:00:00. > :00:20.Was Good evening. Criminals have been left
:00:21. > :00:27.empty`handed after blowing tp a cash machine at a petrol station in
:00:28. > :00:30.Bristol. It's believed they filled it with a mixture of gases before
:00:31. > :00:40.setting it alight. Nearby homes were shaken during the attack whhch
:00:41. > :00:43.happened in the middle of the night. Andrew Plant reports.
:00:44. > :00:46.Blasted open by what neighbours said sounded like a bomb. This c`sh
:00:47. > :00:49.machine's inner workings were exposed, its protective front cover
:00:50. > :00:52.blown metres away. Police s`y these thieves left empty handed and used,
:00:53. > :00:56.it seems, a criminal method becoming increasingly common. Take a look at
:00:57. > :01:06.the shadowy area on the right of this picture. There's a cash machine
:01:07. > :01:09.just there. Filmed by a petrol station's security camera in
:01:10. > :01:12.Hampshire last year, after the machine explodes, men in balaclavas
:01:13. > :01:16.rush in to scoop up the mondy. There are people living either side of
:01:17. > :01:19.this garage and when they looked out of their windows at 3:10 thhs
:01:20. > :01:23.morning, after the enormous bang, they saw bits of this cash lachine
:01:24. > :01:28.on fire in the middle of thd road, that's a distance of about 60 feet.
:01:29. > :01:34.First of all, I thought it was a bomb. It wasn't until this lorning,
:01:35. > :01:38.when somebody knocked on thd door and asked about it that I found out
:01:39. > :01:41.it wasn't a bomb. Within a very short space of time, I lookdd out
:01:42. > :01:45.the window to see burning wreckage in the middle of the road. Ly first
:01:46. > :01:50.instinct was that the garagd had gone up in smoke.
:01:51. > :01:53.In March, thieves in Manchester made off with ?80,000 after spending
:01:54. > :01:56.months digging this tunnel, then breaking open this machine from
:01:57. > :02:00.underneath. These thieves in Ireland went further still. They tore down a
:02:01. > :02:06.wall of a bank with a digger, taking not just the cash but the entire
:02:07. > :02:09.cash machine. And here in Bristol just last month, a similar `ttack,
:02:10. > :02:12.only this time with banknotds clearly visible on the petrol
:02:13. > :02:16.station floor. Today's attack is now being investigated. And these gas
:02:17. > :02:20.bottles, it's thought, may have been used to blow the machine ap`rt, the
:02:21. > :02:24.force violent enough to tear this metal to pieces, but this thme too
:02:25. > :02:38.weak it seems to give these thieves what they came here for.
:02:39. > :02:43.A Wiltshire police officer who was found guilty of gross misconduct
:02:44. > :02:45.following a double murder inquiry has resigned from the force.
:02:46. > :02:48.Detective Superintendent Stdve Fulcher was given a final written
:02:49. > :02:51.warning after he failed to read Christopher Halliwell his rhghts
:02:52. > :02:58.before he led him to the body of Becky Godden. As a result, Halliwell
:02:59. > :03:01.was never charged over her death. Wiltshire Police have confirmed Mr
:03:02. > :03:04.Fulcher has resigned, but h`ve not given any more details. The
:03:05. > :03:06.Wiltshire Police Federation says the case highlights the daily dhlemma
:03:07. > :03:13.faced by police officers between doing what is right and working
:03:14. > :03:17.within the rules. Swindon has been identified as one
:03:18. > :03:20.of the key contests in the local elections. Experts believe next
:03:21. > :03:24.Thursday's result will give an indication of who'll win thd General
:03:25. > :03:28.Election. The council is a close contest between Labour and the
:03:29. > :03:34.Conservatives. Our political editor Paul Barltrop reports.
:03:35. > :03:37.Navigate your way around Swhndon's notorious Magic Roundabout `nd it is
:03:38. > :03:41.reckoned the road to Downing Street lies open. For the past 30 xears,
:03:42. > :03:44.whichever party has got MPs elected here has also got their man as prime
:03:45. > :03:47.minister. So these local eldctions are crucial.
:03:48. > :03:51.Labour turned out in force today in one of their target seats. Helping
:03:52. > :03:58.deliver leaflets, parliamentary candidate Anne Snelgrove, who Labour
:03:59. > :04:01.HQ say simply must win next year. It puts pressure on all Labour Party
:04:02. > :04:05.activists and councillors to ensure we turn our vote out only the 2 nd
:04:06. > :04:14.this year and only the seventh next year. Do you get a lot of pressure
:04:15. > :04:16.from on high, from party headquarters? We are always under
:04:17. > :04:21.pressure, from ourselves and others, it's a 24`hour seven day a week job.
:04:22. > :04:24.In the town centre, local Conservatives survey a regeneration
:04:25. > :04:27.project. They believe Swindon's strong economic recovery has already
:04:28. > :04:34.helped them keep control of the council. We had a majority of just
:04:35. > :04:37.one for the last couple of xears and we survived two by`elections and
:04:38. > :04:40.strong challengers from the Labour Party and on each occasion, we
:04:41. > :04:45.trebled the majority. We will be working very hard to keep this
:04:46. > :04:48.council Conservative. In the council chamber, the only
:04:49. > :04:51.other party are four Liberal Democrats. All wonder about the
:04:52. > :04:56.impact of UKIP and the posshbility of a hung council. What we have
:04:57. > :04:59.potentially is to hold control. If it's a balanced council, whhch all
:05:00. > :05:03.the predictions are, we will able to get our policies into play which
:05:04. > :05:07.will enhance ourselves and get more people to vote for us in thd first
:05:08. > :05:11.place. If we had four, five, six, ten councillors elected, we would
:05:12. > :05:18.have a say in which way this council was operated and run. Bear hn mind,
:05:19. > :05:23.if you have got the sway in the power, you can ensure you gdt what
:05:24. > :05:26.people want. UKIP are hoping to make a breakthrough, but the town's
:05:27. > :05:31.voters aren't the most enthtsiastic. I don't vote, if I'm honest, I don't
:05:32. > :05:37.hardly vote. They say things and they don't always mean what they
:05:38. > :05:45.say. Those who do vote will get noticed. Swindon's result bd watched
:05:46. > :05:49.this year and next. The leaders of the main parties in
:05:50. > :05:52.Swindon will be taking part in a live radio debate next week, that's
:05:53. > :05:55.on BBC Wiltshire, 8.30 on Monday morning, with Mark O'Donnell.
:05:56. > :05:58.A funeral service has been held in Bath for a businessman who donated
:05:59. > :06:02.millions of pounds of his company's profits to good causes. Tributes
:06:03. > :06:16.were paid to 76`year`old Brhan Roper at the service at Bath Abbex. Over
:06:17. > :06:19.the years, he gave large amounts of his money to the Royal Unitdd
:06:20. > :06:23.Hospital and to local schools. Shortly before his death he was
:06:24. > :06:25.awarded the Freedom of the City of Bath in recognition of his
:06:26. > :06:31.contribution. That is it from us tonight.
:06:32. > :06:39.Friday shapes up to be the warmest day of the year so far. Seels like
:06:40. > :06:45.this one will be pretty famhliar across all of the West Country. The
:06:46. > :06:54.slight possibility of a shower in parts of Gloucestershire. Ddcidedly
:06:55. > :07:02.warm. Temperatures tonight between 8`11 Celsius. Some mist arotnd. That
:07:03. > :07:09.will quickly get burned off tomorrow. Some fair weather cloud
:07:10. > :07:17.will build up as we head through the late morning. Just a small
:07:18. > :07:22.possibility of a shower in parts of Gloucestershire. Elsewhere, a dry
:07:23. > :07:31.picture. Modern pollen count, light winds. Some places getting `s high
:07:32. > :07:33.as 22 degrees. A similar story for Saturday,
:07:34. > :07:37.prospect for the weekend, which shows we keep it fine, dry and warm.
:07:38. > :07:41.And we can leave you with the national picture.
:07:42. > :07:48.More warm weather on the way, today almost felt like June across the
:07:49. > :07:49.country. Temperatures did hover around 22 degrees, the average