:00:00. > :00:13.Good evening. A 75`year`old woman has pleaded
:00:14. > :00:17.guilty to the murder of her husband, claiming it was an act of mercy.
:00:18. > :00:22.Sheila Sampford from Milton Keynes appeared via video link from prison.
:00:23. > :00:25.The court heard how she told police that her 83`year`old terminally ill
:00:26. > :00:31.husband's death, was part of a suicide pact. Jessica Cooper
:00:32. > :00:34.reports. Sheila Sampford appeard in court via
:00:35. > :00:38.in court via videolink from prison. When asked how she pleaded to the
:00:39. > :00:43.charge of murdering her husband she said guilty. It was on the 5th of
:00:44. > :00:46.July last year that police were called to a house in Spoonley Wood,
:00:47. > :00:50.Bancroft Park and found John Sampford who'd been strangled to
:00:51. > :00:55.death. Neighbours have described them as a lovely, genuine couple we
:00:56. > :00:58.ho'd been married for 50 years. Saying John was Sheila's rock and
:00:59. > :01:03.he'd been receiving treatment for leukaemia. The court heard today
:01:04. > :01:07.that Sheila Sampford told police the death was part of a suicide pact.
:01:08. > :01:11.The prosecution said the issue to consider was if she believed the
:01:12. > :01:15.killing was an act of mercy. The defence told the court, "The only
:01:16. > :01:20.matter is whether he asked her to do what she then did to him." Sheila
:01:21. > :01:24.Sampford is due back in court next month, when the judge will decide if
:01:25. > :01:29.he should impose an automatic life sentence. The sentence she's given
:01:30. > :01:32.will depend of whether the judge believes she carried out a mercy
:01:33. > :01:36.killing. Jessica Cooper, BBC South Today.
:01:37. > :01:39.It's the wettest January on record, according to Oxford University, and
:01:40. > :01:42.there's going to be more rain overnight.
:01:43. > :01:48.Weather experts at Green Templeton College have been measuring rainfall
:01:49. > :01:54.every day since 1767. There's now been more than 138 millimetres this
:01:55. > :01:58.month. The last time it was that wet was in 1852. The Environment Agency
:01:59. > :02:01.has issued a number of flood warnings and says our region is
:02:02. > :02:05.particularly at risk because the ground is so saturated already.
:02:06. > :02:10.Campaigners in Wiltshire are calling on the government to try and stop
:02:11. > :02:14.solar farm developments. Seven different projects are planned for
:02:15. > :02:17.500 acres of land around Seend. But critics say they will spoil the
:02:18. > :02:22.view. A debate in Parliament has been told, there are enough
:02:23. > :02:26.safeguards. Paul Barltrop has more. Coming soon to a field near you.
:02:27. > :02:30.Solar power is booming as Britain shifts to cleaner energy. This solar
:02:31. > :02:42.farm near Melksham is one of the first in Wiltshire. Close by,
:02:43. > :02:47.another is planned, 20 times larger. In what it is one Briton's biggest
:02:48. > :02:52.solar farms, what has Royal locals is that so many are planned for this
:02:53. > :02:59.area. Within a five mile radius there could be no less than seven.
:03:00. > :03:01.In the village they've mobilised. They're putting pressure on
:03:02. > :03:07.Wiltshire council which is deciding whether to grant planning
:03:08. > :03:14.permission. I and others in our group are very
:03:15. > :03:18.in favour of renewables, we are just scared and concerned that our area
:03:19. > :03:23.is going to be lighted by such overwhelming numbers of solar
:03:24. > :03:26.panels. The firm behind the biggest scheme have some local backing.
:03:27. > :03:28.It'll go on low`grade agricultural land; the community will receive
:03:29. > :03:35.$40,000 a year. It's claimed fears have been exaggerated.
:03:36. > :03:42.Within five miles of a particular point where are over 50,000 acres.
:03:43. > :03:51.It's roughly one present. Within that context, sites have been
:03:52. > :03:59.designed discreetly and so the ultimate visual impact is minimal.
:04:00. > :04:02.In Parliament one Wiltshire MP stressed the need to use brownfield
:04:03. > :04:05.sites. There was reassurance from a government minister that enough IS
:04:06. > :04:06.being done to protect prime countryside.
:04:07. > :04:10.That is the reason why we have issued further planning practice
:04:11. > :04:15.guidance on renewable and low carbon energy. So the energy revolution
:04:16. > :04:20.goes on. Soon solar farms may be as much a fixture of the countryside
:04:21. > :04:22.as, well, pylons. While the Prime Minister led a
:04:23. > :04:25.UK`France meeting at the Oxfordshire airbase Brize Norton earlier, this
:04:26. > :04:31.weekend marks a special anniversary for staff at RAF Benson. Tomorrow
:04:32. > :04:35.will be 75 years since the airbase first opened. It comes as a new
:04:36. > :04:38.generation of aircraft has been drafted in, as part of a
:04:39. > :04:43.multi`million pound upgrade. BBC South was the first TV crew aboard
:04:44. > :04:48.the new Puma mark two. Stuart Tinworth has been looking back at
:04:49. > :04:56.the airbase's history. Preparing for take off back in the
:04:57. > :05:00.1940s. It's loaded up with the necessary
:05:01. > :05:03.equipment. Throughout the second world war, aircraft at RAF Benson
:05:04. > :05:06.was used to gather photographic evidence. But over the last 75 years
:05:07. > :05:09.many other important tasks have happened here. As well transporting
:05:10. > :05:14.kings and queens, RAF Benson has been home to Puma helicopters for
:05:15. > :05:18.nearly 20 years. The last few months though have marked a new generation
:05:19. > :05:32.of aircraft ` a multi million pound upgrade from the Puma MK1 to the new
:05:33. > :05:35.MK2. This upgrade is part of a ?260 million programme, and it means that
:05:36. > :05:40.this helicopter can travel with 35 present more power. It can go
:05:41. > :05:43.faster, and thanks to increasing fuel efficiency it can also go
:05:44. > :05:52.further. And staff here believe it's a good investment. It has a
:05:53. > :05:58.worldwide deployable capability at short notice for rapid rebuild
:05:59. > :06:00.within four hours to have the aircraft flying and operating. These
:06:01. > :06:02.Pumas can carry up to 16 fully`equipped troops and have
:06:03. > :06:09.highly advanced digitised glass cockpits ` arguably more efficient
:06:10. > :06:16.than some Merlin helicopters. Investment in Puma has been a great
:06:17. > :06:23.boon in the future of the capability at RAF Benson is moving to the
:06:24. > :06:27.Navy. Seven of the RAF's fleet of the new pumas have so far been
:06:28. > :06:30.delivered to RAF Benson. The rest will be handed over next year.
:06:31. > :06:37.And now for a look at the weather, here's Alexis Green.
:06:38. > :06:40.One or two showers through the course of the night which will bring
:06:41. > :06:45.the risk of ice where temperatures fall away rapidly towards the
:06:46. > :06:49.freezing mark. The winds will increase through the morning
:06:50. > :06:53.tomorrow, and we are looking at dusty conditions tomorrow, feeling
:06:54. > :06:58.chilly out and about with showers rolling in from the south`west. They
:06:59. > :07:05.could be heavy. We could have sleet over higher ground. Temperatures
:07:06. > :07:07.will reach six or seven Celsius. The south`westerly wind will make it
:07:08. > :07:17.feel cold in the open. Showers tomorrow, fewer showers on Sunday.
:07:18. > :07:25.The winds lighter tomorrow. We look ahead to next week, the winds start
:07:26. > :07:28.to pick up, rain will spreading and last until Wednesday.
:07:29. > :07:31.That's all from me and the team tonight. We're back during BBC
:07:32. > :07:42.Breakfast tomorrow morning from six o'clock. For now, though,
:07:43. > :07:48.Good evening. Today's heavy and persistent rain is disappearing over
:07:49. > :07:55.the horizon. Sadly, the other problems are not. Problems to come
:07:56. > :07:58.tonight include snow over Scotland and Northern Ireland, and tomorrow,
:07:59. > :08:03.strong winds and high tides bringing the potential for flooding. This
:08:04. > :08:04.area of