25/04/2014 South Today

Hello. Welcome to South Today. In That is all from the BBC News

Hello. Welcome to South Today. In tonight's programme: A dangerous

increase in those being treated for legal highs. One hospital says it's

seeing children as young as 11. Approximately once a fortnight

people are presenting with potentially life`threatening

problems requiring admission to intensive care.

Fields of gold. The boom in the number of solar farms across the

south. From icon to eyesore, the death

knell for a Bracknell building that's been at the centre of the

town. Welcome to the glamorous world of

high performance motoring on a rainswept banana boat dock in

Portsmouth harbour. A hospital in the south says there

has been a worrying increase in the number of children needing emergency

treatment after taking legal highs during the school holidays. Doctors

say there can be serious consequences, with one person every

fortnight ending up in intensive care because they're so ill. The

youngest patient treated over the last six months was aged just 11. In

some cases, patients are so poorly they have to be anaesthetized for

their own safety. Legal highs like these are not meant

to be used by children, but often they are. In Portsmouth one child is

taken to hospital every week after trying them. In the last 12 months

we have noticed an increase in frequency of patients attending

following the use of legal highs and we have noticed a younger population

of patients attending. Sometimes as young as 11. Usually they are

treated here in the emergency department. Often the children

themselves have no idea what is in the substance they have taken.

Neither do the doctors. The effects can be dramatic. The most typical

presentation is that they seize, so they have full body shaking

movements and in those instances it is difficult to manage their airways

so commonly you end up anaesthetising these patients,

intubating them and letting the drug wear off in intensive care.

Sometimes patients do not recover. Christopher Scott from Wiltshire

died after trying a legal high called AMT. He had not taken the

pills on the day that this happened. We knew he took the pills over the

weekend. He felt pain because his internal organs were heating up,

basically cooking. So far the government has banned 250 legal high

drugs but 150 new ones have sprung up. Here are some I found on the

internet this morning. I spoke to the man selling these. He said

business was steady. They may be legal but not for children. In

Portsmouth there has been a pattern emerging. School holidays, Easter

holidays, Christmas, times where perhaps adolescent and older people

are indulging a bit more and having a few drinks with the family and not

paying attention to what their children are getting up to. Taking

legal highs is not confined to the school holidays. There has been an

increase across the year. But the fact users are so young and

sometimes need intensive care to recover is especially worrying.

David joins me now. What's behind this increase? We see these spikes

in numbers around the school holidays. Parents are away and young

people are going to parties and getting these substances from older

brothers and sisters or from other adults. Some are ending up in

hospital. Some are in quite a serious way. They need

paediatricians, often an accident and emergency team and sometimes

even intensive care. It can take three or four days for their bodies

to calm down and recover. We mentioned Portsmouth. Are others

hospitals seeing the same thing? I am sure they must be, but the

interesting thing is that this has come from one nurse at Portsmouth

who decided to keep a log of the people treated for the effects of

legal highs, and that revealed the growing problem and the very young

age of some of the patients. Two people from Hampshire have been

arrested after a toddler was taken to hospital with injuries that left

him in a serious condition. Police were called to a property in Leigh

Park yesterday. A 23`year`old woman and a 29`year`old man, both from

Havant, have been released on bail until June. Hospital staff alerted

police after the one`year`old was admitted in the early hours of

Thursday morning. A union representing care workers is

calling for a rethink on a plan to change services for dementia

sufferers in Poole. 45 residents will have to be moved and up to 80

jobs are at risk following the decision to shut an entire care

home. The council says the changes will save substantial sums of money

while delivering high quality care. 80 staff at this care home have been

caring for people with dementia for over 30 years. At the moment there

are 45 residents, 36 funded by the council. The council have decided

that it has to close. They say it is past its sell by date, is expensive

to maintain and does not have the right facilities. It means

uncertainty for the residents and staff. The residents are the

priority, vulnerable people with dementia, and we have to make a

smooth transition for them and the relatives. The staff are very

important as well. The care home is owned by the conservative run

council and staff were transferred eight years ago. Through no fault of

their own the staff who were previously valuable employees

thought they were moving to a service that had a long`term future

and are finding they may be out of a job. Opposition councillors have

broadly supported the changes being made to the services offered to

dementia sufferers. They are vulnerable and it is our

responsibility to ensure they get the best possible treatment. It is

expected many of the residents will move here to a brand`new building.

There are no guarantees about how many staff will get jobs. In

contrast, around a dozen staff at this day centre, which is also

clothing, will get council jobs that another day centre. Poole runs a day

centre and there are sufficient vacancies for staff to be

transferred back to the day centre. Care UK said it is doing everything

possible to help staff. The company said there is a possibility of work

at its other sites around the country and fully expects there will

be some jobs at the new care home in Poole.

A cage`fighter has been jailed for ten years for killing his

girlfriend's former partner in Southampton. Damon Wright, 32, from

Bournemouth, was found guilty of manslaughter earlier this month.

Father of three Kevin Wyeth was beaten to death in the Woolston area

of the city in August last year. It's the renewable energy that

investors have really taken a shine to. There's a boom in the number of

solar farms fuelled by a shortage of suitable sites and the promise of

high returns. That's despite a cut in government subsidies. There are

44 working solar farms in the South Today area. More than two dozen

farms got planning permission in the past year. Only one was rejected.

Another 15 applications are still in the pipeline.

Harvesting the sun, even in wet weather. Once a novelty on rooftops,

these solar panels are spreading across the countryside. The boom

that is being seen is attributable to the government subsidy regime to

landowners looking for diversification opportunities and

investors from around the world seeing an opportunity to invest in

Britain in renewable energy. This site has 20,000 solar panels, each

generating 200 kilowatts of electricity, enough to power 1500

homes, these developments do not come cheap, it has cost ?10 million

to build. For landowners they are popular because it could make them

around ?1000 an acre per year. Investors can expect annual returns

of up to 7%. As with wind farms, visual impact can still be an issue

but nothing like the controversy we have seen with turbines on and

offshore. If you have wind turbines over 100 metres tall, their visual

impact over a long distance is considerable whereas a solar farm is

much less intrusive and can fit more easily into the countryside,

providing scale and location and aspect are looked into. Despite lots

of extra panels, solar still only generates 4% of our green power.

Broadly speaking, one offshore wind turbine can provide power for 3,500

homes. Using solar you would need 54,000 panels. How viable one of

these farms actually is has little to do with the sun's rays. Each site

needs connecting to the Grid, which costs money. How much depends on

what infrastructure is available. Without it that precious energy is

going nowhere. Just like with wind farms, people are divided on solar.

This is one of the latest farms on land south of Fareham. It is built

in our strategic gap which keeps their separate, the green belt, but

it does not do what it was supposed to do. It was a small improvement,

but we would rather not see it here. Rain or shine, the government sees

solar power as a key element in reaching its renewables target for

2020. For that to happen, more suitable sites need to become

available. If not, this boom may be over almost as soon as it started.

Comments left online about plans to increase the amount of airspace

controlled by Farnborough Airport have been lost after problems with

the website. A consultation on the expansion plans opened in February.

But website issues mean all feedback from residents left between 11th and

16th April has been deleted. The consultation will now run until mid

May. Still to come: Why the banana docks

in Portsmouth are preparing a little treat for Clarkson in Barbados.

It was the first new fire station to be built in Berkshire in 20 years.

But the BBC has discovered the new ?1.5 million building in Wokingham

has serious structural problems which could be hugely expensive to

put right. It's not the only capital project presenting challenges for

the Fire Service. Following the excitement of its

grand opening in 2011, cracks have appeared on the concrete floor,

there are problems with the roof and the main doors to not work properly.

It has not been built well enough, there are serious structural

problems which will need to be corrected. Not the kind of

structural problems which are putting people in imminent danger.

The fire station is being used safely, so we do not have an

immediate problem but the building has have worked on to make sure it

is able to service the needs of our firefighters and the communities

they look after in the long`term. A full investigation is underway. This

station cost ?1.5 million to build and is going to cost a lot to put it

right. It is crucial that it is established who is responsible and

who will fit the bill. Local taxpayers will not want to pay for

it. 15 miles away, Berkshire's brand`new Fire Service HQ should be

open by now. It will host the first joint control room, but there have

been delays. This new build follows the abandonment of nine new control

centres across the UK at a cost of ?0.5 billion. The problem was the

technology was never got right. That was an important lesson which we

have done well to learn in the way we have handled this project, so the

delay is unfortunate but I think justifiable on the basis of how

important that technology is. It's the HQ is late than problematic ``

better. A teacher who showed pupils how to

cut themselves with craft knives so they could paint in their own blood

has been allowed to carry on teaching. Sandra Kennedy had

admitted matters got out of hand during the lesson at the Ringwood

Waldorf School in March last year, when 13 pupils cut themselves. She

was suspended and later resigned. The National College of Teaching and

Leadership found Sandra Kennedy guilty of unacceptable professional

conduct, but said it was an "isolated mistake".

There are many who think the decision should have been taken

years ago but permission has now been granted to demolish the former

3M building in Bracknell. Over the decades, it had deteriorated from

icon to eyesore and its removal will be an important step in the

regeneration of the town centre. It is pretty much the one thing

Bracknell is known for these days. The 3M building. The town's most

iconic building, Winchester house, is on borrowed time. The council has

said it can be demolished. It is the building you see in town every day,

you see at four miles. Do you like it? No. I think they have left it

too late for Bracknell. They should have done it years ago. It will be

very modern. That could go either way. More than 300 new flats will be

built on the site. It will set above retail block with a new underpass

running through the middle. Is this a departure from Bracknell as a

centre of industry? We have always said the town centre would be the

heart of our economy. It is not just about shopping. It is about eating,

people coming to visit. We have large companies and we want them to

come and use this as... . The 3M building featured heavily when we

asked users to suggest the most loved and hated building. Some

inspire and some do not, but by far and away the most heated seems to be

the Castlemilk halls of residence in Oxford. We will be looking at these

in the coming months. Keep your suggestions coming. For the moment,

watch this space. We are trying to find out what are

the most popular and heated buildings in the south. Tell us

which ones you love and loath. Are they selling, Saints?

Now done deals. They have come out and said, you might have been doing

the papers about multi`million pound deals, that is not the case.

Insisting there is no deal in place to sell any players including Adam

Lallana and Luke Shaw after a week of increasing speculation in the

national press that the pair are to be sold. Saints director Les Reed

made a very rare appearance in front of the cameras this morning to

dispel rumours about Saints' top young talents and the reports that

the likes of Manchester United were poised to make huge offers for their

services. Reports that we're about to close deals on certain are

totally misinformed, misleading and Andrew. No club has been given

permission to talk to any of our players so reports that some of our

players are in the process of negotiation and negotiating transfer

fees are contracts are absolutely misinformed. There's been a few

rumours about the manager, too. What did Les Reed say about that? He did

not give the impression there was any change on the horizon. He was

talking about bringing in new players. We intend to keep this good

team together and build on it by bringing in players to improve on

that. We have our targets, we want to improve the squad, these are

things we are discussing on a daily basis. We intend to develop a squad

that is capable of improving the position next season.

In the Football League, it's the penultimate weekend. It's very close

in the race for the play`offs. Reading know that they could be back

out of the top six by the time they kick off tomorrow, as Brighton play

tonight at home against bottom club Yeovil at the Amex.

Bournemouth probably consider themselves out of the race but

mathematically still have the slimmest of chances, if they can win

their last two games. Reading are at Doncaster tomorrow. Pavel Pogrebnyak

could return to the side, but Danny Guthrie and Hal Robson`Kanu are

missing for Nigel Adkins' men. Reading will hope Bournemouth can do

them a favour, as they host Nottingham Forest at Dean Court.

Tommy Elphick could return from a back injury.

Saints face Everton in tomorrow's early kick off at St Mary's. In

League One, Swindon hope to keep their play`off hopes alive with a

win at Notts County, MK Dons go to Rotherham. In League Two,

Portsmouth's manager`in`waiting Andy Awford goes for a sixth win out of

six on the road at Bury for resurgent Pompey. Oxford have to win

against Accrington and hope York lose if their play`off chances are

to stay alive. There's full commentary of all the games on BBC

local radio. We'll break down what it all means going into the final

week of the season on Late Kick Off which is back on Monday night. We'll

also talk Saints and the World Cup with former Southampton midfielder

Matthew Oakley who is among our special guests.

Sholing Football Club will play at Wembley in the biggest match in

their history in a fortnight's time. Today some of staff at the club had

a look around and got their hands on the trophy. They lame`duck against

their opponents at the National Stadium, calling on football fans to

get behind them. Tickets cost just ?15 for adults.

Surrey Storm hope to complete a season at the top of British netball

this weekend. They take on Manchester Thunder in the grand

final of the Super League in Worcester tomorrow night. The Storm

went unbeaten in the regular season before winning their play`off semi

final. It's a repeat of the 2012 final, which Manchester won.

It's a big weekend of play`off matches for some of the south's

rugby union sides. And one of the teams looking to create a piece of

history is Chichester. They're looking to reach the National League

for the first time in their 130`year existence. The West Sussex club have

a home promotion play`off tomorrow against Eton Manor.

Spectacular, expensive and very, very fast. That was the unusual

cargo being prepared for a banana boat at Portsmouth docks this

morning. 30 high performance cars were loaded into containers for the

voyage to Barbados. They're going to be taking part in a special festival

organised by the team behind Top Gear.

Welcome to the glamorous world of high performance motoring on a rain

swept banana boat dock in Portsmouth harbour. The cars are going to the

Caribbean for a Top Gear Festival next month. The live festivals are a

commercial spin off from the TV programme and have already been held

in Australia, South Africa and Poland. Now the Barbados Tourist

Board have signed up in a three`year deal. Interestingly, Jeremy Clarkson

once visited the island to see whether he'd rather spend his money

running a BMW for a year, or taking a Caribbean holiday. No, this is

definitely better, definitely. So, Top Gear Festival, Barbados, it is

our first time in Barbados. It is a live celebration of everything about

motoring. It is all in the spirit of Top Gear. We have Jeremy Clarkson,

James May and Richard Hammond of course. We have the Stig, Lewis

Hamilton, all sorts going on. For the dockyard workers, this has been

a real treat. Getting to grips with some of the world's finest

supercars. This is an Enzo Ferrari. It's worth somewhere around ?1.5

million and fitting it into a container takes nerves of steel. I

have recently lost a little bit of weight. I think if I was a stone or

two heavier I would be borderline getting out of the window. It is

very tight. What is it like to drive? Very noisy. Not so much fun

on a day like today but hopefully in Barbados it will be a little bit

nicer. Ships like this bring over 30 million bananas at a time to

Portsmouth. But this particular return load is going to be worth a

lot more. It is quite high. A banana cargo could be ?3 or ?4 million. The

collective value of the 30 odd vehicles we are shipping out for Top

Gear is somewhere north of ?10 or ?12 million. It is quite a

substantial value but we do carry a lot of other valuable cargo from

time to time as well. It's not all glamour. A flotilla of Reliant

Robins are going for the car football event.

I like the fact they have some of the yellow cards next to the red

cards. `` cars. It is fairly unsettled for the

weekend, a lot of rain on the cards, but there will be some warm sunshine

at times. Further rain on the cards for the

first part of the night and through the early hours of the morning the

rain will gradually led not `` edge northwards. There could be funded

the rain with the rain band moving northwards. The next band of rain

starts to arrive by dawn tomorrow, fairly heavy rain. In the last 24

hours in parts of Hampshire we have seen just over an in shop rainfall.

This could cause localised flooding, so stay tuned to your local radio

station. Temperatures in towns and cities down to eight or nine

Celsius. There could be a lot of surface water on the roads. There

will be a brief dryer interlude where we will see some sunshine

before the next batch of showers starts coming in from the west

later. And late afternoon we will start to see some sunshine. Winds

are pretty blustery. Under these showers and a possibility with

temperatures falling to 7`9dC. Sunday there is low pressure along

the south coast and it is moving but we will still see some showers, some

sunshine to be had but it will start to feel a bit better towards the

afternoon on Friday, sorry Sunday. Heavy showers, the old rumble of

thunder, but there will be some sunny spells and it will feel

pleasantly warm in the sunshine with temperatures reaching 15 or 16

Celsius. And unsettled weekend. Showers through the weekend, Monday

they risk of showers, unsettled into Wednesday.

We were spoiled the other week with the lovely weather.

We have more at 8pm and 10:25pm. at the European elections

on May the 22nd. even though that would wreck

the recovery and destroy jobs. The Conservatives

are now openly flirting with exit. they just don't have the courage

of their convictions on this. They wouldn't lift a finger

to help keep Britain in the EU. So, I'm asking you to vote for the

Liberal Democrats, the party of in. In for the sake

of British prosperity and jobs.