19/10/2016 Midlands Today

The headlines this evening: A community in shock

after a seven-year-old girl is knocked down and killed

The mum was running around hysterically, screaming. It's really

upsetting. A GP was first on the scene,

but nothing could be done Also tonight: Asbestos warnhng:

residents urged to stay indoors after a severe factory

fire in Wolverhampton. It was that strong and it's all over

Ettingshall at the moment. Heading for a joyful reunion -

the Afghan boy made famous in Calais by Lily Allen set

to meet his dad in Birmingh`m. From awestruck teenager to lum

of four, she's always loved Bros. Now, as she battles cancer,

she meets her heroes. Vineyards soaking up the autumn sun.

I will have all the answers later. "She was a beautiful angel,

the happiest child, The poignant thoughts of a family

in shock after a seven-year,old girl Sophia McDonald was crossing

the Henley Road when she was Police say they're in the e`rly

stages of their investigation. Dozens of bouquets and gifts have

already been placed at the scene. You may find this report

distressing. It was at four o'clock yestdrday

afternoon that a seven-year,old girl from Coventry attempted

to cross this busy road. But before Sophia McDonald

could reach the other side she was hit by a skip lorry,

dying moments later. We turned to see where our kids

were because they were walkhng behind us and heard a screech and

pop. My cousin was just running

round in circles in the middle Then she ran off down

here and I just ran straight to Nothing you could do

for her daughter, bless I can't get the picture

out of my head. It must be just

incredibly upsetting. My little boy is having

nightmares over it. The receptionist at this doctor s

surgery heard screams One of the doctors here

rushed to help, but by the time he got to the scend

there was nothing he could do. Crossing this main road

is something her and her mother must have

done hundreds of times. It passes in front of

the shops at Riley Square. When this happened,

many of the shoppers tried hn vain The doctor came out from

the practice just over the road There was nothing

he could really do. So, people just covered her with

blankets. The ambulances and

the police came and... She was just running around

hysterically screaming, "My The young pupils of St Lawrdnce s

primary school are today de`ling with the death of one

of their friends and classm`tes Police say they are still

investigating how this collhsion happened, but whatever

the cause, it has left a deep hole in the heart

of And Tom is on Henley Road

for us this evening. It all happened in a split second,

Tom, and now a family That's absolutely right. Thd people

you can see gathering behind me only gathered in the last half an hour or

so to hold a vigil. They let off 12 balloons as a sign of respect. The

school is offering extra support for the children, the parents and for

the staff. I should add that I've spoken to the director of the

company who said he offers his condolences to people here `nd that

the driver of the vehicle shmply did not see the girl. What is rdmarkable

and staggering about this is that it all happened in the blink of an eye

but it's a tragedy the family will have to live with for ever.

There've been fresh calls today for legal funding to support

the families of the Birmingham pub bombings' victims.

The Labour MP Andy Burnham, who championed the cause

of the Hillsborough Disaster families, raised the subject

during Prime Minister's Questions this lunchtime.

He described delays in agreding Legal Aid payments as a "sh`meful"

state of affairs and called on the Prime Minister to intervene.

The right honourable gentlelan may be aware that the Birminghal

families have been encouragdd to apply and have applied to the legal

That was, as I understand it, what happened after the 7/7

The Home Secretary has made clear our expectation that

funding will be provided and we re waiting for decision from the legal

aid fund and we're hoping it will be a positive one.

Unemployment in the West Midlands has increased,

according to the latest figures released today.

The number of people out of work in the region went up by 3,000

between June and August this year taking the jobless total to 168 000.

The unemployment rate is now 5.9% here, which is 1%

People living near the scend of a huge fire which destroxed three

warehouses in Wolverhampton last night have been told to keep

their doors and windows closed after concerns about asbestos.

More than 60 firefighters wdre sent to deal with the blaze

An archive of paper and plastics on fire compounded

As fire fighting goes it was a tricky one.

It's obviously a really challenging incident for us. We had arotnd 0

firefighters at its height. It took over six hours to contain it. People

living nearby say they woke to acrid smoke. I felt dizzy and swe`ty. It

was that strong it was all over Ettingshall. You can't mess around

with asbestos. It can cause loads of effects to your body. I smelt it

this morning, it was really strong. Really bad. By mid-afternoon

specialist teams were careftlly setting up any potentially dangerous

debris. All the people round here have been given advice about what to

do with asbestos. The advicd is don't touch it whether it is on your

car whether you've trodden ht into your carpet. Significantly ht says

that single short-term exposer should not significantly affect your

health. Reassuring for residents and for a neighbouring warehousd owner

who specialises in Christmas decorations it was a lucky dscape. I

have roughly half ?1 million worth of stock and Christmas decorations

due to go out tomorrow night to shopping centres all over the UK. I

must be the luckiest man alhve that it hasn't burned down and thanks to

our lovely fire brigade. Thd cause is under investigation.

The City of Wolverhampton Council has given us a helpline number

for anyone worried about last night's fire and possible

"I can't wait to hold him and embrace him."

The words of an Afghani father living in Birmingham whose son has

been given permission to le`ve the so-called "Jungle"

Hazrat Gul Sherin didn't evdn know 13-year-old Shamsher

And he was shocked to see the teenager being interviewed

by the pop star Lily Allen on the BBC last week.

Hazrat Gul Sherin watching his son Shamsher being interviewed

Soon, father and child will be reunited in Alum Rock in Birmingham

where Hazrat has lived since he fled his native

Through an interpreter he spoke of his relief.

TRANSLATION: To be honest, H'll be holding him and keep asking him how

do you feel now? How was yotr journey?

This is 13-year-old Shamsher talking to Lily Allen at the Calais

His family paid for his esc`pe from Afghanistan because thdy feared

His dad only recently heard Shamsher was in France.

And was shocked to see a pop star apologising

I apologise on the half of ly country. I'm sorry for what we

produce through. Today in Calais, also

through an interpreter, Shamsher talked of his relidf that

he's now allowed to come to the UK TRANSLATION: He says the jungle

isn't fit for animals. Tonight, the Home Office sahd it

expected father and son to be I was really happy and thankful to

the UK Government. I hope mx son can one day be with me.

So, Hazrat is celebrating tonight, but his wife and other children

He hopes they too will be able to come to the UK one day.

You can hear more about Hasrat and Samsher's story on BBC WM's

breakfast show tomorrow morning and it's online, too.

A new Remembrance Centre at the National Memorial Arboretum

in Alrewas was officially unveiled today.

The aim of the ?15.7m development is to create a place for melories

of those who have fought and died in conflicts across the ages.

It reveals more about the n`mes behind the hundreds of memorials

Our Staffordshire reporter has spent the day there with the granddaughter

This new centre has been crdated to honour thousands of thosd

These are my grandparents when they went to the palacd for my

grandfather to receive the Victoria Cross from the Queen.

It was the 20th of September 1917 and part of

They were tasked to take a couple of farmhouses and he was le`ding his

According to some of the eyewitnesses, at one

point he said "I'm for this, lads" and tackled a machine gun

That's the kind of action that quite understandably, I think,

resulted in him being awarddd the Victoria Cross.

The remembrance centre has `ll kinds of things to

experience, from thought-provoking films to artwork and even a

high-tech interactive floor where poppies spring up

We've been waiting for it for a while and it's

This new building puts the NMA where it should be, as a

Raising the ?15.7 million pot of cash to fund all this

excited about what it will mean for the Midlands.

London will always see itself as a centre of remembrance

with the Cenotaph, but actu`lly you will find the centre of gravity

moves towards the centre of the country because we built this.

Suddenly you will find people say, why aren't we going to

The National Memorial Arboretum couldn't look

more different today than when it first opened in 2001.

Today, its founder reflected on its humble

We were asking people to invest a tree or a memorial on a

landfill site and who would be silly enough to do that?

Sufficient people were sillx enough to believe we knew

what we were doing and we'vd ended up with what is a very signhficant

And Sian is at the Arboretum for us now,

It is incredibly impressive and very high-tech as well. Let's take a

close look at the interactive floor we saw. As you walk through, dozens

of poppies appear beneath your feet and that is certainly something that

has been proving popular amongst the people who've had a sneak pdek at

the centre today. Sarah, wh`t do you hope this centre will achieve? I

think it's really going to dnable people to discover more abott the

story of remembrance through time from ancient burial mounds to

tribute pages on social medha. And some of the amazing personal stories

of those remembered here. It's incredibly detailed, as you say

through the ages. What do you think it might do for visitor numbers We

already work in 300,000 vishtors a year and the remembrance centre will

be really important for us hn terms of growing numbers to 500,000, which

will help our long-term sustainability. You must be very

proud of it? It's amazing. H can't quite believe we've got herd as it's

been a long style -- time in devastation. It's fantastic. Thank

you for joining us. If you want to visit is open to the public from

Friday. There's been a surge in the number

of small producers making cider and perry in one

of its traditional heartlands. Herefordshire already

makes more than half of the cider drunk in the UK,

but the industry's currentlx enjoying a further boost

because of increased demand for traditionally-made

ciders and perries. So we sent Arts and Culture Reporter

Satnam Rana along to meet one maker Going to pick some apples

up for the weekend. James Marston is one of 93 craft

side and perry makers in Herefordshire and

it's all done here. Everything about craft cider

and perry making its hands on and that includes getting

the fruit of the trees. This organic and traditional orchard

has been here since the 1700s. For James, the way he makes cider

and perry is about keeping It's a continuity of a long

cultural tradition. It's been happening here

for centuries in this beauthful part of the country and we are shmply

maintaining that tradition. When the fruit is picked it's

on to milling and today The only difference probablx is that

instead of using straw, It is important we pack at the edges

and corners because I don't want It's like a giant juicer and, boy,

does it take some effort to build! The final stage is

squeezing the juice out. Try and keep up with

me as we just turn. This is the manual way it h`s been

done for centuries M yes. It would have been done likd this

in the through the centuries. We know that the last time before

we came here that pressing took With sugar levels checked

it is into the vat for at ldast nine months of fermentation

and there is no waste. The cows get to chomp

on the spent pumice. You've made a vat of perry

which will now be made known But this is some of last ye`r 's

cider. The end of a bottle so a bit

of haze but well done. For one person, the last three years

have been the toughest of hdr life. She has been charting her b`ttle

with ovarian cancer on soci`l media and those who follow her on Facebook

knows she has been a huge long-term fan of Bros and she even usdd lyrics

from one of their biggest hhts to try to describe how she felt and the

post struck a chord with thd twins themselves. So much so that they

treated her to a trip of a lifetime. Mum of four was diagnosed whth O

variant can set earlier this year and it's incurable. Having survived

one battle, her response second time around was to create an onlhne blog.

" Dot-macro being on your own, I know I'll never love again."

She posted lyrics from her favourite band, Bros.

I never asked when will I bd famous but I'll is wondered what it must be

like. Before long, Matt Ross got in touch and invited them to sde them

appear on the Jonathan Ross show and he also paid for her to stax at the

Dorchester hotel. She will never forget the moment they met. He got

out of his car and walked straight to me. He said hello and gave me a

hug straightaway. The best hug ever. She took her mum with her and

meeting heard teenage idols ticked one thing of her bucket list. And

mum was on hand to capture the final hug. We stood there for abott two or

three minutes and he was just holding me telling me everything

will be fine. He said a verx strong character and he believes in me

Next on her bucket list is ` masquerade ball followed by hot air

ballooning. For now she says she is just taking each day as it comes.

And her Jordan are happy for her. It was good to get her out bec`use it

drives us mad! With her funny sense of humour intact, do they wonder

what the future may hold? The last time Aston Villa won away

from home the British astronaut was still waiting for blast off into

outer space. What a journey it has been since then? Completing 300

orbits of the earth but Villa's travels have been less insphring

until now. At last, a victory away from home.

This is what it feels like to win away for the first time in `lmost 15

months. Villa went ahead before the break. But then more than 4000

travelling fans must have fdared the worst after this equaliser. Then a

2-1 victory to give Steve Bruce four points from his first two g`mes I

think they appreciated the dffort and the endeavour and the workrate

they've put into day. They played like a team. If I can get that

reaction then we will be OK. Michael Morrison but Birmingham city

after a flying start against Rotherham. This brilliant solo

effort gave the blues 3-1 ldad but it wasn't until a penalty shx

minutes before the end that they restored a 2-goal cushion to win

4-2. Whilst Birmingham lived up to fifth in the championship,

Wolverhampton's promotion bhd suffered a setback. And Burton

Albion went down a way to Ipswich. And this was the sky blues first of

the season. Coventry were lhfted off the bottom of League 1 and they re

replaced by Shrewsbury who last 3-0 at home to Sheffield United. Port

Vale and a draw at home to Charlton thanks to a late penalty from Alex

Jones. A similar result for all soared away to gelling. Franck

Moussa got the equaliser with half an hour left.

Sad news to bring you now. Gary Sprague has died at the age of 1.

He joined Blues from Leeds hn 7 for a then record transferred fde.

It was an organisation born out of an idea to get his son a gale of

football. The late Doug Brown was a physiotherapist. City footb`ll club

and also annoying their -- Lord Mayor. He founded a group to get

just a few youngsters together to play the game and it has turned into

a legacy. This week they ard being resented with the Queens aw`rd.

-- presented. The beautiful game and some magic

memories for thousands of f`milies across Staffordshire. At thd time

England had won the World Ctp and it was 20 47 football. 24/ sevdn.

You couldn't say for labs. Ht gets -- gives you a feeling of pleasure.

It's still going strong. Evdry weekend more than 2700 children play

for the Lads and Dads teams across Staffordshire. More than 150,00

children have been involved over the years. I love it because yot get to

play football. You can learn new skills and drills so you can be

better at football when you grow up. Are you happy? Yeah. As a mtm always

shouting on the edge of the pitch I'm sure the referee would love to

get me off some weeks. It is all thanks to a former Stoke city

physiotherapist, Doug Brown. His son just wanted to play football so in

1967 he founded Lads and Dads. A former striker Garth Brooks was one

of the first boys to play and in the early days the England legend Gordon

Banks took on the role of president. Now in their 50th season thdy've

been honoured with a Queens award for voluntary service. We are very

privileged and I'm very honoured and proud to be head of an organisation

that has been recognised by the Queen. Today, this season wd have

265 teams. We have grown much bigger than we were. So a lasting legacy

that is going from strength to strength and a past time th`t had a

lasting effect on so many lhves There's a definite chill in the air

at night time, isn't there? Yes, now it's turning darker sooner

temperatures are falling quhcker and further. Look at these stunning

photographs to lift our spirits Our weather watchers have outdone

themselves. Some of these photos look like they've been liftdd out of

the glossy magazine. We got the best of the sun in some areas and

temperatures rose to nearly 15 Celsius. We have high presstre in

control which will start to influence the north-east and draw

wins in from the north and north-east so expect cold nhghts

ahead and there could be frost as well. If you have delicate plants to

protect, take note. It will be settled though and largely dry.

Tonight, a touch of frost on the cards in rural spots. Attach of

grass frost. Tomorrow it is more likely to be a frost. Cloud will

drift in from the east which will melt away. A largely dry night

tomorrow with just the odd shower here or there. They mainly dry

picture with cloud in the morning. Temperatures will be a bit `bove

average for the time of year and then will slowly slip lower into the

weekend. Tomorrow night, cldarer skies. Temperatures will fall even

further to nearly freezing. And then attach of air frost and fog and mist

as we stared -- heading to Friday which will be a dry day and so will

the weekend. Everyone's living these

amazing lives, You're like a...

Different person? Delve deeper.

Ordinary Lives continues... WAVES LAP,

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