:00:18. > :00:22.West. The headlines call on the coroner in court. He's accused of
:00:22. > :00:26.taking money from the estates of his dead clients.
:00:26. > :00:36.The paralysed man who says his life is unbearable. He is leading a
:00:36. > :00:37.
:00:37. > :00:47.campaign for the rights to die. Action is demanded on flooded
:00:47. > :00:50.
:00:50. > :00:55.fields. Join us on Points West!
:00:55. > :00:58.Good evening. The Gloucestershire coroner has appeared in court in
:00:58. > :01:05.London charged with stealing more than �2 million. A disclaimer that
:01:05. > :01:12.Alan Crickmore, who is a solicitor, took money from the estates of dead
:01:12. > :01:18.people he was representing. Before his arrest, Alan Crickmore
:01:18. > :01:24.worked as a solicitor. He was suspended in 2010 following an
:01:24. > :01:34.investigation. A police enquiry followed and he was charged in
:01:34. > :01:35.
:01:35. > :01:44.March. He faced cameras today. He was led into it glass panelled dock
:01:44. > :01:50.with co-defendant Terry Morris. But it is Alan Crickmore who faces
:01:50. > :02:00.the majority of the accusations. 13 counts of theft and eight counts of
:02:00. > :02:02.
:02:02. > :02:05.fraud. His alleged offences totalled �2 million. This was an
:02:05. > :02:10.administrative hearing in which very little was said.
:02:10. > :02:17.The co-defendants only spoke to confirm their names, addresses and
:02:17. > :02:24.dates of birth. The judge said he was keen to move the case along so
:02:24. > :02:31.it was adjourned until June. They will then be sent to Crown Court for
:02:31. > :02:38.trial. The vulture family campaigning for
:02:38. > :02:48.the rights of seriously ill people to be allowed to die say their
:02:48. > :02:52.
:02:52. > :02:58.campaign received a boost today. -- the Wiltshire family.
:02:58. > :03:06.Quadriplegic for 23 years, Paul Lamb wants to end his life. I just find
:03:06. > :03:11.that I am going through the motions. The pain is the big one. Paul Lamb,
:03:11. > :03:16.as with Tony Nicklinson, is not terminally ill but he does want to
:03:16. > :03:26.die at a time of his choosing. Paralysis means that they cannot
:03:26. > :03:27.
:03:27. > :03:37.commit suicide so he wants a doctor to be able to tell him without
:03:37. > :03:39.
:03:39. > :03:44.facing a charge. I think it is hugely important. I
:03:44. > :03:52.think the fact that Tony was so public, whoever takes over has to be
:03:52. > :03:56.public as well that they can see his disabilities and see that he is just
:03:56. > :04:03.a regular bloke and he knows what he is doing and is not being coerced.
:04:03. > :04:10.It is very important. Opponents think that a change in the law might
:04:10. > :04:14.give doctors too much power. Anyone will sympathise but this very sad
:04:14. > :04:22.case but the law is there primarily to give legal protection to
:04:22. > :04:32.vulnerable people and any change would mean that people would feel
:04:32. > :04:33.
:04:33. > :04:35.pressure, imaginary real, to end their life so as not to be a burden.
:04:35. > :04:45.Jane Nicklinson rejects that argument and says each euthanasia
:04:45. > :04:48.case could heard in court. There are other people who want what staff
:04:48. > :04:58.wanted and are prepared to come forward and put themselves out
:04:58. > :04:58.
:04:58. > :05:02.there. Paul Lamb and Jane Nicklinson's cases will be heard in
:05:02. > :05:07.the High Court next month. Opponents regarded on an attack on the law
:05:07. > :05:13.against murder. Joining us now from London is our
:05:13. > :05:20.legal affairs correspondent Clive Coleman. Is this a case of assisted
:05:20. > :05:26.suicide? Now, it isn't. That would be if a doctor filled it arrange
:05:26. > :05:36.full of drugs, give it to a person and they injected themselves and
:05:36. > :05:38.
:05:38. > :05:43.did. Paul Lamb is paralysed Sue such an extent -- to such an extent that
:05:43. > :05:53.he could not inject himself. If the doctor injected him, that would
:05:53. > :05:55.
:05:55. > :06:05.amount to murder. The defence is necessity, and other words, the
:06:05. > :06:12.
:06:12. > :06:16.doctor has two act to stop intolerable suffering. Moving from
:06:16. > :06:22.that to ending the life of a single person is a very big step in legal
:06:22. > :06:27.terms. It has already gone in front of the court before and they decided
:06:27. > :06:33.it was a matter for Parliament so why are they going back to court
:06:33. > :06:38.again? Cause it is such an important and emotive issue. The judge said
:06:38. > :06:43.that it struck at some of the most profound ethical and moral issues
:06:43. > :06:48.that we face so it was thought appropriate that it goes to a more
:06:48. > :06:52.senior court, the Court of Appeal, where it will be held by three of
:06:52. > :06:58.the most senior judges in the country, including the Lord Chief
:06:58. > :07:04.Justice. It was deemed appropriate that they consider this issue.
:07:04. > :07:08.Opponents are worried that it will open the floodgates. People say that
:07:08. > :07:16.and they argue over the statistics from countries like the Netherlands,
:07:16. > :07:23.Belgium, Luxembourg, where euthanasia is legal and they point
:07:24. > :07:29.to a rise in the number of deaths by euthanasia. People in Paul Lamb's
:07:29. > :07:32.situation say that, with the appropriate safeguards, and what
:07:32. > :07:37.they are asking for is for the courts to sanction the doctor doing
:07:37. > :07:47.this, so it goes before a doctor first, with the appropriate
:07:47. > :07:54.
:07:54. > :07:57.safeguards it is safe, they say. You're watching Points West.
:07:57. > :08:03.Campaigning for your votes - we look at Labour's challenge in the
:08:03. > :08:09.forthcoming elections. One any million - we need the
:08:09. > :08:13.great-grandfather who has the lottery. I think he could see my new
:08:13. > :08:16.best friend. And mine.
:08:16. > :08:19.Farmers are urging the government to protect their land from further
:08:19. > :08:29.flooding. Environment Minister Richard Bennion
:08:29. > :08:39.visited some of the worst affected areas of the Somerset Levels. --
:08:39. > :08:49.
:08:49. > :08:54.About 70 farms were expected to turn up with the meeting. The minister
:08:54. > :09:01.toured some of the parts of this area that were worst affected by the
:09:01. > :09:08.flooding. I joined him. Driving through the villages around
:09:08. > :09:14.Glastonbury, the impact of the floods can be seen everywhere. I am
:09:14. > :09:18.in the company of a local farmer who is showing the three businesses that
:09:18. > :09:28.were severely affected. He says the main causes the poor maintenance of
:09:28. > :09:29.
:09:29. > :09:39.the water ways. This is the sort of problem that we have got. The first
:09:39. > :09:42.
:09:42. > :09:48.business he takes me to his more evidence of the rivers silting up.
:09:48. > :09:51.You can see this build-up of modern industry in. The nursery was two
:09:51. > :10:00.feet under water last year, threatening �1 million worth of
:10:00. > :10:06.stock. They had to pump the water out themselves. Without doubt it has
:10:06. > :10:10.been one of the worst periods for farmers that I have ever known.
:10:10. > :10:20.There is no escape route for the water. Because of lack of
:10:20. > :10:20.
:10:20. > :10:30.maintenance. Almost next door is this pizza factory, another big
:10:30. > :10:42.
:10:42. > :10:47.The national authority used to have a regular programme and the
:10:47. > :10:54.Environment Agency has failed to do that. It is not fit for purpose and
:10:54. > :11:02.needs fundamental reform. Last on our tour is this farm. The water was
:11:02. > :11:12.so deep you are that the family really big gloom by ceiling. --
:11:12. > :11:26.
:11:26. > :11:30.just say flooding farm land. farmers will hope that the minister
:11:30. > :11:39.will take the messages back to Westminster and things will start to
:11:39. > :11:42.change. What did you hear in the meeting and were you pleased?
:11:42. > :11:48.think it went very well. We showed him some of the issues that were in
:11:48. > :11:54.the area and I think he was really receptive to the comments that came
:11:55. > :11:59.from the floor and he answered them very well and hopefully will take
:11:59. > :12:05.this experience away with them and make the right decisions. What do
:12:05. > :12:11.you hope come out of this meeting? It is quite clear to the minister
:12:11. > :12:17.that the farmers are businesses and need to be protected. We need to
:12:17. > :12:23.look after the wildlife that farmers do that automatically. We want them
:12:23. > :12:33.to make sure that the agencies recognise the value of productive
:12:33. > :12:43.land so that water can be taken away. The system works well when the
:12:43. > :12:44.
:12:44. > :12:51.rivers are dredged and cleared. So that there is good food for the
:12:51. > :12:56.wildlife TE. You're from the Environment Agency. You have
:12:56. > :13:01.received a lot of flack today. What is your response to the allegation
:13:01. > :13:06.that you are not fit for purpose? think we have to listen to what
:13:06. > :13:11.we're hearing and understand what are telling us. That is about as
:13:11. > :13:16.explaining what we're doing and why we're doing it and we are working
:13:16. > :13:25.much closer with the farmers. We want to improve that drainage so we
:13:25. > :13:30.have started listening. Will dredging start on the rivers?
:13:30. > :13:38.have already started to do that work. Farmers say it hasn't been
:13:38. > :13:46.done for 15 years. Will it start to be done regularly? It won't this
:13:46. > :13:51.year but we will have to work out how to do that. They say that it is
:13:51. > :14:01.that the rivers are narrower and they need to be dredged regularly
:14:01. > :14:04.
:14:04. > :14:10.and this has been building up over a long time. I'm not saying that
:14:10. > :14:20.removing the cells won't have a benefit... So the budget will go
:14:20. > :14:30.up? It is about using what we have better. And about finding ways of
:14:30. > :14:36.how to get the maintenance back-up so that we can have better drainage
:14:36. > :14:46.for agricultural reasons. There are lots of questions to be asked and to
:14:46. > :15:11.
:15:11. > :15:14.be answered and we will see more to come. An inquest has heard how a
:15:14. > :15:18.mother from Somerset drowned as you try to stop her sons from being
:15:18. > :15:25.swept out to sea. Alison Tooby from Wellington died at Northcott Mouth
:15:25. > :15:29.beach near Bude in Cornwall last September. The hearing was told she
:15:29. > :15:34.made frantic efforts to save her sons. They were rescued by members
:15:34. > :15:37.of the public. The coroner recorded a verdict of accidental death. The
:15:37. > :15:44.first boats will soon be cast for the local elections with thousands
:15:44. > :15:47.of ballot papers about to be sent to postal voters. Election day is on
:15:47. > :15:51.May the 2nd when people in Gloucestershire, Wiltshire, Somerset
:15:51. > :15:55.and Dorset will be able to vote for who they want to serve on their
:15:55. > :16:01.councils. And for people in Bristol, a third of the seats are up
:16:01. > :16:04.for grabs. The party expecting to make the most games is labour.
:16:04. > :16:10.giant ballot box has been brought out in Bristol urging us to vote in
:16:10. > :16:15.these the local elections. The last time these councils across the West
:16:15. > :16:18.were contested was in 2009. Back then, Labour was in government and
:16:19. > :16:23.Gordon Brown was Prime Minister and they suffered badly at the polls.
:16:23. > :16:27.For years on it is the other way round with Conservatives and Liberal
:16:27. > :16:31.Democrats in coalition and making lots of cuts, so Labour should make
:16:31. > :16:36.big gains this time. At Labour 's regional headquarters, volunteers
:16:36. > :16:42.are busy phone canvassing. The big prize is Bristol and the chance that
:16:42. > :16:51.they could once again become the biggest party on the council.
:16:51. > :16:55.Bristol is on Labour's radar nationally. We shouldn't be the
:16:55. > :16:59.party of the Midlands and the North, people in the south need
:16:59. > :17:05.Labour representation. They need it at a council level and the
:17:05. > :17:10.Parliamentary level. You are not the only ones to tell voters of
:17:10. > :17:16.government failings. The Green Party are standing candidates around the
:17:16. > :17:21.West including every seat in Bristol. For decades the Liberal
:17:21. > :17:24.Democrats have dominated the city's council chamber but they are now
:17:24. > :17:29.braced for losses. Obviously, we are in government and we have to make
:17:29. > :17:34.tough decisions but people do recognise that we were left with a
:17:34. > :17:40.financial mess and they don't necessarily blame us for that.
:17:40. > :17:45.Another issue is that people realise that they don't change government at
:17:45. > :17:50.these elections. Across the West, it could be their coalition partners
:17:50. > :17:55.who are hardest hit. Out delivering leaflets today in Bristol, the
:17:55. > :18:00.Tories are concentrating on holding on to what they've got. We macro we
:18:00. > :18:07.want the seats in 2009. Yes, there is a tendency for it to become a
:18:07. > :18:15.referendum on this coalition. People have to remember that people are
:18:15. > :18:18.voting for local councillors. Not if their opponents can help it. There
:18:18. > :18:24.are lots of people saying that after four years of this government, they
:18:24. > :18:28.have failed. Ed Miliband swept through the West this weekend. He
:18:28. > :18:34.stopped in Stroud and showed even in the shires Labour are on the attack
:18:34. > :18:38.and the coalition parties are on the defensive. There is more on the
:18:38. > :18:46.Sunday Politics West show this weekend which starts a bit later
:18:46. > :18:52.than normal because of the London Marathon. The Royal Agricultural
:18:52. > :18:55.College in Cirencester has been granted full university status. It
:18:56. > :19:00.will be known as the Royal Agricultural University. The
:19:00. > :19:04.institution, which was established in 1845, currently has more than
:19:04. > :19:11.1100 students. It will continue to develop teaching and research in
:19:11. > :19:15.areas like equine, food and land management. One of the biggest names
:19:15. > :19:22.in pop came West today in a pink Rolls-Royce as part of a 24-hour
:19:22. > :19:26.charity challenge. Gary Barlow has joined Radio 2 DJ Chris Evans,
:19:27. > :19:35.Professor Brian Cox and Top Gear presenter James May on a trip from
:19:35. > :19:45.Land's End to John O'Groats in aid of a breast cancer charity.
:19:45. > :19:47.
:19:47. > :19:51.enthusiastic crowd welcomed in the four travellers and their rather
:19:51. > :19:55.flamboyant ride at Cribbs Causeway. It was the first stop on a 24-hour
:19:55. > :19:59.trip from Land's End to John O'Groats in a pink Rolls-Royce goes
:19:59. > :20:02.with a fab numberplate. They set off from Cornwall after Chris 's
:20:02. > :20:09.breakfast show and they need to be in Scotland for tomorrow's
:20:09. > :20:16.programme. We are happy at the moment. We are still friends.
:20:16. > :20:23.cooked on a stove in the back-seat. The charity to benefit is Breast
:20:23. > :20:25.Cancer Care which provides support for sufferers. They are not one of
:20:25. > :20:30.the biggest charities in the country but they are as committed as any
:20:30. > :20:40.other. It is just an excuse to get together. We know each other but we
:20:40. > :20:40.
:20:40. > :20:47.have never got together. We find out how smelly each other is. You should
:20:47. > :20:57.see the ingredients that Gary has chosen! There was a treat for the
:20:57. > :21:11.
:21:11. > :21:16.crowd as Gary Barlow took to the stage for an impromptu singalong.
:21:16. > :21:23.am here to see Professor Brian Cox. I have been waiting ages. I am
:21:23. > :21:28.freezing and want a cup of coffee. I want a decent picture. We came to
:21:29. > :21:38.see Chris Evans. We saw the Professor. We shook hands with James
:21:38. > :21:43.May. When Chris came out, we looked right into his eyes. Then it was
:21:43. > :21:51.back behind the wheel for the final 640 miles but leaving behind some
:21:51. > :21:57.very happy fans. They were quite taken, weren't they? It was a
:21:57. > :22:00.pleasure to lend them my car! many dream about it and wonder what
:22:00. > :22:05.it will be like but now a great-grandfather in Wiltshire has
:22:05. > :22:09.become the latest lottery millionaire. The 76-year-old former
:22:09. > :22:18.long-distance lorry driver from Trowbridge saw his numbers come up
:22:18. > :22:24.last Saturday. This is how you celebrate becoming a millionaire. A
:22:24. > :22:30.shower of champagne while holding an oversized cheque. Last Saturday,
:22:30. > :22:38.John Alford became �1.4 million richer. I couldn't believe it. I
:22:38. > :22:46.told the wife and she said yes, yes. I said I'm going to ring the
:22:46. > :22:52.children. No, you're not, she said. Until you have got the jackpot, you
:22:52. > :22:54.don't say a word. But his numbers did come up and in an instance of
:22:54. > :23:04.this retired long-distance lorry driver saw his and his family's
:23:04. > :23:10.lives change for ever. We macro it is bound to change may! I don't need
:23:10. > :23:18.to turn the electricity and the gas off! If I want to keep it on all
:23:18. > :23:24.year round I will. As a person, I won't change. John now wants to take
:23:24. > :23:30.his entire family of 20 two Florida for what he says will be their
:23:30. > :23:39.holiday of a lifetime. What more can I ask for? I can't ask for anything
:23:39. > :23:45.else, can I? At 76, John is without a care in the world and all it took
:23:46. > :23:50.was one lucky dip ticket. priorities are right, aren't they? I
:23:51. > :24:00.have always said how good you look in that lovely Thai and lovely
:24:01. > :24:02.
:24:02. > :24:08.shirt! Let's move on to the weather, hasn't it been lovely? It has. Some
:24:09. > :24:15.of you have seen some showers and others have seen a good deal of
:24:15. > :24:20.sunshine. The showers have gone away now so a fine evening for us all.
:24:20. > :24:30.There will be less in the way of showers tomorrow and many of you
:24:30. > :24:39.will see a good deal of sunshine, on and off. So, as we head through
:24:39. > :24:48.tonight, dried to start with and the rain should be out of the way by
:24:48. > :24:51.tomorrow morning. There will be lighter winds generally and the
:24:51. > :25:01.showers are confined to central and eastern parts rather than the West.
:25:01. > :25:04.
:25:04. > :25:07.Many of you will have a dry day from start to finish. Clear skies
:25:07. > :25:11.tonight's but the heavy winds will remain a feature. Here comes the
:25:11. > :25:15.showers of rain that will dominate the picture for the second half of
:25:15. > :25:24.the night. They are out of the way for the morning. Temperatures will
:25:25. > :25:32.drop to around four Celsius. Tomorrow will be a dry picture with
:25:32. > :25:40.maybe some light, showery rain in the mid-morning. Northern and
:25:40. > :25:47.eastern areas may see some scattered showers. Towards the West, we will
:25:47. > :25:52.see no showers at all. This will lead us into a much quieter night as
:25:52. > :25:59.we go through to Saturday. Temperatures tomorrow will be up on
:25:59. > :26:06.what they are today. 11 or 12 Celsius. The legacy of the high