22/03/2014 Midlands Today

Good afternoon. Cider makers in the Midlands fear production cotld be

hit by a shortage of apples following one of the wettest winters

on record. It comes as the Chancellor this week moved to help

the industry by announcing ` freeze on cider duty in the Budget. Lindsay

Doyle reports. Cider apple trees and floodwater

don't mix. At Evesbatch Court Farm in Herefordshire the meticulously

planted Orchard could be hiding a sorry secret. With the wet winter,

the young trees, we are worried about the rainfall and we are

concerned we will not see the damage until the summer.

Amongst the tiny emerging btds some of the trees are showing a greenish

tinge, a possible sign of d`mage, if trees stand in waterlogged soil for

more than fourteen days the roots can be killed off. The trees take 15

years to grow but there is ` fear they will be lost to saturated

soil. Bacteria thrives in standing water. This year's budget s`w the

Chancellor George Osborne freeze the duty on ordinary cider, a dhrect

response to flooding in the West Country, for cider makers, lanner

from heaven. It is a positive step for the government to do th`t. We

are price sensitive and it hs stopping consumers buying products.

If we invest in the future, planting orchards costs a lot of mondy.

Just four months ago the National Association of Cider Makers

predicted a bumper crop for this year, the best for ten years in

fact, a little ironic but the farmers are not writing off their

saplings just yet, they shotld know by May how and if the trees fought

the deluge. A woman from Birmingham who suffered

a seizure in the street had her purse stolen by a bogus Good

Samaritan while she lay unconscious. Police say two women seemed to go to

the aid of the 25`year`old `fter she collapsed in Summer Row last month.

They've now released CCTV ilages of two women they want to speak to

about the incident. A spokesman said it wasn't clear if the two were

together and that one of thdm may have been genuinely trying to help.

A public meeting to mark thd 30th anniversary of the murder of

Shropshire peace campaigner Hilda Murrell is being held later. Miss

Murrell, who was 78, was abducted from her Shrewsbury home and killed

in 1984. Building labourer @ndrew George was eventually convicted in

2005, but there are some who still claim the security services may have

been involved in her death. Tonight's meeting is being held at

the Morris Hall in Shrewsbury. The family and friends of a baby

girl born 15 weeks prematurdly are holding a fundraising event for the

hospitals that saved her life. Daisy`Mae Little was born at

Russells Hall Hospital in Dtdley last December weighing less than two

pounds. She also received specialist care at New Cross Hospital hn

Wolverhampton. Parents Jennx and Wayne were finally allowed to take

her home this week and todax a range of fundraising activities is taking

place at Mary Stevens Park hn Stourbridge.

Time for a look at the weather now, here's Kaye Forster with thd

forecast. Good afternoon. A cold start to the

weekend, if you snow showers as well the morning. It will be a mhxture of

sunshine and showers for thd rest of the day. Most of the showers falling

as rain but there could be hail and sleet. Some gusty winds as well

Feeling quite chilly, seven or eight degrees. The showers become fewer

and further between tomorrow so more sunshine or those staying on the

cold side. Midlands Today is back with the main

local football and rugby results at 5:20pm here on BBC One. Unthl then

have a good afternoon. Bye`bye. Hello. The weekend started with

snowcapped hills and blue sky. Since then, more clout has built and the

showers have broken out widely. Some heavy downpours and hell stones --

he'll stones. This is all part and parcel of the colder weather

weekend. There is a wintry flavour to the showers. It is snow we and

there are frosty and icy nights Over recent hours, you can see the

cloud has built up as the showers have developed. There are organised

showers moving east across England over the next two hours, and there

will be thunder with this and maybe snow over the Northern Pennines The

higher up you go, the more sleet and snow. But even at lower levels, you

could see sleet mixed in. Heavy downpours around and gusty winds,

and maybe thunder. You will also notice the drier and brighter spells

in