:00:14. > :00:21.the Chancellor says his plan is working. These numbers are a boost
:00:22. > :00:24.to the economic security of hard-working families. For working
:00:25. > :00:26.people in our country, this isn't a recovery for them. Living standards
:00:27. > :00:30.are still falling. We will hear from workers and their
:00:31. > :00:35.bosses, and we will have the latest in the row about the cost of living.
:00:36. > :00:38.Also tonight: The message Sienna Miller left for Daniel Craig while
:00:39. > :00:43.she was with Jude Law - the hacking trial hears how the journalist got
:00:44. > :00:46.the story. Coronation Street actor William
:00:47. > :00:51.Roache denies ever meeting the women who have accused him of sexual
:00:52. > :00:54.offences. I'll be reporting from inside Oxford's animal laboratory,
:00:55. > :01:01.and for the first time showing their experiments on monkeys.
:01:02. > :01:08.And 90 miles an hour on ice - we are with Team GB's best hope for gold at
:01:09. > :01:11.the Winter Olympics. On BBC London News: we expose the
:01:12. > :01:15.capital's black economy, where ?40 buys a day's labour from migrant
:01:16. > :01:18.workers. And the new trains the government
:01:19. > :01:38.says will help to ease overcrowding for commuters.
:01:39. > :01:43.Good evening and welcome to the BBC News at Six. The latest official
:01:44. > :01:48.figures show Britain's economy grew in every quarter of last year. The
:01:49. > :01:52.Chancellor, George Osborne, said it was evidence that the Government's
:01:53. > :01:55.policies are working. But Labour said living standards were still
:01:56. > :01:59.falling for most people. GDP, the value of all the goods and services
:02:00. > :02:06.produced by everyone in the UK, grew by nearly 2% last year. That is the
:02:07. > :02:09.strongest rate of growth since 2007, although the overall size of the
:02:10. > :02:13.economy has yet to reach its peak, just before the crash. Our chief
:02:14. > :02:24.economics correspondent, Hugh Pym, has this assessment.
:02:25. > :02:26.The latest snapshot of all the errors of the economy shows that
:02:27. > :02:31.there was growth in the final three months of last year a little slower
:02:32. > :02:36.than the previous quarter, but solid enough. Chancellor George Osborne,
:02:37. > :02:40.visiting a science park in Oxford, said the economy was on the right
:02:41. > :02:44.track. Economic growth is broadly based, with manufacturing growing
:02:45. > :02:48.more than other sectors. That is evidence that the long-term economic
:02:49. > :02:51.plan is working, but I am the first to say the job is not done and the
:02:52. > :02:56.biggest risk to the recovery would be to abandon that plan that is
:02:57. > :02:58.creating a brighter future. The economy has moved on a lot since the
:02:59. > :03:02.collapse of Woolworths during the recession. Five years ago, I met
:03:03. > :03:06.former Woolworths staff who lost their jobs on the Corbis door
:03:07. > :03:10.closed. Steve was the manager. I caught up with him this week.
:03:11. > :03:15.Another retailer had taken over the store. He and his former colleagues
:03:16. > :03:18.have got new jobs, a symbol of economic recovery. With the volume
:03:19. > :03:25.of unemployment at the time, I don't know how I went into real
:03:26. > :03:29.employment. Fortunately, we have come into better times and we were
:03:30. > :03:34.sought after. From its peak in early 2008, economic output fell sharply.
:03:35. > :03:38.Then came a slow recovery, which picked up last year. Even so, it is
:03:39. > :03:42.still more than 1% below where it was before the recession. Different
:03:43. > :03:49.sectors vary. Services like finance and retail are 1.3% above their
:03:50. > :03:56.previous peak, but manufacturing is still 8.2% lower and construction is
:03:57. > :03:59.11.2% down. But there are signs that manufacturing is gaining momentum.
:04:00. > :04:05.This packaging business end north hunting show was confident enough to
:04:06. > :04:10.announce expansion and more staff have been taken on. The boss told me
:04:11. > :04:17.that their success reflected growth in the wider economy. We do a large
:04:18. > :04:21.cross-section of different companies, from engineering and
:04:22. > :04:25.retail and during etc. We have seen over the last 18 months that things
:04:26. > :04:29.have been picking up. The economy is growing and jobs are being created,
:04:30. > :04:34.but many in work are still feeling the squeeze because cost of living
:04:35. > :04:37.increases are running well ahead of average pay rises. Most economists
:04:38. > :04:41.expect that to change over the next year, but right now, some way for
:04:42. > :04:46.you that the recovery has not quite got to them. So there is still a way
:04:47. > :04:50.to go for the economy, but at least there is growth, and the UK's
:04:51. > :04:52.performance is ahead of many other leading economies.
:04:53. > :04:55.Well, that question of when economic growth will be reflected in wages
:04:56. > :04:59.and pay rises is being tracked closely by all the political
:05:00. > :05:01.parties. Our political editor, Nick Robinson, has been gauging the mood
:05:02. > :05:11.among workers and their bosses in Manchester.
:05:12. > :05:17.Ever wondered what economic growth looks like? Well, it looks and
:05:18. > :05:21.sounds like this. A factory in within sure in Manchester, that
:05:22. > :05:25.makes the tape that goes in the top of your curtains. It is making and
:05:26. > :05:30.selling 5 million more metres of the stuff than it was a year before. At
:05:31. > :05:34.the moment, we are walking past one of the weaving looms. The boss here
:05:35. > :05:38.remembers a moment a couple of months ago when things began to look
:05:39. > :05:45.up. In November was the day when I could honestly say we saw the
:05:46. > :05:50.business starting to grow again. So fast that you struggle to meet
:05:51. > :05:55.orders? Yeah. Orders up, I was for the workers up, but how does it
:05:56. > :05:59.feel? It is nice to see, because we have had lean times. Does it mean
:06:00. > :06:04.people here are managing to take home a bit more money? Not
:06:05. > :06:09.necessarily. We are still on the same wages. But aside the economic
:06:10. > :06:12.statistics, and what underlies the politics of today could not be
:06:13. > :06:15.clearer in this factory. On the one hand, it is selling millions of
:06:16. > :06:20.metres more of its about it was a year ago. On other, the workers have
:06:21. > :06:25.not had a pay rise for a couple of years. No wonder, back at
:06:26. > :06:32.Westminster, that it sounds like a good the deaf. Mr Ed Balls. The
:06:33. > :06:38.cheers today came from Tory MPs, who have waited a long time for news
:06:39. > :06:45.this good. After three damaging years of flat-lining, today's growth
:06:46. > :06:50.figures are welcome. But everything we have seen today from the
:06:51. > :06:55.Chancellor shows, he just doesn't understand that for working people
:06:56. > :06:59.facing a cost of living crisis, this is still no recovery at all. Last
:07:00. > :07:04.week, the Chancellor and the prime minister tried to use dodgy figures
:07:05. > :07:08.to tell people they have never had it so good. Why won't he today just
:07:09. > :07:13.admit the truth? He has failed to get the deficit down and since he
:07:14. > :07:19.came to office, working people are not better off, they are worse off.
:07:20. > :07:23.The Chancellor ignored that, saying instead, I was right, you were
:07:24. > :07:27.wrong. He predicted that jobs would be lost and a million have been
:07:28. > :07:30.created. He predicted that the deficit would go up, and it has come
:07:31. > :07:35.down. He predicted that there would be no economic growth unless we
:07:36. > :07:39.borrowed and spent more. He has been wrong on all these things. What they
:07:40. > :07:45.need on the other side of the house is new crystal balls. Whose story
:07:46. > :07:54.about the economy voters believe will be tested here soon, in a
:07:55. > :07:57.by-election for a new MP. I have not noticed any dramatic change. So even
:07:58. > :08:02.though the factory has been busier, it is not helping you? . At the
:08:03. > :08:10.moment. We are definitely on the up. Just go shopping in Stockport
:08:11. > :08:16.and places like that. It is packed. Most people are out buying. Do you
:08:17. > :08:20.notice it in your wallet? Slight Lee. Not massively, but slightly.
:08:21. > :08:25.The Lib Dems have warned that this might be the wrong sort of recovery
:08:26. > :08:30.on a view echoed here. It is nice to see the growth, but at the same
:08:31. > :08:35.time, there is still an element behind the scenes of nervousness. We
:08:36. > :08:39.have seen short-term spurts before, and I am not sure whether the
:08:40. > :08:44.longevity is there yet. Much better than it used to be, not as good as
:08:45. > :08:47.it once was. It is a recovery, all right, but not one like we are used
:08:48. > :08:50.to. A witness at the phone hacking trial
:08:51. > :08:54.has described how he intercepted actor Daniel Craig's voice mail to
:08:55. > :08:58.get the story of his affair with Sienna Miller. Dan Evans, a former
:08:59. > :09:01.News Of The World reporter, said he played the tape to the paper's
:09:02. > :09:06.editor at the time, Andy Coulson, who said it was "brilliant". Mr
:09:07. > :09:15.Coulson denies hacking charges. Our home affairs correspondent, Tom
:09:16. > :09:18.Symonds, reports. Dan Evans was recruited to the News
:09:19. > :09:23.Of The World, he says, for his phone hacking skills . Described at the
:09:24. > :09:29.paper he claimed today as his unique selling point. Evans told the jury
:09:30. > :09:32.in 2005 that he tried to investigate rumours that the actor Sienna Miller
:09:33. > :09:35.was cheating on her then partner, Jude Law. On the phone of another
:09:36. > :09:42.actor, Daniel Craig, he says he found a message, I love you, from
:09:43. > :09:45.Sienna Miller. In the News Of The World newsroom, Andy Coulson and
:09:46. > :09:51.another executive came over and listened to the tape. Dan Evans told
:09:52. > :09:54.the jury, Andy got very animated and said, brilliant. Everyone was having
:09:55. > :09:59.a bit of an adrenaline kick. Mr Evans said the editor told him to
:10:00. > :10:04.make a recording of the tape and stick it into the jiffy bag. Have it
:10:05. > :10:07.sent to the Bondgate and have them say it was dropped in anonymously.
:10:08. > :10:14.The story was eventually published. Dan Evans said he felt terrorised by
:10:15. > :10:19.one manager and in fear for his job. The manager sent him an e-mail
:10:20. > :10:23.at one point, saying if he could not find a front-page story, he might as
:10:24. > :10:29.well jump off a cliff. Mr Evans said he went home and hacked every phone
:10:30. > :10:34.he could think of. Evans described how in 2006, when a police
:10:35. > :10:38.investigation began, he was told, no more key stuff, and began destroying
:10:39. > :10:42.cassette tapes and notebooks. But even then, he continued to use the
:10:43. > :10:46.technique. After he tried to access the voice mails of designer Kelly
:10:47. > :10:52.Hopper, the police were alerted and he was arrested, recently pleading
:10:53. > :10:55.guilty. During sections of this morning's evidence, Andy Coulson, in
:10:56. > :11:00.the dock, shook his head and wrote notes. He denies conspiring to
:11:01. > :11:02.intercept voice mail communications. Ukraine's prime minister, Mykola
:11:03. > :11:06.Azarov, has resigned along with his Cabinet in an attempt to resolve the
:11:07. > :11:09.country's political crisis. The Ukrainian parliament has also voted
:11:10. > :11:11.overwhelmingly in favour of scrapping controversial anti-protest
:11:12. > :11:13.laws, which have provoked violent demonstrations since they were
:11:14. > :11:25.introduced less than a fortnight ago.
:11:26. > :11:31.Here, flooding during Christmas and new year has led to insurance claims
:11:32. > :11:35.of more than ?420 million. The Association of British insurers says
:11:36. > :11:39.there were 174,000 cases where people said homes, businesses and
:11:40. > :11:42.cars had been damaged. The Environment Agency has defended his
:11:43. > :11:48.handling of the situation on the Somerset Levels, where water still
:11:49. > :11:51.covers huge areas of land. The Coronation Street actor William
:11:52. > :11:54.Roache has told the jury at Preston Crown Court that he has never
:11:55. > :11:57.committed any sex offences. The 81-year-old, who is on trial for
:11:58. > :12:00.rape and indecent assault, said he has no memory of ever meeting any of
:12:01. > :12:06.his alleged victims. Our correspondent, Judith Moritz, was in
:12:07. > :12:12.court. Yes, into the third week of this
:12:13. > :12:15.trial, the jury have heard so far from the prosecution and from each
:12:16. > :12:19.of the five women who allege that William Roache abused them when they
:12:20. > :12:24.were young. Today, the defence had died. The actor took the chance to
:12:25. > :12:31.vehemently deny all of the charges he faces. There is flash photography
:12:32. > :12:34.in this report. William Roache arrived at court this
:12:35. > :12:37.morning with his children, knowing that today, he would have the
:12:38. > :12:41.opportunity to answer the allegations which have been made
:12:42. > :12:44.about him. His daughter and two sons looked on as their father moved from
:12:45. > :12:50.the doctor the witness box to give his evidence. Defending him, Louise
:12:51. > :12:53.Blackwell QC began by immediately asking the actor if he had committed
:12:54. > :13:02.the offences he has been charged with. No, he answered, I have not.
:13:03. > :13:05.William Roache has played Ken Barlow in Coronation Street since its first
:13:06. > :13:10.episode more than 50 years ago . Today, the actor denied taking
:13:11. > :13:14.teenage girls into the Granada television studios in the 1960s, and
:13:15. > :13:18.also said he had not given girls lifts home in his car. The actor
:13:19. > :13:23.admitted being unfaithful to his first wife, but of young girls, he
:13:24. > :13:28.said, it would not have interested me. I was not looking for gratuitous
:13:29. > :13:34.sex. I was not interested in underage sex. I was interested in
:13:35. > :13:39.sex with mature, co-operative women. The 80-year-old denied raping a
:13:40. > :13:43.woman at her home in Lancashire and denied other charges, saying they
:13:44. > :13:48.never happened. Cross-examining for the situation, the prosecutor said,
:13:49. > :13:51.so we are clear that you are not saying the women were older than you
:13:52. > :13:57.thought, or consented Esmat William Roache replied, I don't know them,
:13:58. > :14:00.so how can I suggest anything? I have no knowledge of them.
:14:01. > :14:04.The actor left court after having spent all day in the witness box.
:14:05. > :14:09.Tomorrow, the jury is due to hear evidence from some of his fellow
:14:10. > :14:12.Coronation Street cast members. William Roache also spoke about the
:14:13. > :14:16.moment when he was arrested on suspicion of rape in the early hours
:14:17. > :14:20.of the morning at his home in Cheshire last May. He said he was
:14:21. > :14:25.standing in his dressing gown at home when the police came round, and
:14:26. > :14:28.he was absolutely horrified. He also spoke today a little about his
:14:29. > :14:31.beliefs, his spiritual beliefs and comments he made in an interview
:14:32. > :14:36.with New Zealand television last year. He said, I should not stray
:14:37. > :14:43.into those realms interviews. I have been misunderstood. The time is
:14:44. > :14:45.6:15pm. Our top story this evening: The economy grows at its fastest
:14:46. > :14:49.rate since 2007. The Chancellor says it shows the
:14:50. > :14:51.government's plan is working. And still to come:
:14:52. > :14:54.Managing the Royal finances. MPs say more could be done to reduce costs
:14:55. > :15:02.and boost income. We get exclusive access to the
:15:03. > :15:04.secret rail tunnels being opened to the public for the first time.
:15:05. > :15:10.And, reminders from an icy past. The souvenirs from the 1800s when the
:15:11. > :15:22.Thames froze over. It's the most contentious area of
:15:23. > :15:26.medical research. The use of animals in experiments has in the past been
:15:27. > :15:29.the focus of large scale protests. One of Britain's most important
:15:30. > :15:32.laboratories is in Oxford. It conducts research on every major
:15:33. > :15:38.human disorder including cancer, heart disease and various brain
:15:39. > :15:40.conditions. A small number of experiments there use monkeys.
:15:41. > :15:46.Procedures which have never been seen on camera before. Our Medical
:15:47. > :15:49.Correspondent Fergus Walsh is the only journalist that's ever been
:15:50. > :15:57.allowed inside the lab, and this is his report.
:15:58. > :16:04.A rare glimpse of the most controversial area of medical
:16:05. > :16:11.research. This monkey is on its way to an experiment in decision-making.
:16:12. > :16:19.The macaque is given the choice of two pictures. Tap one, and she gets
:16:20. > :16:25.a treat. Tap the other, and the monkey in the second cage is also
:16:26. > :16:29.rewarded. Scientists are exploring how the brain analyses choices that
:16:30. > :16:34.affect others, which could help understanding of autism or mental
:16:35. > :16:37.illness. About two thirds of the work we do is with human volunteers
:16:38. > :16:41.but the important thing about the animals is that they allow us to
:16:42. > :16:45.manipulate, imprecise ways, some of the circumstances we are looking at,
:16:46. > :16:52.and that gives us insight into how these areas are going wrong, in
:16:53. > :16:57.conditions like depression. Most of the research does not harm the
:16:58. > :17:01.monkeys. These images published today compared human and monkey
:17:02. > :17:06.brain scans. But some of the macaque monkeys have been given small brain
:17:07. > :17:09.lesions, so the role of these damaged areas can be studied,
:17:10. > :17:15.something that could not be done with humans. Monkeys are amongst our
:17:16. > :17:19.closest relatives in the animal world, so experiments on them are
:17:20. > :17:25.more strictly controlled than any other species. Last year, out of 4
:17:26. > :17:32.million procedures in the UK, 3000 were on monkeys. The vast majority
:17:33. > :17:35.of experiments involved mice, especially those which have been
:17:36. > :17:42.genetically modified to study particular human diseases. These
:17:43. > :17:47.mice have had human genes inserted to induce Parkinson's disease.
:17:48. > :17:52.Others have Alzheimer's disease, or a heart condition. A decade ago, it
:17:53. > :17:55.looks like this research building might never be completed.
:17:56. > :17:59.Construction was stopped after intimidation from animal rights
:18:00. > :18:04.extremists. The government stepped in and took over security. Key
:18:05. > :18:10.advisers feel that the climate has changed. People are becoming more
:18:11. > :18:14.confident and transparent about the research and talk about it more, and
:18:15. > :18:18.I think that's extremely important. Every time you take pretty much a
:18:19. > :18:23.pharmaceutical agent, you will be benefiting from many years of
:18:24. > :18:30.research on humans and on animals. And, of course, that research
:18:31. > :18:33.benefits animals as well. But those opposed to animal research argue
:18:34. > :18:38.it's not just immoral, but scientifically flawed. Animal
:18:39. > :18:42.testing should be consigned to the history books. We now have modern
:18:43. > :18:47.methods of testing drugs. We have computer modelling, cell culture,
:18:48. > :18:54.all of which are more relevant to the human condition and, actually,
:18:55. > :18:57.are more predictive. The government is committed to searching for
:18:58. > :19:01.alternatives to using animals in research, but for the foreseeable
:19:02. > :19:02.future there seems little doubt that procedures involving ferrets, fish,
:19:03. > :19:10.mice and monkeys will continue. An influential group of MPs says
:19:11. > :19:13.Buckingham Palace should be opened to more paying visitors when the
:19:14. > :19:18.Queen is not in residence to fund improvements to the royal estate.
:19:19. > :19:21.According to the Public Accounts Committee, the Royal Household could
:19:22. > :19:29.be doing more to reduce costs, and boost income.
:19:30. > :19:36.Two years ago, a new sovereign grant system was introduced to finance the
:19:37. > :19:43.Queen's official duties, paying for things like staffing, the running
:19:44. > :19:48.and Mason -- maintaining of palaces, but not security. The grant is
:19:49. > :19:50.currently ?36 million per year. The Royal Household decide how much the
:19:51. > :19:54.money -- how the money should be spent, but it's up to the Treasury
:19:55. > :19:56.to make sure it is spent wisely. Here is what the head of the MP's
:19:57. > :20:12.committee said: Our Royal Correspondent Nick
:20:13. > :20:18.Witchell is at Buckingham Palace. Nick, what has the reaction been
:20:19. > :20:23.there? Not very much, George, but it's fair to say that the palace has
:20:24. > :20:28.been pretty taken aback, particularly by the sharpness are
:20:29. > :20:32.some of the language -- of some of the language used. The Royal
:20:33. > :20:36.Household will think it has made progress, saying it has reduced
:20:37. > :20:41.costs by 16% in the last six year and raised revenue by something like
:20:42. > :20:44.70% in the same time, so the Palace will feel it does not need the
:20:45. > :20:50.Public Accounts Committee to tell us how important the issues are. On the
:20:51. > :20:54.question of the maintenance of royal palaces, I'm told that a detailed
:20:55. > :20:57.10-year action plan has been finalised and will be published
:20:58. > :21:01.shortly. On the question of whether Buckingham Palace could be opened up
:21:02. > :21:05.to the public for more of the year, and extensive feasibility study has
:21:06. > :21:09.been carried out into both a winter and Easter opening, but that study
:21:10. > :21:13.has concluded it would cost more to make the arrangements to open the
:21:14. > :21:17.Palace up and it would expect are generating revenue. The Palace is
:21:18. > :21:20.also very aware that for much of the year this is the home of the Queen.
:21:21. > :21:24.That said, this is an important House of Commons committee and its
:21:25. > :21:27.report, I am sure, will be carefully studied.
:21:28. > :21:32.Dave Lee Travis has told a jury that sexual offence allegations against
:21:33. > :21:35.him are "nonsense", and that he feared it would take attention away
:21:36. > :21:38.from women who've really been abused. The DJ, who denies
:21:39. > :21:39.indecently assaulting ten women and sexually assaulting another, said he
:21:40. > :21:54.had never forced himself on anyone. The American folk singer Pete Seeger
:21:55. > :22:01.who songs included Where Have All The Flowers Gone? Has died at the
:22:02. > :22:08.age of 94. #. Where Have All The Flowers Gone? , long time passing.
:22:09. > :22:13.Seeger gained fame with The Weavers and continued to perform in his own
:22:14. > :22:16.right in a career spanning six decades. Renowned for his protest
:22:17. > :22:19.songs, he was blacklisted by the US Government in the 1950s. He became a
:22:20. > :22:22.standard bearer for political causes and was still performing in 2009.
:22:23. > :22:26.The proportion of secondary schools in Wales ranked as "unsatisfactory"
:22:27. > :22:30.has jumped from 14% to nearly a quarter. The news comes after an
:22:31. > :22:33.international study found them falling further behind their
:22:34. > :22:34.counterparts in the rest of the UK. Our Wales Correspondent Hywel
:22:35. > :22:44.Griffith has more details. As I said, we are trying to develop
:22:45. > :22:49.the writing. Getting the basics right, and at this school they have
:22:50. > :22:52.had to learn some difficult lessons on standards after being labelled
:22:53. > :22:57.unsatisfactory by inspectors, it's now one of the most improved. The
:22:58. > :23:02.headteacher says others in Wales can follow the lead. They do not want to
:23:03. > :23:07.take a good look at themselves because it's not a pretty sight
:23:08. > :23:10.sometimes. But unless you do that, you won't go forward, and I think
:23:11. > :23:13.the second thing is to have the drive and ambition to be the best
:23:14. > :23:19.rather than just accepting that it is OK. According to the Chief
:23:20. > :23:24.Inspector of schools in Wales, the proportion of struggling secondaries
:23:25. > :23:30.is growing. Standards overall are stagnating. I would say we are
:23:31. > :23:36.concerned not just with the standards of teaching and learning,
:23:37. > :23:41.but we are concerned with how far the system is building capacity for
:23:42. > :23:46.teachers and how far teachers have a measure of the improvements needed.
:23:47. > :23:49.Many feel these problems are the direct consequence of decisions made
:23:50. > :23:56.ten years ago when Welsh schools scrap league tables, and there is
:23:57. > :24:01.also a funding gap. Where Welsh people receive ?600 less per head
:24:02. > :24:05.than England. The Welsh government says it recognises things must
:24:06. > :24:08.improve. It has a new focus on literacy and numeracy, and says
:24:09. > :24:11.results are getting better. But for many parents and pupils, that change
:24:12. > :24:25.is not happening quickly enough. She's 25 and she travels downhill at
:24:26. > :24:28.90 miles an hour on ice. Lizzie Yarnold from Kent is the Skeleton
:24:29. > :24:31.World Cup champion, and she's Britain's best hope for a gold medal
:24:32. > :24:32.at the Winter Olympics. Our Sports Correspondent Natalie Pirks has been
:24:33. > :24:44.to meet her. Perfect technique, feet outside the
:24:45. > :24:47.lines. It is a sport that requires extreme skill to reach the top and
:24:48. > :24:52.at a fearless Mr get to the bottom. In just five years, Lizzie Yarnold
:24:53. > :24:56.has gone from being a complete again in a talent programme to the world
:24:57. > :25:02.number one, World Cup champion and now favourite for Olympic skeleton
:25:03. > :25:06.gold. It is a massive honour. I remember watching Denise Lewis
:25:07. > :25:09.winning the gold, and she looked beautiful and so athletic and so
:25:10. > :25:13.skilled and talented at what she did. I just wanted to emulate that
:25:14. > :25:17.and see if I could be one of those, one of the other greats will stop
:25:18. > :25:24.but now I can say I am going to the Olympics, it is amazing -- one of
:25:25. > :25:31.the other greats. Great Britain is phenomenally successful at this
:25:32. > :25:35.sport, Amy Williams won gold at the last Olympics. When you see the
:25:36. > :25:39.facilities, it is all the more astounding. Britain is one of the
:25:40. > :25:43.only leading nations to not have an ice track. Instead, here in Bath,
:25:44. > :25:49.with a distinct lack of snow, this rather basic looking push track is
:25:50. > :25:55.where champions are made. What might look primitive to you is
:25:56. > :26:00.world-class. The timing gates, the run is there, but it's all about the
:26:01. > :26:06.coaching staff. And of course the tea tray. Each bespoke Sled cost
:26:07. > :26:10.around ?10,000 and is made to give every possible gain as the athletes
:26:11. > :26:15.go through the same GeForce fighter pilots have. You have to be brave.
:26:16. > :26:18.You're going to start at the top and finish at the bottom and you hope
:26:19. > :26:24.everything between the two will go to plan. At my top speed I have gone
:26:25. > :26:29.up to 90 mph, two years ago, and the faster I go, the faster I want to
:26:30. > :26:34.go. It's so exhilarating. I think my mum gets really nervous when I
:26:35. > :26:36.compete. It was the same one I did athletics, hurdling, she found it
:26:37. > :26:45.really nerve wracking. -- when I did. The family don't have long to
:26:46. > :26:50.wait until she sees it she is toasting Olympic glory in Sochi. A
:26:51. > :26:55.brave woman. Time for a look at the weather. Here's Darren Bett.
:26:56. > :27:01.It is briefly going to turn cold, but dry as well. But not just yet. A
:27:02. > :27:06.lot of showers today, and more of them coming overnight. Particularly
:27:07. > :27:10.wet across Essex, Kent, Sussex, a lot of showers in Wales, and almost
:27:11. > :27:14.anywhere could catch a downpour will stop fans of showers rotating around
:27:15. > :27:20.an area of low pressure -- catch a downpour. . Not particularly cold
:27:21. > :27:23.overnight, cloud and rain never far away. The risk of ice restricted to
:27:24. > :27:28.the north-west of Scotland. Tomorrow, cloud, showers, long
:27:29. > :27:32.spells of rain but the wind comes in dragging cold air, so the showers
:27:33. > :27:38.will turn wintry over the hills. We still have warnings out for eastern
:27:39. > :27:41.Scotland with river levels rising in Tayside and with further wet weather
:27:42. > :27:45.tomorrow. The weather should improve in Northern Ireland tomorrow with
:27:46. > :27:49.morning showers fading away. We still have showers in England and
:27:50. > :27:53.Wales. Snow, possibly, over the Pennines and over the Welsh hills
:27:54. > :27:57.and maybe some wet snow over the Cotswolds and the Chilterns. The
:27:58. > :28:04.wettest weather across the southern counties, and some yellow warning
:28:05. > :28:07.sport -- for localised flooding. Overnight, it gets cold, widespread
:28:08. > :28:13.frost in rural areas by Thursday morning. Maybe some icy patches to
:28:14. > :28:16.begin with. But it should be a dry day just about everywhere. But there
:28:17. > :28:21.will be a lot of cloud and it will feel cold. The coldest it has been
:28:22. > :28:27.all winter. But, it won't last very long at all. What a change heading
:28:28. > :28:31.into Friday. A big load from the Atlantic, wet and windy weather
:28:32. > :28:35.sweeping eastwards, snow briefly in Scotland -- a big load. Otherwise
:28:36. > :28:41.temperatures rise, but the rain might have an impact on surface
:28:42. > :28:42.water level. Lots of yellow warnings and you can keep up-to-date with all
:28:43. > :28:50.of those online. That's all from the BBC News at Six.
:28:51. > :28:51.And on