:00:16. > :00:18.Pleading guilty to manslaughter - the pensioner who killed his wife.
:00:18. > :00:22.Good evening. Malcolm Beardon said he couldn't cope with her
:00:22. > :00:25.Alzheimers anymore. Also on Spotlight tonight: the biggest
:00:25. > :00:35.private sector strike here for years. Angry workers target lorries
:00:35. > :00:39.
:00:39. > :00:43.leaving the Epwin Groups factory in protests over a pay freeze.
:00:43. > :00:46.You are taking food out of my family's miles.
:00:46. > :00:49.Plugged in. The illegal wind turbine costing more than a million
:00:49. > :00:55.pounds which may have to come down It was hanging in a Devon hotel,
:00:55. > :01:05.was this the Emperor of Exmoor? And it's stormy outside, but there
:01:05. > :01:05.
:01:05. > :01:12.are warnings of worse to come. We are expecting another area of
:01:12. > :01:15.low pressure to come towards us bike Friday. We could see very
:01:15. > :01:18.stormy conditions. An elderly husband has admitted
:01:18. > :01:21.killing his wife because he could not cope with her Alzheimer's
:01:21. > :01:27.disease. Malcolm Bearden, who's 79, lost control while trying to look
:01:27. > :01:29.after his 78-year-old wife Margaret as she became increasingly ill.
:01:29. > :01:33.Mr Bearden, who lives in Somerset, denied murder when he appeared at
:01:33. > :01:42.Exeter Crown Court today. But he admitted manslaughter due to loss
:01:42. > :01:47.of control. Spotlight's Clinton Rogers was in court.
:01:47. > :01:50.79 years old and charged with murder. But at Exeter Crown Court
:01:50. > :01:55.today Malcolm Beard and pleaded guilty to manslaughter and that was
:01:55. > :01:59.accepted by the prosecution. The court heard how for many years he
:01:59. > :02:04.had cared for his wife Margaret who had been suffering from dementia.
:02:04. > :02:10.Then one day in July this year he lost control and kilter at their
:02:10. > :02:13.home in Somerset. -- killed her. Police went to the house after
:02:13. > :02:18.receiving a call from another member of the family. Today the
:02:18. > :02:22.prosecution said they have considered the case carefully and
:02:22. > :02:25.agreed that manslaughter was the correct plea to accept. In arguing
:02:25. > :02:31.that Malcolm Beard and should not be sent directly to prison, his
:02:31. > :02:35.defence seemed -- team said his family remained entirely supportive
:02:35. > :02:39.of him. They said a suspended sentence would be most appropriate
:02:39. > :02:44.but the judge said it would be exceptional for someone who killed
:02:44. > :02:48.someone else not to go to prison. He said it was an extremely
:02:48. > :02:52.difficult sentencing exercise. The judge was today hand at a
:02:52. > :02:56.psychiatric report supporting the idea of a suspended sentence.
:02:56. > :03:01.Nonetheless he said he wanted more information and asked for a pre-
:03:01. > :03:05.sentence probation report. Mr Beard and it was released on bail and
:03:05. > :03:13.left the court supported by his son. The judge made clear he was
:03:13. > :03:16.considering all options and it should not be assumed that a
:03:16. > :03:18.suspended sentence would be the outcome.
:03:18. > :03:20.The first significant private sector strike in the south west for
:03:20. > :03:22.several years saw angry confrontations on the picket line
:03:22. > :03:25.today. Staff at the Epwin Group, a window and conservatory
:03:25. > :03:33.manufacturer, are protesting at a pay freeze. Our correspondent,
:03:33. > :03:38.Simon Hall, has spent the day at the firm's factory in Paignton.
:03:38. > :03:48.The stand-off at the factory gates was sufficiently tense to see the
:03:48. > :03:54.
:03:54. > :04:04.police called to keep order. But the striker's pursued the
:04:04. > :04:06.
:04:06. > :04:10.delivery lorries. That is my lorry. You have taken food from my family
:04:10. > :04:14.this week. How do you feel about that? The strike is because staff
:04:14. > :04:19.have had a three-year pay freeze and have been told to expect no
:04:19. > :04:22.increase for another two years. They say they accepted it to help
:04:22. > :04:26.the company survive the economic downturn that now they believe the
:04:26. > :04:32.company is doing well enough to afford to increase pay. Nobody
:04:33. > :04:36.wanted this, the lads are just making a stand. Every week you are
:04:36. > :04:44.trying to make your money go further and it is getting harder
:04:44. > :04:49.and harder. It is just hard to live, we are struggling to make ends meet.
:04:49. > :04:54.You want to do an honest day's work for a good play. The south-west has
:04:54. > :04:57.seen strikes in the public sector as with the day of action last
:04:57. > :05:02.month, but this dispute is the first sizable private sector
:05:02. > :05:05.walkout here for several years. not going to make any judgment
:05:05. > :05:11.about the merits of this particular industrial action but the broader
:05:11. > :05:15.picture is that we are in economic difficulties at the moment. A lot
:05:15. > :05:20.of people are anxious about their jobs and are making a lot of
:05:20. > :05:23.sacrifices. We know there is massive youth unemployment. To see
:05:23. > :05:28.an industrial action at like this under these circumstances is
:05:28. > :05:35.puzzling a lot of people. Make this afternoon the shift change sought
:05:35. > :05:38.more barricades. The company would not provide a
:05:38. > :05:41.statement of their websites book are difficult times in the
:05:41. > :05:45.construction industry and the need to take tough action in order to
:05:45. > :05:48.survive. And Simon joins us now from Epwins. What does the dispute
:05:48. > :05:54.at Epwins tell us about the state of industrial relations in some
:05:54. > :05:57.companies in the south west? We have seen quite a few using
:05:57. > :06:01.tactics like this, either shortening the working week or
:06:01. > :06:06.imposing a pay freeze on staff. Asking them to take holidays with
:06:06. > :06:11.no extra pay. And up to a point we have seen the workers tolerating
:06:11. > :06:14.that, understand the logic. That they have been going through that
:06:14. > :06:18.now for three years of the economic downturn. I think perhaps now
:06:18. > :06:26.they're getting to a stage where inflation is eroding their pay
:06:26. > :06:32.packets and standard of living and so on they have had enough of it.
:06:32. > :06:36.Where companies are really struggling, of the workers
:06:36. > :06:45.understand that. And they have done a lot to help the company to
:06:45. > :06:54.survive. These people here have had no pay rise for a couple of years.
:06:54. > :06:57.But there comes a time when the company just pushes it too far.
:06:57. > :07:00.easing of industrial relations tensions may only come when we see
:07:00. > :07:05.an upturn in the economy was Darbo with the euro-zone still struggling
:07:05. > :07:10.and the banks suffering and forecasts predicting that the UK
:07:10. > :07:13.will return to recession next year, that is looking like a forlorn hope.
:07:13. > :07:16.Experts say it's probable that they'll never find the cause of a
:07:16. > :07:19.house fire in West Devon in which a three-year-old girl died. The
:07:19. > :07:23.damage to the property near Broadwoodwidger was so severe that
:07:23. > :07:25.they can only be certain that the fire started in the kitchen. As
:07:25. > :07:33.Spotlight's Hamish Marshall reports, there were no smoke alarms fitted
:07:33. > :07:38.in the property. This is a small community and it is
:07:38. > :07:43.feeling the big loss. The family has lived in this house for at
:07:43. > :07:47.least four generations. Amelia Brown lived with her mother in one
:07:47. > :07:51.part, her grand parents in another. The adults in the House at the time
:07:51. > :07:55.got out but the three-year-old upstairs did not. The FA here on
:07:55. > :07:59.Friday night was so severe that local people when they tried to get
:07:59. > :08:09.into the house to rescue the media, they were not able to due to the
:08:09. > :08:13.heat and severity of the flames. feel very sad and, very saddened. A
:08:13. > :08:17.lot of people are wanting to express their grief because you
:08:17. > :08:20.relate to the family we knew so well and the little girl. Fire
:08:20. > :08:26.investigators spent the weekend trying to find out what started the
:08:26. > :08:34.fire. They told me today there will probably never know, without new
:08:34. > :08:38.information. We can confirm that the fire did start in the kitchen
:08:38. > :08:43.area. But we still cannot ascertain the precise cause because of the
:08:43. > :08:49.extent of the damage in sight. property had no smoke alarms. Fire
:08:49. > :08:54.officers are urging more people to fit them, saying they do save lives.
:08:54. > :08:57.Since April to doesThey have been 19 deaths in fires in Devon and
:08:57. > :09:03.Somerset. Over half of the properties involved had no alarms
:09:03. > :09:09.fitted. Local people say they will do whatever they can to help the
:09:09. > :09:11.family. There have been offered a temporary place to stay nearby.
:09:11. > :09:14.Cornwall's newest wind turbine has been connected to the electricity
:09:14. > :09:19.network today. The 50 metre high machine has been built on farmland
:09:19. > :09:21.near Bodmin without planning permission. Cornwall Council says
:09:21. > :09:30.it's considering it's legal options for the removal of the �1.3 million
:09:30. > :09:39.turbine. Spotlight's David George has been to meet the owners.
:09:39. > :09:43.The wind turbine near Bodmin is 250 ft from the base to the tip of one
:09:43. > :09:47.of its three giant planes. There will rotate at around 15
:09:47. > :09:51.revolutions per minute producing 500 kilowatts in a fresh breeze.
:09:51. > :09:55.Some of that power will be used for the recycling business of the owner,
:09:55. > :10:04.the rest will go to the National Grid. Planning permission was
:10:04. > :10:14.refused Inns of temper. -- refused in September.
:10:14. > :10:18.
:10:19. > :10:25.It is unbelievable. People might ask why did you go ahead and put it
:10:25. > :10:31.up any rate with no planning permission? We could not afford to
:10:31. > :10:36.leave it just sitting on the ground. The reasons for refusal were given
:10:36. > :10:42.as an adverse impact on the users of the nearby crematorium. The
:10:42. > :10:49.turbine has now been moved 15 metres away from the planned site
:10:49. > :10:53.where the owners believe it has less visual impact. Planning
:10:53. > :11:00.specialists say the owners could eventually be forced to take it
:11:00. > :11:09.down. The council could employ contractors to take it down and
:11:09. > :11:13.then charge the owners for the work. Once you have gone through the
:11:13. > :11:20.legal process, if you are still required to remove it, what would
:11:20. > :11:24.you do? We have not thought about that yet!
:11:24. > :11:29.No one from Cornwall council was available for interview. The issued
:11:29. > :11:37.a short statement saying, we are considering all the go options to
:11:37. > :11:42.seek the earliest removal of the turbine. The council confirmed that
:11:42. > :11:45.it has received the new retrospective planning application.
:11:45. > :11:48.An investigation by the BBC has discovered that the scene of last
:11:48. > :11:52.month's fatal crash on the M5 is known by the authorities to be a
:11:52. > :11:54.highly fog-prone stretch of motorway. A report obtained by the
:11:54. > :11:56.Inside Out South West programme reveals that last year, experts
:11:56. > :12:03.recommended upgrading "fog warning systems" near the site, but no
:12:03. > :12:05.action has yet been taken. Seven people died in the crash. The
:12:05. > :12:15.Highways Agency say they will look at safety improvements on the M5,
:12:15. > :12:19.once the results of the police investigation are known.
:12:19. > :12:25.The earliest indication you can give people that they need to
:12:25. > :12:29.slowdown will be beneficial. Even 10 miles an hour might have made
:12:30. > :12:36.some of those fatal crashes perhaps near Facebook and given people have
:12:36. > :12:39.a chance. -- near fatal. You can find out more on tonight's
:12:39. > :12:42.edition of "Inside Out" on BBC One at 7.30pm.
:12:42. > :12:45.The head of a giant stag known as the Emperor is thought to be
:12:45. > :12:48.mounted on the wall of a Devon Hotel. News of the death of the
:12:48. > :12:51.Exmoor red deer stag caused huge controversy last year. He was
:12:51. > :13:01.believed to be the biggest wild land animal in the UK. Janine
:13:01. > :13:03.
:13:03. > :13:09.Jansen reports from Tiverton. Is it or isn't it? Who knows? It
:13:09. > :13:14.looks very similar, I will admit. But I do not know for sure. The
:13:14. > :13:18.Emperor was a massive beast, he stood at around 9 ft tall. It was
:13:18. > :13:25.reported that he was killed last year in have to over. So how did he
:13:25. > :13:32.end up here at this hotel into Britain? I got it on loan, I have
:13:32. > :13:37.not bought it. We just wanted to see what it looked like, if it
:13:37. > :13:41.suits the room. I'm not sure if I would be able to buy it or not.
:13:41. > :13:45.Photographer Richard Austen followed the Emperor for about two
:13:45. > :13:51.years. It is believed it was shot by a licensed hunter during the
:13:51. > :13:57.annual rut. Richard said he is 95% sure that it is the emperor. So how
:13:57. > :14:07.does he feel? Slightly sad, once you have stood in a field and there
:14:07. > :14:11.
:14:11. > :14:17.is just you and him there. He knew I was there, he would catch my eye.
:14:17. > :14:22.It was the way he strutted across the field, as if he was strutting
:14:22. > :14:28.for me, just saying, back off. he says he was always a target
:14:28. > :14:30.because of his magnificent antlers. And we've heard reports this
:14:30. > :14:34.evening that the stag's head has now been taken down, after its
:14:34. > :14:37.alleged threats were made to the hotel.
:14:37. > :14:40.The region is bracing itself for some severe weather. The Met Office
:14:40. > :14:45.is warning of heavy rain and strong winds tonight and into the early
:14:45. > :14:48.hours of Tuesday. Gusts could reach 70 miles an hour. The central lane
:14:48. > :14:50.on the Tamar Bridge has already been closed because of strong winds
:14:50. > :14:55.and high sided vehicles, caravans and motorcycles have been advised
:14:55. > :14:59.not to cross the bridge. Sailings by Brittany Ferries have also been
:14:59. > :15:08.cancelled. Spotlight's Helen Roberts has been at the Met Office
:15:08. > :15:13.in Exeter. This time last year it was a pretty
:15:13. > :15:17.busy time for the weather team. That was because of snow and ice
:15:17. > :15:22.issues but this year it is a little different. The start of the winter
:15:22. > :15:28.so far has been quite stormy and tonight will be no exception. I am
:15:28. > :15:35.joined by Dan Gray, one of the forecasters on shift. It is a
:15:35. > :15:44.pretty busy time for you, what can we expect to like? It will be quite
:15:44. > :15:48.stormy with the deep area of low pressure moving in. You can already
:15:49. > :15:53.see that heavy rain moving into Cornwall and western parts of Devon.
:15:53. > :15:58.That will become heavier through the night. And yellow warning has
:15:58. > :16:06.been issued for heavy rain for that south-west area. It will also
:16:06. > :16:16.become very windy with wind up to 70 miles an hour along the coast.
:16:16. > :16:19.That could cause some localised disruption. And tonight is not the
:16:19. > :16:24.only blight that you and the other forecasters are keeping an eye on.
:16:24. > :16:30.There's more to come through the rest of the week? We could even see
:16:30. > :16:35.some snow showers tomorrow. But Thursday into Friday, we expect
:16:35. > :16:41.another area of low pressure and that could potentially be an
:16:41. > :16:50.exceptional event. We could see some very stormy conditions in D. -
:16:50. > :16:52.- indeed. We recommend that members of the public keep a light on Met
:16:52. > :16:55.Office warnings and forecasts and keep up-to-date.
:16:55. > :16:57.And David will be here with a full forecast later in the programme.
:16:57. > :17:06.Time for tonight's sport now and Dave has good news from Exeter
:17:06. > :17:09.Chiefs and Plymouth Raiders. The coaching staff of Exeter Chiefs,
:17:09. > :17:14.headed by Rob Baxter, have signed new three year extensions to their
:17:15. > :17:19.current contracts. It's a reward for the Chiefs progress in the
:17:19. > :17:22.Premiership as they also top their group in the European Challenge Cup.
:17:22. > :17:24.Last night at Sandy Park, Argentine fly-half Ignacio Mieres landed six
:17:24. > :17:32.penalties to help Exeter beat Newport-Gwent Dragons by 18 points
:17:32. > :17:35.to 6, with the return tie next Sunday night.
:17:35. > :17:38.There's been a double blow for the Cornish Pirates. Their proposed new
:17:38. > :17:42.Stadium for Cornwall has been delayed and it won't now be ready
:17:42. > :17:47.for next season. The Pirates also went down 14-13 yesterday at Leeds
:17:47. > :17:57.in the Championship. 24 hours earlier, Plymouth Albion were
:17:57. > :18:00.beaten 23-3 by leaders Bristol at the Brickfields.
:18:00. > :18:03.Plymouth Argyle have moved off the bottom of the Football League after
:18:03. > :18:13.gaining an important point at relegation rivals Bradford City.
:18:13. > :18:18.And stand by for a possible goal of the season from Torquay United.
:18:18. > :18:28.Plymouth Argyle would have moved on to level points with Bradford if
:18:28. > :18:30.
:18:30. > :18:37.not for this opener. But with six minutes to go Bradford looked
:18:37. > :18:43.another fuse. Torquay United are closing in on the League Two play-
:18:43. > :18:50.off teams. Kevin Nicholson described his last minute goal
:18:50. > :18:59.against Barnet on Friday as the best of his career.
:18:59. > :19:09.In League One, at three second-half goals for Leicester City as blatant
:19:09. > :19:19.
:19:19. > :19:26.A late goal against Notts County gave Yeovil Town back to back one -
:19:26. > :19:28.nil wins which moves them out of the bottom four.
:19:28. > :19:33.Plymouth Raiders have made it to the final of basketball's BBL Cup
:19:33. > :19:35.where they'll meet champions Newcastle Eagles in January. This,
:19:35. > :19:45.despite losing the second leg of their semi-final at the Pavilions
:19:45. > :19:47.
:19:47. > :19:51.last night. John Ayres has more. At 28 point lead from the first
:19:51. > :19:58.league on Saturday ensured the presence of the raiders in the
:19:58. > :20:04.final. Worcester could only manage to win by seven points in the
:20:04. > :20:10.return leg. The raiders extended the overall advantage as they went
:20:10. > :20:20.into a 10 - 3 lead. But the walls gradually nosed in front of though
:20:20. > :20:25.
:20:25. > :20:34.they never sewers be threatened to overtake the raiders on aggregate.
:20:34. > :20:39.It is a strange feeling to lose a game. But we could not be happier
:20:39. > :20:42.for the 18th and for the club. believe that the raiders are
:20:42. > :20:45.capable of winning a trophy this season and they have the chance to
:20:45. > :20:47.prove it. Ben Ainslie is returning from
:20:47. > :20:49.sailing's World Championships in Perth, Australia as deposed world
:20:49. > :20:57.champion after an altercation saw him disqualified from the Finn
:20:57. > :20:59.races at the weekend. The five- times winner, who honed his skills
:20:59. > :21:05.at Restronguet Sailing Club in Cornwall, claimed he'd been impeded
:21:05. > :21:10.by the wake of the media boat, which was filming the race. Ainslie
:21:10. > :21:13.climbed aboard the vessel and angrily confronted officials.
:21:13. > :21:19.The 34-year-old Olympic champion later apologised. Weymouth's Giles
:21:19. > :21:23.Scott won the gold medal. Exmouth is fast becoming the centre
:21:23. > :21:25.of excellence for English badminton. Two brothers from the Devon resort
:21:25. > :21:30.have just returned from the European Junior Championships, with
:21:30. > :21:37.the eldest now the best player for his age on the continent. Brent
:21:37. > :21:42.Pilnick has been to see how good they are.
:21:42. > :21:48.There are two brothers from Exmouth with the world on the edge of their
:21:48. > :21:51.rackets. Alex Slane has become the under seven European badminton
:21:51. > :21:57.champion upon his little brother won the silver with England in the
:21:57. > :22:04.team event that the Championship in Portugal last month. It was a tough
:22:04. > :22:12.tournament and we were out there for 11 days. Acclaimed a gold in
:22:13. > :22:19.the individuals. It is a massive tournament for someone my age. It
:22:19. > :22:24.was good experience. The pair are ranked No. 1 in the country for
:22:24. > :22:29.their age groups and badminton is in their blood - their mum is a
:22:29. > :22:34.former England international. Ombersley very proud. Having played
:22:34. > :22:40.myself, I know what goes on behind the scenes. The hours of training
:22:40. > :22:47.they put in, the hours of playing. And as a parent of any top sports
:22:47. > :22:52.person, they know it sacrifices that the boys are making to succeed.
:22:52. > :22:55.So you just support them. The 2012 Olympics have, bit too soon for
:22:55. > :23:03.these teenagers per there's no doubt that if they keep on on-track
:23:03. > :23:05.will be hearing a lot more about them in the years to come.
:23:05. > :23:08.Don't forget, BBC Somerset will have coverage of tomorrow night's
:23:08. > :23:18.FA Cup second round replay at Huish Park, where Yeovil Town attempt to
:23:18. > :23:25.
:23:25. > :23:31.see off non-league Fleetwood Town. Now to the weather forecast. We
:23:31. > :23:36.have already heard it is causing have already heard it is causing
:23:36. > :23:41.some problems in the region. The weather is pretty rubbish out
:23:41. > :23:45.there now, it is windy end wet with gusts of wind up to 60 or 70 miles
:23:45. > :23:55.an hour. And further unsettled weather to come for the rest of
:23:55. > :23:56.
:23:56. > :24:04.this week. There is more rain in the forecast. It could amount to
:24:04. > :24:11.two inches of rain overnight tonight. And tomorrow we have some
:24:11. > :24:21.frequent and heavy showers as well. The bright colours indicating the
:24:21. > :24:23.
:24:23. > :24:32.areas where the rain is heaviest. But the wind does drop as the rain
:24:32. > :24:37.begins to move out of the way. There's also the risk of some
:24:37. > :24:45.showers turning a bit wintry towards dawn tomorrow. So tomorrow
:24:45. > :24:49.starts off windy. But earlier today we did have some fine weather.
:24:49. > :24:59.Really the calm before the storm. The wind picked up through the day
:24:59. > :25:11.
:25:11. > :25:21.and the sunshine very quickly Some of the hills tomorrow could
:25:21. > :25:21.
:25:21. > :25:27.get some sleet or snow showers. By the end of the night, temperatures
:25:27. > :25:33.starting at around four degrees. So it is going to be a windy day
:25:33. > :25:38.tomorrow. Some sunshine but also some quite heavy showers. Some of
:25:38. > :25:45.those will be quite intense. The risk of some sleet and snow mainly
:25:45. > :25:51.over the higher ground. And with the wind chill, you will need to
:25:51. > :26:01.wrap up warmly. The Isles of Scilly, also a windy day and some rough
:26:01. > :26:06.
:26:06. > :26:16.You need to check the ferry services for the very is gone
:26:16. > :26:28.
:26:28. > :26:35.across the Channel because there A really strong gusts of wind
:26:35. > :26:41.throughout the day tomorrow. For the rest of the week, we still
:26:41. > :26:48.have low pressure. For Tuesday into Wednesday, at deep area of low
:26:48. > :26:54.pressure. Wednesday, it still that wind and plenty of showers. Then
:26:54. > :27:04.Thursday is the day were watching quite carefully. The exact track of
:27:04. > :27:06.
:27:06. > :27:12.that low pressure is uncertain at this stage.
:27:12. > :27:17.We will have a better idea this time tomorrow. We do have a yellow
:27:17. > :27:22.alert from the Met Office about the strength of the wind on Thursday.
:27:22. > :27:26.And even by Friday we have of plus street westerly breeze. Slightly
:27:26. > :27:32.warmer on Thursday but also warmer on Thursday but also