London

Inside Out London - Wednesday 11 March, 2009

Dying Dogs - the fight to stop a trader in sick puppies.

Imagine how you’d feel if you or your family had just bought a beautiful puppy from a trader and a week later, with no warning, it got sick and died.

Ms Bastin: Still selling sick puppies

That's what happened to several owners, who all bought their dogs from the same dealer – Loretta Bastin.

Evidence suggests that she’s been selling puppies with fake pedigrees that were raised in appalling conditions on farms in Ireland.

In fact, the BBC first exposed Loretta’s dubious business practices 13 years ago, but amazingly she is still being allowed to sell sick dogs to Londoners.

Joanne Good spoke to several angry owners who unwittingly bought dogs from Loretta, who liken the experience to "buying a car with no engine".

They've organised a demonstration to Loretta’s local borough council to ask them to remove her licence and stop her trading. 

The Scotland Yard nerve-centre that brought down the miners.

Twenty five years ago this month, the 1984 Miners' Strike divided the nation.

Inside Out spoke to Andy Hayman – a former deputy commissioner at Scotland Yard – who explains how the Strike marked a turning point in British politics where political agendas began to interfere with police work.

Although it was centred around northern collieries, the scale of the unrest meant that police forces from all over the country – including convoys from the London Met - had to be drafted in to assist.

Amazingly, the downfall of the miners was orchestrated from a tiny Scotland Yard control room manned by a couple of officers and a typist – a far cry from the high-tech operation one might have imagined.

Inside Out spoke to the men and women who worked there, who recall how Mrs Thatcher wanted constant briefings on what was going on – despite the fact that the officers were so in the dark that they had to rely on BBC reporters for their updates!

Disgraced by drugs: can Dwain chambers rebuild his life?

Dwain Chambers is a world-class athlete who’s grabbed himself plenty of headlines, and often for the wrong reasons.

The London-born sprinter once had a glittering career in front of him, building a reputation as one of the fastest Europeans in athletics history.

Dwain Chambers - hoping to win through.

But in 2003 he came a cropper when he tested positive for a banned steroid, and was slapped with a two-year athletics ban and a lifetime one for the Olympics - as well as being stripped of his medals.

He’s now trying to rebuild his life and career.

He’s competing at the European Championships in Turin, where he hopes to bag his first big medal since the ban.

He speaks candidly to Kurt Barling about his regrets, his suicidal thoughts, his hopes of competing for Britain in 2012, and his ongoing feud with Seb Coe.

Location of the week

Located in Covent Garden, the ROH is a world-class performing arts venue, and is home to The Royal Opera, The Royal Ballet and the ROH's Orchestra.

The main auditorium is Grade 1 listed. The current theatre building, which opened in 1858, is actually the third to have been built on the site, its predecessors having been destroyed by fire.

In recent years, the Opera House has undergone a £178m refurbishment.

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