04/02/2014 South Today

into Friday morning and enhance the risk of flooding. That is all from

us, Hello, I'm Sally Taylor.

Welcome to South Today. In tonight's programme... Police dig up a pub

garden searching for a man they believe was murdered 15 years ago.

Taking the tablets... The ?800,000 computer keeping track of patients

and speeding up A Would you pay more? We meet the

campaigner leading the fight to increase the council tax. Because I

believe this is the way we will safeguard some of the most essential

services for disadvantaged people. And the amateur fossil hunter who's

been given ?2.5 million to build his own Jurassic Park. It is just

immense. It is wonderful every time you find something. It is completely

new. When you clean it, the excitement is even better. It is a

15 year mystery. A cold case which has not been solved. Kevin Palmer

disappeared after a night out with friends in 1999. The lease believe

he was murdered under digging up a garden in a disused pub. A reporter

joins us. 15 years after Kevin Palmer

disappeared the search for his body is back on. Specialist teams have

spent the day here at a former pub. They have been digging up the back

garden for it they believe the body may have been buried. Police and

firefighters have been searching the crowns of this former pub since

early this morning. They were led here after detectives carried out a

cold case review. They reassessed information they had received about

the disappearance of Kevin Palmer. We commissioned some work and used

ground radar penetration. We identified some anomalies within the

grounds which gave scores to take it further and search further. Kevin

Palmer disappeared in 1999 during a visit from Spain where he lived. He

was last seen on a night out in Fareham when he took a taxi with two

men. They argued and he was left en route Inca Bridge. But he has never

been found. Police believe he was murdered. A previous search took

place in 2003 but nothing was found. Police hope this date has a

different outcome. We have specialist search teams and the

assistance of the Fire and rescue service along with some dog units.

This pub was once a big part of this community and had a chequered

history. There was always troubling. To have a body there, yes, it is no

great surprise. It is pretty horrendous, pretty scary.

Police teams will resume their dig in the morning and it is expected

they will continue for another day, maybe longer, if remains are found.

As this investigation continues with renewed vigour, police are once

again appealing for information. They are as King anyone who knew

Kevin Palmer in 1999 to get in touch. They said the smallest detail

could prove essential. Thank you. The inquest into the death of

Anne`Marie Ellement continued today with fierce denials that the Royal

Military Police Corporal had been the victim of a bullying campaign.

Corporal Ellement was found hanged at Bulford Barracks, near Salisbury,

Wiltshire. She was 30`years`old. Laura Trant reports. Can I ask that

you expecting? A day of justice. The words from the family on this second

day of the inquest. Anne`Marie Ellement was found hanged in Bulford

Barracks in over 2011. Three days after her 30th birthday. She had

claimed two soldiers raped her in 2009 but no charges were brought.

Today a colleague and the girlfriend of one of the soldiers she accused

of raping denied being a bully. She said when she was informed of the

arrest of her boyfriend over rape allegations she felt anger,

frustration and upset. She went on to say I could not understand why

Annemarie would do this. When asked by the coroner if she called

Corporal Ellement at slag and said she would make life hell she said I

cannot remember. Corporal Ellement's mother was there when she

asked what do you think of release? This soldier replied I do not think

bullying is acceptable. Corporal Charlene Prichard also gave evidence

and told the inquest that she saw Corporal Ellement crying in the

corridor after the alleged rape. I was the first one to see her she

said. Initially I was a firm believer she was telling the truth.

Only when I spent a huge amount of time with did I and believe she was

not telling the truth. Corporal Charlene Prichard went on to say in

the following months cracks started to appear. She said she stayed on

most evenings and was stressed about the work she was doing. Anne`Marie

Ellement's family say a campaign of Philip `` bullying followed her when

she was posted from Germany. The inquest continues.

Hospital staff sometimes say, it's always winter but never Christmas in

Accident and Emergency. Seasonal fluctuations in sickness put massive

pressures on A staff and patients. But now an ?800,000 computer system

at the Queen Alexandra Hospital in Cosham could help speed up care.

It'll track every emergency patient, showing doctors how ill they are,

and how long they've been waiting for treatment. Our Health

Correspondent David Fenton reports. This man has been bleeding from the

mouth for two days so he has come to the Accident and Emergency

department. It has been quite bad. Hopefully they will find something

to stop it. Callow. This nurse is putting his details onto a new

system for monitoring patients. The computer is linked to others around

accident and emergency. Some are hand`held and some are mobile but

they cannot access the condition of the patient. It is brilliant from

our point of view because when we want to see the patient and check

their observation and see how they are, we have it on hand whereas

previously we had to find the doctor. It keeps us on top of

Haitian curve. But the clever part is here on a giant screen in a back

room. Every single patient can be seen at a glance. It shows what is

wrong with them, who is looking after them and how long they have

waited to see a doctor. The minute a patient arrives and is very ill, I

can make sure they are seen immediately. It also helps because

we can see when certain areas of the department are likely to get busy so

we can reallocate staff much earlier than we once did. This new computer

system could do away with paper notes completely if it does not

break down. It is always scary stuff with computers. The system itself is

working extremely well and we have a high turnover of people here. We are

open all the time. It never stops. If something was going to go wrong

it would have gone wrong early on but it has been running well for a

while now. We must learn how to use a gun that will be challenging.

?800,000 as a lot of money and doctors hope the new system will

help them care for patients more quickly and efficiently.

And David Fenton is here. Computer systems have had a mixed reputation

within the NHS. What happens if it breaks down?

If it breaks down, they're in trouble. They'll probably have to go

back to writing patients' names on the whiteboard and squeaky pens. But

it's been in a week and so far, it's working well. Certainly the doctors

and nurses like it. But will it make a difference to

patients? They've clearly put a lot of money into this because they have

a problem. Is that correct? Yes. The Queen Alexandra has the

busiest Emergency Department in the south and things have been very

pressured lately. If we look at the latest figures... In the last week

of January at their Accident and Emergency department 74.1% of

patients were seen within four hours. It should have been 95%.

There 1,819 patients that week. That's an average of 259 a day and

108 Emergency patients spent between four and 12 hours on trolleys,

waiting for a hospital bed because it was so busy. That is why they've

spent ?800,000 on a system to speed things up, cut out the paperwork and

get the patients moving. The East Worthing and Shoreham MP

Tim Loughton has accused police of political correctness over the way

they deal with illegal traveller sites. He says the situation locally

has got better. But he puts this down to the county's Police and

Crime Commissioner pushing the force to take illegal sites more

seriously. Sussex Police says it has a responsibility for policing all

communities and that travellers and gypsies are protected by the same

legislation as all ethnic groups with a particular culture. Our

police seem to be engendered with a feeling of the litter go correct

this such that when they are even challenged the legitimacy of people

calling themselves travellers and what they are doing, you are put in

the frame by the police. Stay with us. Coming up... Extreme

sailing. And in sport we need the sailors who are behind the first

Russian entry into the Extreme Sailing series.

How do you fancy seeing your council tax go up this year? Well,

campaigners in West Sussex are calling for precisely that. 'The

Don't Cut Us Out Campaign' says it wants County Hall to increase

council tax to avoid cutting services for the elderly, disabled

and vulnerable families. West Sussex has frozen its council tax for four

years in a row. And while Portsmouth, Southampton, and Dorset

have approved increases of almost 2%, Hampshire, the Isle of Wight,

and Berkshire are also proposing a freeze this year. Steve Humphrey

reports. Here in West Sussex council spending has taken quite a knock

over recent years. But parts of the council tax have been frozen for the

past three years. The Conservatives want it to stay on ice for another

year. The big question is this. Would people here and across the

rest of West Sussex rather have another freezing council tax for

another year or would they like to pay a little bit extra so the county

council could spend some more money on services? On the whole, I would

prefer that the council had more leeway. I think I would rather see

it frozen for another year. That will help families. I think we

should pay extra and have the services. If you want a passionate

answer to this question talk to this woman. In 2010 sheet set up a

pressure group to lobby on behalf of the bill being affected by spending

cuts. We can see, day in, day out, it is the most disadvantaged people,

the disabled and the elderly who are really bearing the brunt of these

cuts and it is unfair. This piggy bank at County Hall has taken quite

a hammering. Spending cuts have reached ?80 million. Savings of ?55

million are proposed for the next two years. The council's leaders say

there will be extra spending on roads and services and for some

schools projects but she says council tax should remain frozen. We

know that although the economy is growing, it is not being felt in the

pockets of householders yet and when that happens we will look again but

at the moment we feel it is the right thing to do. We had an

election last year and then we said we would look to keep council packs

low. That is what we are doing. A full meeting of the council will

discuss the recommendation for another council tax freeze on

Valentine's Day. Small is beautiful or at least

that's what Southampton is hoping with its scheme to reduce the number

of huge lorries in the city by 75%. The service is beginning this week

and allows drivers to leave their goods at a collection point on the

edge of the city for delivery in smaller vans, combining lots of jobs

in a single trip. Our Transport Correspondent Paul Clifton reports.

On loading a big lorry. Deliveries will be put onto a smaller lorry.

This is the new distillation Centre in Southampton on an industrial

estate at the side of the motorway. I sharing deliveries to multiple

addresses on a single they go, the aim is to cut congestion and

pollution. I am delivering consignments to various customers

across the city. It will mean about 15 deliveries, sometimes more. The

city claims it could reduce the number of urban lorry journeys by

around 75%. That figure sounds very high given the large amount of

traffic heading straight for the docks. The concept is of having

multiple vehicles causing congestion at peak times, we can consolidate

the goods and load them onto fewer vehicles and deliver it at times

when it is more convenient. The idea is environmentally sound but every

time you load and unload these boxes it adds cost so the council is

subsidising it to provide an incentive to businesses to come here

first instead of driving straight to their own back door. You must look

at the total cost, not just the cost of handling. If there is congestion

that costs money. It causes they kill omissions which cause health

problems. There are offsets to the costs involved. The target market is

the public sector, hospitals and universities and we already have a

lot of interest from them. Bristol, Sheffield and London do this already

and the council has sound `` signed up Southampton University. It could

potentially reduce journey significantly.

The future of many youth services across Wiltshire have been put in

doubt after budget cuts of ?500,000 were put forward by the county

council. 24 centres are under threat which could affect nearly 150 staff.

A consultation's started on choosing one of four options which will

change the way the service works. But there's anger among the young

people who use it fearing what they've built up will be lost

forever. Chris Robinson reports. It is many years ago now. Taking a trip

down many `` memory lane. Nearly 20 years later it is man and his former

youth worker are trying to save a centre for young people. The other

support workers that have worked here, this help is invaluable to

everyone that has been here. He has started a campaign to get the

council to reconsider. Butcher council says over the last ten years

the interests of young people have changed due to the likes of social

media and technology. It says just 8% of around 2500 teenagers use the

youth services and changes are being made to keep up with the times.

There are number of options. Keeping the service but with cuts,

outsourcing it, encouraging start to take it on themselves give funding

direct to communities. Inside this Place, there are music studios and a

community radio station. It went out on the road to gather the thoughts

of those who work on it. It is going a bit of a debate. They say there is

only 8% of the youth in Welsh use of thy think it affects more than that.

Youth workers are important and I considered them to be friends. They

have helped me through a lot of stuff. They will also get the chance

to voice their concerns as part of a consultation. A final decision is

expected in the spring. Time for a sports update. It is

tough if you are an elite competitor in basketball, water polo and

synchronised swimmers. We cover that a lot today.

Great Britain's synchronised swimmers have had all of their

funding withdrawn, UK Sport announced this afternoon. It follows

the annual review of elite sport funding, and is being described as a

potentially fatal blow for the sport in this country. Sarah Farmer is in

our newsroom with more. Sarah, tell us what's happened. Aldershot has

been the base of synchronised swimming since 2007. When the team

trained there before the Olympics in December 2012, after the team

finished sixth at the London Olympics, a grant of over ?3 million

was raised to over ?4 million but since that decision was made, all of

the Olympic squad have retired and we the team. UK sport say that the

investment must we considered on the best medal prospects and clearly

they do not say synchronised swimming as a high model prospects

for Brazil. What has been the reaction? The reaction has been

devastating. We are looking at the Chief Executive of swimming David

Sparkes saying it is a dark day for female sport. Members of the squad

have spoken about their disappointment. Amy Campbell said it

was devastating that aspirations for Brazil have been taken away. How

will that inspire a generation? That was the slogan for London 2012. It

certainly was. IQ. There will be more mileage in that story as time

goes on. Bad news for synchronised swimmers.

Eight teams are preparing for the biggest year in the Extreme Sailing

series to date. 40 foot multi hull boats race close to the shore and

with no America's Cup racing this year, some of the world's top

sailors are keeping busy by taking part, including Sir Ben Ainslie. I

went to see a new team this morning with a storm brewing in the Solent.

And early start for this Russian crew. It is a new group for a new

season. This team may be rationed but the backbone is from Hampshire.

These next few days will be crucial as they worked together on the water

to build a platform for a successful season. We are a team and we are

training hard. We must work together. We have not got a lot of

time to do it. We are good and we must be on the same level. We are

trying to do that. Extreme Sailing series fast. These books can reach

speeds of around 46 miles an hour. `` these roads. `` these vessels.

This is the eighth stage of the Extreme Sailing series under this

more high profile than ever particularly with Sir Ben Ainslie

and his team taking part. He raises the profile of the sport and

everyone has a lot of respect for him but that will not start us ``

stop was going hard. There are lot of Englishmen at the forefront of

the sport. There are eight venues around the world and when the

vessels gather in Singapore for round one it will be the most

competitive yield to date. I think we got back to shore just in time.

One team from Hampshire is guaranteed a Wembley appearance in

the FA Trophy after today's semi final draw. Gosport Borough will

play the winners of the tie between Havant and Waterlooville and

Aldershot which is being played tonight at Westleigh Park. The semi

finals, over two legs, start later this month. The final is at Wembley

on 23rd of March. A reminder of rigging news. Kevin Pietersen is not

included in the world G20 scored or of the tour of West Indies. We

wonder for that means for the rest of his international career. We have

some severe weather coming in? Here are the pictures. You can see the

diggers shoring up the shingle. Time for a weather update.

Shaun Roster captured Portsmouth Harbour showered by the golden

sunlight. Lori Little took this photo of the Western Solent between

Thorness Bay and Newtown creek. And Graham Ward captured the ominous

skies in Bentley near Farnham. Numerous weather warnings in place.

Tonight we are looking at severe gales and very heavy rain at times.

During the first part of the night we will see the heaviest of the

rainfall. There will be gusts of wind around 70 mph. Temperatures

tonight will reach around five degrees. We have a brief respite

from the wind and rain to ring the early hours of tomorrow morning but

then it gets going again. `` during the early hours. Winds will reach

around 70 mph again. Very heavy showers and longer spells of rain.

No respite tomorrow. Very strong winds and a risk of flooding

especially along the coast. The rain could amount to around three

quarters of an inch. There will be a lot of surface water on the roads.

Tomorrow night, gradually the rain will ease as will the winds. Try

conditions and temperatures of around five degrees. But because of

the risk of coastal flooding and heavy rain and wind, stay tuned to

BBC local radio for the latest on the travel situation. Looking ahead

towards Thursday, more rain on the way. The winds will not be as

strong. We are looking at another area of low pressure coming in from

the south. There is a weather warning already in place for later

on in the week. The risk of another inch of rain fall. A similar

scenario for Friday night and Saturday. Tonight expect strong

winds and heavy rain. Thursday and Friday there is a rain warning and

Friday and Saturday there is a warning for wind and rain.

For 30 years Steve Etches has combed the Jurassic Coast looking for

fossils and lovingly storing thousands of them in his own double

garage. Now the amateur treasure hunter has struck the jackpot.

Steve's finds are to be housed in a state`of`the`art interactive museum,

costing almost ?3 million. His very own Jurassic Park ` courtesy of the

Heritage Lottery Fund. Briony Leyland caught up with him. What we

are looking for is a trace of something that may appear. For this

man, discovery is a daily delight. He is a plumber by trade but spends

his free time coming beaches for the remains of creatures from the

Jurassic past. You might just see a fraction of what is there. Maybe a

little bit of home, maybe a shelf. From that you must work out what it

once was. 150 million years ago this was the bottom of the deep, tropical

seat which was teeming with life. The rot has eroded and the fossils

have been repealed. It is a mess. It is like having the lottery every

time you come out here. You know it is something new and when you clean

it it is great. Back in the shed, a cleaning begins. Baking soda helps

to peel back the layers of rock. You can see that half of the fish is

worn away. This would soon be eroded away. This has been brought in from

the cold and has converted garage houses over 2000 finds including at

least a dozen new species like this. It has a full stomach. You can see

tentacles and hooks. They are indigestible. But they are inside

its stomach. This collection is internationally important but

bringing in visitors has not easy but now it will have a spacious and

permanent home. It is a new museum and will be called the Steve Etches

Collection. I think it will attract interest from everybody from all

walks of life. We are particularly keen to make it to sip a tree and

can work with Steve and really enjoy themselves and have fun at the same

time. Avenue Museum, Steve will find himself on display. People will be

able to watch him at work in a purpose`built studio when it opens

in 2016. He will have less time for plumbing but more time for sharing

the hobby which has become a passion.

Out lovely to have a collection like that and well worth it. Well done.

We should just mention that Steve has special permission to collect

fossils. The general public is not allowed to do so. Be warned about

that. Thank you so much for joining us. Good evening.