22/03/2012 Midlands Today

Hello and welcome to Midlands Today with Nick Owen and Suzanne Virdee.

The headlines tonight: Protests as gypsies go to court for the right

to stay at the illegal camp they've occupied for almost two years.

will end when we find someone else to move to, won't it?

The alleged killer of a Warwickshire tennis coach - a

Florida court's told about the night he died.

We feared for our lives, says the millionaire attacked with his

fiancee by an armed gang. It was absolutely terrifying. We wondered

how it would end. And the end of a generations-old

tradition - the Potteries' last hole-in-the-wall oatcake shop is to

close. I cannot understand why it is going. I really can't. It is one

of the heritage parts of Stoke-on- Trent.

Good evening and welcome to Thursday's Midlands Today from the

BBC. Our main story tonight - gypsy families go to court to try to

prevent their eviction from an illegal site. Protesters have been

maintaining a 24 hour a day picket outside the encampment. The site is

on the outskirts of Meriden. Local people set up their picket within

hours of the gypsies moving in two years ago. Today's hearing was an

attempt to overturn a planning inquiry which said that even though

the gypsies had lawfully bought the land, they had no legal right to

live there. Sarah Falkland reports. Day 692 of their protest against

illegal development. Still fighting to save this patch of greenbelt.

It's been home for two years to a group of gypsies. The feeling among

the residents of Meriden today was that the end was in sight. Frankly,

enough is enough. The decision has been made at local authority level,

at planning inspectorate level and the Secretary of State has made a

decision. If we get the decision that the Secretary of State's

decision is lawful, it then that should be the end of it. The judge

has still to give his ruling though. But there's already talk among the

gypsies of another appeal and possibly going to the European

Courts. It will end when we find someone else to move to, or won't

it? We have been in contact with the Council for nine months, trying

to liaise with them to find somewhere to go. We have put offers

on the table. When there is somewhere that we can go that

everyone is happy with, then we will leave. But one MEP at today's

hearing warns they might not get much sympathy. They need to take

firm action on this so that when these abuses of procedure happen

again, taxpayers' money is not wasted. The Meriden camp is one of

four unauthorised travellers sites in the Solihull borough. In total

the borough has 26 caravans on unauthorised sites, compared to 264

across the whole of the West Midlands. It's an expensive

business protesting against illegal encampments. Some of the Meriden

gypsies are getting legal aid. Residents have spent �70,000 pounds

on lawyers so far. Sarah Falkland BBC Midlands Today in Birmingham.

That hearing has been going on all day. What is the result?

residents at the vigil heard the judge say that he would give his

verdict on Tuesday, that verdict on the appeal today. That is

coincidentally the day that he is due to hear the injunction put

forward by Solihull council, which would give a definite time, if you

like, to get the gypsies off the land, and to get the land

reinstated. You are chairman of Raid. How are you feeling?

Cautiously optimistic. Anybody that looks at the facts of the case

cannot help but come to the conclusion that this development is

unlawful, harmful, and damaging to the green belt. The hearing will

come on Tuesday. If the gypsies go to another stage of Appeal, does

that scupper everything for you? Yes. We are anticipating Dale Farm

style legal aid findings of appeals. That is the way the system works

and we do not like it. We will carry on campaigning until we win.

The gypsy families have said all along that pitches have not been

put forward by Solihull council and so they are in this predicament. Do

you blame the council? The council has to provide somewhere for the

gypsies and it is timely for them to speak to be gypsies and they

should have done this before this venture. I have spoken to the

gypsies before the hearing today. They are not confident about

getting a good results next week. They are not popping up the

champagne with the residents, but they are drinking tea and feeling

buoyant. The vigil will go ahead tonight as it has done for the last

692 nights. Thank you. Still ahead tonight: Dialysis

patients protest. They claim cutbacks in staff are causing

unacceptable delays. A jury's been told about the last

moments of a tennis coach from Warwickshire before he was gunned

down on the streets of a Florida city. James Cooper was killed with

his friend James Kouzaris in Sarasota last April. Today a court

heard a witness describe how they'd seen the pair being stalked moments

before they were shot. 17-year-old Shawn Tyson is accused of carrying

out the killings. Bob Hockenhull reports.

The murder weapon has never been found. But prosecutors in Sarasota

are convinced Shawn Tyson, just 16 at the time, fired the shots that

killed two British tourists. In the city's court today, a jury heard

how James Cooper, from Hampton Lucy near Warwick, seen here on the

right, and his university friend James Kouzaris from Northampton,

were on holiday when they were killed in the early hours of April

16th last year. The pair had been drinking in the city's bars but

ended up in the notoriously rough suburb of Newtown. Today this man

described how he'd seen the friends walking along the street. They both

had no T-shirts on. There are visibly drunk, staggering.

Staggering visibly. Mr Clyburn told how he'd also seen two other

figures, lurking in the shadows watching Mr Cooper and Mr Kouzaris.

They kind of crouched down in between the cars in the building to

make sure they did not see them coming. Moments later the witness

heard shots fired. The area where the killings happened is considered

dangerous by most people. But police chiefs said it was thanks to

local residents they were able to make an arrest so quickly.

arrest was made because neighbours came forward and testified against

one of their neighbours, saying that this was the person

responsible for the back. As a result, Shawn Tyson was arrested

and has been charged with murder. The trial of Shawn Tyson is

expected to last about a week. Today was pretty tense. Shawn

Tyson's mother and family members were there and they are on edge.

There is also a number of British reporters there, very interested in

the trial. Local reporters as well. A paramedic also told the hearing

that there was no hope of reviving the victims.

Tied up and beaten by armed robbers at their country home. A

millionaire businessman's been describing the horrifying ordeal he

and his fiancee suffered. The attackers escaped in the couple's

three luxury cars worth �300,000, with jewellery worth �50,000.

Richard Barnfather today put up �10,000 of his own money as part of

a �14,000 reward for help in catching the attackers. Joanne

Writtle's report contains flash photography.

Richard Barnfather runs companies turning over �14 million. Today he

faced the press to describe a terrifying armed raid at his home

in a country lane near Pattingham on the Shropshire-Staffordshire

border. When the reality of it hits, it is absolutely terrifying to

think that you are confronted with masked gunmen. You wonder how it

will end. This is Richard with his fiancee. The couple were tied up

and beaten. Debs Ledbetter is described as a broken woman since

raiders smashed windows with boulders. She has been physically

It -- she has been mentally and physically injured. She was only

wearing her nightie. It is embarrassing. It is a case of what

could have happened. They could have raped or murdered her and it

has destroyed her. Jewellery worth �50,000 was stolen including a

�25,000 diamond solitaire engagement ring, a Breitling watch,

a Cartier watch with a sapphire in the dial, and a diamond bracelet.

The thieves drove off in convoy in cars worth �300,000. This is the

couple's Aston Martin found abandoned in Tipton. Their Range

Rover was dumped in Smethwick, and a Mercedes SLK convertible was

found in Wolverhampton. One of the three raiders is said to have

distinctive features. Asian, Pakistani male with distinctive

teeth. He has gold teeth on the lower jaw and three gold teeth on

the pub. One is described as twisted or broken. A cashmere coat

like this was stolen. A �14,000 reward's on offer for information

leading to convictions. Richard Barnfather, owner of one of the

UK's largest independent wire manufacturers in Darlaston, is

putting up �10,000 of it. Joanne Writtle BBC Midlands Today.

An army officer from Wolverhampton who'd recently become a father for

the first time has been named as the most recent British casualty in

Afghanistan. 24 year old Captain Rupert Bowers from Wolverhampton

was serving in Helmand Province with the 2nd Battalion the Mercians.

He died in an explosion yesterday while working as an advisor to the

Afghan National Army. West Midlands Police will cut more

than 200 jobs as part of cost- saving plans. A report's been

approved today by the West Midlands Police Authority. Many of the posts

are vacant but 81 staff members are facing redundancy as part of job

cuts aimed to save �26 million. Nor more details will be released

A report into last summer's Birmingham riots has been

criticised by one of the city's MPs. It comes seven months after

disorder hit the city and the Black Country. The draft report was

commissioned by Birmingham City Council. It contains poems

highlighting tensions between ethnic groups. The author says the

poems have been misunderstood, but MP Khalid Mahmood says they've

caused deep anger. Things could get very serious and I am concerned

about it. One side of the community is saying the poem is good. It

starts to raise tensions within a small element of the community and

that extents and that ignites issues. That is what we have seen

in this area for a long time. A private health company has shed

30 staff who help with the dialysis of patients with chronic renal

failure. Fresenius made the cuts against the wishes of the NHS

Hospital which pays for the treatment. The company says the

changes will ensure the viability of the service but patients say

profits are taking priority over their treatment. Our health

correspondent Michele Paduano reports. We need more health care.

Chronically ill patients before dialysis vent their anger at cuts

to their service. They were told to move on because it was private land.

Every night since they have made these cuts, we have been getting on

to the machines late and getting home as late as midnight instead of

10:30pm. It is clear that they have not got enough staff to run the

unit properly. No ifs, no buts, no more dialysis cuts. People whose

kidneys have stopped working have to spend four hours on dialysis

machines three days a week to purify their blood. Half of all

healthcare assistants being made redundant across the country are in

the West Midlands. Nine will go in Tipton, six in Aston, four in

Walsall and five each in both Hereford and Kingson Norton. This

letter was sent to patients by a specialist doctors at the hospital,

and they said they shared their concerns about delays getting on

machines. They asked for a six- month moratorium but the company

went on with redundancies regardless. Fresenius' national

headquarters is in Kings Norton. The company's medical director says

records show that patients are not getting off the dialysis machines

later. The overall level of care that our patients will receive will

be exactly the same. We used the staffing levels in several of our

units and have done for several years. Dr Richards used to work for

the Queen Elizabeth Hospital. You must have had some impact into the

contract. You must have said how many staff members you must have

need. The more modern contracts that we have specified the level of

staffing, so it is really down to us to decide what it should be.

These patients have to rely on Fresenius' good track record in

New statistics show that Birmingham has low statistics in terms of

children getting their first choice of secondary school. It was only

68%, compared to 98% in Hereford. Often in inner cities, they have a

history of underperforming schools and it is tackling schools in

challenging areas that is a priority for the Government. We

want to close the attainment gap between wealthy and poor

backgrounds. One way to do that is to improve the quality of schools

in inner cities. The Royal Shakespeare Company has

appointed a new artistic director. Gregory Doran will take on the role

from Michael Boyd in September. Mr Doran joined the RSC 25 years ago

and has worked as an actor, assistant director and is currently

chief associate director. Still to come on tonight's

programme: How professional cricketers are preparing for life

after they've bowled their last ball.

And if it's warm today, it could be even warmer tomorrow. That's been

the trend so far this week. So will today's values be hard to beat?

The unique Wedgwood Museum pottery collection will now be sold after

the government decided not to appeal against a judge's ruling.

The Attorney General's decision affects thousands of treasures,

currently on display at the Wedgwood Museum at Barlaston in

Staffordshire. The valuable collection is under threat from

administrators because of a huge pension deficit left when Waterford

Wedgwood collapsed. The Wedgwood family are now preparing for a big

fund-raising push. We cannot be complacent. The Government is not

just going to produce the money. We will have to raise the funds,

millions of pounds to save the collection for the people of North

Staffordshire. We are not going to give up until we have ensured that

the collection is safe in Staffordshire for the next 100

years. The MP for Stoke on Trent Central, Tristram Hunt, has been at

the forefront of the campaign to save the Wedgwood Collection and

joins us now from Westminster. Good evening. Firstly, what is your

reaction to the Government's decision? It actually clears the

pitch, in a sense. If we had gone ahead with an appeal from the

Attorney-General, we would have had another year or 18 months of legal

fighting. We know the position now and what we need to do is work out

what is the sustainable future for this world class for election in

Staffordshire. What is the answer to that? What is a sustainable

future? The answer to that could be on the current side and it will

certainly be in Staffordshire. What we do know is that the museum as it

exists at the moment is not getting enough visitors. It is not getting

enough tourist appeal. In a moment, -- This is in a sense the moment of

crisis, but also how we can revive the collection for the people of

Staffordshire and of Britain into the future. We need to preserve it

but also have a proper business case for the museum. That will take

lots of money. Where will the money come from? Fund-raising? It will

come from fund-raising, trusts. Hopefully from the Heritage Lottery

Fund. Hopefully it might come from local philanthropists that value

the collection as part of the story of Staffordshire. Part of the story

of the Potteries. Part of the story of the West Midlands. It is a

fabulous collection telling the story of the Industrial Revolution,

the French Revolution, the great history of Wedgwood. It is not

something that we can leave to go to Moscow, Dubai, Paris. We are all

going to fight to keep it in Stoke- on-Trent. I was going to ask you

that. Do you think you can keep it in the Potteries? Absolutely. This

collection will remain in Staffordshire. Thank you.

Now the sport. Two hard-earned draws.

Yes, and both away from home. The Stoke City manager Tony Pulis

has set his team a target of a top half finish after their Premier

League draw at Tottenham. But finishing outside the

Championship's bottom three is all that's on the minds of Coventry

supporters. Nick Clitheroe rounds up last night's action. This game

took some time to get going. It was the second half until there was a

breakthrough. Some of the home fans were leaving when the board showed

five extra minutes, just enough for Spurs to equalise through Rafael

van der Vaart. We are desperately disappointed not to have picked up

three points, especially after coming back from a very tough game

in the quarter-finals against Liverpool, to come to Tottenham

with the side and the players they have got. It is a fantastic tribute

to the players and the effort that they have put in. Coventry City

must have thought it would be a painful night at Cardiff. Cody

McDonald's own goal saw them fall behind. Then Gary McSheffrey wasted

a great chance to equalise, blasting his penalty over. But

their second half performance was impressive and Jordan Clarke

brought the Sky Blues level. Even a stunning goal from Peter

Whittingham couldn't dim their enthusiasm and the clock had ticked

well past 90 minutes when Oliver Norwood's first goal for the club

sent the travelling fans home happy. Port Vale's administrators expect

to receive formal bids to buy the League Two club next week. Vale

went into administration earlier this month with debts believed to

be around �3 million pounds. Six parties have expressed an interest

in buying the club. The administrators will pick a

preferred option from any bidders. The new cricket season starts two

weeks today and it's uppermost in players' minds. But what about life

after they've bowled their last ball? Well, Worcestershire's

players have been asked to think about their long term future, as

I've been finding out. It's his first day at work and

they're showing him the ropes. Chris Russell is normally an

opening bowler for Worcestershire. Today he was doing work experience

at Worcester jewellers. After being shown the design process and the

workshop, he was onto the shop floor. Chris is 23 and has known

nothing but cricket before. I hope that cricket goes well enough over

the next couple of years and I can see where I am at. Maybe when I and

30 I will be looking at a different job, but opportunities like this

have given me an insight into something else that I might like to

do. And on a match day at New Road you can see the attraction. Playing

the sport you love in glorious weather. But careers can be short

and with starting wages of �15,000 a year, the Professional Cricketers

Association wants players to always think of life after retirement.

Players spend so much time now playing cricket but cricket does

not last forever. It is about fella pings key skills, networking and

developing confidence to achieve things in other areas. --

developing key skills. And for Worcestershire captain Darly

Mitchell that could involve joining the BBC. He joined Dave Bradley

this afternoon in the newsroom and then he was thrown in at the deep

end reading the sports bulletins in Andrew Easton's drivetime show.

Stuart Broad grabbed three wickets for England following a sprained

ankle. To be honest, it was uncomfortable but it was good fun

and good experience and it took me out of my comfort zone and into the

real world, if you like, outside cricket. Aged 28, Daryl hopes for a

few more seasons at New Road yet. But he's already got one eye on the

future. He did very well. We assume that

professional sports men are well paid and they will be financially

secure later. Certain cricketers are paid a fortune, but the �15,000

annual income for young players is only recommended. Some of those

lads might only play for a couple of seasons on that money and what

do they do next? It is certainly not a job for life. I think this is

so important because cricketers have a terrible problem when they

finish playing, some of them, serious depression. Absolutely.

Surveys have been done to show that unusually against other sports,

cricketers seem to suffer more. Having something to move into would

help that situation. In years gone by, cricket is played for only six

months of the year, but now it is a 12 month contract and they cannot

look beyond it because they have not got another job. But they will

be back to playing cricket for real in two months. Trent Bridge,

Worcestershire's first game of the season, that is on the BBC. And we

will be covering the rest of the season as well. Your eyes are

lighting up. Bentley. -- thank you.

For generations, families in the Potteries have queued up patiently,

waiting for a hatch to be opened so they can order their freshly made

oatcakes. But this weekend the last of those hole-in-the-wall shops

shuts for good. The family-run business has lost a battle to stop

the building being demolished. Here's Ben Sidwell.

They've been making them for hundreds of years and they're as

synonymous with Stoke-on -Trent as the Potteries themselves. But on

Sunday the last traditional oatcake shop will close for the final time.

I can't understand why it is going, I really can't. It is one of the

heritage parts of Stoke. It is a pleasure to watch the process. As

you probably know, we eat them like most people eat crisps. This area

of Hanley in the city is part of a major regeneration programme.

Despite thousands signing a petition to save the building it

will soon disappear for good. Glenn Fowler has run the Hole In The Wall

for 30 years, along with his wife Sue and son Robert. It is a very

sad time, yes. I am looking forward to Sunday but I am not looking

forward to Sunday. How do you weigh it all up? I don't know. It will be

emotional. What makes this shop so unique is that they still sell the

oatcakes in the traditional manner, through the window of a house. One

of today's customers, Betty Knight, has been coming here for 75 years.

I used to come to church on Sunday morning for the service and after

that we came down here, fetched oatcakes and went back for

breakfast. It is the classic here. So we are told. Some in the queue

were here for one final oatcake, some to try them for the first time.

Katie Gilbert travelled all the way from Kansas in the United States.

It is very nice. It is a shame it is closing. They have been serving

oatcakes from this window for more than 100 years, but when they

finally close on Sunday, they have been told this building will be

demolished and with it will go part of Stoke's history. The history of

serving oatcakes through the window will never ever come back. We did

think of the rebuild, but a hole in the wall will never come back. Once

the windows closed on Sunday, that will be it for the oatcakes as far

as we are concerned. Today so many people came, they had to close two

hours early. Those wanting to try a piece of Staffordshire's culinary

history have until lunchtime on Sunday.

Betty has been going for 75 years! Astonishing. They are fabulous with

melted cheese and bacon, wrapped up, delicious. I like them with fried

eggs and I had two only this week. From being a boy, I love them. That

is the Derbyshire way. It has to be bacon and cheese for me, the Stoke-

on-Trent way. Let's stop rambling It was a beautiful day today but it

did not quite live up to expectations. These were the

temperatures across the region, and most of the best ones were

concentrated in the West. Pershore got a highest values of 15.5. There

is more where that came from. We have got some brain because this

high pressure temporarily deserts us. -- rain. There is tantalising

rain in the West, in the Atlantic, but it will not reach us, so the

lack of rain is still an issue. Tonight, before that weather front

reaches us, the cloud thickens up. This cloud outlines where the

weather front will be, producing patchy rain later in the night. Not

very much. Temperatures on the mild side because of all that cloud. We

are looking at low temperatures of seven or eight with light winds.

Moving on to tomorrow, it starts off cloudy with patchy, light rain

initially, residual rain that dies away. The cloud breaks up nicely

and the odd shower will crop up during the afternoon. It is another

beautiful day with lots of sunshine and dry weather to be had with high

temperatures of 16-17. Hope for the higher than today's values. Lighter

winds from the south-easterly direction. We are looking at clear

skies across the board tomorrow night and the odd spot of rain. It

will be colder and that set us up beautifully for the weekend. We are

looking at sunshine for Saturday and cloud for Sunday.

That is very promising. Thank you. The main headlines tonight: The man

suspected of the murders at a Jewish school in France is killed

after the police stormed his flat. Meriden residents protest outside