26/08/2011 Midlands Today

Hello and welcome to Midlands Today with Suzanne Virdee and Nick Owen.

The headlines tonight. Tragedy of the double holiday death

that's left four boys orphaned. People are mystified and we do not

really know what happened at all. All we know is that it is just

tragic. Businesses are to fund a pilot

project to tackle poverty and deprivation.

A lot of these young people know very well all the youngsters that

were rioting and causing havoc the other week, but they wanted no part

of it. Three builders remain in hospital

after scaffolding at a school collapsed. An investigation's

underway. And after two great wins for Stoke

and Blues, the draw's announced for the next stages of the Europa

League. Not many 17-year-olds like myself

can say that they have played in Good evening, welcome to Friday's

Midlands Today from the BBC. Tonight. Double tragedy on holiday.

A mother and father have died in separate accidents, leaving their

four sons orphans. Roger and Mathilde Lamb died while

on holiday in Morocco. It is believed Mathilde, known as Tilly,

fell from a window in an apartment where they were staying, while her

husband died a few days later after falling from another building. Andy

Newman reports. This is Roger Lamb, the second

victim of tragically similar accidents. The first killed his

wife. It happened in Morocco in the town of Essaouira where the couple

had been holidaying. During their stay at the resort Mrs Lamb fell

from an apartment window, her injuries proved fatal. Days later,

Mr Lamb had a fall in another building. His injuries were also

fatal. The couple lived with their four

children at Penshen, just outside Pershore. It is a small community

struggling to come to terms with the enormity of the tragedy. The

idea that the couple could die in separate falls a few days apart is

something friends and family are finding it hard to understand. What

ever the explanation, it has left four children without a mother and

father. People are mystified. We do not really know what happened at

all. All we know is that it is tragic, two people have lost their

lives. In a statement, the family The mayor of neighbouring Pershore

told me that people were full of grief, but also full of questions.

There is a lot of stories about the accident. I do not know which ones

are true. It certainly seems to be a unique accent and has coast a lot

of interest around the world. Mr Lamb had been living in New

Zealand where he had gone to get work as an engineer. His holiday in

Morocco with his wife would have been rare quality time together.

The manner of its ending seemingly a coincidence of circumstances

which is hard to comprehend. Our reporter John Maguire is in

their home village this evening, John, this is a shocking situation,

is there any more information on what happened to the couple?

The information it is fairly sparse. And quite confusing. We were told

that Mathilde Lamb had fallen over a cliff and her husband had gone to

rescue her. It was only later that we discovered that she had fallen

from that window on Wednesday night and died in hospital. It seems as

if her husband's fall took place some time over the weekend. He died

on Monday. What happens next?

We know that Mathilde Lamb will be brought back to Wiltshire where she

has family members. As regards Roger Lamb, the details for his

return are not been given yet. We do know that the four boys are

being cared for by family members here in the United Kingdom. We will

have to wait for further confirmation of details from the

Moroccan police and from the British consulate who are dealing

with events in North Africa. Thank you.

Still to come this Friday evening. It may be a beautiful place to live,

but young people are being priced out of it.

I am a Shrewsbury folk festival finding out why this type of music

is becoming more popular. 14 people have been jailed or sent

to young offenders institutions for burglary, violent disorder and

handling stolen goods during the riots in Birmingham and the Black

Country. Special courts sat to deal with offenders who were jailed for

between two years and 12 weeks. What kind of sentences were given

For fairly tough ones. The judge said at the start of proceedings

said that civil society had broken down. They had to take into account

their context in which the crimes were committed. The they did in

court today showed that shop behind be, the Armani Store. A mob of

people brogue in and ransacked the police, stealing up to half a

million pounds worth of stock. One man was jailed for 21 C even

though he only took a T-shirt, handed themselves into police and

pleaded guilty. There were plenty of other examples like that. People

were jailed for a year and up to three years.

What a police had to say? They have said that the CCTV

footage has been invaluable. They are even getting film that members

of the public shot themselves. The appeasing together what happened.

Essentially, they are saying that they will catch you if your a were

involved -- if you were involved in the looting. They are publishing

photographs as well. It is where the way we do that, but the level

of public interest and the desire for people to be named and shamed

and has had an influence. The message is that if you do not give

yourself up, you will be caught and you may be jailed for even longer.

The cost of the riots in our region is still being worked out, but

estimates put the damage to Birmingham alone at more than �7

million. The cost to the image of Britain around the world is

countless. Now the Government is trying out a

new idea called Social Impact Schemes. These ask businesses to

fund projects to try to reduce crime, anti-social behaviour and

poor education. Our special correspondent Peter Wilson has

spent the day at one project which is already teaming young people up

with Aston Villa Football Club. Hoodies in the rain. This is a

Garden of Eden in Newtown Birmingham. The 14 and 16-year-olds

have, for the past three months, been growing vegetables, clearing

allotment sites and getting used to hard work. The organic produce from

St George's Post 16 Centre in Newtown Birmingham is being

especially grown for Aston Villa's restaurants. None of these people

have been involved and rioting. They are trying to achieve a change.

A fortnight ago, as Birmingham decended into chaos these young

people were hard at work. I could have been out in it if I wanted to

be, a lot of my friends were out of it, but I chose to stay away. I

came here. It was kind of crazy, but I still came out of my house to

help here. The order for tomatoes and beans is on its way to the

Villa ground. This is an enterprise scheme giving young people work

experience and business skills. The Government is about to introduce

social impact bonds designed to get companies involved in community

projects. They work like this. Companies such as Aston Villa could

invest in community schemes like this one. If truancy levels or exam

results improve or if crime was cut, the Government would pay the

company hard cash. But young people's lives are priceless. If

they are turned around, how much is that worth? A we are putting stuff

back into the community. We are putting produce into the

restaurants, we are paying for it and helping the local economy.

Birmingham is one of four cities chosen to pilot the new government

scheme. Keeping children out of the criminal justice system, keeping

them out of care. It that we can tackle some of those really

difficult problems, you save money for the taxpayer. The organic

vegetables picked and grown by the youngsters were tonight being

cooked and served in the Villa restaurant.

A 16-year-old boy has been arrested after fire destroyed a pub. Fire

crews were called to the Orchard pub in Quedgeley in Gloucester

early this morning. At its height, 48 firefighters were at the scene.

An investigation into what caused it is under way.

A 16-year-old boy has been arrested after fire destroyed a pub.

The family of a man who went missing in Libya say he has been

found safe and well. Yousef Tabib, seen here on the left, was arrested

by Gaddafi's militia back in March. His brother Mohammed, who works as

a dental technician in Birmingham, says he and the rest of the family

had no idea where he was. But on Wednesday, he had been released

from Abu Sleem Prison in Tripoli and returned home. I received a

call from my brother, he was crying. I could not hear what he was saying.

He was saying that my other brother had been freed. It was so emotional.

Three men are still in hospital tonight after scaffolding and part

of a school building collapsed. An investigation into how it happened

is under way and the construction firm has promised to co-operate

fully. Those who heard the steelwork crash

down said it sounded like an earthquake. Well, despite the

incident, the school says the new term will start on time. Cath

Mackie reports. Hanging limply to the wall, the

scaffolding canopy makes a dramatic site.

Armed with his camera William Gardiner was one of the first at

the scene in Madeley in Telford. The neighbour said they had a huge

crash. I grabbed my camera. There was one man on a stretcher.

Work on the new building at the Abraham Darby Academy began in the

spring last year. Obviously, a great deal of shock. We have seen

at the building rise out of the grander the last few months, it

will be a fantastic new facility, and this is a huge shock.

Of the five workers injured, three had cuts, bruises and shock. One is

believed to have broken ribs, while the fifth has spinal injuries.

Staff and pupils were due to move into the new building in January

but no decision on that has been taken yet. But some parents are

worried. I am concerned about bringing my children to the new

school. Is it could happen again? We have been out and the community,

talking to people, hoping to reassure them. We assure them in

what way? Reassure them that the school will be opening as planned.

Meanwhile the Health and Safety Executive is investigating. Kier

Moss says it will co-operate fully. The big question of course is how

did this happen? Specialist construction inspectors from the

Health and Safety Executive are on site trying to answer that question,

but it is going to be some time yet before the full story is known.

Cath Mackie, BBC Midlands Today, Telford.

Good to have you with us this evening.

Coming up. It has been a real rollercoaster

week of weather with conditions changing by the hour. So will the

Bank Holiday weekend leave us on an up or a down? Join me for the

forecast in a few minutes. It's the largest officially

designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, but is it becoming

a no-go area for many young people born there? The Cotswolds might be

admired all over the world, but a shortage of affordable homes means

residents cannot afford to live in the area where they are born. Bob

Hockenhull has been looking into the problem and finding out what's

being done to help struggling workers. It is a beautiful place to

be, but houses in the Cotswolds cost 18 times the average salary,

making them less affordable than anywhere else in the Midlands.

22-year-old Tim Righton was born in the area. He has to live with his

mum in Honeybourne in Worcestershire as he can't afford

to rent or buy. And, ironically, it's Tim's skills

that are helping to preserve one of the Cotswolds best known features.

He's a dry stone waller taking home �800 a month. How do you feel about

this? It is upsetting. People from London come down and buy holiday

homes. The council bought them and sold them of Homes should be for

people who live here all the time, not just weekends.

In nearby Chipping Campden, estate agent Mark Annett has been selling

houses in the North Cotswolds for 32 years. The first cottage I sold

was about �14,000. Today it would be �300,000. The cheapest home in

his shop window is not much less than that. Without families and

young people, second home owners who are not here all the time,

retail shops cannot survive. There is no doubt about it, young people

who were born here and would like to stay here cannot afford to pay

the prices. It is a great shame. The National Housing Federation

says a house in the countryside costs on average over �40,000 more

than a house in an urban area even though rural wages are lower.

There are some some attempts to help. Projects like this in Long

Compton in Warwickshire where affordable homes have been

subsidised by normal value houses built on the same plot of farm land.

The developer here is also involved in other building schemes aimed

specifically at locals. This is housing which is built for sale,

but there are restrictions on it which means that for the first time

it comes on the market, it can only be sold to people from the local

community. When they come to sell, the same restrictions apply.

For now though, many young people like Tim can only dream that one

day they will eventually be able to live independently in their own

property in this beautiful part of the Midlands. Bob Hockenhull BBC

Midlands Today in the Cotswolds. It certainly is beautiful.

Supporters of Stoke City and Birmingham City will need two vital

ingredients if they're to follow their teams across Europe this

season. An up-to-date passport and plenty of cash.

Stoke's man-of-the-match Matthew Upson scored on his home debut. And

so did Nathan Redmond, a new teenage sensation at St Andrew's.

Ian Winter reports. Midday in Monaco, and the finest

brains in European football were hard at work. If 48 teams are

placed into 4 pots of 12, then how long should it take UEFA to divide

those teams into 12 groups of 4. It felt like a GCSE maths question.

And the answer was clearly a long, long time.

Plenty of time in fact to reflect on Stoke City's excellent win

against FC Thun. New signing Matthew Upson marked his home debut

with the opening goal and went on to be man of the match. Five

minutes later, Kenwyne Jones made it two. The Swiss knew the game was

up when Greg Whelan made it 3-0 before halftime. Jones' second

wrapped it up in the second half to leave 24,000 Potters in fine voice.

It is great to take their team through to the group stage. We

worked so hard last season. This is the award for the players hard work.

Back in Monaco, the complicated draw was now in full swing. And yet

there was still no sign of... Eureka! The Potters finally

appeared and were promptly dispatched to group E to face three

marathon journeys to the Ukraine, Turkey and Israel.

And so to St Andrew's where Birmingham City were looking for an

early goal to settle the nerves against Nacional from Madeira. And

what a goal it was. 17-year-old Nathan Redmond on his full debut

for his beloved Blues. A local hero to leave the Blues fans jumping.

used to set just over there and watch the other players when I was

about eight years old when I first joined. Now I am on the pitch and

scoring, it is a good feeling. That hard work has paid off.

Blues were 2-0 up by halftime thanks to David Murphy's glancing

header. And they sealed their place in today's draw when Chris Wood

made it 3-0 four minutes from time. Birmingham's next opponents will be

Braga of Portugal, Bruges of Belgium and Maribor, the Slovenia

side which knocked out Rangers last night.

Sadly, proceedings in Monaco were coming to a close. The epic event

had taken the best part of an hour. It felt like saying farewell to an

old friend. But at least there's another Euro draw tonight.

Potentially a good deal more lucrative and definitely far

shorter. Exciting times.

Meanwhile, Aston Villa have agreed to sell full-back Luke Young to

Queens Park Rangers, which means he will miss tomorrow's local derby

against Wolves at Villa Park. That will be music to the ears of

the Wolves boss Mick McCarthy who warmed up for the game by cycling a

half marathon this week for charity. His team have made an impressive

start to the season, winning their opening two matches in the Premier

League. We deserve to win. We played well

in the games. There are times when you get a result and you think a...

But to play well and deserve to them is better. There have been no

easy games. This game is the most imported one of the season. You

have to look for words. You have to look at the next one. It is a home

game, we have been fortunate enough to have two home games. You always

fancy yourself against anybody at home.

And BBC WM has full match coverage from 11 tomorrow morning, and of

course you can follow your team by on your local radio station.

Thousands of people are descending on Shrewsbury this weekend as the

town holds its annual folk festival. It is not on the scale of

Glastonbury or the V Festival, but it has grown from a few hundred

fans into the second biggest festival of its type in the country.

In fact, the festival sold out in April and has been organised by the

same couple for the past 15 years. Ben Sidwell has the spent the day

in Shrewsbury. So Ben, why has it become so popular?

We are on the main stage, preparation is still going on

around us. This stage opens and the music starts and about 30 minutes.

About 20,000 people will be here this weekend to come and see some

of the top fork acts from across the world. But as I have been

finding out, much of its success is down to a growth in this type of

music amongst the younger generation. If your idea of folk

music is grey-haired men in Arran sweaters with their fingers in

their ears, then think again. Sounded checking for tonight's

performance this is one of the new breed of folk artists who have

crossed over to the mainstream. They have played around 30

festivals this summer. They are not The crowd coming to Shrewsbury for

a festival is getting them were every year. We have seen a lot of

younger people this year than last year. A bit more for bands are

getting into the charts. I would have katydid a few years ago, but

now I am at the Festival. -- I would have hated it. I think it is

more indie music. Like all major festivals, it has the obligatory

dance tent, but here it is rather different. Now in its 15th year,

shoes but they folk Festival is still very much a family affair.

Organised by this couple. We met at a festival, got married and moved

to Shropshire. We had only been there a few months will be decided

that the town needed a folk festival. This year's festival is

the most successful yet. It is different when it is your own

festival. The love to see people happy. When it you what an audience

that is loving something on stage, you do feel proud. The festival

sold out in April, but for those people not lucky enough to have a

ticket, they can still see the acts live on stage thanks to this

caravan. It was sent that their performances across the world. With

folk music becoming more popular, festivals like this one in

Shrewsbury look like they have a very bright future. Let's speak to

the lead singer of the main headline act are tonight. Why is

there the young people are getting back into folk music? I think

recorded music is getting more disposable and people are valuing

the live experience more. Folk music, traditional music is the

most live kind of music you can have up. The instruments are played

live, not always the case with other types of music. This is one

of the bigger folk festivals across the country. It is, yes. It is one

of the biggest and one of the best. In terms of the quality of their

experience, there is a whole range of different stages. There are

always new idea has come into the Festival, they are very inventive.

You are playing tonight, there are plenty of people waiting here. We

need to get off stage so they can do their sound check. Thousands of

people are waiting outside. Back to you.

And you can hear highlights of the folk festival on Genevieve Tudor's

Folk Show from 7pm on Sunday night on BBC Hereford & Worcester, BBC

Radio Shropshire and BBC Radio Stoke

One of the most venomous spiders in the world has been found at a

But what is the weather going to be But what is the weather going to be

Mixed. It has been a bit wet. But for the weekend, sunshine at an

showers is the best way to sum it up. Plenty of showers today. He is

the radar picture. We have this band of persistent rain that pushed

up through it eastern parts of our region. We have been left with

these showers. Do not be surprised if you hear the odd rumble of

thunder. It will clear away to the east and by the end of the night,

most of us should be dry. Temperatures of nine or ten Celsius.

This is how things look to the start of the day on Saturday. An

area of high pressure really in control of our weather. The winter

is coming in from the north-west, - - the wind is coming in from the

north-west, so it will feel cool. But we will have drier and brighter

spells that we have seen today. Temperatures still disappointing,

around 18 Celsius. Tomorrow night, most of those showers should die

away. On Sunday, again it, some showers. But some good sunny spells

in between. Barley after them, more general dry weather heading into

the North. -- by the afternoon. For Monday, few were showers, but

temperatures feeling disappointing. Some slow improvements, but nothing

spectacular. A look at tonight's main headlines.

Colonel Gaddafi is nowhere to be seen as rebels still battle to

assume total control of the capital. And a Worcestershire couple have

died in two separate incidents on holiday in Morocco, orphaning four