28/07/2011 Look East - East

In a low-key East: A flash flooding, lightning strikes and power cuts -

what happened when the storms hit here? It stank. Hello.

Also tonight: The clampdown on homeless migrants - 30 have been

deported from one city alone. A new power station for Essex will create

hundreds of jobs and create gas for hundreds of homes.

We are out on the water with it First, storms overnight brought

power cuts and flash flooding to parts of the region.

Thousands were blacked out in Norfolk and Suffolk well homes and

roads were flooded in Peterborough. Locals have raised concerns that

the trains could not cope but Anglia Water has blamed the

problems on people pouring cooking fats into drains.

I am in Chaucer Road and there has been a bit of a pong in the air

today. It has been raining pretty steadily and it is raining now but

not compared to yesterday. Yesterday, the intensity of the

rain here was probably an matched across the region.

Flash flood waters rising fast. These pictures were taken in the

West would area of the city with parts of Cambridge experiencing 15

mm of rain in 20 minutes. This picture was taken and the big

clean-up this morning in Chaucer Road after a tide of sewage came up

through the drains. It was inches deep and it stank. All the leaves

came out and were in the back garden. All the plants and gnomes

were floating and I have just done it up. It is indescribable really.

Not as bad as in many parts of the world but bad enough. A lot of

people were totally distressed. This as the store was back in

action in River gate after yesterday's storm closed its doors

early. There was flooding in our store which took down the power

supplies and we lost our checkouts. For the safety of our customers and

colleagues, we closed the store. Road chaos in Northamptonshire. A

friendly match suddenly was plunged into darkness as their floodlights

failed. This picture shows storm chasers in Suffolk. We don't get

this sort of thing that often here but you may see widespread

outbreaks and this is the second or third outbreak we have seen this

summer. People are thinking about it more because we have had storm

staffed the summer's. This afternoon was a miserable seen in

Great Yarmouth where, days ago, holidaymakers were basking in

sunshine. Back here in Chaucer Road, Anglian Water says it is continuing

with a clean up and says it's sewers are fit for purpose and

properly maintained. It has blamed some locals for illegally putting

cooking fat into the drains and blocking them. I want to say thank

you to Simon Garth for this picture. This is what it was like here 24

hours ago. We like having your pictures and videos and you can e-

mail them to us. You can see a gallery of pictures there. -- you

can see a gallery of pictures on Facebook.

So, what happened? Well, it is down to summer

thunderstorms but they are localised. They developed over the

west of the region and they became it intense, thundery affairs and

moved north eastwards. Then a second area of thunderstorms

developed in the middle of the region and they particularly

affected Norfolk and East Suffolk and gave torrential rain for as

well. You can get some extremely large totals of rain fall in a

short time and that is the key to If you add in the key rain gauges

that picked up intense rainfall, you can see it gets on for an inch

of rain and maybe some places got Homeless migrants in Peterborough

face deportation if they cannot prove they have a job or a place to

live. Police making arrest on behalf of the UK Border Agency. It

is two years since a shanty in the city was clear to but some are

still living rough. The latest operation on migrant

rough sleepers. It is easy to set up a new it encampment because so

many people go to their old beds and sofa -- fly tip. The camps

might not be beak but smaller ones are springing up. This one is on a

city cycle path. Sometimes it takes longer to find. This one is tucked

away. Unless you pay attention, you will not know people are sleeping

here. You can see the mattresses are soaking wet and that is

Then it is off to the newest camp at the back of a row of shops set

up in the last month which two people are calling home. Officers

say people here now are determined to stay. Two years ago, we were

working with a relocation programme which was nationwide. People may

not have been able to afford to go back to their country and see their

families but today I think people who want to stay are not really

living here by the rules. Officers speak to someone they think might

be sleeping rough. They have a hit- list of people who the UK Border

Agency might want to talk to for having no job or home. They are

humans and even though it is not acceptable in our eyes, the way

they live, we cannot just take the man say, off you go. People from

Russia and Lithuania... And an The two guys here... And the female

has been identified as wanted on criminal matters. The chap is

wanted by immigration who want to have a chat with him. They get

their warning and a few months to prove that they are looking for a

job or a house. But if they don't Cup - might abide by the rules...

That is one phase of emigration but as we have seen, there is another

side. Many migrant workers set up their own businesses and are very

successful. I am from Lithuania. I am from

Lithuania. I am from Lithuania. I am from Lithuania. They all work

for an Albanian who came to the UK for a better life and job prospects.

He claims it is much easier to set up shop here. Everything that you

need to find out for business is easy. If you need anything for the

business, make a phone call and they explain to you how to do it

and everything. He came to Norwich to make form -- money and started

at his own business. He has been so successful that he is talking about

employing 20 workers. The common assumption is that Eastern European

-- eastern Europeans come and take jobs for little money but for him,

the attraction was to make money. He pays his workers between �7.12

pounds per hour. Business is booming with happy customers.

complain at all. It takes half the time and half the price.

accusation is British workers are not interested in manual or dirty

work and we need overseas Labour to fill the gaps in our workforce.

Where there is muck, there is money. Four years ago we visited a school

in Peterborough trying to cope with a huge increase in the number of

Polish children. For tomorrow's report, we have gone back to

Fulbridge Primary to see how they have been getting on. We want your

thoughts on this also. Still to come tonight: Shaun Peel

with our latest Olympic bulletin. All the stories affecting us in the

build up to London 2012. And Andrew Sinclair has been to the shops.

The man packing the bags is Michael, who'd joined the staff of Morison's

about five hours ago and he happens to be the local MP. Find out why he

is here and why many of his colleagues are doing a similar

A 14 year-old girl is seriously ill in hospital after the course she

was riding on fell on her. Olivia was being assessed for the

Pony Club Horse trials this weekend. She had just practised show jumping

when the horse she borrowed collapsed and died. The air

ambulance was with care within minutes. We found the horse had

suffered a heart attack and died and as it fell, it pinned the young

teenage girl underneath her. She was semi-conscious and her

condition gave the group cause for concern that she might have

suffered a severe head injury. owner of the farm says it hopes --

hosts horse -- dressage and opportunities for jumpers.

banged her head on the ground soap she suffered head injuries. Only 1

ft was trapped under the horse but it was sadly a dead horse. The air

ambulance and the emergency medical services perhaps have given the 14

year-old girl a tomorrow that she might not have had otherwise.

emergency medical charity believes the rapid response saved Olivia's

life. They gave the best chance of minimising injury to her brain and

having spoken to the family today, Bolivia is awake and sitting up in

the intensive care unit and is doing very well. Their health and

safety unit is investigating -- The Government has given the go

ahead for a big new gas power station in Essex. It will be built

at Coryton near Canvey Island and will produce enough power for

nearly a million homes. The Government needs to get a move

on, finding new sources of power. One-quarter of the UK's electricity

generating capacity will shut down over the next decade. Today, their

energy minister visited our region. The plans will generate enough

electricity for one million homes. We have to make up for a lack of

investment over the last decade. We have to invest twice as much in

this decade. We have looked carefully at the applications and

decided this is a good one and should be consenting. The region

has six gas fired power stations. Many were built when gas was cheap

and we were self-sufficient in it. The station at Great Yarmouth

opened nine years ago. As a nation, we're not self-sufficient in gas

anymore. We have to import much of it. It is an expensive commodity.

As it makes sense to build more gas stations? The Government says gas

is an efficient way of generating power and an important part of the

energy mix, along with a call, nuclear and renewables. This

station was certainly boost the local economy, creating 600 jobs

during construction. A military historian who faked an

illustrious army career was found guilty today of perverting the

course of justice. John Livesey worked at the Imperial War Museum

at Duxford. He was found guilty of benefit fraud seven years ago. But

he escaped jail at the time by telling the judge he was a

decorated Falklands veteran. He will be sentenced on the latest

charge in three weeks. Police have named the elderly

couple killed in a crash on the A120 in Essex. 83-year-old Arthur

Sarbutt and his wife Vera, who was 81, came from Harwich. They had

been travelling in a Hyundai car which crashed with a Vauxhall Astra.

The insurance company Aviva, which employs 6,000 people in Norwich,

has announced an operating profit of �1.3 billion for the first half

of the year. That is an increase of 3% on last year. Since the start of

last year, the number of motor customers has gone up by two thirds

of a million. The football season starts this

weekend. Tomorrow, we will be looking at the Championship.

Tonight, it is Leagues One and Two. Off the field, Southend United say

they hope to be in their new stadium in two years. And at

Colchester United, they are looking to cut costs.

The football season is back. New challenges, fresh hope, but how is

it going to go? We are going to win. But to will be celebrating, come

May? 10th last year, but now Colchester are cutting back. The

chairman will reduce his investment in the playing budget from 1.5

million to nothing in five years' time. Instead, he is focusing on

training and youth facilities. game is changing. Many more players

are available. The demands on wages are not what they have been. Our

budget is still good. It means that I need some input from the fans and

other people and we need to start filling this stadium for. We have

worked hard to try to get the use through this team. He has not got

money coming everywhere, but we will have a good go at trying to

make carousels as good as we can. Another year for Southend as well.

The stadium has seen better days. Three years on, are they any closer

to moving out than their plans? years. Why are you so confident?

There is a sea of momentum of activity it involved. Why has there

been such a substantial delay? financial crisis hit as an banks

were not so supportive. We have now found other options and are moving

forward. Real optimism on the playing side. It is a decent squad.

He has pitted together before the start of the season as well. I have

put a bet on them to win the league, so hopefully they will. The teams

start their campaigns on Saturday, as the Campaign for glory begins

You are watching Look East from the BBC. Coming up: One of the toughest

challenges on the water. It is not just schools which get

long summer holidays. MPs are away from Westminster for seven weeks.

But that is much shorter than it used to be. Still, they want us to

know they won't be spending all that time on the beach. Many will

be working in their constituencies and some are literally rolling up

their sleeves. Our Political Correspondent reports.

In the coffee shop at Morrisons in Northampton, the latest member of

staff is hard at work. Michael Ellis is to local MP, but he has

decided to spend one day a week working with the local employer

over the summer. I feel part of the community and I want to show people

how willing I am and keen eye and to get engaged at a grass roots

level. No one has been nasty to you? Not at all. I think people are

pleased to see me. He has been helping the customers with their

trays of food and has cleared the tables. He has generally help us

out. What you think of having your local MP doing this? Brilliant. He

then not -- then knows what is happening on the shop floor.

Yesterday, Norman Lamb prepared to take part in a charity bike ride to

the Netherlands. I really hate the idea of MPs being cut off in an

ivory tower in London. This is about active representation,

getting stuck in and working with local people. Party leaders had

been keen to see their MPs showing the more human side since the

expenses scandal. Another MP has launched a charity of the month.

Another is fund-raising for a school in Rwanda. Richard Bacon is

doing charity work in Africa as well. At the James Paget Hospital,

there is a new doctor this summer. It is good to look after patients

and reconnect with the real world. I do not think we have enough

people in politics who understand what it is like to work him from

time-servers says. It is great to be involved in the NHS again.

Michael Ellis, it is the supermarket this week and a fire

service next week. After that, he is manning a stall in the

marketplace. Now that the Olympic Games is less

than a year away, we are counting down with a regular Thursday

Olympic report. Last week, the former world badminton champion

Gail Emms did the honours. Tonight, Welcome to my Olympic report. This

venue behind me could be a training camp next year for visiting teams.

At the last count, 14 teams will be best here -- will be based here.

The British wheelchair rugby team will be based in King's Lynn. The

two Olympic venues in our region have also come through their first

major challenges. There was a Test event for the white water rafting.

175 athletes will take part in the event. There was a dress rehearsal

at the mountain-biking site in Essex as well. 5,000 local people

were there to see 100 of the world's top riders trying out the

course for the first and last time before the Games. The Cambridge

Paralympic sprinter Jamie Peacock is getting better and better. At

the weekend, he ran a personal best which would have seen him as the

European event leader, but his time could not be ratified. If he can

repeat that time this weekend, he will become the new European record

holder. He is hitting form at just the right time. If you have

Olympics stories, why not email me? You can also follow me on Twitter.

Our BBC local radio stations will be following the Olympic dreams of

2012 hopefuls were you love. Next week, we will be speaking to Goldie

Sayers, an Olympic javelin thrower. Golf has the Open. Tennis has

Wimbledon. Yachting has the Fastnet race. 600 miles from start to

finish. It gets underway in ten days and three crews from this

region will be taking part. Kevin Burch has been to Levington in

Suffolk to watch their final preparations.

It is the kind of event which -- adventure which sees all sorts come

together. They are a month -- these two men are among 24 people who

will face the Fastnet race. We're not going cruising, we're going

racing. If you have to change your sale, it does not matter what the

time is. You still have to do it, even during the night. It has quite

a good name. I am really excited about it. The race started in 1925,

but this is the you that most people remember. In 1979, there was

as a fear sort -- severe storm. This time, 350 people will take

part. They have had a fairly rough time during the qualifying races.

There have been some extreme winds and challenging conditions. They

The trouble help raise money for help for heroes. Every boat carries

its logo and some of the crew are sponsored. It is a personal

challenge for everybody. Some people have had no prior experience

and have worked very hard. The next chapter begins tomorrow morning

when the three boats will leave Leamington to finally head south.

Here is an unusual request for help from the organisers of a festival

in Cambridgeshire. They are appealing for anyone who has seen a

giant, helium filled island to get in touch. It looks like this. It

cost �12,000. But somebody cut it loose. If you see it, the Secret

Garden Party would love to hear Garden Party would love to hear

from you. The weather is quieter today. Just

as wet, though. We have not had that thunderstorms so far. The

showers this evening are just moving past Peterborough. The cloud

band that gave us the rain today is starting to clear away. You can see

the drier weather moving in across the region at the moment. They

could still be the odd heavy shower in the north-west of the region

later. The showers will not last long and they should soon clear

away to give us dry weather for the bulk of the night. It will be

humoured, so feeling close. Tomorrow, it is going to be a

better day. It would be hard for it to be much worse. We will all

enjoyed the return of sunshine at times during tomorrow. We will get

some sunshine at times. It will be quite warm air at times.

Temperatures could do well. The winds are generally much lighter as

well. It all looks like a pleasant day. Tomorrow night, we might see

some rain moving up past the coast of Essex and Sussex. For the

outlook, we have a very unsettled looking chart. Low pressure is all

around us. This suggests it could rain at any time. For the Eastern

Counties, we may well stay dry for much of the time. There will be

showery rain first thing on Saturday, but the rest of the time

it should be mainly dry. Turning wet by the end of Sunday. Slowly,