09/05/2014 BBC Oxford News

Good evening. the English game couldn't ignore.

Good evening. BBC South Today's been given special

access to a drug and alcohol support group in Oxfordshire which is

planning to open its fourth centre in the county, due to increased

demand. Lifeline's helped more than 1,000 alcoholics and addicts since

it started two years ago. We've been to meet former heroin user Dennis,

who's had support from the service to help turn his life around.

I started getting in trouble with the police when I was 12. I was

arrested for violent crime when I was 14. And I was... By 17, I was

addicted to heroin and crack cocaine. If I went to bed at night

and went to sleep, I didn't even want to wake up. Because as soon as

I opened my eyeballs... The obsession... We call it an

obsession. It was on me. I had to get up, try and spot myself up to

get into a shop to do shoplifiting. `` smarten myself up. Because that's

where it took me in the end. There was no robberies. There was nothing

of that going on. I was out thieving bacon, cheese and coffee in shops

and making ?30, ?40. You can't see this illness. You know, if someone's

broke their arm you can see because they've got a plaster on. If they've

got cancer, they have chemotherapy. You know, you normally see signs. If

you're not ready and fully committed 100% into recovery, it doesn't

work. This time the difference was I came into a service in Oxford. I

No`one pushed me. No`one said, "You've got to do this, Dennis". I

took it on my own bat because I got to a stage where I just couldn't

manage any more. You know, the young offenders is where I would like to

work because I was young once and no`one showed me the way. Knowing

that I come from a background of... Of drug and alcohol for, like, 35

years, as you say, and to put that down and start helping other people

and start caring what they're doing... You know, it's a miracle.

The Oxford Stadium has been saved from being turned into a new housing

site. The city council had rejected planning permission for 200 new

homes and now the developer's confirmed it won't challenge that

decision. The owner wants to rent the site for leisure purposes,

meaning greyhound racing and speedway could return there.

A man's been arrested on suspicion of robbery, after someone dressed as

Santa threatened staff with a knife at a clothes shop in Cowley. Money

was stolen at the Next store in the retail park just before Christmas

last year. Police have arrested a 23`year`old man from Cowley, who's

been bailed until later this month. Her Royal Highness the Duchess of

Cornwall has been in Oxford to officially open a new ?12 million

research centre. The bone disease unit is being run at the Nuffield

Hospital in Headington. It specialises in research for people

with conditions like arthritis. Tom Turrell was there for the opening.

The Duchess of Cornwall, in Oxford to officially open a new research

centre ` which it's hoped will help those with bone and joint conditions

like osteoporosis and arthritis. Her Royal Highness is patron of the

Nuffield Orthopedic Centre charity, which raised the ?12 million needed

to build the new facility. Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Cornwall was

last here in 2007. Osteoporosis is a condition close to her heart. Both

her mother and her grandmother suffered from it. During her visit,

a tour ` with a demonstration of how some of the technology works. Around

13 million people suffer with arthritis and osteoporosis. Surgical

simulators like this help doctors practice tricky operations outside

of theatre. The professor in charge says the work conducted here will

really help patients most in need. Without centres like this, we won't

be able to take discoveries into the hospitals, into the clinics. So we

need groups of people who are focused on that step of translation.

On designing the trials, on conducting the trials, on recruiting

the patients into the studies. The truth of the matter is we're living

longer and longer and we're demanding our quality of life keeps

pace too. If that's going to happen, then those that deal in the business

of joints and bones know there's a lot of work still to be done.

A permanent memorial has been unveiled in Didcot to honour seven

bomb disposal experts killed in Iraq and Afghanistan. The town has

already named seven new streets in their memory. All the soldiers were

based at the Vauxhall Barracks. Jeremy Stern reports.

They'll always be remembered by their family and friends. Now

they're a part of the town in which they were based. Members of the 11

EOD regiment were honoured at ceremony in Didcot's new Great

Western Estate. It was the idea of a town councillor. This is there for

the people and the relatives. Their home was Didcot so, you know... They

gave everything for our country and our town, so if we can give a little

bit back... The seven soldiers who lost their lives since 2003 were

Staff Sergeant Chris Muir, Warrant Offcier Gary O'Donnell, Captain Dan

Shepherd, Staff Sergeant Olaf Schmidt, Captain Dan Read, Staff

Sergeant Brett Linley and Captain Lisa Head. Some of the new residents

have been finding about the heroes who their roads are named after.

It's something very different and very original. I think it's lovely.

Quite unusual. It's the first time I've come across it anywhere I've

lived. I think it's a really good idea. A very fitting tribute, being

so close to the barracks. I'm glad they've done it. Didcot is

continuing to grow. It's possible more roads will be named after

soldiers who died over the past few decades. But today's congregation

prayed for those currently in service to stay safe.

Employees at the Honda plant in Swindon have until tonight to apply

for voluntary redundancy. So far nearly 200 people have shown

interest, but there's still a shortfall. A further 109 compulsory

redundancies are expected to be made and the formal process is due to

start next week. That's it from me and late team

here. For more news, head to our Twitter and Facebook pages. We're

back in BBC Breakfast tomorrow morning but coming up is the weather

with Sarah Farmer. Enjoy your weekend. Goodnight.

Hello and a very good evening to you. We've cloudy skies turning to

wet weather as we venture through tonight. Rain approaching from the

West and bringing some pretty heavy downpours at times, particularly as

we venture into the early hours. Temperatures, as a result of all

that cloud coverage and wet weather, staying at nine or ten. A grey and

damp start to Saturday first thing but we should start to see a bit of

an improvement quite early on. Some brighter skies developing but then

some bands of really quite heavy showers moving in. Really heavy

downpours, torrential rain at times. Temperatures 14 or 15. The winds

really picking up ` they could be up to 40 mph. Sunday ` some showers but

easing off into the afternoon. Let's take a look at the national forecast

for this weekend now. forecast, where things are looking

pretty unsettled for the next couple of days.

Good evening. In this country, no two days of whether are stacked in

this country, no two days of whether are Saky the same. But this weekend,

it will feel like no two hours are the same. This