05/01/2017 Spotlight

Police are investigating whether the bodies of a man

and a woman found at a farmhouse in Devon are the result of a murder

The married couple have been named locally as Nicola and Michael Beck.

Scenes of crime officers and police search teams have spent

the day at the scene, near Dunkeswell - from there,

Remote, rural, but tonight, this is the scene of a major

After being contacted by someone with concerns, the body

of a man and a woman were found at this farmhouse.

The news of the deaths have shocked those living close by.

It was a tremendous shock and surprise.

It is something you do not expect on your doorstep.

It was such a shock when we heard the news.

Officers say they are looking into whether

this was a murder followed by a suicide.

The couple involved where named locally as Nicola and Michael

Beck, who had lived at the property for around two decades.

We have been searching the properties for evidence.

We are dealing with family members of the two individuals.

We have trained family liaison officers helping them.

Neighbours say the couple had been intending to sell

Police say they are not looking for anyone else in

connection with the deaths, abut are asking anyone

with information to come forward and contact them.

The chronic lack of support for homeless people with drink

and drug addictions in Cornwall is becoming a desperate situation,

according to the Mayor of Truro. Rob Nolan is now calling

Addaction, a drug and alcohol charity, says it saw a 20% rise

in referrals to their Cornish service last year.

Clare Woodling has been speaking to rough sleepers,

who say they've been turned away from shelters due to their alcohol

Sonia is used to getting by on the streets.

It is not the only habit she has, though.

If we did not drink, we would be housed within a week.

Any of us who have lived here a long time, we get put

to the back of the queue, cos they just think

She is not alone in not finding shelter due to addiction problems.

They see it and they choose to ignore it.

Or they go, "It will be OK, it will sort itself out.

Of course it is not going to sort itself out.

The shortage is something the Mayor of Truro wants to see

We have a desperately urgent need for some sort of provision.

Some sort of shelter for people with drug and alcohol issues.

There are some homeless people here who are looked after,

and those doing so do a fabulous job, but people

with drug and alcohol issues, they cannot go into the shelters

at night, so end up sleeping on the streets.

This has been going on for three months now.

They are now setting up tents. They are setting up home here.

We need a hostel somewhere, some accommodation, for them -

somewhere they can go in the evenings and be looked after.

As the light fades, so the temperature falls

There is bigger chance of people dying on the streets

There is the risk of increased, if they are drug users,

That, combined with the cold, could lead to overdosing and death, etc.

Also, just frustration from the street homeless community.

Frustration does not quite do it justice.

Absolutely disgusted that human beings can treat homeless

Being an old lady myself, and a mother and grandmother,

We understand that temperatures here could fall

and the people in that package, the rough sleepers, will be expected

to bed down on hard floors out on the city tonight.

The society has said it will work with other

services offering help for rough sleepers.

Derriford Hospital is tonight on black alert.

The hospital has declared itself at the highest level

in the escalation system, saying the pressure on its services

is currently so great, there is potential for patient care

The Royal Cornwall Hospital at Treliske, and Yeovil Hospital

As the authorities in France begin slaughtering up to a million ducks,

to try to halt the spread of bird flu,

poultry keepers here are facing even tighter controls.

All poultry must now be kept indoors until the end of February.

That includes so-called backyard farmers -

people who may only keep a small number of chickens, but who may not

be aware of the risks of not keeping them housed.

Traders in one Cornish town are warning that a major shake up

of their business rates could be the final straw for many of them.

From April, some shops in St Ives will have to pay hundreds

Ministers say the changes make the system fairer,

and nearly three quarters of companies nationwide will see

But there are warnings some could be forced out of business.

They perhaps see that St Ives is the jewel in the crown

of Cornwall and so it's buoyant and rich.

It's very quiet in the winter months still.

A lot of businesses, you know, will struggle to survive.

A pioneering genetic test has pinpointed a rare immune deficiency

Matthew Knight has suffered from one infection since he was a baby.

The success of the test has made it possible

to boost his immunity and help him fight off future illnesses.

The team responsible believe their work could benefit

many more people, paving the way for a routine genetic test

for all NHS patients with rare diseases in the future.

Some have compared what we are doing is the same as the man landing on

the moon. I think we are moving out into the reality of delivering tests

that we would not have thought possible a decade and a half ago

into clinical care and indeed within Matthew's case within two weeks we

were able to create a result and give the family information that had

previously been elusive. An 18-foot high soldier,

made entirely from scrap metal, Clinton Rogers has been to see

the Tommy, at the forge where he was welded together

in honour of the men who served He is a monument to bravery, but

also recycling. At the door said Ford where he was created, they

pieced together, well, pretty much everything they could get their

hands on. From car parts to spammers. From chains to garden

forks. And the result is truly impressive. Only when you stand next

to the sculpture do you get a true sense of its scale. It powers the

bubbly to 5.8 metres. It weighs one and a half tonnes. It took three and

a half months to build. It is called the Haunting. It has been made for a

local man who wants to remain anonymous. It is a commission for a

local opera, actually. He came to us and asked if we could build a

ghostly figure of a First World War soldier. So that is what we have up

with and I think it fits the bill. It will be featured in a book. At

the moment, that is as much as I can say. Well, as it stands, proudly

waiting for delivery, the sculpture is certainly attracting admiring

glances from passers-by. I think it is just incredible. The more you

look at it, you see so many little bits that you missed and it is

absolutely wonderful. I think it is absolutely beautiful. Though younger

admirers really are not sure who he is. What do you call him? The BFG.

Oh, you think he is the BFG. Well, I think he might be. A friendly giant

or a hero? Well, that depends what side you are on. The Content will

eventually go on show. Where and when that will be for now remains a

mystery. Fabulous. Time for the weather.

Hello. Good evening. Temperatures right now are already a feudal

freezing in some places. For tomorrow, generally a lot more cloud

coming our way, so limited brightness, mainly in the east and

some patchy rain turning up as well. All courtesy of a couple of weather

fronts that are gradually, slowly creeping up towards us. Slow

progress on that, but they are not particularly active. It is like an

patchy. Overnight, the main frost risk is to the east. Milder air

across the world western parts of England and particularly across

Cornwall. Temperatures between 5-9 C. Still some places getting

down to minus figures. Tomorrow we have some brightness in the East,

but generally the cloud will win. It will produce fabrics of rain from

late morning onwards. It is patchy but it will be with us. It

introduces milder error and a lot of low cloud. On Saturday, we may end

up with very misty conditions. Mild but rather cloudy along with

Saturday and Sunday a bit of brightness coming through from time

to time. Have a good evening. David, thank you very much. We will be back

at breakfast. From as all of the late team, have a good night.

creeping up by a notch or two, 10, maybe nine Celsius. Here is Louise

with the national picture. Won't it cold and frosty this

morning? The coldest night of the winter so far in England. Down to

minus 8 Celsius. But widely, the temperatures below freezing. Through

the night, cloud and rain, so temperatures for