:00:08. > :00:18.The �400,000 fuel bill - the haulier furious with government
:00:18. > :00:21.plans to increase the duty further. I don't really know where it is
:00:22. > :00:25.going to end. I do not see where they are trying to row because they
:00:25. > :00:29.just keep pushing it up. Why do not see what they are going to gain out
:00:29. > :00:32.of bed. Good evening. Some of our local MPs
:00:32. > :00:35.have joined a backlash against the Government. We will have the latest.
:00:35. > :00:39.Also tonight... On a cliff edge - the homeowners calling for urgent
:00:39. > :00:43.action to save their properties. Looking at the rate of erosion it
:00:43. > :00:48.can be in the next 20 years. This could be in the ocean.
:00:49. > :00:51.And surf's up and the "ruffer" the better for this salty seadog.
:00:52. > :00:55.The owner of a small haulage company in Devon says he's furious
:00:55. > :00:59.at continuing fuel rises that now mean half of all his costs go on
:00:59. > :01:04.fuel. Julian Webber from Okehampton says his diesel bill has risen to
:01:04. > :01:07.�400,000 a year. Today, MPs have been debating the rising cost of
:01:07. > :01:11.fuel in response to an online petition signed by more than
:01:11. > :01:15.100,000 people. Four South West MPs have joined calls for the
:01:15. > :01:23.government to do more to bring fuel prices down. In a moment we will
:01:24. > :01:29.hear from our political editor but first, this report.
:01:29. > :01:34.Next time you curse when you fill up your car, think of Julian Webber
:01:34. > :01:44.from Okehampton. His fuel bill for his haulage company is �8,000 a
:01:44. > :01:45.
:01:45. > :01:52.week, �400,000 a year. I fun -- I run articulated lorries. We are
:01:53. > :01:57.always running at maximum wait. It is usually about 4.5 miles to the
:01:57. > :02:02.gallant ranging to 7.5 miles to the gallon, for the ones off to South
:02:02. > :02:08.Wales. Julian says over the past few years fuel prices have gone up
:02:08. > :02:13.by 40%. He said, that means half of his running costs go on fuel. He
:02:13. > :02:17.says he is even considering jacking it in. I used to really enjoy this
:02:18. > :02:22.but now, it is just harder and harder. It has crossed my mind. I
:02:22. > :02:27.have talked to my wife about it. I never thought I would say it.
:02:27. > :02:35.went to Penzance to meet Martin Smith. He used to work as a night
:02:35. > :02:43.porter. Every time he went to work, the 80 miles to cost 10 �11. He had
:02:43. > :02:49.to give it up. I wanted to work and I enjoyed the job and enjoyed the
:02:49. > :02:52.journey. The situation was that it put 5,000 miles on the car in four
:02:52. > :02:59.months and the cost of fuel was getting to a situation that I could
:02:59. > :03:03.not do it. Some environmental campaigners argue high fuel tax is
:03:03. > :03:09.a good thing as it discourages car use. This happened here at the Post
:03:09. > :03:19.Office. We have actually stopped driving into Penzance because it is
:03:19. > :03:25.not worth the cost. We pay an average of an extra �5, maybe even
:03:25. > :03:33.�15 surcharge on deliveries that we get. Everywhere you turn, rising
:03:33. > :03:38.fuel prices are having a massive impact on our lives.
:03:38. > :03:42.Our political editor has been watching the debate today. A lot of
:03:42. > :03:45.Conservative MPs signed a motion criticising the government?
:03:45. > :03:51.Slightly reminiscent of the rebellion over Europe a few weeks
:03:51. > :03:54.ago with similar numbers of MPs. This is a much less a serious
:03:54. > :04:01.challenge to the government. What we have ended up with is quite a
:04:01. > :04:07.polite request to the government to look at more to keep prices down.
:04:07. > :04:12.The petition was making much more radical demands. Cutting the
:04:12. > :04:18.planned duty increases next year and putting pressure on oil
:04:18. > :04:21.companies to hand down cheaper oil prices. The Conservative MPs in the
:04:21. > :04:27.house that they have been echoing the government and saying, if we
:04:27. > :04:32.start with the fuel escalator, it would be even higher. They are
:04:32. > :04:37.probably saying, we would not have increase VAT, which has driven
:04:37. > :04:42.prices up further. How is the government responding? Unlike the
:04:42. > :04:48.European referendum debate, there are no attempt to force MPs into
:04:48. > :04:52.the government line. The government pointed out in a different beat
:04:52. > :04:55.inflation only increase until next year but they make no bones by the
:04:55. > :04:58.fact -- about the fact that fuel duty is an important source of
:04:58. > :05:01.revenue at a time when they need money badly.
:05:01. > :05:04.In another political story today, the Conservative MP for West Dorset
:05:04. > :05:06.has been told he must ensure that he keeps personal information
:05:06. > :05:08.secure or face formal enforcement action by the Information
:05:08. > :05:15.Commissioner. Oliver Letwin was forced to apologise after a tabloid
:05:15. > :05:22.newspaper photographed him throwing away documents in a park bin.
:05:22. > :05:28.He had earlier been cleared of throwing away classified documents
:05:28. > :05:32.but has been found to have breached data protection law might? He threw
:05:32. > :05:36.away sensitive personal data, including information relating to a
:05:36. > :05:42.constituent. He had had -- has had to sign a document promising not to
:05:43. > :05:49.do it again. I have apologised to my constituents and undertaken to
:05:49. > :05:54.make sure things are securely disposed of in future.
:05:54. > :06:00.concerned were you that you acted illegally? The Information
:06:00. > :06:04.Commissioner required that I signed an undertaking had I have done so.
:06:04. > :06:07.He has got very number say, as you can see.
:06:07. > :06:09.The owners of a butcher's shop in Dorset, which is the oldest family
:06:09. > :06:11.owned business in the county, say customers are changing their
:06:11. > :06:14.spending habits as inflation continues to erode people's
:06:14. > :06:17.spending power. Although the rate has fallen slightly today, it is
:06:17. > :06:20.still higher than the rise in most people's wages. As Hamish Marshall
:06:20. > :06:30.reports, customers are opting for cheaper cuts of meat and making
:06:30. > :06:32.
:06:32. > :06:36.fewer shopping journeys. They have lost count of how many of
:06:36. > :06:43.their ancestors have run this, the oldest family business in Britain
:06:43. > :06:47.since it began in Bridport in 1535. The price of meat has risen since
:06:47. > :06:54.then, but especially in the last 12 months, when the cost of everything
:06:54. > :07:00.has gone up. People are going for a cheaper cuts of meat. We have got
:07:00. > :07:05.lots of them good value things like faggots and sausages are not
:07:05. > :07:11.expensive for the amount of goodness in them. Times are
:07:11. > :07:16.especially tough for people whose pension rises are not keeping pace.
:07:16. > :07:23.Electric and fuel, that is what is doing it. The groceries and the
:07:23. > :07:28.meat has gone up, everything, electric, water, everything.
:07:28. > :07:31.have less money than we did this time last year. That means it is
:07:31. > :07:35.difficult not just for us but for the people trying to sell us Brits.
:07:35. > :07:41.They are having to come up with new ways to get us through the door.
:07:41. > :07:45.For many traders who are already on a tight margin, every customer is
:07:45. > :07:52.crucial, as people make tough decisions. If I am looking at
:07:52. > :07:56.things in a shop I will look at the prices rather than just pick it up.
:07:56. > :08:05.I look for cheaper brands now. can buy cheaper stuff and look out
:08:05. > :08:10.for special offers and by less. Less waste, but also, you are not
:08:10. > :08:20.getting the expensive things. one knows whether today's slight
:08:20. > :08:23.
:08:23. > :08:30.drop in inflation is a turning point. Residents were having to
:08:30. > :08:32.find out if a scheme will be approved to protect their
:08:32. > :08:38.properties. The council has decided to look at
:08:38. > :08:43.different options to solve the problem.
:08:43. > :08:47.It is not hard to work out where these gardens above these cliffs
:08:47. > :08:52.will end up. The Jurassic Coast line regularly crumbles into the
:08:52. > :08:57.sea. The owners of these houses accept that. It is the rate of
:08:57. > :09:05.erosion that they think is a man- made programme -- problem. It is
:09:05. > :09:09.not natural. We have Rock Island. They are causing unnatural erosion.
:09:09. > :09:14.Three or four metres a year is not uncommon recently. The tree behind
:09:14. > :09:20.me is probably the next one to go. There is a large fault line opening
:09:20. > :09:25.around it. There was one for years or so beyond it, almost as big, but
:09:25. > :09:28.ended up on the beach. I am worried about people being killed. Not
:09:28. > :09:36.necessarily falling over the cliff, but people in the summer that lie
:09:36. > :09:42.on the beach. There are signs on the beach might you could be killed
:09:42. > :09:46.by falling rocks, but people largely ignore them. The home
:09:46. > :09:49.owners in the area around a Cliff Road have spent thousands of pounds
:09:49. > :09:52.putting together a planning application. They wanted to pilot
:09:52. > :09:56.boulders at the bottom of the cliffs to stop the waves pounding
:09:56. > :10:00.them. They have withdrawn the application as the council said
:10:00. > :10:03.they are willing to discuss a solution with all concerned.
:10:03. > :10:07.Everybody in Sidmouth and the local area has got a stake in this to
:10:07. > :10:12.preserve what is here. The planning committee was poised to reject the
:10:12. > :10:22.application because this area is designated as a World Heritage Site.
:10:22. > :10:33.
:10:33. > :10:37.In a statement, macho England East Devon district council says it
:10:37. > :10:46.will get all interested parties together to find an outcome in the
:10:46. > :10:49.best interests of Sidmouth overall. South West conservationists say
:10:49. > :10:51.they are dismayed the government is to delay the introduction of a
:10:51. > :10:54.network of marine conservation zones. DEFRA has told Spotlight
:10:54. > :11:03.there is good initial evidence for between 20 and 30 sites around the
:11:03. > :11:08.country, but it still wants to gather further information.
:11:08. > :11:14.The South West's spectacular marine habitats have been a battleground
:11:14. > :11:22.between conservationists and fishermen over the last few years.
:11:22. > :11:28.A consultation exercise, conducted the by a group called Finding
:11:28. > :11:30.Century, asked people how best to protect our seas. They suggested
:11:30. > :11:33.eight network of marine conservation zones and special
:11:33. > :11:38.conservation zones. The government says even more robust evidence is
:11:38. > :11:42.needed. It is so vital that we get this right and that we are not
:11:42. > :11:52.going to do something that can be challenged in court or a can
:11:52. > :11:56.adversely affect people in the south-west. Any delay to the
:11:56. > :12:01.creation of a network of marine conservation zones is frustrating
:12:01. > :12:05.for local Wildlife trusts, who have campaigned for more controls at sea.
:12:05. > :12:08.What the government is saying is, you have given as these
:12:08. > :12:13.recommendations, but we want to take more time to gather more
:12:13. > :12:17.evidence. They have not said what evidence or how much. At the end of
:12:17. > :12:22.the day we will not know whether a single site gets conserved. South
:12:22. > :12:26.West fishermen have welcomed the announcement. The designation of
:12:26. > :12:31.areas has to be based on science. The fishing industry has been
:12:31. > :12:35.operating for the past 100 or more years round here and the marine
:12:35. > :12:42.environment is notably the best in Europe. We must be doing something
:12:42. > :12:45.responsible. The RSPB says it is concerned only a fraction of the
:12:45. > :12:55.original sites will go forward for initial designation but the
:12:55. > :12:57.government says it is committed to You're watching Spotlight from the
:12:57. > :13:01.BBC. Thank you for joining us, coming up later:
:13:01. > :13:03.Where does the money you raise for Children in Need go? We meet the
:13:03. > :13:06.mothers and babies being given a better chance in life.
:13:06. > :13:08.And already on course to raise thousands, the Royal Marines on
:13:08. > :13:10.Mission Commando. For people suffering from kidney
:13:10. > :13:15.failure, the procedure of dialysis can be time consuming and tough
:13:15. > :13:19.going. But for almost 200 patients a new purpose-built dialysis unit
:13:19. > :13:22.is going to make a real difference to their lives. The unit, which has
:13:22. > :13:27.been moved out of Derriford Hospital, has cost �1.5 million and
:13:27. > :13:37.is four times bigger. Spotlight's Amy Cole, has been to meet some of
:13:37. > :13:43.the people who are already benefiting.
:13:43. > :13:49.Every week, three times a week, this woman has dialysis. It has
:13:49. > :13:58.been her way of play for over four years. Recently, a life has
:13:58. > :14:01.improved due to a recent, purposely built unit. There is a sense of
:14:01. > :14:04.camaraderie here, as he is surrounded by the patients, many of
:14:04. > :14:10.whom have become our friends, all have been going through the same
:14:10. > :14:16.thing. I prefer this unit to the ones I used to go to, because the
:14:16. > :14:19.other ones I used to go to were individual units. This one is one
:14:19. > :14:23.Holbeck one and you see everything that is going on and I love it.
:14:23. > :14:30.They make it so comfortable that it does not take long to do what we
:14:30. > :14:35.have to do. The time goes so quickly. These patients no longer
:14:35. > :14:40.have to go to the hospital for treatment. It has taken a will for
:14:40. > :14:46.plummet to offer what Exeter has had for some time. Up until this
:14:46. > :14:53.point, Plymouth was the only unit in the said West not providing
:14:53. > :14:57.would become a satellite dialysis service. Our trust was very
:14:57. > :15:03.receptive to the idea and I think it promotes the concept of a
:15:03. > :15:08.patient centred service. More than 180 kidney failure patients will
:15:08. > :15:18.access the unit every year. For each person, this service is a
:15:18. > :15:18.
:15:18. > :15:22.lifeline. I am 78. There are a lot of people a lot younger than me
:15:22. > :15:31.than are will stop I do not have that opportunity, because my heart
:15:31. > :15:36.will not take it. So dialysis it is. With a generous amount of gratitude
:15:36. > :15:39.and optimism. Only three days to go until
:15:40. > :15:42.Children in Need 2011, and all this week we are looking at how the
:15:42. > :15:45.money you raise makes a difference to the lives of underprivileged
:15:46. > :15:48.children in the region. North Devon is one of the largest and most
:15:49. > :15:53.deprived rural areas in the UK with high unemployment and low average
:15:54. > :15:56.earnings, spanning generations. Wings South West is helping young
:15:56. > :15:59.people to break that cycle and improve their prospects. Kerry is
:16:00. > :16:09.one of the project leaders working with Astrid, Jamie and Zoe. This is
:16:10. > :16:13.
:16:13. > :16:20.I did not have a very good start to life, I did not start -- finish
:16:20. > :16:26.school. It did not have any qualifications. I think there is a
:16:26. > :16:29.huge need in this at because it is deprived. There is a high at --
:16:30. > :16:35.percentage of young people with no aspirations. It is almost as if
:16:35. > :16:40.they want to give up. It is very tough for them. There are no jobs.
:16:40. > :16:48.That is the other a hard part of it, no jobs that young people can step
:16:48. > :16:54.into. The do mathematics and English and the give us an
:16:54. > :16:58.opportunity to get some GCSEs. It made you feel good. I am achieving
:16:58. > :17:05.something, I am doing something, not just sitting around at home
:17:05. > :17:09.watching television. I think it is such a shame that they are getting
:17:09. > :17:14.the benefits and it is sad because I feel that a lot of the parents
:17:14. > :17:19.that I work with have a lot to offer to society. This place makes
:17:19. > :17:24.a difference because my child learns how to play with other
:17:24. > :17:27.children his age. We have only been coming a couple of weeks and I have
:17:27. > :17:32.seen a big difference in him a lightly. He is starting to
:17:32. > :17:42.understand that he needs to share things and he he is not fighting.
:17:42. > :17:45.
:17:45. > :17:52.He has learned a lot since we have I want to be a good role model for
:17:52. > :18:00.him. Hopefully he will learn in school. I want him to be a good
:18:00. > :18:03.child and go to school and do well. I am a single mother. I have hardly
:18:03. > :18:07.any qualifications. That I can achieve what I want to achieve,
:18:07. > :18:14.then he will learn that no matter what is thrown in his way in life,
:18:14. > :18:18.then he could possibly call it there and achieved what he can. --
:18:18. > :18:22.goal out there. It makes us and for that people give us this
:18:22. > :18:26.opportunity because they know that money is short in this climate so
:18:26. > :18:32.it is nice that it is still funded and still available for everybody.
:18:32. > :18:35.I would like to say to people to dig deep so that a lot of other
:18:35. > :18:45.groups and a lot of other children have the same opportunity that we
:18:45. > :18:47.
:18:47. > :18:50.Every penny you raise goes to Children in Need. On the night, I'm
:18:50. > :18:56.at the Eden project in Cornwall for this year's Party for Pudsey, where
:18:56. > :19:01.there will be live music, ice skating and a lantern parade. Entry
:19:01. > :19:07.to the site is free from 6pm. We hope to see lots of you there.
:19:07. > :19:09.And, of course, the fundraising has already started. Today, six
:19:09. > :19:13.commandos have set themselves a physical challenge that's never
:19:13. > :19:16.been done before. The team of five Royal Marines and one Army Commando
:19:16. > :19:20.will set out to complete four commando tests, normally done over
:19:20. > :19:23.seven days, in just 24 hours. They hope to raise more than �10,000 for
:19:23. > :19:33.charities including Children In Need. Our defence reporter Scott
:19:33. > :19:37.
:19:37. > :19:42.Bingham went to see them set off. Final preparations. It is so well
:19:42. > :19:47.for! Every royal marine must pass these four Tests before he can earn
:19:47. > :19:54.his green beret. They are tough enough as it stands, but that is
:19:54. > :19:58.not really challenging enough for these guys. Normally you do want
:19:58. > :20:02.yesterday over seven days, with a gap between before you do the 30
:20:02. > :20:10.mile. We're going to do it in 24 hours. It has never been done
:20:10. > :20:17.before, has it? Know. Confident? Yes. They will carry more than �30
:20:17. > :20:26.of debt. The men, all instructors, will aim to do two circuit in under
:20:26. > :20:35.30 minutes. It seems that they have every right to be confident.
:20:35. > :20:44.that 11 minutes? That was good. First London, three more to goal.
:20:44. > :20:51.Nice and easy, try and refuel as the goal, debt or cells ready. --
:20:51. > :20:56.get ourselves ready. We next catch up with him for 0.5 miles away on
:20:56. > :21:01.the infamous endurance course. 72 minutes to go round their two-mile
:21:01. > :21:06.route peppered with obstacles, including the notorious sheep dip.
:21:06. > :21:10.Just 4.5 miles now, back to the base then followed by a nine-mile
:21:10. > :21:14.speed march tonight and a 30 mile route march tomorrow. They should
:21:14. > :21:24.be well into that speed march by now, but the toughest test comes
:21:24. > :21:25.
:21:25. > :21:28.tomorrow. We will catch up with them again then.
:21:28. > :21:32.A 2-year-old Labrador from Cornwall and her owner are attracting
:21:32. > :21:35.attention after a film of the dog was posted on the internet. Mango
:21:35. > :21:40.does all the usual doggy things, such as fetching a ball, but she
:21:40. > :21:45.also enjoys catching a wave. So far, more than 3,000 people have
:21:45. > :21:55.watched dog and owner riding the waves near Newquay. David George
:21:55. > :21:56.
:21:57. > :22:01.has been to see them. Mango's video starts gently not
:22:01. > :22:11.what a bit of body boarding in a rock pool. Easy when she gets the
:22:11. > :22:17.hang of it. Later in the film, they get into the big surf. The waves
:22:17. > :22:20.are looking good. Mangle is a working labrador, and as on the
:22:20. > :22:24.been surfing essence of the spring. It all started when she fought her
:22:24. > :22:30.owners into the sea. We both paddled out and we turned around
:22:30. > :22:35.and the dog had followed us. She seemed pretty happy. I put her on a
:22:35. > :22:39.board and she wrote back in. From that point, I realised we had a
:22:39. > :22:44.surfing dog. But the surfing dog was not doing any interviews today,
:22:44. > :22:48.so can we be sure that this is not all made up? In the interests of
:22:48. > :22:55.accurate reporting double be challenged dog and owner to hit the
:22:55. > :23:04.waves in front of a BBC Spotlight camera, to see she can really do it.
:23:04. > :23:13.She waits, that is what she does. All, yes. She can really do it.
:23:13. > :23:23.Well done. It was good then. -- good fun. It is not perfect
:23:23. > :23:39.
:23:39. > :23:43.We have had some fine weather today. We have even had some sunshine.
:23:43. > :23:50.Unfortunately, things are changing for tomorrow. It will be cloudy
:23:50. > :23:55.with some patchy rain. Earlier today, there was plenty of fine
:23:55. > :24:05.weather around. We start with Dartmoor and a cameraman was up on
:24:05. > :24:08.
:24:08. > :24:16.the moor. Some very pleasant conditions and it is nice to see
:24:16. > :24:24.the sunshine again after a cloudy day yesterday. Another camera man
:24:24. > :24:28.was enjoying some quieter weather, a gentle breeze and some sunshine.
:24:28. > :24:33.Lovely weather today and the temperatures have been healthy. We
:24:33. > :24:38.have a lot of cloud coming in from the Atlantic in the next 24 hours.
:24:38. > :24:42.It is this stripe of cloud here that will come in. It will be slow
:24:42. > :24:45.moving and the reason for that is that we still have that EDL of high
:24:45. > :24:53.pressure over Norway, which is just holding things in the Atlantic at
:24:53. > :24:58.the moment. It will weaken over the next 24 hours. By the time getting
:24:58. > :25:01.thirsty, that will have moved away, but I knew ADL of low pressure
:25:01. > :25:05.leads to further and pigs have been towards the end of the day on
:25:05. > :25:09.Friday. Even that at the moment is a little uncertain, because the
:25:09. > :25:12.high pressure is there, just a little bit weaker to the east of
:25:12. > :25:17.the British Isles. Overnight tonight, are still some holes in
:25:17. > :25:21.that weather, but that Clyde will rapidly return overnight, to give
:25:21. > :25:25.us cloudy conditions by the end of the night. Some clear skies to
:25:25. > :25:33.allow a few of the stars, then later it will cloud over. It will
:25:33. > :25:43.turn misty on the high ground also. Temperatures down to as low a seven
:25:43. > :25:47.or eight Celsius. It will start to warm up as the Clyde. It arrives.
:25:47. > :25:50.If there is any Britons it will tomorrow, it will be in eastern
:25:50. > :25:54.parts of Dorset and Somerset, because we'll see some patchy rain
:25:54. > :25:58.come in. By the end of the afternoon into the early evening it
:25:58. > :26:08.will be across a good part of Devon. Perhaps some of that rain will
:26:08. > :26:18.arrive in Somerset and Dorset as well. For the Isles of Scilly,
:26:18. > :26:35.
:26:35. > :26:45.expect that rain to be in quite a For all those sufferers, --
:26:45. > :26:50.
:26:50. > :26:55.surfers: first there is the marine forecast.
:26:55. > :26:58.That brings us to Thursday's forecast. Expect to see a bright,
:26:58. > :27:03.dry day after some early rain clears out of the way. For good
:27:03. > :27:06.part of the day it will be dry on Friday, but was leaving for
:27:06. > :27:15.Children In Need, there is a possibility of showers, especially
:27:16. > :27:18.late in the evening. It will be Just before we go, we want to
:27:18. > :27:21.remind you that tomorrow, 700 servicemen and women from Task
:27:21. > :27:24.Force Helmand will parade through Exeter and then attend a service of