:00:00. > :00:20.combat for the first time. That's all from the BBC News.
:00:21. > :00:24.Hanging up in frustration: The calls to the police being abandoned
:00:25. > :00:28.because it takes too long to answer them.
:00:29. > :00:31.Good evening. Spotlight has discovered almost 250 callers a
:00:32. > :00:36.month to the non`urgent 101 number are unable to get through.
:00:37. > :00:42.Also tonight: I waited and waited for someone to answer but then it
:00:43. > :00:46.went dead. Falling foul of the law for feeding birds ` A pensioner says
:00:47. > :00:50.she won't pay her ?80 fine despite several warnings.
:00:51. > :01:03.And they danced to the band with that curious tone ` Helston
:01:04. > :01:06.celebrates Flora Day. Hundreds of callers trying to report
:01:07. > :01:08.crimes and other important information to Devon and Cornwall
:01:09. > :01:11.Police are hanging up in frustration, often after suffering
:01:12. > :01:15.long waits, according to figures obtained by the BBC.
:01:16. > :01:19.Using the Freedom of Information Act, we found, on average, almost
:01:20. > :01:21.250 calls to the non`urgent 101 number are being abandoned every
:01:22. > :01:24.month. The phone number allows people to report matters to the
:01:25. > :01:26.police which aren't emergencies, such as anti`social behaviour, or
:01:27. > :01:29.intelligence about crimes. The service has been controversial since
:01:30. > :01:33.it was introduced almost three years ago. One shopkeeper who tried twice
:01:34. > :01:36.to report a prowler, but gave up after waiting ten minutes, described
:01:37. > :01:42.the 101 service as "absolutely appalling". Our home affairs
:01:43. > :01:46.correspondent Simon Hall has this exclusive report.
:01:47. > :01:53.Shopkeeper Cath Andrews rang 101 twice to report a prowler.
:01:54. > :01:59.She spent up to ten minutes waiting before giving up, tried again, had
:02:00. > :02:02.to wait again, and then got cut off. We showed her the figures,
:02:03. > :02:04.indicating hundreds of calls to Devon and Cornwall police's101
:02:05. > :02:16.number are being abandoned each month. That is absolutely appalling.
:02:17. > :02:20.It is absolutely appalling. And they didn't even give me a call back.
:02:21. > :02:29.They had my telephone number and they never give me a call back, they
:02:30. > :02:32.never looked up the number, they had my businessmen, they could have
:02:33. > :02:36.looked it up on the website if they had lost the business number, but
:02:37. > :02:40.they never had `` they never called me back. The 101 and 999 numbers
:02:41. > :02:43.share the same call centres in Exeter and Plymouth. Devon and
:02:44. > :02:46.Cornwall police say the vast majority of 101 calls are answered
:02:47. > :02:52.within 30 seconds. But sometimes demand on the 999 service means it
:02:53. > :02:56.must be prioritised. The way abandoned calls to 101 are counted
:02:57. > :02:59.was changed in June last year.But in the ten months since, figures we've
:03:00. > :03:01.obtained show an average of almost 250 calls a month being
:03:02. > :03:04.abandoned.The Police and Crime Commissioner, Tony Hogg, told us
:03:05. > :03:07.he's concerned some callers are dissatisfied with 101, and has
:03:08. > :03:10.committed to undertaking a further review of the service. The stuff you
:03:11. > :03:15.do a fantastic job under pressure and had to prioritise, so throughout
:03:16. > :03:22.each day we will prioritise 909 above other enquiries. We provide a
:03:23. > :03:26.switchboard service, and from survey reports that we have conducted over
:03:27. > :03:31.96% reported that they were extremely satisfied with the service
:03:32. > :03:34.that they received. The Police and Crime Commissioners said he is
:03:35. > :03:41.concerned that some collars or dissatisfied with 101, and has
:03:42. > :03:45.decided to undertake a further review of the service. Since it was
:03:46. > :03:50.introduced over three years ago, the 101 number has been controversial.
:03:51. > :03:57.Critics fear it could confuse the public. These new figures will add
:03:58. > :04:00.to that debate. Teachers and parents in Cornwall are
:04:01. > :04:05.condemning council plans to make 70 music tutors redundant. The council
:04:06. > :04:08.says it can no longer afford to subsidise extra instrument lessons.
:04:09. > :04:10.Other authorities in the region have already contracted out music tuition
:04:11. > :04:14.and are employing self`employed tutors. Now Cornish schools will
:04:15. > :04:19.have to do the same as Anna Varle reports.
:04:20. > :04:23.Oscar has been learning the cornet for six years. His lessons and a
:04:24. > :04:26.number of bands he plays with are run by Music Cornwall. This could be
:04:27. > :04:30.about to change. Music is such a big part of my life
:04:31. > :04:36.and I will be really disappointed because half of the musical items
:04:37. > :04:40.that I do will be gone. It's cutting things with the kids
:04:41. > :04:43.that are stuck right in the middle that always get the squeeze, that
:04:44. > :04:47.try their best, do their best, stick at it, learn an instrument and try
:04:48. > :04:50.and give something back to the community and performances, and all
:04:51. > :04:53.of a sudden it is gone. The service employs 70 teachers who
:04:54. > :04:57.provide music tuition in schools across the county. Parents pay ?39
:04:58. > :05:02.for a one`to`one and ?5 for a group lesson. But despite these charges,
:05:03. > :05:10.Cornwall Council has said it has subsidised services by ?450,000 over
:05:11. > :05:13.the last two years. Because of this, they want the teachers to become
:05:14. > :05:18.self`employed. David worked for the service for 35 years.
:05:19. > :05:24.Cornwall is one of the leaders of instrumental music making in this
:05:25. > :05:28.country. And to turn it into a brokerage where people have to pay
:05:29. > :05:38.money to join it is not the way of bringing qualities into the lives of
:05:39. > :05:42.young people. Cornwall Council has said it is
:05:43. > :05:45.going to have to meet make cuts of ?196 million over the next five
:05:46. > :05:51.years. It says it cannot go on subsidising music tuition. If it
:05:52. > :05:54.does so, it is going to have to cut other services for children and
:05:55. > :05:58.young people. The council is now consulting with staff and unions
:05:59. > :06:02.with a view to making the changes by next year. Anna Varle, BBC
:06:03. > :06:07.Spotlight. A woman's been fined ?80 for feeding
:06:08. > :06:10.the birds in Sidmouth. Rose Rodell has specifically been given a fixed
:06:11. > :06:15.penalty notice for the littering of peanuts while feeding pigeons. The
:06:16. > :06:18.local authority says feeding birds could attract vermin and seagulls,
:06:19. > :06:24.which have attacked people in the town. John Henderson reports.
:06:25. > :06:29.Everywhere you look in Sidmouth, there are signs like this. Don't
:06:30. > :06:38.feed the birds. Yesterday Rose Rodell did exactly that and was
:06:39. > :06:43.given an 80 pound fixed penalty. Was I upset or angry? Yes, I was
:06:44. > :06:46.upset. BBC Spotlight filmed Rose last year, giving some homing
:06:47. > :06:50.pigeons, and a seagull peanuts. She says she always sweeps up any
:06:51. > :06:58.unwanted food. But on Wednesday an enforcement officer pounced.
:06:59. > :07:02.She said we're going to put this penalty on to you because you're
:07:03. > :07:06.feeding the birds when we have told you time and again not to feed the
:07:07. > :07:12.birds, and I said I had never been told not to feed the birds, I had
:07:13. > :07:15.always been advised about the birds but never told not to. Rose has been
:07:16. > :07:20.feeding birds for three years. The local authority says it's her warned
:07:21. > :07:24.not to. Rules has been spoken to are numerous occasions over the last few
:07:25. > :07:29.years about feeding, not just the pigeons but also seagulls, and 50
:07:30. > :07:35.yards that week we have a larger full of fish which the seagulls
:07:36. > :07:42.should be eating, but unfortunately the seagulls don't understand that
:07:43. > :07:48.that is people food only. The seagulls are frightening pests.
:07:49. > :07:54.Faulkner 's have been used to stop seagulls nesting in built`up areas.
:07:55. > :07:59.There are even warnings and takeaway food. So has Rose been treated
:08:00. > :08:10.harshly? You like it is such a shame. Yes, they are a nuisance.
:08:11. > :08:16.They are nesting on my roof. Rose is going to stop feeding the birds but
:08:17. > :08:23.she will not stop `` she will not pay the fine.
:08:24. > :08:26.We've already heard from the larger parties contesting the European
:08:27. > :08:30.Elections here in the South West. With less than a fortnight to go
:08:31. > :08:33.until we all go to the polls our Political Editor Martyn Oates is
:08:34. > :08:36.here to introduce some of the others. There are three other
:08:37. > :08:38.parties and they all have one thing in common. They all want to get us
:08:39. > :08:41.out of the European Union. The English Democrats are campaigning
:08:42. > :08:48.for an English parliament, and they would like to see the end of the
:08:49. > :08:51.union between England and Scotland. Part of my problem as a party is
:08:52. > :08:54.actually increasing awareness of people in England to the fact that
:08:55. > :08:57.they are English. They have been indoctrinated to believe that the
:08:58. > :09:00.British and they can only be British. In fact monitoring
:09:01. > :09:04.programmes say white British. There is no provision to say English. And
:09:05. > :09:12.so that's what we want to do is to increase awareness of being English.
:09:13. > :09:15.The British National party also sees withdrawal from the EU is a key
:09:16. > :09:19.plank amongst its policies. Here are some of their other objectives.
:09:20. > :09:22.We would like to stop mass immigration, to turn off the
:09:23. > :09:25.immigration tap. We want to reverse the multicultural society. We want
:09:26. > :09:28.to withdraw from the European Union, reintroduce Christian values into
:09:29. > :09:31.schools, deport illegal immigrants and bogus asylum seekers and most
:09:32. > :09:45.important perhaps is to support UK manufacturing.
:09:46. > :09:51.And finally, a new party holds cap Mac and independence from Europe, it
:09:52. > :10:00.is quite clear what their policies are. This has been founded by a
:10:01. > :10:04.former UKIP MP. We have had enough interference in industry. Farming no
:10:05. > :10:08.longer exists as a way of life, and where farmers are successful, they
:10:09. > :10:12.often have two work in a very prescribed way. We need to engage
:10:13. > :10:15.with the Commonwealth. The Commonwealth stretches right across
:10:16. > :10:20.the world and offers as many trading opportunities that the EU doesn't at
:10:21. > :10:22.present. You can find the full list of
:10:23. > :10:31.parties and candidates standing in the region on the BBC's website.
:10:32. > :10:34.One of the UK's rarest moths has taken up residence at a country park
:10:35. > :10:37.in Cornwall. The Beautiful Pearl, previously found only in Kent, has
:10:38. > :10:41.established a breeding site in the woodlands at Mount Edgecumbe on the
:10:42. > :10:43.banks of the River Tamar. From there Greg Wade reports.
:10:44. > :10:46.Charles Darwin would have been interested in the Beautiful Pearl,
:10:47. > :10:56.and he even sailed from here to the Galapagos. Now the micro`sized moth
:10:57. > :10:59.has got naturalists excited. This is the food for the beautiful
:11:00. > :11:04.pearl. Nobody knows where they came from. It could be Kent or France or
:11:05. > :11:08.even they might have been here, unnoticed for decades. It is very
:11:09. > :11:15.much a declining and Endangered Species Act. In the last 40 or 40
:11:16. > :11:24.years it has only been known to breed in Kent, because it is... Its
:11:25. > :11:26.food plant is the horn beam and that is native to the south`east of
:11:27. > :11:28.England. Volunteers from the Cornwall Branch of Butterfly
:11:29. > :11:31.Conservation found several caterpillars at the park last
:11:32. > :11:37.summer, but they've had to wait until this spring to confirm that
:11:38. > :11:41.the moth was indeed breeding here. These larger trees, obviously we are
:11:42. > :11:44.getting the seeds which are coming down... The moths depend on a
:11:45. > :11:50.specific tree, the hornbeam to survive and breed. And there's
:11:51. > :11:53.plenty of them at Mount Edgcombe. It had something to do with
:11:54. > :11:57.shipbuilding and that is why they are planted here in the first
:11:58. > :12:01.place, we are not sure. It is nice to have this population on sites,
:12:02. > :12:06.really. When they took the caterpillars away we spent the
:12:07. > :12:09.winter months like expectant parents waiting to confirm whether they wear
:12:10. > :12:12.these moths or not. The rare moths are currently in their chrysalis
:12:13. > :12:16.stage, it's hoped in a few months' time they'll fly again, in the night
:12:17. > :12:23.time skies over Cornwall. Greg Wade BBC Spotlight Mt Edgcombe.
:12:24. > :12:26.Surgeons at a South West hospital have been trying out a new gadget
:12:27. > :12:31.which will soon be widely available on the high street, to see if it can
:12:32. > :12:34.help in the way they carry out operations. Google Glass is a device
:12:35. > :12:38.worn like a pair of glasses which can take video and provide the
:12:39. > :12:41.wearer with information on a tiny screen. Torbay Hospital has been
:12:42. > :12:44.using them to help with the training of new surgeons. Our South Devon
:12:45. > :12:48.reporter John Ayres has more. This is Google Glass. In the top
:12:49. > :12:51.corner is a little screen, providing real`time information. Just like a
:12:52. > :12:54.smartphone, it has a video camera, which surgeons here have been using
:12:55. > :13:03.to give trainees a surgeon's eye view of operations.
:13:04. > :13:08.Information can be recorded or transmitted either live or when
:13:09. > :13:12.transferred to storage facilities. At the moment, it is typically used
:13:13. > :13:15.for educational purposes, we are hoping to be able to demonstrate
:13:16. > :13:22.aspects of Orthopaedic surgery to trainees. The glasses themselves
:13:23. > :13:26.have been designed for everyday use. Take a picture. It's use now might
:13:27. > :13:30.be basic, but potentially could provide doctors with new options To
:13:31. > :13:33.use it though, doctors still need the permission of patients. We
:13:34. > :13:36.envisage there being a role for intraoperative scans or x`rays as
:13:37. > :13:41.you operate, allowing the surgeon to focus more on what he is doing
:13:42. > :13:48.rather than having to resort to accessing screens elsewhere to get
:13:49. > :13:54.that information they require. They need the permission of patients to
:13:55. > :14:00.use it, however. It can be filmed while I am fast asleep on the table,
:14:01. > :14:07.and they can gain from that. That is why I said yes to it. Dr George
:14:08. > :14:11.Brighton had to idea to use the glasses at the hospital He managed
:14:12. > :14:15.to obtain a pair on loan for this project, ahead of their release in
:14:16. > :14:17.the UK. We want to be at the forefront of cutting`edge
:14:18. > :14:21.technology, and we want to use that in health care. We know that these
:14:22. > :14:25.things are not going to be the solution to everything, but they do
:14:26. > :14:28.represent new opportunities for us and how we can improve our service
:14:29. > :14:30.and educate our doctors and improve vision care.
:14:31. > :14:32.Potentially the uses are endless. Paramedics could feed back real`time
:14:33. > :14:35.information to A doctors when bringing in an emergency case.
:14:36. > :14:39.There will be data protection issues to resolve before it could ever be
:14:40. > :14:43.rolled on. The information has to be secure, and some people might not
:14:44. > :14:48.like the idea of their image being captured by the glasses. John Ayres,
:14:49. > :14:52.BBC Spotlight, Torquay. A young diver from Plymouth has won
:14:53. > :14:54.a gold medal at her first major international competition in
:14:55. > :14:57.Germany. 13`year`old Victoria Vincent is too young to compete
:14:58. > :15:00.abroad, but was given special dispensation to take part.
:15:01. > :15:07.Spotlight's Janine Jansen has been to meet the talented young diver.
:15:08. > :15:12.Victoria Vincent used to be a gymnast. Now she does gymnastics off
:15:13. > :15:19.the diving board. She's focused. Ambitious. And young. Victoria's
:15:20. > :15:23.just turned 13. For the first time she's represented Great Britain in
:15:24. > :15:34.the 10m platform in Dresden. Guess what: she took gold. It was just
:15:35. > :15:38.amazing, the best thing ever. I have never heard the national anthem
:15:39. > :15:42.played because I won a condition, and it was like I was doing it for
:15:43. > :15:45.the country, which I was. It was great. Her coach Andy Banks says
:15:46. > :15:49.she's a great talent. He says it's rare to take such a young diver
:15:50. > :15:59.abroad to compete ` and especially rare to return with gold. Very
:16:00. > :16:06.happy. Very steady across the easier dies `` dives, but she's also going
:16:07. > :16:11.up to the higher dives do. She had some fairly high dives and she
:16:12. > :16:15.performed them well. The older girls must have been looking on and seeing
:16:16. > :16:19.who is this young one coming up and giving us a goal. I am very pleased.
:16:20. > :16:26.Victoria's aim is to get an Olympic medal. No prizes for guessing who
:16:27. > :16:31.she idolizes. My idol is Tom Daley and Sarah Barrow.
:16:32. > :16:34.She's not the only star from Plymouth ` Tonia and Sarah won
:16:35. > :16:37.Silver in London in the World series.
:16:38. > :16:50.16`year`old Shanice Lobb won gold in Germany, and 18`year`old Francesca
:16:51. > :16:53.Del Celo won bronze. What a talented lot.
:16:54. > :16:56.South West yachtsman Sam Goodchild has today officially named his yacht
:16:57. > :17:00.for the Solitaire Du Figaro race which comes to Plymouth next month.
:17:01. > :17:04.It's the first time the solo French yacht race has come to the South
:17:05. > :17:13.West. More than forty yachts will be competing as Andy Breare reports.
:17:14. > :17:18.Hopefully this won't be the last champagne moment for Sam Goodchild
:17:19. > :17:24.in this year 's Solitaire Du Figaro. His boat was officially christened
:17:25. > :17:27.this morning, named team Plymouth, and Sam is excited that the city
:17:28. > :17:34.will be the first stop in the race. It is really cool to be sailing back
:17:35. > :17:39.into Plymouth. It hasn't been in the UK for over ten years, so for it to
:17:40. > :17:43.come back here, it couldn't be any better. It is great to see my
:17:44. > :17:49.supporters here. I am very excited. Also here today our children from
:17:50. > :17:52.the local primary school who will be following his progress as part of a
:17:53. > :17:57.local project. They had a competition to design a mascot or
:17:58. > :18:04.sand to take with him. This was the winner. Meat stand the shark. I made
:18:05. > :18:10.it red and yellow because that is our colours, and also because at the
:18:11. > :18:15.beach you swim between the red and yellow flags. The race will start at
:18:16. > :18:22.Normandy next month before heading on to Plymouth. They will then make
:18:23. > :18:27.their way down the west coast of France, before finishing in
:18:28. > :18:35.Cherbourg. Sam is competing because he hopes to move on in 2016, so it
:18:36. > :18:40.is a great stepping stone, but more importantly it is great for Plymouth
:18:41. > :18:45.two. Plymouth will enjoy the festivities that are going to go on
:18:46. > :18:53.during that week. Sam came 11th in next year 's `` last year 's edition
:18:54. > :19:01.of the race. It is a bit `` it is hoped that this year he will finish
:19:02. > :19:04.in the top ten. Wet weather doesn't appear to have
:19:05. > :19:07.dampened the enthusiasm of people in Helston as they celebrated their
:19:08. > :19:10.annual Flora Day. The town has been decorated with flowers and greenery
:19:11. > :19:14.and the scent of the traditional Lilly of the Valley was in the air.
:19:15. > :19:19.Spotlight's David George has been watching the dancing.
:19:20. > :19:23.As well as that scent I heard such a bustling and prancing... And then I
:19:24. > :19:31.saw the whole village was dancing. In and out of the houses they came.
:19:32. > :19:35.Old folk, young folk, all the same. It is Christmas, birthdays, wedding
:19:36. > :19:42.daze all into one and so much more. It really is. Oh yes, definitely. It
:19:43. > :19:54.is my first time so I am really nervous but really excited as well.
:19:55. > :19:57.I could hear the curious tone of the cornet, clarinet and big trombone,
:19:58. > :20:08.fiddle, 'cello, big bass drum, bassoon, flute and euphonium... I
:20:09. > :20:12.just love the sound of the band going past it just makes me feel
:20:13. > :20:16.tingly and I love it. A lot of people don't get it but I think you
:20:17. > :20:21.have two have been brought up with it to get Flora Day, really. Every
:20:22. > :20:29.boy took a girl 'round the waist and hurried her off in tremendous haste.
:20:30. > :20:33.These are the children from all the skills and surrounding areas. 1200
:20:34. > :20:37.children altogether, and you can tell which school they come from I
:20:38. > :20:44.be different headdresses and the different ties that the boys are
:20:45. > :20:50.winning. We have the forget`me`nots and Saint Michaels has the blue
:20:51. > :20:53.flowers, and some others have red and yellow. The sweet and scented
:20:54. > :21:02.air of the quaint old Cornish town was a bit damp today. It is just
:21:03. > :21:09.confidence, you know. It will turn out to be a glorious day in the end.
:21:10. > :21:28.Dancing here, prancing there. Jigging, jogging ev'rywhere. Up and
:21:29. > :21:32.down and around the town. Hurrah. David George, with apologies to
:21:33. > :21:45.Katie Moss who wrote the words in 1911.
:21:46. > :21:53.That looks stunning. Lovely day. Naughty weather, wasn't it? You may
:21:54. > :22:03.have spotted three BBC presenters. Well done to all of them. Speaking
:22:04. > :22:05.of the weather. The morning centres were affected by the rain, but that
:22:06. > :22:15.is how it goes. I think we will probably find that
:22:16. > :22:24.it is a much brighter day tomorrow, which is good news all net rent.
:22:25. > :22:29.Much drier, sunny spells. Lots of people heading to Dartmoor this
:22:30. > :22:34.weekend. The forecast is not that brilliant. For Friday at least it
:22:35. > :22:38.will be dry, but some heavy rain Friday night and into Saturday, and
:22:39. > :22:42.Saturday could be very blustery with plenty of showers around. Hopefully
:22:43. > :22:47.better visibility from late morning onwards. Lots happening at the
:22:48. > :22:51.moment. A lot of cloud covering the eastern side of the country and some
:22:52. > :22:55.showers are still possible overnight. They will stay with us
:22:56. > :23:03.and tell Don tomorrow. At first light tomorrow we have a new area of
:23:04. > :23:07.pressure heading towards us. It will kill the shower activity off, but
:23:08. > :23:12.the new area of low pressure will be sent and endeavours more wet
:23:13. > :23:17.weather. But you see how fast it moves, so by Saturday it is a mix of
:23:18. > :23:25.showers and blustery conditions. Calder towards the end of the week,
:23:26. > :23:28.too. This was the cloud we saw. There is a lot of low cloud around
:23:29. > :23:35.this evening, particularly through the English Channel. There is still
:23:36. > :23:38.the risk of the few showers. This was earlier today, when we did have
:23:39. > :23:44.some reasonable weather. But it is pretty great. These were filmed by
:23:45. > :23:50.our cameraman Andy. The showers were never too far away. But you can see
:23:51. > :23:56.the horizon here and VCs are being chopped up quite a bit by the
:23:57. > :24:01.strength of the wind. Let's look at overnight tonight. Later on any
:24:02. > :24:04.night, there will be some clearer skies, but towards Don tomorrow
:24:05. > :24:11.morning this line of showers will brush along the coastline, and
:24:12. > :24:15.overnight tempter is now lower than nine or 10 Celsius. For tomorrow, a
:24:16. > :24:19.much brighter and better day. Some showers in the morning but they will
:24:20. > :24:24.fade away by afternoon and we will have spells of sunshine. Quite a lot
:24:25. > :24:28.of cloud around but it should be dry. A top temperature of 14 or 15
:24:29. > :24:36.Celsius. But you will need to wrap up early `` warmly due to the
:24:37. > :24:40.wind`chill. Chance of the few showers, thicker cloud arriving late
:24:41. > :24:51.in the evening to bring rain across the country. For our surfers, it is
:24:52. > :24:58.messy. The onshore winds have chopped up the sea. Waves of between
:24:59. > :25:03.three and six feet. Quite messy. As for the coastal waters, mainly fair
:25:04. > :25:10.till late in the day, with good visibility. Watch out for that rain
:25:11. > :25:15.on Friday night and into Saturday. Saturday and Sunday, both days
:25:16. > :25:23.sherry and windy and quite a bit colder. Have a nice evening. Thank
:25:24. > :25:26.you very much. That is all from us. We will be back at 6:30pm tomorrow.
:25:27. > :25:33.Goodbye.