:00:00. > :00:10.to British coastlines, with winds of up to 80 mph. That's all from the
:00:11. > :00:16.The third Atlantic storm in two weeks ` tonight the South West is on
:00:17. > :00:20.alert again. Good evening. Welcome to Spotlight.
:00:21. > :00:25.In the last half`an`hour yet another weather warning has come into force.
:00:26. > :00:35.A night of very strong winds is on the cards once more with the coast
:00:36. > :00:43.facing a fresh battering. I'm hearing Kingsand as Cornwell takes
:00:44. > :00:47.another battering from stormy seas. Dash`macro here in.
:00:48. > :00:57.Also tonight ` another wet day on the Somerset Levels. Police help
:00:58. > :01:00.residents salvage prize possessions And braving the elements ` the
:01:01. > :01:02.tourist industry says most half`term visitors aren't being put off by the
:01:03. > :01:05.weather. It's become a familiar story, but
:01:06. > :01:09.conditions tonight are as serious as ever. After a day of rain across the
:01:10. > :01:12.South West the wind has been strengthening once again ` a third
:01:13. > :01:15.Atlantic storm in two weeks beckons. Earlier, part of the village of
:01:16. > :01:18.Colebrook, near Plymouth was flooded, trees were uprooted at
:01:19. > :01:21.Ashburton and the water rose up at Clyst near Exeter, too. Roads across
:01:22. > :01:27.the South West, including here at Ugborough in South Devon were
:01:28. > :01:31.inundated. Tonight more than 3,000 homes are without power. An amber
:01:32. > :01:36.warning from The Met Office has been issued as gusts of up to 80 miles an
:01:37. > :01:39.hour are expected to whip up large waves on the south coast. A number
:01:40. > :01:42.of severe flood warnings are in place in Dorset, Devon and Cornwall.
:01:43. > :01:52.Spotlight's John Henderson reports on preparations in Looe. Macro bags
:01:53. > :01:57.of help cash sum of the 4000 sandbags finally being offered for
:01:58. > :02:05.free. For many they arrived just in time. A lot of businesses have
:02:06. > :02:12.suffered. Some offices are flooding as the tide rises. Years ago,
:02:13. > :02:16.sandbags were free, then they stopped all of that equals at the
:02:17. > :02:21.lack of funding and we had to buy our own. But now, thank goodness Mr
:02:22. > :02:29.Cameron has stepped in at last to help the people of Cornwall. But the
:02:30. > :02:36.limit of ten sandbags per person inferior it others, like this man,
:02:37. > :02:45.who has five businesses. Should you be limited to only ten bags when you
:02:46. > :02:51.have five properties. It should be ten bags per property. When I pay
:02:52. > :02:57.business rates of ?3000 a month, what am I paying for? But with
:02:58. > :03:02.Cornwall facing a storm repair bill of ?20 million and rising, but
:03:03. > :03:08.counsel said they could only give out we sandbags when the government
:03:09. > :03:15.said they will underwrite the entire cast. There was a last`minute change
:03:16. > :03:20.of heart. We don't want people to deprive others. We need to make sure
:03:21. > :03:23.everyone has their access. If one person has more than one property
:03:24. > :03:29.that needs protect thing, we are here to help them. And when it came
:03:30. > :03:46.to sandbags, village macro wasn't alone. They were distributed in
:03:47. > :03:59.other areas. John is in the Cornwall village of Kingsand. The sea is
:04:00. > :04:06.coming at regular intervals. It is for water and it is running down the
:04:07. > :04:10.Main Street. Earlier today it was taking a fearful pounding from the
:04:11. > :04:15.waves. There was real concern that it might be further damaged. It was
:04:16. > :04:20.very badly damaged last week and is being propped up by some
:04:21. > :04:25.scaffolding. Just a minute or so ago I heard a terrible crash of that
:04:26. > :04:31.scaffolding. I think the high tide is upon us and the next half an hour
:04:32. > :04:35.will be critical. Lots of roads around here are closed and people
:04:36. > :04:41.are congregating to see what is going on. There is real concern and
:04:42. > :04:47.fear about what this storm could do and it really is quite worrying. It
:04:48. > :04:50.is edgy because when I arrived here a couple of hours ago, there was
:04:51. > :04:55.concern that the water was getting into the building and that would
:04:56. > :05:01.break up a very important stained`glass window that could hit
:05:02. > :05:10.passers`by. We are really in it. It is really wild and everyone has
:05:11. > :05:13.their fingers crossed. All next week John will be travelling around the
:05:14. > :05:18.South West visiting places that have suffered from weeks of bad weather.
:05:19. > :05:25.If you have a story to tell, do get in contact with us. We are on
:05:26. > :05:30.Facebook, Twitter and e`mail. You can get the latest as the storm
:05:31. > :05:35.takes hold tonight on BBC Radio Devon and BBC Radio Cornwall. They
:05:36. > :05:40.will be on air with special programmes, keeping you up to date.
:05:41. > :05:51.David will be here later in the programme with a fall weather
:05:52. > :05:54.forecast. The Somerset Levels have seen another terrible day. Villagers
:05:55. > :06:03.can only watch as the water climbs higher. Macro the waters are still
:06:04. > :06:12.rising. Most residents left more than a week ago, some return today
:06:13. > :06:20.to check their homes. How was it? It is not great? The police can access
:06:21. > :06:28.the flooded homes of Morland to retrieve objects for residents
:06:29. > :06:32.forced to live elsewhere. If you can go in and get one thing, for
:06:33. > :06:47.instance I bought out a bottle of wine that some friends sent one of
:06:48. > :06:53.the residents from Canada. The Marines are now here helping to
:06:54. > :07:01.sandbags the rest of the dry homes. The mud banks have been built up. It
:07:02. > :07:07.is weathering away with the water, so we are trying to make it more
:07:08. > :07:11.substantial. How pleased were you to see the Royal Marines? At long
:07:12. > :07:17.last! We were missed them and yesterday they came and looked but
:07:18. > :07:23.could not guaranteed because they said they could be posted elsewhere.
:07:24. > :07:27.I hope that they are not going to say elsewhere is more important than
:07:28. > :07:35.here. Altogether, 50 residents remain here, they are holding back
:07:36. > :07:40.the water with sandbags. If we can get through tonight then hopefully
:07:41. > :07:45.Sunday we will either be under or still here. They are by now
:07:46. > :07:48.exhausted, physically and emotionally, but they say it is
:07:49. > :07:58.worth it because by being here they've feel the authorities will
:07:59. > :08:01.not abandon the village altogether. Now, as schools break up for
:08:02. > :08:04.half`term, tonight is often the night we look ahead to the sort of
:08:05. > :08:08.visitor numbers our huge tourism industry can can expect over the
:08:09. > :08:11.coming week. But, of course, the weather is providing more of a twist
:08:12. > :08:14.than normal. Some holiday`makers are cancelling their trips, but the
:08:15. > :08:17.majority are braving the elements as hoteliers hope the message gets out
:08:18. > :08:26.that the region is open for business. This hotel should have
:08:27. > :08:29.been opened its half term but storm damage means it will stay closed
:08:30. > :08:33.until Easter whilst major repairs are carried out. This cafe was also
:08:34. > :08:39.hoping to be opened this week, but the storm has destroyed the reef,
:08:40. > :08:44.lighting and furniture. These are just some of the images those
:08:45. > :08:48.running attractions via my key people away. But that this hotel
:08:49. > :08:51.they say that although a small number of people have cancelled,
:08:52. > :08:57.most people have braved the journey. Bookings are still quite
:08:58. > :09:01.good because we booked up early for half term, but some people have been
:09:02. > :09:07.concerned in terms of getting down here. The overall picture is not too
:09:08. > :09:15.bad at the moment. We are quite encouraged and a lot of the poor
:09:16. > :09:23.holidaying on the short break in the south`west have made the effort. I
:09:24. > :09:30.came down from Worthing. It was very windy and I travelled through three
:09:31. > :09:40.hailstorms to come here. However, I could not stay away. This actor had
:09:41. > :09:51.to travel because he is appearing in a show in which a row. We had to be
:09:52. > :10:03.picked up from Waterloo in a minibus. Most people coming here
:10:04. > :10:06.have phone that to check. Ironically, the very conditions that
:10:07. > :10:11.might be putting some people off from coming down on proving a real
:10:12. > :10:17.attraction when they get here and some businesses are feeling the
:10:18. > :10:28.benefit. This beach restaurant has lots of customers. It is too early
:10:29. > :10:39.yet to know whether the storms have affected bookings. There is more
:10:40. > :10:47.information about the weather online and on your local radio station.
:10:48. > :10:50.Groups and services which help vulnerable people could be facing
:10:51. > :10:54.closure after Torbay Council agreed to make ?22 million worth of cuts
:10:55. > :10:57.over the next two years. It's come about because of a drop in funding
:10:58. > :11:00.from central Government. But opponents claim the council has its
:11:01. > :11:03.priorities all wrong and should me making its cuts elsewhere. Our South
:11:04. > :11:06.Devon reporter John Ayres was at last night's Budget meeting. This is
:11:07. > :11:16.a campaign video encouraging the council not to cut their budget.
:11:17. > :11:21.It's about what best suits you. This charity helps people with autism and
:11:22. > :11:30.physical disabilities find work. It is losing all its funding. We are
:11:31. > :11:34.disappointed because it will affect the most vulnerable group of
:11:35. > :11:44.job`seekers in the bay. It will have a significant impact on the
:11:45. > :11:52.employers and economy of the area. Many charities have been hit hard.
:11:53. > :11:59.Some such as this centre have had a slight reprieve with money from
:12:00. > :12:05.reserves, but others haven't. At a time when we are looking to get
:12:06. > :12:11.preventative care with other organisations, it is being stopped.
:12:12. > :12:17.It is ridiculous. This centre was built in the 1980s and is still
:12:18. > :12:24.being subsidised. People feel that the council have their priorities
:12:25. > :12:29.wrong. If you contrast the new services and the blank cheque
:12:30. > :12:35.attitude for supporting the Riviera Centre, I find that absolutely
:12:36. > :12:44.ridiculous. Over this dash`macro that it's term of office, this
:12:45. > :12:52.administration will have had to save for dash`macro ?45 million. We need
:12:53. > :13:00.to create jobs. It will lift families out of poverty. It is about
:13:01. > :13:08.wealth creation and that is what we are trying to do. There were
:13:09. > :13:15.difficult decisions to be made by Torbay Council. Some Conservative
:13:16. > :13:18.councils expressed regret over certain decisions. However, the
:13:19. > :13:25.council still have to find another 3.8 and impounded web of savings.
:13:26. > :13:28.It's been announced that a prison in Dorset which will help offenders
:13:29. > :13:30.reintegrate into the community won't be taking any prisoners from the
:13:31. > :13:33.county. The Young Offenders Institution on Portland is becoming
:13:34. > :13:38.a resettlement jail and will instead house adults from Gloucestershire,
:13:39. > :13:55.Wiltshire and Somerset. Martyn joins me now. It sounds like an odd
:13:56. > :14:03.scenario. How has it come about. In July the local dash`macro in July
:14:04. > :14:17.the Justice Secretary said that people could receive prisoners from
:14:18. > :14:20.other areas. Gloucs isn't at the other end of the country from
:14:21. > :14:39.Dorset, but it is a couple of counties away and hardly local. This
:14:40. > :14:44.is a setback and a disappointment to not only the communities of Dorset,
:14:45. > :14:47.but the staff and organisations that are looking to work with the
:14:48. > :14:55.offenders prior to their release back to Dorset. The Ministry of
:14:56. > :14:58.Justice said it had reviewed the resettlement of the network to make
:14:59. > :15:12.sure prisoners in every area would benefit from the reforms. It has
:15:13. > :15:22.also confirmed that the prisons for Dorset and Gloucs would be local.
:15:23. > :15:26.I'll have more information on Sunday Politics.
:15:27. > :15:29.There's concern tonight that vulnerable people in Cornwall will
:15:30. > :15:33.be put at increasing risk because many charities can no longer afford
:15:34. > :15:36.to help them. The Drop In and Share Centre in Camborne provides support
:15:37. > :15:40.for 9,000 street homeless and vulnerable people and costs ?40,000
:15:41. > :15:42.a year to run. Its breakfast club will continue, but it is ending its
:15:43. > :15:54.support and rehabilitation services because charitable funding is being
:15:55. > :15:58.cut. It's going to affect a lot of people in a massive way. It will
:15:59. > :16:09.have a massive impact on the community. That is what we are
:16:10. > :16:12.essentially, a community. Engineers say Newbridge at
:16:13. > :16:16.Gunnislake, which was closed when a van drove through the wall and into
:16:17. > :16:19.the River Tamar two weeks ago, should reopen by the end of next
:16:20. > :16:27.week. The bridge is a key commuting route between Devon and Cornwall. It
:16:28. > :16:30.has been a good day for team GB in the Winter Olympics.
:16:31. > :16:34.Away from the Winter Olympics there's concern about the loss of
:16:35. > :16:37.funding for some sports in the summer Olympics. Basketball is one
:16:38. > :16:40.of them ` it's now got a ?1.6 million shortfall in its finances.
:16:41. > :16:44.So what sort of impact will that have on the South West's top club?
:16:45. > :16:46.Spotlight's Dave Gibbins has been with the Plymouth Raiders.
:16:47. > :16:52.Basketball is one of four sports that has had its elite programme cut
:16:53. > :16:57.by UK sport. Although the Plymouth Raiders is predominantly made up of
:16:58. > :17:05.American and European players, there is home`grown talent. Nicholas
:17:06. > :17:18.George and Lewis Sayers are both top players. With funding, basketball
:17:19. > :17:27.has come a long way. It makes it really difficult for me to get to
:17:28. > :17:30.the Olympics now. We have a lot of talent in the UK. We need to put
:17:31. > :17:36.them out there and have those skies experience what they would
:17:37. > :17:50.experience if they went to America. UK sport has said:
:17:51. > :17:59.at College Road primary School, the Plymouth Raiders are spreading the
:18:00. > :18:06.word that basketball is the sport to take up, but how difficult will that
:18:07. > :18:09.be now? It does not queue in terms of what we are trying to build. We
:18:10. > :18:27.have the Academy and University. There are lots dash`macro of
:18:28. > :18:37.positives. Did you get lots of tips? I did. What makes it special
:18:38. > :18:44.for you? You get to be with your friends and you get to be healthy
:18:45. > :18:49.for life. Is it is a good sport? Yes!
:18:50. > :18:52.The next generation of Raiders fans ending that report by Dave Gibbins.
:18:53. > :18:56.And the big advantage for basketball in this weather is that's not
:18:57. > :19:07.affected by it, so their match against Glasgow Rocks will go ahead
:19:08. > :19:11.tomorrow night at the Pavilions. Now the weather may not be a
:19:12. > :19:14.gardener's delight at the moment, but you may be surprised to hear
:19:15. > :19:17.that hundreds of flowers are already in bloom. Every year gardeners at
:19:18. > :19:20.National Trust properties count up the number of blooms and compare
:19:21. > :19:23.them to the previous year. Both Saltram ,near Plymouth and
:19:24. > :19:26.Trelissick near Truro have seen increases in the number in flower
:19:27. > :19:29.this February, but there's been a decline at Cothele in Cornwall.
:19:30. > :19:31.Although as Spotlight's Janine Jansen has been finding out, it's
:19:32. > :19:35.still a beautiful early spring garden. It is a romantic time of
:19:36. > :19:37.year and a time to think of flowers. Every year The National Trust sends
:19:38. > :19:40.out its gardeners to record how many event types of flowers are blooming.
:19:41. > :19:42.Here at Cothele, many are blooming, but the numbers are down. We have
:19:43. > :19:46.noticed in the last few days, certainly since Monday, the crocuses
:19:47. > :19:51.were coming through, showing a little bit of colour. When the sun
:19:52. > :19:55.does come out, it is actually really warm. Talking to some of the other
:19:56. > :20:00.head gardeners, they are saying the same thing. The flower count is down
:20:01. > :20:07.on last year, but there is a lot on this showing around the gardens.
:20:08. > :20:10.They have been just three frosts, but sunlight levels have been low
:20:11. > :20:16.and the ground is saturated and certainly Cothele has not escaped
:20:17. > :20:30.the storms. We have lost three or four relatively large trees that
:20:31. > :20:35.have been fairly significant. This has been flowering well for several
:20:36. > :20:40.weeks. The worry is that if we have the frost, they will be damaged.
:20:41. > :20:51.That's why we are watching the oncoming weather, but there are
:20:52. > :20:58.flowers to calm dash`macro to come. There is a survey being carried out
:20:59. > :21:09.on social media to find out the most popular flower. First is the dream
:21:10. > :21:12.rose, secondly the daffodil and is the snowdrop is third. The National
:21:13. > :21:20.Trust opens its gardens to the public tomorrow.
:21:21. > :21:23.Well it's Valentine's Day today and Janine mentioned flowers, romance
:21:24. > :21:27.and the weather in her report there. So put it all together and you get
:21:28. > :21:31.our next story. Yes, as the wind picked up and the rain came down on
:21:32. > :21:49.this day dedicated to love, a bride braved the great outdoors and took
:21:50. > :21:58.off for her wedding. Call sounds, no stranger to storms. Dash`macro Orson
:21:59. > :22:02.'s. The storms make it a little bit more romantic. We are happy and we
:22:03. > :22:07.want to get married. The weather just adds a bit of adventure to the
:22:08. > :22:11.day. The weather did not stop the bride`to`be waking the short walk to
:22:12. > :22:17.the church. Whilst the couple tied the knot, the wind and waves were
:22:18. > :22:24.loud enough to drown out any wedding bells. The bride and groom emerged
:22:25. > :22:30.happily married. Memorable, adventurous. It was brilliant. It is
:22:31. > :22:34.a day everyone will remember. A really good day. There will be no
:22:35. > :22:42.wedding photographs on the beach today. As for the honeymoon, they
:22:43. > :22:46.are going to wait until the summer. Our top story tonight is of course
:22:47. > :22:53.the weather and an amber alert for wind is in place as well as severe
:22:54. > :22:57.flood warnings. There are no trains in or out of Cornwall to night. That
:22:58. > :23:04.is because of flood damage. And these pictures of Polish workers
:23:05. > :23:19.sent by our cameraman. The seas are very, very high. Conditions are very
:23:20. > :23:25.rough tonight. Let's get the forecast. Those pictures speak
:23:26. > :23:34.volumes about how strong the winds are and how well this season. I have
:23:35. > :23:39.been monitoring the boys that are out of seeing. The one off Brittany
:23:40. > :23:47.had waves at nine o'clock this morning of around 20 feet. At the
:23:48. > :23:51.moment they are above 45 feet. Perhaps not as large as that through
:23:52. > :24:00.the English Channel, but with a southerly winds coming through, it
:24:01. > :24:07.is possible. The highest gusts of wind we have seen so far as being
:24:08. > :24:14.just under 80 mph. There will be further showers tonight. The wind
:24:15. > :24:19.and shall activity will ease down. Let us go to the Isles of Scilly and
:24:20. > :24:29.here in the old town beach, these ways that have been coming on shore
:24:30. > :24:33.have been crashing over the houses. Expect more of the same. We still
:24:34. > :24:41.have an ample warning, as we have just said, about the wind. Slowly
:24:42. > :24:47.though, they will is later tonight. The culprit is an area of low
:24:48. > :24:52.pressure that has been whipping up the wind. The arrows will change
:24:53. > :25:02.direction during the night and will become a bit more westerly. There
:25:03. > :25:06.are several severe flood warnings as well as multiple flood warnings
:25:07. > :25:18.along the coastline and inland. There is the number you need to
:25:19. > :25:20.call. That us look at the detail in the broader perspective because with
:25:21. > :25:25.the area of low pressure across southern island, it will move
:25:26. > :25:30.steadily during the night. It will move up towards the Northey and the
:25:31. > :25:36.winds will drop. As we move through tomorrow night and into Sunday, we
:25:37. > :25:40.have a ridge of high pressure coming other way. If anything, a quiet
:25:41. > :25:49.night on Saturday and the winds could be light enough for a touch of
:25:50. > :25:58.frost. This area of the low pressure is not the same animal. The winds
:25:59. > :26:03.will not be as heavy and next week the low pressure will not be as
:26:04. > :26:07.vicious. The showers to night are lively and the winds are gusty.
:26:08. > :26:12.Bearing more westerly as the night progresses. Overnight temperatures
:26:13. > :26:18.five or six degrees for most of us. Tomorrow morning clear spells in
:26:19. > :26:26.between the showers and we should get some sunshine. There may be the
:26:27. > :26:31.odd shower. By the time we get to the end of the day, look at that
:26:32. > :26:38.dash no rain, largely clear skies, lighter winds and actually quite a
:26:39. > :26:43.pleasant evening and a calm night,. Those are the temperatures we can
:26:44. > :26:51.see generally. We might get to 10 degrees. As we move out to sea, the
:26:52. > :26:58.forecast is quite lively. Across the answer silly we will have sales to
:26:59. > :27:01.start with and the winds will drop. For those worried about the
:27:02. > :27:14.coastline, these are the important times of high water. And some big
:27:15. > :27:26.waves around as well. Dangerous conditions at sea. Quick look at the
:27:27. > :27:34.coastal waters. To take care and have a good evening. It is a grim
:27:35. > :27:41.picture out there tonight. Don't forget BBC Radio Devon and BBC Radio
:27:42. > :27:45.Cornwall are on air tonight from seven o'clock with a special
:27:46. > :27:47.programme. Have a great weekend.