05/06/2014 Look East - East

In the programme tonight, six months after the worst tidal surge

in living memory, the fears of our coastal communities if the defences

Where the houses fell in the sea, the gaps have all been filled in.

We still remember our friends and neighbours who lived there,

and we worry how much longer it'll be before our houses go in the sea.

Possible cases of the baby infection linked to liquid

The winner is Eimear McBride ` A Girl Is A Half Formed Thing.

The author whose award`winning novel was turned down for a decade.

And why this school, for a very good reason, is celebrating

First tonight, exactly six months after the worst tidal surge

on the east coast in living memory concern that some communities could

still be vulnerable if we get more big storms this winter.

On December 5th last year, conditions combined to cause

an even bigger surge than the famous flood of 1953.The

tide was six feet higher than normal.

Thousands of homes were flooded along the east coast

The Environment Agency was given ?10 million to repair flood defences

and, six months, on there's a race to finish

In a moment, Kim Riley on the situation in Norfolk.

But first our environment reporter Richard Daniel on the fears

Hundreds of homes and businesses flooded.

Sea fronts wrecked. Defences holed.

December's tidal surge was the worst in 60 years.

In the immediate aftermath of the tidal surge,

the most serious breaches, such as this one in Shingle Street,

The trouble is, the scale of the damage was huge.

Six months on, only half the repairs needed have been completed.

In Snape, the Crown Pub and 26 houses were left under water.

The pub was shut for over two months.

With the tidal surge, came up the river, on this side.

It overtopped, and it came all across these marshes.

We have been told the work will be done to raise the wall to the

As of yet, nothing's really happened.

We keep hearing the excuse that nothing's happened because there's

This is the piano room, which took a lot of watter.

Sarah Gallagher is still not back in her home.

I think they want protection and wall raised at the bottom.

Some people have been here a long time, since 1953 when it

They know that that the wall was higher then.

While repairs will be made to the river wall soon, its height

Lowestoft was worst hit in the surge.

300 businesses and homes were flooded.

The environment agency has scores of repairs yet to complete.

And the Government expects all works, or the vast majority

of works to be completed by this winter's storms, and we're doing

Are you on target to get there, do you think, or is it very tight?

Your answer seems to suggest that you are really battling

It is tight and we will have to use all

Back in Snape, the disruption of the past six months is nearly over.

But the worry it could all happen again isn't.

That was Suffolk and Essex. But what about Norfolk?

9,000 homes were evacuated and the Army was brought in to help

Cromer pier was battered and in Hemsby seven homes were washed

This from our chief reporter Kim Riley.

A calm sea this morning. So different from six months ago, when

a Sea Life Centre was surrounded by a vast lake. As each wave came in,

at the height, it was rolling over the top of the sea defence walls. We

had water entering the building from all doorways. We had water coming up

through the drains in the flaws. No matter how many sandbags you have

outside your doors, nothing was going to stop this water. From

sharks to penguins, all creatures safely evacuated before the ?3

million rebuilding programme could begin. The centre, which normally

attracts over 100,000 visitors a year, hopes to reopen its doors in

October. This was the scene at Wells next the Sea, after December's

surge, which flooded properties. Six months on, most are back in

business, but not all. Work is still going on at this amusement arcade

and at K's, nearby. The owner was distressed that work hadn't begun.

She worked here with her late parent since the age of 15. Today, things

are looking brighter. I feel so relieved. It's taken longer than I

wanted, but we are getting there. Hopefully, we will be open by the

end of this month. In Hemsby, the sea surge at away at the sand tunes.

One home was washed away, four others tipped over the edge onto the

beach. Angela Lewis has lived here for 12 years, but wonders how much

longer. Hemsby cannot take another winter. We don't know if we are

going to have tidal surges again, what winter storms we are going to

have. Hemsby needs help and it needs help now. Local supporters of Save

Hemsby Coastline have raised money, but there are concrete blocks could

do nothing against the power of the sea. Now they are thinking big. The

group has applied communities fund for ?7.5 million.

If successful, they hope that these sand dunes and the people behind

So, how safe will we be this into the future.

if another bad storm hits the east coast?

Karen Thomas is the Senior Coastal We here it is going to be tight, how

and she's in We here it is going to be tight, how

confident are you that work will be finished in time? Out on the ground,

people are working hard and we are certainly sharing the work with our

local authority partners and internal drainage board to make sure

we deliver the 130 locations where we have got these damages, that we

are trying to repair. We heard that the government money is just for

repairs. What about the more substantial work that is needed? We

have programmes of works in place and we have already identified

locations where additional work will be needed. We have to bid for that

funding from government for the capital works. Where it is

appropriate, and we have people and property at risk, significant flood

risk issues, that is what we are doing so we can get further funding

to improve defences in the location where it is appropriate to do so. We

get the sense that you are firefighting and actually not

necessarily acting in advance to stop the damage happening. Is there

more that you should have done before this happened? Well, I think

we have to remember the scale of this event. It was more significant

than 1953, the majority of locations around the coast. Ultimately the

damages we had in 1953, since then walls have been improved and built

up. Whilst we did have some overtopping, the majority of

defences stood up really well. By comparison, the number of bridges

was relatively small to the amount of flood defences we have got all

the way around Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex. If you look at Lowestoft,

part of the beach still out of use, coming up to summer, it's a prime

resort being affected six months later. How are you prioritising? In

the case of beaches, where we have seaside towns, we are

the local authorities are working hard. How the local economy does is

at the heart of all decisions we are trying to make and we

prioritising what we are doing so that we try to get those

instances up and running. We have also got people, as you are

there, who are still out of their homes, so

our priorities and resources wherever we can.

Babies at two hospitals in Essex may have been affected

by blood poisoning linked to drips which have been contaminated.

Officials say one baby in Southend has a probable infection and tests

on a second baby in Basildon have so far failed to confirm the infection.

Gareth George is at Southend Hospital now.

Well, hospitals with confirmed cases so far in our region include

Addenbrooke's in Cambridge, the Luton and Dunstable Hospital. There

were three more cases revealed this afternoon. One confirmed case at

Peterborough hospital and a probable case here at the Southend University

Hospital. We understand a baby here has shown chemical symptoms of blood

poisoning, which can include fever and vomiting. Public Health England

says it is waiting for further testing. The chief nurse here issued

a statement a short time ago. She said Southend University Hospital

received one batch of the feed, which is being investigated. It had

been prescribed for a baby in our care, who subsequently develop the

symptoms of septicaemia. It goes on, the parents have been informed and

are receiving our full support. It is not just Southend Hospital, there

is also a possible case at Basildon Hospital, where a baby has shown

symptoms of blood poisoning. Blood testing, so far, did not confirm the

infection. A statement from Basildon Hospital said the parents of babies

currently on the neonatal intensive care unit are fully informed. The

company that makes the food says it is saddened by

Police have revealed they've exhumed the body of a baby,

who was found dead in Norfolk. It's 26 years ago today, since the

remains of the newly born boy were discovered in a water`filled pit at

Weasenham St Peter, near Fakenham. Police say they've now obtained

a DNA profile of the child. A developer has promised to get rid

of an eyesore which has been a blight on the

waterfront in Ipswich for years. It's been called

the Wine rack because only the Now that is about to change,

as Kevin Burch reports. Take a drive along the waterfront

in 2009 in Ipswich and it looks But there has,

for the past six years, been a very Now, after months of nagging

and negotiation, the Wine Rack is finally

about to be sold and completed We've done a lot of high`rise over

the years, having bought them Obviously it is local, its Ipswich,

Ipswich Borough are well behind it. I think if everyone works

together we can get it completed. Work

on the project to build shops and business units stopped in 2009 when

the scheme hit financial problems. Now, administrators say a sale has

been agreed and, for other traders on the waterfront, the completion

of work can't come soon enough. It's a reminder that we were doing

so well at the waterfront, seeing everything develop, the University

and all the flats and everything. And then you've just got this

reminder that it's all stopped now. The money is gone

from the waterfront. Now you're going to see more workers

down here to will spend money I think was the financial crash

that really stopped everything. But I think getting this building

done, because it is so big, You know, it will encourage other

developments to come along, nearby. You mentioned you like a challenge,

how big a challenge will this be? The new team say,

despite sitting open to the elements for some years, surveys have shown

that the structure is sound. They hope to begin cladding work

within nine months and have flats The England cricket captain

Alistair Cook and his benefit day And how weather forecasters

in Bedfordshire changed How about this, a debut novel,

written ten years ago and published last year has won top prize for

literature. The novel, A Girl Is A Half Formed Thing, by Eimear

McBride, has won the Bailey's Women's Prize For Fiction. After a

long struggle to get it published, a small independent publisher in

Norwich took a leap of faith and the rest is history. We'll talk live to

air in a moment. The winner is Eimear McBride `

A Girl Is A Half Formed Thing. The moment Eimear McBride won

the ?30,000 Baileys Women's Prize For Fiction in London last night,

beating some big names like It's a wonderful thing to have

my book recognised in this way. I hope that, you know, it will serve

as an incentive to publishers everywhere to take a look at

difficult books and to think again. A Girl Is A Half Formed Thing was

being snapped up in the Book Hive It tells the story

of a young woman in Ireland in the 1980s, and her relationship with her

brother, who has a brain tumour. It is written in Eimear's unique

style. Pinder ponder it's

a blister I shall pop. You know, you feel, am I going

to get this straightaway? Sometimes it takes a little

while to get into it. And when you do,

you are completely submerged. A Girl Is A Half Formed Thing was

originally published by Galley Beggar Press, who have

their worldwide headquarters We thought we were prepared to go

bankrupt for this book, because it's such a good book, it has to be out

there and somebody's got to do it. So it was almost a duty.

There was a risk. Obviously, in hindsight,

it all paid off. Eimear is working on her

second novel, which she is hoping to A Girl Is A Half Formed Thing is

clearly going to be And Eimear McBride is in central

London. Congratulations, Eimear, what a fantastic story. What has it

been like today, the day after getting that recognition after so

many years of rejection? It's just been a completely crazy day. I think

I'm still in a state of shock. Such a wonderful thing, after such a long

journey to get there. You said it was difficult, I have actually had a

go at it this afternoon, it is, isn't it? I think it takes a little

bit of getting used to. Give it a couple of pages and I think you will

slip into the rhythm soon enough. that a style you will be using in

other books, or was that to do with the subject matter of the

book? I'm still interested in language and trying to make it work

in different kinds of ways. So, think everything I work on from now

on will certainly have a different angle to it. Just tell us a little

bit about these people who had much faith in you win some and a

people had know, it was very extraordinary for

me. I met them, really through Henry in the Book Hive. They loved it, and

they were just setting up their press at that point. They

even published their first book. There were very enthusiastic, and

very open about the fact they very little money and experience.

They asked me if I them. I was certainly delighted that

they trusted the book. It just all worked out very well

Since your award, some very well`known people

said just how fantastic your book is. What has it been like, for you,

to hear that being reviewed by very, very well`known writers? You

know, it's been a tremendous vindication of all the years of

effort, the hyena on in there when was given no reason to expect I'd

ever see the book published. So, to have it accepted so widely is a

really wonderful thing and something every writer dreams of.

Congratulations, fabulous achievement. Here is the next one.

Nearly 500 cricket`mad youngsters have been at the County Ground

in Chelmsford today to help the England captain Alastair Cook

There've been coaching clinics through the day

and tonight it's Cookie's Big Bash a special Twenty20 match with some

Our sports editor Jonathan Park has sent this report.

There's a lot of new acquaintances for Alistair Cook to make today.

England's cricket captain is meeting over 400 local children

It's all part of his benefit year celebrations, for

Hello, mate. What's your name?

Such a high profile sports star, but there are no airs or graces

with Alistair Cook, as these lucky youngsters found out today.

It's why he's respected all over the world for his talents on

You've known him for a long time, since you burst onto the scene?

I've known him since he was about 17.

He's been a superstar, really, one of England's greatest batsmen

Still an incredibly humble bloke, the same as he was when he was 17.

The fact that he's so young, and having a benefit year,

11 years ago, Will cause the new kid on the wicket, tipped

Over 100 caps, 8000 test runs, breaking records along the way.

As a player, and world`class player, I think he's up there with one

of the greatest England players already.

And he's only halfway through a career, really.

I think he'll probably be one of the best players in the world.

I don't actually know that much because we don't really

Cook wanted as many youngsters as possible to be involved

The children wanted to get as close to the England

Well, Alistair has taken time out of his

Great to see so many smiling faces and decent

I hope the kids have had a great day.

That was kind of the aim of it, to get as many kids...

Not introduced to cricket, because we know they play,

but give them another opportunity to have good fun.

You've had a very successful career, but you've got so much in front

How do you sum up what you've achieved so far and what's to come?

Obviously, when you first start out, you never think

To play 100 test matches and to be captain, I'm very proud.

As you said, hopefully I got a few more years yet and I'm very

Some new faces involved in the test squad, is this the start of a new

era? When you have a change of personnel, new coaches, it feels

like a New Year EU. It's an exciting time. Guys who have earned the right

to outstanding performances for their

county, they will be going to bed tonight and can't wait

week. That is what you want. I can't wait to see

is going to be exciting. You've got some exciting players? Everybody is

quite intrigued. Freddie has had five years out, some of them have

had ten or 15 years out. To see them dusting off their

them are talking about the game of cricket. I can't

NASA Hussein does, Andy Flower is, it's great

I appreciate them turning up. Just to say, the

o'clock and goes on all night. So, if

Chelmsford. You've got nine minutes!

70 years ago today a team of weather forecasters was about to make

a decision which changed the course of history ` and it was made at

In fact, the D`Day landings should have taken place on June 5th,

but forecasters in Dunstable said the weather would be windy and

the English channel would be choppy, and managed to persuade General

Eisenhower to wait for a gap in the weather the following day.

Now a school stands on the site, and today they've been marking

The largest invasion the world had ever seen should have happened 17

years ago today. But in Dunstable, D`Day was delayed. It was a

top`secret location, at the time. But The Met Office for the entire

British Empire was based in some huts in Bedfordshire. Group Captain

cat Max Stagg was in charge. The use of whether to take out an interlude

that would be unknown to enemy forces, it would allow us to make

use of it, catch those on the other side unaware. He called it right and

Eisenhower called at off for 24 hours. Dunstable was a weather

station in a field. Now it is the Weatherfield Academy. Nothing

remains to highlight the part of this site played in the nation's

history. Today, they open their own weather station. Clearly, the

weather was a crucial factor that could win or lose a battle. In this

particular case, the decision when to send thousands of troops across

the Channel. That forecast, that was made by Stagg and his team, to delay

by 24 hours, arguably one of the most important weather forecasts in

history. The Met Office moved to Dunstable in 1940 to escape the

bullets and to be close to the code breaking centre at Bletchley Park.

Now 93, Joyce Samuel was working at the Dunstable Weather Centre at the

time. How on earth I got the job there, I don't know. But I did.

There were seven of us, I think, from this area. We didn't know

anything, really. We were teleprinters. It was all in code.

The Met Office was based yet until 1961. Yet the headmaster feels it is

still Bedfordshire's best keep `` kept secret. The Admiralty that

stayed there to forecast were adamant that the fifth would be the

day to go for. The Met Office, situated here, said, no, they were

adamant that their data was correct. Heading out to see because of a

24`hour delay due to the weather. If the team had got it wrong 70 years

ago, it could have been carnage in the Channel. It could have been

catastrophic, and today could have been very

different. I've learned so much this week! I

was just thinking that. The weather, please?

Quite a nice evening. After a cloudy start, the cloud clearing to the

north`east. A fair amount of sunshine. A speckling of fair

weather cloud moving eastwards. Even that is clearing away. As you go

through this evening and overnight, clearing away, largely clear skies

and the wind is you go through this evening and

overnight, clearing away, largely clear skies and the wind easing or 7

degrees in most rural Tomorrow, starting on a chilly note.

Lots of sunshine all day long will stay dry. Quite a bit of high

cloud in the morning, but that stronger through the afternoon. The

wind will tend to pick up the afternoon. The warmest

temperatures will degrees, 72 Fahrenheit. Along the

coast, it 17 or 18 degrees. All in all, a

decent day. A sunny evening tomorrow. Quite a muggy night as the

humidity increases. That's because we are importing humid air from

Spain and France. These weather fronts are trying to push in

the Atlantic and it is the interaction between

that gives us some headaches for Saturday itself. On the warm front,

we could have early the morning on Saturday, across the

west of the be a dry spell to the late morning,

early afternoon, before the heat and humidity

culminates in further and storms evening. These are most likely

across the west of the region, heavy with hail and gusty winds.

East of the posted. For Sunday, it clears away

to the pressure building in. Lots of dry

weather around. Lots of dry weather, but still quite humid. This front

coming from the south could more thundery rain, this time across

the lot of uncertainty about that at

this stage. A fine day, but the risk of some storms on Saturday.

dry on Sunday. Possibly more thundery downpours on Monday. Quay

don't you just love some! `` don't you just love summer. From

all of us, have a good evening. Goodbye.

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