10/01/2017 South Today

Here, on BBC One, it's time for the news where you are.

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

The top stories tonight: The Southern Rail row continues.

Another difficult day for commuters as drivers walk out for the first

Accused of murder over a business debt.

A man goes on trial for the killing of a former bomb disposal expert

who was missing for more than two years.

On this night in 1941 Portsmouth suffered its worst attack of the

Second World War, depicted in a painting that has just gone on

display. First tonight, the Southern

Railway strike continues. Today was the first of three

strike days this week. 1,000 drivers walked out, affecting

about 300,000 passenger journeys. Every service was brought

to a standstill. The first strike ballot by the RMT

union was in December 2015. In April, conductors

started their strikes. Drivers began similar

strikes in December. They also have an overtime

ban every day. Over the last ten months,

there's been one month Southern imposed a new role

of On Board Supervisor last week. An offer to the train crew has been

on the table since August. It promises - no job losses,

above-inflation pay rises for the next two years,

and overall, the same number In return, Southern wants

to run driver-only trains without conductors under certain

circumstances, such Driver Only Operation

is used on almost one in three trains in the UK,

and on the London Underground. And nobody has died as a result

of this way of working. Our transport correspondent,

Paul Clifton, has been Perhaps for the first time ever

passengers have been pleased to see Southern has laid on a bus every

20 minutes to Dorking, station not affected

by today's strike. Normally 10,000 passengers

a day pass through here but it's been very quiet,

just a handful of people It was much the same in Chichester,

from where Ben Moore reports. All aboard the 5%, that's

the proportion of Southern trains being replaced by buses

during this strike. Even so the first commuter services

from Chichester were quiet, and among the passengers who had no

choice but to travel, I have to get to Horsham every day

because I'm a teacher, Well, they're not pushing

their agenda anymore, all this seems to be doing is just

causing discomfort for the sake Normally I'd get an eight

o'clock train but I have a quarter past seven

bus so it is probably another two or three hours

on my daily travelling. I joined a 7.18am bus

to Havant where commuters can catch a Southwest trains

to London or Portsmouth. The earliest connecting train gets

to Waterloo at 9:30am, a late start the working

day for many. I think the government really

need to step in now. If there are safety concerns

than it needs to be looked into but in the meantime we need

a truce so the workers at Southern Railway get

back to work and we, Until that is resolved many Southern

commuters could continue to find It's all closed, taped up even,

and the departure board The industry safety body have made

detailed studies which show the driver only operation is safe,

perhaps safer than The unions strongly

disagree with that, Today the MP for Havant said

in the unions are simply opposing the inevitable march

of new technology. These trains have been working

on the UK rail network for the last 30 years and they operate on around

30% of existing trains anyway but the independent safety watchdog

has said that they are safe and therefore the train drivers

and the unions should get back to work to make sure that people can

get back to work themselves, families can meet up,

and actually our economy Hardly any Southern passengers

have walked through, Hardly any Southern passengers have

walked through here today, and there won't be another

train until Thursday. And then the strike comes

back again on Friday. A bomb disposal expert, who worked

for one of Princess Diana's favourite charities,

was murdered by a business partner in a row over an unpaid debt,

a court has heard today. Mark Manning's body was discovered

in woodland near Slaugham He had been missing

for more than two years. Today a jury at Lewes Crown Court

was told that he'd been beaten to death by a man who owed him up

to ?150,000 pounds. Mark Manning's body

remained undiscovered The bomb disposal expert had gone

missing in 2014, prompting a major It was eventually found in

undergrowth in Mid Sussex last May. Today the jury at Lewes Crown Court

was told that business partner Colin Gale had beaten him to death

in a row over a substantial debt. It is claimed he then enlisted

the help of another man The murder was alleged to have

happened at a car garage Mr Manning's blood was

found on the walls here. The prosecution said that

Mr Manning and Mr Gale worked Mr Manning would loan Gale

money and he would go It's alleged that that debt had

risen to up to ?150,000, enough money, the prosecution said,

for Gale to want Mr Manning Mr Manning had worked

for the Mines Advisory Group, a mine-clearing charity supported

by the late Princess of Wales. The court was told he was very proud

of his work had loved what he did. Mark Manning was last

seen on April 19, 2014. Three days later he was reported

missing by his family. In June 2014 police changed

the enquiry from a missing persons Mr Manning's remains were eventually

found in undergrowth near Slaugham in mid-Sussex last May,

more than two years Colin Gale denies murder

but has admitted preventing Another man, Stuart Robertson,

denies that same charge. There are calls for a permanent

memorial in the Thames Valley village which was home to pop singer

George Michael. Tens of thousands of people have

visited Goring-on-Thames to lay flowers outside the star's

16th century house. He was found dead

there on Christmas Day. On this night 76 years ago 170

people lost their lives in the worst bombing raid

in Portsmouth's history. But throughout the raids,

an artist was at work And today, Richard Eurich's Night

Raid has gone on display It shows the horror inflicted in one

night by 300 German bombers, killing people, destroying parts

of the dockyards behind me and flattening streets but leaving

the unlit HMS Victory The artist Richard Eurich

was from Hythe and was commissioned by the government to document

the effects of war. The painting's on loan

from Tate Britain in London, on display at the Portsmouth

museum for the first time. He has this access that not even

the press would have had, And I think the presence

of the Navy in the background, with the battleship

and the destroyers I think puts across a very strong message that

we're going to get through it. 171 people died that night,

400 more were injured. I asked historian John Stedman

what January 10th, 1941, The noise of bombs and shells

and guns going off. The policy was to get people treated

as quickly as possible. First aid parties were out

during the raids, along with the fire parties,

and rescuing people, giving them first aid treatment

and evacuating them as quickly

as possible to local hospitals. People remained resilient

in Portsmouth throughout. It was a service town and that

helped but it also seems to be true of people throughout the UK,

nowhere was that mass panic Everywhere carried on and that is

certainly true of Portsmouth. The Germans aimed to demoralise

as much as hit military targets. 67 air raid during the Blitz,

with 900 people killed but people carried on despite the face

of their city changing forever. That's all from the South Today

news team this evening. We're back tomorrow with bulletins

in BBC Breakfast and there's more Here with our regional weather

forecast is Alexis Green. We have snow in the forecast over

the next few days but tonight acquired snowed with a lot of cloud

around and the chance of light rain and drizzle here and there. There

will be drier periods as well with temperatures falling away to around

seven or eight Celsius. A damp and cloudy start of the day, and

improving picture that a fair amount of cloud during the course of the

day. Bright spells brought in by the brisk winds and temperatures will

feel a lot cooler than you can see here. 9 degrees the hive. All highs

are looking ahead to Thursday because there is the potential we

could have snowfall. More likely over the Chilterns and Cotswolds on

Salisbury Plain. Met Office no warning of force over the whole of

the South. As the rain clears away in the cold air sets in on Thursday

night there was the potential for snowfall which may not settle in

places so many of us will see the snowfall but not settle on the

ground. Looking ahead to the rest of the week there are bright spells

hereunder and a brisk north-westerly wind sets in and

of the week, and to start the weekend as well. For more on that

snow situation, over to Jay Wynne now.