05/11/2012 Inside Out Yorkshire and Lincolnshire

Welcome to the programme. Here is what is on the show tonight. Are we

doing enough to protect our children? I hope that my brothers

were in England will do the same. The business promising to buy your

home, but at what cost? The teenager who is sleeping his life

away. This is the 4th time it has Never before have there been as

many questions about whether we are doing enough to protect our

children. There are claims about white girls being targeted by gangs

of Pakistani men. And claims that authorities have turned a blind eye.

Is enough being done to stop the abuse? What we're talking about is

hard core criminality. Nine men have been sentenced. The shame is

I'm Mohammed Shafiq, a broadcaster in my own right and CEO of the

Ramadhan Foundation. Our organisation works to build a

better understanding between Britain's diverse communities and

that is why I am on a personal journey across the north of England

and to Holland to discover more about the realities of grooming and

Recent scandals have raced questions about how the system

failed to prevent this crime. This is the street where the

Rochdale groomers operated from. A recent local council report

admitted that the police and social services repeatedly failed to

listen to the cries for help of the victims. I want to know what it is

that social services missed and what were the consequences.

I think what's really important is the starting point is that it can

happen to any child. Hilary Wilmer is an expert on

identifying the signs so many social workers and police officers

seemed to have missed. A definite pattern of behaviour in both the

groomers and their victims. Grooming is a highly sophisticated

thing and the men know exactly what they are doing. She's come to

address the professional women members of the Soroptimists. Even

in leafy Harrogate in North Yorkshire there's an acceptance the

problem can be found in virtually all towns and cities. And as girls

and parents from across the North have told us, most victims are not

from a children's home or a dysfunctional family. You will find

what you hear next disturbing. men had given vodka or, cigarettes

and alcohol. I remember talking to a young guy and we ended up in a

hotel. I walk up with no clothes on. She may be passed from man to man.

If I think I would calculate it, there would be about 30 men. There

are a couple of you. You have a daughter that you love falling

apart in front of you in the most horrific circumstances. It affects

all aspects of your life. There were loads of times I tried

overdosing. I cut myself. I did not want to live because of all that

happened. In the cases of the victim and parents we spoke to,

their horror and suffering are compounded by complete failures by

police and social workers to take action. It does appear that social

services have said it is a lifestyle choice and that these are

child prostitutes. We gathered photos, mobile phone numbers and

gave them to the police. We gave them, the evidence, on a plate. I

think if I had had help then I would have stopped earlier or not

started at all. You think that if the police step in or social

services that they will help you, that it would make arrests more

likely. But that's not what happened. Some police forces and

social service departments have recently dedicated more staff and

introduced more training to tackle grooming. But given the failures by

authorities right across the North that we've uncovered, it's fair to

say that strategies to get gang grooming off our streets are still

patchy in England, which is why I've come here to Amsterdam. In

terms of initiating an integrated approach, Holland is ten years

ahead of Britain. Police and social services began to knit together a

national approach a decade ago. organisations have combined their

efforts in terms of solving this problem. And in the spirit of this,

the mosques of Amsterdam have played their part. I've never

flinched from saying my British Pakistani community should confront

child sexual exploitation and this man has done the same in Amsterdam,

by campaigning against grooming within his Moroccan community.

There was a problem in my own neighbourhood of people grooming. I

started to make alliances with mosques all over Holland. Here in

Holland, you have taken a proactive stance. It is important to take

responsibility. I think it is very important as an imam to take

responsibility to raise social issues, put them on the agenda and

to get rid of the taboos within the Muslim communities. I think that

for England and other countries, it's important that younger, new

imams develop mosques which are prepared to tackle the issues of

modern day society. Young people are looking for mosques that are

relevant. We have put forward a lot of anti- propaganda. Back in West

Yorkshire, there is a resonance. It's a message I want to take back

home. But the reaction of English mosques is in my view complicated

by hostility from the far right and the English Defence League which

called this demonstration in Keighley following allegations of

child grooming. Whilst the English Defence League call for the

Pakistani community to stand up and take action, a youth group has been

doing just that just a few miles from that demonstration. Only a few

weeks ago, they were here on Our doorstep. This is an anti-grooming

workshop, attended by members of Keighley's Pakistani community.

It's run by volunteers and as far as I know it's completely unique.

Imagine how people will perceive this? We have received no support

from the government or financial backing. The groomer is isolating

the victim. We talk about situations like this. We start with

general studies. Schools are taking more precautions in educating young

people. It is not often that I am speechless tonight has been an

amazing experience. If we can realise this in every part of the

country, we can start to a eradicate this evil. This

educational video is encouraging victims to speak out and be heard.

I still believe that there is an over representation of Pakistani

men convicted of child grooming and my community has to confront this.

At the same time wider society has to also recognise that 80% of child

sexual abuse is carried out by white men. For me the story

shouldn't be about comparing the racial identity of abusers but be

about protecting vulnerable young victims. Still to come. We have the

story of Sheffield's very own Selling a house can be hard work.

But it is not nice to find out that some people can be looking out to

make money off your back. But the slump in house prices has created

new opportunities for property firms to make a quick buck from

desperate home-owners wanting to sell. Whatever your reasons you

need to sell your home fast But we've discovered that, instead,

Gateway Homes and a sister company are delivering long delays and

swingeing last minute price cuts. I feel violated, used, abused,

cheated. It made not only myself but my whole family including the

grandmother ill. This sounds like an abuse and that is a very good

reason to have more regulation and I think they should. Tonight we're

shining a light into the workings of one of the North's biggest house

buying companies and show you just how they manage to make money out

of vulnerable and desperate home owners. Times are good for Nick

Statman. He's director of Gateway Homes UK and eight other property

companies. On one of his websites he boasts he owns almost 200

properties. He's also a keen amateur boxer. From his

headquarters in Leeds he runs a network of agents who bring in the

customers. Malcolm Haywood wanted to sell his house quickly. What

attracted me to Gateway Homes was that they offered a service that

was going to be quick. Gateway agreed a price of �120,000. But

just before the deal was done Gateway knocked 30% off the price.

He refused to sell. I was very angry. Very angry indeed! I thought

this would be a quick method of doing a deal. Gateway Homes leave a

very nasty taste in the mouth. Every time I open the paper and see

their ad it really makes my blood boil. He's not the only one. Pat

Hardy from Broughton on Teesside signed the same contract with one

of Nick Statman's other companies, Tom Craven Property. The day before

the removal men were due to arrive I got a phone call and this

gentleman said we have a problem Mrs Hardy. I had agreed to sell the

property at �75,000, they offered �40,000. I said no and put the

phone down. Yes, you heard right. Tom Craven had slashed its offer

almost in half. The next day the price was upped to �50,000 but the

deal still collapsed leaving Pat high and dry. They made me feel

like I was worthless. What we had worked for for years to put into

the property, they were saying it was worth nothing. Pat found

another buyer and sold for �75,000. And we've unearthed many other

stories just like Pat's. Aggressive price drops and long delays. Can

you see how many complaints we received for Gateway Homes? This

trading standards office has received 40 complaints, mostly from

the North, which it's yet to investigate. Probably the most

common complaint we have had is in relation to the actual purchase

price. They have agreed a price for the property and then right at the

last minute the company has substantially reduced the purchase

price and in many cases that has left the vendor in a difficult

financial position. I've spoken to a number of people who've told me

that Gateway reduced their offer by anything between 16 and more than

50%. What's more, we spoke to a member of staff at a company which

used to handle legal paper work on So whole process went smoothly.

Took a matter of weeks to complete. The gentleman came and led us to

believe it would be plain sailing and sorted within weeks. In fact,

it was strung out over a long time. Natalie was selling the house for

her grandmother. She expected a quick sale. Instead she was forced

to wait six months before the deal collapsed. Pastore is just one of

the number we came across. The is people are vulnerable on desperate

to sell. They want the money and want it now. The longer it goes on,

the worse their situation will be. They need the money to pay off

creditors. Perhaps they have lost their job, perhaps they are getting

divorced, they need it now. Along it goes on, the greater the

bargaining position will be in favour of the company. Why did

latterly just walk away? She had signed a contract lasting 12 months

will stop she believed she had no choice but to sell to Gateway Homes.

This is the contract. At the bottom it says this document is binding

and should be signed only if you understand the contents. No one

would have signed if they had. Oh contract which lasted for seven, 10

or 14 days would be reasonable. This sign is the homeowner in four

year which should have been a speedy transaction. It is a badly

drafted document. Whoever wrote it had no intention of being first. It

is entirely in favour of the buyer. It is so badly written it is

probably unenforceable. contract allows Gateway Homes to

walk away for any reason it likes. Literally, any reason. It does not

have to stick to the price it quotes at the top. Is it time for

Government intervention? We would like to see legislation brought to

bear in this sector of the market. It would provide a point of

reference and a code of conduct. Remember this flimsy contract, at

the one that gives the company all of the wriggle room. There is one.

We have not mentioned. It allows Gateway Homes to market the

property to a third party, before it has even bought it. That is what

happened to Carol. I lost my business. It seems the easiest

solution. After long delays, a price drop and feeling trapped,

Carol was shocked to find her house was advertised on the internet for

�50,000 more than she was being offered. I was amazed. It is

terrible. Seven months of a night nurse. Unbelievable. The carol did

eventually sell her house to Gateway Homes, but it was anything

other than quick. Nine months of waiting. We want to depart the

concerns to Gateway Homes. At the boss declined our invitations for

an interview but issued a It says Trading Standards have

never investigated Gateway Homes and has no plans to. None of the

complaints have been formal complaints. What about the contract

and advice given to its sales agents? Gateway Homes says it

offers transparency and the initial contract is jargon of free and easy

for the customer to understand it without the need for legal advice.

It is separate to a formal sale contract. Then there is a last-

minute price drops of up to 50%. Gateway Homes says on occasion a

revised offer is necessary after a valuation from a surveyor. The

customer is free to walk away. Finally, the delays of up to nine

months on the promise of quick sales, Gateway Homes says it

involves a minority of cases with unforeseeable delays during the

conveyancing process. And their services greatly appreciated by

many customers. What is the advice to anyone considering selling their

house this way? Take independent advice before any talks with the

company about a contract to sell a property. I asked, are you sure you

have to do this? Have you explored every other avenue? It is a nuclear

strategy, once you have sold the house, it has gone. My advice,

please don't go near Gateway Homes. These companies do not do what it

says on the tin. Sleeping Beauty syndrome only

affects about 40 people in the country. One of them is Mitchell

Baldwin from Sheffield. And he is sleeping his life a wave. Doctors

cannot find a cure. I spent some time with the family to find out

how they are coping with family life.

He is your typical teenager, full of beans and chips. Then this

happens OK, I can hear the groans from all you parents of adolescents.

But this is no dose of teenage lazyitis. He's been like this since

Monday and it's Thursday. It's the fourth time it's happened since

September last year. It's like a coma. When he has been asleep for

about five hours. I wake him up and ask him if he wants a drink and he

will say yes. Do you want to go to the toilet? It's almost as though

Mitchell has regressed to the time when he was a baby. In this state

he needs round-the-clock care as he's incapable of looking after

himself. It is terrifying when your child is not responding and his

unconscious. It is even worse when no one can tell you what is going

on. Mitch's first attack happened last year on holiday in Turkey. It

was a terrifying experience for the whole family. He slept all the way

home on a coach and on the aeroplane. We were waiting to get

on the plane and he laid down and went to sleep on the chairs. Back

home in Sheffield he was rushed to hospital. Despite extensive medical

tests, doctors weren't sure what Mitch's problem was. Until finally,

he was diagnosed with Kleine Levin syndrome after his third attack and

months of anxiety. It is an extremely rare condition and nobody

knows the cause of it. It is a condition in which people have

recurrence episodes of profound sleep. From anywhere between a

couple of days and the far end is about 80 days. They started

gradually wake up. As they wake up they have behavioural changes. They

become dis inhibited. They often eat excessively and then gradually

recover and return to normal between attacks. Eventually these

episodes will remit. On average we say it takes up to about eight

years before they completely go away. But right now that's cold

comfort for Mitch and his family. In his waking moments between bouts

of deep sleep he can be confused and emotional. Come on. You are OK.

We are here for you. No one likes it, Mitchell. Mitch's dad Wayne

arrives back from work to take over his son's care. But it's a quick

change around as it's Nicola's turn to go out to work. I will see you

later. Mitch has to come too as he can't be left home alone. I will

see you later, are you coming to pick me up at 7pm. He won't

remember anything about this journey. We tried to carry on as

normal as we can. Even a little bit of fresh air might help him. We

feel helpless, we don't know when he is going to wake up. I am upset

he will miss a lot of his life. He should be out playing football with

his mates are now. We are home now. We cannot do anything, other than

just be here for him. A lot of the Times this is all I ever do. I am

here in case he opens his eyes. I don't like to be too far away from

him just in case I am not around, or his mum is not around, he gets

upset. He probably won't wake up The next day and Mitch is still

asleep. And his Dad's bedside vigil continues. We leave the curtains

open in the day so if he does wake up he knows it's day time. It's

Saturday morning and Mitchell usually bounds out of bed to enjoy

the weekend. We would have been going out as a family if the

weather was fine. Going to the park, but we have to keep looking after

him the best we can. This syndrome is puzzling. You get a little bit

of hope, and then it snatches it back off You Again and he goes back

into this. So another wasted weekend for the Baldwins as they

wait for him to emerge for his slumber. Three days later and Mitch

looks like he's beginning to emerge from his sleep. He's sufficiently

roused to come downstairs and join his dad in the land of the living.

You get the first signs, and then it starts her. Sleeping for about

12 days. And then the rest of it is confusion. But the next moment

Mitch has gone again. Lights out. And then he starts singing.

Football chants, pop songs. Are you doing requests Mitch? And his

behaviour becomes less inhibited, I think is the term. I know it won't

harm him in any way. That is the most assuring thing for me and his

mum. But while he is asleep like this, I think it is arming him

because he is missing school, missing work experience. -- harming

him. This last episode came on just as Mitch was on a work experience

placement at a phone shop. He was unable to complete it. He's still

not better but he wanted to go back today to thank them. Hello, Mitch.

What is this? It's is a card for you. The effort of delivering the

card seems to have taken its toll. And Mitch is feeling decidedly

sleepy again. Fangs, Mitchell. You'll have to come back down when

you are less tired. Back home and it's back to horizontal for Mitch.

Finally three weeks after it started, Mitch is back with us. But

sadly it's raining outside and he's missed all the nice weather. I feel

a lot better today. I only came out a bit and got 100% better. It is

like life is passing me by without me experiencing it. I do not like

it. I am always thinking when the next one will happen. But those

concerns aren't on his mind today. More pressing is dealing with a

fear of heights as Mitchell enjoys a special day out with his mates.

He's celebrating his 15th birthday. Are you tired? I am all right.

is not tired today. I think about it before I got my illness four

star RPE is missing for a couple of weeks, and then he is the missing

and back again. It is not fair on him. He is missing exams.

summer holidays are over and Mitchell is looking forward to

starting a new school year. First day back today at school. I missed

last term. I am in school for maybe a week. It is like going somewhere

where you used to be and you have not been there for ages. It is

strange going back. One does the future hold? Nobody knows of any

effective treatment for the conditions. Nobody knows of

anything that will prevent the attacks. He has missed over three

months of this year. If you are saying to somebody, I am sorry but

I might be out of work for a long time because of my illness, how is

the boss of a company going to look at that?

That's almost it, but before we go, if you watched last week he will

remember the story of an incinerator plant for North

Yorkshire. It was approved, but campaigners say they will keep

fighting and it might still end with a public inquiry. If you have

a story you would like us to tell or you would like to Leader comment,