:00:10. > :00:14.Good evening. Two families campaigning for increased sentences
:00:15. > :00:17.for drivers who are repeatedly convicted of dangerous driving took
:00:18. > :00:20.their fight to Downing Street today. Ross and Clare Simons died when
:00:21. > :00:25.Nicholas Lovell crashed into their tandem. He had four previous
:00:26. > :00:30.convictions for dangerous driving. Here's our home affairs
:00:31. > :00:33.correspondent, Steve Brodie. Ross and Clare Simons' family
:00:34. > :00:39.arrived in Downing Street to deliver their 15,000 signature petition to
:00:40. > :00:42.Number Ten. Just over a year ago Nicholas Lovell crashed into Ross
:00:43. > :00:54.and Clare as they rode their tandem bicycle, killing them both. It left
:00:55. > :01:00.their families devastated. Length of sentence, that was handed out for
:01:01. > :01:06.the lost of our two kids. We had to do something. Now this is turning to
:01:07. > :01:12.this the final stage hopefully is going to be the final stage. These
:01:13. > :01:18.tariffs for this sort of offence will be increased. Lovell, who had
:01:19. > :01:21.previously been disqualified 11 times, was yet again driving without
:01:22. > :01:24.a licence or insurance. When arrested, he was found to have
:01:25. > :01:26.consumed a cocktail of drugs, including cocaine. He was jailed for
:01:27. > :01:35.ten`and`a`half years, the longest sentence available to the judge at
:01:36. > :01:38.Bristol Crown Court. The whole year has been really up and down. I think
:01:39. > :01:41.you go through stages. This is something point of view, like I ve
:01:42. > :01:45.said before. It is going to give us a focus. If it doesn't make a change
:01:46. > :01:52.this time, we will come back. We won't be able to rest until we have
:01:53. > :01:57.justice. It is going to do no good for Ross now but future families
:01:58. > :02:02.have to have something. The Prime Minister confirmed that this is
:02:03. > :02:07.being looked at. If you are a persistent offender surely the law
:02:08. > :02:13.must recognise that you have to have a tougher penalty in place. What's
:02:14. > :02:17.the point of this if people like Nicholas Lovell are going to
:02:18. > :02:20.disregard it. And lawyers have argued that any change in the law
:02:21. > :02:23.must make clear the difference between prolific offenders like
:02:24. > :02:26.Lovell and motorists guilty of a momentary lapse in concentration.
:02:27. > :02:34.Joining me now is legal expert Joshua Rozenberg. What's your
:02:35. > :02:39.opinion on this? Could this campaign work? I'm sure the Prime Minister
:02:40. > :02:43.was sympathetic. He was concerned that Lovell got ten`and`a`half years
:02:44. > :02:50.given that the maximum sentence for death by dangerous driving is 1
:02:51. > :02:52.years. Lovell got a third off for pleading guilty at the earliest
:02:53. > :02:56.possibility. The Prime Minister was concerned that maybe the sentencing
:02:57. > :03:03.guidelines needed revising. Because it was such an appalling killing,
:03:04. > :03:06.Lovell got the maximum 14 years discounted for the early plea of
:03:07. > :03:10.guilty. I think it would be difficult for the Government to
:03:11. > :03:15.raise the sentence beyond 14 years. You may wonder, if you are not going
:03:16. > :03:22.to be deterred by a 14`year sentence, will you be deterred by a
:03:23. > :03:26.16`year sentence? Some say Lovell killed two people here. Shouldn t
:03:27. > :03:31.his sentence be twice as much? It is 14 years for one offence but what
:03:32. > :03:37.the courts do is look at the individual act by the offender. What
:03:38. > :03:41.Lovell did was one crime. Dangerous driving on one occasion. The fact
:03:42. > :03:46.that, sadly, two people died doesn't mean that the courts can double the
:03:47. > :03:50.sentence that he gets. Do you think the family may be waste g wasting
:03:51. > :03:54.their time? I think it would be difficult. If you raise a sentence
:03:55. > :03:57.for causing death by dangerous driving you have to raise lots of
:03:58. > :04:06.other sentences. It is going to be quite a hard struggle for them.
:04:07. > :04:09.Thank you very much. Farmers in Somerset have been
:04:10. > :04:12.returning home today to assess how much damage has been caused by weeks
:04:13. > :04:16.and weeks of lying floodwater. Over the last few days, the water has
:04:17. > :04:19.begun to drop, revealing the full devastation. Their return has
:04:20. > :04:22.coincided with the visit of Defra Minister Dan Rogerson to Somerset,
:04:23. > :04:25.who indicated that the plan of what to do with the Levels over the next
:04:26. > :04:28.two decades could be finalised earlier than expected. Andrew Plant
:04:29. > :04:30.reports. Coming back to their family farm, James Hall is walking
:04:31. > :04:33.carefully through this water. It has fallen a foot in the past couple of
:04:34. > :04:38.days, and the damage that was hidden is now on show. The back of the
:04:39. > :04:42.shed's been ripped out by the power of the waves. The walls have been
:04:43. > :04:48.pushed over. Storm with the water has done a lot of damage. This was
:04:49. > :04:51.exactly one month ago. The 27th January, when the Environment
:04:52. > :04:56.Secretary, Owen Paterson, came to see the flooding for himself. Why
:04:57. > :05:01.have you only started doing this now? He promised that within six
:05:02. > :05:06.weeks for water management here over the next 20 years. Today a Minister
:05:07. > :05:10.was in somer set again to say that plans should be published in the
:05:11. > :05:13.next few days. All the local agencies are represented, all the
:05:14. > :05:17.councils are talking about short`term actions like the dredging
:05:18. > :05:21.the, which we are taking, and the medium and long`term actions that
:05:22. > :05:26.will improve the situation for water management and resilience on Levels.
:05:27. > :05:30.This water smells strongly of fuel. Sometime soon it will begin to
:05:31. > :05:35.settle and contaminate the soil below.
:05:36. > :05:39.The Church Commissioners have confirmed that the next Bishop of
:05:40. > :05:42.Bath and Wells won't live at the Bishop's palace. Hundreds of people
:05:43. > :05:45.opposed to him moving out packed a public meeting last month. The
:05:46. > :05:48.Church Commissioners say the new Bishop will benefit from greater
:05:49. > :05:54.privacy. The diocese says it's disappointed at the decision.
:05:55. > :05:58.Before we go, just reminder that our series on the Great War continues on
:05:59. > :06:01.BBC local radio and of course Points West tomorrow. David Garmston
:06:02. > :06:05.explores the life of a First World War musician and poet whose work was
:06:06. > :06:08.inspired by the West Country. Ivor Gurney's story will also be on BBC
:06:09. > :06:17.Radio Gloucestershire at 8.15am tomorrow.
:06:18. > :06:25.Now here's Ian with the weather and news of snow? Indeed Sabet. Some of
:06:26. > :06:31.you are seeing the northern lights across parts of Gloucestershire and
:06:32. > :06:38.Wiltshire. That's rare enough. And rarer still now. Some upland areas
:06:39. > :06:42.could see snow tomorrow. Low`lying areas will be a rain and perhaps
:06:43. > :06:47.sleet story. That's developing now over the top of Exmoor.
:06:48. > :06:56.That will pivot up northwards during the night. Quite heavy rain. 10`20
:06:57. > :07:01.mm. An increase on that in places. Temperatures tonight dropping to 2`3
:07:02. > :07:07.Celsius. The Forest of Dean and Cotswolds could catch snow tomorrow.
:07:08. > :07:12.This turns south`eastwards, maybe snow in upland areas of Bath and the
:07:13. > :07:16.Mendips and parts of Wiltshire. A fair amount of rain and cloud.
:07:17. > :07:20.Brighter spells as well. Things will tidy into the evening but it will
:07:21. > :07:27.have turned chilly by then. Technologies will only have been 5`7
:07:28. > :07:32.Celsius during a cold day. The outlook, an unsettled weekend.
:07:33. > :07:42.looking too bad at the weekend. Bash Street. I have got some wintry
:07:43. > :07:46.weather to talk about tonight and that has been a rare occurrence
:07:47. > :07:52.during this current winter. There will be a touch of frost and it
:07:53. > :07:55.could lead to icy patches across Northern Ireland and south-west
:07:56. > :07:59.Scotland. There is snow in the forecast as well. The Northern
:08:00. > :08:06.lights have been making an appearance in the evening. They had
:08:07. > :08:11.been reported in Essex and reporters in south Wales as well. But the
:08:12. > :08:16.light show is coming to an end as this arrives. This will be quite
:08:17. > :08:19.lively in the South West with strong gusts of wind in Cornwall and the
:08:20. > :08:20.Isles of