12/03/2014 BBC Oxford News

Good evening. People in Oxford are That's all from us.

Good evening. People in Oxford are being offered homes as far `way as

Birmingham because the council can't find accommodation for them in the

city. The council says therd's not enough affordable housing for all

the homeless people who need it in Oxford so it's offering places to

live in other parts of the TK but a tenant we've spoken to says she

won't leave the area. Sinead Carroll has the story.

Birmingham, the UK's second city. Vibrant, busy and diverse. But not

appealing as a hometown if xour family and friends are all hn

Oxford. I would rather be homeless on the streets than live in

Birmingham because I would be homeless in Birmingham, apart from

having a roof over my head. I wouldn't be able to see my friends

and family. And Elysha is not the only person on housing benefits to

be offered accommodation outside Oxfordshire. High rents and high

demand have priced homeless people like Elysha out of the markdt. The

city council have a duty of care to families like this to find

accommodation but now they `re looking beyond the county. People

are coming to me when they received a letter from the council, telling

them the council will securd accommodation for them, and

sometimes, these people are waiting for these letters for sever`l

months. Since December, we have had eight people through the doors who

don't want to move to these locations. Oxford is not thd first

place to offer accommodation. This is the London borough of Hackney.

Council officials there werd so desperate to encourage people to

move out of their congested borough that they even offered cash

incentives of ?500 to those who moved out of Hackney. That's not on

the cards in Oxford. The city council says it's been houshng

people in nearby towns like Abingdon and Kidlington for a decade but now

it's having to consider property outside of Oxfordshire. So far, only

five households have taken tp the offer. Elysha and her familx are

challenging the council's offer She still hopes to find a home hn

Oxford, where her little girls can be near her family.

A farmer from Oxfordshire h`s been fined for breaking health and safety

rules after a man died on hhs land. Dean Henderson Smith fell through

the roof of a barn in Besselsleigh in 2012. John Binning admitted

failing to have proper safety measures in place. Peter Cooke

reports. It was Dean Henderson Smith's

second`to`last day at work hn October 2012 when he was asked to

replace skylights on a roof at Great Park Farm in Besselsleigh. The

46`year`old had previously served in the army for 22 years but hd and a

colleague hadn't been wearing helmets or harnesses when hd stepped

on a skylight, falling seven metres. He died of multiple injuries in

hospital. The owner of the farm John Binning, was initially charged

with manslaughter. That charge was dropped but this week, he pleaded

guilty to failing to ensure the safety and welfare of his worker.

John and his family regret the tragic accident that resultdd in the

loss of a valued employee. They would like to express their

condolences to Dean's familx and friends. And those closest to him

gave their reaction. Dean's partner said the last 16 months havd been

the worst of her life. The day she found out about her death w`s

devastating. In one moment, her life was wrecked and would never be the

same. Since this tragic death, a number of health and safety

improvements have been made at the farm near Cumnor. The judge ordered

John to pay a fine of ?67,500, saying the 65`year`old had failed to

appreciate he had responsibhlity for the health and safety of sole of his

workers and that the death of Dean was a profound tragedy in the prime

of his life. A former policewoman from B`nbury

has been jailed for three and a half years for selling personal details

of accident victims. Sugra Hanif got information from the Thames Valley

Police computer and with her lover, Raza Khan, planned to sell ht to

firms of solicitors to purste compensation claims. The referral

fees paid could have netted them ?1 million. Khan was jailed for three

years. Police in Swindon have rele`sed an

image of two women who robbdd an 85`year`old in her home. Thd pair

were captured on CCTV as thdy left George Hall Court in Januarx. They

went into the woman's flat `t 7am, took her into the lounge and then

stole almost ?2,000 from a bag in her bedroom.

A former teacher who raised concerns about behaviour at a public school

in South Oxfordshire has lost her claim for constructive dismhssal.

Rachel Ashley claimed she w`s unfairly forced to resign from her

post at the Oratory School hn Woodcote after she reported extreme

bullying. An employment tribunal found in favour of the school.

Six months after they startdd the project, two carpenters frol

Oxfordshire have seen their efforts go from the workshop to the water.

Richard Wicks and Michael Ydarwood have been crafting lock gatds

weighing 2.5 tonnes. Today the gates were manoevered into place `t

Grafton on the River Thames. Jeremy Stern reports.

It's taken hundreds of hours to turn huge chunks of shapeless wood into

the two lock gates put in place today. Concentration was kex at

Grafton Lock near Faringdon. The two carpenters, who crafted the gates in

Oxford, said the job requirdd patience, care and an indoor crane.

It's all handbuilt and it is heavy work, so we have to have thd right

lifting equipment and tools to do the job. The timber is very dense

and hard. There was just enough time for some last`minute perfecting but

the carpenters are convinced their gates can withstand water pressure,

knocks from boats and any wdather. The old gates lasted nearly 40

years. The new ones were moved in with the hope they can survhve even

longer. When you see them on to have put into it, it's definitelx good,

especially when the gates are fitted. It's a good feeling. Some

spectators may have been wondering when everything's going to get back

to normal. The Environment @gency says the new gates will be opened

and closed before Easter. That's it from us for now. Sarah

Farmer is on the way with the weather forecast. From all of us

here on the late team, goodnight. We have clear spells for a time but

we will slowly start to see the mist and fog spreading in. As we head

towards the early hours, we can expect fog to work its way hnto our

part of the world. That fog is with us to start the day tomorrow

morning. There is a yellow weather warning in place for those foggy

positions but they should lhft at 10am and then we should see bright

and sunny skies develop. It's a similar story as we start the day on

Friday. Foggy first thing. We may see a warning like today

Friday but fog less of a problem over the weekend.

Good evening. Step outside in the morning and it feels a bit fresh.

Reassure yourself, it could be a lot worse. Exactly a year ago it was

extraordinarily cold and snowy. These were some of the scenes. This

march is very different. A very pleasant in the sunshine, once the

fog has cleared. The fog is re-forming again right now. Nasty

patches developing through the night, becoming widespread across

England and Wales. In the north-west, rain across Scotland.

Temperatures well below these values. We have a yellow warning in

force from the Met Office for fog. Could be very difficult patches

around and disruption is certainly possible. Check your BBC local radio

station in the morning. These are