:00:13. > :00:16.a member of the Dartmoor Hill Pony Association says it could bd
:00:17. > :00:25.It's a controversial idea, but the woman behind it has told
:00:26. > :00:36.If the ponies are to survivd on Dartmoor in the new for it or on
:00:37. > :00:38.Exmoor, all the studies say that we must have a meat trade.
:00:39. > :00:45.Residents are moved out of flats after they were called a fire risk.
:00:46. > :00:48.11 apartments have been evacuated at a former hotel in Torquax where
:00:49. > :00:51.Work starts in Somerset to help prevent villages
:00:52. > :01:03.And businesses thrive during our exceptionally mild Septdmber.
:01:04. > :01:05.In her first broadcast interview, the woman behind plans to ttrn
:01:06. > :01:08.Dartmoor Hill Ponies into mdat for human consumption has bden
:01:09. > :01:13.Charlotte Faulkner, from the Dartmoor Hill Pony
:01:14. > :01:16.Association, has told the BBC that selling a small amount of gourmet
:01:17. > :01:20.pony meat will help ensure the breed's survival for years to come.
:01:21. > :01:23.But critics say horses are as much man's best friend as dogs
:01:24. > :01:40.For thousands of years, ponhes have run across Dartmoor. This could soon
:01:41. > :01:45.become a thing of the past. Hill farmers, like Charlotte Faulkner,
:01:46. > :01:49.used to share `` cell levels for a small profit. But the markets
:01:50. > :01:54.blunted, and so has their v`lue If we don't ensure the future of the
:01:55. > :01:59.ponies, Dartmoor will changd for ever. The brambles, the bracken the
:02:00. > :02:08.header will all just get colpletely overgrown. We would have Dartmoor
:02:09. > :02:11.has been no it. `` we would have. So to get around it charlotte has
:02:12. > :02:17.decided to try and sell the ponies for meat at a rate of about 50
:02:18. > :02:23.ponies per year. It is not something any of us want to do, but, `ll of
:02:24. > :02:28.the studies show that if thd ponies are to survive on Dartmoor or in the
:02:29. > :02:33.new Forest or on Exmoor, all the studies come back and say wd must
:02:34. > :02:38.have a need trade. But the hdea of a meat trade is a controversi`l one. I
:02:39. > :02:43.wouldn't eat a dog or a cat and I certainly wouldn't eat a horse. A
:02:44. > :02:50.horse is as much a man's best friend as a dog is. We are just not a
:02:51. > :02:54.nation of horse eaters in the UK. A local hotel is helping charlotte
:02:55. > :03:08.developed a range of high`qtality cuts. It is the moment of truth
:03:09. > :03:13.That is OK. Condiments to the chef, I think. I am glad it tastes nice
:03:14. > :03:18.cars if it didn't, then we would have a real job on our hands. We
:03:19. > :03:23.would have worked on his wax to get this far and not have a product at
:03:24. > :03:26.the end of it. Bringing a ndw food products to market is a long
:03:27. > :03:31.process. Charlotte is still working on the ins and outs of the new line.
:03:32. > :03:38.She means determined to see this ancient breeze, whatever it takes.
:03:39. > :03:46.`` breed. We've had lots of comments
:03:47. > :03:48.on this story. If it preserves them I have
:03:49. > :03:52.no problem in supporting it. What is the difference betwden a
:03:53. > :03:55.wild pony and Exmoor Deer vdnison? Sandra in Horrabridge says
:03:56. > :03:57.it's outrageous that people Surely there must be other things
:03:58. > :04:01.we could do with foals, rather Personally I don't have a problem
:04:02. > :04:06.with this, after all, we recently found out that horse meat h`d been
:04:07. > :04:09.used in our products didn't we? Lorraine's message was short
:04:10. > :04:11.but sweet. Pauline was also upset,
:04:12. > :04:14.saying poor ponies, this is supposed How could that farmer sit
:04:15. > :04:17.and eat her horses. But Dan thought it sounded
:04:18. > :04:20.like a fantastic idea and s`id he There's more on the issue
:04:21. > :04:25.in tonight's Inside Out, A number of people living in flats
:04:26. > :04:40.in a converted hotel in Torbay have been forced to leave their
:04:41. > :04:43.homes after the building was deemed A prohibition notice was served
:04:44. > :04:47.on the Bishop's Court Hotel by Devon and Somerset Fire
:04:48. > :04:49.and Rescue Service. It came as a result of a fire
:04:50. > :05:05.that failed to set off the `larm. It is fairly can here at thd moment,
:05:06. > :05:10.but a few weekends ago therd was a fire in one of the apartment in the
:05:11. > :05:14.former hotel behind me. The alarm was only raised when one of the
:05:15. > :05:20.people in a flat felt the w`ll and realised it was quite warm. The fire
:05:21. > :05:26.alarm had not been set off. Firefighters arrived, put the fire
:05:27. > :05:29.out, but it was only a `` then that there are concerns about thd fire
:05:30. > :05:34.safety of the building were alerted. They realised that not only
:05:35. > :05:38.was the fire alarm not workhng, but the risks to safety were so
:05:39. > :05:45.significant that the decided to issue an `` to issue I probdd her
:05:46. > :05:50.vision notice. That meant the people had to be forced out of thehr homes
:05:51. > :05:55.`` April had vision notice. It is not something they do not `` likely.
:05:56. > :05:58.They only do it as a method of last resort.
:05:59. > :06:00.It is one of the criteria that we have to meet to
:06:01. > :06:04.issue a prohibition notice hs that there must be an imminent threat to
:06:05. > :06:07.We don't do it without meeting that criteria.
:06:08. > :06:10.In this case, with the situ`tion we found and the circumstances as there
:06:11. > :06:14.had been no operating fire `larm, we are left with no choice but to issue
:06:15. > :06:29.So what has happened to the residents now? I'm not entirely
:06:30. > :06:33.sure. I did ask for a statelent from Torbay Council, and all thex said
:06:34. > :06:37.was that they had issued thd former building with April vision order
:06:38. > :06:44.themselves on the property. They also said that probation order said
:06:45. > :06:47.that will stand until the work is requested. I tried to speak to the
:06:48. > :06:49.owner of the property, but he did not
:06:50. > :06:51.Work has begun to protect vhllages on the Somerset Levels
:06:52. > :06:55.Two main roads will close for up to 11 weeks in an effort to prdvent
:06:56. > :06:59.It's all part of the 20 year Somerset Flood Action
:07:00. > :07:02.Plan, which was developed after last winter's unprecedented floods.
:07:03. > :07:19.Bill dozer move in. The main road through Somerset is closed for 1
:07:20. > :07:27.weeks. For once, local people are pretty happy. Because all of this
:07:28. > :07:30.signals the start of major flood invention work here. Part of a
:07:31. > :07:36.package of measures heading up to ?10 million. This amount of work in
:07:37. > :07:38.such a short time still is unprecedented. Somerset has
:07:39. > :07:44.attracted billions of pounds historically, but never has it been
:07:45. > :07:49.spent in such a short time on such a tight timescale. They are trying to
:07:50. > :07:53.prevent a one repeat of this. The worst floods on the Somerset Levels
:07:54. > :07:59.in living memory. Thousands of acres of land underwater. Entire
:08:00. > :08:02.communities cut off. The national publicity that attracted prompted
:08:03. > :08:06.the Government to promise fhnancial help. This is part of where the
:08:07. > :08:12.money is going. They doing two things here, firstly raising the
:08:13. > :08:17.level of the road by about six inches. They hope that will put it
:08:18. > :08:20.above any future flooding. They re also widening the drainage channels
:08:21. > :08:28.so that water that does fall on the more behind me can away quicker into
:08:29. > :08:31.the rivers. The question is, is it going to work? There is no silver
:08:32. > :08:36.bullet to stop all the flooding in the county. There are a number of
:08:37. > :08:42.key schemes like this one which will alleviate part of the countx from
:08:43. > :08:47.flooding in the future. It will be another five or six weeks... Nine
:08:48. > :08:51.months from the flooding, J`mes when Slade is still waiting to gdt back
:08:52. > :08:58.into his home. Small wonder he is cautious and optimistic abott the
:08:59. > :09:02.flood prevention work being done. We need to keep going year`on`xear
:09:03. > :09:07.during maintenance and upgr`ding. It is a good start, but they nded to
:09:08. > :09:11.keep going. They are also r`ising one of the roads leading into
:09:12. > :09:20.Muchelney, a community cut off for two months during the last floods.
:09:21. > :09:22.It will be down to next year to see if it works, or if the vill`ge boat
:09:23. > :09:33.is pressed into service agahn. Two men have been arrested
:09:34. > :09:35.in connection with an inciddnt in Looe in which a woman suffered
:09:36. > :09:38.what the police describe Firearms officers were deployed
:09:39. > :09:42.following reports of a woman in her 50s being assaulted in a car park
:09:43. > :09:45.in Millendreath late last nhght She was taken to Derriford hospital
:09:46. > :09:57.with head and shoulder injuries The warm and dry start to attumn is
:09:58. > :10:00.providing a welcome boost for tourism, growers and those who
:10:01. > :10:03.simply enjoy the great outdoors There's been a distinct lack
:10:04. > :10:05.of rain in the region so far this month and by thd time
:10:06. > :10:08.the final figures are collated tomorrow it could turn out to be the
:10:09. > :10:12.driest September in half a century. Hamish Marshall has been finding out
:10:13. > :10:18.what effect All aboard the great outdoors. Don't
:10:19. > :10:25.worry if you didn't bring your brolly. This September is almost to
:10:26. > :10:30.an end, but some places has seen just 7% of average rainfall. That
:10:31. > :10:34.means extra work. We need to watch a certain areas daily or else they
:10:35. > :10:39.look very sad and tired. Yot wouldn't expect to do that `t this
:10:40. > :10:43.time of year? Not at all. This time last year we were fine. It was a
:10:44. > :10:49.case of picking up the autuln leaves. They invested in thhs
:10:50. > :10:52.children it indoor play are` last year to try and keep visitor numbers
:10:53. > :10:58.up when the weather was bad. Ironically, this year numbers are up
:10:59. > :11:02.because the weather has been so good. The dry September has
:11:03. > :11:06.contributed to an 18% rise hn visitor numbers on last year. You
:11:07. > :11:11.extend your season dramatic`lly by having good weather in the latter
:11:12. > :11:14.part of the season. It makes all the difference to the bottom line and
:11:15. > :11:20.visitor figures at the end of the year. And you have noticed that this
:11:21. > :11:27.year? We certainly have. Ne`rly 50% up for visitor figures on Sdptember.
:11:28. > :11:33.They have chosen the perfect time to host its first walking Festhval
:11:34. > :11:36.Many what fully booked. This is often extended because it attracts
:11:37. > :11:42.holiday`makers with no children But this year it is busier than usual.
:11:43. > :11:46.You don't have to duck in and out of shops to avoid the rain. Evdryone is
:11:47. > :11:52.walking about having a good time. It gives you a chance to light and have
:11:53. > :11:59.a stroll and relax. Otherwise you will be stuck indoors and you don't
:12:00. > :12:03.want to be in front of the telly. It is worth staying in, honest. Growers
:12:04. > :12:11.and producers are affected too. Sales of cider have improved, and
:12:12. > :12:16.the weather could help new brews taste even better. It has allowed
:12:17. > :12:21.extra sugar to be made, so we are looking for it to a good crop and a
:12:22. > :12:27.great sugar level which means the alcohol level will be as we need for
:12:28. > :12:29.a craft of cider. The legacx of September 2014 be with us sometime
:12:30. > :12:32.down the line. Find out how you can nominate
:12:33. > :12:37.them for some recognition. Plus, how a plan to control rats
:12:38. > :12:41.on the Isles of Scilly is hdlping The underwater camera returned to
:12:42. > :12:48.its owner with some help Somerset County Cricket Club's
:12:49. > :12:57.embarked on a week`long bikd ride Dave Gibbins has been to thd start
:12:58. > :13:03.in St Austell to find out why. Here he is with all the det`ils and
:13:04. > :13:07.the rest of the sports news, which sees the city of Exeter at the
:13:08. > :13:12.forefront of a successful wdekend. While the bikes are being prepared
:13:13. > :13:15.for Somerset County Cricket Club's 500 mile trip across the Sotth West
:13:16. > :13:18.this week, which they should complete next Friday
:13:19. > :13:23.when they arrive back in Tatnton. It is in a bid to raise funds
:13:24. > :13:26.for their brand`new pavilion, which would bring the Countx ground
:13:27. > :13:29.up to international standard. And Exeter Chiefs maintained
:13:30. > :13:34.their fine start to the preliership season with win number thred
:13:35. > :13:37.against Harlequins at Sandy Park. With that,
:13:38. > :13:42.we bring news of a role revdrsal The fans have had plenty to cheer
:13:43. > :13:49.already this year, but the record Just two wins
:13:50. > :13:56.in the last nine league gamds. It only took a couple of minutes for
:13:57. > :14:00.them to sew an early seed of doubt. There was no stopping
:14:01. > :14:09.the runaway train. Into the second half,
:14:10. > :14:16.and this happened. I'm going to yellow card 14
:14:17. > :14:26.for the tackle in the air. Normally teams concede points
:14:27. > :14:29.when they are in the sin bin. Three defeats in a row had left the
:14:30. > :14:48.Pirates bottom of the champhonship. Tom Kessle's second try sectred
:14:49. > :14:56.the win. What Plymouth Albion would give
:14:57. > :14:59.for a win. Sinking four tries against Bedford
:15:00. > :15:04.condemned them to another ddfeat. We'll be talking to Somerset
:15:05. > :15:14.in a moment when they set off The weekend's football, Exeter city,
:15:15. > :15:22.and what a performance as they beat Despite their dominance,
:15:23. > :15:36.Plymouth Argyle fell to a lone goal to leave them whth three
:15:37. > :15:43.defeats in the last four gales. They will be disappointed whth
:15:44. > :15:46.a 2`0 setback at Crawley Town Two goals in two minutes catse
:15:47. > :15:51.the damage in Sussex. Torquay had two players sent off
:15:52. > :15:54.in their fourth play against United as they dropped to fourth
:15:55. > :16:12.in the conference.Plymouth Raiders basketball season, comparably taking
:16:13. > :16:14.care at Surrey United. Here at the start of
:16:15. > :16:17.Somerset County Cricket Club's bike marathon which will last five days,
:16:18. > :16:19.this is day one. It is all in aid of trying to
:16:20. > :16:22.attract international crickdt to the County ground in Taunton with the
:16:23. > :16:26.building of a brand`new pavhlion. We have the new build starthng
:16:27. > :16:29.imminently at the County ground As much awareness as we can
:16:30. > :16:32.create and money we can ranging This is my fourth ride of this
:16:33. > :16:39.length, and it is brilliant fun I'm sure we'll see a lot
:16:40. > :16:42.of people en route. We will stop at cricket clubs
:16:43. > :16:45.and colleges to do something is I cant wait because it will be
:16:46. > :16:54.fantastic publicity once it is done. It will be difficult not to laugh
:16:55. > :16:58.at him going up steep hills. As for raising money,
:16:59. > :17:01.we are definitely pushing a couple of quid into it if I see
:17:02. > :17:04.him falling over couple of times. Very much looking forward to seeing
:17:05. > :17:09.how funnily we walk Rare seabird chicks have bedn
:17:10. > :17:22.spotted for the first time hn living The Manx Shearwater chicks were born
:17:23. > :17:26.on St Agnes and Gugh after Now the young birds have bedn filmed
:17:27. > :17:31.leaving their nest burrows at night to stretch their whngs
:17:32. > :17:35.and gaze at the stars, which is how Earlier I spoke to Tony Whitehead
:17:36. > :17:51.from the RSPB to find out more It is fantastic news. It is the
:17:52. > :17:56.first time in living memory we have had tricks `` chicks from the
:17:57. > :18:00.boroughs. It follows a wintdr where we have worked hard to read the
:18:01. > :18:08.islands of the rats. It was the rats, where the or the X? Both.
:18:09. > :18:12.There were about 3000 rats on the island. It was causing huge problems
:18:13. > :18:17.because this is one of only two places in England where these birds
:18:18. > :18:20.nest. It was important to gdt rid of the rats, which were introdtced
:18:21. > :18:24.anyway and should not have been there and were causing all the
:18:25. > :18:31.problems with the birds. How good a news is this? Full we haven't seen
:18:32. > :18:35.rats on the island since December 2013, so that is really good news.
:18:36. > :18:43.It has almost immediately p`id off. We have seen that Maxine birds
:18:44. > :18:50.emerging from their burrows `` we have seen birds emerging from their
:18:51. > :18:55.burrows. Youngsters sitting outside their burrows, waiting to go on
:18:56. > :18:59.their long journeys. It is lovely. The parents leave before thd
:19:00. > :19:03.youngsters are ready. They lake sure they are well fed and then the
:19:04. > :19:07.parents fly off to the southern hemisphere, leaving the checks alone
:19:08. > :19:11.for a little while. Then thdy emerge from the boroughs, stretch their
:19:12. > :19:16.wings, they do it at night `nd sit outside the boroughs. To get a fix
:19:17. > :19:21.on where they are the spent a little time just looking at the skx and the
:19:22. > :19:27.stars. That helps them positioned themselves. The amazing thing about
:19:28. > :19:32.these birds is that once thdy leave that burrow they will probably not
:19:33. > :19:38.return for about two to four years. They come back to exactly the same
:19:39. > :19:44.burrow. And you can't foresde any other problems? Adi back to stay? We
:19:45. > :19:51.hope so. We won't be able to declare the island rats flay that Iraq rat
:19:52. > :19:58.free until 2016 officially. It is quite an intense job. That lac would
:19:59. > :20:10.be able to declare the island rat free. `` won't be able to ddclare
:20:11. > :20:14.the island rat three. We ard really making sure that these birds are
:20:15. > :20:17.held by removing the rats. We did the same on the Isles of Schlly
:20:18. > :20:20.We've all had that sinking feeling at some point or other when you
:20:21. > :20:22.Well, one Cornish diver had just that
:20:23. > :20:25.when she surfaced from a research trip and realised an expenshve
:20:26. > :20:29.That is, until a group of schoolchildren
:20:30. > :20:45.Two weeks ago, Kat Wilding was doing a survey dive, capturing pictures of
:20:46. > :20:50.the underwater world of the Bay for the Cornwall wildlife trust. It was
:20:51. > :20:54.also the day she led a valu`ble lesson. I put the camera in my
:20:55. > :20:59.pocket, and I thought I had secured it with the belt Rolaids, bx the
:21:00. > :21:02.time I reached the surface the camera was gone. It was verx
:21:03. > :21:09.expensive and very valuable, as well as being the two are work. H had no
:21:10. > :21:16.expectation of ever seen it again. ?500 worth of camera lost to the
:21:17. > :21:20.sea. That is, until class three and four of this primary school decided
:21:21. > :21:26.to do a beach clean as part of their studies. It was about creathvity, so
:21:27. > :21:35.we went to do a beach clean and we found loads of stuff and were cold
:21:36. > :21:42.by Mr King, who showed us the underwater camera that Alison Robin
:21:43. > :21:45.found. We picked up quite a few bags worth of rubbish by that tile and
:21:46. > :21:50.one of the children picked tp the camera. To be able to turn ht on and
:21:51. > :21:54.see the pictures are cells `nd what amazing wildlife was in the bay was
:21:55. > :22:00.incredible. They also found this picture on the camera, so posted a
:22:01. > :22:05.message to social media sitds. If this is your camera, please contact
:22:06. > :22:11.our school. Three hours aftdr we had put that out it came back that we
:22:12. > :22:19.had found the owner of the camera who is... Cat! It didn't just go via
:22:20. > :22:23.Twitter, but also via Facebook, which is how I came to here about
:22:24. > :22:27.it. One of arrogant divers was recognised in the photograph and she
:22:28. > :22:32.contacted me. I was amazed `nd couldn't believe it. It was people
:22:33. > :22:36.who were doing a beach clean, so working to protect the marine
:22:37. > :22:38.environment and conservation. They benefited are programmed by
:22:39. > :22:42.returning the camera to us. It is just fantastic. Some Green
:22:43. > :22:46.conservation karma. It's that time of year
:22:47. > :22:49.when we start our search What do all these people have
:22:50. > :22:58.in common? They're all
:22:59. > :23:00.BBC South West Unsung Sporthng heroes from previous years `nd now
:23:01. > :23:05.we want to find their successor So if you know anyone who ghves up
:23:06. > :23:09.their time to encourage othdrs to take part in sport or keeps
:23:10. > :23:12.a local team or club going then get To get hold of a form
:23:13. > :23:20.and see the terms and conditions just go to our website or c`ll
:23:21. > :23:52.the number on your screen. We will find out just how dry it has
:23:53. > :23:58.been to morrow. Certainly one of the driest and warmest September's. We
:23:59. > :24:04.have some rain in the forec`st towards the end of the week, but not
:24:05. > :24:10.for much of this week. They might be a few showers around on Wednesday. A
:24:11. > :24:17.lot of dry weather to be had. As `` staying miles, but the first rain on
:24:18. > :24:20.Friday. The first one for sdveral weeks as a weather front coles in
:24:21. > :24:25.off the step Atlantic. The weather front will bring a few spots of
:24:26. > :24:32.light rain and drizzle towards the end of the day. Before that gets
:24:33. > :24:38.here, it is effectively the same fine, dry story we have been seen.
:24:39. > :24:40.The high pressure in the sotth is tenaciously holding on, but
:24:41. > :24:46.eventually these weather systems will move in. Cloud coming hn on
:24:47. > :24:52.Wednesday and perhaps bring in a few showers. No heavy rain until the end
:24:53. > :24:57.of the week. We have had a few showers around today. They have been
:24:58. > :25:00.quite isolated. They are moving away to the north. For the rest of this
:25:01. > :25:06.evening and overnight what few showers we have will disappdar. A
:25:07. > :25:10.fair amount of clear sky developing later, but it will fill back in
:25:11. > :25:14.again with low cloud, mist `nd fog. It will be a bit grey and mtrky
:25:15. > :25:18.first thing tomorrow morning. Another night where the temperatures
:25:19. > :25:28.are too low. This time last year we had several frosts by now. But
:25:29. > :25:34.nowhere near like that just now Tomorrow daytime it will be not a
:25:35. > :25:38.bad day, with sunshine back out and quite pleasant. Later on we will see
:25:39. > :25:45.that Clyde and a few spots of light rain and drizzle. `` that cloud For
:25:46. > :26:01.many, it is a nullifying Dane. Another warm day and we will hold
:26:02. > :26:05.onto some hazy sunshine. For the Isles of Scilly, a bright start The
:26:06. > :26:22.cloud will turn up quite quhckly. `` the cloud.
:26:23. > :26:37.Slightly more in the way of so `` surf, particularly towards the
:26:38. > :26:43.south. There isn't a great deal of wins to start with tomorrow, but
:26:44. > :26:54.increasing to possibly five in the far west by the end of the day. Here
:26:55. > :26:58.is the outlook: Coding up a little on Wednesday with a few showers
:26:59. > :27:06.possible. Brighter on Thursday `` clouding up. The more persistent
:27:07. > :27:07.rain will turn up late in the day on Friday and overnight into S`turday.
:27:08. > :27:10.Had a good evening.