30/05/2014 Midlands Today

The headlines tonight: far this year.

A celebration of life for Stephen Sutton, the teenager who died from

cancer having raised millions of pounds and moved millions of people.

It's so emotional but it is so lovely

Suspended from the Labour Party ` the deputy council leader who sent

bogus texts to the media, pretending he was six different people.

Why the Midlands now has fewer barn owls than ever before

The Rats are back on the road ` Herefordshire's own Boomtown

superstar headlines in Cheltenham this weekend.

It reminds me of County Wicklow, where I spent a lot of time

And after an unsettled week, things are looking calmer

But does that mean we're going to see much of the sun?

Your full weekend forecast is coming up later.

'He's been an inspiration to us all' ` just one of the many tributes paid

to Stephen Sutton during today's service at Lichfield Cathedral.

In the past twenty`four hours, thousands

of people have filed past his coffin and laid flowers in his memory.

The teenager from Burntwood, who died from bowel cancer,

helped to raise more than ?4 million for the Teenage Cancer Trust.

In a final tribute, this morning thousands of people from

around the world tweeted pictures of 'thumbs up for Stephen'.

Our reporter Bob Hockenhull has spent the day in Lichfield,

So a memorable, an inspirational, day for many, Bob.

Indeed. 11,000 people have now been through

the doors of Lichfield Cathedral over the last two days to pay their

respects. They brought clubbers, good wishes and condolences. It has

been a celebration for an ordinary member of the community, the likes

of which this country has probably never seen before. 19 balloons for

19 fulfilled years. An uplifting finale of two days of celebration.

An hour before, more spontaneous applause as his family arrived.

Their greed and pride shared by strangers. He made me think to

man. It has completely changed my man. It has completely changed my

life and the way I think. A final goodbye from those who knew him.

Stephen Todd this boy to play drums. `` Stephen Todt. He was very

inspirational and funny. You just want to show your support. He has

brought the whole community together. At 11:00am, he very modern

gesture in a traditional setting. He thumbs up for Stephen, a sentiment

that dominated the day. Crowds of that dominated the day. Crowds of

people are still coming up to get in. Thanks to Stephen, 30th of May

2014 will be memorable day in Lichfield Cathedral's long history.

Inside, wise words relayed to those outside. On behalf of us all,

Stephen, thank you. And so at last, time to say goodbye, but not

quietly. The Coffin left its place to drums. A fitting sendoff for

Stephen, the drummer boy who certainly let the world know he was

here. With me now as the Reverend. A big

day for you and your community. Ken Stephen's legacy last beyond today?

`` can Stephen's legacy. Given the huge public outpouring be seen

today, I think it will. This Cathedral has seen many momentous

events over the centuries. Where does today stand with that? I think

it is a fanfare for the common man. It is the first of its kind. We have

never been a royal chapel like Westminster, so we have not had much

publicity. This has been a very, very special day and we try to

honour someone who has won the hearts of the local community and

the national community, to. Did things go as you expected? Largely

without a hitch. We have just been surprised that the volume of

and the length of time they wanted and the length of time they wanted

to spend your. `` spend here. It has all been very good. Stephen has now

raised more than ?4 million. The school governors who say they're

the victims of a 'witch hunt' by local authority that's acting

illegally. The Deputy Leader of

Stoke`on`Trent City Council has been suspended from the Labour Party

after he sent bogus text messages to Councillor Paul Shotton sent

a text to BBC Radio Stoke supporting council policy,

but signed it 'Jean in Fenton'. The radio station then discovered it

wasn't the first time he's used BBC Radio Stoke's political

reporter Phil McCann joins me now. Cancel or shorten was rumbled during

coverage of the council's controversial spending at the

Chelsea Flower Show. One text message, apparently from gene in

Fenton, said the council were spot on. The production team then wanted

to talk to Jean on here. They called the number but got this.

I'm sorry I'm not able to take your call at the moment.

If you leave a message, I will get back to you as soon as I can.

This wasn't the first time he had done this, was it? No. After that,

they checked all the text messages sent from the number and found that

they were all supporting the council they were all supporting the council

and criticising its opponents. At the all appeared to be from

different people. He used names like Steve, Dave, Tracey and Alison.

Talking of labour's opponents, he called them a joke.

What has happened as a result of this? Cancel or shorten has

apologised. He has released statements saying he is plain

stupid. The Labour Party has suspended him. But there are calls

In my view, the previous Labour councillor who masqueraded

I think that is the proper thing for Councillor Shotton on this occasion.

Calls there for Paul Shotton to resign. An investigation is being

started but we will have to wait to see what happens.

125 years of manufacturing history came to an end today when production

finished at the Goodyear Dunlop motorsport factory in Birmingham.

Unions and MPs had campaigned to keep the Erdington factory open or

But the American owners declined, leaving hundreds

However production at Dunlop Aircraft tyres

Governors at a Muslim faith school in Birmingham, who claim the

City Council have undermined their school, are holding a meeting

with parents this evening to discuss what they claim is 'a witch hunt'.

Lindsay Doyle joins us now from Al Hijrah in Bordesley Green.

Lindsay, what's the background to this meeting?

The fundamental purpose of tonight's meeting is to inform

parents of the developments. The Al Hijrah is at the centre of claims by

Ofsted of poor governance and financial mismanagement. The

their posts. A new team will comment their posts. A new team will comment

on Monday. Waseem Yaqub, the chairman, has called for three weeks

grace until the students finish their exams.

Is it unfair to ask local authorities to wait three weeks so

The building is not going to go away.

Is it possible for him to consider, out of his magnanimity,

What have Birmingham council said? Last night, an official, Peter Hay,

wrote to him. The estimate the deficit to be ?880,000. Early, we

had ?400,000. He said the school's reputation has been damaged.

The number of barn owls in the Midlands is

at an all time low thanks to the freezing spring of 2013.

And vanishing habitat makes it harder than ever

In the latest of his Springwatch reports,

our environment correspondent David Gregory`Kumar, has been meeting

One of the most beautiful parts of our patch and all this grass is

teeming with tasty mammals for the local barn owls.

The Staffordshire Moor itself is a massive spot for barn owls.

There are lush hay meadows and patches of grass which gives

them a really good vole population, which is what they need to breed.

They have closely monitored barn owls since 2000 and

in that time have seen a booming population of 54 peers in

Well, this was spring last year here.

Plenty of snow at exactly the wrong time.

Females need to put on weight before they lay eggs.

With the snow cover we have had during

March, they weren't able to get enough prey and find enough small

mammals under the snow, which meant that they didn't start breeding.

Helen is part of the group trying to find

the barn owls new places to live because we have taken away so much

of their natural habitat, including converting barns into homes for us.

Providing homes for barn owls is a practical way to help.

If there is a local barn owl pair looking for a home, they could

Barn owls usually have three to four chicks,

This is the finishing touch for our newly`installed barn owl box.

It's some wood shavings to go on the floor.

Birds themselves won't bring in much of any nesting material and by

the time there are adults and four chicks, it can get stinky in there.

So perhaps it is no surprise that adults often move to a different