28/10/2016 South Today - Oxford

A BBC investigation's discovered lethal diet pills are being sold

on the so-called "dark web" - despite a major crackdown.

The tablets containing dinitrophenol or DNP have

been linked to a number of deaths in the UK,

including a man from Buckinghamshire four years `go.

Zoe Curtis has this exclusive report.

Sean Clithero was just 28 when he died after taking

the highly toxic chemical DNP in a High Wycombe gym.

He was hoping to lose weight and his mother Sharon Ayres wants

I was in with him probably H think no more than ten minutes and when I

first got in there he was trying to stand up because he said his back

was hurting and he was just shouting that is back hurt and he wanted to

stand up and he wanted me to help him, and I said you can't stand up.

I noticed his stats were re`lly high and the doctor was telling le to

keep calm and lie down, and the sweat that was

legally used in fertilisers, dyes and even ammunition.

But it's illegal if sold or marketed for human consumption.

Four people were jailed in connection with Sean's c`se.

The Food Standards Agency is clamping down on underground

websites selling DNP 'as didt pills' and has closed 19 in the last year.

If you are selling it online we can track you,

we can trace you to your hole address, and we have done on

two occasions this year, we've successfully intervened in those

selling it online, thinking they were selling it in a w`y that

could not be traced but acttally we traced them, and they are now

active, ongoing investigations hoping to be result in prosdcution.

New figures from the Medicines Health Regulatory Authority seen

by the BBC show it seized ?1.4 million worth of unlicdnsed

dietary medicines in the last year, up from 960,000 two years bdfore.

The BBC purchased pills from the dark web and had them

The results showed they contained 40% DNP.

The campaign to clamp down on the sales is continuing

But it's of little comfort to those who've already lost loved ones.

I had Sean when I was 17, so not just losing a son, he was lhke a

little brother to me - so it is very, very

when you have that bond with someone and all

A man from Chipping Norton's been sentenced to 18 years in prhson -

for the attempted murder of his elderly mother.

Steven Williams, who's 44, was convicted

He'd stabbed 72 year old Daphne Williams in the neck

in an unprovoked attack six months ago.

Next tonight - Specials - or voluntary police officers -

could soon make up around a third of the number of

The force has started a recruitment drive for more but denies it's

using volunteers to plug the gap, left by cuts.

He's just up ahead of us so we'll do a compliance stop in a second.

The reason I've stopped you is because you're speedhng

Ian Evans has been doing this job for ten years,

You could be sat round the corner and a call could come in, a distress

call, or someone trying to commit suicide.

It is very satisfying being able to come along and help a melber

of the public and calm them down and let them know, reassure them.

I enjoy that I just enjoy the satisfaction of being able

Nationally, specials make up 16 of police constables.

Wiltshire has around 1000 Pcs and 136 specials.

They want to increase that number to 500.

That would mean a third of its constables

There's a danger that peopld will see it as using voluntders

that the special constabulary have a very special place and that

they're there to support the police not to replace

Are you using specials to plug the gap because of cuts?

No, no, I mean it's fair to say we have fewer officers now

than we did a few years ago but we still have the core strength

and we certailnly would not ever use or expect the specials to fhll

Specials have the same responsibilities and the sale powers

They free up the police, enabling them to take on other,

Wiltshire Constabulary say people wanting to become a special

will receive full, ongoing training and the chance to specialisd

in an aspect of policing, such as cyber crime,

A new memorial garden is being created in Oxford

to commemorate the lives of soldiers who were killed in Afghanistan.

456 daffodil bulbs have been planted -

one for each of the servicelen and women who died in the conflict.

Many of the bodies were brotght to the John Radcliffe Hospital

in Oxford for a post mortem examination.

A formal ceremony will be held when the daffodils

I think it is very important because we always had about 200

It was ex-servicemen, serving personnel and

The same people used to come week after week.

I think they would appreciate what's happening here today.

A new magazine is officiallx on offer in Aylesbury.

It's a collection of tales of life in Buckinghamshire

The magazine - written by vdterans - is designed to help them find

We're back in BBC Breakfast tomorrow morning.

Sarah Farmer has your weather next.

Hello. Good evening. We stick with the cloudy and mild they must we go

through this evening and thhs weekend as well. A settled picture,

courtesy of high pressure. Tonight, temperatures around 12, 13. A lot of

cloud but where we do see some breaks, some patchy fog devdloping.

That will be slow to clear. Very light winds on the cards. Most of

seeing Cloud during the course of the day. Into the afternoon brighter

skies developing. Taking a look ahead, it looks like we will stick

with the settled conditions into Sunday. More brightness on the way

for the afternoon. to come into the beginning of next

week as well. Now the national