this is bbc news, i'm clive myrie. the headlines at 11:00pm: at least 15 people have been killed by mudslides and flash—floods in southern california. uk manufacturing output has been growing at its fastest rate for nearly a decade, according to new figures. at the trial of the former football coach accused of dozens of child sexual offences, the jury hears from an alleged victim. after days of heavy snow, tourists trapped in the swiss resort of zermatt are finally able to leave, as train services begin again. and on newsnight, could a tax on plastic convince you the government is the party of the environment? the tories are talking green again. will we buy it? plus: the pictures of david bowie you've never seen. good evening and welcome to bbc news.

at least 15 people have been killed by mudslides and flash—floods in southern california. rescue workers are now mounting a desperate search for survivors, fearing that dozens of people might still be trapped. many of those affected now are the very same people who last month fled from wildfires. the extreme weather has hit carpinteria, santa barbara and montecito, from where our correspondent james cook reports. on california's pacific coast, ordeal by the elements continues. first, they endured the largest fire in the state's history. next came torrential rain, more intense than anyone here could remember. and then, within minutes, destruction, caused by an unstoppable wall of mud and debris. 14—year—old lauren cantin survived, but even she does not know how. firefighters using rescue

dogs heard her screams, and worked for hours to pull her from the wreckage of her home. her family's fate is unknown. everyone here, it seems, has their own incredible story of a struggle to survive. well, once the boulders and trees came through our house, we climbed up onto the roof and waited until the creek went down a bit, and then we climbed off the roof and got to our neighbour's garage. we just got pulled out of there by the firefighters now. but he's been out rescuing neighbours. we heard a little baby crying. we dug down and found a little baby. i don't know where it came from. we got it out, got the mud out of its mouth. i'm hoping it's ok. they took it right to the hospital. but it was just a baby,

four feet down in the mud, nowhere, under the rocks. i'm glad we got him. there was a young man that was washed away that ended up half a mile away from here on the freeway, and survived that. and has recall of actually being washed through houses and under vehicles, and survived that. these coastguard pictures show the rescue of a family of five. first, a mother and her newborn baby are winched to safety. then, a little girl makes it onto the roof. her seven—year—old brother is saved, too. terrifying moments, but they are the lucky ones. how do you describe it? it's devastating, what happened. the fire created a situation where the dirt was able to wash down. had we still had all of the vegetation on the hills, it would not have been as much of an issue.

we just feel very sorry for the people who've lost their homes and their lives. that's coast village road, montecito — montecito. so why did this happen? the downpour soaked an area which had been scorched by wildfire, burning grass and shrubs which hold the soil in place, and baking the earth, leaving it slick and hard. the water had nowhere to go but down, fast, into the town of montecito with deadly, devastating effect. this is one of the most exclusive communities in the united states, home to stars including the actor rob lowe and the tv presenter ellen degeneres. but no amount of money can stop a mudslide. so there used to be a fence right here. that's my neighbour's house, devastated. oprah winfrey posted this video, as she assessed the damage in her garden. this is how deep the mud is. and the destruction wasn't confined to the coast.

further inland in burbank, a suburb of los angeles, the cameras captured another mudslide in action. well, the power of this mudslide is graphically demonstrated here. for the people in these homes, and there were some people who stayed in this area, it must have been terrifying, as boulders like this and other debris swept down from the hills. firefighters insist there is still some hope of finding survivors, but it is fading. the financial cost from this disaster will be immense. the human toll much higher. manufacturing output in the uk is growing at its fastest rate for a decade, after recording a seventh consecutive month of growth. performance has been boosted by the weak pound, and by the revived state of the global economy. but, in the same period, construction output fell by the biggest margin for the past five years.

our economics editor kamal ahmed reports. the sound of better economic news, and the manufacturers which are making the goods a faster—growing world is demanding. the weakness in the value of the pound makes everything britain sells abroad more competitive, and firms that export are taking advantage. so this machine actually is a high—end wire edm machine... like brandauer, in birmingham. among other high—tech materials, it makes the switches for 90% of all the kettles in the world — billions of them. its order books for household goods, the car sector and aerospace are bulging. we've always exported a huge percentage of what we make. currently, that's around 70—75%. global growth of our customers and the manufacturing supply chain means growth for us. our customers are doing well, and technology demands are ever—increasing,

which means brandauer, as a net result, will do well. it has been a ten year roller—coaster for britain's makers. manufacturing suffered badly in the financial crisis, and has only slowly recovered since then. but, in the last year, things have taken a turn for the better, and output is now at its highest since april 2008. behind these betterfigures is a big economic trend, global growth. for the first time since the financial crisis, ten years ago, all the economic centres, usa, china, japan and the rest of europe, are seeing stronger growth. and that rising tide is lifting britain. confidence is flowing back. it is not all good news. construction figures are poor, and there are still the problems

of falling wages and the increase in prices. many economists warn that britain is not out of the economic woods, including a former adviser to the chancellor. what we've seen in the uk relative to elsewhere is growth relatively stable. now, that is still better than most predicted at the start of — certainly the start of 2017, because the brexit negotiation was expected to have a more dampening impact on growth. but the global environment has actually ended up being much stronger, and i think that has supported uk activity. the uk is still the laggard, though. manufacturing is a bright point, but atjust 10% of the uk economy, it is not everything. the strength of britain overall will only become clear when the full set of figures are published at the end of the month. many economists believe they will now be more positive than expected. the trial of the former football coach barry bennell on charges of child sexual offences has, for the first time, heard from an alleged victim. a man who claims he was sexually abused as a child has told the court that bennell had what he called a power hold over young boys

who dreamt of being professional players. barry bennell, who is now known as richard jones, denies 48 charges of child sexual abuse. 0ur sports editor dan roan reports. back in the 1980s, barry bennell worked with some of the most promising young footballers in the north—west of england. youth team coach at crewe alexandra. he also had links with manchester city. but today, liverpool crown court was told the 64—year—old, who now calls himself richard jones, exploited young boys' dreams of becoming footballers in order to sexually abuse them. with bennell watching on via video link, the jury was shown footage of the first complainant's police interview. he said he first met bennell when he came to a training session as a scout for manchester city. now in his 40s, the alleged victim said he was abused up to 100 times, along with other boys,

by bennell at his home above a shop he owned in the derbyshire village of furness vale. he claimed bennell had up to three boys share a bed with him. the complainant said none dared speak out for fear ofjeopardising their football prospects. it was almost like an untold rule, he said. we didn't want to spoil our chances. he had a big power hold over us with that, which was pretty horrific. it's going to be frank and open, and it will cover details of sexual abuse. the court was shown a recording of this bbc programme from november 2016, featuring other alleged victims, which the complainant said left him in complete meltdown, prompting him to contact police for the first time. appearing behind a screen in court, he was then cross—examined by eleanor laws qc for the defence, who asked whether his complaint was financially motivated. i'm not in it for the money, he said. the court was read transcripts from bennell‘s interview with the police, in which he denied ever abusing the complainant. i've had no sexual contact with him, he said.

i remember thinking he was the one that got away with it. he wasn't one of my victims. it's impossible. the trial continues. dan roan, bbc news, liverpool. thousands of people who have been stranded in the alps because of unusually heavy snow are now seeing some relief. trains have begun running to the swiss resort of zermatt, and helicopters are ferrying people out if they need it. but others are making the best of the situation. imogen foulkes reports. after two days cut off from the rest of the world, zermatt is open for business again. the train line blocked by snow is now clear. and, for those who are really in a huge hurry, the helicopters are waiting. some tourists, though, seem quite happy exactly where they are. translation: since we have a right yesterday morning, and we are

leaving saturday, we don't feel locked at all. for consumers across the alps, the heavy snow continues to cause problems. some villagers are still cut off. others are without power. the biggest worry of all is over avalanches. tons and tons of snow has fallen, and the weather is warmer than normal. meaning the snow is loose, wet and heavy, more likely to slip down the mountain. winter sports fans are being warned to stay only on slopes and paths marked clearly as safe. meanwhile, the alpine authorities are working around the clock to clear the snow. their window of opportunity may be short. more snow is forecast for thursday. a brief look at some of the day's other news stories: lawyers —— the prime minister will pledge to eliminate all avoidable plastic

waste within 25 years, as she unveils the government's long—term plan for the environment tomorrow. theresa may will urge supermarkets will be urged to introduce plastic—free aisles, where customers can pick up products which are not packaged in plastic. lawyers representing victims of the sex attackerjohn worboys are urging the parole board to ban him from the greater london area when he is freed from prison. agency officials are due to meet tomorrow to discuss his release, but no final decision will be made on the conditions he will face. it has emerged that a man whose body was found buried in a garden in greater manchester was allegedly killed by his daughter several years ago. police say the woman went to a police station in stockport at the weekend and told officers what she had done. cancer patients at the churchill hospital in oxford could face delays to their treatment due to a shortage of staff. that is the warning from a senior doctor, in a leaked staff memo. the hospital trust said there are no formal plans to change cancer treatment. now it is time for newsnight, with emily maitlis. cameron tried hugging huskies,

theresa may has a plan for plastic, before the release of the 25 year in environmental plan we ask if the blues really can go green or if environmental activism will always belong to the left. i am in the heart of the chilterns, the beautiful rolling hills on the outskirts of london which lies at the heart of a government dilemma on protecting the environment while promoting economic growth. we speak with stanley johnson and promoting economic growth. we speak with stanleyjohnson and caroline lucas. the hunger to know what voters think has never been stronger 01’ more voters think has never been stronger or more vitalfor the voters think has never been stronger or more vital for the modern politician. we went to essex to find out their views on modern britain. the kids are not respectable of adults when they tell them to do something. they look at them and, who are you talking to? theyjust have no respect, no respect for the teacher, no respect at all. what do

voters tell you about their real concerns where they know it will never be traced back to them? and... # put on your... is two years since david bowie died, steven smith spoke with his personal photographer who went on tour with him in the 1980s. i could do a book of david laughing. you mean shots of him? yes, he laughed a lot, because he didn't have to play the thin white duke, so he was allowed to live on stage. but he was allowed to live on stage. but he laughed all the time offstage as well, it is what he really wanted to spend his time doing, having fun. good evening. environmentalism has all the hallmarks of a left—wing cause, the enlightened