08/08/2013 Look East - East

In Look East tonight: I am guilty. After more than a decade pleading

his innocence, this man finally admits he did kill a 79-year-old

widow. We did not just come out of the sky. We followed the evidence

and the evidence led to him. A unique scheme to keep older people

healthy and independent gets attention from health ministers.

Why our train companies are banning passengers using e-cigarettes.

And a leading producer of blueberries with a crop that is

bigger than ever. First tonight, a killer who has

spent ten years behind bars and has always claimed he was innocent has

finally confessed to murder. Simon Hall was jailed in 2003 for the

murder of pensioner Joan Albert at her home at Capel St Mary near

Ipswich. He then began a high profile campaign to try to clear his

name. In 2007, his case was reinvestigated by the BBC series

Rough Justice. His claims of innocence won the backing of the

then Ipswich MP Chris Mole. Four years later, his case went to the

Court of Appeal. But the judges upheld his conviction. Even as late

as January this year, the Criminal Cases Review Commission confirmed it

was looking into a new claim by Hall that he was carrying out a burglary

elsewhere on the day of the killing. But now from his prison cell he has

admitted he was responsible for what police called a savage crime.

16 December 2001. Roy Lambert from Suffolk Police who led the murder

investigation has just arrived at the scene. Today, 12 years on and

now retired, he told me he had never had any doubt that Simon Hall was

the killer. He said his thoughts were with Joan Albert's family who

had suffered so much. We always told them, we felt he was responsible. We

did not just pluck Simon Hall out of the sky, we followed the evidence

and that led to him. They have stuck valve is believed in us. Finally we

have been vindicated. Joan Albert was 79. She was found in the hallway

of her home. She had been stabbed several times. It is not something

you expect in a quiet village. essence, it was a bungled burglary.

Fragments of evidence would be critical. Roy Lambert was quick to

seek help from the public and to condemn the attacker. The amount of

violence used in that attack can never be justified. Simon Hall was

arrested at his home in Ipswich and charged with murder in July 2002. In

court, he insisted they had got the wrong man. But the trial jury didn't

buy it, and he was jailed for life. Simon Hall head his -- held his head

in his hands and tried to fight back the tears. Hall's family and fellow

supporters garnered immense publicity in their drive to prove he

was innocent. You have to prove that to all the people who are sceptical.

A lot of people feel he has been to court, been convicted and it must be

so. It was a sign of the strength of their campaign that the case

featured in a special BBC Rough Justice programme in which Kier

Starmer QC, a barrister at the time who went on to become the Director

of Public Prosecutions, questioned the evidence. It is circumstantial.

Break that piece of evidence that links him and the case falls apart

completely. But now, after all these years, comes the confession. And

what of those people who campaigned on Simon Hall's behalf? My reaction

is complete short. -- complete shock. I am asking whether he has

had a nervous breakdown. Some people try to put things to the back of the

mind and pretend that it did not happen. Suffolk Police say they hope

it will in some way help Joan Albert's relatives move on. But one

of them told me today that it felt like a hollow moment. A confession

maybe, but nothing can erase heartbreaking memories.

Earlier I spoke to the BBC's legal affairs correspondent and asked what

might make someone admit their guilt after years of protesting their

innocence. Well, I think the only person who

really knows the answer to that is Simon Hall. When he was convicted in

2003, he was given a life sentence of a minimum term of 15 years. That

means that he is not eligible for parole until he has served that

time. He has served ten years and has five to go. If someone maintains

innocence right up until that period where they become eligible parole,

it is more difficult to get parole. Maintaining your innocence is not

the determinative factor into whether you get parole or not. The

key factor in the parole board take into account is whether you remain a

risk to the public. Alongside that, whether or not you have accepted

your guilt, whether you have shown room borers. These are matters the

parole board will consider. If someone is looking forward to that

period where they can be entitled to parole and want to make the most

powerful application for parole, then admitting guilt and showing

remorse can be important elements in seeking to get that parole. There is

a lot of emphasis in the justice system on rehabilitation. Could the

next five years, if he admits guilt, could his conditions be better by

doing this? The key thing that will happen is when someone is not

admitting their guilt, in the normal run of things, they will not be

undertaking the kind of behavioural courses that will enable them to

show the parole board they no longer pose a risk to the public. It seems

to me that as from now, if he has admitted his guilt, he can now

undertake those courses, so he has a five-year period in which -- and

there are many courses running prisons that the parole board will

look at to see how they can modify and improve the behaviour of an

offender, he has five years to undertake those courses. The key

factor of whether he is a risk can be assessed by the parole board in

five years. The courses will enable him to argue that he has done

whatever courses are required, such as anger management and his

behaviour is no such that he does not pose a risk. Thank you very

much. Elderly people in remote areas have

been given internet access through their TVs to help them feel less

isolated and alone. The idea came from a GP in Suffolk who got funding

from the NHS. It is now attracting the interest of health ministers.

Mid-morning and this woman's Sun calls from Minnesota in America.

Hello! Internet calls are not new. What makes this different is the

simplicity of it. No need for a computer. Or she needs is a remote

control and this kept on top of her home TV. Since her husband died last

year, she has felt cut off. Her family live abroad. I feel like I

have been in his house as I have seen all the rooms. I have seen his

garden. This makes me feel better. It has made a tremendous difference.

If I could not get her on the telephone, for instance, I could

call this up and make sure that she is in bed and not lying on the

floor. Here is the man who made it happen. With �50,000 of NHS cash, he

fitted the camera is in 28 homes. have two elderly people who talk to

each other every day on Skype. It is good for them. If they cannot leave

the house, it is a real bonus. UK has warned that internet checkups

should never replace face-to-face contact. Home visits are vital. This

is not to replace them, but is an addition to see whether we can add

an additional level of support to individuals. One study suggests that

socially isolated people are 60% more likely to show up at AMB.

will say goodbye. Take care. One of our hospitals is leading the

way in the treatment of varicose veins. The Norfolk and Norwich

University Hospital is pioneering the use of treatments which don't

require surgery. Today, we were given special access to one of the

new walk-in, walk-out operations. This report contains images of the

treatment. This man waits patiently for a procedure which he hopes will

improve his quality of life. 46-year-old motor mechanic, he says

veins are unsightly, itchy and painful. Have had them for 12 years.

They have gradually got worse. Very irritating. We have given me

sleepless nights. Small valves inside things can stop working

correctly. The veins become swollen and enlarged. There is a fair bit of

preparation required. The surgeon is using a catheter and a probe inside

the vein. The vein is then closed off with heat. Traditional surgery

would involve much more trauma and a much longer period of recuperation,

instead of 48 hours or perhaps a couple of weeks until someone was

able to return to work. Ten is conscious throughout. The local

anaesthetic means he far -- he hardly feels nothing. I don't really

feel anything. It just feels so. is like one road being closed off.

The blood will find its other way around. There is more than enough in

reserve to keep draining. In the past, recovery would have taken

several weeks. Tim is already doing very well. He will be back to normal

in a couple of days. There is a warning tonight about

leaving electrical equipment switched on when you go to bed. A

family from Pott Row near King's Lynn were forced to escape through a

first floor window after a fire broke out in their tumble dryer

during the night. It is thought a smoke alarm saved their lives.

A union has joined the outcry over paramedics living in tents. On

Tuesday, Look East revealed staff working for the East of England

Ambulance Service through a private contractor were camping out in

Cambridgeshire. The GMB union has called on the contractor, ERS, to

find staff proper accommodation. They currently get �35 a night when

working away from home. The union says it is not enough to pay for B&B

and food. It wants the trust to ensure its contractors are treating

Still to come, a bumper blueberry harvest. The best in years.

And the swimmer from Cambridge hoping to become the youngest and

fastest person to swim from Scotland to Northern Ireland.

They are supposed to be safer than smoking tobacco, but more train

companies in our region than anywhere else in the country are now

choosing to ban electronic cigarettes. First Capital Connect,

C2C and now Greater Anglia, our biggest train company in this

region, do not allow passengers to use e-cigarettes on trains or in

stations. They say the ban is in line with recommendations from the

British Medical Association. In a moment, I will be talking to

the group which represents electronic cigarette suppliers.

They look and feel like the real thing. It is not up to 1.3 million

people now use E cigarettes in the UK. Something that looks like a

cigarette, but other models don't. This looks like a pen. This supplier

has seen business grow and grow, driven by the ban on smoking in

public places. There is no car, no carbon monoxide or any of the other

chemicals such as arson and cyanide. It doesn't have any cancer-causing

chemicals. These things are simple. There is nicotine liquid which is

turned into a vapour. Until now, there have been few restrictions on

the use of the cigarettes. But that is changing. Some pub chains have

already banned them. Now the train companies are banning them. It looks

like people are smoking. It seems crazy. They were introduced to be

used in places where real cigarettes were banned. That is the whole point

of them. It seems crazy to ban them in public places. We hope that

people understand we are doing it because it settles other passengers.

It can cause people who smoke real cigarettes distress. The content of

the nicotine, facilities delivered, the quality of manufacture is not of

the standard we would expect. It would not currently meet medical

standards. We want to send a clear signal that we want these products

to be brought up to a standard where people can rely on them to cut down

the harms of smoking. But some people are warning that restricting

this market could cause more harm than good.

It is their train and their station, so they can do what they want?

Owners of trains have the right to make those decisions. However, this

is ill-advised. The position of the government to reclassify them as

medicines by 2016 has not been finalised. We are in discussions

with the UK Government as well as the European Parliament. Better

enforcement is required. Enforcement at the moment is quite good. As far

as the products go, there is the potential to save millions of lives.

5 million lives could be saved. It seems counterintuitive at best to

start banning them in public places. There is good reason for the smoking

ban. Smoking cigarettes kills people. This does not. You say those

things, but the BMA says they should be prohibited. They should not be

used in workplaces and public spaces. It makes no sense to advise

that at all. If you look at the public health issue, it is the smoke

in tobacco cigarettes that kills people, it is not the nicotine or

the vapour. There is extensive scientific research that shows this.

We should believe you and ignore what the BMA RCN? Don't believe me,

believe the experts that I am quoting. The BMA are in opposition

to many of their colleagues in public health who are massively

supportive of this. The godfather of harm reduction and professors at the

Royal College, experts in public health, they have recognised the

potential of these products to save lives. In half the samples, there

are human carcinogenic. There are are very low levels, not dangerous

levels. They are vastly level -- vastly lower than levels in tobacco

smoke. You accept that if you see someone smoking and E cigarette,

that will encourage others to think they can smoke ordinarily

cigarettes? I don't think so. The law on the smoking ban is very

clear. It is a well-known policy. Not all these cigarettes look like

cigarettes. Many don't. The ones that do look like cigarettes, there

is a clear difference. There is no stink. They are solid, they don't

reduce in size, they are often put in pockets. It is very obvious what

the differences are. I passed some people today. There is no problem of

having to waft the smoke away with an E cigarette. We have to end it

there. Thank you. They have been called a superfood.

And there are claims that they can help protect against heart disease

and some cancers. Blueberries are a North American fruit that is

increasingly popular over here. They contain more antioxidants than most

other fruit and vegetables. And they are very low in calories. Our

reporter has been to a leading producer in Norfolk where the crop

this year is bigger than ever. At this farm, the family have

planted 24 acres of blueberry bushes. The soil here has the high

acidity needed to produce a bumper crop. There are 15 varieties year.

Visitors who come to pick their own will take home five tonnes of fruit.

The fruit is always absolutely first class quality. We come here every

year. It is really good. We can freeze it and the fruit comes out of

the freezer as good as it went in. These people have put their

daughters. It is good when you are on a diet. Something sweet to nibble

on. The family used to employ 40 students from eastern Europe to

bring in the crop by hand. This machine from America does the job in

a fraction of the time and much cheaper. Recent harvests have been

disappointing due to the weather. But this one looks like being one of

the best. The blueberries are bigger than we have ever seen before. They

look like grapes. We have some beautiful fruit. Really beautiful.

We are proud to think that we have such lovely fruit to sell. The fruit

is graded by machine and then given a final visual check. There have

been many claims about the properties of this so-called

superfood including boosting memory and improving health. But to the

public, it is simple. Blueberries not only taste delicious, they are

good for you. More than 1,300 people have managed

to swim the English Channel. It is 21 miles. Most people take somewhere

between ten and 15 hours. You can expect the sea temperature to be no

higher than 18 degrees. Seven years ago, Ed Williams from Cambridge

became one of the youngest people to swim from Dover to Calais. But now

he is planning an even bigger challenge, the North Channel swim

The North Channel swim is regarded as the toughest open water challenge

in the world. The tides and currents are cruel. Egg is training in the

lake at Milton country Park. This time next year, he is planning to

break two world records. He wants to be the youngest and fastest person

ever to swim from Scotland to Northern Ireland. It is 26 miles,

the same as the English Channel. But because of the conditions it will

feel much larger. Horrible jellyfish, much colder, huge waves.

For many, the English Channel is the qualifying swim for this. A training

exercise was completed when he was 19 years old. I did not get back in

a swimming pool for a year after the English Channel. It all started

because I was putting weight on. Only 12 people have done the North

Channel swim. Ed hopes to do it in under 12 hours. Waves up to eight

feet tall, winds up to 46, temperature is no higher than 13

degrees. It is not for the faint-hearted. But he is doing to

raise money for charity. night. Colder than we were expecting

and colder than the night before. 3.5 degrees last night in Santa and

down. The average for this time of year 12 degrees. It will not be as

cold tonight because the cloud is piling on. You can see the weather

front will bring us some rain overnight. Having said that, it is a

fine evening with some sunshine at there. Should stay dry for this

evening and the first part of the night. Then the weather from start

to push on from the West. It will mean they bring us light and patchy

rain. We could get the nod heavy downpour. Temperatures with the code

will stay much milder. For most of us, they will hover in the low

teens. The winds will become moderate. The weather front gets out

of the way quite swiftly. It will be a bit of a damp and cloudy start.

There is the risk of showers in the afternoon. Heavier downpours will be

slow to clear over parts of Norfolk and Suffolk. Temperatures will climb

into the low 20s. The winds will swing around to north-westerly. In

the afternoon, it will be difficult to predict where they fall. Where

they catch them, that could be some heavy downpours. From any part of

the region, it will be a dry afternoon. Increasing sunshine

towards the end of the day. The weekend not looking too bad.

Saturday is the better of the two days. We have a weather front on the

way for Sunday. Temperatures will be modest. Overnight rain moving in on

Saturday night. That could be quite wet first thing on Sunday in the