:00:00. > :00:00.that story and all of the stories on the BBC news channel. Stay with us
:00:00. > :00:17.for Good evening from Points West. The
:00:18. > :00:19.Environment Agency says its latest strategy to clear floodwater from
:00:20. > :00:25.the Somerset Levels is well underway. A sluice gate to divert
:00:26. > :00:28.water out of the River Parrett's been opened further, allowing pumps
:00:29. > :00:34.to start work clearing water off Currymoor but some areas may have to
:00:35. > :00:38.wait longer for the water to go Scott Ellis has spent the day in
:00:39. > :00:42.Muchelney. No way through, except for the
:00:43. > :00:46.highest of vehicles. Muchelney's been an island for the last 50 days,
:00:47. > :00:56.the visting vicar reliant on a firefighter's boat to get him to the
:00:57. > :01:06.church on time. Horrified to see it as it is. It's beyond description.
:01:07. > :01:09.The resilience of the people here you can't but stand back and admire.
:01:10. > :01:13.Anita Vaughan`Johnson's one of those resilient islanders. Like most, her
:01:14. > :01:21.home's close to the floodwater but it is dry. It's just that flooded
:01:22. > :01:28.roads make her feel trapped. It s very trying because we can't do
:01:29. > :01:31.anything other than exist. We occasionally see the odd friend who
:01:32. > :01:34.is brave enough to come and take us out. Five miles downriver from
:01:35. > :01:37.Muchelney the work to clear floodwater is progressing. A sluice
:01:38. > :01:40.gate opened yesterday has been raised to a metre, diverting water
:01:41. > :01:46.out of the Parrett and reducing levels on it and the river Tone
:01:47. > :01:50.That's meant the Currymoor pumping station's restarted. Good news for
:01:51. > :01:59.residents in flooded areas such as East Lyng, Moorland and Fordgate.
:02:00. > :02:05.When it comes to pumping the water of the moors and levels, the
:02:06. > :02:09.priority is to remove the risk to lives then the risk to properties
:02:10. > :02:14.and deal with the flooded roads Given much of this problem is these
:02:15. > :02:17.flooded access roads, it's clear life would get back to normal here
:02:18. > :02:20.for many more weeks yet. Water levels are dropping at Muchelney and
:02:21. > :02:24.villagers hope a short temporary bridge can be set up on this road,
:02:25. > :02:29.allowing them to drive in and out in their cars once again.
:02:30. > :02:32.A teacher has been charged with four sexual offences against a teenager
:02:33. > :02:35.while in post in a North Somerset school. 26`year`old Kelly Ann`Marie
:02:36. > :02:40.Burgess will appear at North Somerset Magistrates Court in Worle
:02:41. > :02:43.next month. The incidents are alleged to have happened between
:02:44. > :02:50.January and late August last year and involved a boy aged between 13
:02:51. > :02:53.and 17 years old. It was so close, but Trowbridge
:02:54. > :02:57.bobsleigh driver John Jackson has missed out on a medal at the Winter
:02:58. > :03:01.Olympics by just over tenth of a second. John's partner, Paula
:03:02. > :03:04.Walker, was in the crowd to cheer him on while his sponsors were
:03:05. > :03:09.watching closely back here in the West.
:03:10. > :03:11.Steve Cook's family butchers in Devizes has been sponsoring John
:03:12. > :03:15.Jackson and his partner, Paula Walker, for the last six months but
:03:16. > :03:25.today, the shop was shut as they were at home, gathered around the TV
:03:26. > :03:29.to see if John could win a medal. Going into their final run, they
:03:30. > :03:33.were sixth but just two tenths of a second off a bronze medal. They
:03:34. > :03:40.produced their fastest run yet, putting them in first, but there
:03:41. > :03:48.were six more crews go. And agonisingly, they finished just
:03:49. > :03:54.outside the top three. Sometimes, just being involved in such a great
:03:55. > :03:58.race like this makes it worthwhile. Fantastic. Top five. You see the
:03:59. > :04:02.countries they beat and did on a shoestring budget. At 36, John says
:04:03. > :04:05.this is likely to be his last Olympics. Both he and Paula, who
:04:06. > :04:07.competed in the two`man event, may have to return to their careers in
:04:08. > :04:22.the Armed Forces. It looks like the weather remains
:04:23. > :04:27.unsettled for the week ahead. Tonight, drier weather around and
:04:28. > :04:33.clearer spells as well. Breezy through the night but that keeps it
:04:34. > :04:38.mild and frost free. We do have a band of rain arriving from the
:04:39. > :04:44.West. We will see that the time and then that players for drier and
:04:45. > :04:49.brighter weather. The winds tomorrow lighter compared to today.
:04:50. > :04:55.Temperatures milder. For the week ahead, further wet weather at times.
:04:56. > :05:00.The rain overnight clears for sunshine and showers but remains
:05:01. > :05:01.windy. The showers easing later when we will see further wet weather
:05:02. > :05:11.overnight into Thursday. Hello, there has been a lot of rain
:05:12. > :05:19.this weekend in western Scotland. River levels have been rising. We
:05:20. > :05:22.have got more rain on the way. It has been wet in the Lake District
:05:23. > :05:26.and it is still raining here. The rain pushes into Wales and the South
:05:27. > :05:32.West later. Brisk southerly winds that will ease, apart from the far
:05:33. > :05:37.north-west, nowhere cold. Tomorrow, many places will see an improvement.
:05:38. > :05:43.It won't be as windy and that rain band will peter out. We start with a
:05:44. > :05:47.broad band of rain. As it tracks eastwards the rain becomes light and
:05:48. > :05:51.patchy and following that. We get sunshine and maybe some showers For
:05:52. > :05:56.a while there could be some sharp showers in Scotland, but with
:05:57. > :06:00.lighter winds it shouldn't feel too bad. We will see showers in Northern
:06:01. > :06:04.Ireland. Especially later in the day. A few lighter showers across
:06:05. > :06:09.the Irish Sea and at three in the afternoon this is all that is left
:06:10. > :06:13.of the rain. Some rain in the London area. After that, sunny spells and a
:06:14. > :06:15.few showers. It