:00:13. > :00:18.Good evening and welcome to BBC Points West.
:00:18. > :00:20.Our headlines tonight: The Islamic preacher who abused children.
:00:20. > :00:25.He is jailed decades after the offences in Swindon Mosque, even
:00:25. > :00:28.though the judge is warned prison could kill him.
:00:28. > :00:32.Back on the home front - we join the soldiers picking up civilian
:00:32. > :00:40.life after Afghanistan. The greyhounds facing a death
:00:40. > :00:50.sentence as more are abandoned. And as BBC Television celebrates
:00:50. > :00:52.
:00:52. > :00:54.its 75th birthday, we look at some of the best bits from the west.
:00:55. > :01:02.First tonight, an Islamic preacher who abused children at a Swindon
:01:02. > :01:04.mosque 30 years ago has finally been jailed today. The Imam, who is
:01:04. > :01:10.now 67, was sent to prison for two years - a sentence which his
:01:10. > :01:20.lawyers said could kill him. The judge praised his victims who
:01:20. > :01:22.came forward after being ignored for decades. John Maguire reports.
:01:22. > :01:25.A religious leader, held in the highest regard in the local
:01:25. > :01:29.community, a father of five, with impeccable references. But as the
:01:29. > :01:32.Judge said in court today, that wasn't the whole story.
:01:32. > :01:39.Ebrahim Yusuf Kazi has spent the past 25 years living in Gloucester,
:01:39. > :01:41.before that he was an Imam at this mosque on Swindon's Broad Street.
:01:41. > :01:48.And it's while teaching between 1979 and 1985 that he repeatedly
:01:48. > :01:55.sexually abused three young girls. They were aged between 7 and 11
:01:55. > :01:58.years old. In the worst case, the Judge said
:01:58. > :02:01.Kazi was grooming his victim. Two of the three complained, but
:02:01. > :02:09.nothing was done. Kazi accused one young girl of being a troublemaker
:02:09. > :02:16.and a liar. It seems he was believed.
:02:16. > :02:21.It is the ultimate abuse of a position of Trust, to do this
:02:21. > :02:23.whilst people have entrusted their children into your care.
:02:23. > :02:30.Since his arrest he has shown no remorse and refuses to accept
:02:30. > :02:33.responsibility for his abuses. He was jailed for two years but the
:02:33. > :02:40.judge repeatedly stressed he had to sentence according to the law that
:02:40. > :02:45.was in place at the time of the crimes. Then the maximum sentence
:02:45. > :02:49.was just five years. He said that if the Crown said been committed
:02:49. > :02:54.more recently in the last couple of years, then he would have faced a
:02:54. > :02:56.much stiffer jail term. So why not five years? Well, Kazi's Doctor
:02:56. > :03:02.said jail could kill him, and since moving to Gloucester he's been a
:03:02. > :03:05.man of good character. He now begins his sentence at 67 years old.
:03:05. > :03:07.As for his victims, two of whom were in court today, they have been
:03:07. > :03:17.praised for coming forward and ensuring justice for the abuse they
:03:17. > :03:17.
:03:17. > :03:20.suffered so long ago, but that lives with them to this day.
:03:20. > :03:26.The Honda factory in Swindon has cut production again for the third
:03:26. > :03:28.time in three years, this time because of the floods in Thailand.
:03:28. > :03:34.Vital electronic components are made in a Thai factory which has
:03:34. > :03:37.been closed because of flood waters. So what does it mean for the firm's
:03:37. > :03:46.3,000 workers and the future of the company? Here's our business
:03:46. > :03:51.correspondent, Dave Harvey. They say things come in threes but
:03:51. > :03:57.I cannot imagine it workers at Swindon saw this one coming. First
:03:57. > :04:02.was the recession. The car market collapsed globally and Honda shut
:04:02. > :04:08.its doors for four months. Then in the spring of this year there was
:04:08. > :04:13.that terrible earthquake in Japan. And for most of the Sammara staff
:04:13. > :04:21.in Swindon has been working at today week. That ended in September
:04:21. > :04:31.and for the last two months staff has been catching up on lost hours.
:04:31. > :04:34.
:04:34. > :04:39.So this latest blow was all they needed. It seems that the guards
:04:39. > :04:45.are against Honda and other manufacturers. Will your workers be
:04:45. > :04:51.out of pocket because of these can smack the good news is that it is
:04:51. > :04:54.an agreement in place to protect people's pay until 31st March.
:04:54. > :04:57.Tonight, unions are meeting with management to work out a plan.
:04:57. > :04:59.They're clearly in the lap of the weather gods to some extent.
:04:59. > :05:06.Thailand's floods are of epic proportions as these pictures from
:05:06. > :05:09.the firms Ayutthaya plant show. I'm told there are only enough of
:05:09. > :05:15.the electronic components from the Thai factory to last 16 days at
:05:15. > :05:20.full production. In Swindon, they had been planning a big publicity
:05:20. > :05:28.blitz to launch the latest version of the Honda Civic. For the moment,
:05:28. > :05:33.those plans are on ice. The company which runs Orange and
:05:33. > :05:36.T-Mobile is planning to axe 550 jobs. Everything Everywhere wants
:05:36. > :05:42.to make the cuts at five head office sites in the UK, including
:05:42. > :05:45.here at this centre in Bristol. The Communications Workers Union
:05:45. > :05:51.says staff are paying a "massive price" for the year old merger of
:05:51. > :05:54.Orange and T-Mobile. Jo Yeates' landlord, who was
:05:54. > :05:57.arrested on suspicion of her murder, says he is reaching the point where
:05:58. > :05:59.he can get on with his life. Christopher Jefferies has accepted
:05:59. > :06:07.an apology and "substantial" libel damages from eight tabloid
:06:07. > :06:11.newspapers over their coverage after his arrest. Last week Dutch
:06:11. > :06:19.engineer, Vincent Tabak, was found guilty of the murder. But Mr
:06:19. > :06:25.Jefferies says the experience of his arrest left him defenceless.
:06:25. > :06:32.When one is arrested one he's been a particularly Defence's position
:06:32. > :06:37.and then that is made doubly worse if on to that defence has person is
:06:38. > :06:41.imposed the entirely defamatory and entirely on real personality that
:06:41. > :06:44.was imposed upon me. A Somerset woman who killed her
:06:44. > :06:48.husband by pulling on the handbrake of their car, causing it to crash,
:06:49. > :06:54.has been found guilty of manslaughter. A judge at Bristol
:06:55. > :06:57.Crown Court told Caroline Meeking she could now face jail. Both she
:06:57. > :07:02.and her husband Alan had been drinking heavily before the crash.
:07:02. > :07:08.Clinton Rogers has the story. Guilty of manslaughter - and now
:07:08. > :07:13.awaiting her fate. Caroline Meeking left Bristol Crown Court hiding her
:07:13. > :07:16.face and refusing to speak to the media.
:07:16. > :07:19.The jury had been told that her actions during a drunken row with
:07:19. > :07:24.her husband in their car caused that car to spin out of control and
:07:24. > :07:26.crash at 60 miles an hour. The prosecution had consistently argued
:07:26. > :07:33.that grabbing the handbrake was a dangerous illegal act that killed
:07:33. > :07:35.her husband Alan, and that amounted to manslaughter. Today his children
:07:35. > :07:45.from a previous marriage emerged from court saying the verdict was
:07:45. > :07:45.
:07:45. > :07:50.justice for him. But they remained angry with Caroline Meeking.
:07:50. > :07:58.I would like to feel sorry for the woman but she has never apologised
:07:58. > :08:00.to my family, no contact at all. Any human being would feel sorry.
:08:00. > :08:03.It emerged during the trial that before they drove home along this
:08:03. > :08:06.road near Yeovil in August last year both Mr and Mrs Meeking had
:08:06. > :08:12.spent the day drinking, at least two bottles of wine and five pints
:08:12. > :08:15.of beer. Mrs Meeking always admitted grabbing the handbrake.
:08:15. > :08:24.But she said all she was trying to do was stop the car so she could
:08:24. > :08:29.get out. Get away from the row. Caroline leaking spent most of
:08:29. > :08:34.today we been in the dock. And when the verdict was announced she
:08:34. > :08:39.showed no emotion at all. She will be sentenced on 6th January. The
:08:39. > :08:44.judge granted her bail but said she should not take that as an
:08:44. > :08:51.indication of what the sentence will be, adding that a custodial
:08:51. > :08:54.sentence may be inevitable in this case.
:08:54. > :08:56.This is Wednesday's Points West with Alex and David - on this
:08:56. > :09:01.rather damp autumn night. We've still got plenty more to come,
:09:01. > :09:06.including: Faded but not forgotten - the Poppy that was found on a
:09:06. > :09:08.World War One battlefield. And you have been watching... A
:09:08. > :09:17.look back at 75 years of BBC television and some of the best
:09:17. > :09:19.programmes made here in the West. It's been an emotional 24 hours for
:09:19. > :09:25.the Gloucestershire-based Riflemen, who've just returned home from
:09:25. > :09:29.Afghanistan. There were moving scenes yesterday as the members of
:09:29. > :09:32.C Company arrived home to Beachley Barracks. Throughout the day
:09:32. > :09:39.they've been trying to re-adjust to normal family life - as our
:09:39. > :09:43.Gloucestershire reporter Steve Knibbs has been finding out.
:09:43. > :09:45.It's not long before the reality check kicks in. After months of
:09:45. > :09:53.living in the ravages of Afghanistan, for Stefan Loveridge
:09:54. > :09:59.playing with his young son is a world away.
:09:59. > :10:04.I saw him take his first steps but now he is running around and up to
:10:04. > :10:08.all sorts. I am starting to get back to reality now, things are
:10:08. > :10:11.starting to fit back in place. But of course its not just Stefan
:10:11. > :10:17.that has to get used to being back - there's wife Kayleigh and little
:10:18. > :10:27.Callum too. Last night it did not seem male but he was actually home
:10:28. > :10:28.
:10:28. > :10:31.now. -- it did not seem real. it's making the transition back to
:10:31. > :10:34.normal life that's going to take a while for many soldiers. Rifleman
:10:34. > :10:44.Darren Smith is now back from his third tour of duty. It doesn't get
:10:44. > :10:45.
:10:45. > :10:55.easier. I has been back for days now and I'm still not used to it.
:10:55. > :10:56.
:10:56. > :10:59.This morning I. At 20 past 4, wanting to do stuff. -- I.. For the
:10:59. > :11:09.wives left at home, it's been a long countdown, but the soliders
:11:09. > :11:09.
:11:09. > :11:12.always at the forefront of their minds. Charlotte Branston put all
:11:12. > :11:19.her efforts in to helping the 1 Rifles charity reach its �100,000
:11:19. > :11:26.target. It is a comfort to them, a lot of them had lost their friends
:11:26. > :11:29.are they had been wounded, so it means a lot. Of course, more Rifles
:11:29. > :11:32.are on their way home - there will more scenes of celebration and
:11:32. > :11:39.reflection ahead. Constant in the minds of those safely home are the
:11:39. > :11:42.names and faces of those who weren't so lucky. Colour Sergeant
:11:42. > :11:52.Kevin Fortuna. Rifleman Martin Lamb. Corporal Mark Palin. Lieutenant
:11:52. > :11:56.
:11:56. > :12:00.Daniel Clack and Lance Corporal Joanthan McKinlay.
:12:00. > :12:09.A house in Weston-super-Mare badly damaged in an explosion has had to
:12:09. > :12:12.be demolished. The gas cylinder it caused the explosion. Insurers
:12:13. > :12:17.assessed the house and said it could not be salvaged and was too
:12:17. > :12:22.dangerous to enter. They insisted it had to be pulled down. A couple
:12:22. > :12:26.who were inside at the time were treated for minor burns. It has
:12:26. > :12:32.emerged that Roman a Ibrahimovic paid a ransom to free a couple from
:12:32. > :12:37.Bath held hostage by armed rebels in Chechnya in 1997. Camilla Carr
:12:37. > :12:40.and her partner were on an aid mission when they were captured,
:12:40. > :12:45.giving evidence in court, the Russian billionaire who owns
:12:45. > :12:50.Chelsea, revealed that it was he who ended their 14 month ordeal by
:12:50. > :12:53.providing cash to their kidnappers to pay for their release.
:12:53. > :12:56.A dog rescue centre in the West has asked for help to deal with a
:12:56. > :12:59.growing number of abandoned animals. The staff at Greyhound Rescue West
:12:59. > :13:07.of England in Somerset say more people are giving up their pets
:13:07. > :13:09.because of financial difficulties - as Sabet Choudhury reports.
:13:09. > :13:13.When the going is good, greyhounds can earn their owners a pretty
:13:13. > :13:17.penny. But in the grips of a recession they can become an
:13:17. > :13:27.expensive commodity. And many are now ending up in rescue shelters -
:13:27. > :13:32.homeless and unwanted. Maggie was once quite clearly and
:13:32. > :13:37.racing dog and she was rescued from Ireland by the charity. She was one
:13:37. > :13:42.of 40 dogs looked into be put down, most likely because her trainer
:13:42. > :13:44.simply could not afford to keep her. If abandoned dogs like Maggie
:13:44. > :13:51.aren't rehomed from a dog pound within seven days, they're put to
:13:51. > :13:57.sleep. We try to prioritise the dogs on death row but there are
:13:57. > :14:04.just so many of them that we cannot accommodate them. So having to turn
:14:04. > :14:07.dogs away is as bad is it has ever been.
:14:07. > :14:14.This is a story that's repeated all over the country. Leaving rescue
:14:14. > :14:16.homes like this are simply over run and stretched to their limit.
:14:16. > :14:25.Although there are the lucky few which do find new homes. Like
:14:25. > :14:30.Sorren and Rainbow. They are just such great animals to have. Instead
:14:30. > :14:35.of paying money for these so-called designer dogs you can go to a
:14:35. > :14:39.rescue centre and get a greyhound and they are fantastic. It is so
:14:39. > :14:41.rewarding to have a rescue dog. Sadly stories like this are few and
:14:41. > :14:49.far between. And with further gloomy economic predictions - there
:14:49. > :14:56.no real chance of it changing anytime soon. I do not like to
:14:56. > :15:00.think about the future because it is a very emotional job to do. I do
:15:00. > :15:04.this as a volunteer. I cannot think about what is going to happen next
:15:04. > :15:08.year because that would get you down so much that you would not be
:15:08. > :15:11.in a position to be able to cope. With shelters like this running to
:15:11. > :15:21.capacity, unwanted dogs Roxy and Jerry will simply have to wait and
:15:21. > :15:26.
:15:26. > :15:29.hope for a better life. Speeding drivers in the Avon and
:15:29. > :15:33.Somerset area are being warned by police that they will be clamping
:15:33. > :15:37.down on them. It is part of a three-month campaign aimed at
:15:37. > :15:43.reducing road casualties and comes ahead of the reintroduction of
:15:43. > :15:47.speed awareness courses. Drivers could be ordered to attend the
:15:47. > :15:52.course instead of being taken to court, find and being given penalty
:15:52. > :15:57.points. The average house for sale in the
:15:57. > :16:01.West costs nearly 12 times the average wage according to the
:16:01. > :16:05.National Housing Federation. The south-west home truths report warns
:16:05. > :16:11.of a broken housing market and says that house prices have increased
:16:11. > :16:13.three times faster than in comes in the region in the past decade.
:16:13. > :16:16.Football, and Bristol City have made further changes to their
:16:16. > :16:19.coaching staff with Steve Wigley leaving the club today. He joined
:16:19. > :16:24.City as assistant manager in August last year, and was put in caretaker
:16:25. > :16:27.charge for two matches last month before Derek McInnes' appointment.
:16:27. > :16:31.Well, on the field last night there was further evidence of improvement
:16:31. > :16:41.under the new manager. City managed a goal-less draw at high-flying
:16:41. > :16:45.West Ham, and it was enough to lift them off the bottom of the table.
:16:45. > :16:50.An atmosphere and an occasion to cherish for the 1500 travelling
:16:50. > :16:53.fans. West Ham steeped in history and now the big attraction of the
:16:54. > :16:59.Championship. But City were not there just to make up the numbers.
:17:00. > :17:04.They had some good fortune early on as the hammers hit the post. But
:17:04. > :17:09.there was a more resilient look to decide on to their new manager and
:17:09. > :17:14.a frustrated West Ham team who has scored seven times in their two
:17:14. > :17:20.previous home games. Neil Kilkenny's passed almost turned
:17:20. > :17:26.into the opening goal. And with their confidence returning, they
:17:26. > :17:36.began to threaten the opponents. They were 22 places above them in
:17:36. > :17:41.the table. Martin Wallbridge tested England keeper, Rob Green. Mark
:17:41. > :17:51.Noble's shot was kept out here. And City always looked a danger on the
:17:51. > :17:51.
:17:51. > :17:59.counter attack. With the last kick of the game, it could have gone to
:17:59. > :18:03.city. The ball deflected off the defender's me. The draw takes city
:18:03. > :18:07.off the bottom of the table for the first time in a month. Now they
:18:07. > :18:11.need to sort out their form at home where they have yet to win this
:18:11. > :18:14.season. Swindon Town's new FA Cup kit has
:18:14. > :18:17.upset some of the club's supporters because of it's colour and sponsor.
:18:17. > :18:19.The shirt, which was launched on the club's website, is sponsored by
:18:19. > :18:24.The People - the newspaper which uncovered corruption at the club in
:18:24. > :18:29.the 1980s. That led to Swindon being relegated two divisions as
:18:29. > :18:32.punishment. Some fans are also upset that the club will be playing
:18:32. > :18:39.in white for the first round home tie this Saturday, while opponents
:18:39. > :18:41.Huddersfield will be wearing Swindon's traditional red.
:18:41. > :18:43.The Bath-based bobsleigh competitor, Serita Shone, is recovering from a
:18:43. > :18:49.second operation on her back following an accident during
:18:49. > :18:52.practice in Germany. She underwent a second five hour long operation
:18:52. > :18:59.yesterday which it's hoped will give her a chance of making the
:18:59. > :19:01.best possible recovery. It's 90 years since the humble
:19:01. > :19:03.poppy became the official symbol of remembrance, but a member of the
:19:03. > :19:06.Royal British Legion in Somerset has uncovered a unique early
:19:06. > :19:16.example of the flower being used to remind people back home of the
:19:16. > :19:19.troops on the front line. The exhibit has never been seen in
:19:19. > :19:25.public before - but has gone on show at an exhibition of war art
:19:25. > :19:30.dedicated to the fallen. Here's Jules Hyam.
:19:30. > :19:32.There is now no Briton alive today who experienced this first hand.
:19:32. > :19:40.No-one who remembers marching through fields of bodies to gain a
:19:40. > :19:50.few yards of muddy ground. Land that claimed countless lives - and
:19:50. > :19:52.
:19:52. > :20:02.gave forth flowers of blood red. In Flanders fields of poppies blow.
:20:02. > :20:03.
:20:03. > :20:13.Between the crosses, roll on row. And in the sky, the larks still
:20:13. > :20:13.
:20:13. > :20:23.bravely singing. By 1921 but Poppy had become the symbol of
:20:23. > :20:28.remembrance. Today it serves to remind us of all of the victims and
:20:28. > :20:31.all of the veterans in every walk since. And they are also remembered
:20:31. > :20:33.here - at a pub in the Somerset village of Shepton Montague.
:20:34. > :20:43.Alongside the poppy seed painting, a poppy flower picked by a 17-year-
:20:44. > :20:46.
:20:46. > :20:52.old Private Cecil Roughton in the trenches near Arras in 1916.
:20:52. > :20:56.I take it is absolutely lovely. In many ways it bit where an
:20:56. > :21:01.immaculate Poppy Day like the sort people wear from the collection box,
:21:01. > :21:06.it would be much less effective. It has clearly had the effects of the
:21:06. > :21:08.passage of time which makes it more evocative.
:21:08. > :21:11.For 95 years, the souvenir poppy has been in Private Roughton's
:21:11. > :21:19.family. Now it's been donated to the Royal British Legion -
:21:19. > :21:25.preserved and put on public display. It has faded with time but because
:21:25. > :21:29.it has been kept in a box it is actually in remarkably good
:21:29. > :21:32.condition considering it is almost 100 years old.
:21:32. > :21:42.Nigel is now hoping to find it a permanent home where many more can
:21:42. > :21:52.see it and remember those who fell on the fields where it grew.
:21:52. > :21:53.
:21:53. > :21:56.It is just so appropriate, fragile but so meaningful.
:21:56. > :22:02.Now let's move on to the weather Now let's move on to the weather
:22:02. > :22:07.forecast. We are getting to the stage where
:22:07. > :22:12.the sun goes down just after 4 o'clock in the afternoon. And we
:22:12. > :22:22.are never far away from the threat of rain tonight and into tomorrow
:22:22. > :22:24.
:22:24. > :22:30.as well. There will be some fairly heavy rain arriving. This is the
:22:30. > :22:35.story into the rest of this evening. We have already had some rain into
:22:35. > :22:41.Wiltshire. And so more rain to come especially after midnight.
:22:41. > :22:50.Something of a repeat performance tomorrow the although the exact
:22:50. > :22:55.detail of that is somewhat open to doubt. The rainfall radar shows
:22:55. > :23:05.that first area of rainfall. This second area is now in two parts of
:23:05. > :23:08.
:23:08. > :23:18.Somerset. So it is a windy spell of weather for all of us. And the rain
:23:18. > :23:20.
:23:20. > :23:28.never too far away. With all this going on, quite surprisingly it is
:23:28. > :23:35.a noticeably mild night. Tomorrow starts off on a dry note with some
:23:35. > :23:45.early brightness around. Then we have a beginning cloud and further
:23:45. > :23:48.
:23:48. > :23:58.showers starting to a ride, at some of those heavy. -- arrive. A lot of
:23:58. > :24:02.
:24:02. > :24:11.standing in water and spray about for the evening rush-hour. But
:24:11. > :24:15.temperatures again it noticeably milder tomorrow. If we look beyond
:24:16. > :24:25.that, Friday will be a day of further heavy showers in the
:24:26. > :24:28.
:24:28. > :24:38.morning. And towards Saturday, we could have some local flooding in
:24:38. > :24:39.
:24:39. > :24:49.parts of France and the same front will inflows - as influence as as
:24:49. > :24:54.
:24:54. > :25:00.well, cloudier and wetter. Showers on Friday, better by the evening.
:25:00. > :25:07.Then the rain arriving later on on Then the rain arriving later on on
:25:07. > :25:10.Saturday. Now today is our birthday! Well,
:25:10. > :25:12.not our birthday exactly, but it was on this day 75 years ago that
:25:12. > :25:22.the BBC began regular television broadcasts from Alexandra Palace in
:25:22. > :25:26.
:25:26. > :25:33.London. Are her own Alexander has gone for a wander behind the scenes.
:25:33. > :25:36.We got we would lead you tonight with some of the very best
:25:36. > :25:38.television that's been produced by the BBC in Bristol over the years,
:25:38. > :25:48.starting with a real family favourite. Animal Magic with Johnny
:25:48. > :25:58.
:25:58. > :26:08.Don't use think you had better support your baby's head? If you
:26:08. > :26:13.
:26:13. > :26:23.are so clever, if you look after You may not think it extraordinary
:26:23. > :26:35.
:26:35. > :26:45.that a Cheese Show should be There was the anteater itself,
:26:45. > :26:47.
:26:47. > :26:55.galloping across. We set off wildly into a suit. -- in pursued.
:26:55. > :27:00.He is really quite heavy. There is more meaning and mutual
:27:00. > :27:10.understanding in exchanging a glance with the guerrilla than any
:27:10. > :27:15.
:27:15. > :27:25.I turn up and never have any idea what people are going to bring
:27:25. > :27:33.