21/11/2011 Spotlight

A rise in domestic violence, with 14,000 cases investigated in Devon

and Cornwall this year alone. Good evening we'll hear from one victim

as a new campaign highlighting the signs of an abusive relationship is

launched. Also tonight: Help to get a home, but there's criticism of

the latest plans to support young families struggling to afford a

property. It would be nice to have the deps sit, but we're still

facing a situation where a house is going to be many times what we earn.

Graham Dawe has been sacked after 12 years in charge at Plymouth

Albion. We'll be live at their ground. And confused by the weather

- the flowers tricked into blooming because of the mild Autumn. The

number of cases of domestic violence prosecuted in the south

west is up 50% over the past five years. The Crown Prosecution

service says 1,250 cases were taken to court in 2006. Last year, the

number was 1,874. But many allegations don't even get to court.

14,000 have been investigated in Devon and Cornwall alone since

April this year. Agencies working with domestic violence victims are

asking for people to look for warning signs of abusive

relationships, so victims can get help before its too late. We've

been speaking to one woman abused by her husband over a number of

years. She asked us to conceal her identity. He is nice to start with,

very caring, but things changed. He started to get possessive and

wanted to know where I was all of the time. I couldn't go out with

friends without him. I felt like I couldn't breathe. He'd start

arguments about things like stacking the plates. He would shout

and punch the wall and then it escalated. He started punching me.

He would pin me to the wall by my throat. One day he grabbed a knife

and threatened to kill me. As well as the number of prosecutions

rising, the number of people being convicted of abusing their partners

is also on the increase. The Police say that could be because more

victims are coming forward. Now, a campaign's underway to increase

that number further. Earlier I spoke to Spotlight's Alison Chitty

who has been investigating and asked her what the signs were to

look out for. Well obviously this the obvious signs, unexplained

injuries. But controlling relationships can escalate into

abuse. We need to look out for people being controlled by their

partner and maybe a change in circumstances, redundancy, or even

pregnancy. We know that 14% of women who died in pregnancy was

related to domestic abuse. We know pregnancy escalates the Domers is

the abuse situation, due to stress. So it is important for women to

seek the support of their midwives and the community, so we can offer

help. Is there any reason why pregnant women are at risk? Well

there are stress factors in a pregnant circumstances it may be an

unplanned one, or there may be financial worries. Also it changes

the dynamic of a relationship. A partner who wants all the attention

may feel jealous of a new arrival and of course lack of sleep,

financial constrapbtds. It can -- constraint sh it can add up. We are

being asked to look for violence against pets. Its not juths people

-- just people they abuse, they can be violent against animals. It may

be they have serious issues around their temper. But some people will

delay leaving the relationship, because of concerns over a pet.

Often people that have been abused may have strong relationships with

the pets and may be the only loving contact they have. So there are

agency there is a will take your animals in to help you. In that

family was a young girl who was very attached to her dog. And

during the foster period the dog was with us and she did not talk

until the dog went home. And as soon as the dog was reunited with

her, she started talking again and told the dog about her experiences

in the refuge and what had happened. What is being done to get victims

to come forward? The police and the Crown Prosecution Service are

trying to work with victim and want more training with people who come

into contact with victims to encourage not just to deal with the

incident they have been called to, but to seek help to leave that

relationship. Partly this is about trying to spot the signs so people

can be helped. And we must remember these issues with affect men as

well as women and we're being asked to look for abusive relationship

and to get people to intervene so that it can come through courts and

people can feel free to leave. Thank you. The Government has today

announced plans to get more first- time buyers onto the housing ladder

- an enormous challenge here in the South West. It's also committing

money to kick-star the construction industry. Here's our Political

Editor Martyn Oates. This development in Plymouth is bucking

a worrying down ward trend in the construction industry. We're

building the lowest number of new houses since the Second World War.

The economic crisis has made the shortage of affordable housing even

worse. Something Rob, 80 miles away in Penzance is aware of. We lack

the substantial money needed for a mortgage and to save for a deposit.

We don't have money at the end of the month to put forward for a

deposit and I don't think we would many meet the criteria for buying a

house over �100,000. Which I prettyy house in Cornwall.

Government aims to get more of this activity on the way. And

specifically to help people like Rob. The new scheme will address

two problems caused by the recession. One is the issue of

simply getting more houses built. A �400 million pot will be offered to

unblock housing schemes. The other big challenge is getting more

credit flowing. Fast time buyers under the plans can apply for

mortgages worth up to 95% of a home's value w the Government

underwriting part of the risk. Today I'm announcing sup fort --

support for a scheme to help first time buyers. It will help up to

100,000 people to buy new homes with a 5% deposit. The Government

may want to dig for victory, but is it putting enough in the war chest?

It doesn't seem like they have put a lot into it. And my problem if

that was the case and they bring in these plans and now is the prices

and the difference between wages and the prices of houses and it

does not in any way cover that. is not enough and won't deliver on

anything like the scale we need. And I think the Government will

have to come back. But they have made 127 announcements on housing

and this is another one. One thing is certain - 86 lucky people will

get an unusually elegant affordable home with a passing resemblance to

the Prime Minister's! A 14-year-old girl from Cornwall has admitted an

attack on an Asian shopkeeper was racially motivated. During the

incident at a store in Bodmin, the victim had paint thrown over him

and was verbally abused. Earlier, Bodmin Magistrates' Court remanded

the teenage girl into local authority care for sentencing on

12th December. The RSPCA centre in Cornwall has been shut down after

an outbreak of suspected Parvo virus. The centre, at St Columb,

closed at the weekend. Staff say people shouldn't take animals there

until further notice as the disease - which mainly affects dogs - is

highly contagious. Pet owners are advised to ring the RSPCA helpline

for advice. The disease has been contained OK. All the animals are

at the local vet's. None of the other animals have shown any signs.

So we are confident that we have it contained. South west skydivers

have revealed how they got caught up in an adventure holiday that

descended into disappointment and left creditors owed hundreds of

thousands of pounds. The drama on the expedition to the Himalayas was

captured by a young filmmaker and is featured in tonight's BBC Inside

Out programme. Sam Smith reports. They were promised the adventure of

a lifetime. But the reality was a let down. You say I'm sorry, but

you don't do anything. The trip was billed as sky dive ef rest and a

chance to do extreme sport in an extreme location. But after a two

day trek, miles from the mountain, the mood was turning chilly. If you

pan round you may see Everest approximately 20 miles in that

direction. However, if you look at the brochure we paid for, with a

non-refundable deposit past the rocks on Everest. Steven realised

his film was turning into the holiday video from hell. I thought

we were going to make an adventure film and everyone seemed to be

upset. It is another under- resourced joke of an operation. I

would call it a joke of an operation. Frustration, but there

was only one jump plane when four were expected and two months later

the organiser put his company into voluntary liquidation with debts of

more than �500,000. Dave Wood was among the creditors and never got

his �18,000 fee. There was a lot of things I would have liked to have

done to the guy and I I was very disappointed. We want to ask you

questions. I caught up with Nigel Gifford. He says the trip was a

success and his actions above board. The majority of the customers were

satisfied. And from off the top of my head and it is back in 2008,

there were probably three at the end of the expedition were not

happy. And the DTI has had a report on our company, I wasn't struck off

as a director. Everything I had done in the sishs was the correct

thing to do. -- circumstances. Nigel Gifford plans a return to the

adventure holiday business. Cold comfort for those left out-of-

pocket by the adventure. And you can see the full story in tonight's

Inside Out at 7.30 here on BBC1. A round up of the weekend's sport in

a moment with Natalie. Also Graham Dawe is sacked after 12 and a half

years in charge of Plymouth Albion. And all the fun of Children in Need

- we'll take a look at the highlights of how you raised one of

our best regional totals yet. A memorial service for Norrie

Woodhall - who was the last living link to author Thomas Hardy - has

been held in Dorchester this afternoon. In her final years,

Norrie was instrumental in stopping rare Hardy manuscripts being sold

to America. The actress, artist and writer was cast in a production of

Tess of the D'Urbervilles by the author himself when she was 18. She

died last month aged 105. Simon Clemison reports. In donchster if

you love Thomas hardy, you live it. He was a resident and his works

were inspired by the countryside. His novels are still performled

locally, as they were when Hardy was here to direct them. Although

today's cast owe a lot to the original member of the cast. Norrie

Woodhall knew Thomas Hardy. He didn't criticise anyone. He was

very shy and sensitive. In the 20s the Hardy players disappeared. Is a

But here and his words are still resonating. All thanks to Norrie.

In the original performance of Tess of the D'Urbervilles in 1924,

Norrie only had a couple of words to say, but Hardy wrote her an

extra line. Eight years later she re-created the Hardy players. This

is where they have become the players? This is the original

production... John's father in law 5 his father before him also pe e

performed. He led the memorial service. The original players was

the most famous company in Britain and this brought enormous amount of

interest and attention and recognition of this town. And this

has faded from local people's memories and of course Norrie

revived this. Another Norrie fan also addressed the congregation.

The point about her was that the older she grew, the more this

responsibility of representing Hardy took over. Because the older

she got, the fewer there were who had known him and by the end she

was the only one. The tock of Hardy lasts, but so does the tradition of

acting out the books in h town Time for the sports news now. Some

spectacular goals coming up, but some big news first.

We start this evening with news that has stunned the rugby world.

Plymouth Albion have sacked their chairman of rugby Graham Dawe. It

ends a 12.5-year association between the club and the former

England international. Brent Pilnick is at Albion's Brickfields

Ground and joins us. Why has this happened now? The club are

remaining tight-lipped, but rugby is a results given business and the

results have not been good enough. They have lost six of their last a

matches and offer from the bottom in the championship. They finished

second from last last season and you can see where the problem lies.

And he was well respected by his players, wasn't he? Yes, he was,

I've spoken to a number of players today who played under him during

his 12.5 years here and they all say how he expected the best of

them and inspired them to give their best. Of course he was a

former England international and was the oldest player ever to play

in the Championship when aged 50 he played in a game a couple of

seasons ago. And a familiar face is going to take over from him. Yes,

Albion Chairman Graham Stirling told me this morning that Pete

Drewett will take over. He was in charge of the Exeter Chiefs until

March 2009 when he was sacked after failing to get them into the

Premiership. How hard a job do you think Pete Drewett will have?

harder than at Exeter. There's no new stadium or rich investors to

speak of here at Albion. And there's to that the possibility

that they might not even be the best team in Plymouth. The Cornish

Pirates could be playing their home games in the city next season if

they get promoted to the Premiership after agreeing a deal

to share Home Park with Plymouth Argyle until a new stadium is built

on the other side of the Tamar. Thank you.

It wasn't just Albion who had a bad result this weekend. They may have

lost 34-10 at Nottingham on Friday night. But the Cornish Pirates

suffered only their second defeat of the season. An epic comeback by

But the Exeter Chiefs were on form with a stupendous victory in the

Amlin Cup. To football where there was a feast

of goals in our two local derbies Two local derbies and what you want

to see is some of those. If we can go to the Yeovil and Exeter first -

- game first. A perfect result? This was a really well taken. It

was blasted into the corner of the net. Nothing the keeper can do.

Five minutes gone and City are level. Here goes into the back of

the net. You can see what that meets -- means to the travelling

Grecian army. This penalty saw the goalkeeper go the wrong way. The

Oval hit back after the break with a free header. Absolutely. Let's

move down a League to the Torquay Plymouth Argyle at Derby. One

shopper must would have enjoyed it more. Three-to-one is a good win,

isn't it? When you look at the two sides, it is only the 6th time they

have beaten them. It was opened up in the second half. Look at this

cross. Not enough on the head away. But didn't he take out well?

Blasted it into the corner of the net. He has just signed an

extension to his contract. I'm not sure whether he will still be there

after Jan year. What a tip that is. The goal p -- the goalkeeper will

be a bit disappointed about that. Two goals in two minutes. He missed

his chance of a hat-trick. Danny Stevens went all the way himself to

get this one. After three goals, there was no way back. They did get

a consolation later on. Their new signing loaned from Blackpool

reversed the ball back. Tough times for car Fletcher as a manager.

Absolutely. They have their big test coming up next weekend so a

The sides drew 3-3 recently. Exeter City replay Warsaw on Wednesday.

We will keep you up-to-date with the sports news, and of course your

BBC local radio station will have those football commentary is for

More than �750,000 has been raised so far in the south west for

Children in Need. That's one of the largest amounts ever pledged on the

night in the region and is part of a record breaking national figure.

Thousands of you joined in the Party for Pudsey at the Eden

Project on Friday. Thanks to everyone who took part and raised

money. Here's how you did it. Welcome to children any 2011. We

are live at the Eden Project. Are you having a good time? -- Children

We are having an all-day pirate party. Have you raised money?

have raised lots of money. Have you given us all the money? Not spent

on rum? No. We are having loads of fun it here, especially when it is

Children In Need. He is having a good time? That is the forecast for

It says on shampoo. A bit chilly here at the ice rink. David, what

do you think you are doing? It is not about you! I can sing, OK?

two, one at! We are in a hospital and we are selling cakes. We've

raced around �5,000 so I'm really pleased with that. -- we have

It was a brilliant night. It never ceases to amaze me what people do

and how much they raised. You think it cannot get any better

every year with the demand. It is incredible people give up. The

total so far for the south west is �784,443.$$NEWLINE Now, we've

experienced unusually mild weather Apparently it's due to high

pressure sitting over Europe and it seems to be having an effect on our

wildlife. The lack of frost has seen leaves stay on trees and even

allowed some exotic plants to flower. We sent John Ayres out to

discover why, for the moment, it's He's leave us tell a story. They

are more green and gold and they are still on the tree.

Trees like this oak are completely... That his fall of leaf

as you can see. It is not even starting to turn. It is just

starting to turn. It is very unusual for this time of year.

Normally we would have had some heavy frost and the leaves would

have been shared -- shed. So far there has been a frost in

the region at all this month. Daytime temperatures have been

around four or five degrees higher than average. And the annual have

observed the effect it has been having: Grace's and while phyla

have continued to grow and some insects have been breeding. There

seems to be a lot more vertebra activity than you would expect at

this time of year. We have more butterflies around. There is a

small tortoise shell just last week so you would not be expecting to

see them at this late in the year. At this college in East Devon,

there is a rare sight. Are more than five metres tall, this Dalya

has flowered for the first time in a years. What normally happens with

this plant is that it struggles to grow. It grows competently from

around April or May. It goes up until this point and then the first

of second frost of the year takes it out completely. The nature on

this Reserve may be considered -- confused by the mild climate. The

hope in that the late onset of winter will not have an adverse

effect. So is the spring-like weather going

to continue? Here's Sarah Farmer A very good evening to you. We have

had some outbreaks of rain today, some have had been on the heavy

side. This week sees an improving picture with brighter conditions

developing as we had the war seemed at a park the week. Today we have

had some rain attacking northwards and there have been some greens and

yellows so some hefty downpours at times. We stick with that tonight

with soggy conditions as that rain gradually tracks east. Overnight

tonight, underneath the cloud, the temperatures will hold out in

double digits, but it is set to be a wet one. A damp start to the day

for tomorrow. That band of rain does work his way East and we

should see some brightening conditions developing as we head

through the remainder of the day. Cornwall sees the best of the

brightness, Devon will eventually see some brightness. Eastern parts

will cling on to cloud and damp conditions. In terms of temperature,

eyes of 13 degrees with a fresher feel to things. How is it looking

for the Channel Islands? Not too badly, a generally cloudy day with

outbreaks of rain later in the day. As for the Isles of Scilly, and

improving picture. We start with some grey and damp conditions, but

we should see some sunny intervals through much of the day. And

improving picture as well on the water. Some rain to start and then

becoming fair. Not too bad if you are venturing out tomorrow. Looking

ahead, for Wednesday, the troublesome weather is sticking to

the north of the country. We have high pressure in charge so fairly

decent conditions to round of the week. Wednesday will see the high-

pressure bringing bright, sunny conditions. A similar story on

Thursday as well: Some more sunny spells to enjoy. Friday, a bit more