08/02/2017 Channel Islands News

Deceptively dangerous - an inquest hears of the tragic loss

of a woman who drowned on the eve of her birthday.

Good evening and welcome to the late news from BBC Channel Islands,

Also tonight: A blow for woman's football -

People trying to save a Jersey woman who drowned last summer have told

an inquest the sea conditions that night were some of

Joy Godfray was swept out to sea on the eve of her 32nd birthday.

Today's inquest heard that Joy was a "fairly good swimmer",

who often swam at Green Island with her friend and

On that night there was an orange tide warning, with large waves

It is not clear whether Joy and her friend Austin

They got the bus here and went for a swim.

But they quickly got into difficulty.

In video footage played to the inquest, a tourist

who was filming the storm from roundabout here captured

the moments before Joy was swept out to sea.

In it, we see Joy and Austin in the water down here,

struggling to stay on their feet as the waves bashed

Witnesses say Joy was thrown a lifeline, but it

It was an August weekend that claimed six lives in the seas

around the British Isles, including one here in Jersey.

This was when the rescue boat launched to find Joy.

The man in the black T-shirt, who'd already saved a man

from the water at Green Island, was telling crews where to find her.

High tides and strong winds meant the sea was deceptively dangerous.

They were odd conditions because it was a lovely summer's

evening, but at the same time the sea was extraordinary

At the seaside next to the beach, I'm sure it looked inviting.

If you went out to any kind of depth it was devastating.

One of the crew was tipped overboard as the fire rescue

When they and the lifeboat crew found Joy, it was so rough,

the coxswain made the decision not to try to land, but to take Joy

Joy's family say they're devastated at the tragic loss,

and repeatedly during the inquest made a point to thank those

The inquest heard today how serious conditions were that night.

Dr David Howell, an RNLI medic who was onboard one of the lifeboats

and had tried to resuscitate Joy, described them as some of the worst

While coxswain Andrew Hibbs described how, on two occasions,

the all-weather lifeboat nearly rolled onto the inshore boat.

He said, "The public don't realise, on high tide,

Joy's friend Austin, who'd been with her in the sea,

told the inquest they hadn't discussed the conditions

when they arrived at the beach, they just went straight in.

The coroner, Mark Harris, concluded by saying Joy's death was "tragic",

and praised the courage and professionalism of all those

He recorded her death as death by drowning.

A prolific paedophile who used to live in Guernsey has been jailed

for life after admitting a catalogue of child abuse.

Mark Frost, also known as Andrew Tracey, pleaded guilty

to 45 offences against young boys in England and Thailand.

This afternoon a judge at the Old Bailey described his

actions as "horrific and deeply disturbing" and gave him 13

concurrent life sentences, with a minimum term of 16 years.

There are fears the full scale of Frost's crimes have yet

to emerge, and police in the UK and Guernsey, where he lived

in the 1960s and again in the late 1990s, are urging other victims

to come forward by contacting either Guernsey Police directly

or the dedicated NSPCC helpline that has been set up.

The 2017 women's football Muratti between Jersey and Guernsey is off

because the Greens can't find enough players.

Our sports editor Tim Pryor joined me earlier to explain why

Guernsey FA weren't putting up a team.

The basic answer is a lack of players.

To play in the women's Muratti you have to be registered to a club

A lot of the top Guernsey players play in Hampshire in the UK.

They are affiliated to the Hampshire Football Association,

and not the Guernsey Football Association.

They say it is not right to blame the Hampshire FA

and that there is plenty of enthusiasm amongst

In recent years it has become one-sided to Jersey.

Yes, last year's was a 9-0 win, so really one-sided.

In fact, Jersey have won 14 out of the last 15 games.

It is a shame because Jersey would have been hoping

to use this Muratti as part of the prep for the Island Games.

What is the Jersey Football Association saying about it?

They say they are disappointed, but they are hopeful this can be

reinstated maybe as soon as next season.

I understand they are also trying to work to understand this women's

-- replace this Muratti with another game, and bring a high profile side

to the island as part of those preparations for the Island

The lack of attractions in Guernsey for families in wet weather has been

But that could change after planners approved major changes to one

Mark Inchley's been finding out more.

He's the little yellow plane with a big heart that captured

the hearts of islanders, and even spawned a series

But, since flying his last ever flight two years ago,

the next chapter for Joey has been far from clear with

But that's all set to change with new plans for Oatlands Village,

which include a permanent home for Joey.

Part of that is a 2000 square metre play barn,

a play area for children from 0- 12.

Contained within that would be the resting home for Joey.

There have to be places for people to go when it is wet and rainy,

and if they can see that there is somewhere for their children

to play here, even if the weather turns nasty, then it

So good news for Joey and his fans but, with a drop in the number

of people visiting Guernsey last year, will the new-look Oatlands be

enough to plug the gap when it comes to what some perceive to be the lack

of rainy-day and tourist attractions for families in the island?

There is not very much for visitors or children to go to.

It is a lot more for children to do, and it would be a lot more appealing

for families to come to Guernsey, definitely.

So, some way to go before the work here is finished,

but also some excitement about what's to come.

And, it seems, Joey's story is far from over.

Some "unique" vehicles have come up for sale in Guernsey,

and one thing's for sure, they'd certainly make

Penny Elderfield went to take a look.

The answer to a mid-life crisis perhaps for others.

But if that one's not for you, perhaps an old sewage cart

States Worsk is auctioning off a collection of its old vehicles.

They are taking sealed bids from anyone who'd

We are probably focusing mainly at the commercial sector,

It may provide spares to an existing fleet.

There is quite a unique variety of vehicles that we are trying

to dispose of here, so it probably is quite a limited market.

If you're interested you can get in touch with States Works and come

Although I wouldn't rate your chances of being allowed to take one

That's your news this Wednesday evening, BBC Radio Guernsey

Good evening. We have happy few showers around the last couple of

days. This was from one of our weather watchers. A largely dry

but there is still a risk of a feud but there is still a risk of a feud

showers, and definitely feeling cold tomorrow, even colder air than we

have had today. The reason for that is an easterly wind which gradually

creeps into the night and today tomorrow, cold air coming in from

southern parts of Scandinavia, that process well underway by the end of

tomorrow and certainly with us on Friday to. Daytime temperatures only

three or four above freezing. Process today, a subtle change in

the wind direction, and we may draw air up from Spain and Portugal that

comes around the ridge of high pressure, so hopefully starting to

lift temperatures. Overnight, the chance of a shower. The wind turned

easterly, freshening by the morning. Night-time temperatures down to

three degrees, the possibility of Frost first thing tomorrow. More

clout than we have seen recently tomorrow, the odd shower which could

be sleet. Five or 6 degrees will be the maximum temperature that feeling

colder because of the easterly winds. They continue to feed in even

lower temperatures by the time we get into Friday, so we are looking

at a cold feel to the air for Friday and Saturday. And the risk of a feud

wintry showers. Quite a brisk wind on Friday. By Sunday, slightly less

cold air and generally a lot of clout.

We will be back at 6:30pm tomorrow night.

cloudy and Ben Rich will take you through the bigger picture.

Good evening. Over the next few days I suspect it's going to feel like we

have been plunged into the deep freeze. Cold weather on the way and

not necessarily crisp cold weather, with blue skies. A lot of cloud,

there was some sunshine today across parts of west Wales, for instance.

That lifted temperatures up to 11. But further east as you can see from

the picture, there was a lot of cloud feeding in and that pegged

temperatures down into