:00:05. > :00:08.from Oxford. In tonight's programme: Fresh warnings about the dangers of
:00:08. > :00:14.so-called legal highs - a BBC investigation finds traces of a
:00:14. > :00:18.banned substance in a powder bought over the internet.
:00:18. > :00:22.Also tonight: The driver accused of eating at the wheel when he killed a
:00:22. > :00:26.cyclist breaks down in tears as he gives evidence in court. And later
:00:26. > :00:36.on: Uncovering Cody - the bronze statue to the flamboyant showman and
:00:36. > :00:47.
:00:47. > :00:51.as legal highs has found traces of a banned substance in a powder bought
:00:51. > :00:55.over the internet. Our investigation follows the death last month of
:00:55. > :00:59.Christopher Scott in Swindon. He'd taken a legal high called AMT. We
:00:59. > :01:02.bought four lots from different vendors and found one was mixed with
:01:02. > :01:09.a substance which is currently banned. Our report by Jessica Cooper
:01:09. > :01:16.begins with a drug-user who wants to remain anonymous.
:01:16. > :01:25.You never know what is in them. You could have been some thing which has
:01:25. > :01:29.been classed as Benzo -- as AMT but it could be something else.
:01:29. > :01:32.These are the four samples of the so-called legal high, AMT, which the
:01:33. > :01:35.BBC bought online. It's a man-made chemical used as a party drug. AMT
:01:35. > :01:38.is linked to the death of 23-year-old Christopher Scott in
:01:38. > :01:41.Swindon last month. After testing our samples, this forensics expert
:01:41. > :01:50.found one sample contained not just AMT but aminopropyl benzofuran or
:01:50. > :01:57.Benzo Fury. It's a synthentic party drug which was banned in June after
:01:57. > :02:06.being linked to several deaths. danger of having APB and AMT
:02:06. > :02:12.together in a powder is when you ingest them together, it over
:02:12. > :02:19.stimulate the brain and then you have a combinational effect which
:02:19. > :02:23.results in an overstimulation of the brain which could result in death.
:02:23. > :02:28.We showed our results to the Swindon MP calling for tighter regulation of
:02:28. > :02:33.legal highs. Yet again, it shows what a deadly risk people are taking
:02:33. > :02:40.with these drugs. Gone are the days when people can predict the impact
:02:40. > :02:42.of certain types of drugs. We have a multiplicity of new drugs out there
:02:42. > :02:45.that can cause serious harm or even death.
:02:45. > :02:48.The MP wants the company selling this contaminated sample to be
:02:48. > :02:55.prosecuted. Others say all sellers of legal highs should test their
:02:56. > :02:59.products before they go online. are buying them in batches from
:02:59. > :03:02.China. They have no idea what the wholesalers in China are supplying
:03:02. > :03:05.to them. All the chemical samples we bought
:03:05. > :03:08.were clearly marked not for human consumption. But that's not stopping
:03:08. > :03:11.youngsters. The list of banned chemicals is growing but so too is
:03:11. > :03:19.the supply of new chemical highs, meaning the authorities are always
:03:19. > :03:23.one step behind. Julian Young is a solicitor
:03:23. > :03:31.specializing in criminal law. I asked him if it was possible for any
:03:31. > :03:34.action to be taken against someone who supplied a legal high. I think
:03:34. > :03:40.an offence could have been committed, especially if someone
:03:40. > :03:45.dies, based on the fact that it is manslaughter. If someone is a --
:03:45. > :03:49.someone supplies a drug that could cause is death, that will be
:03:49. > :03:53.manslaughter because there was no intention to cause harm or to kill.
:03:54. > :03:57.I think the Crown Prosecution Service would give very serious
:03:57. > :04:01.consideration to a manslaughter prosecution. Just because they are
:04:01. > :04:06.referred to as legal highs not mean they are safe or approved for use,
:04:06. > :04:12.it's every means that they have not been declared as illegal. That is
:04:12. > :04:17.right. In fact, they are not safe because they have not been tested by
:04:17. > :04:23.scientists who can check each of the constituent parts of those legal
:04:23. > :04:30.highs, it is a terrible expression. Their effect on much the same as the
:04:30. > :04:34.forbidden drugs, the cannabis, the MDMA and heroin, which are
:04:34. > :04:40.incredibly dangerous. The difficulty is for doctors, if someone is taken
:04:40. > :04:46.to hospital, they do not know quite what is in the illegal drug -- in
:04:46. > :04:50.the legal high which they have taken. They may have been supplied
:04:50. > :05:00.from overseas or in Asia. What problems that that bring in terms of
:05:00. > :05:01.
:05:01. > :05:09.prosecuting suppliers? Normally a prosecution will be given to someone
:05:09. > :05:12.in the country which they supplied to. If it is applied to someone
:05:12. > :05:16.through the postal system, which is the normal way of these being
:05:16. > :05:19.supplied. That in itself becomes a criminal offence. Thank you.
:05:19. > :05:22.Specially-trained judges are to sit on trials where vulnerable witnesses
:05:22. > :05:25.are giving evidence, as in the recent sex-grooming case in Oxford.
:05:25. > :05:29.Seven men were jailed in June for numerous offences against young
:05:29. > :05:33.girls. Since then there have been calls for special courts to deal
:05:33. > :05:36.with child sexual exploitation cases. But the Lord Chief Justice
:05:36. > :05:40.has rejected that idea. Instead there will be extra training for
:05:40. > :05:43.judges. A driver accused of causing the
:05:43. > :05:47.death of a cyclist whilst eating a sandwich at the wheel has broken
:05:47. > :05:51.down in tears in court. Paul Brown knocked Joseph Wilkins off his bike
:05:51. > :05:55.in a country lane near Abingdon in May last year. Giving evidence
:05:55. > :05:59.today, he wept and said, "I didn't set out to murder a cyclist." Angela
:05:59. > :06:09.Walker is outside Oxford Crown Court for us. Angela, Paul Brown took to
:06:09. > :06:10.
:06:10. > :06:20.the stand today - what did he say? Paul Brown broke down in tears,
:06:20. > :06:22.
:06:22. > :06:32.saying he was devastated. He went on to explain what happened leading up
:06:32. > :06:40.to the accident. He filled his current fuel, bought a summit and
:06:40. > :06:47.some crisps and a drink. As he headed towards Appleton, he pulled
:06:47. > :06:55.over into the lay-by, he checked his phone, opened his damage and took a
:06:55. > :07:00.couple of bites. He drove off while still holding the sandwich and he
:07:00. > :07:09.demonstrated he was holding it in his thumb and two fingers. He was
:07:09. > :07:14.touring with the rest of his hand. He said that at no point had he
:07:14. > :07:20.taken his eyes off the road. How did he explain that he had not seen Mr
:07:20. > :07:30.Wilkins? He said he did not see any sign of bicycle lights. He did not
:07:30. > :07:37.see anything until Milli seconds before the point of impact. The jury
:07:37. > :07:42.had to decide if the court death by careless driving or the more serious
:07:42. > :07:46.charge of death by dangerous driving. Thank you.
:07:46. > :07:49.The Thame Show has made a loss this year and organisers are considering
:07:49. > :07:52.its future. The one-day county show's had a difficult few years. It
:07:52. > :07:56.was cancelled in 2012 because of poor attendance the year before.
:07:56. > :08:04.Those behind the event are asking the public for its views on what the
:08:04. > :08:08.show should include and when it should be held.
:08:08. > :08:11.Banks are closing hundreds of local branches in towns and villages, but
:08:11. > :08:14.a community in Oxfordshire has been fighting back. People in Faringdon
:08:14. > :08:18.are campaigning to try to persuade Barclays not to shut its branch in
:08:18. > :08:21.the market square. They've set up an online petition and say that losing
:08:21. > :08:24.a local bank will lead to fewer people coming into town overall, as
:08:24. > :08:34.Emma Vardy reports. They're a dying breed on our high
:08:34. > :08:37.streets. In Faringdon, Barclays is next to go.
:08:37. > :08:41.There's used to be four branches of banks and building societies here -
:08:41. > :08:45.that's now down to two. The closure of Barclays will leave Lloyds as the
:08:45. > :08:50.very last. It is another reduction of overall banking facilities for a
:08:50. > :08:54.town which is not overly blessed with them in the first place. The
:08:54. > :08:58.community of Faringdon is not alone. According to campaigners,
:08:58. > :09:03.Barclays has also closed 30 other branches this year and for a third
:09:03. > :09:08.of those, it was the very last bank in town. Barclays told us that the
:09:08. > :09:13.decision to close this branch has not been taken lightly. They said it
:09:13. > :09:19.is down to the continuing decline in use that has made it unsustainable
:09:19. > :09:25.to keep open. Businesses say they still rely on local counters.
:09:25. > :09:31.quite detrimental because they have to get a member of staff to drive
:09:31. > :09:36.down to another town. They can be spending precious time elsewhere.
:09:36. > :09:43.Losing a branch, say campaigners, means that the whole high-street can
:09:43. > :09:46.suffer. They want MPs to offer an alternative. If you had a banking
:09:46. > :09:48.centre or a shared branch, they can share the cost of being there and
:09:48. > :09:53.they get more people through the doors of the branch and, more
:09:53. > :09:57.importantly, they can get more people in the team unity, in the
:09:57. > :10:03.high Street, spending and keeping those shops and services open for
:10:03. > :10:06.the benefit of the whole community. Many more branches are connected to
:10:06. > :10:12.close in future. Experts say that the charge will be to stop
:10:12. > :10:16.businesses alongside them disappearing as well.
:10:16. > :10:19.The Mayor of Aylesbury, Steve Patrick, has died at the age of 59.
:10:20. > :10:23.He took up office in May 2013. It's understood he died in the early
:10:23. > :10:27.hours of this morning. He leaves a son, daughter and his wife, Jan.