12/08/2014 South Today

very much. That's all from the BBC News at Six. Goodbye from me.

An island of debt ` the families in the South facing 'problem debt' with

We are on the great Western Railway. We are witnessing the start of its

transformation from a diesel railway to an electric one.

Calling all tiddlers ` the campaign to get the little ones

I fear there has been an extension in the countryside. Not the animals,

the young naturalists. `` extinction.

'We will take swift action against anyone'.

The words of police following an anti`slavery raid this

Officers say they have rescued eight men from a farm in Totton.

Hampshire Constabulary, supported by the National Crime Agency, arrested

a 27`year`old man on suspicion of knowingly holding another person

The eight rescued men, believed to be Romanian,

Latvian and Polish, have been taken to a 'survivor reception centre'.

Our reporter Rob Powell is in our newsroom.

this morning when officers executed this raid

on Salisbury Road in Calmore, part of an investigation into

Now I was in Totton at the site this afternoon.

I'm told the raid was actually carried out at a caravan park.

I spoke to two women who lived there.

They didn't want to appear on camera but said they thought

hundreds of police officers took part in this morning's raid.

One woman said her two young children were scared and shocked

They said the men taken by police weren't part of their traveller

community and didn't speak a lot of English, but added that they didn't

Well, those eight men now been taken to a survivor reception centre for

Police say they are all from Eastern Europe and aged between 21 and 46.

This afternoon we spoke to the National Anti`slavery Campaign,

who said migrants are vulnerable to slavery.

It is quite often the same, they will be offered a good job in

Britain. They will fall for that and be charged for recruitment fees and

organising transport to the United Kingdom. When they arrive, it turns

out the job is not quite what they imagined it would be. The pay is not

what it would be. Quite often their traumatised by the work they have

had point of view, we are looking to

help and support them in the work they are doing. A staff of his have

the same training and support. Have we got to the end of it are the tap

of the iceberg? That is growing across the region and country. We

are seeing 50% increase each year on the number of victims who are being

identified to the Salvation Army. The scale of

the South's hidden financial crisis has been highlighted today with

figures claiming that thousands of A new study shows that more than

180,000 families in the South East, 17% of the total, are failing to

keep up with household bills The picture

in the South West is similar, with almost 97,000 families, 16%,

unable to keep up with repayments. Among the worst affected are said to

be Gosport, with 24% But topping the table the Isle

of Wight with 35% That's more than a third

of families. For many visitors it is a good time

Island, hosting big festivals On the Pan estate in Newport,

no one is surprised that the Isle of Wight has high numbers

of families facing hard times. I'm not in debt, but I can see that

if it carried on like this, you would get that way. Because things

keep going up but your wages don't. Very hard. Especially with food,

because that's expensive. We just got to make the money go round.

The research by the Children's Society says 9 out

of 10 families in problem debt have had to cut back on the essentials

like food, clothing and heating in order to keep up repayments.

In the summer that might mean issues with affording new school uniform,

in the winter, a choice between heating and eating.

When we visited a young family this Christmas, they had ?10 left and had

to make a decision as to whether to buy food or electricity. Those are

the harsh realities of poverty on the Isle of Wight.

At this one stop advice centre they're seeing a big case load

of people with debt problems and they're clear about some

We are a holiday island so we have a lot of seasonal work. When that

disappears, people who stay on the island find themselves without

employment. There are a lot of zero hours contracts. That affects

peoples ability to budget the money `` people's.

The Island has been given 'assisted area status'.

The council hopes that will help attract investment Those

We're encouraging the chamber of commerce to encourage people to

start businesses here on the island. We are setting up apprenticeships.

Those struggling with debt are being urged to seek advice from the many

Earlier I spoke to Joe Surtees from the debt charity StepChange, which

co`authored the report with the Children's Society, and I started

by asking him if this was evidence that people were struggling.

I think it's quite clear from the research that we did

on the Children's Society that hundreds of thousands of people

across the UK and thousands of people in the South East are

I mean, we may be coming out a very difficult recession but that doesn't

There are still hundreds of thousands of people who have

Is it still linked to high unemployment or is not as simple as

50% of the people who come to StepChange are in problem debt

because they have become unemployed or had their hours cut.

But there are other factors involved as well, particularly rising bills

on things like rent and utilities, that are really hitting people hard.

The Isle of Wight is up 35%, which is one in three families,

How is it impacting on families and particularly children?

We focused very specifically on children in this research.

We found that about one in five children were bullied

at school because of their parents' debt problems.

We found about 58% were worrying about their parents' debt problems,

which obviously is something that none of you want to hear.

We are recommending a couple of angles that

For example, a breathing space scheme giving better protection to

families in debt but also for debt collection agencies to pay

more attention to the presence of children in a household

Do you think this is going to get worse or improve?

I'm afraid I can't make a prediction like that but what I can say is that

there is action the Government could and should take to improve

the situation and, if it does, hopefully things will get better.

The mother of a 28`year`old man who died after

being hit by a police car in Reading last week has said his family's

Father of two Aston Maclean Williams was involved in a collision

on Wokingham Road in the early hours of Wednesday

morning as a Thames Valley Police car responded to an emergency call.

The Independent Police Complaints Commission is investigating the

A lorry fire on the A27 near Portsmouth has caused long

Five fire engines tackled the blaze on the flyover above

The vehicle was completely destroyed.

No one's believed to have been inside at the time.

Still to come in this evening's South Today:

We'll get the latest forecast for the next few days from Alexis.

There is rain over the next few days but it is also looking pleasant for

those still on their summer holidays.

A police investigation is underway into the cause of a car fire

on a remote country lane in Hampshire, which left

a woman and two young children seriously injured in hospital.

Forensic investigators have spent most of the day here to gather

evidence about what happened on this quiet country lane. Alan was the

first person on the lane. They saw the car engulfed by fire. Her son

put out the flames on the women's legs. I saw this young cat against

the window in the car. `` kid. I opened the door and burnt my hand so

I had to let go of it. He fell out and put his hands up and said

daddy. I held his hands for 20 minutes. I didn't know where the car

was going to go. It's just as well I moved them as the car ended up where

they were and started exploding. The boy was airlifted to Southampton

Hospital where he is being treated for life`threatening injuries. His

mum and sister are also being treated in hospital. Detectives are

hoping to speak to her some point later although her condition is

described as serious. Next of kin have been informed and specially

trained officers are providing support. The focus of the police

investigation now isn't because of the fire into this quiet corner of

Hampshire. It's been revealed that applications

to build new homes on the South's green belt have been steadily rising

since the Coalition Government was Figures for the South East,

which includes Hampshire, Sussex, `` in 2010, the number

of residential projects securing And, by this year,

that figure had gone up to 388. In the South West,

which includes Dorset, Almost doubling, by this year,

to 59. The figures,

from Dorset construction and planning analysts Glenigan, come

at a time when planning battles In the next half hour,

a special meeting of Waverley Council will consider planning

for up to 8000 homes before 2013. Cranleigh in Surrey is the biggest

village in England. It has a population of 12,000 and is prime

for commuters. It is in the front line for a debate over new

development. There has been an application to build 425 homes on

these fields. It is a topic that is generating a lot of heat in high

street. Yes, we need houses and it is good for the community and

businesses but there is a limit. Cranleigh is the village. Long may

it stay so. When you start digging into green belts, how far do you go?

Definitely in favour is Jodi May, who spent six months living in a

tent when he was on the council's housing waiting list. We were on the

list for a year and they have. I've known people to be honoured for two

three years. The council has not yet made up its mind about the

application to build on the fields. It is very easy to become a limpet

and not want things to change but and not want things to change but

really things must change because if really things must change because if

we are all called, we don't use as many shops and if you walk down the

high street, you will find a lot of empty or closing shops. The

Government once wrote 8000 new homes built up until 2031. We have to look

at the sustainability. Where is the traffic going? We can't create

water, where the water supply coming from? The sustainability is vital.

The Government is looking out for possible scenarios including one

plan for large numbers of new houses at the April drone with the BBC's

top tier programme is filmed. Over the next few years, we're going to

CEC is of battles over where they are built. `` see a series.

It's a challenge which would impress Isambard Kingdom Brunel `

electrifying the intercity track of his Great Western railway, a mile

800 trains a day travel along the line, transporting tens of

Now there is a key piece of machinery to transform

the line from diesel to electricity, a factory on wheels.

Our transport correspondent, Paul Clifton, was given exclusive

From clocking on at the Swindon depot to starting on`site takes five

But when this factory train gets going, it is impressive.

These piles hold the gantries on which power lines

It is the first stage of the transformation

We have come through the test and commissioning phase

`` hammer. This ?40 million train is called Brunel.

It carries everything it needs to dig holes, mix and pour concrete,

erect overhead gantries and install wires.

What we've got to do is install 18,000 of these piles

We can pile while the adjacent route remains

open which means that services can still run through the evening

The train creeps over a level crossing at walking pace.

The location for each new pile is fixed by satellite.

So this GPS is accurate to 15 millimetres?

But despite all the fancy kit, measuring still comes

down to a spirit level, a tape measure and boots on the ballast.

This is the biggest railway investment

in the western route since Brunel did his work 176 years ago.

We're investing a huge amount of money to electrify the route to

ensure that by December 2016, we have faster, greener trains.

The train works up to five times faster than conventional gangs of

track workers, taking years off the modernisation of the Great Western.

The pricetag for the whole project, around ?1.5 billion.

The team will work westwards at one mile a night,

reaching Oxford, Newbury, Swindon and eventually Bristol

In the past, this would have required five years

But by breakfast time, trains will be running again.

Here's tonight's ties in the Capital One Cup,

which includes home games for Brighton, Portsmouth and Reading.

It's all change, particularly for Bournemouth tonight. None of the

starters from Huddersfield are expected to be revealed.

Here's tonight's ties in the Capital One Cup,

which includes home games for Brighton, Portsmouth and Reading.

It's the new Dons, against the old ones, whichever way you look

Sir Robin Knox Johnston and his crew aboard Grey Power have been forced

to retire from the Sevenstar Round Britain and Ireland sailing race

The boat suffered mast damage in tricky off shore conditions.

Two boats have pulled out so far from the 20 plus field.

The leading yacht Oman Sail is now on the trip South

and leading the fleet home at an average pace of 27 miles per hour.

Hampshire's game against Worcestershire in the

Royal London Cup was abandoned last night with only 25 balls bowled.

Meanwhile Surrey are in action at Edgbaston today in another rain

Tim Linley took the only wicket to fall as

The home side was 134 for 1 when the rain came.

Unfortunately there's no time set for resumption. It is still wet.

They've got some great gear now to get matches back on but we're not

sure about tonight. We are facing an extinction

in the South's countryside. It's not a rare bird or rodent

but a worrying decline So say nature campaigners who have

launched an education campaign to get young

people away from their computer In just one point, lots of wildlife

to discover. `` pond. It is important for children's

developments including physical and cognitive. But the Hampshire

wildlife trust says there is evidence that children aren't

exploring the outdoor cinema. Children are spending a lot less

time outdoors and more time indoors using technology. `` the outdoors

any more. They don't understand what is on the doorstep. A lot of my

friends play games on gadgets inside and miss out on the fun outside. The

campaign tries to inspire families to get out and get their hands. T

and explore nature. They have celebrity backing. There has been an

extension on my lifetime, the young naturalist. As much as they can

learn a lot in the classroom and online, what they would develop

without meeting at first hand is a deep`rooted affinity for the

subject. Wildlife enthusiasts here hope that more people get to love

the great outdoors when it's not whether for ducks. There have been a

fuchsia worse today. Graham Fielder took this shot

of Portchester Castle in Jo Haill took this shot

of her two favourite things, Archie the horse and a rainbow

in Petworth, West Sussex. And moody skies over Horton Tower in

Dorset photographed by Mike Ludwig. Some heavy showers today but they

are easing through the night. Tomorrow is a better day than today

as showers won't be as frequent or heavy. Tonight, still the risk of

the odd shower with tomorrow. Showers could be heavy but

they would be as frequent, with a high of 21 Celsius. Under clearer

skies, temperatures will be a little lower than tonight, perhaps down to

single figures in the countryside. 12 to 16 Celsius in cities.

We could easily get two of us in that. Good night.

MUSIC: "It Don't Mean A Thing" by Duke Ellington

celebrating the music of Count Basie and Duke Ellington.

We've got factory boys and butchers' apprentices and office clerks

Don't stop moving! If you go back you'll die!