09/09/2014 South Today

In tonight's programmd: it from Edinburgh we

As hundreds of trees near a housing estate are cut down illegally close

to a proposed a gypsy site, an MP pushes for tougher laws.

Ike I called for an urgent debate to make sure that these acts of

environmental vandalism can't happen elsewhere.

The power game ` a Ukrahnian billionaire tells us about

his plans to import electricity from across the channel to the South

Up for the Cup ` the skippers who'll compete

for the biggest prize in y`chting face the media for the first time.

And a 94`year`old who helpdd the British at Arnhem and survived

a Nazi death sentence talks about it for the first time, 70 ydars on.

I jumped on my bike, raced `way and managed to avoid it. He shot, but he

didn't reach me. An act of environmental vandalism `

that's how the Basingstoke LP Maria Miller is describing

the illegal felling of 500 trees The trees were cut

down just a few hundred letres from the Taylor's Farm housing

development at Sherfield on Loddon After their destruction,

the owners applied to make nearby They've since been ordered to

replant the trees and Mari` Miller is pressing for tougher laws to stop

it happening again. Our reporter Ben Moore is

in Sherfield on Loddon tonight. Thanks very much. The trees here, or

what is left of them, were planted 100 years ago, just after the First

World War. They have been ldft in World War. They have been left in

pieces then until the summdr when hundreds were felled illeg`lly

pieces then until the summdr when hundreds were felled illegally. The

council tried to stop the work as soon as it could. The injunction is

still on the gate here. But councillors, residents, even the NBA

know that looking at this it is too little, too late.

This was once a word. Now it is just stumps and dust.

Hundreds of Scots pines werd felled in a single day. The local LP is

in a single day. The local MP is enraged. I called for an trgent

debate on this issue not only to help these residents but `lso to

make sure that these sorts of Venus acts of environmental vandalism

can't happen elsewhere. When the new owners of the roadside bought it in

April, it looked like this. Nearby, they want to build a 3`page

travellers flip side. An application is before the council. As the noisy

work was going on to felt those hundreds of trees, there was one

group of people who could not fail to notice what was happening. They

lived yards opposite. The 0000 to notice what was happening. They

lived yards opposite. The 1000 homes on the Taylor farm estate. The first

anybody knew about it was when we heard the news `` the sound of

heard the news `` the sotnd of chainsaws. How did you fdel,

heard the news `` the sotnd of chainsaws. How did you feel, saying

that? Disappointed, shocked and that? Disappointed, shockdd and

surprised. Disappointed. Shocked. They went within about a wdek. We

have retired here and the reason that we bought the house was because

it backed onto woodland. To fell trees on this scale, you need

special permission from the Forestry Commission. That was not sotght

Commission. That was not sought. They quickly and all the council

could do was apply for an elergency injunction which took four days.

Yes, they are breaking thd laws, injunction which took four days.

Yes, they are breaking the laws but they flouted the law to achheve

they flouted the law to achieve their ends. There is little we

they flouted the law to achieve their ends. There is littld we can

do about it. Everything is retrospective. But we have

do about it. Everything is retrospective. But we havd done

do about it. Everything is retrospective. But we have done the

right thing to put these injunctions in place. The Forestry Commhssion

in place. The Forestry Comlission has issued a restocking order,

demanding that the owners area has issued a restocking order,

demanding that the owners `rea and then at `` they have not rtled out

prosecution. It will take ` prosecution. It will take a

generation to grow back to what it once was.

We try to contact the owners but we only got through to their agents.

only got through to their `gents. They say that the trees felled were

felled on a different part of the site from where the applic`tion

felled on a different part of the site from where the application for

the gypsy pitches and gone hn. That company represents the comp`ny on

company represents the company on the planning application only so

they felt they could not comment the planning application only so

they felt they could not colment on the tree felling. But it added that

the planning application is going through the usual process.

Portsmouth's Queen Alexandra Hospital had to divert patients

from its emergency departlent to Southampton yesterday.

The hospital says it usually sees ten patients an hour in A E,

but yesterday afternoon demand peaked at an unprecedentdd 3

It says normal service has now resumed ` but the news comes against

a backdrop of consistent fahlures to see patients within four hotrs.

Briony Leyland has been looking into this.

Briony, tell us more about what happened yestdrday.

Well, there was a big surge in demand. Just lots of people needing

attention. Quite a lot of elderly attention. Quite a lot of dlderly

people who had had falls. Ht meant that six patients with

non`life`threatening condition who would normally have been brought by

ambulance to that hospital were taken to Southampton. That was a

contingency plan last acthvated taken to Southampton. That was a

contingency plan last activated 18 months ago. There comes a point when

the staff take staff `` staff take the staff take staff `` st`ff take

stock and decided that the best stock and decided that thd best

thing for patients is to be diverted taking patients from their homes to

an alternative facility. Brhny, we an alternative facility. Briny we

have reported before on thd trust not meeting times from seehng

not meeting times from sdeing patients in emergencies? Is

not meeting times from sdeing patients in emergencies? Hs that

not meeting times from sdeing patients in emergencies? Is that an

issue? Yes, it is. They havd issue? Yes, it is. They have

introduced new technology to track patients and to speed up trdatment,

they have introduced GPs into the department at peak times to see less

urgent patients. The target is to see 95% of patients in the dmergency

department within four Alicd. In department within four Alhce. In

July, that figure was 85%. `` within four hours. Last night, thex met to

see what could be done. What we got from the health chiefs was ` clear

from the health chiefs was a clear commitment from every part of the

NHS from the people who bux the commitment from every part of the

NHS from the people who buy the care on our behalf to hospitals that they

were would work hard to think about what the problem is and what we need

to tackle and we are clear `bout the plan that needs to be put into

place. Extra money is likely plan that needs to be put into

place. Extra money is likdly to plan that needs to be put into

place. Extra money is likely to be coming. ?4 million on extr` beds.

The impact will be keenly watched. Staffing levels and recruhtment

at the Isle of Wight's health services have been

criticised by a health watchdog The Care Quality Commission says

the NHS Trust "requires improvement" ` especially in acute services

and accident and emergency. The Chief Inspector of Hospitals

has served a warning notice to The inspection team descdnded

on the Island for three days ` then came back two weeks later

for an unannounced follow`up visit. The CQC's main concern centred on

staff shortages and the difficulty There are some problems

in recruiting and retaining staff on the Isle of Wight

and there are employment problems I think staffing levels `re

the things that probably will change things for them and that is

a question of making sure that the Another issue highlighted

in the report was unqualhfied reception staff at the emergency

drop`in centre assessing p`tients We argued that the triaging was

being done by a receptionhst in our GP walk`in centre which is an

entirely appropriate thing to do. But CQC felt that that was the

front of our A department so we And as you walked through

the department you would h`ve seen That is one of the things that they

mentioned that we have responded to. The other areas

the CQC wanted improved were The Trust has already bdgun

addressing these areas. There was praise

for some outstanding areas of care. Integrated sexual health, working

with police to help vulner`ble people and enabling childrdn with

serious or rare conditions to be But the issue

of recruiting experienced ledical staff who were prepared to settle on

the island has been raised `gain. The detective leading the

Pennie Davis murder investhgation says she may have been followed

from work by her killer bdfore The mother of five was found dead

last Tuesday close to where she had been looking after her horses,

at Leygreen Farm in Beaulieu Pennie had been working

at Sainsbury's More than 200 officers and staff

are working on the investigation. A 22`year`old man arrested

on suspicion of murder has been Still to come

in this evening's South Today: A survival story heard

for the first time. 70 years on ` the 94 year old who

helped the British at Arnhdm A scam email `

claiming to have been sent from a ticket agency in Bournemouth

` could have affected thous`nds The phishing email, which is

designed to install malicious software, tells people they've

booked tickets to Bournelouth BH Live ` which runs the venue `

says there's been no breach of data Ashya King has left a spechalist

clinic in Prague after unddrgoing scans in advance of proton beam

treatment for brain cancer. The five`year`old's parents `

from Southsea ` took him out of Southampton General

Hospital last month Ashya was flown to the cdntre

on Monday from Spain. The therapy which is not av`ilable

to them on the NHS is likelx to cost tens of thousands of pounds `

which the family hope to pay for It is there at the back of ly mind

as something I will have to sort out. But we are happy to be here and

he is getting treatment at last I he is getting treatment at last. I

would be a lot happier but that nagging thought about the money will

have to come up at some stage into have to come up at some st`ge into

my mind. The future of a road on thd Isle

of Wight that partially collapsed in heavy rainfall could be decided

this evening. A landslip damaged Undercliff Drive

near Ventnor in February. Cracks appeared in houses, forcing

a number of residents to move out. The council is discussing

whether further investigathons are A Ukrainian`born billionahre has

been speaking to South Today about his ambitious plan to import

electricity for 1.4 million people into

the South of England from France. Alexander Temerko wants to build

an interconnector pipelind from a French nuclear power station

near Cherbourg and plug it hnto But he says he's in dispute over

exactly where this electrhcity Alexander Temerko smilinglx told

me how much he loves big btsiness. He is an energy oligarch

and he can afford to. He is stumping up almost one

third of the ?1.4 billion ht will cost to lay no known electricity

pipelines across the Channel. Today we have the capacitx

of making electricity in France The best way in our opinion is to

have between France and England The cable will run along

the sea bed to near Portslouth. Mr Temerko has been told

by the National Grid that this substation is near capacitx and he

should run it to near Bramley. Running to this substation

between Bramley and Filchester was involve a vast amount of digging

over a distance of 40 milds. We have asked the National Grid

to comment on this project but it has refused because a connection

agreement has not been signed They told us that they would

identify which ever substathon was identify which ever substation was

the most economic. more economic and efficient for

the National Grid to upgr`de the If capacity in South England

is full, it is impossible to I will appeal because we spent

money, we can train you to spend money and I do not want to stop

because we need to keep it going. The current timetable would have

the cable laid in five ye`rs Increasing the number

of interconnectors to Europd to cut bills and increase energy security

is a government priority. Alexander tim echocardiogral may be

a Tory party donor but it is the National Grid

and Ofgem he now needs to convince. The Grid's national arm has

permission for a subsea cable which will connect to the grid

near Fareham switching on hn 2 19. It's been talked about for `lmost 20

years, but this week, revisdd plans for the redevelopment of

a rundown part of central Whnchester The city council says the

Silver Hill project will transform the area,

but there is fierce opposhtion. And its decision to drop

its requirement for affordable homes to be built there,

has further angered some residents. This is a neglected corner of

Winchester ` an eyesore in a city Which is why the city council has

pinned its hopes on developers who have promised this vibrant

regeneration with shops, restaurants But their plans are controvdrsial `

they have been criticised for being out of keeping whth

Winchester's historic centre. And none of the homes built will need to

be affordable after the council accepted

the developers' argument that providing social housing wotld make

the scheme financially unvi`ble I think it will be a big loss. The

portal thing is to have mixdd portal thing is to have lixed

communities rather than expensive ghettos. They will be extrdmely

ghettos. They will be extremely expensive, the new units `nd it

ghettos. They will be extremely expensive, the new units and it will

be a precedent for every other site that comes up in the town cdntre.

The council accepted the developers argument that providing affordable

It is not viable for the developer to provide affordable housing but we

can work together to see how this scheme can provide affordable

housing that might not bd on a different site.

That will depend on the profit made by developers and

But with more than 2,000 pdople on the housing waiting list, many

residents are angry that affordable homes won't be built here.

It is the young people. I think they need more affordable housing and

need more affordable houshng and probably more council. Thdre is

need more affordable houshng and probably more council. There is a

demand for social housing hn demand for social housing in

register. It is historical, they have sold for the council housing

and now people who got afford to buy their own housing, are struggling.

their own housing, are strtggling. We don't own. We would likd to buy

and we will probably never be able to. Affordable housing would be

to. Affordable housing wotld be amazing. It is pretty rubbish

Now the sport. Looking forw`rd to the America's Cup. Then Ainsley has

been trying to put a team together. Earlier today

the six skippers gathered to speak And Sir Ben was confident he could

achieve something no other British team has ever done `

bring the famous trophy home In the ultra`competitive,

millionaire`funded world that is the America's Cup `

it's an achievement to evdn get But Sir Ben Ainslie hs

making good headway. We are working hard with potential

commercial partners which wd hope to have in place by the end of the

year. And we need the fin`l have in place by the end of the

year. And we need the final dates and venues to be set in stone.

He has the Prime Minister on board to the tune

And planning permission for a ? 2 million headquarters in Portsmouth.

Part of having a team based there is integrating with the local

community. More outreach programmes and getting youngsters from local

and getting youngsters frol local schools and academies into sailing

and out on the water and into the technical side of the sport.

As a four`time Olympic sailhng gold medallist,

But heading up a team is a different proposition.

And if that's not enough, he's also battling

It is a huge task, but we would not go in it if we did not think we can

The event is likely to bd held in the US in 2017.

Sir Ben Ainslie will be hoping to write another page

And if he does, these waters could one day play host

It is the best site in the TK and if we could win the America's Cup, that

would be great. In rugby, London Irish full back

Tom Homer has been ruled out for a minimum of eight weeks after

suffering a knee ligament hnjury. Homer was only on the field

for seven minutes in Saturday s fixture against Harlequhns,

before he was forced off. The injury is completely unrelated

to the groin injury that kdpt him The new hockey season gets tnder way

this coming weekend and despite both the men's and women's teams losing

key players and installing Both teams travel to Surbiton

on Saturday. At a recent Premier Division launch

event, Looking forward to a new er` for the

club. I think we have good strength in depth in our club. They `re class

acts and it will be great to see them playing. They are brhlliant

players. Good luck to thel. Former Southampton footballer

Francis Benali now has just 4 days left of his epic 1,000 mile run

between every Premier Leagud ground. Today, Franny was running

between Swindon and London ` just the 41 miles He finishds at St

Mary's Stadium on Saturday during You can help donate to thd cause

by going to the website Is as got to be served half, how

many ice bath as he had? Not as many as he will do.

She's now 94, and she's been living quidtly in

But in ten days' time Helen Wilson will be an honoured guest at events

to commemorate the 70th annhversary of the famous Bridge Too Far battle

Because unknown to most of her neighbours, Helen was a melber of

And not only did she help the British and Allied troops

at Arnhem, she also survived capture, torture and a death

Steve Humphrey has been hearing her remarkable story

She is one of the bravest of the brave. Now 94, Helen Wilson still

remembers the anti`Nazi songs which Dutch people sang during thd

Dutch people sang during the occupation. She lived in @rnhem,

under a different name. In the under a different name. Hn the

resistance, health code name under a different name. Hn the

resistance, health code n`me. In under a different name. Hn the

resistance, health code namd. In the resistance, health codename was

resistance, health codenale was honey. Get captured twice by the

gist though, she was torttred honey. Get captured twice by the

gist though, she was tortured and sentenced to death. People in her

group was shot but she survived. Yes, I was very lucky to strvive.

The men did not survive. The men Yes, I was very lucky to strvive.

The men did not survive. Thd men of our group did not survive soulful ``

the men of our group did not survive. She escaped behng

the men of our group did not survive. She escaped being stopped

by and not the collaborator. I jumped on my back and raced away. I

managed to avoid him. He shot, but it did not reach me. In 1944, the

ILO 's launch the attempt to capture the bridge over the Rhine at

Arnhem. The Dutch resistance was heavily involved as British and

Polish soldiers struggled to Polish soldiers struggldd to

withdraw. They all had to escape and hide somewhere because they couldn't

get back. And the Dutch held them a lot, putting them up at gre`t risk

lot, putting them up at grdat risk to themselves. Helen was evdntually

arrested by the Gestapo. Shd was arrested by the Gestapo. She was

tortured and sentenced to death. arrested by the Gestapo. She was

tortured and sentenced to ddath But she survived thanks to Canadian

troops who advance on the building where she was waiting to bd

where she was waiting to be executed. The Germans jtst

where she was waiting to be executed. The Germans just fled.

where she was waiting to be executed. The Germans just fled The

ones who were guarding us, they just scarpered. Total relief, total

relief. I remember running home to my parents. After the war, Helen

married an English army officer my parents. After the war, Helen

married an English army offhcer and moved here. Apart from an orange

resistant armband issued hn moved here. Apart from an orange

resistant armband issued in 19 5, she said that she has had no

she said that she has h`d no official recognition from

she said that she has h`d no official recognition frol the

she said that she has h`d no official recognition from the Dutch

government. They have not bden very good. No. Helen is going to Arnhem

next week for the 70th annhversary of the axle. She says it w`s her

of the axle. She says it was her faith that played a large part in

her survival against all the odds. faith that played a large part in

her survival against all thd odds. I was a Christian. I am a Chrhstian.

was a Christian. I am a Christian. And I think that kept me alive

And I think that kept me `live. Prayer, yes. Definitely.

What a survivor. An amazing story there. Now the weather. Another

gorgeous day, will it last? gorgeous day, will it l`st?

Absolutely. A high of 22 degrees inland. And lovely picturds.

After a murky start this morning, things improved and we saw lots of

sunshine. Barely a cloud for some. It little high cloud feeding in this

afternoon. It will be a dry night afternoon. It will be a drx night

tonight. The heat will radhate afternoon. It will be a drx night

tonight. The heat will radi`te away. Temperatures will drop in the

countryside. Very similar to countryside. Very simil`r to

butchers to last night. The mist and fog may take its time to cldar

fog may take its time to clear tomorrow morning. There will

fog may take its time to clear tomorrow morning. There whll be

fog may take its time to clear tomorrow morning. There will be some

sunny spells. A little more cloud sunny spells. A little mord cloud

expected for eastern areas and sunny spells. A little mord cloud

expected for eastern areas `nd along the south coast. But in the

sunshine, temperatures re`ching the south coast. But in the

sunshine, temperatures reaching a lovely high of 20 Celsius. Slightly

down on today. The breeze whll be down on today. The breeze will be

light away from the coast. A down on today. The breeze will be

light away from the coast. @ lovely end to the day tomorrow. Varying

amounts of cloud. A pleas`nt, end to the day tomorrow. Varying

amounts of cloud. A pleasant, dry day thanks to high pressurd.

day thanks to high pressure Tomorrow night stay settled

day thanks to high pressure Tomorrow night stay settldd once

again. The light winds. They Tomorrow night stay settldd once

again. The light winds. Thdy will start to develop from the dast So

slightly cooler as we head towards the weekend. That high the centre of

the high`pressure moving towards Scandinavia but still fairly

Scandinavia but still f`irly settled. You can see thd

Scandinavia but still f`irly settled. You can see the whdening

Scandinavia but still f`irly settled. You can see the widening of

the isobars. There will be the chance of mist and fog e`ch

the isobars. There will be the chance of mist and fog each night

this week. During the daythme, this week. During the daxtime,

varying amounts of cloud. Some holes in the cloud cover. At the weekend,

high`pressure still remaining in charge. It should stay mahnly

high`pressure still remaining in charge. It should stay mainly dry

barring the odd shower for eastern areas on Thursday. A lot more cloud

around on Thursday which should sin and break`up to allow sunshhne for

and break`up to allow sunshine for the afternoon. Sunny spells expected

on Friday and the weekend. on Friday and the weekdnd.

We can't claim `` becatse on Friday and the weekdnd.

We can't claim `` becausd the on Friday and the weekdnd.

We can't claim `` because the men about that. We will be back at APN

and again at 10:25pm. `` wd cannot complain about that.

Prince Harry has challenged them - now they will challenge each other,

more than 400 international competitors.

No strangers to battle, all have served their country.