03/07/2014 BBC Oxford News

Good evening. That's all from us.

The man accused of murdering Didcot teenager Jayden Parkinson has told

a jury he loved her and never intended to kill her.

22 year old Ben Blakeley told Oxford Crown Court he grabbdd his

girlfriend's neck with two hands for seconds then she fell off a bridge.

He admits killing her but denies murder.

Victoria Cook was in court and joins us now.

Ben Blakeley told the court that they had met up that

afternoon because Jayden Parkinson had told him she was pregnant.

When they met up, she said she was not pregnant.

They then travelled to an area in Didcot, he said it was

where they often went to be intimate together and smoke cannabis.

Once there, they started kissing and undressing.

The QC said, is that when things changed?

I asked if she was lying about that dude, she looked down

Ben Blakeley explained to the jury that he grabbed her

around the throat for seconds before she fell over

the bridge and onto some mud, he tried to revive her by pressing

on her chest and blowing into her mouth, but was unsuccessful.

At this point in court, he broke down in the witness box

and several members of Jayddn's family left the court in tears.

The jury was also told about Ben Blakeley's troubled childhood.

He described how his father beat him regularly, wanted to leave him at

the hospital when he was born, and used to pick him up by the throat.

He said, one of my first melories is him coming into the room with a boot

By the age of eight, Ben Blakeley was sleeping with

a knife under his pillow and by the age of 11, he was taken into care.

He said he once saw his famhly on a shopping trip once he had been

taken away, and asked his brother, why aren't I with you?

His brother replied, because you are evil.

Ben Blakeley denies murder and the trial continues.

Police have arrested a man who escaped from a prhson

Ricardo Dunn had been serving a sentence for causing grievous bodily

harm with intent, at HM Spring Hill open prison in Grendon Underwood.

Another man also escaped from the same jail.

Darren Douglas was serving a life sentence for murder.

Part of the M40 near Banbury is still shut this

The vehicle was carrying thirty tonnes of straw and caught `light

at just before three o'clock this afternoon

It's caused delays of up to an hour for drivers at junction 11,

Discussions have begun about plans to build a new stadium for Oxford

The leader of Oxfordshire County Council, Ian Hudspeth, has spoken to

representatives from the cltb about building on green belt land near

He says the existing Kassam Stadium could be sold off for housing.

Could this become the Oxford United's third ground

Land behind Water Eaton park and ride.

Nine miles further north from the clubs current home

The proposal's being supported by one

I want Oxford United to havd their own stadium in a good place

That's my purpose, it is obviously up to the consortium

and the owner as to who he wishes to sell to if he wishes to sell.

But some feel the environmental consequences don't make sense.

It just seems crazy to knock down one building and put it somdwhere

else, and build on the land where that one building was, can't we just

keep that building and then look at whether the other land that's being

proposed is suitable for housing instead?

At the moment a number of different groups are looking to buy the club.

But they wouldn't be buying the stadium or surrounding land

as that would remain in the hands of Firoz Kassam.

However, tonight BBC South Today understands the proposed Water Eaton

development is being taken seriously by the club's current owners,

potential new owners and other senior politicians in the county.

On the eve of the 50th British Grand Prix,

plans have been unveiled to bring thousands

There are already around 1200 companies linked

By 2025 200 new companies could be located there.

The businesses could bring 8,00 new jobs to the region.

There's a huge opportunity here for Silverstone to cement

its place as the epicentre of this really important industry.

It's no longer a sport, it's a major winner for Britain in the innovation

Colourful jackets, floral dresses and beautiful hats could be seen

on the banks of the Thames today which can only mean one thing.

The Royal Henley Regatta is underway.

It's celebrating its 175th anniversary.

For many it's a chance to w`tch rowers from around the world, but

In 1839, Henley hosted its first reg`tta

175 years on, and the competition on the water has grown in stature.

For the UK crews, and from all over the world, it is the Mdcca

It is the race to race and they are so pleased to even be hdre.

It is thought as many as half a million people cotld come

The question for local businesses is how many

of those will leave the rivdr bank, cross the bridge into town

It is much easier for us to have our refreshmdnts here

It is convenient to use the catering here, but we will be

We have tried all the different bars, we have popped

Either way, it seems one unintended consequence of the strict dress code

Our custom yesterday and today has been women who have

been turned away and need to come out to the town and buy a dress

Despite the searing heat, short dresses cannot be forgiven

Isn't it those kind of archaic rules which have kept

Goodnight, I'll leave you whth the weather, here's Alexis Green.

A lovely warm day today, a high of 25 Celsius, 77 Fahrenheit.

To the course of the night we'll have clear skies

initially, the cloud will increase and it will stay fairly mild.

Temperatures in the towns and cities 14 to 15 Celsius.

In the countryside, perhaps down to 9 degrees.

A lot more cloud to start the day tomorrow, the best

of any brightness the furthdr south and east you are, the more cloud

Temperatures doing nicely, very similar to today,

things turn unsettled tomorrow evening.

staying with us until Saturday morning.

Coming up next, the national forecast.

outlook for the weekend is quite different.

For those of you who haven't already heard, we've recorded our highest

temperature so far this year, and that was in Writtle in Essex. It

looks highly likely as well that we could see temperatures of a similar

value for tomorrow. Anywhere through central London to the east could see

highs of 27 to 29 degrees. But that is only one part of the story. The

second part of the story is rain moving in as we speak across the far

north and west. Some of that rain will turn heavy through the night

across Northern Ireland and into western Scotland. I had a bit, cloud

with pieces of rain but it will be a pretty mild night to follow. We

start off tomorrow with these two stories. Plenty of sunshine and

already warm building in the south-east corner, but the cloud

continues to march steadily east and will be a bit of a nuisance

throughout the day. We should see some improvement into Northern

Ireland by the afternoon and for the Western Isles. The