:00:09. > :00:14.Hello, welcome to Midlands Today. The headlines: the big clear-up
:00:14. > :00:20.after a tornado cuts a swathe through a Warwickshire town. Every
:00:20. > :00:26.thing was flying everywhere and it was unbelievable. I could not
:00:26. > :00:29.believe the garden was devastated. Port Vale Football Club have a �1.5
:00:29. > :00:33.million debt written off by Stoke City Council.
:00:33. > :00:38.As hundreds of Mercians return home from Afghanistan, commanders say
:00:38. > :00:43.they have made huge progress. And remembering a bygone age of
:00:43. > :00:49.brewing, when the best way to advertise beer was very, very
:00:49. > :00:59.different. They are straight from our own garden. Bill picked them
:00:59. > :01:11.
:01:11. > :01:15.Good evening. Tonight, a tornado rips a path through a town and
:01:15. > :01:21.police say it is amazing no one was hurt. Fences were blown down, a
:01:21. > :01:26.chimney stack toppled over and a children's trampoline ended up on a
:01:26. > :01:28.river after a freak storm struck in Rugby. Joan Cummings has spoken to
:01:28. > :01:33.residents caught up in the world weather.
:01:33. > :01:39.This is the devastation left after just 20 seconds of a mini tornado
:01:39. > :01:44.hitting Rugby. As I was coming back from the shop, there was a world
:01:44. > :01:50.wind and it threw me from the sidesteps of the shop, up the road
:01:50. > :01:55.and I came home to find the hold of garden trash. The greenhouse flying
:01:55. > :02:03.into the air. Class everywhere and the noise, terrifying. Dozens of
:02:03. > :02:09.buildings were damaged. Roof tiles, concrete fence posts shower down.
:02:09. > :02:14.There once was a metal shed here. This was lifted at least 10-12 feet
:02:14. > :02:20.into the air, thrown into next door's garden where a green house
:02:20. > :02:24.were smashed, glass rained everywhere. Now the metal shed is
:02:24. > :02:30.here. The Trista came from nowhere, hitting properties and a line
:02:30. > :02:39.across Overslade and New Bilton with unrelenting force. I had never
:02:39. > :02:44.heard a wind like it. When I went indoors to check the wife, she was
:02:45. > :02:49.all right but she was just crying her eyes out. 10 a phone lines were
:02:49. > :02:55.ripped and garage roofs and trampolines were relocated. The it
:02:55. > :03:00.came out of nowhere and went within 10-15 seconds. Amazing. At campaign
:03:00. > :03:03.has been launched to help some homeowners with the clean-up costs.
:03:03. > :03:09.We are not getting any support at the moment from the council, so we
:03:09. > :03:14.are not sure what to do. We are all shaken up from the noise of it and
:03:14. > :03:19.the sudden shock of it. This by the ferocity of the weather, no one was
:03:19. > :03:26.injured but the tornado has left its mark, not only on the buildings
:03:26. > :03:31.but on the local residents. I just cried. Just couldn't believe it.
:03:31. > :03:37.Now I know how these people who have Horror Keynes feel. It is a
:03:37. > :03:43.terrible experience. Our weather presenter Sarah
:03:43. > :03:46.Cruikshank is here. How, and are tornados in this country? They are
:03:46. > :03:52.more common than you might think but they are not quite as intense
:03:52. > :03:56.as they would be in other parts of the world. Yesterday we did have
:03:56. > :04:01.very unstable atmosphere. We have seen some thundery showers through
:04:01. > :04:08.the day yesterday and that is what caused the show was to be set off
:04:08. > :04:11.and that is what we saw when we saw the tornados forming. Very
:04:11. > :04:14.localised thundery downpours through the day and that is what
:04:14. > :04:20.caused the winds to pick up. They are very localised so that makes
:04:20. > :04:25.them hard to predict. Stoke-on-Trent City Council has
:04:25. > :04:28.agreed to write-off �1.5 million owed to it by Port Vale Football
:04:28. > :04:33.Club. The club slipped into administration in March due to an
:04:33. > :04:37.unpaid tax bill and concerns over other debts. But has the decision
:04:37. > :04:41.been received in the city where there has been criticism to cuts to
:04:41. > :04:45.local services? Port Vale was formed in the
:04:45. > :04:50.Victorian era, but in modern times the club has faced financial
:04:50. > :04:53.troubles. Six years ago, the council lent the club to 0.2 �5
:04:53. > :04:57.million. More than half that is expected to be written off because
:04:57. > :05:04.the club has gone into administration. Taxpayers have
:05:04. > :05:07.expressed dismay. Other businesses are not cared about. Be it is
:05:07. > :05:14.appalling when people are struggling. They are giving too
:05:14. > :05:19.much away all the time. They should be looking after us. They got
:05:19. > :05:24.themselves in the mess, we did not get them there. In spite of
:05:24. > :05:30.taxpayers' misgivings, the decision means a �1.3 million takeover at
:05:31. > :05:39.Vale Park is likely to go ahead. wasn't the perfect deal. But it was
:05:39. > :05:46.the very, very best deal. Now the tax payers will be aggrieved and I
:05:46. > :05:49.can understand and hindsight is a wonderful thing. At a meeting, the
:05:49. > :05:53.next steps in the takeover were approved. Creditors know the future
:05:53. > :05:58.of the club depends on this deal and the biggest creditor in Stoke-
:05:58. > :06:02.on-Trent City Council. And that is why as creditors met, the local
:06:02. > :06:07.council's role had been so important. As a tax payer myself,
:06:07. > :06:10.no one likes having to write off a dead. This has resulted in a better
:06:11. > :06:15.return for the council and the council tax payer than the
:06:15. > :06:18.alternative of liquidation. Although the club's supporters have
:06:18. > :06:24.welcomed developments, political commentators say some voters could
:06:24. > :06:28.take a different view. We are in a double dip recession. Stoke-on-
:06:28. > :06:33.Trent has Stafford and it will continue to. Tax payers will ask
:06:33. > :06:38.why are we using this money to bail out a football club when our
:06:38. > :06:43.services are being cut? The next cuts at Pale to smack their part
:06:43. > :06:48.will be in ticket prices. All home supporters will get a �5 reduction.
:06:48. > :06:52.It is a gesture of thanks to the fans. Administrators hope it will
:06:52. > :06:57.mean a record gate at the end of a difficult season.
:06:57. > :07:01.Business confidence among small and medium-sized firms is growing
:07:01. > :07:06.despite the UK economy slipping back into recession. That is the
:07:06. > :07:10.verdict of 1,700 companies across Birmingham, Solihull and the Black
:07:10. > :07:19.Country who took part in a survey. The reality is some businesses are
:07:19. > :07:24.still struggling but they are in its -- encouraging signs.
:07:24. > :07:31.Move it or lose it! A series of fitness DVDs that have proven to be
:07:31. > :07:36.a real money-spinner. In the last month we saw 2,500 copies based on
:07:36. > :07:41.good publicity and with those sorts of numbers we will get this product
:07:41. > :07:45.into the supermarkets. The secret to his success, he has tapped into
:07:46. > :07:50.a niche market. The elderly are usually overlooked when it comes to
:07:50. > :07:55.exercise videos and these people love it. There are a lot of people
:07:55. > :08:00.out there who just sit around and look for exercise but they cannot
:08:00. > :08:04.go to gyms. There are lots of people out there who do not know
:08:04. > :08:08.this is happening and do not have the confidence to sort it out,
:08:08. > :08:14.whereas, if they have something they can use at home that is good
:08:14. > :08:18.for them. Wouter Schuitemaker are not the own company doing well.
:08:18. > :08:25.There are signs of confidence returning to small and read --
:08:25. > :08:30.medium-size businesses. -- Ark Media. Almost 40 % of businesses
:08:30. > :08:35.have increased their turnover in the last year. 23 % have
:08:35. > :08:40.experienced a decrease and 26 % have taken on staff over the last
:08:40. > :08:42.year. He read Birmingham Science Park there are up to 150 small
:08:42. > :08:50.technology-based businesses with more than half showing signs of
:08:50. > :09:00.growth. We define success in things like those finding investment,
:09:00. > :09:01.
:09:01. > :09:05.taking on new employees. Where we see that,. Why it next for the
:09:05. > :09:12.business behind the exercise DVDs? They are looking for a celebrity to
:09:12. > :09:17.front their next one and think that could be the key to bigger sales.
:09:17. > :09:21.We are joined by marketing Birmingham's Investment Director
:09:21. > :09:28.Wouter Schuitemaker. This is very encouraging news. Are you
:09:28. > :09:33.surprised? Clearly it has been a challenging time across the nation,
:09:33. > :09:37.but on a regional basis we are seeing a real confidence in small
:09:37. > :09:41.and medium-sized businesses and that is really turning into more
:09:41. > :09:46.money for these companies. We have seen at least 15 % of these
:09:46. > :09:49.companies generating more profit in the last three years and 40 % were
:09:49. > :09:54.increasing their turnover. thought these companies were
:09:54. > :09:58.struggling to get help from the banks. Access to finance is crucial
:09:58. > :10:02.to the growth of these businesses but the skills and training side of
:10:02. > :10:07.things being an important part of the investment in people and growth
:10:07. > :10:14.of their businesses, so the companies that are doing this well,
:10:14. > :10:20.investing in people, are really starting to do well. That is a big
:10:20. > :10:24.issue, skills and training. Absolutely. What we would like to
:10:24. > :10:29.see is more companies focusing on that area. If we look at the
:10:29. > :10:34.statistics, the one area we would like to see more of his companies
:10:34. > :10:40.that are investing in the next of months in people and about 47 % of
:10:40. > :10:46.those will be doing that. If things are looking so good, why are we
:10:46. > :10:52.back in a recession? It is clearly a difficult picture across the
:10:52. > :10:56.nation, but in the regional context, it really is encouraging. We are
:10:56. > :11:01.seeing a lot of confidence and where we have confidence, there is
:11:01. > :11:05.growth and so the next two years, more investment in people, skills
:11:05. > :11:09.and training, we hope to see this continue.
:11:09. > :11:15.There were long queues outside Molineux today but for once it had
:11:15. > :11:19.little to do with football. Around 1,000 people waited to enter a huge
:11:19. > :11:23.jobs fair in the hope of grabbing an opportunity. The MP who
:11:23. > :11:32.organised the event admits the level of youth unemployment is
:11:32. > :11:39.particularly serious. Big local To get a clear idea of the clamour
:11:39. > :11:49.for jobs in Wolverhampton, look at this. A queue that went on and on.
:11:49. > :11:50.
:11:51. > :11:56.More than 3718-24-year-old son the city up unemployed. -- 3718-24.
:11:56. > :12:01.Many of them were at this Molineux jobs fair. Richard Davies is a
:12:01. > :12:07.graduate, frustrated she is out of work after moving to Wolverhampton.
:12:07. > :12:13.She wants a job, ideally in animal welfare or conservation. Mother I
:12:13. > :12:18.get a job or not, I do not know. There are many people applying for
:12:18. > :12:23.the same jobs. It is very competitive. Lee Patterson told me
:12:23. > :12:29.he is desperate to work, but says, because he is disabled, he has
:12:29. > :12:36.found it very difficult. Today, he has made a few contacts. There is a
:12:36. > :12:42.lot about can you walk, drive, read? Certain things get in my way.
:12:42. > :12:47.I am slightly dyslexic, which does not help. This jobs fair was styled
:12:47. > :12:51.on speed dating, finding a company you fancy and swapping numbers. The
:12:51. > :12:55.likes of Carillion and Virgin Trains were looking to recruit and
:12:55. > :12:59.the MP who came up with the idea believes these young people will
:12:59. > :13:04.find work. It is important we do not talk down Wolverhampton
:13:04. > :13:07.completely. We should look at positives. There are a lot of young
:13:08. > :13:12.people looking for employment opportunities, but companies
:13:12. > :13:20.offering doors. One of them, Goodrich Actuation Systems, is one
:13:20. > :13:25.of the city's biggest employers a new contracts mean that new jobs.
:13:25. > :13:29.There are Testers, machinists, design engineers, some of the
:13:29. > :13:34.people we are looking for. Statistics show these queues are
:13:34. > :13:37.getting longer. The number claiming Jobseeker's Allowance in
:13:37. > :13:41.Wolverhampton is double the national average.
:13:41. > :13:46.Bosses at Stafford Hospital are a major step closer to night to
:13:46. > :13:50.reopening their A&E department during night-time hours. It has
:13:50. > :13:55.been closed since December for managers to recruit more staff and
:13:55. > :13:59.improve training. The decision sparked a furious reaction. Our
:13:59. > :14:03.Health Correspondent is there. Campaigners must be pleased
:14:03. > :14:10.tonight? There was a mood of cautious
:14:10. > :14:14.optimism. One campaigner, suffering from epilepsy, had a seizure. That
:14:14. > :14:20.is why he said he is campaigning for accidents emergency on his
:14:20. > :14:24.doorstep. -- for Accident and Emergency. Some did not think they
:14:24. > :14:29.would make it. In the bleak midwinter, a light
:14:29. > :14:34.shining in hope more than expectation. The gates shut
:14:34. > :14:42.overnight last September. People wanted a 24-hour A&E and thousands
:14:42. > :14:46.signed a petition, being rewarded today. Personally, on listening to
:14:46. > :14:50.them, there could be a team showing the rest of the country how to do
:14:50. > :14:56.it. And if people work well together and are proud of what they
:14:56. > :15:00.are doing, it could be a flagship for the rest of the country. There
:15:00. > :15:05.were three serious incidents and up a report by the Kear quality
:15:06. > :15:11.commission, so it was not safe. The hospital board was told they had
:15:11. > :15:18.consultants and junior doctors and targets met. Can a hospital keep it
:15:18. > :15:24.up? We have some weeks to go and want to make sure we can reopen on
:15:24. > :15:29.11th June with all safety measures in place and that it is sustainable.
:15:29. > :15:34.In the cafe where the campaign to clean up Stafford began, Julie
:15:34. > :15:39.Bailey is unrepentant. She received heat mail by exposing dirty washing
:15:39. > :15:43.in public. It transpired that -- it transpired they did not have
:15:43. > :15:49.adequate staff to run the hospital overnight safely, so it had to
:15:49. > :15:56.close. Now we have the correct numbers of staff and, as long as it
:15:56. > :16:02.is safe, then it will reopen. does reopen overnight in June, the
:16:02. > :16:07.process to downgrade it could begin in October. It is not downgrade and
:16:07. > :16:13.it is not public relations. If we can do this and set up an urgent
:16:13. > :16:15.care Centre, that will improve care for local people enormously.
:16:15. > :16:21.that is for the autumn. If the Commission has approved, summer
:16:21. > :16:25.will have come. Today, I sensed that trait --
:16:25. > :16:30.sensed a change of mood that the trust board. It is the fact that
:16:30. > :16:35.finances, although still falling, had stabilised and they had posted
:16:35. > :16:39.the smallest debt rates of the West Midlands. There was still be
:16:39. > :16:44.admittance there was a lot to do. - - smallest death rates.
:16:44. > :16:48.Still to come, keeping the memory alive as we look on a bygone age of
:16:48. > :16:52.brewing. And why a folk singer and male-
:16:52. > :17:02.voice choir have come together in the pouring rain to a town with
:17:02. > :17:05.
:17:05. > :17:10.Hundreds of soldiers from the Midlands have returned from
:17:10. > :17:14.Afghanistan. The Mercian Regiment's 2nd Battalion fought several
:17:14. > :17:18.hundred gun battles and commanders say they have made huge progress
:17:18. > :17:22.during their six-month tour of duty. During the bolts of the final
:17:22. > :17:26.contingent arrived at their base in Belfast last night.
:17:26. > :17:32.-- Jeremy Ball saw their final contingent arrived back.
:17:32. > :17:39.It was always going to be emotional. I am very relieved. My job is done
:17:39. > :17:43.now that their father is back. have been waiting a while. Some of
:17:43. > :17:48.the Mercian Regiment came home with powerful video footage from the
:17:48. > :17:52.front line. Men of A company what hundreds of gun battles to drive
:17:52. > :17:58.the Taliban out of a small part of Helmand Province the Afghan
:17:58. > :18:02.Government did not control. We were contacted from three different
:18:02. > :18:08.angles and everything went crazy. Running across an open field with
:18:08. > :18:13.people coming towards you, muddy rain, slipping everywhere. Everyone
:18:13. > :18:19.has grown up more. I have seen major development, infrastructure
:18:19. > :18:24.development, roads, power, health care, education. But it two
:18:24. > :18:29.comrades lost their lives. One came under fire from grenades and
:18:29. > :18:34.another was killed by a roadside bomb. Around 20 others had serious
:18:34. > :18:38.injuries. You cannot walk away saying it does not affect you, of
:18:38. > :18:43.course it does, but if you had worked alongside Afghan national
:18:43. > :18:48.forces, saw the potential that come -- saw the potential that country
:18:48. > :18:54.has, what the military has achieved, absolutely, everything we have done
:18:54. > :18:57.and achieved has been worth it. This is the official end of the
:18:57. > :19:01.battalion's for deployment to Helmand Province and soon will be
:19:01. > :19:06.providing security for the Olympic Games. For now, they are looking
:19:06. > :19:10.forward to spending time with their families.
:19:10. > :19:16.A one-time Birmingham brewery, Famous on its doorstep deliveries
:19:16. > :19:22.of beer, has announced its intention to return to the city.
:19:22. > :19:27.Davenports once employed thousands. Today, the company has been
:19:27. > :19:31.celebrating its 185th anniversary on the site of its former home, now
:19:31. > :19:36.a student housing complex. A flurry of beer trucks leaving
:19:36. > :19:43.Davenports brewery on Bath Row in Birmingham. The company, founded
:19:43. > :19:49.exactly 185 years ago today, was famous for home deliveries.
:19:49. > :19:53.Davenports will deliver to your home. Millions are supplied.
:19:53. > :20:00.beer was heavily supplied -- was heavily promoted by a series of
:20:00. > :20:04.television advertisements. Beer delivery in the style of the
:20:04. > :20:09.1950s me seemed like a relic from the past, but Davenports is using
:20:09. > :20:15.this anniversary to announce it intends to restore the practice for
:20:15. > :20:19.the 21st century. There is a market for home trade and if we can
:20:19. > :20:25.diversify within that there is a good future. Davenports brewery was
:20:25. > :20:28.a striking landmark until it closed in 1989. Now the site is student
:20:29. > :20:34.flats, appropriately called The Maltings. A blue plaque was
:20:34. > :20:39.delivered today in style to commemorate the brewing heritage.
:20:39. > :20:45.It is nourishing and is the answer to a housewife's prayer.
:20:45. > :20:48.advertisements may be consigned to history, but Davenports says it
:20:48. > :20:52.wants to start brewing in Birmingham again, creating up to
:20:52. > :20:57.100 jobs. We think the time is right to bring it back to
:20:57. > :21:03.Birmingham. It is synonymous with Birmingham, so it seems wrong it is
:21:03. > :21:09.not brewed in the city itself. Davenports beer is still produced
:21:09. > :21:13.at Highgate Brewery in Walsall. But there is a long way to go if the
:21:13. > :21:18.mass production of the 1900s is ever to be achieved they were --
:21:18. > :21:22.achieved again. Terrific. We have been singing
:21:22. > :21:26.along this afternoon. If you are intrigued by those wonderfully
:21:26. > :21:32.dated advertisements, there are six of them on the Midlands Today
:21:32. > :21:35.Facebook page. A canal barge full of comedians and
:21:35. > :21:41.digital images in the Ironbridge Gorge, two of the spectacles coming
:21:41. > :21:46.our way as part of celebrations for the London 2012 Festival.
:21:46. > :21:51.Organisers say it is about putting artists in unusual locations. And
:21:51. > :21:58.it is not more unusual than an acclaimed folk-singer and male
:21:58. > :22:04.voice choir singing in torrential rain in ruins of a medieval priory.
:22:04. > :22:08.When you are British, rain does not stop playing. Mercury Prize nominee
:22:08. > :22:13.Eliza Katerine and their Much Wenlock Male Voice Choir would not
:22:13. > :22:18.allow getting wet to stop them promoting their performance in the
:22:18. > :22:23.ruined medieval priory. For Eliza, it will be one of four appearances
:22:23. > :22:28.associated with the Olympics and pan-island bits. The welcome songs
:22:28. > :22:35.as part of the Olympic Games is supposed to signify a spirit of
:22:35. > :22:39.welcoming. -- the Olympics and Paralympics. We are looking forward
:22:39. > :22:44.to rehearsing and performing on the evening. Hopefully it will not be
:22:44. > :22:48.raining. The performance will coincide with the Wenlock Olympian
:22:48. > :22:53.Games in July, founded by Dr William Penny Brookes and famous as
:22:53. > :22:57.the inspiration for the modern Olympic movements. We have dozens
:22:57. > :23:05.of London 2012 events. We have an amazing projection exhibition down
:23:05. > :23:10.the road. We have major outdoor spectaculars in the centre of
:23:10. > :23:15.Birmingham. Some happening in June. And in Worcester, we have a dance
:23:15. > :23:20.event happening in a church. But it is not just a cultural and sporting
:23:20. > :23:25.events creating a buzz in this town so famously associated with the
:23:25. > :23:30.Olympics. Businesses like this one are benefiting, too, from the
:23:30. > :23:34.Olympic event. Potter Mike Fletcher has seen a 50% increase in turnover.
:23:34. > :23:38.He makes the prizes for the Wenlock Games and is now inundated with
:23:38. > :23:43.orders from those keen to get something craft didn't Wenlock in
:23:43. > :23:48.the year of the Olympics, all a far cry from having to take on another
:23:48. > :23:55.job when the economic downturn first took hold. From making hardly
:23:55. > :24:02.any pots a week, for example, to making nearly 200 plots and day on
:24:02. > :24:06.the Potter's wheel. Tremendous difference. It is hard work. He has
:24:06. > :24:10.welcomed Chinese television crews and made toys for a children's book
:24:10. > :24:20.about the Wenlock Games that his pottery across the town from those
:24:20. > :24:25.rehearsals. SINGING. Old singer, Eliza Carthy,
:24:25. > :24:32.has arranged four welcome songs for the London 2012 Festival. I am sure
:24:32. > :24:37.you will pay for better weather? Maybe, it is called today. The 2012
:24:38. > :24:46.festival will last 12 weeks, opening on Midsummer's Day. -- cold
:24:46. > :24:49.today. If you want to hear more from Eliza
:24:49. > :24:53.and the Much Wenlock Male Voice Choir, we have more of their
:24:53. > :25:03.singing in the rain on our Facebook page. Umbrella factories must be
:25:03. > :25:04.
:25:04. > :25:09.doing well at the moment. I think Some have welcomed the showers,
:25:09. > :25:16.many are tired of them. But without those, we would not have scenes
:25:16. > :25:22.like this. A beautiful scenery of a rain ball. Overnight, we should see
:25:22. > :25:27.it turning cloudy and it looks like a wet night. Showers will merge,
:25:27. > :25:32.bringing longer spells of rain, so the Met Office has a yellow warning
:25:32. > :25:37.for tonight. The heaviest of the rain across the north and west.
:25:37. > :25:41.Tonight, rather cloudy, outbreaks of showery rain, merging into
:25:41. > :25:47.prolonged spells of rain by tomorrow morning. Temperatures
:25:47. > :25:51.under that cloud and rain will not be too lower. Temperatures to
:25:51. > :25:56.around five or six. Tomorrow looks like a cloudier day and it will be
:25:56. > :26:01.cooler. Not much brightness. We will see the rain gradually ease
:26:01. > :26:07.through the day. A very wet start tomorrow and a cloudy one. Or
:26:07. > :26:11.rather dull and damp. We hold on to that cloud tomorrow, then the rain
:26:11. > :26:16.gradually easing. By tomorrow afternoon, something a little drier
:26:16. > :26:20.towards the end of the day and clouds starting to break.
:26:20. > :26:25.Temperatures on the cooler site because of all that cloud. We will
:26:26. > :26:35.not see much brightness. For Saturday, very similar, cloudy and
:26:36. > :26:37.
:26:37. > :26:39.some showers. This lower pressure A look at the headlines, Rupert
:26:39. > :26:46.Murdoch says he did not know about the phone hacking scandal because
:26:46. > :26:49.of a cover up. And there has been a big clean-up in Rugby after a
:26:49. > :26:56.grenade will cut a path through the town.
:26:56. > :27:05.Warwickshire and Worcestershire have managed to play today. 127 not