18/07/2014 BBC Oxford News

brighter start on Sunday. Still warm and humid.

Oxfordshire companies that have struggled to stay

in business have welcomed a sharp rise in support frol banks.

Figures obtained by BBC South show In just one year one

of the big banks has doubled lending in the county ` worth millions

Following the credit crunch of 008, financial backing for many dried up.

Banks say they're now activdly seeking customers to lend to.

Our business correspondent Alastair Fee reports.

Harry needed to borrow ?25,000 to get his business started. I am happy

with the decision. Obviouslx I am nervous because you are borrowing

money. It is a big leap to take Years earlier, a different story.

Banks, once eager to lend, swinging the other way. In this case, it took

a business plan and a coupld of meetings with the bank to show that

the climate had changed. The banks tightened up after the

crash. The criteria was verx difficult. But that has changed

NatWest, like the other big banks, can tell us how much they are

lending and where. Suddenly, more proactive. They are touring the

South in a wood to improve confidence. Banks and I want to show

how they are engaging with communities. `` bid to improve

confidence. It is not about getting so luch

money out of the door. Clearly, we do have targets. But it is `bout

finding the right businesses. For those attending sessions in

Oxford, setting up on your own is still a popular choice.

It gives you more experiencd, a chance to see the world the way you

want to see it. I am quite confident, but not that

much. I don't know if I will find support for my business.

New businesses create jobs. Ten are in work thanks to this new cafe

Consumer confidence is partly the key. It creates a safe environment

for banks to give backing. The jury in the Jayden Parkhnson

murder trial has been sent home for the weekend `

after failing to reach a verdict on Ben Blakeley admits killing

the pregnant 17 year old last His younger brother, Jake,

is accused of helping him to bury Jayddn

in their uncle's grave in Dhdcot. He denies preventing

a lawful burial. A teenager who died from an ecstasy

overdose is to be remembered 15 year old Martha Fernback had

a heart attack after taking an extremely ptre form

of the drug in Hinksey Park A 17 year old boy was convicted

of supplying the ecstasy. Friends and family are expected

at a picnic which will be hdld A heatwave warning is still place,

despite Weather forecasters say lightning

struck more than 3,000 times I slept through the storm `

but lots of people didn't. More than that, some

of you got up to take photographs The storm began in the middle

of the night. This video was sent

from north Oxfordshire. Across the region, houses wdre lit

up by lightning, the thunder It was about 2:15pm and there was a

sudden gust of wind. The next thing I knew, loud bangs. It was really

scary. The lightning lit up the whole house. The bedroom was as if

it was complete daylight. It was horrible. I don't know why we are

having such bad weather. Schumann is near the ground with cooler air

above, that is a good recipd for air to move up in the atmospherd very

quickly, when it was so, thd water condenses, and forms clouds and

rain, that is why we have strong storms.

We?ve already seen similar weather this year.

In March, Banbury Twenty's cricket club was burnt down after

In most places this storm dhdn't cause any serious problems.

But lightning did damage sole equipment used by Chiltern railways,

Flood alerts are also now in place in some parts of Swindon.

We've seen some of the highdst temperatures of the year thhs

week but the stormy weather looks set to disrupt the coming d`ys.

The big question for many is whether or not we will need this, or this.

An amber weather warning has been put in place across the reghon with

thunderstorms and possible flash flooding expected overnight and into

tomorrow. The forecasts say we should see more sunshine as well.

Alexis will have the details on the storms forecast

And don't forget you can send us your pictures and videos of the

Around 400 jobs would be crdated if plans

for a new medical research centre in Oxford are approved next month.

The ?55 million centre on Old Road would be jointly funded

by the government and Asia's richest man, Li Ka Shing.

Analysts would be able comb through millions of pieces

of information to help tackle diseases like malaria and ddmentia.

Rather than waiting until it is too late to intervene we would like to

use all the information that might able to help see the signs of early

dementia before it happens. Council`run leisure centres

and golf courses in Swindon are to be taken over by private

organisations later this ye`r. The link centre is one

of six that will be run by Councillors voted for the change

last night and say it will cut costs 140,000 people are expected to

travel to Oxfordshire over the next three days as

Blenheim Palace opens its g`tes The countryside event is ond of the

largest in the world and brhngs tens of millions of pounds to thd local

economy as Tom Turrell reports. You don't have to be

a farmer or live in the sticks to come to Oxfordshire's CLA G`me Fair

` but many are and many do. Plenty come from around the UK

if not further afield to shop or maybe have a go

at some countryside sports. Her we are in an absolutely

fantastic lace. We expect 140,0 0 visitors over three days.

For some of those 140,000 people fishing is

enough of an attraction to hook them in ` others seem to prefer something

For animal lovers too there are of course less adventurous acthvities.

If you are looking for something more adventurous than a dog show

there are plenty of big toys to get your hands on.

Some, it seems, wanted some rough and tumbld without

getting into a 4x4, although I'm not convinced the political deb`tes are

The level of debate about agriculture in this country is at an

all`time low. A few years ago

the roads surrounding Blenhdim This year a special control room on

site brings together the emdrgencies services and organisers to help keep

the extra 16,000 cars on thd move. We have electronic messaging signs

to the drivers, to help redhrect traffic and through traffic, using

different lanes on June carry ways. `` dual carriageway.

So it?s a challenge to get this many people in and out of Oxfordshire `

but those I spoke to seemed to be having a good time.

It's billed as a celebration of the Great British Countryside but

organisers will certainly bd hoping the Great British weather holds out.

spending increase. That cre`tes a safe environments for the b`nks to

give them money. Still to come

in this evening's South Tod`y: Shooting for gold in Glasgow `

Amber Hill on girly ways and guns. A coroner has cleared

an expedition company of neglect following the de`th of

Salisbury schoolboy Horatio Chapple, who was mauled to death by ` polar

bear during a trip three ye`rs ago. An inquest had heard how a tripwire

warning system set up to protect the Group had parts missing. But the

coroner said that this had not definitely been the issue preventing

the attack. The teenager was on a search for

adventure. But he was draggdd out of his tent by an polar bear and was

killed. The polar bear attacked three other people before it was

shot. This boy had to punch the animal to stop it from biting him.

I remember the bear going through the tent. Everyone was scre`ming and

was very scared. It then gr`bbed my arm and bit me and hit my hdad.

During the inquest, Horatio Chapple's parents heard that there

had been failures in the safety kit taken by the British schools

exploring Society. The court was heard that tripwires designdd to

keep the polar bears out of the camp had been defective and had been

prepared by paperclips. The family said that it was not only

the tripwire, a rifle had not fired straight away and the group had not

had a watch for polar bears on the night. The coroner said that those

were not contributory factors in Horatio Chapple's death and he chose

not to use the word neglect. Jason Roberts is a leading polar

safety expert. He was not involved with that expedition. He showed as

how the tripwires are meant to work to scare off a polar bear.

Polar bears are the world's largest predator in power. It is

undescribable the power that they have.

Tonight, Horatio Chapple's family released a statement talking about

their sorrow and their loss. And one of his closest friends said that he

was much missed. He was an incredible character, very

funny, not always intention`lly He had a way about him that was very

happy and polite and very fhne. `` funny. He was in a house between

many different people and hd held everyone together.

The exploring Society has done an independent review and introduce

changes. Every group going to the Arctic must now have a polar bear

look out and carry a new al`rm system. Tonight, Horatio Ch`pple's

family praised their son's kindness and bravery and asked for privacy.

We can cure your disease but can we afford it?

This time it involves new drugs to treat the liver disease Hep`titis C.

They're being tested in Portsmouth and have shown dramatic restlts

Hepatitis C is a virus of the blood ` if left untrdated it

There are nearly 3,000 Hepatitis C patients in Hampshire and 740

But the tablets being used hn the trial cost ?600 each and a course

health correspondent reports now on the search for a new tre`tment.

Can I take some blood from xou? Alan has had Hepatitis C for 12

years. Doctors try to cure ht but could not. Then he got a call to try

a drugs trial that might help. I have been given an opporttnity to

cure something that I thought would shorten my life. I decided, if that

was the case, I would make the best of it. That was before I had the

magic phone call. Alan was asked to take one of these

every day. He did not know ht, but these pills cost ?600 each `nd were

11 other patients taking thdm as well.

Most of the patients have bden very favourable. Some of them have had

standard treatment previously with lots of side effects. Gener`lly

there have been less side effects during this trial and because they

are all less time they can tolerate them.

There are treatments for Hepatitis C, but the jaw rates are low and

often the side`effects are bad. `` the queue all rates.

After two weeks, it was shown that the virus had reduced by 70$, after

four weeks it had gone completely. Alan is just one patient and this is

just a trial, but the drugs look promising.

You are sometimes looking at a cure rate, and this is being tre`ted with

shorter courses of tablets. There are minimal side`effects.

This man is having a liver scan Hoping to beyond the next trial

Meanwhile, the NHS is giving 50 patients the new drug. But giving

everyone who needed it the drug would cost ?12 billion and ht cannot

afford it. A head injury

at work led to the tragic ddath Of her husband, and now she is

discussing new safety measures to help others. A helmet is wh`t she

thinks could prevent head injuries. He fell and hit his head whhlst

working at the airport. He did not have a heart att`ck. The

only part of his body but w`s injured was his head.

The inquest said that it was an accident, but she thinks th`t her

husband might not have died if he had been wearing a helmet. @fter

campaigning, she has come to Gatwick Airport to try and persuade them to

give their workers helmets. These helmets cost ?40. 2000 people

have signed the petition, whll Gatwick Airport agreed?

They are going to contact the catering company to see if they will

do what they can regarding head protection. If they were thd leaders

of such actions, I would be very happy.

Although Gatwick did not colmit to giving service workers helmdts

today, her MP hopes to perstade companies working at airports to

have the option. If it works, it is something that

could be given to other airports and companies. And it would be `

fantastic result for Rosemary and would mean some little compdnsation

coming out of the tragic de`th of M. `` Mike.

Gatwick would not give a st`tement, but said that they were ple`sed to

have had talks with rosemarx and hope that they can support her in

the future. For Rosemary, hdr next target is Heathrow Airport.

And here is some sports news. We've turned our attention to

the shooting for this week's On Wednesday, it was double

trap with Matt French. Tonight the skeet,

with one of the country's top young I do go to the gym three tiles a

week. The rest is just shooting as many cartridges as I can get. I will

shoot 250 each training session For me, it can get quite tiring, but you

get on with it. When she's not competing abroad

Amber practices shooting here in Buckinghamshire. It was London 012

which inspired her to switch to an Olympic discipline.

It is clay pigeon shooting, so I shoot clay discs. It is verx

structured and a great compdtition. But it is not all about technique.

Amber is determined to show that guns can be early as well. `` for

girls. My fingernails are quite brhght I

have think cartridges. I am not the typical shooter that you might think

of. I like girl things, but sport is a big part of my life. I don't see

why I can't have the mixturd, even though it is the male domin`ted

sport. She got the young person 's sports

With such a success behind her, how With such a success behind her, how

will she cope with the pressure You do have two make a lot of

sacrifices. I do not get to see my friends as much as I would like to

and I am not at school anymore. Sir it is very different, but I enjoy

what I do and I want to makd the most of the opportunity so H will

compete at Glasgow. I am ailing for gold. I always put the pressure on

myself to do the best that H can. It does not come from anywhere else,

just me wanting to perform to my best. If that is good enough to get

a medal, then that is great. Hampshire golfer Justin Rosd will be

several shots off the leading players at the

Open Championship as he heads Rose shot a second round of 70

at Royal Liverpool, That's two under par

for the tournament. A short time ago

the former US open champion was seven shots off the lead held

by Northern Ireland's Rory LcIlroy. There's a crucial game in the T 0

Blast tonight at the Ageas Bowl Sussex need

a win to keep any hopes of reaching the quarter finals alive, while

opponents Hampshire are hophng for a turnaround in fortunes after losing

three of their last four gales. Sir Quentin Blake is probably best

known for his illustration of Roald Dahl's stories such as James

and the Giant Peach and Charlie But his work spans more than half

a century, much of it reflected in a new exhibition at Motthsfont

near Romsey in Hampshire. This part of the building d`tes back

800 years, but I have been transported back to the 1970s. I can

remember these pictures frol my childhood, seeing them on BBC1

stories. The QA rated told me more about

them. `` Crater. These are wonderful, I remelber them

as well. It would really help to get the story across as a celebrity read

the story. You can get the story just from a fuel lines. You know

that Mortimer is causing havoc in an ice cream shop.

And Quentin Blake has done pictures even for greeting cards companies?

Yes, there are many different drawings on show.

There are dreams from Charlhe And The Chocolate Factory stage show, a

new challenge for the man who previously illustrated the book

It is about and where it coles from. It meant that I did not havd two

draw all the same characters again. I could do different things about

the chocolate. I think therd are different characters in there as

well. They are all different, but there is

the same style. They are very colourful.

He has a nice cartoon style. I think it looks really good.

They express all of their elotions and it is really good.

The exhibition opens tomorrow and continues until September 14th.

It brings it all back. I love those storing is. I gather `` those

pictures. I gather that we could have more storms tonight.

The temperatures are higher today so potentially more lightning.

Ginny Boxall captured a wild flower meadow near Alton in Hampshhre.

Martin Aust took this photo of two swans and their young

And Raymond Slack captured Burnet moths feeding on a meadow flower

It could be a lively night hn terms of thunderstorms tonight. There is

an ample warning. There could be `` and Amber warning. There cotld be

several inches of rain fallhng. Severe thunderstorms are a

possibility. They will drift from France around 10pm this evening

moving to the north. And very mild comic humid temperatures. Lows of 19

Celsius. `` very mild humid temperatures. And we will sde is

brief respite from the storls, but then more will appear in thd

afternoon, with a high of 24 for 26 Celsius. Temperature is not as high

as today, but it will feel very humid.

Tomorrow night, those under storms will clear and there will bd times

of clear skies. One or two list all four patches and temperaturds will

not be as high as tonight. Lows of 17 or 18 Celsius.

A dry start to the day on Stnday, some risk of thunderstorms, but they

will not be as frequent or `s heavy as on Saturday. There is sthll that

possibility in amongst the sunshine. Plenty of things to do this weekend.

The Shotteswell Fete is takhng place tomorrow, the 19th of July,

It's on from 2pm until 5pm `nd there is the risk of a thunderstorm.

And Lymington and Pennington Carnival is on this Sunday, with

Through the rest of the weekend we should see some thunderstorls

tomorrow. Flash flooding in some places, disruption to travel. Please

look at your local radio st`tion for more details. Turning quite into

next week, the risk of showdrs, but it should stay mainly settldd.

Not looking too bad. And we will have an intervidw with

Tom Jones next week. He will be talking about his forthcoming

concert on the Isle of Wight. You were due to play at the Osborne

house last year? Yes, I had a laryngitis. I `lways

try and go back to do things that I miss.

Jonas at 6:30 p.m.. Have a good weekend. We will see you later for

the ten o'clock bulletin. Good night.