:00:14. > :00:22.Hello, welcome to the programme. People struggling to cope as another
:00:23. > :00:28.storm is on the way. This is horrendous and each flood has been
:00:29. > :00:38.worse than the last one. Charles Dickens comes home to Portsmouth. He
:00:39. > :00:45.is the theatre of life. And celebrating her 106th birthday, but
:00:46. > :00:55.what was Hilda's big birthday surprise?
:00:56. > :01:00.Most of us have glimpsed the sun today, but water is rising fast
:01:01. > :01:03.everywhere and more wild weather is on the way. Gale`force winds and
:01:04. > :01:06.waves, and yet more very heavy rain will hit the south tonight. The
:01:07. > :01:10.Environment Agency says it's doing all it can but is warning it can't
:01:11. > :01:13.stop the floods and communities must be prepared to help themselves. We
:01:14. > :01:17.have three reports for you tonight across the region, starting with
:01:18. > :01:26.Lewis Coombes in Romsey, where there have been scenes of chaos.
:01:27. > :01:35.Absolutely, you join me from the centre of Romsey where the water has
:01:36. > :01:42.been cascading over from the River Test. The residents were evacuated
:01:43. > :01:47.at some stage today. This is turning into a serious incident, the
:01:48. > :01:52.emergency services are trying to help and there is water in this
:01:53. > :01:58.garage forecourt behind me. It hasn't just been Romsey that has had
:01:59. > :02:02.problems with floodwater today. The rain stopped briefly during the
:02:03. > :02:14.day, not that it stops people getting wet. The damage was done
:02:15. > :02:24.last night. The River Itchen burst its banks, leaving this pub
:02:25. > :02:29.flooded. What we are experiencing today is the worst that I have
:02:30. > :02:34.experienced in my time. The River Avon and caused this primary school
:02:35. > :02:46.to close. This was the scene on the Hampshire Dorset border. The River
:02:47. > :02:51.Test burst its banks, engulfing everything before it. The water
:02:52. > :02:58.filled up the garage and came into the house. The worst in 38 years,
:02:59. > :03:04.they say. Elderly residents evacuated. Sandbags should help,
:03:05. > :03:07.they hope. We are working closely with the emergency services to
:03:08. > :03:13.reduce the impact as much as we come, but with more rain on its way
:03:14. > :03:17.we would urge people to be prepared. The Environment Agency has called on
:03:18. > :03:29.communities to do their bit as the heavy rain continues looming.
:03:30. > :03:35.That is the bad news. It has been raining just now and I can feel the
:03:36. > :03:38.water is getting stronger and fought. The Environment Agency say
:03:39. > :03:44.that with more rain predicted, it will only get worse from here, which
:03:45. > :03:50.for the residents of Romsey is not very good news.
:03:51. > :03:54.Let's go to the Isle of Wight because Isle of Wight is expected to
:03:55. > :03:58.be in the eye of the storm this weekend. Today a special meeting was
:03:59. > :04:00.held in Newport to discuss the floods, and residents are braced for
:04:01. > :04:03.further storms. Sean Killick reports. This guesthouse has studied
:04:04. > :04:07.eight times since Christmas Eve. The owners were asleep when I arrived,
:04:08. > :04:13.having slept only four hours over the last two days. Then he's told me
:04:14. > :04:29.they cannot get insurance and it has cost them dearly. My auntie had a
:04:30. > :04:34.letter from the Environment Agency saying it is only likely that they
:04:35. > :04:44.would get flooded once every 100 years, which is not the case. We
:04:45. > :04:49.believe there should be bigger pipes or bigger pumps. It backs up and
:04:50. > :04:55.then floods the streets and the houses. Today the MP chaired a flood
:04:56. > :04:58.meeting so the residents could tell the authorities directly their
:04:59. > :05:12.issues, such as the problem of flooded bungalows. They have been
:05:13. > :05:17.uninhabitable since Christmas, the owners are elderly, and we don't
:05:18. > :05:20.seem to be able to get anywhere. The council is carrying out an
:05:21. > :05:33.investigation into the flooding. Are you confident we can deal with this
:05:34. > :05:39.better in the future? With financial constraints I would be silly to say
:05:40. > :05:41.we can do absolutely everything. The Environment Agency said it is
:05:42. > :05:49.searching for solutions at the pumping station near Ryde.
:05:50. > :05:53.In Berkshire the River Kennet reached record levels today on the
:05:54. > :05:55.day the former flood minister and local MP Richard Benyon celebrated
:05:56. > :05:58.Newbury's newly completed flood defence scheme. Nikki Mitchell has
:05:59. > :06:02.been to see it in action. The river was just inches from the
:06:03. > :06:05.top of one of Newbury's new flood walls. Rainwater lapped against it
:06:06. > :06:09.on the other side. The drains can take no more. This is where the
:06:10. > :06:13.plaque celebrating the town's ?2.2 million defences was to be unveiled.
:06:14. > :06:24.But there weren't enough wellies to go around, so the celebrations were
:06:25. > :06:28.moved inside. There was a fundamental rethink of strategy
:06:29. > :06:33.following the floods in 2007 and things work a lot better but you
:06:34. > :06:36.cannot stop it raining and in the last two years we have seen
:06:37. > :06:41.historically high levels of rain and we have got to be better at planning
:06:42. > :06:47.for this in the future. Who knows what is going to happen next week? I
:06:48. > :06:53.am standing beside a river I have never seen higher. We have issued a
:06:54. > :07:03.number of flood warnings and we are urging communities to stay in touch
:07:04. > :07:06.with flood risk in their area. This flood alleviation project might
:07:07. > :07:09.never had happened had local councils and businesses not helped
:07:10. > :07:12.the Environment Agency pay for it. Unfortunately since the flood
:07:13. > :07:15.defences have been put in our car park, since the rain started has
:07:16. > :07:19.been nearly two foot under water, but it's never done this before as
:07:20. > :07:23.far as I'm aware. I live in the street next to the canal and I'm
:07:24. > :07:26.worried. I'm just hoping that the flood defences they've done are
:07:27. > :07:30.working, they'll carry on working, and I don't know what it would have
:07:31. > :07:33.been like if they hadn't done it. This earth bund is also part of the
:07:34. > :07:37.new defences. The Environment Agency says it's working well and the small
:07:38. > :07:41.amount of surface water on the other side is not putting homes at risk.
:07:42. > :07:45.This is where the River Kennet flows into the Kennet and Avon canal and
:07:46. > :07:48.today on the day the flood defences here were officially launched the
:07:49. > :07:51.Kennet topped it highest ever level. This is an unbelievably long spell
:07:52. > :07:55.of rainy weather and it is just going to go on. Figures from the Met
:07:56. > :08:04.Office show it has been the wettest December to January four 250 years,
:08:05. > :08:08.going back as far as the 12th of December last year. Tonight we see
:08:09. > :08:13.the next deep low`pressure sweeping in from the Atlantic, and amber
:08:14. > :08:21.warning from the Met office is in place for that. On Monday we do it
:08:22. > :08:24.all again, another low driving across the Atlantic from the East
:08:25. > :08:33.coast of America bringing more stormy weather our way. It does look
:08:34. > :08:36.like the jet stream will lose its power so less stormy conditions. A
:08:37. > :08:40.full weather forecast later, and send us your photos and pictures but
:08:41. > :08:51.please ensure you are safe to do so. And listen to BBC Local radio for
:08:52. > :08:58.weather and travel reports. "Why did you leave him in the road
:08:59. > :09:01.to die?" The question from the daughters of Christopher Colegate,
:09:02. > :09:05.as Dorset Police release new CCTV footage of a car they want to trace.
:09:06. > :09:08.The 69`year`old from Poole was knocked down in December last year.
:09:09. > :09:11.The driver didn't stop. No one has been arrested. Our reporter, Tim
:09:12. > :09:14.Robinson has been speaking to Mr Colegate's daughters. We really need
:09:15. > :09:20.to know what happened. Why didn't you stop and help my dad? Please
:09:21. > :09:24.have the decency to put a stop to this uncertainty. While nothing will
:09:25. > :09:27.ever bring their father back, finding the person responsible for
:09:28. > :09:37.their deaths would bring some comfort. Rachel and Natasha can
:09:38. > :09:47.still not understand why the driver who knocked down their frail father
:09:48. > :09:52.simply drove off. When I last saw him he still had rosy cheeks and
:09:53. > :09:57.that is the last memory of my dad. When I last saw him was after a
:09:58. > :10:03.postmortem and it wasn't my dad lying there. I know that inside he
:10:04. > :10:11.was in pieces and that is difficult to come to terms with. This CCTV
:10:12. > :10:16.could hold the key. This driver was seen shortly after the collision
:10:17. > :10:23.around 7pm on Friday the 13th of December. We have seen from
:10:24. > :10:27.Christopher Colegate's family the upset they have been caused so it is
:10:28. > :10:32.essential we speak with that driver. I know that you may have made a
:10:33. > :10:37.mistake but you do need to come forward.
:10:38. > :10:56.Police want the driver or anyone who recognises that car to call them so
:10:57. > :10:59.the family can begin to move on. A former Isle of Wight conservative
:11:00. > :11:01.councillor, who was found guilty of sex offences against children
:11:02. > :11:05.including sexual assault has been sentenced to six years in prison.
:11:06. > :11:08.David Whittaker stepped down as a Conservative councillor several
:11:09. > :11:11.years ago but took up a role as a parish councillor in Newport. He
:11:12. > :11:15.denied all six charges but was found guilty after a retrial. He will be
:11:16. > :11:17.placed on the sex offenders register for life.
:11:18. > :11:20.There was a big celebration in Portsmouth today. 202 years to the
:11:21. > :11:24.day since Charles Dickens was born in the city, a statue of the writer
:11:25. > :11:28.was unveiled in Guildhall Square. It's the life size version of the
:11:29. > :11:31.model we have here in the studio and it's the first ever statue of
:11:32. > :11:34.Dickens in this country. David Allard is with me ` there's quite a
:11:35. > :11:38.story behind this statue, isn't there? Yes ` this is the original
:11:39. > :11:41.maquette that the artist Martin Jennings created as the basis for
:11:42. > :11:44.the statue. Hundreds of people around the world from Tokyo to
:11:45. > :11:48.Sarajevo to Philadelphia ` they've all donated to help raise a ?140,000
:11:49. > :11:50.to get this statue made. There was a real carnival atmosphere in
:11:51. > :11:54.Guildhall Square today ` people riding penny farthings, dressed up
:11:55. > :11:57.in costume ` and a big crowd to see the statue unveiled. That was
:11:58. > :12:00.performed by Esher Abadin, a pupil at Charles Dickens Primary School,
:12:01. > :12:03.and Oliver Dickens who is the writer's great great great grandson.
:12:04. > :12:06.Oliver was one of about 50 members of the Dickens family who were
:12:07. > :12:10.present there today. They were joined by Dickens fans who had flown
:12:11. > :12:13.in from around the world, and of course of plenty of local residents
:12:14. > :12:18.who were pleased to see Dickens finally return home. I think it is a
:12:19. > :12:24.lovely positive thing for Portsmouth. We have had a lot of bad
:12:25. > :12:28.news recently and this is cheering everybody up. We came from the
:12:29. > :12:32.States because we have seen the statue in Philadelphia but we have
:12:33. > :12:38.never seen the one in Australia, but now we have seen two out of three.
:12:39. > :12:47.This is a way to remind people to read more books, not just his novels
:12:48. > :12:55.but other people's. He is the theatre of life. So many people, and
:12:56. > :12:58.Edward Fox was there as well? Yes, he said that Dickens's heart would
:12:59. > :13:02.have swelled with pride at the number of people who turned out
:13:03. > :13:06.today. It's taken a long time for this day to come ` even in the past
:13:07. > :13:09.week the statue's been sprayed with chemicals to give it a darker hue
:13:10. > :13:12.and withstand the elements. Here's the story of how Charles Dickens
:13:13. > :13:14.finally came home. Writer, actor, social campaigner. Charles Dickens
:13:15. > :13:18.was one of the first global celebrities and a complex man. A new
:13:19. > :13:22.film delves into his relationship with the actress Ellen turned on.
:13:23. > :13:30.This is my favourite time when the day is creeping up on us... But
:13:31. > :13:35.Dickens left an extraordinary legacy of work and that is why these men
:13:36. > :13:42.are waiting outside a foundry in the cold in Gloucestershire. This man
:13:43. > :13:49.has been hoping to get a statue in Portsmouth, this man is Charles
:13:50. > :13:54.Dickens' great great great grandson. I am itching to see what it will
:13:55. > :14:05.look like but I think it will be emotional. It will be gobsmacking.
:14:06. > :14:09.Miniversion was unveiled at the bicentenary celebrations. The
:14:10. > :14:16.research for this is to read all of his novels and biographies and what
:14:17. > :14:25.better fun can one have? May 2012, this is Martin's studio and he first
:14:26. > :14:33.models the statue in clay on a steel frame. There is something great
:14:34. > :14:39.about making people out of mud. This is Dickens but before that it was
:14:40. > :14:44.Philip Larkin, the same clay before that was Ronnie Barker, then John
:14:45. > :14:49.Betjeman, and Dickens. Not someone who settled back, he was always on
:14:50. > :14:53.the go, so even though I am representing him seated, I want to
:14:54. > :15:02.suggest he was a man who was about to spring up. It is so strange not
:15:03. > :15:05.have a monument of Dickens in Britain yet. It is often said
:15:06. > :15:07.Charles Dickens didn't want to statue based on these words in his
:15:08. > :15:19.will. Dickens didn't want to statue, he
:15:20. > :15:25.was categorical about it and he said he wished to be remembered for his
:15:26. > :15:31.work. If you read the will in its entirety, he was talking about his
:15:32. > :15:36.burial and grave, and we believe it is 200 years overdue to have a
:15:37. > :15:41.statue that celebrates his life, work and achievements. Ian has
:15:42. > :15:45.helped spearhead the drive to raise the money, taking part in
:15:46. > :15:48.fundraising walk from London to Portsmouth. Actress Gillian Anderson
:15:49. > :15:57.has added some star quality the campaign. Hundreds of people have
:15:58. > :16:04.donated, they have got a share of it. They can go along and say, this
:16:05. > :16:13.is my statue. January 2014, the statue has been cast in bronze and
:16:14. > :16:31.it is ready for inspection. That is extraordinary, isn't it? Aren't we
:16:32. > :16:36.glad! I love this little touch. Portsmouth will be very proud. If it
:16:37. > :16:44.inspires a child walking past ` who is that man? And if it encourages
:16:45. > :16:48.them to read, that will be terrific. Fabulous. And to sport
:16:49. > :16:56.now, and the Winter Olympics ceremony is still going on in Sochi.
:16:57. > :17:01.It seems that many of our sporting athletes may not get that far, it
:17:02. > :17:07.will be a struggle and it is because of financial reasons. Funding has
:17:08. > :17:11.been withdrawn for several sports, one of those is synchronised
:17:12. > :17:15.swimming. They have pledged to fight that funding cut saying it could
:17:16. > :17:25.mean the end of the sport at an elite level. The athletes have been
:17:26. > :17:30.based in Aldershot since 2007 but earlier this week it was announced
:17:31. > :17:33.that their entire ?4.3 million budget was being withdrawn by UK
:17:34. > :17:36.Sport, after the retirement of key athletes. It's part of a "no
:17:37. > :17:46.compromise" policy that rewards sports financially if they win
:17:47. > :17:49.medals. GB rowing who are based at Caversham lake maintained their ?32
:17:50. > :17:53.million of funding after a year where they won two gold and three
:17:54. > :17:55.bronze medal at the world championships. And the Bisham
:17:56. > :17:58.Abbey`based national hockey squad saw their funding increase after
:17:59. > :18:01.bronze medals in the world league. Today the GB synchro squad were back
:18:02. > :18:06.in training in Guildford. Ed Sherry reports.
:18:07. > :18:14.The Olympic dream is a medal in Tokyo in 2020, but to get their will
:18:15. > :18:21.takes `` take six years of this for up to 45 hours a week. I have made a
:18:22. > :18:26.lot of sacrifices but if I had to do it again, I would. It means so much
:18:27. > :18:32.to me to train with such high quality coaches and athletes. There
:18:33. > :18:41.is no other sport like it and it means so much to compete for my
:18:42. > :18:45.country. But to have a national squad costs. Athletes train so many
:18:46. > :18:47.hours there's no time for a job. Coaches are employed, physios
:18:48. > :18:51.required. And while their HQ in Aldershot is being refurbished the
:18:52. > :18:54.squad have to hire space in pools like here at the Surrey Sports
:18:55. > :18:59.Centre. If they are not successful with their appeal, it will cease to
:19:00. > :19:03.exist and Great Britain will go back to how it functioned prior to
:19:04. > :19:17.funding before the 2012 games. They will have to be happy with maybe a
:19:18. > :19:21.top 20 finish if any entries at all. UK Sport say money is only be given
:19:22. > :19:25.to those sports that have medal potential at the next two games. If
:19:26. > :19:31.we embarked on this journey to Rio, it will cost more, and then onto
:19:32. > :19:37.2024 then it would be a significant public investment which is not
:19:38. > :19:49.affordable. We agree we are not a medal target for Rio but we are very
:19:50. > :19:57.credible for 2020. GB Synchro are now preparing to appeal the
:19:58. > :20:12.decision. Without financial support the dreams of these young athletes
:20:13. > :20:16.could well be over. One of the south's winter Olympians
:20:17. > :20:20.has had to withdraw from the Games in Sochi after suffering a slipped
:20:21. > :20:23.disc during training. Craig Pickering from Milton Keynes had
:20:24. > :20:25.been selected as part of the British Bobsleigh team. He's a former
:20:26. > :20:29.Olympic sprinter, switching from athletics to bobsleigh just over a
:20:30. > :20:32.year ago with the aim of winning selection to a second Olympics. He
:20:33. > :20:36.would have been only the eighth British athlete to compete for Team
:20:37. > :20:39.GB at both a Summer and Winter Olympics. It is difficult to replace
:20:40. > :20:42.an athlete of his calibre, and it is very disappointing for everybody. In
:20:43. > :20:55.football, Southampton play Stoke at St Mary's tomorrow. Saints come off
:20:56. > :20:58.the back of a 3`0 win at Fulham last weekend. They're now unbeaten in
:20:59. > :21:00.four games as they go into the match against Stoke, two places below
:21:01. > :21:04.them. Southampton are currently ninth. In the Championship Reading
:21:05. > :21:06.could further boost their play off chances. Currently in the sixth spot
:21:07. > :21:09.the Royals play bottom half Sheffield Wednesday at the Madjeski
:21:10. > :21:12.stadium. Bournemouth are away at Bolton, while Brighton host
:21:13. > :21:16.Doncaster. In League One, MK Dons are away at Walsall while Swindon
:21:17. > :21:19.are at Port Vale. And in League Two Oxford go to Bristol Rovers.
:21:20. > :21:21.Meanwhile, with things tight at the bottom of League Two, Portsmouth
:21:22. > :21:24.remain dangerously close to the relegation zone. Pompey have
:21:25. > :21:27.tightened up their defence, but suffered a disappointing 1`0 defeat
:21:28. > :21:30.to Torquay last weekend. They're away at Exeter, where a win would
:21:31. > :21:34.put some distance between them and the bottom places. We could do with
:21:35. > :21:36.a few more goals. We had an issue in terms of conceding them before and
:21:37. > :21:41.I'm not saying we have 100% solved that but we would like to think we
:21:42. > :21:45.have become harder to score against and harder to beat. We need to turn
:21:46. > :21:50.that around and move it on from harder to beat to winning more
:21:51. > :21:56.football matches. The bottom ten may be is probably as close as I have
:21:57. > :22:01.ever seen. Anybody who can put a run together will probably come out of
:22:02. > :22:04.the bottom half very quickly. Full commentary of those games on BBC
:22:05. > :22:12.local radio and the goals are on the football league show tomorrow night.
:22:13. > :22:15.And there's a big game tomorrow night for the Worthing Thunder
:22:16. > :22:19.basketball team ` the Thunder are unbeaten at home so far in 2014 and
:22:20. > :22:22.they'll be looking to hang onto that as they play Manchester Magic in the
:22:23. > :22:24.National Trophy semi final. Tip off at Worthing Leisure Centre is at
:22:25. > :22:27.7.30. This is the moment you have all been
:22:28. > :22:32.waiting for, you want to know what will happen with the weather
:22:33. > :22:37.tonight. How bad is it going to be? We have another storm and an amber
:22:38. > :22:45.warning with wet weather, roughly an inch of rain fall through a six`hour
:22:46. > :22:54.period overnight tonight. That doesn't sound like a huge amount but
:22:55. > :23:00.when you have the sodden ground, it is really bad news. Yes, stay tuned
:23:01. > :23:04.to your local forecast. Today we have had some respite and it seems a
:23:05. > :23:20.long time since we have had blue skies and sunshine. More flooding of
:23:21. > :23:27.course at Bicester, thank you for this picture. After that dry
:23:28. > :23:31.weather, we are already starting to see signs of the wet weather
:23:32. > :23:37.arriving from the west. An amber warning in place through this
:23:38. > :23:43.evening and into tomorrow morning as well. Roughly an inch of rain fall
:23:44. > :23:47.in sunspots. The band of rain proper sweeps through the course of tonight
:23:48. > :23:51.and it will bring some gusty winds with it as well. By the time we
:23:52. > :24:01.reached Dawn, it has pretty much cleared and we will see some showers
:24:02. > :24:05.cropping up. We do see a windy one through the day tomorrow. That
:24:06. > :24:09.weather front has cleared through but you can see this area of low
:24:10. > :24:15.pressure and be isobars attached to it mean that we will have strong
:24:16. > :24:19.winds because they are tightly packed together. Tomorrow the winds
:24:20. > :24:26.are key concern, 70 mph along the coast. Very blustery day, some
:24:27. > :24:29.showers with hail or blunder, temperatures up to 10 degrees but
:24:30. > :24:35.that is academic because it will feel miserable with the wet and
:24:36. > :24:42.windy weather. The windy weather is with us through the overnight period
:24:43. > :24:45.as well. Temperatures at around four degrees through the overnight
:24:46. > :24:54.spell. With that wet weather on top of the sodden ground already, the
:24:55. > :24:59.potential for further disruption. Into Sunday, we still have some wet
:25:00. > :25:04.weather to come. Further showery conditions and a breeze as well, but
:25:05. > :25:10.becoming drier and less windy into the afternoon, so just darting to
:25:11. > :25:15.see a slight respite. Then Monday, the winds drop out a touch but not
:25:16. > :25:22.for long because the next system arriving through the overnight
:25:23. > :25:24.period in situ stay will be arriving. It looks set to stay the
:25:25. > :25:38.same for the next couple of weeks. Now we all know we're living longer,
:25:39. > :25:42.but still 106 is going some isn't it? And what on earth do you give
:25:43. > :25:46.someone who's had that many birthdays? Well, you're never too
:25:47. > :25:49.old to have the ride of your life. And that's what happened to the
:25:50. > :25:54.lovely Hilda Baybutt. Katie Austin explains.
:25:55. > :25:59.It wasn't the sort of present you could wrap, Elder was treated to a
:26:00. > :26:11.surprise helicopter ride, the oldest ever president of this care home. ``
:26:12. > :26:16.resident. Her first flight was at the couple 's flying Circus on
:26:17. > :26:20.Blackpool beach. She is an incredible woman. Helder and her
:26:21. > :26:31.husband moved to Bournemouth to run a hotel and they never left. 84
:26:32. > :26:37.years, you must like it. I love it! World War II left some bitter
:26:38. > :26:49.memories. Five planes came over and hit everything, and then went back
:26:50. > :26:55.again. A bomb went through Beales, that went up in flames. They used to
:26:56. > :27:02.be a very high`class furniture shop across, that was on fire. But today
:27:03. > :27:15.was all about celebrating a special lady's birthday. The helicopter ride
:27:16. > :27:22.took Hilda to a cream tea. It has turned out quite different, very
:27:23. > :27:27.exciting. Hilda's family will have a job eating this birthday present
:27:28. > :27:34.next year! How wonderful, all of the candles
:27:35. > :27:38.out! We were just chatting, what is your secret because you look
:27:39. > :27:41.fabulous! Have a good weekend, stay safe with all of this weather coming
:27:42. > :28:24.our way. Goodbye. It's your job to keep law
:28:25. > :28:36.and order, isn't it? It must be exciting being
:28:37. > :28:39.a policewoman. It has its moments.