01/08/2014 BBC Points West

Firefighters who were first on scene at one of Britain's worst

ever motorway crashes have had their bravery recognised.

The pile`up on the M5 in Solerset in 2011 claimed seven lives.

Now three years on some of those who worked on the rescue effort

The aftermath of the M5 crash, caused by thick fog on the night

12 firefighters based in Tatnton were called out first to de`l with

cars and lorries on fire and people trapped in the wreckage.

At this awards ceremony those 1 firefighters were given

a brand new medal, created by the Devon and Solerset

service, recognition of excdptional actions in extreme circumst`nces.

Approached the motorway the weather was awful and there were a lot of

things going on and people running around and vehicle still moving and

a lot of fires and a lot of explosions and it was very tragic

and traumatic for a lot of people. Those rewarded last night s`y

their first thoughts are with survivors of the crash and

the families who lost loved ones. Paul Cregan was in charge

of the rescue operation that night, he knows the awards are important

to his men. The dealing with it afterwards was

difficult and traumatic and testing. The medals will be a

constant and good reminder of what they did that night and for their

families for ever more. Verx well deserved under an appropriate end to

a difficult time. There was also written commdndations

for firefighters' work in hdlping It's been a busy period for

emergency services and it is nice to draw a line under that and say well

done and hopefully we will not experience the same significant

events again in the short`tdrm. It's been more than two years

since the crash. The awards to

the rescuers have had to be delayed until now to allow for coroners

investigations to be completed. Police are investigating whdther

remains found at a recycling plant They were spotted by staff

at the Biffa depot on The area has been sealed off

while the investigation continues. The Bath film director Ken Loach

has given his support to a protest Mr Loach and the group clail

the corporation's reporting They say the BBC is only

presenting the Israeli case in its news coverage and claim it rarely

includes a Palestinian voicd. The Palestinian case is that it is

about illegal seizure of land, illegal blockades, the colldctive

punishment of the people of Gaza and an intolerable life where they buy

only have water or electrichty and faced with such illegality people

are entitled to resist and the people of Gaza are resistance

fighters. The BBC calls thel militants but they are actu`lly

resistance fighters in the same way the French were resistance fighters

during the war. A spokesperson

from BBC News says it endeavours to reflect a range of voices

and is committed to continuhng to report and analyse events in

an accurate, fair and balanced way. A teenage gymnast from Longwell

Green near Bristol has put hn a dazzling display at the Comlonwealth

Games and won a fourth gold medal. Claudia Fragapane is

only 16`years`old. But today the girl nicknamed

the pocket rocket picked up another gold with this floor routind,

to the delight of her parents. We was very happy, very protd. Very

proud and honoured to see hdr up there. Absolutely amazing. Ht is her

passion and her dream G1 is to make the Olympics one day and th`t is a

ultimate goal. Well, our Sports Editor Alistair

Durden was at Claudia's homd where the rest of her family watched her

when she achieved her dream. Claudia is one of five sistdrs on

the other four are here over at the family home along with a lot of

other members, young and old, of the Fragapane clan, quite noisy bunch.

What a fantastic day for thd family? It has been out of this world, words

cannot explain how happy we are We are immensely proud of her `nd she

has exceeded expectations. She is a gold medallist, what can I say? Four

times gold medallist! What did you make of your sister's efforts

today? She was very brilliant. Is it something you reckon you cotld do?

No! You don't want to have ` go No! You can do a bit, can't you? They

are all very talented. We h`ve the grandparents here too. What about

this family, incredible. Fantastic. We are very, very proud. For

medals, wow! Beautiful. I gdt the impression you were expecting it.

No, but I wish she will win more next time! There is always real

What did you think? Absolutdly. . Vary, very happy. Your Englhsh is

better than my Italian so you are doing very well. A big partx to

come? A massive party. Call`way prior to come home so we can give

her a big squeeze and tell her how much we love and how it's a proud of

her we are. `` immensely proud of her we are. Four gold medals and one

very proud family. Let's take a look at the medals

table for our west athletes. It stands at 14 golds,

10 silvers and 11 bronze medals The Banksy street art in Chdltenham

has been defaced. Only this week,

campaigners announced they had But now Spy Booth been spraxed

over with silver paint. Cheltenham's Banksy, eavesdropping

on this telephone box, thesd undercover spies are now covered up

after an overnight attack. Ht is not funny or clever and I do not see why

people have to do this sort of thing. People here have been proud

of their Banksy and were angry this morning as news of the graffiti got

around. I am gutted. I do not understand why people need to do

this any more. This is what it looked like in April. A few weeks

after it was painted there was talk of selling it to a collector but a

local businessman pledged htndreds of thousands of pounds to s`ve it.

If this graffiti cannot be removed, I you still going to buy it? That is

a very good question. It will be removed, in some format it will be

removed. It is something th`t the people in this town love and we have

to get it restored. This is what people are hoping will save it. It

is anti`graffiti paint and that is a piece that was peeled off e`rlier.

If they are quick enough and they use the right chemicals thex might

be able to take off the top layer of new graffiti and leave the Banksy

intact. These pictures have been defaced

before. This one in Bristol was hit by blue paint balls and othdrs like

this one have been quickly removed, preserved but not for the ptblic.

Like much of the street art this will eventually be sold. Sole

believe it is just a part of the life cycle of Street graffiti but

for others they are precious and they should be preserved.

A pilot from RNAS Yeovilton has walked away

unharmed after the historic aircraft he was flying crashed onto

Eyewitnesses at the Culdrosd Airshow said the sea fury appeared to lose

The Royal Navy says it's investigating what it says was

There's of course more news on the BBC Website.

We're back with you throughout the weekend.

But for now I'll leave you with Ian and the latest forecast.

That aeroplane's engine went pop but not this man's. I doubt he could

take a picture that good tolorrow because the showers will be quite

heavy. It will be better in the afternoon but it will be brdezy and

breezy and dry and sunny on Sunday. Tonight we will have showerx

outbreaks of Wayne particul`rly in the Western districts. In the

western areas we have the btlk of heavy rain and there will bd a phase

in the morning where most of us will have heavy and thundery downpours

which were clearer way. There could be a few further showers in the

afternoon but they will facd towards the evening. It is an ever hmproving

story if turning a bit breezy. A drier day on Sunday

Good evening. For some of us turning soggy this weekend. For others

increasingly sunny. Don't make this the last forecast you see this

weekend T rain could cause some problems. Sunshine will follow the

rain from the south. Overnight a lot of rain from south-west England and

south-west Wales. One or two thunderstorms, close to the London

area, into East Anglia. Showers over Northern Ireland. A largely dry

start to the day here. Further south, there will be rain around.

Already signs of