:00:10. > :00:15.Good evening and welcome to BBC Points West. Our headlines tonight:
:00:15. > :00:19.Press One for job losses. The giant phone company Nokia dials up more
:00:19. > :00:23.redundancies in Wiltshire. The old hospital building which
:00:23. > :00:28.could become the most relaxed state school in Somerset.
:00:28. > :00:38.Whodunnit! What they found inside Agatha Christie's crime bureau.
:00:38. > :00:39.
:00:39. > :00:45.Back at Gatcombe as Zara retires her favourite horse. I will never
:00:45. > :00:54.be able to replace him. And it will end in tears. The
:00:54. > :01:00.latest dramatic stunt from the BBC's Casualty!
:01:00. > :01:07.Good evening. Nokia cut off one third of its workforce in Swindon
:01:07. > :01:12.today. 150 workers could lose their jobs at Nokia Siemens in Swindon.
:01:12. > :01:18.It comes just months after two other mobile phone businesses
:01:18. > :01:23.announced redundancies. It is a grey and miserable day in
:01:23. > :01:27.Swindon, and it is not just due to this weather. These are the Nokia
:01:27. > :01:32.offices where the cuts would take place. Just months ago, Motorola
:01:32. > :01:36.were here. Nokia have painted over the sign, but they have not even
:01:36. > :01:42.had a chance to put their new sinage up.
:01:42. > :01:46.We workers here carry out research into mobile phone technology. Nokia
:01:46. > :01:52.say the cuts are part of a global reorganisation. It has been a tough
:01:52. > :01:56.time for the mobile phone sector. Virgin Media is already calling --
:01:56. > :02:01.closing its call centre. That followed a decision by Vodafone to
:02:01. > :02:06.close their base in the town. The local MP here says it is a bitter
:02:07. > :02:14.blow. It is very disappointing news. I have got friends and colleagues
:02:15. > :02:24.who work there. We have seen at Motorola go from 3,000 employees,
:02:24. > :02:28.down to about 40 or 50. There is a 90 day consultation period. We
:02:28. > :02:33.would try to minimise those job losses in a constructive and
:02:33. > :02:37.supportive manner. But the mobile phone industry is
:02:37. > :02:42.suffering many job cuts. The unions are calling on the government to do
:02:42. > :02:47.more to protect the industry. need a coherent government policy.
:02:47. > :02:52.All we are getting at the moment are very minor changes to
:02:52. > :02:56.employment law. We are not seen investment or training or research
:02:56. > :03:00.and development. This is what needs to happen if we need to maintain
:03:00. > :03:08.our position as one of the biggest economies in the world.
:03:08. > :03:11.Job cuts will take place in early 2012.
:03:11. > :03:13.The BBC understands that there are calls for further investigations
:03:13. > :03:15.into fraud and corruption within the Cotswold Water Park in
:03:15. > :03:20.Gloucestershire. Last month, the park's former chief executive,
:03:20. > :03:23.Dennis Grant, was jailed for fraud. Now local Lib Dem councillors are
:03:23. > :03:29.calling for a police investigation, to look into claims that fraud may
:03:29. > :03:32.have been more widespread. Up to 4,000 passengers, who went on
:03:32. > :03:38.holiday from Bristol Airport with the tour operator Holidays 4U have
:03:38. > :03:40.been told they will be flown home as normal after the firm's closure.
:03:40. > :03:46.The company, which also trades as Aegean Flights, has gone into
:03:46. > :03:49.administration. Passengers who are abroad are being told to arrive at
:03:49. > :03:56.the airport in good time for their return flight. Those with future
:03:56. > :03:58.travel bookings should contact the Civil Aviation Authority.
:03:58. > :04:01.A �5,000 reward has been put forward by Crimestoppers for
:04:01. > :04:07.information about the suspected murder of a fitness instructor from
:04:08. > :04:13.Chippenham. 29-year-old Dononvan Van Lill went missing in March last
:04:13. > :04:16.year. His body has never been found. Earlier this week, more than 70 new
:04:16. > :04:26.images from CCTV at the Pewsham Estate went up on the Wiltshire
:04:26. > :04:27.
:04:27. > :04:31.Police website. Another group of parents have made
:04:31. > :04:36.a bid to open a three score in their area. The group put their
:04:36. > :04:44.case to a panel of education officials in London. If they are
:04:44. > :04:49.successful, it would be the second to be approved in the West.
:04:49. > :04:54.A ticket to London which could radically change education in
:04:54. > :05:02.Somerset. Sal Steeple is a social worker with two young children. She
:05:02. > :05:05.wants a new school for Froome. is our big chance to get this call
:05:05. > :05:09.going. I hope the interview goes well.
:05:09. > :05:16.Earlier this week, another group of parents had their application
:05:16. > :05:23.rejected, so today's trip to pump extra importance. There is a
:05:23. > :05:28.deficit in school places here, we have proved that there is the need
:05:28. > :05:35.for the school. They want the school to open on an
:05:35. > :05:41.old hospital site. It will be a non fee-paying a Steiner school. The
:05:41. > :05:46.planet is for the Frome Steiner Academy to open in September, 2012.
:05:46. > :05:50.But the idea of Free Schools is not universally liked. It is a
:05:50. > :05:54.completely wrong policy by the government. These are Free Schools
:05:54. > :05:59.will take funding away from other local schools and ultimately, could
:05:59. > :06:07.cause local schools to close. A meanwhile, up in London, the rain
:06:07. > :06:13.came down, but it did not dampen the smiles. We had just come out of
:06:13. > :06:16.that our interview. It went really well! I think it went as well as it
:06:16. > :06:20.could have done, so we're really pleased.
:06:20. > :06:25.They were not hear until September if the application has been
:06:25. > :06:33.successful. If it is, then Bristol will have the only Free Schools in
:06:33. > :06:41.the West. Our reporter, an expert on these
:06:41. > :06:46.things, joins us in the studio. Let us get back to basics. What is a
:06:46. > :06:49.Free School? The best description I have heard is they are an
:06:49. > :06:54.independent state school. That means they are a state school, so
:06:54. > :06:59.anyone can apply. They have to follow admissions procedures.
:06:59. > :07:05.However, they are independent and free from local council control.
:07:05. > :07:09.They are funded by the government. Whitehall takes over the
:07:09. > :07:14.accountability and giving them the money, building the schools and so
:07:14. > :07:18.on. We have had this model for a long time so it is not new. But
:07:18. > :07:22.what is crucial is that parents have to show there is demand for a
:07:22. > :07:27.Free School. It is not something you can just want, you have to give
:07:27. > :07:32.cold hard facts and say there is a real demand for its -- for such a
:07:32. > :07:39.score in this area. I enough of them up and running to know if they
:07:39. > :07:45.are successful or not? Know full. We do not know. September will be
:07:45. > :07:53.the first time when they will be up and running. -- no. The best
:07:53. > :07:58.estimates are between 12 and 20. But the education minister said it
:07:58. > :08:03.was a new policy and they were happy with it. They argued they
:08:03. > :08:11.were 281 applications to open a September, 2012. Our people against
:08:11. > :08:16.them? Yes, there are a lot of critics. The critics do not like
:08:16. > :08:22.the idea of the council been removed, or that schools are free.
:08:22. > :08:24.But, they are still inspected, and if you speak to the council
:08:24. > :08:34.education officers, they say they work collaboratively with the
:08:34. > :08:34.
:08:34. > :08:41.schools. In Somerset, a Steiner school, this could now be paid for
:08:41. > :08:47.by the state? Absolutely. But this is the whole point. If you want a
:08:47. > :08:50.new school, any group can opt for it. They do not have to follow the
:08:50. > :08:55.national curriculum and do not have to have certain qualifications for
:08:55. > :08:59.their teachers. That is another criticism.
:08:59. > :09:03.Welcome if you have just joined us. You are watching your regional news
:09:03. > :09:06.from the BBC. There is still plenty to come before 7pm, including:
:09:06. > :09:10.Best feet forward for European success. We meet two West Country
:09:10. > :09:20.hopefuls. And can you spot her? Find out what
:09:20. > :09:23.
:09:23. > :09:25.happened when our Alex went filming with the Casualty crew.
:09:25. > :09:31.A pressure group says rural areas will die unless more affordable
:09:31. > :09:35.homes are built. A report by the Countryside Alliance says there's a
:09:35. > :09:38.critical shortfall in areas like Bath and North East Somerset. It
:09:38. > :09:41.claims BANES Council has planned for less than a fifth of the
:09:41. > :09:45.affordable housing it should be building under government targets.
:09:45. > :09:48.The Council says the figures are out of date.
:09:48. > :09:51.Work has begun on a �20 million waste treatment plant in Wiltshire
:09:51. > :09:56.that will recycle thousands of tonnes of rubbish that normally
:09:56. > :10:00.goes to landfill. The facility is being built in Westbury and will be
:10:00. > :10:06.the first in the county. Most of the waste will be turned into fuel
:10:06. > :10:08.and exported to Europe, but some will still go into the ground.
:10:08. > :10:12.Councils in Gloucestershire hope that working together more closely
:10:12. > :10:15.will save them more than �0.5 million of council taxpayers' money.
:10:15. > :10:18.Local authorities in Cheltenham, the Cotswolds and the Forest of
:10:18. > :10:20.Dean are hoping to save the sum after reaching an agreement to
:10:20. > :10:27.share back office services like finance, human resources and
:10:27. > :10:33.procurement. To a long-running mystery now that
:10:33. > :10:35.has been solved in a workshop in Gloucestershire. It involves an old
:10:35. > :10:39.writing desk, a telegram from Noel Coward and Agatha Christie's
:10:39. > :10:48.knickers! Here is our Gloucestershire reporter Steve
:10:48. > :10:53.Knibbs to explain. This 18th century bureau had lain
:10:53. > :10:57.in this story of three years. His client had bought it at an auction
:10:57. > :11:03.in Devon, and when Clive finally got the chance to work on it, he
:11:03. > :11:06.was taking it apart when something fell out. This is what he found: A
:11:06. > :11:12.folded piece of paper. When he opened it up, he could not believe
:11:12. > :11:20.what he was reading. It was a Telegraph absent from Bermuda. It
:11:20. > :11:25.says, dear Agatha Christie, much as it pains me, I must congratulate
:11:25. > :11:30.you on breaking the long record. This is an amazing piece of
:11:30. > :11:38.theatrical history. The Mousetrap opened in 1952, and has five years
:11:38. > :11:43.later, clocked up nearly 2000 performances. The play had taken
:11:43. > :11:47.the record from his play. Back in his workshop in the Cotswolds,
:11:47. > :11:52.finding the telegram has been a real revelation. He normally does
:11:52. > :12:02.end up with bits of old newspaper, but this is definitely a once in a
:12:02. > :12:03.
:12:03. > :12:07.career discovery. I have been working 25 years now, and hopefully
:12:07. > :12:14.I have got another 25 years of life left. If I ever find anything like
:12:14. > :12:19.this again, I should be very lucky. Agatha Christie never made any
:12:19. > :12:24.money from her famous play. She signed all right over to her
:12:24. > :12:32.grandson before it opened, so we took a copy of the telegram to show
:12:32. > :12:37.him in his London office. She was an admirer of his, and I would have
:12:37. > :12:43.thought to have an acknowledgement of her achievement in the Mousetrap
:12:43. > :12:45.would have pleased him very much. The opinion of her appears and
:12:45. > :12:52.fellow entertainers meant a lot to her.
:12:52. > :12:59.In was not just the telegram that Clive found. He also found a
:13:00. > :13:04.receipt from a night were company in London for �24. But it is the
:13:04. > :13:09.telegram that really stands out. Correspondence between two of the
:13:09. > :13:15.great British writers of their day, written with an honesty that people
:13:15. > :13:23.who would have known him would have come to expect.
:13:23. > :13:33.Mystery solved!. �24 on lingerie in those days would have been a lot of
:13:33. > :13:45.
:13:45. > :13:55.money! And expensive pair of Sarah Phillips is the time her
:13:55. > :14:11.
:14:11. > :14:12.horse, Toy Town. Zara shortly but horse, Toy Town. Zara shortly but
:14:12. > :14:14.first to the new football season which starts on Saturday. Bristol
:14:14. > :14:18.Rovers fans have much to be optimistic about because their new
:14:18. > :14:21.manager Paul Buckle has brought in 15 new players as they look to win
:14:21. > :14:24.promotion and return to League One at the first time of asking. There
:14:24. > :14:27.were some moments to cheer, but much of last season was doom and
:14:27. > :14:30.gloom. They got through four managers and were still relegated
:14:30. > :14:33.to the bottom division of the football league. But now with the
:14:33. > :14:35.new season upon us Geoff Twentyman assesses Rovers chances of gaining
:14:35. > :14:39.promotion. We are going to work very hard. We cannot allow them to
:14:39. > :14:48.pass the ball and have time on the pass the ball and have time on the
:14:48. > :14:56.ball. How is -- how important is a good start of the season? It is
:14:56. > :15:05.vital. At the same time, you can be at my table at Christmas. It sets
:15:05. > :15:08.you up. If you at the top, you cannot take the foot of the gas. So
:15:08. > :15:15.the winds of change have blasted through the Memorial Stadium...
:15:15. > :15:18.It's a team of new players - Paul Buckle has made 15 signings...
:15:18. > :15:21.often a new manager has to win the dressing room over but in this
:15:21. > :15:24.instance he's brought his own with him - clever move. The
:15:24. > :15:27.collaboration is going pretty well according to both the new and the
:15:27. > :15:32.old guard. It hasn't seemed like two groups. Everyone has got on
:15:32. > :15:36.well. That is good news. I think everyone is very happy at the way
:15:36. > :15:43.it has gone so far. I think there is a good camaraderie and team
:15:43. > :15:52.spirit. The team want to get promoted. There is a new squad and
:15:52. > :15:54.a brand new Bristol Rovers. We are looking forward to it. Pre-season's
:15:54. > :16:04.gone well... An attack minded philosophy previals after the
:16:04. > :16:05.
:16:05. > :16:09.disappointment of relegation there's re-newed optimism.
:16:09. > :16:17.Prospects are good. We got rid of the dead wood. Hopefully we will be
:16:17. > :16:25.on the way up. I hope Rovers will win. I back them at 8-1. Are they
:16:25. > :16:30.going to do it? Yes! Paul Buckle has two players for each position,
:16:30. > :16:40.and I think Rovers will be promoted automatically, and maybe, just
:16:40. > :16:41.
:16:41. > :16:44.In rugby, England play Wales on Saturday in the run-up to the World
:16:44. > :16:47.Cup and the team includes several west country players. Bath's Lewis
:16:47. > :16:50.Moody will captain the side, and will be joined by club mate Matt
:16:50. > :16:53.Banahan who plays in the centre. The former Bath player Matt Stevens
:16:53. > :17:01.is also making his return to the international scene after being
:17:01. > :17:04.banned for two years for using drugs. Former world equestrian
:17:04. > :17:07.champion Zara Phillips has been talking about her slim chances of
:17:07. > :17:10.competing at the London Olympics next summer. She won the world
:17:10. > :17:13.title in 2006 on her horse Toytown but injury ruled her out of the
:17:13. > :17:16.Beijing games two years later. On Sunday she will officially retire
:17:16. > :17:18.the 19-year-old Toytown at the Gatcome Horse Trials on her
:17:18. > :17:21.mother's Gloucestershire estate. Today she paid tribute to his
:17:21. > :17:31.achievements and her hopes of having another horse ready in time
:17:31. > :17:45.
:17:45. > :17:50.For me, he is the best horse that I have ever sat on. On am always
:17:50. > :17:56.hopeful that he had everything there. We have been doing it
:17:56. > :18:06.together at the right time. Is she going to get there? She has jumped
:18:06. > :18:08.
:18:08. > :18:17.it! I looked at them a couple of times, and I thought, oh my God! It
:18:17. > :18:27.is very emotional to watch it all. Now I have a couple old enough to
:18:27. > :18:28.
:18:28. > :18:31.get to the same level as him. High get to the same level as him. High
:18:31. > :18:41.Kingdom will be my first course. Kingdom will be my first course.
:18:41. > :18:44.
:18:44. > :18:46.Hopefully we will have some good And while we're on equine matters -
:18:46. > :18:49.the all-female para-equestrian dressage team freshly selected for
:18:49. > :18:51.the European Championships in Belgium next month have been on a
:18:51. > :18:54.final team training exercise in Gloucestershire today. Two of the
:18:54. > :18:59.five are well-known west country faces - with fixed ambitions - as
:18:59. > :19:02.Amanda Parr reports. Building on relationships today - one horse an
:19:02. > :19:07.old friend, one a new and rising star. Anne Dunham is delighted to
:19:07. > :19:10.be here - selection's never a given. Based in Broad Hinton in Wiltshire
:19:10. > :19:13.- she's collected so many medals over the years - and has five
:19:13. > :19:15.Paralympic golds. On top of that she's been honoured for inspiring
:19:15. > :19:19.others, managing dystonia and blazing a trail as a global
:19:19. > :19:26.champion. She's got high hopes for Belgium - the last big senior
:19:26. > :19:32.Championship in Europe before the Paralympic Games next year. Gold
:19:32. > :19:39.medals, world champion. I have eight of them. I would like to be
:19:39. > :19:49.there again. It would be great. He is good enough. He is on form at
:19:49. > :19:51.the moment. Aren't you? Teddy's been on the scene a while - Akilles
:19:51. > :19:55.and Taunton's Deb Criddle though, have only been together five months.
:19:55. > :19:58.She and her last horse Figaro were a gold medal winning power house -
:19:58. > :20:02.but after the marriage with Figaro, there was a lull. I have not been
:20:02. > :20:07.in a Championship for a few years, so it is good to get the call up
:20:08. > :20:15.again. I have a fantastic prospect here. He is being a bit silly, but
:20:15. > :20:17.he is certainly up for the Games. The has the talent to do the job.
:20:17. > :20:20.It's certainly the team to beat - world champions and European
:20:20. > :20:23.champions - since the sport first began. A weight of expectation to
:20:23. > :20:30.carry with them, but the top local trainer brought in today is
:20:30. > :20:39.impressed. They have the best horses they have ever had. With the
:20:39. > :20:47.support system they have, they had a good as charred as any. My aim is
:20:47. > :20:50.to be there. Heading straight towards the near -- Maritime Museum
:20:50. > :20:59.in Greenwich, and London in the background, it is going to be a
:20:59. > :21:02.fantastic atmosphere. Covering themselves in glory next month
:21:02. > :21:06.won't automatically get them onto that Paralympic team - but it
:21:06. > :21:11.certainly wouldn't do them the slightest bit of harm. In cricket,
:21:11. > :21:15.Somerset have moved up to third in the Championship table. They beat
:21:15. > :21:23.Sussex inside three days. They narrowly missed out on the title
:21:23. > :21:26.last year, but on this kind of form, who knows. Join us tomorrow when we
:21:27. > :21:35.conclude our build up to the football season. We will hear from
:21:35. > :21:38.Paolo Di Canio. Now we all know that Casualty is something of an
:21:38. > :21:41.institution both on our television screens and here in the West, as
:21:41. > :21:44.its production is based in Bristol. But before the team move to Cardiff
:21:44. > :21:47.later this year, filming has continued across our area and this
:21:47. > :21:57.weekend's episode features two familiar faces - one more obvious
:21:57. > :22:28.
:22:28. > :22:30.than the other...watch closely and A seemingly quiet foyer at
:22:30. > :22:32.Cheltenham Racecourse but this weekend sees it transformed into
:22:32. > :22:36.the Holby International Airport arrivals lounge. Nut this being
:22:36. > :22:39.Casualty - you already know there's going to be trouble! My part is
:22:39. > :22:46.fleeting, I play a reporter, but the real star is the Cheltenham
:22:46. > :22:52.racecourse foyer. After all the dramas we have had recently... It
:22:52. > :22:57.is nice to feel needed! Hello! Thanks for meeting us. Cheltenham
:22:57. > :23:07.racecourse foyer is back to normal. Last time I saw it, it was a mess.
:23:07. > :23:12.
:23:12. > :23:15.With our permission, they blew our This was the arrivals lounge for
:23:15. > :23:22.the international airport. There was a coffee shop in here. You
:23:22. > :23:25.would not recognise it after the explosion. There were seeding tiled
:23:25. > :23:30.walls hanging off. The television had been blown up. Furniture
:23:30. > :23:39.everywhere. It was total carnage. It was unbelievable, the mess they
:23:39. > :23:43.made! They were all on the bridge, they were everywhere. What about
:23:43. > :23:49.me? One and a priority, and I am sitting here like a lemon. I am
:23:49. > :23:59.talking to you. What could be dying here expect this woman is dying as
:23:59. > :24:02.
:24:02. > :24:08.much as you. You have verbal When you watch them blowing up the
:24:08. > :24:13.airport on Saturday night, this is what it normally looks like. I was
:24:13. > :24:23.playing a reporter stationed in front of the cordoned-off area.
:24:23. > :24:28.Blink and you might miss me! CCTV images showed the total chaos.
:24:28. > :24:38.These is somewhere that you would usually expect people to be
:24:38. > :24:40.
:24:40. > :24:44.He said Taras off! I am going to get him. We should thank the
:24:44. > :24:50.casualty team for giving us that fitted. It was so much fun to take
:24:50. > :24:56.part. I do not know whether I am any good on it. Do the kind! When
:24:56. > :25:01.it is a -- when is it on? Is on Saturday night at 8:30pm on BBC One.
:25:01. > :25:08.Saturday night at 8:30pm on BBC One. Onto the weather. Alexis is
:25:08. > :25:12.standing in tonight. It was a wet start to the day. We saw some
:25:12. > :25:20.significant rainfall. This is the radar picture of the rainfall this
:25:20. > :25:30.morning. The darker blues the greens are the heavier bursts.
:25:30. > :25:30.
:25:30. > :25:35.Tonight and tomorrow, it will be dry. Some sunshine on offer later.
:25:35. > :25:40.Temperatures will be very mild. An uncomfortable night of slipping
:25:40. > :25:45.once again. 13 to 15 Celsius. Winds are white. We start with some
:25:45. > :25:50.patchy cloud. Sunny spells and a decent day all in all. A better day
:25:50. > :25:56.to get out and about. Devotees will be up to 21 Celsius. That is higher
:25:56. > :25:59.than today's values. Tomorrow night, we do it all again. The main
:25:59. > :26:06.difference from tonight is that we may see one of two showers dotted
:26:06. > :26:13.around. Most places will stay dry. A fresher fields if things as we
:26:13. > :26:17.head into the weekend. Following the rainfall today. It will be a
:26:17. > :26:22.decent dry day on Saturday. There's an outside chance that we may see
:26:23. > :26:27.one or two showers. It is on Sunday that there will be a risk of
:26:27. > :26:31.frequent thundery showers almost every Blair. That is hit-and-miss.
:26:31. > :26:36.Good news for the gardeners and farmers today. Better news for
:26:36. > :26:43.those on holiday tomorrow. Could night you! Thank you for standing
:26:43. > :26:51.in. That is all from us for now. Do tune in tomorrow. We will be