tonight at ten — the rising cost of parking in hospitals in england. more than a third have increased their prices. some trusts have defended the higher charges, saying they use some of the extra money on patient care — but visitors are not impressed. the nhs is probably the largest employer in the country and has got the biggest budget of anybody. they should be free. because people turning up to these car parks aren't necessarily those that can afford it. also tonight, in iceland three british tourists, including a child, have died in a car crash. four other passengers were critically injured. and in tonight's premier league football — an eventful second half, as west ham face southampton. good evening.

our main story is the rising cost of parking at many of england's hospitals. more than a third of nhs hospitals have increased their prices, with some patients and staff now paying double. some trusts have defended the higher charges, insisting that some of the extra money is spent on patient care. parking charges have been abolished in welsh hospitals and in most of scotland, but they still remain in england and northern ireland, as our correspondent duncan kennedy reports. hospital car parks — where the debate over the nhs goes from inside to outside. this is the royal surrey county hospital in guildford. just try bringing up the subject of parking fees to visitors... what do you think of the parking charges here? i think they are expensive, but like everywhere else we have to pay it, don't you? i think the system is

very complicated and people are real. you don't come here through choice. you know this is the most expensive hospital there is in terms of parking? typical surrey, isn't it, really. this hospital says it raises nearly £1 million from its parking fees and that helps pay for the equivalent of a0 nurses. but whilst this hospital is one of those that didn't raise its prices this year, it will still cost you a minimum of £4 to park here, making it the most expensive in england. overall, hospitals raised a total of £226 million in parking fees this year. and you can see why, from today's figures, gathered by the press association from 124 nhs trusts across england. 43% of hospitals admitted prices have gone up over the past year for visitors or staff, or both. the airedale nhs foundation trust in west yorkshire saw the cost of a 24—hour stay more than double, to £8. no wonder it provokes this kind of response.

i think it's atrocious. i have been in to... my friend's mum is dying, i've been into drop some stuff off, and it's cost me three quid. it does work out expensive — it could be £10 per day. are the carparking charges fair? no, i don't think they are. they should be free because the people turning up to these car parks aren't necessarily those that can afford it. the department of health today said it is very clear that patients, their families and hard—working staff should not be subject to unfair parking charges. but nhs providers, which speaks for hospitals, insisted those charges were being kept to a minimum and they said they had to pay to maintain car parks. wales and parts of scotland have abandoned their fees and many say that england and northern ireland can do the same. they say hospitals should

be places to generate better health, not wealth. duncan kennedy, bbc news. our health editor hugh pym is here. there are very, very strong feelings about this but the picture is not entirely straightforward, is it? about this but the picture is not entirely straightforward, is mm is complicated. scrapping the charges won't itself create more spaces. what do you do if a hospital is near a city or town centre and people take advantage? in wales, the first part of the uk to scrap these charges, some hospitals are considering investing in new technology, number plate recognition and so on, to ensure patients and staff get the spaces and there is an gridlock around hospitals. in england the hospitals argue they need the money to maintain the car parks, some money goes into patient ca re parks, some money goes into patient care and they offer concessions to staff and some patients, but it's becoming increasingly a political issue. there was a private members bill in the commons calling for abolition. labour has said if elected it would completely scrap

these charges at hospitals in england, and the point is if the staff are paying a third of the revenue, £70 million, a lot of people will think increasingly it is no longer justifiable. people will think increasingly it is no longerjustifiable. hugh pym, our health editor there. in iceland, three british tourists, including a child, have died after their vehicle crashed while crossing a bridge. four other passengers were critically hurt in the accident. according to local media, the crash happened on a bridge in a popular tourist area in the south east of the island, as our correspondent ben ando reports. the two families were in a toyota land cruiser which crashed through railings and fell around 20 feet onto a dry riverbed below. first on the scene were the police and a local tour guide who did all he could to help. i tried to talk a little bit to the driver to calm him down. he was trapped inside the car. i was trying to tell him to save his energy and try to be patient, we will try to get him out of there. it was a very difficult situation. two adults and a child

died at the scene. the four others, including two children aged between seven and nine, were airlifted to hospital in a critical condition. translation: it was immediately clear that this was a very serious accident. a car had careered off the bridge so immediately all available responders and resources were mobilised. it's understood that those involved come from two families and are british nationals of what's being described as indian origin. foreign office officials are assisting the icelandic authorities, but the indian ambassador to iceland visited the hospital, where four survivors, two men and two children, are being treated, and spoke to doctors and nurses there. the bridge is a single—track and is on the south—east section of iceland's national ring road in an area known for its spectacular waterfalls, volcanoes and glaciers. tonight, investigations into the cause continue. one theory is that the car skidded after running overfrozen ice on the steel deck of the bridge.

ben ando, bbc news. 23 migrants have been detained in kent, after crossing the english channel in small boats. nine of them were found on a beach in folkestone, six at dover, and then eight were rescued off the coast nearby. the french authorities say they intercepted another group of ii migrants trying to reach the uk in an inflatable boat. ministers described the number of incidents in recent days as "deeply concerning". our correspondent simon jones is here. what are the factors behind this rise in numbers? the first group of migrants were discovered just after midnight, among them three children. and at 8:30am two boats were spotted coming into dover, carrying another 14 people. in all we reckon over the past two months, more than 200 migrants have managed to reach the uk and small boats. what's behind it? partly it's due to the weather

conditions are very calm, particularly for december. it's also potentially down to brexit. we understand that people traffickers overin understand that people traffickers over in calais are telling migrants, you need to get across the channel now before britain leaves the eu, otherwise the borders could become more difficult to penetrate. the immigration minister caroline nokes has tonight said it is deeply concerning, the numbers arriving. she says they are working with their french counterparts to try to tackle the people smugglers, but the dover mp charlie elphicke is not impressed. he says britain needs to get a impressed. he says britain needs to geta grip impressed. he says britain needs to get a grip of this situation. he says it's only a matter of time before someone is killed attempting to cross the busiest shipping lane in the world in a small boat. thanks very much, simon jones, in the world in a small boat. thanks very much, simonjones, our correspondent. britain's most senior police officer has said a no—deal brexit would be costly for her force, and could potentially put the security of the public at risk. the metropolitan police commissioner, cressida dick, said the no—deal scenario would be very difficult in the short term, as changes were made to databases and the extradition process. our home editor mark easton has the story.

brexit means britain loses its seat in the boardroom at europol, and with it, unfettered access to shared intelligence databases, the european arrest warrant and eu extradition agreements. the national crime agency has expressed its concern at the security implications, and now, the country's most senior police officer has warned that were the uk to leave without a deal, public safety could be comprised. —— compromised. we will have to replace some of the things we currently use in terms of access to databases, the way in which we can quickly arrest and extradite people, these kinds of things, we'll have to replace as effectively as we can. that will be more costly, undoubtedly, slower, undoubtedly, and potentially, yes, put the public at risk. the government has long argued that mutual interest is likely to mean collaboration on security after brexit is as good or better than now. the prime minister has said she wouldn't countenance a deal that compromised the safety of british citizens. we will not let that happen.

we will together protect and project our values in the world and we will keep our people safe, now and in the years to come. but the met commissioner says police are concerned that even with a deal, security arrangements may not work as seamlessly as now. an eu coordination unit has been set up here at scotland yard to help establish arrangements with each eu nation on issues such as access to intelligence data bases, arrest warrants and extradition arrangements. there's concern that even with a deal, it will be incredibly hard to match existing levels of co—operation in the short term. the uk is currently one of the biggest contributors to europol intelligence and has shaped the priorities of the organisation. police are working to ensure the security advantages that has brought will survive after brexit. mark easton, bbc news. the 5 pence fee for plastic

carrier bags in england will be doubled to 10p and extended to all shops under plans set out by the environment secretary. the plans are included in a government consultation aimed at making bigger reductions in the use of plastic by consumers, and could come into effect in january 2020. schools are also being urged to end the consumption of single—use plastics. it's been a challenging year for the high street, prompting renewed concern about the future of many town centres — already struggling with decline. a growing number of local councils have been buying shopping centres, to try to revitalise their towns. since 2016, 26 shopping centres have been bought by local authorities at a total cost of more than £800 million, as our business correspondent emma simpson reports. wigan‘s galleries shopping centre, once worth £83 million in 2006, but it went for £8 million this year, sold to the local council.

there are three shopping centres in shrewsbury — worth £119 million pre—recession. they went for less than half that price, sold to shropshire council. and here in bolton's crompton place, once valued at nearly £80 million, it went for £14 million in the summer, sold to the local authority. sounds like a knock—down price, but no one else would have bought this right now given the state that retail‘s in. it's huge and slap—bang in the middle of town, but this shopping centre has seen better days. there is gradual decline that's taken place and clearly, as a council, we have taken the decision to do something about it. not half. the council has bought it as part of a big plan to regenerate bolton. do you think this is the best use of £14 million? this £14 million is a temporary investment, and we are very confident that we will get

the money back. this will be a game—changer. it will be transformational. you might be wondering where has the £14 million come from to buy this? well, it's not from council tax or existing budgets, which have been slashed. councils can access cheap loans. and over the last few years, they have been pouring money into commercial property to generate an income to help fund services. there are better ways to make money than buying shops. here in camberley, the council not only bought this mall, but also the house of fraser building right next to it. not long before the retailer collapsed. they could have bought it for a lot less now. there is risk attached to local authorities intervening, and if they are simply doing this to try and make quick profit then that is the wrong motivation. but if it is doing it and being done in order to regenerate the towns, then that absolutely is the right thing.

because no one else is going to do it? the private sector can't take that long—term view, it is not viable. it used to be so easy attracting people into our town centres. it's a real problem today though, but bolton council's bold purchase is kick—starting crucial private investment to help make this place fit for the future. emma simpson, bbc news, bolton. a man has been killed following an explosion which destroyed a house in hampshire. the blast happened in the early hours of this morning in andover. a number of neighbouring properties had been evacuated. gas firm sgn said its engineers were helping with the investigation. police are investigating after a double decker bus crashed into a house in south london. the bus, travelling between morden and brixton, destroyed a fence and hit the building on streatham vale late last night. three people have been treated for minor injuries. police say no—one has been arrested, but they're continuing to investigate the circumstances behind the crash.

in football, west ham claimed victory tonight in their game against southampton. it was an action—packed second half, as our sports correspondentjoe wilson reports. this is ralph hasenhuttl, austrian through every syllable. under his management, southampton suddenly have go—faster stripes. here was a move to open up west ham inside the first two minutes. no goal, though. west ham's boss is from chile originally. manuel pellegrini has seen most things, but not many second—half minutes quite like these. first, southampton scored a goal which owed nothing to beauty and owed something to nathan redmond's hand. well, three minutes later, a completely different way to score. felipe anderson for west ham. and what's this?! southampton, from taking the lead, saw it all unravel inside ten minutes. that's anderson again, 2—1 to west ham. southampton‘s efforts to rescue something from the evening failed.

their new manager inspired optimism. that doesn't last long. hmm... relegation is southampton‘s concern for 2019. not west ham's. joe wilson, bbc news. there's more throughout the evening on the bbc news channel. now on bbc one, it's time for the news where you are. goodbye. welcome to bbc london news. i'm tolu adeoye. three people have been injured after a bus veered off a road and crashed into a house in south london. the double decker struck several vehicles before hitting the home in streatham vale last night. police are now investigating why it came off the road as ali fortescue reports. nine o'clock on boxing day, moments after the 118 to brixton

crashed into the front of this home in streatham vale. you all right?! yeah, yeah. three people, including the driver, were treated for minor injuries and one of them was taken to hospital and later released. this is my brother's house, then basically that way... a neighbour who witnessed what happened told me how his family car was destroyed by the bus. i heard like three loud bangs and then obviously the first no—one was hurt. well, the road was closed in both directions following what happened last night. how much communication have you had? our correspondence was that the today, 150 staff here

across the uk are facing the new year without a job. there was an essential role to banisters to body parts, first hospitals and dental practises. a criminal inquiry was launched as it was accused of that ina minute launched as it was accused of that in a minute level in england. the firm blamed the uk government, a claim dismissed by environment agency, and lost 17 contracts with nhs trust in england, and just weeks ago the firm was told that it was losing its contract with scotland as well. they were told that there were some circumstances outside of their control. police are investigating a gas explosion where a 48—year—old

man was killed. one house was com pletely man was killed. one house was completely destroyed and another badly damaged. here's the report. the power of the explosion com pletely the power of the explosion completely destroyed the house at the end of this terrorist in andover. it severely damage the property next door. debris was scattered over a large area, some of it dangling in a large tree. william kuiper was one of the lucky to escape. the blast went the road. if i would have waited a minute or two, it could have been a different story andi it could have been a different story and i would not be standing in front of you today. he was right next to the scene of the devastation. of you today. he was right next to the scene of the devastationm of you today. he was right next to the scene of the devastation. it has happened, it is kind of the mac i'm still trying to have it sink in. it will start earlier, now i'm brought

daylight, it is a completely different scene. foreign rescue says that a body was found in the debris of the blast. all of the occupants have been accounted ifeel very sorry for the people. it must have been between two and three o'clock this morning, i was in bed, i heard a big bank, ithought it this morning, i was in bed, i heard a big bank, i thought it was my mum letting the dog out but i guess otherwise. —— a big bang. letting the dog out but i guess otherwise. -- a big bang. ajoint police and fire investigation into the cause is under way. steve humphrey reporting. the alert level for indonesia's volcano, all flights around the volcano has been re—routed and a very mild exclusion route has also been imposed. saturday, it triggered a tsunami

that claimed the lives of 400 people. the us explorer has become the first man across cross and article alone an unassisted, —— to ci’oss article alone an unassisted, —— to cross antarctica. here's the report. antarctica is the new land of opportunity. for 100 antarctica is the new land of opportunity. for100 years, antarctica inhospitable landscape as well propelled and attracted. learning adventures want to conquer the seemingly unconquerable. the journey began on november three when he was chopped off by helicopter on the edge of the ice shelf. it was the edge of the ice shelf. it was the beginning of a 900 mile track across the waist of the continent. his was a race, was embarking on a track with his friend who died in

the solo attempt in 2016. he progressed through extreme conditions... to stay in touch, mr o'grady documented his journey on his is the gram accounts where he showed the black tape to the not have frostbite and the provisions that he dragged 12 hours each day. in an incredible feat, he completed the last 130 km by travelling for 32 hours straight. arriving at the ice sheu hours straight. arriving at the ice shelf in showing what he said was an impossible first. olivia coleman, dominic west, just some of the big—name actors starred in the bbc adaptation of les mis. here is the report. taking les mis from the page

and there are are almost 1500 on the screen, requires a huge number of people. this starts with the writer, andrew, his repertoire includes house of cards and war is peace, now he has les mis. so on set in brussels, is he nervous about watching his words come to life? yes, you can get a just hoping that they will get it right. you really hope they will do more than that. that they will do something better than you would have even imagine. a lot of times, that is happening here. ayes the close help tell a story, it is a costume drama after all. that are items created new and then made to look distressed. it really ta kes then made to look distressed. it really takes a long time to get this

text are going. i think what date that was beautiful. much of the adaptation is beautiful. the locations help to transport the audience to the front of two centuries ago. so with the story, this grant, the actors, and the costu mes this grant, the actors, and the costu m es a ll this grant, the actors, and the costumes all in place, and it comes time to choose the locations, what about this place? and original napoleonicjail. about this place? and original napoleonic jail. it's certainly quite spooky. of course, hair and makeup play a transformative role.l bad match at all. let's transform you stray into identity. it did not ta ke you stray into identity. it did not take much did it? do you reckon that you are the most famous makeup artist underworld ? is you are the most famous makeup artist underworld? is because of that picture of you. yes, i always get cut out of that don't i? these facial hair a lot to close best to

show class distinction. the prisoners got lots ofjourneys, it is the icing on the cake. very dignified. so from the beards to the barricades, les mis is that the blow you away. bbc news, belgium. time to look at the weather forecast with men. “— look at the weather forecast with men. —— with ben. there's nothing drastic as of today, some of that sunshine, some of that cloud, if you we re sunshine, some of that cloud, if you were stuck with bob in southern england, do not get above for a 5 degrees. but tonight, it stays mostly dry, often cloudy and again there'll be some patchy fog. you can see big areas of cloud here, also a few patches of fog down towards the south, and we keep this mismatch of murky weather as we head through the

evening as an tonight. all over the hills, some bits and bobs in parts of southern england, parts of yorkshire could cause some issues with travelling certainly if you are travelling early in the morning. some rent from northern ireland which will slide across scotland through the first part of tomorrow. is that the day quite cloudy and murky. but sickly in southern england. there could be some bits fog patches. further north you look, through the day, certainly by the afternoon, there is a better chance of seeing some sunshine to stop those temperatures for the majority, are up into double digits. we headed to the weekend, and high pressure keeps things settled in the south. you will notice subtle systems heading into the uk. there'll be some rain at times. this is the kind of weather sets up that will bring the south—westerly winds and some breeze over the weekend. one will

feed mild air in our direction. on saturday, the morning will be quite wet, they'll be a patchy rain in northern england and northern ireland. generally speaking, lots of dry weather. did just 12 of 13 degrees. again, the far north of scotla nd degrees. again, the far north of scotland to see some patchy rain on sunday. some cloudy, areas of fog, east of scotland in eastern england with most favourite to see some sunshine. most insurers can go up by another degree assault. the last day of the year, new year's eve, high—pressure, a lot of clouds, and we ta ke high—pressure, a lot of clouds, and we take those conditions with us and to the evening. if you are out celebrating at midnight, it should be mostly dry but there should be some cloud and fog in most places. hello and welcome to sportsday. felipe anderson scores twice for west ham as they beat southampton to move 9th in the premier league. arsenal manager unai emery is charged by the fa

after kicking a bottle that hit a fan in the gunners 1—1 draw against brighton. and belgium's dimitri van den bergh had the moves but how did he fare in his pdc world darts championship match? we'll tell you shortly...