13/01/2012 Midlands Today

Hello, welcome to Midlands Today. The headlines tonight: A �10,000

reward to catch the killers of a couple murdered in their own home.

The only offer these kind of rewards in the most heinous of

crimes. More than �35 million million worth

of metal stolen in the past four years in the region. We have seen

this as a massive problem. Braving the chill wind of the

economy, how Arts businesses are And aiming high, how we can all

enjoy some serious star-gazing this Good evening. Welcome to Friday's

programme. A �10,000 reward is up to track down the killers of a

murdered couple. Avtar and Carole Kolar were found by one of their

sons, a policeman, at their home in Birmingham. Officers say they are

following a number of significant lines of inquiry. Our correspondent

has the latest. The savagery of the two murders has

stunned the community in this prosperous part of Birmingham. The

investigation is painstaking. The postmortem into the deaths of Avtar

and Carole Kolar will now be announced tomorrow. The fact that a

husband and wife have been murdered in their own home has prompted the

crime stopper offer a �10,000 reward. It is really important that

people come forward and give us information about who might have

done this. Anybody who does give us any information either by phone or

through our website, it will be completely anonymous. What motive

for the killings? Little credence is being placed on the gangland

reprisal motive due to the San's police work. No threats have been

made to him all the family. The increasing number of street thefts

and burglaries. We are aware of a number of gold theft within the

area and nationally as well. We have seen an increase in doubt. It

is a line of inquiry that we are following up a. Gold has been a

safe investment but it is also fuelling crime with its high price.

Many Asian families often keep gold in their homes. Street robberies as

well and in one month last summer, 52 women fell victim to such

robberies. Be vigilant and consider safety at all time. Make sure your

doors and windows are locked, adequate lighting a. Things like

that. The most important thing to remember is your possessions can be

replaced but you cannot. The Kolars were deeply loved by their own

family and also at a nearby school. It was also attended by the

couple's and grandchildren. The sense of loss here today is

enormous. Everybody is devastated. We can't believe it to. Couldn't

believe it. In this day and age, what happens, I just don't know.

will cope though. Yesterday morning in the playground, most of the

children were crying. I am welling up just speaking about it, she was

a lovely lady. Every technique available is being deployed on this

double murder case. But it could be just local information, somebody

with a name, a suspicion, simply picking up a telephone and calling.

And Peter is that the West Midlands Police headquarters deceiving.

Still no news of the postmortem? -- headquarters this evening.

post-mortems have been carried out and I can tell you that senior

officers to have those results but this is a very highly sensitive

case and the police want to sit down with the whole of the Kolar

family to discuss exactly what happened to their beloved mother

and father. They want to make clear to the family all that information

before the release anything. there any more emphasis on this

investigation because it involves a police officer's family? No, far

from it. This was always going to be a high-profile case. The murder

of a couple murdered in their own home and some 60 detectives, that

is really standard practice in this type of murder investigation.

Finally, how common is it for Crimestoppers to put up a reward of

this magnitude? It is unusual. Rewards are usually between �500-

�1,000. But Crimestoppers kept repeating to me today that they are

independent of the police. This money has been raised by their own

volunteers and like so many people around the country, they have been

affected by this murder as well and they want to put up �10,000 in

order to encourage somebody out there to pick up the phone and make

that call. Thank you. Police investigating the murder of

retired teacher Betty Yates in Bewdley say people have spoken of

seeing her walking along the riverside. Until the earliest --

latest sighting was earlier in the day. They want to hear from anyone

who may have seen her near the river last Monday afternoon.

Coming up later, as plans for a new hotel for the Worcestershire

Country Cricket Club, does the City An investigation by the Sunday

Politics programme has found more than �35 million worth of metal has

been stolen across the Midlands over the last four years. A number

of MPs in the Black Country are now leading a Bill in Parliament to get

the wall surrounding the scrap Metal - crushed in the back country,

destined for places like China and there are huge amounts of money to

be made which is making metal theft a big problem for police. Just this

week, thieves stripped 200 metres of copper Telecom's cable from the

railway here in Walsall. British Transport Police to tougher

regulations for scrap merchant would help. It would help to

encourage scrap merchants to be more open with their dealings with

members of the public bringing in metal or cable. It would make them

more accountable and make our way of tracing metal certainly much

easier. The scale of the problem is significant. Figures released to

the BBC's Sunday Politics programme under the Freedom of Information

Act showed nearly 30,000 cattle theft in the region. West Mercia

saw little theft rise by 95% and the largest single theft was to the

tune of �100,000 in Staffordshire. One of the main examples have been

on the tram network and British Transport Police say more than

�300,000 worth of copper cable was stolen by thieves. It is those kind

of incidents that the Government wants to clamp down on.

The association that represents the scrapping organisation said asking

for photo ID would be better than banning cash. If we tried to ban

cash, it would drive it underground into illegal operations and

potentially to encourage the growth of organised crime. But MPs who

want to see an end to cash traders at scrapyard will be pushing for it

in a private members' bill in Parliament next week.

You can find out more about the rising problem of metal theft and

the changes that MPs want to introduce to the trade in scrap-

metal on the Sunday Politics programme at 12 noon on Sunday.

A father who appealed for calm after his son was killed during the

Birmingham riots has denied attacking a man in an alleged road

rage case. What is it-year-old Tariq Jahan appeared at the city's

Crown Court today to deny causing grievous bodily harm with intent.

The charge relates to an incident in Handsworth in July, one month

before the riots. A trial will take place in April.

An award-winning Indian pop singer who has been living in Birmingham

for 10 years has lost his fight against deportation. Rising star

Garry Sandhu was removed to India last night. The UK board in just

say say he had previously claimed asylum under a different identity

and had gone on the run -- the UK board Agency.

The Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi says he has been overwhelmed

by the support he has received since he has revealed he had cancer.

The founder member of the Birmingham heavy metal band has

been diagnosed with the early stages of lymphoma. In a message on

his website, he thanked fans, friends and colleagues and said he

was eager to start his treatment. Plans are being unveiled today for

the multi-million-pound redevelopment of Worcestershire

County Cricket Club, and the proposal includes a brand-new hotel.

One of the four or five that the council says the City requires. But

with hotelier's struggling to fill rooms already, is there a need or

desire for them? Our reporter is at Worcestershire Country Cricket Club

now. When it is light, this is one of the best sporting views anywhere

in the country. To imagine looking out of your hotel room window at

the best and that could become a reality as part of a �10 million

redevelopment plan announced today here at New Road. But as I have

found that, it to be the first of many new hotels to open in the city.

This is the iconic view of Worcester. A site that helps to

bring tourists to the city, helping to fill the 400 hotel rooms already

here. But according to research carried out by the City Council,

Worcester needs twice as many rooms and a better standard of hotels. To

attract both tourists and business. We think we have got a market here

that will support more hotels, that would meet the needs of both

business customers and those who come for leisure purposes. And so

we are very keen to encourage hotelier's to have another look at

the City. The findings of the report said the standard of

Worcester's hotels are generally of a low quality. Not one has an

official four or five-star rating. According to the Chamber of

Commerce, changing that is vital for the city and its economy.

Businesses in the City will use hotels outside of the city centre

and obviously they will then spend their money outside of the city

centre. That might be good for the people outside the city centre but

not good for those in the city centre. Away from hotels, there's

plenty of investment going on in Worcester including a new library,

sporting arena and multi-million- pound retail development.

Good afternoon, how can I help you? But the people running one of the

city's hotels save money needs to be invested elsewhere to fill the

already empty rooms. You get what you deserve like many things and

the city has got the hotels it deserves. Without the

infrastructure, the industry finds it difficult to fill the rooms that

it has got over a 12 month period. By this time next year, there could

be a new 120 bedroom hotel here. The first of a number in the City

but with many of was to's current hotels running below capacity, were

that there's a demand for them remains to be seen.

With me is the chief executive of Worcestershire Country Cricket Club,

David Leatherdale. You are was that man, can it cope with more hotels?

I cannot speak for everybody but when we speak to our spectators,

there seems to be a distinct lack of quality hotels and conference

facilities. We hope to build something that will produce not

just a quality hotel but facilities to allow businesses to come into

the city and use our facilities which will be totally beneficial.

new road is famous for cricket but also flooding and it will be right

by the river, that must be a concern for a new hotel? It would

have been if things had not been put in place relative to planning.

It will be raised above the flood plain exactly like the pavilion we

built two years ago so it gives a security. I know that the

Environment Agency have been consulted and are happy with the

situation and we should not have issues. What does it mean for the

cricket club itself? It will not have Test cricket but it will bring

bigger things here? The biggest thing we are looking at is

generating income more than just during the cricket season. Cricket

is key, that is what we are here for. Money generated will go back

into the cricket side. If we have got new facilities, we can do that.

If the plans to get the go-ahead and they still have to from

Worcester City Council, work will start in September and things

should be completed by 20th Thanks for joining us this Friday

evening. Still to come, we meet the men whose interest in space has led

to a pretty explosive hobby. And with the Stargazing events

taking place over the weekend, it looks like the weather is on their

side - cold and frosty but clear skies. I'll have a full weather

update later in the programme. Almost 1,000 social care staff

currently employed by Staffordshire County Council will shortly be

working for the NHS under plans which it's claimed will

revolutionise the way people are treated in their own homes. It's

the largest integration of health and social services in the country

and it'll cost the County Council �153 million, making it the biggest

financial decision they've ever made, as Cath Mackie reports.

At home near Uttoxeter, David Sargeant's regaining his

independence after a stroke last year. He's one of the first to

benefit from a new integrated care scheme, which he credits for

getting him this far. The care team worked very hard with the doctors,

the physios and the community. They made sure everybody was prepared

for me when I did come have. In fact, rethink there were five

carers here to me me when I first came hand. -- I think. And this is

what an integrated service looks like. The community nurses, the

physio, the social worker, the social care assessor, under one

roof. We can get patients out of hospital early and we can also get

them home and feeling happy. idea of services coming together

isn't new, but what they are saying here in Staffordshire is that this

will be the largest integration of health and social care in the

country. The idea is to get people out of hospital and provide care

for them at home. One in four ends up in hospital when they don't need

to. This is about increasing community capacity to treat people

in their own homes and therefore keep them out of hospital. But come

people be confident there would be this push to get them out of

hospital too soon? Yes. If they are there for clinical reasons, let's

get them there quickly. But let's get them out when they can. Unions

acting for the 970 social workers are also sounding pretty positive,

and are waiting to see how it works. As for David Sargeant, he's back

working part-time as a computer consultant.

And the Department of Health is expected to agree to the deal

formally next week. Setting up a new business in the

middle of an economic downturn may not appear to be the wisest idea

but it hasn't deterred the creative industries, which are reporting a

small increase across the UK. So why are people with a passion for

the arts willing to take a risk? Our arts reporter, Satnam Rana, has

been finding out. It's all hands on for Matt King and

Zaphira Cormack, who've ploughed �5,000 of their own savings into

opening up Centre Arts in Cheltenham. Matt, if you can move

up Toby's a long... They set up this art space in September last

year, after Matt was made redundant from the Herefordshire Music

Service. With a growing here and we have been growing since day one and

operating in the blacks in stay one. That is something I am actually

very proud of. -- operating in the black since they one. We did not go

to the banks for money. We have not been paid yet but that is yet to

come. But why take on such a huge investment in the middle of an

economic downturn? I suppose we took a risk but we are just so

excited to start up a business in the arts because chart and does not

have an arts centre and we were confident this would be successful

because it is something the community needs. They're not the

only ones taking a risk. The Blue Organe Theatre in Birmingham also

opened last September. advantage we had was the premises

and the fitting out been cheaper and also the interest rate being

solo meant for payments on the loan were a fraction of what they would

have been 10 years ago. -- the interest rates being it so low. We

found it more achievable. Across the UK last year, there were over

1,000 hundred creative local organisations. Let's look had

visual and performing arts. We have had a downwards decline and in 2009,

there were 1260 organisations compared to 1170 last year. That's

a reduction of 90 organistions over two years. But despite the small

downward decline in new start ups, people like Matt and Zaphira are

willing to take a risk. For For the first time this season, all

four of our Premier League teams will kick off at 3pm on a Saturday

afternoon. Wolves travel to Spurs and Stoke are away to Liverpool.

Robbie Keane is set to make his Aston Villa debut at home to

Everton. And West Bromwich Albion have also got a fresh face in their

squad to face Norwich, as Ian Winter reports.

Introducing Scott Allan - highly- rated midfield player. Just arrived

from Dundee United and just turned 20. One for the future, perhaps.

But that future starts tomorrow because Albion have nine players

recovering from injury, so Scott goes straight into the squad.

football hero was Paul Gascoigne because I used to go and watch him

every week. Those are my role models. Is there a touch of him in

your game? Not any pressure, but I would love to be as good as he was!

In spite of interest from an number of other clubs, Scott chose Albion

because they are in the league. Now it is up to the manager to make

sure they stay there. We have met briefly and we will meet again

today. Do you get the vibes from him that there is money out there

to spend? The chairman's goal was the same as ours. They have the

position that, if got something comes along that I should recommend

to the chairman, I will try to persuade him to do it. Hopefully,

he will back me. Is that the smile that says Roy's expecting the green

light to get busy in the transfer market, or the smile that suggests

it's highly unlikely? All will become clear in the next two weeks,

by which time his team might have completed a hat-trick of victories

against Norwich City in the Premier League and the FA Cup. But, as any

Albion fan will tell you, things don't always go according to plan.

And of course you can follow your team and hear full match commentary

and updates on your local BBC radio station over the weekend.

This weekend the BBC is staging a series of astronomy events across

the Midlands ahead of the return of Stargazing Live on Monday. Our

science correspondent, David Gregory, is in the centre of

Birmingham tonight, which will be the focus of one event. So what

will be happening, David? As you might expect, here in Birmingham,

the event will involve the BBC big screen. We will also be telling you

how you can find out about events taking place made you wherever you

live in the Midlands. But first, an interest in astronomy does not

always mean you end up taking out a telescope at night as part of your

hobby. Sometimes it can lead to interest in other things to do with

space, like rockets. In a freezing field near Coventry,

countdown has begun. I have got kids of 11 and 12 in my school and

they are taking up rocketry now. You could say this is an exploding

Thai hobby but I don't want to jinx our plans for lift-off! We set up

in 2000, 2001, as a group of like- minded individuals who had an

interest in space, astronomy, rocketry, engineering. And we

basically build and fly a model rockets, high-power rockets, for

fun. Now, you might be wondering just what sort of fuel these

rockets use. Well, they use what NASA uses. The fuel is commercially

produced, mainly in America. And it's basically exactly the same

constituency -- consistency as that that goes into the solid rocket

fuel boosters in a space shuttle. So the same as you get in real

rockets? Yes. These are real but they are just smaller. But like any

launch, there is always a worry it might not go to plan... Heads up,

we are launching in... 5, four, three, two, one, launched! Not a

hitch. And then, what goes up must come down, and the question is, how

do you track your rocket? Because it can land several miles away.

These guys have the answer. You just text the rocket and the

onboard GPS tells you where it is! And it's not only GPS on board.

They have cameras to give you a rocket's eye view too. With me are

some proper space scientists, astrophysicists, from the

University of Birmingham. What will be happening with the big screen,

Chiara Mingarelli? We will be starting off with some of short

films about looking for life on other planets. And then we will

have the night sky being shown. What else is going on, Katherine

Grover? The events of relief fund. You can build your own rocket and

see it launched from the sky. We have games and you can learn about

some of the research we do at the University. Will there be a

telescope surgery? Yes. You can bring your telescope and we will

have experts who can show you how to use it better or fix it, and we

will also have a telescope that has filters in it so you can look at

the sun without hurting your eyes. So, come down to Birmingham or go

to the website and you can find out all about everything taking place

all over the country. I would wrap up if you are going to

Yes. It has certainly been a frosty, cold Bay, but through the week, it

has been mild and we have had a transition. And this is a picture

of a rose in full bloomed. But none of that for the weekend. We have

high pressure at the helm so it will stay cold through the weekend

and next week. Plenty of sunshine today and a cold day, too. Any

cloud will disburse early this evening and we will see a

widespread frost under those clear skies. Pampered as well start to

plummet and dicta around -2 in most places, and even lower in some of

the more rural places. -- and dip down to around -2. It will be cold

and sunny through the day tomorrow and we are seeing some patchy mist

and for early on. But a lovely day ahead. Dry and bright with plenty

of sunshine once again, but cold again, with temperatures a touch

lower than today. Just four at best. For wind will be light. For the

rest of the weekend, temperatures will be staying very cold through

the rest of the weekend. We are not going to see the effect of these

until later in the week, so staying cold through the day on Sunday as

well with another frosty start. Temperatures at just four degrees

at best and the wind will be A look at tonight's main headlines:

The Prime Minister hints at a rethink of the plan to cut child

benefit for better-off families. And a �10,000 reward's been offered