15/11/2013 South East Today

Commonwealth Summit in Sri Lanka. That is all from the BBC News at

six. On BBC One we I don't know what my future holds

for me. Tracy says hers is not an isolated incident. One of my

friends, who is in the service has been bitten, and then was punched in

the face on two separate occasions. I know of somebody else who was

stabbed in the neck. In the last decade, the number of assaults on

prison staff has treated, but preferring the last `` comparing the

last five years with the five years before that, they have seen an

increase. Assaults on wardens have gone up by 15%. In Rochester there

has been a 70% increase, and in Helmsley a quarter. Ryan trained

officers had to be brought into true `` to deal with an incident at meals

`` at Maidstone prison. The Prison Officers Association? Leave it was

fuelled by reforms and staff cuts, meaning inmates are staying in their

cells for longer. We have members walking right, concern for their

safety. Here in Sheppey, there were 30 of assaults on prison staff last

year. A prison officer spokesperson says that nationally the number of

assaults has fallen since the year 2,000. They say they are trying to

make the prison is safer for everyone. There used to be a lot of

staff. When the general alarm when, lots of staff went to get. Now,

there are not many and that is the frightening thing. The Prison

Officers Association? Says the staff `` the morale is the lowest they

have known it. Good evening. Rebecca Williams joins us live now

from Maidstone prison. Rebecca, it was the incident there earlier this

month that's caused concern for the Prison Officers Association? They

believe that this is all dying to staff cuts and reforms. They said

they had seen the increase in the number of serious assaults on their

members, and Eric are `` there are concerns that the kid the other

incident in the South East to come. The Ministry of Justice said tonight

that it is reviewing hire deals with violence and prisons, but it insists

that imparts a precise east there was a fall in the number of dozen

officers between 2011 and 2012. Despite a high`profile campaign to

highlight the dangers of jumping the lights at level crossings in

Crawley, there was an incident almost every week in the last year

where people put their lives at risk trying to cross as the barriers were

coming down. The town's MP has branded their behaviour as stupid.

Mark Sanders reports. In a moment: this motorist was convicted of

dangerous driving after swerving around the barriers at this level

crossing in Crawley. No new evidence of people disregarding their own

safety for the sake of a short wait. Four people have died here in recent

years. The emergency services say this level crossing is one of the

worst in Sussex for a miss use with pedestrians and motorists splitting

their lives in danger. British transport police said that in the

last 12 months 50 offences were committed by people jumping the

lights at the two level crossings in the time. Most were at this one.

People trying to cross when the gates are coming down and the lights

have been flashing, it is stupidity. It is unfair, not only to

themselves, but the emergency services, the train drivers and

everyone else. This is another example of recklessness at one of

the crossings. Look what the trap doors behind this speaker. Some

people do try to go when the barrier is going down. There is no bridge.

At the Ridge would stop a lot of pedestrians trying to jump it. They

would rather jump the lights rather than wait the two minutes it takes.

The emphasis is on warning people not to chant their luck.

50 years on from the opening of the Dartford Tunnel, we look at the

impact of the busiest crossing point in the country.

Well, he helped raise more than ?46 million last year and now Pudsey is

back for this year's Children in Need. It's all about fundraising

heroes, people who have gone above and beyond to raise money for

charities that help young people throughout the UK. Here in the South

East, we're hosting a party at the Bluebell Railway in West Sussex.

Natalie Graham is there now. Natalie, there is a special arrival

expected at any moment? There is a very special arrival in

deed coming to the station, the Pudsey Express. There will be 130

passengers on board, fundraising heroes. We will have a word with

them when they get here. Steve has the job of bringing them in. I am

going to ring the bell once because the train is coming into platform

one. That warns the station staff to get ready to take care of it. Let's

see what is happening out on the platform. We should have some people

who have been raising money for Children in Need today. You have

been working in Sussex, baking cakes? Yes, we are from East Sussex

county council and we have been baking cakes and had a rabble. They

are apparently cakes, but with a twist. I made Patsy hosts. ``

ghosts. A lot of cakes have been baked. It will be seeing a lot more

people later the programme. Roy is the chairman of the Bluebell

Railway, so thank you very much for letting us take over your station

and your track today. It is an important year for you, isn't it?

After 30 years we achieved our goal of getting back to where we are now.

The British real close this line in 1955. He got it running pretty

quickly. They started restoring the line. All the way through ) you have

been waiting to get the line to East Grinstead. That's right. We couldn't

do it all, we have to do it in stages. We finally got back in

March, after 30 years of hard work. It has been a huge success. It has

been, thank you. They have had a lot more passengers

I like the noise and the fire. And all the steam puffing out of the

funnel. And the whistle! A bit further down the line there was a

tunnel that we went through and all the smoke coming out was fun. They

are much more interesting than the modern ones. They make a lot of

noise. I feel excited by them. This has been an especially exciting year

for the Bluebell Railway. It has opened a two mile stretch linking up

to East Grinstead. It took four years and links the commuter line

with the Heritage line. We have started to attract a lot more people

to come and see the railway line from the London area. They are

arriving by train and travelling on our services. Overall, our numbers

have almost doubled this year compared with radius years. It has

helped businesses in East Grinstead to, even if they accept that more

needs to be done to get visitors from the platform into the town

centre. Some of the trains, but her soul, and people don't get off them

always. We want to encourage people to get off the train and get into

the time. `` into the Tyne. `` town.

This is the first`class carriage, almost 100 years old, riding on a

piece of track that has not been used for 55 years. It is like

travelling through history. It is a story with plenty more chapters to

come. Here she comes, the Pudsey Express!

We have been waiting for her to arrive and here she is! You can see

lots of important passengers on board. All of them are fundraising

heroes. History and is one of the smaller ones of the Bluebell

Railway, and one of the first ones they bought when they opened the

line back in the 1950s. In a moment I am hoping some of these passengers

will get out of their third class carriages and we will be able to

have a word with some of them and find out what they have been doing

today. Perhaps he can't even get his head out of the window! Hello,

there! I was your journey? Very nice, Chile. Very comfortable. Tell

me why you got to be special passengers? Because we raised ?62 at

a church by selling cake 's. My friends mums company doubled that.

What kind of cakes? Little cupcakes. They always sell, don't they? We are

going to move down along the platform. Hello, guys! Why are you a

fundraising hero? The children have been dressed in their onesies all

day at school, so the school raised lots of money! I like your spotty

onesie. Would you very warm and school? Yes, I was. What was the

train like? They were really warm. What are they like compared to

modern trends? Better. Have you enjoyed your journey? Yes. There are

lots of people here who have raising money all day, lots of onesies worn

and cakes baked, lots of people your team `` who are keen to talk to

Pudsey. Back to the studio. Dreamland is opening to the public

for the first time in years tomorrow. The trust is inviting

people to walk round the derelict farm Park. It is due to open in 2015

as a Heritage Park, and they hope it will enjoy the same kind of success

it had in the 1960s and 1970s. It is one of our best`known brand

names ` Airfix. Production has returned to Britain for the first

time in 20 years. Airfix is now owned by Thanet`based Hornby, who

have moved the contract to create more than 250,000 kits, including

Spitfires and Messerschmidts, from China to Newhaven in Sussex. Piers

Hopkirk reports. At this London factory, PowerBook scale models of

the real thing, production is at its peak. It is a brand as British as a

bulldog. After an absence of 20 years, Airfix is returning

production to our shores. This company in New Haven caste with

creating a new kind of clueless model kit. The aeroplanes made here

are ready to fly off the shelves this Christmas. Airfix is a

traditional UK brand. In recent years, the workers moved away and

not been onshore. It is now being brought back to the UK and we are

glad that Hornby has chosen us to represent them as its manufacturer.

With labour costs increasing in China, Hornby has decided to make

these models in Sussex. They are manufacturing 40,000 separate

component today, 1800 complete kits. More than 250,000 a year.

Traditionally, a large amount of factories have left New Haven and

left an excess supply of workers, so we are happy to be able to put

something back into the local economy. This is a trend that we

have been picking up, companies choosing to ring back production

from a low labour cost economy back to the UK. It is great when we see

companies choosing to bring business activity back to the UK. So while

the return of Airfix has given a lift locally, there is hope that

this model could persuade other manufacturers to return to our

region. It caused a transport revolution

when it opened 50 years ago, allowing motorists to drive direct

from Kent to Essex without having to go all the way into London first. Of

course, it is the Dartford Tunnel. The first bore opened in November

1963 with a toll of two shillings and six pence, around 12p for a car.

That's the equivalent of ?2 in real terms now. Then an average of nearly

12,500 people used it daily. Now 140,000 drivers use the crossing

over a 24`hour period. Our correspondent Yvette Austen reports.

They are digging the biggest role `` will tunnel to be built in Britain

since 1934. Digging under the Thames, they considered the work has

been recognised back then, digging by hand from both sides. They have

nearly have a mile to go before the linkup. Five years later, the first

art tunnel opened. It was six shillings for lorries, have to grind

for powers. `` hath a crime for Carters. I was 13 when the tunnel

opens. It was so exciting. It was the first tunnel I had ever driven

through. Of course, the crossing was popular and the traffic built up, so

much so that a second tunnel was opened in 1980 and 1991 the QE2

bridge. The crossing designed to handle 135,000 vehicles a day, that

night it is used by more. Every weekday morning there will be a two

or three mile tailback each way. You tend to forget that my days. In the

opened the bridge it was marvellous for a period of time. Now we are

back to work was then. To ease the congestion, the tools will soon go,

but not the charges. They will mostly be paid online. In eight

years so there is a plan for another tunnel or bridge to give us that era

rude, like in the past. One way or another, we are starting to get the

road system that Britain needs. That's all from the studio. Let's go

back to the Children In Need celebrations at the Bluebell Railway

with Natalie and, of course, Pudsey Bear.

Welcome back to the Bluebell Railway. I am on board the blue Bell

herself. It has been turned into the Pudsey Express. This is one of the

first trains that the Bluebell Railway acquired when they reopened

after the closure of the line in the 1950s. She is a small engine. Hello,

Pudsey! Lets talk to some of the people who have been raising money

today. Hello! You have some beautiful children here. They are

the reason you have been raising money. Yes, we have always been

fundraising since they were born. We have gone for Children in Need this

year. What did you pay for school this year? Kicks. What was in your

cake? Pudsey Bear cakes. Did you check them out with your friends?

Yes. We had a raffle, didn't we? Yes! We have had cake baking and

some onesie wearing, you have been holding Astley at auction at your

school, haven't you? Yes. You managed to get some year 12 study

jobs for you. They are the slaves. We have to do the vetting for them.

Thank you for everyone who has been raising money. Let's take a look at

what the rest of you have been doing for Children in Need today.

Thank you to everyone who has been raising money today. We do

appreciate it, however big or small. It all goes to worthy causes from

across the South East. All of them helping the children who really are

in need. Let's talk to some of our fundraising heroes. ?1137! We've

raised it by doing a pyjama day. Cake sale. And a raffle. Where was

this? At her primary school in Carshalton. Thank you very much.

What have you been doing, supporting this lot Westerman we made is things

to raffle. We made lots of cakes, didn't we? It was all the effort

from the kids. They organised it all. We have never celebrated

Children in Need before, and they wanted to raise the money. Their

target was ?500, and they have raised a fantastic in mind. You have

some very generous people at your school. I did you manage to raise

much money? I don't know how much we raised. It is probably because we

wanted to do it for a change, and it is something that is going to help

disadvantaged children across the UK. Did parents give money or just

the pupils? Parents as well. When we did the nursery, the kids couldn't

do it, so the parents did it for them. That's the thing, you have to

yes the parents for the money! We have lots of happy faces here

tonight, people who have done a lot of hard work. It has been a

fantastic day weather`wise for fundraising. It has been bright and

sunny, but also fairly colt, and getting colder here at Sheffield

Park railway station! We will be here throughout the evening. Let's

see what's the forecast is. I am with the station master here.

Lem, these are magnificent. The two locomotives behind you have been

kept in their pre`1st World War delivery. They look absolutely

brilliant. I hope they don't mind getting to call, because it will get

cold tonight! Temperatures are about four degrees, and with 12 and a half

hours to come before the sun rises again, it will only go one way,

dine. It'll get down to freezing for many of us. There will be an air

frost, as well as a ground frost. There will be fun patches, as well.

At least it will be staying dry. The will be some hazy midnight in the

sky, and temperatures dropping away before they get down to freezing. I

think many of us will wake up to a ground frost, and some air frost and

shallow fog patches, as well. It'll be a beautiful day through

tomorrow with lovely sunshine. Cabbages tomorrow will only get up

to or nine degrees, similar to what we have today, but with the less

biting wind. A lovely day for Saturday. I would say it is going to

be the nice day of the weekend. Sunday will be an ugly sister of the

weekend. It will be much cloudier with temperatures only up to give

degrees. Things get much more exciting as we go into the next

week. Monday will turn wetter. Not a great start to the new week, but a

wet day for Monday. It is Tuesday when things will turn much colder.

Tuesday will tickle our goose bumps of it with cabbage is only getting

up to about four degrees as a top cabbage. Cold enough for a snow, but

they don't think we will have the showers to produce the snowflakes.

So, beautiful weekend. Monday will be wet, but choose DS when things

turn so much colder. I have done my bit and made it sunny for Children

in Need, nighters at to you to donate some money! `` `` now it is

up to you to donate some money. They will stay here, whatever the

weather, for the rest of the evening. Join us throughout the

night at the Sheffield Park station on the Bluebell Railway.