12/06/2014 East Midlands Today

degrees. It is that little bit cooler through the weekend, but the

weather is looking pretty This is East Midlands Today with

Anne Davies and me Quentin Rayner. For the first time firefighters go

on strike for 24 hours over pension changes. Firefighters working until

the late 50s is putting people's lives at risk. A man denies gunning

down his parents`in`law in cold blood for their money.

Out on badger patrol, a teal setting out to prove that vaccination is

better than Carling. We havd cage traps anyway so if you are to bring

those in I may as well go in and vaccinate.

The World Cup begins today `nd for the first time goal`line technology

will be used and these guys have been testing it all works

accurately. At 9:00 this morning, firefhghters

across the They are still on strike tonight

in the latest escalation It's the 13th time they've been

on strike and this one, In a moment we'll be talking to

their representative and asking him what the firdfighters

think the strikes will achidve. But first let's hear

from our reporter Helen Astle who's been following the strike all day

and is this evening at Good evening. These are members of

Green watch to have been on strike all day. In the next half an hour

there will be a shift changd and more firefighters will take over.

For those people manning thd fire engines it has been a quiet day In

Nottinghamshire there have been nine incidents that they have attended

and here in Leicestershire there have been three. In Derbyshhre there

were all so three. A photograph shows farm buildings on fird near

Ashbourne this afternoon. The blaze was fought by around a dozen

reservists who were trained before the first strike. It was at 9am this

morning that firefighters phcked up their placards and walked ott of

their stations. Contingency plans to cover emergencies were put hnto

place. Normally we would have 3 fire engines and at the momdnt we

have seven and we will remahn at seven throughout the 24 hours of the

strike. On top of that we do not have the ability to mobilisd our

specialist appliances so thd platforms that can go up in some of

the specialist pumping vehicles so we are down to a skeleton

contingency arrangement. At the clock tower in Leicester melbers of

the Fire Brigades Union staged a rally to raise awareness of their

fight. Members of the public had mixed views. Obviously we are really

supportive and the firefighters do a great job. They are wonderftl man

but I do not have much symp`thy for the strike. I think they ard

entitled to a good pension but I am not so happy about them being on

strike. What they do is quite admirable so I definitely stpport

them. Judaism the 13th strike in the long`running dispute and thdre is no

sign of it being resolved. H am not optimistic about an early rdsolution

because this has gone on so long and we are now on the 13th industrial

action period so that is not good news. The chief fire officer for

Nottinghamshire has this advice Please take extra care in what you

are doing at all times and hf you are celebrating or drinking and

watching the World Cup please make sure you do not drive and m`ke sure

your smoke detectors in your home working and be careful with

barbecues and make sure you are safe. In a statement a spokdsman

said eight solution can be reached but not under the shadow of

industrial action. This strhke has been going on for three years and

these firefighters are quitd prepared for it to go on evdn

longer. If the dispute is not resolved there will be another

strike in ten days time. Thank you.

We can now talk to Phil Coates, who's the Regional Chair

You have already staged 12 workouts, is `` walk`outs, ht seems

that this strategy is not working. We are in difficult times to trying

get the government around the table to talk. Is this blackmail? Do you

hope more things will go wrong in 24 hours? We have been very fahr. We

have just asked for talks and only done small strikes. Now we have two"

they have fully costed proposals that they can put on the table and

they are refusing to do it `nd it could solve the strike and we are

asking them to do that. This all hinges on the retirement agd being

raised and pension contributions being increased. Plenty of other

workers have their conditions being changed but what makes firefighters

a special case? The governmdnt did their own report on that and in the

worst`case scenario is 90% of firefighters could not pass a face

this test at 60 so that is illogical. `` a fitness test. Why is

that logical? Why are you ldss fit at 60 than at 55? It is onlx five

years and people live longer and they are fitter. We do not have many

60`year`old Olympic athletes. This is a strenuous job. It is the

difference between 55 and 60 not the difference between 18 and 60 is how

come you are OK 55 but not `t 6 ? There are factors that are tsed you

just cannot pass the fitness test, the majority of firefighters cannot

and certainly women cannot because they struggle at 50 so we whll lose

them. This sceptic would sax you are trying to preserve an early

retirement age. We are paying ? 000 a year out of a firefighters wage

into the pensions. They are not gold`plated, we are paying for

them. The government have accused your disruptive `` disrupting

constructive discussions and you're not serious about finding a

solution. That is rubbish. There is nothing on the table. We have asked

for some to be on the table and they keep saying next week and they have

been saying that for three xears. Just put something on the t`ble that

we can take to the members `nd get something sorted. Is it any

coincidence that this is thd start of the World Cup? Not at all.

A man who admits burying the bodies of his in`laws in

their back garden has gone hnto the witness box to deny murdering them.

The prosecution claims Christopher Edwards shot de`d the

elderly couple at their Mansfield home so he and his wife could steal

The police discovered the rdmains in the back our `` in the back garden

of this home in Mansfield l`st October. They had been in the grave

for 15 years. Today their son`in`law Christopher Edwards, who denies

murder along with his wife Susan, gave evidence. He was asked by his

defending barrister, did yot gone down your parents`in`law in cold

blood? Mr Edwards answered calmly, I did not. Did you plan it with your

wife? I did not. He was askdd if the motive for the evil act was money.

Absolutely not was the replx. The court heard that Mr Edwards was a

member of a shooting club and the prosecutor asked him to demonstrate

how he would aim a pistol. Lr Edwards raised his arm. On the

weekend the witch Lees was shot dead Mr Edwards was the only person who

knew how to aim a gone. Mr Ddwards said he was not there. The `ds was

benefited from around ?250,000 including the sale of the house in

2005. It helped to pay off their debts. The court heard that pension

money was paid into an accotnt set up in the name of Patricia which Lee

after she was shot and Susan Edwards. Mr Edwards said thdy took

the money to avoid questions and concealed the deaths and mahntain an

air of normality. Susan Edw`rds has admitted man shorter saying she shot

her mother after a row but she says her mother had already killdd her

own husband. The case continues A Latvian man's been told hd must

serve at least 27 years behhnd bars for killing a man by repeatddly

hitting him with a dumbbell. 30`year`old Andrejs Pozdnakovs

of no fixed address, was arrested last October,

two weeks after police found the body of Trevor Middleton at his flat

on Northumberland Street in Derby. Pozdnakovs killed him

before searching his home British police searching land

in Portugal after the disappearance of Madeleine McCann admit they've

found no evidence relating to her. Officers spent eight days

investigating three sites in Praia da Luz, where Madeleine frol Rothley

disappeared seven years ago. Scotland Yard says more

investigations will be Kate and Gerry McCann say this

reinforces their belief that A museum has failed in its bid

for ?10 million worth The Silk Mill in Derby was

the world's first factory But it was mothballed three

years ago to save money. The investment would have bden used

to turn the historic building The museum is expected to m`ke

another bid to the Heritage Lottery You're watching BBC East Midlands

today, where there's plenty more We're in deepest Derbyshire with

a team which is out to provd that vaccinating badgers is bettdr

at stopping the spread of bovine TB In the weather: Forget about Brazil,

it is all about the sunshind right here and temperatures to rival Sao

Paulo. Find out more shortlx. For the first time,

the Labour Party has put a precise figure on how much the rising cost

of living is hitting averagd family On a visit to Nottingham, the Labour

leader Ed Miliband welcomed the region's economic revival and the

latest drop in unemployment, but he said that living standards for many

were still under severe pressure. Here's our

Political Editor John Hess. Outside the Nottingham Aren`, some

of its forthcoming star attractions, but would that Stardust

blow in the direction of Ed Miliband who was centre stage today. The next

Labour government will abolhsh the bedroom tax, it is the right thing

to do. He was speaking to an annual conference of the GMB trade union

and his main theme was families struggling with the cost of living.

I want to congratulate the Labour councils who are moving tow`rds a

living wage. One delegate w`s counting the difference between the

statutory minimum wage and these so`called living wage which is an X

to ?1 34. A Nottingham branch official and mother of thred sought

a more robust commitment on the living wage. Will you make of their

commitment to insure the living wage is enshrined in law? The GMB is

pressing for their living w`ge to be set at ?10 an hour. Too manx of the

people I represent have to rely on state benefits to top up thdir

wages. The ?10 minimum minilum wage would stop that. The Labour leader

claimed rising prices will lean East Midlands families are now ?2000 were

so `` worse off than three xears ago. People want us to set our

target for the minimum wage in a responsible way but we are

determined to tackle the scourge of low pay by promoting the minimum

wage and we want to raise it by more than average earnings. This was

significant because these ideas could be in the Labour election

manifesto next year. High on the agenda and noticeable incre`se in

the statutory minimum wage but the much higher living wage, evdn ? 0 an

hour, that commitment will have to wait.

A Nottinghamshire MP is to leet the Energy Minister after a ?20 million

plan to ensure a phased shutdown of Thoresby pit suffered a setback.

UK Coal is planning to closd the county's last deep mine

by the end of next year with the loss of 600 jobs.

The government has pledged a ?10 million loan, but

Last year the government carried out a trial cull in the south wdst

of the country to try and comnew sbat the problem.

Early this morning our reporter Simon Hare joined

the Derbyshire vaccination team in the Peak District.

Can you tell me which trap the badger is in? It is the trap on the

spoil heap. I will see you hn ten minutes. News comes through that

badger has been trapped. A vaccination is prepared. After three

weeks they brought in caged traps anyway during the Carl so you may as

well let me go win and vacchnate. We need the government to put loney on

the table to help us vaccin`te the wildlife instead of killing them.

Derbyshire Wildlife Trust are being supported by badger groups `nd

Llanover is `` landowners. Today they are in Buxton. A young cub has

been caught. After a quick jab and a spray of marker paint it is

released. If you are catching cups you are guaranteeing longer term

immunity for the social grotp of the area. We are pleased to catch cups

and we have vaccinated over 80% of them in the area. We are off to a

good start. Daniel and Kevin have cattle nearby and they are the first

farmers in Derbyshire to support the vaccination project. I think it

would probably be the way forward for us up here, for the caphtal We

have never had a bovine TB `nd hopefully this will keep thd badger

is free of it. At another b`dger set there is another carb. DEFR@ says it

supports vaccination but it does not work when badgers are already

infected. We're just minutes away

from the start of the World Cup and one Derbyshire company will be

hoping it's all systems go because they've had the job

of making sure the new goal`line technology is up to scratch, and

we've been putting it to thd test. I wonder what they will talk about

in sport tomorrow... I cannot imagine!

I will think of something. On the way, a real World Ctp Test,

but fortunately not one thex made We'll start with some news though

because Nottingham Forest h`ve Lars Veldwijk has agreed

a three`year deal with the Reds The 22`year`old joins from Dutch

side Excelsior where he netted 4 goals

in 42 league games last season. Meanwhile after six years

at Leicester City Lloyd Dyer looks He has rejected a deal to stay on

at the King Power Stadium and looks Dyer was one of Nigel Pearson's

first signings back in 2008 and has made more than 260 appearances

for the team since then. The World Cup gets underway today

and the England team have arrived in Manaus ahead of their opdning

game against Italy at the wdekend. Now Manaus is in the middle

of the Amazonian rainforest. So how will

the players cope with the hhgh When you think of Loughborotgh

University to is usually sedms like this but there is a lot mord to this

`` to the facilities here than just athletes, I am no elite athletes but

apparently I am a good subjdct to find out what the England

footballers will go through in Brazil this summer. The citx of

Manaus, and Amazonian rainforest city, the humidity at the moment is

91%. Time to hit the heat chamber. The England team have been tsing a

heat chamber like this to prepare for the sweltering hot condhtions in

Brazil. It will be hot and ht is something we have to come to terms

with and we are interested hn getting a feel for the diffdrent

more tropical climate. We vhsited the chamber on two different days to

see the difference between running 45 minutes in typical June weather

in the UK and in Brazil. It is almost a jungle climate. Wh`t we see

is temperatures between 30 `nd 3 at the time that game will be which is

around 6pm and what we see hs the humidity will be increasing in the

evening. I would expect at `round 6pm it would be 65 or 75% rdlative

humidity. Earlier on Simon gave me my breakfast and my breakfast

comprised a pill to take to monitor my body core temperature. Now we are

looking at my body core temperature. He is going to assess the

differences using my core body temperature. I will put a shirt on

again. Day one was like an `fternoon jog, date to... 33 degrees `nd I was

literally keeling over. To summarise all the results, the red line is

Manaus and the blue line is the UK. This is the heart rate and xou can

see it is working a lot harder. If we look at the water loss, 0.2

litres 442 litres and in Manaus it is 50% higher in the hot clhmate. It

is fair to say it will be tough when Roy Hodgson's men go to win the

World Cup but good luck to them and thank you to Loughborough University

to prove that they have the facilities to prove they have to

work very hard. I am in desperate need of a shower.

I am glad it was him and not me Another World Cup peace tomorrow

when we look at the craze for sticker collection. `` colldcting.

As football's World Cup starts, hockey's is in its closing stage,

Leicester lad David Condon will line up alongside Beeston's Harrx Martin

They face the home side, Holland, in front of a packed house hn

England have only ever made the World Cup final once before

but insist the pressure is on their opponents.

We are the underdogs going hnto this and with that in mind it is quite an

exciting prospect for us. Wd do not have anything to lose and the Dutch

will be playing in front of the huge crowd in favour of them and the

pressure is very much resting on their shoulders. I think we are

there to upset their party. Leicester Tigers Scrum Half Ben

Youngs has been dropped to the England bench for the sdcond

test against New Zealand. It's after first choice Danny Care

was able to join the squad. Geoff Parling and Manu Tuil`gi

will both start though. And Leicester's Lucy Hall h`s been

selected for the England Trhathlon It is all there. How many mhnutes to

the opening ceremony? I think it is about seven mhnutes.

The World Cup begins in a fdw minutes so what with it comds the

advent of new technology. It should cut out some of

the tournament's most heartbreaking Yes, in an historic developlent

goal`line technology will bd used Well,

the Derbyshire firm which w`s called Cast your mind back four ye`rs,

Frank Lampard equalises agahnst Germany. The goal is not given. It

is a moment that helps to sdnd England crashing out of the World

Cup. It seals the fate for the introduction of goal`line tdchnology

which will be used for the first time in Brazil. This companx have

had the crucial task of testing the equipment. We have been out in

Brazil for the past two months, on two separate trips, going to all of

the venues and making sure the goal`line technology is working and

accurate and ready for the start of the tournament tonight. Sevdn

high`speed cameras focused on each goalmouth, tracking the poshtion of

the ball continuously. Cruchally the flow of the game will not gdt

interrupted. If the ball has crossed the line the referee is nothfied

with an alert that goes to ` special wristwatch that he wears. Tdsting

each system takes ten hours and it has to be done in a variety of

conditions. We do a combination of anything that might happen hn a

game, we do slow rolling across the line and very fast impact and into

the side netting and observd during the view of the ball and we

basically try to trick the system because one bad decision and the

whole system is undermined. Goal`line technology helps to cut

some of the controversy but the final call still lies with the

referee. With the technologx and the testing behind it it would be a

brave referee that ignored the system. Testing the technology comes

with impressive perks. We h`ve been around seven stadiums personally and

I have notched up about 60 goals which was quite fun. That is a good

claim to fame. Not too bad! Here is hoping in full and go some way to

matching that. `` here is hoping England go some way to matching

that. We cannot bear to see the f`ce of

Frank Lampard like that agahn, can we?

Know, because he is lovely! Enough, we want to know what the

weather is like here becausd you might be sitting in the garden if

you do not want to watch thd football.

Tomorrow will be beautiful. Sao Paulo 24, here 23 today so we are

not far behind. It looks like it stays lovely and settled tolorrow to

get out with your camera and send us some pictures. Another settled and

warm day tomorrow with plenty of sunshine. It is down to high

pressure that we are staying settled at the moment and it is keeping us

lovely and warm and dry throughout the day tomorrow. At the molent it

is a fine and dry evening whth plenty of late sunshine before it

gets dark and then it remains dry and settled through the night with

clear skies. It will feel f`irly warm with a minimum temperature of

14 degrees. Tomorrow morning it is a dry start. There will be a lot of

blue sky and sunshine as we go through the morning. As we go

through the day we start to see cloud bubbling up and the cloud is

mostly high and there will be bright and sunny spells in between and the

day will be warm, as I menthoned. Pollen levels will be very high On

Friday evening we expect a few showers which continue into the

early hours of Saturday morning and then it is all change briefly. It

looks as though it will be ` cloudy day and temperatures will bd a

little lower. There is the risk of the odd isolated shower but on the

whole, a dry day. Sunday will haven't cloudy start to the day but

then become brighter in the afternoon. Temperatures are bit low

as we go into next week and the high`pressure holds on and ht should

keep it nice and settled but at the moment it looks beautiful as we go

into tomorrow. Another warm and sunny day.

I like the sunshine. That sounds gorgeous.

Join me on the late bulletin when I interview an MP who is meethng the

energy minister to talk abott the closure plan for Thor Spee. Goodbye.