:00:11. > :00:15.Welcome to Look East. Coming up: Surprise in Suffolk as
:00:15. > :00:20.their American air force Tel's new recruits to live on base to save
:00:20. > :00:25.money. It is the largest least Housing Unit in the United States
:00:25. > :00:33.Air Force. We are wasting over $500,000 a month for rented homes
:00:33. > :00:38.that trendy here. My life is devastated by a sex offender posing
:00:38. > :00:41.as a taxi driver. I would say to others try to never be on your own.
:00:41. > :00:45.Never put yourself in that situation. It has completely
:00:45. > :00:49.destroyed me. A computer deal that left this
:00:49. > :00:53.village primary school with a bill for �0.5 million.
:00:53. > :01:03.And would you trust your money with this man? I talked to Sir Richard
:01:03. > :01:10.
:01:10. > :01:13.Branson about his new bank. pressure on the American defence
:01:13. > :01:17.budget could hit the economy of this region in a sign of the
:01:17. > :01:23.difficult economic times. Some US personnel have been told to live on
:01:23. > :01:26.based in service accommodation. It is estimated that the United
:01:26. > :01:31.States Air Force comes have a billion pounds in the surrounding
:01:31. > :01:36.economy. Much of that is due to the thousands of military personnel
:01:36. > :01:41.will have around the bases. There are 7,800 personnel based here.
:01:41. > :01:45.2,400 choose to live on base. But 5,400 prefer to live in the
:01:45. > :01:52.surrounding towns and villages. Today's announcement means many
:01:52. > :02:02.aircrews will not have the choice. Our reporter is at RAF Lakenheath.
:02:02. > :02:03.
:02:03. > :02:07.I am up at a large space. There is a least some 600 houses here. A
:02:07. > :02:12.third of them are simply empty. That is why there are not many
:02:12. > :02:17.lights and the windows at been made. Hence the new policy.Coming into
:02:17. > :02:27.the country will be encouraged to come here and not go out into the
:02:27. > :02:30.
:02:30. > :02:39.community. Let me show you one of our units. Housing officer showing
:02:39. > :02:47.me around a new house. With double glazing. American washer and drier.
:02:47. > :02:53.With dozens of homes lying empty, something had to give. We have got
:02:53. > :02:58.220 units not being occupied. We have a policy and an effort to see
:02:58. > :03:03.if we can get our young airman to move into the sea and has angered
:03:03. > :03:09.them filled up. We are wasting of a $500,000 a month for renting empty
:03:09. > :03:19.units. According to figures, its bases but around a billion dollars
:03:19. > :03:20.
:03:20. > :03:24.a year into the economy. In this town there is plenty of support for
:03:24. > :03:33.what the Americans bring to the area. The like the experience of
:03:33. > :03:40.something English in the country. work for the Americans. They give
:03:40. > :03:44.you a living? Yes, it they do. daughter is married to one. I like
:03:45. > :03:50.Americans. The only downfall is that it keeps prices up for renting
:03:50. > :03:58.property which makes it harder for local people. What will be conveyed
:03:58. > :04:03.it be like without them? I would dread to think to be honest. --
:04:03. > :04:10.economy. I think it would be terrible to the local economy. It
:04:10. > :04:14.would hit it hard. This man and his family now live on Lakenheath
:04:14. > :04:19.airbase but they still like to explore. We love the location here.
:04:19. > :04:25.I love the history of the locations. We like to get out every weekend to
:04:25. > :04:34.see something new. He tells me he likes spending money
:04:34. > :04:39.as well. About 8,000 military personnel in the three bases, about
:04:39. > :04:42.5,000 live off base. The Air Force says this is about making the best
:04:42. > :04:47.use of scarce resources at a difficult time. But the endgame as
:04:47. > :04:50.far as they are concerned is to reduce its stock of housing. They
:04:50. > :04:57.won more of the family still live in the community and the hope they
:04:57. > :05:01.will continue to country but -- contribute in every way possible.
:05:01. > :05:06.A woman who was the victim of a sexual assault on Christmas Eve has
:05:06. > :05:09.been speaking about the ordeal. She is 30 years old and was attacked by
:05:09. > :05:14.a man and Bedford who was posing as a taxi driver. We are using the
:05:14. > :05:20.voice of an actor to protect the identity of the woman. I cannot go
:05:20. > :05:26.out by myself at the moment. I went into a store myself and I had a
:05:26. > :05:32.panic attack. Everywhere I go, I have to have someone with me. I
:05:32. > :05:36.have not been back to my house yet. At the moment it has destroyed me.
:05:36. > :05:41.It has ruined everything. This woman said she thought something
:05:41. > :05:45.like this would never happen to her. After a night out she became
:05:45. > :05:52.separated from her friend. With her handbag and mobile phone also lost,
:05:52. > :05:57.she started to panic. It was that this fight that's -- that two men
:05:57. > :06:02.decided to help her. The doctor or fatty railway station and called
:06:02. > :06:08.her a taxi. A man pulled up and said taxi and she got in the car.
:06:08. > :06:16.He pulled into a lay-by and at this point I went into panic. I almost
:06:16. > :06:22.knew it was going to happen. Sorry. I just completely froze. I said to
:06:22. > :06:28.him, what are you doing? I want to go home. He kept saying, sexy time.
:06:28. > :06:32.He started getting more aggressive. He hit the steering wheel and
:06:32. > :06:36.started shouting. It was then at that point that I was sexually
:06:36. > :06:40.assaulted. She says her Christmas was completely ruined by this
:06:40. > :06:46.attack and now she wants other women to learn from what happened
:06:46. > :06:51.to her. I look back and I think how stupid I was to get into his car.
:06:51. > :06:54.But I would say to others, try to never be on your own. Never
:06:55. > :06:59.pictures of in that situation. Have a meeting point with your friends
:06:59. > :07:05.and if you lose each other, at the end of the night meet there. If you
:07:05. > :07:09.are stranded, make sure it is a taxi get -- you get into. Do not
:07:10. > :07:14.get into a car 1 euros and if you're not sure it as a taxi,.
:07:14. > :07:18.victim of that attack speaking. Bedfordshire Police want to talk to
:07:18. > :07:25.anyone who can help with the investigation. You can call
:07:25. > :07:29.Crimestoppers on 0800 555111. There is lots more to come: A
:07:29. > :07:33.crucial night For the region's gymnasts. And Sir Richard Branson
:07:33. > :07:43.promises to take on the high street banks with his latest business
:07:43. > :07:44.
:07:45. > :07:49.feature. -- venture. Some late news: Suffolk police say
:07:49. > :07:54.they have spoken to two boys in connection with the incidence of
:07:54. > :07:58.stone-throwing on the A14. Objects are hold onto the main road at
:07:58. > :08:03.Trimley St Mary 10 days before Christmas. Victoria Cook is in our
:08:03. > :08:09.newsroom. What other policing? They have said that there are two
:08:09. > :08:14.boys responsible for this are just eight years old. They are from the
:08:14. > :08:18.Felixstowe area. They are below the age of legal responsibility. It
:08:18. > :08:22.means they will not be punished as such and it means they will be
:08:22. > :08:30.working with their parents and then to educate them about the dangers
:08:30. > :08:34.of what they have done. At night it is completely dark. The area where
:08:34. > :08:39.the rocks were thrown from his quite hidden so motorists driving
:08:39. > :08:44.past have no chance of avoiding rocks being thrown at them. The
:08:44. > :08:49.boys managed to damage a total of 13 cars from the spot, including an
:08:49. > :08:52.ambulance. This all comes after the police launched a major
:08:52. > :08:56.investigation into did -- in two incidents like this. At the
:08:56. > :09:00.beginning of December a woman was badly injured when a bollard was
:09:00. > :09:04.dropped on her car. The police are continuing to investigate this
:09:04. > :09:11.incident to find out who was responsible.
:09:11. > :09:13.A primary school in Suffolk is facing a bill reported to be have a
:09:13. > :09:18.billion pounds -- �0.5 million after it agreed to lease some
:09:18. > :09:23.equipment. It adds up to almost the entire school budget for the year.
:09:23. > :09:29.This afternoon there was shock and disbelief that -- as parents arrive
:09:29. > :09:36.to collect their children. It is horrendous. Other kids going to
:09:36. > :09:42.suffer? I heard they got the computers in. In 2010 the school
:09:42. > :09:47.was approached by a company. Later it offered a deal. Free laptops.
:09:47. > :09:50.After receiving reassurances that they were free, the school agreed
:09:50. > :09:54.to take 100 of them. The company then asked to sign a lease
:09:54. > :10:01.agreement. When the school challenge the need for a contract,
:10:01. > :10:06.the company provided a convincing explanation. They cannot be seen to
:10:06. > :10:11.be handing over laptops because large companies would all complain.
:10:11. > :10:16.What they had to do, we had to sign an agreement that stated that we
:10:16. > :10:20.were taking these laptops. It sounded very plausible. The company
:10:20. > :10:24.went into administration last month leaving the school libel for a bill
:10:24. > :10:27.running into hundreds of thousands of pounds. No one here at the
:10:27. > :10:31.school was willing to be interviewed today but the local
:10:31. > :10:36.education authority says the head teacher is feeling extremely
:10:36. > :10:41.bruised by this affair. The Lea is working out how much the school
:10:42. > :10:46.does and how that money might be repaid. The company has failed to
:10:46. > :10:50.respond to calls from the BBC. Its administrators will not comment
:10:50. > :10:57.either. The question and everyone sleeps tonight, how will the debt
:10:57. > :11:01.be clear and will their children's education suffer as a result?
:11:01. > :11:08.What can schools do to protect themselves? At Question For Russel
:11:08. > :11:11.Hamblin- Boone from the Finance and Leasing Association. Ask some
:11:11. > :11:19.difficult questions. What happens if the supplier goes out of
:11:19. > :11:24.business? Who owns the equipment? Cut was money in that situation? If
:11:24. > :11:27.a finance company is one of our members, not only will they be
:11:27. > :11:31.meeting the statutory regulations but they will also be meeting the
:11:31. > :11:36.high standards we set and a code of practice. We understand that this
:11:36. > :11:42.could run into hundreds of thousands of pounds. But if I went
:11:42. > :11:46.out and bought 100 laptops at �500 each, it would cost me �50,000.
:11:46. > :11:52.Someone here is making a killing. That is why one of the things we
:11:52. > :11:56.say is to decide if it is better to buy or to least. Local authorities
:11:56. > :12:01.often combined deals were a number of schools by the same equipment
:12:02. > :12:06.and therefore get some sort of discount. Is this very common? Will
:12:06. > :12:10.we see more schools following into this kind of trap? We are about
:12:10. > :12:14.preventing these kinds of situations happening. We have a
:12:14. > :12:18.complaints process and over the last three or four years we have
:12:18. > :12:24.seen about 100 cases. In the case of Glemsford Primary we have never
:12:24. > :12:27.seen anything like that before. That is something that the school
:12:27. > :12:35.and the bank that is dealing with it will come to some arrangement
:12:35. > :12:37.about. If a bank knows that these computers are worth �50,000, and it
:12:38. > :12:42.is chasing the School For hundreds of thousands of pounds, they must
:12:42. > :12:46.know that that does not make sense. This is all about competitive
:12:46. > :12:50.markets. At the end of the day the responsibility for getting the best
:12:50. > :12:56.deal is down to the teacher having taken all the advice that is
:12:56. > :13:00.available. It is normally for a bank to judge on how much of the
:13:01. > :13:04.mark-up is being made. What they are judging on is that is this a
:13:04. > :13:11.safe risk for me to finance and am I going to get my money back at the
:13:11. > :13:16.end of it? Thank you very much. The Ipswich Town Paul Jewell says
:13:16. > :13:22.he will turn the club's fortunes around. He was appointed a year ago
:13:22. > :13:32.today. Ipswich are near the bottom of the table and out of the FA Cup.
:13:32. > :13:33.
:13:33. > :13:38.It has been a hard time. At the end of the day there is no point in me
:13:38. > :13:44.reading the internet. You have to have confidence. I am confident we
:13:44. > :13:49.can turn it around. The future of an annual truckers event has was
:13:49. > :13:52.secured after the organisers agreed new health and safety measures. The
:13:52. > :13:59.East Coast Truckers convoy has taken thousands of disadvantaged
:13:59. > :14:04.and disabled children to and from Norwich from 1985.
:14:04. > :14:08.Lord Ashdown was in Essex today to see something that could be
:14:08. > :14:16.important to military history. It thinks it has found a canoe from
:14:16. > :14:26.one of their war's was daring commando raids. This life gets a
:14:26. > :14:27.
:14:27. > :14:37.polish. Recover from late 1,400 to the present day. We cover the whole
:14:37. > :14:48.
:14:48. > :14:54.This afternoon, the museum had a distinguished visitor, Lord Ashdown.
:14:54. > :15:00.He was there to see this canoe, which may have been used by men who
:15:00. > :15:09.paddled into France in 194229 chairmanships. 12 went, two
:15:09. > :15:19.survived. -- into France to blow up German ships. It is still
:15:19. > :15:19.
:15:19. > :15:24.outstanding today, even years later. Two paperclips hold this together.
:15:24. > :15:29.They experts have been X-raying the canoe to try and read its name.
:15:29. > :15:39.Lord Ashdown is now a patron of the museum and is fascinated by the
:15:39. > :15:43.
:15:43. > :15:53.canoe because he is writing a book You are watching Look East from the
:15:53. > :15:56.
:15:56. > :16:00.BBC. Coming up... What is the The business tycoon Sir Richard
:16:00. > :16:03.Branson told Look East today he will take on the high street banks.
:16:04. > :16:08.He said some greedy financiers had come close to bringing the country
:16:08. > :16:12.to its knees and it was time for a change.
:16:12. > :16:16.Sir Richard was on a flying visit to Norwich, where Virgin Money has
:16:16. > :16:20.its headquarters. The company now owns the former Northern Rock bank.
:16:20. > :16:22.After he had talked to staff about the new venture, I asked him why he
:16:22. > :16:27.had decided to invest in high street banking. The banking
:16:27. > :16:33.industry has been badly discredited, it almost brought the world to its
:16:33. > :16:40.knees and almost created and 1929 crash. We felt that a brand that
:16:40. > :16:43.has a good reputation, if it swept into the banking industry and
:16:43. > :16:49.offered great products and did things with a bit more style and
:16:49. > :16:59.panache, that we could bring a great competitor to the banking
:16:59. > :17:05.industry. But you think people connected with money, trusting you
:17:05. > :17:11.with me their money is a big step? We have years of experience with
:17:11. > :17:16.investments, we have to be million customers. We have not let people
:17:16. > :17:22.down in the last 45 years in business. People are willing to
:17:22. > :17:27.trust us to fly them around the world. We know a few things about
:17:27. > :17:34.money, so I think that people trusting as with their money, the
:17:34. > :17:40.indications are positive. -- trusting us. As you say, people
:17:40. > :17:49.have less confidence in banking in general. What will be different?
:17:49. > :17:53.will have a range of their products. Older people coming into branches
:17:53. > :17:59.like this get more than people using the -- get charge more than
:17:59. > :18:05.people using the Internet. We want to get very transparent and honest
:18:05. > :18:12.pride that's that people understand, people have choice, there are no
:18:12. > :18:16.hidden charges that are not explained. You are are going to
:18:16. > :18:22.have judges for things that other banks do not charge for. High-
:18:22. > :18:27.walled you'd get people to come from other banks -- how will you
:18:27. > :18:30.get people to come from other banks? I think that is slightly
:18:30. > :18:35.misleading command as other banks have hidden charges that goal with
:18:35. > :18:39.current accounts. We will also have current accounts with a small
:18:39. > :18:47.charge and get rid of hidden charges, so it is completely
:18:47. > :18:53.transparent. As far as bankers are concerned, now you are very much a
:18:53. > :18:57.banker, how will you restore trust? Is it down to bonuses or products?
:18:57. > :19:02.I think it is a mixture of things. I do not think people should get
:19:02. > :19:07.big bonuses unless they are delivering fantastic growth and
:19:07. > :19:12.profits for shareholders. I do not think bonuses should be given
:19:12. > :19:19.unless customers are looked after extremely well. Those are very
:19:19. > :19:25.important items. But bankers became very greedy. Bankers nearly brought
:19:25. > :19:33.the world to its knees. Bankers should make a fair return but not
:19:33. > :19:39.an exorbitant returned. Just talking about the brand of Virgin
:19:39. > :19:46.general it, do you think you are spreading itself too thinly? Bebo I
:19:46. > :19:50.used to accompany specialising in one area, but this is a life brand.
:19:50. > :19:56.It is a brand that has given as matching. If we were still in
:19:56. > :20:01.record shops, we would be bankrupt today, but because we went in and
:20:01. > :20:08.tackled a number of different industries, I think it has made us
:20:08. > :20:14.a much stronger brand. You talk about making things transparent,
:20:14. > :20:21.easy and straightforward. What drives you as a businessman? At an
:20:21. > :20:26.Divx like sick and I know being dyslexic helps you in your life. --
:20:26. > :20:31.I am dyslexic. And if I understand what it means, most likely the
:20:31. > :20:38.public will understand. We have a reasonably simple way of getting
:20:38. > :20:43.messages across, which has appealed to a lot of the public. We do not
:20:43. > :20:52.use the jargon that financial services industries like to use in
:20:52. > :21:01.the past. We have tried to simplify things and not hide things. Sir Reg
:21:01. > :21:05.a Branson speaking to me earlier. - Richard Branson.
:21:05. > :21:09.They have spent years in training. But tonight is the night the
:21:09. > :21:12.region's gymnasts will find out if they are going to the London
:21:12. > :21:15.Olympics. Louis Smith and Daniel Keatings are both from the
:21:15. > :21:18.Huntingdon Gymnastics Club. Both are part of the Great Britain team
:21:18. > :21:21.at a test event at the O2 Arena. Jonathan Park is also there.
:21:21. > :21:27.Is is a huge competition for Louis met, at Daniel Keatings and the
:21:27. > :21:34.major British team. What is at stake is to finish in the top four.
:21:34. > :21:39.-- a huge event for Louis Smith and Daniel Keatings. If they are not
:21:39. > :21:44.successful, only one gymnast could go to London. There is a huge fan
:21:44. > :21:52.base from Huntingdonshire, including Louis Smith's mother. I
:21:52. > :21:57.am not so nervous right now, but will be in a while. I will be
:21:57. > :22:04.nervous for all of the boys, all need to qualify. We need all of
:22:04. > :22:13.them to do well to qualify. I as a mother, you are there to
:22:13. > :22:22.congratulate or console. Yeah SMAC, I am therefore be good or bad, but
:22:22. > :22:30.I believe the will qualify. -- yes. You are hoping to be an athlete,
:22:30. > :22:37.what is it like being here? It to his inspirational, hopefully I can
:22:37. > :22:47.do this one day. I think they can do it. You coach them. Sum up what
:22:47. > :22:52.it is like to be here? Its great to see them compete, inspirational for
:22:52. > :22:58.their careers to see what they are working towards.
:22:58. > :23:05.We will see what happens at 7pm. Daniel Keatings has been trained
:23:05. > :23:10.all over Christmas. He is confident they can do the business tonight.
:23:10. > :23:14.We're confident going into this competition as a team. We have come
:23:14. > :23:22.together bigger and stronger as a team and looking forward to going
:23:22. > :23:28.into the Test event. This is what I have been training for all my life.
:23:28. > :23:34.18-19 years, all the sacrifice is my mother, coaches have made. The
:23:34. > :23:40.support of all my friends. It all comes down to this one moment. I
:23:40. > :23:48.would be silly to think it is just fun, there is an element of serious
:23:48. > :23:53.involvement. We will find out later on if Team GB will send a meal team
:23:53. > :24:03.and we will tell you all about it during the late bulletin at 10:25pm.
:24:03. > :24:07.
:24:07. > :24:10.Thank you. Let us start with the drought. Just
:24:10. > :24:14.before Christmas, there was concern the lack of rainfall would lead to
:24:14. > :24:17.drought conditions continuing this year. We still need plenty of rain.
:24:17. > :24:19.These are the areas worst-affected. Cambridgeshire, parts of
:24:19. > :24:25.Bedfordshire, Northamptonshire and West Norfolk. Those are officially
:24:25. > :24:34.in drought conditions. One reason is that last year was the driest
:24:34. > :24:38.So what do we need? Steady rainfall over the next three months. I spoke
:24:38. > :24:43.to the Environment Agency. What we can do is work with water companies
:24:43. > :24:47.to make sure they do all we can to plan ahead. Prepare themselves to
:24:47. > :24:50.fill reservoirs now. Make sure they are tackling leakage and to help
:24:50. > :24:54.customers save water where they can. We are also working with farmers,
:24:54. > :24:58.another big water user in the region. They can take water where
:24:58. > :25:08.it is available and are prepared for another dry spell if that does
:25:08. > :25:09.
:25:09. > :25:14.Take a look at these snowdrops at Anglesey Abbey. Gardeners have told
:25:14. > :25:18.us those are out two weeks early because of the mild conditions. If
:25:18. > :25:24.you have seen spring flowers in your garden early, please e-mail us
:25:24. > :25:29.at this address. The mild conditions continue today and
:25:29. > :25:34.tomorrow. By the end of the week, it will be colder. We have high
:25:34. > :25:41.pressure to the South which has set up a south-westerly floor of my the
:25:41. > :25:46.air, keeping things mild but cloudy. -- floor of milder air. Although we
:25:46. > :25:51.had some sunshine in the North, almost we had a fair bit of cloud.
:25:51. > :25:55.We start tonight with cloud and some clear intervals. The tendency
:25:55. > :26:00.is to turn more cloudy by the end of the night. That might produce
:26:00. > :26:05.light rain or drizzle in the North. But it is very mild. Temperatures
:26:05. > :26:10.not expected to be low than six degrees Celsius. Winds will be
:26:10. > :26:18.south-westerly, picking up to moderate by the end of the night. A
:26:18. > :26:21.similar day tomorrow. A reversal of fortune, the North seen more cloud,
:26:21. > :26:28.the South Seymour brightness and sunshine. It stays mild but
:26:28. > :26:34.temperatures widely into double figures. A little breezy tomorrow
:26:34. > :26:38.with a moderate south-westerly. A fair bit of cloud around in the
:26:38. > :26:44.afternoon, almost staying fine and dry -- all boasting fine and dry
:26:44. > :26:49.for the rest of the day. For Thursday, a cold front heads
:26:49. > :26:55.steadily across the region, right across the country. It will not be
:26:55. > :27:00.very active with rainfall, but producing much cooler air on north-
:27:00. > :27:06.westerly winds. A dramatic change in temperatures. Two more mild days
:27:06. > :27:11.on the way. More cloud on Thursday, but staying dry for most. Maybe
:27:11. > :27:17.some more drizzle. Much cooler temperatures on Friday and Saturday.
:27:17. > :27:23.That is surely from Thursday afternoon onwards. We will see some
:27:23. > :27:28.more brightness, perhaps even sunnier, even if considerably
:27:28. > :27:32.cooler off during the day and overnight. Temperatures down