23/09/2013 Inside Out Yorkshire and Lincolnshire

Could evening, welcome to Inside completed the very Could

Could evening, welcome to Inside Out. Tonight, we are in Hull.

This week, we look at the life—threatening conditions normally

associated with women. The meet the men struggling with eating disorders

such as anorexia and believe me. I have this fear 20 47 that my child

would die. Also tonight, they are big,

beautiful and historic. We take a look around the country piles that

take a fortune to maintain and which nobody wants to buy.

And, forget the flat caps, we discover the big money changing

hands in the world of racing pigeons. This beauty cost £110,000.

For years, eating disorders like anorexia and believe me have claimed

the lives of countless women. But some experts lived at a quarter of

those suffering may actually be men. It is still a hidden problem.

On the outskirts of Leeds, a mother and son settle down to enjoy a quiet

pub lunch. But less than two years ago, such a happy scene was

unthinkable. Food was a battle ground. Not for Bev Osborne, but for

her son Ewan, one of a growing number of young men for whom eating

disorders are becoming a way of life. From midnight onwards, I'd be

thinking about the day ahead and what I had to do in terms of

exercise and eating, and it would just become this obsessive thing

that I had to do. I had this fear 24/7, day after day after day, that

my child was going to die, and that I would be standing at his

graveside. Up until recently, eating conditions

like anorexia nervosa and bulimia were seen as a largely female

concern. But more and more males, and especially adolescent boys, are

now being referred to seek specialist help.

There's been a long—held stereotype that men don't get eating disorders,

and I think that's a very unhelpful stereotype, and it's been there for

many, many decades. According to health experts, a decade ago men

were ten times less likely to suffer eating disorders than women. That

difference has now narrowed to the point where it's closer to three to

one. For Ewan and Bev, the struggle to confront his eating disorder

threatened to rip the family apart. problems began when he was 15, and

slowly developed into an illness he felt powerless to control. It was

really a combination of wanting to be somebody that was perfect in

every sense, body and soul, where you could control exactly what you

did and how much you ate, punish yourself first. For Bev, the lack of

awareness that boys can get eating disorders too meant she struggled to

know how to react. His diet was getting increasingly unbalanced and

he was getting increasingly obsessed, too obsessed with

everything. I just knew something was wrong, but I didn't know what,

so I decided to take him to the GP to see if he could shed any light on

it. But as the illness took hold, so did Bev's feeling of helplessness.

I'm not entirely sure that the GP recognised it as an eating disorder.

I found it hard to know what was right and what was wrong. I started

to panic. It was a constant battle. By now, his mind was completely

irrational, which is another symptom of an eating disorder. I could argue

that black was white and white was white and he just wouldn't see it

like that. For Aaron Bailey from Hull, the story was different but no

less traumatic. I had been gaining a lot of weight through my childhood.

I was 16 stone, then it increased faster and faster, and I tired of

being overweight, so I went in the opposite direction. A lot of people

ashamed, he is a male, he does not have a problem, and people misjudged

what the situation could be, because of gender. I've never really known

what's right to eat and how much. I've always been a bit out of

control in that respect. It is hard to kick off eating properly now.

Sadly, the experiences of Aaron and Ewan are becoming increasingly

common. Specialist treatment units like the Yorkshire Centre for Eating

Disorders at the Seacroft Hospital in Leeds are noticing a change. The

number has doubled for men and young boys, coming to split —— coming to

services like ours. The triggers which lead to eating disorders can

be complex. But one factor which is beginning to worry health experts

like Dr William Rhys Jones is that males seem to be becoming

increasingly vulnerable to unrealistic and idealised images of

what a modern male physique should look like. Men tend to be more

concerned with their image from the body up, whereas women do from the

waist down. their focus might be. I think

there's something to be said, one feeds off the other. Social media

and the impact of some of the body image thing is shown in the social

media, and the impact it is happening on a vulnerable young

people. But the lack of general awareness means many males may be

suffering in silence. GPs and psychiatrists are missing it, and

that's frustrating for sufferers and carers alike. They are to not know

that rates are rising. One thing researchers have noticed

is that an obsession with excessive exercise is a common way for some

people to mask eating disorders. As the problems in men becomes less

taboo, health professionals as well as fitness coaches are being put on

the alert. At Leeds Metropolitan University, fitness trainer Brendon

Chaplin, who coaches elite athletes, says people need to be better

informed about the relationship between body shape and health. I

think there's no ideal shape. Everybody is different. Genetics

plays a huge part. What is perfect for somebody might be nowhere near

perfect for somebody else. For people working here, what do you

think is their responsibility when it comes to working with their

clients, with people using their gym, starting to excessive and over

exercise? I think there's a duty of care. As a gym owner or a coach, it

is very much part of our role, to look after the well—being of our

clients. If it comes down to it, you may have to intervene. Although

there's plenty of research into the causes and treatment of women who

suffer from eating disorders, there's very little knowledge

relating specifically to men. I've come to meet Russell Delderfield, a

social researcher at Bradford University who's about to publish a

PhD looking at the experiences of men who've admitted suffering from

the condition. Irrespective of whether it was an eating disorder,

anorexia, Bellini or another disorder, two things came out. One

was the amount of shame that people reported feeling, and the other was

the sense of stigma they felt. The last two or three years has seen a

change, the more men to come forward and share their experiences, as

painful as that country, it is far more likely that treatments and

services will be held to account better, and they will get the

recovery they need. For anyone with an eating disorder, the solutions

are complex, and there's no quick fix. It's often something they know

they'll have to manage for the rest of their lives. For men like Aaron

and Ewan, the support of family friends has been crucial. At the

moment, I don't feel perfect. I never will be. But I am better than

I have been for a while, because I do not obsess animal. —— any more. I

was fed up of the life of stress and strain and constant worry. It is

always there, the voice, but it is so easy to say no now, compared to

before. Sometimes, you can speak to a family member, sometimes you

can't. Sometimes, you can reach out to the organisations that can help.

It does not have to be a lonely battle.

If you would like further information on organisations that

deal with eating disorders, you can find it on our Facebook page.

Coming up, the feathers are flying. We discover that pigeon racing has

turned into a global business. Here, in Yorkshire and the Humber,

the only area of England and Wales where house prices are still

falling, but one type of property is proving particularly hard to shift.

Each additional country mansion. Prices have plummeted, and there are

fears we could lose some of our most beautiful historic buildings.

Feast your eyes on Harmston Hall in Lincolnshire, a typical English

country house. Built around 1700, it's set in beautiful rolling

parkland. For the last 15 years it's been a family home, but it could be

about to be put up for sale. It'd come at a price, though. £3.5

million and it's yours. So what do you get for that kind of money? I'm

about to find out. The Grade II*—listed Harmston Hall was

restored to its former glory by property developer Peter Sowerby.

He's lived in it with his family ever since, and he's agreed to show

me around. This is the entrance hall, with the big marble fireplace

that was imported originally when it was built in 1710, from Italy. Who

was the house built for? The Lord Mayor of London, this was his

country house. It would have taken a lot longer to get to work than it

would nowadays! It is impressive. Eight grand reception rooms, seven

bedroom suites, six bathrooms, dressing rooms, family rooms, pool,

tennis court, staff quarters. Peter is living the great British

country—house dream. feature, everybody can see it from

miles around, but at the same time, it is a privilege to be able to live

somewhere like this, and that outweighs the additional expense.

But living here doesn't come cheap. It costs more than £7,000 a year to

heat, not to mention the upkeep of 14 acres of grounds. Which is

perhaps why this may be the second time inside five years that the

Sowerbys have put Harmston Hall up for sale. The recession has cut deep

into the market for the glorious country mansion. Were you surprised

that it was hard to sell the first time round? I did think it would

sell quite quickly, but the market turned so fast that there wasn't

enough time to get a lot of people round to even get the interest in

the first place. Peter reduced the land package and

dropped the price by £1.5 million, but there were no buyers. It's hard

to believe that pristine country mansions like this don't get snapped

up the moment they come up for sale. But Harmston Hall isn't the only

historic house that's struggled to sell in this recession. A quick

glance through the internet reveals many grand piles languishing on sale

for years. Outside London, the market for this sort of property has

really taken a beating. This palatial 21—bedroom mansion in Wales

sold for just £650,000, the same price as a one—bedroom flat in

In Yorkshire and the north, prices London's Battersea Power Station.

In Yorkshire and the north, prices have fallen further and faster than

anywhere else in England, by up to 30%. The real difficulty has been a

weak economy, difficult for people to build and accumulate wealth, not

the same success amongst entrepreneurs, which has restricted

the demand and number of people able to buy those properties.

And that's difference with London. A lot of international money flowing

in those markets. Not the case in the country—house market in the

north of the country. The country—house market has been hit by

a triple whammy lately. Stamp duty on a house over £2 million is now

7%. There's been political talk of a 1% annual mansion tax. And, new

legislation means owners now have to pay VAT, 20%, on already—expensive

building works. And if pristine country homes are

struggling to sell, it's even harder for historic houses that need a lot

of work. I've come to Marske Hall near Richmond, which has been on the

market for over a year. It was converted into flats after the

Second World War, and will need considerable investment to restore

it. It's a big house, 17,000 square feet, so it's a project for anybody.

You still see a number of features as you walk round. A

They've been very carefully kept and preserved behind suspended ceilings,

behind panelling, that sort of thing. Whether it's a private house,

a boutique hotel, it'll be a fantastic setting. It would be a

remarkable restoration. All it needs now is a buyer. The owners have

dropped the price by half a million pounds to try to tempt an offer. In

a stagnant market with fewer buyers, there are now genuine concerns that

many of Yorkshire's finest historic homes and listed buildings are

standing empty and unlived in, with some falling into disrepair.

There are now calls for the Government to step in. Our historic

houses, castles and gardens are the prime reason people come to Britain.

Tourism is a massive part of GDP. It is the fifth or sixth biggest

industry. Richard Compton owns 300—year—old Newby Hall near Ripon.

Like more than 85% of Britain's historic and listed buildings, it is

in private hands. He chooses to open it to the public. 150,000 paying

visitors annually help keep the estate running and the house

preserved for future generations. But Richard is concerned about

Government policies that could discourage people from buying and

taking on the responsibility of historic homes. There's no

encouragement for the private owner to do any maintenance work

whatsoever. We're not looking for any sympathy, we want the Government

to recognise that these extremely expensive to maintain and

keep going. They also magnets the local communities. The 1,500 members

of the Historic Houses Association alone, all privately—owned

properties which range from vicarages to Castle Howard, now

collectively have a backlog of urgent repairs running to three

quarters of a billion pounds. I'm about to see what could be the

future for many of our historic houses. Gargrave House in North

Yorkshire provides a slice of the country—living dream, for a lot of

people. It is still set in magnificent grounds. A wealth of

original features have been retained. But the price tag is

considerably cheaper, because it's been converted into 33 apartments.

This is the main living room. There are no conversion or restoration

costs involved here. It is likely that, in order to save the

buildings, more and more of our historic homes will go the way of

Gargrave House. But it may be that the country—living dream isn't

entirely dead yet. After five years of freefall, the market could be

about to improve. It will be interesting to see the recovery

come. The first signs could be in the autumn of this year or the

spring of next year. Back at Harmston Hall, Peter Sowerby is

hopeful that the analysts are right. He's considering putting his home

back up for sale this autumn. Now things are picking up, I think

there's much more chance of people buying something like this. You

can't build a new house like this. You can't go and buy a building plot

with these trees and the views, because all the best building plots

were all sold 200 years ago! But this recession has been like no

other, and the housing market has a habit of defying all predictions.

But one thing is certain. Whatever happens in London, Yorkshire's

historic homes will have to wait longer yet for any recovery to

travel north. If I was to save pigeon fancier, you

would think of an old man in a flat cap. Think again. These days, it is

global big business, and a small village up the road in East

Yorkshire has become an unlikely hub for the sport.

They get called vermin, or rats with wings. It's fair to say that the

poor pigeon isn't the most cherished or valued of our feathered friends.

Welcome to the crazy world of the little beauty. He cost £110,000.

Welcome to the crazy world of the million—dollar pigeon race. And a

caravan park outside Hull has become one of world's top breeding centres,

exporting thoroughbred racers to every corner of the globe in a

multi—million—pound business. We will have customers this week, a

multimillionaire from China and a guide from a cattle estate, and they

will be treated the same. But some traditionalists fear their sport's

been taken over by the money men. That is spoiling pigeon racing, when

you have got these millionaires, nothing to do, that must be boring.

I've come to Patrington, half an hour from Hull. This is the Premier

Stud Lofts, started a decade ago at the Patrington Haven Caravan Park.

We had a new customer ask us if he could keep some pigeons. We run

everything through the family, because we are a family business. My

father said he would love to. We gave him a chance, and it took off

from there. We've now got 1,000 feet of loft and 2,500 birds in stock. So

when did you get involved, Derek? I have been a professional for 20

years, I learned —— I earned my living.

they said they could make a professional business of it, I was

headhunted. Derek now commutes every week from his native Wales to work

at the Stud. But selling pigeons takes him much further afield. How

far would you go to fly your pigeons first Mac in the big gambling

races, paging, Las Vegas, South Africa. You open the box, if it is

here or in Beijing, the first time it sees the sky, that is home. They

are let out in paging at five weeks old, that is their home. Fanciers

send their pigeons to warm locations, and the first one back is

the grand winner. 1 million euros, the winner in paging. —— Beijing.

With so much money at stake, everyone wants the best pigeons, and

that's what they try to breed here. I'm going to visit the elite

breeding loft where the offspring of champions hatch out. The exclusive

pigeons we own come from this location. What makes them

thoroughbreds? They have proven that pigeon racing is a simple sport,

complicated by charlatans. He who is the first is the best, those who win

the most races, we want to buy them. We resell the best regions. Before

they hatch, that is what they are, pigeon eggs. £6,000 worth of babies.

Now, it's often said that you never see baby pigeons. Well, you're just

about to. Here you go. A baby pigeon. It is one hour old. The

reason people think they do not see them, in 24 days, it will be fully

grown. It is on the way to China in 25 days. How do they grow so

quickly? They are fed on pigeon milk, secreted by the mother and

father, the equivalent to royal Jelly in fees or the milk that seals

give their pups. The most rich food you can find anywhere on the planet.

This pigeon, we bought him a year ago for 110,000. In popular demand,

people want to buy his youngsters. Next door, the pigeon that we sold

two days ago for £100, first place 11 times, he was only beaten a

couple of times. We brought him back for 27,000. But with the high prices

comes a need to authenticate the thoroughbred's bloodline. So all the

exports are DNA tested and certified.

I'm here in the nerve centre of the operation. I have got a book full of

pigeons. Some people think you can tell from the eyes. It is all in

here. I am lost! And it's all a bit much for Roy Needham too. He's been

involved with pigeons for as long as he can remember. Man and boy. He's

your typical flat—cap—and—shed—at—the—end—of—the—

—garden fancier. I told the wife, she would have to go before the

pigeons! The pigeons that come home first win prizes. That takes some

finding. It shows how much money there is. There are these people who

can afford to pay a lot of money. And his secret for raising top

pigeons? Beans. I've tried different systems, but this is the one that

works for me. High in protein, good, stable food. And Roy's been breeding

and racing pigeons long enough to know what he's talking about. I

started racing at 15. Before then, I was still interested in pigeons. I

can remember now, as clear as a bell, 1947, a pigeon race from

Penzance. It fascinated me, what they did. I've been hooked ever

since. And Roy's not alone. Every year, those like him flock to

Blackpool for the pigeon fanciers' Mecca. This is the oldest and

biggest show and over this weekend will attract

25,000 people, buying, selling or just looking at pigeons. There's the

weird and wonderful world of show pigeons, and judging for the various

categories of bird is a fiercely—contested business. This is

the Crufts of the pigeon world. You will find racing pigeons as well,

and wherever they are, Derek is not far away. Oh, and Derek's here,

hawking Premier Stud's budget range to the working man. Derek, what

brings you to Blackpool? Blackpool is the Mecca of pigeon fanciers. It

has been since its inception in 1977. There will be still millions

of pounds change hands. I have taken over 180 grand here on one of the

days. Live auction is waning away a bit, to such an extent that

eventually I think it will go. It is hard to believe what is on offer,

from the discerning Eugen fancier with money to burn. If you have got

£7,000 to spend, you can buy this pigeon loft. If you have got 17, a

lorry. If you have got 20, I can do you a deal on some pigeon Biograph.

—— Viagra. business as usual for Derek. We hope

they will average around 1000 or 2000 each, potentially, £300,000.

The dream scenario, if we get to Chinese men and they do not like

each other, that is a good day for us, and they will pay vastly over

the odds. So as long as there are million—dollar races and rich pigeon

fanciers want the finest birds, then a caravan park just outside Hull

will continue to profit. It seems globalisation has turned the humble

pigeon into a soaring success story. That is all for tonight from here.

Make sure you join us next week. We will find out about the company

is getting out of paying their workers minimum wage, looking at the

threat to a vital part of our heritage, and celebrating the

anniversary of an iconic Yorkshire film.