13/02/2014 BBC Points West

Good evening. Another part of the West is at serious risk from

flooding. Tonight, residents in Alney Island in Gloucester, have

been told their flood defences won't hold. The army was drafted in to

help people protect their properties but, with the River Severn rising

overnight then again tomorrow morning, the Environment Agency says

the area will flood. Chris Bainger is from the agency. How many

properties are at risk at the moment?

We have issued a severe flood warning for this area it is we

suspect that 55 properties and they are mainly homes will be affected I

flood in, either tonight and almost certainly tomorrow. You do have

flood defences there, why are they not working? Yes, we do have

defences and they are currently working, they are doing their job at

this moment. They are keeping the water out of Alney Island, otherwise

we would have half a metre of flood water here the moment. It will

overtop those tomorrow. That is why we have taken those precautions to

get sandbags into the properties here. Could we see another 2000 and

seven events `` 2007 event, with the floods in Buster? No, it was a very

different event, with localised heavy rain. `` in Gloucester? We do

not have the same water coming through the River Avon so I expect

about 27 metres lower than in 2 07. But properties he will get wet. How

are people coping? There is a Dunkirk spirit. The Army came in,

they are all working together. People are used this and have their

own defences in place, which very impressive. They have been very kind

to us here today and hopefully the efforts that we have put in will be

seen. Well, as efforts continue tonight to

try to stop Gloucester flooding in Somerset, the huge Dutch pumps

finally today began removing water from the Levels after being delayed

by bad weather. Scott Ellis has been monitoring the situation in Dunball

all day. The welcome sight of the high`volume

Dutch pumps here at work in Dunball, pumping water into the River Parrett

and out to see. They have some work to do, there is 90 million tonnes of

water sat on the Somerset Levels. Much of it is below sea level.

Welcome though this site is, many will be saying it is about time too.

As you can see, the Dutch engineers are working into the night, they are

installing small pipes `` more pipes. It is not like pulling a plug

out of a bath, it will slowly drop. As fast as they pump, the Somerset

Levels will be filling up with more rain.

Well, farmers from across the country have been donating and

actually bringing animal feed and straw to help farm animals caught in

the floods. One convoy travelled all the way from Wakefield in Yorkshire

to bring aid to farmers on the Somerset Levels. Here's Andrew

Plant. Loading up on a farm outside Leeds `

this straw is destined for the Somerset Levels, helping fellow

farmers hundreds of miles away. I just felt there was not enough being

done. I do not have cattle but I could offer them time and transport.

Donations are driven here, just off the M5. And it is volunteers like

Tanya, giving up their time and the boot of her family car to deliver as

much as she can. A farmer needs some straw for his sheep and his pigs and

because we cannot get full bails out there, we have come here and asked

them to job it up for us. So this is vehicle number one ` driven five

miles to Burrowbridge, where more volunteers discuss how to get this

straw to the farm where it's needed. The straw is walled in wheelbarrow

is. Along the side of the swollen River Parrett. At the other end

there is a short delay and then time for vehicle number three. It would

ruin the engine and my day. American expat Tony Yaskin's old Dodge, a

workhorse he's using every day to help his neighbours. My friends have

had their businesses flooded and there is nothing more important to

do now about to be with them and help them and support them in any

way I can. Now the straw is about halfway. It is clear why it is so

hard to get supplies to where they are needed. Transport number four, a

Canadian canoe. The farmer who needs this has animals living on dirty

straw, separated from civilisation by the worst flooding anyone here

has ever seen. After they reach dry land, the fifth and final journey.

The boat is tipped onto the back of a tractor. Tony and Alan see it to

its final destination. Marc Fuller and his family in the tiny hamlet of

Wickmore. They are grateful volunteers have taken the time and

trouble to lend a hand. Our animals are knee deep in their own mess

because we have not got new straw. Now it is a godsend, so they can

have new beds. Back at the depot off the side of the M5, the Yorkshire

tractors have arrived. And, tomorrow, more volunteers will make

sure the supplies here reach those who need them, no matter how

difficult that might be. Not one lost bail.

In other news tonight, officers have been knocking on doors in Bristol

today, looking for any new witnesses as investigations continue into how

police from Avon and Somerset handled an Iranian immigrant who was

murdered in the city. The police watchdog was called in after it

emerged Bijan Ebrahimi repeatedly contacted police complaining that he

was the victim of anti`social behaviour before he was beaten to

death and his body set on fire in Brislington last summer. We are

determined to get to the bottom of exactly what happened and what

contact police officers had with him before he was murdered. People may

think of something that they saw, that they heard or that they now

know. They may think it is really small but it will not be small to

us. Everything matters. A Bath`based athlete is hoping to

bring home Britain's first gold medal of the Sochi Winter Olympics

tomorrow. Lizzy Yarnold has the overnight lead heading into the

final of the women's skeleton competition. Coverage starts at

3:40pm tomorrow afternoon. Dominic Parsons, who also lives in Bath is

hoping for success in the men's skeleton. That competition gets

underway at 12:30pm. There is, of course, more news and

information on your local BBC Radio Station and online. But, for now,

let's get the latest weather forecast with Ian. Some further

wintry showers are about to fall on the West Somerset. The attention

tomorrow is all on rain. A yellow warning further north. The rain will

be distinctly unwelcome considering the state that many of you are in.

We could see gusts of 70 or 80 miles an hour on the south coast. 50 murk

Bower gusts `` miles per hour gusts further north. It will be very

transient, the rain, and particularly heavy towards

lunchtime. It has Bush Arie in the afternoon but turns windier in the

southern quarter. They'll be heavier showers in the West later in the

day. Temperatures will be mild, ten or 11 Celsius. Here is the outlook,

a blustery weather centre for the national

forecast from Nick Miller. Hello, in this winter of perpetual

autumn, it seems we're never more than a day away from a storm so we

must be due another one and as you've just heard, here it comes,

deepening in the