13/02/2017 Look East (West)

Bosses say the living wage is squeezing middle-earners.

After a wintry weekend, some milder weather in the forecast for the week

ahead. Anxiety, depression,

personality disorders - mental health problems can develop

in many ways. The challenge is how to treat

a rising number of people arriving at the region's under-pressure A

wanting psychiatric care. Last year more than 2000 people went

to Luton and Dunstable's emergency department

with mental health issues. More than 1100 arrived

at Kettering's A But Northamptonshire is finding

new places to provide mental health It usually gets a bit busier

during the later part of the week - On patrol - Nathan, a psychiatric

nurse, and Ashley, a PC. An emergency triage vehicle running

in Northampton seven days, The aim, to treat people with mental

health problems where they are, We help people who are sadly

suicidal, people who have severe alcohol or drug problems,

who have come into contact with the police for a variety

of reasons, who the police really After suicidal thoughts,

Duncan sought help from his doctor. After treatment, living

at this crisis house, But beforehand, going to an A

elsewhere in the country, After a long wait, I got

to see a psychiatrist. He questioned me a lot,

but at the end of it, made me feel like I didn't really

need to be there. It was a busy accident and

emergency, a lot of people there. He almost sort of convinced me that

I shouldn't really be there. The crisis house, run

by Northamptonshire's NHS Trust. There is an increase in access

for services, but also, we've had more services,

we've thought of doing things in different ways,

which will increase access, which is a positive thing

for our local community. And what we're doing with that

increase in demand is looking at providing things in the community

that are closer to people, meets their needs, where they are,

rather than coming into hospital. And this service,

new in Northampton - a crisis cafe, where people worried

about their mental But funding for the cafe only

lasting until March. We're very much, I think,

at the prevention end of things, so, working with people before they get

too far into a full-blown crisis. It's often a much more

cost-effective alternative to come here than it would be to sit

at accident and emergency. Depression, anxiety,

personality disorders. Mental health problems

appear in many guises. The challenge for an NHS under

pressure is how and where to care The man on trial for murdering

children's author Helen Bailey has been accused of basing his

descriptions of her kidnappers on two friends -

who were then brought Ian Stewart claims his fiancee

was taken by two thugs He himself denies drugging

and killing Helen, before hiding her body in a cesspit

under their Royston home. Ian Stewart claims Helen Bailey

was kidnapped and killed by two The court heard they were business

associates of Helen's late And according to Ian Stewart,

Joe had a foreign accent Today, two men also called Nick and

Joe were brought before the court. The jury heard Nick Cook

was Ian Stewart's former next-door neighbour from Bassingbourn,

and that Joe Cippullo, who was Asked by prosecutor

Stuart Trimmer... Helen Bailey's body was found

in a cesspit under her home in Royston, along with her dog,

Boris. They were discovered three

months after she went Ian Stewart had claimed his fiancee

left a note saying she needed time and space and had gone

to her cottage in Broadstairs. The court heard there had been a sea

change in Ian Stewart's account of events in December last year,

when he first mentioned Mr Stewart told the court he had

been protecting Helen and dog Boris. He said he was also concerned

about the safety of his sons, Jamie and Oliver, and told the court

the two men had Prosecutor Stuart Trimmer told

Ian Stewart, "This is all fantasy." To which he replied,

"I wish it was, in many ways." Ian Stewart was asked why,

when he was arrested, He said he'd been advised not

to speak by his solicitor. He also said at times his mind

was confused and he thought He said he was also worried

about Helen and wanted to protect Put to him that this was all

a figment of his imagination, Ian Stewart denies all

the charges against him. A man's been found guilty of killing

a traveller in Bedfordshire Patrick Maloney was killed

at the Toddbury Farm travellers site in Little Billington

near Leighton Buzzard 22-year-old Christopher McCarthy

and his older brother Thomas drove into the site to fight Mr Maloney -

but told Luton Crown Court Christopher McCarthy

was convicted of manslaughter. The family of missing airman

Corrie McKeague will be taken to the landfill site near Cambridge,

where a major search Suffolk Police are focusing

on the site at Milton, where waste from Bury St Edmunds

was taken around the time Employers in the region say rises

in the minimum wage or national living wage are putting the squeeze

on workers in the middle The rates currently range from ?3.87

for people under 18, rising to ?7.20 for those

25 and over. And employers say more experienced

staff are losing out. Playlanders playgroup

in Cambridge is a happy place But money worries mean

its future is uncertain. All the staff receive the minimum

wage, currently ?7.20 an hour. Even before the increase,

staff are carrying out We're only surviving

because of staff goodwill. They undertake extra duties

that they are not paid for, such as writing reports,

attending staff meetings, going on training,

and we can't pay them for it. They should be rewarded

for what they do. The fact that the minimum wage has

been rising above inflation also means that staff with extra

responsibility are The deputy manager, who has worked

in the sector for 15 years, is paid There's no way we can afford

here for us to be able to pay me I'm not in the job for the money,

but it just would be nice to get When the minimum wage

was introduced 18 years ago, only one in 50 employees

was paid it. By 2020, though, it's reckoned one

in nine people will be on it. The erosion of pay differentials

is becoming a real issue in lots of different industries,

from childcare to retail, This firm in West Norfolk

processes vegetables for the major supermarkets,

employing 100 people. The living wage has come in,

which has been very good for those on the bottom of our wage scale,

but it has then squeezed everybody else, because we have managers,

supervisors, technical quality people throughout the factory,

and we can't match the percentages that come in with the living wage

for everybody within the business. Well, employers say it's becoming

very challenging to fill supervisory and technical roles -

the sort of jobs crucial Richard Bond, BBC

Look East, Norfolk. I'll leave you with the weather

for the week ahead, with Julie. Well, it's a dry night

ahead and largely clear. Under these clear skies we could see

temperatures falling a little lower than these values,

down to around freezing Out of the wind we could get

a touch of frost, but that Tomorrow, this front pushing

in from the south-west, Fine and dry with spells

of sunshine, although eventually we'll see thicker cloud pushing

in from the south-west. As we head into the evening we may

just see the thickest cloud On Wednesday, it's a little

uncertain what this front It looks like we'll have some

fine and dry weather. There's a good chance it

will go over the top of us. Thursday, it looks like high

pressure will be in charge. It should be largely fine and dry,

although the thickest cloud may For many of us a dry and quite mild

day, with temperatures On Friday as well I think it

will be largely dry, although we can't rule out a few

spots of rain in places, and again, for some of us,

temperatures into the low 50s I'll leave you with

the outlook for next weekend. It should be largely dry, some light

winds and some spells of sunshine. But again, any thicker cloud may

just produce a few spots at the weekend it will be mild.

Largely dry, perhaps