25/07/2014 BBC Oxford News

Hello and welcome to South Today from Oxford.

Ben Blakely is told he'll serve at last 20 years

for murdering his pregnant ex`girlfriend, Jayden Parkinson.

We will never get to see her grow up, get married and have children.

This is our life sentence, it is time for him to start his.

A mother of four is sent to prison for her part in an arson

Fiaz Munchi has been sentenced to 13 years for manslaughter.

Will crowds see something similar on Sunday?

We'll tell you where you can and can't go to watch Didcot's

The ban on wartime bathing, 70 years today, holiday`makers celebrated the

end of the ban in Bournemouth. Police have described it as

"one of the most disturbing cases in This afternoon, Ben Blakely,

the man found guilty of murdering Jayden Parkingson,

has been given a life sentence. He's been told he'll spend

at least 20 years in prison. Blakeley killed Jayden,

who was pregnant, last December, and buried her body

in his uncle's grave in Didcot. Today, a jury failed to reach

a verdict on Ben's younger brother Jake who faced a charge

of unlawfully burying a body. Victoria Cook is at

Oxford Crown Court. Victoria,

what's the reaction been there? An incredibly difficult afternoon

for the family and friends of Jayden Parkinson. The judge passed his

sentence. There were sounds of crying across the court room as he

said, passing the sentence, saying Ben Blakely had created a web of

lies to the police and it would require a heart of stone to keep up

that pretence and to deal with the body in the way you did. Outside

court, the family bed at a statement saying they were pleased they had

seen justice. They wanted to thank people from Didcot and around the

world for their support for the family.

For this, we will always be grateful from the bottom of our hearts. We

found strength from the messages of support from strangers worldwide. We

will never be able to thank them. Or to forgive Ben Blakely for the evil

that murdered Jayden and concealed her body with such a cold,

calculated and callous manner. We will never get to see her grow up,

get married and have children. This is our life sentence, it is time for

Ben Blakely to start his. There are two unique features. The

first is we charged someone with murder before we found the body,

which is always going to make the situation more complicated.

The second unique feature which was not overlooked by the judge is he

buried her in a pre`existing grave, and we are satisfied that has not

ever happened in the UK before. This afternoon, the judge also

commented on the domestic abuse element, and said to Ben Blakely,

that's the many victims of domestic violence, Jayden was infatuated by

you. You deliberately and selfishly encouraged her emotional dependence

on you by manipulating her feelings through fear. This raises questions

as to what more could have been done to save Jayden and what lessons can

be learned from this case. The murder of Jayden Parkinson was

shocking, not least because the 17`year`old was pregnant

with Ben Blakeley's baby. Such a violent act wasn't

unexpected by everyone. They used to say he was a bully,

controlling. In my mind I would

say he was a bully. Being hit,

no man should have hit a woman. This case has highlighted

the growing awareness of Police have called on victims to

come forward but campaigners say it difficult for women to escape once

they become involved with Lebanon. Most women

if they do leave a relationship, Women who do not have access to

specialist support to help them through that,

it can be incredibly dangerous. It is not

a simple to think she should go. This case leaves

questions unanswered. Now, a series of reviews will

look at what went wrong. Thames Valley Police's role is being

independently assessed, There's also This will look at the part social

services played, and the support The hostel where Jayden had

been staying before her death It's hoped the findings will help

protect vulnerable young people There is now going to be two

separate investigations into how the police and local authorities dealt

with Jayden Parkinson while she was alive and went missing. Both of

those will report next year. This trial is not completely over because

the jury failed to reach a verdict on Ben Blakely's younger brother who

was accused of preventing a lawful burial, burying Jayden. He denies

this. A decision about a retrial just for the younger brother will be

made next Friday. Meanwhile, a mother of four has been

sentenced to 13 years in prison for her part in an arson attack which

killed two children in Oxford. Fiaz Munshi had denied being

involved in the fire in 1997 but, earlier this week,

was found guilty of manslaughter. It's been 17 years since this

grieving mother's been able to visit Eight`year`old Anum,

and Majid who was 15. Until today,

a journey she says she's emotionally Her family say Mehfooz Akhtar's

life ended in the embers of her She attempted suicide,

and had to be sectioned as she These scenes, just minutes after

seeing the woman who helped plot Fiaz Munchi, a mother of four,

the final person convicted Fiaz Munchi is an evil

and sick woman. The driving force behind this

revenge attack and knew all along she was the motive for

revenge, not the drugs or affairs. She did nothing but lie

from day one. She went on to have four children

of her own, and I hope her family might have a semblance

of the pain she perpetrated on us. Five others and Fiaz's sister Riaz

were all previously jailed Fiaz was outcast by her family

after a secret romance with Amjad This led to her

and the others firebombing The police have apologised for

delays in bringing Fiaz to justice, I hope the severity of this sentence

shows to people how seriously the court took this case, how seriously

they felt, how fundamental they saw The Khan family invited us

here today to witness this most They say to show they're survivors,

united and defiant against those who In sentencing Fiaz to 13 years,

the judge said her day of reckoning has arrived, she cared

nothing for the most fundamental Hundreds of tonnes of waste has now

been removed from the Averies Recycling site in Swindon, following

a huge fire on Monday evening. 1,000 tonnes of waste went up

in flames, and fire fighters are still working

on the site to put out rubbish piles Crews are expected to be there

for several days. People who've booked holidays with

Wiltshire based Hatts Travel could lose both their holiday and their

money. The coach company has gone bust, and has cancelled around

?1,000 holidays with immediate effect. Hatts isn't a member of the

Association of British Travel Agents, which could make it more

difficult for people to get a refund. The firm had been trading

for almost 100 years. 89 staff will A man from Aylesbury who's fought

off cancer and an alcohol addiction has praised

the team who helped his recovery. The Prevention Matters scheme has

been supporting vulnerable adults in It's been so successful that it

could now be rolled out I was a mess,

I was just a complete mess, I mean, 20 cans of strong cider every day,

and a bottle of vodka every day. And now I realise what

life really is now. To describe the last few years

as challenging for David would be And, just three months ago,

David's family were told to turn off his life support machine

after his alcohol addiction pushed It made me wake up.

What have I done to my life? How did I ruin my life? I've got

such lovely people about me. I've found a new life

which I should have found That new life was largely thanks to

support from Prevention Matters, an organisation that's helped more

than 1,000 vulnerable adults across It might be illness,

bereavement, age. Once you get them socialising

with other people, they can see They end up contributing to

the community as well. Prevention Matters is funded

by Buckinghamshire County Council. It's a ?4 million project funded

for three years, but it's hoped it'll lead to savings by delaying,

or preventing the use of expensive There are many ways we can help

people and we can prove we're reducing our

costs by 25% in the care of older The success of David and others

using Prevention Matters has drawn attention from other councils,

including one in Denmark, who are hoping to adopt the initiative to

help people overcome addiction or Teams of cleaners will be sent out,

after Sunday's early morning demolition

of Didcot A power station. The company in charge

of the blast say dust could travel Npower has advised people to

watch the demolition at home. It'll be streamed live

on the internet. But many are planning to get up

early, or stay up all night, That's what it looked like in Kent,

and here in Sheffield. So, will you be out

and watching between 3 and 5 am? No, I am not,

because it's too early. A petition to push

the demolition to a later time got Despite her disappointment, the

petition's creator will definitely I am the same age

as the power station. To me, it is a huge event,

meeting up with a couple of friends bringing a bottle of Champagne

to toast the towers coming down. For safety reasons, Npower are

encouraging people to stay indoors If you want to see the demolition

live and not on computer, you will have to travel half a mile

from the towers, that's how far Why not come here, the place is

open from midnight, car parking. People can stand

on an ancient monument And watch the demolition

of another iconic landmark that has been here for 40 years,

watch the demolition of the towers. A particularly special moment

in time. Whether you watch the demolition

live, catch the footage online or on TV, we can be sure that, come

Sunday, the South Oxfordshire skyline will never quite be the

same. And you can join the debate on the

Didcot cooling towers by clicking on BBC Oxford's Facebook page.

Radio Oxford will be broadcasting You'll also be able to see the

highlights on Sunday's South Today. Visitors to this weekend's

Silverstone Classic Sale will get the chance to bid on a couple

of very unusual lots. A Harrier Jump Jet and a Tornado

fighter plane are being sold, alongside around 60 classic cars,

by auctioneer Jonathan Humbert. Unfortunately, there was not. It was

too late in the day and it has left us with no option other than to

close the business. Still to come, if you are wondering what to do this

weekend, we have the weather forecast. One more day to enjoy the

sunshine and then a bit of respite on the way. The full forecast coming

up later in the programme. A three`year`old boy from Sussex is

recovering after taking his family's car for a ride ` ending up in a pub

garden. The boy started up the The boy started up the engine to the

automatic Subaru in the family's He then drove

down two embankments into the garden Police say the youngster escaped

with just a slight bump to his head. Time for the sport. There is a Test

match any minute. It is very exciting.

I am excited, I am going on Monday. I hope they can play a bit better.

Some of that in a moment. First, some news.

We understand a deal has been agreed with Liverpool for Southampton

He'll undergo a medical over the weekend after the clubs reached

The Croatian ` who made no secret of wanting to leave ` will join

former teammates Rickie Lambert and Adam Lallana at Anfield.

There was another medal for the South at the Commonwealth

Games in Glasgow today ` this time a bronze in the shooting.

It adds to a swimming bronze last night.

And there could be more success before the day is out,

with athletes from our region in finals in judo and swimming.

Daniel Rivers from England has got a new Commonwealth Games record in

qualifying. Didcot's Dan Rivers was the man to

beat after storming qualifying But the final went

down to the wire ` he claimed bronze A shoot off was the undoing of

hotly`tipped teenager Amber Hill. She just missed out on reaching the

final. An injury meant Wokingham's

Megan Fletcher had to have her face taped up midway through her

under 70kg judo semi`final. It could have easily thrown her `

but instead she won with this throw. And Danny Williams,

also from Wokingham, Both go for gold

in the next half hour. There are two medal chances

for Reading's Adam Barratt tonight. He booked his place in the freestyle

relay final this morning. And Andrew Willis `

who won bronze last night ` is through to the semi`finals

of the 100m breaststroke. England's netballers `

featuring four players from the south ` showed why they're one

of the favourites for Commonwealth gold with a 65`25 win against Wales

in their first group match. My mother and brother drove up from

Burnham. It is great. The Scottish crowd have got right behind us so we

are appreciative of the netball fans coming to watch us. And even people

who have not watched netball before. `` Bournemouth.

But hopes for a golden day in the velodrome for

Hamble's Dani King were crushed when the Olympic gold medallist

didn't qualify for the final of the 3,000m individual pursuit.

Danny Williams from the judo has won gold in the under 73 kilograms.

Fantastic news. More on that in the late news tonight.

Cricket, and Hampshire's Ageas Bowl is gearing up to host

the test match this weekend between England and India.

It'll be only the second test the venue has hosted.

The Ageas Bowl held its maiden test match in 2011, a rain`soaked draw

Now the ground will be hosting its second test, when India visit

Hampshire for Sunday's third match against England.

India looked relaxed in training for Sunday's third test.

Hardly surprising as they're one match up

England's Test debutant Jos Buttler will replace Sussex's Matt Prior

He has good memories of the Ageas Bowl.

My first 100 was here, we had some exciting 2020 finals day in Somerset

as well so I enjoyed the ground, I like the place and it will be a

place that holds some special memories come Sunday morning.

But he joins a squad struggling for consistent form with bat or ball

They are hurting and disappointed that they are not playing their

brand of cricket and getting the results they wanted but there is the

underlying determination from everyone to turn that around and put

results right. What could make

a real difference to the result is the wicket, it's reportedly looking

to be in better condition than the first two matches, so we could

see some really exciting cricket. Hampshire's chairman hopes

the quality of that wicket and a successful test match could be

the beginning of even bigger things I would still want to stage an Ashes

Test match, I don't want to be saddled with the reputation of being

the only England Test match ground that has never been awarded an Ashes

Test match. We must put our best foot forward and put a strong case.

Unusually this Test starts on a Sunday.

Can England deliver ` and can a new venue deliver a classic contest?

Portsmouth's young boxing star Ebonie Jones has made it through

to the final of the European Women's Junior Championships.

Ebonie, who's 15 and here in the blue, trains at the Heart

She beat Italian Lucy Garafalo on home turf at the competition

in Assisi with a unanimous points decision.

Ebonie won gold at the event last year and faces Polish boxer

Berkshire synchronised swimmer Andrea Holland is returning to

competition for the first time in 35 years.

56`year`old Andrea is a former British and European champion,

She was working as a commentator at London 2012 when she was inspired

The key reason for me was too maybe inspire a slightly older generation.

It is never too late to get back into sport. I feel like I'm a

different person than I was six months ago for the fact that I am

fitter again. Good on her! She is not the oldest woman in the pool.

Now, earlier this year we spoke to a record breaking swimmer `

who's still taking a regular dip at the ripe old age of 99.

John Harrison has notched up five world records

And how did he celebrate this milestone birthday?

By jumping in for a swim at his local pool in Surrey of course!

Happy birthday to John. Isn't that brilliant? The secret to his youth.

Congratulations, John. It has been another lovely day. For many it is

the start of the summer holidays. Thousands have flocked to

the south's beaches to cool off But it's a luxury that wasn't

available to those who lived through the Second World War,

until this day 70`years`ago. But in 1944 it was

a very different picture. Mines and anti`tank obstacles

littered Bournemouth beach as a precaution against

the threat of German invasion There was panic, so the beach was

cleared, or the places of entertainment were closed so that

any landing craft would be obstructed.

There was a beach bathing ban in place from 1939 right up to this

After D`Day, things eased and eventually the road came, you can

open the beach. They allow the people to go through in their

hundreds with their deckchairs just to sample being on the beach once

more. Today, the picture is very different

as hundreds came to the beach to enjoy the seaside breeze

and even a few who went for a swim. It is a packed beach. You can see

nearby so when the weather is nice, nearby so when the weather is nice,

it is the perfect race to come with the little ones and just enjoy it.

We have nice weather, which is not very often in England.

And the sun is shining on Bournemouth who are already

benefiting from a boost in trade due to the good weather.

Half ?1 billion per year is spent in Bournemouth that the results of

tourism and for people who cannot remember half a billion, ?1000 for

every minute of every day of the year, that is so much tourism is

worth. Mines and barbed wire are long past

dangers, but still a warning to those who are

heading to the beach this summer. We advise people to stay hydrated

and stay out of the sun from 11 until three. This he is not too

treacherous, but the tide will increase, so there is the potential

for people to get into difficulty. `` the sea is not to treacherous.

In this year of poignant anniversaries, this is

a town where generations of holiday makers are united by a common love

I think it will be packed tomorrow. Yes.

We've had some lovely weather photos as always but today we've gone for a

bit of a theme ` your pets cooling off from the scorching heat `

lots more on our Facebook page, but here are three that caught our eye.

Jack the dog getting a soaking ` thanks to Alicia Penman

This could have been one soggy moggy if Kelly Wadmore had turned

And Michelle Hare captured this picture

And look at this one. This is a picture of art to this is a picture

of bit of a star. He took part in Wednesday's Commonwealth Games

opening ceremony and I think he'll led in both Bangladesh and then

Trinidad and obey God. What a gorgeous dog. `` Trinidad and will

be go. `` Trinidad and Tobago. Some heavy downpours this afternoon

with some thunder and lightning as well. The band working its way

across. This pocket here seeing quite a bit of thunder and lightning

in the last 30 minutes. Those thunderstorms tend to ease away as

we go through this evening. Integer date we can expect drier conditions

to develop in the coming hours. `` into tonight. Once the showers clear

we are left with, not quite cloud free skies, eastern parts seeing

some mist and murk, a few more breaks to the West. 17 or 18 degrees

below two nights of feeling very sticky, muddy conditions once again

tonight. Saturday we start the day with perhaps some of the low cloud

once again in the East but that breaks up fairly regularly and we

are left with another day of good sunny spells. Nice break finds sunny

conditions. Temperatures once again peeking into the mid`to high 20s saw

26, 20 7 degrees possible. The chance of a shower for the eastern

parts but most of them in the east of London. Tomorrow night a dry and

quiet affair, we will see a little cloud around, again the temperatures

staying in the high teens and so it will feel hot and sticky once again.

But the changes on its way as we head into Sunday, we have a cold

front working its way in, so Sunday will be a sunny spells and scattered

showers but some fresh air arriving as the cold front sweeps through and

into the new working week we have cooler conditions, one or two

showers but some good bright and sunny intervals as well. Just a

little cooler than recently. Plenty of events to look forward to this

weekend. The Worthing Filipino Festival

is taking place tomorrow. There'll be some warm sunshine

on offer as the town celebrates the Philippines with food,

music and sports. And in Stockbridge near Winchester

there's an open gardens event ` the perfect place to enjoy a cream

tea in the sunshine, though it'll Your summery for the coming days,

not doing too badly, temperatures cool enough on Sunday into the new

working week. Just before we go, a look ahead

to next week on South Today. Preparations are under way for this

year's New Forest and Hampshire County Show, which attracts

around 100,000 visitors each year. And alongside all the agricultural

and countryside exhibits, We've teamed up with

Southampton Solent University to build a complete studio

so that you can have a go at being And we've got very high hopes

for our entry in the exhibitors' No guesses as to who that is! I

think it is my best side. That is it from us, have a great weekend, more

from us at 10:25 p.m..