20/03/2014 BBC Points West

from victims the offence such there'd that if that Good evening. A

care worker has been jailed for 14 years after raping three vulnerable

women he should have been looking after. Colin Stokes was branded

dangerous by the judge todax after what were described as remorseless

attacks. Our Gloucestershird reporter, Steve Knibbs, was in

court. This bedroom should have bedn the

safe haven for a vulnerable adult living in the home but inside here,

Colin Stokes abused his ulthmate position of trust and raped her He

also targetted two other wolen. None of the victims could communhcate

properly. It was his ploy to keep his terrible secret safe. Today

relatives of the victims sat in court to hear upsetting det`ils of

the case read out, offences which were branded disability hatd crimes.

It wasn't until he said "guhlty that it did hit me like a tonne of

bricks. The emotion that ran through me was horrendous. No`one should

have to feel that and to sit there and can hear your mum and d`d crying

is not something that you should have to hear in your life. Ht was

awful. Colin Stokes was arrdsted when a whistle`blower who worked at

the home raised concerns with the police but the challenge for

detectives was getting the victims to tell them what happened. The

breakthrough came with the tse of intermediaries. They spent time with

the victims, building up relationships and gaining their

confidence, and for those who had no verbal communication skills, these

special signboards were used to give police the evidence that thdy

needed. And, in fact, the original boards that they had didn't deal

with things of a sexual nattre or emotions, so the police, quhte

rightly, realised this very early on and got a special intermedi`ry in

who had a better board, who could ensure that the communication from

the victim was such that both the physical aspects of the ass`ult

could be described, but also, the emotional aspects of the assault

could also be described. Stokes was arrested back in 2007 for sdxual

activity with a mentally ill woman at the same home but the CPS decided

there wasn't enough evidencd to prosecute and he was releasdd

without charge. The police `nd the CPS didn't really understand how

important and beneficial intermediaries could be in

ascertaining evidence from victims of sexual assault. We did not

consider the offence such at the time that we could bring it to court

and there would be a realistic prospect of conviction. If that

complaint was brought to us now we would look at it differentlx. So

were opportunities missed to prevent him raping his three victims? The

county council, who commisshoned care services at the home today

launched a serious case revhew to find out. Are you convinced now that

this case would never happen again? That is exactly the question we will

ask the serious case review to answer. Could we be doing things

differently? There is always this risk of a lone person with poor

motivation and criminal intdnt of perpetrating these things, `ll you

can do to minimise that risk. Relatives of the victims broke down

in tears at court. The detahls are too upsetting to report but the

judge told Stokes about what he did was crawl and depraved and he

breached the trust of the three victims who were every bit `s

vulnerable as little childrdn. As he was jailed, one of the relatives

shouted, rot in hell! Two more people have been arrested

by detectives investigating the killing of a Bristol teenagdr.

19`year`old Nicholas Robinson was stabbed outside his flat earlier

this month. A 43`year`old woman and 50`year`old man have been arrested

in Bristol on suspicion of `ssisting an offender. Two other people,

arrested on the same charge yesterday, have been releasdd on

bail. The United Nations has accused the

Government of "suspicious actions" over plans to develop a new nuclear

power station at Hinkley Pohnt in Somerset. Environmental inspectors

have warned there are concerns about a lack of talks with neighbouring

countries, including Ireland, over potential risks posed by thd Hinkley

C plant. Bristol Rovers hope to start work on

their new ?40 million staditm this summer after a High Court jtdge

ruled they can sell their ctrrent home to Sainsbury's. The judicial

review dismissed claims by ` campaign group that the council had

failed to fully consider thd impact on local shops. Here's Alistair

Durden. A costly legal fight ending with

their best result of the se`son a High Court judge today told Bristol

Rovers they could sell their Memorial Stadium home to

Sainsbury's. Absolutely delhghted. I think it vindicates our poshtion.

We've always felt we had a strong case and the judges approve that.

The judge disagreed with local campaigners who claimed Bristol City

Council had played down the economic impact of the supermarket on local

businesses. In a statement, the campaigners said they were

"profoundly disappointed" and would "review the details" of the

judgement before deciding whether to appeal. One local MP, who b`cked the

stadium and the supermarket, says today's decision is important for

the city as a whole. If this hadn't gone through, people would have

said, "Oh, don't go to Bristol. That's the place where nothhng ever

happens!" We've shown the country and, indeed, the world that stuff

can and does happen in Bristol. So what happens next? Bristol Rovers

say contracts for the staditm should be signed within the next fdw weeks.

The diggers would move in over the summer to start work in the first

game at the UE stadium would be played in August 2015, when Rovers

fans will finally be able to call this 21,000 seater stadium home

There's more news on your local BBC Radio stations and online. We're

back with you tomorrow in Breakfast. But now, let's leave with whth the

latest weather with Georgin` Burnett.

It's a decent night for star gazing but chilly nonetheless. Durhng the

day, blustery showers around at times but a fair amount of

sunshine, too. A largely drx night tonight. Play spells as well. The

winds dropping a touch. Temperatures close to freezing in some p`rts

Those south`westerly winds pick up again tomorrow so showers lhkely to

be blustery. There should bd sunshine in between. Come the

evening, more rain joining hn. Come the afternoon, though, tempdratures

are reaching 10 Celsius. through and that's the theme. I will

leave you with that summary. Good evening. The skies were clear for

most parts of the UK and it will turn quite cold but we have to get

rid of the band of rain slipping its way southwards through the day.

Gusty wind. Also a temperature contrast. 16 degrees in Norwich

Five degrees in Stornoway. It is the colder air which will win tonight.

It will push down across all parts and be a cold