17/04/2012 Look North (East Yorkshire and Lincolnshire)

Good evening and welcome to BBC Look North. The headlines tonight.

Tens of thousands of people back a campaign to scrap VAT on Air

Ambulance fuel. Why some children with learning

difficulties are being given no choice over their college education.

Why can't we have that choice anymore? Why has it been taken

away? We're going backwards, not forwards.

The first confirmation of the drought's massive effect on

wildlife. And celebrating an Olympic heroine.

How a Lincolnshire village is remembering its medal winner from

1924. There is more rain to come. Join me

for the latest. Good evening. More than 140,000 people have

signed a petition against VAT on the fuel use by our Air Ambulances.

The online petition on the Government's website now has enough

names to prompt a House of Commons debate. Currently, the Yorkshire

Air Ambulance pays �6,000 to the Treasury every year in VAT for the

fuel they use, something which a Hull man who owes his life to them

has described as a disgrace. Vicky Johnson reports.

A motorbike accident last year has left Andy Broxham with severe

facial injuries. He's convinced he would have died but for the

Yorkshire Air Ambulance. He simply can't understand why the emergency

services has to pay tax on the fuel it uses.

You don't realise until you are involved in these things that it is

totally funded by donations. And to add insult injury, when they say

you have to pay tax on the diesel, it's disgraceful. These vehicles

save lives. Without that, people will die. Under European Union

rules, the Yorkshire Air Ambulances have to pay 5% VAT on their fuel.

But the Lincolnshire service doesn't pay VAT because its

helicopter is rented. And lifeboats - another emergency service funded

by charity - have been exempt from the tax since 1977. That's before

air ambulances even existed. These anomalies have prompted the latest

online petition. More rescue missions like this

could be carried out if thousands of pounds weren't being spent on

fuel VAT is the argument from Air Ambulance officials.

It would cost us about �120,000 in fuel for both ambulances. We then

pay VAT, a further �6,000 which equates to three life-saving

missions to ours. --to us. It would make a massive difference.

But Treasury officials insist the Supporters of the online petition

like Andy Broxham have ensured they've exceeded the 100,000

signatures needed to trigger a debate by MPs. Whether they can

count on support in the House of Commons is another matter.

. I'm joined by Ken Sharpe, who started the petition to get VAT

taken off fuel for the air ambulances. Why should the Air

Ambulance be a special case? Are do not think he should be a special

case. The RNLI have not had a -- exemption for many years and I

think we should be on a level. The Treasury give exemption to

charities for equipment. I am thankful they do not charge, but I

think it is a joke to come out with this today. It is quite a small

amount you're talking about. �6,000, is it worth fighting for? It is

year on year, and everybody knows fuel is not going down in price. It

is a good saving for them. You have had a very large response to your

campaign. How confident are you that you can secure a House of

Commons debate? I was hoping it would be in the House of Commons.

It cannot be put forward at the moment. Good to see you tonight.

would like to ask your viewers to sign the petition. OK. How

seriously should the Government take the campaign to payback VAT to

air ambulances? Should there be more special cases in the tax

The East Yorkshire MPs Andrew Percy and Graham Stuart met a Government

minister this afternoon to put what they call a strong case against

imposing VAT on the sale of static caravans. The industry employs

thousands of people in the area. More local MPs are preparing to

Chancellor, George Osborne, tomorrow to discuss the change. In

the Commons last night, the Hull North MP said imposing VAT amounted

to the Ggovernment pulling the rug on manufacturers.

It is much more sensible if tax changes are made that there is more

warning. What has happened is the government is pushing people when

they are down. In a moment... It was one of the most dangerous

daylight raids. Now 70 years, on veterans remember the Lancaster

bombers' flight over Germany. Thousands of teenagers in East

Yorkshire and Lincolnshire are in the process of choosing which

college or sixth form to attend, but one family from Sleaford in

Lincolnshire say their daughter has no choice. Because Lucy Thompson

has a learning disability, her local council has chosen for her.

Disability rights campaigners say it's a problem facing hundreds of

other young people. As Lucy gets older, her parents

hope she can gain more life skills to live independently. Her brother

had the number of options for college, but Lucy only has one.

do not seem to have a choice anymore. At the moment, loo seat is

at a special school. -- Lucy. Her mother does not want her to go to a

mainstream, but says the decision has already been made. Why has the

decision been taken away? We are going backwards, not forward.

Mainstream colleges have received funding to make changes so they can

offer special education. Lucy's mother wants her to come to this

specialist residential college run by a charity. The local authority

is sending fewer students here than it used to. Those in charge here

say that for some students, it is the wrong decision to send them to

mainstream college. There are about -- there are about 20 or 30 in

Lincolnshire a year who have very particular needs. Parents had

consulted, and we want the needs of a young person to be read best.

There is a better choice than there was. Government planners say it

wants to give parents and June people more choice. Lucy's parents

tell me they feel they're getting less choice. Decisions made for her

now will affect the rest of her life. A man's been awarded

substantial damages after his wife died following a mis-diagnosis at

Hull Royal Infirmary. Doctors failed to spot that Elizabeth Smith,

who was 34, was suffering from a hernia and sent her home with

medication for constipation. Her husband, Simon, has now accepted

�300,000 from the Trust, who say they are pleased that the legal

process is now concluded and their thoughts are with Mr Smith and his

family. Campaigners hoping to save the

Floral Hall in Hornsea from demolition are urging people to

attend a public meeting tonight. Following demonstrations earlier

this year, the East Riding Council gave local people until the end of

August to come up with a plan to retain the hall, otherwise the

building will be knocked down. They'll have the power to hire and

fire chief constables and raise your council tax. The public will

vote for police commissioners in November. But in the Humberside

Police area, where there is no shortage of Labour candidates,

including Lord Prescott, the Conservatives only have one

candidate so far. A senior Tory figure has now made a plea for more

to come forward, as soon as possible. Tim Iredale is here. Who

is in the running so far? It could be argued that Labour are

making the running. They have come up with three candidates for the

�75,000 a year job. The only confirmed Conservative candidate is

Councillor Matthew Grove. The Liberal Democrat election process

is still in its early stages. have they only got one candidate?

think they would say some -- I think they would say they are

trying to find someone who is not from a traditional political

background. They want to see people from all walks of life,

professional, business people. Andrew Percy denies there is a

dearth of talent in the Tory party. Our candidate will campaign

vigorously. We are not doing a beauty contest like Labour. I think

Labour would deny it is a beauty contest! Thank you very much. Still

ahead. A dramatic decline in bird numbers at a Lincolnshire reserve.

And celebrating an Olympic heroine. How a Lincolnshire village is

remembering its medal winner from 1924.

Rising Tide at Withernsea taken by Another picture tomorrow. Alex

Deakin tweeted this morning with a picture of three times, for people

to vote which one he would wear tonight! -- three times. -- ties.

We will see showers and the low- pressure will dominate for a couple

of days. Last night's weather front is out of the way. It looks like

all parts will become dry. Perhaps a touch of ground frost. Lowest

temperatures, two or three Celsius. It might get off to a dry start,

but longer outbreaks of rain on showers will come. It will not rain

all day long, but rain will never be far away. Good news if you like

the brain! Top temperatures, eight or nine. It will feel quite chilly,

especially along the coast would that breed. The weekend, more in

the way of sunshine, but there will They must be busy in the Met

Office! Experts have given the first official indication that the

drought is harming wildlife. The number of nesting winter birds at

the Gibraltar Point nature reserve near Skegness is down by half.

There are also fears voles and a rare dragonfly could be affected.

Even with the wet weather set to continue for the coming week,

forecasters say the drought in Lincolnshire can't be easily

reversed. Siobhan Robbins reports. Huddling up against the wind and

rain. On a day like today, drought seems like a distant problem, but

experts have now confirmed birds at Gibraltar Point have suffered from

18 months of dry weather. The numbers are down by 50%. The

spring migrant birds have now arrived and are looking for places

to nest. Our concern would be that it will be more open to ground

predators and the chicks will not have as many places to feed. Water

levels here are lower than they should be which means there is more

exposed mud behind me, making it harder for birds to feed and hide.

If this goes on for a prolonged period, it could have a serious

impact on bird numbers. Work by wildlife experts mean the

water vole is thriving here, but there are fears long-term drought

could be a risk to them too. issue is that creditors can get

them. -- predators. And insects are also being affected. Up the road at

Whisby Reserve, a further drop in water levels could put some species

at risk. One very scarce one is the hairy dragonfly. We want to hold on

to that because it has only recently colonised the area. It has

always been scarce in Lincolnshire and just at the moment it seems to

be making an attempt to cover more territory, so it would be a great

shame if that particular species was affected by the climate. More

wet weather is forecast, but at least three months rain is needed

to restore the birds habitat, And six months to replish reservoirs.

So solving drought means a very wet summer.

They flew for hours in sub-zero temperatures. The engines of their

Lancaster bombers were so loud they couldn't hear the enemy gunfire.

Many of them never returned. Hundreds of missions were flown out

of Lincolnshire's Second World War airfields to drop bombs on Germany.

Today veterans are marking 70 years since one of the most dangerous

daylight raids. Only one member of that mission is still alive. Our

reporter Simon Spark has been to meet him and is at the event in

Woodhall Spa near Lincoln. Why was this raid so important? It is one

remembered for acts of tremendous bravery. It is often overshadowed

by the likes of the dam Busters raid. This was the first major

sortie that the Lancaster has were used for.

On April 17th, 1942, the Lancaster bomber was put to his first big

test. It was to consist of a 1,000 round trip -- 1,000 mile round trip.

In terms of them in shape, great determination, skill, it is one of

the greatest. The airfield here at Waddington would have been rumbling

with the sound of the Lancaster bombers. Six of them would take off

to meet up with six others. The skies today up to a powerful sense

of sadness and loss. Only one made it back. Four of the bombers were

shot down. John survived and he spoke to me today. I wasn't nervous

at all. Once the first bomber went down, my feelings changed of course.

In all, 49 were posted as missing. They did well. Squadron Leader

Nettleton received the Victoria Cross for his bravery. The raid

today still stands on a par with that carried out by the Dambusters.

About 120 people had gathered here tonight for a talk on that raid.

This used to be home to the officers' mess of the Dambusters

court. --squad. Simon, thank you very much.

Children playing truant from school and docking the child benefits of

their parents prompted a big response on the text, email and

Twitter. There was backing for the idea from one headteacher in Hull,

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 46 seconds

where truancy rates are among the Hull City will only be looking for

a win in tonight's Championship derby at home to Barnsley. The

Tigers are six points behind a coveted play-off position with

three games to play. They only managed a draw with Watford at the

weekend. The not that desperate to play. We were disappointed on

Saturday not to win. Hopefully, we can eradicate the jaw and put it

into a win. -- the draw. And there'll be coverage of that

game on BBC Radio Humberside tonight. Sportstalk is on the air

now. The match kicks off at 7.45. Tomorrow, it's 100 days to the

start of the Olympics, and in Lincolnshire one village is

preparing to celebrate the sporting success of one of its former

residents. Gladys Carson, who lived in Hogsthorpe near Skegness, won a

bronze medal at the 1924 Olympics. Phil Connell has been to meet her

daughters. I wonder what Mum would have

thought of all the activities that are happening. For these two

sisters, the final countdown to July has bought back some poignant

memories. Here in this Lincolnshire graveyard, these Olympic rings mark

the final place of their mother. Gladys Carson was a talented

swimmer who won a bronze medal at the Olympic Games Paris in 1924.

keep it in my safe at home. That's what I do, we don't get it out and

look at it. We do know it was a big achievement. 88 years later, it is

an achievement that is still remembered in this village. There

is even a road named in memory of her. In those days, she had to

train in some unusual places. of the training was done at 6am in

the canal. And then she would do her exercises and then go to

college. Gladys was 21 when she went to Paris, the Olympic Games

that inspired the film Chariots Of Fire. She competed in the 200

metres breast stroke. Speaking on radio 59 years later, she wished

the distance had been just a bit shorter. Although it was 200 metres,

I had been used to 200 yards. Just that little bit extra made all the

difference! It's something we really as a village and community

should celebrate because she is a very special person. She has made

history for us, she is a local girl. I think it's great. In honour of

Gladys Carson, the Olympic torch will now pass through the town. --

the village, remembering her 88 years on. What a lovely story.

Let's get a recap of the national and regional headlines.

The terror suspect Abu Qatada is arrested this afternoon as the

Government prepares to deport him. Tens of thousands of people join an

online campaign to scrap VAT on Air response coming men on the subject

of the VAT on the Air Ambulance. Dave says, everyone can think of a