14/12/2011

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:00:09. > :00:14.Good evening and welcome to BBC Points West on another wet West

:00:14. > :00:18.Country night. Our headlines this evening:

:00:18. > :00:25.The deadly storms - a lorry driver dies on the M5 as the motorway was

:00:25. > :00:28.lashed by wind and hail. It was one of those moments when

:00:28. > :00:31.you drove past and felt like somebody had stabbed to in the

:00:31. > :00:34.heart because it was clear it was a bad accident.

:00:34. > :00:37.Move over for more bus lanes as millions of pounds are secured for

:00:37. > :00:41.better public transport. Preparing for the unthinkable - the

:00:41. > :00:49.emergency services stage a mock fire in a crowded nightclub.

:00:49. > :00:56.And after the hail - snow. We will have a detailed forecast on what's

:00:56. > :01:00.Police in Gloucestershire believe hail and icy conditions were major

:01:00. > :01:04.factors in a crash on the M5 last night which left a lorry driver

:01:04. > :01:08.dead. Three lorries and two cars were

:01:08. > :01:11.involved in the collision just north of Cheltenham. Tonight, more

:01:11. > :01:15.bad weather is expected and the Highways Agency is warning drivers

:01:15. > :01:23.to take extra care. Our Gloucestershire reporter Steve

:01:23. > :01:27.Knibbs is in Cirencester for us this evening.

:01:27. > :01:31.I am at a Gloucestershire highway stepper, the gritting team getting

:01:31. > :01:36.ready to run into the Cotswolds to light, reacting to this

:01:36. > :01:41.unpredictable weather. At 4pm, there was a heavy downpour of snow

:01:41. > :01:44.in some Hyde Park other county as I was driving here, difficult, slushy

:01:44. > :01:49.conditions on the road with that icy rain and temperatures just

:01:49. > :01:53.above freezing. Last night on the M5, similar conditions with driving

:01:53. > :01:58.rain and low temperatures, and then this sudden extreme weather events,

:01:58. > :02:02.a downpour of hail turning into ice which led to a collision which

:02:02. > :02:04.sadly killed a lorry driver from Bristol in the most treacherous of

:02:04. > :02:06.conditions. Conditions last night were

:02:06. > :02:09.difficult, to say the least. Near freezing temperatures and pouring

:02:09. > :02:14.rain. Because of the weather, police had already warned drivers

:02:14. > :02:17.to be careful. A sudden flash downpour of hail quickly covered

:02:17. > :02:20.the M5 at around 9.30pm. Drivers say it froze instantly and they

:02:20. > :02:24.could not even see the lane markings. One of the lorries

:02:24. > :02:31.skidded on the ice. A car stopped to help, and was hit. It is thought

:02:31. > :02:34.the Royal Mail lorry then hit the back of another truck. The driver,

:02:34. > :02:36.a 55-year-old man from Bristol, was killed. Although there will be a

:02:37. > :02:42.lengthy investigation, police say the weather conditions played a

:02:42. > :02:46.major role in the crash. weather had quite a big influence.

:02:46. > :02:50.Certainly some of the witnesses and officers at the scene described it

:02:50. > :02:57.as almost an ice rink, so we believe it to be a major factor at

:02:57. > :03:00.this moment with regard to the commission itself. -- the collision.

:03:00. > :03:03.Those who were driving past the crash last night said the driving

:03:03. > :03:07.conditions were amongst some of the worst they had seen. When we left

:03:07. > :03:13.home, it was terrible rain, we then hit Hale, it was clear it was a bad

:03:13. > :03:16.Smash. The cab was about 90 degrees to the motorway and there were a

:03:16. > :03:19.lot of firemen working on it and it was one of those moments when you

:03:19. > :03:23.drove past and felt someone had stab you in the heart because it

:03:23. > :03:25.was clear it was a very bad accident. The M5 northbound was

:03:25. > :03:29.closed for ten hours. Traffic police say they have been much

:03:29. > :03:32.busier than normal this week due to the weather. And with a risk of ice

:03:32. > :03:36.on the roads tonight, experts are warning drivers to be more cautious

:03:36. > :03:44.than normal. Helen Frost can come on suddenly and the unexpected. We

:03:44. > :03:48.are taught the two second rule, but that should be at least doubled, or

:03:48. > :03:50.10 times in icy conditions. With worse weather forecast for later in

:03:50. > :03:53.the week, the gritting teams are starting their annual battle

:03:53. > :03:57.against the ice and snow, with stockpiles of road salt at their

:03:57. > :04:02.highest level for several years. As I said earlier, the weather is

:04:02. > :04:07.catching people out, even the gritting teams. You do your best to

:04:07. > :04:10.predict these, but you are finding it difficult? We did not have a

:04:10. > :04:14.forecast of the weather that has moved across the east of the county

:04:14. > :04:19.this afternoon and into this evening. What is the plan tonight?

:04:19. > :04:25.We have had some gritters out today, late this afternoon, to deal with

:04:25. > :04:29.the hot spots, as it were, and now we have another run going out

:04:29. > :04:33.tonight across the whole of the Cotswolds to deal with the area.

:04:33. > :04:37.are hearing there is more bad weather to come in the week, is

:04:37. > :04:41.that what you are expecting? forecast at the moment is for it to

:04:41. > :04:45.get colder as the week goes on and there is the possibility of snow

:04:45. > :04:50.tomorrow night. I said in my report this is an annual battle against

:04:50. > :04:53.the elements, but you have more salt than ever before? At least

:04:53. > :04:58.2000 tonnes more than in previous years, said that should put us in a

:04:58. > :05:02.good place. Thank you. The gritting team is getting ready

:05:02. > :05:05.to go, not as early as last year, but they are doing their best

:05:05. > :05:15.against the elements that none of us seem to be able to predict at

:05:15. > :05:24.

:05:24. > :05:27.the moment. Doctors treating Shrien Dewani say

:05:27. > :05:29.they are confident he will recover from the mental health problems he

:05:30. > :05:32.is facing. The Bristol businessman is accused of arranging his wife's

:05:33. > :05:36.murder while on honeymoon in South Africa. His legal team are arguing

:05:36. > :05:38.he is too ill to be sent back there to stand trial. John Maguire

:05:39. > :05:41.reports from the High Court. The Court of Appeal heard Shrien

:05:41. > :05:43.Dewani's Doctor expecting to make a recovery from his mental conditions

:05:43. > :05:45.at the moment. Both sides agree he suffers post-traumatic stress

:05:45. > :05:48.disorder and depression severely in both cases, but when there is a

:05:48. > :05:51.difference is that his legal team believes he is too ill to travel to

:05:51. > :05:56.South Africa, whereas the government there believes he should

:05:56. > :06:02.goes. Once again, the families arrived to

:06:02. > :06:06.spend another day in the same room, but with opposite hopes. This was

:06:06. > :06:10.the South African government's chance to redress the Court of

:06:10. > :06:15.Appeal, to urge it to uphold Shrien Dewani's extradition order. It is

:06:15. > :06:20.in the hands of the courts, so we will be patient. For more than a

:06:20. > :06:27.year, since Anni Dewani's honeymoon murder, families on both sides have

:06:27. > :06:34.endured so many days in court, but with their answers. We are here,

:06:34. > :06:40.the case is here, because of one beautiful girl, innocent girl, who

:06:40. > :06:45.was murdered. She was not even mentioned. It is about have.

:06:45. > :06:50.Thousands of hours have been spent finding how the South African

:06:50. > :07:00.prison system works. If that effort was made to find out what happened

:07:00. > :07:03.

:07:03. > :07:11.to her, we would be more satisfied. To give us the answers we need,

:07:11. > :07:16.that is all we're asking. Anni Dewani's husband's family left,

:07:16. > :07:19.making no comment. The court were told he should recover from his

:07:19. > :07:23.mental problems, and it would be for a South African court to

:07:23. > :07:27.determine whether he is fit to stand trial there. All parties will

:07:27. > :07:30.return here on Friday, one step closer to a resolution, if not the

:07:30. > :07:33.truth. The announcement of the extra

:07:34. > :07:38.session on Friday came as something of a surprise, but it is because

:07:38. > :07:42.early this morning the judges said they want to see the latest medical

:07:43. > :07:49.reports on Shrien Dewani's position -- condition before automatic

:07:49. > :07:59.deciding whether he should stay or should go.

:07:59. > :08:15.

:08:15. > :08:17.John Maguire, reporting for us earlier.

:08:17. > :08:19.A half-a-billion pound deal was finalised today for the

:08:20. > :08:23.construction of a controversial incinerator near Gloucester. It

:08:23. > :08:26.means that within a few years the West could have two giant waste-

:08:26. > :08:29.burners within 30 miles of each other as another plant is to be

:08:29. > :08:31.built close to Bristol. It, too, has faced opposition. Here is our

:08:32. > :08:34.political editor, Paul Barltrop. For years, there have been protests,

:08:35. > :08:38.petitions and marches, but efforts to stop the West getting two mass

:08:38. > :08:41.burn incinerators have now gone up in smoke. Close to junction 12 of

:08:41. > :08:43.the M5, campaigner Gerald Hartley shows me the land chosen by the

:08:43. > :08:45.council. It disappoints me they would choose to put a mass burning

:08:45. > :08:48.incinerator here, which would be bigger than Gloucester Cathedral.

:08:48. > :08:50.He believes it will be a blot on the landscape. It is the wrong

:08:50. > :08:53.solution for Gloucestershire tax payers. This afternoon, he watched

:08:53. > :08:56.as Gloucester councillors met to confirm the deal. It will cost �450

:08:56. > :08:59.million over the next quarter of a century. The council insist that,

:08:59. > :09:07.combined with more recycling, it makes environmental and financial

:09:07. > :09:13.sense. I am convinced this is the right way forward because there is

:09:13. > :09:17.not a viable alternative that the present time to this affordable and

:09:17. > :09:21.-- which is affordable and reliable and can offer firm guarantees on

:09:21. > :09:24.health impacts that energy-from- waste plants can. Campaigners left

:09:24. > :09:32.disappointed, aware the fight against incinerators in the West

:09:32. > :09:35.has failed twice in a fortnight. This former chemical plant on

:09:35. > :09:39.summer site is set to become a bigging incinerator, despite strong

:09:39. > :09:45.political opposition. Bristol City Council turned down a planning of

:09:45. > :09:50.the Asian ear, but the waste firm when on appeal -- turned down a

:09:50. > :09:53.planning application. They hope to start building next year. What is

:09:53. > :10:03.going looks pretty ugly. What is coming, both here and by Gloucester,

:10:03. > :10:04.

:10:04. > :10:07.will, for many, be no better. It's Alex and David with you this

:10:07. > :10:09.Wednesday evening, with all your local news, sport and weather from

:10:09. > :10:12.the BBC. Yes, you won't want to miss Ian's

:10:12. > :10:14.forecast tonight - there's possible bad weather on the way for Friday.

:10:14. > :10:16.Coming up: Young and jobless - we meet the

:10:16. > :10:19.West teenagers who are struggling to find work.

:10:20. > :10:29.And Santa fails to deliver for the fans of Yeovil Town as their

:10:30. > :10:32.

:10:32. > :10:37.Move over for a lot more bus lanes. Bristol, Bath and Weston-super-Mare

:10:37. > :10:41.have all been awarded millions of pounds to improve public transport.

:10:41. > :10:44.It is a consolation prize for the lack of a metro system, but it is

:10:44. > :10:49.being seen as a big step forward for the region's bus services.

:10:49. > :10:55.James Hassam reports. Big changes to the way we get

:10:55. > :10:58.around. At a big cost. Better bus links in Bristol. An upgrade to

:10:58. > :11:04.Weston's motorway junction. And more spaces for Bath's park-and-

:11:05. > :11:11.ride. All adding up to more than a quarter of a billion pounds of

:11:11. > :11:15.Government money heading this way. It is fantastic years, really, for

:11:15. > :11:21.the whole of the region. It means that we have got all five packages

:11:21. > :11:25.that we applied for now approved, and that really means a whole step

:11:25. > :11:31.change in transport for the Greater Bristol region. A step change that

:11:31. > :11:35.is being welcomed by business. represents not just an investment

:11:35. > :11:39.in transport and infrastructure for Bristol, which to my mind is the

:11:39. > :11:42.highest in the last 30 years I have worked here, but it also represents

:11:42. > :11:45.a tremendous boost in confidence from a government that the West of

:11:45. > :11:49.England is quite capable of delivering the kind of economic

:11:50. > :11:52.growth they think we are capable of. Of course, some have been left

:11:52. > :11:55.disappointed. In Bath, plans for a new rapid transit system were

:11:55. > :11:59.scaled back after they provoked huge opposition. Now, the

:11:59. > :12:06.Government is putting in 12 million of the more than 30 million needed

:12:06. > :12:15.for improvements. The council says it is great news, but those on the

:12:15. > :12:18.other side of the political divide are not convinced. It is party

:12:18. > :12:22.politics in the pocket, if you are a local council tax payer and look

:12:22. > :12:25.at the papers, we have the worst settlement in the country. It is a

:12:25. > :12:35.bit more than party politics. changes will start coming into

:12:35. > :12:37.effect at the end of next year. It should mean more buses on many of

:12:37. > :12:41.our roads, and potentially slower journeys for drivers, with local

:12:41. > :12:51.authorities hoping that will be the push to get more of us taking the

:12:51. > :12:51.

:12:52. > :12:54.bus. The Princess Royal has been in

:12:54. > :12:57.Bristol today to formally open the city's new museum. Princess Anne

:12:58. > :13:00.took a tour of the M Shed on the Harbourside, before an official

:13:00. > :13:03.plaque unveiling ceremony at lunchtime. She has also visited St

:13:03. > :13:07.Mary Redcliffe and Temple School, and opened the new Alabare Home in

:13:07. > :13:10.Filton for ex-servicemen. You may remember that earlier this

:13:10. > :13:13.year the Government had to abandon its plan to sell off a number of

:13:13. > :13:16.our forests, including the Forest of Dean, because so many people

:13:16. > :13:19.objected. Well, now the BBC has learnt that Somerset County Council

:13:19. > :13:24.is planning to sell some woods and moorland it owns, many of which are

:13:24. > :13:28.in Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Ruth Bradley reports.

:13:28. > :13:31.The Quantock Hills, loved by walkers, cyclists and horse riders.

:13:31. > :13:38.Now, Somerset County Council has put nearly 2,000 acres it owns here

:13:38. > :13:43.up for sale. They are Great Wood, Custom Common and Thorncombe Hill.

:13:43. > :13:47.A mixture of woodland and open moorland. Footpaths would stay open

:13:47. > :13:50.to the public. But members of a local charity are angry at the

:13:50. > :13:58.plans. They are worried the land would not be managed properly if it

:13:58. > :14:04.was in private hands. It is for recreational benefit for the Horn

:14:04. > :14:08.of the community, and therefore it should not be private, really. You

:14:08. > :14:13.cannot put a financial value on anything and everything, some

:14:13. > :14:16.things are just for the good of the public, and I think the land on the

:14:16. > :14:19.Quantocks is. Great Wood is currently leased by the Forestry

:14:19. > :14:22.Commission, which says it is interested in buying it. But this

:14:22. > :14:26.could just be the start. I have also got hold of council reviews of

:14:26. > :14:29.37 more bits of land in the Mendips and the Blackdown Hill, as well as

:14:29. > :14:36.the Quantocks. The council says a number of them could also be sold

:14:36. > :14:39.to private owners. I think we have to understand that we are trying to

:14:39. > :14:44.reduce our liabilities as well as with -- as well as increase our

:14:44. > :14:50.income. We own lots of things that, in the stained age, we probably

:14:50. > :14:54.would not want to own, and we still have a massive debt. We are not

:14:54. > :14:58.borrowing any more money, so to get any income from the sale of these

:14:58. > :15:02.assets would help towards building the schools, for instance. People

:15:02. > :15:05.have until 23rd December to comment on the first bits of land up for

:15:05. > :15:12.sale. And campaigners are promising they will fight to keep Somerset's

:15:12. > :15:19.hills public. There are more people out of work

:15:20. > :15:23.in the West Country, according to new figures. Almost 49,000 people

:15:23. > :15:25.are now claiming jobseekers' allowance here.

:15:25. > :15:27.Young people are particularly affected, and in the Commons

:15:27. > :15:31.earlier, Labour leader Ed Miliband accused David Cameron of

:15:31. > :15:33."betraying" a generation. All week, we are trying to see what life is

:15:33. > :15:35.like in the region's economy. Yesterday, we investigated the

:15:35. > :15:43.rising cost of living, and tonight our business correspondent, Dave

:15:43. > :15:48.Harvey, looks at unemployment. It is a big number, isn't it?

:15:48. > :15:52.48,776. That is how many people were out of work in the West

:15:52. > :15:58.Country in November and claiming benefit. It is up, but only

:15:58. > :16:02.slightly, on the previous month. Under 200 more people joined the

:16:02. > :16:05.queues at the West's job centres. A lot of numbers this week. And it is

:16:05. > :16:15.easy to forget that each one is a human being. Someone like David

:16:15. > :16:20.Hayne, looking for work in Swindon. Going to places, handing in my CV,

:16:20. > :16:28.or even walking in and begging the landlord of the pubs and stuffed

:16:28. > :16:31.full bar work. -- the landlords of the pubs for bar work. And there

:16:31. > :16:35.are a lot more people like Dave. This graph shows how unemployment

:16:35. > :16:38.has grown over the last two years. A huge increase in 2009, then it

:16:38. > :16:40.falls away as the first wave of the recession fades. But recently

:16:40. > :16:42.things have started getting tough again. Especially for young people.

:16:42. > :16:47.Nearly 8% of young people are claiming jobseekers' allowance,

:16:47. > :16:51.that is one in12. But there are some striking variations. This is

:16:51. > :16:57.Bath and North East Somerset - just 2.8%. But in Swindon, young people

:16:57. > :17:06.are really having a rough time - 8.6%. That is well over the

:17:06. > :17:11.national average. So what is going At Swindon College they are

:17:11. > :17:16.learning DIY. Teenagers on a course preparing for work. These guys are

:17:16. > :17:20.desperate, they will try anything to get a job. Walking around town,

:17:20. > :17:25.phoning different companies, sending CVs off, anything's

:17:25. > :17:28.possible, really. And there is the rub, these youngsters have already

:17:29. > :17:34.been through the course and they are still out of work. Jobs are

:17:34. > :17:37.just hard to come by. They are not there for the people who do not

:17:37. > :17:41.have the qualifications or experience, even I would struggle.

:17:41. > :17:45.Get the education one you can, while it is free, get your maths

:17:45. > :17:50.and English oak, it is important, and get work experience while you

:17:50. > :17:58.can. It is not great working for free, but you will more than likely

:17:58. > :18:02.get a job out of it. You want to work? Of this it, it is difficult...

:18:02. > :18:05.De student signed up for an employment agency. It has three

:18:05. > :18:09.times as many people on its books as before but she might get some

:18:09. > :18:13.Christmas work if she is lucky. has been quiet in November which is

:18:13. > :18:18.usually a peak period but a lot of retail clients are just starting to

:18:18. > :18:21.get into peak now, which is unusual, and they have been saying they

:18:21. > :18:25.found it tough this year. Some of them are doing the same turnover

:18:25. > :18:30.but not making the margins because they are having to be more

:18:30. > :18:35.competitive. No wonder inflation was down yesterday, as retailers

:18:35. > :18:42.cut prices to bring in the shoppers. But that means smaller profits, and

:18:42. > :18:47.fewer jobs, and more unemployment. And David is with us. Those

:18:47. > :18:54.examples were from Swindon, once a boom town, now jobs hard to come by.

:18:54. > :18:59.What 10 young people do? It is hard. The BBC website is awash with

:18:59. > :19:05.stories and advice on this, if you look on the BBC News homepage you

:19:05. > :19:09.will see a section on their call young and jobless. The advice there,

:19:09. > :19:14.whatever you do, do something, don't just sit at home, get out, do

:19:14. > :19:19.these courses, do the training, a lot of places to little courses on

:19:19. > :19:24.how to get a job. Getting work experience is difficult. A lot of

:19:24. > :19:27.kids are in the same boat, whether they have got degrees or no

:19:27. > :19:33.qualifications at all, it is across the board. The basics Greece is

:19:33. > :19:39.there are more people applying for every job so employers can be peaky.

:19:39. > :19:45.You have to put perspective on this. It is a huge increase, out of 10

:19:45. > :19:55.young people looking for work, nine of them are actually encourage, so

:19:55. > :19:56.

:19:56. > :20:01.they are not all unemployed. This week, wages have gone up, in

:20:01. > :20:07.unemployment has gone down -- wages have gone down, unemployment has

:20:08. > :20:10.gone up. We had a survey this week, too. It is Christmas shopping with

:20:10. > :20:13.a difference. Around 70 firefighters were called

:20:13. > :20:15.to a nightclub in Gloucester last night where there was smoke, fire

:20:15. > :20:18.engines and crowds of people. Fortunately, though, it wasn't a

:20:18. > :20:28.real blaze but an exercise designed to test how the emergency services

:20:28. > :20:31.

:20:31. > :20:34.would cope if they had to face it for real. Sabet Choudhury reports.

:20:35. > :20:37.It may not be a real situation, but there is everything here to test

:20:38. > :20:47.the firefighters' ability to deal with a major incident in a crowded

:20:47. > :20:52.nightclub. The best avenue can do for me at the moment is to stand

:20:52. > :20:57.over there. It is pandemonium and chaos. People are screaming, so

:20:57. > :21:00.whatever the operational plan is, 200 people want to divert you from

:21:00. > :21:05.it. You have to have a clear idea of your priorities and create a

:21:05. > :21:08.safe area for the firefighters to work, and then take it step by step.

:21:08. > :21:10.Inside the club, the firefighters have to wear blackout masks to

:21:10. > :21:15.simulate thick smoke. Their vision here is impaired and their senses

:21:15. > :21:23.disorientated. But they have to inch forward to rescue the stranded

:21:23. > :21:28.clubbers. You cannot see anything at all. It is too basically mimic

:21:28. > :21:33.what you would find in a fire. You can only see in front of your eye

:21:33. > :21:37.is in a fire, and the simplest of tasks are made harder by the fact

:21:37. > :21:40.that you cannot see what is in front of you. It may all be staged,

:21:40. > :21:48.but the realism is vital for training. Some here dealt with a

:21:48. > :21:54.major fire in a warehouse in Warwickshire four years For ago.

:21:54. > :21:58.lot of us here were in that circumstance, so it is about

:21:58. > :22:01.getting them into the building and finding their way out safely,

:22:01. > :22:04.helping casualties on the way. teams here say that they learnt

:22:04. > :22:11.many lessons. Lessons that will help to save theirs and other

:22:11. > :22:14.peoples lives if this were to happen for real.

:22:14. > :22:18.Let's hope very much that it never does happen.

:22:18. > :22:20.In football, Yeovil Town have missed out on a third round FA Cup

:22:20. > :22:23.tie against Blackpool after they were knocked out by non-League

:22:23. > :22:33.Fleetwood Town. They lost their second round replay

:22:33. > :22:35.

:22:35. > :22:39.last night by two goals to nil. from favourable, but Yeovil Town

:22:39. > :22:45.felt they could avoid slipping up to a side two divisions beneath

:22:45. > :22:50.them. After letting a two goal lead slip in an early tie, they could

:22:51. > :22:56.have settled this chance -- settled the nerves with this chance. And

:22:56. > :23:05.with this free kick. But it was Fleetwood who took the lead. Jamie

:23:05. > :23:09.McGuire shot past the keeper. And the fans were concerned about the -

:23:09. > :23:14.- were not concerned about falling temperatures. Yeovil had three

:23:14. > :23:18.chances to equalise but the fleet would keeper impressed once more.

:23:18. > :23:22.The manager was left to wonder why they had been more than matched by

:23:22. > :23:29.a side from the lower leagues. Desperate attempts to gain an

:23:29. > :23:34.equaliser and force extra time eluded them. As The Oval pressed,

:23:34. > :23:37.Fleetwood scored their second. Many Yeovil Town fans left early, but

:23:37. > :23:41.not the players, kept in by their manager long after the final

:23:42. > :23:51.whistle. So it was Yeovil who missed out, leaving Fleetwood and

:23:52. > :23:52.

:23:52. > :23:59.their fans to enjoy a tie against I think we can safely blame the

:23:59. > :24:02.weather for that, otherwise they Well, we have actually had some

:24:02. > :24:05.snow in the West today. This was Peasedown St John this morning. And

:24:05. > :24:10.it was a similar picture in parts of Wiltshire and Somerset. A little

:24:10. > :24:16.scattering there. And tonight listeners to BBC Gloucestershire

:24:16. > :24:19.have been reporting snow showers there.

:24:20. > :24:25.Ian is here with a full forecast. There has been a lot of confusion

:24:25. > :24:29.over the next couple of days? Uncertainty is the key word to this,

:24:29. > :24:33.and there will continue to be until we get up to the wire. Events will

:24:33. > :24:38.start to develop on Thursday night into Friday. A complex forecasting

:24:38. > :24:42.situation. Having said that, the bulk of tomorrow is straightforward,

:24:43. > :24:46.there will be more showers, some of those wintry, and then some heavy

:24:46. > :24:51.rain, strengthening winds late on and the threat of snow to was

:24:51. > :24:56.Friday morning. The reason is this developing area of low pressure,

:24:56. > :25:00.very potent Atlantic storm, and if we watched his extensive cloud head

:25:00. > :25:05.developing as it sweeps its way in, it has an ominous look to it.

:25:05. > :25:11.Hidden below that is the area of low pressure, which is starting to

:25:11. > :25:14.become more developed with time. It will race towards us on Thursday,

:25:14. > :25:21.and then explicitly develops as it approaches the British Isles. We

:25:21. > :25:25.expect the worst of the winds, the damaging winds, to be in that -- to

:25:25. > :25:29.be in France, but that does not mean the South will escape. The

:25:29. > :25:33.threat of snow into Friday morning as well, and heavy rain before that.

:25:33. > :25:39.Two scenarios for where the storm will get. The most favoured, pretty

:25:39. > :25:43.much across our district, with most of the heavy rain, the worst of the

:25:43. > :25:47.winds further to the south, but the threat of flowers. A second

:25:47. > :25:50.scenario, less chance, takes it further northwards, meaning the

:25:50. > :25:54.south-east could be dire by Friday morning if not before and we still

:25:54. > :25:59.have a risk of rain and snow. Either way, we have to wait up to

:25:59. > :26:03.the wire to see what happens. Tonight, we continue as through

:26:03. > :26:08.today. Further showers, some giving further snow over the Cotswolds and

:26:08. > :26:11.other high ground in the West Country. It could be less as you

:26:11. > :26:21.come further southward and we will have the threat of ice as well.

:26:21. > :26:22.

:26:23. > :26:32.Winds will pick up through the night. Temperatures down 1-three

:26:32. > :26:36.Celsius, hence the threat of ice. Further showers across western

:26:36. > :26:40.Somerset, some of those tracking eastwards. Then a law before we

:26:40. > :26:44.start to import that storm feature which will make inroads in its

:26:44. > :26:47.approach by the end of Thursday evening. It will turn progressively

:26:47. > :26:53.wetter and windier for all of us, that is how the day will end.

:26:53. > :26:58.Temperatures about six or seven Celsius. Fairly academic, because

:26:58. > :27:02.on Friday morning it is wet to start off, look how the wind

:27:02. > :27:07.changes direction. Cold and northerly digging in at about 5,

:27:07. > :27:12.6am in the morning. That is when we get the threat of snow. These are

:27:12. > :27:17.just ballpark figures. Less chance further to the west, the M4

:27:17. > :27:24.corridor could be difficult towards London. Exactly how far west and

:27:24. > :27:30.south this no expense, very much open to doubt. Keep an eye on the

:27:30. > :27:34.forecast -- how far west and south of the snow extends, open to doubt.