:00:23. > :00:26.Good evening and welcome to BBC Look North. The headlines tonight.
:00:26. > :00:31.Tens of thousands of people back a campaign to scrap VAT on Air
:00:31. > :00:34.Ambulance fuel. Why some children with learning
:00:34. > :00:37.difficulties are being given no choice over their college education.
:00:37. > :00:38.Why can't we have that choice anymore? Why has it been taken
:00:38. > :00:40.away? We're going backwards, not forwards.
:00:40. > :00:42.The first confirmation of the drought's massive effect on
:00:42. > :00:45.wildlife. And celebrating an Olympic heroine.
:00:45. > :00:52.How a Lincolnshire village is remembering its medal winner from
:00:53. > :00:59.1924. There is more rain to come. Join me
:00:59. > :01:02.for the latest. Good evening. More than 140,000 people have
:01:02. > :01:04.signed a petition against VAT on the fuel use by our Air Ambulances.
:01:04. > :01:12.The online petition on the Government's website now has enough
:01:12. > :01:16.names to prompt a House of Commons debate. Currently, the Yorkshire
:01:16. > :01:19.Air Ambulance pays �6,000 to the Treasury every year in VAT for the
:01:19. > :01:27.fuel they use, something which a Hull man who owes his life to them
:01:28. > :01:30.has described as a disgrace. Vicky Johnson reports.
:01:30. > :01:36.A motorbike accident last year has left Andy Broxham with severe
:01:36. > :01:40.facial injuries. He's convinced he would have died but for the
:01:40. > :01:49.Yorkshire Air Ambulance. He simply can't understand why the emergency
:01:49. > :01:52.services has to pay tax on the fuel it uses.
:01:52. > :01:56.You don't realise until you are involved in these things that it is
:01:56. > :02:01.totally funded by donations. And to add insult injury, when they say
:02:01. > :02:08.you have to pay tax on the diesel, it's disgraceful. These vehicles
:02:08. > :02:15.save lives. Without that, people will die. Under European Union
:02:15. > :02:17.rules, the Yorkshire Air Ambulances have to pay 5% VAT on their fuel.
:02:17. > :02:20.But the Lincolnshire service doesn't pay VAT because its
:02:20. > :02:29.helicopter is rented. And lifeboats - another emergency service funded
:02:29. > :02:32.by charity - have been exempt from the tax since 1977. That's before
:02:32. > :02:38.air ambulances even existed. These anomalies have prompted the latest
:02:38. > :02:41.online petition. More rescue missions like this
:02:41. > :02:45.could be carried out if thousands of pounds weren't being spent on
:02:45. > :02:55.fuel VAT is the argument from Air Ambulance officials.
:02:55. > :03:00.
:03:00. > :03:02.It would cost us about �120,000 in fuel for both ambulances. We then
:03:02. > :03:09.pay VAT, a further �6,000 which equates to three life-saving
:03:09. > :03:19.missions to ours. --to us. It would make a massive difference.
:03:19. > :03:21.
:03:21. > :03:23.But Treasury officials insist the Supporters of the online petition
:03:23. > :03:27.like Andy Broxham have ensured they've exceeded the 100,000
:03:27. > :03:36.signatures needed to trigger a debate by MPs. Whether they can
:03:36. > :03:40.count on support in the House of Commons is another matter.
:03:40. > :03:50.. I'm joined by Ken Sharpe, who started the petition to get VAT
:03:50. > :03:53.
:03:53. > :04:01.taken off fuel for the air ambulances. Why should the Air
:04:01. > :04:11.Ambulance be a special case? Are do not think he should be a special
:04:11. > :04:16.
:04:16. > :04:26.case. The RNLI have not had a -- exemption for many years and I
:04:26. > :04:31.
:04:31. > :04:41.think we should be on a level. The Treasury give exemption to
:04:41. > :04:47.charities for equipment. I am thankful they do not charge, but I
:04:47. > :04:56.think it is a joke to come out with this today. It is quite a small
:04:56. > :05:05.amount you're talking about. �6,000, is it worth fighting for? It is
:05:05. > :05:15.year on year, and everybody knows fuel is not going down in price. It
:05:15. > :05:19.is a good saving for them. You have had a very large response to your
:05:19. > :05:29.campaign. How confident are you that you can secure a House of
:05:29. > :05:31.
:05:31. > :05:41.Commons debate? I was hoping it would be in the House of Commons.
:05:41. > :05:42.
:05:42. > :05:50.It cannot be put forward at the moment. Good to see you tonight.
:05:50. > :05:53.would like to ask your viewers to sign the petition. OK. How
:05:53. > :05:56.seriously should the Government take the campaign to payback VAT to
:05:56. > :06:06.air ambulances? Should there be more special cases in the tax
:06:06. > :06:17.
:06:17. > :06:20.The East Yorkshire MPs Andrew Percy and Graham Stuart met a Government
:06:21. > :06:23.minister this afternoon to put what they call a strong case against
:06:23. > :06:26.imposing VAT on the sale of static caravans. The industry employs
:06:26. > :06:31.thousands of people in the area. More local MPs are preparing to
:06:31. > :06:34.Chancellor, George Osborne, tomorrow to discuss the change. In
:06:34. > :06:44.the Commons last night, the Hull North MP said imposing VAT amounted
:06:44. > :06:45.
:06:45. > :06:51.to the Ggovernment pulling the rug on manufacturers.
:06:51. > :07:01.It is much more sensible if tax changes are made that there is more
:07:01. > :07:01.
:07:01. > :07:08.warning. What has happened is the government is pushing people when
:07:08. > :07:11.they are down. In a moment... It was one of the most dangerous
:07:11. > :07:13.daylight raids. Now 70 years, on veterans remember the Lancaster
:07:13. > :07:16.bombers' flight over Germany. Thousands of teenagers in East
:07:16. > :07:19.Yorkshire and Lincolnshire are in the process of choosing which
:07:19. > :07:21.college or sixth form to attend, but one family from Sleaford in
:07:21. > :07:24.Lincolnshire say their daughter has no choice. Because Lucy Thompson
:07:24. > :07:26.has a learning disability, her local council has chosen for her.
:07:26. > :07:36.Disability rights campaigners say it's a problem facing hundreds of
:07:36. > :07:43.
:07:43. > :07:49.other young people. As Lucy gets older, her parents
:07:49. > :07:56.hope she can gain more life skills to live independently. Her brother
:07:56. > :08:03.had the number of options for college, but Lucy only has one.
:08:03. > :08:09.do not seem to have a choice anymore. At the moment, loo seat is
:08:09. > :08:17.at a special school. -- Lucy. Her mother does not want her to go to a
:08:17. > :08:24.mainstream, but says the decision has already been made. Why has the
:08:24. > :08:29.decision been taken away? We are going backwards, not forward.
:08:29. > :08:34.Mainstream colleges have received funding to make changes so they can
:08:34. > :08:41.offer special education. Lucy's mother wants her to come to this
:08:41. > :08:49.specialist residential college run by a charity. The local authority
:08:49. > :08:53.is sending fewer students here than it used to. Those in charge here
:08:53. > :09:02.say that for some students, it is the wrong decision to send them to
:09:02. > :09:12.mainstream college. There are about -- there are about 20 or 30 in
:09:12. > :09:15.
:09:15. > :09:21.Lincolnshire a year who have very particular needs. Parents had
:09:21. > :09:31.consulted, and we want the needs of a young person to be read best.
:09:31. > :09:33.
:09:34. > :09:42.There is a better choice than there was. Government planners say it
:09:42. > :09:47.wants to give parents and June people more choice. Lucy's parents
:09:47. > :09:54.tell me they feel they're getting less choice. Decisions made for her
:09:54. > :09:57.now will affect the rest of her life. A man's been awarded
:09:57. > :09:59.substantial damages after his wife died following a mis-diagnosis at
:09:59. > :10:02.Hull Royal Infirmary. Doctors failed to spot that Elizabeth Smith,
:10:02. > :10:05.who was 34, was suffering from a hernia and sent her home with
:10:05. > :10:08.medication for constipation. Her husband, Simon, has now accepted
:10:08. > :10:11.�300,000 from the Trust, who say they are pleased that the legal
:10:11. > :10:13.process is now concluded and their thoughts are with Mr Smith and his
:10:13. > :10:15.family. Campaigners hoping to save the
:10:15. > :10:17.Floral Hall in Hornsea from demolition are urging people to
:10:17. > :10:20.attend a public meeting tonight. Following demonstrations earlier
:10:20. > :10:24.this year, the East Riding Council gave local people until the end of
:10:24. > :10:31.August to come up with a plan to retain the hall, otherwise the
:10:31. > :10:38.building will be knocked down. They'll have the power to hire and
:10:38. > :10:41.fire chief constables and raise your council tax. The public will
:10:41. > :10:43.vote for police commissioners in November. But in the Humberside
:10:43. > :10:45.Police area, where there is no shortage of Labour candidates,
:10:45. > :10:49.including Lord Prescott, the Conservatives only have one
:10:49. > :10:55.candidate so far. A senior Tory figure has now made a plea for more
:10:55. > :11:04.to come forward, as soon as possible. Tim Iredale is here. Who
:11:05. > :11:14.is in the running so far? It could be argued that Labour are
:11:15. > :11:16.
:11:16. > :11:26.making the running. They have come up with three candidates for the
:11:26. > :11:29.
:11:29. > :11:36.�75,000 a year job. The only confirmed Conservative candidate is
:11:36. > :11:46.Councillor Matthew Grove. The Liberal Democrat election process
:11:46. > :11:47.
:11:47. > :11:50.is still in its early stages. have they only got one candidate?
:11:50. > :11:55.think they would say some -- I think they would say they are
:11:55. > :12:01.trying to find someone who is not from a traditional political
:12:01. > :12:09.background. They want to see people from all walks of life,
:12:09. > :12:19.professional, business people. Andrew Percy denies there is a
:12:19. > :12:29.
:12:29. > :12:33.dearth of talent in the Tory party. Our candidate will campaign
:12:33. > :12:43.vigorously. We are not doing a beauty contest like Labour. I think
:12:43. > :12:48.
:12:48. > :12:56.Labour would deny it is a beauty contest! Thank you very much. Still
:12:56. > :12:58.ahead. A dramatic decline in bird numbers at a Lincolnshire reserve.
:12:58. > :13:04.And celebrating an Olympic heroine. How a Lincolnshire village is
:13:04. > :13:14.remembering its medal winner from 1924.
:13:14. > :13:24.
:13:24. > :13:28.Rising Tide at Withernsea taken by Another picture tomorrow. Alex
:13:28. > :13:38.Deakin tweeted this morning with a picture of three times, for people
:13:38. > :13:44.
:13:44. > :13:54.to vote which one he would wear tonight! -- three times. -- ties.
:13:54. > :14:04.We will see showers and the low- pressure will dominate for a couple
:14:04. > :14:10.
:14:10. > :14:20.of days. Last night's weather front is out of the way. It looks like
:14:20. > :14:21.
:14:21. > :14:31.all parts will become dry. Perhaps a touch of ground frost. Lowest
:14:31. > :14:41.
:14:41. > :14:51.temperatures, two or three Celsius. It might get off to a dry start,
:14:51. > :14:59.but longer outbreaks of rain on showers will come. It will not rain
:14:59. > :15:09.all day long, but rain will never be far away. Good news if you like
:15:09. > :15:16.the brain! Top temperatures, eight or nine. It will feel quite chilly,
:15:16. > :15:26.especially along the coast would that breed. The weekend, more in
:15:26. > :15:29.
:15:29. > :15:37.the way of sunshine, but there will They must be busy in the Met
:15:37. > :15:45.Office! Experts have given the first official indication that the
:15:45. > :15:48.drought is harming wildlife. The number of nesting winter birds at
:15:48. > :15:51.the Gibraltar Point nature reserve near Skegness is down by half.
:15:51. > :15:54.There are also fears voles and a rare dragonfly could be affected.
:15:54. > :15:56.Even with the wet weather set to continue for the coming week,
:15:56. > :15:58.forecasters say the drought in Lincolnshire can't be easily
:15:58. > :16:07.reversed. Siobhan Robbins reports. Huddling up against the wind and
:16:07. > :16:10.rain. On a day like today, drought seems like a distant problem, but
:16:10. > :16:20.experts have now confirmed birds at Gibraltar Point have suffered from
:16:20. > :16:22.18 months of dry weather. The numbers are down by 50%. The
:16:23. > :16:26.spring migrant birds have now arrived and are looking for places
:16:26. > :16:31.to nest. Our concern would be that it will be more open to ground
:16:31. > :16:35.predators and the chicks will not have as many places to feed. Water
:16:35. > :16:45.levels here are lower than they should be which means there is more
:16:45. > :16:45.
:16:45. > :16:48.exposed mud behind me, making it harder for birds to feed and hide.
:16:48. > :16:52.If this goes on for a prolonged period, it could have a serious
:16:52. > :16:54.impact on bird numbers. Work by wildlife experts mean the
:16:54. > :17:04.water vole is thriving here, but there are fears long-term drought
:17:04. > :17:12.
:17:12. > :17:18.could be a risk to them too. issue is that creditors can get
:17:18. > :17:21.them. -- predators. And insects are also being affected. Up the road at
:17:21. > :17:24.Whisby Reserve, a further drop in water levels could put some species
:17:24. > :17:27.at risk. One very scarce one is the hairy dragonfly. We want to hold on
:17:27. > :17:31.to that because it has only recently colonised the area. It has
:17:31. > :17:34.always been scarce in Lincolnshire and just at the moment it seems to
:17:34. > :17:37.be making an attempt to cover more territory, so it would be a great
:17:37. > :17:40.shame if that particular species was affected by the climate. More
:17:40. > :17:43.wet weather is forecast, but at least three months rain is needed
:17:43. > :17:53.to restore the birds habitat, And six months to replish reservoirs.
:17:53. > :18:01.
:18:01. > :18:04.So solving drought means a very wet summer.
:18:04. > :18:07.They flew for hours in sub-zero temperatures. The engines of their
:18:07. > :18:16.Lancaster bombers were so loud they couldn't hear the enemy gunfire.
:18:16. > :18:20.Many of them never returned. Hundreds of missions were flown out
:18:20. > :18:23.of Lincolnshire's Second World War airfields to drop bombs on Germany.
:18:23. > :18:26.Today veterans are marking 70 years since one of the most dangerous
:18:26. > :18:30.daylight raids. Only one member of that mission is still alive. Our
:18:30. > :18:40.reporter Simon Spark has been to meet him and is at the event in
:18:40. > :18:40.
:18:40. > :18:46.Woodhall Spa near Lincoln. Why was this raid so important? It is one
:18:46. > :18:51.remembered for acts of tremendous bravery. It is often overshadowed
:18:51. > :19:01.by the likes of the dam Busters raid. This was the first major
:19:01. > :19:07.
:19:07. > :19:14.sortie that the Lancaster has were used for.
:19:14. > :19:24.On April 17th, 1942, the Lancaster bomber was put to his first big
:19:24. > :19:33.
:19:33. > :19:40.test. It was to consist of a 1,000 round trip -- 1,000 mile round trip.
:19:40. > :19:48.In terms of them in shape, great determination, skill, it is one of
:19:48. > :19:58.the greatest. The airfield here at Waddington would have been rumbling
:19:58. > :19:58.
:19:58. > :20:06.with the sound of the Lancaster bombers. Six of them would take off
:20:06. > :20:16.to meet up with six others. The skies today up to a powerful sense
:20:16. > :20:22.
:20:22. > :20:32.of sadness and loss. Only one made it back. Four of the bombers were
:20:32. > :20:50.
:20:50. > :21:00.shot down. John survived and he spoke to me today. I wasn't nervous
:21:00. > :21:05.
:21:05. > :21:15.at all. Once the first bomber went down, my feelings changed of course.
:21:15. > :21:25.
:21:25. > :21:34.In all, 49 were posted as missing. They did well. Squadron Leader
:21:34. > :21:42.Nettleton received the Victoria Cross for his bravery. The raid
:21:42. > :21:51.today still stands on a par with that carried out by the Dambusters.
:21:51. > :21:56.About 120 people had gathered here tonight for a talk on that raid.
:21:56. > :22:06.This used to be home to the officers' mess of the Dambusters
:22:06. > :22:13.
:22:13. > :22:15.court. --squad. Simon, thank you very much.
:22:15. > :22:18.Children playing truant from school and docking the child benefits of
:22:18. > :22:21.their parents prompted a big response on the text, email and
:22:21. > :22:31.Twitter. There was backing for the idea from one headteacher in Hull,
:22:31. > :22:31.
:22:31. > :23:18.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 46 seconds
:23:18. > :23:22.where truancy rates are among the Hull City will only be looking for
:23:22. > :23:25.a win in tonight's Championship derby at home to Barnsley. The
:23:25. > :23:31.Tigers are six points behind a coveted play-off position with
:23:31. > :23:41.three games to play. They only managed a draw with Watford at the
:23:41. > :23:51.weekend. The not that desperate to play. We were disappointed on
:23:51. > :23:58.Saturday not to win. Hopefully, we can eradicate the jaw and put it
:23:58. > :24:00.into a win. -- the draw. And there'll be coverage of that
:24:00. > :24:04.game on BBC Radio Humberside tonight. Sportstalk is on the air
:24:04. > :24:06.now. The match kicks off at 7.45. Tomorrow, it's 100 days to the
:24:06. > :24:09.start of the Olympics, and in Lincolnshire one village is
:24:09. > :24:17.preparing to celebrate the sporting success of one of its former
:24:17. > :24:22.residents. Gladys Carson, who lived in Hogsthorpe near Skegness, won a
:24:23. > :24:26.bronze medal at the 1924 Olympics. Phil Connell has been to meet her
:24:26. > :24:31.daughters. I wonder what Mum would have
:24:31. > :24:33.thought of all the activities that are happening. For these two
:24:34. > :24:38.sisters, the final countdown to July has bought back some poignant
:24:39. > :24:48.memories. Here in this Lincolnshire graveyard, these Olympic rings mark
:24:49. > :24:50.
:24:50. > :24:53.the final place of their mother. Gladys Carson was a talented
:24:53. > :24:59.swimmer who won a bronze medal at the Olympic Games Paris in 1924.
:24:59. > :25:04.keep it in my safe at home. That's what I do, we don't get it out and
:25:04. > :25:08.look at it. We do know it was a big achievement. 88 years later, it is
:25:08. > :25:13.an achievement that is still remembered in this village. There
:25:13. > :25:19.is even a road named in memory of her. In those days, she had to
:25:19. > :25:26.train in some unusual places. of the training was done at 6am in
:25:26. > :25:29.the canal. And then she would do her exercises and then go to
:25:29. > :25:35.college. Gladys was 21 when she went to Paris, the Olympic Games
:25:35. > :25:41.that inspired the film Chariots Of Fire. She competed in the 200
:25:41. > :25:47.metres breast stroke. Speaking on radio 59 years later, she wished
:25:47. > :25:57.the distance had been just a bit shorter. Although it was 200 metres,
:25:57. > :26:00.I had been used to 200 yards. Just that little bit extra made all the
:26:00. > :26:03.difference! It's something we really as a village and community
:26:03. > :26:08.should celebrate because she is a very special person. She has made
:26:08. > :26:18.history for us, she is a local girl. I think it's great. In honour of
:26:18. > :26:20.
:26:20. > :26:30.Gladys Carson, the Olympic torch will now pass through the town. --
:26:30. > :26:32.the village, remembering her 88 years on. What a lovely story.
:26:32. > :26:35.Let's get a recap of the national and regional headlines.
:26:35. > :26:41.The terror suspect Abu Qatada is arrested this afternoon as the
:26:41. > :26:51.Government prepares to deport him. Tens of thousands of people join an
:26:51. > :27:01.
:27:01. > :27:09.online campaign to scrap VAT on Air response coming men on the subject
:27:09. > :27:19.of the VAT on the Air Ambulance. Dave says, everyone can think of a
:27:19. > :27:26.