:00:00. > :00:15.Good evening. BBC Two, and that
:00:16. > :00:18.What remains of the Royal Clarence Hotel in Exeter is due to bd
:00:19. > :00:24.Tonight, the facade of the historic building is still standing , just.
:00:25. > :00:27.It was destroyed in a fire which began in a neighbouring
:00:28. > :00:33.The fire service is now working to establish the exact causd.
:00:34. > :00:36.The hotel's owners say they have every intention
:00:37. > :00:41.In a moment, we'll be hearing about the wider impact on Exeter,
:00:42. > :00:50.Today began the first week hn 2 0 years without the Royal Clarence
:00:51. > :00:54.Hotel standing proud in the heart of Exeter.
:00:55. > :00:55.Plans are being drawn up to
:00:56. > :00:58.demolish much of the remains of the building, but for now
:00:59. > :01:01.the cordons around Cathedral Green and part of
:01:02. > :01:07.We are really aware that businesses are
:01:08. > :01:09.deeply affected by this incident and the public
:01:10. > :01:11.of Exeter, they want to
:01:12. > :01:15.come back and use the green and so we will try and get everythhng back
:01:16. > :01:20.It is now three days since the fire destroyed hundreds of years of
:01:21. > :01:24.Police officers have been called in from
:01:25. > :01:27.around Devon to staff the cordons and the Chief Constable has thanked
:01:28. > :01:32.the public for their patience and understanding.
:01:33. > :01:35.They allowed us to get on with what we had to do, they
:01:36. > :01:38.allowed us that opportunity to be professional, but if ever the public
:01:39. > :01:39.were professional, they were professional
:01:40. > :01:43.that we needed for time and space and those cordons
:01:44. > :01:47.We have had the odd incident, but funnily enough it's
:01:48. > :01:51.been the public who sorted out the people who have been a bit
:01:52. > :01:53.foolish on the cordons, more than we have had
:01:54. > :01:57.They have been remarkable and I would like to thank them through
:01:58. > :02:00.Spotlight for what they havd done, because I haven't seen that for a
:02:01. > :02:04.A team of demolition enginedrs have arrived on scene.
:02:05. > :02:07.They face quite a challenge as our filming from a Fire Service aerial
:02:08. > :02:17.Hundreds of tonnes of debris litter the shell
:02:18. > :02:20.of what was one of Exeter's finest hotels.
:02:21. > :02:21.Excavators are expected on
:02:22. > :02:24.site tomorrow with demolition work likely to begin,
:02:25. > :02:26.contractors say, in
:02:27. > :02:30.Engineers have not been abld to get into the innards of
:02:31. > :02:34.the hotel yet, it is just too dangerous and too unstable.
:02:35. > :02:37.As to how long it will take to clear up the mess,
:02:38. > :02:41.they are unwilling to put a precise figure on it, but the
:02:42. > :02:49.Cordons are respected to relain for tomorrow at least,
:02:50. > :02:51.although the Fire Service hope they can be reduced in
:02:52. > :02:56.And today at last came a little positive news about the Roy`l
:02:57. > :03:00.One of the structural enginders told me he believed the
:03:01. > :03:02.ground floor exterior, backdrop to the photographs
:03:03. > :03:06.of so many weddings, graduations and other memor`ble
:03:07. > :03:14.The BBC understands that a large excavator will arrive at thd scene
:03:15. > :03:16.first thing in the morning to begin the clear-up operation.
:03:17. > :03:19.Devon and Somerset's Fire Chief told us it's too early to say
:03:20. > :03:29.We are not ruling anything out at this stage, however,
:03:30. > :03:32.we do know there was refurbhshment work taking place in the gallery
:03:33. > :03:34.and that is our starting pohnt, but at the same time,
:03:35. > :03:37.we will be reviewing CCTV footage, we will be looking to speak
:03:38. > :03:41.to eyewitnesses and gain as much information as possible just
:03:42. > :03:44.to understand what was happdning and what led to such a signhficant
:03:45. > :03:51.The fire has had a major impact on Exeter itself,
:03:52. > :03:54.with many roads and shops still closed today.
:03:55. > :03:56.Janine Jansen reports now on the effect it has had
:03:57. > :04:06.Normally a magnet for shoppers, but today,
:04:07. > :04:13.The Chamber of Commerce says there was a 25% drop
:04:14. > :04:17.in the number of people vishting the shops on Saturday.
:04:18. > :04:20.We are moving into that important time of the year
:04:21. > :04:23.which is crucial for retaildrs, it's where they make most
:04:24. > :04:26.of their money for the whold year, over the Christmas period.
:04:27. > :04:28.We need to be open and we nded to get that message
:04:29. > :04:32.across to the public that Exeter is open for business.
:04:33. > :04:35.Exeter's high street has bedn closed since Friday,
:04:36. > :04:38.but around 20 shops have bedn allowed to reopen.
:04:39. > :04:42.However, this section remains closed.
:04:43. > :04:48.Businesses are anxious to fhnd out when they can reopen.
:04:49. > :04:50.Local businesses mourn the loss but want lives to get
:04:51. > :04:56.The owner of this shoe shop says she has been closed
:04:57. > :05:01.We are obviously very, very keen to open and trade
:05:02. > :05:04.and bring the business back to the city and get back to normal
:05:05. > :05:10.It's very, very tragic what has happened and I am used to going out
:05:11. > :05:14.of the shop every day and looking up at that beautiful building
:05:15. > :05:18.and sadly it won't be there, but everybody seems to be
:05:19. > :05:25.doing their best to get things back to normal.
:05:26. > :05:28.Right now we can't open, so we're having to turn trade away,
:05:29. > :05:34.so we are losing money, still having to pay staff's wages
:05:35. > :05:38.so there is a big impact on the business.
:05:39. > :05:44.The simple message in this local cake shop window sums up
:05:45. > :05:50.I think that everyone has bden just poleaxed by the whole fire
:05:51. > :05:54.and everyone is so emotional about it and everyone wants to do
:05:55. > :05:57.something and we don't know what we can do,
:05:58. > :06:04.It's sad to see part of our history go.
:06:05. > :06:25.A dreadful scene, I can't believe it has happened.
:06:26. > :06:28.A gang that forced vulnerable people from Eastern Europe to live
:06:29. > :06:30.in cupboards and garages, pay to use the toilet and forage
:06:31. > :06:33.in bins for food have been jailed at Plymouth Crown Court.
:06:34. > :06:37.Five Czech nationals were ghven prison sentences between two and six
:06:38. > :06:41.and a half years for trafficking vulnerable fellow countrymen
:06:42. > :06:46.The judge - who recommended they are deported after prison
:06:47. > :06:49.said the gang "crushed the human spirit" of their victims.
:06:50. > :06:56.They were vulnerable and they were abused.
:06:57. > :06:59.People from the underbelly of the Czech Republic brought
:07:00. > :07:03.to houses like this one and forced to live in squalid conditions.
:07:04. > :07:07.Some slept in cupboards or garages, foraging in bins for food,
:07:08. > :07:11.required to pay a pound to use the toilet.
:07:12. > :07:14.These are the five Czech nationals who could well have trafficked over
:07:15. > :07:20.Today at Plymouth Crown Court, they were jailed for between two
:07:21. > :07:26.Sentencing, Judge Ian Lawrid QC told the five that what seemed to have
:07:27. > :07:30.escaped them was this, that the offences centred around
:07:31. > :07:34.the crushing of the human spirit and the stripping away of a person's
:07:35. > :07:41.The gang said they were helping those struggling
:07:42. > :07:44.in the Czech Republic, but the court heard they helped
:07:45. > :07:45.themselves to the earnings of their victims, described
:07:46. > :07:48.If they complained, they were threatened.
:07:49. > :07:52.One man was beaten with a b`seball bat and had to make his
:07:53. > :07:57.The defendants are guilty of the organised exploitation
:07:58. > :07:59.and manipulation of a number of vulnerable victims
:08:00. > :08:04.They cynically targeted people who might not immediately
:08:05. > :08:09.They were then treated as commodities to be used however
:08:10. > :08:15.They were forced to live in squalid conditions whilst being put to work
:08:16. > :08:20.to pay off imaginary debts they had been told they had incurred.
:08:21. > :08:23.At the heart of this investhgation was always the victims.
:08:24. > :08:25.I'm glad to say they are now living independent lives.
:08:26. > :08:28.Some of them chose to remain in the UK, some of them chose
:08:29. > :08:30.to return back to the Czech Republic.
:08:31. > :08:33.The judge said he would be recommending that the five
:08:34. > :08:43.members of the gang be deported after prison.
:08:44. > :08:54.Very warm for Halloween. And unusually warm. Temperatures have
:08:55. > :09:02.been well above where they should be for this time of year. Therd is the
:09:03. > :09:07.chance of more of that list and fog developing, some of that has started
:09:08. > :09:14.to develop now and there is more to come. We do have a change. Ht starts
:09:15. > :09:19.to get colder, it is mostly dry but with winds developing from the north
:09:20. > :09:25.or North West into the weekdnd, it will feel quite a bit cooler.
:09:26. > :09:30.Temperatures to date up to 08, 9 degrees. It is getting colddr so
:09:31. > :09:36.make the most of the warmth. Fog is a problem tomorrow morning `nd later
:09:37. > :09:43.on tonight, and first tomorrow, it is a tricky drive to work. @ weather
:09:44. > :09:49.front arriving tomorrow. A band of cloud opens the door to colder
:09:50. > :09:54.conditions. Then high presstre takes over just for a while, another
:09:55. > :09:58.weather front arrives through the night Thursday and then into Friday
:09:59. > :10:03.morning, this one introducing more persistent rain and into thd
:10:04. > :10:07.weekend, we have lost the area of high pressure and regain brhsk
:10:08. > :10:13.northerly winds, lower tempdratures and for all of us, it will feel more
:10:14. > :10:17.like autumn with a strong northerly wind. Like twins tonight and the
:10:18. > :10:23.mist and fog developing by the morning. Night-time temperatures
:10:24. > :10:32.between five and 7 degrees. Some of that fog sleuths who tear -, slow to
:10:33. > :10:42.clear. There isn't a great deal on it and not as warm as today. 15 16
:10:43. > :10:46.degrees. On Wednesday it is called a still. Wednesday we could start the
:10:47. > :10:54.day with frost and colder towards the end of the week and drunkenly
:10:55. > :10:58.more uncertain. That is it for now. Join us tomorrow morning but from
:10:59. > :11:00.the late team, have a good night. Goodbye.