:00:10. > :00:13.Good evening, and welcome to BBC Points West. Our headlines tonight:
:00:13. > :00:16.Warminster counts the cost - shock in the military town as it's
:00:16. > :00:26.revealed five of the six soldiers killed in Afghanistan were based
:00:26. > :00:30.
:00:30. > :00:33.there. I think there will be massive support for the families
:00:33. > :00:35.and soldiers. Tonight, a church service to
:00:35. > :00:38.remember the soldiers who only left on Valentine's Day.
:00:38. > :00:41.Also tonight: The patient whose life was ruined by a medical
:00:41. > :00:46.blunder, but he might not get compensation because it was an
:00:46. > :00:56.agency nurse who made the mistake. And if you can't get a seat on a
:00:56. > :01:01.
:01:01. > :01:07.train, should you automatically be There is an intense sense of loss
:01:07. > :01:10.in the military town of Warminster, after the deaths of six soldiers in
:01:10. > :01:13.Afghanistan. Five of those killed were from The Yorkshire Regiment,
:01:13. > :01:18.which have its barracks on the edge of the Salisbury Plain. These
:01:18. > :01:23.soldiers had been waved off a few weeks ago on Valentine's Day.
:01:23. > :01:33.Tonight, at the Mayor says there will be a book of condolence, and a
:01:33. > :01:39.church service is being held. Let us cross to Warminster. Good
:01:39. > :01:44.evening. Behind the closed gates, the master has been flying at half
:01:44. > :01:49.flat all day. You can probably see the tribute to building up. Just a
:01:49. > :01:55.few hours ago, that was completely empty. You can probably see the
:01:55. > :02:03.candle as well. That was part of a ceremony on Valentine's Day. That
:02:03. > :02:07.was when the soldiers were deployed to Afghanistan. Slowly, the news is
:02:07. > :02:17.seeping into the local community, but not all soldiers will be
:02:17. > :02:18.
:02:18. > :02:27.returning it in eight weeks' time. Five have died. It is saddening. It
:02:27. > :02:37.can happen so close to home. I am horrified about it. It is a
:02:37. > :02:41.
:02:41. > :02:45.difficult job. I feel for them, I really do. Those soldiers belong to
:02:45. > :02:49.Warminster. It is difficult to get information
:02:49. > :02:54.from the scene in Afghanistan. It is not known whether any bodies
:02:54. > :02:59.have been recovered, or whether the improvised explosive device was a
:02:59. > :03:08.new one, or a relic from the past. But there is someone who has
:03:08. > :03:13.experience of these matters, a local MP. He has, today, been
:03:13. > :03:19.offering his condolences and support to the local community.
:03:19. > :03:23.can only imagine what this does. These are our friends and comrades.
:03:23. > :03:29.The loss will be extremely keenly felt. It is difficult to overstate
:03:29. > :03:32.the impact this has, but The Yorkshire Regiment is a fine
:03:32. > :03:40.organisation, and they will continue what they do, which they
:03:40. > :03:46.do with incredible professionalism. This may have happened a long way
:03:46. > :03:51.away, but the shock waves are being felt right here. Being used only
:03:51. > :03:55.rarely just beginning to sink in here. A special service will be
:03:55. > :04:02.held at the barracks, but there will be a public one, which people
:04:02. > :04:10.have been invited to at the local church. Clinton Rogers is there.
:04:11. > :04:17.Yes, there is a focal point for the terrible sense of shock and sadness
:04:17. > :04:24.being felt, which is inextricably linked with the military base. It
:04:24. > :04:29.was a 5:00pm when people started arriving here. There was always
:04:29. > :04:34.going to be a prayers evening this evening, but as soon as the news of
:04:35. > :04:41.this tragedy broke, there was also a feeling that this service should
:04:41. > :04:46.be a special service of remembrance. The people up Warminster a very
:04:46. > :04:51.proud of their links with the military, and there is a sixth
:04:51. > :05:01.sends the in a time like this, people know what to do. -- sixth
:05:01. > :05:03.
:05:03. > :05:08.sense. We will light candles and have it readings and say prayers.
:05:08. > :05:16.Inside his church, a pretty simple service, but it's very emotional
:05:16. > :05:20.one. It lasted half an hour. Beat local Mayor was there, and ex
:05:20. > :05:26.service personnel. Family who wanted to share that Greek and pay
:05:26. > :05:33.their respects to the soldiers who have paid the ultimate sacrifice. -
:05:33. > :05:38.- their grief. People told me they felt the right note had been struck.
:05:39. > :05:46.I thought it was important. They had been around for a long time in
:05:46. > :05:49.the town. My sister's husband is married to one of them. We came
:05:49. > :05:59.here, and important for the children to understand how
:05:59. > :05:59.
:05:59. > :06:07.important it is. 25% of this town it is serving, or X serving,
:06:07. > :06:15.military. The Campbell get together and see these boys off. The rest of
:06:15. > :06:21.the battalion are yet to deploy. We will rally round and now. On that
:06:21. > :06:25.note, there will be a march through Warminster on the 16th, before the
:06:25. > :06:30.main deployment to Afghanistan. That will take on extra
:06:30. > :06:36.significance, I am sure. Apart from being a service, if there was also
:06:36. > :06:46.a service at the barracks itself. One can only imagine what the mood
:06:46. > :06:49.
:06:49. > :06:56.was like. The Mayor is joining us now. You were at the community
:06:56. > :07:05.centre, talking to local people. All was the feeling like? Absolute
:07:05. > :07:13.devastation and shock. It was only three weeks to go that we said
:07:13. > :07:19.goodbye. They went out, three weeks later, and six were gone. It is six,
:07:19. > :07:25.in actual fact. There is just this complete sense of shock and
:07:25. > :07:30.bewilderment. I have just spoken to the commanding officer. He is
:07:30. > :07:37.visibly shaken. There is a service at the moment at the church, and we
:07:37. > :07:43.have also had our own service at the Minster Church at 5pm. We are
:07:43. > :07:50.told the names will come around lunchtime tomorrow. Originally, we
:07:50. > :07:55.would tell the names at 9am, but is now deferred to 12. As soon as they
:07:55. > :08:04.are known, I will open the books of condolence in the St Lawrence
:08:04. > :08:13.Church in town. I am told that one in five soldiers return with some
:08:13. > :08:18.kind of like changing injury. In the West, we are home to a
:08:18. > :08:22.significant number of military units. 10,000 soldiers are based
:08:22. > :08:31.around one of the country's largest and most important training areas
:08:31. > :08:35.on Salisbury Plain. Clustered around it the Warminster Garrison,
:08:35. > :08:39.where the 3rd Battalion are based. As the name suggests, have their
:08:39. > :08:43.roots are in the north. They recruit from Yorkshire families.
:08:43. > :08:51.The loss of five of their community is being felt by relatives and
:08:51. > :08:55.loved ones. In the West, more troops, Marines, are preparing to
:08:55. > :09:01.deploy. The timetable for Afghanistan remains unchanged.
:09:01. > :09:06.hope will be moving our combat soldiers in 2014, although we will
:09:06. > :09:11.be leaving other people there after that. By them, we hope this
:09:12. > :09:19.incident will be history. We think back with pride of these soldiers
:09:19. > :09:23.giving their lives. But with this, the single biggest loss of British
:09:23. > :09:27.lives in Afghanistan for five-and- a-half years, leading figures are
:09:27. > :09:33.questioning whether the politics of the military operation should be
:09:33. > :09:37.quite so rigid. The former Secretary of State for
:09:38. > :09:43.Defence told us they may be time to scale back on the more dangerous
:09:43. > :09:47.operations in Afghanistan. I spoke to Lord King earlier, and asked him
:09:47. > :09:55.how the Defence Secretary will be responding. These Secretary of
:09:55. > :10:00.State would be very concerned. Particularly because they were in a
:10:00. > :10:03.while armoured vehicle, and a criticism has been that some
:10:03. > :10:11.because one of protected. He will want to know quickly what happened
:10:11. > :10:18.here, and it is a very serious incident. Every loss of life is
:10:18. > :10:24.serious, but this one is the most serious but we have had. Given we
:10:24. > :10:30.know combat operations will end, at the end of 2014, showed our
:10:30. > :10:35.strategy be changed to try to prevent further death like this?
:10:35. > :10:41.What we have to do is press on as fast as we can with the handover to
:10:41. > :10:45.the Afghan army, and Afghan police. The bravery of our soldiers and
:10:45. > :10:51.others has given the Afghan people the chance of an orderly government,
:10:51. > :10:56.the chance of education for their children, a civilised life. They
:10:56. > :11:02.have got to take over that responsibility. We have to see it
:11:02. > :11:07.through, but it is to be carried through as quickly as it can.
:11:07. > :11:16.worth doing risky operations, this far on in the campaign? I don't
:11:16. > :11:21.know if this was risky. They were merely keeping open a line of
:11:21. > :11:26.communication, important that our troops and people to be able to
:11:26. > :11:31.continue their normal life, get to the markets and towns. This is
:11:31. > :11:41.something we need to discover. Otherwise, there is not a case for
:11:41. > :11:45.
:11:45. > :11:46.rescue operations. It's David and Alex with this
:11:46. > :11:48.evening's Points West. Coming up tonight:
:11:48. > :11:53.Every fisherman's dream - yes, that's 1,400 rainbow trout being
:11:53. > :11:57.tipped into the water, just waiting to be caught.
:11:57. > :12:07.And Bristol City supporters, don't look away now - yes, your team has
:12:07. > :12:10.
:12:10. > :12:16.Avon and Somerset police arrested more than 100 people during a major
:12:17. > :12:18.crackdown on crime across the force's six districts. Operation
:12:19. > :12:25.Relentless focused on drug, burglary, assault and theft
:12:25. > :12:29.offences. A series of dawn raids saw more than 70 people arrested in
:12:29. > :12:38.Bristol alone. Officers also seized two cars, a motorbike, more than
:12:38. > :12:42.�1,500 in cash and two Rolex watches.
:12:42. > :12:48.A Wiltshire man, a severely brain- damaged after a nurse switched off
:12:48. > :12:52.his ventilator, may not receive compensation. Jamie Merrett was
:12:53. > :12:59.left with catastrophic injuries after the mistake. Now, Points West
:12:59. > :13:03.has discovered the agency who supplied the nurse was not insured.
:13:03. > :13:11.It raises questions about who is liable when things go wrong.
:13:11. > :13:17.Jamie Merrett, now needs extra care because of his brain damage. This
:13:17. > :13:27.is the moment it was caused - when this nurse turned off her patient's
:13:27. > :13:28.
:13:28. > :13:32.ventilator in his home. Jamie Merrett set up a camera, because he
:13:32. > :13:37.felt his concerns about errors being made were not being listened
:13:37. > :13:41.to. This footage shows how the nurse, who have not been trained to
:13:41. > :13:49.use his ventilator, panicked, leaving him without his supply of
:13:49. > :13:52.oxygen for almost a quarter of an hour. The nurse was supplied to NHS
:13:52. > :13:57.Wiltshire. An investigation has found not only was she not properly
:13:57. > :14:03.trained, but that the company did not have adequate systems in place
:14:03. > :14:08.to check what training their staff had. It has now emerged the agency
:14:09. > :14:13.was not insured at the time. The company says it was not required to,
:14:13. > :14:21.as there was only a recruitment agency, and the nurse would be
:14:21. > :14:26.covered by her professional body. We initially understood that we had
:14:26. > :14:31.insurance. That has now been withdrawn. She is now liable in
:14:31. > :14:35.person for any damages which are awarded to Jamie Merrett. It is
:14:35. > :14:42.beggars belief that a nurse could find herself in this situation.
:14:42. > :14:52.They must be many her -- other nurses out there, who find they may
:14:52. > :15:10.
:15:10. > :15:13.not have cover. In a statement, the As more and more private companies
:15:13. > :15:21.take on work on behalf of the NHS in patient's homes, this case
:15:21. > :15:23.raises fundamental questions about who is liable when things go wrong.
:15:23. > :15:26.Mr Merrett's solicitor has now lodged a claim against another
:15:26. > :15:36.private agency, called Invent Health that had subcontracted the
:15:36. > :15:38.
:15:38. > :15:42.work to Ambition 24. They won't comment because of the claim.
:15:42. > :15:45.Because she does not have an indemnity or insurance then we are
:15:46. > :15:50.looking to make a claim against Invent Health who were responsible
:15:50. > :15:54.for the care package. There is a risk we may not succeed and because
:15:54. > :15:57.there is no insurance, Jamie may not get his damages.
:15:57. > :16:00.In a seperate development, Mss Aylward is due to appear before the
:16:00. > :16:03.nursing and midwifery council next week to face charges that include
:16:03. > :16:05.not being familiar with how to operate a ventilator and having no
:16:05. > :16:15.training in how to resuscitate a patient breathing through a
:16:15. > :16:21.
:16:21. > :16:25.tracheotomy. Matthew is here with us now. There must be people
:16:25. > :16:28.watching tonight to one wondering if they are insured? The Health and
:16:28. > :16:32.Social Care Act came one year before this incident happened and
:16:32. > :16:36.it says that all providers of health care should have the
:16:36. > :16:40.appropriate insurance or indemnity for this type of thing. Having said
:16:40. > :16:50.that, it is not an essential standards so it does not have as
:16:50. > :16:54.much beef to it as some of the other criteria.
:16:54. > :16:57.They say, always read the small print. If you look at the RCN
:16:57. > :17:00.indemnity scheme, it does not cover you'where you are employed by a
:17:00. > :17:02.health care provider and the employer hasn't also appropriate
:17:02. > :17:07.insurance. Nurses to work under contract to GPs may also not be
:17:07. > :17:11.covered so it is important that people read that. This is a large
:17:11. > :17:14.core and significant claim, not just about the brain damage but
:17:14. > :17:20.also ongoing issues with increasing nursing care and the cost of the
:17:20. > :17:29.brain damage and the cost could be over �100,000. If in doubt check
:17:29. > :17:39.the small print and it if in doubt, ask somebody. Let us lighten up a
:17:39. > :17:51.
:17:51. > :17:53.bit and go fishing! A reservoir in Somerset welcomed
:17:53. > :17:56.some slippery new inhabitants today as it was re-stocked with trout
:17:56. > :17:59.ahead of the new fishing season. The Hawkridge Reservoir on the
:17:59. > :18:02.Quantocks plays host to around 2,000 fly fishers every year. The
:18:02. > :18:05.good news for them is that there's no sign of the drought which other
:18:05. > :18:07.areas of the country have been experiencing. Here's Sarah-Jane
:18:07. > :18:10.Bungay. Three tanks, a little manpower and
:18:10. > :18:11.a long piece of plastic tubing - the main tools needed to re-stock a
:18:11. > :18:14.reservoir. Around 1,400 rainbow trout are
:18:14. > :18:17.being put in the reservoir here today and that's in preparation for
:18:17. > :18:20.the fishing season which begins next Wednesday. Last year the
:18:20. > :18:23.largest fish caught here weighed in at 5lb 14oz but of course the
:18:23. > :18:26.fishing is only good if the water levels are sufficient.
:18:26. > :18:29.Hawkridge is full, as are nearly all of our reservoirs, and we're in
:18:29. > :18:32.a much more fortunate position than other parts of the country.
:18:32. > :18:35.It's so full, in fact, water is falling over the dam wall at the
:18:35. > :18:39.end. But there's no complacency here, customers are still being
:18:39. > :18:42.asked to use supplies carefully. If you look at the rainfall here
:18:42. > :18:48.over the weekend, which was heavy for a few hours, people may think
:18:48. > :18:50.that's going to fill everything up but it's not the case. What we need
:18:50. > :18:54.ideally is more long term persistent drizzle conditions which
:18:54. > :18:58.will fill the ground up slowly rather than the rain we had at the
:18:58. > :19:01.weekend. The levels will naturally dip
:19:01. > :19:09.during the summer months, but for the moment the fish are happy
:19:09. > :19:11.enjoying 864 million litres on offer.
:19:11. > :19:16.Football, and at last Bristol City supporters have something to smile
:19:16. > :19:19.about. The team recorded their first win in eight matches last
:19:19. > :19:26.night. It means they're now five points above the relegation zone as
:19:26. > :19:29.points above the relegation zone as Matthew Pick reports.
:19:29. > :19:32.City fans would have been forgiven for thinking here we go again when
:19:33. > :19:36.Lloyd Dyer put Leicester in front. Yet strikes from Kalifa Cisse and
:19:36. > :19:39.then Brett Pitman either side of half-time put the home team ahead.
:19:39. > :19:43.Leicester looked to have taken a point with an equaliser before John
:19:43. > :19:51.Stead was on hand to score the winner. It's only the second time
:19:51. > :19:55.this season that City have scored three in a match. To do it the way
:19:55. > :19:58.we did it against that team and scored three goals was a great
:19:58. > :20:01.testament to the players. Six wins from nine games make
:20:01. > :20:10.Yeovil one of the form teams in League One. Gavin Williams' strike
:20:10. > :20:14.was the difference at MK Dons. Swindon's lead at the top of League
:20:14. > :20:16.Two is now six points after a 4-0 win over bottom club Dagenham and
:20:16. > :20:19.Redbridge. Billy Bodin scored on his return to starting line-up
:20:19. > :20:22.before further strikes from Joe De Vera, Luke Rooney and Paul Benson.
:20:22. > :20:25.This weekend they play Cheltenham, who remain second despite a 3-1
:20:25. > :20:28.defeat at Morecambe. Darryl Duffy's 15th goal of the season had put
:20:28. > :20:35.them ahead. But defending from crosses may be on Cheltenham's
:20:35. > :20:38.training schedule for the rest of the week. Bristol Rovers manager
:20:38. > :20:41.Mark McGhee claimed his side looked like a team that didn't have
:20:41. > :20:46.anything to play for as they went three goals down inside 20 minutes
:20:46. > :20:48.at Northampton. It got better after that when first Craig Stanley and
:20:48. > :20:58.then Lee Brown from the penalty spot gave the scoreline some
:20:58. > :21:02.
:21:02. > :21:05.I was walking across the car park here last night and I heard a great
:21:05. > :21:08.cheer from the football ground and it must be at least a mile-and-a-
:21:08. > :21:11.half away! All this week swimmers from the
:21:11. > :21:14.West have been battling against the best of British to clinch a place
:21:14. > :21:17.on the Olympic team. Tonight Zoe Gough travelled to the Aquatics
:21:17. > :21:22.Centre to watch them make the finals and catch up with some of
:21:22. > :21:30.our other hopefuls. Andrew Willis and Michael Jamieson
:21:30. > :21:35.finally booked their spots. Nerves, drills and anticipation.
:21:35. > :21:39.For our swimmers, this is where dreams can be made. Bath's Chris
:21:39. > :21:48.Walker-Hebborn can afford to look relaxed. His big night isn't until
:21:48. > :21:52.tomorrow. Words cannot describe it. I am trying not to think about it
:21:52. > :21:57.too much. It would be a dream come true and it is not unachievable.
:21:57. > :22:01.That is what I have my sights set on. I have to focus on making their
:22:01. > :22:04.way through the rounds. With so many top class swimmers
:22:04. > :22:07.here, there has been agony too. Siobhan Marie O'Connor, just 16,
:22:08. > :22:17.missed out in her best event. The teenager from Bitton was watched by
:22:17. > :22:24.mum and dad. Absolutely gutted. It wasn't a good swim. I am not happy
:22:24. > :22:29.with their it. When it doesn't workout, it is hard for them,
:22:29. > :22:32.especially at 16 to cope with the pressure. It is so tough. We have
:22:32. > :22:36.to pick up and try and get her ready for tomorrow and the next day
:22:37. > :22:39.and the next day and to carry on. She is very tough.
:22:39. > :22:48.Tonight Bath boys Michael Jamieson, Andrew Willis and Kris Gilchrist
:22:48. > :22:58.went head to head and this is what happened.
:22:58. > :23:00.
:23:00. > :23:02.Very fast, that is absolutely brilliant. Andrew Willis. All the
:23:02. > :23:06.success and the excitement in the West!
:23:06. > :23:10.I always will sorry for the one who does not make it.
:23:10. > :23:16.I know! Lovely sunshine in part.
:23:16. > :23:18.Lovely sunshine in part. 16 ongoing but it took a while!
:23:18. > :23:24.Once we cleared the rain out of the way.
:23:24. > :23:28.Some of us work late and lie in! We have a dichotomy in the weather
:23:28. > :23:36.for the gardeners and the growers are monks to do. Today's rain is
:23:36. > :23:40.likely to be their last we see it for a while. The frost will equally
:23:40. > :23:46.be the last we see for a little while. There are rivers looking
:23:46. > :23:49.parched and the lack of rainfall is looking rather concerning. Less
:23:49. > :23:55.concerning if you have an interest in the Cheltenham Festival which is
:23:55. > :23:59.one week away. I will be keeping your forecasts updated on twitter.
:23:59. > :24:04.The first of those are already up. It looks like it will be a week of
:24:04. > :24:09.pretty benign and dry and mild weather. That applies to all of you
:24:09. > :24:15.across our district. Tomorrow it there will be sunshine after a
:24:15. > :24:18.chilly start with more cloud increasing during the day. There
:24:18. > :24:23.will be high cloud at first with increasing amounts of low-level
:24:23. > :24:28.cloud later in the afternoon. There are just a few showers to get out
:24:28. > :24:32.of the way this evening and then we will be in for a dry night. The
:24:32. > :24:35.wind will slacken away and it will be chilly for us all. After the
:24:36. > :24:41.Cold start tomorrow there is a good deal of sunshine and cloud
:24:41. > :24:45.increases in the afternoon. The detail for this evening and tonight.
:24:45. > :24:50.The winds were a feature of today. They will ease the way and the last
:24:50. > :25:00.of the showers will ease the way just as they are right now. We will
:25:00. > :25:00.
:25:00. > :25:04.have slacker wins and clearer Sky Blues. -- skies. At the very least
:25:05. > :25:10.there will be patchy thrust about for many of you in that her first -
:25:10. > :25:14.- first hours of tomorrow morning but we are not expecting fog. As we
:25:14. > :25:18.get later into the morning, the high cloud will start to make a
:25:18. > :25:21.disappearance and the sunshine will turn hazier. In the afternoon there
:25:21. > :25:27.will be mid-level and then low level cloud and generally speaking
:25:27. > :25:35.it will be cloudier for us all by the afternoon. It will remain dry.
:25:35. > :25:39.The wind is a good deal lighter than today. It will feel pleasantly
:25:39. > :25:43.spring-like. Looking beyond that, before casting problem is a fairly
:25:43. > :25:48.simplistic one, it is about how the cloud cover will behave. That will
:25:48. > :25:51.dictate all the fortunes as far as the temperatures. They should be
:25:51. > :25:55.decent weather at times over the weekend and a lack of frost should
:25:55. > :25:59.be welcome for gardeners who have been out to the garden centres in
:25:59. > :26:02.the sunshine. Thank you very much. You are
:26:02. > :26:08.working late tonight as well so you can also stay in bed tomorrow!
:26:08. > :26:13.Its official! Just to let you know that the