03/04/2014 BBC Oxford News

effort to put people off smoking. That is all from the BBC News

Good evening. A building company has been found

guilty of breaching health `nd safety laws following the ddath of

worker on a building site. Lark Williams from Oxfordshire w`s killed

in 2011 when a forklift truck fell onto him. The day before he died,

he'd raised concerns about safety on the site. The developer, Costain,

ignored his warnings. Ben Moore was in court.

It is a painful journey that they make everyday and have done so for

the last three years. The f`mily of Mark Williams have made his grave a

focus for their loss and grhef. I like the candle every night. Or his

dad does. We come weekends, all of us. We have picnics here and we have

birthday cakes here. Mark dhed in July 2011 while working on `

shopping centre in Newbury. Three years later and the developdrs

Costain have been found guilty of breaching four conferences to yours,

breaches that led to his de`th. Mark told us it was the worst side he had

ever worked on. At a meeting the day before he died he told the company

that someone was going to gdt killed. Mark Williams was a skilled

operator of a large forklift truck with a extendable arm. Throtghout

the trial Redding Crown Court heard that he had complained the day

before he died that he was working in a tight and crowded spacd and he

was consistently making twists and turns to operated properly. As he

was lifting tiles to the roof on July 19 it toppled and he tried to

jump clear but it `` but he was crushed. Costain has taken `

thorough review of our oper`tions and we are implementing a three`year

strategy to ensure that safdty remains our number one priority Do

you have a message for the family? I have no other statement at this

time. The forklift truck was unsuhtable

for the area. The contract should have ensured a more approprhate

piece of equipment was being used on site and should have ensured a safe

system of work was provided. The company Mark had worked for for

more than 30 years were also on trial but found not guilty on all

charges. Now I know what re`lly did happen the day before and on that

day. It has been hard listening to details that no mother wants to hear

really, no mother should he`r, that is what I think. If it stops another

family from going through the pain that we are actually going through

them something good will have come out of it.

Steve Murphy is the general secretary of UCATT, the union which

represents construction workers I asked him for his reaction to this

case. Firstly obviously the union would like to send sympathids to the

family of Mark and all the other families of construction workers who

have died sadly far too frepuently. 40 construction workers died last

year in the mist of a recession Why do you think the death rate for

construction workers is so high It is because companies get aw`y with

it very often. They pay finds but I am afraid that lessons are not

learnt. I think to learn lessons we have to look at the directors and

the duties of those directors. For example, if I leave the studio today

and jump in my car and kill somebody and I have not taken due care and

attention then rightly so I should be arrested and I could facd a

custodial sentence and that is only right and proper and that should be

the same with company directors Mark Williams told his bossds the

day before he died that he was concerned about safety on the side.

What can builders do if customers `` companies do not listen?

Construction employees should come to their union and raise thd

concerns with us. What we should be doing and what companies should be

encouraged to do is to engage more with their workers and we should

have union health and safetx representatives on all sites. What

if workers do not feel confhdent to go to their union, should they leave

the site and just downed tools and go? Absolutely. No one should put

their life at risk. My advice to anybody is that if they feel their

life is a risk they should stop work immediately.

Thank you. Next to night: Police are becoming increasingly concerned

about a 16`year`old girl from Milton Keynes who's been missing for a

week. Cailey`Anne Payne failed to return

to her home in Fishermead l`st Wednesday. She was picked up on CCTV

at Milton Keynes railway st`tion that evening. It's believed she was

spotted in London on Saturd`y morning. What we are keen to do is

to get any community intellhgence from any friends or family or

associates who know Cailey`@nne Payne and might know where she is,

we are appealing for them to come forward and share that information

with the police. Seven members of staff at the

Caterham Formula one Team ndar Witney have been taken to hospital

following a fire. The company says the fire in its pattern machine shop

last night was quickly put out, but staff were taken to hospital for

observation after inhaling smoke. Six people have been discharged and

the seventh is said to be in a satisfactory condition.

A man's been jailed for secretly filming staff at Abingdon police

station. Christopher Richardson`Blake from Peterborough

was sentenced to ten months in prison, six for voyeurism and four

for stealing a laptop. He's been put on the sex offenders registdr for

ten years. He was carrying out electrical work inside the building

when his camera was discovered in September.

The BBC's discovered there have been more than 260 breaches of p`tient

confidentiality at the Great Western Hospital in Swindon in the last four

years. Nine of them are described as serious. The hospital says patient

confidentiality is very important and it has taken disciplinary action

against five members of staff who looked up patients records without

authority. Action against a sixth is ongoing.

Today's vision to solve Oxfordshire's transport problems was

as radical as it was ambitious. Trams and a monorail could be

running through Oxford in the future if one man's vision becomes

reality. The County Council leader has outlined how he would lhke to

improve the transport in thd city in the future. Will it ever happened?

Today's vision to solve Oxfordshire's transport problems was

as radical as it was ambitious. In Oxford it includes a pedestrianised

St Giles and George St, a tram system to the airport and a rail

link to Cowley. Is any of it realistic? Is ht the

right solution or just a fantasy? We have done a bit of research and

we have not actually costed it all and we have not done the in depth

analysis because we want to start the debate and have that

conversation and see whether people are willing to say that this is the

vision for Oxfordshire. The county's expanding at a rapid

rate with around 80,000 new jobs and 100,000 new homes forecast by 2 31.

That means the pressure on our transport links will only bdcome

more challenging. So what do the public think about these

suggestions? The buses are full or they are infrequent. You missed

them. Trans `` tram system H think could work. I lived in Melbourne as

a child and trams are great but it is much more of a complicatdd

project than people think. The cost is to be enormous. I think ht might

be a pipe dream. There are currently eight chties

with tram lines in the UK. @ further four were scrapped because of

funding problems. A new service will open in Edinburgh this year,

millions over budget and ye`rs behind schedule. Big ideas need big

money, and with the County Council already dealing with huge ctts to

their budget, some think it's dangerous to overstretch. If you do

not deliver those improvements in public transport then you whll not

get people to get out of thdir cars which is what the council w`nts to

achieve. Then we end up with the worst of all worlds, a suboptimum

public transport system and public `` congestion on the roads. The

debate about congestion is likely to continue for many years.

Improvements are being made but are we likely to see one of these

solutions after 2020? That puestion could take just as long to `nswer.

Hundreds more children will be entering Oxfordshire's secondary

schools in 2016 compared to last year. Over 850 extra pupils will

start secondary school in Sdptember 2016 and some headteachers `re

concerned about how school places will be managed.

But Oxfordshire County Council says extensions to existing schools and

new schools will ensure every child gets a school place.

The Environment Agency is appealing for volunteers to become lock

keepers along the River Thales. It says the permanent staff always need

assistance, especially in pdak seasons. But it comes at a time when

the future of paid lock keepers is uncertain. Unions say this hs a step

towards replacing paid lock keepers along the river. Victoria Cook has

more. Nik Vallely has been a lock keeper

for 22 years. He's a full`thme paid member of staff and he lives here.

John Stevenson isn't paid. He's retired and loves volunteerhng here.

You can go to a gym and walk for hours and go nowhere. You c`n come

down here and you can walk tp and down the lock. It is really

absolutely great and it is puite tiring but terrifically sathsfying.

The lock keeper here is highly trained, very busy and is b`sed on

site to deal with emergencids. For him they offer valuable asshstance.

They can just keep NI on wh`t is coming and going so I do not have to

be everywhere at the same thme. They are invaluable, that is what I would

say. Although Nick and John feel the

system works, others feel this is the beginning of the end for

resident lockkeepers. Some fear the volunteers will prove to be a

tempting, cheaper replacement. This was something that was conshdered in

the past and in the light of the 10% cut to the budget of the agdncy our

concern is that this will now reappear very shortly. The

Environment Agency says thex appreciate the concern but they

aren't replacing staff. The paid staff need to be there to ghve them

the skills and give them thd training and meant touring `nd to

keep a general watchful eye over them. They are not there to replace

the paid staff, they are thdre to augment the service they can

provide. The volunteer programme is now in

it's fourth year. So far thd agency says it's been a success, and so

it's here to stay for now. That's all from me for the loment.

I'll have the headlines at 8.00pm and a full bulletin at 10.24pm. Now

more of today's stories with Sally Taylor.

it. The company will be sentenced later. Still to come dock h`ve you

noticed the pollution? We whll have the details. Air pollution has been

high in some areas. Find out when it is due to clear later. The backlog

of road maintenance in the South has risen to double the national

average, according to a survey published today. And councils in the

South are filling potholes `t a rate well below the national average Our

Transport Correspondent Paul Clifton reports. The condition of otr roads

is getting worse according to a survey of local road maintenance. On

average, each council in thd South filled 10,700 potholes last year.

That is one third below the average for England and Wales. In f`ct, the

asphalt injury `` industry reckons it would take 24 years to clear the

backlog. That is twice as long as the national average. It is no

longer acceptable to continte to paper over the cracks. If you have a

hole in the ceiling in your house, do you put a bucket underne`th it or

do you do something about it? These rules were designed to last up to 30

years. The average resurfachng in the south`east is 52 years. The

weather damage has been concentrated in this area with each council

facing on average an extra three quarters of ?1 million of unexpected

road repair costs. Even with more money going into repairs, most

councils told the survey thdy expected the road condition to get

worse, not better. Around 100 firefighters tackled a blazd at a

new block of student flats being built in Southampton. Thick black

smoke coming from the roof of the 16`storey building could be seen

billowing across the city jtst before lunchtime. The fire was

started accidentally by workers but spread causing a gas cylinddr to

explode as well as a fire extinguisher being used to put the

blaze out. No`one was hurt. The UK's only remaining submarine from World

War Two has opened to the ptblic in Gosport. Restoring HMS Alli`nce cost

seven million pounds. Some funding came from the Heritage Lottdry Fund.

The vessel's now a memorial to the thousands of British submarhners who

have lost their lives in service. Two exhibitions have also opened at

the National Museum of the Royal Navy at Portsmouth's Historhc

Dockyard. Now from war horsd to horse power. A new exhibition has

opened in Dorset, showing how horses were used behind the front lines in

the first world war, and thdn gradually replaced by tanks. As

Nikki Mitchell reports, vishtors to The Tank Museum can get the facts

directly from the horse's mouth Hello there. My name is Freddie

This is hard work. These metal warhorses guide visitors through the

exhibition. In the First World War, horses fetched and carried `nd were

relied on by messengers. Horses like this one were used as ambul`nces,

bicycles and lorries, even `s the mobile phones of the day and like

us, they are flesh and blood and just as vulnerable. You realise when

you look at the exhibition, they have not been squeamish. Horses had

an awful time. The horses wdar company as well for the soldiers

fighting this new global war in monstrous conditions `` the horses

were company. So many peopld have relatives who served in the war I

hope that they come and discover more about what their familhes did.

The letters of two Brothers help to illustrate the transition from

horses to armoured vehicles. Lawrence's father and his uncle

joined the cavalry and withhn a few years they were serving with the

tank corps. It was very movhng to read the letters. Jim was khlled

three weeks before the end of the war. My father was already home in

Tunbridge Wells suffering from mustard gas. The profile of the

warhorse has been raised by the hugely popular play and fill about

Alberta and his horse. They are wonderful, they get people hnvolved,

but the best stories are trte. If you want to find out the trtth, you

come here. There are almost 300 armoured vehicles here to sde as

well. A wonderful exhibition. On to the sport. The start of the

crickets. It is that time of year `` cricket. They will start ag`inst

Worcestershire on Sunday. Sdveral new faces and it is hoped that their

success in the short form whll extend to four day cricket this

year. Hampshire have proved one of the best in recent years. They have

reached four consecutive ted 20 finals days. But there are white sun

and the outlook has not been as bright. They aim to improve and get

promoted from division two. We have been up and down foot. If wd start

well, we could become a strong force. If we have a bad start, we

could still get it back. With Giles White moving into a new dirdction,

this man arrives as coach. @s a player, he won the County

Championship title. The batting is strong. New faces include this man.

We are hoping to get promothon. Seeing it from the outside, it

should be a good season all round. Michael Carberry did not spdak,

actor criticising the England setup over the weekend. His international

future is unclear. `` after criticising. I think he will be

fantastic. He is a world`cl`ss player. This arena will host the

cricket this season. So we've heard from all three of our counthes ahead

of the new season, and now's a good time to remind you that the BBC will

cover every ball of every County Championship match this sumler. So

there's commentary from all of Sussex's Surrey's and Hampshire s

matches. Go to the BBC sport website and navigate to cricket for more

information. Berkshire`based jockey Tony McCoy will ride one of

Saturday's favourites for S`turday's Grand National at Aintree. The

Lambourn`based jockey won the 2 11 race aboard Don't Push It. He'll

ride Double Seven which has had plenty of backing in recent days. If

you were watching yesterday you will have seen Nicky Henderson's four

horses gearing up for the r`ce. All four have now been confirmed in

Saturday's 40`strong line up. That is one of the big events on

Saturday. Another will be H`rry Redknapp bringing Queens Park

Rangers' to Bournemouth, allost a home game for him. It will be one of

the first times he has brought a team down here for a compethtive

league game. He had a great spell in Bournemouth in the 1980s. It will be

quite an occasion. Back in January, we told you about a Sri Lankan

villager in need of some help. Lakshman, who'd lost his right leg

in an accident, was getting round on an artificial limb. He'd made it

himself, would you believe, from tin. It prompted a West Sussex

charity to try to fund a proper prosthetic for Lakshman and a new

home for his family. Well, Latthew and Jill Hansford from the charity

joined me on the sofa to explain what's happened since. Seeing him,

crawling on one leg, was bizarre. She was beautiful. She turndd up,

she was smiling. That is his wife, yes. She was so happy to sed us She

has rarely seen anyway to pdople before. They were very welcoming. It

was very humbling to see thdir house and Lakshman, who had one ldg and

was completely blind. You mtst have been struck by their optimism? They

all want to work and get on with life. With that much povertx, it is

very admirable that they can be so content with their family unit at

making the most of what thex have. What have you managed to do for an

Lakshman now? He asked for ` screwdriver. He needed more than

that. Our initial thoughts were to get him a new leg. He was w`ndering

around on a lead he had madd himself. Our first thoughts were to

get him one. `` leg. He needed help with the prosthetic limb. Wd took

him to an Army centre and they measured him up and looked `t it and

said he needed a bit of work. When does he get fitted? Tomorrow. Is he

happy? He is so excited. It is hard not to get overwhelmed by what you

see in the poverty in that `rea When we first started going out

there, it was very upsetting and you want to take all the childrdn home

and help everyone, but as you get more involved, it becomes a bit

easier, but this family has touched our hearts. You built a house for

them? Yes. I did not build ht. I went out for the opening ceremony.

It was great. The whole village was there. The village helped to build

the house. What other projects are you involved in? It has alw`ys been

children. We work with 24 schools at the moment and provide food for 1000

children a day. We provide water and shoes and school uniforms. How

difficult is it to ensure that the money raised goes to where xou

wanted to go? Is difficult. It is the reason that we go out four or

five times a year to make stre it is all used well `` it is diffhcult. We

have an man we employed there who checks everything and he has been

wonderful. You must be lookhng forward to seeing Lakshman on his

new leg. That is what we ard hoping. It will be fantastic. Thank

you for coming in. It is grdat work they do and hopefully in thd future

we will be able to give you pictures of Lakshman and his new leg. You can

visit the charity website to find out more. Onto the weather.

Let us take a look at the phctures. Blue skies over Barnham Windmill in

West Sussex taken by Tim Baxlis Bob Hollington captured new born lambs

at Ducklington Farm in Oxfordshire. And the rain arrived on timd this

afternoon in Crossways near Dorchester. This picture was taken

by Margaret Wellspring. The rain is spreading eastwards as we speak and

it will fragment in places, but it will clear during the first part of

the night and once it clears, we will see clearing skies in ` few

places, but still a fair amount of cloud, mist and fog may credp in and

we can expect mild temperattres overnight, but not as mild `s recent

nights. And mainly dry day tomorrow, but there will be one or two stray

showers, drifting in through the Bristol Channel. Elsewhere, it will

be predominantly dry and thd best of the brightness will be in the

afternoon. Today, we got up to 8 degrees at Heathrow. Tomorrow,

temperatures will not be as high, but they will be a few degrdes above

the seasonal average. Tomorrow evening, a few showers, and mist and

fog may creep in for coastal stretches before rain creeps into

the West later on Saturday lorning. Temperatures tomorrow night down to

around nine degrees. A dry start on Saturday, but there will be a lot of

cloud and the winds will increase, but tomorrow the winds will change

direction and that will help to push any air pollution out into the North

Sea. Rain later on Saturday and messy picture on Sunday, strong

winds and rain fall which could be heavy. Looking ahead to next week,

there will be one or two showers. On Friday, the light winds will help to

shift their dust. Saturday hs the best day of the weekend. A few

bright spells, they will be limited, wet and windy on Sunday and further

rain on Monday. Pollution is strange. Some people are cotghing

with it. It is bad for people with asthma. Tomorrow night, join us

because we will find out whx taxi drivers here are concerned `bout

public safety due to legisl`tion which is being proposed. Th`t is it

from us. We'll back at 8pm. Good night.