04/04/2012 Midlands Today

Hello and welcome to Midlands Today with Nick Owen and Mary Rhodes. The

headlines tonight: Winter's sting in the tail, as snow descends on

the region. But startled holidaymakers carry on camping.

Didn't come away on holiday expecting this. It is different.

is typical British weather. A first look at the new truck which could

bring dozens of jobs to the Potteries. To have something from

Britain released in the market at this time I think is really good

news. The stroke victim who says he is being neglected by his council.

He has only been washed four times in three months. And why the Royal

Shakespeare Company is recruiting in Winson Green.

Good evening and welcome to Wednesday's Midlands Today from the

BBC. Tonight: After last week's mini heatwave, winter returns with

a vengeance. Snow fell today over Shropshire, Birmingham and the

Staffordshire Moorlands, some of it heavy. Drifts in some areas were

knee-deep. Strong winds brought power lines down, while snowploughs

were needed to clear the worst affected roads. The wintry blast

caught some holidaymakers by surprise but, undeterred, they

carried on camping. Andy Newman reports.

The British weather - full of surprises. This was the scene in

Staffordshire today - well over six inches of snow. The Leeds to Buxton

Road had to be closed in places. All of this happened with Easter

just around the corner and the hot sunshine of only a few days ago

still fresh in people's minds. What a difference a week makes! Last

week it was deckchair weather, today it is this. The temperature

is forecast to drop well below zero overnight. Not the conditions that

campers had been expecting when they checked into this site for an

Easter break. Butane gas cylinders are definitely in demand as they

try to keep warm. I wasn't expecting it. Were you hoping for

the weather we had last week? definitely. We were out on Sunday

and the weather was glorious. We were wearing T-shirts. For it is

different! It is lovely, really. I have never been away in a motor

home when it has been snowing, so it is a bit different. Glorious,

isn't it? After the last fortnight, this is typical British weather.

Typical yet unpredictable. And for many of us today, a sharp reminder

of that unpredictability. In fact, it is forecast to get milder as we

head for the bank holiday weekend. That is just in case all this has

got you dreaming of a white Easter. Well, as you saw in Andy's report,

the roads in north Staffordshire were severely affected. We're

joined now by Dean Sargeant from Staffordshire County Council's

gritting depot at Leek. So what were the challenges you faced today

as a result of the bad weather? Well, we have been faced with many

challenges today - trees that have fallen on the roads, snowdrifts

because of the high winds and in some areas abandoned vehicles,

which has caused a few problems when we have been trying to plant

sold some of the Ritz. -- supply 0 and put salt on some of the routes.

-- to use snowploughs. We have been out since three o'clock this

morning gritting the roads across the county. We have had snow

blowers and snowploughs out to try to keep people on the move. What

are the plans for this evening and overnight? We have already had

their gritters out this evening. We will continue to monitor the

weather forecast for the rest of the evening and into the early

years of tomorrow. I would encourage any motorist who

experiences hazardous conditions to get in touch with the council and

we will try to rectify the situation as best we can.

Thank you for joining us. So how much longer is it going to go on

for? Shefali can tell us. Not for much longer. The worst of it is

practically over, and that was bad enough, with snow depths in excess

of 20cm and the worst affected areas. At least it won't be

affecting us over the Easter weekend, but I'll have more on that

later. One of the country's most wanted

men has been arrested in Birmingham after a vehicle was car-jacked with

two toddlers still strapped in the back seats. It happened in

Erdington following reports of a burglary. Anthony Bartram is near

the scene for us this evening. So tell us more about what happened,

Anthony. It must have been a terrifying oil

or -- ordeal for this young mother, caught up in the middle of a major

police operation. They were on the trail of three suspected burglars

who fled the scene of a burglary which was reported. They chase

their getaway car to hear. Three men got out of the car, one of them

then dragged a woman out of her car and sped off with a two young

children - a one-year-old boy and a two-year-old girl - still strapped

into their seats in the back. The police changed -- chase that

vehicle and, that about a mile down the road. The children are safe and

well, thankfully. Police now have a suspect in custody from both the

burglary and the car jacking incident.

What do we know about this man? The man involved -- allegedly

involved, is 44-year-old Cedric Brown. He is already on the police

wanted list in connection with a burglary two years ago in Bristol,

a violent incident, we're told, which featured on Crimewatch. He is

now being questioned in connection with all of those incidents. Truck

dealers and service centres have been getting a first look at a new

truck which it is hoped will bring dozens of jobs to Stoke-on-Trent.

The Longton Avia is being backed by a group of Staffordshire

businessmen who are aiming to set up production in the city once

sales are high enough. An order has already been placed ahead of its

official launch to the market. Liz Copper reports.

Arriving in Longton, the truck that bears this town's name, and with it

hopes of economic rejuvenation. Dealers who will be selling and

servicing the Longton truck were in Stoke-on-Trent to see it on the

road for the first time. But how confident are they that there is

room in the market for this new marque made in the Potteries?

very exciting because, to have something that is from Britain to

be released in the market at this time, I think it is really good

news. I think they're coming in difficult conditions but if they

can crack it while it is like this it should be good in the future.

Initially, the trucks will be made here at a factory in pride in the

Czech Republic. But it is planned to shift production to Stoke-on-

Trent as soon as next year. industrial history that this town

has, I think there is an ethos of manufacturing in Longton. I think

people associate that if a truck is built over here it will be built

well. Are there signs that this sector is seeing a recovery? The MP

for Longton also chairs the all- party Freight Transport Group, and

he believes the outlook is encouraging. The response that we

have had from across the country has been incredible. People have

been saying, about time, we have been waiting for a British truck to

be launched. They want details. moving assembly to the Potteries

would generate jobs and benefit the city's economy. Adventure like this

is going to add millions of pounds -- ventures like this will add

millions of pounds to the local economy and employ more people.

Already, the first orders have been placed for these trucks. It is

hoped it is part of a long and illustrious route ahead which will

boost the region's economy. Liz Copper, BBC Midlands Today, Stoke-

on-Trent. And in Midlands Today at 10:25pm, we will have news of a

significant announcement being made this evening by Jaguar at the New

York Motor Show. Detectives investigating the murder

of a 92 year-old man in the Black Country have arrested a 35-year-old

woman. William Davis, a decorated war veteran, was found with head

injuries at his home in Willenhall on Sunday. Police are now

questioning a woman, believed to be local, on suspicion of murder.

The jury's been sent home for the night in the case of Tariq Jahan,

whose son was one of three men killed in last summer's riots in

Birmingham. Mr Jahan's accused of an unrelated assault on a road in

Handsworth last July as he picked up his wife from work. He denies

assaulting a factory worker, Sajjid Ali, and the jury will resume its

deliberations tomorrow. A 33-year-old man has been

sentenced to 16 months in prison after sending a hoax bomb report to

MI5. Ghulan Kibria used the name of his estranged wife to tell security

service officials there was an explosive device at Prince Albert

Junior and Infant School in Aston in Birmingham. The school was

evacuated of more than 800 pupils and staff as a precaution.

A hundred new jobs are being created in the region's computer

games industry. Codemasters are expanding their headquarters in

Warwickshire as well as their development studio in Birmingham.

The company's one of a growing number of high-tech gaming

companies now based in the West Midlands.

A stroke victim says he has been abandoned in his own home. Colin

Bird lost mobility in his arm and leg two years ago he gets 30

minutes of care every morning and evening and says his house doesn't

provide suitable accommodation for his condition. His friends and

family now say that's got to change. Louise Brierley reports. Friends

say that it is hard to believe that people are living in these

conditions in 21st century Britain. Colin Bird is only 46 years old and

has had two strokes in four years. He has been living in this flat in

Yardley Wood in Birmingham for the last few months. Terrible. I can't

do nothing myself any more. city council provide him with half-

an-hour's care in the morning and evening. But friends say that's not

enough. He needs fully assisted living, which is doctors say is

fully agreed. For a man with that level of disability to be left

wanting and starving in modern-day Britain is an absolute disgrace.

Colin has told us he's only been washed four times in the last three

months and has sores around his legs as a result. He also says he

has just �96 a month to live on, which means he often goes hungry.

It's disgusting. Colin should not be here. He should be an supported

housing where he can get the care that he needs. He cannot handle his

finances. I was upset about it yesterday because I hate seeing him

like this. The flat is also not designed for someone in his

condition. Colin's door is double lot. Because of a stroke he cannot

use his arm and that means he cannot lock his door at night. His

bed is broken in two places. Inside his kitchen he has very few

amenities and has to live off of a microwave and a toaster. Birmingham

City Council say this is a complex case and they are satisfied with

the care provided in very difficult circumstances. They say they are

trying to find him more suitable accommodation that would suit his

needs. Colin, meanwhile, is having to rely on the kindness of people

like Chris to get by. I get fed up. I can't do nothing myself. I can't

walk out beside myself. -- out side by myself. Do you think you need

more help? I do, yeah. Luoise Brierley, BBC Midlands TOday,

Yardley Wood. We're joined now by Patrick

Olzowski from the Stroke Association. Thank you for joining

us. What challenges do stroke patients face when they leave

hospital? They want to get back to the sort of life that we all

actually take for granted, whether it is actually saying a loved one's

name were being able to type in a PIN number at the shopping till or,

as one gentleman said to me, he wanted to get back to the Royal

Marines. There is a huge variety of impacts and recovery is possible

but it needs the right support. I gather that the Stroke

Association is releasing a report in the next few weeks - are the

problems among those who need care? I absolutely. We will be releasing

a report at at the start of May. It will be highlighting what is a one-

off largest surveys carried out -- carried out of survivors and their

carers and what the barriers are to recovery. Survivors are telling us

that they are not getting assessed. Assessments should cover the health

and social care needs of individual and they should result in

meaningful action, but survivors are not -- are telling us they are

not getting that. If that places a huge burden on the survivor,

pushing back the possibility of recovery, and also on carers who

are being forced to sacrifice -- sacrifice their own health and

economic well-being to care for a loved one. What impact are the cuts

in social care having? Stroke survivors are finding it

increasingly hard to get access to show to -- social care. Those who

are getting it are actually getting less and less. I would encourage

people who are interested in this to visit our website.

Thank you. There will be more on this on BBC

Radio West Midlands with Adrian Goldberg tomorrow at nine o'clock.

Still to come: Giving people from Birmingham the chance to tread the

boards in Stratford. Time for sport now, and Ian - big news from Port

Vale as they try to move on from their financial troubles. Yes, we

now know that Lancashire businessman Keith Ryder is the man

in pole position to buy Port Vale out of administration. And he's got

a plan to lift the club from the bottom division of the Football

League to the Championship within five years. Nick Clitheroe reports.

I am delighted to announce this morning that the preferred bidder

is Keith Ryder. After a month of uncertainty, today at last Port

Vale supporters learnt the identity of the man who's been chosen from

five bidders to buy the club out of administration. We are sure he has

got the money. He is asking the right questions and has the right

ideas about how to take the club forward. We believe he would be

very good for Port Vale as well as giving us the best price. We are

may not get the full details of his plans until he meets supporters on

the 18th. We do know that he has a programme

to get this club into the championship within five years and

is planning to sit down with the manager, Micky Adams, and talk

about building the team. Mr Ryder For the fans who continue to raise

money to keep the club going in difficult times, it's a welcome day

of positive news. We want to encourage people to go

out and buy season tickets. Let's try to get them up to 5,000. Mr

Ryder now has two key issues to overcome: First, he must convince

75% of the club's creditors to accept his offer, then he has to

pass the Football League's fit and proper person test. Do both and he

should officially be the owner by the end of June. Nick Clitheroe,

BBC Midlands Today, Stoke-on-Trent. Fans will be dying to know more

about him. Yes, and we will, too. He's from

Lancashire, has interests in financial services and the property

business, and he did try to buy into the club last year but was put

off by the boardroom politics. Chris Hughton admitted Birmingham

City had to ride their luck against Burnley last night. But the Blues

manager thought his team deserved to win. On a rain-soaked, blustery

night in Burnley it was Birmingham who scored first, through Marlon

King, his 16th goal of the season. In the second half, the home side

hit back to make it 1-1. But two minutes later the Blues were back

in front, thanks to Jordon Mutch, and they went on to seal a 3-1 away

victory for the second time in five days when David Murphy scored from

close range. Just six games left, the Blues are fourth and still with

everything to play for. There was a major disappointment for

Bromsgrove's Jess Varnish in her Olympic preparations today. Varnish

and Victoria Pendleton could only qualify in fourth place for the

finals of the team sprint at the world cycling championships in

Australia. They were then beaten in the bronze medal match by China and

saw their world record broken by the Germans in the final. On the

eve of the new cricket season, some disappointing news for

Worcestershire. Spin bowler Saeed Ajmal looks unlikely to return to

New Road this summer because of Pakistan's proposed tour of Sri

Lanka. Nevertheless, Worcestershire are still in confident mood after

narrowly avoiding relegation from division one. Ah, the pre-season

photo call. It's just not cricket without one. As traditional as

April showers and Easter eggs. Every year, a few new faces, a lot

of new shirts, and not a single grass stain in sight. Normally,

they take the pictures out here but this year the snappers are forced

to their snapping indoors. And that is because it is cold

outside. Welcome to English county cricket. Michael, what was the

temperature in Adelaide yesterday. It was mid- twenties.

Michael is the captain of South Australia. A prolific batsman who's

just scored the third double century of his career. Now he's

joined Worcestershire for the next couple of months until his fellow

Aussie Phil Hughes arrives at the end of May. Luckily for the men

from Down Under ,the April weather's not always this bad.

Exactly twelve months ago New Road was full of sun cream... And ice

cream. Cold beer... And bare chests to welcome Yorkshire on the opening

day of the new campaign. Six months later, Worcestershire stayed up on

the last day of season. And the Head Coach said it was the biggest

achievement of his cricket career. I always felt that if they could

just survive then they would be a year older, better experienced.

That will be the acid test now. When Steve rang me up, I saw it as

a challenge. There are some great teams playing in this division.

Inside, in the warmth of the Graeme Hick Pavilion... The lads had

changed out of their whites and into their greens. And outside, the

wind howled, the rain blew, and the coach shivered with anticipation.

think it is going to be a day for three sweaters tomorrow, isn't it.

They will be struggling out there if it is like this. Let us keep our

fingers crossed us up I do not like to be pessimistic about anything,

including the weather. Bring it on. Let's hope it's a bit warmer

tomorrow for Worcestershire away to Nottinghamshire in division one.

Likewise for Gloucestershire away to Essex in division two.

I would say take a jumper tomorrow. It is not that unusual for it so be

-- for it to be so cold at the beginning of the season, is it? I

believe there is ice on some of the pitches. Yes, some of them are

frozen over. I cannot remember ever seeing my hot breath on a day in

April. Now, as the countdown to the

Olympics continues, some of the many associated cultural events

tied to the games are gathering pace. The World Shakespeare

Festival 2012 is one of them - it'll be launched later this month.

The Festival will celebrate the Bard's work in more ways than one,

as Kevin Reide reports. The Winson Green area of Birmingham

may seem a million miles from Shakespeare's Stratford but this is

where the Royal Shakespeare Company is recruiting it's latest talent.

They want an all Black cast for a version of Julius Caesar to be set

in Africa. The inspiration has come from a number of places. One is

Nelson Mandela's known appreciation of the play, and another

comparisons between the Ceasers rule in Rome and that of other

African rulers right up to the present day. Recruiting from one

ethnic group may be contentious but the RSC say it needs to to make the

play authentic and realistic adding that it's acting within the law.

One volunteer who hopes to be selected is George Gordon.. Julius

Caesar feels very fitting, given some of the uprisings that have

been happening in Africa. George's one volunteer who could

soon find himself on stage alongside leading black actors.

Shakespeare is associated with using the English language very

effectively. That is my perception, anyway. So it has relevance where

we are in Great Britain. Winson Green is no rent -- no exception to

that. Nor is Birmingham. This incarnation of Julias Caesar will

form part of the World Shakespeare Celebrations much of which are

about spreading the Bard's word as far and wide as possible, for

example there will be performances in his name as far afield as Brazil

and Baghdad. Obviously this year is the Year of the Olympics, and you

would think that is all about sport, but is it it -- but it is actually

about the arts and theatre as well. And just like the Olympics, the

events do not just belong to Britain. The African version of

Julias Caesar is due on stage in Stratford at the end of May, there

are more details on the RSC's website. Kevin Reide, BBC Midlands

Today, Birmingham. And the star of Homeland, David Harewood returns to

Birmingham to work with a group of teenagers from his old school to

perform a section of scenes from Macbeth as part of the World

Shakespeare Festival, and you can see how they get in a special

programme here on BBC 1 at ten past eleven on Sunday 22nd April.

Well it wasn't just the snow that caused problems overnight, the

gable wall of this house in Stoke on Trent collapsed early this

morning. Investigations are now underway to see if the strong winds

affected the structure. But are we heading for better weather?

We had up to 20 centimetres of snow in the worst affected areas. Along

with the wind, it really was awful. Let us not forget that we had some

decent bouts of rain that were desperately needed at the moment.

There is more to come over the weekend. It should be warmer by the

weekend. This is where we are currently at. The isobars will be

listening up in the process, so no more damaging winds after today.

Let's take a closer look at tonight. We can see that the band of rain is

moving to the south. We will see some showers gradually dwindling,

leaving dry and clear spells. Temperatures could get down below

zero again. We could have some frost and ice by the morning

tomorrow. It could be cloudy start to the day, a bit chilly as well.

It will be brighter and drier by lunchtime. The big difference is

the lighter wind, still coming from the north-east, but considerably

lighter. Temperatures will be a couple of degrees higher, up to

about eight or nine Celsius. The cloud will continue to break up

tomorrow night. Temperatures will plunge down to zero in towns and

cities, perhaps as low as of minus four in rural spots. The cloud is

increasing from the north. It will be fair rain -- fairly bright on

Friday, a little rain entering the North Letter Road. It turns cooler

but warmer as we head into the weekend. A look at tonight's main

headlines: Road disruption and power lines down as snow and

blizzards hit parts of the country. There are queues of traffic across

northern England - as tens of thousands are left without power: