03/01/2017 Spotlight

After thousands raised to get him home, Christopher Tester was flown

Speaking to Spotlight, his sister says it's

We don't really know the full extent of, long-term,

Also tonight - the brothels popping up across the South West.

We'll report from one town where 14 have appeared since July.

Campaigners rally for support at South West stations branding

And recording memories to ensure we never forget the Exeter Blitz.

Because the next night it was blown to smithereens.

The family of a Devon man who was shot in the head

during an armed robbery in the Caribbean are tonight

Chris Tester was visiting his parents at their cafe

After they'd closed for the night, an armed robber threatened

Chris intervened and was shot in the incident.

He was initially flown from Antigua to Guadeloupe

His friends and family immediately launched an appeal to raise money

for him to return to the UK for specialist treatment and last

night he arrived back by air ambulance and is now being treated

His sister Vicky has been talking to our reporter John Ayres.

He doesn't really obviously, you know, it took nearly a day

We don't really know the full extent, long-term,

I mean, have they given you any idea as to what might happen or how long

Because of the extent of his injuries, it is his brain

potentially, his eyes, also reconstruction to his face,

I think the main point is that he is stable

and there is nothing that they urgently need

to operate on when he arrived, which was a good sign.

How have your parents cope with all of this?

My mum is the strongest woman I think I have ever seen.

And my dad, he has been with him the whole way and sat with him

in that air ambulance the whole time.

As any parent would, they are doing everything they can.

There has been an incredible rallying around, hasn't there,

What would you want to say to the people that have helped?

All of us, we are so, so, so grateful.

And the people from, you know, Chris's life

that have known him, back at school, people that

know him now from his work, socialising when he goes out,

Well, Brenton Henry is a journalist with the Antigua Observer newspaper.

I asked him what reaction there'd been to the shooting.

Well, there has been a tremendous expression of goodwill

and sympathy towards the family, but also a level of shock

and disappointment, especially that this happened to a visitor

What sort of investigation is going on at the moment into the shooting?

Lawmen have appealed to members of the public who may know something

However no one has been charged in connection

with that crime as yet, and no one is in custody

at present assisting lawmen with the investigation,

And it appears that they have very few leads to follow so far, at least

I don't know if you know the cafe itself, but what about

Give us an idea of what that neighbourhood is like.

Antigua is a relatively small community, but even

by Antigua's standards, Old Road, the community of Old Road

would be considered far and rural part of Antigua and popular.

I mean, in terms of the level of this crime, the shooting,

how often does this sort of incident happen in Antigua?

I mean, Antigua has had a past where visitors have run into trouble

with local criminals, yes, but that sort of thing does not

happen often at all, and so that is why this particular

incident came as a shock to many residents and visitors.

It is largely unheard of here in Antigua that something

OK, Brenton Henry in Antigua, thank you very much indeed.

A brief round-up of some of the other stories

Police are becoming extremely concerned for a 76-year-old man

Clive Colling was last seen on New Year s Day and is thought

to be wearing dark clothes and a dark woollen hat.

Police dogs, the force helicopter and coastguards are all involved

Several sites in Plymouth have been chosen as part of a government

scheme aimed at building thousands of new starter homes.

A government subsidy will allow the properties

to be sold at a discount, but only people aged between 23

Whitleigh and Bath Street are two of the sites.

Major disruption is expected on one of Plymouth's busiest roads

Improvement work is being carried out on the A386 Tavistock Road

It's part of a ?13 million scheme aimed at increasing development

to the north of the city including 3000 new homes.

The Somerset-based explorer Sir Ranulph Fiennes is setting off

His trek to the top of Mount Aconcagua in Argentina

is part of a challenge to become the first person to cross both polar

ice caps and climb the highest mountain on each continent.

Campaigners calling for improved rail services and cheaper fares say

the South West is being treated as "the end of the line."

Members of the trade union-led campaign group Action for Rail

were at stations today calling on passengers to join their fight.

Fare rises which came into force yesterday mean the cost

of an anytime return from Birmingham to Plymouth increased

And if you want a day return tomorrow from Plymouth

to London Paddington, prices start at ?96.50

rising to ?267 if you want to travel at peak times.

Hamish Marshall has been gauging reaction from passengers.

A train coming down the line from London today,

but for the passengers on it, the prices have gone up.

The average rise of more than 2% came into force yesterday.

Some fares here though are going up by 4%.

I think they've always been too expensive in England.

I come back every now and then, and it always strikes me how

expensive the train fares are in England.

I've come up from Cornwall, so it's costing me 20 quid,

so it would probably cost me more in car fares and petrol.

I think they are a bit much really for day-to-day travel,

For anyone coming to college it is a drain on their money.

These two sisters were flexible and booked online, and were happy

with their fare today, but even would like the fare

increase income spent on bringing the line from Okehampton

That would save a 50 mile round trip to Exeter to start her journey.

We desperately need that link of the rail to come up here.

Passengers arriving in Exeter St David's this morning

were met by these campaigners who are pushing for a better deal.

We need a second route to the south-west via Okehampton.

We need more work done on the Dawlish Sea Walk.

We need more investment into Cornwall.

We need better infrastructure in the south-west.

Well, this train is on its way to Glasgow.

I checked a few moments ago to see how much it would cost if I wanted

And if you say, well, what about booking in advance?

I checked the same train for a month's time.

For a comparison you can find flights to Glasgow

The Government says the fare rises are funding investment.

Around the rail network there is a lot happening.

I guess of course nobody wants to see a fare increase,

And right now fares are rising less faster than wages,

so at least that is a step in the right direction.

Campaigners are challenging the minister now to show that

Coming up - the latest on preparations for

Some of the hottest tickets in town, and Argyle fans have been snapping

up the last few ahead of the big game in Liverpool on Sunday.

You've heard of pop-up shops, pop-up restaurants, but on the rise

in parts of the South West, a very different transient

And women from Central and Eastern Europe are being forced

into sexual slavery in a rising number of them according to police.

In fact 14 establishments have appeared in one Cornish town

From Newquay, Denis Nightingale reports.

One evening a man came knocking at a guesthouse door.

He basically asked me how much I charged, assuming

that I was part of it, and I just told them to go away.

And what did you think of that when it happened?

It was the first indication Ellen had that there was a brothel

where three women were working just two doors down from her.

It was one of 14 brothels in the town discovered since last July.

Well, I didn't realise it was that number,

As a town we wouldn't want people to associate Newquay

A search of sites on the internet shows many of the pop-ups appear

to be staffed by women from Central and Eastern Europe.

The police say they treat the women as victims,

but they say they can't allow pop-ups across Cornwall

We couldn't condone the running of a brothel, and a lot

of the pop-up brothels are in summer lets and rental apartments,

and we are duty bound to inform the owner of that

and what is going on in their premises.

Inspector Meredith says it won't be easy tracking down international

gangs behind the sex trafficking, but he says the police

As well as safeguarding the women that are in these pop-up brothels,

one of our drives is to gather intelligence, and from gathering

intelligence that will give us a picture of what is going

on and try to scope the nature of the problem, and also to help us

formulate proactive operations against persons that are behind

For Ellen, local communities must be protected.

This road has got quite a few children in it.

Also, being a guesthouse, I have guests who I feel

And it is not what you want in the area.

So, pop-up brothels are on the increase in the South West.

The English Collective of Prostitutes campaigns for legal

brothels and believes women working together in one place is safer,

but Laura Watson told me why these short-term brothels are a problem.

The major problem with the pop-up brothels is the transient nature of

them. We have been seeing all over the country that people are raiding

premises where sex workers are working together collectively and

safely. The police are raiding them and closing them down. So in your

raise you see the police as a bit of a problem in this situation?

Definitely be major problem. They are the ones who are raiding

premises and closing them down where it is just two or more sex workers

working together for safety and even if there is no force or caution

involved in that setup... You see these women as victims because the

police are treating them as victims? We do not see these women as

victims. The women do not describe themselves as victims. They describe

themselves as head of households, earning money to put food on the

table to feed their children. Most sex workers are mothers in the UK

and that is the reason they are working. The police are a little bit

between a rock and a hard place because they have a job to do. There

are children in the streets, you can see that police have a duty to try

and move them on. Sex workers are mothers themselves and therefore it

take into the consideration that there are families in the area, all

those other considerations, so any kind of anti-social behaviour that

happens or noise or anything like that can be dealt with. You don't

need a prosecution to deal with those kind of problems. You are

making it sound like any other business in a normal street. So what

is the answer here? What we want is an end to the law, legislation,

which prevents sex workers from working together. Not only does

prevent from working together, it means you can't come forward to

report any violence that does happen to the police because the police are

more interested in our experience in the prostitution of fans that you're

committing rather than dealing with the violent crime. And how likely is

it that changing the we think it's definitely possible. Recently

Amnesty International announced that they supported decriminalisation. We

have the example of New Zealand who decriminalised in 2003. With great

success. Women feel they have the support from the law and more

entitled to protection and more able to come forward and report any

violence that does happen. We appreciate your time, thank you very

much. Thank you very much. Now, you wouldn't necessarily think

that reopening a tin mine near an area of outstanding beauty

was a particularly good idea. But community leaders

in East Cornwall think it is, and as our Business Correspondent

Neil Gallagher reports, the local mayor says if the plan

doesn't go ahead there'll be some That much remains of the old red for

mine on the edge of Collington. But there is a lot of ten here. And if

tin prices keep rising it may become economic to dig it out. Mining

specialists have been consulting on plans to start test. First reaction

is locally have been quite positive. It is crying out for regeneration.

It would be wonderful if new jobs were brought in. All bought knowing

that the mining was happening in the area, so it has not come as a huge

surprise. Cornwall historically is a mining county, mining heritage, so

from that point of view we are very positive and obviously people are

concerned, as we are. Used to have to take into account residents

concerns and the environmental impact. -- we have been assured by

Cornwall resources but that this will be managed correctly and we

will be keeping an eye on that as part of or job as the council. Those

involved with the scheme say a mine would have less impact on the

village of Kelly Bray than was seen near Plymouth where a tungsten line

restarted. This would be a very different mining operation. It would

be underground. Although the deposit is close to the southern part of

Kelly Bray, we would be looking to cite any processing plant or waste

tips some distance away to minimise the impact on local residents and

community. Any actual mining is years away. That would need planning

consent and also need tens of millions of pounds to be raised from

investors. It was a busy festive period

for our football sides - with our teams involved in plenty

of games and action. Natalie's here to round

up the latest of it. Exeter City boss Paul Tisdale has

been nominated for the League Two manager of the month award having

led the Grecians to three wins and a draw from their four

games in December. And they had more success yesterday

when they welcomed the New Year The run has lifted the Grecians away

from the bottom of the table Tis has been nominated

for the Football League manager of the month award eight times

during his 11 seasons at City, but has never managed

to pick up the accolade. Ollie Watkins has been nominated

for the player of the month award. One of the other contenders

is Plymouth's Oscar Threlkeld. Speaking of which, the League Two

lead changed several Having been in top spot twice,

Argyle start the New Year in second place after being beaten 1-0

by Barnet yesterday. The hosts took the lead early

on and a superb defensive display saw them hold

on to the final whistle. Argyle are now a point

behind leaders Doncaster. But for now it's all eyes on Anfield

- there were long queues at Home Park today as non-members

were allowed to pick Of the 8500 that were made

available, it's thought there are now a few hundred left

for the FA Cup tie on Sunday. Some will have to be up at 4am to

slog their way by coach up the M6 but Argyle playing here is rare, so

8500 fans have got tickets to go. It is my bucket list, to go to Anfield,

I have been to a few of the other big ones but I would always love to

go to Anfield so this is a dream come true. Nervous. Freezing cold.

Over the moon. I can't wait to go to the cup with all the flags and I

can't wait to see the atmosphere it will be really good. Big game and

big payday. Getting into the third round of the FA Cup is worth ?67,000

in prize money alone. Plymouth will also get ?144,000 from the TV

rights, a share of the gate receipts from Anfield, capacity 54,000, and

it is easy to see why the game could be worth over half a million to

Argyll. This is a massive gang. The fact that a thousand 500 fans will

be travelling all the way to Liverpool on a Sunday is testament

to that. Dream start would be a draw? Or an away win! You have got

to admire the optimism. Others might say, come down! -- calm down.

Meanwhile Torquay striker Nathan Blissett has been linked

It's understood the 26-year-old target man is due to have a medical

He scored four goals for Torquay this term and eight goals in 17

games last season as he helped the Gulls avoid relegation.

Yeovil Town were comfortably beaten by Crawley Town.

The last time the two sides met, the Glovers thrashed Crawley 5-0.

And that's it for now - but before we go, well done

to Torquay who were involved in a humdinger of a

It finished 5-5 against Forest Green Rovers -

the first scoreline of its kind in the Gulls' history.

Did you like John's attempt there? He has to go up with the skills fans

and find out what a Liverpool accent is really like.

In the early of hours of the 4th May 1942,

20 Luftwaffe bombers flew up the Exe Estuary and orders

were given for them to drop their bombs on Exeter.

A German radio report at the time said, "Exeter

"We have destroyed that jewel, and the Luftwaffe will return

Well, now a documentary's being made to mark the 75th anniversary

of the bombings and to capture memories of the night that

Anna Byles has been following the film makers.

The aftermath of German bombings which claimed around 250 lives.

Now film-makers are unearthing stories that

In those days the entrance was in a shop in the Victorian

arcades, and you would have been down here sheltering down here two

or three hours in the dark, in the wet, with stuffy air

and screaming children and the sound of bombs landing overhead,

not knowing what you might find whenever you came back out,

or even if you were going to be able to come back out.

But not everyone made it to the safety of

I will never forget the young lad who was killed

He would have been 16 years old, but he was only

Whilst many sheltered from the raids within the city,

others escaped to surrounding villages and watched

I stood at the window and I looked up the South Street and I looked

Because the next night it was all blown to smithereens.

More memories from the Blitz will be shown as part of the documentary due

to be released on the 75th anniversary of the bombings in May.

This is our first proper programme of the year. Most are happy with

this and to be back with you. The weather has brought us some cold

weather. Minus six last night. It was pretty

cold. . Perhaps not so much scraping of the ice of the screens tomorrow

morning. A different sort of date. More cloud coming our way. The ruble

of producing a few spots of drizzle as well. I think that's crossing for

tomorrow. Having said that Britain is already fast falling and may well

get to zero in a few places tonight but there is a... Already starting

to cloud over. The weather front the ringside cloud lies across us by the

middle of the day tomorrow. High pressure squeezing out of the way a

bit. It might return by Thursday, so Thursday morning could also be

frosty. Some sunshine on Thursday. That all changes because several

other funds out here will join hands and moving as one band of cloud and

rain arriving at some point through the day on Friday. Already the cloud

is coming in but that's look at what it was like earlier today in

Paignton where our cameraman caught a glimpse of the hazy sunshine.

Today has been beautiful because we have had the very frosty start but

from a diverse -- most of us we have had unbroken sunshine from much of

the day. It has helped the temperatures. Ayes hasn't helped the

temperatures. There will be a lot more cloud, not just for this part

of Devon but right across the West of England. It is patchy cloud at

the moment and it escaped bull of producing some drizzle as it cuts

down across us by the end of the night. Even the temperatures falling

now, by the end of the night I think they start to come back up again.

Perhaps one or two Celsius in a few places, then three or four by dawn

tomorrow morning. Tomorrow is cloudy to start with. Light rain or drizzle

will gradually petered out. It might continue across ports of Cornwall

but we get a clearance across parts of Somerset and the east of Devon

and Dorset by the end of the afternoon at the top temperature of

most of us of eight or nine Celsius. For the Isles of Scilly overcast

with a few spots of drizzle. We might get some brief early

brightness but generally cloudy here. In times of high water... The

forecast for our surfers is for the north coast to be a little on the

chubby side with the wind is coming in from the North West. The wave is

not very big. Mostly fair. The odd spot of drizzle. The forecast is

going to Thursday is bright, dry and cold. Another frost first thing on

Monday morning. Temperature starting to come back. So does the cloud. But

great towards the weekend. A few spots of rain on Friday. Have a good

evening. Thank you. That is all from us for now. Andy is here with an

update at 10:30pm along with David and we are all back with you

tomorrow at 6:30pm. Have a good evening.

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Someone who can keep an audience on the edge of their seat.