03/01/2017 Look East

In the programme tonight, the Paralympic enforced to wet herself

during a train journey because the disabled pilot was out of action. I

was embarrassed, I was very angry and I just really felt useless. And

honestly, you know, I felt very disabled. Hands off, the new

campaign to stop drivers using mobile phones at the wheel.

And plans for the so-called garden town near Harlow, details coming up.

First tonight, the paralympian forced to wet herself

on a long-distance train journey because the disabled

Anne Wafula Strike has represented Team GB in wheelchair racing.

She's also been awarded the MBE for her charity work

She was travelling back to her home in Harlow when the incident

happened and says she felt humiliated as result.

The 42-year-old wheelchair racer is a board member of UK athletics and

was awarded an MBE for services to disability sport. She was returning

from a board meeting last month when a train journey of almost three

hours turned into a nightmare. The cross-country trains disabled toilet

was out of order. A member of the train crew suggested she get off the

train at the station to use the disabled toilet the but there were

no staff at the station to help her. She could not wait until the train

reached Peterborough. I could not wait any more. I had to do it.

Humiliating but I had to do it. I would add that pilot with this sign

out of order and I was mortified. I was mortified because I knew I was

not letting on that train in the next ten or 20 or 30 minutes and

knew I had a long journey ahead of me. I knew as a human being, you

know, I needed that facility. I needed to use the toilet. It scared

me. The MP for Harlow Robert Hoffman has taken up a complaint with the

train company, describing the service is appalling. A spokesperson

for cross-country said: sentence case from nobody wants to

widen to the public and say that I had this kind of accident. It is not

cool in this day and age and people are suffering. And for something

like that happened to me, it's not like that happened to me, it's not

me so much and made me think of those other people with disabilities

who can't even speak for themselves. And hopes talking about her

experience will help trigger change. Too many disabled people she said

suffer in silence. As we heard the local MP

Robert Halfon has been looking into the case and spoke

to the railways minister She served her country, she runs

charities, she has been recognised by the Queen with an honour, she is

hugely respected in Harlow and across the eastern region and for

her to be treated in this way is unacceptable and she is not one of

life 's mourners, I have never heard her complaint in this way about her

disability, in fact she's a very positive, wonderful human being and

it's hugely saddens me that she has had to suffer and be humiliated by

this rail company in this way. What are you hoping for from the real

minister? What needs to change? I have had discussions with the

railways minister, he has said that by the end of parliament it will be

a requirement for every train carriage to be properly accessible

for disabled people, he said he wants really companies to deal

properly and be much more spontaneous and other problems

affecting disabled people and it is interesting that the number of

disabled people applying for disabled real card has gone up by

70% service model more responsibility on the real companies

to treat disabled people properly. It -- as part of that you think

there should be tougher legislation? It is one thing for the company to

take a box and say we are providing disabled lose, it is another thing

to make sure they are always accessible and working so should

there be greater fines if that is not happening? I think that there

definitely should be some kind of penalty but if they are not

following the law, I mean I have a disability which I don't often talk

about but I do all too well when you go on trains or restaurants or

whatever it may be, often toilets are not accessible and disabled

people face inconvenience every day of the Alliance which is wrong.

Little things that should be working, that these big companies

don't seem to care about at all. don't seem to care about at all.

Thank you. A new campaign's been launched

across Suffolk and Norfolk today to warn of the dangers

of using a mobile It's called "Hands Off"

and is backed by local BBC radio Few people could have a better

reason to campaign for change than Alice husband. Two years ago her

son, Seth, died after he was knocked down outside of his home. He was

seven years old. The car driver was using a mobile phone on loudspeaker.

MSN every day and so do his brothers and the rest of the family. It has

changed my life and is something I would never wish to anybody. If

there was anything I could change my life it would be not to lose him.

Despite new tougher fines and new tactics from the police is this

footage and Suffolk shows drivers footage and Suffolk shows drivers

seem happy to risk it. We want you to pledge not to use your mobile

simple as that. We are one radio simple as that. We are one radio

station but with radio Norfolk involved in the local newspapers we

can really get the message across and it is brilliant that the local

media were to get behind this. The campaign is backed by the police and

an air today from Worcester 's overwhelming support and no shortage

of skilled stories. Your Mac the coach was coming round the

roundabout, the coach driver had one roundabout, the coach driver had one

hand on the wheel and one hand on his mobile phone to his ear. When

you're on the phone part of your brain will visualise the person

you're talking to, but that part of the brain is apparent that should be

sorting out hazards. Having someone sitting next to you is not an issue

but having some on the phone is. A string of tragedy shows that how in

a split-second everything can change. The advice on mobiles is

simple, do not be tempted to touch it at all, if there is any doubt put

it in the boot out of reach. Next tonight the latest government

idea to meet the housing The campaign group the Town

and Country Planning Association says 30,000 new homes are needed

every year in the East in 2014/15 just over

20,000 were built. Today people in Essex have been

reacting to plans for a so-called But can this idea succeed

where others have failed. Artists impressions of what Gilson

Park to the north of Harlow might look like, it can have thousand

will have a rural feel. This will be will have a rural feel. This will be

part of a government plan to create three new garden towns and 14 garden

villages across the country. But not everyone is thrilled at the

prospect. Gilson Park would be at the bottom of Spike Hughes's garden

and he says Harlow's infrastructure just work out. There are no plans

for the employment in this area, it really is just a sprawling housing

estate of 10,000 houses. And a lot of them, we will want to go on the

train to London or too dry. On the trains can't accept more people and

neither can the roads. You will not get a new hospital road improvements

without the housing investment both in terms of the direct contribution

that it will make to the infrastructure development but also

with the demand. As a region we need more houses but new houses often

attract opposition. In 2008 plans were announced for garden towns but

eco-towns, one of them was racking on the outskirts of Norwich was up

to 5000 new homes planned. The vision of the then Labour Housing

Minister Jen -- John Healey. Living here in the future in the eco-town

will be a new type of living but the eco-town will have everyone living

in houses so they can reach the services they need and shops they

need within ten minutes walk. But when Labour lost power in 2010 the

plan was dropped. Will the new garden settlement succeeds were

eco-towns failed? The government is talking about ?7.4 million of what

amounts to seed money to help developers provide 200,000 homes. In

Harlow some welcome the project saying it will help regeneration.

Others are talking of urban sprawl. That's all from me, coming up now

the weather with Alex. Not so cold the night as last night

with more motoring across the region, the bulk of the night looks

like it will stay dry by the end of the night we might start to see some

light rain or drizzle coming into northern counties. This is how we

end the night, temperatures down to 2 degrees but rising by the end of

the night as the weather front moves on. It will introduce cold air

behind it and also a strengthening northerly winds that will make it

feel cold but we will wake up to a lot of cloud. Some might regard

result of the morning and then it should brighten up and we will see

lots of pleasant winter sunshine. You will need to wrap up warm

because it will be around six or 7 degrees. As the afternoon goes on

the win strengthening from the north-west bringing someone three

showers to part of Norfolk and Suffolk. The National

milder later in the week. That is it from me but coming up next is the

national picture. Good evening. But frost or not of frost, that is the

weather question for tomorrow and the answer is no, probably not

because of this weather front