05/02/2014 BBC Wales Today

marrying man with machine. That's all from us.

Good evening. Storm force gales and torrential rain have again been

battering the coastline. The South has been the worst affected, with

winds up to 70 miles an hour. Fallen trees have blocked roads and damaged

buildings, and forecasters say more bad weather is expected. Nick Palit

reports. It is now an all too familiar scene

just a month into 2014. Gale force winds, rain is, a battered

coastline. Here in the Vale of Glamorgan, the Esplanade were shot

to traffic as a precaution. The force of the high tide, showering

the seafront with rocks, pebbles and seaweed. The nearby Cardiff Bay

barrage was also closed for a time. The bad weather hit last night and

storm force winds brought down power lines, leaving 700 homes in south

Wales without electricity for a time. Western power just abuse and

say they have now all been reconnected. As dawn broke, the

storms continued, producing these dramatic images. They have also been

reports of houses being flooded in the Brecon area. In the West,

visitors to this beach have been warned of collapsing sand dunes.

Millions of tonnes of sand have been sheared off the dunes in recent

storm surges, leaving dangerous drops of up to 35 feet. As it dries

out it will then collapse. That is the danger. If you are standing

close to the edge and it is drying out, it could fall away. On the

Gower Peninsula, those who ventured out how to take shelter from the

wind. A seafront cafe was damaged for the second time in as many

weeks. They opened this morning after a pin-up operation. --

clean-up operation. The storm knocked off some of the ball so

water got in. Hopefully, this has not caused more damage. Further

north, a tree fell on this hotel, wrecking its conservatory. It is the

second time this year it has been damaged. Last month, a falling tree

hit Mitchell Johnson play area at a nearby coastal railway line. Today,

David Cameron announced another ?100 billion will be available for

repairs, maintenance and flood protection. That is little comfort

here in Wales as the budget will be coming from deaf and will be for

England only. -- DEF RA. Britain has just experienced its

wettest January for more than a century, and Wales has suffered more

than its fair share of torrential rain. Forecasters are predicting

more to come without 240 millimetres of rainfall expected today, and

winds up to 70 mph lashing the South Wales coastline. Plans to give Wales

some control over income tax are in jeopardy tonight after Labour said

it would oppose the proposals. The Shadow Welsh Secretary, Owen

Smith, said the Labour-run Welsh government hadn't asked for the

power to vary income tax and wouldn't seek it in the future. The

Conservatives say Mr Smith had changed Labour policy and, at the

House Commons, the Prime Minister said he wanted to see devolution go

further. The First Minister has been extremely clear. We did not ask for

income tax varying powers. He does not think it a priority for Wales,

he does not think it will necessarily benefit Wales, and we

will not be seeking income tax varying powers in future. We fear

there is a trap being laid for Welsh people by the Conservative party.

The Conservatives say Mr Smith had changed Labour policy and, at the

House of Commons, the Prime Minister said he wanted to see devolution go

further. We are in favour of taking these further steps. We will be

bringing forward legislation. We will take steps and make sure that

people in Wales have a real say, and I want the Conservatives in Wales to

stand up as the low tax party in Wales. Under our devolution plan,

that is exactly what they will do. The Welsh Conservatives say they

would scrap stamp duty for all properties worth up to a ?250,000 if

they were in power in Wales after the Assembly elections in 2016.

Stamp duty is in the process of being devolved. The Conservatives

say the policy would cost around ?20 million.

A former Gwent Police officer, who was removed from front line duties

after a video of him arresting a pensioner was seen by millions on

YouTube, has been awarded more than ?400,000 in compensation. A tribunal

ruled senior officers made a "clear attempt" to silence Mike Baillon's

complaints against the force. Here's our Gwent reporter Paul Heaney.

71-year-old Robert drives of in his range Rover without warning. He had

been stopped for not wearing a seat belt, and then chased for 17 minutes

before Mike Baillon smashed his window to stop the pursuit. It was

the moment that changed his police career. Ultimately, the driver was

the author of his own downfall, I feel. I simply wanted him to put his

seat belt on. It was the end of my day, I had no intention to issue

another fixed penalty, or to pursue him, or to break the window, or to

arrest him. That all came about as a result of his actions. Mr Whatley

was found guilty of several motoring offences and later settled out of

court for ?65,000 in costs and damages. It is a terrific waste of

public funds and money. It is about time the police were held to

account. Mike Baillon received threats when this video was posted

on the Internet. The way the incident was reported deeply

affected him and his family. Unfortunately, my wife suffered a

miscarriage a few days after the story came out in the press. I feel

that was brought on as a result of the stress of the way that the story

was reported. When he complained to senior

officers about the way the incident had been handled in 2009, he said

they failed to listen and undermined him in his job. Last year, and

employment tribunal ruled Mike Baillon was punished by senior

officers when they removed from the front line policing he loved. Now he

is in line for at least 430 thousand pounds in compensation for the

police pension he lost when he felt forced to quit. Went police says it

is disappointed and is reflecting on the judgement. Mike Baillon is now

moving on, having started his own Woodcraft business, and says he

would rather have his old job back. A cash instalment, which the rugby

regions were expecting to receive for playing in the Heineken Cup, has

been delayed for a second time. The four regions say they're owed

?200,000 each from European Rugby Cup, the company which runs the

tournament. They say it's caused them difficulties and have had to

make alternative arrangements to pay wages. The ERC says they'll

reconsider the matter on February 19th.

On tomorrow's programme, we'll be hearing from Swansea's new head

coach, Garry Monk, as he faces the cameras for the first time since the

departure of Michael Laudrup. Monk took his first training session

today and has been put in charge of team affairs for the foreseeable

future. There's no respite from the rain and

wind. Here's Derek with the forecast.

There was no sign of the weather settling down. More heavy rain and

gales in the forecast. It is pretty windy out there at the moment. At

9pm today, we recorded a gust of 60 mph. We also have 19 flood alerts in

force, and one flood warning. Tomorrow, I do have some good news.

I can promise a drier day, at least for a while. Lighter winds, but

there is more rain on the way. The wind will slowly ease denied. Still

a few showers around, but turning generally drier as the night wears

on. Temperatures will stay above freezing. Tomorrow morning, the best

part of the day. You -- the wind will continue to ease. This dry

weather won't last, as you will see any moment. Across the rest of the

UK, showers for Scotland. Some sunshine in Northern Ireland. Most

of northern England dry, but here comes the next batch of rain

spreading slowly northwards. We have an amber warning for rain and more

flooding in the southern counties of England. Strengthening winds in the

input channel. Back to Wales, that vein is setting in by 3pm tomorrow

afternoon. It spreads across much of the country. The wind will be much

lighter tomorrow, and still feeling quite chilly. Tomorrow evening, more

rain to come. It will be heavy. Also some snow for the higher ground. On

Friday, the rain and snow will clear away, and the weather will improve

becoming dry up with some sunshine that wind easing. But, the respite

won't last. Another deep area of low pressure is heading our way for the

weekend. Back to square one. Heavy rain, gales and blustery showers. We

are not out of the woods yet. The Wales Report is next here on BBC

One Wales. We'll have the latest on the weather and traffic reports in

Breakfast from 6am. That's it from the late team. Good night.