Browse content similar to 27/03/2012. Check below for episodes and series from the same categories and more!
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Hello, welcome to Midlands Today with Suzanne Virdee and Nick Owen. | :00:03. | :00:07. | |
The headlines tonight: A judge gives gypsies illegally | :00:07. | :00:11. | |
camped on greenbelt land a year to move off, leaving residents fuming. | :00:11. | :00:15. | |
They should've only been given a certain amount of time, like six to | :00:15. | :00:20. | |
eight weeks. You've been given a year, what do | :00:20. | :00:27. | |
you think? Elated, brilliant. That's what we think, brilliant. | :00:27. | :00:29. | |
Petrol stations here are worried over impending tanker driver | :00:29. | :00:33. | |
strikes and whether the army can step in. We'll have to be certain | :00:33. | :00:36. | |
that they're trained, otherwise we can't let them on our site. | :00:36. | :00:39. | |
He's tipped for Olympic glory, but he's still found time to go back | :00:39. | :00:43. | |
and inspire youngsters at his old school. | :00:43. | :00:46. | |
And they're taking over our homes and gardens - the invasion of the | :00:46. | :00:56. | |
:00:56. | :01:02. | ||
Good evening and welcome to Tuesday's Midlands Today. Tonight, | :01:02. | :01:05. | |
a just and pragmatic solution - that's how a judge has summed up a | :01:05. | :01:11. | |
ruling which will force gypsies off greenbelt land in Meriden. But his | :01:11. | :01:15. | |
decision to give them a year to leave the site has left campaigners, | :01:15. | :01:20. | |
desperate to move them, furious. They wanted a quicker end to what's | :01:20. | :01:24. | |
already been a two-year legal battle. The unauthorised gypsy camp | :01:24. | :01:30. | |
was first set up in Meriden on 30th April 2010. The next day, residents | :01:30. | :01:35. | |
started a 24-hour vigil outside the camp. On 7th July 2010, Solihull | :01:35. | :01:37. | |
Council rejected an application by travellers to develop the greenbelt | :01:37. | :01:43. | |
site in Meriden. More than a year later, the gypsies lost their | :01:43. | :01:46. | |
appeal for retrospective planning permission in a ruling by Secretary | :01:46. | :01:52. | |
of State for Communities and Local Government, Eric Pickles. At the | :01:52. | :01:55. | |
start of February this year, the residents were told they'd have to | :01:55. | :02:01. | |
remove their camp which has kept that daily 24-hour vigil since 2010. | :02:01. | :02:11. | |
:02:11. | :02:16. | ||
Sarah Falkland reports on today's SINGING. The euphoria did not last. | :02:16. | :02:20. | |
There may have been cheers as a High Court judge threw out the | :02:20. | :02:24. | |
gypsies' latest appeal backing the Secretary of State's ruling that | :02:24. | :02:27. | |
the development in Meriden was harmful to the green belt but a few | :02:27. | :02:31. | |
hours later, the same judge granted an injunction put forward by | :02:31. | :02:34. | |
Solihull Council which meant the gypsies could now stay for another | :02:34. | :02:39. | |
year. Elated, brilliant. That is what we think. Brilliant. Now we | :02:39. | :02:44. | |
can work with the council even closer about finding a suitable | :02:44. | :02:47. | |
site and hopefully they will come up with something. The gypsies | :02:47. | :02:51. | |
health needs and their children's schooling were key factor in the | :02:51. | :02:54. | |
injunction. The residents said they should have been moved on more | :02:54. | :02:58. | |
quickly. I am upset about it because I think it is too long. | :02:58. | :03:06. | |
feel bitterly disappointed. It is not in total with the views of the | :03:06. | :03:10. | |
residents but what we have achieved today is a definitive end to the | :03:10. | :03:14. | |
dispute. Solihull Council say they are pleased to put an end to a | :03:14. | :03:20. | |
period of uncertainty. Today's agreement gives a firm date for the | :03:20. | :03:26. | |
families living on the land to make an ordered vacation of the site and | :03:26. | :03:30. | |
also assures a speedy restoration of the land to its previous | :03:30. | :03:34. | |
condition. There may now be a finite end to this but the dispute | :03:34. | :03:38. | |
has taken its toll on both sides. One of the gypsies has cerebral | :03:38. | :03:46. | |
palsy. It has affected everything., our leads socially. This is not the | :03:46. | :03:50. | |
best situation in the world -- our lives socially. At least we are not | :03:50. | :03:59. | |
facing eviction in 28 days and giving us hope and time. The judge | :03:59. | :04:02. | |
described this as pragmatic which he hoped would give peace of mind | :04:02. | :04:07. | |
to both sides. The gypsies have until 4pm on 31st March to leave | :04:07. | :04:17. | |
:04:17. | :04:17. | ||
You can read more about the argument over the development of | :04:17. | :04:23. | |
the site on the BBC Birmingham website. | :04:23. | :04:27. | |
Thanks for joining us. Later in the programme, smuggling on the rise as | :04:27. | :04:29. | |
hundreds of thousands of illegal cigarettes are seized in one county | :04:29. | :04:39. | |
:04:39. | :04:40. | ||
alone in the last year and a half. The Independent Police Complaints | :04:40. | :04:42. | |
Commission have confirmed that they're aware of the disappearance | :04:42. | :04:45. | |
of a substantial amount of cash seized as evidence by Warwickshire | :04:45. | :04:48. | |
Police. The BBC has learned that the cash had been stored in former | :04:48. | :04:51. | |
wine cellars at the force's mansion headquarters in Leek Wootton. Joan | :04:51. | :04:57. | |
Cummins joins us now from our Coventry studio. Warwickshire | :04:57. | :05:01. | |
Police have announced they are conducting a criminal investigation | :05:01. | :05:08. | |
into the disappearance of �113,000. The cash was, according to the | :05:08. | :05:13. | |
police, held in a secured storage area. I understand this was in a | :05:13. | :05:17. | |
box in the cellars of the building. The cash had been seized under the | :05:17. | :05:24. | |
proceeds of crime Act in 2009. In 2010, three individuals were | :05:24. | :05:28. | |
subsequently convicted for a variety of offences. But the | :05:28. | :05:33. | |
disappearing cash did not come to light until 20th September 11. The | :05:33. | :05:38. | |
Chief Constable at the time of Keith Bristow and is now the head | :05:38. | :05:42. | |
of the National crime agency. The matter was referred to the | :05:42. | :05:44. | |
Independent Police Complaints Commission who decided that the | :05:44. | :05:48. | |
matter can be conferred -- investigated locally and that is | :05:48. | :05:52. | |
being investigated by the anti- corruption unit of the force. The | :05:52. | :06:00. | |
police authority have refused to comment on the matter and others | :06:00. | :06:04. | |
regard the incident as extremely serious and want the reassurances | :06:04. | :06:07. | |
that it will be investigated fully pulls up what has been the reaction | :06:08. | :06:12. | |
of the pause? You can imagine that this has caused a lot of | :06:12. | :06:19. | |
embarrassment -- what has been the They said basically this was part | :06:19. | :06:23. | |
of the investigation and that they want to spread the news across the | :06:23. | :06:28. | |
force and also arcing people to contact Crimestoppers if they have | :06:28. | :06:34. | |
information -- also asking people. A report into last summer's rioting | :06:34. | :06:38. | |
in the West Midlands and across the UK says that a lack of support and | :06:38. | :06:41. | |
opportunity for young people was one of the reasons for them | :06:41. | :06:43. | |
starting. The Riots, Communities and Victims Panel also cited poor | :06:43. | :06:46. | |
parenting, too much emphasis on materialism and a lack of | :06:46. | :06:48. | |
confidence in the police. In the Midlands there were 770 arrests, | :06:49. | :06:51. | |
but fewer than 300 people were actually charged in connection with | :06:51. | :07:00. | |
the riots. The whole incident cost West Midlands Police �12 million. | :07:00. | :07:03. | |
Joanne Writtle has been gathering reaction from some of the people | :07:03. | :07:06. | |
caught up in last August's problems. Rioting raged for three nights last | :07:06. | :07:11. | |
August in Birmingham, West Bromwich, Cape Hill and Wolverhampton. These | :07:11. | :07:16. | |
the scenes at a coffee shop in Birmingham. Ransacked and left with | :07:16. | :07:22. | |
�15,000 in damage. The owner later received royal visitors. Today he | :07:22. | :07:25. | |
was outspoken about the report from the Riots, Communities and Victims | :07:25. | :07:28. | |
Panel, in its comments about poor parenting and issues facing young | :07:28. | :07:38. | |
:07:38. | :07:41. | ||
people. There's not even one line mentioned about the families of the | :07:41. | :07:47. | |
people affected in the riots. Those people whose shops were looted. | :07:47. | :07:52. | |
What is the plan and what is the Government planning to do for those | :07:52. | :07:54. | |
people? Brothers Shahzad Ali and Abdul | :07:54. | :07:58. | |
Musavir and Haroon Jahan were hit by a car in Winson Green. A floral | :07:58. | :08:01. | |
shrine quickly built up. Eight people have denied murder and go on | :08:01. | :08:11. | |
trial next month. Seven months on, it is business as usual here. The | :08:11. | :08:15. | |
flowers may have long gone but memories remain. | :08:15. | :08:22. | |
This man is a mechanic close by. And this is his view on the report. | :08:22. | :08:30. | |
I still say it is for the parents, they have the most responsibility | :08:30. | :08:34. | |
for the children. Before the Government stepped in. | :08:34. | :08:37. | |
The independent report's due out tomorrow. Recommendations are wide- | :08:37. | :08:41. | |
ranging, including more help to get young people into work. A point | :08:41. | :08:44. | |
pertinent to the West Midlands, where one in five youngsters is | :08:44. | :08:50. | |
And there'll be more reaction to the Riot Panel report here on BBC | :08:50. | :08:55. | |
Midlands Today tomorrow, when we hear from local MPs. | :08:55. | :09:00. | |
Two men who died in a crash on the M5 on Saturday have been named. | :09:00. | :09:03. | |
Liaquat Ali who was 35 and from Smethwick was a passenger on the | :09:03. | :09:07. | |
bus and died at the scene. 65-year- old lorry driver William Mapstone | :09:07. | :09:12. | |
from Somerset died in hospital. It happened when his lorry hit a | :09:12. | :09:14. | |
single-decker bus on the southbound carriageway close to junction three | :09:14. | :09:18. | |
at Frankley. The driver of the bus, a 49-year-old Birmingham man, | :09:18. | :09:23. | |
remains on bail in connection with the incident. | :09:23. | :09:26. | |
The Government will publish its plans for the second phase of the | :09:26. | :09:31. | |
HS2 high-speed rail project in the autumn. The second phase envisages | :09:31. | :09:34. | |
a Y-shaped line continuing north of Birmingham through Staffordshire to | :09:34. | :09:36. | |
Manchester and Leeds with connections further north and into | :09:36. | :09:46. | |
Scotland. It would be completed around 2032/33. | :09:46. | :09:48. | |
Petrol retailers say they're concerned about the army being | :09:48. | :09:52. | |
brought in to deliver fuel if there's strike by tanker drivers. | :09:52. | :09:55. | |
Their trade association, RMI Petrol, says although no date has been | :09:55. | :09:59. | |
announced for the action, the army has yet to be properly trained. | :09:59. | :10:02. | |
Drivers have voted unanimously in favour of strike in a dispute over | :10:02. | :10:11. | |
pay and conditions. Our transport New pump technology on display at a | :10:11. | :10:14. | |
trade show in the Midlands. But refurbishing forecourts was the | :10:14. | :10:17. | |
last thing on people's minds today with the threat of a tanker | :10:17. | :10:27. | |
:10:27. | :10:27. | ||
It is just escalating and it is benefiting nobody. I am not | :10:27. | :10:32. | |
bothered. I have to use my automobile to make a living and it | :10:32. | :10:35. | |
makes life difficult. If it is something they have to do, I think | :10:35. | :10:38. | |
they need support. And the trade association which | :10:38. | :10:40. | |
represents petrol retailers is concerned that delivering problems | :10:40. | :10:47. | |
could force even more forecourts out of business. This is ramping up | :10:47. | :10:54. | |
the wholesale price. A big tanker is �55,000, but is a lot of money | :10:54. | :11:01. | |
for a retainer to find in a daze. - - in eight days. Historically | :11:01. | :11:05. | |
stocking West, blocking cash flows. It's all reminiscent of the fuel | :11:05. | :11:08. | |
blockades of the year 2000. Within days, many filling stations ran out | :11:08. | :11:10. | |
of fuel and rationing was introduced. | :11:10. | :11:13. | |
And if there is a strike, things could be worse than in 2000. | :11:13. | :11:15. | |
Because there are fewer petrol stations around and therefore fewer | :11:15. | :11:18. | |
places to store fuel. In 1998 there were 14,500 petrol retailers. | :11:18. | :11:23. | |
That's dropped to 8,500 today. Putting a potential squeeze on what | :11:23. | :11:31. | |
remains. The big question is how well Pascal stations like this be | :11:31. | :11:37. | |
affected if and when a strike is called? -- the big question is how | :11:38. | :11:41. | |
well petrol stations like this. They could run out of fuel fairly | :11:41. | :11:44. | |
quickly. And there are also concerns about | :11:44. | :11:50. | |
what happens if the Government calls in the army to deliver fuel. | :11:50. | :11:53. | |
Week as retailers will be responsible and must make sure they | :11:53. | :11:56. | |
are trained otherwise we cannot allow them on our side. | :11:56. | :12:00. | |
But not every fuel depot will be affected. At this facility in | :12:00. | :12:06. | |
Birmingham, drivers won't be taking part in any strike. It is a family | :12:07. | :12:10. | |
business, why would we want to go on strike when we have got bills to | :12:10. | :12:13. | |
pay? At the oil depot at Kingsbury in | :12:13. | :12:16. | |
Warwickshire it was business as usual today because so far no dates | :12:16. | :12:18. | |
have been announced. If the situation can't be resolved, then | :12:18. | :12:23. | |
it's most likely that drivers will walk out sometime around Easter. | :12:23. | :12:26. | |
And Peter's at a filling station in Birmingham tonight. What are the | :12:26. | :12:33. | |
companies that employ the driver saying about the threat of strikes? | :12:33. | :12:39. | |
Apart the largest inland depot for the storage of fuel, Kingsbury, the | :12:39. | :12:42. | |
biggest company is Wincanton and they say that it is disappointing | :12:42. | :12:45. | |
to see that some of our drivers have voted in favour of industrial | :12:45. | :12:48. | |
action which we believe is wholly unnecessary, that is their | :12:48. | :12:52. | |
statement. They say the exact reason for the dispute remains | :12:52. | :12:57. | |
unclear and they say they are committed to a dialogue with | :12:57. | :13:02. | |
workers. They say their drivers are among the best rewarded in the | :13:02. | :13:06. | |
industry and they say they are defiant that there should be no | :13:06. | :13:12. | |
reason for the strike. Could talks stop these strikes going ahead? | :13:12. | :13:15. | |
Which will represent does have been meeting in London to discuss | :13:15. | :13:18. | |
basically the results of the overwhelming strike ballot and they | :13:18. | :13:22. | |
say that no talks are planned with employers at the moment and that | :13:22. | :13:26. | |
indicates a wide gap between the two which normal circumstances | :13:26. | :13:30. | |
would mean that strike action is inevitable. We could see some | :13:30. | :13:35. | |
strike dates announced as early as tomorrow if the meeting goes ahead. | :13:35. | :13:38. | |
If they want to hold strikes over Easter, then they must have | :13:38. | :13:41. | |
announced by Thursday because legally unions have to give seven | :13:41. | :13:51. | |
:13:51. | :13:53. | ||
If you're a smoker, a packet of 20 cigarettes can now set you back | :13:53. | :13:56. | |
over �8. With alcohol prices set to rise as well, it maybe no surprise | :13:56. | :13:59. | |
that the smuggling trade appears to be booming. Hundreds of thousands | :13:59. | :14:02. | |
of illegal cigarettes have been seized in the Midlands. One MP | :14:02. | :14:04. | |
believes that's just the tip of the iceberg. | :14:04. | :14:06. | |
A small fraction of the illegal cigarettes seized by Trading | :14:06. | :14:15. | |
Standards in Herefordshire in recent months. We have received | :14:15. | :14:18. | |
around a third of a million cigarettes or hand-rolling tobacco | :14:18. | :14:23. | |
products. Most of it is coming from Eastern Europe. But certainly some | :14:23. | :14:26. | |
stuff is produced in China. it's legitimate retailers like | :14:26. | :14:33. | |
Stephen Beddards who are paying the price. I know there are quite a few | :14:33. | :14:36. | |
shops within Hereford where under the counter at cigarettes are | :14:36. | :14:42. | |
readily available at more or less half the price that I am selling | :14:42. | :14:49. | |
mine for. So around four pounds. What impact does it have on your | :14:49. | :14:54. | |
business? What impact do you think? They are spending money elsewhere. | :14:54. | :14:57. | |
With illegal alcohol also a problem, in the Commons the local MP called | :14:57. | :15:03. | |
for harsher punishments for the smugglers. It is not enough just to | :15:03. | :15:06. | |
seize goods and impose these relatively modest fines, they must | :15:06. | :15:11. | |
be able to close down promises for significant periods of time where | :15:11. | :15:14. | |
there have been repeated violations of the law. But the Treasury | :15:14. | :15:20. | |
Minister insisted the Government is tackling the problem. Substantial | :15:20. | :15:26. | |
enforcement activity is already carried out and those involved in | :15:26. | :15:29. | |
the fraud are already penalised. all know that smoking is bad for | :15:29. | :15:32. | |
you but when you smell cigarettes you at least expect to smell | :15:32. | :15:35. | |
tobacco. Smell in here and it's absolutely disgusting. Other fake | :15:35. | :15:38. | |
cigarettes have been found to contain rat poison, rat faeces and | :15:38. | :15:41. | |
even arsenic. But as we discovered, people are still willing to take | :15:41. | :15:47. | |
the risk. Why did you buy illegal cigarettes? Because they were | :15:47. | :15:51. | |
cheaper. It does it worry you what is in them? Not really, they are | :15:51. | :15:55. | |
all bad for you anywhere. This nationwide problem is costing | :15:55. | :15:57. | |
the country millions of pounds in lost revenue. The National | :15:57. | :16:00. | |
Federation of Retailers says it now wants to see more funding given to | :16:00. | :16:10. | |
:16:10. | :16:11. | ||
Trading Standards to tackle the Quite horrifying, the contents of | :16:11. | :16:15. | |
those fake cigarettes. Still to come this evening: the | :16:15. | :16:18. | |
downside of the warm weather, as our own much-loved ladybirds are | :16:18. | :16:21. | |
under threat from their oversized continental cousins. But of course | :16:21. | :16:24. | |
the upside of the weather is the chance to enjoy this wonderful | :16:24. | :16:27. | |
sunshine. And if you thought today was warm... Well, just wait until | :16:27. | :16:37. | |
:16:37. | :16:39. | ||
tomorrow. The full forecast is Campaigners are calling for a | :16:39. | :16:41. | |
public inquiry over plans to redesign the road layout in their | :16:41. | :16:49. | |
town. The �5 million plans for the centre of Leek in Staffordshire | :16:49. | :16:53. | |
would see the introduction of a so- called "shared space" at a busy A- | :16:53. | :16:57. | |
road junction. Kevin Reide reports. Campaigners vent their frustrations | :16:57. | :17:00. | |
outside Staffordshire Moorlands District Council in Leek last week | :17:00. | :17:05. | |
over plans to redesign the town centre's roads. They're | :17:05. | :17:08. | |
particularly unhappy at the removal of an iconic traffic island and the | :17:08. | :17:10. | |
creation of a so-called "shared space" where pedestrians and | :17:10. | :17:19. | |
traffic use the same area. The so- called shared space would be | :17:19. | :17:26. | |
created here behind me opposite the town's Nickleson Memorial. It would | :17:26. | :17:28. | |
involve the removal of this roundabout and there are real | :17:28. | :17:30. | |
concerns amongst the protesters today particularly about their | :17:30. | :17:34. | |
safety. Rick Martin Bacon has 60% normal vision and is particularly | :17:34. | :17:42. | |
worried. I am being discriminated against. The simple reason - I have | :17:42. | :17:47. | |
partial sight. They do not have the right to do this. But they seem | :17:47. | :17:52. | |
hell-bent on doing it. I want these people to stop. People love this | :17:52. | :17:57. | |
roundabout. It is the iconic kicked way to Leek. It is iconic and we | :17:58. | :18:03. | |
love it. -- it is the iconic gateway to Leek. | :18:03. | :18:06. | |
The council says the town is in danger of gridlock and the changes | :18:06. | :18:09. | |
have been needed for decades. They've been prompted now because | :18:09. | :18:12. | |
millions of pounds is being offered by Sainsburys as part of a deal for | :18:12. | :18:18. | |
this new supermarket. The authority also says safety will be a priority. | :18:18. | :18:21. | |
People are working very hard to make sure that every safety aspect | :18:21. | :18:25. | |
is looked at and considered. Work is set to start soon but the | :18:25. | :18:28. | |
protesters are hoping to bring it to a halt and have written to the | :18:28. | :18:32. | |
Government demanding a public inquiry. | :18:32. | :18:35. | |
Cricket now and Ian Bell's performance with the bat was a rare | :18:35. | :18:38. | |
high point for England in the first test against Sri Lanka today. | :18:38. | :18:41. | |
Bell's been under pressure after struggling in the series defeat | :18:41. | :18:45. | |
against Pakistan. But today in Galle he was England's top scorer | :18:45. | :18:51. | |
in the first innings with 52. But England slumped to 193 all out. Sri | :18:51. | :18:55. | |
Lanka lead by 209 runs with five second innings wickets left. | :18:55. | :18:57. | |
Port Vale supporters are being warned not to travel without a | :18:57. | :19:01. | |
ticket for tonight's important League Two game at Shrewsbury Town. | :19:01. | :19:04. | |
A big police operation's in place for the match which is vital to | :19:04. | :19:07. | |
Shrewsbury's chances of automatic promotion. A win could lift them | :19:07. | :19:13. | |
six points clear of the play-off places, with just seven games to go. | :19:13. | :19:16. | |
And there's full commentary on that game on both BBC Radio Shropshire | :19:16. | :19:26. | |
:19:26. | :19:29. | ||
and BBC Radio Stoke this evening It is four months exactly to the | :19:29. | :19:36. | |
opening ceremony of London 2012 and a doctor is getting ready to treat | :19:36. | :19:42. | |
the athletes. For I will check to see if there are fluids in your | :19:42. | :19:49. | |
knee. This is Dr Leon Creaney's day job. | :19:49. | :19:52. | |
Helen Smith landed badly during a Premier League netball match and | :19:52. | :19:55. | |
has damaged her knee. It's his skill as a sports specialist which | :19:55. | :19:57. | |
has landed him the greatest job in the world. | :19:57. | :20:00. | |
Dr Creaney will be one of just four doctors to go trackside and treat | :20:01. | :20:07. | |
the world's premier athletes during the nine days of the Olympic Games. | :20:07. | :20:12. | |
Me and my colleagues have worked towards this. We have a speciality | :20:12. | :20:14. | |
in the United Kingdom. Last week, he picked up bronze | :20:14. | :20:18. | |
himself in the 200 metres at the British Masters, but he is looking | :20:18. | :20:25. | |
forward to seeing the greats of sprinting. A big draw are some of | :20:25. | :20:28. | |
the Jamaican sprinter is, people like Usain Bolt. | :20:28. | :20:31. | |
Footballer Fabrice Muamba's cardiac arrest ten days ago brings into | :20:31. | :20:39. | |
focus just how vital medical staff can be. We are fully trained in | :20:39. | :20:41. | |
dealing with emergencies, whether they beat heart problems, | :20:41. | :20:45. | |
respiratory problems or traumatic injuries. People can break their | :20:45. | :20:50. | |
legs. That has happened in track- and-field and indoor races. People | :20:50. | :20:56. | |
cannot fall right off the vault and we must be prepared for any | :20:56. | :21:03. | |
eventuality. One of the great legacies of the Olympic Games will | :21:03. | :21:07. | |
they will be able to treat patients long after the Games are over. And | :21:07. | :21:17. | |
:21:17. | :21:17. | ||
hopefully more people will lead a Today one Olympic hopeful was | :21:17. | :21:20. | |
looking backwards instead of forwards. High jumper Tom Parsons | :21:20. | :21:22. | |
visited his old school in Birmingham to reminisce and do some | :21:22. | :21:30. | |
coaching, as Dan Pallett found out. Once he was a pupil here. Today Tom | :21:30. | :21:38. | |
Parsons returned to his old school teaching the high jump. A bit scary, | :21:38. | :21:45. | |
this is where it all began for me. I will try to coach some of these | :21:45. | :21:48. | |
kids. I like coming in the sports hall and having a go at the high | :21:49. | :21:53. | |
jump. Pupils at King Edward VI Five Ways School at Bartley Green in | :21:53. | :21:56. | |
Birmingham were delighted to have top class. His old teachers were | :21:56. | :22:03. | |
just pleased to see him. He was fun and studious but could also be | :22:03. | :22:10. | |
cheeky. He was also a very nice lad. He is now passing on his knowledge | :22:10. | :22:13. | |
to the next generation. And they were also treated to | :22:13. | :22:17. | |
seeing Tom in action, albeit at a much lower height than he's capable | :22:17. | :22:20. | |
of. Tom was eighth at the Beijing Olympics. He's now 27 and must jump | :22:20. | :22:30. | |
to his personal best of 2.31 metres just to qualify for London 2012. I | :22:30. | :22:34. | |
had an operation on my ankle in November and since Christmas it has | :22:34. | :22:39. | |
been going well. I have got a new coaching set-up. I am in as good a | :22:39. | :22:43. | |
shape if not better than ever. By a pretty confident to get in the team. | :22:44. | :22:52. | |
And then once I know I am in the And today he showed a talent for | :22:53. | :22:57. | |
coaching when his jumping days are over. | :22:57. | :22:59. | |
Chances are with all this magnificent weather we've been | :22:59. | :23:03. | |
having, you've probably spent some time outside. You may also have | :23:03. | :23:06. | |
noticed the odd ladybird or two. Sadly, one of England's most | :23:06. | :23:09. | |
recognisable insects is under threat, from a foreign invader. Ben | :23:09. | :23:16. | |
Sidwell has been to see the good They're one of the first signs of | :23:16. | :23:19. | |
spring and instantly recognisable. But the little ladybirds we've | :23:19. | :23:24. | |
grown up with are facing a threat from their own kind. A bigger and | :23:24. | :23:26. | |
more ferocious ladybird, called the Harlequin, which has invaded our | :23:26. | :23:36. | |
:23:36. | :23:37. | ||
shores from Europe. The first Harlequin ladybirds were spotted in | :23:38. | :23:42. | |
2004 in the UK and they have mood about 100 kilometres north which | :23:42. | :23:48. | |
means now they are becoming a real pest. White here in the Midlands. - | :23:48. | :23:50. | |
- right here. At Altek Midlands Environmental | :23:50. | :23:53. | |
Services in Frankley they're used to dealing with pests, such as | :23:53. | :23:55. | |
wasps, rats or even bedbugs. Recently the Harlequin ladybird has | :23:55. | :24:04. | |
been added to the list and the number of cases are quickly rising. | :24:04. | :24:08. | |
They are literally eating our native species so they are becoming | :24:08. | :24:14. | |
more prominent and overpowering the normal ladybirds that we just take | :24:14. | :24:16. | |
for granted. While British ladybirds shelter | :24:16. | :24:18. | |
outside during the winter, the Harlequin prefers the warmth of a | :24:18. | :24:21. | |
building. Causing problems like the one at this office in Harborne in | :24:21. | :24:30. | |
Birmingham. These are the ones, huge clusters, rooms. They can take | :24:30. | :24:35. | |
over a whole house, thousands can take over. No harm but huge | :24:35. | :24:37. | |
nuisance factor. For entomologists like Professor | :24:37. | :24:40. | |
Moray Anderson, however, there's a bigger concern than just the pest | :24:40. | :24:43. | |
problem. The Harlequin threatens the very existence of our 46 native | :24:43. | :24:53. | |
:24:53. | :24:54. | ||
ladybird species. The United States, there it has taken over in many | :24:54. | :24:58. | |
areas as being the most predominant lady bird species whereas the | :24:58. | :25:01. | |
native ladybirds have been literally destroyed by it. | :25:01. | :25:04. | |
For the foreign ladybird invaders in this office, it's the end of the | :25:04. | :25:07. | |
line. While the Harlequin may be good news for pest control firms, | :25:07. | :25:10. | |
the hope is it won't mean the disappearance of the British | :25:10. | :25:20. | |
:25:20. | :25:23. | ||
Glorious weather again today, let's find out what is in store for | :25:23. | :25:32. | |
The weather is giving us some great contrast at the moment. Bidets are | :25:32. | :25:38. | |
Sunni and very warm but the nights are a different story. -- the days | :25:38. | :25:46. | |
are very sunny and warm. We got down to minus one Celsius but today | :25:46. | :25:50. | |
all the way up to 18 degrees, a 19 degree difference in the course of | :25:50. | :25:54. | |
one day and we will see similar contrast tonight because after the | :25:55. | :25:57. | |
sunshine of today, be clear skies will allow all that heat to escape | :25:57. | :26:03. | |
into the atmosphere and allowed temperatures to really plans. A | :26:03. | :26:11. | |
touch of frost and the odd isolated patch of four -- to really plunge. | :26:11. | :26:16. | |
Dawn is fine and bright and sunny and tomorrow we will see sunshine | :26:16. | :26:18. | |
from dawn work through until dusk, very little cloud and that sunshine | :26:19. | :26:22. | |
will do wonders for the temperatures. Even warmer than | :26:22. | :26:29. | |
today, highs of 22 Celsius which in an amazing 72 in Fahrenheit. That | :26:29. | :26:33. | |
stands us in good stead compared to other parts of continental Europe. | :26:33. | :26:37. | |
If you were thinking of going to France, Portugal or Spain, | :26:38. | :26:41. | |
temperatures not much better than in the Midlands. One place we | :26:41. | :26:46. | |
cannot compete with at the moment is Tenerife, they will be basking | :26:46. | :26:52. | |
in 29 degrees. Tomorrow is the peak of the warmth, and then the ridge | :26:52. | :26:58. | |
of high pressure dominating our weather drift to the west allowing | :26:58. | :27:01. | |
slightly cooler situations. Only dropping back to where they should | :27:01. | :27:05. | |
be there. Around 11 degrees by Saturday. A bit of a change by the | :27:05. | :27:10. | |
end of the week. If you want to follow our latest thoughts on the | :27:10. | :27:20. | |
:27:20. | :27:20. | ||
weather, for a loss on Twitter. -- A look at tonight's main headlines: | :27:20. | :27:23. | |
Half a million forgotten families, a report says they hold the key to | :27:23. | :27:26. | |
the causes of last year's riots. It blames everything from poor | :27:26. | :27:28. | |
parenting to schools. And a judge gives gypsies illegally | :27:28. | :27:35. |