:00:00. > :00:07.Welcome to BBC Points West, with Alex Lovell and David Garmston, on
:00:08. > :00:12.the day the flooding got much worse. The waters rose by one metre
:00:13. > :00:15.overnight, breaching the defences. Even the trains are stuck, and in
:00:16. > :00:31.the village of Moorland there's despair as the water comes in. We
:00:32. > :00:37.were told to get out. We got out. We have resisted so far. It must be
:00:38. > :00:40.serious. The Prime Minister wades in and
:00:41. > :00:46.makes a personal promise to reverse the policy on clearing rivers.
:00:47. > :00:51.The pause in dredging that took place was wrong. We need to get
:00:52. > :00:53.dredging again. When the water levels come down, we will be
:00:54. > :01:00.dredging. And a touch of the Dunkirk spirit as
:01:01. > :01:07.the local community rallies round. Good evening. It's been a day of
:01:08. > :01:10.fast moving developments on the Somerset Levels after the latest
:01:11. > :01:13.storms made the flooding worse ` heaping misery on the people living
:01:14. > :01:16.there, and pushing the emergency response to the limits. Tonight the
:01:17. > :01:19.village of Moorland finds itself at the centre of the national spotlight
:01:20. > :01:22.after the Prime Minister paid a visit and saw the devastation for
:01:23. > :01:26.himself. People in Moorland were told to leave their homes early this
:01:27. > :01:29.morning as the cold water seeped relentlessly into about 80 homes `
:01:30. > :01:36.although some residents are refusing to budge.
:01:37. > :01:39.And from providing hot meals and drinks to looking after each other's
:01:40. > :01:42.animals, the emergency is bringing out the best in the community.
:01:43. > :01:46.First, tonight, Clinton Rogers was with the people of Moorland early
:01:47. > :01:51.this morning, as the waters began to overwhelm their houses.
:01:52. > :01:54.When a major incident became a major emergency ` Royal Marines helped to
:01:55. > :01:57.evacuate 80 homes from Moorland overnight, then desperately tried to
:01:58. > :02:09.hold back the water to protect what properties they could. As morning
:02:10. > :02:14.broke, the scale of what's happened is all too evident ` the water rose
:02:15. > :02:22.a metre last night So many homes are now under water ` homes that have
:02:23. > :02:27.never previously flooded. This has been a good close`knit
:02:28. > :02:35.community, just rips apart. I hope that when everything subsides, the
:02:36. > :02:37.powers that be send people here to help the residents clear out their
:02:38. > :02:40.homes. A church at nearby Bridgwater became
:02:41. > :02:58.an emergency evacuation centre. At least it's warm and dry.
:02:59. > :03:01.We have resisted so far, so we decided that it must be serious
:03:02. > :03:04.Some people are determined not to leave their homes ` in spite of the
:03:05. > :03:07.warnings. We travelled by tractor to a house
:03:08. > :03:11.in Moorland that has literally become an island.
:03:12. > :03:15.Last night, the owner built a dam around the whole property. Today,
:03:16. > :03:24.even more radical efforts to keep the water at bay.
:03:25. > :03:30.This is an extraordinary attempts to keep the waters at bay. The whole
:03:31. > :03:36.property is now surrounded by 8am. The whole house will be wrapped in
:03:37. > :03:44.polythene. `` surrounded by eight Dam.
:03:45. > :03:47.The house will devalue if it floods. With the flood water still rising,
:03:48. > :03:50.efforts are continuing to protect those properties yet to be affected
:03:51. > :04:00.But for many returning home could be a long time away.
:04:01. > :04:04.The Prime Minister's visit this afternoon came as a surprise. He met
:04:05. > :04:06.Tony Davy whose family has been farming on the levels for three
:04:07. > :04:09.generations ` his land is underwater. David Cameron had
:04:10. > :04:12.already ordered dredging and extra funding, after criticism of the
:04:13. > :04:21.Environment Agency and the government's handling of the crisis.
:04:22. > :04:31.Scott Ellis is in Burrowbridge near Moorland for us tonight.
:04:32. > :04:36.For the most part, it has been a deceptively warm and sunny day here
:04:37. > :04:46.on the levels. The waters around us are still rising. This river joins
:04:47. > :04:52.the River Parrot just beyond. This is North Moor, and just about a mile
:04:53. > :04:57.away is moorlands. The waters are silently rising at about ten
:04:58. > :05:05.millimetres every hour. This remains a very fast`moving situation. Last
:05:06. > :05:10.night, we asked how soon before the prime ministers on is his wellies
:05:11. > :05:20.and head west. He came quicker than we all thought. A local farmer was a
:05:21. > :05:32.rate that he was having to pump out his house. That here more about what
:05:33. > :05:35.the Prime Minister had to say. Clearly, people here faced a very
:05:36. > :05:39.tough time and continue to face a tough time. That's why we've got to
:05:40. > :05:42.do everything we can to help. We brought in more pumps, more help
:05:43. > :05:45.from the emergency services, money to help Somerset get back on its
:05:46. > :05:49.feet. The money is there. Clearly, we need to go back to a period of
:05:50. > :05:53.much more intensive dredging. It's not the whole answer ` we also need
:05:54. > :05:56.to build more flood barriers, make sure our infrastructure is
:05:57. > :06:00.resilient, and we need to make sure those things happen. But right now,
:06:01. > :06:03.the priority is to make sure that everyone in Somerset who needs help
:06:04. > :06:07.is getting help. That's what the Gold command and the system we have
:06:08. > :06:09.in place is delivering It continues to be an unsettled picture.
:06:10. > :06:14.It's worth remembering that this is uncharted waters. There is water on
:06:15. > :06:21.the levels where it has never been before within living memory. It is
:06:22. > :06:23.also uncharted memory for the politicians are having to confront
:06:24. > :06:28.those who have lost their livelihoods. They are having to work
:06:29. > :06:32.out how they're going to pay for those projects that people here are
:06:33. > :06:39.demanding. Dredging, but that's not all. The night, the rain comes down.
:06:40. > :06:50.People are out of their homes. They may be out anything between six and
:06:51. > :06:58.18 months. It is hugely disruptive. It's such a desperate and stressful
:06:59. > :07:00.time. And David Cameron wasn't the only politician to visit the area
:07:01. > :07:03.today. There were angry scenes as the
:07:04. > :07:06.chairman of the Environment Agency Lord Smith toured the flood hit
:07:07. > :07:09.areas. He defended his organisation's handling of the
:07:10. > :07:12.crisis. But as Andrew Plant reports, some businesses say they're on the
:07:13. > :07:14.edge of going under.We've got more weather coming in over the next
:07:15. > :07:16.couple of days. Right alongside the swollen River
:07:17. > :07:24.parrots, Burrowbridge is only watering hole. Still dry inside but
:07:25. > :07:26.feeling the flooding effect as fewer customers come to whet their
:07:27. > :07:28.whistle. Landlord Jim Winkworth is used to
:07:29. > :07:33.driving through floods. This just can't go on.
:07:34. > :07:40.Today, this journey is for a meeting with a man. He's been hoping to see
:07:41. > :07:43.for the past six weeks. And despite the pools around his
:07:44. > :07:48.pedals, it is something he says he has to do.
:07:49. > :07:52.Arriving at the nearby Willows and Wetlands Centre, national media are
:07:53. > :07:56.waiting outside. Jim, along with a handful of others, is allowed in to
:07:57. > :08:07.talk to the Chairman of the Environment Agency. He's coming out
:08:08. > :08:10.now. As he emerged, Lord Smith was
:08:11. > :08:17.swamped by media cameras. Time to ask Jim exactly what went on.
:08:18. > :08:21.No one has told us what they're going to do. The dredging is going
:08:22. > :08:25.to start, but no one knows when they're going to do it or who is
:08:26. > :08:30.going to do it. Whether they've got the right licences.
:08:31. > :08:37.Heading back to Burrowbridge. Jim was more positive about the promises
:08:38. > :08:43.he'd received. There's going to be a dredging
:08:44. > :08:47.programme puts in place, along with a maintenance programme to run with
:08:48. > :08:51.it. Tractors are crisscrossing this
:08:52. > :08:57.landscape, delivering sandbags and moving hay.
:08:58. > :09:02.Today, promises of a long`term plan. For now, people still feel it is
:09:03. > :09:14.only each other they can really rely on.
:09:15. > :09:17.Volunteers have set up their own response to the flooding. The
:09:18. > :09:20.organisation FLAG ` Flooding on The Somerset Levels Action Group ` is
:09:21. > :09:24.co`ordinating the many offers of help. Lizzie Way has spent the day
:09:25. > :09:29.with them. They say charity begins at home.
:09:30. > :09:32.They say charity begins at home Well, here, Rachel's dining room has
:09:33. > :09:35.become a control room. Using Facebook and Twitter to reach
:09:36. > :09:38.people, the group here are fielding messages and calls from those in
:09:39. > :09:41.need and from those who have something to give.
:09:42. > :09:45.We are receiving help from all over the country. We're getting offers of
:09:46. > :09:54.manual help, we're getting offers of people, offers of tins, housing
:09:55. > :09:57.anything on the farming side. There are companies that have got up
:09:58. > :10:00.websites to help with feed, we've got bails of silage, socks,
:10:01. > :10:06.childcare help. Being able to re`home animals. And then we're
:10:07. > :10:14.trying to get the coordinator is to take that on board, and try to ferry
:10:15. > :10:18.those out. Alfred is no stranger to water ` he
:10:19. > :10:21.is from Holland, but has never seen anything like this. On Dutch radio,
:10:22. > :10:25.yesterday, he was interviewed about the floods where he now lives ` they
:10:26. > :10:28.even offered to help just like so many others. But he said going down
:10:29. > :10:32.the official channels is taking too long.
:10:33. > :10:36.What you see here is people just getting together. Get all the
:10:37. > :10:41.phones, take action. We are trying to get sandbags. We get through to a
:10:42. > :10:45.receptionist, we need to talk to someone in the department, we need
:10:46. > :10:48.to talk to someone else. We need to talk to someone who says, oh, yes `
:10:49. > :10:51.sandbags, I'll send those out. 0 sandbags on their way! That's how we
:10:52. > :10:54.work here right now. At just seven weeks old, George is
:10:55. > :10:58.blissfully unaware that the neighbourhood he has been born into
:10:59. > :11:13.is facing such tough times. But it's groups like this that prove humanity
:11:14. > :11:16.will always rise above the waters. Some people living in Somerset to
:11:17. > :11:18.say the official response has been too slow.
:11:19. > :11:20.The Environment Agency, the emergency services and the local
:11:21. > :11:23.councils have come together under what's being called Silver Command.
:11:24. > :11:27.And we're joined live now by Paul Godwin from the Fire Service, who's
:11:28. > :11:38.in charge of the Moorland village operation. What is going on down
:11:39. > :11:43.there? We've got a developing situation in
:11:44. > :11:51.the moorland area. Waters are still rising. Access into the village is
:11:52. > :11:59.becoming compromised for vehicles. What are you going to do?
:12:00. > :12:05.We are in the process of putting in float teams to allow us to gain
:12:06. > :12:09.access to the village. Then we can evacuate any further residents who
:12:10. > :12:17.wish to come out. It really does look grim down there.
:12:18. > :12:22.Could it get worse? With the weather coming in over the
:12:23. > :12:27.weekend, it is estimated that waters will still continue to rise. That
:12:28. > :12:31.will put more people at risk. There has been criticism of the way
:12:32. > :12:35.the operation has been handled, reticulated the lack of information.
:12:36. > :12:42.Does the right hand know what the left hand is doing?
:12:43. > :12:50.Yes, it does. We've got a very organised, coordinated cell based in
:12:51. > :12:56.Taunton. It's organising all of our work. We got the fire rescue
:12:57. > :13:00.service, the police, ambulances We are looking at how the levels are
:13:01. > :13:11.reacting to the weather with facing. Who's in charge?
:13:12. > :13:19.It's a police led operation, with help from all other agencies helping
:13:20. > :13:24.to coordinate our joint strategy. You use the word on going, is there
:13:25. > :13:30.an end in sight? At this moment, we are planning to
:13:31. > :13:34.continue our presence here in reaction to the needs of the
:13:35. > :13:39.community. Helping those people who have been washed out of their homes
:13:40. > :13:48.` and we need to get them to a point where recovery can start.
:13:49. > :13:58.We appreciate you coming on the programme. Thank you. We will
:13:59. > :14:08.continue with reporting on the floods. Ian will be here with a full
:14:09. > :14:11.weather forecast. If you're concerned about the
:14:12. > :14:21.situation where you are you can call the Floodline.
:14:22. > :14:25.A Somerset con`man who wrote wills for elderly people has been
:14:26. > :14:28.sentenced to five years in prison. Keith Webber was found guilty of
:14:29. > :14:33.fraud, theft, and making indecent images of children. Bristol Crown
:14:34. > :14:37.Court heard he'd used his website to cheat his clients out of hundreds of
:14:38. > :14:42.thousands of pounds over two and a half years. He's also been placed on
:14:43. > :14:46.the sex offenders register for seven years.
:14:47. > :14:58.An inquest has found that a soldier from Bristol, who was shot in
:14:59. > :15:02.Afghanistan, was killed unlawfully. Ten Members of Parliament are being
:15:03. > :15:05.sent back to school to find out more about the challenges teachers face.
:15:06. > :15:09.The Kingswood MP Chris Skidmore has set up a scheme which will train
:15:10. > :15:12.them to become teachers. The first band of political recruits register
:15:13. > :15:20.for class in the autumn, and will have to spend at least a fortnight
:15:21. > :15:29.in the classroom. Order! You are a very excitable
:15:30. > :15:38.individual. You need to write out 1000 times, I will behave myself at
:15:39. > :15:41.Prime Minister's Questions! Learning to maintain discipline is
:15:42. > :15:50.one of the drivers behind the scheme. It's the idea of the
:15:51. > :15:56.Kingswood MP, who used to be a university lecturer. He wants ten of
:15:57. > :16:00.his fellow parliamentarians trained up and sent to teach in their own
:16:01. > :16:06.constituencies. Classrooms have changed enormously
:16:07. > :16:12.since my day. They have interactive technology now. I think it's
:16:13. > :16:20.important to make sure that MPs are up`to`date with what's going on
:16:21. > :16:25.At the school in Cheltenham, staff often find themselves talking
:16:26. > :16:31.politics. Some are unhappy with the latest education report from Michael
:16:32. > :16:35.Gove. I'd like to invite Michael Gove in
:16:36. > :16:40.to do my job for two weeks, and see what it's really like. It's a
:16:41. > :16:50.full`time job. It's all weekend as well. It would be nice if he had a
:16:51. > :16:53.taste of it. MPs could soon find themselves
:16:54. > :16:59.teaching A`level politics classes, like this one. With education at key
:17:00. > :17:02.battle ground at next year 's general election, it would be
:17:03. > :17:15.invaluable home work if they want to keep their seats.
:17:16. > :17:29.Sunday Politics will be looking at politics in the classroom this
:17:30. > :17:34.weekend. The torch is lit, and the opening
:17:35. > :17:37.ceremony is over ` now it's down to competition and winning medals. So
:17:38. > :17:40.who should we be watching from the West, and importantly when are they
:17:41. > :17:46.going to be on? Alistair Durden is here with the answers.
:17:47. > :17:51.I've picked out the key medal moments we hope will happen. And
:17:52. > :17:56.here they are on the Points West pin`board. The first one requires a
:17:57. > :17:59.bit of dedication ` a 6.30am start on Sunday morning for Jenny Jones
:18:00. > :18:01.from Bristol in the snowboard semi`finals, and hopefully final
:18:02. > :18:05.later that morning. She's already been on the course in Sochi for
:18:06. > :18:11.qualifying and it's a great watch ` well worth getting up for. Our
:18:12. > :18:15.biggest medal hopes are in the skeleton. This time next week is the
:18:16. > :18:18.women's final which we hope will include Shelley Rudman from Pewsey
:18:19. > :18:22.and Lizzy Yarnold from Bath. 3. 0PM in the afternoon that gets going.
:18:23. > :18:28.Lizzy is the best in the world this season, and Shelley won the World
:18:29. > :18:36.Championships last year. Have we got any chances in the men's
:18:37. > :18:39.skeleton? Their final is a day later on
:18:40. > :18:42.Saturday 15th in the afternoon, We'll be keeping everything crossed
:18:43. > :18:45.for Dom Parsons, who's a new face on the skeleton circuit this year. He's
:18:46. > :18:53.an engineering student at the university of Bath and he's had some
:18:54. > :18:57.good results this season. And that takes us to the last week
:18:58. > :19:00.of the games. Paula Walker from Trowbridge on Wednesday 19th in the
:19:01. > :19:05.two`man bobsleigh final ` could she deliver our first bobsleigh gold in
:19:06. > :19:09.50 years? My focus is to try and get up there,
:19:10. > :19:13.and in the Olympics anything can happen. I'm really still focused on
:19:14. > :19:22.being there to compete, and be the best british female that's ever been
:19:23. > :19:25.there. Probably a better medal chance will
:19:26. > :19:28.be Paula's other half John Jackson on Sunday 23rd in the four`man
:19:29. > :19:32.event. He finished the season strongly, winning a silver medal in
:19:33. > :19:35.the last race of the World Cup season. That final starts at 9. 0AM
:19:36. > :19:42.in the morning. Enjoy that one with your lazy Sunday breakfast.
:19:43. > :19:45.It's nice to have something to look forward to! So that's your Sochi
:19:46. > :19:49.diary sorted. Before that rugby and football this weekend. Jonny May has
:19:50. > :19:52.kept his place in England's side to face Scotland despite breaking his
:19:53. > :19:55.nose last weekend against France. His club team`mates at Gloucester
:19:56. > :19:58.are away to Sale tonight in the Premiership. Bath play Newcastle
:19:59. > :20:01.tomorrow, and Bristol are at Beford. And in football, it's a lunchtime
:20:02. > :20:04.kick`off for Yeovil against Leeds. The rest start at three o'clock All
:20:05. > :20:17.the results for you tomorrow evening.
:20:18. > :20:20.Back now to our main story today. The village of Moorland was
:20:21. > :20:23.evacuated in the early hours of this morning, as flood defences there
:20:24. > :20:26.failed. There are two severe flood warnings in place in Somerset this
:20:27. > :20:38.evening ` and there's more bad weather to come. Let's go back to
:20:39. > :20:44.Scott in Burrowbridge. The weather has really been
:20:45. > :20:49.worsening. This is the case of keeping your fingers crossed. You
:20:50. > :20:55.can see how high the water is behind me. The Environment Agency are
:20:56. > :20:58.continuing to pump of water. They are hoping that because the tides
:20:59. > :21:08.are dropping, they may be able to pump more water. Let's find out what
:21:09. > :21:12.the Environment Agency has to say about conditions, not just in
:21:13. > :21:17.Somerset, but across Wiltshire and Gloucestershire.
:21:18. > :21:22.It continues to be an unsubtle picture. We've got more weather
:21:23. > :21:27.coming in over the next few days. We are preparing for more rain on
:21:28. > :21:34.Sunday. Levels of water rising around ten millimetres now. We are
:21:35. > :21:40.taking measures to protect the communities there. In
:21:41. > :21:44.Bradford`on`Avon, we will be out tonight with our defences in that
:21:45. > :21:49.area, making sure the community is protected. On the server and, the
:21:50. > :21:53.rainfall probably won't affect the Severn until next week, so we'll be
:21:54. > :22:01.there over the weekend making sure the drains are clear, and fallen
:22:02. > :22:04.trees are cleared. It has been the end of an
:22:05. > :22:12.extraordinary week ` first Prince Charles, then the Prime Minister.
:22:13. > :22:16.I'll be back at 10:30pm. Throughout this crisis we've heard
:22:17. > :22:19.so many stories of people ` in Somerset and beyond ` offering to
:22:20. > :22:23.help the people affected by the floods. From farmers helping their
:22:24. > :22:26.neighbours rescue animals and crops ` to offers of food for people in
:22:27. > :22:30.those rescue centres. Sally Challoner has been to meet just a
:22:31. > :22:42.few of the people trying to bring comfort to those in crisis.
:22:43. > :22:51.This is community spirit in action. How many banks have you got?
:22:52. > :22:52.Enough of this lots! Hopefully, we'll have some left for the next
:22:53. > :22:56.load. People have come from towns and
:22:57. > :23:01.villages all around to fill bags with several tonnes of sand donated
:23:02. > :23:06.by a local builder. It's heart`warming because when
:23:07. > :23:14.people 's backs are against the wall, they pulled together.
:23:15. > :23:21.There were 25 Dartmoor ponies that needed rescuing. I got together a
:23:22. > :23:28.group of able to come down here and had to get 25 ponies onto lorries.
:23:29. > :23:40.Thanks to my sons, hanging onto these ponies, along with a couple of
:23:41. > :23:46.ladies from nearby villages. Lots of people on the Facebook page
:23:47. > :23:49.are asking what they can do to help. From cakes to the basic essentials,
:23:50. > :23:57.this campsite is offering people a lifeline ` hot showers and access to
:23:58. > :24:01.toilets. We've had one lady come and do her
:24:02. > :24:06.washing and laundry. The facilities are here if they want them.
:24:07. > :24:09.And it's not just here ` farmers in Gloucestershire have donated animal
:24:10. > :24:19.feed. They now need help getting it down here.
:24:20. > :24:24.We are trying to get local farmers to donate a couple of bails of hay,
:24:25. > :24:28.silage, straw ` whatever they can spare.
:24:29. > :24:33.Food, too, for local people who ve had to abandon their homes and are
:24:34. > :24:38.now living in limbo. It's all from local people, through
:24:39. > :24:42.our Facebook page. It's been amazing.
:24:43. > :24:52.If there is a silver lining at all, it's this ` people pulling together
:24:53. > :24:54.to keep the community afloat. People are so kind, aren't they? Let's
:24:55. > :25:07.catch up with the weather. A stormy weekend across all of our
:25:08. > :25:19.district. This is a summary for you, as we head into tomorrow morning.
:25:20. > :25:26.The first key threat is the Gaels, followed by heavy showers. As we
:25:27. > :25:31.head into Sunday, still very windy, and equally still the threat of
:25:32. > :25:38.heavy outbreaks of rain. Most of those will be through the morning.
:25:39. > :25:49.We have some rain overnight, and an amber warning from The Met office.
:25:50. > :25:56.For the rest of the weekend, as we had through Saturday, most of us are
:25:57. > :26:09.under a yellow warning for strong winds. Gusts could be touching 0
:26:10. > :26:14.mph at times. That threat will materialise tomorrow afternoon.
:26:15. > :26:20.There is a developing hook of cloud on the way. There are already
:26:21. > :26:28.outbreaks of that spreading across parts of the West Country. This
:26:29. > :26:35.evening, that main band of rain starts to come in. Probably the
:26:36. > :26:40.heaviest of that living away towards midnight. Tomorrow morning, some
:26:41. > :26:47.showers around, and it will have been windy overnight. Temperatures
:26:48. > :26:53.around for or five. Tomorrow, the winds will start to pick up quite
:26:54. > :26:59.early on. Some dry, bright weather, particularly in the morning. There
:27:00. > :27:05.may be some lightning and hail in the afternoon. The winds are still
:27:06. > :27:11.picking up further and further. I'm sure we will see some damage ` trees
:27:12. > :27:17.down. Temperatures around seven or eight.
:27:18. > :27:39.If you are concerned about flooding, called the Environment Agency flood
:27:40. > :27:41.line. Those numbers aren't free Have a dry and safe weekend.
:27:42. > :28:23.Goodbye. It's your job to keep law
:28:24. > :28:35.and order, isn't it? It must be exciting being
:28:36. > :28:39.a policewoman. It has its moments.