0:00:05 > 0:00:06Hello, from the Isle of Wight.
0:00:06 > 0:00:09It's planes trains and automobiles, just not in that order.
0:00:09 > 0:00:13My dream is to end the need for anyone to sleep rough.
0:00:13 > 0:00:14This is the bus.
0:00:14 > 0:00:18We're on board the homeless shelter changing lives and perceptions.
0:00:18 > 0:00:22People expect us to smell and be addicted to anything under the sun,
0:00:22 > 0:00:30but hat's not true.
0:00:30 > 0:00:33-- People expect us to smell and be addicted to everything under
0:00:33 > 0:00:34the sun, but that's not true.
0:00:34 > 0:00:36If you just think how much I have thrown away.
0:00:36 > 0:00:39Without them, I would be on the street, living rough.
0:00:39 > 0:00:42Also, how this man is starting his own train service to take
0:00:42 > 0:00:43on failing Southern Rail.
0:00:43 > 0:00:45I thought, well, let's see what we can do.
0:00:45 > 0:00:55There's got to be room for competition out there.
0:01:01 > 0:01:04And we try to solve a South Coast World War II mystery.
0:01:04 > 0:01:06First, when the only emergency night shelter here on the Isle
0:01:06 > 0:01:08of Wight closed last winter, rough sleepers suddenly found
0:01:08 > 0:01:10themselves left out in the cold.
0:01:10 > 0:01:20Step forward an unlikely hero, Kevin Newton.
0:01:22 > 0:01:23It's not a safe place.
0:01:23 > 0:01:25It's somewhere that's out of the way.
0:01:25 > 0:01:27There was a tent here last time I came,
0:01:27 > 0:01:28a couple of weeks ago.
0:01:28 > 0:01:29Still remnants of it.
0:01:29 > 0:01:32My main concerns is they are lonely, they're vulnerable,
0:01:32 > 0:01:36they could be attacked.
0:01:36 > 0:01:39I was a rough sleeper, about 11 years ago.
0:01:39 > 0:01:45I slept in doorways, in blocks of flats.
0:01:45 > 0:01:51One time where I did get attacked, I was asleep.
0:01:51 > 0:01:53Somebody had saw me on the floor, kicked my head
0:01:53 > 0:01:56in and left me for dead.
0:01:56 > 0:02:01I fractured my skull, lost part sight in my right eye.
0:02:01 > 0:02:05And I could have died.
0:02:05 > 0:02:06I could have.
0:02:06 > 0:02:09I was nothing to them.
0:02:09 > 0:02:11I was just somebody lying on the streets.
0:02:11 > 0:02:15But far from being nothing, Kevin's a man with the plan.
0:02:15 > 0:02:18I knew of around 15 people that were rough sleeping,
0:02:18 > 0:02:22and I created something that could solve that problem.
0:02:22 > 0:02:25And this is what I created.
0:02:25 > 0:02:30This is the bus.
0:02:30 > 0:02:33Since Kevin raised the ?15,000 needed to convert his bus,
0:02:33 > 0:02:3722 people have got on board.
0:02:37 > 0:02:39At the permanent address it provides, they can
0:02:39 > 0:02:41access health care, benefits and other support.
0:02:41 > 0:02:47Some have been in prison, with addictions or mental health needs.
0:02:47 > 0:02:49A mixture of people, obviously there are some
0:02:49 > 0:02:51very strong characters.
0:02:51 > 0:02:52People with a lot of history.
0:02:52 > 0:02:59But everybody seems to support each other and get on well.
0:02:59 > 0:03:01Until three years ago, Jonathan was a successful
0:03:01 > 0:03:02agricultural scientist.
0:03:02 > 0:03:06Losing that job lead to depression, alcoholism and ultimately divorce.
0:03:06 > 0:03:09And, at Christmas, Jonathan found himself homeless.
0:03:09 > 0:03:12You never know what's around the corner anyway.
0:03:12 > 0:03:17I had a beautiful, five bedroom house.
0:03:17 > 0:03:20I had my own boat I used to go sailing on it at the weekends.
0:03:20 > 0:03:22A beautiful wife.
0:03:22 > 0:03:25It's all gone.
0:03:25 > 0:03:28Depression turned into alcoholism, but eventually the money
0:03:28 > 0:03:32and the health ran out, as it does with alcohol.
0:03:32 > 0:03:34I had to find somewhere pretty quick to live
0:03:34 > 0:03:39and the council suggested Kevin.
0:03:39 > 0:03:45Without them, I would be on the street, living rough.
0:03:45 > 0:03:49If you just think how much I've thrown away.
0:03:49 > 0:03:53Jonathan's drinking would have barred him from many shelters.
0:03:53 > 0:03:57But the bus is a wet shelter, meaning it is open to all,
0:03:57 > 0:04:03even those still on drink or drugs.
0:04:03 > 0:04:04Look at that.
0:04:04 > 0:04:07The only rule is they don't do them on board, or pose a danger
0:04:07 > 0:04:11to others, as Matty explains.
0:04:11 > 0:04:14If anyone comes in drunk, they will go into the tent,
0:04:14 > 0:04:18it is called the tent of shame.
0:04:18 > 0:04:22Basically they get put in the tent and get a sleeping bag and get put
0:04:22 > 0:04:23into the tent of shame.
0:04:23 > 0:04:31I have mental health problems and all the rest of it.
0:04:31 > 0:04:34We all have problems, we'll have demons.
0:04:34 > 0:04:36I hit addiction because it's like a blanket.
0:04:36 > 0:04:38You're right on the streets, you are cold.
0:04:38 > 0:04:40I think I would be dead by now.
0:04:40 > 0:04:41I would be.
0:04:41 > 0:04:45Being on the bus is a godsend.
0:04:45 > 0:04:50You can see we have 14 bunks.
0:04:50 > 0:04:52We find that when people come the first night,
0:04:52 > 0:04:55if they're not completely exhausted, they won't sleep very well anyhow.
0:04:55 > 0:04:58Just for a couple of hours because that is what their body
0:04:58 > 0:04:59is telling them to do.
0:04:59 > 0:05:02Without a good night's sleep, your mental health is not good,
0:05:02 > 0:05:04you can't function, you can't think properly, so we do see
0:05:04 > 0:05:06a massive difference, full of energy to start with.
0:05:06 > 0:05:08They are wanting to do more productive things.
0:05:08 > 0:05:10This is Parkside Pavilion.
0:05:10 > 0:05:11I was kindly invited to the Christmas party
0:05:11 > 0:05:14and they asked me to stay on and help them out,
0:05:14 > 0:05:21so I volunteer usually twice a week.
0:05:21 > 0:05:24Jonathan has been on the bus and stayed sober since Christmas.
0:05:24 > 0:05:26He is now able to see a future for himself.
0:05:26 > 0:05:30He is a lovely, caring person.
0:05:30 > 0:05:33He's a good man.
0:05:33 > 0:05:35We're blessed to have him.
0:05:35 > 0:05:38It's brought me up from where I was and it's given me
0:05:38 > 0:05:41another insight into life, brought back my confidence,
0:05:41 > 0:05:46effectively, where I can move on, find my own place to live,
0:05:46 > 0:05:50hopefully find a permanent position somewhere in the long run
0:05:50 > 0:05:58and start my life again, basically.
0:05:58 > 0:06:02We're going to Aspire, which is our partner charity,
0:06:02 > 0:06:05and we are going to get in our evening meal,
0:06:05 > 0:06:07they make it every night for us.
0:06:07 > 0:06:09Monday to Friday.
0:06:09 > 0:06:14There will be enough for about 20.
0:06:14 > 0:06:20So this is all waste food that's come from different supermarkets
0:06:20 > 0:06:23and would have been thrown away.
0:06:23 > 0:06:24But it's going to be reused.
0:06:24 > 0:06:30What have we got tonight?
0:06:30 > 0:06:32Barbecue potato wedges, cheese and garlic flatbread and beef lasagne.
0:06:32 > 0:06:34This is all come from the waste food?
0:06:34 > 0:06:38Come from waste food, yes, from Tesco's.
0:06:38 > 0:06:41There'd be no bus without partner charities like Aspire who supported
0:06:41 > 0:06:43Kevin from the very beginning.
0:06:43 > 0:06:47They also make a cracking lasagne.
0:06:47 > 0:06:51We have two lasagnes.
0:06:51 > 0:06:55There are some wedges.
0:06:55 > 0:06:57Evenings on the bus are quite chilled.
0:06:57 > 0:07:01Everyone mostly does their own thing.
0:07:01 > 0:07:03Some people colour, read, listen to music,
0:07:03 > 0:07:05we have a good laugh.
0:07:05 > 0:07:07There's also good bit of banter going around.
0:07:07 > 0:07:09We all look after each other.
0:07:09 > 0:07:14How many of us are there?
0:07:14 > 0:07:16Got a safe place to be with lots of other people.
0:07:16 > 0:07:22Meeting people who have been through similar situations.
0:07:22 > 0:07:23The community.
0:07:23 > 0:07:25We are all community.
0:07:25 > 0:07:26We've all been through everything.
0:07:26 > 0:07:27Holly has been lucky.
0:07:27 > 0:07:30Unable to pay her rent and she says with no support,
0:07:30 > 0:07:40the bus shelter opened just as she herself homeless.
0:07:40 > 0:07:43-- the bus shelter opened just as she found herself homeless.
0:07:43 > 0:07:46We can tell everyone what we have done and people will go, OK,
0:07:46 > 0:07:47that is fair enough.
0:07:47 > 0:07:48We don't get judged for anything.
0:07:48 > 0:07:51People expect us to be like in trench coats and smell
0:07:51 > 0:07:53and have no sense of hygiene, or, you know, be addicted
0:07:53 > 0:07:56to everything under the sun, but that's not true.
0:07:56 > 0:07:59I mean, you look at Lisa and Andy and you can look at me,
0:07:59 > 0:08:02a few other people on the bus, we are dressed nicely,
0:08:02 > 0:08:03we don't smell.
0:08:03 > 0:08:04You know?
0:08:04 > 0:08:06There's only a few rules.
0:08:06 > 0:08:10No smoking, no drinking, polite.
0:08:10 > 0:08:12I can't imagine not being on the bus.
0:08:12 > 0:08:14I can't imagine.
0:08:14 > 0:08:18I will get myself sorted out and I'm going to get myself sorted out.
0:08:18 > 0:08:20It's not going to take long now, no way.
0:08:20 > 0:08:27No.
0:08:27 > 0:08:33Meals happen at set times, to get people back into routines.
0:08:33 > 0:08:36Breakfast is from 7am until 9am and as well as those on board,
0:08:36 > 0:08:41Kevin is happy to feed anyone in need.
0:08:41 > 0:08:43There is no excuse for anyone being hungry.
0:08:43 > 0:08:49We know of about six people who don't want to engage with us
0:08:49 > 0:08:52but they are always welcome to come and have food here as well.
0:08:52 > 0:08:59We won't turn anyone away.
0:08:59 > 0:09:00How many?
0:09:00 > 0:09:03Two for each of us, is that OK?
0:09:03 > 0:09:06Like many rough sleepers, Mark came to the bus with no way
0:09:06 > 0:09:07of proving who he was.
0:09:07 > 0:09:09Thanks to Kevin, he now has his birth certificate
0:09:09 > 0:09:13and a safe place to sleep.
0:09:13 > 0:09:19They are very comfortable, memory foam mattresses.
0:09:19 > 0:09:22They are really comfy, you get a good night's sleep.
0:09:22 > 0:09:31Someone kindly donated these to me, the hat and trousers.
0:09:31 > 0:09:38There's kindess of people's hearts, where they do donate.
0:09:38 > 0:09:41Where they do give homeless people a chance, which Kevin
0:09:41 > 0:09:42has quite happily done.
0:09:42 > 0:09:43He's given me a chance.
0:09:43 > 0:09:44I can't repay that.
0:09:44 > 0:09:45After what he's done, bless him.
0:09:45 > 0:09:48He is a good man.
0:09:48 > 0:09:51We have motivation to get up in the morning and you can
0:09:51 > 0:09:52have a nice cup of tea.
0:09:52 > 0:09:53Makes all the difference.
0:09:53 > 0:09:54People to talk to.
0:09:54 > 0:09:59Get familiar with.
0:09:59 > 0:10:09Instead of not knowing who's there when you wake up in the morning.
0:10:09 > 0:10:12Until the bus came along, Lisa had spent months
0:10:12 > 0:10:13sleeping in a field.
0:10:13 > 0:10:17It was a frightening time.
0:10:17 > 0:10:21I did have a situation when there was a homeless guy,
0:10:21 > 0:10:23he would literally pick on homeless people out there,
0:10:23 > 0:10:25vulnerable people out there, who he knew was homeless.
0:10:25 > 0:10:27Being here is a safety net from all that.
0:10:27 > 0:10:29You have the option to either choose a safe
0:10:29 > 0:10:31or a better life for yourself.
0:10:31 > 0:10:34It is not easy but it is a step forward in the right
0:10:34 > 0:10:35direction, definitely.
0:10:35 > 0:10:38We have ended the need for anyone to sleep rough on the Isle of Wight
0:10:38 > 0:10:41and that will be my dream, is to end the need for anyone
0:10:41 > 0:10:43to sleep rough in the UK.
0:10:43 > 0:10:45It certainly gets people off the streets, it makes them safe,
0:10:45 > 0:10:48it gives them a chance to get their life back together.
0:10:48 > 0:10:50It's estimated there are more than 250,000
0:10:50 > 0:10:53homeless people in England.
0:10:53 > 0:10:55But today there is at least one less.
0:10:55 > 0:10:59Look at this.
0:10:59 > 0:11:00Wonderful.
0:11:00 > 0:11:02In just three months, Kevin has helped move
0:11:02 > 0:11:0611 of his passengers into permanent homes.
0:11:06 > 0:11:12A table someone donated, a television.
0:11:12 > 0:11:15And the support doesn't end when they step off the bus.
0:11:15 > 0:11:16Wonderful.
0:11:16 > 0:11:18It is one big family and, like all families,
0:11:18 > 0:11:21when your children leave home, you still keep in touch.
0:11:21 > 0:11:24As when your family move out, you help them with benefits,
0:11:24 > 0:11:27you help them with getting furniture, getting
0:11:27 > 0:11:30their place sorted.
0:11:30 > 0:11:33As we have done with Jonathan.
0:11:33 > 0:11:37It's a whole mix of people I would never have met in life before.
0:11:37 > 0:11:41I've never met drug users and those sort of people before,
0:11:41 > 0:11:46in my previous life.
0:11:46 > 0:11:51My whole view on life has probably changed with respect to I have a lot
0:11:51 > 0:11:54more respect for people and between us all we have
0:11:54 > 0:11:57managed to help each other and they have helped me,
0:11:57 > 0:12:00bringing my self confidence and my abilities and my self
0:12:00 > 0:12:02worth back and hopefully I have managed to give
0:12:02 > 0:12:07something back to them.
0:12:07 > 0:12:10To know that somebody like Jonathan, who has come from high up and had
0:12:10 > 0:12:15all the trappings of life and then has gone right down
0:12:15 > 0:12:17to the bottom and he's now, I'm enabling him to get
0:12:17 > 0:12:21back on the ladder,
0:12:21 > 0:12:26to be rebuild his life, there is a sense of pride.
0:12:26 > 0:12:29-- to rebuild his life, there is a sense of pride.
0:12:29 > 0:12:30There is.
0:12:30 > 0:12:32Now, Kevin's bus shelter idea certainly seems to be catching on.
0:12:32 > 0:12:35So far, five more buses are being converted and should be up
0:12:35 > 0:12:39and running on the mainland within the next few months.
0:12:39 > 0:12:45Still to come on the programme, a World War II mystery.
0:12:45 > 0:12:48I haven't got any idea what I was going to do,
0:12:48 > 0:12:48to be quite honest.
0:12:48 > 0:12:53I did the best I could when I was there.
0:12:53 > 0:12:56Next, if your train is late or cancelled, as a passenger,
0:12:56 > 0:12:58you have two options.
0:12:58 > 0:13:01One, you can get cross and rightly so.
0:13:01 > 0:13:05Two, you can try to set up your own real service and do better.
0:13:05 > 0:13:10Here's Natalie Graham.
0:13:18 > 0:13:21Many a boy has dreamed of running his own railway.
0:13:21 > 0:13:24But one man is setting about attempting to turn
0:13:24 > 0:13:28that dream into reality.
0:13:28 > 0:13:34Steve Williams would like his only grown-up train set.
0:13:34 > 0:13:37-- Steve Williams would like his own grown-up train set.
0:13:37 > 0:13:38Why?
0:13:38 > 0:13:39Because he's a passenger of Southern Rail.
0:13:39 > 0:13:42The eureka moment happened in the beginning of December,
0:13:42 > 0:13:44a train had been cancelled, I'd been left and abandoned.
0:13:44 > 0:13:49Pretty dire by the train company, absolutely disgusted.
0:13:49 > 0:13:51Steve used to work as a train dispatcher,
0:13:51 > 0:13:54at Gatwick Airport Station.
0:13:54 > 0:13:57Coming from a railway background, I thought, well,
0:13:57 > 0:13:59let's see what we can do.
0:13:59 > 0:14:01There's got to be room for competition out there.
0:14:01 > 0:14:04So this is Steve's big idea.
0:14:04 > 0:14:06Instead of moaning about Southern Rail,
0:14:06 > 0:14:11he wants to set up his own railway service in competition.
0:14:11 > 0:14:14I'm doing something about this, so people are no longer
0:14:14 > 0:14:21treated this way any more.
0:14:23 > 0:14:27So would Southern passengers like an alternative?
0:14:27 > 0:14:31Well, it makes more sense to have a choice on the railway,
0:14:31 > 0:14:33just because then competition leads to better service.
0:14:33 > 0:14:40It would be a brilliant to have a choice to whom to go with.
0:14:40 > 0:14:42I think Southern Rail are rubbish.
0:14:42 > 0:14:44This is all well and good but of course it's simply not
0:14:45 > 0:14:49possible to set up your own railway.
0:14:49 > 0:14:51I'm meeting up with Steve at King's Cross Station in London
0:14:51 > 0:14:54to find out why on earth he thinks it can be done.
0:15:02 > 0:15:06Steve, operating your own train company, it sounds crazy.
0:15:06 > 0:15:09It sounds crazy, but giving a customer a choice
0:15:09 > 0:15:12of who they want to travel with, you have a smaller company out
0:15:12 > 0:15:15there, it can be managed better, you can look after your customers
0:15:15 > 0:15:19a lot better and you can do great things for them.
0:15:19 > 0:15:22Tell me what your company is going to be called and why
0:15:22 > 0:15:24you have given it that name.
0:15:24 > 0:15:26Basically, we are going back to the old days of London,
0:15:26 > 0:15:31Britain and South Coast Railway.
0:15:31 > 0:15:33-- Brighton and South Coast Railway.
0:15:33 > 0:15:35We're going back to the golden era when you cared
0:15:35 > 0:15:39about your customers.
0:15:39 > 0:15:42So why are we on a train heading to Yorkshire?
0:15:42 > 0:15:48Well, we are on their way to meet somebody who had the same
0:15:48 > 0:15:52-- Well, we are on our way to meet somebody who had the same
0:15:52 > 0:15:53crazy idea up north.
0:15:53 > 0:15:56Several years ago, this man wanted to set up a railway service
0:15:56 > 0:15:58in competition with Virgin, from Yorkshire in the
0:15:58 > 0:15:59north-east to London.
0:15:59 > 0:16:00Hello, Ian.
0:16:00 > 0:16:02I'm Natalie and this is Steve.
0:16:02 > 0:16:03Hello, Steve.
0:16:03 > 0:16:07Nice to meet you.
0:16:07 > 0:16:11You will find a lot of people tell you it can't be done.
0:16:11 > 0:16:13You start to think, have they got a point?
0:16:13 > 0:16:15Particularly if it looks as if you're you're
0:16:15 > 0:16:16not moving forward.
0:16:16 > 0:16:17But here's the thing.
0:16:17 > 0:16:20The Government gives out franchisees to train companies to operate
0:16:20 > 0:16:25services in various parts of the country.
0:16:25 > 0:16:29But there is something called open access operation.
0:16:29 > 0:16:33It's technically possible for a company to apply for open
0:16:33 > 0:16:35access, to run a service in competition with
0:16:35 > 0:16:38the existing franchise holder.
0:16:38 > 0:16:41As long as they add something extra, like stopping at stations
0:16:41 > 0:16:44the existing service does not stop at.
0:16:44 > 0:16:47This is exactly what Ian did and the result
0:16:47 > 0:16:51was Grand Central Trains.
0:16:51 > 0:16:54Well, if you look at traditional type open access,
0:16:54 > 0:16:57which is where Grand Central came from, we have opened up areas
0:16:57 > 0:17:01of the country which long ago lost all their direct
0:17:01 > 0:17:06services to London.
0:17:06 > 0:17:07Oh, a Grand Central train.
0:17:07 > 0:17:08There it goes.
0:17:08 > 0:17:10Do you feel proud when you see that train?
0:17:10 > 0:17:11I do actually, still.
0:17:11 > 0:17:20It gives me a tingle.
0:17:20 > 0:17:22The very first train went through with less
0:17:22 > 0:17:24than 30 people on it.
0:17:24 > 0:17:26Grand Central now runs nine daily services from the north-east
0:17:26 > 0:17:27of West Yorkshire to central London.
0:17:27 > 0:17:35Other open access operators include Eurostar and the Heathrow Express.
0:17:35 > 0:17:38So, Steve wants to do the same in competition with Souther Rail
0:17:38 > 0:17:42and that is technically possible.
0:17:42 > 0:17:46-- So, Steve wants to do the same in competition with Southern Rail
0:17:46 > 0:17:47and that is technically possible.
0:17:47 > 0:17:50But Ian has worked as an entrepreneur in the railway
0:17:50 > 0:17:50industry for decades.
0:17:50 > 0:17:56Steve, on the other hand, is just a guy with a vision.
0:17:56 > 0:18:02As I'm sure Steve is finding, everyone is telling you it
0:18:02 > 0:18:05won't work, you won't make any money, and we found,
0:18:05 > 0:18:08it will, it takes a bit of time to get your plans
0:18:08 > 0:18:10right, it well.
0:18:10 > 0:18:12Open access operations have eased slightly so he's now looking
0:18:12 > 0:18:15for opportunities down at the southern end of the country.
0:18:15 > 0:18:19Namely, Southampton to London, to compete with Southwest trains.
0:18:19 > 0:18:21Nobody in the South has really any price competition,
0:18:21 > 0:18:24which is why your proposal has come along as well as the new journeys
0:18:24 > 0:18:27you offer and why we have also got an application
0:18:27 > 0:18:30currently, as well.
0:18:30 > 0:18:34Mainly to relieve passenger congestion, because there
0:18:34 > 0:18:44is significant overcrowding even on that route, but obviously
0:18:44 > 0:18:54to bring some price competition which is long, long overdue.
0:18:54 > 0:18:59We Southern Rail what they thought about Steve's plans to set himself
0:18:59 > 0:19:02-- We asked Southern Rail what they thought about Steve's
0:19:02 > 0:19:04plans to set himself up in competition with them.
0:19:04 > 0:19:06But they declined to comment.
0:19:06 > 0:19:08So, one frustrated Southern Rail passenger has a dream
0:19:08 > 0:19:09to set up an alternative.
0:19:09 > 0:19:12Some would say he is inexperienced and has no financial backing.
0:19:12 > 0:19:14But Ian has some words of encouragement.
0:19:14 > 0:19:16It is a difficult one.
0:19:16 > 0:19:19You have to believe it yourself, for starters.
0:19:19 > 0:19:25You will have to do, as I'm sure you're doing,
0:19:25 > 0:19:27a detailed business plan, bearing in mind that most open
0:19:27 > 0:19:30access operators haven't been successful and there is no reason
0:19:30 > 0:19:32why you can find somebody who would be prepared
0:19:32 > 0:19:34to invest in your proposal.
0:19:34 > 0:19:38It sounds as if you have a mountain to climb, Steve.
0:19:38 > 0:19:41Have you started?
0:19:41 > 0:19:43Started to climb that mountain, yes.
0:19:43 > 0:19:48One day we will reach the top.
0:19:48 > 0:19:50I can't wait to see that you started.
0:19:50 > 0:19:52One day we will reach the top.
0:19:52 > 0:19:55I can't wait to see the view on the other side to be
0:19:55 > 0:19:56absolutely beautiful.
0:19:56 > 0:19:57Natalie Graham reporting there.
0:19:57 > 0:20:00Finally, a World War II mystery which more than 70 years
0:20:00 > 0:20:03on remains unsolved.
0:20:03 > 0:20:07The events of the 18th of April 1944 over the South coast have inspired
0:20:07 > 0:20:09books and then sparked debates ever since.
0:20:09 > 0:20:10But what really happened to the bomber?
0:20:10 > 0:20:15Early morning.
0:20:15 > 0:20:21A bomber takes off from an airfield in central France.
0:20:21 > 0:20:30It's due at a forward base in preparation
0:20:30 > 0:20:34for a bombing raid on London.
0:20:34 > 0:20:36But instead of heading for Holland, it turns
0:20:36 > 0:20:37north-west towards England.
0:20:37 > 0:20:45It's just after 6am.
0:20:45 > 0:20:48On the south coast, the build-up for D-Day is underway.
0:20:48 > 0:20:53If word gets out the most ambitious amphibious invasion
0:20:53 > 0:20:55-- If word gets out the most ambitious amphibious invasion plan
0:20:56 > 0:20:57in history will be in jeopardy.
0:20:57 > 0:21:01The lone German bomber was first detected by British radar
0:21:01 > 0:21:09at just after seven, 15 miles west of La Habra.
0:21:09 > 0:21:15-- at just after seven, 15 miles west of La Havre.
0:21:15 > 0:21:18It was following a course which would take it over the south
0:21:18 > 0:21:19coast and the D-Day preparations.
0:21:19 > 0:21:21But, surprisingly, no British aircraft are scrambled.
0:21:21 > 0:21:25Author John Stanley picks up the story.
0:21:25 > 0:21:30It was just before half past seven when it emerged from the crowds
0:21:30 > 0:21:39on the Isle of Wight and started to circle variable, very
0:21:40 > 0:21:43-- It was just before half past seven when it emerged
0:21:43 > 0:21:45from the clouds on the Isle of Wight and started to circle
0:21:46 > 0:21:47variable, very slowly.
0:21:47 > 0:21:48The Royal Observer Corps, monitoring the movements
0:21:48 > 0:21:50and watched in disbelief.
0:21:50 > 0:21:57It was attacked on numerous occasions by anti-aircraft fire and,
0:21:57 > 0:22:02interestingly, each time it was attacked, it did not
0:22:02 > 0:22:04return fire nor do they try to evade the gunfire.
0:22:04 > 0:22:06Instead it fired a series of red distress flares.
0:22:06 > 0:22:13After circling the A-1, it headed from the mainland,
0:22:13 > 0:22:14continuing to signal with flares also
0:22:14 > 0:22:18known as lights.
0:22:18 > 0:22:26A young Maldwin Drummond watched from his bedroom.
0:22:26 > 0:22:28I could see it as it happened yesterday.
0:22:28 > 0:22:30We heard machine gun fire outside the window
0:22:30 > 0:22:34and rushed to the window, of course, the one thing
0:22:34 > 0:22:44you shouldn't do, and saw two typhoons shooting at this bomber.
0:22:45 > 0:22:48It had one engine on fire and I remember it fired flares.
0:22:48 > 0:22:49I'd never seen anything so close.
0:22:49 > 0:22:52It was literally, you almost felt you could picture and at the window
0:22:52 > 0:22:55and touch one of the planes.
0:22:55 > 0:22:57My father said, come on, boys, we hopped into the car
0:22:57 > 0:23:01and we will drive over and see.
0:23:01 > 0:23:03I think it's somewhere near Exbury it will have landed.
0:23:03 > 0:23:10So we pursued it.
0:23:10 > 0:23:14By 1944, Exbury had been commandeered by the Navy.
0:23:14 > 0:23:17Named HMS Mastodon, it was involved in the planning and the temporary
0:23:17 > 0:23:19home to hundreds of servicemen, amongst them, dispatch
0:23:19 > 0:23:20rider Sam Mundy.
0:23:20 > 0:23:24I saw it and I saw the German markings and I thought, it can't be
0:23:24 > 0:23:25sore, and of course it disappeared.
0:23:25 > 0:23:27It was all a matter of a few seconds.
0:23:27 > 0:23:31I went back into the heart, said, lads, did you hear that noise,
0:23:31 > 0:23:32that was a German plane.
0:23:32 > 0:23:34We argued the toss and the plane came back again.
0:23:34 > 0:23:37With an engine still on fire, do you wheeled around
0:23:37 > 0:23:38expertise water tower, now in a shallow descent.
0:23:38 > 0:23:42I started to rush towards the fence at the back and gathered up
0:23:42 > 0:23:44lots of other people at the same time.
0:23:44 > 0:23:47I hadn't got any idea what I was going to do when I got
0:23:47 > 0:23:48there, to be quite honest.
0:23:48 > 0:23:50I did the best they could when I was there.
0:23:50 > 0:23:55Racing to the scene in a car with his father, Maldwin Drummond
0:23:55 > 0:23:57Maldwin Drummond could see where the bomber came down.
0:23:57 > 0:24:00You could see a plume of smoke over the top of those trees.
0:24:00 > 0:24:02Goodness knows what was happening in the fuselage.
0:24:02 > 0:24:05It must have been pretty horrific.
0:24:05 > 0:24:09It hit the ground with such a force, didn't it?
0:24:10 > 0:24:19Yes, it did.
0:24:19 > 0:24:25It really had a violent impact, throwing several of the crew out
0:24:25 > 0:24:27of the cockpit forwards against the hedge and indeed
0:24:27 > 0:24:28into the road itself.
0:24:28 > 0:24:36What is a significant about this area?
0:24:36 > 0:24:41Well, if you look you can you can see a very thin area of hedge
0:24:41 > 0:24:44and this was in fact where one of the engines of the bomber broke
0:24:44 > 0:24:46free, the impact was so violent.
0:24:46 > 0:24:47And there were three bodies.
0:24:47 > 0:24:51Those arriving on the scene quickly discovered more.
0:24:51 > 0:24:53Almost immediately, there was surprise at the number of men
0:24:53 > 0:24:55who had been on board this plane.
0:24:55 > 0:24:58Which, at the time was thought to carry a crew of just four.
0:24:58 > 0:25:01And yet there had been seven men on board this plane.
0:25:01 > 0:25:04So a lot of speculation about what on earth this bomber had
0:25:04 > 0:25:11been doing with so many men on board.
0:25:11 > 0:25:19Earhart had only joined the crew at the last minute in place
0:25:19 > 0:25:21of the last minute in place of a sick colleague.
0:25:21 > 0:25:24The initial thought was that it had been on a scouting mission to carry
0:25:24 > 0:25:26out reconnaissance of the huge build-up of Allied troops
0:25:26 > 0:25:29and shipping across this stretch of the south coast and maybe
0:25:29 > 0:25:31the additional men on-board had been needed
0:25:31 > 0:25:32for the special spying mission.
0:25:32 > 0:25:42But those theories have been discounted.
0:25:48 > 0:25:49The additional men
0:25:49 > 0:25:52appear to have been the aircraft's ground crew crammed into the bomber
0:25:52 > 0:25:53for the afflicted the foreign base.
0:25:53 > 0:25:56But that doesn't explain why it ended up over the Hampshire coast.
0:25:56 > 0:26:01The German bomber was what was known as a pathfinder aircraft.
0:26:01 > 0:26:04Its job was to take bombers safely to and from their target.
0:26:04 > 0:26:07It was thrown by competent clues with specialist equipment on board,
0:26:07 > 0:26:09so how could it simply have got lost?
0:26:09 > 0:26:11We know that the plane took off in very bad weather,
0:26:11 > 0:26:13very poor visibility, and therefore the crew
0:26:13 > 0:26:15would have had no official contact with the ground,
0:26:15 > 0:26:18that said, there were navigational aids on-board this plane as befits
0:26:18 > 0:26:22a specialist pathfinder crew, so direction-finding
0:26:22 > 0:26:24equipment, to enable them to home in on beacons.
0:26:24 > 0:26:27It is absolutely inconceivable that all this could have gone wrong
0:26:27 > 0:26:29at the same time on the same flight.
0:26:29 > 0:26:30And there's another mystery.
0:26:30 > 0:26:32If the German bomber was picked up by British radar,
0:26:32 > 0:26:35why was nothing scrambled to intercept an enemy
0:26:35 > 0:26:38aircraft heading directly for for the D-Day preparations?
0:26:38 > 0:26:41The combat log of one of the Typhoon pilots shows that the bomber
0:26:41 > 0:26:47was only discovered by chance.
0:26:47 > 0:26:50But one witness claimed to have perhaps overhead the reason
0:26:50 > 0:26:59why nothing was sent.
0:26:59 > 0:27:03I was contacted by a lady who had served with the Royal Observer Corps
0:27:03 > 0:27:05in the headquarters at Winchester
0:27:05 > 0:27:15and she had a very clear memory of this incident.
0:27:18 > 0:27:22She remembered that she was just finshing her night shift
0:27:22 > 0:27:27about 7.30am in the morning and she remembers the German bomber
0:27:27 > 0:27:29appearing on the plotting board approaching the Isle of Wight.
0:27:29 > 0:27:32She was then absolutely stunned to hear a conversation to the effect
0:27:32 > 0:27:34that the German bomber was approaching the Isle of Wight,
0:27:34 > 0:27:37it would be crossing the island and no offensive action would be
0:27:37 > 0:27:38taken against it.
0:27:38 > 0:27:40But no other witnesses can confirm the story.
0:27:40 > 0:27:50The likeliest solution has to be that for some reason,
0:27:51 > 0:27:54the crew did lose their way but they lost their way
0:27:54 > 0:27:55immediately on take-off.
0:27:55 > 0:27:58And by the time they realised their mistake, it was far too late.
0:27:58 > 0:28:01But the cause for this catastrophic error remains unknown and I'm
0:28:01 > 0:28:02afraid we will never know.
0:28:02 > 0:28:05Three days after the crash, all seven men were buried
0:28:05 > 0:28:07with full military honours at all Saints Church in Forley.
0:28:07 > 0:28:13In 1963, they were moved here to the Cannock Chase German
0:28:13 > 0:28:16military cemetery where they lie side by side, as they were on that
0:28:16 > 0:28:20fateful day in 1944.
0:28:20 > 0:28:25That's just about it for now.
0:28:28 > 0:28:31More stories from the South the same time next week.
0:28:31 > 0:28:40Till then, bye-bye.
0:28:40 > 0:28:43Don't forget you can get involved in the show on email and Twitter.
0:28:43 > 0:28:44Details on the screen.
0:28:44 > 0:28:46Next week, the road to ruins.
0:28:46 > 0:28:49We hear from the farmer at the centre of the row
0:28:49 > 0:28:58over the proposed plans for the Stonehenge tunnel.
0:29:10 > 0:29:12Hello, I'm Riz Lateef with your 90-second update.
0:29:12 > 0:29:15Did some of President Trump's team collude with Russia
0:29:15 > 0:29:16during his election campaign?
0:29:16 > 0:29:18The head of the FBI says they are investigating the claims,
0:29:18 > 0:29:21but says there's no evidence President Obama bugged Trump Tower.
0:29:21 > 0:29:24The Prime Minister will give the formal go-ahead for Brexit
0:29:24 > 0:29:25in nine days' time.
0:29:25 > 0:29:27Theresa May will trigger what's known as Article 50,
0:29:27 > 0:29:30kicking off two years of divorce negotiations with
0:29:30 > 0:29:32the European Union.
0:29:32 > 0:29:34Google has apologised for letting adverts appear next
0:29:34 > 0:29:36to offensive videos on YouTube.
0:29:36 > 0:29:39A number of big British companies like Marks and Spencer