:00:00. > :00:15.Good evening and welcome to BBC Points West. Our headlines tonight:
:00:16. > :00:25.The freak accident that killed a toddler. Sophia died after becoming
:00:26. > :00:27.entangled in the cord from a window blind. New regulations come into
:00:28. > :00:31.force next year. Bath Rugby unveil their plans for a
:00:32. > :00:34.new look at the Rec, but will it cause a ruck among the locals?
:00:35. > :00:36.Honoured at last. The unsung heroes of World War II receive their
:00:37. > :00:40.medals. And full of hope for the future How
:00:41. > :00:49.Children In Need helped a girl who was diagnosed with HIV when she was
:00:50. > :00:51.only ten. It's been described as every
:00:52. > :00:56.parent's "absolute nightmare", the death of a toddler strangled by the
:00:57. > :00:59.cord of a window blind. The words are those of the assistant coroner
:01:00. > :01:03.in Gloucestershire at an inquest which heard Sophia Parslow had been
:01:04. > :01:11.left alone for only a matter of minutes before tragedy struck.
:01:12. > :01:15.A happy, typically inquisitive, baby child who'd often climb a chair to
:01:16. > :01:21.look out a window at her home in Tirley. An inquest heard that
:01:22. > :01:31.brought the 17`month`old within inches of the looped cord of a
:01:32. > :01:36.window blind. On the morning of the 27th of June Sophia was watching her
:01:37. > :01:40.favourite TV programme dressed in her pyjamas. Another went upstairs
:01:41. > :01:45.to get her clothes and said she was out of the room for no more than
:01:46. > :01:49.four minutes. She said she panicked when she came down to find her
:01:50. > :01:54.daughter suspended by the neck and tangled in the looped cord of a
:01:55. > :01:57.blind. Sophia was unconscious and had vomited. She tried to revive her
:01:58. > :02:00.for ten minutes. Sophia's parents were too upset to attend today's
:02:01. > :02:03.inquest. They spoke to Points West earlier this year about their
:02:04. > :02:14.campaign to have blinds with looped cords banned. We do not have Sophia
:02:15. > :02:19.any more. We do not have anything else to do apart from freight from
:02:20. > :02:33.heart and make sure that no other child is taken away. `` fight for
:02:34. > :02:37.her. This safety film tells parents how
:02:38. > :02:40.to make blinds safe. Looped cords have led to 30 deaths in the last 15
:02:41. > :02:47.years, mostly of children under 36 months who don't have the strength
:02:48. > :02:51.to untangle themselves. You can have breakaways, so you would have to of
:02:52. > :02:54.these on the blind and with any weight they come apart. New safety
:02:55. > :02:58.regulations are coming in next year ensuring cords are able to break or
:02:59. > :03:04.are tied up. The advice at this shop, get blinds fitted
:03:05. > :03:08.professionally. The solutions are out there and there are many people
:03:09. > :03:11.who will willingly provide advice on what you can do to keep children
:03:12. > :03:14.safe. RoSPA advises against using looped cord blinds altogether,
:03:15. > :03:25.saying they can kill quickly and quietly.
:03:26. > :03:28.A woman from Cheltenham has died while paragliding in Tenerife.
:03:29. > :03:31.Carolyn Dewdney, who was 53 and worked at Cheltenham General
:03:32. > :03:34.Hospital, was flying in a mountainous area in the south of the
:03:35. > :03:39.island when, it's believed, she suffered a heart attack. She was on
:03:40. > :03:44.a week`long paragliding holiday with her husband and other members of a
:03:45. > :03:48.hang gliding club. The Citizen's Advice Bureau says it
:03:49. > :03:52.helps more than six million people every year across the UK. But in
:03:53. > :03:56.Bath there are plans to change their advice services, open the contract
:03:57. > :04:02.out to tender and reduce the budget by more than 50% from next year The
:04:03. > :04:06.council says it must make savings and the advice will still be
:04:07. > :04:09.available elsewhere. But those who use it say it will mean the most
:04:10. > :04:15.vulnerable have nowhere to go for help.
:04:16. > :04:19.When Peter Rogers was diagnosed with a long term illness, he needed to
:04:20. > :04:22.know what help was out there. Without the Citizen's Advice Bureau
:04:23. > :04:34.here in Bath he says he wouldn't have known which way to turn. I
:04:35. > :04:38.needed help and you are often not in a mental states to be able to deal
:04:39. > :04:41.with these complicated things yourself so the citizens advice
:04:42. > :04:44.bureau has been brilliant from that point of view. The Citizen's Advice
:04:45. > :04:48.service is made up of 338 bureaux, each its own charity, across the
:04:49. > :04:52.United Kingdom. The aim to give advice to anyone who needs it. In
:04:53. > :04:55.Bath, the service is bought from them by the council on behalf of the
:04:56. > :05:02.taxpayer, with a budget of ?408 000 a year. But from next year the
:05:03. > :05:05.council plans to replace it and offer a new contract to the best
:05:06. > :05:17.bidder to provide a reduced service to those most in need. The new
:05:18. > :05:21.contract will still be a good contract but with a reduced figure.
:05:22. > :05:27.That is a significant reduction but we recognise that there is
:05:28. > :05:31.flexibility within the system so we are rationalising we can make the
:05:32. > :05:37.saving and still provide the service to all our residents. Those running
:05:38. > :05:40.the service disagree and they are launching an online petition forcing
:05:41. > :05:46.the full council to debate the issue. We are in a time that is
:05:47. > :05:49.unprecedented in terms of household budgets and pressure so people will
:05:50. > :05:55.need to be guided through the maze of that, that is what we do. The
:05:56. > :05:58.council will talk through the changes tonight but with ?30 million
:05:59. > :06:06.in savings to make it says it can only afford to help those most in
:06:07. > :06:10.need. You're watching your local news from
:06:11. > :06:14.the BBC, thanks for joining us. There's still plenty more to come.
:06:15. > :06:23.We'll meet someone who's earned an award for promoting women on the
:06:24. > :06:27.comedy circuit. You may have seen some lively
:06:28. > :06:30.headlines about all manner of extreme weather coming our way next
:06:31. > :06:38.week, how much truth is there in that? I will tell you later.
:06:39. > :06:41.A year ago this week police forces across the country went through a
:06:42. > :06:45.major shake`up with the introduction of elected police and crime
:06:46. > :06:48.commissioners. They took over the purse`strings, and were meant to
:06:49. > :06:57.hold the police to account. But has anyone noticed the difference? And
:06:58. > :07:03.are they value for money? We asked people in the West if they could
:07:04. > :07:14.name theirs. Do you know who your Police and Crime Commissioner is?
:07:15. > :07:24.No. No idea. If I said his name was Martin Searle, have you heard of
:07:25. > :07:36.him? No. No idea. Yes. I have no idea. Maybe a woman? No, sorry.
:07:37. > :07:39.They've not make much on an impression on people here, but are
:07:40. > :07:49.they doing a good job behind the scenes?
:07:50. > :07:52.On a raid for stolen goods here in Knowle. Chief Constable Nick Gargan
:07:53. > :08:01.and crime commissioner Sue Mountstevens are getting hands on.
:08:02. > :08:13.Commissioners decide where the money goes and set crime policy. Officers
:08:14. > :08:17.in Bristol have been working hard to increase the number of burglaries
:08:18. > :08:19.that we saw. It is a great way of reducing burglaries to catch the
:08:20. > :08:22.people responsible. The commissioner has set out her priorities as
:08:23. > :08:25.tackling sexual and domestic violence and anti`social behaviour.
:08:26. > :08:28.Her force must deliver even as the government cuts funding, so will she
:08:29. > :08:38.put up the police share of the council tax? We have narrowed it
:08:39. > :08:42.down to three choices. We can either freeze it, which has been done for
:08:43. > :08:50.the past three years, we can increase it up to 2%, or we can go
:08:51. > :08:55.for 10%. 10% would mean a referendum. A referendum could cost
:08:56. > :09:01.us ?1 million. Would you be happy to pay more in council tax for the
:09:02. > :09:07.police? I think there is enough money there. I would be for it, yes.
:09:08. > :09:12.I do not think we should have to pay more. The Wiltshire crime
:09:13. > :09:19.commissioner says he has no intention of going above the 2% cap.
:09:20. > :09:25.But despite the cuts the force was one of the first in the country to
:09:26. > :09:34.lift its recruiting ban. The policing element of the rates bill
:09:35. > :09:40.is ?157. If we put it up 2% it will be an extra ?3 per year and I think
:09:41. > :09:49.people in Wiltshire would understand the value continuing front line
:09:50. > :09:57.policing. We cannot take any more cuts. It is Cliff edge. The
:09:58. > :10:06.Commissioner has not decided whether to ask people to pay more for
:10:07. > :10:14.policing. ?1.4 million cheaper as a result of six weeks work in place.
:10:15. > :10:19.It is a bit of a game changer. It is the point when people realise the
:10:20. > :10:28.Commissioner carries the can and signs the checks. But are they
:10:29. > :10:31.themselves good value for money In Gloucestershire, the office of the
:10:32. > :10:35.PCC is ?2,000 cheaper. But in Avon the cost is ?200,000 more than the
:10:36. > :10:38.old police authority. Meanwhile in Wiltshire the office costs just
:10:39. > :10:40.?2,000 more. But commissioners were never really about the money, they
:10:41. > :10:47.were about accountability, an issue I will be exploring tomorrow.
:10:48. > :10:49.There was a lot of opposition to the introduction of elected PCCs,
:10:50. > :10:52.including from the former Chief Constable of Gloucestershire Tim
:10:53. > :11:04.Brain who joins us from his home in Gloucestershire tonight. Have the
:11:05. > :11:08.one you over? I am afraid not. The evidence from your poll is that they
:11:09. > :11:12.have not made the kind of impact that the government promised they
:11:13. > :11:15.would. The election principle was going to solve the problem of a
:11:16. > :11:20.broken relationship between the police and the public. It is very
:11:21. > :11:24.doubtful that relationship was never broken to the degree it needed help,
:11:25. > :11:29.but it is clear that they have not made that kind of bridge and it is a
:11:30. > :11:38.legacy of that very low turnout at last year's collection. There was a
:11:39. > :11:43.big bust up when the Police and Crime Commissioner started in Avon
:11:44. > :11:46.and Somerset, she has now appointed a new person. What should the
:11:47. > :11:53.relationship delay between the Chief Constable and the Commissioner? It
:11:54. > :11:56.has to be professional and the Chief Constable should not be afraid to
:11:57. > :12:02.make demands of the Commissioner and to do so publicly if necessary. My
:12:03. > :12:06.concern is the Chief Constable will become more subordinate overtime.
:12:07. > :12:10.The closer a Chief Constable and Commissioner work together, the more
:12:11. > :12:18.difficult it will be to change should the Commissioner it posted at
:12:19. > :12:21.the election. We are going to see a closer but more political
:12:22. > :12:31.relationship between some PCC 's and their chief constables. If a new
:12:32. > :12:34.Commissioner comes in and asks the constable to crack down on
:12:35. > :12:41.burglaries, will the constable roll his eyes? I think chief constables
:12:42. > :12:45.are close to what has to be done and therefore they do not really require
:12:46. > :12:51.being told by commissioners. What commissioners should do in theory is
:12:52. > :12:55.be attuned to what the public want. Whether that really amounts to a
:12:56. > :13:02.political choice, we have to see in individual cases. I really think
:13:03. > :13:05.that unfortunately even very good Police and Crime Commissioner's
:13:06. > :13:10.struggle to get round their patch, some of the patches are very big
:13:11. > :13:13.indeed, a lot of people live in them and it is every old test for one
:13:14. > :13:18.individual to be able to consult with all of the public in their
:13:19. > :13:20.area. Bath Rugby club has unveiled the
:13:21. > :13:24.first images of its planned new arena at The Recreation Ground.
:13:25. > :13:27.People living close to the Rec saw the architect's drawings for the
:13:28. > :13:39.first time this morning in a private meeting. Will the changes impressed
:13:40. > :13:43.the city's civic leaders? But Bath Rugby's unique location has
:13:44. > :13:46.become a blessing and a curse. So bringing the ground up to date needs
:13:47. > :13:49.careful negotiation. Invited residents got their first chance to
:13:50. > :13:52.react at a meeting this morning Those looking out for the city's
:13:53. > :14:01.other historic buildings thought it a good idea too, but still await the
:14:02. > :14:06.detail. In particular, what colour is that large roof area going to
:14:07. > :14:10.be? It is clear it will be very exciting when a match is taking
:14:11. > :14:13.place, but how will those buildings sit on the recreation ground when
:14:14. > :14:19.there is not a match taking place? The club aims to increase its
:14:20. > :14:26.capacity from 12,000`16,000. I think embarrassed is a good way of putting
:14:27. > :14:29.it. It is a fantastic location with compromised facilities. Premiership
:14:30. > :14:35.Rugby do a survey and we come bottom of the league every year. Huge
:14:36. > :14:39.potential, massive support in this area and people think, it is sold
:14:40. > :14:44.out, I will not bother. It is self`limiting. The club still faces
:14:45. > :14:47.opposition from three different fronts. A dispute over an ancient
:14:48. > :14:52.covenant, the decision to allow the club to swap land at its training
:14:53. > :14:55.ground for more of the Rec and an application to list it as a town and
:14:56. > :14:59.village green. People in the city today also had strong views on the
:15:00. > :15:05.plans. Over my dead body. I live just along there and that is going
:15:06. > :15:09.to obstruct my view. There has to be changed. It is so slow to accept
:15:10. > :15:15.change most of the time and sometimes change needs to happen.
:15:16. > :15:18.Bass has proven that it can add new architecture to the Georgian town.
:15:19. > :15:23.After hearing people's views, the club hopes to submit plans to the
:15:24. > :15:26.council before the end of the year. Traders at Gloucester's indoor
:15:27. > :15:30.market have been told by the City Council they may have to move out.
:15:31. > :15:33.Discussions are underway about whether the site could be taken over
:15:34. > :15:38.by a national retailer. The market has been on the site in Eastgate
:15:39. > :15:41.Shopping Centre for over 40 years. The local branch of the Federation
:15:42. > :15:47.of Small Businesses says traders should be allowed to stay.
:15:48. > :15:50.It's been a 70`year wait, but today veterans of the Second World War
:15:51. > :15:55.finally received their campaign medals. Two men were part of Bomber
:15:56. > :16:09.Command, two in the Arctic convoy to Russia, and all took the opportunity
:16:10. > :16:13.to remember fallen colleagues. The largest convoy ever taken to
:16:14. > :16:19.Russia. Winston Churchill called it the worst journey in the world, they
:16:20. > :16:26.sailed through freezing temperatures and ice under constant threat of
:16:27. > :16:29.attack. More than 3000 men died in the Arctic convoys escorting
:16:30. > :16:47.essential supplies to Russia during the Second World War. I have
:16:48. > :16:50.collected these medals. Raymond Watkinson served on these ships and
:16:51. > :17:00.today he was awarded the Arctic Star. His colleague also remembers
:17:01. > :17:09.his missing colleagues. We served with them. We know what they were
:17:10. > :17:12.like. All the men who died. He was joined by two men who served with
:17:13. > :17:17.Bomber Command, that year 's squadron sent on bombing missions
:17:18. > :17:23.over Europe. Over 50,000 of them were killed. When you joined the
:17:24. > :17:28.squadron, you were told or informed in a very nice man that it is not
:17:29. > :17:35.wise to make strong friends with other crews, stay with your own true
:17:36. > :17:43.if you can because the loading of morale mean that you do not come
:17:44. > :17:50.back. You only had three weeks life expectancy. These men defied the
:17:51. > :17:54.odds to survive. Today they finally received their medals, overwhelmed
:17:55. > :18:01.by the memories of those who did not make it home.
:18:02. > :18:05.We salute them. It's nearly here. Yes, tomorrow is
:18:06. > :18:08.Children in Need, and throughout the week on Points West we've been
:18:09. > :18:12.looking at how your donations are used to help young people in our
:18:13. > :18:15.area. Tonight we have a letter written by a young woman from
:18:16. > :18:18.Bristol. She wrote to Children in Need to explain how Bristol charity
:18:19. > :18:32.The Children's HIV Association, or CHIVA, has helped her to come to
:18:33. > :18:36.terms with living with HIV. I am 20 years old and a first year
:18:37. > :18:40.university students reading psychology at Imperial College
:18:41. > :18:47.London. To hopefully be qualified as a mental health doctor. My mum said,
:18:48. > :18:52.the world is my oyster. I guess she is right. I never used to think so,
:18:53. > :18:58.but that is where my story begins. I was told I had HIV and started
:18:59. > :19:03.taking medication at the age of ten. I never really understood what this
:19:04. > :19:07.meant apart from that my body could not fight on its own and needed the
:19:08. > :19:11.medication to help it. I watched a couple of videos of how the
:19:12. > :19:16.medication was important and that was it. My life changed forever The
:19:17. > :19:22.more I understood what was going on in my body or I started to resent
:19:23. > :19:27.the fact and ask questions like why would God let this happen to me
:19:28. > :19:32.Does this mean I cannot have a family? What would my friends make
:19:33. > :19:38.of it? Everyone has questions when they are afraid of reality. My
:19:39. > :19:47.questions were a reason to hide I was terrified. Amidst all the
:19:48. > :19:50.changes of growing up, the children's HIV Association supported
:19:51. > :19:54.me and helped me and other people in the same situation as me and
:19:55. > :19:59.suddenly I did not feel alone any more. I went to retreats, or
:20:00. > :20:07.overnight stays and camps built just for us. That was special and still
:20:08. > :20:11.is. I met brave young souls who shine with amazing stories and
:20:12. > :20:24.talents. Sharing the same passion for a brighter future and an
:20:25. > :20:28.unlimited access to the world. Disclosure is one of the hardest
:20:29. > :20:32.things to do. You have to make sure you trust and love the person you're
:20:33. > :20:38.going to tell. For me, telling my best friend was a graphic and play
:20:39. > :20:43.hard. The words could not come out, but she made everything OK because
:20:44. > :20:47.she said she had thought something was wrong because she had seen me
:20:48. > :20:51.taking my medication. After a conversation, that was it, she does
:20:52. > :20:57.not treat me any different. That is the best bet. I am still me and
:20:58. > :21:04.nothing has changed and nothing will ever change full having HIV does not
:21:05. > :21:10.define who you are as a person. It does not control you or you should
:21:11. > :21:15.not let it. HIV is part of you, you are not part of it. If you could see
:21:16. > :21:24.me, you would not see HIV, you would just see me. I am from Bristol and
:21:25. > :21:28.that is part of my story. There is still lots more to be written.
:21:29. > :21:42.Nothing is stopping me from driving and being what I know I can be. ``
:21:43. > :21:47.thriving. It is a very moving letter.
:21:48. > :21:50.If you'd like to find out more about CHIVA and how they help young people
:21:51. > :21:54.with HIV, you can visit their website at chiva.org.uk. Don't
:21:55. > :21:57.forget tomorrow we will have a special Children in Need programme
:21:58. > :22:01.from Bath. We'll be at the Roman Baths, with Pudsey of course. And
:22:02. > :22:05.we'll have a full round`up of some of the wild and wonderful things
:22:06. > :22:15.you've been doing to raise money. Don't miss it. Bath Rugby Arctic a
:22:16. > :22:20.part as well, we have a quire, drummers.
:22:21. > :22:23.A writer from Bristol is up for an award in London tonight for
:22:24. > :22:27.championing the cause of female comedians. Jane Duffas decided she
:22:28. > :22:32.was sick of watching only male comics and decided to do something
:22:33. > :22:35.about it. She now stages all`female comedy nights here in the West
:22:36. > :22:49.Country and tonight is promoting a show at the Colston Hall.
:22:50. > :22:58.Are you having a laugh? I will be later. From very humble beginnings,
:22:59. > :23:01.we now have a potentially award`winning production company
:23:02. > :23:05.because it is a regular feature of the West Country comedy circuit
:23:06. > :23:09.They started with the first gig in May last year and have been to the
:23:10. > :23:15.Royal festival hall and at the Colston Hall tonight. We can meet
:23:16. > :23:21.the person who is the inspiration. What was the moment when you thought
:23:22. > :23:25.you needed one of these? It was about two years ago and I was at the
:23:26. > :23:31.Cheltenham literature festival and it was just the two women sat on the
:23:32. > :23:39.stage with a bottle of wine chatting away and it was so funny. And I
:23:40. > :23:42.thought, why do you not get to see female comedians? I looked at the
:23:43. > :23:48.listings and realise there were no women on the bills. I thought, I am
:23:49. > :23:52.going to do this myself. It started off with a one off night in May last
:23:53. > :23:57.year which was supposed to be a point proving exercise and now we're
:23:58. > :24:02.having the 22nd sure. Are these shows really needed or is the idea
:24:03. > :24:09.that women comedians become so successful you do yourself out of a
:24:10. > :24:13.job? That would be fantastic. I would love to just put on comedy
:24:14. > :24:17.nights but at the moment I am afraid they are still needed. You have been
:24:18. > :24:23.involved almost from the beginning. It is one of the complaints that
:24:24. > :24:30.women are just not funny? I do not know where this comes from. We are
:24:31. > :24:34.hell alias. You often do shores and then you have a great show at them
:24:35. > :24:41.one time there was this man on crutches and he made this huge
:24:42. > :24:48.effort to hobble over to me and he said, normally women are not funny
:24:49. > :24:55.but you are good. If people see a male comedian who is not good, they
:24:56. > :24:58.think, he is not funny and they are surprised. You are fighting against
:24:59. > :25:07.the assumption that women are not funny. Tonight in London gene is up
:25:08. > :25:13.for an award to see whether as a female entrepreneurs she can take
:25:14. > :25:29.the company to new heights. What is the fastest food you can eat? Scorn.
:25:30. > :25:30.`` Scone. Ian was talking about lively
:25:31. > :25:41.headlines. It is one of those things we have
:25:42. > :25:47.been seeing in the newspapers when they take a half truth about the
:25:48. > :25:51.weather and then extrapolated. And you probably quite rightly start to
:25:52. > :25:58.wonder where the truth starts. It is the case we are going to see a cold
:25:59. > :26:02.start developing next week. This is nothing unusual for the late stage
:26:03. > :26:10.of November. Watch this blue line which marks a cold front ushering in
:26:11. > :26:16.this cold Auerbach. Particularly on Monday and into Tuesday.
:26:17. > :26:22.Temperatures will drop accordingly and we will start to add on the
:26:23. > :26:27.likelihood of ice, snow, that cannot be ruled out anywhere. This is the
:26:28. > :26:37.response the temperatures will have as we run through those days. You
:26:38. > :26:41.can see the decline over the days. With all of that in mind, as we head
:26:42. > :26:52.into tomorrow, some of you will be up to a cold start but it will be a
:26:53. > :26:55.beautiful day generally speaking. We have lost the showers that we had in
:26:56. > :26:59.some areas through the afternoon, the winds will start to drop out as
:27:00. > :27:07.well as we had through the course of the night. Clear skies for a
:27:08. > :27:15.decidedly chilly night. We may even get down below that. There will be a
:27:16. > :27:24.number of you waking up to some frost around, but it will be added
:27:25. > :27:37.great start. It continues hour by hour. Not as much wind`chill.
:27:38. > :27:40.Do not forget that our Children in Need reports are on the website Bye
:27:41. > :27:47.for now.