:00:32. > :00:37.And if it were going to get hit a lot harder this time. Some
:00:37. > :00:41.businesses say traders suffering more than 100 days after the riots.
:00:41. > :00:50.And after more than half a century in the business, why fans are still
:00:50. > :01:00.going crazy about literature. have done -- have not heard of
:01:00. > :01:05.
:01:05. > :01:09.anybody that does not want to come to this. Good evening, welcome to
:01:09. > :01:11.Thursday's Midlands Today from the BBC. Tonight: all flights between
:01:11. > :01:14.Birmingham and Amritsar in India involving the budget airline Comtel
:01:14. > :01:20.have been cancelled until Monday because of the Austrian airline's
:01:20. > :01:26.financial problems. This afternoon Skyjet, which sold tickets on
:01:26. > :01:28.Comtel flights, filed for bankruptcy. Tonight the Civil
:01:28. > :01:30.Aviation Authority stepped in to rescue hundreds of people still
:01:30. > :01:33.stranded in India. Problems surfaced when passengers flying
:01:33. > :01:35.home to Birmingham yesterday were asked for cash when their flight
:01:35. > :01:42.refuelled in Vienna. Our special correspondent Peter Wilson has
:01:42. > :01:46.spent the day investigating. This was the moment when passengers on
:01:46. > :01:49.the Comtel air flight from Amritsar in India to Birmingham were told to
:01:49. > :01:59.dip into their pockets for cash if they wanted to get home from the
:01:59. > :02:23.
:02:23. > :02:31.stop over in Vienna. Today, the police and community support teams
:02:31. > :02:41.were out in force at the request of Takhar Travel Agents. Customers
:02:41. > :02:41.
:02:41. > :03:36.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 54 seconds
:03:36. > :03:39.were frustrated but certainly not This is Mr Takhar speaking on the
:03:39. > :03:43.Sikh television channel Sangat. He told them that he's dealing with a
:03:43. > :03:46.lot of stress and chaos, but says the money he has been banking has
:03:46. > :03:48.gone into the accounts owned by a company called Skyjet who tonight
:03:48. > :03:51.ceased trading. So who is who? Comtel Air is an Austrian
:03:51. > :03:54.registered airline. It hires planes from Spanish Company, Mint Airways.
:03:54. > :04:04.Tickets are reserved through Essex- based Skyjet. No one from Skyjet
:04:04. > :04:04.
:04:04. > :05:07.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 54 seconds
:05:07. > :05:11.was available for comment, but And there is also a lot of people
:05:11. > :05:17.wondering if in fact they will get their money back, even if they are
:05:17. > :05:21.able to travel back home, on another airline. Our passengers
:05:21. > :05:27.being kept fully informed, at the airport? It does not seem to be the
:05:27. > :05:33.case. There have been very complete -- very few Comtel staff at the
:05:33. > :05:37.airport. Ground handling is done by Air India, and another partner. We
:05:37. > :05:40.spoke to the airport director and will we could say was that he was
:05:40. > :05:45.aware there have been a problem with a flight that had not left,
:05:45. > :05:52.but he was not aware of the extent of the problem. The authorities in
:05:52. > :05:55.India have been in touch with the aviation authorities in Delhi, and
:05:55. > :05:59.the aviation ministry was not aware of what had been happening with
:05:59. > :06:08.this airline, so what is going to be some time before they come to
:06:08. > :06:11.grips with the problem and figure out what they are going to do next.
:06:11. > :06:15.Still to come tonight: As the racism in football row goes global,
:06:15. > :06:20.we hear of the experiences of one former professional. We have still
:06:20. > :06:26.got to move forward. We have come a long way, but we still have some
:06:26. > :06:29.way to go. As councils begin setting their budgets for next year,
:06:29. > :06:34.some authorities face making more cuts to meet their targets for this
:06:34. > :06:37.year. There have been warnings the next 12 months could see more
:06:37. > :06:40.severe reductions in services.It all comes as unions prepare, at the
:06:40. > :06:43.end of the month, for what could be the biggest mass walk-out since the
:06:43. > :06:48.General Strike in 1926. Here's Liz Copper. All councils are counting
:06:48. > :06:53.their costs. Calculating what's been saved and trying to balance
:06:53. > :06:58.budgets. In Stoke on Trent, more than �5 million of planned savings
:06:58. > :07:03.this year have still not been achieved. We will all be making
:07:03. > :07:07.some very difficult choices next year which people will not like.
:07:07. > :07:13.And there will always be people who will not like the decisions that
:07:13. > :07:16.we're asking them to support. Shropshire, where there were
:07:16. > :07:18.protests over plans to change staff contracts, they've announced extra
:07:18. > :07:26.cuts of 9.5 million to meet their target for 2014. Worcestershire
:07:26. > :07:29.County Council plans to close more than dozen youth centres. 13 clubs,
:07:29. > :07:33.including the Youth Cafe in Bewdley, will be sold off, have their leases
:07:33. > :07:36.terminated or rented out to local schools. Two year-olds Daisy and
:07:36. > :07:38.Bethany use children's centres in the Potteries which were threatened
:07:38. > :07:48.and then saved from closure. Their families are preparing to campaign
:07:48. > :07:52.
:07:52. > :07:56.again. The children's centres have had a reprieve next year, in next
:07:56. > :08:04.year's budget I think we're going to be cut. A I think we have won to
:08:04. > :08:07.get hit harder this time and lose some centres, possibly. Some
:08:07. > :08:13.councils say they've exceeded budget targets. In Staffordshire
:08:13. > :08:16.they have a �1 million under-spend this year. It is not about going
:08:16. > :08:21.Caporn and to central government. We can do the job if you let us get
:08:21. > :08:27.on with it. That is, happily, what central government have said to us.
:08:27. > :08:32.Council has in Birmingham expect to make a further �20 million of cuts
:08:32. > :08:39.across the city. But the protest campaigns that began 12 months ago
:08:39. > :08:42.looks set to continue into the new year. Concerned residents are
:08:42. > :08:45.holding a vigil in Oldbury in the Black Country tonight because of
:08:45. > :08:49.worries about child safety. It follows a meeting this afternoon
:08:49. > :08:55.involving councillors and the police to try to calm fears. Our
:08:55. > :09:02.reporter Bob Hockenhull is in Oldbury. Bob, what exactly is it
:09:02. > :09:08.that people are worried about? people have gathered for what has
:09:08. > :09:18.been a noisy but peaceful protest. People have raised concerns about
:09:18. > :09:22.
:09:22. > :09:32.some flats just opposite. These are owned by a housing association,
:09:32. > :09:34.
:09:34. > :09:36.Adullam Homes. The company says it runs the business based on the
:09:36. > :09:38.principles of the Christian faith offering help and support for
:09:38. > :09:41.vulnerable people including, victims of domestic abuse, ex-
:09:41. > :09:44.offenders and young homeless people. This has caused some anxiety in the
:09:44. > :09:46.community and before tonight's vigil there was a private meeting
:09:47. > :09:49.involving the police, councillors and residents to try to allay those
:09:49. > :09:52.worries. I have spoken to a councillor who was at that meeting
:09:52. > :09:54.and he said that, having had talks, the community has nothing to worry
:09:54. > :10:00.about. There has been a criminal investigation going on in that area,
:10:00. > :10:03.then there this week. Yes on Sunday, a 10 year old boy was allegedly
:10:03. > :10:09.abducted when he went out to the local shops. He was found unharmed
:10:10. > :10:11.more than two hours later. A 49 year old man appeared before
:10:12. > :10:14.magistrates yesterday charged with kidnap, false imprisonment, making
:10:15. > :10:17.threats to kill and sexual assault. He's also charged with abducting an
:10:17. > :10:27.11 year-old girl in September. He's been remanded in custody until
:10:27. > :10:30.February. The Wolves manager Mick McCarthy is the latest to call for
:10:30. > :10:36.the President of FIFA to resign after Sepp Blatter claimed racism
:10:36. > :10:39.on the pitch should be settled with a handshake. His comments have
:10:39. > :10:48.dismayed anti-racism campaigners in the game as Nick Clitheroe has been
:10:48. > :10:52.finding out. Show me another one, show me another one. Earl Barrett
:10:52. > :10:55.lifted the League Cup with Aston Villa and won 3 England caps but
:10:55. > :10:58.very early in his career he discovered how racism can scar the
:10:58. > :11:01.game. So imagine his reaction when he heard these words from the man
:11:01. > :11:04.who runs world football. They were doing monkey chants when I got on
:11:04. > :11:06.the ball. At one stage I had bananas thrown on the pitch, so it
:11:06. > :11:08.was difficult to deal with. Imagine his reaction when he heard this
:11:08. > :11:12.from the man who wins world football. You may say something
:11:12. > :11:19.during the match to somebody who is not exactly looking like you but at
:11:19. > :11:24.the end of the match it is not a problem. This is not, racism is
:11:24. > :11:29.things outside of the field of play, discrimination. But on the field of
:11:29. > :11:34.play I deny that it is racism. is obviously there. In these last
:11:34. > :11:38.few months. Things have happened. It tells you that. There is
:11:39. > :11:44.something there. There is some kind of discrimination, there. It is
:11:44. > :11:50.important to know about that, and to see it. Do you think you should
:11:50. > :11:59.get on the wrong -- should resign? A good one to get into that sort of
:11:59. > :12:02.argument. It is up to him to make that decision. Especially in a week
:12:02. > :12:04.which has seen Liverpool's Luis Suarez charged with racially
:12:04. > :12:07.insulting the Manchester United defender Patrice Evra taking the
:12:07. > :12:10.Kick It Out message into the community seems more important than
:12:10. > :12:17.ever. Only when the colour of the shirt is all that matters will Kick
:12:17. > :12:20.It Out feel their work is really done. Still ahead this evening: how
:12:20. > :12:28.the computer games industry is offering a �35 million helping hand
:12:28. > :12:31.to budding video game designers. And it may not music to the ears to
:12:31. > :12:40.those wanting rain but if the great outdoors is unavoidable over the
:12:40. > :12:45.next few days, you've got the More than 100 after the summer
:12:45. > :12:48.riots, some shops are still having problems luring back shoppers. It's
:12:48. > :12:53.an extra problem to deal with when High Streets are still suffering
:12:53. > :12:56.from the economic downturn. As our reporter Katie Rowlett's been
:12:56. > :13:05.finding out, the riots were bad for business. But there are hopes
:13:05. > :13:12.Christmas will give them a boost. The moment a small businessman was
:13:12. > :13:19.caught up in the biggest riots the West Midlands had ever seen. They
:13:19. > :13:25.took the van and burned it out. Dhillon will never forgot those
:13:25. > :13:28.mintues - when he almost lost everything. At his Sweet shop in
:13:28. > :13:31.West Bromwich - 3 months on he tells me he's still not replaced
:13:31. > :13:40.his van and recovery is slow: It could happen again. People are
:13:40. > :13:43.frightened about that. Lisa is working hard to rebuild confidence.
:13:43. > :13:48.She is the West Bromwich town centre co-ordinator and had only
:13:48. > :13:52.just started when the riots happen. I hass had started on the Monday
:13:52. > :13:55.and on the Tuesday I was at West Bromwich and I had to see what was
:13:55. > :14:04.happening, and the atmosphere was horrendous. There were people
:14:04. > :14:07.everywhere, and it was brightening. -- brightening. Away from the high
:14:07. > :14:11.street and the Queen Square shopping centre in West Bromwich is
:14:11. > :14:15.the town's biggest indoor shopping area. The managers told me that
:14:15. > :14:19.other riders have left lasting damage. The perception of members
:14:19. > :14:25.of the public, they have stayed away. Retailers have said it has
:14:25. > :14:35.been the worst year of their five- 10 year retail life and it is
:14:35. > :14:41.
:14:41. > :14:43.difficult for everybody at this present moment. Footfall is in fact
:14:43. > :14:48.down thirty percent. Normally 110,000 people come through the
:14:48. > :14:54.doors here every week. Now it's just 85,000. And that means less
:14:54. > :14:57.money in the pockets of traders. So what can shops do to fight back? In
:14:57. > :15:07.Birmingham, where the riots were the worst, hopes are being pinned
:15:07. > :15:28.
:15:28. > :15:34.In West Bromwich, street festivals are being organised to entice
:15:34. > :15:40.people back. We're doing their entertainment here. Still come down,
:15:40. > :15:44.there is no riots any more. Come down and enjoy yourself. There are
:15:44. > :15:48.some bright spots on the horizon. For the first time in five years,
:15:48. > :15:53.West Bromwich High Street will be lit up by Christmas lights. A
:15:53. > :16:01.message of hope after what has been at dark you for so many.
:16:01. > :16:04.Irrespective of the rise these are not easy times for retail outfit
:16:04. > :16:09.cinema. Tonight, the German Christmas market in Birmingham
:16:09. > :16:13.opens. This is important to all the retailers in the city centre.
:16:13. > :16:19.has, these traders have come from Frankfurt, the twin city of
:16:19. > :16:26.Birmingham. Every year, the market gets bigger and better. It started
:16:26. > :16:29.with 24 stores. There are now 193. 3 million visitors come and spend
:16:29. > :16:35.around �90 million in the local economy each year. This is a bigger
:16:35. > :16:38.event for Birmingham, isn't it? it is. Christmas has officially
:16:38. > :16:42.started and people come from all over the West Midlands and from all
:16:42. > :16:48.over the country. It is a huge event. 3 million people came last
:16:48. > :16:54.year. We expect even more this year. How much of the cash goes back to
:16:54. > :16:59.Germany and how much stays here? �90 million, if the people come up.
:16:59. > :17:02.The market draws people here and the Max the author, stay in
:17:03. > :17:10.accommodation, do their Christmas shopping, and eat in the
:17:10. > :17:17.restaurants. A large share of the money stays in Birmingham. Is it
:17:17. > :17:21.that of the Golden to set up, organising it from Frankfurt?
:17:21. > :17:26.always a challenge. In a few days, we have to set up this big market
:17:26. > :17:32.in Birmingham. There are bargains this year? There is a crisis in the
:17:32. > :17:38.eurozone. A I think, at Christmas time, people do not like to think
:17:38. > :17:42.of the prizes. And the map like to spend money because it is the
:17:42. > :17:52.playtime of the year. A market is on from today in Victoria Square in
:17:52. > :17:53.
:17:53. > :17:59.Birmingham, until 23rd December. am feeling all festive now! 193
:17:59. > :18:05.stores, and 3 million visitors. Stunning figures. Better news on
:18:05. > :18:08.the jobs front with plans for a �35 million hi-tech integrated site in
:18:08. > :18:18.Birmingham. The idea is to provide know-how and support to people
:18:18. > :18:20.starting out in businesses, such as video games. This is the launch of
:18:20. > :18:24.the Gaming and Digital Futures conference at Aston Science Park.
:18:25. > :18:28.One of the big teams are so young people can launch themselves into a
:18:28. > :18:33.career in the gaming industry. People are doing just that,
:18:33. > :18:37.striking out on their own, but what does that involve? These days, it
:18:37. > :18:45.means one or two people setting up shop in an incubator like this one
:18:45. > :18:50.at Aston Science Park. Today is an unusual day because kids from
:18:50. > :18:54.across Birmingham are here, not just to play, but to pitch their
:18:54. > :18:59.ideas for a children in need a video game, for a hi-tech challenge.
:18:59. > :19:03.We have got 48 hours to build a game for three platforms, which is
:19:03. > :19:09.a huge task, but some people have given up their time to help us do
:19:09. > :19:12.that. Those people are part of their oxygen incubator, soon to be
:19:12. > :19:18.going through the exact same process. Supported by the incubator,
:19:18. > :19:21.they will be pitching their ideas to investors, to get their ideas
:19:22. > :19:27.off the ground. But can a couple of companies make much of a positive
:19:27. > :19:31.impact on the West Midlands economy? Yes. Knowledge economy
:19:31. > :19:36.businesses tend to be smaller than traditional manufacturers. But it
:19:36. > :19:42.is the new economy, and we need to create jobs. They then to be higher
:19:43. > :19:47.value jobs, and ones that are the future. And of bombing harm is not
:19:47. > :19:56.supportive of those industries, then we're going to struggle -- if
:19:56. > :20:01.Birmingham is not supportive. incubators are a great idea. We set
:20:01. > :20:06.up in 1990. This was before the Internet, nobody to go to, no
:20:06. > :20:11.support and many of the games were very successful. But we lost lots
:20:11. > :20:16.of money from not understanding how to run a business. 48 hours later
:20:16. > :20:23.and the winning game was being played by the winners. The game is
:20:23. > :20:26.fantastic. I really like it. raising money for Pudsey Bear, and
:20:27. > :20:32.inspiring a new generation of game designers and where entrepreneurs
:20:32. > :20:42.to do it on their own, with a little bit of help from an
:20:42. > :20:43.
:20:43. > :20:48.incubator. And on David's Blog you can find more details about that.
:20:48. > :20:52.The address is on-screen now. A charity in Birmingham says BBC
:20:52. > :20:55.Children In Need is helping them teach new skills to young people
:20:55. > :21:05.and keep them safe. The Jericho Centre runs out of school
:21:05. > :21:06.
:21:06. > :21:10.activities, giving young people a focus on life. Break dancing
:21:10. > :21:15.classes at a church hall in the Balsall Heath area of Birmingham.
:21:15. > :21:25.It might seem like a bit of fun, but it offers a serious alternative
:21:25. > :21:26.
:21:26. > :21:31.to young people growing up in this inner-city area. With any
:21:31. > :21:35.discipline, sport or activity, you learn skills that you can apply to
:21:35. > :21:39.life and they learned how to channel their frustrations and
:21:39. > :21:42.energy and do something creative. If you are on the board just hang
:21:42. > :21:46.out on the streets they will see the wrong things because there is a
:21:46. > :21:51.lot of low-level drug dealing and things like that, so we haven't
:21:51. > :21:55.projects to keep them off the streets, to provide them with
:21:55. > :22:00.education, to make better choices with their lights, and to learn new
:22:00. > :22:05.skills. Eighteen-year-old Luke has grown up in Balsall Heath. He says
:22:05. > :22:15.the activities he has taken part in have changed his life. When I first
:22:15. > :22:20.started coming year, I was doing a lot of misbehaviour. Now, when I
:22:20. > :22:30.first started coming, they gave me cooking lessons. Now I do cooking
:22:30. > :22:36.
:22:36. > :22:41.at college. That is what motivated me to do it. Children In Need! Yes!
:22:41. > :22:46.They seemed very happy. All of that is raising money for Children In
:22:46. > :22:52.Need tomorrow. Get in touch with your BBC local radio station or
:22:52. > :22:56.with us, to tell us if you are also getting involved. Cliff Richard
:22:56. > :23:01.fans have spent the night queueing in Birmingham, just to meet him. It
:23:01. > :23:04.is the only location in the country, where you can get up close and
:23:04. > :23:10.personal with him. It was here in the Midlands that Cliff Richard
:23:10. > :23:18.started his first two or more than 50 years ago. We went to meet the
:23:18. > :23:23.man himself, and his vase. Come on, pretty Baby... 1958, and Cliff
:23:23. > :23:29.Richard releases his first single. 53 years on, and fans are still out
:23:29. > :23:34.in force, to meet the man himself, in Birmingham. He is just so sexy.
:23:34. > :23:39.You cannot beat that, can you? Sally from Leamington Spa was here
:23:39. > :23:46.at 3am, to make sure that she saw literature. But that is nothing
:23:46. > :23:50.compared to what they have done. -- that she saw Cliff Richard. I can
:23:50. > :23:58.do it for three weeks to see him at the NEC. There were plenty of
:23:58. > :24:03.younger fans into clothing 17-year- old Carl, from Solihull, who
:24:03. > :24:07.arrived last night. He is an idol of mine. I did not know what the
:24:07. > :24:11.queue was going to be like. I just had to be first in the queue.
:24:11. > :24:17.Birmingham has been good to me for years. The first tour that I ever
:24:17. > :24:21.did with the shadows in 1950 it, we came to Birmingham Town Hall. And
:24:21. > :24:30.it was one of 12 gigs we did that year. Ever since that time,
:24:30. > :24:35.Birmingham has been a very friendly place for me, and the Shadows.
:24:36. > :24:43.Cliff was you to make the fans, and signed DVDs of his latest tour. --
:24:44. > :24:48.was here to meet the fans. remember those days, because then,
:24:48. > :24:55.we spent a lot of time touring. We spent a lot of time in a small blue
:24:55. > :25:01.bus, and something slip in it, too. How was it for the fans? There was
:25:01. > :25:10.stunning. To die for. And he smiled. Just having his autograph was
:25:10. > :25:18.amazing. It was well worth the wait. It seems like, after 53 years,
:25:18. > :25:23.Cliff Richard still knows how to make his fans happy. My first
:25:23. > :25:29.record was a cliff Richard record. Travelling light. And he was so
:25:29. > :25:35.Roger, I was not allowed by my parents to see his first two films!
:25:36. > :25:45.And Sally from Leamington Spa thought he was so poor sexy - to-
:25:46. > :25:46.
:25:46. > :25:50.die-for! Have you ever at social calendar, with the Children In Need,
:25:50. > :25:55.may be queuing to see Cliff Richard, then I think you're going to be OK.
:25:55. > :26:00.We have some weather fronts brushing past us, to the west, but
:26:00. > :26:04.because of the high pressure to the east, that should kill off the
:26:04. > :26:12.majority of their effects. It is looking largely dry. Quite mild as
:26:12. > :26:18.well, with a south-westerly, which is much milder air. The foster
:26:18. > :26:26.those fronts brushing past us, tonight. -- the first of those
:26:26. > :26:30.fronts. On the wall, it is a dry night, with increasing amounts of
:26:30. > :26:34.cloud. It is going to be clearing to the east and when we get was
:26:34. > :26:38.clear spells, temperatures will remain slightly lower. Compared to
:26:38. > :26:44.the beginning of the week when we had temperatures of three Celsius,
:26:44. > :26:49.tonight, we are around nine Celsius. Quite a sunny start for the eastern
:26:49. > :26:53.half of the region. Further west, more in the way of cloud. That
:26:53. > :27:00.clears, through the afternoon. Sunshine should become more
:27:00. > :27:09.widespread. Highs of 14 Celsius, with more of a breeze from the
:27:09. > :27:13.south. Tomorrow, it is going to be dry and mild again. Another look at
:27:13. > :27:17.the headlines. Stephen Lawrence's best friend was in tears, as he
:27:17. > :27:24.told the court about the fatal attack. At the moment passengers on
:27:24. > :27:30.a flight to Birmingham from India were told to pay up, if they were
:27:30. > :27:38.wanting to get home. Children In Need comes live from Aston Hall in