06/01/2014 BBC Oxford News

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

Preparing for the waters to rise. With roads already flooded, people

are warned to protect their properties.

Also tonight: How housing could be built next to Oxford United's home

ground, paving the way for a fourth stand at the Stadium.

And later on, fundraisers trying to help this six`year`old boy argument

by fraudsters in America. Slowly but surely, the River Thames

is rising. The Environment Agency says there's a real risk that low

lying properties in Oxford and nearby will flood, if not tonight,

then in the days to come. People in vulnerable properties have been

warned to prepare for the floodwater to come into their homes. Thousands

of sandbags have been issued in areas most at risk. Many roads have

been closed tonight. And the recent heavy rainfall seeping into our

waterways means the situation is only likely to get worse. A man in

his forties died on Saturday after his mobility scooter ran off the

towpath and into the fast flowing water near Osney. Victoria Cook

reports. The water levels are still rising,

the floods have forced major roads in Oxford to close some have

remained open, but are becoming increasingly difficult to use. Over

the next couple of days, the situation is set to get worse. The

Thames is a slow responding reversal all of that rain is now making its

way from the tributaries into the main channel and up it comes. Pretty

slowly. We think that the water levels here in Oxford for instance

will continue to rise for another couple of days. This stretch of the

River runs from the lock and it has burst its banks and flooded the

footpath. It was this a spot on Saturday where a man using a

mobility scooter went into the water. He was rescued but they were

unable to save his life. This may look like a lake, but 24 hours ago

this was a football pitch in west Oxford. Next door, allotments are

submerged under 3ft of water. Across the county sandbags have been given

out by local councils. If you have sandbags then do not wait, you need

them on your property and have them ready to you can put them straight

in place in the water rises. I managed to get 250 sandbags, and I

have 350 sandbags now, courtesy of the planning officer. We defeated

those added the village and so we feel pretty well`prepared. People

have seen this happen before but there is still concern about the

damage it could cause. If it rises to the more timid `` inches it could

go up the steps and into my kitchen. Oxford is low`lying and there are so

many channels of water, there are bits of towns everywhere and they

are all coming up and rolling along so it is a worry.

The environment agency says the floods haven't reached their peak

yet, and any more rain here ` or elsewhere further up the Thames is

likely to cause more flooding. For those who think their homes may

flood, the advice is to seek help earlier rather than later.

The environment agency says the situation is changing our buy our

and are urging people in the flood risk areas to take all sensible

precautions and keep checking for the latest information.

Land around Oxford's Kassam Stadium could be re`developed for housing.

Provisional talks are underway ahead of any formal planning application

being submitted. The BBC understands that the stadium's owners are

working with developer Taylor Wimpey, and Oxford City Council, on

proposals to build 250 homes on part of the existing car park. There's

speculation that the currently "open" corners of the stadium may be

filled`in with apartments. The work could also pave the way for

construction of a long`hoped`for fourth stand, which would be

welcomed by supporters. At this point we don't exactly what is

involved and that is the key thing, learning what is involved and

ultimately any development must be beneficial for the football club and

supporters would own the welcome any kind of development that has a

beneficial impact for the football club. Wedding services are often

emotional but the ceremony taking place in Swindon today was more

touching than most. The bride had recently learned her father was

terminally ill, and appealed on social media for a wedding dress, so

she could bring the date forward. Her dream was to have her dad walk

her down the aisle. Sally Challoner reports.

It is a moment that Gary thought he might not live to see. Walking his

daughter up the aisle. But this wedding was put together in just a

month, thanks to the Facebook community. Healey's friends Louise

and Mark put out an appeal after she said she wanted the wedding to be

earlier saw her father could be there to give her away. Everything

you see everyone has donated. From the cupcakes to the decorations to

the food, everything. Everyone has deleted it. Just before Christmas

like everyone else I saw something on Facebook and thought, I have a

free Church, I am not doing anything on that Monday, let's see if they

want to get married in the church. I take great pleasure in proclaiming

the Arno husband`and`wife. It was just very important in amazing. Like

I said, last night he had a very bad night and I really did not think he

would be here today but he will keep fighting and he has done it. That he

has what you did the aisle. Yes, that is what she wanted. It is just

great for me. How much did it mean to you to make it here today? I did

not think I would make it today, I wasn't feeling too good at all this

morning. But I have made it. What an amazing, special day.

Criminal lawyers in our region have been protesting over government

plans to cut the legal aid budget by ?220 million. There was a

demonstration outside Oxford Crown Court this morning against the

proposals. Ministers say they need to make savings over the next five

years but lawyers claim their fees could be cut by as much as 30%.

There are also worries the cuts would lead to fewer people being

legally represented. One of the biggest events in the

farming calendar is getting underway in Oxfordshire this evening. The

Oxford Farming Conference sees farmers from around the UK meet to

discuss best practice and debate the challenges they face in the year

ahead. A special report has been written for this year which stresses

the need for new types of investment in the industry. For many people the

New Year is a time of reflection, people come to this farming

conference in January at the start of the year wanting to be

challenged, informed and inspired. They come here thinking about how

they will look at the business for the future, the ideas from the

conference and get going into the New Year.

Lots of us find maths a little scary. Well, a dad from Didcot has

created a new board game with ghostly characters aimed at

encouraging school children to learn through play. It's already gone down

a storm at one school in Oxfordshire, who got the chance to

try it out before Christmas. And as Adina Campbell reports, the game's

now gaining interest from teachers on the other side of the world.

Waiting to find out what in the box, a group of schoolchildren in bloody

are deep in thought about playing a new game with a twist. They are not

just here to have fun, they are huddled together to learn more about

maths. Creator Matthew typically came up with the idea six`month ``

six years ago after his daughter struggled with the subject. I wanted

the game to a low children or players to try and lots of different

mathematics that the new and learn all mathematics, to try different

calculations. The idea of getting that to work in a game that was

enjoyable and fun, that took time. By making it fun he decided to use

zombies, the aim of the game is to fight the living dead by using

different mathematical techniques. This school near Didcot has been

testing the game over the past year and it is now being used in

classrooms. It has not only had interest locally, it has been sold

to a school in New Zealand. It is so hard to learn anything unless you

are relaxed and happy and if you have a new made this voice saying, I

can't do maths or feeling anxious, it will hold you back from taking in

new information. Latest figures show children in achieving slightly above

the national average when it comes to gaining five GCSEs including

English and maths. Boys are more likely to do maths at a level

according to the National database. What do the children here make a" it

encourages you to play, it is not like the teacher encouraging me to

play my DS but she would encourage me to play this. There are not many

games like this but it is great fun. You get advanced levels and normal

levels. After years of work and investing more than 40,000 homes

Matthew is hoping his game will be used in more schools in 2014.

That's all from me for the moment. I'll have the headlines at eight.

With more of today's stories, here's Sally Taylor.

Charity fundraisers are being urged to make sure they take proper

precautions to avoid being targeted by internet scammers. One

Bournemouth family set up a website to raise money for an operation for

their disabled son, but soon found eight fake websites in America

raising money in his name and siphoning off donations made by

unsuspecting well`wishers. Katy Austin reports.

Elliott is six and a half years old, he has cerebral palsy, which affects

his legs. Eliot relies on crutches or a wheelchair to walk. He needs an

operation soon to strengthen his legs. I like to run a lot, to give

me plenty of exercise. And when your legs are better you will be able to

do more. Yes. The operation will cost over ?66,000, fundraising has

gone well but... We found out somebody had copied details from our

website, our first website we set up, and WorldCom mandrake pretending

to be someone else to get money. They have got some of the fake sites

in America" that only after strangers had donated hundreds of

pounds to them. Action Ford says it is hard to tell whether it is

genuine `` fraud. The advice they give is to check a charity is

registered with the charities commission, check the collection is

authorised by their charity and look out for any spelling mistakes in a

fundraising e`mail. A charity is helping them to safely

fund raise online. We would ask all the families that we support and

help to go through a registered charity like ours and use a

respected brand. People living in the Hampshire town

of Yateley are being asked whether or not the local cemetery should

allow decorations and ornaments to be left on graves. Heathlands

Cemetery is officially meant to be laid to lawn with plain headstones,

but some families have embellished the graves of loved ones. For the

second time in two years the town council is attempting to clarify the

rules on an issue which divides opinion. Chrissy Sturt reports.

Heathlands Cemetery, gently warmed by winter sunshine, a place of

tranquillity. But some of those who come regularly to tend the graves of

their loved ones feel far from peace. This is officially a lawn

cemetery and the town council is again consulting on whether

decorations and adornments should be allowed, or cleared away. The grave

of David Cox's father is one of the more elaborate. We should have a

choice, if a person wants grass on their loved ones' graves let them

have grass but if people want to decorate their graves up, I think

they should be able to do it. We would like to go back as it was. We

feel all the time we are in life we feel we can come and look after it.

Warned they were breaking the rules by the council two years, this

couple cleared their daughter's grave. We used to come up in the

summer and I put some plants on it, make it like a garden. I didn't want

them taking our stuff off so I did it. But a lot of other people

haven't done it, that has made us angry. I feel it is not the same.

7,000 questionnaires have been sent to homes in Yateley, asking what

people want the rules to be, then it's up to the town councillors to

make a decision. The solution would be something

everybody feels comfortable with, and reflect the solution everyone

would feel would be the right one. People have until the middle of

February to make their views known. There are warnings that Portsmouth's

Queen Alexandra Hospital is under intense pressure following the

festive period. More than 300 people turned up to A on New Year's Day

alone, exceeding capacity by 10%. There's also been a big influx of

elderly patients with serious chest infections. Another issue is people

who've put off seeking medical help over the holidays.

Now, Inside Out South returns for the New Year tonight. And for the

first programme the team has been looking at cycling in the South and

asking whether the sport has grown out of control. More and more people

have been getting in the saddle since the London Olympics. But the

growth in road races has angered some residents in the New Forest who

say laws are needed to regulate the events.

To see people out trying to go down narrow, single`track planes in mass

numbers as fast as they can, without any regard to anybody else is not

acceptable. It is not some of the extension of the anti`cyclist 's

back gardens, it is a national park for everybody to enjoy.

There's more on Inside Out, tonight at 7.30 on BBC One including a look

behind the scenes during the final days of the historic Jackson's

department store in Reading. A couple of heart`warming stories. FA

Cup third`round weekend, that brings the romantics out because they think

about giant`killing. Two different types of the story, both equally

very good. We will call you about the poor West Ham fan in a moment

but Bournemouth, what about this. They were playing Burton Albion, an

hour and a half it was postponed because of the heavy rain, so

Bournemouth van had a great idea, let's pay for the travel for the

Burton fans to come back again and it has really worked.

David Whitehead's idea quickly spread and by Sunday night he'd

raised almost ?3,000. Dean Court was still showing the

effect of the heavy rain today, but David was given a warm welcome by

the Bournemouth chairman. By Sunday night his idea had seen fans from

around the country raise enough to bring eight coach loads of Burton

fans back down next Tuesday. We had contributions from people

from many club is, Liverpool, full, Tranmere, scum bop, some in Sweden,

all saying the same thing. We are all part of the football family, as

fans we have got a lot in common, nice to help each other out. We

built up an amazing relationship when we had our moments of glory and

people thinking back to that day, why was it so special, all the

staff, the stewards, let us take over the stadium.

It is all the best in football when there is a rich bad news around. The

surplus money will go to charity. Bournemouth were the big winners of

the weekend without even playing. They'll host Liverpool at home in

round four, if they beat the League two side next Tuesday night. Oxford

won't play their tie at Charlton until next Tuesday either, it's been

postponed again tomorrow night. Southampton have a home tie.

And it's at St Mary's where the round up starts with a seven`goal

thriller. Southhampton then's pass seemed smooth thanks to these two

rectangles. But Burnley fought back through Hampshire boys some folks

who was told he was too big by Southampton as a youngster, and

Danny Ings who grew up in Netley. Southampton rescued the type through

a goal from Jay Rodriguez, and although barely pulled one back

after this effort, Saints held out. Reading boss Nigel Adkins said he

had `` hoped uncertainty over the club 's future would be over soon.

MK dons get another crack at the cup holders, they were 2`0 down at Wigan

but then Reeves pulled them back into the game before half`time, with

two side fitted finishes. They missed a penalty and fell behind

again when Alan McManaman scored, but just six minutes were left when

Patrick Bamford completed a scramble to send the type to a replay. ``

send the tie. You may have seen this picture in

the morning papers. Michael Carberry surveys the remains of his bat, and

perhaps his England career. The Hampshire batsman top scored with 43

as England slumped to a final humiliating defeat as they were

whitewashed in the Ashes series. Carberry's bat breaking summed up

the tour. Despite some reasonable knocks it's thought major changes

will be on the way and that could spell the end of Carberry's test

career. There was a notable victory for

Worthing Thunder basketball club over the weekend. They beat the

league leaders Hemel Storm 85`75 at the Worthing Leisure Centre. Bud

Johnston was on target with a series of three pointers as Thunder downed

the table toppers with a fine display in front of their home fans.

Reading Rockets had a home win over Westminster. Basingstoke bison is

stayed top of ice hockey's Premier League they had victory over

Manchester Phoenix. London Irish will try to bring

Australian star James O'Connor back to the club next season. O'Connor

scored all 22 points as they beat bottom of the table Worcester for

only their third win of the season on Saturday at Reading's Madejski

stadium. He added to this try with five penalties and a conversion. To

our second heart`warming story of the weekend. Maybe you saw this

yesterday, West Ham supporter in tears has his side crashed out of

the FA Cup by Nottingham Forest, the dream of Wembley cup final over in

the competition at least. West Ham saw how distraught he was, and they

have invited him to be a guest in the directors box at a future game.

He takes us through the pain. When they scored, I was like, oh

no, we have two score another goal. Then the second goal I was like, I

am going to grow. So then five, four, three, two, one... The third

goal, again. The fourth goal... The fifth goal... Then at the end...

I am just glad it stopped at five. Paul, Callum. Defeats, they can

really hurt you. They have got a semifinal in the capital one cup. He

might be celebrating again. You might be feeling a little down,

perhaps it was your first day back at work, the weather's rubbish and

the New Year's resolutions are testing your resolve. So here's an

uplifting story for you about a Sri Lankan tea farmer called Lakshman

who lost his leg in an accident. For more than a decade Lakshman's been

getting around on a false limb he fashioned out of tin. That's right,

a homemade metal leg because he couldn't afford a proper prosthetic.

Now a charity run from West Sussex has decided he needs an upgrade. Rob

Powell has the story. Fashioned from tin, this homemade

prosthetic leg looks more like medieval armour than a mobility aid.

It's owner, and maker, is Lakshman, a Sri Lankan tea farmer, now being

helped by the West Sussex charity Extra Cover.

He had a story that would melt anybody's heart, he lost his leg in

a bear trap which was bad enough then a few months later he was

helping his brother built a house and they had to blow up a rock to

make room for it and unfortunately the expression blinded him

completely. Lakshman's wife and teenage son are

also both disabled. The three of them live together in one room,

supported by Lakshman's tea picking and brush making. All carried out

with no eyesight and a homemade leg. There is a foot that is very popular

in Asia, a rubber foot, which is for a lot of people who have lost their

feet in mines and explosions, and I think he gets hold of those and then

he fashions those with the rest of the lake that he makes himself.

Now Matthew, his family, and his charity are raising money to get

Lakshman a new leg, and a new home. Matthew set up the charity Extra

Cover after the Boxing Day Tsunami. Sri Lanka has special significance,

his son Ben had been playing cricket on the island just three days before

the tsunami hit. It is humbling, having that thought

in our heads as dad heads out year in, year out keeps this going, there

is no reason to stop and help is needed.

And they're not going to stop. The next Sri Lanka trip is planned for

February. And for Lakshman, plans are currently being drawn up for his

new home, and his new leg. The poor people in Jalandhar are as

poor as anywhere in the world, but they do make you think what have we

got to worry about? Lax man has made that feel `` made us feel that more

than anyone. His life is bizarre, and we walk away from him and say

why on earth do we worry about anything? It certainly does put

things into perspective. We wish him all the best and

hopefully the charity can help them. Let's move on to the weather.

We are not out of the woods until midweek onwards when we see the

high`pressure turning it more settled.

Barry Goble took this picture of the crashing waves and high tide

Worthing Lido today. Anne Biggins captured the flood water from the

River Avon in Fordingbridge Park. And Harnham Water Meadows and

Cathedral Close taken from Salisbury Cathedral Tower by Chris White.

More rain through the course of the night in the form of torrential

showers. The Met office have issued a weather warning. That is valid

through the course of tonight and tomorrow. We may have another inch

of rain fall. Some torrential downpours, thunderstorms, hail mixed

in. The showers by dawn tomorrow will merge into longer spells of

rain. With the rain there will be some gale force wind gust along the

south coast. With a high tide at the moment the risk of some large waves

on coastal stretches. A mild nights, despite the cloud and rain,

thunderstorms continuing through the day tomorrow. The showers will

gradually ease throughout the day. Some dry conditions, the odd shower.

The wind along the south coast touching gale force. All in all, the

wind will be lighter than today. Another band of rain moves in and

that could produce some heavy rainfall which is why the warning is

still in place tomorrow. Temperatures stay mild. A drier

started the day on Wednesday, but it will not stay that way. Another

weather front moving out from the, the wind stays light `` the

Atlantic. The rain could be torrential and heavy, lasting

through much of the afternoon, into Wednesday evening. Another inch of

rain for a possibility. There isn't a warning as of yet, but the Met

office are keeping a close eye. Stay tuned to the forecast. A lot of rain

tonight in the form of showers. More rain Wednesday night into Thursday.

High`pressure built on Thursday onwards.

We were watching that snow in America last night.

Tomorrow night sees the start of Stargazing Live on BBC Two with

Professor Brian Cox and Dara O Briain. As well as the TV show,

there are live events around the country. Ours is in Portsmouth

Historic Dockyard. All the tickets have been allocated but we will get

you a ring side seat as we hope to be live from there with Alex Dyke in

tomorrow night's programme. Make sure you are with us for that. More

at 8pm and 10:25pm. Goodbye. TOM: # And if there's

anybody left in here # That doesn't want

to be out there... #