23/01/2018 London News

But here on BBC One, it's time

for the news where you are.

Good evening.

It's been a day of disruption

for a large part of central London -

after a gas leak led to the closure

of The Strand and two of the

capital's busiest train stations.

Around 1500 people had

to be evacuated from

a hotel and nightclub.

And thousands of commuters

struggled to get to work -

with crowd control measures

at some stations.

Charlotte Franks' report contains

some flashing images.

(PKG NEXT)

A night spent

on a conference room floor.

People evacuated and sent

here to the Royal Horseguards Hotel

near Embankment in the early hours

of the morning, following a major

gas leak at Charing Cross station.

Megan and her colleagues,

in London for a conference,

were staying at another hotel

down the road

when they were told to leave.

We all walked down the stairs

and that's when we realised

that there was something more

serious happening, more than just

maybe a fire drill or a fire alarm.

All of the streets were cordoned off

and we didn't know at that

time it was a gas leak.

I think a lot of others were worried

it was something more

serious, like an attack.

It was pretty disconcerting

because I looked out the window

and they already had all the police

lines up and everything was cleared

at the hotel and was just

evacuating the hotel.

So, you know, nobody really

knew what was happening.

Emergency services were called

to the Strand at around two o'clock

this morning to tend to the leak

from a side road behind

Charing Cross station.

The station itself was closed,

which meant by rush-hour,

commuters had no option

but to use alternative routes

leading to overcrowding.

Roads in the areas around

Charing Cross were sealed off

to traffic and pedestrians.

An 150 metre cordon

was put in place.

Called at 2.00am to a gas leak.

It was coming from a side street.

We had to evacuate from

the nearby Heaven nightclub.

Over 1000 people

evacuated from there.

And, also, we evacuated over 100

people from the Charing Cross hotel.

For some, there was no time

to collect personal belongings.

I don't have any money on me.

And I didn't grab my contacts.

So, my colleague, I ran into,

luckily had extra classes

that she gave me so I've been able

to see and sit here and read

by phone where, if I didn't have

these glasses I'd be

pretty blind right now.

The gas company responsible Cadent

repaired the leak towards the end

of the morning and the cordon

was lifted some hours later.

Charing Cross and Waterloo East

reopened after being

closed all morning.

At this stage, it's not known

what caused the leak but Cadent Gass

says that's going to be the focus

of an investigation.

We though those people Ed evacuated

in the early hours of the morning

were allowed to return to their

homes businesses and hotels at about

12.00 this afternoon. There were

concerns tonight there could beery

sidual delays at Charing Cross but

during rush-hour, everything ran

smoothly. This isn't the first time

London has seen a gags leak and it

won't be the last, our gas pipes are

incredibly old but there is a

programme in place to replace them

but it is hoped if that takes place,

incidents like this will happen less

and less.

The surgeon in charge

of the London's four major trauma

units has warned that gun crime

in the capital is rising

and victims are getting younger.

It comes on the day a City Hall

report also highlights the level

of gun violence in our city.

Our Home Affairs Correspondent

Nick Beake reports.

We'll do everything for you.

The trauma team at London hospitals

know all about the rise in gun

crime and deal with

the consequences daily.

Armed police stand guard.

We filmed at the Royal

London last year.

This was one of 100

patients they treated

for gunshot wounds in 2017.

This professor was born at

the hospital and now the surgeon who

came into the world here faces

a relentless battle to stop others

leaving it prematurely.

It used to be that guns

were rare and in the

arms of professionals so people

would never make it as battle.

Recently, we've seen wider use of

guns across the general population

and have had to deal

with more gunshot injuries.

Do you find it concerning?

The level of violence in London

is deeply concerning.

The fact that young

people are feeling

at risk and scared about violence

is a big problem for society.

Today's report identified

a significant rise

in gun crime over

the last few years.

310 shootings in 2016,

jumping to 350 in 2017.

A rise of 13%.

A big concern was that younger

people are getting involved.

Two-thirds of offenders were

under-19 25. Victims often just 19

or 20.

The youngest Londoner shot dead last

year was 14.

The study also found

there been an increase in

shootings that

were not gang-related.

London doesn't seem to know enough

about guns in the town.

We don't seem to know

how they are getting

into London and how

many are out there.

Until we can grasp the detail,

we won't be in a position to

fight this.

Police investigating a gun attack

in Stratford on Saturday

night, a teenager shot in the head

and in a critical condition.

The officer that runs the anti-gun

programme Trident said this.

Whilst spearheaded by Trident it

incorporates a whole range of

resources across the organisations,

so operations like VIPPer with our

colleagues in the armed police

command where we have covert

techniques utilised in areas of gun

crime, to make sure the public are

safe.

Detectives trying to identify a man

who remains unconscious

in hospital, have released

a new photograph in the hope that

someone will recognise him.

He collapsed in Central London

on Boxing Day and police say he

wasn't carrying any identification.

Tolu Adayoye is here now.

This is turning into a real mystery?

Ye, it is a big mystery. It's been

three weeks now. We have no idea who

this man is. Just to recap - he was

found collapsed just meeters from

University College Hospital. We know

he suffered a heart attack. He was

put in an induced coma. We can see

an image now of when he was first

round. At that point he was in a

life-threatening condition. We know

he is in a stable condition and

police are keen to trace his family.

We know that police are really

hoping this updated photograph will

prompt someone to come forward.

Yes,

in this photo he is clean-shaven,

police are hoping it'll jog

someone's memory. He didn't have any

ID on him, no bank cards. No-one has

come forward to say they know who he

is. Police are keen for anyone who

knows him to come forward. They say

he may possibly be homeless. It is

one possible lead but we do not know

who this man isle. He is currently

in university College Hospital if

anyone knows anything, get in touch

with the police.

OK, thank you.

It's one of the UK's

biggest health challenges -

providing adequate care

for our growing elderly population.

However, one woman who founded

a care service company after seeing

how her terminally ill parents

were treated, has been recognised

for her outstanding work

by the industry regulator.

Emma North has the story.

It's called doing the mum test.

Looking after older people

in the same way you'd

care for your own parent.

Today it comes in the shape

of a coffee and culture morning.

For £4, you get a history

lesson, some intelligent

conversation and a break.

This woman's husband has dementia.

It normally stops them from going

out, but here, it doesn't matter.

All of a sudden, life is

sort of worth living again,

because there are places we can go,

people we can meet and friendships

can be formed, we can do interesting

things without worrying

about the behaviour

of the person you are with.

And that makes a huge difference.

It's all the idea

of Clare Jefferies.

She was horrified by the care

her parents were given

in their final months.

So, she started her own company.

The aim is to keep people's quality

of life as high as possible.

Looks completely wiggly!

Let's do the wiggle woggle.

And it's through little touches.

Penny has dementia,

but art makes her happy.

So, her carer is also

an illustrator.

He also understands the problems

faced by many older people.

They do need some help.

I know certainly people

suffering from loneliness,

they might be on their own,

in their homes for long periods

of time, which obviously is not fine

and it's not OK at all.

And increasingly, private firms

like hers are being called

to fill in when the NHS and social

services can't cope.

We are getting increasing phone

calls from discharge planners,

social workers, the local

authority, saying -

can you cover this care?

And we've always shied away from it,

because they've only been

interested in 15-minute,

half-hour calls from us.

Now, not only are they willing

to take the hour's care,

they are also willing

to pay our rates as well.

Because they are desperate.

Clare's advice is for people to save

early for their care in old age.

Give us your best shot!

Because when it comes

to health and happiness,

it's all about the service.

Emma North, BBC London News.

Ok, it's goodnight from me and over

to Ben Rich for a check

on the weather.

to Ben Rich for a check

on the weather.

Thank you. Some of us saw rain

today. It was verymild. More rain

tomorrow. Heavy at times actually

and with that some very, very strong

and gusty winds. The wind already

starting to pick up there at the

moment. The winds will increase as

we head through the early hours of

Wednesday. A bit of patchy rain and

generally rather cloudy conditions

but mild still, 10 or 11 your

starting temperatures for Wednesday.

It might not feel that way because

of the strength of the wind. The

winds could easily touch galeforce

at times. A lot of dry weather and

patchy rain through the morning then

around lunch time we will see a band

of very heavy rain with squally

winds pushing in from the

north-west. Behind that things will

start to turn cooler. 7-9 by the end

of the afternoon. That will lead us

into a chillier night on Wednesday

night, into the first part of

Thursday but through the next few

days, yes we will keep that chillier

feel but there should be