:00:09. > :00:15.Hello from Winchester and welcome to the programme. Lots to tell you
:00:15. > :00:21.about. Here is what is coming up. How a �6000 loan to buy a car like
:00:21. > :00:28.this nearly cost one woman her home. I was so afraid because I had
:00:28. > :00:32.visions of bailiffs banging on the door and coming in and evicting me.
:00:32. > :00:35.Born 200 years too late and now swapping goodies for ballots. Can
:00:36. > :00:41.these kids put aside their prejudice and take pride in a local
:00:41. > :00:47.opera. I am not really interested in the order books. The story just
:00:47. > :00:51.drags on. Knocking the system, is a farming under threat as councils
:00:51. > :00:56.sell off land and farmhouses to balance the books. If you are a
:00:56. > :01:06.young couple starting out on a farm, you don't need a great big
:01:06. > :01:17.
:01:17. > :01:22.farmhouse. This is Inside Out for the South of England.
:01:22. > :01:26.First how a straightforward car loan nearly cost one woman from
:01:26. > :01:36.Hampshire clearly everything. The nightmare is nearly over but only
:01:36. > :01:36.
:01:36. > :01:41.because she got in contact with us. I was just sitting wondering what
:01:41. > :01:51.was the best thing to do and just praying that something, someone
:01:51. > :01:52.
:01:52. > :01:57.would come along and say, no, this is wrong. When I first met Brenda,
:01:57. > :02:01.she was about to sign away her home. She faced a massive debt because
:02:01. > :02:11.her husband had taken out a loan to buy a second higher -- second-hand
:02:11. > :02:13.
:02:13. > :02:17.car. Phil Cains went to the now defunct Yes Car for his loan, a
:02:17. > :02:21.company which many now believe took a fair few people for a ride with
:02:21. > :02:31.its seemingly too good to be true offers of credit. None of us will
:02:31. > :02:38.
:02:38. > :02:44.be getting knighted. You are saying it I can get a car on credit?
:02:44. > :02:54.you could. I could see a huge choice of cars and drive away the
:02:54. > :03:06.
:03:06. > :03:16.same day? Yes, of course you could. He went to them and bought a car
:03:16. > :03:17.
:03:17. > :03:21.which was �3600. They sold him on top of that, PPI for over �1000.
:03:21. > :03:27.There was more insurance which was a good insurance which I think is
:03:27. > :03:36.for mechanics. The total cost of that credit agreement then went to
:03:36. > :03:39.�8600. While everything appeared rosy on the surface, behind the
:03:39. > :03:43.scenes, Phil was struggling to meet the payments and some months later
:03:43. > :03:53.the car was repossessed. Phil told Brenda the car loan company said
:03:53. > :03:55.
:03:55. > :04:00.that would be the end of it. That �8000 debt continued to spiral to
:04:00. > :04:08.the point where it could have bought that car. That car and that
:04:08. > :04:13.car, all of three. �97,000 worth. In 2009, Phil was declared bankrupt
:04:14. > :04:23.but it was a year when other tragedies would strike. Thank you
:04:23. > :04:30.for the best holiday I have ever had. In November of that year, he
:04:31. > :04:40.died suddenly. Two weeks after my sister died. Two weeks after her
:04:41. > :04:41.
:04:41. > :04:44.funeral, he died. So I rang the Insolvency Agency and said, I Asim
:04:45. > :04:51.that was the end of the matter because this bankruptcy was not by
:04:51. > :04:55.bankruptcy, it was his. He said, no, the bankruptcy is now a years.
:04:55. > :05:00.problem was that Brenda remortgaged her home to pay for a new kitchen
:05:00. > :05:03.and some other bits and pieces. With any mortgage, she put Phil's
:05:03. > :05:07.name on the deeds of the property which previously had been hers
:05:07. > :05:10.alone. Unwittingly she became liable for his mounting debts. When
:05:10. > :05:14.someone is made bankrupt, a trustee is appointed to take control of
:05:14. > :05:19.assets and pay creditors. The trustee is entitled to be paid for
:05:19. > :05:25.what is clearly a complex job. But how could a nearly �9,000 debt
:05:25. > :05:35.multiply to over ten times the original sum. Sadly it's not an
:05:35. > :05:38.uncommon story. It seems like they have this immense power, not only
:05:38. > :05:43.to put you in a position where you are terrified, but in a position to
:05:43. > :05:49.take everything you have worked for in your life. The worst times are
:05:49. > :05:55.at the night times because you go to bed in terror. You get up in
:05:55. > :05:59.terror. You have to face another day. There must be a time when you
:05:59. > :06:05.have been thinking, why did I put him on the market? I know you did
:06:05. > :06:09.it for the right reasons because he was the man you loved, you are
:06:09. > :06:15.married to this man, you want him to part of your life. There must be
:06:15. > :06:22.a time when you think, if only I hadn't done that. That's right. At
:06:23. > :06:29.the beginning, I was so angry. I was upset and angry. He was beside
:06:29. > :06:34.himself, he didn't know what to do. Originally he didn't tell me he was
:06:34. > :06:37.bankrupt. He had letters, he was one of those people that if you put
:06:37. > :06:40.it in a draw, it didn't exist. Meanwhile following a storm of
:06:40. > :06:45.complaints, Yes Car shut up shop. Phil's car loan debt was bought by
:06:45. > :06:48.another company, Go Debt Limited, who vigorously pursued the money.
:06:48. > :06:50.With Phil's death and the surprise news that she had inherited nothing
:06:50. > :06:55.but bankruptcy, came solicitors' bills, but one after another her
:06:55. > :07:05.advisors all reached the same expensive conclusion. Her house had
:07:05. > :07:10.
:07:10. > :07:15.to be sold. I go to work, I have never claimed benefits, so you had
:07:15. > :07:22.to put this face on for work and do your job and then you would come
:07:22. > :07:27.back on again. When you're in that situation, particularly when you
:07:27. > :07:31.have a panic attack, your home is a sanctuary and they took a way that
:07:32. > :07:37.security as well because I was afraid because by that time I had
:07:38. > :07:42.got home, I thought they were going to take it from me. I had visions
:07:42. > :07:50.of bailiffs banging down the door and coming in and saying, right,
:07:50. > :07:54.and just add it to me. Nobody knows what the terror is like and they
:07:54. > :07:58.are awful. Now all this didn't seem right to us when we heard Brenda's
:07:58. > :08:01.story so we decided it was time to bring in an expert. He agreed to
:08:01. > :08:11.look into Brenda's case for free, concerned that the bankruptcy
:08:11. > :08:12.
:08:12. > :08:18.trustee was charging too much to sort out Phil's affairs. There was
:08:18. > :08:21.one thing I was very secure about and that was this, � 97,000 ft on a
:08:21. > :08:24.�6000 bankruptcy is not right and therefore there was going to be a
:08:24. > :08:29.way of dealing with that and have either showing the trust deed that
:08:29. > :08:34.this was not right and you would have to reduce it or showing a
:08:34. > :08:38.judge that this was the case. The big message for this is that
:08:38. > :08:43.Brendan didn't know which way to turn and therefore, should that
:08:43. > :08:51.this was normal. She had a trustee telling her, this is the fee you
:08:51. > :08:59.have to pay. She thought it was normal. I got a bill not long after
:08:59. > :09:03.that said I had to pay �30,000. The next one was � 40,000. I had never
:09:03. > :09:10.ever said there is nothing to pay but it has to be fair and relative
:09:10. > :09:15.to what has happened. It isn't fair for him to take my home, take what
:09:15. > :09:18.is owed by all means, but please don't take my home. It is wrong.
:09:18. > :09:20.With Dean's intervention, the trustee agreed to reduce their
:09:20. > :09:22.charges explaining that their costs had been significantly increased
:09:22. > :09:32.because Brenda had several solicitors acting for her one after
:09:32. > :09:34.
:09:34. > :09:39.another and that had created a long, repetitive and expensive workload.
:09:39. > :09:44.After months of negotiation, Dean achieved what was near impossible.
:09:44. > :09:50.The car loan is still to be paid off but it is more like �20,000 and
:09:50. > :09:55.most importantly, Brenda's home is safe. Now I am really glad to say
:09:55. > :10:00.that the situation now is that the trustees these are at �10,000,
:10:00. > :10:06.we've got to pay the original petitioning creditor's these, that
:10:06. > :10:10.is the car company and that is the end of it. But here is the biggest.
:10:10. > :10:14.That I am most pleased to say, she is not losing her house. It remains
:10:14. > :10:18.intact, no one will come after it, she does nobody any money any more
:10:18. > :10:25.and she can get on with her life. The worst thing people can do, and
:10:25. > :10:29.many people do it, is buried her head in the sand with debt. It
:10:29. > :10:33.doesn't go away. It never does. It has to be dealt with and faced head
:10:33. > :10:39.on. If it had not been for the intervention of the programme, I
:10:39. > :10:42.wouldn't be sitting here now. I would not owned by on property and
:10:42. > :10:49.it would have had to pay for something at the end of the day
:10:49. > :10:55.that was not mine. All of that and all the panic and the terror, that
:10:55. > :11:05.will never go away. The terror still haunts me. But now, at this
:11:05. > :11:19.
:11:19. > :11:22.moment in time, I am elated. We're here to mark the 200
:11:22. > :11:27.anniversary of a literary classic. Jane Austen spent her last days
:11:27. > :11:37.just around the corner. But how relevant is her work. Would a group
:11:37. > :11:47.
:11:47. > :11:51.of kids be too proud to enjoy it? This is Stanmore, a typical housing
:11:51. > :11:53.estate on the edge of Winchester. Just up the road lived one of
:11:53. > :11:56.England's most well-loved authors, Jane Austen. Pride and Prejudice
:11:56. > :12:06.was recently voted the nation's favourite novel. But is it still a
:12:06. > :12:26.
:12:26. > :12:29.It's not really my type of thing. I don't see the point. As an 18-year-
:12:29. > :12:34.old MC, Dale might not realise it but his word play could make him
:12:34. > :12:38.quite the Mr Darcy. I've read one book I can remember. And there's
:12:38. > :12:45.14-year-old Kelsey. Currently doing her GCSEs at Kings' School in
:12:45. > :12:47.Winchester. Reading is not that important to me because I have got
:12:47. > :12:57.better things to do like socialising with my friends, going
:12:57. > :13:02.out, having fun, so I'm not really interested in the older books.
:13:02. > :13:06.them hang out here. We have thrown down a Regency gauntlet,
:13:06. > :13:14.challenging them to drop their prejudice and take pride in their
:13:14. > :13:22.local literary legend. We're taking them on a whistlestop tour to
:13:22. > :13:25.discover Jane Austen's witty and wise words. But will generation
:13:25. > :13:27.text click and like, or just LOL? First stop, the Dolphin Hotel in
:13:27. > :13:30.Southampton where it's believed Jane Austen celebrated her 18th
:13:30. > :13:39.birthday. So what can our new literary critics tell us? She is
:13:39. > :13:47.dead. She was born in 1775. Has she got Twitter? In her lifetime, she
:13:47. > :13:50.completed six novels. How old would she be right now? Pretty good. But
:13:50. > :13:57.Google won't help them now. Time to hand over the phones cos we've
:13:57. > :14:00.lined up a little surprise. And here it is. The Regency dancers to
:14:00. > :14:10.recreate the get-togethers Jane Austen wrote about in pride and
:14:10. > :14:16.
:14:16. > :14:23.This is from the old school, when they used to do it. I am amazed at
:14:23. > :14:27.this stuff. That's crazy. assembly's happened once a week
:14:27. > :14:32.here at the Dolphin Hotel. If you wanted to get your daughters
:14:32. > :14:38.married, then this was the place you would hopefully get them to
:14:38. > :14:43.meet an eligible bachelor. We have got some costumes for you to wear
:14:43. > :14:53.to give you the impression of being back to 100 years ago, so you get
:14:53. > :14:54.
:14:54. > :14:58.an idea. Forget Gangham style. This is all about Regency Style! Why are
:14:58. > :15:01.old jackets so hard? They've got the look but have they got the
:15:01. > :15:11.moves? Time to partner up and put their best foot forward. Just as
:15:11. > :15:12.
:15:12. > :15:19.Elizabeth and Darcy did at Ladies look diagonally. Go right to
:15:19. > :15:23.your partner. Getting line. Once they got engaged in it, they could
:15:23. > :15:31.see some of the Graces that were expected of young people at that
:15:31. > :15:36.time. It is very different. I think they coped with it very well indeed.
:15:36. > :15:43.I never seen anything like that before. I may have seen it on TV,
:15:43. > :15:46.but I would never have put us here doing that. Literally never, ever.
:15:46. > :15:49.Jane Austen never married, but her characters in Pride And Prejudice
:15:49. > :15:51.did. Mrs Bennett was desperate to marry off her five daughters to
:15:51. > :15:57.wealthy men. Back then there were two societies. Rich people and poor
:15:57. > :16:01.people. Now there's loads of different categories. Your parents
:16:01. > :16:05.would pass him over to someone who they thought was right for you.
:16:05. > :16:09.Your family ain't got money so you're not marrying my daughter.
:16:09. > :16:12.Even though you are madly in love. With the themes of Pride And
:16:12. > :16:16.Prejudice firmly in their minds, it's time to find out more about
:16:16. > :16:19.Jane Austen at her former home in the Hampshire village of Chawton.
:16:20. > :16:27.wouldn't mind living in a place like this in the 1700s. Hello,
:16:27. > :16:32.everybody. I am a Louise and I and the curator at Jane Austen's house
:16:32. > :16:35.and this is where she lived for the last eight years of her life, and
:16:35. > :16:43.it's really important because it is where she did nearly all of her
:16:43. > :16:48.writing. What I really want to show you in here, this little table.
:16:49. > :16:53.What do you think about it? Beautiful. It is very small.
:16:53. > :16:58.doesn't look like something you would right-on. This letter was
:16:58. > :17:07.written by Jane Austen at 200 years ago. And it is telling her sister
:17:07. > :17:12.that she has got her first copy of pride and prejudice. She calls it
:17:12. > :17:18.her darling child from London. We talked about the fact she didn't
:17:18. > :17:21.get married and have children. books were her kids. I think it was
:17:21. > :17:24.when you are looking at the letter, they got the fact that it was
:17:24. > :17:29.authentic, that was the actual writing, which is brilliant,
:17:29. > :17:34.because that's the bit which gets me every time. That is Jane
:17:34. > :17:40.Austen's father as her. It's interesting they have original
:17:40. > :17:46.stuff and copies and they kept their hair, which is weird now.
:17:46. > :17:49.was interesting, yes. I've never seen anything like that. So some of
:17:49. > :17:55.the things in there, you didn't think they would still be alive,
:17:55. > :17:59.the table that she wrote on for so Powell does that table? I wouldn't
:17:59. > :18:02.ever think, I'm going to go to Jane Austen's house. With the history
:18:02. > :18:06.behind them, we're in search of a more modern take on Pride And
:18:06. > :18:14.Prejudice. We've come to Orbital Comics to show our teenagers that
:18:14. > :18:17.reading doesn't have to be boring. In an attempt to bring the 200-
:18:17. > :18:19.year-old novel up to date, Pride And Prejudice has recently been
:18:19. > :18:29.rewritten, brazenly throwing in zombies to entice a different sort
:18:29. > :18:30.
:18:31. > :18:35.The joy about mash-ups. It's the fact you get to take established
:18:35. > :18:40.characters, characters people know, and place them in these situations
:18:40. > :18:47.and, because of the fact you have this unknown it with the unknown,
:18:48. > :18:52.it gives a more visceral reading experience. Pushing it one tap --
:18:52. > :18:56.step further, Tony Lee adapted Pride and Prejudice And Zombies
:18:56. > :18:58.into a graphic novel and thinks the mash-up is a gateway to the
:18:58. > :19:03.original text. Graphic novels can provide something more visual,
:19:03. > :19:10.especially with pride and prejudice and zombies. You also have an
:19:10. > :19:12.injures. It's something kids can get into. But is mixing Mr Darcy
:19:12. > :19:20.with the undead, a literary sacrilege? Ewan Morrison certainly
:19:20. > :19:25.thinks so. The longer form of the book narrative can't sustain the
:19:25. > :19:30.mash up. It is quite irreverent. You'd take one thing from one
:19:30. > :19:35.context and prodded against another. It is like a single line a joke
:19:35. > :19:38.which has gone on for too long. joke or not, the comics are
:19:38. > :19:42.tempting our reluctant readers. This is the quietest they've been
:19:42. > :19:47.all day. It's colourful. When you go into a bookshop, it's boring,
:19:47. > :19:56.not some way you want to be. In here, it's a lot more exciting and
:19:56. > :20:01.you want to read everything. There's an argument that you can
:20:01. > :20:05.lead children into reading classic books by segueing in through mass
:20:05. > :20:09.cultural products, but this does not lead to towards pride and
:20:09. > :20:14.prejudice. It probably doesn't give you any insight into any of the
:20:15. > :20:21.tensions, the social tensions, which exist in the book. At the end
:20:21. > :20:24.of the day, reading his reading. I went from comics into adaptations
:20:24. > :20:29.of books, in two books themselves, and if that's the lazy way to read,
:20:29. > :20:32.I'm happy to carry on doing that. It is its 200 anniversary, has what
:20:32. > :20:36.you have learned over the last couple of places you have been too,
:20:36. > :20:43.when you danced and enter the museum, and been here, has that
:20:43. > :20:48.changed? Yes. It's made me want to read it more but I would rather
:20:48. > :20:53.read the comic-book version. don't know if I want to read it. I
:20:53. > :20:57.want to watch the DVD first. It has inspired us to learn about it,
:20:57. > :21:01.hasn't it? I thought it was going to be some old fashioned book which
:21:01. > :21:05.would be really boring but it's been really interesting. I did a
:21:05. > :21:10.judge it because its 200 years ago, but it's made me want to read it
:21:11. > :21:13.more and watch the film. And a tell other people about it. Jane Austen
:21:14. > :21:22.knew better than most that pride and prejudice can be overcome. It
:21:22. > :21:32.seems 200 years on, the message is still getting through. It's only
:21:32. > :21:34.
:21:34. > :21:40.just gone into 2013, but this will If that inspired you, why not put
:21:40. > :21:44.virtual pen to paper and send us a message. Finally tonight, the
:21:44. > :21:48.financial crisis is rarely out of the news at the moment but one
:21:48. > :21:52.solution to the problem is proving particularly controversial. The
:21:52. > :22:02.sell-off of successful farms owned by the council putting tenant
:22:02. > :22:26.
:22:26. > :22:28.The County farms service dates back to 1908. In a bid to combat rural
:22:28. > :22:31.depopulation, councils bought farms and offered them for rent,
:22:31. > :22:35.providing opportunities for people who wanted to farm but who couldn't
:22:35. > :22:38.afford a farm of their own. And so it has remained for a century right
:22:38. > :22:41.across the UK. Until now. Devon is amongst a handful of local
:22:41. > :22:44.authorities who still offer farms to let. Lower Farm in High
:22:44. > :22:46.Bickington is one of 75 that they own. With the current farmer
:22:46. > :22:49.retiring, there's an opportunity here for somebody new. Our I'm
:22:49. > :22:58.struck I'm struck by the side of the crowd. Those people of all ages
:22:58. > :23:01.and this is for a relatively small 85 acre farm. We will almost
:23:01. > :23:05.certainly have to draw up a shortlist of candidate to take
:23:05. > :23:09.forward for interview. It's a stepping stone. The idea of these
:23:10. > :23:15.farms is to get you up and running into farming. Without the stepping-
:23:15. > :23:19.stone of County farms, getting your own farm can cost a fortune. Is it
:23:19. > :23:29.possible how much this farm costs to rent as opposed to the value of
:23:29. > :23:33.the farm to buy privately? �10,000 a year to rent this farm. To buy,
:23:33. > :23:41.current land value, around �10,000 an acre, three-quarters of a
:23:41. > :23:50.million? I'm heading across the border into Somerset. The council
:23:51. > :23:54.takes a very different view of its County Farm estate. This farm is
:23:54. > :24:01.near Ilminster or owned by Somerset County Council but for the last 12
:24:01. > :24:06.years, run by its tenant,. The tiny just the 8 o'clock which means,
:24:06. > :24:13.just like every morning, milking will be under way. It's one of
:24:13. > :24:18.those jobs you have got to want to do. But what have always wanted to
:24:18. > :24:22.do really. But David's days here are numbered. Somerset County
:24:22. > :24:31.Council has decided to sell half its County farms and Davids is on
:24:31. > :24:41.the list. When the land has gone, everything will be gone. What is to
:24:41. > :24:41.
:24:41. > :24:46.stop you buying it? Nothing only the price. We have been offered it.
:24:46. > :24:49.How much do they want for it? want �1,085,000 for it. And that's
:24:49. > :24:59.not an option for you? If I had �1,085,000 I wouldn't be a tenant
:24:59. > :24:59.
:24:59. > :25:02.farmer really. Why are Somerset selling so many of their farms?
:25:02. > :25:05.I've come to Dillington House, where the councillor who instigated
:25:05. > :25:14.the sell-off is attending a budget meeting. The Council currently has
:25:14. > :25:17.a debt of �354 million. The farmers in some ways were the first victims
:25:17. > :25:20.of the financial crisis in Somerset. Our tenant farmers. Because they
:25:20. > :25:22.were the first to see that their livelihoods might be under threat
:25:22. > :25:26.because of the financial pressure that we're into. We cannot borrow
:25:26. > :25:36.any more money. We have to sell assets. The majority of the assets
:25:36. > :25:38.
:25:38. > :25:44.that we are selling currently are the county farms. We are very lucky
:25:44. > :25:48.we have the most beautiful county and working farms make it tick.
:25:48. > :25:52.Selling assets is also part of Dorset County Council's approach
:25:53. > :25:56.but with a difference. Here at Yardsgrove Farm near Sturminster
:25:56. > :26:04.Newton, as they've done across the county, the council is selling this
:26:04. > :26:07.large expensive farm house. But keeping the land. With the profit
:26:07. > :26:12.from the sale, half goes into council coffers and half goes into
:26:12. > :26:16.a modern house for the farmer and improving the farms. If you're a
:26:16. > :26:20.young couple starting out on a farm, you don't need a hulking great
:26:20. > :26:23.farmhouse. What you need are good facilities. You need the best
:26:23. > :26:33.facilities to have the best opportunity of making your business,
:26:33. > :26:37.
:26:37. > :26:40.which is farming, succeed. I wonder what Dorsets tenants think? Having
:26:40. > :26:42.proved themselves on a small starter farm, Louise and Luke
:26:42. > :26:46.Trowbridge and family moved to Provost Farm, near Shaftesbury,
:26:46. > :26:49.three years ago. They may not have a manor sized farmhouse but they do
:26:50. > :26:54.have some spanking new sheds. So this is very impressive new looking
:26:54. > :26:57.shed. Did you build this? Half of it was here and we put up the other
:26:57. > :27:05.half. The council have helped us with the structural work and we've
:27:05. > :27:15.put in labour. So they haven't quite matched us pound for pound.
:27:15. > :27:19.
:27:19. > :27:22.People do generally think that it's subsidised by the council like a
:27:22. > :27:24.council house but it's a completely different estate. These are
:27:25. > :27:28.businesses. We employ local people, tradesmen that have helped build
:27:28. > :27:33.this barn. They're all local from Dorset, so it's all creating money.
:27:33. > :27:36.So it's all a positive thing for our area. Would you have been able
:27:36. > :27:46.to grow this farm if hadn't been for the opportunity of County
:27:46. > :27:52.
:27:52. > :27:55.Farms? No. So, no county farms, no farm for you at all. No. To date
:27:55. > :27:58.Somerset have sold 16 farms and made �12.2 million through selling
:27:58. > :28:01.its old farm houses. Dorset has raised �12.9 million and kept its
:28:01. > :28:08.estate. Each make a profit of around half a million a year from
:28:08. > :28:11.rent. I wonder why Somerset aren't following Dorset's approach? Once
:28:11. > :28:16.it is sold, it is sold. They can only sell at once and then they
:28:16. > :28:26.will want money for something else. If they sell off the farm, you lose
:28:26. > :28:27.
:28:27. > :28:33.the rent as well, so I think it's Keep us busy with your e-mails. I
:28:33. > :28:37.will see you next time. Next week, shocking attacks on guide dogs
:28:37. > :28:42.caught on CCTV. One local woman tells of the devastating effects it
:28:42. > :28:47.can have. The owners of the Dogger couldn't get their dog under