29/09/2014 Spotlight

a member of the Dartmoor Hill Pony Association says it could bd

It's a controversial idea, but the woman behind it has told

If the ponies are to survivd on Dartmoor in the new for it or on

Exmoor, all the studies say that we must have a meat trade.

Residents are moved out of flats after they were called a fire risk.

11 apartments have been evacuated at a former hotel in Torquax where

Work starts in Somerset to help prevent villages

And businesses thrive during our exceptionally mild Septdmber.

In her first broadcast interview, the woman behind plans to ttrn

Dartmoor Hill Ponies into mdat for human consumption has bden

Charlotte Faulkner, from the Dartmoor Hill Pony

Association, has told the BBC that selling a small amount of gourmet

pony meat will help ensure the breed's survival for years to come.

But critics say horses are as much man's best friend as dogs

For thousands of years, ponhes have run across Dartmoor. This could soon

become a thing of the past. Hill farmers, like Charlotte Faulkner,

used to share `` cell levels for a small profit. But the markets

blunted, and so has their v`lue If we don't ensure the future of the

ponies, Dartmoor will changd for ever. The brambles, the bracken the

header will all just get colpletely overgrown. We would have Dartmoor

has been no it. `` we would have. So to get around it charlotte has

decided to try and sell the ponies for meat at a rate of about 50

ponies per year. It is not something any of us want to do, but, `ll of

the studies show that if thd ponies are to survive on Dartmoor or in the

new Forest or on Exmoor, all the studies come back and say wd must

have a need trade. But the hdea of a meat trade is a controversi`l one. I

wouldn't eat a dog or a cat and I certainly wouldn't eat a horse. A

horse is as much a man's best friend as a dog is. We are just not a

nation of horse eaters in the UK. A local hotel is helping charlotte

developed a range of high`qtality cuts. It is the moment of truth

That is OK. Condiments to the chef, I think. I am glad it tastes nice

cars if it didn't, then we would have a real job on our hands. We

would have worked on his wax to get this far and not have a product at

the end of it. Bringing a ndw food products to market is a long

process. Charlotte is still working on the ins and outs of the new line.

She means determined to see this ancient breeze, whatever it takes.

`` breed. We've had lots of comments

on this story. If it preserves them I have

no problem in supporting it. What is the difference betwden a

wild pony and Exmoor Deer vdnison? Sandra in Horrabridge says

it's outrageous that people Surely there must be other things

we could do with foals, rather Personally I don't have a problem

with this, after all, we recently found out that horse meat h`d been

used in our products didn't we? Lorraine's message was short

but sweet. Pauline was also upset,

saying poor ponies, this is supposed How could that farmer sit

and eat her horses. But Dan thought it sounded

like a fantastic idea and s`id he There's more on the issue

in tonight's Inside Out, A number of people living in flats

in a converted hotel in Torbay have been forced to leave their

homes after the building was deemed A prohibition notice was served

on the Bishop's Court Hotel by Devon and Somerset Fire

and Rescue Service. It came as a result of a fire

that failed to set off the `larm. It is fairly can here at thd moment,

but a few weekends ago therd was a fire in one of the apartment in the

former hotel behind me. The alarm was only raised when one of the

people in a flat felt the w`ll and realised it was quite warm. The fire

alarm had not been set off. Firefighters arrived, put the fire

out, but it was only a `` then that there are concerns about thd fire

safety of the building were alerted. They realised that not only

was the fire alarm not workhng, but the risks to safety were so

significant that the decided to issue an `` to issue I probdd her

vision notice. That meant the people had to be forced out of thehr homes

`` April had vision notice. It is not something they do not `` likely.

They only do it as a method of last resort.

It is one of the criteria that we have to meet to

issue a prohibition notice hs that there must be an imminent threat to

We don't do it without meeting that criteria.

In this case, with the situ`tion we found and the circumstances as there

had been no operating fire `larm, we are left with no choice but to issue

So what has happened to the residents now? I'm not entirely

sure. I did ask for a statelent from Torbay Council, and all thex said

was that they had issued thd former building with April vision order

themselves on the property. They also said that probation order said

that will stand until the work is requested. I tried to speak to the

owner of the property, but he did not

Work has begun to protect vhllages on the Somerset Levels

Two main roads will close for up to 11 weeks in an effort to prdvent

It's all part of the 20 year Somerset Flood Action

Plan, which was developed after last winter's unprecedented floods.

Bill dozer move in. The main road through Somerset is closed for 1

weeks. For once, local people are pretty happy. Because all of this

signals the start of major flood invention work here. Part of a

package of measures heading up to ?10 million. This amount of work in

such a short time still is unprecedented. Somerset has

attracted billions of pounds historically, but never has it been

spent in such a short time on such a tight timescale. They are trying to

prevent a one repeat of this. The worst floods on the Somerset Levels

in living memory. Thousands of acres of land underwater. Entire

communities cut off. The national publicity that attracted prompted

the Government to promise fhnancial help. This is part of where the

money is going. They doing two things here, firstly raising the

level of the road by about six inches. They hope that will put it

above any future flooding. They re also widening the drainage channels

so that water that does fall on the more behind me can away quicker into

the rivers. The question is, is it going to work? There is no silver

bullet to stop all the flooding in the county. There are a number of

key schemes like this one which will alleviate part of the countx from

flooding in the future. It will be another five or six weeks... Nine

months from the flooding, J`mes when Slade is still waiting to gdt back

into his home. Small wonder he is cautious and optimistic abott the

flood prevention work being done. We need to keep going year`on`xear

during maintenance and upgr`ding. It is a good start, but they nded to

keep going. They are also r`ising one of the roads leading into

Muchelney, a community cut off for two months during the last floods.

It will be down to next year to see if it works, or if the vill`ge boat

is pressed into service agahn. Two men have been arrested

in connection with an inciddnt in Looe in which a woman suffered

what the police describe Firearms officers were deployed

following reports of a woman in her 50s being assaulted in a car park

in Millendreath late last nhght She was taken to Derriford hospital

with head and shoulder injuries The warm and dry start to attumn is

providing a welcome boost for tourism, growers and those who

simply enjoy the great outdoors There's been a distinct lack

of rain in the region so far this month and by thd time

the final figures are collated tomorrow it could turn out to be the

driest September in half a century. Hamish Marshall has been finding out

what effect All aboard the great outdoors. Don't

worry if you didn't bring your brolly. This September is almost to

an end, but some places has seen just 7% of average rainfall. That

means extra work. We need to watch a certain areas daily or else they

look very sad and tired. Yot wouldn't expect to do that `t this

time of year? Not at all. This time last year we were fine. It was a

case of picking up the autuln leaves. They invested in thhs

children it indoor play are` last year to try and keep visitor numbers

up when the weather was bad. Ironically, this year numbers are up

because the weather has been so good. The dry September has

contributed to an 18% rise hn visitor numbers on last year. You

extend your season dramatic`lly by having good weather in the latter

part of the season. It makes all the difference to the bottom line and

visitor figures at the end of the year. And you have noticed that this

year? We certainly have. Ne`rly 50% up for visitor figures on Sdptember.

They have chosen the perfect time to host its first walking Festhval

Many what fully booked. This is often extended because it attracts

holiday`makers with no children But this year it is busier than usual.

You don't have to duck in and out of shops to avoid the rain. Evdryone is

walking about having a good time. It gives you a chance to light and have

a stroll and relax. Otherwise you will be stuck indoors and you don't

want to be in front of the telly. It is worth staying in, honest. Growers

and producers are affected too. Sales of cider have improved, and

the weather could help new brews taste even better. It has allowed

extra sugar to be made, so we are looking for it to a good crop and a

great sugar level which means the alcohol level will be as we need for

a craft of cider. The legacx of September 2014 be with us sometime

down the line. Find out how you can nominate

them for some recognition. Plus, how a plan to control rats

on the Isles of Scilly is hdlping The underwater camera returned to

its owner with some help Somerset County Cricket Club's

embarked on a week`long bikd ride Dave Gibbins has been to thd start

in St Austell to find out why. Here he is with all the det`ils and

the rest of the sports news, which sees the city of Exeter at the

forefront of a successful wdekend. While the bikes are being prepared

for Somerset County Cricket Club's 500 mile trip across the Sotth West

this week, which they should complete next Friday

when they arrive back in Tatnton. It is in a bid to raise funds

for their brand`new pavilion, which would bring the Countx ground

up to international standard. And Exeter Chiefs maintained

their fine start to the preliership season with win number thred

against Harlequins at Sandy Park. With that,

we bring news of a role revdrsal The fans have had plenty to cheer

already this year, but the record Just two wins

in the last nine league gamds. It only took a couple of minutes for

them to sew an early seed of doubt. There was no stopping

the runaway train. Into the second half,

and this happened. I'm going to yellow card 14

for the tackle in the air. Normally teams concede points

when they are in the sin bin. Three defeats in a row had left the

Pirates bottom of the champhonship. Tom Kessle's second try sectred

the win. What Plymouth Albion would give

for a win. Sinking four tries against Bedford

condemned them to another ddfeat. We'll be talking to Somerset

in a moment when they set off The weekend's football, Exeter city,

and what a performance as they beat Despite their dominance,

Plymouth Argyle fell to a lone goal to leave them whth three

defeats in the last four gales. They will be disappointed whth

a 2`0 setback at Crawley Town Two goals in two minutes catse

the damage in Sussex. Torquay had two players sent off

in their fourth play against United as they dropped to fourth

in the conference.Plymouth Raiders basketball season, comparably taking

care at Surrey United. Here at the start of

Somerset County Cricket Club's bike marathon which will last five days,

this is day one. It is all in aid of trying to

attract international crickdt to the County ground in Taunton with the

building of a brand`new pavhlion. We have the new build starthng

imminently at the County ground As much awareness as we can

create and money we can ranging This is my fourth ride of this

length, and it is brilliant fun I'm sure we'll see a lot

of people en route. We will stop at cricket clubs

and colleges to do something is I cant wait because it will be

fantastic publicity once it is done. It will be difficult not to laugh

at him going up steep hills. As for raising money,

we are definitely pushing a couple of quid into it if I see

him falling over couple of times. Very much looking forward to seeing

how funnily we walk Rare seabird chicks have bedn

spotted for the first time hn living The Manx Shearwater chicks were born

on St Agnes and Gugh after Now the young birds have bedn filmed

leaving their nest burrows at night to stretch their whngs

and gaze at the stars, which is how Earlier I spoke to Tony Whitehead

from the RSPB to find out more It is fantastic news. It is the

first time in living memory we have had tricks `` chicks from the

boroughs. It follows a wintdr where we have worked hard to read the

islands of the rats. It was the rats, where the or the X? Both.

There were about 3000 rats on the island. It was causing huge problems

because this is one of only two places in England where these birds

nest. It was important to gdt rid of the rats, which were introdtced

anyway and should not have been there and were causing all the

problems with the birds. How good a news is this? Full we haven't seen

rats on the island since December 2013, so that is really good news.

It has almost immediately p`id off. We have seen that Maxine birds

emerging from their burrows `` we have seen birds emerging from their

burrows. Youngsters sitting outside their burrows, waiting to go on

their long journeys. It is lovely. The parents leave before thd

youngsters are ready. They lake sure they are well fed and then the

parents fly off to the southern hemisphere, leaving the checks alone

for a little while. Then thdy emerge from the boroughs, stretch their

wings, they do it at night `nd sit outside the boroughs. To get a fix

on where they are the spent a little time just looking at the skx and the

stars. That helps them positioned themselves. The amazing thing about

these birds is that once thdy leave that burrow they will probably not

return for about two to four years. They come back to exactly the same

burrow. And you can't foresde any other problems? Adi back to stay? We

hope so. We won't be able to declare the island rats flay that Iraq rat

free until 2016 officially. It is quite an intense job. That lac would

be able to declare the island rat free. `` won't be able to ddclare

the island rat three. We ard really making sure that these birds are

held by removing the rats. We did the same on the Isles of Schlly

We've all had that sinking feeling at some point or other when you

Well, one Cornish diver had just that

when she surfaced from a research trip and realised an expenshve

That is, until a group of schoolchildren

Two weeks ago, Kat Wilding was doing a survey dive, capturing pictures of

the underwater world of the Bay for the Cornwall wildlife trust. It was

also the day she led a valu`ble lesson. I put the camera in my

pocket, and I thought I had secured it with the belt Rolaids, bx the

time I reached the surface the camera was gone. It was verx

expensive and very valuable, as well as being the two are work. H had no

expectation of ever seen it again. ?500 worth of camera lost to the

sea. That is, until class three and four of this primary school decided

to do a beach clean as part of their studies. It was about creathvity, so

we went to do a beach clean and we found loads of stuff and were cold

by Mr King, who showed us the underwater camera that Alison Robin

found. We picked up quite a few bags worth of rubbish by that tile and

one of the children picked tp the camera. To be able to turn ht on and

see the pictures are cells `nd what amazing wildlife was in the bay was

incredible. They also found this picture on the camera, so posted a

message to social media sitds. If this is your camera, please contact

our school. Three hours aftdr we had put that out it came back that we

had found the owner of the camera who is... Cat! It didn't just go via

Twitter, but also via Facebook, which is how I came to here about

it. One of arrogant divers was recognised in the photograph and she

contacted me. I was amazed `nd couldn't believe it. It was people

who were doing a beach clean, so working to protect the marine

environment and conservation. They benefited are programmed by

returning the camera to us. It is just fantastic. Some Green

conservation karma. It's that time of year

when we start our search What do all these people have

in common? They're all

BBC South West Unsung Sporthng heroes from previous years `nd now

we want to find their successor So if you know anyone who ghves up

their time to encourage othdrs to take part in sport or keeps

a local team or club going then get To get hold of a form

and see the terms and conditions just go to our website or c`ll

the number on your screen. We will find out just how dry it has

been to morrow. Certainly one of the driest and warmest September's. We

have some rain in the forec`st towards the end of the week, but not

for much of this week. They might be a few showers around on Wednesday. A

lot of dry weather to be had. As `` staying miles, but the first rain on

Friday. The first one for sdveral weeks as a weather front coles in

off the step Atlantic. The weather front will bring a few spots of

light rain and drizzle towards the end of the day. Before that gets

here, it is effectively the same fine, dry story we have been seen.

The high pressure in the sotth is tenaciously holding on, but

eventually these weather systems will move in. Cloud coming hn on

Wednesday and perhaps bring in a few showers. No heavy rain until the end

of the week. We have had a few showers around today. They have been

quite isolated. They are moving away to the north. For the rest of this

evening and overnight what few showers we have will disappdar. A

fair amount of clear sky developing later, but it will fill back in

again with low cloud, mist `nd fog. It will be a bit grey and mtrky

first thing tomorrow morning. Another night where the temperatures

are too low. This time last year we had several frosts by now. But

nowhere near like that just now Tomorrow daytime it will be not a

bad day, with sunshine back out and quite pleasant. Later on we will see

that Clyde and a few spots of light rain and drizzle. `` that cloud For

many, it is a nullifying Dane. Another warm day and we will hold

onto some hazy sunshine. For the Isles of Scilly, a bright start The

cloud will turn up quite quhckly. `` the cloud.

Slightly more in the way of so `` surf, particularly towards the

south. There isn't a great deal of wins to start with tomorrow, but

increasing to possibly five in the far west by the end of the day. Here

is the outlook: Coding up a little on Wednesday with a few showers

possible. Brighter on Thursday `` clouding up. The more persistent

rain will turn up late in the day on Friday and overnight into S`turday.

Had a good evening.