Browse content similar to 12/01/2012. Check below for episodes and series from the same categories and more!
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Good evening and welcome to BBC Points West. Our main stories | :00:10. | :00:13. | |
tonight: The young soldier run over on | :00:13. | :00:16. | |
Christmas Day - a campaign questions the decision to turn off | :00:16. | :00:24. | |
street lights overnight. The mystery of a headless body. | :00:24. | :00:28. | |
It's discovered in the grounds of a mental hospital - none of the | :00:28. | :00:30. | |
patients is missing. After a deer is savaged in | :00:30. | :00:33. | |
Gloucestershire, scientists investigate if a big cat like this | :00:33. | :00:43. | |
:00:43. | :00:45. | ||
is on the loose. It could be a form of Panther. That | :00:45. | :00:51. | |
would appear to be the most likely. A black leopard type of animal. | :00:51. | :00:53. | |
And bowled out of Bristol - the planning decision which could | :00:53. | :01:01. | |
signal the end of international Good evening. The funeral's taken | :01:01. | :01:04. | |
place this afternoon of a young soldier from North Somerset killed | :01:04. | :01:08. | |
on Christmas Day. 19-year-old trooper Edward Heal was walking | :01:08. | :01:15. | |
home from the pub when he was hit by a car in Clevedon. | :01:15. | :01:18. | |
The street lights on the road where he was walking had been switched | :01:18. | :01:21. | |
off the month before. Now his family and friends are campaigning | :01:21. | :01:31. | |
:01:31. | :01:41. | ||
to get them turned back on. Alice Bouverie reports. | :01:41. | :01:45. | |
Hundreds of mourners turned out for the funeral of Edward Heal. A young | :01:45. | :01:49. | |
man who'd just turned 19. A trooper preparing for his first tour of | :01:49. | :01:52. | |
Afghanistan. He'd been out to the pub on Christmas Eve, then was hit | :01:52. | :01:56. | |
by a car while walking home along Kenn Road in Clevedon in the early | :01:56. | :01:59. | |
hours. The street lights weren't on. They'd been switched off at | :01:59. | :02:02. | |
midnight. His best friend Tom says it would have made a big difference | :02:02. | :02:05. | |
to have had them on. I have come back with my mates, we have come | :02:05. | :02:08. | |
back from the pub at 12 o'clock at night and it is literally pitch | :02:08. | :02:14. | |
black. The lights here were turned off in November. Ed's tragic death | :02:14. | :02:17. | |
came just a month later. It's had such an impact on the local | :02:17. | :02:20. | |
community, next week a petition's being handed in to North Somerset | :02:20. | :02:25. | |
Council to get them switched back on. As you can see, the traffic is | :02:25. | :02:35. | |
very busy. I was very concerned. I don't know enough about the | :02:35. | :02:40. | |
accident to say polite spin-off caused it but I think it did not | :02:40. | :02:50. | |
:02:50. | :02:52. | ||
help. -- the street lights being off. But elsewhere in the West, the | :02:52. | :02:57. | |
change to street lights is being welcomed. In Gloucestershire, 87 | :02:57. | :03:00. | |
rural parishes and market towns have been changed to part night- | :03:00. | :03:06. | |
lighting. Street lights in other villages have been dimmed at night. | :03:06. | :03:08. | |
It's saving energy and the council money. North Somerset says by | :03:08. | :03:11. | |
turning off the street lights between midnight and 5am, it'll | :03:11. | :03:14. | |
save �230,000 over the next two years. South Gloucestershire's | :03:14. | :03:18. | |
figure is �55,000 a year. Swindon is also switching off some streets | :03:18. | :03:20. | |
lights, saving �20,000, while Wiltshire is hoping to save �9,000 | :03:20. | :03:25. | |
a year. North Somerset says it won't make any further comment | :03:25. | :03:28. | |
about its policy on street lights until the police investigation into | :03:28. | :03:32. | |
the accident is complete. But it says any decision to switch off | :03:32. | :03:37. | |
lights is carefully considered. Ed Heal's funeral may just cause them | :03:37. | :03:47. | |
:03:47. | :03:47. | ||
to reconsider. A disturbing find inside the | :03:48. | :03:52. | |
grounds of a mental hospital in Bristol. A body's been discovered | :03:52. | :03:54. | |
at the Callington Road Hospital which specialises in treating | :03:54. | :03:57. | |
people with addiction problems and has a secure unit for patients | :03:57. | :04:02. | |
suffering from severe psychiatric illness. | :04:02. | :04:05. | |
The body was found without a head and, at the moment, nobody knows | :04:05. | :04:08. | |
who it is. The hospital, though, has confirmed that none of its | :04:08. | :04:10. | |
patients are missing from the wards. Here's Will Glennon. | :04:10. | :04:13. | |
Police were called to Callington Road Hospital in the Brislington | :04:13. | :04:16. | |
area of Bristol just before lunchtime yesterday. A worker found | :04:16. | :04:21. | |
the body in a secluded part of the hospital grounds. It was said to be | :04:21. | :04:25. | |
badly decomposed and the head had become detached from the body. Avon | :04:26. | :04:28. | |
and Somerset Police have begun an investigation to try and establish | :04:28. | :04:34. | |
the exact circumstances surrounding this death. The body is thought to | :04:34. | :04:38. | |
have been here for some time, perhaps as long as six months. The | :04:38. | :04:43. | |
death, though, is not being treated as suspicious. Callington Road | :04:43. | :04:47. | |
Hopsital is run by the Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Trust. It | :04:47. | :04:51. | |
treats inpatients who suffer from a range of mental health conditions. | :04:51. | :04:56. | |
It has secure care units for men detained because of their problems. | :04:56. | :05:01. | |
It also has a specialist unit for drug detoxes. The mental health | :05:01. | :05:03. | |
trust has said today it's co- operating fully with the police | :05:03. | :05:06. | |
investigation but that none of its in-patients here at the hospital | :05:06. | :05:13. | |
are missing. So work will now go on to establish whether the dead man | :05:13. | :05:17. | |
did have any connection to the hospital. People I've spoken to | :05:17. | :05:22. | |
here today have called what's happened bizarre and unusual. This | :05:22. | :05:26. | |
is the second time in recent weeks that a body has been found in a | :05:26. | :05:31. | |
decomposed state. A man discovered near a golf course in Bath over | :05:31. | :05:35. | |
Christmas has still not yet been identified. A postmortem | :05:35. | :05:38. | |
examination will take place on the body found yesterday and police may | :05:38. | :05:42. | |
have to use dental records and even DNA tests on the bones to try and | :05:42. | :05:52. | |
:05:52. | :05:53. | ||
work out who it might be. For years there have been reports | :05:53. | :05:57. | |
of sightings of big cats across the West. Now the debate has begun | :05:57. | :06:02. | |
again in Gloucestershire. DNA tests are being carried out on a deer | :06:02. | :06:06. | |
found savaged near Woodchester Park in Stroud. Scientists are trying to | :06:06. | :06:09. | |
confirm if it was attacked by an unusually large predator, with some | :06:09. | :06:14. | |
locals convinced it's the work of a big cat. Steve Knibbs has been | :06:15. | :06:19. | |
investigating and joins us now. Steve, this is being taken very | :06:19. | :06:29. | |
:06:29. | :06:32. | ||
seriously. Absolutely. This pub overlooks the | :06:32. | :06:37. | |
area near the park with his big cat is apparently living. People are | :06:37. | :06:41. | |
very convinced, they are taking this very seriously. They have been | :06:41. | :06:45. | |
sightings in the past. The difference this time is that the | :06:45. | :06:49. | |
evidence is mounting up in favour because of the way the deer was | :06:49. | :06:53. | |
killed and, as you mentioned, scientists are hoping to extract | :06:53. | :06:59. | |
DNA from the carcass. That would be conclusive. Let's take a look at | :06:59. | :07:03. | |
the evidence. We were taken to the site of the | :07:03. | :07:08. | |
deer kill by the National Trust, who own the land. Although it's | :07:08. | :07:12. | |
open to the public, they want us to keep the exact location a secret, | :07:12. | :07:16. | |
but it's near Woodchester Park. And this is where we find our first | :07:16. | :07:19. | |
clue. The deer carcass was found here with serious injuries - more | :07:19. | :07:25. | |
than could have been inflicted by a fox. It is a perfect hideaway Floyd | :07:25. | :07:29. | |
a cat. Rick Minter is an expert on big cats and says the way the deer | :07:29. | :07:35. | |
was killed is indicative of maybe a puma or panther. The canines have | :07:35. | :07:40. | |
gone through to get to the windpipe and it has been asphyxiated. It is | :07:40. | :07:45. | |
a fresh carcass. A dog walker found it warm so we know it is | :07:45. | :07:49. | |
uncontaminated. Our next clue comes from what locals found near to | :07:49. | :07:52. | |
where the deer was killed. These plaster casts were taken of | :07:52. | :08:00. | |
footprints in the woods. The width and shape of the print and the fact | :08:00. | :08:05. | |
that dogs, which are not able to retract their claws, would leave a | :08:05. | :08:14. | |
clear Clow print in front of these pads. But it could be DNA analysis | :08:14. | :08:18. | |
being done in this lab in Coventry that could prove conclusive. | :08:18. | :08:21. | |
Experts at the University of Warwick took samples from the deer | :08:21. | :08:25. | |
carcass to see if the kill really was the work of a big cat, and what | :08:25. | :08:31. | |
species. If there are traces of a big cat, we stand a reasonable | :08:31. | :08:37. | |
chance of finding it. By next week, we should have a sequences. Once we | :08:37. | :08:43. | |
have those, we will know what species it is. If there is a big | :08:43. | :08:49. | |
cat living here, you can see why it has decided to make it its home. | :08:49. | :08:56. | |
But it is also used by ramblers and dog-walkers. So is it a threat? | :08:57. | :09:01. | |
don't really see it would be a significant risk. We are not aware | :09:01. | :09:05. | |
of any big cat attacks in the country to date and I don't think | :09:05. | :09:13. | |
it would be a major factor. evidence is mounting up in favour | :09:13. | :09:16. | |
of a big cat, but there's maybe also a big historical clue. The | :09:16. | :09:19. | |
Orpheus Pavement, the largest Roman mosaic in Britain, is buried nearby | :09:19. | :09:22. | |
and this exact replica shows something very interesting. Maybe | :09:22. | :09:24. | |
the felines have been prowling the valleys of Gloucestershire for | :09:24. | :09:34. | |
longer than we think. They have been plenty of people who | :09:34. | :09:41. | |
have seen this be capped. You have seen this cat about half a dozen | :09:41. | :09:46. | |
times. In the last two and a half years, yes. It is big and black and | :09:46. | :09:53. | |
it had a big long tail. I would estimate it is about the size of a | :09:53. | :09:59. | |
German shepherd but longer. The tale was about 2.5 ft long. There | :09:59. | :10:03. | |
was no way it was a dog or a domestic cat. The first time I saw | :10:04. | :10:09. | |
it, I had never heard of big cats in Britain, but the second night I | :10:09. | :10:13. | |
saw it I got the binoculars and I was convinced. I have seen it again | :10:13. | :10:19. | |
the following summer. This time, if we get this DNA evidence, this will | :10:20. | :10:24. | |
not only proved that you are right, but it will tell the doubters that | :10:24. | :10:30. | |
it is true. What is that going to mean for the area? Her I think it | :10:30. | :10:34. | |
is great. A lot of people have seen the cat or they know someone who | :10:34. | :10:38. | |
has seen the cat. I have spoken to a number of local experts and I | :10:38. | :10:46. | |
think it is great. But I know you are slightly worried. I am worried | :10:46. | :10:52. | |
that once there is concrete evidence, people might panic. But | :10:52. | :10:56. | |
it is not like that, they have been around for years and nobody has | :10:56. | :11:01. | |
been heard. They are pretty safe. They are just part of the British | :11:01. | :11:09. | |
countryside now, I believe. report will be released next week | :11:09. | :11:13. | |
and, by the end of the month, we will hopefully have conclusive | :11:13. | :11:23. | |
:11:23. | :11:23. | ||
proof either way whether there is a big cat roaming in this area. | :11:23. | :11:31. | |
You're watching BBC Points West. Still to come: We meet the gymnasts | :11:31. | :11:35. | |
from Bath hoping to make British Olympic history. | :11:35. | :11:39. | |
And from warm to cold - we find out how the weather is sending flowers | :11:39. | :11:49. | |
:11:49. | :11:50. | ||
Five men have been arrested in connection with fraud after | :11:50. | :11:53. | |
substantial amounts of money left accounts held at the Bristol | :11:53. | :11:58. | |
stockbroker Rowan Dartington. The firm has its headquarters in the | :11:59. | :12:04. | |
city centre. The men have all been bailed pending further enquiries. | :12:04. | :12:09. | |
No charges have been made. Avon and Somerset Police say the firm is | :12:09. | :12:12. | |
being treated as the victim in the investigation. | :12:12. | :12:15. | |
Almost two hundred jobs are set to go in Bridgwater after a drinks | :12:15. | :12:20. | |
company and a plastics manufacturer announced cuts. Gerber Juice, which | :12:20. | :12:23. | |
employs 700 people at its factory and head office, confirmed a 168 | :12:23. | :12:29. | |
jobs are to go. The company says it hopes to avoid compulsory | :12:29. | :12:35. | |
redundancies. Nearly 30 jobs are going elsewhere in Bridgwater. The | :12:35. | :12:38. | |
announcements came on the day the Government's Business Secretary | :12:38. | :12:48. | |
:12:48. | :12:48. | ||
visited the West. The economy has difficulties, nobody has attempted | :12:48. | :12:53. | |
to disguise that. We have the long- term consequences of the collapse | :12:53. | :12:57. | |
of the financial system and the recession that followed it. The | :12:57. | :13:00. | |
government has now got to sort out the mess in the finances we | :13:00. | :13:04. | |
inherited. All of that is difficult and makes recovery difficult to | :13:04. | :13:11. | |
achieve. Vince Cable was opening a new building at the city of Bath | :13:11. | :13:15. | |
College which it is hoped will boost employment in the area. | :13:15. | :13:19. | |
It's almost certainly the end of international cricket in Bristol. | :13:19. | :13:21. | |
It could even see Gloucestershire County Cricket Club leaving Bristol | :13:21. | :13:24. | |
and moving to the city of Gloucester. But whatever the future, | :13:24. | :13:27. | |
the club received a serious setback last night when plans for a housing | :13:27. | :13:30. | |
development at the ground were rejected by city councillors. The | :13:30. | :13:32. | |
scheme would have funded the redevelopment of the stadium. David | :13:32. | :13:41. | |
Gloucestershire have long hosted cricket here generating income for | :13:41. | :13:48. | |
the club and the City. To continue to do that, they need to regenerate | :13:48. | :13:52. | |
the ground. The plan they came up with was to put accommodation from | :13:52. | :13:57. | |
the end of the Orange building around the Jessop Stand up to the | :13:57. | :14:04. | |
scoreboard. Last night councillors rejected that plan. I think it was | :14:04. | :14:10. | |
a very disappointing decision and there are repercussions for the | :14:10. | :14:16. | |
club. In the cold light of day when emotions are less high, we have to | :14:16. | :14:19. | |
work out what to do next. Those who opposed the apartment | :14:19. | :14:22. | |
building say they are not against the redevelopment of the ground, | :14:22. | :14:27. | |
but the seven story building would be two tall and too ugly. We would | :14:27. | :14:31. | |
like to see something that is not as high as the development on the | :14:31. | :14:35. | |
table last night and a more attractive design that would fit in | :14:35. | :14:39. | |
better with the local area. It's worked in Taunton. Somerset | :14:39. | :14:41. | |
County Cricket Club and a retirement homes company built | :14:41. | :14:43. | |
apartments which helped fund ground improvements. | :14:43. | :14:46. | |
They are now applying to the England and Wales Cricket board for | :14:46. | :14:50. | |
a licence to host international games. Somerset Chairman Andy Nash | :14:50. | :14:55. | |
has annoyed some by tweeting, "A bad day for Glos CCC. We wish them | :14:56. | :14:59. | |
well, but are we ready to host one day internationals? You bet we | :14:59. | :15:02. | |
are!" Today he said he was not crowing and didn't intend to upset | :15:02. | :15:07. | |
- it's just some good natured banter between rivals. | :15:07. | :15:10. | |
Gloucestershire have played at the County Ground since the days of WG | :15:10. | :15:14. | |
Grace. Now one option is to sell their 10 acre site and move to the | :15:14. | :15:16. | |
City of Gloucester Waggonworks site where they last held the Gloucester | :15:16. | :15:21. | |
festival in 1992. Other alternatives include an | :15:21. | :15:24. | |
appeal against last night's planning decision or to submit an | :15:24. | :15:29. | |
alternative application. The club had hoped to start | :15:29. | :15:31. | |
building work early this year allowing international cricket to | :15:31. | :15:35. | |
return in 2013. But now, even if they do eventually get planning | :15:35. | :15:38. | |
permission, the delay means that it's very unlikely that | :15:38. | :15:43. | |
international cricket will return to Bristol. David Passmore BBC | :15:43. | :15:47. | |
Points West at the County Ground in Bristol. | :15:47. | :15:50. | |
And we stay with cricket because late this afternoon Somerset | :15:50. | :15:52. | |
announced that the former West Indies Captain, Chris Gayle, will | :15:52. | :15:57. | |
play for them in the Twenty20 competition this summer. Gayle is | :15:57. | :16:00. | |
one of the most explosive batsmen in the world and replaces another | :16:00. | :16:03. | |
West Indies batsman, Kieron Pollard, who is unable to return to Taunton | :16:03. | :16:08. | |
this summer. Gayle was captain of the West Indies between 2007 and | :16:08. | :16:15. | |
2010. They've survived front line fire in | :16:15. | :16:17. | |
Afghanistan and suicide bombers in Iraq, but the challenge facing a | :16:17. | :16:20. | |
group of injured servicemen in the middle of the Atlantic is testing | :16:20. | :16:26. | |
them in a completely different way. The Row2Recovery team is rowing | :16:26. | :16:31. | |
3,000 miles to raise money for wounded soldiers. But now another | :16:31. | :16:34. | |
race is on to get drinking water to them, before their diminishing | :16:34. | :16:40. | |
supplies run out. Imogen Sellers reports. | :16:40. | :16:45. | |
Water, water everywhere, but not a drop to drink. How frustratingly | :16:45. | :16:50. | |
true this old saying has become for the six man Row2Recovery team. | :16:50. | :16:53. | |
The injured servicemen, including two from the west, were prepared | :16:53. | :16:55. | |
for most things, but when the machine they used to de-salinate | :16:55. | :16:59. | |
sea water broke, and then so did their hand pump, they were left | :16:59. | :17:06. | |
with a desperate situation. What water they had left has had to | :17:06. | :17:12. | |
be rationed. But they now only have enough for the next few hours. They | :17:12. | :17:15. | |
have now set down anchor in the hope the supply vessel will reach | :17:15. | :17:18. | |
them sooner. By the miracles of mobile phone technology, I was able | :17:18. | :17:22. | |
to talk to the team as they wait off the coast of Barbados. I | :17:22. | :17:25. | |
started by speaking to Lieutenant Will Dixon, who lost his leg during | :17:25. | :17:34. | |
an explosion in 2009. It is beginning to take its toll. We have | :17:34. | :17:39. | |
taken a lot of medical advice and we aren't technically under the | :17:39. | :17:43. | |
limit of what we should be drinking. It is only for a short time, so | :17:43. | :17:49. | |
they should not be long term damage. We are certainly more fatigued and | :17:49. | :17:55. | |
we cannot grow. How much weight have the last? A significant amount. | :17:55. | :18:01. | |
We are all different sizes and builds. Myself and Rory probably | :18:01. | :18:07. | |
had the most weight to lose and we have done. I have dropped at least | :18:07. | :18:10. | |
2 1/2 stone. The team are currently in 4th place, | :18:10. | :18:13. | |
but a delivery of water means they face disqualification. But for the | :18:13. | :18:16. | |
boys, it's not about winning, it's about raising money and inspiring | :18:16. | :18:23. | |
others. We have been in worse situations. There are guys on here | :18:23. | :18:28. | |
that have been in life changing situations in severe circumstances | :18:28. | :18:33. | |
so we have perspective on life. The old army humour has helped to keep | :18:33. | :18:35. | |
us going. The team hope water will reach them | :18:35. | :18:38. | |
by tomorrow. They have to - their supplies will run out entirely by | :18:38. | :18:45. | |
Saturday. A team of gymnasts from the West | :18:45. | :18:49. | |
are heading to a London 2012 test event this weekend hoping to make | :18:49. | :18:54. | |
British Olympic history. GB's Rhythmic Gymnastics squad are based | :18:54. | :18:58. | |
at the University of Bath. They are entirely self-funded and are aiming | :18:58. | :19:03. | |
to qualify for the Olympics in the group competition. If they succeed | :19:03. | :19:07. | |
they'll be the first British team ever to have competed in that event. | :19:07. | :19:12. | |
Here's Zoe Gough. It's the most visually stunning | :19:12. | :19:18. | |
discipline in the Olympics. One of the first to sell-out in London. | :19:18. | :19:22. | |
Yet Britain has little history in the sport. These girl, four from | :19:22. | :19:25. | |
the West and the others from across the country and abroad, have come | :19:25. | :19:31. | |
to Bath to try to change that. Georgina Cassar moved from | :19:31. | :19:33. | |
Gibraltar to join the team, training full-time since last | :19:33. | :19:43. | |
:19:43. | :19:44. | ||
summer. I did feel homesick for the first few months, but when be | :19:44. | :19:49. | |
training stepped up and we moved in together, we were all in the same | :19:49. | :19:54. | |
boat. The country's lack of success means money is tight. Funding is as | :19:54. | :19:58. | |
much a dream as the Olympics so cash from parents keeps them going. | :19:58. | :20:01. | |
Lynne Hutchinson from Bath was on the team that won England's first | :20:01. | :20:11. | |
ever medal in the sport - bronze at the Commonwealth games. It is | :20:11. | :20:14. | |
really expensive for all of our parents, but they are trying to | :20:14. | :20:21. | |
support us so that we can get some recognition. FII and feeling tired | :20:21. | :20:26. | |
or am not motivated, that picks me up. I do it for the people | :20:26. | :20:31. | |
supporting us. Most of us train from a young age just to do our | :20:31. | :20:41. | |
gymnastics so it would mean the world to us. | :20:41. | :20:44. | |
Medals are the goal for many hopefuls. For these girls it's the | :20:44. | :20:47. | |
chance to prove their worth to their own country that keeps them | :20:47. | :20:51. | |
trying, and that keeps the bank of mum and dad giving. Zoe Gough, BBC | :20:51. | :20:56. | |
Points West, University of Bath. Last year snow and ice were | :20:56. | :20:59. | |
familiar features of the winter, but this year, well it's positively | :20:59. | :21:03. | |
unseasonal right now. It's not just confused us though, | :21:03. | :21:07. | |
but also mother nature. Many flowers seem to think spring has | :21:07. | :21:10. | |
already sprung and some animals who should be hibernating are already | :21:10. | :21:16. | |
out and about. We'll have more on the confused | :21:16. | :21:19. | |
animal kingdom in a minute, but first Lizzie Way has been spotting | :21:19. | :21:24. | |
snowdrops in Somerset. Signalling the spring. East | :21:24. | :21:27. | |
Lambrook Manor Gardens is well known for its crop of rare and | :21:27. | :21:30. | |
varied snowdrops. But this year they have made an earlier than | :21:30. | :21:34. | |
scheduled appearance. Mark Stainer has been head gardener here for | :21:34. | :21:42. | |
more than 20 years and has never seen such early flowering. Things | :21:42. | :21:49. | |
are already coming into bud. They are beginning to look as they would | :21:49. | :21:54. | |
towards the end of March, early April. I was in the Guardian | :21:54. | :21:58. | |
yesterday and it really felt like a spring morning with the birds | :21:58. | :22:02. | |
singing and the sun shining and everything coming into bird. It was | :22:02. | :22:09. | |
an amazing feeling. Unlike Wajid expect on a normal January day. | :22:09. | :22:12. | |
The problem is many gardens like this one are not open to the public | :22:13. | :22:16. | |
until February at the earliest so its hoped they will stay in flower. | :22:16. | :22:18. | |
It's not just the professionals experiencing early blooms though, | :22:18. | :22:27. | |
its happening in everyone's gardens. Flowers are starting to bird, roses | :22:27. | :22:33. | |
are still continuing, any of the shrubs that I have are shooting. My | :22:33. | :22:37. | |
olive tree last year lost all its leaves and it has not dropped them | :22:37. | :22:45. | |
this year. I have early daffodils and lots of snowdrops. I still have | :22:45. | :22:54. | |
things from the summer. In full flower. It is quite amazing what is | :22:54. | :23:04. | |
still out. The wintery weather is set to return this weekend. It is | :23:04. | :23:09. | |
true that flowers can understand, then the message to them is to stay | :23:09. | :23:12. | |
where you are. Don't peaked too early. | :23:12. | :23:19. | |
No, don't peak too early. Thank you for the Mel C have sent us about | :23:19. | :23:23. | |
plant showing early, but it is not just flowers that are confused, | :23:23. | :23:32. | |
frogs, hedgehogs and bats And the cold weather has meant that | :23:32. | :23:35. | |
there've been fewer swans, geese and ducks, which have so far | :23:35. | :23:38. | |
remained further north due to the warmer weather. But the late cold | :23:38. | :23:41. | |
snap, expected from tonight, is likely to encourage those birds to | :23:41. | :23:44. | |
complete the last leg of their migration to the UK. David Paynter | :23:44. | :23:46. | |
is the reserve manager at the Slimbridge Wildfowl and Wetlands | :23:46. | :23:56. | |
:23:56. | :24:00. | ||
Trust. The poor birds seem very confused. It is more OF the winter | :24:00. | :24:05. | |
that has not happened, at the moment. We have lots of birds that | :24:05. | :24:10. | |
stayed further north and east. It is not just here in Britain, but | :24:10. | :24:16. | |
right across western Europe. It has not push the birds three to worse | :24:16. | :24:23. | |
in the same number as happened last year. What are you expecting now as | :24:23. | :24:33. | |
:24:33. | :24:33. | ||
it gets cold there? I am pretty sure we will see an influx of swans. | :24:33. | :24:38. | |
Certainly things like white-fronted geese. Just about all of the ducks. | :24:39. | :24:42. | |
It is probably worth mentioning the huge numbers of other birds that | :24:42. | :24:47. | |
are still here. Birds that might normally move further south for | :24:47. | :24:54. | |
winter. We have huge flocks of flap wing. It has been great bird- | :24:54. | :25:01. | |
watching because of it. Thank you very much for joining us. | :25:01. | :25:07. | |
Now, how cold is cold? Cold enough to bring a shock to the | :25:07. | :25:09. | |
Cold enough to bring a shock to the system for various flowers and | :25:09. | :25:14. | |
birds. Certainly the next few days will be settled and Chile. They | :25:14. | :25:20. | |
will be far as well as frost. The FA tomorrow could be an issue for | :25:20. | :25:24. | |
routes across the district. The frost will be a feature over the | :25:24. | :25:29. | |
next few mornings to the middle part of next week. With that in | :25:29. | :25:33. | |
mind, it tomorrow morning it is worth tuning into your local radio | :25:33. | :25:39. | |
to keep an ear on how things are developing on the roads. It will be | :25:39. | :25:49. | |
somewhat patchy in nature. High pressure dominating the area now. | :25:49. | :25:53. | |
As it does so, the fog problems will move their way further | :25:53. | :25:58. | |
eastward with time. For the rest of tonight, the skies have been | :25:58. | :26:05. | |
clearing. We had a cold front down to the south. The wind fearing to | :26:05. | :26:11. | |
an more than the direction and as the blue suggests, it turns colder. | :26:11. | :26:19. | |
The Somerset Levels area will be a particular fog problem. Some of | :26:19. | :26:25. | |
that will be slow to clear. Temperatures going down to one and | :26:26. | :26:30. | |
two degrees. Minus two and minus three out in some parts of the | :26:30. | :26:38. | |
countryside. Fosse not everywhere, but widespread. The fault will be | :26:38. | :26:42. | |
slow to Clear And for some of you it may not clear. It may then | :26:42. | :26:46. | |
brighten up to a reasonable day for some of you with cloud coming back | :26:46. | :26:51. | |
in in the afternoon. Temperatures will be some margin down on the | :26:51. | :27:01. | |
values we are used to. 5, 6, 7 Celsius. I mention that things | :27:01. | :27:04. | |
don't change over the weekend other than the high pressure continuing | :27:04. | :27:09. | |
its journey eastwards into the Continent. Behind that we will look | :27:09. | :27:15. | |
out to the Atlantic for things to change. It will really be a case of | :27:15. | :27:20. | |
change around Tuesday or Wednesday. Between now and then it is dry, | :27:20. | :27:22. | |
settled and cold. settled and cold. | :27:22. | :27:28. | |
Thank you very much, Ian. Before we leave you, we are getting e-mails | :27:28. | :27:32. |