:00:26. > :00:29.Hello and welcome to inside out hello and welcome to inside out
:00:29. > :00:32.South West. Stories from close to home. Tonight, we catch up with the
:00:32. > :00:36.South West debt adviser who left some of his clients seriously in
:00:36. > :00:39.the red. Do you have anything else to say, Mr Hopley? Basically, I'm
:00:39. > :00:42.penniless now. Because of debt busters. So I have to say, in a way,
:00:42. > :00:45.the wrecked my life. Also tonight, the mountaineer and double amputee
:00:45. > :00:49.from Devon who is reaching new heights. It is quite easy to waste
:00:49. > :00:52.your life by not doing anything, and I just don't plan to live life
:00:52. > :00:55.like that And John Cuthill on the challenge of creating an underwater
:00:55. > :01:02.adventure. The aim is to fill this massive aquarium with over 50
:01:02. > :01:09.species of shark, ray and tropical fish. I'm Sam Smith, and this is
:01:09. > :01:17.Inside Out South West. First tonight, a self-styled debt doctor
:01:17. > :01:20.who ended up costing some of his clients thousands of pounds.
:01:20. > :01:23.Alistair McKee is in Somerset on the trail of a man who claims he
:01:23. > :01:33.could sort out your finances, but, in many cases, made things a whole
:01:33. > :01:37.
:01:37. > :01:43.The high street's busy, but, does anyone actually have the cash to
:01:43. > :01:45.Today, the average man in the street owes almost �30,000. It's no
:01:46. > :01:48.wonder, then, that debt management has become big business. But what
:01:48. > :01:51.happens when a company that's supposed to help people pay off
:01:51. > :01:54.their debt instead leaves them tens of thousands of pounds out of
:01:54. > :01:58.pocket? I'm helpless. I don't think I'll ever see my money. I don't
:01:58. > :02:08.think anyone else will. Personally, I would lock him away and throw
:02:08. > :02:09.
:02:09. > :02:12.away the key. Simple as that. on the trail of the self-styled
:02:12. > :02:15.debt doctor whose treatment left his clients feeling a lot worse.
:02:15. > :02:18.Can I ask you what happened to your clients' money, Mr Hopley?$$CYAN
:02:18. > :02:25.unfortunately, the way things are, they can no longer use that as an
:02:25. > :02:28.escape mechanism. This is Jeremy Hockley. It's the height of the
:02:28. > :02:31.credit crunch but from Mr Hockley, business is good. We're seeing
:02:31. > :02:34.greater numbers of people called into the office, whether they be
:02:34. > :02:39.personal and in trouble, or they be businesses. Mr Hockley runs debt Dr,
:02:39. > :02:46.a company helping people trying to pay off their debts. Based on this
:02:46. > :02:49.Somerset potato farm, the company flourished while times were tough.
:02:49. > :02:52.It meant Mr Hockley, a former bankrupt with a string of failed
:02:52. > :02:54.companies behind him, could now enjoy the high life. Living in a
:02:54. > :02:59.smart home, and even sponsoring his favourite football team. Oxford
:02:59. > :03:03.United. And all thanks to other people's debt. Our number one
:03:03. > :03:06.client in terms of the amount, has gone up to 8.2 million. We've got
:03:06. > :03:11.half a dozen people over �1 million, but are typical client is now well
:03:12. > :03:21.over �60,000. And this is unsecured. And it really is starting to affect
:03:22. > :03:22.
:03:22. > :03:25.everyone, every kind of background. One of those affected is writer,
:03:25. > :03:29.Carol Gould. When you are up to your eyeballs in debt, it's a
:03:29. > :03:31.horrible feeling, and it hangs over you. It is a terrible burden, a
:03:31. > :03:33.terrible emotional and physical burden. Despite years as a
:03:33. > :03:37.successful television executive, Carol saw her finances hit hard by
:03:37. > :03:40.the failure of her own business and economic downturn. My endowments
:03:40. > :03:43.didn't pay out, like a lot of people in Britain, my pension
:03:43. > :03:46.didn't turn out the way I thought it would, so, I, in my 50s, found
:03:46. > :03:55.myself, when I should have had no mortgage, being solvent, and facing
:03:55. > :03:59.a very happy early retirement, ended up in mountains of debt.
:03:59. > :04:03.Carol's debt grew, her health deteriorated. She was diagnosed
:04:03. > :04:13.with a rare and aggressive form of cancer. Her illness meant she
:04:13. > :04:17.
:04:17. > :04:24.couldn't work. I've found, when I tried to use the computer... If
:04:25. > :04:27.you're self employed and get ill, it's a fatal combination.
:04:27. > :04:31.ironically, Carol's sickness was to provide her with a financial
:04:31. > :04:37.lifeline. In 2009, her health insurance paid out a lump sum of
:04:37. > :04:40.�21,500. Now she could face her creditors and, in the deb tDr, she
:04:40. > :04:45.thought she had found a specialist who could help. It was wonderful to
:04:45. > :04:49.have money that was mine. It was something that I had paid in for
:04:49. > :04:54.years, and I gave it to debtDr to pay my credit card bills and,
:04:54. > :04:57.debtDr, at that time, I thought was superb. They did well to get
:04:58. > :05:03.creditors to stop phoning me. I wasn't well. That money was assumed
:05:03. > :05:06.to be safe. It was all right. management is a regulated industry
:05:06. > :05:15.and there are accepted standards whether the service is fee charging,
:05:16. > :05:19.like debt Dr, or a charity like the citizens advice bureau. People in
:05:19. > :05:23.debt should be extremely cautious before handing over any money to a
:05:23. > :05:27.debt management company. They should be very clear that any money
:05:27. > :05:29.they give is properly protected, in the event of something going wrong,
:05:29. > :05:32.that those funds will be safe. debt Dr, things did go wrong.
:05:32. > :05:36.Earlier this year, the company told clients it was going bust.
:05:36. > :05:46.first thing I did was say, oh my God, my 21,500, all the money I
:05:46. > :05:49.
:05:49. > :05:52.have in the world, all I had in the world. As soon as I heard that
:05:52. > :05:55.debtDr had gone bust, I wrote, demanding that my money be put into
:05:55. > :06:05.my own bank account, and sent it recorded delivery, and low and
:06:05. > :06:06.
:06:06. > :06:09.behold, two weeks later, it came back refused, refused. And unopened.
:06:09. > :06:13.My letter to debtDr head office, please, please, let me have my
:06:13. > :06:16.cancelled money back. We have spoken to several former clients of
:06:16. > :06:19.the company and they all have a similar story to tell. In many
:06:19. > :06:22.cases they borrowed tens of thousands of pounds from family and
:06:22. > :06:25.friends to give to debt Dr, and it's all just disappeared. Yet the
:06:25. > :06:29.company's clients had every reason to believe the money should have
:06:29. > :06:39.been safe. DebtDr operated through a network of 60 affiliated
:06:39. > :06:40.
:06:40. > :06:44.financial advisers across the country. Advisers like Robin Seely.
:06:44. > :06:53.I had somewhere between 30 and 40 clients at that time. A client
:06:53. > :06:56.account would be opened in that client's name. The client was
:06:56. > :06:59.assured that that money was safe and it was there purely for the
:06:59. > :07:03.purpose of resolving a financial difficulties. And that, in fact, is
:07:03. > :07:06.the wording of the agreement of the letter that was signed by them.
:07:06. > :07:10.When the company went bust, the independent advisers were as
:07:10. > :07:13.shocked as their clients. website went down, and any attempt
:07:13. > :07:17.to contact the head office, either by e-mail or telephone, was met
:07:17. > :07:23.with no response, and that was the first inkling that any of us had
:07:23. > :07:25.that perhaps things were not as they should have been. I had no
:07:25. > :07:33.contact whatsoever from Jeremy Hockley or anyone at debtDr, and
:07:33. > :07:42.neither did any of my fellow consultants, either. It would seem
:07:42. > :07:51.that we, along with clients, had been somewhat abandoned. So, what
:07:51. > :07:54.happened to all the money? DebtDr was a trading name for Jeromy
:07:54. > :08:02.Hockley's company, Hermes Financial Solutions. Its last filed accounts
:08:03. > :08:05.show it had a �490,000 hole in his assets. And we discovered that, a
:08:05. > :08:10.month before debtDr ceased trading, all the money held in supposedly
:08:11. > :08:14.protected client accounts was moved into a single company accounts. To
:08:14. > :08:16.find out what was left of his clients' money, Robin Seely took
:08:16. > :08:19.Hermes financial solutions to court on their behalf. I believe
:08:19. > :08:22.certainly that Mr Hockley was of the opinion that, because they were
:08:22. > :08:26.all financially disadvantaged, no- one would be able to do anything
:08:26. > :08:30.about it, and that all he would be a foreign need to do would be to
:08:30. > :08:37.lie low for a couple of months and he would be free to pursue whatever
:08:37. > :08:40.future he wanted. However, we have gone to the courts, and we have got
:08:40. > :08:46.the company put into liquidation, and there will be questions for him
:08:46. > :08:55.to answer. But finding Jeromy Hockley to answer those questions
:08:55. > :08:58.isn't easy. No-one at debtDr's former farm headquarters knows
:08:58. > :09:04.where he is. He is no longer here. The business ended just before
:09:04. > :09:14.Easter. Any idea where he's gone? I'm afraid I don't know at all.
:09:14. > :09:15.
:09:15. > :09:19.he leave owing rent? Yes. A lot? Yes, yes. So, we tried his home.
:09:19. > :09:22.Jeremy Hockley's not here, in fact, he sold this house within the last
:09:22. > :09:25.few weeks. For �400,000. But we have managed to track down Mr
:09:25. > :09:35.Hockley to Yeovil, where he's started a new life, running a
:09:35. > :09:41.
:09:41. > :09:46.nightclub. Mr Hockley? Can we have a word with you? Hello, Mr Hockley,
:09:46. > :09:49.I'm from the BBC. Hello there. on, mate, come on. We want to ask
:09:49. > :09:56.you what has happened to your clients money. Can I ask you what
:09:56. > :10:01.has happened to your clients money, Mr Hockley? Mr Hockley? Mr Hockley?
:10:01. > :10:11.Do you have anything to say? Do you have anything else to say, Mr
:10:11. > :10:13.
:10:13. > :10:15.Hockley? Well, it seems Mr Hockley is unwilling to talk to us, and
:10:15. > :10:18.quite where his clients' money has gone, is anyone's guess.
:10:18. > :10:21.Liquidators are still investigating debtDr's books. In the meantime,
:10:21. > :10:28.it's clear this is one doctor who has made his patients' condition a
:10:28. > :10:37.lot worse. It is beyond belief that this man has done this. Basically,
:10:37. > :10:41.I'm penniless now. Because of debtDr, so I have to say, in a way,
:10:41. > :10:46.they wrecked my life. For most of us, climbing one mountain would be
:10:46. > :10:50.a daunting enough challenge. Well, there's a Devon man in his 70s who
:10:50. > :10:53.has scaled some of the world's highest peaks, and he's got no legs.
:10:53. > :11:03.If that wasn't enough, he set himself an extraordinary new
:11:03. > :11:12.
:11:12. > :11:20.At the age of 71, Norman Croucher from pop show and is learning to
:11:20. > :11:24.fly. I've often say that life is like a muscle, and if you do not
:11:24. > :11:29.stretch it, it wastes, and it is easy to waste your life by not
:11:29. > :11:39.doing anything. And I don't want to live live like that. I have known
:11:39. > :11:40.
:11:40. > :11:50.Norman for 40 years. I am surprised at what he might want to do next. -
:11:50. > :11:55.
:11:55. > :12:00.- am not surprised. I think the fact I walk on two artificial legs,
:12:00. > :12:10.has made things I do a lot more challenging. It's made things more
:12:10. > :12:14.
:12:14. > :12:19.interesting in some ways. I'm just going to get out one of my spare l
:12:19. > :12:23.legs. They're a very old fashioned design, but they work. And usually
:12:23. > :12:27.I mark the shin if I am going on an expedition, I mark it right or left
:12:27. > :12:30.here so if I break a leg someone fetches one they get the right one
:12:30. > :12:35.or the left one, as they are not interchangeable. When I was 17 I
:12:35. > :12:38.went on a rock climbing course, and I was absolutely hooked. And when I
:12:38. > :12:41.lost my legs in a railway accident, I contacted a rock climbing
:12:41. > :12:44.instructor very soon afterwards and said, do you think I could still
:12:44. > :12:47.climb?" He said well I've always found legs handy when I've been
:12:47. > :12:49.climbing, but let's see what you can do. Norman's climbed many of
:12:49. > :12:52.world's biggest mountains, including Cho Oyo in Tibet at more
:12:52. > :12:56.than 8000 metres. After so many ascents, he now wants to come down
:12:56. > :12:59.in style. Age naturally slows you a bit, and I don't have the same arm
:12:59. > :13:02.strength as I had so mountaineering is becoming more difficult. But
:13:02. > :13:05.that doesn't mean that I am not looking for other adventures and in
:13:05. > :13:10.particular in the mountains. But it struck me that stepping off the
:13:11. > :13:14.mountain with a paraglider after climbing would be the easy way down.
:13:14. > :13:18.I realized that I would probably not be able to run down to take off
:13:18. > :13:28.like other people do and than I'd have to be very skilled to land
:13:28. > :13:31.
:13:31. > :13:36.with these legs. To begin his training, Norman's travelled to
:13:36. > :13:38.Cumbria, but the weather's not looking good. John Crosbie is an
:13:38. > :13:48.old friend, and an expert in adventure sports for disabled
:13:48. > :13:49.
:13:49. > :13:56.people. Hello Norman. The biggest barrier to people is what they
:13:56. > :13:58.believe they can do and the opportunities they see open to them.
:13:59. > :14:06.Particularly disabled people, do not seem themselves able to
:14:06. > :14:09.participate in sports, as that's not what disabled people do. In
:14:09. > :14:16.here we have a collection of buggies, it's a bit dusty and
:14:16. > :14:20.horrible. I've never seen one of these, I have not even seen a
:14:20. > :14:27.photograph so I have no idea what they look like. John has developed
:14:27. > :14:37.a special buggy to help disabled people like Norman learn to fly.
:14:37. > :14:37.
:14:37. > :14:41.And here's the latest idea which as you can see is just a development.
:14:41. > :14:44.Now it's on a pair of legs so you're sitting upright in a much
:14:44. > :14:52.better position. Now Norman has the buggy. All he needs is someone to
:14:52. > :15:02.fly with. Hello Jocky, come on up Norman's already here. Ready to get
:15:02. > :15:05.
:15:06. > :15:09.airborne? Can I go home now? Instead, Norman, John and
:15:09. > :15:12.instructor Jocky Sanderson head for the hills. We're on our way up to
:15:12. > :15:17.Latrig, there's a break in the weather and there's a chance that
:15:17. > :15:24.we will be able to fly. I wanted to get on with it really and get up
:15:24. > :15:27.there. We had chatted about the buggy in the morning, but
:15:27. > :15:37.fortunately the weather came right just for a few minutes and I wanted
:15:37. > :15:38.
:15:38. > :15:41.to get up there. Up a mountain, I am in charge of what I do. But
:15:41. > :15:44.sitting there on the hillside, strapped into a buggy, I felt in a
:15:44. > :15:51.sense helpless. I was completely reliant on the skills of the man
:15:51. > :15:57.who was going to pilot. OK, Norman. Oh, I wish I had kept me big mouth
:15:58. > :16:01.shut. No it's nice to arrive here and be able to it on the first day.
:16:01. > :16:05.Sightly apprehensive, but excited for Norman's sake. It is something
:16:05. > :16:15.that he has always wanted to do for a while, but never thought it was
:16:15. > :16:18.
:16:18. > :16:22.going happen, but here it is. suddenly, the weather changes.
:16:22. > :16:26.a little bit windy at the moment, so it is likely that Jocky is going
:16:26. > :16:29.to come down the hill a lttile bit to where the wind won't be quite so
:16:29. > :16:39.string and that's where we will have the best chance of getting off
:16:39. > :16:48.
:16:48. > :16:58.this afternoon. It's like a I had to sell myself that I was not
:16:58. > :17:11.
:17:11. > :17:21.This was just an instant thrill. One of the most thrilling things I
:17:21. > :17:41.
:17:41. > :17:48.have ever done. We are down. No! That was great. We'll have to see
:17:48. > :17:51.what the next stage is. It would be possible for Norman to
:17:51. > :17:55.independently go up a mountain and fly off, however to get to that
:17:55. > :17:59.skill level is going to involve a lot of work and a lot of commitment
:17:59. > :18:09.and passion to the sport and this is not something that he is going
:18:09. > :18:09.
:18:09. > :18:18.But someone forgot to tell Norman. He's now in Dorset with a new
:18:18. > :18:24.instructor. He wants to paraglide on his own. He wants to Paraguay on
:18:24. > :18:28.his own -- to paraglider on his own. Norman fancied having a go without
:18:28. > :18:32.the buggy, so we've clipped him into the harness to see how mobile
:18:32. > :18:42.he will be. Usually its starts with a good move into the wind.
:18:42. > :18:45.
:18:45. > :18:55.Sometimes sideways, sometimes I think we've learned something
:18:55. > :19:01.
:19:01. > :19:04.there, haven't we? For now, it seems a challenge too far. It will
:19:05. > :19:09.be a problem, I can't run well enough with my legs to take off. I
:19:09. > :19:12.don't feel any sense of failure in realisiing my limitations. And in
:19:12. > :19:19.all the adventure sports I have promoted for disabled people, it's
:19:19. > :19:22.always about finding out what you can do and what you can't do.
:19:22. > :19:25.What's missing is the role models for disabled and older people to
:19:25. > :19:32.participate, and that's where Norman has been a fantastic
:19:32. > :19:42.ambassador for people with disabilities. Com'on then, let's
:19:42. > :19:43.
:19:43. > :19:47.have a little go. Norman is still determined to fly. It was very
:19:47. > :19:57.exciting to take the controls. The wind was very low, so I didn't go
:19:57. > :20:04.
:20:04. > :20:10.very far, but I actually got off the ground. Yay! Lovely! Yes!
:20:10. > :20:15.Anyone who has had to take a dog or cat to the vet will know what a
:20:15. > :20:23.palaver it can be, moving animals. Spare a thought for the team from
:20:23. > :20:30.the South West who had to transport 250 fish, including a dozen sharks,
:20:30. > :20:35.across the country. John Cottle reports. Sting rays, sharks and
:20:35. > :20:40.other tropical fish fascinate many, and large aquariums can be big
:20:40. > :20:46.business, but when you're opening one of those big attractions,
:20:47. > :20:51.getting there is no mean feat. In Windsor, their about to start work
:20:51. > :20:55.on a massive aquarium with 2500 fish, and the submarine ride going
:20:55. > :21:00.through it. This ambitious project has been two years and the planning.
:21:01. > :21:07.The aim is to fill this aquarium with over 50 species of shark, Ray
:21:07. > :21:12.and tropical fish, all of which are coming from Weymouth. Before they
:21:12. > :21:18.are Rive, everything needs to be perfect. And the man making sure
:21:18. > :21:23.that it is ready is Ian Green. What we're doing here is making sure
:21:23. > :21:28.that when the fish come there is enough water so that we can put the
:21:28. > :21:33.water from the truck into the aquarium. So we have good to go,
:21:33. > :21:37.for the fish transport. It is the day before the biggest fish
:21:37. > :21:42.transport to be done for the new aquarium, and, in Weymouth, it is
:21:42. > :21:47.Chris Brown's job to make sure all the sharks are ready to travel. Is
:21:47. > :21:51.there a risk? There is always a risk moving animals because it is
:21:51. > :21:55.the most stressful time for them. We know how to reduce the stress
:21:55. > :22:00.levels to the animals because we have been doing it for years. They
:22:00. > :22:05.have not been fed for of the days, and this is very important, because
:22:05. > :22:08.if you move and animal whilst it is just been fed, it would produce
:22:08. > :22:16.waste and the water would get dirty, and that would affect animal and
:22:16. > :22:23.that is what we want to avoid at all costs. Altogether, they will be
:22:23. > :22:28.moving over 250 fish, including 12 sharks and 25 stingrays. A does all
:22:28. > :22:32.about timing. Once the clock starts ticking, that is it. Was the first
:22:32. > :22:36.fish goes into its tries go bag, for that animal, it is a race
:22:36. > :22:43.against time to get it to the aquarium as quickly as possible.
:22:43. > :22:47.After all the preparation, it is finally the day of the move. It is
:22:47. > :22:54.five past five in the morning. The trucks are here, the clock has
:22:54. > :22:59.started to tick. The Sharks are moving. OK, guys, the plan today,
:22:59. > :23:06.we are starting at 5 o'clock and finishing at 9 o'clock. I hope that
:23:07. > :23:13.it all goes well, and we should be sorted for 9 o'clock. The team is
:23:13. > :23:19.split into two, with one half helping to pack 200 of the small
:23:19. > :23:27.fish, and the others are moving the sting rays and the sharks. How's it
:23:27. > :23:31.going, all right? It is going all right, I am getting very wet!
:23:31. > :23:38.was lots of pressure. We don't want to be the ones who are letting the
:23:39. > :23:44.side down. It is essential that everybody keeps to time, so that
:23:44. > :23:49.the fish don't stay too long in the transport tanks. These are the ones
:23:49. > :23:53.that sting, so be careful of where the strings are, so we are using
:23:53. > :23:59.long handedness. Whilst the stingrays are easy to spot, some of
:24:00. > :24:09.the smaller fish are proving more difficult to locate. Just looking
:24:10. > :24:26.
:24:26. > :24:33.We have got every single one of these out without any issues.
:24:33. > :24:43.these fish get scared, by us, they prepare and -- pretend to be dead,
:24:43. > :24:46.
:24:46. > :24:55.and that is why they are lying in All the pants are closed up, this
:24:55. > :24:59.charger happy, so that is us. fully loaded truck leaves at 9
:24:59. > :25:05.o'clock bus stop in Windsor, Ian is making sure everything is ready for
:25:05. > :25:12.the arrival of all of his new fish. We have done the final checks first
:25:12. > :25:18.thing this morning so it is all just double-checking now. Aquariums
:25:18. > :25:26.have their critics and in Windsor, the ride is in the town itself, and
:25:26. > :25:30.to finish it, some of the sharks have been shipped from all over the
:25:30. > :25:34.world, including the sharks and stingrays. Chris says that it has
:25:34. > :25:42.been done sustainably and that the positives of the project outweigh
:25:42. > :25:47.any negatives. I certainly wouldn't have in the animals having problems.
:25:47. > :25:50.That is the opposite way that we want to go. Very few people get the
:25:50. > :25:57.chance to see these wonderful creatures in the sea and underwater.
:25:57. > :26:01.We're bringing back to the UK, so that children can experience that.
:26:01. > :26:11.After three hours on the road, the convoy finally arrives at its
:26:11. > :26:17.destination. We have got the trap here. Now it is the crucial time
:26:17. > :26:24.when Chris finds out how Miss Fisher travelled. The sharks seemed
:26:24. > :26:34.fine, but what about the stingrays? They are swimming around slowly,
:26:34. > :26:39.
:26:39. > :26:43.but altogether, as a shoal. There we go. They're happy. The first
:26:43. > :26:48.stingray is being taken to the new aquarium to see how it will react
:26:48. > :26:51.to the water and to his new environment. We will try to send
:26:51. > :27:01.them out into the main body of the tack so that he has lots of space
:27:01. > :27:03.
:27:03. > :27:13.to swim around, and slowly orientate himself. Perfect. Woo!
:27:13. > :27:20.
:27:20. > :27:24.Lovely. We are halfway through the unloading. Sting rays, sharks and
:27:24. > :27:29.smaller fish have gone into the tank, and it is just making sure
:27:29. > :27:37.they are happy in their new environment. After 10 long hours,
:27:37. > :27:43.Chris and his team are about to finish. This is it, then, Chris.
:27:43. > :27:47.will be excited see this one swimming off to his new home. I
:27:47. > :27:51.have taken up nice and stable, but the animals are happy and looking
:27:51. > :27:56.good in their room tank and that is what it is all about. Fantastic
:27:56. > :28:02.result, stressful at times, but I am very happy now. The fact that
:28:02. > :28:06.they are feeding, does that mean they're so good? Yes, because
:28:06. > :28:10.sometimes they will not feed off their four days after transport so
:28:11. > :28:18.that shows that they are settling in straight away. A perfect end for
:28:18. > :28:22.you? Absolutely fantastic. All of the consignment of fish, sharks and
:28:22. > :28:32.stingrays have survived the trip and seemed to be settling in. The
:28:32. > :28:33.