0:00:12 > 0:00:14The Eastbourne Brothers at the centre of the upcoming
0:00:14 > 0:00:16enquiry into sex abuse in the Church of England.
0:00:16 > 0:00:19I really would like people to be held to account what's happened.
0:00:19 > 0:00:20So far no-one has been.
0:00:20 > 0:00:23There are definitely people, whether it is myself or not,
0:00:23 > 0:00:25who have been abused, who would not have been,
0:00:25 > 0:00:27had the church conducted itself in the manner
0:00:27 > 0:00:28you would expect it to.
0:00:28 > 0:00:30Did Nasa copy the invention of a Seaford scientist?
0:00:30 > 0:00:32They never gave me the credit for anything.
0:00:32 > 0:00:34It is so bad.
0:00:34 > 0:00:38And it is not normal.
0:00:38 > 0:00:44And the riders and drivers battling for space on our busy roads.
0:00:44 > 0:00:46I have been a victim of a hit-and-run.
0:00:46 > 0:00:50The bike was a write-off and the car was never seen.
0:00:50 > 0:00:54I am Natalie Graham with untold stories closer to home.
0:00:54 > 0:01:04From all around the south-east, this is Inside Out.
0:01:12 > 0:01:14Hello and welcome to the programme, which this week comes
0:01:14 > 0:01:17to you from Tunbridge Wells.
0:01:17 > 0:01:20When two brothers were growing up here in Eastbourne in the 1980s
0:01:20 > 0:01:23little did they know the rest of their lives would be
0:01:23 > 0:01:26defined by the horrors they experienced as children.
0:01:26 > 0:01:30Or that they would end up at the centre of an inquiry ordered
0:01:31 > 0:01:32by the Prime Minister.
0:01:32 > 0:01:36Colin Campbell reports.
0:01:46 > 0:01:49I didn't dislike going to church, there was something I felt quite
0:01:49 > 0:01:53meaningful about it.
0:01:53 > 0:01:56Phil Johnson was nine years old when he joined the choir
0:01:56 > 0:02:00at St Andrew's church in Eastbourne.
0:02:00 > 0:02:06The church is an imposing building, a very tall red brick church.
0:02:06 > 0:02:09It was almost like an unwritten rule that as soon as I hit eight years
0:02:09 > 0:02:12old, I would join the choir too and I did.
0:02:12 > 0:02:16Gary proudly followed in his big brothers' footsteps.
0:02:16 > 0:02:20Their vicar, Reverend Roy Cotton.
0:02:20 > 0:02:25He was a very educated person, and he would leverage that to engage
0:02:25 > 0:02:29you in conversation or learning.
0:02:29 > 0:02:33But soon the young boys could tell something wasn't right.
0:02:33 > 0:02:35He would give me alcohol and cigarettes and things
0:02:35 > 0:02:38when I was really quite young, you know, 10, 11, 12 years
0:02:38 > 0:02:41old and this was all a secret.
0:02:41 > 0:02:44All secret treats.
0:02:44 > 0:02:48Cotton was cunning, devious and manipulative.
0:02:48 > 0:02:52It felt like you were being singled out and recruited.
0:02:52 > 0:02:54Also predatory.
0:02:54 > 0:02:59He physically overpowered me, and I believed I was going to die.
0:02:59 > 0:03:01And dangerous.
0:03:01 > 0:03:08The abuse itself was...
0:03:08 > 0:03:10It was kind of all intrusive, it became all encompassing.
0:03:10 > 0:03:13Targeted, groomed and abused, both boys suffered at the hands
0:03:13 > 0:03:15of the same priest.
0:03:15 > 0:03:17Their family, their entire lives, so integrated into the church,
0:03:17 > 0:03:19they felt utterly powerless to stop him.
0:03:19 > 0:03:29Totally alone.
0:03:31 > 0:03:33And what's so extraordinary about this story is the brothers
0:03:33 > 0:03:36didn't even feel able to tell each other until they were adults.
0:03:36 > 0:03:39There was a story on the lunchtime news about an abusive vicar
0:03:39 > 0:03:44and I could just see out of the corner of my eye that Gary
0:03:44 > 0:03:46froze and, you know, he stopped what he was doing
0:03:46 > 0:03:53and just like the penny dropped in that moment and I said to him,
0:03:53 > 0:03:59did anything happen to you with Roy Cotton?
0:03:59 > 0:04:01Their deepest, darkest secret was shared as they worked
0:04:01 > 0:04:06in an office together in Eastbourne.
0:04:06 > 0:04:10Time itself sort of froze and I don't know how
0:04:10 > 0:04:13long it was like that for, but I...
0:04:13 > 0:04:17What was going through my mind in a moment was less
0:04:17 > 0:04:21about what happened in the past it was more about the fact
0:04:21 > 0:04:23that what I had tried to keep secret was now out,
0:04:23 > 0:04:29and I knew there was no way back.
0:04:29 > 0:04:31I didn't know what was going to happen next.
0:04:31 > 0:04:33I didn't know how to respond.
0:04:33 > 0:04:34That's why I didn't.
0:04:34 > 0:04:40But it was a horrible sensation, it was like being caught red handed.
0:04:40 > 0:04:42# The lights are on.
0:04:42 > 0:04:45# But you're not home.
0:04:45 > 0:04:47Gary pursued a new life in the US.
0:04:47 > 0:04:49A keyboard player with bleached blonde hair, he helped produce
0:04:49 > 0:04:56a string of smash hits.
0:04:56 > 0:04:58Working with Robert Palmer was quite special, especially shooting
0:04:58 > 0:05:03the video out in the Mohave Desert.
0:05:03 > 0:05:05It was my first trip to the USA.
0:05:05 > 0:05:07But he could only temporarily suppress the horrors
0:05:07 > 0:05:08of his childhood.
0:05:08 > 0:05:11It is only after the fact that everything came crashing down for me
0:05:11 > 0:05:20that I realised the extent of what had actually happened to me.
0:05:20 > 0:05:24He now lives alone in Southern California.
0:05:24 > 0:05:27He is a store manager for a large phone and tech retailer.
0:05:27 > 0:05:29Divorced, he has a young son who lives 100 miles away.
0:05:29 > 0:05:33I try not to blame the past for the route that my life has
0:05:33 > 0:05:40taken, but it is very difficult to disassociate it completely.
0:05:40 > 0:05:43I keep tabs on what is going on in the UK, just online,
0:05:43 > 0:05:49or my brother of course is a great point of contact, he lets me know
0:05:49 > 0:05:56anything important that's happening.
0:05:56 > 0:05:59While one brother took flight, the other stayed here
0:06:00 > 0:06:04in Eastbourne to fight.
0:06:04 > 0:06:08For Phil Johnson it's been a 20-year battle with the church
0:06:08 > 0:06:09with no end in sight.
0:06:09 > 0:06:12A survivor of abuse, Phil is now a respected campaigner,
0:06:12 > 0:06:17head of an organisation which assists victims of abuse.
0:06:17 > 0:06:19Today he's at Lambeth Palace, the London residence
0:06:19 > 0:06:24of the Archbishop of Canterbury.
0:06:24 > 0:06:27He meets Bishops here regularly, part of his mission to make
0:06:27 > 0:06:30the church a safer place and to improve the way the church
0:06:30 > 0:06:31responds to victims of abuse.
0:06:31 > 0:06:33Having access to senior members of clergy and people
0:06:33 > 0:06:35in authority in the church does make a difference.
0:06:35 > 0:06:39I think it ensures that they have a better understanding of the impact
0:06:39 > 0:06:45that abuse has on people's lives.
0:06:45 > 0:06:50For the whole of their lives sometimes.
0:06:50 > 0:06:52Sexual abuse of children can have a profound affect
0:06:52 > 0:06:53on the adults they become.
0:06:53 > 0:06:57Gary dealt with it by finding a new life in America.
0:06:57 > 0:07:03Phil, confronting the institution he holds responsible and going public.
0:07:03 > 0:07:10Two brothers who were sexually abused...
0:07:10 > 0:07:15Gary and Phil first told their story in 2011.
0:07:15 > 0:07:18The reason they took such profound step is
0:07:18 > 0:07:20they discovered their abuser, Reverend Roy Cotton,
0:07:20 > 0:07:23had been allowed into the church, despite having a previous conviction
0:07:23 > 0:07:26for molesting a choir boy.
0:07:26 > 0:07:27Being abused is bad enough.
0:07:27 > 0:07:33Being abused by someone in such a position of authority means that
0:07:33 > 0:07:35I don't trust doctors, I don't trust the police,
0:07:35 > 0:07:37I don't trust anyone in a position of authority.
0:07:37 > 0:07:38I don't trust men.
0:07:38 > 0:07:41Their bravery prompted other survivors of Cotton to come forward.
0:07:41 > 0:07:43He was manipulative.
0:07:43 > 0:07:44To the extreme.
0:07:44 > 0:07:46I mean, I was scared.
0:07:46 > 0:07:55I was very scared.
0:07:55 > 0:07:57They have contributed to four separate Church
0:07:57 > 0:07:58commissioned reviews, examining safeguarding
0:07:58 > 0:07:59surrounding their case and others.
0:07:59 > 0:08:01Their determination prompting admissions of cover-up
0:08:01 > 0:08:02and deception in the past.
0:08:02 > 0:08:06By cover-up I mean that a person in authority...
0:08:06 > 0:08:09Their case has led to the jailing of a significant number of clergy,
0:08:09 > 0:08:14including retired Eastbourne priests Jonathan Graves...
0:08:14 > 0:08:17You are now a convicted child sex offender.
0:08:17 > 0:08:20Mr Coles, are you ashamed?
0:08:20 > 0:08:21..and Robert Coles.
0:08:21 > 0:08:26Mr Coles, would you like to say anything to the victims?
0:08:26 > 0:08:30But also the highest ranking member of the Church of England to ever be
0:08:30 > 0:08:31convicted of sexual abuse.
0:08:31 > 0:08:34The former Bishop of Lewes, Bishop Peter Ball.
0:08:34 > 0:08:38It is the brothers pursuit of the truth which has served
0:08:38 > 0:08:42as a catalyst here in Sussex, helping to expose a disturbing
0:08:42 > 0:08:48Church of England sex abuse scandal.
0:08:48 > 0:08:54Phil is visiting his abuser's grave.
0:08:54 > 0:08:57The brothers personal battle for criminal justice ended 20 years
0:08:57 > 0:09:00ago when they were told there weren't enough independent
0:09:00 > 0:09:01witnesses to prosecute Cotton.
0:09:01 > 0:09:05He died in 2006.
0:09:05 > 0:09:09It is feared he'd abused dozens of boys.
0:09:09 > 0:09:10How did it go?
0:09:10 > 0:09:12Horrible.
0:09:12 > 0:09:20In 2010 Gary underwent psychiatric assessment.
0:09:20 > 0:09:22The brothers had chosen to fight for justice
0:09:22 > 0:09:30through the civil courts.
0:09:30 > 0:09:32To gain compensation from the church, both
0:09:32 > 0:09:34were repeatedly evaluated by experts who assessed the damage
0:09:34 > 0:09:35caused by the abuse.
0:09:35 > 0:09:36HE SOBS.
0:09:36 > 0:09:43A process that often re-traumatises victims.
0:09:47 > 0:09:49They eventually received a financial settlement from the church
0:09:49 > 0:09:52and a formal apology, and accepting mistakes
0:09:52 > 0:09:55that led to their abuse.
0:09:55 > 0:09:58We are deeply and profoundly sorry for what happened.
0:09:58 > 0:10:05Really ashamed on behalf of the Church commission.
0:10:05 > 0:10:07Really ashamed on behalf of the Church community.
0:10:07 > 0:10:08Secretary, Theresa May.
0:10:08 > 0:10:12The Sussex church sex abuse scandal is now the focus of a national
0:10:12 > 0:10:14enquiry ordered by the then Home Secretary, Theresa May.
0:10:14 > 0:10:16Where there has been a failure to protect children
0:10:16 > 0:10:20from abuse we will expose it and we will learn from it.
0:10:20 > 0:10:22The Prime Minister was born in Eastbourne, her father
0:10:22 > 0:10:31an Anglican minister in the town.
0:10:31 > 0:10:34Phil Johnson is a key witness in the enquiry she ordered.
0:10:34 > 0:10:36It will start to examine what happened in churches
0:10:36 > 0:10:37in Sussex early next year.
0:10:37 > 0:10:41I want to make sure that that enquiry does get nearer to the truth
0:10:41 > 0:10:42than what we have already had.
0:10:42 > 0:10:44And that takes an awful lot of work and effort,
0:10:44 > 0:10:48so I feel that if I step back from that it is kind of throwing
0:10:48 > 0:10:50away all of the work that you have done.
0:10:50 > 0:10:54For me it is less about the church, it is more about making the world
0:10:54 > 0:10:55a slightly safer place.
0:10:55 > 0:10:59I have a son of my own and I want to give him the best chance,
0:10:59 > 0:11:01I don't want him to live in a bubble.
0:11:01 > 0:11:05I want him to live and have his own experiences but I want him to have
0:11:05 > 0:11:07less chance that he ever has to do with anything that
0:11:07 > 0:11:09I had to deal with.
0:11:09 > 0:11:11Although separated by water, abuse has only served to strengthen
0:11:11 > 0:11:13the bond between these brothers, and their common cause,
0:11:13 > 0:11:18to seek out the whole truth.
0:11:28 > 0:11:30Colin Campbell reporting.
0:11:30 > 0:11:38Coming up on Inside Out: For cyclists, how close is to close?
0:11:38 > 0:11:40I'm one pothole away and he's one distraction in the cab away
0:11:40 > 0:11:43from becoming a statistic.
0:11:43 > 0:11:49You overtook him much too closely.
0:11:51 > 0:11:53Now, if you are from Sussex and you invent something
0:11:53 > 0:11:55for a space station, you might feel your career
0:11:55 > 0:11:58is going like a rocket, but the dreams of one such man
0:11:58 > 0:12:02from Seaford came down to Earth with a bang,
0:12:02 > 0:12:09as John Cuthill reports.
0:12:09 > 0:12:13We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things.
0:12:13 > 0:12:17Not because they are easy, but because they are hard.
0:12:17 > 0:12:21Three, two, one, zero...
0:12:21 > 0:12:26Lift off.
0:12:26 > 0:12:29We have liftoff.
0:12:29 > 0:12:32Since the 1960s the world's greatest minds have been racing to reach
0:12:32 > 0:12:34the stars and expand our horizons.
0:12:34 > 0:12:38This is the first orbital test satellite.
0:12:38 > 0:12:40The forerunner of all the comms space craft that you have.
0:12:41 > 0:12:44This was the daddy of them all.
0:12:44 > 0:12:47Although NASA often grabs the headlines, an engineer
0:12:47 > 0:12:49from Sussex played a major role behind the scenes and believes
0:12:49 > 0:12:51the Americans have stolen his idea.
0:12:51 > 0:12:55They never gave me credit for anything.
0:12:55 > 0:13:01It's so bad and it's not normal.
0:13:01 > 0:13:05Back in the '70s, engineer Alan Weinberg started work
0:13:05 > 0:13:11at the European Space Agency, designing solar array power systems.
0:13:11 > 0:13:13What's more, they're still in use today on almost every spacecraft
0:13:13 > 0:13:21and satellite in orbit.
0:13:21 > 0:13:25When I arrived at the European Space Agency, we had more or less a clean
0:13:25 > 0:13:27sheet as far as the power system was concerned.
0:13:27 > 0:13:33When you look at what the Americans were doing it was pretty,
0:13:33 > 0:13:36and the Russians, it was pretty basic.
0:13:36 > 0:13:38Alan left the space agency in 1995.
0:13:38 > 0:13:40Three years later, NASA launched the International Space Station,
0:13:40 > 0:13:42powered by a massive array of solar panels, and some of
0:13:42 > 0:13:46Alan's early designs.
0:13:46 > 0:13:49But the power system had a major flaw, the original solar panels
0:13:49 > 0:13:55could only survive around 15 years in space.
0:13:55 > 0:13:58At the time of the launch Alan was working as a self-employed
0:13:58 > 0:14:02engineer and came up with a solution.
0:14:02 > 0:14:06They are past their lifetime now.
0:14:06 > 0:14:09But at the beginning of life they've got excess power,
0:14:09 > 0:14:13and my idea was let's use this excess power.
0:14:13 > 0:14:15Let's not keep the solar array at a constant voltage
0:14:15 > 0:14:17but vary the solar array.
0:14:17 > 0:14:21I patented it because I felt that it was a smart idea and nobody
0:14:21 > 0:14:26had thought of that, and having said that,
0:14:26 > 0:14:29it seems simple but at the time when I presented it to other people
0:14:29 > 0:14:31it didn't seem simple to them.
0:14:31 > 0:14:35Alan spent £35,000 securing his patent,
0:14:35 > 0:14:38but as he never heard from NASA, he assumed his idea to vary
0:14:38 > 0:14:43the voltage had been ignored.
0:14:43 > 0:14:46So why, after the international space station's power system should
0:14:46 > 0:14:48have started to fail, is life on board
0:14:48 > 0:14:53continuing as normal.
0:14:53 > 0:14:57I'm absolutely certain that they are varying the voltage
0:14:57 > 0:15:00and this is the basis of my patent.
0:15:00 > 0:15:02And they can do this easily because they have
0:15:02 > 0:15:06all the equipment to do that.
0:15:06 > 0:15:11Nasa insists the voltage is always kept at a set point of 160 Volts.
0:15:11 > 0:15:15But data from the Space Station's power system is broadcast on ISS
0:15:15 > 0:15:22live, and that clearly shows the voltage changing, to 151 Volts.
0:15:22 > 0:15:25Intellectual property rights, like Alan's patent, are a hot topic
0:15:25 > 0:15:29in the UK right now, especially here in the south,
0:15:29 > 0:15:33where the space Industry is booming.
0:15:39 > 0:15:41Here at the UK Space Agency's research base in Oxfordshire,
0:15:41 > 0:15:45Catherine Mealing-Jones is Director of Growth.
0:15:45 > 0:15:49Space is a bit of a quiet success story for the UK,
0:15:49 > 0:15:52making a big contribution to many, many different sectors in the UK
0:15:52 > 0:15:55about £250 billions worth.
0:15:55 > 0:15:58When people want to do something innovative in space they often come
0:15:58 > 0:16:01here to the UK and you know we're a nation of inventors and that's
0:16:01 > 0:16:08what people like to work with.
0:16:08 > 0:16:10One of our brightest up-and-coming stars in the business
0:16:10 > 0:16:14is Oxford Space Systems.
0:16:14 > 0:16:16The space race is on.
0:16:16 > 0:16:21We're seeing this transition from space being dominated
0:16:21 > 0:16:23by countries and large agencies and flipping into commercial space,
0:16:23 > 0:16:26so there's great opportunities there for entrepreneurs.
0:16:26 > 0:16:29For CEO Mike Lawton, ideas are the firm's lifeblood,
0:16:29 > 0:16:34but keeping hold of them can be tricky.
0:16:34 > 0:16:39It's that delicate balance between disclosing your intellectual
0:16:39 > 0:16:41property to achieve sales, but without giving away the crown
0:16:41 > 0:16:51jewels of how you make your product or how you formulate a material.
0:16:51 > 0:16:54There is an argument to be made if the technology is so great then
0:16:54 > 0:16:57it's probably right for a government to want access to it
0:16:57 > 0:16:59and take ownership of it, and most governments generally
0:16:59 > 0:17:01would look to strike a deal with the inventor because clearly
0:17:01 > 0:17:04if you're the guy that invented the technology, you're the real
0:17:04 > 0:17:06smart person who knows how to really exploit this.
0:17:06 > 0:17:09It's better to have you on side rather than shut you out.
0:17:09 > 0:17:11But of course there are horror stories where
0:17:11 > 0:17:12inventors do get shut out.
0:17:12 > 0:17:15And shut out was exactly how Alan was feeling about Nasa.
0:17:15 > 0:17:16So he lawyered up.
0:17:16 > 0:17:18I did eventually find a no-win-no-fee type lawyer,
0:17:18 > 0:17:23and they were interested.
0:17:23 > 0:17:26They invited me to come over and I spent a week with them
0:17:26 > 0:17:32and we went through everything and they started to dig
0:17:32 > 0:17:34for information using the Freedom Of Information Act.
0:17:34 > 0:17:37Alan thought he'd finally got the proof he needed when this report
0:17:37 > 0:17:38from NASA landed on his desk.
0:17:38 > 0:17:41But they still weren't giving anything away.
0:17:41 > 0:17:45Redacted page after redacted page.
0:17:45 > 0:17:50All of it labelled classified under the US Arms Export Control Act.
0:17:50 > 0:17:54It's an International Space Station, you know, you can't claim an arms
0:17:54 > 0:18:00agreement as a reason for not giving information, so eventually we came
0:18:00 > 0:18:06back with some sort of information but it wasn't sufficient.
0:18:06 > 0:18:10Alan's lawyers sought compensation from Nasa.
0:18:10 > 0:18:11But Nasa said no.
0:18:11 > 0:18:13They maintained they hadn't copied his patent and weren't
0:18:13 > 0:18:18varying the voltage.
0:18:18 > 0:18:21The live data from the space station seems to show it does vary,
0:18:21 > 0:18:24and we've also seen emails to Alan from Nasa employees,
0:18:24 > 0:18:29confirming they can vary the voltage from back here on Earth.
0:18:29 > 0:18:37But still that doesn't prove they're using Alan's idea.
0:18:37 > 0:18:41If Alan wants to take his claim to court he could be in for a drawn
0:18:41 > 0:18:42out and expensive ordeal.
0:18:42 > 0:18:45In 2009, Nasa was ordered to pay Boeing $28 million for using one
0:18:45 > 0:18:51of their patented ideas.
0:18:51 > 0:18:53And a legal battle with the Hughes Aircraft Company over
0:18:53 > 0:18:57another patent went on for 20 years.
0:18:57 > 0:19:00In the end my patent lawyers said to me, look,
0:19:00 > 0:19:02we can't continue with this.
0:19:02 > 0:19:06NASA aren't admitting anything and it means we have to take them
0:19:06 > 0:19:12to court and that's going to cost us a lot of money.
0:19:12 > 0:19:16We contacted NASA to ask how they keep the power set at 160
0:19:16 > 0:19:20volts, when their own data shows it varies, and how they've extended
0:19:20 > 0:19:25the power system's lifespan without using Alan's idea.
0:19:25 > 0:19:27After asking for more time not once but three times,
0:19:27 > 0:19:30they eventually told us what they told Alan five years ago,
0:19:30 > 0:19:38that they don't change the voltage.
0:19:45 > 0:19:48The greater our knowledge increases, the greater our ignorance unfolds.
0:19:48 > 0:19:50Back in Sussex, Alan's still inventing.
0:19:50 > 0:19:52He's currently working on two improved power systems
0:19:52 > 0:19:54he reckons are groundbreaking, but his fight with
0:19:54 > 0:20:00Nasa's left its mark.
0:20:00 > 0:20:03The eyes of the world now look into space.
0:20:03 > 0:20:04I'd be very careful next time.
0:20:04 > 0:20:08I'll try to be fully protected if that's possible.
0:20:08 > 0:20:12Is it possible?
0:20:12 > 0:20:13No.
0:20:13 > 0:20:15Probably not.
0:20:15 > 0:20:22Sad, isn't it?
0:20:25 > 0:20:27Now, the number of cyclists killed or seriously injured
0:20:27 > 0:20:30on our roads has gone up.
0:20:30 > 0:20:33We know there is more traffic, but it seems some drivers
0:20:33 > 0:20:43are willing to put their fellow road users at risk.
0:20:45 > 0:20:46Here is John again.
0:20:46 > 0:20:50It's a weekend meet for members of the Sotonia Cycle Club.
0:20:50 > 0:20:53Ten years ago the Hampshire club averaged 70 members.
0:20:53 > 0:20:57Now, thanks to the rising popularity of cycling,
0:20:57 > 0:21:04it has more than 250.
0:21:04 > 0:21:07But with more bikes and more traffic on the South's roads, some of these
0:21:07 > 0:21:08cyclists are feeling the pinch.
0:21:08 > 0:21:11A lot of them do pass very closely.
0:21:11 > 0:21:13The worst thing is when the motorists go past
0:21:13 > 0:21:15you and then pull in too soon.
0:21:15 > 0:21:23I've been a victim of hit and run.
0:21:23 > 0:21:29Bike was a write-off, car was never seen.
0:21:29 > 0:21:31It was last week I reported an incident to the council,
0:21:31 > 0:21:35the city council, in fact, it was a taxi driver.
0:21:36 > 0:21:37Too close, too close.
0:21:37 > 0:21:38Did I hit you?
0:21:38 > 0:21:40Did I hit you?
0:21:40 > 0:21:50It's just one of hundreds of close passes, near misses, or even worse.
0:21:58 > 0:22:04Figures just released show between 2015 and 2016 nearly 3,500
0:22:04 > 0:22:09cyclists were killed or seriously injured on our roads.
0:22:09 > 0:22:13But these stats don't tell the story of the near misses and close passes
0:22:13 > 0:22:15cyclists say they're experiencing every day.
0:22:15 > 0:22:21Rachel Aldred is behind the Near Miss project.
0:22:21 > 0:22:24Her study of 1,500 cyclists found near misses and close passes to be
0:22:24 > 0:22:30an all too regular occurance.
0:22:30 > 0:22:32In this study we only had the cyclists perspective, so there's
0:22:32 > 0:22:34a limit to what you can say.
0:22:34 > 0:22:37But I think what we did learn is that there's a broader road
0:22:37 > 0:22:39culture of you might call it might makes right.
0:22:39 > 0:22:43So whereby people in larger vehicles kind of feel that they have
0:22:43 > 0:22:46right to be in front, even if overtaking a cyclist
0:22:46 > 0:22:51or slower road user doesn't ultimately gain them any time.
0:22:51 > 0:22:54Cyclists said they had on average one very scary near miss every week.
0:22:54 > 0:23:01And one per year so bad it made them reconsider how
0:23:01 > 0:23:03And one per month so bad it made them reconsider how
0:23:03 > 0:23:08safe they are cycling.
0:23:08 > 0:23:09Phil Robertson is another keen cyclist.
0:23:09 > 0:23:11This morning he's out on one of Southampton's
0:23:11 > 0:23:14busy commuter roads.
0:23:14 > 0:23:20But all is not quite as it seems.
0:23:20 > 0:23:24Phil's part of an operation to catch drivers who are getting a little
0:23:24 > 0:23:26too close for comfort.
0:23:30 > 0:23:33First to be pulled in by the joint police
0:23:33 > 0:23:36and council initiative, a council van.
0:23:40 > 0:23:42This morning's what's happened is my colleague out
0:23:42 > 0:23:45and about on a motorcycle, the one that pulled you in,
0:23:45 > 0:23:48he's observed you overtake three cyclists this morning
0:23:48 > 0:23:51included our unmarked police cyclist.
0:23:51 > 0:23:54None of the drivers pulled in today will get a ticket.
0:23:54 > 0:24:04But they will get a talking to.
0:24:05 > 0:24:08What we've got here sir is in relation to an overtaking distance
0:24:08 > 0:24:09of around about 1.5m.
0:24:09 > 0:24:12Mats like these are now being used by police across the region to drive
0:24:12 > 0:24:15home the message on close passing.
0:24:15 > 0:24:18So what we need to do is allow cyclists room to manouvere,
0:24:18 > 0:24:22to react to obstacles in front of them and also so as motorists
0:24:22 > 0:24:24you're not intimidating a cyclist who is, let's not forget,
0:24:24 > 0:24:29a lot more vulnerable than you are in your car or your van.
0:24:29 > 0:24:32Look how close some of these drivers were getting to undercover Phil's
0:24:32 > 0:24:40handlebars in the bottom right hand corner.
0:24:46 > 0:24:50Well, as I was coming up today I had one on the left hand side of me
0:24:50 > 0:24:52and one coming round the roundabout.
0:24:52 > 0:25:00Yeah, probably should have just stopped and let them pass really.
0:25:00 > 0:25:02Sometimes you don't get the room required.
0:25:02 > 0:25:04I'm not trying to make excuses, but sometimes you can't help
0:25:04 > 0:25:05being a little bit nearer.
0:25:05 > 0:25:08When you're driving and you're looking at all the other traffic
0:25:08 > 0:25:11and stuff, sometimes you don't give that cyclist the space
0:25:11 > 0:25:13that's needed but I guess we've learned that today.
0:25:13 > 0:25:15When it comes to cycling slower isn't necessarily safer.
0:25:15 > 0:25:18Riders who travel at less than 8mph have three times more near misses
0:25:18 > 0:25:24per mile than those pedalling at 12mph or faster.
0:25:24 > 0:25:26Women, who on average cycle more slowly, have higher
0:25:26 > 0:25:30near miss rates than men.
0:25:30 > 0:25:35So could any changes to the law help with the problem of close passes?
0:25:35 > 0:25:38Dr Ian Walker is a traffic psychologist with the
0:25:38 > 0:25:45University of Bath.
0:25:45 > 0:25:50The Highway code is woolly in terms of what it says. Leave as much space
0:25:50 > 0:25:53as you would a car. I would rather see that phrase do something like,
0:25:53 > 0:25:57leave as much space as you would like to be left if you were stood on
0:25:57 > 0:25:59the road, and that would probably be a much better thing that people
0:25:59 > 0:26:06could imagine. I would love to see cycling as part of the driving
0:26:06 > 0:26:10education process. That is going to give people the empathy and the
0:26:10 > 0:26:15genuine understanding of what it feels like to be in the road and
0:26:15 > 0:26:17have 1.5 tonnes of metal come past you at high speed.
0:26:17 > 0:26:20Back on patrol, and the next close pass even rattles
0:26:20 > 0:26:24experienced police rider Phil.
0:26:24 > 0:26:29An 18 tonne HGV just inches away.
0:26:32 > 0:26:36The truck gets pulled.
0:26:36 > 0:26:45Turns out it's an instructor and his trainee.
0:26:45 > 0:26:49You overtook him much too closely. For both of you that is very
0:26:49 > 0:26:52important, for you as a train and supervise and you as a driver.
0:26:52 > 0:26:54He got within six inches of my shoulder.
0:26:54 > 0:26:55That's 18 tonnes.
0:26:55 > 0:26:56I'm 100 kilos.
0:26:56 > 0:26:59I'm one pothole away and he's one distraction in the cab away
0:26:59 > 0:27:04from being another statistic.
0:27:04 > 0:27:12Curb, cycle, and this is where you should be.Yes, yes.This is you and
0:27:12 > 0:27:15you should be this far over.
0:27:15 > 0:27:19That's one lesson he won't forget in a hurry.
0:27:19 > 0:27:22Police forces say they're already seeing a drop in the number of close
0:27:22 > 0:27:23passes following this summer's clamp down.
0:27:23 > 0:27:26But there is one other way of keeping motorists at arm's length.
0:27:28 > 0:27:29Now remember these?
0:27:29 > 0:27:33The Oxford Fold Out Safety Reflector of the 1970s.
0:27:33 > 0:27:36You can still get them today but the chances are you had one
0:27:36 > 0:27:37strapped to your Chopper.
0:27:37 > 0:27:40The only problem is they're barely wider than your handle bars.
0:27:40 > 0:27:50Which gave me an idea.
0:28:14 > 0:28:17Now, for more information about our region you can
0:28:17 > 0:28:18visit our Facebook page.
0:28:18 > 0:28:20And you can watch the show again on iPlayer.
0:28:21 > 0:28:24Just go to the BBC website.
0:28:24 > 0:28:26That is it for this series.
0:28:26 > 0:28:28If there is something you think we should be looking
0:28:28 > 0:28:34into, then e-mail me.
0:28:34 > 0:28:36You can also find me on Twitter.
0:28:36 > 0:28:40That is it from us.
0:28:40 > 0:28:43Thanks for watching and we will see you in the New Year.