:00:00. > :00:13.Another massive winter storm sweeps up the entire west coast of the UK
:00:14. > :00:15.with winds of up to 90mph. From Cornwall to Northern Ireland and
:00:16. > :00:29.Scotland, coastal communities are hit by gales and high tides. It was
:00:30. > :00:31.terrible. The waves are horrendous. It is pretty awful, certainly not
:00:32. > :00:34.within my experience. Homes and businesses are flooded as
:00:35. > :00:37.rivers burst their banks. The head of the Environment Agency
:00:38. > :00:39.admits a funding squeeze and job cuts will affect flood risk
:00:40. > :00:42.management in future. Also tonight, a sharp rise in house
:00:43. > :00:45.prices, up on average by 8.4% according to the Nationwide Building
:00:46. > :00:47.Society. A birthday vigil for Formula One
:00:48. > :00:52.champion Michael Schumacher, critically ill after a skiing
:00:53. > :00:54.accident. Newly released documents show what
:00:55. > :01:00.Margaret Thatcher's cabinet really thought about the miners' strike.
:01:01. > :01:01.And England start well in the final Ashes Test, only to let Australia
:01:02. > :01:13.back in. On BBC News we'll look ahead to a
:01:14. > :01:14.weekend of FA Cup third round action, including Arsenal against
:01:15. > :01:42.Spurs. Good evening and welcome to the BBC
:01:43. > :01:45.News at Six. The entire west coast of Britain,
:01:46. > :01:48.from Cornwall to Scotland, has been battered by another storm today,
:01:49. > :01:52.with rivers bursting their banks and homes flooded. The Environment
:01:53. > :01:55.Agency issued severe flood warnings in nine areas, meaning there is a
:01:56. > :02:00."danger to life", though the damage in some places is not as bad as
:02:01. > :02:04.feared. Gales and high tides caused a dramatic rise in sea and river
:02:05. > :02:06.levels. Newquay in Cornwall was one of the communities affected first,
:02:07. > :02:11.quickly followed by villages and towns in Gloucestershire. One group
:02:12. > :02:14.of homes in Dorset was evacuated for the second time in eight days, as
:02:15. > :02:20.the weather then moved north along the Welsh coast, Northern Ireland
:02:21. > :02:23.and up to Scotland. Jon Kay is in Cornwall, where it all started, with
:02:24. > :02:35.the latest for us now. Another high tide is due in half an hour. Yes. In
:02:36. > :02:39.the next few minutes, the high tide comes in here again, exceptionally
:02:40. > :02:43.high, and another nervous night for communities here. The problem is
:02:44. > :02:47.that you have big waves coming in from the sea and swollen rivers and
:02:48. > :02:51.streams coming down from the hills. They meet here in peril imports,
:02:52. > :02:56.which is why communities like this feel so vulnerable. The coastguard
:02:57. > :03:01.have said it is safe to stand here for now but they are cordoning off
:03:02. > :03:11.areas nearby for public safety. Large parts of western Britain have
:03:12. > :03:15.felt basically under attack. Cornwall's early morning wake-up
:03:16. > :03:22.call. This was new quay at high tide, as the latest storm thundered
:03:23. > :03:28.in. Crowds gathered well before dawn, warned by the authorities to
:03:29. > :03:36.keep a safe distance. Look at that. Spectacular, isn't it? Absolutely
:03:37. > :03:41.fantastic. Have you ever seen this high? I have lived here all my life
:03:42. > :03:46.and never seen it like that. The high tide came and went quickly but
:03:47. > :03:52.certainly left its mark. Around South West England, coastal
:03:53. > :03:57.communities were flooded, like here in the Cornish harbour town of Looe.
:03:58. > :04:00.It was a similar story in other seaside towns. Three days ago they
:04:01. > :04:08.were celebrating the New Year in this pub. Now they wish to thousand
:04:09. > :04:13.and 14 had stayed away. This is the kitchen, in six inches of water.
:04:14. > :04:18.Jenin only took over this cafe three months ago, but last night the seed
:04:19. > :04:24.came right in, her sandbags washed away by the tide. And she is worried
:04:25. > :04:28.it could happen again tonight. I could sit here and cry but it will
:04:29. > :04:31.not get it cleaned up. We have to get as prepared as we can for this
:04:32. > :04:37.evening and hope it is not as bad as this morning. The dangers of the
:04:38. > :04:45.tide have been all too evident. This young family were drenched by a
:04:46. > :04:50.sudden wave. In West Wales, Aberystwyth has been battered by the
:04:51. > :04:56.Irish Sea. The Victorian promenade, covered in debris. And this coastal
:04:57. > :05:01.road partially collapsed. Near Barmouth, four people had to be
:05:02. > :05:05.rescued from a flooded farm. Parts of Scotland have also taken a
:05:06. > :05:12.pasting. This was Ardrossan in North Ayrshire. And County Down at mid-day
:05:13. > :05:17.was no time to be taking a seaside snapshot. Back in Cornwall with
:05:18. > :05:22.another dangerous tidal surge approaching, people came onto the
:05:23. > :05:27.beach this afternoon. 100 volunteers, feeling more bags with
:05:28. > :05:32.sand. This morning it was going over the wall into the car park. There is
:05:33. > :05:36.a sense of anticipation, what is going to happen, so we do what we
:05:37. > :05:44.can. It could be any of us, so any help, we will give it gladly. How
:05:45. > :05:48.many bags have you done? About ten. Together, they did hundreds.
:05:49. > :05:54.Tonight, they find out if that is enough. The bags that we saw being
:05:55. > :05:56.filled on the beach are now blocking the doorways and windows of the
:05:57. > :06:01.properties and businesses that you can see on the other side of the
:06:02. > :06:05.harbour, including the cafe you saw in that report. She is in there with
:06:06. > :06:10.her fingers crossed, hoping that this time the sandbags will hold.
:06:11. > :06:13.Among the people moved out of their homes to escape the floods of the
:06:14. > :06:17.last few days is 59-year-old Patrick Pope. Mr Pope, who couldn't afford
:06:18. > :06:21.insurance for his property, is now in temporary accommodation in
:06:22. > :06:24.Dorset. He went back to look at the damage to his home today and he's
:06:25. > :06:32.been talking about his experience of being in the eye of the storm. When
:06:33. > :06:38.we were evacuated on Christmas morning, this water was 18 inches
:06:39. > :06:42.deep and rising. I took my wife out and got her to safety in the local
:06:43. > :06:46.church. I came back, because I had to get the dog out. And all the
:06:47. > :06:54.time, the water was rising. This was in the dark. Our house was flooded,
:06:55. > :07:01.I think, up to about six or nine inches. You can see the high tide
:07:02. > :07:05.mark there. I am a healthy man, but there are some old people who live
:07:06. > :07:09.here, some who are quite disabled and it must have been very
:07:10. > :07:15.frightening for them. It touched me to my heart, how good people were.
:07:16. > :07:21.We were then taken to our hotel and the people in the hotel on holiday
:07:22. > :07:24.gave me and my wife clothes. We are in an unfortunate situation, because
:07:25. > :07:29.this last year I have been out of work for eight months. So I was not
:07:30. > :07:34.in a position to actually afford house insurance. I recently got a
:07:35. > :07:39.good job and it was just a few days away that I would have been able to
:07:40. > :07:43.buy a year's house insurance, and then this flood came. It has been
:07:44. > :07:47.very stressful, but fortunately my wife, on the whole, has a good sense
:07:48. > :07:52.of humour and we have been able to bounce back and use humour. I would
:07:53. > :07:57.like to see the government and the Environment Agency that are able to
:07:58. > :08:01.forewarn us. And we also must learn the lesson and be better prepared.
:08:02. > :08:04.Attention is turning to how well the UK is prepared for this kind of
:08:05. > :08:07.extreme weather. The Environment Agency has confirmed that it's
:08:08. > :08:09.cutting 1500 jobs, and its head has warned that cuts will affect the
:08:10. > :08:13.organisation's ability to deal with floods. But today the government
:08:14. > :08:16.says it's spending more than ?2.3 billion on flood defences and
:08:17. > :08:27.efficiency savings are essential. David Shukman has more.
:08:28. > :08:30.It started with the Saint Jude storm in October, which claimed lives and
:08:31. > :08:35.flooded thousands of properties. Then another storm brought more
:08:36. > :08:39.strong wind, felling trees. Last month, Christmas was ruined for many
:08:40. > :08:44.buy more flooding and transport chaos. Today, in the face of more
:08:45. > :08:48.stormy conditions, the Thames Barrier was being raised again to
:08:49. > :08:52.defend London. This is the process speeded up, one example of the
:08:53. > :08:56.pressure on coastlines up and down the country. What is happening here
:08:57. > :08:59.tells you a lot about the exceptional nature of the weather.
:09:00. > :09:05.Since the barrier was built 30 years ago, it has been raised 130 times.
:09:06. > :09:09.Now, the plan is to raise it ten times in the first week of this year
:09:10. > :09:15.alone. No wonder there are questions about whether enough is being done
:09:16. > :09:19.to keep the country safe. In some places, defences have been
:09:20. > :09:23.overwhelmed. And this comes at a very sensitive time for the
:09:24. > :09:26.government. It was confirmed today that the organisation which managers
:09:27. > :09:32.flood protection, the Environment Agency, has to lose 1500 jobs later
:09:33. > :09:37.this year. The unions say the timing could not be worse. I would say
:09:38. > :09:41.these jobs are involved in a vital public service and I am sure the
:09:42. > :09:47.people who are being rescued, or warned, would agree that that is the
:09:48. > :09:51.case. We are not talking about jobs that are not important. Look at your
:09:52. > :09:55.TV screens and you can see how important work on flood defences is
:09:56. > :10:00.at the moment. The government points to new defences like this one in
:10:01. > :10:04.Devon to say it is taking flooding seriously and front line work will
:10:05. > :10:08.not be affected by cuts. But the money to fight flooding is always
:10:09. > :10:13.controversial. In the last year of the Labour government spending was
:10:14. > :10:27.?628 million. It went up in the first year of again next year. The
:10:28. > :10:29.department has had to make efficiencies given the dire
:10:30. > :10:34.financial situation mummy came to power. Had a meeting this morning
:10:35. > :10:37.with the Chief Executive of the Environment Agency, who will also
:10:38. > :10:40.have two make efficiencies but he assures me he had every protection
:10:41. > :10:46.of protecting front-line services concerned with floods. Four months
:10:47. > :10:50.we have been battling waves of bad weather. Another is on its way this
:10:51. > :10:53.weekend, and each time the country's ability to protect itself
:10:54. > :10:57.is tested. For the latest on the situation go
:10:58. > :11:05.to bbc.co.uk/news, or tune in to your BBC local radio station.
:11:06. > :11:09.Other news now. House prices across the UK have
:11:10. > :11:12.risen by an average of 8.4% over 2013, according to the Nationwide
:11:13. > :11:16.Building Society. In London they're up by 15%. And the Bank of England
:11:17. > :11:20.says the number of mortgages approved in November was the highest
:11:21. > :11:28.for nearly six years. Hugh Pym has more details.
:11:29. > :11:31.Whatever the weather is like, there is certainly some heat in the
:11:32. > :11:35.housing market. That is what comes across with the latest price figures
:11:36. > :11:40.from the leading mortgage lender and the Bank of England data on new
:11:41. > :11:44.mortgages being approved. Ben is an estate agent in the London Borough
:11:45. > :11:48.of Hammersmith and Fulham, where prices have jumped 25% over the
:11:49. > :11:55.year, the fastest growth rate in the UK, with the average price now over
:11:56. > :12:01.?690,000. At this office, they are as busy as ever, as the capital
:12:02. > :12:04.experiences its own property boom. The London market seems to be a
:12:05. > :12:07.completely separate markets to the rest of the country, and even if you
:12:08. > :12:13.are not quite central London, you are still seeing massive price
:12:14. > :12:16.rises, huge activity. It is as if everybody wants to get into London
:12:17. > :12:21.and buy somewhere and there is just not enough to go round. There are
:12:22. > :12:26.variations in house price growth around the UK. The increase in
:12:27. > :12:30.London was nearly 15%. The figure for Northern Ireland was less than
:12:31. > :12:37.half that, with Wales just fine. In Scotland, house prices were up 3.7%
:12:38. > :12:41.over the same period. Mark is the branch manager of an estate agent in
:12:42. > :12:46.Coventry, where there has been annual growth of just 2% and the
:12:47. > :12:50.average price is just over ?170,000. The message is that it is
:12:51. > :12:57.a mixed pic, depending in which area of the city the property is located.
:12:58. > :13:03.There are some places seeing house price increases, close to the levels
:13:04. > :13:09.of peak in 2007-2008, but other areas are seeing no real increase.
:13:10. > :13:13.So, is a housing bubble developing? Some experts do not think so,
:13:14. > :13:19.arguing that prices and activity levels are regaining ground lost in
:13:20. > :13:23.that wake of the financial crisis. The housing market is not in Bloom
:13:24. > :13:29.territory yet. For most parts of the country, house prices in
:13:30. > :13:35.inflation-adjusted terms are still a way below their former 2007 peak.
:13:36. > :13:37.But it is a sensitive issue. The Bank of England says it might
:13:38. > :13:42.restrain mortgage lending if expansion is too rapid, and the
:13:43. > :13:45.government knows it will face criticism if the scheme to help
:13:46. > :13:50.home-buyers is seen to have stoked an overheated market.
:13:51. > :13:54.A British man has been found dead in Libya along with a woman from New
:13:55. > :13:57.Zealand. The bodies were discovered by Libyan security forces near an
:13:58. > :14:01.oil and gas facility. This afternoon, Britain called on the
:14:02. > :14:03.Libyan government to carry out an investigation and bring the
:14:04. > :14:06.perpetrators to justice. The family of a teenage girl who
:14:07. > :14:09.went missing last Saturday have appealed for her to return home.
:14:10. > :14:12.Nida Ul-Naseer from Newport in South Wales vanished after going to put
:14:13. > :14:15.the rubbish out at her home. Her family say her disappearance is
:14:16. > :14:23.totally out of character, she needs medication and they are very
:14:24. > :14:30.concerned for her. We are missing her. We just want to tell her she is
:14:31. > :14:37.not in trouble. We all love her. We all love you. Just come home.
:14:38. > :14:40.A vigil is taking place at the hospital where Michael Schumacher is
:14:41. > :14:45.in critical condition following a skiing accident. The seven times
:14:46. > :14:48.Formula One champion has been in a medically induced coma since Sunday
:14:49. > :14:58.and has undergone two operations. Fans gathered outside the hospital
:14:59. > :15:02.where he is being treated. It was billed as a silent and dignified
:15:03. > :15:07.show of support for Michael Schumacher and Ferrari fans travel
:15:08. > :15:11.to mark his 45th birthday. He stands atop of their pantheon of driving
:15:12. > :15:19.greats and there in motion over his current plight soon poured out.
:15:20. > :15:29.Most, most for Michael. Because we hope that he comes back. For now,
:15:30. > :15:32.Michael Schumacher remains in a medically induced coma following the
:15:33. > :15:36.skiing accident which has left him fighting for his life. Ferrari fans
:15:37. > :15:39.hold Michael Schumacher in the highest of the guards following the
:15:40. > :15:45.five world titles he delivered for them. Today they turned out in force
:15:46. > :15:49.to support him. He is less of a former driver and more a part of
:15:50. > :15:54.their family. After falling high up in the French Alps, Michael
:15:55. > :15:58.Schumacher is still under our by our neurological assessment. Those
:15:59. > :16:03.enjoying a winter break on the slopes say the accident has given
:16:04. > :16:09.everyone a stark reminder of the importance of safety. Only four of
:16:10. > :16:14.us were wearing helmets and we went in the morning after and they had
:16:15. > :16:18.completely sold out. Michael Schumacher may have been a divisive
:16:19. > :16:21.figure on the track. He won as many enemies as friends given his
:16:22. > :16:26.ruthless win at all costs attitude. As his battle to recover continues,
:16:27. > :16:34.the world of Formula 1 has united behind him as never before.
:16:35. > :16:37.Our top story this evening. Severe storms have hit the west
:16:38. > :16:45.coast of Britain, from Cornwall to Scotland. Rivers burst their banks,
:16:46. > :16:54.forcing people out of their homes. And coming up. How do you feel now?
:16:55. > :16:57.You are nothing but a runaway. The British director tipped for an oscar
:16:58. > :17:02.for his film on slavery in the American South.
:17:03. > :17:07.Coming up in Sportsday on BBC News, all the News and reaction from
:17:08. > :17:10.Sydney as England's cricketers confront the likelihood of an Ashes
:17:11. > :17:21.whitewash. England are struggling in the fifth test.
:17:22. > :17:26.Newly released government documents from 30 years ago are shedding new
:17:27. > :17:35.light on how Margaret Thatcher dealt with some of the most difficult
:17:36. > :17:37.issues she ever faced. The papers show that during the miners' strike,
:17:38. > :17:40.her government considered calling out the troops and that the miners'
:17:41. > :17:43.union leader Arthur Scargill may have been right to claim there was a
:17:44. > :17:47."hit-list" of some seventy pits marked for closure - strongly denied
:17:48. > :17:49.by the government at the time. The papers also reveal that Libyan
:17:50. > :17:51.officials warned of potential violence hours before the
:17:52. > :17:54.policewoman Yvonne Fletcher was murdered outside the the country's
:17:55. > :18:02.embassy. Nick Higham has been taking a look.
:18:03. > :18:05.It was one of the most file and and confrontational industrial disputes
:18:06. > :18:10.in British history -- most of Ireland. Throughout the year-long
:18:11. > :18:16.miners strike there were pitched battles between police and picketing
:18:17. > :18:21.mine workers. The mine workers leader, Arthur Scargill, was himself
:18:22. > :18:27.arrested. There was, he claimed, a secret government plan to butcher
:18:28. > :18:30.the coal industry. We do not want to see pit closures and a rundown in
:18:31. > :18:35.manpower levels, airing in mind there is a hit list of 70 hits and a
:18:36. > :18:42.reduction in manpower in mind of about 70,000. Mrs Thatcher and the
:18:43. > :18:47.coal board always denied that. Can you deny the reduction of 70,000
:18:48. > :18:54.jobs? I know no place where that has been discussed. We have nothing like
:18:55. > :18:56.that on our agenda. But they did. Files released today showed
:18:57. > :19:01.ministers met six months before the strike. The minutes are not to be
:19:02. > :19:05.photocopied or circulated outside the private office, they were seen
:19:06. > :19:10.by just seven people and the typist. Ian MacGregor, ministers
:19:11. > :19:14.told, had a plan to close 75 pits over ten years at the cost of tens
:19:15. > :19:19.of thousands of jobs. What is significant about this? Nick Jones
:19:20. > :19:23.covered the strike for the BBC. This document, for the first time, it
:19:24. > :19:28.shows that six months before the start of the strike, MacGregor
:19:29. > :19:33.informs the energy secretary, and then Mrs Thatcher that yes, he wants
:19:34. > :19:37.to close 75 pits, he wants to shut two thirds of the pits in Wales,
:19:38. > :19:43.half of them in South Yorkshire, a third of them in Scotland. If this
:19:44. > :19:45.document had ever emerged during the strike, it would have been
:19:46. > :19:51.devastating for the credibility of Margaret Thatcher. The files reveal
:19:52. > :19:55.that in July, the government had a serious wobble, face not only with a
:19:56. > :19:59.miners' strike but a national dock strike. They considered calling a
:20:00. > :20:04.state of emergency and getting troops to deliver coal. The copy of
:20:05. > :20:07.the briefing document for Mrs Thatcher is covered in her scribbled
:20:08. > :20:13.notes, she was clearly taking a very keen interest. But the miners'
:20:14. > :20:18.strike was not the only crisis the government had to deliver with --
:20:19. > :20:21.deal with that year. If on Fletcher was murdered and 11 demonstrators
:20:22. > :20:27.injured by a gunman firing from inside the Libyan Embassy in London.
:20:28. > :20:32.The files contain details of two midnight warnings received the year
:20:33. > :20:35.before, one from diplomats and one from the Ambassador in Tripoli. He
:20:36. > :20:40.jokingly suggested he didn't think anything will happen. I took it
:20:41. > :20:46.seriously which is why I reported it, but I did not believe it, no.
:20:47. > :20:49.The 30 Libyan diplomats in the London embassy were eventually freed
:20:50. > :20:52.and sent home, even though one was almost certainly a murderer. The
:20:53. > :20:59.files show that was personally authorised by Mrs Thatcher, for fear
:21:00. > :21:03.of reprisals against British to plummet in Tripoli.
:21:04. > :21:07.-- British diplomats in Tripoli. The BNP leader Nick Griffin has been
:21:08. > :21:10.declared bankrupt. Mr Griffin says his bankruptcy does not prevent him
:21:11. > :21:13.from continuing to sit as an MEP in the European parliament. It's been
:21:14. > :21:16.reported that he had debts of outstanding legal fees.
:21:17. > :21:19.Police investigating the murder of a woman who was killed while
:21:20. > :21:29.house-sitting in West Sussex say she may have been murdered during a
:21:30. > :21:33.break-in. The body of Valerie Graves who was 55 was found in Bosham near
:21:34. > :21:36.Chichester on Monday. At a police press conference her son described
:21:37. > :21:39.her as a free spirit and said she had recently moved to Sussex to be
:21:40. > :21:42.closer to her family. This has been a devastating... This is devastating
:21:43. > :21:46.for the family and has come as a complete shock. We would appeal to
:21:47. > :21:50.anyone who has any information about this, no matter how trivial, to
:21:51. > :21:56.contact the police and help us catch you hurt done this -- who has done
:21:57. > :22:00.this horrible act. He was a black musician, living as a free man in
:22:01. > :22:03.New York during the middle of the last century. But when Solomon
:22:04. > :22:10.Northup accepted the offer of a job, he was tricked and sold into slavery
:22:11. > :22:13.in the American South. Now his story has been made into a film and its
:22:14. > :22:16.British director - the Turner Prize winning artist Steve McQueen - is
:22:17. > :22:23.being tipped for an Oscar. Will Gompertz went to meet him. America,
:22:24. > :22:30.1841. I was born a free man, I lived with my family in New York to the
:22:31. > :22:33.day I was deceived, kidnapped. How you feel now? You are no free man,
:22:34. > :22:39.you're nothing but a Georgian runaway. 12 years a slave has been
:22:40. > :22:49.widely praised for its unsentimental Bru -- portrayal of brutality in the
:22:50. > :22:55.American South. I felt that in the sequences that are more
:22:56. > :23:03.uncomfortable, I felt a deeper connection to Solomon and what he
:23:04. > :23:05.went through. Certainly on the plantations, you have a real sense
:23:06. > :23:11.that you are dancing with ghosts. That everything is still very much
:23:12. > :23:18.alive and present, right in the soil. This is an American story told
:23:19. > :23:24.by a British director, who feels Hollywood has overlooked the
:23:25. > :23:30.subject. Slavery lasted 400 years. How many movies are made about
:23:31. > :23:37.slavery? There are more movies about Spartacus than slavery. I wanted to
:23:38. > :23:41.address that subject. And oddly, in the last 20 form is, we have seen
:23:42. > :23:51.quite a lot of movies tackling this. -- last 24 months. Why is there this
:23:52. > :23:55.new engagement? No one can underestimate the importance of
:23:56. > :24:02.President Barack Obama. I think people possibly felt they had the
:24:03. > :24:07.authority, or they had the possibility of making that kind of
:24:08. > :24:17.story. Maybe the financiers thought we could make a buck out of this
:24:18. > :24:23.now. It ain't my property. Brad Pitt said it took an inducement to tell
:24:24. > :24:28.this story. -- it took an Englishman. I am an Englishman but I
:24:29. > :24:32.am part of the narrative. My parents came from the West Indies and the
:24:33. > :24:40.only difference is their boat went right and my boat went left. There
:24:41. > :24:44.is the possibility that Steve McQueen could become the first
:24:45. > :24:55.person in history to win both the Turner prize and an Oscar.
:24:56. > :24:58.England's hopes of avoiding a 5-0 Ashes whitewash were delivered a
:24:59. > :25:05.blow in the first day of the final Test in Sydney. At one point
:25:06. > :25:08.Australia were struggling on 97-5. But they recovered to leave England
:25:09. > :25:11.chasing 326 runs and by close of play, England had already lost an
:25:12. > :25:14.early wicket. Dan Roan reports. There are few better places to make
:25:15. > :25:19.a fresh start and with a city synonymously New Year, English
:25:20. > :25:26.cricket had made a resolution to turn the tide. A trio of players
:25:27. > :25:30.were given debuts and England won the toss for the first time this
:25:31. > :25:38.series, the decision to bowl was quickly vindicated as Australia were
:25:39. > :25:42.reduced to 97-5. As sure as night follows day, Brad had in, it seems
:25:43. > :25:45.will come to the rescue. She sure enough he was full of his usual
:25:46. > :25:51.swash and buckle as the hosts recovered. These were not the debuts
:25:52. > :25:59.that England's players had hoped for. Boyd Rankin was hamstrung and
:26:00. > :26:08.Scott Borthwick was hammered. Steve Smith continued what Brad had in had
:26:09. > :26:14.started. Just as a weary England sank to new levels of the pond and
:26:15. > :26:19.see -- dependency came some solace. Ben Stokes wrapped up the tail with
:26:20. > :26:25.three victims in an over. The young all-rounder's six wicket haul gave
:26:26. > :26:28.his team something to celebrate. But by then, the damage had been done
:26:29. > :26:31.and under a ferocious evening assault from Mitchell Johnson,
:26:32. > :26:39.Michael Carberry was out for a duck, England leaping off -- limping off
:26:40. > :26:45.on 8-1. A New Year and some new faces but the same old story for
:26:46. > :26:49.England, failing to capitalise after a good start. They face a huge
:26:50. > :26:51.batting day but in truth, the prospect of a five - zero series
:26:52. > :27:05.whitewash remains all too real. Have we seen the worst of the
:27:06. > :27:10.weather? We are reaching the peak, things are
:27:11. > :27:14.a little bit better over the 48 hours but there are still a few
:27:15. > :27:20.problems. We still have severe flood warnings in force and this is the
:27:21. > :27:25.flat line number. -- the flood line number. Some strong winds are
:27:26. > :27:31.producing more heavy rain and showers. Those winds gradually ease
:27:32. > :27:37.off but more heavy rain comes back into southern parts of England. We
:27:38. > :27:43.need to watch that. Further north, a touch of frost with potentially a
:27:44. > :27:48.few icy patches. It is a wet start to the weekend across many eastern
:27:49. > :27:52.parts. As the rain works northwards, we have to talk about a
:27:53. > :28:00.bit of snow. Mainly over high ground. Across the eastern side of
:28:01. > :28:14.Northern Ireland, potentially, for a time. A chilly one across northern
:28:15. > :28:17.parts, relatively mild in the South. The heaviest rain moves away,
:28:18. > :28:21.another storm system waits in the wings. The main Loews stays to the
:28:22. > :28:24.west of us but Bush is in these weather fronts. -- the main lobe
:28:25. > :28:33.stays. The rain is not quite as heavy but
:28:34. > :28:37.still likely to cause some impact, perhaps not quite as bad as what we
:28:38. > :28:41.have seen over the last few weeks. Some weather to watch out for, the
:28:42. > :28:46.rain works northwards on Saturday, some snow in the north, wet and
:28:47. > :28:47.windy weather later in the week in. On the bright side, the days are
:28:48. > :28:52.getting longer. On the bright side, the days are
:28:53. > :28:53.That is something! That is