14/04/2017 Points West

People travelling on the M4 motorway in the West were stuck in their cars

for hours this afternoon after a gas tanker caught fire near Chippenham.

The road had to be closed in both directions, meaning long delays

for those trying to get away for the Easter weekend.

The last thing anyone wanted on one of the busiest days

Miles of tailbacks and motorists going nowhere fast.

A tanker carrying compressed gas caught fire at around half past 12,

completely shutting the M4 between Chippenham and Bath.

Dozens of people got out of their car because it was

a particular spectacular sight as you can imagine.

This was before any of the emergency vehicles got there,

People were having a look into the police came past

on the hard shoulder telling everyone to get back in their

Another driver told the BBC she had been stuck in traffic for two hours,

Stationary for two and a half hours. Traffic is now moving.

The RSPCA in the West is warning people not to use glue traps

to catch pests after two owls got stuck.

The birds are currently being cared for at the West

This one was unable to move its wings when it was found

and was exhausted from trying to get free.

Young homeless people in Bristol are being offered the chance

to renovate derelict council houses which they can then rent

The city council is looking to do up its old properties,

while giving young apprentices the skills they need to find work.

It's a radical approach to the city's growing housing crisis

18-year old Sophie has been through tough times.

She found herself homeless after troubles with her family.

Now a pilot scheme has given her somewhere to live

Yeah, painting and decorating, that's what I want to do.

The council provides once derelict homes for free.

A charity supplies the funding to do them up.

A local college does the training and young people end up

with new skills and a place to live for a peppercorn rent.

What happened here is that the ceiling came down

completely and there was damp everywhere on the walls.

For those behind the project it's one way of tackling the rising

numbers of young people caught up in the housing crisis.

So Bristol predicts there is going to be over 700 young

people homeless this year, but that really hides the people

who are sofa surfing or living in other difficult circumstances

where they don't come to the forefront, so the predictions

are that it's getting worse and actually it's getting worse cos

people can't afford anywhere to live and that's the difficulty.

We need newer, cheaper housing options.

So far, this approach is small scale.

They are currently renovating two homes in Bristol.

But, having proved it can work, they are now looking for many more.

I think if there are properties that need to be brought back into use,

then we are more than happy to get behind them and provide funding

for projects like this that help to get young homeless people

back into employment, but also bring old empty housing

It's an idea then that could spread and generation rent needs every

After 90 years performing at shows and events,

the Royal Signals White Helmets team is being disbanded.

They're famous for their death-defying stunts -

feats of balance and acrobatics on motorbikes.

The Army says it's keen to move with the times and so the display

team based at Blandford Forum in Dorset will hang up their hats

They are recognised by many as the best in the world,

immaculately turned out and capable of any number of

Since the very first public displays of joint precision horsemanship

and motorcycle riding, they've travelled the length

and breadth of Britain, amazing the crowds and keeping

In the old days, the Army used motorcycles to carry messages.

Times have moved on and the Army's decided it's time to reflect that.

The world changes and these represent the former

communication days when we used tdispatch riders.

Communications today is fantastic and very much electronic

and the Army must live with those times.

And the Royal Corps of Signals in particular is a very

But so many remember the White Helmets from the local

shows of their childhoods and there is a feeling

A lot of children and families enjoy this sort of display.

They are such a good group of guys and the teamwork and effort

To lose them, it is just such a shame.

And so this will be the last season for the motorcycle display team.

These volunteer soldiers will go back to the regular post

in September and nine decades of discipline, courage,

trust and agility will become a very special part

Onto football now, and it was a mixed Good Friday for our teams.

In the Championship, Bristol City secured

Not such good news for Bristol Rovers who lost 3-1 away

at Gillingham or for Swindon who failed to score at home.

In League Two, Yeovil lost away at Newport and Cheltenham

Better news in the National League though - Forest Green Rovers best

And Chippenham Town have been crowned league champions,

They take the Southern Premier title because second-place

Leamington failed to beat Biggleswade this afternoon.

The Bluebirds will now play at their highest ever level.

Let's find out what the weather is looking like for the rest

of the Easter weekend now with Sarah Farmer.

Hello, and a very good evening to you.

Now, this Easter bank holiday weekend certainly looks to be

fresher than last weekend and that is courtesy of this area

of high pressure just to the south-west of the country,

which is drawing in a north-westerly flow.

So, a cooler feel to things through the course of this weekend.

Into this evening and it looks like we will see that cloud

continuing to thicken and some outbreaks of rain

Patchy and generally light in nature, and it will tend to ease

through by the time we reach the early hours.

Our overnight temperatures holding at around 8, 9 degrees.

So a bit of cloud lingering into first thing tomorrow morning,

perhaps some spots of dampness as well but that should clear

through and we will see some brighter skies developing

Some sunny breaks here and there, temperatures up to 12, 13 degrees.

Taking a look through the rest of the weekend, cloudy conditions

for much of Easter Sunday, possibly seeing some rain later,

one or two showers could be on the way come Monday.

We're back with an update in the late news.

For now, from me, have a lovely evening.

To think that this time last weekend, temperatures were in the

20s. They got up to 25.5. Much cooler across the country this

weekend. And this headline is true for the weather next week. That cool

air stream from the north will persist. The mild air tries to get

in, but never really wins. What have we got for the rest of today? The

rain we had across Wales earlier will move southwards, but once the

rain reaches you, it will be much lighter. Across many northern areas,

the skies will clear up altogether. It will be a nippy night. Certainly

a touch of frost northern areas, but not in the south. There will