08/03/2017 Points West

Police doctor Reg Bunting groped new recruits during examinations.

Tonight it's claimed that opportunities to

The plan to turn Bridgwater and Taunton college

Will it stop the brain drain from the county?

I have the weather and spring is in the air for the next few days. Find

out how warm you will be and when it changes.

Dr Reg Bunting worked for Avon and Somerset police for three

Now an investigation has found police missed several significant

chances to intervene when concerns were raised about his

The force could now face legal action over claims.

Dickon Hooper has spoken to one Dr Bunting's victims.

John was a police officer with Avon and Somerset.

But he was on the front line more than 20 years.

None more so than the police doctor, surely?

Doctor Reg Bunting was a GP whose medical career

But he's been accused of groping, fondling and even reportedly sexual

assault, mainly on new recruits like John who says he was groped.

I thought, this wasn't right, but what do you do?

He knew that we needed to get through the medical.

He had the power to abuse his position and do what he wants.

I don't think anyone would have complained

because it was a hard job to get into.

An independent report commissioned by Avon and Somerset Police found 44

cases where Bunting's medical examinations fell below a common

And that police had missed three chances to intervene

Little if anything was done and the police watchdog

In their response, Avon and Somerset Police acknowledged

They also said that had Doctor Bunting been alive,

there was enough evidence to interview him under caution.

And they apologised, praising those like John

A couple of the other victims I've spoken to say they haven't been well

One said they felt they had been treated as a nuisance

In the initial stages they assumed it was a group of injured officers

The way police treat their own officers, there's not one mention

The report does make a number of recommendations which police

But for John and others, this is a painful chapter

A firm has been fined 600-thousand pounds after a sub-contractor hit

an 11-thousand volt cable whilst working in Gloucester.

Steven Brown, from Swindon, suffered serious burns when he dug

Today Amey LG Ltd admitted breaching health and safety legislation

The first steps have been taken tonight towards creating

Bridgwater and Taunton College has launched what it's calling

The educational landscape in Somerset is being redrawn.

Their own promotional video is nothing if not dramatic.

But what exactly is going to change here?

All these students are already studying for a degree.

Though right now this isn't a university.

The courses are accredited elsewhere, sometimes

In future, their degrees certificates could be branded

Somerset University, but will that matter?

I think it does because I think then we can go on and we have

From today, all 1,000 students on degree courses at Taunton

and Bridgwater Colleges, which merged last summer,

The college insists this is more than just a name change.

For one thing they plan to launch, new degree courses from nuclear

We won't be offering traditional history degrees and geography

This is very much about a sharp focus on industry and the type

So it won't be in the traditional university format.

One of the aims is to prevent a brain drain of higher education

One of the big challenges for employers is trying to find

the right talent and we have over 2,000 people living to go

to universities across the region and nationally, Plymouth,

It could take years before the college achieves

There are many hoops to jump through yet.

But it is now a declared aim, part of a campaign to persuade more

higher education students to study locally.

16 years ago the University of Gloucestershire went

I asked David James - who is a professor there -

Having a university in a town or city is an incredibly important

thing. Universities historically have always been very connected with

their locality, clearly universities are also big employers and the

influence of having a university influence of having a university

relates to the economic welfare of the surrounding area. Any advice for

the University Centre of Somerset? Think ahead. Think beyond achieving

university title and thing towards the plan, the next five years after

that because opportunities do open up, it opens up all sorts of

interesting possibilities that you may not have imagined and it is good

to give those for thought. What is it like for local students to have a

university in place whether you live because certain places suffer from a

brain drain? Absolutely. Increasingly students want to study

locally. We know the costs of going away to study are far greater than

studying in your home environment. If you have a university in your

home town or city or in commuting distance, that can clearly keep the

costs just downed more towards tuition than the overall

maintenance. Many thanks. A footballer has spoken out

about the horrific racial abuse Leroy Rosenior played

at a number of clubs, including some in the west

during the '80s and '90s. Here's our sports editor

Alistair Durden . Leroy joined for West Ham before

joining Bristol City but as a black footballer in the 1980s he says

he faced racism on a daily basis. It got so bad at one point

that his family stopped I dealt with racist tributes

and bananas and monkey chants At a Leeds United game we were 1-0

down and one of the black players on the pitch went to get the ball

and the whole of the Leeds stand Other players would you this

and that and you could see players getting visibly upset like I did it

if I said I wasn't happy I would be labelled with one as a problem

who couldn't be integrated in to the side so I

had to keep quiet. During his time as player coach

at Gloucester City he says he was refused entry

into an opposition boardroom full Leroy was one of the country's

first black managers Clubs wanted a big black strong

striker and we went captains or leaders of people

who could organise, people didn't perceive you to be able to do that

and because of that we have never had any black managers

and when I was a manager Now successful football pundit,

Leroy still campaigns to break down racism and the game and things

are improving he says That is it from us. We are back in

breakfast tomorrow. I say good night. Sara has forecast. Less than

two weeks from the spring equinox so when breaks in the cloud, it feels

quite springlike. Today there was a lot of cloud but some breaks here

and there and temperatures in the low teens. Tonight, the cloud will

slide off towards the south and east and some patchy rain or drizzle

starting to pull away. By tomorrow morning, some cloud around but we

should be generally dry. Nine or 10 Celsius. Start with the cloud but it

is improving picture through the morning, the wind breaks, the cloud

in the north and by the afternoon good spells of sunshine filtering in

with light wind and staying dry. 13 or 14 Celsius, a good few degrees

above average. Tomorrow night, a week feature running in from the

south and west, an area of high pressure safe fizzling out all the

time. There will be more cloud in the forecast for Friday, light rain

or drizzle at times. outlook, staying mild and Nick has

the bigger picture across the UK.