06/08/2013 East Midlands Today

Anne Davies and Dominic Heale. Tonight, new calls for action

against internet bullies after the death of a teenage girl. Also

tonight, hunger in hospital. The patients most to wait hours for

food. Hundreds of meals were delayed so not only were they delayed by an

hour or two, they were also delivered wrongly to patients, the

wrong meals. Plus a fortnight since the floods but it will take months

for this time to recover. And motherhood versus marathons, how

children help Paula Radcliffe put her sport in it. They remind you all

the time and you think, how did I do something like that? They remind you

First tonight, fresh calls for an internet clamp-down after a

14-year-old girl from Leicestershire was found dead in her bedroom after

being targeted by so-called trolls. In the weeks before she died, Hannah

Smith had received anonymous messages on the website Ask.fm

telling her to take her own life. Today, her headteacher said staff

and students at Lutterworth High School are "shattered" by the news.

Our reporter is in Lutterworth. Eleanor, sounds like there's

complete shock at the school. Yes, shock and deep sadness from anybody

who knew Hannah at Lutterworth High School where people are trying to

come to terms with the enormity of what has happened. Hannah's

headteacher said she was a teenager who was well liked and respected by

everybody she met. But is somebody who has now gone from all of their

lives forever. Bright, bubbly, popular. But also

deeply unhappy and a vulnerable victim of online bullying.

14-year-old Hannah Smith from Lutterworth took her own life last

Friday. It was here at the home she shared with her father and sister

that her body was found. Friends and local charities are now paying their

respects. It makes you really upset. It is such a shock that somebody so

lovely as he would feel like she could not talk to anybody, express

how she feels. They are coping as well as they can, to be honest. It

is extremely raw. They are going through every emotion you can

imagine as a parent would, let alone anybody else. They are hoping now

they can start the grieving process now but Hannah's story has been

told. It was the social make-up working site, Ask.fm, used by

millions around the world -- social networking site where Hannah had

turned for help with a question about eczema. Instead, her father

said she became a victim of abuse with some people telling her to take

her own life. Now it is politicians that have's father wants help from.

-- but Hannah's father wants help from. Pauline Latham is a victim of

so-called trolls. We are in this age of transparency, everybody can get

us very easily and it is the same with the online stuff for

youngsters. They can be got out so easily and they do not even know the

people who are targeting them very often. This is a major issue for the

whole world, not just our county. Cyber bullying is one of the largest

forms of bullying there is. It is a way to bully and intimidate somebody

and also remain anonymous behind a computer screen. a young life

wasted. But now hope that Hannah's story will help prevent more deaths

like hers. What has the website said about

this? I got a statement from Ask.fm which says that Hannah's death is a

true tragedy. The website is used by millions of people around the world

and it says it would be happy to help Leicestershire Police with

their investigation. It also says that it encourages users and their

parents to report incidents of bullying and those reports are all

read and that if policies are violated, they will be taking down.

But that will be of little help to Hannah's family here in Lutterworth

who are now grieving after her death. Thank you.

So, is anything being done to toughen up the laws on internet

bullying? Our political editor John Hess is with us. Have our laws kept

up to date with the social media revolution? The law has struggled to

keep up the date with the changing nature of the internet. But the

Government is now poised to intervene. Only last month, the

Prime Minister announced new measures to tackle internet child

pornography. On the issue of cyberbullying, there is growing

cross-party support for the police and the Crown Prosecution Service to

take more robust action against the internet providers. MPs are in

recess, they must have views? certainly do. For example. Labour MP

Stella Creasy - herself a victim of anonymous internet trolls - wants

the equivalent of a rape alarm available online to alert the

internet provider. And Broxtowe MP Anna Soubry, who's a Government

minister and former criminal law barrister, says the internet

providers aren't beyond the law and as a publisher, they have the same

legal duty as any newspaper or broadcaster. As the Prime Minister

said, "a free and open internet is vital". But in no other market and

with no other industry do we "have such an extraordinary light touch

when it comes to protecting our children". The message is clear -

the internet providers are now under notice to get the own house in

order. Thanks. Later in the programme, we'll be

talking motherhood and marathon running with Paula Radcliffe. And

Sara will be here with the weather. After quite a wet spell of weather,

the next two or three days will be quite settled but low pressure is

just waiting in the wings ready to turn things upside down by the

hospitals have received an apology after the catering system descended

into chaos. Hundreds of mail orders did not arrive and that meant some

patients could not take their vital medication. Our social affairs

correspondent reports from the Leicester Royal Infirmary.

If you're in hospital and trying to get well, you really need regular

meals. But here at the Royal Infirmary, some patients have had to

wait up to three hours for their food. Sujata was discharged this

afternoon, after four days being treated for complications from her

arthritis. And after what happened last weekend, she can't wait to get

home. I am absolutely shattered. Not to get enough food to eat and then

to feel sick all the while and hungry, and to be made to feel as if

it is our own fault. They were elderly people in tears, it was

horrendous. I am angry. It happened after a new catering

system was introduced here last week by a private contractor called

Interserve. The changes were supposed to help patients choose

their food, using iPads. But hundreds of orders didn't arrive.

Today, the company brought in extra staff, to sort out what it's

describing as teething problems. are really sorry that we have got

off to a bad start and we are very concerned. We have got a lot of

people investigating, working through, making sure that we

understand what the issues were and we are putting that right at the

moment. But this patients' spokesman is

worried. And he thinks it shows the risks involved in contracting out

vital hospital services. It is vital for them to have the medication on

time and I can only happen if the food arrives on time. And his not

only patients, nurses and staff had to hold the fort in difficult

circumstances. Today they have received an apology from hospital

bosses. A young girl was taken to hospital

this morning after two cows escaped from a livestock market. It happened

at the farmers' market on Scalford Road in Melton Mowbray. Police were

called at around 10:30. A woman also suffered minor injuries during the

incident. The cows were recaptured and returned to the market by

midday. I came out of the stalls and it went straight into the stalls,

run into the tax office and a young girl on the stalls got injured,

apparently. Somebody else got knocked over but he got up, he was

all right. He was a farmer, you see. I understand there were a

couple of people injured, the most concerning injuries were a

six-year-old child who was injured, I understand they have been taken to

hospital for a precaution. People need to understand this is half a

tonne of least which is dangerous when it is released. -- half a tonne

of beast. A Nottinghamshire farmer has been

charged in connection with the death of a walker who was killed by a bull

on a public footpath. Roger Freeman was walking with his wife through a

field in Stanford on Soar in November 2010 when the bull

attacked. The 63-year-old from Glen Parva in Leicestershire died from

multiple injuries. His wife spent three weeks in hospital. Paul

Geoffrey Waterfall has been charged with manslaughter by gross

negligence. A mother jailed for 17 years for

killing her six children in a Derby house fire has, for the second time,

appealed to have her sentence reduced. Mairead Philpott was jailed

along with her husband Mick - who got life - after being found guilty

of the manslaughter of their six children. Family friend Paul Mosley

was also sentenced to 17 years. Their first appeal was thrown out at

the end of last month. Mairead Philpott and Mosley will now be

granted a short hearing in front of three judges.

A pressure group calling for a cut in stamp duty says big tax bills are

holding back the housing market. The TaxPayers' Alliance says one in ten

sales in the East Midlands were hit by tax bills of �7,500 or more last

year. They claim stamp duty scares off some first-time buyers and

others who want to move up the property ladder. But the Government

insists their other policies do support people wanting to buy a

home. Mike O'Sullivan has been investigating how it affects our

region. value of the house. Up to �125,000,

there's no stamp duty. Above that, the duty is 1%. Then it goes up

dramatically for a house worth more than �250,000 - it's 3%. It can be

as much as 7% for some expensive properties. But for many people in

the housing market, this is the critical barrier to moving house -

the jump from 1-3% at �250,000. The tax bill? At least �7,500. They need

to look at a way of changing the rates and thresholds so that not so

many people are getting hit by these massive lump sums of money when they

are trying to save for a mortgage themselves.

In the East Midlands, the figures produced by The TaxPayers' Alliance

suggest one in ten transactions takes place at a duty level of 3% or

more. And in monetary terms, the alliance reckons those transactions

account for 69% of all the residential stamp duty in the

region. I think the Government's and statistics say that by 2017/18, the

money they are raising nonstop duty from housing transactions will catch

up with and even overtake the amount of taxpayer taking on alcohol and

cigarettes. But is this just a problem for the

well-off? The alliance's figures show huge variations in how

different places in the East Midlands are affected.

In Rutland - one of our most affluent areas - they calculate 36%

of all housing sales attract 3% or more stamp duty. In Derbyshire

Dales, it's 31%. But at the other end of the scale are places like

Ashfield. There, only 3% of transactions are above the �250,000

mark. In the cities - both Leicester and Nottingham for example - the

alliance figures show only 4% of transactions breached that barrier.

If you look at specific areas like the East Midlands, 6000 transaction

last year alone had to pay up �7,500 on top of their deposit and all the

other fees that go along with moving house. This is a tax that hold

people back. Well, the Government says nothing's

going to change - for now, anyway. In a statement, the Treasury told

And you can put your house on that. This time two weeks ago, you'll

probably remember it was chucking it down, although it would probably be

more accurate to describe it as a deluge. A month's worth of rain

swamped parts of Nottinghamshire in a matter of hours causing flash

flooding and, for some, misery. The clear-up will take months. Quentin

Rayner has returned to one of the worst hit towns to see how they're

getting on. A fortnight ago, Nottinghamshire was

officially the wettest waste in the UK. Three inches of rain fell in

just a couple of hours. Streams, Dykes and Becks could not cope with

a month's rain and they were overwhelmed. Southwell was turned

into lakes. Two weeks on, the scars are still showing and residents like

Jackie are coming to terms with being flooded for the second time in

six years. I have a temporary set up in here, no dishwasher or washing

machine. I have got gas and electricity so I can cook and then

I'm coming through to my lounge where I will be living for the next

six months in rather spartan conditions. With the dehumidifiers

and finds wearing in the background. Where I am standing, they used to be

a barn but that has been demolished and cleared away. During the flash

flooding, the walls collapsed threatening this cottage. Thankfully

it has been saved but it will be months before they have got the

house back in order. The district council has sent out 3000

questionnaires to assess the full impact of the flooding on the

community. All the information that people give us will be fed back to

the council and they are responsible for overseeing the watercourses and

drains and hopefully that will feed into future action to improve things

for the maintenance of the watercourses. and Jackie is already

taking action by setting up a Flood Forum. Our main aim is to map the

scale of the problem in the whole of the community and then feed that

back to the authorities so that they are aware that they need to be

clearing ditches, drains, whatever it takes to help the watercourses

flow freely and also to help individual residents become more

aware of how they can protect their own houses. the market town will

take months to dry out and that Derby's old hippodrome. A new study

has just been published to reveal what the future could hold for the

city's famous but now disused theatre. The report, from the City

Council and English Heritage, outlines three possible uses for all

or part of the building. The Green Lane Hippodrome Theatre, a

much-loved landmark but one that has seen significant problems in the

past half-decade. Back in 2008, part of the roof collapsed as developers

worked on the building, the site has had several fires and some famous

faces have tried to raise its profile. Now though, a feasibility

study which was commissioned by the council and English Heritage suggest

three possible options. The first is to restore the building back to a

theatre costing �16 million. The second, to restore the front of the

building, lay decking in the interior making an open space for a

cafe, outdoor theatre or cinema. Or the third, to restore the front

developing the remainder into student accomodation. There are lots

of areas that could do with money in terms of regeneration. At the end of

the day, it is a listed building. It has been there for years.

The Derby Hippodrome Restoration Trust also prefer the first option

to use it as a theatre. It brings in the most money because that is what

they want and it is because of a gap in the market, as they point out in

the report. There is a gap in the market for a theatre of that size.

The building remains in private ownership but the council is hoping

the findings to the study will take Coming up, getting back to sport

after pregnancy - a very personal look. But first a reminder that once

the football starts it comes thick and fast.

Four ties in the first round of the League Cup tonight. Forest the only

one to have a home draw - facing Hartlepool. Leicester City fans of a

certain vintage may not relish a cup game against Wycombe, they'll still

remember the FA Cup quarterfinal defeat of 2001. Mansfield will just

be delighted to be back. So, sport and pregnancy. After

having a baby, how soon should an elite athlete return to training?

There were questions in the news when Zara Phillips rode while

pregnant, and Paula Radcliffe, now a mum of two, faced similar criticism.

The runner, who was based in Loughborough for a decade, has been

speaking exclusively to Helen Barnes about her experience.

Paula Radcliffe is normally very private about her personal life but

while sharing precious photographs, she told me that becoming a mum is

a mum so I didn't ever want to sacrifice that and I couldn't see a

time when my career was able to wind down but I didn't want it too late

so I thought, why not have them both? It is a dilemma with many

sportswomen. I carried on canoeing but felt concerned. Paula gave me

training advice because there is little out there. She juggled two

pregnancies and competing at the highest level. The first priority,

instead of being whatever time you can run and the quality of your

training, it immediately becomes the baby. I have the heart rate monitor

to make sure I did not push too hard. Did you deal with any negative

comments? Not really, most people were supportive and nice. A few

people were looking surprised as you would run across past them and they

will of the cross and then looked down! A bit of a double-take!

average woman is advised not to return to sport for six weeks after

giving birth but she was back running after just 12 days. With

hindsight, it was too soon because I have had a long labour and quite

difficult and my body just had not recovered, the ligaments were not

strong enough so that contributed to a sacred stress fracture. After the

second one, I did not run for three weeks. -- sacral stress fracture.

has put sport into perspective for her. It reminds you what is

important and brings normality back and makes you see how lucky you are,

to have them. Finally, another runner - Richard

Whitehead - and an extraordinary challenge. The Paralympic champion

was running with youngsters on Nottingham's beach today. Slightly

unusual preparation for his plan to run from John O'Groats to Lands End.

40 marathons in 40 days, all for charity. Everyday, it will be hard,

getting up in the morning, running 42 kilometres. It is not a fast pace

but I am having to do it for a month but for me, I am giving up one month

of my life to hopefully support the legacy of great written within

sport. So I feel it is a small part of my life that I can give and I

feel I have looked up the challenge now with the support my team give me

around me. Good luck to him. If you want to look up more about

the run, Richard Whitehead Runs Britain is on the web. What a brave

man. A lovely chat with Paula, there.

Now, for the first in a new series of reports on young entrepreneurs

who've set up their own businesses. Tonight, we meet a teenager whose

company promises to deliver anything the customer is craving. 19-year-old

Osh McDonnell from Melton in Leicestershire came up with the idea

for a delivery business with a difference. And, in tough economic

times, is determined to make it into a thriving success. Rebecca Sheeran

Meet the teenager who delivers it all, whatever you want, Osh

McDonnell will deliver it. He came it -- he came up with the idea in

school. My slogan is we will deliver anything but babies! I thought,

because it is a fun business, so it needed a fund slogan. A hard day's

work. You take off your work clothes, and then you have

everything delivered. Dog food, I do a lot of prescriptions. What is the

most random thing you have delivered? I have taken a cat to the

vets and back so if I ever have dangerous animals, I would not like

to transport a steak or anything like that. -- a snake.I have got

some milk and chocolate and now it is going to the next place. The

worst part is probably the fact that it is 24/7. Especially at the

weekends, all through the night. The best part is meeting people, really.

I have put old lady's shopping in the fridge for them. I have met

people, young people, old people. I just picked up the final

prescription and going to the delivery. You create your own job.

You don't need to find one, you can make one. And then you can employ

people and help the community. How you doing? Good, thanks.There you

are, there is your milk and chocolate and your prescription.

That will be �9.50. I will grab your change. Also staff we cannot spare

off the floor here so Osh will go and pick up prescriptions and drop

off samples on things like that so it is rarely enforced. From meals to

medicine, it is all in one day's work for this entrepreneur

determined to grow his empire. Well, good luck, I hope he becomes a

multimillionaire. How lovely. Very enterprising. But can he deliver

fact, we have got the wet weather behind us and what a difference 24

hours makes because we are dry outside and although it has been

cloudy at times across the East Midlands, we are starting to see

clear spells slowly developing. The cloud gradually clearing from the

south of the region first. Remaining dry into the early hours of tomorrow

morning and just turning a bit misty out in the rural areas with a

minimum temperature overnight 13 Celsius, that is within towns and

cities so slightly lower in rural areas. It certainly felt cooler last

night, trying to get sleep was a bit better but we are starting off with

some early morning sunshine but again similar to today, the car

develops into the afternoon and there is a stronger chance of seeing

the odd light shower. Lots of them further towards the West Midlands

rather than the East Redlands but just the occasional light shower

into the afternoon and it could be slightly sharper as well, localised

heavy showers as we progress through the afternoon. Daytime temperatures

in the sunshine, 21 Celsius at the highest. Still feeling pleasant and

the north-easterly breeze tomorrow. We have got a weather front around

by the time we get to Thursday and into Friday. Thursday will be a nice

day again, the cloud developing with a slim chance of a shower but we

also have this weather front waiting to come in on its way in for Friday

but it is weakening, the me up against a ridge of high pressure so

it will increase the cloud for a time and produce a few showers as

well. Temperatures at around 20 Celsius and as we get closer to the

weekend, if you have got any plans, we have low pressure close by, it