08/05/2017 South Today

The top stories this evening: Rivers running low,

and one of the driest Aprils in history, could a drought be

School's out: a head and a deputy head resign

This week there will be some sunny spells, chilly nights and the edge

needed rainfall. Southern England could be facing

a drought after a dry winter followed by one of the driest

Aprils on record. There's concern about low water

levels affecting fish, and farmers are worried

about a lower harvest. This winter the UK had 77%

of its normal rainfall. Last month the South had just 18

per cent of its usual April rainfal That makes it the eighth

driest April on record. Opinion is divided

on whether there might be a hosepipe ban but for some -

alarm bells are already ringing. it's much drier and muddier

than it usually is. That's because it has been

an extraordinarily dry winter. And it's the rivers that have

been bearing the brunt. In the New Forest near Lyndhurst,

this trickle is Highland Water - which eventually becomes the River

Lymington. Those who know it say they've

seldom seen it so dry. Normally in the spring

the river would be You have these exposed

gravel shells which would normally be very

productive with lots We would normally expect

in April sea trout They find it much more

difficult in a low flow year. Here in Wiltshire, many

of the winterbournes, which normally flow at this time

of year, are dry. It's not unusual but does

climate change mean this It is very difficult to pin any

individual case to climate change. But extremes are more likely

under climate change. You would expect more extreme

drought but also more extreme Southern Water says it does not

believe hosepipe bans But conservationists say water

companies should be doing more It is too late telling people

to store water once you are in the I would love them to be

more upfront and say we have a serious problem

and get ready for it. This has already been

a very bad year for Yesterday, here at Burley,

this fire destroyed some 20 Farmers to are worried that

particularly on the south Some are saying that if this drought

continues much longer, they The driver of a sports-car

which crashed last summer, killing the 13-year-old passenger,

has been charged Alexander Worth from

Kingsworthy near Winchester died when the Ferrari

he was travelling in struck The driver - 38-year-old

Matthew Cobden from Weybridge He's due to appear at Basingstoke

Magistrates' Court next month. A gang has been sentenced for making

and selling fake train tickets. James Jenning from Bournemouth -

who led the scheme over a three year period -

has been sentenced to three years in jail while three other men have

been ordered to pay costs. Sean, it was described

as a sophisticated fraud? That's how it was described

by the investigating officer He said it was a "blatant" fraud,

organised by someone who had worked He said James Jennings,

who's 51, used his "insider knowledge" to produce open-ended

railway tickets to order, using blank tickets

and a computer and printer. The tickets were for travel all over

the country and many of Jennings' After his arrest last

October his home was searched. A red holdall containing a printer

and computer items was found. The printer was forensically

examined and was found to have been And this had gone

on for several years? British Transport Police said

Jennings became more and more blatant and his confidence

was buoyed as he avoided detection. They said he used the money

to fund a lavish lifestyle. But after pleading guilty to making,

adapting, supplying or offering to supply articles for use in fraud,

he was sentenced today at Blackfriars Crown Court

in London.And tonight he's starting Fresh talks to resolve the year-long

dispute over the role of conductors on Southern Railway will take

place next week. The company will meet

the RMT on Monday. The union has held 31

days of strikes so far. All previous attempts to find common

ground have ended in failure. Separate negotiations

with the drivers' union, Aslef, No further action by either

union has been announced. A husband and wife are resigning

as head and deputy head of a Hampshire primary school,

because, they say, education policy Alex and Peter Foggo's

made their decision before the election was called but it's

raised questions about how the main parties stand on issues

they're unhappy about, like testing of very young

children, and the creation The head and deputy head of this

primary school are simply not prepared to play along

with the education system any more.. Which staff do you make redundant,

which subjects do you cut? Which child with an identified

special educational need do you Their school budget's been

frozen, which has meant They now sweep the playground

and empty the bins. But pressure to get young children

to prepare for and pass compulsory tests, and the idea of bringing back

grammar schools, mean they no longer They've set out their reasons

in detail in a letter to parents. Recent developments in education

have brought our position to a point of personal,

professional and ethical crisis. The couple insist their decision

hasn't been timed to We made this decision over the

Easter break before the announcement of the journal collection. We have

made as many compromises that we were able to and this was a step too

far for us, that we can simply couldn't continue with things the

way they were. The main political parties all say

they're saddened that experienced teachers are leaving the profession

under these circumstances. Back in Longparish,

a chapter is ending. Personally I'm feeling incredibly

sad - I really never thought I'd leave teaching before I retired

but this system I cannot continue Yes it feels very much like we've

stepped off the edge of a cliff and out into the unknown -

we've no idea where we go West Dean College near Chichester

is one of the UK's leading The students latest project

is working on three aircraft propellors from the Second World

War. The blades are thought to be

from a Lancaster bomber. They'd been buried for 40 years

at the former RAF airbase aty Tangmere before being dug up

in the 1980s. The students will restore them

before they go on display That's all from the South Today

news team this evening. We're back tomorrow with bulletins

in BBC Breakfast and there's more Now for the weather. We have talked

about drought. Is there a rain on the way? Yes, towards the end of the

week this weeks starts on a dry note. There will be lots of

sunshine, especially on Wednesday. The cloud is significant during the

first part of the week that possible rain later on from Thursday onwards.

Overnight tonight, clear spells and a touch of frost in the countryside.

For most, cloudy and temperatures in our urban areas of seven Celsius.

E-mail start from any tomorrow. Chilly in the countryside with that

frost. -- a chilly start. Elsewhere, it will be quite cloudy, like today.

Temperatures will struggle to 12 Celsius. When we have the sunshine,

a high of 14 or 15 Celsius. Tomorrow night, the cloud will disappear and

the skies were clear. Temperatures will fall away sharply. Widespread

frost in the countryside. Originally started the day on the dotted

through the course of the day, maybe some cloud will bubble up during the

course of the day timing the sunshine hazy in places. The

temperatures will reach a high of 16 Celsius. Wednesday is breathtaking

terms of sunshine and will stay dry. Thursday, a slow process of turning

unsettled. Low pressure moves up. Patchy rain into the evening and it

will be very patchy, so not everyone will have the rainfall. That much

needed rainfall. Unsettled during the course of Friday with the

southerly breeze developing. Mild air from the continent and it will

turn monkey on Friday. A chance of some heavy, foundry downforce will

stop -- heavy, foundry town pause. This weekend...

will become drier and feel warm. Now the National forecast.

Good evening. A quiet day on the weather front but we still managed

to have some huge contrasts in the weather. This was a beautiful

picture from Cumbria, blue skies and crystal clear blue skies in Argyll

and Bute but closer to the north coast, it sends shivers down your

spine! Chilly and cloudy all along that cost this bank of cloud that

sliced the country in half, cool and cloudy to the east and to the West

had sunshine. But it still been dry and it