:00:04. > :00:08.Hosepipe bans are to come into force as soon as next month across
:00:08. > :00:12.south and eastern England. Two unusually dry winters have left
:00:12. > :00:16.reservoirs and rivers far below normal levels. Five water companies
:00:16. > :00:24.will bring in the bans in the first week of April - millions of
:00:24. > :00:28.households will be affected. If we looked at February 1976, the ground
:00:28. > :00:32.water levels now on lower than they were then and the reservoir levels
:00:32. > :00:35.and river flows are lower than then so it is quite serious.
:00:35. > :00:38.Also on tonight's programme: A man wins his right for the High
:00:38. > :00:45.Court to decide whether he can ask his doctor to kill him with his
:00:45. > :00:49.consent. In an ideal world he would like me to give him a sedative so
:00:49. > :00:53.that we can be with him and he would go to sleep and then a doctor
:00:53. > :00:56.to come and end his life. A boost to the housing market -
:00:56. > :00:59.new-build homes that can be bought with just a 5% deposit.
:00:59. > :01:09.And plans to help elderly drivers to make sure they're still safe
:01:09. > :01:33.
:01:33. > :01:39.Good evening and welcome to the BBC News at Six.
:01:39. > :01:41.Hosepipe bans are to be brought in across south and eastern England.
:01:41. > :01:44.Some areas are experiencing the worst conditions for over 30 years
:01:44. > :01:47.after two unusually dry winters have left reservoirs well below
:01:47. > :01:50.normal levels and land cracked and parched. Seven water companies will
:01:51. > :01:53.introduce water restrictions, five of them from April 5th. And the
:01:53. > :01:56.Environment Agency is warning the drought could spread as far north
:01:56. > :01:59.as East Yorkshire and as far west as the Hampshire/Wiltshire border
:01:59. > :02:07.if the dry weather continues this spring. Jeremy Cooke is at Rutland
:02:07. > :02:13.Water. Jeremy, the water level looks very
:02:13. > :02:18.low there. Very low here. In some places we are told the water levels
:02:18. > :02:22.in the ground far as low as they were in the infamous drought year
:02:22. > :02:26.of 1976. We simply have not had enough rain in the east and the
:02:26. > :02:30.south-east of England. That made today's announcement of hosepipe
:02:30. > :02:34.bans pretty much inevitable and so for millions of customers, the bans
:02:34. > :02:39.will begin on April 5th and they are likely to continue all summer
:02:39. > :02:45.long. Early spring. The reservoirs should
:02:45. > :02:49.be full. Instead, two exceptionally dry winters have left many regions
:02:49. > :02:53.high and dry. Seven of them have confirmed hosepipe bans from next
:02:53. > :02:57.month. We are asking customers to think about water efficiency across
:02:57. > :03:02.the piece. Think about what they are doing and take every
:03:02. > :03:08.opportunity to save water. A hosepipe ban signals this is pretty
:03:08. > :03:18.significant and important. So which water companies are imposing
:03:18. > :03:23.
:03:23. > :03:28.restrictions? They range from I've never seen our soil so dry.
:03:28. > :03:32.Water restrictions were not only affect gardeners. Farmers like
:03:32. > :03:38.Andrew are already struggling. He is putting less crops in the ground
:03:38. > :03:41.this year, a direct response to the lack of water. We only had 60% of
:03:41. > :03:45.our rainfall here last year and the problem has been getting bigger and
:03:45. > :03:51.bigger and it is a big concern for us and any farmer, particularly in
:03:51. > :03:57.East Anglia. Monitoring it, the Environment Agency, which says that
:03:57. > :04:02.unless this area has rain soon, the drought area could extend as far as
:04:02. > :04:06.East Yorkshire, Wiltshire and Shropshire. Across huge swathes of
:04:06. > :04:11.England, and rivers are now worryingly low. At this time of
:04:11. > :04:16.year we should be seeing maximum flows. Instead we are looking at
:04:17. > :04:20.levels more likely to be seen in the middle of a dry summer. Half of
:04:20. > :04:24.England now is either at drought or at high risk of drought and that is
:04:24. > :04:30.why we are working closely with farmers and water companies to make
:04:30. > :04:34.sure we balance the needs. The wisest way to use water is
:04:34. > :04:39.important and we need to protect the environment. Of course, large
:04:39. > :04:44.parts of the country have plenty of water. Scotland, north-west England
:04:44. > :04:49.and here, North Wales. Could it be moved to the drought Sohn? Maybe,
:04:49. > :04:54.but it would be difficult and potentially very expensive.
:04:54. > :04:58.These kind of droughts in the south of England may become regular. What
:04:59. > :05:03.are the long-term solutions? I've been speaking to industry leaders
:05:03. > :05:06.and they've been saying this notion of building a giant pipeline from
:05:06. > :05:11.the north-west to the south-east is frankly a non-starter. It would be
:05:11. > :05:15.10 times more expensive than creating a giant desalination plant
:05:15. > :05:19.in the south-east. Instead they are looking at the possibility of
:05:19. > :05:23.linking up networks which already exist within water regions. They
:05:23. > :05:25.quite often move water around and it might not be a massive
:05:26. > :05:29.engineering job to connect these different work and passionate works
:05:29. > :05:33.and move water around the country that way. In the long term, the
:05:33. > :05:37.solution may well be to build more reservoirs, more underground
:05:37. > :05:42.storage so that when the rain finally arrives, more can be
:05:42. > :05:45.captured so it can be used later. Thank you.
:05:45. > :05:49.A severely disabled man who wants a doctor legally to be able to kill
:05:49. > :05:52.him has won the right to have his case heard in the High Court. Tony
:05:52. > :05:56.Nicklinson has "locked-in syndrome" following a stroke in 2005 and has
:05:57. > :05:59.described his life as "miserable, undignified and intolerable." He
:06:00. > :06:09.wants legal protection for any doctor who agrees to end his life
:06:10. > :06:14.
:06:14. > :06:20.for him. Our medical correspondent, His mind is intact, but Tony
:06:20. > :06:24.Nicklinson can't talk. He has paralysed from the neck down. He
:06:24. > :06:29.communicates with his wife Jane by head movements and blinking. Today
:06:29. > :06:35.a judge ruled the court should hear his plea that a doctor be allowed
:06:35. > :06:39.to kill him when he so wishes. says I'm delighted that the issues
:06:39. > :06:43.surrounded assisted dying art to be aired in court. Politicians can
:06:43. > :06:49.hardly complain about the courts provided a forum for debate if the
:06:49. > :06:53.politicians continue to ignore a debate. It is no longer acceptable
:06:53. > :06:57.for 21st century medicine to be governed by 20th century attitudes
:06:57. > :07:02.to death. This case takes the law on assisted dying way beyond
:07:03. > :07:08.current boundaries. The Ministry of Justice says it is Parliament and
:07:08. > :07:12.not the courts which should decide on such fundamental issues. At
:07:12. > :07:16.present, any doctor who gave a lethal dose, even with the aim of
:07:16. > :07:20.ending suffering, it would be charged with murder. It is that law
:07:20. > :07:24.which Mr Nicklinson is challenging. The judge said the courts would be
:07:24. > :07:31.asked to cross the Rubicon on which separates the care of patients on
:07:31. > :07:35.one side and euthanasia on the other. The courts have intervened
:07:35. > :07:40.in end of life decisions before. Tony Bland, crushed in the
:07:40. > :07:45.Hillsborough disaster and left in a vegetative state, was allowed to
:07:45. > :07:48.die after judges ruled it was in his best interests. The courts
:07:48. > :07:56.ordered conjoined twins at Great Ormond Street Hospital to be
:07:56. > :07:59.separated despite knowing it would mean one would die. But this doctor,
:07:59. > :08:05.who specialises in the care of terminally ill patients, is deeply
:08:05. > :08:08.worried about this attempt to permit euthanasia. My concern is
:08:08. > :08:12.that by setting a precedent it will fundamentally change the
:08:12. > :08:16.relationship between patients and doctors and an expectation that we
:08:16. > :08:24.are able to deliver something that, the within the law we can't deliver,
:08:24. > :08:28.namely to actively kill patients. The law on assisted dying was
:08:28. > :08:32.successfully challenged by Debbie Purdy, who has multiple sclerosis,
:08:32. > :08:36.and wanted protection for her husband if he took her to us with
:08:36. > :08:42.suicide organisation. Tony Nicklinson has even fewer options
:08:42. > :08:45.and could take his own love life only by refusing food. Starvation
:08:46. > :08:51.is a whole -- horrible way to go at and Switzerland is not what he
:08:51. > :08:55.wants so this is his only way out. At the judge said Tony Nicklinson's
:08:55. > :08:59.case raised questions of great social, ethical and religious
:09:00. > :09:02.significance which will now be fully aired in court.
:09:02. > :09:06.A 17-year-old male has admitted killing a pensioner who was trying
:09:06. > :09:09.to put out a fire during last year's summer riots. The youth, who
:09:09. > :09:13.can't be named because of his age, punched Richard Mannington Bowes in
:09:13. > :09:16.Ealing, London, knocking him to the ground. He banged his head and died
:09:16. > :09:20.in hospital three days later. The teenager admitted manslaughter when
:09:20. > :09:24.he appeared today in court. The brother of a former EastEnders
:09:24. > :09:28.actress has appeared in court charged with her murder. Gemma
:09:28. > :09:31.McCluskie's torso was discovered in a canal in east London last week.
:09:31. > :09:35.The actress, who was 29, played Kerry Skinner in more than 30
:09:36. > :09:41.episodes of the BBC soap in 2001. Tony McCluskie, who's 35, was
:09:41. > :09:44.remanded in custody. In Syria, there are fresh reports
:09:45. > :09:49.of a massacre by government troops in the city of Homs last night.
:09:49. > :09:53.Activists say 47 people, including children, were tortured and killed.
:09:53. > :09:56.The Syrian government has blamed "armed terrorists" for the deaths.
:09:56. > :10:01.Foreign ministers meeting at the UN Security Council in New York have
:10:01. > :10:04.once again appealed for an end to the violence.
:10:04. > :10:06.There's growing pressure in Afghanistan for the US soldier who
:10:06. > :10:11.killed 16 civilians yesterday, including nine children, to be
:10:11. > :10:13.tried in an Afghan court. The country's parliament has passed a
:10:13. > :10:18.resolution saying people had 'lost patience' with the actions of
:10:18. > :10:21.foreign troops. Reports say the gunman was a 38-year-old army staff
:10:21. > :10:31.sergeant on his first tour of duty in Afghanistan. From Kabul, Quentin
:10:31. > :10:34.
:10:34. > :10:39.This is the aftermath of a massacre. Investigators arrived in Kandahar
:10:39. > :10:46.today trying to piece together a rampage that left 16 dead. The
:10:46. > :10:49.bodies of the victims, including nine children, have now been buried.
:10:49. > :10:53.If he did it deliberately, he should be punished with death,
:10:53. > :10:58.otherwise it will raise many questions and it will help the
:10:58. > :11:02.Taliban to benefit from this and become stronger, this man said.
:11:02. > :11:07.common in Fidel went to the House of Muslims and massacred children
:11:07. > :11:10.and women? I personally feel very sad. Even I am ready to go to the
:11:10. > :11:14.side of the Taliban to fight against these foreigners. We know
:11:14. > :11:18.that the killer was a regular soldier, but was working with
:11:18. > :11:22.special forces. 11 years in the army, he was fully armed and
:11:22. > :11:26.wearing night-vision goggles when he carried out the attack. He was a
:11:26. > :11:33.guard at the base, making it easier for him to come and go from the
:11:33. > :11:39.combat out pursed in Kandahar. He left the base at 3am local time. He
:11:39. > :11:44.walked to the nearby villages and there he travelled from door-to-
:11:44. > :11:48.door, some were locked. But he made his way inside one home. There, he
:11:48. > :11:53.gathered together the family and killed all 11 with a single bullet
:11:53. > :11:58.each. Then five more in another two houses. The children were mostly
:11:58. > :12:02.toddlers. President Obama was shocked and saddened by the
:12:02. > :12:06.killings, which he said were not representative of US military
:12:06. > :12:09.forces. In a quarter President Karzai he promised a full
:12:10. > :12:13.investigation. This will not affect the mission in Afghanistan, says
:12:14. > :12:19.the US. What will not happen is that the mission will suffer as a
:12:19. > :12:22.result. It is tragic, it is a very tragic incident, but it would be a
:12:22. > :12:26.far greater tragedy for this to affect what we are doing at large
:12:26. > :12:29.in the country. But in Kabul, others are more sceptical.
:12:29. > :12:34.President Karzai called the killings unforgivable. Many are
:12:34. > :12:38.already talking but the long-term damage to relations with America.
:12:38. > :12:42.The questions occupying senior officers in Kabul tonight far, was
:12:42. > :12:47.his attack pre-planned, did others know of this order's intentions?
:12:47. > :12:51.The Afghan people are asking for an even simpler question. Why did a
:12:51. > :12:56.long serving American soldier, an ally of Afghanistan, commit such a
:12:56. > :13:01.bloody act? This is clearly and unsurprisingly
:13:01. > :13:05.causing real anger in Afghanistan. That's right, but the surprise
:13:05. > :13:10.today match was that we did not see a continuation of some of the
:13:10. > :13:15.protests we saw earlier, yesterday. Afghanistan was fairly quiet today.
:13:15. > :13:18.We have been speaking to some of the village elders in Kandahar and
:13:18. > :13:23.they say that as long as they believe justice is done, this
:13:23. > :13:28.soldier will be properly tried and will face the full penalty of law,
:13:28. > :13:30.they will not feel the need to protest. The Taliban has been
:13:31. > :13:34.capitalising on this event, they were in the village today,
:13:34. > :13:40.encouraging people to protest and take action against what they
:13:40. > :13:44.called Savage Americans and their brutality. As you mentioned in your
:13:44. > :13:49.introduction, the Afghan parliament is insisting that this soldier is
:13:49. > :13:53.tried in an Afghan Court, an open Afghan court, and faces the Afghan
:13:53. > :13:59.public. There is any agreement between the US and Afghanistan that
:13:59. > :14:02.means he will face the US tribunal. As far as we are hearing from the
:14:02. > :14:07.international mission in Afghanistan, that agreement still
:14:07. > :14:09.stands. Thank you. Our top story tonight:
:14:09. > :14:13.Drought conditions in southern and eastern England have left millions
:14:13. > :14:16.facing a hosepipe ban from next month.
:14:16. > :14:26.Coming up: Game, the latest retailer
:14:26. > :14:27.
:14:27. > :14:30.struggling on the high street, goes Later on BBC News, finance
:14:30. > :14:35.ministers from the eurozone at meet to discuss Greece's bail out and
:14:35. > :14:45.Spain's deficit. Game over? Struggling retailer Game
:14:45. > :14:50.
:14:50. > :14:54.groups confirm suppliers of The plans to make it easier to buy
:14:54. > :14:58.a newly built home in England have been unveiled. They are offering
:14:58. > :15:03.people the chance to buy a home valued up to �500,000 with a
:15:03. > :15:07.deposit of 5%. The scheme has been criticised as a death at measure
:15:07. > :15:11.which would do little to boost the housing market. -- desperate
:15:11. > :15:17.measure. Since the credit crunch the housing market has stalled, and
:15:17. > :15:23.it never really restarted. Sales have halved. 800,000 low were a
:15:23. > :15:32.year. 40% fewer homes are being built. Deposits for first-time
:15:32. > :15:37.buyers have doubled to 20%. David Cameron was at a development in
:15:37. > :15:42.London to launch one way of kick- starting the market, lenders except
:15:42. > :15:46.5% deposits, in exchange for a guarantee which limits any losses.
:15:46. > :15:51.We have got lenders to one not lending to the builders cannot
:15:51. > :15:56.build and the buyers cannot buy. It needs the government to help step
:15:56. > :15:59.in and unlock the market. guarantee is welcome news for 20-
:15:59. > :16:04.year-old Harley Angus in Cambridge, along with one million other
:16:04. > :16:08.householders you couldn't afford the deposit per 5% would do nicely.
:16:08. > :16:16.Absolutely fantastic. It means we could buy eight this year with the
:16:16. > :16:22.percentage they want, it will really help. The government says
:16:22. > :16:26.100,000 more homes could go up. The idea is buyers will find it easy to
:16:26. > :16:31.buy, so builders will be able to build more new homes, but how much
:16:31. > :16:37.difference that will make to the overall housing market where most
:16:37. > :16:40.people are purchasing of homes is not clear. Only one in 10 mortgages
:16:40. > :16:47.is for newly built homes so other buyers simply would not get his
:16:47. > :16:50.help. He will not help people who want to mortgage or buy it is
:16:50. > :16:57.second-hand property, and it will not mean there is total mortgage
:16:57. > :17:02.funding available. 28,000 have already registered to say they are
:17:02. > :17:07.interested, but Labour is concerned it is not enough. It is right we
:17:07. > :17:11.help those who want to buy to be able to realise their dream, the
:17:11. > :17:17.question is, will the scheme work, and crucially, will ordinary
:17:17. > :17:21.families be able to get a mortgage at a price they can afford? Some
:17:21. > :17:27.MPs have been asking whether the taxpayer it really should guarantee
:17:27. > :17:31.mortgages, warning the tactic could fuel another housing bubble.
:17:31. > :17:36.The high street retailer Game has admitted it is in danger of
:17:36. > :17:41.collapse after several suppliers failed to provide new stock. Shares
:17:41. > :17:47.lost two-thirds of their value. It employs 6,000 people in 600 stores
:17:48. > :17:55.across the country. It has been one of the most eagerly
:17:55. > :18:00.awaited releases of the year. One place where you would hope to buy
:18:00. > :18:06.it is facing a battle of its own. Some suppliers are withholding new
:18:06. > :18:10.blockbuster titles to the retailer Game and its future is in doubt.
:18:10. > :18:13.The most important thing for gamers is to have the newest games and if
:18:13. > :18:17.they cannot stop them they will lose out on millions of pounds of
:18:17. > :18:21.revenues. Supermarkets are doing it cheaper and online specialists
:18:21. > :18:26.doing it better -- better. blames his trouble on a lack of new
:18:26. > :18:31.consoles and a lack of consumer spending. It said it was working to
:18:31. > :18:37.resolve the supply issue but want a solution was uncertain. Shares may
:18:37. > :18:42.become worthless. Game has 600 UK stores and employs 6,000 people. It
:18:42. > :18:46.is not the only specialist retailer that is struggling. You don't have
:18:46. > :18:52.to go far along the High Street to find another household name that
:18:52. > :18:56.has had more than its fair share of troubles. HMV is also finding it
:18:56. > :19:02.difficult to compete. The question is, it can these niche chains
:19:02. > :19:06.survive? It will be incredibly difficult. The fundamentals of how
:19:06. > :19:10.we shop have changed. They have been changing for a long time. If
:19:10. > :19:15.you look back, most of the music and video really perk -- retailers
:19:15. > :19:19.we knew 10 years ago have disappeared. There is only really
:19:19. > :19:26.HMV and Game remaining and there are question marks over the future
:19:26. > :19:30.of both of those remaining. Gamers are still prepared to queue for
:19:30. > :19:36.hours to get the blockbusters. This retailer badly needs some new hits
:19:36. > :19:43.to sell. It has got a big rent bill looming. It is not game over just
:19:43. > :19:46.yet, but the pressure is on. The MP Eric Joyce has resigned as a
:19:46. > :19:50.member of the Labour Party and apologised to colleagues for a
:19:50. > :19:54.brawl in a parliamentary poll. He told the House of Commons he had a
:19:54. > :19:58.number of personal issues to address. Last week a court fined
:19:58. > :20:04.him �3,000 for assault and banned him from pubs for three months. He
:20:04. > :20:07.will continue as an independent MP. Steve McFadden, best known for
:20:07. > :20:13.playing the character of Phil Mitchell in EastEnders, has won
:20:13. > :20:18.undisclosed libel charges from News of the World. In 2010 it published
:20:18. > :20:24.its stories suggesting he had harassed a former girlfriend. News
:20:24. > :20:28.Group Newspapers has apologised. They have been calls for George
:20:28. > :20:32.Osborne to cut tax relief. The party -- the Labour Party said it
:20:32. > :20:40.would raise money which could be spent helping people on low and
:20:40. > :20:44.middle incomes. This is presumably Labour's pre-emptive strike ahead
:20:44. > :20:47.of the Budget. The budget is almost upon us. So
:20:47. > :20:51.far speculation has focused on the debate between Conservative and
:20:51. > :20:54.Liberal Democrat ministers about which taxes should go up and down.
:20:54. > :20:58.That has been continued at the highest levels of government this
:20:58. > :21:05.afternoon. Today Labour joined the debate and they said the top rate
:21:05. > :21:10.taxpayers should pay some more tax. At the moment if you earn �150,000
:21:10. > :21:14.or more pay D8 you get 50% tax relief on all your pension
:21:14. > :21:21.contributions. Labour say that is too high, it should be reduced to
:21:21. > :21:26.26%. The party's leader it says �1.2 billion could be saved from
:21:26. > :21:30.this and should be used to scrap a planned cut in tax credits that is
:21:30. > :21:36.due to comment. The priority must be to reverse the
:21:36. > :21:43.damaging cuts to tax credits. The cuts which mean for working people
:21:43. > :21:46.the work stops becoming worthwhile, the cuts mean for working women,
:21:46. > :21:50.affordable tell care, gets further out of reach, and the cuts that
:21:50. > :21:54.mean a message is been sent to working families, you're on your
:21:54. > :21:57.rain. The message is it is attempting to
:21:57. > :22:02.get its message across before the Budget because it reckons its
:22:02. > :22:06.message to be similar to the Government's, namely that is --
:22:06. > :22:10.that the better off in society should lose some pension relief,
:22:10. > :22:15.and instead some of that money should be used to help those people
:22:15. > :22:21.feeling the squeeze in these austere times. Perhaps by cutting
:22:21. > :22:25.their income tax. These plans have met a barrage of opposition. It had
:22:25. > :22:29.been said these would discourage saving, discourage Britain's
:22:29. > :22:33.reputation as being a place that can attract talented businessman,
:22:33. > :22:37.the Institute of Directors said this would persecute success and
:22:37. > :22:40.discouraged and stifle growth. The Conservatives said the figures were
:22:40. > :22:49.based on phoney statistics and said there is no way this Packs hike
:22:49. > :22:54.would raise the amount Labour project. -- this price hike. --
:22:54. > :22:56.this tax hike. One of Britain's most famous race
:22:56. > :23:03.horses, Kauto Star, is fit to race in the Cheltenham Gold Cup on
:23:03. > :23:09.Friday. Its trainer said it had been given the green light after a
:23:09. > :23:13.fall earlier in the year. It has won the Gold Cup twice before.
:23:13. > :23:17.There are nearly 4 million people aged 70 and over driving on our
:23:17. > :23:22.roads, compared with less than a million in 1975. A group of MPs has
:23:22. > :23:26.been looking at how to make sure the older generation can keep the
:23:26. > :23:31.Independent the card gives them, but yet remained safe behind the
:23:31. > :23:36.wheel. -- a card gives them. Everybody wants to stay mobile as
:23:36. > :23:40.they get older, but is there a point at which you should accept
:23:40. > :23:44.the years have overtaken you and leave your car in the driveway?
:23:44. > :23:50.Donald is 91 and still off happy behind the wheel.
:23:50. > :23:56.As long as it once site is good there is no limit to the age the
:23:56. > :23:58.individuals can drive -- as long as your eyesight is good. Once you hit
:23:58. > :24:02.70 all you need to renew your licence is declare yourself fit to
:24:02. > :24:07.drive but the report calls for a National course to help older
:24:07. > :24:10.people improve their skills. Not a compulsory test, just a refresher.
:24:10. > :24:15.If we are talking about an assessment, not pass or fail,
:24:15. > :24:19.somebody sitting with you and saying what are you doing, are you
:24:19. > :24:25.enjoying this Germany, do you think you could do it in a different way,
:24:25. > :24:30.-- did -- are you enjoying this journey?
:24:30. > :24:34.And this is what it might look like. Rosemary is 78 and was recently
:24:34. > :24:37.caught speeding twice. She has gone back to the classroom at Aston
:24:37. > :24:41.University to help get her confidence back.
:24:41. > :24:45.I don't know whether my driving has improved immediately but I think I
:24:45. > :24:50.have paid more attention to things. It has reminded me of things. It
:24:50. > :24:57.might be a good idea to have certain little tests you could put
:24:57. > :25:01.all the people through -- older people. We are desperate not to
:25:02. > :25:06.lose our licensees. The number of people over the age
:25:06. > :25:11.of 70 driving on the rate has accelerated fast. In the mid-70s
:25:11. > :25:16.15% of people held a licence. That number has quadrupled. Today's
:25:16. > :25:21.figure is nearly 60%. That works out as nearly 4 million drivers. A
:25:21. > :25:27.number that is only set to increase in the future. This report says
:25:27. > :25:32.getting out and about is one of the key factors in a happy life. It is
:25:32. > :25:42.calling on the government to make it easier and safer for older
:25:42. > :25:43.
:25:43. > :25:47.people in the future. Is there likely to be a change in
:25:47. > :25:50.this dry spell we have been having? We need a couple of seasons of
:25:50. > :25:55.above average rainfall and at the moment the signs are we might not
:25:55. > :25:59.achieve that, certainly in the short term it is looking dry. We
:25:59. > :26:03.are off the back of a couple of very dry winters.
:26:03. > :26:08.It has not been the same everywhere, part of Scotland have had their
:26:08. > :26:13.wettest year on record and during winter had 120% of their average
:26:13. > :26:17.rainfall. Compare that to East Anglia which saw and 75% of what
:26:17. > :26:21.would normally fall. The crucial thing is it is over a length of
:26:21. > :26:25.time, month after month of below average rainfall so we need a lot
:26:26. > :26:33.more to come and it will come over a long spell of time. During spring
:26:33. > :26:37.and summer, not a great time to see it. It is the winter months that
:26:37. > :26:42.are crucial. We are coming out of them at the moment and whilst today
:26:42. > :26:47.we saw quite a bit of cloud, not much of that was rain Bering, just
:26:48. > :26:52.a bit of drizzle. Good gaps in the cloud where we saw the sunshine.
:26:52. > :26:58.That made all the difference to the way your day went. In the south-
:26:58. > :27:08.east, temperatures peaked at 18 degrees. On the coast a market it
:27:08. > :27:09.
:27:09. > :27:13.was only eight in the mist and low cloud -- on the coast at Margate.
:27:13. > :27:18.On the chart you can see the cloud shadows starting to increase in
:27:18. > :27:28.size. That will have a consequence, probably not as cold tonight as
:27:28. > :27:28.
:27:28. > :27:36.some of you last night. For most a grey start. Light rain and drizzle.
:27:37. > :27:46.A damper date in north-west Scotland. -- day. Eastern Scotland,
:27:46. > :27:50.Calder, -- it will be colder. It will be the higher ground of Wales
:27:50. > :27:57.and south-west England where we see some sunshine first thing. For most
:27:57. > :28:06.people, Gray, Miss D, some fog around. -- it will be grey, and
:28:06. > :28:10.misty. Today we saw some good gaps in the
:28:10. > :28:20.cloud. We will see brighter conditions in the east of Wales,
:28:20. > :28:20.
:28:20. > :28:26.eastern Scotland. More cloud. Temperatures might struggle.
:28:26. > :28:34.Wednesday and Thursday, not a huge amount will change. If anything, a
:28:34. > :28:39.bit more sunshine in eastern areas. Temperatures will start to leap up
:28:39. > :28:44.again. We could see some rainfall by the weekend. For the time being
:28:44. > :28:48.it looks very dry. A reminder of the main news.
:28:48. > :28:50.Drier conditions in southern and eastern England have left millions