17/07/2014 Spotlight

Compensation for the man who contracted asbestos related cancer

after coming into contact whth the material at school.

Chris Wallace is thought to be one of the first people in the country

to receive such a payout, but says it can never be enough

Just over a quarter of a million isn't really mtch

for someone's life and to h`ve such an aggressive, painful death,

Sentenced to life in prison after a five`year stalking campaign.

Joe Willis is told to serve a minimum of 13 years

after he attempted to murder Helen Pearson in Exeter.

And the aftermath of the winter storms ` our sea

A 36`year`old father from Devon who has an asbestos

related cancer is among the first in the country to win compensation

for being exposed to the material while he was a school pupil.

Devon County Council awarded Chris Wallace ?275,000 after he sued

them for coming in to contact with asbestos while at school in

Spending time with his family is important for Chris Wall`ce.

He's one of the youngest people in the country to get

I had several months of being unwell, sickness,

After about six months I went to hospital.

I was in there for five weeks, where they finally diagnosed it

The disease that Chris has is called mesothelioma.

It can emerge between 20 to 50 years to after exposure to asbestos.

He is taking legal action against Devon County Council arguing

that he developed the disease because he came in to contact with

Times when I perhaps hung off pipe with other boys and there's been

And the mats they used to use for Bunsen burners in science.

We used to carry them close to our chests, we handed them out,

Devon County Council awarded Chris compensation in

an out`of`court settlement, but the council did not admit liability

I've managed to make some sdcurity for my wife and children,

but who's going to support them when I've gone?

Just over a quarter of a million isn't really mtch

for someone's life and to h`ve such an aggressive, painful death,

Chris Wallace attended four different skills in Devon

Devon County Council says it takes great care to manage asbestos

Campaigners want asbestos rdmoved from all buildings to improve safety

but the government says the safest option is to leave it under spurred

the `` undisturbed. They said this is a unique case

and the only time a former Devon school pupil has taken legal action

in these circumstances. He set up the asbestos in schools

group. What do you make of this case? I am seriously sorry. As a

pupil, quite a lot of pupils are exposed to asbestos. As you can see

from the report, more than 200 schoolteachers have died. They are

the tip of the iceberg. A hdaring on asbestos in schools last ye`r

estimated that each year between 200 and 300 people have died from

exposure as a pupil at school. That was during the 1960s and 1970s.

These are alarming figures. For parents and pupils today, they will

be very worrying. Devon County Council say they have robust

measures to control this. It isn't a problem. How worried should doesn't

be `` parents be? If people are trained, then it shouldn't be

dangerous. The problem is, hn schools, children are unpredictable.

If you have 200 children running down a corridor bouncing off

asbestos walls, it can rele`se fibres. What we are asking the

government to do is to identify the schools that are most at risk. Any

asbestos that is accessible to children can be damaging. If it s

not move, there isn't a worry? You can manage asbestos in an office and

tell people not to touch it. If you do the same in a school the chances

are children will kick a football into the wall to find out what

happens. Managing asbestos hs possible in schools but people have

to be trained. As we have heard, Chris was exposed

as a child will stop my wifd taught in Devon schools and was exposed to

asbestos and has died from the The court heard Helen Pearson

describe the five`year camp`ign of stalking as an endless cxcle

of pain and turmoil. There were attacks on her home and

car, threatening letters and calls. I felt like

an animal being constantly hunted, It culminated in attempted lurder,

Helen stabbed repeatedly with Today, the stalker, Joe Willis,

was sentenced to life in prhson to I am glad it has been recognised

for the seriousness Figures obtained by Spotlight show

a big rise in complaints In 2009 there were around 740

reports of stalking to the police. By last year there were mord

than 1,200, an increase of 60%. Too many people are being stalked

and are not being taken serhously I hope that by my story

and talking to you and trying to do the public bit about it will help

raise the profile of stalking, get it taken more seriously and

for other people not to havd gone West Devon and Cornwall Polhce will

always review our working practices. Out victims are key to us

and we will always look to hmprove any working practices

and taking any learning that we can from any area to improve thd way

that we deal with our victils. There are probably two reasons

for the increase in complaints of stalking `

more awareness and willingndss to report the crime, and stalkhng is

frequently carried out on the Internet, which makes it easier

in an increasingly online world The judge told Willis, you were

motivated by pure malice, a desire You put her through the orddal

of a trial and forced her to relive You are

a sufficiently serious risk to the Well, former local television

presenter, Alexis Bowater w`s a victim of a stalking camp`ign

by an obsessed viewer. She went on to work for

a charity helping other victims I asked her what she thought

of the rise in the number of cases. Well, I think, Justin, that myself

and many other people have spent a lot of time over the last fhve years

trying to encourage more victims to come forward, to the police and to

other agencies, if they are or think So, I would

like to see that is part of it. And I'd like to think, rathdr,

that that is part of it and that people are more confident in coming

forward and reporting this crime. And also the people underst`nd

better that actually stalking is a serious criminal offence `nd

if they come forward they whll get In that time have you noticdd a

change in attitude from the police? Are they taking it more serhously,

are they investigating it more I think

the police are working really hard You have got to remember th`t,

actually, there is now a single point of

contact officer for stalking in all What you have to remember is that

77% of stalking victims wait until they've had more than 100

incidents of unwanted behavhour That's why it is

so vitally important for th`t first point of contact, the first person

they talk to, whether it is a police officer or someone on a

helpline, or even their employer, to Is it your view that this is

changing pace? I think that is a good point. What people havd to

remember about the Internet is that it has facilitated behaviour. It has

not created the behaviour. Dorking behaviours are no different now than

before the Internet existence. It's easier to store online now than it

was to go down to the post office and post a letter automated phone

call to somebody. It hasn't created the behaviour, it is just m`de it

easier will stop the Interndt is just another weapon in the

stalker's armoury. Coastguards say a holidaymaker who

plunged over cliffs in Salcombe The injured woman was airlifted

to Derriford Hospital. They're warning tourists Devon's

coastline can be treacherous Plymouth road racer

Jonathan Tiernan`Locke has been suspended from the sport

for two years and sacked by Team Sky The International Cycling Union says

he's been banned for Team Sky has terminated the rider's

contract with immediate effdct. Tiernan`Locke faced a disciplinary

hearing after his blood readings As the temperature rises we're

off to the coast to find out why our seas are much warmer much

earlier in the season. And celebrating a hidden gel,

the youngsters encouraging lore A man whose mentally ill brother

killed his wife and son at their home near Newquay four

years ago claims budget cuts mean more people like him are behng

released into the community. Official investigations found the

deaths could not have been prevented Tragedy struck the small village in

January 2010. It is believed Harry Philpot attacked his ten`ye`r`old

son with a sledgehammer before setting fire to the house. Dnds

mother died in the fire. He had history of mental health problems.

His brother says laypeople overruled the decision to discharge. They make

a judgement after a half`hotr discourse. Every view the p`pers but

they make that decision on how the patient appears for that hotr. In

response the Cornwall found`tion trust told us.

Don fears that budget cuts lean more patients like his brother are being

released into the community. If there was brilliant services and

brilliant monitoring, I am sure a lot could be done to prevent these

future tragedies. But, no, the financial pressures dictate

otherwise. The Cornwall foundation trust says there has been no

reduction in the number of lental health beds available locally

it also stresses that it own investigation all found the tragic

events of 2010 could not have been predicted prevented.

With unemployment still falling fast in the South West,

businesses are increasingly finding that they "can't get the st`ff"

Skills shortages are being reported in many parts of the region,

As economic recovery takes hold businesses are having to get smart

about training their own apprentices.

Our business correspondent Neil Gallacher has been finding out more.

Firms that survived the recession are now having to

think hard about where they will get their staff as business picks up.

Of course, it's a good time for youngsters

A year after I left school H was lay there and I just got bored of it.

It's a good thing to go into, trades work and construction.

There is a very big shortagd of that the moment.

Yesterday's unemployment figures show joblessness

Some industries are sucking in workers particularly fast.

First of all, the demand from 1 months ago has changed masshvely.

It's different across sectors, but if you look at construction

as one sector, it has tripldd from this time last year.

The more specialist the bushness the worse the problem.

This East Devon firm makes lodel railway equipment of such hhgh

precision that it has to have its own machine tool makers.

Training its own apprentices is cruchal.

There isn't a tool making skill out there readily available

We've trained an apprentice over the last few years

and we are looking to train another apprentice in the near future.

Not all firms or places are affected.

This West Cornwall business sells medical supplies

We had over 200 applicants, which was pretty amazing.

We had people from all walks of life.

A lot of people were overqu`lified and it was quite amazing to see

So, if you run a business you may not yet have come

across skills shortages, but if unemployment in this region

continues to fall as fast as it did in yesterday's figures that may only

Now Devil's Point in Plymouth doesn't sound

Even the name is hostile, ndver mind the fact large ships and nuclear

But local families want mord of the community to become `ware

Today four schools put on a show to raise awareness that

There's something fishy going on at Devils point. Over 120 people have

dressed up as sea creatures. This part of the water 's edge is not

that widely run gnome the show to get the message across that this is

a great beach. In three months we got together and

wanted to put on a communitx production. They want peopld to use

this beach so it is about the environment and the community. Of

course, some people have bedn entering this area for some time.

Gene has been popping in for a swim most days for 35 years. Last year

she and some other babies wdre greeted by a dolphin. It sw`m around

us and then swam away. It w`s such a thrill. And there are some gems if

you fancy a snorkel. We havd sea horses, sharks, an amazing variety

of marine life. You can find small fish, sea urchins, all sort of

things. Today there was no holding back the enthusiasm the children

have for the beach. The watdr is warm and there are loads of stones

to build castles. There are loads of boats. I spread, fishermen,.

It's been one one of the hottest days of the xear

so far and temperatures are forecast to rise further.

It means the region's coastline is a popular place to be at the loment.

And as it gets hotter on land, the sea temperatures are also rhsing.

in fact, they're warmer than usual this year.

Louise Walter's in Polzeath on the North Cornwall coast tonight

In fact, the temperatures h`ve got as high as 18 Celsius around part of

vast coastline full stop th`t unusually warm for this timd of

year. Would you believe it hs the winter storms we have to th`nk for

Sea temperatures are been rhsing in recent weeks all around the coasts.

Many of us love it. I do enjoy it. The warmest temperatures ard close

to Minehead. There it is around 18 Celsius. The channel islands are not

far behind. Elsewhere temperatures are hovering around 17 Celshus. Last

year it took longer to get to these temperatures. It's a lovely day for

a dip. The temperatures are been hyper quite a while now. Thd reason

could hark back to the terrhble winter storms we had. Surprhsingly,

all those waves brought warler water to the surface. That has helped to

increase the temperatures of the sea. On top of that, the murky

waters close to the sea bed have cleared and that has also hdlped.

Because the waters have got clearer, it means the light can penetrate

much deeper and warm up that surface more effectively. Warmer waters

bring in treating looking species to our coasts. `` intriguing. The scalp

was first recorded in 1948. It has popped up from time to time after

that but in the last years has become very abundant. It is now the

dominant seaweed species on the sea bed. It is hard to tell if the

warmer seas are part of a trained. `` eight trend.

The sunshine has brought a lot of holiday`makers here. It was packed

earlier today. I spoke to m`ny of them all of whom said the stnshine

was a key part of their timd in Cornwall. You can get out and about

and on the beach. We just nded some waves. It has been quite fl`t. This

morning I was up at 6am and it was good. Is it one? Does it make you

happy. Whittingdale anywhere when the sun

chance. Good Morning Devon comes live from

the Met Office tomorrow in Dxeter. And Matt Woodley will be putting

your questions to Helen Chivers one of the forecasters therd

between 8.00am and 9.00am. It's like being in a sauna here in

the studio. Yes, thunderstorms on the way. For most of our towns and

villages it has been very hot this afternoon. It does cool down a

little bit tomorrow. We are also likely to see more cloud around But

the main thread is that we have thunderstorms. We have a morning

covering the South West of Dngland. There is a risk of lightning and

thunder and torrential downpours of rain.

For tomorrow, most of that will of gone. It is still very warm but not

as warm as today. Tomorrow dvening and overnight tomorrow, there is the

potential for more thunderstorms to turn up. They are just coming along

the southern coast. This was earlier today. We had some

fine weather. Most gardens are looking lovely with

the summer sunshine and with the flowers out in full bloom. This guys

have clouded over a little bit. The dark clouds are where those

thunderstorms are now. We c`n follow their progress. There is thd

potential for everywhere to see the odd flash of lightning. Aftdr

midnight those storms will have gone. An uncomfortably warm night

and turning misty in some places. Lows will be around 18 Celshus. Last

year that would've been a good daytime temperature. Tomorrow, there

will be some bits of rain lhft behind.

For most of us it is largelx dry stop the cloud a bit stubborn but

allowing the sunshine to cole through here and there.

Another very warm afternoon with temperatures up to 24 Celsits. It

will be cooler as we had toward the weekend.

The forecast for the times of high water.

Overnight the winds will ch`nge direction. It is the change tomorrow

night that we are worried about A new area of low pressure merges with

the lines of showers coming up from France.

You may well get woken up bx lightning and some tremendots

downpours of rain. Possibly some hail. Saturday will have pldnty of

showers and will be a littld bit cooler and a little bit quidter

To take care if you are caught in those storms. That is it from us

this evening. We will see you tomorrow.

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