31/08/2011 Midlands Today

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

The headlines tonight: Divided families: after his son was taken

to Thailand, a father campaigns to help other parents. I realise

nobody would help so I had to do it myself.

Demands for new safety measures after a spate of drownings in the

River Severn. It has taken too many lies, he will be next?

Crops in the shops two weeks early, thanks to the fast-fading memory of

an unseasonably hot spring. And he'll train here for 2012, now

another national squad will make Good evening and welcome to

Wednesday's Midlands Today. Tonight more and more parents face the

agony of seeing a child snatched and taken abroad. There's been a

big increase in the number of children abducted and taken by one

parent against the wishes of the other. A leading charity working in

the field says cases are up by a third this year. One father who saw

his own child taken is now campaigning to help other parents

who face a similar ordeal. Our special correspondent, Peter Wilson,

has been investigating. What would you do if you came home

and found your foreign-born wife had left along with your son? Sean

Felton from Norton Canes near Cannock had been married for five

years but his Thai wife known as Kim disappeared with Jo. His father

spent six months tracking him down using a false Facebook account and

pretending to be a millionaire American playboy. I looked on

Google, I saw this handsome guy standing next to a Ferrari and

basically just set up a false Facebook account. I requested her

to be friends. He gleaned information and

eventually tracked his son down to a hut on the Thai-Burmese border.

He eventually, legally, brought his son home. He wasn't speaking Thai

or English, I think the trauma he had been through it was gibberish.

He bob obviously got to hand for, what was it like getting your son

back -- you have obviously got your hands full. He had got chipped

teeth, his fingernails had been ripped out on his thumbs, he had

bruises on his back which were permanent.

Sean is setting up a charity called Abducted Angels to give other

parents advice. Since I have been talking to people all over the

world and helping them, that has boosted me up again. The fight I

had searching for him, it has helped me carrying on an helping

all these other people. Almost three years ago, this Birmingham

mother received a text message from her estranged husband saying he

wouldn't be bringing her two sons home after his weekend with them.

Instead, he was fleeing the country to Syria. Despite all the recent

protests and upheavals, Dr Yusra Abo Hamed did eventually find them.

These CCTV pictures show the moment when she was reunited with Sami and

Rami. But the trauma the children experienced was awful. They were

extremely damaged, the little one, when we first saw him, I opened by

an arms, he wanted to come at me. And the other started to shout at

me. I felt at that moment he was too scared about his brother, that

they were going to take him away from him.

One Midlands charity, Reunite, has seen a 34% increase in reports of

children being removed from one parent and abducted abroad by

another. Tonight Dr Abo Hamed had a meeting with the British Foreign

Office but her fight to get her children back seems no nearer

In our Leicester studio now is Sharon Cook from Reunite, an

international helpline and advice centre for parents worldwide who

face these types of problems. The increase in people contacting you

this year is astonishing 34%. Why do you think it is? Unfortunately,

it increases every year and we believe it is due to mixed national

marriages. Trouble is more available to people now and more

affordable -- travel is more affordable. And people often work

for international companies, travel abroad for work and we are seeing

more people relocate to foreign countries. We are seeing a downside

of our global society, the increase of marrying into different

cultures? Possibly, yes. Without talking about specific cases, we

saw a man in our reports and a woman who still has not been able

to get her son's home. Do you think it is more difficult for women?

not necessarily, I think it is different for every parent --

difficult for every parent but it is different for different

countries. It may be more difficult for children and parents to go to

court. Briefly, are the authorities doing enough to help parents whose

children have been abducted? Again, that is difficult also. That is why

we have focused on prevention measures and tried to get the

awareness up to parents when it comes to other government

authorities. If the child is removed to another country, you are

governed by the law in that country, and that is the case. Thank you.

Thanks for joining us. Later, with Stoke City the big spenders, all

the very latest on transfer deadline day.

24 bodies have been pulled out of the River Severn in Shrewsbury in

just six years. Although the majority were suicides, others were

people who'd been drinking and fallen in. Police are now working

with pubs in the town, but relatives of those who've died

accidentally say more safety measures are needed. Cath Mackie

reports. It's a heartbreaking site. Emma

Davies brings her little boy Oliver to the river in Shrewsbury where

his father drowned. We were asked not to film the child's face. Mark

Hodnett had been on a night out with friends earlier this month and

was on his way home when he fell into the river. It is a river,

people come to see it, but it is too dangerous. It has taken too

many lives. He will be next -- who will be next? The town is pretty

much enclosed by the River Severn. 24 people have died here in the

past six or seven years. Police say up to ten were drunk and walking

home alone. The water might look idyllic today but the sad fact is

that according to the police, more people drown in the river here in

Shrewsbury than in any other town of a comparable size in the whole

of the UK. We are working with pubs and nightclubs, they are helping to

find people who are intoxicated and help them make their home way

safely. Catherine Moore-Hughes' fiance,

Josh Wreford, drowned after a night out last summer. She supports a

campaign for improved river safety including more railings. It could

have been stopped, there is no need. Do people have to take

responsibility for how much they drink? People will be drinking and

walk past the river so they should do something to prevent that

happening. We will put more fencing in where risk assessments indicate

there is a particular risk, but in reality, it presents its own

practical problems with flooding, The council say they've made other

safety improvements too. It's hoped this latest tragedy will at least

raise awareness. Oliver Hodnett will be two next week, the first of

many birthdays without his dad. I'm joined now by Peter Cornall of

ROSPA, the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents who's

outside their headquarters in Birmingham. Is this a problem

that's getting worse? Certainly with alcohol-related journeys. The

numbers of people that are drowning as a result of possibly taking a

trip home along the river after they have been out having a drink

and having a good time, that seems to be the case. What, if anything,

can be done to prevent deaths at there? I think it is a case of

trying to break the journey in a couple of places. Silage and public

rescue, but also to make people aware of the hazards of drinking

water slides -- signed age and public rescue. Getting the warning

message out as well that alcohol and walks alongside the water do

not mix late at night. It is difficult to fence off an entire

river, isn't it? Yes, and we would not like to see that. If fencing is

used, it should be used in the right place. There is an onus on

responsibility of the individual as well so it is getting the balance

right. We do not want to put a fence across the whole of the River

Severn. A spinal anaesthetic, which was

mistakenly kept in place for more than two days, has left a teenager

permanently paralysed from the waist down. Sophie Tyler from

Newport in Wales was 14 when she was admitted to Birmingham

Children's Hospital in 2008 to have gallstones removed. But an epidural

she'd been given for pain control was left in place for too long,

causing permanent damage to her spinal cord. It was depression at

first. I just lay in bed wishing that it had never happened. Or was

in that they had killed me. Because I had to live with the reality and

consequences of someone else's mistake.

Birmingham Children's Hospital said staff were deeply sorry for the

distress caused to Sophie and her family. The Chief Medical Officer

The Solihull carmaker Land Rover has released the first images of

the car on which it plans to base an all-new version of its iconic

Defender. The DC-100 will make its public debut at the Frankfurt Motor

Show next month and is due to go on sale in 2015. The first Land Rover

was introduced in 1948 and the Defender name was first used in the

early 1990s, shortly after the launch of the Discovery.

Two fire stations in Warwickshire shut for the final time today

despite fierce opposition, led by the Fire Brigades Union.

Warwickshire County Council says the decision to close them was

taken not to cut costs but to improve the service. Nadine Towell

It served the local community for more than 50 years. But today,

Brinklow Fire Station in Warwickshire was forced into

retirement. Last night, a closing ceremony was held to mark the

occasion. In Brinklow and in Warwick, the retained fire crews

have been scrapped. Local people and the union campaign strongly

against the closure plans but as of 9 o'clock this morning,

Warwickshire has two few fully operational fire stations. We have

always said this is about safety of firefighters and the public. With

the reduction of people, you have not got as many people to help each

other. The fates of these fire stations

were sealed last summer when county councillors agreed with proposals

put forward by the Chief Fire Officer. It will be covered from

Nuneaton and rugby, but it is not like having your own fire station

down the road, is it? Suddenly it is upon us now and it is here so it

is a bit sad. The county council says the

closures are about improving the fire service and not cutting costs.

We are halfway through our improvement plans and we have

increased firefighter training which we said we would do and

reduced our unnecessary journeys to on wanted fire alarms by 70%, we

said we would do that. And there is 15% less house fires in and around

Warwickshire. We said we would do all that.

A third fire station, Studley, will close next year.

Still to come this evening, it's the last day of August, but did it

live up to expectations? See what you think later.

And the Brummie legend whose boxing memorabilia is being auctioned. The

fascinating life story of Gentleman The future for generating large-

scale solar power in this country has been thrown into doubt after

the Government changed its rules on subsidies. For one Birmingham

company, it means a promising new source of business has been cut off

at a very difficult time. Here's our science correspondent, David

Gregory. Building projects like this which

have been mothballed us -- our size of a slowdown.

The economic outlook for many companies is still gloomy.

Birmingham electrical contractors JT Hawkes usually wire up big, new

buildings. Usually. It stop. Doors have shut with the recession and so

we have looked for other avenues of business.

And there's one sector that appeared to have a bright future.

This is a plan view of the development. Each of these blue

strips is four rows of solar panels. It's one of Britain's biggest solar

farms to date. Normally it would take three months to complete the

wiring. But they did the job in just half that time, racing to

finish before the Government slashed solar power subsidies for

big installations. And cutting subsidies has cast a shadow over

this new line of work. I have had a company from Italy phone me, two

from Germany. Each one has suddenly said no, the client will not go

ahead. With the cutting of subsidies, it's

unlikely anyone will attempt something on this scale again,

closing off a promising new source of business for this company.

And David joins us now in the studio. So, David, why has the

Government changed the rules? There's only so many subsidies and

the Government is trying to refocus things. If you talk to the

Government department responsible, they say large-scale solar farms

could soak up the money intended to help small businesses and homes

generate electricity. They are trying to generate things away from

beget schemes to smaller schemes. - - from bigger schemes. So where can

people start? It is a bit overwhelming. It is like putting in

a kitchen or double glazing. Ask friends if they would recommend

companies, get some quotes and then also there are two different

schemes that somebody should be a part of. Also with those two you

should be up to a good start. All the details are on my blog.

background noise was a bit difficult to fight against! We will

come back to that later. Not too much solar energy around

this summer. It's been the coldest August for 17 years. Despite that,

farmers say many crops are reaching their peak two weeks early and its

all thanks to some unseasonable weather earlier in the year. It may

seem a distant memory, but this spring saw under 50% of normal

rainfall and across England it was the warmest spring ever recorded.

Temperatures, in fact, hit 28 degrees Celsius during April. Andy

Newman reports now from the fields of Worcestershire.

Runner beans, winning the race to be harvested. It may be late August

in the fields of Worcestershire, but it looks more like early

september. At Top Barn Farm near Worcester they're picking not just

beans but other crops, up to two weeks early, and its thanks to an

unusual sequence of weather conditions. We had an early spring,

a very dry spring and that has brought a lot of the crops on early.

The lack of rain has not been an issue, we can irrigate but in

general, it is the climate that has brought the runner beans on a day

earlier. And the orchards are hanging prematurely heavy with

fruit. These apples would not normally be as rosy and juicy as

this for another couple of weeks but they are ready to eat today.

More exotic crops like butternut squash have also been thriving in

the unseasonal conditions, and an added bonus for grow are trying to

diversify into new markets. It is good, to be honest. To be up to get

them on to the shells early is good for the farmer, sometimes we see a

modest increase in price and also good for the consumer. In a world

of global warming and broken weather patterns, it seems even our

plant life cannot be relied on to stick to a timetable. It means an

early autumn effectively for the farmers, let's hope winter does not

follow suit. Football now, and it's one of the

most frantic days of the season with clubs scrambling to make

signings before the transfer window shuts until January. And it's Stoke

City who've been by far the busiest of our clubs, as Nick Clitheroe

reports. After three years in the Premier

League Stoke City are becoming an established force and all the signs

are that they want to take that next step up. Two new strikers

could be on their way to the Britannia Stadium. A fee has been

agreed with Birmingham City for Cameron Jerome and this evening it

seems Peter Crouch is on his way to the Potteries for talks. It's all

left the fans hanging around the club excited but a little confused.

Frustrating really, but you have to trust the manager. We should be all

right. A big amount of fuss over a lot of nothing, really. Linked with

a lot of players and we have not seen much happening. It has been

hectic in the training ground. We have been walking to and from. We

don't know whether it will happen. Jerome's exit might not be the only

one from Birmingham City. The central defender Scott Dann has

travelled to Blackburn for a medical even though no fee has yet

been agreed by the two clubs. Across the city Aston Villa are

close to signing the midfielder Jermaine Jenas on a season long

loan and the defender Alan Hutton permanently from Tottenham but it's

all quiet at Wolves and West Brom. And if you're a fan of Villa, Blues,

Albion or Wolves there's a Football Phone-in with Mark Regan about

today's transfer activity on BBC WM Very exciting but frustrating.

With just under a year to go to the London Olympics, we already know

two of the biggest track and field teams, the US and Jamaica, will be

basing themselves in our region. Other countries are expected to

send their athletes here too. Among them, the tiny Caribbean island

state of Dominica. Ben Godfrey has the details of this latest

announcement. Which sport and where are they going? Take a look at this

because I am at Wolverhampton, the boxing club. It is all about

sparring in a nice Indoor gene. In Dominica, it is all done at hitting

eight punchbag hanging from a tree. They are coming to the area but

they are not the first, Birmingham is also receiving the US and

Jamaican team. And the boxers, the four Dominican boxers are coming

here. It is around 4,000 miles away, has a population of around 75,000

people, and the boxers are heading to Wolverhampton. Let us talk to

John Thomas, an amazing trick, how did you get the box as coming here?

We helped boxes earlier with all the equipment. The equipment you

have sent over a has inspired boxes over in that country? Yes, that is

correct. The offer has been reciprocated as well. What do you

need to do to get this gymnasium ready for the boxers? We basically

need finance because we are putting up 20 people, four boxes and we

need the finance, that is the main thing. Somebody somewhere to help

us. How important is it to the City of Wolverhampton? This is one of

the best things that has happened to Wolverhampton since been made

the city. OK, we will leave it there! That take a look around this

gymnasium or stop young lads here sparring at the moment. They

started from the age of eight and men are here as well. We have had

British champions here as well. It takes in a lot of people from local

schools. And be that there is up for big things. One more thing

about America. We have heard about boxing because one Frank Bruno, --

Sorry for the extraneous noise, lot going on there! Boxing is a great

way of getting rid of surplus energy. I will not ask any more!

From boxers of today to a past champion. The Lonsdale belt of the

Birmingham boxer Jack Hood is coming up for auction after being

wrapped in a pillow case for decades. Gentleman Jack, as he was

known, was a national hero in the Twenties and Thirties, the

undefeated welterweight champion of Britain, Europe and the Empire.

Sarah Falkland reports. In an age before television, it was

the light entertainment at thousands flocked to see. Even

royalty were fans of boxing. In 1926, one man, Jack Hood was

fighting for the British welterweight champion title.

According to Prescott is at the time, every round was an epic. It

has here it was a contest of brainy manoeuvre. No actual knock-downs

but plenty of solid hitting to satisfy the crowd.

He went on to defend his title twice, winning the right to keep

the Lonsdale belt. Now the gold and enamel treasure is up for auction.

It is very emotional. Thinking how hard he worked for it. I have known

him come from a seven mile went in the morning and skip. You never saw

the rope, it was so fast. I always wanted to skip that fast but I

never made it! He was a wonderful dancer as well. Hood's victories

were even more impressive because he could only fight properly with

his left hand. In his right hand, the bones were

very brittle. The knuckle bones used to break. Only around 20 belts

like this were ever made. They were commissioned by the bon viveur and

explorer, Hugh Lowther, Fifth Earl of Lonsdale. 11 years ago, a

similar one belonging to Leamington boxer Randy Turpin went for 23,000.

The enamel on it is amazing. And we are very privileged to sell it.

Jack Hood retired from boxing in 1935 at the age of 32. He was

landlord of a pub in Tanworth in Arden for over 30 years where he

hung his champions belt behind the Amazing to be a boxing champion

when you have got brittle bones. Unbelievable. What a prize that

would be as well. And now for a For the Midlands, the figures for

the weather will be a slap a different story. I think the August

figures will be published on Friday but we can get an overview. It has

been drier than normal this August with half the rainfall you would

normally expect for Shropshire and also quite dull with less than

normal sunshine but temperatures have been around average for the

time of year. But some as a whole for the entire country has been the

coolest since 1993 and we are just about holding on to that summary

weather. Temperatures looking good by Friday. Getting back to tonight,

it is quite cloudy across the region. We could see some breaks

and where they occur, some mist patches but temperatures will be

falling in those areas. Generally speaking, quite healthy between 10-

13 Celsius with the lows. And a dry night. Tomorrow morning is looking

dole for some places but it is during the afternoon that we see

the best of the brightness and sunshine. It is not the sunshine

that will list the temperatures, it is the change of the wind

directions. Light winds and the best of the temperatures in

southern counties. Getting on to Friday, and when the South Eastern

lease settle into the area, we will start seen temperatures getting to

around 23 Celsius. On Friday, the sunshine breaks through from the

damage will. Tomorrow night will be quite clear but the sunshine across

all parts coming in and then rain over the weekend.

A look at tonight's main headlines: There are reports that one of the

men wanted for WPC Fletcher's killing has been found in Libya.