21/08/2014 Look East - West

Good evening. time for the news where you are.

First tonight, hundreds of police officers from

four of our forces came together today to stop and search vehicles

The major routes used by metal thieves,

burglars and rogue traders to cross county borders and avoid capture.

Cambridgeshire suffers more from rural crime than anywhere else

in England, losing ?2.7 million pounds last year.

In a lay`by on the A1, officers on the hunt

for those using the region's roads to carry out a rural crime.

Number plate recognition scanning for illegal vehicles.

Motorbike police pulling over vans, wanting to take a closer look.

We have only been here 20 minutes and already a dozen vehicles have

The officers are checking everything, the driver's details,

any passengers' details and checking what the vehicles are carrying.

Theft of metal, we used to have a lot.

You'll see us pulling in vehicles that are carrying

tractors and checking and making sure...

One tractor is as much as ?70,000, probably more.

Further up the road, a van is seized, full of stolen metal.

Both of the occupants have been stopped.

They have been transferred to the local station.

Mainly it is scrap metal from some containers

Police out in numbers today, but is it enough to tackle rising

As much as it is today, this is one tactic.

There will be covert tactics that will be used and we will really take

it to communities to give them the service they deserve.

Today, forces combine to track criminals

across county boundaries, a costly exercise, but they hope it will

The wait is over for the region's teenagers earning

Across the board, the proportion gaining A to C has

risen, although the number achieving the top A star has fallen slightly.

Grades in maths have risen sharply, but in English they've fallen,

something many feel is down to a change

For the first time in years, emphasis solidly on exams

and attempts to improve academic standards.

The pressure evident, not least at this school in Wellingborough.

It has been good at the same time, as I am working towards something.

I have had to put in a lot more work, revising more, and I think

I am concerned about the focus on examinations.

I don't think life chances should be based on the exam at the end.

There should be flexibility, so it is fairer to a wider range

At this school in Luton, some parents also had concerns.

We had modules previously, it was stress`free as you had time to build

up to the end result, but this was just the exam and we did struggle.

Two years ago, this academy was the eighth worst performer in England.

These are the first school exams that really matter.

For Vicky and thousands like her it was a nerve`wracking morning.

More than a third of girls will leave school without

five GCSEs and according to a leading women's charity many will

Twice as many women work in low`paid jobs compared to men,

and they're more likely to need treatment for depression.

Dr Carole Easton is from the Young Women's Trust.

She says headlines about girls traditionally out`performing

Once they get to 18, they are offered a narrow range of jobs,

there are not as many jobs for them to do and they are being encouraged

to study and work in traditional roles like nursing or childcare.

The boys are being given a much broader range of options,

more apprenticeships, and they are seen to have broader choices

Young women are told they don't get second chances.

If they take the wrong subject, they are stuck or, even worse,

Does this come down to pure gender discrimination?

I think gender discrimination on some occasions and narrowness

I think people need help to understand that young women and

Do we need to rewind a little here and say that careers

I think careers advice has a mixed reputation among

the young women we have spoken to and what they say is that they need

So many young women don't know, many of us didn't either,

what they want to do at 16, but by the time they get to 21 they may

know more clearly what they want and they may not be given the second

So, briefly, what advice would you give young women who have had

If you have done well, congratulations.

If you haven't, hang out there for a second chance,

exam results aren't the be all and end all and you can...

People do succeed and people do do well and we need to help them

get the second chances that they might need a little bit later on.

A man who's suspected of trying to get a gun

into Northampton Magistrates Court this morning is in police custody.

The 54 year old was arrested after he triggered the alarm

It's not yet known whether the gun is real or an imitation.

There's been speculation today that the American drug giant Pfizer may

make a fresh bid to buy the UK pharmaceutical firm, AstraZeneca.

The company is due to begin building a new global headquarters

Under takeover rules, Pfizer could launch a new bid

A risk of some showers developing overnight, not for everyone,

some places stay dry, but there will be some cloud around.

We start tomorrow with some cloud around, showers should clear,

then it should brighten up with sunshine coming out.

Still stays a little on the cool side and a risk

Highest tomorrow of 18 Celsius with a moderate north`westerly wind.

In a moment, the national weather, but here is our outlook.

On Saturday, there will be some sunshine and

showers around, it is looking like a dry day on Sunday, some chilly

nights on the way with temperatures down into single figures.

into a nice, fine day on Sunday with lots of sunshine. Then more rain

pushes in from the west for the Bank Holiday Monday.

Good evening. There's a feel of autumn about the weather at the

moment. It's thanks to the fact we are pulling our off off the British

Isles from the north making for a cold feel by day and chilly nights.

Still some showers to contend with across England and Wales. Some heavy

through the small hours of Friday, particularly around the Bristol

channel and into the south-east towards the end of the night.

Further north, the breeze eases. The showers fade away and with clear

skies, temperatures will fall down into single figures in northern

England, Northern Ireland and southern and central Scotland. For

Friday, he wassier showers hanging back across the far south-east of

England for the morning rush