02/01/2014 BBC Points West

Campaigners say prices are rising three times faster than wages. That

is all from BBC News Welcome to BBC Points West with

David Garmston and Imogen Sellers. Happy New Year! Our main story

tonight: Stay away from the coast and prepare for flooding: Highwinds,

heavy rain and massive waves threaten miles of coastline and the

Environment Agency warns hundreds they could be at risk. The other

stories making the news tonight we have a storm coming of the Bristol

Channel. No further questions. Barristers are

to stage a strike in protest at legal aid cuts.

The charity which was started in Bristol. And how film makers from

Bristol are using a fake turtle to get up close and personal with

dolphins. Good evening. The West Country is

getting ready for some exceptional weather heading our way over the

next 24 hours. A combination of driving rain, high winds and high

tides has put all the emergency services on alert. The main worry is

tomorrow morning at breakfast time when coastal areas from Somerset

right up to Gloucester could be affected by flooding. The River Avon

is pretty full too. Steve Knibbs is in Gloucester for us tonight.

Thank you. The River Severn is looking very swollen. The

Environment Agency has issued three severe flood warnings for

Gloucestershire. The situation is changing all the time. We consult

with Dave from the Environment Agency. The severe flood warnings,

we have not had those in recent years in Gloucestershire. Not since

2007, I think. We are in the process of issuing three at the moment. I

would urge people to check our website and see if they will be

affected. What does severe flood warning mean? It does mean a risk to

life serious impact to local communities, being cut off, that

kind of stuff. Serious disruption within the area. Why is this

happening? We know it could be dangerous. It is a combination of

spring tides, which on the run would not be a problem, but we have a big

storm brewing in the Bristol Channel. It is a combination of

those which is difficult to predict. We do think they may top of flood

defences. What is being done to try and mitigate this? All emergency

responders, we will all try and make sure we have our own plans in

place. This this, this is worst`case scenario, how certain can you be it

will happen? We can't. If it is at the high end of expectations, we can

expect to see flooding. Let us check out the tide times.

Check the Environment Agency website, where they have a live

flood map. Back to you. Thank you. The Environment Secretary

Owen Paterson has urged us all to be prepared for a period of

"exceptional weather". He chaired a meeting of the Government's

emergency committee, Cobra, this morning. So what's the situation

like elsewhere in our region? In a moment, we'll be checking on the

River Avon but first Will Glennon reports from Somerset where there's

a real fear that some villages could be cut off.

It is another wet new year on the Somerset levels. Fields have become

lakes, and roads turned to rivers. The A361, a main route into Tauton,

has been closed at Burrowbridge causing big problems for local

businesses. The alternatives aren't much better. This is the road

through the village of Stathe, difficult even for 4x4s. It's making

deliveries to communities further down the track almost impossible. If

I've tried to go through with these plans, that would be the end of the

matter. Normally, we take the main road but it can be much quicker to

take the smaller roads. Difficult to say until I go through. I you going

to give it a go? I am going to give it a go. Needs must.

Emergency services are warning not to enter floodwater. One man had to

be rescued at Donyatt after getting stuck yesterday. The Rivers Tone and

Parret can't take much more, but it looks like they're going to have to

With more rain forecast in the coming days there's a real fear that

villages here could be cut off altogether. Somerset county council

says it has teamed out working hard to clear roads like this one, and

preparing for more bad weather that is on the way. That is how it looks

here in Somerset. Now here is Scott Ellis with how it looks on the River

Avon. Once again, rain stops play. The

football pitch is on the side of the River Avon, which burst its banks

over Christmas. The team are well drilled when it comes to flood

damage. He is nearly 12 months to the day that happened last time

Bridge house has flooded again, as it did so dramatically in November

2012. Further down the stream, locals are keeping a keen eye on

River levels. This riverside pub has been shut since flooding on

Christmas Eve. It was the same fate for this restaurant in

Bradford`on`Avon. We lost Christmas Eve, Boxing Day, New Year's Eve

January, we had parties but, feathery, we had parked his blood.

People had to go elsewhere. Some people have been enjoying the water.

Some people are even talking about an annual regatta, so reliable are

the floods. How is what? The water is lovely. A little chilly, but it

is lovely. Tonight, three flood warnings remain in place on the

River Avon. There is more rain on the way.

Well, we should also let you know, that there is another strike planned

by firefighters tomorrow morning between 6.30 and 8.30. The Fire

Brigade's Union says striking crews will not leave the picket line for

pumping out but will react to any serious risk to life. So just how

bad is this combination of high tide and windy wet weather going to be?

Ian's out on the roof for us tonight? We have the two separate

issues. We have the inland river and roadside flooding versus the

situation tomorrow, which is more unusual. This is the very high tide

in domination with strong winds coming into areas like the seven,

which are already up to capacity `` the River Severn. There are two

forces coming together. The net result is a potential backing up of

that river water. On the coastal fringe, you have the strong winds.

It is a combination of problems Thanks, Ian, and it's at times like

these that you can rely on your BBC local radio stations for all the

latest travel news. Please stay safe and best to check in with them first

before venturing out. A bit later in the programme ` even more water We

go under the waves with the team who've been spying on the dolphins

using turtle`cam. A woman from South Gloucestershire

has died after being swept out to sea off the North Devon coast. The

42`year`old, from Kingswood, was pulled from the water near a popular

surfing beach at Croyde on New Year's Eve. She was taken to North

Devon District Hospital, but died later.

It's been confirmed that the Indian government has terminated its

contract with the Yeovil based helicopter manufacturer Agusta

Westland. The deal was for 12 helicopters which would have been

used in an elite squadron to ferry around the president, the Prime

Minister and other VIPs. Indian defence officials said they scrapped

the deal after allegations of corruption. The firm has always

denied the claims. Rail fares for train passengers in

the West have gone up. The increase works out at around three point 1%

on average. And tolls on the Severn Bridges have gone up too. It now

costs ?6.40 to get into Wales. For the first time in 700 years

barristers will be going on strike in protest at the Government's 220

million cut in the legal aid budget. Lawyers claim victims and witnesses

will suffer as the quality of justice falls. Trials at Crown

Courts throughout the West will be halted on Monday during the

unprecedented action. This report by our home affairs correspondent,

Steve Brodie. In the last six years, criminal

barristers' fees have been reduced by more than 40%. And now the latest

cuts will, according to the West's leading criminal lawyer, result in a

dangerous two`tier system of justice.

It will mean if you have not got the money, not got the resources, and

need help within the criminal justice system, you're going to have

a two`tier system. Frankly, one rule for the poor and another for the

rich. But the Ministry of Justice disagrees, and says even after the

cuts, there will always be a lawyer available for those who need one

most, and that legal aid is a vital part of the justice system. There

has already been a 25% reduction in the number of criminal barristers

working here at Bristol Crown Court. The real losers, claims the QC, are

the public, with the danger of miscarriages of justice.

If the criminal justice system works well, it results in the conviction

of the guilty and the acquittal of the innocent. When it stops working

well, because the thing becomes imbalanced because the resources are

not there, you get an increase in the number of guilty people who are

wrongly acquitted and, I'm afraid, in the number of innocent people who

are wrongly convicted. The cuts have also had a devastating affect on the

future of law graduates. Alex Bassingham studied for five years

and has two law degrees. Despite her success she couldn't get a job, and

fears for those still studying. People may still do law degrees just

to kind of have that degree because a law degree, I think, says a lot

about you as a person and your application, but yeah, you're not

going to start looking at the law profession as a realistic potential,

because there aren't the jobs, and if there aren't the jobs, then why

flog a dead horse, so to speak? The new 30% reduction of the legal aid

budget also affects solicitors. There is no practice in the country,

no member of the Bar who can sustain those sorts of cuts, and let me be

quite clear ` these cuts will mean, in our view, the end of an

independent legal profession. Tonight, the Ministry of Justice

said at around ?2 billion a year, Britain is one of the most expensive

legal systems in the year. They added six barristers received more

than ?500,000 in fees last year and 1,200 over ?100,000. So on Monday,

with the exception of cases involving children it will not be

business as usual here. Judges will be forced to adjourn trials for the

duration of the historic protest. Giving up smoking may be top of many

a New Year resolutions list, but in Somerset the NHS has just launched a

scheme to help pregnant women to kick the habit. Hospitals there are

now providing a specialist midwife, to encourage all mums`to`be to quit.

Lastly, we got 17.4%, so we still have a long way to go to encourage

women to quit during pregnancy, hence the investment and on the

development work going into this. Issue, we're doing much better. We

have only seen huge improvement The postponement of Yeovil Town's

televised match against Watford has cost the club an estimated 100

thousand pounds. The referee called the game off yesterday because of

flooding ` these are the dugouts at Huish Park filled with water. Yeovil

would have received ?80,000 from television coverage if the game had

gone ahead. Five Gloucester rugby players, including James

Simpson`Daniel, have signed new deals with the club. Simpson`Daniel

has made over 250 appearances for Gloucester in fourteen seasons at

Kingsholm. England wing Charlie Sharples has also agreed a new

contract, along with Darren DAV`E`DUKE, Shaun Knight, and

Elliott Stooke. A writer from Bristol will find out

on Monday if he's won a major book prize. Nathan Filer has been short

listed for the the Costa First Novel award for his work The Shock of the

Fall ` which is set in Bristol and Dorset. Nathan's here. Your book

tackles and tricky things, doesn't it? It does, I suppose. It is about

a young man from Bristol who misses his brother. When there were little,

his brother died and nearly nine years on, he's quite trapped in

grief. Matthew suffers from serious mental illness. There is some heavy

stuff there. I think as well as that, the character of Matthew is a

fun person and nice to be around. What would it mean for you if you

won? The world. It would be wonderful, of course. As a writer,

we want people to read and enjoy our work. Just to be only short lists

raises the profile of a book and hopefully means more people will

read it. Your writing from experience. In a previous life, you

are a mental health nurse, perhaps you still are. How does that help?

It was very useful for research I spent a lot of time working

psychiatric units. I suppose I have an understanding of the system and

how it works, or how it doesn't sometimes. I can imagine scribbling

away in a coffee break. I take it very seriously. A coffee break, in

the NHS? It's a mission man. We will be rooting for you next week.

Letters know how you get on. A small project started in Bristol

to help the victims of crime is marking its 40th anniversary. Victim

Support is now a national charity, but back in 1974 it was a

revolutionary idea, which met with some suspicion. Alice Bouverie's

been to meet some of its founders. In 1970s Britain, there was help for

offenders, but none for victims of crime. But then a ten`month pilot

project started in south Bristol. This 1975 BBC film captured its

early days. This belief any body should have bothered when you're not

wearing any kind of uniform. And the reaction from the public. It

is good that people are interested. Nigel Whiskin, a former probation

officer, vividly remembers the time. I have never been involved in

anything without any government money, without any publicity,

without any umbrella organisation, that just took off. It was

wonderful. Wonderful days. At first, the police needed some convincing.

The guide era of handing over information to people who were not

police caused great concern. My chief's reaction was, well, who are

these people? But so successful was the Bristol Victim Support Scheme,

it quickly spread nationally. Is he The charity changed its name to

Victim Support. And it spawned the start of many more initiatives for

people caught up in crime. We have dozens of schemes, witness schemes.

40 years on, the charity is valued as much as ever. Catherine

Wells`Burr was murdered by her boyfriend in Somerset in 2012. Her

mother says they would not have survived without victim support

helping them. She did a lot forerunners. They helped with car

parking fees, hotel fees. I sat in: Listen to the postmortem, and Audrey

helped me through it. `` I sat in court and listened to the

postmortem. It's now unthinkable victims would be left to fend for

themselves. Many people have cause to be thankful for the Bristol

Victim Support Scheme. And to find out more about the work

of Victim Support and how the organisation grew from small

beginnings in Bristol go to the bbc website at bbc.co.uk slash Bristol.

They've given us a birds' eye view of life in a penguin huddle, now a

BBC Bristol team has gone undercover again to infiltrate the ocean to

film dolphins in the wild. The film makers from the natural history unit

here have used cameras masquerading as molluscs, tuna, sea turtle and

squid to get up close and personal to the underwater animals, capturing

never seen before behaviour. We ll find out how in a moment but, first

let's have a look at the programme. She soon discovers just how their

extraordinary leaps are performed. Rapid beats of the tail provide the

power... ..while twisting starts as they

leave the water. Sheer muscle drives her spectactular

aeriel display. We're joined in the studio now by

the director and producer of Dolphins, Spy in the Pod, John

Downer and Rob Pilley, and they ve brought some of the cameras that

helped them get inside the pod with them. They have brought these

extraordinary cameras. That is the one you saw in that clip. What is

amazing is the scale of it. It is huge. It has a in its mouth. What

have you got there? This one has cameras in its eyes. This one moves.

Can we see it? She can pamper her head from side to side and have a

good old look. That she can pamper her head. What was the purpose

behind designing the scammers? Dolphins are always on the move We

needed a range of remote devices that could stay up with them, and

keep alongside them. Where were you when this was happening? Operating

from a boat. It took you around the globe. Yes. We were in Florida,

Costa Rica, Australia. We are pleased to see these cameras. The

squid camp came to a nasty end. Yes. The dolphins like to play with them.

It became lunch for a big fish. He did spit it out but it had seen

better days by then. There we go. What did you find out? Did you

observe anything new? About 40% of what we saw, nobody had seen, let

alone film. They use seaweed like a bouquet of flowers, and give them as

gifts to win the female over. You must been thinking, this is

incredible. Yes. Some any time, we were gobsmacked. Suddenly, to get

those moments on camera, it is incredible. And there were some

amazing interaction with pufferfish. Yes. It was a young group of males,

like a teenage group of boys. They seem to go into a knot trancelike

state afterwards. It is like the pufferfish exceeds some kind of

chemical. We were amazed. When can we see this programme? Tonight,

8:30pm on BBC One. We will be tuned in. Thank you for coming in.

It is now time to go up to the roof for the weather forecast.

Hello, both. We start pretty much where we left last year. A raft of

weather warnings. We're adding some Environment Agency warnings. This

photo says a lot about some of the conditions we can expect through

tomorrow. It will be a windy day. Some heavy showers around. That does

not tell the whole story. This warning is for wind, for our Western

district. This is for wind gusting, particularly exposed areas. The

potential of high tide is potentially going to cause problems.

High tide roundabout 8am, 10am. I would urge you to keep in touch with

the Environment Agency. Here is the low pressure. The amount, not

particularly significant. Through the rest of the evening, more rain

fall. It is adding to the problems. Some heavy outbreaks of brain.

Tomorrow, the winds of picking up. The showers keep rattling through.

It is a bit of a lottery. Temperatures, eight or nine.

Your local radio station can keep you up to date. We will be here

tomorrow night, whatever the weather. The dolphin programme is on

at 8pm tonight. Goodbye.