patients are dying in hospital corridors — the stark warning from a&e doctors to the prime minister. almost 70 heads of department in england and wales have written to theresa may saying conditions are at times intolerable despite the best efforts of staff. i think i was trolley number 12 and two more people came in after me. then they said they can't take any more trolleys so the ambulance was having to wait outside. also this lunchtime: eliminate all avoidable plastic waste within 25 years says says the prime minister, as she announces a new government drive on the environment. a woman has appeared in court charged with murder, after police found a body buried in a garden in greater manchester. searching for survivors — 17 people are still missing after the mudslides and flash floods in southern california that left 17 dead. and how former england captain rio ferdinand put prince william on the spot over harry's wedding. coming up in sport... britain'sjohanna konta faces

a testing opening match in the austalian open next week against american madison brengle. good afternoon and welcome to the bbc news at one. doctors have warned the prime minister that patients are dying in the corridors of accident and emergency units in england and wales. the heads of 68 a&e departments have written to theresa may saying that the current level of safety compromise is at times intolerable despite the best efforts of staff. and they say that thousands of patients are waiting for hours in ambulances because hospitals don't have enough space. our health correspondent catherine burns reports. is that the one that you want? yeah. rosie dawson was in severe pain when she went to a&e last week. she had a gynaecological problem

and was bleeding heavily, but the hospital was so busy that she was examined on a trolley in a busy corridor. i think i was trolley number 12 and there were trolleys going all the way up. you can't see to someone's dignity, you can't ensure they are having a private conversation and that if they break down in tears, which i think i did, i think i'm pretty sure that i cried as well, but you can't look into anybody‘s kind of right to privacy or anything like that. today doctors from almost half the a&e units in england and wales have written to the prime minister, saying that plans for the winter had failed to deliver anywhere near what was needed. they talk about patients dying in hospital corridors under intolerable conditions. in terms of these winter pressures that we see the nhs under, there have been a number of measures that we have taken that have helped. for example, for the first time ever, urgent gp appointments being available throughout the christmas period.

but still, figures from nhs england show that at some point last week, just 3% of hospital trusts in england had enough beds free to provide safe care. they are supposed to have no more than 85% of beds occupied, but on thursday, just four out of 137 trusts were below that safe level. to add to this, more statistics showing that the symbol was the worst month for a&e waiting times since records began in 200a. 3,000 patients in england were not seen within the four—hour waiting target. and so, a warning that this is a watershed moment for the nhs. we have now clearly reached the point where the nhs cannot meet the standards of care that we would, all of us in the nhs, ministers included, want to provide. so the key question is, do we abandon those standards, and none of us in the nhs will do that, or does the government make the decisions it needs to make about the long—term funding and it needs to make those

decisions quickly. authorities in wales and northern ireland say they are under pressure too and a&e waiting times in scotland hit their worst ever levels at the end of december. the message from health care professionals is that despite staff's best efforts, the nhs is chronically underfunded and the government must act soon. catherine burns, bbc news. let's speak to our health editor. this letter is quite a moment, it really is quite a letter from people at the front line of all of this. that's right, we have had a series of warnings from royal colleges representing doctors and a warning from nhs providers, which you heard there just now about the watershed moment. these are front—line senior doctors employed by trusts who have taken it upon themselves to get together a letter which they say

represents the views of staff that they work with because they are so concerned. they have sent it to the prime minister. the fact that they are at the front line in emergency departments are saying there are very serious concerns about safety, that some people are dying prematurely because they are having to be managed in corridors, i think is very significant. and they are saying whatever the prime minister has been saying in recent days, there was not in their view enough preparation or planning for winter. they say the solution lies in more money for social care to help discharge patients from hospitals. it has to be said the 68 signature is don't represent all hospitals in england and wales. i understand some senior doctors were asked to sign it but didn't, but it is an interesting view of how people see things on the front line. the department of health is making clear there are a lot more a&e consultants than they're worth in 2010, more money has been made

available over the next couple of yea rs, available over the next couple of years, but the new debate is getting going over the long—term and short—term future of the nhs in terms of funding and social care. hugh pym, thank you. if you want to find out how your local hospital is performing you can use the bbc‘s nhs tracker at www. bbc. co. uk/nhstracker. the prime minister has pledged to eliminate avoidable plastic waste within 25 years as part of a far—reaching plan to improve britain's environment. she has urged supermarkets to introduce aisles where shoppers can buy products with no plastic packaging. a small charge for disposable plastic bags will also be extended to all shops, notjust big retailers. theresa may called plastic waste "one of the great environmental scourges of our time". but environmentalists have criticised the plans saying they lack urgency, detail and bite. here's our environment analyst, roger harrabin. there's huge public anxiety about plastic litter, since david attenborough‘s blue planet series revealed sea creatures eating plastic waste.

the prime minister's surfing that wave of concern — aiming for votes from young people who care deeply about the environment they will inherit. while the water in our rivers and beaches are cleaner than ever before, around the world 8 million tonnes of plastic makes its way into the oceans each year. but is mrs may being ambitious enough? she said all avoidable plastic waste should be stopped by 2042. that is 25 years from now. environmentalists are not impressed. we don't think it's urgent enough, we don't think it's robust enough and we don't think it's detailed enough. the oceans, which are bearing the brunt of our addiction to throwaway plastic, can't wait 25 years for pollution. 25 years for solutions.

but plastics form just part of the the government's 25—year plan for the environment launched today. the environment is something personal to each of us. but it is also something which collectively we hold in trust for the next generation. and we have a responsibility to protect and enhance it. but it's a crowded island we live on. woodlands, like here at lodge hill in kent, have been decimated over the decades. this is the uk's prime site for nightingales, but the local council wants to build much—needed houses on part of it. if housing development was to go ahead at lodge hill, it would constitute the biggest destruction of one of our finest wildlife sites for 25 years. and at a time when the government has clearly expressed a commitment to restoring nature, it seems madness to conceive, let alone to consent to such a development. a walk in the woods is good for your mental and physical health. the government's acknowledged that. it wants to increase

woodland cover, especially near where people live. it wants to bring back wildflower meadows and improve rare habitats like heathlands. but the pressure's on for development. we have a housing target we have to meet of 29,500 between now and 2035 — huge demand in medway and in north kent for housing, affordable housing and a whole housing mix, and those houses have to go somewhere. there's pressure on the natural world from road—building too. the department for transport can't foresee a time when new roads won't be needed. the rail line hs2 will damage many ancient woodlands. and the farmers‘ union is demanding that all prime agricultural land is kept for farming, not wildlife, to maximise food output. but the government's plan for nature will attempt to bring some nature back to farmland and replenish depleted soils. environmentalists welcome the government's plans to restore

britain's nature, but the problem they say that is so far it is just a plan. to really convince them, ministers would need to introduce legislation and there seems no sign of that. 0ur assistant political editor norman smith is at the wetlands centre in south—west london weather prime minister gave her speech this morning. so the prime minister's first big speech of the year, why the environment why now? you are right, it might seem surprising in the sense mrs may has never been noted for her views on the environment, particularly given the current how all around the nhs, that she has chosen herfirst big current how all around the nhs, that she has chosen her first big speech on the green agenda. partly they believe it will be popular, there is

a sense in government that people are increasingly exasperated by the sheer volume of plastic packaging we have to put up with. everything from the proverbial coffee cup to fruit and veg safely wrapped in cellophane, to every time you order something online incomes in blankets of packaging, and a desire to change that. secondly the political climate has changed. when david cameron tried to pursue a green agenda he ran into ferocious opposition from many other conservatives, certainly many other conservatives, certainly many conservative supporting newspapers. now they have done an about turn and they are fully behind the green agenda. lastly there is a desire to talk about something other than brexit. the non—brexit domestic agenda, and in particular one that appeals to younger voters. research has shown that one of the issues that concern is most younger voters

is, yes, the environment. norman smith in south—east london, thank you. christmas sales figures for retailers have presented a mixed bag this season. marks & spencer sales fell over the key christmas period, while tesco reported record festive trade. a number of major retailers have alluded to difficulties in the market and tough trading conditions. our business correspondent emma simpson reports now on the winners and losers. it worked out all right in the end, didn't it? it did too for britain's biggest retailer. despite problems with their turkeys, tesco's christmas sales were up. food has long been a bright spot for marks & spencer, their premium product, but this christmas quarter sales went into reverse. there is food inflation and we also buy a lot of food over christmas because of entertaining and just eating, so it is very disappointing that marks and spencer hasn't matched the rest of the grocers and i think it's a lot to do with its competition producing

very good premium ranges at low prices so it is up against a challenging market, and its clothing hasn't been doing well either. christmas feels like a long time ago now. for retailers, it can be make 01’ now. for retailers, it can be make or break. 0n the high street it's been incredibly challenging. consumers have less money to spend. house of fraser has been really feeling the pressure. it has seen another fall feeling the pressure. it has seen anotherfall in feeling the pressure. it has seen another fall in sales today, but as ever there are winners and losers and this one is in the winner ‘s camp. there is demand there, you just have to find it and create the conditions in which people want things and that comes down to having fabulous products. it means being brilliant in terms of experience people get in your shops has never been more important, and it means you have to get outstanding at online shops and that is something we work very hard to do. in nottingham shoppers seem to be careful in parting with their cash.

i had careful in parting with their cash. ihada careful in parting with their cash. i had a budget and we tried to stick to it as far as possible. i had a budget and we tried to stick to it as far as possiblelj i had a budget and we tried to stick to it as far as possible. i did it all online because i didn't want to be in the rush of everyone. all online because i didn't want to be in the rush of everyonelj be in the rush of everyone.” normally look at deals with pop—up, normally look at deals with pop—up, normally on facebook or a certain site will be doing e—mails and then i have a look. no surprise then that online accounted for a quarter of non—food shopping last month. a small but fast—growing retailer, boohoo, expects growth of 90% this year. that is something they can only dream of on the high street. the sales are on, after a quarter that has been far from the sales are on, after a quarter that has been farfrom golden, and this year could be just as tough as the last one. a woman has appeared in court charged with murder, after police found a body buried in a garden in greater manchester. barbara coombes, who's 63, is also charged with preventing the lawful and decent burial of a body, and with fraud. let's speak to our correspondent, judith moritz.

this was a short hearing, just three minutes or so and barbara coombes, wearing glasses and a fleece jumper, spoke to confirm her personal details. she is charged with murdering kenneth coombes in 2006 and she is accused of burying his body and writing official letters and pretending to be his care to claim money. it is understood kenneth coombes is herfather. her neighbours this week were asked by police whether they remember him, he would have been in his late 80s, in 2005. the police say at the weekend that a 63—year—old went into a police station and told officers she had killed a man some years ago and

she had buried him in the garden. a forensic search began and human remains were recovered from barbara coombes's garden. they have not been officially identified. the results officially identified. the results ofa officially identified. the results of a postmortem have not been released. barbara coombes has been charged with murder and she will reappear before a court tomorrow morning. the charges will be presented to her again. thank you. our top story this lunchtime... a&e doctors warn the prime minister that patients are dying in corridors because conditions are at times intolerable. and coming up... why the video blogger, who's watched by millions around the world, is now being punished by youtube. coming up in sport... england's 0ne—day captain eoin morgan impresses ahead of their series against australia, with a five—wicket win over a cricket australia 11. in california, rescue teams are searching for 17 people

who are still missing after the flash floods and mud slides on tuesday. 17 people are known to have died when a torrent of mud, carrying boulders the size of small cars, smashed through the town of montecito. over 100 homes have been destroyed. the area in santa barbara county was onlyjust recovering from the recent devastating wildfires. 0ur north american correspondent, james cook, is there. in montecito, they are still combing the ruins, looking for survivors. but with every hour that passes, hope fades. the surge of mud and debris was just too powerful. it consumed everything before it, turning homes to matchwood. we had, you know, between us, a dear friend that didn't make it. he lives upstream. and that was brutal. they got blown right out of the house. his wife is still alive. the kids are traumatised, of course. it came really close. it came right up to our hedges.

thank god that it didn't take out our homes 01’ our car and our children are safe. but, yeah, our neighbours weren't as fortunate. more than 500 firefighters and other rescue teams have been working around the clock, hoping beyond hope that they can still save lives. i have been a firefighter for 26 years. yeah, for most people that are here on this incident, we have never seen an event like this. parts of the town are still cut off, but some residents have been returning to inspect the damage. the house being gone isjust a house, you know. it'sjust some clothes in a house. but in a neighbourhood this small, every single name that turns up is someone's dad, someone's cousin, someone's teacher, and that's got to be the worst part of it all, i think. i'm just happy for everyone that makes it. the sky lit up because some buildings had blown up. the gas mains, it turns out. here is all this fire coming down, and fire going up, and here is all this rain coming down, and you wonder, what's happening? i mean, it was an incredible experience.

that was the bunny that i missed catching. oh, my gosh. i was in the kitchen, trying to get out through the back when we saw the wall of water coming. i couldn't reach her. we had our dog. grabbed our dog. we grabbed our dog by the collar but missed the cats and the cat and the bunny and the water hit and knocked out... went through our house, took everything. but somehow, in the cage... the firefighters found her and we found this on top of our car. i thought i would find a dead bunny in it, but she was alive. amazing. the mudslide didn't just claim lives, it paralysed this part of california. this is the main motorway along the pacific coast, the 101 freeway. police say it will not be open until monday at the earliest. the trauma will last much longer. james cook, bbc news, montecito. let's speak to the cbs

correspondent, carter evans, who's in montecito. the middle of the night there now, oui’ rescue workers the middle of the night there now, our rescue workers still hoping to find people alive? they are still hoping to find people alive right now, this is still a rescue effort, not a recovery effort. james talk to people talking about being blown out of their homes. i want to try to explain the scale of this. the pictures really do not do it justice. this happened at about aam, people were asleep. everyone says they heard rumbling and a mudslide hits the wall of the home, it is not just mugged, rocks and boulders like this one, but this is a small boulder. a lot of the rocks and boulders were the size of small cars. just imagine what that would be like. the best way i can think of

to describe it is imagine if you took a home and put it on a giant bowling alley and you took the huge boulders, dozens, perhaps hundreds, and tossed them at the house, that is what happened here. extraordinary pictures from montecito in southern california, thank you forjoining us. universal credit is the biggest welfare reform in decades. but teachers and charities are warning that the new benefit could cause chaos in the provision of free school meals in england. they believe that plans to link eligibility for the free meals to household earnings, which often fluctuate, will also undermine the core principal of the universal credit that work always pays. 0ur social affairs correspondent, michael buchanan, reports. brea kfast breakfast time at a south london school, a handy aid to working families and those struggling to get by. around half the pupils here get free school meals, a by—product of getting certain benefits. but

universal credit which families can move on and off when earnings change could make it hard for the school to know who is eligible. it would be very complicated for the school and we would find it hard to monitor and follow. parents would not understand. 0ne follow. parents would not understand. one week we are asking for money, the following month, we are not. it is confusing for the school, parents, nota are not. it is confusing for the school, parents, not a good way of doing it. the school has invested heavily in giving children healthy food, currently all families who get universal credit can get free school meals. the department for education plans to restrict provision. in future, and the families whose earnings are less than £7,a00 a year before benefits will qualify —— when the families. the school has a com plete the families. the school has a complete commitment to healthy eating, it has its own garden for growing vegetables, it has even got chickens for fresh growing vegetables, it has even got chickens forfresh eggs. growing vegetables, it has even got chickens for fresh eggs. what campaigners say is that the consultation was an opportunity for

the government to reassess free school meals, to see them not as a cost but as an investment in the future and to help tackle in particular the growing problem of childhood obesity. as universal credit is rolled out across the country, ministers say it is an affordable to give all families on the benefit free school meals, it would cost about £600 million. they say their plans will see 50,000 more children getting free food than currently do so, but charities take a different view of the planned restrictions. there is evidence it increases attainment, concentration in the afternoon, and for most of the children in poverty, it can mean the children in poverty, it can mean the difference between getting a nutritious meal in that day and not getting anything at all. a consultation on these plans for england ends today, similar restrictions have been announced for scotla nd restrictions have been announced for scotland and northern ireland. whatever the benefits of free school

meals, the cost of extending provision is decided policy. michael buchanan, bbc news, south london. the trial of ex—football coach barry bennell on charges of child sexual offences has heard from a former youth footballer who says he was abused by bennell as they travelled to and from training at manchester city. the former coach, who's now known as richard jones, denies 48 charges of child sexual abuse. 0ur sports correspondent, david 0rnstein, has been hearing the evidence at liverpool crown court. this is the second day of evidence against bennell who has been described by the prosecution as a predatory paedophile. the witness that spoke today, as you said, he received lifts to and from manchester city training after being scouted by bennell and he said the abuse started in bennell‘s car and happened 98% of the time that he was in the carand happened 98% of the time that he was in the car and it allegedly escalated at bennell‘s house, after

watching horror movies which were said to be used as a scare tactic by boeing. he said he was abused over 100 times in his bed and 50—100 times in his living room —— by bennell. when they were alone, the abuse wasn't a serious sexual abuse, it is alleged. i will never forget the first time, i was crying in pain, ifelt it the first time, i was crying in pain, i felt it lasted for hours, but maybe two, three minutes. he may have stopped because i was crying so much. the abuse is said to have continued at butlins and also a haunted house. after the lunch break, this witness will be cross—examined and the trial continues. it is expected to last for eight weeks. david, thank you. two men are on the run in france after taking part in a smash—and—grab raid on the ritz hotel in paris. three other members of the gang were caught at the scene, but the pair who escaped made off with an estimated £3.5 million worth ofjewels, as dan johnson reports. a large police response outside the paris ritz after a gang, armed with axes, carried out

a violent raid. it isn'tjust the christmas lights that sparkle here. there are jewels on display to match the wealth of the guests at one of the world's most exclusive hotels. the robbers arrived in place vendome on scooters at around six in the evening local time, smashing windows on the ground floor of the hotel. it is estimated they tookjewels worth 4 million euros. but police officers interrupted the raid and arrested three of the five men. paris has seen this before. in october, 2016, us reality tv star kim kardashian had a gun put to her head as a gang stole 10 million euros—worth of her jewellery. only one piece was never seen again. —— ever seen again.

it is not clear how much was recovered from this latest raid. police are still searching for two of the men involved. don johnson, bbc news. video bloggers, or vloggers as they're known, can do big business online on sites such as youtube. some of the most famous post videos which are watched by millions and millions of people around the world. but now youtube has cut some business ties with the video blogger logan paul, after he was heavily criticised for posting a video appearing to show the body of a suicide victim. this report from our correspondent, chi chi izundu. # girl, what you trying to do? # because i don't have a clue...# he's one of the most popular video bloggers on youtube. 15 million subscribers watch his comedy vlogs. but last night, youtube said it was cutting some business ties with logan paul over a video he posted at the end of last month. the video, which we can't show, featured the dead body of a man who appeared to have taken his own life. it had been viewed millions of times before logan removed

it from his channel. in a statement, youtube acknowledged it had taken a long time to respond, but that it also had been listening to comments and criticisms. it added that it recognised the actions of one creator could affect the whole community and it said it would soon announce steps to make sure any similar videos were never circulated again. i have made a severe and continuous lapse of myjudgment and i don't expect to be forgiven. i'm simply here to apologise. youtube said that they would put on hold projects with the 22—year—old and that they would no longer feature his channel on the google preferred programme. effectively, lowering his advertising profile with top brands. logan paul isn't the only one being criticised. anger is being directed towards youtube with questions like, why they didn't take down the offending post initially in the first place, why it took them so long to even issue a statement in response, and why his channel is still up on their platform,

allowing him to make money from advertising. at 22 years old, i bought my first house for $6.5 million... last year, forbes magazine estimated logan paul's wealth at just over £9 million. but with youtube's sanction, it's still not clear whether that will shrink considerably. chi chi izundu, bbc news. and finally, the former england captain rio ferdinand has managed to put prince william on the spot over prince harry's wedding. they were doing some filming for a mental health charity when rio ferdinand asked exactly what he would be doing on 19th may. there is the matter of a small wedding that will happen this year and, of course, your brother, we're very, very happy for him. it's a big decision. are we going to wembley orare we going...? you've touched on something there, rio, yeah. i'm still working it out. will see what i can do. i think, you know, having that person there, i think it's kind of apt you are talking about a best man project, so to speak. that relationship that you have...

he hasn't asked me yet. laughter. it could be a sensitive issue. he hasn't asked him yet! i suspect that might happen quite soon. time for a look at the weather. nice to see some sunshine. let us hope for some on the 19th of june as well. it is not sunny everywhere. this is in the highlands with the snowcapped and on scarborough. you can see the sunshine is further west. still some