15/09/2014 BBC London News

Don't forget Newsnight's st`rting over on BBC Two in a moment, with

a special edition live from Dundee including an interview with David

Cameron on how Thursday's rdferendum could affect the rest of thd UK

But now on BBC 1, it's time for the news where you are.

Good evening from BBC London News. I'm Riz Lateef.

CCTV footage of the terrifying moment

a pavement exploded on Picc`dilly this summer was released today.

The blast which narrowly avoided delivery drivers was caused

Tonight, Westminster Council questioned energy authoritids

about the increase in the ntmber of incidents.

Gareth Furby was also there and joins us now.

Well, one councillor said she was really shocked by these latdst

images from Piccadilly. Another said it seemed only to be a mattdr of

luck that no`one had been khlled by these explosions. They were given a

series of reassurances, which I will tell you about in a minute. First we

have this report. It is just before 11pm on Wddnesday,

July 2nd. Piccadilly is still buzzing people. Delivery men are

unloading goods, ready for the next day's business. Something stspicious

appears to force one driver to reverse his van away. Anothdr, ahead

of him, is oblivious as he continues unloading. Making a dash for it

just in time. This CCTV footage was released by

Westminster Council to highlight its concerns over London's exploding

pavements. It was actually very frightening because it is vdry near

and the fire was really, re`lly big. The fire kept coming out. Even

though it comes from the manhole. Go back more, please. Were people

panicking? They were running. Are you very conscious when you walk on

the pavement now? Yes. Especially in the evenings. CCTV captures the

pedestrians, cyclists and drivers escaping death and injury across

London. The number of pavement explosions is

rising at an alarming rate. Figures obtained from the Health and Safety

Executive revealed there were 4 explosions in 2013. The inchdent in

Piccadilly was the 64 rs so `` 5th so far this year. What is c`using

our pavements to explode? Wdll, it seems to be water droplets or gas,

reaching exposed cables unddr exposed manhole covers. Just a small

spark can lead to a huge explosion, particularly if it comes into

contact with gas. There is one simple solution to this ` it is

called sand. It insulates cables, absorbs water a

starved fuel oxygen. Companhes are under increasing pressure to

safeguard Londoners. There `re a number of solutions, includhng

putting sand into the chambdrs, but having holes in the covers. There

are a combination of measurds. They are investing ?10 million a year

upgrading cable networks. A fear remains among Londoners and councils

that a danger remains under our feet, which could strike at any

time, in almost any place. Tonight UK power networks told

Westminster Council lors it is doing three things. First, putting tethers

on top of these covers to try and stop them blowing off. Secondly

blankets around the link boxes. Thirdly, it is putting sand inside

the box chambers. What was stressed is that although it is posshble to

do everything to mitigate the risk, it is impossible to eliminate that

risk. Almost 30,000 frontline staff

in London, such as doctors, nurses and transport workers have

been attacked whilst on dutx That's according to a report

by the Conservatives on the London Assembly, which also

suggests essential workers should This man has been driving this work

for 20 years. A customer got nasty. I said, I think you ought to get

out. He was left with a broken of bone and no income for thred months.

I had to dip into family savings, my wife's pension. We've had no holiday

this year. The report looked at attacks on nurses, paramedics and

transport staff. There are five attacks on London bus drivers every

day. Seven on Tube workers. It is estimated that that costs TFL about

?2.2 million every year. The report is calling for

organisations to consider upgrading technology, like investing hn body

cameras, which are being trhalled by the Met. But they cost ?660 each. Of

course there'll be a cost of people monitoring these devices, as well as

responding to them. But it hs all marginal compared to the cost of

sick absence and the cost of violence against staff, which is

very significant financiallx, quite apart from the stress and trauma.

TFL says it is keeps technology under review. This is the DNA

collection kit. This has reduced spitting incidents by 70%. Seal it

and hand it to the police station. There are still thousands of attacks

every year. With proposals to cut so many staff, doesn't that le`ve

people more vulnerable? We `re very focussed on keeping staff ott there

to deal with the customers `nd to be properly protected. I think that

that is a main focus for us, to have staff in uniform, protected by CCTV

and protected by dedicated investigation unit. Whether more

investment will reduce attacks is up for debate. But for those f`cing the

public every day, there is `lways a risk of confrontation.

Time for me wish you a very goodnight.

And hand you over to Wendy Hurrell for the weather.

It is above average. It will mean instability. One or two showers

possible later this week, which could be heavy. There is thd

possibility of one or two as we go into tomorrow morning as well.

Mostly it will be dry. Therd'll be a fair amount of cloud around. Low

cloud at that. Fog developing over Hertfordshire and Essex. We could

have some problems at the ahrports tomorrow to watch out for. @ mild

night, 12`14 Celsius. A murky start to the day tomorrow. Wait p`tiently

and the sunshine will break through during the afternoon, in whhch it

will feel pleasant. We will look at highs of 23`24 Celsius. You can see

a hint of one of two of those showers over the Home Counthes A

lovely afternoon in store. Ht is warming up as we go through the

week, with a greater risk of showers.

week, with a greater risk of showers.

When you compare it to what is happening over in the Americas. This

is a hurricane and it is slamming into this peninsula right now. It is

the most powerful hushry cane to hit this part of Mexico in 23 years The

biggest impact could come from the rain. We could get two years rain in

two days. S compare that to the wettest place in the UK today -

Edinburgh. We had 11 mms of rain. Rain in Scotland. The heaviest is up

to the Northern Isles. It should be quite a mild night. Any holes are

getting filled in with low cloud, mist and fog. It could be