13/01/2012 BBC Points West

Good evening, and welcome to BBC Points West. Our headlines tonight:

The carer who could not cope. Jail today for the husband who killed

his wife of 58 years after a decade of nursing her alone.

Guilty as charged - the broadcaster Peter Rowell admits a string of

sexual assaults against teenage girls.

Vowing to get their money back - couples who lost their weddings

when the business went bust meet the bosses.

Any comments about what has happened? No comments. What can you

say to the creditors? I have said everything to the creditors that I

need to. And, now it's official - a judge

tells the College Green Occupiers Good evening.

A pensioner from Somerset who "snapped" and killed his wife of 58

years has been sent to jail for 12 months. Malcolm Beardon, from

Wellington, had been caring for his childhood sweetheart Margaret for

over a decade. She had dementia, and the court

heard he lost control. Today the judge at Exeter Crown

Court said to describe this case as tragic would be a significant

understatement. John Maguire reports.

They were barely into their 20s when Malcolm and Margaret became

man and wife. This was their home in Wellington for 50 years. They

brought up a family here. The house is immaculate. Mr and Mrs Beardon

were devoted to each other, and for the past decade he had been her

full time carer. But dementia took hold. She no longer recognised her

home, her family, her husband, and, last July, he snapped. At a

previous hearing, the court was told that 79-year-old Malcolm

Beardon lost control that night as he gently strangled his wife. He

rang his daughter to tell her he had murdered Margaret, but the

prosecution accepted a plea of manslaughter due to the exceptional

circumstances. In passing sentence, the judge said that to describe

this case as tragic would be a significant understatement. The

principle of the sanctity of human life would be undermined, he said,

if a custodial sentence was not passed. He ordered Mr Dearden to

serve 12 months in jail. He had always insisted that he could cope,

rejecting offers of help. But clearly he couldn't. Tonight,

carers are being urged not to suffer in silence. Most people

don't identify themselves as carers, because why would in due care for

your husband, wife, son, daughter, etc? We would like more people to

identify so they can get the support they need to prevent them

getting into crisis situations. Malcolm Beardon's family have

supported him throughout and were in court again today. Recent months

have seen them lose their mother, and now their father is in jail for

something the court heard was done in a moment, without malice,

without motive but that will haunt Mr Beardon for the rest of his days.

The well-known broadcaster Peter Rowell has admitted abusing young

girls. The television and radio presenter, who is from Wickwar in

South Gloucestershire, pleaded guilty to 12 charges of indecent

assault on girls under the age of 16. He also admitted downloading

indecent images of children. He denied a charge of rape. Our home

affairs correspondent Steve Brodie was in court.

He was one of the West's most well- known broadcasters, a television

and radio presenter who enjoyed the limelight. But Peter Rowell had a

sordid secret life, using his position to abuse and indecently

assault young girls. For ten years, he worked as a newsreader on the

then ITV West in Bristol, and as a DJ on GWR. In May 2010, he joined

BBC Radio Bristol and BBC Somerset as the station's afternoon

presenter. But now that career is over. The former presenter stood in

the dock wearing a blue shirt and tie and a grey suit, accompanied by

a prison officer. He replied guilty to 19 of the charges put to him by

the court clerk. 12 of them were for indecent assaults on girls

under the age of 16. He also admitted six charges of downloading

indecent pictures of children, and one charge of possessing them. It

was in March last year that Peter Rowell hit the headlines. He had

disappeared from his home in Wickwar, in South Gloucestershire.

At the time, it was thought he was depressed over the death of his

father. After a police search, he eventually turned up in Cumbria,

and within days was arrested and charged with sex offences. Police

had already raided his home and seized his computer. On it, more

than 400 indecent images of children. Bristol Crown Court heard

that had Rowell not pleaded guilty, five victims would have given

evidence against him, detailing how he assaulted them as young girls

between 1989 and 1995. Tonight, both the BBC and ITV refused to

comment. The young people's charity The Prince's Trust, where Rowell

was a patron, said they were very shocked to hear the charges. They

said Peter Rowell has supported the charity at fundraising events, but

had no direct involvement in running their courses with young

people. Adjourning the case until March, Judge David Ticehurst told

Rowell it was only right that his victims could have the opportunity

to see him sentenced. Couples who lost thousands of

pounds when a Bristol wedding firm stopped trading came face-to-face

with the company directors today. Aspire Venues has now officially

gone into liquidation. It had run into financial difficulties last

summer but continued to take money from customers. It now owes almost

�1.5 million. Sabet Choudhury reports.

Completely angry. Upset, this is our wedding. Wedding is a once-in-

a-lifetime, she has been planning it all of her life, since she was a

girl, and it has been ruined. partner is due to give birth two

weeks before, so it has caused loads of stress to us as a family.

Can we ask how much money you are owed? I am owed for grand. Two-and-

a-half 1,000. Everyone at the meeting today had a story of loss,

totalling �1.5 million. One of the grooms most affected is Paul. His

wedding collapsed when Aspire stopped trading before Christmas.

He had paid in full, �8,300. It is a lot of money, and obviously no

one can afford to lose that amount of money. It left us in an awkward

position, and with a bitter taste in our mouths, kind of thing. Your

wedding is a special day to everyone involved. Obviously

rearranging a venue at short notice, especially in the heart of summer,

is not easy. Leaving the meeting, Aspire's directors did not want to

speak to us today. Any comments about what has happened? No comment.

What can you say to the creditors? I have said everything to them that

I need to. But they told the meeting the company had run into

difficulties with the costs of renovating and buying their

properties, and they had also lost a lucrative contract. It is whether

we decide to put something in the middle of the stairway... For some

couples, though, there is hope. This is Eastington Park, near

Stroud, one of the venues Aspire used. And here a new wedding

business is starting. The owner of the building has stepped in and is

taking on Aspire's bookings. I do believe that we have got 21, 22

readings of the 35 that were originally booked through a spire.

We will be running those, mostly, at an absolute loss -- booked

through Aspire Venues. But the owner and myself want to honour

these weddings. Good news for couples like Richard Howe and Amy

White, who thought their dream wedding at Eastington was off. But

now it is back on. Although that's no comfort for the couples left out

in the cold today. They are not likely to get their money back

unless they are insured or paid on a credit card.

With me is Phil Parkyn, the principal Trading Standards officer

for Bristol City Council. This is heartbreaking, young

couples saving up, many so tight, and now they have lost it. What are

the chances of getting some of the cashback? Very unlikely unless they

have wedding insurance or paid on credit card. My heart goes out to

these people, my daughter is getting married this year, it has

been a steep learning curve, a very expensive business. There are

basically two ways in which consumers can protect themselves.

If they pay for any part of the then new deposit contract using a

credit card, a credit card, not a credit card cheques, not cash, not

transfer, not a debit card, with a credit card, they are automatically

covered by section 75 of the consumer act. Your contract is with

the credit card company? Absolutely. Theoretically, because of that

liability, the credit card company could pick up the bill for the cost

of the breach of contracts with the ancillary suppliers because a

wedding is an incredibly complicated thing, you have

caterers, dress manufacturers, cake makers. A huge number of people

involved, lots of contracts. However, when you are looking at

consequential loss, it can get really, really complicated and my

advice to consumers would be to take out wedding insurance. You can

get a good policy, I insured my daughter's wedding for less than

�60. I got comprehensive insurance for the venue, caterers going bust,

the car company running out of petrol on the way. It does not

cover the groom running off or the Bride getting cold feet, but I

would advise people to look at that, shop around for policies. It is

another expense but might be worth it? The average cost of a wedding

is between 15 and 18,000, I had mine does not cost that much, but

it is small fry a compared with that. I will have to stop you there,

but thank you Deryn much indeed. I hope everything goes well with your

daughter's wedding. Police are investigating claims

that a man with restricted growth was attacked while celebrating his

birthday in Somerset, leaving him with back injuries. Martin

Henderson was outside the White Horse pub in Wincanton when it

happened. He says he was picked up and dropped on the ground by an

unknown attacker. He believes the assault was prompted by stories

about so-called "dwarf throwing" during the Rugby World Cup.

It made me feel as if we are a target now, after the would be

World Cup, and we shouldn't be. -- of the Rugby World Cup. We wish to

be left alone, as we are just normal humans, except we suffer

from a different condition. Mr Henderson's attacker is

described as a slim man who was wearing a hooded top and baseball

cap. Police are appealing for any witnesses.

A judge has ruled that the Occupy Bristol protesters should be

evicted from the city's College Green.

But after the ruling was made this morning, some campaigners refused

to leave the courtroom, saying they challenge the court's authority.

James Hassam is at the protest site for us tonight. James, are they

staying or going? After almost 30 days here, this

site's days are numbered. The Occupy Bristol protesters told the

BBC they would clear this camp, where there are around 30p, with in

two weeks. It came after a bizarre day at Bristol County Court where a

judge agreed with the council and the Church's view that the

protesters should be moved on. A small group of them disagreed, and

staged a protest, and occupation of the court room itself. They were

eventually moved on, and they said to us later on that, like the Dean

and the council, they regret that this was not resolved through

discussion but confirmed they will move on within two week.

Will this be the end of the movement in Bristol?

No is the short answer to that. Not according to the protesters, they

say they have plans to move on somewhere else and will release

details to us next week. You can find out more details about this

whole situation on this weekend's Sunday politics on BBC One at

midday. Yes, our new weekly political

programme, Sunday Politics, is on air this weekend. Among the guests

are the Dean of Bristol Cathedral and one of the Occupy protesters.

They are joined by two of our local MPs as we discuss capitalism and

bankers. We are also talking about the coffee shops that are opening

without planning permission. That is the new Sunday Politics with me

and Andrew Neil, and it starts at Now sport.

Bristol City's manager has started to make his moves in the transfer

market. His side are back in League action tomorrow, and there could be

a couple of debuts. Alistair is here.

Derek McInnes is finally getting a chance to mould his own side at

Bristol City. We're almost midway through the January transfer window,

and he's made three signings so far, with a wish list of more players to

come. Striker Chris Wood, a New Zealand international, became the

latest arrival yesterday. He should be in the side at Brighton tomorrow.

Geoff Twentyman has been to Ashton Gate to see how City are

progressing. Of I think we picked up and 21,

from 36 points in the league, which is a decent return, but we have got

to try and keep on working to that standard. The signs are there that

we are improving. Derek McInnes has been in charge for 13 league games.

Six wins, four defeats and three draws have moved City off the

bottom of the table to 19th, three points above the relegation trap

door. I expect the two recent signings will debut tomorrow. West

Brom striker Chris Wood, a New Zealand international, scored 10

goals in 28 games whilst on loan at Birmingham this season. Defender

Richard Foster was captain at Aberdeen. And gained Champions

League experience whilst on loan at Rangers.

Obviously there are a lot of games coming up thick and fast. Through

February. Then we can take stock and see where we are in the lead.

Every week, there is a team in the bottom half which beats a team in

the top half. I have to come and prove myself. There are a lot of

other very good strikers. I have to do my job and score goals and work

well with everybody up front with me. Derek McInnes is starting to

shake the squad his way. Two new signings this week. If they can

repeat their past form, they will be absolutely fine. Don't expect

champagne football, expect winning football.

The rest of the weekend's games are coming on the screen now. Bristol

Rovers will go into their match with top of the table Crawley still

searching for a new manager. Today, Burton's Paul Peschisolido

turned down the chance of an interview for the job. He said he

was "flattered" but had politely declined the request. His Burton

side are currently just outside the League Two play-off places. Rovers

have been without a manager since Paul Buckle was sacked ten days ago.

Rugby, and nothing but a win will do for Gloucester in the Heineken

Cup at Harlequins. They're currently third in their pool, and

only the group winners are guaranteed a place in the quarter-

finals. Bath's chance has gone, but a win in Montpellier tomorrow

lunchtime could still help them qualify for the Amlin Challenge Cup,

Europe's second tier competition. After a career-changing 2011, Judd

Trump is hoping to further enhance his reputation over the next week

in snooker's prestigious Masters tournament. The Bristolian won two

major titles last year, and reached the final of the World

Championships at the Crucible. He heads to Alexandra Palace for the

Masters, ranked as the fifth best player in the world.

Everyone is expecting a lot more of May, there is a bit more pressure

on me. I going and take one game at a time. If I played close to my

best I have a good chance of winning. I don't want to settle for

one or two tournaments, I want to get to 25 tournament wins. I have

to kick around it, keep on working and improving. And, hopefully, I

can dominate the game. He Judd's first round match in the

Masters is against Stuart Bingham on Monday.

Did tournament starts on Sunday. It is the live on BBC Two. Now, have a

listen to next piece of music. It's been chosen by Radio Four listeners

as the nation's favourite piece of classical music: The Lark Ascending

by Ralph Vaughan Williams. It has its roots right here in the west.

It was first performed in Shirehampton. And now, for a BBC

documentary, that original performance has been recreated.

Here's Jules Hyam. One of the best-loved and best-

known loved pieces in classical music. You've only got to listen to

it, and you are listening to an angel. -- to England. The Lark

Ascending has a special place in many people's hearts. It sends

shivers, is still does, through me. I'm shivering even thinking about

it. There are two big crescendos in it. That was the first time I think

I had got a physical feeling from a bit of music. Its composer Ralph

Vaughan Williams was born in Gloucestershire, and the piece

itself was also born here in the west. It was played publicly for

the very first time at Shirehampton Hall. It was 1920, and while he was

staying at King's Weston House, Vaughan Williams worked with a

young violinist spotted busking on Bristol's streets. Marie Hall was

her name and, together, she and the composer reworked the original

score for piano and violin. It was really designed to fit her talents.

You can see here whole sections have been rewritten, and new bits

of paper have been pasted over the originals. Now, 18, from BBC West,

has made a documentary remaking that first performance, again with

a young violinist. This time a 15 year old rising star from Bristol,

Julia Hwang. The story of this remarkable piece is told tonight on

BBC Four, in a special programme that includes Julia's entire

performance. Here's Julia Hwang, and her violin.

Together they weaved the magic you just heard. What do you think of

it? And it is earned on her to play such a magical piece of music which

perfectly portrays the beautiful English music side. It is melodic,

beautiful. It is mystical. Violinists have to concentrate to

capture that atmosphere to make the piece work. It is a difficult piece

to play. Or is it so natural for you? It is difficult in terms of

the musicality and the charity required. But the notes themselves

aren't technically demanding. more about the emotion. When you

talk about maturity, how all are you? I am 15. Is it difficult for

you? I think it is important to get lots of concert experience to

mature as a performer. And I am very lucky to have been given lots

of opportunities to perform this piece with orchestra. We had Juliet

in the studio five years ago. Do you remember this?

We thought you were excellent then. How many hours do practise a week?

I tried to get an average of five hours a day. Do your parents have

to nag you? My mum did have to slightly when I was younger. But

nowadays, I practise because I enjoy producing music for people to

listen to. And your career? I am performing now. But I would like to

be a full concert performer. And give performances as a job.

will be. You are going to give us a treat now, pay us a little bit?

That is fantastic. I have never known an introduction to the

weather like that. How miracle. -- It is decidedly chilly and will be

so through the weekend. The return of fog and frost as we run through

tonight and into Sunday. It continues into the start of next

week as well. This lovely photo looking south. A similar story into

tomorrow morning. There should be decent weather. Through to the end

of the weekend and the start of next week, you can see the high

pressure migrates East, taking fogged in that direction. The

frontal system moving to the south of Cornwall, not affecting us. It

remains the mind -- benign into Tuesday. This is the temperature,

showing we are under colder conditions. Until Wednesday and

Thursday, that warm that there may not be particularly long-lasting.

It will bring temperatures back-up by then. Until then, to pictures

are tumbling, easily below freezing across many parts of the

countryside. Tonight, but fog problems will move from Somerset

into Gloucestershire. Right the way down to the Thames Valley. Freezing

fog, temperatures could be quite conservative, freezing in Bristol.

Miners four in parts of the countryside. Tomorrow, early fog,

slow to clear. There should be decent sunshine in the morning.

More cloud in the afternoon, particularly further west. Where it

is, it will be a pleasant day, remaining dry, six Celsius. Another

frosty night through to Sunday. A repeat performance in terms of the

morning. The key difference is on Sunday we have less cloud around

generally. Crisp blue sky, a beautiful weekend. Looking beyond,

a similar story it into the start of next week, changes midweek,

getting a lot colder at the end of That's it from us for now. Sabet