:00:03. > :00:12.Good evening and welcome to Monday's Midlands Today from the
:00:12. > :00:16.BBC. Tonight: we must get to grips with child poverty in Birmingham -
:00:17. > :00:20.the Bishop's mission. Homes costing up to 14 times
:00:20. > :00:25.people's income. Calls for more affordable housing in the
:00:25. > :00:27.countryside. A young family needing to be
:00:27. > :00:31.employed, needing the support, if they can't find local
:00:31. > :00:35.accommodation... A new beginning in emergency care
:00:35. > :00:39.with four major trauma centres about to open in the West Midlands.
:00:39. > :00:42.And waiting for the off, as racing prepares for one of its biggest
:00:42. > :00:46.events - the Cheltenham Festival starts tomorrow.
:00:46. > :00:56.Kids have Christmas, racing fans have the festival. It means that
:00:56. > :01:01.
:01:01. > :01:04.Good evening and welcome to Monday's Midlands today.
:01:04. > :01:07.The Bishop of Birmingham calls a poverty summit in an attempt to
:01:07. > :01:09.help thousands of people living below the bread line. The Right
:01:09. > :01:12.Reverend David Urquhart is bringing together business leaders and
:01:12. > :01:14.community workers tomorrow at a time when three areas of Birmingham
:01:14. > :01:19.feature in Britain's top 20 constituencies with the highest
:01:19. > :01:23.levels of child poverty. So can the Bishop make a difference? Giles
:01:23. > :01:28.Latcham reports. Promoting healthy lifestyles in one
:01:28. > :01:34.of Birmingham's more deprived wards. Help the mums, the thinking goes,
:01:34. > :01:38.and they'll take that help home to the kids.
:01:38. > :01:42.Once you are working with women, you can access the whole family,
:01:42. > :01:46.especially when you raise their confidence - that feeds back into
:01:46. > :01:48.the family and the whole community. But when it comes to helping
:01:48. > :01:56.communities across Birmingham out of poverty, progress is painfully
:01:56. > :02:00.slow. In places the statistics appear to be getting worse.
:02:00. > :02:04.In parts of the city, more than 50% of the people above working age are
:02:04. > :02:10.unemployed. 35% of Birmingham children are classed as living in
:02:10. > :02:15.poverty. That figure rises closer to 50% in suburbs like this one.
:02:15. > :02:18.So how and why are so many squeezed into the margins of society? The
:02:18. > :02:25.Bishop of Birmingham is leading an inquiry into the problems of a city
:02:25. > :02:29.struggling to close the poverty gap. We have got great ambitions, great
:02:29. > :02:34.talent. But we have got a number of people who are not yet joining in.
:02:34. > :02:38.These lines of inquiry intend to come up with proposals to those in
:02:38. > :02:41.power, to those who have the ability to make changes, so that
:02:41. > :02:43.they can be dovetailed with the real needs of people.
:02:43. > :02:47.The Bishop says traditional approaches have failed to help the
:02:47. > :02:54.most vulnerable. Back in Alum Rock, today's problems are the same old
:02:54. > :02:59.problems. We have always had the same issues
:02:59. > :03:06.in the community around health. We have got the biggest issues around
:03:06. > :03:09.help -- heart disease, infant mortality and so on. Even with
:03:09. > :03:13.education and social activities, we need to understand what they
:03:13. > :03:16.require, we need to understand what is needed.
:03:16. > :03:18.One of Europe's most diverse cities, its population is one of the
:03:18. > :03:24.youngest. The challenge, then, is unlocking a wealth of youthful
:03:24. > :03:27.potential, free from the poverty too many are born into.
:03:27. > :03:34.We're joined now from our studio in London by Kate Bell from the Child
:03:34. > :03:38.Poverty Action Group. Thank you for joining us. Can you
:03:38. > :03:41.clarify what child poverty means in real terms? Is it about the total
:03:41. > :03:48.income into the household or the amount spent on the child?
:03:48. > :03:52.It is usually in -- measured by income. You look at the average and
:03:52. > :03:58.then you look at families who are receiving less than 60% of the
:03:58. > :04:01.average. For a family with two children, that is �350 per week.
:04:01. > :04:05.This summit led by the bishop is well-meaning, but can something
:04:05. > :04:10.like this make a real difference? It is important that we see action
:04:10. > :04:15.at all levels into child poverty. There's a lot that national
:04:15. > :04:19.governments can do, but local levels can make a difference. If
:04:19. > :04:23.you think about the experience of children going up or things like
:04:23. > :04:27.the type of child care they can Goto and the activities they can do
:04:27. > :04:29.at a local level, whether swimming is free for them, that can make a
:04:29. > :04:33.difference to the prospects for children.
:04:33. > :04:39.So the meeting is all very well but things it to happen as a result, in
:04:39. > :04:43.your opinion? Absolutely. Summits like this are a first step. They
:04:43. > :04:45.are about be able getting together, talking about the levers they can
:04:45. > :04:50.call, and then the change has to happen.
:04:50. > :04:54.We had some of the figures in the report. In your experience, how bad
:04:54. > :04:58.is poverty in part of Birmingham? We know that Birmingham does have
:04:58. > :05:02.some of the highest levels of poverty. It has got one of the
:05:02. > :05:06.parliamentary constituencies that is in the top 10 highest levels of
:05:06. > :05:11.poverty in the country. We heard in the report that over one third of
:05:11. > :05:15.children in Birmingham are in poverty. So, yeah, it is quite high
:05:15. > :05:18.levels of poverty. Briefly, what can be done to tackle
:05:18. > :05:21.poverty when levels of unemployment are so high?
:05:21. > :05:26.Unemployment is obviously a big part of the picture. That is
:05:26. > :05:32.something that we need to action at a local and national level. As I
:05:32. > :05:36.said, there's things that can make a difference when there are not job
:05:36. > :05:40.there. Things like child care, even things like transport costs. Things
:05:40. > :05:43.can make a real big difference to families'' lives.
:05:43. > :05:45.You're watching Midlands Today from the BBC. Thanks for joining us.
:05:45. > :05:53.Later in the programme: What hope now for Wolves fans after
:05:53. > :05:56.another bitterly disappointing A 40-year-old man is under arrest
:05:56. > :06:02.tonight accused of holding his 79- year-old mother hostage in her home
:06:02. > :06:06.for 28 hours. Police had been at the scene in Oldbury since 7am
:06:06. > :06:09.yesterday after reports the man had a knife. A man emerged from the
:06:09. > :06:15.house at 11am today this morning. It's not thought his mother was
:06:15. > :06:20.hurt during the incident. The suspect in custody - the moment
:06:20. > :06:23.a day and a half long siege ended, filmed on a mobile phone.
:06:23. > :06:28.Armed police were called to this suburban street after reports that
:06:28. > :06:32.the man had a knife and was holding his mother hostage. Negotiators and
:06:32. > :06:35.medical staff were keen to ensure a peaceful conclusion. At just after
:06:36. > :06:44.11:30 came the news that the siege at Perry Hill Road in Oldbury was
:06:44. > :06:47.over. A male has been arrested for false
:06:47. > :06:52.imprisonment and threats to kill. He has now been taken to a nearby
:06:52. > :06:57.police station, where the investigation will begin. I can
:06:57. > :07:02.confirm this was a domestic incident. It was Mother and Son.
:07:02. > :07:05.The elderly lady has been taken to hospital. Noting the didn't
:07:05. > :07:10.injuries - she is just being checked out.
:07:10. > :07:16.A student who lived opposite describe what he had seen.
:07:16. > :07:20.He was looking out the window all night. He was looking out at the
:07:20. > :07:24.negotiators outside. That is all I saw. I saw his face and his mother
:07:24. > :07:27.was in the window as well. Alia, the police described the
:07:27. > :07:31.operation to end the siege as sensitive and complex. Their aim
:07:31. > :07:34.was to bring it to a peaceful conclusion and appears to have
:07:34. > :07:38.succeeded. 29 hours after the siege began, the
:07:38. > :07:42.cordon has been lifted and residents are able to go about
:07:42. > :07:51.their business. This siege has taken up a lot of manpower, and
:07:51. > :07:54.officers will be keen to find out what led to it.
:07:54. > :07:56.The widening gap between rural house prices and the annual
:07:56. > :07:59.salaries of those living in villages has been highlighted today.
:07:59. > :08:02.There's a series of events this week designed make people more
:08:02. > :08:05.aware of the problem. Some rural homes now cost up to 14 times the
:08:05. > :08:08.average incomes of potential buyers hoping to remain in the communities
:08:08. > :08:15.they grew up in. Sarah Falkland is in South Warwickshire for us
:08:15. > :08:20.tonight. Sarah, what's being done about this?
:08:20. > :08:25.Just around the corner is a new housing association development.
:08:25. > :08:29.Just eight homes are there, and they are newly built. They will be
:08:29. > :08:33.available for rent and part ownership. Christina behind the bar
:08:33. > :08:43.is one of the people who has registered and is on the list and
:08:43. > :08:49.
:08:49. > :08:54.Christina is fourth generation here, and her son had to move out when
:08:54. > :08:57.her son was born because she could not afford the prices. She is
:08:57. > :09:01.pinning her hopes on his home, where the rent is �400 per month
:09:01. > :09:05.and her parents are around the corner.
:09:05. > :09:11.My family live in the village. It is more travelling for work because
:09:11. > :09:14.I work in the pub, so to move back would make my life so much happier.
:09:14. > :09:18.The cost of living in the countryside is now beyond most
:09:18. > :09:21.people's which. In the West Midlands, homes are on average 12
:09:21. > :09:27.times the local salary compared to eight times the salaries of towns
:09:27. > :09:31.and cities. Here, local services appear to be alive and well. But
:09:31. > :09:36.campaigners say squeezing people out of the role market is bad news
:09:36. > :09:44.for the countryside. You destroy local communities. When
:09:44. > :09:47.you have got, say, a young Perret of family needing to be employed,
:09:47. > :09:51.needing the support of family, if they can't find accommodation, they
:09:51. > :09:56.have to move away. You don't have rural bus services. They have
:09:56. > :09:59.closed down. According to a survey, 60% of
:09:59. > :10:03.people in the West Midlands countryside said they would like to
:10:03. > :10:07.see a small number of new, affordable homes for local people.
:10:07. > :10:12.The question is, do they really mean it?
:10:12. > :10:18.Will be great currencies of this country is village life. -- one of
:10:18. > :10:21.the great calluses. If we keep on expanding, it will disappear.
:10:21. > :10:26.are some people in the village like that, who want to keep it posh for
:10:26. > :10:30.themselves, but not everybody is like that. There's no wealth of
:10:30. > :10:34.able to live. They are forced out. It will be nice if they can get rid
:10:34. > :10:41.of these houses. Christine will find out if she has been successful
:10:41. > :10:51.in a few months' time. Schemes like this are few and far between.
:10:51. > :10:52.
:10:52. > :10:56.Charities want the government to What can you tell us about the
:10:56. > :10:58.rural housing price hotspots in the region?
:10:58. > :11:00.Well, the National Housing Federation has released some
:11:00. > :11:03.figures today which graphically show the problem confronting house
:11:03. > :11:06.buyers in our region. The worst three examples for us are:
:11:06. > :11:13.Malvern Hills in Worcestershire, where the average house price is
:11:13. > :11:15.�250,000, nearly 14 times the average salary of �18,000.
:11:15. > :11:25.In Stratford upon Avon, here in Warwickshire, the average house
:11:25. > :11:26.
:11:26. > :11:29.price is �289,000 - that's 13.5 And across Herefordshire, the
:11:29. > :11:39.average house price is �224,000, nearly 13 times the averarge salary
:11:39. > :11:52.
:11:52. > :12:00.13 times a local salary. You can find out more about what is
:12:01. > :12:03.happening on the West Midlands by looking at our Facebook site.
:12:04. > :12:07.And there'll be a special Midlands Today programme looking in depth at
:12:07. > :12:10.the state of the region's economy next Monday night. Our Economy: The
:12:10. > :12:11.Midlands Today Debate starts at 11:05 on BBC One, presented by one
:12:11. > :12:14.Mary Rhodes. Final preparations are being made
:12:14. > :12:17.for the opening of four major trauma centres across the West
:12:17. > :12:22.Midlands. They'll deal with complex emergencies including major head
:12:22. > :12:25.and multiple injuries, amputations and severe knife or gunshot wounds.
:12:25. > :12:27.The centres will open later this month at the Queen Elizabeth and
:12:27. > :12:29.Children's hospitals in Birmingham, the University Hospital Coventry
:12:29. > :12:39.and Warwickshire, and the new University Hospital of North
:12:39. > :12:40.
:12:40. > :12:45.Staffordshire, from where Joanne A Sea King helicopter makes a
:12:45. > :12:48.maiden flight to the Major Trauma Centre in Stoke on Trent. The
:12:48. > :12:51.practice mission from RAF Valley Anglesey was in preparation for the
:12:51. > :13:00.centre opening as one of four across the West Midlands on March
:13:00. > :13:03.26th. A major trauma centre is a
:13:03. > :13:10.specialist hospital for dealing with patients with multiple
:13:10. > :13:15.injuries - a head injury, stabbing, shooting. It is a specialist area
:13:15. > :13:18.with specialist equipment. It is about saving lives, but also about
:13:18. > :13:21.reducing disability. The NHS estimates the trauma
:13:21. > :13:24.centres could save an extra 60 lives a year in the West Midlands.
:13:24. > :13:26.Guest of honour Grace Currie knows that only too well, having already
:13:26. > :13:31.benefitted from care at the University Hospital of North
:13:31. > :13:41.Staffordshire. The 18-year-old from Ellesmere has learned to walk and
:13:41. > :13:41.
:13:41. > :13:46.talk again after being hit by a car She was taken to Shrewsbury
:13:46. > :13:51.Hospital, where basically they said it did not look good. But the only
:13:52. > :13:57.hope she had was that they would accept her here. She is going to
:13:57. > :14:07.have a chance here. Thank God, she did. What have they done for you?
:14:07. > :14:11.
:14:11. > :14:16.Saved my life, in more ways than Patients can be trysts --
:14:16. > :14:26.transferred straight from an ambulance or a helicopter for
:14:26. > :14:31.
:14:31. > :14:37.treatment bus-stop the patients will take no time to get here. The
:14:37. > :14:46.major, centre will be housed at the brand new accident and emergency
:14:46. > :14:50.department. Still ahead tonight: We're back to school with the
:14:50. > :14:52.Olympic hopeful who dreams of being a class apart at London 2012. And
:14:52. > :14:57.still grappling with those opposing forces - as the temperatures rise,
:14:57. > :15:07.the prospects of rain fall. But that could change by the end of the
:15:07. > :15:09.
:15:09. > :15:12.Plenty to mull over in sport tonight. Dan's also looking ahead
:15:12. > :15:18.to the Cheltenham Festival, and back at a fairly grim weekend for
:15:18. > :15:24.our Premier League clubs. One of the region's biggest sporting
:15:24. > :15:27.events gets underway tomorrow with day one of the Cheltenham Festival.
:15:27. > :15:30.More than 200,000 racegoers will cram into the course over the next
:15:30. > :15:35.four days to see champions crowned. Glasses will be raised in
:15:35. > :15:38.celebration and commiseration. But the one liquid that's been the hot
:15:38. > :15:47.topic in the build-up has nothing to do with alcohol. They appeared
:15:47. > :15:49.The legions of irish-trained runners have been arriving for the
:15:49. > :15:53.Cheltenham Festival across the weekend. Champion Irish trainer
:15:53. > :15:56.Willie Mullins has brought an incredible 37 horses to the meeting.
:15:56. > :15:59.He was keeping a watchful eye over his runners today but there's one
:15:59. > :16:08.thing on his and everyone's mind. That's because this morning's
:16:08. > :16:11.weather has been the exception. For three weeks now Cheltenham have
:16:11. > :16:21.been watering the course. And you can see why. Thursday last week was
:16:21. > :16:23.
:16:24. > :16:33.like most days recently - bright and sunny. And firm ground can be
:16:33. > :16:41.fast and dangerous. We want a surface that has got plenty of
:16:41. > :16:48.moisture in it. And with good ground the very best horses can
:16:48. > :16:56.take centre stage - that's what makes Cheltenham so special.
:16:56. > :17:03.have Christmas, we have the Cheltenham Festival. Only the best
:17:03. > :17:07.making it and only the very, very best go on to win it. It is a
:17:07. > :17:11.fantastic occasion. The two legged invasion is also underway -
:17:11. > :17:14.Cheltenham Station will bear much of the brunt. And you only have to
:17:14. > :17:17.cross the road from the station to see some of that �50 million being
:17:17. > :17:27.spent. Lunchtime at the Midland Hotel today will be the last quiet
:17:27. > :17:33.moment before Saturday morning. is absolutely massive. It is an
:17:33. > :17:41.integral part of the year for us. It gives us three months' takings
:17:41. > :17:44.in four days. So the scene is set. The course has been prepared to
:17:44. > :17:51.sparkle in the forecast sun. And everyone from jockeys, owners,
:17:51. > :17:55.trainers and punters will all be dreaming of this particular spot.
:17:55. > :18:05.It is obviously a real boost for the local economy but for the
:18:05. > :18:14.bookies as well. The bookmakers this here are seeing between 250
:18:14. > :18:22.and 300 million will be spent over the four days in gambling. There
:18:22. > :18:26.are six red-hot favourites. It just gets better and better, really
:18:26. > :18:29.exciting and a fantastic week to look forward to. And of course
:18:29. > :18:32.there will be full coverage of the Cheltenham Festival on BBC Radio
:18:32. > :18:36.Gloucestershire and BBC Radio 5 Live - with plenty of reports and
:18:36. > :18:39.reaction on the BBC Sport website. Steve Bruce has been talking about
:18:39. > :18:43.the Wolves job. And how close he came to replacing Mick McCarthy as
:18:43. > :18:46.manager. Speaking on the BBC's Match of the Day 2, Bruce said he
:18:46. > :18:48.never had a second interview at Molineux, which he described as "a
:18:48. > :18:50.really difficult job." Ian Winter reports. Disgruntled fans are fast
:18:50. > :18:55.becoming a regular fixture at Molineux. When everything's going
:18:56. > :18:58.wrong, they make a bee-line for Billy Wright. And four weeks after
:18:59. > :19:01.calling for the head of Mick McCarthy, they added Jez Moxey and
:19:02. > :19:04.Steve Morgan to the list. No wonder they're angry. They'd just watched
:19:04. > :19:08.their team out-played by one of their relegation rivals. Junior
:19:08. > :19:12.Hoillet ran the show. And Wolves seemed powerless to stop him
:19:12. > :19:16.scoring both goals in a worryingly one-sided Blackburn victory.
:19:16. > :19:18.Afterwards, Steve Morgan went outside to meet the fans. But his
:19:18. > :19:22.comments only led to confusion, which Wolves are now trying to
:19:22. > :19:26.clarify. Our chairman did not say Steve Bruce turned down the
:19:26. > :19:29.Manager's job. The managerial role was offered to one person, before
:19:29. > :19:39.Terry Connor was appointed manager, and we can confirm that wasn't
:19:39. > :19:39.
:19:39. > :19:44.Steve Bruce. Steve Bruce is a fine man and manager, the statement says.
:19:44. > :19:50.I did not go for a second interview but there was dialogue during the
:19:50. > :19:53.week and at one stage I thought we were close. It was their
:19:53. > :19:57.prerogative the book they chose and I wish him the best of the lap
:19:57. > :20:01.because it is an really difficult job at the moment for an
:20:01. > :20:05.experienced manager let alone someone who is just trying to cut
:20:05. > :20:08.their teeth. Whilst the misery continued at Molineux, it all
:20:08. > :20:10.vanished at Villa Park. In the dying seconds of stoppage time, the
:20:10. > :20:17.Austrian striker Andreas Weimann reacted quickly to score his first
:20:17. > :20:22.Premier League goal, and clinch Villa's victory against Fulham.
:20:22. > :20:27.was brilliant. I cannot really describe it. As soon as the ball
:20:27. > :20:32.went in I went crazy. I think everybody dead. It was just
:20:32. > :20:35.unbelievable. One moment of madness proved costly for Ricardo Fuller.
:20:35. > :20:38.He'll miss the next three games, starting with Stoke's FA Cup
:20:38. > :20:40.quarter-final at Liverpool. Didier Drogba added to the Potters pain by
:20:40. > :20:43.scoring Chelsea's winner. West Bromwich Albion found Wayne Rooney
:20:43. > :20:46.too hot to handle. The England striker scored both goals in
:20:46. > :20:49.United's 2-0 win. And Jonas Olsson will miss Saturday's game at Wigan
:20:49. > :20:52.after getting sent off. United's next match is at Molineux, so if
:20:52. > :21:02.the Wolves fans need cheering up, then could I suggest a little
:21:02. > :21:02.
:21:02. > :21:04.flutter on Our Mick in the 2.40 at The former England manager Sven
:21:04. > :21:09.Goran Eriksson is backing Birmingham City to gain promotion
:21:09. > :21:12.in May. Speaking on tonight's Late Kick off, Eriksson praises the
:21:12. > :21:15.Blues' boss Chris Hughton for his achievements this season. On
:21:15. > :21:18.Saturday, Blues fell behind to a Gary McSheffrey goal at Coventry,
:21:18. > :21:24.but former Sky Blues striker Marlon King secured a point which means
:21:24. > :21:27.Birmingham now sit 7th in the Championship. And you can hear more
:21:27. > :21:32.from Sven and an insight into Birmingham City's Academy in Late
:21:32. > :21:35.Kick Off tonight at five past eleven on BBC1. It was a memorable
:21:35. > :21:38.weekend, and a double celebration for Shrewsbury Town, and their
:21:38. > :21:41.manager Graham Turner. First, Ian Sharps scored their match-winning
:21:41. > :21:47.goal against Burton to lift the Shrews into second place in League
:21:47. > :21:50.Two. It's now 26 games since their last home defeat. And last night,
:21:50. > :21:53.at the Football League Awards, the Shrewsbury boss was honoured for
:21:53. > :22:02.his special contribution to the game as a player and manager during
:22:02. > :22:07.a lifetime's service to professional football. I think you
:22:07. > :22:12.have to dedicate yourself to it. You have to go to matches when you
:22:12. > :22:18.least want to. You have to do all sorts of things that people do not
:22:18. > :22:21.realise. To be successful you need to put the time and effort in.
:22:21. > :22:23.Graham Turner wasn't our only winner last night. Coventry City's
:22:23. > :22:26.Gael Bigirimana was voted Championship Apprentice of the Year.
:22:26. > :22:30.The 18-year-old arrived in Britain as a refugee from war in Burundi 8
:22:30. > :22:40.years ago. He's played 21 times for the first team this season after
:22:40. > :22:40.
:22:40. > :22:46.only making his debut in August. just want to say thank you to all
:22:46. > :22:53.be Academy staff and thank you to the manager for giving me the
:22:53. > :22:55.opportunity I never thought I would have at 17 years old. And while
:22:55. > :22:58.we're talking sport, after all our medals at the World Indoor
:22:58. > :23:01.Championships at the weekend, it really feels like the countdown's
:23:01. > :23:04.underway to the London Olympics. One of our Olympic hopefuls took
:23:04. > :23:14.time out today to make sure a legacy of inspiration's passed on
:23:14. > :23:15.
:23:15. > :23:18.to the next generation. Banging the drum for Olympic sport. Heptathlete
:23:18. > :23:23.Louise Hazel has a dream of winning a medal at the London Games this
:23:23. > :23:27.summer and she wants these young fans to share that dream. It's nice
:23:27. > :23:30.to break-up the day and come and see the kids and feel their
:23:31. > :23:36.excitement. It makes you realise you were once little ones as well
:23:37. > :23:39.so it really brings you back down to Earth. It's the values the
:23:39. > :23:42.Olympics and Paralympics represent that these children are learning at
:23:42. > :23:45.Grove School in Birmingham as part of the Active 4 2012 programme.
:23:45. > :23:48.Former Aston Villa midfielder Ian Taylor was on hand to give his
:23:48. > :23:55.support too. You can sense the excitement building towards the
:23:55. > :24:05.2012 Olympics. I am looking forward to seeing what D G B football team
:24:05. > :24:05.
:24:05. > :24:11.is like and how it via matches go. People think that Paralympics are
:24:11. > :24:21.different, they are different but they are still fun. I am over the
:24:21. > :24:21.
:24:21. > :24:24.moon. Louise won Commonwealth gold in Delhi two years ago. Getting
:24:24. > :24:34.herself in perfect shape for a shot at the Olympics is dominating her
:24:34. > :24:36.
:24:36. > :24:40.life now. As you approach the outdoor season that is when the
:24:41. > :24:44.butterflies start fluttering in your stomach. And she had one final
:24:44. > :24:47.treat for the kids. If getting this close to a gold medal won't inspire
:24:47. > :24:49.you, nothing will. The Lord Mayor of Birmingham has praised the St
:24:49. > :24:52.Patricks Day parade for bringing the West Midlands communities
:24:52. > :24:56.together. More than 85,000 people were out in Digbeth yesterday for
:24:56. > :25:05.one of the biggest events of its kind in the world. The Irish were
:25:05. > :25:11.joined in their celebrations by Polish, Indian and Chinese groups.
:25:11. > :25:15.It is a demonstration of Birmingham's diversity. And it is
:25:15. > :25:21.not just a Birmingham event but a Midlands event, I have spoken to
:25:21. > :25:24.people coming from Shropshire and North Wales for these events.
:25:24. > :25:28.cameras were at yesterday's event. Log on to the Midlands Today
:25:28. > :25:32.Facebook page to see if you were caught on film. Here's Shefali. As
:25:32. > :25:35.it turned out, some of us today ended up seeing a quite a bit of
:25:35. > :25:39.sunshine and that's the way it goes this week. The amount of sunshine
:25:39. > :25:42.we get will determine how far those temperatures rise. Hopefully, we'll
:25:43. > :25:52.be heading towards the sorts of values we had over the weekend -
:25:53. > :25:58.
:25:58. > :26:01.Pershore being the warmest spot But for those of you desperate for
:26:01. > :26:08.rain, high pressure's initially going to see to it that you don't
:26:08. > :26:16.get get any. It's towards the end of the week and into the weekend
:26:16. > :26:19.that these fronts begin to make some headway. As for tonight,
:26:19. > :26:24.you'll find the cloud thickening up again to perhaps set off the odd
:26:24. > :26:27.spot of drizzle. But for those parts that saw some sunshine this
:26:27. > :26:31.afternoon, you're most likely to see some mist and probably some
:26:31. > :26:40.dense patches of fog. But with temperatures only dropping to lows
:26:40. > :26:42.of seven or eight, it's a going to be mild. So a slow process through
:26:42. > :26:46.the morning tomorrow of the fog dispersing and the cloud breaking
:26:46. > :26:56.to give some sunshine and it's that sunshine that's going to make all
:26:56. > :26:56.
:26:56. > :27:00.the difference between you possibly getting highs of 16C or just 10.
:27:00. > :27:03.Wednesday is likely to be a similar story. There may be a better chance
:27:03. > :27:06.of the cloud breaking up on Thursday, in which case the
:27:06. > :27:10.temperatures could soar but it's on Friday and into the weekend that
:27:10. > :27:13.things begin to cloud over and we see some rain. A look at tonight's
:27:13. > :27:15.main headlines: Hosepipe bans are to come into force as soon as next
:27:15. > :27:18.month across south and eastern England. And the Bishop of
:27:18. > :27:21.Birmingham warns that the city must get to grips with child poverty.
:27:21. > :27:25.Just before we go, congratulations to a dog called Elizabeth who's won
:27:25. > :27:27.the top award at Crufts. The seven- year-old Lhasa Apso is owned by