:00:07. > :00:11.In Look East tonight... A woman is seriously ill in hospital after a
:00:11. > :00:16.concrete block was dropped on her car from this bridge.
:00:16. > :00:22.Hello and welcome to Look East. Also in tonight's programme...
:00:22. > :00:25.The woman who stole so much from her employers that they went bust.
:00:25. > :00:29.Because she seemed such a nice person, the thought that she was
:00:29. > :00:33.stealing off us never, ever crossed my mind.
:00:33. > :00:36.Vince Cable vows to make the banks lend money to small businesses.
:00:36. > :00:46.And Strictly Panto! Anita Dobson and Russell Grant play Milton
:00:46. > :00:53.
:00:53. > :00:55.First tonight, a woman is in hospital with what are described as
:00:55. > :01:02.life threatening injuries after a concrete block was deliberately
:01:02. > :01:06.dropped onto her car. She was in the passenger seat travelling on
:01:06. > :01:08.the A12 near Chelmsford when the incident happened yesterday evening.
:01:08. > :01:11.Just half-an-hour earlier, another block had been dropped on another
:01:11. > :01:20.car, but without injuring those inside. Both cases are being
:01:20. > :01:24.treated as attempted murder. Kim Riley is next to the A12.
:01:24. > :01:30.This is the bridge from which one lump of concrete, described the
:01:30. > :01:36.shaped like a bucket, was dropped on a car at around 10pm last night.
:01:36. > :01:43.A 57-year-old woman was a passenger, her husband was cut, but she was
:01:43. > :01:45.seriously injured. She is at -- she is in a serious but stable
:01:45. > :01:50.condition at Broomfield Hospital. Forensic teams are gathering
:01:50. > :01:57.evidence. About half an hour before the incident, a similar lump of
:01:57. > :02:04.concrete was dropped from a bridge on the A12 several Mike -- several
:02:04. > :02:08.miles down some off -- several miles down south. The passengers
:02:08. > :02:13.and drive on that car for an injured. There have been about 30
:02:13. > :02:19.of these incidents in the last three years. I went to see David
:02:19. > :02:23.Ackland. He runs a riding school with his wife. Three years ago, he
:02:23. > :02:27.was towing a caravan and under a similar bridge when a lump of
:02:27. > :02:33.concrete smashed through his Land- Rover and he was in no doubt what
:02:33. > :02:38.would have happened if hit hit him. I would have been dead. It was
:02:38. > :02:44.future. It was a huge piece of concrete, very heavy, it would have
:02:44. > :02:47.killed me. What do you think of people who do this? I do not think
:02:47. > :02:56.you would be able to transmit what I think. It is disgraceful
:02:56. > :03:01.behaviour. I do not see any reason for doing it. I cannot see any
:03:01. > :03:07.sense in it whatsoever. With me is Nick Morris. This is
:03:07. > :03:14.absolutely crazy. It is, I can see no reason why anyone would want to
:03:14. > :03:21.do this. Some people at home watching could think this was part
:03:21. > :03:27.of a group. What can you say? is being investigated as into it --
:03:27. > :03:33.as an attempt at murder. Not just the person holding or pushing the
:03:33. > :03:37.concrete could be held accountable, anyone there could be accountable.
:03:37. > :03:42.I would arch people to come forward and explained their case. The you
:03:42. > :03:46.are asking people going down the road for any information? Certainly.
:03:46. > :03:52.We would like contact from anyone who saw anything suspicious one
:03:52. > :03:58.that any of the Road bridges up- and-down at the A12, particularly
:03:58. > :04:06.the Chelmsford area. Are you hopeful of getting the people
:04:06. > :04:08.responsible? We have had a forensic team are out here today. We need
:04:08. > :04:14.members of the public to come forward and give us more
:04:14. > :04:22.information. Thank you very much. I have a telephone number if you can
:04:22. > :04:28.help with information. That is 0300 333 4444. Back to the studio.
:04:28. > :04:33.Thank you. A finance director, who stole so much money that the
:04:33. > :04:37.company she worked for went under, has been jailed. Christine Abbott
:04:37. > :04:40.took more than �90,000 from Euro- Spec steel in Essex. A judge at
:04:40. > :04:43.Chelmsford Crown Court told her he was imposing a 21-month sentence.
:04:43. > :04:47.It was to deter others who might be tempted to steal from their
:04:47. > :04:53.employers. It has bounced back. Not long ago,
:04:53. > :05:00.this company went bust. It was a combination of the recession and an
:05:00. > :05:04.accounts manager fiddling the books. Christina Abbott stole �93,000.
:05:04. > :05:08.Because she seemed such a nice person, but what she was stealing
:05:09. > :05:17.from us never crossed my mind. While working at Euro-Spec steel,
:05:17. > :05:21.she made up invoices and pocketed the money. In 2009, we started
:05:21. > :05:27.letting people go. In fact, she lost her own job, because she was
:05:27. > :05:34.stealing, but we had to make car redundant. Before she left, she
:05:34. > :05:38.bought a brand new Mercedes, went on nice holidays, but we just
:05:38. > :05:43.assumed it was her husband's business doing well. We had no idea
:05:43. > :05:46.that we were supporting her. A jury found her guilty of fraud at
:05:46. > :05:52.Chelmsford Crown Court. She was sentenced this morning. The judge
:05:52. > :05:56.told her she had to go to prison, otherwise what is to stop another
:05:56. > :06:00.accountant or book-keeper putting their hand in the till? She was
:06:00. > :06:06.jailed for 21 months. The court heard she was under financial
:06:06. > :06:10.pressure, because her partner's business was struggling. Mr Howard
:06:10. > :06:15.has started another company. Work is steady. We can see us getting
:06:15. > :06:19.back to the way we were. He is going to try and take on some of
:06:19. > :06:22.the staff who lost their jobs because of Christine Abbott's
:06:22. > :06:26.dishonesty. Tom Wagstaff is a solicitor who
:06:26. > :06:34.specialises in this sort of crime. He joins us now. How widespread the
:06:34. > :06:38.these cases? In the last six months, I had seen two instances of
:06:38. > :06:43.comparable fare in the local community, where employers have had
:06:43. > :06:49.to dismiss employees who were prosecuted. My experience is there
:06:49. > :06:52.are more things like this happening. Why do you think that might be?
:06:52. > :06:57.There could be a correlation between theft and the current
:06:57. > :07:04.economics. I do not think that is necessarily true, but there will
:07:04. > :07:07.perhaps always be employees who see the opportunity and exploited.
:07:07. > :07:10.seems to those of us looking an enormous amount of money can be
:07:10. > :07:15.taken before anyone actually notices. Is that because the
:07:15. > :07:21.majority of cases are people dealing with the payslips or
:07:22. > :07:24.payroll on expenses claims? Exactly. Employers are trusting these
:07:24. > :07:28.individuals to control the financial systems and payroll
:07:28. > :07:33.systems. Where that trust has lost, these people are able to manipulate
:07:33. > :07:38.the system and secret money a week. As sophisticated as the systems
:07:38. > :07:42.might be, people determined enough will find means of stealing. If the
:07:42. > :07:48.systems are not police by employers, it is only as good as the people
:07:48. > :07:54.looking after them. What should employers to stop this? I think
:07:54. > :08:03.deterrent has got to be the best approach. It employees know there
:08:03. > :08:07.would be regular audits or reduce, -- or reviews, that must help
:08:07. > :08:11.employers stop employees stealing money. That is if we are aware of
:08:11. > :08:17.they are being monitored regularly. Maybe not leading up on annual
:08:17. > :08:23.review. As technology made a big difference? Has it made it easier
:08:23. > :08:27.to hide the money? They analogy has advanced, but with that, employees
:08:27. > :08:33.and their schemes have advanced similarly. -- technology has
:08:33. > :08:37.advanced. Money can still be stolen. Thank you very much.
:08:37. > :08:43.Later in the programme, the latest sport and the weekend weather. And
:08:43. > :08:51.pantomime star, Russell Grant, is strictly thankful. I must thank
:08:51. > :08:59.everybody out there, all you Look East -- all you Look East yours,
:08:59. > :09:03.thank you from the bottom of other The Business Secretary has vowed to
:09:03. > :09:07.make it easier for small companies to borrow money. Vince Cable was
:09:07. > :09:10.speaking at a conference in Norwich. Entrepreneurs there told him
:09:10. > :09:14.difficulties getting finance was their number one problem.
:09:14. > :09:18.It is a problem which is frustrating business and annoying
:09:18. > :09:23.the Government. After the near collapse of the banking system,
:09:23. > :09:26.banks have become far more reluctant to lend. On Tuesday, we
:09:26. > :09:32.featured this engineering firm whose owner was refused a loan
:09:32. > :09:37.despite having an excellent credit record. I applied for �50,000 and
:09:37. > :09:42.was turned down. With that, I would have employed another person.
:09:42. > :09:46.you would like to repeat that... the conference today, business
:09:46. > :09:53.leaders were asked to bolt on what was the one thing that would unlock
:09:53. > :09:57.business growth. -- asked to vote one. There was one winner. People
:09:57. > :10:01.want to trade. It seems to be banks not giving the money is the problem.
:10:01. > :10:06.There are financial worries about investment in staff. But that is
:10:06. > :10:11.what will get us out of this situation. The Business Secretary
:10:11. > :10:15.knows that. That is why he has been trying to get the banks to lend. It
:10:15. > :10:20.seems he is running out of patience. He understood more provision for
:10:20. > :10:25.bad debt these to be taken, but there is still room for lending.
:10:25. > :10:29.have to be ruthless on cutting down bonuses and dividend payments. Then
:10:29. > :10:36.it be should be able to be safe whilst at the same time lending
:10:36. > :10:40.more to good British companies. What if that is not done? We have
:10:41. > :10:45.one major bank that is owned by the Government, another partially owned,
:10:45. > :10:52.all the banks ultimately depend on the Government. More direct
:10:52. > :10:55.intervention may be needed. There were promises to lend more. The
:10:56. > :11:01.Chancellor launched a credit easing scheme. Will hope is that money
:11:01. > :11:07.will flow old more freely. If it does not, Vince Cable says he means
:11:07. > :11:11.business. And Andrew is in Norwich now. What
:11:11. > :11:16.more can Dr Cable do? I think he would like to do what the former
:11:16. > :11:20.Chancellor dead, which was to lock all the bankers there and keep them
:11:20. > :11:25.and will be agreed terms. This is difficult. The Government does not
:11:25. > :11:29.own most of the banks. They have relied on gentle persuasion up
:11:29. > :11:33.until now it. I believe Dr Cable has had enough and would like to
:11:33. > :11:38.get tougher. The problem is the Conservatives do not want to go to
:11:38. > :11:44.head the on bankers, because they are worried banks local overseas
:11:44. > :11:48.and banks are important to the economy. It has been a tough week
:11:48. > :11:53.politically. What did he say about that? He did talk about the grim
:11:53. > :11:58.economic news. But he got the region had a good future, because
:11:58. > :12:02.of the number of small businesses we had at the offshore energy
:12:02. > :12:07.industry. He said growth will come from the regions, not from the City
:12:07. > :12:10.of London. Andrew, thank you. And you can see that interview with Dr
:12:10. > :12:13.Cable in full on the Politics Show this Sunday at Midday here on BBC
:12:13. > :12:15.One. A Labour councillor is facing
:12:15. > :12:19.investigation over remarks he made on Twitter regarding female
:12:19. > :12:22.Conservative councillors. Julian Swainson, Labour group leader on
:12:22. > :12:25.Waveney District Council, has apologised for any offence caused.
:12:25. > :12:33.The council's Conservative leader has described the tweet as an
:12:33. > :12:35.acceptable. Hundreds of people have had their
:12:35. > :12:38.holidays cancelled, some just hours before they were due to leave,
:12:38. > :12:40.following the collapse of a coach tour operator in Essex.
:12:40. > :12:47.Administrators have been called in at Crusader Holidays, which is
:12:47. > :12:51.based at Clacton-on-Sea. For over 30 years, its coaches have
:12:52. > :12:56.taken customers far and wide. Today, they were going nowhere. People
:12:56. > :13:02.turned up at head of us wanting to know if their money was safe. Some
:13:02. > :13:06.booked this week. We were booked for Germany for one week. We were
:13:06. > :13:10.going in July, then we had another one book for September. We were
:13:10. > :13:17.going to Brittany. We were supposed to be going to Portugal in
:13:17. > :13:22.September. Crusader is well-known and highly regarded. 34 jobs are
:13:22. > :13:28.now under threat. This man is a former managing director and says
:13:28. > :13:32.the whole coach tour industry is under huge pressure. The clientele
:13:32. > :13:38.which coach leading companies have are generally more elderly, getting
:13:38. > :13:43.more elderly. In the last few years, income has diminished because of
:13:43. > :13:47.problems with savings. And the companies have to adapt. Crusader
:13:47. > :13:50.is a member of the bonded coach holiday scheme, meaning people who
:13:50. > :13:54.have just booked trips with accommodation should get their
:13:54. > :14:00.money back. People currently on trips will be able to complete
:14:00. > :14:04.their holiday and return home. 480 people booked to travel this
:14:04. > :14:08.weekend have had holidays cancelled. Over 500 bookings for next week
:14:08. > :14:14.could face a similar fate. Administrators are tried to find a
:14:14. > :14:18.buyer in the hope that next year's bookings can be honoured.
:14:18. > :14:23.Football now. It is League games for both Norwich and Ipswich
:14:23. > :14:26.tomorrow. But for the rest, the FA Cup.
:14:26. > :14:29.Norwich boss, Paul Lambert, says they will not fear Manchester City
:14:29. > :14:32.when the sides meet in the Premier League tomorrow. The Canaries
:14:32. > :14:35.travel to the league leaders off the back of a crucial win against
:14:36. > :14:41.QPR. Man City are the only unbeaten team in the division. They have won
:14:41. > :14:48.11 of their 13 games. We will go there to win. But we know how hard
:14:48. > :14:54.it will be. They are at topside. It is there for everyone to see. --
:14:54. > :14:57.They are a top side. We have to go there believing we can do something.
:14:58. > :15:01.Onto the championship. A huge day for this man tomorrow. Paul
:15:01. > :15:08.Jewell's Ipswich are at home to Watford. Town have lost their last
:15:08. > :15:10.six. The table makes uncomfortable Ipswich are 4th from bottom. Only
:15:10. > :15:15.out of the relegation zone on goal difference. And Watford tomorrow
:15:15. > :15:19.are one of their bogey teams. the knee meant -- at the minute, at
:15:19. > :15:24.18 we come up against is a bogey team. It is about mentality a
:15:24. > :15:29.mental strength and having a belief and desire to get a result. It does
:15:29. > :15:33.not matter how we get it, we need the result.
:15:33. > :15:37.So big games for Ipswich and Norwich. Several rungs down the
:15:37. > :15:41.ladder, Whitton United face a trip to Corton in the Suffolk Senior Cup.
:15:41. > :15:51.Chairman of the Greens is Ruel Fox, combining the role with a personal
:15:51. > :15:56.
:15:56. > :16:01.Jonathan Park spent the morning Up painful, but rewarding start to
:16:01. > :16:06.the day. That is why it is called booked up. The man in charge laced
:16:06. > :16:12.up his boots more than 400 times for Norwich, Newcastle and Spurs,
:16:12. > :16:16.among others. I started off, at first it was quiet, then I moved
:16:16. > :16:23.down here and it is going well. This is Wyton in Ipswich, where he
:16:23. > :16:27.grew up, also the home to the club where he started playing aged eight.
:16:27. > :16:32.Fast-forward 35 years and he is chairman. Do you think you are
:16:32. > :16:39.giving something back? It feels like that, but it is something I
:16:39. > :16:43.have always done even when playing. When I look around the club, there
:16:43. > :16:49.are people there who used to pick me up when I was a child. If he was
:16:49. > :16:53.playing now, he might have earned �30,000 per week, the same cost of
:16:53. > :16:58.building a new stand. It is hoped a new ground could be built on the
:16:58. > :17:05.same site. It is through has strong links with the community. The
:17:05. > :17:13.clients all got something out of this morning. It is thanks to this
:17:13. > :17:22.former player. Its over 32 Old? When we were
:17:22. > :17:29.winning, no one was talking about age. -- is aged 32 Old? It is all
:17:29. > :17:34.about confidence. Confidence has not been in short supply. They are
:17:34. > :17:39.pleased to be showing attacking instincts. I liked the way the Air
:17:39. > :17:44.plane, going out there and expressing themselves. -- I like
:17:44. > :17:54.the way they are playing. You get a feeling that the journey is just
:17:54. > :17:55.
:17:55. > :18:02.To the FA Cup. Non-League Chelmsford trained in the wet and
:18:02. > :18:05.the gloom last night ahead of their The Essex side have never reached
:18:05. > :18:08.round three before. They have come through four rounds just to get
:18:08. > :18:13.this far. It is a chance for a good exposure. The financial
:18:13. > :18:20.implications are great for us. It gives the opportunity for players
:18:20. > :18:23.to showcase themselves against Here are all the second round ties.
:18:23. > :18:26.As we know Chelmsford play Macclesfield. Elsewhere, Colchester
:18:26. > :18:29.play Swindon. Southend will hope to continue their unbeaten run against
:18:29. > :18:33.Oldham. Do not forget, you can follow your team on your local BBC
:18:33. > :18:37.radio station tomorrow. The goals from the Norwich game will be on
:18:37. > :18:44.Match Of The Day. Ipswich will be on the the Football League Show on
:18:44. > :18:52.BBC One on Saturday night. The FA Cup third-round draw is also on
:18:52. > :18:59.MUSIC: "Reach For The Stars". You are watching Look East from the
:18:59. > :19:09.BBC. Coming up... The Strictly Come Dancing star shooting straight into
:19:09. > :19:11.
:19:11. > :19:18.pantomime. We will tell you why he chose Milton Keynes. That is to
:19:18. > :19:22.come. It is seven years since the DJ John Peel died. But in this
:19:22. > :19:26.region, his memory lives on with an arts project in Suffolk. John and
:19:26. > :19:29.his family lived in Stowmarket. The John Peel Centre for the Arts aims
:19:29. > :19:34.to help the kind of young musicians that he always championed. But now,
:19:34. > :19:42.they have to raise �25,000 by Christmas.
:19:42. > :19:47.They are a local band from just down the road.
:19:48. > :19:54.In a world where the word legend is often misused, John Peel really is
:19:54. > :19:59.one. He lived in Suffolk, loved Liverpool Football Club and was the
:19:59. > :20:04.champion of new music. Today, his widow, Sheila Ravenscroft, is part
:20:04. > :20:10.of a group that wants to improve facilities at the John Peel Arts
:20:10. > :20:18.Centre. At the moment, we per pot - - we put on new bands, unheard-of
:20:18. > :20:25.band so, which is within his ethos. It is not just new bands, but
:20:25. > :20:31.theatre, comedy, entertainment for children. The centre has a grand
:20:31. > :20:35.for �0.5 million but needs more through a crowd landing -- through
:20:35. > :20:43.crowd funding. The you go out took lots of people and ask them for
:20:43. > :20:48.support. It is part of a community. This is electronic. It is also
:20:48. > :20:53.damaged. John Pugh loved all sorts of music,
:20:53. > :20:59.not just what he played. -- John Peel. But he did not love
:20:59. > :21:05.everything. One kind of music he would not listen to and that was
:21:05. > :21:09.opera. If we have opera here, it will be against his wishes. There
:21:09. > :21:14.is money to raise and work to do before the sector can provide the
:21:14. > :21:24.sort of facilities needed. The future looks bright, just do not
:21:24. > :21:24.
:21:25. > :21:29.expect to see too much opera. We are both fans of Strictly Come
:21:29. > :21:38.Dancing. We are indeed. I dance around the
:21:38. > :21:43.newsroom. As I am as huge fan of Hari. He is amazing.
:21:43. > :21:46.You would like to be like him. If you have been watching this
:21:46. > :21:51.series of Strictly Come Dancing, you will know that Russell Grant
:21:51. > :21:55.and Anita Dobson were real entertainers. They may have both
:21:55. > :21:58.been voted off, but they will not be out of the limelight for long.
:21:58. > :22:01.That is because they are swapping Strictly for panto. They are
:22:01. > :22:09.joining the dancer Camila Dallerup taking turns in playing the Genie
:22:09. > :22:13.in Aladdin at Milton Keynes. MUSIC: "Reach For The Stars".
:22:13. > :22:19.They have enhanced their way into living rooms. What pantomime season
:22:19. > :22:25.around the corner, the stars of this programme are in demand. Now
:22:25. > :22:35.Russell, Anita and can they love being there is a major draw. We are
:22:35. > :22:36.
:22:36. > :22:41.doing two of the numbers we did in the programme. Samba Is one of the
:22:41. > :22:46.dances we have done. That is to one of the songs by Kylie Minogue. And
:22:46. > :22:53.the big one, reach for the stars. Unfortunately, there will be no
:22:53. > :22:59.cannon. We will still do reach for the stars, so it will be banned.
:22:59. > :23:06.For Russell and Anita, both in their sixties, this has been a
:23:06. > :23:13.revelation. -- so it will be fun. never had form of dance training. I
:23:13. > :23:20.always wondered if I could do it. - - formal dance training. It has
:23:20. > :23:24.created a new passion in me. There will be plenty of dancing. Russell
:23:24. > :23:29.all we're even more sequins. His mother is another reason why he
:23:29. > :23:36.chose Milton Keynes. My mother was evacuated to Bletchley in the war.
:23:36. > :23:41.One of the reasons why I wanted to play Kear, with 20 pantomime operas,
:23:42. > :23:47.we were getting calls all the time, but I chose at Milton Keynes,
:23:47. > :23:50.because it a Christmas present to my mother is to bring car from
:23:50. > :23:56.Lancashire to see the short and go back to see all of her friends in
:23:56. > :24:00.the region. -- bring her from Lancashire. At the end of the war,
:24:00. > :24:10.she worked at Bletchley Park, I do not think she cracked any chords, I
:24:10. > :24:11.
:24:11. > :24:20.think she does cleaned their. -- codes.
:24:20. > :24:25.Everyone will be thrilled. We liked the tenth year. For some people who
:24:25. > :24:35.do not watch but programme, when we talk about Harry, we met Harry from
:24:35. > :24:39.
:24:39. > :24:45.It was called last night, but not quite so cold tonight. We have some
:24:45. > :24:49.wet weather later tonight. You can see that Becker cloud. Mostly clear
:24:49. > :24:54.skies for now, turning increasingly cloudy from the West. -- thicker
:24:54. > :25:00.cloud. Some spots of rain in the West of the region, where it is
:25:00. > :25:05.likely to get coldest. Temperatures expected to dip down to about four
:25:05. > :25:09.Celsius. With a freshening south- westerly breeze, it will be a
:25:09. > :25:18.moderate to freshen strength at times, keeping our eyes largely
:25:18. > :25:23.free of frost. Rita tonight, when speeds will increase to strong.
:25:23. > :25:29.Quite a bit of rain, but most of it light and patchy. Some heavier
:25:29. > :25:34.bursts. It should clear swiftly tomorrow morning. A bit cloudy to
:25:34. > :25:38.start with, particularly in the East. Then cloud thinning and
:25:39. > :25:46.breaking allowing some sunshine. Late morning is where we get the
:25:46. > :25:51.highest temperatures. Possibly touching 11 degrees Celsius. It
:25:51. > :25:55.will be windy tomorrow. We have a moderate to fresh westerly wind.
:25:55. > :26:00.Through the afternoon, further spells of sunshine and cloud
:26:00. > :26:06.thinning and breaking further. For the second half of the weekend, it
:26:06. > :26:13.is this weather front. It is positioned to the South of the UK.
:26:13. > :26:17.It looks like it will produce rain across the English Channel. Perhaps
:26:17. > :26:27.getting into the southern coasts, but not much farther north. Some
:26:27. > :26:32.uncertainty, so we have the chance of some showers. It will not be
:26:32. > :26:40.quite so windy on Sunday. Moving into next week, it looks dry, fine
:26:40. > :26:45.but cold. Potential high temperatures of only five on Monday,
:26:45. > :26:50.6 on Tuesday. A north-westerly wind for Tuesday. Potentially more
:26:50. > :26:56.changeable conditions by the rest of the week. It will be fairly cool
:26:56. > :27:02.overnight, particularly for Sunday and Monday. Values dipping down to