18/01/2017 South Today - Oxford

Tonight the verdict on the Prime Minister's exit Strang. Join me now

Hello, welcome to South Today. on BBC Two.

Coming up, the crime of organised dogfighting.

Animal charities want tougher sentencing, saying six months

Service families say their complaints for improved

And three-year-old Marla's delight with her prosthetic hand

Here, the crime of organised dog fighting.

The RSPCA wants tougher sentencing, saying six months

400 incidents have been reported to the RSPCA

Nationally, only around 3% of cases end in a conviction.

Peter Cooke has the story, which contains some violent images.

Bloody and brutal - the hidden world of illegal dog fighting.

But animal rights groups say it's also being found on our streets.

Rival gangs using animals as weapons - it's called a gateway crime.

There is a strong link to dogfighting with crimes such

as domestic violence and violence towards the elderly,

violence towards young people, children.

And that's why it needs to be a recordable offence,

rather than something that isn't properly recorded by

the Home Office, because if it isn't recorded properly,

then the resources aren't put in to investigating

The activity's prosecuted by the RSPCA but those involved

Now politicians and animal welfare groups want the current maximum

six month sentence extended up to five years.

Mike Butcher's been trying to catch those using dogs to fight

Even for any form of cruelty, six months nowadays is just outdated.

You get five years abroad in Europe and longer than that in America,

and we are in this country prosecuting more dogfighters

than anyone else probably, we catch more dog fighters

than anybody else, yet we have the lowest sentencing

Both animal welfare groups are also calling for a register

of banned owners and a review of the Dangerous Dogs Act.

The Government says it already has the right laws to tackle those

Military families have told us that they're still living

in damp and decaying homes, six months after they were told

The firm in charge of maintaining the properties was threatened

with losing its multi-million pound contract unless it improved.

The Public Accounts Committee says it has, but that's not

the experience of residents, as Lewis Coombes reports.

It's the battle that's closer to home, a fight for an acceptable

Living conditions like this in Farringdon just one example

of what military families are having to endure.

Kim is married to an RAF pilot based in the south.

After 13 years, he's decided to leave his job partly due

A small leak from their boiler resulted in their lounge ceiling

being replaced as it took nine months to fix what

Kim was heavily pregnant and recently diagnosed with cancer.

I just don't know what happens between the people being called

The process doesn't seem to work, the administration or the computer

It did affect my health because I was just so stressed

about it and so focused about it, and I felt so helpless.

47,000 homes are maintained by CarillionAmey in a five-year

If CarillionAmey are being paid to do a certain job,

they're just not doing that job so why should they be paid?

BBC South has been inundated with families on e-mail talking

about their experiences but unwilling to do so on camera,

over fears that the consequences that could have on their jobs.

It includes a soldier of 22 years who is weighing up

whether to leave the military because he is embarrassed

about the standard of accommodation he is providing his family.

A group of MPs have been tasked with holding those in charge

Those wives are looking after three children and the husbands

Serving personnel feel under pressure not to talk to their MPs

and that is something they continue to work with but the spouses

are free to do so and I know have a confidential line that

families from across the country can contact me personally on.

MoD figures show the average rent for an unfurnished three-bedromm

service home is almost ?300 per month.

Families feel more investment is needed.

It doesn't seem that we are important enough to care

We expect our homes to be up to standard and it

CarillionAmey has apologised to Kim and insist it's working hard

for service personnel and their families,

and focusing on how they can improve things further.

In a statement, the MoD said they would absolutely not hesitate

to take further action if deemed necessary.

An 18-year-old man has been charged with murder after a stabbing

26-year-old Daniel Lavender is believed to have been attacked

Brandon Lavender will appear in court tomorrow,

A man from Abingdon, who duped teenagers into performing

sexual acts online, has been jailed for six years.

They took place between 2012 and 2015.

The decision over who's going to run council services

in Buckinghamshire is now in the hands of the government.

Aylesbury Vale District Council has sent its plan to run everything

in the Vale from collecting rubbish to providing social care

It's in direct conflict with the plan he already has

From fixing potholes and picking up our recycling, to determining

where and how Buckinghamshire's houses or roads will be built.

This discussion is all about who should have responsibility

At the moment, Buckinghamshire has one county council

This week, the districts agreed a plan to scrap all those

and replace them with two authorities called unitaries.

One for Aylesbury Vale and a second merging Wycombe,

The red area at the top there - that's Milton Keynes

and that is already a unitary authority.

The County Council meanwhile has already submitted its plan

to effectively take over the districts.

It would be the sole authority and responsible

The Vale say just one large authority wouldn't work...So why

The geography is Buckinghamshire so different.

I believe having two different unit as we can focus our attention

on the specific demands of the respective authorities.

Why are these changes being proposed?

are facing funding difficulties and these authorities agree

Both proposals aim to save money- money that could be used to deliver

The backers of the two unitary plan say it

will save tax payers almost ?58 million over a five year period.

Buckinghamshire County Council says its suggestion could save even more,

Whichever option is chosen, we know Buckinghamshire will see

The Secretary of State won't make any decisions until at least March.

3D printing technology has been used to make a prosthetic hand

for a three year old girl for a fraction of the cost

Marla Trigwell, from Newbury, was born without a left hand.

This was the moment Marla opened her very special Christmas present.

And it's a psychological boost for her.

So, when she meets people, instead of that, "Oh, poor you,"

Marla's hand was made at a community workshop

Members of this club, who love working on technical

It was done in multiple sections, so we've got the fingers,

the palm, the lower arm, the upper arm,

Put them together, and you get something that will...

I'm quite proud that this has turned out better than I'd expected.

And it's really changing the life of young Marla and her family.

Materials for this hand cost only ?30.

More traditional prosthetics are thousands.

And Marla wouldn't be able to get one of them

The NHS can't provide a functional prosthetic, really,

until they are much older, apart from the split hook,

whereas with the 3D printing, they're available now.

They can have them from just three and a half,

Marla is very able with just the one hand.

And she and her parents may decide never to wear a more

But by using this lightweight plastic hand, she will be better

The weather forecast is coming up ne Alexis has the details.

It was a frosty night last night in some places.

And tonight will be very similar, although it is a north-south divide.

The further north you are, you'll have more cloud.

And, here, temperatures will be above freezing.

The further south you are, the clearing skies in

the countryside, we could see loads of minus three Celsius.

And cloud will start to sink its way southwards

So, frosty in some places first thing tomorrow morning.

And some sunny spells through the day as well.

A very slim chance of a shower, and we may have some lingering fog

patches in a few places, particularly over higher ground.

Through the course of the day tomorrow, in any sunny spells,

But, under the cloud, a high of five Celsius.

The winds will be fairly light tomorrow as well,

and it will be mainly dry during daylight hours.

We are expecting more cloud during the course of Friday.

High pressure will remain in charge of our weather,

and the cloud will sink its way southwards across the

country, arriving from the Midlands and the North.

With that cloud cover through Friday daytime,

we may have the odd spot of light rain and drizzle, which won't amount

And then maybe also some bright spells as well.

Looking ahead to the rest of the week, the potential

for a frost tomorrow morning, a chilly start to the day

More cloud around on Friday and over the weekend,

but there will be some bright and sunny spells.

next few days, no great changes over the next few days, more sunshine on

the way. Despite high-pressure sitting across

the country