20/08/2014 BBC Points West

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

The damning report into how authorities missed chances

The serious case review finds organisations should have intervened

sooner to stop four children suffering at hands of their parents.

The professionals didn't work together effectively enough to

identify the seriousness of what was happening.

The famous Leeds cheese under threat because of the decline of Gloucester

cattle. And unveiled to the world, the playful work of the artist known

as can say. First this evening,

a review into the neglect suffered by four Gloucestershire children has

found that every organisation which couldn't walk, she'd suffered

so much neglect. Two months ago her parents were

jailed for what the judge described as "stupid,

stubborn and reckless" behaviour. Here's our home affairs

correspondent, Steve Brodie. The children lived

in appalling squalor. Rooms were littered with rubbish,

the carpets were filthy Bedrooms smelt of urine

and animal faeces. Their suffering only came to

an end when two`year`old Abigail ` became seriously ill

and was admitted to hospital. She was dangerously underweight,

had severe nappy rash and terrible head lice, which her mother had

attempted to treat with mayonnaise. by social workers and health

professionals, nothing was done. The family often missed doctors'

appointments and on some occasions police were called

to the family home. But still no action was taken to

help the children, who continued There were a number of reports made

by people like health professionals, teachers, where the

seriousness of what they were seeing was not correctly interpreted by

social care, who continued sometimes to treat what those reports said as

a matter of child support rather than child protection.

"We often go to untidy and unclean houses."

What comes up time and time again in this review is the role

the mother played in manipulating those who tried to help, and was

able to hide from them the real truth about her children's lives.

There was also resistance of the parents, there wasn't always access

was happening was sometimes was happening was sometimes

concealed from professionals. Despite the county council and all

the other agencies involved getting some things wrong, no`one has been

disciplined for their part in the failure to provide proper care for

Abigail, her brother and sisters. There was nothing which I have seen

that shows that any particular individuals saved behaved so

abominably monopoly that they need to be disciplined. I think

collectively the way in which we brought it all together wasn't

focused enough on the children. The parents ` who we cannot name

for legal reasons ` were jailed in June for what the judge described

as "appalling neglect". The BBC spoke to the father

at an earlier hearing. We did let our children down. We

never stopped loving them, but we did let them down, not in a

neglectful we, but I suppose in development.

David McCallum says it's up to the individual agencies to decide

if any of their staff should have action taken against them.

Meanwhile the review reveals that all the

children involved are now living healthy lives with other families.

Let's speak to the BBC's social affairs correspondent,

Michael Buchanan, who joins us from our London newsroom.

Do these serious case reviews make any difference? These serious case

reviews are meant to change things and good local authorities will

make sure it doesn't happen in the make sure it doesn't happen in the

local area, because reading this review it is grimly familiar and the

inability of social workers to speak to the children, to be palmed off by

the mother, that keeps coming up time and time again. It is

inexcusable for to protection professionals to get this wrong,

because it is a basic part of the achievement training to see the

world through the child's eyes. I was looking at the latest Ofsted

services as satisfactory. I don't services as satisfactory. I don't

think, having read this report anybody could argue with that. Is

the multi`agency setup working? It is very difficult. Often, the police

want to time up at meetings for a variety of reasons. To protection

officials have to follow it up and their caseloads have been rising, so

it is very easy for cases to slip through the net.

Two men have been charged after a major police investigation

into an alleged scam targeting pensioners across the West.

Rahim Choudhrey and Abdul Shafee from London, who are both aged 18,

were arrested on Monday in a joint operation with

They appeared before Bristol magistrates today accused

A third man was released on police bail.

A woman has been flown to hospital after a miniature train overturned.

Staff are currently undertaking a thorough investigation into what

caused the accident. Bristol's new Southmead

hospital has admitted it's having teething problems

in its catering service, after complaints the size

of its meals are too small. One man claims all he was given

for his evening meal was while another portion was

the size his two`year`old would eat. When you've been

a professional photographer, So when Steven Williams was laid up

in Southmead Hospital after a foot operation he had plenty

of time to document his dinner. There was the roast dinner

with two small potatoes. The chilli with rice that

was more cutlery than meat. And, one night, no other option

but cheese sandwiches. The food was awful. It was a total

joke. The portion size, I was expecting a decent meal after coming

round from my operation and the size round from my operation and the size

bigger than a children's potion. My bigger than a children's potion. My

daughter eats more than that. Victoria Reed got

in touch to show us her own rather And on the Points West Facebook

site opinion was divided. Ruby Webb wrote "I spent a week

in hospital living on sandwiches But Tracey Edwards said

"When I had my little girl I could not fault the food,

it's basic home`style cooked food ` It's not supposed to be Michelin

standard!" Standards have been high at the

hospital. 2500 meals turned out each day and cooked on`site. Only last

year it was the first hospital in the country to win a silver mark

catering award. So why the stingy portions? We took the photos to the

man in charge. It's disappointing B`1 not able to address this with

the patient while they were here. The catering department spent a lot

of time on very high quality ingredients and getting the service

right. The most important thing is that the patient gets the right

nutrition. The move to the new hospital has led to teething

troubles. The trust insisted will be service as usual very soon.

If you've got direct experience of the food being served

at the new Southmead Hospital, we'd love to get your views.

You can contact us on Twitter, via Facebook or at [email protected].

Flood prevention work is getting underway in Thorney. They are most

definitely unique, but is this art definitely unique, but is this art

or is it recycling or is it evidence that their creator are fond of Sara

Sidor? The operation has started to remove

thousands of tonnes of rubbish from a recycling centre in Swindon

which caught fire a month ago. The Environment Agency has taken

control of the Averies site, and lorries are now taking

the waste away. But residents have been warned

their ordeal may not be over yet. It's been searing, smouldering and

smoking for four weeks. It has forced businesses to shut and

imprisoned people in their homes. Finally, bit by bit, around a third

This will enable firefighters to This will enable firefighters to

tackle the fire. We know that this has taken something to get to this

phase, now we are here we will get the fire out as soon as possible.

The waste needs to be separated so it can be put out, but the

authorities could not decide where to take it. A destination has

finally been agreed, in landfill site on the edge of town. After

months of watching taxpayer's money going up in smoke, some want

answers. I'm pleased this is happening, but

it is really important that we it is really important that we

understand why this was allowed to happen in the first place, why the

agencies didn't act earlier and we got to make sure it can never happen

again. Today's news comes with a health warning. The authorities say

there is a danger that move the there is a danger that move the

rubbish, the smoke could get worse. A man arrested after 15 illegal

immigrants were found in a lorry in immigrants were found in a lorry in

Somerset has been released on police The 50`year`old was questioned after

the discovery at the Southfield Police believe the immigrants

were from Eritrea and Kashmir. The British Red Cross have been

helping to look after the group of immigrants, which include

a 15`year`old boy. bail all the passengers injured in a

coach crash have been released from hospital. Gloucestershire police say

the outcome could have been very different if the 50 seat passengers

hadn't been wearing seat belts. A man pleaded guilty to a head and run

incident in Bath which killed a cyclist. Jake Gilmore was knocked

off his bike. Dozens of cyclist attended a mass rally in his memory.

The driver has pleaded guilty to four charges including death by

dangerous driving and failing to stop at the scene of an accident.

Work has started on another flood defence scheme in Somerset. Villages

in Thorney were left underwater when the river broke its banks last year.

Thousands of soil will be used to create a blockade around the

village. The first few bucketfuls of after being scraped away in a scheme

that will eventually use 10,000 tonnes of soil. Thorney's

householders came to watch the start of the digging, the first part of a

plan that should stop their homes from ever flooding again. If the

river actually breaches its banks again, when the water rushes down

here, it will be stopped and that will protect the village. Just a

mile up the road, almost every house had their ground Force underwater in

the floods. Every day, the water crept up and flooded us. For us,

personally, this is brilliant. It means that we can be 99% positive

that it won't happen to us again this coming winter, even if it rains

as hard. The hill that is being built here will be around two metres

high and about 300 metres along. Even so, it will require 500 lorry

loads of soil. It is very important and it has been a lot of hard work

by the locals to get this underway. It is very important that it is

built and hopefully that will prevent the water coming over again.

The record rainfall in January and February this year and gave planners

a figure of just how high the water came. These defences are being

designed to exceed that hate and should be finished by October in

time to be tested by next winter's green. An investigation into the

fall of a woman from a tower at Wells Cathedral has found no breach

of health and safety rules. The 68`year`old was winched to safety by

of the building, recommendations of the building, recommendations

include a guard rail to protect visitors. If you are a fan of

cheese, you may know what this is. If you are here in the studio, the

stinking Bishop, one of stinking Bishop, one of

Gloucestershire's famous regional delicacies. This is actually under

milk from Gloucester cattle, now milk from Gloucester cattle, now

under threat from extinction. What would the Gloucestershire landscape

be without cost cattle? Soon, we may be without cost cattle? Soon, we may

find out. I'm afraid, in the last three or four years, numbers have

dropped. They are dropping at a rate which really we find very worrying.

We got to do something about it. Johansson, father of country file

presenter Adam Henson, was key in bringing the breed back from

extinction in the 1970s. I think that the main reason for the sudden

drop in numbers is bovine TB. Their own very few breeding females left

in the world. If they go extinct, they take with them Gloucester milk.

No cattle, no Gloucester cheese. Head west to Denmark, and there is a

cheesemakers are doing just that. When they get less rear, people take

their foot off the accelerator, they might sell a few that they

shouldn't, so the beat goes down in numbers. I am trying to break

through that ceiling and stop this cycle, which is why my little

contribution is to encourage cheesemakers, because once you start

making the cheese, you'd think into the breed and hopefully it will

carry on through these ups and downs. If TB is making keeping

more important that they and their Gloucester is more expensive,

breeders will work hard to stop breeders will work hard to stop

that. They will not see the breed die out. If you ask my son he will

say it would break that's out. I'm sure some people would be very

upset. A very 3`D programme. Our football league teams in the West

went undefeated last night. Yeovil went undefeated. The owner Gary

Johnson referred to being back in league one like being back home. His

players have had two games, and the defeats before the trip to Warsaw.

Walsall head back, but Kevin Dawson slid in to end his side the first

win of the season. Swindon twice came from behind to at Gillingham.

Andy Williams equalised just before the break. With time running out,

thank for this howler. It was a less thank for this howler. It was a less

eventful affair for Cheltenham, with a rainbow providing the most colour.

We had a glorious chance. For desire and effort, I can't fault them. At

Ashton Gate, the ball was in the back of the net much to the

disbelief of players. City did have disbelief of players. City did have

two chances later on, and the nil two chances later on, and the nil

nil it remained. Somerset face a victory target of 285 to have any

chance of progressing to the quarterfinals of the Royal London

cup. Congratulations to Wiltshire's

cricket team who won the Minor counties Western division, their

first trophy since 1909. They now have the chance to go on and win the

Minor counties championship. We have got some more news today about the

spy booth, of course. Photos have spy booth, of course. Photos have

now been taken showing the inside of the house and the damage which has

been caused. Breast has been removed and there are holes in the wall. The

owner says he does not know how the damage was done and the borough

council is investigating. And banks who has inspired some underground

artists they want to be known only as Cansy. The latest artists have

chosen a rather different material bandwidth. Their first piece of art

is indeed a proper bench, made not is indeed a proper bench, made not

out of wood but out of cans. But they didn't stop there, they made a

roundabout, we also have a seesaw. They went on to make a swing and I

think you'll find, with a rather attractive smoking generally, a

Wendy house. They do wish to be known only as Cansy. Why did you

choose cider cans? I think that is a very popular drink, we drink it

ourselves, we managed to get everyone to contribute to it. But

you didn't drink all the cider? Now, we certainly tried. I wouldn't try

to drink that much. How long did it to drink that much. How long did it

take you? Seven to eight weeks. A couple of full nights, long days,

long nights. Art is quite a serious business. It is also being done for

a personal reason? It's all been done for a charity, St Peter's

Hospice. My mum passed away there Hospice. My mum passed away there

and a lot of people can relate to St Peter's, so that's what we chose to

do it for. Thank you Cansy rule. Your PR person is over there just to

make sure that everything you said was correct. All this will be

auctioned off for charity in just ten day's time. They even made a

paddling pool. You have been getting in touch via Facebook and e`mailing

with your comments about the foods at Southmead Hospital. Caroline

Smith said... Here's a picture of what he was

served up back in June. One patient thought the food was

lovely. If the food isn't enough, you should ask your family to bring

more in for you. Thank you so much for those. The hospital do say it is

teething problems, so we will keep teething problems, so we will keep

an eye on it. Let's get the weather now and Holly Green has our

forecast. We have got a few showers around but they are tending to ease

off, but for tomorrow, cloud thickens and some showers around and

quite a cool breeze blowing. You can see the lumpy nature of our coat,

indicating those showers that have been bubbling up through the day.

Most of our weather coming in from the North West. Into tomorrow, low

pressure comes down from Scotland, increasing those cloud amounts, but

into Friday, it's back to a north`westerly and that should mean

a brighter day. We started with some sunshine, the cloud beckoned through

the morning, and showers drifted in the morning, and showers drifted in

from Wales. We have got if you around still, but they are dying

around dying away this evening. It is going to be a call to make. If we

take a look at the towns and cities, it is seven or 8 degrees, but in the

countryside, three or 4 degrees, a chilly start to the day. A few

showers at first, more clouds showers at first, more clouds

tending to filter in from the West, some bright spells in the afternoon,

but always those showers in the afternoon. A bit of breeze as well

will add to the cool fuel, 1718 degrees the top temperature. Friday

risk of a few showers but hopefully risk of a few showers but hopefully

few are far between, Saturday a similar story. Saturday night will

be a cold one, called than tonight. Sunday should start with some bright

weather, but Cobalt beckoned through the day and we could see some rain

on Sunday night and that leads to a wet and windy bank holiday Monday. I

feel a collective sigh across the feel a collective sigh across the

West Country! The e`mails are still coming in. Jenny from Yeovil says

that Southmead fed her very well. Sensible quantities for bed rest.

She adds, anyone who wants to complain to try a two any foreign

hospital. She says the care of quality was superb. This is a story

but the debate continues on but the debate

Facebook. Do keep on e`mailing us as well. That is it from us tonight,

we're back with the Ten O'Clock News. I for now.

We've got factory boys and butchers' apprentices and office clerks

Don't stop moving! If you go back you'll die!

anybody who comes to your house is not a guest, but he's God.

Have somebody play bagpipe at the airport to welcome you? Possible.

Whichever car you like, with Wi-Fi inside? Possible.

Can I get you a pink elephant? I'll try!

See, the Indian philosophy dictates that

anybody who comes to your house is not a guest, but he's God.