18/10/2011 BBC Points West

Good evening and welcome to Points West.

All headlines tonight... An alleged confession to a prison

chaplain. This Salvation Army officer claims Vincent Tabak

confided in him while on suicide watch in jail.

Their successful operation to cut prostitution in Swindon - and why

it is being scrapped. Liam Fox admits he broke the

minsterial code. Does he now face a possible rebellion from his own

constituency. All enjoying life and music - the

boy who has got his hearing back, First, the jury in the Jo Yeates

murder trial has heard how Vincent Tabak confessed to a prison

chaplain that he had killed the 25- year-old. They were all to told how

he was arrested in an early morning police raid nearly four weeks after

her body was found dumped in Long Ashton.

Vincent Tabak has pleaded not guilty to her murder, bit has

admitted manslaughter. Another packed court heard how the

police caught up with Vincent Tabak on January 20th this year, when he

and his girlfriend were staying at a flat in Aberdeen Road in Cotham.

They oh decided to move there after the body of their neighbour Jo

Yeates had been discovered. The jury were told by DC Geoffrey

Colvin how he knocked on the door of number 37 at 5.55am in the

morning and that Vincent Tabak had answered it.

The detective went on to describe how he yold him that he was

arresting him for the murder of Joanna Yeates.

Tabak looked shaken and a little bit shocked. He made no comment and

was allowed to get fully dressed before he was taken by car to

Trinity Road police station. Peter Brotherton, a volunteer

chaplin at the high security jail where Vincent Tabak was held,

explained how Tabak told him he wanted to plead guilty.

The chaplin asked what for all Tabak replied that it was to do

with a crime he had committed. Mr Brotherton told the court he had

consulted with his superior before telling the prison authorities, but

he had not kept the conversation private because he thought Vincent

Tabak was not religious. Under cross examination, the

chaplain admitted he was supposed to keep so discussions confidential.

Earlier, Jo Yeates's parents were sitting in the front row of the

public gallery when the jury were shown photographs of their

daughter's body, covered in snow. When Jo's body was shown lying in

the mortuary, they looked at the floor. David Yeates took his wife's

hand as she cried. Behind them, Jo's boyfriend Greg Reardon looked

straight ahead. A only feet away, Vincent Tabak sat

in the dock with his head in his Wiltshire Police have been given

more time to question four people on suspicion of murder after a

man's body was found at the weekend. The man, who'll as believed to be

43, was found at Semley near Warminster on Saturday. Three men

in their 40s and a 25-year-old woman were arrested on Sunday night.

There are concerns about a rise in the number of prostitutes working

in Swindon's notorious Manchester Road area. Shopkeepers have told us

it is disrupting their business as and they are worried the problem

could worsen, because a police operation targeting sex workers has

been scrapped. Manchester Road in Swindon, where

last night several prostitutes were working.

They were was a shocking testimony from these two women, who told us

they have been prostitutes here for decades. Come here at the weekend,

there will be 13-year-old girls out here. It is disgusting. They just

think it is easy money. Teenagers working the streets is a

worrying revelation. And it underlines concerns here that the

number of sex workers is rising. Shopkeepers told us the women are

often drunk. They are sometimes fighting with each other as well.

They are shouting at each other and speaking very loud. Some people are

afraid to come into the shop. Wiltshire Police says that over

three years, up it has cut the number of sex workers from 42 to

fewer than tin -- than 10. $NEWLINE But that operation, which included

Has now ended. Officers want to reassure the

public that cutbacks will not stop the clampdown on Swindon's sex

trade. Where reinforcement is necessary, we will do that. Offaly,

we can stop more girls from working and help the businesses and the

area. The police are saying they're going to continue taking a hard

line and there are also looking for a clampdown against main looking

for sex. We to do well we can to make sure we embarrass them and

tackle them. It is thought that letters, and arrests, will help

detail or the care but crawlers. have plenty to come before 7

o'clock. They will see how these bats in the Belfry are getting on.

There is uncertainty surrounding Liam Fox his future as an MP. The

report said he had broken the ministerial conduct in his dealings.

He is thought to have returned to Parliament, where the report will

be debated tomorrow. What developments do we have? And I can

tell you that the Conservative club is open, but they are not exactly

welcoming visits from the media. They, like everyone, are digesting

the lines from this report. It has been described as the failure of

judgment. Perhaps most damning of all, that he had ignored repeated

warnings from civil servants. That led Liam vex - - Liam Fox to resign.

People here think it was the right thing eight to have done. Yes, it

was very silly. He should have resigned. All in all, he has done

the right thing. I think it was a bit foolish. Everyone gets caught

in the end. I thing key was the very good Minister and probably

inadvertently broke the rules. he has to answer for what he has

done. Of officially, they are backing come, but talking to some

discussions as to whether he should stand again and whether they may

even take some steps to deselect him. But I told to want a local

councillor today and he has firmly behind his local MP. I think he has

been very unfortunate. He has made a mistake, but he is a friend and

we will do what we can to help a friend. Apart from this, he has

been a fantastic MP. A of course, this all provides ammunition for

Liam Fox. One man who stood against him twice is the local Labour

candidate. What do you think about this? He represents everything I E

reject, but in this instance, I cannot help but feeling sorry for

him. He has thrown away any chance of being the leader of his party on

the leader of the country and I think it is amazing that he made

such silly decisions. The question I would ask is why did he have to

do it? In essence, I think it is probably because he did not have

enough support from his own leadership, which is why he has

decided to take this opportunity to further himself. The will hear more

about this tomorrow in Parliament. As is the case with many

institutions, the NHS is being asked to make huge savings over the

next few years. This week, our Health Correspondent is looking

into how these savings might be made. One idea which is proving

successful is furthering the NHS's use of technology. In Bristol,

there is a scheme under way which is already saving tens of thousands

of pounds. How will you? These days, Richard Matthews visits

his health centre in Knowle far less often than he used to.

Fall 15 years he suffered from a severe skin complaint, but thanks

to new technology he has recently been able to sort it out within 48

hours. It happened so quick, but under the old system I would have

been sitting at home waiting for a letter to come and worrying about

it. You worry about cancer and all these things. This has saved me a

hell of a lot of worrying. The answer to his problems lies in

a pilot project that allows GPs to electronically review skin

complaints. Known as teledermatology, the system has

given 18 health centres in Bristol the ability to photograph skin and

send the images, via a secure electronic system, to a specialist,

who can then advise on the best course of treatment. It gives us

the very good working diagnosis. We can then get the replies back in 24

are worse. Previously, it could have taken two or three months.

cost �45 each time this is then to a hospital consultant to analysis.

But when you compare that to the cost for a patients which would

have been �125, three times more expensive. They think they can save

�60,000 in the Bristol area alone. The system is only used for rashes,

not for suspected cancer, but is there a danger that it is not as

safe as a face to face consultation? For many patients

that is as good as. But if there is anything that is difficult to

interpret or unusual, it is not going to be so easy to identify

using this system. The NHS has worked out that the

system could make major savings on hospital appointments alone across

the UK. Richard Matthew, for one, believes many more patients could

A meeting will be held tomorrow to determine what to do with a

derelict hotel attacked by took arsonists. The former Highbridge

Hotel is now described as a scar on the landscape. But, while some

locals are calling for the rowing to be demolished, others say it is

an important building that should be kept. -- the ruin.

It is pretty much the first thing you see when you drive into town.

The Highbridge Hotel, or what is left of it. These pictures were

taken yesterday evening as another fire tore through the ruined, which

some locals say should have been demolished a long time ago. To 19-

year-old men have been arrested on suspicion of arson. Today, the

former coaching inn, for years a landmark of the town, looks a sorry

sight. Small wonder, is the second big fire here in three years. The

original fire back in 2008 caused most of the damage to this former

hotel. Last night's blaze in that section over their pretty much

finished it off. And yet there is a desire among conservationists to

hang on to what is left because it is still a listed building.

Sedgemoor Council for One is keen to see the original facade kept,

whatever happens on this site, and that is one of the topics likely to

be discussed at a public meeting which, by coincidence, is being

held in Highbridge tomorrow night. The community is proud of its

history. They will look to retain that in going forward. The question

is, how do the best do that? Some may well say, let's start again.

That is the sort of debate we will have tomorrow. Certainly, the

landowner wants to move forward. He has seen previous schemes for

commercial development of the land knocked back by the recession.

There will be people looking at you and saying it has been an eyesore

for a long time, do something. comment. But, you know, I did not

create the recession. The recession has caused the problem, and that is

why it came to a halt. So, everyone will be hoping tomorrow's meeting

comes up with a way forward. Plans to spend millions of pounds

regenerating a part of the Forest of Dean are being held up because

of the development which could the Sir Dave economy of that.

Discussions are being held to work out where to site businesses,

houses and a new college after the council was warned the bats could

be driven from their home by the extra traffic.

To dangers now for humans, but these buildings provide the perfect

hang out for a smaller kind of mammal. Cinderford's old Northern

United Colliery -- Northern United Colliery is now home to some of

Europe's rarest bats. So they are squatters, but this is perfect for

them. Now, this haven could be threatened by a new development. It

could spell bad news for the horseshoe. The Forest of Dean

airier and lower Wye Valley is one of the greatest stronghold for them

in the whole of Europe. They get their name from their unusual nose,

which acts as a megaphone, sending out a concentrated beam of sound.

And that is being picked up here, monitoring the bats movements to

help the new development avoid their habitat. We are using small

radio transmitters. I have got one left over here. We know exactly

which bad we are following. original plan was to put in your

road here, but that has changed. They say they will now build up

from that junction up there to the right of these buildings. The

problem with that is that lesser horseshoe bats hate almost nothing

more than traffic. More specifically, they hate light, and

at night, cars cannot drive without it. The council says it will do

everything it can do leave the lesser horseshoes in peace. Lesser

horseshoes are important to the district, so we are making every

Briton -- every provision to make sure we have got that in the plan

going forward. The new road will unlock 26 had tears, meaning much

needed growth for Cinderford -- hectors. But experts are desperate

that this rare colony does not get eclipsed in the race for progress.

Now, for a remarkable tale about this little boy. Eight-year-old

Troy Probert has survived five cases of meningitis and lost his

hearing when he was a toddler. But, he recently regained the power of

hearing, thanks to doctors at Bristol Jordan's hospital. He is a

troy's story. Take that. Try's favourite band.

And what makes this so remarkable is that this eight-year-old has

suffered severe hearing loss since he was too. Six years ago, Troy

fell from his bunk bed and fractured his skull. Because of the

Fracture he was susceptible to meningitis, and unfortunately he

has suffered bacterial meningitis five times, which led to his

becoming profoundly deaf. This year, the Children's Hospital in Bristol

has fitted Troy with cochlea implants. It has changed his

quality of life. He can access things at school easier, and pick

up on family conversations where we were having to repeat ourselves

before. Now he is joining in straightaway. It is much better for

him. Now, thanks to the success of this bionic ear, he can hear every

sound. What noise does she make them?

Well, Philip Robinson was a try's surgeon and he joins us now. Tell

us how you make this happen for Troy. Troy unfortunately fractured

his skull when he fell off his bunk bed. This is a model showing the

ear with the ear canal and eardrum, and the image it is deep inside the

skull. His fracture line and she ran straight through the cochlea,

deafening that Ayer, and providing a route for Bach's to go through

his ear into his brain, causing meningitis. He had five attacks,

which made him lose the rest of his hearing. So you can use this

technology to bring his hearing back to him? This implant takes

sound and turns it into electrical signals. What we do is inserted

under the skin and there we have to drill all the way down through the

bone, down to the inner ear where we take -- make a tiny hole into

the cochlea. The end of this is about 0.8 mm in diameter. It has 20

channels that deliver the electricity right into the inner

ear, close to the nerve ending. What is that moment like, when you

flick the switch, if you like. varies. Some people hate it because

it is an electronic sound. For some people who have not heard for years,

it is magical. And for Troy, it is a good time to bring hearing back

to him. Yes, he had hearing until he was 2.5. He was normal and

developing speech, but then everything stopped and was frozen

in time. Now that he is hearing and speaking again, he has got the

hearing and speech of a 3-year-old. So that is something for him and

his family to work on. What is it like for you and your team to be

able to change lives like this? is fantastic. I lead a team of

about 20 people, and it is very exciting. We are lucky to be

involved in this. It is wonderful, thank you for coming in and telling

us all about it. Thank you very much.

Now, the University of the West of England is tonight celebrating the

launch of a record-breaking animation which used a whole beach

to create something magical. In the world of stop frame

animation, teddy bears are really do have picnics. City centres are

really do just build themselves. And even a Points West studio

rehearsal really does run just like clockwork. But stop frame isn't

normally done on a scale as big as this. Aardman, who else, asked

volunteers from the University of the West of England took help them

create an epic animation, filmed on a beach from a crane with a mobile

phone. When you think stop-motion, you think of a dark, gloomy room,

whereas in fact we were in Wales, camping, working on the sand with

these Jain almost props. I can't even describe how much fun it was.

It was exhausting and tiring, but everyone was so committed, we

didn't even think about that. project was a phenomenally

different in terms of scale, and that scale in terms of the size of

the actual set. It was the largest stop-motion said, as far as we know,

ever made. And in terms of the number of people involved.

Animation is a process of moving something, taking a shot, moving

something, taking a shot. In this context, we were moving a boat, and

huge props, and we were drawing enormous images on the sand. And we

were fighting the sea all the time. The film has had more than one

million views on line and was used as a TV advert. Another university

is celebrating its success with a week-long behind the scenes

exhibition. Clever stuff! Now, one of Bristol's

most famous landmarks welcomed a royal visitor today. The Duke of

York came to visit the SS Great Britain for the first time in more

than five years. This is a ship that is no stranger

to royalty. The Duke of Edinburgh became its first patron back in

1970 when she was returned to her dry dock. The Duke of Edinburgh

taking an enormously keen interest. He tried to come and see her before

but he heard himself at polo that afternoon. But it was Prince Albert

to first launched the ship in 1843, and Queen Victoria recorded in her

diary how impressed she was with her visit. Today, another royal

patron, the Duke of York, came to see what is new at the Brunel

institution since his last visit six years ago. We have opened and

lodged this building last year, and the new visitors' centre. We have

had the new galley, we have got the engine on board. All sorts of

improvements that we have made around the site. The prince will

come through here to the conservation suite, where they are

cleaning books at the moment, and he will meet some of the bright

young things, the future Brunels who will show the Prince how to

make bridges out of chocolate. And all this may have helped with their

mountain of awards, including large visitor attraction of the year.

With almost 200,000 visitors last year, it seems this historic ship

can draw the crowds and continue to get the royal seal of approval.

It has changed hugely down there, Well, it feels much more like

autumn, and we will see more of that through the rest of this week.

Temperatures nudging into double figures, but not by much. Tomorrow

a similar day to today. Another breezy and bright one with decency

of -- decent spells of sunshine, and a wide distribution of shares.

Low pressure to the north of the British Isles, but high pressure is

starting to build in through the cause of tomorrow. Prior to that,

more showers in the mid- part of tomorrow, but they will disburse by

the end of it, going back to clear skies and lighter winds through the

evening. The rainfall radar has been showing today how this feat of

showers has been focused in through Bridgwater Bay and parts of

Somerset. Some of those showers are moving further north, so they will

continue to move northwards into this evening. Many showers will be

swallowed up by the high ground of Wales. Further east, and a good

number of our distress will remain dry tonight. Moderately breezy,

clear skies, and quite chilly with temperatures widely down to four

degrees in the countryside. Tomorrow will start with a good

deal of dry and bright weather. The showers already still with us,

skirting the coastline of the Bristol Channel. As we introduce

that are put trough, we will focus more showers Upper East would for a

while. Passing through quite quickly. Then they rapidly

disappear into the evening as we start to see everything subside and

the high pressure building from the South West. Clear skies and lighter

winds as we head overnight. Prior to them, temperatures tomorrow

still cool. Compare that with the overnight temperatures of up

Wednesday through into Thursday. The first really widespread

significant fast that we will all see as we get through to that stage,

with the possible exception of the coastal fringe. Inland, these

estimates are quite conservative. It could be as low as minus 3.

Either way, you will be looking for the ice scraper or. Into the tail

end of the working week, high pressure still with us into Friday

and, for a while Saturday looks decent, but then low pressure is

building towards the West. This is a deep area of low pressure into

Sunday. We are likely to see wet, windy conditions. It will be a