:00:00. > :00:00.Specials in decline - the police force struggling
:00:00. > :00:08.The father of missing airman Corrie McKeague keeps vigil,
:00:09. > :00:12.as the search for his son's body continues.
:00:13. > :00:15.And temperatures are hotting up for the weekend.
:00:16. > :00:29.First, the police force struggling to recruit
:00:30. > :00:34.Specials have the same legal powers as regular officers,
:00:35. > :00:38.Northamptonshire Police is short of them.
:00:39. > :00:41.The previous Police and Crime Commissioner set
:00:42. > :00:49.The current PCC reduced that to 600, but they have only got 377 Specials,
:00:50. > :00:52.with more than 20 a month leaving over the past year.
:00:53. > :00:56.I will, to the best of my skill and knowledge...
:00:57. > :01:00.This is our ceremony where newly-qualified
:01:01. > :01:04.This was at the height of the force's campaign
:01:05. > :01:07.to recruit up to 900 Specials, but the force came
:01:08. > :01:14.Well, the new Commissioner says some some simply weren't up to the job,
:01:15. > :01:17.some went on to become full-time officers, but many decided it
:01:18. > :01:24.But actually, higher quality, rather than just higher quantity.
:01:25. > :01:28.You know, we are upwards of nearly 400 and the highest,
:01:29. > :01:32.in the East Midlands I think, Lincs, Leicester and Notts,
:01:33. > :01:35.they have just over 200, so in terms of percentage to force,
:01:36. > :01:40.Obviously, the key for us is the number of hours that
:01:41. > :01:42.are actually deployed across the year and that
:01:43. > :01:47.But in terms of investment, the loss of Special
:01:48. > :01:52.The admin fee to recruit each special was ?120.
:01:53. > :01:57.260 have left, leaving Northants Police with a bill of over
:01:58. > :02:03.?31,000, but that doesn't include the training or uniform cost.
:02:04. > :02:09.On top of that, the force spent a further ?42,000
:02:10. > :02:15.One Special Constable contacted BBC Northampton's Facebook page to say
:02:16. > :02:17.the lack of help and support within the force for Specials
:02:18. > :02:23.Here in Northampton Market, there was genuine support
:02:24. > :02:26.for the Specials, but a recognition that as an unpaid role,
:02:27. > :02:33.I should imagine that they start off, yes, full of enthusiasm and get
:02:34. > :02:35.delusioned and move on, to be honest.
:02:36. > :02:39.They probably get a little bit lambasted at times because people
:02:40. > :02:42.don't think they have the authority, perhaps, that we think
:02:43. > :02:48.I think they do a good service because they volunteer
:02:49. > :02:54.So, yeah, my Mum used to know somebody who did that, so, yeah,
:02:55. > :02:59.The only thing that's disappointing is the fact that we have to have
:03:00. > :03:01.them instead of the police getting paid a decent wage.
:03:02. > :03:05.If they were paid a decent wage then you wouldn't have the need for them,
:03:06. > :03:10.One thing the Police and Crime Commissioner is clear
:03:11. > :03:14.on is that the fall in the number of Specials hasn't affected
:03:15. > :03:18.the quality or standard of policing and says efforts are now being made
:03:19. > :03:21.again to recruit more staff, including front line officers,
:03:22. > :03:30.So, how does Northamptonshire compare to the rest of the region?
:03:31. > :03:35.Here's our Political reporter Mousumi Bakshi.
:03:36. > :03:38.According to the Home Office, both Hertfordshire and Cambridgeshire
:03:39. > :03:40.police forces had 258 Specials last year.
:03:41. > :03:45.In contrast, Northamptonshire Police had a staggering 722 Specials
:03:46. > :03:53.Specials are a huge asset to police forces coming
:03:54. > :03:59.They may be unpaid volunteers, but they have full policing powers.
:04:00. > :04:02.They can arrest people and fulfil the very public need to see
:04:03. > :04:06.In Scotland, some companies have begun to offer employees time off
:04:07. > :04:09.to work as Special Constables - one way, at least,
:04:10. > :04:22.There's more on that story on the BBC Northamptonshire website.
:04:23. > :04:25.The father of missing airman Corrie McKeague has told Look East
:04:26. > :04:27.he will maintain his vigil at a landfill until his
:04:28. > :04:34.Police think Corrie somehow ended up in a bin lorry
:04:35. > :04:40.Officers have been searching the waste site in Cambridgeshire
:04:41. > :04:46.Every day for a fortnight, Martin McKeague and his wife,
:04:47. > :04:48.Tricia, have been camped-up in this lay-by, a stone's throw
:04:49. > :04:54.He's been to the site five times now, mindful that at any
:04:55. > :04:57.moment his son's remains may be recovered.
:04:58. > :05:03.Every time that excavator picks up a load and lays it out,
:05:04. > :05:06.there's every chance that that's the one that could
:05:07. > :05:18.Today, Corrie's mother shared this video of the airmen from Scotland.
:05:19. > :05:20.He is based at RAF Honington in Suffolk.
:05:21. > :05:22.The 23-year-old disappeared in Bury St Edmunds last September.
:05:23. > :05:26.Suffolk Police are now convinced that he ended up in a commercial bin
:05:27. > :05:31.and was then transported to the landfill near Cambridge.
:05:32. > :05:33.Why are you putting yourself through this, visiting this five
:05:34. > :05:40.And there's every possibility that Corrie's there.
:05:41. > :05:47.Police were criticised for not searching the landfill sooner,
:05:48. > :05:50.but at the time they were mistakenly told that the bin weighed
:05:51. > :05:55.It was, in fact, heavy enough to contain a body.
:05:56. > :05:58.Martin McKeague says the police could not have done more.
:05:59. > :06:01.The McKeague family back in Scotland, that is supporting us,
:06:02. > :06:04.cannot thank Suffolk and Norfolk Police enough
:06:05. > :06:07.and what they have done to try and find Corrie.
:06:08. > :06:10.You don't feel this landfill could have been searched far sooner?
:06:11. > :06:13.This could not have been done sooner.
:06:14. > :06:15.1,500 tonnes of waste have been sifted so far,
:06:16. > :06:19.but the search could last another five weeks.
:06:20. > :06:21.While Martin McKeague keeps his vigil here,
:06:22. > :06:24.Corrie's mother, Nicola Urquhart, and her two other sons haven't
:06:25. > :06:28.They say, for them, the experience would be too distressing.
:06:29. > :06:31.However, since this search started almost five weeks ago,
:06:32. > :06:36.they have been staying in the local area almost every day.
:06:37. > :06:39.All Corrie McKeague's family can do now is wait.
:06:40. > :06:41.Their agony compounded by the knowledge that
:06:42. > :06:43.if his remains are found, they may never know how
:06:44. > :06:53.The centre of Flitwick, in Bedfordshire, could be
:06:54. > :06:55.transformed if plans released by the council get the go-ahead.
:06:56. > :06:58.The scheme includes new flats, a new supermarket and a new
:06:59. > :07:00.transport interchange on a brownfield site next
:07:01. > :07:05.Central Bedfordshire Council says the project would create
:07:06. > :07:14.The plans will go out to consultation in the summer.
:07:15. > :07:17.?10 million is being invested in a new cancer therapy centre
:07:18. > :07:21.The centre will cost ?15 million in total.
:07:22. > :07:25.The 24-bed facility will bring together all the different cancer
:07:26. > :07:29.The hospital has already received ?2 million from the charity Macmillan,
:07:30. > :07:34.so 80% of the funding has been found.
:07:35. > :07:38.It may not have the money of the big London galleries,
:07:39. > :07:41.but Kettering Museum and Art Gallery is making the most of what it s got.
:07:42. > :07:44.It has been nominated for a national award for the best low budget
:07:45. > :07:48.exhibition for its novel way of displaying of local art.
:07:49. > :07:56.Built in 1913, the Alfred East Art Gallery in Kettering,
:07:57. > :07:59.named after the man whose bequest enabled the construction of this
:08:00. > :08:04.Now the gallery has much less cash to play with.
:08:05. > :08:08.An exhibition held here earlier in the year,
:08:09. > :08:11.making use of ribbon to show the connection between local
:08:12. > :08:14.artists past and present, has just been nominated for an award
:08:15. > :08:20.We are part of local government, so we are part
:08:21. > :08:23.of Kettering Borough Council, so all of our exhibitions have to be
:08:24. > :08:27.But the only real thing that we spent money on was our
:08:28. > :08:32.It was quite intricate in its design and so we got external designers
:08:33. > :08:38.to come in and do all of our panels and information boards.
:08:39. > :08:43.And for artists living in the town, it's essential.
:08:44. > :08:45.The gallery is an important part of Kettering, an important part
:08:46. > :08:49.of the local artist's life, because if they actually
:08:50. > :08:53.want to exhibit their work, this is the only part of the county
:08:54. > :08:57.All the exhibitions are superb for local artists.
:08:58. > :09:02.And now the gallery has a new exhibition where anyone can
:09:03. > :09:10.The only criteria - it needs to fill this space.
:09:11. > :09:14.The reasons for wanting a spot on the wall varied.
:09:15. > :09:16.This is the second year that we have submitted
:09:17. > :09:20.work from our school, Friar's Academy.
:09:21. > :09:22.It's a school for children with special educational needs
:09:23. > :09:25.and it's absolutely wonderful for them to be able to do
:09:26. > :09:29.some artwork and have it displayed in a public space.
:09:30. > :09:33.A nice chance to sort of get my work at an open exhibition and get
:09:34. > :09:35.seen by people and maybe get some feedback.
:09:36. > :09:38.I am an artist that has not been taught, I taught myself,
:09:39. > :09:40.and they really encourage you here to have a go
:09:41. > :09:46.This gallery has positioned itself at the heart of the community.
:09:47. > :09:53.It will find out if it has won that national award next month.
:09:54. > :09:55.That's all from the late team here in Cambridge.
:09:56. > :10:02.We'll leave you now with the forecast from Alex.
:10:03. > :10:06.There was lots of fine Spring sunshine across the region today.
:10:07. > :10:08.A little bit cool in the north-westerly wind,
:10:09. > :10:11.but by the weekend the southerly wind is going to bring us much
:10:12. > :10:15.For the moment, we have clear skies across a lot of the region.
:10:16. > :10:17.There will be some patchy cloud coming and going at times,
:10:18. > :10:20.but it is possible that temperatures could drop low enough
:10:21. > :10:23.for a touch of ground frost in one or two places.
:10:24. > :10:25.Tomorrow, we still have high pressure right over the top
:10:26. > :10:28.and that is going to bring us some more fine Spring weather.
:10:29. > :10:30.It may just turn a little bit cloudy at times,
:10:31. > :10:33.but we are expecting a bright start with some good spells of sunshine.
:10:34. > :10:37.Some patchy cloud coming and going, so it may just become a little bit
:10:38. > :10:39.overcast here and there, but some good spells of sunshine
:10:40. > :10:42.expected and temperatures likely to get to around 14 or 15 degrees.
:10:43. > :10:44.We've still got that north-westerly wind,
:10:45. > :10:48.so it will certainly feel a little bit cooler in the wind.
:10:49. > :10:50.The national weather is coming up, but here's the outlook.
:10:51. > :10:53.Into the weekend, we get the southerly wind and that is
:10:54. > :10:56.going to bring in dryer, clearer air, so lots of sunshine
:10:57. > :11:01.around and temperatures could peak at 20 degrees.
:11:02. > :11:07.to rise into the weekend. We'll see 22 Celsius on Sunday.
:11:08. > :11:14.Hello. There was some warm sunshine around today, but it's set to get
:11:15. > :11:18.even warmer this weekend. 18 Celsius in London this afternoon. This was
:11:19. > :11:23.the scene in Chiswick, much quieter than it was on Sunday for the boat
:11:24. > :11:26.race. Under the cloud for example here in Cumbria, temperatures
:11:27. > :11:30.struggled to make double figures. Through the night we're going to
:11:31. > :11:31.hang onto a lot of cloud across north-west England, North Wales,
:11:32. > :11:32.Northern