:00:04. > :00:11.Hello and welcome to Midlands Today with Nick Owen and Suzanne Virdee.
:00:11. > :00:18.The headlines tonight: Protests as gypsies go to court for the right
:00:18. > :00:24.to stay at the illegal camp they've occupied for almost two years.
:00:24. > :00:26.will end when we find someone else to move to, won't it?
:00:26. > :00:32.The alleged killer of a Warwickshire tennis coach - a
:00:32. > :00:35.Florida court's told about the night he died.
:00:35. > :00:39.We feared for our lives, says the millionaire attacked with his
:00:39. > :00:42.fiancee by an armed gang. It was absolutely terrifying. We wondered
:00:42. > :00:45.how it would end. And the end of a generations-old
:00:45. > :00:51.tradition - the Potteries' last hole-in-the-wall oatcake shop is to
:00:51. > :01:01.close. I cannot understand why it is going. I really can't. It is one
:01:01. > :01:02.
:01:02. > :01:04.of the heritage parts of Stoke-on- Trent.
:01:04. > :01:08.Good evening and welcome to Thursday's Midlands Today from the
:01:08. > :01:12.BBC. Our main story tonight - gypsy families go to court to try to
:01:12. > :01:22.prevent their eviction from an illegal site. Protesters have been
:01:22. > :01:23.
:01:23. > :01:27.maintaining a 24 hour a day picket outside the encampment. The site is
:01:27. > :01:30.on the outskirts of Meriden. Local people set up their picket within
:01:30. > :01:33.hours of the gypsies moving in two years ago. Today's hearing was an
:01:33. > :01:36.attempt to overturn a planning inquiry which said that even though
:01:36. > :01:39.the gypsies had lawfully bought the land, they had no legal right to
:01:39. > :01:42.live there. Sarah Falkland reports. Day 692 of their protest against
:01:42. > :01:47.illegal development. Still fighting to save this patch of greenbelt.
:01:47. > :01:54.It's been home for two years to a group of gypsies. The feeling among
:01:54. > :01:59.the residents of Meriden today was that the end was in sight. Frankly,
:01:59. > :02:02.enough is enough. The decision has been made at local authority level,
:02:02. > :02:06.at planning inspectorate level and the Secretary of State has made a
:02:06. > :02:09.decision. If we get the decision that the Secretary of State's
:02:09. > :02:12.decision is lawful, it then that should be the end of it. The judge
:02:13. > :02:15.has still to give his ruling though. But there's already talk among the
:02:15. > :02:19.gypsies of another appeal and possibly going to the European
:02:19. > :02:23.Courts. It will end when we find someone else to move to, or won't
:02:23. > :02:27.it? We have been in contact with the Council for nine months, trying
:02:27. > :02:29.to liaise with them to find somewhere to go. We have put offers
:02:29. > :02:35.on the table. When there is somewhere that we can go that
:02:35. > :02:40.everyone is happy with, then we will leave. But one MEP at today's
:02:40. > :02:45.hearing warns they might not get much sympathy. They need to take
:02:45. > :02:50.firm action on this so that when these abuses of procedure happen
:02:50. > :02:53.again, taxpayers' money is not wasted. The Meriden camp is one of
:02:53. > :02:56.four unauthorised travellers sites in the Solihull borough. In total
:02:56. > :02:58.the borough has 26 caravans on unauthorised sites, compared to 264
:02:58. > :03:01.across the whole of the West Midlands. It's an expensive
:03:01. > :03:04.business protesting against illegal encampments. Some of the Meriden
:03:04. > :03:14.gypsies are getting legal aid. Residents have spent �70,000 pounds
:03:14. > :03:16.
:03:16. > :03:22.on lawyers so far. Sarah Falkland BBC Midlands Today in Birmingham.
:03:22. > :03:26.That hearing has been going on all day. What is the result?
:03:26. > :03:32.residents at the vigil heard the judge say that he would give his
:03:32. > :03:35.verdict on Tuesday, that verdict on the appeal today. That is
:03:35. > :03:40.coincidentally the day that he is due to hear the injunction put
:03:40. > :03:44.forward by Solihull council, which would give a definite time, if you
:03:44. > :03:51.like, to get the gypsies off the land, and to get the land
:03:51. > :03:55.reinstated. You are chairman of Raid. How are you feeling?
:03:55. > :04:00.Cautiously optimistic. Anybody that looks at the facts of the case
:04:00. > :04:04.cannot help but come to the conclusion that this development is
:04:04. > :04:08.unlawful, harmful, and damaging to the green belt. The hearing will
:04:08. > :04:14.come on Tuesday. If the gypsies go to another stage of Appeal, does
:04:14. > :04:17.that scupper everything for you? Yes. We are anticipating Dale Farm
:04:17. > :04:21.style legal aid findings of appeals. That is the way the system works
:04:22. > :04:25.and we do not like it. We will carry on campaigning until we win.
:04:25. > :04:29.The gypsy families have said all along that pitches have not been
:04:29. > :04:36.put forward by Solihull council and so they are in this predicament. Do
:04:36. > :04:40.you blame the council? The council has to provide somewhere for the
:04:40. > :04:43.gypsies and it is timely for them to speak to be gypsies and they
:04:43. > :04:47.should have done this before this venture. I have spoken to the
:04:47. > :04:52.gypsies before the hearing today. They are not confident about
:04:52. > :04:55.getting a good results next week. They are not popping up the
:04:55. > :05:00.champagne with the residents, but they are drinking tea and feeling
:05:00. > :05:06.buoyant. The vigil will go ahead tonight as it has done for the last
:05:06. > :05:09.692 nights. Thank you. Still ahead tonight: Dialysis
:05:09. > :05:15.patients protest. They claim cutbacks in staff are causing
:05:15. > :05:17.unacceptable delays. A jury's been told about the last
:05:17. > :05:21.moments of a tennis coach from Warwickshire before he was gunned
:05:21. > :05:25.down on the streets of a Florida city. James Cooper was killed with
:05:25. > :05:28.his friend James Kouzaris in Sarasota last April. Today a court
:05:28. > :05:31.heard a witness describe how they'd seen the pair being stalked moments
:05:31. > :05:35.before they were shot. 17-year-old Shawn Tyson is accused of carrying
:05:35. > :05:38.out the killings. Bob Hockenhull reports.
:05:38. > :05:41.The murder weapon has never been found. But prosecutors in Sarasota
:05:42. > :05:48.are convinced Shawn Tyson, just 16 at the time, fired the shots that
:05:48. > :05:51.killed two British tourists. In the city's court today, a jury heard
:05:51. > :05:53.how James Cooper, from Hampton Lucy near Warwick, seen here on the
:05:53. > :05:57.right, and his university friend James Kouzaris from Northampton,
:05:57. > :06:04.were on holiday when they were killed in the early hours of April
:06:04. > :06:08.16th last year. The pair had been drinking in the city's bars but
:06:08. > :06:17.ended up in the notoriously rough suburb of Newtown. Today this man
:06:17. > :06:21.described how he'd seen the friends walking along the street. They both
:06:21. > :06:25.had no T-shirts on. There are visibly drunk, staggering.
:06:25. > :06:31.Staggering visibly. Mr Clyburn told how he'd also seen two other
:06:31. > :06:34.figures, lurking in the shadows watching Mr Cooper and Mr Kouzaris.
:06:34. > :06:38.They kind of crouched down in between the cars in the building to
:06:38. > :06:42.make sure they did not see them coming. Moments later the witness
:06:42. > :06:45.heard shots fired. The area where the killings happened is considered
:06:45. > :06:47.dangerous by most people. But police chiefs said it was thanks to
:06:48. > :06:51.local residents they were able to make an arrest so quickly.
:06:51. > :06:54.arrest was made because neighbours came forward and testified against
:06:54. > :06:57.one of their neighbours, saying that this was the person
:06:58. > :07:02.responsible for the back. As a result, Shawn Tyson was arrested
:07:02. > :07:07.and has been charged with murder. The trial of Shawn Tyson is
:07:07. > :07:10.expected to last about a week. Today was pretty tense. Shawn
:07:10. > :07:15.Tyson's mother and family members were there and they are on edge.
:07:15. > :07:19.There is also a number of British reporters there, very interested in
:07:19. > :07:29.the trial. Local reporters as well. A paramedic also told the hearing
:07:29. > :07:32.that there was no hope of reviving the victims.
:07:32. > :07:34.Tied up and beaten by armed robbers at their country home. A
:07:34. > :07:36.millionaire businessman's been describing the horrifying ordeal he
:07:36. > :07:39.and his fiancee suffered. The attackers escaped in the couple's
:07:39. > :07:43.three luxury cars worth �300,000, with jewellery worth �50,000.
:07:43. > :07:47.Richard Barnfather today put up �10,000 of his own money as part of
:07:47. > :07:52.a �14,000 reward for help in catching the attackers. Joanne
:07:52. > :07:56.Writtle's report contains flash photography.
:07:56. > :07:59.Richard Barnfather runs companies turning over �14 million. Today he
:07:59. > :08:02.faced the press to describe a terrifying armed raid at his home
:08:02. > :08:12.in a country lane near Pattingham on the Shropshire-Staffordshire
:08:12. > :08:12.
:08:12. > :08:15.border. When the reality of it hits, it is absolutely terrifying to
:08:15. > :08:19.think that you are confronted with masked gunmen. You wonder how it
:08:19. > :08:22.will end. This is Richard with his fiancee. The couple were tied up
:08:22. > :08:28.and beaten. Debs Ledbetter is described as a broken woman since
:08:28. > :08:37.raiders smashed windows with boulders. She has been physically
:08:37. > :08:41.It -- she has been mentally and physically injured. She was only
:08:41. > :08:44.wearing her nightie. It is embarrassing. It is a case of what
:08:44. > :08:47.could have happened. They could have raped or murdered her and it
:08:47. > :08:49.has destroyed her. Jewellery worth �50,000 was stolen including a
:08:49. > :08:54.�25,000 diamond solitaire engagement ring, a Breitling watch,
:08:54. > :09:00.a Cartier watch with a sapphire in the dial, and a diamond bracelet.
:09:00. > :09:04.The thieves drove off in convoy in cars worth �300,000. This is the
:09:04. > :09:07.couple's Aston Martin found abandoned in Tipton. Their Range
:09:07. > :09:14.Rover was dumped in Smethwick, and a Mercedes SLK convertible was
:09:14. > :09:21.found in Wolverhampton. One of the three raiders is said to have
:09:21. > :09:25.distinctive features. Asian, Pakistani male with distinctive
:09:25. > :09:29.teeth. He has gold teeth on the lower jaw and three gold teeth on
:09:29. > :09:32.the pub. One is described as twisted or broken. A cashmere coat
:09:32. > :09:37.like this was stolen. A �14,000 reward's on offer for information
:09:37. > :09:39.leading to convictions. Richard Barnfather, owner of one of the
:09:39. > :09:49.UK's largest independent wire manufacturers in Darlaston, is
:09:49. > :09:51.putting up �10,000 of it. Joanne Writtle BBC Midlands Today.
:09:51. > :09:55.An army officer from Wolverhampton who'd recently become a father for
:09:55. > :09:57.the first time has been named as the most recent British casualty in
:09:57. > :10:01.Afghanistan. 24 year old Captain Rupert Bowers from Wolverhampton
:10:01. > :10:05.was serving in Helmand Province with the 2nd Battalion the Mercians.
:10:05. > :10:12.He died in an explosion yesterday while working as an advisor to the
:10:12. > :10:16.Afghan National Army. West Midlands Police will cut more
:10:16. > :10:24.than 200 jobs as part of cost- saving plans. A report's been
:10:24. > :10:29.approved today by the West Midlands Police Authority. Many of the posts
:10:29. > :10:35.are vacant but 81 staff members are facing redundancy as part of job
:10:35. > :10:45.cuts aimed to save �26 million. Nor more details will be released
:10:45. > :10:48.A report into last summer's Birmingham riots has been
:10:48. > :10:51.criticised by one of the city's MPs. It comes seven months after
:10:51. > :10:53.disorder hit the city and the Black Country. The draft report was
:10:53. > :10:55.commissioned by Birmingham City Council. It contains poems
:10:55. > :10:58.highlighting tensions between ethnic groups. The author says the
:10:58. > :11:01.poems have been misunderstood, but MP Khalid Mahmood says they've
:11:01. > :11:07.caused deep anger. Things could get very serious and I am concerned
:11:07. > :11:11.about it. One side of the community is saying the poem is good. It
:11:11. > :11:17.starts to raise tensions within a small element of the community and
:11:17. > :11:25.that extents and that ignites issues. That is what we have seen
:11:25. > :11:28.in this area for a long time. A private health company has shed
:11:28. > :11:31.30 staff who help with the dialysis of patients with chronic renal
:11:31. > :11:34.failure. Fresenius made the cuts against the wishes of the NHS
:11:34. > :11:36.Hospital which pays for the treatment. The company says the
:11:36. > :11:39.changes will ensure the viability of the service but patients say
:11:39. > :11:45.profits are taking priority over their treatment. Our health
:11:45. > :11:48.correspondent Michele Paduano reports. We need more health care.
:11:48. > :11:54.Chronically ill patients before dialysis vent their anger at cuts
:11:54. > :11:58.to their service. They were told to move on because it was private land.
:11:58. > :12:01.Every night since they have made these cuts, we have been getting on
:12:01. > :12:05.to the machines late and getting home as late as midnight instead of
:12:05. > :12:14.10:30pm. It is clear that they have not got enough staff to run the
:12:14. > :12:16.unit properly. No ifs, no buts, no more dialysis cuts. People whose
:12:16. > :12:19.kidneys have stopped working have to spend four hours on dialysis
:12:19. > :12:22.machines three days a week to purify their blood. Half of all
:12:22. > :12:26.healthcare assistants being made redundant across the country are in
:12:26. > :12:34.the West Midlands. Nine will go in Tipton, six in Aston, four in
:12:35. > :12:39.Walsall and five each in both Hereford and Kingson Norton. This
:12:39. > :12:42.letter was sent to patients by a specialist doctors at the hospital,
:12:43. > :12:46.and they said they shared their concerns about delays getting on
:12:46. > :12:49.machines. They asked for a six- month moratorium but the company
:12:49. > :12:52.went on with redundancies regardless. Fresenius' national
:12:52. > :12:55.headquarters is in Kings Norton. The company's medical director says
:12:55. > :13:01.records show that patients are not getting off the dialysis machines
:13:01. > :13:07.later. The overall level of care that our patients will receive will
:13:07. > :13:12.be exactly the same. We used the staffing levels in several of our
:13:12. > :13:18.units and have done for several years. Dr Richards used to work for
:13:18. > :13:25.the Queen Elizabeth Hospital. You must have had some impact into the
:13:25. > :13:31.contract. You must have said how many staff members you must have
:13:32. > :13:36.need. The more modern contracts that we have specified the level of
:13:36. > :13:38.staffing, so it is really down to us to decide what it should be.
:13:38. > :13:48.These patients have to rely on Fresenius' good track record in
:13:48. > :13:58.
:13:58. > :14:03.New statistics show that Birmingham has low statistics in terms of
:14:03. > :14:10.children getting their first choice of secondary school. It was only
:14:10. > :14:12.68%, compared to 98% in Hereford. Often in inner cities, they have a
:14:12. > :14:16.history of underperforming schools and it is tackling schools in
:14:16. > :14:19.challenging areas that is a priority for the Government. We
:14:19. > :14:22.want to close the attainment gap between wealthy and poor
:14:22. > :14:31.backgrounds. One way to do that is to improve the quality of schools
:14:31. > :14:34.in inner cities. The Royal Shakespeare Company has
:14:34. > :14:37.appointed a new artistic director. Gregory Doran will take on the role
:14:37. > :14:40.from Michael Boyd in September. Mr Doran joined the RSC 25 years ago
:14:40. > :14:42.and has worked as an actor, assistant director and is currently
:14:42. > :14:44.chief associate director. Still to come on tonight's
:14:44. > :14:47.programme: How professional cricketers are preparing for life
:14:47. > :14:51.after they've bowled their last ball.
:14:51. > :14:55.And if it's warm today, it could be even warmer tomorrow. That's been
:14:55. > :15:05.the trend so far this week. So will today's values be hard to beat?
:15:05. > :15:11.
:15:11. > :15:13.The unique Wedgwood Museum pottery collection will now be sold after
:15:13. > :15:15.the government decided not to appeal against a judge's ruling.
:15:15. > :15:18.The Attorney General's decision affects thousands of treasures,
:15:18. > :15:20.currently on display at the Wedgwood Museum at Barlaston in
:15:20. > :15:22.Staffordshire. The valuable collection is under threat from
:15:22. > :15:28.administrators because of a huge pension deficit left when Waterford
:15:28. > :15:35.Wedgwood collapsed. The Wedgwood family are now preparing for a big
:15:35. > :15:39.fund-raising push. We cannot be complacent. The Government is not
:15:39. > :15:42.just going to produce the money. We will have to raise the funds,
:15:42. > :15:45.millions of pounds to save the collection for the people of North
:15:45. > :15:48.Staffordshire. We are not going to give up until we have ensured that
:15:48. > :15:51.the collection is safe in Staffordshire for the next 100
:15:51. > :15:54.years. The MP for Stoke on Trent Central, Tristram Hunt, has been at
:15:54. > :16:00.the forefront of the campaign to save the Wedgwood Collection and
:16:01. > :16:05.joins us now from Westminster. Good evening. Firstly, what is your
:16:05. > :16:09.reaction to the Government's decision? It actually clears the
:16:10. > :16:13.pitch, in a sense. If we had gone ahead with an appeal from the
:16:13. > :16:17.Attorney-General, we would have had another year or 18 months of legal
:16:17. > :16:21.fighting. We know the position now and what we need to do is work out
:16:21. > :16:26.what is the sustainable future for this world class for election in
:16:26. > :16:30.Staffordshire. What is the answer to that? What is a sustainable
:16:30. > :16:34.future? The answer to that could be on the current side and it will
:16:34. > :16:38.certainly be in Staffordshire. What we do know is that the museum as it
:16:38. > :16:46.exists at the moment is not getting enough visitors. It is not getting
:16:46. > :16:50.enough tourist appeal. In a moment, -- This is in a sense the moment of
:16:50. > :16:53.crisis, but also how we can revive the collection for the people of
:16:53. > :16:57.Staffordshire and of Britain into the future. We need to preserve it
:16:57. > :17:02.but also have a proper business case for the museum. That will take
:17:02. > :17:06.lots of money. Where will the money come from? Fund-raising? It will
:17:06. > :17:11.come from fund-raising, trusts. Hopefully from the Heritage Lottery
:17:11. > :17:15.Fund. Hopefully it might come from local philanthropists that value
:17:15. > :17:19.the collection as part of the story of Staffordshire. Part of the story
:17:19. > :17:22.of the Potteries. Part of the story of the West Midlands. It is a
:17:22. > :17:27.fabulous collection telling the story of the Industrial Revolution,
:17:27. > :17:31.the French Revolution, the great history of Wedgwood. It is not
:17:31. > :17:36.something that we can leave to go to Moscow, Dubai, Paris. We are all
:17:36. > :17:41.going to fight to keep it in Stoke- on-Trent. I was going to ask you
:17:41. > :17:44.that. Do you think you can keep it in the Potteries? Absolutely. This
:17:44. > :17:48.collection will remain in Staffordshire. Thank you.
:17:48. > :17:55.Now the sport. Two hard-earned draws.
:17:55. > :17:58.Yes, and both away from home. The Stoke City manager Tony Pulis
:17:58. > :18:00.has set his team a target of a top half finish after their Premier
:18:00. > :18:03.League draw at Tottenham. But finishing outside the
:18:03. > :18:08.Championship's bottom three is all that's on the minds of Coventry
:18:08. > :18:12.supporters. Nick Clitheroe rounds up last night's action. This game
:18:12. > :18:21.took some time to get going. It was the second half until there was a
:18:21. > :18:25.breakthrough. Some of the home fans were leaving when the board showed
:18:25. > :18:28.five extra minutes, just enough for Spurs to equalise through Rafael
:18:28. > :18:31.van der Vaart. We are desperately disappointed not to have picked up
:18:31. > :18:34.three points, especially after coming back from a very tough game
:18:34. > :18:38.in the quarter-finals against Liverpool, to come to Tottenham
:18:38. > :18:48.with the side and the players they have got. It is a fantastic tribute
:18:48. > :18:54.
:18:54. > :18:57.to the players and the effort that they have put in. Coventry City
:18:57. > :18:59.must have thought it would be a painful night at Cardiff. Cody
:18:59. > :19:02.McDonald's own goal saw them fall behind. Then Gary McSheffrey wasted
:19:02. > :19:04.a great chance to equalise, blasting his penalty over. But
:19:04. > :19:07.their second half performance was impressive and Jordan Clarke
:19:07. > :19:09.brought the Sky Blues level. Even a stunning goal from Peter
:19:09. > :19:12.Whittingham couldn't dim their enthusiasm and the clock had ticked
:19:12. > :19:15.well past 90 minutes when Oliver Norwood's first goal for the club
:19:15. > :19:18.sent the travelling fans home happy. Port Vale's administrators expect
:19:18. > :19:21.to receive formal bids to buy the League Two club next week. Vale
:19:21. > :19:23.went into administration earlier this month with debts believed to
:19:23. > :19:26.be around �3 million pounds. Six parties have expressed an interest
:19:26. > :19:28.in buying the club. The administrators will pick a
:19:28. > :19:31.preferred option from any bidders. The new cricket season starts two
:19:31. > :19:33.weeks today and it's uppermost in players' minds. But what about life
:19:33. > :19:36.after they've bowled their last ball? Well, Worcestershire's
:19:36. > :19:40.players have been asked to think about their long term future, as
:19:40. > :19:42.I've been finding out. It's his first day at work and
:19:42. > :19:50.they're showing him the ropes. Chris Russell is normally an
:19:50. > :19:53.opening bowler for Worcestershire. Today he was doing work experience
:19:53. > :19:56.at Worcester jewellers. After being shown the design process and the
:19:56. > :20:00.workshop, he was onto the shop floor. Chris is 23 and has known
:20:00. > :20:04.nothing but cricket before. I hope that cricket goes well enough over
:20:04. > :20:07.the next couple of years and I can see where I am at. Maybe when I and
:20:07. > :20:11.30 I will be looking at a different job, but opportunities like this
:20:11. > :20:15.have given me an insight into something else that I might like to
:20:15. > :20:20.do. And on a match day at New Road you can see the attraction. Playing
:20:20. > :20:22.the sport you love in glorious weather. But careers can be short
:20:23. > :20:31.and with starting wages of �15,000 a year, the Professional Cricketers
:20:31. > :20:34.Association wants players to always think of life after retirement.
:20:34. > :20:38.Players spend so much time now playing cricket but cricket does
:20:38. > :20:44.not last forever. It is about fella pings key skills, networking and
:20:44. > :20:47.developing confidence to achieve things in other areas. --
:20:47. > :20:50.developing key skills. And for Worcestershire captain Darly
:20:51. > :20:54.Mitchell that could involve joining the BBC. He joined Dave Bradley
:20:54. > :20:58.this afternoon in the newsroom and then he was thrown in at the deep
:20:58. > :21:01.end reading the sports bulletins in Andrew Easton's drivetime show.
:21:01. > :21:05.Stuart Broad grabbed three wickets for England following a sprained
:21:05. > :21:09.ankle. To be honest, it was uncomfortable but it was good fun
:21:09. > :21:13.and good experience and it took me out of my comfort zone and into the
:21:13. > :21:17.real world, if you like, outside cricket. Aged 28, Daryl hopes for a
:21:17. > :21:26.few more seasons at New Road yet. But he's already got one eye on the
:21:26. > :21:32.future. He did very well. We assume that
:21:32. > :21:37.professional sports men are well paid and they will be financially
:21:37. > :21:41.secure later. Certain cricketers are paid a fortune, but the �15,000
:21:41. > :21:45.annual income for young players is only recommended. Some of those
:21:45. > :21:49.lads might only play for a couple of seasons on that money and what
:21:49. > :21:52.do they do next? It is certainly not a job for life. I think this is
:21:52. > :21:56.so important because cricketers have a terrible problem when they
:21:56. > :22:01.finish playing, some of them, serious depression. Absolutely.
:22:01. > :22:04.Surveys have been done to show that unusually against other sports,
:22:04. > :22:12.cricketers seem to suffer more. Having something to move into would
:22:12. > :22:16.help that situation. In years gone by, cricket is played for only six
:22:16. > :22:20.months of the year, but now it is a 12 month contract and they cannot
:22:20. > :22:24.look beyond it because they have not got another job. But they will
:22:25. > :22:29.be back to playing cricket for real in two months. Trent Bridge,
:22:29. > :22:31.Worcestershire's first game of the season, that is on the BBC. And we
:22:31. > :22:41.will be covering the rest of the season as well. Your eyes are
:22:41. > :22:43.
:22:43. > :22:46.lighting up. Bentley. -- thank you.
:22:46. > :22:49.For generations, families in the Potteries have queued up patiently,
:22:49. > :22:52.waiting for a hatch to be opened so they can order their freshly made
:22:52. > :22:55.oatcakes. But this weekend the last of those hole-in-the-wall shops
:22:55. > :22:56.shuts for good. The family-run business has lost a battle to stop
:22:56. > :22:59.the building being demolished. Here's Ben Sidwell.
:22:59. > :23:02.They've been making them for hundreds of years and they're as
:23:02. > :23:07.synonymous with Stoke-on -Trent as the Potteries themselves. But on
:23:07. > :23:11.Sunday the last traditional oatcake shop will close for the final time.
:23:11. > :23:16.I can't understand why it is going, I really can't. It is one of the
:23:16. > :23:22.heritage parts of Stoke. It is a pleasure to watch the process. As
:23:22. > :23:25.you probably know, we eat them like most people eat crisps. This area
:23:25. > :23:27.of Hanley in the city is part of a major regeneration programme.
:23:27. > :23:31.Despite thousands signing a petition to save the building it
:23:31. > :23:39.will soon disappear for good. Glenn Fowler has run the Hole In The Wall
:23:39. > :23:45.for 30 years, along with his wife Sue and son Robert. It is a very
:23:45. > :23:50.sad time, yes. I am looking forward to Sunday but I am not looking
:23:50. > :23:54.forward to Sunday. How do you weigh it all up? I don't know. It will be
:23:54. > :23:57.emotional. What makes this shop so unique is that they still sell the
:23:57. > :24:04.oatcakes in the traditional manner, through the window of a house. One
:24:04. > :24:07.of today's customers, Betty Knight, has been coming here for 75 years.
:24:07. > :24:11.I used to come to church on Sunday morning for the service and after
:24:11. > :24:17.that we came down here, fetched oatcakes and went back for
:24:17. > :24:21.breakfast. It is the classic here. So we are told. Some in the queue
:24:21. > :24:26.were here for one final oatcake, some to try them for the first time.
:24:26. > :24:32.Katie Gilbert travelled all the way from Kansas in the United States.
:24:32. > :24:37.It is very nice. It is a shame it is closing. They have been serving
:24:37. > :24:39.oatcakes from this window for more than 100 years, but when they
:24:39. > :24:45.finally close on Sunday, they have been told this building will be
:24:45. > :24:49.demolished and with it will go part of Stoke's history. The history of
:24:49. > :24:53.serving oatcakes through the window will never ever come back. We did
:24:53. > :24:58.think of the rebuild, but a hole in the wall will never come back. Once
:24:58. > :25:03.the windows closed on Sunday, that will be it for the oatcakes as far
:25:03. > :25:06.as we are concerned. Today so many people came, they had to close two
:25:06. > :25:12.hours early. Those wanting to try a piece of Staffordshire's culinary
:25:12. > :25:17.history have until lunchtime on Sunday.
:25:17. > :25:22.Betty has been going for 75 years! Astonishing. They are fabulous with
:25:22. > :25:28.melted cheese and bacon, wrapped up, delicious. I like them with fried
:25:28. > :25:33.eggs and I had two only this week. From being a boy, I love them. That
:25:33. > :25:43.is the Derbyshire way. It has to be bacon and cheese for me, the Stoke-
:25:43. > :25:44.
:25:44. > :25:47.on-Trent way. Let's stop rambling It was a beautiful day today but it
:25:47. > :25:50.did not quite live up to expectations. These were the
:25:50. > :25:55.temperatures across the region, and most of the best ones were
:25:55. > :26:01.concentrated in the West. Pershore got a highest values of 15.5. There
:26:01. > :26:10.is more where that came from. We have got some brain because this
:26:10. > :26:15.high pressure temporarily deserts us. -- rain. There is tantalising
:26:15. > :26:19.rain in the West, in the Atlantic, but it will not reach us, so the
:26:19. > :26:23.lack of rain is still an issue. Tonight, before that weather front
:26:23. > :26:27.reaches us, the cloud thickens up. This cloud outlines where the
:26:27. > :26:32.weather front will be, producing patchy rain later in the night. Not
:26:32. > :26:37.very much. Temperatures on the mild side because of all that cloud. We
:26:37. > :26:42.are looking at low temperatures of seven or eight with light winds.
:26:42. > :26:46.Moving on to tomorrow, it starts off cloudy with patchy, light rain
:26:46. > :26:50.initially, residual rain that dies away. The cloud breaks up nicely
:26:50. > :26:55.and the odd shower will crop up during the afternoon. It is another
:26:55. > :27:00.beautiful day with lots of sunshine and dry weather to be had with high
:27:00. > :27:04.temperatures of 16-17. Hope for the higher than today's values. Lighter
:27:04. > :27:08.winds from the south-easterly direction. We are looking at clear
:27:08. > :27:12.skies across the board tomorrow night and the odd spot of rain. It
:27:12. > :27:15.will be colder and that set us up beautifully for the weekend. We are
:27:15. > :27:21.looking at sunshine for Saturday and cloud for Sunday.
:27:21. > :27:25.That is very promising. Thank you. The main headlines tonight: The man
:27:25. > :27:31.suspected of the murders at a Jewish school in France is killed
:27:32. > :27:36.after the police stormed his flat. Meriden residents protest outside