18/08/2014 Midlands Today

Duped out of thousands of pounds, how elderly people are being

I was asked to draw out ?68,000 of money from our account.

The mother of a seven`year`old treated

for cancer facing prosecution, for not sending her daughter to school.

Aston Villa get off to a perfect start, with victory

over West Midlands rivals Stoke in the first game of the season.

And it may be mid August but it feels like mid September.

So, is it getting worse or is it getting better?

Three teenagers have been arrested by police investigating a scam

which has cost some victims tens of thousands of pounds.

Detectives say hundreds of people have been targeted.

One bank customer from Worcestershire became

suspicious when the fraudsters tried to convince her that staff she knew

personally in her local branch were trying to steal her money.

Early this morning, the police carried out numerous raids in

London, arresting three teenagers in what they are calling operations

effort. The aim is to smash a criminal gang which has targeted

around 300 victims across the seven Midlands. One man has lost over

?40,000. They were calling up, pretending to be a police officer or

bank official, telling people there was a problem with their account and

asking them to transfer money, so they receive it. 78`year`old Jeff

and Iris nearly became victims when they were cold called numerous

times. In this particular case, the scammers tried to persuade them that

staff at the HSP staff in Bewdley were about to siphon money from

their account but as they knew the staff and trusted them, they became

suspicious and reported the matter to the police. He rang us about five

or six times on the Friday. He rang twice on the Sunday. He said he was

going to ring us again on Wednesday. He was very persistent. He wanted

?68,000 and he gave us a sort code for a different bank, that we then

had to place it into. We had to go to Kidderminster and place it in

that bag. They also trick some elderly people into giving over

their PIN numbers, then send careers to collect their cards so they can

enter their accounts. The police and banks will never ask you for your

PIN number on the phone. They will not ask you to transfer money into a

different account on the phone. They will never send around a career to

collect money from you. If any of those things happen, call the police

and we can then deal with it. The police believe there could be many

more victims who are simply too more victims who are simply too

embarrassed to come forward. But they are now urging them to do so.

the Birmingham doctor whose campaign has disrupted executions

The mother of a seven`year`old who battled

cancer is facing prosecution, for not sending her to school.

Their legal team claim Birmingham City Council is being

Although the cancer hasn't returned, Libby Bennett still needs regular

Our Special correspondent, Peter Wilson has this exclusive report.

A playground game but seven`year`old Libby Bennett despite being

a picture of health has been a very sick girl, operated on because

of a tumour on her kidney's but now her Mum Kerry Capper is in trouble.

For keeping her daughter off school during seven days

She woke up with a sore stomach and I get scared and I have kept it off

school. And they have sent beta called because of it.

Libby Bennett from Erdington was diagnosed with cancer five years ago

she's still under the care of the Children's Hospital.

Her mother admits not always phoning the school when her daughter is

off claiming that her mobile phone doesn't always have credit.

They should give some consideration to what I went to as a mother. When

she does say she is ill, she gets really scared because we did nearly

lose Libby. Birmingham City Council say they

take a robust stance on No reason was given

for the absences. The school again contacted

the parent inviting her to a meeting to talk through any issues

and concerns. When there was still no response

a penalty notice was issued and when this was not paid

the matter was sent to magistrates. So what are the penalties for not

sending your child to school? Parents face a fine

of ?60 per child, rising to ?120 If it comes to court magistrates can

fine you up to ?2,500 and in extreme cases send you to prison

for three months. Across the country in the last

year 64,000 people were fined. A 70% increase mostly

for taking their children away Next month Kerry Capper will have

at attend the magistrates court. Her daughter won't have to be at

court but she defends her mother. She doesn't let me have days off

when I'm not ill. When I am ill, she gets worried.

The council say they never fine people

This young mum says it's never easy getting doctor's notes.

England's women rugby players have returned home triumphant,

after winning the World Cup for the first time in 20 years.

They were reliant on a strong backbone of Midlands

talent, with four players from Worcester and four from Lichfield.

Ian Winter is at Lichfield rugby club now.

Ian, they must be absolutely incredibly proud of their women.

Absolutely. It is all quiet tonight. Monday is the one night of the week

they don't have training but last night, the bar was full with

everyone watching it on TV. Litchfield rugby club is rightly

proud of its four players in the England rugby team. Quite rightly

too. Let's look at one of the stars, Emily. Nobody scored more

points in the final than her. This try sealed victory over Canada.

Earlier, she had kicked three penalties. She finished up with 16

points in an England victory. Fantastic scenes in Paris. 24

England caps. What an achievement. It's absolutely terrific. It's a

four`year long wait since the last final. The girls have done

fantastically well to keep form and peaking at the end. Let's look at

some of the celebrations, as the trophy was presented. There is also

Sarah Hunter, Natasha Hunt and Vicky Fleetwood, plus another four players

from Worcester. That states how healthy women's rugby is in the

Midlands. Participation is up and the performance is up as well.

Better coaches are coming in all the time and better players are coming

through the ranks. It's fantastic for local rugby. You would have been

there in Paris, except for one small thing. You had a baby. Six months

ago, I had my little girl, so that mocked selection on the head and

made my decision to stay at home. A good choice because I still get to

watch the girls being incredibly successful. There are 50 senior

women players at the club and the legacy of a victory like this could

be great. Precisely. There is a strong junior setup in the club so

it would be wonderful to have those players, the boys and girls, all

seeing successful players coming out of Litchfield rugby club. Across

Staffordshire and Worcestershire, we are rightly proud of our World Cup

rugby winners. A man's appeared in court

after a pro`Palestine demonstration Several protesters went

into the supermarket at Hodge Hill, 35`year`old Naveed Zafar, from

Alum Rock, appeared at Birmingham Magistrates Court this morning,

charged with assaulting a police More than 500 volunteers have been

helping to clear up, following the The Weston Park site played host

to nearly 100,000 The festival generates ?6 million

for the local economy. The thousands of discarded

tents are sent to humanitarian A Birmingham hospital doctor says he

has no regrets about a campaign halting the sale of a drug used

in America, to kill death`row There've been claims that

substitutes Dr David Nicholl persuaded

the Danish manufacturers to withhold supplies of the drug,

after he launched a petition In Ohio, it took 25 minutes for this

man to die. In Oklahoma, it took 40 minutes for this man to die. Last

month, this man took two hours to die in Arizona.

Dr David Nicholl is a specialist who has dedicated his life to

helping patients like Thelma Lord who suffered a brain haemorrhage.

The doctor and human rights campaigner loathes

the death penalty and hates medicine being seen as a humane way to kill.

I get really upset when I see injustice. It's like a stone in my

shoe which upsets me. The death penalty is a prime example of that.

These stressed emails from the CEO of Danish Company Lundbeck shows

the effect the petition of doctors, David Nicholl sent to the Lancet

had in getting the company to stop supplying

I had an e`mail asking for help. What do we do to get out of this

situation? In Ohio it took twenty five minutes

for Dennis Mcguire to die He is addressing legitimate concern

about this misuse of medicine, which is the opposite of its intended use.

Some of these prisoners have suffered quite significantly. Do you

feel responsible? I absolutely refute that allegation. The people

responsible are the people who order those drugs, that supply those drugs

and inject those drugs. The brain specialist is just getting

on with the job, knowing some simple actions have given the US

authorities a real headache. Duped out of thousands of pounds,

how elderly people are being Shefali will have the weather

forecast for the Midlands shortly. West Bromwich Albion start

their season conceding a late goal, They may not be popular with

everyone, but our struggling School children have travelled to

the World War One battlefields in France and Belgium, to uncover

the story of a former pupil. Francis Waldron, from Birmingham,

was part of the first squadron to fly

from England into France in 1914. Ben Sidwell has more

on the links between the present day It was the first war where aircraft

played a significant part. The Royal flying Corps have lead Britain to

victory but little is known of Major Francis Holdren, the man who became

a very first pilot to take off from England to the war fields of France

in 1914. Isn't it amazing that 100 years ago, a man from Ladywood ended

from that historic flight, a group from that historic flight, a group

of pupils who went to the same school as him have followed in his

footsteps. After doing the research, it gave a good picture in

my mind of what it was like. At the oratory Church it was this memorial

plaque that started the youngsters journey. As the 12 and 13`year`olds

were challenged to find out more about the man behind the name. Most

people don't notice. They are not interested in it. I think we get to

do it and make videos on it. It will carry on his memory. On the day he

was killed, he flew over this village in this direction. As he

flew over, his plane crash landed in the fields over there. For five days

last week, the youngsters travelled across France and Belgium in search

of the final resting place of Major Waldron. So many people walk past

the pack and don't realise it is there. Then about it. Once you

realise its significance, you think, this is someone that has actually

done something. This is something that should be remembered. I hope a

lot of people see this because it is important. People should be more

interested in World War I. I can't believe how many people died

in World War I, to protect this country. Amazing news story.

Aston Villa were widely tipped as one of the favourites for relegation

They call him the rock and Aston Villa are hoping Carlos Sanchez will

strengthen their midfield for a season which saw many fearing for

the club's survival. But the World Cup player joined... Stoke City had

been tipped to be the surprise package this season but they were

undone at the Britannia Stadium. This second`half goal was enough to

risk the six points `3 points down the M6. To do it in the way we have

done it, I thought was excellent. The back four were outstanding. They

worked really hard. Tactically, I thought we were excellent. West

Bromwich Albion were also marked down for a relegation struggle.

Birmingham city went 18 games without a home league win last

season. They are celebrating three points at St Andrews for the first

time since the beginning of October. Perhaps the biggest drama of the day

came in League 2. Shrewsbury town were losing at their home game with

Tranmere tipped into stoppage time. Astonishingly, they not only

equalised but then their fans saw the winner in the 94th minute. A

barnstorming ending but no way did we not deserve to come away without

a victory. I don't think anybody could say we didn't deserve that

victory. What about this for a parting gift? Burton Albion were

also losing with two minutes to go at home on Saturday when this

footballer scored twice. Today, he moved up a division to join

Scunthorpe. Hereford have failed to reach

agreement with creditors. The club say they are confident about the

future and will put season tickets on sale.

Midlands athletes have been celebrating their part in the UK's

best European Championship medal haul. Last night, these runners

helped Team GB win gold in the four x 400 metres relay, breaking the

three minute barrier. Stoke`on`Trent sprinter Ashlee Nelson won her

second medal of the championship. She took gold in the four x 100

metres relay, setting a British record in the process. It has been

amazing. We've worked well as a team. We have two say a big thank

you to individual coaches, the relay coaches and a big thank you to my

family and friends, especially my mum.

Britain's bat population may be recovering after years of decline.

Of our 18 species of bat, five have increasing populations.

Amongst them, our most common bat, the dainty pipistrelle

which would you believe, weighs less than a ?1 coin.

But although all bats and their roosts are protected

by law, sometimes they need just a little more help.

Our reporter Kathryn Stanczyszyn is in Walsall tonight.

Kathryn, what's happening there to help bats?

The idea here is to provide a safe haven for bats in need. It was

exactly a year ago that we were here at the opening of this very flight

cage. It is run by the group, Brum bats. They keep the location secret

so they are understood. There are 16 residents in the box behind me. Five

different species here. What they've all got in common is that they all

need a bit of human help. This is Vladimir. He was attacked by a cat

and is now building up his strength. It... It has been a big

success since it was built a year ago, with more than 100 bats being

looked after here in that time. Someone will find a bad hand they

will Google what to do with a bat. They end up calling the conservation

trust and they will give them a number. Then we go out to collect

them. Most of these bats are from across Birmingham and the Black

Country but this place... Although bats might not be everyone's's cup

of tea, the small team of volunteers here are dedicated to them. A lot of

people seem to have bad ideas about bats, that they are not nice, they

will bite you and full of the disease. They not bad creatures and

we should be looking out for them. They are our friends. That

populations across the UK, previously in decline, are now

stabilising. Experts say that is partly down to the work of places

like this. I am holding a bat detector. You

might be about to hear it. It's crucial to bats, and they use it to

hand. They learned this instinctively but do have help from

their mothers in the wild. If they don't get that, they are left

vulnerable. That is what places like this are all about. You provide food

and nurture but also a safe environment for them to training.

That's right. They are flying around, getting good at hunting

insects give us an idea of your day`to`day routine. We do a lot of

cleaning out of droppings and things like that, feeling from and

providing water. We them every day to make sure they don't get too

skinny. You have 15 babies. Yeah, they are doing wonderfully. We have

16 bats in total but 15 of them will be soft released. It is not just

about day`to`day physical needs, it is about PR. They've not always have

the best reputation. That's true. A lot of the bats we haven't cared to

come out on visits for... People get to meet bats up close and see that

they are cute and fluffy. Gloucester docks were converted into

a Disney film set today. It's one of the locations for the sequel to

Alice in Wonderland. There is something in the air. The

hint of a voyage... Maybe a journey of discovery. Into a world of

curious imaginings that were all dreamt up a very long time ago. Yes,

this is Gloucester docks, but Reid dressed, recast to reflect the world

of Tim Burton's take on Lewis Carroll. Of course, it is all just

smoke and mirrors but fascinating post up even the set draws something

of a crowd. It seems everybody here has got a camera and if you listen

carefully, you can hear people whispering the name Johnny Depp.

Whispering maybe, but I'm not sure that anyone has actually seen him

yet. How many stars have you seen? None! We've seen a few extras. Lots

of pirates. Actually, it doesn't matter whether he is here or not.

Disney, and their big production, is. And that is good business for a

city which is promoting itself and its locations. It has some amazing

historical properties. The Cathedral is one. There is the history of

Harry Potter filming there. Also, around the docks, there is an

unspoiled... It helps them to reduce the costs of filming. If you go to

an area where there are no television aerials, none of the

modern accoutrements which means production is harder, it makes it

easier and cheaper for them. The better the bottom line, the more the

movie makers will want to sprinkle just a little bit of stardust

around. We didn't even get the chance to say

goodbye. It has changed suddenly and we are turning a corner this week.

Things are turning distinctly autumnal as the temperatures tumble

away. We will see some showers and sunshine as well. It will be breezy

at times and then there will be a slight improvement over the weekend,

when temperatures will pick up slightly. I think the best way to

describe the temperature drops by using the air mass drop. This cooler

north, spilling southwards through north, spilling southwards through

the week. As far as the showers go, we have got low pressure dominating

to the north`east. We've got quite a lot of traffic as far as the fronts

are concerned. For this evening and overnight, we have still got a few

showers across the North than half of the region in particular. They

could stick around for much of the night. Elsewhere, it is looking

drier and we are looking at dry weather across central and southern

counties, along with cloud as well. It is not too cold to start the day

tomorrow and it should be drive for a short time before we see more

showers started to toppling from the north`west. They are following the

line of the breeze which is coming in from that direction as well. Some

of these could be on the vicious side. They are heavy at times but

there will be some sunshine in between. That will only take

temperatures to 15, 16 or 17 Celsius. The winds are light to

moderate but if you are caught in the showers, you will know about it

and the winds will pick up slightly. There is a pattern

developing through the night. Tomorrow night, we've got much

clearer skies said temperatures, for the first time in quite awhile, will

drop down single figures. Another cold night on Wednesday night.

Wednesday itself will be dry with plenty of sunshine.

Shot six times, twice in the head, a postmortem on the black American

teenager whose death has sparked violent protests.

Duped out of thousands of pounds, how elderly people are being

scammed into handing over cash, police make three arrests.

And the mother of a seven year old treated

for cancer facing prosecution, for not sending her daughter to school.