15/01/2014 Look East - West

That's all from us. It's goodbye from me. And on

Good evening and welcome to Look East ` in the programme tonight Two

men and three teenage boys guilty of a series of sexual assaults against

underage girls in Peterborough ` we're live at the Old Bailey. Also

tonight: The serial killer who cast a spell over her three victims ` a

court hears details as two of her alleged accomplices go on trial

The changing world of television. We look at how to make a documentary

using only your smartphone. And the poignant story behind a

home`made Bayeux Tapestry. Good evening.

First tonight: A child`sex gang has been found guilty of a series of

rapes and sexual assaults against five underage girls in Peterborough.

Two men and three teenage boys were today convicted at the Old Bailey `

the so`called ringleader, an 18`year`old man. The true horror of

the case only came to light when one of the victims was taken into care

and spoke to a social worker. In a moment, we'll hear reaction from the

Director of Children's Services in Peterborough. But first, the BBC's

Daniela Relph joins us from the Old Bailey.

This has been a very complex 10`week trial here at the Old Bailey in

which the jury have had to hear some very explicit and very shocking

evidence about the terrible abuse these young girls suffered. As the

verdicts were delivered today, some of the defendants simply put their

heads in their hands. One of them stood up and said, I didn't rape

anybody. The judge told him to sit down. Gathering evidence and

securing convictions was difficult for the police and social services

in pay Peterborough because these girls were so young and vulnerable.

They did not easily trust the authorities and a lot of work was

done by police and social workers to gain with these young women's trust

and to persuade them to give evidence against their abusers.

Adding to the complexity was the fact that many of the defendants

came from the Czech Roma community in Peterborough. So they had to

listen to the evidence on headphones as evidence was translated in the

courtroom. That in itself cost ?30,000 in translation services In

terms of what happens next, the five defendants who were found guilty

will be back in court here at the Old Bailey on February 24

sentencing. The convictions have revealed a

murky and dangerous side to Peterborough in which vulnerable

children were exploited by men. Louise Hubball has been looking at

the details of the case. Throughout the course of this

trial, a darker side of Peterborough has emerged. The jury heard that a

13`year`old girl was tied to a chair in this play has. She was then

sexually abused by groups of men and boys. Here and at other parks across

the city. She only told this story when she was taken into care. For

men and four teenage boys were brought to trial accused of raping

and sexually abusing her. The oldest was 32, two of them aged just 1 ,

all of the slugger, check or Kurdish origin. The court heard that the men

and boys called themselves the Peterborough Mali gang meaning young

gangsters. They would gather here outside this takeaway to meet girls

and target them for abuse. The 13`year`old said 18`year`old man

seen here on the left was the boss, selling her for sex in bushes and at

parties for him to get ?20 each time, to spend on drink and drugs.

For other young girls told the jury they were abused by members of the

group. It's an appalling crime, because you've got young people are

who not only because of their experiences but because of the

learning disabilities are not in any position to protect themselves. They

were terribly exploited by evil people. The city 's MP is horrified

by this case and said it again raises issues about immigration

It's a fact that these individuals are from the Roma immunity and there

are too many people in Peterborough at the moment who are not

economically active, who are quite a significant burden on children's

services and adult social care and health services. We need to look at

issues around immigration. When police station had worked

closely with the community and says there is no wider problem of abuse.

This is not a problem of one community or of one ethnic group.

This is a problem of some youngsters in any community.

The jury heard evidence from five vulnerable young girls. As part of a

national scheme, a Peterborough centre to help child fixing of sex

abuse has been expanded and is working on prevention.

We are going into schools to work with vulnerable young people to try

and help them from going the next step into becoming abused, so it's a

positive approach in Peterborough. A major police investigation into

child grooming in Peterborough is ongoing.

I do anticipate further charges and further trials and we have case

papers in the Crown Prosecution Service.

With today's verdict, it's hoped the victims today can hope to rebuild

their lives. The case has once again thrown a

spotlight on Peterborough's Children's Services. In the past few

years the department has come under severe criticism for its failings

and the Government only recently lifted the special restrictions it

placed on the department. Tonight the boss of Children's Services

insisted this case was not due to their failings but was actually a

measure of the success of social workers.

I'm very pleased with the verdict today. Who wouldn't be devastated by

these horrendous crimes? I would say that I want to pay tribute to these

witnesses for coming forward. It hasn't been easy for these children

to tell us their story. Our social workers have worked really hard to

establish their trust to enable them to come forward. We have called for

a serious Case review and out looking forward to working with it.

We want to take these lessons and learn them nationally. We are

determined to eradicate this problem in Peterborough.

I understand it must have been difficult to gain these children

stressed but how was it allowed to happen in the first post?

It is very difficult when children are targeted by predatory men. What

happens is that they are flattered, they are offered gifts and then

threats are made against them and their family. We've heard that in

court. When we identified it, we worked very closely with other

children who found it very difficult for a long time to tell us this

story. As soon as they did, we immediately took action and have

been able to bring the perpetrators to trial.

Were any of the children involved in these crimes known to children's

services before this? We had been working with some of the

children and be protected those children. Our social workers

established their trust... Sorry to interrupt. Clearly you

didn't protect them enough. A 13`year`old was tied to a chair and

raped. This case should not be confused

with others. As soon is we knew what was happening, we protected those

children. Our social workers worked very hard in order to establish

their trust and confidence. We were working with them because like many

children, they were vulnerable. They were issues around non`school

attendance and what we're doing now, in terms of children who are either

missing from education missing from home, or missing from care, what

we're is looking at them to see whether they are being sexually

exploited and we have a dedicated risk assessment team to do it. We've

also put in a sex exploitation team, it's a dedicated team that has built

up experience and knowledge in being able to work closely with children

in order to identify and make sure this doesn't happen in the future.

A jury's been hearing how serial killer Joanna Dennehy "cast a spell"

over her victims before embarking on a 10`day killing spree. Dennehy has

admitted stabbing three men in the heart and dumping their bodies in

ditches in Cambridgeshire. Today, two men accused of helping her

cover`up her crimes went on trial at Cambridge Crown Court. This report

from our Home Affairs Correspondent Sally Chidzoy.

Joanna Dennehy, the woman with the starter to on her face, a killer who

left dumped in ditches the bodies of John Chapman, Kevin Lee and Lukasz

Slaboszewski, all stabbed through the heart. She tried to pick ``

stabbed to men afterwards. The Crown said that two men helped Dennehy

cover up the murder. The jury that the two men were under the spell of

Joanna Dennehy and had helped to remove and dumped the bodies of AIDS

victims. Joanna Dennehy may have been the killer but Gary Stretch was

her able assistant. The prosecution said two of the murder victims were

also drawn by a Dennehy 's spell and paid for that with their lives. The

bodies were found at Newbury and thorny. Dennehy knew the three men

and was a neighbour of one of them. One of the bodies was left full`time

in a wheelie bin. The jury heard that Joanna Dennehy had told one of

her victims that she wanted him to wear a dress before she sexually

assaulted him. His body was later found in a black sequin stressed the

ditch in a new butter. There were five stab wounds. His body had been

laid out in a humiliating pose. The prosecution say when Dennehy kills

John Chapman she was humming a Britney Spears song. Gary stretch

denies the charges of preventing lawful burial. The trial continues.

We didn't give permission for my father 's treatment to end. That's

what a daughter told an inquest today. Bob Gauld had been put on a

Liverpool care pathway, but his family say he was left without food

and drink at Addenbrooke's hospital for eight days.

His final days were horrendous, say his family. No food or fruit in

hospital for more than a week. His daughter told the inquest end of

life care was for the best, that's what the hospital had said, but the

family had not given permission for it to'. The Cairo no sad however

authorised putting the man on the pathway that it was a grey area but

medical staff said they thought the family understood what would happen.

After a fall, Bob Gauld lay in intensive care for more than two

weeks. The inquest heard he had severe head injuries. The course,

the coroner heard, was bronchial pneumonia, following the withdrawal

of treatment. Professor Peter Hutchinson was in charge of the

treatment and said there was a blunt conversation about final care with

the family but it was unlikely the patient would have recovered. The

man in charge of intensive care said the hospital specifically had not

mentioned the Liverpool care package of mass `` care way. Authorisation

came from Doctor Hutchinson. The case here was right and appropriate,

medical staff told the inquest that communication with his family was

poor. Doreen Gold knew she may never know who authorised her husband 's

end of life care. Three of Northamptonshire's MPs have

been at the Department of Health today calling for more money for

Kettering General Hospital. They hope to get ?20 million for the

hospital and ?3 million for community services. The meeting

comes almost a year after Peter Bone, Philip Hollobone and Andy

Sawford launched a cross`party plan to save and improve services. They

say Kettering is being downgraded. Kettering 's accident and emergency

department is no longer fit for purpose. I have been in the NHS 40

years and it is one of the worst designed department I have come

across. This is a small and cramped and the waiting room is a corridor.

The number of patients that come in mean that on a considerable number

of occasions we cannot treat people as soon as they arrive. The other

main constraint is that the staff work area does not allow them to

have sight of patients so I think that is a clinical safety issue

Today along with GPs and MPs, Fiona Wise took these concerns to the

Department of Health in Whitehall. They're asking for ?20 million.

Enough to upgrade the accident and emergency department and build new

urgent care centres at Kettering, Colby, and Wellingborough.

We've got one of the fastest growing populations in the country. This

hospital is meeting the needs of 70,000 people which is far too

many. Political differences to one side,

the local MP is working with his conservative colleagues for cutting

butter and Wellingborough. They believe that United front has one

the support of ministers. The minister said he thought our

joint case was compelling and recognises the need for extra

investment on the staff are great and doing their best, but the

facilities in the a and doing their best, but the facilities in the a

and D department are not up to ministerial support is of course

important, but ultimately it will be the tragedy that decides whether

this is money well spent. Bedfordshire's Police and Crime

Commissioner could face further sanctions after he admitted giving

away confidential information about the death of Leon Briggs in police

custody in Luton. Olly Martins has been given a written reprimand but

the Independent Police Complaints Commission has the power to call the

decision in if they feel a further investigation is necessary.

The reaction I have had is that people accept that even police

commissions can make mistakes and that provided that I accept the

gravity of what I've done, and accept the reprimand, and learn the

lessons, then people are prepared to forgive a mistake, provided that

it's not made with malicious intent, which it wasn't.

The Chairman of Peterborough United Darragh McAnthony says manager

Darren Ferguson retains his support despite the club's poor recent run

of results. Posh lost 3`2 to non`league Kidderminster in the FA

Cup yesterday and have been beaten in their last four league games

MacAnthony says he'll continue to support the current management and

says he'll be working hard to attract some freshness to the squad.

Norfolk and Norwich Hospital, but never regained consciousness.

Still to come on Look East tonight: How to make a TV programme using

your smartphone. Plus, how a private tragedy

encouraged this man to make a remarkable copy of the Bayeux

Tapestry. There was a time when to make TV you

needed a lot of people. People who were highly skilled with cameras,

lighting and sound. These days, broadcasting is very different

thanks to things like digital technology. Our colleague Rob

Adcock, from Radio Northampton, has become something of a pioneer in new

technology. He's become the first person in the history of the BBC to

make a series of programmes entirely on his phone.

At one time, cameras were big, very big. Cameramen needed strong arms

and the cameras were not exactly portable. 50 years on and the

smartphone in your pocket, the possibilities are endless. When BBC

Northampton began recording a documentary on the shoe industry,

the smartphone was used. Everywhere you go you are reminded how big the

shoe industry was. What is the future going to be like for the

footwear industry? Because we work with radio, we thought there are so

many amazing things to say, what we thought we would try to do was get

some pictures never page. The drivetime team produced a series of

five documentaries that all look like this.

We went to a company called Crockett and Jones from Northampton to find

out more. Welcome to this room, I am the

supervisor. With five films under his belt, does Rob Adcock have any

tips for budding smartphone film`makers.

The difficult thing about film making is trying to keep it steady.

The second you try and hold it for quite a long time, your hands

started to shake and everything starts to go bloody.

Although new for the BBC, media courses are already preparing

students to treat smartphones and habits is tools of the trade. There

are many applications that students can use on their phones and iPads.

They are very good at using applications like that to

incorporate into their design work. We are developing some new app

design courses that will enable young and older people to learn how

to create the apps that may actually finding work in the future.

Film`making has changed beyond already mission but were smartphone

technology will take us next, who knows?

But finding it should make for some interesting viewing.

Isn't that clever? Very clever. Well, we're switching now from the

technology of the 21st century to the crafts of the 11th century. The

Bayeux Tapestry was woven nearly 1000 years ago to commemorate the

Norman victory at the Battle of Hastings. The stunning work has

provided the inspiration for a craftsman in Norfolk who had

suffered personal tragedy in his life.

Jason Welch is one of those blokes who has always been good with his

hands. So when he wanted something to take his mind off things, he

picked up a piece of wood and started carving.

In a shed at the bottom of his garden, Jason Welch is busy

carving. He took up carving as a hobby to help improve bereavement.

His grandfather, father and then his 18`year`old son Ricky all did. Jason

was devastated and became depressed. It took my mind off of worrying. I

kept thinking about my grandfather, my father and my oldest son being

dead and the tapestry took my mind off of it for a while. I have locked

myself away in my garden shed for many years. He calls it the tapestry

but it is actually a wood carving of the buyout tapestry. The original

was created by monks after the Battle of Hastings and M66. Jason's

carving started in 2011 and has taken two years to complete and

consists of 27 boards. He do it by hand, would you believe! `` 1066.

You draw it out by hand and then carve the background. You use

natural wood dies and paint onto the picture. He then uses wire wool to

say the grain of the wood. He lost three fingers on his left hand in an

accident when he was younger, making it even more difficult! He now wants

to put his tapestry on display somewhere big. I would like to show

it off somewhere! Jason Welch now wants to make a

living from his carvings and why not? They are extraordinary. From

tragedy and personal despair, his hobby in his shed changed his life.

Some late news now, and a major blaze close to the M1 near Milton

Keynes is said to be under control this evening. 60 firefighters have

been at the location ` a warehouse in Newport Pagnell. Fire crews were

called to Renny Park Road, close to Junction 14 of the M1 this

afternoon. Witnesses reported hearing an explosion and seeing

thick black plumes of smoke for miles around. It's understood the

warehouse was evacuated. No`one was injured.

Just the general packaging and plastics, polystyrene, all of those

materials have been involved. The wind position has changed as well.

If you were watching last make you would have seen some extraordinary

snowy pictures from Norfolk last year. Well, look at these as well.

You can see the snow lying on the ground and freezing cold

temperatures. We had a sea conditions with problems with cars

on the road and admit and fog. We were in the grip of winter. Let us

compare that to the. We have quite a different story. Last year it barely

got above freezing. Compare these regions. We now have ten or 11

Celsius, much, much milder. There is no sign that we will get that kind

of winter grip at the moment. We are getting more settled Atlantic ear.

Into the early hours of January the 16th last year, bunting furred and

Hertfordshire. `13 Celsius. `` bunting furred. It will not be that

cold this year. Certainly not at the moment. It is much more of a wet

picture. It will be a damp night but mild for most of us. Temperatures

will not get much lower than five or six Celsius. They will still be a

bit of a breeze that will keep the temperatures up overnight. Into

tomorrow we still have low pressure keeping things very unsettled. It

means it will be windy through tomorrow. There will also be some

sunshine and showers. For some of us across the eat than half of the

region it will start cloudy `` Eastern half. It will start to

brighten up as well however. Still quite a few showers developing from

the South West. The Western half of the region will see the most of

those. In the East Unionist some of them. `` in the East Unionist some

of them. `` MS some of them. There is a more noticeable southernly

breeze through tomorrow. Into the afternoon and evening the showers

will continue. Some cloud to developing overnight and the chance

of patchy rain as they get into the early hours of Friday morning. Here

is the outlook, for Friday itself it is looking like sunshine and

showers. Highs of around nine Celsius. It will remain windy and we

keep that for the weekend. Saturday looks like the wicker of the two

days. It looks brighter and drier and cooler for Sunday. Overnight

lows, we are staying mild tonight and the next couple of nights. For

the end of the weekend temperatures start to get down to around five

Celsius. Before we go, Frankel, the so`called

wonder horse has become a father. Frankel, who is based in Newmarket,

was unbeaten in 14 races. His first foal ` a bay colt ` was born in

Ireland on Saturday. The bookmakers are already offering odds of 40`1

that he will one day wind the 2,000 Guineas at Newmarket and follow in

his father's footsteps. Watch this space. Join us at

10:30pm. Goodbye.