15/08/2011 BBC Points West

Welcome to BBC Points West. Killed as he led his man to a

village meeting - Mike Catt led his Joining the daily crush, how more

commuters want to get on board are overcrowded trains.

They fought the Japanese army more than 60 years ago. Today the men of

Bristol Burma Star Association hang up their flags. It is a very sad

day. It was nice to be able to go along and sit opposite someone who

was there when you were there. flying across the sand. How the

Bluebird's land speed record Good evening.

The soldier killed by a bomb in Afghanistan on Friday has been

named. Lieutenant Dan Clack was 24 and served with 1st Battalion the

Rifles, he guided yards from safety. Five of his colleagues caught in

the same blast are recovering from their injuries. His death is the

fourth to be suffered by his battalion. Our reporter is outside

their barracks for us now. The tributes are starting to arrive

tonight. A photo of Lieutenant Dan Clack and a tribute from his

commanding officer. There is an inscription on the case which says

this serves as a reminder that the commitment of the rifleman of this

the regiment are currently making overseas, it will be extinguished

when the last soldier of the regiment returned to this base. We

know that Dan Clack returned with his colleagues in April. He was

going into middle-age, leading a patrol on Friday, when they were

caught by the bomb. He was killed and five of his colleagues were

injured. He leaves behind a fiancee and his family. They issued a

statement today it saying he was a brave riflemen, he died doing the

only profession he had ever considered. One of many tributes

today, and I would directly to the MoD website where over a dozen of

Dan Clack's colleagues have left moving tributes. One said, the men

quite evidently adored him. They showed him loyalty and respect

which is reserved for only the very few and at the very best. He is the

fourth rifleman to die on this tour. They have all been killed by these

improvised explosive devices. Earlier I spoke to an expert on

these devices. He advises the military on how to defeat them. He

said they are the biggest, single threat to troops in Afghanistan.

But the trips are having some successes against them coast of the

rifles themselves found a very large case of these devices early

on in their tour. That is one of the most important things we have

to do. We all tend to soakers on the tragedy when a soldier is

killed, but if we can stop these devices being killed in the first

place, if we can attack the network, that is the most important thing we

can do to protect the troops. community here will now gather

around the friends and family of Dan Clack. All of the focus will be

on Thursday for the repatriation. His body will be flown into RAF

Lyneham and the familiar scenes of his funeral cortege will go along a

high street. If you travel by train up to London,

you will not be surprised to hear that in the West we have some of

the most overcrowded routes in the country. Remember these scenes when

passengers protested about conditions between Bristol and

Bath? The government has named the top 10 worst, all of them are run

As we reported, that has not stopped people along the road

clamouring to join them. The line still runs through Salford,

but the trains no longer stop. Now the group that produced this banner

once that to change. Salford has a population of about 5,000 people.

The station shut in the early 1970s and. Since then the village has

grown by about 40%. They may be demand locally, but does the region

need another station? There are currently about 70 trains every

weekday between Bath and Bristol Temple Meads. There are a two

stations in between. Is there even room for another? The Saltford

Action Group said yes. The A4 is busy from about 7am. I have taken a

bus sometimes, it is not competitive in price at all. Often

the buses run half empty because of the expense. Reopening at the

station is a popular idea. I have students who come in a part-time.

Asked him to come in in the morning, and he said no. He said the bus

fare was �11 to come to work. council told the BBC they support

any plan that will help people travel without using their cars.

They said reopening of this station is key to the transport strategy.

Good news for members of Saltford's How likely is this to happen? It is

a question I put earlier tour business correspondent.

Not very, to be honest. Everybody thinks it is a good idea it so long

as somebody else pays for it. First Great Western really do not want

any more stations on this line. It is overcrowded enough as it is.

Sold for it is not alone wanting to get the station opened. Corsham is

reasonably far down the track on this sort of idea, they have

managed to get the local MP on the board the furthest down the track

is in Portishead, that is where they're trying to get Brunel's

famous old line extended and reopened. The council had put a

formal bid together. �43 million they are asking for from Whitehall.

Our trains might be more quick than Victorian ones, but the decision-

making process is not any quicker. I remember that Portishead won a

rumbling on for many years. We keep hearing about a letter

vocation, will that help? You will be standing for slightly

shorter. Bristol to London time cut by 20 minutes.

The point of the electrification is to bring more people to the West

Country. It is to get more business here. That is only going to add to

the number of people getting on those trains and making them more

crowded. For anyone with a season ticket

tomorrow is a nail-biting days. In the morning we get the official

inflation figures for July. When they put the Fairs Cup in January,

it is July's inflation figures that matter. -- when they put the fares

up. They could put up those fares by 8%. On a Bath annual season

ticket, it could go up as much as �630.

In other news detectives investigating last week's riots in

Gloucester have released a new footage. These images show the

moment a bookmaker's was attacked early last Wednesday morning. About

one hour later this footage was captured later outside a

convenience store. Police have also released these images from inside

the store. Workers at Honda have returned to a

two-day week after the annual summer shutdown. The plant in

Swindon cut its output in April due to supply problems caused by the

Japanese earthquake. A return to normal production had been planned

for August but it has been delayed until September at the earliest.

Tap -- staff are working on a Test there will be unveiled next month.

Still to come: Preparing for the Big Performance.

We need to two West Country teenagers getting a helping hand.

Remembering the floods that devastated Exmoor on this night

First, local policing will behave by planned government cuts in

spending. That is the warning from Dr Tim Brain. He has carried out

research into the cuts on behalf of Cardiff University and his

questioning ministers' claims that savings can be made in back offices

rather than hitting frontline staff. I spoke to him earlier and asked

him in the context of last week's riots how would we should be.

should be very concerned. One is the effect it has on local

neighbourhood policing. That means the ability to prevent riots

occurring in the first place. Secondly, the ability for forces to

tick officers out of the front line and train them on a regular basis

for riots. If there are fewer officers, it reduces the force's

ability to do that. Are you saying frontline policing should not be

cut? It is difficult for the Government at the current time.

There are between a rock and a hard place. They have made choices about

spending in other areas and we know there will be less cuts in defence,

health and overseas aid. The Government has an opportunity to

reflect on where its cut strategy is. You research comes using the

same figures that are available to the government but to have come to

a different conclusion. I have been more specific in my conclusion. We

have seen a growth of about 16,000 police officers in 10 years. Most

of that growth has been targeted local community policing.

Subsequently, if we lose at 16,000 officers, it seems most likely the

majority of those posts will be lost in local neighbourhood

policing. The Home Office has reacted to this and said there cuts

are manageable. They have not denied the figures or the basis of

the research or even denied that cuts will not fall at local level.

They have said they are manageable and I am sure that is absolutely

right. Police forces will be working very hard to minimise the

impact at local levels, and maximise efficiencies. The Home

Office does not say cuts at a local level are not going to occur if.

computer system which is supposed to make administration more

efficient has paid out an extra �4.6 million of taxpayers' money.

South West One was set up to it say that millions for Somerset County

Council. It brought in computer payment system two years ago, but

in that time it has made hundreds of duplicate payments to suppliers.

95% of the errors have been repaid but almost �200,000 is still owed.

After 60 years, the Bristol branch of Bristol Burma Star Association

is to close. Many of the veterans of the Burma campaign which led to

the defeat of the Japanese army have died. Now, only a handful are

able to attend meetings or other activities.

Today on the 66th anniversary of VJ Day there Branch Standard has been

I was 22. Just put one foot Mac in front of the up. From the jungle,

The heat and the humility and the density of the jungle. -- humidity.

For those who fought in Burma, the scars run deep. Thousands lost

their lives. They were known as the forgotten Army as much of the news

coverage concentrated on the conflict in Europe. Today those

left in the Bristol branch came to remember and honour and say goodbye.

But after 60 years, the Bristol Burma Star Association will now

close. It is a very sad day because it was nice to be able to go a long

and sit opposite someone who was there when you were at bare. I am

only a junior, the youngest of the whole lot, but many of them were

there at the height of the fighting. I was cleared. I was really scared

because I did not know what would happen next. No one knew. The enemy

was around you all the time. Doug Whitehead was just 22 when he

fought in Burma and saying goodbye to the Bristol branch was very hard.

Row would like to stay on until the last man. Hang on as long as you

can. Keep alive in some way. remaining members like Doug

Whitehead will now be looked after by the National Burma Star

Association, making sure their sacrifices will never be forgotten.

Swindon Town have condemned those who damaged the pitch of their

rivals Oxford United. After two defeats should the alarm bells be

ringing at Bristol City? The rivalry between Swindon Town

and Oxford United is one of the most sharply felt in the country,

but today the clubs were united in criticising vandals who damaged

Oxford's pitch. Early on Saturday, two or three people were spotted on

CCTV inside the grounds and before Saturday afternoon's game, the ill

formed letters of STFC were seen on the grass. Swindon said they

deplored the action. The Oxford chairman Kelvin Thomas said he was

disappointed. Incident came eight days before the sides play each

other for the first time in nine years next Sunday. The Oxford

supporters' trust are edging their fans not to retaliate. We were at a

huge game on Sunday. The best thing we can do here is get behind the

side. Do not do any retaliation. Just two on the boys to a victory

of a game that means so much. very early days, just two matches

into the season but Bristol City fans are worried. They are bottom

of the championship table, they conceded six goals in two games and

the manager admits he needs new players. Yesterday, Cardiff went

into a three-goal lead before half- time, confirming pre-season

concerns about City's defensive frailties. Nicky Maynard did score

for City but it did nothing to settle nerves and left the manager

concerned about confidence levels. We need to be scoring that first

gold -- goal. You can see then that the crowd get behind Cardiff and

that lack of confidence we have got, the shoulders drop, people do not

show for the ball as you would want them to and it is tough. But you

cannot afford to give soft goals away. It was poor decisions on the

ball. A lack of confidence, experience. But to go in 3-0 at

half-time is not what you're looking for. It is worth pointing

out that last season City were still bottom of the table in mid-

October with just one win from 11 games before they turn things

around. Their first two games this season have been between Ipswich

and Cardiff, both favourites for promotion. The only problem, next

stop Mr sister -- city on Wednesday. You can see all the cold on the

week and on the relevant pages of the BBC sport website. This the

header that gave turned them victory over Swindon. The start of

some set match against Nottinghamshire in the ECB 40

competition has been delayed by rain. The two sides are joint

leaders of groups the along with Essex but crucially Somerset have

games in hand. There hoping to start at 7 o'clock but if tonight's

match is rained off, both sides get a point and that would lead

Somerset at favourites to progress to the semi finals. If there is a

result, we will bring you that in out late bulletin.

Imagine you are shy, you had never sung in public before but someone

wants you to perform in front of a TV audience of more than 11 million.

Now imagine you are 13. Two school children are among a group taking

part in a TV series trying to prepare them for the greatest

musical adventure of their lives. Today, the production came to

Ashton Court Mansion and choirmaster Gareth Malone is

preparing for his latest musical challenge. In the corridor outside,

his pupils are limbering up their vocal calls, quite unsure what the

day will bring. James still cannot believe he is here. I was on the

edge of my seat. I was like, why would they pick me? I kept going to

the next edition until they came to the final turn. And they said I am

three. It felt like the top of the world. Rehearsals are under way.

What all these youngsters have in common is they have all been

bullied at school, they all lack self-confidence. They have all been

chosen for its children in the project, a project that will and

with them singing to an audience of 11 million. The 13-year-old image

and, it is a terrifying day. She has been chosen to take the lead

Getting to grips with the solo is not easy. I feel a bit scared

because the song, I do not merit and it is out of my league. Listen,

you were fine. Just a bit louder. You will be great. She will get

there and the important thing is, but musical boss is not worried.

Imogen looks nervous. You can see beads of sweat appearing but they

have all had that experience. They have been all over the country and

it will be their turn at some point. You could see people hid getting a

bit sweaty, but they have to go through it. They will really feel

the benefit once they had done it. It will be top or Imogen but at the

end of the day, she will feel taller. Then the group is given the

news that they just have to have the song ready by tomorrow because

they are performing at a huge Somerset wedding. My impression

Good luck to all those who are involved. The TV series will be on

our screens sometime in the autumn, culminating in that performance on

the night of children in need which is 18th November. 13 weeks. Stop

planning. A car built and designed in the West has failed in its bid

to breed a land speed record. Engineers were part of a team that

created a Bluebird Electric, which was supposed to break the 137 mile

an hour record. It and was aborted after the great grandson of the

past land speed record holder did of course.

He is the 4th generation of a family synonymous with land speed

records. Nineteen-year-old Joe Wales is the great-grandson of Sir

Malcolm Campbell. His aim was to beat the record for an electric

vehicle over 500 metres. History does not to be repeated. The car

veered off course and stopped after hitting several potholes in the

sand. Really annoyed and disappointed and sorry to all the

team that worked so hard and the crowd that came along for nothing.

On the return run, some visibility problems. The car is a product of

the West. Having been tested at Gloucestershire airport. Engineers

from Bristol University designed and built the Bluebird Electric's

Taylor was systems, which are things had gone to plan, they are

convinced would have enabled the car to break the record. It was

quite interesting that the quarrel with losing exhilaration. We were

doing 110 miles an hour. Backing 2000, Joe's dead set the 137 MAR an

hour record for an electric car. His grandfather, Sir Malcolm

Campbell, broke three land speed records on this very beach in the

1920s. Donald was also hoping to reach 120 mph in the Bluebird. Now

the father and son must wait and see if there supercar can be

rebuilt, so they can continue their family legacy.

Now to the weather and tonight mark the anniversary of one of the

West's worst weather events. The Exmoor floods of 1952.

We have a number of viewers who live in that area and will remember

that night. It was about now that the rain started to rack up sum

totals. We have some British here. This was taken the morning after

the event. Yesterday, limit was a peaceful holiday resort. Today it

is a run. Those are rainfall totals are rarely seen across parts of the

British Isles. There were a number of areas affected by those floods.

He is the reason why. This warm flow that was taking this mild,

murky -- moist air. A cold front come in from the other side.

Thunderstorms developing. Nine Thunderstorms developing. Nine

inches of rain in 20 bought ours. 34 people losing their lives. We

will not fear a repeat of that and the sort of scene will be more

familiar to us for the course of tomorrow. That is courtesy of a

warm front, which is moving in from the West. It needs a warm sector of

low cloud and drizzle. We continue that tomorrow morning but

thereafter, we will see an improvement. The rain for raider

shows how the warm front is coming Overnight, a lot of Ponterwyd -- lo

cloud round. But for many it is a largely dry night. It will be

noticeably mild for all. Temperatures in the low teens, 12

or 14 Celsius. Tomorrow morning we will start with the legacy of that.

No cloud. Some further OF rain. But midday, an improvement starts to

take place. By late afternoon, the best of the sunshine across the

rest of Somerset. We would see more in the way of sunshine elsewhere.

Good for seeing the space station later on. Temperatures tomorrow,

still warm. 18-20 Celsius. Beyond that, Wednesday and Thursday are a

tricky one. A bit of a health warning with this one because on

face value it will be a case of walking a front to the south,

bringing in patches of rain. By Friday, with better confidence it

looks like a dry and fine and to the working week. That is it for

tonight. I will be back with the 10 o'clock News. We won the you with