10/05/2017 Points West

and on BBC one we now join the BBC's news teams where you are.

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

Our main story tonight: The Conservatives in the clear

These five West country candidates who were under police investigation

You know in the back of your mind that it is hanging over you and the

penalty for the allegations we were facing was potentially a jail

sentence. The inquiry related to costs

of a party battlebus - Our other headlines tonight:

When the music stops. Big names from the world of rock

and pop help fulfill the dying wish of a Bath drummer to record

one last single. The centre celebrating 50 years

transforming the lives of young people with physical

and learning difficulties. And mine's a pint -

why some pubs are offering I'll be live with the landlords

finding out if his new incentive has persuaded anyone to register to

vote. Five West Conservatives got the news

they'd been waiting for today - no charges to answer over their 2015

general election expenses. James Heappey from Wells was one

of those under investigation He's been talking to our political

editor, Paul Barltrop. Not all battlebuses are the same -

and the electoral rules On the left: the 2015 bus that

carried David Cameron, On the right: a bus full of Tory

activists taken to marginal seats... Five West country Conservatives,

who won, got a visit - and should have included it

on their election expenses. But Yeovil's Marcus Fysh,

James Heappey of Wells, Stroud's Neil Carmichael,

Luke Hall of Thornbury and Yate and Alex Chalk

of Cheltenham didn't realise. Today in his office

James Heappey showed us They'd sent a file to prosecutors,

who've decided he and his fellow All today have

expressed their relief. I can't tell you what a weight has

been lifted from my shoulders. We knew we didn't file a false return

and had done as we were told but the result was that nagging doubt, what

if the bottle at or handed over to the courts because it is too much of

a political hot potato. I am so relieved.

was the culmination of two years of campaigning, with a million

By contrast, the battlebus was around for just a few hours.

They spoke to a few hundred people at most and I won by 7500 votes. The

battlebus was not decisive in any way whatsoever.

His Liberal Democrat rival hopes all can now focus on the issues.

Her party also fell foul of Electoral Commission rules.

Every party was criticised but it is really important money doesn't come

to the fore in any election. It is important it is focused on ideas and

policies. There will be plenty of battlebus is crisscrossing the west

country over the next few weeks. All parties will be campaigning but

making sure to stay within the rules.

A campaign aimed at encouraging people to vote is offering a free

pint to anyone who's recently registered to vote.

It starts around 5 million people in the UK are signed up on the

electoral roll, so is this the answer.

Fiona Lamdin is in the pub in the center of Bristol this evening.

This is the poster around it is pretty clear that if you register as

a new boat you qualify for a pint. This is the landlord and it is all

his idea. Tell us how it works? Register, bring your confirmation in

and we will give you a free pint. I didn't used to vote for years and

today it is so important in the current political climate that we

thought we had better get people to vote. Has there been much take-up?

Really good. Five people in already and the gentleman has just done it

just now and we have 24 different pubs doing it across the country and

they are all getting people to register to vote. Jack has literally

just been given this pint and you didn't pay a penny? Tellers, would

you have registered had you not had this incentive? I was considering

it, but it is always good to have the extra kick to make you actually

get off the sofa and do it and get yourself down better. Thank you very

much. Obviously a first-time voter. We can meet Vicki who doesn't have

free pint because she alleges that the couple of weeks ago but you are

new voter? What was the kick? The referendum. I feel like now is the

time to exercise your rights. Would-be pint have helped? Edward

have made me think about it but not necessarily sign up. People are

talking about this and if you haven't registered yet, the clock is

ticking. Just two weeks left for new people to register. We've just

registered and will be deleted on! It's been a beautiful day

and it's a lovely evening - Stay with us as there's much more

still to bring you tonight. For the last 50 years they have been

changing the lives of young people with disabilities.

We want young people to make us a film for our 60th birthday -

An inquest's heard a 70-year-old woman was stabbed to death

in bed by her husband - who then died when his car hit

a tree at high speed near Weston-super-Mare.

The body of Ann Furneaux was found at the couple's home

Her husband Edward had told a GP he was feeling anxious

His seat belt in the car was undone - but the coroner said he couldn't

A man from Chippenham has been arrested on suspicion of murder

after police and paramedics were called just after

A 32-year-old man was found critically injured

on the road and later died at the scene from injuries.

The police say that they believe that no else was involved

but they are appealing for witnesses.

The busy London Road has been closed for investigations but they hope

BBC Points West can reveal that men in the region whose sex lives have

ended because of prostate cancer are suffering in silence

As our Health Correspondent Matthew Hill reports,

it's now emerged more patients are now being refused funding.

This man was in his 40s when he was told the devastating news he had

An operation to remove his prostate cured him but had

I didn't go into any conversation that might

lead down to any form of

relationship, just in case we got to the stage where she would realise

that I didn't have any use of my appendages.

When medication fails and as a last resort,

there is a remedy that involves major surgery.

It involves an inflatable penile implant.

FLuid is taken from the reservoir inside the patient's abdomen.

The operation costs between nine and ?10,000

The confidence I have in talking to women and stuff is priceless.

Where you live has a big impact on your

In 2015-16, hospitals there performed just six operations,

compared with 53 in the north-east, so men are 19 times more likely to

have surgery in the north-east converge with the south-west.

It means patients are facing delays in getting treatment.

It has quite significant psychological, physical

and social effects, relationship breakdowns.

If you have had breast cancer surgery, the NHS on the whole

will fund reconstruction but it is not true for men who have

And this man says it is seriously affecting

Apart from that, I am thinking about it constantly and get

very depressed and it is difficult to talk about even as a married

It is not once a month or once a year, a daily

NHS England want to put an end to this lottery -based

setting up a designated centre in the South.

Until then, it says patients will continue to be seen

But surgeons I have spoken to say in reality there simply is

not the funding so it seems men will continue to suffer in silence.

It is good when people talk out about issues like that.

The National Star College in Gloucestershire has been

celebrating its 50th anniversary today.

For half a century it's helped transform the lives

of hundreds of students with physical and

Our Gloucestershire reporter Steve Knibbs

A beautiful evening as well. This is where it all started back in 1967

with just ten students but it has transformed over the last 50 years

right across the country. The birthday celebrations have been in

full swing with lots of dancing and full swing with lots of dancing and

singing and I can tell you this lot know how to dance. Over the last 50

years, attitudes, opportunity, technology has changed, and we have

been to meet two students whose lives have changed by coming here.

Alongside arts, English and social studies, typing was a vital subject,

officially recorded as useful therapy and an important means of

The fire escape was also pretty basic.

Ranjit Bhamra was a student here in the 1970s and

remembers attitudes to him and his friends in wheelchairs were often

I went to the cinema and they had no seating for

I had to be taken out of my chair, sat in a normal

seat, and the person with me said what happens if there's a fire?

He said, you will be the last one out.

That was the sort of attitude in the 1970s.

But what Star gave then and today is opportunity encouraged by

his art teacher he fell in love with painting and has become

It gae me the confidence to stand ony two feet.

I have never stood on my two feet but it does.

In the Star you had to be a strong character

because there were a lot of strong characters at the time.

Being able to stand up for yourself and being

able to fend for yourself, put your point across.

It's what gives you the confidence later on in life to

be able to achieve whatever you want to achieve.

From its early days, National Star has helped

to pioneer assistive technology.

What was once large, slow and clunky is now portable with

software helping students with everyday tasks.

Lorna was a student in the 1970s with aspirations to be

a typist but only having one hand meant holding

So one engineering apprentice was broken to design a

special pedals you could use and today they have met for the first

When you took your foot off the spring brought it

I couldn't believe it would work but it did.

It wasn't long at all before it made all the

difference to me and I used it right through the Star centre and the

first few years of work until I got an electric typewriter.

To listen to what she has done and the difference

it made to her working life, and she could hold down a job

Today it has grown working with 1,500 students a year

right across the country, but the focus hasn't

changed in half a

century, offering opportunities for everyone to fulfil their

With me as the chief executive and first-year student Alicia Williams.

It is difficult to sum up the achievements of National Star and 50

years but give it a try. You look at the numbers and we started with ten

students in 1967 and this year we have over 1500, so it is the scale

of the operation that has increased significantly. We talk about

attitudes and technology and opportunity changing, but the

provisions are still in great demand. How do you make it more

available? It is in great demand and we usually have a waiting list. Part

of it is National Star supporting local providers to skill up the

staff in mainstream colleges and schools. Part of it is about

National Star expanding its work and we have opened up new services in

Hereford and Wales are looking at other areas we can open up a new

National Star premises. You made it in. Tell us the difference it has

made to you. It has made a spectacular difference because I

have achieved a lot, met a lot of new friends and that kind of thing.

And what will it mean for you in future? This is all about

independent living in integration and living your life? Yes, and I am

doing this interview today and I want to carry on campaigning for

people like me and telling them that it is OK, because people will be

there to help you at the end and somewhere like National Star helped

me. I was in the same school for about ten years, so it was a big

move for me to make that I decided to leave a year earlier because I

thought if you don't you're not going to do it. I know it has made a

big difference to you and all your friends and colleagues. Plenty of

inspirational stuff and all that campaigning as well and there is

more on BBC Breakfast tomorrow. Recognition indeed.

Now what do Eric Clapton, Tears for Fears and the

Jimmy Copley has played for all of them - in fact he's

widely regarded in the industry as one of the country's

But two years ago he was diagnosed with Leukaemia.

Now he's recorded a single to say thank you to the doctors

It's called Live on Through the Music - and this is it.

Our Bath reporter Imogen Sellers was invited to go

and talk to Jimmy who's now sadly dying.

From playing with Paul Weller, Jeff Beck and Eric Clapton,

From performing live in front of thousands at Knebworth with Tears

for Fears, Jimmy Copley is considered one of the Uk's

But in December of 2015, he was told he had Leukaemia.

Chemotherapy and a stem cell transplant both failed -

Jimmy may now only have weeks to live.

But, with a little help from his friends -

who just happen to be musicians from Dire Straits, Manfred Mann,

Bad Company and Goldfrapp as well as his son -

he's recorded his final track called Live on Through the Music.

He wants all the money raised to go to the Haematology wards

I've known since last August that I was going to die. I just thought I

want to leave something new, new music, and all proceeds are going to

the wards. That was my dream and I have pulled it off!

So determined to get it finished Jimmy recorded

And with a final contribution from actor Anthony Head who has sung

A remarkable soul, a remarkable drummer, a remarkable man. His

contributions to rock and roll, phenomenal. It is worth buying

anyway just because it is a great piece of music. It is also worth

buying because whatever it raises will find its way to people that

matter. Modest to the end, as we're

finishing off of our interview he casually mentions running

into a young David Bowie. He wrote Ziggy Stardust at my dad's

studio in north London. They kept rehearsing. I thought, that's a nice

riff, and they kept rehearsing over and over and all of a sudden I

heard, Ziggy plays guitar. I thought, what a load of rubbish!

you to all the staff that have cared for him.

And a thank you for the music that has always been his passion.

Fought a remarkable man. Inspirational.

We're in the business of telling stories here at Points West -

and as part of our 60th anniversary celebrations, we'd like young people

Tonight, we're launching a fabulous new project -

it's called 'What's Your Story?' and here's Sarah-Jane

It's all summed up in the three words behind me, What's Your Story?

We are looking for young people to tell us their stories about the West

Country in a short film. You have to be between the ages of 16 and 30 to

get involved. The film needs to be a story which relates to the West

Country, the points West transmission area. It can be about

anything, what makes this alias special or perhaps it is something

that frustrates you? Perhaps you want to tell us about yourself

somebody know. Short and sweet is best, no longer than 90 seconds. We

thought you might need some inspiration so I asked cIARA, a

young film-maker from Bristol to tell us her story. I'm 24 and live

in Bristol, these are my two dogs. A year ago if you asked me if I could

film and edit my own film, I would have told you I couldn't but then

something happened. I experienced loss. My friend passed away due to

cystic fibrosis. I also have cystic fibrosis. I have been taking photos

documenting my life and as long as I can remember and in one moment I

went from being behind the camera to in front of it and decided to make

it public statement about my condition. I don't think enough

people know about it and that is the reason I decided to make videos. To

raise awareness and get a better understanding of what life is like

living with a chronic illness. Although my life is determined by a

strict medical regime, I am embracing my life in a way I never

thought I could, and most of all I am having fun doing it. We're living

in a digital age that enables us to sheer so much. We have the ability

to tell stories which can in turn inspire change and motivate others.

This is my story. What is yours? And Ciara is with me

now - a great film - I use this camera and also my phone

but the good thing about this issue can flip it up and I am recording is

right now. And how easy did you find it to get into film-making? It was a

natural progression because I studied photography and a year ago I

went through some personal loss and I decided to put my grief into

making videos about my condition, cystic fibrosis. I know some of your

pictures have gone on your YouTube channel, so what reaction have you

had? It's been incredible. The support from my friends and family

and people all over the world has been overwhelming. People relate to

my story because it is personal and authentic. The film is on the points

West website this evening and also the BBC page and that is how you get

involved. Ten films will be selected to be

shown at the Encounters Film Festival at the Watershed in Bristol

- And we'll be showing My camerawork is awful. You haven't

seen it back yet! Thank you for coming in. Thank you. So talented

and lovely to have you here. We will hand that back. It has been a

gorgeous day, as we have mentioned. However, is it possible?

A gorgeous day if you're after sunshine and try and find

conditions, you would have been quite certain. The forecast

tomorrow, for some of you, a different story by about this time

tomorrow with the likelihood of seeing some showed early in around

to the course of the morning but the amounts not of great consequence.

Further into the afternoon, we start to see the desk of some heavy

downpours and the risk of turning thundery but in between, a good deal

of dry and noticeably warm weather. For the time being, a quiet story as

we head into the course of tonight but watch the first easy of showers

moving up into the early hours, drifting away to the north, and

through the afternoon you will see some showers developing across some

areas as well and as we head into tomorrow night, another radio of

rain pushing up and that will be more widespread. The best

opportunity of seeing rain across the West Country. A fine evening

following on from the rest of all other regions, and through the

course of tonight, cloud moving up, fairly high up, so the showers

ranging from light to moderate and a very low risk of lightning. The

temperature broadly in the range of 6-9. Tomorrow morning, the showers

drifting northwards, not everywhere are seeing those, and a fair part of

the day will be characterised by partly cloudy, partly sunny

conditions. As we head into the afternoon, showers popping up. It

could be lively with heavy downpours and through the night, rain pushing

up from the south. The temperature tomorrow getting into the high

teens. If we get enough sunshine, 21, 22 possible. Friday morning, the

early rain will have pushed away and looking largely drive through the

rest of the day. Lots of people are getting in

contact to ask how they can donate towards Jimmy Copley and the money

he is raising. You can buy the single and more information on our

Facebook page. That's it from all of us including our film-making