24/04/2017 Spotlight

Hello. Six, so it's goodbye from me -

On Spotlight tonight: The moment a passer-by smashed a car window

I was bashing the window like that, finally it caved in.

of distress, but the RSPCA has cautioned against taking

Also tonight: The huge scale of fire damage to our wildlife.

Why experts are warning it'll take ten years for this

The first pictures showing the full extent of the devastation

after a fire a stately home in Dorset.

And there has been plenty of talk about this cold blast of air from

the north. It will last a couple of days and the risk of some overnight

frost. A man in St Ives says he'd do

the same again after smashing the window of a parked car

where he believed It happened during recent warm

weather, when he says the animal The RSPCA says it can't condone

people taking similar steps and they could face prosecution

for criminal damage. The man who smashed the window says

he's happy to pay compensation. He's been speaking to our

reporter John Henderson. This was in my car, this bar and the

car was there and I was bashing the window about five, six, seven, eight

times. Finally it caved in. Clive thinks the spaniel was inside the

vehicle for well over an hour. You could feel the heat coming out of

the car. The car was red-hot. Clive thinks the spaniel was inside the

vehicle for well over one hour. He was lying on his back with his legs

in the air. The RSPCA says it cannot condone people effectively

committing criminal damage, but... People have been known to take it

into their own hands, sometimes it has work well and sometimes it

hasn't, but please think of the implications that could arise from

your actions. The charity says if people feel they need to act in

similar circumstances, they should ensure they have witnesses or even

filmed the incident. If I get a bill for it, I will pay for the window.

Just what had to be done had to be done. We have had lots of reaction.

Nigel says, well done, a car quickly fills like a greenhouse on a sunny

day. Police might have been far too late. Darren says, leaving dogs in

cars should be illegal. What would you have done? Contact us and join

the debate. A common in East Devon badly damaged

by fire will take ten years to recover. 100 acres of Woodbury

Common were destroyed yesterday. Hamish Marshall is there for us

tonight. Today we have had a chance to see the damage. There is still

best month of smoke in the air and very much black in this part of the

common. 100 acres affected. This is what it looks like at this time of

the year. The fire could have been worse. During the fire in the

afternoon, this area was being cleared by firefighters making a

fire break to try to stop the flames going further, but they still manage

to affect 100 acres. From the air you can see the full extent of the

damage caused to Woodbury Common. More than 100 acres charred and

burned. An area of outstanding natural beauty scarred for some time

to come. Whilst some animals like birds got away, others did not.

Those that are less mobile would have been slower, so reptiles would

have had a difficult time. Some would have survived, they would have

gone underground, but many would have died, I'm afraid. Amanda Taylor

Bashford was on the comment yesterday and took these pictures as

she watched the fire advance at speed. You could hear the trees

crackling and banging. I saw one tree being engulfed in flames and

then stop burning in ten seconds. As the fire was coming towards us you

could hear this for of the flames as well as a real crackling of the dry

branches setting alight. The smoke and flames could be seen from miles

away. Where the smoke was centred, we could see the flames as well.

Fire crews were still here today ensuring hot spots did not reignite.

The man in charge of fighting the fire says the five injured men are

OK, but fires like this need to be fought out" is. We think we had

firewalls of about four metres high, you can feel the wind on me at the

moment. It is moving rapidly so that is why we have to be careful. We do

have fire plans in place for this area and we do a lot of training

about how to deal with fires of this nature. The area will recover but it

will take up to ten years. The cause and where the fire started are

likely to remain a mystery. Some people have been saying today, is

this a major problem? There are some differences. This was 100 acres.

Burning land is in a much smaller in area. It takes place before the end

of March before nesting birds have made their nests. There was one

firefighter in the sky feeding information down to the firefighters

on the ground. That made a big difference because this fire moved

quickly and they were able to get that aerial view to tell them where

it was going and how they fought it best they could.

In Dorset, the BBC has taken dramatic aerial

For the first time, it shows the scale of the damage

Conservationists from Historic England hope to be

Police say a 68-year-old local man arrested following

the blaze has been released and investigations continue.

Our Dorset reporter Simon Clemison has been speaking to Jenny Chesher

from Historic England, who worked on refurbishing

You don't have to look for the destruction

Stories of the English Civil War, of hundreds of years of history now

And it is not clear Parnham House is out of woods yet.

After the fire spreads through a building, often

the interior structure will have been completely consumed and this

leaves the external walls and features like chimneys

and gables and pinnacles very vulnerable.

The other thing to be aware of is the level of water penetration

that will have occurred in the building and that will also

weaken the structure considerably, so there are serious risks

The scene just over a week ago could hardly have been more dramatic.

Conservationists say only when they gain access

will they be able to tell if there is any further danger.

They fear much has already been lost.

From the photographs that have been available,

it looks like the damage is very extensive.

That has a tremendous depth of history and it has some

very important features, some of them very fragile

like the early glass, ancient staircases, beautiful

panelling - 500 years of fine craftsmanship

A lot of it is very fragile unfortunately and these sort of fine

finishes are the things that are most vulnerable under fire.

To be one of the finest manor houses is something

A grade one listing making this a rare gem.

With Elizabethan origins, most of the current design is down

to the regency architect John Nash, who also worked on parts

These houses were built to last, but the restoration will take

Once the property has been made safe and people can get into it safely,

then there is a painstaking salvage operation and we can generally

agree a salvage strategy, because there may be precious items

there that possibly can be reused or repaired,

There were tonnes of stone tiles on the roof of that building,

so it will be a complete mess inside, everything will be jumbled

up together, it will be charred, so it is a very painstaking process.

For now, this is still very much the centre of a police

investigation, but the salvage efforts should soon begin,

Historic England aiming to be on site this week.

There have been big fires at other big houses in Dorset and they have

The hope is that Parnham House will do the same.

Scientists say they've made a major discovery in understanding

The illness affects around 7,000 people in the South West.

Now scientists from Exeter have been working with a team in Canada

and say they hope their findings will pave the way

Our health correspondent Jenny Walrond has been talking

to one woman who developed MS in her twenties.

I was in the swimming pool and my hands started to feel really

numb with pins and needles and the actual feeling of my hands

Trish first noted symptoms of multiple sclerosis when she was 28.

Eight years later, the disease forced her to give up work.

MS is an autoimmune disease and it is a disease of neuro inflammation.

Sales of the immune system can leave the capillaries in the brain and

then they target the nerve cells within the brain and they can chew

away at some of the protective layers of the nerve cells. One of

the problems with MS 's scientists do not fully understand the disease

and so treatments focus on the symptoms. Scientists here at the

University of Exeter said they have made a new discovery which could

help change that. They believe an underlying defect in brain cells

could be responsible. People with MS have a high level of a protein which

causes cells to become poisoned. This protein we believe is involved

in causing damage to the nerve cells and we need to know a lot more about

how the nerve cells are damaged, because if we can stop the damage we

can stop a lot of the symptoms. The hope is this discovery could be used

to develop new treatments for multiple sclerosis and other similar

diseases. That is welcome news to Trish. Once they find out what

causes MS, that is the only way we can go about curing it. It will put

a lot of people's minds at ease. Now a roundup of other stories

making the news in the South West. There are concerns for the welfare

for a missing 13-year-old girl Anastasia Groom has links to Taunton

and Exeter and officers believe it's likely she's in one of these two

places, or somewhere She's described as white,

around 5ft 1in tall, of stocky build with dark hair

with red colouring, worn The jury in the trial

of a Bulgarian man accused of murdering his former partner

in Exeter, has today heard from three of the victim's

former work colleagues. The court heard that

Gergana Prodanova told other workers at the Great Western Hotel that

Kostadin Kostov beat her Mr Kostov denies murder

and the trial continues. Police have launched

an investigation into a suspicious fire at a Torquay hotel,

early yesterday morning. More than 100 young farmers

were staying at the Bancourt Hotel while in the resort for their annual

convention and had to spend the rest of the night sleeping on the floor

at the Riviera Centre. Police are treating it as arson

with intent to endanger life. Three people suffered

minor injuries. Plymouth's Labour group says

renewing the Trident nuclear programme is key for the city

and the party is committed to it. It follows comments

from the Conservative Defence Secretary Sir Michael Fallon that

Labour would pose a security risk if elected because of

Jeremy Corbyn's opposition It's being called one of the most

challenging jobs in society today, and figures reveal hundreds

of vacancies for children's social Amid warnings of the impact

on vulnerable children and families, councils across the region

are stepping up efforts to encourage more people to consider

a career as a social worker. Like any journey, to a job but for

children, social workers, it goes -- what goes on behind doors is what

matters. It is a tricky situation. It is damp if you do and damp if you

don't. Dealing with families is delicate and you have to be

sensitive and it is tricky to get it right all of the time. Their

professions battled a negative image after a series of high-profile cases

like that of baby P. Nationally there is a problem of bringing

people into children's social work. It is probably one of the most

challenging jobs in our society today. According to figures, across

the south-west there are nearly 300 vacancies for children social

workers. Alex is one of 33 new recruits taken

on in the last five years in Cornwall where they run their own

training programme and now Cornwall is getting involved in a government

bursary scheme with 11 other Southwest authorities that offers a

14 month FastTrack scheme. You have the added value of the different

resources and perspectives. We have to be honest as well, we have to

make the most of what we have got and by pooling all resources and

expertise, it is an opportunity to give people in Cornwall and

opportunity to train and work with children and families. This year's

round of the scheme is open in till early May with authorities

encouraging applicants to come forward.

The football season is building to a nail-biting finish,

The lasers illuminating the seafront in Weymouth and why some

want to return to the light bulbs of the past.

Onto sport now and there's good news and bad news from the weekend.

Torquay United have nearly pulled off the great escape for a second

year running and after Saturday's win, their destiny is now

Exeter City left it very late to keep their play-off hopes

on track, while Plymouth Argyle gained ground in the

Just a few miles from the white cliffs of Dover

Well, higher than they have been for the last couple of weeks.

His header just before half-time putting them ahead

against a team chasing promotion, but the battle for league survival

proved to be the stronger motivator and Torquay doubled their lead

and it was that man Williams again finding the net.

Minutes later and Dover pulled a goal back.

The two-goal cushion gone led to a nervy finish

and despite a late chance, Torquay held on and are now out of

The battle for survival is almost won.

Exeter City have been living off late chances,

but when David Wheeler's scuff somehow evaded the visiting keeper,

no-one at St James Park was expecting a comeback from Morecambe.

And it took something special from Kevin Anderson

That is how it stayed until stoppage time and it would not

be an Exeter City game without a late goal.

Reuben Reid won the penalty and drilled it home.

Liam McAlinden's amazing run ended with a third,

Exeter could do Plymouth Argyle a favour next week when they play

The Pilgrims are now just two points behind,

Six goals last week, but a very different story

This effort from Graham Carey was as close as any for Argyle.

Luke McCormick was certainly the busier of the two keepers.

Not that he could have done much about this if it had

An uneventful match but another point gained

Could the fans even be cheering Exeter City next week?

It was a top weekend for Plymouth Leander's Ben Proud,

who took two British titles and two British records in 24

hours at the British Championships in Sheffield.

He beat his own record to retain his 50m freestyle

title in a time of 21.32, with his clubmate Tom

Fannon finishing well in second to take silver.

Then Proud won the 50m butterfly in a time of 22.8 seconds.

Devon boxer Tommy Langford's dream of becoming a world

champion suffered a major setback this weekend.

The 27-year-old from Bideford put his unbeaten record on the line

in Leicester against the much-feared Georgian Av-tandil Kurts- idza.

In the fifth round he was knocked down by a left hook and the referee

Before this Langford had seemed to be ahead on most

The fight was for the WBO middleweight interim title,

with the winner taking on world champ Billy Joe Saunders.

There was disappointment in the London Marathon

for Devon's Jo Pavey, who was trying to qualify for this

The 43-year-old was forced to retire at the 16 mile mark.

She said she wanted to carry on, but from about 13 miles her

And finally, the Plymouth Raiders season is over after they failed

to make the playoffs for the fourth year in a row.

They lost their last six games which saw them

Good news and bad news. It is a roller-coaster that sports bulletin.

Thank you. Now, many seaside holidays are not

complete without an evening time Most resorts decorate them

with lights all year This is how Torquay still looks

during a night-time stroll. Weymouth used to have a very similar

appearance, but when the borough welcomed the Olympics,

it decided to replace the fairy lights around the bay

with bright green lasers. But should they have been so quick

to dispense with tradition? Dated, dilapidated. In Weymouth at

the beginning of the decade, the winds of change were blowing and it

was decided a traditional seaside look had had its day. But only a few

years after they disappeared, the borough council is now looking at

whether the fairy lights should be brought back. It would look really

pretty and be nice for everybody to see. It is a traditional seafront so

it would look nice with the very lights. They are part of the history

of Weymouth. It makes the whole promenade look festive. There has

been a lot of pressure to return to the past in part due to delight

replace them. No matter how they might look like a steel frame, these

are lights. Green lasers beamed through fog and rain with mixed

response. They were quite nice and bright. I think they were really

cool. Either serve the fairy lights because they are more traditional as

far as the breach resort is concerned. Both are nice. Why can't

we have both? The local authority is still looking at how to eliminate

the seafront, but dispensing with the future may prove just as tricky

as dispensing with the past. Something a little more

light-hearted. A seagull may have bitten off more

than he could chew when he stole some false teeth from a seaside

bench in Devon. The feathered-felon,

more commonly known for stealing chips, snapped up the abandoned

gnashers in Torquay. A picture of the garrulous gull

was shared widely on social media. A post on the Spotted Newton

Abbot Facebook page said, "Unfortunately anyone missing them

will need to contact the seagull Oh, dear! What a disappointed

seagull hoping for chips! Let's move on. Time for the weather. Good

evening. We have been talking about this cold spell of weather. It will

probably last one, two days. Ahead of the front bringing that change,

some quite is testing cloud formations. -- interesting cloud

formations. The cloud is not thick enough to produce a fuchsia hours.

It will clear tonight and opening the door to Arctic air. We will not

see the huge swing in temperatures that other parts will see, but it

will feel colder tomorrow. There will be some sunshine and quite

sharp showers, but quite a high risk of frost forming tonight. That cold

air is heading quite a long way south. It will help to northern

Spain by the middle of the week. Quite a big change for many. A lot

of cloud capable of producing a fuchsia hours. That introduces the

colder air as it sinks southwards and the Arctic air will be with us

tomorrow and Wednesday. Around the top of this area of high pressure,

more cloud coming from a slightly less cold direction, so temperatures

back up Thursday and Friday and high-pressure looking pretty close

and possibly for their weekend ahead. Let's look at the detail for

what will happen right through this evening will stop let's have a look

at some of the pictures where there was some flowers out at this time of

year. Everything is getting into leaf. Pretty good at this time of

year and most of the trees are now out so it looks like we will see

some fine weather to look forward to, but some of these spring flowers

will be in for a shock as we see that frost turn up both tonight and

also tomorrow night. The detailed then for overnight tonight, we have

got high-pressure coming in at the end of the week, but this cloud is

producing spots of rain this evening. It sinks southwards. No

real rain on it for those that need it and once it clears the south

coast, that cold air will arrive. We are looking at a frost overnight

tonight with temperatures between -1 and two or three degrees. Lots of

sunshine tomorrow. A fuchsia hours. By the afternoon, some of the

showers turned out to be quite heavy. Ten, 11 degrees, it will feel

more like six or seven. The forecast for the Isles of Scilly. Sunny

spells. Times of high water. And for our surfers, more waves but they

will be rather choppy along the north coast because the winds are

northerly, four or five. But we start to warm up towards the end of

the week and towards the holiday weekend. Have a good evening. That

is all from us for now. There will be an update at 10:30pm tonight and

we are back tomorrow evening. From everyone, good night.

There are times in the life of a nation

when the choices we make define the character of our country,

times when people stand up and demand real, significant change.

we have the chance to shape a brighter future for Britain