:00:00. > :00:09.Here on BBC One, it's time for the news where you are.
:00:10. > :00:21.Hello and welcome to South Today. The top stories this evening. Hope
:00:22. > :00:26.for Greg, the front man of Southampton band Delays has cancer
:00:27. > :00:28.and his family are fundraising for his treatment. As many prepare for
:00:29. > :00:34.the great Christmas getaway, we have the latest on tomorrow's travel. And
:00:35. > :00:37.ready to help. The food banks setting up at fire stations for
:00:38. > :00:42.those facing a crisis this Christmas.
:00:43. > :00:44.Greg Gilbert is most well known as the lead singer
:00:45. > :00:50.He's also a talented artist and a father of two.
:00:51. > :00:52.But at the age of 39 he's been diagnosed
:00:53. > :00:58.Doctors say the cancer has spread and all they can offer him
:00:59. > :01:04.But his family are determined to raise ?100,000 to get him
:01:05. > :01:07.alternative treatment, which is not available on the NHS.
:01:08. > :01:14.Greg and Stacey are all smiles with their two young
:01:15. > :01:18.daughters as the countdown to Christmas continues.
:01:19. > :01:20.But this young family is facing hugely emotional and practical
:01:21. > :01:23.challenges as they fight to find a way to keep Greg alive
:01:24. > :01:33.Cancer is, I mean, the word has got such an aura of fear around it
:01:34. > :01:35.and to be honest with you I'm still trying to process it
:01:36. > :01:40.and talking to you about it today is surreal.
:01:41. > :01:42.We were told that on our daughter's first birthday.
:01:43. > :01:45.We should have been at her birthday party,
:01:46. > :01:49.but we were told that instead, and it's...
:01:50. > :02:07.To have to hear Greg have to ask how long he had to live.
:02:08. > :02:09.Greg is well known as a singer and guitarist with Delays,
:02:10. > :02:12.an indie band that have performed at numerous festivals and venues
:02:13. > :02:18.After being admitted to hospital, Greg was diagnosed with stage four
:02:19. > :02:22.bowel cancer which had spread to his lungs.
:02:23. > :02:24.You find yourself saying, how long have I got?
:02:25. > :02:27.And all of a sudden you're living in a drama that's your life.
:02:28. > :02:30.The cancer had spread to his lungs and because of the extent of that,
:02:31. > :02:36.they would offer him chemotherapy but he wasn't a candidate for
:02:37. > :02:43.And they were very sorry but they didn't think there
:02:44. > :02:49.Along with his music, Greg is also a talented artist.
:02:50. > :02:55.He has now started chemotherapy and is full of praise for the NHS.
:02:56. > :02:59.From the beginning all the way through they have been absolutely
:03:00. > :03:02.sensational and this whole situation has really brought home to us
:03:03. > :03:09.the value for everybody, you know, the community.
:03:10. > :03:11.But treating Greg has become a big challenge.
:03:12. > :03:15.He's genetically incompatible with drugs offered by the NHS,
:03:16. > :03:17.so they're looking at medicines they have to pay for
:03:18. > :03:28.I started to realise that we need options and options cost money,
:03:29. > :03:39.So far over ?86,000 has been donated.
:03:40. > :03:41.There aren't any words to describe what we've seen
:03:42. > :03:47.I think it would take me two lifetimes to express the gratitude.
:03:48. > :03:53.I knew we had wonderful fans and friends but I have been
:03:54. > :03:59.They've been together for ten years and they're determined to do
:04:00. > :04:04.all they can to find a way to beat Greg's cancer.
:04:05. > :04:08.He has a determination with things that he sets his mind to that I've
:04:09. > :04:24.And for our girls, our girls, we're doing this for our girls.
:04:25. > :04:28.Stacey Heale ending that report by Steve Humphrey.
:04:29. > :04:32.The annual nightmare journey as commuting,
:04:33. > :04:35.last minute shopping and trips to join the family all pile up
:04:36. > :04:37.together on the last couple of days before the break.
:04:38. > :04:40.Add to that the prospect of rail closures and industrial
:04:41. > :04:44.action by train crews and, well, you get the picture.
:04:45. > :04:47.So does that mean getting around over the festive break
:04:48. > :04:51.A question for our transport correspondent Paul Clifton,
:04:52. > :04:59.who's been at Reading Station today.Travelling at Christmas.
:05:00. > :05:02.If this was a panto production we'd all be shouting back
:05:03. > :05:06.On the roads the people who monitor traffic jams can't quite decide
:05:07. > :05:10.whether tomorrow or Saturday will be the busiest day of the entire year.
:05:11. > :05:13.At least on the trains we know what is coming.
:05:14. > :05:16.There will be no Great Western trains at all into Paddington
:05:17. > :05:23.So you have to head home in good time.
:05:24. > :05:28.GWR suggests passengers switch trains to Waterloo.
:05:29. > :05:34.Waterloo is Britain's busiest station and it shuts at 8pm
:05:35. > :05:37.on Christmas Eve and doesn't reopen until the 27th.
:05:38. > :05:41.Industrial action on Southern will affect services every day.
:05:42. > :05:45.The vast majority of railway lines do stay open, but journey times may
:05:46. > :05:49.be longer and the routes may be different.
:05:50. > :05:53.This work happens at Christmas and other days of the year
:05:54. > :05:56.but at Christmas you get three or four days where very few people
:05:57. > :05:59.are likely to be travelling during the Christmas period.
:06:00. > :06:01.Some of the quietest times on the railway network.
:06:02. > :06:04.It makes sense for Network Rail to do the work then.
:06:05. > :06:07.On the roads tomorrow will be terrible.
:06:08. > :06:11.One of the SatNav operators is calling it Carmageddon.
:06:12. > :06:15.A third more traffic will be out than on a normal day.
:06:16. > :06:18.I don't like to be the harbinger of doom and gloom -
:06:19. > :06:29.Food banks in the South are expecting a surge
:06:30. > :06:32.in demand this Christmas, after a busy December last year.
:06:33. > :06:35.Today, the Salisbury-based Trussell Trust, which provides emergency food
:06:36. > :06:38.and supplies to those most in need, sent food parcels to
:06:39. > :06:44.The building, which will remain open during the festive period,
:06:45. > :06:47.will act as a collection point for those who need help,
:06:48. > :06:58.Vicky Charles and her daughter Samaire are looking forward
:06:59. > :07:01.to celebrating a first Christmas in their new home.
:07:02. > :07:04.But four years ago when Samaire was a baby and Vicky was struggling
:07:05. > :07:10.to make ends meet on maternity pay, Christmas was looking bleak.
:07:11. > :07:16.I can have beans on toast and it won't matter...
:07:17. > :07:18.Vicky was helped by the Trussell Trust -
:07:19. > :07:21.which delivered a box of Christmas food.
:07:22. > :07:25.It even had a foil pan to cook the turkey in and some gravy
:07:26. > :07:30.and I think there was even chocolate in there.
:07:31. > :07:33.Looking back I have some good memories of her first Christmas,
:07:34. > :07:35.my first Christmas as a mother, rather than sitting
:07:36. > :07:42.This year, the Trussell Trust will be delivering more than 200
:07:43. > :07:45.of those special Christmas hampers to people in need in
:07:46. > :07:51.We have seven single boxes and seven family boxes...
:07:52. > :08:03.For the second year running emergency food boxes will be
:08:04. > :08:05.available here 24/7 - for anyone who is in need
:08:06. > :08:12.It is unpredictable and many people can't access agencies for support
:08:13. > :08:15.because they are closed, so we want to be able
:08:16. > :08:20.to be there for them at one minute's notice.
:08:21. > :08:25.We understand there are people out there struggling to make ends meet.
:08:26. > :08:29.They need all the help they can get from us and other organisations,
:08:30. > :08:36.There is a big jump in the number of people
:08:37. > :08:41.Vicky is now a successful writer, but she hasn't forgotten the food
:08:42. > :08:44.bank that saved their first Christmas together.
:08:45. > :08:47.Once again, they are trying to make sure nobody goes
:08:48. > :08:57.People in a village in Dorset have been learning to bake bread to feed
:08:58. > :09:01.The project based in Sutton Poyntz near Weymouth has attracted
:09:02. > :09:04.dozens of volunteers, who've been turning out loaves to be
:09:05. > :09:09.handed on to charities helping the hungry in the town.
:09:10. > :09:11.They've also been selling their produce to raise money
:09:12. > :09:17.Every month we have at least one day where we each bake loaves in our
:09:18. > :09:21.own kitchens and then take them down to anywhere else
:09:22. > :09:26.where homeless people need food, and we donate that
:09:27. > :09:38.We're back tomorrow with bulletins in BBC Breakfast and there's more
:09:39. > :09:51.Now Alexis Green is here with our forecast.
:09:52. > :09:56.There will be some glorious days over the Christmas period. An
:09:57. > :10:00.increasing frost should keep the frost at bay tonight. One more two
:10:01. > :10:03.pockets of frost in the countryside with clear skies. And luckily as
:10:04. > :10:10.guide temperatures will fall away to around 2-3 Celsius, with the fairly
:10:11. > :10:13.light winds. Winds will start to increase tomorrow, more during the
:10:14. > :10:17.afternoon with the arrival of Storm Barbara, which will affect the north
:10:18. > :10:20.of the country. The south we will have periods of rain during the
:10:21. > :10:26.afternoon and temperatures will reach a height of 10-11 Celsius.
:10:27. > :10:31.With the winds, they will cost around 40-50 mph. For parts of West
:10:32. > :10:37.Dorset we could see wind gusts in excess of 60 mph and exposed coastal
:10:38. > :10:39.stretches. There's a yellow wind warning in force. The rain will
:10:40. > :10:44.rattle through the course of tomorrow night, clearing quickly on
:10:45. > :10:48.the strong wind. With the wind we will see it continuing to be very
:10:49. > :10:52.strong through the course of Christmas Eve, making it feel quite
:10:53. > :10:56.cold. Christmas Eve is a decent day. Lots of sunshine on offer. Varying
:10:57. > :11:00.amounts of cloud. Christmas Day, we are expecting a good deal of cloud.
:11:01. > :11:03.The chance of patchy drizzle at times. It will be very mild for
:11:04. > :11:11.itself, it's not white, but it's warm. Temperatures could reach 15.
:11:12. > :11:18.I suppose you could say today was the calm before the storm. A winter
:11:19. > :11:21.chill, plenty of sunshine, but more wintry showers in Scotland, more
:11:22. > :11:25.snow over the higher ground. Some of this snow will melt for a time
:11:26. > :11:28.tomorrow because there is wind and rain coming in from the Atlantic. So
:11:29. > :11:33.we'll leave the Highlands behind, head out and look at the cloud here,
:11:34. > :11:37.this tell-tale hook of cloud, signifies a storm is developing,
:11:38. > :11:41.this is Storm Barbara, of course, it is a deep and deepening area of low
:11:42. > :11:44.pressure, rushing towards the north-west of Scotland.
:11:45. > :11:48.Steppingening the winds and bringing rain into the north-west by tomorrow
:11:49. > :11:52.morning. Ahead of it fairly quiet. Already the showers in the north
:11:53. > :11:56.less wintry. Fewer and clearer skies, across England and Wales for
:11:57. > :12:00.a time, it could be chilly. One or two mist and fog patches. Out to the
:12:01. > :12:03.west winds pick up later, cloud increases and the rain arrives and
:12:04. > :12:07.very quickly tomorrow across Scotland and Northern Ireland it'll
:12:08. > :12:09.turn very wet and also