18/04/2013 South Today

South Today. In tonight's programme: "A catalogue of errors."

The seven-year-old boy awarded millions in compensation after

hospital mistakes left him with severe brain damage. I am glad they

have apologised and realised what happens, but I hope it does not

happen in the future to someone else. It really shouldn't happen.

A hug from the President. Disappointment for the mum of a

Hampshire boy who died in the Sandy Hook shootings as the US Senate

fails to tighten gun laws. The head of a school embroiled in

controversy for months resigns his post.

And row, row, row your boat - across the Atlantic. The 16-year-old aiming

for the record books with support from mum. What mother wouldn't take

seriously putting their 16-year-old out onto the Atlantic because it is

The family of a seven-year-old boy from Horsham who was left with

severe brain damage after serious complications during his birth, have

received an �8.5m payout. Alfie Buck was born at the Princess Royal

Hospital in Haywards Heath. An investigation found midwives made a

"catalogue of errors" including failing to monitor his heart rate

for more than 12 hours. Alfie has cerebral palsy and needs 24 hour

support. The hospital has apologised and a financial settlement was

agreed at the High court this morning. Mark Sanders was there.

This was little Alfie's day in court. A day which saw his future

care secured with a multi-million pound payout. We are very relieved

that we have come to the end. It has been a long, hard struggle. In terms

of daily life, it must be difficult? Yes, the many way change that. It

will still be just as hard, but we will be able to afford carers and

night carers when he is up screaming at night. Alfie was left with severe

brain damage because of mistakes during his birth. Alfie 's lawyers

say when he was born at the Princess Royal, staff failed to monitor his

heart rate for more than 12 hours during his mother's labour. They

failed to deliver him by emergency Caesarean, which would have

prevented his brain being starved of oxygen. Ends could have been

different. If Alfie had been delivered 12 minutes earlier his

brain would have been saved. Back home, Alfie's family of planning his

future. The �8.5 million is for a lifetime of care. A new home with

more space, place for equipment, care regime, therapy, it is an

endless list. Brighton and Sussex University Hospital NHS trust issued

nothing but praise for Alfie's family and the love and care they

had given him. The head teacher of a school in

Hampshire, which was criticised for the way it handled a pupil's

allegation of rape, has resigned. Peter Trythall was the principal at

Stanbridge Earls School near Romsey which is a boarding school for

children with special educational needs. The school received a damning

report from Ofsted after the allegations came to light and an

action plan it put forward to improve the school was rejected by

the Department for Education. Caroline Richardson is following the

story and joins me now. Caroline, the school has faced a barrage of

criticism over the last few months. Yes it has. This all started in

January at a tribunal hearing where it came to light that a pupil with

special needs claimed she had been raped by a fellow pupil. You may

remember that we called the girl Miss C.

Stanbridge Earls had expelled her for having sex in the school grounds

and was severely criticised for not protecting her. That tribunal ruling

set off a chain reaction. Ofsted, which had previously rated the

school outstanding, came back for an emergency inspection and found a

failure in leadership and management and a failure to meet the minimum

standards expected. The Department for Education, which can strike

schools off the Independent Schools Register, told Stanbridge that its

action plan wasn't good enough and to revise it. Then the Charity

Commission announced that it was now investigating the school.

And what does the school say about his departure?

We have a statement from the governors of Stanbridge Earls: "They

acknowledge the difficulties he has faced during these last few months,

and respect his decision which he has taken in the best interests of

the School. They are indebted to him for the many things that he has

achieved during his tenure of office."

The school will now be run by the two deputy heads supported by a

special educational needs consultant until a new head teacher can be

appointed. More than �160,000 worth of

equipment has been stolen from military bases in Wiltshire over the

last two years. Figures obtained by the BBC show there were just a

handful of prosecutions, as Tom Hepworth reports.

Between January 2011 and December 20 12, worth of equipment went missing

from bases in Wiltshire. For example, a Land Rover packed full of

communication equipment and worth �38,000 disappeared from Salisbury

plain. Copper piping vanished from bases across the county. So did a

vacuum cleaner, to tumble dryers, a microwave and a television. For

diving helmets and accounted for as well as a set of nightvision

goggles. In total, there were 58 separate incidents of theft, but

just six prosecutions. I think people will be disappointed

at how few prosecutions have come about as a result of investigations

into theft. Those responsible for security at these sites have to do

far more. It comes at a time in the government is looking to cut 80

military police jobs in Wiltshire which would leave non-on Salisbury

plain. If you know there are no Ministry of

Defence police on Salisbury plain, criminals are bound to draw their

own conclusions. We can't have a situation where there is no

effective police. The MoD declined to be interviewed

reducing any loss would appear to make sense.

Foreign drivers owe our councils hundreds of thousands of pounds in

unpaid parking fines, a Freedom of Information Request by BBC South has

revealed. Over the past four years, more than 17,000 parking tickets

issued to foreign drivers have been left unpaid. That's more than half a

million pounds worth of penalties. Councils say some drivers are

exploiting the system because most authorities write the tickets off,

if vehicles are registered abroad. One foreign vehicle in Southampton

has clocked up 46 parking fines this past year. But visitors to

Portsmouth are no longer getting away with it, as the authority has

been tracking down drivers abroad, and is starting to recoup some of

the money. Emma Vardy has this exclusive report.

A thriving tourist industry means the South welcomes many visitors

from abroad. But if drivers with foreign-plated vehicles don't pay

their fines, there's very little authorities can do. Councils say

they have no way of tracing drivers if vehicles are registered overseas.

We have no agreement with various European companies to go

across-the-board. The traffic management act is only for England

and Wales. Many councils write tickets off if drivers are

registered abroad, but some authorities, likely in Portsmouth,

are now starting to chase driver's overseas to claim the thousands they

are legally owed. Portsmouth City Council's paying

this company to track down drivers on its behalf. This firm makes

contact with foreign vehicle licensing agencies, as is for

details and then sends letters requesting payment.

People with a ticket in Portsmouth will not get away with it because it

is a registered vehicle. It is just the same as a bailiff visiting the

Many drivers that are contacted have multiple penalties to their name.

We have seen one out of every three foreign vehicles has ten or more

tickets. I think they believe they cannot be identified and it cannot

be enforced. Other councils, like Southampton,

are now looking into whether they too should do more to collect their

unpaid fines. We have to pay for them, so

everybody else should. You can't have one rule for one and another

for everybody else. We wouldn't get away with it in other countries.

While council finances are tight, this is a potentially large untapped

revenue stream for some authorities, with �140,000 that could be claimed

in Portsmouth alone. Still to come this evening: Things are looking up

on the weather front. Spring has finally sprung and the weekend is

looking good. A coroner's inquest has revealed

that the fire engine which killed head teacher, Ally Mullaney, in a

crash in Dorset at the weekend, did have its siren on at the time of the

collision. The fire engine had been travelling to another accident

nearby in which a man had been killed. Roger Finn was at the

inquest into the two deaths, which opened in Bournemouth today.

Tragedy heaped upon tragedy. As this fire engine went to a road crash

near Poole on Sunday morning, it was involved in a head on collision with

a red mini being driven by primary school head teacher ,Ally Mullaney.

Two of her children were airlifted to hospital with serious injuries.

She died at the scene. The driver involved in the original crash

nearby also died. The inquest into the two deaths was

open and adjourned this morning. We heard that the man who died in the

first crash, when his car hit a tree, was Robert Taylor of

Bournemouth. He was 66 years old. We also heard that when the fire engine

collided head on with Ally Mullaney, it had its blue lights flashing and

its siren on. Ally Mullaney died of head injuries. She was 50 years old.

Ally Mullaney was head of St Joseph's Primary School in Poole.

Staff there have been helping the children come to terms with her

death. Employees who work for the insurer

Aviva in Hampshire are waiting to hear how the company plans to lose

2,000 posts. Aviva is based in Norwich, but a thousand people work

for the company in Eastleigh. The jobs will go across the global

workforce as part of an on-going cost cutting programme. Aviva says

the changes are essential to remain competitive. The union UNITE said

staff were paying for "boardroom failure."

Hundreds of Ford workers at Southampton's sister site in

Dagenham are to be balloted for strike action, as the car maker

closes both plants. Around 500 jobs will be lost at its Swaythling site

when it closes in July. More than 700 jobs will go in Essex. The Unite

union says workers at Dagenham were being offered up to �30,000 less

than their Southampton colleagues as part of severance deals, and the

company had failed on its promise to find jobs for some workers. Ford

said it was disappointed and discussions continued.

The cost of running the railways went up last year, but the amount of

taxpayer subsidy went down. That means passengers are paying a bigger

share of the total, through higher fares. Dig down into the data and it

seems passengers here in the south are getting far less government

support than other parts of the country. Here's our Transport

Correspondent Paul Clifton. Running the railway costs more than

�11 billion last year and railway finances are quite extraordinarily

complex. Broadly, �2 in every three come from passengers. Break it down

to individual journeys and there is a fascinating pattern. Last year,

taxpayer subsidy for our rail services was to pound 27p for each

passenger on each journey. Compare that with Scotland where the subsidy

was �7 67 per journey. In Wales, �9 15. That is four times more

government help than people get here. We pay higher fares as well.

It costs as 21p per mile. The Welsh pay 18p and the Scots pay 14.5

pence. Don't start me about Scotland and Wales, I thought we were

supposed to be the United Kingdom. It should all be the same. It was �6

to Winchester today and it is ten minutes. I am from Leeds and it

costs about �150 to go home on the train. Everything is more expensive

down south so I am used to it. onto a rush-hour first great Western

service like this one and you are paying one of the highest fares per

mile in the country. They're in mind we have far more train travellers

than anywhere else in Britain. Almost two thirds of all train trips

begin or end in London. So, are we getting a bad deal? Here in the

densely populated south the railways come closest to paying their way.

Other parts of the country, they only work because the government

putting much more money. Eventually, there will be new trains. Passengers

have got to feel the benefit of it if they are ever to field his are

value for money. There is a nugget from the figures.

The amount of money the council makes from car parking at stations

has shot up. The rising cost of travelling by train isn't putting

people off, however. Many more people are taking the train. The

massive work at Reading is to make room for that work to continue for

years to come. The battle continues for the mother

of a Hampshire boy killed in the Connecticut school massacre after

the US Senate blocked legislation for tighter gun controls. Nicole

Hockley's son Dylan died in the shootings last year. Nicole joined

campaigners in the US last night as senators controversially blocked

plans to expand background checks for firearm holders.

At the side of the president in the Rose Garden of the White House,

Nicole Hockley came to Washington to pursue tighter gun laws. But last

night, senators blocked plans to widen background checks for firearm

holders. Six-year-old Dylan Hockley was killed in the massacre at Sandy

Hook Elementary School in Connecticut. He was one of 20

children and six teachers shot dead by Adam Lanza on the 14th of

December last year. The Hockley family had located to the States two

years earlier from Hampshire. Speaking earlier this week, Dylan's

father said he had no regrets over the move. I would not go back on

that. It is like a lightning strike in one place. We are staying in

Sandy Hook. We're not leaving. The town is such a strong place for --

source -- so full of love and we could not imagine leaving.

family have shown their support for the Hampshire autistic so sited.

Dylan was autistic, and now his family at helping others in the

county where he grew up. I felt a real need to do something positive

in his memory. I spoke to Nick and Ian to find out if I was to do

something about charity, where would you like that money to go? They were

very clear that any money raised in the UK should stay in the UK and

help local charities. The day for Dylan is due to take place in

Eastleigh in June, while in the states, the Hockley's family -- the

Hockley family's fight for justice goes on.

Onto sports now. We will start with some football tonight. It is quickly

busy tomorrow. There is a lot going on in the football season, very busy

with press conferences. Saturday could prove a pivotal day for two of

the region's football clubs. At Aldershot and Bournemouth, the press

conferences showed what was at stake. The media was evident force

in Bournemouth, who could be promoted, but this report starts at

Aldershot, his stay in the Football League may be over by five p.m. On

Saturday night. Bottom of the league with only two

games to save themselves. Everyone here knows what is at stake. We're

going to lead everyone here. They have been played all season follows.

We need that extra bit on Saturday. We haven't done it this season for

them, we understand that, but we're going to need them and hopefully we

can repay them with a win. At Aldershot, it is we speak about the

future. Ever since any form, they have wanted to make the long journey

to the Football League. understand this football club and

what was involved to get this point. It is a massive achievement to get

to the Football League. They host Dagenham and Redbridge on Saturday,

and are likely to need to win that and at Royal from to stay up. -- win

that and at Rotherham to stay up. The vapour in the stadium is one of

excitement. Can't wait for the game. Neither can the public. A sell-out

here will see The Cherries go for a record eighth consecutive win. If

results go their way, they could be promoted on Saturday night. It is

hard not to get excited with the cameras turning up on the

possibilities everyone is talking about. It is hard, but we have had a

great week's training and the focus hasn't changed. Cheers and tears. --

we could see both emotions from both clubs for different reasons on

Saturday. Yes, it is going to be interesting to see what happens with

those teams. Southampton goalkeeper Artur Boruc

has become the latest player to sign a new contract at the club, who are

on the brink of a second season in the Premier League. The Polish

goalkeeper has agreed a new two-year contract. Boruc joined Saints in the

autumn and has quickly become established as first choice keeper

at St Mary's. Poole Pirates suffered their first

Elite League regular season defeat for two seasons at Wimborne Road

last night. Wolverhampton won 48 points to 42. Poole's Australian

star Darcy Ward crashed in heat 13 with the match in the balance. Poole

hadn't lost a home league match for 590 days.

Surrey bowled out Somerset for 384 on the first day of their opening

County Championship match of the season. Jade Dermbach took five for

57. In reply, Sony struggling a bit. 92 for four.

It's hard to imagine a bigger challenge. In fact, it's billed as

the world's toughest rowing race - 3,000 miles across the rolling waves

of the Atlantic Ocean. More people have been into space than have

actually completed this feat of physical and mental endurance. Yet a

16-year-old lad from Oxfordshire is aiming to become the youngest person

ever to make the journey. Eoin Hartwright's just started training

in readiness for taking on the challenge later this year.

It's one thing taking a boat out onto the calm waters of the Olympic

rowing lake at Dorney, but schoolboy Eoin Hartwright is gearing up for a

feat that will test his strength and determination to the limit. Off his

own back, the 16-year-old has assembled a team to take on the

Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge, and in December, he'll leave family

and friends in Didcot to set out on the adventure of a lifetime. It's a

huge challenge, but it's been an ambition of mine, or a dream of mine

since I was very young. I heard a man speak on a cruise ship, Mick

Dawson. He's rowed the North Pacific and the Atlantic twice, and he's a

very inspirational man. Ever since I heard him speak I could never get it

out of my head. The challenge - to row 3,000 miles across the ocean -

is the same one famously taken on seven years ago by Olympic

gold-winning rower James Cracknell and his friend, the TV presenter Ben

Fogle, filmed for the BBC. The team members will row for two hours on

and two hours off, grabbing sleep when they can. The crossing will

take between 40 and 50 days. Eoin's determination is matched by his

family's trepidation. What mother wouldn't take seriously putting

their 16-year-old out onto the Atlantic? It is a very very

dangerous challenge, but Eoin is very focussed, he's very mature and

now he's made this decision, we've got to back him all the way.

with every stroke of the oars, they'll also be raising money for

good causes - the BBC's Children in Need and veteran's charity Healing

the Wounds. There is still a long way to go. The race starts in the

Canary Islands in December. Between training, Eoin's trying to find

businesses and individuals willing to sponsor his boat.

Well, that is going to be something if you can achieve it. Very best of

luck. Courageous man, good luck. Let's move on to the weather.

Looking better? It is. Spring conditions, thankfully, but we will

have to get past some showers. Overnight tonight, we will see

clearing skies, but increasing cloud through the early hours. Once

showers clear, we will see cloud increase for the north and west.

That will bring rain through the early hours. Temperature is very

similar to last night, down to seven and eight Celsius. A cloudy, Marty,

damp start tomorrow. But, and improving picture. In

mid-afternoon, we will see sunshine make an appearance. There will be if

you showers drifting South and eastwards. The major difference is

the winds. They will be a lot lighter than today. Southernmost

areas having the warmest conditions, Colette temperatures before the

north you are. -- cooler temperatures. Under clear skies,

temperatures will fall to freezing in the countryside tomorrow. There

will be a widespread frost on the cards on Saturday morning. These are

the temperatures in our towns and cities, just above freezing. Each

LA, Frosty starts to Saturday, but the good news is, high pressure is

dominating. This weather front is working in from the Atlantic on

Sunday. Sunday starts off dry and bright, and we will see increasing

sunshine in the afternoon and perhaps some rain. So, a look ahead

to the Manadon. You may be spectating running yourself. For the

warmup, around three Celsius. Maybe a Frosty starts to Sunday.

Temperatures will rise to the seasonal average, and with light

winds, great conditions for vinyl is out and about on the streets of

London. -- for vinyl is out and about. Winds are a lot lighter over

the weekend and have been recently coming from the north-west.

Saturday, is the best day. Some sunny spells on Sunday, but that

weather front is pushing in from the Atlantic, so cloud will increase and

rain later on. Looking so much better. Tomorrow, we

will be looking ahead to the marathon. We will be meeting someone

taking part. As well as that, we will meet the man behind cap back