06/05/2014 BBC Oxford News

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

Hundreds gather to pay their respects in Oxfordshire as the

bodies of five men killed in Afghanistan are brought home.

Also tonight: In a jam. The driving instructor caught driving while

eating his breakfast. The water has abated, but farmers

hit by floods are concerned that government support will also dry up.

And later on, from the military to delivering parcels and pizzas. We

take a look at the rise of the drone.

Good evening. With five billion tonnes of rain

falling in the Thames Valley, they were the worst floods on record. Now

an Oxfordshire farmer says he is concerned not enough is being done

to prevent a repeat of the scenes earlier this year. Tim Hook is

worried that the Environment Agency are not clearing the River Thames

like they should be, but, as Tom Turrell reports, the Environment

Agency says it is doing everything it can.

What a difference a few months makes. For around eight weeks at the

beginning of this year, these fields on Cote Farm, near Bampton, lay

submerged ` killing the crops beneath. The cost to the farmer?

Around ?50,000. When the rain came the field flooded and killed half

the field. It will not yield as much money for us. This is our last

chance to get a crop into the ground and make some money for the year

before it is over. These ditches are up to ten feet deep. What should

land on the field and ran into the ditches and run downstream into the

river. But the farmer says that is not happening. Tim says the Thames

is clogged up with silt and vegetation and worries the

Environment Agency are still not doing enough to clear the river.

Wendy what a level rises it then becomes tidal and the water starts

to come back up into the ditches. `` when the. Nonsense, says the

Environment Agency. They point to the fact they are spending ?2

million this year alone in the Thames Valley doing vital

maintenance work like this to keep the rivers flowing. We have had a

huge amount of waterfall. There is more what are making its way

through. The levels are high but that is not because of low

maintenance. We will not know for sure how much has been done until

torrential rainfall returns putting our waterways to the test. Until

then, though, the anxiety for many farmers is likely to linger. Tom

Turrell, BBC South Today. An inquest in Oxford has heard that

a man whose body was pulled from the River Thames at Wheatley on

Christmas Eve had taken his own life. Michael Griffiths was 31 and

from Birmingham. His body was discovered after three weeks of

police searches along roadside verges and undergrowth in the area.

The alarm was first raised when his car was found locked and abandoned.

Councillors who have been considering proposals for a huge

community solar farm in West Oxfordshire have tonight turned down

the plan. The ?5 million facility would have been among the biggest of

its kind in the country and could have generated up to ?100,000 a year

for Charlbury, Finstock, and Fawler. The plans were rejected because West

Oxfordshire district councillors decided the impact on the landscape

would be too great. The group behind the project is now considering an

appeal. Next tonight, police say they were

astounded to see a driver on Oxford's busy Cowley Road this

morning eating a bowl of cereal behind the wheel. What is worse, he

was a driving instructor on his way to give a lesson! Our reporter,

Sinead Carroll, is here. This is incredible!

We first heard about this story this morning, when Thames Valley Roads

Policing Unit put out a tweet that read: 8AM, Cowley ` We stopped a

driver eating bowl of muesli at 30 mph, no hands on wheel, a driving

instructor en route to a lesson! What has been the reaction from the

police? Police have not been able to talk to

us today, or tell us the name of the driving school, but they have

confirmed that it was a male driver. He was stopped on the Garsington

Road for driving without full control of his vehicle, fined ?100,

and given three points on his licence.

You could make light of this story, but it could have been a lot more

serious couldn't it? Two years ago, a driver hit and

killed a cyclist on a country road near Abingdon. It was discovered he

had been eating a sandwich moments before the crash. He was sentenced

to community service, after admitting a charge of death by

careless driving. Hundreds of people have lined the streets to pay their

respects, as one of the biggest military repatriations of recent

years was held in Oxfordshire. The bodies of five men were flown back

to RAF Brize Norton this afternoon. They were killed when their

helicopter crash landed in Afghanistan ten days ago. Tonight

the men's bodies have been taken to Oxford's John Radcliffe Hospital.

Our reporter, Stuart Tinworth, was with those who gathered to watch the

cortege pass by the war memorial in nearby Carterton, and joins us from

there now. A short time ago, this memorial

garden fell silent. Thousands of people gathered to pay their

respects to the five men who lost their lives in that helicopter crash

last month. The families were given time to grieve in private this

afternoon, at a specially created facility on the base at RAF Brize

Norton, before the cortege made its way to this public space here.

Flowers and wreaths laid, the memorial bell ` unveiled almost two

years ago ` has been rung, tolling five times for the five men being

repatriated today. The five men have been named as Captain Thomas Clarke,

Warrant Officer Spencer Faulkner, Corporal James Walters from the Army

Air Corps, and RAF Intelligence Officer Flight Lieutenant Rakesh

Chauhan ` who were based at RAF Odiham. Also Army Reservist Lance

Corporal Oliver Thomas, who was based in London. Many people we have

been speaking to were very moved by the occasion. It is only right that

you should pay respects. These people have died for us. I say that

we should make every effort to do something for them and to show our

support to their families. It is poignant to us. My brother is out

there at the moment. It is his friends that we're saying goodbye to

today. I live locally and I have come out in respect for the people

who have fallen here. I have been to most of the repatriations. This one

of the largest repatriation ceremonies to be held here in

Oxfordshire, isn't it? Well, yes. Certainly since

servicemen and women have been brought back here to RAF Brize, and

that started again in 2011, this is the second largest repatriation

service to take place. The Royal British Legion, of course, have been

at the forefront of ensuring that when repatriations moved from Royal

Wooton Bassett that families, friends, and mourners would be able

to pay their respects in an appropriate way. I am very very

pleased that the population does turn out. They support the service

anyway, RAF Brize Norton. It gets a tremendous amount of support from

the personnel here, because a lot of them are ex`service and there are

service men living in the town. The cortege left here and has been

taken to the John Radcliffe Hospital, with the postmortems and

funerals of these five to follow in the weeks to come.

Sixty years ago today, something extraordinary took place at Oxford's

Iffley Road running track. In front of a cheering crowd, a university

student became the first man in history to run a mile in under four

minutes. Roger Bannister went on to become a highly respected doctor and

was later knighted by the Queen. But it is his achievement as an athlete

on that spring day that lives on as one of the greatest ever sporting

moments. A race against the clock. A

legendary sports story that itself stands the test of time. Going

sub`four minutes would be superhuman, unachievable according

to some. Those who were at Iffley Road in Oxford sixty years ago

tonight will tell you that was wrong. The crowd was quite a small

one because I had not wanted to advertise the fact that I was

attempting it, because if the weather had not been good I would

not have attempted it. Barbara was 14 at the time and she was taken to

Iffley Road by her father. We were standing on the grassy bank just

before the last bend and we cheered him on each time he came around.

Then in the final lap, he looked so exhausted and frail. I can remember

my legs shaking as though I was trying to run it for him. It wasn't

really until the last lap that it became painful and difficult. The

tape is broken and so is the record. The announcement went like this:

Three. Nothing else was heard because the crowd were absolutely

delighted. No one heard the 59.4 seconds because they realised he had

done it. It was total joy and excitement all around. 60 years ago

tonight Ted East was the lone policeman patrolling Iffley Road. I

heard this loud cheer and people were shouting. I thought, this is

unusual it is not a football match! But until people started to drift

out I was completely unaware that the four`minute mile had been

broken. Now, Sir Roger is fighting Parkinson's disease and it didn't

always sit easily with them that his breakthrough came in athletics and

not in his chosen career of medicine. But now it does seem that

he has come to terms with the fact that he is one of Britain's few

sporting immortals because of what he achieved on this track 60 years

ago. So that is how Roger Bannister, a 25`year`old medical student,

became the first man in the world to run a mile in under four minutes.

That is all from me for the moment. I will have the headlines at 8PM and

a full bulletin at 10.25PM. Now more of today's stories with Sally

Taylor. too many relatives are suffering in

silence. The city is estimated to have more than 1,200 opiate and

crack cocaine users, the fifth highest in the south east. The

Rebound Carers Group says shame stops many families getting help and

advice. Together with the police and council it's helped bring to the

city a play telling the true story of the devastating effects drugs had

on a family from Berkshire. Sean Killick reports.

You have pushed me to the edge, I am finished with you, completely

finished. It's one of the forgotten side`effects of drugs, the damage to

the addict's family. But it's been highlighted in this play, "Mum, Can

You Lend Me Twenty Quid?", by a woman from Twyford whose son killed

himself ten year ago in despair at his heroin addiction. Another

mother, whose son has repeatedly been imprisoned due to his drug

addiction, explained to South Today the strain on her family.

list of priorities in my life. It's only now since I'm in recovery that

I've seen other families that are still suffering with their children

that I realised kind of what I put my

1966. Soon, it fell into disrepair. Almost 70 years ago, but Moody

worked at the station. When I started working, we had four horse

drawn vehicles. Even in 1946. Here's the station can be today. Eight

former southwestern Hotel stood at the end of the platforms. For 30

years, it was the home of BBC South. Until then, good night. Our first

programmes were broadcast from here. Just one track remains, heading

through lock gates. Originally, this is where the passengers would have

arrived and disembarked in order to join one of the transatlantic

liners, including the Titanic. Southampton docks once had ten

railway stations. The flying boat had their own platforms. Today, they

have all gone. But there is now a reminder of the way things used to

be. We are going to swiftly move on to

the sport. They missed out on the play`offs, Reading. There will be a

lot of changes before they kick off again in August. Four players have

been released. That includes Jobi McAnuff.

All of the players contracts have been expired and will not be

renewed. Former Southampton and England defender Wayne Bridge has

announced his retirement. Bridge starred for Southampton in their

successful era under Glenn Hoddle and Gordon Strachan and was part of

the England world cup squad which went to Japan and South Korea in

2002. He later moved to chelsea and towards the end of his career he's

featured for Brighton and this season, Reading. Now a persistent

knee injury means he's hanging up his boots.

Southampton will resume talks with boss Mauricio Pochettino after this

weekend's final league game against Manchester United as they seek to

secure their manager's long term future. Pochettino has steered

Saints to their highest ever Premier League points total, but his success

has brought inevitable attention from other clubs. The club's

executive Director Les Reed told last night's Late Kick Off that

after the United game, talks would be a priority. As soon as that game

is out of the way on Sunday, we will sit down and continue our

discussions that we have been having all stop it is not like we have been

doing anything about it, but we respected the fact that he wanted to

focus. He wanted to achieve these record points, and focus on the

games are nothing else. Sussex and Lancashire are involved in a low

scoring game at Old Trafford. Sorry are struggling against Kent, with

second innings wickets running out, Kent will only have a small target.

When the Wright Brothers invented the aeroplane in 1903, most people

had no idea just how much it would change our world. Now aviation is

changing, with the removal of the pilot. Drones have already changed

the face of war. Now they're getting smaller and cheaper, and we could

see a lot more of them in our skies. Tom Hepworth has the first of a

series of special reports, taking a closer look at drones and what they

might mean for us here in the south. This is Tiranis. The most advanced

combat aircraft ever built by a British engineer. But look closely,

and you will not see a fighter pilot. It could eventually become

the known. It was developed here in Farnborough with software that would

allow you to choose targets and defend itself against enemy

aircraft. A plane invisible to radar that can act autonomously. The army

has been flying armed drones in Afghanistan since 2008. The MoD will

not reveal how many people they have killed, but over 50,000 hours, they

have released 450,000 laser`guided bombs. `` 450. That has saved

British lives. Opponents say joined by conflicts more likely. It is too

easy to use them, and they could reduce the threshold of going to

war. If you do not have any body bags going home, and as I said, no

one wants to see our young people being killed in warfare, but if we

do not have the threat of body bags, it is all too easy to get into

conflicts. Right now, the Army are testing watchkeeper drones over

Salisbury Plains. The MOD bought 54. It has cost the taxpayer ?850

million. The army said that it has no plans to arm them. They can carry

weapons. The government has ordered 1000 new lightweight missiles that

can be fired from drones. While the big money goes on research, the

technology and know`how eventually filters out to civilian use. You can

pick one up for as little as ?50 from one supermarket. More

sophisticated drones like this one are already widely used in film and

photography, capturing shots of this winter's flooding that would not

have been able to get a few years ago. It is early days, but drones

are now being used commercially. Amazon said it would like to use

drones to deliver parcels. But can we expect the pizza delivery man to

be put out of a job by drones? At the moment, it is a publicity stunt.

The big thing is about where is the risk? He had keep it in your visual

line of sight at all times. If you're doing aerial work, and flying

close to people, or vessels of properties, you need permission. Two

months ago, we saw the first prosecutor for flying drones

illegally in the UK. `` posture Police themselves are starting to

use them. This is being trialled by Sussex police at Gatwick airport. It

is giving an overview of training exercises, and it controls feels

close to the runway. `` it controls fields. If drones are used more

widely, it could do more. Where traffic accidents, flood and

emergency divorces, something like that. They will give a view from the

air that I was on the ground can't do. Could it follow cars or track

criminals escaping? Yes, it could be done more efficiently and

effectively with a system like this. In the US, they have been armed with

tasers. Would you look at that? My goodness, that might be too far.

Let's see how this goes. There are grave concerns about publicity.

Where do you draw the line between gathering evidence and spying on

people? There is no plan for us to be using this for any kind of covert

activity. We are seeing the operators driving in a big marked

vehicle. There will only be a maximum of 500 metres away.

Hampshire is one of only two fire and rescue services in the UK using

drones. It helps firefighters target hotspots in places like this one in

Basingstoke. And from the drone that shoots pictures to one that is being

shot at. This company takes its drones around the world for target

practice. Extraordinary. Drones have certainly divided opinion, and

tomorrow we'll hear more of the arguments for and against their use.

But in the meantime we'd like to know what you think. Is this an

exciting development or are you worried about them? Go to our

Facebook page and tell us. In fact we're we're talking about drones all

this week and on Friday we're hoping to do something rather special with

a live drone flight across the Solent.

Weather permitting, of course! Your eyes lit up! Pizza delivery by

drone! Number 36, coming please! It is going to be mixed all week. Let's

look at your pictures. Sue Knight captured the sun rising in Beaulieu

this morning. Ian Smith took this great action shot of a blue tit in

Blandford Forum. And Martin Curtis captured his dogs in amongst the

buttercups in Mayfield Park in Southampton.

And check this out, the Earl of Wessex having a go at the weather

during a visit to Reading University today. He is as good as his brother!

Rain showers at times. There could be some sunshine as well. Windy at

times, they could be on the heavy side, the showers. The breeze will

increase. The showers will rattle their way in from the West. If you

clear spells to be had. Some dry periods as well. A mild ten to 11

Celsius. Remaining in double digits across the region. A breezy day

today. 30 to 40 mph. There will be some sunshine in between the

showers. Temperatures will reach a high of 15 Celsius. A blustery day.

Those showers will gradually ease tomorrow night, but for a band of

rain, it will come in from the West. You can see it behind me. A dry end

to the night. The rain will arrive first thing on Thursday morning. Low

temperatures of ten or 11 Celsius. We have various weather fronts

crossing from West to East. A lot of rain at times, and quite a grey,

damp day. Through the rest of the week, it will stay fairly unsettled.

We are looking at a few showers tomorrow in amongst some sunny

spells. Gusts of 30 to 40 miles an hour. On Thursday there will be some

rains `` rain about. On Friday, the winds back pick`up. Some showers and

a blustery day. The weekend does not start off very well. The best day

will be Sunday. May be the Earl of Wessex could step in for you!

Talking of apprenticeships...! This month, the BBC is offering

apprenticeships in its local radio stations and applications are now

being taken until May 12th. Successful candidates will start

their 15 month apprenticeships in September and after training they'll

work as Apprentice Broadcast Assistants in English local radio

stations. If you're over 18 this September, a non graduate ` and you

want to find out more ` or you know someone who might be interested in a

BBC apprenticeship, visit the BBC website at bbc.co.uk/las for more

details. Who knows, you might be joining our colleagues in BBC local

radio later this year ` so good luck!

You might get your own show. Within 12 months, you never know! We have

all been there! It is a good place to start. That is it from us. We

will be back tomorrow. Goodbye. at the European elections

on May the 22nd. even though that would wreck

the recovery and destroy jobs. The Conservatives

are now openly flirting with exit. they just don't have the courage

of their convictions on this.