19/11/2013 BBC Channel Islands News

good evening. The headlines: A England. That

good evening. The headlines: A tragedy of toxic smoke, how a home

may have contributed to his death. Be hoarded chick added fuel to the

fire. The area where it started had a lot of electrical items. Why

education and transport bosses are planning for the worst this winter.

And the residents calling for speed traps to make the roads safer. They

would only take a second for a child to come out of a driveway and there

would be a serious accident. An inquest's found a pensioner died

from carbon monoxide poisoning during a fire at his Jersey home.

Harry Crossley died in May after breathing in toxic smoke from the

blaze, caused by an old faulty lamp. It was the first fire related death

in the island for half a decade and the fire service says it was

preventable. The fire started here in this flat.

It is part of a living complex. All the emergency services were called

but they couldn't save him. When the fire service arrived here at

Victoria Cottage Homes they found Mr Crossley behind the bedroom door and

the room filled with a thick black fog. Today's inquest found he died

from carbon monoxide poisoning after he breathed in that smoke. And

during the inquest held here, Mr Crossley was described as a hoarder

who collected electrical items from bins. The blaze was caused by a

faulty cable on an old lamp which set alight other belongings lying on

the floor and also hampered the rescue effort. The fire service

described his death as preventable. Holding added fuel to the fire. The

room where the fire started had a lot of white goods, electrical items

and the majority were not plugged in. Bedding, blankets and clothing

adds fuel to the fire. All you need is oxygen, sheet and fuel and once

they come together, you have fire. The smoke alarm was sounding but the

neighbour living above said it would regularly go off by accident. The

complex is run by the Housing Department but residents live here

independently. Concerns had been raised about Mr Crossley's mental

health but a psychiatric assessment found he was fit enough to live

alone. We will continue to work with other agencies across the state and

private sector to look where we can enhance those services or make any

further improvements. We have to be clear that as a landlord, our powers

do have a limit and we're not going to be in a position to force anybody

to move into residential care or alternative housing options. The

inquest heard the department tried several times to help Mr Crossley

clear his belongings and plan to change rental contracts to help them

intervene and improve tenant's living conditions.

States employees in Jersey will be getting a 4% pay rise in January due

to an agreement on modernising the public sector. The Chief Minister

says significant progress has been made with unions over new working

practices. Senator Ian Gorst says the agreements show all sides are

prepared to work together. The teaching union NASUWT welcomed the

news. Since 2009, teachers have fallen

behind in pay and teachers need this because it will enable us to recruit

staff and retain the quality teaching staff that Jersey needs and

that Jersey's children deserve. States workers in Guernsey have

overwhelmingly rejected plans to change their pensions. Members of 14

unions met last night to discuss the States' offer which involves higher

employee contributions. Union representatives will meet with the

States tomorrow to discuss a potential compromise.

As winter sets in, Guernsey is readying itself to cope with another

heavy snowfall. Last March the island came to a stand`still when

the bad weather descended. And the authorities want to make sure

they're prepared if it happens again.

When the snow comes down thick and fast, with it comes a certain amount

of chaos. As we saw last March. And as winter sets in plans have been

put in place to make sure we're ready for more. Severe cold weather

is on the register and it has an impact. Although it is not usually

lyse `` life in danger scenarios, we have to work together as a

multi`urgent `` multi`agency response. And this stage that

approach involves this, getting those involved in dealing with the

snow together to discuss what the priorities should be.

You have to have time to put the preparations in place. We do this

throughout the year. The weather is turning now so we are preparing for

that. For States Works it's all about being prepared and that means

buying in enough salt and chemicals to clear the roads. Behind me is

around 75 tonnes of it, enough for five snow days. It is a balance of

what we can afford. We don't have snow every year. Historically, it

has been several years and then we have a bad downpour. We need enough

to last the last `` the worst scenario. If we have a week of snow,

that is about it. It's not often we see snow like this, but the

authorities are confident if we do in the months ahead the island will

be ready. Flights to and from Jersey Airport

were delayed this afternoon after reports of smoke set off fire alarms

in the departures hall. Passengers were stopped from checking in for

flights and kept in arrivals while airport bosses and the fire service

established the cause of the alarm. Departing flights were delayed from

taking off and flights which had just landed were kept on the runway

with passengers on board. Passengers faced long queues for security once

the terminal re`opened. Politicians in Guernsey are refusing

to comment on the behaviour of their chief economist after he pleaded

guilty to punching a Jersey policeman when drunk. Dr Andrew

Sloan was fined, and sentenced to 70 hours of community service in

Jersey's Magistrates Court yesterday, following the assault in

a hotel bar. He'd been part of the Guernsey delegation at the British

and Irish Council summit in Jersey. A leaked email from Guernsey's

government suggests a criminal offence shouldn't be treated as a

case for automatic dismissal. The body of the Channel Islands Air

Search plane which crash landed in Jersey was moved from the site

today. The wings and tail of the aircraft had already been dismantled

to prepare it for the journey to Scotland for repairs. The air search

charity hopes to raise a million pounds to repair it.

Later, how schoolchildren are joining a polar explorer on his

latest expedition from the safety of their classroom.

Speed cameras could be coming to Jersey roads. That's if St Helier

Constable Simon Crowcroft gets his way. He says many residents are sick

of drivers speeding along one particular green lane on the edge of

town. Constable Crowcroft want to trial average`speed cameras in that

area ` and spread them across the island if it's a success.

These are hugely controversial in the UK. Some see them as a protector

of pedestrians and preventor of accidents. Others see them as a

plague on the roads, making pretty villages ugly, and criminalising

drivers. Now they could be coming to a street near you. This one in

particular in fact. Residents on Le Grand Route de Mont A'Labbe are sick

of cars driving too fast. This stretch of road, whether they're

going north or south, the speed is just riduclous, they're going 30/40

miles per hour plus, and one of these days there is going to be a

serious accident. So last night they met their

constable Simon Crowcroft to demand action. His suggestion introducing

cameras at either end of the road to check the average speed of drivers

using it with fines for drivers who go too fast. The advantage of using

this type of camera technology is it doesnt involve the roadworks I was

talking about, it doesn't involve police officers standing at the side

of the road in all hours of the day and night. It does the job 24/7,

very efficiently. Of course, nobody likes getting a speeding ticket, but

I think we have to accept that speeding in places like Le Grand

Route de Mont a L'abbe, is affecting the quality of life of people using

that green lane. Constable Crowcroft admitted even he would dread the

sight of speed cameras on the Island as a driver but says if the idea is

popular, a trial could start here within a year.

What do you think of the idea? Is it something you agree is needed in

Jersey or is it a step too far for the Channel Islands with their new

speed limits in the first place? We still need to wrap up warm over

the next few days as there is not a great deal of change in the

temperatures. We will see more cloud later on tonight and some outbreaks

of Rainford tomorrow. It would be a cold snap trumpeters down to three

Celsius. It gets less cold by the morning with rain at times. The wind

becomes strong and we get gale force winds by the time we come to

tomorrow morning `` tomorrow evening. We have this low pressure

which will bring weather systems towards us. The first of which is

introducing less cold air. The second has more rain following on

behind. Only briefly does it warm up into double figures. Initially

tonight, we will have temperatures down to three Celsius before it

clouds over toward stormers temperatures rise again. As for

tomorrow, a lot of cloud for the day. That rain band becomes more

widespread and heavier through the afternoon as the cold front

approaches. 10 Celsius will be the top temperature tomorrow. The wind

is north`westerly. These are our times of high water. St Helier

is... Temperatures are back down to single

figures from Thursday. We have sharp showers around on Thursday. As we

move into the weekend, things settle down but there is still the risk of

some overnight frost. I had to radio Jersey, should women

hold lead roles in the Christian church? That is the question on

Matthew's programme tomorrow morning. That is all from the team

here in the Channel Islands. Goodbye.

value judgement. We have not heard the last of this. In two years time,

another First GreatWestern franchise must be let. Still to come tonight

the councillors who didn't pay their council tax. Plus, Find out why this

man is so happy to be at the helm of Axminster Carpets. This is what

manufacturing should be all about. And a life on ice. The Plymouth man

hoping to inspire the explorers of the future. Relatives of the

imprisoned Greenpeace activists from Devon have been given a glimmer of

hope following the decision by a judge in Russia to release 12 other

campaigners on bail. The three were arrested in September after a

protest in the Pechora Sea against drilling in the Arctic. They were

initially detained in Murmansk, but have since been moved to St

Petersburg. Spotlight's Leigh Rundle reports. This is a live web feed

from the courtroom in Saint Petersburg were the Arctic 30 are

appearing. Since yesterday lunchtime around one third of the campaigners

had been granted bail. Not yet those from Devon. They are engineer Ian

Rogers, journalist Ciaran Brine, and PR, Alex Harris. Alex's farther back

home city is encouraged by the news that some UK needs have been

released. I just pray that she is also granted bail. I remember last

time she was before the judge, they turned it down, and she did

breakdown of little bit. That called on heartstrings for all of us. It is

now nine weeks since the 30 Greenpeace campaigners and the ship

were seized by the Russian authorities, in a protest against

drilling for oil in the Arctic. They have been detained ever since, but

the past few days have brought a glimmer of hope. Kieran Brian's

father and he said that now that someone other than a Russian

national has been granted bail, Kieran, Alex and Ian might have a

good chance of getting granted bail, dude. Charges of piracy and

hooliganism still stand, but the latest developments are being viewed

with optimism. It is definitely good news. There has not been much good

news coming back from Russia after this point. You cannot predict what

is to happen given the nature of the legal system there, but the

indications say that they should all be granted bail, but it is worth

remembering that we do not have any idea what the bail conditions are,

where they will be detained, so there was still a lot of unanswered

questions, but it is good news. The fate of all three Bevan activists

should be known by the end of the week. `` Devon. Councils across

Devon have taken their own councillors to court nine times in

the last four years to make them pay their council tax. And they've had

to send out a total of 76 reminders in that time. Our Political reporter

Jenny Kumah has been investigating and I asked her what was known about

the councillors involved. No names have been revealed but we know which

councils had to resort to court action to get councillors to pay up

and how often they have had to do that. Porridge, West Devon and mid

Devon have each taken legal action against non`dash`mac nonpaying

councillors. North Devon has had to chase a councillor for payment

through the courts every year for the past four years. What reasons

might there be for councillors not been council tax? Council leader

said that councillors are human like anyone else and can run into

financial problems, but they say that they do not condone councillors

not paying up, and this was a sentiment echoed on the streets of

Devon. I think it is amazing, crazy. Why would they do that? Everyone has

got to pay, everyone is hard up at the minute. They ought to be

upstanding citizens, I would say. That is not very fair, really,

because if they voted these things in, they should be prepared to pay

for them themselves. What consequences to the councillors face

if they do not pay? They face the same legal consequences as anyone

else would. They are not allowed to vote on matters affecting taxation

whilst in arrears. The leader of North Devon Council said he would

prefer that to be tougher sanctions against councillors who do not pay

up. A Cornish tourist attraction has laid off 19 people. Staff at the

theme park have had their working hours got or have been put on Flex

eater. The park is up for sale and it is hoped that the staff will be

re`employed. New research shows more than 27,000 families in the

south`west were affected in August by the government's controversial

new housing benefit reforms. The National Housing Federation says

families are an average ?782 worse off a year. Cornwall had the most

families affected, at 2,826. Charges in Exeter's council`run car parks

could be frozen next year to help stimulate economic growth in the

city. The proposal goes before the city council next week. It's also

looking at cutting charges in the run up to Christmas. Now, can one

man change the fortunes of an ailing company in just six months? It would

seem so. In March, Axminster Carpets went into administration with the

loss of around 300 jobs. It left a workforce of 104. One month later,

businessman, Stephen Boyd, stepped in, and now there are 159 full time

staff on the books. The company says it's doubled turnover, and is close

to meeting its target for the year. In the first of two special reports,

Spotlight's Andrea Ormsby has been to Axminster to find out more about

this change in fortunes. March the 5th, 2013, a bad day for Axminster.

Its biggest employer, the historic and world`famous Axminster carpets,

goes into Administration. Of the 400 jobs, 300 are lost, a huge

psychological and financial blow to the town. But then, just one month

later, something happened. More precisely, someone happened. Good

morning, Jill. Enter Stephen Boyd. Already chairman of two it

south`west companies and with a reputation for turning businesses

around. It is just wonderful. You have got high technology working

with traditional skills. You have got modern styles being used on

traditional materials. It is a wonderful combination. He has been

here six months and already has an impressive knowledge of every aspect

of this factory. He knows the name of every member of staff, Andy

cannot hide his almost childlike passion for the place. This is what

manufacturing should be all about. It is making something with skill,

with technology, with people, most of all, that can be turned into

something that the customer can really appreciate, because of its

beauty and the skill that has gone into making it. Now, keep to the

left. You should be able to see where you are going. Good morning.

This is the inspection area where every single carpet is checked

individually and any force corrected by hand. Underneath, the light is

shining through, so any force show up. `` faults. Sue Ford has worked

for Axminster carpets for 40 years. She approves of her new boss. He's a

breath of fresh air. He's `` she is not alone. Stephen is around all the

time and there was a positive appeal to the place, it is moving forward,

things are changing, and we feel positive about the future. Praise

from the workforce must surely be gratifying to hear. It is but it is

not a personal thing, it is about building a team, and that is what we

have been doing for the last six months, building a team, throughout

the organisation, really getting people to be involved, to get

motivated and to appreciate that it is all of us working together who

will make the play successful. And the successful six months it has

been, with turnover doubled, new staff taken on, and targets on

track. And tomorrow, Andrea will find out more about the company's

modernisation plans and how it is winning new business. Have you ever

wondered what it would be like to ski to the South Pole? Polar

explorer Plymouth is helping young people understand what life was like

in the subzero temperatures of the Antarctic. Antony Jinman has set up

a project, allowing schools to follow his latest expedition online

and interact with him along the way. He set off from Plymouth last week

and starts his trek on Saturday. Along the way he'll cover 730 miles

and is expected to take up to two months to reach the South Pole.

Spotlight's Jenny Walrond has been to meet some of the children Antony

hopes to inspire to follow their own dreams. A taste of life as a polar

explorer. The schoolchildren will be following the exploits of Antony

Jinman as he skis, Solo, to the South Pole. He was inspired by

Captain Scott and he hopes to do the same for these children. The purpose

is to inspire children in the south`west and in Plymouth, raising

aspirations about career opportunities and helping them with

their lifestyles and let them follow their own dreams in life. Anthony

has reached the North Pole already, and it will be taking part in

experiments looking at the impact of the cold on memory and bitumen body.

200 schools in Plymouth and around the world have signed up to track

its progress, interacting with Anthony and performing their own

scientific experiments. Do we have any budding explorers amongst this

group? That depends where it would be. I think it is a little man,

going on your own, but I would love to. It would be a good experience.

The opportunity to meet a real`life polar explorer such as Anthony is

just wonderful. It brings learning to life. Even if they do not set out

on their own expeditions in future, these children have really enjoyed

learning about life as a polar explorer. Nowhere near polar

conditions here, but it is a bit colder. We have had some photographs

posted on the Facebook page of a little bit of snow. You have been

doing training for this Antarctic expedition by not turning the

heating on! Christmas eve, it can go on.

We have had some snow flurries on higher ground. Lower down we have

had some showers, most of which have gone, but Laura Bourton glee, again,

we're going to see a frost tonight, widespread across the east of the

region, but not lasting until dawn tomorrow, `` low bone.

The strongest gusts of wind along the North Cornish coast. Let us look

at what is happening over the next 24 hours. We have cloud coming in

across parts of Scotland. That is an area of low pressure that will

gradually sweep south during the course of the night. Don't expect a

frosty start, but certainly a damp one. The lowest temperatures and the

first half of the night, which will then start to pick up. Then we have

a line of heavy rain covering most of this Southampton, moving quite

fast, and behind it, colder air. As we move into Thursday and the

weekend, we have high pressure coming in and cold air coming in

from the North East again. There is the satellite picture and more in

the way of detail. You can see that cloud over most of Ireland and

Scotland. A few showers drifting down on that northerly breeze. Those

showers will probably carry on for a short while, keeping things above

freezing for most of West Cornwall and parts of North Devon. Further

east, that post will bring temperatures down as low as `2.

There is a risk of some stretches of ice, but by the end of the night,

that milder air will arrive. That will bring thicker cloud and

freshening winds as well as rain. By dawn tomorrow morning, most of us

waking up to start, but increasingly windy, with the wind coming in from

the west or north`west. Temperatures higher tomorrow, although not

feeling warmer goes it is windy, and rain from the start of the day will

gradually become more persistent and heavy. Then, replaced by showers in

the afternoon. In the middle of the day, a line of heavy rain across

most of North Devon into Somerset, and there might be some snow on that

as it crosses the tops of Exmoor and Dartmoor. Then we have showers

following on behind. Some of those will be wintry, and it will be

windy, those wins north`westerly, touching gale force along the north

Cornwall and North Devon coast. With the wind chill, it will feel colder.

For the Isles of Scilly, very windy with morning rain replaced by

sunshine and showers in the afternoon. And the times of high

water. The best and cleanest surf will be

along the south coast. There is the coastal waters

forecast. Have a good evening. I am just

wondering if you are going to have an official switch on of the

heating, with mulled wine and Christmas carols. I can make myself

available! That's all for now. Goodbye.