11/01/2017 Points West


11/01/2017

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That's all from the BBC News at Six, so it's goodbye from me

:00:00.:00:00.

Welcome to BBC Points West with Alex Lovell and Sabet Choudhury.

:00:00.:00:00.

Months of agony after being severely burnt by acid.

:00:00.:00:12.

The family of a 29-year-old man talk exclusively about his pain

:00:13.:00:14.

and suffering for 15 months after an alleged attack in Bristol.

:00:15.:00:39.

Accusations of intimidation and neglect - the residents

:00:40.:00:42.

in Bristol unhappy with the company managing their homes.

:00:43.:00:48.

Calls for a change in the drugs policy -

:00:49.:00:50.

could Bristol see a new clinic where addicts can inject

:00:51.:00:52.

It will certainly rain tomorrow but the big question is will it snow? If

:00:53.:01:06.

so, how much and where will it be? The forecast will come up later.

:01:07.:01:10.

The family of a man who died after being maimed by acid have

:01:11.:01:15.

spoken about the terrible pain he endured for 15 months.

:01:16.:01:17.

More than three quarters of Mark Van Dongen's body was burnt

:01:18.:01:20.

His father, who's Dutch, drove to see his 29-year-old son every

:01:21.:01:26.

weekend while he was in Southmead hospital, before taking him

:01:27.:01:29.

A woman's now awaiting trial charged in connection with the incident.

:01:30.:01:38.

Our home affairs Correspondent, Charlotte Callen, has this exclusive

:01:39.:01:40.

Barje wants us to remember his little brother Mark like this -

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But his body had been ravaged by burns, disfigured beyond belief -

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When you talked to you, how did he say he felt?

:02:07.:02:37.

Mark was Dutch, but had lived in Bristol for six years,

:02:38.:02:40.

studying at the university and then working.

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It took the police nine days to tell his family he was in hospital.

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The police say it was hard to trace his next of kin.

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His father, Kees, speaks just a little English.

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Mark's father drove from Belgium every weekend to be at his bedside.

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He couldn't have a room in the hospital,

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and with little money, he slept in this van.

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In the end it was this Belgian businessman, Patric Derdeale,

:03:38.:03:41.

who helped them, raising money to help pay for fuel

:03:42.:03:43.

and for a private ambulance to take Mark home to his father.

:03:44.:04:12.

Dutch expats in the UK have set up a JustGiving page to raise

:04:13.:04:17.

money for the months of travel his family endured,

:04:18.:04:21.

but they say the scars they have been left with will never heal.

:04:22.:04:27.

And Charlotte Callen is with me now.

:04:28.:04:29.

You've been following this very shocking and upsetting case.

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It's obviously been extremely upsetting for this family.

:04:33.:04:38.

The family are in pieces and Kees, Mark's father found it difficult

:04:39.:04:44.

because he does not speak good English. When he was trying to talk

:04:45.:04:48.

to doctors and police over those months, unless there was a

:04:49.:04:51.

translator present he found it confusing. He was more comfortable

:04:52.:04:56.

with a translator there. For the first few months well marked was in

:04:57.:04:59.

intensive care he was allowed to stay at the hospital, but when moved

:05:00.:05:04.

to the burns unit because of risk of infection and not having rooms, he

:05:05.:05:08.

could not stay there any more. The father was dealing with driving a

:05:09.:05:10.

long way from Belgium in between working there and finding he did not

:05:11.:05:15.

have enough money to pay for a hotel. Both the police and hospital

:05:16.:05:18.

say they tried to do everything they could for them and say they

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contacted charities and also the Dutch Consulate.

:05:22.:05:22.

What's happening in the ongoing police investigation?

:05:23.:05:28.

A 46-year-old woman, Berlinah Wallace, was charged with offences

:05:29.:05:34.

around throwing a corrosive liquid which he denies. The case was due to

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go to the Crown Court in Bristol on Monday but after Mark died, it was

:05:40.:05:42.

postponed and it will go to court in April.

:05:43.:05:43.

A man in his 20s has died after being hit and dragged along

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Avon Somerset Police were called to the junction of Creswicke Road

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and Airport Road in Knowle West at around 9pm last night

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after reports a man had been run over.

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Police say a full investigation has been launched and a man

:05:56.:05:58.

A group of residents in Bristol have accused a property management

:05:59.:06:04.

company of neglect and attempts to intimidate them.

:06:05.:06:06.

They say they have been living with damp, rats,

:06:07.:06:11.

dangerous electrics and no heating in some properties owned

:06:12.:06:14.

As Pete Simpson reports, the local authority is now

:06:15.:06:19.

reviewing its agreement with the management company.

:06:20.:06:22.

There's BLEEP no lighting in some of them!

:06:23.:06:25.

A fiery council meeting in Bristol last month -

:06:26.:06:31.

property guardians taking their grievances to City Hall.

:06:32.:06:37.

There is a massive housing crisis in the city!

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They were evicted by security, but I went to see them

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Nic is a property guardian, one of hundreds in Bristol.

:06:45.:06:54.

He pays below market rate to live in buildings like this,

:06:55.:07:02.

a former care home owned by Bristol City Council, and managed

:07:03.:07:05.

Everyone should benefit but the deal's gone sour.

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Police treat the people a bit better.

:07:11.:07:18.

Give them the basic - some heating and hot water

:07:19.:07:21.

Nic and other guardians are angry about what they say

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are a poor living conditions, and a lack of maintenance.

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And they say they have been made to feel intimidated

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There is no higher or outside regulation.

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To be fair, we only have permission to be here...

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Animals, animal husbandry, I'm pretty sure there are more rules

:07:38.:07:39.

and laws and regulations to govern how they live and how they are

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They put us in touch with a guardian from a different property

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with a different story - more representative, they say,

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of the majority who want cheap, short-term accommodation.

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It's a secured building and I feel very, very, very safe.

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Minimum standards should always be kept, and at Camelot we completely

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thrive for that to happen, and we make sure that happens

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It's like everywhere, sometimes things slip or we are not

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told until the next time we visit, but the fact of the matter

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You know, we have a visit here to the property we are at today,

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and it is absolutely in good condition.

:08:35.:08:35.

Labour in Bristol are desperate to solve the city's housing crisis,

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but admit in this case things have gone wrong.

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I would be very concerned if we were to try to use this

:08:46.:08:48.

process again, which involved people living in those sorts of properties

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without the proper conditions, because creating tenancies

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in properties which, at some point, we will no longer use,

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But Nic is a guardian, not a tenant, and doesn't have the same rights.

:09:04.:09:12.

We are squatters with permission, almost.

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With other guardians, he is challenging this in court,

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in what could be a test case for the sector.

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You're watching your regional news programme, BBC Points West,

:09:23.:09:28.

on this increasingly cold Wednesday night.

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And stay with us, as there's plenty still bring to you tonight.

:09:32.:09:35.

Including: We find about the unit in Gloucester on stand-by to command

:09:36.:09:39.

Nato troops if they're needed in a global emergency.

:09:40.:09:43.

And after the glitz of Strictly, could swing be the way to shift

:09:44.:09:47.

A man has gone on trial in Taunton for sex offences alleged to have

:09:48.:09:59.

been committed when he was just ten years old.

:10:00.:10:03.

It's claimed that 31-year-old Andrew Margetts was actually abusing

:10:04.:10:06.

children younger than himself when he was just eight.

:10:07.:10:10.

He denies a total of 23 charges including rape,

:10:11.:10:13.

sexual activity with a child and false imprisonment.

:10:14.:10:19.

The family of a Taunton bar manager are calling for a fresh

:10:20.:10:22.

Josh Clayton was found dead on the Isles of Scilly in 2015.

:10:23.:10:27.

The inquest into his death has now been suspended,

:10:28.:10:30.

because a witness has claimed he'd seen him involved in an argument

:10:31.:10:33.

There's calls for Bristol to provide a safe drugs clinic

:10:34.:10:42.

where addicts can inject themselves under supervision.

:10:43.:10:46.

Late last year, Glasgow approved its first

:10:47.:10:48.

Now, Transform - an organisation calling for a change

:10:49.:10:53.

in drugs policies - wants to see a centre in the west

:10:54.:10:56.

This old petrol station just opposite Temple Meads has

:10:57.:11:02.

Covered in undergrowth and with some form of shelter,

:11:03.:11:08.

people have been coming here and injecting drugs.

:11:09.:11:11.

In the space of just two hours, those clearing up this site

:11:12.:11:14.

found over 100 needles, filling these sharps bins.

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So is it now time to have a safe place for users to go,

:11:21.:11:23.

In Glasgow, they are looking at introducing one of these,

:11:24.:11:28.

partly because they get a lot of HIV infections from sharing needles,

:11:29.:11:32.

and you save about ?400,000 for every one of those you avoid,

:11:33.:11:38.

but also because of these places allow the drug users to come

:11:39.:11:41.

into contact with health workers and support, and then they can move

:11:42.:11:46.

them on and move them off drugs, and offer them lives away from petty

:11:47.:11:49.

crime and so on, to the benefit of society as a whole.

:11:50.:11:52.

There are more drug-related deaths here than anywhere else in Europe.

:11:53.:11:59.

Safe Injection Facilities could be an answer -

:12:00.:12:01.

hygenic spaces where people who are on drugs can at least

:12:02.:12:06.

Maggie Telfer has worked with addicts for over 30 years

:12:07.:12:11.

and believes there has been an increase in people

:12:12.:12:14.

But over the last 18 months, couple of years, and certainly

:12:15.:12:21.

from our perspective is linked to a larger number of people

:12:22.:12:24.

who are street homeless are living in accommodation

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where they are injecting and they do not have

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any other choice but to do it in a public place.

:12:32.:12:34.

I think the real issues are how we would pay for them.

:12:35.:12:37.

Since funding the drug and alcohol services was given

:12:38.:12:40.

to local authorities, so to Bristol, from the central

:12:41.:12:47.

Government a few years ago, we are now looking at 20% less

:12:48.:12:50.

of that funding over the next five years.

:12:51.:12:53.

Many cities around the world have found the money for them and have

:12:54.:12:56.

seen less drug use in public places, fewer discarded needles.

:12:57.:13:00.

The question is, as funding is cut, who here would pay?

:13:01.:13:03.

Liz Beacon, BBC Points West, Bristol.

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As we've heard, back in October, Glasgow was given approval

:13:11.:13:12.

to open the UK's first ever Supervised Injection Facility.

:13:13.:13:17.

David Liddell is from the Scottish Drugs Forum and joins us now.

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Do supervised injection facilities really help?

:13:21.:13:36.

Absolutely, there is a huge body of evidence particularly across Europe

:13:37.:13:43.

within the region of 90 centres in operation, for now a body of

:13:44.:13:50.

evidence of 30 years. They definitely work, yes. The most

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important aspect, certainly in the Glasgow context is, and it sounds

:13:54.:14:00.

like the Bristol situation may be similar, is that it provides an

:14:01.:14:02.

important first step and way of reaching out to what we have, a

:14:03.:14:09.

group of 500 very vulnerable, mostly older, injecting drug users, so it

:14:10.:14:15.

provides, as you said in your clip, a place where people can inject any

:14:16.:14:20.

safe environment. Basically all it is doing, in a way, is moving the

:14:21.:14:25.

injecting that is currently happening in very unsafe

:14:26.:14:28.

environments into a safe environment, and certainly there is

:14:29.:14:30.

strong evidence that it can make an impact on things like, you know,

:14:31.:14:38.

blood-borne viruses, like HIV infection in particular, but also on

:14:39.:14:42.

overdoses as well. And then we can move people on so that they get

:14:43.:14:45.

further support and help, whether that is with treatment services

:14:46.:14:53.

etc... And the other aspect is that certainly the driver in many places,

:14:54.:14:58.

for example in Frankfurt, the driver there was the European Central Bank

:14:59.:15:02.

when it was created, that was very concerned about public nuisance and

:15:03.:15:07.

public injecting. They actually financially supported the

:15:08.:15:10.

development of injecting facilities in Frankfurt.

:15:11.:15:14.

That is interesting. Now, with regards to you talking about the

:15:15.:15:18.

finance there, it seems a thing to pick up on. Our contributor from the

:15:19.:15:23.

Bristol drugs Project said, how will it be paid for? We all know that the

:15:24.:15:27.

NHS is up against it. What is happening in Glasgow?

:15:28.:15:33.

Certainly the key driver for the initiative is in the region of 75

:15:34.:15:38.

drug injectors who have become infected with the HIV virus, and

:15:39.:15:43.

that is sadly reminiscent of the situation we found ourselves in in

:15:44.:15:47.

Scotland in the 1980s, where we had a major outbreak of HIV infection.

:15:48.:15:54.

That is a particular concern in Glasgow,, to get a grip of that

:15:55.:15:59.

outbreak of infection, and as your earlier speaker alluded to, the

:16:00.:16:04.

potential cost of treating just one individual could be as high as

:16:05.:16:10.

?400,000. So anyway it should be a no-brainer that this is actually

:16:11.:16:13.

something that is worth investing in, and has a huge benefit in a

:16:14.:16:18.

number of areas, but you are right that it is very hard with the state

:16:19.:16:25.

of the public finances, to argue for this, particularly for a group who

:16:26.:16:31.

are not generally well thought of by the wider public. And therefore not

:16:32.:16:34.

considered very deserving of help, which we would argue should not be

:16:35.:16:40.

the case. Individuals such as the people we are talking about have a

:16:41.:16:43.

whole range of problems, and the presenting problem is one of drug

:16:44.:16:49.

use, but if we can engage more effectively we can deal with the

:16:50.:16:52.

range of problems they face. And taking it out of society as

:16:53.:16:56.

well. Thank you for joining us. There is a discussion on this on our

:16:57.:16:59.

Facebook page if you have opinions on this.

:17:00.:17:00.

The Allied Rapid Reaction Corps, or ARRC, is based at Imjin Barracks

:17:01.:17:03.

in Innsworth in Gloucester, and is at the heart

:17:04.:17:05.

of the Nato Alliance and defence of the UK.

:17:06.:17:07.

It's the largest headquarters on land which Nato can put

:17:08.:17:10.

Although over half of the people working for ARRC are from the UK,

:17:11.:17:16.

20 Nato and non-Nato countries have staff at Imjin too, from Albania

:17:17.:17:21.

And today their role became even more significant as they took

:17:22.:17:27.

on responsibility to command Nato troops should they be

:17:28.:17:30.

Here's our Gloucestershire reporter, Steve Knibbs.

:17:31.:17:35.

Symbolising the transfer of responsibility...

:17:36.:17:38.

It was a simple ceremony, but of major significance

:17:39.:17:40.

for the soldiers here in Gloucestershire.

:17:41.:17:43.

The Nato Response Force pennant flag was handed

:17:44.:17:45.

from Spain to the commander of Allied Rapid Reaction Corps.

:17:46.:17:49.

Should Nato now deploy anywhere in the world,

:17:50.:17:51.

the ARRC will command and control the operations on the ground.

:17:52.:17:56.

There was general acknowledgement today of the fact that we still live

:17:57.:17:59.

in uncertain times, under fast and ever-changing global threat.

:18:00.:18:02.

The focus for the ARRC in 2017 will be tackling that threat

:18:03.:18:05.

I think it is well publicised that Russia and Nato have different views

:18:06.:18:12.

on things at the moment, so there is clearly

:18:13.:18:14.

an element of a threat there, and so we will continue to act

:18:15.:18:17.

But there are wider threats now, in terms of humanitarian

:18:18.:18:25.

crisis and the unknown, and that's the beauty of having

:18:26.:18:28.

a response force is that you can sit here and be prepared to command

:18:29.:18:31.

Those threats are varied - there is huge experience within

:18:32.:18:36.

the ARRC of counter-insurgency operations in Iraq, Afghanistan

:18:37.:18:39.

Cyber-attacks are also a growing threat, but at the extreme,

:18:40.:18:43.

there's war, and in the current climate it's an area the ARRC says

:18:44.:18:47.

Like everything, you need to practice these things,

:18:48.:18:51.

so what we are doing this year and we have done a little bit last

:18:52.:18:55.

So when we do our training, we don't practice counterinsurgency,

:18:56.:18:59.

The ARRC is made up of 21 different nations - many from the EU -

:19:00.:19:05.

but its role in the UK within Nato unaffected by Brexit.

:19:06.:19:11.

We are decidedly not stepping back from our responsibilities

:19:12.:19:13.

to European security, and the occasion today demonstrates

:19:14.:19:21.

that we are taking the lead in the very high-readiness

:19:22.:19:23.

For now, the ARRC's control room at Innsworth is quiet,

:19:24.:19:27.

but on stand-by, and preparation and training continues to evolve

:19:28.:19:31.

Steve Knibbs, BBC Points West, Imjin Barracks.

:19:32.:19:45.

Gloucester Rugby have boosted their squad for the next season with the

:19:46.:19:50.

signing of Leicester Tigers fly-half Owen Williams. He has scored many

:19:51.:20:01.

points over many appearances. But they're also set to strengthen its

:20:02.:20:05.

season with Sam Underhill in back row.

:20:06.:20:07.

We're almost two weeks into 2017 and we're also a fortnight

:20:08.:20:09.

into celebrating sixty years of Points West.

:20:10.:20:14.

It's fascinating looking through our archives,

:20:15.:20:17.

and every so often we're coming across a real gem,

:20:18.:20:20.

This is from January 1968, when the pressing question

:20:21.:20:24.

on everyone's lips was, maxi or mini?

:20:25.:20:27.

Which of the two skirts do you prefer?

:20:28.:20:29.

Well, in this weather, I think I prefer that one, the long.

:20:30.:20:32.

I suppose this one being in fashion, we should all like the maxi skirt.

:20:33.:20:39.

What sort of male reaction do you think you will get?

:20:40.:20:41.

I think they will like it in the end.

:20:42.:20:44.

I think they will probably take time to come over but...

:20:45.:20:46.

And will you buy one, even if they don't like it?

:20:47.:20:49.

In our office, they don't like the maxi skirt.

:20:50.:20:55.

Short. Why?

:20:56.:21:01.

It is very nice to see somebody else wearing them.

:21:02.:21:08.

No, they still say you should wear the miniskirt.

:21:09.:21:15.

Well, what's wrong with the maxi skirt?

:21:16.:21:16.

Well, it looks so Russian and drab and everything.

:21:17.:21:21.

Well, how do you expect people to keep warm in winter?

:21:22.:21:23.

I'm not particularly worried about that.

:21:24.:21:33.

They were wearing leather trousers. How very cool.

:21:34.:21:38.

A dance group in Gloucester is encouraging people

:21:39.:21:40.

Gloster Swing Dance held its first class last night,

:21:41.:21:43.

It's run by the two dance champions, one of whom is recovering

:21:44.:21:47.

So is swing the new way to shift the pounds?

:21:48.:21:50.

Dancing the Charleston from the film Bugsy Malone,

:21:51.:21:53.

Have you ever wondered whether a winter of dancing

:21:54.:21:57.

on the telly makes more of us have a go?

:21:58.:22:03.

Well, this is what happened in Gloucester last night,

:22:04.:22:05.

140 people turned up, and for those beginners who might

:22:06.:22:13.

The one thing you need to remember about swing dancing,

:22:14.:22:19.

And I'm sure many did go wrong, but gradually,

:22:20.:22:27.

the room moved as one, probably ahead of time too.

:22:28.:22:33.

Our expectations are really low, I reckon.

:22:34.:22:37.

I think they are really low, because...

:22:38.:22:39.

They can take you as long as you want to dance.

:22:40.:22:45.

You can be fat, thin, old, young, black, white,

:22:46.:22:47.

enabled or disabled, you are welcome and swing dancing.

:22:48.:22:50.

I have never done anything like this before and it is really good.

:22:51.:22:55.

You feel that you are actually learning something

:22:56.:22:57.

Will you do it in the living room when you get home?

:22:58.:23:02.

It is just so friendly, getting together and dancing.

:23:03.:23:05.

Now, I danced with Claudia Fragapane last month, but it seems whatever

:23:06.:23:13.

I managed to pick up from Bristol's pocket rocket disappeared

:23:14.:23:18.

At least my partner is still smiling, or laughing...

:23:19.:23:27.

Back to the professionals, and a special moment.

:23:28.:23:30.

Five weeks ago, Gary Boon had a heart attack.

:23:31.:23:34.

If I wasn't fit and if I didn't do this, I may not be here now.

:23:35.:23:43.

And it looks like it could change many more - apart from mine.

:23:44.:23:50.

Andy Howard, BBC Points West in Gloucester.

:23:51.:23:58.

Gary, well done. That is incredible. The big question

:23:59.:24:05.

is about the weather, and whether we will have snow or heavy rain. It is

:24:06.:24:07.

not a simple question, is it? No, it is not. I suspect the net

:24:08.:24:16.

result is going to be a combination of both by this time tomorrow, Alex.

:24:17.:24:21.

Let me take you through the forecast. The rain looks I get them

:24:22.:24:26.

now, based on our current forecast model. For some argue, heavy

:24:27.:24:30.

rainfall. The tricky element, given it will be a noticeably cold day, is

:24:31.:24:35.

how much of it will change to snow. More particularly as we had through

:24:36.:24:40.

late afternoon tomorrow. The Met Office has issued a warning tomorrow

:24:41.:24:44.

for the threat of snow, and it is a low risk in the broader sense of the

:24:45.:24:50.

word, but if we start to point out areas of greater risk, at the

:24:51.:24:56.

Exmoor, and anywhere east of the Mvia, particularly from

:24:57.:24:58.

mid-afternoon through to about the early part of the evening. -- the

:24:59.:25:05.

M5. A north-westerly flow, bringing Caldaire down across us do towards

:25:06.:25:09.

tomorrow. Watch out towards the West and watch this taking shape on this

:25:10.:25:14.

wave towards the east through the afternoon. You will see the back

:25:15.:25:17.

edge of interacting with other colder air giving a threat of snow.

:25:18.:25:22.

The south-east of England tomorrow, including London, could be a horror

:25:23.:25:25.

show on the roads are the worst happens. I say if the worst were to

:25:26.:25:30.

happen, if we keep a close eye on developments. A straightforward

:25:31.:25:33.

story through the evening tonight, barring the odd shower looking dry

:25:34.:25:39.

and breezy Wendy. Into two tomorrow morning, the first signs of rain is

:25:40.:25:42.

going in. Temperatures tonight at a range of two to five Celsius.

:25:43.:25:46.

Tomorrow, I will run the sequence. Do not take it literally but it

:25:47.:25:50.

gives an idea of the indications we think are going to build the

:25:51.:25:56.

forecast for tomorrow. Notice the bread of heavy rain, difficult

:25:57.:25:59.

enough on the road by lunchtime early afternoon, and then watch that

:26:00.:26:03.

colder air bringing snow eastwards towards the afternoon and evening.

:26:04.:26:07.

Snow showers following behind. A cold day tomorrow and we will keep

:26:08.:26:10.

you up-to-date through the BBC forecast tomorrow morning.

:26:11.:26:14.

We well and also our bulletins and radio and social media as well. We

:26:15.:26:16.

will see you

:26:17.:26:18.

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