12/08/2014 Spotlight

very much. That's all from the BBC News at Six. Goodbye from me.

family left feeling desperate and isolated after their respite care

was suspended. The Dame Hannah Rogers School closed

last week while an investigation is carried out. Those who rely on it

say they are devastated. Might feel like spending the whole day crying,

but that would do me no good. It has left us feeling desperate and

isolated. Also tonight, Plymouth City Council

has introduced tough new roles on filling your dustbin, but how will

they enforce them? And the British Fireworks

Championship arrives in the South West.

"It's like being a prisoner in your own home." That's how one

Devon mother describes her life since the decision was taken

a week ago to suspend some services at a centre for children with

For Kay O'Shaughnessy, the Dame Hannah Rogers School

provided an essential lifeline for her 16`year`old daughter,

Amy is 16 and cannot be left on her own, day or night. For her family,

having respite care is essential, so when Ofsted took the decision last

week to suspend children's services at the Dame Hannah Rogers School,

over a potential safeguarding issue, it left K and her husband without

any support. The closure laughed week `` last week came as a huge

shock. It has made our lives a little fraud and totally exhausting

because Amy needs 24`hour round`the`clock care with waking

staff, so the impact has been profound upon us. In a normal week,

Amy uses the respite services at Dame Hannah Rogers School three

times, and that includes being cared for overnight, which for her family

fight every shuddering lifeline, as Amy's condition is extremely

complicated. Not only does she have cerebral palsy and many associated

conditions, she also has profound respiratory failure. It provides a

hugely needed break for Michael and myself but it also enables us to be

a normal couple for a while, so that we can make choices and decisions.

We are all mist prisoners in our own home at the moment. Amy has been

offered some alternative care in the short term but her parents did not

feel it provided what she needs. She is my daughter and we absolutely

adore her and she is absolutely precious. We just do not have a

choice, so we just hope desperately that things become resolved at Dame

Hannah Rogers School. It is the one place that we feel completely safe

about leaving Amy. We have never, ever had any concerns. And she is

not alone. Many families are now left as full`time carers for their

loved ones facing uncertain futures while the investigations take place.

Ofsted has currently suspended services for six weeks and the

School trust has thanked families for their support and hopes the

situation will be resolved as quickly as possible.

People who overfill their bins in Plymouth could be fined under

The city council's also threatening to leave bins which have the lids

left up and charge people who put extra bags out on the pavement.

The new guidelines will come into force in January.

The decision was made at a council meeting today.

Cllr Brian Vincent is the Cabinet member for the environment.

I asked him how the rules would be enforced.

The policies that are being put forward are actually already

in place with the previous administration as well.

It is only the fact that that we're going to make people more aware of

So how are you going to enforce them, for instance

if someone's bin is overflowing and they want to avoid the fine,

what is to stop them simply putting it in someone else's bin?

The first thing we are going to do, the first people on the scene will

Our job now would be to start to talk to the residents,

advise them of what is expected and we are wanting to take them

along, as our main objective is to increase our recycling rate.

I'm still not clear how you're going to enforce that.

How will you know when you get to the scene that someone's bin is

overflowing because they have put too much rubbish in, rather than

someone else being unscrupulous and putting their rubbish in next`door's

That we would find out when we are talking to residents, whether it was

them or someone else off`loading their rubbish into their bin.

You say these policies are really just clarifying

the policies that are already in place, so how many people have been

These policies were in place with the previous administration...

Doesn't that underline that this is an unenforceable policy?

Other cities and towns up and down the country operate this and it

We acknowledge there are certain times when people will have excess

rubbish and we will address that at that time.

OK, thank you very much indeed for joining us.

Somerset is hoping to follow the lead set by Devon and Cornwall

and focus on attracting a much bigger income from tourism

Figures obtained by the BBC show that there are

approximately five million visitors to Somerset during July and August.

As much as one third of the county's ?400 million income from tourism is

Now tourism chiefs want to attract more visitors throughout

Somerset's tourism industry has a problem. Four fifth of the income is

raised in a few months, over summer. I think it would be good if some of

the businesses diversify to think in terms of attraction, attracting

people year round. So how can you tempt the likes of this pleasure

seeker back to Somerset in the depths of winter with his family?

Well, this venue near Weston`super`Mare has been

reinventing itself for a long time now, ever since the farming family

there decided to give up dairy farming and open destruction

instead. They have just invested ?2 million in a year`round attraction.

It is a big investment for this family run business. They have had

to borrow ?1.8 million of that but it means that as well as having the

actual facilities, they now have these ?2 million indoor facility.

That is an indoor swimming facility and play area. Today as the sun and

showers took turns outside, families enjoyed the indoor facilities. It is

lovely. My daughter is enjoying it. There is nothing like this in the

area. We would certainly come back in the autumn or winter if it was

open. The owners are hopeful the investment will pay off. We are

hoping the new indoor swimming pool will increase numbers by 20%, and

with it being open all year round it will have an effect on turnover.

With the play area, it is an unknown so we are hoping it will bring new

business in an extra revenue from people already here. Somerset out of

season already seems a hard sell, although some hardy souls on this

subject camp site near Burnham on promising to come back. We will come

back for the New Year. It is lovely here. There are lots of things

happening here for Halloween so we might come down then. Not all

businesses can afford a big cover`up like here but there is supposedly a

trend for holidays at home, so now could be the time to invest.

The RNLI says 32 people, many of them children,

had to be rescued from the sea at one of Cornwall's most popular

Polzeath were caused by strong winds and high spring tides.

This was the scene at the beach a short while ago.

Today's high tide in just over half an hour's time is expected to be

A second man has been charged with the murder of David Alderson

The body of the 72`year`old cyclist was found at Wheal Maid

A 21`year`old from Falmouth is jointly charged with his murder.

33`year`old Kevin Cooper from Carharrack has previously

The plans to make it harder for betting shops

and payday loan companies to open up on the high street have received

The Government is consulting on proposals which aim to give

councils more control over where these businesses operate, by making

Jenny Kumah has been gauging opinion here in the South West.

For this woman, being married to a gambling addict

Her words are voiced by an actor to protect her identity.

He was very moody, bad`tempered, he did become aggressive, and that

She feels more needs to be done to remove temptation,

and she worries about the clusters of bookies on our high sheets.

At the moment, bookmakers and payday loan shops do not have to

apply for planning permission nor to open up in some circumstances `

for example, if they open up in an empty bank or building society.

The Government wants to change this, meaning that they would have to

apply to their local council for planning permission.

It follows concern from campaigners If about the growing numbers

of these types of businesses opening up in our town and city centres.

Here in Exeter, the 21st bookmakers opened up

Gambling addiction charities welcome tighter planning rules

There are betting terminals, machines that can take up to ?100

They are only allowed four machines per shop.

So they are open in multiple promises on the high

`` they are opening. So reducing the maximum bet on those

The Association of British Bookmakers say councils

already have power to control betting shops but councils say some

of these regulations involve lengthy and expensive processes.

If this goes through and the Government and the consultation do

change the regulations, that will help, but the ones that are here

Meanwhile, the payday loan industry which has faced criticism

for high interest rates, warns stricter planning rules could

We have seen a drop in lending of 50% year on year year on year.

As a result of the new rules coming into place, they have tightened up

The risk is, if people are being turned down,

they will still need credit, they will go to illegal lenders.

Questions are also raised about how much difference curbing

the high street presence of these businesses will make when

people can still access betting and loan services through the internet.

Starting early ` the Christmas garland at Cothele gets under way.

And fancy that ` the woman taking dressing up to a whole new level.

There are fears that one of Britain's rarest creatures could

Until now, the River Allen in Dorset has provided a secure habitat for

But now it's become victim to a type of plague,

and the Environment Agency wants anglers to help save it.

No stone left unturned, as the Environment Agency

and Dorset Wildlife Trust scour the River Allen for

The species is under threat in part of the river near Wimborne,

after the crayfish plague was discovered here.

This morning's search revealed two dead crayfish.

The fact that we have the plague here is a real blow.

It is such a precious little river, full of fantastic wildlife.

To have the native crayfish here was the icing on the cake,

It is not known how the disease came to be in the River Allen.

It could have come across on a non`native species of crayfish,

Or it may have come across on a piece

What we need to do is try to ensure we are not spreading it

So we need to follow the Check Clean Dry Normal code, ensuring that any

wellies or equipment taken to the river are clean, so free of plant

For river users, it is a reminder of the And Liz' Code. You have to hand

your equipment up after use and allow it to the bone dry before you

use it again. That their future on this stretch of the river does not

look promising, the project aims to preserve the endangered species.

The South West's three Football League teams all target a place in

Yeovil Town have to recover from their opening`day defeat as they

Exeter City aim for an upset at St James' Park against Championship

side Bournemouth, with Plymouth Argyle aiming to do

the same at Home Park against Leyton Orient from League One.

There's full coverage on BBC Radio Devon and BBC Somerset.

In the Conference, Torquay United attempt to get off the mark by

Every year on Spotlight in the run up to Christmas, we feature

the famous garland created to decorate the great hall at Cotehele

The seasonal garland is created by volunteers and made up of flowers

The colour and variety of blooms vary each year according

Gardeners and volunteers are already hard at work at the gardens in

South East Cornwall collecting this year's flowers.

Tiffany Truscott has been to find out more.

Volunteers have been picking and bunching them since May.

There are these finny pieces of greenery down the stem

and we have to take them off because they could not if we left them on.

The garland will be over 60 feet long when it is created

in the great hall in November, and last year 42,000 flowers were used.

It was a fantastic year of growing last year.

At this stage, we are about 16,000, so we have a good amount

so I'm confident we will have a good display.

Whether we want 42,000 or not I do not know.

Volunteers and staff will continue to pick the flowers every day

for the next couple of months to make sure they have

Today we have brought some of the bunched flowers up here.

They are in bunches of 20 so that is how we know that we have

They are drying and take six weeks to dry.

So we can just find a space to hang them up.

Having seen the cutting, bunching and drying process of all

the flowers, you will be able to see the great hall here transformed

into a glorious, colourful display at the end of the year, similar to

It is just around the corner! No, it isn't! Christmas is a long

time away! A syndicate of 25 work colleagues

from Bodmin are sharing a Lotto jackpot of nearly

?1.5 million. The winners work at the

council`run They each get a share

of almost ?60,000, CHEERING

A wedding, a new roof, a holiday are just a few things the members of

this syndicate are planning with their winnings, but many of them did

not quite believed they had won the jackpot.

Disbelief, really. It took a while to sink in, because Rena Barnes is a

bit of a joke. So most of the calls on Saturday night were about whether

she was actually winding us up or not. I was on my phone and my phone

was shaking and I just could not check so I was feeling quite sick

until I actually got it confirmed. The 25 people who shared almost ?1.5

million or work at the Cornwall Equipment Loan Store store, to

labelling `` delivering specialist equipment for patients who have been

discharged from hospital. They have been playing the syndicate for five

years. You going to give up work now? Not quite! We have been telling

everyone. Lots of people are talking about buying new cars. I'm just

paying off lots of debt and helping family out. Other people are helping

family and going on holidays. I need a new roof for a barn conversion we

are doing, so I might stretch to that. With just shy of ?60,000 each,

the jackpot will buy them considerably more than their last

win. You cannot get much for ?4 96. A 28`year`old woman from Teignmouth

has given away all her clothes as part of

a charity challenge to wear nothing She started in July and so far

Eve Hazelton has worn They include going to the gym in

a cheerleader's outfit and walking John Henderson has been to see

what she was wearing today. reaction have you had? Initially

bit crazy, and then some people bit crazy, and then some people

Plymouth for thousands of people. They will watch the sky light up as

three teams tried to prove they have the best display. Another three

teams then compete tomorrow but before it all goes up in smoke our

reporter is amongst the explosives tonight.

Good evening. Yes, worrying, isn't it? 1500 kilos of explosives. But

look, two hold fire extinguishers appear so we are perfectly safe

commission will of course there are more safety precautions. Andy is

here. It is very technological now, isn't it? It is perfectly safe. We

have been plugging in all these fireworks since 7am. All of these

wires are connected to a firework that go into a computer. It is not

connected, but you can turn on the fire... Me? Yes. Whatever happens

now is out of my control. The fire button is eliminated and that is

what we will press tonight. Listen, how do you practice? That is what I

have always wondered. There is no practising. There is an awful lot of

work back in the studios and the offices of these companies who tell

the computer when they want to see the fireworks. The computer

calculates the time it needs to launch at firework beforehand so

some of the area once need launching three or four seconds before so that

everything is synchronised. A quick word with Kevin, one of the

organisers. We will seize on 3D fireworks tonight? Yes, in the first

show tonight you will see that. Does that mean coming across as well?

Know, everybody is perfidy safe. Is this what towns on the coast have to

do now to bring in visitors, these big scale events? Yes, it is

entertainment and it is a perfect venue. It brings revenue to the

city. Good luck. We have been absolutely drenched in rain. That is

why we have the plastic and the foil on top of the fireworks, but it will

not affect the display. It might affect the visitors, gathering over

there. They are huddling under the citadel.

Don't touch that button! You had me worried! Still a few hours to go.

They have had some rain there this evening. Hopefully that would spoil

things too much. We have had some showers in Plymouth

today but I think tonight for the fireworks apart from blustery wind

it is a largely dry evening. The wind is a real challenge for those

organisers and for the displays. Tomorrow it is slightly less windy

but the wind will not be liked by any stretch of the imagination.

area giving us a cooler feel this week is away on the coast of

Scotland but it is giving its influence right across Britain and

we have a keen westerly wind tonight coinciding with some pretty high

spring tides. Some of the highest this evening. So we have warnings

from the Environment Agency of the risk of coastal flooding. For North

Devon, North Somerset coasts and the North Cornwall coast overnight and

also at Thirsk tomorrow morning. The rain bands swirling around Scotland

are still giving some heavy bands of rain. For as they will become more

isolated. It will become mainly dry. The showers are tending to fade

away. Temperatures will probably be as low as single figures in a few

places. For tomorrow, a much better start to the day. The exception to

that will be the more western parts of Cornwall, where perhaps first

thing in the morning we will see a scattering of showers but by the

afternoon, some sunshine. So can head to what we saw today, where

here we had a fairly cloudy sky, it is a much better day all in all. It

did not stop this ferry from running and the showers came and went

swiftly because the wind has been strong today. But sheltered parts of

the eastern side of Devon and the southeastern coast of Cornwall will

probably get the best of the weather tomorrow because here we have some

shelter from the strength of wind. The wind changes direction tomorrow.

It becomes a bit more of a westerly. For the Isles of Scilly, a few

showers in the morning and then becoming mainly dry. The showers

clearing out of the way. Some sunshine in the afternoon. Times of

high water. A pretty high tide again tomorrow.

The surf has been pretty lively on the North coast today and it will

probably be the same tomorrow. Gradually easing as we get towards

the weekend. The wind uses a bit in the

afternoon. As we head towards the weekend, more showers arriving on

Thursday and then briefly a breach of high pressure heading our way as

we move towards the weekend. So it does get drier.

Good luck if you are a pet owner in the Plymouth area tonight. But if

you are off to the fireworks, have a lovely time and may the

MUSIC: "It Don't Mean A Thing" by Duke Ellington

celebrating the music of Count Basie and Duke Ellington.

We've got factory boys and butchers' apprentices and office clerks

Don't stop moving! If you go back you'll die!