:00:00. > :00:00.heading our way and wet and windy again. That is all from
:00:00. > :00:08.Welcome to Wales Today. Tonight, severe gales battering the country.
:00:09. > :00:15.Wales is offered military help as it's hit by winds of over 100mph.
:00:16. > :00:21.I've never, ever seen anything like it. I'm over 60 and been in business
:00:22. > :00:25.Cricieth for years. This is the worst period I've seen.
:00:26. > :00:29.Trees are down. Nearly 80,000 homes are without power. Schools have
:00:30. > :00:35.closed. There's been damage to property and major disruption to
:00:36. > :00:38.road and rail services. Here in Pembrokeshire this evening,
:00:39. > :00:39.winds are finally starting to die down after causing so much
:00:40. > :01:00.destruction throughout the day. Also tonight: The police will
:01:01. > :01:04.investigate payments to the chief executives of Carmarthenshire and
:01:05. > :01:07.Pembrokeshire councils. They're enjoying a quiet pint but
:01:08. > :01:11.charities warns of a "hidden drinking problem" among the over
:01:12. > :01:15.60s. And protests 50 years ago against
:01:16. > :01:26.closing a casualty unit. Now another shake-up of emergency care will be
:01:27. > :01:29.decided on tomorrow. Good evening. Wales has been offered military help
:01:30. > :01:33.as winds reaching more than 100mph have been battering our coastline.
:01:34. > :01:37.The offer was made after a meeting of the UK's emergency Cobra
:01:38. > :01:41.committee in London. Worst hit has been West and North West Wales. At
:01:42. > :01:45.Aberdaron a gust of wind measuring 108mph was recorded earlier. The Met
:01:46. > :01:50.office has issued a rare red warning about high winds saying lives could
:01:51. > :01:56.be in danger. Across the country 90,000 homes have been without
:01:57. > :02:01.power. Part of the M4 at Briton Ferry had to be shut to traffic. The
:02:02. > :02:05.advice tonight is to stay indoors. We hope to speak to reporters across
:02:06. > :02:08.the country in just a moment but first Roger Pinney on the latest
:02:09. > :02:15.storm in this never-ending run of bad weather.
:02:16. > :02:20.From space you can see the storm in the satellite image the distinctive
:02:21. > :02:28.curl off a deep depression. Here in Wales it has meant this. All along
:02:29. > :02:33.our western coast from the tip of Anglesey to Pembrokeshire, raging,
:02:34. > :02:37.foaming seas and howling winds. Little window that the Coast Guard
:02:38. > :02:41.should issue this morning. We have alerted shipping in the area and we
:02:42. > :02:49.are advising people not to play on the coastline. They are impressive
:02:50. > :02:55.but just to be aware there has been a lot of debris inside the way. You
:02:56. > :02:58.could get quite easily caught out. The storm has brought its
:02:59. > :03:02.destruction from Holyhead, most services were cancelled. Schools
:03:03. > :03:06.finished early and many rail services have been cancelled or
:03:07. > :03:11.delayed. The Britannia Bridge linking Anglesey to the mainland was
:03:12. > :03:15.closed after a lorry overturned. Power of workers have been at full
:03:16. > :03:19.stretch. Thousands of homes have been without electricity. Across
:03:20. > :03:25.Wales, trees have an approved it even in Cardiff well away from the
:03:26. > :03:29.full force of the storm. If it had been a real busy time of it would
:03:30. > :03:34.have been a catastrophe. This road can be backlogged with cars from top
:03:35. > :03:40.to bottom when everyone is leaving the hospital. Have past four to five
:03:41. > :03:46.o'clock, it could be nose to tail on the road. This is village Mac as the
:03:47. > :03:50.storm raced up the Irish Sea. -- the Which?.
:03:51. > :04:00.I have never, ever seen anything like it. I have been here in
:04:01. > :04:08.business for 30 years. This is the worst period I have ever seen. The
:04:09. > :04:13.strength of the wind seemed to build and build. Here in Anglesey you
:04:14. > :04:19.struggle to stand up and the coast guard has just told me that the wind
:04:20. > :04:25.speed of Holyhead breakwater is top name 70 knots, that is storm forced
:04:26. > :04:30.12. Hurricane speed. The ghost and much greater than that. One man who
:04:31. > :04:34.knows what it is like at sea and hurricane force winds is Brian
:04:35. > :04:42.Thompson, coxswain of the Holyhead lifeboat. It wasn't pleasant. I can
:04:43. > :04:49.only describe it like being inside the washing machine, getting flung
:04:50. > :04:53.around violently. Huge forces. We have seen at the last few days what
:04:54. > :04:57.they have done to the land, imagine what they can do to a vessel. This
:04:58. > :05:03.has been debated batten down the hatches, one the seemingly -- and
:05:04. > :05:09.one in the seemingly string of them. Cemlyn Davies is at Wisemans Bridge
:05:10. > :05:18.near Saundersfoot in Pembrokeshire. Give us a flavour of what you have
:05:19. > :05:21.been coming across. Lots of deception. Thankfully, the winds are
:05:22. > :05:28.now starting to die down here in South Pembrokeshire. As the manager
:05:29. > :05:32.of the pub was telling me area, conditions here today have been as
:05:33. > :05:38.bad as he has ever seen them. I have seen Rose closed, schools close,
:05:39. > :05:43.people without power. I went to one fuel station and the owner there
:05:44. > :05:46.wasn't able to supply any fuel because he did not have an
:05:47. > :05:54.electricity to operate the pumps. I was walking around with torchlight
:05:55. > :05:56.to guide me. Plenty of deception, people telling me they have never
:05:57. > :06:04.seen conditions like these before. Very difficult for people all there.
:06:05. > :06:10.Tell me how people are coping. They are remaining up beat. I spoke to
:06:11. > :06:14.one person who was without power, he had been without power all
:06:15. > :06:18.afternoon. He was grateful and counted himself or to its because he
:06:19. > :06:23.was not facing the same difficulties as people in other parts of the UK.
:06:24. > :06:28.But at the same time, they are bracing themselves for worse to
:06:29. > :06:31.come. We know things may be better tomorrow but again another area of
:06:32. > :06:36.low pressure to come towards the end of the week. Thank you very much.
:06:37. > :06:52.Sophie Long is in village Mac. You can probably hear the angry
:06:53. > :07:02.waves by bit. We are watching them smash into the road. Several homes
:07:03. > :07:07.are already without power and that is a similar case across the
:07:08. > :07:10.country. We made our way here this afternoon and it drove through whole
:07:11. > :07:16.villages that had already lost power. Some 80,000 homes across
:07:17. > :07:20.Wales have no power. Suppliers saying they are working very hard to
:07:21. > :07:25.reconnect people are sinners they can. As we drove through Wales we
:07:26. > :07:30.came across six roads that had been blocked by fallen trees, two were
:07:31. > :07:37.completely impassable. Train lines will also be enclosed. The peak bowl
:07:38. > :07:41.here will find things getting worse. -- the people here. We are expecting
:07:42. > :07:47.high tide here at seven o'clock this evening. The danger is those winds
:07:48. > :07:53.speeds recorded will coincide with high water and you are going to get
:07:54. > :07:55.waves again than these. Thank you very much.
:07:56. > :07:58.We'll have a full weather forecast later in the programme with Behnaz.
:07:59. > :08:02.And you can get all the latest information on the storms, on BBC
:08:03. > :08:09.Radio Wales, Radio Cymru and online at bbc.co.uk/walesnews.
:08:10. > :08:21.Charities working with people who abuse alcohol say they're
:08:22. > :08:29.it's a bit carried out by the Gloucestershire Constabulary. Our
:08:30. > :08:34.political editor is here. What are the police going to be looking at?
:08:35. > :08:38.It is the decision to allow Mark James, the chief executive of
:08:39. > :08:42.Carmarthenshire Council and the Chief Executive Pembrokeshire
:08:43. > :08:45.Council opt out of the pension scheme in order to avoid tax
:08:46. > :08:51.payments. The money went into their salaries. The recent reports from
:08:52. > :08:54.the Wales Audit Office said those payments were unlawful. In other
:08:55. > :08:58.words, they said it was not within the legal power of the local
:08:59. > :09:04.authority to allow them to do that. In a set list reports, financial
:09:05. > :09:10.protection given to Mark James in a libel action was also considered
:09:11. > :09:16.unlawful. We knew Dyfed Powys Police were in contact with the CPS and to
:09:17. > :09:19.night confirmation that a formal police investigation will get
:09:20. > :09:24.underway to work out whether anything criminal has occurred. It
:09:25. > :09:26.would be carried out by the Gloucestershire Constabulary because
:09:27. > :09:32.of the close working links that exist tween divot hours and the two
:09:33. > :09:40.local authority. -- Dyfed Powys Police. This has been a fast moving
:09:41. > :09:45.story. We have had robust defence by Carmarthenshire Council. They were
:09:46. > :09:52.responding to the legal advice available at the time. It comes at a
:09:53. > :09:56.sensitive moment for councils and councils paying. A committee of
:09:57. > :10:03.Assembly Members tomorrow will be discussing this very matter within
:10:04. > :10:06.the public sector. Just before I came on air, the leader of
:10:07. > :10:12.Carmarthenshire Council said he was going to commission an external
:10:13. > :10:19.review by the Welsh local government Association into what has gone on.
:10:20. > :10:22.Charities working with people who abuse alcohol say they are concerned
:10:23. > :10:25.about the drinking habits of the over 60s in Wales. Alcohol Concern
:10:26. > :10:28.Cymru and The Welsh Council on Alcohol say drinking problems in
:10:29. > :10:36.that age range is a largely hidden and under-researched issue. Paul
:10:37. > :10:40.Heaney reports. Great Preston from Cwmbran can
:10:41. > :10:45.remember the day when he could drink without any problems. But after his
:10:46. > :10:51.wife passed away, his drinking increased, his son eventually found
:10:52. > :11:00.him collapsed at home. If Meissen had not come that day and would have
:11:01. > :11:12.died in this chair. -- if my son. I can't do that. I can't go back. He
:11:13. > :11:16.said his habit crept up on him. It was easy for me to just reach out to
:11:17. > :11:21.the table and pick up the glass of whiskey and have a drink. When that
:11:22. > :11:27.was empty I would totally out of the kitchen and get another one. It was
:11:28. > :11:33.a habit. Ray doesn't find himself in a pub but he has come to one with me
:11:34. > :11:37.today to ask older drinkers if they feel alcohol abuse is as much a
:11:38. > :11:44.problem for them as it is for younger people. This club alone, we
:11:45. > :11:51.have 85% are elderly people. We have no problems with them. They all seem
:11:52. > :11:54.to conduct themselves tidily. That is the amount of drink they have
:11:55. > :12:03.what they do after it. Most old people keep things close to their
:12:04. > :12:10.chest. They don't bother... They won't tell you if there is anything
:12:11. > :12:15.wrong. Most recent quarterly figures show 17% more people who were over
:12:16. > :12:19.the age of six week sought help with a drinking problem last year
:12:20. > :12:25.compared to the year before. One charity says it is a hidden but
:12:26. > :12:29.growing problem. Maybe these older people are just emerging out of the
:12:30. > :12:35.bottle now. We are only now becoming aware of the problem that may have
:12:36. > :12:39.in net for some considerable time. Gray has stayed sober than three
:12:40. > :12:44.years for his family. He says people his age should not be afraid to ask
:12:45. > :12:49.for help. It's OK years to realise he had a problem but wants others to
:12:50. > :12:51.realise from his stakes. -- mistakes.
:12:52. > :12:55.A former boss of children's homes in North Wales has pleaded not guilty
:12:56. > :12:57.to 39 counts of historical sexual abuse. John Allen, who's 72,
:12:58. > :13:02.appeared today at Caernarfon Crown Court. The judge says his trial is
:13:03. > :13:06.likely to take place in the autumn. Appeal Court judges in Cardiff have
:13:07. > :13:11.adjourned a hearing in the case of two men convicted of killing
:13:12. > :13:14.teenager, Amir Siddiqi, in 2010. Ben Hope and Jason Richards were
:13:15. > :13:17.sentenced to a minimum of 40 years in jail for the murder of the
:13:18. > :13:24.17-year-old, who was stabbed to death on his doorstep in Cardiff.
:13:25. > :13:27.It's a year since a meat processing plant near Aberystwyth was raided by
:13:28. > :13:31.police investigating the mislabelling of meat products. It
:13:32. > :13:33.came during the height of the horse meat scandal. While consumer
:13:34. > :13:36.confidence appears to have recovered, the body responsible for
:13:37. > :13:40.promoting red meat in Wales is warning the industry can't afford a
:13:41. > :13:49.repeat of the scandal. Charlotte Dubenskij reports. It has been a
:13:50. > :13:52.good 12 months for those butchers shop in Aberystwyth. In the wake of
:13:53. > :13:58.the horse meat scandal, shoppers flocked here to buy produce a were
:13:59. > :14:02.confident of. People were coming back to the butchers to buy their
:14:03. > :14:08.meats. They were happier to buy from us because we sourced local animals.
:14:09. > :14:13.We processed them ourselves. A few miles away is the former site of
:14:14. > :14:16.Farmbox Meats. This time last year police were investigating the
:14:17. > :14:20.mislabelling of meat products and the plant was closed. It was allowed
:14:21. > :14:26.to reopen a few months later but the is this has since it should down.
:14:27. > :14:29.The owner of Farmbox Meats has always denied any cross
:14:30. > :14:35.contamination of products. So far the allegations have not been
:14:36. > :14:39.proven. He remains on bail on fraud charges. As the horse meat scandal
:14:40. > :14:44.is developed, thousands of products were recalled across the UK and many
:14:45. > :14:48.were tested and found to contain horse DNA. Meat sales dipped. Now
:14:49. > :14:53.meets promotion Wales says the industry has recovered well but it
:14:54. > :14:57.has this warning. We can't afford to have this happen again. It
:14:58. > :15:01.undermines the most important people we have in our industry which are
:15:02. > :15:06.the consuming public. The can't afford for that to happen again and
:15:07. > :15:11.the sieges now are in place, testing procedures are in place to ensure
:15:12. > :15:14.what people buy is what it says on the label. Some of that testing
:15:15. > :15:19.takes place at this Cardiff laboratory. The methods we have in
:15:20. > :15:24.place will able to give as 100% confidence about was horse meat
:15:25. > :15:31.resident in meat or not. Those scientific processes mean we can
:15:32. > :15:34.continue to catch the fraudsters. A final report into the scandal for
:15:35. > :15:38.the UK Government is due to be published this spring.
:15:39. > :15:44.Still to come tonight: Could this be the save that keeps Cardiff City's
:15:45. > :15:47.survival hopes alive? And after a violent storm we can look forward to
:15:48. > :15:55.a brief respite tomorrow. Join me later for a full weather forecast.
:15:56. > :16:00.Health boards across south Wales will decide tomorrow whether or not
:16:01. > :16:04.to give the go-ahead to a major shake-up of the way some specialist
:16:05. > :16:08.hospital care is delivered. The plan will involve centralising high level
:16:09. > :16:10.emergency care. That could see The Royal Glamorgan Hospital in
:16:11. > :16:16.Llantrisant stop treating serious A cases. In the Rhondda there's
:16:17. > :16:19.concern that patients will have to travel further afield, a concern
:16:20. > :16:27.that has echoes in the past. Matt Murray reports.
:16:28. > :16:31.Llwynypia was home to the largest hospital in the Rhondda. It provided
:16:32. > :16:37.medical care for tens of thousands of people in the area. When a
:16:38. > :16:41.decision was made in the 1960s to close its emergency accident unit,
:16:42. > :16:47.protests took place with people going as far as chaining themselves
:16:48. > :16:51.to be hospital gate. Where those gates once stood, it is just rubble
:16:52. > :16:56.and derelict buildings. Local councillor Sylvia Jones took me to
:16:57. > :17:02.the site. She campaigned to keep services then the 60s and fears the
:17:03. > :17:09.same thing is happening again. Everything goes from the Valleys.
:17:10. > :17:12.All the wealth has gone. The facilities are going out of the
:17:13. > :17:21.Valleys as well. We had a fight to keep their new hospital here. That
:17:22. > :17:25.took over 40 years for us to get it. I hope it will take another 40 years
:17:26. > :17:29.to be able to get what we need now. This hospital only has limited hot
:17:30. > :17:35.-- services and deals with minor injuries. More serious injuries are
:17:36. > :17:39.treated eight miles down the road. But hospital Mark would stop
:17:40. > :17:46.treating serious A cases as well as losing it specialist baby unit.
:17:47. > :17:48.The Welsh Government says at the moment services are spread too
:17:49. > :17:53.thinly at hospitals across the region. Tomorrow's decision has been
:17:54. > :17:56.a long time coming but wind the clock back a year and the message
:17:57. > :18:01.from the First Minister was clear. As to be a change in the health
:18:02. > :18:05.service for it to be safe for the future. I am not going to city and
:18:06. > :18:09.say it does not matter. I am not going to do that. The possible
:18:10. > :18:16.changes are great concern especially for many parents. Here there is a
:18:17. > :18:27.fear that losing accident and emergency from hospital Mac could
:18:28. > :18:35.mean driving for half an hour. I was already worried about her sitting in
:18:36. > :18:39.a car on the way down. It was a bit more stressful taking them to
:18:40. > :18:44.Bridgend. We would have to travel over mountain rose to get to those
:18:45. > :18:54.hospitals. It is far enough to go as it is. The next bag staying would go
:18:55. > :18:58.there. Those changes have in talks about even before these children
:18:59. > :19:01.will warn. Tomorrow's decision will have a profound affect on how
:19:02. > :19:03.services are delivered across South Wales.
:19:04. > :19:06.And we'll bring you the details of those plans in our programmes at
:19:07. > :19:09.lunchtime and at 6.30pm tomorrow. An hourly rail service between
:19:10. > :19:12.Aberystwyth and Shrewsbury could be set up if the plans are approved by
:19:13. > :19:15.the Transport minister. Edwina Hart has been handed a report by the
:19:16. > :19:19.group that reviews improvements to Cambrian main and coastal lines in
:19:20. > :19:23.mid Wales. The Welsh Government said the minister would now consider the
:19:24. > :19:26.recommendations. The body responsible for protecting
:19:27. > :19:29.buildings and monuments in Wales has been asked to consider making BBC
:19:30. > :19:34.Wales' headquarters in Cardiff a listed building. BBC Wales is trying
:19:35. > :19:37.to find a buyer for the site in Llandaff, as part of multi-million
:19:38. > :19:41.pounds plans to move to a new purpose-built broadcasting base. BBC
:19:42. > :19:46.Wales says it has "significant concerns" about CADW's plans.
:19:47. > :19:50.European rugby is edging towards a peace deal after months of bitter
:19:51. > :19:55.argument. A Six Nations meeting in Paris today agreed on a format for a
:19:56. > :19:58.new European Cup next season. The Welsh Rugby Union and the Welsh
:19:59. > :20:02.regions will now be involved in working on the finer details of the
:20:03. > :20:05.plans over the coming weeks. Our sports news correspondent Gareth
:20:06. > :20:11.Lewis is with us. What will they be working on?
:20:12. > :20:25.It is out of their hands. Any deal hinges on the broadcasters, BT Sport
:20:26. > :20:31.and sky. Marry the two together? Broadcasting aside, there are
:20:32. > :20:35.movements on other issues. The regions and encouraged about the
:20:36. > :20:42.balance of power buying the scenes as are the WRU. It is more money for
:20:43. > :20:45.the regions, ?1 million extra each. The regions want to make sure that
:20:46. > :20:49.is parity with funding to stop if the deal is done it reduces the
:20:50. > :20:55.chances of a breakaway Anglo Welsh league. The regions has major
:20:56. > :20:58.concerns about the money they are playing for in the current
:20:59. > :21:02.tournament that is being withheld because of the insurgency that has
:21:03. > :21:10.been rumbling on. Still a lot to be thrashed out. What would a new
:21:11. > :21:16.tournaments looked like? Then off for fuel in the top tier. Six
:21:17. > :21:22.English, six French, seven from the Pro12 including a play-off winner.
:21:23. > :21:26.Qualification would be tighter. Only one Welsh side will qualify for the
:21:27. > :21:30.top tier. You could end up with only one Welsh side in that top tier.
:21:31. > :21:35.It'd improve the standards and competitiveness of April 12. -- of
:21:36. > :21:41.the Pro12. On the pitch, there's been another
:21:42. > :21:44.blow for Wales. Centre Scott Williams will miss the rest of the
:21:45. > :21:47.Six Nations because he needs shoulder surgery. He got injured
:21:48. > :21:50.tackling Brian O'Driscoll in Wales' defeat to Ireland on Saturday.
:21:51. > :21:53.But better news for hooker Matthew Rees. He's been cleared to start
:21:54. > :21:56.training with the Cardiff Blues again after treatment for testicular
:21:57. > :21:58.cancer. The Wales and Lions forward been given the all-clear by
:21:59. > :22:02.specialists at Velindre Hospital in Cardiff where he's been treated
:22:03. > :22:06.since October. Football. Swansea City travel to
:22:07. > :22:14.Stoke in the Premier League tonight hoping to ease their relegation
:22:15. > :22:17.worries. Cardiff City are still second from bottom after they could
:22:18. > :22:25.only manage a goal-less draw at home to Aston Villa. Here's our sports
:22:26. > :22:28.reporter, Ashleigh Crowter. They wanted three points but only
:22:29. > :22:35.got one. We almost missed out altogether. David Marshall's
:22:36. > :22:39.stoppage time saved is being talked about as one of the greatest living
:22:40. > :22:43.memory. He is the first keeper to make 100 saves in the Premier League
:22:44. > :22:46.this season and his manager says he is an example the rest of the team
:22:47. > :22:50.should follow as they battled to avoid relegation. We need the
:22:51. > :22:59.players to stand up and be number one like David was tonight. Stephen
:23:00. > :23:05.and Ben, fantastic performances. But Cardiff had no luck. In the first
:23:06. > :23:14.half they hit the woodwork twice in the space of a minute. But after the
:23:15. > :23:18.break it was Marshall and his back four will help them cling on for a
:23:19. > :23:25.point. It has left them in trouble, second from bottom, three points
:23:26. > :23:36.clear of safety. Fill fall and play Swansea this evening. Swansea city
:23:37. > :23:39.will play. Everybody is scrapping for their lives to get that point.
:23:40. > :23:43.Anybody slightly off the mark will lose it. We have got to make sure
:23:44. > :23:49.that we are switched on and giving the best we can. If we do that we
:23:50. > :23:55.can compete with any team. There was an immediate response to their new
:23:56. > :23:57.manager in the Derby. The need that to continue.
:23:58. > :24:00.So back to the weather. Those gale force winds causing major problems,
:24:01. > :24:04.how long are they going to stay with us, Behnaz?
:24:05. > :24:13.We have only got another few hours left. A red warning is in place of
:24:14. > :24:17.parts of the North and West. That is valid until nine o'clock tonight. If
:24:18. > :24:21.you can, try to avoid going out. For the rest of the country it is and
:24:22. > :24:26.the warning -- it is an amber warning. It could be some structural
:24:27. > :24:35.damage as those strong winds continue. These other peak gusts
:24:36. > :24:40.from today. 96 mph across mumbles. They are continuing for the next few
:24:41. > :24:45.hours but gradually as we go into the overnight period the wind was
:24:46. > :24:49.that ease. We have a few showers but they will push south and east and
:24:50. > :24:55.could see the potential for some icy patches. You need to take care on
:24:56. > :25:00.untreated surfaces. Temperatures around the freezing mark for most of
:25:01. > :25:04.us. There it is tomorrow, it is still blustery but nowhere near as
:25:05. > :25:07.windy as it was today. We will season brightness and we had the
:25:08. > :25:12.rain this morning, tomorrow it is a case of showers. A brief respite
:25:13. > :25:19.tomorrow. There's showers could be wintry and temperatures ranging
:25:20. > :25:23.between 6-7 Celsius. Is going to tomorrow night, gradually be will
:25:24. > :25:33.clear away. Overnight Itchen read/write, lighter winds as well.
:25:34. > :25:37.-- overnight it should we try. We could see a few problems with icy
:25:38. > :25:41.patches. There are no warnings but there could be issued as we going to
:25:42. > :25:47.tomorrow. All eyes on the next area of low pressure after Reef respite
:25:48. > :25:52.on Thursday. We have got more wet and windy conditions heading our way
:25:53. > :25:55.Friday. Friday will start off dry but who will see wet weather
:25:56. > :26:00.spilling from the south and that comes very strong winds. At the
:26:01. > :26:04.moment it is a warning for the rain. We could see further flooding has a
:26:05. > :26:07.go through Friday. The rain will continue into Saturday, gradually
:26:08. > :26:14.the wind and rain will ease on Saturday. Sunday, finally, we get
:26:15. > :26:18.another break. We can look forward to try and brighter conditions on
:26:19. > :26:22.Sunday. Distant reminder, tonight we still have the red warning across
:26:23. > :26:37.parts of the north and west for the winter. This is a quick picture a
:26:38. > :26:41.tree down. Hurricane force winds have been battling written causing
:26:42. > :26:45.widespread disruption on roads and railways. The Prime minister has
:26:46. > :26:49.pledged to compensate homes and businesses affected. The Welsh
:26:50. > :26:54.Government is warning people to make only essential journeys in affected
:26:55. > :27:01.areas. Winds have reached more than 100 mph, 80,000 homes remained
:27:02. > :27:05.without power tonight. We have got technicians out there, engineers,
:27:06. > :27:11.anywhere we can trying to carry out repairs. It is difficult under the
:27:12. > :27:15.circumstances with the weather. We have got winds meant in West Wales
:27:16. > :27:19.who can't get out of their vehicles. You can get all the latest
:27:20. > :27:26.information on the storms on BBC Radio Wales, Radio Cymru and online.
:27:27. > :27:33.The news just then, the M4 at Briton Ferry has now reopened. There is
:27:34. > :27:36.still severe congestion on the M4 but it has reopened.
:27:37. > :27:40.And that is Wales Today. We'll keep you updated on the latest weather
:27:41. > :27:41.situation in our updates and 8.00pm and 10.25pm tonight.