23/02/2012 Spotlight

Mid-Devon photographer injured in Syria. Efforts continue to get Paul

Conroy to safety. We will have the latest on his

condition. Also in the programme tonight, a

hotline for the homeless. A scheme to ensure got rough sleepers

receive support. Tom Daley and his diving partner

secure a place in the World Cup finals.

Incentives to encourage older people to move out of large empty

homes to make way for the young. For my children moved in with the

parents, which has got to be better than just me rambling around and

the house. The Foreign Office says it is

trying to get a Devon photographer injured in a shell attack in Syria

to safety. Paul Conroy was wounded in the mortar explosion which

killed two other journalists. We finally got into Homs last night.

It was quiet in the evening, but this morning about 7am, shelling

started. It has been continuous ever since. Paul Conroy in Syria.

He was photographing the unrest in the country, but on Wednesday he

was caught in a mortar attack which killed two other journalists. In

this footage, he is asked how he is. The father of three says he is OK.

The Foreign Office said all necessary work is being done to

ensure he gets to safety. Paul's wife Kate says that she has not

heard from him. Yesterday, she said she was in a state of shock.

Ordinarily, I block myself off and just get on with my work, really. I

just soldier on. But now I do not quite know how I will cope with the

next few days, because he is not out of the woods yet. He has got to

get home, and that journey is not going to be easy. He is a

remarkable man, to be going back into Homs to document the horrors

of this regime and to do so at a time when we know journalists and

photographers are being targeted by the Syrian regime, I think that is

a remarkable act of bravery. Our thoughts go to his family. It must

be an anxious time for them. Paul Conway -- Paul Conroy's colleague

Marie Colvin died in the attack. A telephone hotline to help the

homeless is being launched in the South West. People are being

encouraged to report anyone sleeping rough so they can be

offered support before it is too late.

A number of homeless -- the number of homeless continues to rise. The

Government snapshot shows that the number of rough sleepers increased

in the South West from 270 and 2010 to 337 last year. That is up 25%.

Our correspondent reports. A graveyard has been home for this

man. At night, he sheltered on the steps of the Church. He has been

sleeping rough on and off for a decade. It is not a nice experience,

and I have even shared a blanket he was out in the cold. We snuggled up

just to keep warm. I have done that. Believe it or not, the guide died

the next day. Hyperthermia. number of people sleeping rough is

rising across the region. There is held out there from authorities and

charities such as this group which runs this drop in centre. Not all

the homeless are getting the support they need to turn their

lives around. A telephone hotline has been launched in Devon and

Cornwall to encourage the public to report anyone sleeping rough.

biggest thing is to get people to contact us and know that there is a

service at the end of it. It is not reporting somebody because they

think they are a bad surface -- person. It is about a supportive

service that will enable that person to get the help they need.

You sometimes feel when people walk by a, they pay you know he'd, you

feel like you are invisible. I think the helpline would give

people a bit more comfort, basically. It is a good idea.

People will phone. Are they too wrapped up in their own problems in

this day and age? Things are hard for everyone. I have already lost

several friends to the cold. They were younger than me. In their

forties. On the High Street, many - - people sleeping in doorways is

common and can be difficult to deal with. Many shopkeepers welcome the

hotline. In this doorway, it started off as one person sleeping,

but by the end of the day, there were six people sleeping rough here.

At times, the situation got volatile. If you had this hard line,

you could ring them up and say, look, I have got half-a-dozen

people sleeping in an empty shop next door to be. What can you do

about it? This man has now found temporary accommodation. He says it

will enable him to go to rehab and dry out, something impossible on

the streets. There is no way, no way that I am going to go out there

now that I am in here. I do not want to die in a shop doorway. That

is not going to happen. That is the point of the hotline, to reach

people and help them. For some, before it is too late.

That a hotline number is 0800 151 3441. Joining me now is our

Political Editor Martyn Oates to talk about this. The increase is

striking, what is behind it? Recently, the Government brought in

a rigorous methods for assessing the numbers of rough sleepers. You

expect the numbers recorded to go up because the system is more

accurate. But this is the second year that the new method has been

used. It is worrying, because it means there has been a steep

increase. I talked to a homeless charity about this. There are a

number of reasons, related to the economic crisis. There are rising

levels of personal debt and there have been cuts to welfare services.

Why have we got such a steep increase in the South West? If you

look at the three areas where there has been the biggest increase, they

are also the three areas where there is the biggest gap between

average earnings. And property prices on the other. How has the

Government responded? Government insists that the UK has

some of the best services to support the homeless in the world.

It has just announced another �18 million to go into helping the

problem. That is on top of the existing �400 million grant. It has

also lent the challenge to local authorities to copy what has been

happening in Merseyside, where there is a pledge that nobody will

sleep a second night on the streets. I do not have that will go down in

council chambers at this time of year, when councillors are trying

to balance the books. One of the South West's largest

employers has announced a multi- million-pound investment in medical

research which will provide a shot in the arm for the local economy.

Plymouth University is to set up a new �25 million institute which

will help fight disease and also bring a jobs to the city.

Knowledge is power, and the knowledge economy is expanding.

Plymouth University already employees around 3,000 people in

the city. It is still growing. It has just announced a �25 million

investment in medical research. There has not been such a big

investment in Plymouth ever into help research. It is incredibly

exciting, particularly for areas such as didn't -- degenerative

diseases including dementia and multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's

disease, but also cancer and obesity, which are important for

the whole country. This investment will initially create around 20

high quality research jobs and bring it state-of-the-art Lab --

laboratories and equipment. It should also enhance the

University's growing reputation, bringing further expansion and more

investment in the future. We would regard this as seed caught money --

seed corn money to help us grow further in the future. Exeter

University unveiled a similar �20 million project in January, shortly

after the two founding partners of the dentistry school announced they

were to go their separate ways. Both are now racing to tap into the

lucrative research sector, which should be a win-win situation for

the universities and the South West economy.

Plymouth diver Tom Daley has been in the pool for the first time

since the manager of the Great Britain squad told him to cut back

on his media work to improve performance. The 17-year-old hopes

to emulate fellow Plymothians Tonia Couch and Sarah Barrow by winning a

medal at the World Cup. The 17-year-old has qualified for

tonight's final at the World Cup, diving with Peter Waterfield in the

men's synchro event. It is regarded as a test event for this year's

games. It was quite nerve-racking going into the competition, but the

crowd really carries you through the competition. It will really

help in the final. We did our job today and got into the final, and

that was the main thing. We did not dive near our best and we still

scored over 400, which is good. Plymouth Jouko Tonia Couch and

Sarah Barrow claimed Great Britain's first ever international

diving medal for women at the World Cup last night. They jumped from

8th to third place with their final drive. It was the best of the

evening, taking them into the medal positions. When we are up on top of

the board, I said, let's do this. We knew we could do it, but getting

it there and then, it was good. Talk me through that more might --

moment. It took me a while to realise. I saw the number come up

and I was unsure. I heard the crowd shouting for us. It was really good.

It is a big improvement and it all goes well for the biggest test of

all, -- bodes well for the biggest test of all in July.

We will hear from Yeovil Town's former midfielder Darren Way in a

moment he was battling for compensation after devastating -- a

car crash. Still to come, the children

paintings bear portraits for the Palace as part of the Jubilee

celebrations. # Reasons to be cheerful... # as if

we needed any more reasons. A treat at the end of the programme for Ian

Dury fans. Couples and single people are being

encouraged to move to smaller homes in a bid to ease the housing crisis.

Cornwall has 23,000 people on the housing register, more than 9,000

of which are families. One Cornwall Council is calling for the

expansion of a scheme which can pay social housing tenants up to �3,000

if they downsize. We will speak to Nina Parnell from Age UK in a

moment. First, this report from David George.

Housing association tenants Mike Thorne has already downsized. He

now lives in a two bedroom house. was living in a three-bedroom house.

That was fine while the children were at home. When they left home,

then my wife died, I thought the house was getting too big, so I

moved into a smaller property. is the three-bedroom house he says

he was rattling around in before he moved out one year ago. The new

tenants, who have four children and were on the housing register for

five years, are delighted. We are very lucky that he was in a

situation to move out to allow a family to move in. Obviously, if he

was -- without this home, we do not know where we would be. Cornwall

council's limited scheme to encourage tenants to move will pay

up to �3,000 if they downsize bike two bedrooms. One councillor says

it needs to be expanded. They could be held would be packing and

removal, and we could make sure they have moved to an area of their

choice. It will never be forced upon anybody. Meanwhile, housing

charities point out that the Government's approach is different.

Changes to the housing benefit rules means that people will be

paid for the size of property they need, rather than the size a

property they have got. It will With me now is Nina Parnell. What

do you think of this idea? I think it is a really good idea if that is

what people want to do, but it has to be down to personal choice. For

economic reasons it is fallible and would be helpful both to people

with families, but also those struggling to make the cost of

running a larger house. What are the implications for or perhaps an

older parson who has lived there for 30 or 40 years? -- for an older

person. There is a lot to think about. That is the important thing.

We have got to think about that it is not just bricks and mortar and

money, it is about an elderly person's well-being. They might

have been there for 50 years. They will have social connections and

they will be linked into their health surgery there, familiar bus

routes, all those things. They have probably brought up a family there

and they will want to visit. Family visiting is very important to an

older person. The council said that nobody would be forced to do this.

Do you think older people might start to feel under pressure to do

it, knowing that there are so many younger families looking for a

bigger houses and they might feel they have to consider downsizing?

think they will. For some people they will be thinking that maybe it

is time for them to considerate. We must stress that it is down to

choice. When they make the move it has to be an informed decision.

They have got to think about all sorts of things. Where will they

move to? What social that works will be there? -- social networks.

Really importantly, they have got to think about how they will

facilitate the move. For you and I it is stressful, for an older

person without family, all of the practicalities have to be thought

about. It is more than three years since a

road crash ended the career of Yeovil Town professional footballer,

Darren Way. To date, he has not received any compensation. He has

told BBC he feels cheated and has vowed to continue his fight Crown

Court. -- the High Court. This was the crash which wrecked Darren

Way's career. He was a passenger in the right -- white van. A car

across the lines and collided head on. 13 operations later, he is at

least able to walk. He will never play football again. He had

expected financial compensation. He has not received a penny. Every day,

there is a memory of the accident, whether it is the injuries are the

legal case. There is not an end to the story at the moment. I just wat

to be at the end of the tunnel. suffered multiple fractures and was

in a wheelchair for months. The battle over compensation is taking

longer. The issue is whether the driver of the other car was at

fault. His insurers are claiming that he suffered a heart attack at

the wheel prior to the accident and therefore, he is not culpable.

Today, the company refused to comment further. Darren Way has

made a video of his long road to recovery. The battle, even to walk

again. He says that mentally he is still far from recovered and finds

it hard to accept he is not entitled to be compensated for a

lost career. I was completely innocent in all of this. It is

frustrating. When you tell people the situation of what the story is,

they are am as amazed as I am. -- they are as amazed. A High Court

trial will be schedule for later this year.

We asked the Association of British Insurers for a comment. They told

us that in cases where it is proven that the driver could not have

prevented the accident or had no conscious knowledge of it, then

they or their insurers may not be liable.

Children from across the south-west are working on self-portraits which

will be projected onto the front of Buckingham Palace for the

celebrations of the Diamond Jubilee and the Olympics. Eventually they

will be pulled together to form a picture of Her Majesty the Queen,

which could be a new world record. These youngsters are busy working

on a national project celebrating children and young people. This

class has got its pupils creating a picture where half of it is a

photograph, the other half their own portrait, as abstract as they

like. I am doing a picture of myself, how I think of me inside my

body. Last time, I did blue hair but I didn't really like it. This

time, I tried green hair. Art is when you get to draw what you want

and no one tells you what exactly to do. You just feel free to do

what you want. Last year, these children took part in a new forum

day in London, where their ideas were discussed with other children

and it helped form part of the project. The whole school has been

taking part and the pictures will be uploaded onto the internet and

form a montage projected onto but the young Palace. One of the

children's photographs -- picture was discussed on Blue Peter. That

sort of raise the profile for us. Mason has done an abstract portrait.

How would you describe that? I like the colours, very complimentary.

it would not have to be a normal portrait, there is no right or

wrong way? It is doing something that will broaden their horizons

and give them a broader experience. There is a danger that we don't

have the opportunities that other places possibly do. If enough

people take part this will break the world record for the number of

artists working on one installation, currently standing at 28,000.

There is a treat for the fans of Ian Dury in for a row over the next

few days. There is a play about the singer. It is called Reasons to be

Cheerful. This show is called Reasons to be

Cheerful. The story is based on the efforts of a group of Ian Dury fans

to get to one of his shows in 1979. He wrote about things that possibly

other people find difficult to to articulate but he cut to the chase

and said what needed to be said. His lyrics are so blind. We have

them up on the screen. -- his lyrics are sublime. People say they

have no idea how intricate and how brilliant the lyrics are, they are

fantastic. As a child, Ian Dury spent a long time in Cornwall with

his grandmother in Mevagissey. There is something about Ian Dury

and his life that was chaotic and anarchic and terribly moving and

terribly sad. It was very joyful. This is a disabled led theatre

company and Ian Dury used to be a patron. The show is on until

Saturday. Is the weather a reason to be

Some of us had sunshine today. There are some spring flowers to

enjoy. For those of us who have been stuck in the damp conditions

today it has not felt cheerful. There has been some bright weather

and tonight, the mild but rather cloudy conditions continue. They

continue into the next couple of days. The top temperature today was

14 degrees. Quite a warm day with sunshine coming through and lifting

temperatures. More cloud drifting in from the north tomorrow,

producing some light drizzle. You can see a high pressure giving us a

lot of clear skies across the Bay of Biscay and northern France. That

is not close enough. We have a weather front to the north which

will thinks rough words and begin to produce rain or drizzle come the

end of the day tomorrow. -- think southwards. From midday on

Saturday,, it will be quite cloudy with further outbreaks of light

rain and drizzle. Those visibility problems we have seen today will

continue. Overnight, what holes in the cloud we see in the cloud will

fill in. The mist and fog on the coast of Cornwall and Devon will

continue overnight. Hill fog returning for those who have had a

clearance. Clearer skies in Lyme Bay, from Torbay towards Lyme Regis.

There could be some holes in a cloud and temperatures down to

seven or eight degrees. Tomorrow, cloud the start with with drizzle.

In the afternoon, a good clearance of league cloud in Eastern areas.

The sunshine will bring temperatures up. The weather front

returning at the end of the day, bringing Devon into Exmoor. --

bringing drizzle. The further west you are, because

it will be. -- the Kerner it will be. A fairly chilly and miserable

Saturday, cloudy, dull and drizzly. Sunday, brighter. Rain returning on

Monday. Have a good evening. You may

remember we interviewed the owner of Plymouth Argyle earlier this

week. You can watch a longer interview where he talks about the

football club on the Facebook page. You do not have to have his face

burka can't. -- you do not have to have a Facebook account. The