:00:00. > :00:00.rain from the east. That's all from the BBC News At Six.
:00:00. > :00:08.On Hello, I'm Sally Taylor. Welcome to
:00:09. > :00:11.South Today. In tonight's programme: Accused of complacency, the power
:00:12. > :00:21.bosses who left thousands facing a miserable Christmas without
:00:22. > :00:25.electricity. They want to be in the same situation as we were in, then
:00:26. > :00:32.they know how hard it was to cope, no hot water, no food, nothing.
:00:33. > :00:34.We DON'T like to be beside the seaside! Why some of Boscombe's
:00:35. > :00:38.designer beach huts are standing empty and unsold.
:00:39. > :00:47.High hopes for the Winter Olympics. We hear from one of the South's top
:00:48. > :00:52.prospects for a medal in Sochi. This is what I have worked my whole life
:00:53. > :00:56.for. I just feel very proud. And an educated ale. How students in
:00:57. > :01:03.Reading are doing it for themselves behind the bar. We had people
:01:04. > :01:15.queueing up and waiting for the beer and weep sold 72 pints in about an
:01:16. > :01:18.hour and a half. Christmas power cuts caused misery
:01:19. > :01:22.for thousands as storms brought down power lines across the South. Today
:01:23. > :01:25.bosses of UK energy distribution firms were accused by MPs of
:01:26. > :01:31."complacency" and having "no sense of urgency" when carrying out
:01:32. > :01:37.repairs. At its worst, some 100,000 homes across the region were without
:01:38. > :01:40.electricity. Our political editor, Peter Henley, has been following
:01:41. > :01:44.developments and joins me now from Westminster.
:01:45. > :01:48.When the Prime Minister visited the South of England early in the New
:01:49. > :01:51.Year, he said it was "simply unacceptable" for people to have
:01:52. > :01:54.lost power for so long after the Christmas storms, and that was the
:01:55. > :01:59.starting point for today's cross`examination. Roll in general
:02:00. > :02:02.political frustration at the high cost of fuel and at times, the
:02:03. > :02:06.Energy Select Committee did feel like a court with the power company
:02:07. > :02:26.executives as the accused in the dock. The discussion of this content
:02:27. > :02:29.has been utter complacency. We lacked any expression of real
:02:30. > :02:33.concern for your customers. Absolutely typical.
:02:34. > :02:36.That did prompt an apology but the electricity people were adamant that
:02:37. > :02:41.there were no weak spots in their network. It was simply that
:02:42. > :02:44.sustained stormy weather made it difficult to get to the places
:02:45. > :02:47.repairs were needed, and Mark Mathieson from Scottish and Southern
:02:48. > :02:58.told MPs the damage was so widespread they couldn't draft in
:02:59. > :03:03.extra help from unaffected areas. It seems a long time that customers
:03:04. > :03:12.were off. When you go back 20 years, that would have been two weeks. The
:03:13. > :03:15.only way we will improve its builders working relations at this
:03:16. > :03:18.happens again. One of the lessons, they conceded
:03:19. > :03:21.that people need more accurate information. As Jo Kent reports,
:03:22. > :03:32.many of those affected feel that's more of a priority than
:03:33. > :03:35.compensation. Joan had a cold and miserable bishop. A neighbour looked
:03:36. > :03:50.after her. They were without power for five days. Flooding, makes a
:03:51. > :03:55.hard for us to get through. These gentlemen were sat in a nice warm
:03:56. > :04:00.house having Christmas dinner. They want to be the same situation as we
:04:01. > :04:04.were in, then they know how hard it was to cope. They received text
:04:05. > :04:10.messages with updates during the time they were without power. Them
:04:11. > :04:15.telling us they were working at the substation, we can view it from our
:04:16. > :04:23.house and there was nobody there at all until day for. It's just lies.
:04:24. > :04:30.Joan was the only vulnerable customer left in the dark. The
:04:31. > :04:37.nursing home was also cut off and a generator arrived but no engineer
:04:38. > :04:42.was sent to connect it. In Burridge, they had to throw away two fridges
:04:43. > :04:52.and freezers worth of food and ended up spending Christmas Day apart. We
:04:53. > :05:01.are sorry. The clips we heard today, what do you say? From watching those
:05:02. > :05:04.clips, they said what they needed to say. Until we are in that position
:05:05. > :05:09.again, you don't know how they will be. I hope they have learned their
:05:10. > :05:12.lessons. Not sure. Lots of people affected, Peter, but
:05:13. > :05:15.what reassurances were there that it won't happen again Here at
:05:16. > :05:18.Westminster, the energy companies tried to say the Christmas weather
:05:19. > :05:22.was unique, but it's been made clear to them that in the modern world,
:05:23. > :05:26.they have to be ready to get people back on the grid more quickly, and
:05:27. > :05:38.certainly to keep people better informed about what's being done.
:05:39. > :05:42.But we're talking about private companies here, and it will take a
:05:43. > :05:45.process of negotiation and financial sticks and carrots to persuade these
:05:46. > :05:53.electricity companies to make better contingency plans.
:05:54. > :05:57.The restoration of passenger trains to the Waterside branch line to
:05:58. > :06:00.Fawley on the edge of the New Forest has been rejected. Hampshire County
:06:01. > :06:03.Council has decided the project represents poor value for money as
:06:04. > :06:08.it would need an annual subsidy approaching ?1 million. The decision
:06:09. > :06:11.is seen as an indicator that other similar projects around the country
:06:12. > :06:14.now won't go ahead. Our transport correspondent, Paul Clifton,
:06:15. > :06:18.reports. The branch line runs between Totton,
:06:19. > :06:26.west of Southampton, and Fawley Oil Refinery. Here's Hythe Station in
:06:27. > :06:31.the 1950s. And this is Marchwood. It closed to passenger trains nearly 50
:06:32. > :06:36.years ago. Today it looks almost the same, with a signal box beside the
:06:37. > :06:42.platform. It handles two freight trains a day, serving the refinery
:06:43. > :06:45.and Marchwood Military Port. The line runs through large areas of
:06:46. > :06:50.housing between Southampton Water and the New Forest National Park.
:06:51. > :06:53.Hampshire County Council considered a shuttle service with a single
:06:54. > :06:59.two`car train running once or twice an hour between Hythe and
:07:00. > :07:04.Southampton. Running further south to Fawley was ruled out. The cost of
:07:05. > :07:08.new infrastructure for a train every 30 minutes was put at ?17 million to
:07:09. > :07:15.pay for new stations, track and signalling. 340,000 passengers a
:07:16. > :07:18.year would use it but their fares would not cover the costs, and the
:07:19. > :07:33.council would have to find ?900,000 a year in subsidy. Hampshire county
:07:34. > :07:36.council are looking at this in terms of finance. I would like them to
:07:37. > :07:43.look at it in terms of the social benefits that would accrue, the
:07:44. > :07:47.environmental benefits, and goodness knows, we are repressed enough from
:07:48. > :07:50.the government to be green. The council found passenger numbers
:07:51. > :07:53.would need to double to make the service viable and most would
:07:54. > :07:55.transfer not from cars but from buses and the council`subsidised
:07:56. > :08:05.Hythe Ferry, undermining existing public transport. Waterside rail
:08:06. > :08:12.would be in direct competition with the bath services and the ferry. The
:08:13. > :08:22.idea has not been rejected altogether. It has been put on the
:08:23. > :08:29.shelf to gather dust. Five years ago, the rail industry suggested the
:08:30. > :08:32.case for reopening this rail line was very strong. It was considered
:08:33. > :08:39.to have the highest value for money for the roots looked at. So a
:08:40. > :08:44.rejection today will send a very bleak message to other projects to
:08:45. > :08:48.re`open old lines for new services. Recycling targets aren't being hit
:08:49. > :08:51.in many parts of the South. The European Union wants HALF of all
:08:52. > :08:55.household rubbish to be recycled by 2020, but the latest figures show
:08:56. > :09:00.that many of our local authorities are lagging behind. Portsmouth is
:09:01. > :09:06.the worst in the region, currently recycling only 23% of its household
:09:07. > :09:09.waste. James Ingham reports. Taking their message door to door,
:09:10. > :09:12.Portsmouth City Council hopes a direct appeal to residents will
:09:13. > :09:17.change the way they dump their rubbish. The city recycles less
:09:18. > :09:28.household waste than any other local authority in the South. Instead of
:09:29. > :09:33.trying to punish people who don't recycle, we are trying to reward
:09:34. > :09:37.people who do. People are chosen every month for prices. Mark and his
:09:38. > :09:42.son Max won one of those prizes for what they say is a pretty easy but
:09:43. > :09:48.important task. You are not just wasting valuable staff, just
:09:49. > :09:51.throwing it out in the bin. Instead, you can make more stuff with it.
:09:52. > :09:54.Recycling collected in Hampshire is sorted at two centres in Portsmouth
:09:55. > :09:58.and this one in Alton. Paper, plastic and metal are separated and
:09:59. > :10:01.then sent to other plants to be re`used. 14 authorities have teamed
:10:02. > :10:09.up, so all their waste is handled in bulk. Bringing councils together
:10:10. > :10:26.like this makes the process more efficient but some are lagging
:10:27. > :10:32.behind. An EU target demands 50% of household waste is recycled by 2020.
:10:33. > :10:37.Some of our counsellors are exceeding that, though. Some other
:10:38. > :10:40.councils like to sit our recycling half of their waste. Hampshire's
:10:41. > :10:49.councils that are falling behind have ambitions to improve. We are
:10:50. > :10:53.working towards increasing that recycling rate, but bring in an
:10:54. > :10:56.ethical and wrist `` ethical and sustainable way. What's inside our
:10:57. > :10:59.bins is becoming more important. Inspections like these in Portsmouth
:11:00. > :11:12.may become more commonplace as increased focus is placed on how our
:11:13. > :11:15.rubbish is disposed. Still to come in this evening's
:11:16. > :11:19.South Today: Sport Relief is back! We find out how your money has been
:11:20. > :11:22.helping this Bournemouth charity to bake.
:11:23. > :11:25.They were marketed as the "best beach huts in the world", launched
:11:26. > :11:30.with much fanfare as part of the regeneration of Boscombe seafront.
:11:31. > :11:32.But, five years on, a third of the luxury designer beach pods
:11:33. > :11:38.overlooking the artificial surf reef remain unsold. 43 were put up for
:11:39. > :11:55.sale in 2009 with prices of up to ?90,000.
:11:56. > :12:00.In the 60s, the crowds came here. In later years, its charms they did,
:12:01. > :12:07.but in 2009, new life was breathed into it. With designer input, the
:12:08. > :12:13.chalets became beech pods, a stylish room to call your own by the sea
:12:14. > :12:19.with running water and electricity, though no overnight stays. A 40 year
:12:20. > :12:29.lease costs between 65 and ?90,000. Sales then slowed. In 2011, in a bid
:12:30. > :12:37.to boost sales, the council changed the sales pitch, making shortest
:12:38. > :12:44.leases available. There were some takers, but today, there are still
:12:45. > :12:48.15 pods unsold. In 2009, your director of tourism thought there
:12:49. > :12:55.was significant demand and was confident about sales. At the time,
:12:56. > :13:00.he was spot on. What he didn't know is that we would get big banking
:13:01. > :13:06.crisis. All bets were off after that. Wayne Hemingway told us he
:13:07. > :13:11.doesn't know what all the fuss is about. He said he always designed
:13:12. > :13:17.the pods to be for a mixture of sales and rentals. If the reader had
:13:18. > :13:24.worked, it would attract people to use them. It's kind of a difficult
:13:25. > :13:28.situation. It was very brave of the council to invest in something
:13:29. > :13:33.different. If I was a young person with a young family, I would rather
:13:34. > :13:40.have one of the wooden ones that you can throw the children out
:13:41. > :13:45.straightaway. The council says it is making money renting out unsold pods
:13:46. > :13:54.and plans to use them to host spa treatments when the coastal activity
:13:55. > :13:58.park opens in the spring. Shouts of shame came from the public gallery
:13:59. > :14:01.as Portsmouth City Council voted against the motion to publish a
:14:02. > :14:08.report on the conduct of the Portsmouth MP Mike Hancock. The
:14:09. > :14:11.Pascoe Report as it is known concluded that Mr Hancock who is a
:14:12. > :14:15.Liberal Democrat councillor failed to observe the council was my of
:14:16. > :14:20.contact. However a Full Council bought sided with the original
:14:21. > :14:22.decision by a council standards committee not to publicise why. No
:14:23. > :14:28.charges have ever been brought against the MP but he faces the High
:14:29. > :14:30.Court civil dispute over sexual assault allegations made by the High
:14:31. > :14:32.Court civil dispute over sexual assault allegations made by feeble
:14:33. > :14:37.constituent which he has always denied.
:14:38. > :14:40.Campaigners say the closure of the Portland Coastguard Centre later
:14:41. > :14:44.this year has been causing staff shortages at the base. Coastguard
:14:45. > :14:50.SOS says workers are leaving the centre, causing staffing levels to
:14:51. > :14:52.drop below a safe, risk assessment. The Maritime and Coastguard Agency
:14:53. > :14:56.says the figures do not have anything to do with the centre's
:14:57. > :15:01.closure and there is no risk to safety.
:15:02. > :15:05.The image of the typical student has changed over the years, but now
:15:06. > :15:08.e`group Reading University are taking it one step further in
:15:09. > :15:14.brewing the raw and real ale and selling it on campus. Called Extra
:15:15. > :15:21.Curricular, it has been developed with the local microbrewery and sold
:15:22. > :15:30.out on its first night at the pumps. It is something of a home from home
:15:31. > :15:34.and would think, Ben. There is acutely as reversal in this
:15:35. > :15:38.bar because this university is a place where students provide the
:15:39. > :15:44.beer. Here is a fresh point of Extra Curricular. This is not home`brew
:15:45. > :15:49.but it is incredible to think that after centuries of academia in
:15:50. > :15:54.Britain, this is the first beer that has been properly brewed by
:15:55. > :15:59.students. There is the degree of something
:16:00. > :16:05.different at the student bar. It serves Extra Curricular, brewed by
:16:06. > :16:14.the University's real ale Society whose thirst for knowledge has led
:16:15. > :16:19.them to Sherfield Village Brewery. We did not think about selling at
:16:20. > :16:27.commercially, but we have put it with the broody.
:16:28. > :16:33.The students actually make the beer. As befits an academic ale. Nothing
:16:34. > :16:38.is added to make it look better. It all comes together under the
:16:39. > :16:44.watchful eye of the Chuter, brewer Peter Cook.
:16:45. > :16:50.They seem to enjoy themselves and we have a few beers to taste so they
:16:51. > :16:55.get an idea of what they want to emulate and what they want to
:16:56. > :17:01.change. The smell the hearts and decided what to use and off they
:17:02. > :17:04.went. This beer is being sold at
:17:05. > :17:10.university bars and at some local pubs. These are tough times for
:17:11. > :17:16.microbreweries saw it is important that the brew does well on campus.
:17:17. > :17:21.We have people queueing up and waiting for the beer and we sold 72
:17:22. > :17:28.points in 90 minutes on Friday. That was the whole barrel gone. We
:17:29. > :17:34.ordered another three or four points.
:17:35. > :17:42.The popularity of the beer has end the society a special place in these
:17:43. > :17:53.halls of learning. The first "draught" certainly gets an a.
:17:54. > :18:01.This is Brian Jones from camera. He has not tried the real yet. Or, yes.
:18:02. > :18:12.This is definitely the point for the intelligent drinker. That is high
:18:13. > :18:19.praise indeed. Is it important for students to get involved? I know
:18:20. > :18:24.microbreweries can struggle. They are our drinkers know and our
:18:25. > :18:28.drinkers in the future. Perhaps they will be running microbreweries in
:18:29. > :18:34.the future. I think there is a very good chance, given what they have
:18:35. > :18:41.done today. I think it is high time I got back to my studies.
:18:42. > :18:51.Take your first set. Enjoy the moment and savour the moment.
:18:52. > :18:55.Sadly, we have you on end as well. That is not how I remember Reading
:18:56. > :19:00.student union bar. It looks far too smart.
:19:01. > :19:12.I think they gave it a deep clean this morning.
:19:13. > :19:17.I hope Ben will bring some back. Tony is herewith sport. We were
:19:18. > :19:22.talking on Friday about a couple of ice skaters.
:19:23. > :19:30.On the 7th of February, the winter on the pic starts. Do you feel that
:19:31. > :19:33.when the global? A bunch of ice skater and her
:19:34. > :19:39.partner have had the perfect boost ahead of the second Winter Olympics.
:19:40. > :19:43.Penny Coomes and Nick Buckland have just returned from Budapest with me
:19:44. > :19:50.the podium in the European championships. Britain has not had
:19:51. > :19:57.an Olympic ice dance medal since Torvill and Dean.
:19:58. > :20:03.Even something as simple as picking up kit can be an inspiration. This
:20:04. > :20:10.is one of the best days we have ever had and going out there and getting
:20:11. > :20:17.our cat and having team GB on our backs again is fantastic. They could
:20:18. > :20:23.hardly be more confident as they prepare for a second Olympics. Last
:20:24. > :20:30.week, they claimed bronze at the European championships. It was good
:20:31. > :20:36.timing for us to get our first medal before we came here before the
:20:37. > :20:43.Olympic Games and we are very happy and showing off our medal. They are
:20:44. > :20:52.boyfriend and girlfriend of the ice and finished 20th in the Vancouver
:20:53. > :20:56.Olympics, the first Olympic games. The bronze medal shows that we can
:20:57. > :21:03.be up there with the best in the world. I don't feel nervous although
:21:04. > :21:07.I did last time. It was my dream in my life and I was nervous when I got
:21:08. > :21:11.there but now I feel excited and this is what I have what my life
:21:12. > :21:16.for. Offaly will get there one more time after this.
:21:17. > :21:24.The peer has skated together for nine years but the best these may
:21:25. > :21:27.still be ahead. Katharina Liebherr has tonight
:21:28. > :21:32.issued an open letter to Southampton fans saying she hopes to bring a few
:21:33. > :21:35.smiles to the football club. She refers to the events of the past
:21:36. > :21:42.week but does not mean Nicola Cortese who quit his post as
:21:43. > :21:47.executive chairman last week will stop she has insured manager
:21:48. > :21:51.Mauricio Pochettino there are no plans to sell any players as
:21:52. > :21:55.January. Her letter says she is absolutely committed to continuing
:21:56. > :22:03.Oxford hope to get to round four of the FA cup against Charlton and
:22:04. > :22:10.there will be live coverage on BBC Radio Norfolk the and also Crewe are
:22:11. > :22:20.playing tonight. They play against MK Dons. Former Hampshire captain
:22:21. > :22:26.Dimitri Mascarenhas has made an impact after returning from injury
:22:27. > :22:32.playing industry earlier's Big Bash, competition. He took a wicket with
:22:33. > :22:35.his first ball. Today is the official launch of
:22:36. > :22:39.Sport Relief and that means lots of exercise.
:22:40. > :22:47.There are many ways for you to raise money for charity but you could
:22:48. > :22:52.always hit the kitchen and big. We sent to say the farmer who went
:22:53. > :23:03.head`to`head with Paralympic hopeful Alice Tai on the bake off.
:23:04. > :23:15.Friendly rivalry in the name of Sport Relief. This is a charity
:23:16. > :23:19.based in Bournemouth and is one of the organisations that has benefited
:23:20. > :23:25.from the hard work that Sport Relief does.
:23:26. > :23:32.We help people with mental health problems and disabilities and the
:23:33. > :23:37.brain injury. They are hoping to work again and we help them on the
:23:38. > :23:41.way. It gives me freedom to come out
:23:42. > :23:50.somewhere safe and feel part of the team and enjoy myself. The money has
:23:51. > :24:00.helped us by tables and chairs and we have a venue that looks really
:24:01. > :24:11.good. Alice is 14 years old and is already being tipped as a hopeful
:24:12. > :24:18.for real in 19 in 2016. You could swim or run or walk or cycle or skip
:24:19. > :24:34.or do whatever you like and whatever distance you want to.
:24:35. > :24:38.That is good. Not bad. At the last Sport Relief people in
:24:39. > :24:46.the South raised more than ?2.5 million which has gone on to fund
:24:47. > :24:49.more than 270 projects in our region and you can get involved in many
:24:50. > :25:02.different ways by walking and running and jogging and swimming. It
:25:03. > :25:11.is time for me to get training. More information on the website.
:25:12. > :25:15.Mike Kem took this great photo of Corfe Castle surrounded by the
:25:16. > :25:24.morning fog. Jessica Cath captured the morning dew and mist on Woodhay
:25:25. > :25:31.Downs in Berkshire. Rain is forecast over the next 24 hours. We are
:25:32. > :25:37.expecting rain through the course of the night. There will be no frost
:25:38. > :25:40.for most of us but once the rain clears western areas we could have a
:25:41. > :25:47.touch of frost in the countryside and the rain could be heavy at times
:25:48. > :25:52.but will ease its way eastwards very slowly with temperatures falling to
:25:53. > :25:56.around five degrees or seven Celsius. It will be a wet starts
:25:57. > :26:02.tomorrow but will slowly improve and we will start to see some bright and
:26:03. > :26:06.sunny spells and dry periods. There will also be showers which could be
:26:07. > :26:11.on the heavy side with temperatures reaching a high of eight degrees are
:26:12. > :26:19.10 Celsius. Rain could be on the heavy side tomorrow night but there
:26:20. > :26:28.is a risk of heavy fog. Another band of rain is waiting in the wings and
:26:29. > :26:33.will come in on Thursday morning. Thursday is the repeat of Wednesday.
:26:34. > :26:41.We will have breezy conditions and some showers in the afternoon. There
:26:42. > :26:47.is a ridge of high pressure just below me which means that Friday
:26:48. > :26:54.will start on a chilly note with the touch of Frost. Here is the outlook.
:26:55. > :26:57.There will be rain tomorrow and some showers in the afternoon which could
:26:58. > :27:04.be heavy. Thursday will be the same. Those winds will come in from
:27:05. > :27:09.the North West which will take the edge of temperatures and give each
:27:10. > :27:14.of the field. There will be more rain expected on Friday after the
:27:15. > :27:19.chilly start. Towards the weekend, sunshine and showers and some heavy
:27:20. > :27:22.rain on Sunday with perhaps some guilt force winds. Stay tuned to the
:27:23. > :27:43.forecast. These socks are very fetching. We
:27:44. > :27:49.are back tomorrow. Thank you for watching. Good night.