29/07/2011 Spotlight

Injured after a polar bear attack in the Arctic. A Jersey teenager

recovers after a horrific mauling. Good evening and welcome to

Spotlight. We'll talk to a polar explorer who was asked to go on the

same trip. Also tonight: End of the road. 60 people are made redundant

as one of the region's biggest coach companies says it's going

into liquidation. Fearlessly brave - a tribute at Corporal Mark

Palin's funeral. He was killed in Afghanistan. He was hugely

respected by his rifle men and relied upon by his commanders. A

more selfless man you could never make and we will all miss him.

falling sales are blamed as another of our daily newspapers goes weekly.

More than 60 staff have been made redundant tonight at one of the

region's biggest coach companies. It's been announced that Hookways,

who run a fleet of 50 vehicles, will be going into liquidation

later this month. A handful of staff are being kept on as the

search for a buyer gets underway. Simon Alexander is at the company's

offices in Exeter for us this evening. It is fairly quiet at the

offices this evening and the company started repairing bikes and

North Devon in the 1920s and since then they have grown into one of

the biggest bus tour operators in the south-west, operating not just

local and school buses but also holidays. This evening, the future

is in the balance. Regrettably, most of the staff have been made

redundant today and we have a small skeleton staff to answer queries

and deal with any pickings that are not going to be honoured. This is a

well-established family company that has been going for more than

70 years. Why has it got to this? It is early stages at the moment to

give a full answer but clearly the higher price of diesel has played a

major part in these current difficulties. Staff are taking the

news today and they are not happy. I heard about this today. I have

just come back from Doncaster and I heard it at lunchtime and I have

seen some other drivers that work for this company on the road coming

back, one man was so upset he was crying his eyes out and had to get

another driver because he could not drive, he was so upset. It is

terrible. It is just wrecking people's lives. Anybody who has

booked a holiday with the company is being advised to call them on

Monday morning and the administrator says that they will

also be looking at a new buyer next week. Thank you, Simon. Fearlessly

brave and hugely respected - just some of the tributes paid to

Corporal Mark Palin of the 1st Battalion The Rifles at his funeral

in Plymouth this morning. He was killed by an improvised explosive

device in Helmand Province last month. Hundreds of mourners

gathered at St Andrew's Church in the city for the service, which was

held with full military honours. Rebecca Wills reports. As a funeral

cortege carrying the body of corporal Mark Peel and arrived at

St Andrew's Church this morning, the streets fell silent and

standards were no word as a mark of respect to the local soldier who

was tragically killed weeks after starting his tour of duty in

Afghanistan. The emotional strain of saying goodbye to my friend and

colleague was clearly visible on the faces of those servicemen

chosen to carry his coffin on its final journey. The 32 year-old was

married with the young son and was looking forward to the birth of his

daughter. Officers described him as brave and committed, the epitome of

the battalion he served. Corporal Payne and was a personality through

and through. He died leading from the front, as was his wife.

Fearlessly brave, he was hugely respected by his rifle men and

gritty relied upon by his commanders. And more selfless man

you could never meet and we will miss him dearly. This is probably

the largest army funeral that has been in Plymouth for a long time.

But I think it will be poignant for everybody in Plymouth. The people I

met up and down the street have said, house and for one of our

young band -- young men. After the service, six soldiers, all friends,

fired a salute. Then the funeral cortege left for a private burial.

That was Rebecca Wills. Meanwhile, the inquest into the death of a

Royal Marine from 40 Commando in Somerset has been adjourned until a

later date. Corporal Stephen Curley was killed in Afghanistan in May

last year by a bomb detonated by a 14 year-old boy. Corporal Curley

was described by his commanding officer as the very best of his

generation. Firefighters are tackling a large fire tonight on an

industrial estate near Plymouth. The blaze is at Bandvulc Tyres on

the Lee Mill industrial estate, close to the A38. Police say smoke

is billowing across the carriageway. Drivers are being advised to take

an alternative route. We'll bring you more news as we have it. A

teenager from Jersey has been seriously injured in a polar bear

attack in the Arctic. 16 year-old Patrick Flinders was one of four

mauled by the bear off the coast of Norway. One tourist was killed in

the attack. The team were on a camping expedition organised by the

British Schools Exploring society. John Danks reports. Around 80

people were on the expedition to the limit glacier. Most of them

aged between 16 and 23. Among them, Patrick fenders from Jersey, one of

five people attacked and a polar bear entered the camp this morning.

His father described how her son fought for his life. Patrick was

trying to fend off the polar bear. By hitting it on the nose. Why, I

don't know. But he did. At the polar bear attack 10 with his right

Paul. Across his face and head and his arm. Patrick survived but a 70

year-old from Salisbury died in the attack. The for injured people were

airlifted to Norway, where they will receive treatment for head and

arm injuries. Polar bears are known to live around the islands and the

expedition organisers had provided training on how to deal with them.

This included the use of rifles and flares. One Plymouth-based explorer

was invited to be a guide on this trip and he knows the region well.

Polar bears can be anywhere in the Arctic, they will Rome. Certainly

on my North Pole project, we were 100 miles short of the North Pole

and we came across the Prince. This is very much their environment.

British Schools exploring Society say they will release more

information on the other injured boy, Scott Smith, as soon as

possible. Another of the region's daily newspapers is to go weekly.

The Exeter-based Express and Echo is to follow the Herald Express in

South Devon, which ceased being a daily paper a couple of weeks ago.

The editor of the Express and Echo says the decision was made because

of falling sales and the paper will go weekly early next month. John

Henderson reports. The tag line says, reporting local life since

1904. Today, the Express and Echo was the news. From September, it

will become a we this is backs against the wall. This is a

decision we are making at the right time for the right reasons. There

are about 30 editorial staff at the paper and the changes mean some

will lose their jobs. It is only a few weeks since the hurled an

express in Torbay went quickly, initial sales have been good and

summon Exeter say they think the paper is doing the right thing.

isn't disappearing, they're just changing the way they distribute

and engage with their readers and their advertisers. Regional daily

papers have been struggling with changing lifestyles and the

internet stealing sales and advertising revenue. The echo

currently sells 17,000 copies each day and the hope is that the 200

page weekly will sell 25,000. But the Daily will be missed. I think

it is sad. A lot of people have said about the obituary column and

the births and the weddings and everything. They like to catch up

every day. The last daily paper will appear on Friday the second

has a temper and the first weekly appearing the following Thursday. -

- September 2nd. Concerns remain tonight over the future of Plymouth

Argyle. The new season starts tomorrow but fans fear the club's

takeover may not happen. In a new twist today, the club's acting

chairman has written to staff to reassure them. Hamish Marshall

reports. It is three months since Plymouth Argyle played their last

home league game and tomorrow the new season starts with the deal to

secure the club's future still incomplete. The administrator is so

concerned he is challenging the preferred bidders, Bishop

International, to effectively put up or pull out. The representative

Bill is adamant and he expects to secure the finance next week so I

believe it will go through and I certainly wanted to go through. But

if not, I'll have to explore other options. Brendan Guilfoyle going

public is significant as so for the watchword of this deal has been

secrecy. It seems like he might have accepted that funding isn't in

place to fulfil this. Or, he will get a reaction and get the funding.

But it does mean he is willing to engage with the contingency plan.

If the need arises. In March the club's staff and public in their

concerns as the old board were running up debts of �17 million.

They had not been paid for two months. There has only been one

full monthly pay packet since then and with the money paid for season

tickets unable to be released until the deal is complete, unless the

new owners stump up, August wages will not be paid either. Peter

Ridsdale will buy it the club to There has been no comment from

Bishop International's frontman. Later in the programme: The moment

a wallaby was caught on camera on a local golf course. Plus: An

intriguing story involving Agatha Christie's writing bureau and the

actor Noel Coward. And what of the most exciting new voices at the

world famous Sidmouth Festival. One of the most famous fossils

unearthed on the Jurassic coast has come home. The Ichthyosaur was

discovered more than 200 years ago by Mary Anning, who went on to

become one of Britain's most celebrated fossil hunters. Her

famous find has been on display at the Natural History Museum but is

now being loaned to Lyme Regis, where it was originally found. Greg

Wade reports. Just think, if you had been alive 200 million years

ago, you might have seen one of these voracious marine reptiles.

Ichthyosaur. They once roamed Lyme Regis, once a sub-tropical sea and

now famous fossil has returned. It is causing quite apples. Visitors

to the museum cannot get enough of the fossils, especially this one.

It's a much larger animal than you would normally find and you can see

by the fairly deep chores, crocodile like teeth, that was a

carnivore, one of the masters of the ocean. Fossils have an enduring

appeal. It was a carnivore. Children seem to love them. Fossils,

that is. Dynamite. My favourite one is called the Devil's 2-0. Devil's

2-0? It is like a shell. Mary Ann ING helped make the town famous

with its fossils and it is this one that has returned 200 years later.

She was such an iconic figure in fossil collecting, people come to

see the grave. They often leave little fossils. A brilliant horse

will fund to, she made some amazing discoveries. -- brilliant fossil

hunter. It is quite fantastic. At that time, women did not do that

sort of thing, especially working- class women. The fossil is at the

town's museum until October. Now for an intriguing tale starring

Noel Coward and the crime writer Agatha Christie. It's a plot worthy

of one of Dame Agatha's novels and involves her old writing bureau. A

discovery was made while the bureau was being restored and it relates

to one of her most famous plays, The Mousetrap. Steve Knibbs takes

up the story. This eighteenth- century writing bureau it had lay

in this man's storeroom for three years. His clients reported at the

auction at furniture from one of Agatha Christie's furniture. When

taking it apart, something fell out. This is what Clive find, a folded

piece of paper and he could not believe what he was ruling. It was

a telegram sent in September 1957 from Bermuda, where Noel Coward

lived, and it says, dear Agatha Christie, much as it pains me, I

really must congratulate you on the Mousetrap pricking the long run

record. All my good wishes - Noel Coward. This is an amazing piece of

theatrical history. The Mousetrap opened in 1952, just five years

later it had clocked up nearly 2000 performances. Well, and would have

good reason to feel pain and having to read the telegram because the

play had taken the record from his play, blithe spirit. In his

workshop and the cost was, finding a telegram has been a revelation.

Clive normally ends up with bits of old newspaper but this is

definitely Al once in a career discovery. A career of restorer is

luckily 30 or 35 years. I have been at it for 25 years. Hopefully I

have another 25. If I find anything like this again, I should be very

lucky. Seen here at the 21st anniversary of the Mousetrap, and

at the Christie never made any money from her play. She signed

other rights over to her grandson before it even opened. We took a

copy of the telegram to his London office to show him to find out what

is grand mother might have thought. She was an admirer of Noel Coward.

I knew that. And to have a punishment of her achievement with

the Mousetrap would have pleased you very much. The opinion of her

Peers and fellow entertainers meant a lot to her. It wasn't just the

telegram that Clive found, also crammed into the inside was a

receipt from a lingerie company in London for �24. In the name of Mrs

Mullen. Out of the Christie's married him. It is a telegram that

stands out, correspondence between two of the greatest British writers

of the day. Written with an honesty that people who knew Noel Coward

would have come to expect. �24! That would have been a lot of money

back then. That's more than I pay now! Time for the sport! The new

football season starts tomorrow and we continue to assess the prospects

of South West clubs. There's the line-up for day one. How can the

pilgrims overturn their summer? But it has been a summer of upheaval at

home, with most of last season's players leaving the club without

being paid, one man has remained. The manager, Peter Reid, has

watched Argyll become a shadow of itself. Almost fully dismantled,

the job of piecing back the relegated club begins. Still in

administration and the takeover not complete, he can still manage to

raise a smile. I would not mind working with them! He might prefer

Plymouth were the Manchester! be a young team which starts at

Shrewsbury Town on Saturday but what will Peter Reid class as a

successful season? If I can get the players then, I am working with

players and I do not believe we will go up. What chance have you

got? You must be positive. We might not do it but we might. What we

will do is have a really good go. At least as a Devon derby to warm

up the winter as Torquay United's new helmsman has been busy getting

to know the fans. And vice versa. After May's bitter disappointment

against Stevenage at Old Trafford, how can he improve on his

predecessor's achievements? We're honest players on the pitch. You

just impose what you are. Don't try to be something different because

it has worked for me for 7.5 years. If it was successful in Cambridge,

it will be successful here. East Ender has brought fresh faces

in to replace those who have defected to join Paul Buckle at

Bristol Rovers. The pair will not have long to meet. Saturday week at

a Memorial Stadium. Seven days at United get underway against Burton

Albion. Of course, we featured Exeter City and Yeovil Town in

Spotlight last night and they have real tests on the opening day at

Stevenage and Brentford respectively. Coverage is on BBC

Radio Devon and BBC Somerset. Somerset are right back in the hunt

for cricket's County Championship title after claiming their third

win in a row against Sussex at Taunton. They won by nine wickets

to move them up to third in the table, only 12 points behind

leaders Durham. Marcus Trescothick's team now concentrate

on the Twenty20 Cup quarter-finals against Nottinghamshire at Trent

Bridge on Sunday. Devon Olympian Mary King is preparing for the

Festival of British Eventing at Gatcombe Park this weekend. One of

Mary's horses is Imperial Cavalier, with whom she won team gold at

Kentucky last year. The Open Championship is one of the most

coveted titles in the equestrian calendar and is deemed even more

important this year as competitors step up their preparations ahead of

the 2012 Olympics. The best of luck to my colleague here at Spotlight,

Janine Jansen, who also qualified for Gatcombe. Janine will be riding

her own eight year-old gelding, Watson, in the British Novice

Championship. Hope she doesn't care. Thank you, Sherlock Holmes! I like

that! The world-famous music festival in Sidmouth is celebrating

record ticket sales. The event, which takes over almost every

street in the seaside resort, has broadened its appeal over the years

from its folk origins to take in music of all kinds. Spotlight's

Leigh Rundle has been sampling some of the entertainment on offer. Not

recommended for anyone with anger management problems, these

workshops are always popular with one of the Morris dancers

everywhere. Think of it of being Morris Dancing With attitude. We

have a great time, we make a lot of noise and do not take it very

seriously but we like to get it reasonably right and have some fun.

The promenade was buzzing with buskers and entertainers, it was a

riot of colour, dance and music. By accident we stumbled upon one of

the most exciting new voices of the festival. SINGING. Mail forms part

of a strong Irish contingent to this year's festival. The song I

just was singing means the lame duck, and the story is this man had

a dark and it hurt its wing. He got kicked by a donkey. This man was

distraught because he did not know what to do without his duck eggs in

the morning. Celebrating S -- record sales, it is suggested that

the festival will inject �82 million into the local economy.

has been fantastic. Every year we think this one won't be fantastic

but it always is the best one. Right now, on the last day, I feel

like this is the best on we have ever had. What the sea as the

backdrop, this was one of today's most popular Streetdance. The piece

That sounded really good! I went one year and it lady came up to me

and said, why are you not just to make?! I was a bit confused! -- why

are you not just an elite? -- Justin Lee? Now, this isn't really

what you'd expect to see when you're heading up the fairway.

Golfers playing at Sparkwell near Plymouth filmed what appears to be

a wallaby near the course. The nearby Dartmoor Zoo says it didn't

escape from them. The Spotlight viewer who filmed the antipodean

animal says at first he didn't know what it was. As we get closer it

was getting bigger. It had an unusually large tail. As we got

closer, we thought, what is that? It looked like a kangaroo. My

friend, who has been to Australia, said that's a wallaby. Not a

chance! It started hopping around so light at the video. What was it

doing there?! And I suppose it will be raining cats and dogs this week

-- weekend. It was the showers on both days, Saturday and Sunday and

the shares on Sunday could be heavy and it also becomes breezy towards

the end of the day on Sunday and overnight Sunday night. We have

some showers around this evening, but generally low pressure for the

weekend so it's a complete change with high pressure for a week

moving away. Low pressure will take charge. Quite a lot of cloud to the

west and this weather front welcome in later tonight, bringing some

showers. Once we lose that, this new area of low pressure forms to

the south of Ireland, slow coming in but it will keep the show us

going towards the end of the day and evening. This is a picture from

earlier, you can see how some places in the south-west have had

sunshine. Some holes in the cloud, this was along the north Cornwall

coast at Newquay. It was a very pleasant day. What about that view?

Plenty of surf. Surfers have been enjoying good conditions but the

sea temperatures, 17 degrees, not bad. Or showers possible tomorrow.

But the wheels will increase through the weekend so expect them

to be quite sizeable by the time we get to Sunday and into Monday.

Let's follow that forecast overnight. Fears guys, particularly

for East Devon, Dorset and Somerset, they stay with us for much of the

night. Further west, the risk of Shell was returning towards dawn so

we start in Cornwall and North Devon, rather cloudy with the risk

of showers and it will be cooler than it has been with temperatures

down to about 12 degrees. That is cooler than earlier in the week

with 17. Tamara, those showers will be off and on, either side some

sunny spells but quite a lot of cloud for much of the day. Becoming

more breezy and the way and not overly strong and what does

brighten up, to be just getting to around 19 degrees but cougar on the

coastline. -- temperatures. On the as a silly, some showers developing,

particularly for the end of the afternoon. -- the Isles of Scilly.

And the certain conditions. -- It will build into Sunday and

expect those we have to be around six feet. Still rather choppy. The

coastal waters... South and south- westerly. Showers with mainly good

visibility. Those showers reducing visibility to moderate. Or showers

on Sunday, particularly for the end of the day. Then the north-west

wind on Monday and Tuesday so cooler conditions but also drier.

Have a nice weekend. That is all from us for the evening. The start