28/07/2011 BBC Points West

Good evening and welcome to BBC Points West. Our headlines tonight:

Press One for job losses. The giant phone company Nokia dials up more

redundancies in Wiltshire. The old hospital building which

could become the most relaxed state school in Somerset.

Whodunnit! What they found inside Agatha Christie's crime bureau.

Back at Gatcombe as Zara retires her favourite horse. I will never

be able to replace him. And it will end in tears. The

latest dramatic stunt from the BBC's Casualty!

Good evening. Nokia cut off one third of its workforce in Swindon

today. 150 workers could lose their jobs at Nokia Siemens in Swindon.

It comes just months after two other mobile phone businesses

announced redundancies. It is a grey and miserable day in

Swindon, and it is not just due to this weather. These are the Nokia

offices where the cuts would take place. Just months ago, Motorola

were here. Nokia have painted over the sign, but they have not even

had a chance to put their new sinage up.

We workers here carry out research into mobile phone technology. Nokia

say the cuts are part of a global reorganisation. It has been a tough

time for the mobile phone sector. Virgin Media is already calling --

closing its call centre. That followed a decision by Vodafone to

close their base in the town. The local MP here says it is a bitter

blow. It is very disappointing news. I have got friends and colleagues

who work there. We have seen at Motorola go from 3,000 employees,

down to about 40 or 50. There is a 90 day consultation period. We

would try to minimise those job losses in a constructive and

supportive manner. But the mobile phone industry is

suffering many job cuts. The unions are calling on the government to do

more to protect the industry. need a coherent government policy.

All we are getting at the moment are very minor changes to

employment law. We are not seen investment or training or research

and development. This is what needs to happen if we need to maintain

our position as one of the biggest economies in the world.

Job cuts will take place in early 2012.

The BBC understands that there are calls for further investigations

into fraud and corruption within the Cotswold Water Park in

Gloucestershire. Last month, the park's former chief executive,

Dennis Grant, was jailed for fraud. Now local Lib Dem councillors are

calling for a police investigation, to look into claims that fraud may

have been more widespread. Up to 4,000 passengers, who went on

holiday from Bristol Airport with the tour operator Holidays 4U have

been told they will be flown home as normal after the firm's closure.

The company, which also trades as Aegean Flights, has gone into

administration. Passengers who are abroad are being told to arrive at

the airport in good time for their return flight. Those with future

travel bookings should contact the Civil Aviation Authority.

A �5,000 reward has been put forward by Crimestoppers for

information about the suspected murder of a fitness instructor from

Chippenham. 29-year-old Dononvan Van Lill went missing in March last

year. His body has never been found. Earlier this week, more than 70 new

images from CCTV at the Pewsham Estate went up on the Wiltshire

Police website. Another group of parents have made

a bid to open a three score in their area. The group put their

case to a panel of education officials in London. If they are

successful, it would be the second to be approved in the West.

A ticket to London which could radically change education in

Somerset. Sal Steeple is a social worker with two young children. She

wants a new school for Froome. is our big chance to get this call

going. I hope the interview goes well.

Earlier this week, another group of parents had their application

rejected, so today's trip to pump extra importance. There is a

deficit in school places here, we have proved that there is the need

for the school. They want the school to open on an

old hospital site. It will be a non fee-paying a Steiner school. The

planet is for the Frome Steiner Academy to open in September, 2012.

But the idea of Free Schools is not universally liked. It is a

completely wrong policy by the government. These are Free Schools

will take funding away from other local schools and ultimately, could

cause local schools to close. A meanwhile, up in London, the rain

came down, but it did not dampen the smiles. We had just come out of

that our interview. It went really well! I think it went as well as it

could have done, so we're really pleased.

They were not hear until September if the application has been

successful. If it is, then Bristol will have the only Free Schools in

the West. Our reporter, an expert on these

things, joins us in the studio. Let us get back to basics. What is a

Free School? The best description I have heard is they are an

independent state school. That means they are a state school, so

anyone can apply. They have to follow admissions procedures.

However, they are independent and free from local council control.

They are funded by the government. Whitehall takes over the

accountability and giving them the money, building the schools and so

on. We have had this model for a long time so it is not new. But

what is crucial is that parents have to show there is demand for a

Free School. It is not something you can just want, you have to give

cold hard facts and say there is a real demand for its -- for such a

score in this area. I enough of them up and running to know if they

are successful or not? Know full. We do not know. September will be

the first time when they will be up and running. -- no. The best

estimates are between 12 and 20. But the education minister said it

was a new policy and they were happy with it. They argued they

were 281 applications to open a September, 2012. Our people against

them? Yes, there are a lot of critics. The critics do not like

the idea of the council been removed, or that schools are free.

But, they are still inspected, and if you speak to the council

education officers, they say they work collaboratively with the

schools. In Somerset, a Steiner school, this could now be paid for

by the state? Absolutely. But this is the whole point. If you want a

new school, any group can opt for it. They do not have to follow the

national curriculum and do not have to have certain qualifications for

their teachers. That is another criticism.

Welcome if you have just joined us. You are watching your regional news

from the BBC. There is still plenty to come before 7pm, including:

Best feet forward for European success. We meet two West Country

hopefuls. And can you spot her? Find out what

happened when our Alex went filming with the Casualty crew.

A pressure group says rural areas will die unless more affordable

homes are built. A report by the Countryside Alliance says there's a

critical shortfall in areas like Bath and North East Somerset. It

claims BANES Council has planned for less than a fifth of the

affordable housing it should be building under government targets.

The Council says the figures are out of date.

Work has begun on a �20 million waste treatment plant in Wiltshire

that will recycle thousands of tonnes of rubbish that normally

goes to landfill. The facility is being built in Westbury and will be

the first in the county. Most of the waste will be turned into fuel

and exported to Europe, but some will still go into the ground.

Councils in Gloucestershire hope that working together more closely

will save them more than �0.5 million of council taxpayers' money.

Local authorities in Cheltenham, the Cotswolds and the Forest of

Dean are hoping to save the sum after reaching an agreement to

share back office services like finance, human resources and

procurement. To a long-running mystery now that

has been solved in a workshop in Gloucestershire. It involves an old

writing desk, a telegram from Noel Coward and Agatha Christie's

knickers! Here is our Gloucestershire reporter Steve

Knibbs to explain. This 18th century bureau had lain

in this story of three years. His client had bought it at an auction

in Devon, and when Clive finally got the chance to work on it, he

was taking it apart when something fell out. This is what he found: A

folded piece of paper. When he opened it up, he could not believe

what he was reading. It was a Telegraph absent from Bermuda. It

says, dear Agatha Christie, much as it pains me, I must congratulate

you on breaking the long record. This is an amazing piece of

theatrical history. The Mousetrap opened in 1952, and has five years

later, clocked up nearly 2000 performances. The play had taken

the record from his play. Back in his workshop in the Cotswolds,

finding the telegram has been a real revelation. He normally does

end up with bits of old newspaper, but this is definitely a once in a

career discovery. I have been working 25 years now, and hopefully

I have got another 25 years of life left. If I ever find anything like

this again, I should be very lucky. Agatha Christie never made any

money from her famous play. She signed all right over to her

grandson before it opened, so we took a copy of the telegram to show

him in his London office. She was an admirer of his, and I would have

thought to have an acknowledgement of her achievement in the Mousetrap

would have pleased him very much. The opinion of her appears and

fellow entertainers meant a lot to her.

In was not just the telegram that Clive found. He also found a

receipt from a night were company in London for �24. But it is the

telegram that really stands out. Correspondence between two of the

great British writers of their day, written with an honesty that people

who would have known him would have come to expect.

Mystery solved!. �24 on lingerie in those days would have been a lot of

money! And expensive pair of Sarah Phillips is the time her

horse, Toy Town. Zara shortly but horse, Toy Town. Zara shortly but

first to the new football season which starts on Saturday. Bristol

Rovers fans have much to be optimistic about because their new

manager Paul Buckle has brought in 15 new players as they look to win

promotion and return to League One at the first time of asking. There

were some moments to cheer, but much of last season was doom and

gloom. They got through four managers and were still relegated

to the bottom division of the football league. But now with the

new season upon us Geoff Twentyman assesses Rovers chances of gaining

promotion. We are going to work very hard. We cannot allow them to

pass the ball and have time on the pass the ball and have time on the

ball. How is -- how important is a good start of the season? It is

vital. At the same time, you can be at my table at Christmas. It sets

you up. If you at the top, you cannot take the foot of the gas. So

the winds of change have blasted through the Memorial Stadium...

It's a team of new players - Paul Buckle has made 15 signings...

often a new manager has to win the dressing room over but in this

instance he's brought his own with him - clever move. The

collaboration is going pretty well according to both the new and the

old guard. It hasn't seemed like two groups. Everyone has got on

well. That is good news. I think everyone is very happy at the way

it has gone so far. I think there is a good camaraderie and team

spirit. The team want to get promoted. There is a new squad and

a brand new Bristol Rovers. We are looking forward to it. Pre-season's

gone well... An attack minded philosophy previals after the

disappointment of relegation there's re-newed optimism.

Prospects are good. We got rid of the dead wood. Hopefully we will be

on the way up. I hope Rovers will win. I back them at 8-1. Are they

going to do it? Yes! Paul Buckle has two players for each position,

and I think Rovers will be promoted automatically, and maybe, just

In rugby, England play Wales on Saturday in the run-up to the World

Cup and the team includes several west country players. Bath's Lewis

Moody will captain the side, and will be joined by club mate Matt

Banahan who plays in the centre. The former Bath player Matt Stevens

is also making his return to the international scene after being

banned for two years for using drugs. Former world equestrian

champion Zara Phillips has been talking about her slim chances of

competing at the London Olympics next summer. She won the world

title in 2006 on her horse Toytown but injury ruled her out of the

Beijing games two years later. On Sunday she will officially retire

the 19-year-old Toytown at the Gatcome Horse Trials on her

mother's Gloucestershire estate. Today she paid tribute to his

achievements and her hopes of having another horse ready in time

For me, he is the best horse that I have ever sat on. On am always

hopeful that he had everything there. We have been doing it

together at the right time. Is she going to get there? She has jumped

it! I looked at them a couple of times, and I thought, oh my God! It

is very emotional to watch it all. Now I have a couple old enough to

get to the same level as him. High get to the same level as him. High

Kingdom will be my first course. Kingdom will be my first course.

Hopefully we will have some good And while we're on equine matters -

the all-female para-equestrian dressage team freshly selected for

the European Championships in Belgium next month have been on a

final team training exercise in Gloucestershire today. Two of the

five are well-known west country faces - with fixed ambitions - as

Amanda Parr reports. Building on relationships today - one horse an

old friend, one a new and rising star. Anne Dunham is delighted to

be here - selection's never a given. Based in Broad Hinton in Wiltshire

- she's collected so many medals over the years - and has five

Paralympic golds. On top of that she's been honoured for inspiring

others, managing dystonia and blazing a trail as a global

champion. She's got high hopes for Belgium - the last big senior

Championship in Europe before the Paralympic Games next year. Gold

medals, world champion. I have eight of them. I would like to be

there again. It would be great. He is good enough. He is on form at

the moment. Aren't you? Teddy's been on the scene a while - Akilles

and Taunton's Deb Criddle though, have only been together five months.

She and her last horse Figaro were a gold medal winning power house -

but after the marriage with Figaro, there was a lull. I have not been

in a Championship for a few years, so it is good to get the call up

again. I have a fantastic prospect here. He is being a bit silly, but

he is certainly up for the Games. The has the talent to do the job.

It's certainly the team to beat - world champions and European

champions - since the sport first began. A weight of expectation to

carry with them, but the top local trainer brought in today is

impressed. They have the best horses they have ever had. With the

support system they have, they had a good as charred as any. My aim is

to be there. Heading straight towards the near -- Maritime Museum

in Greenwich, and London in the background, it is going to be a

fantastic atmosphere. Covering themselves in glory next month

won't automatically get them onto that Paralympic team - but it

certainly wouldn't do them the slightest bit of harm. In cricket,

Somerset have moved up to third in the Championship table. They beat

Sussex inside three days. They narrowly missed out on the title

last year, but on this kind of form, who knows. Join us tomorrow when we

conclude our build up to the football season. We will hear from

Paolo Di Canio. Now we all know that Casualty is something of an

institution both on our television screens and here in the West, as

its production is based in Bristol. But before the team move to Cardiff

later this year, filming has continued across our area and this

weekend's episode features two familiar faces - one more obvious

than the other...watch closely and A seemingly quiet foyer at

Cheltenham Racecourse but this weekend sees it transformed into

the Holby International Airport arrivals lounge. Nut this being

Casualty - you already know there's going to be trouble! My part is

fleeting, I play a reporter, but the real star is the Cheltenham

racecourse foyer. After all the dramas we have had recently... It

is nice to feel needed! Hello! Thanks for meeting us. Cheltenham

racecourse foyer is back to normal. Last time I saw it, it was a mess.

With our permission, they blew our This was the arrivals lounge for

the international airport. There was a coffee shop in here. You

would not recognise it after the explosion. There were seeding tiled

walls hanging off. The television had been blown up. Furniture

everywhere. It was total carnage. It was unbelievable, the mess they

made! They were all on the bridge, they were everywhere. What about

me? One and a priority, and I am sitting here like a lemon. I am

talking to you. What could be dying here expect this woman is dying as

much as you. You have verbal When you watch them blowing up the

airport on Saturday night, this is what it normally looks like. I was

playing a reporter stationed in front of the cordoned-off area.

Blink and you might miss me! CCTV images showed the total chaos.

These is somewhere that you would usually expect people to be

He said Taras off! I am going to get him. We should thank the

casualty team for giving us that fitted. It was so much fun to take

part. I do not know whether I am any good on it. Do the kind! When

it is a -- when is it on? Is on Saturday night at 8:30pm on BBC One.

Saturday night at 8:30pm on BBC One. Onto the weather. Alexis is

standing in tonight. It was a wet start to the day. We saw some

significant rainfall. This is the radar picture of the rainfall this

morning. The darker blues the greens are the heavier bursts.

Tonight and tomorrow, it will be dry. Some sunshine on offer later.

Temperatures will be very mild. An uncomfortable night of slipping

once again. 13 to 15 Celsius. Winds are white. We start with some

patchy cloud. Sunny spells and a decent day all in all. A better day

to get out and about. Devotees will be up to 21 Celsius. That is higher

than today's values. Tomorrow night, we do it all again. The main

difference from tonight is that we may see one of two showers dotted

around. Most places will stay dry. A fresher fields if things as we

head into the weekend. Following the rainfall today. It will be a

decent dry day on Saturday. There's an outside chance that we may see

one or two showers. It is on Sunday that there will be a risk of

frequent thundery showers almost every Blair. That is hit-and-miss.

Good news for the gardeners and farmers today. Better news for

those on holiday tomorrow. Could night you! Thank you for standing

in. That is all from us for now. Do tune in tomorrow. We will be