30/01/2012 Inside Out West

Hello from the City of Wells in Somerset. In tonight's programme:

Scrap metal meltdown. How the police are getting tough on the

growing menace of metal theft. Anywhere these events of theft are

occurring, thousands of customers can be put at risk.

Also in the programme: The crisis over breast implants. We meet the

women here in the West desperate to have their implants removed. It is

silicone that was used either to make mattresses all for industrial

machinery and I am not a machine. And whatever happened to Olympic

Champion Mary Rand? We're catching up with the woman who made Somerset

proud. A beautiful jump! If you ask any young person today,

they would not know who I was. If he asks someone my age, there is a

possibility they might remember. I totally understand. I do not expect

to be made a fuss of, really. I'm Alastair McKee and this is

Hospitals, churches, war memorials and railways. It seems nowhere is

safe from the current epidemic of metal theft. So what's being done

about it? Nick Wallis has been Early this morning and the police

are getting ready for action. is just one of the scores of rates

happening up and down the country with just one aim in mind, to crush

It may look like a load of old junk to you and me, but with metal

prices soaring all this is worth a small fortune. No wonder stealing

it has become big business for criminals.

Metal theft is now said to cost the UK economy �770m every year, but

what harm is it really causing you and me? Metal theft is not a

sectors of community and we need to eradicate it.

And the sheer scale of this crimewave is sending our public

services into meltdown. How long do you think it will be

before a civil emergency? I think it is inevitable. There will be a

loss of supply due to this activity. The gangs are becoming more and

more determined to get what they want.

And when the theft of electrical cabling sparked this... It became

clear it's a potentially lethal crime. Somebody could be left

without a family member or seriously injured for the sake of a

few pounds. This is Avonmouth Docks scrapyard

near Bristol. We do a quarter million tons of metal a year.

That metal is recycled and exported. Here they stick to the rules, but

to make sure the metal they buy in is legitimate, they're always on

their guard. How do you know that all of this metal behind you is not

stolen? We have many Czechs are measures at our site. If we cannot

find any reasonable it to be legitimate and we are suspicious,

we will turn it away. How difficult is it to weed out the dodgy people?

It really is a range from people who do little to disguise stolen

mettle to criminal gangs who are incredibly professional at

disguising it. And the thieves are nicking

everything from the lead on roofs to drains from war memorials to

manhole covers. In fact, so many covers were stolen in North

Somerset last year that they're now trialling plastic ones instead. The

thefts cost the taxpayer up to �40,000, but just one stolen cover

can have a more serious cost for road-users.

They could actually be killed. There is no simple way of saying it,

it represents a death threat. It is not worth it for the amount of

money. Small businesses across the region

have also been targeted. This Somerset firm had �10,000 worth of

copper stolen just before Christmas. The burglars went in through the

back and cleared out all of our copper fittings, cylinders, boilers.

It could put you out of business and cost people who would then be

on the dole. This is a crime that's also hitting

at the heart of our vital services. I've come to this water plant in

Wiltshire where security is now such a worry that we've been asked

to keep its location secret. How many times has this site been

targeted? Three times in the two months before Christmas. A when the

thieves got on site, where did they start? At this point, at this cable

pit. They would remove the covers, throw them to the ground then cut

the cables live to start pulling the cables out that lead between

this pit, around the site and into the treating building. They cut

through live cable? Yes, they did. A very foolish and dangerous

activity. So they were taking their lives into their own hands in order

to get the site up and running again? How many customers could

have been affected? 6000 homes. people could have turned on the

taps and got nothing. It is a possibility, yes.

Thefts from sites like this have cost Wessex Water �1m in the past

two years. The gangs targeting them are looking for one thing - copper.

So this is what they are after? This is it. High-voltage copper

cable. All of this installation was stripped off on site so all that

arrived at their scrapyard was unidentifiable pure copper coil. It

has higher valuable and is untraceable. Worth about �1,000.

we have 70 metres of cable that can be pulled out of the Grand in an

hour and then all you need is a no questions asked scrap-metal dealer?

That is absolutely right. With that mindset, it is an easy way to make

money. Seen as a high yield, low risk

crime, cable theft has become a national epidemic. There are said

to be up to eight thefts every day on the railways causing disruption

to 3.8 million passengers last year alone. British Transport Police say

it is now their second highest priority just behind terrorism.

The gangs behind these deaths are getting organised and confident.

They are prepared to go to any lengths to get what they want.

have seen examples of all road work set-ups, cloned BT vehicles, people

with high-visibility jackets so that when members of the public

drive past or police drive past, they look like BT engineers doing

BT work. Last year BT saw a 12% rise in

attacks on its cable network. Here in Gloucestershire, thieves used

vehicles to simply yank 2,000 metres of cable out of the roadsid

cutting off hundreds of homes for days. The company has now set up

its own task force to tackle these thefts.

It is a crime that can impact essential services, ambulances,

fire engines, police. It can isolate communities and is a

serious crime. We have 40 people dedicated to combating this.

That work has seen raids take place at scrap yards across the country.

We are trying to send a message to owners of scrap metal dealers that

they should run their business appropriately. Today this will send

a message out. Operation Harold has resulted in a number of arrests,

but those who work in industry say that too often the wrong companies

are being targeted in the wrong way. It will always be the case that

their regulated legal operator is borne down on by regulators and law

enforcement because there are more visible and it is easier for the

authorities to target. We want to see better intelligence, more co-

ordinated police activity and not the local well-meaning fragmented

local police activity which frequently does nothing, but drive

the illegal trade next door into the next county or the next round.

But all sides agree there needs to be some change in the law governing

the scrap metal industry. It dates back to the sixties, the era of the

rag and bone men and these guys. have got some, and to hear.

Last week, the government announced it intends to increase fines and

outlaw cash payments for scrap metal.

But some believe a cash ban is not the way to go. If the government

introduced a ban on cash transactions for scrap metal, all

that would have Paul is it would drive the trade underground, the

legitimate trade, into the hands of the illegal and unregulated dealer.

Meanwhile, our public services have to come up with more and more ways

of beating the thieves themselves. So, these are your third set of

replacements? How we make sure you will not lease these? What security

measures are you putting in place. We have something that is a lacquer

that we sprayed onto the cables. And it has a DNA marking? That is

correct. Once we have sprayed the lack on, using a UV torch, we can

identify it on the cable. So if you shone a torch on a piece of cable,

you would see that it has this attached to it and you can identify

it? Yes. Forensic tagging like this may give

the authorities one more weapon in their war on metal theft, but

without a drastic change in the law no-one thinks this crime epidemic

will ever be completely crushed and that could have major consequences

for all of us. Any one of these events of cable

theft can turn into a civil emergency. Not just single

properties being isolated, potentially thousands of customers

can be put at risk. And if you've got a story to tell

us about then why not get in touch. My email address is

[email protected]. Later in the programme: From a

council house in Wells to the Olympic podium. The inspirational

Next, the crisis over faulty breast implants made by the French company

PIP. It's thought around 40,000 women in the UK have had the

implants fitted and for many of them the last few weeks have been

nothing short of a nightmare. Scott Ellis has been to see some of the

women here in the West desperate to The pressure's on to look good. In

Britain, we spend �2.3 billion a But the pursuit of perfection's

backfired for these women. It is; that was used either to make

mattresses or for their use of lubricating industrial machinery

and I am not a machine. silicone had gone into my body. The

only way I can describe it is as if you are being poisoned. I just want

them out. I'm sorry. I can't. Behind me, a woman is having her

PIP breasts removed. An operation that is costing thousands of pounds.

It is all because those in plants are made of industrial seller con.

They were sold to clinics for just �50 each and it meant that clinics

boosted profits. Alice Wilson-Gough from Bristol had

PIP breast implants in 2009. A year later they were banned after a high

number of ruptures in France. the time, I delved into the

internet and did as much research as I could. The more I uncovered,

the more shocked and, I guess, devastated I was. If you were to go

to them and say you wanted the implants replaced, what would they

say? They would say fine, but you need proof of a rupture or �3,500.

Despite protests, the Department of Health says there is no need to

routinely remove PIP implants. But Alice is worried one of hers may

have ruptured possibly while she breast feeding, Lacie. Naturally as

a mother, knowing that there is a chance that I could have harmed my

daughter as a result of these in plants, I can't really begin to

tell you how that felt. Knowing that I had done it for three months.

I'm sorry. Officially there are no safety issues surrounding PIP

implants and breast feeding. In Yate, Rita and her daughter Karen

both have PIP implants. Money's tight. They're hoping clinics will

drop their prices for replacements. I want them replaced. I just don't

know how I will afford it. I am a single mum of two. I did not

anticipate this, it is not something I have in the bank. And

looking at three or four or five grand. I don't know what I would do.

Why should we pay for you to have your implants removed? Why should

we pay for someone who chooses to smoke or drink? We have to pay that

as well and that cost millions per year. As a nurse, I have nursed

people that have had limbs amputated through smoking-related

diseases and he still have to push them outside for a cigarette and

yet we still treat them. That is their choice and having implants is

our choice, an informed choice that we thought was safe. So it is this

one on the left side we are concerned about? The one Alice

thinks his ruptured. Alice is back on the operating

table. She's decided to pay thousands for peace of mind.

Sir, For Women Like Alice, there is a great deal of upset and anxiety.

We have heard from another woman who has PIP him plants he is

convinced that warning signs about the company were they years ago.

Maria, these are your PIP labels from the operation you had in 1999?

Yes. I asked the surgeon for them because I wanted to confirm the

size he had put in, but looking back I am glad that I did. Maria

Brown's PIP implants ruptured in 2006. She had them removed at the

Bristol Royal Infirmary. She blames the rupture for years of ill health

I lost a beautiful house. I have lost my marriage. I have lost so

much. I am never going to get my health back again. If they would

have listened to me back then, something could have been done long

ago. This company could have been shut down years ago. This is eight

standard press planned. One of Bristol's top cosmetic

surgeon's agrees more could've to spot the ruptures. You have a

ticking bomb on your chest because we know this deal will give way. If

it does, it will leak out. He wants the UK to restart its

register of implants. The previous register was kept here at Salisbury

District Hospital. It was voluntary and closed in 2006. In the old days,

if I had taken a breast implant that was ruptured, I would have to

fill forms in. We would know what the ruptured one was. At the moment,

we have no idea. It would have stopped the rot sooner.

That register could perhaps have saved Alice from this traumatic

surgery. The surgeon is about to There is away in planned. It says

PIP. It has a serial number in it. It is intact.

Relief, as both of Alice's PIP implants are found to be intact.

She's having them replaced, unlike Maria, who won't have breast

surgery ever again and thinks some clinics exploit young women. We've

come to meet Rita, who runs her own cosmetic clinic. There was better

counselling out there. Maybe women like myself, we wouldn't have them

in the first place if we had the right help. It is a difficult one.

It comes under the question of choice. I think in today's society,

they expect you to conform to normal. It is a business at the end

of the day. You go and see a surgeon, you are taught through the

procedures but it is a money-making business. Would you as a surgeon

hope that few women have breast implants as a result of this?

puts women off, it has done a good job for society. It hasn't done a

good job for your business? I don't care about that. We have to put

patients first. It is patients before profit.

The morning after the operation. Alice has been told her PIP

implants were intact. I really hope they will be some kind of set up

for women who can't afford to have them out so they can have them out.

I am very angry but over the room that I don't have a rupture. I am

so lucky to have them out now and start moving on.

In our final film, we are celebrating the achievements of

Mary Rand. She grew up in Wales and went on to win gold, silver and

bronze in the Tokyo Olympics. In our final film tonight, we're

celebrating the achievements of Britain's first track and field

Golden Girl. At the Town Hall in Wells, the city council is

gathering for a special meeting. I'm keen to find out more about

Mary Rand. She's had roads named after her, even a set of gates, now

looking a bit the worse for wear. But the biggest clue is right under

your feet in the city's market square. It's a plaque, a really

really long one. It commemorates both a world record and an Olympic

It was 1964, in Tokyo, Japan. beautiful jump.

And it didn't stop there. She went on to win silver in the pentathlon

and a bronze in the sprint relay. But as the years have gone by, the

memories of that exciting day and Mary's stunning achievements have

faded. So whatever happened to Mary? Well, to find out, I've come

across the Atlantic to California. Mary moved to America more than 40

years ago and she now lives in a city called Atascadero on the

Pacific coast road between Los Angeles and San Francisco. Now in

her early seventies, Mary leads a gentle and relaxed lifestyle, a far

cry from her heady days on the athletics track. I asked her about

her memories of growing up in Wells. We had a great childhood. We used

to go hiking. We would be out all day. I knew everybody and everybody

knew me. I don't know if I was a good thing! That is where it all

began. I used to go to the local fete and they used to have a race

around the orchard. I used to beat all the boys.

She excelled in athletics at secondary school, then the life of

the daughter of the local chimney sweep was to change forever with a

sports scholarship to the exclusive Millfield School in Somerset.

was a man called John Bromfield. He was a wonderful guy and had a lot

of faith in me. I started getting an invitation for an international

meet. I understand you got expelled? They always say I was

expelled. I had a boyfriend who was from Thailand. His parents wanted

me to go to France to meet them. I had a telephone call saying if I

left the country, you cannot come back. My father spoke to the

headmaster and said, "if this is the case, she would be coming

back.". You were not a wild child back then? What do you mean by a

wild child? I was just normal. My life was consumed with athletics.

What happened in Rome in 1960? You went as the favourite. Yeah s, I

did. My nerves must have been playing into it. I started having

lots of trouble. When you are in an event like the Olympics, you are on

your own and you have had all that training and help. I did learn

something from it but it was disappointing.

But despite the temptation to quit and now newly wed with her first

child, she put failure behind her and trained hard for the next

Olympics in Tokyo where she would triumph.

Talk me through your world record jump? What went through your mind?

He was so nervous. You have to get your mind set and block everything

out. It was on my 5th jump that I did the wrote -- world record.

beautiful jump, she has rarely sales there. You can see the world

record mark there. It looked like the first 22 fighter ever by a

woman. Here she is in slow motion. It is a new world record and the

Olympic title for Mary Rand. They called out six: 76. I didn't know

what it was because it was in metres and we were not in metres

then. It was an incredible moment. What was it like being on the

middle step? I really wanted to jump up and down and yell and

scream. I was very composed. What was the reception like?

Unbelievable. I couldn't believe it when I got back there and went to

visit my mum and dad. They had this huge rolls Royce and they had a

marching band. There were people lining the street. It was so nice

to see the people I had grown up with and to see how thrilled they

were. It was spectacular because we were all about -- we were all out

there to see her. It was a fantastic day and I was very proud

and honoured to be carrying the market up at the Olympic torch.

is very special because it is where I was born, to be proud of what I

had done and sharing it with them. Even more accolades followed. She

was voted BBC Sports Personality of the Year in 1964 followed by an MBE

in the New Year's Honours. But what does Mary think about this latest

honour which is being discussed whether or not to give her the

Freedom of the City of Wells? feel it is a long time. If you ask

any other person today, they wouldn't know who I was. If you ask

someone around my age, they might remember. I don't expect to be made

a fuss of. More than 5,000 miles away back in

Somerset, Wells city councillors have been debating behind closed

doors for more than an hour and it looks like they've finally made

their decision. I am pleased to announce that we have decided to

award a merry band the honorary freedom of the city of Wells.

out side to beat Town Hall. You have been granted a the freedom of

the city. That is fantastic Tony. You have worked so hard. I am over

the moon and delighted. I can't believe it. Thank you.

Congratulations Mary, that is wonderful. How do you feel?

didn't expect anything like this. It is a great honour. I am thrilled

to bits. I am thrilled to bits and I thank the Council for giving her

the freedom of the city. What could be better?

The people of Wells will now start planning the historic ceremony in

which Mary will receive the city's highest honour. And they'll be

preparing to celebrate another welcome home for their golden girl

who leapt into the record books. When I see it now, I can't believe

I jumped that far. Let us hope her -- she has inspired

a new generation of athletes to big successes at the Olympic Games this

summer. That is it for this week. In our next programme, we will be

investigating concerns about staying safe on the internet.