15/02/2017 South Today

Hello and welcome to South Today, I'm Laura Trant.

The top stories this evening: A rise in reports of hate

But what can be done to tackle the problem?

And a Hampshire charity calls on the Government

to do more to help veterans in prison.

Figures for hate crime across the region recorded

since the Brexit vote show that the number

of reported offences are at record levels

In fact, in the three months after last year's EU referendum,

Dorset had the highest percentage increase in the whole

Hampshire and Sussex went up by 33 and 32% respectively

Our Home Affairs Correspondent Emma Vardy reports.

This was the moment a man was hit with a plank of wood in Bournemouth.

His attacker shouted "Speak English!"

This extreme incident, was one of an increasing number

of hate crimes recorded by Dorset Police last year.

There was a handful of incidents that we think could have been

directly linked to the referendum results.

We see a connection between hate crime taking place and

Last year, Victim Support says it helps

more than 16,000 victims of

hate crime across England and Wales and saw a spike in the immediate

But there was also noticeable increases

following the terror attacks in Paris and Nice.

Most incidents are much less serious than the attack in Bournemouth,

and police say that they're receiving historical reports too,

Attacks amongst Muslim communities are also a concern for police.

A group of boys came up to me and started

telling me to get out of the

At the Bournemouth Islamic Centre, they say hate incidents

have not been a problem, but that the Brexit debate

We did not see an increase in hate crime or anything that tells us it

was a difference before and after Brexit.

Some argue the result of Brexit means equities are

It is maybe something that was not visible for us and the way their

whole process was conducted has highlighted the issues we have

A human rights organisation has said the country

should prepare for the

possibility of further spikes in offences once

Hampshire Police have in the last half an hour said they're seriously

concerned for the welfare of a ten-year-old girl who failed

Shay Stainer from Fareham was last seen at 3.10pm

this afternoon in Denmead Park in Waterlooville.

She was wearing a grey skirt, blue cardigan, brown Bomber jacket

Anyone who sees her is asked to call 101.

The family of Kaden Reddick, who died after an accident

Commuters on Southern Rail face another day

It follows the acrimonious breakdown of talks yesterday,

that were aimed at finding a resolution between the RMT Union

RMT members will walk out for 24 hours on Wednesday next week,

claiming that driver-only operation of trains is unsafe.

We are still fighting to get every rule a safety critical rule and

ensure there's a guard on every train.

Disabled passengers have told us several times, we've been

inundated with phone calls and it's already impossible for them to plan

a journey, because there are not enough people on the stations and

not enough people on the train to get them access.

The fight goes on, as far as we are concerned.

Our reporter David Allard is here now.

What's the reaction tonight to this latest strike?

In a statement the Chief Operating Officer of their

parent company said: "We are disappointed that the RMT

"is going to heap yet further misery and disruption on the

"We aim to run as full a service as we can."

During the last conductors strike, on 23rd January, Southern says it

ran around three-quarters of its normal service.

But industrial action by the RMT is now into its eleventh month

and commuters we spoke to in Shoreham this evening

were clearly exasperated that no end's in sight.

But it is disrupting everyone's lives.

I think we've become a little bit impervious to this.

It is more of the same, but that's very

We are moving to Hayward's Heath on the back of what

A conclusion needs to be made one way or another and quickly.

Because there's only so much that people can take.

The other union that's been involved in this dispute

is the train drivers' union, Aslef.

And tomorrow we'll find out if their action

Yes, after eleven days of talks, Southern and Aslef

reached an agreement - Aslef is now balloting its members

Significantly that agreement WILL allow Southern to run trains

without a guard or onboard supervisor, under certain

circumstances, such as when someone is taken ill or delayed

We understand there's some resentment among Aslef

members at that deal, so it's certainly not clear-cut,

and the RMT have described it as a betrayal.

We'll find out the result of that Aslef ballot

The family of Kaden Reddick, who died after an accident

at a Topshop store in Reading, said today "he was a loving, cheeky,

"energetic boy" whose death would leave a huge empty hole

10-year-old Kaden suffered fatal head injuries in the incident

Today Topshop removed similar units from all its stores

The shop in the Oracle Centre remains closed

An independent review is to be carried out into concerns

about bullying and harassment at the South East Coast

Yesterday, we reported on claims by the GMB union that staff handling

999 calls had been subjected to shocking levels of bullying.

The Trust has appointed an expert in workplace conflict

"A very steep downward spiral," the words of one military veteran

who found himself with mental health and drug issues after

There are, in fact, between 3,500 and 5,000 veterans incarcerated

Now a Hampshire charity has called on the Government to do more to help

A middle-aged military veteran who, a fortnight ago,

He spent nearly a decade behind bars for a serious and violent

Because he's trying to turn his life around,

Everything just exploded one day and the support that I had,

The substance abuse became worse and it then became a very steep

He's being helped by Hampshire charity Care after Combat,

who've put him up in this home while he finds his feet.

But why do service personnel need extra support?

Coming from the service life myself it's just they've

The impact can be just straight-forward things -

It's always been done for them within the service

I think the public say, "OK, mate, you're a veteran, you've screwed up,

you're going to get another chance, care after combat, we're not

going to give you a handout, we're not going to spoon-feed you -

If you're not going to work, off you go."

The charity has had great success using ex-military mentors to help

people back to civilian life, but it's also warning there are too

many veteran groups all trying to do the same thing.

We sent them away, we should deal with the consequences

I believe that with so many charities pushing their services

onto the veterans, A, it is confusing,

and B, they might think, hang on a minute, if I'm

playing my cards right here, I don't have to go to work.

We don't really want to kill a veteran with kindness.

They want just a level playing field.

They have served the country and is now they can serve it again

Steve says he's lucky he has found the help he needs,

and is looking forward to turning his life around.

I feel that I've served my sentence and now it's time to rebuild.

Everything they're giving me now, I'm going to pay them back

Fascinating new pictures have been discovered,

showing the time Stonehenge was home to a military airbase.

and show hangars and planes just a few yards from the stone circle.

It was the damage the aerodrome caused to the landscape,

which first prompted calls to clean up the area, and restore Britain's

We're back tomorrow with bulletins in BBC Breakfast and there's more

Now Alexis Green has our latest forecast and brighter

but an eye, cloud. It may be low in but an eye, cloud. It may be low in

where we do have the clearing skies. where we do have the clearing skies.

If you clear spells possible. Temperatures are lower than last

night, so feeling fresh air. Fairly mild loans of 5- excelsis. With A

murky start tomorrow, elsewhere, a lot of low cloud. That will lift and

the mist mailing for summertime, but once it clears, we are looking at

sunny spells. Patchy cloud, feeling pleasant in the sunshine with my

winds, temperatures in double figures and highs ten at 11 Celsius.

A quiet night tomorrow, during the early hours of Friday. We are

expecting cloud and mist and fog patches once again. High pressure

remains in charge through Friday after a cloudy start and then we

will see brighter spells. Ahead of this weather front, it is a

fragmented rain band are moving east. That may be reduced night

rain. -- produce Friday night rain. Brighter spells breaking up toward

the weekend. Wouldn't promise you two dry days but you never know,

here is Nick with the national picture.

Hello. We put that cold weekend well behind us now. Temperatures edging

upwards and our weather watchers are seeing plenty of signs of spring.

Spending more time looking down than looking up at the skies, we see

these early blooms. They are set to continue as we are set to stay mild

for several more days to come. Average daytime temperature this

time of year around eight, but getting into double figures all the

way through the weekend.