03/01/2012 South Today

Good evening. Strong winds and heavy rain caused

widespread disruption across the South today. Add driver had to be

cut from his bus. When my husband came down there were alarms going

off and be realised it was the tree at the end of the house.

The link distrain - - computers - - commuters feel the impact of the

new fares. We hear about one man's struggle

with as burgers. Das Asperger's We have a full round of the

Strong winds and heavy rain caused widespread disruption across the

South today. Roads across the region were closed with trees being

blown over. Roads across the region were closed with trees being blown

over. Rail travel was delayed with lines blocked and a number of

ferries were cancelled due to the strength of the winds. Many

buildings suffered structural damage. At one point this afternoon

there were still 30,000 properties without power. The strongest

recorded gust of wind in the south was 84mph off Portland in Dorset.

Gusts of 60mph were also felt inland in places such as Odiham. Up

to 15mm of rain fell in just one hour this morning in parts of the

South. The storm passed through most of the South by lunchtime, but

it left a trail of damage in its wake. A bus driver was seriously

injured and had to be cut free from his cab after a tree fell and

crushed the vehicle in Witley in Surrey. Two passengers on board

escaped unhurt. Ben Moore has our first report from Surrey.

In such horrendous whether it is little wonder that this bus did not

get through Whitley this morning. The driving wind and rain ripping

up a 100 ft tall oak tree at its roots at the exact moment the bus

was passing. It is not a good start to somebody's year. Police were

called to this location at it 20 6am this morning. Victory has blown

over the road and the bus has impacted that tree. The two

passengers or on the bus and amazingly they escaped uninjured.

Not so the driver. With severe head and chest injuries he was cut from

the wreckage and treated by the air ambulance doctor. The damage to the

cab of this bus is expensive, but the police and emergency services

know if it wasn't for this war breaking to fall of the treat it

could have been much worse. Not least for the family who had a rude

awakening. We just had a house shake. The family said they soon

realise that any damage to the house was insignificant as they

tried to help the bus driver. were people outside straight away.

Very soon after the house shook we heard the fire brigade.

Destabilised the bus driver before the to come away on the air

ambulance. Tonight the bus driver is in a stable but critical

condition. The bus has now been taken away but investigations are

continuing and police are still keen to talk to any witnesses.

The whole of the South was affected by the strong winds and rain

overnight and this morning. Electricity engineers have been

working throughout the day to restore power to thousands of

properties after overhead lines were brought down. David Allard has

been looking at the damage caused elsewhere around the South and at

those who had lucky escapes. Appalling conditions which stopped

ferry services, pull one man decided to brave wind speeds of

violent storm force 11 taking his been due out in the harbour.

Rescuers found him on a mud flat suffering from hypothermia.

weather conditions were atrocious. Had he not been wearing a

lifejacket the outcome could have been very different. In Southampton

an early-morning shock for people at a bus stop on the high street.

Part of this building collapsed behind them. It is a showroom for a

gasworks heating company. parapets came down. You can see the

result. It is not too good. If we find anything that we can deal with

now, we may keep it cordoned off. The wind is still blowing. It is

due to come down this afternoon. More debris came down as fire crews

were to make the building safe. It wasn't the only damage caused by

the torrential rain and high winds. Council workers were kept busy with

repairs after Portsmouth got a battering. This converted chapel in

West Sussex was patched up and part of the roof blew off. As the storm

latched Dorset and each GP world over, trapping the driver. Across

the region are real lines and roads were blocked by fallen trees.

Council staff working to clear the hazards. On the A 31 in Dorset a

branch of the Land Rover which then collided with another vehicle. One

driver was injured. Fortunately, no one was in this car when a tree

fell on it. In some places to falling trees brought down

electricity cables crossing power cuts to more than 30,000 homes.

Engineers are working hard to restore suppliers. We won't be able

to a tense. Part of a building has collapsed. The gas work teams have

set up a shop. I'm sure it'll cost me a kiss or two to be using this

office, it is very helpful but they have allowed us to do that. Their

insurance company will not be here until tomorrow, and it is likely to

be a very busy week for insurance claims.

Many commuters are struggling to get home from London. Sarah Farmer

will be here later in the programme with a full weather forecast.

For many of you, it was back to work this morning. For thousands of

commuters in the South, that meant more expensive rail fares. The cost

of tickets increased yesterday by an average of nearly 6%. It is not

just rail travel that is on the rise as motoring costs could go up

by even more. Our transport correspondent, Paul Clifton,

reports. Don at Reading station. For passengers on the most

overcrowded commuter route, time to get to grips with the new fares.

am not feeling well about this because the prices are very highly.

With another rise, it is a rip-off. They are already more expensive

than most of Europe. It is not fair. For a season-ticket holder the 6%

average rise means finding an extra �215. Financially, it is still with

me travelling by train. We will have to cut down on other things.

Hopefully not my glass of wine in the evening. This morning a new

platform was brought into use, the first tangible benefits other

station rebuild that has been under way for a year-and-a-half. The last

Government and this Government have followed a policy of trying to move

the cost of the railway from the taxpayer to do a fair pair. The

fare increase this year reflects that policy of both governments.

The big project this holiday was at Cowley Lane West of the station.

The Old Bridge came down a Christmas. Within a week and you

one was wheeled into place. A huge task with the road beneath it not

due to reopen until later this month. The cost of motoring has

risen faster than the cost of travelling by train. Today the

Automobile Association warned that costs will continue to rise. Fuel

prices may be slightly better news, but other costs will increase,

particularly parking. To be so to gest that 40 % of people making a

new resolution have said they will not try to drive as much. The cost

of travelling is rising higher than inflation, and much faster than

their income of most people. For many it will mean a year of tough

choices. Police trying to establish the

identity of a man's body washed up on Hayling Island on New Year's Day

say he had several distinctive tattoos. The man is described as

white and aged between 50 and 60. Among the tattoos were a skull and

crossbones on his upper right arm and one of a Welsh Feather saying

Forever Wales. Still to come in this evening's

South Today: The best of yesterday's football league action

as the Championship leaders are You may remember last October we

told you about the sorry saga of the Davies family in Dorset. They

have been waiting for a year to get their boiler replaced. They had

been let down several times by the Government's Warm Front scheme,

which provides heating systems for vulnerable people. You may also

remember that Warm Front told us the problem would be sorted out in

a few weeks. Well, guess what? The Davies family still doesn't have

central heating. Roger Finn reports. The Davies family boiler blew up

over a year ago. The family care for her disabled son and that make

them eligible for a grant which tubs of insulation and heating for

vulnerable people. Over the last year, to a permits to replace the

border fell three and hours on the phone proved fruitless. The family

have paid a fortune on a electric and paraffin. We are just wondering

now how we're going to pay our electricity bills in the future.

When we told their story last October, warm front said they hoped

to increase - - complete with their work in a few weeks. There is still

no border. Within days of were broadcast warm front had given them

three quotes from installation companies. The family chose one and

it were told it would be completed within 28 days. The problem is that

according to do installation company they knew nothing about

this 20 a day guarantee and couldn't hope to meet it. He if we

knew we were going to be subjected to all this stress, trauma, empty

promises, yet another winter with no heating, we would never have

contacted warm front in the first place. In a statement warm front

The spokesman also told me that the work will be done by the end of

this month. An ancient yew tree has amazed

experts at Wakehurst Place in Sussex. Up to now, no-one had paid

very much attention to the unimposing tree, but experts have

found it dates back to 1391 and the discovery has re-written the

garden's history. Yvette Austin has more. Wakehurst Place is renowned

for this collection of trees. Some are extremely old. 18 months ago

this tree was cleared of its covering of holly and dated from

1620. Just one of a number of yew trees in the grounds. Then there

was a new discovery. A landscape architect working with us notice

that all the trees were in a straight line. There is a technique

which will giddy the age of trees. But is looking at each of the

annual rings and how far apart they are. This one goes all the way back

to 1391. The discovery of such an old tree has affected the re

written the history of this place. Victory behind this is 1391. I

found another tree that would have been in line here in Auld archives.

That tree would have been just about here. We have now got four

trees in line. We thought that this garden should be celebrated for its

great plant collectors in the 19th and 20th century. We are now

thinking about this as a rare example of 600 years earlier than

that. More history is to come. Martin Hedley from Dorset is a

gifted musician and a charity worker, but he has been unemployed

for 10 years. He has Asperger's - a type of autism. 85% per cent of

people with Asperger's are out of work, one of the highest rates of

any disability. In the first of three special reports our health

correspondent, David Fenton, looks at how the condition affects those

living with it. At the old town hall in Weymouth

Maarten Headley and his daughter get to work. He is turning to his

400-year-old building into an art centre. I could not see that they

could be employed, but I can provide my own employment. That is

how this project started. He has Asperger's syndrome. I liked doing

small detail things for quite a long time. It is almost like you

get in as and when you tune out. My brain never, ever stops analysing

things over and over again. In that sense it is like a curse because it

never stops. Living with that has not been easy, for Martin or his

daughter. It is very stressful. You have always got to be completely

honest and open. Being my age, I don't want to have to tell him

everything. To show what Asperger's syndrome is really like, he has

kept a video diary. You are trying really hard to conform, to be part

of society. To be useful. We're off to Glastonbury tomorrow. Very

excited by that. Roll on and I are going to pitch the tent. It is a

lovely sense of camaraderie. But a mix-up over where to meet Roland

Kohl's marked in a major breakdown. I feel so bad. I panic. I start

swearing and things. One thing that he has but a lot of

people don't is that he is incredibly honest. That seems to be

something about Asperger's syndrome, they are 10 to be very honest.

has many talents, which society does not seem to want. I did a

degree. I went on to do a masters. I succeeded, but I have got a debt

of 14 Grant and I am on benefits. That is completely mental. I am

quite surprised that your have stayed fishing. Obviously people

assumed that it is something of that there would do with the sun.

But I haven't got a son. He is mad and brilliant and clever and

childlike and intense. We have flown aeroplanes. Climbed up trees.

He is everything. But the key is a Tomorrow, David meets a young woman

whose life has been dramatically affected by her autism. Alex Jordan

is 28 and works with computers. But she is not allowed to leave her

house alone because she can't cross the road. The traffic confuses her

so much she has been hit by cars seven times. Join us to find out

how she copes in tomorrow night's South Today.

Now, the Sports! I really busy festive period. I saw Brighton

again Southampton yesterday. What a fantastic match.

After a dream start to the season, Southampton are still at the top of

the Championship, but only just. Here is how it stands at the start

Saints are still ahead of West Ham, but only by goal difference.

Reading's good run at the end of the year sees them lying fifth,

despite a loss to third-placed Cardiff over the weekend. So, it

may have been a less than perfect start to the New Year for Saints as

they suffered back-to-back defeats for the first time in losing 3-0 to

Brighton. But for one young player from Brighton, things couldn't have

It was a dream debut for this young man. Man of the match, to boot!

Hopefully I have restored the fear that my manager. There was a red

card, a decision which could have cost the Saints at the game.

four to lead the sending off of Ricky Lambert changed the

complexion of the game. Brighton scored three times in 15 minutes to

seal the win. There is no better way to start a new year. Alwyn,

three points, beating the leaders. Two second-half goals gave

Portsmouth their first win in four games. Their victory against

Watford puts them at the 17th. Reading stay fit despite conceding

three first-half goals in a 3 - - 1 defeat to Cardiff. In League One,

Bournemouth are up to 10th after beating Wycombe for two goals to

nil. We played some really good football today. The fans come out

in their thousands today. A great crowd. Indeed to Oxford looks set

for victory when the goalkeeper made a mistake. They managed to

salvage a draw. Aldershot Town failed to capitalise on a depleted

Gillingham side. Gillingham held on to the victory by one called to

zero. - - one goal to zero.

Detailed plans for a new state of the art training ground and a

further 8,000 seats at Brighton's Amex Stadium were unveiled in

yesterday's match day programme. The planned training facility,

close to Shoreham Airport, will include five pitches while the

stadium will get a new hospitality area, as well as extra seating.

Meanwhile, Portsmouth are close to finding a buyer to secure their

long term future. BBC Radio Solent will have an interview with the

administrator of their parent company on tomorrow morning's

Breakfast show from 6.30am. In Rugby, French side Toulon are

denying that they have signed London Irish duo Nick Kennedy and

Delon Armitage. Reports in the French media this morning said the

two England internationals were set to join Delon's younger brother,

Steffon, on the Mediterranean coast. Toulon say this is not the case and

London Irish say they will not comment on speculation.

In Ice Hockey, the Bracknell Bees narrowly lost out 3-2 in overtime

to take a point against the Manchester Phoenix. The home side

bombarded the Bracknell goal. Karl Ambler, who made 50 saves in total,

got man of the match. Elsewhere, the Guildford Flames still top the

table despite losing two consecutive games over the weekend,

5-2 to the Basingstoke Bison and 6- 2 to Milton Keynes Lightening.

It has been confirmed that the Hampshire-born former Olympic

fencer Bob Anderson died on New Year's Day. He was 89. He staged

fights in the Star Wars films and From Russia With Love and actually

fought the iconic light sabre battles as Darth Vader in The

Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi.

Finally, 2012 marks the year that athletes across the world have been

waiting for. The countdown to the London Olympics is well and truly

on its way. Here in the South a number of athletes are hoping to

make it on to Team GB. Tomorrow, we will hear from England hockey

captain Kate Walsh who, despite leading the team for the last eight

years, is taking nothing for granted in trying to secure her

place in the Olympic squad. 2012 has finally arrived. We have

the ceiling at Weymouth. I am really looking forward to it. There

will be so many people with golden hopes, Ben Ainslie for example. It

is a big year. There is a special anniversary this year and we would

like your help to mark it. On 10th April 1912 the world's most

famous ship left Southampton on a maiden voyage she never completed.

Titanic. In April this year South Today will mark the centenary of

the disaster. Do you have a connection to Titanic? Did a

relative seal on the ship? We did like to hear from you. Please e-

Very much looking forward to hearing any stories you might have.

Sarah Farmer is here. What a start to the year with the weather!

really blowing a gale. The rain and wind so strong today. This tree

fell down during the early hours in Thanks to Joanna Bailey for that

photo. The strong winds took down a wall at Badger Farm in Winchester

today. Greg Wood sent in that picture. Mike Blake captured

So, a very windy day indeed. This low across Scotland prop that front

right across a region bringing their heavy rainfall. You can see

were the heaviest rainfall was. It has just about cure - - clear dig

through the day. 84 miles an hour was the strongest we saw today on

the Isle of Portland. Even in land use of gusts of around 60 miles per

hour. We have not seen the last of those winds, but I think we have

seen the last of the really strong gusts. It will start to see clear

spells developing. There are one or two showers to be had, but for most

it will be a dry and clear night. Overnight temperatures will dip

down to four or five degrees. Into tomorrow morning, a bright start

for most of us but breezy again. The cloud will gradually thicken

from the West bringing with it some patchy outbreaks of rain and

drizzle. It will stay pretty wet and breezy through the overnight

periods. We will see some more prolonged periods of rain at times.

Temperature Wise, probably not dropping too far away from a day

like fat used, really. So, taking a look ahead to their estate, we can

just about see those isobars beginning to open up a touch,

meaning the winds will drop away as little. In fact, thirsty itself is

looking like being a bright day. The winds will ease down as you

going to the afternoon. Into Friday, we are set to see some cold

conditions, perhaps even a touch of frost. Friday during the day

clouding over what that was later, and a similar picture on Saturday,

as well. We were telling you earlier on