11/10/2016 BBC Wales Today

Newsnight. Join me now on BBC Two, 11.00pm in Scotland. That

Welcome to Wales Today - our top stories...

Intended to help our poorest families - Communities First,

the Welsh Government's flagship policy, is set to be closed down.

And Sgt Louise Lucas "did not turn and look at what was coming"

before being hit by a bus on Swansea's Kingsway,

It funds hundreds of projects in the most deprived areas of Wales,

but tonight the Welsh Government says it's scrapping

It's spent ?300 million on the flagship anti-poverty policy

Here's our Political Editor Nick Servini.

Across the generations and across communities in Wales,

economic deprivation has blighted many.

Communities First was one of the first high profile attempts

by the Welsh Government to deal with that since the start

of devolution, with more than ?300 million spent on a range

of community schemes over the past 15 years.

It now looks set to have run its course.

There won't be any direct replacement.

Instead the Welsh Government thinks a range of policies like more free

childcare for working parents and more apprentices,

no matter how old you are, will do a better job.

The Communities and Children Secretary, Carl Sargeant,

We'll probably not seen the effects of early interventions growing

for ten years or so but we must start now and make that change

and be brave because if we don't then it is about a short-term

political win or changing our communities for the better,

for the future, and that is what this new programme,

Rob Green used to work for Communities First in Cardiff.

I know a lot of good people that work for Communities First

but it is so much money and how it is changing to be so target

orientated and the things it is targeted towards is a waste

of money and something council services can

Opposition parties have been critical of Communities First

over the years and today was no exception.

The Conservatives said it wasn't fit for purpose and Plaid Cymru said

?300 million has been spent on Communities First areas.

?100 million has been spent since the 2011 audit office report

said it wasn't working and wasn't effective at tackling the main aim,

which was economic deprivation in those areas.

That is borne out by the fact that the original communities are

Ahead of its budget next week, the Welsh Government had already

warned that there will be tough choices ahead in the first year.

It would appear that this is the first casualty.

A collision between a bus and a 41-year-old woman

on Swansea's Kingsway was unavoidable,

Sgt Louise Lucas died after stepping into the path of a bus which hit her

Since her death, Swansea Council has changed the layout of one

Louise Lucas's family left today having heard evidence

from a number of key witnesses, including the bus driver

Sgt Louise Lucas was taken to hospital, fatally injured,

Today they heard that she had decided to go shopping in the city

centre with her young daughter and best friend.

They had parked at this car park and made their way

Having crossed the furthest carriageway where both lanes travel

in the same direction, Louise Lucas, her daughter and her

friend were walking to the next designated crossing point.

The inquest was shown CCTV footage of Louise Lucas stepping

into the first line of the metro line which at the time travelled

in the opposite direction to the first carriageway.

Seconds later she was hit from behind by a bus.

The inquest was told Louise did not turn round to look at

They were told it happened very quickly.

In the moments leading up to the incident, the inquest

was told by the bus driver that the blonde female

stepped out into the road and she did not look back.

He said how he braked and swerved to avoid her but was also aware

of a bus travelling towards him in the opposite lane.

He described the layout of the Kingsway at the time as awkward.

A new one-way system has been introduced since the death.

Forensic collision investigator PC Christopher Street said that

given Mrs Lucas stepped out without looking,

and if the speed the bus was travelling at is accepted,

The inquest is expected to last another three days.

The rape trial of the former Wales footballer Ched Evans has been told

that his alleged victim had no memory of going home with another

Mr Evans is accused of raping the woman at a Denbighshire

hotel while she was too drunk to consent to sex.

The striker denies raping the 19-year-old.

A Welsh government-owned investment company has defended a decision

to compete for business as part of England's Northern Powerhouse.

FW Capital, a subsidiary of Finance Wales, wants to manage

part of a ?400 million fund for firms in the north of England.

Plaid Cymru said it could boost Welsh companies' rivals.

But FW Capital said any profit it makes in England would help cover

The cause of an oil spill in a stream in Carmarthenshire last

week will be investigated by the Health and Safety Executive

140,000 litres of kerosene leaked from a pipeline owned

The spill led to the closure of a whole section of the A48

Two brothers have gone on trial for shooting a Valleys drug dealer

at point blank range as he sat in his car.

The prosecution says Mark Jones, from Mountain Ash, was killed

by another drug dealer who owed him money.

Edward and Stephen Bennett both deny murder.

From Cardiff Crown Court, Nick Palit.

It was in this lay-by near Abercynon that 43-year-old Mark Jones was shot

in the driver seat of this white Audi.

The court heard that as well as working as an evaluation

officer for Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs, he was

Just after 7:30am on 26th July last year, the prosecution say

he was murdered by Edward Bennett and his brother Stephen,

who had been involved in the drugs trade with him.

Prosecution counsel Chris Clee told the jury that Edward Bennett

In the weeks leading up to the murder, the court heard how

he was desperately trying to raise a large amount of cash,

even applying for a ?60,000 mortgage that was unsuccessful.

Transcripts of internet messages from Edward Bennett to his brother

Stephen were read to the jury, including one on 5th July that says,

This, said Mr Clee, was reference to a gun.

The prosecution say the brothers had arranged to meet Mark Jones

They parked nearby and made their way on foot through woodland

During the course of this trial, the court will hear evidence

from many people who witnessed the shooting, including

an AA patrolman who was parked behind the Audi.

Mark Jones died in hospital two months after the shooting.

He'd had 15 operations to try and save his life but was

suffering from sepsis and a bleed on the brain.

He had gunshot wounds to the belly and left upper arm.

The prosecution say the defendant shot Mark Jones at point-blank

range, which ultimately led to his death.

The day after the shooting, Edward Bennett was arrested

Two days later, his brother Stephen was also arrested at his home

A gun cleaning kit was found in his attic.

On that was gun residue which was at the same

The same residue was also found on his shoes.

Further examination revealed traces of Mark Jones' blood was also

Both Edward and Stephen Bennett deny murder and the case continues.

They hadn't invented cyber-bullying and online abuse 30 years ago.

ChildLine has had to change its approach for children

That's according to the helpline's founder, Dame Esther Rantzen,

Rosie Stonehouse is a student at Cardiff University.

She first contacted ChildLine when she was 14 and says it

helped her cope with things throughout her teenage years.

Initially it was just having somewhere where you could open up

I think that support was a massive thing for me to be able to think

that I could change my life around with support.

She talked about her experiences st the Senedd today.

Dame Esther Rantzen, the founder of the helpline,

is touring to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the helpline.

It has counselled four million children.

We ask what is making our children are unhappy and often they say

These pressures are coming in from their phones

and their tablets and I can only say to families, be aware.

Whilst the Internet can be a source of concern,

more children are using those gadgets to call for help.

Wales currently has 175 ChildLine volunteers, both in Prestatyn

Last year, 71% of the children who got in touch with ChildLine did

so via the Internet and this office deals solely with those

Since the office opened the volunteers have conducted over

In the first year the figure was around 1200, but by last year it

Rosie is now herself an online counsellor

and hopes her own experiences can help children who need

I think there will be sunshine over the next couple of days. Some cloud

as well. One or two showers about but a lot of dry weather tomorrow

with a cool breeze from the north-east. But Greece tonight will

bring 12 showers but most places dry. -- that breeze. Tomorrow's

chart so is a big area of high pressure over Scandinavia.

Low-pressure approaching Portugal and this pressure sandwich means

easterly winds for the UK. That will pick up some moisture over the North

Sea and a few showers. Tomorrow morning you might catch the odd

shower, a bit misty. Otherwise dry, the best sunshine in the north and

west. Across the rest of the UK the easterly wind will drag some cloud

and a few showers from the North Sea during the day. The West dryer and

brighter. Some sunshine in Northern Ireland. Temperatures up to 14 in

Belfast but feeling quite chilly on the North Sea coast with a wind of

the sea. In Wales tomorrow afternoon most plays dry apart from one or two

showers. Some patchy cloud but some bright spells and sunshine. Into

Thursday a cooler day. A few showers possible in the north. One or two in

the east. Otherwise a lot of dry weather. Bright spells and sunshine.

Signs of a change into the weekend. Low-pressure to the south-west means

some rain and showers on the way. We are back tomorrow morning. Thank you

for watching. I'll never ever forget. It's as

vivid as if it was yesterday. You couldn't see.

You couldn't see what was coming. It was just our voices

that we could hear.