:00:16. > :00:20.The mystery solved. What caused hundreds of seabirds to be washed
:00:20. > :00:24.up along our coastline? The substance is non-toxic but
:00:24. > :00:28.scientists warned that they could contaminate many more words for
:00:28. > :00:33.months to come. Also tonight, the biggest shake-up in history of
:00:34. > :00:37.fisheries policy. Europe agrees sweeping reforms, including banning
:00:37. > :00:40.the practice of throwing back dead fish. This is a culture that has to
:00:40. > :00:49.change. We have to incentivise fisherment to fish in a more
:00:49. > :00:52.sustainable way. This is a big step along the way to achieving that.
:00:52. > :00:59.And what lies beneath? The valuable legacy of tin mining which is
:00:59. > :01:02.dividing opinion in Cornwall. A BBC investigation in conjunction with
:01:02. > :01:04.scientists at Plymouth University has managed to identify the mystery
:01:04. > :01:12.substance that's affected hundreds of seabirds along the region's
:01:12. > :01:15.coast. More than 300 birds, mostly guillemots, but also some
:01:15. > :01:17.razorbills and auks, are being treated at the RSPCA West Hatch
:01:17. > :01:22.centre near Taunton after being contaminated by the substance.
:01:22. > :01:26.Spotlight's Andy Breare reports. For the last few days, scientists
:01:26. > :01:30.at the University of Plymouth have been analysing the mysterious
:01:30. > :01:37.substance in the hope of not only have been to find it but helping to
:01:37. > :01:43.find out just where it came from. Today they revealed their findings.
:01:43. > :01:49.The data supports the identification of this as
:01:49. > :01:52.polyisobutene. It is a routine additive that is added to lubricate
:01:52. > :01:57.oils to prove their function and quality. It is transported around
:01:57. > :02:05.the world. It is a very sticky substance, it is a semi solid and
:02:05. > :02:08.it acts on the feathers of the birds like glue, really. At the
:02:08. > :02:11.RSPCA centre in a West Hatch, near Taunton, work is continuing to
:02:11. > :02:18.clean and care for around 300 seabirds that have been affected in
:02:18. > :02:23.the last week. Staff at the centre welcome the University's research.
:02:23. > :02:29.Write down we're doing what we're going to continue to do. -- right
:02:29. > :02:35.now. That is going to stay the same based on their identification of
:02:35. > :02:39.what it is. Long-term, it is crucial. We will look back at this,
:02:39. > :02:46.analyse the event and how we dealt with the birds. Will make reference
:02:46. > :02:51.to what we were dealing with later on. The University's research makes
:02:51. > :02:55.from unpleasant environmental reading. The success takes a long
:02:55. > :03:01.time to biodegrade, which means that more seabirds could still be
:03:01. > :03:05.affected by the same spillage. is quite big as a molecule and
:03:05. > :03:09.difficult for bacteria and other weathering processes to break down.
:03:09. > :03:14.Residue will probably stay around, although hopefully not in this mass
:03:14. > :03:19.that polluted the birds. But yes, it is probably going to be there
:03:19. > :03:23.for some time, I would suggest. University's findings have been
:03:23. > :03:29.passed on to the RSPCA and Maritime and Coastguard Agency in the hope
:03:29. > :03:34.that the vessel responsible can be a identified and action can be
:03:34. > :03:37.taken. The Maritime and Coastguard Agency are now assessing Plymouth
:03:37. > :03:44.University's findings. Earlier I asked the MCA's head of counter-
:03:44. > :03:49.pollution whether the discharge of this substance was permitted.
:03:49. > :03:58.it is on certain occasions, allowed to be discharged into the sea. The
:03:58. > :04:02.maritime pollution regulations make an exception for this and they can
:04:02. > :04:06.take some of the residue from the bulk carrying tanks, so under
:04:06. > :04:12.stringent conditions it can be released into the auction, outside
:04:12. > :04:16.12 miles from the nearest point of land, and then very small
:04:16. > :04:19.concentrations. Bearing in mind the extent of the pollution - we had
:04:19. > :04:25.reports of birds being washed up all the way from Cornwall along to
:04:25. > :04:31.the coast of Hampshire, is it your view that Hoover was stumping this
:04:31. > :04:38.is doing it within the parameters you set out, or not? We have no
:04:38. > :04:42.idea. We don't know the location. The birds are spread out along much
:04:42. > :04:46.of the south coast and we have had reports from as far afield as
:04:46. > :04:50.Belgium although we're not sure if it is the same contaminant. We
:04:50. > :04:55.don't have enough information to allow us to localise the problem to
:04:55. > :04:59.decide how much of this contaminant was in the water. What I am trying
:04:59. > :05:03.to get to is that what the parameters that you have described,
:05:03. > :05:06.surely the consequence should not be that hundreds of sea birds
:05:06. > :05:11.should be affected if it should only be small amounts released into
:05:11. > :05:17.the sea. If it was a permissible discharge then the amount that
:05:17. > :05:22.would be discharged is extremely small, and the concentrations would
:05:22. > :05:28.be extremely small. It could be highly unlikely that this would
:05:28. > :05:33.result in the sort of contamination that we have seen. Again, it is all
:05:33. > :05:38.part of this very complex problem, which we have got to tackle,
:05:38. > :05:43.sometimes in parallel with information requests, and sometimes
:05:43. > :05:47.in sequins. At the moment we are in the data gathering phrase to try
:05:47. > :05:57.and narrowed down the precise characteristics and possible areas
:05:57. > :06:04.
:06:04. > :06:07.of pollution that we are looking The reforms will put an end to a
:06:07. > :06:13.cost of Russia practice of discarding dead -- - fit fish back
:06:13. > :06:18.into the sea following high-profile campaigns from celebrity chefs. It
:06:18. > :06:24.is a site that has long angered environmentalists. Perfectly good
:06:24. > :06:28.fish being thrown back into the sea, dead. Sometimes you to the quota
:06:29. > :06:31.limits and sometimes just not popular on police. TV chef Hugh
:06:32. > :06:37.Fearnley-Whittingstall has been leading a campaign encouraging the
:06:37. > :06:42.public to eight different species of fish to stop these being wasted.
:06:42. > :06:46.The South West has been leading the way in eliminating this cards. The
:06:46. > :06:51.trawler fleet uses carefully designed gear to help eliminate
:06:51. > :06:58.this card before they might even get to the boat. We have also seen
:06:58. > :07:03.a lot of progress generally, so the vote today is good news for West
:07:03. > :07:07.Country fishermen, for sure. There is a move away from the quota
:07:07. > :07:10.system to a maximum sustainable yield. This will place a limit on
:07:10. > :07:14.the cash for each species are based on how quickly their stocks
:07:14. > :07:21.replenished. There are plans for new funding to support smaller,
:07:21. > :07:26.coastal fishing fleets. It is generally in our favour and most
:07:26. > :07:31.fishermen, ones they have had a chance to look at what has happened,
:07:31. > :07:36.to be able to digest what has happened, will be able to look at
:07:36. > :07:42.it and say that this is either a good thing or it is not, but
:07:42. > :07:45.predominantly, a move in this direction has got to be good.
:07:45. > :07:50.has come at a time when smaller police are trying to wrestle more
:07:50. > :07:55.control of their fisheries, balancing commercial needs with
:07:55. > :08:00.those of marine conservation. The fishermen here in Lyme Bay have
:08:00. > :08:04.come up with their own code of conduct which they believe could be
:08:04. > :08:13.a way forward, which could promote sustainability and protect their
:08:13. > :08:23.Our Political Editor Martyn Oates joins us now live from Westminster.
:08:23. > :08:28.
:08:28. > :08:34.So quite a lot of celebration today, Martyn? There has been intense
:08:34. > :08:37.lobbying of MPs to bought through these proposals and also opposition
:08:37. > :08:41.within the European Parliament, people who agree that discards are
:08:41. > :08:45.wrong and need to stop but that this needs to be phased in slowly
:08:45. > :08:51.so that the fishing industry can adapt more easily to the new
:08:51. > :08:57.situation. MEP Plummer voted by almost four to one to get on with
:08:57. > :09:01.the job immediately. Who will this isn't the end of the story, is
:09:01. > :09:06.it? Unlike the parliament across the road at the European Parliament
:09:06. > :09:10.does not have the power to make these decisions single-handedly. It
:09:10. > :09:13.shares that power with the Council of Ministers who represent each
:09:13. > :09:19.member state. They might have referred it back to the Council of
:09:19. > :09:23.Ministers, and these two bodies need to Hank-Cameron out some kind
:09:23. > :09:28.of agreement. There is opposition to it from big fishing states like
:09:28. > :09:36.Spain and France. One British MEP said that this is simply the end of
:09:36. > :09:44.the beginning, and that there are still yawning gaps in the issues
:09:45. > :09:48.contested by the parties involved in these negotiations. A company
:09:48. > :09:51.which wants to recover thousands of tons of tin from the sea off the
:09:51. > :09:53.Cornish coast says it will bring 100 jobs and help boost the
:09:53. > :09:56.county's economy. But, environmental campaigners say the
:09:56. > :09:59.project could affect beaches and harm wildlife. Survey work is due
:09:59. > :10:02.to start off the North Cornwall coast in a few weeks. David George
:10:02. > :10:07.has this report. This is the usual image of Cornwall's mining legacy.
:10:07. > :10:12.But, out there beneath the waves, there was something left over from
:10:12. > :10:16.hundreds of years of mining - thick deposits containing fine acting,
:10:16. > :10:24.too small to be recovered that the mind, and allowed to drain into
:10:24. > :10:30.rivers. Even there, the old miners' strike to recover it. By 1870s
:10:30. > :10:33.there were 4010 streaming France working the Red River including one
:10:33. > :10:39.right down year on the beach. And it was the material they missed
:10:39. > :10:44.that was washed out to see that the new company wants to recover.
:10:44. > :10:50.amounts have been brought to the surface and dressed, sometimes
:10:50. > :10:55.efficiently, sometimes inefficiently. Quite a lot of pin
:10:55. > :10:59.was lost down into the red river. The company says that there could
:10:59. > :11:04.be at least 100 jobs, and more for suppliers and contractors. They
:11:04. > :11:08.want to remove the sediment, remove that endearing Material then return
:11:08. > :11:13.the waste to the Connecticut war. They claimed it is not dredging.
:11:13. > :11:16.We're not going to just be scraping the top with a vacuum. We're going
:11:17. > :11:22.to be digging the depth of the deposit, so it is going to have a
:11:22. > :11:30.limited footprint over a period of time. It has much less
:11:30. > :11:34.environmental impact than had dredging operation. Sand is a vital
:11:34. > :11:38.for surfing. There is the regeneration of pollutants. When
:11:38. > :11:42.you disrupt sediment, pollutants into the environment again
:11:42. > :11:46.endangering water users and the environment again. Finally, we are
:11:46. > :11:52.talking about flora and fauna, the animals that live off the seabed
:11:52. > :11:58.and feed off it, can be impacted dramatically. By a public
:11:58. > :11:59.consultation and impact assessment will be done before the
:11:59. > :12:09.Government's money management organisation decides if the project
:12:09. > :12:11.
:12:11. > :12:14.can be licensed. -- marine �10 million of cuts in council
:12:14. > :12:17.services are being outlined by the Mayor of Torbay tonight. Critics
:12:17. > :12:20.say that, per head of population, the cuts will be among the highest
:12:20. > :12:23.in the south west. Gordon Oliver wants to freeze Council Tax bills.
:12:23. > :12:27.But as Hamish Marshall reports, some tourism services and pre-
:12:27. > :12:31.school education are among areas where savings will be made. On a
:12:31. > :12:35.sunny day you can see why the Torbay coastline is so popular with
:12:35. > :12:41.tourists. But, could how the council spends his budget hit the
:12:41. > :12:46.region's biggest industry? The Maja's plan to cut C6 staffing
:12:46. > :12:50.could make beaches less attractive to visitors. One of the effects of
:12:50. > :12:53.cutting staff at beaches could mean that we are no longer able to
:12:53. > :12:59.display blue flags which could have a knock-on effect on tourism
:12:59. > :13:03.business. We're having to cut budgets for the tourism company
:13:03. > :13:11.that could have knock-on effects on the number of visitors. That is the
:13:11. > :13:14.conundrum facing Torbay council. Gordon Oliver will outline how he's
:13:14. > :13:20.going to save �10 million, ironically, within a building that
:13:20. > :13:25.the council has already sold off. Parents at this nursery in Brixham
:13:25. > :13:34.could be at the sharp end of saving money. It is in line to close this
:13:34. > :13:39.summer, just six years after opening, because of falling numbers.
:13:39. > :13:43.It is going to be something that will not be possible, that is gone,
:13:43. > :13:48.getting this respite care. Parents are angry that the nursery has not
:13:48. > :13:52.been allowed to advertise for new youngsters. Parents might have to
:13:52. > :13:57.go outside Brixham for childcare. Other parents might consider having
:13:57. > :14:02.to give up work. It is a lovely community to live in and an
:14:02. > :14:08.important community, and I hope that the mere will see that, if it
:14:08. > :14:12.closes, you'll be closing Brixham to young working families. The man
:14:12. > :14:17.in charge of children's services told me that there are enough spare
:14:17. > :14:22.places to cope with most of the displaced youngsters, and that the
:14:22. > :14:25.chestnut nursery was losing too much money. That �80,000 could be
:14:26. > :14:29.used elsewhere for the most abominable children and that is
:14:29. > :14:34.where we have to make those difficult decisions outside the
:14:34. > :14:42.budget - could that money be spent in a better way? The mayor says
:14:42. > :14:47.that he does not believe people in Torbay can afford a rise in council
:14:47. > :14:50.tax, so the council will quick ham -- quite simply have to do less.
:14:50. > :14:53.Still to come on Spotlight tonight: a sports star of the future. The
:14:53. > :14:56.Devon teenager already on track to be a world class athlete. And meet
:14:56. > :15:03.the apprentices - we'll be following their fortunes as they
:15:03. > :15:07.start work at Pendennis Shipyard. Cornwall's out of hours GP service
:15:07. > :15:13.has been told action is needed to speed up the time in which calls
:15:13. > :15:15.are answered and urgent patients get a clinical assessment. In an
:15:15. > :15:18.otherwise good Care Quality Commission report, the SERCO-run
:15:18. > :15:27.service is considered not to be meeting the standard required for
:15:27. > :15:29.staffing levels in its call centre. The number of hate crimes recorded
:15:29. > :15:32.against transgender people in Devon and Cornwall has tripled over the
:15:32. > :15:36.last year. Police say there were nine incidents last year compared
:15:36. > :15:39.to three the year before and just one in 2010. Scott Bingham has more
:15:40. > :15:45.details. Emily Dodds set up a support group for Trans gender
:15:45. > :15:51.people in Cornwall in 2011. She says, having been the victim of
:15:51. > :15:56.abuse, she understands how difficult it can be. I was out, and
:15:57. > :16:02.I was assured to that and called names, and why was I acting in a
:16:02. > :16:07.particular way, when I was supposed to be a woman. Police say he trains
:16:07. > :16:15.come in many forms including criminal damage, verbal and social
:16:15. > :16:19.media abuse. The making too strong four in 2011, to 13, last year.
:16:19. > :16:29.Three people were charged and three people were sentence between 2010-
:16:29. > :16:34.2012. Devon and Cornwall police are starting to take the strain against
:16:34. > :16:39.crass gender people seriously. are in dialogue with the police at
:16:39. > :16:43.the general level and the independent advisory group level.
:16:43. > :16:49.We're trying to get involved in their training. We understand we
:16:49. > :16:53.are going to roll out to all the officers, more diversity training.
:16:54. > :16:57.A police spokesman said they take all incidents very seriously and
:16:57. > :17:02.are becoming more professional at dealing with these sorts of crimes.
:17:02. > :17:07.Emily says that the hope is that one day, Trans gender people will
:17:07. > :17:17.be treated the same as other minority groups. We have come out
:17:17. > :17:24.of the cupboard, and we're not prepared to stay quite any more! --
:17:24. > :17:27.quiet. A 14 year-old from Devon is hoping to follow in the footsteps
:17:27. > :17:29.of Olympic pentathlete Heather Fell. Teenager Kerenza Bryson from
:17:29. > :17:32.Plymouth won three national titles last year, and has just been
:17:32. > :17:40.accepted on the World Class Talent Programme. Spotlight's Janine
:17:40. > :17:44.Jansen has been to meet her. Remember this name. Kerenza Bryson.
:17:44. > :17:54.She was inspired by the Olympic silver medallist from Tavistock,
:17:54. > :17:57.
:17:57. > :18:02.Heather fell. -- Fell. She did a talk at the Dartmoor triathlon. And
:18:02. > :18:10.it really inspired me. She recently won a scholarship to Plymouth
:18:10. > :18:15.College. Her coach has high hopes. She has won the national triathlon
:18:15. > :18:19.and heptathlon and pentathlon for the age group. And we think that is
:18:19. > :18:25.the first time anybody has won all three in might the same year.
:18:25. > :18:30.has been put on the world-class talent programme. They phoned me up
:18:30. > :18:35.yesterday and said that I had got a letter, that I had not caught on,
:18:35. > :18:41.but she was just joking. So why was very happy. Running, riding,
:18:41. > :18:46.shooting, swimming and fencing. Why did she choose such it demanding
:18:46. > :18:50.sport? I have never been very strong in separate events. I really
:18:50. > :18:56.enjoyed how there are five different sports, and you have to
:18:56. > :19:03.work very hard to keep all of them up. Something that is going to keep
:19:03. > :19:07.the interest it. With up to 25 hours' training a week, there is no
:19:07. > :19:17.time for Oldham, and her next game, the European Championships, of
:19:17. > :19:18.
:19:18. > :19:22.course. -- for boredom. Apprenticeships for young people in
:19:22. > :19:24.the south west have undergone a renaissance in recent years. At
:19:25. > :19:28.Pendennis shipyard in Falmouth they've been running a scheme for
:19:28. > :19:31.15 years, and now a third of the workforce are former apprentices.
:19:31. > :19:33.In a series of reports on Spotlight we'll be following four of the
:19:33. > :19:43.youngsters from their first day to their eventual graduation. Greg
:19:43. > :19:45.
:19:45. > :19:50.Wade has been to meet them. I'll more of a hands-on type of person.
:19:50. > :20:00.It didn't want to have to pay to go to university. I am more into the
:20:00. > :20:01.
:20:01. > :20:05.electrical site. -- side. This morning was a bit boring. I
:20:05. > :20:09.struggled to find my way yeah. After that it has been brilliant.
:20:09. > :20:14.All the guys are a good laugh, and have been trying to play tricks on
:20:14. > :20:24.us. It is amazing to get given his first chance yet -- let alone to
:20:24. > :20:26.
:20:26. > :20:31.come into the whole apprenticeship. It is amazing. In the end, I'm
:20:31. > :20:34.getting paid for it. I feel as if I have become more successful than
:20:34. > :20:39.the apprenticeship then I would have done going to university. It
:20:39. > :20:45.is quite exciting, really. I am doing what I want to do for the
:20:45. > :20:50.next four years at least and hopefully, longer. It is a
:20:50. > :20:55.culmination of all their efforts at school. Many of them have been
:20:55. > :21:00.dreaming and thinking about this day for tour three years, so to be
:21:01. > :21:05.sitting here today ahead of the other one had ridden 40 applicants,
:21:05. > :21:11.I am sure they are building on top of the world. I find it really
:21:11. > :21:16.exciting. It is a little bit like Big Brother. Taking on these 10-15
:21:16. > :21:26.young people, lock them in a room for four years, and see what comes
:21:26. > :21:28.
:21:28. > :21:38.out at the end -, so it is very Basic cover the skills, welding and
:21:38. > :21:40.
:21:40. > :21:46.fabrication, Level 2 Engineering. - The teacher is like one of us,
:21:46. > :21:50.really, so it is a good laugh. There has been a decline in
:21:50. > :21:55.engineering apprenticeship programmes so we are building up
:21:55. > :22:00.that skill shortage and bringing in that young people is going to solve
:22:00. > :22:09.that skills gap and hopefully increase manufacturing in Cornwall.
:22:09. > :22:15.It is good to learn the skills. When I joined I was only 15. I got
:22:16. > :22:19.into the apprenticeships by about one week. We look very carefully at
:22:19. > :22:24.them for the first six months. And if we spot any problems developing,
:22:24. > :22:30.we might lose be no lack in that time. It might be someone who, we
:22:30. > :22:37.do not conform to what they want, or the other way around. It will be
:22:37. > :22:41.interesting to see how they get on and we will continue to follow the
:22:41. > :22:47.apprentices and find out how they got on in the first six months in
:22:47. > :22:51.the job. Time now for the weather forecast. You will not have to hold
:22:51. > :22:58.onto your hat quite as much as in the last couple of days. Winds are
:22:58. > :23:01.dropping. It is a slow, gradual process. The wind is becoming quite
:23:01. > :23:07.a overnight tonight. Having said that, there are still some showers
:23:07. > :23:13.dotted around. The strength of wind we have seen in the last 24 hours
:23:13. > :23:22.has been impressive, with 71 mph gusts of wind in Devon. Many
:23:22. > :23:26.coastal locations it seemed the Tonight, quite dry and chilly. That
:23:26. > :23:33.Arctic air is giving us quite a frost. That is already happening
:23:33. > :23:39.now. Some showers dotted around. This line of cloud is the next band
:23:39. > :23:43.of rain heading for us, possibly towards the end of tomorrow. We
:23:43. > :23:51.have a clear sky stretching from Spain through Brittany to the NEC.
:23:52. > :23:56.That will be fine, clear weather tonight. -- to the Irish Sea.
:23:56. > :24:04.Effectively for the rest of us, we have a ridge of high pressure. This
:24:04. > :24:08.system is a moving gradually across asked during the day tomorrow.
:24:08. > :24:14.Parts of Somerset and Dorset could see some sleet and snow. That is
:24:14. > :24:17.still be around on Friday as a weak teacher. On Saturday, we have a
:24:17. > :24:26.ridge of high pressure. And then this weather system will bring more
:24:26. > :24:31.wind and rain across us. Lots of clear sky now, with the exception
:24:31. > :24:37.of that stream of showers. For the rest of us, it is going to become
:24:37. > :24:44.frosty. Temperatures as low as minus and the like, perhaps as low
:24:44. > :24:50.as minus two. Mentors, continuing to drop. -- winds continuing to
:24:50. > :24:55.drop. By the term we get to tomorrow afternoon, this patchy
:24:55. > :25:00.rain will spread across the South West of England. On the leading-
:25:00. > :25:08.edge, perhaps some sleet or West's No with some snow possible over
:25:08. > :25:13.Dartmoor and Exmoor. -- wet snow. Winds later, so despite the rain,
:25:13. > :25:23.feeling a little bit warmer. After playing start in the Isles of
:25:23. > :25:34.
:25:34. > :25:40.Scilly, clouding over with patchy If you're heading for the beach
:25:40. > :25:50.there are rough seas and choppy conditions on the north coast. The
:25:50. > :25:50.
:25:50. > :25:56.Quite a mixture to come over the next five days. On Friday, expect
:25:56. > :26:01.to see a lot of cloud. Some brief glimpses of sunshine. And that week
:26:01. > :26:06.with a system giving us the rest of a few snow flurries in the wind.
:26:06. > :26:12.Saturday, dry and bright with some sunshine. All change again on
:26:12. > :26:18.Sunday as we see rain and high a temperatures. On Sunday, getting