10/02/2014 BBC Points West

Thank you. That's all from the BBC News at Six so it's goodbye from

Welcome to BBC Points West with Sabet Choudhury and Alex Lovell Our

main story tonight... Shipping in help from the continent ` Dutch

pumps and new dams to fight the floodwater. But dry land needs to be

submerged. We cannot be abandoned and left with some bags of sand

which are what the differences are and sit here and wait for something

to happen. We look at how the farmers are

helping each other through the floods.

Also tonight, anger and confusion as six lions are put down at a

Wiltshire safari park. And soaring on to the medals board `

the Bristol snowboarder lighting up Sochi.

Good evening. The Environment Agency has launched its latest effort to

rid the Somerset Levels of water today. Huge pumps have been shipped

in from Holland and dams have been built to protect homes, ahead of an

ambitious plan to open one of the main sluice gates on the moors,

which could put homes at risk. The pumps are shifting vast volumes of

water away from flooded areas, and Scott Ellis is next to them tonight.

Something of a respite in the weather in Somerset to night.

Somewhere out there if the River parrot. It is unbroken water all the

way. The Dutch engineers are working away, putting the pumps in place.

They are hoping to move the water onto fields which are less flooded.

As ever, once you start shifting water around, pumping it here and

opening sluice gates there, someone else will suffer along the way.

These are the giant Dutch pumps it is hoped will ease flooding on the

Somerset levels. They will work by taking water away from the swollen

River Parrot. It will be taken out to sea. It means opening a sluice

gate on the River. They are failing to appreciate the flow of the

water. That worries some residents in Aller. His house has flooded for

times since Christmas. He is worried that when the of Ireland agency

opens the sluice gate, the water will flood onto the land, near his

house. We are sacrificial lambs there is no doubt about it. They

have to give us a guaranteed that if the outcome goes wrong, they will

underwrite the value of the property, they can acquire the

property and do what they want but they have to give me that guarantee

in writing. A dam is being built to protect their homes from floods but

there are no guarantees. It is an uncertain business but we will do

our best to protect these homes and property. Are they right to be

worried? Yes, I would be the same myself. All of the residents are

worried. We would all be worried if our homes were at risk. The

Environment Agency says it will open the sluice gates slowly and the

water will be constantly monitored. They say they need to ease the

pressure on the River to prevent flooding in Bridgwater. Elsewhere,

we spoke to one farmer who cannot wait for the pumping to start.

Unless the water goes rapidly this will not be grassland, it will be a

bog and you can't farm that. With no rain, it is estimated it would take

26 days to Pompey levels dried but once again `` to pump the Levels

dried. The Environment Agency has said that

they can guarantee that opening the sluice gate will not flood his house

was stop they cannot guarantee that his house will not flood as a result

of the bad weather that is coming in. He is deciding what to do. He

wants a written guarantee from the brunt agency and is considering an

injunction against the environmental seat to stop them from opening that

gate. Scott Ellis reporting there from the

village of Aller. Well, for those of you not familiar with the geography

of the area, Aller is on one of the main roads which runs through the

Somerset Levels, the A372, only about ten miles from the M5. It s

just one of the communities we've been reporting from over the last

few weeks during this crisis. The village of Muchelney was the first

to be cut off ` that was at the beginning of January. Since then,

the only way residents have been able to get in and out has been with

the help of the emergency services. The waters then started to rise

around other villages. Farmer James Winslade lives near Moorland. We've

been to his farm several times over the last few weeks, including last

Thursday when his cattle had to be moved in a dramatic evacuation,

otherwise they would have drowned. This picture of a train surrounded

by water was also taken near Moorland on Friday. And then, at the

weekend, more distress for local residents, as houses in East Lyng

were overtaken by the floodwaters. At this house, the water was so high

it was pouring in through the letterbox. But it's not just been

Somerset where there's been flooding. In Gloucestershire, nearly

60 homes have been flooded. Some communities have been underwater for

weeks and say they're being ignored. Our Gloucestershire reporter, Steve

Chaceley. Chaceley. Population, around 10 .

Flooding, a regular occurrence. Roads and lanes here are covered in

several metres of water The only transport for the landlord of the

local pub, which now has a foot of water in, is by boat. It is rising

all the time, so we're just getting anything out of the water. We have

stacked it twice already. It is going up and up. All of this water

arrived on `` arrives during Christmas. In some places, there are

no pants getting rid of the water. `` pumps getting rid of the water.

Well`rehearsed plans to protect homes have been put in place again.

It's part of village life, but doesn't get any easier. And many

here feel their plight is being ignored. We are only a small village

and there are only a view of us Obviously, a bigger village or town

has to come first. We are still people and we are still suffering,

all of us in this village. We need something done here as well. The

flooding here is a 20th`century problem. To blame, flood defences

put into larger towns and cities up river and large`scale development on

flood plains. Between Tewkesbury and Gloucester, there are no defences.

It gets to Gloucester and then there is a massive restriction of the

river in Gloucester, he's developing has taken place there. We have an

enormous rubbish tip. It is a pinch point, the water cannot go through,

it backs up and comes over the top here. Villagers want a storm drain

built to bypass Gloucester, allowing the water to flow freely and not

back up. In terms of value for money and making sure there is a benefit,

here, it is difficult to come up with a scheme that is cost

beneficial. The flood is now creeping menacingly into the

churchyard, the traditional last bastion of refuge. People here are

coping but, with water still here after several weeks and nothing

being done, patience is wearing thin.

Since the Somerset floods crisis, hundreds of offers of help have been

pouring in for local people, everything from food and blankets to

boats and beds. And since the farmers and their animals have been

evacuated, the generosity just keeps on coming. Ali Vowles has been to

Nether Stowey to see how the agricultural community in the area

is coping with the situation. No one who saw this last week will

forget the images. Farmer James Winslade in a race against time to

move his cattle. It was thanks to the help of neighbouring farmers

that they were moved to the safety of a nearby auction centre. Four

days later, most of the animals are on tender from other farms. Today,

some of his cattle are being auctioned. People are amazing. They

are spread over ten farms all over the place. Logistically, it is how

you feed them, I do not have any feed, it is all underwater. There is

also the overdraft and the added cost that the floods have put on.

The kindness of people has touched everyone in the farming community.

Tonnes of hay and feed from all over the country have been arriving here

at the auction centre. James has been helping to all cord mate where

it goes. For the first time, Brian had to abandon his farm. He has 100

cattle being cared for at different files. He has been overwhelmed by

everyone's kindness. Neighbours have loaded up cattle and taken them on

and that sort of thing. It has been wonderful, how everyone has helped

us. For many, these floods will be life changing. Despite the support

of the community, some farmers say they are not sure they can keep

going. Sales like this might be the start. Most will do everything they

can to keep going. Feed and silage is arriving every

day and it may look a lot of good this is not going to last for long.

The farmers say it will be months before their land can produce

anything at all and they will need help for a long time to come.

As the flooding continues on the Somerset levels, many farmers and

landowners are asking what can be done to stop it happening again A

potential answer could be several hundred miles away in the lowlands

of Europe. Andy Howard reports. Spot the difference. The Netherlands

in 1995. And Somerset last week Dutch engineers helped regain water

from the Somerset levels 400 years ago. Now, they have some new ideas.

Land here is being given back to the river. They will move the Dykes back

and lowering the water `` lowering the land level. It increases the

risk of flooding. You find new solutions for flood relief by

finding a way to live with nature and to live together with the river.

Using more land is a flood plain means some 200 Dutch families living

on the riverside may have to move. We are frustrated and angry. Then we

decided we would oppose this plan or we could find a way to work together

with the Government. The farmers persuaded the Dutch government to

stay on the land and build six metre high mounds around their properties.

Back to the Somerset levels. Would that system ever work here? This has

become the second official land they are talking about in the

Netherlands. If you could manage that, we would still have areas that

would flood but not to this large extent. That could work. With the

scheme in Holland costing one point eight Ilium pounds `` 1.8 Ilium

pounds, going Dutch could be extensive.

Well, you can find out more about how the Dutch are trying to solve

the problem of river flooding on Inside Out West tonight at 7:30pm on

BBC One. Today, it was the turn of the Deputy

Prime Minister to visit the levels. Nick Clegg became the third party

leader in four days to come to Somerset, while Labour are promising

a member of the Shadow Cabinet will be here tomorrow. Meanwhile, the

political row over who's to blame for not dredging local rivers took a

new turn. Here's our political editor, Paul Barltrop.

It's been a veritable procession of politicians. Nick Clegg followed hot

on the heels of UKIP leader Nigel Farage, just days after the Prime

Minister visited. First on the scene a fortnight back was Environment

Secretary Owen Paterson, though he didn't fare too well. As well as

being barracked by angry locals his shiny shoes didn't impress. For any

politician visiting the floods, images everything. You have to be

seen in the right place, meet the right people and you have to be

wearing wellies or waders. So today's footwear was carefully

chosen, as was his stance on the row of the day ` who's to blame for the

rivers Parrett and Tone not being dredged last year. It turns out

Treasury spending restrictions played a big part. The Environment

Agency has to work according to a set of rules about what they should

prioritise. Those are set by government? They are and it is right

that we look together with the Environment Agency about whether

those rules are right for these kinds of incidents. For Somerset,

the rules have now been changed Dredging will happen. That was

welcomed by UKIP leader Nigel Farage as he posed for the press pack

yesterday and, unusually for a politician, admitted things weren't

clear`cut. I don't know whether dredging, what percent of the

problems has been caused by a lack of dredging. Long`term, a public

enquiry is the least that could happen.

The political spotlight will have shifted by the time the dredgers go

in and the experts get on with tackling Somerset's centuries`old

problem. There will be much more discussion, I am sure.

Well, you're watching Points West at the start of what could be yet

another wet week. But at least we've got this to cheer us up. Looking

very solid here for Jenny Jones Yes, stay with us as we celebrate

Britain's first medal in Sochi. It's emerged that six lions have

been put down at Longleat Safari Park in Wiltshire. One male lion was

said to have been badly injured in a fight. The others, a lioness and

four cubs, had genetic disorders. Park managers said because of those

disorders and an increase in the lion population, putting them to

sleep was the responsible thing to do. Will Glennon reports.

Longleat Safari Park here in Wiltshire has been in operation

since the 1960s. Since then, they have had hundreds of lions here We

are here because six lines have been put down in the last month. One a

male line who had been involved in a fight with some of the other lines,

and a lioness and four Cubs who work in exhibiting genetic abnormalities.

Let us find out more about what that means from the director of animal

operations here. Tell us about the male line. Where his injury so bad

you could not save him? On the th of January, Henry was beaten up by

his brother and one of the lionesses in the pride. The wind was so severe

that despite treatment, we could not return him to a normal life. The

best decision was to humanely euthanise him. What about the

lioness and the Cubs? They had been getting worse and the Cubs got

around 12 months of age. We felt that this was a genetic disease and

as they were getting worse, there was no hope that we could remove

them from a breeding programme and give them a quality`of`life until

they died of a natural age. Some welfare groups are saying that you

should not have been breeding from the line as if she had genetic

problems. I agree full so we do use contraception here. We also use the

sector mise en some of the male lions was a bit is something we do

routinely use. In her case, we thought that her neurological

disease was to do with her diet when she was younger. It emerged that it

was a genetic problem later in her life. That was when we made a

decision we did. The lioness was not bred here at Longleat. She was born

at a zoo in Cambridgeshire and then transferred to a zoo in North

Somerset before arriving here. We are told that the zoo in North

Somerset has two of Louisa's brothers still in captivity. They

are still not showing any signs of illness was not they are said to be

healthy. For digital entrepreneurs in the

West Country, today was a red letter day. ?2 million was invested in new

high`tech start`up firms, and there was a Royal visit to boot. Prince

Andrew came to Bristol to highlight the importance of high`tech

companies and our business correspondent, Dave Harvey, has been

speaking to him. We have graphic design, copywriting...

They call him the start`up royal ` he writes his own tweets and loves

meeting funky new digital start`ups, like Paul, from the daredevil

project. We run mobile games that are played in the real world. It

allows teams of people to carry out tasks in a creative way for a panel

of judges. It struck a royal chord ` the former helicopter pilot warmed

to the devil`may`care confidence of the room. Ten brand`new firms ` each

has been given ten weeks and ?1 ,000 to prove their ideas. I am from

London but I decided to go back to Bristol to do this because I think

it worked but Italy well here. `` it works particularly well here. Prince

Andrew loves this stuff. As a rule, the royals don't do interviews but

today the Prince made an exception, so keen is he on these brave digital

trailblazers. So I asked him ` would he invest? I would. I'd need a bit

more education. One of the most important things about investing

isn't not only knowing what it is that the people are doing but more

to learn about the people themselves. A lot of it is about

networking. Are you able to deliver investors or networkers to these

kind of businesses? In brief, can you help these guys meet the money

men? The money men are always difficult people to find because

they hide. They are very efficient at hiding. But by the time I get

back to London tonight, there will be two or three things we have done.

Before that, though, a royal appointment with the robots. The

Bristol Robotic Laboratory ` world renowned and, for Prince Andrew

highly educational. Every single day, one learns something new. In

learning something new, one finds something that you can pass on to

someone else which is your networking point. That gives people

the opportunity to feed from your knowledge. Will we see a robot in

one of the royal palaces in future? We can probably replace the press

secretary with a robot before too long! Now you are in trouble! They

give very much indeed. A 14`year project to get a memorial

built in Tewkesbury to mark one of England's most important battles is

finally coming close to completion. Two five`metre`high oak horses are

being sculpted in the Forest of Dean to represent the two sides in the

War of the Roses. Here's Alice Bouverie. We are getting close to

the end of the main build of the horse.

It's an idea which has taken almost as long as the War of the Roses to

bring to life. A memorial in Tewkesbury to the battle in 147 .

This is the second of two giant horse sculptures. I have made them

more into an oak frame. It is like drawing with the wood and heavy

beams. Most of the wood for the sculpture has been sourced locally.

But finding precisely the right oak trees has been a real challenge

even without a stray sheep getting in the way. That is the branch we

have been looking for. That particular curve, down into the main

trunk. You can see the thigh. They'll be put up on a roundabout

between the M5 and the entrance to Tewkesbury, at roughly the place

where the Yorkists launched their attack. You will get some ribbing,

as you are a Lancastrian. Yes. I keeps saying I want them to change

the result to make it to Lancaster winning! Even for Phil, I can't see

that happening. She admits she has not had much

sleep but who can blame her. We re talking about Jenny Jones from

Bristol. She has been celebrating winning bronze for Great Britain in

the women's slopestyle snowboard event at the Winter Olympics in

Sochi. It is our first medal in these games and her home city is

proud of the achievement. She is the West's newest sporting star. It has

been an emotional 24 hours for Jenny Jones. Today, the scale of her

achievement is finally sinking in. It is starting to. It has just been

a bit of a whirlwind so far. To represent my country in something is

a great feeling and do actually have a medal to show for it is just

unbelievable! This is where Jenny Jones grew up, Bristol. It is fair

to say her achievement is the talk of the town today. I thought it was

fantastic. Being a local girl as well, it could not be better. We are

proud of her. For the first time, we had a champion from around here We

are happy. If you would like to come in, we would be glad to give her our

congratulations was up and a bag of chips! At her old school, they

remember Jenny is being a sporting all`rounder. Very lively sort of

person. Always happy to have a go at everything. She was a gymnast,

played hockey and rounders, athletics, she did everything. Her

journey began on a dry ski slope in Somerset. She used to practice here

in Gloucester, the same slopes used by Eddie the Eagle. She learned here

a long time ago. She has come up to help out with our freestyle Friday

night, build up the sport and is basically a good representative of

the sport to encourage other people to fulfil the dream. What next? The

Mayor of Bristol wants a homecoming party for Jenny. I think we should

do something a bit wacky and different and snow related. I am

asking if people would sponsor something like snow on Park Street

or at least for us to have some event. Last night, she was showing

off some different moves in celebration. She is now an

international star, whom this book can be read proud of.

She made me cry yesterday! Now for the weather.

I may have to sponsors and snow in the next couple of days. A very bad

outlook for the next two days and I feel for those of you who are

already its peers in clotting. There is more wet weather coming in in the

morning. There will also be some squally wind. Foremost, it would be

largely dry but quite cold. There are so of his warnings out again.

The first of these is for the rain coming in. There will be some

difficult driving conditions and that will exacerbate the flooding

problems. Wednesday is giving me more concern. There will be some

very strong winds associated with a storm that could get hired than what

I have written there, above 70 mph. For the time being, this ridge of

high pressure is making things quieten down. There is a feature

into tomorrow morning, bringing the squally area of heavy rain. That

clears away fairly quickly and through the afternoon, drier and

brighter, with some showers. There is the threat is snow arriving in

the middle of the night. For the rest of the night, no threat of any

snow. In fact, the showers tend to. A dry face. These guys are largely

clear for a while and then the rain comes in in the early hours was the

return is pretty heavy, particularly the back edge. Temperatures tonight

typically tween one and three Celsius. It will be a wet and pretty

windy start to things tomorrow morning. All of that clears away

towards about mid way. If you showers aside, most areas are dry.

Things start to turn more wintry as some cold air comes in. More

particular so as we get towards the middle of the night. That is when we

could see some snow actually lying across the parts of Gloucestershire.

It will feel pretty cold and as we look beyond that it will be all eyes

to Wednesday. There is an ample warning and I'll focus on that

tomorrow. There is more rain on the way towards the end of the week

Look after your voice, we need you! That is all from us. We are back at

10pm. For now, good night.