28/03/2017 Points West

A fellow Marine on the tour from hell says his

You are surrounded by absolute lunacy, a bit of lunacy doesn't seem

so bad. We'll be talking to Paddy Ashdown

about today's reduced sentence Our other headlines tonight:

Repairing the tallest pylons outside London,

how they tackled the job People in Bath are among the first

in the UK to take it for a spin. Hundreds answer the SOS

for a family who want There were scenes of celebration

outside the Court of Appeal in London today as a former royal

marine from Taunton learnt that he'd be released

from a Wiltshire prison within days. It was the moment his family

and friends had been longing for. Alexander Blackman was almost

at the end of what his supporters called a "hellish" tour of duty,

when he shot and killed The moment was captured

on a helmet camera. A year later, the police came

across the footage by accident and Blackman found himself accused

of murder, along with His colleagues were acquitted

but the now disgraced Sergeant was found guilty

and sentenced to life. Over the next three years, his wife

Claire challenged that verdict, until finally an appeal was granted

and his conviction quashed. We are overjoyed at

the judge's decision sentence, such that he can be

released imminently. This is the moment we

have all been fighting It is hard to believe that this

day is finally here. Our Somerset Correspondent,

Clinton Rogers has been reporting on this story for us

since the beginning. He's in the Royal Marine town

of Taunton this evening. Clinton, there had been some

suggestion that Blackman might be freed today,

but his supporters will have to wait a little longer

for the homecoming. Yes, any welcome home party

here needs to be put on hold. Now he's already been in prison

three and a half years. Today his previous life sentence

was substituted with seven years - and because many prisoners only

serve half their sentences, well Blackman has pretty

much done all his time. His barrister said he expected him

to be freed in about two weeks. Now this is a case that continues

to polarise opinion. There are those, including

senior ex military men, who believe Alexander Blackman had

to be prosecuted once that video Others though say,

unless you were there, unless you've suffered the intense

heat of battle, you That's certainly the view

of a colleague of Blackman, Rob Driscoll was a Sergeant

with the Royal Marines on the same He has undergone years

of counselling since. He says the horrors about

Afghanistan will probably never Through my career, I have seen some

pretty horrific things. But I hadn't seen them use body

parts as bait, I haven't heard or A real hatred built

up inside me for the insurgency and the people that were

prepared to use these techniques Do you think that is the background

against which Alexander I think it is certainly

a contributing factor. There is no way that we can argue it

it wouldn't have affected I think we are

surrounded by absolute lunacy, a little bit of lunacy

doesn't seem so bad. Rob Driscoll says he

still supports Alexander He acknowledges that what Blackman

did on the battlefield, captured on helmet

cameras, may have been captured on helmet cameras,

may have been illegal, but militarily, he made the right

decision in not summoning help for the wounded

Taliban fighter. If he hadn't have done

what he did, then I would be walking out of the main gate

with eight or nine guys and that would have meant me rolling those

dice and potentially not coming back

with all the guys I walked Now Alexander Blackman had hoped

that once his murder conviction had been overturned he might be able

to rejoin the Royal Marines. Today's judges, who said

he "retained a substantial responsibility for

the deliberate killing". Decided he should remain dismissed

from the Royal Marines. Though they did change one thing,

"Dismissed with disgrace" now But should he have been

allowed to rejoin? One former Royal Marines colonel,

still living in Somerset, He is and always will

be part of the Royal Marine family, but I am

sure that he will want to focus on his future

and the Royal Marines will

want to to go back to concentrate on doing

what they do best, being the nation's

expeditionary force of choice. They and he will have

learned much, but I'm sure they'll

want to put it behind I'm sure they'll want

to put it behind them Unwavering support and admiration

for Claire Blackman today. You've had many conversations

with her over the last three years. Did you ever get the sense

that she thought this Up to half an hour ago, I would have

said no. In fact, she rang me in the last 20 minutes and I had

accommodation with her. I was able to say that they will ask me that

question, I am -- am I right in saying you have my doubts? She said

no, I did have doubts. She said at some point she felt like she was

fighting an unwinnable battle. I think that once the criminal case's

decided to get this case back to the Court of Appeal, I think her views

on that changed. She was confident from that point on. She said

confident, but never count your chickens. That is view.

Let's get the thoughts now of Lord Ashdown,

Paddy Ashdown, are you comfortable with today's decision? The courts

process has completed. It has taken the course it should take, must

take, as part of our system of law in Britain and it has reached its

conclusion. It is not for politicians or indeed for anybody

else to interfere in that process. They argue final and only authority.

They have made their decision as to the guilt or otherwise of Sergeant

Blackman and they have reached their conclusion as to the sentence and

there in lies and there it stays. I agree with Clinton that the one an

Allied heroin is Claire Blackman. She has stood by her husband. But

yourself in his position in that terrible day of duty. With remains

of other soldiers being used as bait and so on, do you think you might

have been tempted to do what Blackman did? I can't tell. I wasn't

there. I think anybody that was there knows and anybody who wasn't

there it doesn't. That does not alter the fact that in the end there

is a question as to whether or not the law in our country and indeed

international law, has been broken. It was right that that should be

tested in the court and right that the court should reach its

conclusion. David, I was a Royal Marine myself. I have been in active

service. I've not seen anything like what Sergeant Blackman saw, but I

have seen enough. I have given evidence three times in front of the

war crime tribunal. For actions against international law. Unless

you have that law asserted and tested in a court, you can't have

Nuremberg, you can't bring walk on roles to justice. No one is saying

that sudden Blackman is. But the law has to be paid. These old -- soldier

goes into someone else's country armed with lethal force. To uphold

the law. If these older in the process of a battle does not uphold

law, then they need to face justice. If the enemy is in your site, you

must do everything you can to kill him. If the enemy is in your power,

you have to do everything you can to save him. I remember you saying

that, but the truth is that he did break the Geneva Convention and he

has admitted that. The people he is fighting against, the Taliban and

so-called IES, couldn't care less about the Geneva Convention. No.

That is frequently the case. With the enemies that we need to fight.

It does not mean that you do not follow it. I remember saying to

slobber than the loss of itch -- a person who was .... It is a hard

judgment. In the end, the court has decided on that decision needs to be

respected. There were mitigating circumstances and that is where the

matter should be left. We should be celebrating with Claire Blackman.

That was Lord Ashman reacting to our top story tonight. The imminent

release of Alexander Blackman, the former Royal Marine from Taunton who

has had his prison sentence cut today.

This is David and Liz with tonight's Points West.

Still to come on this evening's programme:

If you're scared of heights you might want to look away now.

We're with the super sparkies as they scale the pylons

A misty start across the Severn. A mixed day of weather. Next is the

watchword for the next few days, but I will try and pin some detail on it

later in the weather. Yes, we are going up in the world later on.

The inquest into the death of a man who was fatally stabbed heard today

that his killer had a history of paranoia, but not violence.

Robert Cox was 24 when he was attacked by Derek Hancock

at their supported accommodation in Bristol, four years ago.

In his 20s, with mental health problems, he ended up here.

Supported accommodation on Eginton Road in Bristol.

In the summer of 2013, another resident, Derek Hancock,

The inquest heard Derek Hancock had been homeless and in a hostel

with 24-hour staff cover, but was judged ready to step

Wherever he lived though, there were problems.

We heard today that Mr Hancock was paranoid

--and at another, he had made unfounded

This was all before he came to Egerton Road, but once that,

he made the same type of unfounded allegations against Robert Cox.

Including on the day that Mr Cox died.

How police dealt with those allegations will be picked

Risk assessments by the Bristol City Council and housing providers

But Mr Cox's family still want answers from this ten-day inquest.

The police have issued a fresh appeal for information

in an unsolved case of a woman who was murdered 30 years ago today.

66-year-old Helen Fleet was found in woodland

She was last seen alive that morning when she parked her blue Datsun

near Worlebury Woods to take her dogs for a walk.

Her body was found by another dog walker and it sparked a major

police investigation, but no-one was ever charged.

A security guard who was arrested on suspicion of manslaughter

after tackling a suspected shoplifter will face

Kieren Church died when the glass bottles he was hiding smashed

as he was apprehended by the security guard at The Shires

Three men have appeared in court charged with slavery and drugs

offences after a cannabis farm was discovered in a disused nuclear

Two men from Bristol aged 27 and 30, along with a 45-year-old man

from Bridgwater have all been remanded in custody.

Next, a quiet corner of South Bristol was transformed

into a massive building site today, as the BBC programme DIY SOS got

The team are working around the clock to transform

a home in Hartcliffe and allow the family's son to return

As you can see behind me, at quarter to seven in the evening, there are

still a good 25 were men and women in there. They have been here all

day most since eight o'clock this morning. An awful lot of hard work

going on. We have been here most of the day and it has been really

fascinating and inspirational learning what is going on. We all

watch and love the programme. It has been a real privilege learning what

goes on in real-time. By mid-morning most of the input side of that house

was in the skip here. What struck me most is just the atmosphere of fun

here today. A real sense of a community pulling together for a

really good cause. Nearly 100 builders, plumbers,

electircians and carpenters. All on site, on time

and raring to go. They won't get paid

and they will work hard, but they've all turned up

to do their bit. The people who come up and turn up

here, most of them won't be The people who give us kitchens

and extensions and all the rest of it, we are not allowed

to say who they are. It is the ultimate

altruistic act, really. It's the community

coming together in a way that people think doesn't

exist any more, but does. Five years ago he collpased

after an operation and has needed round-the-clock

care ever since. But the family home just

wasn't suitable for him, so he's been stuck in

a care home in Gloucester with his Mum traveling by bus

and train for five hours a day For his parents, this

build means the world. To come back and see our

house and a bit of the state, we are excited to see

what the end product Very, very exciting,

but slightly nervous, as well. It will transform especially my

life, travelling five hours a day just to go and see

Ryan and do his care. With a lot of man and woman power,

it didn't take long to make a start. It is now 10:30, this build only

started an hour ago. We have been watching

people piling in As you can see, this skip

which was empty and hour For people living nearby in this

usually quiet corner of Hartcliffe - it's been an unusual day -

with the street turned into part building site, part film set -

with some serious celebrity What is it like having

all of these famous I can't wait for them

to come out so I can meet And it is even better that it is for

a good cause, as well. By late afternoon,

the house was stripped bare. Walls and ceilings have

been knocked down, And tonight, nine days to get

it put back together, I can see you with your hard hat on,

neck. Looks like there was a brilliant turnout today. Is that

always the case or is heartless exceptional? It is in the top 30 of

the 200 and something that we have done probably in terms of turnout.

It was a good start. We thought we would have about 80, but in actual

fact I asked the man who did our lunches and he said he did 199 to.

They go. There is Billy in the background that. We have superglued

to a lamp post just for your entertainment. Love Billy getting in

on the action. Hello, Billy. He can't move, because I literally have

superglued him to the lamp post. I watched last week and you may build

and one of the volunteers wouldn't go home to see his wife in labour.

What is it about you and the team that inspires such passion? It is

very nice of you to think it is me and the team, it isn't. This is a

DIY SOS, but we are actually just a little gravitational pull for the

community to come together. The people who come in, enjoy it so much

and really feel they own this build. It is very difficult to send them

home. Health and safety things, work hours we are supposed to do, it is

hard to get them off site. They're determined to get on. The changes

here have been extraordinary, we have taken walls, ceilings, floors.

Back of the house of. It is on such a grand scale that people really buy

into it. It is more relevant than just making something for somebody,

they are changing an opportunity for a family. This lad has been away

from his home and family for five years. The medics have done an

amazing job for him, but they can't get him home. This lot can. That is

kind of amazing. When you realised you have that power, it is not

difficult. Plus, we feed them heavily, which is important. Very

quickly, it is always a race against time to get it done, that have

always does get done, doesn't it? Yes, I feel like Geoffrey Rush in

Shakespeare in Love when he says, it will be all right, I don't know how,

but it will be. I don't know how it works. No matter how much work needs

doing, people stay until it gets done and we will be here late on

next Tuesday, Wednesday, ready to hand the thing over on Thursday

morning and hopefully change the family's live. These people will be

changing families lives. Literally superglued to the lamp post. You

thought I was joking, he really is. If you need any help for the heavy

work, I will send Liz over straightaway. Oh, no, David is your

man. One of the UK's tallest electricity

pylons has been scaled today, to replace vital parts last touched

almost 50 years ago. The pylon, one of two

spanning the river severn, stands at almost 500-feet tall

and carries cables buzzing Shrouded by a thick fog this

morning, this pylon has helped keep the South West's light switches

working since the late 1950s. And is so tall the top is often lost

among the low cloud. They call these river crossing

towers or pylons to you and me, and what we've

got here in the west is the second-highest pair

anywhere in Great Britain. And through pretty dense fog

here this morning, you can see the one over there

and that is carrying longest span anywhere

in the UK, actually. Over a mile of wires

going through the air. And over the side,

the Chepstow side, 500 feet up to the top,

you might just be able to make up the yellow jackets

of the people carrying out Those insulated as they are changing

haven't been switched since This is what it

looks like when you work Carrying 275,000 volts

across the river severn, you can see the severn bridge

in the background. Filmed over half an hour,

this shows the view up the tallest pylon in the UK anywhere outside

London. They connect the whole country

to the power stations and you have got the grid network around

the whole country supplying power so they can divert power

all over the country. And the distribution networks,

the country your door. The insulators they're replacing

were last changed in 1969. As you can see, health

and safety procedures The new ones should be fitted this

week and keep the electricity People in Bath have been among some

of the first in the country The 12-sided coin came

into circulation today and the city was one of the few places to receive

them on launch day. Bath's main post office

is used to firsts. It was from here that the first-ever

stamp was sent and today, almost 180-years later,

the city one of the first It is the first batch

in the first edition, I thought it might be nice just

to hold onto it for later on. Bath was one of only 14 cities

to offer the coin today. It is usually quite busy anyway,

being the big office in the centre of the city,

but the first probably 25 or 30 customers,

they were only here to get

the new pound coin, which is unexpected,

but quite And how many people have you had

coming through the doors We have only been open about an hour

and a half and at least 150, For some it was a momentous way

to mark a special day. We are actually a way for Lisa's

birthday, so we were just in town and we heard that they

were coming out here. So we thought we would just

pop in and get them. My sister texted me

and said get some So I thought I would get

some for the kids and Others just wanted to be one

of the first to have one. It doesn't happen

very often, does it? I thought I'd just

come and get a few. Have a couple of the new ones

in the draw, so that when my granddaughter comes to visit,

I'll be able to give her some. Getting their hands on a piece

of history and they're proving to be Well, if you think you've got any

old pound coins lurking down the back of the sofa you have

until October to spend them. And talking of sofas,

this is what happened when BBC Breakfast's Dan Walker got his hands

on one of the first new pound coins It reminded us of this classic

Points West moment when presenter Susan Osman lost a diamond worth

?750,000 down the back of our sofa luckily, as you can see,

it wasn't lost forever. Let's have a look at the weather

with Sara Thornton. Thank you. I have lost a bit of

detail in this forecast. I said a few minutes ago that it is pretty

mixed, and if you look at the Globe, you can see that there is some

showers on it because it is going to be a pretty mixed forecast. Today,

we saw those amazing pictures way high up of mist and fog. Then it

cleared up and some cloud has been moving in. That cloud has got some

rain with it. It is fizzling out a lot, but is heading our way. As I

said last night, it has opened the floodgates for little systems to

flood in over the next few days. Let's talk about that detail. Look

at that yellow line, it is right across the Bristol Channel. Anything

north west will be wetter. Always a bit drier in knee. They're that in

mind as we look at the progression of France in the chart. That little

bit of drizzle coming through this evening, largely most of it will be

gone by tomorrow evening. If you lingering showers. Much milder than

last night. Ten or 11 degrees. That is because of that south-westerly

wind that you can see. That south-west of the wind will bring us

some showers especially at the west. Cloudier largely than today and by

the afternoon a view more showers coming through. A lot of dry

weather. The further east you are, temperatures in the mid teens. In

terms of once, it is Thursday that we are really feeling that southerly

wind all the way up from the Azores. France are trying to encroach

towards us. They don't really make too many in the way of inroads, so

there will be a lot of dry and bright weather in the east.

Temperatures cooler by Friday. Thank you very much. I've got one of

these new pounds. Shall we toss for it? Works. Sorry, it is mine. We