Mobile homes

There's no place like home - Teresa in her garden

This is the story of people at the bottom of the housing market - people whose lives have been devastated after a campaign of harassment and intimidation by a new landlord.

Teresa Iveson has lived at the Hardwick Bridge Residential Caravan Site in Kings Lynn for more than six years.

She owns the caravan, valued at £45 000 last year, but rents the plot of land it sits on.

Teresa spent the first two years repairing and renovating her home and garden.

But in November 2004, the lease for the park was sold.

The site was bought by father and son Colin and James Crickmore and Maurice Sines.

They made no secret of the fact that they wanted to redevelop the site.

Since then Teresa Iveson and the other residents have been 'encouraged' to move out.

Intimidation?

Residents say they have been subjected to a campaign of intimidation.

In January 2005 Maurice Sines appeared with a team of men and began ripping up fences and trees immediately adjacent to homes.

The site was left with open sewers, electric cables and gas bottles littered around.

In the summer of 2004, there were 72 caravans, a year later there were just 22.

Residents in mobile home parks have protection against eviction, just like tenants in a house.

Unless they break site rules or don't pay their ground rent, they can't be evicted.

The Hardwick Bridge site is actually owned by Kings Lynn council and leased to Sines and the Crickmores.

Residents thought this would mean they were protected by the council.

They now believe that they haven't received adequate support from the council, an accusation the council refutes.

New mobile homes have now been moved onto the site and are on the market for more than £100 000.

Maurice Sines and the Crickmores have upped their offer from £500 to several thousand pounds to the existing residents to move off the park.

Although Theresa Iveson has still not been offered the full market price she has now decided to leave.

She says she cannot take the stress and fear any more.

Colin Crickmore and Maurice Sines both refused to give an interview to Inside Out.

Links relating to this story:

• Blewbury News

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Pirate radio

Ruling the waves - Keith Skues and Tony Blackburn

For nearly 40 years the BBC ruled the airwaves with little or no competition.

But then in the mid sixties something happened which would change the way we listened to music for ever… pirate radio.

It challenged the BBC's monopoly.

The government tried to shut them down, but couldn't, as they operated out to sea in international waters.

Several pirate ships were launched, probably the most famous was… Radio Caroline which operated off the Essex coast

One of the pirate DJs was Keith Skues.

Recently whilst clearing out his attic he came across some movies he shot on board. It has never been broadcast before.

It's a unique insight into what life was like working on pirate radio.

All aboard!

Keith takes a trip to a 'replica' of the original Radio Caroline ship moored at Tilbury docks in Essex.

With ex-pirate mate, Tony Blackburn, and the help of the movies, they relive pirate radio memories.

The ship itself was quite large and comfortable, but there were a few rules, alcohol was strictly rationed and overnight visits from girlfriends definitely not allowed.

Looking after us was a Dutch captain and crew.

It's difficult now to imagine just how popular the pirate radio stations were.

Back in the mid sixties there were only two TV channels and they only broadcast for part of the day.

Radio was still the most popular medium. The DJ's were even more famous than the pop stars whose music they played.

By the summer of 1967 the days of the pirate radio ships were numbered.

The Labour Government, who had tried so hard to close down the pirates, finally succeeded by passing the Marine Broadcasting Offences Act.

However, Radio Caroline managed to continue broadcasting from the North Sea right up until 1990.

Its broadcasting career only came to a permanent end in 1991 when the ship ran aground on Goodwin Sands.

Links relating to this story:

• BBC Inside Out Yorkshire (Pirate radio)
• Offshore radio
• Offshore radio guide
• Radio Caroline
• Radio London
• Radio waves
• The pirate's cove
• Anorak's archive
• Old radio broadcasting

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external websites

Second hand satellites

Satellites - a growing market

Two hundred tonnes of rocket, 360 tonnes of highly explosive fuel - all costing hundreds of millions of pounds.

That's a typical launch of a satellite.

And this now goes on so regularly no one even notices.

Currently, an average of 130 satellite launches take place each year. The cumulative cost defies belief.

The main player in this exclusive, high cost club, is the communications industry, the industry who bring us our television pictures and connect our phone calls.

And take a moment to consider just how long you've had the same mobile phone or the same TV.

Technology changes faster in the communications industry, than any where else - after computers, so new satellites are needed all the time.

New satellites

E.A.D.S. Astrium in Stevenage make new satellites.

It's been the unofficial home of the British Space industry since they built Blue Streak rockets here in the 1960s.

Now you'll find everything from communication satellites to secret spy satellites.

But there's also a growing market for second hand satellites.

Jeremy Rose runs his second hand sat business from St Albans.

From his small, unlikely offices, he sells to clients all around the world.

He's in world-wide demand because of his unique database and incredible knowledge.

One of his second hand sats will set you back about the same as a jumbo jet - but still cheaper than new .

When an operator orders a satellite they have to make sure that there's, physically, space in orbit for it to operate from.

Sometimes Jeremy and his database can suggest a second-hand satellite which can be bought, moved and temporarily parked in that space, reserving it for when the operator's newly commissioned satellite is launched.

This effectively stops anyone else parking in that orbital spot.

The second-hand satellite market is thriving and can only expand as more and more satellites are needed.

Links relating to this story:

• EADS Space
• Comsys
• Wikipedia
• Heavens Above
• AMSAT
• New Skies
• Satellite 2006

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external websites