08/08/2013 East Midlands Today

Anne Davies and me, Dominic Heale. Tonight - the death of teenager

Hannah Smith. Now firms pull their adverts from the ask-fm website.

Hannah's father says the website should face a manslaughter charge.

They just don't care that teenagers are dying and killing themselves. It

can't be right. The ambulance crews paid a �35 daily

allowance. And the cyclist knocked off his bike

as he lay in the road. You just knocked me off my bike! Are you

stupid? ! And how fake cigarettes are killing

Welcome to Thursday's programme. First tonight, the death of

schoolgirl Hannah Smith, a victim of internet bullies known as "trolls".

The Prime Minister joined the debate today, urging parents and children

to boycott offensive social media. In another development tonight,

major companies are withdrawing their adverts from ask.fm, the

website at the centre of the tragedy.

More on that shortly but first, live to Luttwerworth, Hannah's home town.

Our reporter Eleanor Garnier is there. Eleanor, Hannah's father has

some very strong words for ask.fm. Yes, he has. Right from the start

Hannah's father has blamed this website, saying the only reason she

took her own life was because of the abuse she was getting online. It was

a few streets away that last Friday, her body was found by her sister.

Speaking to the daily Mirror, her father has said that those who are

behind this website should be punished for what has happened.

Personally, I think the people that run ask.fm should get done for

manslaughter or murder because you tried contacting them and they just

don't care. They don't care that teenagers are killing themselves. It

can't be right. The Prime Minister has responded today. He urged people

to boycott what he is calling file websites. There is also a fresh

warning for parents, telling them to watch their children closely and

keep an eye out for any signs of cyber-bullying.

While Hannah's family mourns, there are calls for actions. The people

that run this website, these websites, have to clean up their

act. If you incite violence, that is a crime. Those people can be chased.

If the websites don't clean up their acts, we have got to stop using

these particular websites. As these teenagers browse the ask.fm website,

they can see how quickly the girl is giving away information. People can

like what people have said and that makes you feel even worse because

someone says something offensive to you and other people are backing

them up, you are in a corner. scary because everyone can see

everything, it is not anonymous. A lot of it is private. We are

strangers and we can see all of this. There are probably people out

there who could do anything with this information. The teenagers are

spending the week volunteering for a list of charity. Some of the work it

does is teaching children about online risks. I know of a boy on

ask.fm, whose father recently passed away and a lot of people have been

saying some horrible comments and it has had a huge impact on him because

he does not come out a lot now. used to have my Facebook on private

and I was a bit shocked that people from other countries could approach

me. These are some of the messages on ask.fm today. I randomly clicked

on your profile. You are very pretty. One user is asking a girl to

upload a picture of her in a bikini. For a few people, being bullied

online can cost them their lives. There is also an advertising exodus

going on tonight from ask.fm. Major companies have been announcing

they are withdrawing advertising from the website. EBay, BT, Spec

Savers, save the children. It says it puts the welfare of children

first and as a result of the tragic case of hand out we no longer

advertise on ask.fm. We have also had bad statement from ask.fm this

afternoon. -- had a statement. It has reiterated that Hannah's death

is a tragedy. It says it does not condone bullying. It also states

that although users can post messages anonymously, in most cases

it is possible to trace those users and that it says in this week of

extreme circumstances it is working hard to get that information and

give it to the relevant authorities. Perhaps that may provide a glimmer

of hope for Hannah's father and his wish that people will be prosecuted

and face criminal charges over his daughter's death.

One MP has accused the government of not doing enough to tackle the

problem on online bullying. Barry Sheerman co-chairs the Skills

Committee which discusses education in parliament. Earlier I asked him

what action he wanted the government to take. What I'm suggesting today

is that we set up a commission on cyber-bullying. Only a year ago many

of us were terribly worried about stalking. We formed a commission on

stalking. We took the willing evidence. We wrote recommendations.

The government and the Prime Minister accepted them. We have

changed the law and now there are severe penalties for any kind of

stalking so you can have success, but let's build it on reason and

taking evidence. So I have been suggesting we set up a cross-party

commission on cyber-bullying, take evidence and come up with serious

proposals. A lot of these websites allow anonymity and talking to

people, we can have a dialogue with these people about stopping the

possibility of being anonymous and that gives you the possibility, not

only exposure of who you are, but also leaves you to the possibility

of prosecution for what you have set and the damage you have caused.

Thank you very much indeed. Next tonight, the ambulance crews

from the East Midlands sleeping in tents on a campsite. The workers are

employed by a private ambulance company to cover shifts in

Cambridgeshire and have a daily bed and board allowance of �35. The

company says it always provides suitable financial support and crews

aren't at risk. Sally Chidzoy reports.

Nestled in a shaded spot near Huntington is a content which is

home to a man who works on the medical front line. The ambulance

worker has left this tent behind for a week because he has returned home

to the Midlands but he is due back this weekend. Holiday-makers admit

they were disc -- surprised that paramedics were sleeping in tents in

their fields. We had no idea until we saw one of them come back quite

late one evening, make themselves a cup of tea and go straight to bed.

The East of England ambulance service NHS trust has contracts with

six private companies. An NHS ambulance worker thinks he thinks it

is hard for them to find cheap accommodation and all meals on a

daily allowance of �35. I fail to see how you can travel from another

trust area and have a hotel room or anything like that. The company says

they provide above average 50 an hour, say cost is behind the

decision to camp. Earlier I spoke to our reporter

Sally Chidzoy from our Cambridge studio. She told me where the

ambulance staff mainly come from. The majority come from the

Nottingham area at one comes from as far afield as Sheffield. They come

to Cambridgeshire in their cars, pitch up their tents and join the

ambulance is at a hospital base. To know what the workers think of

this? It has been pretty tough for them in

the soaring temperatures recently and one holiday-maker said they

could not get themselves to two o'clock in the morning to sleep so

clearly it will be difficult. The GMB union issued a press release

this afternoon and they said they wanted to find answers to a number

of questions. First of all they said they wanted ERS to directly pay for

proper accommodation and food that the workers need for their shifts.

They wanted to know how the staff kept their uniforms cleaned to aid

infection control and how did they keep drugs secure. A lot of

questions and ERS are yet to answer those.

Still to come - stunning images of a fly-past by Boeing's new Dreamliner

passenger aircraft. The aircraft flew over Derby's Rolls Royce

factory - a mark of the relationship between Boeing and the aero-engine

maker that goes back almost a century.

Plenty of sunny and bright weather to enjoy over the next few days. It

doesn't mean it will be blue skies, very wet start tomorrow morning, but

it will brighten again and the sunshine will return. Full details

later in the programme. One in four corner shops in the East

Midlands could be forced to close because they're being undercut by

tobacco smugglers. New figures show the proportion of fake or illegally

imported cigarettes in the region is the highest outside of London. The

Tobacco Retailers Alliance says the money being lost means more shops

are having to cut staff hours or axe jobs completely. Illegal cigarettes

and tobacco. A survey indicates a quarter of corner shop owners in the

East Midlands are considering reducing staff or closing due to

people shopping overseas and tobaccos smuggling. 35 of 40% of the

total takings at the weekend for me is tobacco sales and the trend and

sales are going down and down. The child is we will not be able to

survive. A quarter of cigarettes were found to be counterfeit last

year in the region, up from 16% the previous year. Only London now has a

higher proportion of non-UK duty-paid smoking products. HMRC are

constantly fighting this battle but what can honest retailers do to

help? We try to work with HMRC to coordinate to bring these people to

justice. It is difficult and we can do with all the intelligence and if

they know there are people round the corner selling, let us know.

HMRC says the size of the illegal tobacco market is shrinking

nationally and it is working with local government agencies to try to

eradicate the problem permanently, and retailers say this can't come

soon enough. Hospital managers in Leicester are

to advertise on buses and trains for nurses to try to fill a massive

shortfall in staff. The local NHS trust says its investing two million

pounds in nursing but it means there are now around 300 vacancies in the

city alone. Bosses admit they are struggling to fill them and they

have already recruited nurses from Europe. They say adverts will appear

on public transport in the next few weeks.

A team of trouble-shooters has been brought in to take over the running

of a Nottinghamshire school. The county council's taken control of

Burton Joyce Primary after Ofsted inspectors placed it in special

measures this summer. A temporary management board has been put in

place. Last November, its head teacher was suspended following

concerns over the way the school was run.

Plans to build a permanent Richard III exhibition in Leicester have

been approved by the city council. They involve converting the old

grammar school building on Greyfriars into a multi-million

pound visitor centre. Interactive displays will show how King

Richard's remains were discovered and visitors will also be able to

view the grave. The plans still need government backing. Work is expected

to start at the end of the month. A cyclist who was knocked off his

bike by a car heading to a funeral says he's unhappy with the way it

was dealt with by Nottinghamshire Police. As the rider lay on the

ground, he was verbally abused by people from the car that knocked him

down. The cyclist has now posted video footage from his helmet camera

onto the internet. Funeral cars passed the cyclist and

then he says he signals to turn right. What he doesn't know is

another private car is also heading to the funeral. Are you stupid, do

you have a death wish? ! The driver was found to be at fault and

attended a driver alertness course. The woman was cautioned for a public

order offence. But a Nottingham Shimla -- Nottinghamshire police

funeral cars go past, the cyclist was unhappy. Nottinghamshire police

help firms in the East Midlands expand.

�17.5 million from the EU and the government targeted at 100 firms

with the best innovative ideas. Sounds impressive. But it has

emerged that it will initially only create 300 jobs. That works out at

�58,000 each. Here's our political editor John Hess.

Chris knows the valley of EU grants. He's left the company

secured funding for new capital kit and it transformed his business.

needed fairly big investment and we got a �90,000 grant from Europe,

which really got us going. Now from an office in Leicester, there is a

new pot of funding from the EU and its regional growth fund. It is

handled by a private firm. primary incentive is they have a

project they have not been able to do and this money will help them do

quicker, faster. �7 million comes from the EU and 10.5 million from

the regional growth fund. This company allocates a share to three

local enterprise partnerships and they then distribute the cash to the

100 successful bidding companies. A jobs bonanza? Not necessarily.

are looking to credit over 300 jobs with this piece of funding. That

doesn't sound an awful lot? doesn't but you have to bear in mind

that a lot of these projects are likely to be capital investment,

pieces of equipment and expansion to a factory. We are pretty close at

making our first three investments and we are looking at manufacturing

and engineering. They range from 50,000 up to potentially half a

million. �58,000 for each new job created, is it worth it or will the

funding put our businesses back into the driving seat?

It is now time for the sport. Colin has been at Trent Bridge.

I have news of a massive cup draw for Notts County on the way, stay

tuned. But tonight's action is all about cricket's T20 competition.

Notts Outlaws stormed into the quarterfinals as winners of their

group and tonight they face Essex Eagles for a place at finals day.

Weather and Ashes fever have brought big crowds to Trent Bridge. The

It is probably the most explosive batting line-up we have been able to

put together. We feel confident. job is to set the tone at the top of

the order and that confidence rubs off on to the other batters and

go through last year but I will try and make amends and go through the

finals this year because we are a good team. What has happened is in

the past and now it is up to us to put on a great show, score 200 and

all Essex out. We know our crowd, we know how they will react. It will be

a great atmosphere. England in front of their home fans. You can hear the

crowd behind you, especially when you are batting. Hopefully we don't

mess up like we have done the last couple of years. Let's hope the

players are still smiling at 10pm this evening and are through to the

finals. Now, football, and I hinted at it a

couple of minutes ago. The second round draw for the Capital One Cup

was made at lunchtime and what a great tie for Notts County. Notts

County will play Liverpool, and they'll play them at Anfield. These

are the other ties. Leicester away at Carlisle. Forest will host

Millwall. Meanwhile Derby play Brentford at Pride Park. The games

will all take place the week beginning the 26th August.

That Liverpool game is the standout, though. So, just how did Notts

County earn themselves that glamourous second round tie? Well,

with a 3-2 win over Fleetwood last night at Meadow Lane.

There was a crowd for just over 2000 debut so the Magpies were up at

running with a third. Fleetwood high-profile tie with Liverpool in

Now, back to the cricket and Notts progress in the short, big hitting

form of the game that is T20. I am delighted to say, With me is chief

executive Lisa Pursehouse. The crowd seemed to have levelled off but this

season has gone mad. We have seen a really big increase in attendance

this year, and across the whole format. Northants had their record

crowd the other night. It is about the cricket. The weather has got to

play a part, and the Ashes. But that together and it has definitely added

to the number of people that want to come and see it. We first thought,

having won before and the rest of the games afterwards, it might not

work but it has been fantastic. are expecting at least 12,000. What

does that mean to you? The same for everybody else. For the players and

members and supporters, there is nothing better than Trent Bridge

being full, and it is wonderful when it is for not just for England. That

is what we love. It will be full tonight and there will be a full

report tomorrow here. Hundreds of workers and members of

the public were treated to a spectacular sight today as the new

Boeing Dreamliner and a Spitfire flew over the Rolls-Royce's factory

in Derby. As James Roberson reports, it marked the latest stage of a

relationship between British Airways and the aero-engine maker that goes

back almost a century. Joined by the Rolls-Royce Spitfire,

a new Dreamliner heads across the East Midlands towards Derby. It is

watched by end-user you stick members of the Rolls-Royce works

force. This latest Boeing is in British Airways's livery for the

first time. Putting the firm's engines on yet another British

Airways plane is part of a very long tradition. We can see the

relationship starting in 1919 when we supplied them with the eager

ranging on an aircraft from London to Paris. Rolls-Royce hopes the

Trent engines will become as famous as part of their heritage as the

legendary engines of the Spitfire. Another superb day for British

Airways and Rolls-Royce. It is our history and our future, it is

wonderful site. It is so nice to see the results of everyone's

achievements. You can see by the amount of people who have come today

how everybody values that. It is hard to put into words, home skies

over our home city. All the people who have worked on this over the

last ten years, juicy it flying over with the Spitfire is incredible. --

to see it. In the next few years, the airline will have over 50 new

engines, all powered by Rolls-Royce. Wow! Wonderful shot. But not a clear

You will be very well practised at dodging showers by the end of this

weekend but tonight at least it will then the band of rain will start to

push him in the early hours of Friday morning. It is a much warmer

night as well tonight than what we had last night. The rain still with

us as we start of Friday morning. It will take a while to clear away but

will be a lot of dry and bright weather but there will also be some

Saturday and to end the day but plenty of bright weather in the

middle patch. Sunday is also going to be a bit of a story of drizzle to

start off with but later on Sunday, we will start to see things brighten

up. We will see some decent dry spells as well. The temperatures are

gradually falling down a little bit but at least it does mean we will