24/01/2017 Spotlight

A verdict of unlawful killing has been recorded into the death

of a wealthy Devon businessman whose family are convinced

Barry Pring was killed by a speeding vehicle in Ukraine.

From the inquest in Exeter, Anna Varle reports.

It has been a nine-year battle for the Pring family to find out

But does today's verdict give them any comfort?

The conclusion today was what we expected.

However, that conclusion still isn't going to get justice for Barry,

because the person that murdered him is still a free person.

The 47-year-old had been celebrating his first wedding anniversary

He was with his wife and former stripper, Ganna Ziuzina.

The inquest heard how the couple had left

the restaurant and the couple were trying to hail a cab.

Ganna Ziuzina turned back to try and fetch

a glove, and then Barry was hit by a car travelling at speed,

The coroner said Barry Pring had been tricked into

standing on a westbound carriageway, which was the wrong

Despite the verdict of unlawful killing, Devon and Cornwall Police

have no jurisdiction to take it further.

As far as Devon and Cornwall Police is concerned,

it has always been a Ukrainian-led investigation.

We have no jurisdiction, we can't get any jurisdiction

We are just hopeful that the Ukrainian authorities

will pick up the verdict from the coroner and can

take further action back in the Ukraine.

The family, however, vowed to continue the fight.

Does this give you any closure at all?

And we will keep fighting until we get justice.

That report from Anna Varle in Exeter.

Campaigners in North Devon fighting to save two theatres are calling

on the local council to step in and help.

The trust which ran the Queen's Theatre in Barnstaple

and the Landmark in Ilfracombe went into administration yesterday.

They received nearly ?300,000 in council money

The doors are closed now but these campaigners want them

This singer performed at the theatre in Barnstaple last week.

It is so sad that it is all going to be gone and this makes people

like me inspired and able to dream big and I don't want it to

This and the Landmark Theatre in Ilfracombe have gone

There are calls for the local council to step in.

They don't have endless money, we understand that, but we believe

there is a viable future for these theatres and as North Devon Council

own the theatre buildings, we hope we can come to a solution.

We are pleading with the council to work with us and the administrator

to find a way to get doors open again.

The North Devon Theatres Trust blamed falling sales

and a cut in public subsidy from the local council

These closures leave the Plough arts Centre in Great Torrington

as the last art centre for miles around.

It survives on just ?9,000 a year in public funding.

Many organisations have been on a journey of weaning themselves

off public funding out of necessity and it is a journey that some have

If you have got two big theatres with big overheads it is difficult

to say that you will cover that from the box office.

It was always going to need some sort of support.

As a society we should be supporting the arts.

If you go to other countries, they support the arts, phenomenally.

The subsidy to support the theatres from the council was over ?300,000.

The council says that it is facing financial pressure

It would not comment further whilst the administration process

is ongoing, leaving campaigners waiting for a verdict

Well, North Devon MP Peter Heaton Jones has said throwing

more public money at the theatres isn't the solution.

Speaking earlier he called for the council, community

and the theatres to come together to turn the situation around.

Yes, it's got to be turned around, as one of the campaigners

Both theatres are viable, firstly, but secondly,

North Devon District Council doesn't have a bottomless pit of money.

The council, by which we mean local taxpayers, have subsidised theatres

to the tune of about ?3 million in the last six years.

It's a lot of money, but in return, the theatre has to get

people into the seats, they have to bring in productions

Sadly, we have seen audiences reduced by about 20%,

by about one fifth, recently, so the sums don't add

We've got to try and work to make this deal happen.

We had calls tonight for North Devon Council to be

putting more money in. Do you think that's a viable option?

North Devon Council doesn't have any money.

And for that reason it has to watch every pound

As I've said, the council has put in more than ?3 million

That's a lot of money for a small local authority.

But on the other side of the equation, theatres do have

to be putting on performances that people want to come and see.

And the days, I'm afraid, have gone where the solutions

to these problems is to throw more public money at it.

What I am urging everyone to do is get together round the table

Should they be staging different shows?

Is that one of the answers to getting people to go to the theatre?

I couldn't answer that, but what I do know is that

both theatres are viable. They are vital for the community.

I've been to a number of events, not only performances and shows

but also community meetings in both Ilfracombe and Barnstaple,

and they are a vital part of the community and

of the arts scene in North Devon. We have to save them both.

I am urging everyone to get round the table

to come up with a deal and if I, as the MP,

can help in any way, my door open.

People in Somerset may have to fork out more than ?10 million

scheme which is more than two years behind schedule.

No-one will even say when Taunton's new road will open.

Clinton Rogers has this exclusive report.

It remains the road to nowhere, already two years behind schedule,

I think people are getting a bit fed up with it,

That would sort them out, wouldn't it?

The mile-long road on the northern side of Taunton is designed to ease

congestion in a rapidly expanding town with its fair

But this project has been beset by technical difficulties, not least

over the construction of a new bridge.

I'm telling them to get workers out here and get

And this week for the first time the county council,

which has already paid more than ?11 million

We employed what we thought was a competent contractor to do this

project a number of years ago and here we are in January 2017 and the

road still is not open. Whenever this road finally

does open, the question is - who is responsible

for all the technical problems, all the delays and who is going

to pick up the bill which The fact is, both sides

are blaming one another, the council and the contractor,

and it is a row that has become now a formal legal dispute and the loser

could be faced with a very big bill indeed - I am told in

excess of ?10 million. The contractor, Carillion,

is refusing interviews The council is adamant -

we're not paying a penny piece more. They want extra money -

I'm not a charitable person, So now lawyers are involved

in a dispute which could yet go to the courts and of course push up

the final bill even higher Keepers at Paignton Zoo are helping

the animals stay warm during the frosty nights by adding

a mealtime favourite to their menu. The western lowland

gorillas from Africa The zoo says it's one of the few

things which will tempt them out Well time now to take a look

at the weather and David has

the forecast for us. Hello, good evening. After some

quiet but cold weather over the last few days, it is beginning to change

now with slightly more robberies developing tomorrow. Still a cold

start some post and some sunshine to enjoy but more of a breeze and it

will be a cold wind, too, with areas of low pressure out of the west

squeezing those Acer bars. The winds will increase tomorrow afternoon,

tomorrow night and into Thursday. Light winds overnight allow that

mist and fog to reform other parts of eastern Somerset with the lowest

temperatures SmackDown 2-1 and a fast possible elsewhere. Generally

more of a breeze so less post than last night, and a better chance to

see more sunshine on and off through the day. We should start to see

temperatures recover up to maybe nine Celsius, the maximum. Quite a

cool breeze developing along the South West coast of Cornwall. It is

the South West wind we get on Thursday that brings across the

channels on cold air. So quite a cold fuel to the day on Thursday.

Daytime temperatures of five Celsius but given the wind chill it will

feel more like -2, or minus three. Things to warm up towards the

weekend but not without seeing some patchy rain on the way on Friday.

Have a good night. That's all from the late team. Sleep well, and we

will see you soon.