:00:00. > :00:00.That is all from the BBC's news at six, so it is goodbye from me,
:00:00. > :00:14.Welcome to Wales Today. Tonight's headlines: Parents protest over a
:00:15. > :00:16.council's plans to cut back on nursery services for
:00:17. > :00:25.three-year-olds. 10,000 sign a petition against the move. Enough is
:00:26. > :00:30.enough and they need to find the savings elsewhere. I think it's
:00:31. > :00:33.shocking. In neighbouring Bridgend, they're
:00:34. > :00:48.trying to protect nursery education, but at what cost for schools?
:00:49. > :00:53.Also tonight: The five-year-old at the centre of a custody battle.
:00:54. > :00:57.Members of her family jailed for refusing to reveal her whereabouts.
:00:58. > :01:00.A new flu vaccine for two and three-year-olds. Doctors say it
:01:01. > :01:04.could ease the pressure on the NHS this winter.
:01:05. > :01:06.Setting fires, wrecking junk, running riot. The pioneering
:01:07. > :01:12.playground that's now attracting interest from the States.
:01:13. > :01:15.And rugby star Sam Warburton launches the Poppy Appeal, helping
:01:16. > :01:29.the armed forces community and those who've lost loved ones. He was fun
:01:30. > :01:32.loving and hard-working. Good evening. In the past hour,
:01:33. > :01:37.angry parents have been protesting against cuts to nursery services in
:01:38. > :01:41.Rhondda Cynon Taf. The council there wants to withdraw full-time nursery
:01:42. > :01:45.places for three-year-olds. Instead, children would start full school
:01:46. > :01:48.days after they turn four as in many other council areas. It comes as all
:01:49. > :01:52.22 local authorities grapple with how to balance the books after their
:01:53. > :02:04.budgets for next year were cut. Our political reporter Daniel Davies has
:02:05. > :02:08.the latest. You can't avoid these cuts. Councils
:02:09. > :02:14.are doing it too. This three-year old has a full-time place at nursery
:02:15. > :02:19.but she were looted next April if the cuts proposed by the council
:02:20. > :02:23.go-ahead. I am really concerned about the effect it might have on
:02:24. > :02:29.her. With their condition, I have had to reduce my hours in work and
:02:30. > :02:32.that was not easy. I am concerned that if they do come in I will have
:02:33. > :02:39.to reduce my hours again, which will come easy and we are going to go the
:02:40. > :02:45.pocket. We won't have any money for childcare. The mother is not the
:02:46. > :02:49.only one worried. It inside us their fears and their plans to fight cuts
:02:50. > :02:57.at meetings like this across Rhondda Cynon Taff. This is the result. A
:02:58. > :03:02.protest outside a full council meeting tonight. At the moment these
:03:03. > :03:06.families can send their children to nursery full-time when they are
:03:07. > :03:11.three is old. The council cut would delay that until the September after
:03:12. > :03:18.the turn four. The children out very limited opportunities. We are the
:03:19. > :03:22.second most deprived area in Wales. The full-time education is the way
:03:23. > :03:29.around that. There aren't enough provisions in yearly at the moment.
:03:30. > :03:38.I would withhold my council tax. I would withhold his nursery fees as
:03:39. > :03:42.well. I pay the council over ?1000 a month. If they can't go to Italy
:03:43. > :03:48.before his five, they will get extra money off me. It would save ?4.5
:03:49. > :03:53.million and the council is considering cuts with ?56 million in
:03:54. > :03:57.all. Libraries would close two. Carmarthenshire Council talking
:03:58. > :04:02.about cutting a total of ?30 million from its budget. In Powys they want
:04:03. > :04:09.to save almost ?1 million by handing over responsibility for public
:04:10. > :04:14.toilets. We have no choice. We have to look at all areas of spending.
:04:15. > :04:20.Nursery education is one of those. We fulfil our statutory obligations
:04:21. > :04:28.but where we provide over and above statutory education we have to look
:04:29. > :04:31.at it. Rhondda Cynon Taff blames the cuts on the austerities drive. So
:04:32. > :04:35.far councils have been shielded from the worst of it but that has
:04:36. > :04:39.changed. In one part of Wales this is what they think about it.
:04:40. > :04:42.Daniel joins me now. Well, that's what's happening in Rhondda Cynon
:04:43. > :04:47.Taf, but nurseries are under the spotlight in the neighbouring county
:04:48. > :04:52.too. What's happening there? This is Bridgend local council. It is a
:04:53. > :04:59.Labour lead counsel. The local council of the first Minister Carwyn
:05:00. > :05:03.Jones. Bridgend wants to say ?1.5 million from its budget for nursery
:05:04. > :05:08.services. The level of service berries around Wales. Bridgend
:05:09. > :05:15.thinks it can keep it as it is and it wants to take many that is set
:05:16. > :05:20.aside for schools and spend it on nursery services. A potential
:05:21. > :05:23.problem is that Welsh Government has said that schools funding will be
:05:24. > :05:27.protected from all these cuts we are seeing. It is politically very
:05:28. > :05:32.important pledge for the first Minister. Bridgend council has been
:05:33. > :05:40.told there are a couple of risks. Teachers may not like many spent in
:05:41. > :05:44.this way but that is a risk that the policy may not comply with Welsh
:05:45. > :05:48.Government policy on school funding. What does Bridgend council say about
:05:49. > :05:52.this? We've had a statement saying it is trying to keep the current
:05:53. > :05:55.level of nursery provision in the county and they believe they have
:05:56. > :05:59.found a way of doing that without breaching Welsh Government policy.
:06:00. > :06:03.That is why they are organising a consultation which will go to the
:06:04. > :06:06.public soon. The Conservatives are claiming this is a big embarrassing
:06:07. > :06:18.the first Minister. It is happening in his backyard. Thank you very
:06:19. > :06:21.much. The grandparents and aunty of a
:06:22. > :06:24.five-year-old girl, missing with her mother for nearly two years after a
:06:25. > :06:27.custody battle, were sentenced to 12 days in jail this morning for
:06:28. > :06:31.failing to reveal their whereabouts. But the couple who live near Cardiff
:06:32. > :06:34.and their daughter walked free after the High Court hearing because
:06:35. > :06:37.they'd already spent the required time in prison on remand. The court
:06:38. > :06:44.was told that their granddaughter has now been found in Russia.
:06:45. > :06:46.Caroline Evans reports. Missing for nearly two years.
:06:47. > :06:53.49-year-old Jacqueline Davies and her daughter Alice, said today to be
:06:54. > :06:57.in Russia. The little girl is said to be safe and well with her mother
:06:58. > :07:02.and the two are expected back in the UK next week. Outside the High Court
:07:03. > :07:07.in London her father said he was now looking forward to seeing his
:07:08. > :07:16.daughter at last. The relief is phenomenal. We can start working
:07:17. > :07:24.towards becoming a family again. But this is a family saga which has seen
:07:25. > :07:26.the grandparents both jailed for contempt of court. The judge said
:07:27. > :07:32.they had lied when asked for information about the whereabouts of
:07:33. > :07:37.the little girl. The couple were sentenced to 12 days in prison but
:07:38. > :07:41.released immediately cause of the time spent behind bars waiting for
:07:42. > :07:53.today's hearing. I am glad they never sent the grandparents down. I
:07:54. > :07:56.don't think it deserved that. You can't go to the courts of justice
:07:57. > :08:00.and lie and get away with it. It's not clear how or why their daughter
:08:01. > :08:04.and granddaughter ended up in Russia. It's understood they were
:08:05. > :08:09.found as the result of publicity about the case on the Internet. But
:08:10. > :08:13.a family lawyer says it's rare for a judge to use his powers to jail in
:08:14. > :08:21.this way. It is very much a last resort because the courts give the
:08:22. > :08:25.mother every opportunity to respond. She has family in this country, she
:08:26. > :08:32.must have been aware of what was going on. She must have been aware
:08:33. > :08:38.of the implications. But because it is not frequently used, she probably
:08:39. > :08:40.thought that parents would not be committed to prison. So far this
:08:41. > :08:45.evening the Davies family have not returned back to their home and
:08:46. > :08:49.little is known locally of the couple. People say they keep
:08:50. > :08:54.themselves to themselves. A judge has already ruled that Alice should
:08:55. > :08:56.have contact with her father. Her mother is now expected to appear
:08:57. > :09:00.before the High Court in Birmingham next Tuesday.
:09:01. > :09:03.A new plan to help improve diagnosis of neurological conditions like
:09:04. > :09:06.Parkinson's disease and epilepsy has been published by the Welsh
:09:07. > :09:10.Government. More than half a million people here are affected. The plan
:09:11. > :09:11.highlights six areas that need to be addressed, including raising
:09:12. > :09:17.awareness of conditions and targeting research.
:09:18. > :09:20.The Welsh Ambulance Service has missed its target response time for
:09:21. > :09:23.the most urgent cases for the 16th month in a row, despite
:09:24. > :09:27.improvements. 63% of ambulances arrived on time in September, up one
:09:28. > :09:29.percent on August but short of the 65% target. The Ambulance Service
:09:30. > :09:39.says it's introduced changes to improve responses.
:09:40. > :09:41.An inspection has found a shortage of trained custody officers in the
:09:42. > :09:47.Dyfed-Powys Police area is putting people in cells at risk. A joint
:09:48. > :09:49.report from the Chief Inspector of Prisons and Inspector of
:09:50. > :09:52.Constabulary said that just three inspectors oversee custody and they
:09:53. > :09:54.were often distracted from that by other responsibilities. The force
:09:55. > :10:01.says it's already making improvements.
:10:02. > :10:05.The British Medical Association in Wales says a new flu vaccine for
:10:06. > :10:09.children as young as two and three could help the strain on the NHS
:10:10. > :10:12.over the winter. All children up to 16 could soon be vaccinated every
:10:13. > :10:16.year as part of a new strategy by Public Health Wales. Until now,
:10:17. > :10:20.people only 65 and over or with an underlying condition are offered the
:10:21. > :10:30.vaccine on the NHS. Paul Heaney has more.
:10:31. > :10:41.This is the new way of delivering the flu vaccine. For the first
:10:42. > :10:46.time, two and three roles are getting routine protection against
:10:47. > :10:52.the flu. -- two and three-year-olds. It's important to
:10:53. > :10:57.protect the community as a whole. I'm at an age where I can have a flu
:10:58. > :11:03.jab and it's important in people have it as well. The aim is to get
:11:04. > :11:08.all children vaccinated every year. The BMA say that could help the NHS
:11:09. > :11:15.during a busy winter. This is one of the biggest causes of access to
:11:16. > :11:22.hospital in the winter time. Individuals will benefit by not
:11:23. > :11:30.getting sick but also the NHS does benefit and obviously that benefits
:11:31. > :11:35.us all. Different strains like swine flu are amongst the most dangerous
:11:36. > :11:40.but all flu viruses can spread easily. One in ten children get it
:11:41. > :11:46.every year. Each winter 50 healthy children die in the UK. The nasal
:11:47. > :11:48.spray is cheaper than the old-fashioned jab so it's no
:11:49. > :11:56.cost-effective for more children to have it. We are vaccinating children
:11:57. > :12:00.and we are not only protecting them from flu, but also it has a wider
:12:01. > :12:09.benefit on their family and other children at school. Children aged 11
:12:10. > :12:15.and 12 are also included in this pilot Roger and they will get the
:12:16. > :12:21.vaccine in school. -- this pilot project. It is always easier to add
:12:22. > :12:27.something onto it and doing something from scratch. That exists
:12:28. > :12:31.already in young children and we have an active programme and
:12:32. > :12:41.increasingly we are offering more in the musician through school health
:12:42. > :12:44.services. -- more immunisation. Public Health Wales says it
:12:45. > :12:48.understands concerns about more vaccines being given to children but
:12:49. > :12:54.says immunisation is not harmful while flu can be deadly.
:12:55. > :12:57.Still to come in the programme: It's a symbol of courage and sacrifice.
:12:58. > :13:00.The Poppy Appeal is launched with the help of Wales rugby star Sam
:13:01. > :13:03.Warburton. And it's a popular Olympic sport in
:13:04. > :13:12.Europe. Handball is causing yet another Swansea Cardiff rivalry.
:13:13. > :13:15.A pioneering playground made out of junk in Wrexham could inspire
:13:16. > :13:19.identical schemes across America. The Land, on the Plas Madoc estate,
:13:20. > :13:23.allows youngsters to create or destroy the environment around them
:13:24. > :13:26.with minimal adult interference. It's attracted the attention of
:13:27. > :13:32.specialists in the States who want to copy the idea.
:13:33. > :13:53.To adults, it looks like a wasteland. But for kids, it's a
:13:54. > :14:07.wonderland. Ellie and her friends come here whenever they can to
:14:08. > :14:13.swing, slide or smash things up. Is it a good place to unwind? Yes. I
:14:14. > :14:16.can't do this at home. This waste ground was turned into the Land last
:14:17. > :14:19.year with recycled and donated materials. On one of Wales' most
:14:20. > :14:26.economically deprived estates, it's been a big success. I think that a
:14:27. > :14:30.lot of playful behaviour can sometimes be perceived as
:14:31. > :14:34.anti-social behaviour and this provides a space which older can and
:14:35. > :14:38.destroyed if they've had a bad day, they can let it out. Joan Almon and
:14:39. > :14:41.Janice O'Donnell are champions of children's play from America. It
:14:42. > :14:45.only has four adventure playgrounds and they want to introduce parks
:14:46. > :14:53.like this across the states. We would love to see play valued more
:14:54. > :14:57.in the US and by that we mean this kind of free play where it is the
:14:58. > :15:02.children's choice, not somebody saying line-up and throw the ball.
:15:03. > :15:10.Adventure playgrounds Dexter that kind of activity. -- dead for that
:15:11. > :15:12.kind. With health and safety legislation now so prevalent it's
:15:13. > :15:16.perhaps surprising that a playground like this is being seen as a model.
:15:17. > :15:19.Not according to some. Sometimes children will take chances but in
:15:20. > :15:26.the boundary of what they think they can do. All of these are different
:15:27. > :15:33.kinds of way that children need to be versatile human beings.
:15:34. > :15:38.Increasingly we see children narrowed down. They are not given
:15:39. > :15:44.the chance to be children. The experts seem to agree to. If Janice
:15:45. > :15:49.Ann Jones like what they see they could take the ethos and transported
:15:50. > :15:56.from the land of Song to the land of the free.
:15:57. > :16:00.The construction of one of Europe's biggest off-shore wind farms, eight
:16:01. > :16:03.miles off the North Wales coast, is on target to be completed next year.
:16:04. > :16:06.The Gwynt y Mor development will generate enough energy to power the
:16:07. > :16:10.equivalent of around 400,000 homes. Work to install 160 wind turbines
:16:11. > :16:13.has been speeded-up by warm weather over the summer.
:16:14. > :16:15.A number of Welsh recipients have received honours at Buckingham
:16:16. > :16:19.Palace, including one of Wales' richest men, the venture capitalist
:16:20. > :16:22.Michael Moritz. Also meeting the Queen has been the conductor Tim
:16:23. > :16:36.Rhys Evans. The music director of the choirs Only Men Aloud and Only
:16:37. > :16:40.Boys Aloud received an MBE. Time for tonight's sport now, and a
:16:41. > :16:44.return to the ring for our top boxer. Ashleigh's got the details.
:16:45. > :16:48.Thanks, Lucy. Nathan Cleverly will make his comeback next month at a
:16:49. > :16:50.new weight. The former light-heavyweight world champion
:16:51. > :16:53.from Cefn Fforest is stepping-up to cruiserweight, to fight Australian
:16:54. > :16:56.Daniel Ammann for the vacant Commonwealth title in London on the
:16:57. > :17:04.30th of November. Cleverly lost his world title to Russia's Sergey
:17:05. > :17:06.Kovalev in August. In ice-hockey, the Cardiff Devils'
:17:07. > :17:10.managing director will also coach the club until the end of the
:17:11. > :17:14.season. Former player Brent Pope will take over from Gerad Adams,
:17:15. > :17:17.after he was relieved of his duties as both player and coach. He'll now
:17:18. > :17:21.see-out the remaining six months of his contract in a development role.
:17:22. > :17:28.The Devils are currently ninth out of ten teams in the Elite league.
:17:29. > :17:32.It's time to brace yourself for a week of serious sporting rivalry.
:17:33. > :17:36.Cardiff City and Swansea City meet in the Premier League for the first
:17:37. > :17:39.time on Sunday. But the battle for bragging rights between our two
:17:40. > :17:43.biggest cities isn't confined to just football. Take the Olympic
:17:44. > :17:46.sport of handball, for example, where the clash between Cardiff and
:17:47. > :17:56.Swansea is also keenly awaited every year. The strictly neutral Sachin
:17:57. > :18:01.Krishnan went along to watch. The rivalry is friendlier, the pace
:18:02. > :18:04.a little less frantic, but the commitment very much reflects a
:18:05. > :18:10.sporting meeting between Swansea and Cardiff. Handball is one of the most
:18:11. > :18:15.populous sports in mainland Europe, played from Germany to Iceland, from
:18:16. > :18:21.Denmark to Croatia. Here it is just played by a handful of teams.
:18:22. > :18:29.Cardiff was established in 2008 and their cosmopolitan team playing one
:18:30. > :18:40.of the UK leagues. We rely on awful lot on volunteers. Exposure to
:18:41. > :18:45.handball for most people comes from the Olympics every four years.
:18:46. > :18:50.London 2012 was the inspiration for the husband and wife who formed
:18:51. > :18:56.Swansea handball last year. We were working as a games maker in the
:18:57. > :19:00.London Olympics. I got a text of Matthew saying I have been watching
:19:01. > :19:05.the handball and we should set up a club. We set up a Facebook group to
:19:06. > :19:09.find out what kind of interest they might read and we had quite a few
:19:10. > :19:17.people who said they wanted to give it a go. In Wales, Aberystwyth and
:19:18. > :19:20.Banda have handball teams but there is some way to go before it reaches
:19:21. > :19:32.the level of participation enjoyed in the rest of Europe. -- Angola. --
:19:33. > :19:38.Banda. It is the same as rugby in Germany. It is played but I
:19:39. > :19:40.foreigners in Germany. In what is probably not a precursor to the
:19:41. > :19:47.Premier League meeting on Sunday, this particular South Wales derby
:19:48. > :19:50.was won by Cardiff by 31 goals to nine.
:19:51. > :19:53.I don't think it will be that one-sided on Sunday. And tomorrow
:19:54. > :19:56.night, as part of our build-up to the South Wales football derby,
:19:57. > :19:59.we'll be looking at how the rivalry between Swansea and Cardiff is
:20:00. > :20:03.played out in politics and business, as well as on the sports field.
:20:04. > :20:06.The Wales rugby squad say they need to beat some big southern hemisphere
:20:07. > :20:10.teams this autumn if they're to mount a serious challenge at the
:20:11. > :20:12.next World Cup. And they may get some inspiration from watching this
:20:13. > :20:16.bit of classic archive footage. Because it was exactly 50 years ago
:20:17. > :20:19.today that Newport beat the mighty All Blacks at Rodney Parade - the
:20:20. > :20:23.tourists only defeat on their 1963 tour. John Uzzell's drop goal was
:20:24. > :20:30.the difference, as the Black and Ambers won 3-0.
:20:31. > :20:33.Wales captain Sam Warburton joined members of the armed forces and
:20:34. > :20:37.families who've lost loved ones on the front line to launch this year's
:20:38. > :20:40.poppy appeal in Wales. The Royal British Legion hopes to raise ?37
:20:41. > :20:43.million to help veterans and serving soldiers. But this year's appeal
:20:44. > :21:01.focuses on families too, as Carwyn Jones reports.
:21:02. > :21:10.The crucible of war. Past and present. By land, a and sea. In all
:21:11. > :21:15.corners of the world. Since 1921 the Royal British Legion has adopted the
:21:16. > :21:25.poppy as a symbol of remembrance. It has become the backbone of the
:21:26. > :21:28.charity's fundraising efforts. At the launch of this year 's poppy
:21:29. > :21:38.appeal at the Millennium Stadium, military personnel rubbed shoulders
:21:39. > :21:41.with the Wales rugby squad. You go through the wars on the rugby pitch
:21:42. > :21:46.but they have actually been through it. It puts it into perspective when
:21:47. > :21:50.you think what they have been through. 40 million remembrance
:21:51. > :21:56.poppies added sugar did this year. The money raised helps veterans as
:21:57. > :22:00.well as more recent theatres of war. The Falklands, Iraq and Afghanistan.
:22:01. > :22:05.The Royal British Legion spends ?1.5 million each week helping the Armed
:22:06. > :22:09.Forces community. Even when a tour of duty comes to an end, many
:22:10. > :22:14.service men and women still need support. Sometimes the effects of
:22:15. > :22:20.that war only come to the fore even now. So there may be physical scars
:22:21. > :22:25.or emotional and psychological scars. The Royal British Legion
:22:26. > :22:29.helps the entire Armed Forces community including the families who
:22:30. > :22:35.face life without their loved ones. In March 2009 Corporal Dean John was
:22:36. > :22:42.killed by a roadside bomb in Helmand province. His family were at the
:22:43. > :22:52.launch of this year 's appeal. He was fun. He was a big motocross fan.
:22:53. > :22:57.He was fun loving and hard-working. He liked anything with mechanics.
:22:58. > :23:03.Last year 's poppy appeal raised 35mm pounds. This year the charity
:23:04. > :23:06.hopes to raise even more. It is a tradition which began 92 years ago
:23:07. > :23:14.in the aftermath of the First World War. As the country prepares to mark
:23:15. > :23:17.the centenary of that conflict in 2014, the poppy remains a poignant
:23:18. > :23:18.symbol of courage and sacrifice. Carwyn Jones reporting. Let's get
:23:19. > :23:30.the latest weather now with Derek. There's more rain and showers on the
:23:31. > :23:34.way. And it looks like we're in for a very blustery weekend with strong
:23:35. > :23:37.to severe gale force winds. We've all seen some rain today spreading
:23:38. > :23:40.eastwards across the country this afternoon. Strengthening winds as
:23:41. > :23:43.well. At Capel Curig a gust of 63mph was recorded. Tonight the rain will
:23:44. > :23:49.clear with a few fog patches. So this evening rain will move away.
:23:50. > :23:54.The wind easing with a few mist and fog patches forming. Scattered
:23:55. > :23:58.showers turning-up after midnight and not as cold as last night.
:23:59. > :24:03.Lowest temperatures, 6C or 7C but a few spots could drop as low as 4C.
:24:04. > :24:06.Here's the picture for 8:00am in the morning. A few mist patches. Some
:24:07. > :24:13.places dry but not everywhere. There will be showers dotted around in
:24:14. > :24:16.Pembrokeshire, Ceredigion, Gwynedd. A few places will see the sun
:24:17. > :24:23.tomorrow but during the day showers will become more widespread. Heavy
:24:24. > :24:28.in places and merging into longer spells of rain. Top temperatures,
:24:29. > :24:34.11C to 13C and breezy, especially on the coast. In north east Wales
:24:35. > :24:39.tomorrow, some dry weather. A few showers as well. 11C in Holywell and
:24:40. > :24:45.Corwen. Tomorrow evening, further showers in the south and west. Heavy
:24:46. > :24:51.in places. More rain later in the north. The wind easing. So for
:24:52. > :24:55.Halloween tomorrow, it's a case of dodging the showers, although parts
:24:56. > :25:01.of Mid Wales and the north may be dry. Friday looks wet for most of
:25:02. > :25:06.Wales. Some heavy rain. Although parts of the south and south east
:25:07. > :25:11.may escape the worst of it. Over the weekend, low pressure over Ireland
:25:12. > :25:15.will move across Britain. Lots of isobars and that means strong winds
:25:16. > :25:21.and gales. So becoming windy over the weekend. Risk of severe gales on
:25:22. > :25:25.exposed coasts and hills. More rain and blustery showers as well. Not
:25:26. > :25:27.ideal if you're organising a firework display. Temperatures
:25:28. > :25:39.around average and feeling chilly in the wind.
:25:40. > :25:50.The main news. The -- parents are protesting against cuts to nursery
:25:51. > :25:55.services in Rhondda Cynon Taff. The council blames the UK government 's
:25:56. > :25:59.austerity drive. The prosecution has opened its case
:26:00. > :26:05.in the phone hacking trial. The former News International chief
:26:06. > :26:09.executive and David Cameron's ex-spin doctor are among eight
:26:10. > :26:16.defendants conspiring to intercept voice telephone messages.
:26:17. > :26:17.That is it from all of us on the programme. Have a good evening.
:26:18. > :26:21.Goodbye.