:00:17. > :00:22.Welcome to a special programme charting what can only be described
:00:22. > :00:25.as a Crazy year of weather in the Midlands. 2012 began with snow, by
:00:25. > :00:35.February drought warnings were issued in the region and then we
:00:35. > :00:40.had unprecedented torrential downpours. -- by April. In June we
:00:40. > :00:46.had the heaviest rainfall for 100 years. The River Rea rose 5ft in
:00:46. > :00:50.90minutes. That's this much where I am standing, so I would have had to
:00:50. > :00:53.swim to safety. We had hailstones in North Warwickshire that were big
:00:53. > :01:03.enough to smash greenhouses. We had 253 flood warnings throughout the
:01:03. > :01:11.Midlands, emergency services were stretched. Hello, can you send
:01:11. > :01:15.someone. My street is literally knee-deep. I'm at the West Midlands
:01:15. > :01:24.Fire Service HQ where the team coordinates the response to 999
:01:24. > :01:33.calls. In one June day, 400 calls came in here related to flooding.
:01:33. > :01:36.More than 200 in one hour. Across the region thousands of properties
:01:36. > :01:40.were threatened by flood water, families were made homeless,
:01:40. > :01:46.motorists stranded and worse, the weather of 2012 has cost lives.
:01:46. > :01:51.Flooding was the big weather issue for Midlanders in 2012. Many found
:01:51. > :01:55.their cars flooded or became trapped in rising waters. In
:01:55. > :02:00.Bitterley, a small village near Ludlow on one day in June, Judy
:02:00. > :02:04.Ellis was waiting for her husband, Michael, to return home. She spoke
:02:04. > :02:10.to us exclusively about what happened next. At around 3 minutes
:02:10. > :02:14.past two he rang. He said, the car's stuck in the middle of the
:02:14. > :02:18.village. I don't know what's happened but it's stalled and smoke
:02:18. > :02:22.is coming from the engine. I've switched it off and I'm going to
:02:22. > :02:28.walk home. He was thinking of getting home, not the things that
:02:28. > :02:32.might happen on the way home, you don't expect in a safe environment.
:02:32. > :02:36.The stream just doesn't enter your consciousness as being dangerous.
:02:36. > :02:42.Worried that her husband was taking a long time, Mrs Ellis set off to
:02:42. > :02:46.find him. I walked around to where the car was going to be and there
:02:47. > :02:56.was someone on the corner who said hello and I said, is there a
:02:57. > :03:01.
:03:01. > :03:05.problem? She said, yes, I've just seen a man go down the brook. I
:03:05. > :03:08.knew it was my husband. Michael had abandoned his car and walked along
:03:08. > :03:11.the line of the brook to try to get around the flooded area. Emergency
:03:11. > :03:21.services were called. But he couldn't be seen. West Mercia
:03:21. > :03:24.
:03:24. > :03:27.Police informed fire and rescue teams. As we arrived this area of
:03:27. > :03:31.the road you couldn't walk through because it was underwater. These
:03:31. > :03:41.fields all the water was running off the fields and here under the
:03:41. > :03:49.
:03:49. > :03:52.bridge. Mike was a mathematician, he was used to assessing risks. He
:03:52. > :03:56.was also someone who loved walking in wild country, he took young
:03:56. > :04:00.people out walking, he was very keen on safety and how you deal
:04:00. > :04:10.with difficult situations and he wasn't the sort of person to take a
:04:10. > :04:13.
:04:13. > :04:16.risk. Mr Ellis had miscalculated. The normally gentle brook was a
:04:16. > :04:19.lethal raging torrent, he was swept away. I think where this debris has
:04:20. > :04:23.been built up here, the crew actually located Mr Ellis against
:04:23. > :04:27.the tree here, and with a combination of crews we got hold of
:04:27. > :04:34.Mr Ellis and took him out of the tree for the ambulance to work on
:04:34. > :04:37.him. It doesn't have to be deep water to wash you away. The danger
:04:37. > :04:43.with flood water is that it's unpredictable, you can't see what's
:04:43. > :04:49.underneath it. Mr Ellis died. There was nothing emergency services
:04:50. > :04:53.could do to save his life. If he'd stayed there for two hours the
:04:53. > :04:57.flood would have gone. But you don't think like that when you want
:04:57. > :05:01.to get home. He was a very considerate person. He was such a
:05:01. > :05:04.gentle person. He would have wanted to get home so I wouldn't worry
:05:04. > :05:14.about him. He was thinking about the getting home and not the
:05:14. > :05:16.
:05:16. > :05:19.dangers of the route he was taking. In every corner of the region, fire
:05:19. > :05:29.and rescue services have had to help those caught out by this
:05:29. > :05:30.
:05:30. > :05:32.Pupils from Fairfields High School in Herefordshire have their own
:05:32. > :05:42.dramatic memories of this year's flash flooding, which they captured
:05:42. > :05:45.
:05:46. > :05:51.on phone cameras. We thought it was just going to be a normal day
:05:51. > :05:59.coming to school. It didn't look so deep from where we were, we thought
:05:59. > :06:05.it was just a puddle. The water started where these signs are here.
:06:05. > :06:10.The bus stopped about where you are standing now with the camera.
:06:10. > :06:15.second picture is from out the front window and side window. On
:06:15. > :06:21.the bus which had a glass door we were taking pictures to show how
:06:21. > :06:26.high it was. When we saw the water coming up the door we realised it
:06:26. > :06:31.was sealed really well as we did not get a single bit of water. The
:06:31. > :06:35.dry there was very calm, calm everyone down telling us it would
:06:35. > :06:42.be all right then he phoned the school. It meant yet another call
:06:42. > :06:48.out for an emergency team. cheered and everyone was really
:06:48. > :06:55.happy when we sought the fire engine. The Lady weeded out from
:06:55. > :07:05.the truck and put on a line to pull us out. Probably we do not one that
:07:05. > :07:09.
:07:09. > :07:11.ever happen again. -- waded. Local knowledge is all-important in
:07:11. > :07:14.coping with extreme weather and in Herefordshire, the region's wettest
:07:14. > :07:18.county of 2012, one community decided that self-help may be the
:07:18. > :07:20.best way of avoiding disaster. This is Bodenham. We don't suffer from
:07:20. > :07:29.river flooding, we suffer from flash flooding, rainwater combined
:07:29. > :07:33.with water running off the hills and we are in the bottom of a plain.
:07:33. > :07:37.The water runs off into the brook and if the water can't get away
:07:37. > :07:40.it'll come into the village. After devastating floods in 2007, Babs
:07:40. > :07:50.Mitcheson helped rally the village which decided to become the first
:07:50. > :07:51.
:07:51. > :07:55.line of defence themselves. twin culverts at the end of this
:07:55. > :07:58.road are a problem for the village. They were built in Victorian times
:07:58. > :08:07.and are no longer fit for purpose. We realised fairly quickly that was
:08:07. > :08:11.the pinch point. In one of the culverts there was a plastic water
:08:11. > :08:15.tank and in the second culvert there was 11 tonnes of silt, almost
:08:15. > :08:22.all of this was bricks and stones and a 30mph sign with a concrete
:08:22. > :08:26.base. The community group won grants to improve their flood
:08:26. > :08:28.defences from The Environment Agency and the Drainage Board.
:08:28. > :08:38.After the most recent heavy rainfall, Babs visited neighbours
:08:38. > :08:38.
:08:38. > :08:42.to see how the defences have coped. No problems that I can think of.
:08:42. > :08:47.The big cupid any barriers up or just allow everything to take its
:08:47. > :08:49.own way? We put a couple of barriers up. Babs and her team now
:08:50. > :08:53.regularly visit neighbouring villages to promote the self-help
:08:54. > :08:56.template. The first group we spoke to were reticent but now they've
:08:56. > :09:00.got themselves organized. They've got their first grant coming in,
:09:00. > :09:10.they're moving on. There is a huge sense of achievement in actually
:09:10. > :09:12.
:09:12. > :09:22.being able to help yourself. All the measures we have booked into
:09:22. > :09:22.
:09:22. > :09:25.police have worked and the village has not flooded. -- into place.
:09:25. > :09:27.Bodenham's successful community effort has not always been possible.
:09:27. > :09:30.Underestimating flood can be a fatal mistake as, all too
:09:30. > :09:34.tragically, Michael Ellis was to discover. Friends of mine didn't
:09:34. > :09:38.even know there was a stream there. It is that small a stream, that
:09:38. > :09:42.safe a stream, but on a day when there is so much water coming
:09:42. > :09:45.straight off the fields, you can't see the depth, you only know how
:09:45. > :09:55.fast it's running because of the noise and you only know the
:09:55. > :09:56.
:09:56. > :10:01.strength of it by what it's carrying down. If he didn't see
:10:01. > :10:06.that he wouldn't have realised. That was Herefordshire, but flash
:10:06. > :10:16.flooding happened throughout the region. Duty Command Officer today
:10:16. > :10:21.is Linda, how do you prepare here for what might happen? What impact
:10:21. > :10:26.has the weather had on the service this year? We have suffered from
:10:26. > :10:31.several periods of intense rainfall that have had a significant impact
:10:31. > :10:36.on the amount of calls we have received. Particularly we have had
:10:36. > :10:41.a number of calls where people have attempted to drive through deep
:10:41. > :10:46.water and then get stranded, particularly if it is fast-flowing
:10:46. > :10:51.it can be extremely dangerous and that is when we have sent out teams
:10:51. > :10:54.to rescue. But why did the Crazy weather happen? For a global look
:10:54. > :11:02.at the causes of the year of weird weather, here's meteorologist Nick
:11:02. > :11:10.Miller. In the spring of this year, England was dry as a bone.
:11:10. > :11:17.Reservoirs were dangerously low and much of the country was in drought.
:11:17. > :11:27.I was in this parched aquifer. It seemed the or only thing that could
:11:27. > :11:33.
:11:33. > :11:37.save us would be a highly unusual long spell of the rain. But you
:11:37. > :11:41.should be careful what you wish for. It was the most rapid change from
:11:41. > :11:47.dry to wet in living memory. The driest spring for over a century
:11:47. > :11:49.turned into the wettest April to June on record. I'm going to find
:11:49. > :11:53.out what the scientists know about this sudden meteorological U-turn,
:11:53. > :11:57.and what they think will happen in the summers of the future. And I'm
:11:57. > :12:07.going to go meet the people who were badly hit and explain to them
:12:07. > :12:09.
:12:09. > :12:16.why it happened. First stop North Tyneside, hit by a flash flood in
:12:16. > :12:22.June. It was really cereal. It was a strange sight looking out your
:12:22. > :12:27.window and seeing a man in a canoe going down the street. I have come
:12:27. > :12:33.to the same street to tell the residence the reason for the
:12:33. > :12:40.canoeists. To do that, you have to look at things left at global view
:12:40. > :12:47.which is why I have got this here. In particular we have to talk about
:12:47. > :12:52.this, this is the Jetstream. It is a ribbon of fast-moving ear about
:12:52. > :12:57.six miles up in the atmosphere which carries those weather systems.
:12:57. > :13:04.It heads in the general direction of the UK because of the direction
:13:04. > :13:08.of the rotation of the Earth and it drives our weather. The reason it
:13:08. > :13:15.is important is because the jet stream beds and carries storms
:13:15. > :13:25.across the Atlantic towards the UK. The jet stream pursues bad weather
:13:25. > :13:32.
:13:32. > :13:35.towards us? Absolutely. But the fact that the jet stream exists
:13:35. > :13:39.doesn't explain canoeing on the streets of North Tyneside. No. It's
:13:39. > :13:49.the way the jet stream behaved that was the problem. And there are some
:13:49. > :13:50.
:13:51. > :13:58.people in West Sussex who would like to know more. One night in
:13:58. > :14:04.June this village had one month of the rain fall. I had to start
:14:04. > :14:11.evacuating people between 2 and 3 in the morning because there were
:14:11. > :14:18.floods in the shallows. In winter the jet stream is normally hear,
:14:18. > :14:22.running across the Atlantic towards the UK. We would expect, as you
:14:22. > :14:32.know, do get some spells of rain in winter. But this time things were
:14:32. > :14:34.
:14:34. > :14:41.In 2012, the jet stream was much further south than we would expect
:14:41. > :14:46.full step that meant that --.. That meant that the storms which we
:14:46. > :14:50.would normally get went to Spain and Portugal. Would that be a cause
:14:50. > :14:57.of the drought? Absolutely, because if the jet stream is not carrying
:14:57. > :15:01.weather systems to the UK, we end up drier. That is why at the end of
:15:01. > :15:06.our winter, there was so much fear about drought and what would happen
:15:06. > :15:11.if we had a third a dry winter. And then, when summer came around, the
:15:11. > :15:16.jet stream was still too far south. In the summer, we would normally
:15:16. > :15:21.expect the jet stream to the north of the UK. That means a we are in
:15:21. > :15:27.that warm weather. We get lovely, waltz up -- lovely, warm sunshine.
:15:27. > :15:31.We know that did not happen this year. Because of the jet stream
:15:31. > :15:36.being further north, the store was that normally miss us were too far
:15:36. > :15:40.south and hit the UK, bringing heavy rainfall and the floods.
:15:41. > :15:45.the jet stream was in the wrong place for us all here? Absolutely.
:15:45. > :15:50.That is why our weather has not fitted the normal pattern all year.
:15:50. > :15:55.Basically, the jet stream was in the wrong place and got stuck. But
:15:55. > :16:00.do the scientists have any theories about why it got stuck? That is a
:16:00. > :16:05.question being asked by one particular man in Devon. After a
:16:05. > :16:11.night of intense rain in the village of young son, near Plymouth,
:16:11. > :16:16.Allah -- Adam frame found himself trapped in his house. I was asking
:16:16. > :16:22.the emergency services for help. One the villagers want to know, is
:16:22. > :16:28.this. So, why was the jet stream in the wrong position? Good question.
:16:28. > :16:34.I will go over towards North America. That's it. I want to take
:16:34. > :16:40.you to BC, where we know the temperature is higher than normal.
:16:40. > :16:44.-- I want to take you to the sea. The theory is that because the sea
:16:44. > :16:52.is more -- warmer than normal, the jet stream does not get push north
:16:52. > :16:56.and end up further south and takes the weather systems across the UK.
:16:56. > :17:01.If you influenced the jet stream, it is like waving a long stream --
:17:01. > :17:07.a long string -- a long stick. You can have a bigger effect at the end
:17:07. > :17:15.of it, over the UK. And we have seen this before, in the 1950s.
:17:15. > :17:19.Where does all the bad weather come from! The North Atlantic heated up
:17:19. > :17:24.in the similar way and there was a corresponding series of wet summers.
:17:24. > :17:29.That is one theory. Another theory relates to Arctic sea ice. You may
:17:29. > :17:34.have seen reports this year about the fact that the sea ice melted to
:17:35. > :17:40.a degree we have never seen before. It is suggested that the change in
:17:40. > :17:46.the amount of sea ice has led to a change in the position of the jet
:17:46. > :17:51.stream and changes in the kind of weather we get in the UK. But what
:17:51. > :17:56.are the sum was going to be like in the future? It depends which of
:17:56. > :18:01.those two theories has the most effect. It is the relationship
:18:01. > :18:05.between those two, and which is strongest, which determines that.
:18:05. > :18:11.If North Atlantic warming reverses, we could flip into the opposite
:18:11. > :18:15.regime and have a hot, dry summers in a decade or two. But what if it
:18:15. > :18:21.is the second theory, the melting of the Arctic ice, which is the
:18:21. > :18:27.dominant factor? What happens then? We think that the melting of Arctic
:18:27. > :18:30.sea ice is a part of man-made climate change. If that is
:18:30. > :18:35.determining the position of the jet stream, we are going into uncharted
:18:35. > :18:40.waters. We are going into a position when maybe the weather we
:18:40. > :18:44.are experiencing in summer may start to change. What a year of
:18:44. > :18:49.whether it has been. And the answers lie well beyond our shores.
:18:49. > :18:58.If the North Atlantic cools down, we might get a sunny summers back.
:18:58. > :19:01.But if it is down to Arctic sea ice, we might just have to wait and see.
:19:01. > :19:04.Of course, as well as the very human costs of the severe weather
:19:04. > :19:07.this year, there have been economic costs. Staff to co-ordinate
:19:07. > :19:10.responses, emergency teams on the road, and then there is the
:19:10. > :19:14.physical damage to property. Bad weather is bad for business, and
:19:14. > :19:23.costs us all, one way the other. Have you noticed your insurance
:19:23. > :19:25.bill recently? In eight hours on one June day, a weather station in
:19:26. > :19:30.Solihull recorded 62mm of rain, more than the annual average for
:19:30. > :19:33.the whole month. Midlands roads were simply not designed to cope
:19:33. > :19:39.with the Rivers like the Cole, Rea, Avon, Stour and others bursting
:19:39. > :19:42.their banks. Motoring Rescue Teams handled thousands of call-outs. The
:19:42. > :19:52.economic cost of Tom Fowler and his Special Operations Response Team
:19:52. > :19:53.
:19:53. > :19:56.adds up. It is coming down into a dip, so we have a chance.
:19:56. > :20:04.Back in action again last month, Tom was out, carefully probing the
:20:04. > :20:08.latest flood waters for hidden dangers on the road. Probe, gently
:20:08. > :20:12.drive down and connect up. The gentleman's obviously tried to
:20:12. > :20:15.navigate the puddle but as soon as the water gets up to a certain
:20:15. > :20:19.height on the intake then the engine will stop as soon as the
:20:19. > :20:23.water gets in the engine. It was fine yesterday morning but
:20:23. > :20:27.obviously due to all the heavy rain we have had overnight, it's a bit
:20:27. > :20:31.flooded. Getting stuck cost kitchen-fitter Karl a day's work
:20:31. > :20:38.and he will need new parts for his van. The floods meant he lost a
:20:38. > :20:41.minimum of �300, but it also meant time and cost to the AA. We managed
:20:41. > :20:44.to get the vehicle out of the flood by checking the route, making sure
:20:44. > :20:54.there is no debris sticking around and then gently towing the vehicle
:20:54. > :20:56.
:20:56. > :20:59.out. Come on! We have managed to get the vehicle started but we need
:21:00. > :21:03.to make sure there is no water still in the system so we are going
:21:04. > :21:06.to do a few checks to make sure that is OK to go. It's easy to
:21:06. > :21:09.think nightmares faced by Karl are just his problem, but Midlands
:21:09. > :21:12.motorists are all having to get used to higher insurance bills
:21:12. > :21:21.because of incidents like this. It's getting wetter every year as
:21:21. > :21:24.far as I'm concerned and the floods obviously will put premiums up.
:21:24. > :21:27.Then there's the cost to the regional economy of cancelled
:21:27. > :21:34.events. In Coventry, the War Memorial park became so wet and
:21:34. > :21:36.dangerously boggy that the Godiva Festival was in jeopardy. Local
:21:36. > :21:46.stall-holder Martyn Ladkin needed the business the festival promised
:21:46. > :21:48.
:21:48. > :21:58.- then the weather intervened. Godiva Festival has been
:21:58. > :22:00.
:22:00. > :22:04.cancelled...' I had to put all that effort into stock, in terms of my
:22:04. > :22:09.partner attending. It was a great opportunity for our business to
:22:09. > :22:14.raise the profile and also in terms of financial gain. Short-term, we
:22:14. > :22:21.were expecting profits to be close to �2,000, which, for a small
:22:21. > :22:25.business, we would have gained four -- from that. NEWLINE But the
:22:25. > :22:28.biggest loser was the Coventry council taxpayer. The event cost
:22:28. > :22:30.�398,000, even though it didn't take place. The cancellation of so
:22:30. > :22:33.many outdoor events even affected a Worcestershire dairy farm that had
:22:33. > :22:42.tried to protect against milk price fluctuations by diversifying into
:22:42. > :22:47.luxury ice cream. Mike Davies runs the business with daughter Gillian.
:22:47. > :22:51.This is where we make our ice cream. And some of that ice cream is
:22:52. > :22:57.uniquely flavoured using locally grown fruiT - but guess what? The
:22:57. > :23:02.unpredictable weather put paid to that this year.
:23:02. > :23:05.How many flavours do you produce? About 30 different flavours. Some
:23:05. > :23:14.are seasonal, we try to use local ingredients where we can - late
:23:14. > :23:24.summer, early autumn, we make a plum ice cream. That's been
:23:24. > :23:28.
:23:28. > :23:31.affected by the bad weather this year.. There was no soft fruit.
:23:31. > :23:33.even selling non-flavoured ice- cream was not an option. The cold,
:23:33. > :23:36.wet summer saw sales go into reverse after seven successive
:23:36. > :23:40.years of growth. Business down on this farm near Droitwich needs a
:23:40. > :23:42.good end to the year. Whatever they tried, they just couldn't win. The
:23:42. > :23:47.dismal weather seemed to affect every aspect of the business. And
:23:47. > :23:49.what is bad for farming is bad for us all as we pay more for our food.
:23:49. > :23:52.The Davies family have farmed these fields for generations. Whilst the
:23:52. > :23:55.cows may have enjoyed the lush green grass that thrived with the
:23:55. > :23:59.extra rain, other rising feed costs have had a negative impact on
:23:59. > :24:02.Mike's business. Despite the positive start to the year that the
:24:02. > :24:12.dry firm ground gave his 270 stock, as the rain increased, so did
:24:12. > :24:13.
:24:13. > :24:17.Mike's overheads. It was marvellous last year. A dry winter was
:24:17. > :24:22.fantastic. We have 50 head of cattle out, we were able to graze
:24:22. > :24:27.them on rape and turnips. It went very well. I was quite looking
:24:27. > :24:30.forward to a good summer, but we didn't get it. As soon as it rained,
:24:30. > :24:34.everything changed. The cattle began to struggle on the
:24:34. > :24:37.sodden ground. They were brought in earlier for a winter food ration to
:24:37. > :24:43.preserve next year's vital pasture. We have had to use more feed. The
:24:43. > :24:49.price of wheat has risen 50%. The price of soya has risen 60% over
:24:49. > :24:51.the last year. But we still have to feed the cows in order to get milk.
:24:51. > :25:01.According to a recent BBC investigation, the wettest summer
:25:01. > :25:02.
:25:02. > :25:05.in a century has cost Britain's rural economy up to �1 billion. The
:25:05. > :25:08.negative impact of the climate was felt in the Midlands tourism
:25:08. > :25:15.industry, too. In Stratford-Upon- Avon, heritage buildings at the
:25:15. > :25:22.Shakespeare Birthplace Trust bore the brunt of the heavy rain. ..Hey
:25:22. > :25:24.ho, the wind and the rain #. Damage to stonework, and historic gutters
:25:24. > :25:32.overwhelmed by the torrential downpours sent the annual
:25:32. > :25:35.maintenance bill past the usual �100,000 mark. In May and June in
:25:35. > :25:38.particular, we have had to postpone or reorganise a number of outdoor
:25:38. > :25:44.activities and events that have been completely washed out by the
:25:44. > :25:47.weather. More than half of our visitors come from overseas on a
:25:47. > :25:50.pilgrimage to Shakespeare's birthplace and to Stratford. We
:25:50. > :25:53.want them to have the very best possible visit they can have so
:25:53. > :25:56.they can go home and tell everyone about this wonderful place that
:25:56. > :26:06.they visited. But that's very difficult to do when so much of the
:26:06. > :26:08.
:26:08. > :26:11.offer here in Stratford is outdoors. The skies rain down stinking pitch.
:26:12. > :26:15.This year, our visitor numbers are down on 2011, a very good year. We
:26:15. > :26:25.are down about 50,000 visitors this year, so I think the weather does
:26:25. > :26:33.
:26:33. > :26:36.have a bad affect on visitor attractions in general. Visitor
:26:36. > :26:39.numbers to tourist meccas like Stratford in the Midlands are down
:26:39. > :26:43.by up to 12%, cutting income by millions across the region - and
:26:43. > :26:46.the effects of Crazy Weather 2012 will still be felt next year. Visit
:26:46. > :26:49.England confirm that 20% of people who would have remained in Britain
:26:49. > :26:59.in 2013 now plan to holiday abroad as a direct result of the bad
:26:59. > :27:02.
:27:02. > :27:07.weather. Is there any silver lining on the horizon? Well, sort of. So,
:27:07. > :27:12.how has your business been affected by the bad weather? He it has had a
:27:12. > :27:17.positive effect. Particularly with facials. Officials have doubled
:27:17. > :27:21.this year, compared to last year. Why is that? I think it is the
:27:21. > :27:25.weather having an effect on skin types. We are getting a lot of
:27:25. > :27:30.people coming in with congested, dry skin, through lack of
:27:30. > :27:33.circulation. The apparent lack of sun and wet
:27:33. > :27:36.weather seemed to boost the beauty industry further. One well-known
:27:36. > :27:40.online retailer reported a huge increase of 1,200% in sales of fake
:27:40. > :27:43.tan. This peaked on 2nd July, just days after the heaviest rain of the
:27:43. > :27:53.summer. National sales figures placed Birmingham in tenth place
:27:53. > :27:53.
:27:53. > :27:57.overall. It just makes me feel better. In what way? Happy, more
:27:57. > :28:00.confident. So, there is a side to this crazy
:28:00. > :28:06.year of weather which has seen some businesses in the Midlands benefit,
:28:06. > :28:09.but that was a pretty thin silver lining, to say the least. As the
:28:09. > :28:13.most recent turn of bad weather in the region has shown, our obsession