Browse content similar to 05/04/2012. Check below for episodes and series from the same categories and more!
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Hello, welcome to Midlands Today with Mary Rhodes and Nick Owen. | :00:04. | :00:07. | |
The headlines tonight: The man who quelled last summer's riots in | :00:07. | :00:11. | |
Birmingham escapes a jail sentence for assault. | :00:11. | :00:14. | |
Is the West Midlands rivalling China for business? Signs of | :00:14. | :00:21. | |
increasing confidence in our region's economy. If you compare | :00:21. | :00:26. | |
them with like surveys, you can see that Birmingham is performing as | :00:26. | :00:29. | |
well. Under fire, plans to burn millions | :00:29. | :00:34. | |
of tonnes of imported wood at a giant power station. The scale of | :00:34. | :00:37. | |
the wood fuel required for the power station is phenomenal. We are | :00:37. | :00:43. | |
talking about something like 2 million tonnes of wood pallets | :00:43. | :00:46. | |
every year. And pride in their Passion Play, | :00:46. | :00:56. | |
:00:56. | :00:59. | ||
celebrating Easter by telling Good evening, welcome to Thursday's | :00:59. | :01:04. | |
Midlands Today from the BBC. Tonight: the man who calmed the | :01:04. | :01:08. | |
Birmingham riots escapes a jail sentence. | :01:08. | :01:11. | |
Tariq Jahan appealed to the youth of the city to leave the streets | :01:11. | :01:15. | |
and go home. His words came after the death of his own son in the | :01:16. | :01:19. | |
disturbances. Few knew at the time that Jahan was awaiting trial for a | :01:19. | :01:26. | |
serious assault. Today a jury convicted him of | :01:26. | :01:29. | |
causing grievous bodily harm but a judge said that, because of his | :01:29. | :01:31. | |
public spirited actions in the riots, Jahan wouldn't go to jail. | :01:31. | :01:34. | |
He's been speaking exclusively to our special correspondent Peter | :01:34. | :01:37. | |
Wilson. Tariq Jahan emerged from court a | :01:37. | :01:42. | |
free man but guilty of greivous bodily harm. The man who's brave | :01:42. | :01:45. | |
words calmed a city boiling over last August chose to say nothing | :01:45. | :01:55. | |
:01:55. | :01:55. | ||
immediately after the verdict. But at the height of the riots, he'd | :01:55. | :01:58. | |
been calm and controlled appealing for peace immediately after the | :01:58. | :02:01. | |
death of his son Haroon and two brothers Shazad Ali and Abdul | :02:01. | :02:09. | |
Musavir. We stand here, to plead with all of the youth to remain | :02:09. | :02:19. | |
:02:19. | :02:21. | ||
calm, for our communities to stand united. But just weeks before Tariq | :02:21. | :02:23. | |
Jahan had been involved in a roadside altercation with this man, | :02:23. | :02:26. | |
Sajjad Ali, outside a factory in Handsworth Birmingham. So what did | :02:26. | :02:32. | |
he do? With one punch, for blow broke the other man's jaw and also | :02:32. | :02:37. | |
broke two teeth. He admitted in court that he had lied to the | :02:37. | :02:41. | |
police and that once he told one lie, he had to tell a 1000 more to | :02:41. | :02:48. | |
cover it up. Tariq Jahan has been feted nationally, his powerful | :02:48. | :02:51. | |
words and composure touching people around the world but what did those | :02:51. | :02:53. | |
living and working in his own neighbourhood think of his | :02:53. | :03:03. | |
:03:03. | :03:03. | ||
conviction for violence. He is still a peaceful man. He is a great | :03:03. | :03:09. | |
person. Still a role model? Yes. he was a true man of peace, this | :03:09. | :03:14. | |
kind of violence should not be exhibited at all. It has changed my | :03:15. | :03:19. | |
opinion about him. Later Tariq Jahan agreed to speak to me outside | :03:19. | :03:22. | |
his house in Winson Green. The judge had spared him a prison | :03:22. | :03:25. | |
sentence because of his actions in helping to defuse the violence last | :03:25. | :03:33. | |
August. I regret what happened but maintain my position of self- | :03:33. | :03:39. | |
defence. However, I accept the decision of the jury and the judge. | :03:39. | :03:44. | |
By want to thank the community and the wider public for their | :03:44. | :03:47. | |
continued support throughout this difficult time. Do you feel as | :03:48. | :03:52. | |
though you've let people down? the time of the riots, I did what I | :03:53. | :04:02. | |
thought was right. Now, as regards to the public, I will leave that to | :04:02. | :04:06. | |
them to decide, they can make up their minds. I have nothing there | :04:06. | :04:16. | |
:04:16. | :04:20. | ||
to say, thank you. -- nothing more to say. Mr Jahan has been ordered | :04:20. | :04:23. | |
to do 100 hours unpaid work and to pay �1,000 in compensation to his | :04:24. | :04:27. | |
victim. And Peter's with us now. In many ways, Tariq Jahan was a hero | :04:27. | :04:30. | |
last summer. Will this case have damaged his standing in the | :04:30. | :04:32. | |
community? He was lucky to escape a jail | :04:32. | :04:36. | |
sentence today. The judge described it as mindless violence. But he | :04:36. | :04:42. | |
also said that in his judgment, he had saved the day in Birmingham, | :04:42. | :04:45. | |
with VAT appeal. I think people are going to make up their minds. | :04:45. | :04:49. | |
People will be split but they will also read a lot in the newspaper | :04:49. | :04:53. | |
about previous convictions in his past. | :04:53. | :04:56. | |
If what more did he have to say to you today? | :04:56. | :05:02. | |
He still feels as though he was acting in self-defence but he also | :05:02. | :05:07. | |
said that he desperately wants to use the national attention but he | :05:07. | :05:11. | |
gained unwillingly to be able to help people. What was interesting | :05:11. | :05:15. | |
was all the journalists bundled out of court when those verdicts were | :05:16. | :05:20. | |
delivered. He walked back into court and shook hands with for | :05:20. | :05:25. | |
court usher. He seems to have a lot of time for people and has a | :05:25. | :05:29. | |
presence. Still to come in tonight's | :05:29. | :05:33. | |
programme: ahead of London 2012, a true Olympian from Solihull is | :05:33. | :05:43. | |
reunited with old team-mates from We're performing better than the | :05:43. | :05:45. | |
Chinese, that's the bold claim tonight from business leaders in | :05:45. | :05:47. | |
the West Midlands who say manufacturing order books are | :05:48. | :05:50. | |
booming. The latest quarterly economic survey of more than three | :05:50. | :05:52. | |
thousan companies forecasts a return to confidence, with many | :05:52. | :05:55. | |
expecting an increase in turnover and sales in the coming months. But | :05:55. | :05:58. | |
while confidence appears to be returning, very few firms are ready | :05:58. | :06:04. | |
to take on more staff. When it comes to jobs and demand | :06:04. | :06:11. | |
for goods, China's a land of plenty. But 5,000 miles from Beijing, | :06:11. | :06:17. | |
business leaders say it's boom time in Birmingham. If you compare them | :06:17. | :06:21. | |
with particular regions in China, you can see that Birmingham is | :06:21. | :06:25. | |
performing as well and in some cases exceeding quality level of | :06:25. | :06:35. | |
:06:35. | :06:39. | ||
production. This concept car will become the Jaguar F Type. Just one | :06:39. | :06:41. | |
reason says the Birmingham Chamber of Commerce that local | :06:41. | :06:45. | |
manufacturing has cause for optimism. This survey suggests that | :06:45. | :06:50. | |
60 % 60% of manufacturers are now confident that turnover will | :06:50. | :06:53. | |
improve. But just 37% are working at full capacity, a lot less than | :06:54. | :06:57. | |
last year. Three years ago, in the midst of recession, we filmed at | :06:57. | :07:05. | |
BSA Machine tools in Birmingham. We found cautious pessimism. Renewed | :07:06. | :07:09. | |
companies with order books, because that is the difference in this | :07:09. | :07:13. | |
recession, companies have got order books. They need the working | :07:13. | :07:18. | |
capital. Now, Steve Brittain's exporting to China and Mexico. | :07:18. | :07:22. | |
we are confident that things are starting to improve. We are taking | :07:22. | :07:28. | |
apprentices on. But there's a long way to go. A few miles away, | :07:28. | :07:32. | |
teenagers come along to the Pump, a charity in Shard End. They get | :07:32. | :07:35. | |
advice and skills to get a job but less than a third of local firms | :07:35. | :07:43. | |
plan to recruit. It is really depressing. There is a Shujah mound | :07:43. | :07:52. | |
of talent out there, -- There is a huge amount of talent out there. | :07:52. | :07:55. | |
Confidence is difficult to measure. While manufacturing sales are | :07:55. | :08:05. | |
:08:05. | :08:07. | ||
improving, growth in the service sector is said to be static. | :08:07. | :08:11. | |
Our Business Correspondent is at Jaguar's plant at Castle Bromwich | :08:11. | :08:14. | |
for us this evening. Encouraging signs in our region, which comes at | :08:14. | :08:18. | |
the same time as the announcement from Jaguar about it's new F Type. | :08:18. | :08:24. | |
It is good news about the Jaguar, which will be built here. That in | :08:24. | :08:28. | |
turn that means new jobs and undoubtedly job security. The F | :08:28. | :08:33. | |
type first was unveiled in Frankfurt last year, where it was a | :08:33. | :08:36. | |
concept car. Last night, Jaguar announced that it would go into | :08:36. | :08:39. | |
production. They made that announcement at the New York | :08:39. | :08:42. | |
International Motor Show. Jaguar officials they explained more about | :08:42. | :08:52. | |
the decision to go ahead with the model. It will be a full and | :08:52. | :08:57. | |
ammonium chassis, built in the UK. -- aluminium. The first version of | :08:57. | :09:00. | |
this vehicle will be a convertible and will be available on the market | :09:00. | :09:04. | |
in the middle of next year. Just over one year from now. In fact, | :09:04. | :09:08. | |
the product is so well advanced, we already have prototypes leaving the | :09:08. | :09:13. | |
factory as we speak, with the appropriate level of camouflage. | :09:13. | :09:16. | |
What about the bigger picture, how is business doing in our region | :09:16. | :09:22. | |
outside manufacturing? Ben did concentrate on manufacturing which | :09:22. | :09:25. | |
is doing extremely well but elsewhere, it is not such a good | :09:25. | :09:29. | |
picture. The survey paints a sorry picture about things like retail, | :09:29. | :09:32. | |
which are still depressed. It is fairly clear that people are | :09:32. | :09:36. | |
holding on to their money rather than spending. Also, home and | :09:36. | :09:40. | |
export sales in the service sector remain static. It says there is | :09:40. | :09:46. | |
more optimism around, particularly when they taking the next 12 months. | :09:46. | :09:50. | |
60 % of those in the service sector expects turnover to improve. 64 | :09:50. | :09:54. | |
expect profits to increase. It is a mixed picture but it is fairly | :09:54. | :09:58. | |
clear there is more optimism around and if there is more optimism, that | :09:58. | :10:03. | |
often means that people are more inclined to think about recruitment | :10:03. | :10:10. | |
Police have revealed that a man killed in an arson attack on his | :10:10. | :10:15. | |
home had a history of sex offending. 52-year-old Andrew Heath died in | :10:15. | :10:18. | |
the fire at his flat in Worcester last December. A murder inquiry is | :10:18. | :10:21. | |
underway. Police say Mr Heath had five convictions for gross | :10:21. | :10:25. | |
indecency and indecent assault against teenage boys. The offences | :10:25. | :10:30. | |
happened in Leicester and Birmingham between 1984 and 1999. | :10:30. | :10:33. | |
A pedestrian is in hospital with serious head and back injuries | :10:33. | :10:36. | |
after being knocked down by a police car in Birmingham. He was | :10:36. | :10:39. | |
walking near the Newtown Shopping Centre, in Newtown Row, when the | :10:39. | :10:41. | |
collision happened just after seven last night. An investigation is | :10:41. | :10:49. | |
underway and police are appealing for witnesses. | :10:49. | :10:51. | |
A controversial plan to burn millions of tonnes of imported wood | :10:51. | :10:56. | |
in a Shropshire power station got the go ahead this afternoon. Energy | :10:56. | :10:59. | |
company EOn says the proposals are sustainable and qualify for green | :10:59. | :11:04. | |
subsidies from the government. Opponents say this will lead to | :11:04. | :11:07. | |
large areas of North America being stripped of trees and could reduce | :11:07. | :11:17. | |
:11:17. | :11:18. | ||
air quality around the power station. | :11:18. | :11:20. | |
At today's planning meeting at Shropshire County Council, | :11:20. | :11:25. | |
opponents of these plans were looking to be heard. Energy company | :11:25. | :11:28. | |
EOn wants to begin burning imported wood pellets alongside coal at | :11:28. | :11:38. | |
:11:38. | :11:40. | ||
Ironbridge power station. I went to meet the protestors at Bildwuss | :11:40. | :11:43. | |
village hall just up the road from the power station itself. Be the | :11:43. | :11:48. | |
scale of the wood fuel required is phenomenal. We are talking about 2 | :11:48. | :11:54. | |
million tonnes of with pellets every year. That will require clear | :11:54. | :12:02. | |
felling of forests in North America. The protestors say the two million | :12:02. | :12:05. | |
tonnes of wood needed is equivalent to clearing a densely packed forest | :12:05. | :12:08. | |
stretching from Wellington to Wenlock every single year. It seems | :12:08. | :12:12. | |
to me that with the word sustainable attached to this, it | :12:12. | :12:17. | |
doesn't work. It is not sustainable at all. It is looking a little bit | :12:17. | :12:22. | |
greener here for total destruction in other parts of the world. It | :12:22. | :12:25. | |
doesn't make sense. There are also worries about the impact on the | :12:25. | :12:33. | |
environment closer to home. I find it rather disturbing that a company | :12:33. | :12:38. | |
in of his planning application, there doesn't seem to be an air | :12:38. | :12:42. | |
quality assessment. One would have hoped that would be standard and I | :12:42. | :12:46. | |
would have expected the council to have requested it. The reasoning | :12:46. | :12:51. | |
for that is not clear. I think it needs clarifying before a planning | :12:51. | :12:55. | |
meeting. And opponents have one more worry. Ironbridge power | :12:55. | :12:59. | |
station is due to close in 2015 because it doesn't meet pollution | :12:59. | :13:03. | |
targets. But could switching to would allow them to push back at | :13:03. | :13:08. | |
closure date? That is what those who oppose the scheme expect. | :13:08. | :13:12. | |
And David joins us now from Ironbridge. What happened at this | :13:12. | :13:22. | |
:13:22. | :13:23. | ||
afternoon's meeting? Once the council committee decided to go on | :13:23. | :13:26. | |
a field trip, they came to Ironbridge power station to see the | :13:26. | :13:30. | |
site of the new building, to see where it will be and then they went | :13:30. | :13:39. | |
back to the Shire Hall. That was to go ahead with... Really, the | :13:39. | :13:42. | |
committee said that all these other things the protesters were worried | :13:42. | :13:45. | |
about, these were outside the remit of the committee's planning | :13:45. | :13:49. | |
decision. It didn't affect the decision at all. You can imagine | :13:49. | :13:54. | |
the protesters were not happy about that. A So what do EOn say about | :13:54. | :13:58. | |
all this? They are very happy, and pleased | :13:58. | :14:03. | |
with the decision. They say it safeguards 100 jobs until 2015. | :14:03. | :14:09. | |
They also said that the wood that will be burned here is sustainable. | :14:09. | :14:13. | |
We will only purchase the award from sustainable sources. A house | :14:13. | :14:17. | |
to be audited and monitored through Ofgem. It has to meet their | :14:17. | :14:25. | |
requirements. What are these renewable obligation | :14:25. | :14:35. | |
certificates or ROCs? They are unimportant part of this story | :14:35. | :14:40. | |
because what is considered as biomass. It is a green energy | :14:40. | :14:44. | |
supply and it attracts a subsidy. That is what these rocks off. The | :14:44. | :14:48. | |
question is how much subsidy. The company couldn't tell us, neither | :14:48. | :14:51. | |
could the Government, but judging by what energy has been produced | :14:52. | :14:55. | |
here in the past, we think switching from coal to what could | :14:56. | :15:02. | |
Secure green subsidies of �100 million a year or more. | :15:02. | :15:05. | |
A man accused of stealing a car with two toddlers inside has been | :15:05. | :15:08. | |
remanded in custody until next week. 44-year-old Cedric Brown appeared | :15:08. | :15:13. | |
before magistrates in Birmingham on charges of robbery and kidnap. He's | :15:13. | :15:16. | |
accused of dragging a woman from a vehicle in Erdington on Tuesday | :15:16. | :15:22. | |
before driving it away. The children were later found unhurt. | :15:22. | :15:25. | |
The Independent Police Complaints Commission is to look at how Avon | :15:25. | :15:28. | |
and Somerset police handled the case of a woman who'd gone missing | :15:28. | :15:31. | |
from Redditch. The body of 20-year- old Louise Jones was discovered at | :15:31. | :15:35. | |
Rodway Hill in South Gloucestershire six days ago. | :15:35. | :15:38. | |
Louise's family alerted police and she later made a 999 call but it | :15:38. | :15:48. | |
was more than four hours before she was found. | :15:48. | :15:57. | |
Later: grand designs on this Shropshire water tower. One man's | :15:57. | :16:00. | |
plans to turn it into the home of his dreams. And Bank Holidays | :16:00. | :16:02. | |
aren't generally famed for favourable weather. Find out if | :16:02. | :16:12. | |
:16:12. | :16:13. | ||
this Easter's any different in a One day every four years, a market | :16:13. | :16:16. | |
town in Herefordshire is transported back two millennia. | :16:16. | :16:19. | |
More than 100 local people, young and old alike, re-enact the Passion, | :16:19. | :16:24. | |
the story of Christ's last days, his trial and crucifixion. | :16:24. | :16:27. | |
It's one of the oldest passion plays in the country and it'll be | :16:27. | :16:31. | |
staged tomorrow, Good Friday. Pontius Pilate is having his | :16:31. | :16:39. | |
costume altered. I am really looking forward to it. It will be a | :16:39. | :16:44. | |
real location. Brian the retired art teacher is busy painting the | :16:44. | :16:52. | |
scenery. It has been a mad -- but we are there. And the singers are | :16:52. | :16:56. | |
practising the Lord's Prayer in Aramaic. A a they were sceptical | :16:56. | :17:00. | |
but now they are going great. And it's all for this, Leominster's | :17:00. | :17:06. | |
Passion Play, filmed here in dress rehearsal. And as you can tell from | :17:06. | :17:09. | |
that footage the Passion Play isn't being performed in a theatre but | :17:09. | :17:12. | |
Leominster itself is the stage. This is the Corn Square and this is | :17:12. | :17:15. | |
where the crucifixion scene will take place. Streets around the town | :17:15. | :17:18. | |
will form the backdrop for the cast of over 100 people. They're all | :17:18. | :17:21. | |
volunteers, including Trish Marsh who has the unenviable job of stage | :17:21. | :17:30. | |
manager. It is complex because we have eight locations. He's fabulous | :17:30. | :17:34. | |
banners are also quite a challenge, especially if the wind is up. | :17:34. | :17:39. | |
Nervous. I suppose I will be tomorrow but I have an easy part | :17:39. | :17:44. | |
because a lot of the story I can read, so it is no great problem | :17:44. | :17:54. | |
:17:54. | :17:54. | ||
about being required to learn that the text. A Passion Plays are | :17:54. | :17:57. | |
linked to mystery plays, amongst the most famous are those staged in | :17:57. | :18:00. | |
York. Leominster's Passion might be on a smaller scale but people here | :18:00. | :18:04. | |
are just as dedicated. People have been talking about it for months. | :18:04. | :18:07. | |
They've been very supportive. We've done it on an absolute shoestring | :18:07. | :18:10. | |
but again, people have been generous with their time and their | :18:10. | :18:15. | |
efforts. A The Passion Play will start at the town's Forbury Chapel | :18:16. | :18:22. | |
at 11.15am tomorrow and they're praying that the weather's kind. | :18:22. | :18:25. | |
It was three years after the end of the Second World War that this | :18:25. | :18:28. | |
country last played host to the Olympic Games. A cyclist from | :18:28. | :18:33. | |
Solihull was among the medal winners in 1948. | :18:33. | :18:36. | |
Now, for a BBC radio programme, 91- year-old Tommy Godwin went back to | :18:36. | :18:43. | |
London to be re-united with some of his team-mates. | :18:43. | :18:49. | |
They were known as the Austerity Olympics. Post-war Britain, | :18:49. | :18:54. | |
rationing still in place and a make do and mend attitude. 64 years on | :18:54. | :19:01. | |
and 91-year-old Tommy Godwin takes it all in his stride. Boy I get | :19:01. | :19:10. | |
very emotional. He won two bronze medals for cycling in 1948 and was | :19:10. | :19:13. | |
proud to make the journey from him home in Solihull for Radio 4's | :19:13. | :19:20. | |
Reunion programme. The people in charge were determined that the | :19:20. | :19:23. | |
nation needed cheering up and that two weeks of sporting endeavour was | :19:23. | :19:29. | |
a fine way to do it. We showed the world what we could do. A Tommy is | :19:29. | :19:31. | |
the Midlands' only surviving medallist from the last time the | :19:31. | :19:34. | |
Olympics were staged in this country. He's now an Olympic | :19:34. | :19:43. | |
ambassador for London 2012. Bit is so wonderful to -- it is so | :19:43. | :19:51. | |
wonderful for people to ask my opinion as a man of 91 years of age. | :19:51. | :19:54. | |
He's also one of 8,000 people who'll carry the Olympic Torch and | :19:54. | :19:57. | |
last year he was inducted into the BBC Midlands Sporting Hall of Fame. | :19:57. | :20:02. | |
He says they are accolades his late wife would have been proud of. | :20:02. | :20:07. | |
wife said, Tom, this cannot be happening to you! She would have | :20:07. | :20:17. | |
loved every minute. She sacrificed so much for me. One of Tommy's | :20:17. | :20:19. | |
highlights of the Reunion was meeting Sir Roger Bannister, who | :20:19. | :20:22. | |
later became known for the four minute mile in 1954. The show's | :20:22. | :20:25. | |
host though was touched by their struggles to fulfil their sporting | :20:25. | :20:35. | |
:20:35. | :20:36. | ||
ambitions. It was the do it yourself. It was a way of cheering | :20:37. | :20:42. | |
up the nation. I get more proud of the year of my life. Super, I love | :20:42. | :20:48. | |
every minute of it. I may show off! Any excuse then to show off his | :20:48. | :20:52. | |
medals. And you can listen to Tommy's Reunion programme tomorrow | :20:52. | :21:02. | |
:21:02. | :21:04. | ||
morning on Radio 4 at nine o'clock. Sport on two wheels of a very | :21:04. | :21:08. | |
different kind now. This weekend is the start of the new MotoGP season. | :21:08. | :21:10. | |
Cal Crutchlow from Coventry's entering his second year in | :21:10. | :21:13. | |
motorcycling's elite level. He needs to impress to keep his place | :21:13. | :21:18. | |
on the team. They race at speeds of up to 150 | :21:18. | :21:22. | |
miles an hour. And attract television audiences around the | :21:22. | :21:32. | |
:21:32. | :21:32. | ||
world of more than 300 million for every race. MotoGP riders are | :21:32. | :21:35. | |
motorsport superstars and on Sunday in Qatar they take to the track | :21:35. | :21:39. | |
again for the first Grand Prix of the new season. Among them 26-year- | :21:39. | :21:42. | |
old Cal Crutchlow from Coventry who graduated to the top level last | :21:42. | :21:45. | |
season and finished 12th in the championship. Now I know the | :21:45. | :21:50. | |
circuits. Still, you say you know them but those guys have been here | :21:50. | :21:54. | |
longer. It got a lot of experience on me but at least I know where I'm | :21:54. | :21:57. | |
going on a Friday afternoon. There's no doubt of the dangers of | :21:57. | :22:00. | |
the sport. Crashes are an occupational hazard and Crutchlow | :22:00. | :22:05. | |
came off himself in the British GP. Then tragically one of the leading | :22:05. | :22:07. | |
riders, Marco Simoncelli, was killed in the penultimate race of | :22:07. | :22:09. | |
last season. There are other pressures too. Crutchlow's initial | :22:09. | :22:15. | |
contract is for two years. With a new rider already signed for next | :22:15. | :22:22. | |
season, only one of the current pair will get another deal. A this | :22:22. | :22:26. | |
is my year to prove a lot of people wrong but I think we had a good | :22:26. | :22:31. | |
year last year. We were going as fast last year as what the winners | :22:31. | :22:36. | |
were a year before. I cannot be doing much more. It's just that the | :22:36. | :22:42. | |
results didn't show. I think this year will be a big year. He has | :22:42. | :22:45. | |
impressed in testing but only when the red lights go out on Sunday | :22:46. | :22:54. | |
will we know whether Crutchlow can really make an impact. | :22:54. | :22:57. | |
The new county cricket season has got underway today, with warm | :22:57. | :23:01. | |
sweaters and flasks of tea the order of the day. There have been a | :23:01. | :23:03. | |
plenty of wickets at Trent Bridge where Worcestershire bowled | :23:03. | :23:07. | |
Nottinghamshire out. It was tough going for Gloucestershire against | :23:07. | :23:10. | |
Essex at Chelmsford where the home side were eventually all out for | :23:10. | :23:18. | |
364. A I was lucky enough to be at derby | :23:18. | :23:23. | |
against Northamptonshire this afternoon. I could see snow on the | :23:23. | :23:30. | |
hills! It was a bizarre feeling. It is great to have the cricket | :23:31. | :23:34. | |
season under way! What would be your ideal house? A | :23:34. | :23:37. | |
quiet place on the beach? A luxury penthouse? Or maybe your own | :23:37. | :23:41. | |
castle? Well, how about living 50 feet | :23:41. | :23:45. | |
above the ground in a water tower? That's what one Shropshire man is | :23:45. | :23:49. | |
planning to do. Ben Sidwell's been to meet him and take a look around | :23:49. | :23:56. | |
one of the most unusal des-reses you've ever seen. | :23:56. | :23:59. | |
Standing around 1,000 feet above sea level, Netchwood Water Tower, | :23:59. | :24:02. | |
close to Bridgnorth, has lay empty and unused for the last few years. | :24:02. | :24:05. | |
But that's all about to change. Welcome. I hope you've got a head | :24:05. | :24:10. | |
for heights. A When Vince Jones heard it was up for sale, he was | :24:10. | :24:13. | |
determined to have it as his new home. Waiting for us halfway up, | :24:13. | :24:16. | |
the architect who's helped design one of the most unusual homes in | :24:16. | :24:19. | |
the country. I was born and bred locally. I have cycled past it | :24:19. | :24:28. | |
regularly and I've had a fault, a vision. Are you excited? I cannot | :24:28. | :24:35. | |
wait! I feel like a child at Christmas. We are itching to get | :24:35. | :24:45. | |
:24:45. | :24:52. | ||
Vince bought three Tower last year and thinks it will cost �500,000 to | :24:52. | :24:58. | |
converted. He is hoping to move in later next year. Vince, who owns an | :24:58. | :25:00. | |
engineering company, will oversee the project himself and plans to | :25:00. | :25:03. | |
keep or use many of the original features. But the real treat is | :25:03. | :25:13. | |
:25:13. | :25:15. | ||
waiting for us on the top of the tower. So, here we are. And this is | :25:15. | :25:19. | |
what it is all about. From the Malverns on one side, to the Wrekin | :25:19. | :25:28. | |
on the other, the views are spectacular. It is different. But | :25:28. | :25:32. | |
not seen anything like this converted. We've watched programmes | :25:32. | :25:36. | |
on other channels, people converting properties, and have not | :25:36. | :25:39. | |
seen anything like this. It's exciting, wonderful. Vince hopes to | :25:40. | :25:49. | |
:25:50. | :25:58. | ||
begin work on his grand design We can forget about the snow this | :25:58. | :26:03. | |
weekend. But I would still suggest it's good one for putting your feet | :26:04. | :26:08. | |
up and staying indoors if you're able to. Especially on Easter Day | :26:08. | :26:11. | |
and Easter Monday - bit of rain at times - also the chance of some | :26:12. | :26:19. | |
prolific showers. It's the high pressure to the West that's keeping | :26:19. | :26:26. | |
As for the temperatures, they're being regulated by the change in | :26:26. | :26:29. | |
winds. But we start tonight with the cloud melting away leaving all | :26:29. | :26:33. | |
parts dry and clear with quite a widespread frost. And it's a going | :26:33. | :26:36. | |
to be quite cold tonight as temperatures dip a minimum of minus | :26:36. | :26:42. | |
two in rural spots, zero degrees in towns and cities. So a chilly start | :26:42. | :26:45. | |
to Good Friday but a sunny one although, there'll be increasing | :26:45. | :26:55. | |
amounts of cloud filtering down from the north through the day. The | :26:55. | :26:59. | |
cloud may be thick enough to trigger the odd shower in rural | :26:59. | :27:07. | |
parts. Temperatures doing quite well tomorrow, 10 or 11 degrees. | :27:07. | :27:11. | |
Moving on to tomorrow night, we have got more showers as the cloud | :27:11. | :27:15. | |
thickened up. As we approach the weekend, we are looking at a | :27:15. | :27:18. | |
Saturday being a bit cooler and the temperatures picking up nicely by | :27:18. | :27:28. | |
:27:28. | :27:29. | ||
temperatures picking up nicely by A look at tonight's main headlines: | :27:29. | :27:32. | |
a hosepipe ban has been introduced across much of southern and eastern | :27:32. | :27:35. | |
England after two of the driest winters on record. And the man | :27:35. | :27:38. |