Browse content similar to 10/11/2011. Check below for episodes and series from the same categories and more!
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Hello, and welcome to Midlands Today with Suzanne Virdee and Nick | :00:12. | :00:14. | |
Owen. The headlines tonight... Boom-time at Jaguar Land Rover - it | :00:14. | :00:21. | |
is recruiting 1,000 new workers. The indicates the faith in the | :00:21. | :00:25. | |
partnership we have seen through the difficult times. -- bid to | :00:25. | :00:35. | |
:00:35. | :00:37. | ||
vindicate so. -- it the indicates. Anger over plans for night time | :00:38. | :00:40. | |
shut downs at Stafford hospital's accident and emergency department. | :00:40. | :00:42. | |
How Olympic dreams for Coventry are turning sour as businesses fear | :00:43. | :00:44. | |
they could miss out on millions in revenue. | :00:45. | :00:47. | |
And a poignant link-up between the USA and a Herefordshire village for | :00:48. | :00:57. | |
:00:58. | :00:58. | ||
Good evening, welcome to Thursday's Midlands Today from the BBC. | :00:58. | :01:01. | |
Tonight, a boost for the region's car industry, as Jaguar Land Rover | :01:01. | :01:07. | |
creates one thousand new jobs. All of them will be at the company's | :01:07. | :01:11. | |
Lode Lane plant in Solihull and recruitment is already underway. | :01:11. | :01:13. | |
Workers, unions and politicians were united today in welcoming the | :01:13. | :01:17. | |
news. The expansion comes in the wake of JLR's announcement in | :01:17. | :01:20. | |
September that it is to build a brand new engine plant near | :01:20. | :01:29. | |
Wolverhampton. Industry analysts say the growth of the Chinese | :01:29. | :01:32. | |
market has helped keep sales buoyant at a time when other car | :01:32. | :01:34. | |
makers have struggled. Here is our Business Correspondent, Peter | :01:34. | :01:36. | |
Plisner. Another good news day for Land | :01:36. | :01:40. | |
Rover's Solihull factory. Two years ago workers here feared they might | :01:40. | :01:44. | |
be facing unemployment. Now they are getting ready to welcome even | :01:44. | :01:50. | |
more new recruits to the workforce. It is good news for Birmingham, | :01:50. | :01:57. | |
great news. Long may it last. think it is great, the odds of | :01:57. | :01:59. | |
investment for us and will hopefully help people who may have | :01:59. | :02:02. | |
been out of work otherwise. It is good for the city, we have | :02:02. | :02:07. | |
got to be happy there will be more jobs. You have got to be cheerful. | :02:07. | :02:11. | |
So, how come JLR is doing so well when all around them the economy is | :02:11. | :02:14. | |
still in the doldrums? The answer lies in emerging nations like China, | :02:14. | :02:17. | |
now the world's biggest market for new cars. Here, JLR sales are up | :02:17. | :02:22. | |
60% this year. Because Range Rover and Land Rover | :02:22. | :02:25. | |
models are so popular in the far east, workers here cannot build | :02:25. | :02:31. | |
them fast enough to meet demand. Hence the reason the company needs | :02:31. | :02:34. | |
to recruit even more staff and quickly. | :02:34. | :02:37. | |
Today's jobs news comes just weeks after JLR's decision to build a new | :02:37. | :02:41. | |
engine plant at the i54 business park near Wolverhampton. | :02:41. | :02:45. | |
That has already meant the promise of 750 new jobs. Earlier this year | :02:45. | :02:48. | |
440 graduates and apprentices were taken on and well as 1,000 | :02:48. | :02:53. | |
engineers. Now the company is looking for another 1,000 people, | :02:53. | :03:02. | |
including 200 engineers and 800 production workers. | :03:02. | :03:07. | |
I think it justifies the faith in the partnership we have seen | :03:07. | :03:12. | |
through the difficult times, between the management and | :03:12. | :03:16. | |
workforce at Jaguar Land Rover. It is absolutely brilliant news, | :03:16. | :03:20. | |
good news for the region. They do something that has been on the back | :03:20. | :03:23. | |
of the agreement we reached with the company that was forward- | :03:23. | :03:27. | |
looking and looked at jobs in the West Midlands. It will be jobs | :03:27. | :03:29. | |
filled by local people who need those jobs. | :03:29. | :03:32. | |
And people can already apply. We found agencies today taking online | :03:32. | :03:35. | |
application for jobs that pay more than �11 per hour. According to | :03:35. | :03:41. | |
JobCentre staff in the Midlands, there is no shortage of takers. | :03:41. | :03:45. | |
We have 1,300 people looking for these types of posts in the | :03:45. | :03:51. | |
Solihull a beer, -- the Solihull area, so we are ideally placed to | :03:51. | :03:54. | |
help these people move into these types of jobs. | :03:54. | :03:56. | |
Today's JLR announcement follows last weeks 200 jobs boost at | :03:56. | :03:59. | |
Birmingham Airport. For a region that has higher than average | :03:59. | :04:02. | |
unemployment, it could not have come at a better time. | :04:02. | :04:05. | |
And Peter is at the Lode Lane factory in Solihull now. What a | :04:05. | :04:09. | |
boost, Peter, in such turbulent times. | :04:09. | :04:15. | |
It certainly is, Nick. This company 18 months ago was losing �1 million | :04:15. | :04:19. | |
per day, now they're back in profit with global sales are rising and a | :04:19. | :04:23. | |
variety of new models in the pipeline. It has been a meteoric | :04:23. | :04:29. | |
rise from recession, but cannot continue? With me is a | :04:29. | :04:32. | |
representative from the manufacturing advisory service. Can | :04:32. | :04:37. | |
this rise continue? I think today's fantastic news | :04:37. | :04:40. | |
represents the return on the Investment Jaguar Land Rover have | :04:40. | :04:46. | |
made it in researching new products and training staff. As long as the | :04:46. | :04:49. | |
customers across the world continued to want to buy these | :04:49. | :04:53. | |
products, yes. But, is it sustainable? | :04:53. | :04:56. | |
Again, it goes back to the research and development, time and effort | :04:56. | :05:03. | |
and engineering. Customers want to buy a products that are more | :05:04. | :05:08. | |
advanced, more luxury with more gadgets, and Jaguar Land Rover are | :05:08. | :05:10. | |
providing those. What about jobs in the supply | :05:10. | :05:15. | |
chain? It is even better news, for every | :05:15. | :05:20. | |
single job created here at Solihull there are 3.5 jobs greeted in the | :05:20. | :05:27. | |
supply chain. -- created. There are always worries that jobs | :05:27. | :05:31. | |
could go on abroad in terms of the supply chain and manufacturing, but | :05:31. | :05:36. | |
we're seeing manufacturing expansion, does that rule it out? | :05:36. | :05:41. | |
The expansion is across the UK. The Jaguar Land Rover are actively | :05:41. | :05:46. | |
sourcing from local companies and encouraging them to invest, and the | :05:46. | :05:51. | |
Investment will maintain those jobs. The 1,000 new jobs here, Jaguar | :05:51. | :05:54. | |
Land Rover seems to be going from strength to strength. | :05:54. | :05:57. | |
Thank you very much indeed. Later in tonight's programme... | :05:57. | :06:01. | |
Building up for the big game - the brickie dreaming of FA Cup glory | :06:01. | :06:09. | |
The accident and emergency department at the much criticised | :06:09. | :06:12. | |
Stafford Hospital will shut overnight. The hospital says it has | :06:12. | :06:15. | |
had difficulty finding consultants because of the hospital's poor | :06:15. | :06:20. | |
reputation. A&E will close between 10pm and 8am seven nights a week. | :06:20. | :06:23. | |
It will start on the first of December and last initially for | :06:23. | :06:32. | |
three months. Our Staffordshire reporter, Liz Copper, has more. | :06:32. | :06:37. | |
After being under intense scrutiny, this will now be Midlands's only | :06:37. | :06:41. | |
part time Accident and Emergency department. More than 200 people | :06:41. | :06:46. | |
had packed into the extraordinary meeting of it was agreed to shut | :06:46. | :06:49. | |
the Department here overnight for three months. | :06:49. | :06:53. | |
We have taken this difficult decision on grounds of safety, and | :06:53. | :06:57. | |
that is the only reason. The announcement follows continuing | :06:57. | :07:01. | |
concerns from the independent health regulator, the Care Quality | :07:01. | :07:05. | |
Commission. In June, inspectors warned the hospital to take action | :07:05. | :07:10. | |
for over staffing. In September, there were two unannounced visits | :07:10. | :07:14. | |
to Accident and Emergency, when inspectors found the department | :07:14. | :07:19. | |
shop staffed. By October, it issued a formal warning saying that the | :07:19. | :07:22. | |
trust must make improvements. Health campaigners have welcomed | :07:22. | :07:26. | |
the decision. Of course, it is nice to have an | :07:26. | :07:30. | |
Accident and Emergency department on your doorstep, but if it is not | :07:30. | :07:35. | |
safe it will need to close. I believe this decision should have | :07:35. | :07:39. | |
been taken a long time ago. A elsewhere in Stafford, there is | :07:39. | :07:44. | |
opposition. Please support your local NHS, | :07:44. | :07:49. | |
please support at Stafford hospital. Members of the Labour Party have | :07:49. | :07:56. | |
started a position campaigning against the closure. -- a petition. | :07:56. | :08:00. | |
Like every other hospital that works really well, we will have a | :08:00. | :08:03. | |
good hospital. There has also been concern in | :08:03. | :08:08. | |
neighbouring hospitals, including the University Hospital in Stoke- | :08:08. | :08:10. | |
on-Trent, that they could face closure. | :08:10. | :08:17. | |
The board says this book should aid be -- training and recruitment. | :08:17. | :08:21. | |
They aim to make sure that an minimum of cases are diverted to | :08:21. | :08:26. | |
other hospitals. If a patient was suspected of | :08:26. | :08:31. | |
having a stroke or heart attack, generally they are already taken to | :08:31. | :08:36. | |
Wolverhampton or the University Hospital, because having centres of | :08:36. | :08:42. | |
expertise with more staff leads us to better patient outcomes. | :08:42. | :08:49. | |
In spite of today's decision, some families remained to be convinced. | :08:49. | :08:53. | |
Ed looks certain there will be a concerted campaign to reinstate the | :08:53. | :08:57. | |
24-hour service. Joining us now is the Conservative | :08:57. | :09:04. | |
MP for Stafford, Jeremy Lefroy. What's your reaction to this? | :09:04. | :09:09. | |
Good evening. I am extremely disappointed that the board has had | :09:09. | :09:14. | |
to take this action. By think they had no option today, but it is | :09:14. | :09:18. | |
obviously very disturbing for the people of Stafford and surrounding | :09:18. | :09:22. | |
area would depend on it. They have had to close it on | :09:22. | :09:26. | |
grounds of safety. What can you do about that? | :09:26. | :09:30. | |
The safety comes from the lack of consultants, which is both a | :09:30. | :09:36. | |
nationwide problem, there are too few A&E consultants available, and | :09:36. | :09:39. | |
we're not the lonely hospital suffering from that, but there is | :09:39. | :09:42. | |
also the specific difficult to we have in recruiting to Stafford. | :09:42. | :09:47. | |
First of all, I would like to acknowledge the incredibly helpful | :09:47. | :09:50. | |
support from the Ministry of Defence that has provided us with | :09:50. | :09:55. | |
some consultant and nursing staff, but I am working with that the | :09:55. | :10:00. | |
trust to support them in recruiting the staff we need to get our be any | :10:00. | :10:04. | |
open again full-time as soon as possible. -- our department open | :10:04. | :10:08. | |
again. How soon do you think it will be | :10:08. | :10:11. | |
possible? The board said today it would be | :10:12. | :10:15. | |
three months. Obviously it would be better if it was sooner than that, | :10:15. | :10:19. | |
but we will have to wait and see. There is a national problem with | :10:19. | :10:23. | |
the shortage of staff, but I want to support them in whatever way I | :10:23. | :10:28. | |
can, because we need this department open 247 for the people | :10:28. | :10:35. | |
of Stafford and the surrounding area, and clearly there will be | :10:35. | :10:38. | |
pressure on other local hospitals have we continue to be closed at | :10:38. | :10:41. | |
night. What is being done about this | :10:41. | :10:45. | |
national problem of a shortage of consultants? | :10:45. | :10:50. | |
I have raised it with ministers, I think we're talking about a long- | :10:50. | :10:53. | |
term problem that goes back many years, where in this country we | :10:53. | :10:58. | |
have not trained enough doctors. The last Government began to remedy | :10:58. | :11:03. | |
that by opening new medical schools, but we have to begin to train more | :11:03. | :11:07. | |
of our own doctors and rely less on people coming from overseas. | :11:07. | :11:09. | |
Thank you for talking to us. Police are appealing for witnesses | :11:09. | :11:14. | |
after a teenager was killed in a road accident. 13-year-old Hope | :11:14. | :11:18. | |
Fennell died after she was hit by a lorry on King's Heath High Street | :11:18. | :11:21. | |
in Birmingham on Monday just after five in the afternoon. Anyone with | :11:21. | :11:24. | |
information is being asked to call the police. | :11:24. | :11:27. | |
More pictures of people thought to be involved in the August riots | :11:27. | :11:30. | |
have been released by police. They want help to identify suspects. | :11:30. | :11:32. | |
Yesterday 70 officers raided addresses in Wolverhampton and | :11:32. | :11:36. | |
Birmingham in connection with the disturbances. 15 people were | :11:36. | :11:39. | |
arrested. West Midlands Police have now arrested 686 people in | :11:39. | :11:49. | |
connection with the riots. If we can identify new, which you | :11:49. | :11:55. | |
can see today we can do that, not only locally but people outside the | :11:55. | :11:59. | |
West Midlands Police area, one in Staffordshire today, and one in | :11:59. | :12:03. | |
west Devon, we will come to get you, we will a rescue and piggy in front | :12:03. | :12:08. | |
of the court. -- and puts you in front of the | :12:08. | :12:09. | |
court. News International Chairman James | :12:09. | :12:12. | |
Murdoch has publicly apologised to the West Bromwich East MP Tom | :12:12. | :12:16. | |
Watson after he was spied on by the News of the World. Mr Murdoch told | :12:16. | :12:19. | |
the Commons Media Committee that he had not been told about it, and it | :12:19. | :12:22. | |
was not acceptable. Mr Watson was on a list which also included the | :12:22. | :12:25. | |
Birmingham Ladywood MP Shabana Mahmood and her predecessor, Clare | :12:25. | :12:30. | |
Short. I am aware of the case of Sir | :12:30. | :12:34. | |
availing Mr Watson, and again under the circumstances I'd apologise | :12:34. | :12:38. | |
unreservedly for that. It is not something I would condone, not | :12:38. | :12:41. | |
something I had knowledge of, and not something I think has a place | :12:41. | :12:45. | |
in the way that we operate. The third public hearing into | :12:45. | :12:47. | |
proposed changes to parliamentary constituencies has been taking | :12:47. | :12:49. | |
place in Warwick today. Under the Boundary Commission's plans, the | :12:49. | :12:53. | |
number of MPs in the region will be cut by five, from 63 to 58. | :12:53. | :12:56. | |
Hearings have already been held in Birmingham and Ludlow, with another | :12:56. | :13:00. | |
planned next week for Stafford. The public consultation ends on | :13:00. | :13:04. | |
December 5th. Business leaders in Coventry say | :13:04. | :13:07. | |
they are concerned they could miss out on millions of pounds in | :13:07. | :13:09. | |
revenue because of ticketing arrangements for next years | :13:09. | :13:13. | |
Olympics. The city is hosting 12 football matches at the Ricoh Arena. | :13:13. | :13:16. | |
But with just eight months to go anybody using the official short | :13:16. | :13:19. | |
break provider won't be able to book for Coventry and instead are | :13:19. | :13:24. | |
likely to be offered events and hotels in London. Kevin Reide has | :13:24. | :13:30. | |
The Ricoh arena in Coventry is one of few venues outside London where | :13:31. | :13:34. | |
Olympic events will be held - in total a dozen football matches with | :13:34. | :13:39. | |
the potential for more than 250,000 fans. But with just eight months to | :13:39. | :13:42. | |
go, booking a hotel and ticket deal for Coventry through the official | :13:42. | :13:51. | |
short break provider, Thomas Cook, is not possible. | :13:51. | :13:54. | |
Good afternoon. Can I book a ticket for Olympic football for Coventry, | :13:55. | :13:57. | |
please? And a BBC Coventry and Warwickshire investigation has | :13:57. | :14:00. | |
discovered those inquiring for Coventry deals are likely to be | :14:00. | :14:02. | |
offered London instead. I called Thomas Cook on three | :14:02. | :14:04. | |
occasions, they told me there was nothing available for Coventry, | :14:04. | :14:08. | |
instead I could book to see a match at Wembley and book into a hotel in | :14:08. | :14:12. | |
London. It is a frustrating situation for | :14:12. | :14:20. | |
those hosting the games. Although people say they want the | :14:20. | :14:23. | |
Olympics to come to regions outside of London, in practice making that | :14:23. | :14:29. | |
happen has proved more challenging, whether it is through bureaucracy | :14:29. | :14:31. | |
or commercial agreement. The Ricoh, which has its own hotel, | :14:31. | :14:35. | |
has now reached a deal to sell its own packages. But for other hotels | :14:35. | :14:38. | |
no such luck. They are not allowed to use the Olympics to advertise | :14:38. | :14:41. | |
rooms, and instead will have to wait to see if Thomas Cook selects | :14:41. | :14:46. | |
them. I think it is very unfair. The | :14:46. | :14:49. | |
Olympics were up to benefit of the country, and all the people very | :14:49. | :14:53. | |
much needed, I might say. Unfortunately, it is being kept in | :14:53. | :14:58. | |
London and I don't think it is fair. The opportunities are tremendous. | :14:58. | :15:01. | |
But many people will go from different countries to sports | :15:01. | :15:06. | |
venues in different parts of the world. When they get there, not | :15:06. | :15:10. | |
only do they want to experience what they have gone to see, they | :15:10. | :15:14. | |
want to experience the area, as well. If they are not going to be | :15:14. | :15:21. | |
stopping in Coventry, we stand a chance of living �100 million into | :15:21. | :15:24. | |
the economy. Thomas Cook's area meeting Olympic | :15:24. | :15:28. | |
officials in December and said they hope to pick hotel and ticket deals | :15:28. | :15:33. | |
for commentary on sale them. The weekend is just around the | :15:33. | :15:36. | |
corner. We will be told later exactly what to expect in the | :15:37. | :15:40. | |
weather. After a week dominated so far by | :15:40. | :15:46. | |
cloud, drizzle and rain, you would be forgiven for thinking the | :15:46. | :15:55. | |
weekend was to follow suit. But, The Government is facing legal | :15:56. | :16:00. | |
action on plans to have the subsidy paid to owners of winter bines and | :16:00. | :16:04. | |
solar panels. It says so many people are taking advantage of the | :16:04. | :16:07. | |
scheme it has to make changes. Companies here say that sudden | :16:08. | :16:13. | |
changes will cost jobs and jeopardise future business. Our | :16:13. | :16:15. | |
Environment Correspondent has been investigating and looking at the | :16:15. | :16:19. | |
cost of the subsidy. In South Herefordshire, this energy | :16:19. | :16:23. | |
company is still trying to take and the News of the Government's recent | :16:23. | :16:26. | |
cuts in subsidy for solar power and other renewables. | :16:26. | :16:30. | |
We will probably have to make redundancies and hope that | :16:30. | :16:33. | |
customers will not have an immediate reaction and feel too | :16:33. | :16:36. | |
insecure from the Government's behaviour. | :16:36. | :16:40. | |
There is a scramble to get systems installed before December when the | :16:40. | :16:44. | |
new tariffs are introduced. We have spent seven days in | :16:44. | :16:47. | |
complete turmoil, so we are trying to service to customers on our | :16:47. | :16:52. | |
orders at the moment, to work out what to do going forward to look | :16:52. | :16:56. | |
after these jobs. It is the huge increase in the | :16:56. | :16:59. | |
installation of solar panels that has led the Government to change | :16:59. | :17:03. | |
the rules on feed in Paris once again. How much is the subsidy | :17:03. | :17:08. | |
costing us? We all pay for it owner energy bills. If the average bill | :17:08. | :17:14. | |
is around �1,300, �100 goes to support green measures and energy | :17:14. | :17:20. | |
efficiency programmes, and �1 goes to support the feeding carrots. | :17:20. | :17:25. | |
Is it still worth installing solar panels? This Kidderminster from | :17:25. | :17:29. | |
says yes. He waged a war to get someone to | :17:29. | :17:33. | |
fitted within the next six weeks. You may, it is always worth a phone | :17:33. | :17:38. | |
call, however you may find the quality may be compromised as a | :17:38. | :17:46. | |
result of people doing things have really quickly. If you go to a | :17:46. | :17:50. | |
reliable installer, they will be able to offer you something still | :17:50. | :17:55. | |
attractive from December onwards. Saw, the month -- next month may be | :17:55. | :18:00. | |
a busy one for these companies, but what happens next? | :18:00. | :18:04. | |
What happens next, then? To it will be a bit of a scramble, to be | :18:04. | :18:08. | |
honest, because everyone is going to try to beat this mid-December | :18:08. | :18:10. | |
deadline. The baddies for those going ahead, | :18:10. | :18:15. | |
it is not enough to put the solar panels up, they have to be | :18:15. | :18:18. | |
registered with your local energy company. That is bureaucracy and | :18:18. | :18:23. | |
can take some time, so it is a real rush at the moment. | :18:23. | :18:29. | |
Why does the Government so concerned about this? The argument | :18:29. | :18:33. | |
is that �1 may become �25 in a few years' time, and more than that, it | :18:33. | :18:38. | |
says even then it would not generate enough money because so | :18:38. | :18:41. | |
many are installing solar panels to take advantage of this. | :18:41. | :18:46. | |
Longer term, I think the except the subsidy would drift down and | :18:46. | :18:51. | |
disappear. It is these sudden reverses that makes it hard for the | :18:51. | :18:57. | |
companies to plan long-term. The head of the CBI is tonight going to | :18:57. | :19:01. | |
call this the latest in a string of own-goals on energy policy for the | :19:01. | :19:08. | |
Government. It really is a bit of a mess, to be honest. | :19:08. | :19:14. | |
The first round proper of the FA Cup kicks off on Saturday, putting | :19:14. | :19:17. | |
full-time professionals against the part-timers of non-League football. | :19:17. | :19:23. | |
They include the likes of Stourbridge's poll. He was rejected | :19:23. | :19:29. | |
by Wolverhampton and got work as a builder, but on Saturday helped to | :19:29. | :19:32. | |
knock out Plymouth Argyle. But the season of mists and mellow | :19:32. | :19:36. | |
fruitfulness? Certainly mistake, but if there is one thing that can | :19:36. | :19:39. | |
take Paul Mackie's own's mind of the drizzle that is the thought of | :19:39. | :19:46. | |
playing Plymouth for the FA Cup. It is an absolute claim massive | :19:46. | :19:49. | |
Ford Stourbridge. There is plenty more bricks to lay | :19:49. | :19:55. | |
between now and then. Paul plays for Stourbridge, semi-professional. | :19:55. | :20:00. | |
He nearly made it as a professional, serving two years as a youth player | :20:00. | :20:05. | |
at Wolves. He was released aged 18, but now is far from bitter. | :20:05. | :20:10. | |
Towards the end of my two years, it was not really enjoyable, I was | :20:10. | :20:13. | |
sitting on the bench and not playing, just training Monday to | :20:13. | :20:18. | |
Friday and not playing on a Saturday. At Stourbridge I am | :20:18. | :20:21. | |
playing week-in, week-out and enjoying football. | :20:21. | :20:26. | |
His boss now is not Mick McCarthy, it is his dad. Paul senior is also | :20:26. | :20:31. | |
a big fan. On Tuesday he travelled to Kendal to watch him, and he will | :20:31. | :20:37. | |
be among 700 Stourbridge fans at home on Saturday. | :20:37. | :20:41. | |
It is an achievement he has never done and it will be great for | :20:41. | :20:46. | |
parents and fans to walk and watch their local clean -- local team. | :20:46. | :20:51. | |
Three divisions separate Stourbridge and Plymouth, but | :20:51. | :20:56. | |
Plymouth are bottom of League Two, having won just twice all season. | :20:56. | :21:00. | |
After a narrow victories in the first two qualifying rounds for | :21:00. | :21:09. | |
Stourbridge, they thrashed two team's 5-0. Paul may be a part-time | :21:09. | :21:13. | |
footballer, but he is still hoping to be in the FA Cup long after the | :21:13. | :21:22. | |
last apple has fallen from the Yes, we hope he will be, too. | :21:22. | :21:27. | |
But this is one of the great days at this season, or where the non- | :21:28. | :21:33. | |
League side to play league sides. It is such an exciting time. | :21:33. | :21:37. | |
Players have such hunger to beat them. And it is a good time to play | :21:38. | :21:45. | |
Plymouth Argyle, because they are teetering a bit. | :21:45. | :21:52. | |
It is the eve of the 11th day of the 11th month, 2011. A time when | :21:52. | :21:57. | |
we all remember war dead, and one village will pay tribute to 10 more | :21:57. | :22:01. | |
men than usual. They were American airmen who lost their lives in a | :22:01. | :22:04. | |
plane crash. Thanks to the painstaking research of two men, | :22:04. | :22:08. | |
some of the relatives will travel from America this weekend to pay | :22:08. | :22:15. | |
silent tribute. An autumnal day in the village near | :22:15. | :22:21. | |
Hereford, but this spot was the scene of carnage in August, 1944. | :22:21. | :22:27. | |
An American B24 bomber it crashed, killing all 10 crew members, aged | :22:27. | :22:32. | |
20-25. This is roughly the same location | :22:32. | :22:36. | |
as this one here. Much of their story remained a | :22:36. | :22:41. | |
mystery, until two amateur historians who now live nearby a | :22:41. | :22:46. | |
delved into the past. We have managed to get in touch | :22:46. | :22:50. | |
with the families of seven of the airmen. We know that three of them | :22:50. | :22:54. | |
are married. We believe one of them had a child, a daughter, who be | :22:54. | :22:58. | |
have been able to trace. We knew there were from all different | :22:58. | :23:03. | |
backgrounds, some farmers, some from university. They came from all | :23:03. | :23:09. | |
four corners of the US, as well. The American bomber was on a | :23:09. | :23:15. | |
training exercise at the time, but the men will all members of the | :23:15. | :23:19. | |
secret 406 night leaflet Squadron. The they used to fly out on their | :23:19. | :23:24. | |
own at night with no fighter export -- escort. | :23:24. | :23:28. | |
The planes would be painted black and they would drop propaganda | :23:29. | :23:34. | |
leaflets over Europe, or supplies to the Resistance, and also agents | :23:34. | :23:41. | |
behind enemy lines. John was just 16 when he saw the | :23:41. | :23:44. | |
aftermath of the crash. There were bits and pieces | :23:44. | :23:47. | |
scattered around. I do remember one thing minus one of the engines had | :23:48. | :23:54. | |
come adrift and landed a couple of hundred yards away. | :23:54. | :23:58. | |
On Remembrance Sunday, relatives of one of the men who died will join | :23:58. | :24:04. | |
villagers who remember the crash to unveil a plaque next to the | :24:04. | :24:09. | |
Cenotaph here in Burkill. When silence falls at 11 o'clock, | :24:09. | :24:13. | |
they will be remembering men from the village, and 10 from thousands | :24:13. | :24:17. | |
of miles away. It seems fitting that, as the | :24:17. | :24:22. | |
deaths were a result of where it -- as a result of war, whatever the | :24:22. | :24:26. | |
circumstances it was because of war and the died in our village and | :24:26. | :24:30. | |
should be remembered. Research at suggests that engine | :24:30. | :24:34. | |
failure caused the crash, and, pointedly, it appears that this was | :24:34. | :24:44. | |
:24:44. | :24:45. | ||
the young servicemen's first How dreadfully poignant. A really | :24:45. | :24:49. | |
emotional day, the family coming in from America, as well. | :24:49. | :24:53. | |
Let's find out what the weather is going to be doing for the next few | :24:53. | :25:02. | |
It has been mild so far this week, but to look at it has not been | :25:02. | :25:07. | |
great. On that front, things will improve. It will become drier, | :25:07. | :25:12. | |
brighter and stay quite mild. But, we have a double whammy for low | :25:12. | :25:17. | |
pressure. The first one will bring in rain in the next 24 hours, heavy | :25:18. | :25:22. | |
rain, and the second arrives during Sunday. And the interim, it will be | :25:22. | :25:29. | |
quite quiet over the weekend. We saw some breaks through today, with | :25:29. | :25:33. | |
some bright this, but the cloud will fill-in again today, but | :25:33. | :25:39. | |
staying largely dry. Where the cloud is lowest over the hills we | :25:39. | :25:45. | |
could see some mist and fog patches developing. The cloud does stay | :25:46. | :25:50. | |
mild tonight, temperatures around nine or ten Celsius. Everything | :25:50. | :25:56. | |
else much the same, quite dull with some rain Kieron Dyer. Waiting in | :25:56. | :26:00. | |
the wings we have heavier rain, spilling eastwards through tomorrow | :26:00. | :26:05. | |
evening and overnight. Quite a narrow strip of rain, so we should | :26:05. | :26:11. | |
not last too long in any one place, but temperatures tomorrow up again | :26:11. | :26:18. | |
around 13 or 14 Celsius, but winds will be a little brisker. Tomorrow | :26:18. | :26:27. | |
night, the rain heading eastwards, there are heavier bursts in there. | :26:27. | :26:34. | |
Another mild night with lows around ten Celsius. The legacy of the rain | :26:34. | :26:37. | |
tomorrow night is a few showers on Saturday morning, but it should | :26:37. | :26:41. | |
stay dry for much of the weekend, and the best of the sunshine will | :26:41. | :26:47. | |
be on Saturday. Highs of 14 Celsius. A look at tonight's main headline | :26:47. | :26:50. | |
stored mac heading for another recession in Europe - a stark | :26:50. | :26:54. | |
warning from the EU's proper economy official. | :26:54. | :26:58. | |
And it is boom time at Jaguar Land Rover - it is recruiting 1,000 new | :26:58. | :26:59. | |
Rover - it is recruiting 1,000 new workers. | :26:59. | :27:04. | |
Before we reviewed tonight, neck has some news about why he was not | :27:04. | :27:08. | |
here last night. I was at an awards dinner in London | :27:08. | :27:10. | |
for the Association for International Broadcasting, and | :27:10. | :27:14. | |
Midlands Today was nominated for a sports programme we did. | :27:14. | :27:19. | |
How did we do? We were highly commended. We got | :27:19. | :27:22. | |
this wonderful award, and we were up against problems from Australia, | :27:22. | :27:30. | |
Russia, India, programmes that at Wimbledon in 3D, and the judges | :27:30. | :27:34. | |
said the BBC provided a thorough insight into the life of a city and | :27:34. | :27:38. |