25/09/2013 South Today

And Hello I'm Alex Forsyth. Welcome to South Today. In tonight's

programme: Jailed for his part in this attack on a petrol station

forecourt cash machine. Walk—out — firefighters across the

south go on strike over pensions and retirement age changes. What we

don't want to do is be members of the public at risk, but we believe

that making firefighters go on past 55 is also dangerous for the public.

We're behind the scenes at an operation which could revolutionise

treatment for those at risk of stroke and heart attacks.

And the mums finding their own way back to work.

It became apparent that I would be working in order to pay my childcare

costs, and I would not be getting anything in return.

A man who admitted driving a gang to a garage near Andover where they

blew up a cash machine in a huge explosion has been sentenced to

three and a half years in prison. The Texaco garage in Weyhill was

targeted in March this year. Damien Limb pleaded guilty to conspiracy to

steal and conspiracy to cause criminal damage. Briony Leyland

reports. The early hours of Easter Sunday. A

cash machine at an apparently deserted garage in Weyhill. Local

people said it sounded like a bomb going off. The cashier sheen had

been rigged with explosives gases. The huge explosion replayed here in

slow motion scattered £20,000 across the forecourt. The footage also

showed members of the gang scooping up banknotes. The only person to be

charged so far is the man who drove the gang. He pleaded guilty to

conspiracy to steal and conspiracy to cause criminal damage. He was

sentenced to three and a half years. Police were able to trace Damien

Limb because they picked up a receipt from the ground that turned

out to be where the gang's are had been parked. It was a receipt for

petrol bought in Bristol a few days before. Damien Limb's defence said

he had remained in the car after the raid and had —— during the raid, and

not benefited financially. The £16,000 the gang left behind was

collected by officers. Damage to the garage was extensive, and cost

£130,000 to repair. Detectives say the method used to block the machine

was highly dangerous, and it is lucky no one was injured.

How much control do you think they had over the explosion?

Very little. We still can't be certain what caused the explosion

today lace. There was a source of ignition, we cannot say what that

is. It was very much uncontrolled. Police say the case remains open,

and they have appealed to the public to help bring all those involved to

justice. Firefighters in the south were among

thousands around the country who went on strike today, the first such

industrial action for a decade. The Fire Brigades Union says under the

government's changes firefighters will have to work until they are 60

to get their full pension. But the Government insists it's made a 'very

good offer.' Most fire services in the south relied on retained and

nonunion members. But in Surrey, a private company was brought in as

back up. Joe Campbell reports from Surrey.

If Surrey's Fire chiefs thought playing hardball with union members

would undermine today's strike, there was no sign of it here in

Farnham, as the time came to walk out.

What is a national dispute over pensions has now been brought firmly

to Surrey firefighters door by their fire authority.

Even before the shutters came down, whose newly would get no pay for

today. Managers had another surprise in store. When crews turned on this

morning, they were told they were off the run, that meant they would

not be sent out to answer emergency calls. Instructions came that if

anyone even ran into the fire station asking for help, they

themselves were supposed to ring 999, and a crew from the private

company contracted to provide cover would be sent instead.

The crews have had 17 weeks of firefighter training, including

breathing apparatus and cutting equipment, so we can provide that

resilience during strike action. In the end, most of the privately

crude engines like this one when not needed. Just to whet out from other

sites monetary fire in some bushes and the burning car.

Yes, they might have got away with it today, but they are gambling with

people's lives. Today Surrey ran on 50% production of fire cover. They

got away with it today, will they get away with it tomorrow? As things

get back to normal as evening, it seems that both sides remain farther

apart than ever. At the strike of midday, these

fireman walked out of the Southsea station. The row over pension has

reached stalemate. The government says the offer is generous, but the

Fire Brigade union argues that many will not be able to maintain their

fitness for that long, and that will put the public at risk.

In other emergency services there are backroom positions that people

can dissolve back into. We don't have that ability. Operational

firefighters have to keep going, so we believe that it is unsafe for a

firefighter of 55 and above to be going out on operation. It is

dangerous for them, and dangerous for the public. In Worthing,

firefighters were also seen leaving in force.

The strike period lasted four hours. In Eastleigh, the fire chief was

confident that contingency plans would give the public safe in that

time. If they have an emergency and called

999, we will be ready and we will respond. The service will inevitably

be affected, the attendance times will be slower, but we will respond.

If we had a major incident, we have agreed with the Fire Brigades Union

locally that they will return to work for that incident, and we have

contingencies to bring them back very quickly.

The Fire Brigade union told me the strike was specifically targeted at

the quietest time of day. Just minutes after the strike ended,

crews in West Sussex copy call about a coach crash the A23 full stop as

the Southsea firefighters went back on shift, the dispute over pensions

could intensify. The fire service has always received strong public

support, but any escalation in the dispute may put that support under

strain. Concern is growing for a missing

sailor from Dorset who was last seen at the weekend. 61—year—old Geoffrey

Cole from Weymouth is believed to have set sail from the town on

Saturday morning. He was bound for Swanage, but never arrived. His

sailing boat was found on Monday by French coastguards near Calais and

Boulogne with no—one on board. It is a common condition that can be

life—threatening, adding nearly two in ten cases, taking drugs to

control high blood pressure doesn't work. Now a new treatment is being

pioneered in Reading. An operation around the kidneys was a success at

the Royal Berkshire Hospital this morning. Our reporter Ben Moore had

exclusive access to the procedure. The drugs don't work for David

Westcombe, and his high blood pressure leaves at a much higher

risk of a stroke or heart attack. Surgery is being prepped.

It actually killed my mother which was 56. So this started up from the

about five years ago. Nothing was working for you?

Nothing at all. I am on and off a lot of medication, but none of it

touches it. So this, I think, is probably a godsend.

It is all very controlled, and as you can see, he is fairly content.

This operation of the Royal Berkshire Hospital is the first of

its kind in the NHS. Until now, research projects have

pioneered the technique that has focused on the kidneys.

The control of blood pressure is a feedback loop from the brain to the

kidneys and back—up to the brain. We know that if we interrupt this we

deliver five or six burns in each artery, and this disrupts the small

pipers. The catheter is tracked with x—rays,

17 were lead lined nests. David is sedated but remains awake

throughout. The procedure will be used for about

15% of patients, which should reduce pressure on the NHS. The cost of the

operation is about £6,000. That is significantly cheaper than

the treatment and rehabilitation of a stroke patient which can cost up

to £100,000. Even a 2—point increase in your

blood pressure can cause a seven point increase in heart attacks and

810% increasing strokes. This procedure can on average reduce your

point score on the top wife 30, and by 12 on the bottom figure. That is

phenomenal. The operation was a success.

Although it may take months for David's readings to settle at a

lower level will stop essentially, it will take the pressure off his

body. Still to come in this evening's

South Today: Is it the Ainslie effect?

Sir Ben helps the US to a nail biting finish in the America's Cup.

The Brighton Pavilion MP, Caroline Lucas is to be prosecuted after

taking part in anti—fracking demonstrations. The Green MP was

arrested last month during protests outside the Cuadrilla drilling site

in Balcombe in West Sussex. She's been charged for obstructing the

highway and failing to comply with a police condition to move to a

specified protest area. She'll appear before magistrates in

October. Figures released today have given a

fresh picture of the number of mums in work. Across the country, just

over 35% of mums under 25 have a job. That rises to just over 60% for

women aged between 25 and 34. But the rate for women of the same age

who do not have children is considerably higher. The South does

have a high level of women in employment — but some new mums still

find it so hard to get back into work, they are deciding to set up

their own business from home. Katy Austin reports.

The biggest gift Eliza's wedding decor business gives her is

flexibility. She used to be a teacher, but when her second child

came along, she found it impossible to return to that job.

After my second, it became apparent that I would be working in order to

pay my child care costs, and I would not be getting anything in return. I

would literally be going to work in order to pay my childcare, which for

me did not balance. I really wanted some kind of balance for my family.

The picture for female employment in general has improved over recent

decades. But women without children are still much more likely to have

jobs than mothers. If we look at women with children,

it is important the age of child. If the child is in preschool age there

is a lower percentage of women in work. As the child gets older,

higher percentage of women do work. Childcare costs, inflexible hours

and redundancy are some barriers that can leave mums on benefits

rather than in work. But business networking groups like these help

mums to make money from home and support each other — and membership

has boomed in the South. One former financial adviser went self—employed

and hasn't looked back. There is more flexibility. Both my

children are quite demanding, one of them is in the autism spectrum and I

have had to be a lot more flexible for him. There is no way I could

hold down a job with my son and give him the support that he needs.

With some of our ladies we have people who have health issues, and

certainly for the younger babies and things like that, once they have

done maternity it is about returning to work, and then they find that

they either want to stay with their families, or it may be to do with

the childcare. There is a whole host of reasons.

The Shadow home secretary, with special responsibilities for women

and equalities, told the Labour party conference this week thousands

of women were losing their jobs after returning from maternity

leave. She thinks there's a lot more to be done to make the workplace

work for mums. They need support for the family,

but also to know that there is a affordable childcare available if

you want to go back to work. Too often there isn't, and that's why we

want to increase free childcare available.

But the government says it is introducing a new tax break for

childcare costs, worth up to £1,200 per child per year. It also has

plans to extend the right to request flexible working to all employees.

Permission has been granted for a solar farm.

We'd like to tell you now about a special little boy. Lewis Preuss

from Blandford is the only person in the world diagnosed with a rare

genetic disorder. Lewis, who's nearly two and a half, was

inexplicably born missing part of chromosome number eight. As a result

he suffers from a range of medical and developmental problems. Every

day is a learning curve for his parents, who are hoping to raise

awareness of such conditions. Jo Kent has been to meet the family.

A greeting to make any parent's de, but it means so much more to Leanne

and Darren. Last week when I picked him up from

nursery, he saw me, and it is the first time he recognised me, and he

smiled and came over to me and give me a kiss, and, yes... It was

lovely. I remember Darren and Leanne

saying, will he ever recognise us? It's a question we can't really

answer, and then one day is like a light bulb going on, and he knows

that it is his mum and dad and he's got a run to them and cuddle them.

Lewis was diagnosed at six weeks old. A charity has puts the parents

in touch with others who have suffered genetic disorders.

Genetic disorders individually are very rare, but when you put them

together, the affect one in 25 children in the UK, which is 30,000

children born every year. When you group these conditions together,

they actually become quite common. It is now time for lunch. Lewis's

stomach does not work properly, so he is fed through a tube. This is

something he will endure for life. It is a number of issues he faces.

He has two holes in the heart, he has an airway obstruction, he has

high probability, so all of his joint move in ways that they

shouldn't. He has developmental delay, severe developmental delay.

Lewis's condition is not life limiting, but no one can predict how

he will develop. The family takes each day as it comes.

There is no cure for what Lewis has, all we can do is cheer his symptoms.

And sometimes to realise that there is no cure is quite hard and

heartbreaking. The only hope I have this happiness.

That's all I want. We just want him to be happy.

Unmanned flights — by drones as they're often known — have

predominantly been used by the military. They've been used

extensively in areas where it's considered too dangerous to send a

plane with a crew. But there's a growing tendency to use what are

very sophisticated model aeroplanes for civilian uses, such as search

and rescue, farming and climate research. One of those leading the

charge on this development is Professor Jim Scanlan at the

University of Southampton. And 3D printers are playing a big part as

well. He joined me in the studio a little earlier, and I asked him what

they were working on at Southampton. We do quite a lot of research in the

field of aeronautical engineering, and this is part of our research and

undergraduate teaching. You have brought a couple of these models in

with you today. Talk me through what we have today.

The small aeroplane sitting in front of us is a demonstrator which we

produced about 18 months ago. That is the world's first printed

aeroplane. Rented with a 3—D printer, is that

right? That's right. You plot the printer

directly into your computer, and very like a normal printer, you say

print, and sometime later, out come the parts.

Not the big one, surely? That wasn't printed? Yes stop the first one led

directly to the second aeroplane, which is a serious aeroplane design

to do a job. Two thirds of that structure is

printed technology. The way they are made is fascinating, but they also

have an important use. Tell me what they can do. Our

interest at Southampton is in civil applications of unmanned aircraft.

Things like agriculture, search and rescue, scientific use, climate

change. Anything that needs to carry a sensor to produce useful data.

So you could put a camera on these and they could fly across fields and

pick up important images, that type of thing?

That is what they are designed to do, yes.

What market have you had for them? The large aircraft as part of a

European project which is going to be trialled by the Kent police. They

wanted to go out over the sea to look for pollution, to check that

people aren't doing illegal diving. To protect wind farms, and suchlike.

They have a serious need to fly an aircraft like this. It is a lot

cheaper than helicopters. And because there are no pilots,

they can go in areas where people perhaps wouldn't want to.

Yes, it is the dull, dirty, dangerous missions. We are ideally

suited for those sort of missions. Much of this high—end technology has

its start in life in the military. We know the use of drones has been

quite controversial in military terms. That is quite funny not what

you are doing in Southampton. Our interest is in exploiting it in

the civil arena, largely because that is with the big demand will be.

There will be an explosion in use of these things over the next five or

ten years. That will dwarf military use.

We really are looking at the future. I believe so, yes.

Professor, thank you for being with us. Thank you.

Jim Scanlan talking to me earlier with his impressive model planes.

Now the sport. Now, this is all about the America's Cup. I watched a

bit of it last night, and I can't pretend to understand it, but it is

thrilling. It has been a thrilling few days.

Basically, whoever wins the final race of the series either Emirates

team New Zealand Oracle team USA, wins the whole thing. New Zealand

were 81 ahead, now it is a tall. But a local man has been playing an

important part in all of that. Ben Ainslie, now his comeback in the

America's Cup after Olympic golds. Four Olympic golds in his CV, but

sailing people will tell you this is the one he wants to end his career

on. Hampshire sailor Sir Ben Ainslie

stands on the brink of another remarkable sporting feat, as the

America's Cup enters its final chapter this evening. The quadruple

Olympic champion from Lymington, has helped his Team Oracle USA boat

level the series, setting up a winner—takes—all deciding race this

evening. Here's Katherine Downes. Boats skimming across the water at

up to 50 miles an hour, riding the wind for yachting's biggest price.

The fight for it has produced yachting's biggest comeback. That's

the biggest comeback any sport has seen. One week ago, the American

Team Oracle was one race away from losing the America's Cup. But the

Americans made changes to their board and crew, bringing in

Britain's most decorated sailor, Ben Ainslie, as tactician to conjure a

comeback from the waves of San Francisco Bay. And it has worked.

They have won seven successive races ahead of today's final contest. The

series is tied at eight all. Like every race, the guys will give

it everything, all the way to the end. Executing everything as you

would do in every other race. It has been a long fight, hit by delays.

British sailor Andrew Simpson died in May while training for the

competition with a Swedish team. Since then, organisers have

cancelled racing if the winds are too strong. Then Ainslie was also

training on the day that his great friend was killed. He said at the

time that he would remember Simpson for inspiration when he was on the

water. We see Ben operating at a very

different level. You have seen him on his own in a boat, winning, and

now we see him going into the team making a difference working as a

team. That is fabulous to see on these massive boards on this massive

stage. Today it comes down to tactics and conditions.

New Zealand's pride and American ambition. At the moment, there is

barely a droplet of water between them.

There will be highlights of that tonight.

Southampton are the region's sole representatives remaining in the

Capital One Cup. They justified their favourites tag to knock out

League One strugglers Bristol City in the third round. With Saints

making a full eleven changes from their Premier League win at

Liverpool, a first half sizzler from Uruguayan international Gaston

Ramirez lit up a tepid match. Bristol City had chances after the

break, but Dutch defender Jos Hooiveld bundled in Saints' second

late on, to put his side into tonight's fourth round draw.

We are happy about the result, because it was hard at the end of

the game. That is a lesson for the future, because we know it is

difficult to play with so many changes.

Staying with football, and League Two Portsmouth have appointed

experienced striker David Connolly to a player—coach role at the club.

The 36—year—old has been with Pompey since January. He'll now combine

playing, with a coaching position with the first team, alongside the

existing management pair of Guy Whittingham and Alan McLoughlin.

It's been the second day of the final round of County Championship

cricket matches. Sussex are taking on the newly—crowned champions

Durham at Hove. Sussex built a good first innings lead, thanks to Luke

Wright's 87. Durham will begin day three 162 behind. At the Oval,

relegated Surrey are looking to end their stay in Division One with a

win. Replying to Yorkshire's first innings of 434, Surrey reached 172

for one. And at the Ageas Bowl, Adam Wheater reached a century for

Hampshire against his old club Essex, who've been forced to follow

on. Hampshire's loan signing Matt Coles took six for 71, in the

visitors' first innings. Essex closed on 44 for zero, second time

around. The day started with Cricket weather, and finished with

non—Cricket weather. Thank you, Chris. You know, we know

it is often annoyed want we're sunny as it should be, but it is really

foggy. It is called radiation fog. We have

the strength of the sun beating down on the ground, and with light winds,

the sun disappears, the air cools and we have a lot of moisture in the

air causing that Fox. It was a foggy start to the day in

Littlehampton. Mavis Hortin captured the harbour view or what there was

of it. An inquisitive swan was photographed by Greg Wood on the

river Hamble. And Peter Raw captured the Needles under blue skies before

the thick mist rolled in. There will be some showers and some

fog patches overnight tonight. It could be quite dense in a few

places. That fog and mist lapping the south coast and also hilltop

areas. A few showers as well, drifting along the south coast, they

could edge inland as they are doing. It should become drier as we had

through the night. Still the risk of fog patches, and temperatures a

mild, 15 degrees 16 Celsius. A marquee and damp start. Rain will

continue along the south coast. Showers drifting northwards.

Sunshine for Northern areas during the morning, and sunshine for

southernmost areas in the afternoon. Highs of just 18 Celsius. A few

degrees lower than today. For tomorrow evening, some showers, but

it will be a night where we will see an improving picture, maybe one or

two showers on the south coast by Dawn on Friday, and temperatures

will fall to 13 up to 15 Celsius. Another Monday night to come. The

low pressure is not going anywhere. It is stuck in the Atlantic. That

pushes the areas where the funds towards us, so rain at various

times. Friday should stay dry there could be rain first thing, but it

will dry out later on in the day. Low pressure will mean a change for

the weekend, and unfortunately for the south of England we are

expecting some heavy showers. There could even be thunder on Saturday

and Sunday. An unsettled picture as we had through the rest of the week

towards the weekend. A lot of fog around tomorrow. MIDI some sunshine

for some of us. But wins start to increase and pick up speed as we had

through the week. And grey start on Friday, but an improving picture.

Thunderstorms could move up from the south on Saturday and Sunday.

That's all from us. We will be back at 8pm and 10:25pm. Good evening.