:00:03. > :00:06.Hello, welcome to Midlands Today, with Nick Owen and Mary Rhodes. The
:00:06. > :00:12.headlines tonight: Record financial results from
:00:12. > :00:14.Staffordshire digger-maker JCB, as overseas demand continues to grow.
:00:14. > :00:18.I guess if anybody can learn anything from this, think globally,
:00:18. > :00:21.not locally, and value your customers.
:00:21. > :00:24.Thousands of jobs in the offing, as more Black Country sites are
:00:24. > :00:27.earmarked for industrial development. The history of the
:00:27. > :00:32.Black Country, the quality of engineering, the skills that are
:00:32. > :00:40.available in the workforce make this area perfectly suited.
:00:40. > :00:43.How the drought means business is drying up on the waterways.
:00:43. > :00:46.And breaking new ground as street dance meets ballet, to welcome the
:00:47. > :00:50.Olympic torch. We feel really privileged and honoured that we've
:00:50. > :01:00.been asked to do this and we just can't wait. We're just going to
:01:00. > :01:08.
:01:09. > :01:11.Good evening and welcome to Tuesday Midlands Today from the BBC.
:01:11. > :01:16.Tonight, record-breaking results announced for one of the region's
:01:16. > :01:18.biggest employers. Staffordshire- based JCB say the reason for their
:01:18. > :01:27.success is globalisation and investment in the world's emerging
:01:27. > :01:31.The company's turnover topped �2.75 billion last year. That's an
:01:31. > :01:41.increase of over a third on 2010. That means the company has earned
:01:41. > :01:41.
:01:41. > :01:44.�355 million in the past 12 months, JCB sold more than 69,000 different
:01:44. > :01:49.machines last year, an increase of more than 18,000 on the previous
:01:49. > :01:58.year. This has helped the firm record the highest turnover in the
:01:58. > :02:02.firm's 66-year history. Every business wants to do better and
:02:02. > :02:08.better but a record year, we are very pleased. Please do JCB and all
:02:08. > :02:10.of the employees. Our customers. Great news. Worldwide the company
:02:10. > :02:14.now has 22 factories on four continents employing more than
:02:14. > :02:16.10,000 people. A new factory about to open in Brazil reflects JCB's
:02:16. > :02:26.commitment to the traditional markets and the important emerging
:02:26. > :02:28.
:02:28. > :02:31.economies. First and foremost, we value our customers. We give great
:02:31. > :02:37.product and customer service and if a customer has got a problem, they
:02:37. > :02:40.talk to us. So if anybody can learn anything, think globally, not
:02:40. > :02:43.locally, and valued your customers. Pedro Bianchi, from Brazil,
:02:43. > :02:46.represents the new type of JCB customer. His building firm already
:02:46. > :02:49.has a fleet of construction equipment worth $500 million
:02:49. > :02:59.operating across the world but he's new to the JCB brand and keen to
:02:59. > :03:01.
:03:01. > :03:06.see what they can offer. We are testing the equipment, as I said.
:03:07. > :03:11.They are performing very well and our intention is to buy new
:03:11. > :03:16.equipment from JCB. These record profits have not come without some
:03:16. > :03:21.sacrifice. The workforce did agree to a temporary pay freeze. Now that
:03:21. > :03:27.has been lifted and bonuses have been reinstated. Production is at a
:03:27. > :03:29.record high. More than 60 new products go on the market at a
:03:29. > :03:31.trade show in Paris today, including the latest 20-metre
:03:31. > :03:38.telescopic handler, perhaps re- inforcing JCB's commitment to
:03:38. > :03:42.continue reaching for bigger and better products and profits.
:03:42. > :03:48.Joining us now is Dr Stephen Gruneberg, an industrial economist.
:03:48. > :03:56.Thanks for joining us. Is it right to look at the construction
:03:56. > :04:03.industry as a marker for the rest of the economy? Well, sometimes it
:04:03. > :04:07.is. But sometimes it lags behind the rest of the economy. In this
:04:07. > :04:12.case, we see the construction industry actually leading the rest
:04:12. > :04:18.of the economy in that there is investment taking place in plant
:04:18. > :04:20.and machinery, like the machinery JCB produces, and that shows
:04:21. > :04:28.confidence in the future. JCB's figures are impressive. What are
:04:28. > :04:32.they doing right? They happen to be producing investment goods, and you
:04:32. > :04:37.need does before you can actually produce the goods that the
:04:37. > :04:40.investment goods producer. What are those? These are goods like
:04:41. > :04:44.buildings and plant and machinery, so you have to invest in those
:04:44. > :04:50.before you can produce the goods people want. Unido factory to
:04:50. > :04:58.produce cars before you can produce the cars. -- you need a factory.
:04:58. > :05:02.What can other companies learn from them? JCB have some good practices.
:05:02. > :05:05.They have a financial branch and they can therefore help to finance
:05:05. > :05:10.customers who want to purchase their goods. That is a very clever
:05:10. > :05:14.way of going about it, especially when banks are reluctant to lend.
:05:14. > :05:21.So do you think this indicates that the economy has turned a corner?
:05:21. > :05:25.think it shows there is confidence in some sectors of the economy
:05:25. > :05:28.because life goes on. And as long as you have a Great Britain, you
:05:28. > :05:31.will have a construction industry because you need buildings. Thank
:05:31. > :05:34.you very much. Still to come in tonight's
:05:34. > :05:41.programme, no new mosque in Dudley, as the Muslim Association is told
:05:41. > :05:46.to sell the land back to the council.
:05:46. > :05:50.And joined me live in Coventry as the Sky Blues battle for survival
:05:50. > :05:54.in the championship. Thousands of new jobs are expected
:05:54. > :05:57.to be created in the Black Country. It comes as the government-backed
:05:57. > :06:00.enterprise zone in Darlaston becomes one of the first in the
:06:00. > :06:03.country to be up and running. The sites which are earmarked for
:06:03. > :06:07.development cover several derelict plots of land. Companies who move
:06:07. > :06:11.there will benefit from a variety of tax breaks and other incentives.
:06:11. > :06:14.Here's our business correspondent, Peter Plisner.
:06:14. > :06:18.The i54 Business Park just outside Wolverhampton. This site clearance
:06:18. > :06:22.work going on today will pave the way for Jaguar Land Rover's new
:06:22. > :06:25.multi-million pound engine plant. Like other companies who move here,
:06:25. > :06:28.JLR won't pay any business rates for five years and will benefit
:06:28. > :06:38.from relaxed planning laws as part of government plans for a network
:06:38. > :06:39.
:06:39. > :06:43.new enterprise zones. Although this was a site that made headlines when
:06:43. > :06:47.enterprise zones were first announced, since then, much
:06:47. > :06:51.lobbying has gone on to include other parts of that country,
:06:51. > :06:53.including this derelict land close to the M6 in Walsall. 15 sites
:06:53. > :06:55.across Darleston have been designated part of an extended
:06:55. > :07:00.enterprise zone and business leaders are hoping they'll attract
:07:00. > :07:04.companies who will make and supply parts into the JLR's engine plant.
:07:04. > :07:12.The importance is that with only a seven-minute motorway journey
:07:12. > :07:16.between the two sides, anybody coming here in this area can be on
:07:16. > :07:19.the -- on the i54 Business Park site within a few minutes.
:07:19. > :07:23.Estimates suggest that more than 6,000 jobs could be created at both
:07:23. > :07:26.i54 and in Daleston within the next three years. And some development
:07:26. > :07:29.has already started. This is another delelict site in Darleston
:07:29. > :07:36.which is also part of the new zone. Developers are expecting many more
:07:36. > :07:40.enquiries. Yes, there is generally a lot more appetite because of the
:07:40. > :07:44.business rate holiday and a relaxed planning laws. Time will see but it
:07:44. > :07:47.should be a big incentive and it is a positive move by the Government
:07:47. > :07:50.in the current economic climate. The Darleston enterprise zone opens
:07:50. > :07:53.for business after a decision last night by Walsall Council. It's
:07:53. > :07:56.thought to be the first in country to approve plans which allow for
:07:56. > :07:59.the crucial relaxation of planning regulations.
:07:59. > :08:02.Detectives investigating the murder of a woman in Worcester have been
:08:02. > :08:06.granted a further 36 hours to question a 51-year-old man they've
:08:06. > :08:10.had in custody since Sunday. Jacqueline Harrison was 47 and the
:08:10. > :08:16.mother of four grown up children. She was found at her flat in the
:08:16. > :08:18.Dines Green area of the city on Thursday evening.
:08:18. > :08:22.A teenager's been treated in hospital after robbers broke into
:08:22. > :08:26.her home in Dudley, attacking her and her younger brother. Three men
:08:26. > :08:29.forced their way into the house, on Selborne Road, in the early hours
:08:29. > :08:32.of Saturday morning. They woke the 19-year-old victim by forcing her
:08:32. > :08:36.from her bed, snatching a gold chain from around her neck, and
:08:36. > :08:39.dragging her around the house. She and her younger brother were
:08:39. > :08:49.repeatedly punched and the thieves got away with jewellery worth
:08:49. > :08:49.
:08:49. > :08:53.around �15,000. The level of violence offered by the offenders
:08:53. > :08:57.was completely and utterly disproportionate, and consequently,
:08:57. > :09:00.it has had a massive impact on -- upon the person subjected to it.
:09:00. > :09:04.Controversial plans for a new mosque on a derelict site in the
:09:04. > :09:07.heart of Dudley look to have come to a halt. The High Court's
:09:07. > :09:10.rejected claims that the council's acted unfairly over the project.
:09:10. > :09:13.It's ordered the Muslims who own the land to sell it, Giles Latcham
:09:13. > :09:16.reports. Is this the most contentious patch
:09:16. > :09:20.of land in the West Midlands? It was bought seven years ago by
:09:20. > :09:23.Muslims in Dudley as a site for a new mosque and community centre but
:09:23. > :09:28.not a brick has been laid, and following a High Court hearing
:09:28. > :09:34.today, it looks as if it never will. We are bitterly disappointed that
:09:34. > :09:37.the judge has not found in our favour. It's a case which is very
:09:37. > :09:41.high profile and has a lot of public interest. It has been going
:09:42. > :09:44.on for a decade now. And for the town it's become a running sore.
:09:44. > :09:47.Far right protestors have staged a series of demonstrations against
:09:47. > :09:57.the mosque and it's now hugely divisive, as we found out when
:09:57. > :09:59.
:09:59. > :10:03.filming. There you are. People walking along the other side of the
:10:04. > :10:08.road had started shouting across at us, clearly angry at us filming or
:10:08. > :10:10.about the prospective use of this land for a mosque. The sorry saga
:10:10. > :10:12.has seen the council refuse planning permission, that refusal
:10:12. > :10:20.being overturned, Muslims scaling down their proposals and at one
:10:20. > :10:26.point withdrawing them altogether. They have got a mosque down in
:10:26. > :10:30.CastleHill. I think they should stick with that one. They should do
:10:30. > :10:34.something to help everyone instead of one ethnic minority in the
:10:34. > :10:39.community. I really think they should think what is right for the
:10:39. > :10:43.community on this site, because if you start on another comedy will be
:10:43. > :10:53.back to square one. Today the court ruled that the council hadn't
:10:53. > :10:54.
:10:54. > :10:59.Or does it? The Muslim Association are supposed to sell the land back
:10:59. > :11:03.to the council within a month but say they are likely to appeal.
:11:03. > :11:06.A Worcester City footballer is due to appear in court next month for
:11:06. > :11:08.making alleged racist comments on Twitter. Midfielder Lee Smith has
:11:08. > :11:14.been charged with writing racially aggravated words likely to cause
:11:14. > :11:20.harassment, alarm or distress to the public. It relates to tweets
:11:20. > :11:23.made on his now deleted social media account last November.
:11:23. > :11:25.Police have released the image of a man who's suspected of forcibly
:11:25. > :11:30.removing a Muslim woman's face covering and throwing it on the
:11:30. > :11:32.floor. They believe the man caught on CCTV was the person who
:11:32. > :11:37.approached the 26-year-old from behind in the Touchwood shopping
:11:37. > :11:42.centre in Solihull on 3rd March. Police say they're treating the
:11:42. > :11:46.incident as a hate crime. Thieves have stolen a silver plaque
:11:46. > :11:49.from the entrance of the Birmingham Assay office. Staff arriving for
:11:49. > :11:56.work said they were devastated when they saw the empty space. The
:11:56. > :11:59.plaque has 18-carat gold lettering. The drought is bringing problems to
:11:59. > :12:03.some of the region's leisure businesses which depend on water to
:12:03. > :12:07.make their living. One marina is suffering because of falling water
:12:07. > :12:12.levels and a build-up of silt on the River Avon. Problems, too, for
:12:12. > :12:15.a narrowboat hire company elsewhere, as Joanne Writtle reports.
:12:15. > :12:20.At Bredon Marina near Tewkesbury the lack of rain is playing havoc
:12:20. > :12:25.for owners Meg Hanlon and her husband Steve. Ten of the 80
:12:25. > :12:30.mooring spaces are out of use, meaning a loss of �7,000 in revenue.
:12:30. > :12:38.Ironic, then, that five years ago there was too much water. In fact,
:12:39. > :12:43.part of the problem dates back to the floods of 2007. A lot of silt
:12:43. > :12:46.got washed into the river and that has raised the river bed and then
:12:46. > :12:49.obviously over the last 12 months, we have had very little rain and
:12:49. > :12:54.that means the water level has dropped, so we have very little
:12:54. > :12:57.water and some of the birds are starting to sit on the bottom. --
:12:57. > :13:00.the boats. They're trying to alleviate the problem themselves.
:13:00. > :13:05.And they're also about to fork out thousands of pounds for dredging
:13:05. > :13:09.work. We have got some dredgers booked to come in to scoop some of
:13:09. > :13:13.the mud off the bottom and get rid of it so it makes it deeper again.
:13:13. > :13:16.40 miles away in Warwick, there's plenty of water for people to enjoy
:13:16. > :13:19.narrow boat holidays. But this hire company is being bombarded with
:13:19. > :13:29.calls from people who've reserved boats and are worried, and bookings
:13:29. > :13:29.
:13:29. > :13:33.are down. There's plenty of water out there. There is some beautiful
:13:33. > :13:37.cruising from here with no restrictions, so, no, we don't
:13:37. > :13:40.think we have got an issue. British Waterways say some locks are being
:13:40. > :13:43.closed overnight in the South East to save water, like here in
:13:43. > :13:46.Northamptonshire. But there are no plans to introduce that in the West
:13:46. > :13:49.Midlands. A spokesman for British Waterways said reservoirs had been
:13:49. > :13:52.refilled in the West Midlands, and as a result, the region's canals
:13:52. > :13:59.were open for boaters to enjoy as normal. This holidaymaker said
:13:59. > :14:03.everything was fine. No problems with the water! Back on the River
:14:03. > :14:06.Avon, in Bredon, dredging work is due to start in the next week or
:14:06. > :14:09.two. But despite that, it's still business as usual here, even if low
:14:09. > :14:19.water levels mean they currently have fewer mooring spaces to rent
:14:19. > :14:20.
:14:20. > :14:25.Our reporter has been speaking to groups who manage the region's
:14:25. > :14:30.waterways to date. What did they make of the situation on the River
:14:30. > :14:34.Avon? A bleak picture for the owners of Bredon Marina which is on
:14:34. > :14:41.the River Avon. I have spoken to the Avon Navigation Trust, the
:14:41. > :14:46.group that once -- runs the River Avon. They monitor water levels and
:14:46. > :14:51.they say the levels are normal. They say there is no negative
:14:51. > :14:55.effect on leisure there. Why is the Bredon Marina suffering? They say
:14:55. > :15:05.it is because it sits in a backwater and that is wet silk
:15:05. > :15:05.
:15:05. > :15:09.gathers and dredging is an imminent solution -- silt gathers there.
:15:09. > :15:13.will British Waterways ensure there are no restrictions imposed on the
:15:13. > :15:18.canal network? As you heard in the report, British Waterways have
:15:18. > :15:23.refilled reservoirs so boaters can continue to use the canal as normal.
:15:23. > :15:27.They are introducing a range of methods to make sure that we
:15:27. > :15:31.conserve water. One of those is introducing a volunteer lock
:15:31. > :15:36.keepers. They will be on various blocks around the region advising
:15:36. > :15:40.people on how to use them. The aim is, a friendly face on the
:15:40. > :15:43.waterways. British Waterways say they are not being complacent and
:15:43. > :15:49.are that they will continue to modern pop -- monitor our
:15:49. > :15:54.reservoirs over the summer. Still to come: is there such a
:15:54. > :15:59.thing as the wrong type of rain? There could be. The problem with
:15:59. > :16:05.downpours is the likelihood of flooding on parched ground. Could
:16:05. > :16:08.we be at risk? If you live in Herefordshire and
:16:08. > :16:18.want to help keep its beautiful countryside up to scratch, your
:16:18. > :16:22.county needs you. Rehearsals have begun for a major
:16:22. > :16:25.open-air concert to celebrate the arrival of the Olympic torch in the
:16:25. > :16:29.West Midlands. For one Street Dance Group, the
:16:29. > :16:39.event will mean a dream come true when they perform alongside the
:16:39. > :16:40.
:16:40. > :16:45.Birmingham Royal Ballet -- ballet. From the classically-trained... To
:16:45. > :16:50.the self-taught. Antics, flight lads from Birmingham will be
:16:50. > :16:57.joining forces with the Birmingham Royal Ballet at Torch Relay Concert
:16:57. > :17:01.in June. Hard to believe they only formed a year ago. We bring a lot
:17:01. > :17:08.of hard hitting choreography routines and we want to show people
:17:08. > :17:12.what we can do and make ourselves generic and show the world what we
:17:12. > :17:16.can do. Ballet it is notoriously disciplined. It is a life of
:17:16. > :17:20.dedication, endurance and a principle will tell you that they
:17:20. > :17:25.never dance without pain. Street dance, well, it is notoriously
:17:25. > :17:30.disciplined, a life of dedication... Get the picture? We go through a
:17:30. > :17:33.lot of pain of in rehearsals and our training. We push for it
:17:33. > :17:38.because it is worth it and we really want to give the best
:17:38. > :17:44.performance we can give. If you are bruised and battered, fight for it.
:17:44. > :17:46.The torch relay concern will bring a fusion of different dance forms.
:17:46. > :17:51.The Birmingham Royal Ballet's new production has been inspired by the
:17:51. > :17:57.Olympic motto, faster, Higher, stronger. A motto which could
:17:57. > :18:02.equally apply to Antics. The lads have never seen a ballet class
:18:02. > :18:06.before. Today a leading principle gave him their knowledge. We are
:18:06. > :18:15.learning from each other. We are borrowing and trying to emulate
:18:15. > :18:20.each other. I think maybe the attire differs sometimes and the
:18:20. > :18:27.venue but actually I am not even sure that the audiences defer any
:18:27. > :18:36.more. To lift his leg up so far and turn around, that was exceptional.
:18:36. > :18:40.Thrilling. Birmingham's finest and best up and coming.
:18:40. > :18:47.The Gloucester rugby head coach Bryan Redpath has announced he is
:18:47. > :18:51.resigning. He will leave Kingsholm with immediate effect. He has been
:18:51. > :18:55.linked with a move to Sale Sharks and has been at Gloucester since
:18:55. > :18:59.2009. It is the time of year when
:18:59. > :19:04.football fans can either start to breathe a sigh of relief or suffer
:19:04. > :19:08.from nerves and sweaty palms as their team battles to avoid
:19:08. > :19:11.relegation. Coventry City desperately need to beat Millwall
:19:11. > :19:20.tonight to have any chance of playing in the championship again
:19:20. > :19:23.next season. Tonight could be the night that the
:19:23. > :19:28.Sky Blues take a giant step towards survival or it could be denied they
:19:28. > :19:32.are relegated. Looking at the league table, Coventry are in the
:19:32. > :19:36.relegation zone in the bottom three and they are four points behind
:19:36. > :19:41.Bristol City. Coventry are here at the Ricoh Arena against the world.
:19:41. > :19:44.If they lose and Bristol City when, it is a seven-point gap with two
:19:44. > :19:50.games to play and the Sky Blues are relegated. It could be a dreadful
:19:50. > :19:53.night for them. One thing we do know according to the manager Andy
:19:53. > :19:58.Thorn is that the fans and the players will be giving it their all.
:19:58. > :20:04.The atmosphere will be as it has been all season... The supporters
:20:04. > :20:10.have been fantastic, right behind the team and giving loads of energy.
:20:10. > :20:16.The boys are desperate to repay them. If they want to give them
:20:17. > :20:21.everything, they are working their socks off. Let us get a fans' i
:20:21. > :20:27.perspective. This season ticket holder and contributed to the
:20:27. > :20:32.website. How nervous I you? I am now. I was resigned after the
:20:32. > :20:38.Bristol defeat. But now I am here at the ground, nerves are starting
:20:38. > :20:43.to kick in. It is a pivotal night. If we win, we could be just a point
:20:43. > :20:47.behind. If we lose, we could be heading for League One. It is quite
:20:47. > :20:54.nerve-racking. First things first, if the sky is blue is get a
:20:54. > :20:58.positive result? They have got a lot of injury problems. All we can
:20:58. > :21:02.do from the stands is do our bit and that the lads and give all we
:21:02. > :21:09.can. Hopefully the team will give 100%. Let us hope they can pull off
:21:09. > :21:15.a victory. Where has it gone wrong this season? That is the question!
:21:15. > :21:23.Lack of investment. There have been a lot of kids who have had to play
:21:23. > :21:27.a bit early. The size of the squad has been crucial. A small squad all
:21:27. > :21:31.season and the injuries are starting to kick in at the working
:21:31. > :21:35.end of the season. I think now we have got players playing with
:21:35. > :21:44.injuries... Let us hope they can play out of their skins tonight. It
:21:44. > :21:54.is one of those nights when you want to be glued to the radio. That
:21:54. > :21:56.
:21:56. > :22:03.is as well as watching the match on the television. Fingers crossed.
:22:03. > :22:12.you can hear a full match Coventry of Coventry's match against
:22:12. > :22:17.Millwall on BBC WM. BBC Shropshire and BBC Radio Stoke
:22:17. > :22:20.will have all match commentary of the League Two game between
:22:20. > :22:24.Shrewsbury Town and Port Vale. Another absolutely vital one.
:22:24. > :22:29.Memorabilia from one of the greatest historical figures of the
:22:29. > :22:33.20th century has been sold for more than �100,000 at an auction House
:22:33. > :22:38.in Ludlow. Gandhi it inspired millions and a everything he owned
:22:38. > :22:42.or touched is highly prized by his followers. A few grains of the soil
:22:42. > :22:47.upon which he fell when he was assassinated were sold along with a
:22:47. > :22:52.pair of his classes that he bought in Gloucester and a mobile spinning
:22:52. > :22:56.wheel. Did we hear the figure for the glasses?
:22:56. > :22:58.�34,000 for the glasses. How you authenticate the soil, goodness
:22:58. > :23:02.knows. Hundreds of volunteers have been
:23:02. > :23:09.called on to help but after the countryside in one of our most
:23:09. > :23:13.sparsely populated counties. Teams of volunteers in Herefordshire are
:23:13. > :23:17.helping out at a time when budgets are increasingly stretched.
:23:17. > :23:22.These people are part of what is hoped will become an army of
:23:22. > :23:26.volunteer wardens helping to maintain Herefordshire's rich rural
:23:26. > :23:31.idyll. Today they were clearing an overgrown footpath in the village
:23:31. > :23:34.of Weobley near Leominster. The plan is to get enough residents to
:23:34. > :23:38.create a countrywide movement available on request to preserve
:23:38. > :23:43.the countryside. It is fun and you are helping somebody else. If I can
:23:43. > :23:47.help, I will. There is a lot of satisfaction because when you see a
:23:47. > :23:53.job finished and people are walking by and saying, look what we have
:23:53. > :23:58.got now! We will go along and have a clear-out. The plan is to model
:23:59. > :24:02.the Hereford to project on the Cotswolds Voluntary Wardens, formed
:24:02. > :24:10.in 1968 to help clear foot paths, dig out ponds and repair dry-stone
:24:10. > :24:13.walls. I was a warden. It was a great thing to do. We used to save
:24:13. > :24:18.around 40,000 man hours of work in the Cotswolds that paid people
:24:18. > :24:22.would have had to don't -- had to do or would not have been done. It
:24:22. > :24:27.seemed a shame that there was not something here, a countrywide
:24:27. > :24:31.organisation. One thing Hereford to has a lot of his orchards. With
:24:31. > :24:37.budgets under pressure, it is hoped the volunteers can help maintain
:24:37. > :24:40.them. The volunteers do not want to take work of -- of existing
:24:40. > :24:42.conservation groups but Herefordshire Council says some
:24:42. > :24:48.orchards are neglected and help would be much appreciated,
:24:48. > :24:52.especially as their budget is less than �100,000 for the whole county.
:24:52. > :24:55.The traditional orchards are not really economic because of the time
:24:55. > :24:59.taken on the big trees to do the pruning and general maintenance.
:24:59. > :25:03.They are the ones that tend to be neglected but they are vital for
:25:03. > :25:08.the landscape and wildlife. If there is a group that is able to
:25:08. > :25:13.help out, to take some of the work, but would be really good. Cynics
:25:13. > :25:16.might claim it is conversation -- conservation on the cheap but the
:25:16. > :25:23.volunteers say it is not just the countryside that gets a lot out of
:25:23. > :25:27.it, they do to us. Anyone who wants to join them can find out more at a
:25:27. > :25:30.meeting at the Kindle Centre in Hereford tomorrow evening.
:25:30. > :25:38.Lovely to see beautiful Weobley near Leominster.
:25:38. > :25:48.Now the weather. I got drenched this morning. I had to take all of
:25:48. > :25:49.
:25:49. > :25:54.Too much detail. Rain tonight. That will be coupled with a strong winds.
:25:54. > :25:58.We are caught in the clutches of an area of low pressure. The isobars
:25:58. > :26:02.are still very tight. Gusts of up to 50 miles an hour tonight. By
:26:02. > :26:08.tomorrow, we are in the centre of the low-pressure so the winds will
:26:08. > :26:13.be light, adding to our problems because there will be slow more in
:26:13. > :26:17.-- slow-moving showers. Tonight, the rain will arrive by midnight.
:26:17. > :26:21.That will move up from the south- west. The cloud will thicken. It
:26:21. > :26:28.will not reach the North of the region so that will be the driest
:26:28. > :26:33.area tonight. A yellow warning for the south of heavy out pours --
:26:33. > :26:37.downpours are leading to surface water. There could be some hail and
:26:37. > :26:42.thunder in the rain as well. We have had reports of hailed today
:26:42. > :26:47.which looked like snow. It could quite easily create a slippery
:26:47. > :26:53.surfaces tomorrow morning. The rain will turn northwards turning heavy.
:26:53. > :26:58.It will be followed by an army of showers. Some of those could be
:26:58. > :27:02.quite heavy and containing hail and thunder again. Cooler tomorrow.
:27:02. > :27:07.Fairly wet tomorrow night as well. Showers will clear followed by
:27:07. > :27:12.another band of rain. Later in the week, although temperatures are
:27:12. > :27:17.below par, the winds will be lighter. More showers to come.
:27:17. > :27:21.The main headlines: Abu Qatada it could be heading back to jail as
:27:21. > :27:25.the government prepares to deport him.
:27:25. > :27:29.Staffordshire did the maker JCB announces record financial results