:00:05. > :00:08.Welcome to South East Today. Tonight's top stories: Sentenced to
:00:08. > :00:13.life for murdering a husband and father, and then pretending he was
:00:13. > :00:19.alive to cash in on his pension. Within days of him going missing,
:00:19. > :00:23.they were quite happy to fraudulently use his account.
:00:23. > :00:29.Sussex Police say morale is at an all time low as the budget cuts hit
:00:29. > :00:32.home - Mark Norman will join us live from Brighton.
:00:32. > :00:36.Also, how failings by the UK Border Agency led to the collapse of an
:00:36. > :00:41.investigation into illegal immigration in the South East.
:00:41. > :00:49.Is it a bird, is it a plane? Actually it's a BA plane that looks
:00:49. > :00:59.like a bird, designed for the And David Essex rocks on stage in
:00:59. > :01:05.
:01:05. > :01:08.Eastbourne as he brings all the fun Good evening. A retired tax
:01:08. > :01:11.inspector from Canterbury has been given a life sentence for murdering
:01:11. > :01:16.her husband, and then pretending he was still alive to steal tens of
:01:16. > :01:20.thousands pounds in pension funds. Don Banfield disappeared 11 years
:01:20. > :01:23.ago, and his body has never been found. His wife, Shirley Banfield,
:01:23. > :01:32.enlisted their daughter Lynette's help in his murder. She's also been
:01:32. > :01:36.given a life sentence at the Old Bailey. Simon Jones reports.
:01:36. > :01:46.The mother and daughter from Canterbury who committed murder for
:01:46. > :01:47.
:01:48. > :01:53.money. Dunn will never be forgotten. -- done. The worst thing is not
:01:53. > :01:57.knowing how he died. Don Banfield had been planning to leave his
:01:57. > :02:01.unhappy marriage. The Old Bailey said he signed his own death
:02:01. > :02:06.warrant after completing the contract for the sale of his house
:02:06. > :02:13.in London. His share of the Prophet was kept by his wife and daughter,
:02:13. > :02:17.his pension fund plundered. -- profit. The fraud opened the can of
:02:17. > :02:24.worms. It was obvious that within days of him gone missing, they were
:02:24. > :02:29.quite happy to fraudulently used his accounts. They obviously knew
:02:29. > :02:34.he was guided -- was not going to come back. Don Banfield went
:02:34. > :02:38.missing in 2001. In 2009, the case was reopened after his former
:02:38. > :02:44.empire became suspicious. Last year, his wife and daughter were charged
:02:44. > :02:49.with murder. Shirley and Lynette Banfield moved to Canterbury in an
:02:49. > :02:54.effort to distance themselves from the police investigation. They had
:02:54. > :03:00.claimed they had seen Don Banfield in 2008, but that was lies.
:03:00. > :03:05.Extensive inquiries found no proof that he was still alive. They seem
:03:05. > :03:15.to be the sort of people that had won the lottery. They spent a lot
:03:15. > :03:15.
:03:15. > :03:20.of money on the garden and everything else. The case had
:03:20. > :03:24.featured on Crimewatch. What the police want to know now is where
:03:24. > :03:29.guns -- Don Banfield's body is. Ellie Price was in court for the
:03:29. > :03:33.verdicts, and joins us live from the Old Bailey. How did Shirley and
:03:33. > :03:37.Lynette Banfield react when the jury found them guilty?
:03:37. > :03:42.Shirley Banfield raised her eyebrows slightly as she was
:03:42. > :03:47.sentenced to 18 years. Her daughter simply stared forward as she
:03:47. > :03:51.received 16 years. Some of Don Banfield's family from his native
:03:51. > :03:55.Trinidad were in court to hear the verdict. They had been looking
:03:55. > :04:00.forward to spending time with them when they thought he was moving
:04:00. > :04:04.back there on his retirement. That never happened. The Police are
:04:04. > :04:07.still looking for Don Banfield's body and bring some peace to the
:04:07. > :04:10.family. Morale among rank and file police
:04:10. > :04:14.officers in Sussex is at rock bottom, according to the union that
:04:14. > :04:16.represents them. In an open letter to every MP in the county, the
:04:16. > :04:18.Sussex Police Federation describes anger over pay freezes, and
:04:18. > :04:21.stoppages of annual leave during the summer. A thousand Sussex
:04:21. > :04:31.officers say they intend to join a national protest in London next
:04:31. > :04:35.month. Mark Norman reports. Disgusted, that is how many Sussex
:04:35. > :04:40.police officers feel about the Government review of policing.
:04:40. > :04:47.Their federation has written to all Sussex MPs, describing a collapse
:04:47. > :04:50.in force morale and huge anger at the Windsor reports. I have been at
:04:50. > :04:54.least offers of a 25 years and I have never known such anger and
:04:54. > :04:59.frustration. We understand we have to feel the pinch like everybody
:04:59. > :05:02.else. But it seems like the police service that this really important
:05:02. > :05:08.time in policing are been singled out by the Government for its
:05:08. > :05:13.special treatment. -- being singled out. We are disgusted. They have
:05:13. > :05:16.expressed the anger in a four-page letter to MPs. It says if the
:05:16. > :05:26.recommendations are ratified they were ripped the heart and soul at a
:05:26. > :05:33.
:05:33. > :05:37.The Chief Constable of Sussex Police said today he realised
:05:37. > :05:42.changes would have a significant effect on the force, but they would
:05:42. > :05:46.only be implemented with full consultation. He also said that
:05:46. > :05:51.policing is changing and must continue to change. Public opinion
:05:51. > :05:57.is mixed. It does not seem to work. It will cause more friction because
:05:57. > :06:02.people will complain to the police. Any publicly-funded organisation
:06:02. > :06:08.should have its process is reviewed regularly. I think we need police.
:06:08. > :06:13.They have not got to be cut back at all. We really need more police if
:06:13. > :06:19.anything. The federation parroting Sussex MPs to ask the Home
:06:19. > :06:21.Secretary to put a stop to what they describe as, this madness. So
:06:21. > :06:24.what's the background to the Police Federation's concerns? Well, by
:06:24. > :06:27.2015 Sussex Police need to cut their budget by �52 million, from
:06:27. > :06:30.an annual budget of almost �253 million. They're losing 500
:06:30. > :06:39.officers and 550 civilian staff from a total workforce of 5,000 -
:06:39. > :06:48.more than 400 of those posts have already gone. Mark Norman joins us
:06:48. > :06:52.live from Brighton Police Station. What is the Government response?
:06:52. > :06:56.This is about cutting the deficit. The Government want the police to
:06:56. > :07:02.play their part. They want to protect police frontline services
:07:02. > :07:05.and protect the status of frontline police officers. Sirte Tom Winsor,
:07:05. > :07:09.who wrote the report into pay and conditions, says it is about
:07:09. > :07:15.changing the culture of the police force, a bad attracting the
:07:15. > :07:21.brightest and the best. And also changing the perception that the
:07:21. > :07:30.police force is a job for life. He wants to scrap redundancy. Create
:07:30. > :07:34.redundancy for police officers. What next? A large number of police
:07:34. > :07:38.officers from Sussex are expected to join a protest in central London.
:07:38. > :07:42.They hope it will have the public's backing. The Government hopes the
:07:42. > :07:46.public will understand that cuts have to be made.
:07:46. > :07:54.In a moment, a confusing time for nature - we look at the impact of
:07:54. > :07:57.A judge has criticised the UK Border Agency for significant
:07:57. > :08:02.failings that led to the collapse of a high-profile investigation
:08:02. > :08:04.into illegal immigration. Niru Ravindra from Crawley and two
:08:04. > :08:06.others were arrested in 2010, accused of supplying illegal
:08:06. > :08:09.workers to businesses across the South East - but now charges
:08:09. > :08:19.against all three defendants have been dropped. Colin Campbell has
:08:19. > :08:25.
:08:25. > :08:31.Arresting staff at Costa Coffee, the UK Border Agency described the
:08:31. > :08:35.operation as the biggest of its kind. 25 people, mainly believed to
:08:35. > :08:39.be Sri Lankan Nast girls, have been detained. Three people from Crawley
:08:39. > :08:44.had been charged with bringing illegal workers into the UK. All
:08:44. > :08:49.I've had the charges against them dropped. The Border Agency was
:08:49. > :08:53.harshly criticised. For a number of years there have been very serious
:08:53. > :08:57.problems in this agency. We describe it as being not fit for
:08:57. > :09:02.purpose. Its previous head was promoted. People need to be held to
:09:02. > :09:05.account. The Border Agency was hoping to use evidence from those
:09:05. > :09:09.arrested on the day of the operation, but it was ruled
:09:09. > :09:16.inadmissible. The judge said interviews had gone spectacularly
:09:16. > :09:19.wrong, protocols were not followed. Criticising the Border Agency for
:09:20. > :09:24.deporting other witnesses, the judge said the agency gave no
:09:24. > :09:27.thought to the trial process. He said it never crossed their minds
:09:27. > :09:32.that prosecution witnesses are supposed to appear in court, and
:09:32. > :09:36.that there was a wanton disregard for routine mechanisms to protect
:09:37. > :09:41.the fair trial process. What the Border Agency did not understand
:09:41. > :09:45.was that their job was not just to throw at illegal immigrants. If
:09:45. > :09:50.they were going to bring a prosecution, they needed witnesses.
:09:50. > :09:54.Some of them may be able to give evidence for the defence. At the
:09:54. > :09:59.time the Border Agency sang their own praises. As time goes on, we
:09:59. > :10:03.get better at doing this kind of work. This criticism follows the
:10:03. > :10:06.recent condemnation of lax immigration controls. What is
:10:06. > :10:09.unclear that this case is how much money has been wasted and if there
:10:09. > :10:17.will be disciplinary action. Colin Campbell reporting, and he's here
:10:17. > :10:21.in the studio. Any response from the UK Border Agency?
:10:22. > :10:27.Yes. Within the last few minutes we have received a statement. The
:10:27. > :10:30.Border Agency keen to point out that their investigation, the
:10:30. > :10:37.arrests in September 2010, did result in the rest of 23 people
:10:37. > :10:45.working illegally in the UK. -- the arrest. They are disappointed by
:10:45. > :10:47.the judgment. This investigation collapse is particularly
:10:47. > :10:52.embarrassing for the UK Border Agency but it has proved a steep
:10:52. > :10:56.learning curve for the organisation. The organisation has been split
:10:56. > :11:00.into two separate entities, with their former chief police officer
:11:00. > :11:03.now heading the Border Force. The Government believes that will make
:11:03. > :11:06.a difference. The latest Ofsted inspection of the Marlowe Academy
:11:06. > :11:09.in Ramsgate has found that the school is making satisfactory
:11:09. > :11:11.progress. The academy - which opened in 2005 - was put in special
:11:11. > :11:18.measures after inspectors said its lessons, leadership and teaching
:11:18. > :11:21.staff were all inadequate. A 34-year-old woman has died after
:11:21. > :11:25.her car broke down on the A21 in Pembury, near Tunbridge Wells. She
:11:25. > :11:29.was hit by a car as she tried to cross the road in the early hours
:11:29. > :11:32.of this morning. Kent Police are appealing for witnesses.
:11:32. > :11:35.Brighton and Hove Albion's new Amex Stadium in Falmer has been
:11:35. > :11:38.shortlisted for four international awards. Its nominations include
:11:38. > :11:46.Venue of the Year and Best New Venue at the Stadium Business
:11:46. > :11:49.Awards, which will be held in Italy From the athletes' kits, to the
:11:49. > :11:55.jagged 2012 logo, it's fair to say that designs for the London
:11:55. > :11:58.Olympics have not always been greeted with universal acclaim. But
:11:58. > :12:02.an artist from Sussex is hoping for a better reception for the dove
:12:02. > :12:05.he's created for British Airways. Pascal Anson beat hundreds of
:12:05. > :12:08.others to win a competition to redesign the company's planes for
:12:08. > :12:18.the Olympics, and today his work was revealed for the first time.
:12:18. > :12:23.
:12:23. > :12:28.Hidden away in a hangar at Heathrow Airport until now. Feast your eyes
:12:28. > :12:32.on the dove, a new airport design. The winning designer is Pascal
:12:32. > :12:42.Anson from Brighton who was mentored along the way by Tracey
:12:42. > :12:43.
:12:43. > :12:50.Emin. We had our ups and downs. It is because we had to get it right.
:12:50. > :12:58.That was important. It took more than 900 hours to paint the air was.
:12:58. > :13:02.He had to transform the aircraft. drive up and down the motorway. A
:13:02. > :13:09.plane flew over, landing at Gatwick. A few seconds later, a bird flew
:13:09. > :13:12.over. They appeared to be the same size, even though one was further
:13:12. > :13:17.away. That was something that had been in my mind for a while. That
:13:17. > :13:23.is what I wanted to translate. design will be emblazoned across
:13:23. > :13:27.nine planes that will fly worldwide. But bearing in mind the design is
:13:27. > :13:32.about celebrating the London 2012 games, you have to admit it is
:13:32. > :13:37.rather subtle. Is it rather too subtle? Some of the Olympic designs
:13:37. > :13:42.have received a lukewarm welcome. The Olympic logo faced a barrage of
:13:42. > :13:46.criticism. The mass Scott proved equally unpopular. And a few weeks
:13:46. > :13:54.ago the Olympic kit was met with outrage when it featured a blue
:13:54. > :14:00.Union flag. I wouldn't say, that is a 2012 plane, I will go on it. I
:14:00. > :14:08.would not know what it meant. will give it four. It is a good
:14:08. > :14:14.design. Good drawing. I cannot see anything of the Olympics. It is a
:14:14. > :14:18.bit like a plain painted with feathers. What is wrong with being
:14:18. > :14:22.understated? Why does everything have to be brash? You can see it is
:14:22. > :14:31.different and it has retained the identity of British Airways. It is
:14:31. > :14:34.not just the plane taking off, it Our top story tonight: A retired
:14:34. > :14:37.tax inspector from Canterbury has been given a life sentence for
:14:37. > :14:41.murdering her husband, and then pretending he was still alive to
:14:41. > :14:44.steal tens of thousands pounds in pension funds. Shirley Banfield
:14:44. > :14:49.enlisted the help of their daughter Shirley in the plot to kill Don
:14:49. > :14:52.Banfield - she too has been sentenced to life. Also in
:14:52. > :14:56.tonight's programme: The army of NHS staff who helped to save the
:14:56. > :14:58.life of a baby from Kent,and the photo tribute to them by his
:14:58. > :15:08.photographer father. We'll be meeting little Phineas Cockerham,
:15:08. > :15:10.
:15:10. > :15:18.who's now a well and happy two year I am David Essex. I will see you in
:15:18. > :15:21.We've known for some time now that the South East is in drought, and
:15:21. > :15:26.now it's beginning to bite. Experts say that the combination of dry and
:15:26. > :15:36.warm March is beginning to upset our plant and animal life. Last
:15:36. > :15:39.
:15:39. > :15:43.week, temperatures rose to 22C - that's 72 Fahrenheit. The hosepipe
:15:43. > :15:52.ban comes into force on Thursday. Lynda Hardy reports now on the
:15:52. > :15:56.effect the dry weather's had on species that find it hard to adapt.
:15:56. > :16:02.From the air above Ali marshes on the Isle of Sheppey, the lack of
:16:02. > :16:06.water is clear. A vast parched landscape, much of which should be
:16:06. > :16:14.covered in pools, providing an important home for a wetland birds
:16:14. > :16:20.and their chicks. We are trying to manage wetlands for birds like
:16:20. > :16:24.waders. At the moment there are not very many wet areas. Most of his
:16:24. > :16:29.drive. We have decided to create a couple of small white areas that
:16:29. > :16:34.will be a valuable resource to these birds. -- white areas. This
:16:34. > :16:38.time last year I would have been wading through water, walking
:16:39. > :16:44.through a pool. But today the ground is dry, cracked and dusty.
:16:44. > :16:51.All around the marchers, evidence of the drought conditions. --
:16:51. > :16:54.marshes. A lack of rain is not the only problem. While many have been
:16:54. > :17:01.basking in the unseasonably warm weather, Nature has reacted to it,
:17:01. > :17:05.too. It has created a ripple effect of destruction. Some plants cents
:17:05. > :17:10.temperature. When it gets to a certain temperature, they will
:17:10. > :17:15.start opening. When we get a cold snap, those flowers will get hit by
:17:15. > :17:21.the cold and potentially get hit off -- killed off. That as a knock-
:17:21. > :17:29.on effect for the insects. Insects such as butterflies emerging from
:17:29. > :17:34.hibernation earlier than that their food source. When we have got
:17:34. > :17:41.weather like we had last week, the butterfly, which is cold-blooded,
:17:41. > :17:45.reacts to the sun. It thinks it is the summer, goes on the wing, and
:17:45. > :17:52.unfortunately there is no food source. Survival for many species,
:17:52. > :18:02.it seems, now means battling the elements come Reine or shine in
:18:02. > :18:05.
:18:05. > :18:09.increasingly dangerous weather When Michael Cockerham's baby son,
:18:09. > :18:14.Phineas, almost died from a virus at the age of just three weeks, his
:18:14. > :18:17.life was in the hands of hospital staff. It wasn't clear that he'd
:18:17. > :18:27.survive, but eventually he did recover, and was able to go home to
:18:27. > :18:28.
:18:28. > :18:30.Hextable, near Dartford. Phineas is now a healthy toddler. And as
:18:30. > :18:35.Michael's a professional photographer, he decided to take
:18:35. > :18:38.pictures of the staff that helped his son - all 63 of them. They've
:18:38. > :18:44.been turned into a book on sale to raise funds at the Evelina
:18:44. > :18:54.Children's Hospital. Michael and Phineas Cockerham are with us here
:18:54. > :18:55.
:18:55. > :19:01.in the studio. He looks so healthy and well. How
:19:01. > :19:05.will was the? He was very ill. A hospital only has 20 spaces. You
:19:05. > :19:10.have got to be seriously ill. I remember thinking to myself,
:19:10. > :19:15.looking at some of the other children, there were very poorly,
:19:15. > :19:21.that he must be very ill. One of the doctors said to me, do not kid
:19:21. > :19:28.yourself, if you had not brought women he could have died.
:19:28. > :19:38.members of staff. Fatima Meho was particularly special? She was one
:19:38. > :19:44.
:19:44. > :19:47.of the nurses in the ward. This is all her fault really! When you
:19:47. > :19:53.suggested he wanted to take pictures, where they are reluctant
:19:53. > :19:57.to take part? There was one person who was pivotal, Sean Hayes, the
:19:57. > :20:00.retrieval technician, who had been tried in the ambulance and
:20:00. > :20:04.monitoring the equipment. He initially did not want anything to
:20:04. > :20:09.do with it at all. On the very last day and is doing the Sheared, I
:20:09. > :20:16.cornered him and asked him to see me. He mumbled that he probably
:20:16. > :20:21.would not. He turned up at 9 o'clock that night with his gear.
:20:21. > :20:28.He wanted to be part of it. I think Phineas has been stealing the show
:20:28. > :20:34.in the studio. What has it been like for you are emotionally pull
:20:34. > :20:40.in this together? Emotionally it was very hard for my wife and
:20:40. > :20:43.myself. Since then, putting it together has been cathartic. It is
:20:43. > :20:50.a way of putting an end to it. For me, the main thing was about trying
:20:50. > :20:54.to raise as much a Wyness as I can for the way modern medical stories
:20:54. > :20:59.run. We had this idea that you get sick and their Arab couple of
:20:59. > :21:09.doctors and nurses. Modern medicine is different. There are huge teams
:21:09. > :21:12.
:21:12. > :21:16.of people involved. Thank you both. He set many a young
:21:16. > :21:19.girl's heart a flutter in the 1970s, and he may well still be at it.
:21:19. > :21:23.Tonight, David Essex is performing in East Sussex in the musical, All
:21:23. > :21:25.The Fun of the Fair. The show is inspired by one of his own albums,
:21:25. > :21:29.and he plays a recently widowed funfair owner struggling with a
:21:29. > :21:35.rebellious teenage son. In a moment we'll be speaking to him live from
:21:35. > :21:45.the Congress Theatre in Eastbourne. But first, let's look back at some
:21:45. > :22:15.
:22:15. > :22:21.# Hauled me close, don't let me go. You haven't seen each other in 15
:22:21. > :22:25.years? I could not believe it. Little Alfie with a kit of his own.
:22:25. > :22:32.When I read what that woman put you through, I have to see you.
:22:32. > :22:42.Every night before I try to sleep, all I see is Liz's face looking
:22:42. > :22:47.
:22:47. > :22:54.There he was on stage. David Essex is live in Eastbourne. What can the
:22:54. > :22:59.audience expect tonight? The show has been a massive hit. This is the
:22:59. > :23:06.penultimate week after a six-month tour in the West End. It seriously
:23:06. > :23:11.does move people. It is the story of love, relationships, humour,
:23:11. > :23:15.tragedy, all in this underbelly world of a travelling funfair.
:23:15. > :23:21.were showing our viewers all of the cheesy bits from the Seventies as
:23:21. > :23:31.well as a more recent work. Do you ever get tired of that? I do not
:23:31. > :23:32.
:23:32. > :23:35.think there cheesy. They were just big hit. -- hits. Tire of it? No,
:23:35. > :23:41.because it has meant a lot of things to a lot of people over the
:23:41. > :23:47.years. I will be back in the south- east in November doing a concert.
:23:47. > :23:52.We will be playing some of those songs and new staff. You have been
:23:52. > :24:01.on stage, you have been on screen, you have been on EastEnders, have
:24:01. > :24:05.you got a favoured place? I think I am lucky in as much as I do seem to
:24:05. > :24:09.work in lots of different media. When I finish this, I'm going
:24:09. > :24:16.straight into a film. That is a different medium. It keeps it fresh
:24:16. > :24:26.from a. I think really the fact that I'd do work in different areas,
:24:26. > :24:28.
:24:28. > :24:34.it's perfect. What next? I am doing a film. The autobiography is out.
:24:34. > :24:39.That has been number one for three weeks in the Sunday Times list.
:24:39. > :24:49.Then I will ride some music for another film. Then the concert tour
:24:49. > :24:57.
:24:57. > :25:01.The weather is all over the place. It continues to be Amex. Today was
:25:01. > :25:06.a day of contrasts. We had a sunny start. Some outbreaks of rain
:25:06. > :25:09.around as well. Further rain through tonight. Tomorrow, that a
:25:09. > :25:14.weather front looks to be stalling over the Midlands. It will be
:25:14. > :25:18.mostly dry, some isolated showers. Decent spells of sunshine as well.
:25:18. > :25:24.The reason for this shift in the weather, this weather front is
:25:25. > :25:28.slowly shifting south. The mixture of rain, sleet and snow. Today for
:25:28. > :25:36.the most part was dry and sunny. Temperatures still in double
:25:36. > :25:42.figures. Breezy westerly winds. Tonight we will continue to get
:25:42. > :25:47.cloud cover, outbreaks of rain. The winds continued to pick up.
:25:47. > :25:51.Temperatures staying frost-free. A dry start to the day tomorrow. This
:25:51. > :25:56.weather front currently looks to be stalling. It is moving slower than
:25:56. > :26:03.expected. For the most part it looks like a dry picture. These and
:26:04. > :26:09.sunshine. Isolated showers. Could be happy. The rain coming from an
:26:09. > :26:13.easterly direction. Temperatures between 8 and ten degrees.
:26:13. > :26:21.Overnight we will see the rain. It is mostly falling over higher
:26:21. > :26:27.ground has snow. Temperatures three to four degrees. For a Thursday, it
:26:27. > :26:34.is mostly try. Further rain for a Friday. That will clear by the
:26:34. > :26:41.weekend. Temperatures recovering by Saturday. We seem to have fended
:26:41. > :26:51.off the snow. There is a Jubilee coming up and we would like you to
:26:51. > :26:52.
:26:52. > :26:58.help was with our special project Would you like to take part in
:26:58. > :27:05.creating a unique piece of art for the Queen's Diamond Jubilee, and
:27:05. > :27:09.see your photograph hanging in an art gallery? We're making a focal
:27:09. > :27:14.mosaic of her Majesty. It will be a unique picture of the Queen made up
:27:14. > :27:19.of thousands of pictures of you. It will be on here in this Gallery in