:00:10. > :00:10.Flight and passenger numbers continue to fall
:00:11. > :00:20.Everything that affect the two Islands is costing a lot of money to
:00:21. > :00:24.do a ten minute flight. Good evening, and welcome
:00:25. > :00:26.to the late news from And: remove it or loose it -
:00:27. > :00:31.the abandoned vehicles New figures show the number
:00:32. > :00:39.of people flying between the Channel Islands has continued
:00:40. > :00:42.to drop in recent years, with 2016 The airline Blue Islands says it's
:00:43. > :00:52.'regrettable' but the fall in demand However, many in the sports
:00:53. > :00:54.and holiday industry Lizzie has just flown
:00:55. > :01:00.into Jersey from Guernsey. She's not impressed
:01:01. > :01:03.with inter-island travel. We think everything's running
:01:04. > :01:11.smoothly, then all of a sudden we get phone calls quite a lot
:01:12. > :01:14.saying it's cancelled or they've moved the flight times,
:01:15. > :01:16.and it's not ideal. And it seems she's not
:01:17. > :01:23.the only one being put off. Over the past three years,
:01:24. > :01:26.the number of people flying between the Channel Islands has
:01:27. > :01:28.continued to fall, with a 4% drop Last year the decline
:01:29. > :01:34.was even worse, at 9% - The airline Blue Islands says it's
:01:35. > :01:41.partly due to unprecedented weather disruption in 2016,
:01:42. > :01:43.and to businesses increasingly using tele-conferencing rather
:01:44. > :01:50.than inter-island travel. But many in the sport and leisure
:01:51. > :01:52.industry are blaming flight The prices have gone
:01:53. > :01:55.up quite considerably to what they were 12 to 18 months
:01:56. > :02:00.ago, and people are looking at the cost of taking children,
:02:01. > :02:02.not only teams, but also... I mean, it goes across the board,
:02:03. > :02:05.choirs, you name it, everything that affects the two
:02:06. > :02:08.islands is costing a lot of money The airline points to the increase
:02:09. > :02:13.in airport fees it's faced, and insists it provides enough
:02:14. > :02:18.choice, with up to 16 flights a day. Although some islanders
:02:19. > :02:20.may hark back to a time With the plane sizes now, they're
:02:21. > :02:25.definitely bigger than they were. Those of us that remember
:02:26. > :02:27.the Trislanders hopping backwards and forwards,
:02:28. > :02:29.it was like a bus service. Now, the airlines use 40-plus seats
:02:30. > :02:32.and therefore there can't be the number of flights
:02:33. > :02:34.that there were. Blue Islands operates
:02:35. > :02:39.the Jersey-Guernsey route with Flybe as its franchise partner,
:02:40. > :02:41.after Aurigny withdrew last year - a deal that's currently
:02:42. > :02:44.being investigated by And the outcome will no
:02:45. > :02:51.doubt watched closely by passengers like Lizzie,
:02:52. > :02:53.who feel inter-island flying has The Channel Islands
:02:54. > :02:59.are going through one Rainfall has been so rare that
:03:00. > :03:06.in Guernsey and Jersey it was the second driest
:03:07. > :03:08.December on record. But as Mike Wilkins reports,
:03:09. > :03:10.some are more than happy These are probably the happiest cows
:03:11. > :03:19.in the Channel Islands today. It's the first time these calves'
:03:20. > :03:22.hooves have ever touched grass. The farmer who owns them told me
:03:23. > :03:25.it's much easier to introduce them to the outdoors with the sun
:03:26. > :03:28.on their back, rather He says the good weather
:03:29. > :03:32.is helping his farm. We are not collecting as much slurry
:03:33. > :03:36.because the rain isn't as much. So it's just nice to not have
:03:37. > :03:50.to walk around in the rain, really. And in Jersey, the arid weather's
:03:51. > :03:53.helping its world famous At the moment we're not too
:03:54. > :03:58.worried, clearly we do If you look at reservoirs,
:03:59. > :04:03.they are half empty. But from the perspective
:04:04. > :04:06.we are now back with ideal But whilst it's been good news
:04:07. > :04:18.for some farmers, it's not so great The water levels behind me
:04:19. > :04:22.at the reservoir look lower than they should be at this
:04:23. > :04:24.time of year. We have approached Guernsey Water
:04:25. > :04:27.for the latest figures, but they haven't been able
:04:28. > :04:32.to talk to us. But it shouldn't come
:04:33. > :04:36.as much of a surprise considering that this December has
:04:37. > :04:42.been the driest since 1879. It's unclear what impact a dry
:04:43. > :04:45.summer and now a dry winter could have on water reserves
:04:46. > :04:47.and prices, but for now, many are happy to enjoy
:04:48. > :04:56.this unseasonal weather. It's a New Year clean up
:04:57. > :05:00.many say is overdue. Tomorrow - nearly 30 vehicles unused
:05:01. > :05:02.or abandoned on a Jersey trading estate will be towed away
:05:03. > :05:04.if not claimed. Businesses on the Rue des
:05:05. > :05:13.Pres Estate in St Saviour welcome the move but are also concerned that
:05:14. > :05:15.stricter parking measures due to be brought in have not
:05:16. > :05:17.been thought through. I spoke to Alison Moss
:05:18. > :05:30.who was at the Rue des Pres Estate Alison, it looks like some of those
:05:31. > :05:36.vehicles are not in any state to be driven? Just look at it, we have a
:05:37. > :05:41.flat tire, and in the year, it is unlocked. Only one seat. It is
:05:42. > :05:50.completely and rove worthy and there are vehicles like this all down the
:05:51. > :05:54.road. -- and ready for -- not ready for the road. There are several
:05:55. > :05:57.other cars which have to be claimed by tomorrow, otherwise they will be
:05:58. > :06:03.taken away and potentially destroyed. They are not only an
:06:04. > :06:07.eyesore on the Rue des Pres Estate but they cause a legitimate security
:06:08. > :06:14.concern for traders and businesses. People can park anywhere they want
:06:15. > :06:17.to, there are no designated spaces, and there are a lot of people
:06:18. > :06:22.without any business interests on the estate using the estate for free
:06:23. > :06:27.parking during the day. It is obviously leaving a lot of employees
:06:28. > :06:34.and businesses on the estate without any safe parking. So, why is the
:06:35. > :06:37.estate taking control? At the moment, the states cannot impose
:06:38. > :06:41.fines or penalties for vehicles parked by this because they do not
:06:42. > :06:46.own the road. By taking over the private road they can do that but
:06:47. > :06:50.policing it will cost money. To get that money, the states want to
:06:51. > :06:55.impose a parking charge for all of the business here on the Rue des
:06:56. > :07:00.Pres Estate which is becoming contentious because it will cost the
:07:01. > :07:03.same amount as trading in central Sydney earlier, and traders say that
:07:04. > :07:10.away to get away from such away to get away from such
:07:11. > :07:16.restrictions. So, what are they doing? They are meeting the deputy
:07:17. > :07:21.minister next Tuesday -- St Hellier. Everybody understands that it is a
:07:22. > :07:25.safety concern, unsightly and not good for trade on the trading
:07:26. > :07:28.estate. They want to compromise but in the meantime, if the calls like
:07:29. > :07:35.this one are not claimed by tomorrow, tow trucks will be living
:07:36. > :07:37.in -- be vehicles. Everybody agrees that taking the used cars away is a
:07:38. > :07:42.step in the right direction. A tax office worker accused
:07:43. > :07:44.of stealing hundreds of pounds in Jersey has been cleared
:07:45. > :07:46.of all charges. 40-year-old Carl Robert Frankum, who
:07:47. > :07:49.worked at Cyril Le Marquand House, denied two counts of stealing
:07:50. > :07:51.from the States of Jersey The prosecution claimed he took tax
:07:52. > :07:55.cash payments for himself, but a jury acquitted him
:07:56. > :07:58.after a two-day trial Pressure on hospital beds in Jersey
:07:59. > :08:05.is said to be "easing", after being on red alert before
:08:06. > :08:07.Christmas. During the holidays bed capacity
:08:08. > :08:10.at Jersey General Hospital varied A spokesman says this was due
:08:11. > :08:20.to a "planned reduction in the number of operations"
:08:21. > :08:23.plus new measures to help make beds available for emergency admissions,
:08:24. > :08:25.meanwhile flu and norovirus levels The ?45 million deal to buy
:08:26. > :08:30.Channel Islands building supplier, The deal sees more than 150 staff
:08:31. > :08:37.across both Guernsey New owners, Sigma Roc PLC,
:08:38. > :08:43.completed the purchase earlier this week and the company began trading
:08:44. > :08:45.on London's Alternative It's getting closer to the weekend,
:08:46. > :09:03.so let's see what the weather Thank you. Hello and good evening. A
:09:04. > :09:08.bright day to look forward to tomorrow, it is quite cold. Six or 7
:09:09. > :09:13.degrees is the top temperature and possible frost tonight. Later in the
:09:14. > :09:18.day, more cloud and drizzle coming our way overnight. The change into
:09:19. > :09:23.the weekend will be the change to mild air, we lose this area of high
:09:24. > :09:27.pressure, close by at the moment across central Britain. It will
:09:28. > :09:37.weaken and gets pushed out a way as these two weather fronts arrive.
:09:38. > :09:40.Slow progress on these two systems, not getting to us until overnight on
:09:41. > :09:46.Friday and into Saturday. But when they are with us on Saturday, they
:09:47. > :09:50.keep as cloudy -- keep as cloudy. Skies will be clear enough to get
:09:51. > :09:53.those temperatures low, they are falling already and overnight we
:09:54. > :09:58.could have temperatures as low as two or three degrees, above
:09:59. > :10:03.freezing. A possibility of frost first thing on the islands, winds
:10:04. > :10:07.pick up, not as low as they could be, a southerly breeze, that will
:10:08. > :10:11.continue to feed in brighter and dry weather for much of the data more
:10:12. > :10:18.about late in the day, we see more cloud arriving from the North West.
:10:19. > :10:22.It will have be skies, temperatures struggle, six or 7 degrees will be
:10:23. > :10:28.the maximum. Heading into Europe, cold air here as well. Lovely across
:10:29. > :10:32.Spain and Portugal, quiet here, France is called, just one or 2
:10:33. > :10:37.degrees above freezing for a large part of France for much of the day
:10:38. > :10:40.tomorrow. When we get into the weekend, milder air arrives,
:10:41. > :10:45.temperatures back into double figures. A cloudy day on Saturday,
:10:46. > :10:50.but then brighter with sunny spells on Sunday.
:10:51. > :10:53.Have a good night. That's all for tonight, BBC Radio 's Guernsey and
:10:54. > :10:56.Jersey have bulletins from six o'clock tomorrow morning, Alison is
:10:57. > :10:59.with you from 6:30pm tomorrow night. Good night.
:11:00. > :11:02.creeping up by a notch or two, 10, maybe nine Celsius. Here is Louise
:11:03. > :11:14.with the national picture. Won't it cold and frosty this
:11:15. > :11:20.morning? The coldest night of the winter so far in England. Down to
:11:21. > :11:23.minus 8 Celsius. But widely, the temperatures below freezing. Through