09/01/2012 Inside Out Yorkshire and Lincolnshire

By now many of us will have started a January detox, but can you

imagine going the whole of December without a single alcoholic drink?

Imagine the office Christmas party, Christmas Day or New Year's Eve,

without a single tipple. Well, that is exactly what Toby Foster who

enjoys a drink decided to do and here is how he got on. Now I work

in the entertainment business. The crowds are usually well oiled by

the time I take to the stage. Frankly, that is half the battle,

if you want to make them laugh. I like to join in with a few glasses

myself. It is rude not to! I was a brewery manager in a former life

and these days I live next door to a pub. So you can see alcohol does

feature fairly prominently in my life. But like many of you, if you

are honest, I reckon I have been pretty blase about the harm it

might be doing to me. And so many others. 20% of people who drink

have a problem. That problem is liver failure and death. One in

five people who drink. They can end up dying because of liver disease.

You don't know what is going to happen next. People like me and my

colleagues at the hospital and paramedics here and they will be

picking up the mess. BBC Radio Sheffield. I have been issued a

challenge. I. Not going to drink through December. The pub. It will

be shut down. It is November 25th and tonight I will compare for a

sell-out crowd. The booze is already flowing. The night starts

with the same ritual. Vicky, my box office manager loads up the fridge

for tonight's acts. When I heard he was going to have a challenge to

stop drinking, for December, considering how much shows we have

got, I think that will be one heck of a challenge for him. Can he do

it? I would like to say yes. And I am behind him to quit, but I don't

think he will. I've been working. She said were you drinking, I said

no, working. What is his usual tipple? Red wine. How many does he

drink? On a typical night, probably a bottle. Maybe? Possibly more.

you have a drink. I went no, I was at work. He went fair enough. The

most I have drunk on one of these nights is too much. I am relatively

professional. I don't get so I can't talk. A whistle there. Come

buy. They are having a drink. I'm having a drink. Probably three

bottles of wine was my worse. Which is ridiculous. Are you ready to see

the second act? The last act is on stage and that is my last drink at

the comedy club for a month now, until 2000 126789 everybody I have

spoken to said I won't do it. And I think I will. I'm 43 next. My dad

died at 52. I have got two kids. I don't want do that to them. So I am

going to use this as an opportunity to get a handle on it. But I must

say every time I have decided I won't drink I've failed. This is

the bit I don't like. I is have come to Barnsley hospital to

undergo some test, to see if drinking has damaged my body. Over

one million hospital admissions every year are due to excessive

alcohol. Costing the NHS more than �2.7 billion. The last time I saw

one of these I was going to be a dad.. We are looking for

abnormalitys in the liver. The various tubes that are plumbed in,

the blood vessels. So I have been poked, prodded and bled. Now the

time to get the results. Which if I am honest I am nervous about. First

it seems a bit more prodding is needed. People can have liver

problem, and feel nothing until it is quite late. If you could feel

something there I would be in trouble. Yes, so it is really good

news that blood tests is fine. The ultrasound scan is fine. The

examination is fine. No signs of: nick liver disease, but, you

probably in the medium risk group and you have to just make sure when

you drink, and how you drink. is a relief! Best have a drink to

celebrate! Tonight I am joining Inside Out presenters from all over

who are doing the same as me. And just to encourage us in our attempt

at dry December they have arranged shock tactics. Would you like to

see how you are going to look in ten years time. I wouldn't. If you

carry on drinking as much as you do. That is jab bah the Hut. That is

not me. This is my last drink of the year. In November. Not everyone

it seems has faith in my staying power. Ever since I have known him

he has had a drink. I think he will have trouble sleeping, and take it

out on the rest of the family. have been up since six clock. I

have written the proposal for next year's comedy festival in Sheffield.

Sent confirmation off for the comedians this week and now here we

are in the rain. Ready for a drink. He has been very good. He is

getting through it really well. He gets a bit bored and restless but

that is general Toby, without a drink. When people come to me and

ask me how I'm going on, they are not asking about me, they are

asking about themselves, you can see the fear in their lives. People

think it is strange I have stopped drinking and they think they

couldn't do it. But it is odd. I'm one week in, still sober. But

tonight will be my centreest test of resolve so far. It's the 16th

December and 450 people are in here to watch the ukulele band I'm in.

They will be drinking and I wish I was. Still the lads will support me.

Won't they? What is going on. are drinking beer? Are we not all

in this together? No, we are not! The support band is on stage. I am

stone cold sober and taking serious stick. What is that you are

drinking. Diet coke. That is wrong. He has only siebededed up to not

drink all through December. -- decided. What a (BLEEP).

# And the way you like to kiss # Experts have predicted as many as

250,000 of people will die from alcohol abuse over the next 20

years unless the Government takes the problem as seriously as it kid

smoking. Now that is a sobering thought. It is the night before

Christmas Eve in Barnsley. The town where this happened. This lass was

so drunk she fell under the train she had just staggered off.

Thankfully she was OK. And the town's braced for another bout of

binge drinking. On hand at the tax payers' expense San impressives for

of emergency worker, waiting to pick up the pieces. Dr Julian

Humphrey will be stationed here in a parked ambulance in the town

centre. They call it the drunk tab tank. You don't know what is going

to happen next. We would rather have a nice quiet night. The

reality is that will not be the case. The main purpose is to divert

people away from the emergency department up at the hospital. When

patients go up there they tend to take their friends wo have a few

drinks and you can have confrontations. Through no fault of

their own, having an accident or being a by stander in a fight that

goes off in a club. Right on cue his first casualty is a victim of

an unprovoked attack. It hurts. It winds me up, it is why does

everybody, even when you are drinking you know not to start

trouble. It has not been Christmas, it has been rubbish. It is

Christmas Day lunch. There is my wife's drink. There is my drink.

Nothing. Any way. Cheers. So hello and happy New Year. Happy New Year.

It is the first January 2012 and I had a drink last night. And it was

OK, I have a sore head this morning, I don't know really. I didn't miss

it too much. The last week, between Christmas and New Year I have

missed it more than ever. But the first three weeks were a breeze.

What? So I'm going to stop drinking now. I think it may be I pack it in

for a bit. See how much I get done. So thank you very much indeed. Bye.

Coming up. Making a come back. We go in search of elusive otter

13-year-old Rosie came from Wakefield has Asperger's syndrome.

She has a brother and sister her post disabled. We asked her to

explain to us what it was like growing up in a family that is a

little bit different. I am rosy. I am 13 years old. I

have a brother and sister. Daisy is 10. Lenny is a nine. I have a

lovely money. She is called Sharon. I have a dad who is equally as good.

We have a loss of the artistic spectrum in our life. I have

Asperger's. And by brother and sister are also disabled. What do

you think of that one? You can think of what it is in your mind,

but it is almost impossible to put down in words. You would have to

see through the eyes of an autistic child to know exactly what cities.

I can see that, but it is hard to put into words. We are looking at

busy's uniform so that she can go to high school in 10 days' time.

While our own, everything is great. It is when we are right, you have

to be 100% alert to what they're doing. They are not aware of any

dangers. I'm just making sure they're not doing anything they

should not be doing. I can get so stressed sometimes. I get these

little tics. I sometimes scream for no reason at all or just want to

run. I would just changed from extremely happy to extremely sad.

People would just think I'm being like this on purpose and they would

laugh. They would make fun of me. For someone like Rosie, who is

bright and academic, it is also important for people to sometimes

make allowances for her. Her socialisation does not come as

naturally as other people's. She has had to learn things like how

far to stand away from someone when you are talking to them. She has

had to learn to maintain eye contact when people are talking to

her. These things can be mistaken as rudeness or naughtiness. Daisy

is a lot different. She has kabuki syndrome and not autism. That

mixture quite small for her age and her brain his way back in a two

year-old's. In many ways, she is a two-year-old in a 10-year-old's

body. Daisy has some physical differences as well. Generally,

strangers will see her and will know that she has a learning

disability. With Lenny, it is a different matter. His features are

regular. He looks like any other boy. But he might be acting

differently. When I was eight years old, I got diagnosed with

Asperger's syndrome. Now I am going to meet someone who got diagnosed

when he was 40. He got a book called the Little Rain man, of

which taught adults about autism. I read the book to understand more

about Lenny. I find a lot of symptoms in their that just

described to me and I told mum. I went to a diagnosis and then it

turned out I had Asperger's syndrome. How are you dealing with

it at school? It is OK. I used to get bullied at school when I was

your age. Basically, people did not understand me, they did not

understand what was going on with me. I did not like school. I did

not have many friends at school. I find it hard to get on. I felt as

though I did not belong on this earth, because you just feel like

you think differently and you look at things differently. Basically, I

found it hard. Are you working? have worked at four places and 22

years. It was hard work. People did not understanding. I would get on

with the job and then somebody would hide my brush when I was

speaking -- sweeping up. My brother sometimes messes up my room and

that annoys me. Alike my room very neat. But I do not really let my

mum tidy my room because she puts things in the wrong places. -- I

like my room. I had a really nice experience meeting Tony. He is one

of the best people I have ever met. He should be given a really massive

award for being Tony. I have learnt a lot of strategies and a lot of

very good things from meeting him. For Asperger's and autism in

particular, at the more people understand about the traits, at the

more unlikely people hour to get a diagnosis. Once the shame is taken

away, I also think people are much more likely to see -- seek counter

diagnoses so they can get the help and advice they need. A lot of

people have learned from dizzy, a lot of people in mainstream schools.

-- daisies. She cannot go to my school because there is so much

moving around and she has difficulty walking. We are taking

her to Cockfield Park and she will enjoy it there, hopefully. --

Cockfield Park. This is his school for children with severe and

complex learning disabilities. They stay from 11-19. One-third of them

have a diagnosis of autism. I said good morning to everybody here and

now we're going to saying hello to everybody in our new class one.

Hallow, Dizzy! -- how low, Daisy! It filled me with excitement for

her. The school is geared towards independence and branching out. I

think she will be very happy. has enjoyed being in class,

exploring the school, being outside at playtime. You can tell she is a

bit tired. Every family has the challenges. Our Rosie is happy and

outgoing. For most Asperger's people, their social skills are a

problem. With her, her social skills a fantastic! And the fact

that we're all disabled, and that could make it any buddy's life

really difficult. We are very happy family. A lot of families like us,

they have difficult lives. But we just get on with it and our lives

In recent years, and Occupy Wall Street have made an astonishing

comeback after their numbers were almost wiped out in the 1970s and

1980s. -- otters have made a comeback. We tried to film a family

of Potter's and we knew it would not be easy. -- a family of otters.

Hidden away in the corner of East Yorkshire is an unlikely nature

reserve. It is a place where modern industrial man comes face-to-face

with a spectacular array of wildlife. This little known site on

the River Hall is part nature reserve and part water treatment

works. The 300 acre facility has a mix of woodland, marshes and

lagoons that are surrounded on all sides by intensely farmed land.

This place supplies about 85% of our drinking water. But it also

plays host to a vast array of wildlife. It is best known for its

birds, with over 160 species regularly seen each year. But there

are plenty of other animals hiding away. One of the most prized assets

is a family of extremely camera-shy otters. We're going to try and fill

done. These daylight pictures of offers were filmed in Somerset and

a rare because the animals are mostly nocturnal and wary of humans.

Otter numbers are now back any increase after reaching an all-time

low in the 1970s due to pollution and the loss of habitat. With only

one family living at the top of this river, they will be hard to

find. Luckily, the site Ranger is something of an expert. Haiti you

know that otters are using this area? -- How do you know? They will

always use the same routes. This trail is one of them. They're

making a very regular report. They have virtually wore no it out. --

warned it out. -- warned it out. This is offer faeces. It is quite

brittle but filled with tiny little fish bones. This is a giveaway that

they have been using this area? This is proof positive. To try and

encourage otters to settle in the nature reserve, they are being

given a helping hand. Houses are being dug into suitable sites.

Otters like to nest in underground chambers. They like easy access to

water. It is quite a quiet area where nobody normally walks. It is

a nice quiet spot. It might need to go one diagonally. And we will

shifted round a bid to match that all up there. -- shift it round a

bit. It could take two years until they get used to it. They're not

going to be too sure about a new feature. They could view it as a

trap. For an offer that finds this, it is a pretty good home, isn't it?

It is, yes. So the best thing we can do is just leave it be? Yes.

and down to business. Our aim is to try and get these otters on camera.

How do you propose we film These Animal Mike? One option is to film

at the old fashioned way with night vision gear. The other option is to

use camera traps which take a picture every time the subject used

-- moves past it. Fingers crossed, it will be quite tricky. It will

pick anything up to a 10 metre range. Hopefully, anything that

does go past, we should have a reasonable chance of getting it. So,

all we have to do is wait for the dark and hope for some otters.

we start to use the light, or are we have the use of these night-

vision binoculars. We can use these to get a view after the hours of

darkness. It could be about 10:30pm. The light has pretty much gone. We

are switching to infra-red cameras. Hopefully we can see things going

past. We scour the marsh area for any signs that otters might be

about. After several hours, nothing. There is nothing tonight,

unfortunately. Let's go and check the camera trap. We pick our way

back through the dark to where we set the camera, but sadly, the only

thing it has captured his us coming to check it. We have not seen

anything tonight, but we will not give up. We're going to be said

that traps and come back at a later date and hopefully pick something

up. -- reset the traps. It has been about two months since we were last

here. In that time, there have been some reported sightings of offers.

We just have to hope that one of them has been through one of our

camera traps. A loaf. Hello. Good to see you again. We are going to

NT become a track -- trap and see what it has picked up in the last

couple of months. Quite a few of our regulars are very keen and have

been very successful with sightings. Fingers crossed. Let's see what we

have got. We load the camera's card on to a computer, and it is just a

question of what it has seen. There's the tale of a pheasant.

There is a our offer! There is another one. Look at that! Probably

one of the cubs, I would think. This is probably one of the

youngsters on film. He is probably about six months old. It is just

one glimpse from two months of filming, but it proves there fear

still on the reserve. The NDC some other footage from when they were

younger. -- then we see. Here are three cubs. That is fantastic. To

get if you like that, it does not matter how many hours we need to

put in. Richard has also managed to get some rare footage of otters in

daylight on his video camera. can just see them preaching like a

group of dolphins. It is the same family from the camera trap. That

is fantastic. They are actively hunting the reed bed. I suppose you

have to be prepared night after night after night. Proof positive

that the Offer's exist. If you want to see them, you need to have a lot

If you want to contact us about any of tonight's stories, you can do

via Facebook or Twitter. That is all from here in Yorkshire. Please