:00:08. > :00:13.Britain is battered once again as hurricane force winds hit the UK.
:00:14. > :00:17.The Met Office issues a rare red warning, the most severe level of
:00:18. > :00:22.threat, as forecasters warned to prepare for an exceptional storm.
:00:23. > :00:26.The River Severn is about to reach a record high, threatening hundreds of
:00:27. > :00:31.homes and properties. And along the Thames, the misery continues for
:00:32. > :00:33.those who have been flooded there. We will be live with our
:00:34. > :00:38.correspondents across the UK as forecasters warn one month's rain
:00:39. > :00:43.will fall in next few days. The Prime Minister outlines details of
:00:44. > :00:47.financial support, we will look at where the money comes from. Also
:00:48. > :00:50.this lunchtime, the Bank of England says interest rates will stay low
:00:51. > :00:56.but will start to rise gradually once the economy recovers.
:00:57. > :01:00.Counterterrorism teams search a property in Sussex as the first
:01:01. > :01:05.Briton to carry out a suicide bomb attack in Syria is named. Millions
:01:06. > :01:06.more people in England could be prescribed cholesterol lowering
:01:07. > :01:44.drugs and a new draft guidelines. Hello, good afternoon, welcome to
:01:45. > :01:48.the BBC News At One. Even weather forecasters are describing the storm
:01:49. > :01:52.now battering western part of the UK as exceptional. They have issued a
:01:53. > :01:57.rare red warning, indicating the most severe level of threat for
:01:58. > :02:00.parts of Wales and north-west England. One month's worth of rain
:02:01. > :02:06.is expected to fall over the next two days, with almost every part of
:02:07. > :02:10.the UK covered with a warning for wind, rain or snow. All of this is
:02:11. > :02:14.on top of the floods causing misery for thousands. This lunchtime we are
:02:15. > :02:17.live and West Wales, one of the first place is on top of the floods
:02:18. > :02:19.causing misery for thousands. This lunchtime we are live and West
:02:20. > :02:25.Wales, one of the first places to feel the full force of that storm,
:02:26. > :02:32.we, and we are on the Thames, where there are still 14 severe flood
:02:33. > :02:37.warnings in place. First, though, to Criccieth in Cardigan Bay, and Wales
:02:38. > :02:41.correspondent Hywel Griffith. Yes, the wind speeds being
:02:42. > :02:45.experienced here would be considered extraordinary out on the open seas,
:02:46. > :02:49.but what makes this exceptional is that we are about to experience
:02:50. > :02:53.hurricane force 12 gales hitting the coastline. Now, already high winds
:02:54. > :02:59.are causing havoc in some parts of Wales. 3000 homes have lost power,
:03:00. > :03:04.trees falling, the emergency services having to step in to clear
:03:05. > :03:07.roads. Problems on the train lines, and the worst thing is that we are
:03:08. > :03:18.being told that things are about to get much worse.
:03:19. > :03:21.What will nature throw at us next? As hurricane force winds started
:03:22. > :03:27.battering the Welsh coastline, they carried yet more rain inland. On the
:03:28. > :03:34.Irish Sea, ferries have been cancelled. Along this peninsula,
:03:35. > :03:39.gusts could reach 100 mph. A red weather warning means take immediate
:03:40. > :03:46.action, take shelter and prepare homes. I am over 60 years old, I
:03:47. > :03:50.have never seen anything like this. We have not had a break since
:03:51. > :03:54.Christmas, it has been day after day. Yeah, the wind is really
:03:55. > :04:02.building up, you can feel it filling your clothes. Any woody would be
:04:03. > :04:06.advised to stay at home. -- anybody. For several weeks coastal defences
:04:07. > :04:10.here have been found wanting. All that people living here can now do
:04:11. > :04:14.is hang on and wait dizzy what the latest storm it will bring and how
:04:15. > :04:18.much destruction it leaves behind. -- wait to see. At the Met Office
:04:19. > :04:22.weather centre in Exeter, the growing. The wind has triggered a
:04:23. > :04:28.warning of widespread structural damage. -- the growing force of the
:04:29. > :04:33.wind. In Plymouth, seaside shops and businesses are preparing for the
:04:34. > :04:37.worst. And in Cornwall, the winds are causing waves to swell.
:04:38. > :04:42.Conditions are already challenging. We were going to go to goats
:04:43. > :04:51.shelter, Martin, because this is getting a little nasty. -- to get
:04:52. > :04:55.some shelter. In some parts of Wales, train passengers are being
:04:56. > :04:58.urged to finish their journeys as soon as possible because there is no
:04:59. > :05:03.guarantee of being able to return home. That red weather warning comes
:05:04. > :05:10.into effect within the next hour, and while we are seeing people come
:05:11. > :05:15.down to look at the storm, the advice to people is to state clear
:05:16. > :05:19.of the coast. Those people who have homes here are having to batten down
:05:20. > :05:25.the hatches and prepare for these exceptional conditions.
:05:26. > :05:29.You can appreciate the challenges with technology there. Peter Gibbs
:05:30. > :05:38.joins us now, you are calling this exceptional, what makes it so, and
:05:39. > :05:43.what Pat Willits take today? -- and what path will it take today? This
:05:44. > :05:47.whole sequence has been exceptional, not all of them have gone across the
:05:48. > :05:51.UK, this is intense and is running right across central areas, moving
:05:52. > :05:56.across Northern Ireland, Scotland through this evening. We are talking
:05:57. > :06:01.about winds gusting up to 100 mph potentially around western coasts of
:06:02. > :06:03.Wales, through this afternoon, and moving this evening into
:06:04. > :06:09.north-western parts of Scotland. Yes, widespread disruption, travel,
:06:10. > :06:14.transport, power lines as well, and I think the advice has to be, if you
:06:15. > :06:18.do not have to go out, just stay at home.
:06:19. > :06:21.Thank you very much for that, more from you at the end of the
:06:22. > :06:25.programme. The threat of the more extreme weather to come is not going
:06:26. > :06:27.to be welcome news in parts of southern England which have already
:06:28. > :06:30.suffered the worst of recent flooding. There are 16 severe
:06:31. > :06:38.warnings in Berkshire, Surrey and Somerset. Ben Brown is in
:06:39. > :06:44.Staines-upon-Thames. Yeah, Kate, it is torrential rain
:06:45. > :06:47.here right now, and as you say, this is just about the last thing the
:06:48. > :06:52.flood victims here along the Thames Valley need, hundreds of homes here
:06:53. > :06:56.in Berkshire and Surrey have been flooded and evacuated, and water
:06:57. > :06:59.levels are going to rise inevitably after rainfall like this, and that
:07:00. > :07:05.means yet more homes will be flooded as well. Water levels also rising on
:07:06. > :07:09.the River Severn, so people in Worcester watching that really
:07:10. > :07:13.anxiously indeed this lunchtime. Let's go to Sian Lloyd, who is
:07:14. > :07:20.there. Yes, it really is a case of wait and
:07:21. > :07:24.see here in Worcestershire. The River Severn has been rising because
:07:25. > :07:29.of the localised rain yesterday, but this river has its source in the
:07:30. > :07:34.hills of Wales, and the impact of the very heavy rain there will be
:07:35. > :07:41.filed here in the coming days. -- felt.
:07:42. > :07:45.The defences here have never been tested to this extent. For the town
:07:46. > :07:50.and the Environment Agency, it is uncharted territory. The River
:07:51. > :07:55.Severn is continuing to rise, with another peak expected on Friday.
:07:56. > :08:00.Without these defences, Bewdley would be underwater. The town has
:08:01. > :08:05.suffered severe flooding in the past, and people who live along the
:08:06. > :08:12.river bank are taking no chances. Flood barriers and sandbags. And it
:08:13. > :08:16.is just a precaution, really, because I know that the River can
:08:17. > :08:20.come up. We have never had it this tidy for, but then we have never had
:08:21. > :08:25.the defences before, so this is really trying the defences out.
:08:26. > :08:30.Lindsey is feeling the effects of the weather. She has had to cancel
:08:31. > :08:35.bookings for her holiday cottage, but a pump she installed is keeping
:08:36. > :08:39.the worst at bay. It is the water table levels at the moment, not the
:08:40. > :08:42.River Wharfe. There is so much water in the ground, it has to go
:08:43. > :08:49.somewhere, it comes up through the floor, and it takes the excess water
:08:50. > :08:56.away, otherwise I would be needed, I think. People living here have told
:08:57. > :09:02.me they have never seen the water is so high, and it matches the peak of
:09:03. > :09:06.the record-breaking floods of 2007. This barrier currently is 1.65
:09:07. > :09:13.metres high. It is keeping back the River Severn, but it needs to go
:09:14. > :09:17.higher. Bewdley had its big investment in flood defences that
:09:18. > :09:22.other communities are now calling for. About ?10 million worth of
:09:23. > :09:27.investment here, so a lot of money and thought has gone into this, and
:09:28. > :09:33.we are pumping at the moment, and we are confident it is under control.
:09:34. > :09:39.But contingency plans are in place. Rest centres will be set up if
:09:40. > :09:45.evacuation is needed. There really is a feeling of hope
:09:46. > :09:48.and determination here in Bewdley, everything is on stand-by. It is
:09:49. > :09:56.simply a case now waiting to see what more nature at us. Ben.
:09:57. > :10:01.Well, thank you very much indeed. Here on the Thames Valley, we are
:10:02. > :10:05.getting another drenching, another soaking this afternoon. Already we
:10:06. > :10:10.have had 14 severe flood warnings in place in Surrey and Berkshire along
:10:11. > :10:13.this stretch of the Thames Valley. Here in Staines-upon-Thames, some
:10:14. > :10:17.people are saying they are getting the sandbags they need to protect
:10:18. > :10:20.their properties, like the ones Eusebio me, but others say they are
:10:21. > :10:29.not getting what they need, more sandbags. -- like the ones you see
:10:30. > :10:34.behind me. Somewhere under here is the heart of
:10:35. > :10:37.gadget. These days, most of the traffic is waterborne, people get in
:10:38. > :10:44.and out as best they can. -- Datchet. This amphibious vehicle
:10:45. > :10:47.bought for tourists rides is now doing emergency work, carrying
:10:48. > :10:54.people to safety. Hundreds of businesses are also marooned.
:10:55. > :11:01.This is the leisure centre, a booming business when this was
:11:02. > :11:08.filmed, a venue for national and European water ski Championships.
:11:09. > :11:14.Its owner, Stuart, took me to see it today. It was inundated six weeks
:11:15. > :11:20.ago, and the water isn't going anywhere. We have over ?100,000
:11:21. > :11:24.worth of stock, and it is on a payment plan which needs to be paid
:11:25. > :11:31.in the middle of February, March and April, so normally at this time of
:11:32. > :11:34.year we have got 50 to 100 skiers coming through each week, but at the
:11:35. > :11:40.moment we cannot operate at all in any way. All the buildings are
:11:41. > :11:44.flooded and it will cost thousands of pounds to repair. There is no
:11:45. > :11:49.money coming in, and there are bills to pay.
:11:50. > :11:52.Everybody's keeping a close eye on what is happening here. That area of
:11:53. > :11:56.water is flooding from the River Thames, and it is about 80 inches
:11:57. > :12:01.higher than the pavement and standing on. It is only being kept
:12:02. > :12:04.in check by the sandbags and is rather elderly brick wall. The army
:12:05. > :12:11.brought in the sandbags to reinforce the wall, but if we get a month
:12:12. > :12:14.worth's of rain in the next few days, it will be a great deal of
:12:15. > :12:17.pressure on this wall, and it is the only thing which is protecting
:12:18. > :12:23.Datchet at the moment and stopping the flooding from being even worse.
:12:24. > :12:27.Datchet is in trouble, and on the edge of the village another threat
:12:28. > :12:31.is lurking. Water is already streaming through the gaps and into
:12:32. > :12:37.the village. In nearby Wraysbury, the army was out in force, the
:12:38. > :12:40.sandbags are welcome, and the military are giving advice about
:12:41. > :12:44.what else residents can do. Further into the valley, this is jetty,
:12:45. > :12:48.braced for the worst, which we are told is yet to come. The Government
:12:49. > :12:57.says money is no object, but people want this water gone, and right now
:12:58. > :13:02.money cannot buy that. Yeah, they want this water gone, as
:13:03. > :13:06.Richard says, but it is still coming down, the rain absolutely
:13:07. > :13:09.torrential. Just when people here in the Thames Valley thought it could
:13:10. > :13:14.not get any worse, it is getting worse, a month's worth of rain
:13:15. > :13:21.forecast to fall in the coming days. Kate, back to you.
:13:22. > :13:25.Saucers at Number Ten say that there will be no sliding away from David
:13:26. > :13:28.Cameron's promise that money is no object when it comes to flood
:13:29. > :13:31.relief. The Prime Minister will chair a further COBRA meeting this
:13:32. > :13:36.afternoon. We can get more from Vicki Young.
:13:37. > :13:41.Thank you very much for coming for this COBRA meeting... Inside the
:13:42. > :13:46.latest emergency meeting on flooding, this morning David Cameron
:13:47. > :13:49.heard weather forecasts, transport updates and news of the 2000
:13:50. > :13:54.military personnel now being deployed in Somerset and along the
:13:55. > :13:59.Thames. In terms of extra numbers, should they be available, there are
:14:00. > :14:02.thousands more available at a relatively short notice? The Prime
:14:03. > :14:05.Minister has promised that money is no object for the relief effort,
:14:06. > :14:10.although it is not yet clear where the funds will be coming from. So is
:14:11. > :14:16.David Cameron really splashing the cash? Last week, he announced an
:14:17. > :14:21.extra ?130 million for new flood defences. There is a rumour that
:14:22. > :14:24.around ?60 million will be set aside for transport repairs. And there
:14:25. > :14:29.will be ?10 million for farmers whose land has been affected by the
:14:30. > :14:36.floods. In the Commons, the Labour leader accused him of sending out
:14:37. > :14:40.mixed messages over flood spending. He made a very grand promise to
:14:41. > :14:44.spend whatever it takes to recover from this and make sure we have a
:14:45. > :14:48.resilient country for the future and the simple point I'm making to him
:14:49. > :14:51.if there are real doubts when it comes to making members of the
:14:52. > :14:56.Environment Agency who deal with flooding redundant. The Prime
:14:57. > :14:59.Minister said help is at hand and announced businesses affected by the
:15:00. > :15:05.flood would get business rate relief. Money will be no object for
:15:06. > :15:09.that I don't want people to worry about penny-pinching as they took
:15:10. > :15:11.the vital work needed to help them with their houses, to help them deal
:15:12. > :15:16.with the floods. That's what this government is doing. We are
:15:17. > :15:22.deploying the military when we have been asked. Deploying extra pumps.
:15:23. > :15:26.Raising the compensation to local government to 100% because that is
:15:27. > :15:30.what local community should have. Ministers are focused on the
:15:31. > :15:32.immediate relief effort but these extreme conditions have reignited
:15:33. > :15:36.the rows about longer term spending on flood defences. Our Chief
:15:37. > :15:43.Political Correspondent Norman Smith is at Westminster. Some say is he
:15:44. > :15:47.going to regret this statement about money is no object? Norman, so are
:15:48. > :15:51.we any clearer today as to where this relief money will come from?
:15:52. > :15:54.It's true to say Mr Cameron won himself big bold headlines but his
:15:55. > :16:00.assertion that money is never object but today, well, it's looking a lot
:16:01. > :16:03.left bold, those headlines, and could be more of a political
:16:04. > :16:06.millstone because we learnt this is not new money but money from
:16:07. > :16:12.existing departmental contingency budgets. Many ministers had in their
:16:13. > :16:18.back pocket for a rainy day and that means the money is much more limited
:16:19. > :16:22.and is circumscribed just to this particular relief effort. It's not
:16:23. > :16:27.money the building new flood defences on making railways more
:16:28. > :16:30.resilient. Number ten say that's what the Prime Minister said. He
:16:31. > :16:35.never promised he was going to spend vast amounts of money and they say
:16:36. > :16:40.Mr Cameron has said that the sort of scheme to thinking about, such as
:16:41. > :16:45.?10 million more for farmers, more cash to help homeowners with grants,
:16:46. > :16:50.and also tax relief for businesses, and they have accused critics of
:16:51. > :16:54.mischiefmaking. The difficulty is, basically, expectation management,
:16:55. > :16:56.people listening to him yesterday I suspect came away with the
:16:57. > :17:01.impression he was promising something much more ambitious in
:17:02. > :17:08.terms of spending commitments and, secondly, credibility. It's not just
:17:09. > :17:10.a national emergency, but the Prime Minister's national emergency,
:17:11. > :17:13.because he has placed himself centrestage to juggle it which means
:17:14. > :17:18.any criticism, any doubts about the government response rebounds against
:17:19. > :17:22.him personally. Norman, thank you very much indeed. And you can get
:17:23. > :17:24.all the latest on the severe weather and the flooding on the BBC News
:17:25. > :17:31.website. And there are of course updates on
:17:32. > :17:35.your BBC Local radio and TV stations.
:17:36. > :17:42.Our top story this lunchtime. It is the weather. Britain faces a
:17:43. > :17:45.battering again. The Met Office issues a rare Red Warning, the most
:17:46. > :17:48.severe level of threat, as forecasters warn to prepare for an
:17:49. > :17:52.exceptional storm. And still to come. A sharp rise in the number of
:17:53. > :18:03.people dying in Britain after taking drugs known as legal highs. Later on
:18:04. > :18:08.BBC London, the former X Factor judge pleads not guilty to
:18:09. > :18:12.assaulting a man at a festival and how beyond say's choreographer is
:18:13. > :18:14.using martial arts to strengthen ties between London and Japan. --
:18:15. > :18:21.beyond say. Interest rates look likely to remain
:18:22. > :18:26.low for some time yet, despite the recent improvement in the British
:18:27. > :18:28.economy. The Governor of the Bank of England, Mark Carney, said any
:18:29. > :18:32.eventual rise would have to be gradual when conditions allowed. The
:18:33. > :18:35.announcement today came as the Governor revealed the interest rate
:18:36. > :18:40.policy would now be determined not by unemployment figures but a wider
:18:41. > :18:43.range of indicators. He also added the recovery, whilst gaining
:18:44. > :18:52.momentum was not yet balanced. Here's our Chief Economics
:18:53. > :18:54.Correspondent, Hugh Pym. Signals from the Bank of England about
:18:55. > :18:59.interest rates are crucial for businesses and their workers and
:19:00. > :19:01.savings but today we got the latest message from the bank as to when the
:19:02. > :19:06.cost of borrowing might start rising. The governor Mark Carney
:19:07. > :19:11.suggested rates would not go up from a while and then only gradually.
:19:12. > :19:16.Even in the medium-term, the level of interest rates necessary to
:19:17. > :19:22.sustain low unemployment and price stability would be materially lower
:19:23. > :19:26.than before the crisis. It's hard to be precise, but one illustration of
:19:27. > :19:30.the possible level of bank rate in the medium-term can be derived from
:19:31. > :19:36.the latest forecast of the bank that is based on the market curve, which
:19:37. > :19:40.itself, approaches only 2% interest rates three years now. His stance
:19:41. > :19:44.has changed since August when he said rate rises wouldn't be
:19:45. > :19:48.considered until unemployment fell to 7%. That will happen faster than
:19:49. > :19:53.expected, so now he has a range of indicators will be monitored. We
:19:54. > :19:58.have taken stock, we move into a phase where we are still looking to
:19:59. > :20:06.maintain the momentum in the recovery but where we have to make
:20:07. > :20:10.judgements we will. Where do businesses now stand? Some likeness
:20:11. > :20:14.Barnsley -based engineering firm invested in new machinery after the
:20:15. > :20:18.Bank of England microbus assurances last year that rates would stay low
:20:19. > :20:21.until fell. They need as much certainty as possible to plan for
:20:22. > :20:25.the future. We would like to see interest rates remaining low and
:20:26. > :20:29.knowing what's going to happen in the long-term is an important part
:20:30. > :20:33.for us. The danger is, by amending its policy, forward guidance, the
:20:34. > :20:36.Bank of England will create more confusion in the minds of borrowers
:20:37. > :20:40.and the challenge now will be to communicate it thinking based on the
:20:41. > :20:48.and turns of the economy. Let's pick up on that. What is his message? His
:20:49. > :20:55.simple message to borrowers and savers, interest rates may well not
:20:56. > :21:00.get back to 2% until 2017 and may well not start rising until spring
:21:01. > :21:04.of year. Mark Carney was indicating that's what the markets expect but
:21:05. > :21:09.there was a clear message that that seems realistic. So rates he would
:21:10. > :21:14.like us to think we'll stay low for a little while to come as they
:21:15. > :21:17.assess where the economy is going, but some will ask, he set out this
:21:18. > :21:22.policy last August, it seems very clear, they will consider rates to
:21:23. > :21:28.be written with unemployment falls and isn't it now rather confusing
:21:29. > :21:31.and nebulous, looking at different variables? He then said he would a
:21:32. > :21:35.lot of interviews and speeches to explain it, but the whole point of
:21:36. > :21:40.this policy was to give borrowers and savers a bit more certainty
:21:41. > :21:43.about where rates were going. People this lunchtime could be scratching
:21:44. > :21:47.their heads a bit and wondering what's going on. Thank you. Millions
:21:48. > :21:50.more people could be prescribed statins, the tablets which reduce
:21:51. > :21:53.cholesterol and other fats in the blood. New draft guidelines from the
:21:54. > :21:56.health care watchdog NICE say GPs in England should offer the drugs to a
:21:57. > :21:59.much wider group of patients to help cut the risk of heart disease and
:22:00. > :22:09.strokes. Here's our health correspondent, Jane Dreaper. Sue is
:22:10. > :22:13.a healthy active grandmother. A vegetarian, who exercises several
:22:14. > :22:17.times a week. Two months ago, she started taking a low dose of statins
:22:18. > :22:24.each day to lower her cholesterol levels. I was a reticent at first,
:22:25. > :22:28.actually, I don't really want to take a pill a day. But I haven't
:22:29. > :22:32.noticed any difference. I feel fine on them and my cholesterol is down
:22:33. > :22:36.so I imagine that's a good thing. Statins are taken by millions of
:22:37. > :22:41.people already and their use has quadrupled in the last decade with
:22:42. > :22:45.60 million prescriptions a year in England now. GPs currently offer
:22:46. > :22:51.them to patients who have a 20% risk of a heart attack or stroke in the
:22:52. > :22:56.next ten years. NICE wants to lower that 10%, so many more people will
:22:57. > :22:59.end up taking statins. These proposals are designed to prevent
:23:00. > :23:03.heart attacks and strokes in middle aged people but there will be
:23:04. > :23:09.criticism this is too much about medication and not about changing
:23:10. > :23:14.lifestyles. Whilst some people don't like taking drugs, if they choose,
:23:15. > :23:21.they can reduce their risk of heart disease and stroke by modifying
:23:22. > :23:29.lifestyle factors but, for many, the drug treatment of blood flats --
:23:30. > :23:34.fats, and BP is the best way of not dying from heart disease. The price
:23:35. > :23:39.of statins has come down in recent years so NICE believe it's a good
:23:40. > :23:42.use of NHS money. Wales and Northern Ireland are likely to adopt the
:23:43. > :23:46.guidelines, too. With Scotland making its own decisions. The BBC
:23:47. > :23:51.has learned the identity of the first British suicide bomber to blow
:23:52. > :23:54.himself up in Syria. He has been named as Abdul Waheed Majid, a
:23:55. > :23:57.41-year-old from Sussex. He is believed to have carried out a
:23:58. > :23:59.suicide truck bombing in Aleppo last Thursday. Detectives from the South
:24:00. > :24:04.East Counter Terrorism Unit have been searching his address in
:24:05. > :24:12.Crawley. Our Security Correspondent Frank Gardner reports. All morning
:24:13. > :24:17.police have been at this address in Crawley in Sussex. It's the home of
:24:18. > :24:21.Abdul Waheed Majid, known to his friend as Wahid. He is now believed
:24:22. > :24:25.to be the first British jihadist to blow himself up in Syria since the
:24:26. > :24:28.conflict began three years ago. Neighbours said he left for Syria
:24:29. > :24:32.some weeks ago but his actions have left stunned. It's quite a shock to
:24:33. > :24:40.find out someone has actually lost their life, albeit a terrorist, but
:24:41. > :24:45.it's a bit sad, really. Absolutely shocked full so really, really
:24:46. > :24:51.shocked. I couldn't believe it. Such a horrendous thing. He is believed
:24:52. > :24:54.to be in the driver of this specially armoured truck last
:24:55. > :25:00.Thursday. Packed with explosives, the aimed straight at the walls of
:25:01. > :25:04.Aleppo prison hoping to free rebels inside. Jihadist group linked to
:25:05. > :25:08.arcade at the least this video online praising his actions a
:25:09. > :25:11.martyrdom operation. In Britain, and associates have been using Facebook
:25:12. > :25:16.to post appeals for donations to his family. Police following an
:25:17. > :25:21.investigation into his death, say no other addresses have been searched
:25:22. > :25:24.and no arrests have been made. There's been another rise in the
:25:25. > :25:28.number of deaths linked to so-called legal highs, according to figures
:25:29. > :25:31.shown to the BBC. Almost 70 people died after taking what are called
:25:32. > :25:40.new psycho-active substances while there were just ten deaths in 2009.
:25:41. > :25:48.Our Global Health Correspondent Tulip Mazumdar reports. Richard is
:25:49. > :25:53.severely brain-damaged and can make sounds, but no one knows that the
:25:54. > :26:00.understands the world around him. It makes me happy, that picture. Last,
:26:01. > :26:05.he took a banned drug and had been drinking in tiny traces of cocaine
:26:06. > :26:10.were also found in his system. He is dependent on 24-hour care. He can
:26:11. > :26:14.hold his head up and move his arms. But that's about as far as it goes.
:26:15. > :26:18.He can't communicate. He would not have taken this if you knew the
:26:19. > :26:21.risks. I'm heartbroken it's something he could get so easily,
:26:22. > :26:27.which could have such a devastating effect. Doctors told his family it
:26:28. > :26:32.was probably the cocktail of alcohol and drug which triggered seizures
:26:33. > :26:37.for the Richard Gott is drugs online, completely untested
:26:38. > :26:43.substances, surprisingly easy to get hold of. I ordered these late in the
:26:44. > :26:48.afternoon and they arrived at the very next morning. I have "not for
:26:49. > :26:52.human consumption" written all over them but if you look the name, it
:26:53. > :26:59.suggests very different. Below is a slang word for cocaine. 68 people
:27:00. > :27:03.died after taking the substances in 2012, the contents of which are
:27:04. > :27:08.constantly changing to get around government bans, creating a major
:27:09. > :27:12.challenge for ministers. I agree it needs to have action taken. We have
:27:13. > :27:17.been doing that. We are ahead of the game compared to other countries but
:27:18. > :27:20.haven't yet cracked it. Richard's family want people to see just how
:27:21. > :27:27.much damage the substances can cause. More now on our main story.
:27:28. > :27:35.The extreme weather that is hitting the UK once again. The Met Office
:27:36. > :27:38.has issued a rare Red Warning, the most severe level of threat for
:27:39. > :27:40.exceptionally strong winds in West Wales and some parts of northwest
:27:41. > :27:48.England. Our correspondent Judith Moritz is in Blackpool. Yes, the
:27:49. > :27:54.structures behind me, just in front of a tower were designed in
:27:55. > :28:00.Blackpool to bend in the winter. They are being tested right now. We
:28:01. > :28:06.are expecting wind speeds of up to 100 mph on this stretch of coastline
:28:07. > :28:09.this afternoon. It's part of the Met Office's Red Warning. It is just
:28:10. > :28:12.easier but I don't think things are at their height and the shipping
:28:13. > :28:18.forecast for the Irish Sea resources by collating the wind could reach up
:28:19. > :28:21.to hurricane force 12, something the Coast Guard locally has told us he
:28:22. > :28:26.has an singledom once or twice in 30 years. It is already leading to
:28:27. > :28:30.potential disruption, for transport routes. This already cancellations
:28:31. > :28:34.of some ferry routes across the Irish Sea for this evening.
:28:35. > :28:36.Liverpool Airport are keeping an eye on things for them they are
:28:37. > :28:41.functioning normally at the moment but the wind could be promoted for
:28:42. > :28:47.them so they will review it again. On the trains, routes out of
:28:48. > :28:52.Holyhead towards Cardiff and across to Birmingham and Manchester are
:28:53. > :28:56.also disrupted, as well. In terms of today, this warning is in force up
:28:57. > :29:02.to about 9pm tonight, so things yet not at their peak. OK, thank you.
:29:03. > :29:07.Time for a look at the weather. Here's Peter Gibbs.
:29:08. > :29:13.The most intense storm this winter which is why we have this Red
:29:14. > :29:16.Warning in force for the best two years since we saw a Red Warning for
:29:17. > :29:21.wind across the UK, so it puts it in context for you. What does that mean
:29:22. > :29:27.in terms of impact? Well, widespread structural damage is certainly a
:29:28. > :29:31.possibility with wind gusting up to 100 mph. Disruption to power lines
:29:32. > :29:35.and travel likely and the message is, unless you absolutely have to
:29:36. > :29:40.travel, it's better to stay indoors. It's across north-west England and
:29:41. > :29:45.Wales never read warning in force but embedded within a much wider
:29:46. > :29:51.wind warning, some of the strongest gusts here once again gusting up to
:29:52. > :29:57.80 mph but just easing a touch once the band of heavy rain begins to
:29:58. > :30:02.move through the wind which will be picking up through the afternoon
:30:03. > :30:11.into this evening. Pembrokeshire, stronger wind gusting up to 100 mph.
:30:12. > :30:15.Inland, gusting up to around 80 mph, and then moving to the north-west of
:30:16. > :30:20.England this evening, and accompanied by heavy snow. Atrocious
:30:21. > :30:23.conditions for the busy travel period this evening across the
:30:24. > :30:28.Pennines. There will be blizzards across the higher levels. One way or
:30:29. > :30:33.another, they will be disruption for the rest of today. You can get the
:30:34. > :30:38.latest on the BBC web pages and also your BBC local radio station. It
:30:39. > :30:42.takes a while for things to ease off as well. More snow across northern
:30:43. > :30:46.England and across Scotland. Northern Ireland seeing some snow as
:30:47. > :30:51.well. The wind only very slowly easing, so wintry showers further
:30:52. > :30:56.south, too. Ice almost anywhere tomorrow, as temperatures drop away.
:30:57. > :30:59.And the cold air starts to move in. We are looking at temperatures close
:31:00. > :31:04.to freezing pretty much across the board. What about the rest of
:31:05. > :31:08.Thursday? It is quieter, in terms of what we have been seeing in recent
:31:09. > :31:14.weeks. Still quite a breezy day with showers around, as well. It is
:31:15. > :31:19.showers rather than anything more widespread. Temperatures in five -
:31:20. > :31:25.nine Celsius. Is that it? No, it really isn't. For Thursday night
:31:26. > :31:31.onwards and Friday, another low pressure system heading straight for
:31:32. > :31:35.the UK, more heavy rain. At the moment, there is no end in sight for
:31:36. > :31:37.some worth keeping up-to-date with a forecast.
:31:38. > :31:43.Now a reminder of our top story this lunchtime. Britain faces another
:31:44. > :31:45.battering from the weather. Forecasters warn to prepare for an
:31:46. > :31:49.exceptional storm as the Met Office issues a rare Red Warning, the most
:31:50. > :31:51.severe level of threat. That's all from us. Now on BBC One it's time
:31:52. > :31:55.for the news where