:00:00. > :00:00.Coming up: A record fine of ?20 million for Thames Water.
:00:00. > :00:07.The company let more than a billion litres of sewage
:00:08. > :00:23.We have never had a longer or more intensive investigation. Those
:00:24. > :00:27.analysis allowed us to present a picture of systemic failure, out of
:00:28. > :00:31.control facilities, that involved the sewage of 200,000 people.
:00:32. > :00:33.Also: The developers continuing to build a crematorium,
:00:34. > :00:35.even though they no longer have planning permission.
:00:36. > :00:37.And honoured by the Prime Minister for setting up a charity supporting
:00:38. > :00:47.Thames Water has received a record fine of ?20 million
:00:48. > :00:52.Nearly 1.5 billion litres of raw sewage went into
:00:53. > :01:02.The River Tame near Aylesbury is getting back to its best,
:01:03. > :01:05.but in 2013 a local farmer was shocked to find sewage
:01:06. > :01:17.There were dead fish. it was very, very smelly.
:01:18. > :01:20.More than a billion litres of untreated sewage were released
:01:21. > :01:23.into the River Thames and its tributaries
:01:24. > :01:29.In January Thames Water admitted sewage spills
:01:30. > :01:34.from treatment works in Aylesbury, Didcot and Little Marlow
:01:35. > :01:38.and a pumping station in Littlemore in Oxford.
:01:39. > :01:40.Last week the company also admitted failing to control waste
:01:41. > :01:46.After receiving a record fine at Aylesbury Crown Court,
:01:47. > :01:51.millions in new equipment since the offences.
:01:52. > :01:56.There have been sweeping, far-reaching changes
:01:57. > :02:02.That's included more people, more and better systems,
:02:03. > :02:13.Our performance has improved considerably, and we're also doing
:02:14. > :02:16.a lot of work which we're proud of in partnership with environmental
:02:17. > :02:19.The court case followed a three-year investigation
:02:20. > :02:25.The scale was enormous, and the pattern of
:02:26. > :02:30.It wasn't because there had been new conditions in permits by us,
:02:31. > :02:32.it was because basic equipment, screens and pumps, were not
:02:33. > :02:45.Thames Water's paid for new fencing to keep Mr Woodford's cattle away
:02:46. > :02:48.from the water, but he can't understand why the pollution got out
:02:49. > :02:55.It's highly irresponsible that such a large company with massive
:02:56. > :03:04.profit margins to be polluting our waterways.
:03:05. > :03:09.Judge Francis Sheridan described Thames Water's
:03:10. > :03:13.failings as diabolical and disgraceful, and
:03:14. > :03:19.He said all of the problems were avoidable by any competent
:03:20. > :03:22.operator, and summing up the case before that record ?20 million fine,
:03:23. > :03:32.he said, "What a dreadful state of affairs."
:03:33. > :03:35.Local environmental groups welcomed the fine.
:03:36. > :03:39.But as the countryside recovers, their message is that Thames Water
:03:40. > :03:45.simply didn't do its job, and must change its ways for good.
:03:46. > :03:47.Thames Valley Police is reviewing its security in light
:03:48. > :03:52.In a statement, Chief Constable Francis Hapgood sent his sympathies
:03:53. > :03:59.to all those affected by today's events.
:04:00. > :04:01.He added that the force was reviewing its security
:04:02. > :04:07.Developers are continuing to build a privately owned
:04:08. > :04:09.crematorium in Aylesbury, even though they no longer have
:04:10. > :04:12.The project in the lakeside village of Watermead has met
:04:13. > :04:18.A High Court judge said construction could go ahead,
:04:19. > :04:21.but now the Court of Appeal has overturned that decision.
:04:22. > :04:23.With an opening date set for June, the developers say
:04:24. > :04:27.The diggers are still digging, the builders still building.
:04:28. > :04:30.And that's despite the fact the Court Of Appeal has ruled
:04:31. > :04:32.against the company behind this construction on the shores
:04:33. > :04:37.The row's been going on for over two years.
:04:38. > :04:45.The parish council have been fighting it every step of the way
:04:46. > :04:48.and they say it's not just because it'll ruin the view of some
:04:49. > :04:51.The fundamental issue is that there was no sequential test,
:04:52. > :04:55.which is a test to determine whether or not a site is suitable
:04:56. > :04:58.In particular in Watermead, this relates to the flood risk
:04:59. > :05:01.and this has now been proven that a sequential test should
:05:02. > :05:08.They say it'?s the wrong project in the wrong place and that plans
:05:09. > :05:10.for another crematorium less than a mile from the
:05:11. > :05:15.Ayelsebury does need a new crematorium,
:05:16. > :05:20.The closest ones to the town are in Amersham or Milton Keynes.
:05:21. > :05:22.Both of them are often busy, leading to long delays
:05:23. > :05:30.But the row over whether this lakeside location is the right place
:05:31. > :05:35.for one looks set to rumble on and on.
:05:36. > :05:36.That's because the company behind the construction, Westerleigh,
:05:37. > :05:39.have now submitted all the correct forms to the District Council
:05:40. > :05:41.and are confident they'll have the permissions they need
:05:42. > :05:47.The planning application now needs to be reconsidered, but that can
:05:48. > :05:50.be done, and according to the Appeals Court judges ought
:05:51. > :05:53.to be done, and they expect it to be reconsiderered in very short order
:05:54. > :05:55.so planning permission should come through relatively quickly
:05:56. > :05:58.and from the construction point of view we'll be ready
:05:59. > :06:05.Both the parish council and the construction firm
:06:06. > :06:07.are confident they will win, but it's now up to Aylesbury Vale
:06:08. > :06:09.District Council to consider the latest planning application.
:06:10. > :06:17.A decision is expected in the next few months.
:06:18. > :06:20.Meanwhile, plans to build nearly 200 homes in South Oxfordshire have been
:06:21. > :06:27.Developers wanted to build 170 houses between Didcot
:06:28. > :06:31.South Oxfordshire District Council refused the plans, now a planning
:06:32. > :06:34.Campaigners raised ?10,000 to protect what they
:06:35. > :06:40.A woman who set up a charity supporting children with parents
:06:41. > :06:42.in jail has been honoured by the Prime Minister.
:06:43. > :06:44.Sarah Burrows from Oxford launched Children Heard And Seen
:06:45. > :06:47.after discovering that two thirds of boys with a parent
:06:48. > :06:49.who's been in prison go on to offend themselves.
:06:50. > :07:00.My dad's been in and out of prison for the past 15 years and I don't
:07:01. > :07:06.Clayton's parents were jailed for drug offences when he was a toddler.
:07:07. > :07:14.The 15-year-old and his brother were raised by their grandparents.
:07:15. > :07:16.I thought I'd only have them for a day or so.
:07:17. > :07:22.Then within three days my husband and I knew that we would end up
:07:23. > :07:25.looking after the children for the rest of their
:07:26. > :07:31.Everything changed, I can't even explain
:07:32. > :07:37.We couldn't be the grandparent any more, we had to be a parent.
:07:38. > :07:48.That's where the charity Children Heard And Seen came in.
:07:49. > :07:53.It runs weekly youth groups and provides mentors.
:07:54. > :07:57.I used to be a manager at the Youth Offending Service
:07:58. > :08:01.in Oxfordshire and a lot of the children that were coming
:08:02. > :08:04.through the criminal justice system, who were offending, I realised
:08:05. > :08:07.had a parent in prison, so when I started researching why
:08:08. > :08:13.this might be, I then realised that 65% of boys with a parent in prison
:08:14. > :08:16.went on to offend and I thought, actually, let's stop this
:08:17. > :08:22.Sarah's received a Point Of Light award recognising her work.
:08:23. > :08:27.But she relies on referrals to find people who need help.
:08:28. > :08:31.She says a national database of children with parents in jail
:08:32. > :08:38.For us it's always having to go out into the community and getting
:08:39. > :08:40.referrals from school, social care, the police, probation, whoever,
:08:41. > :08:43.and obviously self-referrals, but if there was a national database
:08:44. > :08:48.then those children could be picked up immediately and support services
:08:49. > :08:58.For people like me, who have nobody, not even any relatives locally,
:08:59. > :09:12.And I'd been waiting for that for five/six years.
:09:13. > :09:17.We're back in BBC Breakfast tomorrow morning, but for now goodnight and,
:09:18. > :09:26.with the weather, here's Alexis Green.
:09:27. > :09:31.Well, we had a showery day across the region with good sunny spells as
:09:32. > :09:35.well but showery is how things continue as we go through tonight.
:09:36. > :09:39.We start to see the cloud building ahead of some rain that will move in
:09:40. > :09:45.through the early hours. That cloud building here and then the rain band
:09:46. > :09:49.moving east to west with heavy outbreaks for a time. Under the
:09:50. > :09:53.cloudy skies temperatures start a chilly but recovered to around 4
:09:54. > :09:57.degrees by dawn. The tomorrow morning it is a damp start, very
:09:58. > :10:02.dull under the cloud, but the showers start to move away pretty
:10:03. > :10:04.quickly so I think we will start to see brighter spells developing of
:10:05. > :10:08.the day wears on and quite a pleasant afternoon if you are lucky
:10:09. > :10:13.enough to stay dry. Top temperature tomorrow and the best of the
:10:14. > :10:17.brightness 11 degrees but are keen north-easterly wind, so feeling a
:10:18. > :10:21.little bit chillier than that. Looking ahead and Friday is a cloudy
:10:22. > :10:26.picture with the threat of rain for a time but it does look as if high
:10:27. > :10:31.pressure starts to sink down from the south and that will move any
:10:32. > :10:35.further rain away from us so a dry day -- ends to Friday with sunny
:10:36. > :10:41.spells. We keep that strong easterly wind. As we head into the weekend it
:10:42. > :10:46.is a much more promising outlook and things are settled and fine and dry
:10:47. > :10:51.through Saturday. Some sunshine for much of the day but again the keen
:10:52. > :10:57.easterly breeze keeps things a bit on the cool side. On Sunday a bit
:10:58. > :10:59.more in the way of cloud but still a very pleasant prospect and
:11:00. > :11:02.decent day. Saturday could be a much better day, with some sunshine.