:00:05. > :00:10.Tonight we are in Wells on the trail of a businessman with unhappy
:00:10. > :00:16.customers. Nigel Gifford organised a skydiving
:00:16. > :00:22.trip to Everest, but high adventure it descended into deep
:00:22. > :00:26.disappointment. I call it a joke of an operation. Not one person is
:00:26. > :00:33.happy and they are all getting more angry.
:00:33. > :00:38.Also tonight: Anger in the West Country solar power industry as the
:00:38. > :00:43.government cuts its subsidiaries. It has basically killed off an
:00:43. > :00:47.industry in its embryonic stage. was going to be a runaway success
:00:48. > :00:52.so the government shut it down. And a beach volleyball team in a
:00:52. > :00:57.city without a beach. Could they go all the way to the Olympic Games?
:00:57. > :01:00.The Olympic Games in London is the pinnacle of that so it would be
:01:00. > :01:08.everything to me and a dream come true.
:01:08. > :01:14.I am Alastair McKee and this is Inside Out.
:01:14. > :01:18.First tonight, a Himalayan holiday which ended in bitter dispute. Sam
:01:18. > :01:28.Smith has been tracking down a businessman from Wells with some
:01:28. > :01:36.
:01:36. > :01:41.This is the story of a skydiving adventure to the Himalayas. Nobody
:01:41. > :01:46.has ever done this before, you are the makers of adventure history.
:01:46. > :01:50.is also the story of a warning and an accident. Are you saying you
:01:50. > :01:54.don't think you need to go over the top on safety? And the fall-out
:01:54. > :01:59.captured on a holiday video from hell.
:01:59. > :02:03.Nigel that is all you say, you say sorry but you don't do anything.
:02:03. > :02:09.I am seeking answers from the trips organiser still claiming it was a
:02:09. > :02:19.huge success. There were plenty of people that were happy. We have
:02:19. > :02:21.
:02:21. > :02:25.spoken to plenty of people that 2008 and 36 people from around the
:02:25. > :02:30.world were getting ready for the adventure of a lifetime. It became
:02:30. > :02:35.a dream and you are the reality. Leading the expedition, Nigel
:02:35. > :02:42.Gifford. The boss of a company called High And Wild. You are the
:02:42. > :02:49.makers of adventure history, you are! His customers had paid up to
:02:49. > :02:53.�17,000 for the chance to skydive Everest. At the start of the trip,
:02:53. > :02:58.a two-day trek to get to the drop zone and at least one of his
:02:58. > :03:03.clients was already disappointed. If you plan around, you may see
:03:03. > :03:09.Everest approximately 20 miles in that direction, however if you look
:03:09. > :03:14.at the brochure, we all paid for with a non-refundable deposit, for
:03:14. > :03:19.all pass the rock faces of Everest. It is now being called a scam.
:03:19. > :03:24.Gifford said the drop zone was as close as possible while being saved.
:03:24. > :03:28.The trip has been captured by a young cameraman. I thought we were
:03:28. > :03:33.going to make an adventure film, lots of people excited and everyone
:03:33. > :03:39.seemed to be upset. I just realised it was not what I thought it would
:03:39. > :03:46.be. Nigel Gifford's publicity promised for aircraft but only one
:03:46. > :03:50.turned up. When I put my money down, there were four jump lanes which is
:03:50. > :03:57.why there could make a decision. Nobody told me there was not going
:03:57. > :04:04.to be a a refund. We did tell year that it was not here any more. We
:04:04. > :04:08.did tell you that. He told me when you had all my money, didn't you?
:04:08. > :04:15.When they realise there would only be one aircraft, it became more
:04:15. > :04:21.difficult. Nigel, you had 36 people, not one of them are happy and they
:04:21. > :04:24.are all getting more angry. We have been trying to get the Parachute
:04:24. > :04:29.programme up and running. The weather has not helped us, the
:04:29. > :04:33.aircraft came in here late and I have already explain that. That was
:04:34. > :04:39.because there were requirements with the new Nepalese government
:04:39. > :04:44.and we could not bring the aircraft forward.
:04:44. > :04:50.To make matters worse, the single plane was not able to carry its
:04:50. > :04:57.promised payload. There's no chance that you are going to take 10
:04:57. > :05:03.people to 29 or 30,000 ft in any less time than a couple of hours.
:05:03. > :05:07.So we limited it to four people which was taking 50 minutes. It is
:05:07. > :05:15.supposed to be a fast turnaround and look, this has been another one
:05:15. > :05:23.hour turnaround. This is another under resourced. I would call it a
:05:23. > :05:26.joke of an operation. Eventually the jumping got underway
:05:26. > :05:31.only for a prediction that there would be an accident to country.
:05:31. > :05:36.One of the skydivers broke an ankle but her structure would not fit in
:05:36. > :05:41.the helicopter so the Dunblane had to be used instead. Unbelievable.
:05:41. > :05:45.Nobody could believe what was going on. All the staff had been told
:05:45. > :05:49.that their helicopter could take her down the mountain. They tried
:05:49. > :05:54.everything to squeeze her into the helicopter and it was not going to
:05:54. > :06:00.happen. So we had to make arrangements to load the porter and
:06:00. > :06:04.take care in that which nobody had anticipated. Consequently, that
:06:04. > :06:10.firms were even more on the weed to find that the aircraft was now
:06:10. > :06:13.going to be a way and not there for them to use. Nigel Gifford
:06:13. > :06:19.maintains the jump plane was used because it was quicker. Whatever
:06:19. > :06:22.the truth, he was now falling out with the guy filming him.
:06:22. > :06:28.I remember going to the drop zone and he said you are no longer
:06:28. > :06:33.welcome here. I want you to take your camera and you can walk back
:06:33. > :06:38.to the airport. Stephen refused to leave and
:06:38. > :06:43.carried on filming what was to be High And Wild's last adventure. Two
:06:43. > :06:48.months after the trip, Nigel Gifford put the company into
:06:48. > :06:55.liquidation with sky-high debts of more than half-a-million pounds.
:06:55. > :07:05.Among the creditors, Dave Wood owed his fee.
:07:05. > :07:05.
:07:05. > :07:11.Lots of things I would like to have done to the guy and I it was very,
:07:11. > :07:15.very disappointed. As was a High And Wild investor who
:07:15. > :07:22.lost �180,000. I trusted this person and I loaned
:07:22. > :07:28.him a lot of money. To be let down like that, so I am a fall, but yes
:07:28. > :07:33.I felt very sad and disappointed. Nepalese company that worked with
:07:33. > :07:39.Nigel Gifford lost �80,000. It took its case to local police he issued
:07:39. > :07:44.an order for Mr Gifford's arrested he should reappear in the ball.
:07:44. > :07:48.This year five people made complaints to the police in the UK
:07:48. > :07:52.about the financial aspect of the trip. After repeated requests for
:07:52. > :07:56.an interview, we caught up with Nigel Gifford near his base in
:07:56. > :07:59.Wales. Sam Smith from the BBC, we want as
:07:59. > :08:03.key questions about your adventure holidays.
:08:03. > :08:11.Mr Gifford said his company's treatment of creditors followed the
:08:11. > :08:17.rules. My company was wound up in 2010 in
:08:17. > :08:22.June and everything was fully investigated and the DTI had a
:08:22. > :08:26.report on the company. I was not struck off as a director.
:08:26. > :08:31.Everything I had done was the correct thing to do. My company was
:08:31. > :08:36.one of many companies and many adventure companies that got into
:08:36. > :08:41.financial difficulties. He insists that the expedition was a success.
:08:42. > :08:47.The majority of customers were satisfied. From of the top of my
:08:47. > :08:51.head, it is backing 2008, there were probably three at the end of
:08:51. > :08:56.the expedition that were not happy. In addition to unpaid staff and
:08:56. > :09:02.suppliers, Inside Out has been in touch with 10 paying customers who
:09:02. > :09:05.were far from happy. Mr Gifford is planning a return to the adventure
:09:05. > :09:10.travel business but that will come as cold comfort to some of his
:09:10. > :09:16.former associates left high and dry after them this adventure in the
:09:16. > :09:19.Himalayas. We would like to point out the High
:09:19. > :09:24.And Wild company no longer exists and has no connection with any
:09:24. > :09:29.other firm trading under that name. Later in the programme, the long
:09:29. > :09:39.road to London 2012. Will it be these two men representing Great
:09:39. > :09:43.
:09:44. > :09:48.Britain in the beach volleyball? Solar power, clean, green energy
:09:48. > :09:52.from Pearson converted into electricity for our homes. On paper
:09:52. > :09:57.it sounds like a no-brainer and some of the leading solar firms are
:09:57. > :10:02.based here in the West. Now, though, there is a cloud obscuring that
:10:02. > :10:12.sunshine. A cloud which investors say could kill off an industry just
:10:12. > :10:14.
:10:14. > :10:17.Britain does not have a great track record when it comes to renewable
:10:17. > :10:22.energy so when the government decided to give so low power a
:10:22. > :10:28.helping hand last year, it was met with applause. The elation did not
:10:28. > :10:33.last long. It was going to be a runaway success, the government in
:10:33. > :10:39.my kit and shut it down. We have had to cut the size of the staff in
:10:39. > :10:47.half. They basically killed off and Industry in his embryonic stage.
:10:47. > :10:52.why did the government pulled the plug on solar power.
:10:52. > :11:00.This issue to as Bottom Farm in the heart of the Mendips. Behind this a
:11:00. > :11:05.hedge I am expecting to see out solar park. Let's have a look.
:11:05. > :11:11.That just looks like a field with sheep in it.
:11:11. > :11:17.Planning permission was granted for 28,000 Solar panels which would
:11:17. > :11:21.have kicked out enough juice to light up 1500 homes and crucially
:11:21. > :11:28.were de Velde prevent carbon dioxide being pumped into the
:11:28. > :11:32.atmosphere. So what has gone wrong? To find out, I have come to Stroud
:11:32. > :11:36.in Gloucestershire and the headquarters of Ecotricity. They
:11:36. > :11:40.claim to be the world's first green electricity company and they were
:11:40. > :11:44.planning some of that green electricity at shooters bottom.
:11:45. > :11:50.had big plans for its Sola all over the company as did many other
:11:50. > :11:55.people. We gained planning permission easily, but the
:11:55. > :12:01.government had an emergency U-turn on feed-in tariff so and ruled big
:12:01. > :12:07.projects out of the mix. Now there are no big solar projects going on
:12:07. > :12:12.this year. Since April last year, Britain has been encouraging solar
:12:12. > :12:17.producers by paying a subsidiary on the electricity they produce. This
:12:17. > :12:24.is known as the feed-in tariff. Earlier this year, the subsidy for
:12:24. > :12:29.larger producers was slashed by 80%. Where does this leave Ecotricity?
:12:29. > :12:34.It showed us that the government does not want renewables to succeed
:12:34. > :12:38.because solar was on the verge of being a success story. The tariff
:12:38. > :12:43.may did economic and it does not have the problem that onshore wind
:12:43. > :12:46.has. The government saw that it would be a success and shut it down.
:12:46. > :12:51.You have to ask itself, with a government claiming to be the
:12:51. > :12:58.greenest ever, why would they do such a thing? Back at shooters
:12:58. > :13:03.bottom, I am pondering Dale's question. He is not the only solar
:13:03. > :13:07.energy developer to have his fingers burnt.
:13:07. > :13:13.Comes -- Inside Out has spoken to a lot of companies that lost money.
:13:13. > :13:18.One estimate puts the total lost between them into the millions.
:13:18. > :13:23.basically called lot of people out he had spent a lot of money doing
:13:23. > :13:27.pre-planning applications, ground investigations, putting in for
:13:27. > :13:32.applications so it cost a lot of money, getting funding behind them
:13:32. > :13:36.and unfortunately the Government pulled the plug.
:13:36. > :13:42.For businesses who were able to get their solo projects built before
:13:42. > :13:47.1st August this year, a healthy feed-in tariff is promised for the
:13:48. > :13:52.next 25 years. For those who were not finished in time, solar power
:13:52. > :13:55.is looking like an expensive mistake. It has killed off and
:13:55. > :14:01.Industry in its embryonic stage. Had the procedure stayed longer we
:14:01. > :14:06.would have had a big industry. We have 25,000 people working in this
:14:06. > :14:12.industry at the point where they are starting to cut. The government,
:14:12. > :14:16.in our eyes, have made a complete mistake in what they are doing.
:14:16. > :14:22.what possessed the government to do this? The minister responsible
:14:22. > :14:26.blamed what he called speculators and hot money. Batty City traders
:14:27. > :14:31.to you and me. He said they were using solar farms as an opportunity
:14:32. > :14:35.to make a quick buck. Just before the government cut the
:14:35. > :14:42.feed-in tariff this year, and number of solar parks managed to
:14:42. > :14:52.get built like the one here at Westmill farm just outside Swindon.
:14:52. > :14:53.
:14:53. > :14:59.That is what five megawatts of solar power looks like, enough to
:14:59. > :15:06.power 1,300 homes. The driving force behind this project is local
:15:06. > :15:11.farmer Adam Twine. He takes me on a tour. Here we have a little panel
:15:11. > :15:16.which shows you how much electricity has been produced today.
:15:16. > :15:22.It started generating about 9 o'clock, peaked around 2pm and it
:15:22. > :15:27.is coming back now dashed down now. It comes up quite steeply. Yes, as
:15:27. > :15:32.the sun comes up round over the panels. As a means of producing
:15:32. > :15:37.clean power it is impressive but it was any of that hot money used to
:15:37. > :15:42.build it? You don't strike me as a money-grabbing opportunist, yet you
:15:42. > :15:47.have built this five megawatt solar Park, how has this come apart --
:15:47. > :15:52.come about? The idea was it to have it as a community end park. We hope
:15:52. > :15:57.that will happen in time. I have been engaged with the climate
:15:57. > :16:01.change can pay for many years, the wind farm. When the feed-in tariffs
:16:01. > :16:04.made this possible we started thinking about it and thinking
:16:04. > :16:10.about it as a community end resource rather than just a private
:16:10. > :16:16.enterprise. Ultimately the whole solar park will be owned by a co-
:16:16. > :16:19.operative? All bar 25%. The developer is keeping a cut of 25%.
:16:19. > :16:24.We hope this has been built with private money because we couldn't
:16:24. > :16:28.make it happen in time, but we hope we have another option and we
:16:28. > :16:33.should be exercising that early next year.
:16:33. > :16:37.Ins Cirencester is the headquarters of Low Carbon Solar. They built
:16:37. > :16:43.Adams solar Park. Other projects they were working up to haven't
:16:43. > :16:48.fared so well -- Adam's solar park. We had to race like fury to
:16:48. > :16:54.buildings by 1st August. It is a bad way to do business because you
:16:54. > :16:58.end up spending a lot of money spending -- paying for expensive as
:16:58. > :17:02.returns because there is a risk of not getting down in time. What has
:17:02. > :17:05.been the impact and a business? have had to lay off a number of
:17:05. > :17:13.people, cut the size of the staff in half, take the risk to develop
:17:13. > :17:16.it, want to make a good return, we are not interested in getting
:17:17. > :17:20.astronomical returns, we just want good project to build.
:17:20. > :17:27.Britain is one of the poorest producers of renewable energy in
:17:27. > :17:32.Europe, the only mortar and Luxembourg are worse. -- mortar. We
:17:32. > :17:37.need to do more to reach the target of 15% of our energy of renewable
:17:37. > :17:42.sources by 2020. What is this doing to our targets? The two we have any
:17:42. > :17:46.hope of making as much clean energy as we have promised? A government
:17:46. > :17:50.are way behind where they need to be with the renewables targets.
:17:50. > :17:55.They put a lot of emphasis on wind, then they have problems getting
:17:55. > :18:00.planning permission on shore so became offshore which was more
:18:00. > :18:04.expensive. We have said this sort of interest that was created was
:18:04. > :18:08.enough to help make those it 2020 targets, but unfortunately they
:18:08. > :18:13.have thrown it away. Time to put all of this to the
:18:13. > :18:17.government minister responsible for new -- renewable energy. Despite
:18:17. > :18:27.several requests Greg Parker declined to give us an interview.
:18:27. > :18:38.
:18:39. > :18:43.In the last few weeks the government has announced new
:18:43. > :18:47.emergency cuts, this time to the feed-in tariff for small-scale
:18:47. > :18:52.domestic solar power. They will take effect next month. As things
:18:52. > :18:56.stand even the bleakest forecasts suggest the UK's solar industry
:18:56. > :19:04.will eventually recover, but for many of those who have already
:19:04. > :19:07.taken the plunge, this might not happen soon enough.
:19:07. > :19:17.If there is something you would like us to investigate why not get
:19:17. > :19:24.
:19:24. > :19:28.Hear in place they are proud of a local athlete, Mary Rand, who
:19:28. > :19:34.jumped over 22 feet to claim gold in the Tokyo Olympics. In our final
:19:34. > :19:44.film tonight the Olympic sprinter Jason Gardener is in Bath to meet
:19:44. > :19:48.
:19:48. > :19:51.two men hoping to represent Great This is the Weymouth Classic beach
:19:51. > :19:57.volleyball competition. Tom Lloyd and Robin Miedzybrodzki are
:19:57. > :20:06.defending a title they won here last year. But they have got their
:20:06. > :20:10.eye on an even bigger prize. I competed at the Sydney and Athens's
:20:10. > :20:14.Olympic Games and both will also experiences. Now Tom and Robin are
:20:14. > :20:17.aiming to follow in my footsteps all the way to London 2012 and
:20:17. > :20:21.become the first ever men's team to represent Great Britain at the
:20:21. > :20:24.Olympic beach volleyball competition. It is an absolute
:20:24. > :20:29.culmination of everything I have been doing since I started the
:20:29. > :20:32.support, since there was a youngster. I have always dreamed of
:20:32. > :20:39.playing at a high level and the Olympic Games in London is the
:20:39. > :20:43.pinnacle of that. It would be everything to me, a dream come true.
:20:43. > :20:48.There are four British teams chasing the one and only guaranteed
:20:48. > :20:52.place in the men's event. They have to hold down jobs, unlike women's
:20:52. > :20:57.beach volleyball, because the men get no public funding. They are
:20:57. > :21:01.based in Bath, a city with no Bee Gees. Happily team that has a great
:21:01. > :21:06.track record for providing a Olympic athletes with exactly what
:21:06. > :21:11.they need. If you are run it is straightforward, all you need is a
:21:11. > :21:15.track. Amy Williams won gold at the Vancouver Winter Olympics, she
:21:15. > :21:19.trade on Backus skeleton bobsleigh track. For beach volleyball players
:21:19. > :21:27.you need the beach. I have come to the right place for a crash course
:21:27. > :21:36.in how to play world-class beach volleyball. One palm on the other,.
:21:36. > :21:46.Your thumbs at the floor. Knees bent, as the ball comes, lift up,
:21:46. > :21:52.
:21:52. > :21:56.But the dig, brilliant. The play that to your partner then they will
:21:56. > :22:04.come in and set the ball which is the second can take -- contact we
:22:04. > :22:14.will show you. Try and spread them as well. Relax them. At the moment
:22:14. > :22:14.
:22:14. > :22:19.they are coming together a little The third when his they hit. This
:22:19. > :22:29.is the attacking play, it tried to win the point, put the ball down as
:22:29. > :22:35.
:22:35. > :22:41.I am five foot nine, are there many players on World Circuit my height?
:22:41. > :22:51.You would be about the smallest player. When we go to international
:22:51. > :22:53.
:22:53. > :22:59.tournaments I am one of the Even with my new-found skills it is
:22:59. > :23:03.obvious there is a lot more to this game than just being fast. Tom and
:23:03. > :23:06.Robin face far tougher opposition on the road to Olympic
:23:06. > :23:11.qualification. All the British hopefuls, both men's and women's,
:23:11. > :23:15.must compete against the game's top players on the world tour. There is
:23:15. > :23:20.a lot of prize-money at stake but overall results are what counts. In
:23:20. > :23:24.order to qualify Tom and Robin have to be the best of the four British
:23:24. > :23:29.teams fighting for that precious Olympic place. But travelling the
:23:29. > :23:35.world to compete doesn't come cheap. Last year the men's public funding
:23:35. > :23:38.was cut. Beach volleyball and the chance to play in London as none
:23:38. > :23:46.too much to let it go. When the announcement was made we decided to
:23:46. > :23:52.keep going. That was what we needed to do, stars self-funding, finding
:23:52. > :23:58.financial solutions. It is crucial we find a sponsor,
:23:58. > :24:01.and a win at Weymouth might help. He might not help towards Olympic
:24:01. > :24:07.qualification but this is a hugely important event for the UK's top
:24:07. > :24:13.players. It is a big thing, a lot of kudos around to is the Weymouth
:24:13. > :24:17.champion. The big thing for our team to win the British Open and to
:24:17. > :24:20.continue our rain as we must champions. A win here would raise
:24:20. > :24:25.their profile and they have had some interest from a potential
:24:25. > :24:29.sponsor. If we are successful in gaining the sponsorship that allows
:24:29. > :24:34.us to set up a fall, world-class programme as we see it, that allows
:24:34. > :24:37.us to go away in the off-season, get out of the UK and train summer
:24:37. > :24:42.where there are other world tour teams at the right level to allow
:24:42. > :24:45.us to prepare as well as obviously the sun which is not really here in
:24:45. > :24:55.the Winter Forest to use so if we can get away and train throughout
:24:55. > :24:57.
:24:57. > :25:07.the winter that set us up well for So far everything is going to plan,
:25:07. > :25:12.
:25:12. > :25:22.but the semi-final this is no After two sets they win through to
:25:22. > :25:28.
:25:28. > :25:34.the final where they face the Sheaf There are one of the four teams
:25:34. > :25:38.also going for the Olympics. Nerves are there, a big final. But you
:25:38. > :25:42.need to concentrate and focus. winners of the final between these
:25:42. > :25:47.Olympic rivals will receive more than just the title. I think there
:25:47. > :25:53.is a massive prize fund of �250 for the team! We are not here for the
:25:53. > :25:59.money. But it is modest we a Weymouth champions. In the UK
:25:59. > :26:03.doesn't get bigger than that. the biggest prize of all is the
:26:03. > :26:08.Olympics. If they qualify it they will be playing in front of a
:26:08. > :26:12.15,000 strong home crowd he at Horse Guards Parade where this
:26:12. > :26:15.summer Bath's women's teams and Olympic hopefuls had the chance to
:26:15. > :26:20.experience it for themselves at the test event. It makes us want to
:26:20. > :26:30.train hard, get some good results so we guarantee we are here next
:26:30. > :26:40.year. When they serve we need to start moving. Back at Weymouth Tom
:26:40. > :26:40.
:26:40. > :27:36.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 55 seconds
:27:36. > :27:40.and Robin prepare to face their They have done it, and they have
:27:40. > :27:43.also one that new sponsorship deal, their Olympic dream is another step
:27:43. > :27:48.closer but they will not know until next June, just three weeks before
:27:48. > :27:52.the Games, if they have done enough to qualify for London, 2012. What
:27:52. > :27:56.would it be like competing in front of a home crowd? Fingers crossed if
:27:56. > :28:01.we can get the weather it will be one of the best events at the Games,
:28:01. > :28:06.so having that home crowd on our side, it will be amazing, great
:28:06. > :28:13.things can be achieved, I think. Please put your hands together for
:28:13. > :28:17.Tom Lloyd and Robin Miedzybrodzki. Good luck to them in the coming
:28:17. > :28:20.months. No pressure but it would be great to see them on the podium in
:28:20. > :28:27.London next year. That brings things to a close tonight. Don't
:28:27. > :28:33.forget, you can keep up-to-date on line.
:28:33. > :28:36.In next week's programme we will be celebrating 30 years of the Bristol
:28:36. > :28:44.Communication Aids Centre, helping to give a voice to people with