:00:02. > :00:12.Gale force winds and heavy rain batter the country - leaving a
:00:12. > :00:17.
:00:17. > :00:22.trail of disruption in its wake. Llanberis, the High Street is cut-
:00:22. > :00:26.off. Homes, businesses and schools have all been affected. Roads
:00:26. > :00:36.became lakes - this was the A55 - North Wales's main road at a
:00:36. > :00:42.
:00:42. > :00:49.Our other headlines tonight, the NHS in Wales is likely to be �70
:00:49. > :00:53.million in the red at the end of this financial year.
:00:53. > :00:58.Trying times for George North. Injured in training. He's out for
:00:58. > :01:01.Wales New Zealand on Saturday. And proof, if it were needed, that
:01:01. > :01:10.where there's muck there's brass. The local tip could have the answer
:01:10. > :01:14.Good evening. Homes flooded, some of our main roads at a standstill,
:01:14. > :01:19.and rescue services flat out across the country. Torrential rain and
:01:19. > :01:22.storm force winds have wreaked havoc throughout Wales. Tonight the
:01:22. > :01:26.Welsh Government has warned people not to travel unless it's
:01:26. > :01:29.absolutely necessary. These are the latest pictures we've just had in
:01:29. > :01:35.from the village of Rhostryfan, near Caernarfon, there were reports
:01:35. > :01:39.during the afternoon that the village was cut off for a while.
:01:39. > :01:43.And in Llanberis, roads were cut off for a while. Rescue services
:01:43. > :01:46.went to a school in the town to help children get home. Our
:01:46. > :01:55.reporter, Matthew Richards, is there for us tonight. What's the
:01:55. > :01:59.latest there? The worst seems to be over for
:01:59. > :02:06.Norbert it just has started raining again. I am stuck on the pavement
:02:06. > :02:16.in deep High Street. You can see how deep the water is. The clean-up
:02:16. > :02:17.
:02:17. > :02:23.operation is under way. Fast- flowing water brought debris down
:02:23. > :02:33.to the street. It is difficult to get to this straight from one side
:02:33. > :02:36.
:02:37. > :02:42.The stranded. This driver one of many caught out by it rising water
:02:42. > :02:48.levels today. There was misery for motorists. This was the scene this
:02:48. > :02:52.afternoon. The road closed in both directions -- directions.
:02:52. > :03:02.Conditions were treacherous on Anglesey after hours of rain fell
:03:02. > :03:02.
:03:02. > :03:07.on saturated ground. It flu -- it - - this was the picture near
:03:07. > :03:14.Caernarfon. It was cut off by the flood water. This car alongside on
:03:14. > :03:18.Anglesey was flooded by a nearby river. -- caravan site. I had a
:03:18. > :03:24.phone call from my mother saying she had had a phone call saying the
:03:24. > :03:29.caravan was swimming. I have not seen at this height in 10 years.
:03:29. > :03:33.Residents were preparing for the worse. I have been bailing out
:03:33. > :03:39.water from the back door. I woke up this morning and let the dog out
:03:39. > :03:46.and she jumped out of the back door into four inches of water. Water
:03:46. > :03:54.came close were these residents. is as bad as I have seen for many
:03:54. > :04:01.years. It has been like this 20 years ago, perhaps. But not as bad
:04:01. > :04:11.as this since then. These thunderous wings were flown by the
:04:11. > :04:13.
:04:13. > :04:17.Snowdon Mountain Railway Staff. -- filmed. There was nothing wonderful
:04:17. > :04:21.about the Winter Wonderland in Cardiff. It was meant to open today.
:04:21. > :04:25.It has been postponed. Conditions are meant to improve tonight. But
:04:25. > :04:30.for many, winter is coming in with a bang.
:04:30. > :04:40.The clean-up operation is in burnt -- is under way in earnest in
:04:40. > :04:43.Llanberis. You have spent a lot of time
:04:43. > :04:51.sweeping the water out. Tell us what it was like. It happened so
:04:51. > :04:56.quickly. One minute, there was flooding on either side of the road.
:04:56. > :05:03.Before I could get everything off the floor, the shop was just
:05:03. > :05:10.filling up and then at the worst point, it was up to the top of that
:05:11. > :05:18.no smoking sign. Inside, luckily it did not get much
:05:18. > :05:25.further than the skirting boards. I think I have been lucky. I feel
:05:25. > :05:30.sorry for people with carpets and things. Have you seen this before?
:05:30. > :05:40.Never. I have been in the village seven years. Apparently, it has
:05:40. > :05:40.
:05:40. > :05:50.never been as bad. I did not think it was possible really. I think a
:05:50. > :05:53.
:05:53. > :05:59.lot of it has got to do with trains. I am not sure. -- drains. I have
:05:59. > :06:09.got to be open again as soon as possible. We were led to get back
:06:09. > :06:14.to it. That is the picture in Llanberis was top -- Llanberis.
:06:14. > :06:20.Derek's here. A fast moving picture this afternoon?
:06:20. > :06:23.Yes, it was brought by a cold front. We have the radar pictures. The
:06:23. > :06:28.rain started off over the Irish Sea and moved his weight gradually
:06:28. > :06:34.across Wales. Some torrential heavy downpours, as you can see by the
:06:34. > :06:44.bright colours. 50 mm of rain has fallen in some places. Probably
:06:44. > :06:46.
:06:46. > :06:50.more than that on the mountains Thankfully, the worst of the wind
:06:50. > :06:55.and rain is moving away from Wales. But of course there is a lot of
:06:55. > :07:04.water on the ground. Rivers remain swollen. There are two flood
:07:04. > :07:08.warnings in force. And 16 flood We will get a full forecast later
:07:08. > :07:11.in the programme. The NHS in Wales is likely to be
:07:11. > :07:14.�70 million in the red at the end of this financial year. That's
:07:14. > :07:17.according to the Wales Audit Office, which says most Health Boards will
:07:18. > :07:22.not be able to break even on their current budgets, despite a legal
:07:22. > :07:25.requirement to do so. It comes days after the chief executive of the
:07:25. > :07:27.health service in Wales said he was confident that local health boards
:07:27. > :07:29.would balance their books. Here's our health correspondent, Owain
:07:29. > :07:34.Clarke. Nobody doubts running the health service is an expensive
:07:34. > :07:39.business. A new modern hospital like this one costs �172 million.
:07:39. > :07:45.The average annual salary of a GP in Wales is about �80,000. Each GP
:07:45. > :07:51.appointment costs �25. The price of building a start of the eight --
:07:51. > :07:53.state-of-the-art cancer centre, �16 million. But it is not at all about
:07:53. > :08:03.equipment and pay. There is a nationwide shortage of doctors.
:08:03. > :08:08.
:08:08. > :08:10.Cost -- and temporary staff cost The concerns about losing the X-Ray
:08:10. > :08:18.services here, and the minor injuries unit, that is important to
:08:18. > :08:24.the town, and also the major concern on X-rays is that a lot of
:08:24. > :08:28.elderly people cannot travel a long distance. All of these pressures
:08:28. > :08:32.are happening at a time when the NHS is trying to find big savings.
:08:32. > :08:39.The analysis by the Auditor-General for Wales shows that at the end of
:08:39. > :08:43.September, halfway through the financial year, the combined
:08:43. > :08:49.deficit was �70 million. If significant savings were made, it
:08:49. > :08:53.is estimated that could be cut to �46 million. But the report says
:08:53. > :08:56.the deficit will more than likely remain at around �70 million.
:08:56. > :09:03.However if things go badly, the report says that the overspend
:09:03. > :09:08.could potentially reach �131 million. Even though that figure is
:09:08. > :09:15.only about 2% of the total annual health budget, the Conservatives
:09:15. > :09:18.insist that the NHS is in dire financial straits. If they how �130
:09:19. > :09:24.million to find between now on the end of the financial year, that is
:09:24. > :09:30.an impossible mountain for the NHS to be able to climb. They will have
:09:31. > :09:36.to either have a huge injection of cash or some radical service
:09:36. > :09:41.changed. Axing services. Nobody shares that assessment. A few days
:09:41. > :09:45.ago when I spoke to the boss of the NHS in Wales, he said he was
:09:45. > :09:50.increasingly confident that the NHS will hit its financial targets by
:09:50. > :09:54.next April. There is increasing confident they will hit their
:09:54. > :10:00.break-even target and of course they will do so without in any
:10:00. > :10:03.sense compromising on the quality of care. They are now working on
:10:03. > :10:07.implementing plans on strengthening their plans to make sure they come
:10:07. > :10:11.to the end of the year in the right position. The Welsh government says
:10:11. > :10:15.today it welcomes the fact that the NHS overall is in better shape than
:10:15. > :10:21.it was this time last year. But last year extra money had to be
:10:21. > :10:25.dumped in to help the NHS keep going.
:10:25. > :10:32.In man and woman arrested on suspicion of murder following the
:10:32. > :10:42.death of a baby grow have been a rest -- released on police bail,
:10:42. > :10:44.
:10:44. > :10:47.pending inquiries. There is a warning that hundreds of
:10:47. > :10:51.thousands of families in Wales may not receive their council tax
:10:51. > :10:56.benefits next year. The system will be run by Welsh councils, not the
:10:56. > :10:58.UK government. The local government minister Carl Sargeant has told BBC
:10:58. > :11:04.Wales they do not have enough income it -- information to
:11:04. > :11:08.implement the scheme. A quarter of all households in
:11:08. > :11:13.Wales receives council tax benefits, more than any welfare payment.
:11:13. > :11:18.Linda cannot go to the shops saw has it -- her groceries delivered
:11:18. > :11:24.to her home in Mountain Ash. She struggles to walk after contracting
:11:24. > :11:28.bacterial meningitis. She is on benefits.
:11:29. > :11:35.Having to think about trying to find extra money, I am going to be
:11:35. > :11:43.cutting it off my bills, food, something like that. I have nothing
:11:43. > :11:47.spare at the end of the week. council tax benefits are there for
:11:47. > :11:52.people on low income or income support or who received jobseeker's
:11:52. > :11:57.allowance. And more than 300,000 families receive it in Wales. In
:11:57. > :12:00.some cases, it means not having to pay any council tax at all. The UK
:12:00. > :12:10.demand is devolving council tax benefits. That will happen next
:12:10. > :12:11.
:12:11. > :12:16.What we know was that if we do not have the numbers pretty soon, we
:12:16. > :12:20.will have a huge risk of not having the correct legislative tools to
:12:20. > :12:24.take this forward to deliver for the people of Wales. The Treasury
:12:24. > :12:28.has come back to us saying that the information required to proceed has
:12:28. > :12:34.already been made available and local authorities in England are
:12:34. > :12:38.already finalising their schemes. One Assembly Member says it should
:12:38. > :12:42.have been dealt with soon. Welsh government are more
:12:42. > :12:46.interested in having a spat with Westminster than they are in terms
:12:46. > :12:50.of placing these regulations and ensuring that everything is in
:12:50. > :12:54.place before the 1st April. The Scottish government have sorted it
:12:54. > :12:58.all out. They have ensured that people who were on benefits will
:12:58. > :13:01.not suffer as a result of this. It is the mess in Wales. It seemed
:13:01. > :13:05.Assembly Members will have to be recalled from their Christmas
:13:05. > :13:15.recess to sort the matter out. Unless they do, it is Linda and
:13:15. > :13:32.
:13:32. > :13:35.thousands of others like her at that will lose out. TV presenter
:13:35. > :13:39.Anna Ryder Richardson's company has been fined �70,000 for failing to
:13:39. > :13:44.protect employees and visitors. She and her husband Colin MacDougal own
:13:44. > :13:47.Manor House Wildlife Park near Tenby in West Wales. Mr MacDougal
:13:47. > :13:50.was fined a further four thousand pounds individually for failing to
:13:50. > :13:57.properly manage the risk of falling trees at the park. Abigail Neal
:13:57. > :14:06.reports. A young mother and her child were
:14:06. > :14:10.pinned beneath this 24 foot beech tree. That was 20th August 10. Two
:14:10. > :14:13.and a half years on, lawyers acting on their behalf say both are still
:14:13. > :14:15.suffering the profound consequences of that day. Within 24 hours, five
:14:15. > :14:20.trees in Manor House's wallaby enclosure where the accident
:14:20. > :14:23.happened were deemed to be a risk and cut down. Today Manor House
:14:23. > :14:29.Wildlife Park, the company owned by Anna Ryder Richardson and her
:14:29. > :14:36.husband, was found to have failed to protect employees and visitors.
:14:36. > :14:40.They were filed past fined �70,000. Colin MacDougal also received an
:14:40. > :14:42.individual final �4,000. The charges don't relate to the
:14:42. > :14:45.injuries Griff and his mother suffered, but the judge said the
:14:45. > :14:49.defendants had fallen significantly below the required standards of
:14:49. > :14:51.safety. A tree survey updated when the couple bought the zoo in 2008
:14:51. > :15:01.hadn't been properly implemented, health and safety assessments and
:15:01. > :15:03.
:15:03. > :15:09.training were inadequate. sentences reflect the fact that
:15:09. > :15:12.they have failed over a number of years to manage the risks to the
:15:12. > :15:16.employees and the public at the park. Fundamental health and safety
:15:16. > :15:21.requirements were breached and there was a failure to assess and
:15:21. > :15:25.actively manage the tree population to ensure the park was saved. In
:15:25. > :15:31.turn, these failures created the environment in which a 25 metre
:15:31. > :15:36.beech tree fell, trapping and seriously injuring a young child
:15:36. > :15:39.and his mother. Lawyers acting for Manor House say the park became
:15:39. > :15:45.Anna Ryder Richardson and her husband's life work, and the couple
:15:45. > :15:54.were held in high zoological regard. The pleas of guilt reflect two
:15:54. > :15:58.things. Firstly, that given the demands of health and safety law,
:15:58. > :16:03.our tree management system could and should have been better.
:16:03. > :16:11.Secondly, the prosecution and the court have accepted that our tree
:16:11. > :16:14.management system between 2008 and 2010 played no part in the accident
:16:14. > :16:24.in that no pre- excellent inspection would have alerted me or
:16:24. > :16:26.
:16:26. > :16:29.any of my staff to the risk of Today the judge praised a medic who
:16:29. > :16:39.helped Griff and his mother, saying his efforts may well have averted
:16:39. > :16:41.
:16:41. > :16:44.an even greater catastrophe that day.
:16:44. > :16:47.First Minister Carwyn Jones says Wales could lose out if talks in
:16:47. > :16:50.Brussels result in a cut to the European Union budget. Some of
:16:50. > :16:53.Wales' most deprived areas have benefited from EU grants, but how
:16:53. > :16:55.has that money been spent? And will these budget negotiations impact on
:16:55. > :17:05.the money that comes here? European funding has been the building block
:17:05. > :17:09.
:17:09. > :17:13.for this timber design and manufacturing company.
:17:13. > :17:21.This machine paid for in part by the European Union has been the key
:17:22. > :17:26.to success. We have worked closely with countryside parks in the local
:17:26. > :17:30.borough to develop large bespoke signs that come off that machine
:17:30. > :17:35.and things were local schools. It has been good to help us expand and
:17:35. > :17:40.push on. But there are critical voices. I am told that a report to
:17:40. > :17:43.be published soon by the Assembly Finance Committee will make 15
:17:43. > :17:48.recommendations, one of them being that the Welsh government should
:17:48. > :17:54.take a more strategic approach to the way it spends European money.
:17:54. > :18:01.Since 2007, �1.7 billion of European funds has been spent on
:18:01. > :18:06.273 projects. But economic performance per head in those areas
:18:06. > :18:14.is lagging behind the rest of Europe. GDP was 68 % of the
:18:14. > :18:19.European average in 2009, compared to 79 % in 2005. The head of the
:18:19. > :18:22.office in Wales says progress has been slow as a result of the
:18:22. > :18:27.recession. I would say it is a necessary restructuring which takes
:18:27. > :18:33.longer than perhaps some of us had hoped. But looking to the future, I
:18:33. > :18:37.see no reason to view the future with pessimism. And I believe that
:18:37. > :18:41.the next seven years could be key in helping to turn the Welsh
:18:41. > :18:47.economy around and to modernise it. In Brussels, members of the
:18:47. > :18:52.European Union are debating the budget for it 2014 and the Hon.
:18:52. > :18:58.Labour MPs have called for a cut. Colleagues in Wales disagree.
:18:58. > :19:07.need an adequate to appear in Union budget. We need to create jobs and
:19:07. > :19:13.growth. -- European Union budget. Planning for the next round of
:19:13. > :19:15.funding for companies like this will be very difficult otherwise.
:19:15. > :19:18.They're already massive underdogs, and tonight another blow for Wales
:19:19. > :19:21.as they prepare to take on the mighty All Blacks. Live to the
:19:22. > :19:23.Wales Team HQ in the Vale of Glamorgan and our sports reporter,
:19:24. > :19:28.Ashleigh Crowter. There aren't many people who think
:19:28. > :19:31.Wales can beat the All Blacks, except here at the Wales team hotel.
:19:31. > :19:33.But tonight, the task of beating the World Champions looks even more
:19:33. > :19:37.difficult after star winger George North withdrew after getting
:19:37. > :19:42.injured in training. His Scarlets colleague Liam Williams will
:19:42. > :19:45.replace him, winning only his second cap. The All Blacks,
:19:45. > :19:55.meanwhile, have recalled their World Cup winning captain and the
:19:55. > :19:59.
:19:59. > :20:03.best fly-half on the planet. The big guns are back and the guns
:20:03. > :20:10.don't get much bigger than these. Captain Richie McCaw, the man who
:20:10. > :20:20.lifted the World Cup is back in the side to face Wales. The team does
:20:20. > :20:27.
:20:27. > :20:37.not rely on just muscle. Their The back line is also the most
:20:37. > :20:39.
:20:39. > :20:44.dangerous in world rugby. Dan Just growing up, seeing the
:20:44. > :20:54.Millennium Stadium built and the awesome atmosphere, the way it
:20:54. > :20:54.
:20:54. > :20:58.sounded, I was lucky enough to come in 2008 with the Under 20s team.
:20:58. > :21:04.I said to myself, I am going to play here one day for us of Wales's
:21:04. > :21:07.autumn series has not gone well and today another setback. George North
:21:07. > :21:14.withdrew from the sand -- it Deeside after injuring his hip in
:21:14. > :21:22.training. Lee Williams will deputise. He has played most of his
:21:22. > :21:32.You do not know how they react until they are in there. He is
:21:32. > :21:33.
:21:33. > :21:41.quite grounded. As an individual. That is evident. He is full of life.
:21:41. > :21:44.There is no backward step. He gives as good as he gets. The All Blacks
:21:44. > :21:53.are unbeaten in 19 matches but today they finally did lose out the
:21:54. > :22:01.Welsh weather. Their training session had to be cut short.
:22:01. > :22:04.The world champions are of course red-hot favourites to beat Wales.
:22:04. > :22:13.We won't have too much sympathy for them. I am in the opposition camp
:22:13. > :22:17.these days. But I know what will make them tighter. When they are
:22:17. > :22:23.criticised, they are tighter and more dangerous. Scotland and Italy
:22:23. > :22:28.have been comfortably beaten on the tour so far. It is hard to see how
:22:28. > :22:32.we as can't stop the world's best team. Bath Wales can beat the
:22:32. > :22:36.world's best team. A jubilee mug, a squash racket and
:22:36. > :22:39.a cuddly polar bear - just some of the items on sale at Swansea's
:22:39. > :22:42.newest pound shop. They were all items people have consigned to the
:22:42. > :22:45.rubbish heap but, in a bid to reduce waste, the council has
:22:45. > :22:48.decided to step in and give them another lease of life, as James
:22:48. > :22:51.Williams reports. Out with the old and in what he knew. It is the end
:22:51. > :22:55.of the line for many of these items at the recycling site in Swansea
:22:55. > :22:58.but for others, there is a ray of hope. With stringent waste targets
:22:58. > :23:02.to meet, councils are thinking of innovative ways to reduce the
:23:02. > :23:10.amount of rubbish they have. Swansea Council are faking along
:23:10. > :23:15.these lines. -- thinking. We have always known there is a lot of good
:23:15. > :23:18.items that were coming through some of the sites that were being thrown
:23:18. > :23:25.away. And we knew that a lot of them were in the awful good
:23:25. > :23:31.condition. Some of them are brown ale. We decided -- Brown -- brand
:23:31. > :23:36.new. I would be delighted to by other
:23:36. > :23:42.people's rubbish, if it was something that I could do with. I
:23:42. > :23:50.have wanted to see that four years. I would take it to the local
:23:50. > :23:56.charity shop. I have some stuff in the House that I will bring down.
:23:56. > :24:01.It is one of the better ideas the council has had. Whatever you buy,
:24:01. > :24:07.the money raised from the shop will go towards children's education
:24:07. > :24:13.projects hoping to change attitudes towards rubbish. It is the kind of
:24:13. > :24:19.project being run in the Rhondda. The driving force to end these
:24:19. > :24:29.initiatives is the Rhos government's game to make Wales A
:24:29. > :24:32.
:24:32. > :24:35.zero waste country -- the Welsh With the notoriously wasteful Chris
:24:35. > :24:44.appeared around the corner, they are hoping to spread a message and
:24:44. > :24:54.a little Christmas cheer -- It's our main story, let's get the
:24:54. > :24:54.
:24:54. > :25:04.all-important forecast. The Welsh government is warning people not to
:25:04. > :25:08.travel unless absolutely necessary. I think the worst is over. Things
:25:08. > :25:11.will improve tonight and tomorrow but what a day it's been today.
:25:11. > :25:16.Torrential rain, gales, disruption and flash flooding. Some rivers are
:25:16. > :25:19.swollen. One flooding warning in force on the River Erch. Plus nine
:25:19. > :25:24.flood alerts in force. More information on the Environment
:25:24. > :25:28.Agency website. The highest wind gust recorded 86 mph at Capel Curig
:25:28. > :25:31.in Snowdonia. Over 100mph at Clogwyn on the way up Snowdon. And
:25:31. > :25:35.over 90mph at Worm's Head on Gower. Thankfully the wind has now eased
:25:35. > :25:38.but there is still an amber warning of heavy rain in force for the next
:25:38. > :25:44.few hours. The rain this evening not as intense as it was earlier
:25:44. > :25:48.and it will clear. So turning much drier overnight. Clearer too, with
:25:48. > :25:51.just a few showers. A colder night with lighter winds. Temperatures
:25:51. > :25:54.inland falling as low as two or three Celsius with a ground frost.
:25:54. > :25:58.Here's the picture for 8:00am. A much better start to the day. Still
:25:58. > :26:01.a lot of water on the ground but much of the country dry and clear.
:26:01. > :26:04.Calmer too with lighter winds. Good visibility and feeling chilly. So
:26:04. > :26:09.the weather much nicer tomorrow after what we've had to endure
:26:09. > :26:13.today. We'll all see some sunshine. Just the odd shower. Mainly in the
:26:13. > :26:22.west, Cardigan and Gwynedd. Top temperatures eight to ten Celsius.
:26:22. > :26:26.The wind much lighter than today as well. In Gwynedd tomorrow much
:26:26. > :26:29.drier and brighter than today. Some sunshine. You may catch a shower.
:26:29. > :26:32.Temperatures ten Celsius with lighter winds. Tomorrow night dry,
:26:32. > :26:36.clear and cold. Temperatures falling close to freezing with a
:26:36. > :26:39.slight frost. A few mist and fog patches. The weekend will start
:26:39. > :26:42.fine and dry but we're keeping an eye on this low pressure moving up
:26:42. > :26:46.from the Bay of Biscay. It looks like bringing another dose of wet
:26:47. > :26:52.and windy weather with a risk of more flooding and disruption. Next
:26:52. > :26:59.week unsettled and turning colder. The rain will clear tonight. Much
:26:59. > :27:07.drier and calmer tomorrow with sunshine. Keep an eye on the
:27:08. > :27:12.We can now return to Matthew Richards in Llanberis.
:27:12. > :27:17.The people I have been speaking to this evening have lived here for
:27:17. > :27:20.decades and they have never seen it this bad before. We had a school
:27:20. > :27:27.close to where the stream burst its banks and many of the staff and the
:27:27. > :27:32.pupils found it difficult to get out. But now the water is subsiding,