06/03/2017 South Today - Oxford

how far can authorities go to clean up our polluted air?

Police and the football authorities investigate,

as a non-league football match is abandoned following

A family tradition lost in the post -

the birthday card sent between father and daughter for over

First tonight, the head of the World Health Organisation

says more than 90% of the world's population

breathes poor-quality air, presenting a greater health problem

But this isn't only a problem for Beijing, Rio de Janiero

Cherwell District Council has estimated as many as 10%

of adult deaths in Oxfordshire may be due to air pollution.

Toxic pollutants like nitrogen dioxide, particularly from diesel

vehicles, are at dangerously high levels in many towns and cities.

Oxfordshire's lead GP for respiratory conditions thinks air

condition is having a direct effect. People come and see me and say they

have been much better until they came to Oxford city, whereupon they

got their symptoms back. Equally you will find people who have struggled

to control their asthma and then they moved back home or go away from

the Thames Valley only to discover their symptoms get better. Pollution

levels in Oxford have been cut by a third over the past decade but the

city and county councils want to do more. One idea is to create a zero

emission zone, only accessible to electric vehicles, cyclists and

pedestrians. It has to go in those streets where pollution is

dangerously high. It has worked very successfully in the high street

where we say only buses during the daytime so it is a similar sort of

thing. People are used to not ringing their cars into Oxford and

it will have to continue. It is not just the city. Pollution targets are

being breached in 11 areas across Oxfordshire, including the market

town of Wallingford. Here there are proposals to close the main ridge to

try to reduce the amount of vehicles travelling through the time but the

idea has divided opinion. I think closing it will be really difficult

for a awful lot of people. It will certainly make it more pleasant

walking across the bridge so maybe it will be a good idea. It is a

possibility if it helps but I am not sure it will be as convenient as we

all want. Environmental campaigners say lives are at risk if not -- if

more action is not taken to cut emissions. We are specifically

talking about the air quality management action zone in the centre

of town which has had a legally toxic limits that break the EU

directives for 12 years. -- illegally. Back in Oxford,

councillors said attitudes to how we get around need to change. It is

investing in electric charging points and hopes zero emission zone

will be in place by 2020. So what does all this

pollution do to us? Earlier I spoke to Dr Matt Loxham,

who studies airborne pollution So when we inhale air pollution,

and it's this mixture of particles and gases,

what it does is it enters our lungs, and it can cause our lungs

to become inflamed. Now, in people who are otherwise

healthy, they might just get a cough or a sore throat,

but in people who are at risk, and this can be asthmatics,

it can be very young people, very old people, we see a whole

range of health effects that we wouldn't see if they weren't

in polluted environments, things like asthma attacks,

heart attacks, strokes, they are all linked to exposure

to air pollution, and right across the life course,

from very young children to elderly people, you see these affects of air

pollution that you wouldn't see When we cover stories

like this we often bombard Is there really a safe

level of pollution? That is one of the things

we are pretty sure about, there is no safe limit,

so however low it goes, as long as there is pollution there,

it's still damaging your health. The good news is that if you make

any reduction it will result in an improvement to health,

so any reduction is better than nothing but there's

always further you can go. Lots being said today about,

for example, the effect What would you say to those

arguments, about maybe banning The first question is,

do diesel vehicles have an affect? Diesel vehicles are probably

the major polluters They're by no means the only

polluters but pollution from diesel vehicles can constitute a large

amount of air pollution, but banning them is very difficult,

because if you ban people who bought diesel cars in good faith

from using their cars, how are they going to

replace their cars? Maybe you want them to use

public transport, what if there isn't public

transport provision? It becomes apparent very quickly

that this is a really complex difficult to solve without really

joined-up thinking. So in brief there is no

straightforward one bullet It's got to involve a lot

of joined-up thinking, a lot of activity from a wide range

of contributors, whether this is big companies and big organisations

or people at the individual level as well, and it's got to involve

commitment from all of those groups of society as well, and only

then, with all this joined-up work, will we really see a major impact

on air quality in our cities. So no one thing can change

the air pollution levels, but many want to try

and do something. Milton Keynes has been given

?9 million by the Government to cut vehicle emissions and to get

everyone driving electric. David Whitely has been to the town

to see how many people have plugged A quarter of a million people

live in Milton Keynes, The population is predicted

to double in the next few years. Milton Keynes is one of four places

in the UK to get government funds The aim is to reduce harmful

emissions and also cut the carbon footprint, but just how realistic is

all of this? I have come to quiz the council's

head of transport innovation. The take-up of people buying

electric cars in this country at this current moment isn't that

great, only a few thousand, compared to millions of traditional

style cars being driven. There's a long way to

go yet, isn't there? There is a long way to go,

but results are showing that by having this type of investment

and thinking that We've seen over the past 12 months

200% increase in the number You are right, it is small numbers,

we've gone from 220 to 660, It's not just private road

users that are being Milton Keynes has the country's

first wirelessly charged electric bus service and it's pushing

for more of its 1200 taxis Say everybody in Milton Keynes

overnight decided to change their vehicle to an electric vehicle

the next day, how would we cope with that in this country

with our electricity production? If you did that at that

sort of speed you'd have You'd overtax the electricity

distribution system. But we've also been working

here in Milton Keynes on smart energy systems,

where you can actually have more flexible grids that can cope

with the demands on electric vehicles, so for example we've had

some work done with ourselves at the Open University on how people

can charge their electric vehicles from their solar

panels on the house, and that helps to stop any

stress on the electricity Other news now, and officials

at Didcot Town Football Club are counting the cost after a pitch

invasion by away supporters saw their stadium vandalised

and players abused. The match against league leaders

Hereford descended into chaos in the 87th minute when

the visitors went 2-1 ahead. Fans invaded the patch and match

officials abandoned the game. Fans and stewards spill

from the terraces and onto the turf, in a scene more resembling

of a bar-room brawl Today staff at Didcot Town FC

were assessing the damage, after their home game with Hereford

FC turned into chaos. We were being battered at that time

so we knew we weren't And then all of a sudden

we saw a ruckus on the pitch, our goalkeeper

was surrounded by a few supporters and our own players trying

to protect him, and, yeah, This stadium has a capacity of more

than 3000 people but for Saturday's visit of Hereford

there was a gate of 796. Now, 700 of those were away

supporters, and all was fine, until the 87th minute,

when Hereford took the lead. Luckily we had TV footage available

to us, we had a company which was filming this game,

so we've got everything, in HD, wonderfully, so, yeah,

we'll be presenting that to the Southern League and the FA

when we're called upon to do that, and they hopefully have captured

everything that went on. Two men have been arrested

following the incident, and in a statement a spokesperson

for Hereford FC said... It's yet to be decided

if the result will stand, or whether a potential rematch will

be played, behind closed doors. Bus drivers in Oxford have gone

on strike for a second day in a dispute sparked

by Christmas pay. Unite union members

at the Oxford Bus Company are demanding payment for working

five holiday days over Christmas. For an update on the dispute,

earlier I spoke to our reporter David Lumb, who has been covering

the story. If you ever wanted an indication

of the strength of feeling around this, you could see it

quite clearly today. There were more than 100 workers

on the picket line - lots of them with placards,

flags, vuvuzelas. It was really, really

emotional and strong. A number of services

have been disrupted. They include the x90 bus service

between London and Oxford. The Unite union, which has been

backing these workers, says taking industrial action wasn't

a decision that was taken lightly. However, the passengers

and the public have been really We humbly apologise

for the disruption but at the end of the day you have to make a stand

and the only way you can make a stand is to do what the guys

and gals are doing behind me. On the face of this it's a dispute

about how much workers should get In practice, though,

the union says that that is just the straw that broke

the camel's back. It says workers have deep-rooted

frustrations about the pay and working conditions

they are having to deal with. I did speak to Phil Southall

from the Oxford Bus Company. He says that he's made

a number of offers, Well, today we've managed to get

around 90% of the service out. We are focusing on minimising

the inconvenience to our customers, so we've got a really good level

of service out, we've had more people coming to work

than we were expecting and therefore we have tried to minimise the impact

in what was very difficult Two more days of strike action have

been scheduled for next Friday Both sides say they hope

an agreement can be More than 100 people have

taken part in a women's The event in Cowley over

the weekend included practical workshops about improving

strength and flexibility, There were also talks from female

champions and local cycling clubs. Part of my journey in cycling has

been finding other women like me who are inspiring and encouraging

and I want to be able to share that Representation is also really

important when it comes to cycling, be it if you're a woman of colour,

if you're a woman of a certain age as well, it feels

like there shouldn't be any barriers to it, so having events

like this going on, like, across a whole weekend,

is amazing, to encourage about a family tradition

lost in the post - the birthday card sent between

father and daughter for over A former army officer from Sussex

has been shot dead in Kenya. Tristan Voorspuy was

the founder of the luxury He was killed by rural herdsmen

while inspecting one of The Foreign Office says

it is supporting his family. Southern Health is to face

prosecution over alleged failings The Care Quality Commission said it

follows an incident at Melbury Lodge at the Royal Hampshire

County Hospital in Winchester. In December 2015, a patient

suffered serious injuries The CQC said the alleged offence

by the trust was failing to provide A week after its principal resigned,

dozens of jobs are likely to go Bosses at the Isle of Portland

Aldridge Community Academy say they need to axe a minimum of

45 jobs to balance the books. It's currently facing

a deficit of ?2.6 million. In January the academy was rated

"inadequate" by Ofsted, with governors,

senior leaders and teachers The BBC's North America Editor

is giving a lecture at his former Jon Sopel, who started his career

at BBC Radio Solent was appointed Pro Chancellor

of Southampton University last year He covered the US presidential

elections for the BBC and tonight's talk focuses

on Donald Trump's election Donald Trump as a nominee, at the

candidate, as President, has defied every rule, has defied political

gravity, and you keep thinking, you can't say that, you can't do this,

he does, he has got a very strong support base, a lot of American

people love him. I'm sure a lot of people in Europe think he is not

going to last very long. I think you cannot say that at all.

What a time to be the BBC's North American correspondent!

On to sport, Tony is here. Feisty adult Trafford and we're talking

referees again? A week ago it was about the offside

law and we are talking about things officials did not actually see on

Saturday but of course, television cameras did and there could be a

price to pay for Bournemouth. Both Tyrone Mings and Zlatan

Ibrahimovic have been charged with violent conduct by the FA

and Mings is facing a lengthy ban after the pair clashed in Saturday's

1-1 draw at Old Trafford. An action-packed game was already

level at 1-1 after Marcus Rojo had put United in front,

only for the Cherries to equalise But just before half-time,

Mings appeared to stamp Moments later, the Swedish

striker threw an elbow Neither player was sanctioned at

the time, but in the ensuing fuss, Andrew Surman did see red

for his complaints. Ibrahimovic stayed on the pitch

but saw a second-half penalty saved, a big point for Bournemouth,

but at a cost. It was a good battle. You know what

you're going to get and it was a good battle all afternoon. On the TV

you can see the images. In my situation, I jumped up, I jump high,

I protect myself and I am unlucky, he jumps into me and he jumps into

my elbow. On many times this occasion happens, and I hope he did

not get injured. Quote of the weekend, he jumped into

my elbow! Southampton are up to tenth

in the Premier League after a 4-3 win at Watford

on Saturday. They fell behind early on

to Troy Deeney's well-taken goal, Dusan Tadic fired them level

from just inside the box. Then Nathan Redmond gave

them a half-time lead Southampton didn't capitalise

and Watford pulled the game level at 2-2, but new striker

Manolo Gabbiadini continued his terrific start as a Saint

when he followed up Redmond produced a classy finish

to make it four and although Watford pulled a goal back in the final

seconds, Claude Puel's side clinched From the Premier League

An above average 18,500 was at Reading's Madesjski Stadium -

they will hope for another bumper crowd tomorrow night

This wasn't a classic, but Yann Kermorgant put them

in front just after half-time with that deflected

It was a lead that would not last long.

Ben Marshall with the leveller for the visitors, and suddenly

But it was a set piece which provided the winner.

Jaap Stam still believes the play-offs are a long way off,

but Reading are fifth after Paul McShane's goal.

Brighton have had a bad week, beaten by Newcastle.

They slumped at the City Ground against Nottingham Forest.

This is a disputed goal, Zach Clough claiming it,

David Stockdale presented Forest with a second -

in the 89th minute, it was really game up after this moment.

Chris Hughton admitted the goals conceded were poor,

the third actually a spot kick, and today the news that Shane Duffy

is out injured for the next six weeks with a foot injury.

Tomorrow, they go to rock bottom Rotherham, defeat there unthinkable.

In League 2, what do you make of Portsmouth?

A big win at Carlisle last week, then a point from two home games

The winner there coming 13 minutes from time.

Elsewhere this weekend, Basingstoke Bison are just

a point off third in ice hockey's Premier League.

In the National League, struggling Worthing Thunder had

Lyonell Gaines scored 24 points as the Thunder won 67-60.

Reading Rockets are second after a 17th consecutive win.

And in rugby, a chance to bring you some London Irish pictures.

Irish, still based at Reading's Madejski Stadium,

made it 16 wins from 16 in the Championship when they won

20-14 at Yorkshire, including this try from Ben Franks,

keeping them on course for an immediate return

When the Americans entered the First World War in 1917,

they had a tiny, unsophisticated air force.

But they established five airbases in West Sussex, including one

It was a pivotal moment in the establishment

of what is widely known as the "special relationship"

But little is known about life on the bases, until now,

The outbreak of the First World War in 1914 sparked off rapid

improvements in aircraft design across Europe.

Basic observation planes were soon being replaced with faster,

it seems almost unbelievable, but when the United States into the

First World War, they were miles behind the British, Germans and

French in terms of aviation technology. They ended up having to

buy European planes, like this one. The Wright Brothers Wine in 1904 and

by 1914 you have advanced military aircraft. United States is way

behind the curve and it is only with the advent of the First World War

they begin to develop this area of technology. To try to catch up, the

Americans set up five airfields in West Sussex, including one here at

Tangmere, where pilots and ground crew could be trained.

In a century, life has turned full circle at Tangmere.

It was a farm, became an airbase in two world wars,

A great deal is known about Tangmere's role

in the Second World War, but details of what the Americans

did here in World War I are very sketchy, which is why the research

What we're hoping to do is track down the biographies of Americans

who served in the area, to find out their reactions, their responses to

something arising in Sussex in that time.

Tangmere's role was to train American crews to fly the big

Handley Page bombers that were coming into service.

Britain had helped the Americans by giving them the designs,

the first of many defence collaborations.

It sets the agenda for the special relationship, which is then going to

characterise the rest of the 20th century. So Tangmere is a place

where we see the special relationship begin to bloom.

So far, no-one has even been able to find photographs

of the Americans at Tangmere, but it is hoped the research project

will uncover a treasure trove of archive material.

I have no doubt that somewhere in a loft or in a drawer, people perhaps

have had it handed down to them and never bother to look, I'm sure there

are lots and lots of stuff and it is our history, and it would be

wonderful if anyone did have something like that that we could

get our hands on. The big idea is to hold an exhibition in September, so

the researchers can share what they have discovered. Steve Humphrey, BBC

South Today, Tangmere. On to the weather, Alexis is here.

We will look ahead to the whole week. A bit of a mixed picture but

turning milder from 30 onwards. -- Thursday.

Christopher David took this great shot of Horton Tower in Dorset.

Heather Brooks photographed a robin at Hunston near Chichester.

And Colin Lee captured a carpet of crocuses in Lyndhurst.

Some decent amount of sunshine today, but that ten hazy and will

see similar conditions tomorrow. A bright start but clouding over

through the course of the day. This week there will be sunny spells at

times but a fair amount of rain, not too heavy, but turning milder

particularly from Thursday on words. South-westerly wind started to

develop. Tonight with light wind and clear skies, there may be some

showers initially, but things will dry out and temperatures will fall

away to around one or two Celsius in the countryside. There may be some

frost first thing tomorrow, blue skies overhead first thing that that

will not stay that way, we expect increasing cloud from the West,

turning sunshine hazy. During daylight hours, it should be mainly

dry. You can see a weather front waiting, that will move towards us

tomorrow evening. Temperatures tomorrow to around eight or nine

sources. Tomorrow night, the breeze will increase and the cloud will

thicken and the rain will move in. Could be heavy at times during

Wednesday one. A fair amount of cloud tomorrow night with lows of

six to eight Celsius. A damp start on Wednesday, but we'll see

outbreaks of rain during the course of the day, particularly in the

morning. Drying out during the afternoon. The breeze and starting

to develop from the South West, drawing in milder air, allowing

temperatures to be up to around 12 or 13. A dry end to Wednesday but

further showers are possible on Thursday, spells of rain at times.

This one front will introduce the milder air through the course of

Thursday into Friday. Temperatures on Thursday with the rain and the

cloud could still reach highs of 12 to 14. A similar day on Friday, a

fair amount of cloud, 12 bright spells, highs of 11 to 12 and

outbreaks of rain are possible. The weekend, still a few days away but

we expect some brightness, it will be showery at times and the wind

will be fairly strong on Saturday. It's a treasured keepsake

and a symbol of deep affection Stephen and Claire Fuller have been

exchanging the same birthday card, sending it back and forth,

for more than three decades, each time putting

a fresh message inside. But although Stephen posted the card

as normal at the pillar box near his home in Thame last month,

it failed to arrive It is so lovely when it arrives in

the post, I look forward to it. And look forward to trying to find out

where he has written his message. These photos - taken the last time

Claire received the card - show just how many times birthday

greetings have been scribbled - every year, once to her from

her dad, then from her But after 33 years,

this year, it didn't turn up. It's been a month and is now

presumed lost forever. It is sad, I mean, I don't hold out

a huge amount of hope, because there was no return address on it, but

hopefully somebody who might receive it by accident opens it and realises

that this is a special thing and hangs on to it rather than throws it

away. Claire's an author,

and shared her sadness about Her message has been

shared thousands of times, with many saying they now intend

to copy the idea of re-sending Forgive me for saying, but it is a

bit cheap! Recycling the same card for more than 30 years. What was the

thinking behind it? Because of the money we save!

Royal Mail have acknowledged the loss and advise that anyone

sending something of value through the post should use

a special delivery service, so they can track its journey.

That said, they also accept the sentimental value of this

particular birthday card, and are are doing what they can

There's still hope that Claire will get her belated

and a treasured family tradition can go on.

Allen Sinclair, BBC South Today, Winchester.

Such a pity! Lets hope it turns up. It goes without saying, if you have

knowledge of this or maybe you just want to share the story with

somebody, and certainly share the photo of the card, just go to our

Facebook page and you will find all the information there. That's all

from us this evening, more at eight o'clock and then at 10:30 and were

back tomorrow at 6:30. Join us if you can good night.