31/10/2011 BBC Wales Today

Welcome to wales Today - out top story tonight: Closing time for

unmanned sun-beds - a ban comes into force across Wales.

Our other headlines tonight: Four people killed in this reservoir - a

man's charged with causing death by dangerous driving.

They've served their country, but how well do we look after our

veterans. Traders love it but is free parking

really the key to breathing new life into our towns?

And how's this for a heroes welcome - our newest world champion biker

Good evening. A ban on using unmanned sun-beds has come into

force tonight. The Welsh Government hopes it'll reduce the number of

people getting skin cancer. Those under 35 who use sun-beds are 75%

more likely to be diagnosed with skin cancer. 500 people a year get

a malignant melanoma, the most deadly skin cancer, and that leads

to 100 deaths every year. Our health correspondent Arwyn Jones is

at a tanning salon for us tonight Arwyn. This is the leaflet every

tanning salon in Wales should now be displaying, warning of the

possible side-effects of using sunbeds. At this one in Cardiff,

they have always insisted on supervising anyone who wants to use

a sunbed. Under 18s are no longer allowed, but the problem is that

anybody could go into an unsupervised tanning salon and put

their money in the slot. No longer, because as of today that has

changed. Hello, health and safety... It is a scene which is likely to be

repeated a lot over the next few months. The signs might be

promising, but the dangers of using sunbeds can be all too real,

especially without guidance. I have heard of incidences where people

put the coins in, they go in for 10 minutes and they burn. To me, this

regulation should have been in a long time ago. A last year, we

showed you these images of children badly burned after using unmanned

tanning salons. Since April, under 18s have been banned, but there was

little to stop them using coin- operated unmanned salons. As well

as being permanently supervised, tanning salons like this one are

also having to show this poster warning of the long-term effects of

using sunbeds. Even within the industry, they are saying

developments like these are long overdue. That information should

help people make their decision. People can decide for themselves

when they have read the information if they want to use some birds and

that is what we want to see across all sunbed businesses. Hair and

beauty might be all the rage for these students at this college, but

using a sunbed is not how they go about looking their best. It is

important they know the dangers. They don't care really, they once -

- they just want the town. health professionals agree, with

limiting the use of tanning salons. We know there are 9000 new cases of

melanoma in England and Wales every year, 2000 of those patients will

die during the year, so it is a real public health measure to

prevent the increase in trend for skin cancers. Councils will help

salons comply with the new regulations, but will also issue

fines of up to �5,000 if they continue to offer unmanned sunbeds,

the idea being with skin cancer prevention really is better than

cure. The idea is it is less likely that

those most at risk of being diagnosed with skin cancer will

continue to use these sunbeds and it is the same idea as the

government had in terms of banning smoking in public places, that is

to make it more difficult to do the things that damage us the most.

Let's talk to the chief medical officer Dr Tony Jewell, adviser to

the Welsh Government on all health matters. If you use a sunbed you're

more likely to get skin cancer - shouldn't they all just be banned?

We were worried about the rise in melanomas, which has increased

fourfold since the 1970s, so we took advice from the UK expert

committee and they reported back to us saying they felt that young

people were the target group and they recommended banning it in

under 18 year-olds. Why not just banned all of them if we agree it

is not a good thing to sit underneath the sunbed? It may come

to that in time, but at the moment we are focusing on young people,

protecting them, and making sure these sunbed salons are being run

by competent people. It seems like as a doctor you might be frustrated

that you are held back, but trying to go further? It is a bit like

tobacco, it kills about 6000 people in Wales a year. The cigarette

packets have a warning on them and we now expect sunbed salons to have

a warning. It is a process. The next phase of the process is to

protect you and people. We can talk about drinking alcohol or takeaway

food or smoking, they cause far more many deaths than using sunbeds.

Aren't you just picking off the easy targets here? No, I think we

were very lucky to get Julie Morgan, an MP at the time, to get a private

member's Bill through Parliament, getting this supported in the House

of Lords. We were lucky to get the legislation through as fast as we

could, and in Wales we haven't Hampstead through our regulations.

I was worrying this was increasing year on year, and we think it is

something to do with foreign holidays almost certainly, as well

as the increasing use of sunbeds by young people and that is what we

are trying to stop. A man has been charged with four

counts of causing death by dangerous driving after three

generations of a family died when a car plunged into a reservoir near

Llanidloes in Powys in April. A grandmother, a father and two

teenage boys were killed. Colette Hume reports. Llanidloes, one of

the most beautiful places in Wales, but one which became the scene of

tragedy in April when three generations of one family died when

their car plunged into the icy waters of this reservoir. For Miss

Hooper, 84, died alongside her son- in-law who was 66. The family lived

in Pontypridd with their foster son's, who were both aged 14. Only

Denise Griffiths, who was driving, survived. N RAF search and rescue

helicopter, police diving teams scoured the reservoir for hours,

desperately searching for the family. Mrs Griffiths refused to

leave until the bodies of her mother, husband and foster children

were finally recovered six hours later. The road around this lake is

popular with tourists, who come to Wales for the beauty and

tranquillity the area provides. Their car left the road here,

smashing through this fence before plunging into the water below. The

family had taken their foster has sons foreign holiday when the crash

happened. 24 year-old man has been caused -- charged with causing

death by dangerous driving on four accounts.

We ask them to put their lives in harm's way in the service of their

country - but how well do we look after veterans? Welsh MPs

investigating how soldiers are treated are calling for more

evidence to be submitted. Members of the of the Welsh Affairs Select

Committee are looking at the medical and resettlement help

provided to former services personnel. More from Rhodri Lewis.

Lloyd Jones from Porthcawl is one of the quarter of a million armed

forces veterans in Wales. Since serving in Iraq and Afghanistan he

has suffered with post traumatic stress disorder - a condition says

he has struggled to get appropriate treatment for. It has been really

frustrating because for a long time I thought I was mad until somebody

put a name on what cities. We have been fighting incredibly hard. We

have had to do our own research, look at website, go through

charities, educate our own GPs. We have basically had to do everything

we can just to get a basic level of support. We are still not there yet.

MPs on the Welsh Affairs Select committee have been looking at how

those who've served the country are helped and what, if anything, needs

to change. Some of my constituents have been critical about the level

of services they have received. There are different organisations

that may be offering the services, some will be government based, some

will be answerable to the Welsh Assembly, and some may be within

the voluntary sector. I think there may be room for improvement but

that is not to pre-empt anything the inquiry will look into. Members

of the Pontypridd branch of the Royal British Legion gathered today

to launch their garden of remembrance. All the senior

veterans I spoke to felt more could be done. Mostly it seems to be

about combating stress more than anything else. Obviously lost limbs

are a major priority, but I think combat stress takes more of a toll

and four years to come. It needs a lot of money, and it is a way of

repaying those boys for what they have gone through. They have been

injured, and for putting up with that, money should not be an object.

Bill Murray runs a North Wales- based charity which helps ex-

service men and woman who find themselves on the streets. Many

suffer from post-traumatic stress he says what they need he says is

help in the transition from military to civilian life. It is

totally different life for them. Every day is a routine. They get up

with the lads, they fight with the lads, they come out of the army

Gates and it is a totally different world. It is alien. The committee

says it may find there is nothing substantially wrong with the way

veterans are treated in Wales, but Lloyd Jones and others will be

watching their findings closely. Much more to come before 7 o'clock.

Free car parking is intended to breathe life into towns, but does

it discourage us from public transport?

And after the World Cup, back to the domestic game - rugby's

A woman abused her position as head of a community charity to

fraudulently pay herself and her family more than �50,000, a court

has heard. Miriam Beard faces 13 charges of fraud and theft relating

to the running of a Communities First project in Wrexham.

Miriam beard and her husband are facing 20 counts of fraud and theft

between them but the jury was told she was the chief orchestrator at

the heart of this case. In 2003 she was appointed co-ordinator of the

community's first project, one of the most deprived areas in Wales.

The charity's budget was supposed to fund activities for residents,

but the prosecution says she used the money as a source of income for

herself and her family, paying for goods and services which in many

cases the charity never received. �25,000 was paid into her father's

bank account for a project offering activities to young people.

jury heard no such scheme ever happened, and it was a fiction

created by Miriam. Her father knew nothing of the planned activities.

Miriam had bought a static caravan with charity money, but the

prosecution say she paid �6,000 a year to her son telling the charity

the money was needed to rent the caravan from him. The jury was told

that before working here, she got a job at Wrexham council by faking

her qualifications and date of birth by 10 years. This was to hide

the fact she had been convicted of fraud and served a prison sentence

in the late 1970s, the prosecution says. Both she and her husband deny

A recycling company has been fined for failing to reduce its staff's

risk of exposure to the potentially fatal legionella bacteria. Merthyr

Industrial Services Limited was operating a cooling tower without

taking appropriate measures to control the spread of the disease

during the outbreak across the Heads of the Valley area in

September. The firm has been fined �600 plus costs of more than �8,000.

No single source was identified for the outbreak.

Cockle beds on the Swansea side of the Burry inlet have been closed

after samples proved positive for the e.Coli bacteria. Swansea

Council says more testing will be carried out this week and it hopes

to lift the restrictions as soon as possible.

Free Parking. Retailers love it, but green campaigners don't.

Councils across Wales are spending hundreds of thousands of pounds on

providing parking to regenerate town centres. Carmarthenshire has

just announced it's planning to scrap charges in Llanelli for a

year. But some are concerned that free parking will discourage public

Llanelli town centre is undergoing a bit of a makeover right now. And

the council's come up with a way to compensate shoppers for all the

disruption, by offering free parking for a year at the town's

multistorey. I think it is an excellent idea and

it is a shame they didn't do it sooner because the town has

suffered. It is a nightmare trying to park

here. Great. And Carmarthenshire's not stopping

there. The council's so convinced about the boost free parking gives

to business that they're ditching parking fees across the county for

two weeks in the run up to Christmas. Free parking doesn't

come cheap. Suspending charges in Llanelli for a year will cost

Carmarthenshire council �220,000. Their Christmas bonus to shoppers

will set them back a further �70,000. But not everyone's

convinced it's such a great idea. Lee Waters heads a green transport

charity. They've carried out research which suggests retailers

overestimate how many shoppers come by car. For him, free parking isn't

the answer. Actually, what shoppers have

consistently shown in research to want is a better shopping

environment. Town centres are competing to be different by having

more shops and wider pavements, rather than subsidising car parking

charges. Councils are having to find that money elsewhere, usually

by cutting bus services. Carmarthenshire's not the only

authority going down this route - Wrexham launched free parking from

today at its council car parks, Newport already offers two hours

free, and Caerphilly and Gwynedd plan to give away free parking as

their Christmas gift to shoppers this year.

We have got to compete and encourage them back into Carmarthen,

Llanelli and Ammanford. It is important we look after these

places. There's no doubting the pressure on

authorities, when traders found out the council planned to put up

parking meters on Carmarthen's high street, they faced a big backlash.

It is just putting extra pennies on to people's shopping bills or

laundry bills. In this economic climate, nobody has got any spare

cash. Whether it's a long term solution or not it seems free

parking is the way many councils are hoping to help our towns

Sport and after the drama of the Rugby World Cup, attention is now

turning to Europe and the start of the Heineken Cup. Our reporter

Cennydd Davies was at Twickenham today for the official launch of

In six months' time, these players will be hoping to lead their teams

to European success. Something that has never been achieved by a Welsh

side and still a cause for concern. With Wales impressive World Cup

campaign, many are hoping that international success will be

replicated at regional level. We had the first couple of them

come back for our game last week and the rest of them will come back

for the game against the Ospreys. There would be much time to

integrate the players. The most important is that the players that

to come back are mentally and physically right to go and I will

be asking this next group of players if that is what they want

to do this week. If it is, they will probably be involved in some

way against the Ospreys. A 16 years has passed since the Cardiff side

lost 2 to lose in the inaugural final.

Many are at a loss as to why a Welsh team has never gone all the

way. With so many internationals returning, there is renewed

confidence before another campaign. With the Welsh derbies this weekend,

a great appetiser before the main event.

Every time we go to the Dragons, there is an intensity which is

matched in terms of physicality and the margins the games are won and

lost by. That is what you want. You want your players to be prepared

for European competition. That is exactly what the Dragons provide.

Every team will be hoping to emulate Leinster's success of last

year when the toppled Northampton in a dramatic final in Cardiff. The

Welsh teams will be hoping to end a 17 yet drought here at Twickenham

next May. Football and another impressive

home performance by Swansea City at the weekend, who now find

themselves in the top half of the Premier League after beating Bolton

3-1. It was a wonderful performance.

Carried on where we left off last week. Our position was fantastic

and our game was very good. Meanwhile Cardiff City are ninth in

the Championship after drawing at Leeds. Joe Mason put the Bluebirds

ahead but Robert Snodgrass' second- half equaliser denied them victory.

He's stood on the podium, worn the garland and sprayed the bottle of

champagne but it was the welcome home that biker Chaz Davies will

remember longest. The Powys motorcyclist won the World

Supersport Championship, that's the third tier of international

motorcycling. Hundreds of well- wishers were in Presteigne to

congratulate him. Cemlyn Davies A hero's welcome for Chaz Davies,

local boy done good and world champ. I knew that mum was organising

something, a celebration. I didn't know how many people would turn up.

I didn't think there would be this money.

Really pleased for him. And his parents. They have worked

hard to get him where he is. He has done everybody proud.

I knew this day would come. We knew this day would come.

Chaz began racing when he was three-years-old. In 2001 he became

the youngest ever winner of a British championship race. Four

years later he scooped the BBC Wales Carwyn James junior sportsman

But nothing compares to his latest achievement. Such was Chaz'

dominance last season, a sixth place finish in the penultimate

race in France was enough to secure the title.

In the end, with the championship wrapped up, I finish with a win in

Portugal. All in all, a fantastic season. The best seasons racing I

have ever done in my life. Really good.

Five world championships in the world for circuit racing on

motorbikes. Motor GP with the support championships as well. In

the greater scheme of things, it is about the third biggest

championship in the world and he has won it from a little village in

Wales. It is pretty cool. But not everybody enjoys watching Chaz in

action. I can't physically Watchet, it

neither can mum. We are both quite added anxiety when he is racing.

Every time he goes out on track, I am there watching television,

waiting for him to get off the line, get a good start. I usually land up

in tears. I am shouting and screaming. It's as if I was there

with him. Chaz, who's 24, will now move up a

division to the Superbike championship. And who would bet

against him coming back to mid Wales with yet another trophy to

show off. Two schools from Wales have been

honoured at the UK Teaching Awards. Lewis School in Pengam near

Caerphilly won an award for a film about their school. While the PE

department at Dyffryn Taf School at Whitland in Carmarthenshire, where

a number of former students have gone on to play professional rugby,

won the award for Outstanding Team They swapped their jogging bottoms

for ball gowns and black tie to accept this recognition for their

hard work. Thank you very much. It was back to

reality today and reflecting on how they came to win the award.

Everybody brings something different to the table. Everyone

within the team has their own strengths. We all have completely

different strengths so it works out really well, we can get everything

done we want to achieve. The team were nominated by ex-

student and Scarlets full-back, Dan Newton, who said he'd benefited

from the fruits of their labour. So too have players like Mike Philips

and Jonathan Davies, who starred at the recent World Cup.

There are so many influences on children coming through these days,

I don't think anyone can be vain enough to say they were the

deciding influence. Hopefully, it will reflect on the boys and we

will be a positive port of call along the way.

In Bargoed, another group of winners were re-living last nights

events. These students made a film in an after school club to show

newcomers what their school is like. We had bits-and-pieces like special

events where, for instance, people came in with animals or conference

-- or concerts. When we saw the whole picture we thought, this is

the stuff that would make people want to come to the school.

And it's highlighting that stuff that won them �5,000 and an

experience they'll never forget. It was just that we had won a

nationwide competition, really. We are the best in Britain in the

school. It was great. Another highlight of the video was

its soundtrack, written and sung by student Nathan Battersby. Both

Welsh schools have obviously been It is the last day of the month and

we are on course for one of the warmest October as on record. It

started with temperatures reaching 28 Celsius in Flintshire and we end

on a mild note. Staying that way into the start of November but it

is also very unsettled. A wet and windy night to come. This front

spreads eastwards, 10-15 mm of rain possible. Not great if you have

outdoor plans for Hallowe'en. Heavy downpours at times but the rain

clears its words overnight, leaving behind lower temperatures. Tomorrow

is a brighter day. A few showers along the coast. Fine for most of

us with good spells of sunshine later. One of the drier days of the

week with lighter winds. Not as mild as today with highs of 13

Celsius along the north Wales coast and 14 from Pembrokeshire across to

Monmouthshire. It will feel more pleasant in the sunshine. Keeping

the warmer southerly airflow. More change as the chart shows a

different picture midweek. This angry low is the pressure system

that brought snow to the States. It is moving across the Atlantic. No

snow for us but after a drier start, some wet and windy conditions.

Strong winds moving in later in the day. Still mild but a very mixed

outlook. Unsettled but after Wednesday's rain, more a case of

sunny spells and scattered showers on Thursday and Friday. Today's

picture is from John Davies. The Tonight's headlines from the BBC:

After weeks of anti-capitalist protests on its doorstep, and a

major row over the Church's response, the Dean of St Paul's

Cathedral has resigned. The Right Reverend Graeme Knowles is the

second cleric to go from St Paul's. A ban on using unmanned sun-beds in

Wales has come into force. The Welsh Government hopes it'll reduce

the number of people getting skin cancer.

X Ray is coming up in half an hour, here's Rachel and Rhodri with a

preview. Hello. Did you know there are

thousands of cars on the roads that have their mileage wound back? We

go undercover to track down the garage is willing to help you break

the law. And this kit costs 80 grit from

Boots. Experts fear it could lull you into a false sense of security.