12/01/2017 Look East (West)

Coming up in the programme tonight: Preparing for winter to bite,

as rain, snow and high winds are forecast, with concerns over

They joked about hiding a body - the brother of an author found dead

at her home gives evidence at her partner's murder trial.

Milton Keynes at 50 - celebrations get under way

And I'm here in Chatteris, as these bronze-age treasures go on display.

First tonight, a wave of heavy rain is currently

passing across the region, and in several places

Continuing cold conditions overnight, with the possibility

of ice and more snow, means warnings of potential travel

Councils and highways authorities have spent

the day trying to prepare for an ever-changing

Stuart Ratcliffe has been out with the gritters.

This is the scene at highways depots across the region,

as teams prepare for the white stuff, forecast for both tonight

Each truck does approximately about 50 miles.

We have 36 dedicated gritters for the highway

and one that goes down our guided busway network.

We've also got some quad bikes that do the cycleways

Teams have already been out on one gritting run.

They will be out on the road began before dawn.

There are around 3,000 tonnes of gritting salt here in this depot,

and across Cambridgeshire and there is around 8,000 tonnes in store.

They say that is enough to continually grit the county's

Now, four years ago, when we had a prolonged cold snap,

salt supplies ran critically low, but I'm told this time

the county is prepared for pretty much anything.

We have learnt our lessons from that, which is why we do this

salt stock level management system now,

so 8,000 tonnes is what we have in Cambridgeshire, and we keep it

And it is not only highways teams who have been on stand-by -

at Luton and Stansted Airports, they have well-rehearsed snow plans.

We have all the equipment on site that we need in the event of snow.

Our firefighters helped clear the runway.

Our operations team clear the taxiways, and the aprons,

and the passenger areas, to keep the operation

Back on the roads, and the concern now is ice.

If temperatures drop, wet roads will freeze,

and with the prospect of another band of snow overnight,

drivers on the road tomorrow morning are being warned

Well, our reporter Ben Ando is on the M1 in Bedfordshire.

as you can see the pain to me I think what we were told would be

snow again is turning in and here is turning into not snow. The snow has

stopped for an hour and a half and not settled on the carriageways.

That is a combination of the roads being gritted and the flow of

traffic keeping the area clear. There have been variable speed

limits on the M1 to stop the surging and bunching that can lead to

collisions, and there have been pinch points around junctions 11 and

12, some congestion on the A14, and snow causing problems in the area.

While things seem to be fine right now, the question is, what will

happen over? Heavy frost is predicted and there may be more snow

later on. Drivers who appear to be driving sensibly this evening are

being urged to take the same precautions in the morning if

conditions are bad. Thank you.

Next tonight, the brother of the murdered children's author

Helen Bailey has told a court how he heard Helen and her partner

Ian Stewart joke about an old well in their garage being a good place

He was giving evidence at the trial of Mr Stewart,

Helen Bailey's brother John, seen here on the left,

told the court his sister was an intelligent,

He said that while looking around Helen's Royston home in August 2013,

He said both she and the accused, Ian Stewart, were present,

and that there was some and instigated by Helen and that it

would be a good place to hide a body.

Three years later, her own body was discovered there.

The prosecution claimed Helen Bailey was sedated with sleeping pills

before being killed by partner Ian Stewart for her money.

John Bailey said that, after Helen went missing,

Ian Stewart told him Helen had left a note, saying she'd gone

to her house in Broadstairs and not to contact her.

John Bailey said Ian Stewart later told him he thought the note had

We heard Helen was not in Broadstairs, and when Ian Stewart

went to look he sent text messages to both John Bailey and Helen's

friend to say, maybe, just maybe, some of her clothes were missing.

John Bailey said that during that time, Ian Stewart

The jury also heard that Helen's close friend, Tracey Stratton,

said they often exchanged e-mails, most recently about wedding plans.

She said Helen and Ian had decided to get married in September 2016.

Ian Stewart denies murder, preventing a lawful burial,

fraud and perverting the course of justice.

The case will continue tomorrow, when the jury will be taken

Kate Bradbrook, BBC Look East at St Albans Crown Court.

Hospital accident and emergency departments in our region performed

worse in November on average than those across the rest of England.

The latest NHS figures published today show one in six patients

waited longer than the Government target of four hours. Our political

reporter has been looking at those figures and has more.

We've heard a lot about winter pressures on Accident Emergency

in the last few years, and heading into this winter,

the situation isn't looking any better.

The Government wants 95% of patients who show up at A to be treated,

admitted or discharged within four hours.

In November, nationally, only 88% of patients were dealt

And in our region, it was worse still, at just 8%.

And the picture has changed over time -

this graph looks at the figures for November in each

and from 2010 to 2013, the target was more or less being met,

but in 2014 and 2015, there was a significant

And last November it got worse again, with one in six emergency

The first is an increasing number of people going to A,

and there are a number of reasons for this,

including that they don't always know how to access primary care

services, particularly out of hours, and there are things that could be

But the greater problem is probably the increasing number of older

people who are sick and need to be admitted to hospital,

and the hospitals are having real difficulty getting people from A

into beds because the beds are just full.

And that problem, bed blocking, doesn't just affect older people.

Last August, Andrew Jameson from Northamptonshire

was diagnosed with throat cancer, and had an operation

But he ended up in hospital for longer than he needed.

He was in a bed that could have been used by someone else,

because the care was not in place for him to go home.

Andrew was in hospital for two and a half weeks extra

because he was waiting for funding, and then when they got

the funding they were waiting to get killers to come in.

It was frustrating for Andrew, because he obviously

needed to get home to, you know, try to recover.

So, how do the different hospitals in our region compare?

Well, right at the top of the list is the Luton Dunstable,

where 99% of patients are dealt with in four hours.

A few of our hospitals are just below the Government target,

while Hinchingbrooke, Addenbrooke's and Kettering

The worst-performing hospital is Peterborough,

where one in four patients waited longer than four hours.

Across our part of the region, 12,000 patients waited for longer

As ever, the NHS is asking people to ensure they only go

to hospital if their condition is a genuine emergency.

The new town of Milton Keynes is celebrating its 50th

There'll be celebrations through the year, and they're

getting under way tonight in Middleton Hall in Centre MK,

where an exhibition illustrating MK's history has gone on display.

Centre MK is a big part of Milton Keynes history. This shopping centre

is a grade two listed. It is fitting to have an exhibition here to

celebrate the half-century. We will learn more about that any second,

but first a short film to you a flavour of Milton Keynes.

A wonderful name for a lovely village,

Milton Keynes, once not much bigger than a hamlet -

it's the name given to one of the largest new town projects not

Designed in the '60s, building began in the '70s.

Originally six miles by ten, a new town built

It is famed for its roundabouts and red bricks and more

than 100 miles of pathway for pedestrians and cyclists.

People were encouraged to move to a place where they'd find

everything they needed - space, parks, an easy commute.

Originally, buildings promised to be no higher the tallest tree.

Lee Shostak, a town planner in the States, helped plan MK.

For the people that chose to make their lives here,

and the companies that chose to move here, for the investors who chose

to make their investments here, the city has been successful.

50 years on, it's now one of the fastest-growing towns

in the country, home to more than 10,000 businesses.

A place where you will find sport, innovation, leisure...

But, with its population expected to rise to more than 300,000

in the next ten years, this town with ambitions to become

a city faces challenges - housing, health care and transport.

What will the next half-century bring?

OK, look at this. 1982, there is Centre MK, where we are. Look at all

of this empty space, which has all been built on now. Look over here,

1980. Look at the caption here on this advert. This is the Fenton

family and this is what they did. They lived in that house for ten

years. This is Ian Fenton, four years old in that picture. He is now

14 years old. -- he is 40 years old. I remember my brother and I playing

outside and when they took the photo of me and my family. I did not know

what it was for. It went everywhere?

Yes, London Tube stations, e-mail and radio Times.

It had prayed and place in the exhibition celebration.

It is amazing. An amazing city... It was amazing growing up here.

You stayed here and you work here. What has it been like?

Amazing, it really is. I go to the local football, Milton Keynes dons,

and I have worked here all my life. I have good friends here and

recently got married here. It is a good place.

What does the 50th mean to you? The 50th... I can't put it into

words because it is an amazing and brilliant place.

They keep talking to us. We will have more on these celebrations.

I'm afraid we have lost the microphone there but he is inside

and warm. We will have a full weather forecast later in the

programme as the snow moves along our region. You can keep up with

weather and travel news in the morning on BBC local radio station

from 6am. For now, that's it from me. I pass you over. Bye-bye.

on the eve of the World Indoor Bowls Competition.

And a rare glimpse at how life was lived 3,000 years ago.

If you travel to work by train, how was your journey today?

Did you get a seat, was the service on time and is there anything

Some believe the best way to improve the railways is to bring them back

The Green MP, Caroline Lucas, who is also joint leader

of the party, is trying to get that done.

Tonight, she's at a meeting in Norwich.

But first, this from Andrew Sinclair.

With new franchises and new rolling stock on the way, there are signs

that things are improving on the railways in the region. And topped

to hardened commuters like these at Ipswich this morning and there is

still a lot of unhappiness. Trains constantly late, delayed. It is

hard. We have had a patchy service whatever the franchise. The

confusion between different ticketing rates is really bad. And a

lot of support from renationalise Asian. I would like that. At the

moment things are not going as they should be going. If passenger train

is full of computers -- commuters... This is our British rail liked to

sell itself in the 80s but the reality for passengers was

different, with old rolling stock and poor punctuality. The then MP

for South Norfolk and Transport Secretary was one of the early

advocate of privatisation. We have seen it happen in other injuries

were -- industries were when you break away from the monolithic

structure, you see big improvements. The result? Dozens of different

companies running our trains. Supporters of privatisation say they

have brought with them millions of pounds of investment, which the

public purse could never have afforded. There two key benefits.

The train operating companies are taking the risk. There is

significant investment in our array line which we would not have seen

otherwise. Over ?1 billion of new investment. Critics say the

companies have been slow to make that investment and they point to

the brief re-nationalisation of the East Coast line as proof that public

ownership can work. Labour is also against privatisation. The local MP,

Clive Lewis, will be at the meeting tonight. How much the public behind

the campaign? Both parties made this a big issue at the last election and

it didn't seem to win them many volts. -- volts.

If it went back into public ownership, how would you pay to run

it? First of all, let's be clear about the proposal. It isn't that

overnight we were to take all the rail franchises back. If you were to

do that it would be costly. What we suggest is that as the different

franchises come up renewal, or if a contract is broken, at that point

they are brought back into public ownership. To be honest, you would

actually save money as a result. A fragmented rail service is a costly

one. There are a couple of hundred people employed trying to work out

which rail company is responsible from which bit of a delay when you

are laid. Around ?1 billion could be saved by not having a fragmented

system. Already the taxpayer is paying huge amounts. Let's keep that

money into the system rather than have it siphoned off. Sometimes, you

take the line here, 3.7 billion pounds is going in. Page to the

government. The government is not paying them. That is money they

wouldn't get? If you look over all you will see there is more money

going in from the government in a privatised system than there was

even in real terms in the three years of to privatisation. We need

to challenge this idea that the current system is economically

sensible. Anybody you have been talking to on your programme will

tell you the phrase in this country has some of the most expensive in

Europe. The services we get are some of the worst. It has been a policy

of yours and labour. Neither of you seem to get any volts? Over a

million people voted Green of the last election. People vote on a

range of issues, not just on returning railing to public

ownership. Every there is a on that issue, a majority of people

recognise that they would be better off under public ownership. This is

not a dewy eyed reflection of what British rail was like. That was not

perfect. We are looking at some of the modern rail systems in other

parts of Europe which are cheaper and more effective. Return to those

Julie eyed dated -- days, and the reason they got rid of it was they

couldn't afford to invest in it, wasn't it? I think they got rid of

it because that was the ideological visitation of the Conservative Party

then and now. More money is going in from the government into the rail

system now than before privatisation. It is not the case

the private companies have brought in lots of fresh investment. A

thousand new carriages over this franchise in this region? The

government is continuing to put money into the rail system, as are

the passengers. I can challenge you on the overall rail system. More

money is going in now after privatisation, from the government,

that is going on before. A lot of that money is being siphoned off to

the shareholders. We have the irony that there is state involvement in

the rail system. The irony is it the state system from Holland, Germany,

France, these people are investing in our railways, and the profit our

passengers are putting in goes back to those countries. It makes no

sense at all. Thank you. It's the start of the World Indoor

Bowls Championship at Potters resort This year, the reigning champions

in both the men and the women's Norfolk by the coast in January,

always cold but also the guarantee of top-class sport. The world in the

's returns to Potters for a 19th successive year. -- the World Indoor

Bowls Championship. And two Cambridge players are hoping for a

successful defence. It is a hotbed of talent and there are lots of

strong players within the country. It started with Greg Harlow. He has

been great to Nikki and I over the years. So yes, it is good. We have

other national players as well. The world number one. The world title

had always eluded him, until last year. The game is a blur. I remember

a couple of bowls here and there. This is what dreams are made of. I

was fortunate enough last year to win my first world title. It means

the world. Whatever sport you play, whatever your chosen sport, to be

world champion doesn't get any better. Ellen was back on the carpet

today getting a feel for it. She is now a three-time world champion. She

beat Rebecca Field in the final. It is a really special place to play.

Everybody wants to play here. It is on everyone's bucket list. If you

are lucky enough to win the title, it is a memory that will stay with

you forever. Can you defend it? Any player is capable of winning it.

Everybody is of such a high calibre. It is about playing the big bowls at

the right time and hoping things go your way. Time will tell. I will be

trying four times as hard as last year. We will see in the next couple

of weeks. The Championship starts tomorrow with the pairs. Both have

some down time before the singles. But for any bowler, there is no

better place to be them by the seaside.

Some of the discoveries from one of the most important historical

sites ever found in Britain have gone on display to the public.

The site at Must Farm has been described as

This is the site where it appears the homes

were abandoned very suddenly because of a catastrophic fire.

Archaeologists even found food left in bowls.

So Must Farm can tell us a lot about everyday life 3,000 years ago.

Today in Chatteris, people got to have a look for themselves.

The aura of coming face-to-face with a way of life 3000 years old,

preserved in incredible detail and pulling in the crowds. From a bowl

still containing food residue, to individual fish scales. I think it

is fascinating. I love the fact they have a whole village for us to see.

It's marvellous to have so much here. Wonderful. It is very good to

have this here in Chatteris so people know their background and

where they come from. The artefacts have been found in Whittlesea just

outside Peterborough. In the late Bronze Age, five wooden homes on

stilts stood here above a river. But a devastating fire caused them to

collapse into the water. It is thought those living there had to

leave everything behind, which survived in the silt. A lot of the

things we are finding, they are the best examples in England or Europe

in many cases. It is a snapshot of a moment, a day in the life of the

people. This is just a tiny sample of the artefacts discovered. Most

are now undergoing complex scientific analysis. One of the most

exciting things is an analysis of the food crusts found inside a lot

of the pots. We will do a variety of different techniques on those to

reconstruct what the meals were that were being eaten at the time of the

fire. What is unique about this visit is the local museum... You can

see the similarities with the one that was recently excavated. Today

there have been reunited. The archaeologists invited here by

Chatteris Museum to allow local people to travel back in time to a

community we now know used a sickle to harvest crops, and eight Pike for

one of theirs -- their last meals. I just find that fascinating. So

much to learn. And we shall learn about the weather now.

Lots of wintry weather to content with. Sleet and snow settling across

the region. A couple of photographs have just come in. A couple of

scenes in Essex. You can see that snow has settled there in the last

30 minutes. It has all slowed down a little bit. An area of low pressure

has brought heavy rain. The Met office has issued a weather warning

for our part of the country for snow and ice. Ice will be a major hazard

as temperatures fall away. This is the area of low pressure

responsible. It has brought outbreaks across the region today.

That rain has turned heavier. It is being undercut by a cold blast of

dried Arctic air. Those temperatures are plummeting. This was the last

couple of hours. It is mainly falling as rain are fewer hours ago.

It is now turning to sleet and snow. It is possible we will get some

accumulations. Initially it is falling on wet ground, so not really

settling. Some accumulation is our already in evidence. As we go

through the night, further accumulation is possible. It does

clear eastwards by the end of the night. The major hazard for tonight

will be ice. Temperatures are expected to get below freezing. It

will be a hazard on untreated surfaces. A brisk wind from the

north-west. That would be a feature of the weather tomorrow. That will

bring some hazards, particularly for coastal areas. Low pressure coming

down from the North. That is likely to bring some snow showers to

Eastern counties, Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex, during rush hour. Also, a

strong north-westerly wind developing, near gale force, on the

coast. That is likely to coincide with high tide. We have a Met Office

yellow warning out for wind through tomorrow. Those winds could peak of

around 50 mph gusts, peaking around lunchtime and into the afternoon.

They will also coincide with those high tides on coastal areas in Essex

and Suffolk. A bitterly cold day. So many things to content with. Three

or four Celsius our high. The winds easing as we get to the end of the

day. Eventually it does start to calm down. A lot of dry and bright

weather tomorrow. Snow showers in the north-east. Another cold night.

As we look ahead, high pressure building in. Slightly less cold by

the end of the weekend and slightly more calm conditions. Here is the

outlook. Cold for the next few days. Strong winds, sleet, snow, ice.

The full set! Don't forget you can keep up to date

on all the latest developments with the weather and travel

situation by listening to your BBC local radio station and checking

out your local BBC website. Thanks for your company. See you

tomorrow. ..and keep telling yourself

over and over, "This will end." Ladies and gentlemen,

the bride and groom. So what if I forgot

our poxy anniversary? Er, I think this year

was copper. 14th is poxy. Marriage is a marathon,

not a sprint. Like a marathon,

you have to keep on going... ..drink as much as you can... Please

tell me you can see them, too. ..and keep telling yourself

over and over, "This will end." Ladies and gentlemen,

the bride and groom. Bring on the boys.

Potential is massive with you.