:00:10. > :00:12.Storming into the New Year - gales and heavy rain wreak havoc for
:00:12. > :00:17.travellers, rip down trees and cause structural damage.
:00:17. > :00:20.Good evening. A man died today in the storms after a wave hit a
:00:20. > :00:22.tanker in the channel. We'll be reporting from around the region
:00:22. > :00:25.and finding out if there's more to come.
:00:25. > :00:28.Also on Spotlight tonight - the police on the wrong side of the law.
:00:28. > :00:33.More than 100 people serving in Devon and Cornwall Police are
:00:33. > :00:36.exposed as having a criminal record. And trying to keep the wolf from
:00:36. > :00:45.the door - Plymouth Albion start the year under threat of
:00:45. > :00:47.A man has died after a wave hit a tanker in the English Channel.
:00:48. > :00:53.Falmouth Coastguards co-ordinated the rescue in which three injured
:00:53. > :00:56.crewmen from the Annie PG were airlifted off the vessel. One of
:00:56. > :00:59.them later died at Derriford Hospital. The storm they were
:00:59. > :01:02.caught up in is being described by the emergency services as the worst
:01:02. > :01:06.of the winter so far. It's caused widespread disruption and damage
:01:06. > :01:11.across the region. The highest wind speeds were felt
:01:11. > :01:14.at Portland Bill. 84 mph gusts battered the Dorset coast. Western
:01:14. > :01:17.Power Distribution estimated that at one time today more than 1,000
:01:17. > :01:21.homes in the south west were without electricity after power
:01:21. > :01:25.lines were brought down. Like many local authorities, Devon County
:01:25. > :01:28.Council had a tough job keeping rural routes clear. They had 16
:01:28. > :01:38.teams out clearing debris and removing fallen trees from roads.
:01:38. > :01:39.
:01:39. > :01:44.Emma Ruminski reports on how the storm has affected the region.
:01:44. > :01:49.Pushed around by the swell, this tanker was hit by a large wave
:01:49. > :01:56.which struck two of the crew. A third was injured was trying to
:01:56. > :02:01.help them. This footage was filmed 20 miles south of Plymouth. One of
:02:01. > :02:09.the men died later ate in hospital. The chemical tanker is expected in
:02:09. > :02:13.Falmouth later this evening. The gales swept across the region and
:02:13. > :02:19.made conditions difficult for commuters. Some of the highest wind
:02:19. > :02:28.speeds were reported in Plymouth, where there were gusts of up to 200
:02:28. > :02:33.mph. About 7 o'clock this morning, the cladding came away because of
:02:33. > :02:37.the bad weather. That caused us to close the road. We are waiting for
:02:37. > :02:47.the engineers to make it safe. Countless trees were brought down.
:02:47. > :02:51.
:02:51. > :02:56.It narrowly missed and thereby home here. Luckily, the resident of this
:02:56. > :03:00.House live next door to a tree surgeon. I got a phone call at 5
:03:00. > :03:07.o'clock this morning to say a tree had been blown over. I came up and
:03:07. > :03:14.I am dealing with it now. I will make it also unsound. Torquay's
:03:14. > :03:19.high-flying balloon also fell victim to the storms. Despite being
:03:19. > :03:28.strapped down, it was ripped apart by the wind early this morning. But
:03:28. > :03:35.it was not only the south coast that got battered by the Wenger. --
:03:35. > :03:40.by the wind. On the north Cornwall coast it is absolutely atrocious.
:03:40. > :03:47.It is difficult to stand upright again as the sheer force of this
:03:47. > :03:51.wind. North Devon was not spared either. Driving conditions were
:03:51. > :03:56.challenging. It is easy to see why the emergency planners say it it is
:03:56. > :04:02.the worst winter weather we have had so far. In the early hours, we
:04:02. > :04:08.cannot see what is going on, so we are reliant on people calling in. A
:04:08. > :04:15.lot of the time, people will get out of their vehicles and shift
:04:15. > :04:22.debris. The community has assisted us throughout the morning. Fallen
:04:22. > :04:29.trees also brought down power lines in Cornwall. At one stage 1,000
:04:29. > :04:35.homes in the South West were without electricity. Engineers are
:04:35. > :04:41.working it to connect people. Let us find out more about the
:04:41. > :04:45.weather. How bad things get a day? Well, it is the worst spell of
:04:45. > :04:51.weather we have seen so far this winter because of the impact it has
:04:51. > :04:59.had. We have had up to 50 mm of rain falling in a short space of
:04:59. > :05:05.time and also unbelievably strong wings macro. We did have some son
:05:05. > :05:12.in Plymouth this afternoon and in other parts of the region. It
:05:12. > :05:16.seemed to calm down. What about tonight? All the water is yet to
:05:16. > :05:26.run away. The Environment Agency has several flood warnings out. If
:05:26. > :05:33.
:05:33. > :05:37.you need more information, you can Also, there is a risk of further
:05:37. > :05:42.rain towards the end of the day tomorrow. Thank you. We will have
:05:42. > :05:45.more on the weather later. Social care is no longer fit for
:05:45. > :05:48.purpose, according to the Minister for Care Services. Paul Burstow was
:05:48. > :05:50.speaking on a visit to Cornwall where he heard concerns from the
:05:50. > :05:53.elderly and their carers. He promised to overhaul the system,
:05:53. > :06:01.but a group campaigning for higher standards in care homes says it
:06:01. > :06:08.wants action from the government, not more broken promises.
:06:08. > :06:12.It is nice here. Really lovely. Beautiful. It was a few years ago
:06:12. > :06:17.it that Mike noticed his memory was failing. He went with his wife to
:06:17. > :06:27.have a brain scan and that doctors diagnosed the Vascular dementia.
:06:27. > :06:32.bit of panic, I think. Mike was panicking more than me. We thought
:06:32. > :06:41.it was away lives finished and we couldn't cope, but we can. They
:06:41. > :06:47.have now joined a memory cafe where other families who are going
:06:47. > :06:52.through it similar problems made up. Today, the care Minister came here
:06:52. > :06:58.to find out more about the cafe and listened to concerns. Paul Burstow
:06:58. > :07:07.praised the service here, but his visit comes on the day the
:07:07. > :07:14.government was criticised for failing to meet the needs of an
:07:14. > :07:19.increasingly ageing population. One local campaigner agreed that
:07:19. > :07:23.standards of care in many homes in Cornwall were poor. In the final
:07:23. > :07:29.years of their life they are not receiving what they deserve and
:07:29. > :07:33.they can become withdrawn, very lonely, angry, some give up and
:07:33. > :07:36.want to die because it is easier than living in those conditions.
:07:36. > :07:41.The minister said a White Paper would be published in the spring.
:07:41. > :07:46.We cannot stay where we are. We have a system that was fit for
:07:46. > :07:50.purpose perhaps the 1940s, but not for the 21st century. It does not
:07:50. > :07:54.give people dignity or control over their own lives and that is why we
:07:54. > :08:00.need to reform social care and in the White Paper will set out the
:08:00. > :08:05.details of how we will do that. what the cost of care soaring, any
:08:05. > :08:09.reform will need to involve families and the community, taking
:08:10. > :08:12.responsibility for all our future lives.
:08:12. > :08:14.Almost 130 police officers, special constables, and community support
:08:14. > :08:16.officers in the south west have criminal convictions, according to
:08:16. > :08:19.figures revealed under the Freedom of Information Act.
:08:19. > :08:23.Avon and Somerset Police said they had the lowest figure, with just
:08:23. > :08:29.two serving officers having convictions. Dorset Police reported
:08:29. > :08:32.16. Devon and Cornwall Police said they had 111.
:08:32. > :08:41.Our Home Affairs Correspondent Simon Hall joins us now from Devon
:08:41. > :08:50.and Cornwall Police Headquarters in Exeter. Why is Devon and Cornwall's
:08:50. > :08:53.figure so much higher? This is due to the way different forces respond
:08:53. > :09:01.to Freedom of Information Act requests. Some give more
:09:01. > :09:06.information than others. What sort of the fences are we talking about
:09:06. > :09:10.that officers have committed? the case of Devon and Cornwall
:09:10. > :09:15.Police, that vast majority of offences were committed before
:09:15. > :09:20.staff joined the police force. They tend to be for less serious things,
:09:20. > :09:29.petty crime. But there are some serious offences in there as well,
:09:29. > :09:33.for example, burglary. In the case of officers committing offences was
:09:33. > :09:37.they are serving, they tend to be minor matters, such as driving
:09:38. > :09:45.offences. We take the professionalism of our stop very
:09:45. > :09:50.seriously indeed. We always review any incidents where officers have
:09:50. > :09:54.got into trouble. We have a presumption which says they will
:09:54. > :09:58.lose their jobs or be dismissed if they get convicted of a criminal
:09:58. > :10:04.conviction. And what are the guidelines on police officers been
:10:04. > :10:07.employed it they have got criminal records? The Home Office guidance
:10:07. > :10:11.is straightforward. Potential recruits should be rejected if they
:10:11. > :10:17.have committed serious offences, unless there are exceptional
:10:17. > :10:21.circumstances. Thank you. A health charity is warning
:10:21. > :10:23.pensioners in the south west to get their seasonal flu jab to reduce
:10:23. > :10:26.the risk of catching the potentially fatal illness. The
:10:26. > :10:29.British Lung Foundation says a recent survey shows that those most
:10:29. > :10:39.at risk are more likely to take measures to protect their property
:10:39. > :10:42.
:10:42. > :10:45.from burglary than they are to protect their own health.
:10:45. > :10:50.Representatives from the British Lung Foundation were in a shopping
:10:50. > :10:57.centre in Torquay advising people to get their jabs. It is easy to do.
:10:57. > :11:00.Go to your GP and they would do it for you. There is a large elderly
:11:01. > :11:10.population here and many of them have not been vaccinated against
:11:10. > :11:14.flu. I it really don't want any more chemicals put in my body. I
:11:14. > :11:21.take enough tablets as it is. the time they were doing them at my
:11:21. > :11:26.surgery where I go, I had flu at the time, so I could not go at that
:11:26. > :11:30.time. It seems many people think of blue as something slightly worse
:11:30. > :11:35.than a cold, but for vulnerable groups such as the elderly, the
:11:35. > :11:40.risks are much greater. But government recommends anyone over
:11:40. > :11:48.age of 65 has the vaccination. do quite well, but we can do better.
:11:48. > :11:54.It is an opportunity to avoid infections that could lead to a
:11:54. > :12:00.deterioration in people's conditions. There are a lot of
:12:00. > :12:04.people that should have a vaccination and they haven't. A lot
:12:04. > :12:10.of them don't understand though and that is why we are here. The people
:12:10. > :12:16.surveyed in Devon were more likely to insure the contents of their
:12:16. > :12:18.homes then get vaccinated against flu.
:12:18. > :12:22.The former administrators of Plymouth Argyle have apologised to
:12:22. > :12:25.supporters who received debt demands on Christmas Eve. Fans were
:12:25. > :12:29.angered when demands for money from the accountancy firm P&A
:12:29. > :12:32.Partnership arrived on their doorsteps. Many claim the letters
:12:32. > :12:35.offered little explanation of why the money was owed. Today, Argyle's
:12:35. > :12:38.new owner James Brent said the club will be contacting the
:12:38. > :12:40.administrators on behalf of fans. Meanwhile, Brendan Guilfoyle, the
:12:40. > :12:45.former joint administrator, told Spotlight that, With hindsight we
:12:45. > :12:48.can see that the letter was poorly worded and insensitively timed. He
:12:48. > :12:53.says he has written a personal apology to everyone who received
:12:53. > :12:56.the original letter. The international helicopter
:12:57. > :13:00.company Pegasus has announced plans for a new UK headquarters at Tamar
:13:00. > :13:02.Science Park in Plymouth. The science park is part of a local
:13:02. > :13:12.group working to encourage businesses to come to the south
:13:12. > :13:20.
:13:20. > :13:23.west. Coming up - how did your local side get on in the local
:13:23. > :13:33.derbies and find out why this man is giving up his pensions and
:13:33. > :13:38.
:13:38. > :13:42.selling his home to start a new life.
:13:42. > :13:45.An area of North Devon recognised by the United Nations as one of the
:13:45. > :13:47.most important wildlife habitats on earth has been shortlisted for a
:13:47. > :13:50.government improvement scheme. If the North Devon Biosphere's bid is
:13:51. > :13:57.successful it could bring up to �4 million worth of investment to the
:13:57. > :14:07.area. Broughton Burroughs is probably the most well known corner
:14:07. > :14:08.
:14:09. > :14:14.of the biosphere. It covers a large area of the coast. Bias their
:14:14. > :14:19.reserves are places with world- class environments. Rare species
:14:19. > :14:25.would benefit from the investments here and the money would be a boost
:14:25. > :14:30.for an area that has remained out of sight and out of mind for money.
:14:30. > :14:37.It is recognised as one of the top 500 places in the world and we
:14:37. > :14:41.should be making more of that. We need to get people involved. Byers
:14:41. > :14:51.there is a scientific name, but it is about North Devon and the
:14:51. > :15:02.
:15:02. > :15:10.wildlife. That is a really good selling point. It is hoped that the
:15:10. > :15:15.future of this waterway will be secured. We had invertebrates hair
:15:15. > :15:19.that can live up to 200 years, but if they are not in good conditions
:15:19. > :15:25.in the water then they do not breed. The ones we have with in the
:15:25. > :15:31.biosphere have not bred for a long time. The North Devon Byers there
:15:31. > :15:41.is also investigating other ways of generating income. -- North Devon
:15:41. > :15:46.
:15:46. > :15:51.Biosphere. One idea is to generate money to help protect the one of
:15:51. > :15:54.the top areas in the world. It's time for the sport now and we
:15:54. > :15:56.start the New Year with some not so good news.
:15:57. > :15:59.Plymouth Albion are the latest of our clubs to have financial
:15:59. > :16:02.troubles. The board of the Championship rugby side will meet
:16:02. > :16:11.shareholders tomorrow to try and find around �200,000 to stave off
:16:11. > :16:16.the threat of administration. Albion have had a turbulent time of
:16:16. > :16:22.late. Last week head coach Peter Drury it was forced to leave after
:16:22. > :16:26.the sponsor paying his wages pulled out at the club. It happened after
:16:26. > :16:36.the sponsor found out that Albion have more financial problems than
:16:36. > :16:38.
:16:38. > :16:47.was first realised. The crowds have dropped a here and also at the
:16:47. > :16:52.economic downturn has contributed to the club's problems. It looks as
:16:52. > :16:56.the 2012 will be a tough year for Albion. They have no head coach and
:16:56. > :17:02.they are second from bottom in the championship table. Despite that,
:17:02. > :17:11.they won their first game in seven as they beat Doncaster 18-six on
:17:11. > :17:13.Friday. -- 18-6. Looking elsewhere in the
:17:13. > :17:16.Championship and the Cornish Pirates are now well adrift of top
:17:16. > :17:19.spot after losing 32-13 at top- placed Bedford on New Year's Day.
:17:19. > :17:22.The Exeter Chiefs may have lost to runaway leaders Harlequins on New
:17:22. > :17:27.Year's Eve in the Premiership, but their close 11-9 loss will give
:17:27. > :17:30.them heart for their key clash at bottom side Newcastle on Saturday.
:17:30. > :17:33.To football, and there were two local derbys on offer yesterday.
:17:33. > :17:36.Torquay completed a league double over Plymouth at Home Park. At St
:17:36. > :17:40.James Park, Exeter City and Yeovil Town drew for the second time this
:17:40. > :17:42.season. Earlier, our football pundit Chris Hargreaves, who played
:17:42. > :17:52.for both Plymouth and Torquay, popped in to look back at the
:17:52. > :17:54.
:17:54. > :17:58.action from what is traditionally an incredibly busy time for sport.
:17:58. > :18:06.Out of the four clubs, I think Torquay will be the most pleased
:18:06. > :18:11.over the football period. If we can move to yesterday's game.
:18:11. > :18:17.Exeter and Yeovil and met again and drew again. Quite frustrating. Both
:18:17. > :18:25.managers said they were pleased with the result, but Yeovil had
:18:25. > :18:32.slightly the better half in the first half. The second half was all
:18:32. > :18:36.Exeter, even though they fell behind with this goal. We have
:18:36. > :18:45.talked about it before, the way that Exeter play, they keep going,
:18:45. > :18:48.they do not panic and they will always come up with the goals. It
:18:48. > :18:57.is frustrating there because three points would have been better for
:18:58. > :19:07.both. They do look as if they are struggling. Not a panic for either,
:19:08. > :19:09.
:19:09. > :19:19.but it could be better. Let's move to League Two. I did want limit to
:19:19. > :19:29.win so they survived, but Torquay were the better side. I think the
:19:29. > :19:30.
:19:30. > :19:35.shape was totally wrong for Plymouth in the second half. A
:19:35. > :19:45.great goal here and it was total dominance. You have to hand it to
:19:45. > :19:49.Plymouth for plugging away, but problems. The manager his
:19:49. > :19:53.inexperience, there is no chief- executive. The Vance-Owen plays,
:19:54. > :19:58.but there is no direction or structure on or off the pitch. It
:19:58. > :20:05.is about time. What do they have to do? They have to do something very
:20:05. > :20:09.quickly. A couple of new players, front and back. They need more on
:20:09. > :20:13.and off the pitch. Briefly, everybody always looks at the
:20:13. > :20:23.Christmas standings. It is not looking brilliant for any of our
:20:23. > :20:23.
:20:23. > :20:27.sight apart from Torquay, is it? isn't. There are 22 players let --
:20:27. > :20:30.there are 22 games left, so we will say.
:20:30. > :20:33.That's all the sport for now. We'll keep you up to date with anything
:20:33. > :20:43.that happens this week, including the meeting at Plymouth Albion
:20:43. > :20:44.
:20:44. > :20:47.tomorrow evening. Any resolutions? Diet! You don't need it. That's my
:20:47. > :20:51.resolution, to be nice to my colleagues.
:20:51. > :20:53.Now the start of a new year often prompts many of us to re-assess our
:20:53. > :20:56.lives and make drastic changes. Sometimes those plans come to
:20:57. > :20:59.nothing, but one man in Cornwall is going ahead with his life changing
:21:00. > :21:03.decision. At the age of 66 the former serviceman is selling his
:21:03. > :21:06.home and giving up his pensions as he prepares to join the ranks of a
:21:06. > :21:15.very special group of people. Spotlight's Matt Pengelly has been
:21:15. > :21:19.finding out more. Peter Claydon served in the armed
:21:20. > :21:24.forces for 23 years. His career took him all over the world - to
:21:25. > :21:32.Bosnia, Belize and the Falkland Islands. He finished with a stint
:21:32. > :21:38.in Cornwall's recruiting office. He is now 66 years old and is about to
:21:38. > :21:42.leave and join a new regiment - the Chelsea pensioners. They are all or
:21:42. > :21:52.soldiers. I was talking to them the other day and they said, you know,
:21:52. > :22:03.
:22:03. > :22:08.where ever you go, people respect you. They go all over the world
:22:08. > :22:12.doing events. There will be off to the football matches, theatres and
:22:12. > :22:20.Remembrance Day. There are so many things going on there. It is
:22:20. > :22:26.wonderful. That is what I want to do. Not that I do not like when I
:22:26. > :22:33.am now, but there is more to do there. The Royal Hospital Chelsea
:22:33. > :22:39.was founded in 1682 for the sucker and relieved of veterans broken by
:22:39. > :22:43.age and war. Joining today's men in scarlet was a big decision for
:22:43. > :22:50.Peter. He is selling his home and giving up his army pensions. He is
:22:50. > :23:00.looking forward to it though. give me immense proud. -- it will
:23:00. > :23:01.
:23:01. > :23:08.give me immense pride. I will still think about Cornwall. Memories
:23:08. > :23:15.always come to the fore and I am sure Cornwall will come amongst
:23:15. > :23:20.them. Good luck to Peter there, joining the ranks of the Chelsea
:23:20. > :23:24.pensioners. Let's have a look at the weather now.
:23:25. > :23:29.It will still be windy tonight, but the good news is the rain has moved
:23:30. > :23:35.away. But that, many people will breathe a sigh of relief that we
:23:35. > :23:40.will not see as much work weather over the next 24 hours. Tonight,
:23:40. > :23:49.apart from one or to showers, P wind is still with us. The rain has
:23:49. > :23:59.moved out of the way. -- the wind. On Portland, we had not just the
:23:59. > :24:00.
:24:00. > :24:04.rain, but severe gusts of wind, up to 84 mph. The main problem will be
:24:05. > :24:08.the water that needs to run off the moors and the hills. There are
:24:08. > :24:18.several flood warnings and if you need to find out more information,
:24:18. > :24:32.
:24:32. > :24:37.you can call fat line. -- Flight -- floodline. There are fewer showers
:24:37. > :24:44.left behind and still quite windy, but nowhere near as bad as it was
:24:45. > :24:48.earlier. The cloud will produce outbreaks of light rain or drizzle
:24:49. > :24:53.tomorrow. We have another weather system travelling down from the
:24:53. > :25:00.north-west which will bring us rain overnight into the early hours of
:25:00. > :25:04.Thursday morning. It should be gone by lunchtime BO. There are some
:25:04. > :25:09.showers still left behind, some gathering over southern Ireland
:25:09. > :25:15.that could come away overnight. For many, these guys will be clear or
:25:15. > :25:18.later Ron, which means it will turn quite cold. Temperatures down to
:25:18. > :25:28.four or five degrees, but enough breeze to keep their air moving to
:25:28. > :25:30.
:25:30. > :25:34.prevent any frost. -- the air. Quite mild around the coastline and
:25:34. > :25:43.the further west you are. Tomorrow, a quiet start to the day. The
:25:43. > :25:48.breeze will increase and by the time we get to the afternoon, the
:25:48. > :25:57.winds will be heading towards gale- force. Temperatures getting up to
:25:57. > :26:07.nine Oct ten degrees which is the best it can expect tomorrow. --
:26:07. > :26:11.
:26:11. > :26:21.nine or ten degrees. Herr other times of high water. -- here are
:26:21. > :26:34.
:26:34. > :26:44.the times of high water and challenging Sir -- surf tomorrow.
:26:44. > :26:54.
:26:54. > :27:01.Here is the forecast for the rest of the week. For Thursday, a strong
:27:01. > :27:11.at North West breeze, but gaps in the cloud will print some bright
:27:11. > :27:13.
:27:13. > :27:19.spells. Saturday, a bright start, but we the risk of rain or later. -
:27:19. > :27:23.- with that the risk of rain later. Reminder of the top stories - two
:27:23. > :27:30.men have been convicted of the murder of the London teenager