:00:00. > 3:59:59Thank you. That's all from the BBC News at Six so it's goodbye from me,
:00:00. > 3:59:59were simply given the answers. The Home Office has
:00:00. > :00:18.Tonight on BBC London News, we're live in Berkshire as flooding
:00:19. > :00:20.prompts police to declare a major incident. Water reaches record
:00:21. > :00:27.levels along the Thames. Tens of thousands of homes are affected On
:00:28. > :00:32.the ground there's anger. You can fly to the moon, send people round
:00:33. > :00:36.the Moon, but we cannot control the flood problem. Holland does it. Why
:00:37. > :00:39.can't we? The flooding has also disrupted many roads and some rail
:00:40. > :00:43.services in and out of the capital. We'll have the latest live.
:00:44. > :00:46.In other news, will there be a repeat of these chaotic scenes?
:00:47. > :00:55.We'll have the very latest on the talks to avert tomorrow's tube
:00:56. > :00:59.strike. Why have you been installing illegal
:01:00. > :01:04.set top boxes? Caught red`handed ` a BBC London investigation expose the
:01:05. > :01:07.pay TV fraudsters. And from tower blocks to Tower
:01:08. > :01:08.Bridge ` we meet the photographer who's spent a decade getting a
:01:09. > :01:27.birds`eye`view of our capital. Good evening. Welcome to the village
:01:28. > :01:32.of Wraysbury in Berkshire for a special edition of BBC London News.
:01:33. > :01:35.We are here by the Thames, where floods along a 15`mile stretch have
:01:36. > :01:44.reached their highest levels since records began. Behind me, there is a
:01:45. > :01:49.huge puddle of water. Residents are walking up and down almost knee`high
:01:50. > :01:53.in water. Some of the residents are still in their homes, but they have
:01:54. > :01:59.told me they probably think it is their last night in their homes
:02:00. > :02:07.Their furniture is up on bricks Down the road, on the River Thames,
:02:08. > :02:11.the river levels have reached the highest since records began. Thames
:02:12. > :02:14.Valley Police have declared a major incident. Many homes have been
:02:15. > :02:16.evacuated, and tens of thousands more threatened with flooding. And
:02:17. > :02:20.with more rain forecast, water levels are expected to rise for the
:02:21. > :02:23.next 24 hours. If we look at the Environment Agency's map, it shows
:02:24. > :02:26.clearly the extent of the problem. You can see parts of north and east
:02:27. > :02:30.London highlighted in orange, signifying flood alerts. But the
:02:31. > :02:35.greatest risk is in the south`west of London. The red areas along the
:02:36. > :02:37.Thames means there are flood warnings and severe flood warnings
:02:38. > :02:42.from Kingston`upon`Thames through to Reading and beyond. The 14 severe
:02:43. > :02:48.warnings mean lives are potentially in danger. And the scenes of
:02:49. > :02:53.devastation become even clearer from the air. In Walton on Thames,
:02:54. > :02:58.residents were being evacuated from their homes and taken away from the
:02:59. > :03:01.flooded areas in dinghies. Many having to just take a few belongings
:03:02. > :03:07.with them. Moving westwards, the situation was just as bad in
:03:08. > :03:11.Weybridge. You can see one street there completely cut off from the
:03:12. > :03:14.surrounding area. River water leaving all the gardens and the
:03:15. > :03:18.ground floors of these homes under water. And finally, in Staines,
:03:19. > :03:22.hundreds of homes lining the banks of the River Thames have been
:03:23. > :03:25.affected. Roads have been closed, with cars and other vehicles unable
:03:26. > :03:30.to get in or out to help those residents hit by the floods. Our
:03:31. > :03:39.reporter, Gareth Furby, spent the day there.
:03:40. > :03:44.The river through Staines may not have broken its banks, but it didn't
:03:45. > :03:51.need to. The water found other routes. This was from the sewers,
:03:52. > :03:58.but the Hooker family say it also came from the ground. It is coming
:03:59. > :04:02.up from the water table. It was coming up, permeating through the
:04:03. > :04:09.ground. It never started off through the river. It was coming up from the
:04:10. > :04:20.ground. What did you see? Just a load of water. From the drain? Know,
:04:21. > :04:23.from the ground. This was 100 metres from the river, where they were
:04:24. > :04:31.hoping sandbags would keep out the water. Ray Keely went one step
:04:32. > :04:35.further. I put a board against the door, and the sandbags against it,
:04:36. > :04:42.but obviously, it is coming up through the floor. Not on my
:04:43. > :04:46.property, but down the road. We went down the road and found Phil Brown
:04:47. > :04:53.and his partner trying to save something, as water slowly seeped
:04:54. > :04:58.into their house. This was despite special flood defences fitted to
:04:59. > :05:02.every door. They don't seem to work at all. When the water comes up
:05:03. > :05:09.they fill up with water from the bottom. They seem to be useless
:05:10. > :05:14.Where did they come from? We got them from the Environment Agency
:05:15. > :05:18.about 18 months ago. What we are seeing are desperate attempts to
:05:19. > :05:23.hold back this flood, but in many cases, it was all in vain. What the
:05:24. > :05:28.families, neighbours and friends in these streets are hoping is the
:05:29. > :05:32.levels will not continue to rise. Then we noticed this flood had
:05:33. > :05:37.developed a current, and it could be traced back to the River Thames
:05:38. > :05:42.This seems to be the highest point, and it was the last bit to be
:05:43. > :05:47.breached. Since it has occurred the flow is a strong and constant. All
:05:48. > :05:53.the time that happens, it is just going to get worst. Some people have
:05:54. > :06:01.decided to leave, but others say they will stay, hoping for better
:06:02. > :06:04.weather, hoping for a falling river. Here in Wraysbury and nearby
:06:05. > :06:07.Chertsey there's a growing feeling that they've been left to flood in
:06:08. > :06:13.order to save the more built`up and densely populated areas of London.
:06:14. > :06:22.Marc Ashdown has been talking to the people affected.
:06:23. > :06:28.At the moment, it is living up to its name. Wellies and waders are
:06:29. > :06:35.essential footwear for the people of Wraysbury. The best thing is to keep
:06:36. > :06:40.busy. Homes here had barely dried out from the last flooding in
:06:41. > :06:46.January. Makeshift defences are a case of damage limitation rather
:06:47. > :06:50.than protection. Everything is up on bricks. You have to use your
:06:51. > :06:56.imagination to think where to put things. We have chairs piled up to
:06:57. > :07:00.the ceiling. People here are telling me they are already looking to the
:07:01. > :07:06.future, and worrying about having homes that repeatedly flood. The
:07:07. > :07:10.scary thing is, look at this water. It hasn't just come from nowhere.
:07:11. > :07:16.This is fast flowing. Many point the finger at flood defences, which they
:07:17. > :07:25.say prioritise certain areas but leaves them solvable. There's an
:07:26. > :07:28.awful lot of land between here and Maidenhead that could have flooded,
:07:29. > :07:36.but they are sending it up the Jubilee channel. Very few areas have
:07:37. > :07:43.escaped these floods. Much of Chertsey remains cut off. The worst
:07:44. > :07:47.ever flooding here was in 1947. That record looks like being broken. This
:07:48. > :07:54.property has never flooded. The river is half a mile away, but every
:07:55. > :07:59.hour it creeps closer. We feel we have been abandoned. But we need
:08:00. > :08:04.advice and co`ordinated plan. The Environment Agency do not have a
:08:05. > :08:10.plan. The agency insisted today that they are coping. Not good enough for
:08:11. > :08:14.some, who are considering whether to move away altogether. We have a nice
:08:15. > :08:25.house and we are doing work to it, but we think, is it worth it? You
:08:26. > :08:28.can't live with the fear that you are going to flood every time you
:08:29. > :08:31.get heavy rain. More rain is pretty much a given. Questions will follow,
:08:32. > :08:36.but for now, the priority is keeping dry. As you can imagine, the
:08:37. > :08:40.flooding and the risk of flooding has caused major problems for
:08:41. > :08:42.commuters travelling in and out of London today. Several train lines
:08:43. > :08:45.have been particularly badly affected. Let's go to Paddington
:08:46. > :08:53.station now, to hear from Emma North about the latest situation. When we
:08:54. > :09:00.first arrived here, the station manager said, you have picked you up
:09:01. > :09:06.time to arrive! This is carnage It isn't exactly that, but it is busy.
:09:07. > :09:10.The water has wreaked havoc across the region from the very early hours
:09:11. > :09:16.for commuters. Let's look at the situation from Staines this morning.
:09:17. > :09:20.No trains at all going from that station. It is a picture that has
:09:21. > :09:26.been reflected right across the Thames. If you are travelling with
:09:27. > :09:31.South West Trains tonight, there is no service between Windsor and Eton
:09:32. > :09:34.Riverside and Staines. First Great Western services are diverted and
:09:35. > :09:42.will not be calling at Clapham Junction. There are delays on First
:09:43. > :09:50.Great Western routes between Reading and twice said. Trains between
:09:51. > :09:53.Victoria and East Grinstead are affected too. Network Rail are
:09:54. > :09:58.trying to sort out this problem and this is what they said they are up
:09:59. > :10:04.against. Our main concern tonight and in the coming days is the high
:10:05. > :10:08.level of water in the ground, the saturation. Further rain is
:10:09. > :10:14.forecast. I do ask people to be patient with us. We have done
:10:15. > :10:19.everything we can to try to miss `` restore the network to its
:10:20. > :10:25.capability. This is worse than we have ever experienced before. That
:10:26. > :10:31.was the situation with the trains. This was the situation in her early
:10:32. > :10:36.this morning. That underpass is usually used by pedestrians. It has
:10:37. > :10:40.been deliberately flooded by the emergency services to protect 4 0
:10:41. > :10:41.homes in the region. Let's have a look at the main routes which are
:10:42. > :11:02.being affected. Chertsey Bridge remains closed.
:11:03. > :11:07.Watch out for minor routes too, rat runs you might normally used to get
:11:08. > :11:13.to and from work. If there is water on those roads, do not go down them.
:11:14. > :11:17.The advice is to check with BBC local radio, who have up`to`date
:11:18. > :11:25.information on what routes are being affected. Thank you. Good advice
:11:26. > :11:28.indeed. Later in the programme, we will be getting a full weather
:11:29. > :11:33.forecast to find out what is in store for the rest of the week. In
:11:34. > :11:38.the meantime, let's go back to the studio for a round`up of the rest of
:11:39. > :11:41.the day's news. Thank you.
:11:42. > :11:43.A BBC London undercover investigation has exposed criminal
:11:44. > :11:46.gangs illegally selling and installing pay TV services at a
:11:47. > :11:48.fraction of their true cost. Crime experts warn that hacked satellite
:11:49. > :12:01.and cable TV is increasing and becoming the new norm. Guy Lynn has
:12:02. > :12:06.this exclusive report. These are the fraudsters illegally
:12:07. > :12:14.selling pay`TV at a fraction of the cost. High`street shops, like this
:12:15. > :12:21.one in Upton Park, cashing in. And this Venezuelan satellite installer
:12:22. > :12:27.in Greenwich. He is right the proud of his booming criminal business. ``
:12:28. > :12:35.he is rather proud. This is how it works. We buy set`top oxers that
:12:36. > :12:41.have been encrypted to hack into legitimate pay`TV services like Sky.
:12:42. > :12:46.A package of the best channels can cost legal customers more than 800
:12:47. > :12:52.a year. Here, you pay a monthly subscription at a fraction of the
:12:53. > :12:58.price, direct into the pirates' pockets. Legitimate customers are
:12:59. > :13:01.furious. If someone is getting the same service as me and not paying
:13:02. > :13:12.for it, why should they be getting that service? And social they will
:13:13. > :13:14.never get caught, the Pirates admit they are breaking the law, risking a
:13:15. > :13:31.ten year jail service. Despite the efforts of the pay`TV
:13:32. > :13:37.companies and the police, experts say this kind of piracy may be
:13:38. > :13:41.policing `` may be increasing, increasing not just TV companies,
:13:42. > :13:46.but all the people behind the programmes. It is theft, it is
:13:47. > :13:52.fraud, it is a crime. It is depriving a business of revenue who
:13:53. > :13:56.should genuinely have that. Time for some answers. First from this
:13:57. > :14:01.high`street shop. We contacted them to ask them why they were taking
:14:02. > :14:05.part in this fraud. They didn't respond to any of our approaches,
:14:06. > :14:12.but soon after, they appear to have shut up shop. And remember Julio
:14:13. > :14:17.smack he ignored us and carried on. We decided to invite him round. He
:14:18. > :14:24.is about to see a video he may recognise. Do you know who that is?
:14:25. > :14:28.That is you installing an illegal set`top ox. We have been recording
:14:29. > :14:35.you secretly for the last few months. `` set`top box. Why have you
:14:36. > :14:47.been installing illegal set top boxes? What is your explanation Are
:14:48. > :14:52.you aware it is illegal to do this? We had reports of scores of similar
:14:53. > :14:58.fraudsters, operating not just in London, but across the country.
:14:59. > :15:08.You can see more of that investigation tonight on Inside Out
:15:09. > :15:13.London at 7:30pm. Talks aimed at preventing a second
:15:14. > :15:18.48 hour Tube strike have ended without agreement. It means that the
:15:19. > :15:27.strike is still due to go ahead Karl Mercer is outside ACAS for us
:15:28. > :15:34.now. What is it all about? It is about shutting ticket offices across
:15:35. > :15:40.the network. Both sides came here at 10:30am. This is their 10th day of
:15:41. > :15:45.talks. They left just before 6:30pm, so a full day of talks. You
:15:46. > :15:50.would have hoped they would make some progress. The aim was to other
:15:51. > :15:56.that 48 hour strike planned to go ahead from 9pm tomorrow, and try and
:15:57. > :16:02.avoid the sort of scenes we saw last week, on Wednesday and Thursday
:16:03. > :16:05.when only about a third of services were running, and millions of
:16:06. > :16:11.Londoners had to find different ways to get to work. As they emerged from
:16:12. > :16:16.the talks this evening, the unions came out around about 6:15pm. We
:16:17. > :16:35.asked them what the chances were that tomorrow's strike would be
:16:36. > :16:47.called off. I think it is quite slim. We are talking over the same
:16:48. > :16:50.issues. The company are moving very slowly and are making little
:16:51. > :16:55.progress. As far as we are concerned, we want to avert the
:16:56. > :17:01.strikes and make progress, and the company needs to move. We are told
:17:02. > :17:06.that tomorrow, the two sides will be back here tomorrow at 9am. London
:17:07. > :17:09.Underground will produce a letter for the unions and it will be key as
:17:10. > :17:23.to whether the strike tomorrow goes ahead. The unions, as you heard do
:17:24. > :17:26.not sound hopeful. A mother from London is facing
:17:27. > :17:29.prison in Dubai. She has been accused of 'kidnapping' her son
:17:30. > :17:32.following a custody battle. Afsana Lachaux ` a former civil servant `
:17:33. > :17:35.has accused the British government of refusing to help her. She's now
:17:36. > :17:38.calling on the Foreign Secretary, William Hague, to prevent her being
:17:39. > :17:42.separated from her son any longer. Sheetal Parmar reports. Happier
:17:43. > :17:54.times for former London based Afsana Lachaux. The 46`year`old mother of
:17:55. > :17:57.three moved to Dubai in 2011 after marrying her ex`husband. Soon after
:17:58. > :18:02.their son was born, their marriage broke down. She claims her husband
:18:03. > :18:08.was violent and he is suing her for defamation. Despite a court ruling,
:18:09. > :18:15.she was reluctant to allow husbands to see the sun. I am asking William
:18:16. > :18:19.Hague to do the right thing. I just want a fair hearing and I want my
:18:20. > :18:26.case to be investigated and reviewed. Her elder son has been
:18:27. > :18:31.campaigning from his home in East London. It has been quite agonising,
:18:32. > :18:36.really. It is the only way to describe it. The feeling of being
:18:37. > :18:40.helpless and not being able to effect any change and not knowing
:18:41. > :18:47.what is going on with my mother and younger brother. The family have
:18:48. > :18:49.been trying to get help from the foreign and Commonwealth office
:18:50. > :18:56.since the domestic abuse allegations were made by her to the Dubai
:18:57. > :19:00.authorities in 2011. They say they are unable to interfere in legal
:19:01. > :19:05.proceedings but have offered consular support to her and her
:19:06. > :19:09.family. I do not need moral support, I have that from my
:19:10. > :19:19.family. I need the Foreign Office to do their job. Former supporters here
:19:20. > :19:25.in London, it has been difficult to get information from the authorities
:19:26. > :19:29.in Dubai. Afsana Lachaux last saw her son two months ago and if she is
:19:30. > :19:33.found guilty, she could be deported to the UK but without her son. Her
:19:34. > :19:37.last hope is that the British government intervenes.
:19:38. > :19:41.West Ham football club have agreed to sell Upton Park to a developer.
:19:42. > :19:44.The club are set to move into the Olympic Stadium in 2016. New homes
:19:45. > :19:47.will be built on the site of the old stadium as well as retail and
:19:48. > :19:50.leisure facilities. The developers are also considering plans for a
:19:51. > :19:56.memorial garden for former West Ham and England Captain, Bobby Moore.
:19:57. > :19:58.From Tower Bridge to tower blocks ` London photographer James Burns has
:19:59. > :20:06.spent a decade capturing the capital's changing skyline. His
:20:07. > :20:09.vantage point has included many of our tallest buildings ` and our Arts
:20:10. > :20:12.Correspondent, Brenda Emmanus, caught up with him on one of
:20:13. > :20:17.London's tallest buildings We return now
:20:18. > :20:24.from high above street level, this photographer has VIP access to some
:20:25. > :20:30.of the capital's most stunning and striking views. James Burns has
:20:31. > :20:37.collated a lot of shots including London landscapes. How easy is it to
:20:38. > :20:43.get access to the rooftops? Not easy. You need to have good
:20:44. > :20:49.connections, and I work closely with a few buildings, and I have managed
:20:50. > :20:55.to get a relationship going with them. Are there any rooftops still
:20:56. > :21:01.on your hit list? I am looking at them now. I have not been up there
:21:02. > :21:08.yet! This is how I choose my locations. He is in his element on
:21:09. > :21:09.this rooftop. In Hackney, his latest exhibition is a showcase of his
:21:10. > :21:31.panoramic landscapes. For many years I was shooting hard
:21:32. > :21:38.architectural styles such as social housing in the post`war period. As I
:21:39. > :21:42.took this project to the office blocks and skyscrapers of London, I
:21:43. > :21:49.began to move from hard shots like this to classic landscapes like this
:21:50. > :21:57.with Tower Bridge and Saint Pauls looking resplendent in the sunset.
:21:58. > :22:03.There are so many possibilities in this massive, beautiful city. I
:22:04. > :22:06.cannot stop, I do not have enough time. London will never be finished
:22:07. > :22:12.so how will the project be finished? Do you welcome all these
:22:13. > :22:18.high rise buildings popping up on the landscape? Yes. Some people in
:22:19. > :22:23.London hate anything at all. That is part of our character. They are
:22:24. > :22:32.platforms to create my art. Fear of heights or not, you can see these
:22:33. > :22:37.views until March. Let's return to our top story. Homes beside the
:22:38. > :22:39.Thames are being flooded as the river reaches the highest levels
:22:40. > :22:42.recorded in years. Police have declared a major incident in East
:22:43. > :22:48.Berkshire, and there are 14 severe flood warnings in place ` Alice is
:22:49. > :22:54.in Raysbury for us now... Thank you. According to the Environment
:22:55. > :23:00.Agency, there are 14 severe blood warnings on the River Thames
:23:01. > :23:10.stretch. Our reporter has met one couple who face rising water levels
:23:11. > :23:12.on all sides. Five`day`old Ronnie is oblivious to her surroundings,
:23:13. > :23:20.unlike her mother Natalie who is stuck in the house. She is a newborn
:23:21. > :23:25.and I cannot take her out because of the contamination of the water. We
:23:26. > :23:32.are stuck, really. There is no television, no food... We have had
:23:33. > :23:36.it, have we not, darling? The midwives could not make their visit
:23:37. > :23:43.because of the water. I would not be able to get the baby out
:23:44. > :23:47.immediately. It is the first time they have seen flooding on this
:23:48. > :23:51.scale. To put the location into context, the River Thames is over
:23:52. > :23:57.there, and behind the trees is a marina. There is a lake over there.
:23:58. > :24:06.This part of shepherds and is really surrounded by water. `` Shepperton.
:24:07. > :24:10.Their neighbours have been evacuated in recent days but many won't leave,
:24:11. > :24:14.travelling to their homes by canoe. For those who are left, and those
:24:15. > :24:23.who remain, it will be quite a while before their street returns to
:24:24. > :24:30.normal. Of course, what we want to know is what the weather has in
:24:31. > :24:34.store. Thank you. It is pretty grim, the forecast for the next few
:24:35. > :24:38.days. We are expecting further spells of heavy rain and no
:24:39. > :24:45.significant breaks between them Tomorrow, and up until Friday, we
:24:46. > :24:51.can expect 20 to 40 millimetres of rain, and some places could see 50
:24:52. > :24:56.millimetres, two inches. As you heard, we have 14 severe flood
:24:57. > :25:03.warnings along the River Thames and this means a risk of life. We are
:25:04. > :25:07.expecting further flooding, naturally. There are Met Office
:25:08. > :25:11.weather warnings or heavy rain and strong winds on Wednesday. More
:25:12. > :25:18.stormy weather throughout the cause of the week. Tonight is looking dry
:25:19. > :25:22.and the showers are dying away. It is going to be quite cold for the
:25:23. > :25:26.first part of the night with temperatures down to one or two
:25:27. > :25:32.degrees. Tomorrow morning, the cloud will increase and this is a sign of
:25:33. > :25:41.the approaching weather front. A dry rush hour but about 8am we will see
:25:42. > :25:47.the rainfall, and the wind will pick up. It will be a wet and windy
:25:48. > :25:55.morning until 1pm when it clears the Thames estuary. Temperatures up to
:25:56. > :25:59.seven or eight Celsius. Turning interesting on Tuesday when it turns
:26:00. > :26:05.cold. There will be showers around and some could be heavy and we could
:26:06. > :26:08.even see some wintry weather in the first part of the night,
:26:09. > :26:15.particularly towards Bucks, over the top of the hills. A bit milder on
:26:16. > :26:21.Wednesday morning. The storm system on Wednesday, we can see tight
:26:22. > :26:32.isobars and gusts of 40 to 60 mph as well as heavy rain. This is the
:26:33. > :26:41.outlook for the next few days. Thank you. We are getting news in that
:26:42. > :26:47.rail services in and out of Paddington have been cancelled.
:26:48. > :26:55.There are no rail services except to Heathrow and Greenford. There are no
:26:56. > :26:58.services in and out of Paddington except Heathrow and Greenford.
:26:59. > :27:03.Firefighters are dealing with an unprecedented number of calls as the
:27:04. > :27:08.floodwaters rise, threatening thousands of properties. The
:27:09. > :27:13.Environment Agency have warned that more rain will make the situation
:27:14. > :27:18.worse and there are flood warnings in place from Surrey to Bucks. A
:27:19. > :27:25.major incident has been declared in East Berks, where many properties
:27:26. > :27:31.are already underwater. That is it for now, good night.