:00:04. > :00:08.Hello and welcome to Midlands Today, with Nick Owen and Suzanne Virdee.
:00:08. > :00:12.The headlines tonight: A third of the households in the
:00:12. > :00:15.region live in fuel poverty, more than anywhere else in England.
:00:15. > :00:20.People are having to choose to either eat or stay warm, and people
:00:20. > :00:25.are dying. Powering ahead - Jaguar Land Rover
:00:25. > :00:29.say they'll be recruiting a record number of apprentices this year.
:00:29. > :00:37.A startling jump in the number of serious injuries from horse-riding.
:00:37. > :00:41.Doctors urge people to be more careful. 15 years ago it was rugby
:00:41. > :00:44.injuries. For the past five years or so it is the horse-riding.
:00:45. > :00:54.And Tarka would have loved it! A special underpass is built to stop
:00:55. > :01:00.
:01:00. > :01:05.otters dodging traffic on a busy Good evening and welcome to
:01:05. > :01:09.Thursday's Midlands Today, from the BBC. Tonight, the number of
:01:09. > :01:13.families trapped in fuel poverty continues to escalate. In 2003,
:01:13. > :01:19.nearly 7% of homes in this region were affected. But that soared to
:01:19. > :01:22.more than 26% in 2009, an increase of more than 400%. People are
:01:22. > :01:27.considered to be in fuel poverty if they're spending more than 10% of
:01:27. > :01:30.their income on gas and electricity. Next week, advice will be on offer
:01:30. > :01:32.for people struggling to meet their energy bills, as Kevin Reide
:01:32. > :01:35.reports. Margaret Gale, from Bell Green in
:01:35. > :01:39.Coventry, has found it difficult to cope since losing a full-time job
:01:39. > :01:42.two years ago, followed by the death of her husband in 2010. She
:01:42. > :01:45.now works part-time advising people on how to manage household bills,
:01:45. > :01:55.so it was a surprise to her when she received a huge energy bill
:01:55. > :01:57.
:01:57. > :02:05.herself. Almost sudden, I got this �600 bill... It was devastating. I
:02:05. > :02:09.just went into a panic. I thought I could manage. I tell other people
:02:09. > :02:19.how to manage and all of a sudden, I couldn't. Over the last decade,
:02:19. > :02:22.
:02:22. > :02:26.households in this region have been squeezed by energy price increases.
:02:26. > :02:31.Back in 2003, fuel bills for the average household were about �500.
:02:31. > :02:34.It's now well over �1,000. And back then, one in ten homes were in fuel
:02:35. > :02:37.poverty. That figure is now one in four. Across Coventry in the
:02:37. > :02:41.Foleshill area, and Arthur Watkins lives alone after his mother died
:02:41. > :02:44.from cancer. When she passed away, he was so worried about paying the
:02:44. > :02:49.bills he went without heating for a full two years. I would come in and
:02:49. > :02:52.made myself a cup of tea and go upstairs and get into bed and keep
:02:52. > :02:55.warm. Arthur was helped by the Coventry Law Centre, who've seen a
:02:56. > :02:59.huge increase in fuel poverty cases in recent years, so much so they've
:02:59. > :03:04.set up a special project team to tackle the issue. The type of cases
:03:04. > :03:08.we are seeing are people that are really in a bad way with their fuel
:03:08. > :03:14.a Riaz, not being able to heat their homes. They are struggling to
:03:14. > :03:19.feed themselves or keep warm. is the worst case you have seen?
:03:19. > :03:23.Somebody springs to mind, a gentleman I saw last week who broke
:03:23. > :03:29.down in the interview at his home, because he just couldn't afford to
:03:29. > :03:35.live. He was living on toast. And he was unable to turn his heating
:03:35. > :03:38.on and had no hot water. He was boiling the kettle to wash himself.
:03:38. > :03:42.The Law Centre has also helped Margaret, but as someone who works
:03:42. > :03:46.voluntarily in the community, she fears her case is just the tip of
:03:46. > :03:49.the iceberg. We had a talk yesterday with the senior citizens
:03:49. > :03:56.I work with. Some of them are really thinking about giving up
:03:56. > :04:01.their home and going into council homes, which are 10, �11 cheaper,
:04:01. > :04:07.so they can pay their fuel bills. They come up and sit in the centre
:04:07. > :04:10.so they don't have to put the electric on. It is just everybody
:04:10. > :04:13.is terrified. With very cold weather with us now, many will be
:04:13. > :04:19.facing that difficult decision whether to turn up the heat or stay
:04:19. > :04:21.in the cold. A short time ago, I spoke to
:04:21. > :04:25.Jonathan Stearn from Consumer Focus, the watchdog which fights to secure
:04:25. > :04:35.a fair deal for energy customers, and started by asking him why he
:04:35. > :04:37.
:04:37. > :04:45.though this region had the worst fuel poverty in England.
:04:45. > :04:54.Fuel poverty things. -- fuel poverty is caused by three things.
:04:54. > :05:01.How fuel efficient homes are, income and it is mostly to do with
:05:01. > :05:05.income and inefficient houses. you also mention prices. Companies
:05:05. > :05:08.have been making huge profits and prices until recently have been
:05:09. > :05:17.going up enormously. Surely something has to be done? They are
:05:17. > :05:22.going up and they have gone up 150% since 2003. Consumer Focus is
:05:22. > :05:28.constantly arguing and questioning of the levels of prices that energy
:05:28. > :05:32.companies are charging. We need to make sure as much pressure is put
:05:32. > :05:39.on companies to keep those prices as low as possible. One thing
:05:39. > :05:43.people can do themselves is if they can actually get online and get a
:05:43. > :05:48.direct debit, they can get cheaper deals because you can save around
:05:48. > :05:51.�200 a year if you can do online direct debit. There will be those
:05:51. > :05:59.watching tonight you cannot pay fuel bills and they are getting
:05:59. > :06:03.into debt. What is your advice to them? There is something called A
:06:03. > :06:09.warmfront, which allows you to have heating installed in your home if
:06:09. > :06:13.you have not got any or if you have a very inefficient home. And in the
:06:13. > :06:20.West Midlands, the number of claims have gone down by a third, so use
:06:20. > :06:23.that and it can help you keep your home warmer.
:06:23. > :06:26.There's plenty of fuel poverty advice on our Facebook page, and
:06:26. > :06:29.later in the programme we'll be looking at another fuel issue. This
:06:29. > :06:38.time, the rising cost of petrol and diesel, which rural pub landlords
:06:38. > :06:41.claim is having serious Some positive news now for young
:06:41. > :06:46.job hunters, with Jaguar Land Rover announcing they're taking on 133
:06:46. > :06:50.new apprentices. Although welcome, that's not going to solve the fact
:06:50. > :06:54.that one in five young people in the region can't find a job. So
:06:54. > :06:56.what help is on offer? Well, tonight in the Black Country,
:06:56. > :06:59.there's a roadshow to promote apprenticeships, and Cath Mackie is
:06:59. > :07:09.there for us now. Cath, it's clear there's an increasing focus on
:07:09. > :07:10.
:07:10. > :07:14.apprentices? It does seem to be a bit of a buzzword at the moment.
:07:14. > :07:19.500 new apprenticeships were announced an Walsall just this week.
:07:19. > :07:24.There has been a steady flow of people here to talk to companies,
:07:24. > :07:27.businesses and colleges about apprenticeships. One company, one
:07:27. > :07:30.you have mentioned, Jaguar Land Rover, they announced they are
:07:30. > :07:33.taking on a record number of apprentices.
:07:33. > :07:43.They're the faces of the future for the Midlands car giant Jaguar Land
:07:43. > :07:46.
:07:46. > :07:50.Rover. And Stephen Mason, and 22 and I'm an apprentice. I'm Kirsty
:07:50. > :07:57.and I'm a second-year apprentice. And they hope to persuade more
:07:57. > :08:02.school-leavers to join them. I have a friend doing this course but I
:08:02. > :08:05.have not come out of college so I have not had to pay for it. Kirsty
:08:05. > :08:09.and Stephen are just two of the 237 apprentices currently working at
:08:09. > :08:12.Jaguar Land Rover and they're about to be joined by 133 more, a record
:08:12. > :08:16.intake for the company. We're not going to be complacent. We have
:08:16. > :08:22.great plans for growth and it is our people who drive these brats
:08:22. > :08:25.and make them happen. We need the best and we need more of them. --
:08:25. > :08:27.drive these products. With more young people out of work, 4,000
:08:27. > :08:32.people have already registered an interest in the apprentice scheme
:08:32. > :08:35.at JLR. It's perhaps not surprising. The company is at the glamour end
:08:35. > :08:39.of the car industry. Many of their suppliers across the Black Country
:08:39. > :08:43.have found recruitment more of struggle. When I told my friends I
:08:43. > :08:49.wanted to be an engineer, they weren't that impressed. They didn't
:08:49. > :08:54.think it was a girl's job to do but that is why they have been
:08:54. > :08:56.promoting it a bit more in girls' schools. Both Kirsty and Stephen
:08:56. > :09:01.act as apprenticeship ambassadors to schools and colleges. The
:09:01. > :09:06.application deadline for the JLR scheme is in April. With me now is
:09:06. > :09:12.a one man I cornered earlier. Sam, why have you come to this? I have
:09:12. > :09:16.come to look at my options and see what I can do for the future.
:09:16. > :09:21.you considering university or do you want to go straight to work?
:09:21. > :09:25.am considering university but the work option is still there. Have
:09:25. > :09:34.Jaguar Land Rover convinced you to apply? If they have convinced me. I
:09:34. > :09:38.might consider what later on. move on to Chris Luty. There are
:09:38. > :09:43.colleges here and big business. Our small businesses out there thinking,
:09:43. > :09:47.what is in it for me? It is fabulous that Jaguar Land Rover is
:09:47. > :09:51.taking on so many people but it is the small and medium businesses
:09:51. > :09:54.that will be keen to make apprenticeships that successful. It
:09:54. > :09:57.is worth emphasising that apprenticeships offered good
:09:57. > :10:01.recruitment opportunities for companies to take on board young
:10:01. > :10:05.people who are motivated and have the skills and the enthusiasm to
:10:05. > :10:10.help businesses grow. If employers don't do well and their competitors
:10:10. > :10:14.are involved in the apprenticeships, who is going to win? Small
:10:14. > :10:19.businesses have told me they want to take on apprentices but they
:10:19. > :10:23.cannot get the colour but. How do you address that? The local
:10:23. > :10:28.colleges are experienced in selecting young people and
:10:28. > :10:31.screening them, making sure we get the right fit for employers and the
:10:31. > :10:37.right skills that companies actually need. Thank you for that.
:10:37. > :10:45.If you cannot make this event tonight, it is on until 8pm and
:10:45. > :10:48.there of three similar events in the West Midlands next week.
:10:48. > :10:51.A new chairman's taken over at the NHS Trust which runs Stafford
:10:51. > :10:54.Hospital. Professor John Caldwell's in-tray is already full to the brim
:10:54. > :10:56.with the fall-out from the public inquiry over appalling standards of
:10:56. > :10:58.care there. The Accident & Emergency department is currently
:10:58. > :11:01.closed overnight, and campaigners have called on him to make
:11:01. > :11:03.restoring that service a priority, as well as making sure patient
:11:03. > :11:10.safety is guaranteed. Here's our health correspondent, Michele
:11:10. > :11:13.Paduano. It might not sound like it, but
:11:13. > :11:16.Cheryl Porter is part of the silent majority in Stafford. She and her
:11:16. > :11:25.son Leo had excellent care, and she's campaigning for a 24-hour A&E
:11:25. > :11:34.and is sceptical about proposed change. We want our A&E back 24
:11:34. > :11:38.hours. We want our hospital working, working correctly and safely. And
:11:38. > :11:41.we need our hospital for the whole of the community. But change is on
:11:41. > :11:44.the cards. On his first day at the office, the new chairman, John
:11:44. > :11:49.Caldwell, hinted at radical change at Stafford Hospital to bring down
:11:49. > :11:54.the hospital's spiralling debts. the moment, we have a real
:11:54. > :11:59.distinction between hospital and doctors in the community. That is
:11:59. > :12:04.something that may well change in the coming years and it may well be
:12:04. > :12:07.that by virtue of what is perhaps forced upon us here, we end up
:12:07. > :12:10.sitting a path that other parts of the country might follow. Since
:12:10. > :12:13.Stafford's troubles were first exposed, there have been three
:12:13. > :12:21.chief executives, and John Caldwell is the third chairman to take on
:12:21. > :12:27.one of the hardest jobs in the NHS. All the chairman has to do is
:12:27. > :12:32.manage public expectation, keep an eye on safety and manage the agenda,
:12:32. > :12:35.all with keeping an eye on the media. And there's no tea and
:12:35. > :12:38.sympathy for the new chairman at the cafe where the pressure group
:12:38. > :12:43.Cure The NHS began. He needs to clean up the hospital's act quickly.
:12:43. > :12:47.We thought the hospital would be a lot safer by now. His priority has
:12:47. > :12:55.got to be patient safety. He has got to renew the trust in this
:12:55. > :12:58.community. He seems to accept that. And I would want to, as we move
:12:58. > :13:02.forward, ensure a much greater level of accountability of staff
:13:02. > :13:12.for the care that they operate. future actions will determine what
:13:12. > :13:15.sort of hospital Leo has in future. Remote country pubs with a roaring
:13:15. > :13:20.fire and welcome could soon be a thing of the past. Many are
:13:20. > :13:24.struggling to get enough customers to survive. Licensees say the cost
:13:24. > :13:28.of fuel puts people off the drive to far flung pubs. In the
:13:28. > :13:34.Shropshire hills, they have come up with a new project to attract more
:13:34. > :13:40.pub-goers. The splendour of the Shropshire
:13:40. > :13:45.hills. Many pubs have existed here for centuries. But if a pub is to
:13:45. > :13:48.survive, they need customers. And sometimes they are to come by in
:13:48. > :13:54.this area of outstanding national beautiful stop their remoteness is
:13:54. > :13:57.part of their charm but it is also leading to a decline in customers.
:13:57. > :14:07.Some people simply don't want to spend the money travelling to
:14:07. > :14:12.
:14:12. > :14:15.At the Callow Inn in Bromlow near Minsterley, the landlady says trade
:14:15. > :14:19.has halved in two years. She largely blames the high cost of
:14:19. > :14:25.fuel. Research just published suggests the rate of pub closures
:14:25. > :14:31.is slowing down. 52 a week were shutting in 2009. Now it's 16 a
:14:31. > :14:35.week. And six of those are in rural areas. But staff at the Area of
:14:35. > :14:38.Outstanding Natural Beauty offices here are fighting back. A hundred
:14:38. > :14:44.thousand pounds has been spent on creating 12 walks to and from pubs
:14:44. > :14:53.so as to encourage visitors. Modern technology means the routes can
:14:53. > :14:56.even be downloaded from beer mats. Tourism has a huge advantage for
:14:57. > :15:00.the local economy here. Without it some local communities would not
:15:00. > :15:03.exist anymore. Just around the corner from the Callow Hill - the
:15:03. > :15:08.creators of some of the walks hope this glorious countryside will help
:15:08. > :15:12.bring more tourists to the area and spend money in the pubs. It is so
:15:12. > :15:16.important that the pubs stay alive. They are the focal point for the
:15:16. > :15:22.community, whether it is a small one or the one down the hill here,
:15:22. > :15:26.it is the focal point of the community. We want to get people
:15:26. > :15:30.off the beaten track. There are walks down to valleys and strange
:15:30. > :15:33.you would not know about and why she were following this route.
:15:33. > :15:36.Shropshire Hills may be one of the most sparsely populated areas of
:15:36. > :15:39.England but its pubs play an important part in keeping the
:15:39. > :15:49.area's character - and its hoped this initiative will help preserve
:15:49. > :15:50.
:15:50. > :15:55.that tradition. Thank you for your company - still
:15:55. > :16:01.ahead. We're off to Hereford shirt were road-safety for otters is a
:16:01. > :16:06.high priority. The forecasts model pushes it
:16:06. > :16:16.further in our direction - will it be a white-out? How much no will we
:16:16. > :16:19.
:16:19. > :16:22.get? -- so no. -- snow.
:16:22. > :16:25.Doctors say they are seeing more spinal injuries as a result of
:16:25. > :16:27.horse-riding accidents and rugby - and it has prompted a fresh safety
:16:27. > :16:29.call today from one of our specialist hospitals. Medics there
:16:29. > :16:32.recently treated Olympic showjumper Tim Stockdale after he suffered
:16:32. > :16:35.multiple fractures to his neck. That has strengthened ties between
:16:35. > :16:39.the hospital and British showjumping.
:16:39. > :16:44.Ian Bolshaw is learning to walk again after being thrown from a new
:16:44. > :16:47.horse who's trying out. His spinal cord was crushed and for five weeks
:16:48. > :16:57.he was completely paralysed. He walked for the first time a few
:16:58. > :17:00.
:17:00. > :17:08.days ago. At the time I had a riding hat on. As I landed on my
:17:08. > :17:14.face, a helmet force my head back as my body followed onto my make. I
:17:14. > :17:17.heard the crack straightaway. I knew I had done something serious.
:17:17. > :17:19.He's one of a growing number of horse riders to be treated at the
:17:19. > :17:26.leading Spinal injuries Centre in Oswestry, prompting a leading
:17:26. > :17:32.consultant to speak out. If you look at the statistics 15 years ago,
:17:32. > :17:38.it was rugby injuries. For the last five years or so it is horse riding
:17:38. > :17:42.related to spinal injuries. I think the number of rugby injuries have
:17:42. > :17:45.reduced because there has been a campaign which has been successful
:17:45. > :17:49.I think. Olympic showjumper Tim Stockdale was treated at hospital
:17:49. > :17:53.few months ago after he broke his neck in a riding accident. Like Ian
:17:54. > :18:01.who we saw earlier, he too was on a new horse. He is now recovering and
:18:01. > :18:07.managed to go to Olympia in December. Here at their equestrian
:18:07. > :18:13.centre, the owner says safety is paramount. She takes it seriously
:18:13. > :18:17.when riding indoors and went out eventing. Karen supports their
:18:17. > :18:23.address of consultants to check saddle fitting and take extra care
:18:23. > :18:28.when riding a new horse. Finding the right service to ride on - an
:18:28. > :18:33.arena like this would be perfect and the horses less likely to take
:18:33. > :18:38.off if he gets a fright. Back at the Spinal injuries Centre Ian is
:18:38. > :18:48.learning to do everything again. British showjumping is supporting
:18:48. > :18:53.
:18:53. > :18:58.the hospital, naming it as a chosen charity for 2012.
:18:58. > :19:03.Aston Villa fans are still waiting for the first home win. Remember
:19:03. > :19:05.5th November! In last night's Premier League football Aston Villa
:19:05. > :19:10.rescued a point against Queen's Park Rangers while West Brom
:19:10. > :19:13.manager Roy Hodgson made an emotional return to Fulham.
:19:13. > :19:17.Villa Park has hardly been home sweet home for Aston Villa this
:19:17. > :19:20.season. They'd lost four and drawn one of their previous five games
:19:20. > :19:23.here and for 45 minutes this looked like another miserable night. QPR
:19:23. > :19:28.only signed Djibril Cisse on Tuesday but it took him just six
:19:28. > :19:30.minutes to get his first goal. Stephen Warnock has come close to
:19:30. > :19:40.scoring own goals twice recently, biphenyl manager here to the
:19:40. > :19:41.
:19:41. > :19:43.despair of himself and his manager. Just as the fans were gearing
:19:43. > :19:46.themselves up to jeer, a slick passing move set-up Darren Bent's
:19:46. > :19:48.hundred: The Premier League. Alex McLeish's half-time talk must have
:19:48. > :19:51.been good. His players were transformed. Shots rained in on
:19:51. > :19:54.Paddy Kenny's goal and several times Villa's players felt handball
:19:54. > :19:57.had denied them. There was no denying Charles N'Zogbia. He has
:19:57. > :20:05.taken a while to settle since his summer move but a stunning volley
:20:05. > :20:08.brought him a first Villa goal and a vital point.
:20:08. > :20:14.QPR probably couldn't believe their luck such was the generosity of the
:20:14. > :20:17.goals we gave away. But they got the proverbial out in the second
:20:17. > :20:24.half and it was a much better performance. I thought we could
:20:24. > :20:28.have won it. Roy Hodgson spent three happy years at Fulham and led
:20:28. > :20:31.them to a European final, so no wonder he got good reception on the
:20:31. > :20:34.long walk across the Craven Cottage pitch to the dug-out. The game
:20:34. > :20:37.which followed will not live long and in memory however, and only
:20:37. > :20:40.really came to life in the last quarter. Clint Dempsey is in fine
:20:40. > :20:42.goalscoring form and seemed to have given Fulham the points. But
:20:42. > :20:50.Hodgson sent on Somen Tchoyi and the Cameroonian equalised eight
:20:50. > :20:56.minutes from time. When escort work the end, you fear the worst, but we
:20:56. > :21:02.got back into it. -- when they scored. We could have had a calmer
:21:02. > :21:05.time but over 90 minutes the team paid well and we deserved the point.
:21:05. > :21:09.The point lifts Albion eight points clear of the relegation zone.
:21:09. > :21:19.She was a star aged 13 - and this weekend aged just 20, batsmen
:21:19. > :21:22.
:21:22. > :21:30.Danielle Wyatt sets out on her England tour. Danielle is from
:21:30. > :21:34.Stoke on Trent and is determined to make their today New Zealand a
:21:34. > :21:37.winning one. -- their tour of New Zealand. It is not what you'd
:21:37. > :21:40.expect from a cricket session, but if you're stuck indoors like
:21:40. > :21:47.Danielle Wyatt you have got to be creative. And England's women have
:21:47. > :21:51.to make every second count. These training days in Edgbaston are
:21:51. > :21:59.vital. Danielle is just 20 but she is already an old hand, having made
:21:59. > :22:04.her England debut two years ago. was planning my 21st our party
:22:04. > :22:08.yesterday. I feel about 30 with all these tours, I have been in
:22:08. > :22:10.Australia three times and I am only 20. She has been on the radar since
:22:10. > :22:13.2004 when she made three consecutive centuries for
:22:13. > :22:17.Staffordshire. But her next target is making the team for the upcoming
:22:17. > :22:27.tour of new Zealand as the next 18 months includes the World Cup's in
:22:27. > :22:28.
:22:28. > :22:32.20 and 50 or over cricket. We have a tough schedule coming up. This
:22:33. > :22:38.tour is really important for us to gain momentum leading up to the
:22:38. > :22:41.world tour in September. Every game now is important. Danielle has been
:22:41. > :22:45.in the country a fortnight after 10 weeks playing state cricket in
:22:45. > :22:52.Australia. She flies out to New Zealand and Sunday for a month. She
:22:52. > :22:58.might work hard but she does not lack for winter sun. We don't get
:22:58. > :23:07.winter sun! She is looking forward to it and says she is on Twitter if
:23:07. > :23:10.you want to follow her on the tour. The take-off on Sunday. Good luck!
:23:11. > :23:13.Back in the 1970s, they were on the brink of extinction, but otters can
:23:14. > :23:16.be found in every river across England now. It is a remarkable
:23:16. > :23:19.turnaround after major work to clean up the country's waterways.
:23:19. > :23:23.Dangers still exist - particularly when otters attempt to cross the
:23:23. > :23:25.road. However, help is at hand. Patrolling the A438 in Stretton
:23:25. > :23:32.Sugwas in Herefordshire, Charles Pickles is on the lookout for
:23:32. > :23:42.otters. Over the past few years this road between Hereford and
:23:42. > :23:52.
:23:52. > :24:01.Brecon has become a Watership Down for otters. # Bright Eyes...
:24:02. > :24:07.#. A number of otters have lost their lives on this road recently.
:24:07. > :24:13.Each year in the UK more than 400 are killed on our roads, which is
:24:13. > :24:16.where this comes in - it is an otter crossing. Built as part of
:24:16. > :24:23.the flood defences, it gives the otters away to get safely across
:24:23. > :24:27.the road. We had to put in a pipe to take a flood water down to the
:24:27. > :24:34.River Wye so we had to close the main road. We use that opportunity
:24:34. > :24:39.to put in this otter underpass. Otters are very clever. If AC a
:24:39. > :24:44.convenient way of crossing the road, they will suss it out. It has been
:24:44. > :24:49.proved in many places and already a lot of lives have been saved by
:24:49. > :24:53.under passes. Signs are also being put up to warm waters that otters
:24:53. > :24:58.are nearby. Charles and other nature lovers will patrol the
:24:58. > :25:04.stretch of the road from time to time, making sure otters use their
:25:04. > :25:09.own crossing. The flood scheme cost millions of pounds and the otter
:25:09. > :25:15.scheme was just part of that, but if they can save their lives, it
:25:15. > :25:22.will be money well spent. Otters are clever but I do not
:25:22. > :25:27.think they can read signs just yet. Wild otters are very shy and the
:25:27. > :25:37.when she saw there were rescued animals which were used to being
:25:37. > :25:39.
:25:39. > :25:44.handled. -- used on there. Anyway how about the weather? A
:25:44. > :25:46.battle of forces this weekend - it looks like the colder air will beat
:25:46. > :25:52.looks like the colder air will beat the milder air which means there
:25:53. > :25:57.could be a period of significant snowfall. The Met Office had issued
:25:57. > :26:00.a yellow warning for an area of snow to cross the region on
:26:00. > :26:06.Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning, producing up to five
:26:06. > :26:12.centimetres of snow. It will then turned to sleet and rain. That will
:26:12. > :26:17.cause some ice on Saturday night which will be a problem. It is this
:26:17. > :26:22.warm front which will bring the amen and then turn to snow when it
:26:22. > :26:27.comes into contact with the cold air. We have a warm front -- we
:26:27. > :26:32.have a warm front here. Temperatures will start to pick up
:26:32. > :26:36.towards their end of the week. It will be even colder tonight than
:26:36. > :26:46.last night. Temperatures will plummet to-nine Celsius in some
:26:46. > :26:48.
:26:48. > :26:54.cases. Clear skies with light winds. A severe frost tonight, very cold
:26:55. > :27:00.indeed. Temperatures pick up well by tomorrow. Just above freezing.
:27:00. > :27:07.That frost will gradually disappear as temperatures pick up. A fine and
:27:07. > :27:10.sunny day. Dry up also. The cloud starts to move towards the east.
:27:10. > :27:17.Tomorrow night things start to change and cloud rolls in from the
:27:17. > :27:26.West. For the weekend we start to see snow on Saturday.
:27:26. > :27:29.A look at tonight's main headlines: Prince William is in the Falklands
:27:29. > :27:32.- and into a diplomatic row between Argentina and Britain.
:27:32. > :27:33.And a third of the households in the region living fuel poverty -