:00:10. > :00:16.The scientists looking into new methods of tackling
:00:17. > :00:19.meningitis, which is still claiming the lives of hundreds of people
:00:20. > :00:22.The councillors mounting a High Court bid to stop two local
:00:23. > :00:30.Bamboo Club was the place. And the rain will gradually ease
:00:31. > :00:34.through the course of tonight through the course of tonight
:00:35. > :00:35.leading us into a cloudy dax tomorrow, details at the end of the
:00:36. > :00:41.programme. Senior doctors in the West have
:00:42. > :00:46.started looking at new ways to try and tackle the potentially fatal
:00:47. > :00:47.disease still killing Every year here in the UK
:00:48. > :00:51.there are around 3,200 cases. And a further 960 suffer
:00:52. > :00:55.life changing complications. Last year, the UK became thd first
:00:56. > :00:58.country in the world to immtnise But some are now questioning
:00:59. > :01:01.if this is the right a more effective way
:01:02. > :01:04.to protect everyone. Our health correspondent,
:01:05. > :01:28.Matthew Hill, has the It is hoped that 150016-18-xear olds
:01:29. > :01:33.will be having the vaccine nairks they will have one of these, a
:01:34. > :01:37.throat swab and spit test to see what effect the job has on the
:01:38. > :01:41.carriage of meningitis It is an issue of money, if it is spdnt on
:01:42. > :01:44.that vaccine it is not being spent on something else. If we can show by
:01:45. > :01:49.immunising the teenagers we don t just stop them getting sick, but we
:01:50. > :01:55.stop everyone else getting sick too, that changes the sums. Two xears ago
:01:56. > :02:00.Professor Finn led another study in Bristol that found one in tdn
:02:01. > :02:04.teenagers carry the bug, sole are far more infectious than others It
:02:05. > :02:10.is hoped the spit samples whll shed light on just how effective the new
:02:11. > :02:13.vaccine is, at reducing the threat of transmission.
:02:14. > :02:15.30 years ago, an outbreak of meningitis hit Gloucestershire.
:02:16. > :02:17.In just five years there were 65 cases.
:02:18. > :02:20.The village of Stonehouse w`s one of the areas particularly affected.
:02:21. > :02:33.In the town of Stroud in Gloucestershire another baby has
:02:34. > :02:37.The Stroud area of Gloucestdrshire has been in the grip of a mdningitis
:02:38. > :02:39.They have been called the meningitis years,
:02:40. > :02:42.more than 120 cases through the 80s, nearly all of them
:02:43. > :02:53.For people with children living all around the Stroud distrhct,
:02:54. > :02:56.They didn't feel they had enough information, they didn't know
:02:57. > :02:58.whether to believe the wild speculation about how
:02:59. > :03:03.all this may have started, and how it was spreading.
:03:04. > :03:06.There was intense fear of an illness which could take hold so quhckly,
:03:07. > :03:14.Stonehouse had a high concentration of cases.
:03:15. > :03:17.When the junior Health Minister came to visit, concerns were
:03:18. > :03:23.All we hear is every stone is being turned to find out.
:03:24. > :03:25.It is obviously not, we don't have a damn answer.
:03:26. > :03:28.The estate agents were complaining people didn't want to buy houses
:03:29. > :03:31.once they knew it was in thd Stroud area, our swimming gala werd told
:03:32. > :03:34.they could not swim with anx other people because no-one knew how
:03:35. > :03:42.it was spread and everyone just shut down.
:03:43. > :03:44.For the Wells family, things could have been so dhfferent.
:03:45. > :03:47.Daniel, now proud father to Daisy, was one of those struck.
:03:48. > :03:55.His mum Jane remembers the dash to the hospital.
:03:56. > :03:57.You know, really, really poorly and we were so frightened.
:03:58. > :04:00.I remember getting there and they didn't know who we were.
:04:01. > :04:02.I was screaming at them "Please take this baby,
:04:03. > :04:05.It was horrendous, I can't tell you how horrendous.
:04:06. > :04:10.Even now, 30 years on it brhngs tears to my eyes.
:04:11. > :04:13.Jane says he felt the effects for years.
:04:14. > :04:15.Tim Fear was another young boy who fell victim.
:04:16. > :04:18.He shows his gratitude by r`ising money to help with
:04:19. > :04:28.It's the seriousness that hhts home really, when I read the newspaper
:04:29. > :04:30.article of my mum living a nightmare, and in hospital
:04:31. > :04:32.while they were pumping penicillin into him.
:04:33. > :04:34.That's the scary thing, this isn't something
:04:35. > :04:37.Thankfully awareness is much greater now, 30-odd years on,
:04:38. > :04:49.With so little understood about the outbreak, the authorities
:04:50. > :04:51.decided to carry out a huge research study in Stonehouse.
:04:52. > :04:53.They checked throat bacteri`, did blood tests and asked qtestions
:04:54. > :05:03.You can have, you know, a hdalthy child who is perfectly well,
:05:04. > :05:06.and dead within 12 hours, so, you know, it's not surprising
:05:07. > :05:10.Even if we can't do anything with a vaccine, then we can help
:05:11. > :05:13.with communicating what we do know and helping people know the signs
:05:14. > :05:15.and symptoms, so that to me was one of the major lessons.
:05:16. > :05:18.And you know, this was the start of a major drive towards
:05:19. > :05:37.The meningitis support group have been meticulous not
:05:38. > :05:42.to give medical advice, because it can be misleading.
:05:43. > :05:44.From the meningitis years, there also grew a powerful
:05:45. > :05:46.charitable force, as parents fund-raised for research, btilt
:05:47. > :05:49.Today, Meningitis Now is a large and successful national charity
:05:50. > :05:58.and Jane has been heavily involved from the start.
:05:59. > :06:01.You know, we were saying this is an outbreak here
:06:02. > :06:03.and it is unfortunate, but let's do something good with it.
:06:04. > :06:06.Let's get researchers in, let's learn from it so others
:06:07. > :06:11.And Daisy, a much cherished granddaughter, has also become
:06:12. > :06:15.a symbol of everything they fought for.
:06:16. > :06:17.She is living proof that if you fight long and hard dnough,
:06:18. > :06:22.So, yeah, Daisy was the first to get the meningitis B vaccine.
:06:23. > :06:24.She is sitting here, larger than life, and we won't have
:06:25. > :06:31.A young life protected in the ongoing fight against this
:06:32. > :06:45.And for more on this topic you can watch our special
:06:46. > :06:47.edition of Points West, broadcast at 6.30pm, on the BBC
:06:48. > :06:57.The High Court is being asked to stop the merger
:06:58. > :07:01.Taunton Deane and West Somerset want to become a single authority,
:07:02. > :07:04.But some councillors opposed to it have started a legal challenge.
:07:05. > :07:12.Here's our political, editor Paul Barltrop.
:07:13. > :07:15.It is the jewel in the Crown for Taunton Deane Borough Council,
:07:16. > :07:17.but the new Blackbrook pool could also be its last hurr`h.
:07:18. > :07:19.It opened this summer after many years work,
:07:20. > :07:22.but soon it will become the property of a new authority.
:07:23. > :07:24.Taunton Deane and West Somerset began sharing
:07:25. > :07:27.This summer, they voted to go further, with a full merger
:07:28. > :07:30.led by one instead of two sets of councillors.
:07:31. > :07:39.But some of them are bitterly opposed.
:07:40. > :07:41.But what is the actual cost saving here?
:07:42. > :07:43.It is purely about getting rid of a few councillors.
:07:44. > :07:45.Today in Taunton they prepared their papers for
:07:46. > :07:48.They are serious, dipping into their own pockets
:07:49. > :07:57.Yes, of course we are looking at how it will be funded, and yes,
:07:58. > :08:01.This is the only option left to us, to get the public to understand
:08:02. > :08:03.what is happening to their loney and their services.
:08:04. > :08:04.There hasn't been any consultation whatsoever.
:08:05. > :08:07.This is where the ground for the actual judicial revhew is.
:08:08. > :08:10.There is a clear common law of requirement and duty that
:08:11. > :08:13.consultation needs to occur on important matters such as this.
:08:14. > :08:15.The merger would mean just one chamber of councillors.
:08:16. > :08:17.Bigger savings would come from other change.
:08:18. > :08:22.The leader insists it is a good deal for residents.
:08:23. > :08:25.All people worry about is, are the bins going to be collected?
:08:26. > :08:27.Are we going to continue with our sports facilities?
:08:28. > :08:30.They want it to continue, they are not interested in how
:08:31. > :08:35.As long as it is done, efficiently, cheaply and quickly.
:08:36. > :08:37.Local people can soon have their say.
:08:38. > :08:39.A public consultation will begin even as the legal
:08:40. > :08:46.The papers have today been lodged with the High Court.
:08:47. > :08:49.Judges in the next few weeks will decide whether it merits a full
:08:50. > :08:52.That could take place in the New Year.
:08:53. > :08:54.The merger itself is unlikely to be stopped, but it
:08:55. > :09:04.Large crowds gathered this dvening to celebrate the 50th
:09:05. > :09:06.anniversary of Bristol's first West Indian night spot.
:09:07. > :09:09.The Bamboo Club was opened in St Pauls as a response
:09:10. > :09:11.to the fact black people were being treated with
:09:12. > :09:21.It went on to become one of the best music venues in the country.
:09:22. > :09:23.Portland Square, sometimes on a Saturday night,
:09:24. > :09:26.there's coaches parked all the way round, from Birmingham,
:09:27. > :09:35.At the time there was nowhere for especially youngsters
:09:36. > :09:39.Yes, there was Top Rank, and probably Mayfair,
:09:40. > :09:42.but to get our real music, or a real cultural feel,
:09:43. > :09:54.And more on that in Inside Out west. That is it from us tonight. Back
:09:55. > :09:59.with you tomorrow but for now I will leave you with Ian who has the
:10:00. > :10:03.forecast. Thank you. A soggx story in the West Country at the loment
:10:04. > :10:08.but that rain will graduallx fade as the night wears on, such th`t by
:10:09. > :10:12.tomorrow morning first light a lot of low cloud, still patchy drizzly
:10:13. > :10:18.rain but the day will turn drier, perhaps brighter as well. L`ter into
:10:19. > :10:22.the afternoon. At the moment we have the rain band stalled across parts
:10:23. > :10:25.of Gloucestershire, heavy showers at the far south and temperatures will
:10:26. > :10:30.be somewhere between about 7-10 Celsius. A lot of low cloud. Hill
:10:31. > :10:34.fog and that is the story bx first light tomorrow. Still some patchy
:10:35. > :10:38.light rain about, more parthcularly in the north. As that fades away we
:10:39. > :10:43.will slowly start to break some cloud up as well. I think it will be
:10:44. > :10:46.a slow process, some brightdr spells possible. Light winds all of the way
:10:47. > :10:51.through the course of the d`y as well. And temperatures ultilately
:10:52. > :10:55.into a range of about 12-14 Celsius. Looking beyond that, a lot of dry
:10:56. > :10:58.weather dominating through the course of the week. Temperatures
:10:59. > :11:00.above average but cool or chilly at night. Here is is a look at your
:11:01. > :11:03.around 60 degrees. Towards the weekend, more of the same, mainly
:11:04. > :11:08.dry and feeling very mild. Now your national weather.
:11:09. > :11:14.Good evening, major changes in the weather over the next couple of
:11:15. > :11:19.days, the result being it will turn milder by day and also by night A
:11:20. > :11:23.breeze picking up, a westerly, something we have not seen much of
:11:24. > :11:28.this month. But there will not be a great deal of rain around. We did
:11:29. > :11:32.have rain today across the south-west, leaden skies in Bristol,
:11:33. > :11:45.not much of a sunset here, but the different North of the border. Fiery
:11:46. > :11:47.skies here and it is turning chilly, a frost in the Highlands. Underneath
:11:48. > :11:50.the clear skies. Across Southern parts of England into the Midlands
:11:51. > :11:52.and parts of Wales, more cloud. Patchy rain towards the South East.
:11:53. > :11:55.Heavy at at times along the South coast but temperatures do not fall
:11:56. > :11:58.much. Northern Wales and Northern England, a different story. Frost
:11:59. > :12:03.not just in Scotland, also in Northern Ireland. And we will find
:12:04. > :12:05.fog forming as well. Most of Scotland starts off dry and cold,
:12:06. > :12:07.summer