02/02/2012 South Today

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

Warning of freezing conditions as temperatures plummet. But keeping

warm is costing a fortune for some tenants who had broken heating for

two years. We will take a drive in a Transit van but this one is

fuelled by hydrogen. And it's a face-off. The police and fire

service throw down the gauntlet all for a good cause. Be prepared for

freezing conditions, that's the message to people across the South

tonight as temperatures plunge. This week it's fallen as low as

minus 6.1. That figure was recorded in South Farborough. And at Hurn in

Dorset it got as low as minus 5.7 C. And it will get worse, the Met

Office has issued its first level three cold weather alert of the

winter. That's the second most serious warning it can put out.

Allen Sinclair is at a gritting depot in Berkshire tonight. Sally,

nobody wants to get caught out the way we all were a couple of years

ago so all our councils are stocking up on rock salt. This

mountain is destined for the roads around Wokingham and gritting

lorries across the south are on standby. We do not yet know whether

they are going out from here because the roads are quite dry.

Our airports have all got their snow plans in place. In Wiltshire

they're running a gritter Twitter. With up-to-the minute advice for

drivers to their mobile phones. Hampshire's increased its salt

stock to 18,000 tonnes. And Surrey is trying something new this year

as well as extra gritting lorries, they're experimenting with using

gritting quad bike. Looks pretty cool and it should be able to

tackle smaller and steeper roads than the heavy trucks. They're

hoping to be able to keep more of the country moving if the worst

happens. And here in Wokingham they're confident they've done all

they can to prepare. Restarted planning at the end of the summer

for this winter's maintenance programme. We have got our

maintenance lorries all ready. G Ps systems up and running. We have an

extra 100 tons of salt coming at the end of this week. It is not

just the roads that are freezing, there is a real worry about ponds

and small lakes freezing over. A warning has gone out to children

and pet owners not to go out on frozen water. A few are walking

your pet near iced over what to do not let your dog off the lead. If

it is off the lead and it goes on to the pond and follows in the

water, do not try to help. If a dog can fall through the ice the dog

walker is likely to fall through the eyes as well. If the worst

happens we should not be venturing out on the roads but some people

have to. We have someone from the be with us, what are the sorts of

things you see? It is more difficult for the battery to put

power out so switched everything off before you try and start the

engine. Light, wipers, heater, everything off before you try to

start the engine and press the clutch as well. The other thing is

make sure you have cleared the windows because we are seeing too

many people putting the wipers on but they are frozen to the

windscreen so it blows the fuse and burns out the mortar. Good advice

there. Everyone is as ready as they can be so we now need to know what

is happening with the weather. There is a likelihood we could have

some snow on Saturday afternoon, Sunday night and Monday morning but

stay tuned for the forecast. Thank you very much for that. It may - So

it may be one of the coldest days of the year, but for people in one

street in Crawley it's cold all winter. Residents of housing

association homes in Castlerigg Close haven't had a properly

working heating system for two years. Some tenants say they've

faced heating bills of over �200 per month. Sean Killick reports.

This afternoon we were shown around this family home. We have this big

fleecy blanket we have had to put on. You can feel for yourself, the

bedding is called. The heating is supposed to be energy efficient but

she says it is totally inefficient. You can have the heating on for 18

hours but still nothing, it is icy cold in the rooms. You do not want

to get changed for bed because you are shivering. I have got pains at

from osteoporosis and it is not helping. The system takes the air

from the outside, he set and pump it into the house, it is like a

fridge in reverse. This system is a new one that is sustainable but it

is causing problems for the tenants. They say they are having to run

their heating continuously costing a fortune in electricity. The bells

and about �100 for the proper -- smaller properties up to �300. This

is supposed to be low-cost affordable housing but we are not

able to heat our houses properly. An independent assessment showed no

fault but they are trying to solve the problem and in the meantime

have supplied heaters to try to help everyone stay warm in the

current cold spell. Chris you will hear tomorrow if he is to be

prosecuted over allegations that he passed off points from his driving

licence on to his ex-wife. She made the claims. He could be forced to

resign from the Government. He has always denied all along that he has

done nothing wrong but things seem to be coming to ahead. Yes. The

Crown Prosecution Service will announce tomorrow what the results

of this long-standing investigation into, what seems like a minor

offence, three speeding points, but if the suggestion of Chris Huhne's

ex-wife is supported then it would be something much more serious,

perverting the course of justice. For a cabinet minister that is

something that would not be tolerated. This would be the

remarkable end to a remarkable story with the betrayed ex-wife and

the lover, all the things we have seen in the newspapers. A very

interesting time for politics. In the NHS today Labour's health team

were in Reading shadowing the work of a local GP campaigning against

far reaching changes that the Government is planning to make.

I have your date of birth please? They are busy at this surgery in

Reading just dealing with patients but they were keen to give

politicians alec and their day-to- day work. Labour's Shadow Health

Deanne were visiting. -- team. main message I wanted to get across

is that the administration is taking doctors and nurses away from

the front line, we are having to get involved in management issues

that we felt were not part of our role. The changes were supposed to

give professionals more control but Labour says it is too disruptive.

It is scandalous to be spending millions of pounds on this

reorganisation when millions of pounds are needed for patient care.

The Government says introducing more competition with safeguards

would introduce savings that could be reinvested. We have big

challenges with an ageing population and the drugs bill

growing year on year. We are trying to make sustainable changes while

the Labour Party want to reduce spending on the NHS. There are big

political issues at the moment which could be very far reaching,

all about trying to make it less bureaucratic and more efficient but

would it still be a national health service? Potentially more

controversy from another MP? David Willetts, there is the university's

Minister but also an MP in Hampshire, has been connected with

what appears to be very doubtful tax arrangements for the head of

the students Loan Company. Some are suggesting tax avoidance. He was

the minister who signed off this deal for Ed Leicester. A lot of

politicians today are refusing to see who was behind this. David

Willetts on Newsnight tonight will be identified as the person who

arranged that contract. It is now very controversial. An interesting

24 hours. Still to come: How this artist has turned her dream into a

way of life. And I will have a full five-day forecast later in the

programme. Plans for one Fire and Rescue Service for Sussex have been

put on hold. They have decided against plans to merge to save

money seeing there is too much uncertainty over how much

Government funding a new combined service would get. Now both

services need to get savings elsewhere. First of all we are not

expecting any reductions in the front line. I think that is

important for people to know. We do not think any job losses which will

be made would be through compulsory redundancy, we think it will be

natural wastage. That is what we are aiming for. An inquiry is under

way after a 20-year-old in mate died at a young offenders'

institute. He was found hanging at his cell here early on Saturday

morning. The Prison Service said staff at Portland had possessed him

as not being at risk of suicide or self-harm. -- had assessed him. A

man shot dead by an armed police officer had allegedly told a friend

the police were going to find and kill him. His friend told the

inquest jury that Fitzpatrick, who was 49, had also told him he would

rather die than go back to prison. The deal with devices that can make

a difference between life and death. A Dorsets company has revealed its

new base in the county and some of what it does. It is work that will

ultimately protect our armed services in dangerous places. Last

year in Afghanistan roadside bombs killed 252 coalition troops. A

device has been developed to jam the signals which trigger them.

That device, of which we are not allowed to see more, must itself be

tested to destruction. In this test the vibrations shake each

individual component inside. The technicians need to know how long

they will last and crucially when they stop working. Today, the

Defence Minister open the company's new premises. The Government has

announced a big investment. It says companies like this should benefit.

�150 billion is pledged in the next 10 years for this kind of support.

It is a real opportunity for British businesses like this to do

very well. We are very much dependent on research and

development. We are part of that chain. We will continue to match

the pace and expand to address that market. The test Chambers

ultimately destroyed what they are testing but they ensure that what

is inside does what it is supposed Four people arrested then bailed on

suspicion of murdering teenager Daniel Neville's will not face any

further action. He went missing in November 1996. Last year police

charged -- urged a property on Marsh Road but found nothing. Three

people remain on bail in connection with the investigation.

The former Portsmouth manager Harry Redknapp has strongly denied he

told a pack of lies to the court trying him for tax evasion. In an

emotional exchange, Mr Redknapp told prosecuted John Black QC that

everything was the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.

The football manager and co- defendant Milan Mandaric deny two

cans of cheating the public revenue. -- counts.

He could say white van man goes green. Southampton City Council

have started a trial of two hydrogen powered Transit vans,

potentially the greenest fuel for transport. But this is leading-edge

technology, years from being commercially available, so why is

the council doing it? Paul Clifton went on a trial run.

From the outside, the Transit van's fuel source is made obvious. This

is what sets it apart. It needs a special place to refuel. Alongside

is a hydrogen storm, enough to run three vans, and this machine makes

it. All it needs is electricity and a water supply. The water is

separated by their electrolysis into hydrogen and oxygen.

usually transport fuel vast distances by tanker or pipeline.

With this, you will eliminate the need for the fuel supply chain,

because you make your own fuel. is claimed the running costs are

about the same as a conventional vehicle, but that excludes the cost

of setting up the equipment to make hydrogen. As a mass-market system,

this is not yet commercially viable. The council is looking at this

concept today and across the board to see a wide range of options for

looking at electric vehicles, hydrogen vehicles for our own

purposes, but also to build a new emerging economy in the green

sector. This is potentially the greenest form of motoring. The only

waste product is water. Many people see hydrogen as a very long term

solution, but for now electric power or a combination of a battery

and a conventional engine is seen as the most practical Greenhaugh

Way Forward. To drive, it is like any other Transit van, but

underneath there are three hydrogen tanks giving a range of about 100

miles. But because this is also a normal petrol engine, there is a

full tank of petrol as well. This is 82 week trial of leading-edge

technology. It will be years before you can buy anything like this. --

A two-week trial. Is that the future? Roisin is here

with the sport, stepping into the brain. I know there are a lot of

bugs around. You have stepped in to the brink even though you have got

a cold yourself all. Reading's new manager, owner, is

set to visit the club within the next 24 hours. The 28-year-old

Russian has agreed a �25 million deal to take over 51% of the club

in March. He has already funded several new signings, including

defender Matthew Connolly on loan from QPR. As the club prepares for

an away match at Doncaster this weekend, the manager admits the

cash injection has made a huge difference. You can see, with Anton,

what has happened with the January window. Nobody has gone out of the

door, and we have signed four players. So that is a real plus for

the club. What I have saved many times in the last month also, you

know, I do not want to be looking over my shoulder for predators

tried to sign my best players. A promise has been made to me about

never having to lose players and only do deals that are on our terms.

For me, that is a great position to be in.

The Great Britain women's hockey team take on Korea in the quarter-

finals of the Champions Trophy tonight. The team was captained by

Kate Walsh, who plays for Reading. Great Britain are unbeaten in the

tournament so far, qualifying for the quarter-finals with his 3-1

winner over China. The squad also includes Alex Danson, Beth Storry

and Emily Maguire. If you want to catch that, it is on

the red London Eye from 8:30pm. Finally, Bournemouth has been doing

all it can to make sure that its match against Exeter City takes

place. Several fans turned up to help spread Straw over the pitch.

It is hoped the insulation will keep the match on schedule.

They are taking it off, are they? It will be a bit of a mess! Think

composting! You will like this, a fight with a good cause. Two

emergency services that work close together on a daily basis, but

behind the scenes there has always been a bit of rivalry between the

police and the fire service. Now the two forces have a chance to

answer the question, who is the toughest? They are going head to

head in the boxing ring. Ben Moore was the ref.

It is being dubbed the Blue Light fight. In the red corner, the fire

service. In the blue corner, the police. But will the long arm of

the law have the advantage, or will the firefighters extinguished all

comers? I think police, you know, or fire do is leave all night long,

while we are out working hard. We have got the natural fitness.

are you going to respond? It is going to be quite evenly matched,

but historically the fire service As well as raising money for Help

for Heroes, the 32 pugilists are in the corner of colleagues Stephen

Bowman and his family. Their son Joseph was diagnosed with leukaemia

last year. He has responded really, really well, and hopefully, if all

goes well, his treatment will be finishing in the middle of next

year. The support is amazing, and it is overwhelming. I think the

banter is what makes the build-up to the fight like this. There are

only a few tickets left for the fight night at the O'Shea and a

nightclub in March. Each pair will fight for three rounds of one

minute each, which might not be enough! All your heart, all

yoghurts, give it for the charity! Who would your money be on? I am

torn. It is all a good cause, I am told. Time now for Living The Dream,

and this week we are meeting someone who was taking a creative

talent and turned it into a way of life. Not only that, but she also

works from home, which many of us would say is a dream in itself.

Levantine makes wonderful carvings on wood and stone. That plan in

time. -- Clement time. I went to meet her and she was starting a new

project and reflecting on one of the greatest, you could even say

Royal, achievement. -- achievements. It is great to be able to come out

of my house and cross over the park to work. I love that is his Mike

Read. I spend all day every day in here, usually seven days per week.

-- I love that is my work. If I'm not living the dream, I think I am

pursuing it. It starts as a block, and then you just have stripes and

gouges through it, and you start modelling the shapes out of it.

Look that is behind you here, how many tools have you got that you

use? I have used to be a couple of hundred, but I am still collecting,

and ultimately I like to have at least 1,000. Do you know what it

reminds me of? It is like the dentists! Funnily enough, sometimes

I have actually used dentists tools, because they are so fine. She does

not only carve wood. This may appear to be a cold, grey block of

Portland stone, but it is something What are you working on here, then?

This is a figure of a medieval saint that I have modelled in clay.

But now I am just working out how to transfer it into this beautiful

place of limestone. -- piece. For me, it seems quite malleable in a

way. I tend to be thinking of it more as something that I am going

to be able to push around, almost as you would with clave. -- clave.

Is there a moment of excitement when you start a new project?

Especially in the first week, when you are making big shapes and it is

really exciting. I know exactly where I am going with something

from the moment I start. Each state has its pleasures and frustrations,

really, but the first stages are particularly fun. What was the last

significant piece that you did? last important piece that I did was

a new grotesque for St George's It is really, really exciting to

save. It does make it all seem real, in a way that it does not when you

are carving it in your workshop at home. You do not imagine it is

every going to go somewhere so special! You really do feel as

though you are part of a journey, the abolition of something much

bigger than yourself, and that is Up and coming, and I'm sure we'll

see a lot more of her and her work. Such a talent! Imagine if you hit

it to heart, apparently it does happen. Did we wake you up in the

middle of that these? Let's get on to the weather, because that is

what you want to know about. We can Now, we know from the National

weather forecasts just how cold it has been internationally, right

across Europe, minus 30. It was minus 31 in Austria a couple of

weeks ago, but it felt just as cold in some areas. Alexis is out and

about in Berkshire, what is the temperature where you are?

Bach, Sally, I just checked my thermometer, it is minus three

already, and temperatures are set to plunge overnight tonight. Let's

take a look at the satellite picture from earlier, barely a

cloud in the sky but a weather front out in the Atlantic is

gradually pushing its way in and will arrive over the weekend. More

about that in a second. Temperatures will take a plunge

tonight into minus figures, expect minus two, minus four sells his

inner towns and cities. In the countryside, lower than that. --

minus four Celsius in towns and cities. It could get down to minus

eight in some places. The temperatures will struggle to rise

as the day wears on. Minus three to start with, pushing up to two

Celsius in the sunshine. Plenty of sunshine on offer, very like today.

We do it all again tomorrow night, temperatures sliding back down into

minus figures. A widespread frost is expected both tonight and

tomorrow night. Tomorrow afternoon, lots of sunshine, but then again,

with clear skies, minus figures. We are looking ahead, though, to

Saturday, and that could cause a few problems with a weather front

pushing him from the Atlantic, meeting cold air across the country,

causing some snow on the leading edge as those two air masses

collide. Temperatures over the next few days will struggle to rise.

Tomorrow, lots of sunshine. More cloud on Saturday with that weather

front, and we will keep a close eye on that. As we head towards the

rest of the weekend, Sunday has a potential for snow in the morning,

so Saturday Night And Sunday morning, stay tuned to the forecast,

that is the message. It really does look cold, do take

care. BBC local radio would give you the update on what is happening

with the weather. An exciting week next week, let's have a quick look

ahead. We are marking the 200th anniversary of the birth of Charles

Dickens. One of our most famous writers was born in Portsmouth, his

father worked in a naval pay offers. We will find out how people

celebrating the bicentenary, and we will see how his passion for social