:00:00. > :00:10.Good evening. Our top story tonight: in a few minutes. Now we
:00:11. > :00:14.Good evening. Our top story tonight: The Wiltshire police officer who
:00:15. > :00:19.fired a 50,000 volt taser into the chest of a naked suspect in a cell
:00:20. > :00:24.has been cleared of all charges. PC Lee Birch denied responding angrily
:00:25. > :00:27.when a prisoner acted violently. Today he was found not guilty of
:00:28. > :00:33.assault and misconduct in a public place. Steve Brodie reports. PC Lee
:00:34. > :00:38.Birch left court after the jury recorded its not guilty verdict in
:00:39. > :00:41.just 60 minutes. They reached their decision after watching CCTV of the
:00:42. > :00:46.officer firing the electronic stun`gun into the chest of Daniel
:00:47. > :00:51.Dove. The jury watched the CCTV, which showed Daniel Dove being told
:00:52. > :00:54.to strip. When he reached his boxer shorts, he took them off and flipped
:00:55. > :00:58.them at PC Birch. The police officer then produced the taser stun`gun,
:00:59. > :01:01.which he had been hiding behind his back and shot Mr Dove in the chest.
:01:02. > :01:07.Daniel Dove collapsed naked onto the floor of the cell after being hit by
:01:08. > :01:10.50,000 volts. The prosecution and defence lawyers said they had no
:01:11. > :01:14.objection to the CCTV being released to the media, but the trial judge
:01:15. > :01:17.commented that he had no power or wish to prevent its broadcast. But,
:01:18. > :01:23.at the last`minute, Wiltshire's Chief Constable, Pat Ginty, appealed
:01:24. > :01:25.to stop its release. It's immensely disappointing that the Crown
:01:26. > :01:28.Prosecution Service subsequently elected to withdraw the prosecution
:01:29. > :01:37.against Mr Dove on the basis that PC Birch's credibility was now being
:01:38. > :01:40.questioned. The jury have had ample opportunity to carry out their own
:01:41. > :01:47.assessment of PC Birch's credibility, their view is plain to
:01:48. > :01:51.see. When Daniel Dove was brought back to the police station, he was
:01:52. > :01:54.taken to the custody suite where he was booked in, while being
:01:55. > :01:59.handcuffed, before being transferred to the cell, where he was tasered.
:02:00. > :02:03.It feels like if you touch an electric fence, like that, but a lot
:02:04. > :02:07.stronger. A lot stronger. It grabs hold of you. Wiltshire Police
:02:08. > :02:12.commissioned a review of its taser policy. We have accepted the
:02:13. > :02:17.recommendations from this review and have subsequently rewritten our
:02:18. > :02:21.taser policy. We have also changed our processes for the selection of
:02:22. > :02:25.taser`trained officers. For PC Birch, the not guilty verdict means
:02:26. > :02:28.he can return to work, but still has to await the outcome of an
:02:29. > :02:29.investigation by the Independent Police Complaints Commission. Steve
:02:30. > :02:40.Brodie, BBC South Today. A 22`year`old man from Abingdon has
:02:41. > :02:43.been jailed for three years for sexual activity with a 14`year`old
:02:44. > :02:47.girl. Owen Froude was arrested in January last year. In March he
:02:48. > :02:53.pleaded guilty to inciting a child to be involved in pornography and
:02:54. > :02:59.sexual activity with a child. He's also been placed on the Sex
:03:00. > :03:02.Offenders Register indefinitely. ?5 million worth of farming equipment
:03:03. > :03:05.is stolen across the south`east every year. Now Thames Valley Police
:03:06. > :03:20.have given BBC South Today access to their night patrol team in the
:03:21. > :03:26.countryside. Jeremy Stern sent us this report "There's been some
:03:27. > :03:32.suspicious activity in Hook Norton." We know our are quite well. We know
:03:33. > :03:35.what we are used to seeing and who would normally be around. We are
:03:36. > :03:39.being looking for anything out of the ordinary while out and about.
:03:40. > :03:43.Catching criminals is rarely easy, in the countryside there are all
:03:44. > :03:47.kinds of challenges. We don't have as many witnesses as you would have
:03:48. > :03:53.in an urban area or CCTV to fall back on. What we have been doing
:03:54. > :03:57.over the past few years is strengthening our communication
:03:58. > :04:08.links with the rural community, farmers, dog walkers who know the
:04:09. > :04:11.area well. ?5 million worth of equipment is stolen in rural parts
:04:12. > :04:14.of the south`east every year. Tractors and heavy machinery are
:04:15. > :04:17.targeted, as well as metal. Bikes, horse tack and tools are also at
:04:18. > :04:20.risk. It is a large area. Communities can feel isolated. We
:04:21. > :04:23.needed to keep that reassurance of visible patrols and crime reduction
:04:24. > :04:29.work ongoing, throughout the time to reduce the fear of crime. Police are
:04:30. > :04:37.encouraging those who live in the countryside to increase security and
:04:38. > :04:41.mark all of their equipment. Jeremy Stern, BBC South Today. Swindon Town
:04:42. > :04:44.footballer Nile Ranger has appeared before magistrates where he pleaded
:04:45. > :04:47.not guilty to a charge of criminal damage. The 23`year`old ` seen
:04:48. > :04:51.leaving court today ` has to report to Swindon police station twice each
:04:52. > :04:55.week before he stands trial in July. He's accused of causing ?2,000 worth
:04:56. > :04:58.of damage. Wiltshire Police say he's not been charged with criminal
:04:59. > :05:04.assault as no formal complaint has been received. The boardroom battle
:05:05. > :05:07.for control of Swindon Town Football Club continued at the High Court in
:05:08. > :05:14.chairman, Lee Power, is in the chairman, Lee Power, is in the
:05:15. > :05:17.middle of a legal dispute with a company set up by former owner Jedd
:05:18. > :05:20.McCrory. It's centered on who actually owns the club and which
:05:21. > :05:23.directors have power to make decisions about its future. Lawyers
:05:24. > :05:29.failed to come to a settlement and today's hearing was adjourned with
:05:30. > :05:32.nothing new resolved. The transport secretary says he's confident
:05:33. > :05:37.building work will start on the HS2 rail line by 2017. It follows last
:05:38. > :05:45.night's House of Commons approval of the plans. 35 Conservative MPs voted
:05:46. > :05:48.against the scheme, including Buckinghamshire MPs Cheryl Gillan
:05:49. > :05:51.and Steve Baker and Cotswold MP Geoffrey Clifton`Brown. Banbury's
:05:52. > :05:53.Tony Baldry abstained. Whilst I wholly understand the concerns of
:05:54. > :05:57.those honourable members whose constituents are affected by the
:05:58. > :06:01.route, I also know this is a decision we cannot duck. We have
:06:02. > :06:10.waited long enough. The West Coast Main Line can take no more. T It's
:06:11. > :06:13.been a day of disrupted journeys for many commuters across our region
:06:14. > :06:16.today. Tube strikes brought parts of the network to a standstill. RMT
:06:17. > :06:24.Union members took part in the first day of a 48`hour walkout because of
:06:25. > :06:27.plans to close ticket offices. Many commuters opted for other ways to
:06:28. > :06:30.cross the capital. Staying with travel, and work's started to reduce
:06:31. > :06:34.congestion at the junction between the M40 and A34 near Bicester. Three
:06:35. > :06:37.years ago the A34 southbound junction was revamped. Now the
:06:38. > :06:41.carriageways are being widened to ease congestion on the northbound
:06:42. > :06:49.approach. That's it from us for now. We're back in BBC Breakfast tomorrow
:06:50. > :06:56.morning, but for now, goodnight. . Here is the weather: there may be
:06:57. > :06:59.showers first of all, most places will dry with mist and fog
:07:00. > :07:04.developing under clear skies and light winds. Temperatures tonight
:07:05. > :07:09.will be similar to last night, falling to seven to eight Celsius.
:07:10. > :07:13.The mist and fog will lift, we will see sunny spells develop. Not a bad
:07:14. > :07:18.day all in all. There will be sunshine but a risk of stray
:07:19. > :07:22.showers. Most places will escape the showers. If you catch one they could
:07:23. > :07:26.be heavy and thundery, temperatures reaching 17 Celsius, winds light.
:07:27. > :07:29.Unsettled through Thursday. As we head towards the weekend, Friday,
:07:30. > :07:32.Saturday and Sunday is being looking good. Up next the
:07:33. > :07:42.some sharp showers. It will be colder still on Friday.
:07:43. > :07:46.Hello again, the holiday weekend is not far-away. We are still expecting
:07:47. > :07:54.the weather to change significantly before then. Some patchy rain from
:07:55. > :07:58.northern Scotland tomorrow. There is a lot of cloud coming in from the
:07:59. > :08:04.North Sea which is pushing its way inland. There could be quite a bit
:08:05. > :08:09.of fog around in the morning. It should be a mild, misty, murky start
:08:10. > :08:10.to Wednesday. The mist and