17/04/2012 BBC Wales Today


17/04/2012

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In Wales Today: The search for gas trapped in the

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earth. It is opening up a new chapter in

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the industry a history of the UK Our other headlines tonight:

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Wales footballer Ched Evans denies raping a 19-year-old woman in a

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hotel in Rhyl. Plans are approved for 250 homes as

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part of a new marina development for Fishguard.

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It will extend the season for a much wider area.

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Chris Birch used to be a 19 stone rugby fan with a girlfriend. He

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suffered a stroke and says he woke up gay.

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I think that has got to be a difficult experience for anybody,

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especially a mother and her child. And after being brought down to

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earth by the Ospreys, the Blues Good evening. Gas extraction known

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as fracking could open up a new chapter of industrial history in

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South Wales. That's according to a geology expert following news today

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that the controversial process can continue in the UK. An application

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for exploratory drilling in the Vale of Glamorgan was rejected by

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the local authority last year. It'll now be considered by a public

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inquiry next month. Sian Lloyd is in the village of Llandow tonight.

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This is the area where a company wants to carry out exploratory

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drilling for shale gas, a natural commodity which some experts say

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has huge potential. But in order to extract it, that does involve the

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controversial method known as fracking. That has been in the news

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today because a report by independent experts says that

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fracking should be allowed to continue. That report was called

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for after a fracking operation in Lancashire last year was halted

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following two smaller earthquakes. The last time they tried it near

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Blackpool, it triggered to earth tremors. But now the controversial

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method of extracting natural gas is set to restart. In your report

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today for the UK Department of Energy and climate change, experts

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recommend the process should continue but with more monitoring.

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Fracking allows previously an accessible reserves of gas to be

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extracted from shale rock, by injecting it with pressurised sand,

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water and chemicals. This site at Llandow in the Vale of Glamorgan

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has been earmarked as a potential drilling site. A Bridgend based

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company has the 10th exploration licences across South Wales. The

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company believes they will filed under wraps reserves of a shell gas

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underneath the ground are. His planning application in the Vale of

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Glamorgan faced opposition. Campaigners are concerned about

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safety and the potential impacts on the environment. The Welsh

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Government is now holding a public inquiry into the application. Could

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this report have any impact on applications for fracking like the

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one in Llandow or others in the future? I think there is potential

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for shale gas in South Wales. How much, we need to find out by doing

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the fracking operation. This is a step forward. It will allow us to

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work out what kind of scale of resource we might have in South

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Wales. This caravan park neighbours the potential drilling site. Its

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owner is opposed to the plans and that today's report has not changed

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her mind. The earthquakes is one of the smallest risks associated with

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this process. This report is a dangerous distraction from the true

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risks of fracking. The Welsh Government says it believes there

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is a need to look at both the power -- potential of gas exploration but

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also concerns about the potential impacts. As the UK government is

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responsible for the granting of exploration licences, it says it

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would welcome them working with devolved administrations across the

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UK to put in place a robust framework for shale gas.

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We will hear more about the application for the Vale of

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Glamorgan when the public inquiry is completed around the end of May?

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Yes, that is when this story moves on in the Vale of Glamorgan, when

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the public inquiry has finished its work. It has been hearing views

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from interested parties at until now. We did try to contact the

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company involved today but we were not able to get through a. Him but

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with 10 licences, we are likely to hear a lot more about fracking in

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the future. The Wales footballer Ched Evans has

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denied raping a 19-year-old woman in a hotel in Rhyl. The prosecution

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claim she was too drunk to consent. Port Vale defender Clayton McDonald

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is also charged with rape, which he denies. From Caernarfon Crown Court,

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Aled Hughes reports. Today, the court heard about Ched

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Evans's Korea, starting at Manchester City earning 13 caps for

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Wales and 35 goals so far this season. But what happened at this

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hotel on 30th May last year is the question facing the jury. Ched

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Evans and Clayton McDonald were both 23 years old, they both deny

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raping the woman who the prosecution claimed was too drunk

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to consent. Today they give evidence in their defence. Both men

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had been out for a night out in Rhyl and they met the woman at the

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end of the evening. Clayton McDonald told the jury that he and

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the woman took a taxi to the nearby Hotel. Questioned by his barrister,

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he was asked if he had forced her to have sex and he had replied know.

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He then asked if she was awake, able to speak and able to move by

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herself. He answered yes to all questions are. He then said that

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Ched Evans had entered the room and that he also had sex with the woman.

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Ched Evans will continue to give evidence tomorrow. Both men deny

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the charges against them. Welsh Labour is asking voters to

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use May 3rd's local elections as a referendum on the UK Government's

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budget. Launching the party's council election campaign in

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Newport, Welsh Labour leader Carwyn Jones said voters should use the

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poll to reject what he called the UK Government's "brutal cuts". Mark

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Hannaby reports. Labour launched its campaign at

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Newport, a council area it is keen to regain. Labour say this is a

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different kind of election campaign. There is no central manifesto, they

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promise to respond to very local concerns and recognised that what

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my working Newport might not work in Wrexham. There is one central

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idea they are pushing though, they say a vote for Labour is a vote

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against the UK government's Budgett. If we have less money as an

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Assembly and a government in Cardiff Bay, there is less money

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for look authorities. It is very difficult to keep essential

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services going. So it is a local issue. It affects people's lives,

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they incomes, their ability to be ambitious for their families.

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Welsh Labour hope the council elections will provide them with a

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win-win situation. On one hand, damaging the Cameroon government,

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on the other going back to Welsh councils they lost when a Labour UK

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government was unpopular. Winning because they are trusted by local

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people because they are from local communities. That will enable us to

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govern in our local councils and city councils, keeping council

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taxes as low as possible, improving services and making sure the

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council is run efficiently. At the side of the River Usk, Peter Hain

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claimed baseline -- strong tide was flowing towards Labour in Wales.

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And as part of our local election coverage, tonight we look at the

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cost of caring for our elderly. Councils in Wales spend an

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estimated �1.4 billion a year on social care. A large proportion of

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that goes towards those aged 65 or over. Abigail Neal reports on the

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challenge that an ageing population poses.

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Funding the cost of a residential home like Pendine Park in Wrexham

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is one way local authorities pay for our care. 65-year-old Alan

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Hassall moved in after his diabetes and asthma became too much to

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manage. It was affecting my wife's health. Especially at night because

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unfortunately with my asthma, that used to kick-off. But for every one

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person in a care home, there are at least three more in the community

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that receive funding for care in their own home. David Sharp from

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Tenby was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis 28 years ago.

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frightens me because I have got it. From being fit and healthy to not

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being able to move, I find it very hard to grasp. David's wife Meryl

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provides much of his care, but they also rely on health and social

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services to pay for two care workers four times a day. I would

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be extremely worried is the system fell apart which I suppose we all

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know deep down that it could happen. Despite financial pressure, local-

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authority is are still increasing their local care budgets year on

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year. But as we live longer, the demand is increasing to. We are

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working with a similar number of people but the people we are

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working with have more complex needs. One area of the population

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that is expected to see a dramatic rise his people living in

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conditions like Alzheimer's. There are 44,000 people living with

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dementia in Wales. By 2021, that is expected to rise by nearly 30 % to

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56,000. The demand is increasing so much that budgets are going to have

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to increase. To simply have a manual increase that is less than

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the rate of inflation means effectively we are going backwards.

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But Pembrokeshire Local Authority say they are learning to work

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differently to make the money go further. There is some evidence to

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show that if you support people with a small amount of care early

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on, their total care needs over the course of their time when they need

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support are reduced. After education, the cost of care is the

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largest bill a council pays and it's something we are all likely to

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need at some point in our lives. A Welsh MP has called on the UK

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Government to make the cords used to open and close window blinds

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safer. A man from Cardiff has been warned

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he faces jail after his dog attacked a six-year-old boy.

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Cardiff Crown Court heard how Erfan Ali had his face mauled whilst in

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his garden in the city last year. 27-year-old Kevin Large, who lived

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next door, admitted failing to control his dog. He's been released

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on bail and will be sentenced next month. The Newport West MP Paul

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Flynn was speaking during a debate called following the death of a

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toddler in his constituency. 22- month-old Joshua Wakeham died in

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January after becoming tangled in a blind cord in his bedroom.

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And Paul Flynn joins me now from Westminster. This was a tragic

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accident. Can you really ever legislate to stop this from

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:12:54.:12:58.

happening again? There are a great deal of tragic accidents that have

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taken place recently. There were 350 children died in that way in a

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14 year period in the United States and of the recent cases, the last

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22 children who have died in these awful circumstances, the majority

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have happened in the last two years. Everything that is being done,

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after campaigns by other MPs, after improvements by the European

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Community, Delors and the efforts of the industry, things have not

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got better. They are getting worse. As the mother of Joshua Wakeham has

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said, why didn't somebody warned me? She had this nightmare

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experience of putting a child to bed, checking on him an hour later,

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and finding that he was dead and that he had been strangled by the

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cord. There are things we can do to stop this, to encourage the

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industry to change the design of chords so they can only sell safe

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ones and to dissuade people of the -- persuade people to be aware of

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the great dangers of leaving a child in a bedroom with these

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chords are hanging. There are 250 million records in bedrooms

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throughout the country, and each one -- each one is a potential

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danger. Much more to come before seven

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o'clock: They've been going backwards - now

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:14:34.:14:39.

the Blues advertise for a director It is something we felt it needed

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to be put in place. A new marina for Fishguard is a step closer this

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evening. Pembrokeshire planning committee granted outline planning

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permission for a new development which would also include shops and

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cafes. Local business owners say the scheme will boost the economy.

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But as Cemlyn Davies reports, not everybody is convinced. The

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development of Fishguard harbour has been under discussion for

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almost a decade. Today the latest plans took a significant step

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forward. In a meeting this morning, Pembrokeshire Council planning

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committee granted outline planning permission for this 80 acre project.

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Investment firm, Conygar, wants permission to build a marina with

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room for 450 boats, more than 250 apartments and a space for shops,

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restaurants and cafes. The plans would also offer an opportunity to

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expand the ferry services from Fishguard. It is believed Conygar's

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plans to completely transform this area will significantly boost the

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local economy. A report by Pembrokeshire County Council said a

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new marina would be worth �7 million a year. But some people

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living locally are worried about the scale of the development.

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houses, units, which are principally aimed at the boating

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community and not what we want. Like most town centres, Fishguard

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is up against it. Local business leaders believe the new marina

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would help and they have welcomed the council's decision.

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We are very tourist dependent and we are limited to school holidays

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for a large part of that tourism. There are people out of school

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holidays that come for the walking, the environment but a marina will

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offers -- offer st 8-month window of opportunity., Conygar's chief

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executive said he is delighted with the outcome of today's meeting,

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adding the firm will continue to consult with all relevant parties

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:16:52.:16:55.

as it now prepares more detailed proposals.

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He used to be in 19 stone rugby fan with a girlfriend. But when 27-

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year-old Chris Birch, from Ystrad Mynach, suffered a stroke last year,

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his personality altered dramatically. He is now gay and

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:17:15.:17:16.

leads a very different life. Old photographs of a former self. These

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images from Chris Birch's used mean little to him now. He remembers

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only fragments of his life. He used to be a rugby fanatic and self-

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confessed ladies' man. Last year he suffered a stroke of the doing a

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forward roll on this playing field. He now leads a different life. He

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is gay with a fiancee, Jack. He gave up his job in a bank to work

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at a hairdresser's. Some friends and family have found the change is

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hard to take us it is difficult, even for me, to come to terms with

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the person I am. For somebody who has known me for so long, known me

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so closely to realise one can change as much as they have, that

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has got to be a difficult experience for anybody. He believes

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his stroke caused these changes to stop the neurological trauma has

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affected his personality. A meeting with a psychologist raises the

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possibility these feelings may have been there all along. The bulk of

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the evidence in the biological science suggest that sexuality is

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something that here you are born with an eye develops later on

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through live. Sometimes it takes something like a neurological

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incident to make you reassess those feelings, perhaps that they were

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dormant. Science may never be able to reveal what happened after his

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accident and the lasting effects of the stroke. He is continuing to

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rediscover himself and says he is happy with his new life. You can

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see more on this story at 9 o'clock tonight on BBC Three. The Cardiff

:19:04.:19:07.

Blues are looking for a new director of rugby to turn around

:19:07.:19:10.

their fortunes. Gareth Baber and Justin Burnell have been in joint

:19:10.:19:13.

charge of the team since November. But the region now wants to appoint

:19:13.:19:19.

a more experienced figure above them after a disappointing season.

:19:19.:19:23.

Another heavy defeat at home, this time to the Ospreys. It has been

:19:23.:19:28.

the story of the Blues season. It seemed laden with talent misfiring.

:19:28.:19:34.

The charge of the current campaign were given eight season to prove

:19:34.:19:39.

themselves when David Young left. Despite the occasional highly the

:19:39.:19:44.

verdict is they have not done well enough. They are made table and the

:19:44.:19:50.

PRO12 after winning 12 -- nine out of their 20 matches. They will

:19:50.:19:54.

carry on with their current roles and somebody is going to steer the

:19:54.:19:59.

ship and were the started using place. We have had a poor run of

:19:59.:20:03.

form and it is something both the board and myself on the chairman

:20:03.:20:11.

have felt needed to be put in place. The Blues are using agents to scour

:20:11.:20:17.

the right man. They could be a few options close to home for so Sean

:20:17.:20:21.

Holley could fit the bill as well as Phil Davies. Kingsley Jones who

:20:22.:20:26.

was head closer at the sale sharks could be a contender. He has not

:20:26.:20:32.

put pen to paper to coach Russia. Whether it is he will walk into a

:20:32.:20:35.

dressing-room demoralised by poor results and a growing exodus. The

:20:35.:20:39.

new director of rugby will inherit a squad shorn of many of its top

:20:40.:20:43.

stars. Here on Sunday 12 of their most experienced players including

:20:43.:20:47.

Gethin Jenkins and Martyn Williams will bed farewell to the Blues in

:20:47.:20:52.

their final home game of the season. It will not be easy to replace them

:20:52.:20:56.

for whoever takes over. Boxer Nathan Cleverly has been

:20:56.:20:58.

forced to withdraw from his WBO light-heavyweight title defence

:20:58.:21:04.

against Robin Krasniqi due to illness. The Welsh star was said to

:21:04.:21:07.

face the Kosovan on 28th April at the Royal Albert Hall in London but

:21:07.:21:11.

has been unable to train for his fourth title defence. It is not yet

:21:11.:21:15.

clear whether the fight will be rearranged.

:21:15.:21:17.

In football, Cardiff City are looking to extend their unbeaten

:21:17.:21:22.

run to eight when they face Derby County this evening. The Bluebirds

:21:22.:21:24.

are currently sixth in the Championship table occupying the

:21:24.:21:28.

last play-off place. With three games to go their destiny remains

:21:28.:21:32.

in their own hands as they try to reach the play-offs for the third

:21:32.:21:37.

season in succession. Meanwhile, Newport County will be

:21:37.:21:40.

looking for at least a draw this evening when they face relegated

:21:40.:21:44.

Darlington. One point should be enough for the Exiles to stave off

:21:44.:21:49.

the threat of relegation from the Blue Square Premier.

:21:49.:21:52.

In tomorrow night's programme we will be marking the official 100

:21:52.:21:56.

days to go to the Olympics. We will be speaking to some of our young

:21:56.:21:58.

medal hopefuls and meeting one Swansea pensioner for whom the

:21:58.:22:02.

Games are a potent reminder of the last time they were staged in the

:22:02.:22:06.

UK. 83-year-old Glyn Hopkins was a member of the British gymnastics

:22:06.:22:16.
:22:16.:22:16.

team and competed in the London Olympics in 1948.

:22:16.:22:23.

As we entered the stadium, the hair on the back of your neck bristled.

:22:23.:22:30.

The crowd roared because the British team was coming in. That

:22:30.:22:37.

was an exciting time. Very exciting. Back to tonight, Derek's weather

:22:37.:22:47.
:22:47.:22:47.

This week is National Gardening weaken the plans are in for a good

:22:47.:22:51.

watering. More rain, gusty winds are feeling cool as well. This

:22:51.:22:56.

evening, scattered showers will give way to wet and windy weather

:22:56.:23:01.

spreading its way from the south- west. Fresh to strong winds as this

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near the north and west. Tomorrow's chart shows a dart board a year of

:23:07.:23:14.

heavy pressure over Wales. Tomorrow morning a few places will start dry,

:23:14.:23:18.

others are wet with rain or showers to stop some low cloud and hill fog

:23:18.:23:22.

as well. The wind light inland and breezy on the coast and feeling

:23:22.:23:27.

cool. Temperatures in north east has, five degrees Celsius. The rest

:23:27.:23:32.

of the day would bring in showers. Downpours in the south and east. I

:23:32.:23:37.

would not rule out a rumble of thunder. It should brighten up in

:23:37.:23:41.

Pembrokeshire later on and also on the Lleyn Peninsula. The wind

:23:41.:23:47.

picking up in the afternoon. It will feel the cool side. Top

:23:47.:23:52.

temperatures 11 degrees Celsius. It will be mostly cloudy in south-east

:23:52.:23:57.

Wales. Temperatures rising to 10 degrees Celsius. Tomorrow night's

:23:57.:24:01.

becoming drier with a few showers in the West. Rain in the north

:24:01.:24:06.

after midnight. On Thursday, a cool north-westerly wind will bring in

:24:06.:24:09.

more rain and showers spreading their way south-east has across the

:24:09.:24:15.

country. Friday at the weekend remain unsettled. Showers heavy in

:24:15.:24:18.

places with hail and thunder. I can promise and dry weather and a

:24:18.:24:28.
:24:28.:24:32.

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