:00:07. > :00:10.Good evening. Hundreds of soldiers from across the South East have
:00:10. > :00:14.destroyed almost a tonne of explosives while on duty in
:00:14. > :00:17.Afghanistan. The troops worked with 550 Afghan soldiers and the local
:00:18. > :00:27.police as part of a major operation in Helmand province, where a cache
:00:28. > :00:34.
:00:34. > :00:39.of 27 improvised explosive devices were found during a search.
:00:39. > :00:46.But a satisfying sight for British or Afghan on a soldier. A ton of
:00:46. > :00:51.improvised explosive devices, find and destroy it. In the process of
:00:51. > :00:58.the operation the police discovered a large hall in what was
:00:58. > :01:00.essentially a factory, and some subsequent fines. Some 550 at gun
:01:00. > :01:07.army and uniformed personnel carried out the operation,
:01:07. > :01:13.supported by 280 British troops. The find is really to fall. Any
:01:13. > :01:20.discovery of explosive devices is hopeful -- is helpful, but perhaps
:01:20. > :01:26.more importantly, it is a demonstration of improving Afghan
:01:26. > :01:29.capability. During the summer, hundreds of people across the South
:01:29. > :01:34.East recognised the work of the Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment.
:01:34. > :01:41.A world away from Afghanistan, where expose the devices have been
:01:41. > :01:44.responsible for 80% of British deaths in the province of Helmand.
:01:44. > :01:47.A man's appeared in court charged with wounding with intent, after a
:01:47. > :01:51.man was stabbed in the throat in Crawley. The incident happened on
:01:51. > :01:53.Three Bridges Road on Wednesday evening. Tommy Smith, who's 39 and
:01:53. > :01:57.comes from the town, appeared before magistrates this morning.
:01:57. > :02:01.Four other men who were also questioned have been given bail.
:02:01. > :02:04.The victim, who's 41, is in a stable condition in hospital.
:02:04. > :02:07.The police in Brighton are still looking for a gang who attacked a
:02:07. > :02:10.foreign student in the city on Boxing Day. They believe the attack
:02:10. > :02:13.on the Israeli Arab student was racially motivated. He was
:02:13. > :02:18.returning to the home of a local family he's staying with in
:02:18. > :02:23.Hollingdean at around 11.00pm. Four white men in their late teens or
:02:23. > :02:25.early twenties kicked and punched him to the ground.
:02:26. > :02:28.Sussex Police are searching for three men who pretended to be
:02:28. > :02:31.delivering a parcel - before bursting into an elderly couple's
:02:31. > :02:41.home, and robbing them. The incident happened yesterday evening
:02:41. > :02:46.in Woodingdean, on the edge of Brighton. Be done the police are
:02:46. > :02:49.keen to reassure people living in the area that this was an isolated
:02:49. > :02:55.incident, but the promise extra patrols.
:02:55. > :02:57.The couple, both 73, was so upset, they ask for there has not to be
:02:58. > :03:01.identified. What is striking about this case is
:03:01. > :03:06.that it appears to have been planned. The police believe that
:03:06. > :03:10.the three white men went to an alleyway like this, find a
:03:10. > :03:15.cardboard box, took it to the house as if to deliver it, and when the
:03:15. > :03:24.door was opened, they burst in. The couple were they tied up, Julie
:03:24. > :03:31.and cash was stolen, and they were left in their bedroom. They were
:03:31. > :03:37.very shocked and attended hospital. It is believed the couple's wrists
:03:37. > :03:40.are still bruised. Sussex Police are keen to hear from witnesses.
:03:40. > :03:44.A 25-foot long whale that washed up on a Kent beach has been removed.
:03:44. > :03:46.The animal was discovered this morning in a rock pool in Epple Bay,
:03:47. > :03:51.in Thanet. The British Diver's Marine Life Rescue organisation say
:03:51. > :03:54.it could be a young Northern minke whale. The animal has been moved to
:03:54. > :03:56.a depot in Manston where a post mortem examination is due to be
:03:56. > :03:59.carried out by the Zoological Society tomorrow.
:03:59. > :04:02.The government's being urged to rethink its plans to increase the
:04:02. > :04:06.cost of season tickets for rail users in the south East. Next week
:04:06. > :04:09.commuters will face a 6 per cent average price rise. The Campaign
:04:09. > :04:11.for Better Transport claims some UK passengers are already paying ten
:04:11. > :04:17.times more for their season tickets than some of their European
:04:17. > :04:20.counterparts. They worked in freezing conditions,
:04:20. > :04:22.under the constant threat of attack by German warships, to ensure
:04:22. > :04:25.essential supplies got to the Soviets during World War II.
:04:25. > :04:29.British veterans of the Arctic convoys have received medals from
:04:29. > :04:32.Russia in recognition of their service, but not from the UK. Now a
:04:32. > :04:42.Sussex veteran is among the survivors campaigning for that to
:04:42. > :04:46.
:04:46. > :04:51.change. Winston Churchill described the
:04:51. > :04:56.journey as the worst in the world. British sailors facing intense cold,
:04:56. > :05:04.and under constant fear of attack, taking supplies across the Arctic
:05:04. > :05:08.Ocean to Russia. Most of our first jobs were shipping the ice. You
:05:08. > :05:14.chipped the ice off the superstructure, and the guns,
:05:14. > :05:18.because it added so much weight to the ship. 100 ships were sunk,
:05:18. > :05:23.3,000 men were killed, and yet unlike other campaigns, those
:05:23. > :05:27.involved received no specific medal from the country they were fighting
:05:27. > :05:32.for. Our battle has gathered pace for a medal. In opposition, David
:05:32. > :05:36.Cameron backed the campaign. A year ago he spoke in the House of
:05:36. > :05:40.Commons. Many of them are coming to the end of their lives, and it
:05:40. > :05:46.would be good to do something more to recognise what they have done.
:05:46. > :05:52.Lo and behold, we are still waiting. He has been in power 18 months, and
:05:52. > :05:57.he promised, that was a promise, and he has broken his promise.
:05:57. > :06:03.The survivors are hoping a key supporter will help get their
:06:03. > :06:07.voices heard. It is our way of saying, we recognise you suffered a
:06:08. > :06:13.unimaginable hardships to keep this country say. The MoD says it has
:06:13. > :06:19.enormous admiration for the men, and a fresh independent review will
:06:19. > :06:22.look at the rules governing the award of military medals.
:06:22. > :06:25.Football, and Crawley will be hoping to stretch their lead at the
:06:25. > :06:28.top of League Two when they take on Barnet at home this evening. Just
:06:28. > :06:30.three points separate the Red Devils and their nearest rivals.
:06:30. > :06:33.Meanwhile, Gillingham, the last team to beat Crawley, are away to
:06:33. > :06:43.Dagenham and Redbridge. The Gills could leap to fourth if they can
:06:43. > :06:47.
:06:47. > :06:52.win at the Barking and Dagenham It has been increasingly wet today,
:06:52. > :06:57.that rain clears through tonight, and four New year's Day. A good
:06:57. > :07:02.deal of cloud cover a run, but we could see some rain on New year's
:07:02. > :07:06.Eve. Today, low pressure in control. A glimmer uprightness first thing,
:07:06. > :07:11.but this band of rain has been spreading eastwards. Quite a raw
:07:11. > :07:15.feel to the weather, temperatures in single figures. Highs of seven
:07:15. > :07:21.or eight degrees. That rain it lingers through the first part of
:07:21. > :07:26.tonight. If it clears and leaves a much milder pictures. Temperatures
:07:26. > :07:30.hardly changing though, lows of around six degrees. A mild start to
:07:30. > :07:33.the day for New year's Day. Throughout the evening we will see
:07:33. > :07:41.some outbreaks of rain. Temperatures above the seasonal
:07:41. > :07:48.average - 12 degrees, 54 in Fahrenheit. Be prepared if you are