:00:00. > :00:13.Good evening. for the news where you are.
:00:14. > :00:15.Armed police carrying semi-automatic rifles are to patrol the streets
:00:16. > :00:21.It's in response to Monday's suicide bomb attack in Manchester,
:00:22. > :00:24.which killed 22 people and injured dozens of others.
:00:25. > :00:26.The force says there is no specific threat to the region,
:00:27. > :00:28.but it's urging people to be vigilant.
:00:29. > :00:36.Our Home Affairs Correspondent, Simon Hall reports.
:00:37. > :00:41.Officers will carry semiautomatic rifles on foot patrols in busy
:00:42. > :00:44.locations such as shopping centres and train stations as part of the
:00:45. > :00:51.security operation put in place since the Manchester bombing.
:00:52. > :00:52.Commanders stress it is not in response to
:00:53. > :00:54.any specific threat, but a precaution
:00:55. > :00:55.designed to reassure the
:00:56. > :00:58.It is a proportionate response to the national threat and
:00:59. > :01:00.until that investigation has allowed the threat
:01:01. > :01:01.level to be reduced, I
:01:02. > :01:04.think it is a very sensible option to take.
:01:05. > :01:09.It is normal patrolling, but it is now overtly with the
:01:10. > :01:13.weapons, but I would ask the public to be reassured and not to be put
:01:14. > :01:16.The security situation since the Manchester bombing is
:01:17. > :01:20.Commanders say the armed patrols will continue
:01:21. > :01:24.until they believe the threat of further attacks has eased.
:01:25. > :01:25.There are, of course, many public events
:01:26. > :01:30.planned for this bank holiday weekend in the south-west.
:01:31. > :01:32.Senior officers are aware of the potential
:01:33. > :01:34.danger to large gatherings of the public.
:01:35. > :01:37.They say they are keeping security at those events under
:01:38. > :01:40.review and will deploy armed officers if they need to.
:01:41. > :01:42.There is also the matter of the major
:01:43. > :01:44.sporting finals in London this weekend.
:01:45. > :01:48.There, the advice is to go along and enjoy
:01:49. > :01:53.yourself, don't let anything spoil the day out, but to remain vigilant.
:01:54. > :01:59.And commanders are already putting in place plans for the security of
:02:00. > :02:02.victory parades if and when any of our teams return to the region
:02:03. > :02:10.People across the south west stopped for a two minute silence today
:02:11. > :02:14.to remember those killed in the Manchester attack.
:02:15. > :02:17.In St Columb Major in Cornwall, the church bells were muffled
:02:18. > :02:41.to peel more dimly, as a reflection of the sombre mood.
:02:42. > :03:06.More than ?115 million has been lost by councils in the South West
:03:07. > :03:13.Figures obtained by the BBC show more than 300,000 people have
:03:14. > :03:17.It comes as local authorities are still having to cut services
:03:18. > :03:34.The pressure on councils to get every penny of council tax in is
:03:35. > :03:41.greater than in any time in recent history. Local authorities have
:03:42. > :03:45.faced cuts of 35% or more in their budgets in the last seven or eight
:03:46. > :03:50.years. And against that backdrop, if they don't get this money in from
:03:51. > :03:52.councils, that is simply not available for street cleaning,
:03:53. > :03:56.street lighting or indeed for care for older people.
:03:57. > :03:59.Two weeks today the polling stations open for the General Election.
:04:00. > :04:02.All this week on Spotlight we've been travelling across the south
:04:03. > :04:04.west visiting the constituencies where the MPs were elected
:04:05. > :04:06.with the smallest majorities, at the last election.
:04:07. > :04:08.These so-called "marginal" seats are where the political campaigning
:04:09. > :04:11.will be fiercest for the next fortnight, and today John Henderson
:04:12. > :04:23.Who will hit the political jackpot in two weeks' time?
:04:24. > :04:30.All the parties are hoping their numbers come in.
:04:31. > :04:32.But in some seats the gap between the winners
:04:33. > :04:41.I have come to help out at a newsagent in St Budeaux.
:04:42. > :04:48.Part of the Moor View constituency in Plymouth.
:04:49. > :04:50.It is the second most marginal seat in the
:04:51. > :04:57.The Tories snatching victory from Labour last time by
:04:58. > :05:01.Scratchcards are doing a roaring trade.
:05:02. > :05:14.Few constituencies are betting on the
:05:15. > :05:33.Have you worked out who you will vote for?
:05:34. > :05:39.Conservatives and Labour are offering a lot of
:05:40. > :05:47.sweeties, such as a lot of money for the NHS alone.
:05:48. > :05:49.But in urban, predominantly working-class Moorview,
:05:50. > :05:58.As soon as the NatWest closed, we noticed
:05:59. > :06:01.a reduction in full fall, so how at the small businesses survive?
:06:02. > :06:06.Perhaps the Liberal Democrats proposals for money for schools or
:06:07. > :06:09.the Greens ?15 billion plan to scrap student loans
:06:10. > :06:14.will help breathe new life into the area.
:06:15. > :06:21.They are unlikely to tempt back from Guernsey a chap
:06:22. > :06:24.who used to be a paperboy here 40 years ago.
:06:25. > :06:27.I left because I did not like the way the UK was going
:06:28. > :06:38.Ukip, also here, said they would introduce a one in one
:06:39. > :06:48.This man says he would be on his way if his ship came in.
:06:49. > :06:51.I want to go to an island that is low in taxation,
:06:52. > :06:55.their democratic right is
:06:56. > :06:59.We have an opportunity to vote and we should
:07:00. > :07:14.There's a list of all the candidates standing in Plymouth Moor View
:07:15. > :07:18.A special reserve has been established in Cornwall
:07:19. > :07:20.which could help rescue the country's ailing bee population.
:07:21. > :07:22.The Cornish black bee has been described as a super bee,
:07:23. > :07:25.because it can cope with bad weather and disease,
:07:26. > :07:27.unlike the more common black and yellow European honey bee.
:07:28. > :07:38.It might look just like any other honeybee, but if you look
:07:39. > :07:40.closely, you will see they are black and grey.
:07:41. > :07:44.It is hoped the Cornish black bee could be the answer to the
:07:45. > :07:49.honeybee's problems over the last few years.
:07:50. > :07:51.They are stronger, they can fly for longer, they live
:07:52. > :07:53.for longer, and they are less prone to disease.
:07:54. > :07:57.And now the first-ever reserve in mainland Britain for the
:07:58. > :07:59.Cornish black bee has opened at Mount Edgecumbe.
:08:00. > :08:02.We are very, very keen on keeping the black genetic line,
:08:03. > :08:05.because that is what's so threatened at the moment.
:08:06. > :08:10.colonies, ten colonies out of about 4000,
:08:11. > :08:19.It is a bit like the Scottish wildcat, where
:08:20. > :08:22.the big problem that they have got in trying to conserve the
:08:23. > :08:23.Scottish wildcat is one of hybridisation.
:08:24. > :08:28.So breeding centres are being set up in remote locations
:08:29. > :08:30.around Cornwall to give the black bees a chance.
:08:31. > :08:33.Beekeeper Bob Black takes me to one of the sites they
:08:34. > :08:36.Yes, this will be a queen rearing and breeding centre.
:08:37. > :08:42.We will develop this piece of landscape to bring colonies in.
:08:43. > :08:45.And behind you is where our mating colonies will go in the shady area.
:08:46. > :08:48.So what we're hoping is that we can encourage more beekeepers to take
:08:49. > :08:51.part in the programme, we can get people to work
:08:52. > :08:54.with the native stock of bees, and we can provide them with
:08:55. > :08:55.either nucleus colonies or Queens to restock
:08:56. > :09:00.This isn't a nerdy kind of intellectual exercise.
:09:01. > :09:05.I know some of us sometimes get a bit excited and pretend that it is,
:09:06. > :09:08.but this is a hugely important for National
:09:09. > :09:13.security, for our food security, going forward.
:09:14. > :09:17.This colony does have hybrid evidence of
:09:18. > :09:20.But they say they need more beekeepers to take
:09:21. > :09:31.That report by Eleanor Parkinson. Let's get the latest on the weather.
:09:32. > :09:36.Hopefully more sunshine. Here is the man who can tell us, David.
:09:37. > :09:42.Good evening. I am sure the honeybees are loving the weather
:09:43. > :09:48.today. The warmest day of the year so far. 25 Celsius the top
:09:49. > :09:51.temperature. The breeze on coastal locations making it not quite so
:09:52. > :09:58.warm. Tomorrow is a hot and sunny day. Very high UV rays. The risk of
:09:59. > :10:00.thunderstorms overnight and into Saturday, all courtesy of this
:10:01. > :10:04.weather front which is a long way away but it will get closer through
:10:05. > :10:09.tomorrow afternoon and into the evening. But for now, it is clear
:10:10. > :10:14.skies, it is an unusually mild night overnight tonight and overnight
:10:15. > :10:20.temperatures won't feel much below 16 Celsius for most of us. Already,
:10:21. > :10:24.adapters have a hard -- it start for the day tomorrow. Wall to wall blue
:10:25. > :10:29.sky. Very little cloud to spoil the day. Some high-level cloud coming in
:10:30. > :10:33.later from the West, but that will club the skies across the far west,
:10:34. > :10:39.but for most of those it is unbroken sunshine. Top temperatures of 25
:10:40. > :10:43.Celsius. By the time we get to Saturday, there is the chance of
:10:44. > :10:47.some early showers. Then brightening up. Still quite warm and then cooler
:10:48. > :10:54.into Sunday with the risk of some heavy showers around. Have a good
:10:55. > :10:57.night. Banks, David. Andy will be back with you from 6:25am tomorrow
:10:58. > :11:00.morning with the breakfast News but from all of us here, enjoy what is
:11:01. > :11:05.left of your evening. Sleep well.