:00:00. > :00:12.After the potholes, the pay`outs ` the BBC News at Six, so it's
:00:13. > :00:17.After the potholes, the pay`outs ` thousands of drivers receive
:00:18. > :00:21.compensation for damage. Good evening and welcome to
:00:22. > :00:23.Spotlight. An investigation by BBC South West shows the cost to
:00:24. > :00:26.councils includes hundreds of thousands of pounds in repairs for
:00:27. > :00:37.motorists. We'll examine the bill after the wettest of winters.
:00:38. > :00:40.The battle to keep pupils safe. There's anger as a major scheme to
:00:41. > :00:47.rebuild dangerous school buildings is scrapped.
:00:48. > :00:50.There are three incidents now involving glass windows falling
:00:51. > :00:54.inside the building. Each time we have been fortunate they have been
:00:55. > :00:56.no children around at the time, but it could so easily have been a
:00:57. > :01:00.different story. And, the children told to pull their
:01:01. > :01:02.socks up, by taking off their shoes! Nearly 6,000 drivers in Devon and
:01:03. > :01:06.Cornwall have received compensation because of damage done to their cars
:01:07. > :01:09.by potholes. The figures uncovered by BBC South West show more than
:01:10. > :01:16.?800,000 has been paid out to motorists since 2008. The vast
:01:17. > :01:20.majority of claims were in Devon, with about 500 people coming forward
:01:21. > :01:23.in Plymouth alone. Torbay Council had to give more than 80 drivers
:01:24. > :01:29.money for repairs. In Cornwall, the number was nearly 1,500. The data
:01:30. > :01:32.includes last winter, the wettest ` water was the cause of problems,
:01:33. > :01:42.frozen or not. Scott Bingham has been speaking to motorists.
:01:43. > :01:48.David is still battling Devon County Council over a claim for ?500 worth
:01:49. > :01:54.of damage to his wife's car, caused by a pothole in 2012. He said his
:01:55. > :01:58.wife was driving along this stretch of road between Haverstock and chill
:01:59. > :02:03.it. It was night`time, the road was not late and covered in surface
:02:04. > :02:09.water and puddles. She hit the same pothole on two separate occasions.
:02:10. > :02:12.The car suffered two flat tyres, which were easily repaired, but what
:02:13. > :02:17.was more worrying was the damage they later discovered to the
:02:18. > :02:22.vehicle's suspension. It is very annoying because you pay your tax
:02:23. > :02:28.and this goes to what they are supposed to do as a legal entity,
:02:29. > :02:32.but also, it is the safety issue. It is not even an apology. They just
:02:33. > :02:39.say they don't have to pay, go away. I could have ended up rolling
:02:40. > :02:42.off the side of the motorway. David's claim was dismissed, and he
:02:43. > :02:46.is now planning to take the matter to the Small Claims Court. Devon
:02:47. > :02:50.County Council said it does not comment on individual cases. But,
:02:51. > :02:57.there was no shortage of comment on potholes from listeners to BBC Radio
:02:58. > :03:04.Cornwall today. I was driving in one will and court unfortunately a deep
:03:05. > :03:18.pothole. My car in Egypt league blue it's tired. `` immediately blew its
:03:19. > :03:24.tyre. The alternative way of doing a repair, it can possibly last for one
:03:25. > :03:31.good hard winter. In the long term, it is better to do a proper job and
:03:32. > :03:35.it is to do a quick fix. The councils admit they are struggling
:03:36. > :03:38.to keep up with repairs in the face of government budget cuts, so the
:03:39. > :03:42.pothole count, it seems, will continue to rise, along with the
:03:43. > :03:43.compensation claims. Well, we've already had lots of
:03:44. > :04:25.reaction to this issue. Thank you for getting in touch, do
:04:26. > :04:28.keep your comments coming. Almost ?60 million needs to be spent
:04:29. > :04:31.to bring local authority schools across Cornwall up to scratch. But
:04:32. > :04:36.the Council says with shrinking government funding it doesn't have
:04:37. > :04:39.the cash to clear the backlog. It comes as the county's largest state
:04:40. > :04:48.school was today told major rebuild plans have been scrapped. Tamsin
:04:49. > :04:56.Melville reports. Late last year there was a near miss
:04:57. > :05:03.at Helston committee college. It was a near miss, the glass fell out. It
:05:04. > :05:07.could have caused serious damage. Are you worried about the health and
:05:08. > :05:10.safety of pupils? There have been three incidents involving
:05:11. > :05:14.plate`glass windows falling inside the building. Each time we have been
:05:15. > :05:17.fortunate they have been no children around at the time, but it could
:05:18. > :05:24.easily have been a difficult different story. Windows are now
:05:25. > :05:28.being bolted shut. We have so much rain coming in, you could have
:05:29. > :05:33.committed down the corridor. There are issues with the walls, asbestos,
:05:34. > :05:38.it makes it difficult to do any repairs. This blog is well past its
:05:39. > :05:42.sell by date. There had been high hopes of a ?10 million rebuild, but
:05:43. > :05:46.today, Cornwall Council scrapped those plans. It says all funding
:05:47. > :05:50.options have been exhausted and it is not affordable. It is battling
:05:51. > :05:57.shrinking budgets and a multi`million pound repair bill
:05:58. > :06:00.across the county. I have got ?6 million to address a massive
:06:01. > :06:06.backlog. When you look at rebuild, I am never going to achieve that with
:06:07. > :06:09.such a small amount of money. In Helston, staff say the conditions
:06:10. > :06:17.are worrying. The water splashes down from the ceiling onto the
:06:18. > :06:21.children and it makes it difficult for them to learn in here. The
:06:22. > :06:26.council says they will continue to provide maintenance at Helston, and
:06:27. > :06:28.meanwhile the government says it is spending ?18 million on building and
:06:29. > :06:33.refurbishing schools across the country. It has just launched a
:06:34. > :06:37.second funding phase which councils will be able to bid for.
:06:38. > :06:39.The production of beef in the South West could be significantly reduced
:06:40. > :06:43.as hundreds of farmers consider giving up altogether. Figures from
:06:44. > :06:47.one industry body suggest 20% of the herd could be lost if the market
:06:48. > :06:50.continues to fall. The price farmers were getting for British beef were
:06:51. > :07:00.at a premium following the horse meat scandal, but the market has
:07:01. > :07:08.since plummeted. Anna Varle reports. This calf is just days old. It will
:07:09. > :07:13.hold little value for farmers like Bill if the market for beef
:07:14. > :07:16.continues to drop. In the last three months alone, he has seen the price
:07:17. > :07:24.the debts for each product for by ?250. `` price he gets. We have
:07:25. > :07:27.dropped to these levels in the last few months. If this continues, we
:07:28. > :07:36.cannot continue to produce beef at a loss on a. We know what our costs
:07:37. > :07:44.are. The organic beef trade is taking an even greater hit. Joy is
:07:45. > :07:50.down ?500 per animal. If this prize carries on, 20% of producers in this
:07:51. > :07:59.area will stop producing beef, and that will have a dire effect on the
:08:00. > :08:03.countryside. We have produced beef and kept the countryside in the
:08:04. > :08:08.state it is now, and to keep it as it is, in need to be graced by
:08:09. > :08:12.livestock. Beef is one of the main enterprises in this area. The
:08:13. > :08:17.English beef and Lamb executive says there are three reasons for the
:08:18. > :08:22.planet in price. Firstly, there are more cattle on the market. Secondly,
:08:23. > :08:25.we are importing more beef from Ireland which is cheaper. Thirdly,
:08:26. > :08:32.consumer sales are down. People are buying cheaper cuts of meat. British
:08:33. > :08:37.beef is amongst the most six bounces in Europe, partly because of
:08:38. > :08:42.Britain's higher welfare standards `` the most expensive. They don't
:08:43. > :08:47.have the fixed costs that we have in this country. We have two how's them
:08:48. > :08:51.through the winter and provide fodder, but in other parts of the
:08:52. > :08:54.world, cattle stay out all year. Prices are expected to continue to
:08:55. > :08:57.fall over the coming weeks. Firefighters have been tackling a
:08:58. > :09:00.fire on board a P ferry at Falmouth docks. The incident began
:09:01. > :09:04.on the European Endeavour, which is undergoing a refit, just before 3pm.
:09:05. > :09:08.A Falmouth, which runs the docks, said there was no damage to the ship
:09:09. > :09:11.and no injuries reported. Cornwall Fire Service said the fire involved
:09:12. > :09:25.an oil tank which had ruptured alongside the ship.
:09:26. > :09:28.With just a fortnight until the European Elections, there's great
:09:29. > :09:31.speculation as to how well the most recent major political player will
:09:32. > :09:34.do. UKIP has had particular success in the South West over the last
:09:35. > :09:41.decade. Martyn Oates reports now from one of its strongholds within
:09:42. > :09:49.the region. Having a French name, the name
:09:50. > :09:52.sticks. This man is the son of a French immigrant, perhaps not the
:09:53. > :09:56.stereotypical image of a UKIP politician. He is not the only UKIP
:09:57. > :10:00.cancer in the region to admit to having done very little campaigning
:10:01. > :10:06.to secure his own election. So, why does he think people voted for him?
:10:07. > :10:10.I think people are concerned on two fronts. Immigration and the effect
:10:11. > :10:14.it has on local jobs. I think the other thing is that many people are
:10:15. > :10:18.concerned about all the cutbacks going on right now. When they
:10:19. > :10:25.realise that we are subsidising India's space programme, they really
:10:26. > :10:32.wonder whether charity ought to begin at home. Both of Bideford's
:10:33. > :10:37.County Council seats were taken by UKIP which makes it unusual. It
:10:38. > :10:41.differed is in many ways typical of many similar towns across Devon and
:10:42. > :10:48.Cornwall. A maritime location, a prosperous past, and a rather less
:10:49. > :10:53.prosperous present. I wanted to find out what local electors think of
:10:54. > :10:58.UKIP and its policies. I think we are overpopulated. We are only a
:10:59. > :11:02.little island. I think we are overpopulated. We have not got the
:11:03. > :11:07.facilities on our little island for everyone that comes. I believe in an
:11:08. > :11:17.international unity. I speak with an Irish accent. The bigger mix, the
:11:18. > :11:21.better. UKIP has been doing well in European elections since 2004, but
:11:22. > :11:25.it is only since last May that it started to make a modest
:11:26. > :11:34.breakthrough in local elections. The party currently has 14 councillors,
:11:35. > :11:40.for in Devon, six in Cornwall, one in Torbay, two in Somerset and one
:11:41. > :11:45.in Dorset. Westminster, though, is where they really want and need to
:11:46. > :11:49.succeed. For the moment, there are no UKIP MPs. But there are already
:11:50. > :11:55.MPs here at Westminster who espouse many of UKIP's headline policies on
:11:56. > :12:00.Europe, climate change, education, and they are in the main party of
:12:01. > :12:03.government. Not David Cameron and the Conservative leadership, but a
:12:04. > :12:07.substantial number of Tory MPs who think UKIP are being allowed to get
:12:08. > :12:15.away with pinching the Tory's clothes. Many have gone across to
:12:16. > :12:19.UKIP because they are desperate in the sense that our party are not
:12:20. > :12:26.doing what they want us to do. UKIP have created a fill`in for this
:12:27. > :12:31.vacuum that has been created by politicians who have lost touch with
:12:32. > :12:35.the voter. Despite the obvious policy overlap between some Tories
:12:36. > :12:39.in UKIP, the latter insist they are out to take votes from Labour and
:12:40. > :12:43.the Lib Dems as well. All the polling suggests that UKIP takes
:12:44. > :12:50.more votes from the Conservatives than Labour, but we are not come he
:12:51. > :12:55.our strongholds. `` we are not complacent. We will beware to very
:12:56. > :12:59.hard. Every Labour vote count wherever you are in the region. This
:13:00. > :13:05.is a system of abortion voting. This is about collecting people who will
:13:06. > :13:18.vote for the south`west interests, in the way that the Liberal
:13:19. > :13:22.Democrats have done. All four parties will undoubtedly be watching
:13:23. > :13:26.the outcome of this last major electoral contest before the general
:13:27. > :13:29.election very closely indeed. The other parties contesting the
:13:30. > :13:32.European Elections in the South West are the Greens, the British National
:13:33. > :13:36.Party, the English Democrats and "An Independence from Europe". The full
:13:37. > :13:42.list of candidates is available on the BBC website.
:13:43. > :13:46.Now, if you have children you'll know there are two things that are
:13:47. > :13:50.almost impossible to find in the morning sometimes ` one shoe, and
:13:51. > :13:54.the other. But at a school in Dorset your efforts looking behind the sofa
:13:55. > :13:57.and under the bed may all be in vain because you don't need them ` not in
:13:58. > :14:03.lessons anyway. Sarah Farmer looks at whether a shoeless classroom is a
:14:04. > :14:10.more productive classroom. Shout, Thai, and slippers? The Isle
:14:11. > :14:15.of Portland Aldrich community Academy has a classroom dress code
:14:16. > :14:22.with a difference. They have adopted a no shoes policy for lessons. Their
:14:23. > :14:25.behaviour improves. It is ready hard to be naughty without your shoes
:14:26. > :14:31.on. It is even harder to only with your shoes off. The kids are happy
:14:32. > :14:37.to sit on a cleaner floor and read and do things come to be. Students
:14:38. > :14:40.wear shoes when they are in the technology lab. Beresford were
:14:41. > :14:45.available when they visit the bathroom, but other than that, it is
:14:46. > :14:50.socks and tights. Stripes seem to be on trend with the occasional polka
:14:51. > :14:56.dot. Some even have holy ones! The teachers are suited and not booted
:14:57. > :14:59.two. We wanted to engage learners in every element of design in this
:15:00. > :15:04.building. The children found lots of examples and they've really hooked
:15:05. > :15:11.on the idea that it would be a good idea to learn without shoes. You
:15:12. > :15:18.might get your socks ready dirty outside. It makes you relaxed will
:15:19. > :15:23.stop you can't touch the floor, and if you can, you can't feel the
:15:24. > :15:28.constant sound of your shoe rubbing against the floor. With shoes it is
:15:29. > :15:33.really loud, but it is calm without shoes. They really seem to like it.
:15:34. > :15:37.But I had to ask, is there a problem with smelly feet? There are loads of
:15:38. > :15:40.smelly feet. The number one swimming club in the
:15:41. > :15:43.country, Plymouth Leander, will be represented by five of its swimmers
:15:44. > :15:46.in this year's Commonwealth Games. Leander's head coach Jon Rudd will
:15:47. > :15:49.also be leading the England swimming team, but as Spotlight's Dave
:15:50. > :15:58.Gibbins reports, his quintet are from different countries and
:15:59. > :16:06.islands. A five pronged attack from The Met
:16:07. > :16:11.Leander this July `` Plymouth. I am representing England. I've swim
:16:12. > :16:21.butterfly. I come from the Cayman Islands. I represent Kenya. I am
:16:22. > :16:28.from Uganda. England will be led by Leander's
:16:29. > :16:33.head coach, who is celebrating the club's status as UK champions, which
:16:34. > :16:38.it has achieved for the sixth time in seven years. I am hopeful our
:16:39. > :16:41.guys go and swim with honour and pride because they know that
:16:42. > :16:46.Plymouth is a big part of the reason that they are going, and we will see
:16:47. > :16:51.what the medal table tells us afterwards. 19`year`old Ben Prout
:16:52. > :16:56.spearheads the England bid for medals. Last year he smashed Mark
:16:57. > :17:01.Foster's ten`year`old butterfly record, and has just broken the 50
:17:02. > :17:11.metres freestyle record. You only get to chances a year. It is all the
:17:12. > :17:15.training which makes the difference. The Isle of Man is usually renowned
:17:16. > :17:20.for its annual races, but now they have something else to shout about,
:17:21. > :17:28.a top female swimmer who is going to Glasgow. We are a small team, so it
:17:29. > :17:35.will big rate to do well and put the Isle of Man on the map. Anthony
:17:36. > :17:39.James won silver and bronze in the Delhi games four years ago, but
:17:40. > :17:42.failed to meet the requisite times, which just goes to show how tough
:17:43. > :17:48.this year's competition is going to be.
:17:49. > :17:51.The Chelsea Flower Show provides the opportunity for gardeners to reveal
:17:52. > :17:56.their latest innovations. And this year is no exception. But, are some
:17:57. > :17:59.of the delights from Devon really flowers? In fact, what on earth are
:18:00. > :18:07.they? Janine Jansen has been taking a look.
:18:08. > :18:13.Not a space ship, but a purple turnip. Think of Chelsea, and I bet
:18:14. > :18:15.you would think of flowers, but the exhibition by Suttons seeds from
:18:16. > :18:23.Paignton will feature a huge selection of vegetables. There are
:18:24. > :18:27.some quite interesting vegetables amongst us. This is what most people
:18:28. > :18:33.would recognise as a cauliflower. What we found last year, we had this
:18:34. > :18:37.one last year, it is a unique one with its it on. It looks really
:18:38. > :18:42.good. I know what you were thinking, how do they get all the vegetables
:18:43. > :18:46.ready in May? It is difficult getting vegetables at this time of
:18:47. > :18:50.year. One of the problems is doing it in the gardens, you have to grow
:18:51. > :18:53.everything in pots, which becomes a challenge when you get warm days
:18:54. > :18:58.like today and I have been trying to shade everything. Though in a garden
:18:59. > :19:03.you would have succession, at Chelsea, the expectation is that
:19:04. > :19:08.everything is nearly at its peak. Some stuff you try to hold on, some
:19:09. > :19:14.stuff you try to bring on. To celebrate 50 years of the Southwest
:19:15. > :19:20.in bloom, there are some surprises. The first black large cherry tomato
:19:21. > :19:23.being launched at Chelsea, so we are excited about that. For the flower
:19:24. > :19:29.lovers, this is something really new and quite unique. A brand`new fourth
:19:30. > :19:36.sunflower. It is quite unique in its colouring. You can see the maroon
:19:37. > :19:41.with the yellow tip. The exhibit will focus on the flavour of Devon
:19:42. > :19:47.with Coast and vegetables and be linked to side. I am definitely
:19:48. > :19:51.going along to find it! `` the link to side.
:19:52. > :19:54.Now, I'm not Sir Tom Jones, and she's no Kylie, but we do seem to
:19:55. > :19:57.have spotted the musical stars of the future here on Spotlight. Blue
:19:58. > :20:00.Horyzon from West Cornwall were offered a record deal after we
:20:01. > :20:04.featured them and they've just started work in the studio. Carole
:20:05. > :20:11.Madge has been catching up with them and joins us now from Penzance.
:20:12. > :20:16.You join me at the recording studio where the band are here today.
:20:17. > :20:19.Little did they realise in 2011 when they formed that they would soon be
:20:20. > :20:23.making their first professional recording and they would not have to
:20:24. > :20:35.travel very far to do it. One more from the top. They started off
:20:36. > :20:40.basking on the streets of Penzance, but now they are playing for gigs a
:20:41. > :20:55.week and are making their first professional recording.
:20:56. > :21:03.# You see the light, I see the dark...
:21:04. > :21:10.It is fantastic. Our producer is really incredible, really brilliant.
:21:11. > :21:14.He has done so many albums and he has recorded so many people. It is a
:21:15. > :21:30.real privilege to be recording with him.
:21:31. > :21:38.Excellent,, and have a live Blitzen. The producer has worked
:21:39. > :21:44.with artists like Paul McCartney. With his help, Blue Horyzon are
:21:45. > :21:48.aiming for even greater success. I hope that we do all right. I hope we
:21:49. > :21:51.can make a living and keep making music for people, and just keep
:21:52. > :22:07.enjoying it. And Blue Horyzon have a next gig in
:22:08. > :22:23.Newlyn on May 16. The cat for their album. Take it away, boys!
:22:24. > :22:34.Nice to see them doing so well. Not so much harmony in the weather. We
:22:35. > :22:40.have had some showers today, but tomorrow the wet weather really does
:22:41. > :22:48.turn up, and sadly it coincides with Flora Day in Helston. Let's start by
:22:49. > :22:52.having a look at the summary of tomorrow. There will be rain at
:22:53. > :22:56.times, it is quite windy, and perhaps the clearest coming to late
:22:57. > :23:08.for most of the events, right at the end of the day. Wet weather early in
:23:09. > :23:16.the day, and then again around the middle of the day. After that,
:23:17. > :23:20.things will start to improve. By Friday, hopefully we will see some
:23:21. > :23:29.dry weather, but only for one day because the weekend could be rather
:23:30. > :23:36.wet and breezy. There has been some brief sunshine in between a few
:23:37. > :23:46.showers today. This was earlier today in Helston where preparations
:23:47. > :23:51.have been underweight. `` underway. This scene could be wetter tomorrow
:23:52. > :23:58.because of the rain, particularly in the morning. It should be a great
:23:59. > :24:10.day, despite the bad weather. Do take a waterproof or Ambala if you
:24:11. > :24:18.are going. `` Amber alert. `` umbrella. By the end of the night,
:24:19. > :24:24.here comes the wet weather. You can see the brighter colours showing the
:24:25. > :24:25.heavy bursts of rain. It could be pretty wet before it begins to ease
:24:26. > :24:37.in the afternoon. A second line of showers Suite
:24:38. > :24:42.three, and it is after that that we see an improvement and perhaps some
:24:43. > :24:53.sunshine later in the day. Temperatures ranging from 12 on the
:24:54. > :24:58.coast up to 15 or 16 inland. After a wet morning on the Isles of Scilly,
:24:59. > :25:07.it will be breezy and brighter towards the end of the day. Some big
:25:08. > :25:25.waves. Messy along the north coast. Generally moderate visibility
:25:26. > :25:30.because some of that rain is quite heavy. Friday will be much lighter
:25:31. > :25:36.with some sunshine, some passing showers, but the weekend forecast is
:25:37. > :25:42.getting colder and some quite mastery additions. Some heavy rain
:25:43. > :25:48.Friday night into Saturday. Quite a cold weekend and windy with plenty
:25:49. > :25:54.of showers. That is all from us this evening.
:25:55. > :26:21.Join us again with the late news at 10:28pm. Good evening.
:26:22. > :26:26.'This is the story of Nick Clegg - a man entrusted by a nation
:26:27. > :26:29.'to act upon the policies he proposed.
:26:30. > :26:37.'But he soon became The Un-Credible Shrinking Man.'