01/10/2014 BBC Oxford News

Hello and welcome to South Today from Oxford.

In tonight's programme: Should they be a special case?

Syrian refugees who've made a life in Oxford could be forced to

relocate to Birmingham, because the council

The villagers accusing Vodafone of holding them to ransom.

They've had no signal some days for two months and no date

from Vodafone as to when the problem will be fixed.

The cub that knocks spots off a domestic kitten.

How a leopard rejected by its mother has been hand reared

William Blake's feet did in ancient times walk around this housd `

now there's a move to buy hhs house for the nation.

A family of Syrian refugees who ve been in Oxford for two years have

been told the council can only afford to house them in Birlingham.

Some of the Marud family are sufferhng from

post`traumatic stress disorder and are receiving medical help here

Their children have settled into school

and those campaigning for them say the family are a special case.

But the city council says they are not the only peopld

Almasa Haji could never givd her children this stability

But now her traumatised famhly face being uprooted again.

The council says government housing allowances fall ?300 short

So they face being moved to another cheaper city.

It is really important for ts, because they do not know how we

feel, they have never been through this. We want to stay here `nd we

have tried everything and they are still not listening. We just want

them to leave us alone. We just want to stay here.

Linda and her family are amongst thousands

of Syrian Kurds who've fled the country to escape civil war

It's one of the largest forced migrations since World War Two.

Murad still suffers from an injury caused by a car bomb.

Doctors here have joined calls for the family to stay in the city.

It is very difficult. I whisked which the council would stand by me

and help me. But they haven't. `` I wish the council would stand by me.

There are 3,000 people on the housing waiting list in Oxford.

54 other families like the Lurads have been moved out

But legal experts say they `re a special case.

The government to be able to take into account situations likd this,

acute situations like this where the family is in difficulty. Thd council

says they cannot afford the rent for places like this, so they are now

moving families further awax. When we asked about the family and their

supports network era, they responded by saying that the family c`n access

these things in other places like in Birmingham.

Although they've provisionally accepted a property in the lidlands,

they're desperate to keep their family together in Oxford

People in Appleton near Abingdon say they're being 'held to ransom' by a

Vodafone is the only servicd provider that covers the village.

But a fault at the local mast means that for the last eight weeks

the service has been coming and going, sometimes mid`conversation.

Vodafone says it?s working to resolve the issue but cannot

say when it will be fixed. Here's Brennan Nicholls.

Vodafone customer in Appleton say they've been left

It'll be there and you can watch the bars go four, three, two, one.

You have lost your phone call from somebody and within seconds,

Or maybe there's nothing for five minutes and then it will be

fine for four hours, but you can't rely on it to have any

The trouble is Vodafone is the only service provider

However, its mast has a fault, one the company hasn't been able to

Business people can't get hold of me, so they ring somebodx else,

and my 92`year`old mother who has dementia and lots of carers,

if something goes wrong, I will not know about it until it is too late

I have teenage daughters, one of them, the other night,

Local businesses are also feeling the strain.

The owner of this Oxford coffee shop lives in the village and is

The fact we have just been told lots of different stories from lots

of different departments in Vodafone, it just feels that

It feels that Vodafone is just palming us off.

Vodafone declined to give us an interview today.

In a statement, it apologisdd to customers,

but said there were faults at a mast and a local installation.

To fix these it needed a cherry picker, but was having

It said the work was being treated as a priority.

Its Appleton customers though say they've been left wondering what

Zak Garner`Purkis is the edhtor of Mobile Magazine.

I asked him how common this sort of breakdown is.

It is common for network coverage to fail, but the length of time

So many of us take mobile phones for granted, but a lot

Yes, these areas are called not spots, they are dotted everxwhere,

it is places where it is difficult for the signal to go in

A lot of places have 4G now, a lot of places have nothing,

there is a lot of disparity in reliability of signal.

Yes, one of the difficult things abott the UK

is that it is rolling countryside, so it is difficult to get shgnal

in, but there are ways around it that operators are trying to find.

Even if you have a reasonably reliable signal,

you find it can drop out or run down to something that is barely usable

That is just the nature of the network, it is difficult to

But they are looking to find ways around it, so for example, with the

new iPhone 6, the EE network will have Wi`Fi calling, so when you are

at home and the signal is f`lling out, which can be very irritated in

your living room with no signal but you have it in your bedroom

well, you can use Wi`Fi to lake a phone call.

What about the day when we could have data roaling in

the UK, where you can changd network as you move around the country,

Yes, the government is very keen on that, David Cameron is kden to

get data roaming, because hd can not get signal in his own consthtuency

sometimes, but the operators are reluctant to follow through with

that, because one of their key selling points to customers is that

we offer the broadest cover`ge, we offer the best network coverage,

so if all of a sudden, they are lending a bit to their rival, they

A group of 10 MPs are calling for a direct rail service

Passengers now have to change at Didcot if they're travelling

The Conservative and Lib`Del MPs are asking the Transport Secret`ry to

include the route in the next Great Western franchise.

They say it would run along existing track that is

currently being electrified and would require relativelx little

From today, people living in Milton Keynes will have to dial thdir area

Ofcom has introduced the change because the town is one

of several across the country which is running out of numbers

Dialing the 01908 prefix will creatd enough

After that, the town will have two codes to cope

Now many of you might be cat lovers and know they can be

But the curator of Cotswold Wildlife Park has hand reared a clouded

leopard in his bathroom aftdr it was rejected by its mother.

We sent Peter Cooke into the wild to find out more.

It may be cute, but it's not so cuddly anymore.

Abandoned at birth by its mother, Nimbus is now two months old

The mother leopard can abandon the cub for a variety of re`sons.

There could have been a disturbance between the p`ir.

It could have been that she bred so well over the years that she

It could have been that somdthing was wrong with the cub,

There are some reasons that we cannot understand.

The clouded leopard cub spent six weeks living with and being nurtured

Its den ` the family's easy`to`clean bathroom.

So what was it like sharing with the not so ferocious feline?

Once she became a bit more `ctive, there was a certain amount of

trickiness in negotiating your way across without getting ambushed

And the kids played an active role, so they were used to her.

They have grown up around the zoo, so even though I wouldn't stbject

them to anything like that, or the animal to them, it is nice to have

someone to distract them whdn you're helping the animal to go to the

Jamie's also hand`reared a number of primates

And although the smallest of the world's big cats,

clouded leopards have the largest teeth of any wild cat.

She is OK to play with now, but in around 12 months timd,

she will weigh up to two stone and be the size of an average dog.

The zoo are planning to gradually introduce her to other leop`rds

but for now, she's just enjoying the attdntion.

I'll have the headlines at 8:00 and a full bulletin at 10:24.

Now more of today's stories with Sally Taylor.

Still to come in this evening's South Tod`y:

Not satisfied with 37 world records to his name, Alan Priddy talks

Residents have complained about a charge rec amended on the Isle of

Wight Bridge. Residents say the costs would mount up and wotld be

damaging for businesses there. Campaigners fighting plans to change

flight paths to and from Gatwick are claiming vhctory

after the airport announced it was The final day of the Conservative

Party conference in Birmingham was a chance for the Prime Minister to

make his big pitch to the p`rty There have been more than 70

crashes so far this year involving vehicles hitting animals on

New Forest roads. If the ponies or cattle survive

they often have to be destroyed Hampshire Police are targethng local

drivers who break the 40mph speed limit, especially

at this time of day ` dusk. Our transport correspondent

Paul Clifton reports. This is how most people think of the

new Forest. Animals wandering freely, with no appreciation of the

highway code. This family h`s looked after parties here for 13

generations. She knows first`hand what a speeding driver does to an

animal. @ holiday`maker found one of my ponies with its front leg

shattered. It would never h`ve survived. Here is what happdned to a

car hitting a horse at 40 mhles an hour. Last year, there were 181

collisions between cars and animals here. 72 animals were either killed

or had to be destroyed soon afterwards. Reporting a collision

with an animal is an easy ldgal obligation, but drivers oftdn ignore

that. Police don't hear abott most incidents. Unfortunately, it is

local people. People who either live in and around New Forest or commute

through. They are the peopld mainly involved in these accidents. With

the clocks are routed to ch`nge the sunsets over the forest as people

return home from work. Collhsions peek at this time of year. So

Hampshire Police are putting a speed camera on forest roads for ` month.

It is fitted with a camera that works as well by night as it does by

day. The majority of collishons that happen are at dawn or dusk. We are

looking at the times when it hits, when commuters are going along. The

collisions increase. The police inquiry that education is as

important as enforcement. This is because the drivers are oftdn

local, the people who should know better.

Let's go straight to sport, and straight to football. You wdre at

the game last night, weren't you? I saw something that I'd never seen

before. A goal was given, then and someone was sent off. We will see it

now. Let's tell you about that. There was a major talking point

in the game at the iPro Stadium as Bournemouth slipped to ddfeat

at high`flying Derby. Just after the hour mark,

Cherries keeper Lee Camp handles the ball outside the box,

but the ball bounces into the net And then, no, as referee Scott

Mathieson changed his mind, sent Camp off instead, and disallowed

the goal ` much to the astonishment The Cherries then hung on at 0`

for 20 minutes, before Will Hughes The game was wrapped up by

Chris Martin in added time. From our perspective, we wotld've

preferred to keep 11 on the pitch and take the 1`0 deficit and

try and come back, but from that moment, it was really tough to keep

an attacking thread in the game Meanwhile Brighton and Hove Albion

failed to make their dominance count,

at home to manager`less Cardiff A spectacular volley from Bruno put

Albion in front in the first half. That lead lasted only a mintte,

though, as another long ball saw Seagulls keeper David Stockdale

going walkabout, and Kenwynd Jones Visiting keeper David Marsh`ll

made a string of saves, including Reading play this evening

in the Championship. They're at Leeds, looking

for a first win in four gamds, and BBC Radio Berkshire has full

commentary from just after 7pm. And Reading's teenage strikdr

Jake Taylor was handed his first Meanwhile, the England squad

for their upcoming Euro 2016 And there's much hope at Sotthampton

that full`back Nathaniel Clxne could Clyne has been one of the stand`out

performers for Saints, in His manager Ronald Koeman s`id this

week that he feels the 23`ydar`old is ready for international football,

with England struggling to find A sailor from Portsmouth has

unveiled an attempt to break the world record for circumnavigating

the globe in a powerboat. Alan Priddy's near ?3 million

project centres involves a new torpedo`style boat and some

ground`breaking fuel technology ` both of which, Alan hopes, will

help him set his 38th world record. Breaking records is nothing new for

Alan Priddy, but everything else about his latest adventure hs. Six

years in the planning, the project centres around a new vessel that

pierces the ways, rather th`n surfing over. Most boats go up and

over waves, and the boat we have been working on for sometimd now

it's designed to cut the top of the ways off, which is the harddst part

of water. Passed round the world trips and crossings we have done,

when the boat lands at night, it is very uncomfortable. We were adamant

we were going to do that ag`in and we were going to push the boundaries

to find new technologies to stop it. The vote will be powered by

eco`friendly fuel, which reduces consumption by 30% and cuts harmful

admissions. The guys who designed this fuel, to come up with ` formula

that you can mix water and fuel together to burn, it is

outstanding. Truly amazing. Allen has been part of many challdnges

over the years, some successful and some not. At the age of 61, he has

no plans to park up the powdrboat for good anytime soon. I trx to

garden or go shopping, but this is in me. It has been in me all my

life, as I was in a youngstdr. I can see what I can see, I can't see what

I can see. That is what drives me on. New record is just short of 61

days, but Allen plans to take ten days of that. Yes, I have 37 records

already, but they are in thd past. I am always looking for the ndxt one.

I know that we have been dohng it for a long time, but I have no plans

to stop yet. 38, 39, 40, onwards and onwards.

That is amazing. Is that a world record, 37 world records?

It could be. It is not my b`g. Gardening, that is.

And finally, Dorset`based World and European Champion Finn sailor

Giles Scott will have his exes on one more prize this year,

having been named today on the shortlist for the prestigiots World

We're going to play a littld of music in a second.

Now, I'm sure that most people watching will recognise this

Jerusalem, of course ` what you may not know is th`t

the poet William Blake wrotd the words to Jerusalem in his house at

Felfum in West Sussex, a pl`ce he called the sweetest spot on earth.

Well, that house is up for sale ` and a campaign is being launched to

buy Blake's historic cottagd for the nation.

Sean Killick has been along to find out more.

Has and is there, the latter of angels descends through the air

And this cottage, William Blake created some of his most acclaimed

work. As expert Rachel clails. This was the room where William `nd

Catherine spent most of thehr time. They worked together printing his

work, so this room would've been filled with a massive wooden rolling

printing press. Now it is up for sale, and the owner, a Blakd

enthusiast, has offered to sell it for ?20,000 to a Blake apprdciation

Society. They wanted as a lhve in a museum, to install another wooden

printing press, to carry on his work of the imagination and creativity.

Also do have poets and painters perhaps staying here. Reallx, making

a little hive of creativity right in the heart of this town. Right where

he would sat and worked. It is hoping that it could benefit people

the way other places have. Jane Austen in Hampshire, Charles Dickens

in Portsmouth, this could bd Blake's country. It could bd

significant for the area because he could put it on the map and attract

people from wide and far. So far, ?60,000 have been raised and there

is the possibility of a ?25,000 grant through the County Cotncil. On

Monday, there is the launch of a crowd funding appeal. The

enthusiasts now have one month to find half ?1 million, but they will

not cease from the fight, nor will their swords sleep in their hands,

until they have bought this cottage in this green land. Excellent, if

only he had sung it. He would've got ten out of ten for that.

And if want to make a donation towards

the purchase of the Blake house there's a Just Giving page online at

It was 18 Celsius last night, but it will be cooler tonight. Let us take

a look at your weather picttres Nick Edwards captured Cowes

lifeboat evening training Amber Lauren photographed this

morning's misty sunrise And John Connor took this photo

of a field of pumpkins A bit cooler tonight, some fog and

possibility tonight. There will be the odd shower, but most pl`ces

overnight will stay overnight drive with cooler temperatures. It will be

a mainly dry start to the d`y tomorrow, a pretty decent d`y once

the mist and fog clears, whhch should be during the morning for mid

land areas, maybe around midday for the coast. Once it clears, we should

see some drier and brighter weather. Temperatures are very simil`r to

what they were today, but tomorrow night will turn slightly cooler We

will have a fresh breeze 32 `` starting to increase. There will be

some patches of rain in sheltered spots, with temperatures down around

13 to 15 Celsius. Friday is a pretty decent day. We will have sole late

winds, strengthening through the day, and this weather front will

arrive through the evening. This will bring autumn our way. Ht could

be persistent and heavy through Friday, into Saturday warning until

lunch time. It brings autumn into the end of the week, but let's look

at the outlook for tomorrow. A murky start, but getting sunnier. Right

and sunny spells will allow temperatures to arrive at 18 to 20

Celsius. We will see some mtrky start on Friday, but the mist and

fog won't be as dense or widespread as it was. Saturday, we will see the

heavy rain. The risk of loc`lised flooding, so stay tuned to xour

local BBC radio.