15/03/2017 Channel Islands News

And we will ask why so many more people over the age of 65 are

getting married these Jailed - the teacher guilty

of abusing children in his care. Christopher Roy Bacon was told

he committed a gross betrayal. Good evening and welcome to the late

news from BBC Channel Islands, Also tonight: Natural collapse -

the pines prone to fall at The Guett, but can

nature hold it up? Tomorrow will probably be the last

quiet day. There are changes afoot at the end of the week and into the

weekend. More details later in the programme.

A 74-year-old former teacher has been sent to prison for five

and a half years for abusing children in Jersey.

Christopher Roy Bacon had previously been found guilty

of eight sex offences, dating back more than 30 years.

Julie Flanagan was at the Royal Court for his sentencing.

The offences for which Christopher Roy Bacon was being sentenced

here today were all committed while he was a teacher at D'Hautree

secondary school in the late 1970s and the early 80s.

He'd been found guilty of the historic abuse

Today, the Royal Court commissioner Sir Michael Birt told Bacon he had

committed a gross betrayal against boys who were entrusted

to his care, and psychological reports suggest two victims

in particular have been significantly

Sir Michael said: "You pleaded not guilty and forced your

victims to come to court and relive what happened."

Bacon, who was wearing a dark suit, showed no emotion

A restraining order has also been made to prevent him

contacting one victim when he is released from prison.

He will also remain on the sex offenders register for ten years.

A 48-year-old Jersey man has been sentenced to three years,

nine months in prison for indecent assault.

Fergus Gerard Cullen had been found guilty of four counts of indecent

assault against two men at a trial in January.

Commissioner Michael Birt said one victim had been so upset

by what Cullen had done and his sexual banter

A 60-year-old British photo-journalist has been jailed

for two-and-a-half years after admitting defrauding

five Guernsey businesses to the tune of ?50,000.

The Royal Court heard Adrian McKenzie came

to Guernsey in 2015, claiming to be a multi-millionaire

looking for a home for his retirement.

Over nine months, he ran up debts with architects, an estate agent,

an accountancy firm and a local hotel, while developing lavish,

but ultimately false plans for a property on the west coast.

A number of proposals to improve health care services in Alderney

have received the support of island politicians.

The recommendations were made by Professor Philip Wilson

It's suggested that more care is offered in Alderney's hospital,

that more Guernsey based consultants visit the island and there

are improvements in health prevention measures.

There is indeed universal support for the Wilson report. I think the

lessons we have learned that we in alternate should have a clearer say

in what is appropriate for us on the island. For example, should we have

a different type of primary health care service to that which they

operate in Guernsey? Do we have the same degree of competition, or

should we centralise it in a system whereby we can elect data, which is

useful to Alderney and allows us to make decisions about the types of

secondary care appropriate on the island.

The woodland at one of Guernsey's most popular

scenic spots is crumbling and in danger of collapsing.

But local conservationists have come up with a plan and are launching

a project to develop the woodland at the Guet.

It's one of the most popular parts of the island for walks and one

of the rare areas of woodland in Guernsey, but the future

of The Guet is in doubt, with its iconic Monterrey Pines now

exceeding their natural lifespan and no plans in place

for when they literally begin to collapse.

Groups of local conservationists are developing plans to rejuvenate

the area and breathe new life into the natural

The trees were planted 80 years ago, and the life

span of a Monterey Pine is about 70 years.

You know, eventually, if we did not do anything,

But it is not just the pine trees, it is the whole aspect of trying

to get some wildlife, both flowers, and actually make it

more enjoyable for people to come in and walk and play and picnic.

A project's been launched introducing new plants and wildlife

and making it an even more attractive and appealing place

This woman is from the Guernsey Trees For Life group is one

She's appealing for the public to help.

With this project we are starting right at the beginning

Over the course of the week, we have delivered invitations

to 160 households around this particular property.

I didn't realise there were quite so many.

And actually, to bring them in and say, you're the neighbours,

you're the community, you probably love and use this

So, the message for the public is, don't take a back seat,

The Channel Islands are sending ?500,000 to help the famine crisis

The UN has warned the world is facing its largest humanitarian

crisis since World War Two, with millions of people facing

starvation in Yemen, Somalia, South Sudan and parts of Nigeria.

Guernsey's giving ?50,000, while ?200,000 from the Jersey

Overseas Aid Commission will pay for food, hygiene kits,

There are plans to open a hostel in Alderney to help

pay for the restoration of a 2,000-year-old Roman fort.

The States wants to turn part of the site known as the "nunnery"

It has a wealth of military history, which politicians want

In time they hope the building will pay for itself with plans

What do you do when you need to replace part of Jersey's iconic

The original chain that made the light flash

was replaced at the landmark from an unusual source.

Annie Knowlson was there during this morning's fog to find out more.

Today it's driven by a motor, but previously a five-metre long

chain was used to drive the cog which rotated the shade that

The lighthouse keeper found the old one, tried his best

to restore it, but couldn't, and sought help at the best

place he could think of - the local bicycle workshop.

The gentleman turned up with an extremely

My first thought was, how big is this guy's bike?!

Considering the length of the chain, there was basically 20 or 30 stiff

links in the chain which he'd worked quite hard to try to remove to

the original chain, but I think it was getting to the point where it

wasn't functioning properly any more.

And now the new chain has been fitted in place,

returning some aesthetic authenticity to the internal

But this isn't the only improvement needed.

Inside, the paint work is coming away, but more

important is the steelwork which is being currently maintained.

What we've noticed after the last painting is that the paint has

deteriorated quite quickly, and internally there is an ingress

of water which is causing concern for some of the steel work

So we've gone through a process using a few concrete consultants

to come in to look at it to identify where the problem is, and as I say,

that problem has now been identified and rectified but we'd

still like to clean the outside of the lighthouse off completely.

Repaint it with a product which stops the ingress of water,

seals the lighthouse completely and then once that's sealed we'll

allow the internally for that to dry out completely before we recoat it

again and resolve the rust issues on the steelwork.

It may have been replaced by modern mechanisms,

but today's weather conditions, show why this lighthouse has always

played an important role on Jersey's west coast.

Hello, good evening. We have been getting quite used to these sorts of

scenes with the mist and low cloud and drizzle, and there is not a

great deal of change for tomorrow, rather cloudy with drizzle and

feeling mild. Quite a big change as we move through tomorrow and head

into the weekend. The high pressure is on the move. By Thursday, a

weather front approaches from the West, capable of reducing a few

got this thing of high-pressure but got this thing of high-pressure but

that is weakening all of the time. By the weekend, these weather fronts

will be approaching us, giving us some rain and becoming quite windy.

Overnight tonight, it is quiet and misty with some drizzle in the wind,

and night-time temperatures down to eight or 9 degrees. Quite a grey day

tomorrow, not much chance of brightness. Thicker cloud than

today, and it will continue to be around for most of the afternoon,

occasionally some drizzle, and 11 or 12 will be the maximum temperature.

More of a breeze towards the end of the day. By Friday and into

Saturday, we have got brisk westerly winds which will feed in plenty of

cloud and moisture. Hopefully better visibility, but the wind will bring

with it some rain as we head into Saturday and Sunday. Some sunshine

on Friday morning, but then Saturday and Sunday those westerly winds get

going bringing the risk of rain from time to time. Have a good night. We

are back at 6:30pm tomorrow. Have a very good night.

been. The outlook, rain around, if it stays dry I will be surprised.

Here is Nick with the national headlines.

For large parts of Wales and England there was blue sky and warmth.

Warmest day of the year, a clumsy way of saying the UK had the highest

temperature