08/02/2017 South Today - Oxford

even at lower levels of light dusting to come as well. Winter

Designed to stop suspects spitting at police

Now Thames Valley Police has issued them to all its front line officers.

Also, investigating the death of a motorist on a rail crossing.

The has been closed for more than 24 hours.

And later on - one man and his shed, but its more than just

a shed its a movement to tackle loneliness.

Inside, you'll find everything you could ever need. Tools for the

garden, track over the barbecue and of course, string. Every needs

Critics have described them as cruel and degrading,

but now so called spit hoods are being handed out to every

Thames Valley Police front-line police officer.

The device can placed on offenders to prevent

them spitting at police and the public or biting them.

They've been rejected by some other forces,

Here's our home affairs correspondent, Emma Vardy.

A third of police forces across the UK have used spit guards.

Now for the first time, officers from

Hampshire and Thames Valley will all carry them on duty.

We've seen instances where officers have had

This creates, not only is it a disgusting and vile

thing to do, but actually a risk of infection.

So, we have looked at the evidence that is available, we had

national advice that says that we should look to issue a spit

Over the past ten months, officers from the two forces

have reported being spat at more than 400 times.

Is there a danger putting a hood over someone's head will

What we have seen is that officers will understand the situation, will

closely monitor the situation, and at the point in which they stop

spitting, the spit guard will be removed.

I often speak to officers who have had to go through

medical processes to make sure that they don't

There is disagreement over whether they should be allowed.

The Met police had been consulting on

whether to introduce spit guards, but a pilot last year was cancelled

after London Mayor Sadiq Khan voiced concerns and Kent Police

decided against the use after considering the impact on a person

Health don't use spit guards, prison service don't use spit guards.

Europe and Northern Ireland don't use spit guards.

As soon as you start restraining people around the

head, accidents happen and people could get seriously injured and

Police says suspects will be told why a spit

guard is being used and there when their behaviour changes,

The railway line where a motorist was killed on a level crossing

yesterday is still being examined by investigators.

His An intercity train hit a Land Rover near

The line between Swindon and Gloucester has been closed

When the train and remains of the land Rover moved away, the

meticulous search for evidence began. Specialist teams for the

British Transport Police looking for anything that could it explain where

the victim and his car were hit by a train. When we arrived on the scene

at 3pm yesterday the afternoon, we were dealing with the initial

incident itself. The light got the better of us. We wanted to make sure

that we could recover all evidence today when we had natural daylight

available to us. Investigators from Network Rail and the Vale

investigations Branch started their own enquiries. Great Western Railway

are also offering support and help to be train driver. Thoughts are

with the victims here. The 60-year-old former EU has yet to be

formally identified. He used to keep animals, cows and sheep in the

field, just on the other side of the railway. My dad also has animals.

They used to help each other out. He would take around was to market and

stuff. He was always there to help. That would always call on him if he

wanted any help with things. He was willing to. And my dad would help

him as well. That sort of relationship, really. The key

question is why the victim was still on the track when the train

approached. This was the crossing that he has used regularly. He has

used it for years. We have crossed it as well. We noted as like, you

have to wait. He has severed all his life. I have been there when he has

crossed. We have chatted to him before he is crossed. It was a

normal, everyday thing, really. Into those in 14, a motorcyclist was

killed in the crossing and have been two suicides here since. At the

tragedy of yesterday, there are calls for the crushing to be closed

to all but pedestrians. Think it is rather dangerous. You can only see

the trains for 100 metres. By the time the whistle has gone, they are

upon you. With the line closed today, replacement buses were laid

on for passengers between Gloucester and Swindon. Disruption for many,

but necessary for officers to find out why someone afterlife year.

Acres of land near Thame have been damaged by illegal

hare and deer coursers - according to the National

It's believed as many as 50 people were involved in one incident

Police are investigating and say its work of criminal gangs.

Up to ten landowners have been affected in a five mile radius

and a vehicle has been left abandoned in one field

It may involve illegal gambling and quite

large bets being placed on the

performance of the dogs and their ability to catch their quarry.

The poor hare or the deer dies a horrible death.

They're criminals, they're trespassers, they're damaging crops.

They're damaging farmers' livelihoods.

The Princess Royal has been in South Oxfordshire,

officially unveiling new technology to assist biomedical research.

Princess Anne spent the day at the diamond light source

facility in harwell, meeting scientists and marking ten

years since the site was officially opened.

Diamond has supported 10,000 scientists in that time,

with research ranging from antibiotics to

It's ten years since the Queen opened the Diamond Light Source

and today her daughter, Princess Anne, has been back

A decade of discoveries using light beams.

These big machines like the one behind me have billions of electrons

whizzing through and as they go through these giant magnets that you

can see, the red and yellow and green, bending magnet here,

the selector is controlled, pushed in different directions.

And as that happens, light is omitted.

The control of that light has enabled

the scientists here at the Diamond Light Source

over the last ten years to do some pretty amazing things.

Some of them, on this machine - I-11.

Here we are doing experiments that last a very long time.

I mean, a classic example is your mobile

Because when you use it everyday, you don't want a 24-hour

You want a battery that lasts a very, very long time.

We are trying to make new materials and look at

new materials that last these periods of time.

Other beams map the structure of viruses.

If you know the structure of the molecule you are

trying to target, you can design new drugs to fit

Having the structure is very useful for drug discovery.

We have plans, we have the technology that could

Ten times brighter means you find new drugs ten times faster.

You can look at the structure, the materials

for tomorrow ten times more effectively.

So, you know, those materials that go into your cell

phone, that go into jet air craft, going into cleaner technology, all

of those will be based on research that is done here at Diamond.

These plaques mark the synchrotron's 28th beam opening the way for new,

Organisers of an activity group, set up for lonely and

depressed people in Thame, have been told they need to get out

of the premises they've been in since it was set up more

The group received a letter from Soha Housing

telling them the tenants at Lee Court no longer wanted them

They've now found another room to rent, but at a higher cost

I have to uproot and move over to a new place,

which I understand might not be as well-suited as this is, in

the sense of the silly bits, like storage and making the tea

Because without a cup of tea, we can't put

More than 3,000 items of Alice in Wonderland memorabilia

The collection, amassed over 25 years, sold for ?70,000.

It includes books, statues, tea cups and photographs.

It's thought to be the largest collection dedicated

to Lewis Carroll's character in the world.

There is Alice herself, the Mad Hatter, the White Rabbit and many

other familiar characters from Lewis Carroll's

They have been popular for a century and a half and they are all

From Tweedledum and Tweedledee on a brass platter, to

Part of a huge and frankly rather bizarre collection.

There are any number of books, of course.

There are Mad Hatter teapots and hundreds of china ornaments.

There are advertising boards, that's the Walrus and the Carpenter.

There are Alice dolls, board games, tea trays and a

translation of Alice in Wonderland into Swahili.

One of the earliest of his signatures...

The collection was built up by Greta and her late

husband Thomas, an antiquarian book dealer.

The Mad Hatter, here's one of my favourites.

And he has stood behind our bar in the games room in the

At the auction, the collection fetched

Oxford was a fitting place for the sale, because this is

When Charles Dodgson University don took a colleague and his three

daughters up the river and told them a story.

They had a picnic on the bankrupt their and, yes, you could

argue that was the most important picnic in the history of

You know, without that occasion, it's unlikely that the

But why are we still so fascinated by it?

They broke the mould for children's stories.

It wasn't, sort of, a saccharine, moral story.

Indeed, there is a lot of darkness there.

It's the fact that it's not just the book standing

alone, the brilliant illustrations were then utilised in games, biscuit

Sir John Tenniel was the story's first illustrator.

Lewis Carroll was Charles Dodgson's pen name.

Now more of today's stories with Sally Taylor.

The drivers' union, ASLEF, has done a deal with the company

to operate more services without a second member

Drivers are currently voting whether to accept it.

The RMT called the deal a shocking betrayal,

but will now meet the company at the conciliation

Later, we're in Bermuda meeting the team behind Sir Ben Ainslie's

Teachers are using body-worn cameras in the classroom in a trial aimed

An expert from Portsmouth University will evaluate the experiment,

which is currently taking place at two secondary schools

The cameras are similar to those now worn by many police officers

It is several here since body-worn cameras were pioneered by police in

Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. These days don't use is widespread.

Analysis by Portsmouth University to find that the cameras led to the big

drop in crimes and assaults on officers. Now they are being tried

out by teachers in the trial involving two schools. They are

expected to maintain order in the classroom and are not getting the

chance to teach. It tends to detract and they tend to spend their time

controlling the class. They wanted something that wouldn't drop bad.

The cameras are being worn by all teachers at the school is involved.

They were switched on during an incident. Everybody is aware that

the camera is on. Unlike policing, the camera evidence or footage does

not have to be used for a disciplinary process. You might be

able to do other things with it. You can't show the parents that

behaviour. There were mixed views amongst the people of Portsmouth

today. It could be a good opportunity or idea to get the

student under control. It is worrying that teachers have to do

that and feel they can't talk to the parent about the problems. It takes

the trust of the teachers I think. I have a camera on my car. It is the

same principle. There is no arguing that something has happened. A

survey of teachers said that just over a third would be willing to

wear our body camera. The Department for Education says it is a matter

for schools to decide. Could you envisage a time when every teacher

wears a camera? Yes, every teacher and every pupil has a camera! That

is open and overt and everybody feels protected. I think that is

where we are heading, it will just become normalised.

Tom Ellis from the University of Portsmouth ending that report.

Well, Briony joins us from Portsmouth.

What are teaching unions saying about this?

The NASUWT says it's a proposal fraught with difficulty.

The association of teachers and lecturers says it doesn't

support the use of surveillance saying, "If schools have

good behaviour policies they should not have to resort

If schools do want to introduce cameras are they within

Yes, but there are rules - the Information Commissioner's

Office says they must consider if it's "...proportionate,

necessary and addresses a pressing need not addressed

We recommend that schools undertake a privacy impact assessment

to demonstrate that these criteria are met".

The three-month trial is still only in its early weeks,

so we'll have to wait some time for the evaluation

Plans to construct a ?1.4 billion road tunnel past Stonehenge

are being criticised by three conservation organisations.

A public consultation on the plans is running until 5th March,

with a single preferred route being decided this summer.

The National Trust, English Heritage and Historic England say

they are concerned that the tunnel's western portal is too

near to Neolithic and Bronze Age burial mounds.

The position of the western portal is so close to one of the really

important barrow cemeteries in the World Heritage Site,

that's a key part of its outstanding universal value.

In the current proposals, it sits very close to

The daughter of an Isle of Wight woman who was being prevented

from leaving Dubai for urgent cancer treatment has been told she can now

Luisa Williams has advanced kidney cancer, but had her passport

confiscated in a legal row over her charity work.

It's reported Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE

Sheikh Mohammed ordered a court to allow Luisa to leave the country.

She'll travel on to South Africa for treatment.

Now, all the sport. Shall we get some football first of all?

Southampton are in the process of finalising the paperwork

on the signing of Uruguayan defender Martin Caceres.

The 29-year-old, who's had serious injuries in the past,

is a free agent after being released by Juventus in the summer.

As he's currently without a club, Saints are allowed to sign him

Caceres will help fill the void left by the departed Jose Fonte

Bournemouth chairman Jeff Mostyn says he has full faith in the club's

players to halt their slide down the Premier League table.

The Cherries have slipped to within six points

of the bottom three, despite hitting an all-time high

But in an exclusive interview with BBC South, Mostyn is firm

in his belief that the Cherries have enough quality to be OK.

You have to bear in mind that this very same team were being lavished

with praise just prior to the Arsenal game, so what has changed?

What has changed is we have had a few bad performances, but the very

players that got busier I am convinced can take us on. -- that

Much more from that interview with Jeff Mostyn on tomorrow

night's South Today, and on the BBC Sport website.

With just over 100 days to go until racing begins

in the 2017 America's Cup, the waters off the island of Bermuda

are a hive of activity as the competing teams

This week, Portsmouth-based Land Rover BAR formally unveiled the boat

which will carry the hopes of the nation this summer.

Our sports editor, Tony Husband, has been in Bermuda behind

the scenes with a team adjusting to life 3,500 miles from home.

For Simon, this is a regular part of his job, ferrying passengers out to

Bermuda's great sound. Simon and his family have swapped Lymington in

Hampshire for Hamilton, the capital of Bermuda. I have been with them

two years now and seen it grow from a little tent inside Hampton to a

great big ears here in Bermuda with 100 odd people helping and working

towards this one goal we have all got. It is all good. Around half of

the America's Cup team have left their main base in Portsmouth and

annoy here at the Royal Naval dockyard, the temporary hub that was

officially opened on Monday. Back on sided with the launch of the boat in

which Britain will aim to win the America's Cup for the first time. I

hope this is the only false start of the campaign. Pivotal day for the

team. To launch our race boat, Rita, gap that in the water, is a

combination of 25,000 man-hours in terms of design, engineering and our

boat builders done a fantastic, incredible job to get this boat in

water. Temp one have been training on the water here since November.

The arrivals are all around them, so it certainly raises the stakes.

There is a lot of spying, basically. We are in a good place. We are

developing our bode well, but that doesn't mean that we knew at all. We

can learn a lot by the other techniques that other boats boats

sail with, and the components they have on their boats. Our one will

have a crew of six, led by Sir Ben Ainslie, but also Giles Coke,

current Olympic medallist. She is 15 metres long and has high-tech

hydrofoils that will see the broad hydrofoils that will see the broad

hour. It is the most amazing hour. It is the most amazing

feeling. Having another boat next to feeling. Having another boat next to

you is when you get some perspective, when you have two boots

next to you going close to 50 knots, it is an amazing feeling, when you

are throwing in the manoeuvres, trying to keep the boat out of the

better feeling, really. Bermuda has better feeling,

a decidedly British feel, but this a decidedly British feel, but this

Portsmouth -based team, the reminders of home are all around.

So, Sir Ben's boat is on the water, but when they here to the great

sound they will get an idea of the kind of catch up that the start-up

team Land Rover BAR face. Established likes of that boat are

strongly fancied to do well in this year's qualifiers, but there is so

much optimism at Brown Land Rover BAR and they really do feel that

this time Britain could bring the home.

Another piece tomorrow night about how Bermuda itself is gearing up to

host the race. The garden shed has long

provided a refuge for men. Now it's given its name to a scheme

to bring men together and help those of a certain age get over

the hurdle of retirement. The idea of so-called men's

sheds began in Australia, but here in the South,

they're going from The latest group is just setting up

near Overton in Hampshire. Our reporter Joe Campbell knows

a thing or two about sheds. It is the original man cave. Inside

of course you will find everything a chap could ever need, tools for the

garden, the family bikes, charcoal for the barbecue. It is a bloke

thing. And, of course, string. Every man needs strings. Opened the door

on some sheds and you may find something a little bit different.

But whatever the contents, the shed has long been an male refuge from

the world outside. I had been suffering with depression and it is

great for me to get out of the house rather than sitting at home

brooding. John is one of half a dozen attendees. Based at this

sports pavilion and brings together people like him who for one reason

or another or aperture nearing the end of their working lives. Men can

find it harder than women to shift off -- switch off. Philip Nash is

the group's honorary woman. She attends sometimes with her husband,

Nick, train Cabinet maker. It gets them out and they don't just sit in

a chair and read the paper and said there all day. I think a lot of it

is because they have been working all the life they don't have

anything else better to do. Organisers say few would come here

cases. Instead, people like Dave, cases. Instead, people like Dave,

who spent a working lifetime preparing vintage Spitfires, is

working with the others here to do up the building for themselves. You

work with people for years and suddenly you're at home. You have a

wife to talk to when she is around, and obviously grandchildren and

like at weekends, but the rest of like at weekends, but the rest of

the time you are stuck indoors doing what you can. You can decorate

forever. Getting this particular shed fixed up will keep them busy

for some time yet, but then, isn't that the whole point of it?

That has got you in the mood for a shared, hasn't it? We could all come

round! Onto the weather. That captures this

morning went from nine Celsius down five Celsius.

That is because the easterly wind is setting in. It will be cold

tomorrow. We did have some very interesting

clouds in Poole Harbour yesterday. They are extremely rare. They occur

when two different layers of the inner atmosphere are moving at

different speeds. They are named after two meteorologists who studied

turbulent airflow. As we head to the course of tonight we are expecting

quite a lot of cloud and patchy frost in places, particularly when

we do have clear skies. Some showers as well, but mainly dry during the

early hours. Temperatures falling away to a roundabout freezing. One

or two Celsius in our towns and cities. The showers will roll in

from the east on the increasing easterly breeze and a goodtime

winter wheat. Tomorrow evening when the time start, mainly falling as

rain tomorrow with temperatures of three to six Celsius. A popular cold

day with the brisk easterly wind. Through the course of tomorrow night

is when we will be more likely to see sleet or snow showers. There

will not amount to much. Temperatures will drop away to

freezing or just below in the countryside tomorrow night. It could

be a frost bursting on Friday morning. On Friday we could see some

bright or sunny spells and still that with the cold easterly winds

coming of Eastern Europe. Through the course of Friday there will be

some snow showers. More likely on Friday night when it turns colder.

Here is the outlook for the rest of the week. A lot of cloud around,

some brighter spells around for Friday and Saturday, but that is

when the really cold wind starts to begin. Three degrees on the

thermometer, but feeling a lot more like freezing. A lot of cloud around

for the next few days have been hold onto the cold easterly airflow. On

Sunday the error will be less cold, switching to a southerly airflow.

Still temperatures really struggle across-the-board over the next few

days and into the weekend. If you would like to become a weather

watcher, give yourself a nickname, sign up online and upload your

photos and tell us what the weather is like where you are.

That is it from us this evening. Tomorrow it is Ben Ainslie, Bermuda,

Bournemouth, and will be hearing from Jeff Boston tomorrow. Back-up

10:30pm tonight, no we are News for you. Good night.

when farmers leave their daily routines behind...

Right, here we come, Dorset! ..for a show day.

When author Sir Terry Pratchett died,

They called on Death to give Terry back.