09/02/2017 Midlands Today


09/02/2017

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Transcript


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Good evening. BBC

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The biggest cold calling scam in Britain has come to an end.

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John Rivers, from Coleshill in Warwickshire ran Wyvern media.

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The company miss-sold advertising space, conning people out

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Kiera Byrne, from Coventry, was the last of those involved

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Today, she was given a 23 month suspended jail sentence.

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The fraud was uncovered by BBC Inside Out six years ago.

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For years Jonathan Rivers from Coleshill in Warwickshire

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masqueraded as a legitimate businessman - employing 250 people

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His company, Wyvern Media, cold-called customers offering them

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advertising space in local newspapers.

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What happened to my parents is just astonishing,

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and seven years on, it still keeps me awake at night.

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Franny Moyle's father Jon - one of hundreds conned by Rivers

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who used his businesses to rip people off.

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Back in 2010, Mr Moyles from Shropshire was

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When Wyvern Media spotted he wanted to rent out an apartment,

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they cold-called him relentlessly, pressuring him into

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Over a two year period, they took nearly ?25,000.

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I just wanted to get rid of it all because I had

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In reality, the adverts Wyvern Media pressured customers into buying

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Most were in free newspapers with tiny circulations.

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This is the rest of the property that we seized from Derby.

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The five year-long investigation by Trading Standards,

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led by Steve Wyatt, became the biggest in their history -

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unpicking the elaborate web of companies that Jonathan Rivers

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Jonathan Rivers used to conceal his fraudulent activities.

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We knew it was going to be complicated, but certainly,

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we didn't have any idea of just how big this was going to get.

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But justice came too late for victim Jon Moyle, who died in 2015.

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The brutal, honest, awful truth is that this cost them their house.

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They were in debt aged 80 on a pension.

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and she put the house on the market with my dad.

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But within about a month of the house going on the market,

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In October, nine former Wyvern Media employees were convicted of fraud.

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And Jonathan Rivers is currently serving a six year sentence.

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The headteacher of a Birmingham school has written to parents,

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warning them not to allow their children out in

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It follows a series of attacks - one of them on a group of pupils

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but describe the incidents as isolated.

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A group of youths outside a store in Frankley -

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the shopkeeper, tired of repeated robberies, confronts them.

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But was struck with a hammer and taken to hospital.

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It was the first in a series of violent incidents last Friday night.

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Along this stretch, a cyclist was assaulted.

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Further along, a number of pupils from the school were attacked,

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Though fortunately, the injury was superficial.

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The boy, a Year 10 pupil at this school,

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But the headteacher's written to parents asking them

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to prevent their children from being in a public place

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during the hours of darkness. Advice some locals applaud.

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Up to 13, yes, I'd say that's very good.

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There's a lot of trouble, yeah, since that college

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Because you get all the gangs and kids coming from the other side

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If you come onto Morrisons car park at 10 o'clock at night,

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you're just seeing nothing but gangs and cars,

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so where's the safety for the public around here?

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Lord Mayor, this is very concerning to me...

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The incidents have been raised in the council chamber.

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It's up to parents, says a local councillor.

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I think they have to assess what activities their children

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are going to be undertaking and have confidence in the community,

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these are isolated incidents, it would seem.

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And certainly, I've got confidence in the area that this

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is not representative of the local community.

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The headteacher at Colmers says he will liaise with other schools

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Giles Latcham, BBC Midlands Today, Rednal.

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An entire lorry load of old fridges and freezers have been dumped

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The 21 appliances were pushed off the back of a truck

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The lorry was caught on CCTV, but had no number plates.

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The fridges have since been disposed of.

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Walsall Council say it's the latest in a catalogue

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of flytipping problems, which cost the taxpayers ?400,000 last year.

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We want them to prosper, to look good.

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Nobody, at the end of the day, wants to turn down a road

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and see such a dangerous site of fly-tipping without a care

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That's the plea from businesses near an abattoir in Birmingham,

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who say the sight and stench of animal waste is unbearable.

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Midlands Today has been shown images of what appears to be blood outside

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It previously traded as 'Mr Meats', but lost its licence

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following an investigation by the Food Standards Agency

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The abattoir now has a new license to operate.

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You may find some of the images in Ben Godfrey's report distressing.

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These images appear to show animal blood in the yard

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of AJ Meats in Digbeth, an abbatoir supplying halal meat.

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We're told they were taken this morning.

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When we arrived trade was continuing, from the roadside

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there were no visible signs of waste.

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But surrounding firms have had enough.

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It is so bad, the smell is pungent and strong

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All the businesses are generally suffering.

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We to the problems last time they would sort it out

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and there will be more stringent rules in place that would stop

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2015, and piles of sheep carcasses and offal appeared in the same yard,

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discarded and exposed to the elements.

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At that time, it was run by different company,

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known as Mr Meats, who were eventually

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So what did the new owners have to say?

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We have tried on several occasions to get an answer from the company,

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but as you can see, no one's responding.

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A short time later, we were approached by a worker.

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He told us they were a clean operation but added that

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occasionally there may be some spillage of waste

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Tonight, the Food Standards Agency told us following complaints

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they have stationed an official there this week

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Local businessman Peter Hughes says the authorities must be tougher.

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When the ambient temperature increases, what is the smell

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They would say this is an abattoir, there will be

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That is fine and we understand the kind of animal smells that

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The real issues here are the poor controls.

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The new owners have barely been operating two months.

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Whether they like it or not, all eyes are on them.

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A whistleblower has claimed that staff at the Alexandra Hospital

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in Redditch, were pressured into admitting patients

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to a "virtual ward", to avoid breaching the government's

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But the Worcestershire Acute Hospitals Trust says while it's

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found cases of "poor recording" by staff,

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there is no evidence staff were trying to defraud the system.

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Police have released footage of a Walsall shopkeeper,

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The man attempted to raid Kobani Stores on West Bromwich Street

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using a hand gun just before midnight on 9th January.

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Police have praised the owner of the shop who sprayed mace

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in the face of the robber, who then ran off.

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Officers are asking anyone who recognises

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Archaeologists uncovered an intriguing animal mystery

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Experts have discovered remains of farm animals

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arranged near coffins, close to where building

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They have also unearthed a wooden door post, which they believe

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could be the key to proving that an Anglo Saxon church

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We're absolutely amazed and thrilled, and think that perhaps

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People will actually know we're here.

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I grew up around here, so it's lovely to know that the site

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is much richer than we ever thought when we were playing here.

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Everybody has thought, here'S this is a tiny little church,

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they've even referred to it as a shed.

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You know, totally inconsequential on the edge of Shrewsbury, and yet,

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once it was a much bigger church, much more important.

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That's all from me, I'll be back with Midlands Today

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Have a good night. I'll leave you with the forecast from Rebecca.

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It has certainly been a cold day today.

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Temperatures will continue to fall away as we head towards the weekend.

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It was a cloudy grey day, tomorrow is more of the same, I'm afraid.

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Temperatures pushing two or three today, but a touch

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And the added complication of possible snow flurries.

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We have seen a few of those heading through tonight.

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Thick enough to squeeze out the odd spot of rain.

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But as that falls, it is more likely to follow something a touch wintry

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Lows of a possible -1, perhaps staying above

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As for tomorrow, we still have the easterly breeze, continuing

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It is going to be very chilly through the day tomorrow,

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And we will continue to see the odd flurry of snow

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For most places, a dry and cloudy day.

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But a wintry mix just about anywhere.

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Temperatures ranging between one and three, the easterly

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As for Saturday, an organised area of showers pushing in,

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More information on that in the National forecast.

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I will leave you with an outlook for the next few days.

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sleet and snow. The outlook, Sunday will turn a bit less cold again. All

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the way up seven Celsius. At this time of year we can often

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get the weather stories that reflect the battle between winter and

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spring, and that's what's been happening in New York in the USA.

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Yesterday, 17 Celsius, but today, it's been bitterly cold, just a

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daytime maximum

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