:00:02. > :00:05.Hello and welcome to Midlands Today with Nick Owen and Suzanne Virdee.
:00:05. > :00:13.The headlines tonight: A world first as a hospital here
:00:13. > :00:16.performs an operation that'll save thousands of patients.
:00:16. > :00:19.I am not saying it is going to be common, but I think it is something
:00:19. > :00:22.we will see. Genuine signs of recovery as
:00:22. > :00:28.companies take on more workers than expected and report increased
:00:28. > :00:32.activity. The positive news is that people
:00:32. > :00:35.have come back and they are placing orders again. It is positive for
:00:35. > :00:37.the West Midlands. From the Caribbean to the Black
:00:37. > :00:39.Country, the first competitors arrive to prepare for the London
:00:39. > :00:42.Olympics. And hidden in an attic for 50 years,
:00:42. > :00:52.now published for the first time - poignant front line memories from
:00:52. > :00:56.
:00:56. > :00:59.Good evening and welcome to Friday's Midlands Today from the
:00:59. > :01:03.BBC. Tonight, a world first in heart surgery, performed right here
:01:03. > :01:05.in this region. 81-year-old Henry Beirne was too ill to undergo
:01:05. > :01:11.normal surgery, so doctors implanted an aortic valve in his
:01:11. > :01:15.heart and repaired an aneurysm using a pioneering new technique.
:01:15. > :01:17.Surgeons performed the two lifesaving operations together. If
:01:17. > :01:20.they'd been done separately, he could've died. Our health
:01:20. > :01:24.correspondent Michele Paduano reports on the new technique that
:01:24. > :01:28.could now save hundreds of other lives too.
:01:28. > :01:33.Meet a medical first. 81-one-year- old Henry Beirne was a ticking time
:01:33. > :01:36.bomb. He had a large bulge in a main artery - the aorta - and a
:01:36. > :01:39.leaking heart valve. Doctors knew he'd already had a heart bypass,
:01:39. > :01:47.had suffered a stroke and had kidney problems, so further surgery
:01:47. > :01:57.wasn't possible. But they gave Henry an option.
:01:57. > :01:58.
:01:58. > :02:01.It was either that or I would go to the play's upstairs!
:02:01. > :02:04.Specialists had worked out that if they repaired his aortic valve, his
:02:04. > :02:07.aneurysm could burst from the increased pressure. If they
:02:07. > :02:14.repaired the aneurysm, the pressure on the valve could cause sudden
:02:14. > :02:18.heart failure, so they decided to do both without open surgery.
:02:18. > :02:24.There's double jeopardy. He has got an aneurysm, which is a timebomb,
:02:24. > :02:27.as well as the valve. Both things are fortunate, but it is something
:02:27. > :02:31.we may see increasingly. I am not saying it is going to be common,
:02:32. > :02:35.but it is something we will see because we are treating a much more
:02:35. > :02:38.elderly population. Following careful planning, a team
:02:38. > :02:41.of doctors used a keyhole technique and went in through the two main
:02:41. > :02:44.arteries in Mr Bierne's thighs to reach his heart. While one placed a
:02:44. > :02:54.man made valve inside his aortic valve, a process called Tavi, the
:02:54. > :02:54.
:02:55. > :02:58.other placed a tube inside his aorta to cure the bulge in the wall.
:02:58. > :03:05.I knew that was the only hospital which could do it.
:03:05. > :03:09.This image of Mr Bierne's insides shows the two repairs.
:03:09. > :03:13.Over 170 patients have been treated with this procedure in
:03:13. > :03:16.Wolverhampton, Birmingham and Stoke on Trent. They are people who would
:03:16. > :03:21.previously have died. Mr Beirne is still able to drive
:03:21. > :03:26.and enjoys visiting friends and the odd trip to the pub.
:03:26. > :03:31.Just to live as long as I can. Quality of life, really. As long as
:03:31. > :03:34.you have got good quality of life, it is the most important, do you
:03:34. > :03:38.know what I mean? For his doctors, it means they
:03:38. > :03:40.don't have to say so often, "I'm sorry, there is nothing more we can
:03:40. > :03:46.do for you." I'm joined now by Dr Peter Ludman,
:03:46. > :03:54.who's a consultant cardiologist for University Hospital Birmingham.
:03:54. > :03:58.We saw the double there. It is rare, but you are excited, aren't you,
:03:58. > :04:05.about the one part of the procedure. Why is that?
:04:05. > :04:08.It is a real breakthrough. There are a lot of patience in the
:04:08. > :04:12.population getting older, and this lethal disease of a narrowing of
:04:12. > :04:17.the main valve through which all the blood from your heart is pumped
:04:17. > :04:20.out into your body, this disease can kill you. But it affects
:04:20. > :04:27.elderly patients, and they often have other things wrong with them
:04:27. > :04:32.as well. So the normal surgery cannot be
:04:32. > :04:37.done? It can, but at higher risk. It is difficult for patients in
:04:37. > :04:40.their eighties to undergo surgery. It is a big burden for him to
:04:40. > :04:49.overcome. How many people could be saved?
:04:49. > :04:56.Many hundreds. In the UK, we are performing somewhere between 709
:04:56. > :05:02.hundred Procedure per year. It all started in the UK in 2007. --
:05:02. > :05:04.between 709 hundred procedures. We always hear that the NHS cannot
:05:04. > :05:11.afford these procedures. What will happen in this case?
:05:11. > :05:16.We are going to find that this is a cost-effective technology. Patients
:05:16. > :05:20.have terrible quality of life with this disease. They are breathless
:05:20. > :05:24.and cannot walk around. They repeatedly are admitted to hospital
:05:24. > :05:29.in heart failure. If you can fix the Val, they have an independent
:05:29. > :05:33.life. They don't go in and out of hospital, and they live longer. If
:05:33. > :05:37.you put that into an equation to work out whether it is worth it,
:05:37. > :05:41.almost certainly it is going to come out as cost-effective.
:05:41. > :05:43.Thank you very much. You're watching Midlands Today at
:05:43. > :05:47.the start of the weekend. Later in the programme:
:05:47. > :05:53.It's been our driest spell for decades, but why? Hear from the
:05:53. > :05:55.experts later! Encouraging news on the economy
:05:55. > :05:58.this evening - recruitment in manufacturing and the demand for
:05:58. > :06:01.products appears to be on the increase. A survey of companies in
:06:01. > :06:04.the West Midlands has seen an unexpected boom. Businesses
:06:04. > :06:07.reported they were seeing a rise in orders both in the UK and from
:06:07. > :06:13.abroad. But many firms also said they were having to tighten their
:06:13. > :06:17.profit margins so they can compete. Bob Hockenhull has the details.
:06:17. > :06:19.This company in Birmingham makes products for cars and is one of the
:06:19. > :06:22.success stories helping to boost manufacturing output in the West
:06:22. > :06:30.Midlands. Lander Automotive has increased its workforce by 100 to
:06:30. > :06:38.400 since September as orders grow. It's a far cry from the gloomy
:06:38. > :06:42.economic picture that's often been painted in recent years.
:06:42. > :06:45.We are really seeing a buoyant market place. In the last six
:06:46. > :06:50.months of last year, we introduced �12 million of business into this
:06:50. > :06:52.factory. We have another �5 million in next six months.
:06:52. > :06:54.The latest research by the Engineering Employers Federation
:06:54. > :06:57.reveals many businesses are optimistic - that's compared with
:06:57. > :07:05.the last survey, which revealed a drop in confidence caused partly by
:07:05. > :07:09.the euro crisis. In the West Midlands, the number of
:07:09. > :07:14.firms expecting an increase in orders has gone up from 30% in
:07:14. > :07:21.November to 38% now. The number of companies expecting to take on more
:07:21. > :07:27.staff has risen from 25% to 29%. Good news, too, for young workers
:07:27. > :07:30.like Sam, the first apprentice to be taken on here in 10 years.
:07:30. > :07:34.There's a lot of fun of all people out there, and for somebody like me
:07:34. > :07:37.to have a good opportunity, it is amazing.
:07:37. > :07:40.It's a step in the right direction, but engineering leaders are
:07:40. > :07:44.cautious as well as optimistic. We still have significant problems.
:07:44. > :07:48.We have got problems in terms of unemployment, so the news that jobs
:07:49. > :07:51.will be created is good, but it will be a small dent in the
:07:51. > :07:53.unemployment, I am afraid. Even so, the Engineering Employers
:07:53. > :08:01.Federation is predicting manufacturing will continue to grow
:08:01. > :08:05.throughout this year and into 2013. A mother and her partner have been
:08:05. > :08:08.charged with the murder of her four-year-old son in Coventry. The
:08:08. > :08:11.boy was found unconscious at a house in the Holbrooks area of the
:08:11. > :08:14.city last Saturday. He died two days later in hospital from a head
:08:14. > :08:18.injury. The 26-year-old woman and a man, who's 32, will appear before
:08:18. > :08:21.magistrates in Coventry tomorrow. A former Roman Catholic priest from
:08:21. > :08:27.Staffordshire has been sentenced to 22 years in jail for sexually
:08:27. > :08:29.abusing young boys over a period of 18 years. The judge described him
:08:29. > :08:35.as "shameless," saying he'd manipulated God's teaching for his
:08:35. > :08:41.own devices. 58-year-old Alexander Bede Walsh from Abbots Bromley was
:08:41. > :08:44.convicted last month of 21 charges of abuse. The abuse was described
:08:45. > :08:47.in court as serial and predatory. Walsh committed the offences while
:08:47. > :08:50.working as a priest across the West Midlands. The Archdiocese of
:08:50. > :09:00.Birmingham says it's begun the process of removing him from any
:09:00. > :09:01.
:09:01. > :09:06.standing within the Catholic Church. We have already said that we would
:09:06. > :09:10.start the process, which has begun. The archbishop has already said
:09:10. > :09:16.again today that his door is open to meet any of the victims of this
:09:16. > :09:20.terrible abuse. One of them spoke to me after the case, and I think
:09:20. > :09:22.we'll take up the offer. The organisation that represents
:09:22. > :09:24.rank-and-file police officers in the West Midlands is warning
:09:24. > :09:27.against former politicians filling the role of elected police
:09:27. > :09:30.commissioners. The public will vote for who they want to take on the
:09:30. > :09:33.new job in each of the region's police forces in November. The
:09:33. > :09:43.government says commissioners will set police budgets, decide policing
:09:43. > :09:43.
:09:43. > :09:46.priorities, and have the power to hire and fire the Chief Constable.
:09:46. > :09:50.I would like to think in the West Midlands that the people who are in
:09:50. > :09:53.touch with us are doing so for the right reasons, but I'm sure that
:09:53. > :09:57.across the country there are people standing who have not had the
:09:57. > :10:01.political career that they wanted and are now seeking out another
:10:01. > :10:04.high-profile job in order to fulfil themselves.
:10:04. > :10:08.And you can see the full report about police commissioners and what
:10:08. > :10:10.their role will be on the Sunday Politics Show, which is on at the
:10:10. > :10:12.earlier time of 11 o'clock on Sunday morning.
:10:12. > :10:15.Campaigners wanting an elected mayor in Birmingham are warning
:10:15. > :10:19.that too few people know the city's holding a referendum on the issue.
:10:19. > :10:22.It comes after a Populus poll for BBC WM revealed that more than half
:10:22. > :10:26.of the people living in the city were unaware that it was taking
:10:26. > :10:29.place in May. BBC WM will be holding a debate on the subject
:10:29. > :10:36.this evening, and our political reporter Susana Mendonca is there
:10:36. > :10:40.now. So tell us more about this poll.
:10:40. > :10:44.There are some interesting findings. As you can see, this place is
:10:44. > :10:51.filling up with people wanting to discuss whether Birmingham needs a
:10:51. > :10:56.male. That poll shows that 59% of the people asked did not know that
:10:56. > :11:00.the referendum is taking place in May. 54% of people said that they
:11:00. > :11:04.supported the idea of an elected mayor, and 74% of people said that
:11:04. > :11:10.they would be voting in the referendum. I am joined by a couple
:11:10. > :11:13.of the panellists. Sir Peter Soulsby, Elected Mayor of Leicester,
:11:13. > :11:16.elected last year without a referendum, and David Williams from
:11:16. > :11:21.Birmingham Green Party, also a member of Vote No to a Power Freak.
:11:21. > :11:24.This poll suggests not a lot of people are interested.
:11:24. > :11:29.If you had had a similar poll in less that of months ago, you would
:11:29. > :11:33.have had a similar result. If you ask them now if it is the
:11:33. > :11:40.democratic way of deciding Ladyship, you get an overwhelming yes.
:11:40. > :11:44.David Williams, the poll does suggest people support the idea.
:11:45. > :11:48.Does that mean that your campaign in Birmingham is losing ground?
:11:48. > :11:56.There's no demand at all for this. This has come from the top. There's
:11:56. > :12:06.no demand for many community for a directly affected neer. -- a
:12:06. > :12:09.
:12:09. > :12:14.He what would you say he's the reason for banning him to have won?
:12:14. > :12:17.-- what we do say is the reason for having an elected mayor?
:12:17. > :12:21.It works in less than it would work here.
:12:21. > :12:25.David Williams. Leadership. You don't agree with this.
:12:25. > :12:29.Birmingham is made up of many communities. To have one man, and I
:12:29. > :12:33.use the word adviser be because I believe they are all men elected to
:12:33. > :12:41.the division, is actually a bad way of going about the democratic
:12:41. > :12:45.process. There we must leave it.
:12:45. > :12:48.You can hear the debate in full from 7pm on BBC WM.
:12:48. > :12:51.As the dry spell continues, you might be wondering if this is a
:12:52. > :12:55.sign of a changing climate and if we can expect similar or worse
:12:55. > :12:58.conditions in years to come, and what, if anything, we can all do to
:12:58. > :13:00.cope with the effects. Ahead of National Climate Week we sent our
:13:00. > :13:03.environment correspondent David Gregory to Coventry, and a
:13:03. > :13:07.conference of experts from across the Midlands to find out more just
:13:07. > :13:12.what is going on. It is tempting to think that
:13:12. > :13:15.conferences on climate change produce so much hot air that they
:13:15. > :13:18.make the problem worse. But the people here today are at the sharp
:13:18. > :13:24.end, some of them thinking up to 40 years in the future.
:13:24. > :13:31.The what we see now is how the weather affects the water. We are
:13:31. > :13:34.now going through a dry spell. What it shows us is that it paints a
:13:34. > :13:38.picture of the type of events we are likely to see more often in the
:13:38. > :13:43.future. This is how Severn Trent, for example, are coping today. Just
:13:43. > :13:46.a few miles away, they are topping up the reservoir using water from a
:13:46. > :13:50.river. Water companies are already talking
:13:50. > :13:53.to the regulator about what they plan to do for the next five years
:13:53. > :13:59.in terms of infrastructure. But of course, with climate change, they
:13:59. > :14:04.are starting to think as much as 40 years ahead. That means spending
:14:04. > :14:07.cash on something that has not happened yet. How do the company is
:14:07. > :14:17.make sure they don't spend our money on precautions which may not
:14:17. > :14:20.
:14:20. > :14:25.What we are looking to do is, our approach to adaptation is that we
:14:25. > :14:30.are planning to build things that are flexible and adaptable. We can
:14:30. > :14:34.build them incrementally over time and if the situation gets worse we
:14:34. > :14:44.can accelerate. There are no regrets on those decisions. Right
:14:44. > :14:45.
:14:45. > :14:54.now. Everyone is praying for rain. Our reporter is at a reservoir in
:14:54. > :14:58.Birmingham. They are lots of other organisations that are worried
:14:58. > :15:02.about climate change. These are the ones that have got hardest about
:15:03. > :15:07.this. The two big things in the Midlands are going to be drought,
:15:07. > :15:12.this reservoir is looking pretty well, and also flooding. These are
:15:12. > :15:16.two things that really worry what a company's. This idea that they have
:15:17. > :15:20.a long-term plan but it is small changes, so they can accelerate
:15:20. > :15:26.things if the need to, but do not spend too much money on it if they
:15:26. > :15:33.do not need to. You mention this long-term plan, I do any bed, a
:15:33. > :15:40.radical idea has to cope with this? Severn Trent published his report
:15:40. > :15:45.just a euro. They call for a water trading to be allowed to sell water
:15:45. > :15:55.between regions. The sake regulation has to change and there
:15:55. > :15:57.
:15:57. > :16:04.is a PR battles to be had there too. There is a lot to be said, but
:16:04. > :16:07.there will be benefits to customers from this idea. You said what a
:16:07. > :16:11.levels were looking pretty well where you wear, what is the
:16:11. > :16:15.situation in the Midlands with water and drought? Next week on
:16:15. > :16:19.Tuesday it is the next report from the Environment Agency about the
:16:19. > :16:26.drought conditions in the Midlands. I suspect we will see more eyrie
:16:26. > :16:30.has to be at higher risk of drought. -- regions.
:16:30. > :16:35.Memories from the front line nearly a hundred years ago. A glance into
:16:35. > :16:39.the forgotten diaries of a nurse in World War a one. The weather does
:16:39. > :16:43.not look like giving us the rain we so desperately need this weekend.
:16:43. > :16:53.Is there any end in sight to this very dry spell? Join me for the
:16:53. > :16:54.
:16:54. > :16:57.forecast later. Port Vale are now officially in
:16:57. > :17:04.administration after a hearing at the High Court this morning. We
:17:04. > :17:08.pretty much expected this. It is a legal formality. On Tuesday, they
:17:08. > :17:12.made their application to move to the High Court. Let us hope that
:17:12. > :17:16.this will be the beginning of their end of the financial troubles. In
:17:16. > :17:20.the Premier League, Wolves are facing up a very different set of
:17:20. > :17:25.problems. Team captain Roger Johnson turned up a bit worse for
:17:25. > :17:28.wear for training on Monday. Tomorrow they have a real six-
:17:28. > :17:35.pointer against relegation rivals Blackburn.
:17:35. > :17:38.Just opposite the chippy you will find Crazy Wicks, and inside Crazy
:17:38. > :17:42.Wicks I found Stuart Russell. He is possibly the only man in the
:17:42. > :17:48.Midlands who shares his passion for the will sweat his passion for her
:17:48. > :17:54.scented candles, healing crystals and dreamcatchers. That is a very
:17:54. > :18:00.popular one at the moment. Popular with will stands? Yes. We have a
:18:00. > :18:10.lot of greens and one of the genes is to stay end their Premier League
:18:10. > :18:11.
:18:11. > :18:21.-- dreams. A dreamcatcher will trap all its -- or you're bad dreams in
:18:21. > :18:28.its web and they will disappear in the sunlight. Will survive last
:18:28. > :18:32.year by a single point in the final day of the season. -- Wolves. They
:18:32. > :18:38.will not be cheering if the same opponents, Blackburn, achieve a
:18:38. > :18:42.similar result tomorrow. We need to try and go out and the bold and
:18:42. > :18:45.when the game of football. The lads are professional, this is their
:18:45. > :18:51.home pitch and they want to win on their home pitch. Come Saturday
:18:51. > :19:01.there will be ready to go. I will hope until the last game that
:19:01. > :19:01.
:19:01. > :19:05.Wolves will stay in this is a -- division. If you can smell blue
:19:05. > :19:08.coconut and white mask in the Stan Cullis Stand tomorrow that will be
:19:08. > :19:12.Stuart Russell. If Wolves are transformed into a fire-breathing
:19:12. > :19:16.dragon against Blackburn, that could be Stuart's dreamcatchers,
:19:16. > :19:19.working hard to keep the club in the Premier League.
:19:19. > :19:28.Anne's to find out if your footballing dreams come true this
:19:28. > :19:31.weekend, you can find the action on your local radio stations.
:19:31. > :19:36.Allsop's local swimming championship can look after lunch
:19:36. > :19:40.and we do at -- put forward to London 2012. Ellie Simmonds became
:19:40. > :19:47.the first person to break a world record at the newer Olympic
:19:47. > :19:56.aquatics centre. She beat her previous best by have the second.
:19:56. > :20:02.have had quite a bad week in my front crawl races. They were not
:20:03. > :20:09.ones that I was happy with and I felt I could definitely swim faster.
:20:09. > :20:17.I just cannot believe it. Even though it was only a world record,
:20:17. > :20:27.I just cannot believe it. Elliott sentences not the only swum
:20:27. > :20:28.
:20:28. > :20:33.her -- Ellie Simmonds is not the only scunner, Sascha Kindred also
:20:33. > :20:38.race end of the Men's MC 50m Buttefly Final. With just over four
:20:38. > :20:46.wants to go, boxers from the Commonwealth of Dominica are in
:20:46. > :20:48.Wolverhampton. A new credit -- I unique relationship has been formed
:20:49. > :20:53.between the city and they went state.
:20:53. > :20:59.Hewlett Lucien and rowing Christopher R Dominica's fineness
:20:59. > :21:09.middleweights. They are 4,000 miles from home having a light breakfast
:21:09. > :21:10.
:21:10. > :21:19.in Bilston. We have been adjusting to the whole environment, but we
:21:19. > :21:25.are looking to keep up in the common -- coming weeks. I just want
:21:25. > :21:29.to make it to the Olympics. Andrew Pettey is helping them adjust to
:21:29. > :21:33.life in the Black Country. His house is now their training base.
:21:33. > :21:37.They are no trouble. They are very well house-trained. They look after
:21:37. > :21:43.themselves. Dominica is in the Caribbean with a
:21:44. > :21:47.population of just 75,000. A few years ago, Wolverhampton-based
:21:47. > :21:52.boxing coach returned to his homeland and took a humble boxing
:21:52. > :21:57.ring from the city's amateur club. It has inspired a generation of
:21:58. > :22:03.youngsters. Hewlett Lucien and Rowain Christopher are products of
:22:03. > :22:08.this unique relationship. We are giving them every possible
:22:08. > :22:13.opportunity to win. The club itself has been going since 1936 and we
:22:13. > :22:17.are applied of -- proud of a club. Not one of us get a penny.
:22:17. > :22:20.These boxers will be in Wolverhampton until the end of
:22:20. > :22:30.April. Then they will head to Brazil, hoping to make it to London
:22:30. > :22:31.
:22:31. > :22:36.2012. I would like to thank her court is for giving us the
:22:36. > :22:42.opportunity to be at the Olympics. We could not fail to miss out on
:22:42. > :22:48.the Molineux, and time FA Premier League picture. And another treat -
:22:48. > :22:52.and the city's brand new bus station. Sadly, that we as a we had
:22:52. > :23:01.time for. These boxers are only really interested in one thing -
:23:01. > :23:05.Olympic gold. It has been revealed that the
:23:05. > :23:15.Olympic torch will pass outside Wolverhampton Boxing Club on June
:23:15. > :23:16.
:23:16. > :23:19.30th. Thank you very much. Almost 100 years after the First World War,
:23:19. > :23:27.a starring first-hand account of life on the front line has been
:23:27. > :23:35.published. It has happened almost by accident. Edith Appleton nest,
:23:35. > :23:39.injured and dying soldiers. -- and her staff. Now in association with
:23:39. > :23:44.their Imperial War Museum, her family are able to tell her story.
:23:44. > :23:50.For more than half a century, these diaries lay in a drawer. Now the
:23:50. > :23:54.voice of Edith Appleton has been brought back to life. We have had
:23:54. > :24:03.over 600 through ever hospital today, badly wounded and fearfully
:24:03. > :24:07.collapsed. Edie, as she was known, spend the
:24:07. > :24:12.whole of the First World War as a nurse in France and Belgium. It is
:24:12. > :24:15.a mixture of every day horrors that she was dealing with, and then she
:24:15. > :24:24.would be off on a picnic and writing all this in her diary,
:24:24. > :24:30.beautifully. There are heaps of dead. English, French and Belgian
:24:30. > :24:40.are lying all across the town. This first hand account of the work
:24:40. > :24:43.
:24:43. > :24:53.may have remained untold until the Dick was spurred into action.
:24:53. > :24:53.
:24:53. > :25:00.At this phone call. It said, these diaries are incredible.
:25:00. > :25:04.When you read the diaries in detail, you know the day after the agonies
:25:04. > :25:09.of the people that she was dealing with. It is very powerful.
:25:09. > :25:16.Sadly, sections of the diary are missing, but what remains is
:25:16. > :25:24.touching and very human. Pc! Thank God for that. It feels very clear
:25:24. > :25:33.to. Perhaps she might be pleased that people were reading her
:25:33. > :25:41.perspective on the war. Edith Appleton's diaries will be handed
:25:41. > :25:51.to their Imperial War Museum for safe keeping and posterity.
:25:51. > :25:53.
:25:53. > :25:57.It is bad news for all those farmers growers and perhaps the
:25:57. > :26:01.water companies looking for some rain. This is the set up at the
:26:01. > :26:06.moment, high pressure for the south. Although they will move around a
:26:06. > :26:11.bit, this will be in charge of our weather for the foreseeable future.
:26:11. > :26:16.For the next few days and beyond it will stay dry and very mild.
:26:16. > :26:20.Certainly dry through this evening and to eight. They will be. Spot of
:26:20. > :26:28.drizzle a crossed the moorlands. For the rest of us, some decent
:26:28. > :26:32.spells. A very mild night to come. A fine day tomorrow, that ridge of
:26:32. > :26:42.high pressure still in charge, which means it will be dry. The
:26:42. > :26:47.Clyde will break up quite nicely as well. -- declared. There will be
:26:47. > :26:52.highs of 16 Celsius. It is try again through tomorrow night.
:26:52. > :26:57.Sunday will be dry and bright. Quite a lot of cloud initially. We
:26:57. > :27:01.should see some sunny spells coming through. If you are heading to
:27:01. > :27:08.Birmingham for the St Patrick's Day parade on Sunday then it should be
:27:08. > :27:12.dry and bright. Sunday sunny spells, 14 Celsius. This is the situation
:27:12. > :27:18.as we enter Sunday, the big red of high pressure is still in place. It
:27:18. > :27:23.is a protective bubble. As we head into next week, that will stay with
:27:23. > :27:30.us. If you are looking for a rainy will have to look away beyond the
:27:30. > :27:35.middle of next week. The headlines: the Italian