31/10/2016 Inside Out South

They're so good at getting their hands on our cash,

It's this sense of urgency that's really trying

We uncover the mind games the conmen play.

I put in $50,000 and that's all gone.

The number of cyclists you see at night with no light is qtite

We shine the spotlight on the cyclists taking a ch`nce

You wouldn't jump in your c`r at night without lights on,

so why would you get on your bike and do it?

It's dark, you have no lights on your bicycle.

This is Inside Out for the South of England.

First, here on Inside out we have told you how people

across the South have been ripped off by cons which have cost them

We all like to think it wouldn't happen to but we show you how

it might, as we reveal the lind games used by scammers

to try to get their hands on your cash.

She's 91 and lives alone in a warden-assisted

Yvonne and her husband Ron larried 60 years ago.

But then, like the flick of a switch, when Ron died,

the scam mail started to potr through Yvonne's door.

Well, I just used to look at them for the simple reason,

I couldn't go out, I didn't have a car, I didn't have mx husband

and I just couldn't do things, so I just answered the lettdrs.

And they all say, oh you've definitely won this and you've got

this that and the other but at the same time

So at its worst, it was how many letters?

I counted them and I used to get 40 letters every day.

Six days a week, that's 240 letters a week.

If you say I spent ?500 a month for 12 months of every year

I would say I probably spent ?30,000.

Well, if Ron had been here ht would never have happened.

Dr Emma Williams is a psychologist leading research into

She believes the best way to make sure we're not taken in

is to understand why we might respond to them the way we do.

They give people a sense of routine and they can replace somethhng

that's effectively been lost for an individual.

Slowly pulling someone in to actually responding.

So we wait for the mail, put the cheques in, fill out

They're all creating another way someone to kind of converse again

And they prey on elderly people like me.

In the Neuroscience Departmdnt at the University of Reading

they can explain why Yvonne might've been taken in.

This is the almitra in your brain.

If the almitra detects the threatening information,

they can process that and then realise that this could be ` scam.

Trouble is, as we age, part of the prefrontal cortdx

overrides that crucial area of the brain giving us warning signs.

As you get older they tend to process positive information

more intensively and ignore negative information.

So the way the brain works changes

There might be some potenti`l threatening information

within the scenario, however they tend to ignore these

threatening elements and just focus on something rosy and posithve.

But with ever more sophisticated scams, any of us could be t`ken in.

So when do you need it by ? this week?

Initially he'd written to tdll this Sussex woman she'd inherited

Over the last five months, with him posing as a bank m`nager

and another man posing as a Hong Kong solicitor,

they have scammed Sandra out of her entire life savings.

When we panic, the types of processing we engage in leans

that we rely on these more kind of...

They're mental short cuts that are going on in the brain that allow

us to make quick decisions when we're uncertain

about something, when we're under pressure.

So far, Sandra's paid ?12,000 in legal fees.

?34,000 in death duties and ?13 000 to the fictional

Now the scammers are saying they'll stump up $40,000

to unlock the inheritance if Sandra matches that.

With the inheritance scam and this particular example of it,

we've seen a lot of reciprocity being used as well and that's

relying on this social obligation we feel that we've been brotght up

with as we've grown up that we really have to kind of repay

gifts or favours that are ghven to us, so it's the same thing.

"I'm helping you, you now nded to help me."

I used my own savings but now I will be in debt.

You need to promise me that the money will be

But Sandra doesn't have any savings left.

So one of the scammers is pressing her to borrow money

Yeah, about a week, two weeks something like that.

Thankfully, Sandra now knows she's being duped and is stringing

the scammers along after we showed her evidence proving

Jai the bank manager's passport had been faked.

I really kind felt like a lhttle bit betrayed because I though J`i

was someone that I spoke to a lot and funnily enough,

Also the scammers had taken the real website of a proper Hong Kong

law firm, changing only the name and contact details

I mean, that was one of the reasons why I had faith in this as well

Like, surely fake solicitor websites are illegal?

I mean, really, you should `lways get a second opinion

The bank accounts that Sandra was conned into sending ?59,000 to

So, we asked the BBC's correspondent there, Julian` Liu,

to check out the real and the fake websites to see what

Cheung Wong solicitors is the fake firm who rang and emailed

So Juliana went to their office for us.

This is the address of the solicitor Henry Cheung.

But as you can see, it's actually the back office

We're doing a story about a woman in the UK that has been scalmed

But they said they knew their website had been stoldn.

Ironically they specialise in intellectual property law.

It took a few months but thd fake website is no longer active.

But as one scam is shutting down, plenty of others

To beat the scammers, really one of the things

we definitely need to start doing is feeling able to report scams

to other people, to the agencies, to anybody who needs to know about it.

Because unfortunately we still have an awful lot of stigma

associated with scams and even the term "scam" can bring up a lot

of associations and connotations that people have been outwitted

or outsmarted and to a cert`in degree maybe it's their own fault

for falling victim and that's completely not the case.

But definitely question things if you don't know where thex've come

If things seem too good to be true, which I know is becoming quhte

an adage now and it's hard to see exactly what that means,

but it's really taking a stdp back and taking the time so that

you don't rely on these automatic mental short cuts that we h`ve

to assume that it's truthful, that we should be responding.

If there's any pressure, it's probably not a good

idea at all to respond to something straightaway.

You don't realise you're being persuaded but you are.

Yvonne will never get her ?30,000 back and Sandra -

well, she's still ?59,000 out of pocket.

And maybe, I suppose I'm very impressionable.

But yeah, I felt it was foolproof while I was in it.

And of course we'll continud our work exposing scammers who rip off

Last year we brought you thd story of the Bournemouth-based

phone company ripping off its customers.

I paid for something which was no good and I was never able to use.

The Telecom Protection Servhce was selling cold call

blocking gadgets for 80 quid which didn't actually work.

What you write on your website is wrong.

That's the owner, who as well as previously being fined ?80,000

by the Information Commissioner s office, was in court last wdek.

The court heard how he had turned over nearly 1 million quid

He was found guilty of two counts of fraudulent trading and hd's

He was sentenced today to fhve years in prison.

There's also an update on the no-show coach

You owe them thousands of pounds and all you do

The Traffic Commissioner's office has shut the door on Ricky Pal,

Furious customers across thd South are unlikely to ever get a refund

due to his massive debts, but today the code regulator

Ricky is no longer able to operate a coach company as he has bden

If I'm living in this space, what's it got to do with yot

He's the owner of Winters Copse on the Isle of Wight and he ruffled

a few feathers with his unipue approach to woodland managelent

If they want to come around here and be friendly and sax hello,

is it all right if I take the dog for a walk, then

More than a year after servhng an enforcement notice,

Isle of Wight Council finally took him to court.

Mr Kirk was fined ?660 plus costs for failure to comply

I know it doesn't look tidy but then again creative people

Still to come, Juliette Sargent explores the gardens lovingly

created by her horticultural heroines.

Next, the clocks went back an hour at the weekend,

meaning the nights are really drawing in, but how many tiles

recently have you seen a cyclist on the road at night

At Portsmouth's first ever glo-ride event

I see it every day, I run every morning and I see people

As a car driver you need people on a bike to have lights.

They're running a risk in not having lights on.

It's best to have lights so you can see them and you don't crash.

Portsmouth has the highest casualty rate for cyclists outside London.

At this time of year 55% of those happen after dark.

You can't say these cyclists are hard to spot but if onlx

A couple of nights later and the only flashing

You don't have to say anythhng but anything you do say may

Safety advice before sunset - and a 50 quid fine

You're on a bike and you're not going to be very visible.

I normally do but they brokd and normally when I get

out of work it's light but I stayed late tonight.

Between sunset and sunrise you should have your lights on.

Why are you not riding with lights on?

I will issue you a ticket for ? 0 but if you go and buy new lhghts

in 28 days and prove they are fitted, we will not prosecute.

Now of course, this is the point where all the cyclists are shouting

at their screens that at this time of year

the real problem is cars without their headlights

Yes, that is an issue and it is illegal.

But if you don't have lights in the first place

You've got to go to the shop and buy some lights.

You wouldn't jump in your c`r at night, turn the engine

on and drive round the stredts without your lights on.

They think because they can see other people, other people can see

Most bikes sold in Germany and France come fitted with lights.

Why don't bikes come with lhghts in this country?

Why don't your bikes come with lights?

Why don't bikes come with lights as standard?

Few manufacturers want to p`ss on any additional expense

But there is one French company which supplies all its UK

They say the additional cost is about a quid.

But as our roads get busier there's talk in the cycle industry

of the need for lights even during the daytime.

I think cyclists should be `s bright as possible at any time of day.

When you're cycling along you have shade or bright lights,

it can be quite blinding and you have a shade or tree cover.

When that happens, if you are all wearing dark you could disappear

into the background and limht your possibility of being seen.

The consequences of motorists not seeing cyclists ? day or night

On the way home from Portsmouth where he was in student digs,

Sunny day, January, dry roads, good visibility and the driver

behind the car that hit him saw him clearly.

Will Houghton was only 20 when he died,

knocked off his bike in Jantary this year near Wickham in Hampshhre.

We don't want anybody to lose a child.

But you've got a combination of factors.

You've got more cyclists, which on the whole society

You've got a trend for dark clothing, in cycling more

I think there's a chance for all of us to think more

about what we can do to be seen better.

It doesn't really matter what the conditions are,

As drivers we may think we are cocooned, but there `re other

road users out there, pedestrians and cyclists.

Will's family are now working with industry consultants

to explore ways of making cyclists more visible.

There are lights in the saddle posts, lights in pedals,

lights attached to your rucksack so a range of kit out there,

but the problem is you have to make it more affordable but also

culturally acceptable and the norm for those to be used.

Nearly a quarter of the cyclists stopped here by police

All were given a temporary set to get them home.

The consequences of not doing it are very big.

But until attitudes change, both motorists and cyclists -

there'll always be some willing to take a chance.

Now, we'd love to hear your thoughts on that story,

whether you are a motorist or cyclist, drop me an e-mahl.

Now, it's 300 years since the birth of Britain's most famous

landscape architect, Capability Brown.

A good time for us to celebrate some of the lesser known women g`rdeners

Juliet Sargeant goes in search of these gardening pioneers

I'm a landscape designer but also a teacher.

And today my classroom is a grade one listed garden,

Opened by special request for these horticultural students from just

You've got the surrounding lature trees, so that the upper level

but then smaller trees and shrubs going down to the perennials,

then when you're looking at flowers, don't just be seduced by thd colour,

This is your chance to gathdr information you can keep for future

reference but also use next week when we work together.

As a gardener myself, I find this a magical place.

And it was the home of one of England's most influenti`l garden

Gertrude Jekyll started deshgning gardens in the late 19th century

and the house was designed by the famous architect

The tenants had heard nothing of Gertrude Jekyll so neither had we.

I love sitting in the garden, I don't do gardening.

Luckily head gardener Annabdl Watts does, and she's following some

old planting plans to revivd Gertrude Jekyll's original designs.

Do you try to stick to her vision of the garden?

For instance I can't have phnk foxgloves in the garden.

We've got just white ones here and the only

way to keep them full of these flowers is to remove

all the pink ones and you h`ve to be quite ruthless with that.

This has caught my eye and we need to remove it.

People are horrified when I do this but it needs to be done.

I wonder what my students are making of Annabelle's no messing policy

It's interesting how she usdd her colour palette, she has these dots

of colours but it's never overtaking the green,

It's a privilege to come here, it's lovely planting and thd way

the team are working on restoring what she wanted this place

Gertrude Jekyll sowed the sded for women in horticulture

to be taken seriously, which was a very good thing

because at Waterperry in Oxfordshire, Beatrix Havdrgal

Beatrix Havergal followed Gertrude Jekyll.

She trained originally at Thatcham ladies college and came

to Waterperry in 1932 to st`rt a school of horticulture for women.

Miss Havergal had a formidable reputation.

She was scary because she dhd believe strongly and passionately

in what she was doing and the good for people

You could see in her eyes, she was a kind lady.

There are many stories of Miss Havergal and sometiles

you feel a bit sad as they seem on the harsh side.

One of those stories involvds children's favourite,

He lived just a few miles away in Great Missenden.

Famously, of course, writing in the shed

I think he was quite taken `back by her and how passionate she was.

Legend here has it he once sought some advice from Beatrix Havergal

on what to do with that famous garden.

Some people have linked her to one of Roald Dahl's characters.

Even Roald Dahl says he took his characters

Eventually, after a little nudge, Rob reveals the character who just

might have been inspired by Beatrix Havergal.

But one young woman very happy to be a pupil of Miss Havergal's

was Mary Spiller, who came to Waterperry in 1942.

When you were leaving school at 18 you had three choices -

a secretary, a teacher or a nurse and I didn't want any of those.

And an outdoor life was defhnitely what Mary her fellow students got.

We felt we were pioneers in pushing women forward.

This was Miss Havergal's desire that women should be recognised.

And Mary was recognised, becoming the first ever wom`n

Well, we've had a really terrible winter but not

We have some gorgeous pussy willows here, making us think

Mary worked here at Waterperry for 50 years, spending 15 of them

Following in her footsteps now is a local girl

One of the main features tended to by head gardener Pat Havdrs

hasn't just stood the test of time - it's positively blossomed.

The thing I'm most proud of here is the herbaceous border.

It's such a beautiful border and trying to keep it flowering

from April to October is quite a challenge.

We do still do some of the tasks miss this have goal would h`ve

Staking with hazel, tying up the delphiniums,

the planting is pretty much the same.

If you did staking, Mrs Havergal would come

and if there was an elbow, a part sticking out,

she'd pull it out and throw it on the path so you knew

Mary Spiller was by no means the only Oxfordshire student

to go on and make her mark in horticultural history.

And here, in this grand house where the Waterperry girls lived,

I've managed to persuade Pat and Rob to dust it down

I'm hoping it'll tell me a bit more about life here and how the role

of women was changing in those war and post-war years.

Horticultural training school for women.

This looks like a real treasure trove.

Every time we look at this there's something new.

That's a picture of me taken by Valerie Finnis.

So, who have we got in the middle here?

Valerie Finnis is another of my gardening heroes.

In her younger days at Waterperry, she wouldn't just grow and pack

the strawberries bound for Oxford's covered market -

she'd drive the truck there and back.

She was also an accomplished photographer,

though this one, of course, is of her in her latter years,

Possibly the most famous gr`duates of Waterperry, though,

are Pam Schwert and Sybil Kreutsberger.

That's Sybil and that's Pam from Sissinghurst,

known as the Sissinghurst ghrls and in my opinion the best

gardeners of the last half of the last century.

Box after box is revealing ` hidden history of what went on

at Waterperry horticultural training school for women.

A mini agricultural revolution, if you like.

So many famous names who learnt their trade

here in Oxfordshire and went on to shape the gardens of Dngland.

And, it seems, once a gardener, always a gardener.

You want to have your summer house up here cos you don't

want to be just sitting at a yew hedge...

You want to have it up here, so you're looking at the view.

When are you coming back, then, Mary?

That's it for now and also from the series.

Keep in touch at InsideOutSouth and see you in the New Year.

You can join in the convers`tion about tonight's show on Twitter

We are already filming for the new series.

We are back on your screens on January 16th 2016 with plenty

We are back on your screens on January 16th 2017 with plenty

more stories from across thd South so I will see you then.

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