0:00:00 > 0:00:05Here on BBC One, it's time for the news where you are.
0:00:05 > 0:00:06Good evening. for the news where you are.
0:00:06 > 0:00:09The headlines from BBC Look North this Wednesday night.
0:00:09 > 0:00:11Struggling high streets in East Yorkshire and Lincolnshire
0:00:11 > 0:00:21will be dead within a decade - according to a top retail expert.
0:00:24 > 0:00:28The problem high streets will not be around in ten years and I don't
0:00:28 > 0:00:29think they should be.
0:00:29 > 0:00:31David Prescott - the son of Lord Prescott -
0:00:31 > 0:00:33is suspended from his job in the Labour Party.
0:00:33 > 0:00:35Patients say they're being repeatedly let down
0:00:35 > 0:00:38by a private ambulance service that has been given a big NHS contract.
0:00:42 > 0:00:49I sit here in trepidation waiting to see if it turns up.A lot of
0:00:49 > 0:00:53sunshine to come over the next few days. Join me for the updated
0:00:53 > 0:00:55forecast.
0:01:00 > 0:01:02High streets in market towns across East Yorkshire
0:01:02 > 0:01:04and Lincolnshire will be dead within a decade.
0:01:04 > 0:01:07That's the claim of a retail expert, speaking as new BBC research
0:01:07 > 0:01:09suggests the UK high street is continuing to decline.
0:01:09 > 0:01:11In Market Rasen in Lincolnshire, which was given a special government
0:01:11 > 0:01:14grant to reverse its fortunes five years ago, vacancy rates
0:01:14 > 0:01:15have continued to rise.
0:01:15 > 0:01:24Our Business Correspondent Katy Austin reports.
0:01:35 > 0:01:39Being a pilot to gave Market Rasen a boost.
0:01:39 > 0:01:41Mary Portas has now gone, so has this veg shop -
0:01:41 > 0:01:46and so has the hope the high street would be revitalised.
0:01:46 > 0:01:50What is the long-term effect of it? I don't think the long-term effect
0:01:50 > 0:01:57has been lasting.Have you seen any effect at all?Not particularly.The
0:01:57 > 0:02:03mood varies.I think the people here are rather negative and that they
0:02:03 > 0:02:07actually walked up the high street and saw her many independent
0:02:07 > 0:02:11businesses that are, there are tones that would love that many
0:02:11 > 0:02:16independent businesses.Do you think it has got better in the last few
0:02:16 > 0:02:29years?It has gone downhill. What is here is too pricey.Mary Portis
0:02:29 > 0:02:35admits the scheme she headed up hasn't revived high-street fortunes.
0:02:35 > 0:02:41It was a nice shiny PR campaign that looks like we were doing something
0:02:41 > 0:02:44and of course we were doing something and I thought it would
0:02:44 > 0:02:52kick-start much more.But it didn't. There was an effect but for me, the
0:02:52 > 0:02:58problem with town centre is much bigger than the pilot scheme. It is
0:02:58 > 0:03:01infrastructure, housing, things that need to come together to make a real
0:03:01 > 0:03:08and significant contribution. Although many high streets continue
0:03:08 > 0:03:17to struggle, nearby brick only has one empty shop.We have two hours
0:03:17 > 0:03:23free parking and even more on a Saturday, which brings even more
0:03:23 > 0:03:34people into the town and keeps it so busy.Some people think the
0:03:34 > 0:03:38reintroduction of parking charges and the fact some banks have left
0:03:38 > 0:03:42town have put off shoppers. What is clear is that high streets across
0:03:42 > 0:03:47our nation are shrinking and changing and the need to survive.
0:03:47 > 0:03:49Retail expert Harjeet Johal, who's the former managing director
0:03:49 > 0:03:51of a clothing chain, says small high
0:03:51 > 0:03:58streets are finished.
0:03:58 > 0:04:03We are crippled by our nostalgia and to Hamas. It means vital resources
0:04:03 > 0:04:10are sent away from vital projects. You have said they would be a
0:04:10 > 0:04:14high-street in ten years' time. Those are strong words but you don't
0:04:14 > 0:04:17really believe that?I do believe it but there are different types of
0:04:17 > 0:04:23high streets, the majority of smaller high streets are problem
0:04:23 > 0:04:26high streets. I don't think they will be around in ten years and I
0:04:26 > 0:04:30don't think they should be. Customers have decided they prefer
0:04:30 > 0:04:36to shop in larger high streets and out of town and crucially online and
0:04:36 > 0:04:41on their telephones.You are seeing the customers call the shots and we
0:04:41 > 0:04:46can't change human behaviour and they want to go to big places the
0:04:46 > 0:04:49high-street dies?Absolutely, the customer is always right and they
0:04:49 > 0:04:53have told us with their feet they don't want to go to the smaller high
0:04:53 > 0:04:58streets so must respond.
0:04:58 > 0:05:01An 86-year-old man has died, after being hit by a van
0:05:01 > 0:05:02in East Yorkshire.
0:05:02 > 0:05:04t happened just after 11 this morning
0:05:04 > 0:05:05at Pocklington.
0:05:05 > 0:05:07Police say the man was pronounced dead at the scene.
0:05:07 > 0:05:10The A15 north of Lincoln was closed for hours this
0:05:10 > 0:05:11morning after a crash.
0:05:11 > 0:05:13One person was seriously injured in the incident,
0:05:13 > 0:05:15just north of RAF Scampton.
0:05:15 > 0:05:16There'll be armed police officers at Lincoln's
0:05:16 > 0:05:18Christmas Market this year.
0:05:18 > 0:05:21Some roads will also be blocked off to protect crowds following a number
0:05:21 > 0:05:22of terror attacks across Europe.
0:05:22 > 0:05:24Lincolnshire Police say the extra security is not based
0:05:24 > 0:05:29on a specific threat.
0:05:33 > 0:05:37The son of former deputy prime minister and Hull MP -
0:05:37 > 0:05:40Lord Prescott - has been suspended from his job in the Labour
0:05:40 > 0:05:41Party.
0:05:41 > 0:05:43David Prescott is a key advisor to Jeremy Corbyn
0:05:43 > 0:05:46and a former BBC employee, who in recent years has attempted
0:05:46 > 0:05:48to become an MP in East Yorkshire and Lincolnshire.
0:05:48 > 0:05:49Our reporter
0:05:49 > 0:05:51Crispin Rolfe has been following the story.
0:05:51 > 0:06:01What else do we know about the suspension?
0:06:01 > 0:06:04A senior Labour source has told the BBC that David Prescott has been
0:06:04 > 0:06:09suspended from his post in the Labour Leader's office over
0:06:09 > 0:06:13allegations. He has not been suspended by the party, that
0:06:13 > 0:06:18suspension happened a few days ago and it is being investigated. It
0:06:18 > 0:06:24comes amid widespread allegations of misconduct in Westminster. No formal
0:06:24 > 0:06:28complaint has been made to the Labour Party and it has declined to
0:06:28 > 0:06:32give reasons for the suspension is saying, we do not comment on
0:06:32 > 0:06:36staffing matters.
0:06:36 > 0:06:40And why is his suspension of such interest?
0:06:40 > 0:06:44He has become an influential figure behind the scenes. He was a BBC
0:06:44 > 0:06:50producer and joint Jeremy Corbyn's office just over a year ago and
0:06:50 > 0:06:55became a communications manager to the Shadow cup and it. He has also
0:06:55 > 0:06:59tried to get into front line politics and stood in Gainsborough
0:06:59 > 0:07:03and there were this year he failed to win the nomination to replace
0:07:03 > 0:07:12Alan Johnson. That was won by Emma Hardy. The BBC has approached Mr
0:07:12 > 0:07:17Prescott for comment but so far no response.
0:07:17 > 0:07:19Patients relying on transport to and from hospital say they've
0:07:19 > 0:07:21been repeatedly "let down" by the private company
0:07:21 > 0:07:22paid to provide it.
0:07:22 > 0:07:24Thames Ambulance Service has been given NHS contracts
0:07:24 > 0:07:25in Hull and Lincolnshire.
0:07:25 > 0:07:35Our Health Correspondent Vicky Johnson has more.
0:07:35 > 0:07:39Sheena lives just north of Lincoln - but has to go to Castle Hill
0:07:39 > 0:07:42hospital in East Yorkshire twice a week to have her leg seen to.
0:07:42 > 0:07:43She relies on Thames for patient transport,
0:07:43 > 0:07:47but has been left stranded several times.
0:07:47 > 0:07:53Every time I know I have transport I sit in trepidation, waiting to see
0:07:53 > 0:07:54if it turns up.
0:07:54 > 0:07:59Sheena believes these
0:07:59 > 0:08:06missed appointments are delaying her recovery.
0:08:06 > 0:08:09It has been a long time as it is.
0:08:09 > 0:08:10Sheena's experience
0:08:10 > 0:08:13is not unusual - judging by the number of disgruntled
0:08:13 > 0:08:15patients who get in touch with Look North.
0:08:15 > 0:08:16A spokesman
0:08:16 > 0:08:18for Thames has offered their apologies in a statement,
0:08:18 > 0:08:21saying "TASL delivers a reliable quality service to the huge
0:08:21 > 0:08:22majority of our patients across Greater
0:08:22 > 0:08:23Lincolnshire and Hull.
0:08:23 > 0:08:27Regretfully there are occasional disruptions to our service
0:08:27 > 0:08:29and patients may be inconvenienced."
0:08:29 > 0:08:30Former Thames staff
0:08:30 > 0:08:32say their working life became increasingly stressful,
0:08:32 > 0:08:38especially after many volunteer drivers walked out in a row over
0:08:38 > 0:08:43expenses.
0:08:43 > 0:08:50Once they had gone we just don't have the resources. We feel we are
0:08:50 > 0:08:53playing God because ultimately we are deciding who makes the
0:08:53 > 0:08:58appointment and who isn't which is awful to deal with. It has had a
0:08:58 > 0:09:01massive detrimental effect on everyone in the office.
0:09:01 > 0:09:04The military breaks people to build them up
0:09:04 > 0:09:07but Thames are just breaking people.
0:09:07 > 0:09:08This woman served
0:09:08 > 0:09:11in the armed forces - but says that was nothing compared
0:09:11 > 0:09:14to working as a manager with Thames.
0:09:14 > 0:09:18They were crying in cupboards are generally wanting to walk out on a
0:09:18 > 0:09:27scale I have not seen before.
0:09:27 > 0:09:29Thames insist they do have enough people and vehicles
0:09:29 > 0:09:32to run the service - and Sheena is full of
0:09:32 > 0:09:35praise for the drivers - when they turn up.
0:09:35 > 0:09:37The different health groups with a stake in patient transport
0:09:37 > 0:09:40are now urging people like Sheena to get in touch with them
0:09:40 > 0:09:43so they can get a more complete picture of how the
0:09:43 > 0:09:46service is running.
0:09:50 > 0:09:57That's the news tonight, let's get the forecast.The seedling, a lot of
0:09:57 > 0:10:02sunshine to come over the next few days. A cloudy start but increasing
0:10:02 > 0:10:07amounts of sunshine, a cold and crystal weekend with lots of
0:10:07 > 0:10:11sunshine and frost inland. The chance of a few coastal showers on
0:10:11 > 0:10:17Sunday. Pretty cold already with a touch of frost but cloud is
0:10:17 > 0:10:22increasing from the Northwest, that might bring a little patchy rain in
0:10:22 > 0:10:28places but mostly remaining dry and the temperature at its lowest value,
0:10:28 > 0:10:34rising slowly through the night. Cloudy and in places dumps start but
0:10:34 > 0:10:37otherwise dry and we can see the cloud pushing southwards, increasing
0:10:37 > 0:10:43amounts of sunshine, a slightly milder day with the temperature of
0:10:43 > 0:10:45around 12-13 with a mainly sunny outlook.
0:10:50 > 0:10:53Thank you for watching, we're back with more local news in the morning
0:10:53 > 0:11:02on BBC One from 6:25 a:m.. Join me then if you can, good night.