Do that one for about six or seven

seconds. Come on, reset! I don't want to say too much

about him because his head might get But since he's come along,

he has changed us all. He believes in us, he calls us

footballers, you are not just, you know, just women playing

football, you are footballers is what he keeps telling us,

believe in yourself, Don't say too much, cos he will,

he'll get too big-headed. In just under a week's time,

the Crawley Old Girls face their local rivals

the Lewes Ladies Veterans. OK, so you will be getting changed

in the first team changing room, all right? The first-team will not be in

there! It will be their first match

at the Checkatrade Stadium, the home of Crawley Town

Football Club. To walk out of that tunnel tonight

with my Crawley shirt on, it's just going to be

a dream come true. It's the last training session

before the big game, and Marcus is about to announce

the team's new captain. Yeah, shocked to start with,

very emotional, a few tears, never done anything like lead

a football team ever. Once you get them into that

competitive situation, We will meet at the players'

entrance. Meet there, OK? Tee where is the players' entrance?

Once you get them into that competitive situation,

they want to come along and they want to have fun

and want to enjoy themselves, have a little bit of a giggle

and what-have-you, but they want to win.

I don't see them then as women who have come along for a laugh,

I see them as players that want to win a match.

Some of the team take the training for the big match very seriously,

as the rest discovered when they met up for lunch to discuss some

Me and my friend Sandra popped in for our daily bacon sandwich.

Hello! Hello! You all right? Three Bacon signees, please. No.

Jane, who's our captain, refused to serve us

It wasn't a very healthy lunch, they wanted a bacon sandwich

and I refused them purely because we've got a very

And then Dermot, the manager of Crawley Town, walks in,

Can I have a bacon sandwich, please? There you go.

..sidles past us and gets himself a bacon sandwich.

A little bit disappointed, I must say, but then,

Jane's got our interests at heart, I suppose.

Last time these two teams met, Lewes won.

So how do the COGs feel about tonight's Sussex derby?

We will obviously be going out to win, but it's

It's about camaraderie at this age, but there's still a little bit

To put that Crawley Town shirt on and go out,

us COGs all together, is an absolutely fantastic feeling.

I think there's going to be a bit of anxiety, but most of all,

I would say it is going to be excitement and thrilling to walk out

I'm incredibly proud of what they've achieved.

The game flies by and there are goals aplenty.

So how did the COGS do in their big derby match?

The final score was Crawley Old Girls, 1,

Lewes Ladies Veterans... 4.

But after such a crushing defeat, the mood is still high.

Good stuff, well done. Go and have a glass of wine.

I don't even care, the fact that all these women are playing

Brilliant, I couldn't ask any more of our girls.

Win, lose or draw as a COG, we're a team, we're a family,

we enjoy it, it's the best thing we ever do, and I don't

And it isn't just for young women either.

Brilliant! Where do I sign? Now, for more information about the

programme, go to our live pages on the BBC News website, and you can

watch the show again on iPlayer. Coming up next week... Whatever

happens to high-tech health care in the home? It is a disaster that

family. Someone now needs to step up and take ownership of this, and say,

I'm really sorry it's gone wrong, but we will sort it out.

And why winter is a great time to find your way around the

countryside. Winter is actually quite a fun time

to do it. There are fewer leaves on the trees, so we can look at things

we can see in summer. That's it for tonight from us. Thank

you for watching. See you next week. Hello, I'm Riz Lateef

with your 90-second update. Protests in Downing Street tonight

against Donald Trump's travel ban More than 1.4 million have now

signed a petition calling for his state visit to Britain

to be cancelled. There have also been

protests in the States. President Trump insisted little more

than a 100 travellers were affected over the weekend and blamed

protestors for the A mosque in Canada has been

subjected to a terrorist attack. Six worshippers were killed,

five critically injured, Guilty - banker Lynden Scourfield

was bribed by David Mills to provide Money was lavished on holidays,

prostitutes and cars. The corruption cost Halifax Bank

of Scotland hundreds of millions. Jennie Platt didn't

like spikes put down to deter the homeless in Manchester,

so she and her children put down