03/01/2017 South Today

Hello and welcome to South Today, I'm Jo Kent.

The top stories tonight: A family's heartache

for the young chef from Sussex - who died fighting AGAINST the

A day of protests over rail fare increases -

as commuters say taking the train is now a financial strain.

A night of extreme emotions as Bournemouth take on Arsenal.

He's been described by his family as a "caring, loving boy"

But tonight Ryan Lock's loved ones are mourning his death.

The former chef from Chichester - who had

no military training - ran away to join Kurdish

forces in Syria last year, fighting against the so-called

Our Home Affairs Correspondent Emma Vardy reports.

Ryan Lock left the UK, telling friends and family

On Facebook, he later revealed he was in fact in Syria,

joining the ranks of the Kurdish militant group the YPG.

The YPG are one of the main fighting forces on the ground in Syria,

Over the past five years, it's estimated several hundred foreign

volunteers have travelled to join them.

wounded two months ago by a Turkish airstrike,

posting this picture of his injuries on Facebook.

He lost two of his very close friends

but then after that, he seemed to be more motivated

and actually requested to be transferred to a

unit that was involved in the ongoing operation to celebrate

His family were given confirmation of his death in a letter from YPG

commanders which said he was killed alongside four other fighters.

He's reported to be the third British person to die fighting

Konstandinos Erik Scurfield was the first Briton to be

His father visited Ryan Lock's family himself.

There's nothing that can prepare you for that

be able to talk to them and tell them practical steps and help to get

can and if you are thinking of going out there, please don't.

I think if parents could stop their children going, they would do it,

but these lads and girls are very determined,

so it is do whatever you

can and if you are thinking of going out there, please don't.

His father who lives in Chichester described Ryan Lock as a caring boy,

who would do anything to help anyone.

It's understood his body has not yet been recovered.

Well, BBC correspondent Dominic Casciani follows security

I spoke to him, earlier tonight, and asked just how many British

It's very difficult to say for sure how many are wrote they are fighting

against Isis in Syria or Iraq. Let me give you an idea of some of the

figures. There are about 800 jihadist who have gone out to fight

for banned terrorist groups, and we know there are other Muslims who

have gone out to fight to try to overthrow the Syrian regime, but

they are not fighting necessarily with Islamic state. There is this

third group who have gone out to fight effectively with the Kurdish

forces in Syria and Iraq. As for the number, no one is saying and if our

intelligence services have figured it is not in the public domain.

These seem like very ordinarily people from our region, an IT worker

and a chef, what is the motivation? They are motivated by a sense of

anger and frustration and that is what is coming out. One told my

colleagues last year that he felt he had to go and fight. The government

has advised against all travel to Syria so what are the security

forces doing to stop them from going? The is very little they can

do. One thing they can do is take someone's passport away but you need

to have very good reasons. The key thing is what constitutes an act of

terrorism. If the government can find somebody who wants to fight,

their passport can be removed to stop them leaving the country.

However, the Kurdish troops are not prescribed. On their return we know

some Brits have came back and have been interviewed by the police about

charged with terrorism offences charged with terrorism offences

because by definition they are fighting with groups that are banned

in the terrorism legislation, but it in the terrorism legislation, but it

doesn't mean they can't be charged was something in the future such as

war crimes. The official position is to not go, and Ryan Lock is not the

first person to go in there and I and he may not be the last.

There have been protests at railway stations today over the annual

rise in ticket prices - which have gone up by an average

For passengers on Southern Rail, the fare increase is

It came on the last day of a three day strike by conductors -

and a week before a six day strike by train drivers begins.

Anjana Gadgil is at Southampton Central Station this evening.

Anjana - some real anger tonight among commuters.

Yes, and especially those Southern Commuters.

Today rail bosses and union leaders said there are no plans

to hold formal meetings ahead of next week's strike.

And Southern advised people not to attempt to travel

Yet Southern's rail fares have also increased by 1.8%.

Passengers say this adds insult to injury.

A New Year resolution for passengers, saving money to pay for

Fares are up 2.3%, an average of ?80 a year.

It might make the difference between me

taking the train, which I'd rather, because it is better for the

I have been commuting for ten years now and it has gone up

The government says it is delivering the

biggest rail modernisation programme for 100 years.

The company representing rail operators says 95p

in every pound goes on to improving services.

We need the money to make service improvements, a big

investment in signalling services, or for stations is to enable a

better experience for passengers, or in relieving bottlenecks in the

system, as well as improving technology so people can get tickets

Campaigners say for some passengers it seems like a kick

People using Southern and Southeast have suffered a

year of really substandard service, of delays and standing on station

platforms for hour after hour, and they are right to feel quite angry

about having to fork out an even larger wodge of their wages.

The transport watchdog has called for a

price freeze on Sutherland until the dispute is resolved,

but resolutions could be a long way down the line.

I'm now joined by Ashley Minto from the campaign group Action

for Rail which organised protests at railway stations

Real users are paying the overwhelming amount and also

taxpayers. What we want is a more rational system with a national

network run as a public service for the benefit of the public. But a

national system, the taxpayers would have to pay for it. Is that fear for

people who may not use the train? Obviously real users are going to be

a considerable amount towards the cost of tickets, but across Europe

and in Northern Ireland it is seen as a public service and the public

good, it reduces congestion and good, it reduces congestion and

pollution and it is seen as a good thing. Thank you very much. Some

other suggestions on ways the rail network could be run but her

passengers here at Southampton Central and other stations, it is

that 2.3% in real figures which has already started.

Football - and a night of contrasting emotions

for Bournemouth, in action against Arsenal, in

For a while, it looked like the Cherries had

out-gunned the Gunners, with one, two, three goals

But, in the last 20 minutes, came a change of fortunes -

with the north Londoners scoring three of their own.

Honours even on an extraordinary night.

That's all from the South Today news team this evening.

We're back tomorrow with bulletins in BBC Breakfast and there's more

A bit more frost on its way? Last night we had a cold and frosty night

with a low of -6 and tomorrow night could be very similar and even the

chance of frost overnight. One or two fog patches here and there, but

through the course of the night the cloud will move southwards across

many parts of the few clear spells allowing frost patches with the

temperature in the countryside falling to around freezing or just

above. In towns and cities, a low of 2-3. Cloud will thicken through the

morning and we may see some patchy rain at times, not amounting to too

much, but the cloud and rain sink South words and plenty of sunshine

through the afternoon. But despite a high of 7-8, the key north-westerly

wind will take the edge of the temperature and tomorrow night the

temperature will fall like a stone, back to -6 in some parts,

particularly the usual prone sports like Bournemouth Airport, with high

pressure dominating. A cold and frosty start to the deal on Thursday

with some fog patches and also the risk on untreated surfaces of patchy

ice. Looking ahead, tomorrow a cold and frosty start but colder

milder later in the week. That is it from me but coming up next is the

national picture. Good evening. But frost or not of frost, that is the

weather question for tomorrow and the answer is no, probably not

because of this weather front that is slipping south from Scotland,

maybe towards the south-west where we might have one or two pockets of

clearer skies. The real cold