:00:04. > :00:07.Hello and welcome to Midlands Today, with Nick Owen and Suzanne Virdee.
:00:07. > :00:10.The headlines tonight: Too expensive and out of reach for
:00:10. > :00:15.people on average pay - home truths about the region's broken housing
:00:15. > :00:18.market. The rents, the council tax with bills on top, and then trying
:00:18. > :00:22.to save for a deposit does make it very hard.
:00:22. > :00:24.A court's told a soldier who tried to blow up a Mosque was a member of
:00:24. > :00:27.the English Defence League and the BNP.
:00:27. > :00:32.More chaos on the railways as overhead cables snap again, causing
:00:32. > :00:36.long delays for passengers. It's horrendous but at that time of the
:00:36. > :00:38.morning, that's how it's going to be. We got here as quickly as we
:00:38. > :00:41.possibly could. And in court again. Birmingham
:00:41. > :00:51.City's owner, Carson Yeung, says he'll be denying charges of money-
:00:51. > :01:02.
:01:02. > :01:05.Good evening, welcome to Wednesday's Midlands Today, from
:01:05. > :01:10.the BBC. Tonight, warnings that the region's housing market is broken,
:01:10. > :01:13.with average-priced homes way out of reach of people on average pay.
:01:13. > :01:17.A report released today by the National Housing Federation shows
:01:17. > :01:24.the average home in the region costs just under �178,000. That's
:01:24. > :01:27.nine times the average wage of just under �20,000. The most expensive
:01:27. > :01:30.place to live is South Shropshire, where house prices are 14 times the
:01:30. > :01:32.average wage. Joanne Writtle has this report.
:01:32. > :01:35.Ludlow has, for some time, attracted early retired housebuyers
:01:35. > :01:39.from more affluent parts of the country, its reputation for gourmet
:01:39. > :01:42.food and a slower pace of life making it attractive. But the
:01:42. > :01:51.average house price is now �240,000 - 14 times the average income of
:01:51. > :01:53.�17,000 - according to a report by the National Housing Federation.
:01:53. > :02:01.Making it tough for 28-year-old estate agent Jamie Tulloch,
:02:01. > :02:05.struggling to get on the property ladder here at all. He's paying
:02:05. > :02:11.�500 a month in rent with his girlfriend as they save to buy
:02:11. > :02:16.their first home. It is a bit depressing. But of course, you know,
:02:16. > :02:21.that is the situation we are in. Can't do much about it so you just
:02:21. > :02:24.need to keep saving and eventually, hopefully I'll have enough for a
:02:24. > :02:26.deposit. Although the average house price here is �240,000, a typical
:02:26. > :02:33.two-bedroom starter home is �100,000 to �120,000, according to
:02:33. > :02:43.this estate agent. In fact, 75% of sales here are to people moving in
:02:43. > :02:49.from other areas, often London. lot of avoid young people here to
:02:49. > :02:53.move away for College, University. -- a lot of our young people. It is
:02:53. > :02:58.more towards the fact that there are not as many jobs in the area
:02:58. > :03:03.for alloy young people, to encourage them to stay in the area.
:03:03. > :03:09.-- for our young people. I am looking to buy a house. But it is
:03:09. > :03:12.hard. To earn a decent wage is really difficult at this time, for
:03:12. > :03:15.young people especially. After South Shropshire, the Malvern Hills
:03:15. > :03:18.is the next least affordable place to live, the average home costing
:03:18. > :03:22.just under 14 times the average wage. Next is Stratford-on-Avon,
:03:22. > :03:24.Herefordshire and Wychavon, in Worcestershire. At the other end of
:03:24. > :03:34.the scale is Stoke-on-Trent, but the average price is still five
:03:34. > :03:35.
:03:35. > :03:39.times the average wage. I think what we need is much more attention
:03:39. > :03:42.from a government on housing issues to get more products in place to
:03:42. > :03:48.help people save for homes and build more houses sell it becomes
:03:48. > :03:53.more affordable for them to buy, went or go on social housing
:03:53. > :03:56.waiting lists. -- to rent. estate agent we spoke to sold half
:03:56. > :03:59.of the houses on this affordable homes development on a part-
:03:59. > :04:03.ownership basis, where residents own a percentage. The other half
:04:03. > :04:07.are rented out. For Jamie Tulloch, owning a home is a long way off. He
:04:07. > :04:11.was brought up in Ludlow and has his sights set on being able to
:04:11. > :04:14.stay here. Well, let's go live now to
:04:14. > :04:16.Westminister and speak to Loreley Burt, the MP for Solihull, who
:04:16. > :04:21.hosted a reception today where that National Housing Federation report
:04:21. > :04:24.was launched. Thank you for joining us this evening. We've heard
:04:24. > :04:28.there's a huge gap between average wages and average house prices and
:04:28. > :04:34.banks not lending. Buying a home is simply out of reach for many, isn't
:04:34. > :04:40.it? It is a real challenge and as a coalition government, what we are
:04:40. > :04:45.looking to do is getting a mortgage indemnity scheme to encourage
:04:45. > :04:50.builders to build new homes for buyers and they can get up to 95%
:04:50. > :04:54.of the value of their home to borrow. So I think that will be
:04:55. > :05:03.helpful but there's a huge problem here and I don't think we need to
:05:03. > :05:07.underestimate it, really. What about part ownership? What is the
:05:07. > :05:12.Government doing to encourage that? With regard to social housing, they
:05:12. > :05:18.do have a special ability to borrow and also I have been talking to
:05:18. > :05:23.companies today who are able to use sources like pension funds, who
:05:23. > :05:27.want to invest in long-term borrowing. So I think there are a
:05:27. > :05:33.number of avenues opened and we are keen to help and support in any of
:05:33. > :05:38.those areas. There has been a lot of talk about building new homes.
:05:38. > :05:42.Do you think that will impinge on the green belt? And there are many
:05:42. > :05:48.empty properties that could be renovated? Yes, and we are taking
:05:48. > :05:52.measures to help restore empty properties as well. A lot of things
:05:52. > :05:56.we can do to properties to make them habitable. People of those
:05:56. > :06:06.properties are we really need to help with those renovations as well.
:06:06. > :06:06.
:06:06. > :06:09.Thank you for joining us. Thanks for joining us this
:06:09. > :06:14.Wednesday evening. Still ahead tonight, Harry Potter stars open a
:06:14. > :06:17.brand new teenage cancer unit. A soldier accused of trying to set
:06:17. > :06:20.fire to a mosque has admitted being a member of the English Defence
:06:20. > :06:23.League and the British National Party. Simon Beech is charged with
:06:23. > :06:27.arson after allegedly carrying out an attack on the mosque in Stoke-
:06:27. > :06:30.on-Trent. He's accused, along with Garreth Foster, of running a pipe
:06:30. > :06:34.into the building from a nearby gas meter. Our Staffordshire reporter,
:06:34. > :06:37.Liz Copper, has been in court. Members of the Regent Road Mosque
:06:37. > :06:41.Committee were in court to hear Simon Beech and Garreth Foster deny
:06:41. > :06:44.any involvement in the arson attack. Simon Beech, a serving soldier at
:06:44. > :06:51.the time of fire, said he'd joined the English Defence League when he
:06:51. > :06:54.joined the Army. He said the EDL was against Muslim extremists. He
:06:54. > :06:58.was asked about comments he'd posted on his Facebook page. He'd
:06:58. > :07:04.written, "They burn our poppies, we burn their place. Burn the lot of
:07:04. > :07:07.them out". Mr Beech said he didn't accept his views were extreme. He
:07:07. > :07:12.was also asked about a text message he'd sent to Garreth Foster, who's
:07:12. > :07:18.standing trail alongside him. It was sent around a month before the
:07:18. > :07:22.fire and read, "Eh-up, lad, up for blowing up that...hole?". He said
:07:22. > :07:26.the message didn't refer to the mosque but a fox hole near his home.
:07:26. > :07:29.Mr Foster said he'd never picked up the message. This was the scene at
:07:29. > :07:33.the mosque following the fire in December last year. It caused
:07:33. > :07:37.damage put at more than �50,000. Both men admit visiting the
:07:37. > :07:40.building but said they did so to look for timber. They both said
:07:40. > :07:45.they'd seen the emergency services at the scene but they hadn't been
:07:45. > :07:48.responsible in any way for the fire. Paul Spratt, for the prosecution,
:07:48. > :07:53.put it to Mr Beech that the arson was a revenge attack and he'd
:07:53. > :08:03.wanted to show he was a man of action. Mr Beech denied the
:08:03. > :08:08.prosecution's claims. During their evidence, the men were both asked
:08:08. > :08:13.whether they were racist. They said they were not. Both men deny arson
:08:13. > :08:18.and the jury is expected to begin considering its verdict tomorrow.
:08:18. > :08:21.There have been more long delays on the region's main rail route today.
:08:21. > :08:24.Thousands of rush-hour commuters were caught up in the chaos on the
:08:24. > :08:27.West Coast Main Line after overhead cables were brought down by a train
:08:27. > :08:34.between Wolverhampton and Stafford for the second time in 24 hours.
:08:34. > :08:39.Ben Godfrey reports. There appeared to be more coaches
:08:39. > :08:45.and trains at Wolverhampton Railway Station this morning. 4,000, this
:08:45. > :08:51.was a third Russia of going nowhere fast. -- for thousands of people,
:08:51. > :08:56.this was a third at rush-hour. has taken quite long. The coach was
:08:56. > :09:02.a bit tight. Everything is a bit tight. The traffic is horrendous
:09:02. > :09:07.but at that time of the morning, that is how it will be. Today, we
:09:07. > :09:11.learned the live cables which fell on to a passenger train yesterday
:09:11. > :09:16.morning had received repairs the night before. But another train on
:09:16. > :09:20.the line near Penkridge pull them down again. The line reopened at
:09:20. > :09:25.10am this morning, only after engineers worked through the night,
:09:25. > :09:30.battling high wind. 36 hours of delays and an apology from Network
:09:30. > :09:35.Rail. I apologise to everybody who has been affected because we have
:09:35. > :09:39.had a period where, for virtually 36 hours, there or no trains at all
:09:39. > :09:44.between Stafford and Wolverhampton. But even this morning, even the
:09:44. > :09:47.station manager was off the platform, helping to direct traffic.
:09:47. > :09:50.And Ben Godfrey joins us now from Stafford station. That's a very
:09:50. > :09:56.busy stretch of line up to Manchester and down to Birmingham
:09:56. > :10:01.and London. Is it finally running smoothly this evening? Yes. Some
:10:01. > :10:05.relief as it is running more smoothly. Still the odd delay but
:10:05. > :10:10.customers have many questions. Let's talk to Keith Lumley, from
:10:10. > :10:15.Network Rail. Let's talk about the Monday-night repairs. Clearly, they
:10:15. > :10:21.were not affected if the cabling came down again on Tuesday morning?
:10:21. > :10:24.We have got to establish exactly what a cause that -- what caused
:10:24. > :10:29.that, so we will be looking at things like the trains themselves
:10:29. > :10:38.as well as the power lines and allow equipment, associated with
:10:38. > :10:42.those things. -- our equipment. you do not know what has caused it?
:10:42. > :10:52.No. Our parity is to get passengers moving again so they can get where
:10:52. > :10:57.they need to go. -- priority. the end of last month, signalling
:10:57. > :11:02.problems and people on coaches. At the end of November, the same thing.
:11:02. > :11:06.People deserve a better service? Yes, and we need to find out what
:11:06. > :11:11.caused this, so we are doing investigations. Some of this is out
:11:11. > :11:17.of our control, as we have had cable fed incidents. But we will do
:11:17. > :11:21.our best to get things moving as soon as we can. Things nearly back
:11:21. > :11:28.to normal but a very busy time, so customers need to expect a good
:11:28. > :11:32.service wherever they are heading. The lawyer for Birmingham City
:11:32. > :11:35.Football Club's owner Carson Yeung has said he plans to deny a series
:11:35. > :11:37.of money-laundering charges filed against him. Mr Yeung appeared in
:11:37. > :11:41.court in Hong Kong again today, over allegations that he illegally
:11:41. > :11:44.laundered �59 million through his bank account. Earlier, I spoke to
:11:44. > :11:52.our reporter Andrew Wood in Hong Kong and asked him what happened at
:11:52. > :11:58.today's hearing. This was a prefix trial conference. -- a pro-trial
:11:58. > :12:03.conference. We heard today that the trial is probably going to start
:12:03. > :12:08.later in December and Carson Yeung's lawyer said he will contest
:12:08. > :12:14.the charges. The prosecution things it has a strong case relating to
:12:14. > :12:18.mysterious amounts of money, it says, inside Mr Yeung's account. So
:12:18. > :12:22.things seem to have been cleared away and we wait for the trial to
:12:23. > :12:28.start at the end of this month. you tell us more detail about what
:12:28. > :12:34.this case hinges on? The original or rest goes back to June, when
:12:34. > :12:38.Carson Yeung was arrested at his luxury home, which is one of the
:12:38. > :12:42.most expensive places in the world to live. He was arrested by
:12:42. > :12:47.officers from the Hong Kong narcotics department, the drug
:12:47. > :12:50.squad. He has been charged with five counts of having money which
:12:50. > :12:57.they reckon and alleged came from what they called indictable
:12:57. > :13:02.offences and the proceeds of some criminal act. Mr Yeung's lawyers
:13:02. > :13:06.say it is a very weak case and there are any number of reasons why
:13:06. > :13:10.A businessman should have lots of cash in his account. But the
:13:10. > :13:15.prosecution thinks it has a strong case. When will the trial start,
:13:15. > :13:20.and if he is found guilty, what sort of sentence could he expect?
:13:20. > :13:25.It could start before Christmas but we are awaiting an exact date. If
:13:25. > :13:32.Poppy were found guilty, a typical custodial sentence would be around
:13:32. > :13:40.five years. -- if he were found guilty. He has not been granted
:13:40. > :13:45.bail... Sorry, he has been granted bail but cannot leave Hong Kong, so
:13:45. > :13:49.he will not be seen Birmingham any time soon.
:13:49. > :13:55.The digger company JCB is to create 350 jobs, at least 100 of them in
:13:55. > :13:57.Staffordshire. The new jobs will come as part of a �31 million
:13:57. > :14:01.engine development project. The Government's awarded the company
:14:01. > :14:04.�4.5 million towards the scheme from its Regional Growth Fund. The
:14:04. > :14:06.other jobs will be created at JCB plants in Derbyshire and North
:14:06. > :14:12.Wales. Elsewhere, a Midlands newspaper
:14:12. > :14:15.group has announced that it's cutting 50 more jobs. The Midland
:14:15. > :14:18.News Association, which publishes the Express & Star and the
:14:18. > :14:20.Shropshire Star, is shedding 50 posts across the company after what
:14:20. > :14:23.it has called an extremely challenging year. The new
:14:23. > :14:26.announcement comes on top of 90 redundancies announced at the
:14:26. > :14:29.company earlier this year. A brand new unit opened in
:14:29. > :14:32.Birmingham today to help treat some of the 400 young people who are
:14:33. > :14:35.diagnosed with cancer every year in this region. The Teenage Cancer
:14:36. > :14:39.Trust unit will provide care and support for young people and their
:14:39. > :14:41.families. It replaces the charity's unit at the old Queen Elizabeth
:14:41. > :14:44.Hospital and complements existing units at Birmingham Children's and
:14:44. > :14:47.Royal Orthopaedic Hospitals. Today's opening ceremony was
:14:47. > :14:50.performed by two of the stars from the Harry Potter films. Katie
:14:50. > :14:53.Rowlett's report contains flash photography from the start.
:14:53. > :14:57.After years of tireless fundraising, the magical moment of its opening,
:14:57. > :15:01.with a little help from some former wizards. You may know them better
:15:01. > :15:04.as Fred and George Weasley, from the Harry Potter films. In real
:15:04. > :15:14.life they're James Phelps, he's the one with the long hair, and Oliver
:15:14. > :15:18.Phelps, with the short, who grew up in Sutton Coldfield. It is like a
:15:18. > :15:23.normal hospital ward, that is the great thing about it. Because we
:15:23. > :15:27.are from the area, it is a huge honour to be invited to do this.
:15:27. > :15:30.There are 17 of these units across the country. Three are in
:15:30. > :15:33.Birmingham. The trick? That even through treatment, they let
:15:33. > :15:43.teenagers carry on being teenagers, helping them have access to the
:15:43. > :15:44.
:15:44. > :15:51.So its design always has teenagers in mind, even giving parents the
:15:51. > :15:53.chance to ask for the music to be turned down, just like home. Beth
:15:53. > :16:02.Hosking, who's 22 and from Worcester, has leukeimia and has
:16:02. > :16:08.been in and out of hospital for the last year. Having the wireless, you
:16:08. > :16:13.can sit on Facebook all afternoon. It takes your mind off it. In other
:16:13. > :16:20.wards comedy was that there thinking, I feel rubbish. So it is
:16:20. > :16:22.a big difference. This unit replaces the one at the old Queen
:16:22. > :16:25.Elizabeth Hospital. The 12-bed facility took three years to build,
:16:25. > :16:29.costing more than �370 million, funded entirely by donations.
:16:29. > :16:32.have been very fortunate but it gets much harder to get the money
:16:32. > :16:37.in that we have had before. nearly three quarters of teenagers
:16:37. > :16:40.with cancer survive. While in treatment, this facility allows
:16:40. > :16:46.young adults to take control over their lives while they are in a
:16:46. > :16:51.hospital environement that largely takes control over them. That does
:16:51. > :16:55.look rather super. And much needed. A great idea.
:16:55. > :17:00.Still ahead this evening, taking a trip back to a snapshot of the 70s,
:17:00. > :17:03.when petrol was 16p a litre and smoking a pipe was all the rage.
:17:03. > :17:06.And with warnings in force, and snow, ice, winds and rain back on
:17:06. > :17:16.the agenda, it's a busy weather story this week. Make sure you
:17:16. > :17:16.
:17:16. > :17:18.There was a Royal seal of approval today for a shooting club bringing
:17:18. > :17:22.new sporting opportunities to the blind and visually impaired in
:17:22. > :17:25.Birmingham. They use sound instead of sight, and it hasn't stopped
:17:25. > :17:28.them hitting the bullseye, as Nick Clitheroe reports.
:17:28. > :17:31.When Mark Vincent and Elaine Chappell turned up to the shooting
:17:31. > :17:35.range in Birmingham this morning, there was a new recruit beside them.
:17:35. > :17:38.The Duke of Kent was trying his hand at target shooting for the
:17:38. > :17:45.blind and visually impaired as he opened a range set up by the 49th
:17:45. > :17:55.Rifle and Pistol Club with a grant from Sport England. Mark Vincent
:17:55. > :17:56.
:17:56. > :18:03.was a keen shooter before losing his sight. Shooting him by life is
:18:03. > :18:07.an incredibly relaxing pastime. -- in my life. I find the absorption
:18:07. > :18:14.required to do the shooting using the audio system incredibly
:18:14. > :18:23.relaxing. The ultimate aim will be to enter into the national
:18:23. > :18:26.competitions and see how we go up against other people. Elaine, too,
:18:26. > :18:29.was finding the centre of the target, so I decided to have a go,
:18:29. > :18:33.with the guidance of Ken Nash, from the National Small-Bore Rifle
:18:33. > :18:39.Association. The sight on the rifles is detecting v light on the
:18:39. > :18:42.rifles. The picture then goes down. Down a bit more. Excellent. Not too
:18:42. > :18:51.bad, but there were words of encouragement from Elaine to keep
:18:51. > :18:55.me trying. I think the first time, I was 45 out of 100. And my best
:18:55. > :19:03.has been 86. The Duke's final duty was to unveil a plaque to mark the
:19:03. > :19:13.occasion, but we still didn't know his best score. I hope you would
:19:13. > :19:14.
:19:14. > :19:17.not ask me that! That is remarkable!
:19:17. > :19:20.The waiting is almost over. Tonight, the winner of this year's BBC
:19:20. > :19:27.Midlands Sports Unsung Hero Award will be announced at a special
:19:27. > :19:30.ceremony in Birmingham. 12 months ago, it was 74-year-old boxing
:19:30. > :19:33.coach Pat Benson from Small Heath in Birmingham who carried off the
:19:33. > :19:38.Award, for dispensing his wily advice to thousands of boxers for
:19:38. > :19:41.over 40 years. Tonight five more of the region's Unsung Heroes line up
:19:41. > :19:44.to succeed him by becoming our ninth winner - and also win a place
:19:44. > :19:50.at the BBC Sports Personality of the Year event in Manchester later
:19:50. > :19:54.this month. Ian Winter joins us now. Ian is everything ready to go?
:19:54. > :20:00.are making a few sound checks and everything is looking very festive.
:20:00. > :20:06.The tree is up. This is the trophy everybody would like to get their
:20:06. > :20:14.hands on tonight. Let's have a quick look at all five finalists.
:20:14. > :20:24.Give us a wave! Let's just remind you how these five made it onto the
:20:24. > :20:28.
:20:28. > :20:35.From Coventry, Godiva Harriers, this is Bill. He joined the club at
:20:35. > :20:41.18 and has helped Kaunas marathon runners over the world. --
:20:41. > :20:45.countless marathon runners. His passion is very appreciated by a
:20:45. > :20:52.his fans. From Mr bowls club, it is Norman.
:20:52. > :21:02.When he is not bowling, he is umpiring or making sure the website
:21:02. > :21:03.
:21:03. > :21:09.is up to date. And then we have another bill. If
:21:09. > :21:16.it wasn't for him, the Han would saints might never have had a pitch
:21:16. > :21:22.to play it on. Whenever there is a sporting challenge, she will fix it.
:21:22. > :21:28.-- he will fix it. And Derek, from a local swimming
:21:28. > :21:38.club. He has been a champion for years for swimming for the disabled.
:21:38. > :21:41.
:21:41. > :21:46.Hundreds will testify this. And finally, Bill. Five days a week
:21:46. > :21:49.he is down at the club, indoors and outdoors, encouraging keen rowers
:21:49. > :21:54.of all ages to reach their potential on the water. It is a
:21:54. > :22:02.tough job for the judges to pick one winner from five outstanding
:22:02. > :22:07.finalists. A tough job indeed. Let's speak to Dave, who is no
:22:07. > :22:13.stranger to these unsung heroes. They are the backbone of sport in
:22:13. > :22:20.this country. It started with the support of an unsung hero of and
:22:20. > :22:24.without them, sport would collapse in this country. You must have had
:22:24. > :22:30.dreams of competing in games when you win younger? And inspirational
:22:30. > :22:36.people? Many, and one of the first was a man called Chris when I was
:22:36. > :22:41.13, 14, 15. He made us laugh. He was a physiotherapist and took us
:22:41. > :22:47.into the sport and made it a joy. But also made us want to work hard
:22:48. > :22:51.and be the best we could be. He was my first hero of. You know what a
:22:51. > :22:56.difficult job the judges have had. We will talk to you later, I am
:22:56. > :23:00.sure. The winners will be unveiled later and we will reveal the winner
:23:00. > :23:05.on our late bulletin tonight at 10:25pm. Thank you. Looking forward
:23:05. > :23:11.to it. Now, as promised, we are taking a
:23:11. > :23:16.trip back in time do the 1970s, when trousers were a little wider
:23:16. > :23:21.and Ford Cortinas ruled the roads. We have footage showing a snapshot
:23:21. > :23:26.of life back then. Our reporter has been to take a look.
:23:26. > :23:32.It was a time when smoking a pipe was all the rage and a Ford Cortina
:23:33. > :23:41.on the driveway was the car to be seen with. It is these ordinary
:23:41. > :23:46.snapshots of 1970s Stourbridge that John has brought to life. You have
:23:46. > :23:51.all these televisions? Yes, they are a continuation between the
:23:51. > :23:54.central idea of the exhibition, and that is looking at the overlooked.
:23:54. > :24:02.They occupy a dominance based in the home and we take them for
:24:02. > :24:06.granted. Taken in the mid- 1970s, when the UK was experiencing a
:24:06. > :24:13.heatwave and petrol costs 16p a litre, these voters are being shown
:24:13. > :24:21.for the first-time at Birmingham's Ikon Gallery. Photos have been
:24:21. > :24:27.resurrected. It is a great way of showing a snap shot from the mid-
:24:28. > :24:31.70s of ordinary people in ordinary situations. For years and years, 38,
:24:31. > :24:36.apparently, I haven't seen the photograph since then, it does
:24:36. > :24:43.bring back memories. What a terrific place! But it is not just
:24:43. > :24:49.the photos that tell his story. John used a traditional wooden and
:24:49. > :24:54.brass camera from the 1880s to create a sense of occasion. They
:24:54. > :24:58.were taken on a plate camera so the images behind the lens were upside
:24:58. > :25:02.down and back to front, and there was another challenge. John?
:25:02. > :25:07.biggest challenge was the length of exposure. About half a second,
:25:07. > :25:12.which is quite a long time for people to sit still. And so each
:25:12. > :25:18.portrait forms the exhibition called Middle England. But for John,
:25:18. > :25:24.there is a bigger mission. The show is about life in small towns. The
:25:24. > :25:27.kind of world we all living in this country. Four decades on, his
:25:27. > :25:34.reflection on the ordinary has brought to life the mundane moments
:25:34. > :25:37.so many of us share. And you can see the exhibition
:25:37. > :25:47.until the end of January and Birmingham's Ikon Gallery.
:25:47. > :25:50.
:25:50. > :25:57.Now, she has already warned us Yes. Things are already turning
:25:57. > :26:01.tricky, with wind, ice and rain. The Met Office have issued an early
:26:01. > :26:06.warning and this covers the period from tomorrow night until Saturday,
:26:06. > :26:13.mainly with the risk of ice. But we have very cold conditions, with
:26:13. > :26:19.that sleet and snow showers. Before it turns colder, it will be milder,
:26:19. > :26:23.so the main features tomorrow are rain and wind. For tonight, we
:26:23. > :26:30.start off with clear skies for the region, so quite cold for many with
:26:30. > :26:34.the risk of icy stretches on untreated roads. That is where we
:26:34. > :26:42.have the showers earlier. Later in the night, in preparation for the
:26:42. > :26:46.rain, we will have cloud thickening up, introducing rain into western
:26:46. > :26:53.and southern parts. We could have gusts of wind up to 50 miles an
:26:53. > :26:57.hour. The ground frost should disappear by the middle of the
:26:57. > :27:01.morning tomorrow. The rain will turn quite heavy tomorrow and with
:27:01. > :27:05.the wind, it will seem even worse. Temperatures are into double
:27:06. > :27:09.figures tomorrow, at around 11 degrees. That then clears tomorrow
:27:09. > :27:14.night and that is when we could see some snow trickling down from the
:27:14. > :27:20.Cheshire Gap into the north of the region with a further risk of ice.
:27:20. > :27:23.That is from Friday into Saturday. Here are the headlines: David
:27:23. > :27:28.Cameron is under increasing pressure over a new EU treaty. Most
:27:28. > :27:32.is coming from his own MPs. And too expensive and out of reach