05/03/2014 Look North (East Yorkshire and Lincolnshire)

Ukrainians in crime era, as the high-level talks to resume the

crisis continue. Good evening and welcome to BBC Look

North. The headlines tonight: Three months on, flood`hit residents say

they're frustrated after repair work is put on hold.

Within that first week, thex took our furniture, the kit Ching and the

floorboards. That was it. Claims lives are being put `t risk

after speed cameras in Lincolnshire come under attack.

The first puffins of Spring arrive on the East Yorkshire coast. And

some lovely weather on the way next week.

Three months after the worst tidal surge on the East Coast for 60 years

flooded hundreds of properthes some people have been told it cotld be

months before they can return to their homes. Insurers say the sheer

scale of flooding across thd country means there is a backlog in

processing claims and getting homes back to normal. Residents s`y that's

left them in limbo and living in temporary accommodation. Our

political editor Tim Iredald joins me now. Why is it taking so long to

get people back in their holes? Well that's what some peopld are

asking as the battle to get back to normal continues. The tidal surge of

fifth December left flood w`ter in over a thousand homes in

Lincolnshire and East Yorkshire 275 homes were flooded in Hull, where

the tidal barrier protected tens of thousands more properties. Hn

Northern Lincolnshire 320 properties were flooded. In a moment wd'll hear

from the people of South Ferriby, one of the worst affected areas But

first Linsey Smith has been to Boston where 600 homes were affected

by the tidal surge three months ago. This was my sitting room. The water

may have receded, but the chaos remains. Three months on, this woman

says insurance renovations on her home are frustrating. They took our

furniture, the floorboards, the kitchen. We were put into

accommodation and that was ht. They have done nothing since then. In

Boston seems like this met residents. Seems a ?100 million

tidal barrier should stop h`ppening again, but that is not planned until

2017. If we had that tidal barrier, those homes would not have hn

affected. The damage here from the 5th of December is plain to see The

love people have bought this place is clear to see. We had a rdal

Dunkirk spirit at the beginning with people pitching in. Tony just wants

her family and pets to return home, but that could be another three

months away. Here, a villagd surrounded by water. Wrote ht was

about that high. Three months on, Michelle and their family `` and her

family are returning home. They have lost everything. I have not really

cried. This is the first tile she has cried since it happened. Part of

me wants to come back and the rest doesn't. It is such a mess. Many are

still living in caravans. Skips are overflowing and there are claims

homes have been looted. This parish councillor patrols the area. She has

set up an appeal fund to improve flood defences and help loc`l

residents and businesses. Pdople are still angry. They are worridd about

money and their jobs. Some local businesses have no business. There

is a lot of anxiety about and fear for the future. Is the a lot of work

to do and some uncertain tiles ahead by those affect by the blogs in

December. Why are the floods still causing political debate?

Of course, much attention rdcently has been focused on floods hn the

south of England. Tomorrow people living on the Somerset Levels will

ask the government directly for ?100 million for flood protection, even

though far fewer homes were affected. Some Labour MPs claims

there's been a north`south divide to the Government's response to the

floods, but local Conservathves insist that's not the case. I am

satisfied there will be extra funding coming for the rest of the

country. Obviously my first responsibility is to make stre that

comes to Northern Lincolnshhre and when the Environment Agency have put

forward their capital progr`mme I will be lobbying very hard.

Tonight the government says we can expect ministerial visits to our

area over the next few weeks where further plans will be outlined to

prevent further flooding on the Humber and Lincolnshire coast.

In a moment on the programmd batch I will be asking the head of

TransPennine Express why thdy are sending some of their trains to the

south of England. ?100 million has been spent in

Lincolnshire in the past fotr years fixing speed cameras that h`ve been

attacked. Since January four cameras have been targeted, costing the

taxpayer more than ?100,000. Road safety officials say the money could

have been better spent educ`ting drivers and that the problel in

Lincolnshire is one of the worst in the country.

This is a relatively common sight in Linconshire these days. Somdone has

been charged in connection with this vandalism. But the problem hs

costing the people of lincolnshire dearly Over the past four ydars the

cost of repairing speed camdras in Lincolnshire has been significant.

This camera is going to cost over 30,000 pounds to repair. It puts the

drivers of Lincolnshire at risk In the Humber area they have only been

a handful of attacks on spedd cameras in the last decade, so why

is it such a problem in Lincolnshire. Most of our c`meras

are in poor locations. Over the last few years, the cost of repahring

speed cameras have risen. . So are motorists surprised at the scale of

the problem? They are a nuisance, but if they are stopping accidents,

we have to live with it. I then think vandalising them is the thing

to do. More police on patrol or a camera with a camera showing the

person who has on it. The most common form of vandalism on cameras

is arson. This footage shows one in grantham set alight. Lincolnshire

Road Safety Partnership says it s getting better at catching Those

responsible. And the punishlent is severe. Ashley Rowland and @nthony

Luty were both jailed in 2002 for attacking this camera in Helswell.

But despite that deterrent, this is a problem that doesn't seem to be

going away. Earlier I spoke to Independdnt MEP

Godfrey Bloom who campaigns on behalf of the driver's union. I

started by asking him if he likes speed cameras. No, I don't. Identity

they work and they take mondy away from genuine road safety problems

and cameras don't actually work But of all the sites in Lincolnshire

where they have been speed cameras, there has been a 42% reducthon in

speed cameras. They are not interpreting the statistics

properly. They are not lookhng at things like the Simpsons paradox.

Those statistics are put together by people who want to sell spedd

cameras. At the road safety charity 's `` but the road safety charity 's

do not want to sell speed c`meras. These charities are lay

organisations without a gre`t deal of expertise. What you need to look

at is the actual statistics here. They don't prove anything at all. In

a survey, 79% of people thotght that speed cameras should be used to

reduce road casualties. That is because they are not aware of the

real situation. Even if we see a camera, we slow down. It shows they

work. You do slow down, but maybe you hit the brakes it rationally and

someone runs into the back of you. We have too many speed cameras and

the reason people are getting frustrated is because of thd fines

and that is why they are vandalising them, even though I don't condone

that. Please let us don't your thoughts on speed cameras. Do you

agree with them? Concern is growing for the safety of

a missing woman in Revesby. 52`year`old Denise Gray hasn't been

seen since Monday afternoon when she went for a walk. Lincolnshire Police

and volunteers are continuing to search the area south of Horncastle

for the American tourist. Pdople living close by are being asked to

check sheds and farm buildings. We are really concerned. When someone

leaves under these circumst`nces and they don't return, it is worrying.

It has been very cold over the last couple of nights. If she is out

there, it is not ideal. We `re really worried.

Weeks earlier than usual thd first Puffin has been spotted on the East

Yorkshire coast. There had been worries the winter storms h`d harmed

sea bird colonies, but bird`watchers at Bempton Cliffs say the e`rly

return is a sign that all is well on the coast.

A beautiful day at Bempton Cliffs. Blue skies, a light breeze, perfect

conditions it seems for a ptffin. It's very rare for them to be seen

here this early in the year, but there's already been another. It was

just the one. We had it on our CCTV camera. Things are happening. The

season is on its way. Good news Especially after a winter of strong

winds, which have lead to worries that many wont have survived. They

usually stay out on the open seas during the winter. Their major food

source is fish. Some of them died through

starvation. And that's just what has happened elsewhere. In the last

month over two thousand sea birds have been washed up dead on beaches

in the south. But the RSPB dstimates twenty`eight thousand have been

killed. Little sign of that at Bempton today, a relief to lany

visitors. We did not expect to see much. The storms in December would

have caused a lot of damage. This is the first time we have been back

this year. It is nice to sed them. It is early days before the effects

on wildlife is fully known, but things are looking good.

Still ahead ` the unique restoration job for a team from Lincoln. It was

created to look like the footholds of the Swiss Alps, which in itself

is unique. Tonight's picturd is of the red arrows.

Several people are asking about the onesie. It is actually a baby grow.

Let us take a look at the wdather. The emphasis is on dry weather. The

breeze coming from the South means the temperatures will the above

average. Whether France will clear and high pressure will develop over

the weekend and for the first time since the first week in Decdmber,

high pressure will dominate our weather next week. That means a lot

of fine weather on the way. In the short term, we do have a cotple of

whether France. Today we have 1 degrees, which is not bad for this

time of the year. Overnight there will be a lot of clouds comhng in

from the west. We should only have a few spots of rain and there will be

no frost. Temperatures down to seven Celsius. The sun will rise `t around

6:40am. Most the cloudy skids tomorrow. `` mostly cloudy skies

tomorrow. Many parts will bd dry. Skies may brighten at times. The

breeze a moderate south`westerly. Highs of ten or 11 Celsius. Friday,

cloudy with some patchy rain in the morning. It will become dry in the

afternoon. High pressure to the weekend. Quite a bit of clotds,

especially on Saturday. Next week looks fine and settled. We look

forward to getting the picttre from your wife or view in your onesie.

See you tomorrow. There are fears that the rahl

operator TransPennine Express running trains between Hull and

Manchester may face a reduction in services. The operator will see nine

of its seventy trains go to a company in the South East. The

decision was put to David C`meron during Prime Minister's Questions

earlier today. Does the prile ministers share my astonishlent at a

decision announced yesterdax that TransPennine Express, which covers

the North of England, is to lose one the North of England, is to lose one

in eight of its trains which are to be transferred to Chilton r`il for

the greater comfort and convenience of commuters in the south of

England? We have plans to electrified the TransPennind Express

and we are going ahead with the northern half, which will m`ke a

difference. These are big steps forward. I have the managing

director of TransPennine Express with me. Are you disappointdd with

this situation? We are disappointed. In just a few weeks, we will

increase the capacity across our net work by about 30%. That includes

through places like Grimsby, whole and Selby. But you will be losing

13% of your fleet in a year. You just can't go out tomorrow `nd by

nine trains. That is correct. Our franchise ends in a year, so we

don't have any commitments. We are talking to the Department for

Transport about our new franchise. If you cannot find those nine trains

by this time next year, won't it be impossible to run the service you

are running at the moment Rtshton Mark it will be a challenge and that

is why we are trying to find trains elsewhere. It will be a challenge.

Somewhere there is a risk of capacity reductions. Bob Crow from

the RMT has said, this move is nothing short of a scandal. Once

again the North loses and wdll passengers have nothing to look

forward to apart from overcrowding and chaos. Nothing short of a

scandal. It is not a great situation. We are talking urgently

with the Department for Transport in terms of securing rolling stock back

into this operation. We need to sustain the capacity increase. Is

the North the poor relation when it comes to train travel? Having said

that, there is ?1 billion worth of investment coming to the North of

England for electrification and capacity improvement. We ard excited

about that. It is quite frustrating that the rolling stock capacity is

squeezed against that. Is there someone you can call up and ask for

nine trains? Berries, but it will take awhile to them. Thank xou for

speaking to us. Nick Donovan there, the manager of TransPennine Express.

Please let us know your thotghts on the train service you receive in

your area. A member of the clergy in North East Lincolnshire is going

without food for 40 years to `` for 40 years to raise awareness about

the poverty. He will live off fruit juice, vitamins and water for the

duration of Lent. When I am hungry and I smell food, I am going to

think, I am finding this difficult, but other people are doing this

anyway and it is not a choice they have made. I am very fortun`te. I

have friends and family who look out for me.

Hull City vice chairman Ehab Allam has written an open letter to fans

of the club explaining why he and his father want the club to be known

as Hull Tigers. Mr Allam explained that with only seven per cent of

income coming from gate recdipts, they needed to exploit forehgn

markets. Fans group, City Thll We Die, said the letter didn't add

anything to what they already knew. Rugby League's Player of thd Year

award is going to be named `fter former Hull FC player Steve Prescott

for his charity work. Steve lost a long battle with stomach cancer last

year and the award will now be known as the Steve Prescott Man of Steel

award after a campaign by Rtgby league fans.

A team from the University of Lincoln is carrying out a unique

restoration job on a 19th cdntury Swiss cottage. It was built by a

rich landowner in Bedfordshhre to remind him of his holidays hn

Switzerland but nearly two hundred years on it was in need of some

expert repairs. Gemma Dawson has been to see the work.

The quiet of the Swiss Garddn in Bedfordshire is being interrupted.

Covered in scaffolding, a tdam from the University of Lincoln are

carefully restoring this cottage's rustic porch using twigs and pine

cones. We have removed the old 0s decoration. It had degraded and

stood out against the rest of the declaration. We are trying to smooth

the surface to put on new decoration. The cottage and its

grounds were created by Lord Ongley in the 1820s. And this is now a rare

example of a Regency`style garden. It was created to look like the

footholds of the Swiss Alps, which is in itself unique, although at the

time, which is when Jane Austin was writing about everyone being in

Switzerland on their grand Tours, it was the in thing to bring b`ck ideas

from that area. In the main room of the cottage ` conservators `re now

cleaning and retouching the decoration... And they think they've

made a big discovery. The tdam believes much of this interhor was

salvaged from a Swiss cottage in Regents Park which was demolished in

1875, just two years before work took place here. The team from

Lincoln think this illustration proves their theory. You can see the

similarities between the Chdvron designs. There are lots of dlements

in the interior where you c`n see that it has been chopped up and

created to fit this space. What we really could do with is a ptrchase

order or something in the archives. A lot of work has been done, but as

yet, we cannot find that absolute proof. The team from Lincoln think

this illustration of the Regents Park cottage proves their theory...

They'll now have to wait to see if their suspicions will elevate this

iconic cottage ` to become ` Grade one listed building. But we leave

the team from Lincoln pondering a problem How to attach the phne cones

to the porch's ceiling to rdstore this cottage to it's former glory.

Arica on the main regional `nd national headlines. Russia `nd

America meet for the first time since the Ukraine crisis began.

Three months on from Decembdr's flooding, some people are told it

could be the summer before they can return to their homes. Tomorrow

cloudy with some rain possible. Most places will remain dry. Temperatures

up to 11 Celsius. Let's get back to the discussion about speed cameras.

Ditch the speed cameras and get more police out on the roads pulling

people over. John says, Lincolnshire Road safety partnership shotld stop

using its 1970s technology cameras and invest in new ones. Thex will

drastically reduce speeding and speed related accidents in the

county. Marie says, speed c`meras do improve the roads as they slow

people down and prevent acchdents. If they were not there, the roads

would be more dangerous. Russell says, speed cameras don't c`tch

drink drivers or careless drivers. Finally, Marie says, I have never

been so incensed as I have hn watching the discussion on speed

cameras. I live in a villagd and neighbours and I regularly see

vehicles going over the 30 lph speed limit. It is a speed limit for a

reason and that is safety. That is it for now. Have a good evening