05/08/2013 Spotlight

after heavy rain caused flash flooding in some parts of the

region. The torrential downpours left drains unable to cope. We will

report from some of the worst areas. I have never come across a downpour

like it in this country. We could see there was going to be an issue

but we couldn't keep it out. passengers are left stranded on a

train for five and a half hours. Travellers have criticised the lack

of information, food and water. felt like ripping my hair out. It

has been ridiculous. And relief for the sub postmistress found not

flooding right across the region with parts of North Devon

effectively cut off for a time and a hospital in Cornwall forced to

close. Two inches of rain fell in just 24 hours in places Businesses

and homes were left underwater and the minor injuries unit at Newquay

Hospital had to close to patients after two of its treatment rooms

were flooded. Many roads were turned into rivers with drains unable to

cope with the volume of water. With a round up of some of the worst

affected areas here's Spotlight's hour's torrential rain can cause

enough rain to flood a business and close it. I have never experienced

anything like it. We put a barrier up at the back door but however hard

we tried, it wasn't enough to keep it out. It was pouring in through

the drain that we share with our neighbours and into our stockroom.

It hopes to open tomorrow. The local pub had to clear up the swamped

seller. I went out and when I came back, the fire brigade were pumping

out the water. West Cornwall was also affected. Perranporth, red roof

and Helston had to be helped by the fire service. -- red roof. At

lunchtime, though heavy rain hits North Devon and eight properties in

Ilfracombe had to be pumped out, including a supermarket. We still

have the road closed so we can clear away the debris. That day Bream may

have rushed into the drains and we have flooding again. -- they brief.

There was a mopping up operation for some home owners. I heard a

trickling sound and wasn't sure what it was. I got out of bed and there

was water pouring through the door. Originally, I was confused. I didn't

know how the water was so high outside. The rain seems to have left

the south-west and no further A man is in police custody tonight

after an attempted armed robbery in Somerset. Witnesses say a man

wielding a machete tried to rob a branch of Lloyds Bank in the centre

of Taunton but he was disarmed by It happened after 12 noon. The bank

was crowded with customers when a man ran in shouting, "this is a

Raid!" The man ran in saying it was an armed robbery. He had a huge

machete and a man leapt on him and got into the ground but he was

getting up. Walked to help him and another big bloke than me held him

down. At that point, the police were called and no money was taken. One

of the customers told the BBC he didn't think about the dangers.

took him to the floor and restrained him and put him in a armlock and

restrained his legs and kept in there. He had a machete? --!We took

the machete of him. The man is being questioned in connection with the

incident. A damning report has criticised the

way up to three hundred vulnerable children in Somerset are cared for.

The inspection body Ofsted has said that child protection services are

inadequate. It raises serious concerns about the service, which is

run by the County Council, and has asked that every case in the last

services in Somerset were described as outstanding. Yet now the rating

has fallen from highest to lowest possible. Ofsted are demanding

immediate action to protect the most abominable. The Lib Dem opposition

spokesman on child protection in Somerset says the service is an

accident waiting to happen. It is more luck that we haven't had an

incident such as baby P. We have to protect the vulnerable and young

children in Somerset that are being clearly let down. The Ofsted report

pulls few punches. They say not enough was done to protect children

and stop the risk of harm remained present for too long and criticises

the way child protection cases were closed to quickly and has demanded

the council review all the cases. When you are dealing with the most

vulnerable children in society, reports like this is bound to raise

alarm bells. The council is plainly keen to make the point that that is

then and this is now that they have invested an extra �1.4 million in

the service and recruited another 25 social workers. They are already on

the road to improvement. Three months ago the council appointed a

new director of children's services, a man with a tough pedigree. Peter

Lewis was the man brought in by the government to sort out Haringey in

the wake of the baby P can -- baby P scandal. Today, he apologised on

behalf of his new employers. I want to take this opportunity to

apologise for the fact that this is what the report says about our

services. We know what we need to do to improve and we are getting on

with that. Ofsted speaks of good work being done at grassroots level

by social workers but points the finger of blame at management

failings. All eyes will be on this man now, to change things.

First Great Western has apologised and promised an independent inquiry

after leaving almost 500 passengers stranded on a train for five and a

half hours. The service from Penzance to Paddington developed a

fault near Pewsey yesterday afternoon. Passengers criticised the

lack of information and said the train was already overcrowded and

Western briefs passengers left stranded for hours after a fractured

vacuum pipe caused the brakes to lock. Elaine Murphy's two children

were on-board alone. The first I knew was that they hadn't arrived

and had no information. They were starving, they had had no water and

it was chaos. The First Great Western train left Penzance at 11am

and the pipe fractured leaving the train at Stansted -- stand still for

five and half hours. It was due at London Paddington at 16:34pm but

eventually arrived at 22:15pm. It talked to and half hours for an

engineer to arrive. In the end, the rear power car had to be left on the

line. First Great Western has defended its decision not to put

people on to another train. We had a train that was in a remote part of

culture. We were able to move the train in the end and I think that

was a better option than taking over 500 people down a railway track

which was a long way from any road access. During the long wait, some

of the passengers tweeted about soil -- toilet is not working and a lack

of food, water and information. railways are run tightly these days

and there is no margin for looking after things when they go wrong. It

is a mistake. People may not have thought ahead as to what the

long-term costs to the company would be. Eventually, a cheer goes up as

the train restarts the passengers finally arriving in Paddington were

furious. It really was a complete cock up. Nothing seemed to work. The

toilets were all bunged up practically before we left Cornwall.

There were 20 or 30 people in each carriage that couldn't sit down.

They included children and elderly people. First Great Western has

apologised and has promised a refund, a new ticket and to pay any

additional expenses. It has asked for an independent enquiry into what

went wrong. A sub-post mistress from Cornwall

has been found not guilty of false accounting after the prosecution

offered no evidence. 58-year-old Susan Knight, who ran the Post

Office in St Keverne, believes accounting errors were caused by

problems associated with the Post Offices computer system. The Post

Office says its system works Office for more than 32 years. She

was mortified when it decided to prosecute her over losses at the

Saint Kevin 's post office which she won -- ran. Today, the course was

dropped. They told the court that looking on the merits of this

individual case alone, prosecution was not in the public interest. No

evidence was offered and the judge found her not guilty. I wish the

post office had believed this more and trusted as more. We had been

employed for so long. She is one of more than 100 soap -- sub postmaster

is that say they have found themselves in court because their

contract makes them responsible for any losses. They believe problems

associated with the post Office computer system has led to the

accounting errors. Susan Knight has used all her life savings and

borrowed another �20,000 to pay back the alleged losses. She says she

will take action to get the money back but what she really wants is

her old job back. Honesty, that is all I ever wanted. You will be back

at the post office in Saint Kevin? The post office has a review says

the Horizon computer system works effectively but it does admit they

are training and support issues. It says it is working with the Justice

for some pastors -- sub Masters Alliance and MPs that have raised

concerns. Coming up: Find out what the weather has in store for the

next few days. Plus how did your team start the season? We'll review

the weekend's football action And prepared for anything - comedian

David Walliams joins a scouting jamboree in Cornwall The funeral of

a young mother from Paignton and her two sons took place this afternoon.

Katherine Hooper and her son Joshua died after falling from rocks on

found a short while later at the family home. As Chloe Axford

reports, the family's neighbours are in the process of creating a

afternoon when the funeral cortege of Catherine Hooper and her two

young sons, Joshua, five, and Samuel, two, arrived at the

crematorium. The two brothers sharing a single coffin. The funeral

which followed was a chance for the family to pay their last respects

privately to Samuel, Catherine and Joshua. It was in July that

Catherine and Joshua fell nearly 100 feet to their deaths on Dartmoor.

Shortly afterwards, Samuel's body was found at the home in Paignton. A

murder investigation into Samuel's death is underway but police say

they are looking for anyone else in connection with the deaths. There

will be a blossom tree in the middle of the garden surrounded by

lavender. Their neighbour said she still come to terms with what

happened. I still can't take it in. It is unbelievable. It was totally

out of the blue. Jeanette has now decided to turn a patch of waste

ground into a memorial garden for the family. I wanted them to be

remembered. I don't think they should ever be forgotten because of

the people that they were and the children that they were. Basically,

just a tribute to them. That will always be there and it would be

dissident -- destroyed. Jeanette says this is a close-knit community

and many of the neighbours are still in shock over what happened. She

said when she approached them about a memorial garden, they were all

keen to help. Plants and shrubs have been donated by local residents and

businesses. It is expected to include a plaque as a permanent

reminder of a much loved young family.

Police in Torbay are continuing to question a 37-year-old man on

suspicion of murder following a collision in which a teenage

motorcyclist died. The crash happened on Kings Ash Road in

Paignton in the early hours of yesterday. The motorcyclist was

riding with two other bikers at the time.

An investigation is underway after a number of trees in Bovey Tracey's

Mill Marsh park were vandalised over the weekend. The police are

appealing for information after half a dozen young trees were pulled up

or chopped down. It's thought to have happened between ten o'clock

and midnight on Saturday. Locals say it's not the first time it's

happened. Scientists are warning one of the

UK's rarest mammals, the grey long-eared bat, is in danger of

disappearing from the UK completely. The largest colony in the UK is in

Devon. Victoria Gill visited a bat roost at a secret location in the

county in the search for this changed and these bats are squeezed

into a few colonies in the south of England. They are extremely

particularly about where they make their homes. The big tall roof

spaces of old manor houses like this one make the ideal roosting site for

grey long eared bats. They are the only structure in the UK where these

bats can be used. I have come here to see if I can spot some of these

very rare flying mammals. The guide now that Safari has studied the

species for the last five years. population is estimated at 1000

individuals. The population is declining and has declined in the

past 100 years. Also there are very few roosts. There are not many

colonies of this bat. For a chance of spotting bats, we have to wait

for darkness. One over there.There were other species here also and it

is hard to tell them apart. We count 15 bats emerging. Bats and their

roosts are protected under UK law but the scientists are calling on

land owners, local authorities and the environmental adviser, Natural

England, to protect the meadows and marshland. This, they say, is the

only way to ensure these little winged mammals don't disappear from

the country completely. Time for the sport and Dave has all

the news from the first weekend of the new football season. What a

start for Yeovil. It was a terrific start for Gary

Johnson's Yeovil Town. Newly-promoted to the Championship,

they carried on from where they left off last season with a late win at

Millwall. Goalkeeper Marek Stech did his bit for the Glovers and was

hoping his team-mates would follow his example at the other end of the

pitch. They duly obliged when Ed Upson found the winner two minutes

from the end to give the Somerset greens a wonderful opening day win.

The three Devon teams could muster only one win between them. That came

at St James' Park where Exeter City beat Bristol Rovers. Well, former

Torquay United captain and now first-team coach at Bournemouth,

Chris Hargreaves, joined me a little earlier to reflect on day one in

League Two. A hat-trick of different results. Some better than others.

Let us go to the best one and Exeter city against Bristol Rovers. A good

corner there and that is what you want your captain to do. A great

header. They showed some resilience, especially when the

equaliser goes in. You worry on the first day of the season that they

got going a little bit. It wasn't a fluid performance but a great cross

here. Sam is a really good addition to the squad. Plymouth Argyle went

down at another promotion team, South end. How disappointed will

John Sheridan B with that? Very. No positives to take. It is a shame

they didn't score more goals. These highlights showed the best player

was the keeper, which is not a great sign on the first day of the season.

In saying that, what a brilliant place to go tomorrow, Saint Andrews.

Finally, Torquay United had a draw with Wimbledon and both goals coming

in the last two minutes. Often the goals go in late. When this goes in

at the 88th minute, you are fearful of an opening-day loss. A long

throw, set piece and a brilliant delivery. Great delivery. A great

header. The team salvage a point. Nice to see you and well done on

your first day when. Thanks a lot. There was to be no double gold for

Plymouth College student Ruta Meilutye in the World Swimming

Championships in Barcelona. After clocking another world record in the

semi-finals of the 50m breaststroke, the 16-year-old Lithuanian couldn't

re-produce her form in the final last night. Russia's Yuliya Efimova

pipped her to the gold by seven hundredths of a second. I wouldn't

say I am not happy. I am happy with what I have. Silver is a bit

disappointed. -- disappointing. I am really happy for her, it is good.

In cricket, Somerset rescued a draw from their County Championship match

against Nottinghamshire at Taunton. They were forced to follow on, but

avoided defeat as they closed on 141 for two in their second innings.

Nick Compton was 70 not out. Somerset are still perilously close

to the relegation places in Division One.

Finally from me, it's the first round of the League Cup tomorrow

night. BBC Somerset and BBC Radio Devon will be across all the ties.

The pick of them is Exeter City trying to upset Harry Redknapp's

Queens Park Rangers. Should be a good one.

The first international scouting jamboree to take place in Cornwall

for 16 years ended with a celebrity send off.

Chief scout Bear Grylls flew in by helicopter along with the children's

writer and comic actor David Walliams to meet some of the 15,000

scouts who gathered in the grounds Cornwall for years deserved a

big-name sendoff. Cue the Chief Scout, Bear Grylls and celebrity

author, David Walliams. I think we are going on a zip wire. They were

knots, saw how Scouts have a head for raising money for charity and

did a lot of meeting and greeting. The purpose of their 45 minutes

whistle-stop tour is to inspire youngsters. It was an amazing

experience and incredible to see the head of Scouts and an iconic

character. It brings back great memories for me when I was a

cupboard Scout. It is a great time at school when you haven't got

exams. -- club and a Scout. You have really good fun together. His visit

with the Chief Scout was a chance to say thanks to the 200 volunteers.

After all, people rely on people like Debbie. A year ago she helped

start the Boscastle buzzards, which has 18 Scouts and she wants others

to help out. The kids are missing out otherwise. We have kids here who

have had a fantastic week. If we hadn't been here, there would have

been nobody else to run the troop. The waiting list nationally is

almost 30,000. More parents getting involved, the more kids can be taken

off the waiting list. Come and sign up, especially if you are free.

more, the merrier. B strep -- these Scouts can go from strength to

headlines today with some horrendous downpours in places. Hopefully most

because the web has been atrocious for the past couple of days. Don't

head home because the sunshine is back out and it looks as if this

week, we remain largely dry. Perhaps it is a little fresher in terms of

the feel of the weather but some dry weather to enjoy. It has been awful

with some torrential rain. The heavy rain has moved out of the way and

apart from the few showers across Cornwall, it is dry. The amount of

rain we have had is pretty unusual. In the last 24 hours, we have had 50

millimetres of rain, two inches of rain in the space of a day. That is

the reason we have had such problems with flash flooding. The main area

of low pressure as the driving force of those heavy downpours is moving

away. This high-pressure moves up across as over the next 24 hours and

it is quite breezy this evening. A much quieter day tomorrow with some

sunny spells and light winds. More importantly, it is a dry day

tomorrow for most of us. This area of low pressure looks threatening

but I don't think it will come towards us. It will move into France

through the day on Wednesday. A lot of dry weather to be had for the

rest of this week. Unusually, it will turn quite chilly with

overnight temperatures down to nine Celsius in the countryside. A breezy

start to the night. Tomorrow is a quieter day. There is a small chance

of one or two light showers but they will be light and fleeting. For most

of us, sunny spells and quite a lot of clout at times. Temperatures

getting back to 22 Celsius. For the Isles of Scilly, it should be a dry

there is the chance of an isolated shower on Wednesday and Thursday.

Friday, there is some more persistent rain arriving late in the

day. Nearly six months ago, Axminster Carpets called in the

administrators. Hundreds of jobs were under threat before a deal was

done to save the firm but not everyone was lucky enough to be