27/07/2011 BBC Points West

Good evening. Our headlines tonight: Attacked by a dog. The

toddler with the beautiful eyes attacked and why the police are

powerless. Caught on CCTV, a gang of burglars is jailed for targeting

a pensioner in his home. Also tonight: How the backstreet of

Swindon are being used as a dumping ground. And local photographers go

eight Bowler the guerrilla statues Hello.

Three men have been sent to prison for a total of 11 years after being

caught on CCTV breaking into the home of an elderly man in

Cheltenham. Police had installed the cameras, fearing the home of

the 84 year old could be a target. The gang was captured on a camera

inside the victim's house as they ransacked the victim's house. Our

Gloucestershire reporter has the story.

Around 2:30 in the morning on 21st June this year and a gang of

burglars break into the home of 84- year-old Cyril Langstone as he was

asleep. To add insult to injury this was also the day that Mr

Langstone would be burying his twin brother. Unknown to the burglars

police had installed a CCTV camera after concerns that the house would

be targeted. They were right, and Ben McConnon, Jack Leach, and

Thomas Warburton were identified and later arrested.

How has the victim responded to what has happened to him? He has

improved and he is feeling stronger but he feels very vulnerable and

this has had a major impact on him. He He also revealed that �1,600 in

cash was taken which he was going to use to pay for his brothers

funeral that day. The men have expressed remorse. Police are

working with the men to try to recover things that they have

stolen. But the gang were not amateur's and when they broke into

the house they knew exactly what they were doing. Ben McConnon was

jailed for three and a half years, Jack Leach, who has been in court

over 50 times during his life, got four years and Thomas Warburton

three and a half years. Meanwhile, in this quiet suburb of Cheltenham.

Cyril Langstone is rebuilding his life. A life strained enough with

the loss of his twin brother, but now also with a loss of confidence

after his home, where he should feel safe, was needlessly broken

into as he slept. A woman from Dorset is calling for

a change in the law after her two- year-old daughter was mauled by a

dog. Icy Thomas-Day was badly injured when she was bitten by a

neighbour's pet. But because the attack happened at the owner's home

the police have no powers to destroy the dog.

This is Icy before it happened. Her mother says she has beautiful big,

blue eyes. This is Icy after she was bitten by the West Highland

white terrier, owned by a couple from Wiltshire. She has permanently

lost half her eyelid. Playing happily in her garden at home, but

this is what she looked like just over a week ago after being

attacked by her neighbour's dog. She was on the floor with her head

in her hands facing the floor and screaming. I bent down to pick her

up and rolled her over Tse and she said she was -- over and she said

she was scared and she was covered in blood. Icy has the left needing

surgery. The dog's owners were holding a birthday celebration for

their terrier at their home in Dorset and invited the family to

join them. There was a piece of skin hanging off of her eye. I

panicked. Her eight-year-old brother sold the whole thing.

the dog scratch and then buy it. She should not have this problem.

She was not born with it. She was my perfect little girl, my princess.

Police have called for the dog to be destroyed but because the attack

happened at the owner's home they cannot enforce it. I see's parents

believe the law must change. -- Icy's parents. They can just forget

about it. The Kennel Club agree. The we have been campaigning for

changes to the law because it is not just about the fact that people

cannot be protected but then their own homes but it is also about the

breed of dog involved. Icy will have to have more surgery in future

but the physical scars are healing well. But the emotional scars will

take much longer to fade. And police in Gloucestershire are

also investigating a dog attack in Stroud. A man was taken to hospital

after being bitten in an alleyway. The dog was tied to a lamppost, but

broke free from its chain and bit the arm and leg of the 19-year-old.

The teenager was taken to Stroud Hospital before being transferred

to the Gloucestershire Royal for treatment.

Joining us now is Doctor Emily Blackwell, who is a Lecturer in

Canine Behaviour and Welfare at the University of Bristol. Can the most

placid dog be capable of a vicious attack?

Dogs show aggression when they filled -- be feel threatened so any

dog a big deals Brighton will use aggressive -- feels scared will use

aggressive behaviour. Most dogs will not there. Why would a dog

feel threatened by a baby? If dogs have not experienced being around

children were babies or heard the noise as they make or CD

Strangeways that they move or the unpredictability of them then they

can be fearful of them. We can sometimes must understand the

signals that our dogs are giving us to tell them that -- tell us that

they are worried. They might raise their poll or roll over and expose

their belly to signal that they are worried. So you have to know there

are signs? Do you think it's a dog attack it should be put down?

Absolutely not. We need to be able to identify what was the problem

for the dog and but was making it frightened and there are cases

where we can change the Doug presmac inspection -- perception of

the situation -- situation. We see lots of dogs at the behaviour

clinic at the University who are afraid Of people putting their

hands out and that is because they have learned that that predicts a

punishment. We just need to change their perception of that

threatening behaviour. The unit responsible owners who are bright

enough to pick up on that. -- you need. A we are trying through

various programmes of research to find the best way to get these

messages across to owners so that they can read their dogs. Tse we

are not always seeing this and picking up when a dog is worried. -

- we are not always. Sometimes a dog feels it has no choice but to

use aggression. Does a dog pick up behaviour patterns from its owners?

A to learn all the time has from its owners. If a dog is worried by

wiped you were doing and exposes its belly and it keeps going

forward or the stranger continues then the dog will use an

alternative response which can sometimes be aggression. That works

really well. It's a dog snaps at you you will move your hand away. -

- if a dog snap at you. At a dog are threatening you what do you do?

Walk away very slowly. -- if a dog is threatening you what do you do?

Walk away very slowly as if to say that you are not a threat. Keep

your eye on the dog but stayed -- but stay peaceful and try to get

out of the situation. Try -- thank you for joining us. Stay with us

for the forecast. Plus lots more, including: The future for Bath. The

new owner lets us in on his vision for the rugby club. And flying high,

find out what it takes to become a national champion as a major

competition lives off here in the West.

A former parish councillor from Gloucester was today jailed for 14

years after being convicted of sexually abusing eight young

children. The judge told William Barber his actions had left an

indelible psychological scar on most of his victims and taken their

childhood away. After the sentencing, one of them, who was

abused from the age of six, gave us her reaction to the sentence.

I went for several years thinking he had got away with it. He has

been found guilty and sent to prison so I can try to move on and

get some closure. William Barber was told he'll serve

at least seven years of his sentence before he'll be considered

for release. A man from Congresbury has been

fined nearly �4,000 after pleading guilty to fly tipping in North

Somerset. This is one of the piles of rubbish which landed 23-year-old

Lee Andrew Wells in court. And the problem of waste being illegally

dumped across the West is getting worse, it seems. Today North

Somerset said it is now costing them around �64,000 a year. In

Somerset it's �112,000. Dorset, �19,000. In Gloucestershire the

clear up is costing �60,000. And in Bristol it's a huge quarter of a

million pounds a year. And in Swindon a public meeting's been

called, after concerns that bags are now being dumped in local

alleyways. They're seeing a lot of back

alleyways in Swindon. The men who's job it is to clear up other

people's rubbish. Today they'll find rotting potatoes. Bagged up

dog waste. And lots and lots of flies. There is food waste and

other biodegradable things that absolutely smell in this warm

weather. A absolutely stinks here. There's also dangerous asbestos.

The men often find syringes. For those living here, other people's

waste is now their problem. You can never play and this alley. It is

awful. Why not just take it to a skip? It is a five minute drive.

These workers clear up 2,000 fly tipping cases a year in Swindon. A

quarter are now in back alleys. Concerned home owners in one area

of Swindon have called a public meeting tonight. But the council is

not sure it can stop the problem. We have a recycling centre where

people can take it free of charge. People can be too lazy or do not

want to do that so there is very little that we can do. Their

behaviour needs to change. Who is doing this and why? Some blame a

move to fortnightly bin collections. But you can call the council if

your bins are over flowing. Other residents say it might be that more

homes are rented. They do not care because it is not on their property.

They might be too lazy or do not have a car. In more rural areas fly

tipping also remains a big problem. In Somerset there's been an

increase after council tips reduced hours or in some cases began

charging. This back alleyway is at least back to its best now but it

has been a morning's work and a two lorry load of rubbish with a clean-

up bill, paid by taxpayers, up about �1,000. A national Balloon

Competition is under way in Gloucestershire. It is the first

time these championships have been held in the South West. We have

been finding out that to become a champion you need both speed and

accuracy. It is a competition powered by gas,

wind and brains. No leisurely hot air flights here. The event

director wants to test the best of British balloonists. He set tasks

that they can expect at international competitions and even

he get to fly. The competitors are about many to come and chase us. We

are putting our route so we can put ourselves in a fairly useful place

for them to come and find us. Gloucestershire countryside they

are spoilt for choice. The legal in has come in and made a cross on the

floor and all of the other balloons have to drop a bag of sand as close

as they can to the market. It is rather tricky. The pilots can spend

around half an hour getting into the perfect position. Pinpoint

accuracy does matter. We have a tiny little cross and be will

measure that cross. The event will find a British champion this week.

Airline pilot, Mike Howard, who used to fly out of Bristol airport,

is currently in the lead. I fly planes for a living and it is a

type of flying that is very precise. Then you have the complete and of

the spectrum which is going to use your column. You have to fly that

bullying and feel that bullying. -- you have to fly that the balloon

and feel that balloon. They are also in what a chance in

representing Great Britain in the world championships. It is hoped

that one of these challengers might be the next title holder. --

challengers might be the next title holder.

I saw that on the way home last night. There were about 15 balloons

altogether. Now to sport, and the owner of Bath

Rugby speaks for the first time about his plans to make the

recreation ground a venue worthy of a World Heritage city. And, as the

countdown continues to the new football season, we look at the

prospects for Yeovil Town. This is the view most tourists to

Bath get of the recreation ground. The back of the main grandstand.

The owner of Bath Rugby Bruce Craig calls it a shed. The millionaire

wants to build a new stand there with shops, cafes and restaurants

lining the river frontage in a design in keeping with the city's

heritage. Speaking to me at his home in the South of France, he

told me about his three part plan to make Bath the top club in Europe.

Old and dilapidated is the way Bruce Craig describes Bath's

historic home. He passionately believes the club should continue

playing in this unique location in the centre of the city but in a

venue the citizens of Bath can be proud of. Bruce Craig and his

family live in the south of France and he flies in for every game. He

bought Bath Rugby last year and the redevelopment of the ground is

perhaps his greatest challenge, given restrictions on the site. He

wants to increase the capacity to more than 16,000 but what ever the

final look of his cafe culture river frontage it has to change.

cannot stay with an image that is a shed on the riverside and a

dilapidated club. It is not in keeping with the overall image of

what Bath rugby should be about. The second of Bruce Craig's aims

for Bath is nearly completed, new club headquarters at Farleigh House

south of the city. A specially laid pitch, new gym and changing

facilities, an all weather pitch, everything the players could need

alongside the club's administration. We have managed to get planning for

everything we want to do. We have put in some new pitches and some

Astroturf and we have brought the whole of the club into one place.

So what about the team? Bruce Craig always believed in hiring the best

and in coach Ian McGeechan he believes he's got that. New players

too, who he says will be fitter and slimmer this season. But the

question the fans want to ask is will they continue to play exciting

rugby. Entertaining and exciting rugby we will play but at the right

times. It will be when we have earned the right to play. I think

you need to be and the right places. You cannot just play a certain type

of rugby all the time otherwise you become too predictable.

Bruce Craig is a former player with a passion for the game. He's

investing heavily in the club and success would be big celebrations

at his home in Aix en Provence when the players reward him with titles.

You can see that interview in full on the sport pages of the BBC

website. Four days to the big kick-off and

Yeovil Town are once again hoping to defy the critics who say they

are favourites for relegation. Last season they were bottom of league

one around Christmas but finished mid-table. There were plenty of

moments to savour along the way. One of the reasons for the

turnaround was said to be the words of manager Terry Skiverton. As we

look ahead to the new season, Matthew Pick has been finding out

why the man at the helm is used to steering the club through stormy

waters. They are once again among the favourites to get relegated and

the managers had to rebuild the squad but the top is not have a

game of two hands. With all the singles here, it is all about boats.

It was no good filling the best it up because -- before it was going

to leave. It is going to Brentford on Friday and I will make sure that

I have enough passengers to go on this mammoth journey of making sure

that we are competitive in League One. I have had a conversation with

the players and there were a couple that were not pulling their weight.

I do not mean on the football pitch but I mean what they were doing

away from the club. I said that the boat would leave at the harbour as

of this game. I told them if they were not on the but they would get

back behind and a few of them did last year.

The squad that assembled for the team photo yesterday has many new

faces. The manager's been busy. One new player was even signed after he

was recommended by supporters using social media. What an equaliser!

few of the fans suggested me. It is great to be suggested by the fans.

I am just happy to be here. And he could be the key man after last

season's top scorer Dean Bowditch left to join the MK Dons.

Supporters feel that despite the upheaval this summer things are

finally settling down. Things are getting more Secure now. I think he

has done very well for step people know him well and know that -- has

it done very well. People know him well and know that they can speak

to him. How important is it that you have a dialogue with your

supporters? We were the on the non- League club to have the figures

make a. We are a massive club and we are the biggest giant-killers in

the league. We not -- may not be massive in some places but in my

eyes we are a massive club. Good to see some passion.

And tomorrow night we look at how Bristol Rovers are likely to fare

during the coming season. You do not want to miss the boat before

the plane takes off. That is what I always say. Mark Foster has met an

artist and had a cast made up his torso. The Eastern bloc is really

taking shape. It will form part of -- the sculpture is really taking

shape. It will form part at an exhibit. There is some plaster-cast

here. I have my key measurements here. I am working from here and

then I will reference into the blog here. I will scale up to twice

life-size. It reminds me of my chest! Feeble collection will be on

display in Oxford and London as well -- the full collection will be

on display in Oxford and London as of May. I had been to the

gymnasium! The popularity of Bristol Zoo's

Gorilla sculptures has been taking its organisers a little by surprise.

The colourful primate project is attracting more attention than

anyone dared hope! It's a social networking phenomenon, the local

paper's full of your photos, tourists love them. In short

they're doing Bristol the power of good.

# Some kind of a nature # They had been kissed and hugged and

photographed. People have collected trail maps. The idea of animal art

in cities is nothing new, but the way it has taken up in Bristol has

taken everyone by surprise. Bristol has gone a guerrilla bonkers.

Everyone is having their photos taken me the guerrillas. I think

the reason is because there is an association with guerrillas and

Bristol. Ours are just big and life-size. For sellers are a decent

and put them as a -- Bristol is already so competitive that this

gets visitors and local people in an activity to take part in for

free over the city. I know loads a people that have been doing a

gorilla trail all around Bristol. We have seen everyone doing it and

we have Arab grounds and damage us and we but we would take a picture.

-- we have our grandson. Your pictures are flooding the

zoo's special Facebook page, and hundreds are finding their way here

to the Bristol Evening Post, where even daily double page spreads

aren't enough. They've even had photos sent from Birmingham where a

rogue gorilla tourist is enticing people down the M5. We have been

put in so many pages of pictures for. We have emails coming end and

pictures coming in. They have even -- All this interest will convert

to big money it's hoped when they're auctioned off for charity

in September. Until then, there's a month or so left to visit Custard

Let's have a look at the weather. Tonight it will be without Lara. It

has been a fine day right across the region. Tanagers and sunshine

and the highs have been 25 -- temperatures were high and there

was sunshine and the highs got up pretty high. It could be pretty wet

tomorrow for a rush hour. There has been some fine sunshine around

today but this is what we are watching. It will be heading our

way and will bring some rain overnight. Before the cloud start

to begin up, it will be light and patchy at first, but then it will

start to get its act together and we will see that many places will

be wet in the morning. Temperatures will be up again tonight. Tomorrow

morning will bring us a wet by a shower and some heavy burst of rain

before it moves away eastwards. The after noon tomorrow is looking not

too bad. Some Sunny spells coming through and temperatures reaching

20 or 21 degrees in Bristol tomorrow afternoon with some light

when player. Tomorrow evening is looking pretty fine and we will

keep the clear spells. Temperatures will be staying in double figures

but I think tomorrow will feel a lot more fresh than the night just

about to come. For Friday it is not looking too bad. A range of high

pressure is keeping things fine for Friday with some sunny spells. On

Saturday there could be a few light showers around but they could get

heavier on Sunday with a risk of thunder. We bought it would be

worse than that said that is not too bad. That is it for us for now.