17/12/2015 BBC Wales Today

That's all from the BBC News at Six, so it's goodbye from me

It's the largest 'cash for crash' insurance fraud ever seen in the UK.

This is the family who orchestrated the scam.

In total 81 people, mainly from the Caerphilly area,

Here a four by four is driven into a forklift truck to make it

look like it had been in an accident, to make a claim.

They say it is a victimless client that might crime but it is not. It

affects all of us. Tonight we'll be looking

at the unprecedented police operation that brought

fraudsters to justice. Also tonight: As the debate over

merging local councils goes on, the public spending watchdog says

it's distracted from how services In Swansea parents and grandparents

have a peaceful protest as the council pushes on with cuts to

We are in Brussels to look at what it could mean for Wales.

It's the largest insurance fraud scam ever investigated in the UK.

81 people, from the Caerphilly area and Cardiff convicted

for a so-called "crash for cash" scam, claiming ?750,000 million

Gwent Police say they've never seen anything like it.

Insurers say scams like this costs motorists more than

It was an insurance scam empire, based around this garage. This CCTV

shows the garage owners driving inland Rover into a forklift truck

to make it look like the car had been in an accident. It involved

generations of the same family. You could see by their body language and

the way they were laughing and joking whilst this act has taken

place. It has cost the insurance industry thousands and thousands of

pounds every year. They say it is a victimless crime but it is not

because it affects every motorist who pays insurance. The total

sentences to date, 60 years in prison. These were not random

claims. The treated this as free money and time and they claims to

pay for special occasions. They scanned insurance companies out of

more than three quarters of ?1 million. This is the family at the

centre of the conspiracy. The orchestrated the largest crash for

cash network ever seen in the UK. They went to hospital, sometimes in

the early hours of the morning to maintain this life. One went to the

Prince Charles Hospital complaining about back pain. He was later

diagnosed with whiplash. It was all part of a fake car crash. The

numbers involved in this scheme are staggering. It involved 60s Morley

Street 57 vehicles. The oldest defendant was 73 and the youngest

claimant was a one-year-old. It costs motorist over ?3 million per

year. It is a significant problem for the industry. You will be paying

around ?50 extra for a premium. There is an economic impact and

there is a safety impact on the public as well. This is one of the

largest insurance fraud scams ever investigated by British police. Now

81 people have been convicted for their part in a crime that affects

every motorist in Britain. Jordan, you've been following this

case for more than two years, why has it taken so long

for it to come to an end? This is unprecedented. This is the

largest crash for cash network. The numbers are surprisingly 87 people

were charged. So many that the court had to deal with them in batches.

There were several trials. It has taken two years to pass through the

courts. People who were convicted earlier on have now served their

sentence. This fraud costs every motorist on the road. It costs us

all. It costs insurance companies around ?750,000. Extras are added to

our insurance premiums. This costs motorists ?350 million annually,

which means fraud adds an extra ?50 to everyone's union. Premium.

A 56-year-old man who died after being hit on the M4

near Newport on Monday, is believed to have been fixing

a flat tyre on a horse trailer at the time.

An inquest into the death of 56-year-old Andre Murphy,

who was from Ireland, was opened earlier.

The owner of a care home has been reprimanded for professional

misconduct after a 96-year-old resident died and a member of staff

suffered life-threatening injuries in 2012 after falling down

Dr Nasik Al Mufti was the joint owner of Pontcanna House in Cardiff

An inquest into the death of a man, whose body was found in the garden

of his former Valleys home, has heard how he died of "blunt

John Sabine's death is being treated as a murder investigation -

but the main suspect, his former wife.

The grim discovery was made three weeks ago in this garden. DNA

testing confirmed it was John Sabines who was last seen here in

1997. He had been the victim of assault it was initially thaw. The

police told the koruna at an inquest that the postmortem investigation

that he had died from a blunt force trauma to the head. He would have

been 85 now but the koruna was told the police did not know when in the

last 18 years you was killed. The officer confirmed he was carrying

out a murder investigation and the wife was the main suspect. Mr

Sabines was also deceased -- she was also deceased. Where the body is

concealed as part of the ongoing investigation. They are also

investigating the financial circumstances of the couple. Their

estranged children have been informed. The inquest will resume on

The inquest will resume on the 10th of March.

Waiting times at emergency departments in hospitals

81% of patients were seen within a four hour target

in November, that's down from 83% the previous month.

The Welsh Government's target is for 95% of patients to be

admitted, transferred or discharged within that time.

A man who repeatedly stabbed his girlfriend,

following a row over footage he had of a woman in a bath,

has been found guilty of attempted murder and voyeurism.

Arnel Martinez Raymundo, was convicted after the attack

in the Grangetown area of Cardiff in June.

The court heard he stabbed Anna Caladiao 18 times,

leaving her with life-threatening injuries after she found

Debates about merging councils have been a distraction from deciding how

That's according to the public spending watchdog, who says councils

need to be more ambitious and take more risks to cope with cuts.

Our political correspondent, Daniel Davies, is at the Senedd.

The public sector in Wales has gone through the longest period

of spending cuts since the welfare state was created

Given that, you might think some radical change was in order.

But the changes haven't been radical enough to satisfy

the Auditor General, the man who keeps on eye on how

He says unlike England, where coucils have been forced

to make huge cuts and have redesigned themselves,

local councils in Wales appear to want to make as little

He thinks they have been distracted by the debate over their structure.

He wants to cut the councils but 20 two to eight or nine. How to deliver

social cure for the elderly and schools and young people and the

growing demand for those services and less money to pay for them. It

has been a distraction. It has affected the ability for some

councils to think beyond the four or five year horizon. The need to think

longer term. The councils in England have been doing that and the

Government has produced a report showing that councils in England are

redesigning themselves. We need to be doing the same in Wales. What has

been the reaction? I have been speaking to local council leaders

today and one of them said this is going to end in tears. One says he

agrees with the Auditor General. If they are worried whether their

employer is going to exist in a few years' time, are they really going

to be focusing on reforming services? Not everyone agrees with

the Government's policy here. The Government says they do not just

want to merge councils, they want to improve democracy and services. None

of that will happen before the election next May. Some say it is a

distraction but it is going to get more intense.

Parents in Swansea say they're concerned about a decision

to withdraw a special education service for children with emotional,

behavioural and mental health difficulties.

At the moment, expert teachers work alongside health specialists

at the Trehafod Child and Family Clinic.

But, as of next month, this provision will be stopped.

Swansea Council says children will continue

They might sound full of festive cheer but this group of parents and

grandparents are protesting against a decision to withdraw education and

support for children with mental health difficulties. Many said they

were concerned and were worried about what would happen next. She

has benefited from the educational support that has been provided by

the council. She says she is unhappy about the decision to withdraw it. I

am outraged and many parents would be as well. It is a provision that

offers a huge amount of support for families and their children. It is

going to impact a lot of people that it has been removed. This is where a

lot of honourable children come first support from health

specialists. The council had provided an educational service for

them. In a letter to the council 's education department, a child

psychiatrist says the decision to withdraw the service is extremely

short-sighted. In a statement Swansea council said it would like

to reassure every child and parent that they will still receive

education support from the Council that is appropriate to their needs.

They will continue to be supported by a specialist placements and

psychologist. It has been part of detailed discussions for more than a

year. These young people need to have an integrated health service.

The need to be able to fill their own potential. I think if you take

the educational element out of that. They rely on mainstream schools to

do that, schools which do not have the expertise, many of them will

drop out of school, be excluded from school or they will not be able to

fulfil their potential in the school. I think that is a tragedy

for young people. As parents marched in protest, they hope thes there

will be a brighter future for their children.

Still to come in the programme: Private investigator Daniel Morgan

Now hopes a series of podcasts could lead to his killer

And we speak to the farmer who swam for four hours in freezing flood

Events in Brussels tonight are being followed closely in Wales,

as the Prime Minister attends a summit of EU leaders.

Top of his agenda is renegotiating the UK's deal with Europe,

which brings in hundreds of millions of pounds to Wales every year.

It's all ahead of an in-out referendum which will be held before

Live to Brussels now and our political reporter James

This is crunch time, isn't it? Yes, absolutely. Tonight is the first

formal opportunity for all leaders to discuss David Cameron's

renegotiation plans. Some of the changes the Government wants to see

our making good progress. His plan to prevent EU migrant workers to get

benefits of their first four years' time it in the UK. Why does he want

to change the rules? Immigration. Recently we have seen thousands of

migrants moving to towns and cities right across Wales. David Cameron

believes if we change the benefit rules, we stem the flow of migrants.

Some people are opposed to the LAN, it not only hinges on the

fundamental right of the EU citizen. It also says they are playing by the

rules, paying taxes and wanting to get on in life. There is a real

disagreement about that and the discussions are likely to go on for

a long time. Any chance of an agreement tonight? Not tonight. It

deal should be reached at the next EU summit in February. A referendum

could be held in June next year. It would make it a big issue in the

elections for the Assembly in May. These discussions could be pivotal

in picking up people's minds. We don't yet know when we will be going

polls to the polls

to both stay and leave Europe are already mobilised and trying

What we know is the vast amount of trade between companies

Exports into the area were worth around five and three quarter

One debate is whether we'd lose any of that.

We would be able to negotiate our free trade agreements directly,

rather than through the European Union. Switzerland, which is a

country with a population of only about 8 million, New Zealand with a

population of 4.5 million, already have a trade agreement with China.

But its not just about jobs, its also about cash.

In the seven years to 2020 Wales is getting more than ?4.5 billion

pounds in aid to make the country more prosperous

Those wanting to stay in claim the EU supports 200,000 jobs

We can to be clear what relationship we would have with the European

Union. Some people say we could maintain that relationship that we

would have to accept there are rules and regulations. Why not stay at the

table to get the best deal for Wales and Britain?

like Sony, that have set up in Wales did so to be part of the European

single market and not face trade barriers.

The Welsh Government says 6,000 people in Wales work

What's open to argument is whether firms like that

would stay here, outside Europe, or move production to countries

His brother is helping to make a new podcast which aims to explain what

has happened with the hope that new information will come to light. It

is a format that is having an impact. This is the world's most

effective podcast. It raises questions about whether a man

convicted of murdering his girlfriend, really did it. I never

want to see... Now the story of Daniel Morgan is about to be told in

weekly episodes. His brother is working with an investigative

journalist to tell the complicated history of Daniel's death. It has

involved a painful return to the car park outside a pub where his body

was found. The story has not been told in a coherent logical way. It

is a completely outrageous case and I want the public to have the chance

to hear what happened there. The police will be up breaking the story

down will help more information. We are hoping to job people's memories.

People will put together story themselves and make connections. The

five field police investigations followed the discovery of his body.

Nearly 30 years since his murder, his family are determined to find

out who is responsible for his death. Despite Field police

investigations, they hope this new podcast can reignite interest in

this case and solve this crime. A farmer from the Conwy Valley has

been talking about how he swam for hours in freezing flood water

to try to rescue his flock. Paul Williams says he couldn't just

stand by and watch as a 170 sheep were swept away when the river

Conwy burst its banks. The majority of the animals were

although more than sixty were lost. And his report contains images some

may find upsetting. By a quirk of fate, this farm is

high up on a hill. No chance of a flood here. He also has grazing down

on the ballet. This photograph shows what it was like there last week.

His barge is towards the centre of the picture. It was taken at the

time the sheep were swept away. He tried to find a boat but she

couldn't and soul returned to where he last saw his flock. I went back

to where they wear and an hour had passed. They were still swimming

around and some had already drowned. I decided to jump in and try and

salvage what I could. He did it still wearing his overalls and

Wellington boots. The majority of the flock were saved. As the flood

levels drop, this terrible scene are merged. It shows the animals that

did not survive. We managed to save 104. This all happened because of

the flood prevention scheme worked. We made changes following repeated

flooding, so that water floods away from people's homes. It is easy to

reflect now, isn't it? I think once I was in the water I just thaw,

there is a job to do. All in a days work. Down in the valley the river

is now back in its banks. Let's hope it stays there.

The Olympic boxing silver medallist, Fred Evans, has turned professional,

ruling himself out of competing of the Rio Games next year.

The athlete from Cardiff became the first Welsh boxer to win

an Olympic silver medal by reaching the welterweight final

The 24-year-old said he's reached the top as an amateur and he's

looking forward to doing the same as a pro.

The captain of Wales' Women side, Sophie Ingle, has signed

for Liverpool Ladies for the upcoming Super League season.

The 24-year-old midfielder has spent the last two seasons

with Bristol Academy, having previously played for Chelsea

Time for the weather now. It has been a very mild day with some rain.

The rain today cleared the way east words. A spell of drier weather to

follow. Tonight it will be mostly dry. Possibly the isolated shower.

Not as mild as recent nights. Tomorrow morning, some drizzle and

brighter spells developing. Turning cloudy with lots of patchy rain in

the north and west later. Mostly cloudy and overcast. The winds will

strengthen and continue to be mild. 14 degrees in Newport. The warm air

from the isobars and they are feeding in weather systems from the

Atlantic. Misty and marquee tomorrow night. Cloudy with outbreaks of

rain. 11-13dC. Typical temperatures for July. This weather front is

hovering back and forth. Heavy rain at times. Clearing away by Sunday.

Dry in the east but heavy rain moving in from the west and staying

mild at 13-16dC. A warning in place for 40 millimetres of rain. It is

likely on Saturday. After that a case of drier, brighter spells. On

Sunday slightly cooler. It will be unusually mild through the weekend.

Rain will spread east words on Monday. Coastal gales at times. Mild

but unsettled weather towards Christmas. With no sign of

temperatures dropping off next week. This picture of daffodils out. If

you have any photos to help tell the weather story, send them to us by

e-mail or Twitter. You can also be one of our weather watchers. Thank

you very much. More than 80 people have been convicted of their part in

the largest so-called cash for crash fraud in the UK. Police say they

have never seen anything like it. You could see from their body

language they were laughing and joking. It has been costing the

insurance industry thousands and thousands, if not millions of pounds

every year. They say it is a victimless crime but it is not. It

affects every motorist. We will have an update later. Thank you for

watching. Goodbye.