23/02/2017

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:00:07. > :00:09.In Look East tonight: A school roof collapses leaving a young girl

:00:10. > :00:12.Storm Doris brings railways and roads to a standstill.

:00:13. > :00:15.Ans a danger to women - a judge's words for Ian Stewart

:00:16. > :00:27.as he jails him for life for killing Roston writer Helen Bailey.

:00:28. > :00:31.A school girl was left with life-threatening

:00:32. > :00:36.injuries after the ceiling of her school hall collapsed.

:00:37. > :00:40.It happened this afternoon at Southwood School in Milton Keynes.

:00:41. > :00:43.Let's go to the newsroom where Mousumi Bakshi has the latest.

:00:44. > :00:46.Yes, a distressing end to the school day.

:00:47. > :00:49.Officers from Thames Valley we understand were called

:00:50. > :00:56.to Southwood Middle School at around 3.30 this afternoon.

:00:57. > :00:59.There, they found two children who'd been struck by a section

:01:00. > :01:01.of ceiling that had collapsed in the sports hall.

:01:02. > :01:05.One child was treated for minor injuries,

:01:06. > :01:10.the other rushed to hospital with what is being described as life

:01:11. > :01:24.Now we don't know the ages of the children, but Southwood

:01:25. > :01:26.teaches pupils aged between 7 and 11.

:01:27. > :01:29.The ceiling we know was an internal one and according to police,

:01:30. > :01:32.it is possible that the collapse was caused by the severe

:01:33. > :01:35.Health and Safety officers have confirmed that the building is safe

:01:36. > :01:37.and the school will be open tomorrow.

:01:38. > :01:39.A spokesman for Southwood has said: "We are co-operating fully

:01:40. > :01:41."with the relevant authorities in this investigation.

:01:42. > :01:44."Our thoughts are of course with this child and her family at this

:01:45. > :01:54.Meanwhile, Storm Doris has been causing havoc

:01:55. > :02:00.Strong winds battered overhead cables, bringing

:02:01. > :02:05.And there's been disruption on the roads too,

:02:06. > :02:07.with lorries overturning and blocking major routes.

:02:08. > :02:12.A mad crush to board one of the first trains to leave

:02:13. > :02:14.Cambridge station this evening, this one bound for Ely.

:02:15. > :02:17.Commuters had been waiting for hours, as Storm Doris wreaked

:02:18. > :02:20.Unfortunately it took me nearly eight and a half hours

:02:21. > :02:29.There do not seem to be any replacement bus services,

:02:30. > :02:33.I have been waiting five hours and all I have seen

:02:34. > :02:41.It was similar across the region as hundreds waited in vain

:02:42. > :02:43.for trains that never arrived at Luton.

:02:44. > :02:47.Damaged overhead power cables at St Albans delaying trains

:02:48. > :02:51.And it was the same picture in Peterborough.

:02:52. > :02:54.Empty platforms, with East Coast mainline running just

:02:55. > :02:58.Very frustrating because I have a long way to travel,

:02:59. > :03:02.I've got to go way back up north, so a long way to go.

:03:03. > :03:05.The main reason for the disruption today is objects such as trees

:03:06. > :03:07.falling down and falling on overhead power cables, which we need

:03:08. > :03:16.And when that happens our priority is the safety of passengers

:03:17. > :03:19.and workforce and that means going through very concise

:03:20. > :03:20.processes to get the railway operational again.

:03:21. > :03:26.As well as the long rail delays there were lucky escapes.

:03:27. > :03:30.The driver of this lorry escaped with minor injuries

:03:31. > :03:34.One of several problems on the region's roads.

:03:35. > :03:43.Gusts of up to 60 mph which caused lots of issues on the roads

:03:44. > :03:46.with debris and trees being blown onto the roads and high sided

:03:47. > :03:50.In Cambridge a man was pulled from under a fallen tree.

:03:51. > :03:52.My foreman said, there is a bloke underneath there.

:03:53. > :03:58.Ran across the road and he was on his knees,

:03:59. > :04:01.caught hold of him and pulled him out and asked him

:04:02. > :04:05.He said, yeah, I am fine, I just need to sit down and calm down.

:04:06. > :04:08.And I said, you need to buy yourself a lottery ticket.

:04:09. > :04:11.Sporting events have also been affected.

:04:12. > :04:14.No racing today at Huntingdon, abandoned over concerns

:04:15. > :04:19.And in Northampton the clear up finally begins.

:04:20. > :04:21.Traffic disrupted as part of this wall was brought down.

:04:22. > :04:24.But tonight all eyes are on the trains.

:04:25. > :04:27.Services in and out of London have resumed, but the knock on effects

:04:28. > :04:37.The fiance of the Hertfordshire children's author, Helen Bailey,

:04:38. > :04:40.has been sentenced to life imprisonment for her murder.

:04:41. > :04:42.Ian Stewart, who didn't attend court, was told that he'll have

:04:43. > :04:49.Yesterday a jury convicted him of drugging and killing Miss Bailey

:04:50. > :04:52.and hiding her body in a cesspit at their home in Royston

:04:53. > :04:57.Sentencing him at St Albans Crown Court, the judge told Stewart

:04:58. > :05:04.that it was "difficult to imagine a more heinous crime".

:05:05. > :05:07.The head of the French car group PSA in talks to buy Vauxhall has

:05:08. > :05:10.The proposed deal, which could be signed within weeks,

:05:11. > :05:13.has prompted fears about the future of two thousand workers

:05:14. > :05:18.Prime Minister Theresa May yesterday spoke on the phone to the PSA boss

:05:19. > :05:20.Carlos Tavares to reiterate the UK Government's commitment

:05:21. > :05:29.Another of our councils has agreed big cuts - and a tax rise.

:05:30. > :05:32.Northamptonshire County Council says it needs to save ?58 million

:05:33. > :05:38.over the next year - at the same time as coping with

:05:39. > :05:47.A chance to get together and share experiences but this dementia cafe

:05:48. > :05:50.hasn't just seen its budget sliced but cut altogether, while other day

:05:51. > :06:00.The people who are doing these cuts don't realise what it's

:06:01. > :06:06.The budget for children's centres is being cut by more than 60%,

:06:07. > :06:10.I would be very isolated if it wasn't for the children's centre,

:06:11. > :06:17.especially when my little one was younger, when she was a baby,

:06:18. > :06:20.because I had a little bit of postnatal depression.

:06:21. > :06:24.So I think it would be terrible if they cut the budget.

:06:25. > :06:33.Despite members of the public speaking against the plans,

:06:34. > :06:35.today's meeting approved not only the cuts but a council

:06:36. > :06:39.Opposition councillors say it could have been avoided.

:06:40. > :06:44.Demand is rising and one of the issues around the budget

:06:45. > :06:50.is the fact that they have traditionally mis-forecast that

:06:51. > :06:53.demand and that is why they are always scrabbling around

:06:54. > :06:55.each year, trying to keep up with things.

:06:56. > :06:57.They have concentrated far too much on keeping an artificially low

:06:58. > :07:00.council tax at the expense of the vulnerable and those who rely

:07:01. > :07:03.This is the County Council's new, slightly delayed headquarters.

:07:04. > :07:06.Along with a major restructure of the authority, it's all meant

:07:07. > :07:08.to help deal with a significantly increasing demand for services.

:07:09. > :07:11.Last month, the number of children in care moved over 1,000

:07:12. > :07:19.In the next two years, the county's population is to grow

:07:20. > :07:22.by more than 33,000, and the demand for adult social care

:07:23. > :07:28.The growth in Northamptonshire is some of the highest in the country.

:07:29. > :07:31.We have an ageing population and, at the same time,

:07:32. > :07:34.And we have to live within our means.

:07:35. > :07:44.I think a lady actually said this morning, one of our speakers,

:07:45. > :07:49.Protesters worried about the cuts didn't stop today's decision but,

:07:50. > :07:51.with none of the options for our councils looking

:07:52. > :07:59.easy, the placards may be back out in future.

:08:00. > :08:02.Well, to give us an idea of how Northamptonshire compares

:08:03. > :08:05.to the rest of the region, here's our Political

:08:06. > :08:09.Last year, the government allowed councils with responsibility

:08:10. > :08:13.for social care to add 2% to bills to pay for the ballooning

:08:14. > :08:20.But they left it to councils to decide how much they want to charge.

:08:21. > :08:26.All of our councils opted to charge 3% except for Cambridgeshire,

:08:27. > :08:33.On average, these councils are putting up bills

:08:34. > :08:44.So what does that mean in pounds and pence?

:08:45. > :08:49.Well, in areas which have both county and district councils,

:08:50. > :08:52.most of your council tax is paid to the larger County Council.

:08:53. > :08:54.The biggest increase in these areas will be in Hertfordshire,

:08:55. > :08:58.which is adding just under ?60 per year to average Band D bills.

:08:59. > :09:00.While the smallest increase, of ?23, is in Cambridgeshire.

:09:01. > :09:03.Bills in these areas are likely to go up by more than that

:09:04. > :09:05.as district councils may also increase their share of council tax.

:09:06. > :09:08.In areas with unitary authorities, where there is just one

:09:09. > :09:10.council, rises are higher because the councils

:09:11. > :09:14.The biggest rise in these areas is in Bedford,

:09:15. > :09:16.which is adding just over ?64 to annual bills.

:09:17. > :09:18.While the smallest increase in in Peterborough,

:09:19. > :09:21.What, then, does all this mean for councils?

:09:22. > :09:23.Well, across our region, county and unitary authorities

:09:24. > :09:31.will collect an extra ?47 million this year.

:09:32. > :09:37.But given the increasing demand for many services,

:09:38. > :09:55.council leaders are warning it's not big enough.

:09:56. > :10:01.That is all from me but for the latest on the troubled construction

:10:02. > :10:06.in the morning tune into your local radio station -- travel disruption.

:10:07. > :10:09.Storm Doris brought gale force winds across the region today

:10:10. > :10:12.but the low-pressure weather system associated with the storm has moved

:10:13. > :10:15.out into the North Sea and the winds will continue to to ease

:10:16. > :10:18.through the evening and night and already they are easing

:10:19. > :10:21.Some patchy rain around and the odd isolated shower through the night

:10:22. > :10:23.with temperatures dropping quite considerably compared

:10:24. > :10:27.Risk of a touch of frost and some icy patches.

:10:28. > :10:30.We start tomorrow on a much chillier note but much calmer conditions.

:10:31. > :10:32.A largely dry day with good spells of sunshine

:10:33. > :10:38.A light to moderate west to and north-westerly wind.

:10:39. > :10:44.It looks to be staying fine in the afternoon

:10:45. > :10:55.The national weather is coming up but here is the outlook.

:10:56. > :11:12.Milder for the weekend with the chance rain.

:11:13. > :11:20.Good evening. It was quite a day for some of us. We get these sort of

:11:21. > :11:23.storms every couple of years also. Difficult to give an exact number,

:11:24. > :11:29.but it was certainly a nasty one. It's now moving into Holland,

:11:30. > :11:35.Germany, south of Denmark, and it continues to blow itself out. The

:11:36. > :11:38.winds around coasts were not particularly spectacular, but the

:11:39. > :11:39.inland winds were unusual, 62 mph in