The Prime Minister told Helen Copley, of Bramley, that his Government would investigate her claims, saying: "It should not be happening".

Mrs Copley was one of four YEP readers who grilled the PM on Friday after his cabinet's historic meeting in the city.

Mr Brown kicked off his day with a visit to HBOS headquarters in Halifax where he tried to reassure staff who fear a takeover by Lloyds TSB will mean savage job cuts.

He said he had been told by Lloyds bosses that Yorkshire workers were regarded as "one of the great assets for the future of the operation".

During a packed day, Mr Brown met shoppers in Asda's Pudsey store and joined Schools Secretary Ed Balls in officially opening Allerton High School, in north Leeds.

He then joined the rest of his senior ministers – who carried out their own visits across west Yorkshire – for a series of roundtable meetings with around 200 members of the public in Saviles Hall.

The entire Cabinet then convened in a conference room in the Royal Armouries just after 2pm.

Shortly after the session broke up, YEP readers Helen Copley, Kevin Darley, James Dunford and Catherine Malia were invited around the cabinet table for an exclusive readers' press conference.

Mr Darley, 50, IT security chief at The University of Leeds, demanded to know why commuters in Leeds have to suffer such poor service. "We are talking about 100,000 people commuting to Leeds on a daily basis. At the end of the day we are not seeing improvements. We are seeing are worse service," he said.

Mr Brown said the Government had just signed an order for 200 more carriages – some bound for West Yorkshire.

He pledged to look personally into problems on the packed Selby to Leeds route and said that despite the tight public finances transport investment will continue to rise.

He told James Dunford, an English teacher at Carr Manor high School in Meanwood, that his Government was determined to stamp out the scourge of knife crime. "The danger of carrying a knife is that you will end up using it. Let's get knives off the streets," he said.

But it was 93-year-old Helen Copley who put the PM under most pressure.
She asked: "Could you stop mixed wards in hospitals? My neighbour was in hospital and there was a man in the bed opposite who kept coming in and trying to get into her bed."

Mr Brown replied: "It should not be happening. Obviously there are more and more single rooms in hospitals, as they are now being built. The separate areas, even when there are wards, is something we have tried to insist on.

"If you give us the instance of this we will look at it but it shouldn't have happened at all."


The teacher
James Dunford, 27, has taught English at Carr Manor High School in Meanwood for three years. He raised fears that pupils there are too easily demonised as hoodies and knife carriers. James, of Headingley, said schools should receive more recognition for the challenges they face - more than 50per cent of Carr Manor pupils claim free meals and 39 languages are spoken.

JD: I work in an inner city school where 60 per cent of our pupils are in the bottom 10 per cent of the index of multiple deprivation. A lot of pupils have low expectations.How are you going to show them that they can achieve? They are demonised in the press quite a lot, and caricatured as hoodies and knife carriers. What can be done to engage them?

Gordon Brown: It is helping young people find their talent and then helping them develop it.
Although you have some young people not doing well at school we have got to find the talent an encourage and help people be ambitious and aspirational.

We are trying to persuade businesses to take an interest in a school like yours so young people get experience of business when they are at school.

In some cases getting younger people the chance to see what an apprenticeship is like.
We expect rightly that so that young people behave but we have also got to give them the chance to develop their talents.

JD: "A large proportion of our pupils are from groups in society, which for various reasons, might have been excluded.How are going to get the message to them?

GB: We have got a group of people working on this talent challenge – it's going into schools, going into youth clubs and encouraging young people and saying 'look at what you can do, look at how you can make more of yourself'.

Maybe I should get them to come to your school.
People are genuinely afraid that young people are too ready just to take a knife from home and carry it.
And the most likely thing that will happen is that they end up using it – not through intending to do so in the first place but because they have got a knife in their possession.

We are trying to get knives off the street altogether. We are trying to create a culture where it is unacceptable to carry a knife.

We are trying to bring in all the football stars, celebrities and singers to join this campaign to say it's not right to carry a knife. The danger of carrying a knife is that you will end up using it. Let's get knives off the streets.

The pensioner
Helen Copley, 93, of Bramley, a butcher for 30 years, helps run Bramley Elderly Action. She and friend Maureen Greaves, 82, from Rounday, doubled up to tackle the PM, telliing him about their troubles in raising £53,000 for a new bus for more than 1,000 pensioners who need transport in west Leeds. She also raised the issue of continued use of mixed wards in city hospitals.

Helen CopLEY: Could you stop mixed wards in hospitals? My neighbour was in (LGI] and there was a man in the bed opposite who kept coming in and trying to get into her bed.

You don't want that then you're poorly do you?"
GB: It should not be happening. Obviously there are more and more single rooms in hospitals, as they are now being built. The separate areas, even when there are wards, is something we have tried to insist on. If you give us the instance of this we will look at it but it shouldn't have happened at all. Sometimes when emergencies are happening and people are coming into to A&E – that is a different situation, because you are moving people through quickly.

Maureen Greaves: "It does happen because I've seen it happen in St James's. They have had men and women, not necessarily on the same wards, but each side of the ward. And the men and the women have wondered. It's very embarrassing. Both for men and women.

Yorkshire minister Rosie Winterton: It should definitely be separated on the ward. That is the rule. They shouldn't be in bed next to each other unless there is an emergency and that does sometime happen."

GB: I am very sorry to hear about that but we will investigate it.
HC: We need a bus with a lift for wheelchairs. It is difficult raising money these days. We have over 1,000 people.
GB: You know that for a charity every pound that is given you get Gift Aid, so that will help money go further. Perhaps we should get in touch and give you details on that.

MG: There are lots of people who just cannot get on to an ordinary bus. It's important.
GB: Community transport for disabled people has had to progress to meet the needs for disabled people. It's maybe something we can look at. There are two things, one is whether community transport can help you and helping you raise money, making your money go further.

The hospice nurse
Catherine Malia is a nurse at St Gemma's hospice in Moortown. The hospice, the fourth largest in England, has to raise £5m a year through donations. It costs £19,600 a day to run the hospice. Catherine said she welcomed the government's new End of Life Care Strategy. However, she is increasingly concerned that the deepening recession will make it hard for St Gemma's and other hospices to raise money

CM: We are very pleased to see there is funding on the back of the strategy. The point I want to make is that we receive only 31 per cent of our annual running costs through our local primary care trust.

The extra £5m has to be raised through fundraising. What are your thoughts on that?"
GB: I haven't visited your hospice but I have visited a number of hospices and the quality of care is usually wonderful.

I have followed the way the hospice movement has developed over the years and it has developed in the voluntary sector and it has been supported by amazing people who have become convinced that we just don't deal properly with people who are dying.

We owe all those people in different areas of the country including you in Leeds a huge debt of gratitude for what you have done.

I know it very difficult sometimes to be caring for someone who is very, very ill.
We have tried to increase funding both for the health service and the hospice movement.
We have tried also to help children's hospices.
What I can say to you is that we will continue to look at what more we can do.
We are still increasing the health service budget quite fast because we know we where way behind in years in what we were doing.

Pressed by the YEP on how the recession will put hospice funding under greater strain, The Prime Minister added:
We knew that when we did the budget a few months ago and we did make special provisions to help charities but we will continue to look at it again for the next budget.

I don't there is a lack of willingness on the part of people to help and we have got to work with you to see what we can do."

The commuter
Kevin Darley is the IT security chief at the University of Leeds but is fed up with his daily commute from Selby.
The dad of three, 50, is frustrated at the poor service and unreliability of the city's creaking rail network.
He branded the customer care he receives from TransPennine Express as "appalling" and is berwildered at why a 20 mile journey from his house to his desk takes him more than an hour.

KD: When is the North of England is likely to see some of the return from the so-called green taxes, that we have been paying for as long as I can remember, and enjoy the transport benefits that the South of England have had year after year?"

GB: You're absolutely right that investment in transport for the future really does matter. Investment in rail, investment in roads, investment in bus services as well. We are trying to increase public investment at the moment.

We are trying to bring forward other public works to improve the transport system in the next year, because we think we can do them much more quickly.

I think you will find when you look at the investment it rising and that year after year it will continue to rise.
We are very determined to build better links.
KD: I hear what you say and I have heard it year after year but from our experience there is actually less carriage capacity now on the railways then there was five years ago.

And that's with increased commuters because local industry has gone into decline and people are having to come into the city to work. We are talking about 100,000 people commuting to Leeds on a daily basis.

At the end of the day we are not seeing improvements. We are seeing are worse service.
GB: We are just about to order and get earlier new trains. There are more people using the railways now that at any time since the Second World War because we have invested in the railways.

You must be referring to a specific service that I am very happy to look at. Let's look at it and see what we can do.
KD: The problem is they have put modern trains on but they have less capacity.
Their attitude is that it's up to you whether you get on a train or not when it's packed. The problem is there is only one an hour.

GB: We will look at this particular service but I do assure you more money has been spent on transport ...and we are wanting to invest more in railway carriages. We have just got an agreement that the latest order will come earlier - 200 more."