23/01/2017 Look North (Yorkshire)

How a suckers list is helping stop 8,000 people in Yorkshire

And could changing the speed limit on the M1 cut air

Fog expected to be a problem tonight.

Join me for the life, dated forecast.

More than 8000 people in Yorkshire on what Trading Standards

It's a database of names and addresses of those

who've previously fallen victim to scammers.

The details are often sold on by criminals who target

vulnerable people repeatedly by letter, e-mail or telephone,

taking money from bogus products or prizes.

Elsie Ferguson and her son Paul bought bogus vitamin pills

from a firm claiming to be the real deal.

But the company sold on Elsie's details,

Each envelope aimed at getting her to send more money for a chance

I am coming up to 83 and I'm not a well person,

so if it doesn't stop I would say I will get very angry

Elsie, who wears a special hearing aid, stopped entering

the competitions months ago and yet she still gets the letters

and all because in the past she bought lamps, vitamins,

My name's Andy Fox from North Yorkshire Trading Standards

and I've come here to talk to you today about scam mail.

Trading Standards say her case is typical.

We see a lot of this in Trading Standards

homes who are answering scam mail where we will go into and the a lot

homes who are answering scam mail where we will go into and see a lot

of scam mail throughout the house and the victim is keen to answer it,

genuinely believing they've won a prize.

Elsie learned the hard way that there is no prize.

In my experience, whether you win or not, it makes no difference,

The only winner is the company that gets Elsie's money and address.

In North Yorkshire, there are 2000 names on the Suckers' List and not

There's another lady as well who lives in a different part

of North Yorkshire but we believe she has actually sold her house

When I've been round to see her I've been told that she's actually

going to her neighbours because she can't afford to feed

herself because all the money she has is going on answering scam mail.

Trading Standards say the only advice in this situation

is if a letter like this looks too good to be true, it

In West Yorkshire, there are around 4000 people on the scammers list.

David Lodge is from Trading Standards.

Dave, so we saw hundreds of letters there in Elsie's home but this

goes beyond just postal scams, doesn't it?

It can do and that is the worrying thing.

What tends to happen is these details are passed around,

not just to mail scammers, they can end up with the rogue

traders, these are the people that might come and knock on your door

and by the time they have arrived at your door,

they have a complete profile of the person living in that house,

so they know that they may be elderly, they may know

that they keep money in the house, they may live alone,

so they are an actual real vulnerable victim at that time.

There are 8000 names on this suckers list in Yorkshire.

Why is it useful to you at trading standards?

This is part of a national initiative and what we are able

to do is use it as a sort of proactive and preventative

measure, so we are trying to get to people not necessary before

they are victims but before they can become continually

abused and they could even be repeat victims.

So how can we avoid being on the suckers

The best advice is don't respond at all because of the first time

you respond, you kind of go up the hierarchy and the more times

that happens, you know, you move up that list.

Don't respond and the chances are that that number will decrease.

David Lodge from Trading Standards, thank you for joining me.

Millions of pounds of extra government cash has been promised

It's intended to boost Yorkshire's economy and help create new jobs.

The deal has been welcome by local authorities,

but they say it's just a fraction of what they have lost

Our political editor Len Tingle explains.

Since last year's floods in central Leeds, the multi-million pound

project to ensure they don't happen again has been well underway.

Today, Northern Powerhouse Minister Andrew Percy came to see what's

happening and promised more public cash for a whole range

of projects aimed at protecting and boosting local economies,

Today's announcement is ?500 billion of new money across the North,

more than they will be getting in London, more than

they will be getting in any other region of England.

I actually think this is a good deal.

That ?500 billion funding for the North is shared

A total heading our way of ?129 million.

This is the sort of area where that money can be spent.

This site just south of Leeds is forecast to provide something

like 9,000 jobs in the end, a mixture of housing and industry.

The government money will be spent to clear the site so that commercial

companies can move straight in and get started.

We do need more investment in infrastructure.

When you look at the North-South divide, you've got seven times

as much money is spent on transport in London as you do in Yorkshire.

The investment will also cover industrial training -

across the whole country, over ?170 million

But Labour says all of this new funding is a fraction

of what the regions have lost in spending cuts.

You look at the adult education budget, you know,

it is all right talking about putting ?170 million

into skills but they have cut more than ?1 billion to adult services.

The Minister's view is clear - the cuts of the past

are history and marks the start of rebuilding the future.

A report into severe flooding in York during Christmas 2015 has

concluded the decision to open the Foss Barrier was correct.

More than 600 properties were flooded, but a review

panel found the action was the best option available.

The report makes 85 recommendations for ways the city can better

protect itself in future, including installing sirens

The first pollution-related speed limit in the country could be

introduced on a section of the M1 in South Yorkshire.

If motorists drive over 60 miles an hour in rush hour

between junctions 32 and 35a they could be fined.

The restrictions would come into effect in March and it's hoped

It's a strecth of motorway drivers will know all too well,

especially because because it's been roadworks for the last

The cones and signs will soon be gone, but a new speed limit

120,000 vehicles use the M1 through Sheffield every day.

The idea would be to have a 60 mile an hour speed limit at peak times

between junctions 32 and 35a, including over the Tinsley Viaduct.

This is, of course, Sheffield's and Rotherham's industrial heartland

and the amount of traffic on the M1 adds to the air pollution.

In fact, Sheffield Council thinks that 500 people die early every year

I'm not convinced 60 miles an hour will actually work.

I've not seen evidence, I've not seen the calculations

to show that that of itself will mean that pollution levels

are reduced to levels that are safe for local residents living nearby.

There's a brand-new primary school here.

It was recently moved partly because of the air

You're going to move because it's so bad?

I'm 70-years-old this year, I'm quite fit, I don't feel any

effect from it but then again, I get out quite regularly

It's not just the motorway, Meadowhall is just off junction 34

and half a mile down the road, they are flat packing a new IKEA.

There will be more cars in this part of Sheffield.

The challenge will be to reduce the pollution.

If the traffic is going very fast but it's congested,

people will break heavily and you get a kind of red

All the cars back up and it leads to more congestion

The smart motorway opens in March and Sheffield could be the first

place in the country to see speed restrictions because of pollution.

James Vincent, BBC Look North, Sheffield.

Well, that is all from me. I think there will be more than just smoke

in the air over Sheffield tomorrow. Not looking so good, is it? At

pollution is requite bad. The quality very poor for the next 48

hours wherever you are. A warning in place for Fog,

particularly across the eastern parts of our region. The week ahead

headline. Dry, cold with mist and fog. High-pressure definitely in

charge once again. Just noticed the isobars back off to the south-east.

We will drag in cold air from Thursday, temperatures struggling to

get above one or two Celsius. It does stay dry. Milder air over the

weekend and into next week. A bit of a mess out there at the moment.

Cloud, mist and fog. The odd spot of rain now clearing but it could lead

to icy conditions. Lowest temperatures down to zero or minus

one Celsius. Bob particularly across the eastern areas in the morning.

Further west of the Pennines, quite sunny here and that fog will slowly

lift through the course of the day. We should all end up far -- fairly

bright. Top temperatures around seven Celsius. Quickly in the fog

tomorrow evening and then another bit of a messy night, variable cloud

tomorrow night with thick fog. A bit of cloud producing the odd spot of

drizzle. That will lead to icy patches once more. On Wednesday,

that Bob clears and it is bright with sunshine. Bitterly cold on

Thursday with top temperatures just one Celsius. Quite a lot of cloud as

well. That is all from me and Amy. I will leave you with

For the weekend we will have dry weather with sunny spells and it

will be a little bit milder. Good evening. We are continuing to

see huge righty in the weather. Getting the detail right is proving

to be a challenge. This was in Pembrokeshire and other parts of the

UK were gloomy throughout the day. The fog is thickening up right now.

Particularly pool on the M5 in south-west England. Very foggy

across parts of the West Country. This fog is tending to spread its

way further eastwards. Some fog as