:00:06. > :00:10.Hello. In tonight's programme, problems with public transport.
:00:10. > :00:20.Actress Anna Karen goes back on the buses to find out who is behind the
:00:20. > :00:21.
:00:21. > :00:27.cuts to rural services. We are on an island. We follow one man's
:00:27. > :00:33.mission to set up a red kite feeding station in Shropshire.
:00:33. > :00:38.And a passion for bikes. How two men with money -- with one name
:00:38. > :00:43.made it cycling history here in the Midlands. You cannot believe
:00:43. > :00:53.winning two medals had brought so much interest and given me the life
:00:53. > :01:06.
:01:06. > :01:11.it did. I am Mary Rhodes and this Welcome to Baddesley Ensor, near
:01:11. > :01:17.Nuneaton, a village in Warwickshire which once had a great bus service
:01:17. > :01:22.which enabled Tina Mitten to get to work at Birmingham Airport. But
:01:22. > :01:27.when the service was cut, Tina said she would have to give up her job
:01:27. > :01:33.and four months later, she is still out of work. I am really angry
:01:33. > :01:39.because I want to work. I loved the job I was doing at the airport...
:01:39. > :01:44.That his all gone. The practicality of it is I have a mortgage to pay.
:01:44. > :01:50.How do I pay my mortgage? This year, councils across the Midlands
:01:50. > :01:53.trimmed their bus subsidies by tens of thousands of pounds. So what
:01:53. > :01:58.effect is is having on rural communities? Actress Anna Karen,
:01:58. > :02:08.who made her name in On The Buses, grabbed her pass and jumped on
:02:08. > :02:29.
:02:29. > :02:36.I am at Anna. You might remember me from the television series On The
:02:36. > :02:44.Buses. I played Olive. You stay here and attend a bus. I can't! I
:02:44. > :02:48.am a trainee! Shut up! That was back in 1973. But now I am a senior
:02:48. > :02:53.citizen and I have my concessionary bus pass to prove it. But it isn't
:02:53. > :02:58.much cop now on journeys, because they have been cut. I want to find
:02:58. > :03:04.out how that is affecting people. I am travelling around the Midlands
:03:04. > :03:09.on this beautiful bus to find out. Hello! Nice to meet you! We do need
:03:09. > :03:14.a bus. We're cut off. We are on an island. It is nice to have a bus
:03:14. > :03:19.come and pick you up. You want to start looking at it and thinking
:03:19. > :03:22.about it... I have taken some of the people I am meeting down to
:03:22. > :03:29.Westminster, so we can tell the Government exactly what we think
:03:29. > :03:37.about it all. Save Our buses! Save Our buses! Things haven't half
:03:37. > :03:44.changed since On The Buses. Take the bus from Bakewell to Matlock.
:03:44. > :03:50.Not enough people use it on Sundays for it to make money. It relies on
:03:50. > :03:56.subsidies from the County Council. If we were looking at it
:03:56. > :04:00.commercially, we would have to cancel it. Hundreds of routes
:04:00. > :04:04.across the West Midlands are subsidised so they can run a so-
:04:04. > :04:10.called unprofitable services. But what happens when the council takes
:04:10. > :04:14.the subsidy a way? This is Joyce. She lives in Loughborough but her
:04:14. > :04:17.daughter lives eight miles away in the village of Oscar Thorpe. She
:04:17. > :04:23.has got to look after her granddaughter so her daughter can
:04:23. > :04:27.go out to work. If my daughter is home from work just before 5pm, I
:04:27. > :04:35.can get back. If she is not, have to stay the night and travel back
:04:35. > :04:39.on the 10am bus the next morning. There is no bus after 5pm? No.
:04:39. > :04:46.do you think they are making these bus cuts? They don't have to live
:04:46. > :04:49.here. But I need the bus to look after my grandchildren. Last year,
:04:49. > :04:54.Leicestershire County Council threaten to cut the bus service.
:04:54. > :04:58.That would have meant the end of the line for the 129. For many
:04:58. > :05:03.people, this is their lifeline, so if this goes, they have got nothing
:05:03. > :05:08.because they don't see anybody from one data the next. This bus service
:05:08. > :05:12.was saved but only after Joyce and her friends petitioned to the
:05:12. > :05:17.County Council. The same cannot be said for her friends down the road.
:05:18. > :05:22.We do not have a bus in our village at all. It is not fair. I have
:05:22. > :05:27.lived here for 60 years. I know times have changed but we always
:05:27. > :05:34.have buses. Buses to take children to school, take me to work and take
:05:34. > :05:39.the shoppers. Not surprisingly, the bus service has stopped running.
:05:39. > :05:46.are cut off. We are on an island. I go out shopping once a week.
:05:46. > :05:50.cannot get to the shops, I feel like a prisoner. Fancy taking away
:05:50. > :05:55.a whole village's only means of public transport! It takes the
:05:55. > :06:00.biscuit! It is time to get back on the buses to get some answers. Who
:06:00. > :06:06.is pulling the subsidies and why? We are going to see the man who
:06:06. > :06:12.deals with the money for Leicester council. Come on! First, we have to
:06:12. > :06:18.be cut some customers. First stop, Loughborough library. This is where
:06:18. > :06:22.we are going. I am the deputy leader of Leicestershire council.
:06:22. > :06:29.All these people have come to talk to you because they are fed up with
:06:29. > :06:35.the buses and the council. I can look into the 153 in particular for
:06:35. > :06:38.you. But the trouble is, we have to make over �100 million of savings
:06:38. > :06:43.in the next few years and we are the only council that has a policy
:06:43. > :06:49.that everybody should live within 800 metres of an Alan Lee bus
:06:49. > :06:55.service. Can I pick up on that? On a Sunday and bank holiday, we have
:06:56. > :07:03.no bus service, and that is to one of the most used parks and tourist
:07:03. > :07:08.areas. It makes a mockery. It has not really been kept, has it?
:07:08. > :07:14.just ask you, the money, where does it come from? The majority comes
:07:14. > :07:18.from council tax payers. You will be paying 75% of whatever we spend
:07:19. > :07:24.on buses. Only a quarter comes from the Government. You could do with
:07:24. > :07:28.more, couldn't you? They say we a wealthy so we don't need more money.
:07:28. > :07:38.Should we talk to central government, then? Right, or we will
:07:38. > :07:38.
:07:38. > :07:42.have a go at them! Come on! Hurry up! This bus might be old but it
:07:42. > :07:47.don't half shift and it is not long before we have the Government in
:07:48. > :07:57.our sides. We are just about to come over Westminster Bridge to
:07:58. > :07:59.
:07:59. > :08:04.meet Mr Norman Baker. Save Our buses! Save Our buses! Save Our
:08:04. > :08:12.buses! I am not sure if the Minister for buses expected such a
:08:12. > :08:17.crowd! They just don't realise -- you don't realise what you're doing.
:08:17. > :08:21.Cut back, save money. What about these people? Bus companies are
:08:21. > :08:30.legally men to be no worse-off or better off for carrying
:08:30. > :08:34.concessionary travel. -- meant to be. Actually, they were not telling
:08:34. > :08:44.the truth? I don't pretend they have got a good settlement. They
:08:44. > :08:47.have less money than before. It is up to councils to make the savings.
:08:47. > :08:51.One politician says one thing and another says something else. So who
:08:51. > :08:57.do you believe? We have told them what we think about our buses being
:08:57. > :09:05.cut. Let's see if it makes any different. Meanwhile, they have had
:09:05. > :09:12.five macro months of no bus in Heather. But we have a plan. This
:09:12. > :09:17.is it, ladies. It is and eight- seater. We can go up to 16 seats
:09:17. > :09:23.without having a special licence to carry passengers. There is only one
:09:23. > :09:31.problem with this. He needs volunteers to drive it and an
:09:31. > :09:36.agency to keep it on the road. don't want this. I like getting on
:09:36. > :09:39.a bus. It is lovely to go to the bus shelter and get on a bus.
:09:39. > :09:44.have had this free transport for many years and they feel they have
:09:44. > :09:48.a right to it. I am not sure about that. We have got to start looking
:09:48. > :09:52.after ourselves. We have got used to the nanny state and now,
:09:52. > :09:58.unfortunately, like everything, all good things come to an end and we
:09:58. > :10:02.have to buckle down and do it ourselves. The sun might be sitting
:10:02. > :10:07.on rural buses, but he thinks he has the answer. Maybe more people
:10:07. > :10:11.will start setting up on their own. Sadly, that might be the only way
:10:11. > :10:18.we can keep our buses in places like this.
:10:18. > :10:26.If you would like to comment on that story, send me an email.
:10:26. > :10:31.Like buses, the red kite was once a common sight. But centuries of
:10:31. > :10:35.persecution drove them out of the Midlands and England. Now, they are
:10:35. > :10:43.returning, and one man is fighting to make sure they stay. David
:10:43. > :10:48.Gregory went to meet him. These are native red kites and they
:10:48. > :10:53.nearly became extinct. They are tentatively returning, and one man
:10:53. > :10:57.is searching Shropshire for a potential site to help them. By
:10:57. > :11:02.establishing a red kite feeding station, which is basically a giant
:11:02. > :11:05.bird table. We want to show people the wildlife is spectacular and
:11:06. > :11:12.have fully as a way of introducing people into the wider world of
:11:12. > :11:16.nature. -- and hopefully. So, why of red kites returning to the
:11:16. > :11:20.Midlands and what is being done to make sure they stay? And what is
:11:20. > :11:26.the impact of a returning bird of prey on the landscape and the
:11:26. > :11:34.people who live here? They are wonderfully spectacular birds. They
:11:34. > :11:38.are brightly colourful. Leo Smith's passion is red kite. He volunteers
:11:38. > :11:45.for they Welsh red kite Trust. But he wants to see more of them where
:11:45. > :11:51.he lives, in Shropshire. Nice to meet you. Shall we go for a walk?
:11:51. > :11:55.Why have we come up to Stiperstones to look for red kites? This sort of
:11:55. > :12:00.terrain is for their foraging area, so if somebody wants to come for a
:12:00. > :12:05.day out in the hope of seeing a kite in Shropshire, this is a good
:12:05. > :12:13.place as any to come. If you see a bird of prey which is an red on top
:12:13. > :12:17.and brightly-coloured with a forked tail, that is a red kite. For the
:12:17. > :12:22.past 30 years, people have seen red kites in the skies over Shropshire
:12:22. > :12:26.but it was not until 2006 that they've found a pair of birds
:12:26. > :12:31.breeding here in the county. But is more than a century since the last
:12:31. > :12:35.breeding pair were discovered here. -- that is more. He is a big
:12:35. > :12:39.fellow... The Welsh Kite Trust are tagging these chicks in Shropshire
:12:39. > :12:44.as part of their effort to monitor how the red kite population is
:12:44. > :12:50.spreading from Wales to the Midlands. Birds in Wales, because
:12:50. > :12:55.the numbers have increased so much, we are keeping an eye on the
:12:55. > :12:59.populations in the Midlands because they are of more interest because
:12:59. > :13:03.that is where the role in front of a population is. And as numbers
:13:03. > :13:09.grow, Leo wants to establish England's first ever kite feeding
:13:09. > :13:15.station. With this vast open landscape, it is ideal for kites to
:13:15. > :13:25.forage over. So a new feeding station over here would draw them
:13:25. > :13:25.
:13:25. > :13:31.out of Wales and anchor the Shropshire population in Shropshire.
:13:31. > :13:36.So how would a feeding station help? I have come to Gigrin Farm to
:13:36. > :13:44.see a station in action. Here, they get through a quarter of a ton of
:13:44. > :13:50.meat each week and hundreds of red They have been feeding the kite
:13:50. > :14:00.here for 19 years. The people come for a ringside seat. Of course, the
:14:00. > :14:01.
:14:01. > :14:04.And it is not just to read kites that are flourishing, with 20,000
:14:04. > :14:09.visitors to the feeding station every year. Businesses in the
:14:10. > :14:13.nearby town are doing very well out of things, too. With a massive
:14:13. > :14:19.conservation effort and the feeding stations, kite numbers have
:14:19. > :14:25.rocketed. And these are the native red kites, the original British
:14:25. > :14:31.birds. Unlike elsewhere in England, where populations of European kites
:14:31. > :14:35.have been reintroduced. The ones in the Chilterns arrived in an
:14:35. > :14:40.aeroplane into the Chilterns, and were released into an estate, the
:14:40. > :14:46.birds are there are the descendants of those birds. In the Chilterns,
:14:46. > :14:51.the European quiet macros have been hitting the headlines. Went extinct
:14:51. > :14:56.in England, now ruffling feathers, why the rate at kite is being
:14:56. > :15:04.labelled a pest. A pest with a big appetite and big talent. Do people
:15:04. > :15:08.want that in Shropshire? I am worried wire -- I can see what
:15:08. > :15:12.people are worried about that, the problem is that people attract them
:15:12. > :15:18.and feed them in their gardens. contrast, at a feeding station,
:15:18. > :15:22.everything is controlled. It also act as a regular food source, so
:15:22. > :15:28.kites don't end up scavenging in back gardens, or even snatching
:15:28. > :15:34.packed lunches in playgrounds. normally operate, you have seen how
:15:34. > :15:40.many have come in, I don't in any body has ever taken a sandwich or a
:15:40. > :15:44.Mars bar. I honestly can't recall any situation in Wales where that
:15:44. > :15:50.has ever occurred. I heard what happened in the Chilterns, maybe
:15:50. > :15:57.that is a one-off. I don't think you should damn the whole
:15:57. > :16:01.population on the activities of one bird. Back in Shropshire, Leo's
:16:01. > :16:07.plans had hit a snag. The problem was that the roads were so narrow,
:16:07. > :16:13.you couldn't have got a large number of vehicles to that
:16:13. > :16:18.particular field. So it is bad for people? That is right. Exceedingly
:16:18. > :16:24.bad for planners, anyway! But there is another, more serious potential
:16:24. > :16:29.problem Borneo. The law in Wales is different to the law in England.
:16:29. > :16:33.Couldn't English feeding station actually be illegal? As I am aware,
:16:33. > :16:39.there is no licence to be provided in England, there never has been.
:16:39. > :16:43.There is no provision for it. It is something unique to Wales.
:16:43. > :16:48.Welsh Assembly has published some regulations, saying to people, if
:16:48. > :16:52.you comply with these, you can set up a feeding station. Whereas
:16:52. > :16:57.England hasn't done that, so we would have to apply for permission
:16:57. > :17:02.for a specific site. You have been talking to people in government
:17:02. > :17:07.about doing this? A yes, I was given advice that as long as we met
:17:07. > :17:10.the regulations, and put in a proper application, they would come
:17:10. > :17:16.out and inspected, and if they were happy with what they saw, we would
:17:16. > :17:22.get the go-ahead. So legally, it is looking promising, and then, more
:17:22. > :17:27.good news for Leo. A possible site, and even potential backing from the
:17:27. > :17:32.National Trust. This is an area where you might be interested in
:17:33. > :17:36.putting a feeding station? This is, we now need to go back to the
:17:36. > :17:40.community and talk to some of the detail, because we want to get that
:17:40. > :17:46.with the support of our neighbours and local people. Why would you
:17:46. > :17:51.want a feeding station here? Red kite population is growing car
:17:51. > :17:58.but slowly, we think it is held up by the feeding stations in Wales
:17:58. > :18:03.will stop if we could pull it out here, it would fill this and te gap.
:18:03. > :18:08.Can I borrow this? I know somebody who would like to see these plans.
:18:08. > :18:13.By you're very welcome. These are the National Trust plans, with a
:18:13. > :18:18.feeding station built into them. How would you feel bad breading
:18:19. > :18:22.kites to the people? That would be wonderful, it is an ideal location,
:18:22. > :18:32.it had fully in a few years, you would see a wonderful, blue-sky in
:18:32. > :18:37.the middle of winter, hundreds of kites coming in to feed here.
:18:37. > :18:41.poet once called Reg kites the living Flame in the sky, and with
:18:41. > :18:51.Leo's help, they could return to light up the Shropshire skies for
:18:51. > :18:51.
:18:51. > :18:55.the first time in over a century. Fabulous pictures there. So, the
:18:55. > :18:59.eyes of the world will soon be upon us put the Olympic Games. When that
:18:59. > :19:05.last happened, in 1948, one Midlands a cyclist became a
:19:05. > :19:14.national hero. For many sports fans, there was only one Tommy Godwin,
:19:15. > :19:20.but as Phil found that, that is not actually the case. -- found out.
:19:20. > :19:23.This is the case at two Midlands man called Tommy Godwin. They
:19:23. > :19:32.shared the same men, the same passion, and both climbed to the
:19:33. > :19:37.pinnacle of their sport. -- shared the same name. But their lives
:19:37. > :19:42.followed different parts. One is a celebrated athlete, a national
:19:43. > :19:47.treasure, and the other is barely remembered. So what exactly did
:19:47. > :19:53.these two Tommys do, and why, more than half a century on, is one hell
:19:53. > :19:58.do the master of his sport, while the other remains a mystery? They
:19:58. > :20:02.were born eight years apart at the beginning of the last century.
:20:02. > :20:07.grew up in Stoke, the other in Birmingham. And although their part
:20:07. > :20:13.would never cross, they both started out in the same way. On the
:20:13. > :20:21.saddle of a delivery bike. Leading school at 14, I went and got a job
:20:21. > :20:26.at the grosses, delivering groceries by bicycle. -- at the
:20:26. > :20:31.grocer's. A obviously strengthened my legs up, pushing all that weight
:20:31. > :20:40.around, and it just became of great importance, just riding a bike.
:20:40. > :20:48.When I started training, people found the potential, for racing, I
:20:48. > :20:58.was soon a member of the famous road races, and from 1938 onwards,
:20:58. > :20:58.
:20:58. > :21:02.it was just improving all the time. London 1948, the 14th Olympiad.
:21:02. > :21:10.cycling feet of Birmingham's Tommy Godwin soon got him noticed, and he
:21:10. > :21:16.was selected to represent Britain at the 1948 London Olympic Games.
:21:16. > :21:21.Memories of the old days! That is it. Absolutely. It started just
:21:21. > :21:26.along there, and the finishing line was down there. He won bronze in
:21:26. > :21:31.the team pursuit and unaided to the final of the 1000 metre time trial,
:21:31. > :21:35.but the elements were against him. I was riding in the dark, had no
:21:35. > :21:40.lights on, I was actually riding in the dark, and the officials were
:21:40. > :21:47.working and the light of the stand, but coming round the 200 metre mark
:21:47. > :21:51.my found out I was exactly level with the winner, and the last 200
:21:52. > :21:57.metres in a time trial is something unbelievable. Your legs are not
:21:57. > :22:01.going round, they are just going up and down in a straight line. To
:22:01. > :22:06.hear the crowd cheering, when it was announced, the crowd went
:22:07. > :22:16.absolutely mad, and I was feeling... I went to my dad, he cracked up
:22:17. > :22:18.
:22:18. > :22:23.there. He had cried because I have won a medal. Quite amazing. In 1948,
:22:23. > :22:27.Birmingham's Tommy Godwin was a national hero. You can't believe,
:22:27. > :22:35.winning two bits of metal brought so much interest and giving me the
:22:35. > :22:40.life that it has given me. But what about the other Tommy? Well, his
:22:40. > :22:46.heroics came nine years earlier, in a challenge to write the most miles
:22:46. > :22:52.in a year. In those 12 months, he circled the equivalent of three
:22:53. > :22:59.times around the world. -- he cycled. He was doing over 300 miles
:22:59. > :23:04.a day, quite regularly. That is phenomenal. I got my cake later
:23:04. > :23:09.Howard, a work it out, that some people, as a lifetime's ambition
:23:09. > :23:19.like to do Land's End to John o'Groats. And in 1939, permitted
:23:19. > :23:25.the equivalent of 88 Land's End to John o'Groats rides. -- Tommy did
:23:25. > :23:33.the equivalent. It was just inconceivable, what he did. As time
:23:33. > :23:38.goes on, to me, it becomes all the more remarkable. Tommy rode an
:23:38. > :23:46.incredible 75,000 miles that year. An average of 200 miles a day. And
:23:46. > :23:50.he didn't stop there. He paddled 25,000 more, in early 1940. He had
:23:50. > :24:00.broken the world record, but that was soon forgotten, as Britain was
:24:00. > :24:08.
:24:08. > :24:12.Tommy had to wait for the fighting But he was in for a disappointment.
:24:12. > :24:20.Because he had been paid to ride in 1939, he could not compete as an
:24:20. > :24:26.amateur. And that would mean, he would never race again. He was
:24:26. > :24:31.gutted, I mean, but he wasn't a politician, he wasn't a committee
:24:31. > :24:35.man, he was a dour. He signed professional, and when you went
:24:35. > :24:39.professional in those days, you didn't qualify for the Olympics.
:24:40. > :24:44.Today, you do. Why do you think we don't know as much about him as we
:24:44. > :24:49.should do? If he had been allowed to go for more record straight away,
:24:49. > :24:52.with sponsorship, we would have heard more from him. If he had been
:24:52. > :24:58.allowed to revert back to his amateur status, we would have heard
:24:58. > :25:06.more from him. It is a combination of the few major things, that he is
:25:06. > :25:10.the forgotten champion. Tommy put his department to one side to coach
:25:10. > :25:18.a local amateur club. That is something Birmingham's Tommy Godwin
:25:18. > :25:21.did, too, but at a higher level. He ran the first organised training
:25:21. > :25:28.scheme for British cyclists, and managed Olympic and Commonwealth
:25:28. > :25:32.teams. Tommy would go on to train a generation of top track cyclists,
:25:32. > :25:41.run a bike shop in Birmingham and become president of Solihull
:25:41. > :25:47.cycling club. This is my nice little room of memorabilia. What is
:25:47. > :25:51.in here? A everything you want to know about cycling! Insured, he has
:25:51. > :25:56.become a well-known face in British cycling, and with the Olympics in
:25:56. > :26:02.London next year, his feats are being celebrated all over again.
:26:02. > :26:07.have had a wonderful life. 90 years old age, still sprightly enough to
:26:07. > :26:12.go down to the track, present prizes, and give advice. My life
:26:12. > :26:19.has been wonderful, I'm looking forward to the 2012 Olympics, and
:26:19. > :26:29.when I first spoke to Seb Coe, I was introduced to him, he said, "I
:26:29. > :26:33.
:26:33. > :26:40.want you at the Olympics in 2012". I said ", I will be 91". He said,
:26:40. > :26:46."I don't care, your book to!" but his namesake from Stoke didn't live
:26:46. > :26:51.to see his achievement celebrated. He died in 1975, on his way home
:26:51. > :26:58.from a ride with friends. So it took a long time, but finally, the
:26:58. > :27:07.City of Stoke-on-Trent... We had a get together. Scrapbooks and
:27:07. > :27:10.everything were on show. Here we go. Tommy's world record still stands,
:27:10. > :27:14.and is perhaps unlikely ever to be broken, but the only real
:27:14. > :27:19.recognition he has got is a plaque at the local sports centre. For his
:27:19. > :27:26.friends, it is a great start, but they feel he is still to get the
:27:26. > :27:31.claim he fully deserves. stories, the equipment he was on,
:27:32. > :27:36.it was revolutionary, cutting edge, there were five guys going for the
:27:36. > :27:43.record, there were the weather conditions, affecting the daily
:27:43. > :27:47.mileage, he did the record. Sure, there is a lot more they could be
:27:47. > :27:55.done to put that straight, to remember the record and recognise
:27:55. > :28:03.it. He may not be widely known now, but that may change. Two books are
:28:03. > :28:06.planned about a remarkable 75,000 mile run. Perhaps then, the
:28:06. > :28:16.forgotten Tommy Godwin will get the respect and plaudits for his more
:28:16. > :28:17.
:28:17. > :28:22.That is it for tonight, but next week, we are moving up a gear with
:28:23. > :28:32.an unusual programme on the battle for and against a high-speed rail.
:28:32. > :28:35.Join me if you can. Two films from the two sides.
:28:35. > :28:40.need a high speed, we have to think about the legacy we are going to
:28:40. > :28:45.leave behind for our children. costs an arm and a leg, and it is