06/01/2017 Spotlight

main hospitals to find out how they're managing.

Also in the programme tonight - anger after financial support

A couple who gave up their jobs to look after four extra children

say they'll now struggle as financial help from

One final look back and then into sea -

the seals which have been nursed back to health in Cornwall.

Up for the cup. I live ahead of argyle's big match ahead of

Liverpool. Over the last 24 hours the pressure

on some hospitals in the South West has reached peak levels

with all experiencing huge demand. The number of people coming

through the doors is not necessarily the biggest problem

but in the winter many patients need And once they're in,

they may not be able to leave quickly if they have nowhere

to recover in the community. Our reporters have been at some

of our main hospitals this evening. Eleanor Parkinson is

at The Royal Cornwall which is still at the highest state

of alert. Yes, here at Royal Cornwall Hospital

they have around 100 patients They are ready to their next stage

of treatment but instead they are stuck here occupying

much needed beds. This of course has a huge impact

elsewhere in the hospital in particular on the emergency

department. All sorts of things are being

done to try and relieve Ambulance crews are trying to treat

many people as possible on location in their own homes and GPs

are making extra visits to care But the Trust says this

state of alert is likely Other hospitals which have also been

under immense strain in recent days include Yeovil,

where managers urged people with And last night Derriford was also

on the highest level of alert. Johnny Rutherford has

the latest from Plymouth. Yes, Derriford Hospital

was on what used to be called Black Tonight there is good

news the hospital has They say it's thanks to the extra

effort put in by staff here and by outside services

in the community. However, that doesnt mean

their difficulties are over yet. As the weekend approaches they have

been working to free up some of their 900 plus beds

and additional Doctors and nurses The advice here if you need to visit

a loved one in hospital and you are not feeling 100% -

Help reduce the spread of bugs There's a similar picture

at North Devon District Hospital where they're meeting twice a day

to try to manage Dorset County Hospital told us

tonight that it is 96% full but at the moment it's on a lower

level of alert. They say health and social services

are working together well to move Urgent action is being taken

at Torbay Hospital, meanwhile 50 extra beds have been opened

at the Royal Devon and Exeter where all planned operations

have been postponed. One of the consultants

there explained how they're coping. It has been very busy. We have been

experiencing very great levels of demand and enormous lovers of

patients have been coming through the doors, that we have been

managing to see patients as quickly as possible and hopefully giving

excellent care. I think there is no secret that demand is rising

year-on-year. More patients are coming along. We have an ageing

population, particularly in this area and more patients need extra

care in the winter time. So I think winter pressure has worsened

NHS England says tried-and-tested plans are in place and people

are being reminded they can play their part by getting advice

from pharmacies or the NHS 111 number if they're condition

A couple from Cornwall who were advised to give

up their jobs when they took on four children who needed a home say

they're angry their financial support is now being cut.

Daniel and Giselle Stoddern are Special Guardians

who look after children, usually extended family

members, as an alternative to fostering or adoption.

Cornwall Council insists the cuts are necessary because the bill

for its Special Guardian scheme is rapidly increasing.

This family already have three youngsters of their own and became

the court appointed guardians of four others. Money was not their

motivation. The special Guardian is usually take on family members, but

they did need financial help. They told us that our children will not

be affected and that is why we would get the payments, so that we could

still live the life that we have before without the extra children,

and now that is not the case. Cornwall Council says that a number

of its special guardians and because of costs rising, it decided money

could be paid for three years, but then the amount has to be reduced by

10% each year. We were told when we first went to court that we would

get special guardianship payments. They asked us to give up our

full-time employment to look after seven children, so to go back after

five years and say we are going to stop your payments reduced the

payments, it does make me quite angry. 64-year-old great-grandmother

Janice Wilkins, a special Guardian, says that Cornwall Council at first

confirmed her outside the top rate. And then three weeks later, another

letter stating that there would be a 10% drop. I just find it amazing. I

don't see how you can get away... When we took on three years ago,

saying this is going to happen, and now suddenly it all changes.

Presumably, there is no chance she will give the children of if it

becomes a naturally unmanageable? It is going to be very, very hard,

whatever decision we make. I can't see us giving up the children but at

the same time, we cannot afford to go back to work at the moment with

the children as they are. Formal council says it pays above the

national average and the 10% savings will be used to fund new special

guardians. -- Cornwall Council. Both families say they will appeal the

decision to reduce their financial support.

Controversial plans to build a solar farm on a Site

of Special Scientific Interest in West Dorset have been

Dorset Wildlife Trust campaigned against the scheme and says

in a groundbreaking piece of co-operation British

Solar Renewables have worked with them to find

Our Environment Correspondent Adrian Campbell reports.

This is the land in West Dorset where British solar renewables had

But Rampisham Down is also a very special and rarer area for wildlife.

It may not look very exciting, but this land

managed with livestock to help maintain the rare habitat

which survived over years because it was home a large number

of radio masts and the site was sealed off to the public.

Dr Simon Cripps from the Dorset Wildlife trust has heled lead

a concerted campaign to persuade the developers to change their minds

Planning approval was originally granted for the site

but he and others have fought hard to achieve a change of heart

which seems to have satisfied environmentalists

It does not look like the Serengeti but it is a fabulous site. There are

very few areas of lowland grassland like it in the country. Because it

was protected for so many decades, right back to the Cold War, and

because of that protection, we have this unusual and important

assemblage of plants and animals that now really needs to be

protected. This is the site nearby where the solar form will be built,

on land well away from the site of special scientific interest. The

agreement means the future of bawdy wild flowers and grassland, which

environmentalists were worried about, is now secure.

A unique collection of stories about war-time watches

is being published to mark the centenary of the Great War.

A woman from Devon has created the largest database

Well, now she hopes to print a book to honour those who fought

But, as Andrea Ormsby reports, she's on the search for more stories.

Time - a passion for horologist Cathy McAnespie.

Another passion is honouring our war heroes.

Now she's combined the two by creating the largest archive

There is one that really sticks in my mind, which is about Lieutenant

Colonel Klein, who was from Cornwall. He was killed on the 1st

of December, 1915, and his watch stopped at the exact time he died,

which was 7:55pm. All of his possessions were put into a sack and

given to his widow, who could not bear to look at them. His

grandchildren found them in the attic and once they opened them, the

watch still had the mud from the battlefield still interested. --

encrusted. Her website has hundreds of stories,

and Cathy wants to create a book to be published during the centenary

of the Great War. We are all governed by time, really.

It is one of the things we want to poetry in the book, about how time

for Tommy going over the top, does he want time to stop still and not

go over the top, or does he want time to go quickly and get it over

with? It is that significance of time.

To create her special First World War book,

examples from the South West and hopes people will get in touch

through her website - timeforremembrance.com.

Six grey seal pups have been released back into the wild

after spending several months being nursed back to health

by staff at the Cornish Seal Sanctuary at Gweek.

All were rescued after being found abandoned on Cornish beaches -

dangerously underweight and in several cases injured.

Our reporter Tamsin Melville was at Gwithian to see them set free.

It might not be an ideal day for a trip to the beach.

But for Honey Badger, Platypus, Grizzly Bear, Panther,

Tiger and Giraffe, the time is just right to get back into the open sea.

They were just tiny pups, malnourished and injured

when they were rescued around the Cornish coast in the autumn.

Now fighting fit - and fat enough to be set free.

All the hard work when they first come in and they are poorly and sick

and then building them up and getting them strong enough and wise

enough and already for the wild is just the best thing. It is the best

feeling in the world. Giraffe's a bit reluctant

at first, but he gets there, watched by the family

who found him tangled in seaweed - and who called

the Cornish Seal Sanctuary. They decided he was underweight and

then they'd rescued him and then we went to the Seal century a couple of

weeks ago to see how he was getting on. And then we had a phone card

yesterday to say that he had put on enough weight to be let back into

the sea again. And that is why we come to the released today.

Once they've hit the waves there's no looking back -

for either the seals or their keepers.

We can they prepare them so much. They had to do the final bit. I am

more than confident that they will figure it out and they will find

fish and they will settle into the wild.

Up to 60 seals are rescued and then released here

at Gwithian every year, and it's always a crowdpuller.

All the sport is next - we'll be live at Home Park as Argyle

get ready for their big trip to Anfield.

Also still ahead: Learning to read at 86 years old -

we meet Ursula who's proof that it's never too late.

I am in the mid Devon town that likes to mark the end of Christmas

with a couple of colourful characters.

Let's go to the sport now and the main story this evening

is Plymouth Argyle's 3rd round FA Cup tie with Liverpool on Sunday,

where of course they're hoping for a giant killing.

The players leave for Anfield tomorrow at noon, with most fans

Andy Birkett is at Home Park for us this evening.

Hi there. As stadiums go, this one is pretty impressive. It will only

get better, once they developed that newsstand.

Here at Home Park you can pack 16k fans in.

On Sunday, it's going to be a lot different at Anfield -

a stadium more than three times the size of this one,

more than 50,000 fans are expected for their 3rd round FA Cup tie

with Liverpool and most of them will be hoping Argyle lose.

Then you add the millions of TV viewers all around the world -

Pressure the team feel they are ready to handle.

If all our players are at peak form...

This squad does have belief, and a manager with one thing

I think that there is that possibility.

But you have got to go there with that belief and attitude.

Graham Kerry, who is also a Liverpool fan, is argyle's star

man and not fazed by performing on the

Obviously, you will see that, but when the game starts your

But unless we are competitive, unless we give it a

good go, you're not really going to enjoy it.

These games are really for the fans and the club has sold

Some will be heading up tomorrow, but many others will be travelling

up in the early hours of Sunday morning.

But for five lucky supporters they received their tickets

from striker Paul Arnold Garita who had hidden vouchers around

Plymouth tweeting clues for them to find them.

Actually, I walk that way every day to and fro from work because

I live near by, so I recognised it instantly.

Five minutes later, there it is, still on my normal

He made it before me and got the ticket.

I gather you to have both got tickets already.

Where going to give it away to a friend that

obviously can't get one, so they got the opportunity to go to Anfield

It is good for the club, for the team, for the

Because it is important everyone can come and it is good

I was just looking at all the different people and

seeing whether they were heading in the same direction

they were going and if I could run past them, if I needed to.

Matt was the first to collect the ticket from

the BBC, hoping to give it to a friend of his.

There was a guy that came about 30 seconds after the

anti-looked pretty disappointed to not get a ticket, so if he is out

Yeah, I would like to say thank you to Matt.

Hopefully, I will see you up in Liverpool.

was holding it for the other one, so I said I may as well try and get

Just some good competition in my family, trying to get a ticket.

Tickets for the big match and a chance to say thank you.

Now, Arnie, if you can give the Liverpool

defender is the same runaround on Sunday,

there will be thousands of

Well, this is the FA Cup after all...

It's just a replica, but there's no doubt that Liverpool

is the place to be this weekend if you're a Pilgrim.

Whatever happens on Sunday, the club will be more than half

And who knows, we might have a replay or even a fourth

Thanks, Andy. I was going to say, last person you switch the lights

off. But I think that is you, Andy. That will be me, Justin. Lucky he

doesn't have to pay the electricity bill.

Now to the story of an 86-year-old who is proof that you're

When Ursula Sheperd left school in the 1930's she was unable to read

because she was too shy to ask for help.

But now she's decided to put that right.

We spoke to Ursula and her teacher Fiona Prideaux and asked

She's really keen, really enthusiastic.

She comes to me once a week and then she practices at home.

So what has prompted you to want to do this, Ursula?

Well, I wanted to learn to read so I could learn other

people to read when I finish reading.

And why did you wait until you are in your 80s?

What made you wait that long to learn to read?

Well, I was very, very nervous, you know, when I was young, you see.

And Fiona, how do you set about with Ursula and the

process of learning to read at this age?

Because I know you deal with people of various ages, but I think

Ursula is the oldest pupil you have had.

How have you set about making sure she is able to read?

Well, we start by learning the sounds of the

individual letters, so we build up from that and then we learn three

and four letter words, really simple ones like cat, mat, sat.

So it is learning to blend the sounds

together in order to read a whole word and then when she is really

good at that we are going to move on to learning sounds that have two

And then learning the words associated with those sounds.

And so it is a very structured programme

and we just build slowly and move on when she is confident.

What would you like to get to, with Fiona's

Well, I would like to go to a library place and get sort of a

And I think, Fiona, you have a lesson

prepared for Ursula, just to show us the progress

You are going to read just a sentence.

Well, we wish you well with it and thank you very much

I think she will prove to be an inspiration. Absolutely. She told me

she is very fast and netting. -- fast at knitting.

Time to take your decorations down or risk bad luck, or is it ?

There's some disagreement as to whether 12th night falls

The difference in opinion is said to be down to the fact

that in centuries past, Christmas was deemed to start

at sunset on Dec 24 and so the 12th night following it was Jan 5.

Nowadays, people count from Dec 25 itself and so assume

If you want a fuller explanation there's one on our Facebook page.

in Bradninch in Devon and John Henderson is there.

Yes, I am here. You are looking at the Bradninch Miller's Morris men,

in all their finery, really going for it. We have a musical

accompaniment. We also have some lanterns. Any ideas about the theme?

Willy Wonka. The theme is Roald Dahl because it is 100 years since his

birth. Let's have a look at this. What is that one? Who will enlighten

me? It is a golden ticket. It took roughly ten hours to make. And what

does it entitle you to? Sweets for the rest of your life? Let's find

the mayor in amongst this wrong. Liz Taylor, good evening. Looking very

nice. What is this all about? This is a great community event in

Bradninch where we celebrate the end of the last year and the bringing in

of the New Year. How long has it been going? It is quite a recent

event. Probably the start of the century. And the point is that

people bring their Christmas trees. Is that right? Indeed. Everybody

brings their trees and we have a big bonfire and burn them all up. You

had a very important job to do. You go and do that. Let's have a chat

with Mike. How has it gone tonight? It was excellent. Really good. Great

fun. So tell me how it works. It starts at both ends of the town, led

by the two giants, we get our peer, had a bit of a dance, and then we go

down the football fields where we have the bonfire. Right. The mayor

is in position, if I could just dash across you here. I think he is ready

to do the honours. All, he may make... Thank you very much for

coming this evening. I would like to lend my thanks to the organisers.

All the best. As with tradition, I will now signal the end of the last

year by throwing the tree over the balcony and welcoming in 2017. Happy

New Year to everyone in Bradninch. CHEERING

Fantastic. There you go. Carefully missing me. I am told that there are

more entertainment in the pub nearby, including some dancing. I am

of their now for a glass of lemonade, a packet of crisps, and a

front-page seat. OK, John. Thank you very much. Crikey, that was close,

that tree. It is time for the weather.

Hello. Good evening. I will speak about December in a minute, but

first, the week ahead. It is quiet and cold and also misty. We have had

some questions about the fact that it has been quite dry for the last

six or seven weeks and when you look at the figures, they show the

picture quite well. The rainfall for December was only 42% of what we

normally expect to see. The seventh driest December on record and the

records go back to 1910. How does that affect the reservoir levels?

They are down quite a bit. They are 65% full. Last year, they were 92%

full. So quite a big difference. We have had some relatively dry

weather. Through the Ottoman into the start of the new year. That has

changed today. We have had some patchy drizzle and that sticks with

as overnight and I. Slowly moving out of the way. Once that process is

underway, we are left with an area of high pressure, but all of that

cloud trapped underneath it, so not much promise of a great deal of

sunshine this weekend. It is high pressure but it is a cloudy high.

Lots of cloud and mist and low cloud and fog and hail fog and little

change as we move into Sunday as well. The rain that has been coming

in today has been patchy and light, but it is gradually moving through

this evening and through the night to come. It has introduced a lot of

low cloud. The fog will become more extensive and lower through the

night and into the day tomorrow. So it will be a mild night. The drizzle

will fade away. We will be left with an awful lot of cloud and overnight

temperatures much higher than they have been. 7-10 is obvious. A

drizzly start to the day tomorrow. -- Celsius. Temperatures back up

into double figures tomorrow. We have not seen those for a while.

10-11th of years. Similar for the Isles of Scilly. Here are the times

of high water. Most of the beaches are likely to be choppy. The wind

coming in from the west. Finally, the winds are westerly for the

coastal forecast. Have a nice weekend. Back to you. Thank you very

much, David. Good luck to Plymouth Argyll. We will have the reaction on

Monday. We leave you with some of those 12 night celebrations in

Bradninch. Good night. Goodbye. Panorama investigates

the deadly terrorist attack and should British tourists

have been warned about the risks?