12/10/2016 BBC Wales Today

the weekend while between those heavy bursts of rain it should feel

warmer. Our top story: A Welsh MP calls

for a review of fixed odds betting Tonight, in a special report,

one former gambler tells us My son watched me put ?1500 in the

machine one day. When you are in the zone nothing is more important.

Also tonight, this former scoutmaster is already in prison

The latest from court where he's been given a fresh sentence for sex

Are you one of the landlords who could soon be breaking the law?

With weeks to go, thousands still aren't registered

Considering I had no idea about the scheme I don't think they've had all

done a good idea about encouraging good landlord behaviour.

And, a rural job in need of 21st century technology.

One farmers' union says slow broadband is causing

In tonight's sport, it's one of the world's biggest sporting

events, but one expert warns there could have been NO economic

benefits to Wales hosting the 2026 Commonwealth Games.

Good evening and welcome to the programme.

They generate billions of pounds for the gambling industry,

but tonight there's a claim that some betting game machines

are causing serious damage to Welsh communities.

The Welsh MP who's leading an inquiry into the fixed odds

terminals is now calling for a UK government review of the machinesm

which are found in bookmakers across the country.

With this special report, here's Gareth Bryer.

They are essential part of the gambling industry, fixed or what

betting terminals. Touch screen machines where you can play casino

games, electronic slot games and virtual racing. But unlike other

slot machines you can stake up to ?100 bet. After almost 50 years of

problem gambling, this man who wanted to remain anonymous, they

proved his undoing. His words are spoken a member of our production

team. My son watched me put ?1500 in a machine one day and he was

physically shaking. It when you are in the zone nothing matters and

there's nothing more important than the machine. Nothing could have

stopped me. Now, a Swansea MP and chair of the Parliamentary group

looking at the machines says the government needs to do something. We

need an overhaul and hopefully come up with a solution which will not

suit the bookies but it will help the associated problems with these

machines. When the bookies were on the high street and they were just

doing horse racing and dog racing they were part of the fabric of a

community but now they've become the scourge of the community. The

terminal 's first appeared in 1999 and last year, customers across the

UK, lost a total of ?1.7 billion playing them. Betting shops are

restricted to four machines and as things stand there are over 1400

terminals in Wales. The UK Government has indicated it will

conduct a review of the machines and the maximum stake people can bet.

The industry accepts the review is likely but says the bookies shop is

the safest place to gamble. We welcome the debate. It's easy for

the antigambling lobby to make quite strong false claims about the

industry. The shins have been in shops for 15 years and they've been

reviewed. When the evidence comes before government they come to the

same conclusion, that they should be there. He was using money he's saved

for Christmas presents that prompted this gambler to break his habit.

I've been gamble free for two years but the addiction below was be part

of my life. It will never disappear and the thought of going into a

betting shop is frightening because I know if I walk back into a betting

shop the machines will make me have that feeling again. He made a break

from his past but for other individuals it is still at the heart

of our high streets and the stakes are high.

A former scout leader, who's already in jail for abusing

boys in the 1960s and '70s, has been given a further 11-year sentence.

Mold Crown Court heard how more victims of 70-year-old Martyn Tucker

came forward after seeing news reports of the previous case.

Our reporter Chris Dearden joins us now.

Well, the church described his behaviour as deviant and wholly

representative -- reprehensible. He admitted to 28 offences of indecent

assault or gross indecency. It involved eight victims aged as young

as 12 and one of the victim said he was left with long-term injuries

after he was sexually assaulted by Martyn Tucker. Another victim said

he was on a canoeing holiday with Martyn Tucker who I work in a tent

in the middle of the night and found he was being sexually assaulted.

Another said he was groomed between the ages of 12 and 14 by Martyn

Tucker in the 1980s and he was indecently assaulted several times

as well. Martyn Tucker had been a canoe instructor and Scout leader

but the judge said the -- that he had inflicted things on his victims

that they would suffer for three years. Reminders of his previous

convictions. In 2014 he was given 12 years in jail for offences against

five other victims. The court heard today that one man saw a news report

about that case in 2014 and broke down in tears in his kitchen. He

rang the police and spoke about it for the first time because he too

had been abused by Martyn Tucker. These were the charges on the sheet

today for which he was sentenced. There was another man in court,

Malcolm Gould, who was sentenced for assault on one of Martyn Tucker's

victims and the police have welcomed the sentences saying they hope there

is some justice for the victims who can get some closure on this.

The design of Swansea's Kingsway was a contributory factor

in an incident which resulted in the death of a 41-year-old woman

Sergeant Louise Lucas died in March 2015 after being hit

from behind by a bus when she attempted to

Road safety expert, Mark Steventon, said it was likely

Mrs Lucas momentarily forgot about the unconventional

Since Mrs Lucas' death metal barriers have been placed along

The Caerphilly MP, Wayne David, is returning to the Labour front

He originally left the shadow cabinet, in protest

at Jeremy Corbyn's leadership, but has agreed to go back IF he can

continue to support the renewal of the Trident nuclear system,

A former police superintendent who is on trial for historical sex

offences has told Mold Crown Court he's the victim of a "conspiracy

Gordon Anglesea, who's 78, denies abusing two boys

There are fears that thousands of landlords will soon

be breaking the law, when a new central licensing

Welsh Government figures suggest only one in four landlords have

undertaken the Rent Smart Wales training, with the deadline

It's hoped the scheme will raise standards,

but opponents say rogue landlords will slip through.

Here's our economics correspondent, Sarah Dickins.

Ffion Paschalis works for a Cardiff letting agency and shows me

The landlord has ten or 12 properties altogether.

He's converted this building into eight self-contained flats.

A mixture of two and one bedroom flats.

So that's someone who would be counted as a professional landlord?

Landlords and agents have to register within six weeks.

A central licensing scheme, Rent Smart Wales, has been set up

The scheme involves landlords being trained about

and responsibilities online or in a classroom and they get

Another option is not do the training, pay for

a letting agent but still register as a landlord.

Many landlords do not see themselves as businesses.

They just let out a home they've inherited or grown out of.

I fully agree with protecting tenants but there's not an awful lot

sometimes to protect landlords because there's an assumption

every landlord is bad and they have multiple properties.

I don't think Rent Smart has done a good job in helping to encourage

This is one of many events in which landlords are being

It takes eight weeks to be trained and registered for the scheme

so with six weeks before the government's deadline and three

quarters of landlords in Wales not registered that's quite a challenge.

The Residential Landlords Association says it advised

the Welsh government against this type of licensing.

It's incredibly bureaucratic and has proven not to be successful

Scotland hasn't taken up more than 15% of the problems.

The Welsh government hopes the scheme will increase

the reputation of the private sector here and attract more

There are a fair few accidental landlords in particular who have

maybe inherited property who aren't aware they have the same obligation

as someone who has maybe a hundred properties.

The fear is those people may find themselves the wrong side

A man who claims he slept with a woman just days before

she was allegedly raped by footballer Ched Evans,

has told a court he was "shocked" by her sexual behaviour.

The former Wales international denies raping the 19-year-old woman,

at a Premier Inn in Rhuddlan in Denbighshire, five years ago.

He was found guilty of rape in 2012, but had his conviction

Jed Evans has always maintained his innocence. His retrial has heard in

graphic detail about consensual sexual relationships but it's

claimed his alleged victim had with other men on other occasions -- that

it's claimed. It was in 2011 that the 19-year-old went back to a held

-- hotel room after a night out. The prosecution say that Mr Evans also

had sex with the woman here but she was too drunk to be able to consent

with him. She remembers nothing. The court heard today from a witness who

can't be named for legal reasons but he explained he also went back after

a night out with a moment when she was also drank but on a separate

occasion. He explained the direction and the words she used with him. The

court heard those words and direction were similar or identical

to the ones that Chad Evans said she used during their encounter at that

hotel that weekend. The witness added the woman was expecting sex as

soon as they got into the house. "She Turned and said... You're not

even going to rip my clothes off". Another witness explained he also

went back after a night out. He told the court that the 19-year-old

didn't appear to be able to remember what happened between them the night

before either. Defending Mr Evans, the QC asked why he was giving

evidence? The answer was because he believed she was lying. This was

extra evidence given to the Chad Evans legal team after Woods. Mr

Evans denies rape and the trial continues.

A look at some of the more unusual ways of sparking interest among

girls to follow a career in science and technology.

And there was a record medal haul for Wales in Glasgow,

but a report sets out some of the reasons a bid to host

the Commonwealth Games HERE was dropped.

The head of National Museum Wales has warned that proposals to merge

some of its commercial work, would tie it "by the legs".

Director General David Anderson told the assembly's culture committee

he feared a loss of effectiveness, if the plans involving Cadw,

the body in charge of historic sites in Wales, went ahead.

The Welsh government says it wants the institutions to become

It is hard to beat effective as an entity even though it may look as

though only certain functions are being taken. In practice, commercial

activities and non-commercial call work are deeply integrated with each

other and require savage surgery to separate them out.

Let s speak to our Arts Correspondent, Huw Thomas,

who is at the National Museum for us tonight.

Huw, how strongly is the museum resisting this plan?

It's fair to say that the museum is raising questions about the proposal

while also accepting some form of collaboration could ultimately be

beneficial to the museum and other institutions like it in Wales.

They're raising questions about a plan that could ultimately see its

commercial operations merged -- merge with those of Cadw. And also

attention you with the National library in Aberystwyth. We heard

from Mr Anderson saying how hard it would be to separate the commercial

function of the museum from the call work it does and they are

essentially fairly intertwined. He hinted that in the long term it

could be damaging to the museum. But the government has said it's at the

beginning of a consultation process to work out what the role of

Historic Wales would be when it's created and once the discussion to

take place in the coming months. But national Museum Wales aren't the

only one to debate this. They all claim it could be a threat to the

museum 's independence if the merger went ahead. Creating Historic Wales

was a Labour manifesto, wasn't it? Yes. In a sense it helps explain a

bit of the museum's stance as they feel that perhaps some of the ideas

about what Historic Wales should do have already been taken. The

government say a group will look at the business case for Historic Wales

in the next few months. In the meantime, you can expect National

Museum Wales to put its case for its own independence. Thank you.

A minute's silence will be observed across Wales next Friday morning

to remember the victims of Aberfan exactly 50 years after the disaster.

Earlier today, pupils from three local schools planted a tree

On October 21st 1966 - a colliery waste tip collapsed

onto Pantglas Junior School, killing 144 people.

There's a widening digital divide between rural Wales and the west of

the community according to the managing director of the farmers

union of Wales. Davies says businesses in farming are suffering

and unable to diversify. The Welsh government says it remains committed

to offering fast reliable broadband to every property here.

Gareth Lloyd is a sheep farmer in Talgarreg in Ceredgion.

He was brought up on the farm so learnt the business

at a very early age, but it's changing quickly but it's

battle to keep up when his broadband is still painfully slow.

Gareth is also often without mobile signal which makes it hard to run

This widening digital divide between rural Wales and the rest

You register cattle online and more and more people are coming online so

it is being more technologically advanced -- advanced. The ability

isn't there for a lot of people to do that because they haven't got

broadband Internet connection or the speed they have got means it takes

an age. It is the slow Internet connection that farmers say it is

making things difficult as they look to expand what they do. With Ning a

living off the land becoming increasingly hard, many farmers look

to diversify but that can be virtually impossible if you have a

slow Internet connection as you need it to market your business and take

bookings and for customers to use Wi-Fi when they are staying. At in a

poor mobile signal and it becomes increasingly frustrating when you

see other parts of the country seeing vast improvements. Alan

Davies Is The Managing Director Of The Farmers Union of Wales. He is

asking for a review. We are not getting anything in terms of

investment on local development because the connectivity isn't

there. Something serious needs to change, not least of which should be

a review of technological options available within superfast broadband

programmes. The Welsh government says they are continuing to make

solid progress on their superfast programme. There are whole counties

in Wales who have nothing at all. So, through superfast, we got to the

end of June and properties did get superfast broadband. But with many

parts of rural Wales still failing to see improvements, this is a

digital divide which seems to be getting wider.

Why do many women decide not to pursue a career inside and

technology? Research shows it is often a lack of confidence putting

girls are. An event today aims to inspire 15 to 22-year-old.

Making music with a glass bottle, a piece of wood and a string. It's all

to try and get girls more interested in subjects like science,

technology, engineering and maths. This social enterprise supports

girls considering a Stem career. This young woman says you don't need

to be as gifted as heard to work in the sector. Actually, the myth has

got a lot to do in the way of getting in the way. There's a

perception you must be amazing at maths to do anything related to it

but there are semi-different options. At an event today, a

practical demonstration to get girls interested in science and

technology. This is just a guitar string which vibrates. The vibration

is then picked up on this. If they can see how things actually come to

life... And it's about practical applications. Many pupils here are

seriously considering a Stem career and say encouragement often begins

at home. My grandad is a doctor so I've been inspired by him to pursue

a career in medicine or other sciences. I'm thinking of something

to do with technology as I enjoy computer work and designing

products. But women are still underrepresented when it comes to

so-called Stem subjects. In sectors like engineering, Wales has some of

the lowest numbers of women working will stop in Wales, the number of

chartered engineers stands at 5.6%. Far lower than other European

countries such as Sweden where 25% of engineers are women. The Welsh

government says it has spent ?2.2 million over the last couple of

years on science academy and has funded over 20 major programmes of

work with the aim of getting young people, especially girls, interested

in science technology. It hopes that at events like this it's a path that

more of them choose in the future. And now for the sport.

Hosting the Commonwealth Games in Wales in 2026 may have had no

economic benefits according to the Welsh government's chief economist.

A study into a possible bid released to BBC Wales following a Freedom of

information requests also warns that dropping the bid could damage the

reputation of Wales. The big events just keep coming...

Glasgow 2014, showcasing Scotland and not just its athletes, to the

world at a cost of ?425 million. It was under budget and considerably

less than what Wales would have spent to host the games in 2026. The

Welsh government study looked at a range of options and prices. In

third place at ?1.3 billion was the games in south-east Wales with the

new athletics stadium and velodrome in Newport. The second most hotly

was the game is split between South and North Wales. In first place, the

ministers' preferred options was an all Wales game costing ?1.5 billion.

The report says the main economic return would be from building

facilities like these. But it says that can be done without hosting the

games. It also says there is no clear evidence that hosting big

sporting events will get many of us out on the track and participating.

Some disagree with putting a price on moments like these. A gold fall

cyclist Geraint Thomas. But those behind Commonwealth Games Wales says

there will be another bid in the future and now there's plenty of

time to bring the cost down. Glasgow built a lot of its venue going into

the games whereas that wasn't the case for Wales. Some venues could

still be built and host single sport competitions. If those are done and

we were to come back, as we would like to come it would bring the cost

down. The Welsh government dropped their bid in July citing high cost

and funding and uncertainties over Brexit but the report says that may

damage the sporting reputation of Wales around the world. But winning

on this occasion might just have been too high a price to pay.

Cardiff won't host a marathon until 2018, a year later than originally

announced. Ten days ago, run for Wales said they would announce a

marathon next April, saying they don't want to rush a route.

Now for the weather. Thank you. Beach weather in some

parts today. Not everywhere has date dried today with a few showers

drifting in from England this afternoon. One or two showers around

tonight but most of the country is dry. Cloud and missed in places.

Temperatures will be cool. Tomorrow morning, parts of the North will be

cloudy and misty. Much of the country will be dry with lovely

sunshine in the south and West. During the day cloud will spread

across the country bringing one or two showers in the afternoon. Most

of the showers will be in the North and East and the Marches. Cooler

than today. The breeze from the east or Northeast. In Pembrokeshire

tomorrow, dry with sunny spells. Tomorrow evening, a few showers will

die away so generally dry overnight. Ground frost in places. Saying --

staying clear in parts of the South and West. On Friday, much of the

country will be dry with bright spells of sunshine. On Friday, the

chart shows low pressure in -- towards Ireland which will influence

our weather for the weekend. Heavy showers but some sunshine as well

and turning milder.