:00:00. > 3:59:59BBC News Channel, but now on BBC One, it's time for the news where
:00:00. > :00:11.you are. Hello, I'm Simon Newton.
:00:12. > :00:14.Two passengers remain missing tonight after they jumped from a
:00:15. > :00:18.cross channel ferry off the east coast. The pair were aboard the
:00:19. > :00:22.Stena Britannica heading for the Hook of Holland when they leapt into
:00:23. > :00:29.the sea shortly after it left the Port of Harwich. It's believed they
:00:30. > :00:33.are Eastern Europeans. The search for the two was called off a few
:00:34. > :00:35.hours later, and tonight the ferry finally reached the Netherlands,
:00:36. > :00:37.from where Anna Holligan sent us this report.
:00:38. > :00:41.The huge Britannica ferry docked at the Hook of Holland at around 6.30pm
:00:42. > :00:44.this evening. 92 passengers made the crossing from Harwich. This woman,
:00:45. > :00:54.who did not want to give her full name, told us what they saw. There
:00:55. > :01:01.was a group of Albanians. I think the man said they had to get their
:01:02. > :01:06.passports back. Otherwise they would hand it over to the police. They
:01:07. > :01:11.were not pleased. The man came to talk to them about. I did not hear
:01:12. > :01:20.the whole of the conversation. Then I went to the deck and so did they.
:01:21. > :01:29.They stayed there. At the few minutes or so, certainly... We kept
:01:30. > :01:34.turning. Someone said to guys had jumped over. This is the ferry that
:01:35. > :01:37.the group were travelling on. We've have a statement from Stena. They
:01:38. > :01:41.refused to confirm the passengers' identity. They did tell us us the
:01:42. > :01:45.group was turned away from the UK. They had their passports confiscated
:01:46. > :01:48.and were sent back to the country of departure. Stena have also told us
:01:49. > :01:51.they do everything within their power to ensure these ferries aren't
:01:52. > :01:55.used by people trying to gain access to Britain illegally. When we
:01:56. > :01:59.arrived here at the Hook of Holland train station, there were a group of
:02:00. > :02:09.Dutch special police waiting to question the remainder of the group.
:02:10. > :02:14.The pair who jumped believed to be Eastern European is, possibly
:02:15. > :02:18.Albanians. The alarm was raised at 9:45am this morning. The crew
:02:19. > :02:27.reported that two people had jumped overboard half a mile from shore. An
:02:28. > :02:33.RAF search helicopter, as well as lifeboats join the search. The ferry
:02:34. > :02:38.itself also lived the area looking for the passengers. Eventually, to
:02:39. > :02:42.leather jackets found in the water, and at one o'clock the search was
:02:43. > :02:47.stood down. At the Hook of Holland this evening, all is quiet as the
:02:48. > :02:52.ferry prepares to make its return journey.
:02:53. > :02:55.Bingo players and MPs from this region joined forces today to
:02:56. > :03:00.protest on behalf of the bingo industry. They say it's unfair that
:03:01. > :03:03.the game is taxed at 20%. That figure compares to 15% for
:03:04. > :03:13.bookmakers and 12% for lottery tickets.
:03:14. > :03:18.This is the bingo hall. It is one of the most popular in the country,
:03:19. > :03:23.with 54,000 members. According to the latest figures there are 41
:03:24. > :03:28.million visits to bingo halls every year, compared with 23 million
:03:29. > :03:32.visits to a football match, and 19 million visits to a National Trust
:03:33. > :03:36.property. This is an industry in crisis. Membership has halved in the
:03:37. > :03:43.last seven years. The smoking ban is partly to blame but so too is the
:03:44. > :03:48.high rate of tax, says the industry. We face an unfair case
:03:49. > :03:53.that tax is 20% of the bingo, so companies don't have the money to
:03:54. > :04:00.invest. Other forms of gambling are taxed at 15%. All we are saying is
:04:01. > :04:06.that there should be level playing field. That is why bingo players
:04:07. > :04:09.join us from the region did demonstrate outside Parliament. A
:04:10. > :04:20.petition containing 300,000 signatures was wheeled past number
:04:21. > :04:23.ten. Cutting the tax would cost ?21 million. Campaigners say it is worth
:04:24. > :04:27.it. Another ?31 million is coming to the
:04:28. > :04:30.east to help speed up the installation of superfast broadband.
:04:31. > :04:33.The government says the money will help ensure 95% of homes and
:04:34. > :04:39.businesses have super fast broadband by 2017. Essex gets the biggest
:04:40. > :04:49.share with just over ?10million. Norfolk and Suffolk will get more
:04:50. > :04:52.than ?10 million between them. Seals orphaned after the tidal surge
:04:53. > :04:56.in December have been released back into the wild. More than 100 pups
:04:57. > :04:59.were taken to the wildlife hospital in Norfolk, in one of the biggest
:05:00. > :05:02.rescue operations in its 25`year history. And today the first batch
:05:03. > :05:05.returned to the sea. They had been driven 60 miles from
:05:06. > :05:09.the hospital in East Winch. Eight now very healthy pups carried onto
:05:10. > :05:12.Winterton beach by the RSPCA teams, about to be released from their
:05:13. > :05:16.stretcher hammocks. After the surge, the centre had been overwhelmed.
:05:17. > :05:20.Staff working around the clock to keep very sick orphan pubs alive.
:05:21. > :05:26.This morning, fully recovered grey seals, Morn Flake and Marmite, were
:05:27. > :05:30.confronted with the open sea. They have had months of tender loving
:05:31. > :05:34.care in the East Winch centre. They are just about to be released from
:05:35. > :05:37.the hammocks, and the big test now is will they head staright for the
:05:38. > :05:40.water. A little hesitation, perhaps put off by the herd of photographers
:05:41. > :05:47.watching their every move, but finally into the waves they went.
:05:48. > :05:51.What does it mean to you? It is absolutely fantastic. It is a job
:05:52. > :05:56.well done. For those who happened to come along ` a wonderful spectacle.
:05:57. > :05:59.We didn't know the news and we were lucky to be here. We caught the
:06:00. > :06:03.moment really. It is nice for Alfie here to see them go back to the
:06:04. > :06:06.wildlife and natural habitat. Today's release was just down the
:06:07. > :06:09.coast from the sand dunes where the orphaned pups were found washed
:06:10. > :06:17.ashore after the violent storms. Over the next few weeks and months,
:06:18. > :06:21.further batches will be released. Finally all this week on Look East
:06:22. > :06:24.we're looking at how people here were affected by the First World
:06:25. > :06:27.War. And tomorrow we're finding out about the priest who won The
:06:28. > :06:30.Victoria Cross. You can see our stories online at: bbc.co.uk/ww1 and
:06:31. > :06:36.your BBC local radio station has more stories at 8.15am every
:06:37. > :06:45.morning. Well that's all from me for tonight. Let's get the weather with
:06:46. > :06:50.Julie. We will have a band of rain later
:06:51. > :06:54.tonight. Temperatures are down to five Celsius. They shouldn't fall
:06:55. > :06:59.much lower. More cloud will mean temperatures don't get any lower and
:07:00. > :07:04.a freshening breeze will come. It'll be quite a different start tomorrow.
:07:05. > :07:10.Wet and windy first thing but that rain will clear away. Although the
:07:11. > :07:16.sunshine will come out there will be some showers around. Temperatures in
:07:17. > :07:20.the sunshine should get up to 10 Celsius. The showers could be on the
:07:21. > :07:26.heavy side as they develop into the afternoon. In a moment, we will have
:07:27. > :07:30.the national forecast, but I will leave you with our outlook. Pressure
:07:31. > :07:32.moving in on Thursday could bring wet and windy weather on Friday.
:07:33. > :07:34.moving in on Thursday could bring day on Friday, wet snow around and a
:07:35. > :07:40.breeze blowing as well. Tricky into the weekend. And now we have the
:07:41. > :07:44.national forecast. Good evening. We know it has been a
:07:45. > :07:51.wet winter but it has also been mild and across England and Wales,
:07:52. > :07:56.lacking in snow. The last day of the season which we measure on Friday,
:07:57. > :08:00.might provide a bit of it. Friday's weather is coming from the small
:08:01. > :08:05.area of low pressure. These tiny low-pressure systems are difficult
:08:06. > :08:10.to track and a subtle change in position could have a big impact.
:08:11. > :08:14.Tonight we have more straightforward, a weather front
:08:15. > :08:17.spreading out rakes of rain across most areas. Turning windy as well.
:08:18. > :08:22.The rain will be heavy but will move through quickly because of the
:08:23. > :08:26.strength of the wind and it will be a mild night for most. The rain is
:08:27. > :08:27.lingering across Scotland and eastern England for the morning.
:08:28. > :08:29.lingering across Scotland and eastern England for the morning It
:08:30. > :08:34.will continue to be pushed into the North Sea but it may take most of
:08:35. > :08:37.the morning before it clears away. Following behind, brighter skies,
:08:38. > :08:38.sunny spells but more showers than