Incinerators

Belching smoke in the Eastcroft area of Nottingham

We've become a disposable society.

Every year we throw out enough rubbish to fill 3.5 million double-decker buses… a queue of which would stretch from Southwell to Sydney… and back.

But by throwing away so much are we gambling on the future of the planet?

Now environmentalists fear that the East Midlands could become the UK's capital for burning waste in incinerators.

Those living near Nottingham's Eastcroft Incinerator are worrying about the effect on their health… and now there are plans to double the size of the plant.

Links relating to this story:

• BBC News
• Waste Recycling
• Friends of the Earth
• Earthfirst
• Nottingham Against Incineration and Landfill

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Jockeys

Weighing in - Luke Fletcher checks the scales

One thing you will never see is an overweight jockey.

They have to make their race weight every time they come to the course - it isn't easy.

They exist on a quarter of the normal daily intake of food.

Combined with the fact that they have an incredibly physical job which starts at six most mornings and takes them all over the country, you can see how difficult it is.

So how do they keep the weight off?

Well over the last year Inside Out has been following one up and coming jockey from Nottinghamshire, Luke Fletcher.

His is a tale of determination, bravery, and not a lot of food.

Links relating to this story:

• BBC Inside Out London
• BBC Sport - Horse Racing
• The Jockey Club
• British Horse Racing

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Hoax callers

Hoax calls can cost emergency services time and money

A hoax emergency call is made to the fire service in Britain every six minutes.

Many of these are made in the Midlands, a region with one of the worst records for malicious calls and where such false alarms cost the emergency services £1 million a year.

Inside Out joins one Fire and Rescue team as the service tries to cope with the regular false alarms which drain valuable time and resources.

We also meet David Garforth, a man who is addicted to making false 999 calls.

Serial hoaxer - David Garforth

David starting making hoax calls at the age of 14, and after three years of raising false alarms, was detained in a psychiatric hospital.

"I would feel powerful at the point I approached the phone box, like I was in control," he tells the programme.

But his actions not only wasted the emergency services’ time, they also put lives at risk.

Links relating to this story:

• BBC News
• Staffordshire Fire and Rescue
• Together - Tackling Hoax calls
• Crime Reduction

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external websites