26/02/2017 Points West

Good evening from Points West. news at 10 o'clock.

A BBC Inside Out West investigation has found an increasing number

of students in the West Country are turning to sex work

As the cost of higher education has risen,

so has a new phenomenon called sugar dating.

reports, universities seem reluctant to acknowledge the problem.

It is a world where the women are called sugar babies and the men

Look online and you will find dozens of students posting adverts

It is like online dating but with one big difference.

The man pays the woman for her company.

Coco has been doing this for two years.

She lives in a bedsit in Gloucester and dropped out

of her college course last year because she couldn't

Is there an expectation that you will have sex at some

I mean, for me, it's just like a normal relationship,

She is a growing number of young people funding

A recent study by Swansea university found that 4.8% of UK students

Ron Roberts is a psychiatrist who is concerned about the impact of this.

As debt becomes more prevalent, so is the proportion of people

who openly talk about working in the sex industry.

What has the response been from universities?

I wouldn't even say they ignore it, but they try to brush

it under the carpet, deny it, deny there is a problem.

We contacted all five universities in the West Country to find out

if they offered any help or advice for students involved in this.

Only one acknowledged that students are working in the sex industry

and none had any support available for those who are.

Rachel Stonehouse, Points West, Gloucester.

And you can see the full report on sugar dating on Inside Out West

The government is set to announce an eight million pound deal

with Leonardo Helicopters in Somerset to help develop

The Ministry of Defence will work with the company to see how

the technology could be used to support the military in future.

There was a rare chance to walk inside a canal

The lock at Bradford on Avon has been drained

Today the Canal River Trust invited the public to climb down

some temporary stairs into the chamber.

Bristol Rugby beat Bath 12-11 at Ashton Gate,

to record a vital win in their fight against relegation.

Gavin Henson kicked all 12 points for Bristol,

Semesa Rokoduguni scored the only try of the game for Bath,

but Rhys Priestland missed the conversion - and Bristol held

on to move just two points behind Worcester in the Premiership table.

Bad news for Gloucester who lost 35-22 away to Wasps

The Cherry and Whites sit in ninth after the defeat,

and have lost their last five away games in the Premiership.

All our teams were in action this weekend.

Bristol City remain just one place above the relegation zone after a 2

City who had lost 10 of their previous 13 games, took

a shock lead when Aaron Wilbraham headed one home.

They soon made it 2 nil, but an own goal and a late goal

from Newcastle evened out the scoreline.

In League one An own-goal by Bristol Rovers captain

Tom Lockyer earned promotion-chasing Scunthorpe a point at

The hosts had taken the lead six minutes before the break but under

pressure in the 73rd minute Lockyer pushed it passed his

Swindon strengthened their chance of League One survival with 3 -1

They remain 4 points adrift from safety sitting

In League two Cheltenham Town took a valuable three points

in their quest to move up the leaderboard with a one nil win

away at Leyton Orient. No goals though for Yeovil away

It was a game of very few chances but Yeovil kept a clean sheet

Forest Green edged a win over Woking in a seven-goal

thriller at the New Lawn in the National League -

the visitors clinching the match 4-3 as they climb to third in the table.

And finally more than 400 students from across the UK have been

competing in the final of a national robotics competition

The First Lego League is a science and technology challenge

Teams of students aged between nine and 16 have to solve a real-world

problem with the help of a Lego robot.

The judges said all the teams showed great talent.

Let's get the weather now with Emily Wood.

We have fairly unsettled weather over the next few days. Some rain

for a time this evening is clearing away to the east followed by some

drier and clearer weather for a time but some showers will arrive by the

first thing tomorrow morning, when the overnight as well and fairly

cool, lows of five or 6 degrees. Then tomorrow morning, heavy showers

throughout the day, the risk of some hail and thunder next end turning

wintry for a time of higher ground. A windy day and feeling cooler,

highs of between seven and 9 degrees. On Tuesday, showers, a bit

more sunshine, but still feeling cooler and breezy and on Wednesday,

south-westerly winds bring milder air and we will also see some rain.

That's all from the Points West team for now.

Good evening. The fifth named storm of the season has been affecting the

west of the UK, and it was named Ewan by the Irish meteorological

service because that is where the impact was expected, but it has been

quite wet for