28/12/2011 BBC Points West

Good evening. Avon and Somerset police say it's been a record year

- with more than four million pounds worth of property and cash

being seized from convicted criminals. Yachts, jewellery and

cars have all been handed over. In the past, convicted offenders would

have kept the items - but that's all changed. Our Home Affairs

Correspondent Steve Brodie reports. Just some of the yachts, expensive

cars and assorted jewellery confiscated and sold in the West.

These luxury items belonged to members of organised crime gangs -

but not any more. Under the Proceeds of Crime Act, a court can

calculate how much illegal benefit a man or a woman has made from his

or her criminal lifestyle. All the trappings of a life of crime can be

seized and sold off. Quite simply, the law can now ensure that crime

doesn't pay. It's now quite normal for the prosecution here at the

Crown Court to tell the judge after he has passed sentence that there

will be a confiscation hearing to investigate how much cash and

assets a criminal has managed to stash away over the years. The aim

of this is to take a cash out of crime and to make sure that people

that commit the crimes that affect our communities are not allowed to

come out of prison and enjoy the lifestyle but they committed the

crimes to have. They will not drive in luxury cars and living nice

houses. Over the last nine months, criminals jailed for various drug

and fraud offences have been ordered to pay back �4.2 million.

And since 2006, 720 successful confiscation orders have resulted

in more than �12 million being retrieved by the Crown. James

Waithe, an organised crime gang enforcer and former judo champion,

was hit with a million pound order. And drugs dealer Damien Ramsey was

forced to pay more than half a million pounds. Both were also

jailed. We look at their finances when we execute search warrants. We

look for high-value assets, and the evidence of money-laundering, we

look at bank accounts and we applied to the court to take away

any assets that they have. Money recovered through confiscation

orders is firstly used to compensate victims of the offences

and some of what's left goes to the police to fund operations against

crime. A candlelit vigil is to be held in

North Somerset in memory of a young soldier who died after being hit by

a car on Christmas morning. Edward Heal was based at Tidworth in

Wiltshire and was due to go to Afghanistan in March. Candles will

be lit in Clevedon on Saturday, to highlight what friends and

residents say is a lack of street lighting in the area.

And tributes have been paid to a promising young rugby player from

Wiltshire who was killed in a road accident just two days after his

17th birthday. Toby Hearne was knocked down after leaving a

Christmas party in the village of Stanton St Quintin last week. His

family say he was a generous and sensitive young man.

The family and friends of two west country servicemen killed in

Afghanistan have begun a 300 mile cycle ride in their memories.

Lieutenant Daniel Clack who was based with 1 Rifles in

Gloucestershire and Lieutenant David Boyce from Bath died within 3

months of each other. Their friends are raising money for Army

charities - as John Maguire reports. Several hours in the saddle down,

but many more ahead. The group will spend three days on two wheels,

including this Boris bike - built for many things but not long

distances. Their marathon effort is in memory of two soldiers who died

in separate bomb blasts just months apart in Afghanistan. Lts Dan Clack

and Dave Boyce, who were friends from the University of Exeter.

inspirational chaps, great characters. Has it been so far?

Very cold, but a great experience. We have not done much training.

Also riding from London to Cornwall is Dave Boyce's younger sister

Charlotte - three weeks to the day since her brother's funeral.

last few weeks, obviously Christmas is an odd time, especially the

first one we allowed them, but it has been good to have the bicycle

ride to focus on and everyone has been very supportive. It is nice to

give something back to the charities. And they are the Army

Benevolent Fund and the Rifles' charity from Dan Clack's regiment.

Under the title Dave and Dan's Memorial Cycle, their online

donations have already doubled their �1,000 objective. And as they

clock up the money and the miles - with aching muscles and bottoms -

their targets draw ever closer with their friends as their inspiration.

The NHS in the West is warning that blood stocks may be hit by major

events in 2012 - like the Olympics and the Queen's Diamond Jubilee.

Staff at the NHS Blood and Transplant Centre at Filton say

there could be a significant drop in donations because of extra bank

holidays and a hectic sporting calendar. Most people usually give

blood during the working week. the UK, 2012 will be an exciting

period and we are concerned that stocks may drop in this period.

There is the culmination of a sporting event and the Queen's

Jubilee, so we want to raise awareness in terms of donors are

not being around to give blood during the normal period of time.

The Olympic bob skeleton gold medallist Amy Williams is a

registered donor and is the face of the campaign in the South West.

One of the longest in-situ roman mosaics in Britain is to go on

display in Gloucestershire for the first time in 150 years.

Archaeologists uncovered the 35 metre long work at Chedworth Roman

Villa as part of a �3 million redevelopment.

Time for the weather now and Jemma It is a windy picture for the next

few days and for the end of the year and beginning of next year,

the wind will dominate. Some cloud moving away, and clear skies, so

temperatures well below with a cold night ahead and a cold start. The

wind will dominate, Thursday, showers propelling him and

temperatures remaining in single figures through the day. Unlike

today, we will not see any brakes, blue or brightness. There was some

nice sunshine this afternoon, not tomorrow. Some showers of the back

of the westerly wind which will give gusts of over 35 mph. Cloud,

showers, wind, mixing together to give a date with highs in single

figures. Colder than a mile to run of Christmas, but a subtle change

on the way. Tomorrow night, cloud, showers and wind. Eventually it

will swing around and come from the south-west signalling a very subtle

change and a gradual warming trend in to Friday. Friday will be windy

and at times West. The air from the south-west would bring the moister

and it shows temperatures by Friday creeping back up and continuing the

mild weather of the autumn and winter. New Year's Eve, the same,

temperatures a little bit better. The first step 2012, the mild run