:00:09. > :00:14.Welcome To Inside Out. Coming up: the water normally would be up to
:00:15. > :00:22.here. Where has all our water gone? How the South is running dry in the
:00:23. > :00:32.middle of winter? Are you a betting man? �10 on whether there will be a
:00:32. > :00:38.hosepipe ban. The secret wartime mission from Bournemouth they ended
:00:38. > :00:44.in tragedy. If there was something wrong with the aircraft, then it
:00:44. > :00:52.was not the pilot's fold. family's campaign to clear a war
:00:52. > :00:57.hero's name. I think an injustice was done. The should be put right.
:00:57. > :01:06.And getting hotter about the otter. Are they a wildlife success story
:01:06. > :01:16.or a wildlife nightmare? When the fish have gone, what will it lead?
:01:16. > :01:27.
:01:27. > :01:31.First tonight, if I was walking through these gardens last year, I
:01:31. > :01:36.would have been knee-deep in water. You might remember those flash
:01:36. > :01:41.floods we had back in August, but despite all that rain and today's
:01:41. > :01:48.drizzle, some parts of the South are at serious risk of drought. The
:01:48. > :01:54.experts say the warning signs were there as early as spring last year.
:01:54. > :02:00.At the source of the River Itchen, the spring that fed the famous for
:02:00. > :02:03.chalk stream ran dry. Later in the year when sea-trout should have
:02:03. > :02:10.been spawning upstream, lack of water meant they were stuck in
:02:10. > :02:14.coastal harbours. And only last month boat owners found themselves
:02:14. > :02:19.stranded on the Kennet and Avon canal went level stop to their
:02:19. > :02:26.lowest in 90 years. Here at this reservoir, where rebels are at a
:02:26. > :02:36.record low. Is the South running out of water? Everyone remembers
:02:36. > :02:38.
:02:38. > :02:43.the and the summer of 1976, the But there was a flipside. A drought
:02:43. > :02:50.that almost emptied reservoirs and rivers and caused fires, triggered
:02:50. > :02:53.hosepipe bans and standpipes across the south. More than 30 years on,
:02:53. > :02:58.surely we should be more prepared for a drought? That could never
:02:58. > :03:03.happen again, could it? This reservoir should befall at this
:03:03. > :03:11.time of year but it is not. The pumping station has been left high
:03:11. > :03:21.and dry. This really tells the story. Water levels should be up
:03:21. > :03:21.
:03:21. > :03:27.there? It should be at that line there. We should be four metres
:03:27. > :03:35.underwater. We should be completely submerged. You join the water board
:03:35. > :03:39.in 1976, is this the worst it has ever been? Yes. There reservoir has
:03:39. > :03:47.just 30 % of the water it should have and the area is officially on
:03:47. > :03:57.drought alert. How has this happened? There is no tropical heat
:03:57. > :04:05.wave, why are levels down? If we look back from October 2010-2011,
:04:05. > :04:11.this is the driest period we have had since 1976. It is unprecedented.
:04:12. > :04:18.How much whether do we need to rectify the problem? We would need
:04:18. > :04:24.to have at least above average rainfall until early mid- spring
:04:24. > :04:28.period. Unless we get that, things will be very different. Because of
:04:28. > :04:33.the severity of the shortage, the Environment Agency must allow South
:04:33. > :04:38.East Water Authority to top up its reservoirs by extracting water from
:04:39. > :04:45.nearby streams and rivers. But this comes at a cost to wildlife and the
:04:45. > :04:53.environment. Here we go, what do you make of it? For January it is
:04:53. > :04:59.extremely low, he should be to for at high at least. Normally in
:04:59. > :05:04.winter we should not be able to do this without getting wet. Very wet.
:05:04. > :05:09.Are you surprised by how low it is? I am quite surprised and alarmed by
:05:09. > :05:14.it and how it will affect the fish and the fishing for us anglers.
:05:14. > :05:18.Many rivers along the South Coast are renowned breeding grounds for
:05:18. > :05:23.sea trout. This time of year the sea water should be deep enough for
:05:23. > :05:27.them to travel upstream and lay their eggs but it is not. The sea-
:05:27. > :05:31.trout which live in the sea and come back in the autumn, have not
:05:31. > :05:37.come up the rivers because there has not been enough fresh water to
:05:37. > :05:40.trigger them to come up. The fish are getting stuck by them in the
:05:40. > :05:46.estuaries waiting to come up and then it will be too late for them
:05:46. > :05:51.to spawn. There is a whole spawning season last, that is a generation
:05:51. > :05:57.of trout last. This is not just happening here, we have been to the
:05:57. > :06:04.source of the River Itchen as well and it is dry. That has ben not
:06:04. > :06:12.flowing for 18 months. We just need rain, rain. We also have the issue
:06:12. > :06:18.of extraction. They have got to find other ways of finding water.
:06:18. > :06:23.Whether it be reservoirs or not, I do not know. Is it too easy for the
:06:23. > :06:30.water companies to extract water? It is the easiest source of water,
:06:30. > :06:34.yes. Back in the 1990s, the river Levant used to hit the headlines
:06:34. > :06:39.when it flooded in the winter months. This is it today. Nothing
:06:39. > :06:43.is flowing because the ground water levels are too low. It is these
:06:43. > :06:49.under water supplies that water companies rely on, particularly in
:06:49. > :06:54.times of drought and here at West Dean College, the Environment
:06:54. > :06:58.Agency used an old world to monitor how low the levels have dropped.
:06:58. > :07:03.put a metre down the well and when it hits the water, there will be a
:07:03. > :07:10.beeping noise which indicates it has hit the bottom. What is the
:07:10. > :07:15.implication of a low-level here? means they could be problems for
:07:15. > :07:25.extractors who rely on water for their business needs. It also means
:07:25. > :07:26.
:07:26. > :07:30.that river flows well below. We would rather it be a brimming but
:07:30. > :07:34.the longer that takes to beat, it means the water level is low and
:07:34. > :07:41.that is a concern for us because the levels are much lower than they
:07:41. > :07:48.should be this time of year. There we go. It looks like it is about
:07:48. > :07:56.five metres 46, probably at least a couple of metres lower than it
:07:56. > :08:01.should be. Aside from praying for rain, solving any water shortage is
:08:01. > :08:04.a complex problem. How do you best protect the environment and take
:08:04. > :08:09.less water from our rivers while meeting the demands of a growing
:08:10. > :08:14.population? The government recently published a White Paper that calls
:08:14. > :08:19.for water companies to rely less on taking supplies from our rivers and
:08:19. > :08:23.instead look elsewhere to top up shortfalls. The extraction regime
:08:23. > :08:30.was set up in the 1960s when we never used words like climate
:08:30. > :08:34.change. We now have to be resilient and you'll see more of a flow of
:08:34. > :08:40.water from water rich areas to water port areas, but trading is
:08:40. > :08:45.very much a feature of the policy we have announced. The most
:08:45. > :08:48.important immediate change of we want to see is the heavens open and
:08:48. > :08:54.rain to resolve problems we will face this summer if we do not get
:08:54. > :08:58.that. Today the average person uses 150 litres of water each day and
:08:58. > :09:03.the utility companies are going to great lengths to encourage us to
:09:03. > :09:08.cut back our consumption. As well as giving us a variety of water-
:09:08. > :09:13.saving devices, they hope the Stourton metres will be the biggest
:09:13. > :09:18.incentive for households to cut back. We hope to save 25 million
:09:18. > :09:22.litres of water a day across the company. For the householder in
:09:22. > :09:29.terms of their use of water, do you know how much it will cut their
:09:29. > :09:34.usage? Customers on average they save about 10 % of their water.
:09:34. > :09:39.has to be done, we have to change attitudes to this never ending
:09:39. > :09:43.supply of water which we are fast learning is not never ending.
:09:43. > :09:48.a finite resource and we have to ensure we have enough water for the
:09:48. > :09:53.environment and our customers. The population is increasing, the
:09:53. > :09:58.demand is increasing. Installing meters will curb demand and it is
:09:58. > :10:03.the fairest pay -- way to pay. have to tackle the root cause of
:10:03. > :10:08.this problem. We are consuming more water than is going to the
:10:08. > :10:13.underground water table. We have to cut our consumption of water and
:10:13. > :10:20.that means using water far more efficiently in our buildings,
:10:20. > :10:24.industry and having political well to address this problem.
:10:24. > :10:30.Conservation is on Mac thing but we still need lots of rain to stop the
:10:30. > :10:35.water shortage. But the weather is in the lap of the guards. For some
:10:35. > :10:40.the point of no return is living. This fishing lake on the River Test
:10:40. > :10:46.is at critical levels. consequences would be that it will
:10:46. > :10:50.go down so low, the oxygen will be so depleted it cannot sustain life.
:10:50. > :10:56.The Environment Agency went on an emergency basis take the fish out
:10:56. > :11:03.and put them elsewhere. With the fish taken out, there is nothing,
:11:03. > :11:10.no reason for people to join an angling club. We want if we
:11:10. > :11:17.possibly can to sustain our Angling Club for future generations.
:11:17. > :11:22.think climate change is inevitable. Dry winters, warmer summers,
:11:22. > :11:31.probably less of rain. Customers have to play their part in
:11:31. > :11:36.conserving that resource. I see a disaster coming but nature does
:11:36. > :11:42.repair and we have to bear that in mind. Nature may well repaired this
:11:43. > :11:49.but it may be too late. Fingers crossed for a bit of decent
:11:49. > :11:52.rain. While we are in Bournemouth, let me tell you about one night
:11:52. > :11:56.which changed people's lives for ever and it happened but far from
:11:56. > :12:00.here. The relatives of a World War II pilot whose aircraft crashed
:12:01. > :12:05.killing nine people have been battling to clear his name. They
:12:05. > :12:10.say it was mechanical failure and not pilot error which brought down
:12:10. > :12:15.his Halifax bomber. Nine team 40s Bournemouth was a
:12:15. > :12:21.place to escape the war. Its beaches and gardens a haven of
:12:21. > :12:26.tranquillity and to one night the war came crashing in. It was
:12:26. > :12:32.obvious we were going to die and I just felt for the pilot, try and
:12:32. > :12:37.save it. I think their chances were slim as soon as they encounter
:12:37. > :12:45.difficulties. Hell incarnate had come to that part of the world
:12:45. > :12:50.unexpectedly. March 1944, a Halifax bomber takes off from Hurn
:12:50. > :12:55.Aerodrome just outside Christchurch. At the control it is an RAF pilot,
:12:55. > :13:00.Dennis Evans. The seven-man crew are on a secret mission to Morocco
:13:00. > :13:05.but they would never arrive. He was very skilled because he would not
:13:05. > :13:12.have been chosen for special operations even though he was very
:13:12. > :13:16.young. The reason he was selected was he was a natural pilot. But all
:13:16. > :13:21.the experience in the world could never have prepared Dennis Evans
:13:21. > :13:27.for what was to happen. The take- off phase is the most critical
:13:27. > :13:30.phase. The aircraft needs to achieve a certain speed to get
:13:30. > :13:36.airborne and then to climb away from the ground, it needs to
:13:36. > :13:44.maintain that speed. If you were to have any problems, loss of thrust,
:13:44. > :13:51.in that take-off phase of flight your options are limited. It rose
:13:51. > :13:55.to around 200 ft and then it seemed to dip. That is in the initial
:13:55. > :14:00.reports say something happened early on. Meanwhile, on the ground,
:14:00. > :14:09.Russell Barnes was woken by the sound of the plane. I could hear an
:14:09. > :14:14.aircraft coming towards us. It was making a peculiar noise, one of the
:14:14. > :14:20.engines would roll and scream. And then it would splutter and then go
:14:20. > :14:25.silent. I cannot see any reason that you as the pilot would be
:14:25. > :14:30.increasing power and reducing power, so it suggests that there is some
:14:30. > :14:35.sort of mechanical issue with the aircraft. The pilot were struggling
:14:35. > :14:43.with the controls, that was obvious. He was flying an aircraft that was
:14:43. > :14:49.in serious engineering problems. It was obvious we were going to die. I
:14:49. > :14:54.just felt for the pilot as he was coming in. Try and save it, try and
:14:54. > :15:01.save it and then the banger came and it was all over. Very brave of
:15:01. > :15:11.him. When I heard he was 20, just five years older than me, it
:15:11. > :15:13.
:15:13. > :15:17.On impact, the aircraft flipped onto its back. The fuel tanks
:15:17. > :15:20.exploded. The seven crew on board stood no chance and the they did
:15:20. > :15:24.the two civilians sleeping in their beds.
:15:24. > :15:32.One of those was Dorothy Bennett. At the time, her daughter Margaret
:15:32. > :15:36.was down the corridor of preparing to go to bed. There was a bump and
:15:36. > :15:41.then the curtains were on fire and I started to run towards the
:15:41. > :15:51.bedroom. The next thing I knew, I was coming round and I was holding
:15:51. > :15:52.
:15:52. > :16:02.on to the door. I could not have been out for very long. There was a
:16:02. > :16:09.second explosion. Or the aircraft's fuel tanks had ignited. The room my
:16:09. > :16:14.mother was in, the ceiling came down. There was nothing there. As I
:16:14. > :16:19.said at the time, if that was going to happen, it was good to go at
:16:19. > :16:26.once. You would never survive a fire like that. It was extremely
:16:26. > :16:33.powerful. It must have been a complete seen off the devastation.
:16:33. > :16:39.There is no other way of describing it. Hell incarnate as it were, come
:16:39. > :16:43.to that part of the world. This tragedy could not have come at a
:16:43. > :16:50.worse time as all along the south coast, preparations were being made
:16:50. > :16:59.for D-Day. Accidents like this on home ground just could not happen.
:16:59. > :17:09.This was big news and a public relations disaster for the MoD. It
:17:09. > :17:13.seems the default position was to blame the pilot. I think, it is
:17:13. > :17:18.innocent until proven guilty. If they did not have the evidence, how
:17:18. > :17:26.could they say, it was pilot error? In the official documents, the MoD
:17:26. > :17:28.did blame pilot Dennis Evans and ignored any possibility of a engine
:17:28. > :17:34.failure. Is there any mention of ancient
:17:34. > :17:40.fire in the official report? There was a comment by the police
:17:40. > :17:44.who said he saw the aircraft a light in the sky before it crashed.
:17:44. > :17:48.At the MoD also chose to ignore her a catalogue of mechanical errors
:17:48. > :17:56.that came to light at the inquest into Margaret Bennett's mother.
:17:56. > :18:03.were told it had had trouble and they had mended it and said it was
:18:03. > :18:08.all right to fly. There was a question about whether the RAF
:18:08. > :18:14.agreed that it was all right to fly. There was a feeling it should not
:18:14. > :18:18.have grown at all. What have we got here? Your treasured photos. Yes,
:18:18. > :18:23.my brother. Evelyn Cleverly is part of a growing campaign group to get
:18:23. > :18:28.the MoD to re-examine the evidence. For handsome chap, is he not? He
:18:28. > :18:33.really was. Her brother Henry was navigator on board. In the days
:18:33. > :18:39.leading up to the tragedy, he had doubts about the plane's
:18:39. > :18:45.airworthiness. A every night, he wrote to his wife, saying the play
:18:45. > :18:50.was not ready, there was something wrong. -- the plane. There was
:18:50. > :18:54.doubt about a play that all through that week. One of his doubts could
:18:54. > :18:58.have been about the Halifax's rudder which was acknowledged to be
:18:58. > :19:02.a recurring problem and one which the manufacturers were trying to
:19:02. > :19:07.fix. If the rudder had blocked, there was nothing he could do. The
:19:07. > :19:11.only way out of that rudder lock on a Halifax was to dive for something
:19:12. > :19:18.like 4,000 feet to be able to compensate for the lock. He only
:19:18. > :19:22.had a few hundred feet. There was no chance. Evelyn Cleverly feels
:19:22. > :19:28.that the pilot should be remembered as a hero who did everything he
:19:28. > :19:36.could to prevent loss of life. think that poor pilot, he was only
:19:36. > :19:42.20 years old. He suddenly would find he could not -- he had not got
:19:42. > :19:46.a plane that would respond to him. I do not know, my own thoughts are
:19:47. > :19:51.he probably tried to turn to get back to Hurn Aerodrome or perhaps
:19:51. > :19:59.crash in the water. If he could have got to the seat, that might
:19:59. > :20:03.have been possible. Those last two minutes,, those last months have
:20:03. > :20:08.given me a lot of sadness. On the site of the crash, a memorial
:20:08. > :20:12.stands to remember those who died. All other friends and relatives now
:20:12. > :20:17.want is for the official record to be set straight. It does not matter
:20:17. > :20:22.whether it was 60 years ago or last week. An injustice has been done.
:20:22. > :20:26.They should be put right. They got it seriously wrong. This young man
:20:26. > :20:30.had an aircraft with a major fault and he was stuck with it.
:20:30. > :20:34.should they get away with blaming a young man who was clearly very
:20:34. > :20:38.brave and volunteered to do this work and turning round and giving
:20:38. > :20:46.him a piece of machinery that was impossible to fly? If there was
:20:46. > :20:51.something wrong with the aircraft, it was not his fault. Finally, it
:20:51. > :20:57.has been a success story, though the introduction otters to the
:20:57. > :21:02.south's rivers. Not everybody is happy.
:21:02. > :21:07.I love this ballet. I have been coming here for 70 years. -- valley.
:21:07. > :21:12.It is one of the most beautiful valleys in England. Richard has
:21:12. > :21:19.been fishing for Barbour on this stretch of the Avon since he was a
:21:19. > :21:24.boy. -- bottle. But something is disturbing his peace of mind.
:21:24. > :21:29.river used to be in the top five rivers in the country. Sadly, it
:21:29. > :21:34.would not be in the top 100 now. You are not catching as many fish
:21:34. > :21:44.question of no. What is causing this downturn? Cormorants and
:21:44. > :21:45.
:21:45. > :21:49.otters. The halt fishing stock has been decimated. The otters will eat
:21:49. > :21:54.anything and everything. They are like a fox in a chicken house. His
:21:54. > :21:59.magnificent to see one out there but there are too many of them.
:21:59. > :22:05.some, the increase in otter numbers is great news. Like Chris Wood who
:22:05. > :22:12.had an unexpected encounter near Plymouth. Fantastic. It was two
:22:12. > :22:18.years old. I have never seen one before. It was excellent. Amazingly,
:22:18. > :22:24.Chris filmed his otter calmly emerging from the room up of the
:22:24. > :22:29.garden centre where he worked. got my phone out and filmed it.
:22:29. > :22:36.Then it went down and ran through the coffee shop outside. It went
:22:36. > :22:41.off into the distance. My baby it's a young one. It was amazing. -- may
:22:41. > :22:51.be at the young one. It came up to where we are now. It is weird
:22:51. > :22:56.because there are roads in the way,. Could rotters -- what has been a
:22:56. > :23:06.widespread? They but almost disappeared 50 years ago. The main
:23:06. > :23:08.
:23:08. > :23:12.culprit was pesticides. These pesticides were in otters. That
:23:12. > :23:16.would divide over much of the UK, to be honest. That was in a fairly
:23:16. > :23:21.short space of time. Are they were numerous now? Are a lot more
:23:21. > :23:25.numerous. A lot of pesticides were removed over a period of time. The
:23:25. > :23:32.otter population has responded and they have recovered as their food
:23:32. > :23:36.supply has become less contaminated. This recovery will inevitably have
:23:36. > :23:41.some impact on fishing. Some anglers feel their concerns are not
:23:41. > :23:47.being taken seriously. There are concerns a small number of may even
:23:47. > :23:51.be shooting this highly protected species. We know there is a legal -
:23:51. > :23:55.- and illegal killing of otters taking place. What we are aware of
:23:55. > :23:58.may be the tip of the iceberg. Where do you get creditors
:23:58. > :24:04.conflicting with people's a personal interest, you will get
:24:04. > :24:09.people to take the law into their own hands. We could do that. It is
:24:10. > :24:13.irresponsible. We know we goes on, however. The killing of otters is
:24:13. > :24:19.condemned by anglers. Martin Bowler is one of the country's top
:24:19. > :24:23.professionals. He does point out feelings are running high. There
:24:23. > :24:27.have been calls for some radical action. There are rumours of
:24:27. > :24:33.anglers taking the law into their own hands and getting guns out.
:24:33. > :24:38.think that is wrong. You need to understand desperate people, their
:24:38. > :24:44.livelihoods are going. I am not calling for any kind of Carl on
:24:44. > :24:50.otters whatsoever. If that would be the worst PR possible. We are in a
:24:50. > :24:55.no-win situation. It is desperate. The angling community is dead. It
:24:55. > :24:59.would be fair to say they are split, too. -- scared. They do not know
:24:59. > :25:03.the right way forward. A Martin believes are the daughters'
:25:03. > :25:09.recovery has not been a natural one. Are they have been put back into
:25:09. > :25:14.our rivers. -- otters' recovery. They are offering the ecosystem out
:25:14. > :25:20.of balance. Is there any truth in the rumour that wildlife
:25:20. > :25:23.sanctuaries are breeding otters and releasing them? I have come up to
:25:23. > :25:32.it that Secret World Wildlife Rescue Centre near Burnham-on-Sea
:25:32. > :25:38.in Somerset. His name is Otto. He has been with us since he was about
:25:38. > :25:44.400 grams, very tiny. How did he end up here? He came from
:25:44. > :25:49.Lincolnshire. Some people saw two otter cubs and were concerned about
:25:49. > :25:53.it. They were told to leave them alone. That is quite right. He was
:25:53. > :26:01.so tiny, however and the other one was very lethargic so we suggested
:26:02. > :26:06.they pick it up. Do you breed otters? We do not breed otters, no.
:26:06. > :26:10.I have contact with wildlife hospitals all over the centre --
:26:10. > :26:14.the country and I do not know anyone reading them. It is just
:26:14. > :26:21.once we Pickup that, usually through human intervention, the
:26:21. > :26:26.mother gets killed and the cups are found. You are talking about 20 to
:26:27. > :26:30.30 animals a year over the whole of Great Britain. He is not just
:26:30. > :26:34.anglers on the river banks who are getting hot under the collar. For a
:26:34. > :26:41.still water fishery owner, otters could be bad for business. Some of
:26:41. > :26:47.rich and's specimen of carp are worth �1,000 each. We have had fish
:26:47. > :26:53.killed and site. I found an of today near to the fishery. That had
:26:53. > :26:58.been released from an RSPCA centre. This was a big animal. Over 3 ft in
:26:58. > :27:04.length. I felt it was released to close to my fishery and without
:27:04. > :27:08.consultation with the authorised bodies. The RSPCA were not able to
:27:08. > :27:11.comment on Richard's case but their guidelines say they should find a
:27:11. > :27:18.location for releasing otters what is the most suitable to enable
:27:18. > :27:24.their survival. Despite all the evidence, anglers need a lot more
:27:24. > :27:28.convincing that otters are recovering naturally. We bought the
:27:28. > :27:31.Environment Agency's top experts to meet Martin Bowler and there was a
:27:32. > :27:36.heated discussion. You cannot deny politicians are also quick to come
:27:36. > :27:39.out, so quick to come out as soon as an otter has been found. There
:27:39. > :27:45.is nothing wrong with the Government celebrating the fact
:27:45. > :27:54.that our top predator is back. What will it be? It will take
:27:54. > :28:02.everything... This is an Armageddon type view. It is clear this is an
:28:02. > :28:06.argument that is not going to be resolved just yet. It is the end of
:28:06. > :28:10.the day's fishing and Richard did not catch a thing. But then he did
:28:10. > :28:15.not spot an otter either. Whatever the true reason for the decline of
:28:15. > :28:23.fish, he says fishing he just isn't what it used to be. I still love it
:28:23. > :28:32.and I still come here even though why catch nothing. The fish are not
:28:32. > :28:39.here to be caught. That is all from us. I will see you
:28:39. > :28:42.next Monday. More than two years after Joanna Lumley's victory is
:28:42. > :28:49.beginning to Ghurka families the right to live in Britain, one army