:00:00. > :00:00.Don't forget Newsnight's st`rting over on BBC Two in a moment, with
:00:00. > :00:07.a special edition live from Dundee including an interview with David
:00:08. > :00:10.Cameron on how Thursday's rdferendum could affect the rest of thd UK
:00:11. > :00:17.But now on BBC 1, it's time for the news where you are.
:00:18. > :00:19.Good evening from BBC London News. I'm Riz Lateef.
:00:20. > :00:21.CCTV footage of the terrifying moment
:00:22. > :00:23.a pavement exploded on Picc`dilly this summer was released today.
:00:24. > :00:26.The blast which narrowly avoided delivery drivers was caused
:00:27. > :00:30.Tonight, Westminster Council questioned energy authoritids
:00:31. > :00:32.about the increase in the ntmber of incidents.
:00:33. > :00:35.Gareth Furby was also there and joins us now.
:00:36. > :00:49.Well, one councillor said she was really shocked by these latdst
:00:50. > :00:53.images from Piccadilly. Another said it seemed only to be a mattdr of
:00:54. > :00:56.luck that no`one had been khlled by these explosions. They were given a
:00:57. > :00:59.series of reassurances, which I will tell you about in a minute. First we
:01:00. > :01:07.have this report. It is just before 11pm on Wddnesday,
:01:08. > :01:12.July 2nd. Piccadilly is still buzzing people. Delivery men are
:01:13. > :01:16.unloading goods, ready for the next day's business. Something stspicious
:01:17. > :01:22.appears to force one driver to reverse his van away. Anothdr, ahead
:01:23. > :01:26.of him, is oblivious as he continues unloading. Making a dash for it
:01:27. > :01:32.just in time. This CCTV footage was released by
:01:33. > :01:35.Westminster Council to highlight its concerns over London's exploding
:01:36. > :01:40.pavements. It was actually very frightening because it is vdry near
:01:41. > :01:46.and the fire was really, re`lly big. The fire kept coming out. Even
:01:47. > :01:53.though it comes from the manhole. Go back more, please. Were people
:01:54. > :01:57.panicking? They were running. Are you very conscious when you walk on
:01:58. > :02:05.the pavement now? Yes. Especially in the evenings. CCTV captures the
:02:06. > :02:08.pedestrians, cyclists and drivers escaping death and injury across
:02:09. > :02:13.London. The number of pavement explosions is
:02:14. > :02:18.rising at an alarming rate. Figures obtained from the Health and Safety
:02:19. > :02:24.Executive revealed there were 4 explosions in 2013. The inchdent in
:02:25. > :02:30.Piccadilly was the 64 rs so `` 5th so far this year. What is c`using
:02:31. > :02:36.our pavements to explode? Wdll, it seems to be water droplets or gas,
:02:37. > :02:41.reaching exposed cables unddr exposed manhole covers. Just a small
:02:42. > :02:44.spark can lead to a huge explosion, particularly if it comes into
:02:45. > :02:51.contact with gas. There is one simple solution to this ` it is
:02:52. > :03:01.called sand. It insulates cables, absorbs water a
:03:02. > :03:04.starved fuel oxygen. Companhes are under increasing pressure to
:03:05. > :03:09.safeguard Londoners. There `re a number of solutions, includhng
:03:10. > :03:18.putting sand into the chambdrs, but having holes in the covers. There
:03:19. > :03:25.are a combination of measurds. They are investing ?10 million a year
:03:26. > :03:29.upgrading cable networks. A fear remains among Londoners and councils
:03:30. > :03:36.that a danger remains under our feet, which could strike at any
:03:37. > :03:40.time, in almost any place. Tonight UK power networks told
:03:41. > :03:46.Westminster Council lors it is doing three things. First, putting tethers
:03:47. > :03:50.on top of these covers to try and stop them blowing off. Secondly
:03:51. > :03:54.blankets around the link boxes. Thirdly, it is putting sand inside
:03:55. > :04:01.the box chambers. What was stressed is that although it is posshble to
:04:02. > :04:02.do everything to mitigate the risk, it is impossible to eliminate that
:04:03. > :04:09.risk. Almost 30,000 frontline staff
:04:10. > :04:12.in London, such as doctors, nurses and transport workers have
:04:13. > :04:15.been attacked whilst on dutx That's according to a report
:04:16. > :04:19.by the Conservatives on the London Assembly, which also
:04:20. > :04:39.suggests essential workers should This man has been driving this work
:04:40. > :04:44.for 20 years. A customer got nasty. I said, I think you ought to get
:04:45. > :04:50.out. He was left with a broken of bone and no income for thred months.
:04:51. > :04:56.I had to dip into family savings, my wife's pension. We've had no holiday
:04:57. > :04:59.this year. The report looked at attacks on nurses, paramedics and
:05:00. > :05:05.transport staff. There are five attacks on London bus drivers every
:05:06. > :05:10.day. Seven on Tube workers. It is estimated that that costs TFL about
:05:11. > :05:14.?2.2 million every year. The report is calling for
:05:15. > :05:18.organisations to consider upgrading technology, like investing hn body
:05:19. > :05:25.cameras, which are being trhalled by the Met. But they cost ?660 each. Of
:05:26. > :05:30.course there'll be a cost of people monitoring these devices, as well as
:05:31. > :05:33.responding to them. But it hs all marginal compared to the cost of
:05:34. > :05:38.sick absence and the cost of violence against staff, which is
:05:39. > :05:43.very significant financiallx, quite apart from the stress and trauma.
:05:44. > :05:51.TFL says it is keeps technology under review. This is the DNA
:05:52. > :05:54.collection kit. This has reduced spitting incidents by 70%. Seal it
:05:55. > :06:00.and hand it to the police station. There are still thousands of attacks
:06:01. > :06:05.every year. With proposals to cut so many staff, doesn't that le`ve
:06:06. > :06:09.people more vulnerable? We `re very focussed on keeping staff ott there
:06:10. > :06:14.to deal with the customers `nd to be properly protected. I think that
:06:15. > :06:18.that is a main focus for us, to have staff in uniform, protected by CCTV
:06:19. > :06:21.and protected by dedicated investigation unit. Whether more
:06:22. > :06:26.investment will reduce attacks is up for debate. But for those f`cing the
:06:27. > :06:36.public every day, there is `lways a risk of confrontation.
:06:37. > :06:40.Time for me wish you a very goodnight.
:06:41. > :06:44.And hand you over to Wendy Hurrell for the weather.
:06:45. > :06:50.It is above average. It will mean instability. One or two showers
:06:51. > :06:54.possible later this week, which could be heavy. There is thd
:06:55. > :06:58.possibility of one or two as we go into tomorrow morning as well.
:06:59. > :07:02.Mostly it will be dry. Therd'll be a fair amount of cloud around. Low
:07:03. > :07:05.cloud at that. Fog developing over Hertfordshire and Essex. We could
:07:06. > :07:10.have some problems at the ahrports tomorrow to watch out for. @ mild
:07:11. > :07:13.night, 12`14 Celsius. A murky start to the day tomorrow. Wait p`tiently
:07:14. > :07:17.and the sunshine will break through during the afternoon, in whhch it
:07:18. > :07:22.will feel pleasant. We will look at highs of 23`24 Celsius. You can see
:07:23. > :07:27.a hint of one of two of those showers over the Home Counthes A
:07:28. > :07:30.lovely afternoon in store. Ht is warming up as we go through the
:07:31. > :07:32.week, with a greater risk of showers.
:07:33. > :07:43.week, with a greater risk of showers.
:07:44. > :07:53.When you compare it to what is happening over in the Americas. This
:07:54. > :07:57.is a hurricane and it is slamming into this peninsula right now. It is
:07:58. > :08:01.the most powerful hushry cane to hit this part of Mexico in 23 years The
:08:02. > :08:09.biggest impact could come from the rain. We could get two years rain in
:08:10. > :08:14.two days. S compare that to the wettest place in the UK today -
:08:15. > :08:19.Edinburgh. We had 11 mms of rain. Rain in Scotland. The heaviest is up
:08:20. > :08:25.to the Northern Isles. It should be quite a mild night. Any holes are
:08:26. > :08:26.getting filled in with low cloud, mist and fog. It could be