04/04/2012 Spotlight

Saved from the sea for a while longer - the scheme to prevent this

happening again. Good evening. Over 200 homes along

the Dorset coast will benefit from today's green light to shore up the

coastline. Also tonight...

Are young people with eating disorders being let down?

One mother says her daughter nearly died because there was no help.

The mortality figures for anorexia are 20%. In that sense,

statistically, she stood a better chance of surviving cancer than

anoraks the club. -- anorexia. And saving the pennies - the old-

fashioned postal service offering old-fashioned prices.

A �20 million scheme which hopes to stop hundreds of homes in Dorset

slipping into the sea has been given the go-ahead. Over recent

years, there have been land slips at East Cliff in Lyme Regis and

some properties have only very small part of their gardens left.

We are in the eastern part of Lyme Regis. We are higher on the

Jurassic Coast. The main road could be affected by coastal erosion.

This area is out of bounds. It is too dangerous. These houses could

be the next to go into the sea unless something is done. Unless

something of -- after years of campaigning, something finally has

been done. Lyme Regis have been battling the elements and losing.

Bruv false have taken large areas of land and houses. Gardens like

this one could be next. Chris and his wife Jane moved here six years

ago. They had feared they may outlive their property... Where we

are, we've got one house in front of us and then there is a cliff.

That has used to have two fields in front of it and those two fields

have gone. It is amazing, when you think of it in terms of how you

look across the field and all of a sudden, they have disappeared. That

has happened in the last 60 years. Where is it going to stop? Over the

last decade, other parts of the town have been given protection.

These gardens have special pellets below ground to make them stable.

Father coastal protection is in place for the town centre. -- other

coastal protection. Now, the �20 million programme will see the

eastern part of Lyme Regis protected. The error 380 properties

affected and it is the main road from the East. The town would be

cut off if we did not protect that route. It is an important thing and

of course, utilities, pipes and cables, were also in the just so it

is critical to protect it. It will see a new 390 metres sea wall,

stabilisation of the cliffs and drainage works. Being the Jurassic

Coast World Heritage Site has meant extra effort have to be made to

reduce the impact but ensure that cliffs survive. The works, which

should give 60 years protection, will start in the next few months,

Garda pace next year and be completed in 2014.

-- gather pace. Locals are police. One person told me they fear when

they are in bed at night and they hear the cliff falling. That is

hopefully now going to be a thing of the past thanks to this scheme,

which will be paid for by the District Council, the Environment

Agency and the government, which should put a generation or two's

minds at rest. The latest inspection of Dartmoor

Prison has highlighted cold cells and damp, shabby buildings. A new

report into standards at the jail says there aren't enough activities

for prisoners. It also found negativity from some inmates

towards those from ethnic minorities. But inspectors say

safety within the prison has improved. The use of illicit drugs

is reasonably low and the prison's diversity work is getting better.

A conman who was captured on CCTV stealing from letterboxes in

Somerset to fund his lavish lifestyle has been jailed for four

years. 47-year-old Kevin Castle from West Buckland stole residents'

personal details to apply for credit cards in their name. He

admitted to 26 charges of fraud. Tents from ShelterBox are being

used by doctors in the Republic of Congo after an arms depot exploded.

Thousands of people were left injured and homeless in the capital,

Brazzaville. Tents from the Helston-based charity are being

used as temporary operating theatres.

The NHS is failing young people suffering with anorexia in Devon,

says the mother of a girl who almost died from the eating

disorder. Jaqui Flicker says it would have been better if her

daughter had cancer rather than anorexia, because she'd have got

the right treatment faster. Jaqui has now set up a group in Exeter to

support other families whose children may have anorexia or

bulimia. This girl is 17 and funny and smart,

doing six A-levels. She is recovering from anorexia, which

made her dangerously ill. It is scary, realising what I was doing

to myself. It is scary looking back on pictures and seen what I looked

like. I had no idea at the time how awful I looked. Telly is not alone.

Six years ago, Jaqui Flicker's daughter, then 12, also had the

illness. She said there was not enough support from a health

service and even cancer would have been better. There is an

infrastructure around cancer services, their support, social

workers, doctors. Within an instant, you are referred to a specialist.

Treatment starts and the plan is arranged and there is no problem

accessing services is -- in the same way as for eating disorders.

In December, they set up a support group. Parents are not the problem

but they are part of this edition. What is happening is that they are

not including parents in its edition and not giving them

adequate skills and help and support to support their loved ones

with an eating disorder. NHS Devon said it is listening to children,

parents and health professionals and said its leading disorder

and said its leading disorder Service has benefited from recent

increases in funding and feedback More help is coming for anorexia.

For telly, the recovery continues. 30 years after the Falklands

conflict, could we do it again? Stay with us to hear what the

experts think. Plus... My mother came from Birmingham to have me in

secret and then went back to continue her life.

And find out how the wild swing in temperature has confused the bees.

The 30th anniversary of the Falklands War has reignited the

debate about whether or not UK could retake the islands should

Argentina invade again. As the sabre-rattling from Buenos Aires is

stepped up, one pressure group has warned the Falklands are more

vulnerable than at any time since 1982. But how well-defended are

they and how likely is another invasion?

30 years ago and Argentina had just invaded a small group of Ireland

8,000 miles away in the South Atlantic. -- Ireland. The British

government decided to send a task force of more than 120 ships and

10,000 personnel to retake the Falklands. Within 48 hours, all

these guys came back so it was tremendously encouraging. Everybody

was ready and willing. It was an amazing achievement. One of the

most amazing achievement in naval history, to send all of those

forces and sustain them. 100 days later, we were back and we had one,

but it was an extremely close run thing. Victory came at a cost. 255

British troops were lost along with four warships and many more vessels

were damaged. The Falklands conflict has been the subject of

intense study by analysts and historians ever since. One question

prevails, could we do it again? This commander was a Royal Navy

logistics carve their -- logistics officer. He is part of a pressure

group fighting defence cuts. have only got 19 frigates and

destroyers. That is a ludicrously small number. You have probably

only got six or seven available. That is not Navy. That is a

flotilla. We certainly have fewer warships,

but it is not necessarily about not first. In the Falklands we had to

aircraft carriers but now we have none. We could never recapture it

now. It is ironic, because we have got better and more helicopters

spots than in 1982 but it is utterly amazing. Two new characters

with -- to new carriers are due on stream, but not before 2020.

Current warships like this destroyer are more capable than

their predecessors but whether the Argentinians invade or not, the

numbers might still count. We have got commitments elsewhere that they

don't have. Let's say will frigates, we might only have one frigate.

Could we use that to see off an Argentinian economic action at the

-- against fishing vessels? That is a big problem. If the Ministry of

Defence maintains the boffins are better protected than ever before.

They have an airfield, home to four RAF fighter jets and defended by

more than 1,000 troops. It says there is no evidence of any current

credible military threat. A family of five from Saltash have

been treated in hospital for carbon monoxide poisoning. Two adults and

three children, all under the age of five, were taken to hospital

suffering from headaches and sickness. Fire crews were alerted

after a carbon monoxide alarm went off at the house. This is the

latest in a number of incidents the Cornwall Fire and Rescue Service

have dealt with in recent months. Joining me from Truro is Dave

Carlisle, who works in fire prevention with Cornwall Fire and

Rescue. Thank you for joining us. Sounds like this family had a lucky

escape? It certainly was. Corben month -- carbon monoxide is known

as the silent killer. What the family had was a carbon monoxide

alarm, which alerted them to the problem, enabling them to evacuate

the premises and seek medical treatment. Yes, a very lucky escape.

I understand you have seen a spike in the number of cases you have

been dealing with in terms of carbon monoxide poisoning. Is there

a reason for this? There has been an increase and as fire crews will

tell you, they have been attending were incidents. It may well be

linked to economic times, and people are opening up old

fireplaces, burning solid fuels, and perhaps the maintenance and

testing regime they normally would have had for appliances is falling

by the wayside. This may not have been the case in the most recent

incident but it has been in some of the incidents that we have attended

recently. How easy and these things to put in your house and how

expensive are they? Carbon monoxide alarms can be readily bought in any

superstore or supermarket and they can be very easily fitted just as a

smoke detector can. They are a life-saver. If you have a gas

boiler, or the central heating, and opened fire have any type, we

recommend you fit a carbon monoxide alarm. It could see you and your

family. The Labour leader Ed Miliband was

in Exeter today campaigning ahead of next month's local elections,

when a third of the seats on the city council will be contested. Our

political editor caught up with him. Today with Ed Miliband's second

visit to Exeter in little more than a year and his enthusiasm for

Devon's county town is entirely understandable. Seducing the City

of Exeter ranks among New Labour's more notable conquests. Previously

it was in a rock-solid relationship with the Tories and then in 1997,

Ben Bradshaw won its heart. He is still the city's MP and it has the

largest number of seats in the City Council. They are 18 to slip the

metaphorical ring on the finger and take overall control on 3rd May.

Everywhere else in the region, voters intended to put the red rose

back on the shelf. It is about places where there has not been a

Labour tradition and that is what you are pointing out. Exeter has

established a Labour tradition through Ben Bradshaw on the work of

the council and we want to spread to do that is talk about the issues

which are relevant to people in the south-west, whether it is train

fares are energy prices, or fairness in taxation. In second

place are the Tories, but they are a long way from getting their feet

under the table here at the Civic Centre. The fact that Ed Miliband

is in Exeter shows that Labour fancy their chances, doesn't it?

They might fancy their chances but we also fancy our chances. We will

wait and see. Labour is 19 and we are 11, so we would have to paint

Labour seats to really take it but we will not take control about it -

- this year, there is no question. If you are in Plymouth, were a

third of the seats are up, there would not be much to say about the

Lib Dem presence because there is not know -- there is not one. In

Exeter, the third party at Westminster has nine seats and they

are slapping at the Conservative's heels. The last big successes

predated the coalition. 2008 was an extremely successful year for the

Lib Dems. We won five seats. We are looking to repeat that performance.

If we made advances from that it would be spectacular. Labour,

Tories and Lib Dems plus the smaller parties and independents

now have a month to with their electorate.

The extent of the hardships some unmarried mothers suffered in a

hideaway home in Cornwall where they were sent to have their babies

has been uncovered by a BBC investigation. Rosemundy House in

St Agnes has been a hotel since the mid-Sixties, but from the 1920s

until then, 1,800 babies were born there, many of whom had to be

adopted. Caroline Adams has been talking to some of those whose

lives were profoundly affected by this chapter in our history.

I was born here in 1953. My mother came down from Birmingham to have

me in secret and then went back to Birmingham to continue her life. I

was left here and put into care. Phil Frampton was one of 1,200

babies born at Rosemundy house between the 1920s and 1960s, when

it closed. I was mixed-race and the Welfare Society said there was no

chance of adopting or fostering a mixed race, Cannard, black child in

the West Country. People do not know about this experience, I did

not know about this, about the way young people were treated in this

country, in England, even just 50 years ago. Some of the stories are

absolutely harrowing. Jam, who does not want to be identified, had to

be a promising career when she became pregnant. She remembers the

sense of isolation of the young mothers like her who came to this

hideaway home. One night we were all fast asleep in bed and suddenly,

we heard the most Brown -- blood- curdling noise you could imagine.

The noise continued. Eventually, three or four of us got up and came

down and there, just here, on the floor, was one of the girls and she

had just had her baby. Whilst a lonely birth like this was not

typical it was common for the young mothers to be pressurised into

giving up their babies. Around half were put up for adoption at that

time. Live within Nos 4 was was hard for the girls who ended up

there -- live with a nose for walls. Were we were made to feel third-

class citizens. We had to scrub the floors. That place was kept

immaculate because of the girls who live there. One of those girls was

left's mum, she got to keep her baby. Revisiting where she was born,

F found it hard to hear how her mother was treated. My mum never

talked about it because I would never talk to her, because it upset

her. It is very deep-rooted. Listening to jam and Phil, I can

understand why she did not want to talk about it. This is story in his

writing a book about the home's history and has heard similar

stories from many of the mothers he spoke to, some still feeling the

shame many years later. I know mothers to have come to St Agnes

and want to go to the Rosemundy House to see where they gave birth

to their baby and they have been afraid to ask people in the village

how to find it, because they are worried that people would suddenly

realise or think that they were mothers from the home. Phil face

the humiliation his mother must have suffered all those years ago

but with that, he has a renewed admiration for her determination to

have them. It has really enlightened me has strong yen

mothers were to come here and face up to the type of harrowing

treatment which they were given in order to have their children. It

makes me feel very emotional, it makes me feel quite sad but it also

makes me feel quite joyful at the spirit of young women, at the

spirit of young people who survived this type of experience. Also,

joyful but hopefully, young women do not have to go through this any

more. Phil Frampton ending that report by

Caroline Adams. You can hear more on this story in a special

programme called The Crying Shame tomorrow at 12 noon on BBC Radio

Devon and on Good Friday after 1 o'clock on BBC Radio Cornwall.

It will be a compelling programme, Piper sound of it.

South West beekeepers say the unseasonal and extreme weather has

been confusing their colonies. The queens started laying their eggs

when the temperatures were higher last week but they, and the flowers

which were blooming early, are having second thoughts.

If you take a lead inside a be hired at the moment you are likely

to see a lot of honey. -- take a look inside a beehive. They are

active when they would not normally be. You would understand why they

are confused. Temperatures at Exeter airport were around 15

Celsius on the 22nd and 23rd March. They rose a few degrees and stayed

there before taking off to reach nearly 21 degrees. They fell back

dramatically on April 1st. When it goes cold again, they close down.

It is an interruption in the process. The Queen can be lying

between 1015 hundred eggs a day when the temperature is right and

then when it goes cold, she slows down to. A hot spell was very

unusual. Normally, you would not normally have your box for the

honey on. Last week, they were going mad but this week, there is

hardly any art. At Kellett and has near Exeter, some flowers are a

month early. -- At this National Trust house. It is confusing and

worrying. A lot of the magnolias came out really early and got hit

by the frost and lost all of their pebbles. -- petals. For now, the

bluebells will have to try and keep their chins up and the bees will

have to Batten down the hatches hoping for sunny days ahead.

An enterprising man from Cornwall has started up his own postal

service after the Royal Mail announced it was raising the price

of a first-class stamp to 60p. He is now delivering letters in Bude

and outlying villages at less than half the price and his chosen mode

of transport is somewhat unusual... Every morning, Graham hops onto his

penny farthing bike and set off into town. He collects his post. He

has three postboxes in Bude and MPs them three times a day. -- MPs.

Hello, how you? I am fine. bicycle may be more than 100 years

old but it is not slow. He says the key post a letter early in the

morning, it should get to its destination imbued before the day

is out. He has a letter to deliver to this shop. Fantastic. It gives

an alternative way of sending post. We try to promote independent local

business and they have claimed is happy to do it for us, we are happy

to use it. -- if Graham. Graham decided to start the postal service

after the Royal Mail announced that the price of a first-class stamp

was going up. He says he can do it for 25p. I have my own stamps and

my own frigging system. People pay 25p to get a later -- a letter

delivered. I have postboxes and stamps for sale in town. It seems

as if the old fashioned service is proving a winner. He has delivered

150 letters this week. He just needs to keep his bike well-oiled

so he can keep up with demand! Some people are asking if he

Let's take a look at the weather... It has turned cold. I suppose it is

what you will expect. April is characterised by showers and there

will be more tonight. The rest of this week is less cold. It is also

brighter after the cloud today. There is cloud on a satellite

picture. This cloud is covering most of southern Britain. We have

had some late sunshine. It is mean Bering cloud and the main line of

rain, which has given some snow over Wales, is sinking South with

this evening. For us, mainly rain, perhaps sleet over Exmoor and

Dartmoor. Tomorrow, it is moving away. It will take away be cloud --

the cloud and giving us a bright day on Friday. Tonight,

temperatures well below. Showers to continue but in between, there are

clear skies. This was earlier today, when we had some sunshine. There

are showers around. The sunshine and the warmth of last week has

moved everything along and a lot of the flowers are now blooming. In

the distance there are Sharratt around. This evening, we will have

a similar weather pattern. The now clear skies in between the showers

to allow the temperatures to get fairly low. The forecast is for

those to continue, perhaps stayed away for a time before a more

persistent rain drifts back in. There is a range of temperatures on

the west coast. A man, we could see two degrees. A cold start to

tomorrow. Sunny spells briefly in the morning and showers dotted

around. They will move away from West Cornwall in the afternoon. The

clearance comes in from the north. Temperatures, a little higher.

Still the chilly north-easterly breeze meaning you will have to

There have been big waves of short but we're sure, not too bad. -- big

The outlook, a bright and dry day on Friday, more cloud on Saturday,