16/06/2014 BBC Points West

so it's goodbye from me, and on BBC One we

Welcome to BBC Points West with Sabet Choudhury and Amanda Parr

Jailed for neglect ` the Gloucestershire couple who raised

Their father admits they let the children down.

It is a range of feelings. On my behalf, my wife's behold and social

services let us down in a bhg way. investigation has now begun

into what went wrong. Three years in jail for the woman

who took money to be a surrogate A seemingly innocent glass of wine

at lunch time, and I would be on my knees at a drug dealer's hotse.

They left five of their children living in squalor, infested with

Now a Gloucestershire coupld have been sentenced to prison for what's

been described as the "appalling neglect" of their children.

A judge at Gloucester crown court said the children suffered terribly,

and although they had not bden deliberately cruel,

their parents had been "stupid, stubborn and incompetent?.

Inside the house where fivd childre lived a life of squalor and suffered

Dirt`ridden carpets, soiled mattresses,

rubbish and clothes everywhdre The bedrooms smelt of urine

and animal faeces ` one of them even had ivy growing through the window.

The children suffered from a poor diet and terrible hygiene.

Those at school were ostrachsed ` one smelt so bad,

The children were often infdsted with head lice, which their mother

The law prevents us from iddntifying them to protect the children.

But I spoke to their father before he was sent to prison.

We did let our children down. We did not stop loving than that wd did let

them down. In a way of development and growing up.

How did you let your childrdn get into this state? What let up to it?

They were left in a bad way. It is a range of failings on my

behalf, my wife's behalf and social services let us down in a bhg way. A

lot of agencies let us down. Social care and health teams tried,

unsuccessfully it turns out, to help The parents often refused that help,

but could more have been done As a result,

the chair of the Gloucestershire Children Safeguarding Board said

in a statement today that "The neglect these children suffered

was unacceptable. The Board had already been focusing

on neglect as an issue and so we decided that a

Serious Case Review would hdlp us understand what happened

in this particular case and what we The investigation started

after the couple's two year old daughter was admitted to hospital

with severe nappy rash ` thd pain The detective in charge of

the case told me it's been the most Neglect is around failing to meet

the basic needs of the child so that they can develop and meet those

milestones that normal children do. And these children will not reaching

those normal milestones that most children do meet, such as bding able

to walk or use the toilets. The judge said that the pardnts were

inadequate, stupid, stubborn and inadequate but that they were not

wicked. They did not deliberately inflict pain on their children and

they tried that limited best to bring up their children correctly.

David Niven is the former chairman of the British

Association of Social Workers and a child protection expert.

He provides training on child protection.

Does it surprise you to see cases like this in 2014?

No, it does sadden me. Thesd are cases that I find the most

difficult, when there is neglect by omission. Parents do not know how to

be parents here. Where love is not enough, the parents cared for the

children, but they did not know how to. They possibly had the court is

in understanding or they were incompetent.

Social services did try to step in, albeit unsuccessfully. Do you think

that their hands are tied. Hs there too much red tape?

What surprises me is that I would imagine that social services would

help this couple, telling pdople what to do, making sure that the

children had the right tests and the right clothes, didn't turn tp hungry

at school. But what surprisdd me here was, often if it fails, then

you go to the family Court `nd apply for care proceedings. This hs quite

usual. But this was the crilinal court, so it must be somethhng more.

There is a serious case revhew going on. These children were seen in

public, should the public h`ve raised the alarm?

I would encourage the public, if they do see children regularly in a

state of need and neglect to report the matter, talk about it. Just like

anything else, if you saw a child being beaten, you would. If you saw

a child being kidnapped, yot would report it. You should report

neglect. There are high numbers of child of

that the moment with the crhsis in the economy. Will we see thdse

numbers rise? I expect so. The social services are becoming

more efficient, but they ard under great pressure with the amotnt of

people coming forward. Police are this evening appdaling

for couple who feel they max have been scammed by a woman clahming to

be a surrogate mum to get in touch. A judge today sent Louise Pollard,

from Bristol, to jail for pretending to bd

pregnant and cheating two ddsperate But police say they think there

may be other victims out thdre. 28`year`old Louise Pollard had said

she wanted to become the most prolific surrogate mums in the

country. Today, she certainly became Today, she certainly became one

of the most notorious. The court heard that she had said

that she had previously been a sub gut, but this was different. At the

begin `` a summer but mother, but this was different. The court heard

that she had artificially inseminated herself and had on two

occasions pretended to be pregnant, even faking taking a pregnancy test.

On each occasion, she said that she had miscarried, after taking money

from the couple. On another occasion, another couple pahd her to

carry a child for them, and she pretended to fall pregnant, forging

a doctor's letter. But she said that she had miscarried, after t`king

?5,000 of their money. The court heard how the whole

episode had been very traum`tic for the couples involved. One woman said

that she had been left feelhng that she would never be able to trust

anyone again. Another victil said that he and his wife's world had

come crashing down when thex learnt of what had happened.

Louise, who had previously hit the headlines when she had agredd to be

a surrogate mother for the bin lard and family, `` Osama Bin Laden's

family, was in court. We are concerned. We think that

there may be more people affected. If anyone has been affected by her

activities, then please contact the police.

Sentencing her to three years and four months in jail, the judge said

that this was not just a case of financial loss, but a case of too

desperate couples being takdn in by you and your lies. They havd lost

money, but they have lost a lot more than that and have ended up

heartbroken. Earlier I spoke to Natalie Gamble,

who is a fertility lawyer. She represented one of the couples

defrauded by Pollard and I `sked Yes, and this has been such an

incredibly difficult story. This happens very round it. We h`ve dealt

with hundreds of cases, and the majority of very caring and genuine

women. `` this happens very rarely. If a couple are considering having

helped to start a family, are there protection to stop them frol being

defrauded in this way? The problem is that there are some

agencies that are accredited, but many of the matches takes place on

the Internet. There is not the same monitoring as there are with other

processes. It is quite an informal environment. We are campaigning to

have a better framework put in place that would help create some

safeguards for parents and for the women who carried the babies.

If people are worried about the arrangement is that they have in

place, when should the alarl bells ring?

It is important to do your homework and make sure that you have talked

about all the major issues. Things about your views about what might

happen with the pregnancy. How much contact and support you would expect

to have with each other. Getting to know each other and the widdr family

around is important. There hs no substitute for doing that vdry

thoroughly. Some people do that with an agency, but for others it is very

important that they do as mtch time as possible getting to know the

woman and the other when around How are the couples now? It is back

to the drawing board for parents who have already had a difficult time

with not being able to have a family more conventionally. They h`ve had

this disappointment on top of it. They have to try and find somebody

to help them, so it is very difficult.

A very warm welcome to BBC Points West at the start of the wedk. We've

still got plenty more to cole, including Jemma enjoying an evening

That is right. We are going to have a lovely week of weather here in the

West and every night this wdek I will be doing the weather forecast

from locations that you havd suggested. Join me later to see

where I am at night. `` tonhght An inquest has heard how a

Somerset Army officer was found with a bullet wound in his head,

in a shower block in a Brithsh Captain James Townley had only

arrived A five day hearing in Wells will try

to establish exactly how he died. James Townley was just a dax away

from his 30th birthday. In 2012 he was working in Helmand provhnce at a

base which he had arrived at a week earlier. This inquest heard that at

6:30am on the 21st of Septelber James Townley left his tent and

walked to the toilet block on the base. He was carrying his phstol.

Less than two minutes later, his colleagues found him in one of the

locked cubicles. He had a gtnshot wound to his head and he didd

shortly afterwards. Both of the captain's parents were

at the inquest. They heard from some of the soldiers who found hhm in the

tower block `` shower block and from those who knew him in the d`ys

before his death. They said that he was behaving perfectly norm`lly

before his death, but one s`id that he put a lot of pressure on himself

to do his job properly. Another captain, one of the first to arrive

on the scene, said that at the time he believe the wound to be

self`inflicted. The pistol was on the floor in the cubicle whdre James

Townley died. Another captahn was asked if it was normal for someone

to take a loaded gun to the shower block. He said absolutely, ht is

normal practice to be armed at all times.

This inquest will be hearing from 22 witnesses. The coroner said that he

will be examining the circulstances around the death in great ddtail.

But he said it was not his responsibility to apportion blame.

This, he said, was a fact`fhnding exercise.

A Somerset MP is under investigation by the Parlialentary

The Standards Commissioner will consider whether the Wells LP Tessa

Munt should have declared a poll carried out in her constitudncy on

The survey was paid for by Lord Oakeshott and asked people

if they'd change their vote if the Lib Dems changed their leader.

Tessa Munt said she welcomed the inquiry

People in the West who have just been diagnosed with cancer `re

having to wait months beford they receive the benefits they ddserve.

A backlog has built up due to more rigorous medical tests brought in

Throat cancer has left Stephen Luther unable to spdak.

So he can't express how he feels about having to wait 14 months

I'm sure Stephen won't mind me saying,

He's feeling like he's been forgotten about, really.

At Bristol Citizens Advice, they say they're seeing manx more

Today, the charity Macmillan Cancer Support cl`imed one

in three cancer patients face waits of over six months for their money.

People who are not applying under special walls, things have got

worse. People awaiting a very long time. `` special rules. I rdcently

had a client who applied last August and has only just got his money

Another applied in October `nd is still waiting to hear. It is

terrible. The benefits backlog is

for a new version of the It's now called Personal

Independence Payment or PIP. Now claimants face more

rigorous medical tests. They're run by private provhders

like ATOS and have not been well But the Government insists they

are necessary to control a ballooning welfare bill and accepts

more tests have jammed the system. You are put on DLA for life. Only 7%

of people who were put on its got a face to face examination. At the

moment it is 97%, so you can see why there are delays.

Those who are terminally ill are now being seen more quickly.

But for people like Stephen who don't fall into that category,

they are left to count the costs of being stuck in the systel.

As they crossed the finish line yesterday, ht was

Charity cyclists had their bikes stolen, but people stepped hn.

Their bikes were stolen, but campers offered their own bikes to get them

on the road again. The Help for Heroes team had spent

many months training But it was almost over before it

began as their bikes were stolen It was devastating. Having trained

so hard for so long, working to do the event and then taken aw`y from

you. 12 bikes were taken

while the team were asleep. They were camping here with their

bikes before the race. But when they got up in the morning, the gate was

open and there bikes were gone. Other people stepped in, like this

business that meant them to bikes, including this one.

Initially, I looked through my stock and my rental bikes and we decided

to rent them as many as thex wanted. The only needed two from ourselves.

They did take bikes from other competitors who were not ushng them

and spectators who had the bikes with them. So they were sorted and

were happy. Some of those taking part

in the race are still recovdring This type of event is key to

their rehabilitation. It is a huge event in motion a and

physically and you build yotrself up to it. So when you are here waiting

to challenge yourself, posshbly for the first time since being hnjured,

when you wake up and realisd that your bike has been stolen, ht is an

enormous blow. People living near the race area

say theft is on the up, espdcially performance bicycles, just the

type you might use in a tri`thlon. They were one of the biggest

bands of the 1980s, selling But Duran Duran's fame and fortune

took its toll on a founder lember Their success led to

the bass guitarist's well`documented Now John Taylor, who lives

in Wiltshire, has teamed up with a West Country charity to help people

with addictions and their f`milies. Andy Warhol was a fan,

as was Princess Diana. And John Taylor was the man

behind Duran Duran. He started it in Birmingham

in the late ?70s. Music got me by my throat

in my teenage years. I went to college with the

intention of starting a band, which is where Duran Duran got st`rted.

But by the mid`?80s, this b`nd was one of the most successful

in the world, with a string of hits across Europe, and @merica.

And a string of girls in thdir wake. What were the most extreme

things that fans did? One person said that

when I had played, I had had a cold, and they had grabbed the tissues

so that they could catch my cold. The biggest band

in the world lived the dreal. Life was just one long partx of sex,

drugs and alcohol. Every town would be an excuse

for a blow out, leaving and arriving at a ndw town.

I could never stop after ond drink. Some of

my friends could drink casu`lly one thing always led to another for me.

So a seemingly innocent glass of wine at lunch time,

and I would be at a drug dealer's house by midnight.

It was horrible. The turnaround came ten years later

in the mid ?90s, when John checked in for rehab.

Every since, he's been helping others get clean.

I have a daughter and a stepdaughter who both had problems.

What are you going to do? Lock your kids up?

But at least they know that there are solutions.

This is what this organisathon, DHI, is all about.

Duran Duran are still together. They are in the middle

of making their new album. But John admits addiction is still

a daily battle. Sometimes I get out of work and I

could really use a drink. What are you going to do?

I go to the record store. Sometimes you have got to

give yourself a little treat. But it's finding treats that

aren't going to kill you. His songs are still popular,

everybody in the gallery ard singing them.

He's believed to be the first ever robot guard brought

He patrols the corridors of G4S in Tewkesbury in Gloucestershire,

as part of a multi`million pound pl`n to see

But the company says Bob will ndver take

He's not about replacing our security officers. Our security

officers are able to make vdry quick decisions about changes in the

environment. Bob is a comp dntry activity that can help us overnight,

but also pick up on the low`level activities that guards do not need

to work on. Prince George has made his first

public appearance in our region He was at the Cirencester P`rk Polo

Club at the weekend, just two months He was walking with his mother,

the Duchess of Cambridge. His father Prince William and Prince

Harry were also there, on opposing Well, it was a lovely weekend

of weather here in the West and we hope it's going to bd settled

for the rest of the week! It's going to be so nice,

we thought we'd ask you to suggest some of the best places in the West

for Jemma to do her forecast from. You've been sending

in your ideas to our Facebook page That is right. We did give ht away

earlier, but I am out every night this week. You have been sending in

your suggestions to our Facdbook page about places that I cotld

present the weather from. Tonight, I am lucky to be at Clevedon Pier and

that has been suggested by ` North Somerset residents. He has childhood

memories of this PR and `` of this area. It is a wonderful strtcture

and we are in for a wonderftl week of weather. So if we look at the

forecast, we can see that wd have quite a lot of Cloud today. It is

beginning to break up a little bit tonight. There are some holds in

that cloud, but it was cloudy earlier than we hoped for. The

headline is that the cloud will break and there will be good sunny

spells. Pleasantly warm as well Just the odd shower. High

temperatures for the next fdw days, the only real concern some showers

tomorrow evening. But they won't amount to a great deal. Tod`y, the

temperatures struggled becatse of the cloud, they peaked at 18

Celsius, which was lower th`n some places in the country. The

countryside temperatures were a little colder. Overnight, the cloud

should give this good insul`tion. So it will give us some good overnight

temperatures, 11 to 13 Celshus. It does mean that it is a mild start

into tomorrow morning, but ht also means that it will be a gre`t start

for a time. I would say there with that, because as we moved through

the morning and into the afternoon, the sun will put some holes in the

cloud, wearing blue skies and sunshine through. The temperatures

will respond well. Anything from 21 to 22 degrees Celsius. Tomorrow

evening and night time, we will see some more holes in the cloud. Maybe

the temperatures just a little cooler tomorrow night. And the

likelihood of just a few showers from the North, maybe clipphng the

northern parts of Gloucestershire and moving southwards. Dying away by

Wednesday morning. It may bd damp underfoot. Wednesday, it will be a

dry and settled affair some cloud but decent spells of sunshine. It is

a very settled story becausd of that pressure. Enjoy the sunshind.

Possibly the odd thundery shower, but it is a good week ahead.

We will say goodbye here. You are back for the Ten O'Clock News?

Yes, and we will be looking at the Winter Flood report. Farmers will

find out whether their land will be protected and Somerset residents

will be wondering if their views will be listened to.

We will be talking to an action group and speaking to government

representatives. We are about to find out whether

they can cook. You're going to love it.

Smashed it. Yum-yum-yum.