30/10/2013 Spotlight

That is all from the BBC's news at six, so it is goodbye from me,

A court martial hears evidence from one of the Royal Marines based in

Plymouth accused of murdering an Afghan prisoner. Good evening.

Welcome to Spotlight. The servicemen blamed "a stupid lack of

self`control and lapse in judgment". He insisted he was already dead at

the time. All three deny the charges. We'll have the latest from

our correspondent at the hearing in a moment.

Also tonight, farmers in the region save more than ?50 million thanks to

a new initiative to cut disease in cattle.

And helping with the harvest ` the volunteers who answered an SOS from

this Devon vineyard. A Plymouth`based Royal Marine, one

of three accused of killing an injured Afghan insurgent, has

insisted the man was already dead when he fired at him. The marine has

blamed "a stupid lack of self`control and lapse in judgment."

The alleged incident took place in a field in Afghanistan two years ago.

The three men, from Plymouth`based 42 Commando, all deny murder. Once

again the court was shown in this harrowing video taken by the helmet

camera off one of the Marines charged with murder. It shows the

final moments of Afghan already injured by an Apache helicopter. It

shows him being `` bleeding. We see the Afghan being dragged to the tree

line. Marine A said the Afghan war strapped to the tree line to safely

administer first aid, not to hide from the Turks `` from the

helicopter hovering overhead. We then see a shot being fired by a

pistol which was held by Marine A into the body of the Afghan. Marine

A was asked in his evidence why he fired that shot into the body of the

Afghan. He replied, it was stupid, a lack of self`control. He was then

asked where his next words were, there you are. Shuffle off this

mortal coil. He said it was bravado. He then said, this doesn't

go anywhere. I've just broken the Geneva Convention. Asked where he

said that he said, he thought he was breaking the rules of war possibly

shooting a dead person. Marine A has admitted the treatment of this

individual Afghan was heavy`handed. He has also admitted that was too

believes the Afghan was dead when he fired, he acknowledged the

possibility that he might have still been alive. That is certainly what a

pathologist told the court yesterday. These three Marines, who

are charged with murder, all deny the charges.

The Government has denied claims by an influential group of MPs that

it's not doing enough to deliver services in the countryside. The

highly critical report came from the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Select Committee earlier this year. Our Political Editor, Martyn Oates,

joins me now from Westminster. What are the Government and the committee

disagreeing over? The original report looked at almost every aspect

of services in the countryside. Schools, transport, fuel, broadband.

One headline issue we have heard a lot about this autumn though is the

claim made by most of our MPs, most of our councils in the south`west

that rural services as delivered by local authorities are grossly and

brushed `` grossly underfunded by the government. They claim urban

authorities receive an average of 50% more per head of funding than

those in the countryside. The government have responded saying it

does not accept that case at all. I put that to the MP for Tiverton and

Hammerton. We have been sending petitions, for a rule fair share,

expecting 50 MPs to stand up tomorrow evening to make sure that

they present those petitions. This is all good stuff. It brings home to

the government that there is real concern out there about the lack of

support from members of Parliament to what has been referred to as the

rule Yeomanry. At long list of concern to go this at the start, you

mentioned housing? Specifically the committee asked the government to

make it less attractive to people to buy second homes. It makes the

affordable housing crisis worst in the south`west and it is not

beneficial to the local economy. A new initiative to cut the amount

of disease in cattle in the region is set to save farmers more than ?50

million. The three year Healthy Livestock Project offered training

and advice to around 9,000 farmers across the South West. Spotlight's

Anna Varle has the story. And as found in seven for more than a

century. Now Anthony is making savings thanks to this initiative.

And disease out is so important. We are looking for our animals to grow

fast, reproduce regularly and well and produce milk. Anthony is just

one of many producers who are benefiting. The healthy livestock

project has reached thousands of livestock growers across the area

over the last couple of years. It wants to tackle common cattle

diseases. We are suggesting, our estimates show, that over the three

years, we are achieving about ?15 million a year in benefits, three

times the investment. Diseases in cattle cost the south`west at

Hundred million pounds a year in costs. The been giving farmers ``

vets have been giving farmers advice on how to tackle severe diseases.

Once certain diseases become established, it is really difficult

to control. The process of studying diseases by getting a stranglehold

on cattle has been hugely important and very popular amongst farmers.

The project has been such a success it is hoped it will be rolled out

nationwide. The BBC has learned that Cornwall

Council spends almost ?4 million a year transporting children to school

in taxis. The Council says the bill is big because of the county's rural

nature. However, they say they are reviewing the system to see if there

are better and cheaper ways of providing transport. Eleanor

Parkinson reports. His children live 50 miles from their school. They are

taken to school by taxi every day and it is a complicated journey. I

wake up at 6:30am, have to leave the house at 7:30am to walk to the bus

stop to get the taxi. We then get a taxi to a ferry, getting there at

8:10am. I have to get that across the river, then either walk up and

get the school minibus `` minibus up if it is there. And what if the

ferry is not running? If it is not too bad, they put on a really small

boats that they can take a cross but only a few people at the time.

People listening to this issue might think, goodness gracious, why can't

the mother drive the children to school instead of a taxi? I would if

I could but then I would have to give up right job. I cannot do the

work that I do and drop them at school. The council has an

obligation to transport a charter school if they live a certain

distance from the school. Now it has been revealed that the council pay

out ?3.9 million to transport children to school in a taxi. Each

child costs the council about ?3000 a year. If you enable rural area, we

will not send a bus to you. The cheapest thing is to send a taxi. We

try to cluster as many people together as possible in one taxi.

The council says it is reviewing the system and alternatives could be

paying parents and carers mileage to drive children to school and using

minibuses. For the past couple of months, a

survey of the very foundations of the South West has been taking

place. New technology has been employed to provide the most

accurate picture of what's happening on and below ground. Earlier, Dr

Andy Howard from the British Geological Survey, who's leading the

study, told me about the initial findings and what they could mean.

The last time we did a survey like this was about 50 years ago. When

that survey looked at the granites in Devon and Cornwall, you could

print out one kind of `` you couldn't tell one kind of granite

from another. In this survey we are already seeing interesting things

that represent the mineral content in the granite, which is very

interesting for mineral companies who are interested in new sources of

certain minerals. They may also show us areas within the granite that are

hotter than other areas. The company is potentially interested in that

those looking at geothermal energy in the future. So what we are

discovering effectively are intimations that could even lead to

jobs boost? And you can tell a lot about the state of the region as

well? Yes, the highly accurate maps that we're making of the landscape,

that is giving us new information that the accuracy of a few

centimetres of the altitude, the level of the landscape and also the

height of the treetops. We can use that for a range of applications. It

can tell us where we might expect flooding, what might happen in

extreme weather events in Devon and Cornwall. It can tell is where

rainstorms might lead to landslides. Briefly, I know the

survey has been hampered slightly by the weather that we have had. It

would then out or do you still have a little bit more to do? We still

have a bit more to do. The airborne blow out achieved survey, that is

about 70% completed. We have a significant part of Dublin yet to

do, looking at Dartmoor and Exmoor. We have had the most problems with

the weather there. We expect to be finished in the next few weeks. Good

luck with the end of the project. Thank you for joining us.

You're watching Spotlight from the BBC with Rebecca Wills and Simon

Clemison. If you've just joined us, welcome to the programnme. Still

ahead. The wheels of the economy are spinning on Dartmoor as cyclists

take to a major new trail. Added to this at Agatha Christie's home on

the banks of the River Dart as we look at a very special murder

mystery. A South West tourism business is

investing ?1.3 million in new attractions next year. Crealy is

spending a million on five new rides and an indoor play area at its site

near Exeter and a further 300,000 on three new rides at its park near

Wadebridge in Cornwall. The company says it follows a great summer and

is its biggest ever investment. It is our 25th anniversary next year

and our business is one of continuing investment. If you are

not moving forward you are standing still and we need to refresh our

product and continue to enhance our visitors day out.

Now, you may remember last night we left our reporter Chris Lyddon on

the new Dartmoor cycle trail dreaming of a glass of wine in

France. While the cycle routes do link up with the continent, we've

kept him on Devon's sobering upland. With interest in cycling booming,

tonight Chris examines the business that's booming along with it. Who is

the second of his special reports. `` he is the second. Lunchtime at

this cafe in Princetown. It is a mecca at weekends for cyclists is

using the new Dartmoor way cycle route. Business in door and it is

they the Miller story outdoors. We have four banks in each room. Dave

runs the cafe and has now branched out into cycle hire and camping. It

has gone really well. Really popular, not just with the British.

The Dutch as well who find it a bit different to at home estimation Mark

did out of my way has just been completed, covering 95 miles against

`` across all sorts of terrain. It is great for people who want to get

out for the first time, for experienced cyclist and for the

local communities as well. It brings a lot of people to the area to ride

their bikes. The finished wheat means Catherine business will

continue to grow. Most of all, it means she can continue to work in

the county where she was brought up doing a job in an area she loves. We

have an amazing viaduct in one direction and beautiful scenes in

another area. Devon county council will be finishing off a missing

section that will make it totally traffic free very soon. Enables this

is trying to make sure that cyclists spend as much time as possible in

the saddle. For sure, the new cycleway has given him a way of

finding a live`in in a county where his wife is the main breadwinner.

The first month was mostly lots of being at home and sorting out

paperwork but now this last month I have been so busy that the paperwork

has not even been done. This keen cyclist has also put her money where

her heart is. She has used redundancy money to invest in a

fleet of electric cycles. This is as much about entering the beauty of

Dartmoor as it is about exercise. In Bluebell season you can smell the

bluebells and it is a wonderful way of experiencing Matt and I want to

make it accessible to more people, so it is not just the would`be

Bradlee wicking who are out there. Whether two wheels are your passion

and not, the cycle route looks to revolutionise life for many people

on the route for many years to come. This year's BBC Children in Need

appeal is well underway and this morning, Pudsey was taking part in a

new challenge called "Pedal for Pudsey." The sofa company DFS is

aiming to raise ?1 million through its Extreme Sofa Challenge Series.

Pudsey will cycle more than 400 miles around the UK on a sofa

mounted rickshaw and today he stopped off at Plymouth Hoe.

We've already talked about a nice glass of wine tonight but a group of

people in East Devon deserve one perhaps more than most. In fact,

some of the bottles which will hit the shelves next summer will all be

thanks to them. Dozens of volunteers answered an SOS to help gather in

the grape harvest at the Pebblebed vineyard. As Hamish Marshall

reports, owners were worried they'd lose some of their bumper crop in

the storm. Contaminated early to help produce the wine of tomorrow.

This vineyard is hoping to bottle double its previous record this

year, securely good after April 2012 crop. But it would not have happened

without an army of helpers to bring in the crops. It will be a nice

day. Come out and enjoy it and I have never done it before, so I

thought why not. Daphne teaches German but has given up some of her

half term to help out after coming here on a tour. It is nice to know

that I have been at the other end of the chain now as well, picking the

grapes. It has been a bumper year for grapes. The vineyard escaped the

worst of the storm and there are still seven tonnes of grapes to go.

This keeps me fit. It works very well. It looks like we built the

face `` it looks like we will be picking tomorrow as well. Flora Hart

and her brother are too young to get any immediate benefit from a glass

of wine but they have been mucking in as well. You have to get scissors

and cut the bit soft. You can only get the good ones, not the bad ones.

It is very sticky. Very sticky. And it gets allover your hands. But

despite a late start due to the cold Spring, 2013 has been very good for

the great growing business. We have had some of the best conditions

across northern Europe for great growing this year. For once,

possibly, hopefully with more in the future, Devon is a really good place

to grow grapes and to make wine. To handcuff the two`day's reward but as

the grapes had off to the binary, `` winery, dreams of the wine can sit

alive. Fans of Hercule Poirot here in the

South West may just recognise some of the backdrop as the famous sleuth

tries to solve his latest crime in this evening's programme. The

adaptation of Dead Man's Folly was shot at Agatha Christie's holiday

home near Dartmouth. Spotlight's Andy Breare has been taking a look

at tonight's episode but don't worry ` he knows that only Poirot can

reveal whodunnit. He may be the star of the star of Pharoah but tonight

he will be sharing the limelight with the beautiful Devon home that

inspired the name of the book and is the setting for this evening's

drama. I feel certain that someone is going to die. The crew were

great. They fitted into life here almost seamlessly. It was great.

When Hercule Poirot is fully dressed up, he remains in character all day,

so you may bump into him and interact with him but he will not

speak to you as himself, only as the character. Devonshire is a county

most pleasant, isn't it? It is when it isn't raining but there are no

nightclubs. Although Agatha Christie never wrote here, she always had a

completed novel when she came on home hair and she would read

extracts to her guests here in the drawing room. Tonight, the

characters that she created will come alive in this iconic setting.

The film crew and all`star cast spent the week in June at the

National trust property. Surprisingly, it remained open to

visitors during the filming. They were really good, especially when we

had to alter this to read steelworker at the filming. They

were absolutely brilliant and he had everybody pressed up against

Windows, watching as all these characters came alive, wandering

around the grounds. It was brilliant. They were absolutely

fantastic. While this may be his final series as Hercule Poirot, the

levels will continue to be appreciated by readers old and new

and this home will continue to be appreciated by millions from around

the world. Time for the weather now. I think the butler did it. Don't

give it away! We have got some typical autumnal

weather. A reasonable start to the day tomorrow, but clouding up with

plenty of showers to end the day. This weather is giving us rain at

the moment, and drifting eastwards overnight. You can see great big

lumps of cloud heading our way from the Atlantic. Any diners will be

short lived. `` any dryness will be short lived. This area of low

pressure is moving in quite fast, bringing quite wet weather, heavy

rain, as we head into Friday. The afternoon looks particularly wet. As

we move into the weekend, it becomes windy again. That line of cloud

which is coming through this evening is moving steadily. Whilst we see

some rain now, it will Peter out towards the early hours of the

morning. We have enough clear skies to allow early mist and fog to ``

fog patches to form. A truly start to the day therefore. For most of it

will be dry and the mist will shift, but it will gradually cried over ``

cloud over and by the afternoon there will be rained pretty much

everywhere. Light to start with, the breeze increasing as the afternoon

goes on, coming quite strong by the evening. Quite well and tomorrow

though, despite all that cloud. For the Isles of Scilly, briefly bright

in the morning but the cloud will roll in along with the rain.

Becoming quite wet through the afternoon. High water times.

It will be quite messy for our servers, particularly in the

afternoon. The waves though. The visibility will fall to moderate

in the showers. I thought I would take you into the weekend, because

we are watching and other area of low pressure. It is quite a deep low

which will mean the weekend is windy on both days, but we are a bit

concerned about the strength of the wind, particularly overnight on

Saturday. It could be quite lively with gusts of 60 or 70 mph. Gales

again possible through this weekend. Plenty of rain on there has

well. Write a wet forecast. The rain on Friday could be quite intense so

we do have a warning about that from the Met office. As we move into the

weekend, plenty of showers around and slightly colder air heading our

way. Through Saturday and Sunday and certainly do the early part of next

week, watch the winds go from West to north`westerly with a drop in

temperatures. Make most of any or dry weather. Have a good evening.

That is it from us this evening. There will be hourly updates on your

BBC local radio station but from all of us here, have a good night.

Goodbye. Everyday normal things that everybody

does is where I use my energy. I haven't got an extravagant

lifestyle, I've not got a hot tub outside or

something like that. In essence, it is

a choice between heating or eating. We will still eat

and we will still have heating It's just maybe the quality

of the food that we eat may not be as good as what we're

eating at the moment.