:00:00. > :00:09.Our main story tonight: A councillor and his drug dens.
:00:10. > :00:12.He was part of a gang renting houses and turning them
:00:13. > :00:14.into cannabis farms, while serving as a respectable
:00:15. > :00:29.Quite what he was to right at the centre of this conspiracy, only he
:00:30. > :00:34.will now. He has lied through his back teeth in these proceedings, in
:00:35. > :00:35.my opinion, and now he must face the consequences.
:00:36. > :00:37.Tonight, Councillor Hassett is in jail.
:00:38. > :00:45.We will have the full story of his deception.
:00:46. > :00:49.Our other headlines tonight: Two new mums start a support group
:00:50. > :00:51.after suffering strokes days after giving birth.
:00:52. > :00:54.Council tax bills are going up by the biggest amount in a decade,
:00:55. > :00:57.but it is not enough to stop cuts in services.
:00:58. > :01:01.And splashing out on a refurb of the pool in Portishead,
:01:02. > :01:06.And splashing out on a refurb of the pool in Portishead.
:01:07. > :01:10.A councillor has been found guilty of conspiring to grow vast amounts
:01:11. > :01:15.of cannabis in homes he rented under fake names.
:01:16. > :01:18.Councillor Donal Hassett ? who is 56 - is one of a number
:01:19. > :01:25.He has already been suspended from the Conservative Party,
:01:26. > :01:27.but he remains a representative on the council in Bath,
:01:28. > :01:29.even though he is in jail tonight awaiting sentence.
:01:30. > :01:38.A respected Conservative councillor, Donal Hassett, has been
:01:39. > :01:40.A respected Conservative councillor, Donal Hassett has been
:01:41. > :01:42.suspended by his party, though is technically
:01:43. > :01:47.despite now being a convicted criminal.
:01:48. > :01:53.This was one of the raids we filmed with police last year.
:01:54. > :01:57.Donal Hassett had rented this Wiltshire home using fake
:01:58. > :02:00.names and cover stories to access four properties.
:02:01. > :02:03.With the rental agreements secured, Hassett's accomplices moved in.
:02:04. > :02:05.With the rental agreements secured, Hassett's accomplices moved in,
:02:06. > :02:17.Rental properties you wouldn't ordinarily think would be used for
:02:18. > :02:25.anything other than normal families. Then electricity would come in and
:02:26. > :02:26.after three months, you have millions of pounds worth of
:02:27. > :02:32.cannabis, ready to cultivate. Four had already pleaded guilty
:02:33. > :02:35.via Vietnamese interpreters. Bath Council said it could not
:02:36. > :02:38.comment until Hassett Today the leader of its Conservative
:02:39. > :02:41.group said Hassett was no longer a member and added,
:02:42. > :02:44.we feel very let down as a party and I feel personally let down
:02:45. > :02:47.as his group leader. Cannabis farms are often part
:02:48. > :02:50.of a criminal portfolio. The farmers inside, often
:02:51. > :02:53.Vietnamese, are sometimes, say police, trafficked
:02:54. > :02:57.into the UK illegally. The young man we filmed in February
:02:58. > :03:01.last year was left looking He has since disappeared, along
:03:02. > :03:07.with another young Vietnamese man. Police are appealing for help
:03:08. > :03:10.finding Thang Van Tran and Dang Chien, not for any crimes,
:03:11. > :03:24.but to make sure they are not still The prosecution said the cannabis
:03:25. > :03:29.growing operation was organised and sophisticated. Councillor Donal
:03:30. > :03:34.Hassett was remanded in custody today. He will return to court to be
:03:35. > :03:37.sentenced at a later date. When he does, it is very likely he will face
:03:38. > :03:41.a prison sentence. The police have released a CCTV
:03:42. > :03:44.image as part of an investigation into the death of a woman in South
:03:45. > :03:46.Gloucestershire. 43-year-old Joanne Denham was found
:03:47. > :03:48.on Hill Street in Kingswood A 38-year-old man arrested has
:03:49. > :03:51.been released on bail. Police say that the man in this
:03:52. > :03:54.image could be a potential Two women from Wiltshire
:03:55. > :04:01.who had strokes just days after giving birth,
:04:02. > :04:03.are warning others about their Jo Wallace and Stevi Marshall have
:04:04. > :04:07.set up a support group after finding Doctors initially put their symptoms
:04:08. > :04:12.down to being new mums, when actually things
:04:13. > :04:13.were far more serious. Our Wiltshire Reporter Will Glennon
:04:14. > :04:24.went to meet them. Jo Wallace and Stevi Marshall each
:04:25. > :04:30.had their first child last year. But just days after the birth,
:04:31. > :04:48.Stevi started getting bad headaches, It was like I wanted to just scratch
:04:49. > :04:53.that part of my face to get something out. I had a lot of
:04:54. > :05:01.confusion. I couldn't read. I would look at words and I couldn't even
:05:02. > :05:08.tell you what they said. It got to a point where I couldn't cope. It was
:05:09. > :05:18.throbbing at the back of my head. Basically, I lost my eyesight. My
:05:19. > :05:21.memory is coming back, but it was quite severely affected.
:05:22. > :05:23.The Stroke Association says more women than men have strokes,
:05:24. > :05:28.This may be because more women are living longer and having
:05:29. > :05:32.But it is still highly unusual for young women
:05:33. > :05:51.Stroke during pregnancy and after childbirth is rear, but it does
:05:52. > :05:54.happen. Having a stroke can have different effects. Every single
:05:55. > :05:57.stroke is different. People do recover and the future can be very
:05:58. > :06:00.bright after suffering a stroke. Jo and Stevi feel very
:06:01. > :06:02.fortunate to have survived They are now part of a support
:06:03. > :06:13.group for Mums in Swindon None of us want to dwell on it. We
:06:14. > :06:19.accept this has happened to us, but we are all here, we all have issues,
:06:20. > :06:24.but it's not life threatening. We all have our babies and they are
:06:25. > :06:27.gorgeous and lovely. And we will hopefully get to see them grow.
:06:28. > :06:30.Both women are recovering well, and warning other mums to watch
:06:31. > :06:48.Andrew Marr made a brilliant programme about strokes and it is
:06:49. > :06:52.available on the iPlayer. We have got lots more
:06:53. > :06:55.still to come before 7pm, including: The councillor in charge
:06:56. > :06:58.of homeless policy who slept And a new lease of life for the lido
:06:59. > :07:06.- the open air pool in Portishead Council tax across the West
:07:07. > :07:18.is facing its biggest rise in a decade, despite ongoing
:07:19. > :07:21.cuts to services. Today two of our biggest councils,
:07:22. > :07:23.Somerset and Gloucestershire, In Taunton, there were protests
:07:24. > :07:26.as members voted through controversial changes
:07:27. > :07:27.including job cuts. Here's our political
:07:28. > :07:35.editor Paul Barltrop. Across the West, it is a time
:07:36. > :07:39.for difficult decisions. This morning in Somerset
:07:40. > :07:51.that hour had arrived. The reality is that anyone sitting
:07:52. > :07:57.in this position would have to make the same tough decisions. The Devil
:07:58. > :08:01.is in the detail. I don't like the lack of detail of any of the cuts to
:08:02. > :08:02.services. Controversy in the council
:08:03. > :08:04.chamber over ?18 million And outside from unions
:08:05. > :08:20.and service users worried Service users are suffering and
:08:21. > :08:28.staff are making impossible choices about how to do their job, to keep
:08:29. > :08:32.our communities safe. The situation is quite bad. The situation we have
:08:33. > :08:34.with the budget for next year is there is no detail about where the
:08:35. > :08:39.cuts will fall. Yet, even as spending falls,
:08:40. > :08:41.council tax is rising. It is the same in Gloucestershire,
:08:42. > :08:45.but slightly less in Bath In North Somerset it will be 4.75%,
:08:46. > :08:49.while all the West's other big councils are going for 4.99% -
:08:50. > :08:52.pretty much the most allowed. Overall, that means Band D tax bills
:08:53. > :09:09.will rise by between ?50 and ?80, Children and adults need care which
:09:10. > :09:15.we need to pay for. The situation is not perfect. We were able to freeze
:09:16. > :09:18.council tax for eight years. It is getting more difficult as we go
:09:19. > :09:21.forward. He is to meet Government ministers
:09:22. > :09:24.to discuss ongoing cuts in funding. But no bailout is expected,
:09:25. > :09:34.so cuts including the loss So, strong feelings as councillors
:09:35. > :09:39.voted through tax rises and spending reductions. Efforts have been made
:09:40. > :09:44.to protect services. Across the West, local elections take place in
:09:45. > :09:46.May. After that, councils will have to start planning further rounds of
:09:47. > :09:49.cuts. However, many people in Swindon
:09:50. > :09:52.might get a bit of a shock when they receive their council tax
:09:53. > :09:54.bills this year. A rise of up to ?200
:09:55. > :09:56.is being planned. It will be used to pay
:09:57. > :09:59.for new parish councils They will then take over
:10:00. > :10:02.services which the borough Concerns have been raised
:10:03. > :10:08.about the ethics behind an award-winning green energy
:10:09. > :10:10.plant in Somerset. It generates heat and power
:10:11. > :10:13.from waste, and one source is slurry But animal rights campaigners claim
:10:14. > :10:17.conditions there are appalling. A claim that has
:10:18. > :10:18.today been disputed. We are really passionate about
:10:19. > :10:39.sustainability... As the UK's biggest
:10:40. > :10:41.independent cheese maker, Wyke Farms takes its green
:10:42. > :10:43.credentials very seriously. They have even built this green
:10:44. > :10:45.energy plant near Bruton. Next door you can see the pig farm
:10:46. > :10:49.from where it gets some This is what was secretly filmed
:10:50. > :11:06.on that pig farm one Sunday night in January
:11:07. > :11:07.by animal rights campaigners. where dead pigs lie
:11:08. > :11:12.amongst the living. Perhaps - say campaigners -
:11:13. > :11:25.not quite what green energy When people make an ethical choice
:11:26. > :11:28.about where their energy comes from, most British people reject factory
:11:29. > :11:30.farming. I think they would be shocked to discover that some energy
:11:31. > :11:33.comes from factory farms. Wyke Farms does not own
:11:34. > :11:36.or run the pig farm. But given the link between it
:11:37. > :11:39.and their energy plant they told us today they are "committed
:11:40. > :11:41.to the highest standards of animal welfare and is extremely concerned
:11:42. > :11:44.by what is shown in the video." Adding they "will be reviewing
:11:45. > :11:46.future supply of waste The farm owners JMW Farming
:11:47. > :11:50.has made no comment. The National Pig Association says
:11:51. > :11:55.the farm's been inspected. The National Pig Association says
:11:56. > :11:57.the farm has been inspected and that no welfare regulations
:11:58. > :12:00.have been breached. Explaining that across the industry,
:12:01. > :12:02.dead pigs should be removed But without staff on overnight,
:12:03. > :12:07.that sometimes has to wait Wyke Farms says the pig slurry
:12:08. > :12:13.is just 1% of the waste source But they will talk to the owners
:12:14. > :12:17.before making a decision if they will continue to use waste
:12:18. > :12:25.from their pigs. The former Chief Inspector
:12:26. > :12:27.of Prisons Lord Ramsbotham says councils in our region
:12:28. > :12:30.are being short-sighted for not offering a full-time speech
:12:31. > :12:31.and language therapy service He says evidence has been in place
:12:32. > :12:36.for more than a decade showing most young offenders have problems
:12:37. > :12:38.with speech and language, and addressing this cuts
:12:39. > :12:40.their reoffending and keeps Our reporter Lee Madan
:12:41. > :12:43.has travelled to Devon, where therapy is offered,
:12:44. > :13:11.to see what difference it makes. In any month, where does the 17th
:13:12. > :13:16.come? Gulliver has been working with a speech and language therapist for
:13:17. > :13:19.three months, but says his life has already been turnaround. He spent
:13:20. > :13:25.his childhood feeling out of place, but didn't know why. I was mixing in
:13:26. > :13:34.with the wrong crowd. I started using cannabis to fit in with
:13:35. > :13:39.people. I think it is what caused my offending. He was first caught with
:13:40. > :13:43.drugs aged 15. He got into trouble again after becoming angry while
:13:44. > :13:49.unable to explain himself and when others couldn't understand what he
:13:50. > :13:54.was trying to say. It would cause frustration because I felt stupid.
:13:55. > :13:59.The other person was getting frustrated that I wasn't listening
:14:00. > :14:04.to them. Considering communication skills such as empathy and being
:14:05. > :14:13.able to understand someone else's point of view, this is crucial
:14:14. > :14:19.regarding language. Gulliver has now realised he is not stupid or bad,
:14:20. > :14:24.but has problems with memory which he now manages. I take deep breaths
:14:25. > :14:29.and count to ten. I have a notebook to take notes. These techniques have
:14:30. > :14:33.helped him avoid getting into difficult confrontations. He gets
:14:34. > :14:37.better with others, can hold down a job and make nicer friends.
:14:38. > :14:42.Important factors that make it less likely he will commit more crime. He
:14:43. > :14:48.received help because he lives in Devon, where the council employs two
:14:49. > :14:53.speech and language therapists specifically to work with young
:14:54. > :14:58.offenders. In our region, it is less likely he would have been helped. It
:14:59. > :15:04.is one of the scourges of this century. I wish all councils would
:15:05. > :15:09.think this through. This lack of communication was the cornerstone of
:15:10. > :15:12.all their problems and the cornerstone of improving prospects.
:15:13. > :15:17.Most councils in the West told me they want to run a full-time service
:15:18. > :15:25.for young offenders, but are struggling with limited budgets and
:15:26. > :15:27.a lack of funding. Gulliver's message is clear. Spending money on
:15:28. > :15:29.speech therapy works and it is the reason he is confident he will not
:15:30. > :15:55.reoffend. Elsewhere in the region, provision
:15:56. > :16:00.is limited. In Swindon, a therapist is only employed one afternoon a
:16:01. > :16:06.week. Across the West, there were 1311 young offenders last year. And
:16:07. > :16:11.only 7% received the offer of speech and language therapy by their local
:16:12. > :16:14.council. Of government data shows that at least 60% are likely to
:16:15. > :16:20.speech and language problems which are thought to be a key factor on
:16:21. > :16:31.why they committed the crime in the first place.
:16:32. > :16:38.Why the link between speech and language problems or crime and
:16:39. > :16:43.reoffending? Well, we think speech and language problems make at child
:16:44. > :16:48.vulnerable for success in education and once you are not succeeding in
:16:49. > :16:52.school, you fall behind, it is difficult to keep up with your peer
:16:53. > :16:57.group, get involved in activities that bring you into contact with
:16:58. > :17:01.criminal activity. As with any speech and language therapy, it's
:17:02. > :17:06.not one fits all. What sort of treatment or reason talking about?
:17:07. > :17:10.First of all, many of these young people have quite complex disorders,
:17:11. > :17:15.so there might be an underlying delay in their language, they may
:17:16. > :17:19.have problems such as a stammer. They may have difficulties with
:17:20. > :17:24.understanding which are not immediately obvious and which they
:17:25. > :17:27.will often try to cover up. So they need a detailed assessment. Would it
:17:28. > :17:34.not make sense to look at it earlier when they are still at school? It
:17:35. > :17:38.would be, but we don't have the sort of screening for speech and language
:17:39. > :17:42.problems that other European countries have. Once children are
:17:43. > :17:46.showing difficulties such as behavioural difficulties at school
:17:47. > :17:53.or they are at risk of exclusion or they are not in education, those are
:17:54. > :17:58.all risk factors for undiagnosed speech and language problems, so we
:17:59. > :18:02.really should be focusing on children at those points. And what
:18:03. > :18:07.would you like to see change? I think it would be good if we had
:18:08. > :18:11.speech and language therapy provision within all youth offending
:18:12. > :18:16.teams and young offender institutions. That would be helpful
:18:17. > :18:20.because then if young people have missed out earlier Ron, we could
:18:21. > :18:25.catch them, but we could also support the staff and ensure that
:18:26. > :18:40.they benefit from provision to prevent reoffending. As you said, it
:18:41. > :18:43.would also be much better if we could detect the problem is much
:18:44. > :18:50.earlier. Thank you for joining us. Thank you. .
:18:51. > :18:52.Last month on this programme we highlighted the growing problem
:18:53. > :18:55.Latest figures show Bristol has had the biggest rise
:18:56. > :18:59.Up from just eight in 2010 to 74 now.
:19:00. > :19:01.There are nearly five times more people sleeping rough
:19:02. > :19:03.on streets in Swindon than there were six years ago.
:19:04. > :19:06.Last year, 28 people were without a bed for the night,
:19:07. > :19:09.In Bath, the numbers have nearly tripled from nine
:19:10. > :19:11.to 25, with a similar picture in Gloucester.
:19:12. > :19:13.Well, the councillor in charge of homeless policy for Cheltenham
:19:14. > :19:16.spent three nights sleeping rough in the town to get
:19:17. > :19:18.Here's Councillor Peter Jeffries' story.
:19:19. > :19:22.We are about 4pm and the sun is starting to go down. The temperature
:19:23. > :19:29.is dropping. And going to have a wander around and see if I can catch
:19:30. > :19:37.up with anybody. Then I will find myself quite spot. I have spent
:19:38. > :19:48.three nights sleeping year. Relatively close, not fully, very
:19:49. > :19:55.cold. Lots of noises. Apologies if I seem in I have not had any alcohol.
:19:56. > :20:02.It is sleep deprivation. You get little or no sleep. It is almost
:20:03. > :20:10.like the layers of humanity are disappearing. Self-respect and
:20:11. > :20:18.hygiene levels are lowered. There are two worlds. There is a world
:20:19. > :20:25.that is poles apart completely at odds and they are living at the end
:20:26. > :20:30.of almost existence. I found quite quickly a lot of your energy and
:20:31. > :20:33.thought process is about surviving, where you will get your next hot
:20:34. > :20:41.drink or hot meal. Will your sleeping spot be safer that night?
:20:42. > :20:51.Having time to think about getting out of the situation is almost
:20:52. > :20:56.nonexistent. Before you can scratch the surface to look at the needs and
:20:57. > :21:01.get to that point, there is a definite feeling of resignation to
:21:02. > :21:06.the situation. It is sad. Very sad. It has given me a lot more
:21:07. > :21:09.compassion. There will be times where you have to take tough
:21:10. > :21:15.choices, but taking them with the knowledge and compassion, I think is
:21:16. > :21:24.good. Having heard her voice, it gives me comfort.
:21:25. > :21:27.Over the next few days on Points West, we are looking
:21:28. > :21:29.at the issue of homelessness and how different organisations
:21:30. > :21:31.are trying to find solutions to the growing problem.
:21:32. > :21:33.In his piece, Councillor Jeffries talked about survival
:21:34. > :21:36.Tomorrow, we will be talking to organisations which help people
:21:37. > :21:41.move beyond survival and get back into normal life.
:21:42. > :21:43.In football, there wasn't much to celebrate for our teams
:21:44. > :21:48.City were unhappy that this first Leeds goal wasn't disallowed
:21:49. > :21:50.for a push on defender Bailey Wright.
:21:51. > :21:52.Bristol Rovers drew 0-0 with League One leaders Sheffield United.
:21:53. > :21:54.Swindon Town suffered a fifth successive defeat
:21:55. > :21:56.and in League Two Cheltenham lost and Yeovil drew ahead
:21:57. > :22:19.Major structural repairs are underway at Portishead Lido
:22:20. > :22:22.But ?25,000 is still needed to finish the job.
:22:23. > :22:25.Michelle Ruminski has joined the volunteers who are now
:22:26. > :22:42.Even if it was raining, we would be down here with our raincoat, sat on
:22:43. > :22:48.the steps, waiting for the lorry to come with the hot water.
:22:49. > :22:51.You will be pleased to know biomass boilers heat the open pool now.
:22:52. > :22:54.But across the decades, it has continued to play a big part
:22:55. > :22:57.Opening in 1962, Dave and his friends were some
:22:58. > :23:13.But now, after 45 years, the cracks are beginning to show.
:23:14. > :23:22.The pool started dropping one centimetre per day after a cracked
:23:23. > :23:28.last year. We are going to like it and it will be lovely.
:23:29. > :23:31.New pipework is being fitted too and the original water treatment
:23:32. > :23:33.plant is being replaced with an energy efficient one.
:23:34. > :23:35.It is all costing three quarters of a million pounds,
:23:36. > :23:38.but the trust which runs it - who are mainly volunteers -
:23:39. > :23:50.They are hoping the public will give them a lifeline.
:23:51. > :23:59.We have loans lined up, should we need it. We will be doing the job.
:24:00. > :24:07.So now it is all a race against time.
:24:08. > :24:16.I remember when it opened and I went there in the first summer. I seem to
:24:17. > :24:29.remember the weather was nice in 1967. Do you have pictures? You are
:24:30. > :24:45.the perfect person to reopen it. I recommend the cafe. Nice cake always
:24:46. > :24:53.wins them over. We must stop chatting!
:24:54. > :25:04.I don't know whether I would want to make a judgment of going into the
:25:05. > :25:11.lido. There will be people swimming in the Bristol Channel at the
:25:12. > :25:16.moment. Tomorrow will be a decent day. Some parts of the West Country
:25:17. > :25:20.will be seeing some fog around during the course of the morning.
:25:21. > :25:24.Then it's a question of how quickly that clears. In association with low
:25:25. > :25:29.cloud, to get us into a phase of weather which should be on the most
:25:30. > :25:36.part pretty bright and sunny. Technically, the risk of some light
:25:37. > :25:42.showers around. And overwhelmingly dry story for the majority of you.
:25:43. > :25:48.Earlier, a band of rain moved north eastwards. Still some lingering
:25:49. > :25:55.outbreaks of showers this evening. We expect that to be the way of
:25:56. > :26:00.things tomorrow. A fairly quiet pattern of weather. It should
:26:01. > :26:06.brighten up. This evening, the resurgence of some showery rain.
:26:07. > :26:11.Shouldn't get too far to the east. Looking dry through the course of
:26:12. > :26:17.the night. Towards the south, parts of South Wiltshire and Dorset, here
:26:18. > :26:21.we have a high risk of fraud. In those territories and into southern
:26:22. > :26:26.part of Somerset, the skies may be clear enough for long enough to
:26:27. > :26:30.allow temperatures to drop into a territory to give us a risk of a
:26:31. > :26:38.frost. Elsewhere, I wouldn't be surprised if some urban areas held
:26:39. > :26:44.closer to 6 degrees. We should get under way but some of you under at
:26:45. > :26:49.the fog. That will lift. Low cloud will lift. The should be a
:26:50. > :27:00.reasonable amount of dry weather about. Small chance of an isolated
:27:01. > :27:07.shower. Most places dry and find. Similar story in some respects for
:27:08. > :27:14.Friday. Looking mostly dry and mild. Thank you.
:27:15. > :27:17.Just before we leave you, can we wish a very happy 40th
:27:18. > :27:19.birthday to one of the West's most famous sons.
:27:20. > :27:21.The much loved plasticine character Morph was brought to life
:27:22. > :27:26.He first appeared on Vision On, before finding real fame
:27:27. > :27:33.Nowadays he is often found travelling in his creator
:27:34. > :27:59.when farmers leave their daily routines behind...
:28:00. > :28:02.Right, here we come, Dorset! ..for a show day.