:00:03. > :00:06.South Today. In tonight's programme: You're putting lives at
:00:06. > :00:16.risk: The campaign to cut out reckless calls to the ambulance
:00:16. > :00:20.
:00:20. > :00:23.service. They aren't then available for life threatening calls. Sent to
:00:23. > :00:28.prison: The racist arsonists who attacked a mosque.
:00:28. > :00:32.The runner going for gold in this year's Paralympics. I'm proud to
:00:32. > :00:37.say that I'm disabled and I'm doing what everybody else is doing in the
:00:37. > :00:47.Olympics. And going live: The camera technology to help canine
:00:47. > :00:54.
:00:54. > :00:57.rescuers reach the victims of You're putting lives at risk. That
:00:58. > :01:01.is the one in tonight from the umber and service after it revealed
:01:01. > :01:07.a shocking catalogue of emergency call-outs which were anything but
:01:07. > :01:12.emergencies. 999 crews have been called to incidents such as a
:01:12. > :01:16.broken fingernail. There was a social -- so-called patient who
:01:16. > :01:25.wanted a light bulb changing and someone who wanted them to help him
:01:25. > :01:27.find anything remote control. Because the ambulance is dispatched
:01:27. > :01:31.as soon as the call was received, by the time they have established
:01:31. > :01:37.it is not an emergency, it is often too late and the paramedics on the
:01:37. > :01:47.scene. The service says that West's vital funds under spreading lies of
:01:47. > :01:51.
:01:51. > :01:56.those in real need in danger. -- is putting lives of those in real need.
:01:56. > :02:00.Every day at the control centre here in Otterbourne they receive
:02:00. > :02:07.999 calls that no right-minded person would regard as an emergency.
:02:07. > :02:13.Every day, up ardour -- paramedics out on the streets realise far too
:02:13. > :02:20.late that the service has been completely abused. You have had a
:02:20. > :02:25.staple going to hand? Individuals completely abuse our service.
:02:25. > :02:30.not injured but I have no credit on my phone. This film shows the day-
:02:30. > :02:34.to-day frustrations shown by paramedics here in the south.
:02:34. > :02:44.Between January and October last year, South Central Ambulance
:02:44. > :02:47.Service attended 1235 hoax calls. 41 % of the patients they attended
:02:47. > :02:52.did not need to be taken to hospital and many did not need an
:02:52. > :02:57.ambulance and the first place. Each of those calls cost �257 on average,
:02:57. > :03:02.and every time a crew was called to a hoax, it means they're not
:03:02. > :03:06.available for a genuine emergency. There are only so many it Ambler's
:03:06. > :03:09.is available at one given time, and if someone needs and emblems very
:03:09. > :03:15.quickly and an ambulance is the potion he does not have an
:03:15. > :03:20.emergency requirement, there was going to be but a late response. --
:03:20. > :03:23.there is going to be a delayed response. There are numerous
:03:24. > :03:28.examples of where they have been called in appropriately. In the
:03:28. > :03:31.worst scenario, someone could die. But is hugely upsetting for our
:03:31. > :03:40.staff because someone who could have been helped by their training
:03:40. > :03:43.is not going to have that opportunity to be saved.
:03:43. > :03:47.ambulance service insists they do not want put off people calling
:03:47. > :03:57.about a real emergency, but they do hope it might make some stop and
:03:57. > :04:00.
:04:00. > :04:06.think before they darn 999. -- dial 999. This place is busy around the
:04:06. > :04:11.clock and it is worth stressing that the ambulance service does not
:04:11. > :04:15.want put off anyone from making calls. It is just those very
:04:15. > :04:18.obvious abuses that they are hoping to stamp out with this new campaign.
:04:19. > :04:26.There is a real fear that paramedics could be wasting their
:04:26. > :04:30.skills when there is a real emergency just down the road.
:04:30. > :04:35.A man has died after the lorry he was driving smashed into a series
:04:35. > :04:41.of parked cars in Brighton. The gas mains and the road were damaged and
:04:41. > :04:45.six homes were evacuated because of the risk of explosion. Sussex
:04:45. > :04:50.Police has started an investigation. Police are trying to establish what
:04:50. > :04:55.caused the collision here. It was at around 1130 this morning that
:04:55. > :05:01.this sorry crashed into a series of parked cars. The driver, a 62-year-
:05:01. > :05:07.old man from Ashford, was taken to the nearest hospital in Brighton,
:05:07. > :05:12.but he died. The gas mains in the street were also damaged and
:05:12. > :05:18.because of the risk given explosion, six homes were evacuated as a
:05:18. > :05:22.precaution. This lorry smashed into the white camper van which smashed
:05:22. > :05:26.into two other cars. Then the ambulance turned up. We were all
:05:26. > :05:31.shocked. We have been stuck out here for the last couple of hours,
:05:31. > :05:35.I can't get in my house. The Fire and Rescue Service says although
:05:35. > :05:39.there was a ghastly, a windy day helped insure their gas did not
:05:39. > :05:48.build up around the incident. Gas engineers have been on site since
:05:48. > :05:52.the crash. The leaking gas has been reduced substantially. It is now
:05:52. > :05:59.just a case of recovering the vocals. Sussex Police asking anyone
:05:59. > :06:02.with information to contact them. The Prime Minister David Cameron
:06:02. > :06:06.has said 2012 will be it a vital but difficult year for the British
:06:06. > :06:13.economy. He was in Berkshire this morning visited one of the county's
:06:13. > :06:20.biggest employers, Waitrose. He presented them with a big society
:06:20. > :06:30.award -- a Big Society award. Our political editor reports. He said
:06:30. > :06:34.
:06:34. > :06:42.he had come to light the fire of Onto para -- of Onto parent Merrill
:06:42. > :06:49.ship. He visited Waitrose to present them with a Big Society
:06:49. > :06:54.wood. The company is taking on new apprenticeships as it opens 25
:06:54. > :06:58.stores. Everybody needs to do more at a time when the countries in
:06:58. > :07:03.great difficulty. It is important that we all lend a hand and we try
:07:03. > :07:06.to get ourselves out of his difficult economic times. I would
:07:06. > :07:13.like the United Society, united communities where Waitrose trades,
:07:13. > :07:16.not fragmented. The supermarket is celebrating be 10 % increase in
:07:16. > :07:19.December sales. 300 lorries a day come through this depot, but they
:07:19. > :07:24.admit not everyone can afford their prices. Labour for the government
:07:24. > :07:29.has to do more to help those on low and middle -- middle income has.
:07:29. > :07:32.They say they should be targeting those on higher rates of pay, there
:07:32. > :07:37.is getting bonuses. Staff here are proud of their volunteering
:07:37. > :07:40.opportunities, but away from the partnership, many will ask, how can
:07:40. > :07:48.we pay for all this? The government is determined to show that some
:07:48. > :07:52.businesses can do well in difficult times. An utterly appalling crime,
:07:52. > :07:55.the words of a judge as he fed -- sentenced three men for an arson
:07:55. > :07:59.attack on a mosque in Sussex. Joshua Morris, James Everley and
:07:59. > :08:05.James Smith set fire to the building in Haywards Heath. They
:08:05. > :08:10.wanted revenge after they were refused alcohol at in nearby garage.
:08:10. > :08:14.Joshua Morris, James Everley and James Smith had committed a drunken
:08:14. > :08:19.crimes before, but the arson was their most serious. They had been
:08:19. > :08:22.refused alcohol at a nearby garage. It was a revenge attack. The
:08:22. > :08:27.cashier on duty that night was from the local Muslim community and he
:08:27. > :08:32.told the group that it was too late for him to sell them any alcohol.
:08:32. > :08:38.They reacted angrily and became abusive and they also stalled two
:08:38. > :08:48.containers of paraffin. They used it to start a fire at the mosque --
:08:48. > :08:49.
:08:49. > :08:58.they also stole. Luckily, the fire alarm for a cup the man upstairs. -
:08:58. > :09:02.- it woke up the man upstairs. worried they were going to attack
:09:02. > :09:07.again, but it is just one of those things that has happened. It will
:09:07. > :09:12.not happen again. It cost over �4,000 to repair the damage. Today,
:09:12. > :09:15.they were each sentenced to three years for the arson. All of our
:09:15. > :09:19.communities have the right to go about their daily lives without the
:09:19. > :09:27.fear of hate crime. We work in partnership with the committee to
:09:27. > :09:30.make sure we have those links that when something does happen, we can
:09:31. > :09:40.investigate it probably. The judge said it was an utterly appalling
:09:40. > :09:47.crime. Strong winds have left hundreds of
:09:47. > :09:51.homes without power and trains cancelled. 125 passengers who
:09:51. > :09:57.boarded the Commodore Clipper have spent a day at sea air after it was
:09:57. > :10:01.unable to dock due to be weather. In working and, masonry fell from
:10:01. > :10:04.the town's council officers forcing a number of nearby roads to close.
:10:04. > :10:08.In Berkshire, engineers have worked throughout the day to try to
:10:08. > :10:13.restore power to hundreds of properties after lines were damaged,
:10:13. > :10:16.and it has been a serious -- similar problem in South Wiltshire.
:10:16. > :10:19.Power should be back on this evening.
:10:19. > :10:22.Still to come in this evening's South Today: The Paralympic hopeful
:10:22. > :10:30.swapping the bright lights of London for the peace of the Dorset
:10:30. > :10:35.countryside. All this week, we have been looking
:10:35. > :10:39.at the lives of people with Asperger's, the kind of autism.
:10:39. > :10:49.They may struggle to find work or make long-term relationships. But
:10:49. > :10:53.
:10:53. > :11:00.in the last of our series, we meet a large -- a woman from Dorset.
:11:00. > :11:09.is carnival day for Victoria and Matt. She is going as the Olympic
:11:09. > :11:14.torch. I have got flame in my hair, S Barclay hands and I am all in
:11:14. > :11:24.white. Victoria has Asperger's, and much has to erects and OCD. They
:11:24. > :11:28.
:11:28. > :11:34.have been together for four years. -- Tourette's. You get the odd few
:11:34. > :11:43.people who look at you strangely, but most don't. Today, they will be
:11:43. > :11:50.looked at by 100,000 people. maddened a lot of people with
:11:50. > :11:55.Asperger's are quite bothered by the chaotic environment. Victoria
:11:55. > :12:03.was diagnosed with as Berger's very young. In school, she didn't make
:12:03. > :12:09.friends -- but Asperger's. I didn't see friends as an important thing
:12:09. > :12:19.to keep. It is an introvert condition, so you end up thinking
:12:19. > :12:21.
:12:21. > :12:31.sorely about yourself. When we link it, it will be like that. Now, she
:12:31. > :12:40.
:12:40. > :12:50.has much, but how do they cope? -- she has at matt. -- Matt. We work
:12:50. > :12:53.
:12:53. > :13:02.together without conditions. Time ways, sometimes I can be late. I
:13:02. > :13:10.thought it was that way. In the afternoons, Victoria Works here.
:13:10. > :13:16.She serves up 200 people a day. I've got to ask them if they want
:13:16. > :13:21.bags and if they need them packed. Victoria has had a lot of support
:13:21. > :13:26.because she was diagnosed early. Not everyone is so lucky. I think
:13:26. > :13:31.that is the problem, that a lot of people have with this condition,
:13:31. > :13:41.because councils are finding money tight. Getting a diagnosis is like
:13:41. > :13:44.
:13:44. > :13:54.getting blood out of the stone. carnival has begun. This year, the
:13:54. > :13:56.
:13:56. > :14:02.writ has changed and Victoria doesn't like it. -- the route. This
:14:02. > :14:12.year, they're just going in one direction. It seems silly. But matt
:14:12. > :14:18.
:14:18. > :14:24.is not bothered. Relief fund. -- it really fun. Undoing all kinds of
:14:24. > :14:29.sports. A victory has worked hard to find her place in society. --
:14:29. > :14:36.Victoria has worked hard. I'm happy that I have been able to have both
:14:36. > :14:46.of my parents living together with me. That definitely makes me feel
:14:46. > :14:50.
:14:51. > :14:53.happy, but they need to keep people And join us tomorrow night, when
:14:54. > :14:55.we'll be discussing some of the issues raised this week in David
:14:55. > :14:58.Fenton's special reports on Asperger's.
:14:58. > :15:02.The cruise ship Oriana is sailing into the Solent right now at the
:15:02. > :15:05.start of a three-month world cruise. And despite the economic climate,
:15:05. > :15:09.there are still plenty of people willing to part with at least
:15:09. > :15:11.�9,000 for the privilege. Unlike almost every other part of the
:15:11. > :15:20.holiday industry, the cruise business is still expecting to grow
:15:20. > :15:25.this year, although more slowly than before.
:15:25. > :15:29.Taking on stores for a three-month cruise. Oriana is one of six ships
:15:29. > :15:32.leaving Southampton to go round the world in the next week. Between
:15:32. > :15:37.them they will carry 10,000 passengers. It is nice to get away
:15:37. > :15:41.from the English weather. There are so many places we want to see, we
:15:41. > :15:49.thought we would do it in one go. Something I have always wanted to
:15:49. > :15:53.do. I name this ship, Oriana. years ago, the Queen and named the
:15:53. > :16:03.first Southampton cruise ship of the modern era. Now, midway through
:16:03. > :16:03.
:16:03. > :16:08.her life, Pollyanna has had a major refit. -- Oriana. It is a long time
:16:08. > :16:15.to take some time off. A study partly funded by the port find that
:16:15. > :16:21.each call by a large cruise ships brings �2,500 of business into
:16:21. > :16:26.Southampton. 3,500 jobs. But cruising is a nationwide business.
:16:26. > :16:30.So, the study found that the Southampton industry generates
:16:30. > :16:37.16,000 British jobs directly, and indirectly, 29,000 people depend on
:16:37. > :16:40.it. The market in the UK for cruises has grown by ten to 12%
:16:40. > :16:46.power and then in the last ten years. We are expecting a little
:16:46. > :16:51.growth in 2012. One British person in ten now cruises. This evening,
:16:51. > :16:59.Oriana is on her way to see. She will be gone for 97 days, with
:16:59. > :17:02.passengers paying at least �9,000 each to go around the world.
:17:02. > :17:05.Rescue dogs have been used for some time in disaster zones to help
:17:05. > :17:09.locate victims. We've often seen specialist units such as that from
:17:09. > :17:12.Hampshire Fire and Rescue flying out to earthquakes to help. Well,
:17:12. > :17:15.there's a new piece of technology that could be used by rescue dogs
:17:15. > :17:18.searching for people. And to show it off, I'm delighted to welcome to
:17:18. > :17:20.the studio Robin Furniss from Hampshire Fire and Rescue, his dog
:17:21. > :17:30.Byron, and Grant Notman from technology company Wood and Douglas
:17:31. > :17:33.
:17:33. > :17:40.based in Tadley in Hampshire. Byron seems to be very happy.
:17:40. > :17:46.Anything could happen in the next ten minutes! Grant, cameras on dogs
:17:46. > :17:50.are nothing new. What is new with this technology? The new part is
:17:50. > :17:54.that this radio signal will go through a number of substances,
:17:55. > :17:59.currently brick, metal, plasterboard, whereas in the past
:17:59. > :18:03.Medea's have failed and you lost the picture. So you can imagine in
:18:03. > :18:08.a search operation, you would like to see what is going on in a
:18:08. > :18:12.collapsed building. So you can get right into the building, send the
:18:12. > :18:20.dog in, and it is the live picture coming up. How is that changing
:18:20. > :18:26.what you do? We put the dogs in where we cannot, so we are sending
:18:26. > :18:29.the dogs in, and we do not know what the dog is looking at, and the
:18:29. > :18:33.beauty of at the camera is that we can see any hazards that are there.
:18:33. > :18:39.We might be able to see the casualty there as well. Shall we
:18:39. > :18:46.see what happens? Fingers crossed! So we have the camera attached at
:18:46. > :18:52.the top, and Byron is going to be sent off now. He is going to find...
:18:52. > :18:57.Have we put anything in the studio? He has gone straight to it. Has he?
:18:57. > :19:03.What has he got? We are seeing the camera in the top left of the
:19:03. > :19:08.screen. There is the man, he has found him. What can you now do,
:19:08. > :19:12.once you have got the dog to the casualty? We can talk to the
:19:12. > :19:17.casualty as well, reassure the casualty, let them know we are
:19:17. > :19:21.coming in to get them. The beauty of the camera is that we have got a
:19:21. > :19:31.picture of the casualty, and we can see if they are trapped, how they
:19:31. > :19:31.
:19:31. > :19:35.are trapped. Can you talk to in the dock? We can, but this is still new.
:19:35. > :19:40.The police have been using this for evidence gathering situations, drug
:19:40. > :19:42.searches, so they can identify people through the video, and also
:19:42. > :19:50.the ambulance people are considering it for roadside
:19:50. > :19:55.emergencies. Bomb-disposal also. is very happy! It is a fantastic
:19:55. > :19:59.piece of kit. Are you going to be using this in the future for real?
:19:59. > :20:06.Obviously there are all sorts of implications, costs, but it would
:20:06. > :20:10.be nice to use it. Thank you, by then, and thank you, gentlemen. Who
:20:10. > :20:14.needs rehearsals? If you're keen on swimming, then
:20:14. > :20:16.I've got a date for your diary. Between April 27th and 29th, the
:20:16. > :20:19.BBC is helping to organise one of the biggest community swimming
:20:19. > :20:22.events ever held in Britain. It's the Swimathon, and this year it's
:20:22. > :20:28.part of the Big Splash campaign, designed to encourage everyone to
:20:28. > :20:33.discover the joys of their local pool.
:20:33. > :20:36.A couple of famous faces at his leisure centre in Portsmouth. The
:20:36. > :20:40.Olympian Katy Sexton and the Paralympian Lauren Steadman, there
:20:40. > :20:46.for the regional launch of the annual Swimathon weekend. The
:20:46. > :20:49.Swimathon has grown since it began 25 years ago. There were 100 pulls
:20:49. > :20:54.back then, last year there were 500, but this year it will be bigger
:20:54. > :20:59.than ever. 650 Paul's are taking part. Anyone
:20:59. > :21:05.can join in, you simply choose a pool choose a time of the weekend,
:21:05. > :21:09.and shoes and distance, anything up to one mile, 64 lengths. It is a
:21:09. > :21:15.great way to get everyone from all walks of life into swimming, and
:21:15. > :21:20.get them active. You can swim as an individual or in a team. The aim is
:21:20. > :21:25.to raise money for Murray Curie Cancer Care and Fox board relief.
:21:25. > :21:31.But it is all so to spread the joy of swimming. -- has brought relief.
:21:31. > :21:35.Swimming is an escape from reality. When I am in the pool it is just me,
:21:35. > :21:41.and if people could get more into swimming this weekend, they would
:21:41. > :21:51.realise just so much of an escape it is, it is a pressure relief.
:21:51. > :21:52.
:21:52. > :22:02.join in, you need to look up the swimathon.org website.
:22:02. > :22:04.
:22:04. > :22:08.27th April and 29th. The sea is blue, and the letter is
:22:08. > :22:10.blue, and so we his Portsmouth. New owners, we have been telling you
:22:10. > :22:14.about this week. Portsmouth manager Michael Appleton
:22:14. > :22:16.is hoping that the club's new owners will have a viable plan for
:22:16. > :22:20.the next few years. The ambitious coach gave up his job
:22:20. > :22:24.at West Brom to move to Portsmouth in November, only for a financial
:22:24. > :22:32.crisis to ensue. New owners are on the way, we're told - and Appleton
:22:32. > :22:37.has his fingers crossed this time. There has been a lot of talk about
:22:37. > :22:43.the five-year plan, and joking apart it would be nice to know if
:22:43. > :22:47.we had some owners, and some owners who were here for the long run.
:22:47. > :22:53.A big fire Cup run for Portsmouth this weekend we will preview that
:22:53. > :22:57.tomorrow night. -- fire Cup run. She's the country girl who thinks
:22:57. > :23:00.of sheep to relax before big races. But in nine months' time, Bethy
:23:00. > :23:03.Woodward could be one of the biggest names in UK athletics. The
:23:03. > :23:07.19 year-old from Dorset is a world champion, and at this year's
:23:07. > :23:10.Paralympics will be a favourite for gold. I went to meet her for our
:23:10. > :23:17.second look at the women from the South who could be the stars of
:23:17. > :23:22.2012. When you go up to London you feel a
:23:22. > :23:26.bit stuffy, but you come down here, and there is actually bear in the
:23:26. > :23:31.world. For Bethy, this form is more or
:23:31. > :23:38.less horror. It is also an escape from the pressures building up to
:23:38. > :23:42.2012. I have always been -- our and 19 and have all -- only been doing
:23:42. > :23:47.this for under a year. So you do not know until you get there.
:23:47. > :23:52.The 19-year-old has cerebral palsy, affecting one half of her body. But
:23:53. > :23:57.it has never held her back. When I was younger my parents did not
:23:57. > :24:02.reiterate to me that I was disabled, and the All was pushed it do things,
:24:02. > :24:07.like I was abseiling off cliffs at the age of two and three and doing
:24:07. > :24:11.crazy stuff with my parents. I think I got the identity of not
:24:11. > :24:16.being disabled. In January last year, the she
:24:16. > :24:20.became world champion. I kept my pace going, and make -- went all
:24:20. > :24:26.the way down the home straight in a good pace. But that was one of the
:24:26. > :24:34.toughest races in my life, and you can see on video, I am saying, get
:24:34. > :24:40.me over the line! There are still needs to be
:24:40. > :24:47.improvement. On the day, it is split seconds. But it is etched in
:24:47. > :24:52.our minds, 8th September 1920 12. 237 days till the Paralympic
:24:52. > :24:56.opening ceremony. By the time the Games end, this is one teenager who
:24:56. > :25:00.could well be a household name. am proud to say I am disabled, and
:25:00. > :25:08.doing what everybody else is doing in the Paralympics, and pushing
:25:08. > :25:18.themselves to the next goal. Tomorrow night, synchronised
:25:18. > :25:22.
:25:22. > :25:25.swimming. I would pay money to see that!
:25:25. > :25:35.It was a very windy start to the day. Sue Morley captured the rough
:25:35. > :25:38.
:25:38. > :25:44.day. Sue Morley captured the rough The National weather Centre at
:25:44. > :25:49.Portland Bill had gusts of up to 70 mph today. Even in land areas,
:25:49. > :25:54.gusts in excess of 45-50 mph. The winds will die down overnight
:25:54. > :25:58.tonight, but that means very chilly temperatures. More widespread frost
:25:58. > :26:03.is possible, and with these showers drifting south and eastwards, there
:26:03. > :26:07.is the risk of ice. Temperatures in towns and cities will get to around
:26:07. > :26:11.three to five Celsius, but down to freezing in the countryside. With
:26:11. > :26:16.the those showers this evening, and following the rainfall of the last
:26:16. > :26:20.24 hours, the Met Office have a yellow warning in force for icy
:26:20. > :26:24.stretches on untreated roads and pavements. Tomorrow morning will
:26:24. > :26:28.start cold and sunny, increasing cloud during the afternoon, but it
:26:28. > :26:33.should stay dry through the day, and with lighter winds we should
:26:33. > :26:37.expect a high of 9-ten Celsius. Tomorrow night, more cloud in the
:26:37. > :26:42.sky, meaning temperatures will be milder than tonight. Showers
:26:42. > :26:48.drifting in from the north and west, but they will be hit and miss.
:26:48. > :26:54.Temperatures down to around 79 Celsius. For Saturday daytime, we
:26:54. > :26:58.may start some areas on a damp note, but it is an improving picture. Any
:26:58. > :27:04.rain will skirt off, so lovely conditions throughout the afternoon,
:27:04. > :27:08.and a similar picture on Sunday. A lovely sunny start to the day, more
:27:08. > :27:12.cloud a rise from the West, and that weather front will a rise
:27:12. > :27:17.Sunday-night into Monday. High pressure builds in on Monday, the
:27:17. > :27:21.weather front sinks south and eastwards, so it will become an
:27:21. > :27:27.improving picture. Here is your summary for the left -- for the