26/03/2012 BBC Wales Today

Welcome to Wales Today. Our top story:

Grass fires burning on our hillsides prompt hundreds of calls

to the emergency services. Tonight a warning - the problem could get

worse. Our other headlines tonight:

Newport is to get a multi-million pound make over with the promise of

a thousand jobs. Will it turn the tide for the city's shops? Lots of

businesses have left, shops have closed and they have not been

reopened. The nightmare of parking for

disabled drivers - now a crackdown on fake permits.

In tonight's sport - It's one of the world's oldest rugby clubs, but

Neath faces being wound up if it doesn't pay its tax bills

After two grand slams with Wales, it's understood Warren Gatland will

coach the British and Irish Lions in Australia.

And the author told that she was losing her sight learnt braille to

Good evening. Fire services across the country have been dealing with

hundreds of calls with grass fires burning in north, mid and South

Wales. Emergency services believe most of them are started

deliberately. But there's a warning from farmers - the situation could

get worse because hillsides are overgrown and pose more of a fire

risk. Our Environment correspondent Iolo Ap Dafydd is at a farm near

Abergavenny. Good evening. As you can see behind

me, this hillside, around 25 HET tears were burnt yesterday. 40

firefighters in a nine hour incident just to put up the fire on

this steep hillside behind me. The concern is we are approaching a

time when there are more grass fires. The authorities are

concerned we are about to see more of them during the next few weeks.

North Wales Fire and rescue staff on a public awareness campaign at a

livestock market. As well as selling animals, many farmers

usually clear land during the spring by burning. They are allowed

to do so up until March 31st. fires have been a problem for the

service across the country. We are coming to the farmers' markets as

part of hour called before you burn campaign. Some farmers fear that

many Welsh upland areas could be threatened by large fires. This

farmer has land within Snowdonia's National Park. He blames an

increase in environmental protection schemes. He has had to

reduce the number of sheep grazing on these hills and that leads to a

managed Comms of grass. We are only allowed 91 sheet at the moment. --

sheep. If someone lit this up, it would be a disaster. We have had a

dry spring for 50 years and there are changes in how the land is now

managed. It is definitely a priority to teach people how

important it is not to throw cigarette so or have small fires

and barbecues in these areas because it is very, very important

that they do not start these fires. All three were Fire Services

Minister asking farmers to be vigilant, especially if they like

controlled fires. There is a plea for those visiting the countryside

to be responsible. Us so many grass fires in the last couple of years,

there are real concerns that scenes like these from last year could be

repeated. Let us get the latest and talk

about this with the South West Fire Service. Are we are approaching a

dangerous season of grass fires? Easter is traditionally a difficult

period because we are prone to grass fires. One now? Is it because

we have had this dry weather? Of these fires -- are these fire

started deliberately? Some of them are and it is causing us a lot of

problems. We did go into communities and asked about the

problems and what they believe the issues to be. What we found

surprised us. Lots of different people, especially young people did

not see it as a major issue. But is the deterrent? How do you try and

stop it? Do you prosecute people? Prevention is the best option for

us. We do a lot of work in the community is badly effective. We

have a project that is running at the moment a report on diversionary

activities for young people. They can come to the fire station and we

will teach them different activities. Another aspect is the

enforcement. Of course, this is a problem for us. We have high-

visibility patrols with Fire Service and police officers going

into the affected areas. We are collecting evidence as well, so if

we find people that are setting the crossfire as, we will prosecute

them. It is criminal damage. That is a �5,000 fine or two years in

prison and that is if someone doesn't get killed in the process.

Let us see if the fire service and police can bring about prosecutions

if these grass fires happened later this year. With this dry weather

and the lack of rainfall, it could be a dangerous time.

Newport City Centre is getting a multi-million pound facelift. Work

is due to begin next Spring after plans for a new development in the

city centre were given the go ahead. Friars Walk will include new shops,

restaurants and a cinema. The council hopes the investment will

woo shoppers back from out of town retails parks, but will it do the

trick? Newport was thrown into the global

spotlight when it hosted one of the world's leading sporting events -

the 2010 Ryder Cup. But the question was did it have a city to

match? There has been development. The new university building and

train station. But the initial plan to develop the shopping streets in

time for the Ryder Cup was scrapped in 2009 because the developer

pulled out. It has left the city centre with boarded-up shops and

discount stores. Some of one man -- some well-known high-street brands

have moved out to retail parks. But at the end of last year plans were

submitted for a new scheme and today the council approved a plan

that will include four space for shops and a cinema complex. It is

about time. It just needs more shops to bring people in. This is

fantastic news. It will bring more retailers back into the city centre.

We have already got the car parking. It will bring restaurants, the

Cinema, and you set of people into the city centre. It will also

stimulate smaller businesses. Newport scheme is just one of four

City Centre project that will go across the UK. It is expected to

create 1,400 jobs. There will also be a large department store,

believe -- believed to be Debenhams. The landscape of Newport has not

been very good and the last couple of years. This could just turn the

corner on that and potentially bring in some newer retailers as

well. It is hoped this new retail space will attract back the shops

that deserted Newport City Centre and send out the message that

Newport is once again open for business.

The future is uncertain for 21 Game shops and 12 Gamestation stores

employing 187 staff across Wales after the Game Group went into

administration. Across the UK almost half the branches will close

next week, with the loss of more than 2,000 jobs. The administrators

say closures will place the company in a stronger position as they look

for a buyer for the business. A man from Penarth has been jailed

for 18 months for impersonating a barrister in court. David Evans

dressed in a wig and robe at Plymouth Crown Court and

represented someone he met in prison. The 57-year-old, who works

as an entertainer, was eventually found out because of discrepancies

in his clothing and what the judge called a series of hopelessly wrong

legal submissions. He has previous convictions for a similar offence.

The MP for Newport West Paul Flynn has described allegations that

potential Conservative donors could buy access to the Prime Minister,

as an example of new "government sleaze". He was responding to

claims made by the former Tory Party treasurer Peter Cruddas

secretly filmed by a Sunday newspaper. Mr Flynn, a member of

the Commons' Political and Constitutional Reform Committee,

wants a police investigation. is new Tories, new sleaze. One of

the allegations could be interpreted as someone tried to

incite a donor from abroad to give money. That is a crime. If that is

proved to be true, an inquiry should be conducted by the police.

Today, the Prime Minister said there will be a register of all

meetings between ministers and those giving money to be

Conservative Party. A man accused of murdering a 66-

year-old woman to pay for his wedding has denied killing her.

Swansea Crown Court has heard how Angelika Dries-Jenkins was tortured

until she gave up her bank card PIN, then murdered in her own home. John

Mason the son of her next door neighbour repeadedly denied have

anything to do with the murder. He has listened to the evidence

against him and today 55-year-old John Mason stepped into the witness

box to tell the court he is innocent. He is accused of killing

66-year-old Angelika Dries-Jenkins at her home last June. The

prosecution said the motive was robbery. She was badly beaten, made

to reveal her PIN number and after her death, �1,000 was taken from

her bank account. Earlier in the trial the prosecution said that

John Mason's DNA was on Mrs Dries- Jenkins's car keys. Her blood was

found on that car door and DNA from both of them were found on a jumper

he threw in a dustbin. But today John Mason told the jury that two

weeks before the murder Mrs Dries- Jenkins it had invited him into her

home. She wanted to show him a photograph and when she could not

find it, conversation turned to her car. She had given him her keys and

he sat inside. He said the jumper found by the police in the dustbin

was not his. He told the court that on the morning of the murder he had

been watering flowers in his mother's green house next door. He

had left his jumper there before taking the bus back home. When he

was shown images of a person driving Mrs Dries-Jenkins's car, he

said it is not him. He denies murder and the case continues. Much

more to come before 7 o'clock, including a valuable point for

Cardiff City. And Porthmadog was Britain's odd spot on Saturday, but

how long will the sunshine last? - New blue badges are being

introduced to crack down on drivers who abuse the disabled parking

system. The badges will have security features that's hoped will

make them harder to forge. There are warnings that currently people

make fake cards and sell them on. There was plenty of parking for

those out in the sunshine in Llandudno today, only the odd

driver pulling up where they shouldn't in a disabled bay. But

motorists here admit they know of people who do cheat the system For

Paul Davies from Bargoed, it's a rare event to drive up to a

disabled space and park straight away.

I've got friends who have got disabled badges and they are not

physically disabled but they've got allergies.

There are loads of people who park their who have young babies and

obviously young people. They borrowed grand mal's badge.

He says everyday the spaces are taken up by people who aren't

disabled and he and his wife face a constant battle.

If we can't find a disabled parking space, we've actually had to pull

up in the middle of the street. I have had to get the ramp out and we

usually have to hold up the traffic. Once I'm out, my wife has then got

to try and Park into a narrow car- parking space.

Anyone parking without one of these will face a one thousand pound fine.

In Wales there are currently 230,000 blue badge holders. The new

badges will be phased in over the next three years and they will be

free for those who are eligible. They will be electronically printed

and will be harder to copy and police or car-parking attendance

will be able to check the information on the spot. In England

and Scotland councils can charge up to �10 and �20 respectively for

supplying them. Anyone caught parking without a Blue badge will

face a �1,000 fine. Fraud is a big problem with the

scheme. We know that people buy the cards in the pub and from friends

and so on. This is about serving people better.

difference to him in the future but in the meantime he says he

continues to face a daily struggle just to park.

The Archbishop of Canterbury has said there's a problem of people

depending on the welfare state. Dr Rowan Williams said it was wrong to

think of "centralised state provision as the solution to

everything". He was delivering a speech at the National Assembly

after spending four days in Wales. A new renal unit in Powys will cut

journey times for dialysis patients by up to an hour. The unit at

Llandrindod Wells Memorial Hospital will be open six days a week. In

the past some patients have had to travel to Hereford and Shrewsbury

for treatment. Good evening. It's one of the

oldest rugby clubs in the world but there's worrying news for Neath

rugby fans tonight. It's emerged the club has been given until May

to pay its tax debts or face being wound up. Our sports reporter

Ashleigh Crowter is in the newsroom. Ash, what more do we know?

Neath rugby club is in the last- chance saloon as far as debt is

concerned. Today in the High Court they were told they have until May

21st to settle their debt with the taxman or face being wound up. The

amount of debt hasn't been disclosed and nobody from the club

was available for comment. The chairman and director is abroad at

the moment. He is also director of any football club who play in the

Welsh Premier League. They are also facing a winding-up order in May.

The Football chief Executive says their financial problems have now

been sorted out and they breached an agreement with Barclay's Bank

which means their tax bill has now been cleared and they are now

focusing on matters on the field and trying to qualify next season.

The rugby club, I understand that the owner was going to step down as

chairman very soon. He has been holding discussions with various

parties about trying to put the club on a more financial -- more

solid financial footing. Those discussions will be given more

urgency. This is a club with a long and

proud tradition? One of the oldest clubs in Wales

and one of the most famous. They have had a wonderful history. Welsh

champions countless times and they have also produced many of the

game's great players. Jonathan Davies and Shane Williams amongst

them. There is no back -- there is no doubt that they are all one of

the best brands of Welsh rugby so many rugby fans this evening will

be anxious about the current predicament and hoping the debt can

be settled so they can move on. After leading Wales to a second

Grand Slam, it's understood Warren Gatland has been offered the job to

coach the British and Irish Lions next year. It's thought the New

Zealander was interviewed for the job last week, but a formal

announcement on the management team for next year's tour to Australia

isn't expected for a few weeks. Former Lions manager and Wales

coach Clive Rowlands says Wales won't suffer from his absence.

I think Wales, over the last few years, and Warren Gatland himself,

has done reasonably well here. He has brought young Welsh coaches on

and certainly, a man and a strong character like Shaun Edwards, he is

something special as well. If we lost him as well, I'd be a little

bit concerned because the one thing that Wales is quite immense in his

its defence and a lot of that, obviously, will go with Shaun

Edwards. The Olympic Torch comes to Wales on

the 25th May and its six day stay here will be heavily policed. Today

officers from all four Welsh forces had a practice run. A convoy of 22

vehicles, 12 police motorcyclists and a helicopter followed part of

the actual route the torch will take. The exercise was to test

communications. Welsh police will provide back up for a Metropolitan

Police Team, who will travel with the torch for its entire journey.

The end of the football season is fast approaching, and despite no

wins for Cardiff City and Wrexham this weekend, they're both still in

the hunt for promotion. Swansea City are currently sitting pretty

mid table of the Premier League, but after losing at home will be

keen to bounce back against It's been a fortress for Swansea

City over recent months but the Liberty Stadium creak a bit this

weekend. Two goals for Everton saw the Swans suffered their third home

defeat of the season. The result takes them down to 10th in the

table with eight games left to play. For as it was a day of learning.

They have an experienced coach and we are playing against some very

experienced players. We have been excellent this season and we

weren't at the top of our game. Cardiff City are two of the play-

off places but on equal points with yesterday's opponent, Birmingham.

The captain rescued the 0.4 the Bluebirds, still hot on the heels

of their promotion rivals. -- rescued the point.

A point away to a promotion rival is a good point. The way we played

today and we dominated the game, we were certainly hoping to come out

with three. Wrexham's automatic promotion hopes

dealt a blow as Forest Green scored an injury-time winner. Their first

home loss since September. A 2-0 defeat to Newport County leaves

them a point clear of the relegation zone. A nail-biting

finish ahead of us. A 90-year-old author from the Cynon

Valley has learnt braille after being told she'd lose her sight 12

years ago. Nansi Selwood, who's written books and articles, says it

took her four years to learn to read again but it's filled a gap in

We are always having this trouble. I tend to guess, you see.

Even after 12 years of lessons, Nansi Selwood is the first to admit

braille's not always easy. She can only see shapes, and make out light

and darkness. But doesn't want her sight loss to stop her indulging in

one of her favourite activities. I've been writing novels,

historical novels and articles, for a long time. So not only reading

but writing, more importantly. So I was using both.

The 90-year-old is an author, historian and former teacher. When

she was told she'd lose her sight, her love of reading drove her to

ask for help. The council arranged for visits from a braille tutor. It

was four years before she could read again.

It's 12 years since I started to learn and I have read a lot of

books for pleasure. It's getting more difficult but that is because

I'm getting older and I get more tired.

I've never worked with anybody who started learning in their eighties.

It's quite a remarkable achievement. It takes a lot of patience and

practice and determination. And with a little bit of extra help,

Nansi's also been able to stay in the Cynon Valley farmhouse that

she's called home for more than 70 years.

They are dealing with deaf people and blind people all the time. They

know the difficulties. The little everyday difficulties in living and

that is where they are so helpful. But for the author it's being able

to read that gives her more pleasure than anything else, even

I'm sure you soaked up the sunshine this weekend, Black rock beach at

Porthmadog was popular again today as people headed there to soak up

the rays. In fact they recorded their highest temperature in March

since 1965 on Saturday - just over 22 degrees Celsius. 12 degrees

above the average temperature. So will this fine weather continue?

Derek is enjoying the early evening sunshine for us tonight. Derek.

I would keep the sun glasses handy. Plenty more sunshine to come.

The River Taff is quite low. Certainly lower than it should be

for this time of year, and it's not surprising, in February we only had

half the monthly rainfall and March has been even drier. In fact this

March could be the driest in Wales for over 50 years! So some people

wouldn't mind a drop of rain but there's no sign of any this week.

The fine weather is set to continue but later in the week, it will

start to turn cooler and a bit cloudier. Now Porthmadog was the

hot spot in Wales again today. 21 Celsius. It was warmer than

Barcelona. Mind you the nights are chilly. In fact in Bala the

temperature last night fell to minus one with a frost! Tonight dry

and with a clear sky look out for Jupiter and Venus next to the moon

in the western sky. It will also turn chilly again. Temperatures

falling sharply. In parts of mid Wales, Powys and the border another

ground frost. Some mist in the Marches by dawn. Tomorrow's chart

shows high pressure sitting on top of Britain. That's the reason for

the dry and settled weather. So tomorrow it's more of the same.

Another beautiful day. Any morning mist will soon disappear with

sunshine from dawn until dusk. After a chilly start it will turn

out warm again. Top temperatures 17 to 20 with light winds. Some coasts

cooler with sea breezes. In Conwy tomorrow, dry and sunny.

Temperatures in Betws y Coed rising to 19 Celsius. A good day for

climbing Moel Siabod. As for the outlook, dry with plenty more

sunshine. Chilly nights and warm afternoons. Later in the week,

though, turning cooler and cloudier. Temperatures next weekend much

lower. The odd spot of rain on Saturday, some frost as well. By

the way, Oaklands Primary School are having a Teddy Bears' Picnic at

Ynys Angharad Park in Pontypridd tomorrow. Have fun and don't forget

the suncream! So more marvelous March weather

this week. Cooler and cloudier by the weekend but we'll have until

next month for a few April showers to help top up the rivers. Jamie,

back to you. David Cameron has revealed some of

the Conservative Party's biggest donors have been invited to Number

10. It follows secret filming in which the treasurers said that

donations would buy access to the Prime Minister. An internal party

inquiry has been lodged but Labour says that not enough.

X-Ray's on in half an hour. Here's Lucy and Rhodri with a preview.

The dog who lost his ear after a visit to a grooming salon.

We meet the Welsh women who lost hundreds of pounds after signing up

to a free internet trial. And we get a hostile reception when

we try to deliver a complaint to Peugeot.

We'll have an update for you here at 8:00pm and I'll be back after