16/05/2014 BBC Oxford News

Good evening. Detectives investigating convicted murderer

Christopher Halliwell, from Swindon, say they're keeping an 'open mind'

as to whether he has killed more women. It's after a pair of boots

belonging to Sian O'Callaghan, who he stabbed to death three years ago,

were found in an isolated spot in Wiltshire. The boots were in a pond

almost 15 miles from where Sian's body was found, at Uffington in

Oxfordshire. Andrew Plant reports. Pulled by divers from a murky pond,

its watery hiding place, say police, for the past three years. They have

been working here for 48 hours. These remote fields in Wiltshire

finally yielding clues, they say, such a long time after Sian

O'Callaghan was killed. It is part of my theory that she could have

been brought here and murdered here. We're missing a lot of her property,

her phone, handbag, her boots obviously, so I think this is a

possibility. I have informed her family this morning. She disappeared

after a night out with friends in 2011. Hundreds of volunteers scoured

nearby woods for signs of her. Her body was found five days later. She

had been brutally stabbed. The weapon and some of her possessions

have never been found. What police and Sian's friends and family have

never known is what happened to her between the night she disappeared on

the day she was found. Local taxi driver Christopher Halliwell is now

in prison for her murder. But when he was arrested, he led the police

to a second body. Betty Godden had vanished years before, but police

broke the rules of arrest that day and he has never stood trial over

her murder. `` Becky. Police now say they hope this Wiltshire pond will

reveal more clues that could help their disappearance into Becky's

disappearance and murder. A woman's been seriously hurt after

being hit by a fire engine answering an emergency call in Oxford. The

accident happened this afternoon on the Cowley Road, which was closed

for around two hours. An investigation is being carried out

into what happened. It's thought a fire in a child's

bedroom in Oxford was started deliberately. Police are treating

the fire in Rose Hill as an arson attack but no arrests have been

made. The family of seven escaped with minor injuries.

Hundreds of social workers from around the country have been in

Oxford learning how they can improve the way they deal with child sexual

exploitation cases. Staff from Oxfordshire County Council have been

sharing what they've learned as a result of Operation Bullfinch, the

18`week trial that found seven men guilty of grooming young girls for

sex. If it looks dramatic and

hard`hitting, that's because the actors say the subject warrants it.

As part of a conference, they've been invited by Oxfordshire County

Council to perform a story of child sexual exploitation, the likes of

which were discovered in Oxford by Operation Bullfinch. This 300 or so

people behind me a remix of police officers, social workers and charity

staff. `` are a mix. They have come to learn the lessons that

authorities say they learned that sex scandals aged between 11 and 15

had been raped and trafficked in Oxford two years ago. Since then,

it's claimed much has changed. For starters, ?31.5 million is being

spent employing an extra 21 social workers. `` ?1.5 million. The

authorities say witness protection schemes are better and police and

carers are working more closely together. I think we understanding

organised criminal exploitation. We also try to spot early signs so we

can treat them much more effectively. The irony may not be

lost on all that the same council department which only a few years

ago failed to protect six girls from sexual crimes now finds itself

offering up advice to others on how to avoid it happening. The sexual

crimes committed in Oxford may have happened a couple of years ago, but

it seems experts from across the country are still keen to know how

to avoid the same happening in their area.

Drivers using the A338 through Grove won't face as much disruption as

previously thought when electrification works starts on the

Great Western line. It was thought the work would result in an 18`mile

diversion being put in place for six months. But, because of opposition

from local people, new plans have been made. It means the road will

now only close for a short period of time while the Station Road bridge

is replaced. Planning permission has been granted

for two wind turbines to be built in the Oxfordshire village of

Adderbury. Each turbine will generate enough electricity for

around 125 houses. The British Horse Society had objected to the plans,

saying they were concerned the turbines may scare nearby horses.

Work has begun on the second phase of a project to create a huge

wetland in Wallingford. The River of Life project is costing ?1 million

and will stretch for a mile and a half along the Thames. It should

provide new habitats for threatened wildlife. Sinead Carroll reports.

Planting for the future and restoring the past. This is phase

two of a ?32 million project creating a wetland along a mile and

a half of the River Thames near Wallingford. `` ?1 million. What

we're stood in front of is one of five backwaters to create features

that mimic historic backwater channels you would have had when the

Thames was a much more active river. It's hoped these backwaters will

improve river quality and support threatened wildlife. Water comes

through your tap, but look where it really comes from, and look at the

natural ecosystems that help filter it, make it clean and help get it to

your tap. The final phase of this River of Life project is the

planting of a wild flower meadow next year. The Earth Trust say that

certainly isn't the end of the journey though. They hope this

wetland will have an impact on education, research, wildlife and

even farming for years to come. That's all from us. Now Alexis has

the weekend weather. Good night. What a fantastic day we had. Hazy

packed she missed is a possibility with fairly mild temperatures

between 13 or 14 Celsius, stepping down to seven or eight and this ``

in the countryside. Sunny spells will develop tomorrow with varying

amounts of cloud, but a pleasant temperature of up to 22 Celsius.

There is the chance of a stray shower in some places, but it stays

settled through Sunday. Cody start each day over the weekend.

far do you have to go to get proper rain? Thomas has the answer.

For days now, we have been advertising some warm weather for

the weekend and the forecast remains unchanged. In fact, hot sunshine on

the way for many of us and talking about that, I would like to warn you

how strong the Sunnis this time of year. In spring, we tend to flock to

the sun and burn very easily. It is just as wrong as it is in July. Onto

the forecast and for tonight, quiet weather across most parts of the

country. Just the few spots of rain in the far north of the UK. A strong

breeze as well. But other than that, a benign