03/02/2014

Download Subtitles

Transcript

:00:07. > :00:25.Welcome to Inside Out. This week we are in Newark.

:00:26. > :00:33.Good evening and welcome to Inside Out. Tonight, working long hours at

:00:34. > :00:37.one of the most dangerous jobs, keeping the railways on the move,

:00:38. > :00:41.our rail workers plural`macro lives being put at risk? One mother wants

:00:42. > :00:50.to know who is to blame for her son's death. I was actually in a

:00:51. > :00:54.daze, numb. Also tonight, we look at the reality

:00:55. > :00:58.of living without the spare room subsidy. It is costing the Council

:00:59. > :01:04.the best part of ?1 million that we could spend on other things.

:01:05. > :01:10.And Horrible Histories author Terry Deary is here at Newark, where

:01:11. > :01:16.royalists fought off three sieges during the English civil war.

:01:17. > :01:22.Railway workers are out on the tracks at all hours of day and night

:01:23. > :01:28.and in all weathers. Most of them have no job security, they are on

:01:29. > :01:32.casual contracts. The death of a rail worker from Doncaster has

:01:33. > :01:35.highlighted corner cutting and poor safety standards. Paul Murphy

:01:36. > :01:39.investigates how lives are being put on the line.

:01:40. > :01:49.Not once did Scott ever give to me that his job was a dangerous job. I

:01:50. > :01:52.thought they were protected. It's December 2012, early in the

:01:53. > :01:59.afternoon, on a railway line near to Saxilby in Lincolnshire, and a gang

:02:00. > :02:04.of workers are repairing the track. One of the workers steps back just

:02:05. > :02:09.as a train is passing. He doesn't survive. A report into his death

:02:10. > :02:13.reveals a string of broken and ignored safety procedures. Network

:02:14. > :02:19.Rail called the death of Scott Dobson a watershed moment and

:02:20. > :02:24.promised new safety rules. But Scott wasn't a Network Rail employee. Like

:02:25. > :02:32.the majority of workers maintaining and repairing our rail network, he

:02:33. > :02:35.was employed by an agency. Scott was always the gang leader,

:02:36. > :02:41.the reliable one that the office used to ring him.

:02:42. > :02:46.Scott Dobson was in charge of site safety for a work gang repairing a

:02:47. > :02:49.fault in the track that day. Scott and his gang were working on the

:02:50. > :02:55.down line which was closed to trains. But the other side of the

:02:56. > :02:58.track was still in use. For some reason, somebody somewhere along the

:02:59. > :03:03.line has asked them to do the voiding.

:03:04. > :03:06.They were filling in gaps under the track, a job which meant working in

:03:07. > :03:12.the six`foot, the gap between the two rail lines. It's a job for which

:03:13. > :03:17.both rail lines should have been closed. Scott would not then have

:03:18. > :03:22.been able to step back into the path of an oncoming train.

:03:23. > :03:26.As I walked into the kitchen, Thomas came running in, saying, you really

:03:27. > :03:34.need to speak to Haysey, he's on the other end of the phone in tears. He

:03:35. > :03:45.says, I think Scott's been in an accident, I think he's been killed.

:03:46. > :03:54.At that, I was actually...in a daze. Numb.

:03:55. > :04:00.A report into Scott's death lists many safety failings.

:04:01. > :04:05.The report shows that he shouldn't have been working in that

:04:06. > :04:08.safety`critical role that day. He'd been involved in two other

:04:09. > :04:11.safety breaches in the preceding two months, and according to Network

:04:12. > :04:18.Rail rules, he should have been moved to a less senior role. On the

:04:19. > :04:21.day, no`one had asked for that second line to be closed, and no`one

:04:22. > :04:27.challenged the lack of any risk assessment or safety briefing to

:04:28. > :04:38.perform the job. So the question is, why were they there?

:04:39. > :04:40.perform the job. So the question is, knew, all that gang knew, that

:04:41. > :04:44.somebody would have been in danger working in the six`foot as there was

:04:45. > :04:47.trains still running on the up side of the track.

:04:48. > :04:49.Scott had been hired that day by a recruitment company called sky`blue,

:04:50. > :04:55.a subsidiary of the engineering giant Carillion. Carillion express

:04:56. > :04:58.their condolences but tell us they are unable to comment on specific

:04:59. > :05:03.questions or issues related to Scott's death until after an inquest

:05:04. > :05:06.and further inquiry. They do, however, say that they go to great

:05:07. > :05:11.lengths to ensure their workforce know they can raise safety concerns.

:05:12. > :05:13.They say their Don't Walk By programme encourages staff to raise

:05:14. > :05:16.safety issues, and though they recognise some fear they'll be

:05:17. > :05:26.penalised if they speak up, the company makes every effort to

:05:27. > :05:28.highlight this is not the case. Since the incident, they say they've

:05:29. > :05:32.gone beyond industry standards to put in place new safety procedures

:05:33. > :05:34.and have developed a new barrier to be used in co`ordination with a

:05:35. > :05:38.physical look`out when people are working on a rail line which is

:05:39. > :05:46.closed but adjacent to a line on which trains continue to run.

:05:47. > :05:51.Saxilby is a sad reminder of how dangerous the railway is. It's an

:05:52. > :05:54.accident that could have been avoided, and the root cause is

:05:55. > :06:02.Network Rail's usage, high usage of contractors and agency workers.

:06:03. > :06:05.We've talked to track workers who've done casual shifts for renewals

:06:06. > :06:10.companies across the north of England. They tell us bad safety

:06:11. > :06:16.practices are widespread. I've turned up on site, driven two

:06:17. > :06:19.hours to get to a work site. I don't hold the competencies that they're

:06:20. > :06:23.asking me for to run that site safely. I've turned round, phoned my

:06:24. > :06:27.agency up, and said, look, I can't do this, what do you want me to do?

:06:28. > :06:32.Break the rules? Is it commonly accepted that if there's a safety

:06:33. > :06:37.problem, you keep quiet about it? Some people do, because they are

:06:38. > :06:43.that scared of losing work. Because you speak up, because you speak out,

:06:44. > :06:49.that agency can't put you out. And if you're part of a gang, the whole

:06:50. > :06:52.gang loses work. I lost work with one client or one agency for nearly

:06:53. > :06:54.a year, because I wouldn't do work, because it wasn't safe, because the

:06:55. > :07:03.paperwork wasn't correct. 81,000 people are registered to work

:07:04. > :07:09.on the railway, only a quarter of them Network Rail staff. Scott

:07:10. > :07:14.Dobson's death has forced the company to re`think the way they

:07:15. > :07:17.manage this workforce. We will no longer expect safety`critical

:07:18. > :07:21.workers to be employed by agency contractors. They will only be

:07:22. > :07:25.employed in future by Network Rail or our principal contractors. We

:07:26. > :07:28.need to make sure this is the last fatality that ever happens on the

:07:29. > :07:31.railway, and we will make any changes necessary to ensure that's

:07:32. > :07:34.the case. We've heard this before. Ten years

:07:35. > :07:40.ago this month, four railway workers were killed by a runaway wagon at

:07:41. > :07:43.Tebay in Cumbria. Crucial to the task now facing

:07:44. > :07:48.investigators is the state of the wagon. It had brakes, and they'll

:07:49. > :07:51.want to know whether mechanical failure or human error may have

:07:52. > :07:54.contributed to today's loss of life...

:07:55. > :08:02.Subcontractors had used a chock of wood instead of a brake to stop a

:08:03. > :08:04.railway wagon rolling downhill. The two rail contractors involved

:08:05. > :08:10.were jailed for manslaughter, but the recommended safety measures have

:08:11. > :08:18.yet to be introduced. Those who survived have been campaigning ever

:08:19. > :08:21.since. They want track workers to have access to a simple warning

:08:22. > :08:23.mechanism that would fit onto a rail and trigger an alarm if anything

:08:24. > :08:26.approached. To say I'm disappointed would be an

:08:27. > :08:34.understatement. I'm so upset with Network Rail, who say safety is

:08:35. > :08:37.first. And here we are maybe going to go into tenth anniversary and yet

:08:38. > :08:44.we're still fighting for second protection. Do you think that any

:08:45. > :08:49.lessons about safety have been learned from Tebay? It frustrates me

:08:50. > :08:52.all the time when I get word back that there's been accidents where we

:08:53. > :08:57.could look and think, well, that could have been avoided.

:08:58. > :09:03.Tom's campaign may be about to succeed. What we've come to realise

:09:04. > :09:06.is that there is an additional level of protection required, and we've

:09:07. > :09:10.been trialling that protection with the RMT up in our Carlisle depot,

:09:11. > :09:13.and the intent is that we roll that out nationally during the year.

:09:14. > :09:16.The main contractor involved at Tebay, like at Saxilby, was

:09:17. > :09:21.Carillion, one of the biggest companies tendering for major

:09:22. > :09:23.railway engineering works. We've had long conversations with

:09:24. > :09:26.Carillion because of the incident that took place at Saxilby. I

:09:27. > :09:29.personally have been to Carillion's board to make it clear our

:09:30. > :09:34.expectations and to understand what plans they have in place to improve

:09:35. > :09:37.safety. We are comfortable Carillion are very committed to improving

:09:38. > :09:40.their safety record. Carillion say health and safety is

:09:41. > :09:43.central to all their operations and they create a culture of openness

:09:44. > :09:49.and continuous improvement in their workforce. When accidents do occur,

:09:50. > :09:52.they tell us, they leave no stone unturned to ensure that the causes

:09:53. > :09:53.are thoroughly investigated, any learnings are adopted and actions

:09:54. > :10:04.taken. Meanwhile, Scott Dobson's family

:10:05. > :10:11.must wait for a coroner's inquest to resolve questions about his death.

:10:12. > :10:17.There was a duty of care towards Scott and his team that day. Who

:10:18. > :10:22.failed? I don't think anyone wants to claim that liability. Whether or

:10:23. > :10:26.not it's protecting Scott, whether or not it's protecting themselves, I

:10:27. > :10:30.really don't know. The gangs that are working on the rail and the

:10:31. > :10:42.managerial staff, they need to be as one. Any fatalities is horrific,

:10:43. > :10:50.devastating to families. And it's never, ever the same.

:10:51. > :10:56.Did you have got any views on that story, or indeed know about a story

:10:57. > :10:57.we should be covering, please get in touch with us through Facebook or

:10:58. > :11:07.Twitter. Coming up on Inside Out, we find out

:11:08. > :11:09.why this castle was the king's last bastions during the English civil

:11:10. > :11:22.war. Now, labelled by the press as the

:11:23. > :11:26.bedroom tax, changes to housing benefit have definitely been

:11:27. > :11:29.controversial. But what is the reality on the ground for those who

:11:30. > :11:34.have to live with or indeed without the spare room subsidy? We have been

:11:35. > :11:38.to Grimsby and Cleethorpes to find out.

:11:39. > :11:44.Grimsby and Cleethorpes, isn't it great? We've got the fresh sea air

:11:45. > :11:47.and the wide open spaces. But away from the sea front, for

:11:48. > :11:50.some round here, it's not so sunny. It's all because of the changes in

:11:51. > :11:55.housing benefit, what's become known as the bedroom tax. Since the cuts

:11:56. > :11:58.came in last April, there's been a massive rise in the number of social

:11:59. > :12:01.housing tenants getting into debt. And this bit of northeast

:12:02. > :12:04.Lincolnshire is one of the worst`hit spots.

:12:05. > :12:09.Nationally, one out of three people affected are in rent arrears. Round

:12:10. > :12:13.here, it's two out of three. Officially, it's called the

:12:14. > :12:16.abolition of the spare`room subsidy. Anyone in social housing with a

:12:17. > :12:18.spare bedroom either has to move somewhere smaller or pay a

:12:19. > :12:25.contribution to their rent, round here about ?11 a week, which can be

:12:26. > :12:32.hard to find. I have cut back on shopping, on

:12:33. > :12:38.washing, so my Water Bill goes down. And it's just... No treats for the

:12:39. > :12:43.children. Lisa's one of the few who's managing

:12:44. > :12:46.to keep up with her rent payments. What gets me mad is that I've worked

:12:47. > :12:50.since I've been 14 years old, and I've not been on benefits before,

:12:51. > :12:57.and I'm on benefits now for the first time. And I put in my national

:12:58. > :12:59.insurance, you know, and I paid my taxes, and I'm getting penalised for

:13:00. > :13:07.it. As more people are affected by this,

:13:08. > :13:12.more are turning to the local council for help. We had the odd

:13:13. > :13:15.incident when a person gets into trouble and we can work with them

:13:16. > :13:19.and the landlords to get it resolved. Now it's not just one or

:13:20. > :13:23.two cases, it's hundreds of cases. So how much is this costing the

:13:24. > :13:27.council? It's costing the council the best part of ?1 million a year

:13:28. > :13:30.that we could be spending on looking after the elderly, children and

:13:31. > :13:40.schools, highways. But we're not, we're having to support a policy

:13:41. > :13:44.that doesn't work. There is notable person, it is affecting all walks of

:13:45. > :13:47.tenants. It's affecting those who we call work poor, those on low incomes

:13:48. > :13:52.using housing benefit to make ends meet. It's affecting those who are

:13:53. > :13:56.on means`tested benefits. So it's a real broad spectrum of people. One

:13:57. > :14:00.of those people is Denise. She's disabled but couldn't find the ?25 a

:14:01. > :14:02.week that would let her stay in the specially adapted three`bedroomed

:14:03. > :14:07.home where she'd brought up her family.

:14:08. > :14:11.How much arrears did you get into? I think it was about ?600. And you've

:14:12. > :14:20.never been in debt before, have you? No. So how do you feel? Angry,

:14:21. > :14:25.because I started self harming. Because of this? Yeah.

:14:26. > :14:30.Denise has now moved to a smaller property and managed to clear her

:14:31. > :14:33.debts, but the new home has taken her away from her support network of

:14:34. > :14:37.family and neighbours. I didn't want to move, but obviously I had to

:14:38. > :14:44.move. I mean, this property is nice, but I'd rather be in my own place.

:14:45. > :14:49.So what's stopping other people from moving somewhere smaller? This is

:14:50. > :14:52.the East Marsh area of Grimsby, officially in the top ten most

:14:53. > :14:55.deprived areas in the country, with some of the cheapest rents. Driving

:14:56. > :15:00.around, you see the problem. Streets of three`bedroom social housing,

:15:01. > :15:03.what we used to call council houses. The idea of the change in benefits

:15:04. > :15:07.was to get people to move out of houses like this and into smaller

:15:08. > :15:12.properties. But I can't see any smaller properties to move into.

:15:13. > :15:14.Fewer than one in ten tenants have been rehoused, even with the local

:15:15. > :15:23.housing association putting them top of the list. Emma managed it, and

:15:24. > :15:27.bizarrely, has come out better off. They came and measured it a couple

:15:28. > :15:33.of times to see if it was a decent size but they still say it was

:15:34. > :15:40.classed as a three`bedroom house. Ever's new two`bedroom house is

:15:41. > :15:45.bigger than the old one. I have lost a bedroom but I've gained a dining

:15:46. > :15:50.room. So I am quite pleased in a way. It has given us a little bit

:15:51. > :15:59.more space downstairs. You'd think that moving people on would help

:16:00. > :16:02.resolve the situation. There's no`one queuing up to take on the

:16:03. > :16:05.rent on those three`bedroom houses they're leaving behind. Take this

:16:06. > :16:12.desirable semi. Three beds, off`road parking, up and coming area, and

:16:13. > :16:17.empty. So here we are into what is causing the problem. This problem is

:16:18. > :16:22.causing the problem, tell us what is happening. These three`bedroom

:16:23. > :16:28.properties with a box room, we are not able to rent. We are astonished

:16:29. > :16:34.that in this day and age, we think it is a reasonable expectation to

:16:35. > :16:41.have a spare room in this day and age. They have equipment they might

:16:42. > :16:44.want to keep in it. But some of these are now standing empty. ??

:16:45. > :16:46.WHITE As the biggest social landlord in town, the benefit changes are

:16:47. > :16:55.Tony's most pressing problem, and one he can't see resolving any time

:16:56. > :17:04.soon. What numbers are we talking about? We have thousands of homes

:17:05. > :17:10.and it is a huge proportion of them that we cannot rent. We are set

:17:11. > :17:14.aside ?4 million which we would otherwise be using for services or

:17:15. > :17:19.building new homes with. The impact on us as a charity are dramatic as

:17:20. > :17:27.well. It is interfering with our need `` with our ability to meet

:17:28. > :17:33.housing need. These welfare changes were made to deal with a proper

:17:34. > :17:36.problem. We have a problem. Council housing is a precious resource and

:17:37. > :17:45.if affordable homes have not been built over the next few years, we

:17:46. > :17:50.are in this situation. North`east Lincolnshire Housing Association

:17:51. > :17:55.told us that they have 153`bedroom houses standing empty. This is not

:17:56. > :18:00.working, is it? There are places in Hull where families are crying out

:18:01. > :18:07.for commendation and want to change over. There are websites available

:18:08. > :18:14.for people who want to get bigger houses. People swap houses.

:18:15. > :18:16.Naturally we wanted to speak to a government minister. We asked three

:18:17. > :18:19.different government ministers to talk to us about this problem, but

:18:20. > :18:22.they were reluctant to come forward. However the Department for Work and

:18:23. > :18:25.Pensions did tell us the changes were a necessary reform, they are

:18:26. > :18:28.still paying the majority of most claimants' rent but the taxpayer

:18:29. > :18:31.could no longer afford to pay for spare bedrooms. They also tell us

:18:32. > :18:34.that they are increasing the money they give to councils to support

:18:35. > :18:42.vulnerable tenants. North East Lincolnshire will share an ?500,000

:18:43. > :18:47.with North Lincolnshire. So in your opinion, Tony, are there any

:18:48. > :18:52.benefits to these changes? Many of the reforms make sense, but with any

:18:53. > :18:57.big policy, when you bring his onto the local level, the personal

:18:58. > :19:01.level, you have difficult situations which are created unwittingly. We

:19:02. > :19:05.have perverse things going on and families in real distress as a

:19:06. > :19:13.consequence. 370 years ago, England was a nation

:19:14. > :19:16.at war with itself. The Roundheads and Cavaliers battled it out over

:19:17. > :19:27.this very cavalier Dasher was very Castle. But ordinary people suffered

:19:28. > :19:31.to. No more here `` no more than here in Newark. Terry Deary, who

:19:32. > :19:34.knows only too well what happens when history turns horrible.

:19:35. > :19:36.The battered remains of Newark Castle are a stark reminder that

:19:37. > :19:43.things haven't always been as peaceful as they are today. On the

:19:44. > :19:47.face of it there's nothing too remarkable about the market town of

:19:48. > :19:51.Newark. But there was a time when this place was at the very epicentre

:19:52. > :19:58.of one of the most crucial moments in British history. In the middle of

:19:59. > :20:02.the 17th century, Britain was in turmoil. For four years, war had

:20:03. > :20:05.raged across the land ` a desperate struggle between King and

:20:06. > :20:08.Parliament. Now all eyes were on this north Nottinghamshire town.

:20:09. > :20:12.Besieged, starved and bombarded, Newark was the last stronghold of

:20:13. > :20:23.Charles I in the North, and was all that stood between Oliver Cromwell

:20:24. > :20:27.and victory. But there was nothing civil about this war for the people

:20:28. > :20:36.of Newark, for whom there'd be a heavy price to pay. It is hard to

:20:37. > :20:42.visualise what it must have been like in those dark days of the

:20:43. > :20:46.17th`century. Here we have a very rare siege man from the time. It

:20:47. > :20:52.gave us an idea of what the population must have been up

:20:53. > :20:57.against. `` is very rare siege map. These lines show the parliamentarian

:20:58. > :21:05.forces circling the town. Within that bring, there were massive

:21:06. > :21:10.earthworks which pulled an even tighter news around the town. The

:21:11. > :21:13.population must have been wondering and worrying what would happen if

:21:14. > :21:18.the parliamentarians broke through those defences. And sacked the town.

:21:19. > :21:21.By the end of 1645, Newark was surrounded by 16,000 troops. The

:21:22. > :21:24.Royalist defenders were out` numbered ten to one and the 2,000

:21:25. > :21:27.townsfolk had every right to be terrified as the parliamentary

:21:28. > :21:41.artillery set its sights on the town. Solid shots can do a lot of

:21:42. > :21:47.damage. We are not talking about explosive devices. You have to

:21:48. > :21:53.remember that they heated up shelves are pushing cannons so that when it

:21:54. > :22:01.landed on fat it was set fire to it. They heated up the cannonballs? Oh,

:22:02. > :22:06.yes. And at the get mortars were even bigger and they were fired into

:22:07. > :22:09.the air and into the castle itself. Once it hit a building, it would

:22:10. > :22:12.flatten it. Newark's archives give a flavour of what it was like living

:22:13. > :22:24.through the siege. Supplies were running out and the citizens had to

:22:25. > :22:35.be resourceful. You have an absolute wealth of corridors. `` of relics.

:22:36. > :22:42.They go back to the paly lithic age. Of the siege, we have items such as

:22:43. > :22:45.the iconic Newark's each piece. This was at the period when people are

:22:46. > :22:53.having to mend their own money. So they can pay the soldiers. Where did

:22:54. > :22:58.they get the silver? The silver came from the ridge of the town but also

:22:59. > :23:11.some of it came from when Newark plundered Leicester. So it is done?

:23:12. > :23:22.So it is still in? Some of it. This is a ?30 cannonball. A mere ?30.

:23:23. > :23:26.That is quite heavy. It gives you an idea of the tribulations of the

:23:27. > :23:29.local populace. If that hits you, it cut you in half. It wasn't just

:23:30. > :23:32.cannonballs that were killing the royalist defenders. In the winter of

:23:33. > :23:35.1645, the bubonic plague took hold. Remarkable records have survived

:23:36. > :23:43.which show how the townsfolk tried to combat the disease. They strongly

:23:44. > :23:51.believed that plague was called by my asthma, bad smells. `` miasma. So

:23:52. > :23:56.those who are affluent enough would have tried to get antidotes. They

:23:57. > :24:02.consisted of masking smells. Hawthorne, marigold flowers, and

:24:03. > :24:07.these will be burnt to give off an incense. I think, looking at these,

:24:08. > :24:13.these were bought to make sure that the corporation and the offices of

:24:14. > :24:17.the town continue to meet. They would burn this in the council

:24:18. > :24:20.chambers to stop the council members from catching plague. Of course

:24:21. > :24:25.these measures didn't work. And for those who caught the plague, relief

:24:26. > :24:31.was minimal. They are shutting their homes to die, but they are fed. They

:24:32. > :24:38.are fed, but they are physically boarded up in their home. Yes.

:24:39. > :24:41.Pretty brutal. The plague was hard to avoid, but could something be

:24:42. > :24:43.done to dodge the shelling? Some local historians are convinced

:24:44. > :24:46.people sheltered in cellars. Legend has it that King Charles himself may

:24:47. > :24:52.have used a secret underground network to move around the town.

:24:53. > :25:01.There are some tunnels very close to Newark's marketplace but they were

:25:02. > :25:04.built in the 18th century. It fires up, bounces off his mirror...

:25:05. > :25:07.Archaeologists are now using a laser scanner to detect changes in the

:25:08. > :25:10.brickwork to see whether a much older network can be found. These 3D

:25:11. > :25:19.images of what's underneath the centre of Newark could hold the key

:25:20. > :25:24.to whether the legends are true. What we are hoping to find is that

:25:25. > :25:27.some of the sellers join up. There are tunnel legends in Newark and it

:25:28. > :25:34.would be nice to find some truth behind at least some of them.

:25:35. > :25:40.Eventually, you might be able to prove whether this story about King

:25:41. > :25:44.Charles escaping is true or false? Hopefully, that is what we try to do

:25:45. > :25:47.as archaeologists, sift the truth from the fiction. Back above ground

:25:48. > :25:51.` Newark's multi`million pound National Civil War Centre will open

:25:52. > :25:54.this time next year. It'll be housed in the town's Magnus building,

:25:55. > :25:57.itself a relic of the Civil War. Visitors will be able to experience

:25:58. > :26:03.the conflict in all its deadly detail. One in four of the

:26:04. > :26:06.population are dying. It was perishing the cold. Rivers are

:26:07. > :26:10.freezing over and yet they asked holding out, fighting for the King.

:26:11. > :26:14.The king's surrender at Newark in May 1646 marked the end of this

:26:15. > :26:24.phase of the Civil War. The town was bloodied but it hadn't been taken.

:26:25. > :26:29.Around 1500 soldiers marched out of the castle but for the civilians of

:26:30. > :26:33.Newark, it was about to get much, much worse. The archives reveal one

:26:34. > :26:37.final twist to this story. The siege may have been over, but Newark was

:26:38. > :26:41.in a desperate state. A sixth of its buildings were destroyed and disease

:26:42. > :26:46.was rife. The survivors fled to nearby villages. But as these rare

:26:47. > :26:55.parish records from East Stoke near Newark show, they also brought the

:26:56. > :27:02.plague with them. The location of trying to flee the plague are shown

:27:03. > :27:10.in this devastating testimony to the absolute destruction of the village

:27:11. > :27:16.and the community of East Stoke. The crosses represent plague victims.

:27:17. > :27:20.Every victim is a plague victim. You see whole families wiped out. As

:27:21. > :27:29.you get to this register, you will see pages and pages of deaths. It is

:27:30. > :27:35.visually stunning. But what it must have meant for the community must

:27:36. > :27:42.have been absolute devastation. It tells us here that 159 people died.

:27:43. > :27:49.History is always more fascinating when it is about more than just the

:27:50. > :27:53.stories of kings and queens. This is the story of what the population of

:27:54. > :27:59.Newark endured all those years ago. For the survivors that `` it was not

:28:00. > :28:06.history that was horrible, it was everyday existence.

:28:07. > :28:16.We have got news of a story we have covered in the past. In Lincolnshire

:28:17. > :28:23.teenager convicted of killing Rosie May at a party. We had information

:28:24. > :28:28.that a pathologist for that the death could have been an accident.

:28:29. > :28:32.But it was said that it was unrealistic. At a hearing in

:28:33. > :28:39.December, Paul Smith was refused leave to appeal against his

:28:40. > :28:44.conviction and sentence. That is all from here in Newark.

:28:45. > :28:49.Join us next week. We will be looking at the truth about real

:28:50. > :28:53.Whitby. Finding out how children getting good nights and following

:28:54. > :29:10.efforts to to bring the eel back to Lincolnshire rivers.

:29:11. > :29:16.A longer day, more exams and tougher discipline. That is what the

:29:17. > :29:20.government wants for pupils in England's state schools. Ministers

:29:21. > :29:25.believe it would bring standards closer to those in private schools.

:29:26. > :29:29.There is a warning over a social network raise after it was linked to

:29:30. > :29:33.guess in Ireland. It involves drinking and filming a stun. The

:29:34. > :29:38.body of the young man was found in the River. Tributes have poured in

:29:39. > :29:41.for the actor Philip Seymour Hoffman. It is thought he died from

:29:42. > :29:42.a heroin