10/01/2014 BBC Channel Islands News

from the Atlantic. Thank you very much. That's it from us. On

Hello. Welcome to Friday's BBC Channel Islands news. Our top

stories: Cleared for take off ` Aurigny and Blue Islands are given

the green light to join forces on the Guernsey`Jersey air link, but

will prices rise as a result? It is better for it to go ahead and

preserve some competition on the route than to allow the status quo

to continue. Also, the new man at Jersey Rugby

Club, but can Harvey Biljon turn the club's fortunes around after a

disappointing season? I have had a chance to speak to the players this

week and we have put it behind us and we will drive forward.

And we're given rare behind`the`scenes access with

Jersey's firearms unit. Aurigny and Blue Islands are joining

forces on the Guernsey to Jersey air link. The two airlines will be

working together on the inter`island route following permission by the

competition regulator. It means whichever airline you book with

you'll end up on a Blue Islands plane. Penny Elderfield reports

Joining forces on one of Guernsey's key air links. Aurigny and Blue

Islands have been given the go ahead to merge on the Guernsey to Jersey

route. We have been provided with compelling evidence that it was very

likely that in the very short`term one of them would leave the route if

this was not permitted. Our judgement is that having some

competition on the route for consumers is a better outcome than

having a monopoly. Passengers will still be able to book individually

with Aurigny and indeed Blue Islands. The only difference will be

that it'll only be a Blue Islands plane that operates on the route.

And reassurances have also been given that what we pay shouldn't

change that much. How it'll work is Aurigny will pay Blue Islands for a

set number of seats on each flight, but it'll be up to each airline what

they charge. Blue Islands will then run the service with six or seven

flights each weekday and seven at the weekends. And there was concern

about having a less frequent service. What we have done is

imposed a condition that requires the airlines to take reasonable

efforts to increase capacity if it looks likely to be necessary to meet

demand. Both airlines say it should make the route more financially

viable in the long term. And that work's now under way to make the

first joint Aurigny and Blue Islands flight happen.

A Jersey man has appeared in the Royal Court charged with making

indecent movies and pictures of children. 29`year`old James

Christopher Videgrain admits making 89 indecent movies and nearly 1 500

pictures of children between 20 7 and March last year. He'll be

sentenced by the Royal Court next month.

A new era began at Jersey Rugby Club this week as the new head coach

Harvey Biljon arrived in the island. His appointment came after the

director of rugby, Ben Harvey, quit last month, after six defeats in a

row for the club. Earlier I asked him how worried he is about the

possibility of coming to a club that might drop out the Championship next

season. To be honest, it is about not looking behind us, it is about

looking forward. I have had the chance to speak to the players this

week and we are going to drive forward. What will you do to put

your stamp on Jersey Rob club? I think it is going to be about

getting the best out of the players `` Jersey Rob the club. We need to

make sure they know what it means to the island. Steve Boden is taking

charge of tomorrow's match. I have given him the responsibility over

the next two weeks because it gives me the opportunity to see how things

are run and to watch the players a little bit more closely than I would

do if I was leading. I think he has done a really good job as interim

head coach. I am comfortable with him continuing over the next two

weeks. There has been some component that urine concern that more

islanders need to get behind the club. `` there has been some concern

that. Do you share that? I think the rugby club needs to reconnect with

the community. I think it is just the first step of many that we will

be making to weaken up `` to reconnect and hopefully will get the

island ofs' support. You know some of the Cornish Pirates. I do not

know whether it makes them more nervous. It will be great to have

guys to go to who have worked with me because they know my

expectations. Harvey Biljon there and a reminder

Jersey Rugby Club take on the Ulster Ravens in the British and Irish Cup.

Kick off is at 3pm at St Peter. Live commentary on BBC Radio Jersey.

Work to improve the pitch at Guernsey's main stadium is being

hailed a success. Last season drainage problems at Footes Lane

Stadium led to a huge backlog of sports fixtures. But so far this

season, the pitch is holding up well. Mike Wilkins reports.

Remember this? Desperate attempts to use a helicopter to try and dry the

waterlogged pitch at Footes Lane last season. A trench was dug every

metre of the 100m pitch, with 1 0 tonnes of gravel and 170 tonnes of

sand used to improve the drainage. And it seems to have worked. It has

cost around ?10,000 to make the improvements to the pitch. Some

would say it is money well spent because this season there has been a

marked improvement compared to last season when so many matches were

called off. There is no water. Looking at the rain we had last

week, the guys were not even muddy. The pictures in perfect condition.

We have had debates with other teams about who has the best pitch. This

pitch is in great condition because of the work that goes into it. For

the man responsible, he's understandably having a better

season this year. For this time of year, to go halfway through the

season and have it in the condition it is in with rugby and football

playing on it, it is nice. It is nice for me because it is not so

much of a worry. Last year was an absolute nightmare. Yes, it is nice

to get the comments we get now. Also, last year, it was not nice to

get those comments! For Shane though, the work continues and he

expects the pitch to be even better in the future.

Armed police became a familiar sight on Jersey's streets during court

appearances of the drugs baron Curtis Warren. But that's just one

type of incident the firearms unit deals with. So, how do the officers

train and how much does it cost Louise Walter reports.

On a wet Tuesday morning in the north of Jersey, police carry out an

armed raid. This is a training exercise regularly undertaken by

specialist firearms officers. But this type of search has been carried

out three times this year for real. The emphasis on training is about

prevention. We have to be in a position, being an island, to be

able to respond appropriately and proportionately to any threat we may

face. The firearms team can be deployed up to 18 times a year. Some

incidents are pre`planned, like this armed presence at court appearances

of the UK drugs baron Curtis Warren. Others are spontaneous. The reality

is that when a live job comes in, you want your training to kick in.

All of the time we spend up here, doing drills, that will come into

play if the live job comes in which obviously we hope it will not. It

costs several thousands each year to train and equip the 30 firearms

officers. But despite the low level of incidents, bosses say Jersey must

be prepared. There is no cavalry coming here to help us out. We must

make sure we are properly equipped and trained to deal with any threat

or harm or threat to the island Back at the training centre, the

hard work continues. These officers know that should a real incident

come in, they're armed with the skills to deal with it.

Before we find out what the weather has in store for us, we've got

something to brighten up your weekend. Take a look at Benny the

dog taking a stroll on the beach at Greve de Lecq in Jersey. The photo

was taken by his owner during the recent bad weather. It's fair to say

the spaniel's taken the nation's media by storm. Not only has he

featured in British tabloids, but he's also had around 2,000 likes and

hundreds of comments on Facebook. He even has his own agent. Whatever

next? ! We are starting to see the cloud

thicken and build. There will be light patchy rain in the forecast

overnight. Tomorrow and the start of the weekend, I mostly dry day. More

sunshine building especially in the afternoon. Becoming cloudy with the

prospect of rainfall Sunday. A weak weather front will bring light

patchy rain by the early hours of tonight. It will clear by Saturday

morning. Tomorrow, plenty in the way of sunshine and light winds as

pressure builds for the time. But the next weather system bringing

further cloud and rain and strong winds comes in late on Sunday. This

evening, the cloud is beginning to build. It will thicken overnight. We

will start to see the light patchy rain making its way towards us by

the early hours. Tomorrow morning, the rain will make its way across

us. Hit and miss. It will clear By tomorrow during the day, much more

in the way of sunshine. Dry conditions. Light winds. The coastal

waters forecast for tomorrow... The winds are westerly. Becoming

variable, 1`3. The times of high water...

The outlook ` tomorrow looks to be the better day of the weekend. Once

the cloud breaks, we will see the back of the light rain. It will feel

quite crisp. The winds will be light. Sunday, the next area of low

pressure heads towards us bringing more cloud and rain. Rather

unsettled for the start of next week.

Coming up in Spotlight, find out why a ferret with an attitude problem is

being sent to an isolation ring because he cannot make friends ``

isolation wing. Thanks for watching. Have a good evening.

are alleged to have taken place last year. He has been released on bail

and will face trial later this year. The largest joint police operation

of its kind in the country to ways in Plymouth overnight, targeting

illegal drug use. 40 officers, along with sniffer dogs from the Navy,

Devon and Cornwall Police and the MoD took part in the patrols in the

city centre. `` took place in Plymouth. Spotlight's Anna Varle

went out with them. Two teams, three sniffer dogs and

undercover CID. Their first stop was the Union Rooms. The officers

secured the site and then the dogs were sent in. There were 150 patrons

within the pub. It was surrounded by officers, secured and the successful

drug search was completed with no arrests. No arrests? None. Is that

surprising? Not surprising. Hopefully that is indicative of the

rest of the night. This was just the first of eight bars and clubs to be

searched. Many of the officers had never worked together before. We

have started working on lot more closely with Devon and Cornwall

Police and our volition chip has flourished. It seemed only right and

proper that we moved to the next scale and escalate things to the

next level and move our operations in and work together. The goal of

the operation was to test whether combining operation of resources on

such a larger scale would work in detecting drug use in personnel and

civilians. The naval police were responsible for arresting those in

the forces. Devon and Cornwall officers were concentrating on

everyone else. The military police have a much tougher set of

regulations around the use of drugs. The tolerance drug policy. For them,

it is a greater level of punishment. The police say that

Plymouth has no greater problem with drug use than any other busy city in

the country. But what they have been doing for the last nine months is

focusing on the higher offences, the drug trafficking offences, not the

straight possession offences that we have seen tonight. That is what this

operation is all about. It is going to kick`start a new way of making

sure premises Mickeys remain drug`free. `` premises like these.

There have been eight was that of detection. One female has been

arrested. On the partnership side, all for half a foot together. It has

gone smoothly and we look forward to further working together in the

future. `` we have worked very well together.

With ever`increasing cuts to the forces, it is hoped that pooling

resources will significantly reduce drug misuse in the city.

Time for the sport and Dave's here with a new bowling sensation in

English cricket. It's about time we had one!

You can say that again but don't. Hello.

Exeter Chiefs, virtually out of rugby's European Heineken Cup, can

still qualify for the Challenge Cup, providing they win their final two

pool ties ` Glasgow Warriors at Sandy Park tomorrow and at Cardiff

Blues in a week's time. Dave Lewis retains his place as

scrum`half after scoring for the Chiefs in last week's narrow loss to

Wasps. Henry Slade partners him at fly`half, while full`back Luke

Arscott captains Exeter. Head coach Rob Baxter makes 11 changes in

total. Well, we're halfway through the

football season and Yeovil Town need to reenergise if they're to avoid an

immediate return to League One. It's a difficult start to the second

half of the Championship campaign for manager Gary Johnson against the

second`placed team Burnley at Huish Park. The big match in League Two is

at Home Park, where two in`form teams meet head on ` Plymouth Argyle

and Southend. Jason Banton is back at Argyle after re`joining them from

Crystal Palace on a permanent basis. The 21`year`old scored six goals

whilst on loan at the Pilgrims last season. Even though we were in a

relegation battle last year, I kind of played with the freedom of just

being there to help. I really enjoyed it last year and hope fully

more of the same. Exeter City have lost three out of

their last four matches in League Two, so will need to stabilise at

Bristol Rovers tomorrow. They've dropped into the lower half of the

table and need another of their impressive away performances to give

them a fillip. It's Chris Hargreaves' first match in charge of

struggling Torquay United, after his appointment this week. It's at AFC

Wimbledon, with the new incumbent admitting he's a little nervous

about his managerial debut. I will be nervous in a good way, a good

way. I am going to walk out there and be really proud that I have got

a team and I am leading the team out and then I want them to look at me

on that side and work for me. England's cricket team may be in

tatters, but could a partnership in the South West help produce the next

fast bowling star? Aadil Rashid has teamed up with former Somerset

cricketer Steffan Jones in a bid to make his dream of bowling at 90mph a

reality. Andy Birkett went to find out more.

He may have hung up his boots but Stephan has now turned his attention

to the next generation. And he has found the perfect people. He has the

most biomechanical efficient action I have seen any youngster. It is

really explosive at the crease. He has a long delivery stride, a

greater delay on the right side of his body. He uses stored energy in

his right side, in his hips. He can bowl genuinely quickly for his age.

Yes just concerned `` he has just turned 16 and has moved from

Birmingham to take advantage of Stephan's expertise. It is not just

cricket, body wise, I have grown up and still maturing so I am learning

every day. His training is tailored for power and speed but his bowling

at 90 mph, is it a realistic ago? Bear I think it is incredibly

realistic. `` with the structure and support I have, I think it is a

great goal to achieve. His natural ability, I believe you can do it.

England are crying out for fast bowlers at the moment. We do not

have a Mitchell Johnson and I think we do have one here at this school.

What is it being likes to get the other end? With your money where

your mouth is! Put your pants on, yet in there and face him.

Sensibly, I declined. Would you? ! We have Mitchell Johnson lined up

for UNIX. Take care! Finally, the Zara Phillips`trained

horse Youhavetoo features in the maiden race at Sunday's point to

point meeting at Black Forest Lodge at Kenton near Exeter. The first

race is at 12 noon. Try to get along. Hopefully it will be a nice

day. Hope so.

A special ceremony took place today in Somerset to honour the efforts of

some of the forgotten heroes of World War Two. Ten Arctic Star

medals were presented to those who helped supply Russia in the Arctic

Convoys, which lasted throughout the war. The Government introduced the

medals in 2012, more than six decades after the conflict ended.

Hamish Marshall was at the ceremony in Yeovilton.

It was 8/2 but a vital job. `` a tough but vital. The Arctic convoys

delivered aid to the Soviet Union during the Second World War, running

the gauntlet of submarine, flight and surface ship attacks. The main

thing was the cold. Not only was it absolutely freezing on the deck with

the wind, but the thought that if my single engine aircraft, if the

engine failed, I would be in the waters of minus 10 Celsius. That is

what frightened me most, I think. If the engine stopped and I had to land

in the water. This is a long serving member of the helicopter test pilot.

John received one of ten Arctic Star medals today. The chance to remember

and to share stories. It was necessary because the Russians

wanted all the ornaments, aircraft, tanks, lorries, everything that a

country needs to keep the services and the army going. Today's fitting,

in an area of a museum which commemorates the battle of the

Atlantic, was very appropriate. The idea of bringing the Bollinger and

having a naval officer give out the medals was a privilege. How nice is

to have the recognition question and clamour it is very nice but I would

like to know why they have get it for so long! To many, the medals

have come too late. Sadly, three of those who should have been here

today have died. The incredible veterans of the

Arctic convoys. A feisty ferret is causing a

kerfuffle at a Plymouth rescue centre. Grumpy Gareth has such a bad

attitude problem nobody wants to adopt him.

He was taken home by new owners but they marched him back to the

isolation wing of Woodside's high security Ferret fun house because he

can't get along with other ferrets. Johnny Rutherford has been to meet

him. He has taken his life into his own

hands! Meet Gareth, a five`year`old white

albino ferret has a bit of an attitude rotten so he gets called

Grant `` Grumpy Gareth. Somebody called him Victor Meldrew the other

day but he is happy. He is misunderstood, not grumpy. He is set

in his ways. He knows what he likes and likes what he knows, I think.

This area is the ferret fun house but unfortunately for Grumpy

Gareth, he is not allowed to play with the others because he is not

very sociable. Instead, he has his own bachelor pad. You're not really

grumpy, are you, Gareth? I think his yellowing meets believe he is. Most

people looking for ferrets are looking for a companion for an

existing ferret so obviously they are sociable, living in families of

more than eight. Him, he is just a little loner, unfortunately.

He did find a home but the people wanted more of an indoor ferret and

Gareth likes the outdoors and was a bit mischievous. Our ferrets good

pets yes. Very sociable, Hannibal, a great

laugh to watch and play. People take them out on harnesses to walk. ``

very sociable, funny. Oh, dear little Gareth!

Misunderstood, not grumpy. He reminds me of someone, just in.

Now, with a look at the weekend weather prospects,

reminds me of someone, just in. Now, with here's Kawser.

More in the way of cloud around this evening and some patchy light rain

making its way across us but it will clear for tomorrow. Tomorrow, the

start of the weekend, dry, bright weather with sunshine,

surprisingly. It will be a pleasant day. Feeling quite cool was later

winds. A crisp, winter day in four before more in the way of cloud and

rain to end the weekend on Sunday. This week weather front is what is

raining the cloud this evening but it will clear through so for

tomorrow, we are looking at much more in the way of sunshine, with

high pressure building for the day. Later winds, as I mentioned, but

look behind me, the next area of low pressure and weather fronts which

will come towards us for Sunday. A brief respite from the stormy

weather. For Sunday, wet, windy weather. Look at how to get isobars

are. It will be strengthening winds throughout the course of the day but

not as much rain as we have seen lately. For this evening, that

light, patchy rain will continue to clear through and by the early

hours, under the clear skies, editors are likely to fall. In towns

and cities, we are looking at around Celsius but it will be cooler in

rural spots. The dot of frost and also from icy stretches. In fact,

there was a Met Office be aware warning for the risk of some ice on

untreated roads and pavements. Take care of your out and about tomorrow.

Tomorrow itself, the cloud will thin and break and we will see sunshine

in the forecast. The winds will be lighter but it is quite chilly.

Temperatures in towns and cities around nine or 10 Celsius at best.

In the sunshine, with those later winds, it will be a nice day as long

as you're up top fairly warmly. For the alpha silly, after any rain

clears away, we're looking at a dry day, a brighter day with sunshine,

like twins but feeling quite cool. `` the Isles of Scilly.

The coastal waters forecast for tomorrow, the winds are

south`westerly, bearing northerly. There will be some occasional rain

to start the day but generally, we are looking at mostly dry conditions

and some occasional moderate visibility but generally quite good.

The outlook then, tomorrow is the better day of the weekend. Some

crisp sunshine, lighter winds, before more in the way of cloud and

rain to come later in the day on Sunday. Rather unsettled conditions

for the start of next week also. Not a significant amount of rain but we

are looking at around 50 millimetres but falling on already saturated

ground and from swollen rivers. `` 15 millilitres. If you are

concerned, this is the flood plain number. Had a great weekend.

Well, at the end of a week in which the forces of nature have dominated

the news yet again, we'll leave tonight with some of the pictures

showing the effects of the storms. There are also many more of your

pictures of the severe weather on the BBC Spotlight Facebook page.

From all of us here, goodnight. A tenth of a second

could be the difference