07/10/2013 BBC Oxford News

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

programme... An incredible transformation for a boy given just

days to live — how seven—year—old Alex has gone from this... To this

after a fundraising campaign paid for him to have treatment in

America. Also tonight... Dumping rubbish

illegally — how convicting more fly—tippers in Buckinghamshire has

saved council tax payers more than a million pounds.

And later on... Not good enough — calls for action against care homes

which fail to provide adequate food for residents.

Good evening. We start with the news of an incredible turnaround for a

little boy from Buckinghamshire who had been given days to live. Regular

viewers may remember that the family and friends of Alex Novakovic were

raising money in a desperate race against time. The money was needed

for radiation therapy in America, which is not available from here.

After returning from Boston, he has made remarkable progress. His tumour

has almost entirely gone. Jessica Cooper reports.

This was how Alex spent his afternoons in Boston. After having

proton therapy. Can I grab that while you play that game. Every day

for six weeks, she went through therapy to target a tumour in his

head and spine. It was a pleasure to see your child actually enjoying

himself. It was wonderful. During his time in the States, he wrote 30

postcards to keep friends and family up—to—date. If he was treated in the

UK, his family say he would have suffered side—effects and eventually

would not have been able to look after himself. 3000 miles away in

Boston, doctors could see a cure by targeting the cancer and not

damaging the rest of his body. Back home in Aylesbury, Alex is pleased

life is returning to normal. Playing with my little sister, having fun

and games with her. Just sitting down and relaxing, watching TV.

Three months after treatment, his tumour has almost totally

disappeared. News which has gone down well in Buckinghamshire. Really

happy. I feel ecstatic. I see a future now. Before, there wasn't one

but now there is so much hope, Alex is doing fantastically. I could not

wish for more. Not at all. Could not wish for more. Alex's parents say

they could never have imagined this outcome a year ago and if the local

gym unity had not looked —— the local community had not rallied

round to raise money, they would not have the same Sunday have now.

Jessica is with me now. Why did Alex have to go to America for treatment?

This type of radiotherapy, which kills cancer cells more precisely

and causes less damage to the surrounding tissue is not available

in this country. The Department of Health says that while it is being

developed, it is more cost—effective descent people abroad. That is why

people go to America to have it done. It has announced that from

2018, proton therapy will be available in the UK and there will

be two new centres built, one in Manchester and one in London. At the

moment, you all proton therapy patients have to pay for treatment?

As we know, Alex's family had to raise money to send him to America.

It has been decided from April that some NHS patients who go abroad for

proton treatment will be able to get it paid for but in Alex's case, his

mother told us he did not meet the criteria so that would not have

applied. As we know, his case has been hugely successful. We know that

his tumour has reduced by 98%, so you can argue it is money well

spent. He will be returning to America next year to have another

checkup. Thank you. Next night, dealing with rubbish

dump at the roadside costs all of us throughout council tax was up more

than £40 million is spent every year by councils across England, clearing

up after fly—tippers. An initiative was launched in Buckinghamshire a

decade ago, warning of the consequences if people are caught

dumping rubbish illegally. They are convicting ten times more people

than other councils will stop it is thought to have saved more than £1

million. An unwelcome surprise in the

Buckinghamshire countryside. Council staff were called to this site where

fly—tippers had dumped their rubbish. About three tonnes of waste

that has been illegally fly—tip will stop. It is domestic fly—tipping, it

is fence panels and tyres. Rather than spending money to dispose of it

properly, they left it here. It is a common problem. Latest figures show

that more than 800,000 examples of fly—tipping were carried out between

2010 and 2011 and the moral location, the more you could be at

risk. The more rural the location. Most of our sites are not man, they

are very rural, isolated sites, we make it half a dozen people visiting

in a day. People fly—tip in the night. There is no one around. They

have been nearly 400 convictions for fly—tipping in Buckinghamshire over

the last ten years. That costs offenders around half £1 million in

fines and prosecution fees. Frank Lord found a heap of rubbish on his

farm last year and was able to track down the offenders after finding

their dress in one of the bags. My son—in—law and some receipts from a

dry cleaning business and he piece them together, someone had tried to

shred them by hand. He managed to get the address. We reported it to

the county council and they were prosecuted, the final £1700. The

criminals who left this rubbish have not yet been found and as it has

been left on private land it is the owner's responsible is he to get it

removed. —— the owner's responsible T.

The ribbon was cut at the Fugro site to celebrate the million pound

development of a new soil testing site. New equipment will be used to

test soil samples before energy companies build or mine on sites

around the globe. It is a condition that affects one

in six of us and is a major cause of disability. There is no cure for

osteoarthritis and treatment is limited to paint —— to pain relief

or joint replacement. Earlier, I spoke to the Director of arthritis

research UK, —— Arthritis Research UK, Professor Tonia Vincent, who

explained what osteoarthritis is. It is associated with obesity and when

you have a joint injury. It is the most common form of arthritis and

affects a fast majority of individuals once they get to a

certain age, above 70 years old, you're more likely to have

arthritis. There is a new centre in Oxford, what will be carried out

there? We are most interested in understanding the early processes

that initiate disease was stop for a long time, people thought that

osteoarthritis was a disease of wear and tear, where to services rubbed

together over a number of years was not we understand from our own work

and from other work that this is a complex procedure and these pathways

cause the cells to initiate the process of disease in the tissues of

the joint. Those processes are potentially areas we can intervene

for therapeutic benefit in the future. When someone has arthritis,

what treatments are available to them to help? At the moment, we have

very few treatments. We offer lifestyle advice, weight loss and

sensible things like that. We give painkillers but they are not

terribly effective at relieving pain in arthritis as many patients will

tell you. Our aim, how Golden Lane, is to develop a treatment that

arrests the process of disease or even prevented from a caring if we

—— from occurring if it develops soon enough. How soon will that

happen? It will not be very soon. We'll be identifying targets in the

next five years, so translating those targets made that happen in

the next five or ten years. It has a most that a man who absconded from a

jail in Bristol turned up shortly afterwards at Bullingdon Prison,

asking if he can stay there him instead.

Timothy Stone was serving a sentence for burglary but was put into a low

security prison and wanted to be at the new prison to be closer to his

family. That is all from me. More from Sally Taylor.

urged by all sides to make their views known. Still to come in this

evening's South Today: Jo Kent is at the big speedway final in Poole, as

the Pirates take on Birmingham in the Elite League Final. Yes, things

are hotting up, as this season, the brutal Dominic Poole Pirates take on

the Brummie. There are calls for stronger action

to be taken against care homes which fail to provide adequate food for

residents. A study by the Care Quality Commission revealed one in

six homes is letting people down. BBC South's Inside Out programme has

been investigating the story, as Jon Cuthill reports.

He I? —— who am I? Isabel Brown moved her mother three times after

the poor diet she was getting in previous care homes. Her family want

to start a campaign to force improvements on the whole sector. We

would like to start a campaign which would make them have to buy good

food. Shockingly, albeit inspection reports you're about to hear from

homes in the south of England. We heard comments such as:

the relatives and residents Association says it's frequently

approached by families and staff, worried about malnutrition in homes.

We were shocked to discover from a chef in a care home that his budget

had been reduced to £8 per week, per resident. The Association is calling

for swift action to be taken against homes which failed to ensure

residents are getting enough good Dominic good quality food. —— good

quality food. You can see more of that on

tonight's Inside Out. HMS Endurance is to be scrapped. The

MOD confirmed today that the icebreaker is to go out of service

in 2015. Given the level of damage she sustained after almost sinking

off Chile five years ago, the Government has decided it's not

economically viable to repair her. Instead, £5 million has been

invested in HMS Protector to secure the UK's long term ice patrol survey

capability. A carer has admitted taking more

than £92,000 from a vulnerable man she was meant to be looking after. A

court heard how Sarah Biggs, who's 45 and from Surrey, abused her

position for her own financial gain over a three—year period from 2005

to 2008. She is due to be sentenced at Chichester Crown Court on Friday.

Regional airports cannot absorb all the future demands of flying. That

was the view of the Government—appointed Airports

Commission, in an announcement this afternoon. Sir Howard Davies said a

new runway would be needed in the South East, but he didn't say where.

Our transport correspondent Paul Clifton is here — what has changed

today? Some people would say that we've been told the blindingly

obvious. The South—East needs another runway. We still don't know

where it is going to be. Heathrow is full and wants at least one more

runway. Gatwick is campaigning for a second, and West Sussex County

Council supports that. Stansted is a candidate, and there are several

less likely ideas — including a four—runway airport beside the A34

at Abingdon that would be bigger than Heathrow and Gatwick put

together. But today, we got the first step in the decision making

process. The Commission says in future, demand will exceed capacity,

even if that demand is constrained to meet climate change objectives.

Regional airports like Southampton or Bournemouth cannot absorb all the

demand. That wipes out one of the key arguments. Sir Howard Davies

said that sticking with today's runways would not be the best option

for passengers, or for the economy, or for the carbon impact of

aviation. But we've been here before, haven't we? The last Labour

Government chose a third runway for Heathrow — the Coalition cancelled

that. But there is no doubt it is still one of the leading options — a

direct rail link from Reading is going ahead regardless. So what

happens next? This process kicked the most contentious planning issue

into the long grass. Every party sees it as a vote loser, but every

party knows delaying a decision causes economic damage. In Decembe,r

the commission will come up with a short list of places to put a new

runway. But a final decision will come after the next election in

2015. The Fareham MP Mark Hoban has lost

his job in the Government reshuffle. Mr Hoban becomes a backbencher after

12 years in ministerial and shadow ministerial jobs. He brought in new

regulations for banks and payday lenders. Another MP to be demoted is

the former Fisheries Minister Richard Benyon, who is the MP for

Newbury. Multi—million pound proposals are

being drawn up for a new shopping centre in Berkshire. Local

councillors have told the BBC the redevelopment of the existing St

Martin's Precinct in Caversham may include a new cinema, as well as

shops and restaurants. They're hoping it'll improve people's

shopping experience town and boost the night—time economy.

On to sport, and it's another big night for Poole Pirates. Last week,

they overcame a 10—point deficit to win their Elite League play—off

semifinal against Swindon. And with no time to waste, the first leg of

the final is tonight. The Pirates take on the Birmingham Brummies in

the first leg of the final, and Jo Kent is there for the build up, and

the rest of the sport. Jo, a big crowd expected again at Wimborne

Road tonight? Yes, because this is the pinnacle of the season. The

first leg tonight and the second next week. The Brummies have topped

the lead, and the Poole Pirates have been fighting. I wouldn't be

surprised if there were a few more people in the already packed crowd,

because that was such edge of the seat stuff. Let's talk to the Poole

Pirates's managers. You had a mountain to climb, and I've not had

the greatest season, did you envisage you would be here? Not at

the start of the season, but after last week, the boys deserve to be

They have been the standout team. They have been taught. That's right,

they have been top of the leaderboard all season, and we have

to go away from here with eight or ten points to stand any chance. Last

week, the home advantage work for you. This week, they have the

advantage. Now, I don't know, I think is good, because we now know

what we have to do. The crowd really helps, and the support we get is

fantastic. We want to do well in front of crowds. Thank you so much.

Let's get on to some of the other sports news.

In football, Southampton's 2—0 victory over Swansea yesterday has

taken them up to fourth in the Premier League. Adam Lallana put

Saints ahead at St Mary's 20 minutes in, the first time Southampton have

scored a first—half league goal this season. Swansea had chances, but the

Saints defence was once again impenetrable, goalkeeper Artur

Boruch making a string of impressive saves. Jay Rodruiguez made it 2—0

with his late volley. It was a third consecutive win for Saints, who've

conceeded only two league goals this season. TRANSLATION: I'm very happy

about this, and it shows that we are solid, and we know how to respond to

attacks from our opponents. I'm delighted about how we started the

season. I'm very pleased, we have a real work ethic, and I'm really

pleased. Is a great place to be, and I think we have to continue working

hard. And Mauricio Pochettino was

nominated for Manager of the Month this month, and Artur Boruch as

Player of the Month, following such impressive performances. Well,

elsewhere, mixed fortunes for our teams. Here's a

MK Dons are rapidly becoming the Jekyll and Hyde side in League One.

Just a week after securing a 4—1 win, the main Kate dons were beaten

in Gillingham after an eventful match. The first goal. That was MK

Dons at their worst. Despite a numerical disadvantage, a double

from Patrick Bamford saw the other side of their split personality as

the MK Dons drew level. In every story, there is a twist to the tail

and it was not a happy ending. In a week where a manager complained

about decisions from referees, it was an official decision that gave

Tranmere the victory. Neither side were able to find the

net again and remain mid—table despite their five games at the

County ground. In League Two, Oxford United have

one of the best away record in the division but I get to bring that

form back to the Kassam Stadium. Goals gave Southend the spoils. They

remain just two points outside of the top three.

N'Gala added another two after the break. The 3—0 win, Portsmouth's

first clean sheet in seven league games.

In rugby, London Irish had what could prove to be a pivotal win of

the season against Harlequins. The sides traded penalties to reach

half—time level at 6—6. But the Exiles — who've lost their previous

five clashes against Quins — broke through, thanks to Blair Cowan,

Shane Geraghty added the conversion to stretch their lead, before Alex

Lewington picked up Topsy Ojo's break to score his first try for the

club. Quins retaliated through Danny Care, but it wasn't enough to close

the gap, finishing 18—13. Things are hotting up on the ice, as

two of our teams met in a clash at the top of the EPL over the weekend.

The Basingstoke Bison — in the white — were defeated 2—3 on home

territory by the Guildford Flames on Saturday night. But they got their

revenge on Sunday with a 5—4 win at Guildford. Guildford are currently

second, the Bison four points behind but with a game in hand. Swindon are

fourth, while Milton Keynes and Bracknell remain in the bottom half

of the table. Crowds are really building here, and it's not too late

to come down here. If you can't get down here, you can hear full

commentary on BBC Radio. The programme starts at 7:05pm. The

Poole Pirates hold the record for the most elite wins, and if they

could manage a fifth, it would sealed a reputation as Britain's

best speedway team. Next week will be the deciding second leg like, and

we will let you know how they get on later on this evening and tomorrow

on South Today. Even though it's the first leg, it

would be fabulous to have some confidence! Will have more news

later. Alexa says here. Let's talk weather. It was, and there was quite

a few marathons in the region, one in Bournemouth, and one on the Isle

of Wight, but I tell you what, those runners must have suffered. It was

soft. Well above the seasonal average, but we have some lovely

dumb act lovely images of today. Lee Harfield started his day in what

looked like the mountains rather than sea level. This is Southampton

Docks in the fog this morning. Dew on a Dandelion in Wallingford in

Oxfordshire captured by Sue Hendrie. And Mary Murphy took this photo of

crab apples under blue skies in the New Forest in Nomansland.

You may remember last week we told you about Keith and Sue Webb from

Winchester who were trying to solve the mystery of a painting of, what

they described themselves as an ugly old woman.

Tonight, it will be cooler than last night, but this week, temperatures

take old woman.

Tonight, it will be cooler a backdrop of maybe four or five

degrees, and northerly winds will set in, making it feel much cooler.

She is more likely later on in the week. —— showers more likely later

on in the week. Where we do have clear skies, the chants of mist and

fog patches, but not as widespread as last night. Temperatures stay

mild, with lows of 12 or 13 Celsius, maybe a bit lower than last night.

We start tomorrow morning with the mist and fog, which will clear, but

we will see some sunshine more likely through the morning, and

there will be a weather feature arriving in the afternoon,

introducing more Cloud, , with a high of 17 or 18 Celsius. A quiet

night tomorrow night, with the risk of the odd shower, and some light

rain and drizzle, clearing skies, with mist and fog during the early

hours of Wednesday, and temperatures taking a dip, so creeping down. The

cold air will start to take over on Wednesday night, slipping its way

southwards and behind it will be recalled error. Considerably cooler

in the recent nights and days. High pressure out of the Atlantic still,

and the cold will arrive on Wednesday night, so thirsty will be

chilly. Chilly start on Wednesday, a low of seven degrees in the morning,

and temperatures only reaching around 14 degrees Friday, Saturday,

and Sunday. Thanks so much. I don't know if you

remember this story, but Keith and Sue Webb received best painting, and

had no idea who had sent it to them. Thanks to our coverage, they

have been able to solve the mystery. She isn't a looker. It's the face

that could turn milk at 50 yards! But this answering portrait was

surprise package when it arrived on Keith and Sue Webb's door doorstep.

But Keith discovered the truth from family on the other side of the

world. It used to hang in his late uncle's house. She terrified me, but

dad kept on reminding us that there was a family resemblance, which

upset me, because I was reading your story, and you're all seeing how

hideous she was, and I actually think she is related to us. So we've

never forgotten her, so when I saw her today, I was... Yeah, it was

quite hilarious. The women they had been sober debate was Keith's great

great grandmother, and he wants to find out more about her. I'm jolly

glad I'm not related to her! My ancestors are much prettier!

Portraits of soup was mad relatives lined the walls. This one is

excelled to the garage. Do you think those of family resemblance? I don't

think so for a moment! Until we knew who she was, we felt exactly the

same great picture. Now that I know she is a relation, I feel a little

bit more concerned to do the right thing. She certainly won't go to

auction. They will be a big family get—together this Christmas, with a

will decide what to do with her. But she is not the only ugly mug in web

household! I think that family are going to be

sharing her around, saying its not being in my house! That said France.

Join us tomorrow at 6:30pm. —— that's it for us.