10/01/2018 BBC News at One

At least 13 people are dead

and the death toll is expected

to rise after mudslides slam

into homes in California.

The torrent of mud swept

through communities

near Santa Barbara -

one man heard a baby buried

in the mud and managed to pull

it out alive.

We dug down, we found a little baby.

We got it out, got

the mud out of its mouth.

Houses have been crushed by boulders

the size of small cars -

which rolled down the hillside

after heavy rain -

the first for months.

We'll have the latest

from California where rescuers

are hoping to find more survivors.

Also this lunchtime.

Cancer patients face possible delays

to their treatment at an Oxford

hospital because of a shortage

of staff, claims a leading doctor.

British manufacturing

is riding high.

Figures show output has reached

its highest level in ten years.

Thousands of people are trapped

in the Swiss resort of Zermatt

after heavy snowfall -

one British skier waiting

to be airlifted out

says its been worrying.

We just tried to stay

as safe as possible,

and eliminate any risk rather

than taking any risks

and going out walking.

And Billy the Whizz.

The teenage racing driver is back

behind the wheel nine months

after losing both legs

in an horriffic crash.

And coming up in the

sport on BBC News.

Three days after Arsenal

were dumped out of the FA Cup -

they face Chelsea in

the League Cup later.

Good afternoon and welcome

to the BBC News at One.

At least 13 people have been killed

in southern California

after mudslides and flash floods.

The death toll is expected to rise.

Witnesses say boulders the size

of small cars rolled down

the hillside after the first rain

for several months in

the Santa Barbara county.

More than 30 miles of the main

coastal road have been closed

and rescuers are trying to reach

a group of 300 people thought to be

trapped in one neighbourhood,

east of Santa Barbara,

James Cook reports from Los Angeles.

The rains came suddenly,

just before dawn.

Torrential and terrifying.

They coursed over the slick scorched

earth, gathering speed until mud

was roaring down to the sea

like an express train.

The deluge smashed into the very

homes which had just survived

California's biggest

recorded wild fire.

The result, utter devastation.

We had a very difficult

time assessing the area,

and responding to many of those

areas, to assist those people.

The only words I can really

think of to describe

what it looked like,

it looked like a World

War I battlefield.

A good friend of mine,

whose name I won't mention,

lost a father-in-law.

I still have two friends

missing right now.

So it's devastating.

The fire created a situation where

the dirt was able to wash down.

Had we still had all

of the vegetation on the hill,

it would not have been as much

of an issue.

Despite dangerous conditions,

helicopters took to the sky,

winching to safety dozens of people

who were stranded amidst the rubble.

The stories of survival

are almost unbelievable.

I heard the rumble of the rocks,

and I looked over at the rear

and trees were coming down.

We ran into the house,

and right then, the boulders

busted through our house,

and we got upstairs,

and it got up to about eight feet,

nine feet up the stairs.

We were able to crawl

from the window to the roof.

The house is wiped out,

just took everything out.

Later we were worried

about a neighbour's house,

we went over to see if they were OK,

and we heard a little baby crying.

And a fireman came, dug down,

we found a little baby.

We got it out, got

the mud out of its mouth.

I'm hoping it's OK.

They took it to the hospital.

But it was just a baby,

four feet down in the mud,

and nowhere, under the rocks.

I'm glad we got him.

Who knows what else is down there.

The communities hardest hit

were Montecito and Carpinteria

on the Pacific coast,

north of Los Angeles.

These are some of the most exclusive

neighbourhoods in the United States.

Home to stars like Oprah Winfrey.

This is how deep the mud is.

And...

House in the back is gone.

Ellen Degeneres posted

this photo online.

The damage isn't

confined to the coast.

This is the Los Angeles

suburb of Burbank.

The mud roared down here

with terrifying speed,

sweeping everything in its path.

The firefighters won't let us go

up there any further.

They say the situation could change

in the blink of an eye,

and as you can see, this is how

dangerous it is.

Rescue workers are still scouring

scores of damaged and demolished

homes, searching for survivors.

Police say the number of dead

here is certain to rise.

James Cook, BBC News,

southern California.

A senior doctor has warned that

cancer care at an NHS specialist

hospital is becoming "unsustainable"

because of staff shortages.

A memo to staff at Oxford's

Churchill Hospital, which was leaked

to The Times newspaper,

said patients are facing

delays to the start times

of their chemotherapy treatment,

as nurse numbers are

down by about 40 %.

as nurse numbers are

down by about 40%.

Our health editor

Hugh Pym is in Oxford.

What is happening there, explain the

back ground to this?

Well, the

background Sophie is this leaked

e-mail is from a very senior doctor

here at the Churchill hospital, a

leading cancer care centre in this

part of England. It follows a

meeting with clinical leads, that is

other leading clinicians in the

hospital. Where it is said that

because of staffing shortages for

cancer nurses, they are beginning to

delay the start of chemotherapy for

some cancer patients, to four week,

the national target is four weeks

for the start of the treatment, so

they will remain within their

target, but clearly implied in this

is there will be some patients who

might have started chemo therapy

within a couple of week, that is

moved out to four. Four. For your

gent cases keep their pip will

continue as usual but there will be

possible changes for others maybe in

a terminal stage of cancer, the

amount of chemotherapy they get. The

trust here, which covers the

Churchill hospital is adamant there

are no formal plans to change

anything, they say they are meeting

their targets but they do

acknowledge that is a staffing

shortage, finding nurse information

the south-east of England generally,

with the cost of living and so on.

That is really exposed a major issue

across the NHS.

Thank you.

Thank you.

The NHS dominated the first Prime

Minister's Questions of this year.

The Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn

said the health service

was "sinking" under Jeremy Hunt,

but Theresa May insisted it's

"better prepared than ever before".

Our assistant political editor,

Norman Smith, is in Westminster.

A New Year by the Prime Minister

still under huge pressure over the

state of the NHS.

Mrs May has

freakily said that she wants to be

able to talk about non-Brexit

issues, about a domestic agenda like

the Health Service, she got her

opportunity today, but perhaps not

in the way she wanted, with angry,

angry exchanges with the Labour

leader, as he sought to crank up the

pressure on Mrs May over the state

of the NHS this winter, saying under

Jeremy Hunt's leadership it was

Sinning and attacking her for

remotes Mr Hunt, giving him control

of social care where Jeremy Corbyn

said he should have been sacked,

pointing to the cancelled non-urgent

operation, the hours people were

having to wait in ambulances and Mrs

May prompted a degree of inCree duty

when she said the NHS was pet better

prepared this winter than ever

before, pointing to the fact there

was more money, more acute beds,

more people were taking out flu

jabs, more were open over the

holiday eperiod. Have a listen to ho

heated some of the exchanges were.

She told the house the NHS was

better prepared for winter, than

ever before. So what words of

comfort does the Prime Minister have

to the 17,000 patients waiting in

the back of ambulances, in the last

week of December? Is it that nothing

is perfect by any chance?

I fully

accept that the NHS is under

pressure over winter, it is

regularly under pressure at winter

time, I have been very clear, I

apologise to those people who have

had operations delayed.

I think what

we learn is that for all the time we

at Westminster spend talking about

Brexit, Mr Corbyn and probably Mrs

May know for many voters, the issue

that matters above all others is

still the NHS.

We are are going to go back to our

main story, the mudslides in

California. There are warnings that

the death toll could rise. Rescuers

are searching for survivors.

Extraordinary scenes there, and this

is the area that was hit not so long

ago by the fire?

Yes, and that made

it worse, Sophie, because the fire

scorched the hill sides and burned

the vegetation away, then the rain

did that, and well you get

mudslides, I want to explain, a lot

people think the mudslides is a

couple of feet of soupy mud. That is

no not the case. That is what is in

the mud. It is dynamic, rushing down

hill very fast. Imagine it is 4am,

you are sound asleep and that comes

blasting through your home. This is

one of the home, it ripped the front

wall right off the home there. You

can see the devastation that this

causes, and this home, out of all of

these that were damaged, is actually

in pretty good shape right now.

Are

they hoping to find more survives?

They are hoping to find more

survivors. They are going to

continue looking again today. So

here is the problem right now. I

mean you have all this debris, you

have homes covered and in some cases

they have got to dig through this,

so the rescue effort will continue

today, and they do expect to find

more people, survivors, we are not

so sure.

UK manufacturing output

has reached its highest

level in nearly a decade,

after recording its seventh

consecutive month of

growth in November.

Renewable energy projects,

boats, aeroplanes and cars

for export helped grow output

by three-point-nine %

between September and November -

compared with the same

period in 2016.

Our economics correspondent

Andy Verity has the details.

This Birmingham company makes

precision metal components

for everything from surgical

implants to rear-view mirrors.

And business is booming.

It has been winning business

from customers around the world,

from pharmaceutical

manufacturers to toolmakers.

And it is now looking forward

to its strongest year for a decade.

We have always exported a huge

percentage of what we make.

Currently that is around 70, 75%.

Global growth of our customers

and the manufacturing supply chain

means growth for us.

So it has been vital in terms

of our success in the last 12 months

and will remain to be going forward.

This is how well

manufacturing has done.

In the three months to the end

of November, the biggest

rise in seven years.

And there is more manufacturing

going on now than there

has been for ten years.

That has had its effect

on the deficit, the trade deficit,

the difference between what we sell

abroad and what we buy

in from abroad.

That shrank to 6.2 billion,

that is down by £2.1 billion.

That improving trade position

was helped by the car industry.

While we are buying fewer of them

at home, we are selling

more of them abroad.

And British companies that make

machines that do the manufacturing,

so-called capital goods,

are tapping into growing demand

for their products around the world.

The UK transport sector has

performed particularly strongly

over the last decade.

There has been a huge focus

on improving efficiency in the car

industry in particular

and an enormous amount

of innovation, looking

at new models, fuel

efficiency, new materials.

And that really has tapped

into a customer base

which is looking to buy those

kinds of products.

So we have been very much in tune

with the customers that

are out there globally.

The sale of works of art to foreign

customers also helped to lift

the UK export numbers.

The weak pound means that foreign

buyers with dollars,

Euros or yen to spend can buy more

British art for their money.

But construction has been

shrinking now for six months.

In the three months to November

the amount of work being

done was down by 2%.

This once booming sector is now

struggling to extract

itself from a slump.

Andy Verity, BBC News.

A 16-year-old boy has

appeared in court, charged

with the murder of a shop worker

in London on Saturday.

49-year-old Vijay Patel was attacked

after he refused to sell cigarette

papers to a group

of three teenagers.

An online crowdfunding page has been

set up by the nearby

Mill Hill Synagogue to help

Mr Patel's family.

It has already raised

more than £12,000.

A man whose body was found buried

in a garden was allegedly killed

by his daughter several years ago,

the BBC understands.

Police say that the woman went

into a police station in Stockport

at the weekend and told detectives

what she had done.

Judith Moritz is in Stockport now.

What more do we know?

Well, Sophie

the police say that the woman who is

63 turned up at a police station on

Sunday, and they say she told them

she had killed a man, some years

ago, and that she had buried him in

the garden of a property in this

road. That sparked a forensic

search, and last night, detectives

confirmed they have found human

remains here, it is believed that

this is the body of a man named

Kenneth Coombes. We know neighbours

have been asked if they remember a

man by that name, that he was in his

late 80s in 2005. The BBC

understands that the woman, who is

now being questioned on suspicion of

murder is Kenneth Coombe's daughter.

Greater Manchester Police say the

investigation is in the early stages

and many questions which still have

answers.

The President of South Korea says

Donald Trump deserves credit

for helping to foster their first

talks with the North in two years.

Moon Jae-in said pressure

from America and sanctions may well

have made the meeting possible.

The talks took place yesterday

in the demilitarised zone which has

divided the two Koreas since 1953.

Sophie Long reports from

the South Korean capital, Seoul.

Communication between the North

and South Korean governments has now

been re-established.

A North Korean delegation will be

present at the Winter Olympics

being hosted by the South.

And a direct military hotline

connecting to the two Koreas

has been reactivated.

But there was barely a mention,

and certainly no movement

on the fundamental issue

of North Korea's nuclear

and missile programme.

Today, the South Korean President

said resolving that was

the only pathway to peace.

TRANSLATION:

The denuclearisation

of the Korean peninsula

is the fundamental pathway

we need to follow.

This cannot be compromised.

This is the only way for us

to achieve full peace

in the Korean peninsula.

Not everyone was in

favour of the talks.

Some believe that the North Korean

leaders sudden willingness to engage

with its neighbour is motivated

by the desire to drive a wedge

between those allied against him,

as the latest round of UN sanctions

imposed on his regime

really start to bite.

But Moon Jae-in was adamant

today that he would not

allow that to happen.

TRANSLATION:

In terms

of security and defence,

South Korea and the United States

are the closest of allies.

We also share the same

view of the significance

of the threat from North Korea.

So South Korea and the United States

have been working closely together

against North Korea's nuclear

threat.

Moon Jae-in vowed to make

2018 the turning point

in inter-Korean relations.

He hopes the Pyeongchang games

could mark the beginning

of a process that would create

a life for people here free

from concerns about war.

But given the year started

with the North Korean and US leaders

exchanging threats and boasts

about whose nuclear button

was biggest, he has

much ground to cover.

Sophie Long, BBC News, Seoul.

Our top story this lunchtime.

At least 13 people are dead

and the death toll is expected

to rise after mudslides slam

into homes in California.

There are warnings that the death

toll could rise.

And coming up -

supportive or too soft?

A new Army recruitment

campaign divides opinion.

Coming up in sport.

Former Liverpool goalkeeper Tommy

Lawrence has died at the age of 77.

He was Bill Shankly's first-choice

keeper during the 1960s.

Thousands of tourists have been left

stranded after heavy snow

in the Alps cut off towns

and villages across Switzerland,

France and Italy.

Visitors are being airlifted out

of Zermatt, one of Switzerland's

most popular ski resorts,

where around 13000

people are trapped.

The avalanche risk in the area

is the highest it's been

for almost ten years.

In France, a 39-year-old British

skier is still missing after bad

weather hampered rescue

efforts in Tignes.

Tom Burridge has the latest.

This is the only way out of Zermatt

this morning. The luggage of

tourists stuck here airlifted out.

Heavy snow has closed all the roads.

So those who can catch this shuttle

service to a nearby town. Waiting on

that helipad this lunchtime, Rebecca

Smith.

These are people waiting for

the next helicopter out.

We spoke as

she began the first leg of a long

journey back to Manchester.

A lot of

people will say you are stuck in

some were beautiful, you can go

skiing but that is not the case, you

are stuck in a hotel room because of

the risk of avalanche.

So this

morning helicopters were also busy

clearing avalanches. Blowing huge

quantities of snow off the

mountains, which has fallen in

recent days. In remote areas one

metre of snow fell in just 24 hours.

And although conditions in Zermatt

have improved this morning, the risk

of avalanche in the area remains

high. A Swiss company captured this

avalanche just outside the town last

week. The deadly force abundantly

clear. And this was the scene after

a recent avalanche in a French town.

Further south in the resort of

Tignes, cafes hidden by the snow. It

was here that John Bromell from

Lincolnshire was snowboarding in

poor weather on Sunday. He is still

missing. In Zermatt the operation to

get tourists out on helicopters

continues.

Looking forward to

getting back down the mountain.

We

live in Australia and we will miss

the flight from Zurich so we're

happy to leave now.

Heavy snow this

winter has made many peoples skiing

holidays but with some slopes here

now closed, too much is causing

problems and treacherous conditions.

The Chancellor, Philip Hammond,

and the Brexit Secretary,

David Davis, are making separate

visits to Germany, to try to build

support for a trade deal

between the UK and the EU

which includes financial services.

In a joint article for a German

newspaper, they say it makes "no

sense" to put in place

what they call "unnecessary

barriers" to trade

in services or goods.

First to our Political Correspondent

Ben Wright in Westminster.

Will they be listened to? Well just

before Christmas we had high fives

around Westminster most government

ministers when the broad terms of

the divorce deal between the UK and

the EU was agreed including the

financial settlement that Britain

will have to pay. That was just a

first step, the first hurdle to be

cleared. Now we are seeing the

beginning of the second phase of

Brexit negotiations and it is all

about the future relationship

between the EU and UK and in

particular the trade relationship.

So we're seeing key ministers, the

Chancellor and the Brexit secretary,

who

wear on a referendum, showing a

united front by going to Germany on

a charm offensive, putting an arm

around German businesses and saying

even though we're leaving the single

market and Customs union there can

still be a really close and good

trade deal between the EU and the UK

that works in both sides interest.

The UK wants a bespoke deal

including goods and services because

it is concerned about the future of

the City of London. So that is the

case they're making Germany. The EU

for their part has said they will

not countenance is bespoke deal with

UK and the UK cannot cherry pick the

best bits of the single market and

there can be no special arrangement

about the City of London. So while

the UK is in Germany trying to woo

German business and politicians, the

EU has so far shown it is very solid

as a negotiating block.

A man who claims he was sexually

abused as a child by the former

football coach, Barry Bennell,

has hold the court that he didn't

report the abuse he suffered,

because he didn't want to "spoil any

chances" of succeeding

as a footballer.

Barry Bennell, who's now known

as Richard Jones, denies 48 charges

of child sexual abuse.

David Ornstein is at

Liverpool Crown Court.

Yesterday the prosecution laid out

their case against Barry Bennell

describing him as a predatory and

devious paedophile. Today we heard

from the first witness, it was

harrowing evidence, it must be said.

This witness said he met Barry

Bennell when he was playing for

youth team in the north-west of

England in the early 1980s, aged

between 11 and 13. And to quote him

he said he used to flash his eyes

that you, made you feel special. It

was then said that Barry Bennell

would hand-pick the best

players and invite them to stay at

his flat above a video shop. Once a

week and sometimes three or four

times a week in holiday times. They

would play fight, watch movies and

when the lights went out music would

come on loudly and the abuse would

begin. Allegedly taking place for

this individual in you said the tens

of ten is it not hundreds of times.

It was emotional evidence and the

cross-examination has now begun and

will continue after the break. Barry

Bennell faces 48 charges and the

trial is expected to last for eight

weeks.

The Army has defended

a new recruitment campaign,

which focuses on the emotional

and physical support

given to soldiers.

Advertisements on television, radio

and online will try to reassure

applicants that their sexuality

or religion will not stand

in the way of becoming a soldier.

Critics of the campaign say it

shows the army has bowed

to political correctness.

Here's our Defence

Correspondent Jonathan Beale.

It is all right to cry and show a

motion in the army, a recruitment

campaign very different to those of

the past. Part of what is called,

Army belonging. Voiced by shoulders

to say there is a motion and

physical support for new recruits.

-- by soldiers. The adverts answer

questions such as can might be gay

and still join the army whilst a

Muslim soldier explains how he can

still practice his faith. All aimed

at groups not seen as the

traditional target audience. But

minorities who may have been

reluctant to sign up.

Our

traditional cohort would have been

white milk occasions, 16 to 25 rolls

and there is not as many of those

around as once aware of. Society is

changing and so it is appropriate

for us to reach out to a broader

base.

The Army has been struggling

to recruit, made all the more

difficult by a lack of a major

campaign like Afghanistan or Iraq.

War is often the best recruiting

sergeant. It is also competing in an

era of relatively high employment.

The regular strength of the Army

should be 80 2000. But it is

currently just over 77,000 strong. A

shortfall of more than 4000. But

some former soldiers question

whether the Army is trying to be too

politically correct with these

adverts.

They are aiming the

recruiting campaign at specific

minorities and they should be aiming

at more broadly at the kind of

people who will want to join the

army, people who are looking for a

fight, looking for action and

adventure.

This older advertisement

is what people might expect from the

Army, a recent plan to drop its Be

The Best motto because it was seen

as elitist, was blocked by the

Defence Secretary. It is still an

organisation whose job is to be

ready for combat. But the head of

the army says it must broaden its

appeal and reflect modern Britain.

This time last year he was being

tipped as the next Lewis Hamilton.

Billy Monger was 17,

and a star of Formula 4 racing.

Then he had a horrific crash last

April and had to have both legs

amputated below the knee.

But his recovery and determination

have astounded doctors,

and this week, Billy will be driving

in front of crowds for the first

time since his accident.

Tim Muffett has been to meet him.

'Billy Whizz', a nickname

he was determined to keep.

It's just nine months

since Billy Monger had

both his lower legs amputated

after a car crash.

This is a final practice before

driving with a stunt team

at Birmingham's NEC.

The aim is to put on a good show.

I think we've got a great team,

we've got a great bunch

of lads doing the show,

I'm just hoping everything goes

smoothly and we have a good time

and do ourselves proud.

Dunnington Park, last April.

When Billy's Formula 4 car hit

a stationary vehicle.

COMMENTATOR: That is horrendous!

All I wanted to do was to get

through it and be alive.

There was a slight moment, when I

thought I wouldn't drive again.

It still hasn't changed the dream.

The dream stays the same,

that I want to be an F1 driver.

You've got your prosthetics

here and you're still able

to control the car and the pedals.

Many people would find that

really extraordinary.

When you control the pedal normally

you do it all through your ankle,

that is how you control how much

input you're putting

into the pedals.

But with me, because I haven't got

ankles, the way I simply control

it is just through my leg like this.

Rather than going like that,

just doing a push motion instead,

to control the car.

Terry Grant has been training Billy

ahead of the Autosport

international event.

He's one of the world's

top stunt drivers.

Drive out, drive out!

Bang on.

Billy is a very

special lad, for sure.

Regardless of his injuries.

At the moment you are rehearsing

on an airfield, there's

going to be concrete pillars

where the cones are.

The level of control he has

got now, for prosthetic

legs, it is phenomenal.

Although Billy can use

the accelerator, his car

is adapted so that this lever

controls the brake.

He has been backed

by Mission Motorsport,

a charity which typically helps

wounded servicemen

and women drive again,

often in specially adapted cars.

Their freedom of mobility

is a phenomenal thing.

If that's taken away

from you as an adult,

it has a dramatic effect

on your life, on your

own personal freedoms.

And also, I think, a lot

about your sense of self

and your independence.

And to be able to give that back

to somebody is an extraordinary

thing to be able to do.

What do your family

think about you getting

back behind the wheel?

My mum was very nervous!

But if I don't do it what else am

I going to do with my life?

I need to make my life

into something positive.

Tim Muffett, BBC News.

Time for a look at the weather.

Here's Helen Willetts.

We were talking

We were talking about the mudslides

in California all triggered by heavy

rain.

After an incredibly dry period of

course. But look at this, intense

rain about two or three inches

falling in just a few hours. But the

good news is that it's clearing away

and for the coming for five days,

high pressure is building in which

will ensure some dry weather. Good

news at least for the clean-up but

it might also produced some rain

across the Caribbean. As for Europe,

another storm coming through the Bay

of Biscay today which will head

across the Pyrenees towards the Alps

tomorrow. So we could have further

snowfall and windy weather as well.

In contrast in UK, a very quiet

spell of weather and also brighter.

Much brighter for many parts. But

not all, we've had some rather

stubborn fog and this was Belfast

just a couple of hours ago. That

will not clear Northern Ireland

completely before darkness falls. We

still have leaden skies further

east, grey and damp and the rain has

been quite persistent. Overnight the

main hazard is the fog. It could

turn out to be freezing fog with

some icy patches as well.

Particularly across the Severn

Valley, parts of Wales, north-west

England and again Northern Ireland.

As for the rest of Scotland, we hope

the rain will clear away from the

mainland. But it will be a very

chilly start in the morning. Then

further south are not as helpful for

some sunshine tomorrow as the fog

will be more widespread. Affecting

some major motorway networks.

Further east we still have the

remnants of a weather front, Hill

fog here. Not as breakfast today but

some persistent drizzle around. We

will see some sunshine further west.

Five or 6 degrees. But again the

sunshine will compensate.

Temperatures around seven or 8

degrees. Feeling colder weather fog

lingers. Another repeat performance

tomorrow night, some icy patches and

fog around. And we have to wait

until next week to clear that out of

the way. Looking promising, and the

weekend looking drive for most if a

little bit grey. And just again a

reminder for tomorrow morning of

some dense fog around.