08/02/2016 BBC Wales Today

The view from the train window of Storm Imogen.

Hurricane-force winds and heavy rain batter the country.

The death of teenage soldier Cheryl James from Llangollen may not

have been suicide, an inquest has heard.

And the BBC understands the insurance giant Aviva

is the main funder of the Circuit of Wales project.

Storm Imogen has been causing damage and disruption,

as strong winds and rain batter the country.

Power has ben restored to more than 1,000 homes tonight.

Flights, ferries and trains have been cancelled because of strong

winds and flooding, and part of the M4 was closed for five hours

Passengers this morning had a lucky escape on this train travelling

Further down the coast in Aberystwyth, the promenade

was closed as huge waves, some as high as lamp posts,

Strong winds have played havoc on the roads, with falling trees

proving treacherous, along with dislodged

The whole of Bridgend town centre had to be shut

After meeting, it was decided we cannot guarantee the safety

of the public due to high winds, and the winds, as we know,

are continuing throughout the day, so a decision was made that we have

to close off the town centre for the public's safety.

I've come down to do banking today from Porthcawl,

down to Bridgend, and obviously with the street being closed off

It's very inconvenient but needs must.

We've got to think about safety, haven't we?

Wind speeds of more than 80 mph have been recorded on the coast around

A section of the M4 had to be closed because of an overturned lorry,

causing traffic to come to a standstill.

At its peak, Storm Imogen left more than 3,500 homes across South

and West Wales without power, although the numbers

Worst hit areas were Neath Port Talbot, Carmarthenshire and Swansea.

If it is like this for pedestrians, it's not surprising that cars have

been stopped from crossing the Cleddau Bridge here

In fact, with one gust of 95 mph recorded, they say they've

had their highest wind speeds here for ten years.

What we can see on the screen at the moment is that the current

wind speed has been just over 90 mph.

The purple line is 70 mph, and that's where we closed

People are being warned to stay away from the coast, although this one

swimmer in the Mumbles seemed to swim against the tide of advice,

The clean-up looks set to continue, as communities are being warned

to brace themselves for more strong winds overnight.

There may have been "third party involvement" in the death

of a teenage soldier from Llangollen who died at an Army base 20 years

Private Cheryl James was found dead at Deepcut Barracks and her parents

have since campaigned for a fresh investigation.

A second inquest into her death is now underway

at Woking Coroner's Court, from where Paul Heaney reports.

She died from a single bullet wound at just 18 years old.

The Army said it was suicide two decades ago.

But even the first inquest into Cheryl James's death couldn't

Police were forced to disclose more evidence, leading to this fresh

inquest which, after some delay, finally began to take

The court heard today about Cheryl's time before joining the Army.

A determined girl, but someone who had struggled with a family

bereavement in the past, taking an overdose of painkillers

in school as a cry for help, according to her father.

Then there was bitter disagreement about what this new evidence,

only unearthed recently, might tell us about her death

Alison Foster QC, representing the James family, said the evidence

before the previous coroner showed a happy, bubbly girl.

This new evidence, she said, suggests that the shot that killed

Cheryl James may not have been self-inflicted.

But John Beggs QC, representing Surrey Police, suggested other

evidence pointed to Cheryl being a troubled young lady

who might have had suicidal ideation.

Third-party involvement in her death, he said,

In heated exchanges this afternoon, Mr Beggs put it to Cheryl's

father that his criticism that the Surrey Police

investigation was cursory and unprofessional was misplaced.

He pointed to thousands of pieces of evidence that the force had

gathered, and put it to Mr James that he distracted the force

with his complaints about what they were doing,

whilst they had a number of other high-profile cases ongoing,

including the disappearance of the schoolgirl Milly Dowler.

The coroner intervened at this point and said he didn't like that

Mr James maintains that he had a genuine concern about impartiality

in the Surrey Police investigation because they were working

with members of the Armed Forces to investigate his daughter's death.

BBC Wales understands that the insurance giant Aviva

will be the main private sector investor in the ?300 million Circuit

It involves a 3.5-mile track, two hotels, and industrial parks.

A formal announcement is expected in the next few weeks.

Our economics correspondent Sarah Dickins has the story.

Ebbw Vale has had many millions spent regenerating it

after the steelworks closed, but nevertheless

The Circuit of Wales project promises to change that,

and Aviva is to be announced as the main private sector investor.

It was three years ago that the project's planning

It aims to employ between 3,000 and 6,000 people, with a range

of jobs at the track, in two hotels, and on industrial sites.

It also promises 1,600 training places in a new academy.

But some objected to the plans, saying it would be harmful

It went to a planning inquiry and was passed.

Martin Whitaker has just started as full-time chief executive.

He has headed up Ford's motorsports programme and been general manager

of the Bahrain International Circuit.

Everything is obviously confidential at this moment in time.

We are at an advanced stage of our negotiations and hopefully

very, very soon we will be in a position to make

the announcement and obviously get on with the ground-breaking.

If it's going to be such a commercial success,

why do you need money, 30 million I think it is,

Well, in a sense, that's important because we want to get

the involvement of the Welsh Government.

There is a massive opportunity here for Wales to get

behind this project, and that, to my mind,

is the key to the reason of having a financial involvement.

This is where the company plans to build Circuit of Wales.

It says it is in the closing stages of the due diligence process

with the financial investors and will not be commenting

on the identity of those investors until it has been completed.

It is thought that there will be an announcement

But the formal launch has seemed close in the past,

What we do know is that more employment will be welcomed

in communities along the Heads of the Valleys.

A media school could be launched in Cardiff after a deal was agreed

Pheonix Satellite Television has six channels, broadcasting

It's signed up to the joint venture with Cardiff Metropolitan University

Business experts says it'll boost Welsh links with China.

Wales has a long-standing position as an investment partner for Chinese

companies, especially private Chinese companies.

So long as the Chinese companies continue to have global ambitions,

which I'm sure they will, I think Wales is very well

positioned to take advantage of that.

The UK Government has been urged to drop plans to restrict public

sector strikes in Wales, after a leaked letter suggested

ministers accept they have a "very weak case" to impose the measure.

The Welsh Government has argued that the Trade Union Bill should not

apply to devolved services such as health and education.

The UK Government said it did not comment on leaks.

Councillors in Gwynedd will be recommending to approve more

than ?4.5 million in service cuts at a meeting next month.

The proposals aim to reduce the council's financial deficit

of more than ?5.5 million over the next two years.

The rest of the savings could be met by further cuts to the roads budget

and increasing council tax by almost 4% over the next two years.

Rugby, and Wales coach Warren Gatland says his squad's

sights remain firmly on winning the Six Nations Championship.

Gatland and captain Sam Warburton were both left feeling flat

following the 16-16 draw against Ireland in Dublin yesterday.

Medical staff are assessing fly-half Dan Biggar's ankle injury.

Former Wales international Jonathan Thomas says they need

to take their opportunities against Scotland.

The team will be keen to, in terms of try scoring

opportunities, in terms of what they create,

I think they'll want to get more possession and get more balls

in the hands of the back three, the big wingers, the George Norths.

They'll want to get their hands on the ball more and ultimately

When they do get those opportunities, they'll want to be

clinical and score tries, because Scotland are essentially

John Disley, the former Welsh athlete who co-founded

the London Marathon, has died at the age of 87.

Disley, who was born in Corris in Gwynedd,

won a bronze medal in the steeplechase at the 1952

He also set Welsh records at six different distances.

Well, after Storm Imogen, what next, Derek?

It looks like we are in for a cold snap over the weekend but it is

February after all. What a day it has been today. Severe gales in the

South and West, over 80 mph gusts. Even over land, as high as 70 mph.

The wind bringing down a few trees. Thankfully though gales are slowly

easing to night. A bit of snow on the hilltops tonight. Some dry and

clear spells tonight. Temperatures inland falling as low as 1-2. And we

still have ten flood warnings across Wales. And over 20 flood alerts.

Into Schroeder chews day, a few heavy showers -- Shrove Tuesday.

Across the rest of the UK, a band of rain across Northern Ireland and

southern Scotland will move slowly self during the day. Some of this

falling as snow on higher ground. Across the rest of Scotland,

brightening up, with some sunshine, wintry showers in the north.

Southern England, scattered showers. Windy in the West. In Wales tomorrow

afternoon, a breezy and when the affair with some rain in the North

spreading south. Sleet and snow on higher grounds. Snow likely for the

Brecon Beacons. 60 mph gusts in Pembrokeshire. Becoming dry

overnight. Wednesday, better. Dry and bright weather. The wind easing.

Frost overnight into Thursday. Thursday, more cloudy, a few showers

in the south and West, lighter winds. We ended the week with low

pressure from the Atlantic, looking set to bring us more in, and we

could see snow on higher ground. A cold weekend.

We're back in Breakfast from six tomorrow morning.

From all of us on the programme, goodnight.