11/02/2014 BBC Channel Islands News

Good evening welcome to BBC Channel Islands. Tuesday's top stories. .

Rock falls and damaged walls ` why parts of Jersey's coastline may not

be safe after the winter storms We would ask people to take care but we

are due for another storm this coming weekend and we have our 4`7

teams on stand`by. There will be coastal engineers and a forestry

team on stand`by as well. We are prepared for anything.

Plus doorstep recycling finally comes to Guernsey ` but are

householders ready? Find out why not everyone is happy about the sale of

this historic building. Crumbling cliff paths and sea walls

have led to a warning for walkers to stay away from some coastal walks in

Jersey. A large rock fall at St Catherine's brought down tonnes of

earth yesterday. It's the latest in a number of landslides around the

island caused by the bad weather. Jersey's Transport and Technical

Services have closed the footpath the east coast footpath nearby for

safety. We'll hear from the Minister in charge in a moment, but first

Emma Chambers reports on the ever`growing list of casualties of

the storm season so far. They were built to defend Jersey

against English troops during World War II but now it seems these German

fortifications are losing the battle against nature. Repair work is

underway here at the Royal Jersey Golf Course after high tides and

strong winds caused 20`foot`deep sinkholes along the edge of the

course. And with no proper sea defence structure in place, only an

anti`tank fortification wall, there's also damage to one of the

bunkers. The storm and the strength of the waves got underneath the low

foundations of this wall and as the sea withdrew, it sucked out all of

the Earth, all of the rocks and soil, creating the big hold you can

see. Had it been a purpose beat sea wall, the foundations would have

been deeper and this would not have occurred. And it's not just damage

being caused ` vast amounts of rubbish and waste have been washed

up along the island's beaches. A big beach clear`up is taking place at

L'Etacq this weekend. The beaches have been the worst hit in the last

couple of weeks. We have seen an excessive amount of rubbish being

washed up. It is so important that we clean these beaches up. The

marine life will be affected by this, they can be hurt by rubbish.

And, back on the green, the first hole will remain closed for the next

two to three weeks whilst repairs are completed. TTS have told the

club that they will continue to streghten the sea wall along the

east coast, a popular place not just for golfers but walkers, too.

So when will Jersey's coastline be totally safe? Earlier, I spoke to

the Government minister tasked with clearing up after the storms, Deputy

Kevin Lewis, and asked him how worried islanders should be.

Take care is the message. There have been three or four quite substantial

rock falls on the cliffs, so we would ask people to take care. Where

there has been any slippage, TTS has closed the path nearby. But please

take care. How much do we know about the extent of the damage? Surveying

is being done on a regular basis. The paths are monitored. People

phone in and say there is a problem. The teams go out and monitor the

damage. As I say, they informed the landowners. We doing a lot of

restoration work. We have two relatively OK days, so people are

putting the coping stones out and repairing the slipways where they

can. Have you prepare for the lot of storms? TTS has spent over ?1

million a year on sea defences, so that has put us in good stead but we

are suffering from exceptional weather at the moment so we have to

deal with it as an when. Are there any lessons that TTS can learn about

spending money on our sea defences? Up some areas particularly one ``

particularly vulnerable? It does take a lot of maintenance and what

can happen is if the sea chips away at the coping stones, it can force a

hole through the cobblestones into the slipway and wash away the grip

behind it. That will cause a cavern to appear, which can collapse later.

Where they are found, we are pouring concrete into the bases to hold

everything together. Until permanent repairs can be affected. At the

moment, we are in excess of ?20 ,000 for damage but we are due for

another storm this coming weekend and we have our 24`7 team on

stand`by, we have coastal engineers and a forestry team on stand`by as

well. We repaired for anything. Talks to resolve the Condor workers'

strike have continued today onboard the Condor Rapide in St Malo. Now in

its sixth day, the strike is over staff wanting to change their

contracts for better pay and working conditions. They say they will be

using alternative operators will be operating via the UK.

A controversial website run by a former Jersey government minister

has been suspended by the internet search giant Google. Stuart Syvret

has posted comments about a number of issues, including child abuse, on

his blogsite for a number of years. But Google says Mr Syvret's website

violates its terms of service. The former Health Minister was jailed

for three months last year for failing to turn up in court after

being asked to take down online allegations about four islanders.

You're watching the BBC in the Channel Islands. Later in Spotlight

with Justin and Natalie ` why this woman's meddling in her brother s

wedding plans landed her in court! Weekend trips to the bring`banks in

Guernsey will be a thing of the past from next month, as most recyclable

items will be picked up from the doorstep instead. And it'll be a

free service, for the first couple of years at least. Fae Clerey

reports. Recycling ` it's coming to your

doorstep next month and the Public Services Department want to make

sure you're prepared. Islanders are being sent information leaflets on

the introduction of kerb`side recycling on the island, as well as

vouchers offering 20% off storage containers like these, which can be

used to separate recyclables at home. The idea is obviously thinking

ahead to the new recycling scheme, people want to organise their

recycling in the home, so the idea is to make that a little bit easier

for people. They may well need to purchase containers to store their

recycling. Kerbside recycling is being rolled out across the island

as part of a two`year pilot scheme with the hope of combating the

age`old problem of waste disposal. Paper, food tins, plastic packaging

and everything else you might take to a bring`bank, aside from glass,

will be collected from your door. It is only two streams, they need paper

and cardboard and then plastic, tins and cans and milk cartons. They need

to sorted into two streams. Nearly half of all islanders currently

recycle but, at the end of last year, the States failed to meets its

recycling target of 50%. But, with the introduction of kerbside

recycling, it's hoped by 2025 7 % of household waste produced on the

island will be recycled. It's a former military police

station in the heart of St Helier that islanders have probably walked

past for years without noticing This is Piquet House in Jersey's

Royal Square. The States own it but now they want to sell it, and not

everyone's happy, as Jen Smith reports.

Piquet House has been owned by the States for centuries. It's a listed

building that's sat unaltered since it was built in 1803. As well as a

place for the military, it's been used as an office for the registrar

of births, marriages and deaths And, more recently, the police have

used it. And if the sale goes ahead, it could become anything from a home

to a hotel. But not everyone's happy about the plans for its future. One

Jersey deputy says it's a piece of Jersey history.

When talking to people, it is clear a number of community organisations

would be keen on using it. The state itself, there are two or three

voluntary groups who would be interested in it. The treasury

ministry has 12 months to check these out, see if it can come up

with a leasing plan for that and if it can, that is the way to go. The

building might have seen better days. But if the States don't agree

with Deputy Young, it won't be up to them to change it.

Jesse's Royal Square looking resplendent in the rain.

Jesse's Royal Square looking resplendent in What do we need for

the coming days? You will certainly need a

waterproof, it is turning cooler again. By Thursday, you will need an

extra layer. I will try to make this as simple as possible. We have

another area of low pressure arriving tomorrow. That will give

severe gale force winds, then rain showers and generally feeling quite

cold. There is the risk of quite a string of winds tomorrow. Up to

around 60 mph gusts. It is from the south`west, so perhaps for those who

have been affected by those at the easterly gales, there is a bit of

shelter in that direction. This area of low pressure is moving quite

quickly across the Atlantic, so expected to arrive with some heavy

rain tomorrow afternoon. Once it goes through, it is a place by

blustery showers. It is coming from a cold direction, around the bottom

end of this live near Iceland. Expect to bridges on Thursday to be

lower. There is the risk of some wintry showers. I could be the odd

thunderstorm and flash of lightning. Showers become more isolated. Quite

a cold night with temperatures down as low as four degrees. A cloudy

start, mostly dried, a view showers and then pick the bounds of rain

coming in later morning, which will sweep through. It will move quite

quickly with quite a lot of rain. It is placed by showers and then it

will turn colder again by the end of the afternoon into the early

evening. Coastal waters forecast. So be a gale force nine, veering and

dropping as the rain band Klinsmann. `` the range bad clears through For

surfers, some very messy surfing conditions. Up to about ten feet by

the time you get into the early evening. The outlook is for us to

see continuing unsettled weather. More wet weather on Friday, the

exact position of the lower on Friday is still uncertain. Then

windy and Shari on Saturday. Thanks to a much. As always, any

travel impact from the weather will be brought to you by BBC Radio

Jersey and radio Guernsey through tomorrow. From us, that is it for

now. Goodbye. council leader said he was excited.

This could go on for months or years.

Homes and families on the Somerset Levels are still suffering from

rising floodwaters tonight. The village of East Lyng has seen water

rise by more than 12 inches in the past few days, and some have now

abandoned their homes. Andrew Plant has this report.

Some of Somerset's most picturesque countryside now under five feet of

water. That is his front door. In the back garden of this home, a

prized possession. It was left standing in the rush to save people

and pets before the water came in. The worst it has been by a long way.

The family that were here have fled. Their neighbour says someone

has already tried to break in. The locks have been damaged. There is

nothing left in there to steal. It is all floating around, it is all

ruined. This was the house over the road on Saturday. Neighbours working

to make a protective wall. This morning, that water is now afoot

deeper. These tiny palms are working flat out, and still the situation is

tense. Everything feels like it could just crumble at any second.

This is part of the plan. Lorries lined up with huge pumps on their

backs. Giant machinery, making sure the Somerset Levels have better

weapons to fight this war on water. This is the king said Schwartz ``

Khin Sedgemore drain. They are building a solid platform which will

house eight of those huge plates we have seen over the last few weeks.

At high tide when the river has trouble flowing out to sea, they

will suck up the water off the Somerset Levels and blasted out into

the river and straight out to sea. That will ease the whole system

here. A couple came in early today because they needed toothbrushes.

They had to leave everything they had. Nearby in Bridgwater, the

relief effort has supplies, the essentials and basics which for many

are now floating in dirty water. The only way to this farm means walking

the plank. With luck, this defence will be the difference between

living at home with water outside every window, or having to escape as

it finally pours inside. Hundreds of birds have been found

dead on beaches across the region following the relentless storms.

Many have become exhausted from the high winds and lack of food. Some

have been coated in oil that has been washed in. Janine Jansen has

been to the West Hatch RSPCA centre in Taunton where rescued birds are

being treated. There are reports that hundreds of birds have been

found dead on our region's beaches. Around ten rescued birds a day are

coming in here to West Hatch, and this is the holding area where many

birds are waiting to be cleaned. There are guillemots, puffins and

razorbills. One of the worst places was Chesil Beach in Dorset, but also

dead and oiled birds have been found in Kingsbridge, Seaton and Lyme Bay.

It has been an exceptional year. It started way before Christmas with

seals coming in. We are full to the annals of grey seals. They are

taking up some of our bird pool space which is causing us real

problems. We are having to juggle animals around just to fit them in

and give them the right conditions as they progressed through the

rehabilitation system. More than 50 birds have so far been brought in to

be cleaned. They are not really bad. They have small amount of oil on

their chest and wings, but it is not that bad. Staff here believe the

ferocity of the waves has whipped up pockets of oil in the sea. Many of

the birds are thin and exhausted. These killer marts are almost ready

to be released. `` guillemots. They have had their final wash. They have

been here for a couple of weeks and we are now doing the final tests on

their waterproofing. They won't be released until the weather improves,

but there is no letup yet. Five more birds came into night and nine more

are due tomorrow. Other news now, and a charity is

claiming people on average wages in the region would need to take home

around ?22,500 more a year, just to keep up with rising house prices.

The report from Shelter reveals the South Hams in Devon is one of the

most expensive areas to live. It comes a day after a group of young

people from South Devon who are priced out of the property market

travelled to Westminster to lobby the housing minister. Anna Varle

reports. Charlotte has been homeless for

months, despite working full`time as a carer. She can't afford rental

prices, never mind getting on the property ladder. I am just under

?600 a month. To rent in Totnes just for a room it is between ?300 ` ?450

a month, sometimes not including bills. Once you have paid bills and

the necessities of feeding yourself, getting yourself to work, I am left

with nothing. Research from the charity Shelter shows the gap

between wages and house prices continues to grow. It says the South

Hams is the most expensive place to live in the region. You would need

to be earning ?29,000 more than the average salary to buy here. That is

over ?47,500. The cheapest place to buy is in West Devon, where you

would only need to earn ?33,000 to get on the property ladder. In the

late 1990s, a property like this would of course due on average

around five times your salary. In 2012, this figure rose to ten times

your income. Charlotte's situation is not uncommon. Sasha was 15 when

she left home. Being in full`time education, she found she could not

afford rent and food. She is now living with a friend, but the mental

stress has taken its toll. I had extreme sleep paralysis. I had to

just push through, and each night I would have horrible nightmares.

Extreme stress, I would wake up and feel exhausted. Then I would have to

carry on with my education. Keep whooshing through. To highlight the

issue, Charlotte, Sasha and a group of other young people travel to

Westminster yesterday to try and persuade the housing minister to

address the shortage of affordable homes.

The treatment of two whistle`blowers by bosses at Torbay Hospital may

deter staff from speaking out in future, according to a leading NHS

investigator and health unions. However, the news that the

hospital's chief executive has been suspended while her behaviour is

investigated has been welcomed. Sally Mountjoy reports.

Paula has been suspended while the board looks into concerns raised at

an employment tribunal. Two women had accused her of nepotism over the

appointment of her daughter's boyfriend to a job at the hospital.

The tribunal said the hospital trust have tried to cover up the claims

and victimised the women who had blown the whistle. Health unions say

it is right to suspend the Chief Executive while she is under

investigation, but the case will deter NHS staff from flagging up

their worries in future. Many trusts are facing serious financial crises

in the south`west, and staff have got to have the confidence to be

able to point those things out when they arise, and if they see members

of staff elsewhere who have suffered a detriment and have to go to and

implement tribunal, it will not give them the confidence to come forward.

Robert Francis wrote the pivotal report into the care failings that

led to the deaths of hundreds of patients in Stafford. He says what

is happening at Torbay Hospital is an example of oppressive behaviour

that is hugely damaging to the confidence of staff alternating

raising concerns. The South Devon board insists those who speak out

will be treated fairly. The issues here are nothing to do with health

care. The health care here is excellent, but we agree that people

should have the ability to raise concerns without fear, and so we

would encourage any staff with concerns to raise them with us and

they will be treated very fairly when we investigate. Local union

officials say staff have been left appalled and worried by the

whistle`blowing case, and says the trust has much to do to restore

confidence. It's like a plot from EastEnders `

that's how the case of a Plymouth woman who cancelled her brother's

wedding because she didn't like his fiancee was described in court

today. The woman was jailed for what the judge said was her spiteful and

vindictive conduct. And Duffy arriving at court today,

not keen to discuss the call she made last year, cancelling her

brother David's wedding because she didn't like his choice of bride. The

court heard 20 days before the ceremony was due to take place, she

called Plymouth register office here pretending to be his fiancee. She

cancelled the wedding and then called her brother saying I have

saved you on the divorce. Distressed, the couple alerted

police. Duffy later admitted she wanted to cause upset and

inconvenience to her brother's fiancee. The court heard there were

disagreements over the care of Duffy's mother. The prosecution said

it was like a lift from an East plotline, only this was the sad

reality that confronted the complainers in the case. Duffy

pleaded guilty to harassment without violence, and was sentenced to eight

weeks in jail. She was also given an indefinite restraining order against

Sandra Hardy. As for the couple, they did rebook the ceremony and,

unsurprisingly, Duffy was not on the waiting list. `` guest list.

In tonight's football, there are two important matches for local clubs

with bottom`of`the`table Yeovil take on fellow strugglers Millwall in the

Championship. And, in League Two, Chris Hargreaves' Torquay side face

Northampton, the only team beneath them in the table, after the game

passed a pitch inspection this afternoon. It'll be Chris's first

home game since taking charge five weeks ago.

Fingers crossed that the weather holds for that. Not only have we had

wind and rain to contend with, we have now had some snow in the

region. Yes, good evening. The main threat

for us tomorrow is the wind picking up again. It was lively enough in

the small hours of the morning, but tomorrow there will be even stronger

gusts of wind, possibly up to 70 mph. Inland, 50 or 60 mph, but those

could be damaging gusts of wind. The only saving grace with this band of

rain is that it is moving quite fast. We have just been hearing the

showers that have been falling wintry over the last couple of

hours. There are more to come overnight tonight. We are between

weather systems, but we have tracked in some cold air. The white you can

see on these charts shows you where the snow is likely to be. It is

mostly across Northern Ireland and Scotland, but every now and then, a

wintry showers will come further south, which will be a problem for

the next couple of days. This is the area of low pressure. Mostly rain

coming out of this, but a sharp band of heavy rain sweeping across the

south`west of England. Plenty of ice bars on the chart, which means some

very windy conditions, and it also means some big seas with waves

increasing in height again right through into the evening. On

Thursday, or more wintry showers that will be blown in on that brisk

breeze. Even to quite low levels there is a possibility of wintry

showers to the day on Thursday. Focusing on tonight, already we have

seen some snow, and a few more snow showers to come will stop it is

mainly over higher ground, and by the morning, just slightly less cold

that means most of those showers will turn out to be rain. The winds

will ease for a short while before picking up again tomorrow, and

tomorrow we start the day at around a couple of degrees above freezing.

Slightly miles along the coastline. The band of rain tomorrow will be

quite intense for a short while as it sweeps across the south`west, but

it moves pretty fast and by the afternoon there will be some

sunshine and showers, and then those showers yet again turning

increasingly wintry. It is the strength of wind we are most

concerned about rather than the, and those gusts could be up to 70 mph.

Up to 10 degrees is likely for a short while tomorrow, but once that

main area of rain moves through, templates will start to go back down

again as the cold air returns `` temperatures. Still several flood

warnings in place. Two are severe. There is the phone number for the

Flood agency. Or you can go to their website.

Quite strong gusts of wind for the Isles of Scilly, with rain moving

through quite quickly. A scattering of showers following behind.

Some dangerous waves for our beaches yet again. The winds are likely to

increase on the north coast to give even higher waves, possibly 20 foot

waves crashing on to our shores. Quiet on Thursday, but still with

the risk of some wintry showers. More wet weather returning on

Friday. Have a good evening.

Your BBC local radio station will have the latest updates on the

weather, so do stay tuned. Join us again at 10:25pm. Good night.