22/10/2013 BBC Oxford News

pretty soggy. Thank you. That is all from the BBC. We can

Hello and welcome. In tonight's programme, the cost of police car

crashes as the Thames Valley force has spent 2.5 million pounds in

recent years on collisions involving its own vehicles. This crash left a

motorist injured, and a lorry driver is told he will stand trial. Later

on: The spread of diseases. Will this entice hospital staff to get

their flu jab? Good evening. It's emerged Thames

Valley Police has spent ?2.5 million in the last six years paying for

crashes involving its own vehicles. Two officers have been prosecuted.

Figures obtained by the BBC show the number of collisions is coming down

but a road safety charity claims more training is needed. Jessica

Cooper has been looking at the figures.

The figures show Thames Valley Police says its officers drive over

27 million miles every year ` responding to hundreds of thousands

of calls. In the last six years its fleet vehicles have been involved in

more than 5,500 crashes. The collisions range from hitting a

pheasant and careless reversing to stopping a pursuit by crashing into

a suspect's vehicle. Last year alone there were 902 claims. Police were

at fault in more than half. The man in charge of the roads policing unit

says the figures are coming down. I would like to reassure the public

that every collision we are involved in, we will look at what we can do.

We have reduced the number of crashes by 50%. The force says it is

not above the law. Two officers have been prosecuted and fined. One, who

was prosecuted for dangerous driving, was disqualified for more

than a year. The former Chief Constable of the force says it's

important to look closely at the findings. Well, if you look at the

figures, a small number of accidents have happened when blue lights are

being used. When that is happening, officers are being pretty careful. I

would be more concerned about the accidents that take place outside of

that. Careless driving, officers who are not using the kit, that would

worry me. Training varies depending on the role of the officer but

Thames Valley Police says it meets or exceeds the national standard.

It's introducing data recorders and cameras into some of its vehicles.

The road safety charity Brake says the figures are concerning, adding,

"While police often need to respond quickly to emergencies, this must be

balanced with not putting the public in danger of injury or death" . The

government is also looking to change the law to make sure drivers have

completed a high speed training course before being able to break

the speed limits. Oxfordshire County Council has

admitted it failed to tell its counterparts in Gloucestershire

about a teenager who went on to commit a violent sex attack. Kane

Lammin was jailed for ten years this month for sexually assaulting a

teenager in a cellar in Gloucester last year. Child protection officers

here didn't tell the children's department at Gloucestershire

Council that the 17`year`old was leaving its care to live in the

county. Oxfordshire County Council says it did however tell the youth

offending service in the neighbouring county about the move.

The former Radio One and BBC Three counties DJ Dave Lee Travis has

pleaded not guilty to 15 sexual offences. The presenter, who lives

near Wingrave in Buckinghamhsire, appeared at Southwark Crown Court in

London. He's denied 14 indecent assaults and one sexual assault `

against teenage girls and women over a period of 30 years. His trial will

start in January. A Dutch lorry driver has pleaded not guilty to

dangerous driving after a crash near Milton Keynes in June, which left a

car driver seriously injured. He was granted bail, and now faces a trial

at Aylesbury Crown Court. Neil Bradford reports. Milton Keynes

magistrates heard is that the man had been driving lorries in the UK

for around nine years, and on the 10th of June this year, he was

driving a 44 tonne Volvo lorry on a bypass near Milton Keynes. Just

after 6pm, he crashed into the back of a Ford Fiesta in lane one of a

2`lane carriageway. The driver, a 21`year`old man, was still inside

and seriously injured in the impact. He was flown to hospital with head

injuries. The court heard that the man was driving at a constant speed

of 56 miles an hour. On seeing the rope and down car, he did not take

avoiding action. The Dutch lorry driver denies one charge of

dangerous driving and was given unconditional bail before a trial at

Aylesbury Crown Court at a date to be fixed.

A company that has been dumping thousands of tonnes of human waste

into an Oxfordshire quarry has been told it won't be allowed to continue

its operation. Villagers in Wroxton, near Banbury, say they have been

plagued with flies ` and the smell has been awful. Council officials

argued that the contractor Peter Bennie Limited had used 20 times the

amount of waste needed to return the soil to agricultural use at the

quarry. The body of a soldier who was killed in Afganistan has been

brought home through RAF Brize Norton in West Oxfordshire.

22`year`old Lance Corporal James Brynin, from Sussex, was on patrol a

week ago when he was shot. His body was flown into Brize Norton this

afternoon. In the run`up to Remembrance Day, a row has broken

out in Milton Keynes which could sour the commemorations next month.

The Royal British Legion is so unhappy with the new MK Rose

memorial, which opens in a few weeks, that's it's going to boycott

it. The Rose will be made up of more than 100 pillars. As well as one for

Armistice Day, they'll also be pillars recognising World Maths Day

and International Joke Day. The Legion says it's not suitable to

honour the war dead. Anna Todd explains. Here there will always be

something to think about. Emerging out of the MK Rose, there will be

pillars. They include things like skipping day and tea bag day.

Somewhere, down there, sandwiched between all of that, is a pillar

representing Armistice Day. It is this that has ruffled the feathers

of some war veterans. This man will not be coming here. This is one year

where I feel I cannot act in true honour as a standard`bearer. To me,

the cross is a sign of remembrance for the dead, and men and women from

all wars. Not far away, more traditional war memorials are being

built. The MK Rose, I have never seen anything like it. Is it

insulting? Yes, I think it is, right next to Armistice Day, that is a

joke. Some of them are saying that is not the right place. It detracts

from the enormity of the situation. I think he is right and they should

have another area for the heroes of the country. Those behind the MK

Rose say that veterans are missing the point. What we have created for

the modern city is a new form, a new way of people being able to mark the

remembrance for what is an important day. For some service men and

women, this is not and will never be a fitting memorial to the fallen.

A selection of public art work has gone on display in Didcot `

encouraging people to remember those who've served their country. The

Cornerstone Art Project features a "window wall" created by adults and

school children ` who took part in a competition to design it earlier

this year. It will remain at the Cornerstone until Remembrance Day

next month. The project's been funded by the town council, with

support from Age UK Oxfordshire and the military. It is important that

we get the chance to consider. Even if we are not of a military

background, we all have experience, whether it be our parents or

grandparents's experience. I have contrasted the war and peace as it

is now. I looked at how the future would be, which is peace.

Just time to tell you about BBC Radio Oxford's Big Tour which

continues in Thame tomorrow. On the breakfast show from six, Phil Gayle

and friends will hear about a credit union expanding in Thame, Aylesbury

and Milton Keynes. That's on 95.2FM and on your digital radio. That's

all from me for the moment. I'll have the headlines at eight and a

full bulletin at 10.25. Now more of today's stories with Sally Taylor.

of the fly tipping involved household waste.

Still to come in this evening's South Today: The youngsters

preparing to go on court with some of the world's biggest tennis stars.

With winter approaching, the flu season is just around the corner and

it's likely to affect tens of thousands of people. Hospitals have

been told to give vaccinations to their own staff. Last year, many

struggle to get anywhere near that figure, so they are now using a

range of incentives to hit their targets. Our health correspondent

spent the day at a hospital near Portsmouth where teams of nurses are

on the prowl. Emma Fisher is a nurse with a list.

It is her job to get all 130 staff vaccinated on her ward. Once you

approach people and explain it, I try to ease their worry. It is just

talking them through it, making them comfortable as you would with

patients. They are your patient for that moment in time. Vaccinating

staff also protects vulnerable patients like this baby, 15 weeks

premature. But getting people to have the jab is not always easy. So

far, 35% of staff have been done, nurses have the best rates, junior

doctors have the worst. The target is 75%, which is very ambitious. We

have 52 clinics across the trust. We are working, early and late

clinics, weekend clinics, to try and get as many staff as we can. The key

issue is that we need staff to come in and have their vaccine to protect

themselves and their patients and families. All hospitals are trying

new ways to get staff to have the jab. At Poole, they have made a kung

fu fighting video. Back in Portsmouth, every case of suspected

flu, inpatient or staff, is tested here. This will give us a result,

somewhere in the region of three to three and a half hours, the sample

had been taken. It is very accurate and sensitive and specific. It is as

a result we can believe. For Emma, the work goes on. So far, 60 staff

of food vaccinated `` 60 staff have been vaccinated.

The future of staff and inmates at Reading Prison will be discussed

tonight. The prison is due to shut in December. However, since learning

of the closure last month, Reading Borough Council says it has had no

contact from the Ministry of Justice. This evening, the council

will start drawing up a plan looking at possible future uses for the

Grade Two listed building. May contain nuts. You have seen it on

food packets, but not for much longer. From the end of next year,

new food labelling rules come into force which change the way

information is displayed. Including specific details of ingredients

which might cause allergies. It is a big change, in particular for

restaurants. And food businesses today got a chance to find out what

it will mean at a conference organised by a campaigner from

Eastleigh. Choosing where to eat out can be a

frustrating process for allergy sufferers. Campaigner Michelle

Berriedale`Johnson says restaurants who give detailed allergy

information are in the minority. But that will have to change from next

year. Customers will have a legal right to know if what's on the menu

contains allergens. They don't have to have it written, they can tell

them about it, but they have to be able to tell them accurately. This

EU legislation will govern all of our food regulations and come from

Brussels. It means that it is slow and clunky to get there, but at

least it means anywhere you go in Europe now the regulations are

exactly the same. The list of 14 includes some established allergens

such as all types of shellfish. Peanuts and other nuts will both

have to be listed and not lumped together, and less well known

allergens include sulphur dioxide used as a preservative and

ingredients derived from the lupin plant. Today's conference in

Southampton aimed to spread the word about the changes. The organiser,

Eastleigh food allergy sufferer Caroline Benjamin, was to be found

in the kitchen overseeing a lunch menu designed to show off food free

from allergies. Her new business offers training to those who'll be

affected by the regulations. I think it is great to be a struggle,

especially for smaller businesses, because there is going to be a cost

implication for them. They are going to have to follow it through. They

will have to start thinking about it now. It possibly clears up some of

the grey areas. When you know what you must do rather than may do, it

offers clarity. We are cooking everything from scratch, we know

what is in our food, we can happily offer customers what they are

looking for. Trading Standards will enforce the law, which will also

require clear labelling of allergens on packaged food. They admit

policing the changes won't be easy. In Southampton, we have hundreds of

takeaways, restaurants, sandwich shops. It applies completely across

the board. There is a lot of them and not many of us. Maximum fines

for breaking the law will be around 5,000 pounds but today's conference

focused on avoiding the penalties and making the most of the business

opportunities in serving the UK's 21 million allergy sufferers with the

right food combined with the right information. Millions of pounds will

be poured into improving Wiltshire's roads. The county

council has decided. 150 miles of road is to be resurfaced every year

for the next six years. It will cost an extra ?52 million. It is hoped

this move will clear the maintenance backlog in the county.

It's called the Grand hotel and in its heyday it was. But time and the

elements have taken their toll on the Art Deco building which occupies

a prominent site in Sandown. Campaigners want it restored but the

owners want to demolish it and build a new hotel. Today the Isle of Wight

council was asked to decide it's fate. James Ingham reports.

It's a building well past its best ` to some an eyesore, to others a

unique piece of history that must be preserved. The Grand hotel has stood

on Sandown's seafront for 75 years. It was a premier destination. But

it's been empty for more than a year. Pat Lutley's father and uncles

built the hotel. She remembers the Grand in better days. At that time,

when it was new, it was all pink and white. And the awning all around the

edge was pink and white stripes. It was very grand. And there were lots

of palm trees and plants all around it as well. You could have been in

Nice. It was quite beautiful. It wasn't long finished when the Second

World War broke out. The basement was taken over as a control room for

the Pluto project, overseeing fuel pumping through pipelines to the

Allies in France. But nothing remains of that hub, and planning

officials say the Art Deco features aren't particularly noteworthy so

there's no reason the building can't be demolished. This has been an

important building, a very nice building, but just no longer fit for

purpose. Sandown is a beautiful town, but one of the problems we

have got is we have a small number of derelict or semiderelict

buildings that are letting the town down. We can start the regeneration

process here if this application is approved today. But it hasn't been.

In the past hour, councillors rejected the plans, Devin

campaigners hope that the hotel will one day be restored to its former

glory. This year's warm summer has brought

a welcome tourism boost to the region. The Isle of Wight saw a ?21

million increase in the amount of money spent by tourists, thanks to

the high temperatures. VisitEngland said more than half of attractions

nationwide saw a rise in bookings over the holiday months. Onto sport,

we will start with one of the greatest in cricket.

It was a great summer for cricket. It was back in 1973 as well. Gordon

Greenidge spent a lot of his youth in Redding as well, but one of that

great Caribbean generation. Greenidge was at the Ageas Bowl to

see one of the newest projects by the Hampshire Cricket Community

Trust. And to mark his appearance there was a Caribbean feel to the

occasion. Gordon Greenidge is one of the faces

of the Calypso cricket era, an era which saw West Indian players on top

of the world. My word. His exploits for Hampshire are the stuff of

legend as well, a championship winner and a welcome choice to open

the new centre. A project from the Hampshire cricket community trust.

Being back at Hampshire and opening the centre which I know will be a

great benefit to the schools and pupils within the area. And also, it

is hoped that by opening the doors, that they will take a bigger

interest in cricket. The centre has cutting`edge technology, and one of

the scheme is already in place sees these youngsters teaching older

generations more about an increasingly online world. It is

time we start contributing back to our community. It is just another

step in that direction. The centre is showing off Caribbean cricket's

influence on Hampshire during Black history month. I hope it is not just

players from the Caribbean, but the relationship that is formed which

will continue. That's championship success, time flies. I can't

remember that far back. It was good to be part of the championship team

of that year. I think we won the championship with perhaps the least

team Hampshire have had over the years. It was good, and I am very

pleased to have been part of it. Very pleased to see Gordon Greenidge

back in the South. In football, Portsmouth bid to make

it five games unbeaten in all competitions when they play their

second home game in four days tonight. 15,000 saw them beat Bury

on Saturday. Tonight, Wycombe are the visitors. John Marquis should

feature having extended his loan spell for another month from

Millwall. Away from Fratton Park, Oxford are

at Exeter who are a place above them in the table. There's also League

One home games for both Swindon and MK Dons. It's all live on BBC Local

radio. Tucked away in a sports centre in

Hampshire this week, a group of school children are being put

through their paces as they prepare to be ball kids for the world's top

men's tennis players. They'll be on court at the O2 Arena next month and

Ed Sherry reports on their training. This is Boot Camp, tennis style. The

youngsters on Hampshire this week have been short listed from 14

regional trials. They are ready to serve the world's best tennis

players as ball kids at the ATP finals. We have been learning

different ball skills, balance, skill, stamina, speed skills as

well. You have to stay in focus and if you mess your bit up, you will

muck up for the whole team. You have to stay alert the whole time and

just make sure you don't make a mistake. The kids will be mixing on

court with superstars like Rafa Nadal. I am excited about going but

in front of all those people you are wondering, can you do this? I want

them to be moulded into a lean machine. A real inner confidence

that they know exactly what their job is on court. And that they will

enjoy the experience. The tournament begins on November the 4th, these

ball kids will be ready. They will need to be. It can be

quite fiery on court if you make a mistake. I would pay money to be a

ball kid if Rafa Nadal is playing. It's a bit of a celebration now, it

started life as a pilot idea when there was a demand for local radio

stations. 30 years ago, BBC and Eyton `` BBC Radio Brighton began

broadcasting. A special programme was broadcast today live from the

city where it began. The current host was joined by the original

breakfast presenter. Congratulations to them. Onto the weather forecast.

It could be quite a noisy night weather`wise? Yes, we have already

had a lot of flashes of lightning. Pumpkin picking in the rain at

Sopley in Hampshire. This photo was taken by Chris Grimmett. Autumnal

colours in the rain at Winkworth Arboretum near Godalming in Surrey

by Nicky Morgan. That is beautiful. This one is not bad either. Richard

Johnston took this photo of the sun shining in Christchurch this

afternoon. Many thunderstorms on the cards

through the course of tonight. Heavy thundery showers, bands of showers

pushing up from the south, which is why the Met Office have issued a

yellow weather warning for heavy rain. That is valid until 6am

tomorrow morning. Through the course of tonight the showers will work

their way up from the south, claps of thunder, lightning as well, with

heavy torrential downpours in places, and with it, very squally

winds. Costs along the south coast of around 60 mph, potentially

damaging wind gusts along the coast. Inland gusts of 40 mph.

Temperatures stay mild despite the rain, lows of 14 to 15 Celsius. A

wet start tomorrow, some showers initially, thunderstorms will die

out and the sun will make an appearance. A lovely afternoon in

store. Temperatures rising nicely. In our towns and cities, up to 15,

16, potentially 17 Celsius. Winds will ease tomorrow. It will feel

pleasant, winds coming in from the west tomorrow afternoon. Through the

course of tomorrow night, mist and fog will form in places. That could

cause disruption on the roads. Reduced visibility, temperatures

falling to around eight to 13 Celsius. A complete contrast in

temperatures from the north to the south of the region. I'll start the

day on Thursday, a dry start. `` eight mild start. This area of low

pressure springs and rain `` swings in rain. Quite heavy rainfall on the

cards on Thursday night into Friday morning. The Met Office are keeping

close eye on the situation. At the end of the week we will see showers,

temperatures will rise nicely in the afternoon, the winds will gradually

ease. A cloudy start to Thursday, a decent day, some sunny spells, any

showers will be few and far between. Heavy rain on Thursday

night into Friday morning, on Saturday, probably the best day of

the weekend with bright spells. Thank you very much. Keep those

pictures coming in. Tomorrow's sport, something really interesting.

We told you the story of the former Southampton youngster who had a very

serious bout of illness. His life was in danger, and the doctors

described his recovery as a miracle. The era of Gareth Bale and Theo

Walcott. He was part of that era. He could be talking with us tomorrow

night so be with us for that. Thank you for watching. Good night.