Browse content similar to 15/06/2011. Check below for episodes and series from the same categories and more!
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Hello and welcome to Midlands Today with Nick Owen and Suzanne Virdee. | :00:03. | :00:09. | |
Take a pay cut or face redundancies - the stark choice for council | :00:09. | :00:14. | |
workers. Our members are going to be | :00:14. | :00:18. | |
extremely worried about what will happen. As unemployment falls by | :00:18. | :00:21. | |
more than anywhere else in the country, there are signs house | :00:21. | :00:27. | |
building is recovering. We have taken 60 % of their staff | :00:27. | :00:31. | |
are back, we lost during the recession and hope to take on | :00:31. | :00:36. | |
another 20 % by the end of the year. They really don't want him - angry | :00:36. | :00:39. | |
scenes at Villa Park as fans make their feelings know about ex-Blues | :00:39. | :00:42. | |
boss Alex McLeish taking over. And inseparable in Afghanistan but | :00:42. | :00:46. | |
after this soldier died, how the dog he saved has found a new life | :00:46. | :00:56. | |
:00:56. | :00:57. | ||
with his family. We have a British bulldog at the home at the moment. | :00:57. | :01:07. | |
:01:07. | :01:17. | ||
Good evening. Tonight, battle lines drawn as a council tries | :01:17. | :01:23. | |
to/workers' pay. Shropshire Council insists cutting pay will cut -- or | :01:23. | :01:26. | |
cutting jobs will be the only way to save millions of pounds. | :01:26. | :01:32. | |
Pay will be slashed by 5.4 %. The council is negotiating with news -- | :01:32. | :01:40. | |
is negotiating with unions. They could dismiss 6,500 workers and | :01:40. | :01:44. | |
then rehire them under the new terms and conditions. | :01:44. | :01:48. | |
As unions elsewhere in the public sector have voted to strike, what | :01:48. | :01:55. | |
is happening in Shropshire is being closely watched. | :01:55. | :01:59. | |
Protecting jobs and still pumping money into front line services, | :01:59. | :02:04. | |
Betty Shropshire Council's argument for pushing through the 5% pay cut. | :02:04. | :02:10. | |
-- that is. I am angry and worried about what is going to happen. | :02:10. | :02:15. | |
People make the decisions based on their finances. We have had a | :02:15. | :02:20. | |
reduction in pay because we have had their pay increases for two | :02:20. | :02:26. | |
years. In October before Christmas, they will be facing �1,000 | :02:26. | :02:31. | |
reduction in their salary. Second in command, 10 MacCabe, will see | :02:31. | :02:38. | |
his �135,000 salary drop by a �7,000 over two years. I am not | :02:38. | :02:43. | |
saying the staff are happy. They won't be happy to take a 5% pay cut | :02:43. | :02:48. | |
on top of pay freezes. We need to have our staff on board because | :02:48. | :02:53. | |
they are the people who deliver services. For the council is hoping | :02:53. | :02:56. | |
to reach an agreement with unions. If no agreement is reached, the | :02:56. | :03:04. | |
council plans to get rid of staff and then we hire them. It is | :03:04. | :03:08. | |
legally possible to do this provided they have carried out | :03:08. | :03:13. | |
correct consultation. They can issue notices of termination and | :03:13. | :03:19. | |
offer re-employment. Those using the service had mixed views in this | :03:19. | :03:27. | |
library. 5% is a horrendous amount. Not in agreement with that. | :03:27. | :03:33. | |
have to make cuts somewhere. The people with cuts being made to | :03:33. | :03:36. | |
their salary are going to feel it the most. The private sector has | :03:36. | :03:41. | |
seen this before. In 2008, two- thirds of GMB union members at JCB | :03:41. | :03:50. | |
in roaster voted for a theatre for an hour week. A year later, Jaguar | :03:50. | :03:54. | |
and Land Rover staff voted for a one-year pay freeze and four-day | :03:54. | :04:01. | |
week to save �70 million. Inflation on essentials like food is racing | :04:01. | :04:06. | |
on heads at 5%. At the same time, the pay cut the council workers are | :04:06. | :04:13. | |
facing is also a 5%. Those earning below �13,000 won't see a dip in | :04:13. | :04:20. | |
pay. The proposals will go a bit for council later this month. -- | :04:20. | :04:25. | |
before council. Earlier we asked you what you | :04:25. | :04:28. | |
thought. Malcolm says, he thinks they should be a national strike to | :04:28. | :04:31. | |
bring an end to this Mickey Mouse Government. | :04:31. | :04:35. | |
Mrs Gilbert says, it is about time the public sector joined the real- | :04:35. | :04:41. | |
world. In the private sector, this is a way of life. | :04:41. | :04:45. | |
John Price says, accepting cuts in pay will be easier if any example | :04:45. | :04:49. | |
was set by management instead of greed and bonuses. | :04:49. | :04:53. | |
Thanks for your comments. We will keep you in touch with that | :04:53. | :04:57. | |
situation at Shropshire Council. There was far more positive news | :04:57. | :05:01. | |
today on jobs overall. Unemployment in the West Midlands has fallen by | :05:01. | :05:05. | |
the biggest margin in the country. 200 and that to 5,000 people were | :05:05. | :05:09. | |
unemployed in the region between February and April and that is a | :05:09. | :05:13. | |
drop of 20,000 on the previous quarter. | :05:13. | :05:18. | |
Peter Plisner is at a housing development in south Birmingham. | :05:18. | :05:23. | |
Very positive news on jobs. Part of the reason appears to be a | :05:23. | :05:27. | |
recovering in the house construction industry. | :05:27. | :05:32. | |
Indeed, the show houses are amongst the most modern homes in the region | :05:32. | :05:36. | |
and next door, you can see more houses are going up. After the | :05:36. | :05:41. | |
toughest recession, the housing sector has ever seen, more and more | :05:41. | :05:45. | |
sites are being developed and there are plenty of buyers -- by his | :05:45. | :05:48. | |
interest in houses like this. The developers have been surprised by | :05:48. | :05:58. | |
:05:58. | :06:00. | ||
Signs of life in the housing market and that this show hosts -- a show | :06:00. | :06:07. | |
house, there has been a brisk trade. It is a good time to buy at the | :06:07. | :06:12. | |
moment because the prices are quite reasonable. We have decided it is a | :06:12. | :06:15. | |
good opportunity for investment and hopefully in the latter years, we | :06:15. | :06:19. | |
will get a good return. Housebuilders were first to feel | :06:19. | :06:24. | |
the chill wind of the recession. They have been the last to recover. | :06:24. | :06:28. | |
Cheaper mortgages and Government incentives are encouraging more | :06:28. | :06:35. | |
first-time buyers. The site has woodland on the front and side. The | :06:35. | :06:43. | |
company building here say it can't come soon enough. Mortgage | :06:43. | :06:47. | |
availability is easing and the low interest rate is helping. There has | :06:47. | :06:51. | |
been a heavy reduction and the number of transactions and | :06:51. | :06:57. | |
therefore there must be some demand. New homes mean that new jobs. For | :06:57. | :07:01. | |
every new house that is built, around 1.5 permanent jobs are | :07:01. | :07:08. | |
created. Here, around 3,500 new homes have gained planning approval, | :07:08. | :07:16. | |
a rise on the previous three months. It is excellent news for so Cran | :07:16. | :07:20. | |
trick -- sub-contractors. They are taking on staff after laying off | :07:20. | :07:25. | |
around sake -- 70 carpenters during the recession. Compared to the last | :07:25. | :07:33. | |
three years, it is feeling good. We have taken 60 % of the staff back, | :07:33. | :07:37. | |
and we are hoping to take on another 20 % by the end of the year. | :07:37. | :07:41. | |
Down the road at Longbridge, more evidence of a revival. Houses are | :07:41. | :07:46. | |
being built on the site of the old Rover car factory. People are | :07:46. | :07:54. | |
looking and saying, "we have seen residential developments and this | :07:54. | :07:58. | |
is an opportunity to get into the housing market early.". We are | :07:58. | :08:03. | |
clearly not out of the woods yet. This is the picture on another part | :08:03. | :08:06. | |
of the site where a second promised housing development has yet to | :08:06. | :08:12. | |
materialise. We have seen a fall in unemployment today. Is there | :08:12. | :08:18. | |
evidence that we could see this long term? It is still too early to | :08:19. | :08:25. | |
say. More jobs are being created in this area. The developer of the | :08:25. | :08:29. | |
Longbridge site are about to go out to consultation for more horse that | :08:29. | :08:34. | |
-- for more houses on aside. One thing we don't know is the state of | :08:34. | :08:43. | |
the jobs in the other sector. Despite the picture with | :08:43. | :08:48. | |
unemployment that could go up, the Skills Minister he was in a patch | :08:48. | :08:54. | |
today, says he is encouraged. is great news. It is at the | :08:54. | :08:57. | |
beginning of a journey. This Government set about rebuilding our | :08:58. | :09:03. | |
economy, dealing with a deficit and investing in our people, our | :09:03. | :09:09. | |
infrastructure. We want to make it more sustainable and robust. | :09:09. | :09:12. | |
private sector companies like housebuilders are recovering from | :09:12. | :09:15. | |
recession, we should be in a good position to apply many of those who | :09:15. | :09:22. | |
are about to lose their jobs in the public sector. That is the hope. | :09:22. | :09:24. | |
There's more confidence in the private sector that managing | :09:24. | :09:29. | |
directors I have been speaking to are still cautious. They have faced | :09:29. | :09:33. | |
a tough recession and they see it is too early to be creating too | :09:33. | :09:39. | |
many new jobs at the moment. Later, we will be at the unveiling of a | :09:39. | :09:44. | |
new multi-million-pound plant which is adding to create jobs and go a | :09:44. | :09:50. | |
way to saving the planet. For also, reliving our history as | :09:50. | :09:58. | |
children from the East End of London had to Shropshire for a re- | :09:58. | :10:02. | |
run of the exodus on evacuees. On to the increasingly bitter | :10:02. | :10:06. | |
tussle between Birmingham City and Aston Villa over former Blues | :10:06. | :10:10. | |
manager, Alex McLeish. Some fans are making it clear tonight that | :10:10. | :10:14. | |
they don't want McLeish at Villa Park. | :10:14. | :10:19. | |
Nick is there for us now. What is happening? | :10:19. | :10:23. | |
It is starting to quieten down about around 300 Aston Villa | :10:23. | :10:28. | |
supporters were very angry at disappointment of Alex McLeish. | :10:28. | :10:32. | |
They staged a sit-in on the streets outside the main gates here at | :10:32. | :10:37. | |
Villa Park. They were angry. They had been small numbers but it grew | :10:37. | :10:43. | |
and grew. There have been on the payment -- pavement and took over | :10:43. | :10:47. | |
the road. They don't want Alex McLeish here as the next manager. | :10:47. | :10:53. | |
Let us hear from some of the fans. If you have ambition and direction | :10:53. | :10:58. | |
this club, we would not be thinking about employing him. They have to | :10:58. | :11:03. | |
learn that this is not good enough. Our credibility is bankrupt. The | :11:04. | :11:09. | |
country is laughing. They are laughing at the board. For he is | :11:09. | :11:13. | |
hour rivals manager. We don't like Birmingham City and they don't like | :11:13. | :11:20. | |
us. We don't want him. For please, go away and go to Scotland. Leave | :11:20. | :11:29. | |
us alone and get out the country. You are useless. Some passion there. | :11:30. | :11:37. | |
First, things are cranked up. Villa announced that they consider | :11:37. | :11:40. | |
McLeish to be a free agent who would -- and they would interview | :11:40. | :11:45. | |
him imminently about the job. Birmingham responded cooling the | :11:45. | :11:48. | |
actions eight taint on football. They said they would lodge a formal | :11:48. | :11:53. | |
complaint with the football authorities at what they call this | :11:53. | :12:00. | |
tap up attempt. Nick, what you think will happen next? Alex | :12:00. | :12:03. | |
McLeish has interrupted his holiday to come back and talk today in | :12:03. | :12:08. | |
London. Fetters with a view to appointing him as manager if they | :12:08. | :12:13. | |
believe he is the right candidate. That is with their view. You have | :12:13. | :12:17. | |
to wonder, would be really put themselves through this if they | :12:17. | :12:22. | |
weren't going to appoint Alex McLeish as their new manager? Alex | :12:22. | :12:27. | |
McLeish is a very tough man. He has managed Rangers in Scotland. You | :12:27. | :12:32. | |
have to be hard to do their job. He was a tough centre-half in his | :12:32. | :12:37. | |
playing days. He will not be put up -- after bathing the club will give | :12:37. | :12:42. | |
him the job. We will have to wait to see what will happen. Maybe it | :12:42. | :12:52. | |
:12:52. | :12:52. | ||
Alex McLeish will be the new Now, other news. | :12:52. | :12:55. | |
After 150 years, a part of farming history has closed its doors. | :12:55. | :12:58. | |
Thousands of animals have been bought and sold in that time at | :12:58. | :13:01. | |
Hereford cattle market, but now it's moving to new premises. But | :13:01. | :13:04. | |
it's the redevelopment of the old site that's causing controversy, as | :13:04. | :13:07. | |
Cath Mackie reports. Aged 90, farmer Jack Sparey has | :13:07. | :13:10. | |
been coming to Hereford cattle market for over 80 years. And today, | :13:10. | :13:20. | |
he's come to say goodbye. To me, it is a sad day. But I have had my | :13:20. | :13:24. | |
turn. So I mustn't grumble. After 154 years, the livestock sales are | :13:24. | :13:27. | |
coming to an end on this city centre site - the market's moving | :13:27. | :13:33. | |
to purpose built premises on the outskirts of the city. It will make | :13:33. | :13:36. | |
it easier for us to have the Newmarket there because we won't | :13:36. | :13:42. | |
have congestion. It is easier out of town but it is sad. The road | :13:42. | :13:47. | |
system cannot cope. It is a marvellous piece of history. | :13:47. | :13:51. | |
Unfortunately, it has got to move on. But it is very happy memories | :13:51. | :13:54. | |
and looking forward to a future. Today, though, is not all about | :13:54. | :13:57. | |
nostalgia. There are real political arguments over the future of this | :13:57. | :14:00. | |
site and whether or not its redevelopment will be good or bad | :14:00. | :14:03. | |
for Hereford. Shops, restaurants and a cinema will replace the | :14:03. | :14:10. | |
livestock pens. When you think of multiplex cinemas wanting to come | :14:10. | :14:15. | |
to Hereford for the last 15 years, this is a sensible place to develop | :14:15. | :14:19. | |
for. But detractors say it'll cut the city in half. The It's Our | :14:19. | :14:21. | |
County party grew out of the opposition, winning seats at last | :14:21. | :14:27. | |
months local elections. I welcome the shops, don't get me wrong. | :14:27. | :14:33. | |
Hereford needs better shops. But to put them all on one place, on the | :14:33. | :14:39. | |
age of city centre with four lanes dividing the city, it spells | :14:39. | :14:42. | |
competition, and all those local businesses that feed off the town | :14:42. | :14:45. | |
centre will lose out. That theory will be tested when the | :14:45. | :14:48. | |
redevelopment's completed in 2013. But today was about saying goodbye | :14:48. | :14:51. | |
to a piece of rural history as the auction hammer fell for the last | :14:51. | :15:01. | |
:15:01. | :15:03. | ||
time. The end of an era. For more on the colourful history of | :15:03. | :15:07. | |
Hereford's market and pictures, take a look at the website. | :15:07. | :15:10. | |
A 16-year-old boy accused of killing a Warwickshire tennis coach | :15:10. | :15:13. | |
in Florida has allegedly confessed to another prison inmate. Shawn | :15:13. | :15:15. | |
Tyson is currently awaiting trial for shooting 25-year-old James | :15:16. | :15:18. | |
Cooper from Warwick and his university friend James Kouzaris in | :15:18. | :15:23. | |
April. According to court documents obtained by a Florida newspaper, | :15:23. | :15:29. | |
prosecutors allege Tyson told a fellow inmate he killed both men. | :15:29. | :15:31. | |
Stoke-on-Trent would benefit from significant regeneration if it was | :15:31. | :15:36. | |
part of the high speed rail route, according to the city council. It's | :15:36. | :15:39. | |
now likely to try to secure a station that would be used by the | :15:39. | :15:43. | |
fast rail link from London to the Midlands. Meanwhile, Birmingham | :15:43. | :15:46. | |
City Council claims most people living along the route in the city | :15:46. | :15:50. | |
support the scheme. People living near the proposed tracks were asked | :15:50. | :15:55. | |
for their views with nearly two thirds backing the plans. | :15:55. | :15:57. | |
With unemployment down in the region, another boost to the | :15:57. | :16:01. | |
economy now. A �2 million machine's been unveiled which it's hoped will | :16:01. | :16:05. | |
create jobs and help cut emissions by turning rubbish into fuel. The | :16:05. | :16:08. | |
finished product is being used to power a nearby factory and will | :16:08. | :16:12. | |
prevent 20,000 tonnes of rubbish going to landfill every year. Bob | :16:12. | :16:17. | |
Hockenhull reports. It looks like something out of | :16:17. | :16:21. | |
Wallace and Gromit. But its purpose is deadly serious. The shredder has | :16:22. | :16:25. | |
cost �2 million to install at a waste plant in Rugby and is the | :16:25. | :16:33. | |
first of its kind in the country. 50% of the rubbish would have gone | :16:33. | :16:37. | |
to land will a few months ago but now the Schroder has been installed, | :16:37. | :16:41. | |
only a fraction of it is going to land four and eventually, none of | :16:41. | :16:44. | |
it will be going to landfill. That's because the machine can | :16:44. | :16:46. | |
separate materials like plastic, textiles and cardboard which were | :16:46. | :16:50. | |
previously considered unusable. Strong magnets take out metals and | :16:50. | :16:53. | |
rubble to leave this. It's called Refuse Derived Fuel and is being | :16:54. | :16:57. | |
used to power this cement making plant less than two miles down the | :16:57. | :17:06. | |
road. I feel other companies can use this material. There is a lot | :17:06. | :17:10. | |
of it and it is the right thing to do morally and environmentally. | :17:10. | :17:13. | |
alternative is this. The UK dumps more than 50 million tonnes of | :17:13. | :17:15. | |
waste into landfill every year. Companies are charged �70 a tonne | :17:15. | :17:25. | |
to dispose of it and that price is set to increase annually. Britain | :17:25. | :17:30. | |
is behind the rest of Europe in its treatment of waste. It is not | :17:30. | :17:36. | |
sustainable. We will run out of places to put it soon. Investing in | :17:36. | :17:39. | |
the shredder has helped secure jobs, it's provided a cleaner alternative | :17:39. | :17:46. | |
to fossil fuels and it's helping to save the planet. | :17:46. | :17:48. | |
Still to come tonight: As Wimbledon approaches, what's | :17:48. | :17:51. | |
happened to our grass roots tennis and when will we ever produce a | :17:51. | :17:56. | |
champion to take the title? And there's a total lunar eclipse | :17:56. | :18:00. | |
tonight. Question is, will you be able to see? Find out what the | :18:00. | :18:10. | |
:18:10. | :18:12. | ||
One of the most poignant episodes of World War Two was re-enacted | :18:12. | :18:15. | |
today as a Shropshire village welcomed a new wave of London | :18:15. | :18:18. | |
evacuees. The evacuation from Britain's cities involved nearly | :18:18. | :18:22. | |
three million people. Children were told to take with them only | :18:22. | :18:25. | |
essentials, including a knife, fork and spoon, and a warm coat or | :18:25. | :18:32. | |
mackintosh. It is heart-warming, isn't it? But what would today's | :18:32. | :18:37. | |
generation make of it all? Here's Sarah Falkland. | :18:37. | :18:43. | |
It is goodbye to cities. The children had for the special train. | :18:43. | :18:47. | |
They are not worrying - they are going on holiday! | :18:47. | :18:49. | |
Operation Pied Piper, the biggest and most concentrated mass movement | :18:49. | :18:52. | |
of people in British history. Children at St Mary's in Bucknell | :18:52. | :18:55. | |
in Shropshire were only expecting 62 pupils from a primary school in | :18:55. | :18:59. | |
Peckham in London. Only it wasn't quite the smooth operation of 1939. | :18:59. | :19:06. | |
They weren't on board, but they did eventually arrive by bus. This was | :19:06. | :19:09. | |
the culmination of their history project on World War Two and the | :19:09. | :19:16. | |
evacuation. They might have been a bit scared of leaving their home | :19:16. | :19:21. | |
and they might have wanted to stay, but I think they would be happy | :19:21. | :19:26. | |
they were sent away instead of being bombed. They wouldn't have | :19:26. | :19:31. | |
seen farmyard animals and so much green. And, yes, it would probably | :19:31. | :19:35. | |
be difficult. And for many of these modern day pretend evacuees, it was | :19:35. | :19:40. | |
their first experience of the British countryside. Which do you | :19:40. | :19:48. | |
prefer? I prefer Shropshire. you? Why? Because at night time, I | :19:48. | :19:54. | |
will be able to sleep. In Peckham at night time, I wake up early in | :19:54. | :19:58. | |
the morning because of noise. village hall was the first port of | :19:58. | :20:03. | |
call for many evacuees. If they would be lined up and picked out by | :20:03. | :20:06. | |
a host families. Today, the children from Peckham are having a | :20:07. | :20:13. | |
slightly different experience. Each one of us will be issued with | :20:13. | :20:17. | |
a look gas mask. A light hearted play about the evacuation, but the | :20:17. | :20:21. | |
reality could be very different. When it came to going to bed, there | :20:21. | :20:25. | |
were no -- there was no room for us. There was no preparation and we | :20:25. | :20:33. | |
were not wanted, obviously. We were taken up to the attic. We opened up | :20:33. | :20:38. | |
our cases and got into our cases across an open case and covered | :20:38. | :20:41. | |
ourselves with clothes. There was a warm welcome for today's evacuees, | :20:41. | :20:50. | |
though. And no rationing! It is a lot more fun when it is not | :20:50. | :20:55. | |
real, isn't it? That is grim. Some amazing stories have come out over | :20:55. | :20:58. | |
the years. With just five days to go until the | :20:58. | :21:01. | |
start of Wimbledon, a new �2 million tennis centre was opened in | :21:01. | :21:04. | |
Shropshire today by the former British number one Greg Rusedski. | :21:04. | :21:06. | |
It's claimed more people play tennis every week than cricket, | :21:06. | :21:10. | |
rugby union and rugby league combined. But several clubs in the | :21:10. | :21:13. | |
region have seen membership fall so low, they're on the verge of | :21:13. | :21:23. | |
:21:23. | :21:28. | ||
A performance! For two weeks every year, tennis | :21:28. | :21:31. | |
becomes the nation's favourite sport and we hold our breath and | :21:31. | :21:35. | |
dream that one day a British player will be crowned Wimbledon champion. | :21:35. | :21:39. | |
And could it be that a future champion is discovered here at the | :21:39. | :21:47. | |
new �2 million tennis centre in Telford? My father used to play | :21:47. | :21:52. | |
tennis and we started in the park. That is how I got involved. I gave | :21:52. | :22:00. | |
it to go and made a career out of it. Despite the investment, it is | :22:00. | :22:06. | |
not so pretty and other clubs. Bilston Tennis Club is on the edge, | :22:06. | :22:08. | |
with two courts unrecognisable, membership numbers have dropped | :22:08. | :22:13. | |
dramatically. If things don't change in the next couple of years, | :22:13. | :22:18. | |
it is more than likely this club is not going to be around. At Yardley | :22:18. | :22:22. | |
in Birmingham, two of the four courts are completely unplayable | :22:22. | :22:27. | |
and have fallen into such a state of disrepair that until recently | :22:27. | :22:31. | |
this club was on the brink of closure. It's is up to us and | :22:31. | :22:36. | |
coaches like us, to think out of the box, get into schools, try to | :22:36. | :22:40. | |
find some funding and good activity going. In Telford, the top man in | :22:40. | :22:44. | |
British tennis joined the celebrations. Roger, this is a | :22:44. | :22:48. | |
beautiful facility but I have seen tennis facilities in the Midlands | :22:48. | :22:52. | |
that have got weeds growing up the outside courts. It is not about the | :22:52. | :22:56. | |
facilities but the people as well so what we can do is help with | :22:56. | :22:59. | |
facility investments, loans and grants, but people may things | :22:59. | :23:05. | |
happen. As well as spending money here, up to �5 million has been | :23:05. | :23:07. | |
promised to the Edgbaston Priory Club in Birmingham but elsewhere | :23:07. | :23:11. | |
there is a desperate need for support and funding, and there is | :23:11. | :23:21. | |
:23:21. | :23:21. | ||
no doubt some of the region's We do see some sad courts around. | :23:21. | :23:28. | |
They are expensive to maintain. But in two weeks, and they will all | :23:28. | :23:38. | |
:23:38. | :23:40. | ||
Private Conrad Lewis from Warwickshire was just 22 when he | :23:40. | :23:43. | |
was shot dead in Afghanistan. Before he died he'd started to look | :23:43. | :23:47. | |
after a stray dog and vowed one day to bring her home. Well, now his | :23:47. | :23:50. | |
family have fulfilled that promise, as Kevin Reide's been finding out. | :23:50. | :23:53. | |
Conrad Lewis in action in the Nad Ali district of Afghanistan. As | :23:53. | :23:55. | |
well as befriending the locals, he also took to this three-year-old | :23:55. | :23:58. | |
stray mongrel who he named Pegasus after the Parachute Regiment's | :23:58. | :24:01. | |
emblem. Sadly, Conrad was never able to fulfil a vow to take her | :24:01. | :24:08. | |
out of harms way and bring her to the UK. But now, just months after | :24:08. | :24:11. | |
his death, his family with the help on animal charity, have answered | :24:11. | :24:18. | |
his wishes. He loved the dock. He wrote about her extensively. At | :24:18. | :24:22. | |
Christmas, he said he would have liked to bring her back, so we have | :24:22. | :24:28. | |
completed that for him. With the help of the Dogs Trust. She is | :24:28. | :24:32. | |
howling to him out there. She was by his side throughout that period. | :24:32. | :24:35. | |
Pegasus will have to stay in quarantine until November, and then | :24:35. | :24:37. | |
she'll be allowed to join Conrad's family. It's something they're | :24:37. | :24:44. | |
really looking forward to. It is heart-wrenching coming here every | :24:44. | :24:48. | |
weekend and seeing her and wanting to take her home, and her wanting | :24:48. | :24:53. | |
to come home, but it is going to be worth it in the end. She is really | :24:53. | :24:58. | |
placid, easy to get along with. And... She would join the family | :24:58. | :25:03. | |
really well. You think what she has been through, the life she could | :25:03. | :25:07. | |
have had, and hopefully the life she will have from now on. She will | :25:07. | :25:11. | |
be very loved for. And back at the family home, they're already | :25:11. | :25:13. | |
immortalising Conrad's love of his four legged friend in this painting. | :25:13. | :25:16. | |
It show's him and his colleagues in armed combat, whilst Pegasus scours | :25:16. | :25:22. | |
the floor for scraps. She can now expect a much more comfortable and | :25:22. | :25:32. | |
:25:32. | :25:37. | ||
She doesn't want to say goodbye. She will be all right soon. | :25:37. | :25:47. | |
A wonderful link with Conrad. The weather now. | :25:47. | :25:53. | |
The re and Bob has been tame, but we have still got some showers this | :25:53. | :25:55. | |
evening. We have got a lunar eclipse taking | :25:55. | :26:02. | |
place tonight, so will you be able to see it? Probably not. This will | :26:02. | :26:10. | |
happen at 9:30pm, and by 11pm, we will have more rain. This is where | :26:10. | :26:15. | |
we are. This cold front and this other front, with a bundle of | :26:16. | :26:23. | |
showers. The secluded front creates the swell of rain. Tonight, we have | :26:23. | :26:27. | |
got showers, a line of them running through Eastern parts. They will be | :26:27. | :26:34. | |
moving away this evening, so perhaps some brief clear spells. By | :26:34. | :26:39. | |
the end of the night, it is going to be covering most of these | :26:40. | :26:45. | |
southern half. Further North, it is looking dry, but there is a lot of | :26:45. | :26:50. | |
cloud around, leaving it reasonably mild. For the morning, it is | :26:50. | :26:55. | |
looking damp and grey, especially in the South and East and the rain | :26:55. | :27:00. | |
clears away quickly to the East followed by quite a few showers, | :27:00. | :27:05. | |
widespread, heavy showers, some of them turning thundery. There will | :27:05. | :27:10. | |
not be much sunshine in between. They take temperatures up to 19 in | :27:10. | :27:16. | |
the South, but only 15 in the North, and could turn breezy. Heavy rain | :27:16. | :27:21. | |
on Friday. That is a good thing, I suppose. | :27:21. | :27:24. | |
A look at tonight's main headlines: Another union joins the protest | :27:24. | :27:26. | |
against pension cuts. Civil servants vote to join teachers in a | :27:26. | :27:29. | |
walk out on June 30th. And staff at Shropshire Council | :27:29. | :27:37. |