28/01/2013 Inside Out Yorkshire and Lincolnshire

Good evening. Welcome to the programme. Tonight we are in

Castleford. Here is what is on the show. The family torn apart by

murder. We investigate whether new evidence could point to a

miscarriage of justice. There is new evidence, things that the

defence were not aware of at the doubt -- at the time, that cast

serious doubt on this conviction. As fans get ready for the start of

the Rugby league season we look at a financial health check. The seas

swamped community after community wreaking devastation right along

the North Sea coast. And we remember the dramatic east coast

floods, 60 years on. Four years ago a trader from this market was

jailed for the murder of his mother-in-law. The family are still

fighting to clear his name. A private investigator hired by the

family believes he has uncovered important new evidence. This is

Castleford, at the heart of what used to be mining country. It is a

busy and bustling kind of place but a story unfolded here that turned

into a terrible tragedy. Seven years ago, Maxine Hill had plenty

of reasons to enjoy life. She had a close family, and a good job as a

teacher. Then, out of the blue, everything changed. Maxine's mother,

Molly Wright, was found murdered at her home. She'd been battered to

death. I felt as though I could not speak, I could not respond. It was

just a huge, huge shock. Maxine had lost her mother in terrible

circumstances. But then things got even worse - her husband David was

arrested and unanimously convicted of Molly's murder. There were gasps

from the public gallery and his wife and family were left in tears.

It was devastating. To lose my mother in those circumstances and

then have that. I cannot describe how awful it was. She does not

think her husband is guilty and it is not just her, it is her sister

and her in-laws as well. I could not have wished for a better

brother-in-law. He is very, very gentle. He is not that person who

could do such a thing to my mum. The legal team still have strong

doubts. The doubts have not been allayed as far as I personally am

concerned. What we now no need to be taken into account. The family

turned to a private detective - Andrew Brown, who used to be head

of West Yorkshire Police CID. He's done his own investigation, and

he's found new evidence suggesting the wrong man could have been

convicted of Molly's murder. more you look at it, things that

the defence were not aware of at the time, the cast serious doubts

on the conviction. Maxine and David Hill have been married for twenty

years. They always saw a lot of Maxine's mother, Molly, who lived

nearby. They went on holiday together. David became a partner in

his mother-in-law's greeting cards and gifts business at Castleford

Market. Non-one ever saw any problems between David and his

mother-in-law. He could never do enough for people. He was always

very kind and helpful. Then in September 2006, Molly was found

murdered at her home. David said that he came to the house on the

Wednesday afternoon and found Molly on the kitchen floor. She had been

battered around the head. He immediately called the emergency

services and when the ambulance and police arrived that was the

discovery of Molly's murder. David Hill was convicted largely on the

basis of forensic evidence. At his trial, it was stated by the

prosecution that the type of blood spots on his clothes could only

have been caused if he'd been Molly's attacker. David did have a

motive. He owed around �20,000 on credit cards and his mother-in-law

was a wealthy woman. The family said there was nothing unusual at

the time of Molly's murder and about David's finances. Before he

knew he was a suspect, Hill gave false information about where he'd

been earlier that afternoon, and there were suggestions he'd been

taking money out of the business without Molly knowing, all evidence

which appeared to go against him at his trial One mystery was never

solved. How did Hill get rid of the murder weapon, which must have been

a blunt object? Despite extensive police searches, it was never found.

Since Hill's trial, the interpretation of the forensic

evidence has been called into question. His legal team claim it's

been seriously undermined. The jury was told that the kind of blood

spotting on Hill's clothes meant he had to be the killer. But now, a

leading expert on blood stains disagrees. The defendant explained

to the police that he had got very bloody hands and on and number of

occasions shook his hands vigorously up and down his body to

try and get the blood off. The blood spots that one sees are

certainly not inconsistent with what might be called innocent

action. Forensic evidence was central to the prosecution case. If

they had heard contrary evidence at that time and it had been available

to be considered there is a real prospect they might have made a

different decision. Hill's legal team believe this new evidence

could have led the jury to a different verdict. And now Andrew

Brown has uncovered new evidence which places an alternative suspect

near the scene of the crime, someone whose motive could have

been robbery. New witnesses have come forward who have said there

were people collecting drugs at all times of the day outside Molly's

house. One of these new witnesses, who doesn't want to be identified,

says drug dealing happened all the time. There were always people

stood waiting, cars parked opposite. I did actually see people going

across with cash and paying it to people sat in the car. And there's

another new witness, who wasn't interviewed by police. She saw an

alternative suspect near Molly's home just after she was murdered.

She saw a man standing just round the corner on the afternoon of the

murder. He was holding a plastic bag, which seemed to contain a

heavy object. It could solve the mystery of what happened to the

murder weapon. This witness asked as to disguise her appearance and

voice. "He was just stood there. The thing that struck me as odd was

the way he was holding the carrier bag. It looked like it was wrapped

around an object. I've never seen him again. There's no doubt in my

mind that he wasn't David Hill." The sighting was at 3 o'clock and

the Sun and Lobbe did not arrive until half past belief. -- the son-

in-law of. This sighting backs up information from another witness

given to the police during their initial investigation that a man

with a bag had been seen near the scene of the crime. The family say

cash and rings belonging to Molly have never been found. West

Yorkshire Police have looked at the issues raised by Andrew Brown, but

say they've found nothing significant, and there's nothing to

warrant re-opening the case. Up until now it David Hill has been

refused leave to appeal. The CCRC has refused to take up his case.

Maxine says she'll never give up. Now, a new attempt will be made to

get the case referred to the Appeal Court. For Molly and David's

relatives, life has to go on but, at family celebrations, two people

are missing. Sadly, they know Molly's gone forever, but they're

still hoping that David will return. Of course we will let you know what

happens and whether the family succeed in getting D Case looked at

again. Still to come tonight: Six years after the floods that

devastated the east coast we ask if it could happen again. When it

comes to sport there is only one game in town here and it is not

football. It is the Rugby league. This is a vital and here as the

World Cup comes to the UK. There are fears however over the finances

of our clubs. We asked our reporter For me Rugby league sums up

everything that is great about sport. It is fast, furious and

physical. It can be physical. When I came off of the court -- the

pitch it was in a bit of a mess. There are three or four teams doing

particularly well, three or four doing poorly and some that struggle

to wash their face financially. With as many headlines being made

off the field as on it, 2012 was not necessarily a season to write

home about. Will this one be any better. The last few months have

seen two teams almost caught out of business so I am going to test the

mood and health of the game in this vital World Cup year. Starting at

Craven Park where only 12 months ago the Rovers chair man issued a

dire warning for the sport. This man does not mince his words, last

spring he said the game was We live be on our means and did for

a variety of reasons. We have people who have a position in the

community, the club as important to In Super League, the teams have a

three-year franchise giving stability within the top flight of

the game. There's no promotion or relegation and the TV money is

divided equally between the 14 Unlike football, and to avoid a

financial arms race, there's a salary cap on players wages, but

rather than encouraging prudency, we've seen problems at Bradford,

Salford and Wakefield If some clubs are spending more money than they

make, should the salary cap be reduced from its current level of

�1.65 million? There are growing attendances at grounds. There were

strong viewing figures on television, but fundamental

problems remain. Some even suggest a cull of Super League teams from

14 down to 12 or 10. Enter town might Castleford, fancy you have

every right to wonder what the future might bring. It is the small

town clubs which should be most vulnerable in a slimmed-down Super

League. 20 miles down the M62, the Leeds Rhinos have much to feel

positive about - Super League champions and a club that's well

run both on and off the turf, so what do they make of the problems

facing the game? The prop up on the field has never been better, that

struck -- the crowd to a strong. The game was as good as it has ever

been. We do want that overshadowed by incompetence at club level and

that is what we have seen. We need to bigger selves of that poor

management. All clubs have a responsibility under Boult to play.

The majority of clubs are working very hard and making a contribution.

Some of the others have let the For those who watch the game

closely, the ups and downs of 2012 have been alarming to watch. Rugby

league has had its difficulties. What we have experienced in the

last 12 months, is that any worse than what we have seen before?

People have been predicting the death of rugby league from the word

go. Time after time digging has proved them wrong. It is a very

resilient sport. Now is slightly different to how the game was in

the past. Not only are the other sports are much stronger, but the

demands and other people's time is greater as well. And people's

houses are like home entertainment centres nowadays and it is

difficult to get people out into Rugby league's support base is

legendary and in this BBC documentary from 1969 you can feel

the passion. Come on! Get hold of him! The game's come a long way

since the days of Eddie Waring and mud-baths in winter, but finance

within the sport has always been a worry. So, to try and understand

the state of the modern game, Inside Out has asked a sports

finance expert to look at the books of the current set of Super League

teams. A detailed look at the balances sheets of 11 of the

league's 14 clubs reveals debts in excess of �60 million. There are

too many clubs in the league generating insufficient turnover

and debt. That alarms me as somebody who looks at finance and

researchers these things. Using a term like rugby league is staring

at a financial abyss I don't think is too harsh to say. A I disagree

with that. The game is in good health. Like every sport we have

our challenges, but the governing body is working very hard to meet

them. We have an regulatory regime that allows clubs to be profitable.

The work as close as you possibly can put those that aren't. Rugby

league's problems are, of course, dwarfed by those in football, but

later this week the Super League will kick-off without a main

sponsor in place. Other revenues may boost Super League's finances,

but at the moment new cash is coming from some unlikely sources.

Salford could find themselves being one of the wealthiest clubs with a

takeover by a millionaire racehorse owner. It will be a positive note

after a wretched last few months, which has seen the club facing

winding-up orders after the taxman and two former players chased

unpaid debts. It's the players' viewpoint that I've sought at the

end of my journey. With its shiny new stadium, St Helens is a

testament to rugby league in the 21st century. Built for �30 million,

it can hold 18,000 fans and here they feel the game still has a

distinct and robust future. But for the players these are uncertain

times, with the average playing career lasting just four years and

an average salary of �60,000. fear for youth -- you fear for the

financial security of your family. This is not sure investment

portfolio, this is your mortgage being paid, the basics of day-to-

day life. That positive message is echoed by the Rugby Football League,

who say they are working hard to combat debt in the sport. With the

spotlight on the game in its World Cup year, all within rugby league

would agree that the problems of Later this week a special memorial

service takes place in miniature German go one of the worst natural

disasters ever seen in the country. 60 years ago the East Coast floods

devastated the local community. Paul Hutton has been to meet some

people who can remember those events and asks whether could ever

happen again. Time might heal the scars, but the

pain of what happened on the East Coast 60 years ago goes far beyond

the damage to brick and mortar. It was a storm so savage, it's deadly

impact still reverberates around the community today. Back in those

days the a authorities were can place to be able to respond. People

didn't know what to do, where to go. Those of us who came out of it were

grateful that we did. It's a sharp winter's day in

Sutton-on-Sea and 81-year-old Bud Shields is in a hurry to get back

into the warm. More than most, he's aware of the lethal dangers of the

biting North Sea wind. Over the next few hours, the harrowing

experiences he is about to recount to the towns schoolchildren might

chill one or two to the bone. Hello! 31st January, 1953, a long

time ago, before you were born. I was there. I actually saw it happen.

I can tell you what it is like to be in a flood. Bud was one of lucky

ones surviving the most devastating floods this country has ever

experienced. He wants to make sure his story and those of some of the

victims are never forgotten. I saw all parts of the town just collapse.

I just saw a massive foam of white water. No-one realised how

disastrous it was going to be. people died here in Lincolnshire

and 307 elsewhere along the coast as a terrifying combination of high

seas, fierce winds and inadequate coastal defences swamped community

after community, wreaking devastation along the North Sea.

Elsie Birkett was another for whom that night's horrible memories will

never be erased. What happened to us was not as bad as what happened

to a lot of other people. Elsie was in Sandilands, close to where worst

breaches happened. The flood waters tore through the bottom of her

house and, after spending a night shivering in her bedroom, dawn

broke to reveal some of her neighbours had perished. We find Mr

Asher. He got his hands stuck in the branch of the tree, that had

kept him above the water. We found his daughter, Thelma. Thelma died

in our house. The other sister was the one who had panicked. She, her

husband at the baby had gone right, and to a baby and her husband were

lost. To understand how the storm happened I've come to Leeds

University, where climatologist Professor Stephen Mobbs has been

analysing the 1953 data. What were at the unique events? Three things

came together. We had a relatively deep area of low pressure that

developed over the North Sea. The low pressure over the sea sucks the

water upwards. The second thing was that there was going to be an

exceptionally high tide. This happens from time to time. The

third effect, associated with the low pressure we had a strong

northerly winds, exceptionally strong down the North Sea. That

pushes a wall of water ahead of it. This piles up at the sudden end of

the North Sea which has no were to go. That is when you get the

largest storm surge. All three of those effects came together to

create this event. Today, the heroism of how the East Coast

communities came together and organised their own evacuations

during the terrible deluge is setting the template for how people

will need to react if such a catastrophe ever strikes again.

experiences from the people from 1953 that they have shared that we

have been extremely useful in terms of being able to develop

educational programmes for schoolchildren, plants for the

voluntary sector. The new generations have no way did that

this happened. It is very important that we took some of that spoken-

word history and brought it into the present. I didn't feel

frightened to start what underlies all parts of the beach hotel

collapse. I saw people swept away and masses of water. People care

its, and helped. The Red Cross what they're handing out hot soup and

cloves and accommodation. Weather forecasting and communications have

improved beyond recognition in the past half-century. The systems

simply weren't sophisticated enough to predict exactly what would

happen in 1953. But the power of nature can never be truly predicted

and when a catastrophe occurs the emergency services can't be

everywhere at once. Where we are now would have been four feet deep

in water. Imagine trying to reach higher ground in those stormy

conditions. At night time you have no landmarks. It would have been

terrifying. You can see the height of the beach compared to the

community. We just didn't up the sea defences here. Looking out

across the Community, where we are standing is at the height of the

houses, or even higher than the bungalows. That poses a lot of

risks if the sea was to come over, the need to evacuate out. Since

1953 we have invested millions of pounds and sea defences. We use a

soft engineering approach. That serves a very shallow gradient,

which reduces the energy of the waves. It produces do reset the

people in the communities. survivors of 1953 are hoping they

are right. Elsie's family were so traumatised by their experience

they never returned to live in their house again. There wasn't a

lot of physical damage inside, but it was very dirty. My mother didn't

want to go back, it frightened her. She couldn't see her she could ever

be happy in there again. Back at the school, Bud's words of wisdom

are hitting home. Summoned coming in he has experienced it, it makes

you realise what it is like. It was fascinating, but para of the sea

was so strong. I was a bit shocked at how the seat could damage that

much. Storm surges as powerful as the 1953 example have occurred

since that fateful day and new the defences have held them back, but

the attacks will keep coming and predictions are that they are

likely to get worse. Sea levels are rising. It is rising quite quickly.

If you start with the see them much higher to begin with, then put a

storm surge and top of that and you'll get a bigger effect. We are

asking communities to develop simple steps of safeguarding the

Rhone communities in the short period of time but it would be from

incident to the emergency services respondent. He could be anything up

to three days. Anybody living in that area has to be aware that it

could happen one day. They have got to look after themselves.

That is it from us for tonight. If you eat -- watching in East