20/08/2014 BBC Oxford News

Hello and welcome to South Today from Oxford.

The letter bombs found in Oxford ` four people are arrested.

Explosives were sent to an army careers office earlher this

year ` leading to part of the city being evacuated.

Out of prison and back behind the wheel ` illegallx.

A man who caused the death of another motorist

in a car crash escaped jail for breaching his driving b`n.

It's actually meaningless. Totally and utterly meaningless if xou end

up like a result like we got today. The council planning to charge

residents for additional rubbish Banning legal highs `

the police warning to festival goers Four people have been arrested

after letter`bombs were sent to army careers offices in Oxford

and across the country. Bomb disposal experts were called to

the city centre in February ` The four people arrested ard being

questioned in Northern Irel`nd. Jeremy, what more do we know

about those four people? Police in Northern Ireland have

confirmed that two men, aged 35 and 46, and two womdn,

aged 21 and 44, were arrestdd They're names haven't been released

or any other details about them We do know they're being qudstioned

at the serious crime unit in Antrim. Irish detectives are working with

officers from the They're investigating

whether the four suspects m`y be When the Armed Forces careers office

in Oxford was targeted in Fdbruary this year, houses were evactated,

shops closed and streets cldared. St Giles was cordoned off c`using

several hours of disruption. Letter bombs were to sent to

a number of other addresses across the United Kingdom, hncluding

an armed forces centre in Rdading. All the devices were defused

by bomb disposal experts. At the time a government spokesman

said "Suspect packages have been identified as containing sm`ll,

crude, but potentially viable devices bearing the hallmarks of

Northern Ireland`related terrorism. We don't know how long this

investigation will take or if the four people arrested today

will be charged. But for suspected terrorism cases

the police can hold suspects for longer than in other cases,

possibly up to two weeks. If they are charged

a court appearance will be set, it's likely the case would be heard

in Northern Ireland. A mother's spoken of her anger after

the man who killed her teen`ge son in a car crash near Thame avoided

being sent back to prison today Sam Edwards was jailed

for five years in 2010 for causing But earlier this year he was caught

behind the wheel ` Sam Edwards leaving court today

guilty but unapologetic. I haven?t breach a family?s licence,

I?ve breached my licence. There?s nothing to say to

the family, is there? In 2010, the 30 year old from Marsh

near Aylesbury, was sentencdd to five years for causing the death

of 18 year old Greg Stiles. But by law he was only requhred to

serve half that term The former racing driver trhed to

overtake a car on this road between Princes Risborough and Thamd,

putting himself directly in the Greg lost control,

hitting another car. He died instantly and his ghrlfriend

and passenger, Abigail Dowdx, Sam Edwards was also banned

from driving for eight years. Despite that he was caught

behind the wheel on the A41 Something which came as no

surprise to Greg Stiles? falily He?s proved that he can?t lhve

by the terms of his licence. If that?s the case, why did they not

insist on a recall to prison today? She also believes people should

have to serve their full sentence. The whole two

and a half years out of fivd, on licence for two and a half xears,

actually is meaningless, totally and utterly meaningless, if you end up

with a result like we?ve got today. Sam Edwards was ordered to do 1 0

hours of community service He'll remain on licence

until next year. A coroner has ruled that

the death of a robber who w`s held down by several people in Oxford

was misadventure. Clint Townsend was attempting to

rob a jewellery shop in the His family believe the restraint `

where several people sat on him ` But an inquest heard that hd had

an underlying heart condition The coroner said

the people who restrained hhm did A private rubbish collection firm

may be brought in to collect rubbish at blocks of flats in Oxford

if residents don't recycle lore The City Council is threatening to

leave bins of waste behind if people throw away substantially

more than they recycle. The council wants half

the city's domestic waste to be recycled as our Political Rdporter

Helen Catt explains. Its plan is simple ` for evdry bin

of recycling a block creates it Anything extra will have to be

taken to the tip by private firms. For this block in North Oxford,

it?s estimated that would cost This will not affect landlords,

but tenants, and ultimately private Effectively, everyone

in the block will have to p`y for The council says it has givdn block

owners more than a year to hmprove rates and it?s helped to edtcate

tenants although with a quarter of the city's population moving

ever year, that's an ongoing job. We don?t want to see anybodx

bringing in private collectors of rubbish ?

the council does that very well Yes,

we do all pay for it ? if wd don?t recycle it, we pay more in landfill

charges, it goes onto the council tax, so it?s cheaper and better

for the environment to recycle. And it?s not just Oxford trxing to

get us to recycle as much as we throw away ? the EU h`s set

a target for half of all waste to There's been a sharp rise

in the number of prostitutes known They helped cause traffic collisions

and made for `` fake insurance claims for personal injury. They

were convicted of conspiracx to convicted fraud and to drivd

dangerously. Police in Oxford say there's been

a five percent drop in anti`social behaviour

in the city in the last year. The most significant reducthons

were in the Barton and Risinghurst Across the city there were

over three thousand reported Officers say cooperation with

community groups and the city Police officers

from Wiltshire will be helphng to They'll be among 9,500 officers

being drafted in to provide security for 67 heads of state and

their ten thousand staff whdn they It's the largest gathering

of international leaders evdr to A nine year old boy, who's recovered

from cancer, is hoping to r`ise hundreds of pounds for charhty

by busking with his sister. Ace Manthey

from Abingdon was diagnosed with He and his older sister havd been

attracting a crowd in Oxford ` Possibly the youngest buskers

in Oxfordshire. Ace

and his sister Sky are planning on They're hoping to raise ?500 each

for the charities which looked I was only three at the timd and I

didn't really know what was happening, so it just felt

a bit different, a bit dram`tic He had the illness for thred years `

which left his family devastated. When one of the most preciots things

in your world is told they have a life`threatening condition,

it's just horrific. And now he wants to give solething

back ` These charities are really

close to my heart because they Without them he wouldn't

be next to me today. The duo intends to do more

busking before going back The goals from last night's matches

involving Oxford, Swindon and the MK A long distance journey for charity

for a former Saints footballer. GCSE results are out tomorrow

and nowhere are they more kdenly anticipated than on the Isld

of Wight. Last summer the support for schools

was considered to be so poor that the government told Hampshire County

Council to step in and take over The number of students gainhng five

good GCSEs, including English That compared to

a national average of 59.2%. It put the Island fourth from bottom

in the national league tabld. Ofsted says improvements have now

been made but in the first of two special reports,

Briony Leyland looks back at why The gulf between education standards

on the Isle of Wight compardd to the In 2008 the council came up with

the controversial solution to move from three tiers of schooling `

primary, middle and high ` to two, Opponents argued existing schools

should be improved instead. I think it has damaged a nulber

of generations very badly. If I was a parent of

a child who had failed to gdt good GCSEs when I thought they should

have got GCSEs, and I know lots of parents who think that, I would be

very upset about the whole thing. The former council leader D`vid Pugh

stands by the move to a two tier sxstem,

arguing it ended years of stagnation Whatever the merits of reorganising

schools, when the council's education services were inspected

last summer more change restlted. Last June, with four of the island's

six secondary schools deemed to be inadequate or failing and whth the

council support for improving the schools condemned as ineffective by

Ofsted, the Department for Dducation They called for reinforcements

from the mainland, asking Hampshire County Council to

take over education services A report by Hampshire Countx Council

concluded a combination of factors had led to poor standards, hncluding

issues around as aspirations and had led to poor standards, hncluding

issues around aspirations and expectations, problems with school

leadership, and an unusuallx static teaching force with a lack

of professional development. A plan for improvement was set in

motion and progress has been made. Aspiration is at the heart

of the island's first free school. Directly funded by government,

it is the vision of parents The parents wanted a smaller,

simpler school, We are naturally looking out

for them and trying to carvd a way and an education and

a system for them that gives them The future of our children hs

in our own hands. I think things will need to change

and improve and we need to get The headmaster hopes the frde school

will help to tackle some of the underlying problems behind

low achievement on the island. Down here in the South of the Isle

of Wight there is quite a lot There are a lot

of free school meals students, I think South Wight is about 30 ,

much higher than the island average, A lack of aspiration can happen

in an island in a community setting I think it is easier to havd

a lack of aspiration than pdrhaps in other areas,

and it is about challenging that. The school believes even pupils who

cannot get places here will benefit. In a competitive market, if someone

sets a standard, everyone else has Something we talked a lot to

the Department for Education about is we will set up an

outstanding and very strong school. Competitors then have to rahse their

game and it can impact all schools. On tomorrow's programme we will be

looking at what has already been done to make improvements

and finding out those all`ilportant Police say they will be checking

so`called "legal highs" seized from Festival`goers in Readhng this

weekend for signs of illegal drugs. The substances,

which include chemicals intdnded as plant food and laughing gas, are

banned from the event. Anyone arrested carrying thdm could

face problems with the authorities who for the first

time are using sophisticated equipment to check they've not been

mixed with outlawed drugs. Festivalgoers have been arrhving in

Reading all day. Police say youngsters, some on their fhrst trip

away from home, prevent that Micah present rich pickings for crooks.

But it is legal substances they may have brought with them officers will

be watching out for as they mingle with the crowds. Everyday chemicals

that can be used to try and get high.

It is a condition of entry that you cannot bring any legal highs with

you. It has been an issue bdfore. Security will be taking thel off

people and asking them to strrender it. We also have some testing kit

this year and we have to do some checking. The government tells us

20% of legal highs may cont`in illegal substances.

The event is a sell`out but a slip up getting old tickets in the post

meant some had to collect them from the town's Theatre. The ticket

agency says almost `` only ` small group were affected but among

parents who had to take timd off work and travel from far afheld that

did not go down well. It is inconvenient for us to come

all the way to Reading. On the way back it will be rush`hour, who knows

what will happen. There is the time and cost involved and I think they

should reimburse me. No problem with tickets herd as more

and more people arrived in Reading bone for the festival site.

At least the crowds here on the move. After a freight train broke

down in the station this morning, passengers were delayed at `rriving

here in Reading for up to two hours. Not what people want on thehr way to

the festival. A special World War One BBC roadshow

arrived in Weymouth Pavilion today. There were hands`on activithes,

performances and interactivd sessions to show what living in

wartime was like for the soldiers who went off to fight but also for

the families who were left behind. Frankie Peck has more.

Learning about the First World War in an Edwardian setting.

Classroom cane and all were present at today's road show.

I'm going to have words with your mother, you know!

Away from the schoolmaster, staff from the Imperial War Museums

were teaching a more up`to`date lesson, how people could discover

what part their relatives h`d to play in the Great War.

Dorset Regiment, the Royal Navy we are finding people who

discovered that their grandfathers had brothers who also served.

They are finding lots of details that perhaps thex knew

All of the information on people's relatives will be kept

These girls found out more about their great grandad.

There were more colourful activities on offer, and Morse code pr`ctice

for those all`important messages needing to get past enemy lhnes

Because it was a fast`moving war, radio contact was essential

and Morse is the most effichent way of sending radiocommunication.

It was a good day for gener`tions to come together to remember.

I think she was enjoying herself there! Let's move on to sport, Chris

Temple is with us. We will start with football.

It was a busy night last night, we have a tweet from a man who often

sits there in his shorts. What a treat! If you are eating your

dinner now, look away now. Last night, round three of football

league matches, all of the site was Micro clubs were in action. There

are all the key moments involved in your local teams.

The Brighton manager registdred his maiden league success as his side

scored their first Championship goals of the season at Leeds. Shall

take error on loan from Livdrpool gave them then their opener.

Bournemouth surrendered thehr 1 0% start to the season despite

dominating against expending Nottingham Forest. After Matt

Ritchie's free kick struck ` post, Callum Wilson gave the cherries the

lead just short of the hour. Nottingham Forest's striker somehow

find the net with this headdr and minutes later Matt Prior outjumped

Adam Smith to consign Bourndmouth to defeat. It was a bad night for

Reading who were also on thd end of a 2`1 defeat to Huddersfield. Harry

Bunn doubled their lead before half`time. The Royals pulled a goal

back through Simon Cox but ht was too little too late for Nigdl

Adkins' men. Portsmouth maintained their start in League 2 unddr Andy

Orford. They were 2`0 winners over Northampton. Craig West car's strike

made it seven points from nhne for the blues.

We have the transfer news, Brighton have signed Aston Villa full`back

Joe Bennett on a season`long deal. There has been medal success for two

of the South's athlete at the IPC European Championships in Swansea.

Paul Blake one 400 metres shlver medal this morning while Olhvia

Breen from Portsmouth took the bronze in the T 38 100 metrds. That

was after her fourth placed in the long jumps yesterday.

Hampshire have re`signed South Africa international leg

spinner Imran Tahir to bolster their County Championship promotion push.

The 35`year`old was last with the county in 2011 and is available

for Hampshire's last two Championship games of the sdason.

They're currently in the second of the Division Two promotion places.

Tahir isn't available for T20 Finals Day on Saturday.

You may remember last month we featured Isle of Wight`based

sailor Natasha Lambert and her latest project, Sea and Sumlit.

Well, 17`year`old Natasha ` who has cerebral palsy `

has successfully completed the sailing part of her challenge, the

In the coming days, Natasha will swap her boat

for her special walking aid, to climb the 2,907ft Pen Y Fan, the

She's raising money for charities, including the Ellen MacArthtr Trust.

A former professional footb`ller is aiming to raise around ?1 mhllion

for charity by running to every Premier League ground in

Francis Benali made his namd in the Southampton defence of the 0990s.

Now he's ready to push his body to the limit to rahse funds

Starting at St James' Park in Newcastle, he plans to rtn to

every single Premier League ground in the country, from the north to

And he plans to finish in Southampton during half time

Tony Husband joined him on one of his final training runs.

Here comes the short! Yes, anyone of a nervous

disposition, look away now! A gentle jog for Franny Ben`li,

and that is about all he is doing this week ahead of the toughest

sporting test of his life. Benali's Big Run starts on Sunday

with Alan Shearer waving hil This is certainly no ordinary

challenge Franny is taking on. Over 21 consecutive days he will run

an average of 40 miles per shift. He will take in every Premidr League

ground. It's one heck of a challengd,

my friend. I saw it as an opportunity to raise

a huge amount of money for ` The second point,

it is a huge tick in a box for me personally to undertake a physical

and mental challenge that whll test me all the way and probably

beyond my limits in many waxs. Benali made more than 300

appearances for Southampton and was a mainstay of their

Premier League side in the 80s. He has always been fit,

but this will be very different I know what I put into playhng

at the level I did in the sport of football, but this will be

something altogether differdnt. Although I have a support tdam, it's

going to be very much, you know fighting with my own thoughts and

getting my head around a lot of the The 45`year`old cannot wait

for the start, but the finish will be pretty special, too ` half`time

in the Southampton versus Ndwcastle I've used that as a little bit

of a thought and a picture We did a practice run

on what will be the last leg back to St Mary's a few weeks back `nd I was

quite emotional when I got back to the stadium even on that dax, so

goodness knows what I will be like after a three`week challengd,

and arriving back You can see the website on the

screen, all of the details `re there with the full route.

1000 miles in three weeks? That is a huge challenge!

Good luck. I got tired of jtst looking at the map!

His family will be joining him, some of his ex`teammates, like J`mes

Beattie, Alan Shearer will be setting him off 8am on Sund`y.

It will be fantastic if he lakes it for St Mirren these and the game

with Newcastle next month. Did you see that running stxle?

You are being harsh! I think you should be joining him.

No, I am busy! Sports presenters joining Frannie on

one of the last legs. Well, good luck to him, we hope it

will go really well. Onto the weather.

It is a chilly night, actually. I was getting the thick duvdt out

last night I was so`called. Four Celsius last night, in parts of

Oxfordshire. It could be sililar tonight.

Alan Smith took this close tp of a Kingfisher fishing

Vince Cooper photographed the low tide and the sunny spells

And Maureen Coles took this shot of the dramatic skies over

We have a number of showers popping up this afternoon, but they were few

and far between, mainly dry today with sunny spells and incre`sing

cloud. The cloud will disappear overnight, staying dry and chilly in

the countryside. In the towns and cities down to eight or night 's ``

nine Celsius. A dry start to the day tomorrow. There may be some showers

dotted about tomorrow, it should be mainly dry but showers more likely

for western areas drifting hn from the West and through the afternoon

increasing cloud, but there will be some sunshine and temperatures will

be very similar to today, around 16 or 18 Celsius with light winds.

Tomorrow night we could havd outbreaks of rain showers at times

through the early hours of Friday morning. The showers are mahnly

liked and patchy with the odd heavy burst drifting in from the West and

clearing most places by Don on Friday with a milder night to come

tomorrow night, Lowes 12 or 14 Celsius. High`pressure moves in

charge of our weather towards the weekend, the rain clears first thing

on Friday morning following sunny spells in the afternoon.

Temperatures will fall away on Friday, another chilly start on

Saturday to start the bank holiday weekend. Saturday should be mainly

dry with sunny spells and hhgh pressure in charge, turning cold at

night, four or five Celsius in the countryside. Sunday will be a cold

and mainly frosty start in some areas. Mainly dry with sunshine

Unsettled with rain at times on Monday. All in all, the bank holiday

not looking bad at all. But the rest of the week there will be some sunny

spells, the odd shower may be for western areas, increasing cloud for

much of the reason through the afternoon. The order showers are

possible on Friday amongst the sunny spells and a breezy day. Cold

overnight Friday into Saturday may be forced to start the day on Sunday

but Saturday will be the best day of the weekend in terms of dryness and

sunshine. Good, because it is the Augtst bank

holiday and we know what happens then.

Rain! We have a cricket match on Sunday so I am pleased it is right,

the BBC team. We have more at 8pm and at 00:2 pm,

of course. Tony will be there tomorrow probably

giving Chris and very hard time after what he said today.

Will you be wearing shorts? I hope not!

Thank you for watching, good night. We've got factory boys and butchers'

apprentices and office clerks Don't stop moving!

If you go back you'll die! anybody who comes to your house

is not a guest, but he's God.