15/05/2014 BBC Points West

Was Good evening. Criminals have been left

empty`handed after blowing tp a cash machine at a petrol station in

Bristol. It's believed they filled it with a mixture of gases before

setting it alight. Nearby homes were shaken during the attack whhch

happened in the middle of the night. Andrew Plant reports.

Blasted open by what neighbours said sounded like a bomb. This c`sh

machine's inner workings were exposed, its protective front cover

blown metres away. Police s`y these thieves left empty handed and used,

it seems, a criminal method becoming increasingly common. Take a look at

the shadowy area on the right of this picture. There's a cash machine

just there. Filmed by a petrol station's security camera in

Hampshire last year, after the machine explodes, men in balaclavas

rush in to scoop up the mondy. There are people living either side of

this garage and when they looked out of their windows at 3:10 thhs

morning, after the enormous bang, they saw bits of this cash lachine

on fire in the middle of thd road, that's a distance of about 60 feet.

First of all, I thought it was a bomb. It wasn't until this lorning,

when somebody knocked on thd door and asked about it that I found out

it wasn't a bomb. Within a very short space of time, I lookdd out

the window to see burning wreckage in the middle of the road. Ly first

instinct was that the garagd had gone up in smoke.

In March, thieves in Manchester made off with ?80,000 after spending

months digging this tunnel, then breaking open this machine from

underneath. These thieves in Ireland went further still. They tore down a

wall of a bank with a digger, taking not just the cash but the entire

cash machine. And here in Bristol just last month, a similar `ttack,

only this time with banknotds clearly visible on the petrol

station floor. Today's attack is now being investigated. And these gas

bottles, it's thought, may have been used to blow the machine ap`rt, the

force violent enough to tear this metal to pieces, but this thme too

weak it seems to give these thieves what they came here for.

A Wiltshire police officer who was found guilty of gross misconduct

following a double murder inquiry has resigned from the force.

Detective Superintendent Stdve Fulcher was given a final written

warning after he failed to read Christopher Halliwell his rhghts

before he led him to the body of Becky Godden. As a result, Halliwell

was never charged over her death. Wiltshire Police have confirmed Mr

Fulcher has resigned, but h`ve not given any more details. The

Wiltshire Police Federation says the case highlights the daily dhlemma

faced by police officers between doing what is right and working

within the rules. Swindon has been identified as one

of the key contests in the local elections. Experts believe next

Thursday's result will give an indication of who'll win thd General

Election. The council is a close contest between Labour and the

Conservatives. Our political editor Paul Barltrop reports.

Navigate your way around Swhndon's notorious Magic Roundabout `nd it is

reckoned the road to Downing Street lies open. For the past 30 xears,

whichever party has got MPs elected here has also got their man as prime

minister. So these local eldctions are crucial.

Labour turned out in force today in one of their target seats. Helping

deliver leaflets, parliamentary candidate Anne Snelgrove, who Labour

HQ say simply must win next year. It puts pressure on all Labour Party

activists and councillors to ensure we turn our vote out only the 2 nd

this year and only the seventh next year. Do you get a lot of pressure

from on high, from party headquarters? We are always under

pressure, from ourselves and others, it's a 24`hour seven day a week job.

In the town centre, local Conservatives survey a regeneration

project. They believe Swindon's strong economic recovery has already

helped them keep control of the council. We had a majority of just

one for the last couple of xears and we survived two by`elections and

strong challengers from the Labour Party and on each occasion, we

trebled the majority. We will be working very hard to keep this

council Conservative. In the council chamber, the only

other party are four Liberal Democrats. All wonder about the

impact of UKIP and the posshbility of a hung council. What we have

potentially is to hold control. If it's a balanced council, whhch all

the predictions are, we will able to get our policies into play which

will enhance ourselves and get more people to vote for us in thd first

place. If we had four, five, six, ten councillors elected, we would

have a say in which way this council was operated and run. Bear hn mind,

if you have got the sway in the power, you can ensure you gdt what

people want. UKIP are hoping to make a breakthrough, but the town's

voters aren't the most enthtsiastic. I don't vote, if I'm honest, I don't

hardly vote. They say things and they don't always mean what they

say. Those who do vote will get noticed. Swindon's result bd watched

this year and next. The leaders of the main parties in

Swindon will be taking part in a live radio debate next week, that's

on BBC Wiltshire, 8.30 on Monday morning, with Mark O'Donnell.

A funeral service has been held in Bath for a businessman who donated

millions of pounds of his company's profits to good causes. Tributes

were paid to 76`year`old Brhan Roper at the service at Bath Abbex. Over

the years, he gave large amounts of his money to the Royal Unitdd

Hospital and to local schools. Shortly before his death he was

awarded the Freedom of the City of Bath in recognition of his

contribution. That is it from us tonight.

Friday shapes up to be the warmest day of the year so far. Seels like

this one will be pretty famhliar across all of the West Country. The

slight possibility of a shower in parts of Gloucestershire. Ddcidedly

warm. Temperatures tonight between 8`11 Celsius. Some mist arotnd. That

will quickly get burned off tomorrow. Some fair weather cloud

will build up as we head through the late morning. Just a small

possibility of a shower in parts of Gloucestershire. Elsewhere, a dry

picture. Modern pollen count, light winds. Some places getting `s high

as 22 degrees. A similar story for Saturday,

prospect for the weekend, which shows we keep it fine, dry and warm.

And we can leave you with the national picture.

More warm weather on the way, today almost felt like June across the

country. Temperatures did hover around 22 degrees, the average