11/01/2017 Points West

That's all from the BBC News at Six, so it's goodbye from me

Welcome to BBC Points West with Alex Lovell and Sabet Choudhury.

Months of agony after being severely burnt by acid.

The family of a 29-year-old man talk exclusively about his pain

and suffering for 15 months after an alleged attack in Bristol.

Accusations of intimidation and neglect - the residents

in Bristol unhappy with the company managing their homes.

Calls for a change in the drugs policy -

could Bristol see a new clinic where addicts can inject

It will certainly rain tomorrow but the big question is will it snow? If

so, how much and where will it be? The forecast will come up later.

The family of a man who died after being maimed by acid have

spoken about the terrible pain he endured for 15 months.

More than three quarters of Mark Van Dongen's body was burnt

His father, who's Dutch, drove to see his 29-year-old son every

weekend while he was in Southmead hospital, before taking him

A woman's now awaiting trial charged in connection with the incident.

Our home affairs Correspondent, Charlotte Callen, has this exclusive

Barje wants us to remember his little brother Mark like this -

But his body had been ravaged by burns, disfigured beyond belief -

When you talked to you, how did he say he felt?

Mark was Dutch, but had lived in Bristol for six years,

studying at the university and then working.

It took the police nine days to tell his family he was in hospital.

The police say it was hard to trace his next of kin.

His father, Kees, speaks just a little English.

Mark's father drove from Belgium every weekend to be at his bedside.

He couldn't have a room in the hospital,

and with little money, he slept in this van.

In the end it was this Belgian businessman, Patric Derdeale,

who helped them, raising money to help pay for fuel

and for a private ambulance to take Mark home to his father.

Dutch expats in the UK have set up a JustGiving page to raise

money for the months of travel his family endured,

but they say the scars they have been left with will never heal.

And Charlotte Callen is with me now.

You've been following this very shocking and upsetting case.

It's obviously been extremely upsetting for this family.

The family are in pieces and Kees, Mark's father found it difficult

because he does not speak good English. When he was trying to talk

to doctors and police over those months, unless there was a

translator present he found it confusing. He was more comfortable

with a translator there. For the first few months well marked was in

intensive care he was allowed to stay at the hospital, but when moved

to the burns unit because of risk of infection and not having rooms, he

could not stay there any more. The father was dealing with driving a

long way from Belgium in between working there and finding he did not

have enough money to pay for a hotel. Both the police and hospital

say they tried to do everything they could for them and say they

contacted charities and also the Dutch Consulate.

What's happening in the ongoing police investigation?

A 46-year-old woman, Berlinah Wallace, was charged with offences

around throwing a corrosive liquid which he denies. The case was due to

go to the Crown Court in Bristol on Monday but after Mark died, it was

postponed and it will go to court in April.

A man in his 20s has died after being hit and dragged along

Avon Somerset Police were called to the junction of Creswicke Road

and Airport Road in Knowle West at around 9pm last night

after reports a man had been run over.

Police say a full investigation has been launched and a man

A group of residents in Bristol have accused a property management

company of neglect and attempts to intimidate them.

They say they have been living with damp, rats,

dangerous electrics and no heating in some properties owned

As Pete Simpson reports, the local authority is now

reviewing its agreement with the management company.

There's BLEEP no lighting in some of them!

A fiery council meeting in Bristol last month -

property guardians taking their grievances to City Hall.

There is a massive housing crisis in the city!

They were evicted by security, but I went to see them

Nic is a property guardian, one of hundreds in Bristol.

He pays below market rate to live in buildings like this,

a former care home owned by Bristol City Council, and managed

Everyone should benefit but the deal's gone sour.

Police treat the people a bit better.

Give them the basic - some heating and hot water

Nic and other guardians are angry about what they say

are a poor living conditions, and a lack of maintenance.

And they say they have been made to feel intimidated

There is no higher or outside regulation.

To be fair, we only have permission to be here...

Animals, animal husbandry, I'm pretty sure there are more rules

and laws and regulations to govern how they live and how they are

They put us in touch with a guardian from a different property

with a different story - more representative, they say,

of the majority who want cheap, short-term accommodation.

It's a secured building and I feel very, very, very safe.

Minimum standards should always be kept, and at Camelot we completely

thrive for that to happen, and we make sure that happens

It's like everywhere, sometimes things slip or we are not

told until the next time we visit, but the fact of the matter

You know, we have a visit here to the property we are at today,

and it is absolutely in good condition.

Labour in Bristol are desperate to solve the city's housing crisis,

but admit in this case things have gone wrong.

I would be very concerned if we were to try to use this

process again, which involved people living in those sorts of properties

without the proper conditions, because creating tenancies

in properties which, at some point, we will no longer use,

But Nic is a guardian, not a tenant, and doesn't have the same rights.

We are squatters with permission, almost.

With other guardians, he is challenging this in court,

in what could be a test case for the sector.

You're watching your regional news programme, BBC Points West,

on this increasingly cold Wednesday night.

And stay with us, as there's plenty still bring to you tonight.

Including: We find about the unit in Gloucester on stand-by to command

Nato troops if they're needed in a global emergency.

And after the glitz of Strictly, could swing be the way to shift

A man has gone on trial in Taunton for sex offences alleged to have

been committed when he was just ten years old.

It's claimed that 31-year-old Andrew Margetts was actually abusing

children younger than himself when he was just eight.

He denies a total of 23 charges including rape,

sexual activity with a child and false imprisonment.

The family of a Taunton bar manager are calling for a fresh

Josh Clayton was found dead on the Isles of Scilly in 2015.

The inquest into his death has now been suspended,

because a witness has claimed he'd seen him involved in an argument

There's calls for Bristol to provide a safe drugs clinic

where addicts can inject themselves under supervision.

Late last year, Glasgow approved its first

Now, Transform - an organisation calling for a change

in drugs policies - wants to see a centre in the west

This old petrol station just opposite Temple Meads has

Covered in undergrowth and with some form of shelter,

people have been coming here and injecting drugs.

In the space of just two hours, those clearing up this site

found over 100 needles, filling these sharps bins.

So is it now time to have a safe place for users to go,

In Glasgow, they are looking at introducing one of these,

partly because they get a lot of HIV infections from sharing needles,

and you save about ?400,000 for every one of those you avoid,

but also because of these places allow the drug users to come

into contact with health workers and support, and then they can move

them on and move them off drugs, and offer them lives away from petty

crime and so on, to the benefit of society as a whole.

There are more drug-related deaths here than anywhere else in Europe.

Safe Injection Facilities could be an answer -

hygenic spaces where people who are on drugs can at least

Maggie Telfer has worked with addicts for over 30 years

and believes there has been an increase in people

But over the last 18 months, couple of years, and certainly

from our perspective is linked to a larger number of people

who are street homeless are living in accommodation

where they are injecting and they do not have

any other choice but to do it in a public place.

I think the real issues are how we would pay for them.

Since funding the drug and alcohol services was given

to local authorities, so to Bristol, from the central

Government a few years ago, we are now looking at 20% less

of that funding over the next five years.

Many cities around the world have found the money for them and have

seen less drug use in public places, fewer discarded needles.

The question is, as funding is cut, who here would pay?

Liz Beacon, BBC Points West, Bristol.

As we've heard, back in October, Glasgow was given approval

to open the UK's first ever Supervised Injection Facility.

David Liddell is from the Scottish Drugs Forum and joins us now.

Do supervised injection facilities really help?

Absolutely, there is a huge body of evidence particularly across Europe

within the region of 90 centres in operation, for now a body of

evidence of 30 years. They definitely work, yes. The most

important aspect, certainly in the Glasgow context is, and it sounds

like the Bristol situation may be similar, is that it provides an

important first step and way of reaching out to what we have, a

group of 500 very vulnerable, mostly older, injecting drug users, so it

provides, as you said in your clip, a place where people can inject any

safe environment. Basically all it is doing, in a way, is moving the

injecting that is currently happening in very unsafe

environments into a safe environment, and certainly there is

strong evidence that it can make an impact on things like, you know,

blood-borne viruses, like HIV infection in particular, but also on

overdoses as well. And then we can move people on so that they get

further support and help, whether that is with treatment services

etc... And the other aspect is that certainly the driver in many places,

for example in Frankfurt, the driver there was the European Central Bank

when it was created, that was very concerned about public nuisance and

public injecting. They actually financially supported the

development of injecting facilities in Frankfurt.

That is interesting. Now, with regards to you talking about the

finance there, it seems a thing to pick up on. Our contributor from the

Bristol drugs Project said, how will it be paid for? We all know that the

NHS is up against it. What is happening in Glasgow?

Certainly the key driver for the initiative is in the region of 75

drug injectors who have become infected with the HIV virus, and

that is sadly reminiscent of the situation we found ourselves in in

Scotland in the 1980s, where we had a major outbreak of HIV infection.

That is a particular concern in Glasgow,, to get a grip of that

outbreak of infection, and as your earlier speaker alluded to, the

potential cost of treating just one individual could be as high as

?400,000. So anyway it should be a no-brainer that this is actually

something that is worth investing in, and has a huge benefit in a

number of areas, but you are right that it is very hard with the state

of the public finances, to argue for this, particularly for a group who

are not generally well thought of by the wider public. And therefore not

considered very deserving of help, which we would argue should not be

the case. Individuals such as the people we are talking about have a

whole range of problems, and the presenting problem is one of drug

use, but if we can engage more effectively we can deal with the

range of problems they face. And taking it out of society as

well. Thank you for joining us. There is a discussion on this on our

Facebook page if you have opinions on this.

The Allied Rapid Reaction Corps, or ARRC, is based at Imjin Barracks

in Innsworth in Gloucester, and is at the heart

of the Nato Alliance and defence of the UK.

It's the largest headquarters on land which Nato can put

Although over half of the people working for ARRC are from the UK,

20 Nato and non-Nato countries have staff at Imjin too, from Albania

And today their role became even more significant as they took

on responsibility to command Nato troops should they be

Here's our Gloucestershire reporter, Steve Knibbs.

Symbolising the transfer of responsibility...

It was a simple ceremony, but of major significance

for the soldiers here in Gloucestershire.

The Nato Response Force pennant flag was handed

from Spain to the commander of Allied Rapid Reaction Corps.

Should Nato now deploy anywhere in the world,

the ARRC will command and control the operations on the ground.

There was general acknowledgement today of the fact that we still live

in uncertain times, under fast and ever-changing global threat.

The focus for the ARRC in 2017 will be tackling that threat

I think it is well publicised that Russia and Nato have different views

on things at the moment, so there is clearly

an element of a threat there, and so we will continue to act

But there are wider threats now, in terms of humanitarian

crisis and the unknown, and that's the beauty of having

a response force is that you can sit here and be prepared to command

Those threats are varied - there is huge experience within

the ARRC of counter-insurgency operations in Iraq, Afghanistan

Cyber-attacks are also a growing threat, but at the extreme,

there's war, and in the current climate it's an area the ARRC says

Like everything, you need to practice these things,

so what we are doing this year and we have done a little bit last

So when we do our training, we don't practice counterinsurgency,

The ARRC is made up of 21 different nations - many from the EU -

but its role in the UK within Nato unaffected by Brexit.

We are decidedly not stepping back from our responsibilities

to European security, and the occasion today demonstrates

that we are taking the lead in the very high-readiness

For now, the ARRC's control room at Innsworth is quiet,

but on stand-by, and preparation and training continues to evolve

Steve Knibbs, BBC Points West, Imjin Barracks.

Gloucester Rugby have boosted their squad for the next season with the

signing of Leicester Tigers fly-half Owen Williams. He has scored many

points over many appearances. But they're also set to strengthen its

season with Sam Underhill in back row.

We're almost two weeks into 2017 and we're also a fortnight

into celebrating sixty years of Points West.

It's fascinating looking through our archives,

and every so often we're coming across a real gem,

This is from January 1968, when the pressing question

on everyone's lips was, maxi or mini?

Which of the two skirts do you prefer?

Well, in this weather, I think I prefer that one, the long.

I suppose this one being in fashion, we should all like the maxi skirt.

What sort of male reaction do you think you will get?

I think they will like it in the end.

I think they will probably take time to come over but...

And will you buy one, even if they don't like it?

In our office, they don't like the maxi skirt.

Short. Why?

It is very nice to see somebody else wearing them.

No, they still say you should wear the miniskirt.

Well, what's wrong with the maxi skirt?

Well, it looks so Russian and drab and everything.

Well, how do you expect people to keep warm in winter?

I'm not particularly worried about that.

They were wearing leather trousers. How very cool.

A dance group in Gloucester is encouraging people

Gloster Swing Dance held its first class last night,

It's run by the two dance champions, one of whom is recovering

So is swing the new way to shift the pounds?

Dancing the Charleston from the film Bugsy Malone,

Have you ever wondered whether a winter of dancing

on the telly makes more of us have a go?

Well, this is what happened in Gloucester last night,

140 people turned up, and for those beginners who might

The one thing you need to remember about swing dancing,

And I'm sure many did go wrong, but gradually,

the room moved as one, probably ahead of time too.

Our expectations are really low, I reckon.

I think they are really low, because...

They can take you as long as you want to dance.

You can be fat, thin, old, young, black, white,

enabled or disabled, you are welcome and swing dancing.

I have never done anything like this before and it is really good.

You feel that you are actually learning something

Will you do it in the living room when you get home?

It is just so friendly, getting together and dancing.

Now, I danced with Claudia Fragapane last month, but it seems whatever

I managed to pick up from Bristol's pocket rocket disappeared

At least my partner is still smiling, or laughing...

Back to the professionals, and a special moment.

Five weeks ago, Gary Boon had a heart attack.

If I wasn't fit and if I didn't do this, I may not be here now.

And it looks like it could change many more - apart from mine.

Andy Howard, BBC Points West in Gloucester.

Gary, well done. That is incredible. The big question

is about the weather, and whether we will have snow or heavy rain. It is

not a simple question, is it? No, it is not. I suspect the net

result is going to be a combination of both by this time tomorrow, Alex.

Let me take you through the forecast. The rain looks I get them

now, based on our current forecast model. For some argue, heavy

rainfall. The tricky element, given it will be a noticeably cold day, is

how much of it will change to snow. More particularly as we had through

late afternoon tomorrow. The Met Office has issued a warning tomorrow

for the threat of snow, and it is a low risk in the broader sense of the

word, but if we start to point out areas of greater risk, at the

Exmoor, and anywhere east of the Mvia, particularly from

mid-afternoon through to about the early part of the evening. -- the

M5. A north-westerly flow, bringing Caldaire down across us do towards

tomorrow. Watch out towards the West and watch this taking shape on this

wave towards the east through the afternoon. You will see the back

edge of interacting with other colder air giving a threat of snow.

The south-east of England tomorrow, including London, could be a horror

show on the roads are the worst happens. I say if the worst were to

happen, if we keep a close eye on developments. A straightforward

story through the evening tonight, barring the odd shower looking dry

and breezy Wendy. Into two tomorrow morning, the first signs of rain is

going in. Temperatures tonight at a range of two to five Celsius.

Tomorrow, I will run the sequence. Do not take it literally but it

gives an idea of the indications we think are going to build the

forecast for tomorrow. Notice the bread of heavy rain, difficult

enough on the road by lunchtime early afternoon, and then watch that

colder air bringing snow eastwards towards the afternoon and evening.

Snow showers following behind. A cold day tomorrow and we will keep

you up-to-date through the BBC forecast tomorrow morning.

We well and also our bulletins and radio and social media as well. We

will see you