28/03/2017 BBC Wales Today

Welcome to Wales Today - our top stories...

Flying the flag - Welsh businesses set out

what they need from any Brexit deal on the eve of triggering Article 50.

We can't afford to get this wrong, it is much too important for Wales.

wanted on suspicion of murder, after a disabled man's body

A student on work placement at a nursery

describes seeing young children being frequently force-fed.

The long road to repair - the bill to fix the country's

I have to go to a lot of villages that are quite far out and go along

a lot of backroads and some of those are in a really bad state.

A major shake-up in domestic cricket, a proposed

Will it be an opportunity for Glamorgan, or a threat

Tomorrow the Prime Minister will trigger Article 50,

starting the process of the UK leaving the European Union.

As Westminster presses go, there's mounting pressure

from government and businesses here for Wales not to be forgotten.

In a letter to politicians seen exclusively by BBC Wales,

the leading business organisation the CBI says the priority should

be making sure ALL nations of the UK remain in the single

In a moment, our political editor, Nick Servini.

First, our business correspondent, Brian Meechan.

The UK Government has already given some idea of what Wales could be

facing after leaving the EU. Theresa May met business leaders including

the CBI in Swansea last week. On her first trade mission outside Europe

she visited India to lay the groundwork for a future deal. Today

she has agreed to begin discussions with Qatar to open up the Gulf

states to UK products but relations with is Scotland have become

strained. The CBI letter to Welsh politicians spells out what business

needs from negotiations, including allowing third -- thousands of EU

workers to stay here and no trade barriers. A lot of them don't

understand what is important for business. They are not that close to

business, some are but a lot of them don't understand what we are really

concerned about, and we need a launch pad for the rest of this, we

need to get this right. The business community wants to make sure that

Brexit doesn't lead to the four four countries of the UK go off in

different directions. Toilets and cosmetics are being parcelled up

here and being sent to shoppers online. Mostly it is across the UK

but increasingly other countries are important as well, taking up 15% of

the business, with the biggest markets being Germany, France and

the US. It is a similar picture for the whole of Wales. 67% of exports

from here go to the EU. Germany is that a guest market for Welsh

products, taking 24% of exports. -- is the biggest. France is next at

16% and the USA takes 13% of what Wales sells abroad. This man is the

honorary consul for India in Wales and the bones retail outlets in

Cardiff. The growing economy of India is another foreign market

Theresa May would like a trade deal with after Brexit but on her visit

there it was made clear that the country would want more visas,

including for students, in return. There has to be that respect the

people before all negotiations and we need to treat people with equity

and fairness and unless we do that I think the difficulties will arise

and I am sure the markets are wide open, especially the Indian markets,

they are looking forward to trading. At this Swansea manufacturer flying

the flag for Wales is much easier outside the EU. The boss supports

Brexit and believes there is no reason to be anxious. Perhaps

channel that banks into something positive and look further afield. I

don't think that losing one customer will be the death of us, it just

means we have to change. The UK has two years to iron out the details of

its future outside the EU once the Prime Minister triggers Article 50

tomorrow. What that looks like will depend on the negotiations in that

time. The First Minister, Carwyn Jones,

says his greatest fear is that farming and economic subsidies

will disappear altogether So, Nick, the First Minister ramping

up some of the rhetoric around If you take farm subsidies currently

coming from Brussels, the presumption is that they will now

come from Westminster. Carwyn Jones took the debate further, saying

there may not be any subsidies in the future. There is no real

foundation him saying that, Theresa May has said there will be a new

system introduced, but it is provocative to him to come out and

say this. He is latching on to comments from prominent Brexiteers

saying the common agricultural policy needs to be made more

competitive. It is provocative for him to say this on the eve of

triggering Article 50, because subsidies are such a huge part of

farm incomes. It may be a glimpse of a critical and outspoken term that

the First Minister will take during this negotiation process.

And last night we reported about the Welsh Government refusing

to bail out four health boards that had failed to balance their books.

Today the First Minister indicating he may go further.

This is ABMU, Betsi Cadwaladr, Cardiff and Vale, serious financial

problems. He was asked what it means the services and he said they would

need to balance their books and do it without cutting services and if

they can't do that and they will look at the governance arrangements

in the same way that they looked at the Scituate -- situation with Betsi

Cadwaladr. Betsi Cadwaladr has come under the direct control of the

Welsh government for nearly two years so he has raised the

possibility, it is just a possibility but the extraordinary

prospect of most of the health boards in Wales being centrally

controlled by ministers in Cardiff who don't trust the health boards to

balance their books. North Wales Police are searching

for a 25-year-old man wanted on suspicion of murder,

after what's been described as "a callous and brutal attack"

on a disabled man in Wrexham. A postmortem examination has found

67-year-old Nicholas Anthony Churton Officers have warned the public not

to approach Jordan James Lee, A cul-de-sac a few hundred miles

from Wrexham town centre. There has been a police presence since the

body was discovered. People believe Mr Churton died on Thursday Friday

last week. He was 67. Detectives say he was well-known in the Wrexham

area. At one stage he ran a wine bar a few miles away. Police say he was

vulnerable, he had this ability is. A postmortem suggests he died of a

severe head injury. -- he had disabilities. Police say they

looking for 25-year-old Jordan James Lee Davidson. Members of the are

being urged not to approach him if they spot him but to contact police.

We believe somebody in the area knows where Jordan is. We would like

to appeal to them to come forward and speak to the police. We want to

reassure the public that every possible line of enquiry is being

pursued to trace Jordan and we would like to reiterate that he is not to

be approached and if he is seen the police are to be contacted

immediately. There has been activity elsewhere in this case, homes have

been surged in another part of Wrexham and in Colwyn Bay. Two men

and a woman have been arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender.

A man's changed his plea and admitted attacking a pharmacist

Peter Bellett was due to stand trial in Swansea for the attack last

wounding Michael Irons at Garnant Pharmacy

with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.

The jail term of Andrew Saunders, who stabbed a couple to death

in Cardiff city centre, will not be reviewed

Saunders, who murdered Zoe Morgan and Lee Simmons,

was sentenced to life with a minimum term of 23

The couple were killed in September last year

near the Queen Street Matalan store where they worked.

A student on a work placement at a nursery in Port Talbot has

described seeing young children being frequently force-fed

Swansea Crown Court heard the Bright Sparks nursery closed

The owner and two members of staff deny causing cruelty.

Our reporter Ben Price has been in court.

Today the prosecution called on its first witness in this trial. The

student and placement at the Bright Sparks nursery in Port Talbot

between 2013 and 2015, who claims to have witnessed children suffering

acts of cruelty. Bright Sparks cared for up to 90 children from newborns

to those between seven and eight years of age. The student told the

jury today that on many occasions she saw children being force-fed by

certain members of staff and she also recalled on one occasion one of

the children being picked up by the wrists and in her words being flung

across the room. Asked why she hadn't reported these incidents

soon, she said she felt scared and said she was in an environment with

trained professionals and she felt out of place doing so.

There is no suggestion though, Ben, that any of the children

No, but the prosecution argues that some of these children were left

traumatised and very distressed by what happened to them. The former

owner of the nursery Katie Davis faces a single charge of causing

cruelty to a person under the age of 16. The assistant manager faces six

counts of the same charge. All of the women denied the charges against

them and the trial continues. Flytipping is on the increase,

according to Natural They say there were more than 42,000

incidents in the last year. They're working with

North Wales Police's rural crime Today a builder was fined

and ordered to do 100 hours of unpaid work for dumping rubbish

on a country road on Anglesey. Oswyn Williams arrived

at Mold Crown Court this He runs a construction company

called Glyndwr Services. In 2015, a large amount

of rubbish was found dumped Two piles of green waste

and rubble were in a lay-by, and another pile containing

clothing, a tarpaulin and furniture A receipt from a builders' merchants

was among the waste, which contained Mr Williams' company details

and his name. Another piece of evidence also

proved key to his conviction. Oswyn Williams had offered

to dispose of a number of pieces of furniture and other

items from an office He was eventually traced when a bank

paying-in book belonging to the owner of the property

was found amid the rubbish. Fly-tipping is a growing problem in

Wales, costing the taxpayer more than ?2 million a year to clean up.

Councils use everything from CCTV to a shared database to catch people.

It effects duty spots, affect the environment, and it seems to be a

problem on the increase. -- it affects beauty spots.

North Wales Police's rural crime team worked

with Natural Resources Wales to investigate the case and say

people need to be wary of some of those offering

We have a number of incidents now, ongoing

cases, really, with Facebook being used to advertise man-in-a-van type

of business, and a lot of the members of the public contact these

people and, subsequently, their waste just gets

Mr Williams escaped a jail sentence, but was fined a total of ?750

and ordered to do 100 hours of unpaid community work.

Much more to come before 7 o'clock...

Working out depression, and why men struggle

with talking about it - even though it affects one in ten of us.

How a Baptist minister opened his own pub to encourage

Crumbling away and in terminal decline - that's the verdict

of our roads from the latest survey by the Asphalt Industry Alliance.

It claims more than ?590 million would have to be spent

to bring our local roads up to a reasonable standard.

It suggests one in six are in "poor structural condition",

The thud of hitting a pothole, enough to make

An ageing road network, increased traffic and wetter winters

are all blamed for the problem, according to the latest survey

Local authority roads are probably local authorities' principal assets,

people need to get to work, children to school, social services rely on

it, so it is important that our crumbling roads are maintained.

This most recent survey says it would cost just over

?590 million to get Wales' roads into a decent state.

That's an average of just under ?27 million per council.

And last year alone, 141,000 potholes were filled in Wales.

The Welsh Local Government Association says that an additional

?172 million was invested into Wales' roads

And that has meant there are now fewer highways in poor condition

as the money was spent on full resurfacing work rather

than the "patch and mend" repairs that had been ongoing.

In many parts of Europe roads are often in a better condition than our

motorways but that is because of tolls. They generate income but it

is also claimed it puts people off using them in the first place.

Motorists at this service station in Llanrhystud this morning

I do not think they are very good at all.

I do a lot of travelling with work and all sorts of things,

playing golf, and most of the roads that I travel on need some sort of

I think definitely they have been getting worse, maybe because of the

weather war because the budget is spent elsewhere, and they could be

improved, definitely, especially along the little country roads.

I have to go to villages that are quite far out, go

on lots of backroads and some are in a really bad state.

Apart from hundreds of millions needed, it'd also take nearly

a decade to bring our roads to a reasonable condition.

13% of adults in Wales have received treatment

It's an issue which costs the Welsh economy an estimated ?7.2 billion.

Now Aaron Corria, who works in a school in Cardiff,

has set up his own website after his latest bout of depression

He is fit and healthy with a toned physique that

He has a nice home and a rewarding job.

But despite this seemingly charmed existence Aaron Corria has been

In the Christmas holidays things came to a head.

I had a very, very low point just after Boxing Day.

Luckily my dad was around, he sort of got hold of me

and I moved back home for a week, saw the family and got

That's the stigma, you don't have to have a certain job

Anybody can get it, can get the illness.

It's a chemical imbalance in your brain.

For Aaron, as well as his medication, regular exercise

and training has helped with his physical

It gives you a focus, something to release energy,

release anxiety, release stress levels, and obviously it

That's a chemical in the brain that obviously helps you feel good.

The latest figures in Wales show 16% of women have received treatment

for mental-health problems but fewer men have received

That could be because they are less likely to seek help.

Overall it costs our NHS here over ?600 million a year,

more than any other service in the Welsh NHS.

Aaron believes there's a stigma surrounding mental health

which forced him to become secretive about his condition.

He says people like him can become withdrawn and are

That's what inspired him to set up his own website, Brotectors.

It's an online forum and support group for other men

I've had hundreds and hundreds of e-mails from people thanking me

People seeking help, people asking me how

It's been really overwhelming, I'm so surprised, I didn't think it

Aaron believes only those who suffered from depression can

truly understand it and for him the satisfaction of helping others

is also vital treatment to help him battle his own demons.

It could be the biggest shake-up to domestic cricket for years -

a new Twenty20 competition featuring fewer teams,

Glamorgan Cricket Club says it wants one of the franchises

But critics fear it could spell the end of county cricket.

Tomos Dafydd is at the Swalec Stadium for us - how

Glamorgan was founded back in 1888, dominant force in Welsh cricket. Now

this new tournament has been proposed, Glamorgan won't be playing

in it. Eight new teams will be created, based in cities, we don't

know what they will be called or what they will be -- where they will

be but Glamorgan is adamant that they will be part. They hope to

rival other tournaments overseas such as the IPL in India.

Why are they so keen? While Glamorgan won't be playing in

this new tournament, they are keen for Cardiff side to be based in the

Swalec Stadium. They want to generate more revenue and help grow

the game here, get more people playing and watching. For the

purists, Test cricket will always be the favourite but it is the T20

game, the shortened version, that is the really popular game that will

dry audiences to cricket and attract big-money deals. Let's see how it

has fared at Glamorgan. If you look at attendances last season, an

average of 5000 3020, compares to County Championship over four days,

just a few hundred. -- an average of 5004 T20. Glamorgan made an

operating loss of ?300,000 last year. One official put it to me

today that the more events they host here the better it will be for both

-- for Glamorgan's finances. I have been speaking to a former captain

and he says it is try to -- time to try something new.

You can't fight against the tide, I think.

Yeah, I'm a bit of a traditionalist but I enjoy going to

Twenty20 and, as I said earlier, you look at the Twenty20

competitions around the world and how successful

they are, the standard of the cricket being

game's just moving on and on, and you see the huge crowds

But that's not to say that first-class cricket and Test

Glamorgan will set out some plans to Assembly Members trying to get some

support so it looks like the new tournament could be on its way by

the year 2020. Glamorgan see it as an opportunity but others see it as

a threat to the future of county cricket.

Pubs and churches are historically seen as places that sit at the heart

But now one Baptist Minister has decided to combine the two -

Customers are encouraged not to use their mobile phones

or computers at St Canna's, with the aim of building

As you can see, we've got quite a bit of work still to do.

Reverend James Karran is passionate about his faith,

building a strong community and real ale, and so St Canna's

on the outskirts of Cardiff city centre is born.

It is fuelled by Reverend Karran's ideals and faith but the pub

The bar is over here, I can show you what we've got going on.

St Canna's a sixth-century saint, actually from around the West Wales

area but for some reason she had a bit of a following here as well.

So we've got the two logos that were designed for us.

Pubs and churches not so long ago used to be the two hubs of community

in any local community and they're both really struggling

People are constantly on social media and for a lot of people it's

For my work as a chaplaincy at the University of South Wales

we saw this all the time and how younger people especially can

become very isolated because they would just spend

so much time on their own with their screens.

I have toyed with the idea of giving people a reduction

in the cost of their pint if you would leave your phone

behind the bar but I don't know about that yet.

So over here, this is my baby, one of the best things

Our piano, or our joanna, as we named her.

Hopefully we're going to get lots of people playing this.

We don't have any recorded music at the ale house,

nothing that distracts from conversation, but we do

encourage, if possible, people to play their own music.

With a few days to go until the grand opening,

it's all hands on deck with final preparations and the hope is once it

opens St Canna's will be a pub with a very different

It is opening time on the weather service now.

We're all going to see some rain at some point

But we've seen the last of the frost for a while.

Now it was a cold and foggy start in Welshpool this morning.

A little sunshine in Llanrwst but cloudier than recently.

And not everywhere stayed dry today, with heavy showers

This evening and overnight outbreaks of rain and drizzle

Some drier spells and a milder night than recently.

Lowest temperatures eight to 11 Celsius.

Here's the picture for eight in the morning.

damp in the west with patches of rain and drizzle.

During the day, the rain will become more widespread.

Some heavy persistent rain in the afternoon

Top temperatures 11 to 15 with a south to south-westerly breeze.

dull with outbreaks of rain and drizzle.

Some heavy persistent rain in the afternoon.

Bright for a while but a little rain in the afternoon.

Tomorrow night further showers or longer spells of rain.

On Thursday some dry spells but outbreaks of rain as well.

Parts of mid, north and west Wales turning wet in the afternoon.

The southeast though may brighten up.

The reason for the rain, low pressure over the Atlantic

with a cold front moving eastwards on Friday.

So on Friday more rain, heavy in places.

Improving form the west later in the day.

Turning drier and brighter with a few showers.

On Saturday a mixture of sunshine and showers.

Scotland's parliament has voted in favour of second

A majority at Holyrood backed Nicola Sturgeon's

call for Scotland to have another say, following the vote

But the UK government says it'll block a referendum until the Brexit

I'll have an update for you here at 8 o'clock and again

That's Wales Today, thank you for watching.

From all of us on the programme, good evening.