:00:09. > :00:11.Tonight on Spotlight, how much will your council tax be going up?
:00:12. > :00:14.Bills are increasing across the region but how much
:00:15. > :00:18.We'll be asking how much more families will be paying
:00:19. > :00:22.is this parking machine a mark of disrespect?
:00:23. > :00:25.This is the site of one of Cornwall's worst mining
:00:26. > :00:28.disasters, but the National Trust has installed a meter as the series
:00:29. > :00:41.And the 1930s white knuckle ride restored
:00:42. > :01:04.Councillors in Devon and Dorset have tonight become the latest to approve
:01:05. > :01:10.It follows Somerset council's decision to increase bills
:01:11. > :01:14.The other local authorities in our region are expected
:01:15. > :01:17.to make similar increases within the next few weeks.
:01:18. > :01:21.The reason for the rise, which equates to around ?60 extra
:01:22. > :01:24.on a Band D property, is to help fund care
:01:25. > :01:33.More from our political reporter Anna Varle.
:01:34. > :01:41.Many of us have seen small increases in council tax over the last few
:01:42. > :01:46.years to pay for things like bin collections, highways, street and
:01:47. > :01:52.fire, but this year you might notice a change in your built because of
:01:53. > :01:58.social care. Let's go into the kitchen, make you a cup of tea. A
:01:59. > :02:02.task many of us take for granted but Joyce has just returned home from
:02:03. > :02:09.hospital and needs help to get back on her feet. This support has a
:02:10. > :02:14.cost, which is quite local authorities are looking at charging
:02:15. > :02:22.council taxpayers more. If you don't know about them, you might say,
:02:23. > :02:27.fancy putting their council tax up, but when you know the things that
:02:28. > :02:34.you do and the money goes towards, you don't mind so much. Protests
:02:35. > :02:39.took place in Somerset yesterday as councillors said the biggest rise in
:02:40. > :02:45.more than a decade and today it was Dorset and Devon's turn. Today Devon
:02:46. > :02:53.County Council decided to increase council tax by 5%. 2% of that will
:02:54. > :02:59.go on beans, police, fire, 3% will go on social care for the likes of
:03:00. > :03:07.Joyce. What does that mean for you and I? Those in a band D property
:03:08. > :03:10.will pay around ?60 more a year. We have to put in a large amount of
:03:11. > :03:19.money to look after people. It's going through, ?19 million, ?2
:03:20. > :03:22.million for children's services. Similar increases are expected
:03:23. > :03:28.across the rest of the region in the next few weeks. I think largely
:03:29. > :03:34.people can afford it and social care is central to society you have the
:03:35. > :03:38.health service which is the point of need, social care which is means
:03:39. > :03:45.tested. I think it deserves more funding. I haven't any objection to
:03:46. > :03:52.them putting our council tax up. We will find the money and I believe it
:03:53. > :03:57.is worthwhile. But despite the rise in council tax, local authorities
:03:58. > :03:59.like Devon are still having to make ?23 million in cuts to social
:04:00. > :04:03.services to balance the books. Our political editor
:04:04. > :04:12.Martyn Oates is here. This is more evidence of the
:04:13. > :04:19.financial strain on councils. And this won't go away even with big
:04:20. > :04:24.council tax increases, even if they make big savings. A big grievance
:04:25. > :04:28.often is the government grant that councils get, when big local
:04:29. > :04:34.government settlement was announced just before Christmas there were
:04:35. > :04:39.complaints from MPs and council leaders in rural parts of the
:04:40. > :04:46.country saying it is unfair and not enough, and we're in strange
:04:47. > :04:50.position this year because most of our major councils, Devon and Dorset
:04:51. > :04:56.and Somerset, setting our budgets a week before the government produces
:04:57. > :05:01.its final settlement, which will be voted on at Westminster next week,
:05:02. > :05:05.so even if the government produces more money, we will be left with
:05:06. > :05:11.this council tax bills, and the government is being blamed for this
:05:12. > :05:16.because it is so late getting on with its side of the bargain because
:05:17. > :05:20.of Brexit arrangements covering through, while councils have a duty
:05:21. > :05:26.to sign of their budgets before the beginning of March. Where I'd
:05:27. > :05:34.councils make those savings? Devon said they would look at better
:05:35. > :05:39.contracts for schools and waste, and services will be provided at home.
:05:40. > :05:47.If the government doesn't step in, where are the obvious areas? This is
:05:48. > :05:51.a worsening problem and it tends to affect smaller councils, rural
:05:52. > :05:59.district councils more than the big councils we have been talking about.
:06:00. > :06:02.Some counties are looking at a very radical option, essentially
:06:03. > :06:07.abolishing county and district councils altogether and following
:06:08. > :06:12.Cornwall and becoming unitary authorities, so places like
:06:13. > :06:18.Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Lincolnshire and Dorset is poised to
:06:19. > :06:22.go down that route. If Dorset goes unitary, Devon and Somerset will be
:06:23. > :06:29.the only areas in the whole of the South West sticking to what might be
:06:30. > :06:34.seen as an old-fashioned two-tiered county and district structure, and
:06:35. > :06:39.if we see these other counties go when unitary, the pressure on Devon
:06:40. > :06:42.and Somerset to do the same thing might become quite strong indeed.
:06:43. > :06:44.Martin, thank you. The questions patients are asked
:06:45. > :06:46.when they phone NHS 111 have been criticised by a caller who says
:06:47. > :06:49.she was left confused and upset. Michelle Perryman rang the service
:06:50. > :06:52.saying she felt violently ill but says what she was asked
:06:53. > :06:55.about her condition was irrelevant. The NHS has apologised,
:06:56. > :06:58.but GPs have told us there are usually valid medical
:06:59. > :07:01.reasons for the questions. Michelle Perryman said she called
:07:02. > :07:08.the NHS non-emergency number But she says during the ten-minute
:07:09. > :07:14.call she was asked too many questions, the wrong questions,
:07:15. > :07:18.and was laughed at. Have you had a head injury
:07:19. > :07:21.in the last seven days? We just need to answer these
:07:22. > :07:29.questions if you don't mind. How many more questions
:07:30. > :07:35.have I got to answer? The computer's asking
:07:36. > :07:39.these questions. I was being asked all the wrong
:07:40. > :07:43.questions and I wasn't Has she suddenly developed
:07:44. > :07:47.a severe headache like If I had been hit by a brick,
:07:48. > :07:52.most people would either be Southwestern Ambulance Service NHS
:07:53. > :07:58.Foundation Trust says the brick question was a legitimate question
:07:59. > :08:03.to help identify serious injury. How I was spoken to
:08:04. > :08:07.was so disrespectful. You can actually hear him laughing
:08:08. > :08:11.at me when I told him this. I'm sick to death of
:08:12. > :08:14.answering questions. The trust said the operator's tone
:08:15. > :08:18.was inappropriate where Devon Doctors say many people
:08:19. > :08:24.comment on why there are so many questions asked, but they say
:08:25. > :08:29.patient safety is paramount. The Pathway system is a number
:08:30. > :08:33.of questions developed by clinicians who know how to identify particular
:08:34. > :08:38.conditions and frequently patients phone up with what they think is one
:08:39. > :08:42.problem and by the process of these questions we realised there may be
:08:43. > :08:46.something else and it may be more The Southwest Ambulance Service,
:08:47. > :08:52.which no longer runs the 111 service, said call handlers
:08:53. > :08:55.are required to ask a series of questions known as NHS
:08:56. > :08:59.Pathways and the call handler selected the wrong pathway,
:09:00. > :09:04.but even if Mrs Perryman had been asked the correct questions
:09:05. > :09:07.the outcome of the call They said they were sorry
:09:08. > :09:21.for any distress caused. A controversial car park pay machine
:09:22. > :09:24.has been replaced at a Poldark filming site in Cornwall
:09:25. > :09:26.after the original was deliberately pulled out of the ground soon
:09:27. > :09:29.after it was installed. The National Trust is being urged
:09:30. > :09:32.not to enforce new parking charges at Levant mine, where 31 men
:09:33. > :09:52.were killed in a mining I saw a sight I don't want to see
:09:53. > :09:57.again, I think it took three days to recover the whole lot of the men who
:09:58. > :10:05.had been trapped in the shaft. This accident put paid to this mind and
:10:06. > :10:10.now we have today the derelict buildings and that is all that is
:10:11. > :10:11.left of the famous mind which produced over ?2 million worth of
:10:12. > :10:13.war. Well, the National Trust says
:10:14. > :10:16.the money from parking charges will be used to fund
:10:17. > :10:18.the conservation of the site The underground workings of Levant
:10:19. > :10:23.mine extend more than a mile Generations of men sought copper
:10:24. > :10:29.and tin here but the Levant mine disaster in October 1919 was one
:10:30. > :10:34.of the biggest losses of life 31 men were killed when the device
:10:35. > :10:44.to carry them down the shaft failed. Scenes from the first series
:10:45. > :10:51.of Poldark were filmed here. For now, they have enough copper
:10:52. > :10:54.to cope and come the next auction... We will see they come
:10:55. > :10:57.away empty-handed. There has been a 50%
:10:58. > :10:59.increase in visitor That means the footfall
:11:00. > :11:04.has increased here. 70% of those people don't go
:11:05. > :11:08.into the site itself but walk in the local landscape
:11:09. > :11:11.which we also look after. So that increases the maintenance
:11:12. > :11:14.liability and we have an conservation work we need to do
:11:15. > :11:17.to keep the space special. So to pay for it they have put
:11:18. > :11:20.in a parking machine, It will cost us money to replace us,
:11:21. > :11:25.it has already cost us money to replace and that is money
:11:26. > :11:28.we could have used for conservation work, so it is sad there has
:11:29. > :11:32.been that vandalism. Opponents say they don't
:11:33. > :11:35.condone the vandalism but still want to get this machine
:11:36. > :11:41.moved legally and permanently. They make a point about protecting
:11:42. > :11:45.the environment but I would hardly call sticking that parking meter
:11:46. > :11:51.here protecting the environment, and how did they manage
:11:52. > :11:53.for all these decades I suppose it's people like us that
:11:54. > :11:57.are attracted to this place because of Poldark and we have
:11:58. > :12:02.to pay for the upkeep of it. My grandfather was Tom Rowe
:12:03. > :12:06.and he died in the Levant mine disaster but I still think
:12:07. > :12:10.the National Trust need to charge to park here because it's becoming
:12:11. > :12:15.increasingly popular with Poldark. They need money to maintain
:12:16. > :12:21.the roads and the access in and out. With the 100th anniversary
:12:22. > :12:24.of the Levant mine disaster approaching, the National Trust says
:12:25. > :12:29.descendents of the men killed will still be able to come
:12:30. > :12:42.here and park for free. Plans for 185 houses and apartments
:12:43. > :12:44.at the former Dorchester Prison Planning permission for housing
:12:45. > :12:48.at the site was initially refused last August following concerns
:12:49. > :12:49.from nearby residents. But today a revised application
:12:50. > :12:52.for fewer homes was passed. The plans will see the main cell
:12:53. > :12:56.block and gatehouse converted into 60 homes and a further 125
:12:57. > :13:03.properties in nearby buildings. Leyton Orient captain Liam Kelly has
:13:04. > :13:05.been charged by the FA following an incident when a ball
:13:06. > :13:08.boy was shoved to the ground 27-year-old Kelly has
:13:09. > :13:13.until 6pm tomorrow evening If you have something out
:13:14. > :13:24.of guarantee but which appears to be broken, stay with us -
:13:25. > :13:27.there's a place you can go Following in the footsteps
:13:28. > :13:31.of a master shoe maker - the apprentice keeping
:13:32. > :13:43.a North Devon craft alive. And during the later, when I'll be
:13:44. > :13:53.going supersonic on this 1930s moon rocket ride.
:13:54. > :14:00.A family from Dorset says their Quins are lucky to be alive after
:14:01. > :14:08.suffering a rare disorder in the winter -- in the womb. Only 10% of
:14:09. > :14:10.twins around the world have the condition, when both babies shared
:14:11. > :14:12.the same placenta. Edward Salt reports.
:14:13. > :14:16.At 20 weeks I started getting pain and then we had the devastating news
:14:17. > :14:24.at 22 weeks that we had twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome,
:14:25. > :14:27.which was very frightening and we didn't know whether the twins
:14:28. > :14:31.Sarah was rushed to hospital in London.
:14:32. > :14:35.Her twins were in immediate danger and surgeons had 48 hours
:14:36. > :14:40.Very frightening, it's the worst day of my life.
:14:41. > :14:43.Henry and Sebastian shared one placenta in Sarah's womb.
:14:44. > :14:47.It meant they weren't getting enough blood and this could be fatal.
:14:48. > :14:52.Only 10-15% of twins suffer from twin-to-twin transfusion
:14:53. > :14:56.syndrome and need laser surgery to save their lives.
:14:57. > :14:59.The blood vessels to connect the baby are connecting them
:15:00. > :15:02.in an uneven fashion, so the curative treatment is to put
:15:03. > :15:05.a tiny telescope in, about two millimetres in diameter,
:15:06. > :15:10.and through it we can identify the blood vessels joining the two
:15:11. > :15:13.placentas of the babies and using an even smaller laser
:15:14. > :15:18.fibre through the same telescope, we can block the blood vessels that
:15:19. > :15:25.Individually they may see a couple of dozen cases each year.
:15:26. > :15:28.By pooling all of this data, all their knowledge,
:15:29. > :15:33.they will have a far broader, more in-depth picture of what's
:15:34. > :15:37.successful and where they might be able to make changes to improve
:15:38. > :15:44.Back in Dorset, Sarah and Dan are now looking to their future.
:15:45. > :15:49.We're just very lucky that we've got the two boys and we take every day
:15:50. > :15:53.as it comes to do as much as we can, if we get a chance take them out
:15:54. > :15:55.and enjoy everything that we can with them.
:15:56. > :15:58.And the same goes for Henry and Sebastian, waving goodbye
:15:59. > :16:09.More than 21 million tonnes of household rubbish was collected
:16:10. > :16:12.from bins in Exeter last year - but how much of that waste
:16:13. > :16:17.In an effort to tackle the number of broken items that
:16:18. > :16:18.are just thrown away, rather than fixed,
:16:19. > :16:21.a repair caf is launching in the city this weekend.
:16:22. > :16:25.Clare Woodling has been to investigate.
:16:26. > :16:31.An unfashionable maxim in 2017 at once espoused
:16:32. > :16:45.Don't want to throw it away, I want to keep my stuff forever if I can.
:16:46. > :16:48.I know that's not feasible but as long as I can,
:16:49. > :16:52.Jude is the driving force behind a repairer cafe launching
:16:53. > :16:58.It's designed to stop fixable items going to landfill.
:16:59. > :17:01.Some repairs can be fiddly and I brought one of my own
:17:02. > :17:05.There's a hole in the sleeve of my brown jacket.
:17:06. > :17:08.I would sew it up by hand with some strong thread and small stitches
:17:09. > :17:13.because you cannot get at it with a sewing machine.
:17:14. > :17:21.People can bring their faulty electricals as well as broken
:17:22. > :17:27.Bikes with flat tyres or brakes that don't work are welcome.
:17:28. > :17:31.I think what they might do is put in the back of their garage for six
:17:32. > :17:34.or 12 months and then take it to the tip, whereas if they repaired
:17:35. > :17:37.it today they could use it again tomorrow and enjoy the fresh air.
:17:38. > :17:43.There will even be a potter doing ceramic repairs
:17:44. > :17:49.The ?2000 community grant has been awarded by Exeter Council
:17:50. > :17:58.to pay for consumables like batteries and thread.
:17:59. > :18:01.A lot of the items that get brought to me are items that could last
:18:02. > :18:04.a lot longer but unfortunately we live in a world of planned
:18:05. > :18:08.obsolescence where a lot of things are built with a weak link in it,
:18:09. > :18:12.It's no deterrent for the repairers, who say no job is too big or too
:18:13. > :18:15.small, and Jude says that shops may want to sell,
:18:16. > :18:21.Six years ago I bought some leather chairs and the front of them had
:18:22. > :18:29.started to peel off and I went to the manufacturer and said
:18:30. > :18:32.I hadn't had these very long, they're leather, and he says five
:18:33. > :18:37.That's it, five years, throw them away, buy a new one.
:18:38. > :18:53.Such a good idea. We all throw things away far too easily and too
:18:54. > :18:57.quickly. Now, across the South West many people are keeping traditional
:18:58. > :19:01.crafts alive but there are fears those skills could disappear unless
:19:02. > :19:05.young people are encouraged to take them up.
:19:06. > :19:07.Well, one young woman from North Devon is
:19:08. > :19:09.learning at the feet - quite literally -
:19:10. > :19:13.The leather and vegan shoes, boots and sandals are handmade to order
:19:14. > :19:16.Spotlight's Andrea Ormsby has the story.
:19:17. > :19:19.26-year-old Polly Collins is learning from an expert.
:19:20. > :19:21.Try to do longer sweeps with the knife.
:19:22. > :19:24.That's right, because you were slightly chopping into it.
:19:25. > :19:29.The difficulty and why we need funding for craft skills
:19:30. > :19:36.There is the 10,000 hour theory for learning any new skill.
:19:37. > :19:45.Three more years at the feet of a master.
:19:46. > :19:48.Funding for the apprenticeship comes from the Queen Elizabeth Scholarship
:19:49. > :19:57.It's a really fantastic opportunity and it's really nice to be
:19:58. > :20:10.I think it will be a really great few years and I'll learn a lot.
:20:11. > :20:12.I'm just really looking forward to it.
:20:13. > :20:15.It's not easy running a small business and this is a massive help
:20:16. > :20:19.because for me it's an act of faith training someone because it costs
:20:20. > :20:26.a lot of money and time and effort and so this is a huge boost for me
:20:27. > :20:30.personally, it validates my choice in politics but the people at Quest
:20:31. > :20:32.also thought she was high calibre and had the staying power
:20:33. > :20:43.Alison Hastie set up Green Shoes with ?600 in 1981.
:20:44. > :20:45.She hand makes leather and vegan shoes, boots
:20:46. > :20:47.and sandals to order here at the workshop
:20:48. > :20:54.She performs a bit of magic, I think, especially the ability
:20:55. > :20:59.to turn such two-dimensional material into this three-dimensional
:21:00. > :21:04.thing that fits people really well and lasts for such an incredible
:21:05. > :21:12.It's a really amazing thing and it's very inspiring.
:21:13. > :21:14.Do you have to wear the shoes to work here?
:21:15. > :21:19.I can't say I really wear any other shoes anymore.
:21:20. > :21:21.Once you start wearing them, every other shoe feels
:21:22. > :21:29.Polly is an apprentice shoemaker and says it will be a good few
:21:30. > :21:38.years before she can drop the word apprentice.
:21:39. > :21:43.Now, you may remember last summer we reported on a fundraising
:21:44. > :21:46.campaign to save the last surviving 1930s Moonrocket fairground ride?
:21:47. > :21:49.Well, the money was raised and this week the white knuckle ride opened
:21:50. > :21:59.So we sent Johnny Rutherford along for some antique theme park thrills.
:22:00. > :22:30.Before the space race, there was Moonrocket.
:22:31. > :22:33.This was the fastest ride at the time, 1938,
:22:34. > :22:36.and it was a sensation, it was the fastest ride and that
:22:37. > :22:38.was an immediate hit with the public.
:22:39. > :22:41.The Moonrocket represents an era on the fairgrounds when
:22:42. > :22:44.speed, thrills and excitement were in vogue.
:22:45. > :22:47.It's one of the original white knuckle rides.
:22:48. > :22:49.Space travel was science-fiction, it hadn't been
:22:50. > :22:54.invented, it hadn't happened yet, so it was artistic license how you
:22:55. > :22:56.portrayed space travel, so it was artists'
:22:57. > :23:01.space travel possibly was in the future.
:23:02. > :23:04.This version, one of less than 20 ever made, was ordered by
:23:05. > :23:12.After much fundraising, Dingles Fairground
:23:13. > :23:16.Heritage Centre bought it for ?175,000 to house it undercover
:23:17. > :23:22.I thought it was really fun because it's really fast.
:23:23. > :23:31.When you go really fast and you can tilt the cars.
:23:32. > :23:34.It was quite frightening but it wasn't too bad.
:23:35. > :23:43.When I had a go, they racked it up to top speed.
:23:44. > :23:49.Johnny Rutherford, BBC Spotlight, Lifton, West Devon!
:23:50. > :24:04.Maybe from the 1930s but it still has the power to thrill. We have
:24:05. > :24:09.fond memories of being there, eight Children in Need outside broadcast
:24:10. > :24:14.their many years ago. Let's see what the weather is doing across the
:24:15. > :24:19.south-west. Not too much of a roller-coaster there were otherwise.
:24:20. > :24:24.A nice springlike day although technically it is still winter and
:24:25. > :24:29.I've been spoiled for photos, this lovely one coming in looking across
:24:30. > :24:35.to Plymouth, another one of sunshine here and a nice day has led to a
:24:36. > :24:40.nice evening. A glorious sunset, are cameraman Jeff was driving along the
:24:41. > :24:47.aged 38 near Chudleigh and you can see a glorious end to the day. Any
:24:48. > :24:55.of you have sent your photos in the sunset and I am collecting those for
:24:56. > :25:00.the late news. Red sky at night can prophesy is an nice day but that
:25:01. > :25:07.will be not so much the case in this instance, but it is mild. This is
:25:08. > :25:13.just a week ago, highs of 5 degrees for many of us, skip forward seven
:25:14. > :25:18.days and we are looking at 12 and 13, so a different feel. Tomorrow we
:25:19. > :25:23.keep this Mountfield but we have some mist and fog at first, it will
:25:24. > :25:28.be cloudy with a risk of showery rain later. We have high pressure
:25:29. > :25:33.bringing this risk of mist and fog, some fine conditions that weather
:25:34. > :25:37.fronts introduce a bit more cloud with the risk of a little rain here
:25:38. > :25:43.and there but not too much, a decent amount of dry weather. The we have
:25:44. > :25:47.starry skies initially that could allow some mist and fog patches due
:25:48. > :25:54.form and some low cloud. Temperatures of five, six, 7 degrees
:25:55. > :26:03.but there is the chance of a touch of frost. Tomorrow morning you might
:26:04. > :26:08.catch a bit of fog and Dorset and we have more chance of hill fog, also
:26:09. > :26:13.some showery rain but not too much, the bulk of tomorrow should be
:26:14. > :26:18.largely dry and mild with temperatures up to 13 degrees but a
:26:19. > :26:24.brisk wind for western areas and the Isles of Scilly will have a brisk
:26:25. > :26:30.wind. Cloudy, a risk of showery rain and these are the times of high
:26:31. > :26:36.water tomorrow. These are the ways for our surfers, the biggest along
:26:37. > :26:39.the north coast, generally clean conditions with the wind coming in
:26:40. > :26:45.from a southerly direction. A bit smaller along the south coast, wind
:26:46. > :26:50.strop lighter but choppy out to the West as the breeze comes in. This is
:26:51. > :26:57.the coastal waters forecast, winds occasionally getting up to six in
:26:58. > :27:02.the West. They have risk of rain or drizzle that will reduce the
:27:03. > :27:09.visibility to moderate or poor, rough at times in the West. Although
:27:10. > :27:13.this looks very grey, there are some good things to say about the weather
:27:14. > :27:20.in the next few days. Where'd you get sunshine it will feel nice,
:27:21. > :27:24.winds are fairly light, mostly dry through the weekend although you
:27:25. > :27:28.could see a little rain and areas like the north-east of Dartmoor are
:27:29. > :27:34.most likely to see the sunshine coming through, and where it does it
:27:35. > :27:40.will feel a bit like spring. We can't do with too much excitement,
:27:41. > :27:45.that looks fine to us. That is all from Spotlight this evening. The
:27:46. > :27:58.late news is just after 10:30pm. Join us then if you can. Good night.
:27:59. > :28:30.Two challenges await you today, and our genre is Landscape.
:28:31. > :28:32.The conditions are a wee bit challenging.
:28:33. > :28:38.I've really got to convince the judges
:28:39. > :28:41.It's colourful - but it was meant to be muted.