14/07/2011 South Today

Hello, I'm Sally Taylor. Welcome to South Today. In tonight's

programme: Tributes to the teenager stabbed to death while on holiday

with his friends in Greece. He was a real gentleman. We just

could not believe it. It is a terrible tragedy.

Plans are revealed for our coastguard centres - the government

announces new proposals for the south.

The health warning over a drug designed to protect your bones -

but which can lead to them snapping in two. I can honestly tell you I

have been to hell and back. It has been really devastating. We are at

a new training facility in Hampshire designed to teach sailors

how to cope with the rigours of the front line in Afghanistan.

The family of a Hampshire teenager stabbed to death while on holiday

in Greece have flown out to the island of Zakynthos, to see the

place where he died, and to make arrangements to bring home his body.

Robert Sebbage from Tadley was 18. He'd been with a group of friends

from Queen Mary College in Basingstoke. Greek police have

arrested a taxi driver over the incident. As Allen Sinclair reports,

the youngster had battled health problems and four years ago,

stepped out as England mascot at Wembley, hand in hand with David

Beckham. In it and life cut tragically short,

this must rank as the proudest moment. 14 year-old Robert Wareing

the England colours alongside David Beckham. His grief stricken family

have asked for privacy at this time. But at that time Robert had stepped

in to tell us about meeting as superstar. I'd that the lads at

school are jealous. They all wanted to trade places with me on that day.

And to shake my hand. Robert was a keen footballer and had shown

determination to overcome a sometimes distressing medical

condition. He had been on holiday together with a group of four

college friends, his first time a weight without his parents. Reports

say his group got into an argument with a local taxi driver. All five

men received stab wounds. Robert's was fatal. But there was shock and

people were saddened by the news. Robert's family have now flown out

to the Greek island. The teenager was well known and well liked. At

his former secondary-school they are planning to hold a minute's

silence in his memory tomorrow. His passion for football will also be

reflected next week with a minute of silence at the school sports day.

He is not a man who was aggressive, he was a real gentleman. We could

not believe it. It is a terrible tragedy. This may have been the

last picture taken of Robert but a girl he met on holiday. There has

been an outpouring of grief on the Facebook page set up in his memory.

The government has announced its plans for the future of coastguard

centres around the country, with mixed fortunes in the south.

The control centre in Portland in Dorset will shut, but it's likely

that a new operational centre for the country will be set up in

Hampshire. Our reporter, Robert Hall, is outside the current

control centre at Lee on the Solent in Hampshire.

It has been a glorious and busy day on the Solent. This is a place

where leisure and shipping come into close contact so not

surprising that there has been a coastguard station here for many

years. The government have selected this area for this new national

rescue co-ordination Centre, a planned they say they arrived at

after listening to the views of the public. In a maritime nation if

there is one subject calculated to cause fierce public debate, it is

that of safety around or shore line. From the moment the review was

first announced communities all over the country have signed

petitions and mounted protests. Today they waited anxiously to find

out whether those representations had been heeded. These pictures

illustrate all too clearly the service the public have grown used

to and expect, as serve as the Government believes is ready for

change. The plan was for the creation of two Maritime co-

ordination centres on the Solent and in Aberdeen, with the loss of

10 full-time coastguard stations. But in a change of heart the

Transport Secretary told Commons that Hampshire alone would now be

at the heart of the operation. Solent station will effectively

give way to the marine operations centre which will be located

somewhere in the Portsmouth - Southampton Region. There was

disappointment for campaigners. Staff here have helped deal with

countless emergencies along the south coast. Portland along with

the seven other stations will close. The question is whether new

national co-ordination centre will be sited. The MP for Gosport

believes the choices of the EST. The government have said the want

it to be between Portsmouth and Southampton. This is the biggest

should be made in the UK. Coastguard Agency have already

stressed that they would always be there when needed regardless of the

changes. People who go sailing are in the main Derry says people but

things can still go wrong. -- in the main very safe people.

government will now work with other agencies to underline that

reassurance. What this is not about his helicopters. The helicopters

will still operate from here. It is about jobs - about 25 important.

But the new centre will take about 96 staff, so that is important.

Still questions over emergency towing vehicles. So a lot of

talking still to do before the plans are put into effect.

Seven men have been charged in connection with the New Year riot

at Ford Open Prison in West Sussex. A number of buildings were burnt to

the ground during the disturbances. Specially trained prison staff in

body armour eventually quelled the trouble, which at its height

involved around 40 inmates. The seven men charged will appear

before Chichester Magistrates on July 29th.

Five billion pounds over the next ten years. The investment to

transform the Great Western railway line through the Thames Valley is

the biggest transport project in the region for decades. It's also

expected to generate at least double that amount for the wider

economy, as new electric trains and upgraded tracks are completed.

The importance of the project was underlined at London's Paddington

station today, from where our Transport Correspondent Paul

Clifton reports. Here is what Network Rail thinks

the Great Western will look like in future. With new InterCity trains

provide hadji, a lecture vocation, a new signalling, and huge of great

in and around Reading. It adds up to �5 billion of investment over 10

years. But the wider economic benefits are forecast to be double

that. Faster passenger journeys will make the area at more

attractive to investors from outside. The greater connectivity

was London will enhance the economy. Eventually 50% more people will

travel on the Great Western. A tall order because east of Reading, it

already has some of the most overcrowded trains in the country.

It is true that CrossRail and the InterCity express trains are some

way off. We are working on a scheme to bring capacity into the business

in the next few months. It will be disruptive. Reading station and the

project to me -- to ease the biggest bottleneck, is under way.

The benefits will come because the electric trains will carry more

people. The signalling will allow up more frequent trains. And the

whole network should be more reliable. At Paddington it was not

a champagne launch, just lemonade, a sign of tighter times. This is

the biggest infrastructure project in the region by far for many years

to come. And the biggest revamp of the Great Western since Brunel

built it 175 years ago. Each element of this has already been

announced. There's nothing specifically new today but it does

pooled all the threads together, underlining the transformation it

will bring. The board of the pharmaceutical

company Novartis has confirmed hundreds of job losses at its site

at Horsham in West Sussex. The company has nearly 1,000 staff in

Horsham, where it is the town's largest private sector employer.

More than 300 people working on respiratory research will remain.

But most of the rest will leave, with some transferring to sites in

Frimley, Cambridge and Switzerland. Still to come in this evening's

South Today: Fallen hero - but could Gazza be Bournemouth's lucky

charm? A 21-year-old has been charged with

the murder of a Bournemouth man who was found stabbed in the street.

Glyn Helliwell was discovered seriously injured in Southbourne

last week and died in hospital. Jake Brand, who is from Bournemouth,

will appear before magistrates tomorrow. Police are continuing

their appeal for witnesses. Detectives investigating the

disappearance of a man from Berkshire who's believed to have

been murdered with a friend on a visit to Cornwall say they've made

a significant find. They've been excavating land around a farm house

near St Austell in their search for David Griffiths, who lives in

Bracknell, and a man from Merseyside. Another man has been

arrested and is still being questioned by the police. Eleanor

Parkinson reports. This is the scene at a five acre

farm house hidden in the valley in the china clay mining area of St

Ulster. Police have been working with specially-trained victim

recovery dogs and equipment such as diggers. The house is next to a

campsite, its owner says he is shot. I was very surprised when all the

police turned up yesterday morning. I had never seen so many police in

my life. These are the men the police have been looking for. David

Griffiths and Brett for Nouri, a former boxer. They have not been

seen for a month. Today the police held a media briefing and said they

had made a significant find. You say you have been excavating on

this farm and have made a significant find. What might that

be? At the moment it is too early to say. There are specialist search

teams still out at the farm and officers will be engaged late into

tonight and probably tomorrow in excavating certain areas.

police at the County's headquarters in Bockman say this is a fast-

moving inquiry. They say they have around 50 people working on the

case, 40 detectives and many specialist search officers. There

are also trying to trace the vehicle driven by the two men, off-

white fan. The surge of the farm and the surrounding land continues.

-- the search. A Hampshire woman has suffered two

broken legs, after the medication she was taking to strengthen her

bones had disastrous side effects. Dr Pearl Hetti-Erarchy has

osteoporosis. She broke her right leg just days after a health agency

warning about the drug she'd been taking for nine years. She now

wants patients to be better advised about the risks involved. Here's

our Health Correspondent, David Fenton.

Dr Pearl Hettiararchy was just recovering from one broken leg when

she broke the other, doing nothing more than lifting an umbrella in

her daughter's kitchen. As I keeled over, I realised I had broken

someting and realised it was my right leg. When I went to the X-Ray,

they were so surprised. Both fractures were identical, all was

mirror images of each other. She'd been taking a drug called

alendronate. Many people use it for osteoporosis, but in some cases it

can break bones, rather than heal them. They snap clean across,

usually at the thighbone as this X- ray shows. These fractures almost

always require pinning and has been shown to cause delayed healing

which requires further surgical procedures. About three million

people in the UK have osteoporosis, mostly women. Many of them will be

on this medication. About one in 1,000 will suffer unexpected broken

bones as a result. But the medication will prevent about 100

fractures in other patients. The balance of evidence does seem

to be get taking these drugs for 10 years or more does increase the

risk of this kind of Fracture, which is actually very rare. So my

advice would be if you have been on this kind of drug for 10 years, you

should ask your doctor to review the situation to see whether it you

should continue or not. Pearl is now recovering, and exercises every

day. I can honestly tell you I has been to hell and back. It has been

devastating. But she believes many patients have no idea of the risks

their medication involves and the potential harm it can do.

The Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry said the

benefits of any medicine should outweigh the risks. It added: "In

the unfortunate event that a patient suffers a serious side

effect, it is crucial that the physician reassesses the

situation." Royal Navy sailors being switched from ships to

Afghanistan are learning about the realities of life on the front line

at a new training base in Hampshire. The Navy has built a replica of an

Afghan style fort to teach sailors the skills they'll need. At the

moment Royal Marines and sailors make up 40 per cent of the 9,000

strong British force in Afghanistan. Steve Humphrey reports.

She's a trombonist in the Royal Marines Band. But before Rachel

Botham goes to Afghanistan to entertain the troops, she needs to

learn how to live and fight on the front line.

It has been very thorough, we have learnt pretty much everything we

need to know should be come under the worst possible scenario. You're

under a lot of pressure? Yes. Shoulder to shoulder with Rachel on

this training course are Naval aircrew, radio operators and medics.

It is ideal because it gives you the chance to understand what sort

of environment you will living. It is a big change from a ship but a

bit of variety is mice in the job. Everything is designed to be as

realistic as possible. And they also have to learn to treat some

very seriously injured men. package they go through is an zero

to hero type of mentality transformation that they go through.

We expect a lot and where not disappointed. At the moment there

are just over 2,000 Royal Marines and sailors in Afghanistan. To make

the training as realistic as possible, this Afghan-style forward

operating base has built at Longmoor Camp near Liss in

Hampshire. They're coming up against stiff opposition and we are

looking to see that they're carrying out the correct procedure

when they come into contact with the enemy. In a few weeks, they'll

be facing real dangers in Afghanistan.

This summer, BBC Radio Solent is celebrating the wonder of water

across the South. You'll be hearing from people who live, work and

relax on the water as part of the station's "Summer Splash". This

week we meet Steve Barnes. He's a fisherman and he works for land

owners whose lakes are too full of fish. Currently he's working at the

Blashford lakes near Ringwood. We has been asked by Bourne was

water to come. The fishing equipment that we use is designed

purposely to stun fish. Equivalent of that is if you have ever touched

a cattle fence, you get a small shock. That is what happens with

the fish. We have five seconds then to actually net than before the

nervous system is back in action. We do not kill fish at all, our

Business is to transfer at the live fish to make sure they are we house

safely and humanely. Fish today are actually going up to Catterick. In

the last six weeks we have moved over four tons of carp. Our best

guess so far is there are at least another �8 to move. -- 8 tonnes. It

is not as easy as it looks! It is hard work, it is very tiring work.

A typical day would be 14 hours. But there is great satisfaction and

plenty of opportunity for us. And you can discover more stories

of life on the water by tuning into the Breakfast show at 7.25 tomorrow

morning on BBC Radio Solent. We're going to be talking to Paul

Gascoigne in among it. One of the great players but as often with

someone who has that touch of genius, there is a floor as well as

he himself would quite happily admit. He's building a new life for

himself very quietly and very successfully and helping AFC

Bournemouth. London 2012 might be just round the

corner, but another kind of Olympics took place today - the

Portsmouth Schools Beach Olympics. The sports day involved 10

different schools and was staged on Southsea Common. But big events

like this may become more rare, as schools see over half of their

sports budget cut by the government in the Autumn. Dani Sinha reports.

A sports day with a difference. 300 pupils got a chance to sample

different activities on Southsea Common today, with each school

representing a different country. But the Portsmouth School Beach

Olympics isn't just about sport. Key community groups such as the

fire service, lifeguards and a healthy eating agency were there to

give schoolchildren an all round education, passing on safety tips

wherever possible. It has been fabulous. We tried fire-fighting

and put on all of the equipment. has been merely fun. Really

interesting. These bags are not the only thing to get a bashing. In the

Autumn, the School Sports Partnership funding also will be

hit by more than half. And it will be up to the individual school to

spend that money on sport or not. An event like this takes a lot of

organisation and the new funding will not allow the time for someone

to organise an event like this. So we will either have to charge

schools which will prove a barrier. The government has promised �65

million for the next academic year to promote competitve sport. But

they now want programmes to be led by schools and parents, not by top-

down policies from Whitehall. Just as volleyball is all about the

touch, this event is hoping to leave a mark on the children who

attend. In cricket, Surrey's Twenty20 South

Group match against Kent is due to be getting underway around now at

The Oval. While Sussex wrapped up a five wicket win over Hampshire on

the final day of the County Championship match at Hove. England

wicketkeeper, Matt Prior, made an unbeaten 97 to lift Sussex to 4th

in the Division One table. Hampshire's abysmal Championship

form sees them marooned at the bottom - still without a win.

They've had five defeats and three draws from their eight matches so

far. A sponsorship deal worth a quarter

of a million pounds will cover all the costs of AFC Bournemouth's pre-

season international tournament this weekend. The club is hosting

Locomotive Moscow, FC Saarbrucken and the Glenn Hoddle Academy at

Dean Court. And the guest of honour will be one of English football's

fallen stars, whose rehabilitation has brought him to Dorset - as

Laurence Herdman reports. Paul Gascoigne's talents thrilled

crowds around the world. But his well-publicised problems with

alcohol have brought him to Bournemouth - and the chance to

rebuild his life. I have been here seven months. It is really nice,

people Bath made me very welcome. Gazza's was a familiar face Dean

Court last season. And he's become a keen Cherries fan. Every time I

went they scored three goals. I might be a lucky mascot! The former

England star has also helped coach local youngsters. I said other Any

Questions and one kid asked what it was like when I won the World Cup.

He said, when you played in 1966! The fans will flock back to Dean

Court this weekend. But today's stars will be joined by a brighter

one who's got his sparkle back. He looked well. And clearly

enjoying life down the south coast. He cycles about 20 miles a day. He

looked really well. He has lived his life in the headlines. On the

evidence of that he is just an nice evidence of that he is just an nice

man. We had a little bit of summit today.

And some lovely pictures as well. Take a look at what Paul Hancock

found. Hiding in a field of flax at West Stoke near Chichester. What is

The Roe Buck in Dennis Whitfields Orchard is trying camouflage, and a

perfect place to hide in. A new crop circle near Stonehenge. Taken

by John Biscomb. A lovely day here and a fight end

to the day. War in the wake of sunshine for many of us this

evening. Clear spells from much of the night and temperatures in the

countryside especially taking a dip into single figures. On Friday

morning the sunshine is they're pretty early on. Norma in eastern

parts compared to today although cooler to the West because of this

weakening front. Temperatures of around 22 degrees. Behind that

front is a deepening low driving in France through Friday, Saturday and

Sunday. This is what it looks like on the map. Arriving in Dorset in

the evening. But further east becoming patchy. Then there is

another band of rain overnight, leading to some significant

rainfall. By Saturday the rain is already in place. A potential 15 mm

of rain falls locally. On Sunday, again quite a few showers. And

Saturday night into Sunday, very windy conditions. And much cooler

as well because of all that cloud and windy conditions. Enjoy Friday