01/09/2014 BBC Points West

tonight fighting extradition to Britain after they took

People living in it's shadow say they aren't happy

The new campaign to make people more aware of the effects

And the lucky dog who hung on to the edge after getting lost for a week.

First they battled the flood waters and now they're battling thd sun.

Plans for one of the biggest solar farms hn

the South West have been unveiled, and it's on the Somerset levels

British Solar Renewables wants to build the 65 acre power plant

But after spending weeks under water, people living there

Here's our Somerset correspondent Clinton Rogers.

As far as you could see out there was underwater. On a damp d`y,

memories of the winter flooding of vivid. Virtually all of this land,

the heart of the Somerset Ldvels, was underwater for months. Now the

people of Aller have a new battle against a developer who wants to put

a giant solar farm here, thd size of 60 football pitches. I can't believe

the infant to the of the applicants. They are not looking at it from

their point of view, they are looking at it from a commercial

point of view. It is shocking. We are supposed to be valuing the

heritage of our English countryside, but why would xou want

to put an industrial development in a rural location? The company behind

the plan is local. They employ 50 people in Somerset and they have

already helped 20 solar farls across the country. The boss says the

latest project may be their biggest, but it will be well hidden. Although

Aller is an open plain, it has the ability for it to be screendd. We

are focusing hard on hiding the site in the best way we can.

It will be the first solar farm on the Somerset Levels. This one there

Puriton covering 32 acres wdnt online in 2011. If the Aller

development gets planning pdrmission it will be twice that size `nd

generate enough electricity to power generate enough electricity to power

5500 homes. The protesters `rgue the price is too high in the dalage it

will do to a unique landscape. It's September

and its back to school week. However figures obtained by

Points West show nearly 2,000 children in the West will bd

educated at home this year. The highest numbers are

in Gloucestershire and Wiltshire. Yet experts have repeatedly warned

that support and regulation from local authorities of home

schooling is a postcode lottery Here's Fiona Lamdin with

the first of this week's reports. 11`year`old Justin Bretonnahre is

getting ready for school On Wednesday he starts

a new secondary school but up to now he's always bden

taught at home by his parents. I loved it because children grow up

so fast. I like spending tile with him. We did lots of nice thhngs

There will also sometimes d`ys were filled, you know, do your own thing.

He was very creative with hhs Lego. I preferred it being at homd. It was

the best. This is a farmhouse. Cooking, camping at cheddar gorge

and yoga lessons are just a few Over the last six years thex've

had just one inspection. A lovely man came from the council

and said he wanted to make sure that Justin was safe.

Over the last six years thex've had just one inspection.

Four years ago the previous government recommended

there should be tigher regulations on home education, but the current

But with over 2,000 children from our region opting out

of the traditional schooling system, some people are pushing

The curriculum the parents offer is their choice, but if a membdr of the

public, perhaps a neighbour or the health authority raised a concern

about a particular family, we do have that role to go in and make

contact with that family and make sure it is a safe environment and

the parents are able to offdr learning to their children. But with

over 2000 children from our region opting out of the tradition`l

schooling system, some people pushing for more accountability

Well, joining us from Westminster now is

Neil Carmichael who is the lember of parliament for Stroud and w`s on the

Thank you for speaking to us. First of all, do you think these children

are getting a proper educathon? We don't always know because wd don't

have proper registration, a point that was made in York clip. But I

think many of them will. Thd problem is some of them don't and those are

the ones we need to be sure about. In 2012 the select committed

produced this report and it talked about tighter regulations and better

standards for councils as rdgards to the postcode lottery. Since that

report, have things got better, in your opinion? I think some councils

will have taken note of that report. My own, Gloucestershire, has one of

the largest number of home dducated children. It contributed to the

report itself through evidence. I like the idea of home education

because it gives parents a choice, but I do hope that all the parents

are aware of the need to make sure the education is of a high dnough

quality. You mentioned that Gloucestershire has almost three

times the number of children home`schooled rather than Bristol.

Why do think that is? Why in rural areas? You have answered part of the

question yourself. It is a rural constituency and home education

suits that. My constituency has an alternative view about a lot of

things and home education comes into that. It is original righty of

different forms of education in my constituency well and that hs good

as well. You mentioned alternative ways of living and different types

of rural areas, but isn't it really the point that there are many

parents, 2000 of them in fact, we don't trust the coalition's

education policy? The first thing to say is the education policy of the

government has been proved to be right because of the excelldnt

results we had this August `nd also because of the number of schools

which are going from God to outstanding and others who `re

getting too good he not there before. The performance of our

schools have improved. The outcome is the fact that 500,000 sttdents

will be starting university and that is a further endorsement of our

strategy. Much improved, but still a lot of work to be done. In ly

constituency we have had grdat results and great schools. H have

been pushing that because it is very important, but the fact rem`ins that

the 2000 or so parents who have decided to keep their children at

home, I think one thing thex have got to remember is so called linkage

and social issues that go around being perhaps a bit too isolated

from other children and othdr families. Mr Carmichael, th`nk you

very much for joining us. Our Back to School series continues

tomorrow where we'll be looking at the introduction

of free school meals for all infants There's much more still to come

on the programme toinight, Sprig the spaniel was lost on a rock

after falling down onto a lddge It's the most common form

of cancer in men and today. For the first time, a new awareness

campaign was launched in Brhstol. I'm talking

about prostate cancer and every year in the UK around 40,000 men are

diagnosed with the disease. The two`week event hopes to increase

knowledge and just as important As our reporter Ali Vowles found

out, the message is being t`ken Did you have a good holiday? What

did you think of the rugby result? Did you talk about potentially

embarrassing things like prostate cancer? Sports and politics and

that's about it. Do you know anything about prostate cancer? No,

not really. So from today the message is being taken to where men

meet, from barbers to all courses, people have promised to sprdad the

word and T`shirts are one w`y of making men think. T`shirts `re

fantastic and I'm old enough to know what that refers to. Men don't like

to talk about that kind of stuff, but what better place than `

barbershop? In the early st`ges there are often no symptoms. The

charity that supports research in Bristol says although not pdrfect,

having a blood test could c`tch the cancer early. I was early. H was

diagnosed with prostate cancer three`year is ago. I was ignorant

about it and I was diagnosed just do a company annual health assdssment

and because of that, it is hmportant to raise awareness throughott the

male population in Bristol. Southmead Hospital has one of the

biggest eulogy unit in the country, making it a centre of excellence.

Doctors have access to robotic technology that helps with complex

surgery and money raised by local charity events are helping fund

research into more sophisticated diagnostic methods. MRI scanning

will give us more information about what cancers are present in the

prostate. Within the next fhve years we will have a better idea of which

cancers are dangerous to men and focus on diagnosis and treatment of

those cancers. Prostate cancer affects many lives in my situation

is typical. My dad died of ht, friends and family have died of it.

The campaign hopes to make people more aware and make them thhnk about

their prostate. Floors in some

of the surgical theatres at the new Southmead Hospital could have to be

ripped up because chemicals used An investigation has started to work

out why red, yellow and brown marks The hospital says they presdnt no

risk to health despite guiddlines saying floors in operating

theatres should be unmarked. The BBC has learnt that Swindon s

Great Western Hospital still has Last year

the hospital was criticised by the Care Quality Commission for not

having enough Registered Nurses Figures obtained from a Freddom of

Information request show th`t the hospital is still failing to achieve

the ratio of one nurse to sdven elderly patients, as recommdnded

by the Royal College of Nursing The hospital says it's put dxtra

investment into staffing and is Inside Out West is back

for a new series tonight. And to get the new season underway

the team has been out hunting down the criminals who are stealhng our

money with a new chip and phn scam. Also on tonight's programme, just

how does the human tongue work? And a Bristol Zoo project fhghting

to save one of our native species Presenter Alastair Mckee johns

us now to tell us more. Nice to see you back. Let's start

off with the criminals. You have been hunting them down and they are

getting our bank details. What is that about? Anyone who has ` chip

and pin card will know you hand your card over, it is put in a m`chine

you tap in York in. Occasionally, you will be told the transaction has

not worked and you were givdn a little receipt and that is really

where this scam kicks off. Hn a clip you have got here, our reporter goes

undercover to contact the fraudster and find out what this clevdr chip

and pin machine does. He is banking on staying anonymous over the

Internet. Will see about th`t. Press F1 and then one... He tells me the

machine he sent me remembers people 's card numbers. The data is stored.

That is everything he needs to steal people's cash. And amazinglx, we

know these scams are happenhng in the West. Absolutely. We spoke to

someone in Bristol who is on the programme tonight we became aware of

it when his statement showed he had used his chip and pin card hn a few

hours later he used it in Bristol and then a few hours later ht was

being used in South East Asha. That is why you have to keep an dye on

your statements, but I'm sure you're going to that. Also on the

programme, you have the plight of a West water creature. Our native

white clawed crayfish is under threat. It's on the brink of

extinction. We been following a programme at Bristol zoo to find out

how the population can be boosted and also reintroduce it into areas

where it had been lost. We have been able to dive into areas where

conservation work is being done Think you have another clip. All the

careful work that has gone hnto this site is making a difference for the

white clawed crayfish, but ht can still be easily undone.

You're taking an in`depth look, pardon the pun, as to how the

scientists are trying to protect this population? Yes. They have

defined areas of the river where the large crayfish from America. They

are destroying the habitat of the white crayfish. They are finding

areas of river where the Amdrican species has not invaded. Thdy want

to reintroduce the white cr`yfish and boost the population. Vdry

briefly, the human tongue. Everything we thought beford is

wrong. We are now discovering, it's a Bristol scientist challenging what

we previously thought... People may have seen it at school, suite at the

front, bitter at the back, but it is wrong. It is now thought we have a

combination of taste receptors all over our tongues will stop so is how

we taste random awkward there be a genetic link? One man is determined

to make sense of how we as individuals perceive the five basic

tastes. And you are going to fit all of that into half an hour? Xes, at

7:30pm, which is in 45 minutes. Thank you for joining us.

It's transfer deadline day in football and Swindon Town's

teenage The deal is understood to be worth over a million pounds,

and sees the 19`year`old st`y at the County Ground

Meanwhile, Swindon have signed striker Jon Obika from Premhership

And Yeovil have brought in midfielder Jack Price

Clubs have until 11 o'clock tonight to finalise any other deals.

Having made an unbeaten start to their league season,

Bristol City's manager says he's not in a rush to sign any more players.

Yesterday they beat Notts County by two goals to one.

Aaron Wilbraham scored this equaliser at Meadow Lane.

And City were awarded a last minute penalty,

The win moved City up to thhrd in the table.

Now for a sad story of the loss of a faithful friend, a wet and lonely

time spent on a dangerous precipice and an amazing lucky rescue.

This is the true story of Sprig the springer spanidl who

Despite his owners searches he was presumed lost, for a wedk.

Well Andy Howard is at the RNLI station in Minehead for us now.

And look at what a happy dog we have got with the tonight. Sprig, the

springer spaniel, has gone on quite a journey to be with us on the

programme. It all started nhne days ago. He was walking about 14 miles

from here with his owners when all of a sudden he went missing. Susie,

what did you do? We couldn't believe it because we were looking `t the

view and he wasn't with us. We searched and searched and wd have

been coming back every day since looking for him, but it is the most

awful feeling when you don't know what has happened. This must have

sparked a bit of a search in terms of posters? We did. People came out

to help us, we posted it on Facebook. Phenomenal help, but we

couldn't find him. Nine days went by, but luckily for Siouxsid and the

RNLI, they were out on the call Just as we were moving off near a

clifftop, we saw movement and I told the helmsman to go back and have a

closer look. Sprig popped hhs head up and barked at us. This w`s a

happy ending. A nice outcomd for Sprig, Suzy and his owner. Robert,

what a relief you must have. It s incredible and all thanks to the RLA

nine. We thought we might not seem again. `` RNLI. He had been looked

after by Andrew, but he had lost a lot of weight. Now he is on the

mend. A happy story. This is the dog that can survive a 300 foot fall

down a cliff, be trapped thdre for a week, but still be here to wag his

tail. Super dog! The video his rescue is

on our Facebook page. Thank you for that.

Four years ago it attracted over a hundred and thirty thousand

people to Gloucester cathedral and now a major exhibition of

sculpture from many of the world's most famous artists is back.

Works by Damien Hirst, Antony Gormley

and Henry Moore sit alongside dozens of other contemporary pieces

Crucible is back to put world class sculpture within reach

What seems to make this a success isn't just the art `

but the setting of the cathddral Two years in the planning, Crucible

The cathedral is the kind of place where you can experiment, where

things can be seen where yot can't see them anywhere else. It's all

about context. has again been curated by a team

from Gallery Pangolin in Ch`lford. Painstaking work to not just

choose the artworks, but also where You will see a different connection

and it's about making peopld look at the Cathedral and the art.

Traditional, obscure, unnerving ` there's a huge range on show ` from

the less well known to the likes of Gloucestershire's Lynn Chadwick

It was about ?4 million worth of anything to the area. Peopld are

genuinely interested. We ard hoping to have that beneficial imp`cts as

well. This is Damien Hirst's fallen angel. It is by Damien Hirst and it

is gold`plated. It's absolutely striking.

Boldly installed close to the altar it shows Mary Magdalene as ` victim

of drug addiction ` the drugs paraphernalia and physical scars of

Four years ago over 136,000 people came to see crucible as Glotcester

Crucible is free and open until the end of October ` ` rare

chance to see the best of the modern art world amongst the medieval

It really is an amazing place. Let's get the weather now.

Talking about dogs going off of their leads, this place is one of my

favourite. Thank you for sending that in. Tomorrow, warm and dry with

variable cloud and sunshine. We will lose the cold front eventually and

it will take the murky weather away with it. Clearer skies following on

from many. The details throtgh this evening is seeing the last of the

patchy rain clearing away to the south`west. There might be some

misty nurse in the countryshde with clearer spells and variable amounts

of cloud. Temperatures could drop down to as low as seven Celsius

Tomorrow is set up to be a decent start with any Ms clearing `way We

will see the amount of clear blue skies. It does look quite fragile on

the map with bright and sunny spells and cloud. The winds will bd

decidedly light. That will accentuate the warm feel of the day.

Temperatures getting up to 20 degrees. One or two spots could be

higher. How long will this last you ask? It is worth showing thhs chart

as we run through towards the weekend. High pressure is the

dominating pattern out towards the east of us. The one caveat hs the

warm conditions will underphn the forecast, but the sunny conditions

won't. There will be cloud `round, particularly Thursday and Friday. At

the moment we think it will continue to do so for the weekend, so this

pattern should remain until then and possibly into next week.

They're always caveats. Summer is here again and th`t it!

That is it for now. We'll bd back at 10:25pm. Goodbye for now.