07/05/2014 BBC Oxford News

building society. That's all from the BBC News at Six, so it's goodbye

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

An inquest has recorded a verdict of unlawful killing after a man from

Witney was found dead last year. Melvin Hillier's body was discovered

in Carterton. Test results found he suffered a head injury. Also coming

up: A hostel in Oxford which helps young homeless people, could be shut

down after claims of anti`social behaviour.

High profile names back a new television health campaign which

could soon help people with dementia across the Thames Valley.

And later on ` pet rescue. We hear from a woman with multiple sclerosis

who's trained her dog to press an emergency alarm if she falls ill.

The inquest into the death of a man from Witney has concluded that he

was unlawfully killed. The body of Melvin Hillier, who was 52, was

discovered at The Tower Centre in Carterton last year. Three people

were arrested at the time on suspicion of murder, but no charges

were brought. Peter Cooke was in court and joins us now. What

happened in court? Melvin has been described as a

larger than life character by his friends and family, a generous man,

sometimes to a fault, who people would occasionally take advantage

of. He'd successfully worked in the

jewellery trade for 25 years, but after a serious road crash in 2003,

he was left with mobility issues. He struggled to find work and started

drinking heavily. He'd been living in Witney for around six years. In

the following years he became and alcoholic and was three`and`a`half

times over the drink dry limit at the time of his death.

So what happened to him last year? He was friends with a number of

other heavy drinkers and they would often congregate at his home. But

the night before he died he went to stay with one of these friends in

Alvescot Road in Carterton. At some stage that evening he

suffered a broken nose, black eye and an injury to his head. Witnesses

said this was the result of being punched. The next morning he was

found dead. The other people in the house at the time, two men, aged 49

and 59 and a woman aged 28, were arrested on suspicion of murder, but

later released without charge. A postmortem showed he died from blunt

impact to the head. So what happens now?

Coroner Darren Salter said there were question marks over the

reliability and credibility of some of the witnesses and that Mr Hillier

could have been punched as many as three times. He decided against a

verdict of accidental death and said he was confident Mr Hillier was

punched and that's what caused his death. The police are now

considering their next step. The BBC understands the president of

the Oxford Union is being questioned on suspicion of rape. 21`year`old

Benjamin Sullivan is a student at Christ Church College and was

elected head of the debating society in December. Oxford University has

declined to comment. South Today has learned a

controversial hostel for young people in Oxford is to be wound down

and possibly closed. One Foot Forward on Iffley Road has been

described as housing a lethal cocktail of young people and nearby

residents have complained about anti`social behaviour for the last

decade. Now the County Council's planning several smaller units

instead. This 4`storey terraced house is home

to around 20 homeless and vulnerable young adults. For many don't they

are unwanted neighbours. People are concerned about the behaviour

outside the building. They abuse passers`by, they have been

robberies. They have been fights outside the entrance as well. This

altercation was recorded by our own camera crew in November. But there

are those who support the hostel and the hostel under what it does here.

One neighbour told be she even bought them a tin of chocolate at

Isthmus. I have spoken to some of the young people themselves who did

not want to appear on camera. `` chocolate at Christmas. They say

they are being unfairly judged. They all have different needs, ranging

from mental health problems to criminal convictions. It is a lethal

cocktail of the perpetrators of crimes and people who are straight

victory is. Combination of those two are a dangerous mix. That is why we

have been asking for smaller units, more secure units. This young woman

lived here before she was murdered last year. It is thought her death

wanted everything into how services are run. The County Council says

plans for smaller homes have been on the cards for a while. The first is

expect to two open later this year. Children at a nursery in Bicester

have been stopped from playing outside since a footbridge was built

over the railway line. It was put up over the bank holiday weekend and

although the nursery was consulted, staff there said they had no idea

how big it would be. Now they say it's not safe for children to be in

the garden. The garden is where we grow our fruit and vegetable, but at

the moment, it is unsafe because we have got gold as he still and also

even though the footbridge is there and it does open, the children will

be put at risk by passers`by and people being able to access our

children. Network Rail and Chiltern Railways

say they're working to find a solution.

Around 25,000 people in the Thames Valley are thought to be living with

dementia. With that number growing, people are now being recruited to

become 'dementia friends' to help those with the condition. It's part

of a new health campaign, backed by a number of high`profile figures.

Victoria Cook has more. Jan and Ralph Burridge have been

married for 59 years. He was diagnosed with vascular dementia

three years ago. Now his wife is his full`time carer, Something she says

can be soul destroying. You very often don't know what you are

saying, but you will remember afterwards, when she? I do

apologise. I am an idiot. Luckily he has a sense of humour. If you don't

have a sense of humour before you get dementia, you are not going to

have Around 25,000 people in the Thames Valley area live with

dementia. One afterwards. Leading charities

now want more of us to understand the condition and in doing so become

what they're calling a dementia friend. The idea is that people can

discover the small, but significant things they can do for those

affected. For the first time tonight, this advert for the

campaign will be shown in full. It includes all of the celebrities

backing the new idea. If you know three people over the age of 65, the

chances are one of them will develop dementia, is that it is important

that we as a society do something about it and make sure we have the

resources and services in place to help those people.

For Jan and Ralph Burridge it's something they see as vital.

Housing is one of the biggest issues in this year's local election

campaigns, and especially in Milton Keynes. The council is expanding by

six seats as boundaries have been changed to accommodate a growing

population. All parties are talking about where the new residents are

going to live. Paul Scoins has been looking at some of the challenges.

That's all from me for the moment. Milton Keynes, the new city being

built in the South will be one of the last of the new towns. Milton

Keynes was always designed to grow. It was thought the population would

reach 250,000. We already have large existing communities in places like

treachery. Now the current plan is that the numbers will grow to

300,000. Further housing is being met by these council homes. There

will be another dozen to the south of Milton Keynes in Bletchley.

Whoever takes control of the council will need to deliver more homes.

They all agreed that economic growth is dependent on the quality of the

housing. Milton Keynes was designed on a system. Green open spaces and a

grid system. Some of the developments that we saw three or

five `` three, four, five years ago have moved away from that. Whilst

the council has made a start, 12 houses is not enough. We need at

least 30% affordable housing because when you come down to it, housing

costs are the biggest challenge to people in this country at the

moment. And it is the balance of housing and environment that

attracts businesses. One of the bonuses for Milton Keynes is the

green open spaces. When companies relocate, they take into account the

environment for their staff. It is important, not just the people who

already live here, but to attract new investment, we need to preserve

open spaces. Whoever is elected, residents like those in the 60s and

70s, will have to get used to seeing more building sites in the town. Now

for more of today's stories, here's Sally Taylor.

brought on board. Still to come: A teacher hoping to

put his mark on the FA Vase final. The writer Leslie Thomas has died at

his home near Salisbury. He was 83. The former journalist had been ill

for some time. He lost his parents during the Second World War and grew

up in a Barnardo's home. After spending time on national service in

Malaya, Leslie wrote the best`selling novel, The Virgin

Soldiers, inspired by his experiences. He was awarded an OBE

in 2004 for services to literature. They're known as man's best friend,

but to one woman in Chichester her dog is much more. Tricia O'Brien has

multiple sclerosis and Barclay is her care dog. On one occasion when

Tricia fell, all Barclay could do was cuddle up to keep her warm. So

now he's been trained to press a special alarm which has been

installed in the house at doggie`height. And the West Sussex

charity Canine Partners says it's increasingly training dogs to use

such technology to raise the alarm. Sean Killick reports.

Tricia has fallen and hit her head but Barclay comes to the rescue. He

checks to see whether Tricia is conscious and, not knowing this is

just a training exercise, he runs into the living room and presses the

alarm button. Do not worry, the alarm is dialling

for assistance. The call goes through to Chichester

District Council's Careline Centre. Hello, it's Bonnie calling from the

Careline in Chichester. How can I help you?

I'm going to get a mobile warden on the way immediately and also call

the emergency services. The exercise gives Tricia peace of

mind that Barclay can get help if it's needed. Tricia has MS and was

provided with Barkley by the charity Canine Partners, initially to help

with activities such as shopping and unloading the washing machine but

later he was trained to raise the alarm following an accident when

Tricia fell in the kitchen. Barclay cuddled up to me and kept me

warm. We were there for a couple of hours so it frightened me. The

following day I got an alarm fitted. We have notes on the screen so we

know if Trish doesn't reply, it is probably Barkley who has rung the

alarm. We have a pin`up of him. Not every office has a black Labrador as

a pin`up! He is just so, so special. We see what a difference it makes to

Tricia's life. Canine Partners, based at Midhurst,

trains 80 care dogs each year and increasingly gives additional

Careline alarm training so now even more dogs can be potential

life`savers like Barclay. All this week, we're looking at the

issues of drones ` unmanned aircraft. Their use is growing, and

the cost of owning one is tumbling down ` you can pick them up on

supermarket shelves these days. But once upon a time, they were the

preserve of the military. This was Queen Bee in 1938.

The pain that flies without any human beings that is controlled by

radio. Military drones have come on since

those early days. But it's in the civilian world where the use of

drones is on the rise. To remind us of some of the issues, here's Tom

Hepworth. You couldn't have got footage like

this a few years ago ` drones are transforming the world of film and

photography that there are some companies want to use them for

deliveries. Could they really put the white van man out of a job?

Drones are helping firefighters in Hampshire tackle big fires like this

one in Basingstoke. They are trialling them at Gatwick to patrol

the runway and would like to use them more but where do you draw the

spying on people? We've already seen spying on people? We've already seen

the first successful prosecution for the illegal use of drones in the UK

` you can pick them up for ?50 in one supermarket but flying a drone

is aviation. How many people know the regulations and are they safe?

To discuss that, I spoke a little earlier to Professor Jim Scanlan of

the University of Southampton, who develops drones, and to Emma Carr

from Big Brother Watch, which has concerns about their use.

Professor Scanlan brought along one of his drones and he explained more

about it. What you've got in front of you is

the world's first printed aeroplane. It is a demonstration to show that

we can print sufficiently lightly so something that can fly. We can put

cameras and sensors in it and my interest lies in civil applications

says things like wildlife monitoring, pollution monitoring.

So it makes it cheap and possible for people to buy this? Let me bring

in Emma Carr from Big Brother Watch. Cheap, easily accessible and people

can buy them. What is wrong with that?

One of the problems is that there is very lax regulation around the use

of drones, especially individuals who as it has been said, can get

them cheaply and easily, especially of the Internet. What we are saying

is there should be legislation around the use of drones so

everybody knows when they are legal to be used so there is some process.

So if your neighbour is flying it around your garden, you know who to

complain to. There is an argument, Professor.

There are no existing licensing for having a drone so you can walk into

a shop, buy something like this and use it.

I believe the regulations are tight enough so if you look into the Air

Navigation Order, there are specific restrictions on what you can do with

these things so if you want to use them to make money, you have to get

special permission. If you want to fly within 50 metres of people and

buildings, you have got to get permission. If you want to fly

within 150 metres of congested spaces, you need special permission.

Existing laws are there. The existing laws are proficient.

Obviously, when you are talking about a university or police service

or the emergency services using these sorts of pieces of technology,

they are obviously going to stick to this but what I'm concerned about

the private individuals the strains of the Internet which have

sophisticated cameras and flying them around. I don't think people

are going to be policing those people. I think it's only right we

know who you can go to to complain if you are worried about somebody

using these drones. I share your worries that there have been to

prosecutions this year, private individuals who have done reckless

things with aeroplanes and they were prosecuted and it was broadcast, the

fact they would like to know about people doing illegal things. So if

somebody operated one in your next`door garden and flew over your

garden, you can prosecute. I'd like there is an element here to suggest

it could be open to use by criminal elements.

There are sufficient laws and it is highly visible. Our aeroplanes are

quite noisy so they are very obvious. Argue against... Are you

saying we should ban the Private use of drones? Could you see them being

used sensibly? At the moment, in terms of the cameras, there is no

specific legislation around the use of the cameras on drones to say when

it is and isn't acceptable to be used so there is a mismatch of

legislation. You have the civil aviation authority and the data

protection act, the same thing that applys to CCTV cameras. If I am a

neighbour that puts up a CCTV camera in my garden which shines into my

neighbour's house, nobody really knows who it is we should go to and

complain to for catching those images. I'd like in a sentence, it

is the future, isn't it? I think so. There is a huge amount of useful

applications for these things. You might like to know the drone the

professor brought in is going to be at the science Museum.

When it comes to helping children concentrate in class, schools in the

south are really thinking outside the box. In the past we've heard

about classroom massages and reading dogs. Now a school in Dorset has

adopted a new technique to help children really pull their socks up.

Sarah Farmer reports. Shirt, tie and slippers? The Isle of

Portland Aldridge Community Academy has a classroom dresscode with a

difference. They have adopted a no`shoes policy for lesson time.

Kids take shoes off and good things happen, their behaviour improves. It

is really hard to be naughty with your shoes off. It's even harder to

bully with your shoes off. Secondly, the rooms are clean and thirdly, the

kids are happy to sit on the clean floor and read and do things

comfortably. Students wear shoes in the

technology lab and there is footwear available when they visit the

bathroom but other than that, it's socks and tights. Stripes are on

trend with the occasional polka`dot. Some even have holes.

And the teachers are suited but not booted.

We wanted to engage the learners in every element of design so the

children went off and found examples from around the world. They thought

the idea of shoeless learning was a good one.

So what do the pupils think? If you have been outside, you might

get your shoes really dirty. It makes you a little bit relaxed

because you can't touch the floor and if you do, you can't feel the

constant rubbing and the sound of your shoe rubbing against the floor.

Do you know when you have shoes on and it is really loud? It is really

calm when you don't have shoes on. They really seem to like it but I

have to ask... Is there a problem with smelly feet?

Yeah. There are loads of smelly feet.

The countdown is very much on to Sholing Football Club's big day out

at Wembley. This Saturday, the Hampshire non`league side take on

West Auckland in the final of the FA Vase. But while preparations

continue in the background, the part`time footballers still have

their day jobs to focus on, as Kris Temple has been finding out.

On Saturday, Kevin will be walking out with his team`mates at Wembley

but today it was his PE pupils on the edge of Southampton.

Yellow team, lined up behind the green come.

31`year`old Mr Brewster balances life as a non`league footballer with

a full`time job teaching sport. It takes my mind off things and

makes me concentrate on what I'm doing. In between sessions, I think

about what's happening on the weekend but it's brilliant.

As his pupils protect their javelin technique, most were unaware of the

stage their teacher will be thrown onto at the weekend.

A lot of the children don't know when playing on the weekend so I

don't say much and keep it under wraps.

They are second favourite against opponents from County Durham who

also reached when we last season. We will sit down and have our team

meeting to discuss their strengths and weaknesses but we are not

worried about them. As long as we play the best we can and put 100% in

and we put a good performance and had to try our best, hopefully it

will go our way. He was left out of the squad for

Winchester city's FA Vase game. I might be a bit nervous walking out

at Wembley but as soon as the game starts, we will focus on it and

hopefully not worry about what is going on around us and hopefully

play the best we can. Coaching stars of the future may be

his day job but it is memories of a future that will be thrown up this

weekend. You saw it their life at 3pm on

Saturday. Time for the weather forecast. A bit of everything at the

moment. It only settled down midweek so we

are to see a lot of showers. Let's look at the weather pictures. Ginny

Boxall captured buttercups in the sunshine in Alton in Hampshire.

Tony Marshall took this photo of Portland Bill Lighthouse and the

choppy waters of the Race. And runners on the River Wey near

Guildford captured by Raymond Slack. We had a few showers today. Tonight

we are expecting them to ease with the risk of a couple. Still they

will be a lot of cloud with a couple of clear spells. Mild with the

breeze coming in from the south`west. Still the odd shower and

the next batch of rain working in way in. Expect those in ten or 11

Celsius. Risk winds will grow in quite a strong, heavy band of rain

through the morning rush hour. A wet dry to work. The afternoon will be a

little better. Some heavy showers and the together moving in from the

west. Temperatures around 14 or 15 Celsius. Today we saw a high of 17

Celsius but temperatures tomorrow suppressed. The rain tomorrow will

ease and we are looking at clear skies. A lot of cloud and breezy

with temperatures similar to tonight, loads of ten or 11 Celsius.

The south`westerly breeze staying with us on Friday and could be

strong in places. The potential for some gales. You can see the wind

stronger and the south coast. Schama through the course of the day on

Friday and this next area of low pressure will push its way in

through the weekend so it starts on a damp note. The weekend will be

windy, particularly on Saturday, where we are looking at Green or

showers at times. Cooler than recent days with temperatures slightly

below their seasonal average. Rain tomorrow, heavy rain during the rush

hour. The afternoon will be a little better. Heavy showers banding

together. Friday heavy showers, thundery showers in places with a

strong westerly breeze. Saturday, a band of rain will push the way

through, better in the afternoon but sunshine and showers on Sunday.

You have heard of corn on the cob, how about corn snake under the

whole? Tomorrow we could be meeting the woman who found a nasty surprise

at her cupboard. 6:30pm tomorrow. Good night.

'This is the story of Nick Clegg - a man entrusted by a nation

'to act upon the policies he proposed.

'But he soon became The Un-Credible Shrinking Man.'