22/01/2018 Inside Out South West

Hello and welcome to

Inside Out South West,

stories and investigations

from where you live.

Tonight:

Couch potatoes, tune in.

So, do we need more exercise?

Yes.

Time to get on your

bike with Nick Baker.

I think I might have

got me leggings caught!

Also tonight, think

you know your eggs?

It is stretching the consumer's

perception of free range to what I

consider a very dangerous level.

Proposals for new chicken

ranches ruffle feathers.

And where's their dough?

A special delivery for

the bakery owner accused

of not paying his staff.

But we'd like to give

you the opportunity to answer some

questions from your staff.

I've made my statement.

They've baked a cake for you.

I'm Jemma Woodman, and this

is Inside Out South West.

Most of us already know that

if we don't move around,

then we're likely to put

on a bit of weight.

And there's a bit

more bad news, too.

Our couch potato lifestyles can

affect the way we think and feel.

But as Nick Baker has been finding

out, getting active doesn't

have to cost the earth,

and it may change your life.

The great outdoors.

Here in the South West,

it is all on our doorstep.

I've spent my whole life

exploring the countryside,

and that often means getting a bit

of exercise at the same time.

I know, I know - work, weather,

and well, life means doing things

like this isn't as easy

as we'd all like.

Now, personally, I love

getting cold and wet.

I relish the challenge

of being outside.

But I also appreciate it is not

everyone's cup of tea.

For many, the perfect way to spend

a cold winter's day is at home

on the sofa in front of the fire.

The Coxes are one family

who know they spend far too

much time sitting down,

and they want to do

something about it.

So, on a scale of one to ten,

how fit do they think they are?

Maybe a six?

Maybe a four?

What about an eight?

Three.

And what about telly time?

I like to watch my soaps.

Most of the evening.

Probably go on my iPad most

of the time before bed,

and then in my pyjamas

I just watch TV.

So, do we need more exercise?

THEY LAUGH.

Yes.

I would like to go swimming

and I would like to go new places.

New places?

I can help with that.

But first, time to see

how many people are in

the same boat as the Coxes.

Excuse me, excuse me, we are doing

a bit of a survey about people's

physical activity levels.

Neville, would you say you're

a runner bean or a couch potato?

Couch potato.

Runner bean, any day.

Definitely a couch potato.

You're a couch potato

and proud of it?

Don't say the BBC never

gives you anything, look,

you get a runner bean!

She hit me with the bean.

Cheeky boy.

Do you want to take

a runner bean, then?

Runner bean or a couch potato?

Oh, couch potato.

Grab a potato, then.

Get a potato for your tea.

The scores are pretty even

here, but nationally

it is a different picture.

In the last 40 years,

we have become far less active,

and that is particularly bad

for children, of whom one third

are now overweight by the time

they leave primary school.

But, if families can be persuaded

to exercise together,

there is a big benefit for everyone.

Now, we are not talking

about becoming an ultra-athlete

here, we're talking about just

simply getting outside,

stirring the blood up a little bit,

going for a walk in the park,

owing to the swings and slides,

even taking a bike ride, anything,

any activity at all will help

you get a little bit fitter.

Time for the Coxes to give it a go.

Now, this might not look

like the sort of place that

an adventure will start,

but let's face it, adventure

is wherever you choose to seek it,

and for the Cox family,

today is hopefully the start

of something very new.

When was the last time

you were on a bike?

About 12 years old.

Good grief, right, so this

really is, this is a real

biggie for you, this one.

This really is, yes.

I know you are thinking

about going electric, have you?

I have gone electric.

Excellent.

I have decided to go for it.

All it does, it gives you that

little bit of extra wattage

just when you need it,

just get you up those hills or keeps

you up with the family.

And then it becomes

a social experience.

I will be flying past,

I'm going to be a blur?

Thumbs up, thumbs up, let's do this!

Cycling is a great way to get fit.

It is good cardio,

and it is gentle on the joints.

There are still a few

hazards, though.

I think I might have

got me leggings caught!

This cycle path follows

the old railway line out

of Plymouth towards Dartmoor.

It is pretty easy-going, but there's

always an uphill somewhere.

Hi!

And for nature lovers like me,

there's also lots of places

to have a good look around.

There...!

What sort of spider is it?

It is one of the tangle

webs, it's a beauty.

They are all completely harmless.

That's a peregrine,

can you hear him?

That's a peregrine up there.

There he is.

There he is, he's flying,

he's coming right over us.

He is up here, there

he goes, right over us.

Look, look, look.

Wow.

You sure it's not a pigeon?

Definitely not a pigeon.

That was a peregrine falcon,

one of the fastest birds on earth.

There may even be another...

Ooh, ooh...!

Oh, no, it's a cyclist!

You're getting twitchy.

See, that is why you are called

a twitcher, you see?

You're already becoming

a bird-watcher.

And with that revelation,

it is time to push on.

If you were feeling really

energetic, you could keep

going all the way to the North Devon

coast, 97 miles away.

That's one for the Coxes

to work up to, though.

I'm in a bush!

So, how have you found it?

I'm still alive.

There was a lot of screaming.

There was, a lot of screaming.

There was a lot of

falling into bushes!

I fell in one bush, not a lot

of them, I fell in one.

I've never, ever had

the confidence to go on a bike.

Never have done.

There is a big stigma.

I know I'm a big girl,

there is no denying that,

and it is trying to force myself.

And I think we have cracked it.

Success for now,

but can they keep it up?

One month later, Christmas has been

and gone, usually the perfect time

to sit back and relax in front

of the telly.

But what I want to know is,

did the Coxes manage

to get out and about much?

Hello, hello!

Hello!

How are you?

Fine, thank you.

It's a bit chilly today.

Cos I've been thinking

about you a lot over Christmas,

on the grounds of mainly

it is the worst time of year to be

inspired to go outside,

cos it's been horizontal rain,

lots of wind...

How have you managed to get

around that problem?

Well, in fact, ask the kids.

They were on a bike ride yesterday

in that pouring rain.

You went out yesterday?

They did.

Yeah, after school.

On the way, it started

bucketing down.

And then Liam didn't

even have a proper coat,

he was wearing this.

So, do you think you got out pretty

much every day over Christmas?

Yeah, I think we have.

It's me and Nick, really,

that lets the side down.

That's why I'm talking to you!

It is me that has let the side down,

but now I feel more confident.

The kids, they are doing

what they normally do, they're

children, they love bike riding.

But I can join them, and that is

the biggest thing for me.

You know, we have got other people

in the family involved, everything.

That's great news,

that's brilliant to hear.

You look happy about that.

Yeah.

My New Year's resolution was to do

more outdoor activities as a family,

and following on from this programme

and following on from that,

I'm going to try and

incorporate a healthier diet.

We had a million carrots last night!

A million carrots,

that's a lot of carrots.

You don't have to take

quite that many.

But, no, I think, in a year's time,

I think you're going

to see a changed family.

Me the biggest.

I am going to have the biggest

change, because I am

going to be going out doing it,

and that is the best thing.

Well, you've said it now, Claire!

And you can find out

how to get fit the fun,

free and easy way at...

There is something reassuring

about picking up your daily loaf,

and the South West is famous

for its long-established

bakeries, and its hills!

For bakers, it has been a good way

to earn an honest crust,

but more recently some of them have

been left short of dough.

Our reporter has been

finding out why.

Endacott's one of Britain's

oldest bakeries.

They have been mixing it up

here in the Devon town of Oakhampton

for more than a century.

But recently, frustration has been

rising faster than the dough.

You work for a month expecting

to get paid, and you don't.

Staff fear a once thriving

business could be toast.

Very, very sad for the people

that has got mortgages,

people that have got families

to feed, it is a very, very sad day.

The problem, say the bakers,

is that they have not been

paid all their wages,

and even vital supplies such

as flour are in short supply.

They all try and keep it going

to see how long that will last.

This is such bad form.

This is the owner of

Endacott's, Nicholas Gould.

He runs an assortment

of cafes and bakeries

from his house in Somerset.

Since he took over last year,

staff say things have been

hopelessly half baked.

Has this ever happened

to you before?

No.

Well, I've spent my life in here,

it's never happened.

I've never owed money

to anybody, now I'm starting

to owe people money.

Jo Banfield used to work

for Mr Gould as a waitress

at another of his businesses

in Dorset, until it suddenly closed.

So shocked and so devastated

that you just wonder

what have you done wrong?

You try to...

You cannot take it in,

I think, for a while.

She was so angry about the way

the Harbour Cafe was shut down,

she brought a case for unfair

dismissal and won.

But she has yet to be paid the £4000

she was awarded in compensation.

I am still fighting,

and I still have yet,

even though I have a judgment

against him he still

has refused to pay.

He is quite entitled

to shut his business,

but he has responsibilities

to the employees

that he had at that time.

We have evidence of problems

at other businesses Mr Gould has

bought in the last few years.

Urban Brunch in Yeovil seems

to have closed down.

And Mr Gould bought

the Oven Door Bakery

in the Hampshire village

of Fair Oak in June 2016.

It has been closed since November,

apparently for refurbishment.

We invited anyone who worked

at the bakery to come and talk

to us about their issues.

Katie told us about her

connection to the business,

dating back to the 1970s.

It is meant to be a family business,

and my cousins used

to help out as well.

She says she is owed £1,800

in basic pay and overtime.

Do you think you will ever

get your money back from him?

No, unless we taken to court,

that I don't have the money

to taken to court!

It is about more than

the dough for Katie.

She was born in the flat

above the bakery, and has

a sentimental attachment

to the place.

Gutted.

My dad is devastated.

I think it has hit home

that he has destroyed it.

Early last year, some staff began

to be paid late or incorrectly.

Towards the end of 2017,

some staff were not paid at all.

Donna served customers

at the Oven Door for four years.

When I first started,

it was great, loved the job.

Even worked on days off.

Donna says the problems started

when Mr Gould took over.

In October, she wasn't paid.

I had to beg him to actually put

the money in my account.

I had no money for

food, electric, rent.

I'm a single mum, and

that was my only income.

Mr Gould eventually paid

Donna summer fair wages.

The staff here all told

us the same thing.

Before Mr Gould took

over, the Oven Door

was a thriving business.

They do not believe

it will ever reopen.

So why have things soured so badly?

We contacted Mr Gould to find out.

He said he had been dealing

with a number of issues

at Endacott's, including break-ins

and problems with admin.

He said he had appointed

a new manager who would add focus

and direction to the business.

So we popped back to see

if things were sweet again.

But Mr Gould had told the staff

not to allow any filming.

Thanks anyway.

Thank you.

Bakers Tony and Kevin,

wanted to have their say anyway.

We spoke a few weeks ago.

What is going on now?

Nothing has changed, really,

and we are still working as hard

as we can to keep things going.

Trying to keep our customers,

which is very difficult,

because we're running

out of ingredients.

Your world has been

ripped away from you.

You know, you cannot make decisions,

you cannot go forward.

And it is just hard.

Mr Gould told us he would not

comment further because of what he

described as life legal cases.

He did not respond when we asked him

about waitress Jo's owed cash.

With other staff worried

about whether they are going to be

on the breadline, we wanted to give

Mr Gould one more chance to chew

it all over with us.

But first I went to see Joy

at this bakery near Yeovil.

Joy says she is owed £500 for bread

she supplied to Mr Gould last May.

We have written, we have

begged, and we have asked.

He has not replied to any

of our correspondence.

I'm disgusted with them, really,

if you wanted plainly.

To think that he will not make

any provision to pay.

Joy has decided to let her

talent do the talking.

She has baked a show

stopper for Mr Gould.

I'm giving it to you to present

to him because I don't

want to see the man.

All I want is his money and just

to forget all about him.

But if he is that

hard up that he cannot pay,

he obviously needs to eat,

so let's give him a cake.

Yes, where's our dough?

I would have put a bit more on,

but I think that's enough.

And it is not just me, it is

the dough for everyone that he owes.

Not just us here.

But perhaps he will do the decent

thing and pay his debts.

One cake, special delivery.

I've got a cake

that I would like to give you

with a question.

There is a question...

You are trespassing.

This is such bad form.

But we would like to give

you the opportunity to answer

questions from your staff.

They have baked a cake for you,

which asks where the money might be.

So, suppliers like Joy wonder

if they will ever see their dough.

They can only hope that Mr Gould

might finally digest their message.

Where is the money that

you owe all these people?

Why have you not paid it?

Why can you not pay it,

and why can you not explain why

you are not paying it?

Just come forth with

the money and man up.

Man up and pay your bills.

Next tonight, we are in the historic

landscape of West Cornwall,

where there is something

of a farming revolution in prospect.

For its advocates,

it is the future of egg production.

For opponents, the industrialisation

of the countryside.

The plan is to build

for large chicken sheds,

housing 112,000 hens,

potentially ranging

over these green acres.

It will be the largest

in Cornwall, visible for miles,

and some of the locals

are passionately opposed.

John bought this cottage in the

middle of these fields last May. In

the past, planted with Reg. In a few

years, he could be entirely

surrounded by chickens.

People around here, who in the past

have lived relatively close, not as

close as I would have two to chicken

ranches, tell me that my house is

very likely would be uninhabitable

because of the odours, the noise. If

it is uninhabitable, and I cannot

live here, really nobody else is

going to want to live here, so

effectively I could be homeless.

This family home is right next to

the plant farm. This farming

contractor is worried about manure

from chickens free ranging in the

fields next to him. What is your

main concern John?

The biggest problem, there is a

potential for 6500 hens to free

range on that ground, and you and

run off will affect my only source

of drinking water, which is here.

And that's it, that is our only

source of dripping water for me and

my family.

And you're concerned it will be

polluted?

Absolutely. It is not good enough,

it needs to be addressed.

John has filmed flooding in heavy

rain here, with water rushing off

the adjacent field. Therefore other

houses with boltholes nearby. The

applicant declined to take part in

our film. The big push for free

range egg production is something

new in the South West. It has come

about because the public are

demanding ever higher welfare

standards. Currently, around half

the eggs in the country are produced

in what is known as enriched cages.

The supermarkets want these phased

out. By 2025, it is likely that

virtually all egg production will be

free range. That has got big

implications for smaller scale free

range operations like this farm. The

9000 birds here in three barns

supply and egg packing business.

Got a gorgeous comb on her head,

bright red wattles under her chin,

and lovely bright eyes. I really,

lovely, healthy looking bird.

But Dan believes this traditional

system is being undercut by the farm

is like the plant new facility. The

regulations for free range eggs say

no more than nine birds per square

metre on the barn floor area.

Outside, each bird has more space.

This outside space is crucial. Here,

birds get to glean and clean their

feathers and show their natural

behaviour. Come the night time,

there will be around 5400 birds in

here, and this is their set up. Over

there, there is a scratch area, they

can have a dust above, here, the

food and manure drops through the

slats. And this is where the magic

happens, they lay their eggs, one

around every 24 hours. It drops onto

the conveyor belt before going off

for packing.

But Dan says all of this now faces

unwelcome competition from bigger

farms which stack the birds above

each other in a system called

multi-tier. It is possible to get as

many as two thirds more hens for the

same ground floor area in

multi-tier. Because parts of the

tears can't as extra floor space. --

count as extra floor space.

Flat deck sheds. It has been how

free range eggs have been produced

for many years. We are moving into a

new era, and these sheds that hold a

lot more birds, so for instance,

this shed holds 5400. If you can

imagine as shared much bigger with

up to sort of 30 thick -- 32,000

birds in it. It is stretching the

consumer's conception of free range

to a dangerous level.

Dan's eggs sell for £1 50 for six,

and he says he can compete with the

big boys using multi-tier. They are

supplying eggs for 90p. He wants

clearer labelling to differentiate

between the two.

between the two. The other suppliers

say the meeting consumer need for an

affordable place -- price. They also

think the system has advantages.

This is my multi-tier shed. Inside,

there are a number of different

levels for the birds to perch. But

welfare at happiness is just like

any other system of free range

production. We think this is quite

crowded, but it is quite easy for a

hen to go up and down different

levels. As far as the hens are

concerned, they prefer this

environment.

The RSPCA recognises both systems is

chicken welfare friendly. But for

its Freedom food labelling scheme,

it won't each bird to have eight

centimetres of perch for next year,

so they can more easily replicate

their natural behaviour.

The multi-tier producers do not have

a problem if the edges account is a

perch, but for smaller ones, these

new purchaser a big extra cost.

Since most big supermarkets now

insist on free range egg farmers

being in the RSPCA scheme, that is

another headache.

My margins are small, so to have to

spend ten, £20,000 bidding in perch

rails is massive for us.

And there is another problem. When

the chickens fly up or simply fall

off their purchase, there are more

collisions, and that leads to an

injury that these birds are

particularly prone to. At the heart

of a chicken is this, you find it

underneath the breast meat, and it

is prone to fraction -- fracturing

after a collision. You can see where

this has healed after a fracture. In

some free range flocks, scientists

have discovered that a percentage of

the birds have a fracture of this

bone. It is painful for the bird.

Restore University vet school

tracked thousands of birds in a

variety of multi-tier and flat deck

sheds, both with and without

purchase, and filmed mishaps. They

found little difference in the rate

of injury in flat deck barns with

you purchase, and multi-tier barns.

But this professor thinks we need to

be very cautious in fitting perches

in traditional existing flat deck

sheds.

The problem is you will see an

increase in bone fractures. What the

level of that increase will be,

between about 15-25%. The RSPCA have

suggested putting the perches in. I

think we should be certain that we

now what the relative welfare

benefits and detriment to introduce

those measures. Certainly it would

be detrimental from the point of

view of Keele bone fractures.

The free range at producers

Association recently passed a motion

of no confidence in the RSPCA, and

were angry that the charity had

pulled out by new research project

run by John aimed at settling the

debate over whether retrofitting

perches does increase the fracture

rate.

A fundamental principle of animal

welfare is that animals are able to

express their full range of natural

behaviours. And for laying hens, one

of those is the ability to perch. In

any system, hens should be able to

have the opportunity to carry out

that important behaviour. Keelboat

fractures are concerned, and they

are something that happens in all

system with or without purchase. If

we take away purchase, we still have

the issue of high levels of injury,

but we have also denied the birds

that opportunity to carry out

important natural behaviour.

The factors, both types of free

range farms have an image problem.

The chickens are not freely ranging

and like staying inside. The study

suggests in any seven-day period,

some 30% of birds do not venture

outside. They need a bit of

encouragement.

I think having shelters is very good

because that gives them a feeling of

security so they feel they are safe

from predation. Trees seem to be

very good, they like trees, and that

perhaps gives them some thing

interesting to do and also gives

them shelter as well. The idea is if

they are away from the housing

structure, where most of the

fractures are likely to occur, it

means they are going to be

interacting with the structure that

much less.

Back at the farm, one local hopes

the future residents, the free range

chickens, might like to stay in

their nice, warm sheds.

In my head, I'm having to make

alternative plans will stop where am

I going to go, what am I going to

do? And that is quite stressful.

And for the smaller scale producers,

there is the fear that they will

simply be put out of business.

We are not just going to lose these

flat deck producers, but these guys

are the originators of free range in

the UK, and we will lose all that

experience and will just be mass

production of free range eggs, which

is really, really sad.

And that is all for this week. We

will be back next Monday with more

stories and investigations from

where you live. I will see you then.