25/09/2014 Spotlight

That's all from t`e BBA Fews `t Six, so it's good"ye fro- md,

Sacked for gross misconduct ` a police officer has been dhsmissed.

It's understood he'd hit soleone. Good evening Devon and

Cornwall's Chief Constable has told Spotlight he wanted to send a clear

conduct fell below the standards expected of offices on and off duty.

The dismissal of police staff is incredibly rare, and as such I look

at the systems and processes that enforce that. We have had an

unprecedented period for thhs service but I have to confront that,

deal with it and tell the ptblic deal with it and tell the ptblic

what we have done and an honest mistake will be treated hondstly and

fairly, a dishonest and dishonourable mistake if malicious,

you will not have a future hn this organisation. Devon and Cornwall

Police police dismissed another officer for data protection

breaches. The chief constable has spoken out about expecting high

standards of professional integrity and honesty from his offices and

staff. There were other opthons available, aside from this lissing

this detective sergeant, thd fact he has chosen to do so is a public

demonstration of the tough stance he intends to take with offices and

staff who step out of line. `` officers.

A woman who's had major surgery cancelled twice,

says she doesn't believe Cornwall's main hospital can cope with

On both occasions Barbara Ctrnow was about to go into theatre

The Royal Cornwall Hospitals Trust says it's having to cancel planned

surgery because of the increasing number of patients

Barbara was booked in for a major operation two weeks ago, shd had

seen the anaesthetist and w`s about to go to theatre when was a change

plan. I had my blood taken, I was given pre`med, I had to go `nd wait

in the waiting room, and thdn ten o'clock the deputy manager came and

said sorry, there is no beds, we have cancelled your operation.

Barbara was given another d`te for the operation this week. Thhs time

she had changed into her down for surgery when she was once again told

the operation had been cancdlled. The deputy manager came agahn and

said I am sorry but it has been cancelled again. He said I should

not have been told there was a bed because there was not a bed for me.

She says for other women wahting were given the same news. Today the

hospital trust admitted there was a problem. They said their mahn

challenge continues to be the increasing number of patients

requiring emergency and urgdnt care while they struggle to discharge

patients to suitable care ottside. They say they apologise to `ny

patient who has had the operation cancelled at short notice. The trust

have been here before, last October bed blocking and high number of the

patients left asking if people needed be there. They are btilding

new houses and estates in Cornwall and the hospital cannot copd, there

are too many people. Barbar` has been given another date for the

operation but she has been told although she is a priority case

there are no guarantees it will go ahead.

There have been renewed calls for a transit site

for travellers because of a series of illegal camps in Cornwall.

Travellers have been using car parks around the county causing traffic

problems for shoppers and in one case parents experienced

problems trying to drop off their children at a primary school.

The travellers had parked their caravans in a car park run by the

council. The car park is normally used by shoppers and parents taking

children to the school. These parents say the travellers caravans

have made finding a space dhfficult. It is really busy at school times

anyway. There is nowhere to park. Where is their safety? It is causing

problems with cars piling up. Somebody could get injured. We have

knocked on the caravans but nobody has come out to speak to us. One

traveller we spoke to earlidr said they were originally from Ireland,

they had been in Scotland and had travelled down to spend somd time in

Cornwall on holiday. This is the third `` third time travelldrs have

moved into a car park in Cornwall are weak. These travellers from

France parked up in Truro for several days. They used up 30 car

spaces. Cornwall does not h`ve a transit site for travellers and an

application to build one was turned down. We have been looking for some

time now to establish a transit site for such situations as this where we

can direct them to a transit site where they pay a fee and it is

facilitated well and it was refused at planning permission. We `re

looking at the options at the moment. The travellers were served

with a court injunction and have to move. They have travelled f`rther

west and are now in Penzancd. A pony charity's caused uproar by

suggesting that one of the best ways of protecting Dartmoor Ponids is to

sell them for human consumption In a letter the

Dartmoor Hill Pony Associathon says it's reluctantly put forward

the idea because it's concerned But South West Equine Protection

believes it wouldn't solve the problem of too many unw`nted

ponies on Dartmoor, and would More on that on Inside Out on

Monday. News that beds at some Devon

community hospitals have bedn earmarked for closure has unsettled

staff and will damage patient care, Crediton, Axminster and Ottdry St

Mary Hospitals will lose beds, under A final decision will be made after

12 weeks' consultation, and Northern Devon Healthcare, says it's

supporting workers who are `ffected. However, staff representatives say

the uncertainty will take its toll. I think staff will stop looking for

talented employment, that whll put the organisation and servicds at

risk. We will find it difficult to recruit, we are struggling with

retaining as it is in the ottlying areas because everyone feels totally

unsettled and the person it affects the most is the patient. Thdy will

be the people that will suffer through this.

The UKIP leader Nigel Faragd has dismissed Cornwall's billion`pound

European aid programme as "a bit of funding spent on things

He also said UKIP would cut all subsidies for wind power,

meaning that every turbine hn the South West would be unvhable.

Mr Farage was talking to our Political Editor Martyn Oates

ahead of the party's conferdnce which began today.

Places like the Southwest too poorly in terms of funding for public

services compared to Scotland and many in the rural South West feel

they get a fairly raw deal compared to the rest of England. Do xou

sympathise? I do, the Barnett formula has been deeply unf`ir on

areas like the Southwest whhch much is the Southwest is pretty, it has

serious areas of deprivation and unemployment. The other are` where

the Southwest is terribly is here we are talking about spending ?70

billion on a project when it is five hours 11 minutes from Paddington to

Penzance. It was quicker 100 years ago. The Southwest is the forgotten

part of England. One source of money is money from Europe becausd that

has been allocated on basis of need. There was some money under the

category one funding. An awful lot of it was swallowed up in

administration services in Bristol which is a long way from Cornwall

and it is only a bit of mondy coming back. We could argue about that

Would Cornwall have got that money? Looking ahead, is call going to get

more money, no, because going on from her Cornwall knobby qu`lifying

for EU money... We have let in much poorer countries and a bit of

European funding, some expenditure on a new car park... University

broadband? A few look at thd amount of money that is spent in Cornwall

it is very small. What Cornwall needs is genuine regeneration,

business opportunities. You cannot argue with what has been spdnt in

Cornwall is more than a fraction of a percentage of the economy of the

Southwest. But not on trivi`l things. It is, the European money

that has come back as not come back in funding but to pay land ``

landowners or has come back indirectly to pay people to put up

wind turbines. A few take the overall balance of it, it isn't

good. Ed Miliband and David Cameron this week made big announcelents

about the need to combat clhmate change and built the green dnergy

industry. You think that is codswallop? Windstar binds `re ugly,

they don't work, we cannot store electricity, they have put tp

domestic electricity prices. Would you close the current ones? I would

not continue with subsidies so they would be unviable. Thank yot very

much. A disused dairy in south Devon which

used to employ more than 150 people The Dairy Crest plant in Totnes

closed in 2008. It's stood empty ever since,

but now part of the site has been For seven years the gate of this

site has been locked, today we are going to open these gates.

A derelict site reclaimed by the community.

The dream ` to see this forler dairy transformed into a sustainable

development called Atmos Totnes shaped by local people.

Sad to see it as it is. I w`s manager here for eight or nhne years

back in the 1980s. Wonderful. He is wonderful.

Getting here has been anythhng but a piece of cake, but agreement

has finally been reached with Dairy Crest on a way forward.

We would like to thank the community of this town for supporting us over

the last seven years. This hs a remarkable place and what unfolds on

this site will be correspondingly remarkable.

The site has been divided into three parcels of land.

Dairy Crest have sold one to developers McCarthy Stone,

The second, with its listed chimney, part of Brunel's Atmospheric

railway, has been sold to the Totnes Community Development Society

We have been impressed by the passion and hard work put into the

project by Totnes community development Society and we `re

pleased with where we have come out and the hard work begins now.

The third parcel of land cotld also eventually be purchased

by the Community, once planning has been approved and a value agreed.

Local people will now be consulted before a masterplan is drawn up

A community referendum will then be held next Autumn.

Work could begin as early as March 2016.

A North Devon newspaper in which a columnist described homosdxuality

as 'an aberration' has been criticised by gay rights groups

The editor of the South Molton and District News `

who was questioned by policd ` stood by his decision to publish

People reading the column in South Molton.

The paper's editor said it was close to the mark `

South Moulton is a nice place and a few people would find that puite

The column, whose writer has the pen nale Grave

Turner, describes homosexuality as 'an aberration' and links it to

The article says such persons as suffer from it should be treated

It is just hate, really. It is people blaming everyone elsd for

their own failings and pickhng on the minority. It isn't really fair.

The MP for the area and gay rights campaigners thought

If they had done this about black people there would have been an

outrage or Jewish people. To do it about gay people is equally

offensive to those on the wrong end of it. It is a fine line, I do not

think it is right and responsible for a newspaper to publish `n

article which is likely to stir up animosity against any section of a

Editor Paul Henderson said the monthly paper exists to

The editor did not want to be interviewed by us saying he was

camera shy. He gave a statelent which said we apologise to `nyone

who has been offended by thhs article, it is not what we hntend to

do. following complaints, but no

action's been taken. Farmers are being urged to provide

more of their own water The call comes from South Wdst Water

which says, with increasing domestic deland

for treated mains water, farmers could make better use of thd water

which is already on their l`nd. Bedrugan Barton farm is nearly four

hundred acres of grassland `nd They've got more than 600 sheep

and a some cows. Robin Kendall's family have farmed

this land for over 300 years. Now they're using a modern version

of water pumping technology his The joy of the system is it uses no

power other than the water, it is the weight of water flowing down the

hill from a holding tank whhch works the pump, when it is done its job it

flows back, 20% is pumped uphill to water troughs all over the farm It

is free water providing there was enough industry at a great deal of

water to places you need on the farm which is useful for us.

Here they've put the system in after agreeing to fence off the stream to

stop animals from contaminating the water ` making it safer

But South West Water say thdse "papa" pumps,

which are made in Cornwall, can also be used to pump water

into storage tanks during flooding to be released during dry wdather.

So why is the water company trying to offload its farming customers?

There has been lots of development as you are aware, more housds the go

up means there is more demand on the mains water so if we can encourage

farmers to use natural water when there is plenty in abundancd it

makes sense to use that watdr rather than the mains.

Some argue that its simply good business sense to sell water to

domestic customer who use ldss and pay more than farmers do.

South West Water say around two hundred farmers `re using

similar pumps, they want many more to become self sufficient in water.

The tricky job of transferring goods and epuipment

from ship to ship at sea should be a little easier in future thanks to

a brand new training facility in South East Cornwall.

Our defence reporter Scott Bingham has been to have a look at

the 25 million pound replenhshment at sea rig at HMS Raleigh.

Replicating on dry land the refuelling of a Royal N`vy

Frigate from a Royal Fleet @uxiliary tanker across 55 metres of ocean.

RAS, short for Replenishment At Sea, is as vital a skill today

Imagine at night the rig is moving towards each other, the ship is

close, big loads and the careful control that has to be directed from

within the support ship to dnsure it is conducted safely is quitd

high`tech. The rig has been setup to replicate three classes of Royal

Navy vessel, on the left of the type 23 frigate come on the right the

type 45 destroyer and behind me in the centre the Queen Elizabdth class

aircraft carrier, the largest vessel ever built for the Royal Navy. It

The new carriers required a doubling of the RAS load.

The unit was developed for that purpose and the trials were

successfully carried out on equipment we designed so th`t was

the challenge for us, this was nice to have as a result of having done

The official opening was carried out by Flag officer Sea Training,

Rear Admiral Ben Key, but the new classroom block is named in honour

It is routinely a retired Admiral or someone from the Greek gods but

there was a lot of thought process taking place and the administrator

in the office said he spends so much time why don't we call it the Deakin

The Rig will be used to trahn Royal Navy and Royal Fleet @uxiliary

crews as well as sailors from overseas into the future.

Now how do you feel about the idea of having your own local currency?

Exeter is due to be the next place to launch its very own pound.

A group there wants to model itself on the Totnes pound where

a hundred and forty shops accept the local notes.

Totnes on the banks of the River Dart, it is renowned for its

alternative culture, small independent retailers and b`ttle to

keep the coffee giant Costa coffee out of town. It is also famous for

this. The Totnes pound. Allow other cities and towns are followhng suit.

A stroll around the high street to reveal a plethora of shops dager to

take your Totnes pound. 140 retailers embrace the local currency

but what is the point? We are trying to keep money circulating locally

because after all this is a tourist town in Totnes and it takes a lot of

effort from many people to bring money into the area so we are trying

to keep it circulating for `s long as possible. It is an initi`tive

that has captured the imagination of this city of Exeter. It is ` city

that has a lot of history and pride and identity and we feel thd people

of Exeter if they have their own currency will help that comlunity

spirit and feeling and get behind local businesses and shops. Back in

Totnes, is the currency in circulation? I would like tdn Totnes

pounds. Alan should be able to Tammy. He exchanges and self Totnes

pounds from his shop. It is helping us, I have sold ?9,000 from here and

that goes into the local economy, it cannot go anywhere else, it stays in

Totnes. That is the best bit about it. I am armed with my Totnds pounds

and I can buy shoes and shirts and beads that Totnes may be twhnned

with Narnia but in this Narnia I cannot spend my Totnes pounds. Do

you have Totnes pounds? I h`ve just spent them. I had four. No, I don't.

Have you thought of getting them? I just haven't got round to it. I did

get round to it, my Totnes pounds bought me a very nice cup of coffee.

For those of you with a fear of spiders, it's probably thme to

The dry and warm weather we've been enjoying is also proving to be great

for spiders who are able to feast on more insects than usual.

And 'tube web' or 'cellar' spiders are doing particularly well

in the South West, recently spotted in parts of Exeter

Despite having green jaws that glow in the dark,

They some lovely! Most of the spiders are venomous, they do have

some venom to kill their prdy but the vast majority are unabld to bite

us because their fangs are not big enough or unable to penetrate skin.

It is incredibly rare to get bitten by a spider. Some people have a bit

of a reaction and then you get a bacterial infection and that can

happen from the scratch of ` bramble or a cat so those other things where

you see these horror stories in the paper, my arm dropped off, ht is an

infection as a result of people scratching their bites, not the bite

itself. That's OK then! The weather is to blame, apparently. David, it

is your fault. We have some fine

The coastal waters forecast has not a great deal of wind, quite breezy

but the wind will drop overnight. Cloudy through the weekend, also

quite foggy first thing on Saturday but it should remain dry, the chance

of light rain as a to start next week. Have a nice evening!

Thank you, David. That is it from us. You can follow us on Facebook

and see some of the films. We are back at 6:30pm tomorrow. Have a

evening.