:00:11. > :00:16.Chewing gum on London's pavements may not seem like a major problem,
:00:17. > :00:20.but our councils spend millions of pounds cleaning it up every year,
:00:21. > :00:24.they now feel gum manufacturers should help pay the cost.
:00:25. > :00:27.Oxford Street is a place where the problem is most acute,
:00:28. > :00:31.and from where Frankie McCamley reports.
:00:32. > :00:40.it's a staple on the shelves inside most shops and supermarkets.
:00:41. > :00:42.But once the chewing gum leaves the store
:00:43. > :00:44.and makes its way onto the high street,
:00:45. > :00:48.that's when it becomes an unattractive problem.
:00:49. > :00:50.Councils are now calling on the manufacturers
:00:51. > :00:53.to contribute to the huge bills they face to clean it up.
:00:54. > :00:56.asked the industry to try and find a solution,
:00:57. > :00:59.sing the chemistry and the science that they have at their disposal.
:01:00. > :01:04.They have been really slow to act, and this is another call to say,
:01:05. > :01:08.actually, the ?60 million a year that councils are spending
:01:09. > :01:15.could be better spent on other services to the public.
:01:16. > :01:17.The call comes after one charity found
:01:18. > :01:21.almost every main shopping street is stained by gum,
:01:22. > :01:24.along with around two thirds of all roads and pavements.
:01:25. > :01:27.And here on one of Britain's busiest high streets,
:01:28. > :01:32.it's not difficult to spot chewing gum stuck to the floor.
:01:33. > :01:36.considering it only costs us about 3p per piece.
:01:37. > :01:40.However, councils say it costs 50 times that to remove it -
:01:41. > :01:45.at ?1.50 per square metre of pavement.
:01:46. > :01:47.It's estimated assistance from chewing gum companies
:01:48. > :01:52.to fill more than a million potholes,
:01:53. > :02:01.but the message from the brands
:02:02. > :02:03.is drop it in the bin, not on the floor.
:02:04. > :02:07.A teenager stabbed to death on Tuesday in west London
:02:08. > :02:09.has been identified as 19-year-old Abdullahi Tarabi from Greenford.
:02:10. > :02:12.He died after being knifed in the stomach in Northolt.
:02:13. > :02:15.A 16 and a 17-year-old have been charged with murder.
:02:16. > :02:18.Easter is among the busiest times to be flying from London,
:02:19. > :02:21.and so travellers on domestic flights from Heathrow are
:02:22. > :02:24.being offered a faster way to board, using biometric gates.
:02:25. > :02:27.British Airways say it could be the future of boarding,
:02:28. > :02:33.so we sent Emma North to take a look.
:02:34. > :02:35.A shorter queue is surely a welcome sight,
:02:36. > :02:38.particularly around a bank holiday, and at Heathrow's Terminal 5,
:02:39. > :02:43.these passengers are using a new system to help them board faster.
:02:44. > :02:47.It's run by British Airways, and it uses biometrics.
:02:48. > :02:50.The passengers had a photograph of them taken earlier at security.
:02:51. > :02:54.That picture was linked to their boarding pass.
:02:55. > :02:57.When they reach the gate - that's the final check before
:02:58. > :02:59.you get on a plane - fingers crossed that photograph
:03:00. > :03:02.confirms who they are and, hey presto, they're free to fly.
:03:03. > :03:05.British Airways say that they've managed to cut the time it takes
:03:06. > :03:07.to get a plane load of passengers on board
:03:08. > :03:14.an increasingly automated age of travel.
:03:15. > :03:17.So are we looking at a day when we can go through an airport
:03:18. > :03:22.without having to talk to a single other person?
:03:23. > :03:25.Any kind of automation can be good - if it speeds up the process
:03:26. > :03:28.of getting through an airport, most people don't like being there.
:03:29. > :03:29.However, a large proportion of the population
:03:30. > :03:35.still like to speak to people, to have human interaction.
:03:36. > :03:38.British Airways is fighting a tough battle at the moment,
:03:39. > :03:44.It's cut free meals and leg room on its short-haul flights,
:03:45. > :03:51.and this new system cuts the need for three staff members to two.
:03:52. > :03:54.The airline's motto is, "To fly, to serve".
:03:55. > :03:59.You do need the human element, we don't disagree with that at all,
:04:00. > :04:03.but you needed that human element when you need it - on demand,
:04:04. > :04:07.is free up our staff to deliver that.
:04:08. > :04:09.BA say they plan to install one biometric gate a week
:04:10. > :04:16.at London Heathrow - for domestic flights only -
:04:17. > :04:19.and they promise there will still be help for people who,
:04:20. > :04:21.in this automated age, are yet to get on board.
:04:22. > :04:28.A look at the weather, and showers start to creep
:04:29. > :04:30.in tonight, which will spread during the day tomorrow.
:04:31. > :04:32.A top temperature of 15 Celsius, but feeling cooler.
:04:33. > :04:34.So tomorrow's Easter Sunday, so here's something to get
:04:35. > :04:37.you in the mood you're planning on indulging in some chocolate.
:04:38. > :04:41.It's a six foot tall chocolate sculpture of Thomas the Tank Engine.
:04:42. > :04:46.It's at King's Cross Station and enough Belgian chocolate was used
:04:47. > :04:54.It's on the concourse until tomorrow.
:04:55. > :04:57.I wonder if they need help eating it!
:04:58. > :05:00.That's it, we're back at the same time tomorrow.