:00:09. > :00:12.A man from Oxford - who was on his mobile phone
:00:13. > :00:17.when he caused the death of a driver on the A34 - has been sentenced
:00:18. > :00:21.to three years and eight months in prison.
:00:22. > :00:24.crashed through the central reservation of the road
:00:25. > :00:32.in June, killing 28 year old Gavin Roberts from Swindon.
:00:33. > :00:35.The judge at Reading Crown Court dubbed it a "wholly avoidable
:00:36. > :00:37.accident which led to a wholly avoidable death"
:00:38. > :00:40.When Lewis Stratford walked into court this morning,
:00:41. > :00:42.he knew he wouldn't be coming out...
:00:43. > :00:45.This final warning a stark reminder that this crime can cost you much
:00:46. > :00:51.more than six points and a ?200 fine.
:00:52. > :00:53.Stratford was speeding to Portsmouth to visit his girlfriend.
:00:54. > :00:57.He believed she was cheating on him and made a number of emotional phone
:00:58. > :01:06.During one of calls, his car crashed through the central reservation
:01:07. > :01:09.hitting a blue BMW being driven by 28-year-old Gavin Roberts.
:01:10. > :01:11.Both driver's were rushed to hospital.
:01:12. > :01:18.In court today, Judge Stephen John told Stratford "This was a wholly
:01:19. > :01:22.avoidable accident which caused a wholly avoidable death.
:01:23. > :01:29.Gavin's mother Rose was not in court today but she'd did send a very
:01:30. > :01:33.In it, she said "Lewis, I want you to know that you
:01:34. > :01:37.I know that you did not mean to cause Gavin's death.
:01:38. > :01:39.Lewis, do not let this destroy and consume you.
:01:40. > :01:42.Instead, on Gavin's memory by learning from this and becoming
:01:43. > :01:53.she met with him before sentencing to raise awareness of the dangers of
:01:54. > :01:58.Every time I say sorry, I think it's a bit cheap.
:01:59. > :02:04.I think I'm going to work on forgiving him.
:02:05. > :02:07.I'm never going to forget what he did, and so, over
:02:08. > :02:11.I don't hate him as much as I probably have
:02:12. > :02:15.Meg works as a teacher at Royal Wooton Bassett Academy
:02:16. > :02:21.She hopes to stop the next generation making the same mistake.
:02:22. > :02:24.Being a teacher, a lot of my students have seen the
:02:25. > :02:27.documentary, and a lot of my students have been aware of what
:02:28. > :02:30.We teach in schools a lot about drink-driving,
:02:31. > :02:33.and we teach them about alcoholism and the impact that can have behind
:02:34. > :02:39.But we forget that actually, the physical act of using your
:02:40. > :02:41.mobile phone behind the wheel can have as
:02:42. > :02:46.Lewis Stratford was sentenced to three years and 10 months
:02:47. > :02:48.in prison, and a driving ban of almost five years.
:02:49. > :02:54.Police in the Thames Valley say they've issued fines to more
:02:55. > :02:59.than 130 motorists - using their phones
:03:00. > :03:04.undertaking a series of high profile checks this week -
:03:05. > :03:06.including this one in Abingdon - following a change in the law
:03:07. > :03:10.Drivers caught on the phone not handsfree now face a 200 pound
:03:11. > :03:14.People under 21 will lose their license altogether
:03:15. > :03:19.A thorough search of a house lived in by Swindon murderer
:03:20. > :03:22.Christopher Halliwell has come to an end - with no
:03:23. > :03:26.Specialist police officers started work in the garden and garage,
:03:27. > :03:29.and an adjacent garage, on Broad Street in
:03:30. > :03:33.Police say it was after intelligence they'd received -
:03:34. > :03:42.but say no items of significant interest have been found.
:03:43. > :03:45.The scheme to electrify the Great Western Railway has been
:03:46. > :03:49.The Public Accounts Committee say it's a "stark example of how not
:03:50. > :03:53.The work is already up to 3 years behind schedule and more
:03:54. > :03:56.There's also concern that several sections -
:03:57. > :03:59.including the line to Oxford - will never be finished.
:04:00. > :04:06.It promised faster, more reliable services, better stations and
:04:07. > :04:10.But the Great Western Mainline upgrade has
:04:11. > :04:11.been beset by serious failings, according to
:04:12. > :04:19.It said significant flaws raised concerns about the ability of
:04:20. > :04:22.the Department for Transport and Network Rail
:04:23. > :04:30.The estimated cost rose by ?1.2 billion in one year.
:04:31. > :04:33.Now it is unclear if the revised targets of 2.8
:04:34. > :04:39.billion and a completion date of December 2018 are realistic.
:04:40. > :04:40.In November, the Government announced
:04:41. > :04:47.between Oxford and Didcot Parkway will be deferred indefinitely.
:04:48. > :04:50.I think passengers between Oxford and Didcot
:04:51. > :04:59.The plan now is it has been deferred for a decision at least until 2019,
:05:00. > :05:01.but realistically not likely to be delivered even that early.
:05:02. > :05:03.And then it will potentially be competing for
:05:04. > :05:06.other emerging rail projects at the same time.
:05:07. > :05:08.We have asked the department for clarity about what
:05:09. > :05:13.The Great Western Railway denied passengers here are
:05:14. > :05:17.What we've had to do was look at ways of delivering the
:05:18. > :05:19.customer benefits, the improved services, longer carriages, faster
:05:20. > :05:21.services, without relying in some places on that electrification.
:05:22. > :05:25.Ultimately that means the customer still gets what it was going to get,
:05:26. > :05:29.despite the challenges of electrification.
:05:30. > :05:33.The Public Accounts Committee has made a series
:05:34. > :05:40.It says the Department for Transport and Network
:05:41. > :05:44.Rail should reassess the case for electrification section
:05:45. > :05:45.by section and fund schemes only where worthwhile
:05:46. > :05:53.could not be achieved otherwise at lower cost.
:05:54. > :05:57.The committee added Network Rail needed to produce
:05:58. > :06:00.realistic cost estimates and have robust and detailed plans.
:06:01. > :06:01.In a statement, Network Rail said they
:06:02. > :06:04.and the Department of Transport had learned lessons from the poor early
:06:05. > :06:07.planning of this project and that today they do not take forward major
:06:08. > :06:10.projects until they are properly scoped, properly planned and they
:06:11. > :06:24.have a robust estimate of what the cost will be.
:06:25. > :06:26.Beneficial or not, rail users in Oxfordshire now have
:06:27. > :06:28.an indefinite wait to see if their stretch of track
:06:29. > :06:37.The weather for the weekend is next starting with the regional
:06:38. > :06:53.Yesterday felt like spring, today it was all change. Changeable is how
:06:54. > :06:59.things continue as we go through the weekend. Tonight, we are cloudy with
:07:00. > :07:06.rain, clearing this patch now. Through the early hours, things are
:07:07. > :07:10.dry and overnight lows at six Celsius. Tomorrow morning, cloudy, a
:07:11. > :07:18.lot of that crowd is kept for most of the day. Bright spells as the day
:07:19. > :07:23.goes on, 10 degrees, a scattering of showers as we go through the
:07:24. > :07:27.afternoon. Looking ahead to the next few days, Sunday is very wet and on
:07:28. > :07:30.Monday, a cloudy picture and a bit cooler.
:07:31. > :07:33.Tuesday, the same story. Next, the national weather.
:07:34. > :07:47.Good evening, mixed fortunes this weekend. Today we saw a fair share
:07:48. > :07:51.of rain. This is the view one of our weather watchers in Doncaster. Not
:07:52. > :07:52.particularly inspiring. This