17/10/2013 BBC Oxford News

Welcome to South Today from Oxford. Tonight ` the impact of the

teachers' strike. Hundreds of union members march through Oxford as

thousands of pupils stay home because their schools were closed.

Also tonight: the toddler born with a rare bone condition ` how surgeons

changed Ethan's life by rebuilding his skull.

And later on ` taking the rough with the smooth. Alexis drives the course

with one of the favourites in the British Rally Championships.

Good evening. More than 300 schools in our region have been affected by

today's strike by teachers. They were either closed or only partially

open. Members of the National Union of Teachers and the NASUWT took part

in the action in a row over pay, pensions and working conditions.

Jessica Cooper's been following the story ` what's been the impact of

the walk`out? It's been a day of disruption for

teachers, students and parents. There were at least 156 schools in

Oxfordshire closed or partially open.

Another 122 in Buckinghamshire. In Wiltshire, 101 schools were

affected by the strike. Around 300 union members gathered at

rally in Oxford concerned about changes to pay, pensions and

workloads. Some were keen to stress they were not walking out over

money. They are worried about the effect the changes will have on

children's education. Six hours a fortnight and he would like to cut

that. I want to make sure that the students have the energy that is

required to get the best out of the education. Aylesbury High School was

significantly affected, more than 700 of its older students were asked

to study at home. Some lessons did go ahead but with 20 fewer teachers,

some pupils were grouped together so that fewer staff were needed to

supervise. The head teacher says it was worth staying open. It was

really that we need to have as much education going on as we can. If

it's possible to have some lessons taking place, then they should. It

would have been easier to close the school, but because some years will

get benefit out of it, it was best to get them in. It feels really

weird because normally you see all the people running around, people in

the canteen, all laughing about. But now we are here there was nobody

there and there's not much fun school. What is the government

saying? The Department for Education said that it is disappointing that

the Nu T Andy NASUWT are striking over the government 's measures to

allow heads to play good teachers more. All strikes do is disrupt

parents lives, hold back children 's education and damaged the pep `` the

reputation of the profession. Teachers said they wanted to hold

talks with the government and if not, there are likely to be more

strikes on the way. There's been major disruption on the

M4 and A34 after two separate accidents involving car

transporters. Three people were seriously injured on the M4 between

Swindon and Hungerford in the early hours of the morning. Two of them

were drivers who were standing on the carriageway after the initial

crash. A man has been arrested on suspicion of dangerous driving.

The accident on the A34 happened at around 8am at East Ilsley. No`one

was injured but the northbound carriageway was closed for most of

the day so the central reservation could be repaired. One lane is still

shut. A man's being questioned on

suspicion of attempted murder after a woman was found with serious head

injuries at her home in Bletchley. The 29`year`old was found at a house

in Stoke Road yesterday. She's in a serious condition in Milton Keynes

Hospital. A 28`year`old man who was arrested is thought to be known to

the victim. A mother whose son had to undergo a

five`hour operation to treat a rare bone condition is urging other

parents to be aware of the symptoms. Two`year`old Ethan Mair was

diagnosed with craniosynostosis ` a condition that causes the skull to

fuse and which could have left him with learning difficulties and sight

problems. He was treated at a specialist unit at the John

Radcliffe hospital in Oxford. A happy, healthy toddler unaware of

the enormity of the operation he underwent a year ago. When Ethan was

born, his skull was already fused together. This meant his brain could

not expand and grow properly. The tell`tale signs of wear the shape of

even 's head from when he was about four weeks old. It was my daughter

that picked it up. As he got older, we did seem to notice that his

forehead was very protruding. He had a very long, thin, narrow head. It

looks massive. We were lucky that we got it picked up. I would have

noticed when he was older. But it wasn't until he was three or four

`month`old that you could really see it. So many people go under those.

Even underwent major surgery to break and rebuild his skull.

Surgeons cut a big zigzag right across his head to make room for his

head to grow normally. He had 69 stitches. Now the only signs are a

neat scar hidden under his care. If nothing is done about this, this

goal will continue to deform and there will be a risk of pressure

developing inside the head which could squash the brain and slow

development down and put a child at risk of having fits and seizures and

developmental delay. Cranial signs to is a very rare condition. It

affects one in 200,000 children. Most of them are boys. The operation

was five hours long and he lost all of his blood. They had to break his

skull and put it together again to make it normal. The good news is

that he will not need another operation like that again. It is

unbelievable. I can't believe what he has gone through. He is a lovely

little boy and you wouldn't know to look at him. The former

Gloucestershire coroner has pleaded guilty to charges of fraud and the

theft of ?2 million. Senior at a previous hearing, he stole money

from previous families. He will be sentenced next month.

Levels of reported crime in the region have fallen, but the number

of sexual offences has gone up. Figures released by the Office for

National Statistics show that in the Thames Valley, crime dropped by 6%

in the 12 months leading up to June. But the number of recorded sexual

offences increased by 14%. The company which runs the Cotswold

Country Park and Beach in Shorncote is being prosecuted for alleged

health and safety breaches. It follows the drowning of teenager

Kajil Devi in July 2010. The 15`year`old, who couldn't swim, had

hired an inflatable boat with relatives when the accident

happened. Cotswold District Council says it has sufficient evidence to

prosecute WM Active Ltd for noncompliance.

Clear up after your dog ` or you WILL be prosecuted. That's the

message to pet owners in Banbury. The Town Council says dog fouling

has become a serious problem. It says the mess on one sports field

alone has led to football matches being cancelled.

They say a dog is man's best friend, but that old adage is being put to

the test in Banbury. Steven walks his terrier on Horton View playing

fields throughout the year and always clears up any dog mess left

behind, but he can't understand why others don't do the same. I think

it's disgusting. There is no need for it. What do bags cost? Nothing.

There is no need for it. The signs are clear enough, but a local

football coach says they're being ignored. We have encountered,

especially since the start of the football season, quite a large

amount of dog mess on football pitches. It is an unpleasant task to

remove as a volunteer parent, coaching a football team, I have to

turn up earlier than I used to have to do. It is very hard to clear

them. And it's not just unpleasant. If children come into contact with

it it can cause nausea, dizziness and even fits. The Town Council says

its reached crisis point and they're going to start prosecuting. We could

issue on the spot fines. If people challenge it, we will take them to

County Court. We've arrived sports facilities and we want people to use

them. We want people to be responsible. If they are not

responsible, they will have to pay the consequences it through the

pocket. The message couldn't be clearer. The only question now is

whether the dog walkers in Banbury will clean up their act.

It wasn't too long ago that Red Bull were just making up the numbers in

Formula One. Now they are the sport's dominant force, closing in

on their fourth consecutive drivers and constructors titles.

Another team `` another victory for the team know one in Formula one can

catch, let alone pass. This number one and number two in Japan leaves

red Bull on the verge of another double. Some say there dominance of

eternal. It is not our responsibility to make it

interesting for other teams. It happens in every sport. Sometimes,

some teams end up having a run of success and thankfully, that has

been in Formula one. Over the years, Formula one has seen teams

dominate the chequered flag. Red Bull has one formula delete macro

has one macro 67 races. The second half of the season has been

dominated by red Bull. But it is still enjoyable to watch a great

team going about its task in such a brilliant manner. It is something we

can be proud of in Britain. But yes, I agree, it would be nice to see a

few different winners. So what hope for red Bull 's rivals? Not much

hope because this team have been able to divert key resources into

next year 's events because of their dominance next year. So the winner

next year is likely to be red Bull again. It is a big challenge. We are

spending a lot of money because of the massive change going into next

year. It is back in the UK, focusing on the development of our next car,

the RB ten. Hopefully, the solutions we come up with to those regulations

will stand us in good stead. Red Bull can't go on winning for ever,

but they will give it a try. That's it. More at 10:25pm. Now,

here's Sally Taylor with the rest of South Today.

the island. She set up the Wight Squirrel project to keep a record of

population numbers ` which have recently been in decline.

Still to come in this evening's South Today ` Alexis Green tests her

skills in a rally car. Join me later in the programme. I am

off to the test area. Dorset Police has become the latest

force in the South to start recruiting new officers. A

recruitment drive's due to begin soon to take up to 16 new recruits

by 2015 at a starting salary of ?19,000. But as forces still face

significant financial pressures, questions are being asked about how

they can afford it. Here's Simon Clemison.

In 2009 Dorset froze and so did police recruitment. The force is

still facing harsh economic conditions that after four years

there is some following up plans been announced to take on some new

constables. This far wanted to join the police

one year ago but could not. But he is worried about changing rates of

pay. You do not know if it would go down or up. The partial melting of

the recruitment freeze is significant because Dorset still has

to make it early and pounds of cuts to its budget. It is all ready shed

?14 million which has led to the loss of 500 jobs. It is good to

bring fresh people in and give people opportunity to join the

police. But we need to recognise this is a relatively small

recruitment against a substantial reduction in the number of officers.

The argue with those the workforce simply ages. A lot of people are

leaving the service at the moment. They have to start looking at

bringing new blood in some time. Now is as good a time as any. There are

still budget reductions to come. The least forces do not know their

funding beyond 2016 so this could be seen as a risk.

New transatlantic routes from Gatwick Airport are being launched

with a price tag of less than ?150 each way. Norwegian will fly to New

York, Los Angeles and Florida using a brand new Boeing 787 Dreamliner

aircraft, recalling the style of low budget pioneer Sir Freddie Laker,

who launched his sky train from Gatwick in the 1970s. Norwegian will

also start five new European services.

Plans for a multi`million pound bridge across the river Thames in

Reading, have been given the green light. The crossing for cyclists and

pedestrians, will link Christchurch Meadows with the redeveloped railway

station. Today councillors approved the project ` although it has

attracted criticism from cycling campaigners who don't think the

bridge will cope with demand. Five years after she sailed away

from Southampton, the first images have emerged of what a refurbished

QE2 will look like. On Tuesday we reported that a contract had been

signed with a shipyard in China to convert the former liner into a five

star hotel. Our Transport Correspondent Paul Clifton reports.

On her maiden voyage in May 1969 the QE2 was the pride of British

shipbuilding. All the bidders are keen to hold

onto their heritage. They will be reliving the heyday.

This bed is from British based designers. `` bid we want to

maintain the overall interior architecture. But fans of the QE2

may not like this idea. Visitors can ride an elevator to the top of the

final. Here are some of the other ideas for Bishop. The owners of the

ship hoped the work will be competed at the Chinese shipyard. Asked macro

ideas for the vessel. Paul, we've been here before. Half a

dozen plans for QE2 have been announced. None of them have

actually happened. These plans seem much more advanced. But the liner

was due to leave Dubai tomorrow, and that is definitely not happening.

The bid to berth the QE2 opposite the O2 Arena in London has fallen

silent. The current plan is to take the refurbished ship on a three

month tour of Far Eastern ports. But there are still many unanswered

questions: We don't know where Southampton's best known ship will

end up, we don't know who will operate it, or when, or who is

actually going to pay for it. But today we do know more than we did

before. All this week we've been looking at

China and what effect its growing economy is having here in the South.

In the Thames Valley contracts are being signed and businesses are

moving in. Berkshire's Silicon Valley is slowly becoming recognised

in China as a place to do business as our Business Correspondent,

Alastair Fee, discovered. The swapping of business cards

happens the world over. The Thames Valley area is becoming allocation

for Chinese business. I believe there is a lot more can be done.

Bracknell is actively wooing the Chinese. One year on and these talks

are continuing. We are close to Heathrow. We have some of the best

road links in the country. When you are talking about inward investment

it is not just about as this premises, but where are the

workforce going to live, where are the executive is going to live? It

has been a good year for the Thames Valley. A Chinese telecoms giants

moved its headquarters to Reading. They have pledged to invest millions

and create hundreds of jobs. This is no difference to doing business with

France and Germany. We will take awhile to to know each other well.

When you do trust is built. But unless we get permission from the

business we cannot say who is doing what. High`tech business is a Thames

Valley speciality. Bracknell is ahead of the game and in time these

meetings could be worth a lot of money.

Tomorrow on South Today Alastair will be visiting the Poole based

luxury yacht builder sun`seeker who have recently completed a deal to

sell a stake of its business to a Chinese property group. And you can

see all of our reports looking at China's links with the South on our

Facebook page. Here is the sport. This is from

Southhampton NBM Viewdata. `` in Bermuda.

Justin Rose was beaten into second place at the PGA Grand Slam of Golf

event in Bermuda. Rose qualified thanks to winning this year's US

Open and competed against the two other major winners. The third, Phil

Mickelson, didn't compete and his place was taken by Padraig

Harrington. The former Hampshire based player led by two going into

the final round but was beaten by Adam Scott who shot a 64 to clinch

the title in Southampton. A soldier from Hampshire who lost

his legs on duty in Afghanistan is hoping to go to the Paralympic

Winter Games in Russia next year in the sport of sledge hockey. The

team, funded entirely by sponsors, are heading to Turin this weekend to

take part in a six nation event which acts as a final qualifier for

a place at the Games in Sochi. Andover's Tyler Christopher says

hopes are high for the GB team. Everyone else is at a certain

level. I enjoy it because it is fast and furious. It is a team game. I

enjoy playing team games. This weekend, for the first time

ever, the annual Rallye sun`seeker doubles up as the final stage of the

British Rally Championships. The event starts tomorrow in Poole and

finishes at Somerley House near Ringwood. Winners will be crowned on

Poole Quay on Saturday afternoon. Alexis had a taste of the action and

took a ride round the circuit with one of the favourites.

Hands up who is a back`seat driver? Today I am a passenger with a driver

reading class five of the Rally Championships. He is from Finland

and he is not scared of a bit of speed. Rallying is a sport where

every split second counts. Learning how to do this takes years. You need

to concentrate many days before a rally. You need to keep your head

cooled down. Today we are on a test area. On Saturday it is the final

showdown. Ten stages across the Dorset and Hampshire border. It is

always difficult to concentrate on the right things. Each stage

Bailey's induration. The shortest is two and a half minutes, the longest

active ten minutes. It is going to be a big battle. As for the car,

?110,000 by you are high spec and an engine that produces 210 horsepower.

Around these forest tracks the car 's average speed is 60 mph. This is

their final round of this year 's British championship.

He hopes to be crowned British champion on Saturday evening. I have

been reading for months in the series. We need to be on the podium

when the rally ends. We need to fork is to win that rally. `` focus to

win that rally. We have had a good relationship with

that over the years. We had the two Rogers.

It kick`started the season in February. But this year it is the

final round. There are a couple of places going at the world Rally

championship. Big incentive this weekend.

Did you have breakfast before you went?

Yes, but I did regret it. Moving on to the weather.

. Raymond Slack took this photo of pigeons chilling out on the banks of

the river Wey in Guildford. Pete Collins took this photo of a Red

Kite under blue skies in Reading. And reflections in rock pools on

Littlehampton Beach by Roger Kirk. One or two showers today. The main

thing tonight is missed and fog patches could be dense and

widespread in a few places. One or two showers. Temperatures tonight

will be down to 14 Celsius. The mist and fog may cause travel disruption

tomorrow morning. Stay tuned to your local BBC radio station for the

latest on the travel situation. Tomorrow morning the mist and fog

will lift into low cloud. There will be one or two showers. There will be

longer periods of light to moderate rain. During the afternoon there

will be some bright spells. Highs of 16 Celsius. A brisk South easterly

wind. Tomorrow evening the rain makes a return. It will be heavy in

a few places drifting up from the South. Very mild temperatures

tomorrow night. I'll start to the weekend. That sets the theme for the

weekend. But was the miles. Low pressure in charge of our weather.

Showers to follow in amongst some bright spells on Saturday. More

sunshine on Sunday. There will be some rain about tomorrow. A dry

period during late afternoon. The rain makes a return tomorrow

evening. Saturday, sunny spells, the odd shower. More sunshine on Sunday.

Showers will be on the heavy side. They will be blasted a showers with

the south`westerly wind. Next week we hold onto the and settled

conditions. `` and settled conditions.

That is all for now. Tomorrow night we will look ahead to

a big Premier League games. Be with us tomorrow if you can.

Goodbye.