Inside Out East Midlands - 30/11/2009

The keeping of exotic animals as pets is on the increase – experts believe that more people now keep reptiles than dogs. Many of them are poisonous snakes which should be licensed under the Dangerous Wild Animals Act, but an estimated 90% of owners don’t have a licence. Fearless reptile expert Mark O’Shea investigates how the system forces dangerous animal owners underground or fails to expose them. Will recent amendments to the law bring them out of the shadows? Video games are outselling music and DVDs, and Christmas 2009 is set to be the biggest yet. Marie Ashby puts on her nanosuit and takes a trip through cyberspace to explore the East Midlands' key role in this massive success story. And what do Ray Gosling, Joan Bakewell and Michael Parkinson have in common? Answer: they've all studied at the University of the Third Age. Ray finds out how the U3A manages to attract so many satisfied students with no campus, no classrooms and no student loans.