28/03/2014 BBC Wales Today


28/03/2014

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Good evening. A blast at the Gleision mine in Cil-y-bebyll, near

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Pontardawe, caused 650,000 gallons of water, to pour through a section

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where four miners were killed. Swansea Crown Court heard explosives

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at the pit opened a path for the water from old mine workings. The

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pit manager denies manslaughter through gross negligence, while the

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operators deny corporate manslaughter. Cemlyn Davies was in

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court. The Gleision mine, the aftermath of

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the disaster. In court today, the prosecution gave their explanation

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for how the tragic events of September 2011 unfolded. Greg Taylor

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QC said the colliers were mining towards old workings where it was

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known there was underground water. On the day before the incident, the

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miners drilled a hole in the wall. The water that trickled through was

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compared to the flow of a tap, half turned on. By the following morning,

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the wall was said to be moist with just a minimal amount of water still

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trickling through. The prosecution said this was because sediment had

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blocked the hole, hiding a body of water that had built up over nearly

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30 years. And, so, when the wall was later breached, 650,000 gallons of

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water poured through at a rate of 21 miles an hour, filling the area

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where the men were working within seconds. Garry Jenkins, Philip Hill,

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David Powell, and Charles Breslin were all caught in its path. All

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four died as a result of drowning. The court heard that mine rescuers

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arrived at Gleision at around half past ten that morning. But because

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of the water they weren't able to reach the men until the following

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day. Members of the men's families wept as they heard details of how

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their loved ones were found, covered in silks. --silt. The jury heard

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that in accordance with industry regulations, the miners should have

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been 100 metres away from the explosives on the coal face when

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they were detonated. But that wasn't the case. And the court heard that

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on a daily basis, the colliers would only withdraw by maybe 30 metres.

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The prosecution said that had they abided by the regulations, they

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would have been outside the section of the mine where they were working

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and perhaps as the roadway, and a means of escape. Malcolm Fifield sat

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alongside his wife as the prosecution said he had overall

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responsibility for what happened in the mine. And despite knowing they

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were close to breaking through to the old workings, no special risk

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assessment had been carried out. However, the jury also heard he was

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known within the industry as a safety conscious manager. Mr Fifield

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denies four counts of manslaughter through gross negligence. And the

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mine operators, MNS Mining deny charges of corporate manslaughter.

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The trial will continue on Monda Police have confirmed tonight a body

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found in marshland in Newport yesterday is that of the missing

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teenager Nida Naseer. The 19-year-old disappeared three

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months ago. Officers say they aren't now looking for anyone else in

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connection with her death. Students at Coleg Gwent, where Nida had been

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studying, say they're shocked and sad.

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I just can't believe it's happened to a normal college girl. Like, she

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was very kind, loving. You know, she was a very nice friend, and all

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that. And that goes and happens to her. It is terrible. It shouldn't

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happen. The teachers were very sad. And... The whole school was...

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Upset. The Labour leader, Ed Miliband, has

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arrived in Llandudno, ahead of Welsh Labour's annual conference. He'll be

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addressing delegates tomorrow. Meanwhile, the First Minister has

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accused the Conservatives of waging "a war on Wales." Carwyn Jones says

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recent attacks from the Tories have not been focused on the Welsh

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government, but on the country as a whole.

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Firefighters tackling a huge blaze at a recycling centre on the

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outskirts of Cardiff say it'll take days to deal with. 2,000 tonnes of

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waste caught fire in the early hours of this morning, and smoke spread

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across parts of the city. More than 70 firefighters were involved.

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Every year, the National Eisteddfod showcases art work from across the

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country, with the help of ?75,000 of public money. But BBC Wales has

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learnt the Arts Council, which distributes the cash, has raised

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concerns about the standard of work that was shown last year, and is

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looking again at the grant. Our arts and media correspondent Huw Thomas

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reports. At work in his studio, this man

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prepares his latest paintings. A professional artist for more than 20

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years, he is also a previous gold-medal winner at the

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Eisteddfod's exhibition, Y Lle Celf. And while some say that standards

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have dropped, he thinks the criticism is unfair. I think if you

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put your stuff in, then you should be shown, if you are good enough.

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Some years are better than others, and maybe that is what this is

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about. I didn't think it was that bad. It is just somebody's point of

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view. I disagree with it, I suppose. The Y Lle Celf is often

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controversial, bringing modern art to the heart of the traditional

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Eisteddfod field. It remains one of the most popular attractions, away

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from the main competitions. But after last you's exhibition, some

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buzz of the Arts Council expressed particular disappointment with the

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standard of the exhibition and there are concerns that too many young

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artists are being selected. There was a feeling that this was somehow

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more superficial, that it didn't engage as much is maybe previous

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ones, but there will always be talk about the nature of the exhibition

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is that emerges. The talk after last year's show initially centred on

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this, the gold medal winning artwork by Josephine Sowden, controversial

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because her broken words are spoken in English. Yet, it won the Welsh

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language festival's highest art prize. It's not known which works

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the Council members felt were below par last year. But their

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dissatisfaction is clear. The minutes of an Arts Council meeting

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after last year's Eisteddfod said there needed to be...

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Their concerns about standards were still in evidence at another meeting

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in December when the artistic direction of the Y Lle Celf was

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asked to be made a condition of its ?75,000 grant. But the Eisteddfod

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says none of these concerns have been raised with them and there are

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no plans to change the exhibition. Well, artistic direction hasn't

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been... Something that's been touched upon with the visual arts.

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As far as the... Selected exhibition is concerned, it is up to the three

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selectors... There haven't been any themes or categories since 1992. For

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over 20 years. The current plans mean that the Y Lle Celf returns as

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usual in August without the changes that the Arts Council has called

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for. Rugby, and a major blow to the

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Ospreys' hopes of reaching the play-offs. They lost 11-9 in Glasgow

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tonight. Dan Biggar kicked all the points for the Welsh side, while

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Glasgow's Tommy Seymour crossed for the only try of the game.

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Napoli Football Club has been fined more than ?20,000 after hundreds of

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Swansea City fans missed the start of their Europa League match in

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February. Swansea City said fans, who were being escorted on buses to

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the ground, suffered "unnecessary and deplorable delays."

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Well, a pleasant weekend ahead for many, here's Sue Charles with the

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weather details. After a chilly day, things are going

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to turn dry and warm this weekend. Tonight, further heavy showers on

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and off, they start to ease overnight, turning drier and not as

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cold as recent nights. It is a milder weekend, thanks to a change

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in wind direction from a chilly easterly to a southeasterly, drawing

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up warm air from the continent. Warm showers in the South and West clear

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and cloud will break up readily, similar for the rest of the UK.

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Showers could linger in Scotland and Northern Ireland, but elsewhere, it

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will be a fine day. Increasing amounts of sunshine, and those winds

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bringing temperatures up to the mid to high teens for most of us, but

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cooler in Scotland, especially along the North Sea coasts. It remains

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quite breezy across Wales, particularly in the hills.

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Temperatures rising, could easily reach the high teens along the then

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Bishop Coast. Saturday into Sunday, this front is always close by so we

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could see a few showers sneaking back in further west, but most

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people staying dry. Sunday is dry and bright, warm, hazy sunshine, it

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might cloud over at times, further west, and the odd chance of some

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rain, Stein dry for most, though, with temperatures from mid to high

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teens. Plenty of dry and the -- plenty of dry weather, warm,

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springlike, timely because the clocks are going forward this

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weekend. That is all from us here. Have a great weekend. Goodbye.

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