:00:17. > :00:23.Marching into Merton, the Coldstream Guards are given the
:00:23. > :00:28.freedom of the parish. It was an extraordinary day for small Devon
:00:28. > :00:33.village. Tonight the regiment is honoured. And a couple attacked and
:00:33. > :00:38.left for dead on holiday condemn the compensation they have been
:00:39. > :00:44.offered. Just recognition would be, you know, we're just not forgotten.
:00:44. > :00:50.We did not deserve this. The state of the region's high streets, a
:00:50. > :00:52.report says in some towns a quarter of the shops are empty. Devon has
:00:52. > :00:55.been honouring the bravery of the Coldstream Guards today. The
:00:55. > :00:58.regiment has been granted the freedom of the parish of Merton in
:00:58. > :01:01.North Devon. The founder of the Coldstream Guards, General George
:01:01. > :01:04.Monk, was born in the village. More than 1,000 people are expected to
:01:04. > :01:07.fill Exeter Cathedral this evening for a special concert. In a moment
:01:07. > :01:17.we'll have more from there, but first Leigh Rundle reports on a
:01:17. > :01:25.special day in North Devon. If it hadn't been for the rain, this
:01:25. > :01:31.could have been a Mirage, her Majesty's most intimate body guards
:01:31. > :01:37.marching through village. The whole thing's fantastic, but almost
:01:37. > :01:46.unbelievable that you know, this is a little village, cold stream's on
:01:46. > :01:51.the board we are vand -- Scotland. I wouldn't have missed it. Up to
:01:51. > :01:55.1,000 people lined the streets as the regiment was granted freedom of
:01:55. > :02:03.the area. It has been agreed by this council to grant the freedom
:02:03. > :02:12.of the parish to this regiment. This is probably the biggest civic
:02:12. > :02:19.event in the village's history. And weeks of preparation. The ladys
:02:19. > :02:23.have sown 500 metres of bunting. And the newspaper says, cut your
:02:23. > :02:29.grass and polish your brass knockers! Even the local children
:02:29. > :02:37.were given the day off. When the inspector came, when he did the
:02:37. > :02:43.back rank, we had to go in front of them. Was it scary? I liked it when
:02:43. > :02:50.the guards came with their rifles. And I also liked it when they were
:02:50. > :02:58.waving the flags. The regiment's link with herton, well its founder,
:02:58. > :03:03.colonel jorblg Monk was born here 400 years ago. -- George Monk. Here
:03:03. > :03:08.was the oldest ex-guardsman. I hope people remember the lads we saw, it
:03:08. > :03:12.is not just ceremonial they do, they also do their time in
:03:12. > :03:20.Afghanistan. Having been granted the freedom of the area, what do
:03:20. > :03:24.the soldiers intend to do with it? I don't know. Because I'm from
:03:24. > :03:32.Essex. It's not much time to get back here. For Merton this has been
:03:32. > :03:37.the most historic of days. Well earlier we caught up with one of
:03:37. > :03:45.the soldiers, who has been describing his experience of active
:03:45. > :03:49.duty in Afghanistan. For Adam Swift today is a day to remember. He has
:03:49. > :03:54.taken part in three tours of Afghanistan and is proud to bring
:03:54. > :04:00.his regiment back to the South West. My regiment has such strong west
:04:00. > :04:06.country roots. We were formed from here. For us to come back and have
:04:06. > :04:11.the freedom of the city, everyone is very proud. Special think west
:04:11. > :04:16.country guys. It -- specially the west country guys. Sergeant Swift
:04:16. > :04:21.was awarded the Military Cross and was part of a recent BBC
:04:21. > :04:30.documentary called Our War. The Ministry of Defence issued the
:04:30. > :04:34.troops with led cams and the style wasn't something he was keen on.
:04:34. > :04:38.I'm kite a humble guy and I didn't want to sell -- I'm quite a humble
:04:38. > :04:43.guy and didn't want to sell myself. But I thought it is an opportunity
:04:43. > :04:48.for people to appreciate what the average lad goes through. They do
:04:48. > :04:52.go through these things and if they come back and they are slightly
:04:52. > :04:58.different. There is a reason. sergeant Swift, his family seeing
:04:58. > :05:03.the material was a concern. He did want to keep a lot from me to start
:05:03. > :05:07.with, to protect me from what went on. But when we knew footage was
:05:07. > :05:12.going out, I found out more and more. He just wants to protect us
:05:12. > :05:21.as a family and not realise what he goes through. Then it makes it more
:05:21. > :05:25.anxious for us. But sergeant Swift will treasure the time he has at
:05:25. > :05:35.home as he remembered his colleagues who weren't so fortunate.
:05:35. > :05:39.A service is being held at Exeter katheedial. -- cathedral. Well
:05:39. > :05:45.certain think presence of cold stream guards has been a sight for
:05:46. > :05:53.sore eyes. People are starting to queue for concert tonight which
:05:53. > :05:57.takes place at 7.30. I'm joined by a couple of guardsmen. We know the
:05:57. > :06:02.regiment for trooping the colour, what does the honour in Merton
:06:02. > :06:07.mean? It means the same. We have taken part in Trooping the Colour
:06:07. > :06:12.and the Royal Wedding. To be in Merton is a great honour. It is
:06:12. > :06:18.part of our tradition of having our freedom and being able to march
:06:18. > :06:22.through the town. It was a great honour and everyone enjoyed it.
:06:22. > :06:26.Darren Hardy, what is happening tomorrow? Basically the cold stream
:06:26. > :06:33.guards are getting the freedom of Exeter, which is a great Monday
:06:33. > :06:38.nour. About 300 soldiers will march through the city led by the band.
:06:38. > :06:43.This is about midday. Later the bishop of Exeter will be blessing
:06:43. > :06:48.the regimental colours. So we are looking forward to that. You have
:06:48. > :06:56.been practicing for the consefrplt what can we expect? -- concert,
:06:56. > :07:04.what can we expert. We had a major record deal and we were No 1 in the
:07:04. > :07:09.classical charts for six weeks. And this is a celebration and it is
:07:09. > :07:18.about our heroes and the pride of our nation. It starts at 7.30 and
:07:18. > :07:21.you can still get tickets. We will have more in our late news. A
:07:21. > :07:24.couple from Somerset who were brutally attacked and left for dead
:07:24. > :07:26.while on holiday in the Caribbean island of Tobago have been offered
:07:26. > :07:29.less than �3,000 each in compensation. Peter and Murium
:07:29. > :07:31.Green say the amount is beneath contempt. Meanwhile Spotlight has
:07:31. > :07:40.learned that detectives from Trinidad and Tobago will be
:07:40. > :07:47.visiting the Greens this weekend. Clinton Rogers reports. It doesn't
:07:47. > :07:54.even cover our legal expenses. letter from the Trinidad and Tobago
:07:54. > :07:59.criminal injuries compensation board has left them angry. Peter
:07:59. > :08:09.and Muirial yum were lefpt with injuries that will be with them for
:08:09. > :08:10.
:08:10. > :08:15.ever. But the amount was a little less than �2km 500. It is so unfair.
:08:15. > :08:25.Peter, can I ask you, it has affected your wife badly. How are
:08:25. > :08:26.
:08:26. > :08:34.you feeling? I'm burnt. I can't continue to be that burden. I need
:08:34. > :08:40.help. Please. Just recognition would be you know, getting, we did
:08:40. > :08:45.not deserve this. This chopping as they call it. Chopping, that is
:08:45. > :08:49.great isn't it? Two years ago they were attacked with a machete and
:08:49. > :08:54.left for dead in Tobago. The BBC has followed their case ever since.
:08:54. > :08:58.At one time a local man was arrested, but later released. No
:08:58. > :09:04.one has been brought to justice. Now, we have learned that this
:09:04. > :09:09.weekend police from the Caribbean will fly to meet the Greens to
:09:09. > :09:16.resurrect the inquiry. Not that the couple are optimistic. The one
:09:16. > :09:21.lesson we have learned with the area, it disappearing -- disa peers
:09:21. > :09:28.within a week. The local MP has jizz sitted the Greens here and has
:09:28. > :09:31.taken up their case. I spoke to him on telephone and he was about to
:09:32. > :09:34.board a plane on Foreign Office business. He said he was
:09:34. > :09:40.disappointed there had been no progress with the case and has
:09:40. > :09:46.promised to raise it again with the Trinidad and Tobago Government.
:09:46. > :09:51.Peter's health is deteriorating, but he says he is determined to see
:09:51. > :09:54.justice done. You're watching Spotlight from the BBC. Thanks for
:09:54. > :09:58.joining us. Still ahead this evening: The fears for one of the
:09:58. > :10:00.regions historic livestock markets. Hatherleigh faces closure. And
:10:00. > :10:09.happy birthday to the Lynx. Yeovilton gets ready to celebrate
:10:09. > :10:12.its famous helicopter. Cornwall has the largest number of empty shops
:10:12. > :10:16.in the South West according to a new survey. The figures from The
:10:16. > :10:18.Local Data Company claim 25% of shops in St Austell are empty and
:10:18. > :10:21.in Redruth 22%. In Devon, Ilfracombe has more than 20% of
:10:21. > :10:24.shops vacant, while in Torquay it's 19%. This compares to the national
:10:24. > :10:27.average of 13%. Some in the business community have disputed
:10:27. > :10:37.the figures, so we sent reporters to one town in Devon on the list
:10:37. > :10:44.
:10:44. > :10:53.and one in Cornwall to find out more. Here in Torbay the percentage
:10:53. > :10:57.of vacant shops is amongst the highest in Devon. It is not good.
:10:57. > :11:02.The reason why they're empty, they're too expensive. People won't
:11:02. > :11:08.pay the rents. My overheads are frightening. Some weeks we're
:11:08. > :11:12.working and can't get a wage from it. But what do shoppers think of
:11:12. > :11:17.the situation? You have lots of charity shops and cheaper shops,
:11:17. > :11:26.amusements. For people that live here, I don't think it is good.
:11:26. > :11:31.haven't noticed any empty shops. It wouldn't stop me. Torbay has been
:11:31. > :11:37.seen as a safe harbour for shops with the tourist industry buffering
:11:37. > :11:41.it. Business leaders say that is set to continue, despite the
:11:41. > :11:49.survey's findings. These surveys are always a snapshot in time. This
:11:49. > :11:53.is not the picture we see. A number of the units are now full.
:11:53. > :12:00.survey suggests shops are still closing, but at a slower rate than
:12:00. > :12:08.two years ago. The high street of St Austell and the town is filling
:12:08. > :12:13.up. Wandering through the town we found vacant shops like this one
:12:14. > :12:20.that closed when the company went into administration. Millions have
:12:20. > :12:26.been spent in St Austell on trying to improve things. This is the new
:12:26. > :12:30.white river place shopping area. It has housing and a cinema. But has
:12:31. > :12:35.it brought people? I think it has got better. But I would say there
:12:35. > :12:41.are a lot of empty spaces that could do with something there.
:12:41. > :12:48.quality of shops themselves are better. But I think there needs to
:12:48. > :12:52.be a greater variety to bring people in. Rather than like just
:12:52. > :12:57.clothes or mobile phones. Chamber of Commerce say there may
:12:57. > :13:02.be empty shops, but new retailers are showing interest. Shopkeepers
:13:02. > :13:10.like Karen, who has relocated from Nottingham to Cornwall and chose to
:13:10. > :13:18.open her new business here in St Austell. So what is the situation
:13:18. > :13:21.like in your town centre. Contact us on Twitter. Or e-mail us. It's
:13:21. > :13:24.not just the towns and cities that are struggling in the current
:13:24. > :13:26.economic climate. There was news today that one of the region's
:13:26. > :13:28.historic livestock markets is facing closure. Hatherleigh, in
:13:28. > :13:31.mid-Devon, survived the foot-and- mouth outbreak, but now there are
:13:31. > :13:41.proposals to redevelop the site as housing. From there our
:13:41. > :13:43.
:13:43. > :13:53.correspondent Simon Hall reports. It was the poultry sale today. But
:13:53. > :13:53.
:13:53. > :13:59.this could be among the last seen in this historic market. The owners
:13:59. > :14:04.of the site are proposing it be re- developed, probably as housing.
:14:04. > :14:10.Well I think it is a terrible thing. Our communities are suffering so
:14:10. > :14:18.badly and there is another what is a valuable asset that is going to
:14:18. > :14:24.be lost. It is a day out. I look forward to this. It would be a
:14:24. > :14:29.tragedy if it closed. It is dreadful. People come here socially,
:14:29. > :14:34.a bit of business and a bit of pleasure. For us it is a day out.
:14:34. > :14:44.And I don't think it is needed to be redeveloped. It is important
:14:44. > :14:51.
:14:51. > :14:56.that the market stays. Hatherleigh has diversified and even advertised.
:14:56. > :15:02.Come to the market today. And support the town. The problem for
:15:02. > :15:08.markets is more farmers are selling stock direct to slaughter houses
:15:08. > :15:15.and the region has seen many disappear. It would kill any
:15:15. > :15:20.business that people are trying to keep going or set up actually in
:15:20. > :15:25.Hatherleigh. The owners of the market would not be interviewed,
:15:25. > :15:29.but said the fall in the number of livestock being sold here meant the
:15:29. > :15:33.market was no longer viable and they had to look at other options.
:15:33. > :15:41.A public meeting will be hold a week on Thursday for locals to give
:15:41. > :15:44.their views on what should happen to the market. Now if you work in a
:15:44. > :15:47.hospital you'll know that one of the most precious resources there
:15:47. > :15:50.is blood. The NHS uses 7,000 voluntary donations of it every day.
:15:50. > :15:53.In the South West, the Royal Devon and Exeter hospital says it's
:15:53. > :16:01.leading the way in a new technique which is helping to save those
:16:01. > :16:07.blood stocks. Spotlight's Andrea Ormsby has the story. Neil is about
:16:07. > :16:10.to have major surgery. He has cancer and has to have his bladder
:16:10. > :16:17.removed. It is a long and difficult operation and he could lose a lot
:16:17. > :16:22.of blood. Normally that would mean relying on blood from a donor. But
:16:22. > :16:31.not here. Instead they will recycle Neil's own blood. It is a logical
:16:31. > :16:35.thing to happen. I'm glad, because it releases the pressure on the
:16:35. > :16:41.Blood Transfusion Service. I know they're under pressure. Where my
:16:41. > :16:47.blood can be pumped back into me, it is better and cheaper. Rather
:16:47. > :16:54.than use other people's blood. is now in the operating theatre and
:16:54. > :16:58.surgery has begun. As he starts losing bloorbgsd it will come into
:16:58. > :17:04.this machine, -- blood, it will come into this machine and be
:17:05. > :17:10.recycled and ready to be used. know patients recover from surgery
:17:10. > :17:15.if they don't have a blood transfusion. We need blood in some
:17:15. > :17:22.procedures, but it is also an expensive resource. Each pint of
:17:22. > :17:26.blood costs �140 and that is a lot to pay for in these cash-strapped
:17:26. > :17:33.days. Now all patients having planned surgery at the hospital
:17:33. > :17:37.will have their own blood recycled and the hospital can keep the
:17:37. > :17:40.pressure bloodstocks for emergencies. -- precious
:17:40. > :17:43.bloodstocks for emergencies. While Plymouth Argyle wait to complete
:17:43. > :17:45.the takeover of the club, they're already planning the next step to
:17:45. > :17:48.take them out of administration. The formalities of the sale and
:17:48. > :17:51.purchase should be agreed this week. After that, they'll have one month
:17:51. > :17:58.to go through the procedure of satisfying the Football League that
:17:58. > :18:01.they can move forward to a brighter future. The next step is for know
:18:01. > :18:06.get together with Dave Jones who has been working with me on the
:18:06. > :18:09.financial side, to put together our business plan, based on the cash we
:18:09. > :18:14.have got. Go to the league and show them that we're in a state to come
:18:14. > :18:19.out of administration. That is not a simple process, but our objective
:18:19. > :18:22.is to do that by 6th August. grisly discovery of 50 ancient
:18:22. > :18:25.skulls in a pit near Weymouth two years ago raised lots of questions
:18:25. > :18:28.about who they were and what they were doing there. But strange
:18:28. > :18:31.markings on the teeth have now led archaeologists to believe they were
:18:31. > :18:33.Viking warriors. It's thought the horizontal lines may have been to
:18:33. > :18:43.frighten enemies. Well earlier I spoke to local archaeologist Win
:18:43. > :18:44.
:18:44. > :18:51.Scutt and asked him who he thought the remains belonged to. Well the
:18:51. > :18:56.suspicion is they're Vikings, because when we analysed the teeth
:18:56. > :19:00.it revealed where the people had grown up. What water they had been
:19:00. > :19:04.drinking. And that had got into their teeth. It showed they were
:19:04. > :19:09.from a cold climate and one was probably from the Arctic Circle. So
:19:09. > :19:15.we think they're probably Vikings. But you can't be certain. How did
:19:15. > :19:19.they end up in what we know as Weymouth. They were probably on a
:19:19. > :19:26.Viking raid. There were a lot of raids in the 10th century. This was
:19:26. > :19:32.probably a raid. And they have been marshalled up and round up and
:19:32. > :19:39.executed. I was going say, what is the thinking behind how they ended
:19:39. > :19:43.up? It is nasty. There are 54 bodies without heads. Their heads
:19:43. > :19:50.have been placed alongside separately. They have been cut off
:19:50. > :19:59.as heads, not as skulls. There are multiple slash marks and there must
:19:59. > :20:03.have been the most ghastly mass Kerr with mates looking on at what
:20:03. > :20:10.a horrible death. And they must have been naked. There were no
:20:10. > :20:17.signs of buttons or anything. analysis of the teeth showing these
:20:17. > :20:21.strange grooves. What do you think these grooves indicate? Well,
:20:21. > :20:27.dental modify kaigs is one thing that many societys have done across
:20:27. > :20:33.the world. It is not that common in Europe. But there had been evidence
:20:33. > :20:40.for the filing down and decoration of Viking teeth in Sweden. So that
:20:40. > :20:45.is about the same date, 10th century that. H -- that gives more
:20:45. > :20:48.evidence that may might be Viking. Thank you very much. Last minute
:20:48. > :20:51.preparations for one of the region's biggest air shows have
:20:51. > :20:54.been taking place in Somerset today. Yeovilton Air Day this Saturday
:20:54. > :20:57.will celebrate the 40th birthday of an aircraft born and bred in the
:20:57. > :21:00.county. As well as being a tribute to the Lynx helicopter, the event
:21:00. > :21:09.will also showcase aircraft from around the world and today we were
:21:09. > :21:17.given a preview of the show, as Janine Jansen reports. 40 years old
:21:17. > :21:25.and not showing it -- idges age. Pilots demonstrating what the Lynx
:21:25. > :21:32.is capable of. The aircraft was Somerset born and bred, designed at
:21:32. > :21:38.built at the Westland factory near Yeovilton. It has become a main
:21:38. > :21:42.stay of the British armed forces, excelling during the Falklands war.
:21:43. > :21:50.Remarkably this aircraft still holds the helicopter speed record,
:21:50. > :21:54.400 kilometres an hour. Today as the 21st Century Lynx was showing
:21:54. > :22:00.off, two of the engineers who designed it were looking on with
:22:00. > :22:05.pride. I thought it was an aircraft for the future and it still is.
:22:05. > :22:12.Is that how you feel? Yes, I have been a believer in the aircraft
:22:12. > :22:17.from the start. I said life begins at 40. Saturday's air show will
:22:17. > :22:23.celebrate the Lynx's birthday and show case aircraft young and old
:22:23. > :22:28.from all over the world. It is to demonstrate Royal Navy capability
:22:28. > :22:34.and exposure of what the navy is doing and to just keep the navy in
:22:34. > :22:38.the public eye. One aircraft that was showing its age a little was
:22:38. > :22:43.the Hunter, the 60-year-old jet fighter looked agile enough to
:22:43. > :22:47.start with, but then developed engine problems and landed with a
:22:47. > :22:57.Fire Brigade and ambulance escort. But there was no drama. Organisers
:22:57. > :22:58.
:22:59. > :23:04.hope it will stay like that at the weekend. Now the weather, look
:23:04. > :23:09.weekend. Now the weather, look overcast but still OK for flying.
:23:09. > :23:13.Well we have had some wet weather sweeping across the South West
:23:13. > :23:18.today. For the rest of the week we have an unsettled theme with plenty
:23:18. > :23:23.of showers and it will become breezy. There is already a breeze
:23:23. > :23:27.and that will feature for the rest of the week. You can see cloud
:23:27. > :23:34.stretching from central France up the eastern side of England,
:23:34. > :23:39.curving around the low pressure and you can see several bands of cloud.
:23:39. > :23:45.These are lines of showers that will affect us over the next two
:23:45. > :23:50.days. The area of low pressure for tonight has a tight mix of rain and
:23:50. > :23:54.showers just to the south of it. That splits into another area of
:23:54. > :24:01.low pressure that comes into southern Ireland by tomorrow. And
:24:01. > :24:05.we will see the strong winds associated with that and more
:24:05. > :24:10.persistent rain. On Thursday we are between systems and hopefully some
:24:10. > :24:13.sunshine. But also some showers. There this a line of rain. Already
:24:13. > :24:18.some more showers coming into central parts of Ireland. So later
:24:18. > :24:22.on some of the showers will move across the rest of us. And some
:24:22. > :24:26.late unSchlein to enjoy and clear sky tonight to allow the
:24:26. > :24:32.temperatures to dip into single figures. But notice there is more
:24:32. > :24:36.cloud coming and going through the night. But first thing tomorrow,
:24:36. > :24:42.there could be dry weather with the best of the sunshine the more
:24:42. > :24:50.eastern parts of Devon into Somerset and Dorset. A nice start
:24:50. > :24:57.here. Tonight temperatures around 10 degrees. Some places koun to --
:24:57. > :25:05.down to eight or nine. Tomorrow, we have got a scattering of showers
:25:05. > :25:11.for the morning with some sunshine in between. Much more cloud and the
:25:11. > :25:15.blue becoming more widespread. That is more persistent rain. Also
:25:15. > :25:19.becoming windy in the second half of the day. Specially around the
:25:20. > :25:24.coasts of Cornwall and the Bristol channel. Temperatures 16 on the
:25:24. > :25:30.coast. But where we see some fine weather, particularly again across
:25:30. > :25:36.sorm set, 18 or 19. -- Somerset. For the Isles of Scilly some
:25:36. > :25:46.showers and then rain later. Become windy with possible gale force
:25:46. > :25:54.
:25:54. > :26:01.winds to the end of the afternoon. For surfers the sur 6 this week
:26:01. > :26:08.will be challenging. Some big waves developing -- developing towards
:26:08. > :26:12.the end of the day. Becoming quite messy by early evening. The south
:26:12. > :26:20.coast will have some shelter. But the wave will be large and messy.
:26:20. > :26:25.Coastal waters forecast, for most of the day the swipbt winds will be
:26:25. > :26:28.south-westerly force five is six, but picking up to force seven in
:26:28. > :26:32.the far west A mixture of sunshine and showers until that rain turns
:26:32. > :26:38.up. The forecast all the way through and including the start of
:26:38. > :26:41.weekend, is blustery winds, we're between weather systems on Thursday
:26:41. > :26:47.and we could see mixture of sunshine and showers. More sunshine
:26:47. > :26:53.on Friday. But still breezy. Saturday, with a sigh of relief it
:26:53. > :26:57.could be a dry day and with more sunshine the temperatures will be
:26:57. > :27:05.higher. And lighter wind, so fingers crossed for air show. Thank
:27:05. > :27:13.you. For your e-mails about empty shops. One said come to lis guard
:27:13. > :27:23.where it is nearer -- lis guard where it is nearer 50%. The same
:27:23. > :27:25.
:27:25. > :27:30.point from Alan, who says Lisgard is a dying town. Dawn says in