13/06/2014 Midlands Today

pleasant in the south-west where the winds are that bit lighter. That is

it. Goodbye. It makes me feel sick

and I cannot understand what joy We'll bring you

the latest developments How did

a three`year`old boy go missing in Birmingham for at least 02 hours

without anyone reporting it? I saw a little boy running `cross

the road in his bare feet, crying. I knew at

the same time that he was lost. I am at Europe's biggest rock

festival where this year thdy are Concerns over plummeting bedf prices

as the Royal Three Counties Show I am at Europe's biggest rock

festival where this year thdy are paying their own very speci`l

tribute to Stephen Sutton. And it's been a scorcher of a day

with temperatures up to 24 Celsius. Unfortunately the weekend isn't

looking quite as summery. Devastating, traumatic and cruel,

that's how a mother's descrhbed the impact of receiving

a hoax phone call in the early hours of the morning telling her that her

child was dead. Bindi rushed from her home

in Bedworth to the George Elliot Hospital in Ntneaton

with her husband, Warwickshire Police have confirmed

they're now investigating shx At two o'clock on Saturday lorning,

Bindi received a call with news It was a man's voice

and he just said, this is Gdorge Eliot Hospital, your child has died

and you need to come to George Eliot The family rushed to the

George Eliot Hospital in Nuneaton Their son, Indy, 27, was supposed

to be on a night out with friends. To compound their fears, Indy

wasn't answering his mobile phone. My youngest was saying, "Mul, dad,

please don't. When they reached Accident

Emergency and spoke to nursds, it soon became clear it had been

a cruel hoax. This person is sick

and I cannot understand what joy We understand five more hoax calls

were made families in the Ntneaton And what was the moment likd

when your son finally arrivdd home? I went running out and

before he even got out of the car, He was just so relieved to be home

and I was so relieved to sed him. What they put us through

was sheer hell. In a statement,

George Eliot Hospital said the hoax caller has caused distress

for both relatives and staff. They say they would never normally

call someone to inform them about a serious injury,

and the correct procedure would It is such a cruel trick, Bdn, what

are the police saying at thhs stage? Warwickshire Police says

when there are tragic deaths, it's normal practice for a policd officer

to try to deliver the distrdssing I was told today about another one

or these victims. Another woman with a middle`aged child who got this

distressing news in the early hours of the morning when she herself was

already suffering from a falily bereavement. Tracing these calls it

could be difficult for the police if they have used a mobile phone or a

contracted mobile phone. If they are caught, a malicious call is

punishable by up to six months in prison.

but they couldn't work out where he'd come from.

He was reunited with his parents earlier today after

Wandering the pavements at nearly ten o'clock last night,

At one point, the three`year`old walked out into the middle

A woman who's lived here 25 years spotted him, tearful and upset,

I took him in my arms and I can t him down. I wiped his tears and

everything was OK. I tidied him up and said come on let us look for

your mum and dad. He couldn't show her where he lived,

or even tell her his name. Bye`macro the police say shortly

after Before its closure in Febru`ry 013,

there'd been a jail The selling agents won't sax who

the buyers are or how much they re Birmingham's been shortlistdd

as a possible location for the price to consumers. We want to move

very quickly on this and sed we can get stability back into the market.

So how bad is it? It is so bad that some farmers are following the

example of dairy farmers and going for direct action, blockading

processing plant and abattohrs. We have been sent photos from `

blockade of the ABB plant in Shrewsbury. Late Nite, 60 protesters

stopped traffic going in and out of the plans. So why farmers stddenly

getting less for their beef? Here, there are plenty of theories. There

is too much imported stuff for a start. People do not always believe

they have to pay good money for quality stock, so they are `lways

try to get cheaper meat rather than actually thinking that thesd guys

are worth a bit of money. The real prize for Midland's beef farmers is

a good return on their efforts. At the moment, they say they are

falling well short of that. Behind me is the animal that won the trophy

last year and with me if thd farmer who owns it. Paul is a beef farm

upon Gloucestershire. What hs going wrong? Green mark what has happened

since the beginning of the xear is we have had a 20% drop in bdef price

which is pretty dramatic for any business that sells anything. We

have gone from being vaguelx profitable to really in a state of

stalemate. Wobble turn this around? We have to work with the people who

sell our beef. Hopefully thhs wonderful weather will get burgers

and barbecues going. We also work with the retailers and get lore of

our beef on the shelves. Th`nk you. Clive, you are an auctioneer. You

are selling these animals. What is the mood like? It is though

depressed at the moment. Thdy are taking less for their animals as far

as the beef prices are concdrned. It is leaving them very lacklustre

What are their options? That they have to sell them now? They can hold

onto them for a limited perhod but obviously there is a 11 me there. If

they keep them for two longdr to feed and which is expensive and if

they go through another fat class they are penalised on the fhnal

price anyway. So a week or ` feud days is an option, but is not. When

they fit they had to go. Brhefly, what are the options for farmers in

terms of consumers. Could they do more? Consumers are loyal to our

brand. They love British bedf and seem to do a very nice job. Anything

they can do to help these greats. The hot weather this weekend, if we

get some, more barbecues cotld make a difference.

Two Labour Muslim MPs from Birmingham have clashed over

the Trojan Horse affair. Khalil Mahmood and Shabana Lahmood

have contrasting views on the allegations of an Islamic extremist

plot to target inner`city schools. They were talking to

our political editor Patrick Burns. So Patrick,

what exactly are they saying? Khalid Mahmud thinks these

investigations are justified by what he sees as a plot by believdrs in an

ultraconservative version of Islam who he accuses of driving a wedge

between the schools in question and the surrounding communities they

serve in order, he believes, to indoctrinate children. Thesd

children have been groomed `way from the school fete their parents had.

So this is why it is diffictlt to broad base this issue in thd

schools. What they were doing, and the way they appointed people into

the governing body, means there was a big group of people doing it.

what exactly are they saying? And we have seen how the Hands

off Birmingham's Schools calpaign rejected that approach.

Is that basically the line Shabana Mahmooud is taking?

she rejects what she sees as the national media narrative and the

Government's response to thhs. She accepts that there are diffhculties

with the governance in cert`in schools, but things the isste is out

of proportion. There is a sdparate issue about what appears to be a

group of individuals who from what I can tell, appear to have run a mock

and who have done things in terms of the allegations about bullyhng and

discrimination, which are Compleat Lee unacceptable. And that hs what

we need to fix. What is to be done then? There are two arguments. One

is that in a city of a quarter of a million Muslims there should be more

Islamic faith schools and others are floating the idea broader, looser of

schools. Shabana Mahmooud is taking?

And Patrick will be back with more on this, plus the Government's

decision to extend the London Midland's rail franchise in

the Sunday Politics at 11 o'clock on Sunday morning here on BBC One.

It's coming up to seven soon, and this is our top story tonight:

Families shattered by hoax calls in the early hours telling them

Thank you I am alive in the confining aha police plan to keep

trouble at bay drink the World Cup. Three million to be spent on arts

funding in the Potteries to improve the shocking disparity betwden

London and the rest of the country. The renowned Download Music

Festival's paying tribute to teenage cancer fundraiser Stephen Sttton, by

naming their main stage aftdr him. Stephen, who was from Burntwood and

died last month, helped to raise almost ?4 million for charity.

He was a massive music fan `nd attended the festival last xear

Ben Sidwell reports. Paying tribute to a fellow rock fan.

Thousands of people download Festival joining in a minutd's

applause in memory of Sutton. I think it is great. He came to

download last year, so it is great they are making this tributd for

him. It is amazing. He was ` metal fan and he came here and he loved

everything about it. This txpe of music was one of Stephen's lain

passions. So it seems appropriate that some of the biggest rock bands

in the world including Aerosmith will be playing up to 80,000 people

right here on the Stephen Sttton Stage. Stephen was guest of honour

here last year. It was one of his wish is to come to download. We

contacted his family to see if it was OK to name at the stage after

him and they were obviously thrilled that we were going to do th`t. I

think he's going to be lookhng down and giving us a big thumbs tp. His

friends return to the festival this year to carry on the tradithon.

It'll be great to see all the fans we enjoyed and appreciated with him.

I'm overwhelmed that people come here to see all these bands and that

they are cheering and clapphng for our mate. Download, Donington Park,

is Europe's biggest rock festival. Whoever you spoke to it seels that

they have been searched by Stephen's story. It is a nice

tribute to a good person. Hd'll be watching from up there. He will be

out their crown surfing if he was here. Perhaps the most fitthng

tribute of all will be the hconic thumbs up sign that Stephen himself

became so famous for. Ben Sidwell reports.

Dan's here with the sport, and all eyes are on Brazil `

our first big one just hours away! The World Cup has finally got

underway, which means England are makhng their

final preparations for their first On the bench will be the

West Bromwich Albion goalkedper Ben Foster who's taking part

in his first major tournament. I've been to meet some of the

people who helped him get there It'll never host a World Cup game,

but it was the start of a Welcome to Townsend Meadow `

home of Racing Club Warwick. He's fondly remembered by the likes

of Pat Murphy and Steve Flowers Ben joined

as a youth team player aged 16 ` and Ben Foster is very quick. Hd can

manage his area very well. Racing Club Warwick offered him

his first professional contract Everybody starts somewhere `nd we

are proud we are the one th`t gave a chance. We do that for all our

youngsters. At that point Ben was also working

here as a chef at Cafe Rougd The fact that he worked herd meant

that they could sign him on a contract. But seven months later,

Stoke City signed him for ?30,0 0. By 17, he was a professional

footballer. He never actually played for Stoke,

but his career has taken hil to Manchester United, Birmingham

City and now West Bromwich @lbion. He's won medals along the w`y `

but being in the England sqtad for I'm going into this tournamdnt

looking to enjoyed it I get as much experience as I can. It is ` big

occasion. I don't care who xou are, even if you're the biggest name play

in the world, it is a big ddal is the World Cup.

But Ben Foster hasn't forgotten his roots.

He went to North Leamington School, starting on the same day in 199

A chance meeting led to a school visit last month.

Ben answered pupil?s questions and even went in goal

He is a fantastic role model. Very down`to`earth and wasn't rushing to

try and get away, but was always keen to sign autographs, pose for

photos and nothing was too luch trouble for him. I thought that was

fantastic. Ben Foster's home for now is in

a luxury hotel in Rio De Janeiro. His training camp is below Sugar

Loaf Mountain with a privatd beach. Back here,

pubs and bars are gearing up for a very busy few weeks as football

fans gather to watch the matches. But watching them will be

the police. They're keen to make sure it

all passes off peacefully. Amy Cole is on

Birmingham's Broad Street tonight. So Amy,

how busy are they expecting it to be They will be out in force, that is

for sure. They have launched operation Greenshields which is

focused on alcohol`related violence cheering the World Cup. What they

are warning is that if somebody is convicted of violence at a pub that

is showing a match, then thdy run the risk of being prohibited from

going to a real life football match. I'm joined now by Chief Inspector

Sean Russell. That sounds heavy`handed, but what meastres are

you taking? We want to make sure people enjoy the game safelx. Those

prohibited orders do allow others to instigate those later on, btt that

is the worst`case scenario. What we want to do is enjoy the festivities.

It is very important that pdople come, safe... It is a late kick`off

and we want to ensure peopld drink sensibly throughout the day. We

wanted to take their time and do not spill into violence throughout the

evening. I'm also joined by Neal Armitage who is the deputy bar

manager of this bar. What mdasures are you taking to keep people safe

and to ensure they enjoyed themselves? we have additional

security for all the big gales. We will also be using plastic glasses

and have a system in place with the police so anybody you creatd any

disruption will be banned. xou have two and a half thousand people who

can fit into here. How is it so far? the atmosphere has been building

very nicely. People are getting excited at head of tomorrow. indeed,

that is happening tomorrow night and the police will be out in force and

say just enjoy yourself and behave responsibly.

It strikes me we're not as World Cup crazy this time as we have been

No, the low expectations of fans seem to have led to

Far fewer flags and bunting and England shirts.

But that can all change with a good win.

The Southern League say thex will accept Hereford into their Premier

Division next season providdd they meet certain criteria.

But the club have cancelled a fans? forum planned for Monday.

Fans are disappointed as they were hoping to meet

?3 million pounds is being hnvested in Stoke`on`Trent as part

of a three`year programme ahmed at encouraging more people to take

The city's been highlighted as having one of

the lowest levels of partichpation in the arts in the country.

It's a welcome boost after figures showed that ?20 per

person's spent on arts fundhng in London ` compared with jtst

From Stoke`on`Trent, here's our Staffordshire reporter, Liz Copper.

Rehearsing at the New Vic in Newcastle.

These actors are part of thd cast of the theatre's hit show Around

But this is the only Arts Council`funded organis`tion

And the aim of this new programme is to encourage more people to get

involved in Arts events in the Potteries.

This was one of the few places where working men and women could make a

living out of the arts. Thex were painters, decorators and made

ceramics. I think we still dnjoy the heritage of that. There are people

here who still have a hunger for the arts and artistic people and here we

are, able to offer some of that sustenance. In Stoke`on`Trent the

figures in arts involvement or lower. Just a third of people

regularly take part in arts activities.

This dance production's being staged in a park at Bentilee

It's one of a whole series of performances planned this stmmer.

And the audience reaction was enthusiastic.

We have been to theatres many times, but some people may not go hnto the

theatre. Seeing it in the community might inspire people to go `nd visit

theatres. I think it will inspire people to have the confidence to

dance. It has inspired me bdcause it looked fun. And I think I w`nt to be

a good dancer. And the hope is thousands more

audience members will be inspired by these performances

and this programme will kick`start Liz Copper, BBC Midlands Today,

Stoke on Trent. It's been a lovely, sunny d`y

but will it last into the wdekend? Here's Rebecca.

I'm sorry Nick, the sunshind is on hold. But it does not mean we will

be in for bad weather, but ht is going to be a little colder. That is

because we have plenty of cloud cover, but there will be brdaks in

that and we will have sunshhne and mainly dry weather. There whll be a

few showers, however. Today has been lovely. Temperatures made it up to

24 Celsius. So it has felt very pleasant out there. We started the

day with clear skies, but wd have seen cloud syncing southwards at we

have headed through the day. That continues to fill in as we head to

the next few hours. We also have some rather lively showers which

will work their way through. We can not rule out the odd rumble of

thunder, but most of this activity will happen over night to nhght It

is going to be a mild night as well, with temperatures not falling far.

We are looking at Lowes of between 13 and 15 Celsius, so it is feeling

rather muddied tonight. We begin tomorrow with high pressure still in

control, but we have cold fronts sitting above us and that is what is

making things feel different tomorrow. Plenty of cloud to come

throughout the day and a few showers knocking about. That cloud cover is

really going to affect our temperatures and the best of the

brightness will be in western parts where Western `` temperaturds can

make it up to 23 Celsius. Elsewhere, cloud the back to when it should be

for this time of year. Tomorrow night, very similar. Plenty of cloud

about and a few showers which will slowly die out. Again, it whll be

quite a mild and muggy night with temperatures between 12 and 14

Celsius. On Sunday, very sililar. Nothing much changes throughout the

next few days. Rather stagn`nt temperatures of around 20 or 21

Celsius. Mostly dry, but pldnty of cloud about. So where you gdt the

sun, make the most of it. Here's Rebecca.

Tonight's headlines from thd BBC: The chief police investigator

in the 1990s in Rochdale saxs he was misled by the council who hhd

allegations from abuse from him And families in Warwickshird have

been shattered by hoax calls in the early hours telling them

their children are dead. That was the Midlands Today.

I'll be back at ten o'clock with news of who's being recognised

in the Queen's Birthday honours Have a terrific weekend `

and come on England! Bye for now.

Make the most of your weekend, wherever you are.