:00:00. > :00:09.industry. We are back
:00:10. > :00:15.Good evening. With more rain forecast river levels
:00:16. > :00:18.are expected to rise again here in the West. Flood alerts have been
:00:19. > :00:21.issued for parts of Somerset and Gloucestershire and the Environment
:00:22. > :00:25.Agency will be watching Caerphilly to see if new flood defences put in
:00:26. > :00:27.place in the last year will stand up to their
:00:28. > :00:34.Steve Knibbs reports. The Somerset levels today, river
:00:35. > :00:39.flooding showing no sign of receding yet. Of course scenes like this
:00:40. > :00:45.aren't new, this was in the 193 s when the river at Athelney burst its
:00:46. > :00:52.banks. Back then landowners say at least the rivers were regularly
:00:53. > :00:55.cleaned out. They argue that neglect of water courses on the Somerset
:00:56. > :00:59.Levels over decades has led to flooding like this, last year the
:01:00. > :01:01.worst in living memory. Well now the Environment Agency is conducting a
:01:02. > :01:05.six`month experiment, dredging silt from a four kilometre stretch of the
:01:06. > :01:11.rivers Tone and Parrett and then seeing how quickly it all comes
:01:12. > :01:16.back. As sure as eggs or X, as soon as we
:01:17. > :01:18.stop doing any work the benefits will disappear quickly.
:01:19. > :01:22.But this isn't cheap, even dredging less than 10km on the levels will
:01:23. > :01:28.cost ?4 million, and local farmers are worried that the budgets won't
:01:29. > :01:33.stretch to helping the future. If they could claim it out now and keep
:01:34. > :01:38.on top of it every year, or every other year, it wouldn't cost a
:01:39. > :01:41.quarter of as much as it would now. As ever, money will drive the final
:01:42. > :01:45.decision and budgets are being tested right across the region to
:01:46. > :01:47.fix the recent weather damage. This landslip near Horseley in
:01:48. > :01:50.Gloucestershire today forced two families from their homes, the road
:01:51. > :01:56.expected to be closed for repairs for several days. Elsewhere new
:01:57. > :01:59.flood schemes are being tested, in Tewkesbury this new flood plain has
:02:00. > :02:03.been built by Severn Trent to offset land lost when new defences were put
:02:04. > :02:08.in to protect the Mythe Water treatment works. With many areas
:02:09. > :02:11.still under water and rain forecast flood alerts are still in force
:02:12. > :02:13.across the region it seems there's more chance now of the waters being
:02:14. > :02:23.topped up rather than draining away. Investigations are continuing into a
:02:24. > :02:27.Gloucestershire house fire that killed a man. The blaze started on
:02:28. > :02:34.Saturday morning at Westington in Chipping Campden. Much of the
:02:35. > :02:38.cottage was destroyed in the fire and an elderly man's body was
:02:39. > :02:42.discovered by fire crews. It's not thought the cause of the fire is
:02:43. > :02:46.suspicious. The fire had been spotted and three
:02:47. > :02:53.or four fire engines had gathered, and there was smoke pouring from the
:02:54. > :02:58.top of that building, out of the top of the house. From then on until
:02:59. > :03:02.1130 at night there were four or five fire range and cheer. `` fire
:03:03. > :03:05.engines here. Two men have been rescued off the
:03:06. > :03:09.coast of Somerset after their motorboat was caught in rough seas
:03:10. > :03:12.and strong winds. The pair were fishing almost a mile north of
:03:13. > :03:15.Watchet when a wave threw one of them overboard. He was airlifted to
:03:16. > :03:19.hospital with suspected hypothermia. It's been a festive period of mixed
:03:20. > :03:25.fortunes for our region's football teams. Here's Lizzie Way.
:03:26. > :03:29.Starting with Yeovil and it wasn't the best present for fans. They were
:03:30. > :03:33.beaten 5`1 at Huddersfield. It all started so well, Yeovil went ahead
:03:34. > :03:38.in the 14th minute but the lead only lasted nine minutes, final score was
:03:39. > :03:42.5`1. In League One Bristol City gave their bid to avoid the drop a boost
:03:43. > :03:46.as they beat fellow strugglers Stevenage. A 4`1 win lifts them to
:03:47. > :03:49.within a point of safety going into 2014. And centre back Louis Carey
:03:50. > :03:52.broke John Atyeo's long standing record for the highest number of
:03:53. > :03:56.appearances for City, when he came on as a late substitute for game
:03:57. > :03:59.number 646 in his Ashton Gate career. And Swindon drew 1`1 away
:04:00. > :04:02.Bradford, they fell behind early on but a spectacular second half
:04:03. > :04:08.equaliser from Alex Pritchard saw them pick up an away point in
:04:09. > :04:11.Yorkshire. In League two there was no such luck for Bristol Rovers
:04:12. > :04:14.they conceded all three points to Rochdale leaving them just a point
:04:15. > :04:21.above the League two relegation zone going into the New Year. And despite
:04:22. > :04:24.an eighty sixth minute goal Cheltenham were beaten at home to
:04:25. > :04:27.Mansfield losing their 11 match unbeaten record. The Robins were
:04:28. > :04:35.beaten 2`1 at Whaddon Road by a previously out of form Mansfield.
:04:36. > :04:39.In January, three students from the University of Bristol will head to
:04:40. > :04:42.the Utah desert to take part in an experiment designed to test how
:04:43. > :04:46.humans will cope with living on Mars. Their two`week stay will test
:04:47. > :04:53.everything from psychological stress to calorie`controlled diets. Andrew
:04:54. > :04:56.Plant has been to meet them. Training hard in the gym at Bristol
:04:57. > :04:59.University this young scientist is about to face some of the toughest
:05:00. > :05:12.conditions that planet Earth has to offer.
:05:13. > :05:16.It's a high altar chewed desert and the atmosphere is then, we will be
:05:17. > :05:19.carrying heavy equipment with us. This 25`year`old aerospace
:05:20. > :05:25.engineering student will lead a team of six as they live here, the Mars
:05:26. > :05:28.Desert Research Station. In the high, dry and low`oxygen environment
:05:29. > :05:37.of the Utah desert the most Mars`like conditions on Earth. Back
:05:38. > :05:40.in the labs in Bristol Michaela Musilova is part of the team. Her
:05:41. > :05:50.speciality, testing extreme life forms here to see whether they could
:05:51. > :05:57.have survived on Mars. An exorbitant `` an organism that
:05:58. > :06:01.lives on extreme conditions, on earth they are called, acidic deep
:06:02. > :06:06.down in the F, the pressure is high.
:06:07. > :06:10.Wearing. Spaces outside the station this is the type of building an
:06:11. > :06:17.early Mars colony will need to live in to survive.
:06:18. > :06:26.This footage taken from previous tests show just how harsh this
:06:27. > :06:29.landscape can be. And they'll be psychological pressures too. In the
:06:30. > :06:33.infinity of space personal space will be in short supply. With the
:06:34. > :06:39.curiosity Rover already roaming the surface of Mars it is hoped a human
:06:40. > :06:43.colony will not be far behind. The results here will help scientists
:06:44. > :06:49.understand how we'll cope with life on Mars.
:06:50. > :07:03.We could certainly do with some of that dry weather. Is the New Year
:07:04. > :07:08.looking any more settled? We have got a brief respite at the
:07:09. > :07:16.moment but showers pushing in overnight. New Year's Day, wet and
:07:17. > :07:18.windy, restoration hours. Showers overnight merged to form a long
:07:19. > :07:25.spell of rain which sweeps north eastwards. Try and bright weather
:07:26. > :07:36.for the afternoon. Temperatures not bad. Showers return in time for New
:07:37. > :07:40.Year's Eve. If you are out and about they continue until midnight and
:07:41. > :07:48.beyond. They set the tone for New Year's Day. Low pressure coming in
:07:49. > :07:54.from the Atlantic Ocean top 20 millimetres of rain which in itself
:07:55. > :07:57.isn't a great deal but falling on saturated ground adding to standing
:07:58. > :08:04.water, localised flooding, transport and travel problems again once ``
:08:05. > :08:10.once again an issue. Showers remain for Thursday and Friday, as do quite
:08:11. > :08:14.strong winds. The wind is also a feature for New Year's Day. No
:08:15. > :08:20.respite from the wet and windy conditions.
:08:21. > :08:25.That is it from us, there is more news on your local radio stations
:08:26. > :08:38.and the BBC website. We are back in the ten o'clock news, goodbye.
:08:39. > :08:45.Another day off strong winds, heavy rain and flooding. At least things
:08:46. > :08:50.are quiet at the moment. The rain has cleared off and the wind is
:08:51. > :08:56.lighter. There might be some ice in Scotland, but through the night the
:08:57. > :09:01.wind picks up, lifting temperatures, but more heavy rain pushing in. The
:09:02. > :09:05.rain band is not quite a significant us today, but it will leave surface
:09:06. > :09:12.water flooding. Some heavy bursts clearing Northern Ireland by first
:09:13. > :09:17.light. It reaches the east coast by the time we get to lunchtime, after
:09:18. > :09:22.a few morning showers. The wind is falling lighter, easing down from
:09:23. > :09:25.the gusty nature. A bit of sunshine through the afternoon. The
:09:26. > :09:30.temperature is a bit higher than they should be at this stage of the
:09:31. > :09:37.year. Some showers to finish the day in the West. They will push East on
:09:38. > :09:41.a blustery wind. Some of you will end the year on a dry note. The
:09:42. > :09:42.greatest chance of getting wet