:00:12. > :00:19.Over the last 24 hours the pressure on some hospitals in the South West
:00:20. > :00:23.has reached peak levels, with all experiencing huge demand.
:00:24. > :00:25.Some have declared the highest level of alert
:00:26. > :00:26.and some operations have been postponed.
:00:27. > :00:34.Clare Woodling joins me now with more details.
:00:35. > :00:40.This winter, a new way of classifying pressure has been
:00:41. > :00:42.brought in at hospitals across the country.
:00:43. > :00:44.What we knew as black alert, the most serious status,
:00:45. > :00:47.is now called Operational Pressures Escalation Level 4 or OPEL 4.
:00:48. > :00:50.Tonight the Royal Cornwall Hospital in Truro is on this,
:00:51. > :00:53.It says there are around 100 patients occupying beds
:00:54. > :00:56.but who are waiting to go on to the next stage
:00:57. > :01:00.Other hospitals which have also been under immense strain in recent
:01:01. > :01:06.days include Yeovil, where managers have
:01:07. > :01:08.urged people with minor problems to avoid A
:01:09. > :01:10.Last night, Derriford Hospital in Plymouth was on the highest level
:01:11. > :01:14.of alert but today there's been some relief as that level has been
:01:15. > :01:16.dropped to OPEL three, formerly known as red alert,
:01:17. > :01:19.The hospital says it's still "operationally challenged"
:01:20. > :01:26.and additional doctors and nurses have been brought in to help.
:01:27. > :01:29.North Devon District Hospital is under a similar level of pressure.
:01:30. > :01:31.Dorset County Hospital says that it is 96 per cent full
:01:32. > :01:34.but at the moment it's on a lower level of alert.
:01:35. > :01:37.It says health and social services are working together well
:01:38. > :01:46.Urgent action is being taken at Torbay Hospital.
:01:47. > :01:47.Meanwhile 50 extra beds have been opened
:01:48. > :01:50.where all planned operations have been postponed.
:01:51. > :01:53.One of the consultants there spoke to me earlier
:01:54. > :02:03.It has been very busy. We have been experiencing great levels of demand
:02:04. > :02:10.with an enormous number of patients, to the doors but we have been
:02:11. > :02:14.managing to give patients excellent care. There is no secret that the is
:02:15. > :02:20.rising the. More patients are coming along. We have an ageing population,
:02:21. > :02:24.particularly in this area and elderly patients need more extra
:02:25. > :02:26.care and the wintertime so the pressure has worsened, year on year.
:02:27. > :02:29.NHS England says tried-and-tested plans are in place.
:02:30. > :02:34.People are being reminded that attending A is the right thing
:02:35. > :02:36.to do in an emergency or life-threatening situation
:02:37. > :02:39.but often people forget about Minor Injury Units for cuts,
:02:40. > :02:45.As well as advice from GPs and pharmacies, there's
:02:46. > :02:50.People are being reminded not to visit friends and relatives
:02:51. > :02:53.in hospital if they feel unwell themselves, so as to avoid
:02:54. > :02:55.spreading viruses to people who are already vulnerable.
:02:56. > :03:02.Let's take a look at other news around the region tonight.
:03:03. > :03:04.A coroner has recorded a verdict of accidental death after
:03:05. > :03:07.a Plymouth man fell 14 floors trying to stop his teenage friend
:03:08. > :03:14.The inquest heard how 24-year -old Thomas Bennett had climbed
:03:15. > :03:17.onto the ledge at the University of Honolulu to try and save the life
:03:18. > :03:21.Both men fell, but his friend survived the incident.
:03:22. > :03:24.A police investigation is continuing into the discovery of the bodies
:03:25. > :03:30.of a man and a woman at a farmhouse near Dunkeswell in Devon.
:03:31. > :03:32.The police say the deaths are being treated as a "domestic-related
:03:33. > :03:39.The married couple have been named locally as Nicola and Michael Beck.
:03:40. > :03:42.A pupil from Truro School received hospital treatment after students
:03:43. > :03:45.broke a curfew and bought drugs and alcohol on
:03:46. > :03:53.The head teacher of the private school confirmed a number of
:03:54. > :03:56.sixth form students bought a small amount of drugs from a local dealer.
:03:57. > :04:01.One female student was taken to hospital but was not seriously ill.
:04:02. > :04:02.Wildlife campaigners in Dorset are celebrating
:04:03. > :04:10.following a U-turn on proposals to build a large solar farm
:04:11. > :04:12.in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
:04:13. > :04:13.Dorset Wildlife Trust says they're pleased
:04:14. > :04:15.an agreement has been reached with British Solar Renewables
:04:16. > :04:23.A smaller solar farm is now expected to be built nearby.
:04:24. > :04:25.More than 8,000 Plymouth Argyle supporters have
:04:26. > :04:32.bought tickets for Sunday's big match against Liverpool.
:04:33. > :04:35.The last time the Pilgrims made round three was three years ago,
:04:36. > :04:48.You have to play without any fear. Discipline, competence. If all of
:04:49. > :04:53.the players are up to peak form... Stick to the game plan, togetherness
:04:54. > :04:57.and belief. This squad does have belief and a manager with one thing
:04:58. > :05:02.on his mind. We are going to win, there is the possibility, it has
:05:03. > :05:08.happened in the past. You got to go there with that belief and attitude.
:05:09. > :05:11.Graham Kelly, a Liverpool fan is Plymouth Argyle's Star man and
:05:12. > :05:18.unfazed by performing on the big stage. When the game starts, you're
:05:19. > :05:24.in the zone, you're in a bubble commie don't focus on the fans, just
:05:25. > :05:27.fully on the game. Unless we are competitive, unless we give it a
:05:28. > :05:29.good go, then we are not really going to enjoy it.
:05:30. > :05:32.Six grey seal pups have been released back into the wild
:05:33. > :05:34.after spending several months being nursed back to health
:05:35. > :05:36.by staff at the Cornish Seal Sanctuary at Gweek.
:05:37. > :05:38.Among the six were Honey Badger, Panther,
:05:39. > :05:41.All were rescued around Cornwall's coast after being found abandoned,
:05:42. > :05:43.dangerously underweight and in several cases
:05:44. > :05:57.You can only prepare them so much. I am more than confident that they
:05:58. > :05:59.will figure it out and that they will find fish and settle right back
:06:00. > :05:59.into the wild. Time now for the weather
:06:00. > :06:09.forecast with David. Good evening. We've had some dry
:06:10. > :06:13.weather over the last four or five weeks. There is some rain now, but
:06:14. > :06:19.the month of December was particularly dry, the seventh driest
:06:20. > :06:23.ever with records going back to 1910. 42% of what we would normally
:06:24. > :06:28.see in terms of rainfall. There is some patchy rain overnight tonight.
:06:29. > :06:32.Tomorrow is rather cloudy and misty, but turning quite a bit less cold as
:06:33. > :06:36.we start to see winds coming from the West. We still have high
:06:37. > :06:42.pressure. Any weather fronts, fairly weak, but bringing cloud, trapped
:06:43. > :06:45.beneath that area of high pressure, for Saturday and Sunday. So little
:06:46. > :06:50.change in the weather pattern, and limited amounts of sunshine.
:06:51. > :06:55.Overnight, it will not be cold, temperatures up by the end of the
:06:56. > :06:58.night at around 6-8 C, so mild compared to what we have seen
:06:59. > :07:04.recently. Tomorrow, quite grey and misty, with extensive low cloud and
:07:05. > :07:10.hill fog. Even though the drizzle moves away, we keep a lot of low
:07:11. > :07:14.figures at around 10 Celsius. The figures at around 10 Celsius. The
:07:15. > :07:23.arriving later in the day on Monday. but not by much. Some
:07:24. > :07:27.And cold and breezy by Tuesday of next week. The good evening. That's
:07:28. > :07:38.it from the late team. Have a good night. Goodbye.
:07:39. > :07:44.Good evening. The weather has been turning milder and also cloudier
:07:45. > :07:47.through the course of the day. We did see some clear spells moving in
:07:48. > :07:53.from the North will stop this was the sunset, captured in Dundee. Some
:07:54. > :07:56.clear spells as we headed through the course of the afternoon into the
:07:57. > :08:00.evening. Really, through the weekend, wiki with a similar theme.
:08:01. > :08:05.Much milder than it has been. A lot of cloud around in general, but for
:08:06. > :08:07.most of us think. Dry. Not dry everywhere at the moment,
:08:08. > :08:11.particularly across central and southern parts of England and Wales.
:08:12. > :08:15.We have a lot of cloud, bringing outbreaks of light rain and drizzle.
:08:16. > :08:18.The patchy rain will ease away slowly towards the south through
:08:19. > :08:23.tonight and further north across the country, drier conditions. Wherever
:08:24. > :08:27.you are, it's pretty cloudy. Mostly frost free to start the weekend, but
:08:28. > :08:32.there could be frost across the central glens of Scotland. A chilly
:08:33. > :08:33.start, but quite a lot of cloud, some pockets of