:00:07. > :00:09.Good evening and welcome to BBC Look North. The headlines tonight:
:00:09. > :00:19.As the economy dips back into recession, Lincolnshire bakers say
:00:19. > :00:20.
:00:21. > :00:30.no to the pie tax. Everybody is fighting to stay in business and
:00:30. > :00:38.earn a living. Vat is not welcome at all. Parents' anger over a mix-
:00:38. > :00:41.up over school places. I am very angry that a mistake was made with
:00:41. > :00:44.something so important as children's education. More police
:00:45. > :00:52.on the street - the pledge from the new Chief Constable of Lincolnshire.
:00:52. > :01:02.And the deep natural wonder - now an internet hit. After a wet
:01:02. > :01:05.
:01:05. > :01:08.afternoon, there are more downpours On the day the British economy fell
:01:08. > :01:11.back into recession, there has been renewed pressure on the Government
:01:11. > :01:18.to drop plans to introduce VAT on a series of items. Tonight, MPs from
:01:18. > :01:21.our area are preparing for a debate on the so-called caravan tax. And
:01:21. > :01:26.the owners of one of Lincolnshire's largest bakery firms are travelling
:01:26. > :01:34.to London to protest about the so- called pasty tax. With more, here
:01:34. > :01:39.is our political editor, Tim Iredale. The dark clouds of
:01:39. > :01:44.recession are once again hovering over businesses in towns like this.
:01:44. > :01:49.This bakery has withstood many a piquant trough in the economy since
:01:49. > :01:54.it was established in 1924, but now the family say they are facing a
:01:54. > :01:59.new threat. The High Street is quieter than normal. Everybody is
:01:59. > :02:07.fighting City -- to stay in business under a living. 20% VAT on
:02:07. > :02:10.top is not welcome at all. family are travelling to
:02:10. > :02:15.Westminster for a protest on the so-called pasty tax, which would
:02:15. > :02:20.add VAT to freshly baked goods. Tomorrow, because from across the
:02:20. > :02:25.country will descend on Downing Street, where they will ask the
:02:25. > :02:30.Government to look again at this controversial tax. You have signed
:02:30. > :02:36.the petition - tell us why? I think that small businesses like this
:02:36. > :02:41.need to grow and adding 20% tax on to baked goods is absurd, isn't it?
:02:41. > :02:47.A how do you feel about paying more for your pasty? It is disgraceful.
:02:47. > :02:51.There is a discrepancy between paying it on fish and chips and
:02:51. > :02:56.paying up for that. It needs to be sorted out. We now find ourselves
:02:56. > :03:01.back in recession today, which is really bad news for the people of
:03:01. > :03:05.the Scunthorpe area under the wider Humberside area. This is a
:03:05. > :03:12.Government that has lost their grip of the economy. It needs a plan be
:03:12. > :03:19.urgently. At Prime Minister's Questions, one of our MPs and urged
:03:19. > :03:28.the government to look at some of the good news coming out of
:03:28. > :03:36.manufacturing in Lincoln. Italian farm has confirmed a �50
:03:36. > :03:42.million investment and Siemens are involved in investment.
:03:42. > :03:46.positive news is being overshadowed by the ongoing VAT row, which
:03:46. > :03:51.includes baked goods, alterations to be listed buildings and, of
:03:52. > :03:57.course, static caravans. Tim is with me now. What can we expect
:03:57. > :04:06.tomorrow? It is shaping up to be a door if -- a day of protest in
:04:06. > :04:13.Westminster. The Government is facing a double whammy of protests.
:04:13. > :04:19.Bakers will be campaigning against VAT and in the House of Commons MPs
:04:19. > :04:29.will be urging them to drop the caravan tax. This is going to add
:04:29. > :04:33.an extra -- extra pressure, isn't it? It does not matter whether you
:04:33. > :04:38.are buying a pasty on a caravan, the argument is that, in the
:04:38. > :04:43.current climate, we cannot afford to give consumers a reason not to
:04:43. > :04:49.buy things. Taxing these things is the wrong way to go about it, they
:04:49. > :04:59.will argue. I will be there tomorrow. Thank you for your many
:04:59. > :05:03.messages. They have warmed of thousands of job losses. But Paul
:05:03. > :05:05.got in touch to say, "No industry deserves to be exempt from VAT,
:05:05. > :05:09.especially if it makes luxury goods like caravans." Cheryl says,
:05:09. > :05:13."Caravan manufacturing is the life blood of this region. Vat on
:05:13. > :05:16.statics will put thousands of jobs at risk. Most of the buyers are
:05:16. > :05:19.ordinary people who will struggle to meet the extra cost." Mick says,
:05:19. > :05:26."There should be VAT on caravans. So why doesn't the Government bring
:05:26. > :05:30.it in over four or five years? Everyone would be happy." Dean says,
:05:30. > :05:40."I bet if the bulk of caravan production was in the south, no tax
:05:40. > :05:41.
:05:41. > :05:47.would be mentioned. The Government doesn't care about the North."
:05:47. > :05:50.Coming up: By Lincoln is the place to be when the sun comes out.
:05:50. > :05:53.Hull City Council has been forced to apologise to parents across the
:05:53. > :05:56.city for any confusion over primary school places. E-mails have been
:05:56. > :05:59.sent to some parents in error, telling them which school their
:05:59. > :06:03.children will go to, while other parents are still waiting for news.
:06:03. > :06:13.One mum has said she is so angry she might even resort to home
:06:13. > :06:14.
:06:14. > :06:19.schooling. Emma Massey reports. cannot put it into words how angry
:06:19. > :06:22.I felt when I was told that it was merely an IT error. It is totally
:06:22. > :06:25.unacceptable and somebody needs to be held accountable. Jill Wheeler
:06:25. > :06:27.has just received an e-mail telling her that her daughter wont be
:06:27. > :06:31.attending her first choice of primary school September. It's not
:06:31. > :06:34.even her second but her third choice. To make matters worse, when
:06:34. > :06:41.she complained she was told a techincal glitch meant the e-mail
:06:41. > :06:45.might be wrong. We are totally in the dark as to what will happen in
:06:45. > :06:48.terms of her schooling. We do not know if we have any of the choices
:06:48. > :06:52.that we put down. We are in the dark until we have received the
:06:53. > :06:56.letter. Primary school is the foundation of a child's education.
:06:56. > :06:58.And for parents this can be an anxious time of year. Jill Wheeler
:06:59. > :07:01.applied for her place online, but people who sent their application
:07:02. > :07:04.by post rather than e-mail still haven't received any notice at all.
:07:05. > :07:14.Parents and carers we've spoken to today's say it's just not good
:07:14. > :07:17.enough. I think it is wrong. Everyone should get a letter or be
:07:17. > :07:22.informed properly. If we do not know if the information is accurate
:07:22. > :07:24.or not. It is stressful and seems to be a bit of a mess, to be honest.
:07:24. > :07:27.Hull City Council's issued a statement apologising to parents
:07:27. > :07:30.For "the confusion caused that the e-mails to people who have applied
:07:30. > :07:33.for primary school places online were sent out ahead of the letters.
:07:33. > :07:37.Letters to all those who applied will be sent out by the original
:07:37. > :07:40.target date of 4th May. And added that they are "looking into claims
:07:40. > :07:49.that some of the information sent out by e-mail is incorrect and will
:07:49. > :07:52.issue an update once this has been clarified." So, as thousands of
:07:52. > :07:58.parents wait anxiously to hear, Jill says she'll home-school her
:07:58. > :08:00.daughter if she doesn't get her first choice.
:08:00. > :08:03.I spoke to Professor Jeremy Dunning-Davies from the Campaign
:08:03. > :08:06.for Real Education, an organisation which presses for more parental
:08:06. > :08:15.choice in state education. I asked him if there was anything wrong
:08:15. > :08:20.with the application system. understand, with this one, some
:08:20. > :08:22.people have been able to apply online, others not. It should not
:08:22. > :08:28.happen but it does seem that, whenever that is the case, problems
:08:28. > :08:33.arise. What is the best way to deal with admissions to primary schools?
:08:33. > :08:38.I would suspect the best way is for every parent to fill in and paper
:08:38. > :08:46.application which has to be posted in or handed in. -- fell in a paper
:08:46. > :08:50.application. The parent we spoke to said that, if the information is
:08:50. > :08:56.correct, her child has been given the third choice. What has gone
:08:56. > :09:01.wrong? Something obviously has. I would not have thought that a child
:09:01. > :09:05.should be going to the third choice school. I do not know the area and
:09:05. > :09:08.what schools are available. It may be an area where there has been a
:09:08. > :09:13.lot of recent building and so there is not enough primary school
:09:13. > :09:17.provision in that area. We have to look carefully because when we get
:09:17. > :09:21.situations where, for example, twins are separated, that should
:09:21. > :09:25.never happen. I do not think that brothers and sisters should be
:09:25. > :09:29.separated. It is a big administrative problem and the
:09:29. > :09:36.councils have an unenviable task. Are you a parent who is waiting to
:09:36. > :09:46.hear or has heard what school has got into? What has your experience
:09:46. > :09:56.been? We will have some of your thoughts on this subject before we
:09:56. > :10:08.
:10:08. > :10:10.Lincolnshire Police say they've made more than 60 arrests so far
:10:10. > :10:13.this year in connection with metal thefts. The force recently started
:10:13. > :10:16.an operation which includes working closely with scrap dealers. In
:10:16. > :10:21.Sleaford, one man was arrested for a raid on the historic Bass
:10:21. > :10:24.Maltings. The E-3D sentry aircraft is flying
:10:24. > :10:26.again from RAF Waddington. It had been grounded after technical
:10:26. > :10:33.issues were raised earlier this month, but the Ministry of Defence
:10:33. > :10:36.says it's got no remaining safety concerns.
:10:36. > :10:39.People in North East Lincolnshire are being told they must recycle
:10:39. > :10:42.their rubbish. Local-authority says it is tightening its rules on what
:10:42. > :10:44.it will collect and will fine residents who repeatedly abuse the
:10:44. > :10:53.system. Earlier this month the council began charging for
:10:53. > :10:56.replacement bins and for the removal of extra garden waste. The
:10:56. > :10:58.new chief Constable of Lincolnshire Police has said that getting more
:10:58. > :11:01.bobbies on the beat will be his priority.
:11:01. > :11:06.Neil Rhodes has been speaking for the first time since taking up his
:11:06. > :11:09.new post. His appointment comes as the force hands over part of its
:11:09. > :11:19.policing operation to the private firm G4S. Our reporter Phil Connell
:11:19. > :11:22.
:11:22. > :11:28.has more. He began as a bobby on the beat in
:11:28. > :11:32.Lincolnshire and, 26 years on, is now the county's new Chief
:11:32. > :11:37.Constable. Neil Rhodes was meeting members of his team today, with
:11:37. > :11:41.clear priorities about where his -- clear ideas about where his
:11:41. > :11:45.priorities lie. If my children or friends are right about in the
:11:45. > :11:49.county, I want them to feel safe and secure. The best way to do that
:11:49. > :11:54.is to have highly visible police officers on patrol. That is what
:11:54. > :12:00.we're about. Neil Rhodes is 53 years old and joined the police
:12:00. > :12:06.force in 1986. He left school at 16 with few qualifications but has
:12:06. > :12:10.since degrees -- gained degrees in law and criminology. With the
:12:10. > :12:14.police force facing unprecedented change, Neil Rhodes' Experience
:12:14. > :12:18.will be fully tested. He is overseeing budget cuts of almost
:12:18. > :12:24.�20 million. He will also see the force become the first in the
:12:24. > :12:28.country to have first of its policing operation privatised.
:12:28. > :12:32.has freed up around �3 million for the year ahead and every year be on
:12:32. > :12:35.that. That is a number of extra officers but we can keep on the
:12:35. > :12:40.streets of Lincolnshire that we would not have been able to. It
:12:40. > :12:45.really supports frontline policing. Across Lincolnshire, what do people
:12:45. > :12:52.hope that the new police chief will bring? We had been to a street in
:12:52. > :12:55.Lincoln that has one of the highest crime rates in the City. There is a
:12:55. > :12:59.lot of anti-social behaviour, like drinking in the street. We need
:12:59. > :13:02.more police because our windows keep getting broken. They need to
:13:02. > :13:08.put their foot down, stop people smashing windows and things like
:13:08. > :13:13.that. When you can -- can you reassure people when you have few -
:13:13. > :13:17.- less money to spend? A we have to make sure that we are making the
:13:17. > :13:22.savings wherever we can away from the front line. We have been really
:13:22. > :13:26.successful at doing that so far. Obviously, there will be a tipping
:13:26. > :13:32.point where cuts cannot be sustained, but at the moment I am
:13:33. > :13:42.confident. These will be challenging times for Neil Rhodes,
:13:42. > :13:47.in charge at a time of unprecedented change.
:13:47. > :13:53.Still to come: The sea horse giving birth of which has become an
:13:53. > :14:00.internet sensation. And the brave woman fighting her
:14:00. > :14:07.own battle to complete the London Marathon.
:14:07. > :14:17.If you have a picture you are proud of, send it into us. This one was
:14:17. > :14:23.
:14:23. > :14:27.taken by David in Cleethorpes. Paul has written to say, Paul Hobson has
:14:27. > :14:31.told us there is more middle -- miserable weather coming. I would
:14:31. > :14:41.like to replace them with a nice photograph and some pleasant music.
:14:41. > :14:46.
:14:47. > :14:52.We would all like that! I wish I There will be heavy downpours and
:14:52. > :14:57.there is a chance of localised flooding. That we have had 11 mm of
:14:57. > :15:01.rain at Waddington as we edged towards a new April record. Low
:15:01. > :15:05.pressure is very much in charge tomorrow, so more rainfall to come,
:15:05. > :15:13.with another deluge on Saturday night into Sunday. Pretty
:15:13. > :15:19.relentless at the moment. There have been reports of hail and
:15:19. > :15:22.thunder. These showers have been pushing through the Midlands.
:15:22. > :15:32.Normally you would expect showers to die away, but I do not think
:15:32. > :15:43.
:15:43. > :15:47.they will tonight. There should be some brighter spells tomorrow, not
:15:47. > :15:57.the gloomy day we have had today. There will be showers from the word
:15:57. > :15:58.
:15:58. > :16:08.go. There is a risk of localised flooding. A very unsettled day, but
:16:08. > :16:11.
:16:11. > :16:17.at least some drier, brighter spells. Temperatures will be around
:16:17. > :16:24.13 Celsius. Our risk of showers on Friday. There may be a bit of a
:16:24. > :16:34.respite on Saturday. Heavy rain returns on Saturday night into
:16:34. > :16:45.
:16:45. > :16:54.Blenkin is one of the safest places to go for a night out. -- Lincoln.
:16:54. > :16:58.The City is in a group of five to be given the awards today. In and
:16:58. > :17:02.around the city centre, there are 250 bars and restaurants, around
:17:02. > :17:06.11,000 students, and now Lincoln has an award for its night life.
:17:06. > :17:11.Every time I have come here I have had a good time. Everyone is really
:17:11. > :17:16.friendly. You do not get all the weird people. It is nice. Lincoln
:17:16. > :17:20.probably matches up with most other places of a similar size. It has
:17:20. > :17:28.the multinationals in the town. is very safe compared to other
:17:28. > :17:33.cities. A lot of things helped to win the flag, including St pastor's
:17:33. > :17:37.who care for clubbers and the CCTV network. Your priorities work
:17:37. > :17:41.closely with businesses who hope to benefit from the award. There is a
:17:41. > :17:44.strong collaborative approach in winning this award. It is a
:17:44. > :17:52.relatively small city. We have to have a collaborative approach to
:17:52. > :17:56.everything we do. Why does Lincoln needed new status? Is it was
:17:56. > :18:02.identified by the Home Office as having a particular problem with
:18:02. > :18:08.perception. We have demonstrated to the residents and visitors that it
:18:08. > :18:13.is as safe and entertaining venue for an evening out. Lincoln is a
:18:13. > :18:17.vibrant place to come for a night out but how do you do that without
:18:17. > :18:21.annoying the neighbours? You have touched on one of the more
:18:21. > :18:27.challenging parts. His is -- it is not about being louder or brighter,
:18:27. > :18:31.it is about looking at alternatives, really. Link in is one of 30
:18:31. > :18:35.winners but it will have to reapply for the state is every year. Those
:18:35. > :18:45.behind the application say they are confident that the city will remain
:18:45. > :18:52.
:18:52. > :19:02.appealing after sunset. This next story is quite unusual video. It is
:19:02. > :19:07.
:19:07. > :19:13.footage of a sea horse giving birth at The Deep in Hull. This video has
:19:13. > :19:23.received 400,000 hits online. Our reporter is at the mike deep
:19:23. > :19:26.
:19:26. > :19:30.tonight with the man who filled it. -- The Deep. I am going to take you
:19:30. > :19:36.behind the scenes. The public do not get to see this. This is one of
:19:36. > :19:40.the quarantine rooms. There are lots of tanks in here, and this is
:19:40. > :19:44.where animals are cared for that are not in the main aquarium. It is
:19:44. > :19:50.also where lots of the newcomers come in. Graham looks after the sea
:19:50. > :19:55.horses. It had over 1,000 babies, which is quite a lot. How
:19:55. > :20:03.endangered our sea horses? species are classified as
:20:03. > :20:07.vulnerable. Even though they have that many babies, there are only a
:20:07. > :20:11.few that survive to adulthood. was amazing footage, and we're
:20:11. > :20:19.going to show some of that again. Talk me through it. What can we
:20:19. > :20:27.actually see. We were lucky to be there at the right time. Initially,
:20:27. > :20:33.you can see that the male's respiration rate goes up and that
:20:33. > :20:38.he changed colour from dark black to yellow. Progressively, you get
:20:38. > :20:43.contractions, the pouch opens and then he jet propels the young a lot
:20:43. > :20:48.of his pouch. In certainly was amazing footage. Can you believe
:20:48. > :20:55.that it was filmed on Father's Day? If only it was like that in real
:20:55. > :20:57.life! You might remember these remarkable
:20:57. > :21:00.images. This is Claire Lomas, paralysed
:21:00. > :21:03.from the chest down, learning to walk again with the help of robotic
:21:04. > :21:07.legs. Incredibly, she's now four days and six miles into the London
:21:07. > :21:11.Marathon, and expects to finish in around two weeks' time. It has all
:21:11. > :21:21.been made possible by a small team from Altrincham in East Yorkshire.
:21:21. > :21:23.
:21:23. > :21:33.Simon Spark was in London to catch up with Claire this afternoon. It
:21:33. > :21:38.is day four of Clare's gruelling London Marathon Challenge. Weeks
:21:38. > :21:43.ago she could not -- she could barely walk a step in her robotic
:21:43. > :21:47.suit. She intends now to complete the London Marathon in about three
:21:47. > :21:55.weeks. There are a lot of hills and the first part. It has been quite
:21:55. > :21:58.tough. Everyone else is pushing me on. Clare is the first person in
:21:58. > :22:04.the UK to use the robotic legs that are manufactured in the East Riding
:22:04. > :22:08.of Yorkshire. They have enabled her to walk again after a riding
:22:08. > :22:12.accident left her paralysed from the chest down five years ago. Her
:22:12. > :22:20.sporting determination has got her through the months of intensive
:22:20. > :22:25.training required. It is physical. Because of her disability, she
:22:25. > :22:30.tends to lean forward, using the crutches a lot more, which puts a
:22:30. > :22:35.lot of strain on her wrists. We try to straighten her up, which will
:22:35. > :22:41.help or a lot more. She is finding it quite hard in that way.
:22:41. > :22:47.walking itself is a challenge, but the weather is no help either. She
:22:47. > :22:54.has been getting some celebrity encouragement to lift her spirits.
:22:54. > :23:04.Yesterday we had Matt Holland and Tim Henman. We have had lots of
:23:04. > :23:06.
:23:06. > :23:11.fine, even though the walking is hard. Clare Balding is coming down.
:23:11. > :23:15.After a quick lunch break, Clare arrived. I think it is
:23:15. > :23:20.extraordinary what she's doing, and so I wanted to come and show my
:23:20. > :23:23.support, to help motivate her and taught her about it. I wonder how
:23:23. > :23:27.the kit will deal with extreme weather conditions, different
:23:27. > :23:33.surfaces, different weather conditions. She will provide
:23:33. > :23:41.valuable feedback for Spinal Research. The Cutty Sark indicates
:23:41. > :23:49.that she has reached 6.5 miles. It is another step towards the target
:23:49. > :23:52.that she hopes to reach for Spinal Research. End you heard Simon say
:23:52. > :23:55.Claire's target is �50,000. Well, we can tell you tonight she has
:23:55. > :24:04.already raised half of that. So, well done, and good luck for the
:24:04. > :24:08.next two weeks. By recap of the headlines: Britain
:24:08. > :24:17.slips back into recession, sparking a political row about who is to
:24:17. > :24:20.blame. Tomorrow's weather will be
:24:20. > :24:30.unsettled but brighter. Top temperature will be around 13
:24:30. > :24:31.
:24:31. > :24:35.Celsius. On the subject of school places,
:24:35. > :24:39.one viewer says, our child got into the school we wanted it. The system
:24:39. > :24:43.was straightforward. Another viewers is, I contacted the
:24:43. > :24:48.council yesterday and they said the allocations would be sent in the
:24:48. > :24:52.post this week. I do not understand what is going on.
:24:52. > :24:58.Craig says, I still have not find out for my child, other people have.
:24:58. > :25:03.The administration is a job. Another viewer says, I am so upset
:25:03. > :25:13.and anxious. I hope that my child gets into his first choice.
:25:13. > :25:13.
:25:13. > :25:19.Finally, on the subject of what schooling, when viewers says she is