11/02/2014 South Today

Welcome to the programme. Chaos for rail commuters due to the flooding.

There are men on the track having to wade through each of our trains by

hand. Is it time to rethink the driving test to reduce the number of

young motorists dying on our roads? The pupils hoping turning fat into

fuel is a winning combination. And the tricks of slopestyle.

First tonight: A police investigation is underway tonight

after what's been described as a viable explosive device was sent to

an armed forces recruitment office in Reading. Army bomb disposal

experts spent this afternoon making safe a package which is believed to

have arrived in the post. A similar package was also found in Kent. Faye

Harland is in our Reading studio tonight. Faye, what do we know? The

emergency services were called by staff at the armed service

recruitment service this afternoon. That office is right in the centre

of Redding. An Army bomb disposal unit arrived at 2pm and that was in

the building for nearly three hours. When I was at the scene, I could see

a lot of activity going on inside the office. Experts were working

alongside crime officers. They didn't carry out a controlled

explosion there but removed a package from the scene. We

understand the package was sent in the post and it is not known how big

it was. We are told it did contain a viable explosive device and it could

have killed. What are the authorities saying? The South East

Counter Terrorism Unit save the package is being examined. Officers

are investigating the possibility that there is a link between these

two incidents. Commuter chaos gripped the Thames Valley today. In

the latest twist of the south's weather misery, flooding to the

track on the Paddington to Reading line gave thousands of travellers a

journey they are unlikely to forget. Joe Campbell is at Reading Station.

Is it easing up a little bit? The situation as this is one of the

busiest stations on the rail network and it is one of the busiest lines

carrying thousands of commuters every day and into London. Not

today. That service was reduced to a trickle. Almost 30 trains an hour

run between here and London. Today, it was just four. The River Thames

nearby was out of its regular channel and closer to the tracks

than normal. The problem for the railways wasn't the River Thames but

the water from the sodden ground that had leaked into circuits

knocking them out. There are men on the track having to wade through

each of our trains by hand. Network Rail can only allow us access to

four trains an hour between Redding and Pennington and that is having a

huge effect. `` Reading and Paddington. Passengers have been

urged not to travel unless necessary. This man didn't have a

choice but had to get to work. I am trying to get to London and there

was no trains running out this morning. I have tried to get a bus

into Reading. I have an office there and then we'll try to get into

London Valentine `` for lunchtime. What can you do? It is what it is.

Water crept close to their homes. We are nervous because it is worse than

it has ever been. You have to have a positive attitude and keep your

fingers crossed. Fingers crossed and precautions taken to keep the River

Thames at bay. People are now making their way home after all those

problems and are facing similar disruption with a reviewed service

this evening. Network rail are saying the disruption will continue

until tomorrow at the very earliest. More trouble for the days ahead.

BBC local radio is what you should listen to for your local problems.

Why are you actually here? Labour leader Ed Miliband was heckled as he

visited a flood`hit Berkshire village today. The confrontation

though was not from a member of the public, or even a journalist, but

from Reading West Conservative MP Alok Sharma. Mr Sharma accused the

Labour leader of visiting his patch for a photo opportunity. It was the

latest unseemly spat as the south's flooding becomes increasingly

politicised. Our Political Editor Peter Henley has been following

events. Right now you need waders to get to

work here. Unless you can hitch a ride in one of the canoes run by the

flood warnings. Ed Miliband seemed impressed by the spirit of the

locals. Why are you here? You should ask them whether they welcome you

here or not. Ed Miliband had worn his wellies but there is growing

impatient `` impatience at shallow words. It has all become about next

year's collection. Wherever they go, there is a media circus. News crews

move on but the fear remains that the floods will come back even as

more houses are allowed to be built. Why did they build on flood plain?

Be Labour leader denied he was being a floods tourist. People appreciate

that somebody is thinking about them and they are not being ignored. If

your house is underwater, you want somebody else to be worrying about

it. It is right to come. There is nothing like having what is

happening on the ground and what kind of response varies. The people

that have to live with the floods all day and night say the most

important thing is to learn lessons that when the politicians have moved

on, they must continue to plan for the future.

Plans for a multi`million pound innovation centre at the former HMS

Daedalus airfield at Lee`on`the`Solent go on display

tonight. Put forward by Fareham Borough Council, the ?5.3 million

centre aims to encourage advanced manufacturing jobs to the area. If

approved, the project will see new office space and workshop facilities

for new businesses and lead to around 150 new jobs. Locals have

been asked for their thoughts. A planning decision is due next month.

Dozens of students on teacher training courses, in Hampshire, have

been unable to secure school training placements which are vital

to their final qualifications. The University of Winchester is

blaming changes made to the teacher training system nationally. It says

it's working hard to find placements and will be making representations

to the Government. Briony Leyland reports.

At the start of the lesson, I want you to line up silently. Trainee

teachers have much to learn. The University of Winchester has a long

tradition of training teachers and its second year primary education

students should be embarking on placements now. But many were

without schools. This afternoon, that figure was 35. A second`year

student said they were very concerned about not having a

placement at this stage. The University of Winchester did not

want to do an interview today as their top priority was finding

places for students. They put it down to the number of schools

offering placements and the changes in Government policy. What are the

changes? Schemes like these schemes teach top graduates straight into

the classroom. Many say it has made it harder to get placements for

their students. More schools are reluctant to take trainee teachers.

We are finding it difficult to place our primary teachers even though we

have the number one primary programme in the country. In

Winchester, there is sympathy for those affected. I have contacts with

schools and I managed to find a place. You learn the most when you

are on placement. It is very hands`on. The Department for

Education said all students must arrange places for the students they

recruit. `` universities must arrange. Owl coroner who concluded

that a woman who died after a fractured hip could have been

avoided. Her family is contemplating legal action.

South Western Ambulance staff have suffered over 100 incidents of

physical abuse in the last year. The NHS Foundation Trust says it

operates a zero tolerance policy to any form of abuse. 73 incidents were

reported to police with 22 people being arrested.

Still to come in this evening's South Today: Do you know your triple

corks from your stalefish? The new sport of slopestyle but it's not as

easy as it looks. How prepared were you when you

passed your driving test? One in four new drivers in the south will

crash in the year they pass their test. And almost two thirds of

people killed, or seriously injured, on our roads are under the age of

25. A senior Dorset police officer is among those who are calling for a

re`think on the driving test. The Government has come up with new

plans to make the learning process tougher but it has postponed making

a decision for almost a year. Our Transport Correspondent Paul Clifton

has been asking why. Let's look at the recommendations.

There would be a minimum learning period. Within that, beginners would

have to do a set number of hours, including driving at night and on

motorways, spread over several months. After passing the test there

would be new restrictions, for a year or two. They could include a

ban on carrying young passengers, a night time curfew and zero tolerance

to alcohol. But the Government is wary about restricting young

peoples' freedom of choice and independence. And with fewer traffic

police around, who is going to enforce all this?

Cameron is 17 and drives to college each day in his car. If the new

rules were in place, his independence and freedom of movement

would be restricted. At that point I wouldn't be driving so that will be

very problematic. I often take my bandmates home after gigs. Young

drivers account for 5% of miles driven that they are involved in 20%

of all serious crashes. Cameron's jazz band is rehearsing getting

ready for a gig. Some of the changes to be driving test would affect the

band. A night`time curfew, minimum period of learning and a restriction

on new drivers carrying passengers would each make it very difficult

for all of them to stay in the band. For me, it will be quite bad. It

would prevent us getting to and from kicks. `` geeks. These people saw

having a driving lesson in the classroom. From the age of 14, they

are preparing for the theory test with driving instructors. Today we

are learning the road signs and how to find them on the road. You have a

head start before everyone else. Only a handful of schools do this

yet almost everyone working in words `` road safety things teaching like

this makes drivers more aware of the rules and the risks. The rate is 60%

for theory. If you start when you 14 it is key. Education is better than

enforcement. Car insurers are keen to restrict

young drivers because it would reduce risk. The changes would mean

few 17`year`olds are out on their own. There are many road safety

experts who think there is a better way of educating teenagers instead

of restricting them. The driving test is a one`off test. What would

be better is to go through a system of education and getting our young

people on the road. Many people do this. There is lots of training like

driving on a motorway, my driving, all the things that we don't do in

this country. We asked the Department for Transport why it had

delayed making a decision first promised in March last year.

They have been considering it for years already. Plans for a Tesco

store behind Portsmouth Football Club's Fratton Park ground have been

submitted. The club is backing proposals for

the development on Fratton Way. Money from the scheme will be used

to carry out ground improvements. The store is expected to open in

2015 and create about 300 jobs. Budding entrepreneurs from two

schools in the south have reached the final of a national enterprise

challenge. The Tycoon in Schools competition is run by Peter Jones

best known as an investor on the BBC show Dragon's Den. Avonbourne

College in Bournemouth and Felpham Community College in Bognor Regis

will learn tomorrow if they've done enough to win. James Ingham went to

meet the pupils of Avonbourne to learn more about their idea.

Tell me about your business idea. We turn cooking oil into bio diesel for

our minibus. It started with a pitch. OK, not to dragons, but to

tutors who chose which business plan the school should submit to the

Peter Jones Foundation. At Avonbourne it was Funelling for Fuel

students working out that used cooking oil could be recycled and

given a new use. You can put some in each day and when you have a full

bottle, you can donate to us and we will use it to fuel their minibus.

It is very successful and we want to get this out to other schools so

they can do it again and protect the environment. Peter Jones set up the

scheme to address what he saw as an ambition gap in the UK. His mission

to create a culture of enterprise. Competitions like this brilliant

because they learn all of these skills but don't get to apply them

until they have been to university and then seek employment. From four

finalists, the winners will be announced at a ceremony at

Buckingham Palace tomorrow. Good luck to both teams. We wish you

well and hope you come up with the goodies.

Onto the sport and we are still enjoying the Winter Olympics. In a

moment, we will hear about slopestyle. Shall we start with

cross`country skiing? We were having high hopes for Andrew Musgrave. The

Dorset cross country skiier Andrew Musgrave failed to qualify for the

semi`finals of the men's sprint at the Winter Olympics in Sochi.

Musgrave who was born in Poole, and is here wearing the number 27 bib

made a good start to his quarter final, at one point leading the

field. However he made a mistake going wide at this corner, allowing

others into first and second place. He then lost further ground on the

steep hill section of the course, slipping into sixth. Last month he

beat the race leaders at the Norweigan National Championships and

was clearly frustrated by his performance today. However in

qualifying for the quarter finals he achieved Britain's best ever result

in the sport. I saw the guy took the lead and managed to stand his

ground. As soon as we went into the long hill, I just felt it wasn't a

good day and sometimes you get bad days and it sucks that it happened

at the Olympics. Southampton could go eighth in the

Premier League if they take at least a point in their match against Hull

tonight. The match comes off the back of their 2`2 draw against Stoke

on Saturday where Rickie Lambert had the goal of the game. Saints are

unbeaten in their last five league matches. There's full commentary on

BBC Radio Solent. And also tonight, Brighton play in the Championship.

The Seagulls, currently eighth in the table, face Leeds at the Amex

stadium. Kevin Pietersen has signed a new

contract with Surrey County Cricket Club for the coming season.

Pietersen, who was dropped by England earlier this month, will

mainly play in the revamped T`Twenty competition named Twenty20 Blast

which will run from May to July. However the batsman could also

feature in first class and 50`over games depending on other

commitments. I want to show you some really good

pictures now. Last night we told you about Caribbean crabs being swept

up, off the Kimmeridge coast, because of the storm. Well, today, a

seal pup has been washed up on the beach at Bournemouth. The pup came

ashore at Durley Chine. Rescuers along with police and the RSPCA had

to take it off the beach and to the West Hatch sanctuary. She is a grey

seal, named Kyarra after a famous Dorset shipwreck..

Are we going to have a lot more wind and rain or is it slowing down a

bit? It is still coming at us. Next week

we are looking at these storms becoming less intense and hopefully

trying out by the end of the month. Are they going to be fewer of them?

Fewer of them but we will still have them.

David Silver captured the flooding at Iffley lock on the outskirts of

Oxford. Mel Bury took this shot of the

flooding over the Thames Valley Park in Reading today.

And Roy Venkatesh captured Barney enjoying being amongst the crocuses

in Eastrop park in Basingstoke. We have some more rain for tomorrow

and into the weekend. Tonight we are looking at the potential for some

snow showers. Over the Salisbury plain, it turns quieter during the

first part of the night then we will see further wintry showers. We could

have won two two centimetres tonight. `` the big risk of ice on

untreated services. Tomorrow morning, the wind will pick up speed

and will be strong through the course of the day. Showers initially

before an intense band of rain arrives before lunchtime. That will

move fairly swiftly on those brisk winds and we are expecting highs of

seven to 10 Celsius. The winds tomorrow are the key feature and we

have gusts of up to 60 to 70 mph. We have parts of Dorset included in the

Met Office amber weather warning. I'll swear, there are yellow weather

warnings for wind and rain. We could see an inch of rain fall. ``

elsewhere, they argue have dashed yellow weather warnings for wind and

rain. It is only on Thursday morning that we see the wind easing. It is a

quieter day all in all. There is a fuchsia hours before this next area

of low pressure starts to swing its way in. This is all about the rain.

We are expecting some intense rainfall throughout the period of

Friday night into Saturday morning courtesy of that area of low

pressure. The wind will be brisk without rain. We are expecting some

heavy rain tomorrow, more so in the afternoon and and `` and an amber

weather warning on Wednesday. We have sunshine and showers on

Thursday and the next band of weather arrives on Friday.

It's called slopestyle and it's never been seen at the Olympics

until now: Freestyle skiing and snowboarding.

A heady concoction of aerial tricks and sheer bravery.

The event is now a firm Sochi favourite so it seemed only right to

give our own dare`devil weather presenter a chance to try it out.

Did you enjoy it? I did, yes.

It is early morning in Bracknell and the potential Olympians of tomorrow

are practising hard. Teaching them is James Webb. I first started

skiing here and then got into competitions and was part of the GB

team. Recently, I tried to enter the Olympics but have sustained an

injury. I am getting my own riding back up now. Slopestyle is the new

sporting skiing. It is brand`new at the Olympics this year. There is

various jumps along the course and you have to pick the best line and

the best job. Do not be afraid. Then it was my turn to have a go. I have

skied since I was six but have never attempted to jump on a dry slope.

You want to have your knees bent and get your weight forward with your

hands in front of you. No leaning back allowed. No fear. OK. I love

it. Let's go again. It is pretty cool that we can ski

not on snow and do it all year round. I think it is amazing. Sunday

mornings, we run coaching sessions. It is her hopes that after the

Olympics, the excitement will replicate here. Come down and give

it a go. I keep telling myself that falling is all part of the learning

process. It is amazing how fearless these

kids are. They are absolutely inspiring and they could one day be

the Olympians of the future. You could get picked for the British

team for the next winter Olympics without a shadow of a doubt. That is

if for now. Goodbye. `` Winter Olympics.