07/08/2013 BBC Oxford News

from Oxford. In tonight's programme: Fresh warnings about the dangers of

so-called legal highs - a BBC investigation finds traces of a

banned substance in a powder bought over the internet.

Also tonight: The driver accused of eating at the wheel when he killed a

cyclist breaks down in tears as he gives evidence in court. And later

on: Uncovering Cody - the bronze statue to the flamboyant showman and

as legal highs has found traces of a banned substance in a powder bought

over the internet. Our investigation follows the death last month of

Christopher Scott in Swindon. He'd taken a legal high called AMT. We

bought four lots from different vendors and found one was mixed with

a substance which is currently banned. Our report by Jessica Cooper

begins with a drug-user who wants to remain anonymous.

You never know what is in them. You could have been some thing which has

been classed as Benzo -- as AMT but it could be something else.

These are the four samples of the so-called legal high, AMT, which the

BBC bought online. It's a man-made chemical used as a party drug. AMT

is linked to the death of 23-year-old Christopher Scott in

Swindon last month. After testing our samples, this forensics expert

found one sample contained not just AMT but aminopropyl benzofuran or

Benzo Fury. It's a synthentic party drug which was banned in June after

being linked to several deaths. danger of having APB and AMT

together in a powder is when you ingest them together, it over

stimulate the brain and then you have a combinational effect which

results in an overstimulation of the brain which could result in death.

We showed our results to the Swindon MP calling for tighter regulation of

legal highs. Yet again, it shows what a deadly risk people are taking

with these drugs. Gone are the days when people can predict the impact

of certain types of drugs. We have a multiplicity of new drugs out there

that can cause serious harm or even death.

The MP wants the company selling this contaminated sample to be

prosecuted. Others say all sellers of legal highs should test their

products before they go online. are buying them in batches from

China. They have no idea what the wholesalers in China are supplying

to them. All the chemical samples we bought

were clearly marked not for human consumption. But that's not stopping

youngsters. The list of banned chemicals is growing but so too is

the supply of new chemical highs, meaning the authorities are always

one step behind. Julian Young is a solicitor

specializing in criminal law. I asked him if it was possible for any

action to be taken against someone who supplied a legal high. I think

an offence could have been committed, especially if someone

dies, based on the fact that it is manslaughter. If someone is a --

someone supplies a drug that could cause is death, that will be

manslaughter because there was no intention to cause harm or to kill.

I think the Crown Prosecution Service would give very serious

consideration to a manslaughter prosecution. Just because they are

referred to as legal highs not mean they are safe or approved for use,

it's every means that they have not been declared as illegal. That is

right. In fact, they are not safe because they have not been tested by

scientists who can check each of the constituent parts of those legal

highs, it is a terrible expression. Their effect on much the same as the

forbidden drugs, the cannabis, the MDMA and heroin, which are

incredibly dangerous. The difficulty is for doctors, if someone is taken

to hospital, they do not know quite what is in the illegal drug -- in

the legal high which they have taken. They may have been supplied

from overseas or in Asia. What problems that that bring in terms of

prosecuting suppliers? Normally a prosecution will be given to someone

in the country which they supplied to. If it is applied to someone

through the postal system, which is the normal way of these being

supplied. That in itself becomes a criminal offence. Thank you.

Specially-trained judges are to sit on trials where vulnerable witnesses

are giving evidence, as in the recent sex-grooming case in Oxford.

Seven men were jailed in June for numerous offences against young

girls. Since then there have been calls for special courts to deal

with child sexual exploitation cases. But the Lord Chief Justice

has rejected that idea. Instead there will be extra training for

judges. A driver accused of causing the

death of a cyclist whilst eating a sandwich at the wheel has broken

down in tears in court. Paul Brown knocked Joseph Wilkins off his bike

in a country lane near Abingdon in May last year. Giving evidence

today, he wept and said, "I didn't set out to murder a cyclist." Angela

Walker is outside Oxford Crown Court for us. Angela, Paul Brown took to

the stand today - what did he say? Paul Brown broke down in tears,

saying he was devastated. He went on to explain what happened leading up

to the accident. He filled his current fuel, bought a summit and

some crisps and a drink. As he headed towards Appleton, he pulled

over into the lay-by, he checked his phone, opened his damage and took a

couple of bites. He drove off while still holding the sandwich and he

demonstrated he was holding it in his thumb and two fingers. He was

touring with the rest of his hand. He said that at no point had he

taken his eyes off the road. How did he explain that he had not seen Mr

Wilkins? He said he did not see any sign of bicycle lights. He did not

see anything until Milli seconds before the point of impact. The jury

had to decide if the court death by careless driving or the more serious

charge of death by dangerous driving. Thank you.

The Thame Show has made a loss this year and organisers are considering

its future. The one-day county show's had a difficult few years. It

was cancelled in 2012 because of poor attendance the year before.

Those behind the event are asking the public for its views on what the

show should include and when it should be held.

Banks are closing hundreds of local branches in towns and villages, but

a community in Oxfordshire has been fighting back. People in Faringdon

are campaigning to try to persuade Barclays not to shut its branch in

the market square. They've set up an online petition and say that losing

a local bank will lead to fewer people coming into town overall, as

Emma Vardy reports. They're a dying breed on our high

streets. In Faringdon, Barclays is next to go.

There's used to be four branches of banks and building societies here -

that's now down to two. The closure of Barclays will leave Lloyds as the

very last. It is another reduction of overall banking facilities for a

town which is not overly blessed with them in the first place. The

community of Faringdon is not alone. According to campaigners,

Barclays has also closed 30 other branches this year and for a third

of those, it was the very last bank in town. Barclays told us that the

decision to close this branch has not been taken lightly. They said it

is down to the continuing decline in use that has made it unsustainable

to keep open. Businesses say they still rely on local counters.

quite detrimental because they have to get a member of staff to drive

down to another town. They can be spending precious time elsewhere.

Losing a branch, say campaigners, means that the whole high-street can

suffer. They want MPs to offer an alternative. If you had a banking

centre or a shared branch, they can share the cost of being there and

they get more people through the doors of the branch and, more

importantly, they can get more people in the team unity, in the

high Street, spending and keeping those shops and services open for

the benefit of the whole community. Many more branches are connected to

close in future. Experts say that the charge will be to stop

businesses alongside them disappearing as well.

The Mayor of Aylesbury, Steve Patrick, has died at the age of 59.

He took up office in May 2013. It's understood he died in the early

hours of this morning. He leaves a son, daughter and his wife, Jan.