13/08/2013 South Today

to South Today. In tonight's programme: Under investigation - the

health trust which keeps breaching accident and emergency waiting time

targets. Help us catch the arsonists - the fire authorities looking for

help from the public. Is it worth the money? Reaction to the annual

inflation-busting rail fare increases. And the diggers move in -

restoring dignity to one of the world's best-known monuments.

investigation has been launched into repeated breaches of Accident and

Emergency waiting times at the Royal Berkshire Hospital. Its finances and

problems with a controversial new computer system will also be

examined. The hospitals' regulator, Monitor, ordered senior managers to

a meeting today, to explain what was being done. The Royal Berkshire in

Reading has missed its A&E waiting time target for nine months in a

row. Our Health Correspondent David Fenton has been looking into the

story and he joins me now. It sounds like they're in trouble? Yes, I

think they are. What is perhaps most worrying is the cocktail of problems

they are facing, not just Accident and Emergency waits, but also

financial problems. They could be heading for a �9 million deficit and

this issue with their new computer system, which is costing a great

deal of money, �7 million a year - and not really working very well.

How big a problem are the waits at A&E because that is what patients

are going to notice? All hospitals having problems with A&E -

especially this four hour waiting time to be treated. In Reading they

have failed that for nine consecutive months. But they have

seen unprecedented numbers of patients coming through. Normally

might see 230 a day, running at more than 300 a day. Of course, with A&E

it's never an even flow, it can be manic or quiet. We asked patients

today how long they waited. About having our. I was assessed by a

nurse and then taken through to a cubicle to be seen by a doctor.

About 90 minutes. I was quite happy. That was better than last time.

much happier with them now. It was getting to a point I wanted to

change hospitals, but I am much happier with them now. Now the

hospital has put an extra half a million pounds in to help, taken on

new staff and most serious cases are now being seen by consultants

straightaway. But the problems persist. Why is it so busy?There's

no one clear reason. You speak to staff, they say just a lot of

seriously ill people about. Many of them having to stay in hospital for

weeks afterwards. Of course, it's never just about A&E, also about how

busy rest of the hospital is. That is pretty busy too. So what is the

hospital saying? Not very much, obviously this is an embarrassment.

They said today, "We continue to provide high quality and safe care

to our patients... This investigation is not related to the

quality of patient care we deliver but rather the speed at which we

have addressed some of the challenges facing the Trust." I

think Monitor will want to wrap this up pretty swiftly and will want to

see the hospital Trust getting a grip on these problems equally

quickly. Firefighters in Dorset are treating a second heath blaze on

Studland in as many days as arson. It comes after a number of fires

broke out on heathland in Canford in Poole last month where seven

hectares were destroyed. Around 40 firefighters fought to bring the

flames under control on Godlingston Heath last night. Roger Finn is on

Studland tonight. The fire service is very much looking for the

public's help, Roger? Absolutely. This is one of the most beautiful

parts of our region. This patch was destroyed on Sunday night, this is

nitric -- right next to the road. There was another fire which is much

more out of the way. A patch the size of a football pitch was

destroyed. 36 firefighters at that. The flames were seen from as far

away as for life. It was not far from houses and I spoke to one woman

who saw what happened. We ran up here, we saw this big line of

blazing gorse. The trouble was the firefighters could not get close

enough. I was quite worried because the children were going to sleep in

a tent and I did not know if our spark could come over to the tent in

the garden. That was the fourth blaze in five weeks, is it

carelessness or something more worrying? I am afraid this is not

carelessness, this is a deliberate act by someone who is pitting

people's life at risk. Could it not have been killed cigarette tossed

aside or a barbecue gone wrong? Absolutely not. Someone suggested a

bottle in the sunshine. There is no question of that. These are really a

deliberate act. These fires must be quite a headache for you to tackle

them? Yes, we have got to get the resources here. On Sunday evening

there was also quite a severe property fire in Swanage and what we

are doing is putting lives at risk. It is not just the members of the

public but also the firefighters and peoples homes. If it was not for the

professionalism of fire control where with these resources come

from? Back to you in the studio. Thank you. A commercial garage has

been completely destroyed in a fire in Bognor Regis. An argon welding

cylinder exploded in the fire causing extensive damage to the

garage and neighbouring properties. A nearby residential care home also

had to be evacuated. Members of staff and more than 20 residents

took shelter at the local leisure centre. Another year, another rise

in rail fares. Commuters face an average increase of just over 4% on

regulated rail fares, those are the ones the government controls. From

next January an annual season ticket from Reading to Paddington will go

up by an estimated �160 to more than �4,000. Commuters from Southampton

to London will pay an extra �200 taking the total to just under

�5,300. And those taking the route from Brighton to London will pay an

extra �150 a year bringing the cost to more than �4,000. Ministers say

the rises will pay for investment in the rail network but some unions and

passenger groups say rail tickets are becoming increasingly

unaffordable as price rises outstrip wages. Briony Leyland reports. In

the last year this computer programmer has changed jobs and

modes of transport. A train has replaced his -- been replaced why a

drive to pot smoke. He could come by train but his experience has written

him off. You find yourself on a wet platform at six in the evening

thinking I want to be at home with my children. You do not want to be a

marker to do something for the environment. Sometimes it is just

not worth it. More people are using the station to get to work than ever

before but the people we spoke to today were not impressed by the fear

increases. Prices are going up year-on-year but wages are not.

People are getting cooler, it has got to stop. I have in using the

train for ten years now and the service is getting older and ruler.

A lot of money is going into the costs of running the real week and

train companies want to see passengers paying for that. We have

been investing in trains to provide 4000 more services every day

compared with 15 years ago. We need to the furbish of the fleet of

trains across the networks. Passengers are seeing in record

numbers that they are satisfied with their journey. The �900 million

revamp of Redding Station is one example of where the money is being

spent. The debate over how much should be paid to take the train

will not go away. Still to come this evening. The first yachts in the

fast net crossed the finish line. The Health and Safety Executive is

involved in the investigation into the death of a road worker in West

Sussex. The 49-year-old contractor from Henfield died after being hit

by a car on the A24 near Ashington. Sussex Police are appealing for

witnesses to the incident. Mark Sanders reports. It was on this

stretch of the road than the road worker was killed. The contractors

had completed some repairs to the central reservation and the workers

were removing the signage when one of them was hit by a car and fatally

injured. We look at all points of the investigation. This was a

workplace injury. He will look at what plans and processes and

procedures the contractors have got in place to safeguard themselves

when they are walking -- working on fast roads. Police are looking for

witnesses. The accident happened just to the north of the village of

Ashington. The road contractor issued a statement. It is with great

sadness that Balfour Beatty can confirm the employee of a

subcontractor has died after being struck by a vehicle, while carrying

out highways maintenance works. Balfour Beatty along with West

Sussex county council will be working with the police as they

investigate the cause of this incident. We offer our condolences

to family and friends of the deceased. The driver of the car was

shocked but unhurt. Anyone with information about the collision

should contact them. A murder inquiry is underway in Guildford

after a man's body was discovered. Cedar Road in the Bellfields area of

the town has been cordoned off for much of the day while forensic

officers examine the scene. Police say the victim had suffered stab

wounds. A 49-year-old woman has been arrested on suspicion of murder.

It's been called a nationwide scandal. Each year we throw away

more than three million tonnes of food. Much of it goes into landfill

where we pay for it again in landfill tax. Some local authorities

recycle food waste, Bournemouth is about to join them as Tom Hepworth

reports. For many people when rubbish is out of sight it's out of

mind, it all goes to the same place, right? Not any more. Landfill tax

means many local authorities are introducing more recycling schemes.

In March next year food waste will be collected separately in

Bournemouth. We were successful in receiving 7.1 million from the

government at the end of last year. We hope to deliver savings in the

councils collection cost each year. This is the amount of rubbish a

block of around 20 flats will produce in a week, the council's

encouraging people living in flats to register so they can get the

right bins and it doesn't end up like this. More than one third of

people put in the bins last year in Bourne was food. It is expensive. As

waste food costs the average family �680 per year. It costs council

taxpayers 3.5 million in landfill tax. At the moment, some of the

town's food waste ends up here in Canford to be turned into compost.

But from March, it'll all go to another plant where it'll be made

into compost AND methane gas will be extracted which will then be burnt

to generate electricity. The compost you see here will be used to fill in

open cast mines in Nottinghamshire and old China Clay quarries in

Cornwall. Around half of local councils recycle food waste, with

landfill taxes increasing, the chance is, if yours doesn't now it

will soon. Bulldozers are digging up the road side Stonehenge. It has

been talked about for decades but is now finally happening. The tarmac is

important not to be replaced by gas. Closing the road has made local

traffic problems worse. Our transport correspond and has been

watching the work. Digging up the road that has been here for

centuries. Behind the bulldozers, archaeologist sleep away the chalk.

This will be covered with earth and grass. We have drainage holes into

the tarmac of the Lord and then we are filling on top of the tarmac in

two sections. The central section of the Lord, the top surface of tarmac

has been taken off line machine. Now the rest of the surfaces being

excavated by hand. The road was closed to traffic in June.

notorious accident prone junction has already been covered. This is

the ancient monument's peak season. We have had the tarmac taken off,

then we have gone through another dense layer which we think may have

been related to the turnpike road that was here before modern tarmac.

Now we are getting through to the surface. Traffic problems certainly

have not gone. The traffic now uses rat runs through villages. One mile

away, the new visitors centre is nearing completion. When it reopens

later this year the old facilities will be demolished. Every plan for

Stonehenge for the last 30 years has had his work as its centrepiece.

Every plan came to grief as archaeologists, planners and

politicians argue. Now the work is fully underway. Now let us get some

sports news. We are going to start with the ceiling. Ceiling. A French

ought was the first to cross the finish line in the fast net race.

There was one special debutant. Just 48 hours of the base had elapsed and

for some the journey was complete. This was the third boat to cross the

line at Fort: 16 this morning. me it is a tremendous end to a great

season. To finish on a high note was really nice. I have been feeling

with her in the winter. We had a taste of international regattas.

This is bubbly the biggest offshore. She really has had a super

special experience. I have learned a lot. It was a very good step to be

on this board. It is probably quite cold for her. Out there just know it

was quite chilly and she coped with that too. All in all she had a good

time. I suspect that times if she was honest she would be thinking we

were a little bit crazy and she might have teams geared but did not

show it. This year's race posted the biggest ever field ever to compete.

Many classes of water still on the water tonight. The downward charge

to the West Devon coastline is well underway. The Guildford sprint canoe

athlete Richard Hawthorne says last year's Olympic Games have made her

more focused than ever. It shared the court up with her ahead of the

world Championships later this month. But for London I was training

really hard but I think I am a lot more focused for real now. At London

2012 she finished sick in the T1 and 12 in the key for. She will compete

in the T1 of both 500 and 200 metres. I have had a lot more time

on my T1, namely focusing on the 500 I think that is my stronger event.

Most of the work has been going on that but this year we have

approached training from a different angle and I have done a lot more is

read and power work which has helped out the 200 as well. After the

Olympic Games she took some time out from the sport. I went on a working

holiday with the National trust to save some trees and build some

steps. No attention is fully focused on the paddle to real. -- no

attention is wilfully focused. Hampshire golfer Neil Raymond shot a

first round of 67 at the US Amateur Championship to lie third after the

opening day. That effort is even more impressive when you factor in

that Raymond carried his own bag. This year's winner of the St Andrews

Links Championship, who plays at Corhampton golf club is back on the

course right now at brookline. The event is stroke play for two days

and then the final 64 players go into a match play event. Meanwhile

Bournemouth's Georgia Hall is part of the European Junior Solheim Cup

team for their match against America which starts in Colorado later. Hall

is reigning British amateur champion and secured one of the six automatic

qualification places in the team. America are defending the trophy. In

ticket East Sussex game against the Netherlands, they 163 48. For the

last few months we have followed the remarkable five miles swimming

challenge. Anna Wardley is attempting to swim around the five

islands. She is currently going around the Scottish island of tidy.

She cannot where a wet suit. She started just after five o'clock this

morning. We have a couple of pictures. This is the support board.

This is where she gets fed. If she is swimming for 24 hours she has two

feed every half an hour. She cannot actually stop. All she is doing

there is treading water. We have spoken to Tom Savage who is on the

support hot and we got an up date in the last hour. She has still got a

good strong swimming/ which is the key thing we are looking out for. We

hoped the water with the little bit warmer. If we can get her into a

little more warm water we will be happy. It is going as well as can be

expected. She is doing pretty well but we know she will take some time

doing it. It could take 24 hours. We have some lovely pictures of her

swimming around Jersey. They were much calmer and warmer waters.

Without a shadow of a doubt it's going to be the she is up against.

Jersey was 41 miles. The Isle of Wight is her next one, that is 61

miles and she is hoping to do that in September or October. The weather

window is what is important. She is doing great. We will have the

complete story for you and hopefully she will finish in the early hours

of tomorrow, five or six o'clock in the morning. Did you see the meteor

showers last night? We have loads of fantastic at jurors. These come

through every year. They following the trail of a comet. This picture

was captured last night on a fish-eye lens. And this comes from

Salisbury plain. As partial colour in the gardens of Chichester

Cathedral has come in as well. Tonight we will see the cloud again

into clear. It will be feeling rather cool once again through the

overnight period. It will be pretty cool with a few showers north of the

M4 corded. It will be drive for towns and cities. Boodle spot may

drop to single figures. There will be good sunny skies to get the day

going tomorrow. Cloud will build in from the West. Tomorrow evening

could see some spots of light rain and drizzle from the West. For the

most part tomorrow will be dry and fine with highs of up to 20 Celsius.

Wednesday night will have actually been tracking eastwards. We will see

drier conditions following. It will feel milder than tonight with goals

of 16 or 17 Celsius. As we take a look ahead Thursday is set to be a

pretty cloudy day with one or two burst 's of wet weather. This

feature tracking in through the overnight period. Friday morning

that cold front should clear through leaving us with dry, bright and fine

conditions. For next weekend we have some events coming up. The Arundel

Festival might see a splash of wet weather. Then we have the secret

gardens of Opera Basildon to look forward to on Saturday. I am sure a

bit of light rain will not dampen spirits there. As we look ahead for

the coming days, not too bad, yes, there is a bit of wet weather in the

forecast. Saturday starts on a decent note, perhaps some wet

weather through the middle part of the day. Sunday will be bright and