09/09/2013 BBC Oxford News

Hello and welcome to South Today from Oxford. In tonight's programme:

Facing accusations of gross misconduct — the detective who

failed to follow the rules, meaning a murder suspect couldn't be

prosecuted for Becky Godden's death. Also tonight: Repairing problems

from wear and tear — the implant invented in Oxford that replaces

damaged knee cartilage. And later on: A geologist enters the

fracking debate — he says southern England has the wrong type of rock.

Good evening. A senior Wiltshire Police officer who investigated the

murders of Sian O'Callaghan and Becky Godden could be sacked because

of how he mishandled the case. A report's now been published,

accusing Detective Superintendent Stephen Fulcher of gross misconduct.

He broke police rules whilst questioning suspect Christopher

Halliwell in 2011. It meant Halliwell, a former Swindon cab

driver, never faced trial for Becky Godden's murder — despite having led

detectives to her body. Scott Ellis has been gauging reaction from

Becky's family. The father of murder victim Becky

Godden, with today's report from the Independent Police Complaints

Commission. It describes Detective Superindent Stephen Fulcher's

actions in 2011 as catastrophic. John Godden brought the original

complaint, after Halliwell escaped a trial for killing his daughter. If

the man did an honest job, it would never have come to this. This is my

argument. It's just shocking to go through nearly 50 pages of mistakes.

DS Stephen Fulcher was warned by colleagues he was breaking Police

and Criminal Evidence Act guidelines on arrest. But he kept up his

interviews, he says to maintain a bond with Halliwell — one which led

to the discovery of Becky Godden's body. I took the opportunity of his

relationship with me and the fact that he was prepared to give me this

key piece of evidence, and we drove, at that point in time, to a location

beyond Leckie in Eastleigh, I think, where he was able to pace out the

exact spot where he had buried a young girl. Some sympathise with

Stephen Fulcher's actions to continue probing Halliwell — most of

all Becky's mother. I think you should be given a medal for what

he's done, not go through all the trauma that he's had. In my eyes, it

seems to be, if you're a criminal, you're all right. For the general

public, you get trodden on. Stephen Fulcher was also criticised

for relations with the media. He's returned to work with Wiltshire

Police after a two—month suspension. The IPCC says there will be no

criminal proceedings as a result their report. —— a result of their

report. A Cotswolds—based airport business

is to be prosecuted on health and safety grounds after a member of its

staff was killed. Steve Mills died in April at Kemble Airfield when a

pressurised gas cylinder he was carrying burst open. Kemble Air

Services Limited was today charged with failing to carry out suitable

risk assessments. A preliminary hearing at Gloucester Crown Court

was adjourned while a trial is organised.

Regular joggers will know just how painful it can be when you injure

your knees. It's one of the most common complaints among runners at

all levels. Now an Oxfordshire business believes it has a solution

to damaged cartilage. It's an implant made from silk — which

scientists say is cheaper and more effective than the current

treatment. Jeremy Stern reports. Long—distance running may be good

for the heart but less so for the knees. Four times the body weight

goes through the joint every step. Cartilage injuries are common. Ian

Barnes, from Wendover, needed an operation when he was a teenage

rugby player — it was the first of many. It's dreadful. The last time I

had an operation, it was on both knees at the same time. It's very

difficult to manage when you can't bend either knee. It's terribly

inconvenient and it's just constant pain because you constantly use your

knee. Knee injuries are particularly difficult to treat. Doctors will

look at running but the cartilage, which may ease the pain in the

short—term but is not a long—term cure. In extreme cases, one of these

might be needed — a metal replacement for the entire knee

joint. Scientists at Milton Park are working on an implant which they say

is cheaper, more effective and will last longer than metal. It's made of

silk — which, like cartilage, is strong, smooth and resilient. The

implants replace the cartilage which has been worn down around the knee

joint. Our product is designed to go in high arthroscopic surgery, which

is keyhole surgery. It's a small, swift procedure which does not cost

the NHS a large amount of money. It should prevent the deterioration of

the joint so that ultimately a total knee joint replacement may not be

required. Or if it is required, it will be much later in the person's

life. The company's been awarded £3 million by the government and the

Wellcome Trust, and hopes the implant is on sale by 2016. Ian's

hoping for a pain free solution to his knee problems, but it could be

many more years before the new treatment is available on the NHS.

The operator of Oxfordshire's largest landfill site has been

refused planning permission to increase the amount of waste it

handles there. FCC had hoped to take an extra 120,000 tonnes of rubbish a

year at Sutton Courtenay and to use the site as a transfer station for

the "energy—to—waste" plant at Ardley. But councillors backed

residents who were concerned at the impact of additional lorries each

day, and the prospect of machinery at a recycling plant running till

ten o'clock at night. A public inquiry's begun into plans

to build nearly 200 new homes on the site of a former school in Reading.

The Elvian School closed three years ago. Developers Taylor Wimpey say

building there would help meet local housing needs. But a group of

parents want to see a new free school set up on the site instead.

The inquiry is expected to last for the rest of the week. Joe Campbell

reports. Planning enquiries are typically a

battle between two sides but seated between the big guns of counsel and

developers today, campaigners who say however great the need for new

homes, demand for school places is greater. There is a lot of money

involved and we don't have that but we do have the support of the

community and parents and residents saying that we want the school and

need it. It's not a case of who has the most money but who has the most

pressing need and the school is clearly the most pressing need. Home

to a school for seven decades, this site seemed a logical choice for

campaigners. The council, as well, thought it was the answer to growing

class sizes. Taylor Wimpey's plans for housing were today described as

running a coach and horses through procedure. The planning enquiries

said that it should be mixed residential and educational use.

There is nothing in the proposal about education, it is entirely

residential. The applicant is trying to brush that aside. Counsell for

Taylor Wimpey have told us tonight that the Elvian School site is an

ideal one, ripe for developing because of its transport links. It

is Brownfield land that would benefit from being brought back into

use, particularly the historic buildings and sunken gardens. When

it comes to education, they say that has been dealt with by the education

funding authority's decision to buy land just down the road for another

free school site. The inquiry is due to last until the end of the week.

Two controversial sending—off incidents provided the major talking

points in our Football League action from the weekend. Ten man Swindon

surrendered a winning position at MK Dons. Oxford remain unbeaten after a

red—card decision went their way. But were the right decisions made?

Jerome Sale presents the evidence. The jury is still out on the League

one prospects for the MK Dons and Swindon. Town looked convincing as

they took the lead, thanks to this free kick. Swindon were claiming

rough justice when one of their players were sent off. The manager

said he was not guilty. It was a game changing decision for us. We

had to bring players off that were playing well and we were

disappointed. We have fans who have travelled and paid good money and

when we get decisions like that, it's totally wrong. Further

punishment was inflicted and that Stadium MK it finished 1—1. There

were few witnesses to the red card controversy that turned heads at

Burton. There was certainly no going

straight for Oxford's of the Potter, who weaved a tangled web of

deception before scoring his third goal of the season. —— Alfie Potter.

Further holes were picked in the defence by substitute Ryan

Williams, who scored a second to wrap up proceedings.

Tonight's Elite League Speedway between Swindon and Lakeside has

been called off. The track is waterlogged. The Robins have already

re—arranged the meeting for Thursday night.

Sarah Farmer will have the weather forecast for tonight and tomorrow in

a few minutes' time. That's all from me for the moment. With more of

today's stories, here's Sally Taylor.

It is not clear what is going to happen next in this tale of the sea.

Still to come in this evening's South Today: The trade unions are

back in town — but what does it mean to Bournemouth?

Tonight's Inside Out examines the debate over fracking for oil and gas

in the south. The USA has sunk thousands of wells to release

natural gas from shale rocks, creating an energy bonanza. But

geologists here are now suggesting the shale in the south could be the

wrong sort of rock. The subject of fracking has sparked environmental

protests at drill sites such as that at Balcome in West Sussex. Jon

Cuthill reports. The best way to examine shale rock

is to come to Dorset where something that is normally buried a mile or so

underground can be observed on the beach. Here is known as the burning

beach because the rocks are packed with fuel. I Canadian hundreds, they

were used to light to the streets. It is this rock that has the energy

company so excited. Inside here is actually fuel. You

can just create a fire of rocks here. This is the shale burning. A

lot of fire made of stone. Whether the South has the right sort of

shale to solve Britain's energy crisis is in doubt. The British

geological survey says getting the gas out of shale rock could prove

difficult. We don't think it is the right shale because it has probably

not been warmed up enough to make shale gas. It is also probably not

brittle enough. If you were to try to fracture it, it probably would

not break in the way you want it to. The oil company which has been

digging in bulk and said it is examining up to six sites in the

North of England, but has not given up on Sussex.

And there's more on that story on Inside Out tonight at 7:30pm on BBC

One. Many of Bournemouth's hotels are

full this week as the Trades Union Congress returns to the town for the

first time in 24 years. BH Live, which runs the Bournemouth

International Centre, believes the 4,000 visitors will contribute £5m

to the local economy. It's the first major conference in the town for

five years. Our Political Editor Peter Henley reports.

They got a reputation after a quarter of a century away,

Bournemouth cabbies were certainly pleased to see the return of the

TUC. They don't walk anywhere. They are good to others. Ordinary trade

unionists would beg to differ. They say the modern workload is nothing

like the union barons of old. In Dorset we are running a living wage

campaign and that is aimed at the private sector. So it is not all

dominated by public sector workers. It is across—the—board, more women

than men in shoot —— trade unions often. Has that message got through

to the public? We thought we would get the opinion of people travelling

on the Bournemouth yellow bus. This is the number six stopping outside

the university where half of college lecturers are members of the union.

Alex Martin is backing the brothers. When you graduate, you will hope

that the best salary, do you think unions will help you? I hope so.At

the hospital stopped, Edward is not a fan. It does not help the lower

class. They don't seem to help. They sometimes seem to make it worse. At

Bournemouth station, the bus finds a form as Tesco worker who believes

unions can be useful. Some bosses can, to a degree, take advantage. Ed

Miliband enters this pits tomorrow and might way she can get the

Wellcome Neil Kinnock enjoyed the last time the TUC where here. Then

to Congress and the warm reception from delegates. The only once the

current Labour leader is likely to feel tomorrow is the heat off his

feet against the fire. Plastic bottle recycling has been

with us for years now, and it's fairly well known that this, the

humble bottle, can be turned into clothing such as fleeces. Well, one

Hampshire school has decided to make its uniform from recycled bottles,

making King Edward the Sixth in Southampton one of the first schools

in England to do so. Sean Killick reports.

You might think it would take a lot of bottle to wear a jacket made of

plastic containers, but students putting on the new blazers need have

no fear, they look and feel just like traditional ones. It is really

soft. Each browser is made from polyester which would normally be

sourced from crude oil, but this has been made from recycled bottles that

have been shredded into flakes, made into pellets, stretched into plates

and made into yarn. Does it feel funny thinking you are

wearing an old bottle? I suppose, but it is a good idea. Did you think

it would be uncomfortable? Yeah, but when we first got them it was just a

normal blazer. I am quite fascinated how they managed to transform it

into thread and make it feel normal. Each jacket is made from around 16

bottles. They use 84% less energy to produce and reduce landfill. Some

people haven't been able to contain their amusement.

There was a little joke about it at first, would they have to be washed

in the dishwasher, but virtually everyone I spoke to felt it was

really good, particularly when they saw the product. It is as good, if

not better, then we have had before. I don't know if they are waterproof

any more than my jacket. Even so, these students are making a splash

in school uniform fashion. A challenge to circumnavigate

Britain by powerboat left from Poole Harbour this morning. The team from

the water rescue charity Watersafe, boarded a small five metre RIB for

the journey. The charity is made up of volunteers who work for the

emergency services. And it's those jobs that have set the tone for

their expedition. Georgina Windsor reports. Most of the team members

are from emergency services. I thought it would be apt to name it

999 so I kept with the idea of going around Britain in nine days, nine

hours and nine minutes. Here in Derbyshire is a team

preparing to circumnavigate Great Britain. As 999 is the central theme

to the challenge, leaving on the ninth of the ninth month seemed like

a good idea. As they prepared for departure, organisers were

reflecting the hazards ahead. There is always a element of risk. We are

used to operating boats, we have state—of—the—art equipment, so we

have a good chance of completing it. Yes, we will have varied conditions,

but confident we will achieve the aims. Watersafe is a charity that

looks after the England waterways. The challenge will raise money for

the charity and for the RNLI. The Chief Executive is delighted and

aware of how uncomfortable their journey might be. I think they will

come back feeling quite sore after nine days going around the coast.

The waters around these coasts are not calm. There are quite

dangerous. There is a lot of weather, particularly in September.

I think they will come back with a tremendous sense of achievement. So,

in nine days, nine hours and nine minutes these life—savers will

hopefully be reflecting on an epic, if bumpy, journey.

Good luck to the guys. Let's hope they stay safe. Shall we move on to

sport? We have been speaking Portsmouth and finances. Who is owed

what? A compromise payment, that is what

we saw over the weekend. Not a crisis as some have painted, not

unexpected, it is the deal that everyone signed up to.

Nevertheless the publication of these figures shines a light on the

salaries being paid to players many of whom played for Portsmouth

outside the Premier League. As Ben Moore reports, the rebuilding for

the future goes on while the errors of the past are paid for.

As players form the past are set to cost Pompey more money, the current

team were hunting their first away win of the season. Patrick Agyemang

took just five minutes to capitalise on Cheltenham's poor defending.

After The Robins equalised, Johnny Ertl restored Pompey's lead. But in

stoppage time, John Sullivan was beaten by the ball. 2—all and a

valuable away point. But back at Fratton Park there're other scores

to settle — not least a wage bill of £7 million. We have known about this

for over a year. These payments were negotiated by the administrators and

whoever had bought it, whether it was a community or anyone else, they

would have had to honour these payments.

So, who from Pompey's precarious past is owed what? The team sheet

almost reads like a fantasy 11. £145,000 is owed to ex goalkeeper

David James. The back four includes a whopping £1.6 million to be paid

in instalments to Israeli defender Tal Ben Haim.

There's consistency in midfield, Liam Lawrence and Hayden Mullins

both owed in excess of 600,000. There's plenty of choice up front,

Dave Kitson catches the eye — still owed nearly 460,000, Add 13 more

players off the bench and the amount to be paid comes to £6.7 million.

The club says that money is going to come from the Premier League in the

form of parachute payments. Billions of pounds paid to clubs that fall

from the top tier, designed to soften the blow. Pompey have about

eight or £9 million still left to come to them.

Many might question why former players are so high on the list to

receive club cash? It's down to the football creditors rule that means

players can get preferential financial treatment when a team goes

bust. We are trying to do the right thing. Although small creditors, we

are going to make the payment in full form. Not obliged to, but we

want to show things have changed. The former player payments are

scheduled until 2016. By then the club hopes the price of saving

Pompey will be paid in full. Hampshire golfer Neil Raymond will

focus on gaining a tour card to compete in Europe after ending his

amateur career at this weekend's Walker Cup The 27—year—old won both

his foursomes matches for Great Britain and Ireland, but was beaten

in the singles on Sunday. America regained the trophy in Southampton

New York with a comprehensive 17—9 win.

Worthing Rugby Club made a losing start to life in national league one

at Wharfedale on Saturday, but they'll take some consolation from

the fact that they were 31—5 down early in the second half before

losing 38—34. London Irish were also beaten on the opening weekend of the

Premiership season. They lost 40—22 to Saracens at Twickenham. Irish's

tries came from Marlon Yarde and Kieron Low.

Basingstoke Bison and Guildford flames shared the spoils of their

weekend double—header as a new ice hockey season got underway. On

Saturday night the Bison came out on top 2—1. Both goals came in the

third period, including the winner in the last minute.The league and

cup champion Flames bounced back to win the return 2—1 last night. The

league season begins this weekend. Finally, Dimitri Mascarenhas made

his final appearance in English cricket as Hampshire failed to reach

a Lords final The 35—year—old all rounder will retire at the end of

the season and was given a rousing reception by fans at the Ageas Bowl

on Saturday. He couldn't help inspire Hampshire to victory over

Glamorgan in their YB40 semi final. Mascaranhas hasn't ruled out one

more shot at IPL cricket this winter. Those scenes, it is farewell

to Hampshire. We are going to miss him.

I remember him being one of the key players at the turn—of—the—century.

A great servants to the club. Shall we move on to whether? We were

having a chat before the programme and it is fair to say, you need to

watch every night this week because we can't make our minds up. It is

all over the place. As to your grass, forget it.

I am pleased with the reins of the grass.

I definitely noticed it is cooler. I am now reaching for the fleeces.

Maybe made by plastic bottles! Today has been a bit of everything.

This is Teddy the horse with a beautiful rainbow in the background.

Thank you to Pete Blunden for taking that photo in Bishops Waltham.

This image was snapped by Jae Henderson at Wootton Creek on the

Isle of Wight on the way back from Bestival. Perfect reflection in the

water there. And a spot of blackberry picking for

Raymond Slack in Guildford. Very autumnal feel to things.

Yes, autumn is in the air. We are starting to feel things on the fresh

side. We have had some wet weather and we have a few more showers in

store this evening. Predominantly to the north of the M4 corridor, we

could be a few more bursts. To the south, hairdryer picture. Through

the overnight period, we see clearer spells. Temperature wise, between

nine and 11 degrees. A bit of a breeze, so feeling chilly.

Tomorrow, a decent day. Bright conditions and sunny skies. The best

of the brightness to the West. Further east seeing a little more

cloud, but we are not walling out the chance of one or two showers

here. Generally a decent day with temperatures at 1718 degrees.

Average for the time of year. Tomorrow evening, things will dry

out. Any wet weather that we see in the east will age away. Elsewhere,

clear spells. Not as much as a breeze as tonight. Perhaps a little

bit of missed. Overnight temperatures staying in double

digits. Wednesday will be a decent start, but this feature will work

its way in bringing wet weather into the afternoon. Perhaps some direct

bursts and heavy bursts in the mix. It looks like we will see a fine

start with brightness early on, but the cloud and rain then ageing in

and arriving late in the day. Staying perhaps it overnight period.

Thursday, a better picture. We will see some bright intervals, perhaps a

brightness parking the odd shower here or there. Friday, it looks like

there is further rain on the way. Here is your summary. Tomorrow,

decent. Hazy sunshine in the afternoon. Wednesday starts fine

with cloud and rain arriving. Like we said, watch every day and

you will get a more accurate forecast. That is it from us.

Tomorrow night, England's women's footballers will be in the region.

We will catch up with them. And we have a mystery to solve

tomorrow and we need your help. Make sure you are with us. Good night.