:00:06. > :00:10.Good evening. Trading standards officers have seized thousands of
:00:10. > :00:12.bottles of illegal alcohol in a crackdown across the Midlands. More
:00:12. > :00:16.than 1,800 bottles were removed from shops in Staffordshire, while
:00:16. > :00:18.the value of the alcohol recovered from Sandwell topped �40,000.
:00:18. > :00:26.Officers are also warning drinkers that the bottles of spirits can
:00:26. > :00:28.cause serious illness. Shirley Henry reports.
:00:28. > :00:33.Trading standards officers make an unannounced visit to an independent
:00:33. > :00:42.off-licence in Wolverhampton. They're looking for fake or bootleg
:00:42. > :00:48.alcohol. It may well be that this is an entirely innocent purchase,
:00:48. > :00:52.or it may be that there is something more. Over the last few
:00:52. > :00:56.weeks there have been hundreds of these inspections across the
:00:56. > :00:59.Midlands, and they have seized what they believe to be illegal, fake,
:00:59. > :01:06.or even highly dangerous to alcohol. Kirsty Dunn became ill after
:01:06. > :01:10.drinking what she thought was vodka. The smell of it was really bad, and
:01:10. > :01:16.also burning sensation in the back of your throat, I just knew that
:01:16. > :01:20.was not right. Obviously, it was quite a worry, for people who don't
:01:20. > :01:23.understand, especially youngsters. Tests showed it contained methanol.
:01:23. > :01:26.It's found in anti-freeze. It can cause dizziness, vomiting and even
:01:26. > :01:32.blindness. But lab technicians have made an even more worrying
:01:32. > :01:36.discovery. The last few bottles we have had had actually got
:01:36. > :01:39.chloroform in as well. That can be carcinogenic and it can kill.
:01:39. > :01:42.thought large, organised criminal gangs are behind the operation. It
:01:42. > :01:45.took five months for customs to track down this illegal vodka
:01:45. > :01:50.distillery in the East Midlands. Five gang members were jailed and a
:01:50. > :01:53.sixth was given a suspended sentence. Back in Wolverhampton,
:01:53. > :02:02.this shop owner was found selling several bottles of non-duty paid
:02:02. > :02:07.alcohol. He was given a warning. Everything I know that was on there,
:02:07. > :02:14.the duty paid was on there, that is all I know about it. A So what's
:02:14. > :02:19.the advice to consumers? Check the labels. If they are misspelled, and
:02:19. > :02:23.it looked as if they are going to peel off easy, it is cloudy, or if
:02:23. > :02:26.they're a bit at the bottom of the bottom. This is just a fraction of
:02:26. > :02:32.the illegal alcohol seized from a street, but it is thought thousands
:02:32. > :02:34.more bottles could still be openly on stale. -- on sale. Trading
:02:34. > :02:37.standards plan to continue their inspections. Those caught face up
:02:37. > :02:40.to two years behind bars. Police in Shropshire have launched
:02:40. > :02:43.a murder inquiry following the death of a 23-year-old man. He was
:02:44. > :02:47.taken to hospital last night after a dispute involving up to 20 youths
:02:47. > :02:50.near a recreation ground in the Monkmoor area of Shrewsbury. The
:02:50. > :02:53.victim's been named locally as Jason Cook, also known as Scottien.
:02:53. > :02:58.Three men in their twenties have been arrested. Detectives are
:02:58. > :03:01.appealing for witnesses. A two-year-old boy is in a serious
:03:01. > :03:04.condition in hospital after being injured in a road accident in
:03:04. > :03:07.Stourbridge. It happened in the Wollaston area yesterday afternoon
:03:07. > :03:12.when the child was hit by a car. The 66-year-old driver was
:03:12. > :03:16.uninjured. Police are appealing for witnesses.
:03:16. > :03:19.An off-duty soldier is being hailed as a hero after rescuing a woman
:03:19. > :03:25.from the River Severn in Bridgnorth. The woman, in her fifties, was
:03:25. > :03:27.spotted in the river at around nine o'clock last night. A 56-year old
:03:27. > :03:30.man and a 22-year old soldier, serving with the Mercian Regiment,
:03:30. > :03:33.came to her aid. All three were eventually brought ashore by
:03:33. > :03:37.firefighters. The woman was semi- conscious and is being treated for
:03:37. > :03:39.hypothermia in hospital. Conservationists have attacked
:03:39. > :03:41.plans by the University of Birmingham to close an
:03:41. > :03:45.environmental course that offers the only formal qualification in
:03:45. > :03:48.the UK for people who want to become Wildlife Recorders. The
:03:48. > :03:50.training enables them to track and identify British wildlife and
:03:50. > :03:56.identify the impact of everything from building development to
:03:56. > :04:02.climate change. The University has declined to give its reasons. Our
:04:02. > :04:05.Environment Correspondent David Gregory reports.
:04:05. > :04:09.The banks of the river Severn - the Wildlife Recorder in his natural
:04:09. > :04:18.habitat. But as a species, Wildlife Recorders are in danger of being
:04:19. > :04:21.swept away. I was amazed, really, I was very shocked and bewildered,
:04:21. > :04:26.because it is a very successful course, everyone who has done it
:04:26. > :04:30.goes on to great things, we have got some very good alumni who have
:04:30. > :04:33.done some good works, and it is the leading course to get recognised
:04:33. > :04:36.fields Gills. Although run by the University of Birmingham, the
:04:36. > :04:39.course is based here in Shrewsbury. Birthplace of Charles Darwin - this
:04:39. > :04:45.is his memorial - a man with more than a passing interest in wildlife,
:04:46. > :04:49.and it turns out he's not alone. When it became clear the University
:04:49. > :04:53.of Birmingham wanted to close the course, objectors launched an
:04:53. > :05:03.online edition which attracted hundreds of signatures within days.
:05:03. > :05:11.
:05:11. > :05:14.And that has had an effect. In a At the moment, more than 60
:05:14. > :05:16.students are on the course studying for their MScs. And despite these
:05:16. > :05:23.late concessions from the University, people are still
:05:23. > :05:28.concerned. It is a huge worry, really, because we don't know that
:05:28. > :05:32.at the end of this extended consultation, which is a year till
:05:32. > :05:36.autumn Quinn did well, we cannot be sure that another institution will
:05:36. > :05:39.not be ready to take us on in that period, and we will have to worry
:05:39. > :05:42.about the state of the course. Until at least spring 2012, the
:05:42. > :05:44.future of the work here remains unclear.
:05:44. > :05:47.Five wards at Warwick Hospital remain affected by the winter
:05:47. > :05:51.sickness bug norovirus. They've all been partially closed to restrict
:05:51. > :05:53.the spread of the bug. Staff say visitors are allowed but they need
:05:53. > :05:58.to follow strict guidelines being handed out at the hospital's
:05:58. > :06:01.reception, which are also available on the website.
:06:01. > :06:05.Phil "The Power" Taylor says he is thinking of retirement after
:06:05. > :06:08.suffering a shock defeat at the PDC darts World Championship. The 15-
:06:08. > :06:13.times world champion from Stoke-on- Trent was beaten 4-1 by Dave
:06:13. > :06:16.Chisnall in the second round last night. Taylor, who'd never failed
:06:16. > :06:18.to make the quarter-finals and has lost just five matches in the
:06:18. > :06:26.tournament since 1994, said he'd been handicapped by faltering
:06:26. > :06:36.eyesight and the heat. A look at the Midlands weather now,
:06:36. > :06:38.
:06:38. > :06:41.A very good evening to you, yes, a chilly and windy day for many of us
:06:41. > :06:51.today, setting it up for this evening as well. It will be a cold
:06:51. > :06:57.night ahead as you see the sky is starting to clear. Elsewhere, dry,
:06:57. > :07:03.with clear skies, temperatures falling away. It will be frost-free,
:07:03. > :07:07.as it is a windy night ahead. Tomorrow, a cloudy day, and another
:07:07. > :07:12.windy day as well, with outbreaks of rain through the morning. Then
:07:12. > :07:17.we will see showers for tomorrow afternoon, a few glimpses of some
:07:17. > :07:23.trying to end the day, but temperatures on be chilly side -- a
:07:24. > :07:30.few glimpses of sunshine. On Friday, this band of rain is waiting in the
:07:30. > :07:35.winter. We will see this band of rain spilling in through the day,
:07:35. > :07:39.turning very wet across the region of. We will see temperatures
:07:39. > :07:46.slightly higher to end the week. As for New year's Eve, things are