:00:17. > :00:21.Drought, what drought? Parts of the region are hit by flooding.
:00:21. > :00:26.boys on the telephone so, get out, get out and take your children and
:00:26. > :00:30.your pet with you and shot all the doors and get to higher ground.
:00:30. > :00:31.Good evening we'll be live in East Devon in one of the worst affected
:00:31. > :00:33.areas. Also tonight - surviving the
:00:33. > :00:36.recession. How three local businesses are battling on despite
:00:36. > :00:46.the economic downturn. Dodging ice and polar bears - an
:00:46. > :00:47.
:00:47. > :00:51.Arctic adventure for a rower from Cornwall. It was one of those
:00:51. > :00:55.expeditions that everyone thought we would fail.
:00:55. > :00:59.And a rare visitor to our shores - find out how this tree frog caught
:00:59. > :01:01.everyone on the hop. Parts of the south west are still
:01:01. > :01:05.in danger of flooding tonight after torrential rain and heavy winds
:01:05. > :01:08.brought down trees and turned roads into rivers. More than an inch of
:01:08. > :01:12.rain and gusts of wind reaching more than 60 miles an hour battered
:01:12. > :01:15.much of the region. A number of roads are still
:01:15. > :01:18.impassable and farmers have had to move livestock to higher ground.
:01:18. > :01:22.There are warnings on three rivers this evening yet the Environment
:01:22. > :01:25.Agency is clear - we are still in a drought. Spotlight's Hamish
:01:25. > :01:35.Marshall is live in Colyford where there remains a warning on the
:01:35. > :01:36.
:01:36. > :01:41.River Axe. You'll have to take my word for it,
:01:41. > :01:46.this is supposed to be a road. It is not one I would be looking to
:01:46. > :01:52.take a vehicle across. The main road that runs between Lyme Regis
:01:53. > :01:59.and Exeter is over there. There are massive puddles on that as well. I
:01:59. > :02:03.spent a big chunk of the day in West Dorset where some people had
:02:03. > :02:09.an early-morning call warning them of imminent danger.
:02:09. > :02:13.Nearly at the end of its journey, but the power was too much for the
:02:13. > :02:23.banks. There was a pond in this garden. This morning you could not
:02:23. > :02:30.see where it started off finished. This woman moved in a year ago and
:02:31. > :02:36.was woken up by a call from the environmental agency -- Environment
:02:36. > :02:42.Agency. The voice on the telephone said, get out and take your
:02:42. > :02:47.children and pets with you. Make sure the house is secured and get
:02:47. > :02:50.to higher ground. Precautions to prevent flooding have increased in
:02:50. > :02:55.recent years. The house has been raised and this builder who
:02:55. > :03:00.recently completed other landscaping work returned to check
:03:00. > :03:07.it was doing its job. We have done some flood prevention, drainage,
:03:07. > :03:12.digging out the pits, etc. Thankfully it is working. About
:03:12. > :03:20.half a dozen properties here were warned, but by mid-afternoon be
:03:20. > :03:24.immediate danger had passed. A few miles away, the rain had fallen so
:03:24. > :03:32.quickly on hard ground it could not sink in, so it went straight to the
:03:32. > :03:39.rivers. Once the drought was announced, we expected a deluge and
:03:39. > :03:49.that is what we got. That tree over there should not be in the river at
:03:49. > :03:49.
:03:49. > :03:53.all. That is how high it is. It has come up very quickly. Since 9
:03:54. > :04:00.o'clock it has been like this. Although rivers and water courses
:04:00. > :04:08.could not take the amount of rain, those who burst their banks sent
:04:08. > :04:12.the excess water to flood banks. Farmers were asked to check their
:04:12. > :04:16.livestock. There are still three flood warnings in place across the
:04:16. > :04:24.South West. That has reduced from eight as the day has gone on. Just
:04:24. > :04:34.to give you an idea of the problems caused, it is a bit of an East-and
:04:34. > :04:37.
:04:37. > :04:40.West split. Exeter airport at 29 mm. People are looking to see if river
:04:40. > :04:46.levels are rising and to the skies to see if there is more rain coming
:04:46. > :04:48.their way. And David will be here with a full
:04:49. > :04:51.forecast later in the programme. Businesses in the south west have
:04:51. > :04:53.tonight greeted the return to recession with responses ranging
:04:53. > :04:56.from anxiety and indifference to defiant optimism. In 2008,
:04:56. > :05:00.Spotlight began following a handful of small firms which were starting
:05:00. > :05:03.life in the credit crunch. Today, with the news that we are in the
:05:03. > :05:10.first double dip recession since the 1970s, we've been back to see
:05:10. > :05:13.how they're doing and how they're feeling.
:05:14. > :05:17.It's hardly been holiday weather in Looe just lately as the colour of
:05:17. > :05:22.the river makes all too plain. In his B&B overlooking the water,
:05:22. > :05:25.Derek Braithwaite might have an excuse for feeling browned off.
:05:25. > :05:29.He's seen the business grow annually, but this year it's less
:05:29. > :05:37.clear where the growth is coming from. All the same, he has no
:05:37. > :05:42.regrets, despite this latest economic twist. I think
:05:42. > :05:46.psychologically it is bad news for people who are planning their
:05:46. > :05:55.holidays and bad news for business confidence in Britain as a whole.
:05:55. > :05:59.At some stage, this recession has got to get better.
:05:59. > :06:02.Lack of growth certainly hasn't been an issue for South Devon based
:06:02. > :06:04.Creative Garages. They turn garages into living space. A smart
:06:04. > :06:09.proposition, given that many people can't move house either because of
:06:09. > :06:19.job insecurity or the difficulty of getting a mortgage. Talk now of
:06:19. > :06:20.
:06:20. > :06:25.recession doesn't worry the boss. If anything, might increased demand
:06:25. > :06:31.because people are going to say, hang on, we cannot consider moving.
:06:31. > :06:36.Is my job at risk? People are not going to take that big step and
:06:36. > :06:41.move house, but the need for another bedroom, and other kitchen,
:06:41. > :06:44.or whatever, is still going to be there.
:06:44. > :06:47.Our third small business is the Green Door restaurant at Woodbury,
:06:47. > :06:53.near Exeter. In the early months chef Mark Pulman struggled to make
:06:53. > :06:58.it as head of his own enterprise, but now he's a seasoned businessman.
:06:58. > :07:05.I it was in business for two months before we went into recession, so I
:07:05. > :07:09.don't really know what it is like to be out of recession. -- I was in
:07:09. > :07:13.business. You have to keep going and if you are doing the right
:07:13. > :07:16.thing, customers will keep coming back. I must be doing something
:07:17. > :07:19.right. So four years in, our three
:07:19. > :07:22.businesses all still have their heads above water. Times are far
:07:22. > :07:25.from easy as today's growth figures have underlined, but so far, life
:07:26. > :07:29.goes on. There's already evidence that the
:07:29. > :07:32.recession is having an impact on businesses in our high streets. So
:07:32. > :07:41.what are people cutting back on to save money? We've been asking
:07:41. > :07:48.people on the streets of Exeter how they are affected.
:07:48. > :07:53.Just shopping cheaper, going for the Budget plans. By close less
:07:53. > :08:03.often, no holidays, that sort of thing. A everyday living. Shopping
:08:03. > :08:10.
:08:10. > :08:17.has gone an awful lot. -- gone are an awful lot. Spending money on
:08:18. > :08:23.commuting, petrol prices are massive. I am lucky. I don't have a
:08:23. > :08:33.mortgage, the house is paid for and we can live on a were pensioners,
:08:33. > :08:35.
:08:35. > :08:39.but it has affected our savings. would just have to tighten our
:08:39. > :08:42.belts a bit more. Earlier, I put some of the issues
:08:42. > :08:45.raised in our reports to regional economist Kevin Butler, a former
:08:46. > :08:53.south west agent for the Bank of England. I began by asking him how
:08:53. > :08:57.the south west economy was fairing. Rather like the economy as a whole,
:08:57. > :09:02.a flat picture and not much growth in the last 12 months. But there
:09:02. > :09:07.are some signs of optimism going forward. Which sectors might help
:09:07. > :09:10.to drive the South West economy forward? There is some evidence of
:09:10. > :09:15.improvement in construction, although the market is very
:09:15. > :09:18.polarised between businesses that have strengthen their balance
:09:18. > :09:26.sheets and I in a better position to bid for work and those
:09:26. > :09:29.businesses that have a high level of debt. Manufacturing as well.
:09:29. > :09:34.Although Abbey National numbers were down, actually, but businesses
:09:34. > :09:39.I had been speaking to recently have been quite positive,
:09:39. > :09:47.particularly about sales to markets outside the eurozone and, and some
:09:47. > :09:56.positive noises coming from those companies selling in the Middle
:09:56. > :10:01.East. Some people might be feeling gloomy, but some of the businesses
:10:01. > :10:05.we have been following over the last few years are looking to the
:10:05. > :10:11.future and saying, things can only get better. Are they right to feel
:10:11. > :10:15.optimistic? If you take the example of the tourist business, again,
:10:15. > :10:19.talking to one of my contacts last week, the story there was we are
:10:19. > :10:23.still seen plenty of visitors coming through, but there is a
:10:23. > :10:27.squeeze on discretionary spending. So very often the amount of money
:10:27. > :10:35.spent in a shop or restaurant is down a bit. Nevertheless, people
:10:35. > :10:39.are coming and people holiday at home has been helpful to this
:10:39. > :10:42.business. Thank you. Controversial plans to use a Devon
:10:42. > :10:44.quarry as a transit site for ash from Plymouth's planned incinerator
:10:44. > :10:47.are still being debated tonight at County Hall in Exeter.
:10:47. > :10:57.Environmental campaigners say the idea is misguided and they want it
:10:57. > :11:10.
:11:10. > :11:20.This quarry is an imposing sight, but in recent months it has -- it
:11:20. > :11:21.
:11:21. > :11:28.has become a controversial one. There had been plans to change it
:11:28. > :11:38.and bring in at ash from a nearby incinerator. Beat developers said
:11:38. > :11:40.
:11:40. > :11:47.that it would be recycled and used for road building. The product is
:11:47. > :11:54.used across the UK, mainly further north. Is it hazardous or none
:11:54. > :12:01.hazardous? It is a non hazardous material? Is it toxic or dangerous?
:12:01. > :12:10.It is not. The developers say that over the next few years, a faulty
:12:10. > :12:14.lorries could visit the site and only 11 it would have ash.
:12:14. > :12:24.Environmental campaigners have lobbied hard. They have even sent
:12:24. > :12:33.out leaflets to key people, but during the debate one local
:12:33. > :12:37.resident spoke in favour of the proposal. Paula is a trained
:12:37. > :12:43.geologist and takes a different point of view from most of the
:12:43. > :12:51.residents. Would you want lorries of that size, of that amount
:12:51. > :12:58.rumbling past a house? What I don't understand how they make the
:12:58. > :13:08.Testament. Tonight, campaigners said they are delighted. This
:13:08. > :13:11.campaign has been going on for the year. 95 % of the town said no and
:13:11. > :13:15.it just the vindicates us that the end of the day. This is what
:13:15. > :13:25.democracy and localism is about. Already, those wanting to develop
:13:25. > :13:34.
:13:34. > :13:37.the quarry are considering an appeal.
:13:37. > :13:39.With the local elections just a fortnight away, the battle for
:13:39. > :13:42.votes in Plymouth is intensifying. Labour needs to gain just four
:13:42. > :13:45.seats to take control from the Tories. One issue at the forefront
:13:45. > :13:48.of some voters minds is the Conservative decision to approve
:13:48. > :13:51.plans for a large incinerator on the edge of Devonport Dockyard. As
:13:51. > :13:53.Jenny Kumah reports, it's being built in one of the city's most
:13:53. > :13:55.marginal wards. A few years ago, and stew that were not that
:13:55. > :13:58.interested in politics, but the prospect of having an incinerator
:13:58. > :14:01.on their doorstep has turned them into active campaigners, who have a
:14:01. > :14:09.keen eye on the local elections. wake up in the morning thinking
:14:09. > :14:16.about fund-raising so we can get money to help with the legal fees.
:14:16. > :14:22.It is all about this, just about this. Hopefully the 3rd May would
:14:22. > :14:27.change things, but I am not sure. 90 in seats are up for election.
:14:28. > :14:35.Labour need to gain for to take control from the Tories. The ward
:14:35. > :14:42.where be incinerator is planned to be built is a key one. In December
:14:42. > :14:47.last year, also then Conservative members of the City Council's
:14:47. > :14:51.planning committee voted in favour of building an incinerator. All
:14:51. > :14:55.five Labour councillors voted against it. But the seat is not
:14:55. > :14:59.necessarily an easy target for Labour. The contracts have been
:14:59. > :15:06.signed and there will be big financial penalties if it does not
:15:06. > :15:10.go ahead. We are bound by the decision and that is why I am
:15:10. > :15:14.working with the community groups to move forward with other Labour
:15:14. > :15:19.councillors to try to overturn that decision. But the manifesto is
:15:19. > :15:23.clear. We descend the decision to build the incinerator there. A good
:15:23. > :15:30.some residents angry at the Conservatives because of the
:15:30. > :15:34.decision, how would their candidate persuade people to vote for her?
:15:34. > :15:44.There are great benefits to this as well. We will be pumping energy
:15:44. > :15:44.
:15:44. > :15:54.directly into the dockyard. It will help to keep jobs in their area.
:15:54. > :15:57.
:15:57. > :16:07.There are no Liberal Democrats on inner-city council -- Plymouth City
:16:07. > :16:09.
:16:09. > :16:15.Council. People need to stand up and make their voices heard and
:16:15. > :16:25.persuade the council to change their mind. UKIP also have a
:16:25. > :16:26.
:16:26. > :16:28.candidate standing in this ward. There's one other candidate
:16:28. > :16:31.standing in the local elections in Plymouth and that's Mark Burton
:16:31. > :16:33.representing UKIP. A Devon village is about to become
:16:33. > :16:36.the first in the country to open an underground community shop.
:16:36. > :16:40.Villagers in Exbourne couldn't get planning permission to build in the
:16:40. > :16:47.usual way, so instead they dug a hole in the side of a field. It's
:16:47. > :16:52.taken them ten years, but the shop is due to open soon. The transport
:16:52. > :16:59.system is almost non-existent. We have a large population of older
:16:59. > :17:02.people who do not have their own transport.
:17:02. > :17:05.Now, he's already rowed for 81 days across the Indian Ocean, but that
:17:05. > :17:08.wasn't enough of a challenge for this Cornishman. Last year Billy
:17:08. > :17:11.Gammon from Trevose and his crew mates rowed 500 miles to the 1996
:17:11. > :17:13.position of the Magnetic North Pole. Their challenge, which is being
:17:13. > :17:23.broadcast on BBC1 tonight, shows them contending with razor sharp
:17:23. > :17:31.
:17:31. > :17:37.ice and polar bears. Billy and his crew mates headed for the 1996
:17:37. > :17:42.position of the magnetic North Pole. For the 36-year-old, he knew it was
:17:42. > :17:47.not going to be an easy journey, but navigating the boat through the
:17:47. > :17:52.ice was more hazardous than the crew had anticipated. Things change
:17:52. > :17:58.on day 12 and from that moment onwards, conditions were hazardous
:17:58. > :18:02.and volatile. It was a case of changing out a strategy. Whilst we
:18:02. > :18:09.were getting satellite imagery, the reality on the ground was very
:18:09. > :18:15.different. But the ice was not to be their biggest hazard. All the
:18:15. > :18:21.training had -- all the training we have done in terms of polar bear
:18:21. > :18:31.evasion, that was it, it was like. There was a lot of adrenalin and
:18:31. > :18:32.
:18:32. > :18:38.fear. The crew were at sea for 30 days and living quarters were
:18:38. > :18:46.intimate. You find out about yourself and too much about other
:18:46. > :18:50.people. The boat was designed to be able to fit onto a plane. It was
:18:50. > :19:00.very much an adventure into the unknown and when we got up there,
:19:00. > :19:01.
:19:01. > :19:03.it exceeded all our expectations. And you can see more of Billy's
:19:03. > :19:10.journey in the hour-long documentary Rowing The Arctic on
:19:10. > :19:14.BBC One tonight, at 10.45pm. Packing staff at a farm in Devon
:19:14. > :19:17.had a bit of a shock when a tree frog hopped out of their bananas.
:19:17. > :19:26.The tiny green amphibian had managed to survive a cargo shipment
:19:26. > :19:32.from abroad. Spotlight's Johnny Rutherford has the story. This is
:19:32. > :19:36.what shocked Packer's as it leapt across the salting bay. No-one was
:19:36. > :19:40.sure which consignment of fruit and vegetables it had jumped out of.
:19:40. > :19:50.But guys were packing this morning and we had a whole range of fruit
:19:50. > :19:57.and veg and out it popped. We have seen Snell's in the past, but they
:19:57. > :20:07.don't normally make it this far. -- snails. It was obvious the frock
:20:07. > :20:10.
:20:10. > :20:20.was not local, so did it come from Europe? -- the tree frog. We are
:20:20. > :20:29.
:20:29. > :20:39.going to take it to a vet. It is European. Not for the bananas? --
:20:39. > :20:52.
:20:52. > :20:58.not from the bananas? So it was from be lettuce. -- the lettuce.
:20:59. > :21:02.For now, it will be living here. A wild beaver rescued from a slurry
:21:02. > :21:05.pit on a farm near Plymouth has been found a new home. The young
:21:05. > :21:08.beaver is now being looked after by Derek Gow who's licenced to breed
:21:08. > :21:11.the animals in captivity at his farm near Lifton. A large male
:21:12. > :21:21.beaver escaped four years ago, but Derek says this one is much smaller
:21:22. > :21:27.
:21:27. > :21:32.and younger than the one who's Let's see what is happening with
:21:32. > :21:36.the weather. We have had some torrential downpours of rain. We
:21:36. > :21:42.had wet and windy weather last night, but the showers today have
:21:42. > :21:52.given some hefty rainfall totals. We will see some of the same again
:21:52. > :21:58.
:21:58. > :22:02.tonight. This is the brain for we have seen today. Top of the league
:22:03. > :22:11.is Bridport - 37 mm of rain. The average across the South West of
:22:11. > :22:17.England for much of April his 50-60 mm. We have had half the total
:22:17. > :22:27.month's rainfall in just a few awards. Some very wet and dangerous
:22:27. > :22:30.
:22:30. > :22:35.conditions. There are now three flood warnings on a work rivers.
:22:35. > :22:42.The low pressure that has been close by during the night and today
:22:42. > :22:46.has hardly moved at all. It would take its time to get away from us.
:22:46. > :22:50.You can see that great brute of clouds stretching round ours. That
:22:50. > :22:54.was the wet weather we saw last night. Now we are close to the
:22:54. > :22:59.centre and we had the slow-moving and heavy showers that will
:22:59. > :23:02.continue for the next few hours. By midday tomorrow, the isobars will
:23:03. > :23:12.have owed and doubt and there will be a change in the direction of the
:23:13. > :23:14.
:23:14. > :23:18.wind. Perhaps some brighter weather in between the showers. There is
:23:18. > :23:28.the main area of rain that is moving up towards Scotland. You can
:23:28. > :23:28.
:23:28. > :23:33.see some bright colours on our radar pictures. Does indicate the
:23:33. > :23:40.heavy showers. As the night wears on, be sure where risk remains
:23:40. > :23:50.along the south coast of Devon, Cornwall and Dorset. Although the
:23:50. > :23:54.
:23:54. > :23:59.winds remained strong -- remain strong, they are not as strong as
:23:59. > :24:08.they were last night. Tomorrow, more of their Chavez to come. Again,
:24:09. > :24:18.one of them could be -- again, some of them could be heavy.
:24:19. > :24:22.
:24:22. > :24:32.Temperatures tomorrow or up to 12 Celsius. There is that for cars for
:24:32. > :24:36.
:24:36. > :24:46.the answer surely. -- there is the forecast for the Isles of Scilly.
:24:46. > :24:53.
:24:53. > :24:58.Here are the times of high water and a look now at tomorrow's serve.
:24:58. > :25:03.The promise of some brighter weather on Friday, at least a bit