:00:00. > :00:08.said it had been bought by an anonymous bidder.
:00:09. > :00:12.Lawyers in East Yorkshire and Lincolnshire say cuts to legal aid
:00:13. > :00:16.are having a severe effect on those least able to afford it. Last year
:00:17. > :00:20.the government stopped providing public funds for some types of
:00:21. > :00:25.cases, as part of a plan to save ?350 million a year. But opponents
:00:26. > :00:32.say the policy has left many on lower incomes having to represent
:00:33. > :00:53.themselves in court. Kate Sweeting reports.
:00:54. > :00:55.Cuts to legal aid have caused outrage amongst the legal
:00:56. > :00:58.many say it's the poorest families who are suffering the most.
:00:59. > :01:01.Carol has spent a year and thousands of pounds fighting through
:01:02. > :01:08.the courts to get her two grandson's out of care. Under the new rules,
:01:09. > :01:20.can't afford to fight for their children. I am only fighting for my
:01:21. > :01:22.grandsons. I have done nothing wrong.
:01:23. > :01:25.Legal aid uses public funds to pay for court cases. Cuts to civil legal
:01:26. > :01:28.aid came into effect in April 2013. Since then nearly all family law
:01:29. > :01:31.advice is exempt from legal aid, meaning people can no longer get
:01:32. > :01:32.funding for things like child contact.
:01:33. > :01:44.Hull Solicitor Sarah Clubley says she's seen dozens of families who
:01:45. > :01:57.can no longer get legal aid. They come in our office and it is a
:01:58. > :02:00.tragedy what is happening out there. In a statement the Ministry of
:02:01. > :02:02.Justice told us "Whilst we have had to address the
:02:03. > :02:05.cost of one of the most expensive legal aid systems in the world we
:02:06. > :02:08.have also made sure legal aid remains available for the cases
:02:09. > :02:14.where people most need legal help. This includes where life or liberty
:02:15. > :02:20.is at stake and where a person is at risk of serious physical harm.' But
:02:21. > :02:22.some maintain that the new system isn't working. Carol says
:02:23. > :02:25.she'll fight on. But as the legal bills mount up
:02:26. > :02:45.she risks losing not only them but also her home. It's about little
:02:46. > :02:52.Earlier I spoke to the Hull East MP Karl Turner who is
:02:53. > :03:01.I asked him if he agreed that legal aid bill had to come down.
:03:02. > :03:11.The efficiencies that have to be made. The government have ignored
:03:12. > :03:18.that. They are not saving any money at all worthless. A proceeding in
:03:19. > :03:22.the family court which would normally take an hour is taking a
:03:23. > :03:27.full day and kids are suffering as a result. Do you accept the greedy
:03:28. > :03:35.lawyers and barristers have got this in this situation? It is a complete
:03:36. > :03:49.fallacy that lawyers are earning fortunes. They are ending a huge
:03:50. > :03:54.amount of money. I suspect that the figures reflect monies paid for five
:03:55. > :04:00.or six years worked. When you are paid by the public purse, it takes a
:04:01. > :04:07.very long time to get the money end so the large amounts are probably
:04:08. > :04:10.over a few years. There is nothing to worry about because the
:04:11. > :04:20.government says people whose lives of liberty at stake will be covered.
:04:21. > :04:25.Only 1% has been paid in relation to those cases so it is just not
:04:26. > :04:32.working and they are not saving any money because proceedings are taking
:04:33. > :04:37.so much longer. Are you fighting for your legal friends are ordinary
:04:38. > :04:40.people? I am fighting for access to justice for people and I want
:04:41. > :04:47.parents and children to be represented in court. I do not mind
:04:48. > :04:55.admitting I want fairness of access to court.
:04:56. > :04:58.must make further savings worth ?90 million.
:04:59. > :05:01.It's already made ?125 million of cuts since 2009. Unions claim the
:05:02. > :05:07.latest savings could see 500 jobs go.
:05:08. > :05:10.Police have released CCTV footage of a woman who's missing in
:05:11. > :05:11.Lincolnshire. 60`year`old Diane Tytheridge from
:05:12. > :05:13.Bicker hasn't been seen since Wednesday morning. Police expanded
:05:14. > :05:16.their search area at the weekend after a review of CCTV showed Diane
:05:17. > :05:27.in the morning near the bus station in Boston.
:05:28. > :05:29.Hull is to receive more than ?3 million in arts funding.
:05:30. > :05:33.Venues like Hull Truck Theatre will get a share of the money from the
:05:34. > :05:35.Arts Council England. There's also cash for the city's Freedom Festival
:05:36. > :05:56.in the run up to the year as City of Culture.
:05:57. > :05:59.In whole two out of three organisations are getting investment
:06:00. > :06:04.which is extremely unusual. There could be a case for investment
:06:05. > :06:07.in flood defences along the Humber. That's according to one Government
:06:08. > :06:09.Minister. MPs from the area have been in
:06:10. > :06:12.Parliament lobbying for more to be spent on protecting communities
:06:13. > :06:28.after December's tidal surge. The work that they're doing, along
:06:29. > :06:30.with the technical advice that's being
:06:31. > :06:34.received, or the work that the local authorities are involved in, will
:06:35. > :06:45.make a very strong case for a long`term investment plan.
:06:46. > :06:53.By the end of the night, temperatures should be back in
:06:54. > :06:59.single figures. Temperatures will remain constant and the cloud will
:07:00. > :07:09.build but it will stay mainly drive. We will get up to 23 degrees or 24
:07:10. > :07:16.degrees. 23 degrees is 74 Fahrenheit. There might be the odd
:07:17. > :07:32.spot of rain on Friday and it will be Saturday before it slowly clears.
:07:33. > :07:34.more cloud on Friday. None of this survives into the weekend, some rain
:07:35. > :07:42.around on Saturday. It's certainly been a feast of
:07:43. > :07:43.football again. The