23/03/2017 South Today - Oxford

A big rise in recorded sex offences against children.

Figures show there are up by more than a third in the Thames Valley.

So how much of that rise is down to online grooming?

Described as a tragic case - an inquest hears how

four-year-old Burnaby died after he was run over by his father.

And the rising cost of putting a roof over your head -

the rents that take half the average monthly salary.

The number of child sex offences recorded

by Thames Valley Police went up by more than a third last year.

Figures obtained by the NSPCC show just under 2500

The charity says the figures may be down to the rise of online grooming,

as well as survivors feeling more confident in reporting abuse.

Here's our home affairs correspondent Peter Cooke.

This Thames Valley father knows more than most about child sex offences.

His daughter was groomed online and abused by

The then 22-year-old took explicit pictures of three underage girls

and blackmailed them into having sex.

How did they come to be on your mobile phone?

Byrne is currently serving a ten-year sentence for his crimes.

His victim's father was grateful for the support

We've protected his identity for his daughter's safety.

The special unit they've got in the local police station was very

homely and the officers were very caring.

They should talk to their teachers initially and then

Figures obtained by the NSPCC show a significant rise in recorded child

sex offences by police forces across the south.

Only Wiltshire Police saw a reduction.

But there was nearly a 40% rise in the Thames Valley.

The crime recording processes have changed, so we are much better

and slicker at recording the right crimes, which is really positive,

and it demonstrates that people are happy to come and talk

They are confident in the service that we provide.

We know that both family members can sexually abuse children

in their families and we've always said that a major threat in terms

of sexual abuse comes from other family members or people

But online abuse is also increasingly significant

and with online abuse we know that abusers can abuse several children

Some of these offences are historical - but the force

insists it'll take any reports seriously when victims feel

Next - Thames Valley Police says it's working closely with key

community representatives to allay fears linked to yesterday's terror

Chief Constable Francis Habgood said, in light of the what happened

in London, the cooperation of our communities is more

The force says there is no intelligence to suggest a specific

An inquest has heard how a family day out to a swimming pool ended

in the death of a four-year-old child.

Barnaby Cork's father reversed over him in the car park

of the leisure centre in Thame two weeks before Christmas.

The Coroner recorded a verdict of accidental death.

Barnaby Cork's parents, Stefan and Ella, didn't

attend today's hearing at Oxfordshire Coroner's Court.

The Coroner, Darren Salter, said the facts were not contentious

and therefore there was no need to add to the family's distress.

Barnaby had travelled with his family to Thame leisure

His father had parked in a disabled bay.

The children got out of the car to go swimming while the parents

Stefan then reversed, not realising his son was behind him.

He said he didn't realise he'd run him over.

Barnaby was airlifted to hospital with serious head injuries.

The family launched a JustGiving page for the charity

Our thoughts are very much with Barnaby's family at the moment

and we were incredibly grateful and humbled that they chose

donating to us as one way of remembering Barnaby,

and we have been absolutely overwhelmed

Closing the hearing, the coronor recorded that Barnaby

He offered his condolences to the family on the loss of a young

The mother of an Oxfordshire teenager who died after taking

ecstasy wants all drugs to be legalised for over-18s.

15-year-old Martha Fernback died after taking MDMA

Her mother campaigns for drugs to be regulated and licensed.

Plans for a unitary authority for Oxfordshire have been

Oxfordshire County Council, along with the district authorities

in South Oxfordshire and the Vale of White Horse want to see a single

But West Oxfordshire, Cherwell and Oxford City

Education leaders in Swindon have set out their vision for improving

It's after Ofsted published a letter in November,

claiming pupils there were being failed

The Swindon Challenge Board is now aiming to make sure that every

school is rated good or better by Ofsted by the year 2020.

Rents are rising sharply according to research by the BBC.

In the Cotswolds, tenants are spending almost half

The average rent is more than ?1000 a month.

In Swindon, tenants pay around ?700 a month -

If you're sort of earning average wages or are, you know,

part-time because you've got children, it's really hard.

A busy medical secretary in the morning, Natalie is even

busier with little Oliver and his big sister Heidi

She and her husband moved five times in the last eight years,

I don't know anyone who is privately renting, just because the prices

are so high and what you are getting for your money is not

Our last place was quite expensive and the heating

It was just not ideal for bringing kids up.

Tetbury is beautiful, of course, elegant, royal and pricey.

Of course, what really matters is how much of your

And that's why we've come to the Cotswolds,

because here we discovered that rent takes a bigger chunk out of people's

wages than anywhere else in the West Country.

In fact, an analysis of Government official figures shows that

for every ?100 of wages here in the Cotswolds

B - because there's been a shortage of housing in the recent past,

so therefore prices have been forced up on supply and demand.

How can young people get on the housing ladder

Prices may be high but there is a queue of people ready to pay them.

Landlords tell me they're finding tenants faster than ever.

The property became empty in November and I thought, oh,

It's Christmas, no one's going to want to move.

But actually we were incredibly lucky and within two or three weeks

This is a fairly typical house we might let.

It's a three-bedroom detached property.

A few miles outside Tetbury, we look around a typical

We'd be very hopeful of getting somebody in virtually

the first couple of weeks with something like this.

And that's the sort of turnaround we've been seeing recently.

And what about those people who live in the town

Yeah, no, I think there is an element of that.

Property is still rented very quickly.

Living in such a desirable area with so many positive factors,

it really helps property fly off the shelves and they go quickly

We can't really argue with that as estate agents.

Sarah Farmer has the weather for tonight and into the weekend.

Tonight is looking like a cloudy and dry affair, but it will be

That easterly breeze that we had with us earlier stays with us

through the course of the night and it will feel a little

on the chilly side if you are venturing out.

It does just about enough to stop any frost through

the course of tonight and means we start the day tomorrow morning

on a bit of a chilly note, but quite a bit of cloud

We will gradually see that cloud thinning

It will become bright and dry throughout.

Into the afternoon, doing quite nicely for some sunshine with

Feeling pleasantly warm where you are sheltered from that breeze.

But that nagging wind will just take the edge off by day.

So through tomorrow night, any cloud is filtered out and we can

expect some drier air through the course

Temperatures as a result take a tumble.

Clear skies, temperatures down to 2-3 degrees in towns and cities.

Still a bit of a breeze but some sheltered spots could be prone

to a little bit of frost here and there.

A touch of frost is possible to start the weekend for some.

But overall, checking out quite nicely.

It will stay dry throughout the weekend, some decent sunny

spells, particularly on Saturday, and we will still have an easterly

flow, but gradually through the course of the day

Sunday is looking to be the cloudier of the two days.

It's all courtesy of this area of high pressure.

We'll stay nice and settled through the course of the weekend,

those winds easing down and some sunny spells at times.

Here's your summary for the coming days.

Through tomorrow, some cloudy spells but some brightness

part of the weekend. 1415 degrees. Still quite breezy. Here's Thomas

with the national