08/07/2014 South Today

for the patients of the future. That's all from us. Now

Good evening, I'm Laura Trant with the news in the South.

A Southampton gang who made more than a quarter of a million pounds

by selling stolen goods on eBay have been jailed today.

The group of ten family and friends targeted Homebase

and B stores across 13 cotnties, routinely shoplifting high value

Our Home Affairs Corresponddnt Emma Vardy reports.

Hundreds of items were sold online to unsuspecting eBay customdrs.

Goods like showers, vacuum cleaners and alarm systems had been stolen en

masse from DIY stores across the country. The gang would fill their

trolleys with high`value goods. Outside in the garden centrd area

they would throw items over the perimeter fence or push thel through

holes in the wall. After getting the goods out, the group would often

then hide them around the pdrimeter and return to pick them up `fter

dark. Over and over again, they got away with stealing thousands of

Over and over again, they got away with stealing thousands of pounds

He shoplifted in stores frol Southampton to South Yorkshhre.

His sister, Yvonne Banaghan's role was so`called postmistress general.

She packed and sent items off to eBay buyers.

Mason's mother, Caroline Kirkland, and her neighbour stored

In total, more than ?250,000 worth of goods were sold on eBay.

Mason's friends, Shelley Eml and Darren Mintram, helped him shoplift.

Another friend, Lindsey Daish, helped run the online stores.

Money from the sales went into the account of masons

Money from the sales went into the account of Mason's

They were throwing them as hard as they could over the fencds

of B and Homebase, or actually climbing up onto the

shelving that ran alongside, cutting a hole and pushing them through

The group were caught out when undercover police officers

As we followed the evidence we found more `nd more

Within six to eight weeks wd were starting to realise quite how wide

this was going to be and it significantly changed how we

12 defendants in total were sentenced today for their p`rt

For much of it, most of defdndants had to sit in seats normallx

reserved for the jury because there was not a dock big enough

George Mason received the longest sentence of fivd years.

His accomplices, Mark Bowers and Kevin Owen, got three and a half,

but for each of their roles in this criminal eBay enterprise, tonight

The leader of a school trip to the Arctic in which a Salisbury

teenager was killed by a polar bear has been describing the att`ck.

Michael Reid told an inquest how he'd tried to shoot the bear

as it mauled Horatio Chappld, but his rifle wouldn't fire.

When the animal then attackdd him, he tried to gouge

Other members of the expedition also gave evhdence.

We heard from Michael Reid this morning, the expedition leader who

described in some detail about what happened on that morning of August

5th three years ago, when the polar bear rampaged through the c`mps they

had set up on this remote glacier near the Arctic Circle.

He said he woke in the early morning to shotts

of bear attack from some of the teenagers that were camping nearby.

He said he rushed out of thd tent, grabbed a rifle en route and,

when he got outside, he said he saw this large polar bear

He said he tried repeatedly to shoot the animal but, as you say,

He then went on to describe how the bear turned

on him, how he ended up wrestling with the animal and trying to gouge

Eventually, the bear moved off, he said he did not know why.

He picked up the rifle and managed to shoot it dead.

This afternoon we heard frol the second leader, the mountain leader

He explained how he too had been attacked by the bear,

he said he had been woken bx the commotion in the early lorning.

He had gone outside and heard Michael Reid say

At that point he threw some rocks at the bear to scare it off.

The bear turned on him and knocked him to the ground, and he s`id that

is when he came face`to`facd with the polar bear because its paws were

resting on his shoulder and its claws were swiping his face

Both of them have talked about the safety precautions used in the camp.

Michael Reid particularly t`lked about the trip wire system,

a system used around the calp that sets off flares and alarms to try

and alert anyone to intruders, of course in this case polar bears.

He said he knew the system was faulty, but he was

happy with the modifications the group had made with papdrclips.

He said he had checked it the night before and would not have

gone back to his tent if he had been in any way unhappy with it.

We'll be hearing more witnesses tomorrow, some friends of Horatio

Chapple tomorrow we underst`nd, and the quest is due to last all week.

Chapple tomorrow we underst`nd, and the inquest is due to last `ll week.

A taxi driver has been found guilty of the murder of a teenager

from Tadley while he was on holiday in Greece.

18`year`old Robert Sebbage was stabbed on the Greek Island

Stelios Morfis had previously been convicted of manslaughter

but today an appeal court overturned that verdict and convicted him

of murder in the third degrde, increasing his sentence to 06`years

The government has confirmed it is going ahead with plans to convert

the hard shoulder of the M3 motorway into a fourth traffic lane. It

affects a 13 miles stretch between Farnborough and the M25. It's

claimed it will increase capacity bx a

third and improve journey times bx three

The work starts in November. It will take about two

We're back tomorrow during BBC Breakfast and there's more

on your BBC local radio station and news website.

Now Alexis is here to tell ts how the rest of the week is looking

A mainly dry night to come, still the risk of the odd thunderstorm,

which will clear through thd early hours of the morning and we will see

Under the clear skies where we have had showers today,

with there being a lot of moisture in the air, there is a risk of mist

Temperatures in towns and cities will be higher than

the countryside, perhaps down to eight or nine Celsius there.

Through tomorrow, lots of dry weather, varying amounts of cloud

but a decent amount of sunshine and in the sun temperatures higher than

The day stays dry tomorrow, more cloud for eastern areas, then

The outlook ` we can expect some rain tomorrow night lasting

Thunderstorms are a possibility on Friday, but coming up next is

through the next few days into the weekend. Hot on Saturday with

thundery showers. Good evening, the rain in Rio is

matching the mood, I suspect, this evening. Here, we will take a day

off from the rain tomorrow, at least most of us. There will be sunshine

around. The showers will be back for the end of the week. Dry over night

virtually everywhere. Winds easing down in many places except towards

the North Sea coasts. The south west will keep a breeze going. Not a cold

night, temperatures holding 12- 4 degrees typically. A dry day

virtually everywhere tomorrow. Cloud breaking up to allow good spells of

sunshine coming through, particularly to Scotland, northern

England, Wales and the south of had west. Rain will edge in