07/04/2017 South East Today

strengthen the country's air defence systems. That is all from us.

Welcome to South East Today, I'm Rob Smith.

A mother's anger after the Appeal Court overturned

this man's convictions for abusing her son at a Sussex boarding school.

We have a life sentence for our child and it will never go away.

The parents of severely disabled children fighting plans

to close their "vital" respite care centre in Surrey.

We're live with the details in Reigate.

Thieves target a saxophone business -

repeatedly, stealing musical instruments worth over ?140,000.

A little girl killed by the flu in less than 24 hours -

her grieving parents urge others to make sure they get the vaccine.

And remembering when Match of the Day was all about the women's game -

the Sussex team commemorating the pioneering players

The mother of a boy sexually abused at an East Sussex boarding school

says it's left him broken, fragile and vulnerable

He'd given evidence against Darren Turk,

who was found guilty of ten child sex offences at Frewen College

in Northiam, even though he took his own life

Yesterday, the Appeal Court overturned his convictions

in a controversial ruling that's left victims claiming

Darren Turk's mother maintains he was the innocent

Amanda Akass has our exclusive report.

The ten months, the young men who came forward to testify against

Darren Turk belief they secured justice. But now the guilty verdict

against has been overturned. The mother of one of those victims, now

in his 20s, says that decision was devastating. She is anonymous to

protect her son's identity. We have a life sentence for our child and it

will never go away. The boys will never get closure and... We did hear

the verdict. Sitting in that court room, it does not take any of that

away from us. The boys, aged between 11 and 15 at the time, wall students

at Frewen College, a boarding school for children with learning

difficulties between 1996 and 1992. He came away from this other broken

soul, very broken. Very, very fragile, very vulnerable, more

vulnerable than ever. Yes, he has been in a bad place. Darren Turk's

trial at the Crown Court began in May last year. It lasted for five

weeks but the day before the jury were due to deliver their verdict,

he took his own life. The jury found him guilty on ten out of 16 counts

that yesterday the Court of Appeal ruled those convictions should be

overturned. The appeal was brought by Darren Turk's mother jazzmen, we

put it had that additional case has been very distressing to the

families involved. He said all along he was innocent and if he said

anything goes wrong, will you vote for me? That is what we have done.

That is what I had to do. I know what he was like. He would've never

have harmed a child. He was a big softy. The judges said there was

nothing to suggest the verdicts were unsafe but it was made on a ruling

basis that the defendant dies, the ruling should be shot. It has been

life changing. It has turned me into a different human being. It is too

upsetting because the life I had got planned or hope to have land has

been taken away. The lack of closure makes it even harder for all of

those involved to try and move on. Amanda Akass is with me

here in the studio. It's believed that Darren Turk's

conviction was the first time a dead person has ever actually been

convicted of a crime in England. That is right. Several lawyers that

we have spoken to over the last couple of days has said this has

been about setting a precedent particularly in this case the trial

had been going on for five weeks. The evidence had been given, both

lawyers on both sides, the jury had gone out and then it was actually

the day before that the jury was due to come back that he actually took

his own life. That is the particular issue here, the judge in the trial

decided that he felt it would be right to give the verdict but we

Appeal Court judges decided it was not raped is that a new president

and legally it should be consistent that there was no legal way of

convicting someone. -- decided it was not right to set a new

precedent. Thank you. Parents of children with severe

special needs in East Surrey are fighting plans to close a local

respite care centre that They say it's a vital service,

that helps them to be able to look after their disabled

children at home. Beeches Respite Home

in Reigate is due to close at the end of the year,

after the NHS withdrew funding. Our health correspondent Mark Norman

has been speaking to some James presents himself,

although nearly 17, a young adolescent, he presents himself

at mentally at about 18 months old. He's got limited mobility, hardly

any speech of understanding, he is These children need the love

and support they get The families need the support

that respite care When Paul found out that the local

Beeches Respite Home was closing, it left him deeply worried

about his son's future. What that has meant

for us as a family, it means we've continued to be able

to keep James with us at home. Because that is the frustrating,

that is the worry. In two years' time,

he would transition to adult services and we don't know

what that future means so... It builds up because it's really

hard to cope and without that respite, you wouldn't

be able to cope. We are hearing from families every

day on our helpline about cuts to their essential services such

as short breaks like Beeches Respite and this is causing families a lot

of worry and stress and really provision like the Beeches

is a lifeline to families in Surrey But the trust which

runs the respite care told us it had taken the difficult

decision not to tender for the It says it wasn't confident

to provide a viable, affordable programme and said it found other

providers were better placed to But note that phrase "social care",

it is actually the nursing care provided at Beeches that the parents

feel is so important. Do you want to stay here

and talk with Mark or do you want to go outside

on the trampoline with Millie? Despite her obvious

abilities on a trampoline, seven-year-old Livy has a range

of conditions that require both The other providers

that we are being offered to look around, they may be suitable

to a certain extent but there is no nursing care there

and that is a worry. The parents also argued that respite

care is more cost-effective than putting their children

in residential units, that's an argument they have yet

to win with the NHS. This is not the first time that

parents have had the fight to keep the centre open?

That is right. The a number of campaigns to keep this place open

over the last four years. Worry county council provide the money for

respite care. The NHS, the trust they they cannot. In means they are

facing long journeys, destruction and the fear they might have to put

their child into residential care. The NHS strapped for cash, no dark

part of this particular situation. It may have too close in December.

It is hard to see how the two sides will reconcile this. Thank you.

A prison Break. How a man discovered to his talent to recreate art

masterpieces while serving a prison term.

More than ?140,000 worth of saxophones have been stolen

from a family run business in Sussex after thieves targeted them three

In the latest incident this week, caught on CCTV, the raiders spent

more than an hour cutting a hole through the side of the building

The owners of Sax.co.uk in Crowborough say they're devastated

Here are the thieves breaking in, captured

on CCTV but concealed by

Their audacity was such that this time they literally

They have gone through sheets of steel, as you can

They've burst into the store and they've just literally

sprinted around the business, grabbing handfuls, armfuls of really

expensive, you know, unique, bespoke instruments.

The staff here are all passionate sax players.

Liam Young started learning in his teens.

Many of the instruments are handcrafted in Italy and can't

They are not just products that we sell, you

know, they are products that we all play, we all

lifetime learning about these instruments.

The first burglary, it happened in January.

They broke this window on the outside, came into

this foyer, smashed this window and then they physically dragged

these racks that you see here out into the foyer and then took every

Christine Straker began the company with her husband

They have spent 11 years on these premises in Sussex,

they have never had a break-in until January.

It's very difficult, we built a business up and for people to

come in three times and pretty much destroy it, it's

I mean, we feel we are being looked at all the time.

There are lots of cars and vehicles around here

and we just don't know who is watching.

?100,000 worth of instruments gone in three minutes.

Sussex Police believe the offenders may well

be stealing on demand as different brands

of saxophones have been stolen on different occasions.

Claudia Sermbezis, BBC South East Toda, Crowborough.

A driver has pleaded guilty to killing a pedestrian

78-year-old Jonos Sasvari died in January, after he was hit

by a Vauxhall Astra that was being chased by Sussex Police.

Gavin Dawes admitted causing death by dangerous driving today and he'll

A dog that savaged a toddler in Chatham causing serious injuries

was a breed banned under the Dangerous Dogs Act,

The pit bull type animal was shot dead at the scene by armed

officers on Tuesday, after it attacked the little

girl, named locally as Victoria Resetnjova.

She's receiving treatment at a London hospital.

Conductors on the Southern Rail network will walk out for 24

hours from midnight, in their ongoing industrial dispute

Talks between Southern managers and the RMT union broke

Southern say they'll be able to provide almost

She went to bed apparently fit and healthy.

But by morning, toddler Lulabelle Hurst had died at her home

in the Kent village of Smarden killed by the flu,

Now her family are campaigning to raise awareness of the dangers

and the availability of the flu vaccine in the hope

that no other parents go through the same devastating grief.

Lulabelle Hearst was a fit, healthy and active 16 month -year-old girl.

When her mother put her to bed one evening, she had no inkling that in

just a few short hours, Lulabelle would lose her life. To flu. At ten

o'clock, she was checked on. She was absolutely fine. Then checked on at

11, turned her over and she... She just was not breathing. Lula was

gone. So within that hour, she had over the past away. Lulabelle died

in December. But test result only came back last week revealing the

cause of death, the HD strain of the flu virus. Nobody would in their

wildest dreams imagine that something as simple as flu could

kill a child, especially a child that was healthy. Fit, running

around the night before. Absolutely no signs of any illness, not even a

cold. Her family are now urging parents to be aware of the dangers

of blue and the availability of vaccinations. Look into it more, do

the research and perhaps a and get it done privately. I wish I had done

with Leuluai. The NHS we tend me off as flu vaccination to children from

the age of two. It is offered as a nasal spray which is considered more

efficient than an injection. It is not given to under twos because it

can cause wheezing. If you are offered the opportunity for your

child to have the vaccine, you should take it up. Because each

child who is immunise is no longer able to catch the virus and that

means they can also not spread it to the rest of the family, including

babies that cannot get the vaccine themselves. So if the invitation

comes through, take it up because it could save your trial's life.

Lulabelle's family say they do not want anyone else to endure the pain

they had faced. -- save your Child's life.

It's 17 minutes to seven, this is our top story tonight:

The mother of a boy abused at an East Sussex boarding

school says she's angry he'll never get justice.

Darren Turk was found guilty of ten child sex offences

but the Court of Appeal overturned those convictions,

because he committed suicide before the verdict.

Inside information, the amazing 3-D images captured

using a state of the art scanner at the Millennium

It has been a glorious day, 17 Celsius. It is going to get warmer.

You can join me surely the awful weekend forecast. -- shortly for a

full weekend forecast. Towards the end of the First World

War, a series of football matches attracted huge crowds, raising

the equivalent of ?18 million for charity and perhaps

most remarkably, As many as 50,000 spectators

came to their matches which were often more popular

than the men's game. By 1920, there were 150 women's

teams competing across England. But the following year,

the Football Association banned the women's game,

branding it "unsuitable for females To commemorate the pioneering

players of 100 years ago, Lewes Ladies football team

in East Sussex are donating all gate receipts from their final few games

of the season to charity. Helen Catt has been to the club

for tonight's Special Report. These factory workers would be David

Beckhams and Wayne Rooneys of their day. They drew crowds of tens of

thousands to their matches, players like Lily, six foot tall and with a

shot so hard it is that she once broke a man's, became the butt of

legends. Two ladies have decided to honour these pioneering ladies. They

started. They were like the forefathers of women's the ball.

That is where it has come from and the charities we are supporting, it

is what the ladies did and what women's football did. They raised

money for charity. The rise of women's football began in a

munitions factory where women went to replace men said to be frank. I

think as part of the way to keep them out of pubs and to keep them

active and healthy, the ball was introduced within the factories. It

became really popular with matches happening between factories and

between nurses and munition workers. But in 1921, despite its popularity,

the FA decided that football was unsuitable for females and ban them

from using its pictures. That band stayed in place that 50 years. Even

today, Lewes is one of the few clubs where men and women share the same

pitch. What do the next generation make a football 1900 style? Is that

scared they are playing in? They are playing in skirts. I can't get over

the hats. I would not be able to imagine playing football in a skirt.

It is shocking how many people came to watch. The girls who are

optimistic it will not be too long before women's football is seen on

part with men. The more immediate challenge for two ladies, taking on

Charlton on Sunday. -- Lewes ladies. At 9.15 exactly on Sunday morning,

12,000 people will begin running round Brighton and hoping

they won't stop for at least The city's hoteliers

say the marathon now provides their second biggest

weekend of the year, with tens of thousands of supporters

expected to line the route. Our reporter Briohny Williams

has a bird's eye view of the course and the city,

inside the i360 viewing pod. You've been speaking to some

of this year's runners Indeed I have. As you said, I am 450

but up in the air above the city at the moment it one of Brighton's

biggest icons. Of course taking centre stage on Sunday will be the

runners. Just past Brighton Pier is the marathon village and that is

widespread to some of the people competing. -- where I spoke to.

In the shadow of the i360, the Brighton Marathon village is still

being constructed but hundreds of people have been collecting their

race day parks in preparation for the 26.2 mile run.

Whether it's a charity run, a personal challenge or

a fitness goal, everyone is taking part for their own special reason.

John and Glenda, who live near Cape Town, haven't

seen their daughter Sharon in three years so it's a running reunion.

Well, it's obviously an awful lot of training involved, about three

Also I think seeing on Facebook, Sharon

We will put we have done so many kilometres.

And Sharon is running in the snow

After weeks of training, weary legs may need some

revitalisation and for the late entries, there's time for a bit of

There are races across the weekend for all ages

I am on my fifth marathon, fifth marathon myself so I

have made sure that running is a real integral part of

We all go for daily run at ten o'clock and my class often

We incorporate it into our PE lessons,

we make it in our topic and the children have loved it

and it's really impacted in their work.

And with the weather expected to stay

sunny and hot, spare a thought for those running in costume.

We are wearing full operational police

firearms kit, that's including ballistic helmet, stab vests,

ballistic plates, boots and holsters for firearms which we won't be

Training has been progressive as weeks have gone on

We haven't ran as much as we should have done through

shiftwork and a bit of naivete but we will get there.

We will finish, there is no way we are not,

If their legs can't carry them across the

finish line, the 150,000 spectators and the atmosphere surely will.

If you're lucky enough to be on the i360 on Sunday, then you have one of

the best use in the house. The runners start at Preston Park, then

they meander their way down towards the seafront, across and then they

come back around half the aquarium, which is the halfway mark, they go

along the seafront, Luke background and then it is the final straight.

Into marathon village and then across the finish line.

A spectacular view. Thank you very much. Good luck to all the runners

taking part in the event on Sunday. A display of extraordinary 3D images

showing the inner workings of plants and seeds -

from Brazil nuts to oak trees - has gone on show at the Millenium

Seed Bank in Ardingly, They captured the pictures

with a machine similar to a medical CT scanner,

loaned from the Natural They're allowing scientists

to discover valuable information about the secrets of the natural

world - as Charlie It is like having a ticket to a

secret underworld. What can you see here has been made possible with a

CT scanner, the sort of machine normally used to investigate the

human brain. Here we have the Brazil nuts. In its casing which went be

recognisable to pretty much any other unless you have lived in the

Amazon or you have seen Brazil nuts being harvested. Because inside, you

may spot through here, there are things lurking. And if we go inside

to have a look, you can see what they are. They are the Brazil nuts.

The exhibition calls itself secret structures and taking centre stage

here is the suspended light sculpture representing the flight of

tiny orchid seeds. I set up some black paper because the seeds were

about a millimetre long and kind of white in colour and so I tried off

my finger but it gets a bit stuck. I tried off the night, like tapping

and watching the journey as they spiralled down. Then trying to

record that with a pencil. It is all a far cry from what the Millenium

Seed Bank is famous for that the people in charge here want this

place to be much more than just a storage facility for the long-term

conservation of plants. What people will find here is that

sense of amazement when you look into a planned. We want to inspire

curiosity about what that means and the side of plants that we don't

think when we are going around the countryside or doing our own

gardening. It is a chance to peer into

something usually hidden from the naked eye, encouraging deeper

appreciation of the natural world. Brighton artist David Henty

is someone who enjoyed one of the more unusal ways

of mastering his subject - He was serving time for forging

passposts in the 90s when he discovered his talent

for art and discovered Now his versions of Van Gogh,

Caravaggio and Modigliani masterpieces are going on show

in Brighton and they are worth Robin Gibson has been

to watch him at work. There's a sense of unreality

about this place, a house stashed full of artworks

as if it was the hiding place for the proceeds of some

enormous art heist. Unreality is the word though

because none of these paintings That's it, no, I'm proud

to be an art forger. I like to see other

people's art and work out Then break it down and put it back

together, you know, I David Henty has been

doing this for 25 years. Ironically he honed his

skills while imprisoned Now he is on the straight

and narrow-ish. He's versioning the likes

of Caravaggio, Modigliani and Van Gogh for a forthcoming show

celebrating the art of copying. So, what is going

through your mind when When I do a painting,

I do soak myself in the artist, I read books about them,

I like videos in the I look at their work all the time

so I'm really sort of By the time I come to

paint, I'm looking at the canvas, you know,

through their eyes. Though they are the fake,

the pictures sell for thousands. He's never been prosecuted

for copying the great masters. But it doesn't win many fans

in the formal world of art. What I feel looking at one

of his efforts, I feel, I feel sad. I feel sad for people who buy

it because I think they should And it will be for

anyone to judge when his new show opens at

the No Walls Gallery in June. Robin Gibson, BBC South

East Today, Brighton. The weather has been

absolutely beautiful today. Perfect in fact for making

a hot air balloon trip. 82 hot air balloons

crossed the Channel Pilots from all over the UK,

as well as Spain, Italy and Croatia, set off from Lydden Race Circuit

at seven o'clock this morning and took less than three hours

to drift over the worlds Spectacular views. Let's take a look

at the weather. It has been a glorious day today.

Absolutely. It is still early April, turning a bit on the chilly side.

But if we take a look at what has been happening through the

day-to-day and a satellite picture shows that we had generally clear

skies throughout much of the day. There was a lot more cloud across

the north of the UK. We have been stuck with those cloudless skies. If

we take a look currently at what is happening with the weather.

Temperatures were still holding up in the mid teens inland but around

the coast, it has been cooler today with those temperatures more 11 to

12 Celsius. This weekend, the weather is set to stay fine, dry, a

lot more sunshine around and if anything, it is going to get even

warmer, politically by the time we reach Sunday. This evening and

overnight tonight, with those clear skies, looking at some patchy best

and fog potentially forming. Light winds, temperatures dropping down to

around six to seven Celsius. Tomorrow morning, any mist and fog

will quickly lift and clear. That sunshine will burn that away and it

is going to be dry, bright. Yet again, cloudless skies. By the

afternoon, inland, we could see around 18 or 19 Celsius. Around the

coast, 13 to 14. The Saturday night, the return of some patchy mist and

fog with those clear skies and light winds and temperatures will start

Sunday morning at around seven Celsius. For Sunday, that is when

the wind slightly changes direction. Things warm up with all that

sunshine around. The potential on Sunday that we may, inland, the

temperature is up to 22 to. Back to you. Thank you very much. 22.

Spectacular. That for indecent behaviour.

Evelyn Waugh's classic novel. I expect you'll want to become

a schoolmaster, sir. That's what most of the gentlemen

does that get sent down for indecent behaviour.

Evelyn Waugh's classic novel. Have you ever been in love,

Mr Pennyfeather? No, not yet.