03/02/2014

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:00:00. > :00:12.Hello from Gloucester, where we re on the hunt for affordable homes.

:00:13. > :00:15.Tonight: Demand for social housing is on the rise, so why are

:00:16. > :00:18.developers tearing up their agreements to build more? With the

:00:19. > :00:24.housing market being depressed, the viability has gone down. We've had

:00:25. > :00:29.some sites that have gone down to no affordable housing just to get the

:00:30. > :00:32.site back into use. Also tonight: The clever pilot

:00:33. > :00:39.project helping to get Somerset s old people online. Hello Jean. At

:00:40. > :00:45.first I thought, I will never too it and now I'm glad I tried.

:00:46. > :00:52.And? taking to the sky with Europe's first ever disabled balloon pilot.

:00:53. > :00:56.There is no reason why disabled people shouldn't be able to fly

:00:57. > :01:01.balloons. Once you are in the air, there is no distinction.

:01:02. > :01:08.I'm Alastair McKee and this is Inside Out West.

:01:09. > :01:13.First tonight, recent reports that house prices are creeping up again

:01:14. > :01:16.might be good news to some people. But if you're looking for an

:01:17. > :01:20.affordable home, whether to rent or buy, things just keep getting

:01:21. > :01:23.tougher. Now, to make matters worse, we've discovered house builders and

:01:24. > :01:35.councils across the West ripping up commitments to build cheaper homes.

:01:36. > :01:41.As the after ram cost of a home rose by more than 8% in 2013... The Bank

:01:42. > :01:45.of England is being urged to limit the average increase in house

:01:46. > :01:50.prices... Prices across the country are 3. 8% higher than they were a

:01:51. > :01:55.year ago... House prices are going up again in the West, but they are

:01:56. > :01:59.already 11 times the average salary here, meaning the hope of one day

:02:00. > :02:06.owning your own home remains for many people just a dream. If you

:02:07. > :02:09.can't buy, your only option is to rent, but rents are going up too. In

:02:10. > :02:16.fact private sector rents in the West are expected to rise by 62 in

:02:17. > :02:21.the next decade. For some people the only option is affordable housing.

:02:22. > :02:25.That's accommodation which is sold or rented below the market value,

:02:26. > :02:31.but not enough of this type of housing is being built to satisfy

:02:32. > :02:34.demand. Local authorities have traditionally use Section 106 of the

:02:35. > :02:41.planning laws to try and make developers build more. Take this new

:02:42. > :02:45.development in yejly in Gloucestershire. The `` Quedgely in

:02:46. > :02:48.Gloucestershire. The council made developers sign a legal commitment

:02:49. > :02:52.to make 30% of what they build here affordable. It is something all our

:02:53. > :02:56.councils have been doing for decades as a way of tackling homelessness.

:02:57. > :03:00.But we've discovered house builders and councils across the West are

:03:01. > :03:05.tearing up these Section 106 agreements and failing to comply

:03:06. > :03:10.with their affordable housing targets. There was a time when the

:03:11. > :03:15.Government was firmly committed to building social housing. The first

:03:16. > :03:20.two people's houses are ready for the Minister of housing, Harold

:03:21. > :03:26.Macmillan, to view with the architect. Tens of thousands were

:03:27. > :03:32.constructed in the '40s to house a population devastated by two world

:03:33. > :03:36.wars. By the 1970s a third of Britain's population lived in

:03:37. > :03:41.council properties like these. But in the '`80s under the Thatcher

:03:42. > :03:44.Government's right to buy scheme, local authorities were forced to

:03:45. > :03:49.sell off much of this housing stock, which was not replaced. Successive

:03:50. > :03:59.Governments have since failed to build enough social housing to plug

:04:00. > :04:04.the gap. I've come to Higbridge in Somerset to meet a family who are

:04:05. > :04:10.suffering as a result. Hello little guy, what's your name? It is Oscar.

:04:11. > :04:14.How old is little Oscar then? He's eight months today. Eight months

:04:15. > :04:21.today! How many others have you got? I've got two more ` Leah, who is

:04:22. > :04:27.two, and Charlie who is five. The Hectors are squeezed into this

:04:28. > :04:31.two`bedroom council flat. Fiona and Ken both work but can't afford to

:04:32. > :04:35.buy or rent a home on the open market. This looks like your room,

:04:36. > :04:40.but there's another bed there, that looks like Leah's bed. How do you

:04:41. > :04:45.find sharing with your little girl? It is not nice. She really needs to

:04:46. > :04:50.be in her own bedroom. We make do with what we've got. You don't get

:04:51. > :04:56.much sleep? No. No. And you need your sleep when you are a family, a

:04:57. > :05:02.big family. That's pretty tough isn't it? Two beds and a cot in here

:05:03. > :05:06.and cupboards and things. There is no room. I suppose if the bed wasn't

:05:07. > :05:11.there, it would be the perfect space to have extra storage or at least a

:05:12. > :05:15.bedside table or room to get dressed or something. They've been stuck on

:05:16. > :05:21.a waiting list for a more suitable property for a year now. I can see

:05:22. > :05:25.that cocompromise you are struggling with `` to compromise you are

:05:26. > :05:30.struggling with space. What impact does it have on you? Particularly

:05:31. > :05:35.you two? It is difficult. I'm not here most of the time. We have our

:05:36. > :05:39.ups and downs, especially as it took two`and`a`half years to get this

:05:40. > :05:44.one. It is difficult to settle on it being a sense that it is your home,

:05:45. > :05:49.you want your home to be for keeps don't you? What's the point of

:05:50. > :05:54.putting my energy into ago that this a home and then fork out to have to

:05:55. > :06:00.do it again. I think Charlie might be ready for his tea. Are you

:06:01. > :06:05.hungry? In 2011, the number of families in the South West on social

:06:06. > :06:15.housing waiting lists rose by a quarter to nearly 200,000. Bye? . It

:06:16. > :06:22.was the largest increase in the country. The Housing Federation

:06:23. > :06:27.represents the UK's housing associations. It is concerned about

:06:28. > :06:30.the scale of the problem. Everybody now knows somebody, those really

:06:31. > :06:36.struggling with the cost of housing had, whether they are a family who

:06:37. > :06:40.are living in private rented accommodation and want to save for a

:06:41. > :06:44.mortgage, whether they are on a council housing waiting list and are

:06:45. > :06:49.never going to get to the top of that list, or whether they are in an

:06:50. > :06:53.unsuitable property. This issue with affordable housing is right the way

:06:54. > :06:58.across the board and cuts across the social classes. So, affordable

:06:59. > :07:02.housing is everyone's problems, not just families like the Hectors. It

:07:03. > :07:05.has been left to our local authorities to encourage private

:07:06. > :07:09.developers to build them. As guardians of the planning laws,

:07:10. > :07:15.councils were able to use Section 106 of the Town and Country Planning

:07:16. > :07:19.Act to do this. It is obliged developers building 15 or more

:07:20. > :07:25.properties on a site to make a percentage of them affordable,

:07:26. > :07:30.according to local needs. Mr Secretary Pickles... But in 201 ,

:07:31. > :07:37.the Government changed the rules, relaxing these constraints. We'll

:07:38. > :07:41.make it easier for developers to change unrealistic Section 106

:07:42. > :07:47.agreements negotiated at the height of Labour's unsustainable economic

:07:48. > :07:52.boom. The changes were divined to northern regeneration, but `` to

:07:53. > :07:56.encourage regeneration, but critics say they provide a loophole for

:07:57. > :08:00.developers. This part of Gloucester senior badly in need of some of that

:08:01. > :08:04.regeneration, burr with 5,000 people on the council housing waiting list

:08:05. > :08:11.there's also an urgent need for affordable homes. This is the

:08:12. > :08:15.boundary wall of what used to be Gloucester college of arts and

:08:16. > :08:20.technology. Two years ago Lindsay was given `` Linden Homes was given

:08:21. > :08:24.permission to build homes on condition that a quarter of it as

:08:25. > :08:29.affordable. They are build ng 2 0 homes had here. 64 were supposed to

:08:30. > :08:34.be affordable, but that has been halved to 52, as Linden Homes says

:08:35. > :08:41.they can't make enough profit. It sounds as if the developers have got

:08:42. > :08:47.you over a barrel really. We want to build fewer. We do check their

:08:48. > :08:51.costings. We have a team in the City Council that look over them. They

:08:52. > :09:00.make sure that what the developer is saying is true. At the moment with

:09:01. > :09:04.the housing market being depressed, viability has gone down. How typical

:09:05. > :09:08.is the situation here where the amount of affordable housing has

:09:09. > :09:11.been cut by half. Is that reflected across the city? We are seeing it

:09:12. > :09:15.more and more in applications where they are coming back. Whilst we are

:09:16. > :09:21.concerned, we would rather see the city being regenerated than be left

:09:22. > :09:27.with empty, derelict build pension. We've had some sites where we've

:09:28. > :09:31.gone down to no affordable housing to get the site back into use.

:09:32. > :09:36.Linden Homes told us in a statement that the recession had impacted on

:09:37. > :09:39.their predicted revenues. They also said that new building and energy

:09:40. > :09:45.efficiency regulations had made it more costly to build here. What s

:09:46. > :09:49.happened at this site is by no means an isolated case. A we asked local

:09:50. > :09:53.authorities across the West how many of the large last housing

:09:54. > :09:56.developments met their own affordable housing targets. Of those

:09:57. > :10:03.that provided information, the answer was less than half. Bristol

:10:04. > :10:07.had the worst result. Only two of its six largest developments met

:10:08. > :10:12.their affordable housing targets. Bath and North East Somerset was the

:10:13. > :10:17.best performer but still only eight out of ten met their target. I'm not

:10:18. > :10:21.surprised but I am concerned. This is a real problem. A lot of local

:10:22. > :10:24.authorities recently have been missing their targets on the

:10:25. > :10:29.percentage of affordable homes that they want to deliver. There are a

:10:30. > :10:33.lot of reasons for that. One of them being the stagnation of the housing

:10:34. > :10:38.market as a whole. But now we've seen that recovery is starting to

:10:39. > :10:44.come through we would want to see that percentage going up and more

:10:45. > :10:48.affordable houses being built and targets being met and possibly

:10:49. > :10:53.exceeded in some areas. For an increasing number of families like

:10:54. > :10:56.the Hectors the rise in house prices is disastrous. It means that

:10:57. > :10:59.generations will never be able to rent in the private sector, let

:11:00. > :11:10.alone afford to buy their own home. Coming up: The sky's the limit for

:11:11. > :11:22.Europe's first ever disabled balloon pilot.

:11:23. > :11:28.. Social media sites like Facebook,

:11:29. > :11:31.Skype and Twitter have already revolutionised many of our lives.

:11:32. > :11:34.But what about those who might benefit from it most ` older people

:11:35. > :11:38.isolated from their friends and family? We've been to meet some of

:11:39. > :11:49.them trying it out for very the first time. `` for the very first

:11:50. > :11:51.time. The Val Nash has lived in a care home in Shepton Mallet for

:11:52. > :11:58.three`and`a`half years since she became unable to take care of

:11:59. > :12:03.herself. Sometimes I wake up ten o'clock in the morning and have a

:12:04. > :12:08.late breakfast. Then they get me tressed and I sit in my chair and

:12:09. > :12:13.wait for the coffee trolley to come round. Then there's lunch and in the

:12:14. > :12:18.afternoon I sometimes have a nap. The South West is home to the

:12:19. > :12:23.highest proportion of over 65s in the country. And the numbers are

:12:24. > :12:28.rising. We care for the type of people that the rest of the

:12:29. > :12:32.country's going to see in about 15`20, 50 years, depending on which

:12:33. > :12:36.area you compare us with. A lot of the rest of the country is looking

:12:37. > :12:40.to us to see what some of the future solutions will be to make care

:12:41. > :12:47.needs. Up to a fifth of over 75s describe themselves as isolated Cut

:12:48. > :12:51.off from family and friends. All human beings need to feel included,

:12:52. > :12:54.to feel a part of a group. We all have this desire. It is really

:12:55. > :12:59.important for all of us to feel that we are part of our family networks.

:13:00. > :13:03.Because older people tend to not be able to leave their house, maybe

:13:04. > :13:11.can't drive any more, it can really have negative impacts on their

:13:12. > :13:16.general wellbeing and happiness Val's lucky. Her husband lives judge

:13:17. > :13:24.US a few minutes drive from her care home. Alright? Lovely. I come in

:13:25. > :13:28.twice a day. Val can't feed herself. If she had a knife and fork, her

:13:29. > :13:34.fork would be over here and her mouth's over here, so I come in and

:13:35. > :13:42.feed her. I feel very blessed. I've got two lovely sons. And a lovely

:13:43. > :13:47.husband. But she sees a lot less of the rest of her family. I like to be

:13:48. > :13:53.in touch with my sister of course, and my brother, who lives in Ascot.

:13:54. > :13:57.This is where it is hoped social media could help. From her room in

:13:58. > :14:01.Somerset, Val could make video calls to friends and family around the

:14:02. > :14:09.world. But getting online can be a bewildering experience for anyone

:14:10. > :14:13.not used to using computers. I've forgotten, I used to do our accounts

:14:14. > :14:19.on them, so it will come back. I've got to make this work. She's been

:14:20. > :14:23.selected to take part in a research project set up to find out if some

:14:24. > :14:28.older people might benefit from being trained to use social media.

:14:29. > :14:34.It is a European`funded project to see if using technology can improve

:14:35. > :14:38.someone's quality of life, by connecting them via Skype and

:14:39. > :14:43.e`mail. Rosemary Hodgson has already taken part in the research. She

:14:44. > :14:47.moved no a care home in Wells to be with her husband. He died last year,

:14:48. > :14:53.leaving Rosemary isolated from many of her family and friends. I kept in

:14:54. > :14:57.touch with my relatives by postcard, birthday card, Christmas card, that

:14:58. > :15:01.sort of thing. But you don't have a lot of room to say what you want to

:15:02. > :15:06.say and all the thoughts that come into your mind, they don't get put

:15:07. > :15:10.down on paper. Rosemary was given three months training to find her

:15:11. > :15:16.way around Facebook, e`mail and sore social media. I hadn't even heard of

:15:17. > :15:19.the word Skype, so that was an I opener. I realised I would be able

:15:20. > :15:24.to see people while I talked to them. I thought that the would

:15:25. > :15:30.probably make it more intimate and fun, and it has done. Rosemary, I'm

:15:31. > :15:36.going to ask you a few questions about how you file generally. Once

:15:37. > :15:40.somebody signs up to be part of this they go through an initial interview

:15:41. > :15:47.process. This is us collecting data about a range of things, so we look

:15:48. > :15:50.at how their mind works, different areas of cognitive function, and we

:15:51. > :15:54.ask about their general wellbeing and how they feel about computers

:15:55. > :15:58.and their attitudes to computers,s and their feelings in that way.

:15:59. > :16:05.How often would you say you feel left out of things? Would you say

:16:06. > :16:11.never, rarely... Never. We interview them again after their training is

:16:12. > :16:14.over. We are interested if there've been any changes, and her general

:16:15. > :16:18.wellbeing and how she feels. How often do you feel you can find

:16:19. > :16:25.companionship when you wanted? When you are in the mood for someone to

:16:26. > :16:28.be around... I would say always That Everyone taking part in the

:16:29. > :16:35.research is given their own modified computer to learn on. All we've done

:16:36. > :16:39.is simplified the front screen and arranged the icons to make it look

:16:40. > :16:44.like they are but thetons. When someone turns a PC on, if they

:16:45. > :16:48.wanted to get to the internet, they know straight away where to go. Back

:16:49. > :16:52.in Shepton Mallet Val is about to get her first training session on

:16:53. > :16:59.her computer, joined by husband Keith. I'm going to teach both of

:17:00. > :17:04.you how to use Skype by doing a test call to Jason. This is the screen

:17:05. > :17:10.you will see when the computer comes up. You've only got six options to

:17:11. > :17:15.worry about. There's not lots of small icons. So if I want to open

:17:16. > :17:24.science, I just touch it. It is a tap with your finger. `` if I want

:17:25. > :17:29.to open Skype we tap it with your finger. For contacts you have your

:17:30. > :17:36.friend Jean, and Field House, the care home. To call Field House we

:17:37. > :17:47.click on Field House. There we go. Hi Keith. Hi Jason. How are you We

:17:48. > :17:53.are fine. We've got a clear picture of you. Are you with it so far,

:17:54. > :17:57.dear? Yes. There is a worry that video calls might replace a visit.

:17:58. > :18:00.Thank God that hasn't happened. We found the technology drawing people

:18:01. > :18:05.in. It gives people something to share when they are here, so they

:18:06. > :18:10.are bringing their iPads and laptops and it is a conservation piece with

:18:11. > :18:14.their relatives. And there are other potential health benefits arising

:18:15. > :18:20.from older people using social media. We'll be able to look at how

:18:21. > :18:24.we can use it to prompt people, so there's evidence there's evidence

:18:25. > :18:30.about what we call medicines optimisation, so that means people

:18:31. > :18:35.take their when they need to, and compliant, another word we use, and

:18:36. > :18:40.that they are enabled to take their medication on time. At first I

:18:41. > :18:45.thought, I will never do it. Now I'm glad I tried. I would advise people,

:18:46. > :18:49.however worried they might be about not catching on, you can try it and

:18:50. > :18:55.it is not as difficult as you think it is. It is the moment of truth for

:18:56. > :19:00.Val, as she and Keith attempt to make their very first video call, to

:19:01. > :19:16.a relative in America. And I press that? Yes. And now it is dialling.

:19:17. > :19:20.." Hello?" Hello Jean. Hello Bernie. Good to see you, you're looking

:19:21. > :19:25.great. And you. Thank you. Val is at the beginning of her training. But

:19:26. > :19:30.already she has seen how she can keep in touch with friend and family

:19:31. > :19:36.from the comfort of her own room. You will be able to see if I'm

:19:37. > :19:42.online and you can just press your video call button and I can see it

:19:43. > :19:56.and answer and then you can see me. Yes! OK. God bless, Jean. God bless,

:19:57. > :20:02.Bernie. Bye! That was brilliant Absolutely brilliant! And to see her

:20:03. > :20:05.blowing a kiss and she blew one back. Unbelievable all this sky and

:20:06. > :20:13.stuff between us. Wonderful. He's famous for being the first ever

:20:14. > :20:17.balloonist to fly non`stop around the world. But now Somerset's Brian

:20:18. > :20:21.Jones has been on a new mission to teach Europe's first disabled

:20:22. > :20:33.balloon pilot how to fly. Will Glennon followed him to Italy.

:20:34. > :20:45.This is Monday Monday in Mondovi in northern Italy, surrounded by the

:20:46. > :20:50.drama of the Alps. The mountains protect the area from extreme

:20:51. > :20:54.weather. It is a perfect place to fly hot`air balloons. You can get

:20:55. > :21:02.airborne all year round and all day in winter. So where better for

:21:03. > :21:13.Europe's first disable pilot to get his wings? With the sun just up we

:21:14. > :21:18.arrived on the outskirts of town. Balloon pilot and instructor Brian

:21:19. > :21:23.Jones has made the long journey from Somerset. With the help of local

:21:24. > :21:29.Italian balloonists he will be training pilot Tim Ellison. Wind

:21:30. > :21:34.direction this morning is crucial. A trainee needs a minimum of 16 hours

:21:35. > :21:40.flying in order to qualify, so they need to get airborne. Conditions are

:21:41. > :21:44.really nice actually. Hardly any wind. From a training point of view

:21:45. > :21:50.it is great. Tim's a fast learner and is already picking up the

:21:51. > :21:55.basics. So we turn the bottle on to the side you are going to light

:21:56. > :22:01.initially. One it is on you have a listen. He is Brian's first ever

:22:02. > :22:05.disabled student. This is a new experience, and completely different

:22:06. > :22:11.to any type of flying I've done before. Burning. Brian was born in

:22:12. > :22:16.Bristol and has flown balloons for decades. He's best known for his

:22:17. > :22:24.record`breaking nonstop round the world flight in the Breitling

:22:25. > :22:27.orbiter three. Ed a he and co`pilot Bertrand Pickard made headlines

:22:28. > :22:32.everywhere. Now an instructor and examiner it was Brian's idea to get

:22:33. > :22:37.disabled pilots into the sport. There is no reason why disabled

:22:38. > :22:42.people shouldn't be able to fly balloons. They fly aeroplanes and

:22:43. > :22:49.other things. I thought, why aren't there more people? I thought, it is

:22:50. > :22:54.a nice project. The first hurtle was creating the right accessible

:22:55. > :22:57.equipment. A twishl wicker basket can fly disailed passengers but

:22:58. > :23:01.pilots need to reach all the controls and see where they are

:23:02. > :23:05.going. This double chair is a specially adapted design. If Tim is

:23:06. > :23:09.to be a pilot, it is essential he can inflate the balloon on his own.

:23:10. > :23:16.It is a tricky manoeuvre but he s got it. They are almost ready to go.

:23:17. > :23:21.It is all about burner control. The aim is to take off and stay low

:23:22. > :23:25.Then we'll climb and do practise emergencies and do some practise

:23:26. > :23:29.approaches. I would think that's probably enough for one day. It is a

:23:30. > :23:31.fairly reasonable day in terms of the weather and I think we'll have a

:23:32. > :23:47.good morning's flying. Conditions today may not have looked

:23:48. > :23:51.that great. It is overcast and pretty cold, but it is OK for

:23:52. > :23:55.balloon flying. The winds are light. That's the main thing. It has given

:23:56. > :24:00.Tim and Brian the chance to cram in the hours they need. Tim may look

:24:01. > :24:09.relaxed in the air, but it was a serious flying accident in 199 `` in

:24:10. > :24:16.1992 when an RAF pilot that put him in a wheelchair. I was bringing a

:24:17. > :24:23.Harrier into land vertically. You hover over a concrete pad and just

:24:24. > :24:31.as I stabilised the engine failed catastrophically. It exploded. With

:24:32. > :24:36.no thrust you drop like a brick Anything perpendicular to the ground

:24:37. > :24:44.was broken, so my lower legs and ankles and spine. The impact was so

:24:45. > :24:49.hard it broke my ribs and burst both lungs. At the time in my hospital

:24:50. > :24:53.bed it seemed a minor thing that I wouldn't walk again. Itch was happy

:24:54. > :24:57.to be alive and I still had the things that were precious to me

:24:58. > :25:01.Doctors said he would never fly again, but two years later he was

:25:02. > :25:06.airborne and has never looked back. For Tim and all disabled pilots the

:25:07. > :25:10.biggest danger is landing. As well as the usual hazards, he has to

:25:11. > :25:17.avoid tipping over and potentially getting trapped. At good ground crew

:25:18. > :25:22.has to be on hand. Another safe landing a. They made it down in one

:25:23. > :25:25.piece. Hopping the balloon to the corner of the field so Tim can get

:25:26. > :25:29.out. That was really good. There were lots of different wind

:25:30. > :25:33.conditions. It is not fast, so it is not incredibly challenging but it

:25:34. > :25:38.does make you think a bit. A great flight this morning. A bit cold but

:25:39. > :25:43.Tim is extraordinary. I've never had a student who got it quite this

:25:44. > :25:49.quickly. It is not all flying though. With five exams to pass

:25:50. > :25:56.there's also classroom time. Airman Tim breezes through. But news of his

:25:57. > :26:03.challenge has got around. Hello Tim? Hi Stefano. Welcome. The whole town

:26:04. > :26:11.is excited and the Mayor of Mondovi came to give his personal backing.

:26:12. > :26:16.Tim is special. He is someone who has managed to get over his

:26:17. > :26:19.disability and has shown you can have a full life and practising what

:26:20. > :26:24.you really love. We are so happy to have the first European to become an

:26:25. > :26:31.air balloon pilot as a disabled On the launch field it is a crucial

:26:32. > :26:34.day. Tim's only got an hour or so of flying left to do before he gets the

:26:35. > :26:42.chance to go solo. Very important. Luckily for him conditions today are

:26:43. > :26:47.great. Once you are in the chair sitting

:26:48. > :26:51.next to an able`bodied person purr exactly, that gives you a great

:26:52. > :26:55.feeling of freedom. You don't get that feeling of freedom every day

:26:56. > :26:58.when you are on the ground. Airborne gives you a fantastic sense of

:26:59. > :27:02.achievement. With everything looking good it is the last big challenge.

:27:03. > :27:09.Tim is just one flight away from his licence. This time he's on his own.

:27:10. > :27:13.OK Tim, that's your flight check done. Well done, it was brilliant.

:27:14. > :27:18.Thank you. I have no problem sending you solo. Thanks. You need to fly

:27:19. > :27:36.for 30 minutes. Are you happy? Great.

:27:37. > :27:46.He's done it! Back on terra firma, safe, sound and successful. Thank

:27:47. > :27:51.you. I made it. It was really good. A beautiful day. A beautiful flight.

:27:52. > :27:57.I enjoyed it. It is a special moment for any pilot to do their first solo

:27:58. > :28:03.and Tim was perfect. I'm proud of him. My first disabled student. Who

:28:04. > :28:08.wouldn't be? And the first qualified disabled balloon pilot. In the

:28:09. > :28:13.tradition of the great balloon flights, it is all finished with a

:28:14. > :28:19.glass of champagne. CHEERING

:28:20. > :28:27.Cheers, Tim. That's just about it for this week,

:28:28. > :28:32.but if you'd like to keep in touch with what we're up to, you can find

:28:33. > :28:34.us on Twitter. Or you can email us at: Insideoutwest@bbc.co.uk. But

:28:35. > :28:45.from all of us here in Gloucester, thanks for watching. Goodnight.

:28:46. > :28:52.Next week, with much of the Somerset levels still underwater, we go to

:28:53. > :29:10.Holland to look at more radical solutions to the problem.

:29:11. > :29:15.A longer day, more exams and tougher discipline. That is what the

:29:16. > :29:19.government wants for pupils in England's state schools. Ministers

:29:20. > :29:24.believe it would bring standards closer to those in private schools.

:29:25. > :29:29.There is a warning over a social network raise after it was linked to

:29:30. > :29:32.guess in Ireland. It involves drinking and filming a stun. The

:29:33. > :29:37.body of the young man was found in the River. Tributes have poured in

:29:38. > :29:42.for the actor Philip Seymour Hoffman. It is thought he died from

:29:43. > :29:47.a heroin overdose. More of us are undergoing plastic

:29:48. > :29:50.surgery. The number of operations jumped 17% last year. Most were for

:29:51. > :29:54.breast implants, but the biggest rise was for liposuction.

:29:55. > :29:56.Imagine parking your car outside your house and waking up to this

:29:57. > :30:02.dash a Hello, I'm Will Glennon, the latest

:30:03. > :30:06.in the West. A man from the Forest of Dean's been

:30:07. > :30:09.jailed for two and a half years after taking police on two high

:30:10. > :30:14.speed chases in a few months. A judge told Christopher Wright it was

:30:15. > :30:15.pure luck no`one was killed. A landslip has left a house near