22/03/2017 South Today - Oxford

Hello and welcome to South Today. In tonight's programme:

A record fine of ?20 million for Thames Water.

The company let more than a billion litres of sewage

People and animals became ill - and thousands of fish died.

We've never had a longer or more intensive investigation.

Those analyses allowed us to present a picture of systemic failure,

that involve the sewage of 200,000 people.

Also: The developers continuing to build a crematorium -

even though they no longer have planning permission.

From childhood leukaemia, the four-year-old girl

who was inspired by her role models to become a nurse herself.

Thames Water has received a record fine of more than ?20 million

Nearly one and a half billion litres of raw sewage went

The judge said the scale of the problem meant those

at the top of the chain of command must have known.

The River Tame is getting back to its best, but in 2013 a local farmer

was shocked to find sewage flowing downstream. The river was a black

grey colour, it was very smelly. There were dead fish. More than 1

billion litres of untreated sewage were released into the River Thames

and its tributaries between 2012 and 2014. In January Thames water

admitted sewage spills from treatment walks -- treatment works

in Aylesbury, Didcot and little Marlow and a pumping station in

little more. The company also admitted failing to control waste.

After receiving a record fine, Thames Water said it's invested

millions in new equipment since the offences. There have been sweeping,

far-reaching changes across the waste water business. That included

more people, more and better systems, and more investment. And

that is beginning to pay. Our performance has improved

considerably, and were also doing a lot of work in partnership with

environmental groups across our area. The court case followed a

three-year investigation by the Environment Agency. The pattern of

offending was disturbing. It wasn't because there had been new

conditions, it was because basic equipment, screens and pumps, were

not maintained, repaired or replaced. Thames Water's pay for new

fencing to keep the cattle away from the water, but he can't understand

why the pollution got out of control, and for so long. It's

highly irresponsible for such a large company with massive profit

margins to be polluting our waterways. It shouldn't happen.

Judge Francis Sheridan described Thames Water's failings as

diabolical, and entirely foreseeable. He said all of the

problems were avoidable by any competent operator, and summing up

the case before that record ?20 million fine, he said "What a

dreadful state of affairs." Local environmental

groups welcomed the fine. But as the countryside recovers,

their message is that Thames Water simply didn't do its job,

and must change its ways for good. Today's fine is not the first,

for Thames Water is it? There have been a number

of cases over the years. In January 2016, the company

was fined ?1 million because of pollution

on the Grand Union Canal. You're seeing recent pictures here,

but in 2013 there was a leak from a sewage plant in Tring

which polluted the Wendover At the time that was a record fine

for a prosecution of a water company by the Environment Agency,

but this one far exceeds that. Was that a surprise? No, I think

they had been bracing themselves partly for this.

New guidelines were brought in in 2014 for environmental

offences; since then fines have gone up.

Also, the judge said more than once in this case that he wanted to send

a message out to shareholders that pollution on this scale

Bear in mind this is a company that makes ?2 million a day.

One more thing - Thames Water assured me this fine won't be paid

Thames Valley Police say they are reviewing their security

in light of today's attack in London.

In a statement, Chief Constable Francis Hapgood sent out

his sympathies to all those effected by today's events.

He added that the Thames Valley force were reviewing their security

Developers are continuing to build a privately owned

crematorium in Aylesbury - even though they no longer have

The project, in the lakeside village of Watermead, has met

A high court judge said construction could go ahead -

but now the Court of Appeal has overturned that decision.

With an opening date set for June, the developers say

The diggers are still digging, the builders still building.

And that's despite the fact the Court of Appeal has ruled

against the company behind this construction on the shores

The row's been going on for over two years -

the parish council have been fighting it every step of the way,

and they say it's not just because it'll ruin the view of some

The fundamental issue is that there was no sequential test,

which is a test to determine whether or not a site is suitable

for a particular development - in particular in Watermead this

relates to the flood risk, and this has now been proven that

a sequential test should have been carried out.

They say it is the wrong project in the wrong place,

and that plans for another crematorium less than a mile

No-one denies that Aylesbury needs a crematorium; the nearest one

They are often busy, leading to delays for grieving families.

But the row over whether this lakeside location is the best place

That's because the company behind the construction, Westerleigh,

have now submitted all the correct forms to the district council,

and are confident they'll have the permission they need

The planning application now needs to be reconsidered,

but that can be done, and according to the appeals court

judges ought to be done and they expect it to be

So planning permission should come through again relatively quickly,

and from a construction point of view we'll be ready

Both the parish council and the construction firm

are confident they'll win - but it s now up to Aylesbury Vale

District Council to consider the latest planning application.

A decision is expected in the next few months.

Plans to build nearly 200 homes in South Oxfordshire have been

Developers wanted to build 170 houses between Didcot

South Oxfordshire District Council refused the plans; now a planning

Campaigners raised ?10,000 to protect what they

A woman who set up a charity supporting youngsters with parents

in jail has been honoured by the Prime Minister.

Sarah Burrows, from Oxford, launched Children Heard and Seen

after learning two in three boys with a convicted parent

My dad's been in and out of prison for the last 15 years, and I don't

Clayton's parents were jailed for drug offences when he was a toddler.

The 15-year-old and his brother were raised by their grandparents.

I thought I'd only have them for a day or so,

And then within three days, my husband and I knew

that we would end up looking after the children for the rest

I can't even explain to you how difficult that was.

We couldn't be the grandparent any more, we had to be a parent.

That's where the charity Children Heard and Seen came in.

It runs weekly youth groups, and provides mentors.

I used to be an officer at the youth offending service in Oxfordshire,

and a lot of the children that were coming through the criminal

justice system who were offending, I realised had a parent in prison.

So when I started researching why this might be, I then realised

that 65% of boys with a parent in prison went on to a friend.

And thought, actually let's stop this intergenerational offending.

Sarah's received an award from the Prime Minister,

But she relies on referrals to find people who need help.

She says a national database of children with parents in jail

For us it's always having to go out into the community,

getting a referral from school, social care, the police,

probation, whoever, or obviously self-referrals,

but if there was a national database, then those children

could be picked up immediately and support services

For people like me, who have nobody, not even any relatives locally,

And I'd been waiting for that for five, six years.

Now, if you were in Oxford this afternoon, you may well have seen

an unusual horse trotting through the cobbled streets.

The horse puppet was promoting a production of War Horse,

which comes to the New Theatre in December.

The award-winning show is based the novel by Michael Morpurgo,

and follows the fate of a cavalry horse in World War I.

The show has been running across the world for ten years,

and it's about to embark on its second UK tour.

Being able to share a story about war, and about kind of trust

and friendship with everybody, in the centenary year of the end

of the first war is really important for Joey.

A dog walker in Banbury made a startling discovery in a field

near a housing estate - an eight-foot-long boa constrictor.

The RSPCA thinks the snake, who's female, may have escaped

She has been moved to a special reptile unit, until her owners

are located or she can be found a new home.

The RSPCA wants to hear from anyone who knows who she belongs to.

I'll have the headlines at 8:00, and a full bulletin at 10:30.

Now, more of today's stories with Sally Taylor.

Ryan McKinlay was a friend I had known for more than 20 years.

Ryan's death will haunt me for the rest of my life,

but I know that nothing can compare to his family's loss.

My thoughts are, and always have been, with them.

Out of respect to them, I will not be making

Aaron Brown's defence team had called it a tragic accident.

Later in the programme: The four-year-old with leukaemia

who was inspired by her role model to become a nurse herself.

70 jobs are set to go at Hampshire based ordnance survey.

The government owned company, based in Southampton,

They say the job losses are part of a restructuring programme

and existing staff will have to apply for new jobs or take

A consultation involving staff ad two unions is expected

It's a religious relic from one of the most pivotal

parts of our history, and now visitors to The Vyne Tudor

mansion near Basingstoke can immerse themselves in a ritual that was last

performed before one of our most controversial monarchs.

A rare catholic mass from 1535 has been recreated, in sound,

in minute detail and, as Ben Moore reports,

it means visitors can now go back in time to experience for themselves

The last time this Catholic mass resonated around these walls

In the congregation was King Henry VIII.

The chapel as it would've been experienced here is not

as you would think a parish church, you wouldn't have come

in and sat down at the pew and listened to a service.

In fact the Lord of the house would have sat above and looked down

and experienced the worship going on before him.

Choir boys singing the mass, the priest at the altar,

it would have been a completely different experience

The re-creation in immersive sound of Lady Mass at The Vyne Tudor

mansion means you can hear a different part of the service

Bringing it to life has been a pilgrimage, taking sound

technicians as far as Worcester to record a rare Tudor organ.

What you're trying to do is create an audio illusion so that

if you were to walk into the chapel and close your eyes,

you would hopefully get the impression there was a service,

Obviously if you open your eyes there is no one there.

These sounds accompanied a pivotal moment in history.

Henry was on a royal progress visiting his Lords to shore up

This is the very place that on the 17th of October 1535 Henry

would have been to listen to the mass.

It was not just about religious worship.

His courtiers said it was the only time they could guarantee the king

was sitting still long enough to deal with matters of state.

During this mass the King might have secured the loyalty of William,

The other people who are rumoured to have been involved

in the rebellion do indeed rebel, but Sands, the owner of The Vyne,

doesn't, so visits like this can help to get people

onside, helped cement the Reformation, so it is really

Just 20 years after Henry's death this mass was replaced

with a simpler English version but with the political undertones

in the past they can now meet the present in perfect harmony.

The outgoing head of British Olympic sailing has told South Today

that he questioned whether he was doing the right thing,

in taking up a new role with British Cycling.

Stephen Park has been involved in GB sailing success for over 25 years.

He's shortly to move to a sport which has suffered

many negative headlines, including allegations

I went to chat with Stephen in Hamble today, as he prepares

A double Olympian as a competitor followed by 20 years

as administrator and manager of British Sailing.

As he prepares for a shift from sea to land Stephen Park

is heading into choppier waters than he is leaving.

20 years working on the Olympic programme, 16 years managing

the British sailing team, some fantastic performances at

Really excited about the opportunity with British Cycling.

Everyone is well aware there is plenty of challenges

within British Cycling at the moment.

Rio saw plenty of cycling success despite those negative headlines.

Park took the job of British Cycling's new performance

In the ensuing three months he could been forgiven

It would probably be a little bit disingenuous to suggest that I have

not had those thoughts at some time because you wake up in the morning

and you read the stories in the paper and you think,

Park's outgoing Olympics as sailing manager saw GB top the medal table

in Rio with three golds and a silver.

But for a personal highlight Hamble-based Park went

The final race of the star class in Beijing in 2008.

Iain Percy, Andrew Simpson, surfing down the last to the finish

The 2020 Olympics remain Park's focus but while he is in

the velodrome he is confident GB sailing can stay on track as well.

I think the sport is in good stead and I have absolutely no doubt

they are going to be going to Tokyo and we will come home again as one

We wish him success. The weather is not as good in Manchester!

Southampton pair James Ward-Prowse and Nathan Redmond could make

their full England debuts this evening, in the friendly

The two players received their maiden senior

call-ups for Gareth Southgate's first match as permanent

They have both been named on the bench in the last few minutes.

Bournemouth winger Ryan Fraser could also make his full Scotland

Oxford United missed a chance to close the gap

on the top six in League One, as they went down at home

Oxford were 2-0 down when Kane Hemmings bundled them some

But a Chey Dunkley own goal made it 3-1 to Bolton.

And, despite Chris Maguire's pulling Oxford back into it,

Bolton added a fourth before the end.

Poole Speedway manager Neil Middleditch says he's set

himself a target of winning ten British speedway titles.

After three successive championship wins, Poole missed out last year.

They held their traditional pre-season Press Day today.

Their competitive season starts on Monday, as they defend

I would like to win ten. I have a few years left in me yet and I think

Matt and I have a good partnership together. Matt loves the club as

much as I do and that is a key factor in our success, the fact we

feel for the club. You not that summer is starting when the cricket

and the speedway starts. Clara Markiewicz was diagnosed

with acute myeloid leukaemia Spending months in hospital

and undergoing numerous operations, the nurses around her quickly

became her role models. But now she's in training

in Southampton to become a child cancer nurse herself,

and her career has already taken At the age of four hospital

was a home from home Doctors had diagnosed her

with acute myeloid leukaemia. She was seriously ill

and her parents had been told that she had a 40%

chance of survival. There were often days

when you would wake up and one of your playmates was not

there anymore and your mum would have to try to explain it

to you in a way that was not scary for you, the reality was only

about 40% of us in that ward left. Thanks to a specialist clinical

trial, four rounds of chemotherapy and several operations she came

through the treatment The treatment is cruel,

it is really tough. It is almost worse than

the disease sometimes. It is really strong stuff,

a necessary evil, there's If it hadn't been for the care

I had, for the nurses who were there, every day,

every night, every morning, I would not have

these role models to look up to and these people that made life

so much easier when it was Claro began her studies

at Southampton University In December BBC Radio 1 made

a documentary featuring the 19-year-old's decision to become

a child oncology nurse. As it did the rounds on social

media her face rang a bell with one There's not many people in the world

called Clara and then it was Clara's last name,

which is Markiewicz, which is a name that

you would never forget, One day, maybe in my third or fourth

day here, I was sitting in the staff room having my lunch,

and this woman walks in and you know when you are drawn to someone

and you are not entirely sure why? So I was awkwardly trying to look

at her name badge and she saw me looking and she looked at me

and she looked at everyone else And she stood up and she

was like, it is Clara! I hadn't seen her for so long

and we had a big hug. Kate was the nurse who had

been present when Clara 15 years on the two have been

reunited on the children's ward This time Kate is keeping an eye

on her for different reasons. One thing I think is amazing

is that she has decided to come into not only nursing,

which is a fantastic profession, but she has come

into children's nursing, and that is what I was truly blown

away by, because it is great that she has gone full circle

and she can come and contribute. Sometimes on the ward if it has been

a tough day I am like, well, remember what it is like to be

on the other side of things, and that gives you another aspect

and another perspective, As a little girl the odds

were against her. But the nurses have always been

behind her and as she continues her degree in nursing Clara longs

to make a difference to the lives We wish her all the best in the

future with her new career. Springs through everything it could

act as today. We had chilli winds, sharp showers and plenty of sunshine

as well. Quite a story to tell. It was grey this morning. By lunchtime,

it was looking much brighter here. By tea-time, some sunshine in

Swanage and the blossom stayed on the trees. It is the chilly start

under clear skies at first but showers make their way in through

the second part of the night so dry to start but the rain that moved

west to east through the day starts to move east to west overnight. Some

heavy outbreaks at times. Under cloudy skies looking at lows of five

Celsius by Don. Strong winds overnight. Tomorrow, dull, damp

start with further rain to come through the morning for most places.

The further north you are the more likely you are to the wet weather.

Along the coast we have pretty sharp showers once again. In the best of

the brightness 10 Celsius is our top temperature but a key north-westerly

wind will keep temperatures in tech. Tomorrow evening, low pressure

feeding and showers. It is very stubborn and does not seem to want

to move away. Most places milder overnight, seven Celsius. Looking

ahead to Friday, that stop an area of low pressure still with us

through the morning. You can see the high pressure developing which

pushes the low-pressure away and it starts to take control as we head

into the weekend. A much more promising outlook for Saturday and

Sunday. Cloudy with showers through tomorrow and 18 north-easterly wind.

Friday, cloudy with the threat of rain for a time but the further

north you are the more likely to have a dry day with bright spells,

some sunshine per house for most places by the end of the day and

temperatures getting up to double figures. The weekend, some bright

spells through Saturday and the temperatures on the rise but a leak

easterly breeze will make things feel a little bit cooler. Much the

same story for Sunday, more cloud as well.

Let's return to our main story tonight.

Four people have been killed and 20 injured in a terror

A police officer and a person believed to be the attacker

Much of the area around the Houses of Parliament has been sealed off.

Our Political Editor Peter Henley is there.

This is an attack at the heart of the establishment. Yes, an attack

was feared that the heart of the British government and today those

fears were realised. Police forces here and in the south than the rest

of the UK will be reassessing their security measures and thinking about

how to plan for things like sporting events and incidents in towns and

cities. Security measures at military bases will potentially be

reassessed. The head of MI6 said recently that terrorism threat to

the UK is at an unprecedented level. The terror threat has been severe

since 2014 meaning an attack is highly likely. Today that attack

arrived back in the UK. Thank you. We are going to leave you this

evening with a live shot of Westminster which is in lockdown

with many places sealed off. Continuing coverage on the BBC News

Channel and an extended ten o'clock minutes. -- news. Goodbye.