:00:02. > :00:07.Welcome to South East Today, I'm Rob Smith.
:00:07. > :00:11.And I'm Polly Evans. Tonight's top stories.
:00:11. > :00:14.Convictions quashed. The Sussex brothers jailed over a Lapland
:00:14. > :00:17.attraction in the New Forest are freed on appeal because of a text
:00:17. > :00:19.sent by a juror. Five years after Farepak went bust,
:00:19. > :00:29.the family who lost more than �8,000 are still waiting for
:00:29. > :00:32.
:00:32. > :00:34.compensation. They should be taken to court and made to pay everyone.
:00:34. > :00:37.Not just mine, but everybody's money back.
:00:37. > :00:40.Also in tonight's programme. The invention by Sussex scientists
:00:40. > :00:42.that could dramatically cut the rate of infections picked up in
:00:42. > :00:45.hospital. A master of his art - a celebration
:00:45. > :00:48.in black and white of the Sussex man who makes the great
:00:48. > :00:50.photographers look amazing. And the man who's beaten leukaemia
:00:50. > :01:00.and the coastline. Ollie Rofix returns to Kent after a marathon,
:01:00. > :01:09.
:01:09. > :01:12.round-Britain voyage. Two brothers from Sussex, who were
:01:12. > :01:14.found guilty of misleading thousands of customers who visited
:01:14. > :01:16.their Lapland New Forest theme park in Dorset, have had their
:01:16. > :01:19.convictions quashed in the court of appeal.
:01:19. > :01:22.Victor and Henry Mears, from Brighton, were jailed earlier this
:01:22. > :01:25.year for 13 months each. Today, appeal court judges overturned the
:01:25. > :01:33.ruling because a juror had been sending texts to her boyfriend who
:01:33. > :01:43.was in the court's public gallery. Colin Campbell reports.
:01:43. > :01:45.
:01:45. > :01:55.What do you say to it today? Jennifer Cardy and -- Victor Mears
:01:55. > :01:58.
:01:58. > :02:02.They said that it would be a dream come true. Jenny Stuart spent
:02:02. > :02:06.nearly �300 digging all her grandchildren for a Christmas treat.
:02:06. > :02:13.These were their photographs. The nativity scene was a billboard in a
:02:13. > :02:22.muddy field. This was the bustling Christmas market. This one of some
:02:22. > :02:32.tough's of India. There was nothing to justify what they were charging.
:02:32. > :02:33.
:02:33. > :02:38.A juror had been in regular contact with her fiance. Text messages had
:02:38. > :02:43.been exchanged between the pair and shown to other jurors. One that
:02:43. > :02:47.message contained a single word, guilty. The judge expressly tells
:02:47. > :02:52.the jury that they must insulate themselves from any outside
:02:52. > :03:00.influence and opinions. They have to limit their deliberations to the
:03:00. > :03:10.jury. Kent's Lapland Experience has been a charming of families for
:03:10. > :03:11.
:03:11. > :03:19.years. But this one closed within days of opening. It was rendered to
:03:19. > :03:22.-- it was deemed to be unsafe. A woman from Hastings who lost
:03:22. > :03:26.almost �8,500 when a Christmas savings scheme went bust has still
:03:26. > :03:30.not received any compensation five years on. Jackie Southby put money
:03:30. > :03:32.in to the Farepak scheme on behalf of herself, her daughter, her 90-
:03:32. > :03:38.year-old mother and several elderly friends. She is one of nearly
:03:38. > :03:41.120,000 people who are owed almost �37 million in total. They are now
:03:41. > :03:51.hoping an online petition to demand the money will see the money repaid.
:03:51. > :03:53.
:03:53. > :03:59.Peter Whittlesea reports. Every year since Farepak went bust,
:03:59. > :04:04.Jackie has received a letter from the company's liquidators. She
:04:04. > :04:13.hoped that the letter today would contain at some of the cash she
:04:13. > :04:17.lost. They should be taken to court and made to pay everyone. Not just
:04:17. > :04:27.mine, but everybody's money back. Its not fair. They don't have to
:04:27. > :04:29.
:04:29. > :04:36.live with it every day. They have no conscience, they can't half.
:04:36. > :04:42.This is Joan, she died in February before receiving any of the money
:04:42. > :04:47.owed to her by Farepak. The company first had financial problems in
:04:47. > :04:54.June 2006 and look for extra funding. In October 2006, it went
:04:54. > :05:01.into administration. In April 2010, the final offer of 15p in the pound
:05:01. > :05:11.was made. But Jackie and thousands of others are still waiting. To be
:05:11. > :05:12.
:05:12. > :05:21.given a letter today, basically the same thing as last year. The same
:05:21. > :05:29.wording. It is wrong. liquidators say there are more than
:05:29. > :05:33.116,000 creditors and cannot say when the payments will be made.
:05:33. > :05:38.People were promised the settlement 16 months ago but no money has
:05:38. > :05:42.materialised. That is why there is a huge a sense
:05:42. > :05:46.of frustration from the creditors who are just ordinary people. On at
:05:46. > :05:56.the Farepak are website, there is no date or time as to them people
:05:56. > :06:01.
:06:01. > :06:09.will get their money. As to claim. People like Jackie had no
:06:09. > :06:13.responsibility, but feel a sense of guilt.
:06:13. > :06:20.In a moment. The Kent charity that's building hope in Africa and
:06:20. > :06:23.has been named as the best charity in the country to work for.
:06:23. > :06:26.Mental health services in Sussex are at full stretch because more
:06:26. > :06:28.and more people are turning to them for help during the continuing
:06:28. > :06:31.economic downturn. Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust
:06:31. > :06:40.say the demand for services has increased by 44% at a time when
:06:40. > :06:43.budgets to treat mental health problems are being squeezed. In
:06:43. > :06:46.Kent, services are also in huge demand but, there, a new service to
:06:46. > :06:49.treat work-related stress is helping cope with the surge. Our
:06:50. > :06:53.Social Affairs Correspondent Yvette Austin has this report. Vinyl and
:06:53. > :06:56.music, Paul Hughes' first love, memories of when he had his own
:06:56. > :06:59.record shop which folded over 10 years ago. He worked for a while in
:06:59. > :07:05.a restaurant, but now has been unemployed for four years, which
:07:05. > :07:06.has led to mental health problems. It is just very desperate, you know,
:07:06. > :07:16.feeling homeliness, isolation, despair, frustration, it is
:07:16. > :07:20.
:07:20. > :07:27.extremely frustrating. -- loneliness. You know, you just do
:07:27. > :07:30.not know where to turn. He is not alone. The NHS in Sussex currently
:07:30. > :07:37.sees 100,000 patients with metal health problems. For some services,
:07:37. > :07:43.that is an increase of 44 per cent in three years. There is also the
:07:43. > :07:46.need to cope with �14.1 million of savings by March next year. One
:07:46. > :07:53.group that fears for its future is Activ8, a social and well-being
:07:53. > :07:56.centre helping people, particularly those with mental health problems.
:07:56. > :07:59.With the reduction of jobs in the region, people feel the need to
:07:59. > :08:09.build their confidence again, so people come here, rebuild those
:08:09. > :08:12.
:08:12. > :08:17.skills and then go out and try to find work. But work is hard to find
:08:17. > :08:27.here. There can be quite will find it changes in the workplace for
:08:27. > :08:33.people which might not leading to losing jobs, but puts stress and
:08:33. > :08:36.worry about the fear of losing jobs. The NHS says it is trying to help
:08:36. > :08:38.people like Paul to find help when they need it without compromising
:08:38. > :08:42.services. Yvette Austin reporting, and she
:08:42. > :08:51.joins us now. Yvette, how are they making this �14 million saving?
:08:51. > :08:58.Surely services will have to cut? Obviously, they want to continue to
:08:58. > :09:01.provide services and improve them. This building behind me is old and
:09:01. > :09:03.dilapidated, expensive to run and upkeep. They are going to close it
:09:03. > :09:13.and others like it across the Hastings area and centralise
:09:13. > :09:17.
:09:17. > :09:22.services in Hastings. That does mean that some patients will have
:09:22. > :09:26.to travel further for treatment, but this is typical of what is
:09:26. > :09:33.happening across at Sussex. They are spending money to try to say
:09:33. > :09:43.that. Train commuters travelling out of
:09:43. > :09:45.
:09:45. > :09:53.Charing Cross are being delayed by up to one -- up to 60 minutes
:09:53. > :09:57.because of a signalling problems. A pro-euthanasia advocate is
:09:57. > :09:59.planning to hold a workshop in Eastbourne next month as part of a
:09:59. > :10:02.series of seminars. Dr Philip Nitschke, dubbed Dr Death, was the
:10:02. > :10:04.world's first doctor to give lethal injections to patients after
:10:04. > :10:07.voluntary euthanasia was made legal in Australia's Northern Territory
:10:07. > :10:10.in 1996. His decision to visit the UK has been criticised by Dignity
:10:10. > :10:13.in Dying. The girl group in X Factor which
:10:13. > :10:16.was calling itself the same name as the Brighton based charity Rhythmix
:10:16. > :10:19.is to change its name. Last night, we told you how the children's
:10:19. > :10:21.charity had appealed to Simon Cowell to stop using the name
:10:21. > :10:24.Rhythmix. This afternoon Talkback productions said they would be
:10:24. > :10:27.announcing a new name for the girl band shortly.
:10:27. > :10:31.MPs, including one from Kent, are urging the BBC to halt planned cuts
:10:31. > :10:34.to Local Radio. The proposals which will see a reduction in local
:10:34. > :10:36.programming because of a freeze in the licence fee were debated in
:10:36. > :10:39.Parliament this morning. Conservative MP for Thanet North,
:10:39. > :10:41.Roger Gale, says the cuts would affect the future of radio and TV
:10:41. > :10:50.journalism because so many journalists begin their
:10:50. > :10:53.broadcasting careers in BBC local radio.
:10:53. > :10:56.The fire service in Sussex is campaigning to have the law changed
:10:56. > :10:59.so that private landlords must fit smoke alarms to their properties.
:10:59. > :11:02.It comes after the inquest into the deaths of two young children,
:11:02. > :11:12.Taylor and Lewis Jenkins, who died from smoke inhalation in a house
:11:12. > :11:15.
:11:15. > :11:18.fire in Eastbourne. Sara Smith reports. There is no way of knowing
:11:18. > :11:23.if a smoke alarm would have saved these brothers. They were believed
:11:23. > :11:26.to have started the fire while playing under stairs. But research
:11:26. > :11:33.shows people are twice as likely to survive if they have a fitted smoke
:11:33. > :11:36.alarm. This rented property's alarm was not working or in the right
:11:36. > :11:38.place. The inquest is extremely harrowing for family, and for
:11:38. > :11:44.ourselves giving evidence. We do not want to go to coroner's
:11:44. > :11:48.inquests any more. We believe that landlords could do a lot more in
:11:48. > :11:58.terms of protecting their tenants by the installation of fire
:11:58. > :12:01.
:12:01. > :12:04.detection at smoke alarms. We will put one up there. The fire service
:12:04. > :12:06.community safety adviser is at thousands of homes. Numbers of
:12:06. > :12:09.buyers are falling, but those in rented accommodation are normally
:12:09. > :12:13.the more vulnerable members of society, which is why there are
:12:13. > :12:19.calls to legally oblige landlords to fit alarms. So far, the
:12:19. > :12:29.government has said no to any new legislation. The fire service says
:12:29. > :12:31.
:12:31. > :12:34.too many people are still dying and it will continue its campaign.
:12:34. > :12:39.Infections picked up in hospital are common, costly and can be
:12:39. > :12:41.lethal. But now two scientists from the University of Brighton have
:12:41. > :12:44.successfully tested a product that dramatically cuts the rate of the
:12:44. > :12:46.most common infections which are caused by catheters. It is
:12:46. > :12:50.estimated that there are at least 100,000 cases of hospital-acquired
:12:50. > :12:52.infection annually. 80% of those are urinary infections
:12:52. > :12:56.caused by catheters. And, remarkably, up to 100 million
:12:56. > :12:59.catheters are used by hospitals worldwide every year. The
:12:59. > :13:02.breakthrough could save millions of pounds for the NHS and improve the
:13:02. > :13:12.quality of life for thousands of patients. Our Correspondent Mark
:13:12. > :13:14.
:13:14. > :13:19.Norman has more. A potential solution to the
:13:19. > :13:29.difficult issue facing the NHS, hospital acquired infection. The
:13:29. > :13:34.most common is urinary infection caused by catheter. We have
:13:34. > :13:39.something which will hopefully reduce that rate of bacterial
:13:39. > :13:44.adhesion. We are trying to stop the bacteria that causes infection
:13:44. > :13:49.attaching. Catheters can be used to drain the fluid from the body or to
:13:49. > :13:56.inject fluid. They are sterile to prevent infection. But about half
:13:56. > :14:06.of all hospitalised addleds who have a catheter for more than a
:14:06. > :14:11.week a quiet and affection. -- a quiet and infection. It is an
:14:11. > :14:19.unnatural thing which disturbs the natural balance of the body. The
:14:19. > :14:25.bugs are probably from the patient's owner system. Now they
:14:25. > :14:35.have to be tested on human it sells. This is the real crunch. We have
:14:35. > :14:36.
:14:36. > :14:40.seen some fabulous data. It is still at the early stage. The team
:14:40. > :14:45.are working on the application it say it could also be used for
:14:45. > :14:54.surgical interventions such as hip replacements or heart valves. If
:14:54. > :14:59.tests go well, it could be in hospitals by the end of 20 per team.
:14:59. > :15:02.-- 2013. Mark Norman reporting and he joins
:15:02. > :15:04.us from Brighton Hospital now. Hospital aquired infections are a
:15:04. > :15:08.major problem for every hospital in the country, aren't they?
:15:08. > :15:18.Hospitals are work incredibly hard are to prevent a patients get in
:15:18. > :15:20.
:15:20. > :15:24.hospital acquired infections. Along with colleagues in Cambridge and
:15:24. > :15:34.Newcastle, the team here believe it will make a huge a difference on
:15:34. > :15:39.
:15:40. > :15:43.hospital wards. Two brothers from Brighton who were
:15:43. > :15:48.found guilty of misleading thousands of consumers have been
:15:48. > :15:58.freed by the Court of Appeal. The conviction was ruled unsafe because
:15:58. > :16:02.
:16:02. > :16:07.of texts said by a -- % by a Jew or during the trial. Celebrating the
:16:07. > :16:17.work of a master painter. And that young man who has beaten leukaemia
:16:17. > :16:33.
:16:33. > :16:35.They are a small team of 20 people in Tunbridge Wells, but a Kent
:16:35. > :16:38.organisation has beaten famous competition to be named the best
:16:38. > :16:42.charity to work for in a national competition. Build Africa helps
:16:42. > :16:44.provide education to people in Uganda and Kenya. They say their
:16:44. > :16:54.work is vital to help people support themselves and their
:16:54. > :16:58.
:16:58. > :17:02.families. Katherine Downes has tonight's special report. When I
:17:03. > :17:08.grow up, I would like to be a judge so that I can show there is justice
:17:08. > :17:12.in Kenya. This boy has big ambitions, but most classmates will
:17:12. > :17:15.not finish primary school because standards are so poor. We want to
:17:15. > :17:19.improve the quality of education so that we can have good careers and
:17:19. > :17:22.employment and so that we can improve the community. It is a plea
:17:22. > :17:25.made in Africa and heard thousands of miles away in Tunbridge Wells.
:17:25. > :17:28.75 per cent of children in the developing world do not finish
:17:28. > :17:38.primary school so we deal with those issues, particularly children
:17:38. > :17:40.
:17:40. > :17:42.working in classrooms that are falling down. They are working in
:17:42. > :17:45.environments without books, and where teachers are not trained.
:17:45. > :17:48.Build Africa also works with families so they can send their
:17:48. > :17:55.children to school. It is a small group, but they have beaten the
:17:55. > :17:58.likes of Save the Children as the best charity to work for. The judge
:17:58. > :18:06.said we won the award because we connect the work over here to that
:18:06. > :18:11.done abroad. We can connect the work we do. This is the class, it
:18:11. > :18:14.is wooden... There has been construction of schools and
:18:14. > :18:24.training of teachers to give the children the best hope of achieving
:18:24. > :18:32.
:18:32. > :18:35.You wouldn't necessarily have thought that the life story of a
:18:35. > :18:39.man who spent most of his working life in a darkened room was rich
:18:39. > :18:42.territory for a film documentary. But in the case of Robin Bell from
:18:42. > :18:44.Battle, you couldn't be more wrong. A master of printing black and
:18:44. > :18:46.white photographs, he's worked with famous names like David Bailey,
:18:46. > :18:49.Terry O'Neill and Norman Parkinson. Tonight, at Hastings Electric
:18:49. > :18:59.Palace Cinema, they are premiering a documentary on his work. Robin
:18:59. > :19:11.
:19:11. > :19:20.Gibson reports. Robin Bell's skill imprinting
:19:20. > :19:26.black-and-white film is legendary. We are taking out her moustache
:19:26. > :19:34.hear and this little bit of lip. flick through his are bombs at his
:19:34. > :19:41.Sussex home is like taking a journey through a who's who of
:19:41. > :19:47.celebrities and photographers. is beginning to look his age.
:19:47. > :19:52.you regret spending your life in a darkened room? Not at all. This is
:19:52. > :20:02.very artistic and exciting. Apart from the fact that it is in the
:20:02. > :20:04.
:20:04. > :20:10.dark, it is a very enviable thing. I went to his studio and realised
:20:10. > :20:16.he was holding the history of photography for the last 50 years.
:20:16. > :20:21.Richard has often worked with Robin Bell. He spent almost two years
:20:21. > :20:28.making a film about his craft. is a very good Printer, probably
:20:28. > :20:38.the best on the planet. I respect what he does and I think he likes
:20:38. > :20:41.
:20:41. > :20:44.The documentary opens the door on a backroom world, the world of
:20:45. > :20:54.photographic printer or that some say terms of the Good integrate. At
:20:55. > :20:58.
:20:58. > :21:01.the same time, it celebrates of the work of one of its true masters.
:21:01. > :21:04.Football and Charlton are three points clear at the top of League
:21:04. > :21:07.One thanks to a double from Bradley Wright Philips at Wycombe last
:21:07. > :21:10.night. The Addicks went ahead as early as the sixth minute after
:21:10. > :21:13.Yann Kermorgant's overhead kick came off the woodwork and Wright
:21:13. > :21:16.Philips was quickest to the rebound. He got his second just before half
:21:16. > :21:19.time. Wycombe's consolation came just too late to affect the result.
:21:19. > :21:25.Crawley Town cemented their place at the top of League Two despite
:21:25. > :21:27.falling behind at home to Dagenham and Redbridge. A Matt Tubbs penalty
:21:27. > :21:32.evened things up before Sergio Torres put Crawley ahead from 12
:21:32. > :21:33.yards out. The match was wrapped up when Jon Paul Pitman nodded in the
:21:33. > :21:37.third. Also in League Two, Gillingham
:21:37. > :21:40.slipped out of the play-off places, losing 2-0 at Swindon. Luck was not
:21:40. > :21:43.on the Gills' side as Luke Rooney's effort in the second half hit the
:21:43. > :21:46.woodwork, then rolled along the goal line. A spectacular effort
:21:46. > :21:56.from Matt Richie put Swindon ahead before Jonathan Smith sealed the
:21:56. > :21:59.
:21:59. > :22:01.A 25-year-old who has already beaten leukaemia has all but
:22:01. > :22:05.completed the second biggest challenge of his life. He is back
:22:05. > :22:08.in Kent after sailing round Britain in an 18-foot boat. Ollie Rofix set
:22:08. > :22:11.off down the Thames in March and now, seven months later, he's back
:22:11. > :22:14.at Chatham Marina, having touched at some 50 ports and marinas all
:22:14. > :22:24.around the mainland on the way. Earlier today I met up with him
:22:24. > :22:24.
:22:24. > :22:34.Marinas are chock full of boats - some of them are very big and
:22:34. > :22:43.
:22:43. > :22:47.impressive and others are built on Well, here she is.
:22:47. > :22:56.The Jolly Ollie isn't big. Compact and bijoux would be overstating the
:22:56. > :23:05.case. Let's be blunt - she's tiny. This is where I sleep. This is
:23:05. > :23:09.where I do my chart work. That is the cooker. Why would anyone spend
:23:09. > :23:17.eight months living in a space about the same size as a family
:23:17. > :23:26.hatchback? Ollie has powerful motivation. Six years ago, I had
:23:26. > :23:30.leukemia. I needed a bone marrow transplant. This boat it was my
:23:30. > :23:33.projected to get through the transplant and the treatment.
:23:33. > :23:35.On his voyage, he's met any number of interesting characters - fellow
:23:35. > :23:40.sailor Timothy Spall, rock musician Peter Townsend and comedienne Dawn
:23:40. > :23:47.French among them. I ended up back at her house having dinner. It was
:23:47. > :23:50.quite random. It was great, I loved every second of it.
:23:50. > :24:00.Ollie is hoping to encourage more people to come forward and join the
:24:00. > :24:05.bone marrow donor register. Without it, he wouldn't be here today.
:24:05. > :24:10.was in an adult ward, and I could see the people that were fighting
:24:10. > :24:15.lived longer than those who just give up. That is the main reason I
:24:15. > :24:18.am doing this now. A smashing guy. If you want to find out more about
:24:18. > :24:26.Oliver Rofix's adventures, go to our Facebook page and you can
:24:26. > :24:28.follow the link from there. It was quite dry there.
:24:28. > :24:31.We manage to do get a gap in the showers.
:24:32. > :24:39.It has been miserable for everyone It has been miserable for everyone
:24:39. > :24:47.Those showers have been particularly heavy. They will dry
:24:47. > :24:53.out tonight, but more to come. That they will be persistent and heavy
:24:53. > :24:59.tomorrow. The reason for that is low pressure in control of our
:24:59. > :25:05.weather. As you can see, some blustery south-westerly winds.
:25:05. > :25:11.Showers, particularly along the coast, they have been persistent
:25:11. > :25:19.and heavy. But we have had a few spells of sunshine. Temperatures
:25:19. > :25:24.not too bad, getting up to around 14 degrees. As we move into tonight,
:25:24. > :25:28.those showers linger for a time and then it will dry out. In the early
:25:28. > :25:37.hours of tomorrow morning, you can see that rain is moving in from the
:25:37. > :25:45.West. The wind will swing to a south-easterly direction.
:25:45. > :25:55.Temperatures staying pretty mild, 12 or 13 degrees. Low-pressure
:25:55. > :26:00.still in control of things tomorrow. Sussex and Surrey, still seeing
:26:00. > :26:05.some outbreaks of rain. A cloudy and damp start tomorrow morning. In
:26:05. > :26:15.the afternoon, at some spells of sunshine, but increasingly clouded.
:26:15. > :26:16.
:26:16. > :26:20.A lot of rain in parts of Surrey. Temperatures of 15 degrees. Feeling
:26:20. > :26:25.cooler than the numbers suggest if you get cotton any of that rain. As
:26:25. > :26:33.we move into tomorrow night, the rate will clear up and we are left
:26:33. > :26:39.with a dry night. Overnight lows of around 10 or 13 degrees. Quite a
:26:39. > :26:46.mild picture. On Friday, high pressure building. A settled and
:26:46. > :26:52.dull picture. The wind will ease off a bit. Temperatures getting
:26:52. > :27:01.better as you move up to London. High pressure for Friday, but low
:27:01. > :27:09.pressure waiting for the weekend. Increasingly cloudy but most --
:27:09. > :27:14.mostly dry for Saturday. The European Union leaders have
:27:14. > :27:19.started a meeting to try to thrash out a deal to solve the eurozone at
:27:19. > :27:23.debt crisis, but doubts are growing whether a comprehensive deal can be
:27:23. > :27:28.reached. Two brothers of from Sussex who