28/03/2017 South Today - Oxford

Life after loss - England footballer Rio Ferdinand speaks

Bereavement charity in a BBC documentary.

Having a WHEELY good time - how a fundraising appeal's helped

Thames Valley Police has carried out a series of raids in Banbury

in relation to allegations of historical sexual

More than 100 officers were involved in this morning's operation

which targeted ten properties in the town and one in Birmingham.

Earlier, our Home Affairs Correspondent Peter Cooke

Approximately 120 uniformed officers carried out the raids in the early

hours of this morning at ten properties in Banbury

Seven men were arrested in connection with child sexual

The alleged offences relate to three female victims in Banbury

over a seven-year-period between 2008 and 2015.

The men arrested today are aged between 21 and 42,

and are currently in custody being questioned by detectives.

Peter, this isn't the first instance of an operation like this

No, in fact, this is the sixth operation of this kind carried out

The separate operations were in Oxfordshire

Thames Valley Police are trying to reassure the public.

Detective Superintendent Paul Hales has called this

They are working with other agencies to support the victims.

Also, the local area commander has said that child sexual offences

and exploitation remain a key priority for Thames Valley Police

and perhaps today's arrest may encourage other people who may have

had something happen to them in the past to come

And if and when they feel ready to do so, Thames Valley Police

will be there to listen and support them.

The Thames Valley Police and Crime Commissioner has

set out his priorities for the next five years.

Following crime trands and local residents' views,

Anthony Stansfeld has chosen five key strategies from April.

They include - tackling abuse of vulnerable people, cyber crime,

reducing re-offending and improving public awareness of organised

One in six local roads in England and Wales are in such bad condition,

they'll need to be repaired or closed within five years.

The Asphalt Industry Alliance blames increased traffic, wetter winters

The Department for Transport says it's providing councils

with an extra ?1 billion for road maintenance.

This road in Buckinghamshire should soon be as good as new.

But other roads in the county have been neglected for years.

The amount of money that we have got available is making it very

Our minor roads in particular, like ones in villages, are struggling.

And then the increased traffic on the really busy roads is putting

Roads like the A40, really struggling and the A41 as it

Oxfordshire County Council has invested in its own machine

like this one which will fill potholes swiftly and cheaply.

It'll be virtually impossible to keep up with demand, though.

Motorists say roads up and down the country aren't up to it.

Emphasis is on roads which take the most vehicles

and because they consider us as a country lane, underused,

quite likely we are low on the priority list.

Local government find themselves in between and they are stuck with

all the rap whereas the government get away with it.

It is in towns that I notice that they need more

But we have just come down the motorway and it has been fine.

Would you pay more tax for better roads?

An extra ?1 billion has been pledged by the government

That's nowhere near enough, according to the Asphalt

The group says that local roads in England and Wales are on the edge

It says that one in six roads is in poor condition and if some

of these roads aren't mended in the next few years,

Every year, we report on the declining conditions

of the roads and there is only one way that can end and

This is a race to the bottom and we already...

Our road network is way behind those of our colleagues in Europe

and we are slipping behind some countries in Asia and Africa.

It would cost ?150 million to get all of Buckinghamshire's

Next year, just ?25 million is available for road

repairs for Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire combined.

An industrial dispute over Christmas pay between the Oxford Bus Company

Services have been hit by two one-day strikes this month.

Both sides hammered out a deal in talks with the help

Details of the deal have not been disclosed.

A Buckinghamshire charity has helped a former England footballer cope

with the loss of his wife and children's mother.

Rio Ferdinand has made a documentary for the BBC,

charting the two years since his wife Rebecca

As part of the film, Rio visited Child Bereavement UK

in Saunderton to talk to young people about their

An amazing wife, great kids, and then bang.

The moment Rebecca was diagnosed with cancer, that all changed.

Those three months in hospital before Rebecca passed away,

You just don't believe that the worst scenario can happen.

But for Rio, the worst did happen, and Rebecca, the mother

of his three young chidlren, passed away in May 2015.

Over the past year, the former England defender has been trying

to deal with his grief, and the grief of his children,

by talking to as many people as possible.

He's been making a documentary about his experience.

When do you actually come to that point when you say

For me, I didn't do that swapping the hand thing.

She passed away and she is no longer here, I needed to move on so I can

One of the places he visited was the Child Bereavement

charity in Buckinghamshire, where we spoke to a group

of teenagers, all of whom had lost a loved one.

-- where he spoke to a group of teenagers.

When he came, he wanted to hear a lot about our opinions,

He mainly ask questions to ask about what we have

been through and if... He was relating to us.

He wanted to know how he could help them in a way that would be told

from somebody who has been through that perspective,

The girls are part of the young people's advisory group

at the charity and are happy to help anyone who has lost a loved one.

They were able to give him guidance as to what their parents

did that was helpful, but equally things weren't helpful,

He wanted to learn from them so he could help his own three children.

The film explores what help is available for grieving families

as well as Rio's own journey as he tries to come to terms

with the loss of his wife, and his new role as both father

I just want the best case and scenario for my kids.

And the only way I see that happening is by asking questions.

The programme will be on BBC One tonight, at 9pm.

Playing the classic computer game tetris can reduce effects

of post-traumatic stress disorder following road traffic accidents.

Researchers in Oxford have found that people who play the game

within six hours of an accident have fewer unpleasant memories

It's believed to disrupt a process known as memory consolidation

Teenagers from an Oxfordshire college have been selected

to represent Great Britain at an international Rugby

The Sanix World Youth Tournament is in its tenth year and will see

pupils from Henley College take on representatives from

Our reporter Matt Graveling went along to training to find out.

In less than a month, these Oxfordshire students will be

lining up against the best in the world.

With final preparations taking place in Henley today,

their next stop is more than 9,000 miles away in Japan.

Japanese rugby has really gone through the roof.

There is a professional league in Japan, now.

I have worked in various countries across the world

and been on a lot of different rugby tours, but it is mainly

about the experience, learning a new culture,

But also in this instance, it's playing against the best

It's part of the Sanix World Youth Tournament -

which sees teams of under-18-year-olds competing

for a global title, and selected to represent Team GB are the boys

We have been doing a mixture of cardio work, which means

we will be fit for the matches, and also making sure

So we have the highest amount of detail so we will make

We have been to France, Spain, Argentina, North Africa.

But with just weeks to go, it's not just the rugby

The two-week tournament will get under way with the group stages

Until then the boys from Henley will be working hard to make sure

I'll have the headlines at 8 and a full bulletin at 10.30.

Now for more of today's stories with Sally Taylor.

With the lighter evenings, there is plenty of opportunity to get out and

about although there is rain in the forecast. I will have the details

for you shortly. A father has been found guilty

of murdering his three-month-old son who died after he was thrown

vigorously against a hard surface. Robert Hinz, 34, from Bournemouth,

claimed he tried to revive his son, Julian, who suffered severe skull

fractures last April. Julian died in hospital

the following day when doctors Hinz will will be

sentenced at a later date. Their fathers were killed whilst

serving their country. Now 18-year-old Molly from Poole

and 19-year-old Poppy from Swindon are off on an adventure their dads

would be proud of. They're heading to Nepal

to help rebuild a school. It's being facilitated by a charity

specifically set up to help children who've lost parents in the Armed

Forces. Laura Trant has been

to meet Molly and Poppy. Two daughters sharing memories of

the fathers. Poppy's dad was in the RAF but was killed in a Hercules

crash over Iraq in 2005. Molly's father died in Afghanistan. He was

in the special forces. He is put the stickers on the front of his

motorbike for the numbers and he called me my mocking mascot. I just

remember when he was packing or his staff, he told me to jump on the bed

and play musical the stereo in the bedroom. He was always really

excited to be going away so I was helping impact. Grief has been a

difficult journey for the girls and their families. One of the things

that has helped is the support of the children's trust which aims to

help children whose parents died while serving their country. We have

made friends and also the staff give our support 20 47 if we need them.

That is really helpful because we have our family and friends but it

is good to have that bit of extra support is well on the side. The

charity is now helping them bark on an adventure. This Saturday, they

are heading to Nepal. They will help rebuild school destroyed in the

earthquake two years ago when 9000 people died. I cannot wait to give

something back to the villagers who lost so much in the earthquake.

Making a difference in such small way in our own way is better than

not doing anything at all. The children's trust supports 110

children. The charity intends to extend the work it does the children

of police, ambulance and fire crew who died in service.

It's from a memoir that's just been published

Marjory Rae Lewis was one of hundreds of thousands

of children evacuated during the Second World War

but Marjory's experience was a little different.

She was sent from London to the lap of luxury in a grand

It was an extraordinary experience but, as the book explains,

for Marjory, the war also meant the agony of a tragic romance.

It is goodbye to the cities and danger areas. 1939 and hundreds of

thousands of children head out of the cities toward safety. For many,

it was a frightening experience but, or 13-year-old Marjorie Ray Lewis, a

step into a world of luxury. This is a wonderful house, beautiful.

Marjorie was evacuated from London here with her brother. Or because

her mother, a dressmaker, had received an offer from an

aristocratic client. One lady said, your children must be the only two

children left in London. What they like to come and live with my

husband and I? We do not have any children, we have always longed for

children. We would be helping the war effort by having them. So

Hardman Leaver was a baronet and senior civil servant. He and his

wife treated Marjorie and her brother as their own children. I

thought it was my fairy godmother. This is the first time Marjorie has

been back inside in the 70 years. This was the bathroom. Very

different. There was a butler, Cook, housemaids, parlourmaid, show for,

you name it, they were here and they looked up to us. But it was wartime

food rationing and not all that luxurious. Marjorie was confirmed in

St Mary 's Church nearby but within a few years there was a new claim on

her heart. Back in London, Marjorie's mother became a landlady

to a group of Belgian resistance fighters. One was the one Marjorie

returned briefly for a Christmas party. This very tall Belgian

officer came over to me and said, would you like to dance? I said yes,

because he was six foot four and I because he was six foot four and I

was five foot two. He was very charming, had a wonderful smile and,

after a week or ten days, you told me he had fallen in love with me. I

was smitten with him. He promised Marjorie that when the war ended,

you would return to marry her. Soon afterwards, he parachuted into Nazi

occupied Belgium. I never saw him again. I read in the paper that he

had been executed by the Germans. Sean was nicknamed spider on account

of his long legs. While awaiting execution he used his prayer book to

send Marjorie a final message. This is my last present. He has gone for

ever, forgotten spider. Kings were the court was taken over by the

Hampshire Fire authority and Marjorie and believe thes had to

move out. The house is now being used as offices for local government

that the Marjorie it remains steeped in memories. It is so emotional,

really. I just cannot believe that I was here once. A huge thank you to

Marjorie for sharing her memories with us. They are extraordinary,

amazing. We are talking cricket. The day is getting longer, we start to

think about the new cricket season, but big changes.

A lot of talk going on about what will change.

They are saying, we need to bring some of that back to the English

game. The counties, including

those here in the South, gave unanimous backing today

to plans for an historic change to domestic cricket,

labelled a watershed moment Hampshire's Ageas Bowl

is a favourite to be among the eight sites chosen to stage a new T20

league inspired by popular Surrey's home, the Oval,

is another likely venue. County chiefs were shown

the blueprint for the game Most are now backing

the changes for the league, The aim is for some games to be

shown on terrestrial television. Hampshire batsman Michael Carberry

says he hasn't fully recovered from treatment for a cancerous

tumour but has thanked those who've supported him

through what he referred to as a very tough time

in his career and life. The former England batsman is back

playing with Hampshire in preseason He said in a statement tonight

he's looking forward He also asked for privacy as he

continues to deal with the illness. Now, the boys of Thomas

Hardye School may not Tomorrow, they take

on Dr Challinoor's school from Amersham in the Vase Final

of the school's Rugby National Cup. Our reporter, Andy Birkett,

has been along to see them. They are friends on an off the

field, they celebrate reaching the Twickenham final. That game is on

the past now and these lads will swap these gates for the gates of

rugby headquarters. They will be far from a madding crowd but it is not

about that. It is a great buzz. Staff are saying congratulations.

The kits are getting packed on the back, everyone wants to come with

us. And you can see why. It is a first for the school to send a team

to Twickenham and following the emphatic victory in the semifinal,

confidence is high. It is a team of mates and everyone knows the job.

Being loud and bossy, shouting at them and keeping them going. I had

pictured walking out through the tunnel into a massive stadium. It is

hard to focus on anyone else -- anything. I am not tried to be cocky

or anything but if we can play how we play day in, day out, we will be

OK. The number eight, the forward pack, but the backs also possess

talent. Despite the sparkling performance in the semifinal capped

off by a hat-trick of tries, the playmaker remains humble. It is

great doing it for my mates because we are such a close bunch and to go

out and do it for each other is what it is all about. The big question,

is running out on the hallowed turf enough or does the result really

matter? Of course it matters because it makes that memory more of a

positive one stop you do not want to go to Twickenham and lose. It is

still amazing to play their bid the wind there is much better. Kick-off

11 o'clock tomorrow and you can watch online.

Last week, I was at Poole Town - the club facing possible relegation

despite chasing promotion from National League South.

Today, the club have been given a verbal assurance that the stadium

improvements they've made at the Tatnum ground are sufficient

for them to stay playing in their league into next season.

If they were promoted, more work is likely to be needed.

Now, things seemed bleak when pet dog Puffy was paralysed

after being struck by a car, shattering part of her spine.

But she's enjoying a new lease of life thanks to the generosity

Although surgery couldn't fix the damage, a fundraising appeal has

helped pay for a set of wheels that take the weight off her back legs.

It means she's now up and about with just

A stroll and a roll in the spring sunshine is an indication of just

how far this couple and their pet pooch, Puffy, have come.

It's two years since she ran out in front of a car

But after months of therapy, and finally with these new wheels,

this Chinese Crested Powderpuff has regained a quality of life that

She seemed so happy and she has a real will and determination to give

her that chance. Her first wheels were a DIY job but were enough to

prove the getting proper support was worthwhile.

The wheels not only support Puffy - they have inbuilt pads

to exercise her paralysed back legs, helping build core strength

Part of her slow recovery has been twice weekly sessions at the UK's

top canine aquatic therapy unit here in Newbury.

Walking on a treadmill while supported by the water has

She has always been a really positive dog, she has never let it

get to her, she has always wanted to do things. She was paraplegic when

she first came here. They cost ?1,500 -

that money raised in just a few days through donations

to an online appeal. The response we have had is

overwhelming. I could never have expected it and we are so grateful

to everyone. There is nothing better than watching her charging around

the field, getting out and about, doing things a normal dog should be

able to do. She has that freedom back.

Although she'll never walk unaided, thanks to her new wheels,

Nick Lucas took this photo of the mist dawn

Andrew Potter photographed Old Harry Rocks in today's bright spells.

And Ginny Boxall captured blossom in the sunshine in Alton.

Beautiful evening. Alexis is in Totton in Hampshire. A lot of

activity going on behind you. That's right. We have had a lot of sunshine

today and that has brought people out although the cloud is

increasing. We will turn on settled for the rest of this week. Let's

take a look at the satellite picture. A swathe of cloud out to

the west of the UK, bringing us rain. But decent sunny spells

already. The cloud is increasing. One or two close both initially the

night but through the course of the night patchy rain or move on settled

for the rest of this week. Let's take a look at the satellite

picture. A swathe of cloud out to the west of the UK, bringing us

rain. But decent sunny spells already. The cloud is increasing.

night but through the course of the night but through the course of the

night patchy rain or moving from the night patchy rain or moving from the

West are mainly light and patchy, West are mainly light and

with temperatures dropping into with temperatures

Temperatures tomorrow morning will Temperatures tomorrow morning

cloud, outbreaks of rain but through be 11 Celsius at 8am, a good deal

cloud, outbreaks of rain but through the course of the day the rain will

spells although more cloud tomorrow dry

than today. If you do have any sunshine tomorrow,

could reach a high of 14-15 C. A could reach a high of 14-15 C. A

pleasant afternoon, dry day in general. Tomorrow night, a repeat

performance of the night. The cloud will increase, clear spells, but the

chance of light patchy rain. Another mild night with temperatures falling

to 10-11 C. A fair amount of cloud over the next few days. A lot of

cloud tomorrow. That should dent and break to allow the Sunnis bus

tomorrow afternoon with a high of 14 Celsius. On Thursday, temperatures

will shoot up to 17 or 18 Celsius. Cloud with hazy sunshine and a warm

dry day in general. Rain at times on Friday and the chance of Dundry

showers on Saturday but Sunday will be the dry day of the weekend. From

a very active Park in Totton, back to you in the studio. Every time we

turn around... A middle-aged woman

chasing after a teenage boy...