:00:10. > :00:13.A three-year-old boy who went to America for an operation
:00:14. > :00:17.to help him walk again is making good progress.
:00:18. > :00:20.Jacob Baird from Weston-super-Mare had surgery in the US
:00:21. > :00:27.It wasn't cheap and doctors say it's available in Bristol for much less.
:00:28. > :00:31.Our health correspondent, Matthew Hill, reports.
:00:32. > :00:38.After an operation in America last month, Jacob Baird is already
:00:39. > :00:44.Just to see him put one foot in front of the other
:00:45. > :00:46.without tripping up is just incredible.
:00:47. > :00:49.Jacob was born with cerebral palsy, which makes every step a struggle.
:00:50. > :00:52.But his parents heard about a surgeon from Missouri
:00:53. > :00:54.who had pioneered an operation to reduce the spasticity
:00:55. > :01:00.Called selective dorsal rhizotomy, or SDR, it involves testing
:01:01. > :01:05.which spinal nerves are causing the leg stiffness, and then
:01:06. > :01:11.The family has raised nearly ?90,000.
:01:12. > :01:16.The surgery itself was just over ?29,000, and then it's
:01:17. > :01:20.really the rehabilitation, physiotherapy, that costs the money.
:01:21. > :01:23.The operation was available here at the Children's Hospital,
:01:24. > :01:26.on the NHS, until April, as part of a national
:01:27. > :01:31.But until those results are evaluated, you can only get it
:01:32. > :01:34.here privately for around ?20,000, that's significantly less
:01:35. > :01:41.This Bristol surgeon learnt how to operate in America.
:01:42. > :01:43.Now he's taught doctors in Russia how to do it.
:01:44. > :01:47.He thinks it's better to have the operation close to home.
:01:48. > :01:50.I would be a bit concerned that you're having an operation thousands
:01:51. > :01:53.of miles away from your home, so if there are issues
:01:54. > :01:55.post-operatively, you've got a clinical team that really
:01:56. > :01:59.would have to look after you back in the UK, who wouldn't have a full
:02:00. > :02:01.understanding of what's gone on in the US.
:02:02. > :02:06.Jacob's parents say that there was never an in-depth discussion
:02:07. > :02:09.with doctors about having the operation privately in Bristol.
:02:10. > :02:12.They wanted to go to the surgeon who had the most experience,
:02:13. > :02:15.and who told them he'd developed more advanced surgery,
:02:16. > :02:18.something disputed by surgeons on this side of the Atlantic.
:02:19. > :02:22.This is his best shot at being able to walk independently.
:02:23. > :02:25.The Bairds are donating the extra money they've raised to other
:02:26. > :02:28.families but as more families look abroad for treatment,
:02:29. > :02:32.the NHS is going to have to give better information
:02:33. > :02:35.about its services, so parents don't have to find out
:02:36. > :02:42.Matthew Hill, BBC Points West, Weston-super-Mare.
:02:43. > :02:46.The maximum sentence for stalking in England and Wales is to double
:02:47. > :02:50.to ten years following a campaign by a Gloucestershire MP.
:02:51. > :02:53.Alex Chalk fought for an increase after one
:02:54. > :02:58.Dr Eleanor Aston was a GP in Abbeydale when a patient
:02:59. > :03:03.It lasted seven years and she became so anxious she gave up work
:03:04. > :03:08.and would hide behind the sofa rather than go outside.
:03:09. > :03:13.This is the culmination of a very long campaign but I think the really
:03:14. > :03:16.important thing is this sends a message out that protecting
:03:17. > :03:19.victims has got to be the first priority and the courts now
:03:20. > :03:21.have the powers they need to do that.
:03:22. > :03:24.I just want to pay tribute to Eleanor Aston who has
:03:25. > :03:27.Without her, this simply wouldn't have happened and I'm just
:03:28. > :03:35.A man who was allegedly attacked with acid in Bristol has died.
:03:36. > :03:38.Mark Van Dongen was injured on Ladysmith Road in
:03:39. > :03:43.Berlinah Wallace has been charged with throwing
:03:44. > :03:47.a corrosive fluid at him, with a trial due to start next week.
:03:48. > :03:50.But it was halted today after Mr Van Dongen's father,
:03:51. > :03:52.who lives in Belgium, confirmed his death.
:03:53. > :03:57.The trial is now due to start in April.
:03:58. > :04:01.There's a rise in domestic abuse at this time of year according
:04:02. > :04:04.to a Taunton-based charity and a growing number of men
:04:05. > :04:10.Paul Chivers from Wiltshire was abused by his wife for a decade,
:04:11. > :04:12.and is urging other victims to speak out.
:04:13. > :04:19.Paul Chivers suffered at the hands of his wife for ten years.
:04:20. > :04:24.She coerced, humiliated and isolated him, and she physically
:04:25. > :04:30.There was one incident where a painting was taken off
:04:31. > :04:35.My ex-wife split my head open, and I needed eight
:04:36. > :04:49.Since 2012, the number of male domestic abuse incidents
:04:50. > :04:51.being reported has increased across all our police forces.
:04:52. > :04:54.That shows more men are willing to come forward.
:04:55. > :04:57.But the Home Office says men are still far less likely
:04:58. > :05:06.The charity ManKind Initiative is based in Taunton.
:05:07. > :05:10.It has a campaign using actors and hidden cameras to show how
:05:11. > :05:15.quickly the public defend a woman being assaulted but in the same
:05:16. > :05:24.Gradually, the police, local councils and the local health
:05:25. > :05:28.services have started to realise and understand that men are victims
:05:29. > :05:34.Paul's wife was jailed for abusing him.
:05:35. > :05:37.He hopes by speaking out, he'll encourage others to avoid
:05:38. > :05:47.Now sport and double Olympic rowing champion Alex Gregory has
:05:48. > :05:49.decided enough is enough and announced his
:05:50. > :05:55.Alex, who's from Cheltenham, won Gold in the men's four at London
:05:56. > :06:00.2012 and defended that title in Rio last summer.
:06:01. > :06:02.In rugby, Bath lost in the last few minutes
:06:03. > :06:08.That makes it three defeats on the trot for them
:06:09. > :06:13.Bath trailed at half-time but then an early try
:06:14. > :06:20.This was followed by a better spell for the visitors
:06:21. > :06:26.But it wasn't enough and Newcastle finished strongly with this try,
:06:27. > :06:30.that was converted to give them the victory by two points.
:06:31. > :06:35.Have a lovely weekend, and I'll leave you with Ian
:06:36. > :06:39.We are in for a dry, or largely dry weekend.
:06:40. > :06:43.It will be one under a lot of cloud, both the case of Saturday
:06:44. > :06:45.and Sunday, extensive amounts of cloud, indeed, and fairly murky
:06:46. > :06:48.Having said that it will be comparatively mild, more
:06:49. > :06:52.For the rest of tonight, still patchy outbreaks of rain
:06:53. > :06:55.about, just drifting away slowly southwards.
:06:56. > :06:57.There will be a fair amount of dry weather generally
:06:58. > :06:59.by tomorrow morning, certainly further northwards
:07:00. > :07:03.and temperatures remain well above the territory
:07:04. > :07:07.About three to five Celsius by daybreak tomorrow.
:07:08. > :07:10.By that stage, still some hill fog around, still some outbreaks
:07:11. > :07:15.They will continue to be a feature across the likes of Exmoor
:07:16. > :07:18.Elsewhere, it is looking broadly dry.
:07:19. > :07:21.I doubt we're going to see anything in the way of brightness
:07:22. > :07:25.The winds will be light and all in all it should be a decent
:07:26. > :07:27.enough day for anything you are doing outdoors.
:07:28. > :07:29.Temperatures, getting up to about ten Celsius.
:07:30. > :07:32.They will drop back a little bit during the course of Sunday.
:07:33. > :07:37.Here's a look now at your national forecast.
:07:38. > :07:44.Good evening. The weather has been turning milder and also cloudier
:07:45. > :07:47.through the course of the day. We did see some clear spells moving in
:07:48. > :07:52.from the North will stop this was the sunset, captured in Dundee. Some
:07:53. > :07:55.clear spells as we headed through the course of the afternoon into the
:07:56. > :08:00.evening. Really, through the weekend, wiki with a similar theme.
:08:01. > :08:05.Much milder than it has been. A lot of cloud around in general, but for
:08:06. > :08:07.most of us think. Dry. Not dry everywhere at the moment,
:08:08. > :08:10.particularly across central and southern parts of England and Wales.
:08:11. > :08:14.We have a lot of cloud, bringing outbreaks of light rain and drizzle.
:08:15. > :08:18.The patchy rain will ease away slowly towards the south through
:08:19. > :08:22.tonight and further north across the country, drier conditions. Wherever
:08:23. > :08:26.you are, it's pretty cloudy. Mostly frost free to start the weekend, but
:08:27. > :08:31.there could be frost across the central glens of Scotland. A chilly
:08:32. > :08:35.start, but quite a lot of cloud, some pockets of Mr Ness as we work
:08:36. > :08:39.our way south across parts of northern England, Northern Ireland
:08:40. > :08:40.and Wales. Heading further south across England