02/11/2011 BBC Points West

Good evening and welcome to BBC Points West.

Our headlines tonight: The Islamic preacher who abused children.

He is jailed decades after the offences in Swindon Mosque, even

though the judge is warned prison could kill him.

Back on the home front - we join the soldiers picking up civilian

life after Afghanistan. The greyhounds facing a death

sentence as more are abandoned. And as BBC Television celebrates

its 75th birthday, we look at some of the best bits from the west.

First tonight, an Islamic preacher who abused children at a Swindon

mosque 30 years ago has finally been jailed today. The Imam, who is

now 67, was sent to prison for two years - a sentence which his

lawyers said could kill him. The judge praised his victims who

came forward after being ignored for decades. John Maguire reports.

A religious leader, held in the highest regard in the local

community, a father of five, with impeccable references. But as the

Judge said in court today, that wasn't the whole story.

Ebrahim Yusuf Kazi has spent the past 25 years living in Gloucester,

before that he was an Imam at this mosque on Swindon's Broad Street.

And it's while teaching between 1979 and 1985 that he repeatedly

sexually abused three young girls. They were aged between 7 and 11

years old. In the worst case, the Judge said

Kazi was grooming his victim. Two of the three complained, but

nothing was done. Kazi accused one young girl of being a troublemaker

and a liar. It seems he was believed.

It is the ultimate abuse of a position of Trust, to do this

whilst people have entrusted their children into your care.

Since his arrest he has shown no remorse and refuses to accept

responsibility for his abuses. He was jailed for two years but the

judge repeatedly stressed he had to sentence according to the law that

was in place at the time of the crimes. Then the maximum sentence

was just five years. He said that if the Crown said been committed

more recently in the last couple of years, then he would have faced a

much stiffer jail term. So why not five years? Well, Kazi's Doctor

said jail could kill him, and since moving to Gloucester he's been a

man of good character. He now begins his sentence at 67 years old.

As for his victims, two of whom were in court today, they have been

praised for coming forward and ensuring justice for the abuse they

suffered so long ago, but that lives with them to this day.

The Honda factory in Swindon has cut production again for the third

time in three years, this time because of the floods in Thailand.

Vital electronic components are made in a Thai factory which has

been closed because of flood waters. So what does it mean for the firm's

3,000 workers and the future of the company? Here's our business

correspondent, Dave Harvey. They say things come in threes but

I cannot imagine it workers at Swindon saw this one coming. First

was the recession. The car market collapsed globally and Honda shut

its doors for four months. Then in the spring of this year there was

that terrible earthquake in Japan. And for most of the Sammara staff

in Swindon has been working at today week. That ended in September

and for the last two months staff has been catching up on lost hours.

So this latest blow was all they needed. It seems that the guards

are against Honda and other manufacturers. Will your workers be

out of pocket because of these can smack the good news is that it is

an agreement in place to protect people's pay until 31st March.

Tonight, unions are meeting with management to work out a plan.

They're clearly in the lap of the weather gods to some extent.

Thailand's floods are of epic proportions as these pictures from

the firms Ayutthaya plant show. I'm told there are only enough of

the electronic components from the Thai factory to last 16 days at

full production. In Swindon, they had been planning a big publicity

blitz to launch the latest version of the Honda Civic. For the moment,

those plans are on ice. The company which runs Orange and

T-Mobile is planning to axe 550 jobs. Everything Everywhere wants

to make the cuts at five head office sites in the UK, including

here at this centre in Bristol. The Communications Workers Union

says staff are paying a "massive price" for the year old merger of

Orange and T-Mobile. Jo Yeates' landlord, who was

arrested on suspicion of her murder, says he is reaching the point where

he can get on with his life. Christopher Jefferies has accepted

an apology and "substantial" libel damages from eight tabloid

newspapers over their coverage after his arrest. Last week Dutch

engineer, Vincent Tabak, was found guilty of the murder. But Mr

Jefferies says the experience of his arrest left him defenceless.

When one is arrested one he's been a particularly Defence's position

and then that is made doubly worse if on to that defence has person is

imposed the entirely defamatory and entirely on real personality that

was imposed upon me. A Somerset woman who killed her

husband by pulling on the handbrake of their car, causing it to crash,

has been found guilty of manslaughter. A judge at Bristol

Crown Court told Caroline Meeking she could now face jail. Both she

and her husband Alan had been drinking heavily before the crash.

Clinton Rogers has the story. Guilty of manslaughter - and now

awaiting her fate. Caroline Meeking left Bristol Crown Court hiding her

face and refusing to speak to the media.

The jury had been told that her actions during a drunken row with

her husband in their car caused that car to spin out of control and

crash at 60 miles an hour. The prosecution had consistently argued

that grabbing the handbrake was a dangerous illegal act that killed

her husband Alan, and that amounted to manslaughter. Today his children

from a previous marriage emerged from court saying the verdict was

justice for him. But they remained angry with Caroline Meeking.

I would like to feel sorry for the woman but she has never apologised

to my family, no contact at all. Any human being would feel sorry.

It emerged during the trial that before they drove home along this

road near Yeovil in August last year both Mr and Mrs Meeking had

spent the day drinking, at least two bottles of wine and five pints

of beer. Mrs Meeking always admitted grabbing the handbrake.

But she said all she was trying to do was stop the car so she could

get out. Get away from the row. Caroline leaking spent most of

today we been in the dock. And when the verdict was announced she

showed no emotion at all. She will be sentenced on 6th January. The

judge granted her bail but said she should not take that as an

indication of what the sentence will be, adding that a custodial

sentence may be inevitable in this case.

This is Wednesday's Points West with Alex and David - on this

rather damp autumn night. We've still got plenty more to come,

including: Faded but not forgotten - the Poppy that was found on a

World War One battlefield. And you have been watching... A

look back at 75 years of BBC television and some of the best

programmes made here in the West. It's been an emotional 24 hours for

the Gloucestershire-based Riflemen, who've just returned home from

Afghanistan. There were moving scenes yesterday as the members of

C Company arrived home to Beachley Barracks. Throughout the day

they've been trying to re-adjust to normal family life - as our

Gloucestershire reporter Steve Knibbs has been finding out.

It's not long before the reality check kicks in. After months of

living in the ravages of Afghanistan, for Stefan Loveridge

playing with his young son is a world away.

I saw him take his first steps but now he is running around and up to

all sorts. I am starting to get back to reality now, things are

starting to fit back in place. But of course its not just Stefan

that has to get used to being back - there's wife Kayleigh and little

Callum too. Last night it did not seem male but he was actually home

now. -- it did not seem real. it's making the transition back to

normal life that's going to take a while for many soldiers. Rifleman

Darren Smith is now back from his third tour of duty. It doesn't get

easier. I has been back for days now and I'm still not used to it.

This morning I. At 20 past 4, wanting to do stuff. -- I.. For the

wives left at home, it's been a long countdown, but the soliders

always at the forefront of their minds. Charlotte Branston put all

her efforts in to helping the 1 Rifles charity reach its �100,000

target. It is a comfort to them, a lot of them had lost their friends

are they had been wounded, so it means a lot. Of course, more Rifles

are on their way home - there will more scenes of celebration and

reflection ahead. Constant in the minds of those safely home are the

names and faces of those who weren't so lucky. Colour Sergeant

Kevin Fortuna. Rifleman Martin Lamb. Corporal Mark Palin. Lieutenant

Daniel Clack and Lance Corporal Joanthan McKinlay.

A house in Weston-super-Mare badly damaged in an explosion has had to

be demolished. The gas cylinder it caused the explosion. Insurers

assessed the house and said it could not be salvaged and was too

dangerous to enter. They insisted it had to be pulled down. A couple

who were inside at the time were treated for minor burns. It has

emerged that Roman a Ibrahimovic paid a ransom to free a couple from

Bath held hostage by armed rebels in Chechnya in 1997. Camilla Carr

and her partner were on an aid mission when they were captured,

giving evidence in court, the Russian billionaire who owns

Chelsea, revealed that it was he who ended their 14 month ordeal by

providing cash to their kidnappers to pay for their release.

A dog rescue centre in the West has asked for help to deal with a

growing number of abandoned animals. The staff at Greyhound Rescue West

of England in Somerset say more people are giving up their pets

because of financial difficulties - as Sabet Choudhury reports.

When the going is good, greyhounds can earn their owners a pretty

penny. But in the grips of a recession they can become an

expensive commodity. And many are now ending up in rescue shelters -

homeless and unwanted. Maggie was once quite clearly and

racing dog and she was rescued from Ireland by the charity. She was one

of 40 dogs looked into be put down, most likely because her trainer

simply could not afford to keep her. If abandoned dogs like Maggie

aren't rehomed from a dog pound within seven days, they're put to

sleep. We try to prioritise the dogs on death row but there are

just so many of them that we cannot accommodate them. So having to turn

dogs away is as bad is it has ever been.

This is a story that's repeated all over the country. Leaving rescue

homes like this are simply over run and stretched to their limit.

Although there are the lucky few which do find new homes. Like

Sorren and Rainbow. They are just such great animals to have. Instead

of paying money for these so-called designer dogs you can go to a

rescue centre and get a greyhound and they are fantastic. It is so

rewarding to have a rescue dog. Sadly stories like this are few and

far between. And with further gloomy economic predictions - there

no real chance of it changing anytime soon. I do not like to

think about the future because it is a very emotional job to do. I do

this as a volunteer. I cannot think about what is going to happen next

year because that would get you down so much that you would not be

in a position to be able to cope. With shelters like this running to

capacity, unwanted dogs Roxy and Jerry will simply have to wait and

hope for a better life. Speeding drivers in the Avon and

Somerset area are being warned by police that they will be clamping

down on them. It is part of a three-month campaign aimed at

reducing road casualties and comes ahead of the reintroduction of

speed awareness courses. Drivers could be ordered to attend the

course instead of being taken to court, find and being given penalty

points. The average house for sale in the

West costs nearly 12 times the average wage according to the

National Housing Federation. The south-west home truths report warns

of a broken housing market and says that house prices have increased

three times faster than in comes in the region in the past decade.

Football, and Bristol City have made further changes to their

coaching staff with Steve Wigley leaving the club today. He joined

City as assistant manager in August last year, and was put in caretaker

charge for two matches last month before Derek McInnes' appointment.

Well, on the field last night there was further evidence of improvement

under the new manager. City managed a goal-less draw at high-flying

West Ham, and it was enough to lift them off the bottom of the table.

An atmosphere and an occasion to cherish for the 1500 travelling

fans. West Ham steeped in history and now the big attraction of the

Championship. But City were not there just to make up the numbers.

They had some good fortune early on as the hammers hit the post. But

there was a more resilient look to decide on to their new manager and

a frustrated West Ham team who has scored seven times in their two

previous home games. Neil Kilkenny's passed almost turned

into the opening goal. And with their confidence returning, they

began to threaten the opponents. They were 22 places above them in

the table. Martin Wallbridge tested England keeper, Rob Green. Mark

Noble's shot was kept out here. And City always looked a danger on the

counter attack. With the last kick of the game, it could have gone to

city. The ball deflected off the defender's me. The draw takes city

off the bottom of the table for the first time in a month. Now they

need to sort out their form at home where they have yet to win this

season. Swindon Town's new FA Cup kit has

upset some of the club's supporters because of it's colour and sponsor.

The shirt, which was launched on the club's website, is sponsored by

The People - the newspaper which uncovered corruption at the club in

the 1980s. That led to Swindon being relegated two divisions as

punishment. Some fans are also upset that the club will be playing

in white for the first round home tie this Saturday, while opponents

Huddersfield will be wearing Swindon's traditional red.

The Bath-based bobsleigh competitor, Serita Shone, is recovering from a

second operation on her back following an accident during

practice in Germany. She underwent a second five hour long operation

yesterday which it's hoped will give her a chance of making the

best possible recovery. It's 90 years since the humble

poppy became the official symbol of remembrance, but a member of the

Royal British Legion in Somerset has uncovered a unique early

example of the flower being used to remind people back home of the

troops on the front line. The exhibit has never been seen in

public before - but has gone on show at an exhibition of war art

dedicated to the fallen. Here's Jules Hyam.

There is now no Briton alive today who experienced this first hand.

No-one who remembers marching through fields of bodies to gain a

few yards of muddy ground. Land that claimed countless lives - and

gave forth flowers of blood red. In Flanders fields of poppies blow.

Between the crosses, roll on row. And in the sky, the larks still

bravely singing. By 1921 but Poppy had become the symbol of

remembrance. Today it serves to remind us of all of the victims and

all of the veterans in every walk since. And they are also remembered

here - at a pub in the Somerset village of Shepton Montague.

Alongside the poppy seed painting, a poppy flower picked by a 17-year-

old Private Cecil Roughton in the trenches near Arras in 1916.

I take it is absolutely lovely. In many ways it bit where an

immaculate Poppy Day like the sort people wear from the collection box,

it would be much less effective. It has clearly had the effects of the

passage of time which makes it more evocative.

For 95 years, the souvenir poppy has been in Private Roughton's

family. Now it's been donated to the Royal British Legion -

preserved and put on public display. It has faded with time but because

it has been kept in a box it is actually in remarkably good

condition considering it is almost 100 years old.

Nigel is now hoping to find it a permanent home where many more can

see it and remember those who fell on the fields where it grew.

It is just so appropriate, fragile but so meaningful.

Now let's move on to the weather Now let's move on to the weather

forecast. We are getting to the stage where

the sun goes down just after 4 o'clock in the afternoon. And we

are never far away from the threat of rain tonight and into tomorrow

as well. There will be some fairly heavy rain arriving. This is the

story into the rest of this evening. We have already had some rain into

Wiltshire. And so more rain to come especially after midnight.

Something of a repeat performance tomorrow the although the exact

detail of that is somewhat open to doubt. The rainfall radar shows

that first area of rainfall. This second area is now in two parts of

Somerset. So it is a windy spell of weather for all of us. And the rain

never too far away. With all this going on, quite surprisingly it is

a noticeably mild night. Tomorrow starts off on a dry note with some

early brightness around. Then we have a beginning cloud and further

showers starting to a ride, at some of those heavy. -- arrive. A lot of

standing in water and spray about for the evening rush-hour. But

temperatures again it noticeably milder tomorrow. If we look beyond

that, Friday will be a day of further heavy showers in the

morning. And towards Saturday, we could have some local flooding in

parts of France and the same front will inflows - as influence as as

well, cloudier and wetter. Showers on Friday, better by the evening.

Then the rain arriving later on on Then the rain arriving later on on

Saturday. Now today is our birthday! Well,

not our birthday exactly, but it was on this day 75 years ago that

the BBC began regular television broadcasts from Alexandra Palace in

London. Are her own Alexander has gone for a wander behind the scenes.

We got we would lead you tonight with some of the very best

television that's been produced by the BBC in Bristol over the years,

starting with a real family favourite. Animal Magic with Johnny

Don't use think you had better support your baby's head? If you

are so clever, if you look after You may not think it extraordinary

that a Cheese Show should be There was the anteater itself,

galloping across. We set off wildly into a suit. -- in pursued.

He is really quite heavy. There is more meaning and mutual

understanding in exchanging a glance with the guerrilla than any

I turn up and never have any idea what people are going to bring