:00:00. > :00:00.Welcome to Spotlight. failings at one of
:00:00. > :00:00.Tonight: The youngsters selling hard drugs on south west streets.
:00:00. > :00:07.Police say they're being controlled by gangs in big
:00:08. > :00:11.cities and are worried about an increase in numbers.
:00:12. > :00:14.Also tonight: The moment a letting agent was confronted over tens
:00:15. > :00:24.of thousands of pounds of rent and deposits.
:00:25. > :00:27.What have you done with all those deposits, the rents you haven't
:00:28. > :00:29.paid? A train operator is told
:00:30. > :00:32.to improve after this accident And up to 80 fire fighters
:00:33. > :00:36.from across the south west have been tackling a blaze which has destroyed
:00:37. > :00:38.a thatched pub. And we'll hear from the Devon
:00:39. > :00:41.bell ringer who was left Police say they're concerned
:00:42. > :01:06.about the rise in the number of pop-up drug dens
:01:07. > :01:08.across the south west. Officers say the dens are controlled
:01:09. > :01:12.by gang bosses from big cities such They despatch teenagers to places
:01:13. > :01:17.such as Plymouth and Penzance Each teenager can make
:01:18. > :01:22.up to ?3,000 a day. Our reporter Denis Nightingale
:01:23. > :01:27.has been investigating. Drug dealing may not
:01:28. > :01:29.be a legal business, Spying new markets, gangs branch out
:01:30. > :01:36.from big cities to create The young dealers travel by train,
:01:37. > :01:43.coach and car to places like Bournemouth, Yeovil,
:01:44. > :01:46.Plymouth and Penzance. Once they are there,
:01:47. > :01:49.they establish themselves in hotels and hostels and often in the homes
:01:50. > :01:53.of drug addicts. Former gang member Jamal
:01:54. > :01:55.was shot and knifed before You are taking a chance with them
:01:56. > :02:04.by off-loading drugs If they come back with the money,
:02:05. > :02:11.obviously that is beneficial. If it's a loss or that person gets
:02:12. > :02:15.arrested up there, it is what it is. And it can be a lot
:02:16. > :02:20.of money - ?3,000 a day. The young dealers are usually
:02:21. > :02:24.commanded by a single gang leader on a single mobile phone
:02:25. > :02:28.in what are known as county lines. This detective sergeant,
:02:29. > :02:32.who does not want his face shown, leads undercover operations
:02:33. > :02:36.to break them up. Quite often they will be people that
:02:37. > :02:39.are recruited from care homes The youngest person we have had
:02:40. > :02:45.is 14 years old and he was already on bail after being found
:02:46. > :02:50.in Bournemouth in a hotel room Figures from the police in the south
:02:51. > :02:56.west showed that last year, sentences totalling hundreds
:02:57. > :03:00.of years worth in prison were handed out to criminals following county
:03:01. > :03:03.lines investigations. We intercepted numerous people,
:03:04. > :03:07.young, vulnerable, missing people from the metropolitan cities
:03:08. > :03:11.and returned them back Many of those young people will have
:03:12. > :03:17.been recruited through social media, which Jamal claims too
:03:18. > :03:22.often glamorises gangs. In regards to social media,
:03:23. > :03:26.I think the flip side of things should be promoted and shown -
:03:27. > :03:30.mothers sitting in their house crying when their house is thrown
:03:31. > :03:34.upside down at 5am by the police, or when a family is at the graveside
:03:35. > :03:38.due to the fact that someone has It is not only the police tackling
:03:39. > :03:44.the scourge of county lines. The government says the Institute
:03:45. > :03:48.of Community Safety is conducting reviews in Exeter, Plymouth,
:03:49. > :03:50.Torbay and Truro on gang-related problems to see what
:03:51. > :03:59.support those areas need. Sarah Allam is from the children's
:04:00. > :04:12.charity the NSPCC. This is shocking. It is. We are
:04:13. > :04:18.concerned about the increasing numbers of calls to our helpline
:04:19. > :04:24.about drug-related issues in the south-west. Why is it escalating? We
:04:25. > :04:31.don't really know. I suppose a drugs and the sale of drugs amongst young
:04:32. > :04:36.people has always been a concern. It is escalating because there are
:04:37. > :04:41.honourable children who will respond perhaps online to friendship offers
:04:42. > :04:48.and this results in them getting involved in drug sales. What can you
:04:49. > :04:55.do to hold them? We can try and help young people understand keeping
:04:56. > :05:00.himself safe online. Very often they will be groomed by people who want
:05:01. > :05:05.them to sell or run drugs and they can be exploited by that. What we
:05:06. > :05:14.can do is educate those young people to ensure they know what they are
:05:15. > :05:21.doing online may be unsafe. When the head they could earn up to 3000 a
:05:22. > :05:25.day, it is very tempting. It is but the reality is most of those young
:05:26. > :05:30.people don't and that money at all and they find they cannot afford to
:05:31. > :05:36.pay back what they owe and that is when they are asked to sell drugs to
:05:37. > :05:41.young people. The reality is not that they are going to make that
:05:42. > :05:45.money. It is not a good choice at all. If someone is worried that a
:05:46. > :05:53.youngster has got involved in something like this, what are the
:05:54. > :05:56.signs? They need to look for a child whose behaviour has changed, their
:05:57. > :06:02.friendship groups are different or they seem isolated, they are going
:06:03. > :06:06.out at different times of day, they are not going to school. Those are
:06:07. > :06:15.the sorts of things to notice and for anyone concerned, make a phone
:06:16. > :06:21.call, find out, get a bit of help. If you or someone you know has been
:06:22. > :06:22.affected by drugs or cans, you can find the helpline number on our
:06:23. > :06:27.Facebook page. More than 80 firefighters
:06:28. > :06:28.from across Cornwall, Devon and Somerset are tonight
:06:29. > :06:31.tackling a fire in a historic pub The alarm was raised
:06:32. > :06:35.at the 13th century Bell Inn Five people inside the pub
:06:36. > :06:37.escaped uninjured. But as Emma Thomasson reports,
:06:38. > :06:40.large parts of the building have been destroyed and an investigation
:06:41. > :06:56.is underway into how it started. It stood here for 800 years but
:06:57. > :07:02.today, it was ravaged Wi-Fi. -- fire. All the family who ran the pub
:07:03. > :07:08.could do was stand by and watch. Sam was due to be working behind the
:07:09. > :07:14.bar, instead she was confronted with this. Absolutely devastating. It is
:07:15. > :07:20.the heart of the village. Locals told me they could not believe their
:07:21. > :07:25.eyes. I have lived to all my life and to see the pub like this, it's a
:07:26. > :07:32.bit sad. I know the family as well, must be gutting for them. The school
:07:33. > :07:39.playground usually falls silent during half term. Not today, it was
:07:40. > :07:45.transformed as a temporary holding area for the burnt out such. It was
:07:46. > :07:50.a deep-seated fire in the thatch. It was incredibly hard work pulling the
:07:51. > :07:54.thatch away from the property and removing all the combustible
:07:55. > :08:00.material to try and deal with the incident. Firefighters expect to be
:08:01. > :08:05.here through the night. Only once the site is safe will investigators
:08:06. > :08:07.be able to get a insight into what caused this pub to be destroyed by
:08:08. > :08:10.fire. A Devon MP has called for tougher
:08:11. > :08:13.action against rogue letting agents after a BBC investigation revealed
:08:14. > :08:15.how one Cornwall agent has failed to return tens of thousands
:08:16. > :08:18.of pounds in rents and deposits. Clients say they've been ripped off
:08:19. > :08:20.by Premier Property Management of Truro, despite Government-backed
:08:21. > :08:23.tenancy deposit schemes which are These schemes insure the deposit
:08:24. > :08:28.in case there is a dispute. Deposit money can be held
:08:29. > :08:32.in a so-called custodial Or surprisingly it can be held
:08:33. > :08:37.in a bank account controlled An account they can
:08:38. > :08:43.access at any time. One campaigner's described the abuse
:08:44. > :08:46.of this option as the industry's As many of her disgruntled clients
:08:47. > :08:54.have found, the boss of Truro's Premier Property Management
:08:55. > :08:58.isn't that easy to track down and when you do, Ann Treneer doesn't
:08:59. > :09:02.like answering questions. We've come to find out what you've
:09:03. > :09:06.done with everyone's money. What have you done with
:09:07. > :09:09.everyone's money, Ann? All those deposits, the rents
:09:10. > :09:11.that you haven't paid, what have you done with it,
:09:12. > :09:13.Ann? There's a lot of people and a lot
:09:14. > :09:22.of money that we're looking for. Premier boasts that much
:09:23. > :09:25.of its business comes The only recommendation as far
:09:26. > :09:30.as Hannah is concerned is to avoid For five months, she has been trying
:09:31. > :09:39.to get back her ?775 deposit. Tonight's Inside Out programme has
:09:40. > :09:47.spoken to nine tenants and seven landlords,
:09:48. > :09:52.together owed nearly ?35,000. An organisation which insures
:09:53. > :10:00.deposits has so far paid out ?36,000 to 36 different tenants
:10:01. > :10:04.and Ann Treneer has failed to cough up ?35,000 awarded
:10:05. > :10:09.to her clients by the courts. It is not clear what Ann Treneer's
:10:10. > :10:12.done with the money, but she later told us
:10:13. > :10:15.she would eventually pay it back, although that is something
:10:16. > :10:17.our clients have heard And there are questions over
:10:18. > :10:22.the schemes supposed 14 UK letting agents were prosecuted
:10:23. > :10:27.last year for helping themselves Between them they had
:10:28. > :10:33.stolen nearly ?1 million. One expert says the system
:10:34. > :10:37.is open to abuse. An average small independent agent
:10:38. > :10:41.will probably be managing about 200 properties which would equate
:10:42. > :10:46.to ?300,000 in tenancy deposits. For any small business,
:10:47. > :10:50.to have ?300,000 sat in an account is probably too tempting
:10:51. > :10:53.and we think this is the sector's dirty little secret,
:10:54. > :10:56.where they can dip into this money I think this is appalling
:10:57. > :11:02.and there certainly needs to be some action taken about all of this
:11:03. > :11:05.and there should be some fines placed upon certain people
:11:06. > :11:08.if they misappropriate those funds and indeed, potentially,
:11:09. > :11:12.end up going to court and to prison Ann Treneer is being investigated
:11:13. > :11:19.by Trading Standards, but cases like this will make
:11:20. > :11:22.the growing number of renters wonder just how safe
:11:23. > :11:31.is the cash they hand over? And that's one of the investigations
:11:32. > :11:33.in tonight's Inside Out, The rail operator GWR has been told
:11:34. > :11:43.to improve the training and assessment of new drivers
:11:44. > :11:48.following an investigation into a collision at
:11:49. > :11:50.Plymouth railway station. 48 people were hurt and two trains
:11:51. > :11:53.damaged in the incident last April. In a report published
:11:54. > :11:55.today, the Rail Accident Investigation Branch makes
:11:56. > :12:00.a number of recommendations. Our reporter Jane Chandler
:12:01. > :12:03.is at Plymouth Station for us Exeter University says
:12:04. > :12:23.it is carrying out an urgent investigation after a swastika
:12:24. > :12:25.was found carved The university says the graffiti
:12:26. > :12:29.and an offensive slogan were removed Disciplinary action
:12:30. > :12:32.against the students believed to be The university said any form
:12:33. > :12:37.of racist or discriminatory A bell-ringer from Devon had to be
:12:38. > :12:47.winched down almost a hundred feet after he was injured preparing
:12:48. > :12:59.for a performance at He was preparing for a performance
:13:00. > :13:00.when a freak accident saw him wasted in the air.
:13:01. > :13:03.Firefighters decided it would be safer to lower Ian Bowman
:13:04. > :13:05.through a trapdoor than walk him down a spiral staircase.
:13:06. > :13:15.The bells of Worcester Cathedral on Saturday they took their toll on
:13:16. > :13:22.Devon bell-ringer Ian Bowman. The rope was going up and down through
:13:23. > :13:26.the ceiling. Somehow it got behind my right ankle and took me upside
:13:27. > :13:31.down and the next thing I knew I was eyelevel with another ringer who was
:13:32. > :13:38.still on the floor. It crashed me back into the floor as the rope came
:13:39. > :13:40.down and picked me up again. The emergency services a spiral
:13:41. > :13:45.staircase would be problematic so they place the mechanic on a special
:13:46. > :13:50.structure and lowered him through this trap door, 80 feet high,
:13:51. > :13:59.bringing him down to come out well. We train a lot for this type of
:14:00. > :14:01.scenario so these types of resources are not always seen out and about
:14:02. > :14:07.because these incidents do not occur a lot, however we do train for this
:14:08. > :14:13.type of scenario. Ian Bowman is recovering at home and hopes to be
:14:14. > :14:17.back ringing bells very soon. It is just an accident but I was just
:14:18. > :14:22.unlucky that it happened to me. It was just one of those things, I will
:14:23. > :14:30.get better and I will get back to bell-ringing. Extraordinarily lucky
:14:31. > :14:35.to be OK because I heard some of the injuries he sustained, he is lucky
:14:36. > :14:36.to survive and told the story. Get well soon.
:14:37. > :14:39.Brass bands across the south west often compete against each other
:14:40. > :14:40.in major competitions, but musicians have put
:14:41. > :14:43.their friendly rivalry to one side to help a fellow musician.
:14:44. > :14:45.Stephen Sykes, who has an aggressive form of cancer,
:14:46. > :14:48.needs a stem cell transplant. Despite a worldwide search,
:14:49. > :14:51.no match has been found, so now members of brass bands
:14:52. > :14:55.across the region are getting tested to see if they could be a donor.
:14:56. > :15:08.This is Stephen Sykes playing solo at a concert last summer.
:15:09. > :15:11.As a talented trombonist he has played with orchestras and bands
:15:12. > :15:16.all over the country, but he has been unable to perform
:15:17. > :15:22.Chemotherapy doesn't appear to be working.
:15:23. > :15:25.His cancer is aggressive, stage four.
:15:26. > :15:29.Doctors say he needs a stem cell transplant.
:15:30. > :15:31.The cancer has grown into my bone marrow which means that
:15:32. > :15:40.without a stem cell transplant, it is not looking too good really.
:15:41. > :15:43.Normally this would be OK because we've got
:15:44. > :15:47.the donor system now, but they cannot find a donor for me
:15:48. > :15:54.anywhere in the world, which is typical really.
:15:55. > :15:57.They need to get as close a match as possible to avoid additional
:15:58. > :16:02.So I came out of there feeling like I ought to stand outside
:16:03. > :16:12.the supermarket and rugby tackle people and swab them.
:16:13. > :16:14.With connections to the music world, his family have appealed
:16:15. > :16:20.In Cornwall, members of St Austell town band
:16:21. > :16:27.Take the swabs out, swab the inside of your cheek and put
:16:28. > :16:31.them back in here and we will send them back off and see if there's
:16:32. > :16:35.Are you quite impressed with the way the brass community has come
:16:36. > :16:38.I'm not surprised, but I am impressed.
:16:39. > :16:41.We have the hold band and the whole banding world in Cornwall.
:16:42. > :16:44.Yesterday, Facebook and Twitter went wild with people
:16:45. > :16:47.from all over the county saying, "My pack has arrived,
:16:48. > :16:53.It was amazing, so many people yesterday just doing it
:16:54. > :17:04.Stephen Sykes knows a transplant is his only chance, but he also
:17:05. > :17:08.hopes that as more potential donors come forward, there are samples that
:17:09. > :17:18.Plymouth Argyle sent out a strong message to the rest
:17:19. > :17:20.of League 2 this weekend, after comprehensively beating
:17:21. > :17:26.They won 3-0 and are now 11 points clear of the playoff places
:17:27. > :17:47.It was if you are an Argyle fan. You look at Exeter, they are in form. 12
:17:48. > :17:52.games unbeaten, seven wins in a row. But the manager said to me, he
:17:53. > :18:06.thought his players were more dangerous. It was another player
:18:07. > :18:12.making his debut, Ryan Taylor, his goal on the stroke of half-time. He
:18:13. > :18:17.impressed a lot of players and won man of the match. You mentioned
:18:18. > :18:23.Exeter was going into this game in great form. Where they ever in this
:18:24. > :18:31.particular game? They did have chances. David Wheeler hit the bar
:18:32. > :18:38.with a header. But there was another former Argyle player, Reuben Reid
:18:39. > :18:43.who missed a sitter here. Jake Jervis smashing in a penalty in
:18:44. > :18:49.stoppage time. Where does this result leaves both clubs? Plymouth
:18:50. > :18:54.are second and with three teams going up automatically, they can
:18:55. > :19:00.make the gap between them and fourth place 14 points. Their manager was a
:19:01. > :19:04.happy man on Saturday. Today, people look at the result and they will be
:19:05. > :19:10.impressed because Exeter have been on a good one and to win any Game
:19:11. > :19:17.3-0 against a team who have won seven games in a row, it shows how
:19:18. > :19:22.good we are. As for Exeter, it hurts when you lose to your local rivals
:19:23. > :19:31.but if they can bounce back against Notts County tomorrow, they are
:19:32. > :19:35.still in with a shot at promotion. Rugby, this next match between the
:19:36. > :19:39.Exeter Chiefs and Wasps was as close as it gets.
:19:40. > :19:42.Ten tries between them and never more than one score
:19:43. > :19:45.The Chiefs stay third after this 35-all thriller at Sandy Park
:19:46. > :19:48.A special moment for Teignmouth's Sam Simmonds.
:19:49. > :19:51.The 22-year-old celebrated his new contract with a try on debut.
:19:52. > :19:52.His team-mates seemed pretty pleased for him also.
:19:53. > :19:55.Youth has certainly been given a chance to shine.
:19:56. > :19:57.However it was an experienced campaigner, Phil Dollman,
:19:58. > :20:01.who spotted a gap and sent teenager Jack Maunder on his way
:20:02. > :20:05.to the line for his first five pointer in the league.
:20:06. > :20:08.Level at the break, Exeter bucked the scoring pattern by taking
:20:09. > :20:14.However, minutes later, they were down to 14.
:20:15. > :20:18.Jonny Hill sent off for making contact with an opponent's head.
:20:19. > :20:21.With half an hour still to go it looked ominous for the Chiefs,
:20:22. > :20:24.especially after the visitors drew level.
:20:25. > :20:27.But they refused to lie down and Olly Woodburn scrambled over
:20:28. > :20:33.Wasps aren't top for nothing and they hit back
:20:34. > :20:40.Honours even and a fitting end to this incredible game.
:20:41. > :20:43.Staying with rugby, it's great to see Plymouth Albion up to second
:20:44. > :20:45.in National One after their hard fought win over Coventry.
:20:46. > :20:55.Jack Nowell certainly did enough to keep his shirt.
:20:56. > :21:08.It was so tense. I am not a good watcher of support, to be honest. I
:21:09. > :21:16.am a bit nervous. They are the only ones unbeaten, England? They are.
:21:17. > :21:21.They have the next who everyone are giving a hiding to, then they have
:21:22. > :21:29.Scotland. Ireland will be the toughest fixture. Jack will be all
:21:30. > :21:34.right for next game? A lot of people were surprised he was left out. But
:21:35. > :21:39.he came out of the game with Wales with flying colours.
:21:40. > :21:43.A boy diagnosed with a rare cancer has been given the top job
:21:44. > :21:44.of judging a children's bake off competition.
:21:45. > :21:46.Seven-year-old Henry Hallam from Plymouth has been battling
:21:47. > :21:50.His parents set up a charity, Hugs from Henry, to raise
:21:51. > :21:58.Spotlight's Janine Jansen went along to help with the judging.
:21:59. > :22:01.Mary Berry, where are you when we need you?
:22:02. > :22:04.This children's bake off in Plymouth is raising money
:22:05. > :22:15.I'm going to be tasting all of the cakes.
:22:16. > :22:20.Have you got a favourite type of cake you like?
:22:21. > :22:26.Henry has a rare nerve cancer that attacks children under five
:22:27. > :22:35.He is now seven and is doing brilliantly.
:22:36. > :22:40.He's a real character, a real fighter and he has
:22:41. > :22:45.I couldn't be prouder of him to be honest.
:22:46. > :22:49.ITV's Richard Lawrence and myself were given the honour
:22:50. > :23:01.In first place was the Valentines cake.
:23:02. > :23:11.How are you feeling now that you've eaten about ten cakes?
:23:12. > :23:19.The winner was bake off fan seven-year-old Isabelle.
:23:20. > :23:33.And all the time he's like a monster.
:23:34. > :23:45.Well, this cheeky monster has clearly eaten way too much cake.
:23:46. > :23:55.Never seen anyone less like a monster! Isn't he gorgeous! It's
:23:56. > :24:03.time for the weather now and Holly is here. I hope Janine has brought
:24:04. > :24:11.us back some cake. She hasn't! Outrageous. Ever so windy today.
:24:12. > :24:23.Fortunately that is improving and it has been milder as well. For many of
:24:24. > :24:27.us it was a very nice start to the day but those bright skies belying
:24:28. > :24:36.the strength of wind and it has been a very blowy day-to-day. Dawlish
:24:37. > :24:42.getting its customary pounding. Another location that is very
:24:43. > :24:50.exposed to that wind is Looe. It was a windy picture. Gale force gusts
:24:51. > :24:55.getting up to 50 mph. They are easy over the coming days and crucially
:24:56. > :25:00.the wind direction is changing as well, so losing at this south
:25:01. > :25:05.easterly we have had and we will find our winds coming round from the
:25:06. > :25:11.south-west. It is turning milder, even today it has been miles above
:25:12. > :25:16.the wind has offset that milder air. Less windy over the coming days,
:25:17. > :25:21.spells of rain but hopefully turning Dreier. The squeeze in the isobars
:25:22. > :25:28.showing the strength of wind for today. Tomorrow, the weather front
:25:29. > :25:33.clears eastwards. Another weather front moves its way across Wednesday
:25:34. > :25:39.and you can see those south-westerly winds starting to push in, bringing
:25:40. > :25:45.milder air in. A good bit more settled. This evening and tonight,
:25:46. > :25:51.rain starts to work in. It retreats but then starts to push its way
:25:52. > :25:57.towards us. If you heavy bursts likely. Still quite windy at times
:25:58. > :26:02.but gradually easing down and temperatures of seven or eight but
:26:03. > :26:07.called out to the east. For many a wet start tomorrow. The rain stop
:26:08. > :26:12.and go, fairly light and patchy and it does work its way eastwards.
:26:13. > :26:16.Still a bit of a breeze around tomorrow but certainly less strong
:26:17. > :26:25.than today and highs in two double figures. For the Isles of Scilly,
:26:26. > :26:30.that early rain clears, turning brighter. The risk of heavy showers
:26:31. > :26:39.moving into was the tail end of the day and these are our times of high
:26:40. > :26:44.water. For our times of high water, sorry coastal waters for cursed,
:26:45. > :26:52.South easterly winds, occasional rain, visibility moderate or good.
:26:53. > :26:57.This is how it is shaping up over the coming days. That milder look to
:26:58. > :27:01.things, temperatures in double figures. Less Winston Reid than it
:27:02. > :27:06.has been today, there is some rain in the forecast over the next couple
:27:07. > :27:13.of days but generally turning Dreier as we had through the second part of
:27:14. > :27:19.this week. That is all from us for now. There will be an update at
:27:20. > :27:22.10:30pm. In the meantime, have a good evening. Goodbye.