11/02/2014 BBC Points West


11/02/2014

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California at the of 85. That is all from us. There is a

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first Good evening.

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The West Country is now 50 days into the flooding crisis and things are

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getting worse, not better. The Prime Minister made his second visit today

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and promised that he is in personal charge. We'll have more on that from

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our political editor Paul Barltrop in a moment. But first, Andrew Plant

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looks at how more people are having to abandon their homes because of

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the rising water levels. Some of Somerset's most picturesque

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countryside now under five feet of water. This is as French door.

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Bthis is his front door. In the back garden, a prized possession left

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standing in the rush to save people and pets before the water came in.

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The worst I have seen by a long way. Last year it was only near the

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door handle. The family have fled. Neighbour Chris says someone has

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already tried to break in. The locks have been damaged. There is nothing

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left to steal. It is all gone. This was the house over the road on

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Saturday. Neighbours worked to make a protective wall. This morning the

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water is a foot deeper. These tiny pumps working flat out and still the

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situation is tense. Everything feels like it could just crumble at any

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second. This is part of the plan. Lorries are lined up with huge pumps

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on the backs. Giant machinery making sure the Levels are better weapons

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to fight this war on water. This is the drain on the edge of Bridgwater

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in Somerset. You can see they are building a solid platform. That is

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going to house eight of those huge pipes we have been seeing over the

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past couple of weeks. At high tide, when the River Parrett has trouble

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flowing to see, they will suck up the water from the Somerset levels

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and blasted into the river and straight out of the sea. That eases

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the pressure on the whole system. A couple came in because they needed

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toothbrush is as they had to leave everything they had. Nearby in

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Bridgwater, the relief effort has supplies. It is the basics that for

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many are now floating in water. The only way into this Moorland farm is

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walking the plank. With any luck, this defence is the difference

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between living at home with water outside every window or having to

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escape as it finally porous insight. The question is, when will this what

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a start to go? On the other side of the Levels, you can see more grass

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than there was seven days ago. The Levels are falling in some places,

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but on this side of the River Parrett, the river is still rising.

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On the river is still rising. On this site is much more susceptible

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to rainfall. Who knows when it will start to go down. There is an online

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fund that says it has raised more than ?200,000 for flood victims One

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local action group has told us it has had enough donations and does

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not need any more. It is now the involvement of the Government which

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has risen questions. `` which is raising questions. So, as Andrew

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said, questions being asked about the Government on the day David

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Cameron paid his second visit to Somerset. David Cameron and senior

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figures have been critical of the Environment Agency for the autumn is

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to dredge rivers. But last year the agency decided it wants to dredge

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the River Tone and the River Parrett. Government rules meant it

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was not able to put in more than ?400,000 towards the operation which

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would cost ?4 million. Farmers in Somerset got together and wrote to

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the Government requesting ?1 million worth of help. That went all the way

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to Downing Street and the relevant Government ministry and was turned

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down. I got the chance to talk to the Prime Minister today. He was not

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too keen to discuss this. They asked for ?1 million last year,

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it was turned down. More dredging needs to be done and it will be

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done. Was that a failure on your behalf? We have learned the lessons

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of the past and more dredging will take place.

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The Prime Minister has been here twice, many other ministers came and

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went. What has it achieved? One thing they like as media coverage.

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There is the odd exception. Labour's Shadow Environment

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Secretary came to Bridgwater and Roland today and did not want other

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cameras there. No such reluctance with David Cameron. He visited

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Taunton police station, seen some of the officials from the emergency

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services, council and military who are running the operation. The in

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the decisions. What is a political visit bring us? It helps free up

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resources both in terms of personnel. The military are actively

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involved in Somerset. And financial, as we have heard from David Cameron

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today. Significantly, the Government wants to show they are getting a

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grip after many weeks when they have been criticised for being behind the

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curve on this big issue. Avon and Somerset Police have

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breached data protection laws more than any other force in the country

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over the past five years. Between January 2009 and October last year

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there were almost 300 breaches made by police staff. These include

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releasing names to the media without permission.

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In tonight's football, bottom of the Championship table Yeovil shared the

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points with fourth from bottom Millwall.

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Bristol City were 3`1 winners on the road at Leyton Orient.

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And in the West derby, Bristol Rovers moved further from the

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relegation zone with a 1`0 defeat of Cheltenham.

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Now, just a warning there are unfortunately more storms to come.

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For the latest, you can tune into your local radio stations and check

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online. We're back with you in Breakfast tomorrow, but for now

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let's take a look at the latest weather forecast with Ian Ferguson.

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A very unsettled story into tomorrow. Two Met Office warnings

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out. The first of those for the strength of the wind which could be

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disruptive in its own right. Gusts could well be touching 60 mph. The

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second of those will be for rain. The rain again will be exacerbating

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the flooding problems we already have. This could be maybe an inch of

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rain in some areas. Tonight, it will be a pretty chilly story.

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Temperatures getting down to freezing. Could be snow in parts of

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Gloucestershire. Tomorrow, sherry outbreaks of rain and winds. The

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rain matches until lunchtime, maybe two hours worth of that. Dyer in the

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afternoon, despite showers, but windier still and so it will

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continue as we head into the evening. All in all, a recipe for

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what could be disruptive conditions. Temperatures of 7`9 Celsius. For the

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warnings on the way for Friday and Saturday.

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That is when the wind is going to pick up. Thursday looks like a

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quieter day. Good evening, a roller-coaster ride

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of weather continues across the British Isles. We want to get off,

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but unfortunately we have got more white knuckle rides to come. This

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area of low pressure is bringing wet and extremely windy weather. It

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happens again on Friday with another deep low moving in from the

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south-west. That means that potentially over the next five days

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we could see as much a 60 - 80 millimetres of rainfall, among's

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worth in just five days. Before that there are lots of tricky conditions

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out there at the moment. We have got snow across Scotland and Northern

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Ireland. As these showers pushed further inland and temperatures fall

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away, we could see snow at lower levels as well. It is a similar

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story for South Yorkshire and into Derbyshire and perhaps the Midlands.

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Even if we do not get the snow, and we keep the showers, it will be a

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cold night, so that could lead to icy stretches on the roads. That

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will pale into insignificance because the wind is already picking

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up and an intense band of rain continues to push in across the

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country. This time it will be a bit more prolonged for tomorrow. The

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wins either significant feature There is an amber warning for the

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gusts of wind. Let's look at the afternoon. In the Northern Isles and

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the far north of Scotland it is quite quiet. Snow continues across

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the mountains and sharp showers in northern Ireland and northern

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England. The winds pick up into the North West and the South of Wales.

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The band of rain is still clinging on to East Anglia and the Essex and

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Kent coasts. Blizzard conditions are possible overnight in Scotland and

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on the higher ground. By Thursday things potentially get a little

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quieter. There will be some showers around, but wet and windy weather

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set to return as we move towards Friday.

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