07/09/2011 BBC Points West

Hello, and welcome to BBC Points West. The headlines tonight:

Jailed for driving the wrong way up the M5 in Somerset. Police say

Deborah Hunt terrified motorists and risked a massive loss of life.

The plumber electrocuted to death at work. An inquest hears a faulty

socket was to blame. Also tonight:

The archaeological dig trying to help war-torn soldiers rebuild

their lives after Afghanistan. We have done some digging before

but, not so relaxed. And a new attempt to break the land

speed record. We meet the team and reveal the bike hoping to go down

Police have condemned the actions of a woman who drove the wrong way

up the M5 in Somerset, saying she played Russian roulette with

drivers' lives. Deborah Hunt terrified motorists as

she drove towards cars in the fast lane for 23 miles. She was twice

the drink-drive limit. Today, she was sent to prison for nine months.

Our home affairs correspondent Steve Brodie reports.

Experienced police officers say they are astonished that the

actions of Deborah Hunt that July evening did not end in catastrophe.

Anybody driving the wrong way down a motorway is playing Russian

roulette. The only way to take the bullet out of the gun is not to

drink and drive. The message, I would say, is that if you drink and

drive you are putting yourself and other people in danger. Mrs Hunt

joined the motorway at junction 24 at Bridgwater, but to the terror of

other motorists she was driving the other motorists she was driving the

wrong way, heading at 60 miles an hour directly towards oncoming

traffic. She kept going like this for 23 miles. Further up the M5, at

Burnham-on-Sea, a police car had to swerve onto the hard shoulder to

When Deborah Hunt eventually ran out of petrol going off on the

southbound carriageway on the M5, police officers but their own lives

at risk, jumping over the central reservation to find any arrest her.

She ran out of petrol, and the officers travelling north in the

direct -- in the correct direction stopped, crossed the carriage row

over the central barrier, ran to her, stopped, realised she snarled

of intoxicating liquor. She was arrested. -- she smelled of

intoxicating liquor. In court, her solicitor admitted the mother-of-

three had a serious drink problem and was suffering from stress. She

had recently been made redundant and was in the middle of a custody

battle. 43-year-old Hunt, from Langport in Somerset, pleaded

guilty to dangerous driving, driving with excess alcohol and

without insurance. As she was sentenced, she wept uncontrollably

in the dock. Jailing Hunt for nine months, Judge Horton told her: "It

is unbelievably fortunate that no- one was killed or injured. You

caused terror to members of the public. I would be failing in my

duty if I did not give you a custodial sentence". She was also

disqualified from driving for 15 months, and will have to prove she

no longer has a drink problem if she ever reapplies for a licence.

A woman from Taunton has been released on bail in connection with

the death of a schoolgirl. 13-year- old Amy Hofmeister was killed when

she was knocked off her bike on Blackbrook Way in June. A local man

has already pleaded guilty to causing her death by dangerous

driving. This morning, Leanne Burnell, seen here on the left, who

was driving a separate car, appeared in court. She is charged

jointly with causing the teenager's death and will reappear in November.

An inquest began today into the death of a Bristol plumber who was

electrocuted while at work three years ago. Danny Edwards had been

installing a washing machine at a block of flats in Clifton when he

died. Today, his family heard that a faulty socket was to blame.

Isabel Webster was in court. Danny Edwards had his whole life

ahead of him, and a baby on the way. On an internet tribute page, his

friends and family recall his "cheesy grin" and zest for life.

Danny was an electrician and in 2008 was working for Birakos

Enterprises Ltd, who were developing this block of flats

behind me. And it was whilst here, installing a washing machine, that

he was electrocuted and instantly killed. Today, his girlfriend and

the mother of his child, seen here in the middle, along with other

members of his family, attended the inquest to hear the circumstances

of Danny's death. His father told me they simply wanted the facts

established. We have been misled one way or another and we don't

know what actually happened on the day, so we want to get some answers

today. Peace of mind, as much as anything else, to know that Danny

was not at fault in anything he did. If somebody was at fault, we want

some justice done so it does not happen to anybody else. Throughout

the day, the coroner called up several witnesses. The jury heard

that the socket supplying power to the washing machine was faulty. The

live wire was connected to the earth socket, and the earth wire

was connected to the live socket. This made the washing machine a

death trap, and when Danny touched it the electrical current passed

through him, killing him. The Health and Safety Executive gave

evidence here this morning and say their own investigation into what

happened is ongoing. They will now wait for the jury to give its

verdict before they decide how to proceed. And that verdict is now

expected tomorrow. You're watching your regional news

programme, BBC Points West. Stay with us as there is much more

still to bring you tonight, including: Too exhausted to fly,

how experts in Somerset are bringing these birds back to life.

And this is the bike that could break a British land speed record?

If it does over 220 miles an hour, it will. Join me later to find out

more. One of the West's highest-paid

council officials is losing his job. Wiltshire Council is making its

chief executive and another senior director redundant. Andrew Kerr had

been criticised for his pay packet of �189,000 a year. Our political

editor Paul Barltrop is here to tell us more. This is all a bit out

of the blue? A complete surprise. It has taken

staff and council colleagues very much by surprise. Andrew Kerr, no

stranger to controversy, his pay packet was huge and earlier this

year he was to a �6,000 pay increase on top. He did interviews

and faced the cameras and then decided he would not, not least

because the council has been tightening its belt and making

staff redundant. Fill us in on the background?

He had been in the job for just over a year-and-a-half, Wiltshire

council was a new creation replacing four district councils

and one county council, a very big council indeed and he was brought

in to head the whole council last year.

We have heard he is highly paid, but he has huge responsibilities

and they are saying they can do without him, that is strange?

It is almost unprecedented for a council of this size, and �800

million budget, to be without any senior figures at the top. One

Liberal Democrat councillor today thought it was insane and would be

a challenge. Thank you for coming in.

Salisbury Plain may be the training ground for troops heading to

Afghanistan, but now it is also being used to help injured soldiers

recover from battlefield injuries, including combat stress. Soldiers

from One Rifles in Gloucestershire, who have been flown back from the

frontline, are helping with an archaeological dig on the Plain. It

is hoped being involved with the project will help them rebuild

their lives. Scott Ellis reports. It could be some cutting tool? It

is very sharp. An Afghan veteran, unearthing

treasures on his old training ground. It is hard to comprehend.

But just months ago all three soldiers here were fighting in

Helmand Province. Now injured, each by a roadside bomb, they are

engrossed in an archaeological dig on Salisbury Plain. It is helping

on the long road to recovery. think about something else, not

about Afghanistan any more. We think about what we are going to

dig a pit, how long it has been here. It makes a big difference in

your mind. To do something like this and that at the landscape you

work on and suffer on sometimes it's quite interesting, to look at

it in a different light. Since deploying to Afghanistan in April

60 soldiers from One Rifles have been sent home injured. After

hospital treatment comes months of rehab. For a once active soldier,

it can lead to isolation and psychological problems. The Army

says even after three days on a dig, there is a change. I have seen that

a lot of them have come out of their shells, they have really been

keen and enthusiastic about the work they have done, when before

there were quite despondent, so we have seen a visible change in them.

This one is classic early Iron Age... They are finding pottery and

animal bones here at Chisenbury Midden. It is known to be the site

of an iron age festival. The soldiers have been quick to learn

the skills. But then there is a strong link between the Military

and archaeology. Lieutenant General Pitt-Rivers is a big name in

archaeology and a Lieutenant- General. Ferrer others, they have

archaeological interests. soldiers will be here for a week.

Some may return to the frontline one day. Others may have to leave

the services. That's the future. Right now, they are absorbed in

digging up the past. The commanding officer of Wiltshire

soldiers who received campaign medals today praised them for

delivering "sterling results under demanding conditions" in

Afghanistan. Third UK Division Headquarters and Signal Regiment

are based at Bulford Camp in Wiltshire. They spent six months in

Afghanistan and today their friends and families watched them being

awarded medals for their work. I am really happy then made it here,

it is great. It makes you really proud to get recognition for the

work we have done over there and to be part of it. Just pouty has been

there and represented his country, so proud of seeing them. It is real

achievement for him, very proud of him, yes. 120 medals were handed

out today. The regiment is unlikely to return to Afghanistan before

2013. The Bristol Centre for Deaf People

may have to close. The building in Kings Square is set to lose funding

from Bristol City Council. The local authority claims it doesn't

offer a good quality service, and it will be looking for another

provider. The centre has been running for more than 125 years.

Its chief executive said it had provided an "excellent service over

the years" and added that he intends to "fight until the

decision has been overturned". A wildlife rescue centre in

Somerset is working to save the lives of hundreds of seabirds

washed up by strong winds in Wales. The birds, mainly Manx shearwater,

were rescued off the Pembrokeshire coast.

They have been taken to the RSPCA centre at West Hatch near Taunton,

where staff are hoping to get them flying again. Clinton Rogers

reports. It may look painful, but this is

tough love for birds who, right now, would have no chance of survival on

their own. Stormy seas in West Wales and RSPCA volunteers are

literally pulling the young seabirds for the water. They had

attempted their annual migration to South America, but were battered by

strong winds and in the end were too exhausted to fly. We have got

18 in there. And so they were boxed up, nearly 250 of them, and taken

to the RSPCA's wildlife rescue centre in Somerset. Today they were

all being individually weighed and hand-fed. They need to be tube fed

because they feed in captivity, so they are all tube fed and it is a

fish soup that we are feeding them this morning. What are their

chances of survival? It should be really good. These are quite strong

birds, we have not really found any with horrendous injuries or

anything and that, so they should be OK. This is quite a logistical

operation for the RSPCA, but you have seen this before? Yes, it

happened in 2007 with 1,000 guillemots in the centre, and a

large number of seabirds at the centre before that, it is something

we are used to. It is now just a matter of building their strength

before they can be set free. Staff are hopeful the birds can be

released in the next few days. The plan is to take them to the West

Somerset coastline and bring them in the direction of South America,

and then hope they find their way there.

Sport now and in football, Bristol Rovers are out of the Johnstone's

Paint Trophy. They lost by three goals to one at League One Wycombe

Wanderers. Stuart Bevan scored a hat trick for the home side. Matt

Harrold got Rovers' only goal, but it wasn't enough to stop them going

out at the first hurdle. So it will be Wycombe who play Cheltenham in

round two. Rovers have now lost their last three games in the

League and cup competitions. In cricket, Somerset's Craig

Kieswetter has been given an appearance-based contract with

England. He qualifies for it after playing in two Twenty20

internationals and seven one-day games for England this summer.

Meanwhile his Somerset team-mates are playing Yorkshire in their

penultimate Championship match of the season. They reached 140 -3,

batting first, needing to win to stay in the title race.

In Division Two, Gloucestershire, chasing promotion, finished the

first day against Leicestershire on 235 for six.

The Little Britain star David Walliams is falling behind schedule

in his charity river swim because he is suffering from "Thames tummy".

The comedian is trying to swim from Gloucestershire to London over

eight days. He set off from Lechlade on Monday and was hoping

to reach Goring in Oxfordshire by the end of the day, but the illness

has meant he hasn't got as far as planned.

It is a lot colder than I anticipated. And also it's just a

really long way. Policing, 140 miles... But it doesn't get any

easier. You go a mile at a time, and swimming a mile in a river is

pretty tiring. David has already managed to raise

almost quarter of a million pounds for Sport Relief. He did not look

too good, did she? He didn't!

But I am sure that will go up. Have you ever dreamt about breaking

the land speed record? A team of bikers from South Gloucestershire

are, and not just on four wheels but two. The racing team aim to

make the attempt next year on a specially adapted Harley Davidson.

Most of the men work at Airbus at Filton and have been working on the

project for months. Tonight, all of them and their sponsors have been

invited to a garage in Bradley Stoke, where the bike will be

started up for the very first time. And our reporter Steve Knibbs is

there, too. I will not show you the bike yet,

we will keep that under wraps because there is a sentimentality

when it comes to land-speed records, especially British ones. Let's look

at some archive so did we have found. Back to the 1920s, Sir

Malcolm Campbell, these are all Bluebirds here. Several years later,

he got a bit faster, over 400 miles an hour. This is classic footage. A

an hour. This is classic footage. A couple of weeks ago, his great

grandson Joe Wales with a team from the University of Bristol

unfortunately failed in their attempted an electric car to break

the record. But we are talking about two wheels. This is 1930,

Joseph Wright, and then a fast speed of 130 miles an hour,

breaking the land speed record them. Classic footage in its day, but

here is the bike hoping to get It looks fantastic, built in a

garage in Bradley Stoke. Let's talk to the man he will be in the Savoy

next year, Paul Anderson. The bike looks amazing. Tell us about the

record? The record is the British out right motorcycle land-speed

record. Two in either direction, then they take the average speed

and that is the record. It has been in place for 10 years, held by Jack

Frost, and the record is just over 222 miles an hour. How are you

making this bike go faster? We have raised the capacity of the engine

that 50%, it is 1.55 litres and we have added a turbo charging system

as well as many internal modifications, raising the power

from the original 100 horsepower to around 250 at the moment. Why do

you want to do this? Record- breaking is a British thing, you

mentioned all of the right names, but Campbells, it is a British

thing. Are you confident and nervous? Absolutely confident and

absolutely nervous at the same time! You will start it up in a

minute. Gary is a friend of yours who has been working on it as well.

Is he foolish? Absolutely, but we will still do it. Hundreds of hours

of work, but here it is now cost up a fantastic bike, it is capable of

the speed. You have to beat 222 miles an hour. What do you think

this can dip? 250. You are that confident? There is a reason you

think it can do that, aerodynamics. Let's talk to another member of

your team, with his helpers. You will show us what the bike will

look like because it will look different in the future. Yes, it

Because we are developing some top- notch engineering technology. So we

developpe couple of aerodynamic things which will help us do that.

It will be available soon. You are used to working on aircraft, are

you transferring your expertise on to this? We are using the latest

It has been a great journey with them, it is great stuff. Good luck.

We need to hear what this sounds like. If all goes well, they will

And that is the sound of the bike which, hopefully, in 2012 will be

going at least 223 miles an hour. Good luck. Back to use.

We can hear you, but I doubt you can hear us!

One of the biggest hoards of Roman coins ever to be found in this

country has been brought home to the new Museum of Somerset.

The world famous Frome Hoard was unearthed in a field in the county,

and there was a huge fundraising campaign to keep it in the area.

It is about to become one of the main attractions at the newly

refurbished museum in Taunton where Amanda Parr has had the first look

around today. 400 million years of Somerset

history. Three years this has been in the creation. �6.93 million has

been spent and now the Museum of Somerset is truly fit to serve the

And one of the prize exhibits to be, the Frome Hoard. Found in a

Somerset field by one Dave Crisp, who was out metal detecting. A

tantalising window on 3rd century Roman Britain. There are more than

52,000 coins in total. They managed to raise well over �400,000 to

clean them up and keep them. Plus �250 for the pot. And the story

only begins here. Hoards tend to attract popular interest but when

they are this big, the interest goes way beyond the local and the

story went absolutely worldwide, it was manic for seven weeks. It was

great. It is exciting, good to look at, but it contains a lot of

information about Somerset's past. The museum sets the best of the old

alongside the new, the borrowed, and the joyfully-released-from-

storage. So the famous Low Ham mosaic gets a clean up, and is

reset with the ghost of Dido watching over the tiny tiles that

tell the story of her and Aeneas. The Bloody Assizes get their own

special room. In fact, lots of new Taunton Castle rooms have been

opened up for the first time. hope it will become a place which

the people of Somerset visit and are very proud of, because it tells

their story. And I hope in addition it will be a museum that attracts

people from far and wide which contributes very significantly to

the Somerset economy in some very difficult times. 400 million years

of artefacts, written records, film archive and interviews. Somerset's

past laid before Somerset's people in new and thoughtful ways.

The Heritage Lottery Fund aid for about three-quarters of this, their

attention turned to a Olympic projects and with the current

financial situation, staff here feel very lucky about the timing of

all of this. Now, three weeks remain to finish off the

landscaping before these its shiny new doors open for the very first

time. It looks great, doesn't it? And the

Museum of Somerset is one of the locations for a BBC History

festival on Saturday, October 15th. The event will include re-enactment

displays and talks about local history.

And if the younger members of your family want to try making a model

Roman Villa or a mosaic why not check out the BBC's Hands on

Time to turn our attention to the weather. Ian has a phenomenon to

start as with? Indeed, one that is not often seen.

You tend to get better examples of this, but you get the gist. High

cloud with a hole punched in the middle of it, those streaks are ice

crystals which fall into the ground out of it. The reason you get this

is because at certain that was when the air is below zero, the cloud

droplets are not frozen but sometimes, including if you fly an

airliner to it, it disturbs it and it changes to ice crystals and you

get a perfect hole in the middle of it. Thank you to Margaret Webb for

that beautiful picture. More often seen is a lot of cloud,

which has been around of late. Courtesy of low-pressure which is

bringing a further swathe of rain across the Midlands and Wales tight,

some of that affecting some of our Northern Districts. Into tomorrow,

a broad flow of maritime air, effectively, which has sub-tropical

origins and is essentially quite warm and will bring with it a great

deal of cloud and some rain later in the afternoon. A fair amount of

rain still a bad at the moment, earlier showers more widely across

southern districts. We are focusing them into the Bristol Channel, this

has Gloucestershire in its sights and probably anywhere from Bristol

northwards. Below that, not so much through the course of the evening.

The Met Office prediction catches that quite nicely as it focuses on

the eastern areas as the night wears on. Southern districts are

largely more dry. Anything but further northwards and again a

fairly breezy night. Quite mild, though, temperatures about 13, 14

Celsius. Tomorrow morning we start with a good deal of cloud around,

particularly in the northern areas, where you will have a damp start in

the morning rush-hour. It might be brighter further south. A dry

interlude through the day and with this type of cloud cover, you might

even brighten things up a little bit and sunspots will be favoured

for that. In the afternoon, a warm front comes through with patchy

rain, the top of the Mendips will SOCA be to bat up, but it will be

patchy in nature elsewhere -- will soak a bit of that up. But it will

be inherently warm, temperatures nudging 19, 20, even with the cloud

cover, but break that up and you will get 21, maybe even 22. Yucel

Clinton Rogers' report with the seabed and the RSPCA are having

their summer fare at West Hatch on Saturday from 11am, so to go along

to support them, because they do some fantastic work, not just for

seabirds but all animals. It is an unsettled flavour as we ran through

that part of the weekend. You can just see coming here what is left

of a hurricane, which will bring a windy day for us all on Monday.

And somebody that you are still in regular contact with, and for the

weather fans among do, Richard Anglin will be talking to Trevor

Fry on the radio tonight about life after the show, as if there is such