07/11/2013 South Today

which is going to hit the Philippines on our website. That

Welcome to South Today. In tonight's programme: More jobs misery in the

region as a Hampshire`based chemicals company becomes the third

manufacturer in three days to cut the workforce.

Battle lines are drawn as unions fight to keep shipbuilding in

Portsmouth. This campaign will be robust, strong and what ever it

takes. The pensioner with autism who's

chosen to live in her car as she fights the council for a home. They

certainly do not choose to be like this. I just want to be settled. And

three steps to heaven. The Saints are marching into the England squad

for the next two internationals. A bad week for jobs in the south got

worse today. For the third day running, another long`established

manufacturing company has announced major job losses. Polimeri Europa

has made synthetic rubber for the motor industry at Hythe near

Southampton for more than 50 years. It will shut next year, leaving up

to 300 jobs at risk. Our Business Correspondent is in Hythe for us

tonight. This is a very difficult week for those working in

manufacturing in the south. What a week for job losses. Let me

recapture. On Tuesday a pharmaceutical company announced

that 500 jobs were at risk in Horsham and yesterday the

devastating news in Portsmouth off the end of shipbuilding. Now in

Hythe just outside of Southampton 300 jobs at risk at Polimeri Europa

where they make synthetic rubber used in tyres. The company has been

here for 50 years. They blame a decline in the European market and

increased manufacturing in Asia. None of the workers were prepared to

talk to me on camera but one email. They have said that working lives

are ruined, they have spoken of sleepless nights and a tragedy for

the families that rely on these jobs. The local MP has given his

reaction. It is a hammer blow and I must stress I have not been

contacted either by the company or the workforce but judging by what

has been said, well over 100 people at least will lose their jobs and

there will be knock`on effects for the supply chain. It isn't a bad

news and we must have huge sympathy with the workforce `` it is really

bad news. The company have Scottish connections. Should we read anything

into that? We have heard that shipbuilding will continue in

Scotland and cease in Portsmouth. There is a Scottish manufacturing

link here. Despite closing this plant, they will increase

manufacturing in Grangemouth in Scotland. A Scottish coincidence

perhaps but certainly very bad news here on the south coast for business

and jobs. While workers in Hythe were

digesting the news of impending job losses there, in Portsmouth the

campaign to keep shipbuilding in Hampshire was intensifying. Over

1,000 jobs are to go at BAE Systems in the dockyard. While the political

debate rages on, unions are preparing to challenge those job

losses. Our reporter is in Portsmouth tonight.

Sold down the river. That's the front page here in Portsmouth today,

a reference to the fact that some feel Portsmouth jobs have been

sacrificed for Scottish votes ahead of next year's referendum. So, a

furious reaction from the local paper, as you might expect.

Grey skies over Portsmouth, matched with a subdued mood over the city.

The uncertainty of everything, they have no money, just as Christmas is

coming. It is not good. How would you summarise the mood? Not nice.

They have made the decision and it is done now. UKIP have sensed an

opening here with one local councillor warning that Portsmouth

will become no more than a museum city with its industry stripped

away. What it means is Portsmouth is going to be like Liverpool, it

trades entirely on its history. Portsmouth will be the same. This is

what defines Portsmouth. It is a shipbuilding city and once we lose

that relative of `` we lose everything. The GMB starts talks

tomorrow about what action they could take. We want to be

proactive. We do not want to damage our reputation or prospects but we

will do what ever it takes. The north Portsmouth MP tried to lift

the gloom in a rallying cry for the shipyards to shift its sights

towards landing commercial contracts. She says five companies

are interested in moving into the yard. I want to keep shipbuilding

here but we have to build an industry that wants to build ships,

not just provide services to them, and if we have to grade in `` being

in the wider sector to retain that skills base, then that is what we

need to do, and I am determined that is what we are going to do. I think

we could become the maritime heart of the UK and we have to carve out

that vision for the city. There is a widespread sense that ending

shipbuilding will affect not just the city but the county and the

country. I wonder in the strategic sense that we are losing capacity.

We need to keep capacity in this country. It is important. I am not

sure it is being looked at as closely as it should have been.

Social media is going to play a role in all this now. 50,000 people have

clicked onto a page. There's a Facebook group called "Save

Portsmouth Dockyard". There are also two petitions running

online aiming to try to make the government rethink its position.

A man has appeared in court charged with two counts of manslaughter

following the death of two teenage girls in a road collision in

Gosport. Sam Etherington, who's 20 and from Gosport, was remanded in

custody, and is due to appear at Winchester Crown Court tomorrow.

Police were called following the incident in Ann's Hill Road on

Sunday morning. Jasmine Allsop, 14, died at the scene and her

16`year`old friend Olivia Lewry died later in hospital.

The government's nuclear watchdog is putting Berkshire's two nuclear bomb

factories under increased scrutiny, because of their hazardous

operations and ageing facilities. The Office for Nuclear Regulation

says the Atomic Weapons Establishments in Aldermaston and

Burghfield will be given "increased regulatory attention" for at least

two years. The nuclear weapons factories are

always under scrutiny, whether from antinuclear campaigners or various

different regulatory bodies. The AWT was given a formal warning by the

Environment Agency after unusually high levels of radium were found in

a stream. A court highlighted safety lapses when a fire broke out at the

site. Last year structural defects were found in one of its ageing

buildings and normal operations had to be temporarily suspended. Now

they have been placed near the top of the priority list with so`called

enhanced regulatory attention. Only Sellafield has been ranked higher.

That is special measures. I think that their safety performance should

be better. The company's performance is level, it has flat plains, not

improving, and I think the regulator and all of us think that it should

be getting better. The report states that both sides to meet the safety

standards required and it acknowledges that a huge amount of

construction work is underway to rebuild maintenance plans. The

company said its rebuilding programme is one of the largest and

most complex in the UK defence industry. Given the complexity and

uniqueness of the challenges it faces, the priority to report rating

is appropriate. It stresses delivering safe operations here is

the top priority. Still to come: The Saints are

marching into the England team. Three players will be in the squad

for the next two internationals. A disabled pensioner from Gosport

says she's been forced to live in her car for the last four months

because the local council cannot find her a suitable home. Su Seymour

is 62 and has autism. The council says it's offered her homes nearby

but she has rejected them all. I need a home where I can make

myself a cup of tea or whatever. For Sue and her dog, this has been home

since July in this car. I do not choose to be like this. I just want

to be settled. She sleeps on the front seat ready to drive off at any

point. Some drunks got on the car and one of them had a bottle and he

wanted me to take him somewhere, but I just drove off. She lost her home

in 2011 when her husband died and she was evicted from rental

accommodation for months ago. She has been on the council waiting list

for three and a half years but her autism means she has to live in a

specific part of Gosport and cannot cope with shared accommodation or a

shelter. Gosport Borough Council says she is insisting on being

placed in a small area whether or nor free homes but it says it has

offered her property is five minutes drive away. She has had the authors

which are near to where she wants to be. They have all been two`bedroom

offers because we recognise her medical condition and that she needs

family or carers to stay. All three have been rejected. Sue says the

council is not acknowledging her mental health needs and that moving

would lead to heart having meltdowns. Having to move house and

moving out of an area where you normally left, out of your support

structures, the community that now you, can be extremely disruptive and

lead to additional difficulties. If I move out of the area I would have

to change GP again which I could not cope with. I need to be any familiar

area and that is when I have to help that come and stay with me. For

Sue, the wait goes on. Five men have been jailed after they

were found with thousands of pounds worth of Class A drugs in

Southampton. Some of the men were caught after the taxi they were

travelling in was stopped by police. Inside they found two golf ball size

wraps containing heroin and cocaine. ?16,000 worth of illegal substances

was subsequently recovered. The prosecutions were part of Hampshire

Police's Operation Fortress drugs crackdown.

The UK would be "foolish" not to adopt the process of fracking.

That's the view of a US energy expert who has spoken to the BBC

ahead of addressing a group of MPs in the Commons today. Chris

Faulkner, who is nicknamed the "Frack Master" in America, visited

Balcombe in Sussex, the scene of huge protests at the possibility of

the controversial process being used there.

Test drilling at Bolcom, most protesters gone. Visited by a man

from the United States who is known as the Phrack master. In Texas where

I live, underneath universities and beneath homes and buildings, what we

have got here is at least an open area. There has been no fracking in

Sussex yet but the idea brought out the protesters in the summer, top of

the concerns water contamination. The key thing is the contamination

of the water. You have to wonder whether the conditions are therefore

safe fracking to take place. If the process was flawed, if we were

contaminating drinking water, there would be massive issues in the

United States Coast to Coast with contamination. There have already

been problems with earth tremors. Are the protesters right to worry?

There were faults where they were fracking. They made a mistake by

doing it there. Yes, they will admit they made a mistake by fracking

there. If you look at the one and a half million we have been using in

the United States, we have set the layers of cement, three layers of

steel pipe, and then we drill down 3000 or 4000 metres, that is where

fracking occurs. Fracking `` to say that it contaminates water is

foolish. Some say that the oil is shallower and the rocks might not

remain stable. We have three major faults in this village alone. Those

can be used as conduits and bring up the gases from the bottom up to the

surface and it would be very unhealthy. There is a natural

resource beneath the UK. If it were to be extracted it would give you 50

years worth of energy. All this week we have been seeing

some of the projects that have benefited from your donations to

Children in Need. The projects we support help children in all sorts

of ways, sometimes confronting uncomfortable issues. One such

project is the Southampton Rape Crisis Centre which helps over 40

children a week in coming to terms with sexual abuse. A counsellor at

the project came to the studios to tell me how they support these

youngsters. The young people come to us because they have experienced an

unwanted sexual experience. We work with young people from the age of 11

upwards, young men and women. We will offer them an assessment just

to make sure we are offering them the right service and then we can

offer them one`to`one counselling, or we can offer them group therapy.

How difficult is it for them to come to you and talk about it? It can be

extremely difficult. They can be incredibly reluctant. We have to

make sure we form a good relationship with them. And support

them. When they turn up, it is such a brave thing for them to do and we

realise that. How do these horrific experiences make you feel `` make

them feel? They have problems with relationships, with family and

friends, they have trust issues, they often feel very guilty or

ashamed, often they are self harming as a coping strategy, they can feel

suicidal or have attempted suicide. Many different problems. We see a

lot of young people who have been abused within the family and also by

peers. Children in need has helped you, how? It has given us the means

to employ specialist counsellors who can work with these young people, it

has helped us to employ an outreach worker so the outreach worker can go

out and work with these people who cannot get into the service, and we

have started up a young people's creative arts group, because it is

important for young people to suit meet people who have gone through

similar experiences and see what coping strategies they have. What

would you like these youngsters to take away with them? We want to be

able to give them a chance in the future to be able to get back into

education, to make them feel worthwhile, their self`esteem can be

really low. We want them to be able to get on with their lives and also

make the best of what the future holds. I am so pleased that you have

received the help. They are doing so much great work

and it is all thanks to you. Children in Need helps many

children. A report tonight begins on the Isle of Wight.

The activity centre gives teenagers with physical and learning

disabilities the chance to improve their balance, coordination and also

get an appreciation of the great outdoors. Children in Need have

donated dozens of pounds. `` hundreds of pounds. Lacking in

coordination, mobility, and gaining an appreciation of the environment.

It would be nice to see them able to carry on and do things after the

project. We have been able to get them into clubs and things. It makes

a big difference. You often hear teenagers say, there is nothing for

us to do, but this group puts on sports like badminton and activities

like camping. It is not just something to do, it can build

self`confidence and has a really positive impact. What we support is

not as obvious as other organisations. We have 9800 children

and our purpose is to build up their confidence so we can help them

improve those skills that they need to manage their lives better. I was

quite shy, I never had much confidence. I did not think of

myself the way I am today because I am quite outgoing. I did not think I

could have as many friends as I have now. We are very grateful for the

money that was donated, without that these guys would miss out. The

Elizabeth Foundation supports more than 50 families of children with a

range of hearing impairments. As well as group activities they can

also offer one`to`one sessions. We feel really lucky to have been given

just over ?73,000 by children in Need. It is making a real difference

for their language development and they're listening development and

they are leaving us with nearly age`appropriate if not

age`appropriate language skills. We never thought he would be going to

mainstream school, which he will be in September, all thanks to everyone

here. Thank you. We will have plenty more tomorrow,

including finding out who the presenter is. I will be interviewing

her. If you are a Southampton football

fan, this is great days. Three players called up to the Roy Hodgson

squad. Lallana, Lambert and now Rodriguez. It's the first time

Southampton have had three players named in an England squad since

1986, when Shilton, Wright and Danny Wallace were in the late Bobby

Robson's squad. It's play like this, Lallana to Lambert to Rodriguez,

against Fulham at St Mary's last month which has earned them a call

up for the friendlies against Chile and Germany as boss Roy Hodgson

starts preparations for next year's World Cup finals in Brazil.

Rodriguez has scored four goals this season while Lallana and Lambert

have also starred as Saints have hit the top six. I could not believe it.

Was it in your mind this might come along? I don't know. I just relief

August on my club game. I just need to work hard and keep myself

grounded and focus on that and if it comes, it comes, and it has come and

I am delighted. I still cannot believe it.

Meanwhile only Rodriguez featured in a much changed Saints side which

went out of the Capital One Cup last night at Sunderland. Southampton

squandered a good chance before half time when Gaston Ramirez fired wide.

Sunderland took the lead when Phil Bardsley got the final touch from a

goalmouth scramble. The game was effectively decided four minutes

from time when Seb Larsson slotted home. Saints did get one back, Maya

Yoshida with a header two minutes later, but it wasn't enough and a

much changed team was out. Happy for the performance. Good

games for the players. I am very happy for the performance.

The racing world is saluting Lambourne's AP McCoy tonight after

he rode his 4000th career winner, the first jockey in history to do

so. The winning ride came at Towcester this afternoon in the

15:10. McCoy was riding Mountain Tunes, and he had plenty of work to

do approaching the last. A tremendous attack on the outside as

commission might. I really enjoy what I do. It is very simple. I love

what I do. I have spent quite a few nights in the hospital in my life.

It is physically and mentally demanding at times, but there is no

better sport in the world and I am lucky to work with great people,

fantastic courses `` horses and the people who turned up today shows

what a great sport it is. It has been said that he is the greatest

sportsman. Well done to him. As we look ahead towards the

weekend, one good day, one bad day. Horses grazing in water in Corfe

Castle today captured by Robin. Sarah took this photo of her dog

Poppy enjoying the low tide at Hill Head this morning. And an egret in

the Harnham Water Meadows in Salisbury captured by Linda Brooks.

We will see a few clear spells but also one or two showers and those

showers are more likely driving in from the south coast or along the M4

corridor, but there will be some clear spells as well. Their butchers

will not drop to freezing, but they will hover around six? Temperatures.

A band of rain starts edging its way in during the course of the morning.

The latter part of the morning and through the afternoon has heavier

burst and temperatures tomorrow ranging between ten and 13. When is

brisk from the waist or the south`west. The rain will eventually

clear away, following a showers driven along the south coast and

down the M4 corridor. Their butchers very similar to tonight. ``

temperatures. Another weather fronts starts moving its way in which will

produce showers, gusty winds, showers at times, merging into

longer spells of Ranger in the afternoon, but the chance of some

sunshine during the afternoon. A mixed picture towards the weekend

but looking at Sunday it will be a frosty start, dry in places, but

also some sunny spells, it should stay mainly dry until Sunday evening

when we are expecting further rain which will last into Monday and the

temperatures will pick up as well. Showers gifting in along the English

channel. A band of heavy rain through the afternoon and that will

mean the rush`hour drive home tomorrow night could be wet, suffers

water, localised flooding. Saturday is a mixture of showers and then

Sunday is dry and bright. We are back at 8pm and 10:25pm.

We will be looking at Rugby tomorrow.

Good night.