:00:00. > :00:00.they might be stirred. Merry Christmas. Merry Christmas. I like
:00:00. > :00:00.your Welcome to Wales Today,
:00:00. > :00:07.our top stories... Gavin Williams died as a result
:00:08. > :00:11.of unofficial physical punishment - An inquest criticises
:00:12. > :00:15.army officials. And why country life in Wales isn't
:00:16. > :00:18.all its cracked up to be. Rural councils claim
:00:19. > :00:35.they get a raw deal. "Inhuman and degrading" -
:00:36. > :00:41.the words of the mother of Private Gavin Williams describing
:00:42. > :00:43.an unofficial punishment that led A coroner found the army failed
:00:44. > :00:46.to identify or prevent The 22 year old from Caerphilly
:00:47. > :00:53.was ordered to undergo intensive He collapsed at Lucknow Barracks
:00:54. > :00:57.in Wiltshire in 2006. A proud mother, a son who had found
:00:58. > :01:11.direction by joining the Army but months after his passing out
:01:12. > :01:16.parade, Gavin Williams was dead. Gavin's mother still haunted
:01:17. > :01:18.by the images of what happened I was forced to look
:01:19. > :01:23.at my son as he lay asleep, That was the worst
:01:24. > :01:32.moment of my life. And I see that moment
:01:33. > :01:39.in my head every single day. I know that the nature of that bee
:01:40. > :01:43.sting was so inhuman, so degrading that it cannot be
:01:44. > :01:46.tolerated in any civilised Gavin was involved in a series
:01:47. > :02:01.of drunken incidents. Gavin's behaviour culminated
:02:02. > :02:05.in a prank carried out here in the early hours
:02:06. > :02:08.of the morning one week ending Guests staying here with a senior
:02:09. > :02:13.officer were sprayed with a fire extinguisher in the early hours
:02:14. > :02:16.of the morning and then Gavin turned His senior officer demanded Gavin
:02:17. > :02:21.was brought in front of him A Corporal marched Gavin around
:02:22. > :02:27.the camp on one of the hottest day of the years before one
:02:28. > :02:30.of his colleagues took Gavin for a second punishing
:02:31. > :02:35.exercise in the gym. Ordering extended physical exercise
:02:36. > :02:37.like this as a punishment was known as beasting and it was
:02:38. > :02:44.against Army rules. We're college there was a culture
:02:45. > :02:46.of unofficial punishments We have already conducted an enquiry
:02:47. > :03:07.and made in improvements Gavin collapsed when walking to this
:03:08. > :03:12.medical centre for help. The coroner said there was a delay
:03:13. > :03:30.in treating Gavin when he arrived. This CCTV shows his final hours,
:03:31. > :03:42.taken by ambulance to Salisbury Ecstasy was found in his
:03:43. > :03:48.blood when he died. Three men were acquitted
:03:49. > :03:53.of manslaughter in 2008. Sergeant Paul Blake said Gavin had
:03:54. > :03:55.not done excessive exercise Sergeant Russell Price took Gavin
:03:56. > :04:08.for that second round of so-called beasting on the understanding
:04:09. > :04:14.it was what his superiors wanted. He found himself the wrong side
:04:15. > :04:17.of a system that senior officers should have known about
:04:18. > :04:21.and should have stopped. His family have called the changes
:04:22. > :04:28.that have been brought The M4 has been shut Eastbound
:04:29. > :04:35.tonight between Junctions 35 Pencoed A woman has been taken
:04:36. > :04:39.to the Princess of Wales Hospital in Bridgend after a vehicle left
:04:40. > :04:42.the motorway and rolled 20 feet down Ahead of the next Assembly election
:04:43. > :04:46.the Welsh Conservatives have pledged to re-open minor injury
:04:47. > :04:48.units and halt plans They also say -
:04:49. > :04:54.if they win power in May - they'd re-establish
:04:55. > :04:56.care for complex births at Withybush Hospital
:04:57. > :05:00.in Pembrokeshire. Rural councils say, they get a "raw
:05:01. > :05:03.deal" after repeatedly being hit The body representing councils
:05:04. > :05:09.is calling for a grant As our political correspondent
:05:10. > :05:13.Daniel Davies reports, it's now the subject
:05:14. > :05:19.of bargaining in Cardiff Bay. I wish you all a happy New Year
:05:20. > :05:22.and a prosperous and more Brisk business at the livestock
:05:23. > :05:26.market near Brecon this morning. A decent start to the New Year,
:05:27. > :05:28.says the auctioneer, Local councils serving
:05:29. > :05:34.the countryside face deep cuts It all puts pressure
:05:35. > :05:44.on services and on council tax. You've seen quite a few
:05:45. > :05:47.new cuts by the council They are cutting back
:05:48. > :05:52.but the council tax is going up. We have not got a very
:05:53. > :05:54.high standard of living, we have worked very hard
:05:55. > :05:57.for the money we actually earn. In fact, among the 22 authorities,
:05:58. > :05:59.the council here, Powys, faces the biggest budget cut
:06:00. > :06:03.from the Welsh Government next year. There is 27 million pounds worth
:06:04. > :06:06.of savings that have got to be It is really hard searching
:06:07. > :06:13.where we are going to take Do you think that rural counties
:06:14. > :06:17.like yours are getting a raw deal? Councils want up ?4.74 million
:06:18. > :06:30.for the worst hit authorities. Powys, Ceredigion and Monmouthshire
:06:31. > :06:32.face losing more than 3% Compare that to Cardiff,
:06:33. > :06:38.which will get the smallest But even with those cuts,
:06:39. > :06:46.funding per person will still be higher in rural Powys
:06:47. > :06:50.and Ceredigion than in Cardiff. A better deal for rural Wales,
:06:51. > :06:55.that is what the Conservatives and Plaid Cymru have called
:06:56. > :06:57.for and the Liberal Democrats now say they will vote against the local
:06:58. > :07:01.government settlement too. That is despite the Lib Dems
:07:02. > :07:04.signing up to the overall It heaps more pressure
:07:05. > :07:10.on the ministers in the Labour Party but has left the Lib Dems facing
:07:11. > :07:14.accusations of hypocrisy. I am interested in securing
:07:15. > :07:22.additional resources I will leave the name calling
:07:23. > :07:31.to them and I will continue to press the Welsh Government and make
:07:32. > :07:33.the case for additional resources. It is being haggled over
:07:34. > :07:36.but the opposition say as things stand, they will vote down
:07:37. > :07:38.these funding plans. Ministers are talking to them
:07:39. > :07:40.and say they will reflect Councils want a new formula
:07:41. > :07:49.to hand-out the funding, one they say that is not
:07:50. > :07:53.squeeze rural authorities. Rugby and Leinster have climbed
:07:54. > :07:56.to the top of the pro 12 tonight after beating the Ospreys at home
:07:57. > :07:59.at the Liberty Stadium. Dave Kearney's second
:08:00. > :08:01.try securing the 22 - The weekend weather now
:08:02. > :08:15.Derek's got the forecast. Good evening. A little sunshine this
:08:16. > :08:21.weekend but more rain and heavy showers on the way. Two flood
:08:22. > :08:27.warnings and six flood watches in force. Rain in the North clears,
:08:28. > :08:31.elsewhere dry except a few showers. Mist and fog forming. The breeze
:08:32. > :08:36.picks up in the south and west with temperatures inland three Celsius.
:08:37. > :08:42.Tonight morning, the breeze picks up lifting any mist and fog. Showers
:08:43. > :08:47.spreading northwards, heavy in places but it will brighten up with
:08:48. > :08:52.glimpses of sunshine. Across the rest of the UK, an icy start for the
:08:53. > :08:57.North, bands of showers spreading northwards in the day, the rain is
:08:58. > :09:03.heavy in places, some brighter spells with snow likely in parts of
:09:04. > :09:08.Scotland and not just on high ground. Cold and windy in Scotland
:09:09. > :09:14.tomorrow and every three Celsius in Glasgow. In Wales, we do have a
:09:15. > :09:21.warning in force for parts of the South and West. Heavy rain, 1050
:09:22. > :09:25.millimetres in places in a short space of time. Wet tomorrow
:09:26. > :09:29.afternoon, the risk of surface water flooding. Breezy on the south and
:09:30. > :09:36.west coast with top temperatures eight to 11 Celsius. Some dry
:09:37. > :09:42.weather in Chepstow but more rain expected. Sunday, a cold day, breezy
:09:43. > :09:48.with sunshine and showers. Snow is likely on the hills and mountains.
:09:49. > :09:50.Next week, turning colder, Arctic winds bringing sunshine and showers.
:09:51. > :09:53.The snow on the hills and mountains. That's Wales Today -
:09:54. > :09:55.have a great weekend. From all of us on the
:09:56. > :10:01.programme good evening.