24/11/2011 Midlands Today

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

The headlines tonight: police searching in woodland for Kate

Prout's body have found human remains.

We have found human remains close to the location Adrian Prout said

he buried his wife. Slowing sales for shops as the

Christmas rush fails to get going. We are not attracting the customers

we were before. Protests about the cuts that could

threaten 3,000 miles of country walks.

And where best to go to hone your skills in Alpine acrobatics. Stoke-

Good evening and welcome to Thursday's Midlands Today, from the

BBC. It's being predicted that this

could be an austerity Christmas, with shops bracing themselves for

tough trading. And this at a time of year when stores hope to make

the lion's share of profits to tide them over in leaner times. Today,

Sir Philip Green said his retail empire, which owns Burton and BHS,

has seen a near 40% slide in profits and will close 260 stores

across the country, including many here. Across this region, sales

have fallen by more than 10%. Even at the country's most popular

shopping destination outside London, the Bullring in Birmingham, sales

are down, too. And according to the latest Bank of England survey,

cash-strapped consumers are tightening their belts more than

ever. But as Cath Mackie reports, savvy shoppers can bag a bargain,

as stores are forced to make big discounts.

90 eggs for 99p and four loaves of bread for �1. No wonder people were

queuing for hours this morning to get their hands on the opening

offers at A1 Supermarket in Small Heath, Birmingham. It is so cheap.

It is an unbelievable offer. That is why we have come. I can't

believe it! There were crowds, too, up the road at the Bullring. But

how many were spending? The dancing diggers had drawn them in. The

unusual display marked the opening of Spiceal Street, a new dining

quarter. We cannot ignore that people are finding it tough. I

think it has finally caught up with us in Birmingham in this second

half. Online, we have done a lot to ensure that customers will look for

products online and then come into the shops to make a purchase.

Bullring is the top end of retailing, fairing better than many

places in the West Midlands. Spending's so slow in some areas

that stores are closing. Solihull- based Cooks the Bakery has gone

into administration, while Dorothy Perkins and Burtons in Stafford are

shutting shop. They're part of the Arcadia Group, which is closing up

to 260 stores countrywide after reporting a big fall in profits.

am sure there will be fewer people wanting to come into the town

centre and you have got to feel for those who work in the shops. It is

stripping out the heart of the town as all is little shops disappear.

Rising prices, battered confidence and the lure of online bargains

have all contributed to the decline in footfall, or the number of

people going shopping. And the statistics are quite stark.

Footfall fell in the West Midlands by 10.4% between August and October.

Compare that with the national average of 2.3%. But here's one man

who's confident of success in a tough market. Chris Sargeant, of

the Handmade Burger Company, who opened a new restaurant today at

the Bullring. This is our 13th restaurant we have opened over five

years, so we are really excited. You have to not lose what you

created from the first restaurant on day one, so we have not lost our

values. But with inflation taking a big bite out of incomes, how much

will we all have left in our purses and wallets to spend this

Christmas? Our business correspondent, Peter

Plisner, is in Warwick for us tonight, where there's a Victorian

Christmas fair, one of the many events around the region designed

to pull in shoppers at this time of year. Peter, after a very tough

year, the next 30 days are crucial for everyone in the retail sector,

aren't they? Absolutely. Hence the appearance of this Christmas market

tonight. Some do up to 50% of their annual trade in the run-up to

Christmas, but things have been pretty slow to start this year.

Some are blaming the mild weather. Last year, of course, it was snow.

So we need a happy medium between the two. This is David, a trader

here. How are things for you? Things are picking up. The weather

could get a bit colder and that would help. But we are hoping we do

not get the snow and stuff from last year and we are happy with the

way things are picking up at the moment. How important a Christmas

markets like this in getting people in? Very important. It is like the

start off Christmas. People suddenly feel the spirit and they

love it. We have got independent shops and a fabulous market, as you

can see, and it gets people feeling a bit happier with life in this

economic gloom. Can you tell us why people like cold weather to do

their shopping? I don't know! It is just a psychological thing that

snow and frost makes you wrap up warm and you feel hope very good

about Christmas. Many thanks. Later on, they will be turning on the

Christmas lights, yet another draw to get people out and spending.

looks lovely there! Thanks for joining us this evening.

Later, Coventry City fans want the club's owners out. Now the council

leader joins the campaign, too. needs investment and to me, it is

clear that SISU are the ones to put Tonight, human remains are found by

police officers searching for the body of Kate Prout, who was

murdered by her husband Adrian four years ago. They were discovered on

the farm the couple shared in Gloucestershire. Officers have been

looking for the body for four days after Adrian Prout confessed to her

murder in prison last week. He'd previously maintained that his wife

had disappeared but he was convicted of her murder last year

and is currently serving a life sentence. Steve Knibbs reports.

you are watching this broadcast and you are able to do so, please

contact us. You might not be able to talk to your family and

friends... From the start, Kate Prout was just a missing person.

But then the police realised her disappearance was more sinister.

They spend weeks combing the acres on her farm, but inner avail. Then

her husband, Adrian, was charged with her murder. In court he

claimed he was innocent. The police uncovered his violent past in his

wife's diaries and that he had threatened to take her away. Then a

dramatic twist. After failing a lie-detector test, Adrian Prout

finally confessed and was brought to the farm in handcuffs to show

the police way he had buried his wife. This is the spot believed to

be Kate Prout's final resting place. You can probably see how tough it

has been. Adrian Prout has not been able to give us a precise location

and that is why it has taken so long. But it is in the area he

loped - but he indicated. It has been a slow process by necessity.

This is a crime scene and the body itself will be a crime scene in its

own right, so they need the area to be as uncontaminated as possible,

and there maybe forensic evidence from four years ago, when they

first looked for her body, and there could be some soil evidence

or pollen evidence that they want to match, and they really don't

want to be disturbing too much of that. A pathologist spend the

afternoon examining the remains pending formal identification. A

short while ago an ambulance carrying a coffee left -- a coffin

it left the woodland. Students at Birmingham University

claim one of their protestors has been injured in a scuffle while

taking part in a demonstration. Around 20 students barricaded

themselves in a building at the university early yesterday to

protest against tuition fees. The university is taking legal advice

on removing them. It is a group of autonomous activists based at the

University of Birmingham who are protesting the rise in tuition fees,

which, by 2012 at this university in particular, will be �9,000. It

is also about staff and departmental cuts taking place at

the University. The food company Nestle is creating

300 jobs at its factory between Uttoxeter and Burton-upon-Trent.

The company is investing �110 million to increase production of

one of its coffee brands at its Tutbury site. The move will see the

plant's production capacity treble. We are now exporting from this site

to 30 countries around the world, and quite frankly, we're running

out of capacity. We are nearly at the end of that capacity so we are

spending another �110 million, and that is another 300 high-quality

jobs. Technicians and engineers that we will need.

With its beautiful countryside, Shropshire is a magnet for walkers,

who generate �40 million annually for the local economy. The county

has 3,500 miles of footpaths. But ramblers say all this is under

threat because of budget cuts, and today they marched, what else would

you expect, to Shire Hall to voice their concerns. Bob Hockenhull

reports. This is Lyth Hill Country Park. It attracts many ramblers.

But some say their rights are not being protected. We have complained

about problems with the foot paths but nothing has happened. 3,000

people have voiced their concerns. Many who have signed a petition are

from outside the county and some have come from abroad to sample the

delights here. They want to get across how important walking is to

the local economy. Many have marched to Shire Hall for a valid.

That means about 500 will be unwalkable. We would not want a

visitor to frock Show coming across those. But the council says the

accessibility to footpaths has been improved over the past few years.

They told the petition organisers the cuts will not compromise the

roots. We are prioritising the parts we need to keep open. We

cannot prioritise all of them because it -- because they are not

being used. If the people at the centre employed by the council are

not there to do the enforcement work, writing letters to the

landowners, that path will deteriorate. It is something the

ramblers say they are keen to avoid in Shropshire is to remain a top

walking destination in the UK. Absolutely stunning, isn't it?

Looking at scenes like that, it is hard to believe it is a year to the

day since the last snowfall of winter. Any sign of the first snow

of this winter? Not unless you are heading to Scotland. Thankfully, we

have been spared any premature wintry weather, but wind is often a

worry and we could have that in the days ahead. More later.

And later, how the Potteries have become a centre for freestyle

skiing. Who needs real snow? Campaigning starts in earnest

tonight for the race to become Birmingham's first directly-elected

mayor, with the power to run the city. The second city and Coventry,

too, are in line to go down the route already followed by London.

The timetable looks like this. The initial consultation period closes

on 3rd January. Then there's expected to be a local referendum

next November. If that produces a Yes vote, then elections for mayor

in both Birmingham and Coventry would take place in May 2013. Both

the Yes and No camps have supporters in all the political

parties. I think in principle, the evidence we have from around the

world and in London is that where you have a strong civic leadership,

you tend to get better outcomes of the city. And it is important that

the city mayor for Birmingham is also given powers to implement

transport and investment, and have real say of what is happening in

the city. I do not think Birmingham should have an elected mayor

because it will not improve the governance of Birmingham or the

democracy, or the services that people of Birmingham rely on.

Well, if that mayoral election takes place, there'll be no

shortage of candidates. MPs past and present, as well as leading

figures in local politics, the media and from industry are among

those whose names have been put forward. And more are expected to

emerge. Some of those candidates will be at election debates in

Birmingham, the first of which is being held tonight at the city's

Hyatt Hotel. Our political reporter, Susana Mendonca, is there. A chance

for someone to make the early running? Certainly. In about half-

an-hour, this room will be filled with people wanting to hear why

they should or should not vote for a -- an elected mayor. Many have

suggested they will stand, including Sean sand, a Labour MP.

And the Lib Dem MP for Birmingham Yardley, who is opposed to the idea

of a mare that has suggested he might stand of the position becomes

available. I am joined by the organiser of this debate. There has

been criticism that most of those who are interested are Labour Party

members. Is there an argument that you need to broaden the debate and

get more of the other parties interested? I think the way we have

operated as a campaign means we have offered people coming in from

every angle and politics, from Conservative to Labour. Principally,

we have offered an independent debate to those who want to stand

up on the podium. The key challenge, though, is getting people

interested. The turnout was low. How do you get them fired up?

need you so sure media, more than anything else. We have also been

out on the streets and got people involved, asking them what they

think. Sadly, we must leave it there. The referendum takes place

in May, and then if people say yes, there will be an election the

following May. Figures out today show a record

number of NEETs. That's young people not in employment, education

or training. The number stands at 1,163,000. One of the country's

biggest manufacturing firms is trying to do something about that

by encouraging more schoolchildren to consider engineering as a career,

as Joanne Writtle reports. Enthusing a new generation of

potential engineers. School pupils joined in an event at RAF Museum

Cosford to get them thinking about a career where there's a skills gap.

One of the organisers was BAE Systems, one of the country's

largest employers of engineers. Do you think some of these children

are too young to be encouraged into engineering? Some of them are only

11. What we find is that when children go to secondary school,

they lose their interest in science and maths, so if we can engage and

inspired young kids, they will go on to develop their skills and

hopefully become the engineers of the future. Once, millions of

people worked in engineering in this country. Latest figures show

there are now 421,000 engineers. As students got to grips with science,

organisers spoke of how they were addressing the drop in interest.

When I go back to school and think back to engineering and science, it

was through a book, but what better place to come than a museum to

throw chocolate eggs off a wall of, spend time in a hangar and learned.

The children themselves had mixed views about engineering and why it

might not be an attractive option for some. Now the music is coming

out, everybody wants to be pop stars and famous instead of doing

work like maths and science. looks like a brilliant job. I will

considerate when I am older, definitely. I would like to be an

engineer because I like to make technical gadgets. Much of the

event has focused on biomimicry. That's how science takes

inspiration from nature and how nature can inspire inventions. So

how flight of a mechanical kind links to flight in nature. The

whole event is aimed at giving young people ideas for a possible

future in engineering. Onto football, and Walsall have

made it through to the FA Cup. They came from 1-0 down to lead 2-1 with

goals from Alex Nichols. Exeter equalised but a goal in

extra time took Walsall through to a second round tie. Well done to

them. The leader of Coventry City Council

is calling on the owners of Coventry City Football Club to sell

up and let someone else run it. John Mutton says SISU aren't

prepared to invest in the club and that the council would never

consider selling their share of the ground to the current board, as Dan

Pallett reports. They're under fire like never

before. This is the board of Coventry City's owners, filmed in

March last year. Since then, two have left, many star players have

left and the Sky Blues are in the relegation mire in the Championship.

The council leader says it's casting a shadow over the whole

city and it's time for a change. Obviously, it needs investment. To

me it is clear that SISU and those people will put investment -- will

not put investment into the club. They have no real interest in

football. They just want to get their hands on the Ricoh Arena.

Coventry City don't own their ground. The City Council owns half

but won't sell. SISU have run a football club into the ground.

There is no way I will let them run the Ricoh Arena down into the

ground as well. Attacks have already come from the fans. There

have been protests at several games this season. Many agree it's time

for new ownership. As a Coventry fan, they have promised a lot and

delivered little. They are clearly ruining it. We should keep hold of

what we have got because there is no interest from anybody else.

only in September, SISU launched a charm offensive to win over the

fans. People should recognise that we are supporters as well. We have

become very attached to the football club and we know the

feelings they have. We want a successful club. It's a tricky

subject for manager Andy Thorn. His priority is avoiding relegation.

don't want to get caught up in the politics because I would take my

eye off the ball. We need to keep working hard with the players to

achieve what we want to achieve. There has been some good news today.

The Sky Blues today signed promising Aston Villa midfielder

Gary Gardner on loan. But Coventry need a lot more good news days if

they're to escape relegation next May.

We have just had a statement from the club as saying that they need

to do much to rebuild the trust between the club and the fans and

SISU. We now have an expert on this. Pretty abysmal attendances. What do

you think the future holds for the club? I think it is a transitional

season. They released a lot of players at the end of the season on

free transfers, players that would have had a market value. They are

cut adrift at the bottom of the table at the moment. Who knows what

the future holds? There are talks of potential administration. It is

a case of witch and see at this time. The fans are pretty fed up.

How on earth do you win them back? For a Football League club like

Coventry, the fans are the lifeblood of the club. It is

different to the Premier League where they can take television

money. They cannot do that here. Just over 11,000 core supporters at

the game on Tuesday. It is a worrying sign. But it is not enough

to have a great stadium and club. The fans want results? Yes. There

is talk of the club investing in a share of the stadium but many fans

would like to see investment back in the team, because that is what

will improve their league performance. This has a negative

effect on the club's revenue, where they could then look to sell some

of their better players to recoup. Thank you for coming in. Troubled

times indeed. Freestyle skiing is a sort of

alpine acrobatics that's grown so much in popularity, it's now an

Olympic event. And a club in Stoke- on-Trent is emerging as one of the

leading UK centres for the sport. And despite the lack of real snow,

the club is now vying to bring a Winter Olympics medal back to the

Potteries, as Liz Copper has been finding out.

At Festival Park in Stoke-on-Trent, this is the biggest dry slope

freestyle jump in the UK. And this club is training skiiers who're

competing with the best in the world. We are actually looking at

helping them out with their gym training and in terms of their

mentality and the way they approach this. It is a big psychological

game when you are throwing yourself quite high in the air, and you have

to be prepared for what could happen. Looking at all the elements

that make a good freestyler. ski slope's been here since the

'80s, but the freestyle club was only established earlier this year.

It's attracting large numbers of young enthusiasts. I started off

not even being able to go down the slope, but gradually you get used

wit and the effort you have to put in and the training you do. It is a

piece of cake! These young skiers have their sights set on a Olympic

glory. Sissy Herant, from Chesterton in North Staffordshire,

is already in the British team and is training for the Winter Olympics

in Russia in 2014. Just the rush you get when you go over that jump

and land a trick. Or going skiing with friends. It is all worth --

always worth it. The club has ambitious development plans. With

increasing numbers of talented competitors drawn here, it's aiming

to become the country's leading dry-slope centre.

I can't imagine getting used to doing that! Anyway, how is the

It will be turning breezier and we have had some comments on how much

so. Hold on to your hats! It is to the north of the country and it is

spearheaded by a fairly measures- looking area of low pressure. That

spread to the north of Wales and to the east of the border we could get

some of that, too. Towards the end of the week, it is looking windy

but dry. Having said that, under his blanket of cloud, we have rain

working in from the West, and as that comes in, it will turn gusty.

The rain will start to split up and fragment as it goes eastwards. If

we could have some heavy bursts to the north. We have got clearing

skies to the West and temperatures could fall as far as five degrees,

but not enough for frost. As the cloud close tomorrow, we are waking

up to a good deal of sunshine. But introducing the odd shower. It will

feel a lot fresher tomorrow. From tomorrow night, the Sky's clear

once again, so temperatures could fall as low as three degrees. Gusty

on Saturday, said temperatures could be up to 10 degrees, feeling

A look at tonight's main headlines: A war of words about next week's

strike over public sector pension reform. The Ggovernment claims it

will lead to job losses. Let's go back now to our business

correspondent, Peter Plisner, who's at that Victorian market in Warwick.

Money is tight for just about everyone at the moment, so will

there be bargains to be had on the high street this Christmas, Peter?

Certainly no need for any discounting in Warwick, judging by

the number of people who have turned up. But we are already

seeing discounting in shops like Debenhams. Also expect bargains

online. Tomorrow is traditionally known as Black Friday, when you get

some of the biggest bargains ahead of Christmas. Amazon and Apple are