10/04/2014 Spotlight

Commons has been cleared of rape and other sex charges. Goodbye.

Good evening. The money has gone to people who've tripped over or hit

potholes ` we'll hear from one cyclist who's making a clail, ? .5

million in compensation has been paid out by the region's cotncils to

people who've suffered accidents on roads or pavements over the last

four years. A BBC South West Freedom of Information request shows that

Plymouth paid out the most for personal injury claims, a total of

?2.1 million. Al Blackman took his case to the

High Court today saying that his conviction was unsafe. And boats

returned to Porthleven harboured for the first time since the storms

?3.5 million in compensation has been paid out by the region's

councils to people who've stffered accidents on roads or pavemdnts over

the last four years.Cornwall awarded more than ?700,000.

In Torbay it was ?400,000. The figures were lower in Dorset and

Somerset. Devon County Council didn't provide any figures. Jenny

Kumah reports. Lee Bingham on his new bike. His old

one was written off after an accident in October when he hit this

pothole which has now been filled in.

I hit a pothole, went over the handlebars, and the next thhng I

remember being quite dazed. Then I was dragged onto the back of an

ambulance by a couple of paramedics. Lee went through the council's

procedures to claim for his injuries and his bike. The council's

solicitors sent him a letter saying they weren't liable, so he hs now

pursuing the case through a personal injury lawyer.

It could happen again to anxbody. I don't want someone else to be killed

by a pothole. I got lucky, fair enough, but somebody else mhght not,

so I just want to see the road surfaces being maintained to a very

good level. Devon County Council says it can't

comment on individual cases. It has been given ?7 million of government

funding for road repairs in light of the recent severe weather. But it

says it will take some time to fix all the roads across the cotnty s

vast network. A Freedom of Information repuest

shows that the region's councils have paid out around ?3.5 mhllion in

compensation for a range of incidents. The biggest award was in

Plymouth ` ?105,000 was givdn to someone who injured their b`ck

because of a damaged pathwax. James Browne is a lawyer who has

handled many council compensation claims. I asked him how fair it is

to make money from local authorities.

I think if you ask people who have been injured how they feel, their

attitude is going to be enthrely different to people who just pay

their council tax and have been lucky enough not to have an

accident. Council budgets are very tight, and they have to act

reasonably in all the circulstances, and look at the demands on their

finances. I do believe they do their best.

Councils say they want to prevent trips and falls in the first place.

They urge people to report `ny defects they find as soon as

possible. A Plymouth`based Royal Marine

sentenced to life for murdering a wounded Afghan fighter has `ppealed

to top judges to overturn hhs conviction on the basis it's unsafe.

The killing happened in Helland Province in 2011 while Sergdant Al

Blackman was serving with 4`2 Commando. In November, he bdcame the

first British serviceman to be convicted of murder on active duty

since the Second World War. The 39`year`old was jailed for life and

ordered to serve a minimum of ten years before being eligible to apply

for parole. Earlier, I spokd to the BBC's defence correspondent Jonathan

Beale and I asked him on wh`t basis the appeal was being brought.

This is an appeal against Al Blackman's conviction and hhs

sentence. The nub of the argument his lawyers are making is that the

conviction was unsafe because they say there is a problem, there is a

flaw with court`martial process They say the problem is that you

have a panel of seven serving military personnel passing `

verdict, and they can have ` simple majority. In other words, four

people can vote for a guiltx verdict, three against, but you

still get that conviction. Hf it was a Crown Court, they would h`ve to

get a majority verdict of tdn against two. They say the

court`martial system is not right. Having said that, the MoD of course

say this system is tried and tested, and is also recognised in British

law. So you have a fundamental disagreement.

So, what about the appeal against sentence?

Appeal against sentence is essentially his lawyers looking at

the man, looking at Al Blackman as a military man. They said he was

brave, modest, with an exemplary military record. They say there were

a cocktail of circumstances that led him to briefly lose his head.

Essentially, they are asking the three judges ` the most senhor

judges in the land ` to look at the circumstances, that he was serving

in Afghanistan behind enemy lines and the pressures he was under.

So, when will we hear the ottcome? We got no decision today, and the

three judges will be giving their verdict after Easter. Okay, Jonathan

Beale, thank you very much hndeed. A man who spent most of his life in

Devon has been shot dead by masked robbers who burst into his lother's

home in the Bahamas. Police said 56`year`old Edgar Dart, who used to

play rugby for Exeter Saracdns, was killed after he struggled whth the

raiders at the property on Grand Bahama. Mr Dart emigrated to Canada

16 years ago. The Plymouth`based ship HMS Echo

will arrive in an area of the Southern Indian Ocean later where

pings, possibly from a flight recorder, have been detected. The

survey ship is part of a johnt effort to find the missing Lalaysian

Airlines plane. Echo will scan the sea bed and it has been specially

adapted to pick up any transmissions on the black box's frequencx.

He first boats have been returned to Porthleven harbour in West Cornwall,

two months after violent storms smashed its sea defences. The huge

wooden timbers which form a gate to the inner harbour have been

replaced, and all day the boats have been carefully lowered back in.

Spotlight's David George is there for us tonight. David.

Yes, good evening, and here's a sight they haven't seen for a few

weeks. Boats back in the harbour. They've been repaired, refitted and

re`painted in time for todax. The smell of fresh paint is in the air.

I'm on board Jeremy Richards' fishing boat which was the second to

be craned in this morning. We've been watching since the work

started. Gently does it. Tony Riddell's boat

named Joan Marjorie, after his wife, was the first back in. Therd is a

real feeling of celebration here. Cheers and applause from onlookers

as Tony's boat touches the water. It's a very nice day. Everything is

going well at the moment. They say this is the first time ever

there have been no boats in the water. Next in is the first

commercial fishing boat. It's been a tough few weeks for the fishermen.

This is where she belongs ` in the harbour. We are delighted.

We've head the harbour quitd enough now. Let's get some life back in it.

Easter is coming ` they can have a bit of fun, hopefully!

And this is a working fishing boat going in?

Yes, Jeremy is the first working boat back in the harbour. You got to

crack the whip now, you've got to earn some money out of it.

The boats were taken out in a huge community effort in the first week

of February. Farmers came whth their tractors and cranes were brought in.

All this after 12 boats sank and two were a total losss after huge seas

bashed the wooden timbers that normally protect the moorings.

These pictures were taken bx local film`makers.

Just look at the size of those waves.

Ron and Sue Craven watched then and were back today to see the boats

brought back in. It's the end of the story from

February, because we were down then and saw the baulks crashing into

them and the boats coming ott, so this is the end to a sad story.

So, with boatsonce again bobbing in the harbour, it is starting to look

like a more normal holiday season. It'll be another two weeks before

all 30`odd craft are back in the water, and that will includd four

extra full time commercial fishing boats whose owners have dechded to

move to Porthleven. So. It looks like every cloud or wave

has a silver lining. And there's a special progr`mme

about this winter's storms tomorrow night. That's the Storms th`t Shook

the South West at 7.30pm on BBC One. Residents in a rural town in North

Devon have voted overwhelmingly to keep the beds at their local cottage

hospital open. Campaigners hn Great Torrington are opposing plans by the

NHS locally to close ten beds and provide more care at home. The local

health trust and commissionhng group believe the money spent on keeping

the beds open could be used much more effectively elsewhere.

Spotlight's John Ayres has lore Parish polls represent people power.

A third of the electorate hdre queued to say that hospital beds

must stay. Sue Mills is a rdgular user of the hospital's servhces

She, like many people here, wantssick relatives to remahn close.

My uncle died at that hospital. I was up town, I had a phone call I

was down within three minutds. I was with him when he died.

Unfortunately, my father was in Holsworthy Hospital. It would have

taken me more than three minutes, so that's why I think it is very

important to keep these beds in our hospital.

Great Torrington is a small town in a very rural part of Devon. The

Community Hospital is valued very highly by local people.

24/7 care you get in our cottage hospital. Tto hat can't be

replicated anywhere else. Wd live in a small town where it's verx

difficult to get hospitals. It costs a lot of money. We are a low`wage

area, and it's virtually impossible to visit perhaps more than once a

day. The ten beds here are currently

closed for a six`month trial period to see how it works. The Northern

Devon health care Trust and new Devon Clinical Commissioning Groups

believe it is working. We've looked at services in the

community, and we thought wd could provide more services for more

people with the same amount of money. That requires a balance

between Community Hospital beds and services in the community.

No decision has yet been made, although the trust is asking: is it

better to spend ?500,000 on a service for ten people at a time, or

one which cares for 250 people? There is no obligation on the NHS to

act on this vote ` the very fact that a parish poll was calldd meant,

in all likelihood, the yes campaign would win. What was significant is

how much they won by, and the 3 % turnout ` which is comparable to the

last European elections in the South West. What the NHS must now decide

is whether it will act on this, or whether it will choose to ignore it.

His Royal Highness The Duke of York has officially opened a new multi

million pound recovery centre for injured service personnel at

Devonport Naval Base. The cdntre will be home to Hasler Comp`ny,

which was formed five years ago and will help support naval personnel

and their families. Spotlight's Andy Breare reports.

Today was the official openhng of the Naval Service Recovery Centre,

which is already being used by injured military personnel. Earlier,

the Duke of York had a tour around the accommodation block, whhch is

home to 55 injured service len. It is now part of Hasler company.

It started about two years `go. They had an issue while I was out on

deployment in the Caribbean. I got back to the UK, got it investigated,

and then found out I had to go to surgery. I joined Hasler Colpany.

Nothing seems to be too much trouble for them ` for anybody, no latter

what rank you're talking to, they are here to help, and if thdy can't

do it they find out how you can do it.

Meanwhile, Marine Kevin Bradnick is using his time at the centrd to

prepare for life outside thd services.

Unfortunately, I am going to be getting a discharge from thd Royal

Marines this year. Being at Hasler has given me more opportunities than

what my parent unit would h`ve offered me, with regard to working

outside and furthering my education. Whether it's preparing injured Royal

Marines to go to university, or helping personnel come to tdrms with

their injuries or illnesses, the new centre incorporates a gym,

hydrotherapy pool and swimmhng pool. It has cost ?23 million, and is the

first in the region funded by the Help For Heroes charity, and run

jointly with the MoD. What happened back in 2007 hs we

decided we would raise monex for the wounded. The British public got

behind it, and we have been able to do a series of projects ` both

buildings like this and a lot of support to the individuals. People

like me who are civilians admire people like them who are we`ring

uniform. When they are hurt, I want to do my bit to help them. That s

what this is about. Whilst some of those personnel may

have had their military carders cut short by injury, others are hoping

it will help them to get back to active service.

I've still got ongoing surgdry. I will hopefully have completdd that

by the end of the year. I don't know if that's being realistic or

optimistic, however, hopefully that will be the case. Then I sh`ll be

training back`up and hopefully returning to service.

It is hoped this will be a centre of excellence for recovery and

rehabilitation. Today, it rdceived the Royal seal of approval.

A theatre group whose members are threatened with arrest for speaking

out against their country's political leaders, have been given a

refuge in Cornwall. The Bel`rus Free Theatre is now working with students

at Falmouth University. The company has been banned from perforling in

its own country and its fears the situation in Ukraine could lake

things worse. Eleanor Parkinson reports.

The Belarus Free Theatre is busy rehearsing its new play. It's about

a young mother's nomadic jotrney after she loses her home because of

an environmental disaster. For these young actors, being forced to flee

their home is a subject close to their hearts. If they return to

Belarus, a country which has close ties with Russia, they fear they

will be arrested for speaking out against the political systel.

I have three cases on me and two on my wife. Five criminal cases for one

family is a lot. What would happen to you if you went

back to Belarus? We would be arrested, and then trial

and then prison. Although this theatre group have

been given refuge in this country, they still have members in Belarus.

They often perform in secret locations, and for every performance

they risk arrest. They rehearse, train and ard

educated in little spaces ` people's front rooms, basement flats and so

on. Underneath the governmental radar. But despite this, and this is

what is so important, artists from across Europe, particularly from the

UK, go to Belarus to teach the young people, to train and make theatre,

and they show their perform`nces come what may.

The company now has support from many well`known actors ` Jude Law

made this film with Nikolai after a chance meeting at an airport.

Flying? I hate flying, to bd honest. I spend half my life in airports.

Solidarity of artistic people. In principle, you are not forgotten,

nobody has left you there alone You can continue doing your profession.

They call it black gold...and now, for the first time, it's coling from

a new source. Caviar ` still the preserve of the rich and falous ` is

now being produced in a secret location in the UK.

Yes, and it's in Devon! The producers are just coming to the end

of their first season and already Exmoor Caviar is being backdd by

some very famous chefs. Spotlight's North Devon reporter Andrea Ormsby

has been to investigate. Ken Benning has been in the

multi`million pound caviar hmporting business for years. Now he hs making

his own, and this Exmoor water is the key.

Have you tried it? Come on then. You do it without

slurping! I need to learn to do that, don't I? But it's really

lovely to taste, isn't it? @nd this is the magic ingredient for your

caviar. This is the ingredient to the

caviar. I think this is what gives us a very different taste.

Come and show me how you do it then! Let's go.

You've got loads of different tanks around the place, some with tiny

little fish. Stand back. This will be a fighter.

So, this is a sturgeon? This is a Siberian sturgeon. She's

about eight to ten years of age She is fully pregnant, and she hs a bit

of a rowdy girl. Gently! She is basically full of

caviar. Caviar itself is incredibly

contentious in some ways. Where there is caviar there is generally

corruption, particularly in the Caspian Sea and the old Caspian

states. But we have moved away from that ` we are hear in Devon, we have

Siberian sturgeon, we are f`rming them, we are using natural local

Cornish sea salt. We are producing a very different product to what one

would know what as caviar from the olden days, or the old school of

caviar. Turn the sturgeon over like this.

Take a knife. And here is all the caviar.

The process of cleaning the caviar and adding the Cornish sea salt has

to be done quickly before it warms up too much.

That really is good. I'm not even trying to be nice ` that re`lly is

scrumptious! I feel like I should give you a tenner for that.

?10?! Okay, more!

No problem at all. The age of steam returned to the

famous coastal rail line at Dawlish today. Less than a week aftdr the

route reopened following thd damage caused by February's storms, rail

enthusiasts were out in force again to welcome one of the best known

steam locomotives. The Sir Nigel Gresley travelled along the newly

repaired track taking passengers down to Kingswear. Spotlight's Leigh

Rundle was onboard for part of the journey.

Just before 2pm this afternoon, the Sir Nigel Gresley road throtgh

Dawlish. For the 473 passengers it was a memorable trip.

The atmosphere is wonderful. Having a meal, as well, which we h`ve been

lucky to have. It has been ` whole day out.

It is clearly fantastic. It is open for business.

I think the scenery is a be`utiful part of the country to come and see.

Would you call yourself a train spotter?

Know. I'm not a train spottdr. I like trains. I appreciate them. But

I'm not a train spotter. Despite Network Rail's promhses

following the storm damage, this was an excursion that many belidved

would never happen. I thought we had no hope. Ndtwork

Rail have been fantastic, and that has been a tribute.

Built in the 1930s, is mighty engine weighs in at 168 tonnes. Shd is kept

on the rails by a team of dddicated enthusiasts.

Several other people with md today were looking after it. We kdep it

going and keep it going. We have just taken on our first ever

full`time professional. He hs only 27!

76 years ago, and engine iddntical to this one beat the land speed

record. That record is still held by that engine.

However, a more measured spded is generally adopted on day trhps.

Lovely sites, lovely sounds Fantastic weather as well!

Before I give you the forec`st, I thought I would look back at the

month of March. Spring has certainly arrived. March was one of those

months where, finally, with a sigh of relief, we are able to s`y

goodbye to one of the wettest winters on record. Rainfall to start

with. The average is 64. We have been below that of four March 2 14.

That is the first time for several months that we have had

below`average rainfall. Sunshine was up as well. The temperatures were up

to. `` the temperatures werd up too. We have probably seen `bove

average daytime temperatures and night`time temperatures for most of

the month. Reservoir levels haven't changed much from this time last

year. Not surprisingly, thex are pretty close to 100% full. Let's

have a look and see if therd is any rainfall in the forecast. It looks

like we are going to see a lot of dry weather. A bit more clotd coming

in later on tonight, but like we've seen today, one day it's a glorious

day and next there is a stubborn veil of cloud. This line is creeping

through parts of the Irish Sea, nudging into the coast of W`les For

us, just a line of cloud. It introduces slightly colder `ir as it

moves through the English Channel and away from us. That fingdr of

high pressure will be with ts into the weekend. Another cold front is

approaching, but for us it hs just a line of cloud. Probably quite a

cloudy day on Sunday. This hs a satellite picture from this

afternoon. There has been a line of cloud, which has been a bit

stubborn. Not this morning, though. It was a glorious view of the

low`level mist and fog. Our cameraman was up early to c`tch

these shots on a very quiet stop remember the sea conditions we have

seen only a few weeks ago. Look how quiet that scenes. `` how qtiet that

scene is. We've got the clotd and Apache mist that may well form later

tonight. At four while we whll have lengthy clear spells. `` a @pache

mist. Temperatures coming back six or

seven. Tomorrow, cloudy at first and then we will see some sunny spells.

Some lengthy spells of sunshine come the end of the afternoon.

Temperatures of 13 or 14, even 5. Generally light winds. Some of the

best of the sunshine will bd along the coast, and especially for the

Isles of Scilly. High water: At Plymouth, it's at 3:47pm and 4: 9pm.

There isn't a great deal of surf this weekend. Up to about two feet

and feeling flat along the south coast. Winds are variable. From the

North West initially, but gdnerally good visibility. It stays dry into

the weekend and at times rather cloudy.

The trains are running back at the tracks on Dawlish and the boats are

back on the water at Porthldven We will leave you with a view of

Porthleven. Good night.