:00:11. > :00:15.Heavy rain causes more flooding and disruption across large parts of
:00:15. > :00:24.Britain. The south-west of England is worst-hit. Some areas are
:00:24. > :00:28.completely cut off. Lands slip, close ed roads and
:00:28. > :00:32.troubles on the trains. Tonight, emergency teams are working to
:00:32. > :00:38.protect homes as the storms sweep to the north. Ministers consider
:00:38. > :00:41.allowing private firms to charge motorists to use some major new
:00:41. > :00:51.roads. And Eoin Morgan hits England to a
:00:51. > :00:58.
:00:58. > :01:02.victory in a nail-biting finish Good evening.
:01:02. > :01:06.Heavy rain has caused further widespread disruption across many
:01:06. > :01:09.parts of Britain on one of the busiest days of the year for
:01:09. > :01:14.travellers. Train passengers were warned not to travel to parts of
:01:14. > :01:19.south-west of England because of problems caused by flooding and
:01:19. > :01:22.land slips. Tonight in Cornwall and Devon, where rivers have burst
:01:22. > :01:29.their banks there are six severe flood warnings in place. There
:01:29. > :01:33.could be a danger to life. We report from North Devon. Father
:01:33. > :01:36.Christmas should have been here today, but Mother Nature got here
:01:36. > :01:40.first and washed the festive spirit away.
:01:40. > :01:44.The shop should have been busy, the street buzzing, the car park full.
:01:44. > :01:50.It is absolutely horrifying for the shopkeepers and for the general
:01:50. > :01:54.public of Braunton. Traders who had been relying on the
:01:54. > :01:56.last-minute sales now have Christmas gifts floating in the
:01:56. > :02:00.shops. We were looking at a positive
:02:00. > :02:06.figure for December, but that has wiped it out now. I think that the
:02:06. > :02:12.rest of Christmas is bailing out and cleaning up.
:02:12. > :02:17.They tried to fump away. 7,000 litres a minute, but it still took
:02:17. > :02:21.hour on hour. Meanwhile, the village pub became a hub for the
:02:21. > :02:24.Emergency Services, reacting to this deluge and planning for the
:02:24. > :02:30.next. This has just been a very wet year.
:02:30. > :02:35.There was flooding in the summer. Flooding three to five weeks ago,
:02:35. > :02:39.flooding again. It seems to be happening and happening.
:02:39. > :02:43.In Dorset, the coastguard filmed as the rain caused this land to slide.
:02:43. > :02:48.So much for those Christmas travel plans. The big get away has been
:02:48. > :02:51.thrown into chaos by the weather. This was Cardiff Station this
:02:52. > :02:58.afternoon. We are sitting around and waiting
:02:58. > :03:03.and waiting and waiting. I can't be doing it. It took me six hours to
:03:03. > :03:09.get from the Cotswolds to Cardiff. Now I am told that the train to
:03:09. > :03:14.Northampton is cancelled. Near Exeter, engineers erected an
:03:14. > :03:17.inflatable damn, the first time they have done this to protect
:03:17. > :03:23.vital equipment. On Shetland, it has been the high
:03:23. > :03:29.winds causing problems. One retailer hired a Hercules aircraft
:03:29. > :03:35.to bring in vital supplies. A sign of an already unforgettable
:03:35. > :03:39.Christmas. Back in Braunton tonight, the.only twinkling lights are blue
:03:39. > :03:45.ones as they sandbag to protect their homes again. This has been
:03:45. > :03:49.the worst flood in decades. They are not yet convinced it is over.
:03:49. > :03:52.Now most of the floodwater has disappeared, but with the rain
:03:53. > :03:59.still pouring and high tide yet to come, these remain anxious times
:04:00. > :04:04.here. Well as the heavy rain and the
:04:04. > :04:07.winds continue to sweep over parts of the UK tonight, the latest
:04:07. > :04:11.flooding marks the end of a year of extreme weather. 2012 was
:04:11. > :04:17.officially the wettest on record, although it did not start that way.
:04:17. > :04:22.We have this report. It started with drought. 12 months
:04:22. > :04:25.ago a second dry winter had reservoir levels critically low,
:04:25. > :04:30.but well into the New Year, still no rain.
:04:30. > :04:34.The spring was the driest for a century. 20 million people facing
:04:34. > :04:39.hosepipe bans. But then, the heavens opened up.
:04:39. > :04:47.For months it just kept raining. The weather experts say that we had
:04:47. > :04:52.better get used to it. Because the air is warmer, globally,
:04:52. > :04:55.then the air can hold more water. If it holds more water, we have a
:04:55. > :05:02.greater risk of more extreme rainfall events.
:05:02. > :05:06.There was a brief heatwave in march. Temperatures in Aberdeen, higher
:05:06. > :05:10.than in Cyprus, but blink and you missed it and a week later back to
:05:10. > :05:14.normal in Scotland and across the UK. Then, the famous, infamous
:05:14. > :05:19.summer of 2012. The Olympic torch, almost
:05:19. > :05:25.extinguished. The jubilee weather, hardly fit for
:05:25. > :05:29.a Queen. And so inevitably, floods. Well
:05:29. > :05:33.this year has been pretty extreme. We started off with the driest
:05:33. > :05:39.period in 100 years. Then we ended up with the wettest period on
:05:39. > :05:44.record. We are protecting 190,000 homes now compared with three years
:05:44. > :05:47.ago. We invested heavily and put in new defences to protect people's
:05:47. > :05:51.homes. Bad weather is and has been very
:05:51. > :05:55.much a part of British life, but the indications are that things are
:05:55. > :06:01.changing. That dealing with floods and other so-called extreme weather
:06:01. > :06:06.events is likely to become more and more routine for all of us.
:06:06. > :06:13.2012, then, memorable for so many things, but with weather, many of
:06:13. > :06:17.us would like to forget. The Government is considering
:06:17. > :06:20.allowing private firms to charge motorists to use major new roads.
:06:20. > :06:25.The Department for Transport is examining if roads built in the
:06:25. > :06:28.future could be paid for by tolls. Campaigners have warned that
:06:28. > :06:33.expanding road tolls would be electoral suicide. A White Hall
:06:33. > :06:36.report on whether the idea is feasible is due in the New Year.
:06:36. > :06:41.The Government's been looking at how more private investment could
:06:41. > :06:46.be used to help to improve and expand the main road networks in
:06:46. > :06:51.England. A study was announced last spring, more toll roads are an
:06:51. > :06:55.option. Considered alongside other ways of making money to pay private
:06:55. > :07:00.firms which could pay different kinds of car taxes, depending on
:07:00. > :07:04.the roads that motorists use. If you don't use the major roads,
:07:04. > :07:08.you pay little if you use them you pay a higher rate that is made
:07:08. > :07:13.available to the private investors to refund the operation and
:07:13. > :07:16.investment in the road network. Improvements to a section of the
:07:16. > :07:20.A14 in Cambridgeshire are among 20 national road schemes that the
:07:20. > :07:25.Department for Transport says will be delivered in a few years.
:07:25. > :07:29.Tolling is consider -- tolling is considered for that route. The
:07:29. > :07:37.Government is looking to fund extra capacity in limited circumstances
:07:37. > :07:41.and only if it leads to new roads or changes an existing road beyond
:07:41. > :07:45.recognition, but Labour says a definition of what appear tobs a
:07:45. > :07:50.new road is shifting and some say that motorists are paying too much.
:07:50. > :07:54.40 years ago the drivers paid in motoring taxes, it was then almost
:07:54. > :08:00.paid out again on the roads. The equation is now different. The
:08:00. > :08:05.Government takes in �50 billion and pays in less than �10 billion. We
:08:05. > :08:09.want to see value for money before moving to a new system.
:08:09. > :08:13.The findings of the study are expected early next year.
:08:13. > :08:17.The Police Federation has ordered an independent review into issues
:08:17. > :08:21.raised by its handling of the row with Andrew Mitchell. He stood down
:08:21. > :08:25.as the Government's Chief Whip in October after being accused of
:08:26. > :08:30.calling Downing Street police plebs, an allegations he has denied always.
:08:30. > :08:34.Our correspondent is at Westminster for us. So, why the review now?
:08:34. > :08:36.think that what the Police Federation, a trade union union for
:08:36. > :08:40.rank and file police officers, is trying to do is to limit damage
:08:40. > :08:46.that they may suffer from the Andrew Mitchell affair.
:08:46. > :08:51.Some of their members are I cuesed of effectively running him out of
:08:51. > :08:56.office. Some in the West Midlands wore T-shirts emblazoned with the
:08:56. > :09:00.word pleb and it was said that police officers would not let him
:09:00. > :09:03.take his bike from Downing Street. At a national level some from the
:09:03. > :09:08.Police Federation feltd it was too a personal campaign to run, but
:09:08. > :09:11.they are not the power to stop it. Now the incoming chairman of the
:09:11. > :09:15.Police Federation has launched a review into how the organisation is
:09:15. > :09:20.run, and the aim is to get the federation to speak with a similar
:09:20. > :09:24.tone of voice at least in a national, regional and local level,
:09:24. > :09:27.otherwise he believes it will look divided if it is to negotiate with
:09:27. > :09:31.the Government on important issues such as police funding rather than
:09:31. > :09:34.talking to them about the fate of one Cabinet Minister.
:09:34. > :09:38.The Crown Prosecution Service is to consider weather any criminal
:09:38. > :09:40.offences were committed were a hoax call was made to the hospital where
:09:40. > :09:45.the Duchess of Cambridge was receiving treatment. Jacintha
:09:45. > :09:50.Saldanha, who was 46, and worked at the King Edward VII Hospital in
:09:50. > :09:55.London, was found hanged three days after passing on the call from two
:09:55. > :09:59.DJs at an Australian radio station. Stores across the country have
:09:59. > :10:02.reported -- recorded bumper Christmas sales as millions headed
:10:02. > :10:06.to High Streets and shopping centres on the busiest day of the
:10:06. > :10:11.year. Retailers were hoping for a boost, the sales in the first two
:10:11. > :10:15.weeks of December were down on last year.
:10:15. > :10:19.These are gloomy times on the British High Street, but today gave
:10:19. > :10:24.the country's retailers a chance to generate badly needed Christmas
:10:24. > :10:28.cheer. After a dismal start to the festive shopping season, they were
:10:28. > :10:32.hoping that millions would take to the streets in a last-minute search
:10:32. > :10:36.for bargains. There were -- there were fears that the bad weather may
:10:36. > :10:39.turn the weekend into a wash-out, but in Glasgow, that was not the
:10:39. > :10:42.case. It has been so busy here today.
:10:42. > :10:46.Even from early on this morning. Marks & Spencer opened at 7.00am.
:10:46. > :10:50.The car parks were full even before then. The rest of the centre opened
:10:50. > :10:54.at 9.00am. It has been jam-packed ever since.
:10:54. > :10:59.This department store in Bristol was doing a brisk trade. Customers
:10:59. > :11:05.tried to make up for lost time. So far so good. Trying get in early
:11:05. > :11:13.to avoid queues. It is not too bad. Buying emergency presents. A
:11:13. > :11:16.decanter for my father-in-law and some dinner plates. Bargain deals
:11:16. > :11:20.on that. In Liverpool it was a similar story.
:11:20. > :11:24.It has been relentless. The numbers of people that are coming out and
:11:24. > :11:26.continue to come out with three days to go before Christmas means
:11:27. > :11:30.that this weekend in particular should be the busiest weekend we
:11:31. > :11:35.have ever seen here in Liverpool. A strong weekend is something that
:11:35. > :11:40.High Street retailers desperately need. In the counterharsh economic
:11:40. > :11:45.climate many are struggling. This week the electrical specialist,
:11:45. > :11:49.Comet became the latest big name chain to close its doors for good.
:11:49. > :11:53.Certainly the shoppers are out in force today, in London and indeed,
:11:53. > :11:57.around the country. Retailers say that they are happy, but what they
:11:57. > :12:01.need is for the tills to keep on ringing for the next two days as
:12:01. > :12:05.well. For many, that could mean the difference between a bleak
:12:05. > :12:13.midwinter and a happy New Year. Sport and time for a full roundup
:12:13. > :12:19.of all of the day's action. Good evening. There was a
:12:19. > :12:25.grandstand finish to England's T20 game with India in Mumbai. Having
:12:25. > :12:31.been set a target of 1 78, England needed three runs off the final
:12:31. > :12:37.ball. Eoin Morgan hit a six into the crowd, adding a T20 series draw
:12:37. > :12:42.to the Test Series win over India. In the Test Series, Mumbai is where
:12:42. > :12:47.England turned it around. There was something in the air, certainly
:12:47. > :12:50.they went skyward. For much of the Indian innings, England had a happy
:12:50. > :12:55.knack of taking wickets when they were needed, but control that was
:12:55. > :13:02.built up was smashed apart by Suresh Raina and Mahendra Singh
:13:02. > :13:05.Dhoni. In the space of the late overs, they launched India to a
:13:05. > :13:12.competitive total. Having entertained with the bat, India
:13:12. > :13:18.amused with the field. Then with the eyes off the ball, ening land
:13:18. > :13:24.took advantage, but when they needed fluency, England stuttered,
:13:24. > :13:28.finding fielders, not boundaries. The Indian total looked unreachable,
:13:28. > :13:35.butting for Eoin Morgan. He propelled his side. The last ball,
:13:36. > :13:42.three to win, achieved with trfplt another amazing Mumbai moment.
:13:42. > :13:46.Match of the Day follows on BBC One. If you don't wish to know the
:13:46. > :13:54.Premier League results, please Lee the room.
:13:54. > :13:59.And Manchester United had a 1-0 win over Reading.
:13:59. > :14:04.Arsenal are up to third place after beating Wigan with a goal to nil,
:14:04. > :14:09.Mikel Arteta giving the London club their third win in a row since
:14:09. > :14:14.March as they continue to climb up the table. Wigan are in the
:14:14. > :14:20.relegation zone. Also, Liverpool moved up to eighth place after a 4-
:14:20. > :14:24.0 win over Fulham. QPR suffering their first defeat with Harry
:14:24. > :14:29.Redknapp. Southampton are one place above the relegation zone after
:14:29. > :14:36.defeat to Sunderland. Tottenham could have gone into third place
:14:36. > :14:40.with a victory but were held to a goalless draw against Stoke.
:14:40. > :14:46.Celtic are five points clear at the top of the Scottish Premier League.
:14:46. > :14:51.After a 4-0 victory over Ross County. Celtic scored in the second
:14:51. > :14:58.half and then there was no stopping them. Gary Hooper scoring twice and
:14:58. > :15:06.gels from Scot Brown and James Forest. Inverness Caley Thistle are
:15:06. > :15:13.in second place. And Aberdeen's Nile McGinn put two
:15:14. > :15:20.goals past Johnston. Harlequins are top in the the -- in
:15:20. > :15:26.the Aviva championship. The defending champions adapted
:15:26. > :15:34.well to wet weather rugby. Northampton dropped out of the top
:15:34. > :15:38.four. Saracens 4 their biggest win against Bath. A 22-0 victory.
:15:38. > :15:43.And Saracens continue to push Quinns for the top spot. That is
:15:43. > :15:50.owl from the BBC sports centre for now, Sophie. Finally, in case you
:15:50. > :15:55.don't already know, the Olympic gym nast, Louis Smith and his partner,
:15:55. > :16:01.Flavia have been crowned the winners of Strictly Come Dancing.
:16:01. > :16:07.Louis Smith had been the bookies' favourite to win, tonight, Bruce
:16:07. > :16:11.Forsyth presented them with the glitterball trophy. He beat
:16:11. > :16:14.Kimberley Walsh and Denise Van Outen and Dani Harmer.
:16:14. > :16:24.There is more on the BBC News Channel, but from me it is good
:16:24. > :16:27.
:16:27. > :16:32.There is more rain to come over the next couple of days. Today's rain
:16:32. > :16:35.has been widespread and heavy. It is still raining heavily over parts
:16:35. > :16:39.of Wales, south-west of England. Through the night the Met Office
:16:39. > :16:44.have a number of warnings in force. There is potential for further
:16:44. > :16:49.flooding and travel disruption. By the ends of the night the heaviest
:16:49. > :16:54.rain is over Scotland. That has strong winds over there too. There
:16:54. > :16:58.is an amber warning there in the Shetlands with gusts up to 80 miles
:16:58. > :17:03.an hour. There is the heavy rain there and sleet and snow.
:17:03. > :17:06.The temperatures low at two Celsius. Windy over Scotland at 9.00am. Rain
:17:06. > :17:09.to the west and the south. For Northern Ireland, although it is
:17:09. > :17:14.windy, it will be drier and brighter.
:17:14. > :17:18.Similar in the north of England. Cloudy skies in the south. A dull
:17:18. > :17:24.start to the day. At 9.00am the rain is looking patchy and lighter.
:17:24. > :17:29.It will stay that way throughout Sunday, on and off, giving us some
:17:29. > :17:34.respite. In the north, there is drier, brighter weather. A slow
:17:34. > :17:37.improvement over Scotland. The winds easing to the north-east.
:17:37. > :17:44.Temperatures staying at about two Celsius over the Northern Isles.
:17:44. > :17:48.For Scotland and Northern Ireland, nine Celsius, 12 sexualsus in the
:17:48. > :17:53.south. Tomorrow night the rain comes into the southern counties,
:17:53. > :17:58.parts of Wales and the Midlands. So a risk of further flooding. For
:17:58. > :18:02.Christmas Eve, there is a Met Office warning, as we could see
:18:02. > :18:06.further disruption to travel. While the band of rain clears away on