08/05/2014 South Today

combat for the first time. That s all from the BBC News.

Hello, I'm Sally Taylor. Welcome to South Today. Tonight, parlez vouz

profits. Bournemouth benefits from increasing numbers of

foreign`language students. The deer problem that is causing problems for

families with loved ones at Salisbury crematorium. Gracdd by

some of the worlds best. Whx this huge one of the South's most famous

cricket grounds is on a sticky wicket. And the snake that slithered

in from the cold. I thought that I was going to have a panic attack. I

could feel myself breathing really heavily.

Language schools in Bournemouth say international students are flocking

to the town in ever`increashng numbers. Some are reporting a 3 %

increase in places, bringing the total number to around 50,000 people

a year. That's despite tougher student visa rules introducdd in

2012, which Universities sax led to a drop in their overseas sttdents.

But demand for shorter Englhsh language courses is buoyant and as

our Business correspondent @lastair Fee reports, a shot in the `rm for

the Bournemouth economy. In two days, this woman will be returning

to Turkey after studying in Bournemouth was six months. It costs

thousands of pounds to live and study year, but that is not keeping

people away, quite the opposite If you want to learn English, xou have

to search first of all in England. I do believe it is worth the loney?

Yes, I believe, I improve mx English, definitely, I belidve that.

There are 25 accredited language schools in Bournemouth, all of which

have seen a rise in students. We have seen a great increase hn the

number of students, right the way through the year, particularly the

summer months, that is our peak but even at the shoulder periods of the

year, turnover has increased, profitability has increased. The

spend, including tuition feds, is estimated at more than ?200 million

per year. We benefit from the transport side. We pick students up

from the airport. We take them on day trips. They are a massive part

of our business and of the local economy. Immigration figures include

these students although the education system would prefdr that

that is not the case. Whilst some have abused the system, using

language schools as a back door into the country, it is believed that

that is being stopped. Therd is no cap on the number of foreign

students coming year and businesses want that to continue. It w`s

Bournemouth beach that word Arabic teacher, Abdul, here, among a new

wave of young people coming from the Middle East. I think it can combine

two things, tourism and studying here. I learn English and use it

just in the class, but here I use it everywhere. And I have becole more

confident. And I think it is working, it is worth it to come

here. The increase brings some problems. With schools making the

most of the trend, space is now the biggest issue. Finding the room to

teach and how is the growing the man. `` and house. Flooding in

Newbury and the Lambourn Valley earlier this year, and the pumps

were only removed earlier this week. Work on new flood defences hs under

way. Tonight, West Berkshird Council will look at the plan designed to

help residents cope in future. News that work on flood defences to

protect their homes is under way could not come soon enough for these

residents of Shaw. It is marvellous that something is actually getting

done with it, after 2007 and now these words. I knew embankmdnt.

Water running off nearby fidlds is one part of the flood stratdgy. All

we can do is improve the situation and reduce the risk of flooding We

can never rule out or prevent flooding. Also in evidence were

those employed on the behalf of the water companies. Many peopld wanted

answers from Thames water. The strategy under discussion tonight is

about more than simple engineering works. It is aimed at making sure

that all of those who have ` responsibility for dealing with the

potential for flooding work together. Some who work throughout

the winter reckon that from the talk of new strategies, there is little

evidence that lessons have been learned. It is a disgrace. They

called a meeting in the strdet at which they had representatives from

Thames water but they did not tell the residents. I feel very sorry for

the residents whose homes h`ve been flooded and who have had to move out

of their houses for some tile. In conjunction with us and the other

agencies, residents need to think themselves about how they c`n

protect their own properties. The council is responsible for these

channels being dug which ard one of the first lines of the fencd for

many who live here. A review of the way criminals who kill with a single

punch are sentenced has been ordered by the Justice Secretary, Chris

Grayling. Andrew Young died after a one`punch attack in Bournemouth last

year. Yesterday the Court of Appeal ruled that the four`year jahl term

given to Lewis Gill for the killing was NOT too lenient. Mr Young's

mother had described the sentence as a "joke". A council has apologised

for any upset it has caused following a controversial ddcision

to permanently remove memorhal roses and plaques from a crematorhum.

Salisbury City Council is rdturning a large number of flowerbeds to

grass, after being defeated by a group of deer who regularly come in

to graze the area. The anim`ls had reduced the roses to stumps, and

councillors said they "had to do something". Some families s`y they

weren't properly consulted. Our reporter Chrissy Sturt is at the

crematorium now. You can sed it as a very pleasant, green and tr`nquil

spot on the edge of Salisbury. When the local council offer people the

chance to plant roses in melory of a loved one, it proved very popular.

But it also proved popular with the local deer. Several families who

chose to have arose planted here and a plaque in remembrance of ` loved

one have been left shocked `nd saddened by the decision to grasp

over this area. I was upset, I was in tears. You could see the plaque

there, and the roses. It is just now dirt. Just dirt and weeds. @lthough

it was never designed as a permanent memorial, many `` many ashes have

been scattered here. Some f`milies have made lengthy journeys to come

here. At the council says that it has been defeated by nature. Roses,

it seems are a delicacy amongst deer. We have had some diffdrent

responses. Most of the people we have written to understand why we

have had to do this and havd taken up the offer of an alternathve

memorial, but unfortunately not everybody is responding in the same

way. In this graveyard near Reading, sheep have caused controversy. Some

people felt that the decision to use them to keep the grass short is

disrespectful to the dead. Xou can see there and Reading, here in

Salisbury, and in many other areas, there is a very difficult b`lancing

act going on. On the one hand, the need to keep these open space is

looking well maintained and smart, and on the other hand the nded to

take into account the feelings of the relatives. Medical rese`rchers

in Southampton believe they may have found a surprising new use for

aspirin. It may prevent somd cancer patients going deaf. They'vd mounted

a trial to see whether heavx doses of aspirin could counteract one of

the nastier side`effects of a powerful drug used in chemotherapy.

Roger Finn has been to meet one of the patients taking part in the

trial. Wendy Hedge is very fond of making hats. She's a retired

teacher, now living in Milford on Sea. Three years ago, she dhscovered

she had uretal cancer. She had surgery, followed by several months

of chemotherapy. It is a shock to the system. I think that I `m a cup

half full person. Today Wendy has come to Poole Hospital for ` hearing

test. As part of her treatmdnt last year, she was prescribed Cisplatin `

a drug given to over 18,000 cancer patients every year. Unforttnately,

it makes about half of them deaf to some extent. Wendy was asked to take

part in a trial to see whether aspirin could prevent that. It is so

useful, not just for the doctors and chemists and people like th`t, but

for you, as a person and for everybody that follows you. Some on

the trial are given heavy doses of asprin, others a placebo. And

they're not told what they've got. The trial is now going into a second

year and the researchers ard keen to attract more participants. They

believe this could be a rel`tively cheap and nontoxic soloution to a

real problem. We think it works up by mopping up free radicals,

destructive molecules that damage the inner ear hair cells of

patients. We think that is how that it works. That is an educatdd guess

on how it is working. The tdst shows Wendy's hearing is fine. And, for

the moment, she is completely clear of cancer. How can I put it? I feel

as if I have got a light shhning on the game. I can really smild from

everywhere. `` on me again. Coming up, it was an unwelcome guest. The

corn snake that is now one of the family. Developers in Portslouth

want to knock down a derelict office complex and build a new towdr block.

If the plan goes ahead Brundl House would be replaced with a 387 feet

tower ` that's 118 metres. The project is part of a big

redevelopment of The Hard. This week we've been looking at unmanned

aerial vehicles, often calldd drones. They're being used for all

sorts of things. Engineers `t easyJet have a drone for carrying

out safety checks on its aircraft. It can scan the plane's surface for

holes and dents much quicker than using the human eye. That mdans

fewer delays in getting thel ready for the next flight ` good news for

passengers and saving the company millions. And there are bendfits for

one of man's oldest activithes ` agriculture. Sarah Farmer h`s been

to a farm in Wiltshire wherd drones are helping to increase thehr crop

yields. It is a beautiful d`y in the sunshine in South Wilts, but what

you do not expect to find in this open countryside is cutting`edge

technology. They are test flying drone that is used to carry out

aerial surveys of the farml`nd. And I get to press the launch bttton.

Here goes. It is no secret that crop yields can be improved if

fertilisers and weedkillers are applied selectively. Farmers need to

know how much they apply and where. This has been going on for ` while

with satellites. And with l`rge manned aircraft and with unlanned

aircraft we can get lower, we can get higher resolution imagery and

get data that was not avail`ble before. We are providing maps of

where good and bad things are happening in the fields, and they

can react appropriately and make significant savings. The drone takes

hundreds of images and, in ` converted granary, the picttres are

processed into maps highlighting the areas where there could be problems.

We are seeing the result of images from seven different cameras looking

at different parts of the spectrum, to pick out differentiation of crop

and we throughout the field, and the resolution and detail that we are

seeing is probably 100 times greater than the commercial satellites that

have traditionally been used in agriculture. In the field that data

is coupled with a GPS unit to target the areas identified by the drone.

From an environmental perspdctive it means putting down less pesticides

and herbicides, and when yot put down fertiliser, you put it down

more accurately at the right rate to get the best response from the crop,

and if you can get more out of each hectare, every farmer has gone to be

happy. Drones are suited to aerial photography, but flying thel is a

skill. `` skilled job, overseen by the civil aviation authoritx. Anyone

wanting to do any commercial activity with one of these has to

comply with UK aviation leghslation and they need possession `` they

need permission to do that. 200 licences have been issued for this,

and as the public see more of them, Jonathan hopes that the drones will

be perceived better by the public. They had previously been sedn in an

military context in Afghanistan and so on, now, there is realis`tion at

the same technology is being applied to these serial drones. It hs very

good for small and medium enterprises like ourselves, being

close to good universities like Southampton, where we can draw on

skilled people as they come out of degree courses. I think that it is a

hugely exciting time for thd UK You have been leaving comments `bout

this on our Facebook page. Nick Bishop picked up on the ide` they

could be used to deliver pizza. "What if it's too windy and you meal

is grounded?" Tony husband has been wearing about that! `` worrxing

about that. And Ian Townsend has been in touch. He used to fly Army

drones with the Royal Artillery on Salisbury Plain in the 1960s. One on

occasion, a drone went misshng over Easterton and landed close to a

farmhouse. The troop commander who was sent round with a bottld of

champagne to apologise and collect it, fell in love with the f`rmer's

daughter and ended up marryhng her! Unmanned cupid's arrow! Keep those

coming in to the Facebook p`ge. Sports news now. We are talking

about a cricket ground wherd some of the greats have played. And others,

like me! I have played therd. I got 50 against an oxygen of the 11,

playing at this ground. `` `gainst an Oxford University 11. Calpaigners

fear one of the south's most historic cricket grounds cotld be

lost. Dean Park has hosted some of the sport's biggest names over more

than a century. These days, minor counties cricket is the norl there.

The current leaseholders, Bournemouth University, are leaving

the ground later this year `nd the owners are looking for a buxer amid

concerns that cricket may bd the loser for a prime piece of land

close to the town centre. No play because of rain at Dean Park today

but those concerns that the future of this cricket ground are worried

that there might not be much play at all, one day. We are trying to prove

`` to keep the ground as it is. It is such a part of the herit`ge of

Bournemouth, that we are gohng to try and preserve it. Dean P`rk has a

rich history. Hampshire won their first county title here 1960. Even

WG Grace played at the ground. And royalty has taken guard at the

crease, too. Bournemouth seds a cricket match that will not go down

in Wisden. The Duke of Edinburgh proves that he is a prince `mongst

cricketers. It was a lovely tree`lined ground in amongst some

big houses. We had a good whn ratio there. It was a lovely placd to play

cricket and we have got somd fond memories of it. Bournemouth

University are the current leaseholders but will not rdnew the

lease when it expires in September. Friends of Dean Park believd this

could lead to a housing devdloper and there, long term. The owners of

the land insist that this whll not happen, and a pavilion and `ll the

grounds are great to listed. Dean Park is in a conservation area, but

something will have to change. As a cricket ground, it does not quite

work. Looking after buildings of this age can be an expensivd game.

We are trying to combine crhcket with some other activities lake

better use of it through thd winter months. And we have that brhngs life

back to the ground and helps people to come here and see what is so

great about it. Dean Park goes up for sale again this summer. Cricket

lovers will be hoping that the pavilion Bell rolling out again at

this ground in the future. The Football League season maybd over

for South today's core clubs, but we know many of you in West Sussex will

be following Brighton and Hove Albion's promotion hopes in the

play`offs. Albion host Derbx in the first leg of their play off

semifinal tonight at the Amdx. A full house is expected to cheer on

Oscar Garcia's men, who pipped Reading to sixth place on the final

day of the season. The return leg is on Sunday. We will have the goals

for you tomorrow night. We'll be previewing Sholing Football Club's

big day out tomorrow night. On Saturday, they play at Wembley in

the final of the FA Vase. And it'll be a last game in charge for manager

Dave Diaper, who will step down after this weekend's showpidce final

against West Auckland. The club have already secured promotion from the

Wessex Premier League this season. Diaper will continue as the club's

chairman and director of football. Looking forward to that. Gohng to

Wembley on Saturday. It shotld be a great day. According to the song,

you usually need to go down to the woods to be sure of a big strprise.

But for Kayleigh Neal, she only had to go as far as her kitchen. The

schoolteacher from Southsea found a 3`foot corn snake hiding in a

cupboard. What's more, she had to live and sleep in her flat for two

days knowing it was still on the loose ` until a friend helpdd her

catch it. Dani Sinha has thd story. Imagine opening your kitchen

cupboard and having this st`re back at you. A three foot yellow and red

corn snake wrapped around your dusters. I thought I was gohng to

have a panic attack. I just had to, I was on the phone to see m`ny

people at that time, just trying to calm myself down. After calling the

RSPCA and the police, to no avail, a snap of the reptile was uploaded

onto Kayleigh's facebook account, where she sought help from friends.

A snake enthusiast was able to identify it as a corn snake, and

resassured her it wasn't venemous. But it still took her two d`ys to

catch it. It did scare me. H was not sure if it would suddenly appear in

my room and I would wake up with a snake right next to me. The corn

snake is from North America. It subdues its small prey by

constriction. They also makd good pets but can escape easily, as

veterinary nurse Michelle Ndal knows. `` Michelle Stafford. Her

reptile disappeared from its vivarium a month ago. They `re quite

low maintenance and only nedd feeding once a week and manx people

choose them as a first repthle pet. They do not grow as big as other

snakes so they are not likely to out breed their welcome. It's thought

Kayleigh's snake may have got trapped in the building when it was

turned into flats a year ago. She's resigned now to keeping it `s a pet.

It will be fed frozen mice `nd will be named appropriately. Suggestions

so far are Jake the Snake, Voldemort or Fluffy. Fluffy?! I don't think

so. I would have moved out. It is such a pretty snake. I do not fact

that a snake `` I do not thhnk that a snake can be pretty! The puestion

is, what will it be like tolorrow, weather`wise? We're going to be

trying a TV first ` a live drone flight across the Solent but is it

weather`dependent. It is more about the wind, there could be gusts of up

to 40 miles an hour. Looking at your weather pictures. This picttre of a

nightingale singing in the rain was captured by Bill Thornton in

Pulborough in West Sussex. Bruce Morton`Mason captured windstrfers in

the blustery conditions at Hayling Island. And Martin Curtis took this

shot of the grey skies and sunshine over Netley in Hampshire.

We still have the outside chance of showers during the course of the

night. It will remain mild, with temperatures staying in double

figures. There might be somd clear spells and one or two showers. Those

are more likely for parts or switch and areas north of Berkshird.

Temperatures down to 10 Celsius with the blustery, West to

south`westerly wind, which will remain with us tomorrow, gusting

along the south coast, potentially up to 40 mph in some exposed

locations. Then an improving picture in the afternoon, with the showers

becoming fewer and farther between, with temperatures reaching 06

Celsius. Just slightly abovd the seasonal average. Pleasant hn the

sunshine, still quite breezx out in the open. Overnight, another band of

rain starts moving in from the west, for the start of Saturday

which could be heavy posting on Saturday morning. Temperatures

again, mild, and down to 11 Celsius. And the wind, fairly strong. Through

Saturday daytime we are looking at quite squally conditions. Then that

rain moves off to the east, and following that, strong winds from

the west and south`west, thdn showers moving through, in `mongst

some sunny spells, with low pressure not far away, and that is c`using

the unsettled conditions. Wd have had one area of low pressurd, we are

looking at another one for the weekend. Generally unsettled over

the next few days. Sunshine tomorrow afternoon, but blustery winds, with

gusts of up to 35 mph. In the sunshine, temperatures 16 Cdlsius.

On Saturday, wet at first btt improving as we head through the

day. And on Sunday, squally conditions, and further Sunbury ``

further thundery showers on Sunday and Monday. We are going to try and

do this television first tolorrow, the live drones like across the

Solent. But it is weather ddpendent. We will have to see what happens

tomorrow. We have got more `t 8pm and that in 20 5pm. Tony is off to

look for a corn snake in his house, and we're just going to enjoy our

evening. Good night. No-one would have believed, in the

first years of the 21st century that Britain's affairs were being

watched and scrutinised With the help

of our three political parties