:00:14. > :00:19.A community in mourning tonight after a fisherman died when a
:00:19. > :00:25.vassal sank off the coast of Cornwall. There is a sense of
:00:25. > :00:29.disbelief. It was a friend and somebody I had known for years.
:00:29. > :00:34.another man survived the sinking. Both are from Mevagissey and we
:00:34. > :00:38.will be live there. Also tonight, a battle to be
:00:38. > :00:47.reunited with his family. This man has written to the Prime Minister
:00:47. > :00:51.for Health. I'm disillusioned. I want them back.
:00:51. > :00:58.And the age of the trains and overcrowding. We put your
:00:58. > :01:03.complaints about rail services to the boss of First Great Western.
:01:03. > :01:07.A fisherman who died when the boat he was working on sank off the
:01:07. > :01:10.south coast of Cornwall has been named as Ian Thomas. The skipper of
:01:10. > :01:19.the Heather Ann survived after another boat from the same harbour
:01:19. > :01:23.came to their rescue. Both men are from Mevagissey.
:01:23. > :01:26.The village of Mevagissey is once again mourning the loss of one of
:01:26. > :01:34.their number at sea. Ian Thomas died after the vessel he was
:01:34. > :01:38.working on sank within minutes. His skipper survived. It was because of
:01:39. > :01:42.the quick thinking of other fishermen working nearby.
:01:42. > :01:49.The heather and was fishing for sardines late last night when she
:01:49. > :01:53.sank several miles off the coast. She sank quickly as the two-man
:01:53. > :01:58.crew did not have time to raise the alarm. The Lauren Kate saw
:01:58. > :02:03.something was wrong and send out and a long call. They found two men
:02:03. > :02:08.in the water and pulled them aboard. They have been praised for their
:02:08. > :02:14.quick response. They were fishing close by and they lost sight of the
:02:14. > :02:22.lives. They called the coastguard. We responded. You have praised them
:02:22. > :02:31.for their actions. Yes, just to get the two men out of the water and on
:02:31. > :02:37.to their boat which is quite high sided. Their vote is highly -- it
:02:37. > :02:40.was dark. It was a fantastic job. One man was flown to the Royal
:02:40. > :02:45.Cornwall Hospital where he was pronounced dead. He has been named
:02:45. > :02:50.as Ian Thomas. The skipper was wanted to make of it -- Mevagissey
:02:50. > :02:55.by a lifeboat and was treated for shock and hypothermia. This is a
:02:55. > :03:05.small fishing fleet. All the fishermen know each other. Talking
:03:05. > :03:06.
:03:06. > :03:11.to the guys down the peer, they are in disbelief. All the fishermen
:03:11. > :03:18.know each other. They know each other and work together from time
:03:18. > :03:21.to time. It is a small knit community. Both fishermen have been
:03:21. > :03:28.described as experienced. An investigation into the loss of the
:03:28. > :03:34.have and has begun. This is the second tragic death in
:03:34. > :03:41.the village this month's. Two weeks ago, they last -- lost a young
:03:41. > :03:45.soldier. He was injured in Afghanistan. Tonight, the Christmas
:03:45. > :03:50.lights in the village have been switched off as a mark of respect
:03:50. > :03:55.to him and Ian Thomas and their families.
:03:55. > :03:59.A Devon businessman has made a tearful appeal to the Prime
:03:59. > :04:04.Minister to overlook a paperwork error made 30 years ago and allow
:04:04. > :04:08.his family to join him in Britain. Jon Roden runs a gym in Exeter and
:04:08. > :04:11.has spent two years living apart from his wife and children. The
:04:11. > :04:17.local community has rallied in his support.
:04:17. > :04:22.This is as close as Jon Roden can get to his family in daily life.
:04:22. > :04:26.One piece of paper is keeping them apart. His wife is from South
:04:26. > :04:32.Africa but was adopted by a British person. Because it was not
:04:33. > :04:41.registered by the High Commission, she has no automatic right for --
:04:41. > :04:47.to citizenship. I am very frustrated. I'm disillusioned. I
:04:47. > :04:50.basically one them back. I will deal with anything I have to. It
:04:50. > :04:59.would be easier fighting the fight with them here than trying to fight
:04:59. > :05:03.it apart. At the gym Mr Rowden managers, and members have raised a
:05:03. > :05:09.petition to campaign for his family to be allowed to come to Britain.
:05:09. > :05:14.With Christmas coming round, it gets to your heart a bit more. As a
:05:14. > :05:20.group, we could come together and have a stronger voice than one
:05:20. > :05:24.person fighting on his own. Roden has written to the Home
:05:24. > :05:32.Secretary and Prime Minister asking for help. It would mean the world
:05:32. > :05:37.to me. I love being a husband. I love being a father. My youngest
:05:37. > :05:42.daughter is the only baby I have got left in the house. I am going
:05:42. > :05:52.to get her back as a little girl. I have lost two years of their lives
:05:52. > :05:53.
:05:53. > :05:58.and they do not want to lose any more. It would mean the worlds.
:05:58. > :06:04.family have lived apart for two years. A UK borders agency
:06:04. > :06:09.spokeswoman told me they had received Jon Roden's letters. She
:06:09. > :06:16.describes their content as heartfelt. They are considering
:06:16. > :06:20.their response and will reply to Jon Roden by the end of the year.
:06:20. > :06:24.A High Court judge has ruled the Government's decision to cut
:06:24. > :06:28.subsidies for solar electricity was unlawful. The Government said it
:06:28. > :06:32.had to act quickly to reduce incentives because the take-up had
:06:32. > :06:37.been too high. The deadline in December which brought in a reduced
:06:37. > :06:44.to feed in tariff rate has been overturned and a new rate cannot be
:06:44. > :06:47.introduced until February. seafront has been reopen tonight
:06:47. > :06:50.after demolition work began to bring down what remains of the for
:06:50. > :06:55.Conway Court Hotel. The building is situated on a cliff and is in
:06:55. > :06:59.danger of collapsing following Monday's might fire. The walls have
:06:59. > :07:02.been brought down to a safe height. The building is in a precarious
:07:02. > :07:10.state. The walls and roofs have dropped into the buildings which
:07:10. > :07:14.has left the walls with no stability. It was felt that the
:07:14. > :07:19.building needed to come down. A judge has ruled that anti-
:07:19. > :07:25.capitalist campaigners who have taken over Real Jobcentre in
:07:25. > :07:29.climates -- Plymouth should be evicted. They moved in many bad
:07:29. > :07:33.weather hit. The landlord took them to court. Campaigners say they will
:07:33. > :07:38.appeal. Your questions answered next on all
:07:38. > :07:42.issues to do with our rail services. Also still to come: Limbering up to
:07:42. > :07:46.receive a special award, the woman who only took up rowing three years
:07:46. > :07:52.ago. Dancing for joy a. How a community
:07:52. > :07:56.spirit brought Christmas to this day care centre.
:07:56. > :08:01.Last night we reported on have some rail fares in the region will be
:08:01. > :08:05.going up by almost 8% in the new year. It follows news that two
:08:05. > :08:09.extra carriages will be put on in the South West to deal with
:08:09. > :08:13.overcrowding. We have received dozens of e-mails about rail
:08:13. > :08:17.services recently. I put your comments to Julian Crow, the
:08:17. > :08:21.regional manager for First Great Western. I asked him if he was
:08:21. > :08:30.aware of how overcrowded some trains are. I travel a great deal
:08:30. > :08:36.on our network and I know which ones are overcrowded. That is why a
:08:36. > :08:44.we are focusing on the true wrote to Falmouth line because that is
:08:44. > :08:50.where the most overcrowding in -- is. We sympathise with customers
:08:50. > :08:54.who use trains on that route. We work with Cornwall Council. We are
:08:54. > :08:58.finding a way of but in extra trains on. People are asking why
:08:58. > :09:04.that was a priority. You say there is a growth in passenger numbers,
:09:04. > :09:09.but surely you should be put in the main line at the top of the list.
:09:09. > :09:14.Why is that not a priority? We have put the rolling stock where the
:09:14. > :09:23.greatest rarity is. The Truro to Falmouth line is at the top of that
:09:23. > :09:27.list. When will passengers see more capacity on those lines? They will
:09:27. > :09:34.see more capacity as rolling stock becomes available. Are we talking
:09:34. > :09:38.years? Potentially one year to two years. The rolling stock simply is
:09:38. > :09:44.not there. You can be assured that we will carry on doing our utmost
:09:44. > :09:48.to get rolling stock as it becomes available. Some of our fuses in
:09:48. > :09:52.dozens of e-mails we have received says that some local trains are in
:09:52. > :09:57.poor condition. They feel they are getting the cast-offs from
:09:57. > :10:01.elsewhere on the network. Windows do not close properly, for instance.
:10:01. > :10:04.I'll be getting portrait is in poor condition? As he received the
:10:04. > :10:11.rolling stock in the early part of the franchise, we invested �11
:10:11. > :10:14.million in refurbishing it. Some of the oldest trains were returned to
:10:14. > :10:19.leasing companies recently in exchange for ones that were larger.
:10:19. > :10:23.They are being refurbished now and will be introduced into service.
:10:23. > :10:27.First Great Western is pulling out of the franchise in 2013. Viewers
:10:27. > :10:31.might feel that you could not care less what happens to the network
:10:31. > :10:36.now. What is it for you? You do not need to invest any more.
:10:36. > :10:42.certainly hope we will be here in one year's time. We are not pulling
:10:42. > :10:48.out of the franchise. The contract comes to an end in 2013. We're
:10:48. > :10:51.definitely going to go for it again. Again, coming back to the debating
:10:51. > :10:54.the House of Commons today, it is heartening To hear the Minister
:10:54. > :11:00.confirm that it will be a 15 year franchise because that makes
:11:00. > :11:04.investment so much more viable. say that, but you are pulling out
:11:04. > :11:07.early this time because there was a get-out clause in the contract.
:11:07. > :11:10.That is when the bulk of the pain has from the Government were being
:11:10. > :11:15.paid. It might be argued that duopoly night before you had to
:11:15. > :11:19.make any significant payments. original franchise was negotiated
:11:19. > :11:23.before the recession struck. No company would go ahead on that
:11:23. > :11:28.basis. The Government would not expect us to. Equally, we have
:11:28. > :11:31.always said that we are supporters of franchises, so we make --
:11:31. > :11:36.welcome the decision from the Government. If you win the
:11:36. > :11:41.franchise again, you have 15 years. Fares are going up at the moment
:11:41. > :11:44.and investment from the Government's is rising. You have
:11:44. > :11:49.lots of money coming in. How would you like to see that money spent
:11:49. > :11:52.over the next few years? What are your priorities? Our priorities to
:11:52. > :11:56.the end of this franchise are delivering the services probably in
:11:56. > :12:02.the way we have been doing and keeping growth going, because that
:12:02. > :12:06.supports the local economy. We look forward to the specification of the
:12:06. > :12:09.new franchise and the fact that it is going to be a 15 year franchise
:12:09. > :12:16.will make it easier to bring investment in over the long term.
:12:16. > :12:21.Julian Crow, thank you very much. Doctors in Cornwall say they are
:12:21. > :12:25.delighted by the success of their hi-tech operating theatre. Lots of
:12:25. > :12:28.money has been invested in the facility at the Royal Cornwall
:12:28. > :12:35.Hospital which is one of only two places in the country to have this
:12:35. > :12:39.equipment. Our correspondent has been planted -- granted access.
:12:39. > :12:47.For a man about to undergo surgery, Ray Walker is in good spirits. He
:12:47. > :12:51.is having an Endo vascular aneurysm repair. The problem was picked up
:12:51. > :13:01.at a routine screening and he had no idea anything was wrong with him.
:13:01. > :13:05.Nothing, no pain. It was amazing. I got a letter to say, go a long for
:13:05. > :13:13.this routine check and it happened very quickly from there. Much
:13:13. > :13:19.better this way. To fix it, doctors will insert a tube that will
:13:19. > :13:27.reinforce the artery wall. It is a team effort. This is a modern set
:13:27. > :13:31.up. Radiologist's can work together to provide as good a treatment as
:13:31. > :13:37.you will see anywhere in the world, not just in Britain. It is a real
:13:37. > :13:46.step forwards for us. Once the surgeon has opened up two incisions
:13:46. > :13:50.In re's wine, the multi- access imaging system begins. It is aid
:13:50. > :13:55.reportedly controlled X-ray machine and Dr Edwards can watch, pause and
:13:55. > :14:01.rewind every step of the process. Having this purpose-built room that
:14:01. > :14:05.accommodates both surgeons and radiologist's in a collaborative
:14:05. > :14:10.environment is second to none and as good as anywhere in this country.
:14:10. > :14:14.I would expect rates to be back out of hospital late on tomorrow or
:14:14. > :14:21.probably the next day. Something like 36 hours is what we are
:14:21. > :14:27.looking at. Conventional surgery is something like five, seven days.
:14:27. > :14:35.The recovery time is much quicker. They should be back home for
:14:35. > :14:38.A new state-of the-art hostel in Plymouth was serving up Christmas
:14:38. > :14:40.lunch to homeless people today. George House near the city centre
:14:40. > :14:45.replaced the former council Ship Hostel and the Shekinah Night
:14:45. > :14:53.Shelter. Local businesses and volunteers provided their time, and
:14:53. > :15:03.turkey with all the trimmings, for nearly 60 residents and staff.
:15:03. > :15:03.
:15:03. > :15:08.I think he's a fantastic charity. It feels like someone actually
:15:08. > :15:12.cares and is thinking about us. be able to get the funding and
:15:12. > :15:15.build something like this at this time is incredibly lucky.
:15:15. > :15:16.It's been confirmed the Government will make a donation to the
:15:17. > :15:21.charities benefiting from the single released by Devon's Military
:15:21. > :15:23.Wives. The payment will be equivalent to the VAT paid on sales
:15:23. > :15:31.of the song, Wherever You Are. It's the fastest selling single in six
:15:31. > :15:34.years. There are high hopes it will be the Christmas Number One.
:15:34. > :15:36.This week we're paying return visits to three small businesses
:15:36. > :15:43.whose fortunes we've followed since they started up in the downturn of
:15:43. > :15:47.2008, a B&B, a garage conversion firm, and a restaurant. Today it's
:15:47. > :15:49.the turn of Creative Garages of Yealmpton near Plymouth. So, are
:15:49. > :15:56.people still spending on their property? Our business
:15:56. > :16:01.correspondent Neil Gallacher reports.
:16:01. > :16:07.Reed Business is forged in the recession. One in particular seemed
:16:07. > :16:13.to get up to a flying start. Robert would have taken redundancy and a
:16:13. > :16:17.couple of years ago seemed to have fallen on his feet. It is hard to
:16:17. > :16:25.believe that it has turned up such a successful business and has given
:16:25. > :16:31.me the lifestyle I wanted. And the opportunity to do what I want, or
:16:31. > :16:35.when I want. It has been great. Today will brought is still
:16:35. > :16:41.converging garages for people and still busy in spite of the economic
:16:41. > :16:51.slowdown. There has been a change to his market. Middle-aged parents
:16:51. > :16:53.
:16:53. > :16:57.with growing families seem to be sitting on their wallets. If people
:16:57. > :17:01.need facilities downstairs then we can convert their garage into a
:17:01. > :17:08.cloakroom so they have facilities downstairs that worrying about
:17:08. > :17:12.having to go upstairs in the future. On his website is a device giving
:17:12. > :17:18.would-be customers a quick price slide. And it gives him a little
:17:18. > :17:25.something in return. Their contact details end up immediately on my
:17:25. > :17:29.smart phone so I can call them up. And we can have a meaningful
:17:29. > :17:35.conversation about their property. That can all be done in a matter of
:17:35. > :17:40.minutes. Many big construction firms had failed to whether these
:17:40. > :17:43.last few years but this is a different story.
:17:43. > :17:46.Onto the BBC South West Sports Awards for 2011 and this evening,
:17:46. > :17:48.we reveal the Sportswoman of the Year. During his travels up and
:17:48. > :17:50.down the country, Dave Gibbins visited the Redgrave/Pinsent Lake
:17:50. > :18:00.in Berkshire, home of the Great Britain rowing squad, to surprise
:18:00. > :18:01.
:18:01. > :18:07.this particular recipient. What a year it has been for Helen
:18:07. > :18:11.blubber. She started the year by success than the winning the Great
:18:11. > :18:16.Britain senior rowing trials. And then to the World Cup and in the
:18:16. > :18:20.World Cup series she won two events just in Munich and then be in
:18:20. > :18:27.Switzerland. And then the world championships in Slovenia. With
:18:27. > :18:33.their part Major came the pinheads bread of becoming world champions,
:18:33. > :18:39.just been beaten by New Zealand. We have a bit of surprise when you
:18:39. > :18:43.because you have been voted the BBC south-west sportswoman of the year.
:18:43. > :18:47.And this is remarkable because you only took up running freak years
:18:47. > :18:54.ago after answering an advertisement in the newspaper.
:18:54. > :19:00.Congratulations. Debtors three years ago. How do you feel? I am
:19:00. > :19:07.really touched. That is amazing. I had so much support from the south-
:19:07. > :19:15.west. That has put the icing on the cake for newcomers like definitely.
:19:15. > :19:20.It justifies the hard work. It is a really great feeling. All that
:19:20. > :19:24.training is paint of. I just feel everyone is behind me and hopefully
:19:24. > :19:32.we will get that home advantage in the Olympics from that massive
:19:32. > :19:42.support. Can think it is really important. Congratulations, well
:19:42. > :19:44.deserved. And all the best for the Olympics will stop --. More than
:19:44. > :19:48.sixty pensioners in Cornwall, who were told their Christmas party was
:19:49. > :19:51.cancelled, have finally enjoyed a day of festive dancing and food.
:19:51. > :19:54.Their original party was halted because vandals had damaged their
:19:54. > :20:04.day centre. But as Spotlight's Janine Jansen reports staff and
:20:04. > :20:04.
:20:04. > :20:09.volunteers were determined the event should go ahead.
:20:09. > :20:14.This party at the day centre in Penzance is in full swing. There is
:20:14. > :20:18.live music and plenty to eat and drink. But the party nearly did not
:20:18. > :20:24.happen. It had been scheduled for last week but had to be cancelled
:20:24. > :20:26.after vandals caused the Zheng Jie de Clones for seven days. They had
:20:27. > :20:36.started of why IND rubbish bins which damaged the electrics. But
:20:37. > :20:38.
:20:38. > :20:44.one week later and, the whole event was any scheduled.
:20:44. > :20:54.There was hope the that we would be here but for Christmas. And here we
:20:54. > :21:00.
:21:00. > :21:05.are today and it is lovely. The ladies providing the music are
:21:05. > :21:12.called peaches and cream. They were happy to come in at short notice.
:21:12. > :21:16.Delighted, yes. We absolutely love what we do. We had made so many
:21:16. > :21:22.nice friends. Clients coming into the centre had been talking about
:21:22. > :21:27.this for weeks. Many of them do not participate in any other sort of
:21:27. > :21:33.Christmas activity because they are at home on their own. This is the
:21:33. > :21:37.only has to be teased that they would rule at Christmas. -- the on
:21:37. > :21:44.the festivities. No Christmas party is complete without a visit from
:21:44. > :21:48.Father Christmas and the cause a little gift.
:21:48. > :21:54.Looks like everyone had a really good time. Time for the weather
:21:54. > :21:59.good time. Time for the weather forecast now.
:21:59. > :22:08.It is official, there is no snow forecast for Christmas. But there
:22:08. > :22:10.could be some frost on Christmas Eve morning. To date we had a
:22:10. > :22:18.little bit of sunshine and temperatures have responded quite
:22:18. > :22:28.well. Similar figures tomorrow, a little cooler on Friday as there is
:22:28. > :22:30.
:22:30. > :22:36.more cloud around. The high pressure is still out in the
:22:36. > :22:40.Atlantic. So tomorrow will be as similar day with some cloud, a
:22:40. > :22:45.little misty in the morning and then some glimpses of sunshine the
:22:45. > :22:54.in the afternoon. Then on Friday we had some rain in the morning,
:22:54. > :23:02.becoming head the in the middle of the day. Had it could turn frosty
:23:02. > :23:09.into the early hours of Christmas Eve morning. Earlier today, you can
:23:09. > :23:19.see we had a fair amount of cloud. Today was the winter solstice and
:23:19. > :23:21.
:23:21. > :23:31.our cameraman got these glorious sunset out across Plymouth Sound.
:23:31. > :23:32.
:23:32. > :23:39.There is now some mist and low cloud and Ireland. -- around. So
:23:39. > :23:49.every night from a warm words, the lights will be getting shorter.
:23:49. > :23:49.
:23:49. > :23:58.Generally, we have low cloud over night. So temperatures probably no
:23:58. > :24:05.lower than seven or eight degrees. Tomorrow morning we have a misty
:24:05. > :24:15.start. It will gradually improved. And we had some sunny spells in the
:24:15. > :24:16.
:24:16. > :24:18.afternoon. Temperatures tomorrow similar to what we had seen today.
:24:18. > :24:28.Walk of a breeze developing especially around the west of
:24:28. > :24:28.
:24:28. > :25:12.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 43 seconds
:25:12. > :25:17.Cornwall. And on the Isles of Friday is going to be a damp day
:25:17. > :25:25.with some outbreaks of rain. Improving to give some sunshine
:25:25. > :25:30.through the afternoon. And by the end of the day, temperatures
:25:30. > :25:36.falling to around nine or 10 degrees. Christmas Eve is bright
:25:36. > :25:42.and dry. And Christmas Day itself, mild and breed. Quite a lot of
:25:42. > :25:44.clients. That's it from us for this year.
:25:44. > :25:47.We're back on the 3rd of January, Spotlight's back tomorrow though at
:25:47. > :25:50.6.30. We'll leave you with Plymouth's Military Wives Choir and
:25:51. > :25:59.Hark the Herald Angels Sing. Happy Christmas.
:25:59. > :26:09.# Hark the herald angels sing, Glory to the newborn King!
:26:09. > :26:19.# Peace on earth and mercy mild. # God and sinners reconciled.
:26:19. > :26:29.# Joyful, all ye nations rise. # Join the triumph of the skies!
:26:29. > :26:31.# With the angelic host proclaim, Christ is born in Bethlehem.
:26:31. > :26:41.# Hark! The herald angels sing, Glory to the newborn King!
:26:41. > :26:53.
:26:53. > :26:57.# Christ the everlasting Lord! # Late in time behold Him come,
:26:57. > :27:02.offspring of a Virgin's womb. # Veiled in flesh the Godhead see.
:27:02. > :27:06.# Hail the incarnate Deity! # Pleased as man with man to dwell.
:27:06. > :27:09.# Jesus, our Emmanuel. # Hark! The herald angels sing,
:27:09. > :27:13.Glory to the newborn King! # Hail the heav'n-born Prince of
:27:13. > :27:17.Peace! # Hail the Son of Righteousness!
:27:17. > :27:21.# Light and life to all He brings. # Ris'n with healing in His wings.