:00:10. > :00:14.Hello from Cowshot, welcome to Inside Out, we are marking a
:00:14. > :00:18.special anniversary. Here is what else is come up tonight:
:00:18. > :00:24.With five suicides in the last year alone, we ask what can be done to
:00:24. > :00:29.stop false prize promise letters from ripping off our loved ones.
:00:29. > :00:33.She overdosed on anti-depressants, and tried to kill herself and left
:00:33. > :00:39.me a note saying, she didn't know how I would bury her, because there
:00:39. > :00:44.is no money. Is modern day technology makes us
:00:44. > :00:48.ill, we meet the south's Wi-Fi refugees. I was getting pain so
:00:48. > :00:55.severe in my head, it was like someone of putting cattle prods
:00:55. > :01:00.into my brain and shocking my brain. I take to the skies to celebrate
:01:00. > :01:05.Cowsho it's glorious centinary as an airbase. Everybody wanted to get
:01:05. > :01:15.involved in aviation, and this little lady of the space shuttle of
:01:15. > :01:29.
:01:29. > :01:33.its day. This is Inside Out for the south of England.
:01:33. > :01:36.First tonight, prize-promise letters, we got a huge response and
:01:36. > :01:45.you are still e-mailing stories. Tonight we asked if anything else
:01:45. > :01:49.can be done to stop the misery being delivered to our doors.
:01:49. > :01:53."dear Mrs Elizabeth, I hasten to write to you because the time is
:01:53. > :02:00.very important for you. You must read what follows very carefully,
:02:00. > :02:06.because it concerns you, personally. You and you alone." I love letters,
:02:06. > :02:12.I love receiving letters, which I do. Because it is an interest, if
:02:12. > :02:16.you know what I mean. When 87-year- old Elizabeth was widowed, she
:02:16. > :02:24.started replying to prize-promise letters. It wasn't long before she
:02:24. > :02:29.thought she had hit the jackpot. Last December I won a prize of
:02:29. > :02:34.�130,000, so they said. So I wrote in to claim it. But it wasn't as
:02:34. > :02:41.simple as that. You had had to buy something, every time I sent a
:02:41. > :02:51.letter I had to buy something. This is how they held my me in a vice,
:02:51. > :02:58.kind of thing. This is parcel from Fiderma, creams
:02:58. > :03:04.I bought in desperate hope I would get my cheque. They cost me a small
:03:04. > :03:08.fortune. Elizabeth has spent most of her pension trying to claim her
:03:08. > :03:14.�130,000 prize, she she still believes she's going to get. I have
:03:14. > :03:21.great trust in people. I'm a Christian, I have faith, a lot of
:03:21. > :03:25.faith in people. I never give up. These are the sorts of letters that
:03:25. > :03:28.are sent to people like Elizabeth, falsely promising prizes and the
:03:28. > :03:33.Government is starting to take notice. At the beginning of this
:03:33. > :03:36.year, MPs met to debate the issue. It is absolutely my belief that
:03:36. > :03:43.Government takes this matter seriously. What we are talking
:03:43. > :03:47.about here is very cleverly customised scams. Once a scam has
:03:47. > :03:51.entered into the mail system, Royal Mail have a duty to deliver it.
:03:52. > :03:55.Once a scam comes to light, the victim and the family suffer a
:03:55. > :04:01.large range of emotion, anger, shame, upset, and in some cases,
:04:01. > :04:04.where the loss is so big, suicidal thoughts, and as we heard this
:04:04. > :04:10.morning on television, five suicides last year alone.
:04:10. > :04:15.warden found her, she had her head in the cat litter tray. She
:04:15. > :04:20.overdosed on anti-depressants and tried to kill herself. She left me
:04:20. > :04:25.a note saying she didn't know how I would bury her, because there was
:04:25. > :04:29.no money. Ruth's 77-year-old mum is now recovering at home after her
:04:29. > :04:32.attempted suicide. She didn't want to be identified in our
:04:32. > :04:42.investigation. So we will call her June. June is bombarded with up to
:04:42. > :04:45.
:04:45. > :04:51.30 pieces of scam mail a day. And numerous telephone calls. She sold
:04:51. > :04:57.everything, I think it must be in the region of �500,000. She has all
:04:57. > :05:01.this stuff she doesn't need, for the hope it will get put into a
:05:01. > :05:05.drair somewhere to -- in a draw somewhere to get money. There is
:05:05. > :05:09.nothing she needs no, food in the cupboards, all this rubbish. My dad
:05:09. > :05:13.came in after the warden had found her, he came into the flat and
:05:13. > :05:17.discovered the suicide note after the ambulance crew had shown it to
:05:17. > :05:24.him. He discovered the pictures of me and my brother, throughout our
:05:24. > :05:29.lives had been placed face down, or put into the corner or in a drawer.
:05:29. > :05:34.The idea that we couldn't see what she was doing to herself, even
:05:34. > :05:39.though they were only pictures. Obviously she was mentally there.
:05:39. > :05:44.She knew what she was doing. She tried to protect us in a way.
:05:44. > :05:47.we were filming June's postman delivered yet more scam mail.
:05:47. > :05:52.have been a postman for 20 years, you sort of get used to it. There
:05:52. > :05:59.seems to be more of it now knocking B I feel sorry for the elderly
:05:59. > :06:03.people. The one who is the mail is being taken from. But really I'm
:06:03. > :06:06.just delivering T There is not a lot I can do. Something should be
:06:06. > :06:10.done about it. I don't know what the answer is.
:06:10. > :06:15.We have spoken to several posties across the south, every one of them
:06:15. > :06:18.has told us of their frustration when it comes to trying to stop
:06:18. > :06:21.scam mail. When I speak to postal workers they always make the point
:06:21. > :06:25.to me that they know who the victims are on their rounds, they
:06:25. > :06:29.would love to be able to do something to stop it. Currently
:06:29. > :06:33.there isn't legislation that enables Royal Mail to identify
:06:33. > :06:36.which is scam mail and which is not, and actually it is really easy to
:06:36. > :06:40.tell the difference. They can't act to stop this mail getting through.
:06:40. > :06:46.I think there needs to be a change in legislation so that Royal Mail
:06:46. > :06:50.can be part of the solution, not part of the problem.
:06:50. > :06:55.Here at Royal Mail's largest sorting office in the UK, billions
:06:55. > :06:59.of letters are processed every year. Millions of which will be scam mail.
:06:59. > :07:05.So would a change in legislation help protect people like Elizabeth
:07:05. > :07:09.and June. We really don't need more law. There is enough law, there are
:07:09. > :07:12.enough powers across the agencies that can police the mail and can
:07:12. > :07:16.police fraud. It is not an issue of power, it is an issue of the fact
:07:16. > :07:21.that we need to know exactly what's coming in, and we need the right
:07:21. > :07:24.people to make a value judgment and advise us where there is something
:07:24. > :07:28.illegal taking place. If we are aware that have fact we will
:07:28. > :07:31.respond to it, we are not lacking in the power to do so. We are
:07:31. > :07:35.merely lacking in intelligence from time to time. We have plenty of
:07:35. > :07:41.evidence that some mail companies are sending out false prize-promise
:07:41. > :07:45.letters. In fact, a Belgian court ordered that Vital Beauty would be
:07:45. > :07:49.fined 100 euros for every letter they continued to send out. They
:07:49. > :07:52.changed their name to Vital Nature and carried on. As for Royal Mail,
:07:52. > :07:56.they continue to deliver these fraudulent letters.
:07:56. > :08:00.Why do you think we still have this problem, it is not a new problem.
:08:00. > :08:04.The company and the prize-promise scheme we have been investigating,
:08:04. > :08:08.we have been following it for years. Here we are saying we need evidence.
:08:08. > :08:12.It almost sounds like you are catching up? I don't know about
:08:12. > :08:16.catching up. The difficulty that we have is that this is a fraud which
:08:16. > :08:20.is perpetrated because of the quality of our service, ironically,
:08:20. > :08:23.relatively quickly. I will also say that, of course, these sorts of
:08:23. > :08:27.frauds are not in any way unique to the postal service. So they are the
:08:27. > :08:33.same sorts of frauds as a boiler room scam, involving telephone
:08:33. > :08:36.calls, they are the same sorts of frauds as internet e-mail fishing
:08:36. > :08:39.frauds. It doesn't justify them. I know there is lots of different
:08:39. > :08:42.frauds, but let's sort out the ones you can effect? The point I'm
:08:42. > :08:46.trying to make is there has always been fraud. And we have always
:08:46. > :08:50.attempted to counter it. You may you will take action, but you need
:08:50. > :08:54.information to take action on. I find it incredible that no-one has
:08:54. > :08:57.come forward? I am honestly saying to you, if I am given information
:08:57. > :09:00.on any of the frauds that you have knowledge of, we will look into
:09:00. > :09:03.every single one, because I suspect that many of them are similar. We
:09:03. > :09:08.will look into every single one and work with agencies, and we will
:09:08. > :09:12.make sure that we take every possible step to counter these.
:09:12. > :09:17.postmen and women say they have no difficulty in spotting these scams.
:09:17. > :09:22.The envelope alone is a big enough clue. To be honest, it is all
:09:22. > :09:27.plastered over the front cover, normally. All sorts of names,
:09:27. > :09:31.advertisments, quick, follow the deal now, �400,000, take it, phone
:09:31. > :09:34.up. All that sort of stuff. It is easy to identify, absolutely.
:09:34. > :09:41.the bosses seem to have a lot more trouble identifying what is scam
:09:41. > :09:45.mail and what isn't. They have asked to see it, so here it is.
:09:45. > :09:51.Meanwhile Elizabeth is still clinging on to the hope that her
:09:51. > :09:55.�130,000 prize is on its way. That's mine. That's my letter.
:09:55. > :10:02.mew month ago Elizabeth wrote to the company who had promised Heren
:10:02. > :10:07.cheque. "Dear Sir, my profuse thanks for my prize, at last I am
:10:07. > :10:12.getting my prize..." But Elizabeth is about to have her dreams of a
:10:12. > :10:18.windfall crushed. Her unread letter was rescued from a bin by a
:10:18. > :10:27.whistleblower at a Hampshire firm. The business acted as a middle man
:10:28. > :10:32.for foreign companies falsely promising prizes. They have stopped
:10:32. > :10:42.working for one such company, but it has come too late. For Elizabeth
:10:42. > :10:47.
:10:47. > :10:51.the reality is just sinking. could cry. I could cry. Every year
:10:51. > :10:55.�2.5 billion is conned out of scam mail victims, like Elizabeth, who
:10:55. > :10:59.trusted the post delivered by Royal Mail. For years various authorities
:10:59. > :11:03.have known about the deceit, and postmen like Rob, would dearly like
:11:03. > :11:08.to see action taken. To be frank we don't feel we should be obligated
:11:08. > :11:13.to deliver the stuff. We see the customer every day, we don't want
:11:13. > :11:18.to see fall-out from anything we deliver. To a certain extent we
:11:18. > :11:25.feel personally responsible. Don't forget, if you think you have
:11:25. > :11:28.been a victim of a scam, the same or a different one, e-mail me.
:11:28. > :11:32.Talking of e-mails, these days we surround ourselves with technology.
:11:32. > :11:36.There is mobile phones, there is wireless Reuters, all manner of
:11:36. > :11:44.gizmos and gadgets. But some people in the south think the technology
:11:44. > :11:49.itself is making them ill. They are taking drastic measures to avoid it,
:11:49. > :11:53.as we report. You can't avoid it, mobile
:11:53. > :11:56.technology is everywhere. Though you can't see it, a lot of people
:11:56. > :12:01.believe that electromagnetic radiation, from the devices we have
:12:01. > :12:05.come to love, could be causing some serious health problems.
:12:05. > :12:10.People who say they are affected by this increasing amount of 21st
:12:10. > :12:15.century technology are finding it increasingly difficult to get away
:12:15. > :12:21.from it. Especially in a densely- populated area, such as southern
:12:21. > :12:24.England. Called Wi-Fi refugees come to spots like this. An isolated
:12:25. > :12:31.area in Hampshire to try to get away from it all. I have come to
:12:31. > :12:37.meet one of them. I have been passionate about
:12:37. > :12:41.technology since childhood, even before teen, 10, 11 I got an
:12:41. > :12:45.electronics kit and started designing my own circuit, I
:12:45. > :12:50.designed a rain detector for my mother, so she knew when to get the
:12:50. > :12:54.washing in, et cetera. Phil has become a recluse from so. He
:12:54. > :12:59.travels around southern -- from society. He travels around southern
:12:59. > :13:02.England in his caravan, trying to avoid technology, as he says he's
:13:02. > :13:06.an electrosensitive. All was fine until things started going wireless.
:13:06. > :13:10.The first time I got symptoms was when my father got a Bluetooth
:13:10. > :13:15.hands-free kit for his vehicle. He asked me to pair it with his phone.
:13:15. > :13:20.In doing so, when they went into pairing mode, I started getting
:13:20. > :13:24.aching, really uncomfortable aching pain in my haertd, and pressure on
:13:24. > :13:29.the temples, -- in my heart, and pressure on the temples and pain in
:13:29. > :13:33.the brain. Phil now lives on the poverty line, making ends meet as a
:13:33. > :13:38.gardener. His symptoms increased when he moved near an army base in
:13:38. > :13:42.Berkshire. Within a couple of weeks I was the illest I was ever been in
:13:42. > :13:46.my life. Within days I was suffering a persistent headache
:13:46. > :13:51.like none I have had before, it was crippling. I was getting tinnitus,
:13:51. > :13:56.a hum and high-pitched tinnitus that would vary, this aching pain
:13:56. > :14:00.in my heart, and my heart would race and skip, change rhythm. It
:14:00. > :14:08.was like someone was putting cattle prods into my brain and shocking my
:14:08. > :14:16.brain. Phil's not alone. Headmaster and science teacher Paul thought he
:14:16. > :14:19.knew all about technology. But when severe headaches prompted a trip to
:14:19. > :14:24.his GP, he was surprised today hear what his doctor suggested might be
:14:24. > :14:28.the cause. The doctor pulled out of his cupboard a computer hub.
:14:28. > :14:32.Identical to the one that was in the bedroom at home. And asked me
:14:33. > :14:37.if I had got one of these devices, which of course we had. We were
:14:37. > :14:42.actually living on top of it. Especially during the night. It was
:14:42. > :14:47.switched on 24 hours a day. I should have perhaps realised as an
:14:47. > :14:51.e-computer teacher the significance of it. Because -- an ex-computer
:14:51. > :14:54.teacher the significance of it. Because I turned the switch on the
:14:54. > :14:57.hub and turned the signals during the night, there was an immediate
:14:58. > :15:07.affect within a short space of time. Within a span of four days the
:15:07. > :15:12.headaches had completely gone. This man is a professor at the
:15:12. > :15:19.local university, he said the tests showed that people who felt they
:15:19. > :15:24.were wrongly exposed to magnetic field led to many health problems.
:15:24. > :15:27.He said it led him to think that these effects were imagined rather
:15:27. > :15:30.than real. When we talk about electrosensitivity, there is
:15:30. > :15:33.evidence, at least in the large majority of people who suffer from
:15:33. > :15:38.the illness, that this seems to be occurring through psychological
:15:38. > :15:43.mechanisms. But that does not preclude people having fiscal
:15:43. > :15:47.symptoms. And objectively measurable fiscal changes. The body
:15:47. > :15:52.of evidence has got larger and larger over the years. And we can't
:15:52. > :15:55.say that none of these people has the illness caused by
:15:55. > :16:00.electromagnetic fields, because we haven't tested everybody. We can
:16:00. > :16:05.say we tested large numbers of people, a in those large numbers of
:16:05. > :16:10.people it doesn't seem to be caused by the exposure to electromagnetic
:16:10. > :16:14.feels. Dennis was a professor in physics at Bristol University,
:16:14. > :16:18.spesisinging in radiation effects on humans. He's convinced people do
:16:18. > :16:23.suffer. Because of this assumption that this is all in the find,
:16:23. > :16:28.rather than a physiological response, I think the research has
:16:28. > :16:32.gone in the wrong direction. We know about the acute symptoms from
:16:32. > :16:36.geomagnetic storms, which are the same sort of signals you have from
:16:36. > :16:41.Wi-Fi and mobile phones. So why should it come as any surprise that
:16:41. > :16:46.there are also reports of electrosensitivity from these man-
:16:46. > :16:49.made sources. This GP on the Dorset-Somerset
:16:49. > :16:53.border says's treating several patients for electrosensitivity,
:16:53. > :16:59.and claims that citiblgs are approaching the problem from --
:16:59. > :17:04.critics are approaching the problem from the wrong angle. There is a
:17:04. > :17:11.presumption of no harm from all of this technology. Even though it is
:17:11. > :17:15.new. For a long time tobacco was safe, lead in petrol was safe, hide
:17:15. > :17:21.drojated vegtable oils and fats were safe. In five years time we
:17:21. > :17:27.will look back and say, oh my God, there is a major problem that we
:17:27. > :17:31.haven't been observing. In Hampshire Wi-Fi refugee Phil
:17:31. > :17:36.wants to know if he has managed to find a spot away from the
:17:36. > :17:42.electromagnetic fog that he claims is blighting his life. There is an
:17:42. > :17:49.unusual physicist on hand who makes a living advising on such matters.
:17:49. > :17:54.Guy Hudson. First off is pulse microwave. And reassuringly very,
:17:54. > :17:58.very low signals. You are actually pretty clear on this. It is one of
:17:58. > :18:03.the best places I have found since I have been a refugee. When levels
:18:03. > :18:08.are at this kind of stage I won't be symptom-free, I'm likely to
:18:08. > :18:13.still have sleeping problems and the tin tis and head pains at peak
:18:13. > :18:17.-- tinnitus and head paips at peak times. Generally I can cope. Phil
:18:17. > :18:21.has managed to find a sanctuary in the countryside, despite of the
:18:21. > :18:24.scientific evidence, that suggests no link to health problems, Phil
:18:24. > :18:33.claims the number of Wi-Fi refugees is growing, and that those who
:18:33. > :18:36.suffer from the effects need to have the condition recognised.
:18:36. > :18:39.people happy to go with the official story, think we have a
:18:39. > :18:43.right one here and walk away or change the subject. That is really
:18:43. > :18:46.isolating. For many people that is too much. In the last few months we
:18:46. > :18:54.have lost two more electrosensitives who have
:18:54. > :18:59.committed suicide. And you know, I sorry, it breaks my heart, excuse
:18:59. > :19:03.me. Some people will avoid the exposures as long as they can to
:19:03. > :19:07.reduce the symptoms. The more you can try to get on with life and not
:19:07. > :19:16.worry about it the better. It is easy to say that for me, much
:19:16. > :19:20.harder for someone who suffers from the illness.
:19:20. > :19:26.Finally tonight, we are here at Cowshot to mark 100 years of a
:19:26. > :19:29.quite remarkable slice of the south's aviation history.
:19:29. > :19:37.Cowshot today, a water sports playground and outdoor activity
:19:37. > :19:41.centre, which this year celebrates its 50th an versery
:19:41. > :19:45.But 100 years ago, the wind and waves were being put to a use, to
:19:45. > :19:55.develop a brand new type of aircraft, that used the sea as its
:19:55. > :20:05.runway. 100 years ago, a decade after the
:20:05. > :20:12.first powered flight by the Wrigh Brothers, this entrance to
:20:12. > :20:17.Southampton would become a cutting edge testing ground. On March 29th
:20:17. > :20:22.Cowshot opened his doors as an airbase to test on water. This back
:20:22. > :20:29.boat could take off from sea and land. The hull, mate on the Isle of
:20:29. > :20:33.Wight, was laminated plywood sewn together with copper wire, basic
:20:33. > :20:38.but it worked. There was possibility to have aircraft that
:20:38. > :20:42.could operate from the water where were explored, dark clouds were
:20:42. > :20:50.gathering over Europe. With the outbreak of World War I, this
:20:50. > :20:56.technology would soon be put to the test. In 1917 a plane from Cowshot
:20:56. > :21:00.sank a German U-boat, by dropping a 100-pound bomb, held in place by a
:21:01. > :21:05.sling, and released when a pilot pulled the string. After the war,
:21:05. > :21:10.Cowshot, now RAF Cowshot, would take centre stage in glamorous
:21:10. > :21:15.speed contest. The trophy was a highly prestigious competition to
:21:15. > :21:22.build and race the fastest sea planes. An elite group of pilots
:21:22. > :21:26.was formed to fly them. Cowshot was their base. In 1931 the contest was
:21:26. > :21:32.held here N both years the British entry was designed by RJ Mitchell,
:21:32. > :21:38.the man who went on to develop the Spitfire.
:21:38. > :21:45.The supermarine sea plane is lovingly preserved at the Solent
:21:45. > :21:51.Sky Museum here in Southampton. When Mitchell designed this he
:21:51. > :21:54.designed this primarily to win the Sneider Trophy race, but also how
:21:54. > :22:00.are we going to design modern aircraft. That is the way he looked
:22:00. > :22:05.at designing this lady. Almost a million people in 1929, 1931,
:22:06. > :22:10.watched the Sneider Trophy, it wasn't just a race it was pan-
:22:10. > :22:14.national thing. You could equate it to the 1960s space race, where
:22:14. > :22:19.someone gets so far technology, then another and another. In 1931
:22:19. > :22:24.the race for supremacy reached its climax. Having won the contest
:22:24. > :22:26.twice before, Britain was flying for the right to retain the trophy
:22:26. > :22:33.forever. Everything depended on the speed of the aircraft and the skill
:22:33. > :22:36.and nerve of their pilots. Nobody had ever been faster than in these
:22:36. > :22:40.types of aircraft at this time. They were a third faster than the
:22:41. > :22:50.standard RAF fighter of the day. This little lady was the space
:22:50. > :22:55.shuttle of its day. At a speed averaging 340 miles per hour, the
:22:55. > :22:58.S6B supermarine piloted by Flight Lieutenant Boothman won the trophy
:22:59. > :23:03.for Britain. It would be the last trophy contest, and the whole event
:23:03. > :23:13.was commemorated in this film made by the manufacturers of the super-
:23:13. > :23:17.
:23:18. > :23:21.fast aircraft. As for the pilots, Aviation was the new thing, and
:23:21. > :23:25.everybody wanted to get involved. Particularly young people with
:23:25. > :23:29.aviation. You had all the photographs of these supermen,
:23:29. > :23:33.these pilots, who became the rock stars, the football stars of their
:23:33. > :23:43.day. Everybody wanted to get involved in aviation. They were the
:23:43. > :23:47.
:23:47. > :23:51.hero of the time. It must have been an amazing sight. Hundreds of
:23:51. > :23:55.thousands of people lining this very beach. None of them could have
:23:55. > :23:59.known that another world war was on the horizon. And once again,
:23:59. > :24:03.Cowshot would play a key role. This time servicing and maintaining the
:24:03. > :24:12.nation's flying boats. In particular the Short surrenderland,
:24:12. > :24:15.the backbone of coastal command. Nicknamed the Monster of the Air,
:24:15. > :24:20.the surrenderland was developed as a long range control aircraft.
:24:20. > :24:25.Capable of 16-hours in the air. Weighing in at 20 tonnes it was a
:24:25. > :24:30.formidable weapon. Invaluable in seeking out and destroying U-boats.
:24:30. > :24:34.Here at Solent Sky is one of the few Sunderlands remaining. This one
:24:34. > :24:38.has been modified into passenger plane. But you can imagine the fear
:24:39. > :24:43.it engendered when it was bristling with guns. It is only when you sit
:24:43. > :24:47.here in the cockpit that you realise how epic this bit of
:24:47. > :24:50.machinery is, it would have been a welcome sight to allies out in the
:24:51. > :25:00.Atlantic and the channel. Because it had this fiercesome reputation.
:25:01. > :25:02.
:25:02. > :25:08.It was defended to the hilt and it absolutely terrified the Germans.
:25:08. > :25:16.This is an interesting one. It is the Guinness Book of Records, and
:25:16. > :25:21.it shows I have flown more different types of aircraft than
:25:21. > :25:27.any other. That as command pilot. Cowshot flew pilots out to seize
:25:27. > :25:32.war machinery, captain Eric Brown was one of the plunderers. His task
:25:32. > :25:36.was to confiscate German sea planes and fly them back to could you. The
:25:36. > :25:43.biggest was the Viking. To get it into the air, he coerced a German
:25:43. > :25:52.pilot to show him how it worked. The pilot was a Luftwaffe captain.
:25:52. > :25:57.We set off up in the fuel. He had the thing at full throttle, we were
:25:57. > :26:02.pounding along, I began to worry. Because the noise was colossal as
:26:02. > :26:08.the thing bashed through the water. But the German pilot wasn't ready
:26:08. > :26:14.to surrender his aircraft. He had rigged it so it couldn't take off.
:26:14. > :26:18.I could feel the rudder it was moving under me, but I hadn't felt
:26:18. > :26:25.the stick move at all. I thought why wasn't he easing back. So I
:26:25. > :26:31.give it a jerk and found it was locked. So I said to my engineer,
:26:31. > :26:38.cut the throttles, and fell him, I used the word "fell" him. Which he
:26:38. > :26:43.did. He put the throttles and he gave this chap a colossal punch in
:26:43. > :26:51.the jaw. Knocked him unconscious in the
:26:51. > :26:54.left-hand seat. 26-year-old Captain Brown had foiled the sabotage
:26:55. > :27:01.attempt and the Viking was flown to Cowshot where technicians examined
:27:01. > :27:05.its secrets. A few years later the airbase took part in one more
:27:05. > :27:10.daring task. In 1948 surrenderland aircraft from Cowshot were once
:27:10. > :27:14.again called into action. Not as fighting machines, but on a mission
:27:14. > :27:19.of mercy to Germany. It was the Cold War and west Berlin was
:27:20. > :27:28.blockaded by the Soviets. Surrenderlands flew more than 1,000
:27:28. > :27:38.sort at thiss to the Berlin lake, bring -- sorties, to the Berlin
:27:38. > :27:41.lakes bringing in supplies. These British aircraft saved lives.
:27:41. > :27:47.Despite heroic roles like this, Cowshot's days as a flying base
:27:47. > :27:53.were coming to an end. It closed as a Royal Air Force station in 1961,
:27:53. > :27:57.and the site gradually became derelict. Its buildings and hangers
:27:57. > :28:01.standing unused. But then just two years later a brand-new chapter of
:28:01. > :28:05.a quite remarkable piece of the south would begin. Half a century
:28:05. > :28:14.on, the activity centre and some of those original buildings are still
:28:14. > :28:18.going wrong. -- on.
:28:18. > :28:22.That's it for now. And indeed for this series. We are always looking
:28:22. > :28:28.for your stories. If there is an issue you think we should be
:28:28. > :28:34.covering, we are only ever an e- mail about.