14/01/2014 Spotlight

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A bumpy ride with a repair bill which is proving just as

uncomfortable ` the cost of mending the region's roads is revealed. Good

evening. Welcome to Spotlight. More than ?1 billion is needed to improve

the state of local routes around the South West. As bad weather makes

matters worse, we'll look at who foots the bill.

Unless there is a massive investment from outside of the danger will

increase. Also tonight... The latest in the row of building

new homes ` why nearly 50,000 houses could be built in Cornwall.

And never give up ` how decades of searching finally paid off for a

Devon man searching for a lost link with his father.

Local councils in the South West have told BBC Spotlight they have a

backlog of road maintenance work which now totals more than ?1

billion. Cornwall is facing a repair bill of 200 million. In Devon, which

has the country's biggest road network, more than ?750 million

needs to be spent. While, in Plymouth the cost of getting the

city's roads back up to scratch is estimated to be more than ?70

million In Torbay it's nearly 40 million. Local authorities say

funding from central government has fallen short for years, but the

Department for Transport says it is investing in our highways. Kirk

England reports. Taking it slowly. People in the

village of Upton Pyne are used to dodging holes in the road.

The potholes here are just a menace and nuisance. They are here 24`7, 52

weeks of the year. There is just no maintenance

whatsoever. You need a 4x4 to drive through a lot of it. The repair bill

to get the region's local roads in good order is now estimated at over

?1 billion. They have a lot of routes to look

after, but they are neglecting a lot of the byroads now.

Authorities in Devon, which has the biggest road network of any county

in the country, claim government funding is short of what they need.

The County Council says to keep the roads in the condition they are in

now costs ?64 million a year. Their government grant is ?35 million.

I believe the condition of the roads has deteriorated. I believe that

people see them getting worse. They clearly want that to be rectified

and there is no hope it is going to be. Unless there is a massive

investment from our side, the safety factor on our roads will get worse,

the danger will increase. In Dorset, every highways team is

out on the road. Local authorities argue they are doing all they can

with the money they have repairing footpaths, road signs and cats'

eyes, rebuilding collapsed roads and bridges and filling in potholes. The

damage to Cornwall's roads so far this winter will cost ?2 million to

fix. And the money needed to tackle the maintenance backlog across the

region is growing. It is a consequence of the funding,

a consequence of the age of the network, the deteriorating network,

it is a consequence of the amount of traffic on the network. I would not

say it is our fault, it is our job to try and fix it. That is what we

are here to do. The situation is so bad in places there are fears some

roads may need to be closed. The Department for Transport says it

has given local councils nationally ?3.4 billion to help pay for local

road maintenance up to 2015. In Devon, an extra 14 million has been

given to help fill in the potholes. Hundreds of people living in

Somerset remain cut off by flood water tonight, a situation which may

go on for several more weeks. The Environment Agency has admitted that

flooding on the Levels is the worst it's ever seen. It's bringing in

extra resources to cope with the huge amount of standing water. Our

Somerset Correspondent, Clinton Rogers, reports from a county still

struggling to go about its daily business.

They are pumping water off the more at the rate of seven times a second.

The Environment Agency is now hiring 62 extra pumps to speed things up.

But there is a lot of water still to shift. 65 square kilometres of land

still under water. These aerial photos sent to us by a Spotlight

viewer really show the scale of the flooding. Everyone now accepts it

has never been this bad. All of which means normal life is on hold

for people like Bryony. The floodwaters have crept to the bottom

of her garden in the village of Moreland, and this road out of the

village has been under water for ten days. Which means that a five mile

journey to the village school now needs a 38 mile detour. School

journeys, going to work, people wanting to go to work and they

cannot get there ` everything is affected and it is just becoming

just a nightmare. But if it is hard for parents, try

running a haulage business here when the main road linking Taunton to

Glastonbury can only be navigated by a tractor.

It will be like this, probably, for two weeks.

We estimated it cost something in the region of 10,000 a month last

year extra in fuel, just to get down into Devon and Cornwall from here.

Amid increasingly bitter recriminations about who or what is

to blame, weather watchers like Somerset's Simon say the last month

has been the wettest spell for 50 years.

I cannot find a spell of weather that compares to this for the amount

of rain in a sustained wet spell. His figures show that in the month

from December 12th we only had one day without rain. In total there has

been 280 millimetres ` 11 inches. And on two days there were

torrential downpours ` the floods soon followed. Those in the middle

of it all still say neglect of the water courses, not nature, is to

blame. Their web campaign now has 800 supporters come all demanding

action to stop this happening again. Cornwall Council today voted for

controversial plans to build nearly 50,000 houses in the county over the

next 20 years, rejecting opposition demands for the number to be cut to

just over 30,000. The decision follows unhappiness from councils

across the region that the government is forcing them to build

more homes than they want. Our Political Editor, Martyn Oates,

joins us now live from Westminster. So, disappointment for the

Conservative opposition on the council?

Yes, the Conservatives on the council insist that Cornwall does

not need more than 47,000 new homes and that the figures predicting

population growth from the office of National to Citic 's which are

driving these figures are simply wrong. `` the Office for National

Statistics. I am not alone. There are Conservative councillors

and MPs saying enough is enough. Why is it that we should cope with

an influx that is endless? It is actually a self`fulfilling

prophecy. If you build 100,000 houses in a nice area in the

country, they will fill, that is what we have been doing, and it is

about time it is about time it slowed to a stop.

The governing Cabinet on the council says that to some extent its hands

are tied and it needs to be realistic to propose a figure which

is high enough to be accepted by the governments planning expect. ``

government's planning inspector. It feels this figure is unlikely to

pass that test. I think based on the experience of other local

authorities this was the best way to get a plan adopted and was the best

way to stop delay. I think DeLay is something I really

fear and getting a rejection could delay this by 18 months to two

years. That does nothing to protect our communities. But it is not new

for the government to have the final say on housing numbers, is it?

It is not, but this coalition government has had a big fuss saying

that Labour told people what to do from Whitehall and it would do it

differently, freeing people to make decisions themselves. Now,

increasingly angry Lib Dem MPs and councillors are saying to the

government, you talked about making decisions locally but in practice

you are making decisions for us and telling us to build more houses than

we want or need. An elderly couple from Cornwall are

recovering after suffering from carbon monoxide poisoning Cornwall

Fire and Rescue Service say it's the fourth incident this week. At their

home in Lanivet. ??NEWINE Last week a family needed treatment at

Lantegloss near Fowey. ?On Sunday fire crews were called to Morwenstow

and St Newlyn East near Truro after Carbon Monoxide alarms sounded.

The incident in Lanivet took place in the early hours of this morning.

David George has more and is at St Austell Fire station tonight.

Yes, Claire, Cornwall Fire and Rescue service say that in each of

these incidents it was a wood`burning stove that was involved

and it is perhaps the cold snap that has caused people to like those

without having them properly maintained and cleaned. Over here,

Mark Pradhan is in charge of preventing these carbon monoxide

incidents for Cornwall. Two of these were quite unusual. One of them was

in the house next door. Yes, crews responded to an incident and

non`investigation realised that the alarm was actuating in the property

next door and this was a migration of carbon monoxide from the

neighbouring property from a defective wood burner.

Straight through the wall. Last night's incident did not

involve an appliance but dealing with the `.

Explain that. Crews attended and on further investigation, using a

carbon monoxide monitor and thermal imaging camera, crews identified a

bucket of ash. This had been taken from the

wood`burning stove and was expected to diet within the bucket and be

removed in the morning. `` die out within the bucket. All of

those properties were fitted with a carbon monoxide detector, like this.

What is your main safety message? The most important message is to

make sure your appliances are serviced and well maintained.

The second defence is to have a working carbon monoxide detector and

tested regularly. It could be that more than a dozen lives have been

saved in the last eight days by one of these.

Thank you, David. Dozens of villagers in Devon took on

the local authority over a boat house they wanted to keep for the

community. They have had some success. Teignbridge council has

agreed to look at the proposals. This regatta association has held

many events trying to raise money to buy the ferry boat house in the

village. They bid more than ?100,000, but it

was a bid for twice that amount from a private unnamed individual that it

is the balance. The association believes the council should have put

local people first, not money. The community asset side of it and what

the community wants should override that.

In the budget of Teignbridge, ?100,000 is not that much, but what

it would mean to the villages are worth a lot more.

Local protesters have called on the council to look at this again,

believing this was not in the spirit of localism, something the

Conservative Party supports. The community has worked hard to raise

the money and pit this bid together and it seems the community right to

bid legislation has rather let the community down, as we felt our bid

was a very creditable bed. Today, supporters of the bid turned

up calling on Teignbridge council to reconsider the decision.

It is a difficult situation for the council. On one hand, the people

have raised money to keep this as a community asset for the village.

On the other you have a private individual who wants to bring

disability sailing to the area and is spending twice the money. The

council then have to think about the council taxpayers for the whole of

Teignbridge, not just the village. We have to have money to investigate

in all areas of Teignbridge. We are not representing discrete

areas. We have to realise that the sale of assets is a way to generate

funds to invest across the district. Today it was agreed council

executives should look at it again. In the short term the decision is on

hold. If you have just joined us, welcome

to the programme tonight. Still to come...

Is this a game of football? The short answer is no, it is not.

But can you spot the difference two and join me on the water here at

Plymouth Sound to sound `` find out how some of the South West sailors

are preparing for the Solitaire du Figaro race.

And believable and emotional ` of the words you might expect from a

man from Devon who has found his father's war medals nearly 50 years

after it disappeared. Terry Snow was distraught when he

mislaid his First World War victory medal during a house clearance sale

but has now got it back after seeing it for sale online.

Back where it belongs tonight after almost 50 years. The World War I

victory medal awarded to Terry Snow's late father, Gilbert. Kerry,

75, has spent almost every day looking for it since it disappeared.

In the 1970s, when my mother sold the house, we lost track of the

medals. We could have had them, we never

found them. In 1970, there were millions of medals struck and we had

no idea where they had gone at all. Kerry's father Cyril then the

Middlesex Regiment as a Lewis gunner and fought in northern France in

1918. It was one of the first major

battles involving armoured warfare and ultimately led to the end of the

war. He was firing at the Germans, EZ,

and when he looked around all of his mates were gone, you was on his own.

He picked up a Lewis gun, ran down the road but as he came around the

bend the Germans had got be hanged him. He started firing at them. He

said he chucked the Lewis gun down so he could run faster. One of the

bullets broke the butt of his rifle on his back and the other went

through and grazed his leg. Kerry found the medal on January the

4th, his 75th birthday. It was being sold by a collector in

Lincoln so he snapped it up for ?20. To actually get the medal back means

a lot. It is just like my father wanted it.

Why did it come on eBay on my birthday?

Terry, who is a bit of a collector himself, is still hoping to find his

late father's other medal, his British War medal, and he is half

expecting that will turn up online, too, even if it takes a few more

years. A quick sketch given as a thank you

note by Damien Hirst is being put up for auction at Ottery St Mary. The

North Devon based artist's work often makes headlines. As Johnny

Rutherford reports, the sketch may also cause some debate.

Damien Hirst's artwork has often divided critics' opinion, like this

figure of a pregnant woman called Verity which caused controversy in

Ilfracombe near where the artist lives.

His art tends to sell well, so the latest auction of his work has cost

some interest as it is being held in Ottery St Mary, the village where it

was drawn for a housekeeper when staying with Lord Coleridge.

It was gifted to her when he came to stay in 2001 for the famous Ottery

St Mary tar barrels, she gave him breakfast in bed, you can see a

little tea or coffee stain. It was just by way of a thank you.

How much do you think this would go for?

Our conservative estimate is around ?300`?500, but it could probably

make more. It could do quite well, because a

year and half ago this shark drawing he drew for his chauffeur sold for

?4500. I thought I would through my own

drawing, scribble, take a photocopy of Damien 's sketch and Maine and

see what the villagers thought. Would you pay anything for that?

Only if it was for charity. No.

It is rubbish, it is awful! You don't like it? No.

What about this one? I don't like that one, either.

Would you pay for that? Probably only if iit was for

charity, again. Would you pay for this?

I would, probably. If I said to you it was by Damien

Hirst? A couple of thousand?

What is wrong with mine? That is rubbish. Compared to the

Damien Hirst, you know. But I went to art college.

But it is still rubbish. Maybe I won't give up my day job just yet.

Damien 's sketch goes under the hammer this Thursday afternoon.

Towards the end of last year it was confirmed Plymouth would host one of

the world's top offshore sailing events ` the Solitaire du Figaro

race. The competition will start in Normandy before crossing the channel

to Plymouth. From there the fleet will race to Roscoff, then make

their way down the French coast, before finishing in Cherbourg.

Today we've been given our first glimpse of what's in store for June,

when Devon sailor Sam Matson arrived into port as part of his training

preparations for the big event. Spotlight's Heidi Davey went along

to catch up with him. Four sailors were due to arrive in

Plymouth this morning but because of challenging weather conditions only

one made it. The others sought shelter before reaching Devon.

22`year`old Sam Matson from Ottery saint merely showed off his skills

ahead of the big race. We arrived hoping for quite an easy sale, but

how wrong we were. We faced wind strengths of up to 45

knots, big seas and he'll stormed the poorly across for 20 hours. It

was quite enduring and quite painful.

Sam was a student at Plymouth University and is very `` familiar

with the offshore conditions in the South West. I love Plymouth, I love

this city, saw the opportunity to do one of the biggest races of my

lifetime and arrive in essentially home Watters is going to be really

exciting and I hope I am on the startling coming through the finish

line over there. But he is under no illusions after

yesterday how difficult the race preparations will be.

A lot of people say that you quit sailing at least five times per

race, and it was yesterday the same, I quite probably around five

or six times! But as soon as you arrive you

realise why you do it and it is the excitement of coming back into port

and getting tell tell stories afterwards. `` getting to tell. When

the Solitaire du Figaro race arrives in June it will hopefully be

slightly warmer conditions and sailors like Sam and other British

sailors will also hopefully be among the top to arrive in the port.

In football, Plymouth Argyle have the chance to make progress in the

FA Cup tonight when they face Port Vale in a third round replay at Home

Park. Top scorer Reuben Reid will be looking to add to his tally of 13

goals this season, as the Pilgrims and Vale battle it out for the right

to meet Brighton in round four. There's full coverage on BBC Radio

Devon from 7:05pm, which includes an exclusive interview with chairman

James Brent. Now if you fancied following in the

footsteps of Ronaldo, what would you do? Head to the nearest pitch? Knock

a ball around the field? Well, that's not strictly how he went

about it, because he started out playing a slightly different game.

Yes, he began with futsal. It is like football, but the ball is

heavier, the pitch is smaller and there are fewer players. It's fast,

it's fun and it's becoming very popular, as Andrea Ormsby has been

finding out. It sounds like football and looks

like football, but this is fast and furious. It is a smaller ball and

30% less bounce within the ball, so it means there will be a lot of good

techniques and skills used in the game. With five players aside the

chances of touching the ball in Futsal are said to be more than 200%

more than in Normandy Moffat ball with 11 players.

`` than in our normal game of football. It developed on the

continent and a lot of players came through Futsal, messy, `` Lionel

Messi, Xavi.. The game is really taking off in the

South West. It has been as South American sport in for the past eight

years but we are seeing fruition with what we have been trying to

create with schools and after`school clubs.

Everyone is seeing how fast and exciting and more creative you can

be playing Futsal band playing in dark, wet weather at the moment. The

reason I love this sport is because it is fun and when I am older I want

to be someone like Lionel Messi. I like how it is fast, you get a lot

of time on the ball and it is just more fun than normal football.

Futsal was developed in Brazil in the 1930s and 40s and today it is

played by more people there than football. That probably will not

happen here, but there is no question, Futsal is on the up.

That looks like a bit of a challenge.

I probably would not be any better at that than at football! Time now

for a look at the weather. Do they have the offside rule in

that game, do you think two? Player knows all about it, I am

sure! It has been a good day today, a day for outdoor sports, but indoor

sports for the next few days because it is blustery again.

More rain in the forecast, though the rain is not particularly high

amounts at the moment, good news for those sensitive for rainfall over

the next few days. Tomorrow, breezy, mild, some rain in the form of

showers mostly. And also the breeze starting to pick up again, it has

been relatively quiet today. We have a big area of low pressure again

across the Atlantic taking up most of this corner of the Atlantic, if

not all the way across towards Nova Scotia. Low pressure is in charge

sticking with us tonight, tomorrow and as we move towards the weekend.

First of the weather systems, this warm weather front is introducing

slightly less cold air. Overnight low temperature problems like last

eight and no ice first thing tomorrow morning. That brings a band

of rain. `` like last night. We are between weather systems until the

afternoon when we started to see the second line of showers coming in.

That could give heavier rainfall but nothing compared to the recent rain

we have seen. Into Thursday, more straightforward story of sunshine

but equally some showers. Some of those could be heavy and sundry.

There is not a huge amount of heavy rain in this rain band and it

becomes quite widespread. Tonight it will introduce some light drizzle or

rain as well as low cloud. Some of the moorland across the South West

of England becomes quite misty tonight, with extensive hill fog

developing. Good news, no frost tonight with overnight lows probably

no other word than five or seven Celsius. Seven or eight Celsius and

think will be the minimum for most. `` no lower than five or seven

Celsius. Tomorrow morning, perhaps by nearly afternoon a line of

showers that will be slightly heavier, but it does introduce

clearer skies. If anywhere seas late sunshine it is most likely across

parts of Cornwall. For the rest of us the day remains cloudy and

breezy. The winds again from the South West. 11 Celsius the top

temperature, warmer than today, that is 52 Fahrenheit. If you are heading

to the Isles of Scilly you live there, expect the rain to clear

first. Perhaps wet start to the day, blustery rain clearing to

showers in the afternoon. Here we will definitely see late sunshine to

end the day. The time the high water...

`` the times of high water... For the surfers, the surf is picking

up with a big area of low pressure no surprise the waves are getting

bigger. But the waves are not particularly

clean, quite messy on the beach. There is the coastal waters

forecast, six, occasionally seven...

The outlook ` don't hold your breath for any bright weather. A trend to

lower temperatures in the next few days, more showers on Thursday,

lighter showers on Friday, showers and a breeze from the South West

continuing into the weekend. Have a nice evening.

Andrea has been in touch to say there is no offside rule in Futsal.

An important update indeed. We're back tomorrow. Good night.