25/01/2012 South Today

I'm Sally Taylor. Welcome to South Today. In tonight's programme:

Pay up Pompey - another winding up threat if the club doesn't pay its

taxes. For the fans it is disappointing because we are loyal.

It's a shame we do not have the money to buy the club.

The cost to the taxpayer - should councillors be entitled to public

sector pensions? Changing landscape - the row over

five acres of proposed polytunnels to grow soft fruit. In our opinion,

it is not a farm, it is an industrial plant. It is three

metres high. And the moment Dark Side Of The

Moon came out into the light 40 years ago in Brighton.

Pompey fans are facing yet more uncertainty over the clubs future

as the tax man seeks to recover more than �1 million. It's now just

a matter of weeks for the club's management to find a solution after

It's been issued with a winding up petition by HM Revenue and Customs

for missing two tax payments totalling �1.6 million. The news

comes after Italian businessman Joseph Cala pulled out of a deal to

buy the club on Friday, and just weeks after Pompey's parent company

CSI went into administration. It's almost two years since Portsmouth

became the first Premier League club to enter administration, and

what now for the clubs future? Roisin Gauson is live there tonight.

Roisin, it feels like we've been here before?

Yes. It is an all-too-familiar situation, both in terms of the

timing and the characters involved. The man at the centre of this lent

the club �2 million in 2009, but as security, he took out a charge on

the stadium. Now the payments are not been met and there has been no

joy it finding a new man -- newts joy -- no joy in finding a new

manager. As the bills pile up, players may have to be sold.

need players to win games, to get a fountain, to make money to pay the

bills. We need a good own or otherwise the club will go bust.

is a pity that the people coming to buyers cannot get it in gear.

administrator said that he hoped to find a new owner within a week, but

as time ticks on, no further announcement had been made. At the

moment, there are still people owed significance sums of money. So if

someone is going to buy the club, they will look at what they are

getting for their money and if someone is asking for too much,

they will not get it. Fans want a greater say in the running of the

club. A website has been set up to look at all options. No-one wants a

football club to disappear or to be liquidated, but just in case we had

put together a plan that involves creating a new football club which

will hopefully be at Fratton Park. If not, we will look at other sites

around the area. After a difficult two months, nothing looks certain

for the club which is to without an owner and facing critical cash flow

problems. The club would not put anyone up

for administration, but said it felt let down. It said there were

given assurances that whilst the search for a new owner was carried

out, the short term financial obligations would be met. Clearly

that has not happened. If you want more in-depth analysis,

you can find more information online.

A woman has been arrested on suspicion of evading over �1

million in tobacco duty after several major seizures at

Southampton Container Port. HM Revenue and Customs uncovered two

cargo loads in Southampton and a further load in Felixstowe

totalling 6.5 tonnes. They were marked as Chinese Herbs. It's

estimated the total haul could have made over 12 million cigarettes.

The pressure group the Taxpayers Alliance has criticised Dorset

County Council for allowing some of its councillors to join its pension

scheme along with staff employed by the county. The group argues that

councillors shouldn't benefit in that way. But the council says the

amount of money involved is minimal and entirely justified.

Where ever you are, the pressures of the economic landscape are never

far away just now and today, Conservative controlled also became

the focus of an attack for allowing some members to join its pension

scheme. We need to ask questions about why so many councillors are

enrolling in the local government pension scheme. In a year it

increased by 1,000. That's 1,000 more people that taxpayers have to

deal with. Those eligible to join, among some of the council leader,

have considerable responsibilities. It is a non-starter really when

they talk about volunteers and elected members been pensioners. It

is a minuscule amount of money being spent on it. On Dorset County

Council 14 councillors are members of the scheme. The council's

contribution to the whole of the staff pension scheme, not including

staff in schools and the fire service is �72.5 million. That

works out at �179 per head of population. Across the county

because a public services is highly controversial. The question over

whether councillors should receive a public pension has added to the

debate. But in the present financial climate even a relatively

modest sums are being called into question.

Earlier, I spoke to pensions expert Dani Cox about why so many

councillors are joining the public sector scheme. I think they are in

rolling into the scheme because it is a good scheme. It is a final

salary scheme, so it is not based on Investment Market or interest

rates and so it is a good scheme for people to be able to join. As

with any employee or anyone who has the chance to join a company

pension scheme, they should do so at the earliest opportunity. With

so many councillors coming forward and wanting to n'roll, it will mean

be part ball diminished rapidly. Absolutely. The cost will go up.

There is a one trillion pound deficit in public sector pensions.

If more people join, the deficit increases. It is important that the

people who have the right to join do so. How expensive it is it for

the government? It is difficult to say. And normal member of a local

government scheme will be plain about 5% of their income and the

authority about 25 % into the scheme. This is a voluntary role,

so with the councillors it is difficult to know at what level

their reference salary will be. It will be 25 % of something. How do

public sector pensions compared with the private sector? It is like

chalk and cheese. The cost of private sector pensions has

increased by 20 % this year alone. They are susceptible to problems

and the stock market and reductions in interest rate. Public sector

schemes, despite the changes they might be over the next few years,

they are still good pension schemes. Thank you.

A court's heard from the first witness today as the prosecution

continues to outline why it thinks Harry Rednapp had an offshore

account. It's claimed the former Portsmouth Chairman Milan Mandaric

paid so called "bungs" into a Monaco account in the name of Mr

Rednapp's dog. Mr Redknapp and his co-defendant Milan Mandaric both

deny charges of cheating the public revenue. Our sports correspondent

James Pearce was at Southwark Crown Court.

The court has been hearing tape conversations between Harry

Redknapp and a former reporter. The reporter had been tipped off and

the conversation contained some colourful language. At one point

the reporter said, I wish I could leave �100,000 a line around. Harry

Redknapp said, or what I can. Later in the conversation he said the

Inland Revenue were aware of the money. If it was something dodgy,

up I would have gone over there, got the money and bought it back in

a briefcase. The presentation -- the prosecution also asked a number

of questions today. One of those were did it not cross Mr Redknapp's

mind to it mention this to his accountant? The case resumes

tomorrow morning at 9 o'clock. Still to come - the Olympic legacy

helping youngsters to get back on target in sport.

Police in Southsea say they are worried for the safety of a one-

year-old boy after he disappeared with his mother. Coreene Hamilton

and her son Phoenix were last seen 24 hours ago. The police say

Coreene's circumstances mean they want to find her urgently and say

any member of the public with information should call the police

immediately. Around 30 firefighters have been

tackling a blaze at an industrial dry cleaning business in

Basingstoke. Emergency services wearing specialist chemical suits

were called to the West Ham industrial estate this morning. An

investigation is underway into how the fire started. There are no

reports of any injuries. A greengrocer in Hove is warning

other small businesses to be cautious of the online discount

site Groupon after using it lost him thousands of pounds. Daniel

Harris wanted to sell discount veg boxes in the Brighton area, but was

swamped with orders and could not keep up with demand.

Daniel Harris is moving to cheaper premises to save his business. He

said his mistake was using Groupon, a discount website. Daniel agreed

to sell his vegetables through the site with a 60 % website. He wanted

new customers, but 800 orders flooded in. He could not cope with

them. We have lost a few 1,000 pounds. I could not cope. Daniel's

is not the only person to regret signing up. This company lost money

because they have too high in extra staff. Where small businesses have

not considered how much of a product they can make or send out,

or where they have not considered a number of people from Groupon are

going to phone them up and that is what has the adverse effect on the

business. Groupon take a cut of the sales. The advertising agency

ombudsman has raised concern. There is a risk that some businesses

offering deals will fail. We are running at risk, but if I look at

the partner based we have, the majority of the partners are happy.

Daniel wants to warn others that Groupon's success can be bad news

for small businesses. Commuters using a bus from

Winchester to Southampton can now access the internet whilst

travelling. Over the next few months Bluestar is offering free

Wi-Fi to passengers on the number one bus at 7.30 in the morning.

After the trial the company will decide whether to offer free Wi-Fi

on other buses. Protestors say proposals to put

polytunnels on five acres of Berkshire farmland at Finchampstead

will wreck the landscape. The company behind the plans EU Plants

Ltd says the tunnels are essential and won't harm the area, which is

of special landscape importance. Long term, the aim is to grow six

million soft fruit plants on the site to meet what the owners say is

a huge demand. And the lorries that get in and out,

it is ridiculous. It was hardly a meeting of minds. The owner turned

up unexpectedly as protesters rallied against having a poly

tunnels on landscaped land. For years, this farm has been used for

grazing and to grow crops, but the new owner has a new approach to

farming. These poly tunnels grow fruit in strict rotational

conditions. People do not have a clue what is about to appear.

onus soap the poly tunnels will cover a small fraction of the farm.

The time was right for us to by Our Own piece of land and we hope we

can make our home here and develop the farm. There has been an

increased demand for fruit, but the local MP doesn't believe the poly

tunnels should be on the property. I am here to support the local

people. The public consultation ends later this week.

Archaeologists have revealed that a mass grave found in Dorset belongs

to a group of Viking mercenaries. The burial site at Ridgeway Hill

was discovered by a workman in 2009 preparing for the Weymouth Relief

Road. Carbon dating revealed that the 54 bodies were from the 11th

century and tests on their teeth showed they had come from

Scandinavia. A fascinating story. Over to sport now. Shall we talk

about social media to stop we? Yes. It has got a few people in two

hot-water though. Southampton winger Jason Puncheon

finds himself back in favour at St Mary's after settling his

differences with chairman Nicola Cortese. Let's have a look at what

Puncheon had to say on Twitter on Saturday night. He vowed to sit out

the remaining 18 months of his contract, while training with the

youth team and then leave on a free transfer. Today though, an about-

turn, expressing his delight that any disagreements had been sorted

and vowing to help Saints reach the Premier League. "Come on you

Saints" he adds. With Nigel Adkins' squad currently

suffering a number of injuries, we could soon be seeing Puncheon

reproduce goals like this - his last for the club nearly two years

ago. Meanwhile Southampton have today

rubber-stamped the signing of Japanese international striker

Tadanari Lee. He's available for Saturday's FA Cup tie at Millwall.

Surrey fast bowler Chris Tremlett has been no stranger to injury

problems, and he's now been forced home from England's test series

against Pakistan in Dubai. Tremlett suffered a recurrence of a back

injury that recently kept him out for five months. His place for the

Second Test went to Sussex's Monty Panesar and the spinner took the

early wicket of Mohammed Hafeez as Pakistan reached 256 for 7 in their

first innings. Panesar was back in the England side, having being left

out of the previous 29 matches. In rugby union, London Irish have

handed new contracts to two of their rising England stars. 19-

year-old winger Marland Yard and flanker David Sisi, who's 18, have

signed deals which will keep them with the Exiles for the next two

years. At the heart of this summer's

Olympics has always been a pledge to leave a lasting sporting legacy.

Critics say it will be a tough challenge to meet, but children in

Portsmouth have today been benefiting from a scheme to inspire

young people. It's called Street Games and Rachael Canter went along

to find out more. Getting youngsters on target through sport.

This project in Portsmouth work with young people from deprived

areas. Young people like this boy. I didn't really have anywhere else

to go or anything to do. I did not want to sit in on get into trouble

and commit crime. Here, they sorted me out. The programme here uses

sport to break down barriers. Today is a disability awareness session.

It has been inspired by a Paralympic hopeful. Anything that

encourages people to take part in sport and have a healthier

lifestyle is a good thing. London won the Olympic bid the goal

was to get one million more people involved in sport, but seven years

later figures show only around 110,000 have taken up a new sport.

That is why the gains's organisers are keen to give a seal of approval

to projects like this. People have come to was saying, I am interested

in getting involved. Hopefully there were well-spread and it would

get better. The dream may be to reach the Olympics, but for these

children taking part is just as important.

A table tennis player from the South has become one of the first

athletes to be selected for this summer's Paralympic Games in London.

Seen in the blue shirt, Will Bayley competed at the Beijing Paralympics

in 2008 and is currently the world number one in his class. He's one

of ten players named by Team GB today. The 24-year-old from Poole

has a rare congenital disorder called Arthrograposis, which

affects all four of his limbs. Thousands of extra spectators will

be able to watch the Olympic cycling race in an area of

sensitive countryside in Surrey. Box Hill has been touted as the

"best vantage point" for the road race, and organisers now anticipate

a capacity of 15,000. Concerns had previously been raised about the

impact of crowds on the hill. That should be a pretty spectacular

sight. I went up there the other day, but

not on a bike. I drove. It is a beautiful place.

It went on to become one of the most successful albums ever made,

but it was only played to a small number of fans at the Brighton Dome.

40 years ago, Pink Floyd launched their songs that went on to be

released as The Dark Side Of The Moon. Since then it's sold 50

million copies, making it the 6th best-selling album of all time in

the UK. And it was huge in the States, too, remaining in the US

Billboard album chart for an astonishing 741 weeks.

Even the band members knew the Dark Side Of The Moon was something

special. The I knew something Now Pink Floyd have returned to

Brighton where they it debuted the Alban material. -- album material.

The photographer who took the original stills has put on an

exhibition. Deep cover of Dark Side Of The Moon has recently been voted

the best album cover. It was here over 40 years ago it was heard live

for the first time. But all did not run smoothly. The band's

revolutionary equipment caused a blackout halfway through the peak.

It was untested get and it was overload I think. It only went

wrong after half-an-hour and it actually went wrong on the bass

riff of Money, the most important piece. Images from the band on that

night and throughout their career had been on all their album covers.

-- have been. It means nothing to you, does it.

It is a desert of culture tonight. The exhibition will be on and will

20th March at the Brighton Dome. -- A great day to day. I think it was

captured perfectly in that picture. Gloomy conditions throughout and

there will be its some more to come this evening. Abound of rain

arriving from the West which will bring heavy pulses of through the

overnight period. Tonight, we stop with grey skies and patchy drizzle

before the wind macro picks up and the front arrives. We are expecting

to see 20 mm of rain. Behind it, cooler conditions to come. Tomorrow,

it will start with fresh conditions. Along the coast there could be some

hail of thunder. Tomorrow night, we stick with those showers. They will

come and go through the course of the night. The cloud will come and

go as well. Temperatures closer to freezing with towns and cities down

to two degrees. A frosty start on Friday, but high-pressure it moving

in. Chris and bright to start with sunny skies during the day. The

weekend, some uncertainty at the moment. It will feel colder on both

days. Saturday it will be worked in the West, dry in the east. On

Sunday we should see some brain has at times. Here is a summary for the