24/04/2017 South Today - Oxford

Hello and welcome to sell today. The pro-Brexit MPs in the election.

Hello and welcome to sell today. The police officer accused of racism for

using a black toy monkey to order a colleague to make tea. Also the

terrifying moment a driverless lorry crashed into a house witnessed by

the homeowners. And an Arctic blast gives us a cool feel to think for

the next few days but it will be short lived. I have your weather for

the week ahead late in the programme.

A woman working as a civilian for Thames Valley Police is accusing

an officer of racism - claiming he put a black toy monkey

on her desk to signal it was her turn to make tea.

The woman - who's black and a special investigator -

says she felt bullied and ridiculed by Detective Sergeant Andrew Mottau.

Adina Campbell sent this report from the force's

headquarters in Kidlington - where the tribunal has

Detective Sergeant Andrew Mottau had been supervising a south east

counter terrorism unit when these racist allegations were made

against him by a black female colleague last year.

At this stage we can't name the woman for legal reasons

but she was working as a special investigator within his team.

At the time, she was only black person in the department and we

heard both she and Andrew Mottau had known each other for

This afternoon we've been hearing details about how tea making duties

were divided up between team members last Summer.

It's claimed Detective Sergeant Andrew Mottau had introduced

a black toy monkey - about the size of a key ring -

as a prop to signal whose turn it was to make tea and coffee

After returning to work following leave, the black

investigator said on her first day back to work last August,

without any explanation, the toy had been placed on her desk.

Speaking in front of the hearing panel this afternoon she said.

"I'm a black person, serving the public.

I was shocked and offended to see a black money on my desk".

"He was jeering me and harassing me about the black monkey.

This gross misconduct hearing is expected to last until Thursday.

This gross misconduct hearing will continue

here at Thames Valley Police headquarters in Kidlington

If these allegations are found to be true,

Detective Sergeant Andrew Mottau could lose his job.

Next - the terrifying moment a driverless lorry smashed

People living on the street say it's a miracle nobody was killed.

The man who lives in the property was outside at the time and saw

Paul Nash is still shaking after a massive lorry

And the lorry came to rest hanging over this wall and it took the

telephone poll out and well you can see what damage it has done.

Paul Nash is still shaking after a massive lorry

The 67-year-old and his wife Kath were just getting in their car to go

out when when they saw the vehicle careering towards them.

"She jumped out the car and shouted "there's a lorry coming down a hill

The collision damaged Mr Nash's walls and roof and demolished

a brick wall and gate belonging to his neighbour.

What if we had been sat in the car and couldn't get out?

And you know, it's a steep hill, if it went straight down the hill I

don't know what damage it would have done. It was a 20 tonne lorry with a

20 tonne dig on the back. A phone mast was also

brought down in the crash, leaving residents without phone

and internet connections. was collecting a digger that had

been working on this field. Today the company the crane belonged

to declined to comment. Thames Valley Police went to the

scene but no arrests were made. There'll be 3,000 new jobs -

but concerns are being raised about how the vanancies

will be filled. Recruitment is starting for Oxford's

new Westgate Shopping Centre. Age UK is worried that care workers

will be tempted to leave their jobs Losing staff is also a fear

for many small businesses - For builders at the

new Westgate Centre - a head for heights is certainly

in the job description. But below the centre's new roof,

these stores, bars and restaurants will soon be full of new workers

that can keep their feet Construction work very much ongoing

here at the Westgate but things are certainly starting

to take shape. And with just six months to go

retailers are starting to think about recruitment 3,000 jobs coming

to Oxford - so what's that With very low levels

of unemployment in Oxford - it's feared the care sector could be

affected when recruitment And there are worries that other

businesses in Oxford could lose There are areas where there are not

enough care workers at the moment and services struggle to deliver

enough care to people. The balance is very fine if you like, it won't

take many people making decisions to leave social care work to tip the

balance. And there are worries that other

businesses in Oxford could lose Some companies who are anchor

tenants will be here, John Lewis partnership, great business, great

to involve local people. What about the smaller businesses.

But those behind the development say it will be a good

It is a place Oxford can be proud of, plays well known, a place to

eat, drink and relax. To watch the world go by. We're standing in a new

part of Oxford to this is history being made. I'm sure Oxford will be

proud. There will be jobs fairs

held in the city in June for the new Westgate Centre -

it's set to open A group of companies -

led by a firm in Oxford - have unveiled a plan to test

driverless cars on UK roads The consortium - led by Oxbotica -

also intends to test a fleet of cars The cars will communicate with each

other about hazards - Ahead of the general election,

Children's charities are calling on all the political parties

to pledge to tackle what they describe as a mental

health crisis in schools. It's estimated three

children in every class A growing number of schools

in our region are turning to a relaxation technique developed

in Oxfordshire - The happiness will hatch out of our

bodies and we have to imagine it going up to our arms and legs.

Finding inner happiness is at the heart of the Relax Kids approach.

In a fast paced world where children feel ever more

pressuriSed to perform - these four and five year olds

at Dunmore primary school in Abingdon are learning to let go.

The system uses 7 steps from high energy movement and play

through to stretching, massage and breathing to calm

the body down and then progresses onto affirmations to boost

confidence and self esteem and finally onto relaxation.

Marneta Viegas who lives near Oxford came up with the idea 17 years ago,

her technique is now practiced in over 40 countries worldwide.

She's hoping to be part of a pilot project which could see meditation

According to the charity young minds, 1 in 10 children

have a mental health disorder - that's roughly 3 children in every

The benefit benefit is huge, they are able to concentrate more, they

are able to be more confident as well as improve learning because

when children are calm and in a relaxed state, they are able to

concentrate and are able to listen and there are able to learn and

remember what they've been taught. According to the charity young

minds, 1 in 10 children have a mental health disorder -

that's roughly 3 children in every classroom but less than 1%

of the NHS budget's spent It's calling for more support

and funding in schools. Teachers and parents hope

by supporting children from a young age, they'll develop life long

skills needed to excel not just Sarah Farmer has the weather

forecast for the week ahead. Hello in a very good evening to you.

We have much cooler conditions, on the cards for the next couple of

days but through this week yes we may have quality wintry showers,

things do take a turn as we head towards Thursday. As we go to the

course we have clear spells overheard, temperature in the cool

air mass down to around freezing if you are in the countryside so we

expect a widespread forced. -- frost. The cloud will start to

bubble up and brings up one or two showers. Temperatures up to 10-11

but the showers. To increase in intensity. Later on starting to see

they have three burst with a wintry theme so we might see sleet, snow,

hail. They tend to use away overnight become drier and once

again seeing some clear skies at times. Temperatures close to

freezing once more. A chilly and frosty start to the day for

Wednesday, yet again some brightness first thing, showers coming soon and

still a risk we could see some sleet, hail and thunder with the

showers. The breeze really picking up around the shower so temperatures

might well peek at 10-11 but it will feel very fresh when we see the

showers passing through. To Thursday then we have a weather front, we

will start to feel less called on Thursday and a bit of cloud may

maybe patchy outbreaks to round off the day. Friday should be largely

cloudy with limited brightness, we expect one or two isolated showers

through the course. Temperatures at 11 or 12 once more. Taking a look

ahead, through next weekend we will have cloudy spells, Mark showers,

and a little brightness here and there. National forecast coming up

next. some rain. More with the national

forecast now. Good evening. It's been turning

colder from the north so far today. It's been cold enough for

significant snow in northern Scotland. This was mid afternoon.

More recently it's been blowing around over the tops of the

mountains. Snow in April not necessarily unusual but it's usually

unwelcome. The colder air coming in behind the front which clears

towards the near continent, opening the floodgates to this Coldstream of

air all the way from