:00:00. > :00:10.Dan Roan, BBC News, Rio. That's all from us.
:00:11. > :00:14.First tonight, there are major delays on the M11 in Essex, near
:00:15. > :00:18.Stansted Airport, after a lorry overturned containing chemicals.
:00:19. > :00:21.Some people have been stuck for five hours and the road may be
:00:22. > :00:39.The M11 is currently closed in both directions between Harlow and
:00:40. > :00:49.junction eight. This started at around 5pm and there are still
:00:50. > :00:51.queues. Police are advising motorists to find alternative
:00:52. > :00:58.routes. The lorry was carryhng routes. The lorry was carrying
:00:59. > :01:06.chemicals. We have been advhsed that chemicals. We have been advised that
:01:07. > :01:12.the spill is not dangerous and clean`up crews are on the scene
:01:13. > :01:18.This is also affecting people who are trying to get to Stanstdd
:01:19. > :01:19.Airport. The police spoke to us earlier.
:01:20. > :01:21.We do anticipate it being blocked for a number of hours yet.
:01:22. > :01:24.I want to get the message out for two reasons.
:01:25. > :01:27.One, we do not want you stuck in traffic, even with the evening heat.
:01:28. > :01:30.We do not want people going without fluids and food.
:01:31. > :01:33.Secondly, if you have an appointment at the airport because you `re going
:01:34. > :01:35.on holiday, please make surd that you choose an alternative route.
:01:36. > :01:39.When is the road expected to re`open?
:01:40. > :01:52.It will probably still be closed into the early hours of tomorrow
:01:53. > :01:58.morning. There is no access to the motorway just now. You can get the
:01:59. > :02:00.latest on the travel situathon motorway just now. You can get the
:02:01. > :02:04.latest on the travel situation on your local BBC Radio station.
:02:05. > :02:07.Essex Police say they may never know how many people truly fell prey to
:02:08. > :02:10.a gang of cowboy builders, who targeted the elderly and vulnerable.
:02:11. > :02:13.Today, a judge at Chelmsford Crown Court sentenced the gang to a total
:02:14. > :02:16.The police dealt with 140 vhctims, but they believe there
:02:17. > :02:21.Some of them lost more than ?10 ,000 and detectives say it is unlikely
:02:22. > :02:26.Footage of a con man in action, showing just how brazen he was.
:02:27. > :02:30.James Brown had taken 92`ye`r`old, dementia`sufferer Helen Reeve`Smith
:02:31. > :02:33.to the bank so she could cash cheques and give him the money.
:02:34. > :02:36.Today, Brown and members of his gang were
:02:37. > :02:42.It is feared that they conndd scores of pensioners out of
:02:43. > :02:50.The gang cold`called pensioners, befriended them, and then charged
:02:51. > :02:52.them extortionate amounts of money for building work that was
:02:53. > :02:59.Some vulnerable and lonely householders,
:03:00. > :03:03.unlucky enough to get a knock on the door, lost their life s`vings.
:03:04. > :03:06.One of the victims ` 86`year`old Andrew Miller from Colchestdr,
:03:07. > :03:13.He says that he lost between ?250,000 and ?300,000.
:03:14. > :03:22.I have no money left if I had to go into a retirement home and should
:03:23. > :03:29.Holidays abroad and things like that they have gone out of the window
:03:30. > :03:32.and things that a blind person needs to buy are often quite expensive.
:03:33. > :03:34.James Brown gained his victims' trust and even their affecthon.
:03:35. > :03:38.William Brown, his brother, got seven years.
:03:39. > :03:42.James Brown Jr was described as a willing apprentice.
:03:43. > :03:50.Van Purdy, who laundered sole of the money, got two years.
:03:51. > :03:51.Anthony Symes, who compensated people he had overcharged,
:03:52. > :03:59.Passing sentence, the judge told the gang that they had a total absence
:04:00. > :04:06.That had been replaced by naked greed, he said.
:04:07. > :04:10.The work on Helen Reeve`Smith's house was never completed.
:04:11. > :04:13.She died before James Brown was brought to justice.
:04:14. > :04:19.Earlier, Detective Superintendent Keith Davies,
:04:20. > :04:21.from the Kent and Essex Serhous Economic Crime Unit, explained
:04:22. > :04:29.Over an 18`month period we actually spoke to around 140 elderly victims.
:04:30. > :04:33.A number of those people, 70 or more, did not feel th`t they
:04:34. > :04:36.wanted to engage for a variety of reasons ` mainly
:04:37. > :04:39.because sometimes they are a little embarrassed at what has takdn place,
:04:40. > :04:44.I am of the firm view that they probably
:04:45. > :04:50.were victims but we were not able to progress in their particular cases.
:04:51. > :04:52.Do you have any idea, still, what the scale of this operation was
:04:53. > :04:59.As the investigation went on, we discovered more ` but I think
:05:00. > :05:02.the enormity of it is difficult to estimate, as is the loss.
:05:03. > :05:07.We will be seeking compensation through the confiscation system
:05:08. > :05:18.There is not a lot of money available to them, so in thd broader
:05:19. > :05:21.scheme of things they will get very little back in way of compensation.
:05:22. > :05:25.How does this case compare with others that you have tackled?
:05:26. > :05:27.After coming on 30 years of service, I have dealt with most types
:05:28. > :05:31.But it dawned on me today that this is ond of
:05:32. > :05:34.the saddest cases that I have been involved in ` predominantly because
:05:35. > :05:38.of the numbers of victims, but also because of their vulnerabilhty.
:05:39. > :05:40.This was alluded to by the trial judge today.
:05:41. > :05:45.I think it is a despicable act against the most
:05:46. > :05:52.That is what makes it such a sad indictment.
:05:53. > :05:54.A doctor from Suffolk has bden charged with a number
:05:55. > :05:58.Doctor Myles Bradbury, who hs 4 , comes from Herringswell,
:05:59. > :06:02.He worked as a paediatric haematologist at Addenbrookd's
:06:03. > :06:07.A woman, arrested as police cleared the Dale
:06:08. > :06:11.Farm travellers' site near Basildon, has won ?15,000 in compensation.
:06:12. > :06:13.Ellen Yianni, who was protesting there three years
:06:14. > :06:16.ago, took legal action against Essex Police ` but settled out of court.
:06:17. > :06:20.She claimed she was pulled from this scaffolding by two policemen, hit on
:06:21. > :06:29.the back of her knees with ` shield, and then detained for 13 hours.
:06:30. > :06:32.There were damages in terms of her own mental health.
:06:33. > :06:34.Her previous condition was exasperated and she had nightmares
:06:35. > :06:36.about what had happened and symptoms such as social
:06:37. > :06:40.Yes, this was not a trivial incident for her ` it was something that
:06:41. > :06:47.So that is all from us, so it is goodnight from me.
:06:48. > :06:52.I'll leave you with Alex and the weather.
:06:53. > :07:01.It will be a warm night tonhght It may not be comfortable.
:07:02. > :07:06.Temperatures, 15 Celsius. Tomorrow it will start warm and bright. The
:07:07. > :07:18.temperatures will increase. Tomorrow, many places may reach
:07:19. > :07:26.27`28 Celsius. There is a weather front on its way to ask that will
:07:27. > :07:31.bring us some rain overnight. In a moment, the national forecast. Here
:07:32. > :07:31.is our outlook. On Saturday, there will be rain
:07:32. > :07:39.outlook for the weekend is quite different.
:07:40. > :07:45.For those of you who haven't already heard, we've recorded our highest
:07:46. > :07:51.temperature so far this year, and that was in Writtle in Essex. It
:07:52. > :07:55.looks highly likely as well that we could see temperatures of a similar
:07:56. > :07:59.value for tomorrow. Anywhere through central London to the east could see
:08:00. > :08:03.highs of 27 to 29 degrees. But that is only one part of the story. The
:08:04. > :08:07.second part of the story is rain moving in as we speak across the far
:08:08. > :08:11.north and west. Some of that rain will turn heavy through the night
:08:12. > :08:16.across Northern Ireland and into western Scotland. I had a bit, cloud
:08:17. > :08:22.with pieces of rain but it will be a pretty mild night to follow. We
:08:23. > :08:26.start off tomorrow with these two stories. Plenty of sunshine and
:08:27. > :08:31.already warm building in the south-east corner, but the cloud
:08:32. > :08:35.continues to march steadily east and will be a bit of a nuisance
:08:36. > :08:39.throughout the day. We should see some improvement into Northern
:08:40. > :08:41.Ireland by the afternoon and for the Western Isles. The rain perhaps not
:08:42. > :08:42.quite as heavy into eastern