05/01/2017 South Today - Oxford

In tonight's programme: When your life changes in an instant.

How Jamie Mines lost a leg and two hands

in a work accident - and his friends' efforts

The overcrowding since Chiltern Railways extended

We'll tell you about a storytelling cottage industry that's now

A father of baby twins who was electrocuted in a freak

accident in Swindon has had a second hand amputated

The Health and Safety Executive is investigating what happened

to Jamie Mines, who's also had a leg amputated after the incident

But life changed for Jamie Mines, in an instant and forever.

Jamie was working on this industrial estate in Swindon as a scaffolder

just days before Christmas when in a freak accident

He remains in a critical but stable condition in Southmead hospital

having now had two hands and a leg amputated.

The initial target was ?10,000, which I think was achieved

within about 24 hours, which is extraordinary.

Friends have set up an internet fundraising page

He and his partner have twins aged five months.

The timing of such an incident before

It makes people realise things can change just like

Jamie is a very strong, fit, healthy young man whose life is

going to change so we will need to be there for him.

Jamie is a strong character and he is a strong guy.

If he comes through this, and we are all hoping that he does,

his two little girls will keep him strong,

The circumstances of the accident here are unclear -

but the Health and Safety Executive is investigating.

Whatever the cause the outcome is plainly devastating for a young

A man who was critically injured in a fire in Swindon

in hospital since the fire two months ago.

Their families have thanked staff who cared for him and have

asked people to pray for their 17-month old daughter

An inquest has opened into the death of Barnaby Cork -

the four-year-old boy who died after being hit by a car

It happened just weeks before Christmas

after enjoying a morning out with his family.

Stuart Tinworth sent this report from Oxford Coroner's Court.

Opening the inquest today into the death of four-year-old

Barnaby Cork, the coroner here described this as a tragic case.

We heard how Barnaby had been at Thame

Leisure Centre on the morning of Saturday the 10th of December, out

with his family, when he was hit by a reversing car.

He suffered severe injuries and was airlifted to the

But doctors were enable to save his life.

He was pronounced dead by 11.30 that morning.

The death of Barnaby has sparked a huge online fundraising

campaign, started by his father, raising money for the Air Ambulance,

and the total has almost reached ?30,000.

Back in December, Barnaby's family released a statement saying

They thanked the doctors for all their efforts in trying

to save Barnaby's life and thanked the people of Thame,

saying that they had given them support

when they had needed it the

Today the coroner explained a full inquest will take place in

March and stressed that the police investigation into what happened

There have been long queues near the M4 in Swindon all day

A 100 metre cordon was put in place around the junction

for West Swindon after contractors hit the pipe this morning.

Junction 16 has been closed to traffic coming on or off

You may have noticed it's costing more to fill up your car.

The RAC says fuel prices in December were at their

to a combination of the low pound and the rising cost of crude oil.

David Lumb has been looking at the effects here.

Well, the price rise is hitting consumers, but also those

But if you're prepared to look around, you can save a lot of money.

There's almost 20p difference between the cheapest and most

for example, they're selling standard unleaded

At Hartwell Ford in Oxford it's higher, selling at 122.9p,

while the most expensive in the region is 133.9p a litre.

People I've spoken to today are definitely noticing a change.

That is going up faster than inflation. That goes up and down. It

does not make much difference to me. There is nothing you can do about

it. If you shop around you are going to use more fuel.

station themselves - particularly the independents that

One owner told me he's had to start selling food

Certainly if we carried on like we were in a few years ago

when we were just selling fuel, we wouldn't be

We had to bring in other things to actually

make sure that we can stay in business.

And I'm afraid, whether you're buying or selling,

The Petrol Retailers Association fears prices could continue to rise

Sales of the BMW Mini have reached their highest level

Nearly 70,000 vehicles were sold last year -

But sales of the car in America fell sharply in the same period -

The new rail line from Oxford to London Marylebone appears to be

Chiltern Railways says more people are using the route than expected.

Commuters are having to stand during the rush hour.

Customers, customers and more customers.

It s a good sign for any business but questions are being asked

about how Chiltern Railways is running the line.

An enormous number of people commute into Oxford who cannot afford to

live in Oxford. There is what we call suppressed demand for public

transport. The service has been running for one year. Overcrowding

has got worse since the line was extended into the city centre last

month. Chiltern Railways said last month

it was monitoring the number The company said it was

open to making changes. The company is now looking at how it

can appease customers who are having to squeeze in. I am sorry if they

have not had the service that they want and expect. But we are

listening. It is early days. We want to understand when people are

travelling and get the right service for them. Bear with us and we will

get that service. One idea is to make busy trains longer. Extra

services could also be brought in. But no take skills have been set for

any improvements. The future of 200 jobs at RAF

Brize Norton has been secured with a new multi-million pound

contract from the The deal with Airbus means the A400M

aircraft will continue to be serviced and maintained in West

Oxfordshire. The A400M is the RAF's

newest transport plane - Here's our Business

Correspondent, Alastair Fee. This is the future

of troop transport. deploy soldiers by air or land

in the most hostile environments. A 200-strong team of engineers

and mechanics that keep it flying The airbase is one of our key

employers in West Oxfordshire. Further investment is very welcome.

There is a high level of eight commuting where people work outside.

Anything that helps get jobs is very welcome.

The ?410 million deal with Airbus secures a further 200

positions in companies within the wider supply chain

We have got a firm basis to support the new aircraft and in particular

what it does is that secures a lot of jobs here and an Oxfordshire. And

beyond Oxfordshire down in Bristol and in Gloucester. It marks a

statement of intent. This is the base for the transport for the

foreseeable future and we are here to make a long-term investments.

While the RAF currently has 14 new planes,

the fleet will increase to 22 within two years.

This announcement means the maintenance, upgrade and repair

will stay in West Oxfordshire well into the next decade.

Oxfordshire saw a record low this winter of minus 8.1 Celsius.

Alexis will be revealing how cold it's likely to be tonight a bit

Before that here's Sally with the rest of South Today.

Don't go away because Tony's here with all the sport

in a few minutes' time, and Alexis will tell us if last

Last night was the coldest night of the season. Tonight will not be as

cold but still pretty chilly. I will have the forecast for you shortly.

It's the argument at the heart of the year-long dispute that has

wrecked services for hundreds of thousands of commuters.

Plans to run driver only trains between Horsham

and Bognor Regis are safe, according to the Chief

He's carried out months of research into Southern Railway's plan

for drivers to operate train doors on the route, instead of conductors.

The rail unions which are striking over this issue dismissed the report

Our transport correspondent Paul Clifton is at

Does this report prove the unions are wrong?

Sally, there have been many reports into the safety of driver controlled

operation. Everyone, without exception, has concluded that it is

safe. So what makes today's report different? It was carried out on

Southern Railways on the exact route through West Sussex that the system

is being extended across. It has been carried out by the most senior

safety expert in the industry, a man who is widely respected.

Driver only operation can be operated safely in compliance

with the law on Southern Railways and we have told Aslef

The safety inspector ran tests on the Horsham to Bognor Regis route.

They looked at the union claims that cameras on trains were unsafe in

poor light and at night-time. Deficiencies were found at some

stations, so Southern is more lights. The inspectors looked at

whether cameras can see small children adequately. They also

looked at leaving the door cameras running as the train starts to move.

This offers clear safety benefits compared to using a guard, they say.

But the drivers union is pressing ahead with next week's strike. It

says the two sides are on different planets.

The reality is that there has been no real move to address

the fundamental issues that are at the heart of the deal.

It is about the imposition of a system and breaking of agrrements

And if everything is done by imposition in the future,

then the reaction is always going to be the same.

What other reaction do you get from anybody in any other walk

of life if they're forced to do things?

But every safety report, every statistic I have ever read, on

driver door operation, says it is safe. But the RMT union called

today's report a total whitewash, which proved the safety authority is

no longer fit for purpose. The union even said there was no longer any

independent safety regulation of Britain's row ways. So, sadly, the

two sides are not in any mood for compromise.

Portsmouth port will lose about a third of its cruise ship

trade after a holiday company went out of business.

All Leisure holidays went into administration yesterday,

affecting Swan Hellenic and Voyages of Discovery.

The City Council, which owns the port, says the expected loss

will be less than 1% of the ?15 million generated

Two friends, working in a converted shed in rural Berkshire,

producing audiobooks for blind people.

They're still doing that, but the initial idea has morphed

They're now producing recordings of stories that,

thanks to the internet, are reaching people

If you're sitting comfortably, Allen Sinclair has the story for you.

He slipped his finger to the tail section of the blueprint.

In the back would be another smaller...

Creating audio books is a lot more involved than simply recording

Can we actually have that heaving sigh?

You need a soundproof studio, the kit, vocal talent,

and an ability to judge pace, passion and pitch in a performance.

We don't want that, that's the wrong one.

Then a way to get the finished work out there.

You'll agree this is certainly interesting.

Matt is almost totally blind and set up Living Audio as a social

Initially to produce recordings of fan fiction featuring

He even got JK Rowling's blessing, because it was

They were released, really, to benefit blind and print

disabled people, and they've been very popular.

And many, many blind and dyslexic people and people with other various

disabilities that prevent them from reading have come

back and said, you know, these are absolutely amazing.

That led the friends to seek out collaborations with other,

It was very much working with books that wouldn't normally be

Even when we do commercial books, we're producing audio to the best

quality that we can do, knowing that blind, print disabled,

anybody that can't hold a print book or read it comfortably,

will have the best production we can produce.

The UK spent ?12 million on digital downloads in 2015.

The business is still finding its feet but audio books recorded

here in Berkshire are now being downloaded daily

Excellent work. On to sport, Tony is here, cricket in a moment and think

of the summer. Still frost on the ground but let's

talk about winter first. Southampton say captain Jose Fonte

has asked to leave the club. The 33-year-old has been

in a contractual impasse with St Mary's officials

for several months. Southampton say he turned down

a pay rise in the summer but the Portuguese defender,

who is the only survivor from their time in League One,

wants a longer term deal. Saints Executive Director Les Reed

says the club are yet The question of another year,

we haven't rejected that. He has turned down the opportunity

to increase his salary, and he's turned down the opportunity

to get another permanent That interview is in full

on the BBC sport website. Meanwhile Portsmouth could close

the gap to just a point on the promotion places

in League Two tonight. They're at the leaders Doncaster,

you can hear it live on BBC Radio Solent and we'll

have the goals at 10.30pm. Some big news from Hampshire cricket

today, and a signing which has sent shock waves

through South African cricket too. Fast bowler Kyle Abbott has

turned his back on his international career to sign a four year deal

at the Ageas Bowl ending his Test match career,

amid controversy back home. He'll become the latest

player to use a freedom of movement law, known in sport

as the Kolpak agreement. Abbott himself revealed

he was joining Hampshire after South Africa's test victory

over Sir Lanka in Cape For Kyle Abbott,

a huge life decision. I'd like to take this opportunity

to announce that I have signed It has been one of the hardest

decisions I have had to make. But at the end of the day

it is the right decision for me. Abbott will play as a non-overseas

player under the Kolpak agreement. South African citizens have the same

freedom of movement as EU citizens, but it means the end

of his international It has been a few evenings

where I have gone to sleep thinking, But I have always woken up

the next morning knowing I have had a great run

with Cricket South Africa, I have no regrets at all,

I have been involved And I'm incredibly

grateful for that. And I just feel it's a time

in my life where I have The 29 year old signed

a four-year contract. He's a well considered man,

and he's decided this is the right And we're obviously the club

that he's chosen to come to and we're delighted that he's

on board with us. Abbott's move is emulated fellow

South African Rilee Rossouw, a batsman and another Kolpak player,

who's agreed three-year deal. Meanwhile Hampshire all-rounder

Liam Dawson arrives in India tonight to play in England's

one-day international series. The one-day cricket we've played,

in the last sort of two years, So hopefully can continue that

in the next in India. Dawson will be in the squad

for three one-day internationals Another step towards becoming

a regular in the national setup. Gold medal winning diver

Chris Mears from Reading, says he's angry that his coach has

quit to join the Australian team. Ady Hinchliffe is moving

to Australia to become lead Mears says Hinchliffe should have

been offered a full time British Diving says it began

discussions but timescales didn't It's led to frustration and anger

from the winning pair Ady has taken me from a boy

with a lot of dreams to a man able It is a massive shame

from the bottom of my heart to say He has his reasons for why he's

leading, and I think to be honest, he's been forced to leave,

which is a shame, for what he's done The three time Olympic rowing

champion Pete Reed has announced that he will bid to compete

in the 2020 Games. The Caversham based rower has

returned to the gym this week and will be aiming to match

Sir Matthew Pinsent's haul of four Reed will be 39 come Games time

and faces four years of gruelling training,

including rowing more I made sure I had a good break,

I had a lot to do in that time off after the Olympics,

and you can see we are back at Caversham now, this

is not Rio de Janeiro, I haven't got a suntan,

I feel, to be quite honest, And this is day three of training

for me, I'm already aches But yeah, a big decision

and definitely the right one It is a gruelling schedule. 25,000

miles on the water! You can hear more on the BBC Berkshire site.

Next year marks the centenary of the end of the first world war

and to mark a significant milestone, a monumental sculpture has

Made as a tribute to all those Tommies who lost their lives,

it is a six metre high soldier forged out of scrap metal.

Clinton Rogers has had a preview of a work

He is a monument to bravery, but also recycling. At the Dorset Forge

where he was created, they pieced together pretty much everything they

could get their hands on. From car parks to spammers. -- parts of cars

to spammers, changed to garden forks, and the result is impassive.

Only when you stand next to the -- impressive. Only when you stand next

to the sculptured EU get a true sense of scale, it is 5.8 is tall

and weighs one and a half tonnes and took three and a half months to

build. It is called The Haunting and it has been made for a local man who

wants to remain anonymous. It is a commission for a local author who

came to us and ask if he could build a ghostly figure of a First World

War soldier. This is what we have ended up with an I think it fits the

bill spot-on. It is going to be featured in the book, at the moment

that is as much as I can say. As it stands proudly waiting for delivery,

the sculpture is certainly attracting admiring glances from

passers-by. I think it is just incredible. The more you look at it,

you see so many little bits that he missed and it's absolutely wonderful

-- that you missed and it is a wonderful tribute, beautiful. Though

younger admirers are not sure who it is. What do you call him? The DFG?

He might be! He is a giant and friendly, and I think that depends

on which side you are on. The Haunting will go on public show, but

when and where that will be for now remains a mystery.

That is magnificent, I hope we get an opportunity to see it. Onto the

weather, very cold. I had the thermals on walking the dog this

morning. My hands were white 30 seconds after stepping outside the

front door. The temperatures in a minute, but here are some pictures.

It was the coldest night of the season last night, with temperatures

plunging down to minus eight Celsius, -7 at Bournemouth Airport

and freezing us elsewhere across the region. It will not be as cold

tonight but chilly temperatures for the widespread frost and freezing

fog patches. The fog will develop through the second part of the

night. Temperatures in towns and cities down 2-3 C, but in the

countryside, we could get to minus five. Slightly more cloud arriving

in western areas during the second part of the night. The fog will

clear around 11am and once it does, sunny spells. Sussex and Surrey

holding onto the sunshine but Al where the cloud will increase,

turning the sunshine hazy. The odd spot of frames in northern and

western areas. Temperatures -- the odd spot of rain. Temperatures will

not be as low as today. Feeling my -- milder tomorrow, and a band of

rain will be coming through tomorrow night. The odd moderate to heavy

burst in there. Temperatures will fall away tomorrow night to milder

47 Celsius, maybe some mist patches to start the weekend. The weekend as

a whole -- 4-7 C. The weekend as a whole will be milder. High pressure

will be building but there will be cloud associated with it. The odd

spot of drizzle cannot be ruled out over the weekend, more likely

Saturday. Temperatures will reach high of ten to 11 Celsius. The

outlook, a frost tomorrow in some places, a bright start to the day

but cloud increasing and rain arriving by dusk and into the

evening. Over the weekend, mainly dry but fairly cloudy.

Tomorrow we are looking ahead to the FA Cup? Yes, Reading at Old

Trafford. That is it from us, good night.

We're looking for someone who can sing, someone who can move.

Someone who can keep an audience on the edge of their seat.

Something like this could change my life.

When you're born to perform, Let It Shine...

Magical new drama... The Worst Witch.

Shall we? Absolutely. ..DI Goodman...