30/01/2014 BBC Points West

the BBC News at Six, so it's goodbye from me, and on BBC

Welcome to BBC Points West. I'm David Garmston. Tonight, we're on

the flooded Somerset Levels as the cavalry arrives. A convoy of pumping

trucks from Britain's emergency supplies rolls on to the moors. The

military is here too, as the fight against the floods moves on to a war

footing. Dredging will start as soon as it is practical, as soon as the

waters have started to come down. The moment the Prime Minister hit

the panic button, but was it just bad publicity that forced his hand?

Also in the news today: Anger over plans to move nuclear waste to the

West Country. And Victorian changing rooms ` the

make`over of the Cheltenham home of Gustav Holst.

Good evening. What a difference a day makes. After weeks of being

ignored, suddenly the Somerset Levels find themselves at the heart

of a political and military operation to roll back the flood

waters. We hope to be down there very shortly but we can remind you

that yesterday, the Prime Minister took personal charge of the

situation, and he sent in the Army and the Marines. Our first report is

from Scott Ellis. Not here in force, but now taking a

closer look at the floods around Muchelney. Two Royal Engineers

attached to the Royal Marines. Supporting Somerset County Council `

if flood victims need more help I have seen it on the news and TV He

did not really get the understanding of how big a task it is until you

see it for yourself. There are 00 commandos based in Taunton on

stand`by to help. But all this was declared a major incident zone

almost a week ago. Residents are wondering why all the fuss now. We

are actually managing quite well now. It has just gone on too long.

But he wouldn't say no to the military helping? No. More rain and

high tides are on the way. And more high`volume pumps ` ten of them The

fire service are also bringing in two hovercraft ` and more 4X4s.

Officials saying the military, as yet, aren't needed. What the

military can bring is a quick response with additional resources,

should we require them. At this stage we are comfortable that the

civil contingencies we have in place are enough. While everyone gears up

for another wet weekend, the area's drainage board published a new

report. It maps out what action they think needs to be taken to improve

drainage on the Somerset Levels in future years. Top of the list `

dredging the rivers Parrett and Tone. But also measures to slow and

reduce water run`off further up There is a need for a sluice gate

below Bridgwater to hold back the tides. Finally, they admit, the most

vulnerable households will have to relocate. At the end of the day

then maybe people who need help to become more resilient, or to adapt,

or as a very last result, be helped should away. The scale of dredging

will be enormous. `` be helped to move away. 200,000 tonnes of earth

and silt will have to be moved. For weeks, the people living in

Thorney have complained they were being ignored. Last week, the county

council declared a major incident, hoping for outside assistance ` and

nothing happened. Then this week, after a barrage of bad publicity,

the Levels suddenly became top priority. Here's our political

editor, Paul Barltrop. The pictures went across the world `

thousands of acres under water, angry locals berating a hapless

Government minister. Why wasn't this day ages ago? Yet in reality, the

worst was past. On January first, the waters rose, closing roads to

vehicles. Badly affected ` the villages of Muchelney, Thorney, Oake

and Stathe. Some 300 residents. Up to 40 properties were flooded.

Within days, the council had a boat running, helping locals keep going.

But their frustration, and the sight of such a vast expanse flooded,

eventually hit Westminster. An area greater than the size of Bristol

under water and it has been for a month. The severe flooding on the

Somerset Levels is causing acute distress. It brought a pledge from

the Prime Minister that surprised many, as it seemed to overrule what

his own minister had ordered days earlier. Dredging will start as soon

as it is practical, as soon as the waters have started to come down. It

was a slap down. He has completely changed the approach to the

Government as to what is going on down there and all of a sudden we

have seen urgency and intervention that could have happened weeks ago.

Dramatic areas of vast areas underwater, demands by farmers for

action, bickering by politicians. That's not just the story of the

past two winters. That's also what we had on the Somerset Levels ` 20

years go. There was one difference back then ` the rivers Tone and

Parrett WERE being dredged. It didn't stop flooding then, and

politicians know it probably won't prevent it in the future.

Joining us from our Taunton studio now is Richard Cresswell from the

Environment Agency. Thank you for joining us. The Environment Agency

was saying that it was not the best option. Now the Prime Minister has

come in, he has taken it out of your hands. Is it the best way forward

now? For the past year, ever since the floods in 2012, we have been

saying that dredging the rivers `` River Parrett and the River Tone

would be a partial solution. A year ago we put public money on the table

to do exactly that, and we have been working with partners ever since to

raise the rest of the money to do that dredge. So we believe that it

is something that needs to happen. Why didn't you do it sooner? Because

we have been working with our partners to raise the money for it.

As we heard in the preview, there, it will cost ?4 million, and what we

can put in is a proportion of that from taxpayers money. But people

locally have been calling for this for some time, not just four weeks.

Indeed, and we looked at this 1 months ago, after the serious floods

then, to see exactly what could be done. As I say, we have worked with

our partners to see how we can raise the money and how they can help to

make sure that this dredging goes ahead as soon as possible. So who

will do the dredging? At the moment there is the Environment Agency

drainage department, county council. Is that going to take some

time, to decide who is going to do it before it even gets done? We are

working with our partners already on taking this forward. Whoever leads

it and we are discussing with the drainage board and the county

council to get the contract, but we have started some while ago in

looking at all the things that need to be done to make sure that this

can be done speedily. Thank you The Levels are partly below sea

level so its natural that they flood ` but this year the rainfall has

been exceptional. Here's Andrew Plant.

After four weeks underwater, suddenly some green is poking

through. Water levels here are now dropping, thanks to Somerset's

biggest ever pumping operation. But a high tide is to this weekend.

Regular showers falling on the Somerset fields that simply couldn't

hold any more. January's rainfall gas set records in some parts of the

UK. From up here, you can see how flooded the Somerset Levels still

are. That is just in one direction. It looks exactly the same in the

other direction. You can see the River Parrett stretching away into

the distance, looking swollen. The fear is that we've more rain

forecast this weekend and the high tide, the River could burst its

banks. In the West, Simon has kept records here for the past 30 years.

`` 50 years. If we are talking 0 millimetres to 40 millimetres of

rain, depending how hard it rains and for how long, it would take us

over the 400 millimetres combined total for December and January, and

we have never had that before, not in my period of record which goes

back to 1960. Here there has been twice the average January rainfall.

It is the fifth wettest since 1 10. Forecasters say there is more on the

way. For businesses like Westover garage, the rain means lost revenue.

We could not get any vehicles in for a week and a half. We employ seven

staff and they need to be paid. That is lost custom. You will not see the

difference for a year. Across the West, it was the wettest in a

generation. You'd have to go back to 1995 to find more rainfall in a

single month. We were hoping to join David in the

village of Thorney, and we still hope to before the end of tonight's

programme, but for now, other news. Plans to bring dangerous nuclear

waste to the West are being discussed. At the moment, waste

produced at nuclear power stations here is routinely transported out of

the West, to be processed and stored elsewhere. But now that could

change, and it could end up being brought here too. Laura Jones

reports. As you can see, you are in the

middle of an area with lots of houses and across the fence behind

me is the local primary school. A wet morning in Bridgwater. And at

this railway siding, in the heart of the town, a container has just

arrived by lorry ` and is being transferred onto a railway carriage.

The white flask, as it is called, contained radioactive waste from

Hinkley B. It is brought here by road and then loaded onto train to

be reprocessed in Sellafield in Cumbria. It has been happening for

40 years, but now in addition to this, there is talk of bringing

nuclear waste into Hinkley, too The proposal is to bring what's called

intermediate`level nuclear waste, from the now`closed Oldbury power

station in South Gloucestershire to Hinkley, to be processed and stored.

That waste would be transported by road, not rail, but would mean

around one lorry a fortnight making the journey for two years ` between

2020 and 2022. It's something anti nuclear protestors aren't very

pleased about. We believe that the waste has already been generated and

it needs to stay where it is and be properly looked after where it is.

If people do not like having it in their backyard, the answer to that

is quite simple, stop making more. They do not how to package it ``

they do not know how to package it. It is a fantasy. There is no nuclear

waste fairy. This stuff is a real problem. Plans to do this aren't

definite and are up for consultation until tomorrow (FRIDAY). But those

at Hinkley, say that even if they're approved, there's nothing to worry

about. The UK has been transporting radioactive material around the

country safely for many years without incident and I think this is

just part of our business as usual. Remember that the number of traffic

movements will be very low. When we can at this proposal, if it is

enacted, in fact, it will be less than one lorry movements per week.

Whatever decisions are made about what to re`process and where, the

one problem that both sides agree on, is that there's still nowhere to

store the processed waste long term. But that's not something that these

proposals are looking at. The former Liberal Democrat leader

Paddy Ashdown and his wife have survived a car accident in which a

49`year`old man died. Lord Ashdown's wife was driving on a country road

near their home when they were involved in a collision with two

other vehicles. The couple are reported to be very upset and have

passed on their condolences to the family of the man who died.

Wiltshire Police say they've disrupted 15 suspected drugs gangs

after a series of raids. Officers arrested 45 people yesterday. Drugs

and illegal tobacco were seized at 60 homes and businesses in Swindon

and London. 400 staff were involved in the operation.

A crackdown on fly`tipping has resulted in a huge drop in people

illegally dumping rubbish, according to officials in North Somerset. In

July, waste experts were brought in to try to analyse the rubbish. If

they identified the guilty party, the council sent them a letter

threatening a ?60 fine. Here's Tracey Miller.

Clive and Kim are part of a team that are tackling dumped rubbish and

fly`tipping on the streets of Weston. Complaints of rubbish,

dumped mattresses even roadkill are passed onto the them and they take

on the job. It is quite a rewarding job, cleaning up the town centre. I

hope people appreciate the work being done. But to tackle repeat

offenders of fly`tipping, a council officer uses some detective work to

track them down. Basically, we are looking for evidence. These are

bikes that have been illegally put out on the street. We are looking

for letters or envelopes, anything that has the name or address where

the rubbish has come from. It's resulted in a 70% drop in

fly`tipping. North Somerset Council, over the past couple of years, we

have the second best recycling statistics in the whole of the

country. And that is running at 60%. Good to know we are good at

something. Where the bins are, it used to be like a rubbish dump but

it is not any more, so very good. Very good. They could do with a view

more pins. So even a recycling area that's tidy can be improved. They

are not very attractive so one thing we are looking to do this summer is

to run a competition with schoolchildren to get them to design

murals or paintings to go on the front of the bins, especially along

the seafront in Weston`super`Mare. For Clive and Kim, there's been a

call and they're off to remove a dead badger from the side of the

road. There are growing concerns about the

number of men developing eating disorders. Figures released today

show there has been a rise in the number of men seeking treatment for

six years running. Charities here in the West are warning it could be the

tip of the iceberg, as men are much less likely to seek help for these

conditions than women. By any definition, this is a man who

likes his food. Leek packs in over 5000 calories a day. `` Ollie. But

four years ago, he looked rather different, anorexic and weighing

just six stone. Every morning I would wake up and it wouldn't be,

what is my schoolwork, how is my family? It would just be, what can I

do to be the smallest that I can be today, and that was the goal, as

simple as that. Whence he had admitted a problem, he turned to the

local gym for help. Gradually he rebuilt his body and self esteem.

But few men nowhere to turn to for. Launched last year, this is a

Bristol eating order service, which sees one man for every ten women,

but thinks the problem is bigger. It may be that far more men are

experiencing problems with managing their eating and engaging in quite

extreme behaviours intended to shape their bodies and manage their

weight. But because we do not understand or know less about the

ways that we do those things, may be we do not branch them with this

eating disorder label in quite the same way we do women. Although Ollie

says he has never completely overcome his eating disorder,

finding help was half the battle. You need to find the confidence

find the thing that means that you have a purpose in life. On hopes his

story will inspire other young men. `` Ollie.

Passengers using First buses outside of Bristol are to be asked what they

think of the service. A similar consultation within the city led to

a reduction in some fares. First says they now want to hear from

passengers in areas like Portishead, Bath and Yate.

People concerned about the future of Clevedon Community Hospital are

being asked to attend a public meeting in the town tonight. It s

been called by campaigners who fear that a shake`up of health services

in Clevedon could mean the hospital losing its in`patient beds.

Experts are being brought in to restore the composer Gustav Holst's

home in Cheltenham. Staff at the town's Holst Birthplace Museum have

even commissioned a paint historian to work out how it would have been

decorated in 1874, when Holst was born there. The work's been done to

celebrate the 100th anniversary of his most famous orchestral suite,

The Planets. Here's Zoe Gough. Gustav Holst, composer of The

Planets. He remains one of Cheltenham's most famous sons. The

terraced house in was born in proudly displays his treasures, in

characterful rooms. This is an original score of the planets.. But

the garage into beer simply did not compare, so to put things right

layers of wallpaper and paint were stripped back to find what might

have been there in the 1870s. I was looking in looks and crannies.

Eventually I found an area. The decoration samples were put under a

microscope to find out which layout related to Holst's time in the

house. Being able to bring the interior back to the time when he

lived here as a child is quite important in that story telling

Decorators have since got to work restoring the walls, doors and

original staircase to their former glory. But remaining true to an

historic decor has been a leap of faith for the museum staff. I said

to the volunteers and staff that we would paint it, regardless what

colour it was, as we wanted it to be authentic, but it could have been

dark brown and quite oppressive for visitors. But now we can say, this

was the original colour, but it is also a very attractive colour. This

coincides with the centenary of Gustav Holst's most famous

orchestral suite, allowing visitors to appreciate fully the environment

which shaped the great composer It is just fascinating.

Army troops in Gloucestershire are celebrating today after the official

announcement that they've broken a world record. It was for the most

soldiers dipping eggy soldiers simultaneously. Members of Imjin

Barracks made the attempt a week ago, and set the new record at 78.

It was in aid of Winston's Wish ` a local charity for bereaved children.

You can just hear the quartermaster shouting, dip!

And David is with us in Thorney Better late than never. Yes, Thorney

is a village on the Somerset Levels fairly near Langport, and the locals

here tell me they have been underwater for exactly 30 days. In

fact, there is a disabled lady who lives down there who, because of the

rain, has not been able to get out of her house since the 23rd of

December. They thought they were forgotten, it ignored nationally.

And then the prime minister got hold of the story yesterday at prime

ministers questions and he effectively pushed a panic button

and sent in the Marines and the Army and more services from the Fire

Brigade, and yet when they got here this morning they found the water

level had gone down by three inches or so, and so there was not much

they could do. The Army and Marines have been stood down tonight. Our

environment correspondent, Clinton, has been covering this for a month.

What do you make of what has been happening today, this extraordinary

activity, and then people saying, well, there is not much to do? It is

not so much what I think that what the people over there thing. When

people have been talking, the word farce comes up. I do not think there

was anything they thought the Army or navy could do today. They could

have done that a weeks ago, two weeks ago, three weeks ago. But

there is a real sense here that the panic button has been pushed far too

late, and to have the military come here and take a look and say, what

do you want us to do? And go away again... The worries about this

weekend, because there is more rain on the way. Yes, the Army have said

that the Fire Brigade are doing quite enough. I think the county

council are saying it is handy to know that the military are there in

case we need them at the weekend. Let's hope we don't. Also the issue

of dredging it came up. The Prime Minister said, forget what the

Environment Agency has said in the past, we are going to dredge. To be

honest, the Army help was not what people wanted, it is the dredging.

They want to have it done properly, and now. That is what they say.

Thank you. Of course, everybody is waiting to find out what the weather

is going to be like. Thank you. We know more rain is on

the way and the high tide, as well. Why has it been so wet for so long?

We have seen how exceptional the rental figures have been this month.

We have to look to the other side of the Atlantic, to North America, for

the very cold winter they have been experiencing, the opposite of what

we have had. This has been pumping this relentless amount of cold air

across into parts of the north`western Atlantic, and firing

up these Jetstream wins, that fly as high as airliners. In turn, this is

the driving force which is starting to form the pressure which comes our

way, and nonstop since before Christmas, and as long as that

remains, so will the rain. The child has a meaningful look for Friday. A

swathe of rain will be approaching us in the second half of the day.

Nonstop with very little hiatus between the spells of rain. Yes it

will be a dry morning, but further rain on the way. It will continue

into the evening before clearing away. Somerset Levels, where we have

the focus, there is a further threat of rain there, an inch or so. That

will feed down the catchment into the Levels itself. It will continue

over into Saturday. It takes a while for the rain to actually come down

into the Levels itself. A fairly benign patent right now and so it

will continue overnight. After a dry start tomorrow, all eyes to the

West. The wind will pick up that the rain will be causing the Dublin

Wintry showers following on behind, into Saturday. `` causing the

problem. A spot of drizzle. A dry picture for tonight but decidedly

chilly. Temperatures dropping to freezing or a degree or two below. A

cold start tomorrow. But it will be a dry one. Some hints of brightness

around. It will not last long. The wind is picking up. About midday,

the rain is crossing the M5 across the Levels into Bristol and parts of

Gloucestershire. It crosses eastwards. There is an amber warning

and therefore the Levels. By about 6pm, the last swathe is heading away

from the M5 corridor. Some hail and may be snow in places into Saturday.

On Saturday, stronger wind and the threat of those very high tides We

will feature those tomorrow.