:00:00. > :00:00.military activity in the area tonight. That is all from us,
:00:00. > :00:12.Welcome to BBC Points West with Alex Lovell and Sabet Choudhury. Our main
:00:13. > :00:15.story tonight: Was it all a waste of time? The damning report that's
:00:16. > :00:24.branded the badger cull as ineffective and insufficiently
:00:25. > :00:27.humane. Please draw a line under the cold, now. It's time to make a
:00:28. > :00:39.U`turn. So, where does this leave farmers
:00:40. > :00:43.wanting a solution to Bovine TB Also, in tonight's programme: Out on
:00:44. > :00:46.patrol with the police in Bristol as they crack down on kerb crawlers. As
:00:47. > :01:00.the floodwater recedes, tears as homeowners assess the damage.
:01:01. > :01:10.To see everything as disgusting as this, with all this mould, I can see
:01:11. > :01:15.our way out of this for a long time. `` I can't see a way out. And a
:01:16. > :01:18.first sign of Spring ` the March hare makes a welcome appearance
:01:19. > :01:21.Good evening. Ineffective and too many animals suffered ` the verdict
:01:22. > :01:27.of experts called into assess the government's controversial badger
:01:28. > :01:29.cull. The panel was appointed by ministers to evaluate last autumn's
:01:30. > :01:33.pilot culls in Gloucestershire and Somerset. They found the cull fell
:01:34. > :01:37.short of the target set to limit the spread of TB. Here's our political
:01:38. > :01:42.editor Paul Barltrop. In the bitter debate over culling
:01:43. > :01:44.badgers, this is a key moment. The Independent Expert Panel are
:01:45. > :01:48.scientists appointed by ministers. Their job: to assess how the cull
:01:49. > :01:53.did according to the government s own measures. Yes, they say it was
:01:54. > :02:00.safe. No, it was not effective by a considerable margin. And no, it did
:02:01. > :02:01.not meet humaneness targets. For the cull's opponents, today's
:02:02. > :02:10.revelations have strengthened their resolve.
:02:11. > :02:15.How much proof do you need that this isn't going to work? This has been
:02:16. > :02:22.botched from the beginning. They were warned by the world exports
:02:23. > :02:30.expert on TB that this was a crazy scheme. It was never going to work.
:02:31. > :02:35.Our predictions have come true. We said this was a costly distraction
:02:36. > :02:38.from the important business of controlling cattle TB. We warned
:02:39. > :02:42.that it risked making it worse. So, how did it come to this? The
:02:43. > :02:44.cull followed decades of more and more cattle succumbing to
:02:45. > :02:47.tuberculosis. The disease can be spread between cows, and by other
:02:48. > :02:50.species including badgers. There were culling trials from 1997 to
:02:51. > :02:53.2006, when scientists concluded it wasn't worth it. But a change of
:02:54. > :02:59.government brought a change of policy. Today, Andrew Guest was one
:03:00. > :03:03.of the few cull supporters willing to talk. The Forest of Dean farmer
:03:04. > :03:10.has had repeated outbreaks of Bovine TB. He saw some of the culling, and
:03:11. > :03:18.doesn't think it was inhumane. As far as I'm concerned, I did
:03:19. > :03:22.witness it on a number of occasions. Every time I saw it, the animal was
:03:23. > :03:25.dispatched quickly and cleanly. The British Veterinary Association,
:03:26. > :03:28.today, said it couldn't support the cull if it wasn't humane. But a
:03:29. > :03:34.Gloucestershire vet who was involved advises caution.
:03:35. > :03:39.My own reaction is no, I wouldn t stop the coal. But I do believe if
:03:40. > :03:45.there are lessons to be learned we should learn those lessons. `` stop
:03:46. > :03:47.the cull. We should use that information to improve our
:03:48. > :03:50.performance for next year. The fate of the badgers lies with
:03:51. > :03:56.the government ` who, today, said they wouldn't yet comment.
:03:57. > :03:59.Earlier, I spoke to Chris Cheeseman who is a former government
:04:00. > :04:03.scientist, and who opposed the recent culls. I asked him if he felt
:04:04. > :04:10.vindicated. It's frustrating. We did warn them
:04:11. > :04:16.about the problems. To hear that the colours have failed on efficiency
:04:17. > :04:21.grounds ` they failed their targets by a long way. Some badgers were
:04:22. > :04:27.seriously wounded. What is the way forward?
:04:28. > :04:31.There are plenty of options. Measures to improve cattle testing,
:04:32. > :04:36.and cracking down on cattle movements to stop the spread of TB
:04:37. > :04:39.among the cattle themselves. That is by far the biggest problem. If you
:04:40. > :04:50.want to do something about the wildlife Reservoir, badgers only
:04:51. > :04:56.contribute 5.7% of cattle TB directly to badgers. Vaccinate them.
:04:57. > :05:01.At that that's an expensive method. We have a vaccine, at the moment,
:05:02. > :05:06.that's very effective. It has to be delivered by injection, at work is
:05:07. > :05:11.proceeding on oral delivery. That will deliver in the next few years.
:05:12. > :05:21.Do you think this is the end of the culling?
:05:22. > :05:28.Any sensible person would stop. If they try to switch to another form
:05:29. > :05:31.of culling, like gassing, that is doomed to failure. All the
:05:32. > :05:37.scientific advice is that culling cannot make a meaningful
:05:38. > :06:10.contribution to the prevention of TB in cattle.
:06:11. > :06:18.We need to take you back to our vehicle. You do not have to say
:06:19. > :06:23.anything but it may harm your defence when questioned.
:06:24. > :06:34.This man has just been arrested for soliciting. Minutes before, the
:06:35. > :06:37.officers from the vice team had spotted the woman who was with him
:06:38. > :06:43.taking a call. They followed her until the meeting. There are 23
:06:44. > :06:53.street prostitutes working in this area. Many are addicted to drugs. ``
:06:54. > :06:58.up to 30. This man will be cautioned, but if he denies the
:06:59. > :07:04.offence he will end up in court If he goes to court, he could
:07:05. > :07:06.receive a ?1000 fine. He could be disqualified from driving, or
:07:07. > :07:13.receive an anti`social behaviour disorder. His family could find out,
:07:14. > :07:18.and he could be named and shamed. In the last year, police have
:07:19. > :07:23.received over 100 complaints from the residents in this area.
:07:24. > :07:27.When people come out to take their children to school in the morning,
:07:28. > :07:32.they come across the letter from the curb crawlers who were trying to
:07:33. > :07:38.pick up girls. This is causing them to stress. `` they come across the
:07:39. > :07:41.litter. Drives are often at the root of the
:07:42. > :07:46.problem. Is there anything we can do tonight
:07:47. > :07:54.to help you? And we take you anywhere?
:07:55. > :07:57.I'm OK. The police are working closely with
:07:58. > :08:01.the 125 Charity and the Bristol drugs project, who try to look after
:08:02. > :08:04.vulnerable women who become involved with drugs and prostitution. Kay is
:08:05. > :08:11.a former sex worker. She doesn't want to be identified.
:08:12. > :08:16.I have been assaulted many times. It wasn't anything about of heroin
:08:17. > :08:21.couldn't sort out. It's still sleep from others. That's what
:08:22. > :08:28.prostitution does. It takes mothers away from their children. It ruins
:08:29. > :08:31.lives. The 125 Charity says it's important to win the trust of women
:08:32. > :08:37.like Kay. We encourage women to attend our
:08:38. > :08:42.drop`in centre. We can offer lots of support, and work out what are the
:08:43. > :08:45.issues in their lives. Addiction is always number one. They wouldn't be
:08:46. > :08:51.on the streets if they didn't have this life controlling addiction
:08:52. > :08:55.Kay is now married with two children and drug`free. The police hope they,
:08:56. > :09:02.and charities like 125, can help other women turn their lives around.
:09:03. > :09:07.I was sent to rehab. I did a and intensive therapy. I have been clean
:09:08. > :09:15.for four years. I am speaking, today, as a result of the help that
:09:16. > :09:44.I had from one to five. .
:09:45. > :09:49.Dozens of people on the Somerset Levels say they face months out of
:09:50. > :09:51.their homes after the flooding this winter.
:09:52. > :09:54.Many homes are still partially underwater. But as it begins to
:09:55. > :09:58.drain away it's only now that the real cost of the past few weeks is
:09:59. > :10:02.becoming clear. We've been following one couple ` Malcolm and Julie
:10:03. > :10:03.Shovel ` as they returned to their Fordgate home for the very first
:10:04. > :10:06.time. We were in the house in January
:10:07. > :10:09.when we had the early signs that there would be a flood. This is our
:10:10. > :10:12.front room. This is the tight market dash it was up here. Every
:10:13. > :10:25.day, we saw it grossed six inches higher. It was a question of when it
:10:26. > :10:31.would stop. This is our kitchen I used some of my money in 2011 to put
:10:32. > :10:49.this kitchen. We can't even open the door. That's the cutlery drawer
:10:50. > :11:04.To see everything as disgusting as this, with all this mould, . I love
:11:05. > :11:10.this house. I don't any more. That is the Flora. That's how high
:11:11. > :11:19.the floor has risen. `` that is the floor. In some ways, the community
:11:20. > :11:25.is probably stronger as we have more in common now. But it just ripped
:11:26. > :11:34.the heart out of it, because so many people without homes. When will this
:11:35. > :11:37.happen again? Thank you to Malcolm and Julie for
:11:38. > :11:52.letting us see that traumatic moment. The Education Secretary has
:11:53. > :11:55.defended an academy school in Bath, after concerns were raised about how
:11:56. > :11:58.it is being run. Ofsted Inspectors were called into Oldfield School in
:11:59. > :12:01.December in response to a number of complaints. Parts of their report
:12:02. > :12:03.have not been published, causing anger amongst some parents. Lizzie
:12:04. > :12:06.Way reports. Oldfield School converted to academy
:12:07. > :12:09.status in 2001. It is rated as outstanding by Ofsted. But at the
:12:10. > :12:13.end of last year, concerns were raised over the safety of the pupils
:12:14. > :12:16.which prompted Ofsted to revisit. A summary of their report found that
:12:17. > :12:18.area was satisfactory, but other issues were raised about the
:12:19. > :12:25.handlings of complaints and grievances.
:12:26. > :12:28.Such are my concerns at the moment, we've spoken to my daughter and
:12:29. > :12:31.no`one wants to harm their children's education, but we are
:12:32. > :12:34.going to withold our children from going to school ` it's that serious
:12:35. > :12:36.at the moment. The headteacher Kim Sparling, who's
:12:37. > :12:39.refused all requests for interviews, has since faced widespread public
:12:40. > :12:41.criticism from many parents and teachers as to how she runs the
:12:42. > :12:45.school. Many want the full detailed report
:12:46. > :12:49.to be made public and the school held accountable.
:12:50. > :12:54.Absolute outrage. I believe it's really important to have
:12:55. > :12:57.transparency in all these things. If Ofsted go into a school to conduct
:12:58. > :13:01.an investigation, then the whole purpose is to be a learning tool, so
:13:02. > :13:08.if the report is not published where is the learning?
:13:09. > :13:11.60% of schools in the West are now acadamies, which means they are
:13:12. > :13:20.outside the local authority rule So, when conflicts arise who are they
:13:21. > :13:24.all accountable to? If you are looking for things to do
:13:25. > :13:27.with the conduct of the school, the first thing you look at is their
:13:28. > :13:30.response. The simplest way of viewing it is
:13:31. > :13:34.the governing body is responsible for the conduct of the school,
:13:35. > :13:38.that's set out very clearly in the regulations.
:13:39. > :13:45.Michael Gove said he was aware of the issues that Oldfield.
:13:46. > :13:50.The point of accountability is that Ofsted neither fear nor favour any
:13:51. > :13:54.kind of school. Ofsted have investigated this school, and are
:13:55. > :13:59.clear that some issues need to be addressed. But it is also the case
:14:00. > :14:03.that this school has great academic results.
:14:04. > :14:06.The Department for Education has said it is now holding a meeting
:14:07. > :14:15.with the teachers and governors at this school.
:14:16. > :14:18.Throughout this week, we've been reflecting on stories from the First
:14:19. > :14:22.World War. As part of the BBC's World War One At Home season, David
:14:23. > :14:24.Garmston has been exploring the life of a poet and musician from
:14:25. > :14:28.Gloucestershire. His inspiration came not only from the trenches but
:14:29. > :14:29.also from the county he loved. The BBC Bristol documentary about Ivor
:14:30. > :14:47.Gurney will be shown on BBC Four on the dead land oppressed me.
:14:48. > :14:59.These are the words and sounds of the son of Gloucestershire.
:15:00. > :15:06.Our sunshine, gods delight. A poet, musician and soldiers. His
:15:07. > :15:14.name was Ivor Gurney. He loved to walk here. It was this beauty that
:15:15. > :15:18.inspired him in the trenches of northern France. There, he wrote
:15:19. > :15:28.evocatively of his fellow soldiers as an army of of drenched
:15:29. > :15:32.scarecrows. His best friend went missing and it was a long time
:15:33. > :15:37.before he found out that he was in fact a prisoner of war. His initial
:15:38. > :15:44.grief is recorded in a poem that he wrote at the time, and is preserved
:15:45. > :15:50.in the Gloucester Records Office. He's gone, and all of our plans are
:15:51. > :15:56.useless, indeed. We walk no more on the Cotswolds, or the sheep feed.
:15:57. > :16:11.His body that was so quick is not as he knew it. Quite powerful work
:16:12. > :16:17.Yes, he was very close to his friend. They walked on the
:16:18. > :16:21.Cotswolds, as it says here. They had many happy hours sailing on the
:16:22. > :16:25.Severn. At the time he wrote this, he believed that his friend was
:16:26. > :16:31.dead, because he had gone missing in 1916.
:16:32. > :16:36.100 years on from the start of the great War, Ivor Gurney's fame is
:16:37. > :16:40.spreading. If society has been set up to celebrate his work. They are
:16:41. > :16:49.meeting here for the first viewing of a documentary, which has been
:16:50. > :16:52.made by the BBC about his life. He died on the wires, and hunger.
:16:53. > :17:07.For his hours of life, the young actor who plays Ivor
:17:08. > :17:13.Gurney has a striking likeness. Some of
:17:14. > :17:24.some of his work is so evocative. It's so clear. You get such amazing
:17:25. > :17:27.images from it, and it's beautiful. The horrors of the war provided
:17:28. > :17:33.plenty of ammunition for his fertile minds ironically, the disciplined,
:17:34. > :17:38.routine and danger chased away his depression. It was not the war that
:17:39. > :17:44.destroyed Ivor Gurney. It was the piece. His behaviour became
:17:45. > :17:46.increasingly strange. His love of Gloucestershire and obsession.
:17:47. > :17:52.Doctors considered him insane, but he still wrote hundreds of poems
:17:53. > :17:57.craving his home county. This is where Ivor Gurney's journey ends. At
:17:58. > :18:02.the parish church in his beloved Gloucestershire. He spent the last
:18:03. > :18:12.15 years of his life locked up in a mental institution in London. They
:18:13. > :18:18.diagnosed the poet with shell shock. Inside the church, I found his image
:18:19. > :18:25.staring out from the stone walls. These words make a fitting epitaph.
:18:26. > :18:29.The songs I had to withered or vanished keen. Yet, there are white
:18:30. > :18:45.tracks where I have been. They grow flowers for others the lights. Soon
:18:46. > :18:49.it becomes night. That BBC documentary will be shown
:18:50. > :18:56.on BBC Four on Sunday, March 30 at 9pm.
:18:57. > :18:59.It's the Bath Half marathon this Sunday, and organisers are warning
:19:00. > :19:03.it could cause big delays. Two landslips have shut roads into the
:19:04. > :19:07.city. The A431 at Kelston and the Midford Road to the south are both
:19:08. > :19:10.closed, so expect the A36 to be extra busy. Alternative routes will
:19:11. > :19:14.be signed. It's a top three tussle at the
:19:15. > :19:18.Recreation Ground tonight. Bath who are third, take on second`placed
:19:19. > :19:29.Saracens. Alistair Durden is at the Rec ` Ali, is this the biggest
:19:30. > :19:34.challenge of their season so far? I think it probably is, to be
:19:35. > :19:51.honest. They are many peoples favourites this year. Lets have a
:19:52. > :19:57.word with Jonathan. The biggest test for you so far?
:19:58. > :20:02.Definitely. We've been really consistent this year. We've also
:20:03. > :20:08.gone really well. We are unbeaten at home.
:20:09. > :20:14.There will be mutual respect, given what you've achieved this year?
:20:15. > :20:25.The rack is a hard place to come to. It will be a massive challenge.
:20:26. > :20:33.``the Rec. We just take each game as it comes.
:20:34. > :20:37.We'll see how we do. I hope it's another win. Good luck
:20:38. > :20:42.with your recovery from injury. Let's take a look at some of the
:20:43. > :20:44.other matches this weekend. Gloucester are away to leaders
:20:45. > :20:52.Northampton tomorrow afternoon, who have lost just once this season And
:20:53. > :20:55.in the Championship top of the table, Bristol are away to
:20:56. > :20:58.Rotherham, who are third. The top game in this weekend's football is
:20:59. > :21:01.Yeovil's trip to Reading. Remember, all the scores and goals for you
:21:02. > :21:09.across our weekend bulletins. And Late Kick Off returns on Monday at
:21:10. > :21:11.11.20PM. Bristol boxer Lee Haskins has
:21:12. > :21:15.accused the current bantamweight World Champion of being scored to
:21:16. > :21:18.fight him again. Beaten just once in the last eight years, Lee is
:21:19. > :21:22.becoming increasingly frustrated at not getting his chance to fight for
:21:23. > :21:32.a world title. Tomorrow, he fights on the same bill as Olympic gold
:21:33. > :21:35.medallist James DeGale in Bristol. Lee Haskins believes he's the best
:21:36. > :21:41.bantamweight fighter in the world. The trouble is no one will give him
:21:42. > :21:45.the chance to prove it. This is the man who recently won the belt `
:21:46. > :21:48.Stuart Hall. Haskins beat him just 18 months ago, and Hall has turned
:21:49. > :22:00.down a rematch, instead defending his title against Martin Ward, who
:22:01. > :22:05.Haskins has also beaten. There is nobody in Britain that will
:22:06. > :22:09.beat me. They all know that. Stewart knows I'm too good for him. He's not
:22:10. > :22:14.even British league, let alone a world`class fighter. I think it s
:22:15. > :22:25.unfair to hold titles back from people. I should have my shots. It's
:22:26. > :22:37.just a matter of being patient. Something will open up. He'll get
:22:38. > :22:43.his chance. 2008 Olympic Gold Medallist James
:22:44. > :22:50.DeGale has top billing. Bristol people are big boxing fans.
:22:51. > :22:53.There is a buzz in the crowd. It should be good ` I'm really looking
:22:54. > :22:56.forward to it. He's been training in Bristol ahead
:22:57. > :23:00.of defending his super middleweight title. Haskins won't want to be a
:23:01. > :23:03.support act again. He hopes winning his fight this weekend will make him
:23:04. > :23:16.the mandatory challenger for a world title belt.
:23:17. > :23:22.This match tonight should be a cracker. We'll have the action for
:23:23. > :23:25.you at 10:25pm. Bristol had Gromits, Bath had Lions
:23:26. > :23:28.and Wells Swans. Now, the Cotswold market town of Cirencester has
:23:29. > :23:31.hopped on the bandwagon with this chap. His name is Harelequin, and as
:23:32. > :23:39.Michelle Ruminski reports, he'll soon be joined by a few friends
:23:40. > :23:47.There are few signs of spring in the air, but come March, 35 hares will
:23:48. > :23:57.be popping up all over town. We've chosen carers because they are
:23:58. > :24:07.a symbol of the area. `` we've chosen carers. They have always been
:24:08. > :24:13.part of our history. And they're multiplying like
:24:14. > :24:17.rabbits! Some of the first five`foot tall hares to roll off the
:24:18. > :24:22.production line. It has been tricky, particularly the
:24:23. > :24:30.legs and tails. It is a beautiful shape, but not very mosaic friendly.
:24:31. > :24:35.I love him dearly! I don't want to go!
:24:36. > :24:37.But this hare will go under the hammer to raise money for the
:24:38. > :24:41.Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust which hopes to open up the green hare
:24:42. > :24:44.Churn walkway around the town. And the project has already attracted
:24:45. > :24:49.the attention of a high profile artist.
:24:50. > :24:55.Wildlife and protecting wildlife is important to me. The ultimate cause
:24:56. > :25:01.here is encouraging the public to get out and see it. I think it's
:25:02. > :25:07.very valuable. It's hoped demand at auction for one
:25:08. > :25:14.of these n will be as mad as a March hare.
:25:15. > :25:18.Just before the weather, we've had lots of pictures in from star`gazers
:25:19. > :25:21.in the West who saw the Northern Lights last night. This is a time
:25:22. > :25:27.lapse of pictures taken in Devizes. They are usually only visible in the
:25:28. > :25:38.more northern parts of the UK. Let's see if those clear skies will last.
:25:39. > :25:49.Tonight, it would have been beautiful for seeing the Northern
:25:50. > :25:53.lights, but doubt you will. The legacy of those clear skies tonight
:25:54. > :25:59.will be a chilly and foggy start tomorrow. It will be the best day of
:26:00. > :26:07.the weekend dash right generally. 12 showers in the afternoon, but mainly
:26:08. > :26:14.dry. Sunday will be cloudier. Here's a look at the weekend. Some frost
:26:15. > :26:28.and fog overnight, but a good deal of clear whether through the day. As
:26:29. > :26:35.we head into Sunday, we will have a spell of wet and windy weather. But
:26:36. > :26:42.the rest of this evening, the skies were clear away. That will bring two
:26:43. > :26:46.problems. First of all, ice, particularly in parts of Wiltshire.
:26:47. > :26:51.And some fog, which could be widely distributed. The key area will be
:26:52. > :26:56.part of Gloucestershire. Temperatures could go into the
:26:57. > :27:00.miners. Tomorrow, the fog and cloud should clear away. A little bit of
:27:01. > :27:04.competition between sunshine and variable amounts of cloud. Through
:27:05. > :27:13.the course of the afternoon, the chance of one or two showers. Many
:27:14. > :27:19.places will have a decent day. Temperatures tomorrow is still
:27:20. > :27:23.inherently quite chilly, possibly up to seven. Sunday will be a different
:27:24. > :27:27.story. A breezy day, when it will turn rainy. It could turn wet and
:27:28. > :27:37.windy into the afternoon. Thanks very much. That's it from us.
:27:38. > :27:45.From all of us, goodbye.