24/01/2017 Points West

Welcome to BBC Points West with Alex Lovell and David Garmston.

The students bombarded with racist abuse.

one of their tormentors is alleged to be a fellow student

Some people think they can kind of pass everything off as a joke

Cos I think it is something they have never experienced,

it's hard for them to understand the way it is going

The university says it cannot act until there is

an official complaint - we'll talk to a Vice Chancellor.

Police divers search the Feeder Canal in Bristol

for a young man who went missing from a nearby nightclub.

Take a pew - churches open up for the homeless

And remembering the day when two lions escaped from a circus

and wandered into a school in Devizes.

Two University of Bristol students have told us they're being subjected

to racial harassment on social media, including by another

Say they have been sent texts, messages and an abusive video.

From the very beginning of Lee Madan's report,

there is extreme racist and offensive language -

we've decided to broadcast it to highlight what the students have

They have called me "a dirty stinking coon".

They have called me "an S-word flinging ape".

They have called me "a gorilla who has thrown

They have called me the N-word flat out.

A lot of monkey jokes, like Bobo the ape, or Bubbles the monkey,

after Michael Jackson, and just things like that.

Timi Ariyo and Tami Sotire have spent the past year being targeted

It led to this video being sent to hundreds of students on Snapchat.

So many of my friends from Bristol and friends

from home saw the video, and were like, wow, I've never

seen anything like that, I didn't know it still happened

The University of Bristol students were also sent racist comments

on the instant messaging service What'sApp, as well as

And I do think it is like the pack mentality, obviously.

They feel like if they say it in a group, they're less likely

for one person to get in trouble because they do it, like...

They all comment together or they will all say the same things

on a group chat or tweet the same thing, so it is hard to kind

One of the bullies is also a student in

They have not reported the bully into the University

because they told me they do not know how to, and say they are not

confident race issues would be taken seriously.

During freshers', so many people were like, oh, my God,

Given the mix of people who come here, it is quite white

middle-class, I think a lot of people don't have

The university now need to take it on themselves to protect

all of the students of every single race, every background,

and make sure we are all treated fairly and equal.

Timi and Tami hope that by speaking out now,

they can help spread the message that racism will not be tolerated.

Well, earlier I spoke to the University of Bristol's

Pro-Vice Chancellor for Education, Judith Squires.

I asked her what she thought of the reports of racism?

Well, I was saddened and shocked, frankly, when I saw the report,

It is unacceptable anywhere, and it is not acceptable

And so, as a university that takes a zero tolerance approach to any

form of racism or hate crime, we were keen to ensure

that we would be able to take appropriate action if any such

Well, we know from the film that one of the people involved appears to be

Is that young man still with you tonight?

As far as I'm aware no complaint has been brought forward so we have not

Because we have a disciplinary procedure which requires students

to come forward to make complaints, and we would require evidence of any

activity that would require us to take disciplinary action.

Saw the evidence you've seen on the television today, that isn't

enough for you to initiate proceedings against that young man?

I don't have sufficient evidence right now to know

Do you think there is a place for him at Bristol University?

We would need to take disciplinary action.

There is no place for any racist behaviour or any hate crime

Some people might find it difficult to understand why you are so laid

back about it and not proactive, saying, look, there is obviously

I would say, we are not at all laid back about this issue,

If any students experience any kind of racism or hate crime or any

kind of unacceptable behaviour, we actively encourage them to come

The students in this case have not done that,

and we will take action as soon as students bring

We always do look at those very seriously.

The problem is, I guess if you're away from home

for the first time and you're 18, 19, 20 years old, going

into an institution like the University of Bristol,

with its fine tradition and all its hierarchy,

Can you not reach out in some way to the students?

We do work very carefully with our students, we do a lot

of work to support them when they first arrive,

We have special training courses for them to make them clear

that they understand what is acceptable behaviour

We provide support and counselling for them.

They have wardens within their residence who they can speak to.

They have personal tutors in their academic departments

who they can speak to, and our students union has a just ask

service which is there precisely to provide them with the guidance

that they need on any issues that they want to raise.

Briefly, do you think this is damaging to

It is not the kind of activity that we want to have

It has got no place within the university.

And we will work very firmly to eradicate any such

Thank you very much indeed for coming on the programme tonight.

Police divers today joined the search for a 24-year-old man

The students involved say they are still considering whether to make a

complaint, and with that permission, Points West has passed all details

of their report on to the authorities.

Police divers today joined the search for a 24-year-old man

who went missing after a night out in Bristol.

Deakon Wilkins, who's from Worle, was last seen on CCTV at the city's

His family and friends have heard nothing since.

Deakon's parents started their day at Cabot Circus.

Friends and family helping them to hand out leaflets.

Just holding it together, really, just...

Everybody has been so good, it's just keeping busy,

People that saw it advertised, some family, some good friends,

and we're hoping to just keep it in the forefront of people's minds,

and people that haven't seen it will see it as well.

And less the one mile away, the police search had

a depressing twist to it, with divers deployed metres

Just to put this all into a bit of context, the building behind me

is the old Royal Mail building, and this warehouse is a nightclub,

where Deakon Wilkins was on Friday the 13th.

He would have come and turned right out of the nightclub

and crossed that bridge, and then this road with the barrier

is the Feeder Road, you can see in the distance,

police have been conducting their search in this sort

This afternoon, police confirmed Deakon has not used his bank

But the detective leading the investigation was keen to stress

that he is still keeping a very open mind.

We have been working closely with a police search adviser

in respect of where we ought to conduct searches.

We have had a conversation today, and we have agreed that today

seems like, you know, the right time to search the water.

As I said, it is very close to where he went missing,

so it may be that we find something that gives us an idea

But you're still keeping an open mind?

I mean, I do not know where Deakon is at the moment,

and I will continue to keep an open mind on till we find him.

And so the wait for news goes on for two parents who are finding

It must be a nightmare for them, and we really hope there is good news to

bring you on that story. why a shortage of fruit and veg

could mean a boost And the day the lions came -

we look back at some wild visitors A new police investigation

is to look into the death of a young Josh Clayton's family say

they're convinced that someone else was responsible for what happened

to him on Tresco in September 2015. The investigation comes

after new evidence came to light Dorset Police have also been brought

in to review the original investigation by

Devon and Cornwall Police. A couple from Worle who died last

week have been named by police. The body of 70-year-old

Ann Furneaux was found at a house in Pilgrims Way

on Thursday morning. Her death is being

treated as murder. Her husband Edward Furneaux

died after his car hit a tree on Kewstoke Road

on the same morning. Police say they are not looking

for anyone else in connection 100 jobs are to go when Wiltshire

Council Allen says its books. The authority has announced it will put

council tax up by 5%, and is having to cut spending by ?30 million,

blaming a fall in the funding it gets from central government. It

hopes to reduce staffing naturally, as people leave.

There will be less staff, but we have been working on this, and there

will probably be less full-time posts, but most of those will come

from vacant post that we have been keeping an eye on, across the whole

counsel from no particular department. And we are not expecting

necessarily any redundancies. Wiltshire councillors will vote

on the budget next month. Police are investigating

after a swan was shot in the eye with a crossbow

in a park in Cheltenham. Staff at Pitville Park found

the injured bird this morning, which is now being treated

at Vale Wildlife Hospital. The swan was left with a bolt

lodged in its left eye. A fundraising page has been set up

to pay for this one's treatment. Council taxpayers in Somerset

may have to fork out more than ?10 million because

of a row over a road which is more than

two years behind schedule. No-one will even say

when Taunton's Northern Inner Our Somerset Correspondent

Clinton Rogers has Already two years behind schedule,

and still counting. I think people are getting

a bit fed up with it, That would sort them

out, wouldn't it? It is a mile long stretch of road

on the northern side of Taunton, which is designed to ease congestion

in a rapidly expanding town. A town that already has its fair

share of traffic jams. But this project has been beset

with technical difficulties come not least over the construction

of a new bridge. I am telling them to get

workers out here and get And this week, for the first time,

the county council, which is already paying more than ?11 million

on the project, came out fighting. We employed what we thought

was a competent contractor to do this project a number of years ago,

and here we are, January 2017, Whenever this road finally does

open, the question is, who is responsible for all

the technical problems, and all the delays,

and he was going to pick up the bill, which is getting

bigger all the time? The fact is, both sides

are blaming one another, And it is a row that has become now

a formal legal dispute, and the loser could be faced

with a very big bill indeed. The contractor, Carillion,

is refusing interviews, The council, though,

is adamant - we are not I'm not a charitable person,

I'm not prepared to give it. So now the lawyers are involved

in a dispute which could And of course push up the final bill

even higher for whoever has to pay. If you live in Bristol you will have

seen the number of people sleeping rough in the city has risen sharply.

On any data can be dozens of people spending the night outside, and at

this time of year temperatures often fall below freezing.

For the first time, as part of this project, some of the city's churches

are offering beds for the night will stop Andrew is at one of them for us

now. What is the idea? That is the view from the street,

the church where we are. The temperature a couple of minutes is 1

degrees, just above freezing. Inside, it is much warmer. They are

putting down some of the temporary beds, 12 tonight. Blow-up mattresses

and duvets. Dinner is in the oven over there. We have got David from

the homeless charity to tell us why this is necessary. You have got 65

emergency beds, at you have still got perhaps 75 people sleeping

rough. Give us an idea of the scale of the problem?

Yes, we set up an additional 35 bed this time last year. Before that

there were 30 beds already running by charities in the city. All of

those charities working very closely together. But we have got far too

many people out on the streets of Bristol every night.

The beds are full and you still have people outside?

Yes, absolutely. Lots of people come to Bristol hoping they can get into

accommodation here. We have got a team that goes out and helps people

on the street, saying you can get help and another local authority

area, they need to get help there. We have got people ultimately into

supported housing or private sector accommodation. But we have got

rising house prices and rent prices, so there is less available

accommodation in the city. Thanks very much indeed. We have

also got someone who has come from a budget meeting. Thank you for coming

so quickly. We are big and rich city, relatively. Any to be doing

more to get these people off the streets.

Exactly, and that is what we're doing. This is also the supply of

housing. What we are saying is that some of these crisis, we can only

tackle them by the city mobilising. This is one expression, responding

to an appeal we have made to Bristol, across business, voluntary

sector, faith groups, to tackle rough sleeping.

We have got perhaps six to five bed, but more people out on the streets.

Duminy to put more money into this? -- do we need to?

There are is an important to funding. We need to protect people

in private rental as well. There are also mental health and sustenance

issues. -- substance abuse. What we did was put an appeal out to the

city to help us take on the challenge, and we are pleased to say

that churches, businesses and the voluntary sector are stepping up. We

need more people to come forward, empty buildings. It is not a

long-term solution but it is a solution to the challenge we face

right here and right now. Thank you very much. This is a

four-week trial, it is already had two weeks, there is another couple

of weeks left. If it is successful, there are people coming here

tonight, then it could happen for a slightly longer period next year.

Thank you very much. Pass on our thanks for the volunteers and

everyone therefore what they are doing on this cold night.

Wet weather in Italy and Spain is continuing

to affect the availability of some produce here.

Importers and wholesalers in the West say they've seen

so could that be good news for local growers?

Andy Howard was up early today to find out.

By the time the West Country weeks, business is most done for the day at

the Bristol fruit and veg centre. This place opens at 2am, selling to

shops, restaurants and supermarkets. But these warehouses are almost

empty. When the going is good and all guns

blazing, this section would be completely full of tomatoes. Two,

three, four pallets deep. We would be selling roundabout ?5 50, ?6. At

the moment we could double that. Absolutely crazy. This is not

short-term, this will be over the next six weeks.

Here is the lesser spotted courgette. Two months ago, this

would have been worth 35p. At the moment, it is ?1 50. If you tick the

box as a whole, that is usually about 4- ?5. Now, ?20. The question

is why? The answer is whether? This company imports fruit from his

homeland of Spain, but this is his family farm.

This year I think we lost around 45% of the harvest. It was all flooded,

and some of the areas we had to cut down the trees.

And that is why a shortage of citrus fruit is predicted in a fortnight's

time. We rely on Spain, Italy and France for more than half of our

fresh produce. But local growers are encouraging us to return to our

roots. Well, root vegetables. With Somerset Cale picked as an

alternative to Mediterranean greens. In two years, we do not know exactly

what the nature of our relationship will be with Spain, so it is a good

practice run just to help local farmers by trying their produce, and

when the price of Spanish produce is likely to go up even more, than it

has already, we have really got the supply chain locally that we can

pool upon. For many, though, the rain in Spain

is becoming more and more of a pain. How will we manage without a

courgette? To think they have gone up that

much, that is quite something. A petition started by

Carol Vorderman calling for the last surviving Dambuster to be knighted

has now passed 200,000 signatures. George "Johnny" Johnson was 22

when he took part in the 1943 air raid using experimental

bouncing bombs in Germany. Ms Vorderman said it was

"disgraceful" that the 95-year-old was omitted from the

New Year's honours list, She's now planning to hand

in a new nomination Gloucester City's fans will have

to travel out of the county to watch their team play

home games next season. The Tigers have been

without their own ground They've now agreed to

groundshare with Evesham - which is 25 miles away -

after spending the last seven All this year at Points West we're

celebrating our 60th anniversary, and looking back at some

of the stories that have made And in April 1980 a story

in Devizes captured Two African lions

were on the loose - they escaped from a circus

and went to a nearby school. It all ended well -

and with some spectacular memories, as our Wiltshire reporter

Will Glennon found out. It was April 28, 1980, and normal

life at Devizes school was about to be shattered. The circus was in town

on the green next door. Somehow, to Lyoness Open escaped and got into

the school. We were certainly aware that the

lion was walking down the path towards us.

Vanessa and Karen were pupils at the time, and remember the whole thing.

I think to start with we were frozen with shock, but then there was a lot

of noise, a lot of panic and screaming, and that unfortunately

frightened the lion, and she ran towards us, and she jumped through a

glass door. I remember being out and about, I

had my lunch, and members of staff coming out and just shouting that we

all had to go into our tutor rooms. Because there were lions in the

school, which obviously made everyone move rather quickly, and we

spent the whole time looking out the window trying to see Lions

desperately. A Points West reporter and film crew

were quickly dispatched, and the story went across the whole country.

It seems they had escaped from a circus in a neighbouring field. One

of them got into Devizes compressions of school this track --

comprehensive school. We do not have any photos of the

escaped lions because people did not have cameras and mobile phones in

their pocket in 1980. We have two imagine what it was like for the

children to be facing a real lifeline. Were they thinking, this

is it, it's all over? Or were they thinking, we will have a great tale

to tell. What was the reaction? Someone really excited, and panic

from the girls, they were screaming. We just ran in there and shut the

door. I was excited. Memories resurfaced recently on the

Graham Norton show. In the distance I saw what looked a

great Dane coming towards us. It came up the steps towards us and

smashed through the plate glass window behind me. It was a lie in.

-- Lagan. The Lions were tranquillised and

recaptured, and no one was hurt, but that April day will always be

remembered here is the town's main event.

It is a good story. Money, we had a lion and will today?

Bring pets to school day. Let's catch up with the weather, how

is the fog today? As many of you can attest, it was

quite extensive and dense, last night we were seeing visibility

dropping past the M5towards Devon, down to 50 metres, and this forecast

will be something of a d j vu experience. Let me take you through

it. Once again, we will look at the risk of fog forming across these

eastern areas of our region. Again some of that will be lingering for

quite awhile during the first half of tomorrow. Elsewhere, it will be a

day of varying amounts of cloud and bright and sunny spells. It will be

a dry one for us all. Another Met Office warning, this caters for

areas from around my head any where eastwards. -- Minehead. A greater

threat of seeing fog of freezing fog, and that will have a disruptive

influence of you out and about the roads. Here is a wider look at how

things are shaping up. The footprint for the fog forming across central

and southern England. As we run through the night into tomorrow, it

lingers for quite a while. Effectively lying through a good

part of the day. It may be a similar story tomorrow. Through the rest of

this evening, varying amounts of cloud, the fog forming readily,

particularly where it has been already due course of the day. And

towards the end of the night, we are unlikely to have seen temperatures

as low as we did last time, but nonetheless there will be some areas

getting down to -2, minus three. Further west, could be temperatures

above freezing. Into tomorrow, the longevity of some of those areas of

fog of freezing fog, and the best of any brightness out towards the West.

Where we have fog, it will tend to lift, and foreign banks of low

cloud, which could be stubborn across parts of Wiltshire.

Temperatures tomorrow getting up perhaps to seven Celsius. Much

colder on Thursday, brisk south easterly wind, thick cloud, some

snow with that maybe as well. We have put the story about the

Lions on our Facebook page. We're off to panic buy some

courgette. Otherwise, we will see you tomorrow.

You might get the impression that history is just a record

Very often, the line between fact and fiction

In this series, I'm exploring how three turning points in our history

have been manipulated to become our greatest historical legends.

I want to be entertained. Entertain me.

It's the last chance to impress the judges.

What have you been up to? Something grubby?

I'm Dame Judi Dench, I'm a national treasure!