:00:15. > :00:20.This is BBC News, with me, Nicholas Owen, it is coming up to 20 past
:00:21. > :00:21.ten. Here are some of the day's news.
:00:22. > :00:39.The public is being asked to use A units only if absolutely necessary
:00:40. > :00:42.Winter is always a busy time for hospitals,
:00:43. > :00:48.Research by the Royal College of Emergency Medicine has suggested
:00:49. > :00:51.as Christmas approached the NHS was missing its four-hour A
:00:52. > :00:59.In the week ending 11th December, 86.5% of patients across the UK
:01:00. > :01:05.Now, to help it cope during the festive period,
:01:06. > :01:10.NHS bosses in England are asking patients to think twice before
:01:11. > :01:13.they come to hospital during the next week or so.
:01:14. > :01:15.NHS England and the college only want patients to turn up
:01:16. > :01:21.Instead, they've been urging people to stock up on painkillers and cough
:01:22. > :01:27.And where appropriate, patients are being advised to use
:01:28. > :01:30.alternatives such as the 111 phone line and pharmacies.
:01:31. > :01:33.This is because they're worried that the way that Christmas
:01:34. > :01:35.and New Year falls, it could lead to a surge in demand
:01:36. > :01:44.Patient numbers traditionally peak on the first working day
:01:45. > :01:47.It's not known exactly why this happens, although the suspicion
:01:48. > :01:49.is that with many community health services closed,
:01:50. > :01:53.people struggle on before turning up at A once the holiday is over.
:01:54. > :01:56.NHS England said it was fully expecting a surge from Tuesday
:01:57. > :02:09.A vast programme of rail replacement is under way -
:02:10. > :02:11.no trains were running yesterday and very few are operating today.
:02:12. > :02:14.Some lines will even be closed right through until January 4th.
:02:15. > :02:16.Network Rail insists it's learned from its mistakes last year,
:02:17. > :02:19.and this time the work will be finished on time.
:02:20. > :02:25.Ben Ando reports now from Purley Station in Surrey.
:02:26. > :02:30.Out with the old - and in with the new.
:02:31. > :02:33.This just one of nearly 100 new track sections being moved
:02:34. > :02:36.into place at Purley Station on the main line
:02:37. > :02:42.Rail closures are becoming as much a part of Christmas
:02:43. > :02:46.That's because with passenger numbers traditionally far lower,
:02:47. > :02:52.Our railway is the fastest growing in Europe.
:02:53. > :02:59.It is also the most intensively used in Europe,
:03:00. > :03:01.But it's also because we are using it so much,
:03:02. > :03:05.we have less time than ever before to maintain it.
:03:06. > :03:08.Much of this track dates from the '70s and has to go.
:03:09. > :03:13.But this is just one of 500 projects under way nationwide this Christmas,
:03:14. > :03:19.Each of these track sections weighs around 15 tonnes,
:03:20. > :03:22.and there are 98 of them to move into position.
:03:23. > :03:24.They will do it using one of the biggest rail
:03:25. > :03:33.It is the fastest way to work, and the engineers here are proud
:03:34. > :03:37.Last year, similar works at King's Cross and Paddington
:03:38. > :03:40.overran and caused chaos as contingency plans failed to cope.
:03:41. > :03:42.This time round, Network Rail said it has learned its lesson.
:03:43. > :03:47.Everyone knows they must keep to schedule, and on every site,
:03:48. > :04:01.engineers are working round the clock to get the jobs done.
:04:02. > :04:08.Just to bring you up to date news on the flooding in the north of
:04:09. > :04:13.England, very serious floods in many places, particularly in Yorkshire
:04:14. > :04:17.and in Cumbria, but from York, search and rescue teams and the army
:04:18. > :04:21.are now involved in the operations there, but the assistant director of
:04:22. > :04:26.communities and culture for York city council says this, we are in
:04:27. > :04:30.uncharted territory, because the river Foss pumping station has
:04:31. > :04:35.failed, and the barrier has had to be opened. We already know that
:04:36. > :04:41.several hundred homes, people have been advised to take their property
:04:42. > :04:44.upstairs, York is obviously very vulnerable, a serious situation, and
:04:45. > :04:54.we will bring you more on that later on this evening. We will be having a
:04:55. > :04:57.full weather forecast as well. Plans to evacuate Islamic State militants
:04:58. > :04:58.from the Yarmouk refugee camp in Damascus have reportedly been
:04:59. > :05:01.halted. The Syrian Observatory
:05:02. > :05:03.for Human Rights says the delay is for logistical reasons in order
:05:04. > :05:06.to secure the road to Raqqa. The UN-brokered deal
:05:07. > :05:07.agreed safe passage In return, the UN will be able
:05:08. > :05:11.to deliver much-needed aid to the thousands of people
:05:12. > :05:19.still living in the camp. More than a hundred homes have been
:05:20. > :05:22.destroyed by Christmas Day bushfires in Australia along a stretch
:05:23. > :05:24.of coastline popular Firefighters are continuing
:05:25. > :05:26.to tackle the blazes south of Melbourne
:05:27. > :05:28.in the state of Victoria. Fast-moving flames and thick smoke
:05:29. > :05:34.have brought panic and fear to communities celebrating
:05:35. > :05:38.Christmas along Australia's More than 50 houses have been
:05:39. > :05:43.destroyed in Wye River Firefighters have struggled
:05:44. > :05:49.to control the blazes. Boots on the ground were supported
:05:50. > :05:53.by water-bombing aircraft, The outbreak began last weekend,
:05:54. > :05:59.but intensified after being fanned by strong winds as
:06:00. > :06:03.temperatures soared. Many residents and holiday-makers
:06:04. > :06:06.were forced to flee as Christmas festivities were abandoned
:06:07. > :06:09.when the scale of the threat They were all prepared,
:06:10. > :06:17.putting their barbecues on, they were cooking away,
:06:18. > :06:20.and all of a sudden they could see They thought it was still
:06:21. > :06:24.four hours away, And then all of a sudden
:06:25. > :06:27.it was an hour away, then half an hour away,
:06:28. > :06:30.so they just dropped everything, stopped cooking and hopped
:06:31. > :06:32.in their car and headed here. Conditions were so severe that
:06:33. > :06:35.authorities were advised to evacuate A cool change has subdued
:06:36. > :06:40.some of the fires, and some heavy rain
:06:41. > :06:43.has brought welcome relief. Many bushfires are started
:06:44. > :06:47.by lightning strikes, while others are sparked
:06:48. > :06:49.accidentally Ominously, some of the blazes
:06:50. > :07:08.are the work of arsonists. We have been reporting the very
:07:09. > :07:12.serious situation with flooding in the North of England, let's get the
:07:13. > :07:17.latest details on the weather forecast with Alex Deakin.
:07:18. > :07:22.The weather continues to cause problems, the rain continues to fall
:07:23. > :07:26.across parts of northern England and North Wales. Also, we have amber
:07:27. > :07:32.warnings still in force, that means be prepared for further problems.
:07:33. > :07:35.The rain will be easing through the night, and there will be something a
:07:36. > :07:40.bit drier into the start of the week. However, for the time being,
:07:41. > :07:44.rain is still falling across much of the North of the country. This band
:07:45. > :07:49.of rain is spreading further southwards and tends to weaken as we
:07:50. > :07:52.go through the night. Much of Lancashire, North Wales become dry
:07:53. > :07:58.by three o'clock in the morning, and then most of Yorkshire is dry by
:07:59. > :08:01.dawn. It will be wet across Lincolnshire, south-west England,
:08:02. > :08:05.but not as intense as it has been further north through the day today.
:08:06. > :08:09.The rain easing in eastern Scotland, where it has been very soggy, fog in
:08:10. > :08:13.Northern Ireland, mild across East Anglia and the south-east. Rain
:08:14. > :08:17.creeping into the east of the country for the morning period, this
:08:18. > :08:22.band of rain will start to push back further north. A bright start for
:08:23. > :08:29.North Wales and northern England, but clouding creasing, some rain,
:08:30. > :08:34.albeit much lighter, pushing back later in the day. Most of Scotland
:08:35. > :08:40.will be dry and sunny tomorrow, on the fresh side compared to recent
:08:41. > :08:46.days. Still very mild the South. That becomes more widespread in the
:08:47. > :08:56.macro on Monday, a fine day for most, double digits up and down the
:08:57. > :08:59.board. Tuesday and Wednesday, we are concerned about this deepening area
:09:00. > :09:05.of low pressure. It looks like steering away from the UK, but the
:09:06. > :09:10.myriad isobars potentially bringing some very windy weather, but also,
:09:11. > :09:15.on the slow-moving weather front on Wednesday, more heavy rain. The we
:09:16. > :09:19.cared, largely dry on Monday, but potentially stormy conditions around
:09:20. > :09:24.the middle part of the week. -- the weak air head. With more wet weather
:09:25. > :09:27.to come through the middle of the week and with severe flood warnings
:09:28. > :09:32.still in force at the moment, I thought I would remind you of the
:09:33. > :09:35.Floodline number. The warnings are always on the website.