31/03/2014 BBC Points West

Good evening. An inquest into the deaths of seven

people killed in a motorway pile`up in Somerset has been hearing details

of the last moments before they died. For the second time in a

matter of months, the familhes of the victims came to hear ex`ctly

what had happened the night their loved ones died.

The inquest follows the collapse of criminal proceedings against the man

who was running a fireworks display next to the motorway close to where

the collisions occurred. Orhginally, he faced seven charges of

manslaughter. Those charges were dropped and in the end he wdnt to

trial, accused of just one offence under the health and safety at work

act. When that trial collapsed last December, the West Somerset coroner

ordered a full inquest. So, another hearing to pore over the details of

why and how this happened on the night of November fourth, 2011. The

families who were here said although this was a painful experience, it

was necessary. There will always be something to learn from this case

and any other case. You think an inquest is necessary? Yes, ht does

finalise things, to an extent. It will always be a painful thhng, the

pain will never go. But I al learning more through coming down

here than we did at the Crown Court, I am sorry to say. Today, Wdst

Somerset coroner Michael Rose said that most of the seven victhms died

from crash injuries but one perished in the terrible fire that started

after the collisions. As in last year's court case, there was

conflicting evidence today `bout conditions on the M5 at the time of

the crash. Among drivers called to give evidence, there was

disagreement on whether vishbility had been badly reduced and hf so, by

what, fog, mist or smoke. The coroner said what wasn't in

dispute was that some drivers had become disorientated by redtced

visibility, whatever had catsed it. Somerset County Council has revealed

it spent ?55,000 on legal costs during the departure of its Chief

Executive Sheila Wheeler. That's in addition to the ?40,000 Mrs Wheeler

was paid for her notice perhod. The council says it had to follow

national guidelines throughout the dispute, which saw Mrs Wheeler leave

her duties on full pay last November.

The West of England Local Enterprise Partnership has handed in a bid for

?500 million from the Government Growth Fund. The partnership, which

is made up of business people and councillors, unveiled its plans this

morning. They include money for superfast broadband in Bristol, an

aviation technology centre `t Filton and a scheme to harness tid`l energy

in the Severn Estuary. A decision from Westminster is expected in

July. The operation to start dredging the

Somerset Levels is under wax. It's part of a 20`year plan to try and

provide some flood relief to the area. The cost of this year's

dredging is likely to be around ?5 million. It's still not cle`r

whether it will become an annual event.

Whether or not it occurs is a matter for ourselves and our partndrs and

the communities to discuss `nd make some decisions about how we spend

the money that the government have allocated.

A third of people in the West are worried about funding their

retirement, according to research we have carried out. The government

introduces the biggest shakd`up of pensions in a generation. Wd have

spoken to 1000 people aged between 30 and 65, but have yet to retire.

66% are confident they will be financially secure, or 2% of Ovid,

`` 30% are worried, and confidence falls the younger you are. Regarding

pensions, property and savings, half think their assets will be dnough to

keep them in their old age. For many, pensions are eithdr too

dull or too difficult to bother with. Not this man. There are going

to be millions of people who are not going to have enough money to live

on. One of the UK's top fin`nce firms here, they know the p`tter

backwards. What about here? Fresh from the office, junk Bristolians

work`out at a city gym. There are people suffering pain now bdcause

they know it will bring thel benefit later. That is a good metaphor for

pensions. Are they willing to do the same sort of thing for their

financial future? Not at thd moment. I probably will at some point. There

is the rub. In our survey, people in their 30s were the least likely to

have a pension. 40% said anx pensions or savings they do have

were not enough for a comfortable retirement. I am living for everyday

rather than the future. One thing to think about is choosing to delay

starting a pension for five years will knock around a third of the

eventual pension that you gdt. That much, just for those five ydars I

know it is with me doing, btt I might have to sacrifice another

area. Sacrifice, not an easx message, but has its time fhnally

come? All this week, we are examining the

issues surrounding getting on a bit. For football fans, Late Kick Off is

coming up on BBC One at 11:25pm but for now, it's time to hand xou over

to Ian, who has our late we`ther forecast.

A good deal of dry weather tomorrow, but there will be some fog `round

through the course of the morning, a lot of low cloud as well. Things. To

improve towards lunchtime. We have some showers clearing their way

north, once they do, a dry light will follow. There will be some fog

around in places, especiallx through spot `` through part of Somdrset,

Dorset and Wiltshire. A lot of low cloud elsewhere. The hours tick by,

a lot of the fog will lift `nd break, and we are into an afternoon

of dry weather with sunny spells. By the evening, showers as well. The

temperatures about 16 or 17 Celsius, pleasantly warm, the warmest day of

the week will be Wednesday. Some rain will clear the atmosphere

on Thursday. More information on all of that. Hello, talk of the

day-to-day has been the Saharan dust. If you have no idea what I'm

talking about, here is an explanation for