21/03/2017 Look East

Hello and welcome to Look East. news teams where you are.

In the programme tonight: a warning over the dangers of customising cars

The message today is even if you think you know

Our Brexit Mini swaps the road for the runway as we ask how Budget

airlines might get on outside the European Union.

Smartening up the seafront at Lowestoft.

The former fashion designer determined to knock heads together.

First tonight, a warning about the dangers

of customising cars after an apprentice engineer

Thomas Putt worked for Ford in Essex.

that he died in the driving seat with his friend Nikki Willis sitting

Both had been overcome by exhaust fumes

pumped into the car Via a heating system and vents

Well, Thomas Putt and Nikki Willis were parked up on a Sunday evening,

a few yards from where Nikki lived. They had the heater on, the engine

running, perhaps they sat chatting. The heater was on to keep them warm

on a cold December night. A neighbour thought it strange that

the engine was running and the car's lights were on, all through the

night and it wasn't until the following morning that Tom and

Nikki's bodies were discovered. Police were mystified when two young

friends were found dead in a car parked on a street in Chelmsford.

The Ford Fiesta ST was Thomas Putt 's. Police discovered he had turned

the car into a deathtrap by customising it. He removed the

catalytic converter which makes it less toxic and that left a small gap

between the exhaust system and engine and exhaust fumes were

leaking through that gap and they were coming up through the engine.

Now what he'd also done was, in his bonnet, he had put two vents, vents

designed to improve the engine's performance by keeping it cooler but

those exhaust fumes, leaking up through the bonnet, were coming

through those vents. He had the car's heater on because it was

December. The heater's intake is just below the windscreen wipers,

but instead of sucking in fresh air, the heater was sucking in the

exhaust fumes, leaking through the vents. Postmortem examinations found

Tom and his passenger, Nikki Willis, died from inhaling fumes, including

carbon monoxide. Miss Willis' parents were among the family

members at this morning's inquest, where a coroner concluded that the

young friends both died as the result of an accident. After the

hearing, police said modifying cars has inherent dangers Tom was not

inexperienced. He was an apprentice at Ford and had carried out lots of

repairs on his vehicle. The message today is - even if you think you

know what you are doing, have your vehicle checked. There can be

unintended consequences of modifying your vehicle I urge anybody who's

carried out modifications on your vehicle, to have your work checked

by a qualified mechanic at a certified garage. The corered said

they both had bright futures and expressed her sympathy to their

families in what she described as tragic circumstances.

Essex police, with the support of both families and also the support

of Ford UK, say they are now determined to get the message out to

car enthusiasts, if your car's been modified, make absolutely sure it's

been done properly. Thank you. Customising cars has become a huge

craze in recent years. Thousands of people enjoy tweaking

their cars to make them look good, Kevin Burch has been

talking to the experts. Few people know more

about the complex inner workings of an exhaust, than the team

at Demand Engineering. Based at Stonham Aspel in Suffolk,

what they design and produce ends Made for performance cars,

classic car, even aircraft. But what happens at the other end

of the scale worries them deeply. We see some very interesting

repairs, home modifications Relatives, for instance,

have suggested they can do it Quite often the perception

of what the customer has is that it is very expensive

to have a custom exhaust made and they want to modify it

themselves and they don't necessarily do that

in the safest fashion. Car modification at this rally

in Southend at the weekend proved Thousands of them spending

thousandses on distinctive touches and a distinctive tone

but on the exhaustion, matching old and new especially,

if the fittings are cheaper, Now you've got to try to get those

to marry up, crawling around underneath your car

on your driveway. Now if that isn't a good fit,

that's where you will get exhaust gas leak out and that's

where you will have problems. And then drivers will often

use a paste or wrapping Asking for trouble, when asking

for advice is all it takes. Designed by engineerings on a budget

of millions, modified by you. If you are going to work

on your own vehicle to modify it, You should never work with changing

the exhaust or the emissions. It is actually illegal anyway,

because by changing it to enhance performance,

you are actually changing Well, that's an old clamp

someone has grafted on. The phrase they hate it hear is -

it's only a piece of pipe. It isn't and they want every

driver, for their own A head teacher has been

talking about her decision to close the entire school

after an outbreak of norovirus. Christina Kenna had

Heartsease Primary deep cleaned before she re-opened

the doors today. In classroom it is business asker

usual but a stark contrast to last week when Heartsease Primary was

forced to close after an outbreak of norovirus. More than 70 children

showed symptoms and the school said it was left with little choice. It

was getting to very high numbers and children were coming down every five

minutes. It was getting to more of an epidemic-type thing rather than

single children and some more parents were more negative but most

supported us. We are very happy. They saw the clangic of keeping

children off for 48 hours. Stopping it getting out of hand. Professional

teams carried out Express stonesive cleaning. Some toys were among the

items thrown away. Norovirus or winter vomiting bug is the most

common stomach bug in the country and as public health England

stresses, it's highly constageous and can affect people of all ages.

The advice is to clean contaminated surfaces thorough by and to wash

your hands with soap. It says hand gels are not effective. While some

parents found the closure of the school an inconvenience, many say it

was the right decision. I thought it was a really good idea to have the

school shut and to have it all cleaned thorough lane to give it

will 48 hours. The decision to shut the school obviously had to be done,

so these things spread like wildfire. The school took the right

precautions. Absolutely, shut it down, give it a good deep clean,

come back fresh. The school says it's now getting back to its usual

routine, with just 32 out of the 500 children off sick today.

Businesses in Lowestoft linked to the tourism industry have been

reacting today to a plan to redesign the seafront.

The council has brought in the designer Wayne Hemingway,

who made his name in fashion through his label 'Red Or Dead',

Even on a sunny day, this place looks tired.

The East Point pavilion, which has housed the cafe

and tourist information in the past is now empty.

Enter designer Wayne Hemingway who wants

Last night he met the great and the good to offer some advice.

It's not about money, he says, but about starting a groundswell

Because the big money is always slow.

It always piles in when it feels more confident but you've got to get

that groundswell of confidence going, and that normally comes

A number the local council, with Wayne Hemingway's design

The fact is that people have a lot of choices

about where they come on holiday, where they go to eat

and what they do when they get there, we've got to be

Hemingway has helped other seaside towns like Bridlington and Margate.

He's northerner who tells it like it is and he was

a bit brutal last night, but they loved him for it.

He did, yeah, but it's great, isn't it?

Someone like that with a design eye, constructive criticism,

comes in and says brutal things that needs to be said

and I think he's right in what he said, quite honestly.

Already people are coming forward with ideas.

Actor Dominic Taylor thinks the East Point pavilion could be

turned into a theatre for youth drama groups.

Sometimes you just need someone else.

You know, it is the old cliche, a fresh pair of eyes and also

We like to come to places like Lowestoft where there

is tremendous potential but yet it is unfulfilled potential.

If we can be part of that, well then you've done something

Wayne Hemingway will do some design in Lowestoft but it seems

like he is more like knocking heads together and providing inspiration.

A change that won't happen quickly, he said,

but in Wayne's world, change does happen.

You are watching Look East. Still to come: Peterborough gets ready to

honour two of its own, we'll speak to gymnast Louis Smith and rower

James Fox, live. First, the last in our series of

looking at what the region thinks of Brexit, nine months after we made

the decision to leave the European Union.

Over the last week or so, the Brexit mini has been wending

And our political reporters have been talking to a range of people

from scientists in Cambridge to tourist bosses

Tonight Simon Dedman is in Essex, reporting from the Olympic mountain

bike venue in Hadleigh, and the runway at Stansted.

The EU opened up the skies, blowing aviation regulation into thin air.

The boom in budget airlines took off, with Britain in the EU driving

Today, it can be cheaper to fly to Croatia than to get

7 million people travel via Stansted every year

The airport is lobbying Government to keep Britain in the EU

We are working very closely with Government, with our partners

to ensure that as part of the deal, that we ensure that there is open

The liberalisation of the aviation market over the last 25 years has

really spurred on the creation of airlines like

It is vital that the Government take this seriously and it's their number

one priority when it comes to discussions with

based on complex international agreements made by the EU,

There is real concern the industry will get grounded

Unless the Government actually comes out and tells

the industry what is happening, it's going to be very

expensive for all concerned and we are going to suffer.

Most airlines were against Britain leaving the EU.

Some even campaigned for Remain but recently Ryanair has said it

will still expand here at its main base adding more

But Brexit brings uncertainty and elsewhere airlines are waiting

to see what deal is struck with Europe over the skies.

But can we bring back that winning 2012 spirit,

Hadleigh held the mountain biking for the Olympics.

The facilities are still used today by the Olympians of tomorrow.

Last year this area had the largest Leave vote in the east.

The people of Castlepoint voted 74% for Brexit.

The bulldog spirit is strong here in South Essex but these local lads,

training for the top, are not all convinced about the direction

The people now don't want to leave but we have already

Your friends and family round here wanting actually to Remain?

Yeah, quite a lot of them have changed their mind actually.

Because there was the whole thing about money going to the NHS.

Now that that has come out that it is not going to happen.

Now people are saying - we should have voted to Remain

Britain normally has a way of getting by and finding

I know we're obviously talking to America and everything

So are you quite optimistic about the future?

Yeah, yeah, we always find a way of working things out.

That work begins now, as our journey ends.

The task of building Brexit Britain and renewing

relations beyond our shores is in the Prime Minister's

Vicky Ford is one of seven MEPs who represent the East of England.

Earlier she told me she'd talked to the chief Brexit

I asked what her priorities were when it came to this region.

I always had three priorities during the Brexit referendum

One of which is trying to make sure that the economic disruption

is as small as possible, which means trying to get that

long-term trade agreement between ourselves and the rest

The second was actually keeping access to science and research

because I believe passionately that we are better when we work with

We have world-leading science in this area.

Actually the Prime Minister's also put that as one

The third issue is just trying to keep this as peaceful

So what do you feel the mood is, because we hear a lot of tough talk

We're going to have a very intense two-year period.

I see that the majority of my colleagues from across Europe want

That's why they've just voted me back to chair the committee

that's looking at market access, for example.

They want to have an amicable, workable solution but there

are others who want to disrupt it for their own political gain.

So those of us who are in the centre need to try and keep very focussed

on the long-term stable strategic partnership between the EU

You're going to be briefing some of the MPs from this region tomorrow.

Will you tell them that you're optimistic about the future?

I think there's a huge amount to be done and we have a short

negotiators on both sides, that they both have a long-term

vision of where they want to land but there is an awful lot

of potential uncertainty on the way and that we from the UK,

in leadership roles, need to all get behind

and support the Prime Minister and the negotiators and try and help

show the solutions in these negotiations and that is

A special reception is being held in Peterborough tonight to honour

Gymnast Louis Smith, winner of four Olympic medals,

and gold medal winning Paralympic rower James Fox are being awarded

We'll speak to them both in a moment.

First a reminder of their achievements. His dazzling routine

have wowed the crowd for years. He has won countless medals, including

silver at Rio It means so much. I've been in the sport for two decades. I

don't know if it'll be my last Olympics. Doing that routine made me

so happy. An emotional journey for a man credited for rejuvenating his

sport. He became a national celebrity winning Strictly but then

was in the headline for the wrong regions, he had to visit mocks,

after he appeared to mock Islam I have let people down. It was a silly

moment. Also there stop the James Fox, three time World Champion and

now Paralympic gold medallist. The Paralympics is so special. Aged 1

#1, James' career began at Peterborough rowing club. Now he's

helping others reach their potential. Young guys need someone

to look up. If I can be a part of that, that would be incredible. Two

sporting heroes who've done Peterborough proud.

And Louis Smith and James Fox are at Peterborough Town Hall now.

Congratulations to the both of you. James what does it mean to you? Oh,

yes, it is incredible. It is a real honour to be privileged with the

freedom of the city. This is the city I grew up in. I went to school

here, was born here and lefrnt to row here. It is bringing me back to

my roots, which is great. Lewis for you, you have travelled the world

and been a star on both the television and gymnastics, what does

it mean for you. Well, Peterborough is home. This is where it all began,

where it all started. Where all my friends and family are. I have had

incredible support from Peterborough and to be given this award just

means an incredible lot to me. Do you get something special to go with

it, to show that you are who you are? Do you get something special?

I'm not sure yet, I'll tell you in an hour or two. I'm not sure what we

get given. Regardless, I think the principle is, we have been given

this award, you know, not just us but other people have sacrificed so

much to help us get so where we are and there's lots of flashing lights

and stuff going on but at the end of the day we are from Peterborough,

proud to be from Peterborough and I think Peterborough are proud of us,

too. James in a lot of other places you would be allowed to drive your

sheep through the centre of the city but you are not allowed to get that

there but it is something that will make you and your family proud? I

think it is an outrage. I wonder how much trouble I would get into if I

took a sheep across the town bridge anyway? No, it is amazing, an old

tradition. The freedom of the city is a massive thing. It is an honour

for anybody. For us, we do sport for a living, we do what we enjoy and it

is amazing to be recognised. My life's changed and I'm sure Louis's

has since we went to the Olympics and Paralympics. This is incredible.

You said in the film it is important people had somebody to look up to

and it is important to above the of you, isn't it? 100%. Speaking from

experience, it's not been easy growing up and sport has the ability

it change lives and I think if any of us can get kids into sport, keep

them in sport and kind of show what sport can do, then I think we're

both doing ourselves proud. You have done the city proud. Congratulations

to both of you. Thank you very much for being with us. Thank you for

having us. Thank you. And we should also mention

the paralympic basketball player Lee Manning,

who is also getting the Freedom of the City

but can't make Now think of what Luton has been

famous for over the years... The carnival, the Vauxhall

plant, the Airport. And - of course -

the Luton Girls Choir. The girls sang at the

Olympic Games in 1948. They sang all over the world

and they all paid 4 old pence a week

just to be a member. After 40 years of singing, the choir

folded in 1977 when the But now they have been reunited -

for a special occasion. They were expected to conduct

themselves Azam bass doers for Luton, conditions under choir master

Arthur Davies were strict. But the rewards were many. -- conduct

themselves as ambassadors. If we missed the bus we crept in so he

wouldn't see us. He thought we should be there on the dot. As

teenagers they foamed around the world. Two months in Australia and

one month in New Zealand. Absolutely wonderful Princess Alexandra was

there. She got back in her car and sat on the chauffeur's top hat. I'm

the little one in the front here. When we got through to the

passports, they didn't want to see them, we sang to them. I don't know

what we sang. Because I was born and bred in Luton, I had to go to this

singing teacher who would secure me of my Luton accent. Right I'm going

to show you some footage from 1961. Let's see if you remember this.

Look, there's me, Katrina. Oh, right. '61 Jill and Pamela, look.

Luton girls' choir, they've sung up and down the country, taken their

music abroad. Two years ago they made a three month tour of New

Zealand and Australia. We met the choir. Do you have much trouble

looking after them all? Non-whatsoever. The choir will be

performing at the reopening of the town's war museum in April.

Isn't that wonderful. There is nothing better than pointing out

people in an old photograph. I love it.

The weather now. Thank you very much. A chilly start

to the day but lots of fine weather across the region this morning. A

beautiful photograph showing Norwich cathedral behind me. Blue sky there.

There were showers as well. We'll continue to see some showers across

western counties. A double rainbow you might be able to make out in

Cambridgeshire this afternoon. The satellite image shows how cloud has

developed from the west. With that some fairly heavy showers, with one

or two reports of hail across counties such as Northamptonshire.

So the threat of those continues really for western counties, the

east staying largely dry. The trend will be for those showers to fade

through the evening and night. Across all areas, clear sky tonight,

so that will mean another chilly night. Temperatures widely down to

three or four. But locally we could get as low as one or two degrees in

some spots. The winds easing to a lot-to-moderate south-easterly.

There could be just a touch of frost to some of us first thing tomorrow

morning. It does look as though it'll be a bright start it the day.

But this is the pressure pattern, so some unsettled weather before we get

to fine weather later on in the week. Low pressure on the scene,

which will bring rain across all areas by the afternoon. It should be

a dray start for many of us, with good spells of sunshine. Quite a

keen south-easterly. Despite the sunshine it'll feel chilly in the

wind. You can see that area of rain, really an area of showery rain

crossing to the north-east during the afternoon, and there could be

some hail. There will be some showers following on behind. Some

could be on the heavy side. So with the wind and temperatures around

eight or nine, it'll feel quite cold but eventually those showers will

start to die away. Then we'll be on to another chillyish night. Then

things start to settle down. By the end of the week this is the pressure

pattern. Low pressure pushed away by a large area of high pressure

pushing down from the north. That will mean fine weather as we get

into the weekend. So, some good spells of sunshine, but also some

chilly nights. Before then, we have Thursday, so Thursday is looking as

though it is going to be quite cloudy across this part of the

country. Perhaps an isolated shower but most places seeing some dry

weather with good spells of sunshine. Then we are into Friday

and Saturday, so temperatures lifting to 11 or 12. So fine spring

sunshine around but with high pressure and clear skies overnight

we will have chilly nights. So average temperatures around 4, could

be lower than that locally. Back to you. . Thank you very much.

That's all from us. I hope you have a good evening. We will be back

tomorrow at the same time. Good night.