09/12/2015 BBC Newsline

Hello and welcome to BBC Newsline. from

20 roads in Fermanagh have been closed because of flooding.

And the Rivers Agency has warned that things may become worse

as water levels in Lough Erne to continue to rise.

The authorities have urged motorists and pedestrians not

to attempt to drive or walk through flood water.

Here's our reporter in the west, Julian Fowler.

Water is slowly rising around the Ark in this children's

You would think that boats would come in useful,

but marina business beside the lough's shore

Last night, it was up another inch, at least and, as you can see,

It was flooded in 2009 and about another eight inches,

nine inches, it will be as bad as 2009, if it doesn't stop rising.

These boats at Carry Bridge may look afloat, but they are actually

And the workshop here is flooded again.

We normally lift out a lot of boats for the winter here and the men

are working on those through till the start of the season again,

so at this moment in time, there's nothing we can do,

so it leaves us now that the lads have to be laid off and it's part

of our income and it's a big part of our income that leads us right

Two roads that cross Upper Lough Erne were raised

They are now closed to cars, meaning a long detour via Enniskillen.

A few days ago, sheep were in these fields.

The water had also risen at the Share Activity

On Monday, the fitness room was under water.

Today, the pumps were still doing their job.

With warnings of further flooding, the emergency services are preparing

In County Down, an investigation has begun into a crash which saw a bus

leave the road and end up in the sea.

It happened at about 6.30 this morning on the Ards Peninsula.

Early this morning on the shores of Strangford Lough,

the bus was travelling on the main coastal road From Newtownards

It hit this wall, careered across the road and went

There was a big drop before it landed on its wheels.

The driver suffered only minor injuries and there were no

There were no other vehicles involved.

But the damage to the bus was extensive on the front

The beginning of the recovery operation was swift but not quick

The rising waters submerging most of the vehicle.

A bus that should've been full of passengers by then filling

That meant that the onshore recovery services needed help

As the operation unfolded, the force of the tide

A difficult recovery demanding a close inspection,

The rugged shoreline proved to be challenging.

Eventually, strength and power succeeded,

And around one o'clock, over six and a half hours

the recovery operation was over and an investigation was beginning.

A student has been cleared of causing the death of a baby

in a car crash in Fermanagh nearly three years ago.

John Fahy from Sligo denied that he was to blame for a collision

in which 19-month-old Ryan Cox was killed.

The child's mother, who was driving, was seriously injured.

Our reporter Lisa McCalister was at court in Dungannon.

It took the jury just under two hours to acquit John Michael Fahy

from Sligo. The 25-year-old, seen here at an earlier hearing, had been

accused of causing the death of Ryan Cox by careless driving and injuring

his mother, Katriona Cox. She, alongside Ryan's father, wept as the

verdict was delivered today. The prosecution claimed that the crash

almost three years ago had been caused by Mr to's inexperienced

driving or buy over steering. He claimed he came around the bend and

Katriona Cox was on his side of the road and he had nowhere to go. She

has no memory of the accident, or indeed most of that day. A

pathologist told the court that Ryan Cox, who was 19 months old, died

from injuries to the spinal-cord in his neck. Another witness also told

the trial that she saw Fahy on the road a short time before the

accident and that his driving was careful and proper. Mr and Mrs Cox

didn't comment as they left court this evening, and neither did Mr

Fahy, he is expected to finish his degree in architecture from the

University of Ulster. A man's critically ill

after a blast in north Belfast. A 40-gallon oil drum exploded

at the Edenderry Industrial Estate The Health and Safety Executive

is investigating. Arlene Foster is to get a clear run

to become the new leader of the DUP, Talk of a contest evaporated this

morning when the one possible contender, Sammy Wilson,

said he wouldn't be putting Nominations for the post

closed at teatime. Her life will never

quite be the same again. Arlene Foster will soon be

the leader of the DUP Sharing power with

Martin McGuinness. They were together this afternoon

at a business event in the manner, They were together this afternoon

at a business event in Fermanagh, It is all a far cry

from Good Friday, 1998, she walked out of the Stormont

talks. But since then, she's changed

parties and in the wake of subsequent agreements,

changed her attitude to Sinn Fein. So how does she feel about working

with Martin McGuinness? I have worked with Sinn Fein,

I recognise that they do have a mandate in terms

of the numbers that they have that I have worked there since 2007

as a Minister for the Environment and then as a Minister of Trade

and Investment are now I will continue to work for what is

right for Northern Ireland and what is good for the people

of Northern Ireland. It is a new era, I suppose,

in terms of the DUP. I think it is very welcome

that it is a woman in the lead, # For he's a jolly good fellow,

and so say all of us. Sammy Wilson had been tempted to run

for leader, very tempted, but he decided this morning not

to put his name forward. Nigel Dodds made the same

decision on Monday. And so with none of the MPs wanting

the top job, the outcome This evening, Peter Robinson

confirmed the news on social media. Here at party headquarters,

they are preparing the change. Here at party headquarters,

they are preparing for change. Arlene Foster is expected to be

confirmed by the party executive of the new DUP leader next week,

but she won't take over The full handover will take place

on the 11th of January. Then in May, there's the Assembly

election, the first big test The price of petrol could fall to ?1

a litre before Christmas because of a worldwide drop in the price of

oil. It could mean hundreds of pounds worth of saving for consumers

if this is reflected at the pumps. Crude oil is there one third of the

price it was four years ago. We have already seen a 30% drop in prices

from last year. If the price of a barrel of oil continues to fall and

it continues to be passed on to the consumer, there could be

considerable savings. Let's get the weather now, with Cecilia.

It is looking much drier, thankfully, over the next few days

but it will get quite cold and not completely dry. A few showers

tonight but not an awful lot of rain to fall, temperatures into low

single figures and shows could get wintry, particularly during

tomorrow. It may start of Chile with a touch of frost and ice around, but

in between the showers, some sunshine to greet you tomorrow

morning though it will feel cold and the brisk wind. Lots of snow showers

piling into the Scottish mountains, one or two over the mountains of

northern England. Further south across the Republic, Wales, Southern

counties and the East Midlands and East Anglia, slow-moving band of

rain. Brighter skies the Northern Ireland was sunshine in between the

showers but they will be more frequent across the western

temperatures, as you can see, considerably lower compared to

today, up to 11 or 12 degrees today. A cold night on Thursday, a chilly

day on Friday but it will stay cold but drier into the next weekend, and

the rain will move up from the side on Friday night, it will lead to

some disruption and snow on the mountains. Friday night, blustery

and quite chilly, a few showers that wintry on the higher ground. Most of

Saturday should stay dry but it is good to on Sunday.

We'll be back at 6.25am tomorrow during BBC Breakfast.