04/01/2012 South Today

Good evening from South Today. In tonight's programme: Health experts

warned of a new legal high. The over-the-counter medication that is

being abused. The winter sickness bars of causes

problems. -- bug causes. The bodies back. Wards are closed

as the dreaded norovirus makes an unwelcome return.

A prisoner in her own home. Why this woman finds crossing the road

safely an impossible task. autism is awful. -- autism. It is

just a horrible thing. And down but not out. The boxer hoping to get

his licence back after losing a leg. It is an obstacle. You just have to

get over it and get on with life. No point sitting around whingeing.

It has been claimed teenagers in Southampton i using a feminine

hygiene product to get high. The over-the-counter substance is

available in the city's Polish shops. Experts are saying there are

dangers to people's health. It is now thought gravestones and

memorials at a local cemetery have been vandalised by teenagers who

were high on the drug. We came up here to find the whole

monument with graffiti, pieces of the stone had been knocked off.

This memorial is one of seven -- several damaged. The marble, elves

-- columns had been damaged. The names on the slate had been smashed.

During the clear-up, the underlying cause became a crystal clear.

Amongst the rubbish were these packets. We did not take much

notice but they were we did a bit more research, on the internet, it

was drug-related. Drug charities say the product is known to have

been misused in Eastern Europe but this is the first time it has been

reported in the UK. We became aware of this only yesterday. I did ask a

few of my contacts around the country, nobody else had come

across it. At the moment, it does seem to be very localised. It

produces hallucinations. People seem to get very confused and over-

excited and agitated on this. That would explain some of the aspects

of the vandalism. We had a few tears here. The people that use the

cemetery have lots of -- we have lots of dog-walkers and may have

been patrolling. The police say they are increasing patrols in the

area as a result of the vandalism and are also investigating a

possible link between drug abuse and the incident. Drug charities

are urging retailers to be very careful about who they sell the

product to. It is back. The winter vomiting bug,

known as norovirus, has returned to hospitals. The virus causes severe

vomiting and diarrhoea and his infectious. Wards have been closed

in Southampton, Bournemouth and on the Isle of Wight. Other hospitals

are in a state of high alert. How bad is the situation in

Southampton? It is really quite serious.

Visitors are coming to the hospital but in fewer numbers are than

normal. The reason for that is they are being asked unless it is

absolutely necessary, please, stay away. That applies also to the

princes and hospital -- to the Princess Anne Hospital and Countess

Mountbatten House. Southampton has seven wards closed. In Dorset, the

Royal Bournemouth Hospital has two wards closed. St Mary's has a one

or ward closed. I spoke to a doctor who is in charge of fighting the

bog. -- the bug. Think about whether your visit is essential.

They not, do not come. If you have suffered from vomiting or diarrhoea,

do not come to the hospital until you have been symptom-free for a 48

hours. Otherwise, you will prolong the outbreak. You will spread the

virus. Some clearer advice. How difficult is it to deal with these

are bug? Very difficult. Norovirus has been a problem for

hospitals for several years. In spite of deep cleaning wards and

having very strict hygiene regimes, which hospitals do, it keeps on

coming back. What can we do? Basically, just stay away.

Thank you. A court has heard a disabled man was killed with a

rounders bat he had bought for protection. A 48-year-old man, John

Ellison, was found with severe injuries in Brighton. David Sole

and Denise Antonia were living with him and we are accused of his

murder. The prosecution say John Ellison

was a gentle spirit. He was terminally ill and disabled. Denise

Antonia was his friend. A court heard she and her boyfriend David

Sole had moved into his flat in central Brighton. On the night he

died, the three were home together. The couple are caught on CCTV

leaving and the next people to arrive found John Ellison's

battered body. Denise has told police John was trying to protect

her and her partner punched her in the face. John Ellison picked up

the bat and told her to leave him along. The two men argued. Ben

David Sole beat John Ellison. The court heard David Sole did not give

his side of the story. The prosecution claimed this was a

joint enterprise. The jury were shown CCTV footage of the couple at

a nearby train station after the alleged murder. The court was told

they travel to Hampshire where Denise disposed of the bat. The

jury heard John Ellison had bought the rounders bat one week before he

died. A friend claims he slept with it under his pillow. Another claims

he bought it for protection but he did not say why. David Sole and

Denise Antonia both deny murder. Hundreds of households in the south

have had to manage a second day without electricity after storms

ripped down power cables. The doctor's surgery in Elstead near

Farnham was one of several properties in the village that lost

power when a tree fell on a local sub-station. Doctors continue to

see patients by torchlight, using handwritten notes.

We had some torches and then I went home and got some lamps. I bought

them in again this morning. We functioned OK. Patients came in. We

just had to manage as we used to do, with paper. A bus driver who was

injured when a tree crashed on to his vehicle remains in hospital. He

was cut free from the wreckage and treated for severe head injuries.

The hospital says he is in a serious but stable condition.

Boat owners stranded on a stretch of the Kennet and Avon canal have

begun moving again. The ten-mile stretch between Hungerford and

Marlborough has been closed since mid-November because of low water

levels. The problems for boat owners are not quite over yet.

This was the last barrier to boats on the canal being lifted today.

Repairs to this mean lest water leaking away. -- less water.

water is at an all-year low. It has enabled us to open the canal by

doing this. But the levels are too low for us to operate a normal

level. We need some good rainfall to enable us to continue as as

normal during the summer months. This reservoir may look healthy now

have but officials will be watching to see how quickly levels go down

with the canal open again. Those who were stranded were keen to be

on the move. We have just got the all-clear. I will take the dog back

to the boat and start the engine. Good news. We are ready for that.

We can have a good bash now. Four miles an hour maximum. A few

minutes later, they were doing just that. There are this was obviously

not plain sailing. I can tell it has been closed for a long time.

least the quenelle was open again, if only for a few days. -- the

Kinnell. They need rain and plenty of it. Bodes like those just beyond

us are not going to spend many more weeks, even months, tied up beside

the Kennet and Avon canal. Still to come: Sarah Farmer will

have an update on the weather. Catharina Moh have a bird's eye

view of Weymouth. Have you got a head for heights?

Join me to find out if you will be able to see this view in time for

the Olympics. A woman has appeared in court

charged with murder following the death of a man on Boxing Day in

Dorset. Carol Kemp from Torquay in Devon is alleged to have stabbed to

Martin Rusling as an address on Park Road in Poland. The 44-year-

old was remanded in custody at Winchester Crown Court.

Police in Hampshire are asking for help to identify thieves who used a

stolen loyalty card on a shopping The number of drink-drivers have

gone up. North and east Hampshire had the highest number of arrests

with 68 in total. A Dorset women with autism has been

told not to leave her house alone because she cannot cross the road.

Alex Jordan is 28 and works with computers. Traffic confuses her so

much she is likely to be hit. In one year, she was run over seven

times. In the second of his special reports, here is our health

correspondent. Alec and has support worker are out

for a walk. -- Alexander support worker. The cars are confusing her.

You can see them but they jump about. They do not go smoothly. It

is jumping. Alex can't cross roads. She has been hit seven times. She

has broken bones and put her head through a windscreen. What is

happening when she sees traffic? All the exhaust fumes are different

colours. There is so much to taking. They don't look like they are

flowing, they looked like they are jumping about. The simple act of

crossing a road is not as simple as everybody thinks. Alex is not

allowed to leave a house alone. It is one of many care rules designed

to keep her safe. The door is not locked behind us when we leave so

she can't get out. She can go out if she wants to but she knows if

she does, and tries to cross the road, she may well come to serious

injury. Weekends can pass without has seen anyone. -- hurts seeing

anyone. It is a prison. My life is restricted by my autism. It is not

restricted by the people who help me, it is restricted by their

condition. Autism is awful. It is A good afternoon, the care division.

During the week she does care work here. She enjoys it. But if she

gets stressed, she comes here. just want a quiet with no movement

or sound, no smells, I can just take my time to calm myself down.

That is before I go back to work. Heather is back for a cooking

lesson. Knives can be a problem. put a knife in my pocket once and

sat down, it stuck in my leg. Heather comes here once a week. It

may sound like a lonely life, but that is not how Alex sees it.

don't feel lazy or lonely, I have Facebook. Some of my best friends

are people I have never met. It is just a case of trying to stay

positive and looking forward to the good things. Alex Jordan facing the

difficulties that so many of us take for granted. Well, in tomorrow

night's programme we meet Victoria, who has Aspergers, and her

boyfriend Matt, who has Tourette's, as they prepare for the Weymouth

Carnival. Walking around hand in hand, nobody taking notice of us.

Working on our conditions seems to help, it works out for the best.

with us tomorrow to find out how they get on.

Police in Hampshire are asking for help to identify thieves who used a

stolen loyalty card on a shopping spree in Alton. The Nectar Card had

one hundred thousand points on it when it was taken. That's worth

around five hundred pounds of shopping. Officers would like to

speak to a man and a woman captured on the in-store CCTV who may be

able to help with their enquiries. Thieves have targeted the Bandstand

in Basingstoke's war memorial park. They attempted to steal lead from

its roof just before new year. When police arrived at the Park they

found abandoned ladders and lengths of stripped lead dumped nearby.

Although much of the lead has been recovered, the damage to the

structure is extensive and repairs could take a long time.

Today marked the official ground breaking ceremony for Weymouth's

new observation tower. Standing 53 metres tall on the end of Festival

pier it will overlook the Olympic Village and sailing course. And

there to help proceedings along, Team GB sailors, Annie Lush and

Lucy and Kate Macgregor. However they got slightly more than they

bargained for as Catharina Moh reports.

Swapping sales today. Three Olympic sailors marking the ground breaking

ceremony at the new Weymouth tower. At its highest point you can see

for miles along the coast, and today the new match-race team got a

preview. I am not a fan of heights, it is a great view though. It is

really exciting. You can see most of the race, so, I think for the

Olympics it will be a great place to view from. The �3.5 million

attraction is being built in time for the Olympics but not for the

Olympics. Despite the individuals on offer, objections were launched.

Everybody is entitled to their opinion, but most of the feedback

is very positive. It will help local businesses. Do you think this

will be ready in six months' time? Yes, the spinnaker tower is

different, we are confident we can do it on the 1st July. We are ahead

of schedule. There is no reason or why we cannot. The glass pod will

hold 70 people and the experience will take 50 minutes. It could

potentially take 1500 people every day. At just under 14 metres high,

we are just shy of where the observation pod will stop. Visitors

will get a chance of a 360 degree panoramic vista of the British

Olympic sailing hopefuls. They will be competing for medals far down

below and that is just in 205 days before the Olympics. They are

confident they will be ready in time. She looked very cold up

there! Much tougher on the water than up there! Moving on to the

Olympics in just a moment. First of all, moving to football.

The man charged with finding a new owner for Portsmouth Football Club

says a deal could be imminent, five weeks after its parent company

entered administration. The joint administrator Andrew Andronikou

told BBC Radio Solent this morning that the search for new investment

is at an advanced stage. This evening he has hinted that an

announcement could be made in the next few days. Convers Sports

Initiatives has been in administration since November last

year, after the collapse of a Lithuanian bank which was

controlled by the former Pompey owner Vladimir Antonov.

Southampton Football Club has confirmed it's in talks with the

Japanese international Tadanari Lee. The 26 year old striker flew into

London yesterday and will train with the team for the next ten days

until a work permit arrives. Elsewhere Bournemouth has completed

the signing of Brighton defender Steve Cook on a three and a half

year deal for an undisclosed fee. Now, there may have been criticism

over the lack of women who receive sports coverage. But tonight, in

the first of 3 reports featuring our female Olympic hopefuls, we

meet a veteran of international hockey. Yet in more than a decade,

gold has always eluded her. Kate Walsh has been the GB Hockey

Captain since 2003 and has won several medals. But now, in 2012,

there's only one colour that matters. Ed Sherry has the story.

She is the heart of the team's defence. The 31 year-old Reading

player made her debut in 1999 and has captained her country for the

last eight years. We have an amazing squad. I want to think

about the players, how are they feeling. How can I make it more

enjoyable for them? Gold has so far proved elusive for the squad based

at the National Sports Centre in Berkshire. The Olympics means

everything to me. I remember watching the games as a little girl.

I remember Sally Gunnell, she was so inspirational. To see a British

woman do so well. The winning form is there, in December they

travelled to California and whitewashed the USA in a four game

series. There are not many moment in the day when I am not thinking

about being the best team we can be. It is difficult to get the public

to understand that, but when that is all you think off outside of

your family, that shows how important it is to me. For Kate the

job is part player, but also a motivator as a captain and for the

management. Until a month before the Olympics they will not know,

only 16 will go to the Olympics. We train with that knowledge every day.

But we still support each other, we must be there for each other, but

you are fighting for my place, and I am fighting for yours. Next up is

the competition in Argentina, where the final squad will be selected.

Then there will be a shot at the gold. For me, it is my life. I eat,

sleep, and breed hockey. There is nothing I want more than a gold

medal at the Olympic Games. And tomorrow night we'll meet one

of the up and coming stars of British Athletics. Nineteen-year-

old Bethy Woodward from Dorset is already a World Champion and is

aiming for gold at this year's Paralympic games. She has cerebral

palsy which affects one side of her body. She won gold in the 400

metres in the IPC World Championships in New Zealand last

January. Finally, an amateur boxer from

Dorset who lost the lower half of his leg in an accident is back in

the ring. Jonjo Look, who's eighteen and from Weymouth, says

he's ready to compete again. Simon Clemison caught up with him at the

club where he trains in Dorchester. Jonjo learnt the art of using his

hands and feet in the boxing ring from an early age. But two years

ago he injured both badly in an explosion as he filled a gas

canister. His wounded hands survived but his right leg was

almost completely severed. How did you feel when the accident

happened? At first I was devastated, but you have to get over it. Get on

with life. Did you think your boxing days were over? At first I

did. I thought all of my prospects were. But, these new limbs are

pretty good. So could in fact that doctors have cleared him to compete

in the ring once more. With his new prosthetic limb in place, Jonjo

learned to walk again, then run, then fight. The sport's governing

body still have to agree to him competing, but he is getting in

extra practice at the Dorchester amateur club, which is prouder than

ever. Are you as good at boxing now than before? I don't know, but I

want to find out. If I compete I will soon find out. I am in

training, I am still training frequently. You might be at the

same level? I might be, I could be better.

Packing a punch isn't it, the Yesterday we recorded 84 mph winds,

not quite as breezy today. Still quite windy. We have got some

lovely photos. Look at this photo. Amazing colours. This is from

George, a great picture. And this picture sums up the afternoon

pretty well, a grey and dull day. A grey and dull day is followed by a

grey and dull night. Some damp and dreary conditions to come. Patchy

rain expected through the course of tonight. One or two rather heavy

bursts expected. Tonight, clear skies to start with, before the

cloud works its way in. Quite a bit of rain coming in, tonight. There

will be some heavy bursts at times. The wind is picking up if anything,

gusts of around 50 mph inland. Coastal areas could see strong

gusts. Wet and windy, overnight temperatures to come down to six or

seven degrees. Tomorrow morning, a bit of a grey, damp and dreary

start. We will see those shares gradually easing out towards the

south-east, dry and bright conditions to come. We should see

some decent sunny spells through the afternoon. The wind is a key

feature through the morning, but into the afternoon it will ease off.

By tomorrow night we will see it dropping away, just to bring a

touch of frost with clear skies overhead. Temperatures dipping down

to three or four degrees in towns and cities. A bit of a chilly start

for Friday. Crisper and bright first thing, particularly the

further east you are, but the cloud comes in from the West. Late in the

day bringing some patchy outbreaks of rain, through the overnight

period into the weekend. Much, this weekend, the wind dying down as we

go through Saturday and Sunday to. It looks like we will see some

decent bright and sunny spells, not ruling out the chance of one or two

showers, but for many of us, a fine and bright weekend. Not doing too

bad for the rest of the week, then. Overnight frost on Thursday and