:00:00. > 3:59:59into Friday morning and enhance the risk of flooding. That is all from
:00:00. > :00:16.us, Welcome to points West. The heir to
:00:17. > :00:25.the throne takes a boat to meet flooded villages. It has given him a
:00:26. > :00:30.taste of what has been happening. We ask, is all this a result of climate
:00:31. > :00:40.change? Why wasn't something done decades ago.
:00:41. > :00:55.The other News: He has made it. I am the daddy! We catch up with the
:00:56. > :01:00.Gloucester man who has run 5000 miles across Canada. As the Bristol
:01:01. > :01:01.ice rink is demolished, we meet the ice hockey team looking for a new
:01:02. > :01:12.home. Hallow. On the day the heir to the
:01:13. > :01:17.throne came to meet the people who have been living with the nightmare
:01:18. > :01:21.of flooding for more than a month. In this village they are having
:01:22. > :01:25.really different experiences. On one side of the road they can see the
:01:26. > :01:30.levels of the water dropping. The pumps have come in and the village
:01:31. > :01:34.is now access above. That has been the case since Sunday. On the other
:01:35. > :01:40.side of the road, the garden I am standing in, over the course of just
:01:41. > :01:45.today, they have seen the levels rise. I was wading around in this
:01:46. > :01:48.just a couple of hours ago. The reason I am not waiting in it now
:01:49. > :01:53.and you can see puddles is because the Environment Agency came in and
:01:54. > :01:58.elected these barriers. They are covered in plastic with huge chains
:01:59. > :02:03.holding a plastic down. They have also brought in huge punts as well
:02:04. > :02:07.to take the waterway. It has made a massive difference. Hayley says it
:02:08. > :02:12.is in the nick of time. She believes that by tomorrow her house is almost
:02:13. > :02:17.certainly would have flooded, just like the house next door. As we say,
:02:18. > :02:22.20 chart has been visiting the local people. He was going over to the
:02:23. > :02:29.marooned village of Muchelney earlier. He went on a boat and our
:02:30. > :02:35.reporter went with him. Waiting in their standing water, the people of
:02:36. > :02:40.Muchelney ready for a royal arrival. Cut off now for almost six weeks,
:02:41. > :02:48.his Royal Highness then using the only transport available here. Local
:02:49. > :02:53.children 's welcome posters leaving no doubt about the misery behind
:02:54. > :03:05.this world recognition. Muchelney has become the poster village for
:03:06. > :03:12.what is now a very long story. How do you get supplies in and out? On
:03:13. > :03:18.your boat. There was no royal carriage but there was a makeshift
:03:19. > :03:23.throne. As the Prince took a tractor to see some of the devastation for
:03:24. > :03:32.himself. These farmers in Thorney flooded last year and now flooded
:03:33. > :03:35.again. For the people here, it seems this visit, more than anything else
:03:36. > :03:44.that has happened recently, giving hope that something might finally be
:03:45. > :03:48.done to hold back the water. We have such a high`profile previously. In
:03:49. > :03:51.the past couple of weeks, David Cameron has said he will get
:03:52. > :03:58.involved. We did not realise the profile could be any more. I know he
:03:59. > :04:04.is pretty quiet but we did not think we would get a visit from Charles.
:04:05. > :04:09.After an hour and a half in this community cut off by water, time to
:04:10. > :04:15.make his way back along this Flooded Road, still eight feet deep in
:04:16. > :04:19.places. His fund has promised ?50,000 to help the Somerset
:04:20. > :04:25.communities but, for morale, this visit appeared to be priceless.
:04:26. > :04:29.Earlier, the Prince paid a visit to nearby Stoke St Gregory to meet
:04:30. > :04:34.people who've been affected, and those who've been helping in the
:04:35. > :04:40.crisis. He also announced extra funding for local businesses. Ali
:04:41. > :04:44.Vowles was there. The Prince's visit aimed to bring a little sunshine to
:04:45. > :04:48.a sodden Somerset. First stop the village hall at Stoke St Gregory to
:04:49. > :04:55.meet local farmers and the emergency services who are dealing with the
:04:56. > :05:01.flooding. Anybody who is high profile who comes along, obviously
:05:02. > :05:05.keeps the area in the news. That means that something has to be done
:05:06. > :05:08.for the future. And it is stories of hardship that the Prince has come to
:05:09. > :05:12.learn about. The Hine Family live next door to each other in the
:05:13. > :05:17.hamlet of Fordgate. They all had to move out weeks ago because of the
:05:18. > :05:21.flooding but come back every day. Unless you lived to write in here,
:05:22. > :05:26.you do not realise how bad it is. You hear about it on the telly but
:05:27. > :05:30.when you get down here and you can see that the roads are covered in
:05:31. > :05:33.water and mud and there are pumps everywhere, people cannot go about
:05:34. > :05:37.their normal daily business because of what is going on, it is really
:05:38. > :05:41.bad. Today the Princes Countryside Fund announced it was giving ?5 ,000
:05:42. > :05:44.to provide help to people like them, to be given out through the Somerset
:05:45. > :05:46.Community Foundation. Andrea's dad, Brian, has Parkinson's disease. Mum
:05:47. > :05:50.Marjorie has had throat cancer. Both have already had relief funds from
:05:51. > :06:01.the foundation and know have valuable small donations can be It
:06:02. > :06:08.is a lifeline really. There was some money you could use straightaway. It
:06:09. > :06:15.was very good. It was nice to have some spare money we could use. The
:06:16. > :06:20.endorsement from the Princes Countryside Fund is H mentis is for
:06:21. > :06:27.what we are doing. I hope more businesses will donate and support
:06:28. > :06:31.us. `` a tremendous boost. The charity hope the funds will continue
:06:32. > :06:35.to flow in so that's all those affected can get a little relief
:06:36. > :06:39.from the relentless rain and floods. The Prince's visit was planned a
:06:40. > :06:42.year ago but the Levels have been flooding for decades, and people
:06:43. > :06:57.have been calling for action for just as long. With me now are
:06:58. > :07:01.Anthony Gibson, who is chairman of a new South West task force to tackle
:07:02. > :07:04.the problem, and Rebecca Horsington of the local flooding action group.
:07:05. > :07:09.I am terribly sorry. We appear to have lost that link. We will be
:07:10. > :07:13.trying to go back to her later in the programme to hear from some of
:07:14. > :07:16.the local people. Now some more of today's news. A man from Gloucester
:07:17. > :07:19.is recovering tonight, after running across the whole of Canada. Jamie
:07:20. > :07:22.McDonald, who's 27, completed the epic journey late last night,
:07:23. > :07:26.becoming the first person to do it without any help. Today, he said he
:07:27. > :07:29.just can't believe it's over but he's ecstatic to have done it. Laura
:07:30. > :07:36.Jones reports. It was a superhuman challenge.
:07:37. > :07:49.Requiring extreme determination strength and, of course, a superhero
:07:50. > :07:55.costume. And he's finally done it. I have dreamt about it for 11 months.
:07:56. > :07:58.Every single day I woke up, every single day. I did not think I could
:07:59. > :08:02.do it. 11 months ago, Jamie McDonald dipped his hand in the Atlantic
:08:03. > :08:07.Ocean, on the eastern seaboard of Canada. He vowed to run to the other
:08:08. > :08:15.side of the country in order to dip his hand in the Pacific. And that's
:08:16. > :08:19.exactly what he did. I decided to put on this outfit just for 15
:08:20. > :08:25.marathons, for a bit of fun. In the end, the kids loved it. Everywhere I
:08:26. > :08:32.went. They were giving me big high`5. Kids turned up dressed up as
:08:33. > :08:36.superheroes. I bought it for eight months, one costume. It stank like
:08:37. > :08:45.mad. Jamie McDonald has been running, pretty much nonstop since
:08:46. > :08:51.ninth March last year. The epic journey has taken him from St John's
:08:52. > :08:54.in Newfoudland. And finally onto Vancouver late last night. A cool
:08:55. > :08:58.5,000 miles, all on his own, the first person to ever manage it.
:08:59. > :09:01.Jamie is no stranger to a challenge. Just over a year ago, he cycled from
:09:02. > :09:05.Thailand back to Gloucester, more than 8,000 miles as the crow flies,
:09:06. > :09:08.even further on wheels. That took him ten months, cycling through war
:09:09. > :09:12.zones, mountains, Iran and Iraq Then, he pedalled his way into the
:09:13. > :09:15.record books by cycling on the spot, for a week, with just short breaks
:09:16. > :09:19.for sleep. Locals, who supported him through that, are thrilled that he's
:09:20. > :09:22.managed this one too. He is an incredible guy. If you meet him he
:09:23. > :09:25.is just the nicest man. He has time for everyone. He is a pleasure to be
:09:26. > :09:28.around. As a child, Jamie spent a lot of time in Gloucester Royal
:09:29. > :09:30.hospital with a rare spinal condition. And that's been the
:09:31. > :09:33.motivation behind this journey, raising money for children's
:09:34. > :09:36.hospitals. So far, he's managed more than ?120,000. A Somerset con`man
:09:37. > :09:40.who wrote wills for the elderly has been found guilty of fraud, after
:09:41. > :10:00.cheating his clients out of hundreds of thousands of pounds.
:10:01. > :10:07.Brian May has helped launch a fund in parliament to vaccinate badgers
:10:08. > :10:12.against TB. He, and other partner agencies, hope to win the support of
:10:13. > :10:16.farmers, to adopt the method. A report into the safety and
:10:17. > :10:20.effectiveness of trial budget cars in Somerset and Gloucestershire last
:10:21. > :10:25.year is due to be published later this month. With the Winter Olympics
:10:26. > :10:30.about to start, Bristol remains a city without an ice rink. The old
:10:31. > :10:36.one closed in October and the site is being turned into flats. The city
:10:37. > :10:41.council has promised land for anyone but they still need people to build
:10:42. > :10:48.and run it. It was a wink that attracted Olympic champions and
:10:49. > :10:53.international stars. Now it is being raised to the ground, making way for
:10:54. > :10:58.480 student flats. While this new development may be making good
:10:59. > :11:07.progress, Plans for a replacement ice rink have yet to be announced.
:11:08. > :11:11.The council will not give any details but say they have identified
:11:12. > :11:16.a couple of potential sites. They have to find an operator and builder
:11:17. > :11:19.for the new ice rink but said they do hope to progress within the next
:11:20. > :11:22.few months. Bristol Pitbulls ice hockey is one of the sports teams
:11:23. > :11:27.who used the city's rink. They've lost members since having to move
:11:28. > :11:36.their games to Oxford. Fans are also struggling to make the journey. We
:11:37. > :11:41.are engaged with the council. We have been for the last 18 months or
:11:42. > :11:44.so. There is something in the pipeline. Fingers crossed, hopefully
:11:45. > :11:47.we will get a new rink. Campaigners who demonstrated against the rink's
:11:48. > :11:56.closure are leading calls for that to happen. But they admit it won't
:11:57. > :12:01.be a quick return to Bristol. If there is anybody who is prepared to
:12:02. > :12:06.build an ice rink for us, we want to make sure they are in discussions
:12:07. > :12:09.with the council to try to get to a stage where we are getting a new ice
:12:10. > :12:13.rink as quick as we possibly can. The speedy transformation of the
:12:14. > :12:16.former site may cause just a hint of envy in campaigners. They can only
:12:17. > :12:18.hope private backers get their skates on to bring the city a new
:12:19. > :12:33.rink. The Gloucester flanker, Andy
:12:34. > :12:37.Hazell, has announced his retirement from rugby with immediate effect.
:12:38. > :12:40.Andy, who's 35, has been at the club for the whole of his professional
:12:41. > :12:44.career having joined in 1997. He helped them win the Powergen Cup in
:12:45. > :12:54.2003 and the European Challenge Cup three years later. He also won seven
:12:55. > :13:01.England caps. From a young lad, it has been a dream country. Every week
:13:02. > :13:10.I have taken it as it comes. I have tried to change `` train the hardest
:13:11. > :13:16.I can. I have always made sure I have kept that high standard. A
:13:17. > :13:22.great seven the Gloucester and a great career as well. A Somerset,
:13:23. > :13:33.who wrote wills for the elderly has been found guilty of fraud. Keith
:13:34. > :13:42.weather is facing a long jail sentence. Do you have anything to
:13:43. > :13:49.say about the way you have treated your victims? Have you anything to
:13:50. > :13:52.say? Facing a long prison sentence Webber left court today refusing to
:13:53. > :13:56.apologise for his crimes. The jury heard how over two and a half years
:13:57. > :14:00.Webber abused his position of trust. He pretended to be a man of
:14:01. > :14:02.principle. But instead of safeguarding the financial future of
:14:03. > :14:05.his clients he stole ?300,000 from their estates. His four elderly
:14:06. > :14:09.victims were taken in by the promises made on his company's
:14:10. > :14:13.website and at his home in Chard. He conned one man into buying him an
:14:14. > :14:16.?11,000 Jaguar and then into buying his own wife, Joan Webber, a ?3 000
:14:17. > :14:22.funeral plan and then charged him a ?150 agent's fee.
:14:23. > :14:26.His wife's sister, Margaret Wetton, says Webber persuded her older
:14:27. > :14:30.sister and her husband, Esther and David Larn, to grant him power of
:14:31. > :14:42.attorney over their financial affairs. But in their dying days he
:14:43. > :14:46.stole savings and pensions. This is the saddest thing. My sister and
:14:47. > :14:54.brother`in`law and Joan, his wife, are not here to see justice done.
:14:55. > :14:58.That hurts more than anything. The jury found Webber guilty of six
:14:59. > :15:03.counts of fraud and theft for sums totalling over ?280,000. He was
:15:04. > :15:08.completely dishonest. He did this over a number of years and gained
:15:09. > :15:12.confidence over the years. Over the first few years, he charged
:15:13. > :15:16.excessive fees and abused his position. Ultimately he gained the
:15:17. > :15:19.confidence to change someone's will after they had died. Judge Graham
:15:20. > :15:22.Hume Jones told Webber that the guilty verdicts delivered by the
:15:23. > :15:26.jury would attract a consisderable prison sentence. The judge granted
:15:27. > :15:29.him bail to allow him to put his affairs in order. The will writer
:15:30. > :15:30.will be sentenced on Friday for both the fraud and child pornography
:15:31. > :15:42.offences. That's all from me in the studio. We
:15:43. > :15:53.can go back to Alex, who's moved into the dry now, I think. I think
:15:54. > :15:57.it was a good idea. We are in the village hall. As you can see, a lock
:15:58. > :16:01.the locals have gathered. They have gathered because we are here and
:16:02. > :16:06.they want to tell us their feelings. They want to see what is
:16:07. > :16:10.going on. They have gathered to talk to each other. Some of them have
:16:11. > :16:15.said the community has never been stronger. Going back to the Prince
:16:16. > :16:22.'s visit, it was arranged about a year ago and it was arranged to talk
:16:23. > :16:25.to people about the aftermath of last year 's floods. It has
:16:26. > :16:30.coincided with this year 's floods, which are worth. We are joined by
:16:31. > :16:37.the chairman of the new Southwest task force and also Rebecca from the
:16:38. > :16:44.local flooding action group. You spoke to Prince Charles today. What
:16:45. > :16:49.did he have to say? He was very well informed and he was genuinely
:16:50. > :16:54.concerned. He said the situation we have now is the result of 20 years
:16:55. > :17:00.of neglect and we need to sort it out. There is a great opportunity
:17:01. > :17:05.here to sort things out, not just with water management but with land
:17:06. > :17:13.management as well. We want it to be green, farmed good for wildlife and
:17:14. > :17:18.the water managed so that it is our greatest asset and not the greatest
:17:19. > :17:24.threat. Do you think him coming today has made a difference or will
:17:25. > :17:29.it just raise the profile? It has raised the profile. He has a lot of
:17:30. > :17:32.influential friends. The fact he has such a good grasp of the problems
:17:33. > :17:36.down here means when he is talking to people about this in London, and
:17:37. > :17:43.he is genuinely concerned and determined to make a difference it
:17:44. > :17:49.can be to the good. Rebecca, you are from the flooding action group. He
:17:50. > :17:54.will you made up of? It is local residents, people who live here
:17:55. > :17:59.farmers, business owners. It is just concerned people it is affecting.
:18:00. > :18:07.What difference do you want to make? We want to make sure this will it is
:18:08. > :18:11.dredged. We understand it is not the only solution. To use a simple
:18:12. > :18:18.analogy, you need to unblock the drain before you can sort the rest
:18:19. > :18:24.of the problem out. We started with about 150 followers on Facebook and
:18:25. > :18:28.now it is about 1800. It is going really well. Thank you for joining
:18:29. > :18:34.us and coming in from the cold. We know this has been going on for
:18:35. > :18:39.decades. We have reported on this and on flooding before. Why are we
:18:40. > :18:44.still reporting on it? It is hard to tell the difference, the Somerset
:18:45. > :18:52.Levels 19 years ago and today. 995 was the second year in a row they
:18:53. > :18:54.had flooded badly. A BBC documentary brought warnings about something
:18:55. > :19:04.most of us had not heard of, climate change. As climate changes, we as a
:19:05. > :19:08.region will see changes more quickly than others. The Somerset Levels
:19:09. > :19:12.will be more at risk and there will be a greater incidence of flooding.
:19:13. > :19:16.Then, as now, it was the Environment Agency in the front line. But then,
:19:17. > :19:19.unlike now, they were dredging the Rivers Parrett and Tone. It didn't
:19:20. > :19:23.stop the flooding and they too warned that global warming would
:19:24. > :19:26.make things worse. The people in this part of the world are
:19:27. > :19:31.particularly vulnerable to flooding. Anything can make that worse.
:19:32. > :19:38.Climate change is of great importance. The price that we must
:19:39. > :19:40.pay to protect people in areas like Langport in Bridgwater, the big
:19:41. > :19:46.urban areas, is to have controlled flooding of some of the levels some
:19:47. > :19:52.of the time. Experts told us where some of the levels might breach
:19:53. > :19:59.Those houses are eight metres above sea`level. We could see flooding out
:20:00. > :20:05.that sort of level. This man says we have not done enough. We need to be
:20:06. > :20:09.looking at how communities are going to be able to adapt and mitigate
:20:10. > :20:13.against the impacts of climate change but even if we are successful
:20:14. > :20:17.in reducing greenhouse gas emissions now, we have already laid in store
:20:18. > :20:21.the impacts of climate change for decades to come. Today's scientists
:20:22. > :20:24.also warn about climate change but with heightened urgency. It is the
:20:25. > :20:31.focus of an event in Bristol this evening. The guest speaker is the
:20:32. > :20:34.Government's chief science adviser. There is no doubt the climate is
:20:35. > :20:38.getting more comfortable for humans across the planet and we must do all
:20:39. > :20:45.we can to adapt to that and prevent it happening. With something like
:20:46. > :20:49.the Somerset Levels, is it realistic to have an area like that which is
:20:50. > :20:59.going to be more vulnerable? In general, we will need to adapt will
:21:00. > :21:05.stop it has always been risky living in a flood plain. This winter's
:21:06. > :21:08.calamity can't be blamed on climate change; there's always been extreme
:21:09. > :21:14.weather. But scientists agree global warming means more extremes, more
:21:15. > :21:18.floods, more often. Lets see what the local people think about that
:21:19. > :21:24.because, as you know, we are here in the village hall. We have Jullien
:21:25. > :21:29.and Bryony, for examples. What is your experience at the moment? The
:21:30. > :21:35.water is coming up and down in front of my house. It has not got in yet.
:21:36. > :21:40.I am really worried. We need to raging and a proper tidal barrier to
:21:41. > :21:44.prevent the silt coming up the river. Without a barrier, you're
:21:45. > :21:49.going to have a continuous maintenance problem. It needs to be
:21:50. > :21:54.done and be funded by the Treasury. It needs to be done under local
:21:55. > :21:58.control. It was interesting but we were hearing earlier. We know
:21:59. > :22:04.dredging is not the only answer People are concerned that there will
:22:05. > :22:13.be dredging and that will not be the only answer. It is not just here, it
:22:14. > :22:17.is further downstream. The implications will happen in
:22:18. > :22:22.Bridgwater. You can affect the whole Hinkley point project, the roads and
:22:23. > :22:29.the structure. This needs to be integrated in a proper programme,
:22:30. > :22:33.run by local people. Bryony, your situation is your farmland, isn t
:22:34. > :22:36.it? You have moved or your livestock. Looking ahead, do you
:22:37. > :22:41.feel like you will be resigned to this or do you think there might be
:22:42. > :22:46.an end and there will not be flooding again? I have spoken to
:22:47. > :22:50.some influential people and they are positive on the grand outlook of all
:22:51. > :22:54.of this but I think the next three months are not looking very good. We
:22:55. > :23:04.have terrible rain coming in and there is no end in sight. Years to
:23:05. > :23:09.come, what do you think? We have all done this for our children and years
:23:10. > :23:15.beyond and hopefully there is an end in sight. I am sure we will be
:23:16. > :23:20.analysing this will some time to come. I am going to send you back to
:23:21. > :23:25.Ian with the weather. I have got to tell you, I heard this today. A bus
:23:26. > :23:32.driver in Bristol called the police yesterday, saying he had spotted a
:23:33. > :23:35.crocodile in the River Avon. We sent our cameras out. Even the Chief
:23:36. > :23:36.Constable of Aden and Somerset police said they could not find it.
:23:37. > :23:49.What do you think? You need 30 Celsius plus for a
:23:50. > :23:55.crocodile to survive. An alligator might be more plausible. They
:23:56. > :24:02.survive conditions of seven Celsius in America. I think it was probably
:24:03. > :24:08.a log! It does not take much description for the wins and the
:24:09. > :24:13.like. It is the turning `` it is turning decidedly wet and windy
:24:14. > :24:16.This is the forecast for the rest of the day and into tomorrow. The story
:24:17. > :24:21.will be one of further weather warnings. We are combining warnings
:24:22. > :24:25.were strong winds and heavy rain. That will run through tonight and
:24:26. > :24:34.through the course of tomorrow for all our districts. The winds of
:24:35. > :24:37.causing every much `` are causing concern and they will be equally
:24:38. > :24:44.damaging in terms of trees in particular. These are the wind gusts
:24:45. > :24:51.we might be seeing through tomorrow afternoon and even through the
:24:52. > :25:00.course of this evening. You can get gusts of 60, 70 miles an hour.
:25:01. > :25:08.Tomorrow, the gusts will become more westerly. All in all, a pretty
:25:09. > :25:13.bothersome story, it has to be said. This area of low pressure is
:25:14. > :25:18.trundling its way closer. Wrapped around that comes the swathe of
:25:19. > :25:22.heavy rain. Tomorrow, that are a lot of heavy showers. The winds are
:25:23. > :25:30.veering more westerly, perhaps South westerly. The mouth of the River
:25:31. > :25:37.Severn is more problematic generally. The rain is marching in,
:25:38. > :25:45.as I can attest in Bristol. There is lots of standing water about. The
:25:46. > :25:49.winds will tend to abate. Temperatures down to about four
:25:50. > :25:55.five Celsius. Tomorrow, the emphasis is firmly on severe gales, further
:25:56. > :26:03.heavy showery outbreaks of rain adding to the key related issues of
:26:04. > :26:09.local flooding. Do take care on country lanes where you have
:26:10. > :26:15.overhanging branches. It will remain windy through the course of the day,
:26:16. > :26:25.particularly in the afternoon and into the evening. Temperatures are
:26:26. > :26:30.academic. Here are the charts. There will be something of a lull into
:26:31. > :26:38.Friday. You can see what is waiting in the wings on Saturday. It will
:26:39. > :26:45.not be good. Not good at all. We can hear the wind outside. I have to
:26:46. > :26:49.say, people of more land, your spirits are incredible. Thank you
:26:50. > :26:53.for letting us come in. They have said we can come again because it
:26:54. > :26:57.has kept them in the spotlight. We will leave you with some images of
:26:58. > :27:09.today 's visits. Goodbye.