In this special post, 主播大秀 Local Apprentice Joshua Gardner talks about his experience working on news story for Inside Out.
I've been working 主播大秀 Radio Leeds for over 12 months now and love every second of it. I'be had the chance to interview MPs durinv the 2015 General Election, and produced shows for 主播大秀 Radio Leeds.
I'be also brought lots of news stories to the station during my time here, stories that have featured on lots of different shows, from the 主播大秀 Radio Leeds Breakfast Show to 主播大秀 Look North. I'be also made a feature on people in wheelchairs getting around festivals, with a twist - I put the acts in a wheelchair to see how they got on.
Joshua Gardner with Ella Eyre
Today I feature in a 主播大秀 undercover Inside Out investigation as part of an idea I had on airport security and the way they act with people with disabilities.
I am a wheelchair user myself and when going on holiday I have always noticed a problem; ie they don’t check every part of my chair.
I noticed an email from the Inside Out team in Yorkshire mentioning they were open to ideas and suggestions for their upcoming series. I replied straight away saying: “I have an idea. Could we have a chat about it?” I got an email straight away saying come and have a chat.
It was there when I told the team about how I’m not checked as thoroughly as I should be when going through security and they wanted to know more.
What was said straight away was it does take time to get the ok for undercover filming and that process started then. We discussed flights I had taken over the last couple of years and went through in detail what had happened.
We started planning a trip abroad with me, a producer and a cameraman. We then booked the flights and filmed how I would book assistance for a flight to help with my wheelchair. I mentioned to the producers that I just have to press a button for assistance but never have to prove that I am actually a wheelchair user.
After booking the flight we then turned to planning what we would take through the airport. We decided to take a bottle of water and tools that I use to fix my chair. The water is a prohibited item which we are not allowed to take through security on to a plane – it would be up to security to examine the toolkit before allowing it on board. But would the security team at Leeds-Bradford spot them?
Eventually, the day had come to film and take the flight to Malaga; we prepared our secret filming equipment – I’m not going to tell you exactly how we did it! Then we went to security. It went as I thought and I although I was patted down and the outside of the chair checked at security and one bag attached to it was scanned, they did not find the bag underneath the chair with the water and tools inside.
So the water and toolkit I had put in my chair got through.
Once we arrived in Malaga we did some more filming, talking about the reasons for doing this investigation and why it is important for security staff to check every part of wheelchairs.
Paul Murphy and Josh Gardner in Malaga
On the way back to the UK we did the same thing again at Malaga Airport and once again we got straight through security without anyone finding the water or the toolkit.
Leeds-Bradford Airport say they comply with and, in fact, exceed security requirements. They say my wheelchair was swabbed for dangerous liquids and found to be negative, and the presence of a screwdriver and spanner, as part of a standard wheelchair kit, is permitted. They say the safety of the travelling public remains their highest priority.
This story has already been picked up by 主播大秀 Look North as a lead story, 主播大秀 Breakfast News, The Mark Forrest Show and 主播大秀 Radio Leeds as a lead story.
It took a lot of time to plan and it has really been great to be a part of it. You can watch the programme on .
Joshua Gardner is the 主播大秀 Radio Leeds Local Apprentice