25/06/2014 BBC Wales Today

high, 15-20. It's not all bad. Thank you very much. That's all from

After her son died, Chris Evans-Thomas raised hundreds

of thousands for cancer services at Withybush Hospital.

10 years on, the money hasn't been spent and she wants it back.

I am sure they most probably thought the powers to be, this woman will

get fed up after a couple of years. I will not give up until I have got

something to have some meaning why Adam had to go.

Caroline Parry was shot in the back at close range.

A court hears her husband murdered her in the street in a fit

Following allegations hundreds of students may have committed visa

fraud, concerns over the future of Glyndwr University.

It's confirmed that Wales centre Owen Williams,

injured in a match in Singapore, has suffered a significant injury to

And back at sea for the first time in 50 years.

The world?s oldest inshore lifeboat makes maritime history.

A mother who raised hundreds of thousands of pounds for cancer

services in Pembrokeshire is asking the NHS to pay the money back.

Chris Evans-Thomas lost her son Adam to leukaemia in 2004 at the age

His dying wish was to improve facilities at Withybush Hospital,

but 10 years on, his legacy has not been spent.

Adam Evans-Thomas achieved remarkable things in his lifetime.

He campaigned for the government to pay the cost

of DNA testing for bone marrow donors and he persuaded 3,000 people

But as Adam's illness progressed he decided he wanted to give something

He began raising money through the Adam's Bucket Full of

Hope Appeal to refurbish the cancer ward here at Withybush and build

When he died in 2004, his mother took on that legacy.

We were discussing verbal lockers and lavender and all of this. It

went on and on, it went on for another year, we were still

enthusiastically fund-raising away. And it has been going on now for ten

years. Through the high profile campaign of

Adam's appeal, his mother has helped raise ?649,776 in the NHS pot for

cancer services in Pembrokeshire, she says she has repeatedly been

given dates for when the work will start, but it never has,

and now she wants the money back. I am making the money. The

Pembrokeshire people have believed in me. I am carrying the can. If we

are not going to have this built, not only are we going to ask for the

money back, but if you are not going to make up your mind up, we will use

it for some thing else. A cancer support charity

in Pembrokeshire showed us letters they'd received from the local

health board citing "recruitment and They're worried this may mean Adam's

legacy never gets built. Everyone is assuming now that it

will go to Glangwili Hospital. But is where everything seems to go

these days. Everybody is afraid that the hospital will turn into a

cottage hospital. In a statement Hywel Dda health

board told us they are still fully committed to a new Chemotherapy Day

Unit and that ?550,000 of funds have been committed to

the refurbishment of the cancer ward Hywel Dda have no plans to hand the

money back - and legal experts say Frequently, NHS charities ask you to

give money for particular purposes but on the basis that is an

expression of wish and not a binding obligation on them to use it for

that particular purpose. Frustrated at the lack of progress

from the NHS Chris Evans-Thomas has set up her own facility for

cancer patients in Pembrokeshire. she calls her "distraction centre" ,

but she won't give up her mission A jealous husband shot

his wife dead in the street because he couldn't accept she'd left him

for another man, a court has heard. Caroline Parry died

after being shot twice Her husband Christopher was

described as a controlling and dominant man who couldn't

believe his marriage was over. From Newport Crown Court,

Rhodri Lewis reports. Caroline Parry had been married

for 27 years, but the court was told her husband Christopher was

controlling and dominant. In March last year she left him

and eventually moved It was here during the morning

of August the 8th last year that he waited for her to leave for work in

her car, before flagging her down. The prosecutor told the court that

when Caroline Parry stopped to speak to her husband, he went to the boot

of his car for his shotgun and shot her twice. It was carefully planned

by a man in full control when he murdered his wife.

Mr Parry then shot himself causing substantial facial injuries.

He claimed he'd not meant to kill his wife, but had come to shoot

But the prosecution says he planned the attack, as CCTV footage showed

his car in the area two days earlier.

If you add all of these activities together, he was a man not prepared

to get go, it was said. It was a carefully planned scheme.

Christopher Parry has admitted manslaughter but denies murder and

the case continues. Fire crews have been dealing with

a substantial fire A large area of grass

and gorse was alight, around 120 square metres, opposite

the Esplanade, with a strong breeze As you can see from these pictures,

the smoke was visible The Health Minister has told AM that

he's given ambulance bosses a deadline

of three months to deliver "urgent improvements" after it again failed

to meet response time targets. In May, 54% of ambulances reached

life-threatening incidents Opposition parties claim response

times are a national disgrace. The ambulance service blamed

a rise in emergency calls and I expect an urgent improvement over

the next three months. I do not want to be in the position of coming in

front of this assembly in September to find that the performance that we

have seen in May and has continued into June as well, I do not want to

be here having to explain to you why the Cumberland service has not been

able to make the necessary improvements. -- ambulance service.

The NHS faces a "stark" future and a worsening recruitment crisis, if

salaries for consultants are cut, according to the British Medical

Association. Its Chair in Wales, Dr Phil Banfield, told its annual

conference that Welsh Government plans could see senior doctors here

paid 5% than elsewhere. The Welsh Government insists there are no

There are concerns tonight over the future of a north Wales

university, following allegations that hundreds of students may have

The Education Minister, Huw Lewis, has described the situation at

Glyndwr University, which has been suspended from recruiting overseas

students, as having "potentially serious" implications for the higher

Latest statistics show that almost 129,000 were enrolled

at Universities in Wales in the 2012-13 academic year.

15% of them came to study here from outside the EU.

Applicants must be tested to ensure they can speak English to

a suitable level - but a police investigation found that hundreds of

The end of term approaching, Glyndwr's Wrexham campus is

And while the university's ban on sponsoring those from non EU

countries is in place, it'll remain that way.

The restrictions came in after alleged visa fraud was

uncovered at testing centres like this one in London.

The BBC's Panorama programme showed applicants being given the answers

to tests designed to measure their understanding of English.

230 invalid test results were linked with students at Glyndwr's London

35% of Glyndwr's 9,000 students come from outside the EU.

Latest figures show they paid almost ?9.5 million in annual fees,

almost as much as students from within the EU, who brought in

Ken Richards is an economist with a background in Higher Education

He believes the loss of such a large proportion

It is estimated they bring in around a quarter of the university 's

income. The impact will not be felt immediately but in future years.

There is a crisis, I am sure. Today the Education Minister gave

his reaction to the developments. It does have potentially serious

implications, not just for the institution but for the reputation

of the Welsh higher education sector as a whole.

For some time now the union which represents university and

college staff has been calling for the senior management at Glyndwr to

resign over the threat of compulsory redundancies and what they describe

They say this is another sign that major mistakes have been made.

At the Wrexham campus today, a few of the remaining students told

me they're not overly concerned about the impact of the sanctions.

My English is perfectly fine. It does not apply to me, I guess.

In a statement yesterday the university said it was committed

to supporting those genuine international students who fully

complied with the standards and is disappointed to have been

Recruitment ads like this show the importance of

attracting the next crop of students from here and abroad but that work

Our Education Correspondent, Arwyn Jones, has been monitoring

Arwyn, how big a problem is this for Wales as a brand, as a destination

The problem is that many universities in Wales and other

parts of the UK rely to quite a large extent on the money brought in

by these non-European Union students. They also bring with them

a wealth of experience and a cultural diversity but then when

issues like this are thrown out, it can cause quite serious problems.

The questions being asked of the Education Minister earlier today

was, why were these not picked up? Why couldn't people realise that the

students could not speaking this? Other questions included, is this

just confined to Glyndwr University in Wales coast to mark our other

institutions facing similar problems? The Welsh Government will

be seeking to address those issues over the coming days and weeks. The

futuristic looking very uncertain for Glyndwr University. Yes, it is

an institution facing serious problems. It has financial

problems. It has two agree a deal moving forward to save some of it

financial problems. It relies very heavily on those international

students. As we heard in that report, it has also got some

staffing issues with unions threatening to go on strike and

asking for the resignation of the Vice Chancellor. However, in the

last few minutes, I have been speaking to one of the men in charge

of funding universities in Wales and his point very clearly was that they

are keen to look after those students currently enrolled at

Glyndwr University. He said that some solution needs to be found to

ensure the future of higher education in north-east Wales.

However, what that will look like, aims to be seen.

Still to come in the programme: Could your bin collection be

sponsored? The council considering new ways to raise cash.

And after 50 years on dry land, the world?s oldest surviving inshore

The number of large scale solar parks could double in Wales.

Most big solar parks are found on farmland,

The largest project yet in Wales is in front of Flintshire

councillors in a few weeks time, with a developer seeking approval

to place up to a 180,000 photovoltaic panels on fields where

Our environment correspondent Iolo ap Dafydd looks at how land is being

used, and why green fields are more attractive for the developers.

Just behind the Deeside industrial estate, these fields at the moment

Instead of growing potatoes and leeks, some 220 acres here could

a very big solar farm, there could be

All that depends of course on approval by Flintshire County

Council and it also raises the question whether this is

the best use of land, which at the moment is actually producing food?"

Stuart Banks says he isn't opposed to solar energy,

and is keen to place photovoltaic panels to generate power for

electricity on his own farm near the Broughton Airbus factory nearby.

But he's less sure if that should be done on productive farm land.

I have got land that is not as productive as this. It is heavier

and it would lend itself better to solar than actually agriculture.

The developers didn't want to be interviewed as a decision

by Flintshire planning councillors is expected soon.

Further south, there are far more solar planning applications.

Wales's newest ?15 million solar park site started generating

power last month, on a former industrial site near Port Talbot.

This was a perfect location within a Brownfield site with a great grid

connection on the site. The key difference is that there is a lot

more work to do to get the Brownfield site ready for any form

of development. Green fields are cheaper to build

industrial sized solar parks, and that's part of the reason why so

many developers target rural areas. There are 18 large operational sites

in Wales currently producing 156 megawatt of energy, with twice

as many either being built or in the planning process, which

could double the amount of energy Developers argue solar photovoltaic

panels are in place for up to 25 years, but animals

could still graze the land. Developers to say and have provided

pictures of sheep grazing underneath but I have yet to see that in the

developments that have been completed in Carmarthenshire.

The UK Government is consulting to cut subsidies for solar schemes over

Three times as much energy from these PV panels is being generated

It may be a financial decision rather than how

we use land, that could slow the increase of big solar projects.

A pledge to get more women represented in public life has

been signed by the Assembly, Welsh Ministers and local authorities.

Currently, only 9% of council leaders and 27%

The Assembly's Presiding Officer says it's important women start

making the decisions, rather than implementing them.

What we are trying to do is to encourage people to show them they

have the skills so they can do it and bringing women together who have

done it, who have actually been there, winning achieving in a men's

world. I think once people have role models, they will think, maybe I can

do it. The logo for the NATO summit,

which is being held in Newport in September,

has been unveiled in Brussels. It features the city's iconic

Transporter Bridge, along with a castle, a dragon and a Celtic knot,

to reflect Wales' diverse heritage. It'll be used

around the summit venues and will be seen by thousands of delegates,

including President Obama. Now we've heard plenty in recent

months about Welsh councils having But now it seems they are also

looking at ways in which they In Wrexham, ideas being looked

at include putting advertising billboards on libraries

and finding shirt sponsors The council says it's a case

of every pound they make is In sport they learned long ago they

could add value from sponsorship. These days, it is logos everywhere

you look. But what about selling advertising space on a street litter

picker 's shirt? It is one of the ideas being looked at by reckoning

as Wrexham Council. The council has to save ?45 million and it is

already making some difficult and unpopular decisions. The philosophy

is every pound it can generate is a pound it does not have to cut.

Adverts have already been sold on roundabouts in Wrexham. Other ideas

including building a solar farm. Residents we spoke to back this new

commercial minded approach. I think it is a good idea. There are so many

cut acts, anyway they can make money has got to be good. I am all for it.

If they can actually save money or put money back into the coffers,

please do it. As commercial manager at Wrexham football club Steve Cook

knows all about it. Daily using meetings thinking up new ways of

thinking up income and it is not easy. It is challenging sometimes.

If you offer a good service and a product and people can see there is

a good return on investment, will put their money into something, if

they can see value when something. There has got to be a return from

their local audience or target market. A bit like in cricket where

you say you have to make a century out of singles, I think there are a

lot of ideas that on their own make vast sums of money but actually

adding up, could make a significant difference. It is about changing the

mindset that the council. It is certainly a shifting ideology. The

way that councils go about their business is changing.

It's been confirmed that the Wales rugby player Owen Williams has

suffered a significant injury to his spinal cord and the vertebrae

The Cardiff Blues centre was injured during a match in Singapore, and

remains in hospital there, after surgery to stabilise a fracture.

Today his family, who are at his bedside, thanked everyone

Spend a few minutes on social media sites and the support and concern

for Owen Williams is obvious. His team-mates and family are

encouraging supporters to stay strong. The Twenty20 old centre

suffered a serious injury playing for the Cardiff Blues in Singapore.

He was stretchered from the field and taken to hospital. Surgeons

operated on Monday to stabilise a fracture of his spine. Today the

Cardiff Blues confirmed he had suffered a severe injury to his

spinal column. He also injured his spinal-cord which runs through the

vertebrae. In 2010, Scottish international Thom Evans suffered a

similar injury in a six Nations match at the millennium Stadium. He

made a full recovery after surgery after the unit -- after surgery at

the University Hospital of Wales. But he was told to quit the game.

The immediate concern is to make sure that the spinal-cord is

adequately stabilised and the compressed and once the spinal

column is stabilised, then you have just got to go to the

rehabilitation. You have to give it an opportunity to heal up. It needs

to be adequately rested. Williams is one of the country 's most promising

young players. He scored a brilliant solo try playing for Wales in the

autumn internationals last year. It is not currently clear what effect

this injury will have on his playing career. Some office team-mates spent

the afternoon in Cardiff modelling a new range of suits for the Welsh

team but their thoughts were with their friend on the other side of

the world. Every player was devastated. Everyone has got their

fingers crossed for him. Everyone who knows him. Hopefully there will

be some good news over the next two days. Our thoughts are with him and

his family. We have tried to send as many messages out there and the

whole rugby community has got behind it. Officials and medical staff are

in Singapore where plans are being made to fly Owen Williams home at an

appropriate time. His family and friends are hoping and praying for a

speedy and full recovery. Cricket and Glamorgan are playing Hampshire

in ET 20 blast tonight. Maritme history was made today as

the world's oldest surviving inshore lifeboat took to the waves for

the first time in half a century. It was back in the 1960s that staff

and students at Atlantic College in the Vale of Glamorgan, came up

with the iconic design for the Rigid For years, their original

vessel was thought lost. But today it embarked

on a celebratory voyage. 6am, high tide at Llantwit Major,

and after months of careful planning, the crew of Atlantic

College launch the oldest boat of This prototype vessel paved

the way for the Rigid Hull Inflatable Boats that are

so commonplace on our seas today. The RNLI has been using RIBS

since the 1970s and a modern version of the boat accompanied

its predecessor on today's voyage. This historic vessel set the

blueprint for one of the most successful designs of the last

century and it all began in the Vale of Glamorgan nearly 50 years ago.

In the late 1960s, the staff and students of Atlantic College

They were inspired by their headmaster, a former engineer

in the Royal Navy, who set them the challenge of designing a vessel

The result was this - the world's first inflatable boat,

It is very easy to carry the boats into the water. They can be launched

from exposed situations on beaches and Rocky slipways.

The College sold the patent to the RNLI for just ?1.

That led to the development of inshore lifeboats and naval

But the original RIB, that sparked it all off, was thought lost.

Then, two years ago, it was discovered by chance in a storage

After it was given back to the college, the students began

It was covered in many layers of paint and barnacles. When it first

arrived, we had to scrape all of those fine sand it down. We had to

check the integrity of the wood. We had to make sure it was not rotting

from within. With the vessel ship shape again,

there was the question A former college student

provided the answer. He was preparing an exhibition all

about Ribs at the De La Warr Pavilion in East Sussex and wanted

the prototype to take centre stage It would be a bit boring to take it

there on a trolley behind a car. Why don't we take it there and how it is

meant to be taken, on the water? And this morning,

with perfect weather conditions, It will take around 10 days to get

there, and the once the exhibition's over, this vessel will return home

to Atlantic College, where it will inspire a new generation

of pioneering boat builders. It looks to me as if the weather

could be starting to turn. Have we seen the last of the sunshine? Not

quite but there is a change on the way. There is more dry and warm

weather to come tomorrow but rain is on the way. Heavy showers and

thunderstorms on Friday. Today felt less humid than recently but still

nice and warm. Late this afternoon, a few showers broke out in the North

West. But for most of us, it is a fine end of the day. Dry overnight

as well. Some clouds but mild. Lowest temperatures typically 12

Celsius. This is the picture for ATM tomorrow. The whole country dry.

Maybe cloudy in the far north and Llandudno first thing. The sunshine

may be a bit hazy. Feeling pleasantly warm. During the day,

more dry weather to come. Spells of hazy sunshine. In the south and

south-west, rain is expected later in the afternoon. Top temperatures

21 Celsius. Tomorrow evening, rain will move north. Some of it heavy.

Turning drier in the south and west overnight. Friday, low pressure over

southern Britain and that means much more unsettled weather. Outbreaks of

rain on Friday. Some bright spells in the south but also showers. Heavy

downpours in places with a risk of thunderstorms. Saturday, more

showers. However, the North may stay dry and bright and the South and

West should brighten up during the afternoon and evening. Sunday a

better day with sunny spells. A few scattered showers. Temperatures

lower than recently. The pollen count is lower as well. The gardens

are in for a watering later tomorrow and Friday but it is not all bad

news for the weekend. Thank you very much. That is it from

us. We are back at 8:30pm and the late bulletin is at 11:40pm. Good

night.