:00:00. > :00:00.on the BBC News Channel. I'm back with the News at Ten. Now it's time
:00:00. > :00:14.for with the News at Ten. Now it's time
:00:15. > :00:18.Good evening. A woman has died after what police have described as an
:00:19. > :00:22.explosion in a house in Sussex. The incident happened around lunchtime
:00:23. > :00:26.in the Pound Hill area of Crawley. It's not yet known what caused the
:00:27. > :00:29.blast. Peter Whittlesea is outside the house now. Peter, police say
:00:30. > :00:38.they're not treating the incident as suspicious. That is right. In the
:00:39. > :00:42.last 15 years the road here has been reopened and there is still a police
:00:43. > :00:46.presence at the property. Emergency services were called here shortly
:00:47. > :00:50.after 12:30pm and by the time the Fire Brigade arrived the fire had
:00:51. > :00:56.been put out and couldn't `` had been contained to the first floor.
:00:57. > :01:01.Neighbours said the first time they realised anything was wrong was when
:01:02. > :01:05.they heard the emergency services. A helicopter arrived in the local
:01:06. > :01:09.field and landed and my son heard that but apart from that I didn't
:01:10. > :01:12.hear anything else. They are still trying to work out what happened in
:01:13. > :01:17.at the moment they think it is a gas canister or boiler. I don't know
:01:18. > :01:25.anything. That is Orlando. Just unconscious. And the investigation
:01:26. > :01:29.is still going on at the house this evening? Crime scene investigators
:01:30. > :01:32.are at the property at the moment inside and the foreign litigation
:01:33. > :01:35.continues. The Fire Service said they do believe there was a mains
:01:36. > :01:39.gas explosion because the boiler is intact. They are looking at other
:01:40. > :01:42.possibilities as to what may have caused the fire but are not treating
:01:43. > :01:48.it as suspicious and neighbours have been to the property to lay floral
:01:49. > :01:51.tributes. Patients faced a wait of up to ten
:01:52. > :01:54.hours earlier today to be admitted onto wards at the Queen Elizabeth
:01:55. > :01:58.the Queen Mother Hospital in Margate. The East Kent NHS Trust
:01:59. > :02:02.said it was because of bed`blocking, caused in part by a large number of
:02:03. > :02:05.people arriving at the hospital with minor ailments, like coughs and
:02:06. > :02:11.colds. The situation has now returned to normal. Think the two
:02:12. > :02:17.major problems are asking patients who are coming into A to do so
:02:18. > :02:22.only if they are feeling they would benefit from our help and support.
:02:23. > :02:26.`` I think. And if they have been advised so by their GP.
:02:27. > :02:29.Homeowners across the South East are preparing for more heavy rain to hit
:02:30. > :02:32.tonight, even while many are still clearing up following the floods
:02:33. > :02:35.over Christmas. There are 14 flood alerts across the region, with
:02:36. > :02:42.Tonbridge and Yalding in Kent once again areas of particular concern,
:02:43. > :02:47.as Sara Smith reports. The remnants of a ruined Christmas
:02:48. > :02:52.joined piles of furniture spoiled by the floodwater. Sarah and her team
:02:53. > :02:58.of volunteers have been helping clear these homes into umbrage so
:02:59. > :03:03.they can dry out, for now at least. `` in Tunbridge Wells. It is just
:03:04. > :03:07.the devastation and the emotion. I'd just feel so sorry for these poor
:03:08. > :03:12.people who have lost absolutely everything. Although families here
:03:13. > :03:17.are grateful for the help, some are angry about the lack of warning. It
:03:18. > :03:21.was too late. We literally couldn't save anything. The water was filling
:03:22. > :03:26.up the house and the electricity was on and was terrified my sons would
:03:27. > :03:30.get electrocuted. It was a nightmare. We will carry out a
:03:31. > :03:33.review with our partners, the police and the Fire Service and authorities
:03:34. > :03:38.but we will include the communities affected and we will be able to find
:03:39. > :03:45.some lessons learned and those will be implemented for future flooding.
:03:46. > :03:48.In Yalding, firefighters joined the clear up effort, while Environment
:03:49. > :03:54.Agency staff were visiting residents to give advice on what still may be
:03:55. > :03:59.to come. It is a situation the village is all`too`familiar with. We
:04:00. > :04:01.have made the point strongly with government that we must find
:04:02. > :04:08.permanent solutions for the flooding in Yalding and that is going to
:04:09. > :04:12.require some more flood defences. As the rain keeps coming down, hundreds
:04:13. > :04:16.of sandbags have been issued and the hope is homes won't be back
:04:17. > :04:19.underwater to start the New Year. Meanwhile, Gatwick Airport has said
:04:20. > :04:21.that it will give ?100 of high`street shopping vouchers to
:04:22. > :04:25.every passenger whose flight was cancelled on Christmas Eve. Flooding
:04:26. > :04:28.caused a power failure in the North Terminal, which meant thousands of
:04:29. > :04:33.passengers had their travel plans ruined.
:04:34. > :04:36.Police are still looking for a pensioner from Seaford who went
:04:37. > :04:40.missing two days ago. Richard Wise is described as unsteady on his feet
:04:41. > :04:43.and has mental health issues. Neighbourhood groups and volunteers
:04:44. > :04:48.helped with the search for the 77`year`old but have been struggling
:04:49. > :04:51.because of the bad weather. From tomorrow, restrictions will be
:04:52. > :04:55.lifted on migrants coming into the UK from Bulgaria and Romania. The
:04:56. > :04:58.changes have been roundly criticised by the UK Independence Party, whose
:04:59. > :05:01.leader, the South East MEP Nigel Farage, believes allowing open
:05:02. > :05:12.immigration from the former Eastern bloc countries will put a strain on
:05:13. > :05:15.services here. I'm afraid we've seen unprecedented numbers coming into
:05:16. > :05:19.Britain. 4 million people have settled here over the course of the
:05:20. > :05:23.last 13 years and what most people are saying is the strain on public
:05:24. > :05:27.services is such, the pressure on youth unemployment and wages, that,
:05:28. > :05:31.frankly, enough is enough and it is about time we had an Australian
:05:32. > :05:33.style system where we only take people in who have skills to bring
:05:34. > :05:36.to this country. In the New Year Honours list
:05:37. > :05:39.published today, almost 1,200 people have been recognised, including the
:05:40. > :05:43.leader of Kent County Council, Paul Carter, who has been awarded the
:05:44. > :05:46.CBE, as has Matt Dunkley, the former director of Children's Services at
:05:47. > :05:48.East Sussex County Council. Meanwhile, the former chairman of
:05:49. > :05:51.Folkestone`based Saga and philanthropist Roger De Haan gets a
:05:52. > :05:59.knighthood. Now for the weather.
:06:00. > :06:06.Good evening. Lots of rain around, of course, earlier, but it has been
:06:07. > :06:11.clearing eastwards and as we go into tonight, the rain clears, but behind
:06:12. > :06:14.it, one or two hefty showers. Temperatures at nine or ten and
:06:15. > :06:20.really blustery, so just look at the wind. If you are heading out
:06:21. > :06:25.tonight, perhaps take a brolly with you. There will be showers around
:06:26. > :06:28.but it would be a cold night by any stretch of the imagination.
:06:29. > :06:34.Temperatures only dropping to around six or seven. Showers just after
:06:35. > :06:38.midnight so hopefully it won't spoil too many fireworks. We start with a
:06:39. > :06:43.relatively mild but it will be relatively wet. We have warnings
:06:44. > :06:47.from the Met Office for heavy rain with ten to 20 millimetres of rain
:06:48. > :06:52.expected. Strong winds around as well, particularly along the south
:06:53. > :06:56.coast, picking up to 30 to 35 miles an hour. Wet and windy in the
:06:57. > :07:00.afternoon with temperatures of nine or ten, so not feeling pleasant at
:07:01. > :07:04.all. The good news is, it finally clears out of the way tomorrow and
:07:05. > :07:09.then Thursday, some sunshine. You can tell from the isobars it will be
:07:10. > :07:12.quite a blustery day with those south`westerly winds around. It
:07:13. > :07:17.isn't going to be lasting as we go into Friday and Saturday, as the
:07:18. > :07:20.winds picked up again and the rain is back. If you are heading out, the
:07:21. > :07:26.risk of a shower but have a lovely evening.
:07:27. > :07:27.Thank you. That is it from us for 2013. We will see you next year!
:07:28. > :07:45.Good night. Good evening. It looks like mother
:07:46. > :07:49.nature may provide her own pyrotechnics in the run-up to bid
:07:50. > :07:53.night tonight. We have some heavy showers in western parts, starting
:07:54. > :07:58.to ease a bit across Scotland and Northern Ireland. But the showers
:07:59. > :08:02.further south are heavier, with some flashes of lightning as they move
:08:03. > :08:07.eastwards. They do get a bit more hit and miss as we head towards
:08:08. > :08:12.midnight, but a greater chance of getting wet in the south as we move
:08:13. > :08:16.into 2014. Cardiff and London could see heavy downpours. Further north,
:08:17. > :08:25.you could be greeting the New Year on a dry note. A touch of frost in
:08:26. > :08:26.northern and eastern areas going into New Year's Day. A few