16/04/2012 Midlands Today

Welcome to Midlands Today. They headlines: The whole region is now

officially a drought zone but there will be no hosepipe ban. In part of

the Midlands, we are looking at a lack of rainfall over the last 18

months that we would normally only see once in a hundred years.

Pakistan's hockey team becomes the latest side to choose a West

Midlands to train for the Games. An elected mayor should have powers

be on the city. Following the death of the

Gloucestershire trained Synchronised, is the race simply

too came to us? -- dangerous? Welcome to the start of the week.

Our top story, the whole region has been declared a drought zone.

Drought orders effective from today mean all of the West Midlands is

now on alert. The region's biggest water company, Severn Trent Water,

says there will not be a hosepipe ban this summer. We have continued

the dry trend we have seen for the last two years with only between 31

and 40% of the expected rainfall. That has had a pronounced impact on

river levels. Many are now exceptionally low, including the

Wye, the Trent and the Avon. What across the region, groundwater

levels are also classed as exceptionally low. David Gregory

begins his report from a potato have bombed.

-- potato farm. When levels of this low, this is

only useful to passing swans. are looking at a lack of rainfall

in the last 18 months we would only expect to see once every hundred

years, so it is quite a significant impact, and with the two dry

windows we have had, levels are low. It could have a serious impact upon

the environment. On this farm, the Environment Agency has been working

with the farmer. Relaxing rules and allowing him to take water from

this river at a time which is traditionally outside the

abstraction season. It is a lie on the farm to recharge the reservoirs.

But farmers would like to see other changes to help them survive the

drought. Especially when it comes to planning and building new

reservoirs on their land. We have been through the planning process

with one and we have had a lot of help with it, but it has taken

about 18 months to get it through, which is too long. And the cost of

doing that, to get consultants in, sometimes takes the project out of

reach for us doing it because we are spending too much money on

getting the product -- the project already rather than building up the

reservoir of. This could mean poorer quality crops for farmers

here in the Midlands. We can cross live to David Gregory

now. Just how serious is the water level situation? I guess we have

had two years where we have had less than average rainfall, so we

need two years of above-average rainfall and it is winter that is

key, because it is that we trod period where for use the rain to

fill up a will rivers -- v re- charge period. We need persistent

rain that serves the ground and makes it nice and wet so any

further rain fall soaks ride in and recharges the ground water. That is

something we have not had. -- soaks right in. How can the water

companies be confident we will not have a hosepipe ban this summer

when we are in a drought? This is a Severn Trent Water reservoir that

supplies Rugby and they have built her pipeline to refill it from a

nearby river and they would argue that thanks to this kind of moving

of water, they are definitely able to keep the water flowing into our

taps, and that is what many companies say as well. So while

there may not be an official hosepipe ban, if we are still

talking about a drought in 12 months' time, whatever water we

save this summer and winter, we might turn out to be very great for

forehead and a year's time. Everybody should be thinking more

carefully about what we used a waterfall. -- grateful for it.

Under the hammer - the irreplaceable medical library sold

off to pay the bills. It has emerged a would-be suicide

bomber jailed for plotting to blow up an aeroplane has been released

only after he helped prosecutors in the United States. Saajid Badat,

from Gloucester, was arrested in 2003 and admitted conspiring to

place a device on an aircraft. Articulate, intelligent, full of

promise. Saajid Badat was the grammar-school boy turned would-be

terrorist. He was arrested nine years ago at a family home in

Gloucester where police found a dismantled bomb stored in suitcases.

He admitted plotting to use the device hidden in his shoe to blow

up a transatlantic airliner but he never went through with it. He was

jailed for 13 years but the sentence has now been cut to 11

years. This was one of the most serious terrorist threat to our

nation since September 11th. It is because he has agreed to give

evidence against a 25-year-old man involved in a plot to blow up the

city's subway system in New York. It is extremely common for people

either under threat of conviction or who have been convicted to

agreed to testify to get a reduction of sentence. It is far

less common in the UK is so it is very interesting in terms of

transatlantic co-operation. Badat's plot was very similar to that of

Richard Reid, the shoe bomber. Following his arrest it was decided

that Badat could not face being a courier of death and he rejected

terrorism. Four workers had complained about

the behaviour of Mr Schu council's former leader before he went on to

sexually assault a teenage girl at County Hall. -- Gloucestershire

council. George Lord was accused of sexual assault on a 14-year-old

girl. The council was deemed to have acted appropriately but

communication could have been better. The councils say they do

with the previous complaint at the time. In all cases, action was

taken to stop the unwanted attention and it did stop. On that

basis, I don't think anybody could have predicted the next case was

going to be a serious sexual assault.

The former Birmingham City player Trevor Francis has been discharged

from hospital in Burnham -- in Birmingham after suffering a

suspected heart attack. He was admitted to Heartlands Hospital on

Friday. He had emergency surgery over the weekend.

Elected mayors of Birmingham and Coventry should take a leading role

well outside the city boundaries, effectively becoming the voice of

the region. That is according to new research published today. In

less than three weeks, the people go to the polls to decide if they

want elected mayors with far- reaching powers. The research has

been commissioned by Warwickshire University.

The Midland Metro does not just run through Birmingham. It stretches

through the Black Country. Unlike the wit of an elected mayor, which

would stop at the City borders. -- unlike that of an elected mayor.

But some say their powers should be extended to places where people

have not actually voted them in. There is an argument for leading

without authority, that just because you do not have political

authority over an economic which, doesn't mean you cannot use your

authority to do something about a region. If you look at the West

Midlands region, we have got Coventry, which is a city, which

might have a mayor, and then Birmingham. We also have

Wolverhampton, so the real question is, how do you co-ordinate this? No

one person can have a mandate for the whole read -- region.

cities that say yes in the referendum, how much to pay the

mayor could become a political minefield. And then there is the

question of what is more accountable. Council leaders are

chosen by other councillors, whereas a directly elected mayor is

chosen by the voters. The counter argument goes that it could be

dangerous to put all of a power in hands of just one person. The

Warren Commission's answer is for the Government to put a system in

place so that counsellors can expel mayors who abuse their power. But

it is the voters who will decide whether council leaders get to stay

in the driving seat. Those votes to decide whether an

elected mayor should run Birmingham and Coventry take place on the same

day as local council elections. In some councils, all the seats are

being contested. In others, just a third of seats are up for grabs.

Patrick Burns has been looking at what is at stake.

Launching their manifesto in Solihull today, the Greens launched

their manifesto today to create jobs and help small businesses. But

Birmingham, like Parliament itself, is run by a Conservative-Liberal

Democrat coalition. Labour need four more seats to regain power

here after eight years. And what other partnership faces a similar

Labour challenge at Newcastle- under-Lyme, one of 18 councils

holding elections or stop the Conservatives control nine,

including some wafer-thin majorities. Labour have three and

another three are under no overall control, leaving just one with

overall Lib Dem majority. With the whole council up three election,

they could lose control to the Conservatives. So the coalition

partnership in Westminster have daggers drawn. Could we be looking

at an old-fashioned fight? Well, what price the new politics?

Traditionally, the third party have struggled in our part of the world.

Their only even doubt been a region with 60 constituencies. There could

be the credit squeeze between the juggernauts. In Walsall, there is a

minority Conservative constituency there. May be in Walsall only need

four net gains on their own account to have a majority of their own. --

Labour in Walsall. You could be likely to have the opposition

picking up seats? It is extraordinary how successive

governments have found themselves becoming unpopular. We have seen

the documented woes of the Tory party and the so-called Tory spring

and their coalition partners, the Lib Dems, their poll ratings rooted

stubbornly at around 12%. There is this mid-term Blues factor, which

is on my blog Page, and it affects a team in our part of the world. In

Rugby, they have a whole council election. It could be a moment when

we find out which way the political wind is blowing.

A still head the Stephen, penalty or a dive? Ashley Young is in the

firing line after Manchester United won a penalty for this.

And spring could still feel like winter, but how fitting that rain

is in full flow this week after the drought zone announcement.

With the start of the Olympic Games just over 100 days away, the

Pakistan hockey squad has become the latest side to choose the West

Midlands as its base during the Games. They will train at Chase

Park. They arrived in the UK head of the Olympics. Pakistan played

England in a series of internationals three years ago and

were impressed with the facilities. There are the latest in a growing

list of international squads choosing to base themselves outside

the capital as the countdown to London 2012 continues.

The Olympics is the greatest show on earth, and if you cannot be the

host city, there are always fringe benefits. Cannock hockey club will

host Pakistan. We are one of the few venues that can has the team

because of the facilities and we are always looking to develop our

facilities to enable any visiting country to be able to play at a top

Staffordshire county council worked hard with the club to attract

Pakistan here. They're hoping it will provide a short-term financial

boost for local businesses but also raise the county's wider profile.

The first one is to the local community, and people are selling

their merchandise here. The second one is to prove what an ideal

situation the county is in, two of four world class accommodation for

sporting facilities. It was also confirmed today that the University

of Wolverhampton has attracted the Australian judo team to train at

it's Walsall campus. Coventry will benefit too. The small Asian

kingdom of Bhutan will base its archers, boxers and taekwondo squad

at the University of Warwick. Dominica's boxers are in

Wolverhampton and Malawi's entire team in Cheltenham are more about

feeling a part of the Olympics. At the other end of the scale it's

been estimated that Birmingham's scoop in signing up the American

and Jamaican athletics teams could give the city a �20 million boost.

But it's the sporting benefits that are getting these young stars

excited. The ability to watch the world's best on your doorstep and

even take them on. I've only played against under 21s, this would be a

massive opportunity to see if I can keep the ball out! Some economists

argue about how realistic the claimed financial benefits are. But

this Olympics is also about creating a legacy of increased

sports participation. Bringing the world's best to the West Midlands

will surely help them achieve that goal. We do seem to be getting more

and more involved. Dan's here with tonight's sport,

and there's been plenty of reaction to Villa's game at Old Trafford.

Plenty of reaction between now and -- to what happened between

Manchester United and Aston Villa. Yes, Gordon Taylor of the PFA

players union says blatant diving cannot be tolerated. And Stan

Collymore wants the Premier League to introduce retrospective

punishment. The former Villa striker was incensed to see Ashley

Young awarded a penalty for Manchester United, as Ian Winter

reports. It's certainly got the tabloids

talking, the broadsheets bristling, and former footballers fuming. Stan

Collymore is the ex-Villa player turned media pundit.. He was

watching closely when Ashley Young took an early tumble at Old

Trafford. 75,000 home fans screamed penalty - match referee Mark Halsey

said penalty, and Stan the Man said: When he is looking to check

on to his right foot, he is live -- leaving his leg in. If you are

looking to contact somebody, more often than not, you're going to

find somebody, so as far as I'm concerned, it is a cheat, it is a

dive. It should be under the laws of retrospective punishment.

slow motion, it doesn't look good. The slightest of touches from

Ciaran Clarke, and Ashley Young is poleaxed inside the penalty area. A

free gift for Wayne Rooney. And frustration for Alex McLeish. 1-0

down to that all-important early goal, and a 4-0 defeat soon

followed. I have seen the replay, he tries to pull his leg away, but

actually has thrown his leg towards Ciaran Clarke and has got his team

appeared to At least he never pulled those sort of tricks when he

played for the Villa. Did he? Well yes, he did, actually. In fact,

Villa fans like Stan can recall several embarrassing moments like

this before his �17 million move to Old Trafford. It is a yellow card

for diving. They always loved his precocious talent, but never warmed

to this side of Ashley's game. you say to a youngster, don't do it,

but then they get a professional contract, and the manager says, so

long as we get the result, do it for your life. So, did he dive, or

did he not? The debate will rage on and Villa fans have the

collywobbles, with five games left to preserve their Premier League

status. And there's more from Stan

Collymore on tonight's Late Kick- off with Manish Bhasin, here on

BBC1 at 11.05pm. The show includes all the goals

from the Football League, including Coventry's 1-1 draw at Burnley.

Clive Platt's equaliser, mid-way through the second half, leaves the

Sky Blues four points adrift of safety, with only three games left,

starting at home to Millwall tomorrow night.

The former Coventry striker Marlon King did his old club a favour by

scoring against their main relegation rivals Bristol City.

Nikola Zigic got Birmingham's second, as the Blues fought from 2-

0 to earn a valuable point. Shrewsbury Town are moving ever

closer to automatic promotion from League Two. Terry Gornell scored

two of the goals as they beat Rotherham 3-1 on Saturday. It means

they're still the only team in all four divisions to remain unbeaten

at home this season. The win lifts the Shrews up to second, now four

points clear of the chasing pack with four games to go.

Walsall welcomed a VIP guest to the Banks's Stadium on Saturday to

watch their 1-0 home defeat by Tranmere. The Saddlers' former

goalkeeper Bert Williams MBE received a great reception from the

fans at half-time. Bert, who's 92, began his career at Walsall before

going on to play for Wolves and England. His visit raised �400 for

the Alzheimer's Society. Trainer Jonjo O'Neill is said to be

heartbroken at the death of Gold Cup winner Synchronised in

Saturday's Grand National. Synchronised broke a leg while

running loose and was put down. He was one of two horses which died

during Saturday's race, provoking debate about the safety of the race.

It was dramatic and produced the closest finish in the race's

history. Neptune Collonges is diving! It took a photo-finish to

separate the winner - Neptune Collonges from the runner up

Sunnyhill Boy. It meant Gloucestershire trainer Jonjo

O'Neill had lost the race by a nose. But far worse news soon surfaced -

that Gold Cup winner Synchronised had suffered a fatal injury and had

been put down. Synchronised and jockey Tony McCoy fell at Bechers

Brook on the first circuit. He then galloped on alone and suffered

injury jumping the 11th as a loose horse. Synchronised was the stable

star at Jackdaws Castle in Temple Guiting having won the Gold Cup

just four weeks ago. His trainer was still too upset to talk about

his death today, but spoke about the horse last week. I have done

everybody, it is a fantastic feeling, it is just a nice to know

that you have done it, really, and hopefully, everything goes well and

it continues that way for him. second horse, According to Pete,

was also put down on Saturday. He suffered a broken leg after being

brought down. The safety of the National is under scrutiny. There

were too many loose horses still running across the horse. The field

is just too big, so when mistakes get made, there is nowhere for the

jockeys and horses to go other than into each other, and death and

injury occurs. It has taken the spotlight away form the winner

Neptune Collonges. His owner, Shropshire businessman John Hales

has defended the race, and so has the trainer. Obviously it is sad

when that happens, we all know there is an element a brisk before

it even starts. Anything we can look out over the next few months

with Aintree and the BH a to see what we can do, learn any lessons,

will be done. The death could change the story of the Grand

National for good. You have spoken to people at the

yard, what have they said? I called them this morning, and they are

understandably devastated. The last Gold Cup winner to die in the Grand

National was in 1972. To enjoy a road that horse. That is a dreadful

irony. It will be a long time until they get back to normal. There is

always debate about the Grand National, you sometimes -- somehow

feel this time it is under more threat than ever. Because a Gold

Cup horse -- winning horse has been involved. It is not as simple as

just changing the fences, they have done that before, because there is

an argument that they go faster. There is talk about having a

smaller field, I think that could be sensible, some people say it

takes an element away from the race. It will take a while until anything

is decided. I think that is the sensible thing, led the emotion

died down, and look at it in the months ahead, don't rush into it.

But it has to look -- be looked at again. It is a very sad.

There was Olympic delight and despair for members of the Stafford

and Stone canoe club at the British team trials at the weekend. Lizzie

Neave won all three of her races on the Olympic course at Lee Valley.

It ensures the 24-year-old will go to her first games this summer as

the only woman in the single kayak class. But club team-mates Mark

Proctor and Tom Brady missed out on Olympic selection. And this

stunning shot from Graham Dorrans was enough for West Bromwich Albion

to beat QPR and guarantee Premier League football at the Hawthorns

next season. Call me biased! But it was pretty spectacular.

One of Britain's oldest medical societies is having to sell its

library to prevent a financial crisis. The Birmingham Medical

Institute faces increasing rents and falling income.

Some of the books being sold date back to 1500 and others are so rare

they've never appeared on the market. Here's our health

correspondent, Michele Paduano. The Birmingham Medical Institute

began in 1875. It keeps doctors, dentists and nurses up to date with

medical practice. But it needs to secure its financial future. Its

ancient books, many donated by Birmingham Library and studied

until recently at the University will be sold at auction with regret.

It is enormous. Particularly the University, the middle -- Medical

School, it is a sad day for them indeed. But we feel we have to face

up to the realities of the situation today.

These books dating back to 1502 survived the war in crates. The

collection is so vast it's been divided into two sales. Even the

dealers set to profit see the tragedy. Even though I have been

dealing in books for 60 years, it is very sad to see this being

disbursed, because to my mind, it should never have been put on the

market, it should have been kept at the library. This vellum book is

the first complete anatomy valued at �15,000. Next to it, the first

English anatomy which is even rarer rare. The sale should fetch half a

million pounds. Usually it is the same kinds of books that go round

and round, but in amongst here are books I have never heard of, not

just one or two, but dozens and dozens. These are going to cause a

real sensation. This doctor noticed that milkmaids who had cowpox had

smallpox. In 7096 he injected a country boy with limb from Enoch

made, and then he gave him small pox. The boy remained well. It was

the beginning of worldwide fascination. -- vaccination.

Birmingham is sacrificing its medical heritage, so that its

historic institute can survive. A beautiful day today, if a little

We still have some way to go until we sort out these drought

conditions, but we are heading in the right direction. As far as low

pressures go, this one is a bit of a beast. It has got quite a tightly

set pack of isobars around it, which means that as well as it been

a wet, we will see strong winds. That is the only drawback, because

it means that as well as it been cold, those winds are going to

enhance the feel of the cold. But back to this deluge I mentioned

earlier in the programme, it is heading our way tonight. We will

have to see how long this heavy rain last, because it might

decrease as it moves eastwards, and it might become a lighter. You can

see we have some heavy rain to come, by the time it is all over, by the

end of tomorrow morning, we are looking at up to 20 mm of rain in

places. We can see gusts of up to 40 mph on the higher ground, those

temperatures are going to be above freezing tonight. It is going to be

a wet and windy rush-hour tomorrow morning, that rain clearing

Eastwood, followed by a rash of showers and sunshine. We are

looking at gusts a gain of 40 mph, that will make it feel colder, even

A look at tonight's main headlines: Anders Breivik goes on trial in

Norway and admits killing 77 people, but claims he was acting in self

defence. And despite the region being

declared a drought area, water companies say there'll be no

hosepipe ban. That's all from us this evening,