:00:12. > :00:16.Hello. Welcome to the programme. In the Points West headlines tonight.
:00:16. > :00:20.Fpt the thief jailed for stealing an elderly couple's life savings.
:00:20. > :00:26.The man told the bank he was their grandson and stripped their account
:00:26. > :00:32.of nearly �50,000. Also tonight, the buildings in Bath
:00:32. > :00:37.where squatters have set up their own shops.
:00:37. > :00:40.The Apprentices are told they're hired as the council takes on new
:00:40. > :00:49.young workers. And the multimillion scanner
:00:49. > :00:54.unlocking the seek receipts of our brains while we sleep -- secrets.
:00:55. > :01:00.A man's been jailed today for stealing an elderly couple's life
:01:00. > :01:05.savings. 29-year-old Martin Thompson of Longwell Green in South
:01:05. > :01:10.Gloucestershire duped two separate banks and the Post Office telling
:01:10. > :01:15.them he was the grandson of Bertie and Marion Haskins. In truth, he
:01:15. > :01:22.was a fraudster who made off with nearly �50,000 of their money
:01:22. > :01:27.spending Sol on expensive holidays. Martin Thompson's behind bars
:01:27. > :01:34.tonight from a fraud which spanned five years. Bertie and Marion
:01:34. > :01:41.Haskins lived in this cows in cat bri Heath -- house in Cadbury Heath
:01:41. > :01:46.for nearly 50 years. They 100% put their trust in him.
:01:46. > :01:51.They looked upon him, I suppose, like a grandson. If I told you he
:01:51. > :01:57.made off with � 48,000 from the couple upstairs what would your
:01:57. > :02:03.reaction be? I would be gobsmacked. Totally gobsmacked at that. I did
:02:03. > :02:08.hear of a figure, but it was half of that. I'm really quite shocked
:02:08. > :02:13.and sad. Having befriended the has kins Thompson tricked them into
:02:13. > :02:18.allowing him to sign their cheques it. Meant he could help himself to
:02:18. > :02:23.their savings at two banks. It paid for lavish holidays until the
:02:23. > :02:26.couple's rent and bills went into arrears: A neighbour also
:02:26. > :02:31.challenged Thompson and alerted the police who began an investigation.
:02:31. > :02:34.We spoke to the family of Mr & Mrs Haskins today. They remain
:02:34. > :02:39.convinced that the stress of finding out that their friend had
:02:39. > :02:44.robbed them of their life safings caused the couple a great deal of
:02:44. > :02:48.ill health. In fact, Mrs Haskins passed away in hospital in May this
:02:48. > :02:53.year. And the family say there wasn't even enough money left to
:02:53. > :02:58.provide her with a proper burial service with flowers. The family
:02:58. > :03:02.hope to recover some of the cash to pay for Mr Haskins healthcare.
:03:02. > :03:09.After pleading guilty today at Bristol Crown Court, Thompson was
:03:09. > :03:15.jailed for three-and-a-half years. Squatters have moved into one of
:03:15. > :03:20.the west's most well known shopping streets. Over the past few weeks
:03:20. > :03:27.Bath has experienced illegal traders moving into prime empty
:03:27. > :03:30.retail units. As our Bath reporter has been finding out solving the
:03:30. > :03:36.problem's not as straightforward as you might think.
:03:36. > :03:40.Like many towns and cities across the west there are many empty
:03:40. > :03:44.shopping. These shops can be vulnerable to squatters. The owners
:03:44. > :03:49.of this building in central Bath say it has happened here. A women's
:03:49. > :03:53.clothes chain went into administration in June and without
:03:53. > :03:59.permission, the traders moved in using a name not registered with
:03:59. > :04:03.Companies House. The traders do not want us film ing in there. They've
:04:03. > :04:06.handed over what they call a life changing sum of money to a man
:04:06. > :04:11.called Tom who they think works for the landlord and that will cover
:04:11. > :04:15.the rent until September. On further questioning, they say maybe
:04:15. > :04:20.they might be in the wrong shop unit. Whatever, they are certain
:04:20. > :04:24.they are not squatters. We don't know who they are. The inquiry
:04:24. > :04:30.people for the rates have been in but they won't give any names.
:04:30. > :04:37.While in there, they are paying no rent, rates, electricity bills or
:04:37. > :04:43.VAT. A shop in this location costs around �5,000 a week in rent rates
:04:43. > :04:48.and utilities. I have two shops. The cost of running shows shops is
:04:48. > :04:54.more than �100,000 per year. You feel the pinch when someone's down
:04:54. > :04:59.the road selling cheaper stuff than you and she have no out goings. It
:04:59. > :05:05.is ridiculous. Shop owners are so worried extra security's being put
:05:05. > :05:08.on to protect any empty units. The police say it is a matter for the
:05:08. > :05:12.civil courts unless there's evidence of a break-in.
:05:12. > :05:17.We have pow tors enforce rules around not selling count E-fit
:05:17. > :05:21.goods, goods being properly priced and described but not pow tors shut
:05:22. > :05:25.down the shops. Until a few days ago, this shop was occupied by
:05:25. > :05:31.illegal traders. Only the threat of civil action which took weeks to
:05:31. > :05:35.get through the courts seemed to move them on. Until the matter's
:05:35. > :05:40.addressed at Government level, it seems the squat shops remain in a
:05:40. > :05:44.loophole that no-one has the power to close.
:05:44. > :05:49.Liberal Democrats in the West have been praised for bucking the
:05:49. > :05:53.national trend at the party's annual conference. They are meeting
:05:53. > :05:57.in Birmingham after recent disappointments in the recent local
:05:57. > :06:01.elections. But the party's keen to highlight parts of the West which
:06:01. > :06:06.have done well. Earlier, I asked our Political Editor what the he
:06:06. > :06:10.mood's been like today. I'd have to say, Chris, it is better than a lot
:06:10. > :06:14.of us had expected given the difficult year the Liberal
:06:15. > :06:19.Democrats have had. Having said that, numbers are down. 1,000
:06:19. > :06:27.fewers people attending this year in spite of a record number of
:06:27. > :06:31.journalists coming on in. Don foster took to the stage at the
:06:31. > :06:35.conference rally, told a few jokes. Went down fairly well. At a drinks
:06:35. > :06:40.event I caught up with some of the West Country Liberal Democrats.
:06:40. > :06:45.Pretty good mood all round. I talked to the Cheltenham np Martin
:06:45. > :06:50.Hoard. He said a lot of members are putting their weight and sport
:06:50. > :06:53.support behind their leader. We are a party that's used to pulling
:06:53. > :06:57.together in hard times snoofplt these have been tricky times
:06:57. > :07:01.politically. It is a family. have pulled together. We've rallied
:07:01. > :07:06.behind Nick who's taken a huge amount of personal abuse. I think
:07:06. > :07:10.it has increased the loyalty to him. What about those dreadful local
:07:10. > :07:15.election results, Paul? No getting away from them, really. There's
:07:15. > :07:21.been no hiding from the fact it was awful. They lost control of Bristol
:07:21. > :07:25.where they had a majority. But the West Country's been talked about as
:07:25. > :07:30.the place where they did better than anywhere else. In the
:07:30. > :07:36.Cotswolds they doubled their numbers. In Barton they took seats
:07:36. > :07:40.off the Conservatives. I've talked to the Deputy Leader of Banes
:07:40. > :07:45.council Nathan Hartley. With newspapers, we've quite a right-
:07:45. > :07:51.wing press in this country which isn't particularly helpful. We, the
:07:51. > :07:55.grass roots, the members through leaflets, press releases, door
:07:55. > :08:00.knocking tell people about the things we are doing in Government.
:08:00. > :08:05.Be more confident in telling people what we are doing.
:08:05. > :08:09.They've a lot of work to do. they are to make up that ground and
:08:09. > :08:14.bounce back at the next general election. It is Chris and Alex with
:08:14. > :08:19.you this evening. Thank you for starting your week with us. Coming
:08:19. > :08:23.up tonight: Horrible history. On the anniversary of his death, local
:08:23. > :08:29.film makers aim to prove whether or not King Edward II really did meet
:08:29. > :08:33.a gruesome end in Derekly Casling. -- Berkeley Castle.
:08:33. > :08:40.With the most recent unemployment figures showing a huge rise in the
:08:40. > :08:45.number of young people looking for work, apprenticeships are becoming
:08:45. > :08:50.increasingly popular. Bristol City Council welcomed its 22 new faces
:08:50. > :09:00.today chosen from over00 applicants. More and more businesses are being
:09:00. > :09:04.encouraged to do the same. They are apprentices in the more
:09:04. > :09:09.traditional meaning of the word, until that is, you ask them what
:09:09. > :09:13.jobs at Bristol City council they are training for? I'll work as an
:09:13. > :09:17.apprentice in the press and media department. Business and admin
:09:17. > :09:22.department. Business and administration young people and
:09:22. > :09:26.children skills. Not Lord sugar but the Lord Mayor of Bristol welcomed
:09:26. > :09:31.this latest intake. They've come a long way having been chosen from
:09:31. > :09:35.hundreds of young people. They also met some predecessors who shared
:09:35. > :09:38.their experience of the scheme. lot of my mates have their
:09:38. > :09:42.quailifications from uni and college and find it hard to get
:09:42. > :09:46.work. They haven't experience of working life. I thought it would be
:09:46. > :09:53.easier to get that experience and get the qualifications while hymn'
:09:53. > :09:57.learning. It is really beneficial to be be able to say I do this on a
:09:57. > :10:04.daily basis. Experience is always beneficial. The best way to learn
:10:04. > :10:09.how to strip down and rebuild and engine is to do it. Phil Thomas is
:10:09. > :10:14.an apprentice engineer with a bright future. I have a small
:10:14. > :10:18.income. Hopefully, in the following years, they could pay for me to go
:10:18. > :10:22.on to university or further education. Politicians from all
:10:22. > :10:26.sides are trying to figure out the best way to get young people into
:10:26. > :10:31.training, work or education. Today, the Shadow Business Secretary said
:10:31. > :10:35.there's still much more to be achieved. We need more apprentices.
:10:35. > :10:38.We should say if you're going to get a contract with the Government
:10:38. > :10:41.or local government, you should be required to create an
:10:41. > :10:46.apprenticeship for young people. Secondly, we should put back into
:10:46. > :10:52.the law the guarantee that Labour had which was a young person with
:10:52. > :10:58.the right quailifications is gaurpb teed an aBritainitiesship.
:10:58. > :11:03.Guarantees may prove hard to come by in the kour rent climate. As for
:11:03. > :11:07.the future, it's in their hands. One of our MPs is very passion
:11:07. > :11:13.eight about this. Richard Graham is the Conservative MP for Gloucester.
:11:13. > :11:18.He's been actively campaign in Parliament for more apprentices and
:11:18. > :11:22.has taken one of his own on. Apprenticeships are great news.
:11:22. > :11:28.They are good for businesses. Help businesss to grow. Good for getting
:11:28. > :11:33.young people into jobs. They help improve our skill rates. Good news
:11:33. > :11:37.for the young people taken on. But an added expense, an added burden
:11:37. > :11:41.for businesses when times are tough? You could look at it like
:11:41. > :11:45.that or as a great opportunity. For relatively small amounts of money,
:11:45. > :11:51.it is up to the business how many hours a week The Apprentice works,
:11:51. > :11:58.you have the opportunity to have a bright young person working in your
:11:58. > :12:06.office. If you work work into it you'll get a lot the prod
:12:06. > :12:09.productivity out of your apprentice. The The Apprentice startups are
:12:09. > :12:16.double what they were last year. We've another 4,000 people waiting
:12:16. > :12:20.for a an apprenticeships. It goes back to what used to work. People
:12:20. > :12:26.already know the brand of an apprentice. What some people will
:12:27. > :12:31.be nervous about is if it doesn't work. 6' personal experience of
:12:31. > :12:36.this? The first apprentice I took didn't quite work out. When I came
:12:36. > :12:39.to recruit another one, I did more research, spent more time with her
:12:39. > :12:44.family and was more convinced she was the right person for that job
:12:44. > :12:50.at that time. Laura has been a fantastic success. She's helped
:12:50. > :12:57.people get reconnected to their BT lines last month. Doing amazing
:12:57. > :13:03.things for someone who's 17. What about other MPs? I'm halfway
:13:03. > :13:10.through a survey of all MPs about who's using an apprentice. Who's
:13:10. > :13:13.interested. The idea is to get 1 Lunn of us to take on apprentices.
:13:13. > :13:18.With support from the Government? YeahBut the object is to show the
:13:18. > :13:24.country you can have an apprentice in any line of business. My
:13:24. > :13:28.apprentice does business admin. She could be doing marketing. Like in
:13:28. > :13:33.the Bristol council we saw there. Thank you.
:13:33. > :13:36.A young woman from Bristol who set fire to her boyfriend's home
:13:36. > :13:41.destroying his family's entire belongings has been jailed for
:13:41. > :13:49.three years. As she was arrested at the scene 20-year-old Sophie Harris
:13:49. > :13:56.attacked one police officer and racially abuse add second. --
:13:56. > :14:00.abused a. Having started the fire Sophie Harris then returned to the
:14:00. > :14:04.scene of her crime an hour later. It was the day of the Royal Wedding
:14:04. > :14:09.when most people in Long Ashton village were enjoying a relaxing
:14:09. > :14:19.day off. When livers attempted to arrest her she resisted. Why me? I
:14:19. > :14:21.
:14:21. > :14:26.haven't done... She set fire to the home of Bernard and Bridget Speed.
:14:26. > :14:31.Despite the 6orts of firefighters all the family's possessions and
:14:31. > :14:41.furniture were destroyed, including irreplaceable photographs. She
:14:41. > :14:42.
:14:42. > :14:45.couldn't accept the break up between Mr & Mrs Speed's son. Mr &
:14:45. > :14:53.Mrs speed looked upon the suspect as a daughter and family figure
:14:53. > :15:00.within their own family. So, they are hoping that the time in custody
:15:00. > :15:04.will assist Sophie and help her deal with issues she faces. Jailing
:15:04. > :15:08.Harris for three years the judge said setting fire to the house was
:15:08. > :15:12.an extreme act. The consequences to the Speed family have been severe.
:15:12. > :15:17.I take into account your mental illness and your criminal
:15:18. > :15:26.background. As she was sent down, a sobbing Sophie Harris cried out "I
:15:26. > :15:31.don't deserve it" Harris pleaded guilty to charges of arson and
:15:31. > :15:36.assaulting a police officer. A former scout leader from Burnham-
:15:36. > :15:40.On-Sea pleaded not guilty to a series of sex offences against
:15:40. > :15:46.children. David ber land who's 53 appeared at Taunton Crown Court
:15:46. > :15:51.this morning. He denied all 33 charges against him which included
:15:51. > :15:57.indecent assault, sexual activity with a child, indecency and
:15:57. > :16:02.exposure. The former I'm a celebrity contestant appeared
:16:02. > :16:11.before magistrates accused of raping a woman in Yeovil last year.
:16:11. > :16:16.Rapper,ing a row San tons to, who's -- Aggro Santos who's 22 entered no
:16:16. > :16:18.pleas during the five-minute hearing. He will appear in
:16:18. > :16:25.Chichester Crown Court in January next year.
:16:25. > :16:31.A new sleep laboratory was opened in Bristol today where scientists
:16:31. > :16:36.hope to unlock secrets of the brain. It costs over �.5 million.
:16:36. > :16:45.Researchers can look deep into the brain to study how it spopdz during
:16:45. > :16:49.the night as well as during the day. This MRI scanner is like gold dust
:16:49. > :16:56.to scanners who who in the past had to beg, steal or borrow scanners
:16:56. > :17:01.from the NHS to are carry out their work. Now they can look deep inside
:17:01. > :17:07.the brain to find out more about how we tick. Our quality of sleep
:17:07. > :17:13.can affect our health profoundly. That's why scientists at this new
:17:13. > :17:17.shreeb laboratory are keen to monitor brain active I of healthy
:17:17. > :17:22.volunteers as well as the less healthy. They'll look at links
:17:22. > :17:30.between sleep disorder and obesity and psychiatric medication on sleep
:17:30. > :17:35.patterns. We want to look at the link between what happens during
:17:35. > :17:40.sleep and bring function during the day. There are sleep spindles which
:17:40. > :17:43.we have known about for many years but they are something to do with
:17:43. > :17:48.learning. They change if you learn something the night before. They
:17:48. > :17:52.change according to how easily you really it the next day. Some
:17:52. > :17:56.patients will even sleep in this scanner so their brains can be
:17:56. > :18:02.studied in closer detail. There are even plans for youngsters to go in
:18:02. > :18:07.the scanner while they are playing on computer games. We've known for
:18:07. > :18:11.some time kids find computer games absorbing. At the same time they
:18:11. > :18:14.are not so interested in their lessons. We want to look inside the
:18:15. > :18:19.brain using this machine, find out what happens when people are
:18:19. > :18:24.playing games and use that to make new approaches to education which
:18:24. > :18:29.can be used in the classroom. Robert Winston has come here today
:18:29. > :18:36.to the official opening of the centre. What are your thoughts so
:18:36. > :18:39.far? It is nicely integrated centre with a very powerful MRI machine.
:18:39. > :18:43.It is state-of-the-art which gives lovely high resolution pictures you
:18:43. > :18:49.can see on the scanner here. If you look here this is the thinking part
:18:49. > :18:58.of the brain. Very nicely displayed. Here at the back is a beautiful
:18:58. > :19:03.picture of the mid-brain. That is the eye. Basically, using this
:19:03. > :19:06.machine, it will be able to answer questions, how we think in
:19:06. > :19:10.different diseased states, after stroke, as a small baby and
:19:11. > :19:15.certainly as we develop. This centre will be running all sorts of
:19:15. > :19:19.trials on this basis. It is a wonderful message for Bristol. It
:19:19. > :19:25.means this is really state-of-the- art. Bristol is a fantastic medical
:19:25. > :19:31.school, it is a good combination of the clinical and research skills.
:19:31. > :19:39.Always hard to get your hands on an MRI scan for this kind of work.
:19:39. > :19:43.is very expensive and researchers need access to MRI. The idea of
:19:43. > :19:49.putting people into a machine like this will open up all sorts of
:19:49. > :19:53.exciting areas of research. Matthew Hill s report there. Snl
:19:54. > :19:57.Sport and Somerset's cricketer arrived in India to play in the
:19:57. > :20:02.Champions League trophy. It will be an early chance to bounce back from
:20:02. > :20:09.the disappointment of another defeat in a domestic defeat at the
:20:09. > :20:13.weekend. Four successive finals, four
:20:13. > :20:18.successive defeats. But the Champions League trophy in India
:20:18. > :20:24.represents an early chance for Somerset to show how good a team
:20:24. > :20:29.they can be. Tomorrow they take on the Auckland Aces and on Wednesday
:20:29. > :20:36.the Kal cot a Knight Riders with a place in the competition proper at
:20:36. > :20:42.stake. On Saturday they lost to Surrey in the final of the CB40.
:20:42. > :20:46.The early loss of wickets, missed opportunities and the rain left the
:20:46. > :20:50.captain struggling for positives as the players set off for their next
:20:50. > :20:55.challenge. We've bounced back enough times in the past couple of
:20:55. > :21:03.years to know how to bounce back. They've gone away with a slightly
:21:03. > :21:07.weakened team. It is a pretty intense straight back into two
:21:07. > :21:11.quick games back to bake. Somerset's defeat was part of a
:21:12. > :21:16.near perfect storm of West Country sporting woe as all our footballing
:21:16. > :21:22.league sides lost. Bath were the only team to buck the trend with a
:21:22. > :21:28.second win from three in the Premiership. They ended the Exeter
:21:28. > :21:34.Chiefs unbeaten start to the season with a 27-19 victory. Can Hipkiss
:21:34. > :21:41.the scorer here. The arguments over the a new stadium for Bristol City
:21:41. > :21:46.football club continue apace. Dawn Primarolo criticised the amount of
:21:46. > :21:52.taxpayers money being spent on a legal battle. The fight is over a
:21:52. > :21:58.30,000 -seater stadium. Long Ashton Parish Council has pledged �30,000
:21:58. > :22:05.to a group which wants to take the matter to judicial review. This
:22:05. > :22:12.would cause more expense for Bristol City Council as they defend
:22:12. > :22:17.their record. The money used to defend itself in a Jude urbl review
:22:17. > :22:22.and to prevent millions of pounds worth of private investment
:22:22. > :22:26.creating jobs, let alone a great stadium here in Bristol, I just, it
:22:26. > :22:31.is not a question of whether I agree with it or not, it is a
:22:31. > :22:35.question of whether it is appropriate. Long Ashton parish
:22:35. > :22:45.council denied it was inappropriate. They say they've been building up a
:22:45. > :22:50.fighting fund for years to oppose any building on groan belt land.
:22:50. > :22:54.We want you to nominate anyone you feel has given up their free time
:22:54. > :23:04.to help others take part as an unsung here ofplt whatever the
:23:04. > :23:09.
:23:09. > :23:13.sport, whatever your role. -- unsung hero. All the
:23:13. > :23:17.instructions you need are there. Terms and conditions. Make sure if
:23:17. > :23:23.there's anyone you think deserves recognition, make sure we know
:23:23. > :23:28.about them. We look forward to that hearing who
:23:28. > :23:31.everybody's unsung hero it is. You hear about such inspiring people.
:23:31. > :23:37.We look forward to hearing the nominations.
:23:37. > :23:43.It was a murder that shocked the medieval world. A King deposed and
:23:43. > :23:47.then killed in a most terrible way. This we can sees the premier of a
:23:47. > :23:51.locally produced feature film based around the death of Edward second
:23:51. > :23:57.around Berkeley Castle. It poses the question, did he really die
:23:57. > :24:03.there? Simon Lewis went to find out. It is the night of 21st September
:24:03. > :24:09.13 27, a man's terrible screams reverberate round the dark walls of
:24:09. > :24:16.berbgy castle, thus history rrls the brutal death of Edward second,
:24:16. > :24:22.King of England. There is evidence to suggest that Edward didn't die
:24:22. > :24:27.here at Berkeley Castle. In 1878 a letter was found written by a
:24:27. > :24:31.medieval priest suggested Edward escaped to Italy and had become a
:24:31. > :24:38.hermit. Now, that story's become the basis for a new film produced
:24:38. > :24:43.by a group of Bristol amateur actors and film makers called An
:24:43. > :24:49.scan uncertain Proof. It is effectively a search for the truth.
:24:49. > :24:52.It is a journey by a man who feels the king had escaped from Berkeley
:24:53. > :24:58.Castle that evening and he's desperate to find out that he is
:24:58. > :25:03.still alive. Ultimately gets to confront who he thinks should be or
:25:03. > :25:08.could be Edward the second. We felt we had a really good basis for a
:25:08. > :25:14.film. There were very strong characters in it with a strong
:25:14. > :25:21.storyline. We've a good balance of amateur actors, quality technicians
:25:21. > :25:27.behind the scenes. Using imagination and inagain Utey on a
:25:28. > :25:32.minuscule budget, almost 100 people worked for free to recreate this
:25:32. > :25:35.untold story from long ago. untold story from long ago.
:25:35. > :25:41.Now to the weather. Here's Iain. Some lively weather over the
:25:41. > :25:51.weekend. Many places not escaping the showers. But some did. Kemble
:25:51. > :26:03.
:26:03. > :26:08.Not dissim scenes for many tomorrow. The cloud cover more extensive.
:26:08. > :26:12.We've had a warm fronted bringing patchy outbreaks of rain and
:26:12. > :26:18.drizzle. Tomorrow, it is a cold frent which will dictate. It will
:26:18. > :26:25.bring a fair swathe of rain. Becoming heavier at times. This
:26:25. > :26:30.evening, eventually things will dry out. There's inter mittent patchy
:26:30. > :26:37.rain and drizzle. Some dry weather if rather cloudy at times. Rather
:26:37. > :26:43.breezy. By the end of the night the cold front arrives. Temperatures
:26:43. > :26:50.about 12 or 13 Celsius. Tomorrow, that front already up through the
:26:50. > :26:58.mouth of the Severn. It will reach eastwards wards. How far eastwards
:26:58. > :27:04.it goes it under debate. We get waves with heavier pulses into the
:27:04. > :27:14.afternoon, Bristol, Bath and Somerset too. By the end of the day,
:27:14. > :27:22.
:27:22. > :27:29.temperatures about 16 or 17 Celsius. We're into a spell through