21/04/2017 South Today

I'm David Allard with the news in the South.

There were trips along the M4 today for both the Prime Minister,

Theresa May, and the Labour Party leader, Jeremy Corbyn,

as the South became the battleground for the opening shots

And one of the main issues of the day was not

Here's our political editor Peter Henley.

Inside a toothpaste factory in Maidenhead, staff waiting to ask

Outside, a man in a chicken suit, sent by a newspaper.

And so the traditional fabric of election campaigning

Compared to David Cameron, Theresa May was less polished,

But genuine questions were asked and answered,

on the high cost of housing in the Thames Valley, student fees,

apprenticeships and there was an EU national keen to continue

How can you reassure me that my life is not going to change after Brexit?

I see, as I sit around that table, I see a lot

And people wanting to give that reassurance.

And I hope we'll be able to do that at an early stage.

These apprentices, voting for the first time, hadn't seen

It's more real, and I think it's more engaging.

To hear her without that background noise was great as well.

Meanwhile, 50 miles down the road, the Labour leader

was at Swindon Central Community Centre.

Not quite the same cavalcade of cars.

We're 72 hours into this election campaign.

We're 72 hours into the opportunity of our lifetime to challenge

the inequality and injustice that exists in Britain today.

The audience, more fired up than in Maidenhead,

If you could do something for us, that would be great.

A pledge from Jeremy Corbyn today to reduce class sizes.

And Theresa May was at Cox Green School,

where the headteacher let her sixth formers do the talking.

Expect more promises, more speeches, more visits.

And neither side should count their chickens.

As far as we know, the cars didn't pass on the M4, but just six

junctions apart, but miles apart in terms of leadership style and

general election policy. It is the shape of things to come.

Next, a new report into the death of an SAS reservist from Winchester

during a training exercise has concluded it could happen again.

Lance Corporal Edward Maher, seen in the middle here,

died of heat exhaustion alongside Lance Corporal Craig Roberts

and Corporal James Dunsby, on a 16-mile march in the Brecon

The report commissioned by the Ministry of Defence

found there were failures at multiple levels.

The MoD says it is now addressing recommendations in the report.

It's been revealed that emergency admissions to hospital

for stroke sufferers, have increased by 30%

But despite this specialist care, just as many people are dying

from the condition now as ten years ago.

More people are aware of the warning signs,

but the British Heart Foundation called today for more research.

In the South West, almost 120,000 people are living

In the South East, it's more than 150,000.

It's commonly thought of as a condition for older people.

But, in the UK, a quarter of strokes happen to people under 55.

Lewis Coombes has the story of how it's affected one young couple.

Today is a day you'll always remember, the greatest

You'll start of the day just two people in love,

Words spoken at Russell and Rachel's wedding two and a half years ago.

The happiest of days, with no clue of what was soon to come.

Just weeks later, at the age of 35, Russell was hospitalised

He would no longer be able to tell his wife he loves her.

Unable to speak or write, Russell had to leave his job,

while at home rely on the support of Rachel.

If I say a word or Russell hears a word, then he will generally

repeat it, but trying to find that word to say is what

So we have just kind of adapted, and this is our life now, you know?

It's very different to how we thought it was going to be.

Around a quarter of strokes happen to people under 55.

No treatment currently exists to bring back Russell's voice.

The British Heart Foundation is campaigning for more

We might then be able to develop drugs which will reduce

the amount of brain damage, and if we do that, we will reduce

the amount of disability that the person has to sadly live

Extra research into that to develop something would be great.

All your hopes and your dreams can be real.

May success find its way in your hearts.

Tomorrow can bring you the greatest joy but today

And there's more information on the British Heart Foundation website.

On to football, and Brighton were hoping to secure

the Championship title tonight at Norwich.

But Seagulls keeper David Stockdale had a complete mare,

conceding two own goals - the first off this shot

And just before half time, the same thing happened.

Another deflection off the woodwork and off Stockdale into the net.

The earliest Brighton could now be confirmed

as Champions is Monday, if Newcastle lose their

That's all from the South Today news team this evening.

We're back tomorrow at 4:40, and there's more

Now Sarah's here with our regional weather forecast.

We do have quite a bit of cloud through the course of this evening,

much like we had today. There will be a few holes in the cloud, most of

us staying dry, but as we head towards dawn, the northern fringes

seeing a few spots of rain. Generally temperatures at eight or

nine Celsius, but where we see clear spells, temperatures could fall a

little further. Any dampness will ease away through the course of the

morning, and much of the region will see a dry day. Some brightness

developing through the morning and into the afternoon, some sunny skies

opening up. Temperatures up to around 14 or 15 degrees, but a

chilly night to come, and into Sunday it looks like we will see a

touch of grass frost in some spots first thing. They weather front

pushing through on Monday with some rain, then much cooler conditions

through marathon. Here is the outlook for

the weather for the next few days and Helen Willetts has the National

forecast. While unusual to see snow in May, it

will be a shock to the system. We've seen some interesting contrast. 19

degrees cost is in Scotland in the sunshine today. In the sunshine only

11. The differences we are behind a cold weather front. Seeing a stepped

down in temperatures. The cold air filtering sound so there will be a

widespread ground frost across the country. The week weather front

still with us so we could cheat patchy mist and fog. The best chance

of seeing the meteor shower overnight will be in those clear

skies further north. A better chance for south overnight. We start

Saturday morning with the line of cloud, the weather front from

Northern Ireland through Wales, the Midlands coming the south-east. The

clear air following the weather front. Slow to weaken and showers

may follow. It's likely we'll get good spells of