01/08/2014 BBC Points West

The first to arrive and the last to leave.

Medals today for the fire fhghters who dealt with carnage on the M .

A Somerset pilot walks away, after the wheels collapse on landhng.

And the graffiti artist Banksy falls victim to a graffiti vandal

Fire fighters who were first on scene at one of Britain's worst ever

motorway crashes have had their bravery recognised. The pild`up on

the M5 in Somerset in 2011 claimed seven lives. Now, three years on,

some of those who worked on the rescue effort have been givdn

special medals. Scott Ellis reports.

The aftermath of the M5 crash, caused by thick fog on the night

12 fire fighters based in T`unton were the first to be called out to

deal with cars and lorries on fire and people trapped in the wreckage.

At the awards ceremony, the 12 fire fighters were ghven

a brand new medal, created by the Devon and Somerset Sdrvice.

Recognition of exceptional actions in extreme circumst`nces.

As we approached the motorw`y, the weather was awful, lots was

Lots of explosions. It was very tragic.

Those rewarded last night s`y their first thoughts are with

Paul Cregan was in charge of the operation that night.

He knows the awards are important to his otherwise modest men.

Dealing with it afterwards was difficult, testing.

The medals will be a constant and good reminder

of what they did that night, and for the families forevermore.

For them, very well`deserved and an appropriate end to

At the ceremony, there were written commendations

for fire fighters helping in this year's flooding

It has been a busy period for the emergency services

and it is nice to draw a line underneath and say, well done,

hopefully we won't be experhencing the same series of signific`nt

It has been two years since the M5 crash.

The awards have had to wait until now to allow for various coroners'

Police are investigating whdther remains found at a recycling plant

in Avonmouth this morning are human. They were spotted by staff `t the

Biffa depot on St Andrew's Road around 11.30. The area has been

sealed off while the investhgation continues.

A teenage gymnast from Longwell Green near Bristol has becole the

most decorated Englishwoman at the Commonwealth Games in over 80 years.

Claudia Fragapane is only 16 years old.

But, late this afternoon, the girl they've nicknamed

"the pocket rocket" picked tp a fourth gold medal, to the ddlight

Alistair Durden is at the family home now.

I can tell you, it is quite a family. She is one of five sisters,

the other four are here, along with many other members of the clan,

young and old. They have bedn like this all afternoon, you can

understand watching the gold medal. Here are some of the other trophies

she has one. And some of thd medals. But nothing to compare to the Vorm

`` four gold medals she will bring back from Glasgow.

At just four feet six inches, they call Claudia the Pocket Rocket.

We have seen her flip and somersault, smile and cry,

With mum and dad in Glasgow, the rest of the family were

Grandparents, uncles and aunts, sisters, nephews and nieces.

We are very, very proud. Another one and you will come home with four

gold medals. The routine went down well

in Glasgow, even better in Bristol. Mum and Dad enjoyed it too,

but the judges put her just outside So, onto the last chance,

the floor routine. As she landed, they were

off their feet in the living room. A true floor specialist. It buys ``

it is my last time and I wanted to enjoy it.

An unforgettable week for the 16`year`old.

Four gold medals, and one vdry proud family in Bristol.

You were excitable today. It was incredible. She was the best she has

ever performed, so focused. We love watching her. She brings so much joy

to this family. Has she alw`ys had that potential to win medals like

that? Yes, she has done really well in the

past. We did not expect four medals, not at all. She has performdd really

consistently. She was phenolenal. Bringing home these gold medals and

we are all really happy, ardn't we? You are also a gymnastic, you are

only eight, will you be doing that one day? Will you go to a

Commonwealth Games? Yes! Wh`t did you enjoy about the perform`nce I

like it when she got lots of gold medals. It was brilliant. What kind

of party will you have for her? A massive party, she deserves it, she

is our staff. We will celebrate altogether and have a big p`rty

There will be a big party! What a lovely family. We're joined

now by her parents. When yot put all of these medals?

The coach, Sean, is amazing, and he will make something out of wood so

we can display them. We saw you in the crowd waving your flag `nd

jumping up and down. Can yot put your feelings into words tonight?

Very happy. Joy. Very proud to see her up there. Amazing. She lakes it

look so easy out there. But this wasn't an overnight success, this

has been years and years of hard work, dedication for the whole

family. Yes, definitely. From the age of six, her passion was

gymnastics really. She is now 1 . She trains just over 30 hours a

week. All the hard training, discipline, everything really. Did

you have to encourage her to train? Did she always want to do it?

Sometimes we needed to push, but not a lot. She was very enthusi`stic. It

is her passion, it is her dream She wants to make the Olympics one day.

Is Rio next in her sights? We hope so. We hope so. Whoever thex pick,

we don't know. She needs to stay fit, consistent. Focused. That is

right. How will you celebrate when you get

back? A big party! Probably at my husband's business, the plax centre.

You are Italian but this is a win for England. It is a win for

England. Very proud. It is lovely to have you on our programme. To pass

on our best wishes. Proud parents that.

We'll keep you up to date whth the action from the Commonwealth Games

throughout the weekend, herd on BBC Points West. And stay with ts

tonight, because there's lots more to come, including: The Wiltshire

woman whose father went to war just days after her birth. That was 00

years ago today. We'll hear her memories.

A pilot from RNAS Yeovilton has walked away

unharmed, after the historic aircraft he was flying crashed onto

Eye witnesses at the Culdrose Airshow said the Sda Fury

The Royal Navy is now investigating, as Dickon Hooper reports.

He knows his aircraft incredibly well.

Reassuring commentary, as white smoke begins to billow from

Ladies and gentlemen, luckily everything is OK.

There was a serious issue whth the aircraft.

It's a hard landing, but the pilot makes his esc`pe,

He was very sprightly and that was a great relief.

A spontaneous round of appl`use it was their way of saying thank

The pilot was Lieutenant Commander Chris Gotke,

Just last week, he spoke to us about his affection for the

Sea Fury, part of Yeovilton's historic flight, and a classic

She is an absolute delight to fly, the ultimate

This is where it stopped for the British.

So, it combines everything that should be in an aircraft.

A massive amount of power in the front, carrying weapons

But, when things go wrong, she's only as good as the m`n

The Royal Navy said all the relevant organisations had been

The Bath film director Ken Loach has given his support to a protest

Mr Loach and the group clail the corporation's reporting

They say the BBC is only presenting the Israeli case in its

news coverage, and claim it rarely includes a Palestinian voicd.

Being the Palestinian case hs it is about illegal seizure of land,

illegal collective punishment of Gaza, and intolerable life. And

faced with such illegality, people are entitled to resist. And the

people of Gaza are resistance fighters. The BBC calls thel

militants. They are resisting the same way the French were resistance

fighters during the war. A spokesperson

from BBC News says it endeavours to reflect a range of voices,

and is committed to continuhng to report and analyse events in

an accurate, fair and balanced way. The Banksy street art in Chdltenham

has been defaced. Only this week,

campaigners announced they had But now, Spy Booth been spr`yed

over with silver paint. Cheltenham's Banksy, eavesdropping

on this telephone box, thesd undercover spies are now covered up

after after an overnight attack It's not funny or clever,

why do people have to do thhs? People have been proud of their

Banksy and were angry today as news I am gutted, I don't understand

why people have to do this. This is what it looked like

in April. Weeks after

the Spy Booth was painted, there was A local businessman pledged hundreds

of thousands If this graffiti cannot be removed,

are you still going to buy ht? It is something that the people

in this town love This is what people here nedd to

save the Banksy, three layers If they are quick enough,

and use the right chemicals, they might be able to take

off the top layer of new gr`ffiti This one in Bristol was hit

by blue paint balls. Others like this one have bden

quickly removed, Mobile Lovers, like much of the

street art, will eventually be sold. Some believe it is part of

the life cycle of street gr`ffiti, but others believe these ard

precious and should be presdrved. Attempts to put out the fird

at a waste recycling site in Swindon It's 12 days since the fire began,

and the Averies site in Marshgate is still burning, with clouds

of smoke drifting across thd town. Business owners and families living

nearby say they're suffering. Here's our Wiltshire correspondent,

Will Glennon. Hardest hit by the fire, especially

the smoke, other businesses surrounding the site. It is

impossible for people to work here. Across the road from the fire live

Gillian Lane and her husband. Mike Watts built the shortctt after

a main route to Bristol, thd Kelston It won't reopen for many months and

drivers are facing long divdrsions. The toll road, which goes through a

field, now gives them a mord direct route, but it doesn't have planning

permission, and costs ?2 per car. A great grandmother from Wiltshire,

who was born just days before the outbreak of World War I, is

celebrating her 100th birthday today. Peggy Pearce's father joined

the war effort soon after hdr birth. He was one of the lucky ones who

returned from the Western Front Peggy shared her memories of him,

and her childhood, with Tracey The family are gathering to

celebrate Peg's 100th birthday. Yes.

Oh, how lovely. But, 100 years ago,

when Peg was just a newborn, Her father had worked

as a coachbuilder at Great Western Railway. So, during

his time in the trenches, hd made Well, an aeroplane propeller that

came down over in France, I suppose. He was very handy with his, well,

with his hands. Inside the frame is baby Peg,

just nine months old. As Peg grew up, the war continued

for the next four years. I can remember my father winding

those puttees round his legs, And I can remember seeing a Zeppelin

go over. Zeppelins were a real threat

and inflicted bomb damage Finally, in 1918, Peg's father

returned safely from the front. By the end of the war, I can

remember the sirens, or the hooters People had processions

down the road. Today's celebration will be

for Peg's 100 years. And what's her advice for a long

and happy life? Oh, dear, I don't know what

I'd do without them. While the eyes

of the world have been on the Commonwealth Games, the attdntion

of the equestrian elite is now Once again,

the Princess Royal has opendd up the grounds of her Gatcombe Park

home in Gloucestershire to host some Her daughter Zara

Phillips is taking part. But, as Imogen Sellers has been

finding, there's more to Gatcombe From some of the best riders

in the world, including Zara Phillips and William Fox`Pitt,

to the young Pony Club riders here There is something for everxone

here at Gatcombe this weekend. Not just horses. A lot more

besides. The Festival of British Eventing,

to call it by its proper title, has been held in the grounds

of the Princess Royal's homd And, for her son, Peter Philips

it's always been a family affair. My memories go back,

painting white stakes, painting Zara

and I would have a great group of It is

a proper family friendly evdnt. And it's Dad,

Peter's father Captain Mark Philip, who designs the cross country

course. It started off as being

a family event, the Princess and I trying to put something back

into the sport we have loved and enjoyed, and had success in the

Olympic Games and Championships Peter and Zara started

when they were small kids, helping Now they have grown

to greater things. What do you look forward to

the most? But, before then,

there is lots to see and do. One of the oldest flower shows in

the world has begun in Taunton. Thousands of people have spdnt the

day at Vivary Park to enjoy what they say is the Chelsea of the West.

There's a record number of dntries show. We were looking at thd

children's area. We will be going to the main arena to see what hs there.

I have finished two of the other big shows, and I put priority on this as

well, it is on a par with those shows also.

This amazing picture, you whn the ultimate self each of the wdek,

taken on a paraglider. `` sdlfie. Saturday is when we will sed some

rain about. It will turn brdezy on Sunday. With a good deal of dry

weather about. This is the rainfall radar outbreaks of rain movhng

north. This evening, the focus is shifting towards the west of the M5

which will remain a feature of the forecast into the first part of

tomorrow. Low pressure will rotate up towards Merseyside tomorrow.

Behind that, these by the whll give outbreaks of rain. It move through

in the morning. A less showdry outlook. Drier and brighter

conditions, that continues overnight into Sunday. The rest of thhs

evening will be characterisdd by further outbreaks of rain, lore

towards the west. Some weather warnings, pretty wet overnight,

staying that way into the e`rly hours of tomorrow morning.

Temperatures will fall to 12 Celsius tonight. Tomorrow, as we cldar those

outbreaks of rain, some will still be heavy. In the afternoon, a

showery picture with drier `nd brighter interludes, some qtite

prolonged. Equally, some further showers. They will finally fade away

overnight. Temperatures in the brighter spots, in the low 20s.

Sunday will be an improving picture. Stein breezy. Showdrs in

the morning will fade away. A fair amount of sunshine in the afternoon.

Showers on Monday and Tuesd`y but that is projected for the mhd part

of next week. And Tuesday btt that is projected for the mid part of

next week. Into the week. That's all from us. Join us again

tonight just afer the Ten O'Clock And it's about time

that I did something about that