19/12/2016 South Today

Writing for right. is all

Support for a Hampshire family's fight to free a mother imprisoned

We weren't expecting this much support.

It helps lift spirits and drive this campaign.

Without local support our campaign wouldn't get off the ground.

A Portsmouth mother is convicted of murdering her baby son.

Jake was just 19 days old when he died.

Pagham residents face an anxious Christmas after makeshift sea

The changing face of the cornershop, and how it's fought

Christmas is a difficult time if you're separated from your family.

So imagine what it must be like for the young mother who's been

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe was arrested while returning home

with her two-year-old daughter, after visiting her parents.

She's currently serving five years for offences relating

to national security, although the charges against her

Her husband Richard, who's from Fleet in Hampshire,

continues to campaign for her release.

Tonight, he's taken that campaign to Downing Street.

Our political editor Peter Henley is there.

Peter, there's a festive theme to the protest

It is, joyful in many ways which is not what is in the hearts of the

people singing here opposite the gates of Downing Street.

It is a long way from here in London with the London Knights, to a jail

in Tehran when Nasa name is in solitary confinement. But many of

her family have made the check up from Hampshire to raise awareness

because what they really want is that the case will be raised by the

Government and that the Iranians will bring her back to pretend.

There is a growing campaign -- back to Britain.

Christmas is the time of friends and family which is why today

on the last Monday before Christmas, Nazanin's family and friends have

joined forces to raise awareness of her plight in an Iranian jail.

They are doing that with Write For Right,

writing letters of support which she may or may

It is a message of solidarity and is in conjunction

At the moment she is not very well at all.

She has lost a lot of weight, a lot of stress, a lot of hair.

She is a British citizen and that is what we can't understand.

Why she has been left to hang out to dry for the last nine

months with very little British consular support.

I understand the British Government's reasons behind that.

She is a British citizen, with a British child,

Today is a peaceful protest against a frustrating process.

We weren't expecting this much support.

It helps lift spirits, drive this campaign.

Without local support our campaign wouldn't get off the ground.

Nazanin, who is a British Iranian charity worker, was arrested in Iran

in April at the airport with her daughter Gabriella.

They had been on holiday visiting relatives.

Her family says they don't know why she is being jailed,

only it is a matter of national security which they say is absurd.

Nazanin's 30th birthday is on Boxing Day, a birthday

that is likely to be behind bars unless her family's one

Laura Trant, BBC South Today, in Fleet.

A lot of the messages on those placards addressed to Boris Johnson,

Foreign Secretary, some are quite touching. The Government is saying

of course publicity could cause problems. They want to deal with

this in a low-key way. Richard Radcliffe, if I can get you away

from the supporters. In some ways it could be damaging, this could rile

the Iranians? I don't think so. Everyone is

showing how much they care, they want Nazanin home. That is an

understandable reaction from us. Iran is a good family nation, they

will understand. It is an intolerable situation and needs to

end as soon as possible. Is there any sense things are

moving? We have been overwhelmed by the

momentum here. There is movement about whether

Gabriella should be in prison or not. There was due to be an appeal

date in January. We live in hope for having her back by Christmas.

23,000 letters? 20 6000.

That makes a difference? The fact people care and writing. The

authorities know they are being watched and people care about

Nazanin. In the end that will make a

difference. The protest will be continuing here this evening. Some

of the Twitter messages are getting through even if the letters aren't,

they have provoked quite a reaction in Tehran.

-- Iran. A Portsmouth mother has been

convicted of murdering her 19-day-old son, exactly two years

after he died. Nicola Brown protested her innocence

from the dock as majority She was also found guilty of causing

grievous bodily harm with intent Her husband Jason Brown was found

not guilty of causing or allowing A serious case review is now

underway, as the family were known to social services and the NHS

before the baby's death. Baby Jake suffered a series

of injuries during his short life. He died on this day exactly two

years ago after receiving a severe blow that fractured his skull

and caused a brain injury. Today, his mother Nicola Brown

was convicted of murdering her baby son and causing fractured ribs

on previous occasions. The boy's father Jason Brown left

court after being found not guilty of causing or allowing the death

of a child. As the jury returned its verdict,

Nicola Brown shouted repeatedly from the dock,

she said, "I didn't do it, I did not do it, they have

made a huge mistake. I hope this haunts you

until the day you die." Senior detectives say

it was a difficult case. The treatment of newborn Jake

is shocking and very sad. It has been a complex investigation

piecing together the short It is important for us

to establish who has been The family was living

at Agincourt Road in Portsmouth. During the trial, Nicola Brown,

on the right, described how the lights went out in her baby's

died when she was feeding him. Baby Jake died later

that day in hospital. The jury was told Mrs Brown had

anxiety issues, was taking antidepressants and had been

in denial about her pregnancy. The court was told social

services had been alerted He had been deemed at risk

but not at immediate harm. Midwives visited the family twice

but no concerns were raised. The Portsmouth Safeguarding Children

Board is now conducting Nicola Brown continued

to sob and say, "I did not told her she would be sentenced

in the New Year after a psychiatric Steve Humphrey, BBC South Today,

at Winchester Crown Court. Their bungalow is at risk

of being demolished, but an elderly couple from Newbury

are fighting to stay put. Homes in Hutton Close in the town,

owned by Sovereign Housing, are due to be knocked down next year

and replaced with modern houses. But Graham Hillyard and his wife

Wendy say they want to keep their home as it is,

and they'll stay Their bungalow was part

of a sheltered housing scheme when they moved

here eight years ago. The warden used to keep an eye

on Graham and Wendy Hillyard is long gone and now

many of their neighbours The main reason we came

here was to get out a three-bed house into a smaller property

as this is. To spend the rest of our lives

with people of our own ilk. We were a very nice,

small community. I thought we'd be here for the rest

of our lives but obviously not. They wanted us to move out

by the 16th of December. We were very upset about it,

being turfed out of our houses Sovereign Housing Association says

these properties are too expensive to heat and maintain,

and it struggles to find tenants It believes its redevelopment plan

will be as positive as they have The 60-year-old flats

here were demolished and a mix of modern housing association

and shared ownership and private In terms of reassurance,

we have done this many times before Most people, when they find a house

they like, do realise where they are isn't as good

as it could be. Structurally there is

nothing wrong with them. A house is a house,

but this one is our home. Sovereign says it is hoping to find

the Hilliards a new home If planning permission is granted,

building could start before Thames Valley Police

is using unmarked lorries in an attempt to get tough

on drivers using In the space of five hours last

week, officers caught 12 people The latest crackdown comes

after a lorry driver was jailed for killing four people

as he changed the music on his phone Jay's big day out in Bournemouth

give Saints bragging rights in the south coast

Premier League derby. Sussex Police says it's

investigating six separate reports of historical sexual abuse

at football clubs in the county. None of the claims relate

to the county's league sides Brighton and Hove Albion and Crawley

Town. The force says the offences

were allegedly committed by six Across the UK, there have been

reports of abuse relating Residents at Pagham in West Sussex

will be keeping an anxious eye on the weather and tides over

Christmas, after new measures to protect their seafront homes

from flooding were washed away. Last week, shingle designed to give

winter protection had been But Friday's high tide

made short work of that. Householders have been waiting more

than a year for a decision on a planning application

for substantial defences. But it was a different

picture here on Friday. Just days after the local

council put 10,000 cubic metres of shingle down,

a tidal surge coincided That has resulted in the loss

of the majority of shingle that had been put to increase the depth

to the beach crest. They will be concerned because this

was a defence for the winter. We have two very high tides

over the coming months. That will be the protection that

has been washed away. I'm not aware of any other emergency

work being undertaken. The district council says it

will undertake work as resources allow and it has carried out

significant works in recent years including building a rock

revetement, and it believes the work carried out last week reduced

the effect of the tidal surge. One beach-front resident at risk

from flooding is David Huntley. It was very different

when he moved here 20 years ago. Also, in the summer, we would get

five metres of beach added. In the winter, three

metres taken away. I was worried they would

build houses in front. We had the tidal surge come

through two metres above normal. It came as far as the edge

of the vegetation which is Pagham parish council wants to cut

through a shingle bank which has appeared in recent years,

altering the currents, and the council believes

causing beach erosion. The council hopes an agreement

is close on the planning Whatever happens with the planning

application, work won't be getting underway in the next couple

of months which means the residents in the seafront properties

here will remain vulnerable to the worst of the storms

for the remainder of this winter. Sean Killick, BBC

South Today, Pagham. The Mid-Sussex MP Sir Nicholas

Soames is backing calls for new laws to curb strikes,

as industrial action continues There were delays and cancellations

this morning due to strike action by the RMT union,

and an overtime ban by the drivers union Aslef over changes

to the role of guards. Shoreham MP Tim Loughton

is bringing his Rail Ombudsman Bill forward tomorrow, calling

for tougher penalties for rail operators for

delays and cancellations. They've been a fixture in towns,

cities and villages for decades and, tonight, the cornershop

is the subject of a Booze, Beans And Bhajis looks at how

we've come to love the corner shop It's presented by journalist

Babita Sharma whose parents owned Earlier, Babita came into the studio

to talk to me about the film, and this is the moment they go back

to their cornershop. Today, I am going back

to our old cornershop. VP Superstore in Reading,

owned and run by my mum and dad. For me and my sisters,

the shop was our home, What was it like

living over the shop? It is only now I am a bit

older that I think of it as being so different because,

to me, it was normal, when you spend 15 years of your life

living over the shop. Stacking shelves was part

and parcel of what you do. Walking in the front door

of the shop to get to the back area where you might sit down,

take your satchel off, was normal. Most people don't do that

when they walk home from school. You have others in your front living

room doing an exchange of goods Bizarre when I think

about it but so special. The thing that comes over

from the programme is the cornershop is the heart of the community,

where the gossip is, where the shopkeepers

know their customers. I had a customer who was a very

educated man, very well spoken. I said, "What is the matter,

you look very upset and sad." I came out and put my

hands on his shoulder, "what is the matter,

Tom?" He put his head on my shoulder,

and he started crying. I am not only a shopkeeper,

I am part of the community. I like to think of it

as where the art of conversation Where else do you get

such a mix of people? You wouldn't get that in any other

kind of space but there. It shows, over the decades,

the movement and migration of people, and the impact that had

on our culture. It's extraodinary to think how many

migrants actually did take If you were an immigrant,

the chances of gaining That has carried on with a new

generation of immigrants today, You get to work for yourself,

if you're willing to work hard, The cornershop has had

to fight for its survival We could not believe doing

the research how many times it After World War II, the emergence

of the big supermarkets, the glamour and Americana

of refrigeration that To the change in Sunday

trading laws in the 1990s. Because we all need

our milk or newspaper. The future of the cornershop,

is it safe or not? As long as people are willing

to come through the living room, my home as when I was a child,

I think we will be OK. And Babita's programme,

Booze, Beans and Bhajis: The Story Of The Cornershop

is tonight at ten o'clock A big match yesterday. Do recall in

a south coast derby? Some people do. -- do you call it.

It was a big game. It was decided by one man.

Jay Rodriguez' first Premier League goals since August gave Southampton

With the winners moving up to seventh in the Premier League,

it's Saints that have the momentum going into the Christmas fixtures,

The crowd came expecting a festive cracker, and it began with a bang.

Acrobatics from Ake just six minutes in made it the perfect

Jack Wilshere's first assist for the club,

But Southampton having scored just three goals in their previous seven

Ryan Bertrand waltzing into the box and arrowing

Steven Davis, on as a second-half substitute, had an immediate impact.

Combining well with Sofianne Boufal to gift wrap a goal

Rodriguez, who has hardly played for the past two

years due to injuries, proved he could also

do it from distance, producing the defining moment

20 yards out, five minutes left, one top corner found.

A significant moment in Rodriguez' long road back to recovery.

It is nice to be part of the team and scoring and be sharp.

I think the main thing is the three points.

The lads worked really hard, against a good Bournemouth side,

three points in the Christmas period is good.

I felt we weren't at our best level today.

Physically, technically, we didn't play as well as we have

Credit to Southampton, they deserved to win today.

Southampton move up to seventh, three points

Elsewehere, in the Football League, a number of our teams left it late,

Kris Temple's round-up of the action starts with the Seagulls of Brighton

Lukas Jutkiewicz put the hosts in front, but the Seagulls once

Anthony Knockaert's volley levelling things with eight minutes left.

Before deep into injury time, Glenn Murray was on hand with a cool

head to move Brighton eight points clear of Reading in third.

The Royals themselves left it late, but got the job done at Blackburn.

Dominic Samuel fired the visitors in front,

before Danny Graham levelled just before the break.

Liam Kelly's fine strike was denied by the woodwork,

but Liam Moore's chest put Reading back in front, albeit in less

But Rovers returned again to make it 2-2.

With the draw looking likely, up popped George Evans

with seconds remaining, taking all three points

Oxford are unbeaten in eight, after coming from behind

Chris Maguire's free kick first cancelled out James Vaughan's

After falling behind again, up stepped Maguire.

Another free kick, cue another equaliser.

With momentum on their side, Oxford's pressure paid off.

Greg Leigh turning a low cross into his own net.

MK Dons' boss Robbie Neilson saw his side lose for the first time.

Cody McDonald's strike enough to give Gillingham the win.

Dons now three points above the relegation zone.

Luke Norris's close-range header put Swindon in front

Only for David Ball to equalise ten minutes later.

Michael Doughty had the opportunity to seal the win

Portsmouth couldn't find a way past former goalkeeper Trevor Carson.

The Hartlepool shot-stopper pulled off three superb saves including

Hampshire all-rounder Liam Dawson has taken his maiden Test wicket

trapping Murali Vijay lbw in one of few highlights for England

Dawson later removed Jadeja, ending with figures of two

A four-point weekend moved Basingstoke Bison back up to third

The first goal of their 4-2 home win over Bracknell Bees on Saturday,

sparked a torrent of bears being thrown on to the ice,

as part of Bison's annual fundraising collection for Naomi

The two sides faced off again on Sunday, with Bison

And now for proof that practice pays off.

81-year-old Dickie Borthwick from Dorset, who we featured last

week, is looking for a football club to join.

Obviously got his eye in as he slotted penalty

after penalty past me, as this weekend Dickie

made his debut for Portland Town in a charity match.

He played over 70 minutes and scored a penalty with five minutes to go!

well done to him. You are part of it giving him all

that training. The board names for South West

trains has made it a festive celebration at train stations. And

sweets were being given out with tickets!

Wish I was there. You don't see that on trains I go on.

Let us take a look at your weather pictures.

Jamie Fielding took this picture of the murky conditions in Midhurst.

Harry Harman photographed the cloudy conditions in Poole.

And this close-up of a robin was taken at Rowlands

This week, we start with a misty note, outbreaks of drizzle. A fairly

cold start. Today a high of just seven Celsius. Overnight, Chile as

well. Rain or drizzle, some sunshine. Towards the Christmas

weekend, things turned a little wet and windy.

Clearing skies for some overnight, a touch of frost in the countryside,

down to freezing. In general, three Celsius. A chilly

night with outbreaks of light rain and drizzle.

We start the morning tomorrow with a fair and much of cloud, drizzle is

likely along the south coast and Isle of Wight. Showers inland. Dry

inland for most places, temperatures reaching seven Celsius.

Another chilly day. Tomorrow, the card will gather.

Outbreaks of drizzle at times. The risk of frost in the countryside.

In band of rain moving in in the second part of Wednesday.

Temperatures falling to three Celsius. A pretty wet start to the

day on Wednesday. The rain booth at the way, a drier

interlude with sunny spells in the middle of the day before the next

band of rain arrives in the afternoon.

Some dry spells, a high of 11 Celsius.

The winds will increase through the latter part of Wednesday.

Thursday, rain showers at times, patchy drizzle.

Drier conditions in the evening, and an overnight frost.

Friday, a dry start. Going downhill later. We have a deep

area of low pressure from the Atlantic.

The winds will increase. Rain moving in by evening.

And gales along the south coast. The weekend will be cold, heavy rain, a

chance of a storm. Not what we were hoping for! Snow.

We could even have Storm Barbra, the second of the season.

Ben dropping a frozen turkey on Mum's foot.

Put me down! No, we talked about this.

Taser him! That is a video game, isn't it?

I'm going to need at least another 15 years to recover from children.