12/04/2012 BBC Points West

Good evening. Headlines: crying out for rain. We can reveal an official

drought for the West is likely to be declared next week.

Co-star of The Bill takes his own life. The coroner hears wife he

became depressed. Bristol wins millions of pounds

from the Government to provide a more school places as the birth

rate soars by 20%. Why the manager of Swindon could be

playing to an empty stadium for the most important match of the season.

The persistent lack of rain has left the West on the verge of an

environmental crisis. We understand a drought for the region could be

officially declared as early as next week. It doesn't mean hosepipe

bans or restrictions on supply, but it indicates how concerned the

government is about the drying up of underground sources and it

affect on agriculture and wildlife. Parts of our region are under a

hosepipe ban. Now Wessex Water is warning of an environmental drought

affecting rivers rather than reservoirs. And also the plants and

animals who depend on them. These are some of Somerset's most

dependable a damp places. Conservationists are keeping a

close what you're as water levels creep ever a law. There are lots of

places in these mirrors were we don't have these are wet land

conditions. Am this will impact on rare wading birds. In Dorset,

channels are dry. No water means no wildlife. At this time of year, we

would expect to see lapwings. By because the soil is dry, there are

no insects for them to feed on. Whilst there aren't any drought

restrictions imposed in this part of the country at the moment, it is

not to say that hour while life is not in trouble. It now seems

certain that a drought will be declared. There might not be

restrictions, but it shows how low the water table has fallen. Here is

how the West looks. Thames Water has a hosepipe ban. South West

Water and Severn Trent Water have no restrictions. Bristol Water are

asking people to use water wisely. Despite the dry weather, we don't

think there will be restrictions on supplied to customers. But we are

concerned about the impact on the environment. Domestic restrictions

are unlikely. What about watering on an industrial scale? When your

livelihood depends on rain, you really notice when it does not come.

From January to the end of March this year, we have had seven inches

of rain. Last year, it was 10 inches. So we are down 30%.

depend on reservoirs and most of them are doing fine. Ultimately,

every drop comes from rivers and springs. It is there that water

shortages are being felt first. So, is there any heavy rain on the

horizon? I know this is a big ask for you to talk about the summer

ahead. Do you know how it looks? Over the next couple of weeks, we

are expecting it to be an unsettled spell. There will be some

meaningful rain early next week. It all helps, but it won't get rid of

the problems which have been racking up over an exceptionally

dry winter. We are playing catch-up. The likelihood is that we will not

catch up by the summer. We will be left with profound shortages.

have kind of missed the boat really. Can we make it up? It would take an

exceptionally wet summer to bring things up to par. That is a great

unknown. The Met Office does not provide seasonal forecasts. But

some others are suggesting it could be an average summer. There is an

awful wait to play for. We have seen these long-range forecasts go

very wrong. Thank you. An actor who appeared on our TV

screens for more than a decade kill himself after becoming severely

depressed an inquest heard today. Colin Tarrant played Inspector

Andrew Munroe on The Bill. He was living in Bristol when he died.

At the age of 59, Colin Tarrant was a well-known face on the corner of

many of our living rooms. 12 years in that the Bill as Inspector

Monroe as well as appearances in Holby City, Casualty, Heartbeat and

Doctors earned him notoriety on our screens. In recent years, he turned

his talent to the stage and triumphed as Brian Clough in that

the spirit of the man. Tonight, his former colleagues played tribute to

him. -- paid tribute. He was a genuine guy who was straight

forward. He had a great heart. He would really give you his time. He

helped me learn my lines. He was a genuine guy. What you see is what

you get with someone like him. It is hard to describe in words, but I

would suggest genuine. In January this year, it seemed his deep

financial difficulties became too much to bear. Today, his family

came to the coroner's court to find out what happened. The inquest

heard that the day before his death he was diagnosed with severe

discretion -- severe depression. He then received a phone call from his

estate agent saying the sale of his London home had fallen through for

a second time. His partner said she heard him going to the bathroom.

When he did not emerge, she entered and found him bleeding heavily from

multiple wounds. He died in the Bristol Royal Infirmary the next

day. The coroner said this afternoon it was clear Colin

Tarrant was severely depressed. He said he was satisfied he intended -

- he was satisfied of the intended consequences and that Colin Tarrant

had taken his own life. You're watching Points West. Stay

with us. Much more to come, including a call on find out how it

the big box of Somerset backed another record at Aintree today.

A blooming in Somerset. The new attraction hoping to become a hot

spot for day trips. Don't call way it, will you? I know

you want. Swindon Town fans are waiting for news tonight to find

out if they are still banned from the potential title clincher in

Kent. A row over policing the game at Gillingham means at present the

match will be played to an empty stadium. Our reporter is in an

empty stadium for us now. Imagine the outrage among us

Swindon fans. Their team might have to play a match at Gillingham that

looks like the County Ground tonight. No ordinary match. They

could win the title and get promoted, so it would be a great

day out for a pal to Canio and his team and his fans. The problem is -

- a problem for the manager. The problem is that there is a stand-

off between Kent Police and the football teams regarding paying for

security. Swindon Town are on the brink of

promotion. Fans and manager on an all-time high. There was news

yesterday that silenced the celebrations. There a way again to

Gillingham would go ahead without any fans in the ground. I have been

privy to intelligence reports and information from the police and I

am satisfied from the information they have given me and from the

questions I have asked them that there is a danger that if we allow

the club to go ahead -- if we allow the game to go ahead without to

adequate policing, there could be a safety issue. There is intense

rivalry between these two teams. In 2009, fans from both sides or

ordered out of the stadium. The ongoing rivalry meant Kent Police

classed became as cat -- classed the game as Category C and required

20 officers inside. The team have refused to pay up. I am shocked.

There will be no one there if we get promoted. I think it is in

Gillingham trying to pull it. They will have to pay The Bill. They're

just trying to save some cash. Good luck to them. -- the A8 will just

have to pay for it. Today, clubs might have to pay more cost with

the region around stadiums having to be paid to be policed as well.

It would cost about �21,000 to police again such as this.

This is the latest from Gillingham. The chairman can confirm that he

has been in discussion with Kent Police and talks are ongoing. But

the club will have no further comment. It seems the doors remain

shut to the fans. What do you think? I am speechless. I am

outraged. What have fans been saying online today? They are going.

They are going to Gillingham and you cannot stop them. They will go.

They will go on the block, as they say, and we all know what happens

then. Anything could happen if they don't get into the ground? Exactly,

and that will result in more football that: it -- football

hooliganism. Do you understand the rivalry? I think the police are

within their rights to have as many police as they like to be there to

protect the supporters. You think that Gillingham should pay up?

not just our supporters, Gillingham supporters as well. You have been

to every home and away game. You are trying to take them all off.

Will you get to Gillingham? Hopefully. If not, I will listen on

the radio. I have never been to Gillingham, so I would like to go.

Very sad for you, but can you understand there is the element of

troublemakers who are not the true fans and supporters? Absolutely.

You have to understand the wishes of the police to have as many

police officers there as they wish. They have to protect supporters and

the public. They will lose out? Absolutely. If there are no

spectators, they will lose more than they have to pay for the

police. This could be the game where we are promoted. We could be

champions at that match. And the ground would be completely empty.

Exactly, yes. The Chief Executive here is saying that he has not sure

if it is illegal to hold a football match without any fans. We will

have to wait to hear the news tomorrow from at Gillingham.

Keep us posted. Thank you. Bristol is to receive �23 million

of government money to fund extra primary school places. The money

given to the city is the 5th largest single order in the country

and the biggest outside London. It is the first step in the world

of education. In Bristol, getting a foot in the door can be a challenge.

There is an overwhelming demand for primary school places. Too many

children and not enough room. Bristol has seen one of the biggest

increases in the school population anywhere in the country. Elsewhere,

the primary population is falling. In Bristol, there has been at 20%

increase over the last four years. In some cases, expansion. In some

cases, new schools. In some cases, Amex provision. Perhaps a little

bit away from the school but run by an existing school. Bristol need to

create an extra 3,000 places by 2015. They have been given �23

million from the Government to achieve that. Gloucestershire have

been given �2 million. Somerset have received 700,000. Wiltshire

receives nothing. The city council has had to create an extra 370

reception places to cope with demand next September. It is hoped

this extra funding will help to relieve some of the pressure for

A group of squatters who were evicted from a mansion in Bristol

have been allowed back in to pick up their belongings. 40 people were

evicted from Clifton Wood House earlier this month. 11 were

arrested. The house is being guarded by 24 hour security since

the election. New restrictions could be

introduced in Weston-super-Mare to try to resolve of the council as

described as parking chaos. North Somerset wants to introduce on-

street parking meters in some residential areas and cut the price

of off-street car parks. Some residents have already said they

would be unhappy to pay to park outside their homes.

It seems ironic, but they were practising for the worst in

Gloucestershire today, how to cope with and care for hundreds of

people evacuated from their homes in the event of a flood. Well, it

is hard to imagine in the current dry conditions, and the town is

vulnerable to flooding, due to the twin waterways of the River Lyd and

the Severn estuary, as Sarah-Jane Bungay reports.

Their homes are under water, they have been told to move out. Well,

not really, but Marcel and his family are doing pretty well at

impersonating evacuees. As well as English, they also speak Welsh and

Dutch, the first challenge for looking after them at this rest

centre. We had to avoid using English at all, and by starting in

Dutch and then in Welsh, that really caused hard work for the

staff. It was a learning point, how to deal with different languages.

As you have got tourists in the area, they are bound to show up if

you have a crisis. This was Lydney in 1968. Today the water is still

flowing but that rather low levels. But the emergency services are not

taking any chances. The few weeks ago they were planning a reaction

to flooding on the water. Today the council and voluntary groups have

been put through their places indoors. I am feeling so cold, my

hands are white. For medical treatment to sometimes just a

friendly ear, the aim is to keep the evacuees as comfortable and as

informed as possible. We have our medical people from the Red Cross

and St John's Ambulance who can issue any prescriptions that they

might have forgotten at home, if it were a real event. Just being

listened to is what somebody might need. Of course, letting others

know that your safe if you are brought to a centre like this one

would be hugely important, so there is internet access, so you can send

an e-mail or log on to a social networking site to keep friends and

loved ones up to date. It has been a good experience, but they could

have something for the kids to do as well. So Rehan at the moment,

those who have been hit by flooding know how soon things can change. --

Serena. They are hoping this pretend rescue centre does not have

to become a real one. Another piece of racing history was

created by a Somerset favoured today, Big Buck raced to a record

17 straight victory. The nine-year- old, trained by Paul Nicholls,

comfortably won the Liverpool Hurdle for the 40 in a row at

Aintree. It was straightforward today, he did everything right,

very happy with them. I do not know if it was as competitive as

Cheltenham, but he has been better ADN the last couple of years than

at Cheltenham. I do not know what it is, maybe it is the sun on his

back. The trainer says he hopes to run big back again next year and

that he will become as big a name as his stablemate, Kauto Star. --

Big Buck. Cricket, and Somerset could only

manage 147 in the first innings of the County Championship match

against Warwickshire. At one stage, they will 44-five but recovered a

In Division Two, Gloucestershire reached 195-4 in their match

against Hampshire. Chris Dent and Ian Cobain both scored unbeaten

half-centuries in a stand of 108. A slice of the Dutch countryside

has been brought to the West with the country's first ever pick your

own tulip field. Lovely! Having proved hugely

popular in the Netherlands, the attraction in Somerset aims to give

people the chance of an unusual day Tulips, thousands of them, saluting

the Somerset sunshine. There are dozens of different varieties here,

too, some traditional, some not quite so. This is a white dream,

for obvious reasons, nice rounded petals, and interior decorator's

dream because of the contrast between the white and green. This

is quite different, totally different colours, of course, many

petals, flames throughout the petals. And then something like

this, maybe more of a classically red tulip with beautiful fringes.

Each year, around 50 million tulip bulbs are imported into the UK, but

as far as we know you have never been able to pick your own before.

The colours are lovely. Never done this before. Dunn's strawberry

picking, but never pick your own tulips, it is brilliant. The idea

is to pull the bulbs out, but it is not easy to do. I do not know how

many I have collected, about 20, different sorts. Everyone who comes

here seems to enjoy themselves picking them, and if you came last

week, the types of tulips we were picking would be different from

next week, so you can do it more than once. We are certainly

enjoying running it, because we are meeting lots of new people who have

not been here before. Back in the 17th century, tulips Boro

popularity caused a financial trading crisis. Ins 1636, they were

the must-have status symbol, but they did come at quite a price. In

fact, one trader is recorded as having handed over two last of

wheat, four lasts of wry, four fat oxen and ate at a swine, and 12

bhaji, two Hogsmeade of wine, four tons of beer and two tons of butter.

And 1,000 pounds of cheese, a complete bed, one suit of clothes

and a silver drinking cup. All of that was handed over for just one

Soak tulips, colourful, charming, full of history. If only I knew

someone who really liked then... Yes, yes, I think...! Look at that,

get your own tulip! 100,000 tulips, and you just get one. I will grow

my own. Early in the week, we were talking about it being the week for

cloud spotting, probably mean more than you. Ian, are you feeling the

I know a lot of people have been on Twitter and the like expressing

their interest in the cloud formations we have seen this week.

Thunderstorms have been developing fairly widely, and they follow a

similar evolution. You will see these clouds, fluffy cumulus clouds

associated with their weather, starting to grow a bit bigger as

the warm air rises in response to the heat of the day. With more

energy, towering up, looking more ominous as they get up to 15,000

feet. Showers starting to form, and then we get into the troublemakers,

bd cumulonimbus, not turning thundery, but time to come off the

golf course. At this stage, warm air rising, cold air sinking down,

hail, thunder, heavy downpours, even tornadoes, you name it. There

has been a scattering of these showers across the area, bright

echoes still there, lightning reported around Bridgwater Bay and

parts of Dorset and Ullswater. We are out of the woods in terms of

heavy downpour into this evening. A balanced view, less in the way of

showers tomorrow, not quite as heady, be a good deal of sunshine

around. Some of you will miss the showers entirely tomorrow. Through

this evening, taking a while for the strength of the showers to die

at, it may take until midnight for the last ones to get out of the way.

Then a dry night, clear skies, like winds, temperatures dropping away

quite markedly, down to freezing in a few spots in the countryside.

Gardeners, be wary of yet another frost. The other end result will be

a decent spell of weather into the morning rush-hour. At this stage,

we had just got fluffy cumulus clouds, but give it time and we

start to build them up. The distribution of showers his defence

tomorrow, some across West Somerset, less probable across

Gloucestershire and North Somerset, but more down into Wiltshire. You

get the broad change of things. The winds very slack. If you are into

the sunshine, much as today, it will feel decent enough for the

time of year. 12 Celsius quite widely, 13 in a few spots. If we

look beyond that through to the weekend, still some uncertainty

about Saturday, expecting it to start on a disappointing note, grey,

showery, cool it feel as we inherit this northerly flow. By Sunday, a

temporary job high pressure. On balance, it will be a better day on

Sunday, a fair amount of sunshine. These were the friends waiting out

in the wings is where the Atlantic finally start to get its act

together, and they will throw some rain our way. -- these weather

front. You can see the temperatures taking a drop, Frost is quite

likely overnight, we are not out of the woods with that, and then the

rain arrives at some point on Monday, overnight into Tuesday.

Unsettled weather as we get there. Before we go, we have had some

people contacting us about a loud noise that was heard in Swindon.

People are saying it was like a sonic boom. We will try to find out