13/02/2017 Points West

Welcome to BBC Points West with Alex Lovell and David Garmston.

A business that offers adult services used teenagers, under 16,

I've seen a lot in my time, yeah, that I should not have seen.

The local council knew about it but the premises are still open.

A weekend brawl at a pub in Trowbridge.

A policeman says it's the worst fight he's seen in 20 years.

Hundreds of musicians volunteer for bone marrow testing

And forget the limousines, why a borrowed van made this bride's

A BBC investigation has found evidence of teenagers

being exploited by a brothel in Weston-Super-Mare.

The seedier side of the Victorian seaside town has been uncovered

Confidential documents show the authorities discussed vulnerable

teenagers handing out leaflets for Butterflys, which claims

it's a massage parlour but in reality is a brothel

Matthew Hill has been investigating the story and joins us now.

Well, the sign above it says massage parlour, open 24/7,

but really Butterflys is a brothel which has been operating

It's less than 500 yards from the council and the police station.

"So what?" you might say.

But we've uncovered evidence that girls as young as 15

have helped out here, and it's still open

Just a warning that my report contains undercover filming

inside the massage parlour with graphic content.

The Class A drugs are from around the Bonville area.

She had a difficult adolescence, including

At her most vulnerable, she handed out leaflets

We had to make sure that we would look OK and that we had basically

dressed like a load of prostitutes, stood on a street corner.

Did social services know about you being there?

People were telling them that I was walking around dressed

like that, handing out a load of leaflets in town,

These are not the leaflets but she says she even

used her own image on them and that she helped out inside.

I have cleaned quite a few rooms in there before and, like,

The way that it's all done, it's like a show.

It's like they're ready to show off their bodies and a man would sit

in a chair and all the women would walk in in their underwear

and he would literally get to pick which one he wanted.

You were seeing things that a 15-year-old girl shouldn't see.

I have seen a lot in my time, yeah, that I should have not seen.

For the last ten years, the woman with the lease

on the brothel has been Natalie Davis.

It is clearly more than a massage parlour.

There is Natalie's mobile number, and it says, "We aim to keep

Working in a brothel is not illegal but running one

We sent in an undercover reporter to find out.

At this point, we made our excuses and left.

These confidential documents show that the council and Avon

and Somerset Police discussed Butterflys and teenage girls

At that time when she came to us we gave her advice and very

strong support around how dangerous that was.

Staff should have been aware of that.

Well, my staff passed that information on to the police

in regard to an establishment that was a massage parlour

using a 15-year-old to distribute leaflets and the police took that

information and then did some checks and we have had no more referrals

through to us around young people frequenting that establishment.

The council and Avon and Somerset Police say

they are proactive and serious about safeguarding and will act

Police say they found no evidence of underage girls

Despite all the problems in Weston, Amber has turned her life around,

but it hasn't been easy, and what about all the other

This was an Inside Out West investigation.

The story is really asking questions about the culture

of North Somerset Council based on internal documents

and talking to many people about how they look

Now the council insist safeguarding is a priority

But we've discovered disturbing posts on pictures of young girls

on the Facebook account of a council employee.

And we've uncovered evidence of a known sexual predator operating

on the town's estates here before his death last year.

There are questions there about whether the council missed

an opportunity to gather DNA evidence of a sexual assault.

And the full investigation will feature on Inside Out West.

That's with Seb, here on BBC One tonight at 7.30pm.

A man's been arrested in connection with the death of a 43-year-old

She was found on Hill Street in Kingswood early yesterday morning.

A 38-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of causing death

by dangerous driving and failing to stop at the scene of a collision.

A man who died in Trowbridge after allegedly being tackled

by a security guard for suspected shoplifting has been named.

Kieran Church died on Thursday in The Shires car park.

Today his family said Kieren was a much loved son, brother,

A 20-year-old man from Trowbridge who was arrested on suspicion

of manslaughter has been released on bail.

A Gloucester man has been charged following an alleged hate crime

Jeffrey Warren is accused of the racially motivated

assault on Petrus Undari, in Great Western Road in November.

He's also been accused of the same offence against a police

Jeffrey Warren, who's 46, is due to appear at Gloucester

A brawl in a pub in Trowbridge at the weekend has been described

by a veteran police Sergeant as the worst he's seen in more

One of his colleagues was injured and we know of at least one pub-goer

who had to be rushed to hospital after being hit with a bottle.

Film footage shows dozens of people in the bar fighting.

The Albany Palace bar in Trowbridge, erupting into violence in the early

I've never seen nothing like it, mate.

21-year-old lorry driver Tommy Arkle from Devizes filmed

His friend had to be rushed to hospital in Bath, covered in blood.

I walked down to the bar with a few mates and had a few drinks.

Turned round and then next minute a bottle came across,

hit me on the head and then I think I got hit on the eye as well

You wouldn't expect in a little town, just to call out

for a couple of drinks, come back and...

This police Sergeant knows Trowbridge well.

I think there are always incidents where alcohol is involved,

always the possibility of there being disorder,

but I think it is unusual to have that sort of scale of disorder

Wetherspoon's says the fight caused distress for customers

One-off, perhaps, but it still raises concerns about safety

Usually the little ones can be controlled and it doesn't really

bother you but when something like that big is happening you just

want to kind of step back and there is no way to get out.

It doesn't make you feel very safe, no.

I see little fights all the time, but they get controlled,

and big ones like that don't seem to occur regularly.

But, no, I think they should be ashamed of themselves.

Police are appealing for anyone who witnessed

It's David and Alex with you this evening and it's nice to have

Stay tuned we've got lots more still to come, including...

Keeping the water pumping, we're find out how the oldest steam

engines in the world are getting an overhaul.

And something old, borrowed and blue.

Radio Bristol helped one bride get her dream carriage.

Some of the children with the highest levels of need

are being let down by their local authority in South Gloucestershire.

A report by Ofsted describes some of the services as "inadequate"

When it comes to looking after the most vulnerable

children in society, it's councils who have to step in.

But, in the report released this morning, Ofsted found

South Gloucestershire's approach showed some "critical weaknesses".

There were concerns over leadership, for the care of children at risk

of sexual exploitation, and for those with disabilities.

Staff shortages have meant 170 children with disabilities

were having to wait and wait for their assessments, in one case

We're very sorry that this has occurred.

We're quite determined to improve our services, and,

as Ofsted observed when they came, when they drew this to our attention

I can assure that all of those cases identified by Ofsted have now been

allocated to social workers and are receiving a service from us.

It is not just here in South Gloucestershire

that the children's services department has had

In fact, nationwide, around one in four council

children's departments are reckoned to be failing.

Many councils say it is down to difficulties in recruiting

There is an issue with churn of social workers, both at manager

and standard social worker level, and it is having that stable

workforce that is essential to a service being able

This council aims to climb from "inadequate" to

It has already set out its own improvement plan,

but with shrinking budgets and a scarcity of trained staff,

South Gloucestershire knows reversing the failings identified

today will be anything but child's play.

Robin Markwell, BBC Points West, in Kingswood.

Bristol Rugby have been cleared of any wrong doing

by the Rugby Football Union following an investigation

into passing on of confidential information by former

Tom, who has since been sacked, was found guilty of passing on team

information to his brother Luke, who plays for Bristol,

when the pair met up ahead the match on New Year's Day.

However, the RFU concluded that Bristol had not changed their game

strategy and did not breach any regulations.

Brass players in the South West are coming together to help

a talented musician who is battling an aggressive form of cancer.

Stephen Sykes needs a stem cell transplant,

but despite a worldwide search, a match hasn't been found.

Hundreds of fellow musicians are now getting tested,

This is Stephen Sykes playing solo at a concert last summer.

As a talented trombonist, he has played with orchestras

But he has been unable to perform since this video was shot.

Chemotherapy doesn't appear to be working.

His cancer is aggressive - stage four.

Doctors say he needs a stem cell transplant.

The cancer's got into my bone marrow which means that

without a stem cell transplant, it's not looking too good, really.

Normally this would be OK because there is the donor system

now, but they can't find a donor for me anywhere in the world,

They need to get as close a match as possible to avoid additional

feeling like I ought to stand outside the supermarket and sort of

With their connections with the music world,

his family have appealed to other musicians.

In Cornwall, members of St Austell Town Band

Take the swabs out, swab inside of your cheek and just put

them back in here and we'll send them back off and then

see if it is a match for anybody to help.

Are you quite impressed with the way the brass community has

I'm not surprised but, yeah, I'm impressed.

We've got the whole band and also the whole banding world in Cornwall.

Yesterday, Facebook and Twitter just went wild with people

from all over the county saying, "My pack's arrived,

There were so many people yesterday just doing it

He got this guitar just before Christmas.

Stephen Sykes knows a transplant is his only chance but he also hopes

that, as more potential donors come forward, their samples could also

Eleanor Parkinson, BBC Point West, Shepton Mallet.

I hope we can give a positive outcome from that. If you want to

share it, go to our Facebook page. Work is underway to repair

a set of historic steam engines on the Kennett

and Avon Canal near Marlborough. The Crofton Beam engines

are the oldest in the world but still do the job

they were made for. They were built to pump water

to feed the canal, where one section The repairs are to the steam boiler,

they cost 45,000 pounds, and our Wiltshire reporter

Will Glennon has been to see them. It's a skilled physical job,

in cramped conditions but essential work for the future

of the Crofton Beam engines. A pair of powerful steam engines,

to pump the water uphill. The canal here rises 40 feet

and without artificial Old men loves to come and play with

our machines but it is more than that. It is the historical content.

When this was built, it was rural Wiltshire. It must have been just

like the iPad coming now. The social impact of these machines. It is

seeing somebody standing here, driving this machine, making it

work, and there is nothing like it today.

The original engine dates back to 1812,

But the steam boiler needs repairs to keep going.

The rivets that need replacing in this boiler are getting burnt out

largely, some are cut out, but burnt out, punched out, and then hopped

rivets replacing them. The main complication is getting to them.

They are in awkward places to reach. An electric pump now

mostly does the work. But sometimes it fails,

so the steam needs to be used. Plus it's run through

the summer for visitors. The work they're doing on the steam

boiler is vital because it is the steam that powers the piston which

powers the beam engine and that pumps the water into the canal.

That's when the Crofton Beam Engines will re-open to the public

and the canal will be filled by steam power once again.

Now, when a bride from South Gloucestershire decided

a Bedford Rascal would be just the thing to get her

to her wedding on time, there was a very special reason.

Hannah Allen wanted the van as a tribute to her late father

So her mum Wendy went on Radio Bristol to ask

Alex is outside now with the happy couple.

I just popped outside the studio. Isn't it gorgeous? Wouldn't you love

to turn up in this van? How did this all come about? We got approached by

Wendy, Hannah's mum, asking if we could help her find a word-mac for

her daughter's wedding. -- Bedford Rascal. We found one but

it failed its MOT. We managed to find one down, in Bedford of all

places, so on Thursday I drove there and picked it up and here it is. And

you kept it a secret. Hannah did not know anything throughout, despite

the fact we were following the cycle on radio Bristol. Give us a marker

two. BEEP!

Here is the happy couple. Congratulations. What did it mean to

you to have this van turned up on your wedding day? It is a memory of

my dad who passed away about three years ago and I have always known

him to own a Bedford Rascal, in a variety of colours, but not this

gorgeous blue, and he was a Rovers supporter as well so the fact it

came in this colour was amazing as well. It made the day, it was like

he was here, sitting next to my mum driving to the venue. My mum drove

it. I believe James, who picked it up, had to learn to drive with a

choke. And James it was a special moment. You are in on it? Wendy and

I had looked online for a while to try to find one anywhere and it

didn't come to any luck at all and then we got a call -- I got a call

from Wendy to say she had e-mailed BBC Bristol and everything has been

fantastic. I am so grateful to everyone who has helped. What a

lovely tribute to your dad as well. I think some of our viewers might be

wondering why you are here! Shouldn't you be on your honeymoon?

Well, we are not going until April so we are letting this soak in,

although at the moment, your wedding is a dream but this is just an real.

Gosh, when this Bedford Rascal turned up I was beside myself, I

couldn't hold back the tears, it brought that so many memories. And

there is a nice story, sad but sweet, about the lady who had the

van. Her husband died at Christmas so she was really pleased that this

was given four year celebration. -- for your celebration. His little

treasure became our little treasure. Now this is a true love story

but of course tomorrow is that fun time of year,

if also quite commercial, when people might be

talking about love. Last week I visited

Tickenham Primary School in North Somerset to ask the pupils

for their thoughts I should mention it's the school

that has a dachshund called Gatsby to help the pupils learn respect,

compassion and empathy. That will explain why

he keeps popping up. Do you think that at home

there will be a Valentines theme? Can you text somebody,

because we are in a world of technology now and just say,

"Hey, I really like you"? See you text someone,

"I love you," four hearts or Xs or So if you really like

someone, how do you tell them if you're not

sure how to tell them? If you like somebody

in school, do it at break time or at the end of school or at

the start of school, don't do it If you like maths and the person

you like likes maths, you could do like, "Me

plus you equals..." I think my Valentine

might be Gatsby. It depends cos I might

get there first. Oh, well how do we resolve

this if we both like the They were so funny. Thanks for them

to letting me film with them. I really want will a Bedford Rascal.

And we wish that couple very well. Let's catch up with the weather.

We felt the difference today. We had some weather watcher pictures. The

blue skies are set to last into Valentine's Day. It looks like it

will be very cloudy with a little bit of patchy rain. This evening and

overnight, clear skies that they will not last. The cloud will come

in from the west. Part of Gloucestershire and Wiltshire might

hang on to clear skies and the temperature will drop to 2-3. On the

whole, 4-5 is the low. Gloucestershire and culture might

see brightness first thing but we will see outbreaks of mostly light

and patchy rain during the day, bringing up from the West in the

afternoon. The wind is much lighter from the south-east tomorrow.

Tuesday into Wednesday, clear skies for a time that the cloud will come

in again ahead of the next weather system coming in for Wednesday.

Temperatures dropping to 6-7 into Wednesday morning. A misty and murky

start on Wednesday. Some showers in the afternoon, some on the heavy

side but later we will see brighter spells as well. Temperatures

creeping up every day, 10-11 on Wednesday. On Thursday, the weather

front bringing showers on Wednesday will clear away gradually and

high-pressure builds from the self, but it is bringing a lot of cloud so

we do not expect the skies and sunshine for the weekend. Tomorrow

it will be fairly mild but we will have a little bit of rain in the

forecast. Wednesday and Thursday, temperatures getting to 10-11.

Milder as we head towards the end of the week.

That is not bad news. You are looking springlike.

Thank you. I feel springlike. Have a good Valentine's Day tomorrow. If

you get a card, congratulations, if not, it's just a load of old rubbish

anyway! when farmers leave

their daily routines behind... Right, here we come, Dorset!

..for a show day.