15/02/2017 South Today - Oxford

Missing after a block of flats collapsed -

the search for a resident who hasn't been since the explosion

I was just watching the telly, and all of a sudden

it went boom, and then bang, bang, bang.

I looked out of the window and I could see the flats had

Also, he lost ?1 million through gambling.

Now Tony wants a type of betting machine to be banned

And later on, an evolving landscape -

the extraordinary photos which chart the changes

One person is still unaccounted for following yesterday's explosion

The blast destroyed the three storey building and nearby

Emergency services have been at the scene in Osney all day

and say they expect to be there for several days to come.

More than 24 hours since the explosion

Dozens of firefighters, police and paramedics were called

This afternoon we learnt officers had been unable

Oxfordshire County Council Fire Rescue Service conducted a search

of the site of the collapsed building, which was still

It was determined that the incident around the collapsed site would

no longer sustain life, and we moved into a different

At this time, one person is unaccounted for,

and we are providing ongoing support to that person's family.

The blast caused neighbouring homes to shake and windows to smash.

One man said the boom sounded like scaffolding falling down.

My girlfriend, who was with me at the time, said, what's that?

I looked out the window and obviously saw the flats had

disappeared at the end, the whole block had gone, and there

We heard, like, an explosion, and the whole street was instantly

crowded and everybody rushed out to see what it was.

I was just watching the telly and all of a sudden something went

At least two people have been treated for injuries by paramedics.

14 residents had to leave their homes and were given

refuge overnight at this nearby business school.

As you can see, police are still on the scene this evening.

They say that emergency services are going to be here over the next

few days while they search the rubble and try and

As always, they are asking anyone with any

A man from Oxford has been charged with murder

35-year-old Domingos Romalho was found with stab wounds

on Windmill Road in Headington on Monday afternoon.

A 27-year-old man has appeared before Banbury Magistrates,

The family of a ten-year-old boy, who died after being injured

at the Topshop store in Reading, say he was loving, cheeky

and energetic, and his death will leave a huge empty hole

in the lives of everybody who knew him.

He'd been hurt in an incident involving a display unit on Monday.

He was a loving, cheeky, energetic boy.

In a tribute today, Kaden Reddick's family said his death will leave

a huge empty hole in the lives of everyone who knew him.

Kaden died from head injuries in an incident involving

store furniture at Topshop in Reading.

Today, as a safety precaution, the company has removed the display

units from every one of its 300-plus stores across the country.

Inside the closed Reading branch, investigations are still underway

by the company, Thames Valley Police and Reading Borough Council.

Kaden's family say he loved coming to school, and his headteacher

here has issued a statement saying how shocked everyone

is buying the death of such an energetic young man,

His family say that the hardest part of his death is knowing

that he will never be able to fulfil his potential.

He looked forward to riding his older brother's moped,

to travelling, and to becoming a teacher.

They said it is impossible to comprehend that he will never be

able to do any of this. It is half term this week so no pupils are at

school, and when they return on Monday they will be offered

specialist support. Footballer Rohan Ince,

who's on loan to Swindon Town, has been found not guilty

of attacking a nightclub The footballer was outside a club

in Windsor in the early hours of Christmas Day 2015

when the attack happened. He told a jury at Reading Crown

Court that it was a case There's another twist

in the tale of parking at the John Radcliffe

hospital in Oxford. The trust which runs it says that

even if it wanted to build a multi-storey car park,

the City council wouldn't allow it to provide any more spaces -

because of the authority's current The Council is concerned that more

spaces would mean more Earlier I spoke to our reporter

Peter Cooke and asked him if the council is likely

to relax its rules. Well, Geraldine,

it doesn't look likely. This has been

a long-running problem. Anyone who has to regularly go

to the hospital knows all too well about the challenges of finding

a suitable space. Now the number of patients

at the site increased by 37% over 10 years,

while the number of spaces Those in charge actually advise

visitors to leave an hour to park. We've previously asked for solutions

to this particular problem, and a multi-storey car park

was the most popular solution. But in a statement the Trust said

under the current restrictions this proposal alone would not create

the extra spaces needed. Why does the council appear to be

sticking so rigidly to its rules? Well, we asked if it

would review its policy and what they said was,

it wants to limit the amount of parking at hospital

sites around Headington, because it thinks more parking means

more traffic on already busy roads. The priority, it says,

should be patients, their visitors, It added that other Oxford employers

have found different ways of getting their staff to work

using public transport, and the Trust should

be no different. Now, the Oxford University Hospitals

NHS Foundation Trust said This would involve a combination

of things, using different methods to transport patients and also staff

to the hospital site itself. A Buckinghamshire man,

who lost his house, his family and over ?1 million

through gambling, is campaigning Tony Franklin from Aylesbury wants

the Government to restrict betting So far more than 100,000 people have

signed his petition. In the last two decades,

Tony here has lost more than ?1 million gambling,

but the money is just the start. At times I've gambled an entire

month's wages in literally So, obviously, you know,

that makes it difficult, you know, to feed, to pay the rent,

to pay the mortgage. I've been homeless

because of gambling. I'm estranged from my wife,

which is a result of There isn't a lot of good that

comes from gambling. Tony says these machines -

fixed-odds betting terminals - are largely to blame,

but also believes we need a cultural shift in the way

we think about gambling. Gambling in the UK today has

become so normalised, and, you know, to the extent

that we are allowing our children These have ?5 jackpots and you see

them at the seaside and amusement arcades.

The Association of British Bookmakers say there is no evidence

that cutting the maximum stake on fixed-odds betting terminals

If the state is reduced, I am asking for ?2 because that is the level we

see which would reduce the amount of harm that these machines can do.

Tony's petition to MPs has gained more than 100,000 signatures.

The Government is already undertaking a review into gambling

and we should find out those results later this year.

One of Oxford's greatest literary creations is coming back.

Author Philip Pullman has announced there will be another three books

set in the world of the "His Dark Materials" trilogy.

It will be bringing back Hezbollah that character Lyra.

The first one, The Book Of Dust, takes readers back

-- it will be bringing back Hezbollah that character Lyra -- the

beloveds character Lyra. Two women from Swindon

who had strokes just days after giving birth,

are warning others about their Jo Wallace and Stevi Marshall have

set up a support group after finding Jo Wallace and Stevi Marshall each

had their first child last year, but just days after the birth,

Stevi started getting bad headaches, It was like I just wanted to scratch

that part of my face So I would look at words

and I just couldn't even It go to a point where

I actually couldn't cope. It was in the back of my head

and it was throbbing, so, you know, even to move my head

was just hurting. Basically, I lost my eyesight

and my word-finding and memory... It's all coming back but those sort

of things have all been The Stroke Association says more

women than men have strokes, This may be because more women

are living longer and having strokes when they're older,

but it's still highly unusual for young women

to have a stroke after giving birth. So, stroke during pregnancy

and following childbirth is actually quite rare,

but it does happen. Having a stroke can have all sorts

of different effects. Every single stroke is different

and people do recover. The future for people can be very

bright after a stroke. Jo and Stevi feel very

fortunate to have survived They're now part of a support

group for mums in Swindon None of us really want

to dwell on it, and we just want to accept that,

yes, we have had what happened You know, we've all got issues but,

you know, it's not life-threatening. We've all got our babies

and they are all gorgeous and lovely, and we will hopefully

get to see them grow. Both women are recovering well,

and warning other mums to watch Will Glennon,

BBC South Today, Swindon. If you would like to get in touch

with us and tell us about the stories you think we should be

covering, e-mail us. Or join in the conversation on Facebook and

Twitter. I'll have the headlines at 8.00

and a full bulletin at 10.30. Now more of today's

stories with Sally Taylor. One option is merging

with Cranbourne business Here's a message

from our guest tonight. You don't normally see me in a suit.

The I'm here tonight. "A very steep downward spiral,"

the words of one military veteran who found himself with mental health

and drug issues after There are, in fact, between 3,500

and 5,000 veterans incarcerated Now a Hampshire charity has called

on the government to do more to help A middle-aged military veteran

who, a fortnight ago, He spent nearly a decade behind bars

for a serious and violent Because he's trying

to turn his life around, Everything just exploded one day

and the support that I had, The substance abuse became worse

and it then became a very steep He's being helped by Hampshire

charity Care after Combat, who've put him up in this home

while he finds his feet. But why do service personnel

need extra support? Coming from the service life

myself it's just they've The impact can be just

straight-forward things - It's always been done

for them within the service I think the public say, "OK, mate,

you're a veteran, you've screwed up, you're going to get another chance,

care after combat, we're not going to give you a handout,

we're not going to spoon-feed you - If you're not going

to work, off you go." The charity has had great success

using ex-military mentors to help people back to civilian life,

but it's also warning there are too many veteran groups all trying

to do the same thing. We sent them away, we should deal

with the consequences I believe that with so many

charities pushing their services onto the veterans,

A, it is confusing, and B, they might think,

hang on a minute, if I'm playing my cards right here,

I don't have to go to work. We don't really want to kill

a veteran with kindness. Steve says he's lucky he has

found the help he needs, and is looking forward

to turning his life around. I feel that I've served my sentence

and now it's time to rebuild. Everything they're giving me now,

I'm going to pay them back Chris Temple is here. We will start

with football. Thousands of people watch football last night.

There was a full programme of Football League fixtures last

night, and wins for Reading and Portsmouth kept their promotion

And it's with the Royals, that we start our Valentines night round-up.

After two draws Reading got themselves back on the winners

against Brentford. This could put them ahead. Just after the hour

Brentford scored two goals in three minutes. But a triple substitution

paid dividends. Williams got the equaliser. Before a generous charity

hand-out for the winner. A moment to forget for the Brentford goalkeeper.

Reading are now five points behind Brighton in second after the

seagulls were held by Ipswich. Chambers gave the Suffolk side an

early lead. But a file and Bruno led to this chance to even the score. --

a file. Evans set Portsmouth on their Blackpool. This goal from

Doyle ensured a second win in four days. It was a largely pushy tonight

in League 1. Oxford saw their run of five straight wins ended by

Southend. MK dons drew nil nil at Bury. The own goal at Southampton by

Jones was cancelled out by Morris. More matches on Saturday. And some

sides involved in the FA Cup. It's 100 days till the America cup.

Today marks 100 days until the America's Cup

But it's been nearly a month now since Gosport-based sailor

Alex Thomson finished a magnificent second place, in the gruelling

solo round the world race, the Vendee Globe.

We followed his story closely of course over

A little earlier, Alex came in to join us here on the red sofa,

and share his experiences of the race, and life since.

I'm certainly not back in normal life yet.

There have been lots of parties lots of media stuff and I've been to

Last night we were at the world sports

My feet have hardly touched the ground.

That takes its toll mentally and physically.

It must be difficult when you get back to dry land to

It is quite daunting when you you're on your own for

so long and the thought of thousands of people arriving, it was very

And I'm sleeping really well already.

In fact have got to go back to the gym because I've lost a lot

We know about your starboard foil breaking.

Let's look at this clip from mid-race, towards the end of

It's at that point you are thinking am I going to catch him?

It really is about trying to get as close to our man as possible and

But one thing you can count on is that I will fight to the end!

He certainly did fight to the end, Alex.

Was there a point when you realised you were not going to catch?

You always have to fight in this race and I said from the beginning

you have to expect an expected and even when we went towards the Scilly

Islands, to tack on the port tack to make a finish it was pretty done

and dusted then but anything could have

In 2020 you've announced that you're going to do it.

You asked your wife and she has said yes.

I was third last time, second this time servers

What we're trying to do know is see if you can put the sponsors together

and put the team together because most

important thing in this is the

I have been very fortunate to work with some very talented

people the right team we have a chance.

Will you use the same boat will you build a new boat?

There's a potential rule change coming in April and we will

have to look at what the rules are and decide whether we can do it.

The technological advances we mentioned

earlier on the 20 million people on Facebook saw the shots from the

Do things like being able to Facetime your wife and son

when you're deciding to be away from your

You can actually stay in touch much better

My son, Oscar, was quite upset at the first two weeks of the

And his school gave me a little cuddle turtle called Speedy.

I thought I'd do a little videos so every a little video, kind of

Trying to make him and his friends laugh.

Thanks for mentioning the Facebook page of

That day in the Southern Ocean was mad because I was

there eating my porridge and a French helicopter came along.

I was a bit grumpy and I wasn't going to go

outside and I can't believe it was seen by over 20 million people.

Believe it or not, my wife booked a sailing holiday.

She's getting her own back on you for going in

She's booked a Dream Yacht charter and we're off to the

She says it's not fair that you're having

Congratulations again and thanks for coming in.

20 million people have already seen the pictures from the Southern Ocean

and we're putting them back up on our Facebook page.

Now, we've reported on many rows about the impact of roadbuilding

But what might surprise you is the amount of concrete

Tonight we can reveal previously unseen pictures

of a World War I aerodrome, a huge military base just a few

It was damage caused by that aerodrome which first prompted calls

to clean up the area and restore the World Heritage Site.

Our transport correspondent Paul Clifton reports.

Stonehenge today, with open grassland all around.

Look in the background at the First World War airbase.

There were giant hangars for bomber aircraft and 800 men lived here.

The road through the middle is today's A303,

and curving away to the right is a railway line.

During the 1920s the area became a pig farm and then it was pulled

down. Where we are standing pretty much

is where the main hangars work, but they were, sort of,

facing in the direction Today only a few

fragments remain visible. Where we are standing, by mid-1918,

was the busy part of the Aerodrome - it was the technical buildings,

the main accommodation block, So there is still

concrete under here? There will still be some

concrete under here, yes. The line of the longest military

away in the country is still visible in the landscape.

There were more hangers on the north side of the airfield, many of them.

They were beside the road that runs between the stones

There is almost no evidence of them today.

Are there any Americans in, ladies and gentlemen?

To mark a century since the Royal Flying Corps arrived,

English Heritage brought a First World War plane

The presence of that era drum in this ancient setting actually

sparked the debate as to what was an appropriate setting for Stonehenge

for the Stones themselves and the ancient landscape that surrounds

Stonehenge. Almost within state of Stonehenge was a second huge

airfield called Lake down. Today we coloured Druids Lodge. A water tower

and a handful of buildings remain. There is now a big debate

about the benefits or otherwise of a new road tunnel

through the World Heritage Site. It is worth remembering just

what the landscape looked Paul Clifton,

BBC South Today, Salisbury Plain. Great photos. I never knew anything

about that. Wonderful to see. Did you get caught in the rain

today? More rain to come? Will we get a dry spell? The next few days

into the weekend. Sunday has the possibility of some patchy rain but

dry until then and fairly meld as well. Many of you have been out and

about today despite the rain taking pictures. Let's take a look at the

first portal which was quite a soggy scene. Down the Forest. But things

brightened up after the rain started pushing through. A rainbow came out

in Yarmouth on the Isle of Wight. We also saw sunshine in Hampshire.

Sunny spells broke through during the latter part of the day and the

rain slowly moved northwards. Rain is currently all the of Oxfordshire

eventually quitting north eastwards through this evenings. Mist and fog

patches are a possibility through tonight and will become quite dense

and places. We may have the odd isolated shower tonight should be

mainly dry with a few clear spells. A little cooler than last night but

temperatures falling from five Celsius to eight Celsius. Fairly

light winds. Tomorrow morning mist and fog may be stubborn to clear but

what does an improving picture. The odd isolated shower. Sunny spells

breaking through the afternoon. A lot more sun than recent days.

Temperatures reaching highs of 10 degrees to 11 Celsius. A pleasant

enter the day tomorrow. Tomorrow night summer two tonight. Patchy

cloud with mist and fog patches developing in the early hours of the

morning. A fair amount of cloud with temperatures falling to 6 degrees

seven Celsius. The winner will be like.

This is why the fog foisting on Friday morning may be slow to clear.

What it does and improving picture. A cloudy start. Sunshine

breakthrough in many places. Hard to say with the sun will be but there

will be increasing cloud with this fragmented weather front arriving

Friday night producing a little rain in the early hours of Saturday

morning. I pressure is not far away. It will stay with us during the

weekend. Tomorrow after a cloudy start mist and fog will eventually

left. We will see some lovely conditions. A cloudy start to

Friday. Saturday. Very similar days with sunny spells breaking through

on both days. Fairly light winds coming up in the south. At the

moment Sunday looks like a fair amount of cloud. One to brighter

spells but the chance of patchy rain at times. The bestie of the weekend

is probably Saturday will it should stay mainly dry to daylight hours.

If you would like to become one of our weather Watchers is a website to

do that. Or if you want a full 11 day forecast you can go onto a

website. Almost springlike, dare I say it?

There'll be a news summary at 8pm and we'll be back at 10.30.

when farmers leave their daily routines behind...

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