Browse content similar to 25/10/2012. Check below for episodes and series from the same categories and more!
Line | From | To | |
---|---|---|---|
Hello and welcome to Midlands Today. The headlines: The family of a BBC | :00:20. | :00:23. | |
germ -- journalist want an investigation into his apparent | :00:23. | :00:28. | |
suicide. Retailers say they are still suffering from falling sales | :00:29. | :00:32. | |
despite the Colonia Pat Kikkoman out of recession. And battling the | :00:32. | :00:36. | |
rising whooping cough - one mother's story. It was touch-and-go, | :00:36. | :00:43. | |
so we do feel lucky that she is here. And flying high - the | :00:43. | :00:53. | |
:00:53. | :00:56. | ||
windsurfing champion from Good evening. The family of a BBC | :00:56. | :00:58. | |
journalist who apparently committed suicide want an inquiry into the | :00:59. | :01:01. | |
way management handled allegations that he was being harassed by a | :01:01. | :01:07. | |
former female colleague. Russell Joslin worked as a reporter for BBC | :01:07. | :01:11. | |
Coventry and Warwickshire. His father, Peter Joslin, who's a | :01:11. | :01:13. | |
former chief constable of Warwickshire Police, said that his | :01:13. | :01:17. | |
son had been let down by management. The BBC says the family's concerns | :01:17. | :01:27. | |
:01:27. | :01:29. | ||
will be vigorously addressed. On the steps of the technical | :01:29. | :01:35. | |
college here... Russell Jocelyn conducting a face- | :01:35. | :01:39. | |
to-face interview. This is what he did. Russell Joslin first worked | :01:39. | :01:42. | |
for the BBC in the mid '90s. Later, at BBC Coventry and Warwickshire, | :01:42. | :01:45. | |
he became a correspondent. Over the past six months, his | :01:45. | :01:47. | |
family say he'd suffered mental health problems. The 50-year-old | :01:47. | :01:51. | |
died on Monday after being admitted to St Michael's Hospital in Warwick. | :01:51. | :01:54. | |
Two days earlier, he'd walked in front of a bus in Keniliworth, in | :01:54. | :01:59. | |
an apparent suicide attempt. An inquest was opened today at | :01:59. | :02:09. | |
Warwickshire Justice Centre in Leamington Spa. The hearing lasted | :02:09. | :02:13. | |
two minutes. The court heard there has been a post mortem examination | :02:13. | :02:17. | |
and preliminary tests showed it he died from asphyxiation with a | :02:17. | :02:22. | |
plastic bag blocking his their way. The coroner, Sean McGovern, offered | :02:22. | :02:26. | |
his condolences to the Russell family, and adjourned the inquest. | :02:26. | :02:30. | |
In an interview with a news agency, his father Peter Joslin alleges the | :02:30. | :02:32. | |
BBC failed to support him, with managers missing opportunities to | :02:32. | :02:35. | |
intervene over an allegation he was being harassed by a former female | :02:35. | :02:42. | |
colleague. He said the situation had become "intolerable" and said | :02:42. | :02:52. | |
:02:52. | :03:13. | ||
there had been "failures of Peter Joslin says St Micahel's | :03:13. | :03:19. | |
Hospital in Warwick also has questions to answer. The NHS Trust | :03:19. | :03:29. | |
:03:29. | :03:31. | ||
Friends and former colleagues have tonight been paying tribute to the | :03:31. | :03:40. | |
reporter. He seemed to be a great character, full of life himself and | :03:40. | :03:44. | |
full of interest in other people. Russell Joslin's funeral will take | :03:44. | :03:52. | |
place next wednesday. Ben Godfrey, BBC Midlands Today. | :03:52. | :03:56. | |
And we hope to have a statement from the family later in the | :03:56. | :04:01. | |
programme. Coming up: The Olympic legacy. How | :04:01. | :04:10. | |
long will the game's feel-good factor be felt in the Midlands? As | :04:10. | :04:13. | |
you may have seen, the latest figures show that the UK economy | :04:13. | :04:16. | |
grew by 1% over the last three months. But the news on the High | :04:16. | :04:19. | |
Street isn't so good. A survey of independent retailers released | :04:19. | :04:23. | |
today shows falling confidence and shrinking sales. In fact in this | :04:23. | :04:25. | |
region, small shopkeepers have been hit harder than anywhere else in | :04:25. | :04:29. | |
the country. Our business correspondent Peter Plisner has | :04:29. | :04:31. | |
been in the small Warwickshire town of Shipston-on-Stour to see how | :04:31. | :04:38. | |
shopkeepers there are coping. Not much comfort here for pet owners or | :04:38. | :04:43. | |
shop owners. Rising prices and declining sales arn't good for | :04:43. | :04:47. | |
anyone. Here shoppers are being much more cautious about how they | :04:48. | :04:56. | |
pamper their pets. The last three months, we have definitely noticed | :04:56. | :05:02. | |
a difference. Customers don't go for the luxury items any more. The | :05:02. | :05:05. | |
top five Browns have always sold well, but they are going down a | :05:06. | :05:09. | |
brand. Across the road, although trade has picked up recently, for | :05:09. | :05:15. | |
this clothing and footwear store it's been bad summer. We have been | :05:15. | :05:20. | |
very whether driven. The Olympics have had a big impact. But even | :05:20. | :05:24. | |
amongst those who were there today the watchword was, well, caution. | :05:24. | :05:28. | |
You have to think what you are going to get, and plan ahead. | :05:28. | :05:33. | |
Generally, not spending money unless we have to. Profits are | :05:33. | :05:37. | |
being boosted by hollowing product, but it is frightening here in the | :05:37. | :05:47. | |
:05:47. | :05:47. | ||
high street. Sales are down 7%, that is quite scary. And the same | :05:47. | :05:50. | |
survey found that 64% of those questioned said sales had declined | :05:50. | :05:53. | |
in the last three months, while 51% of shopkeepers said they were | :05:53. | :05:56. | |
anxious about the year ahead. Those behind the survey say things | :05:56. | :06:05. | |
clearly aren't getting any better. Confidence lags. People need a | :06:05. | :06:09. | |
while to get used to the idea that things are getting better. They are | :06:09. | :06:12. | |
keeping money in their pockets until they are confident they can | :06:12. | :06:16. | |
start to spend again. But will it happen in the run up to Christmas? | :06:16. | :06:22. | |
At Shipston's Post Office and gift shop, they don't think so. How | :06:22. | :06:28. | |
cautious are people being? Very cautious, I think. We are finding | :06:28. | :06:33. | |
that we are selling the cheaper end of the things, stocking-fillers | :06:33. | :06:39. | |
rather than major presence. Many stores bank on Christmas to boost | :06:39. | :06:44. | |
their profits, and it's hoped that today's better than expected | :06:44. | :06:47. | |
economic news will persuade more people to go down the High Street | :06:47. | :06:51. | |
and part with their cash. Joining me now in the studio is Beverley | :06:51. | :06:53. | |
Neilsen from Birmingham City University and author of a report | :06:53. | :07:03. | |
:07:03. | :07:05. | ||
called Looking for Growth. A mixed picture today. Clearly it is a very | :07:05. | :07:08. | |
challenging picture at the moment, and for some people it really is | :07:08. | :07:15. | |
very tough. Companies where design and innovation is integrated into | :07:15. | :07:20. | |
their whole approach, they are really doing incredibly much better, | :07:20. | :07:24. | |
outperforming the economy significantly, and that is across | :07:24. | :07:28. | |
all fronts. There are growing faster, selling more, exporting | :07:28. | :07:31. | |
more, and taking on people, so it is a very positive picture for | :07:31. | :07:38. | |
those businesses. A big problem in the West Midlands with unemployment. | :07:38. | :07:42. | |
When will this growth see tangible jobs for people? It is enormously | :07:42. | :07:47. | |
tough for people out there, especially if you have lost a job. | :07:47. | :07:52. | |
62% of the sample that I looked at were taking on people, and they are | :07:52. | :07:55. | |
businesses where they have a very specialist focus, they might be | :07:55. | :08:02. | |
Brand led. That is giving them protection. They are also investing | :08:02. | :08:06. | |
more for the future. So it was encouraging to see that where | :08:06. | :08:10. | |
businesses are able to take those lessons on board, they are able to | :08:10. | :08:15. | |
outperform the economy and even grow jobs. If design, innovation, | :08:15. | :08:19. | |
which is what the West Midlands were famous for the first place. | :08:19. | :08:23. | |
Indeed, and it is something these businesses value very much in | :08:23. | :08:33. | |
:08:33. | :08:35. | ||
giving the money you make of the city -- unique authenticity. | :08:35. | :08:45. | |
:08:45. | :08:48. | ||
Basically growing from what we have got. Beverley, thank you. And later | :08:49. | :08:51. | |
in the programme we'll be looking at the economic health of | :08:51. | :08:53. | |
Staffordshire's pottery industry. Thousands of jobs have been shed, | :08:53. | :08:56. | |
but has it found a route to recovery at last? | :08:56. | :08:59. | |
The family of the teenage girl who was shot by the Taliban flew into | :08:59. | :09:02. | |
Birmingham this afternoon. Malala Yousafzai is being treated at the | :09:02. | :09:05. | |
Queen Elizabeth hospital in the city. Doctors say she's making | :09:05. | :09:07. | |
steady progress. The 15-year-old was targeted by the Taliban because | :09:07. | :09:10. | |
she campaigned for girls' education. A mother's urging pregnant women to | :09:10. | :09:12. | |
get vaccinated against whooping cough after her baby daughter | :09:12. | :09:15. | |
became ill shortly after being born. Today the Health Protection Agency | :09:15. | :09:18. | |
reported that the numbers are still increasing, with more than 400 | :09:18. | :09:20. | |
cases of the potentially fatal disease in the region so far this | :09:20. | :09:28. | |
year. Here's our health At just ten weeks old, Aila Boycott | :09:28. | :09:33. | |
had bouts of uncontrollable coughing. You can hear the | :09:33. | :09:36. | |
characteristic whoop which gives whooping cough its name. Thankfully, | :09:36. | :09:39. | |
the toddler from Bloxwich has no long-term damage, and wants to show | :09:39. | :09:42. | |
this video to pregnant mums so they know how about whooping cough | :09:42. | :09:50. | |
really is. It is frightening, and you can't do anything at all for | :09:50. | :09:53. | |
them. You can't breathe for them. You can't put her in a position to | :09:53. | :09:57. | |
make the coughing any easier, you just had to let her cough, which | :09:57. | :10:00. | |
was really horrific. It was a really nasty cough. And ring the | :10:00. | :10:01. | |
emergency services when you needed them. | :10:02. | :10:06. | |
Here, Aila couldn't catch her breath. So far, she's one of 40 | :10:06. | :10:10. | |
babies who caught the disease across the West Midlands this year. | :10:10. | :10:14. | |
In 2010, there were just four. Protection from vaccination wears | :10:14. | :10:17. | |
off in time, so the amount of whooping cough in the community | :10:17. | :10:20. | |
goes up and down. But nobody really understands why at the moment there | :10:20. | :10:25. | |
is so much of it about. So they're vaccinating mums-to-be. It is most | :10:25. | :10:29. | |
effective between 28 and 32 weeks, but can be given up to 38 weeks | :10:29. | :10:36. | |
pregnant. They can develop pneumonia from it. They can develop | :10:36. | :10:40. | |
brain damage from it. The cough itself, once it is treated, if it | :10:40. | :10:43. | |
is caught and treated with antibiotics, can last for many | :10:43. | :10:51. | |
months afterwards. Some mums-to-be have refused the jab. When you | :10:51. | :10:54. | |
first have your baby, it is such hard work, and sleep deprivation | :10:54. | :10:57. | |
and everything else, and getting over feeding and sleeping, I think | :10:57. | :11:00. | |
it is one less thing to worry about. The last thing you want is your | :11:00. | :11:02. | |
baby poorly. Eleanor hopes her experience can | :11:02. | :11:06. | |
ensure that another baby doesn't die this year. | :11:06. | :11:09. | |
It was touch-and-go, so we do feel lucky that she is here and doing | :11:09. | :11:15. | |
really well now, but things could have turned out quite differently. | :11:15. | :11:18. | |
Michele Paduano, BBC Midlands Today. Well, Michele joins me now in the | :11:18. | :11:22. | |
studio. The numbers of cases are rising fast. So how worrying is | :11:22. | :11:32. | |
this? It is a concern. In our region, the | :11:32. | :11:38. | |
numbers have risen by 25% in one month. It may be that the virus has | :11:38. | :11:42. | |
mutated, and levels and the Community have gone down so low | :11:42. | :11:46. | |
that we don't have an amenity for it. What is the risk to pregnant | :11:46. | :11:52. | |
women and their babies? There is no risk to the mother, but | :11:52. | :11:56. | |
to the baby, in the first two months of life, their immune system | :11:56. | :12:02. | |
is too weak to be able to vaccinate them. Today, a tenth baby has died, | :12:02. | :12:08. | |
but that is out of 350 cases across England. But even one baby dying is | :12:08. | :12:10. | |
too many. Thank you. | :12:10. | :12:13. | |
Another 50 trains will be cancelled in and around the Birmingham area | :12:13. | :12:18. | |
tomorrow by rail operator London Midland. It's due to a shortage of | :12:18. | :12:22. | |
drivers. The rail company says it's recruiting and hopes to be able to | :12:22. | :12:25. | |
run a full service - but not until mid-December. | :12:25. | :12:27. | |
Compensation details have been announced for residents living | :12:27. | :12:30. | |
alongside the proposed route of the High Speed Rail Line between | :12:30. | :12:34. | |
Birmingham and London. The Government has already agreed to | :12:34. | :12:40. | |
buy homes within 60 metres of the track. Now homeowners will also get | :12:40. | :12:43. | |
an additional 10% of the value of their property, with a limit of | :12:43. | :12:47. | |
�47,000. Ministers say those forced to sell their blighted homes are | :12:47. | :12:50. | |
getting a "generous" deal that goes "significantly beyond" what they | :12:50. | :12:58. | |
A 26-year-old man has been charged with assault after a glassing | :12:58. | :13:02. | |
incident in a Birmingham bar. Simon Morris was badly injured during the | :13:02. | :13:05. | |
attack at the Victoria Pub in August. The 32-year-old had | :13:05. | :13:08. | |
titanium plates fitted into his head and more than 60 staples to | :13:08. | :13:14. | |
his head and face. A 24-year-old man has also been charged with | :13:14. | :13:16. | |
assault following a separate incident in the same pub on the | :13:16. | :13:22. | |
Detectives investigating the murder of 16-year-old Ben Morutare in | :13:22. | :13:26. | |
Smethwick have charged a further two people with violent disorder. | :13:26. | :13:30. | |
The teenagers, aged 17 and 18, have been bailed to appear at Sandwell | :13:30. | :13:33. | |
Magistrates on 1 November. It means five people have now been charged | :13:33. | :13:36. | |
in connection with Ben's death. He died after being stabbed in the leg | :13:36. | :13:45. | |
Still to come tonight: on the crest of a wave - what it takes to become | :13:45. | :13:51. | |
a world-class windsurfer. And after what we've had these past few days, | :13:51. | :13:55. | |
a dramatic change in the weather is on its way - a cold snap courtesy | :13:55. | :14:04. | |
More than 100 soldiers from the royal military police returned home | :14:04. | :14:07. | |
to Telford this evening after a six-month tour of duty in | :14:07. | :14:11. | |
Afghanistan. They headed back to base at Donington where family and | :14:11. | :14:20. | |
friends were waiting. Our reporter Cath Mackie is at the barracks now. | :14:20. | :14:25. | |
A very emotional evening in store? Really emotional. These people | :14:25. | :14:30. | |
haven't seen their loved ones the six months. We're expecting the | :14:30. | :14:35. | |
coach to arrive any minute now, but it will be a bittersweet reunion, | :14:35. | :14:39. | |
because one of the soldiers didn't return. Corporal Brent McCarthy was | :14:40. | :14:46. | |
25 and from Telford. I will have a quick chat with a couple of family | :14:46. | :14:50. | |
members who have been waiting. You are waiting for your son Danny. You | :14:50. | :14:57. | |
have been here for hours? I am really excited, and glad he is home. | :14:57. | :15:01. | |
James Gilbert, your wife is also on that coach. How has it been for the | :15:01. | :15:06. | |
family's? It has been a difficult six months, but it is her second | :15:06. | :15:13. | |
tour. It was easier this time around. We look forward to meeting | :15:13. | :15:18. | |
them. You have just got back, you very sensibly came a car. A lot of | :15:18. | :15:23. | |
relief here tonight, but a lot of sadness, as well. Yes, we are | :15:23. | :15:29. | |
delighted to get our boys and girls back to the UK. Lots of highs and | :15:29. | :15:33. | |
some very tragic Lowes, particularly with the loss of sight | :15:33. | :15:39. | |
and McCarthy. One of the jobs you are doing this training the Afghan | :15:39. | :15:44. | |
forces. Just today we have heard two British soldiers killed by an | :15:44. | :15:51. | |
Afghan police officer. It is not easy. It is very complex, it is a | :15:51. | :15:55. | |
hard challenge. We train the guys so that they are as ready for it as | :15:55. | :16:00. | |
they can be. It is not something we are aware of in terms of the last | :16:00. | :16:06. | |
couple of days, because we have been travelling. Well, will come | :16:06. | :16:10. | |
home. There will be Emma North parade on Sunday at the National | :16:10. | :16:16. | |
arboretum, and after that, some will deservedly. | :16:16. | :16:19. | |
Back to the economy, and on top of today's announcement of the largest | :16:19. | :16:22. | |
quarterly rise in economic output for five years, there's also been | :16:22. | :16:25. | |
good news for the ceramics industry. A major conference in the Potteries | :16:25. | :16:27. | |
has been hearing how the industry's seeing improved growth, with | :16:27. | :16:30. | |
increased focus on products which are made in the UK. From Stoke on | :16:30. | :16:34. | |
Trent, here's our Staffordshire reporter Liz Copper. | :16:34. | :16:37. | |
This is an industry that's always revolved around changing tastes and | :16:37. | :16:42. | |
fashions. Recently, after tough times, some Potteries have been | :16:42. | :16:47. | |
enjoying a resurgence. At this gathering of some of the world's | :16:47. | :16:50. | |
leading ceramics companies, ware that's made in the UK is taking | :16:50. | :17:00. | |
:17:00. | :17:00. | ||
centre stage. I can only use our own company as an example. We have | :17:01. | :17:05. | |
seen exports quadruple in the last three months. It is terribly | :17:05. | :17:08. | |
important that we continue to do this and support further growth in | :17:08. | :17:11. | |
the UK economy. In the 1980s, 30,000 workers were | :17:11. | :17:14. | |
directly employed by potteries in Stoke on Trent. Now that's figure's | :17:14. | :17:24. | |
:17:24. | :17:25. | ||
nearer 6,000. The sector as a whole has sales of �1.5 billion a year. | :17:25. | :17:27. | |
Although the Potteries will never employ the same numbers of workers | :17:27. | :17:31. | |
they used to, there is increasing demand from some retailers for | :17:31. | :17:36. | |
British-made pottery. We are finding it is becoming more | :17:36. | :17:39. | |
realistic to source from the UK, so in home where, we are already | :17:39. | :17:44. | |
working with the number of UK manufacturers. We have started re- | :17:44. | :17:48. | |
engaging on the ceramics side, and we are actively looking for more | :17:48. | :17:52. | |
factories that we can work with. Many of the techniques used in the | :17:52. | :17:54. | |
industry are highly skilled. Continued growth will depend on | :17:54. | :18:03. | |
ensuring these skills don't die out. Like a lot of industry and a lot of | :18:03. | :18:06. | |
manufacturing across the UK, we are suffering from an ageing workforce. | :18:06. | :18:10. | |
We need to make sure young people see this as an area of opportunity. | :18:10. | :18:13. | |
The Christmas trading period is always crucial for the ceramics | :18:13. | :18:15. | |
sector. But it seems with some firms reporting strong sales | :18:15. | :18:18. | |
throughout the summer, this could be a vintage year. Liz Copper, BBC | :18:18. | :18:26. | |
Midlands Today, Stoke on Trent. Back now to our main storage the | :18:26. | :18:30. | |
apparent suicide of Russell Jocelyn. He complained he had been harassed | :18:30. | :18:34. | |
at work, and BBC management say they will investigate those claims. | :18:34. | :18:40. | |
In the last hour, his brother in- law read this statement for our | :18:40. | :18:44. | |
correspondent Peter Wilson. We do not think the BBC is solely | :18:44. | :18:50. | |
to blame for Russell's death. This is too simplistic, and factors to | :18:50. | :18:53. | |
explain motives for suicide are usually complex. It is true we | :18:54. | :18:57. | |
believe that there were questions that need answering by the BBC to | :18:57. | :19:01. | |
explain how it could be that Russell formerly expressed | :19:01. | :19:04. | |
significant concerns about several things going on at work, and yet | :19:04. | :19:08. | |
ultimately was not taken seriously, apparently even to the point of | :19:09. | :19:11. | |
recommendations from occupational health professionals not been | :19:12. | :19:20. | |
heeded. Tragically, the stress caused through this, we believe, is | :19:20. | :19:23. | |
a significant contributing factor in understanding what brought | :19:23. | :19:27. | |
Russell to the brink of feeling no other option than to take his own | :19:27. | :19:33. | |
life. We therefore welcome the fact that the BBC are reportedly | :19:33. | :19:36. | |
launching an internal inquiry into these matters, which we will | :19:36. | :19:40. | |
respect, and in due course look forward to their conclusions. | :19:40. | :19:44. | |
That was down Barnard's speaking earlier about the death of his | :19:44. | :19:54. | |
:19:54. | :19:55. | ||
brother in-law, Russell jostling for stopped. | :19:55. | :19:57. | |
This summer's Olympic and Paralympic Games were widely | :19:57. | :20:01. | |
regarded as a great success. Two months on and thoughts have turned | :20:01. | :20:04. | |
to the legacy left by London 2012. Today in Coventry, which hosted | :20:04. | :20:05. | |
Olympic football, organisers, athletes, volunteers and businesses | :20:05. | :20:09. | |
met to celebrate the Games' success and decide where we go from here. | :20:09. | :20:19. | |
:20:19. | :20:31. | ||
For anybody, there it was a moment In the West Midlands thousands of | :20:32. | :20:34. | |
people played their part in the success of the Olympic and | :20:34. | :20:38. | |
Paralympic Games. Today in Coventry some of those gathered to mark the | :20:38. | :20:48. | |
:20:48. | :20:50. | ||
The purpose of today was to celebrate, but also to hand it back | :20:50. | :20:54. | |
to those people and for them to keep the magic going. And to put it | :20:54. | :20:57. | |
in a different context, but one that is very real. | :20:57. | :21:01. | |
The Olympic and Paralympic Games brought in more than �600 million | :21:01. | :21:05. | |
to the West Midlands economy, and saw almost 30,000 people in this | :21:05. | :21:11. | |
region volunteer. Two months on, the big question now is, is there | :21:11. | :21:15. | |
really a legacy, or is it all just consigned to history? | :21:15. | :21:20. | |
Everybody is doing a good job on the legacy side, and our think as | :21:20. | :21:24. | |
long as games makers and other volunteers can keep pushing that, | :21:24. | :21:27. | |
we'll keep that going. One of the lasting memories of the | :21:27. | :21:30. | |
summer were the 8,000 torch bearers who carried the flame around the | :21:30. | :21:33. | |
county. The man whose company supplied the torch burners believes | :21:33. | :21:41. | |
this a chance businesses just have to take. We have got to do it | :21:41. | :21:45. | |
ourselves, to some extent, and if we can't take hold of this | :21:45. | :21:49. | |
opportunity now, we aren't up to much, are we? As the sporting | :21:50. | :21:53. | |
legacy, you need look no further for inspiration for an hour | :21:54. | :21:57. | |
Midlands Paralympians. opportunities that out there now | :21:57. | :22:02. | |
are for people to grab with both hands, and you really can achieve | :22:02. | :22:07. | |
anything, whether you are able bodied, have a disability. If you | :22:07. | :22:14. | |
really work hard enough, and put in 100% effort, anything is achievable. | :22:14. | :22:17. | |
The games may be over, but for all people who helped make it such a | :22:17. | :22:21. | |
success, the challenge now is to maintain its legacy for generations | :22:21. | :22:31. | |
An opportunity we surely have to build on! Staying with sport, and | :22:31. | :22:34. | |
Ben Proffitt is one of the best wave-riders in the world. That's | :22:34. | :22:36. | |
extreme windsurfing to me and you. Ben, who's from land-locked | :22:36. | :22:41. | |
Shropshire, has had one of his best ever seasons. He's been talking to | :22:41. | :22:45. | |
Ian Winter. Grab your board, catch some rays | :22:45. | :22:50. | |
and wave farewell to the great British winter. Destination Cape | :22:50. | :22:53. | |
Town for many of the world's top windsurfers, and that includes Ben | :22:53. | :22:58. | |
Proffitt, who is on a flying visit back home to landlocked Shropshire. | :22:58. | :23:01. | |
Only a stone's throw from the A49 between Whitchurch and Shrewsbury, | :23:01. | :23:03. | |
Ben and his Polish girlfriend Justyna have just returned from the | :23:03. | :23:06. | |
Inner Hebrides, where Ben won the Tiree Wave Classic for the third | :23:06. | :23:15. | |
year running. It went pretty well. Tiree Wave Classic is one of my | :23:15. | :23:19. | |
favourite events on the British tour. It is probably the pinnacle. | :23:19. | :23:23. | |
This year we are going for the third in a row, and we have had an | :23:23. | :23:27. | |
expression session, and I won that, too. So pretty good for me, yes, it | :23:27. | :23:30. | |
has been a good year. I was very proud of him. It was tough | :23:30. | :23:33. | |
conditions because it was offshore. He made it look really easy, you | :23:33. | :23:42. | |
know? It was great for him to be on top again. Really proud of him. | :23:42. | :23:45. | |
Ben has been riding the waves since he was nine, and 25 years later, it | :23:45. | :23:48. | |
is still the ultimate thrill. You see the gusts coming across the | :23:48. | :23:52. | |
water, and you know it is going to hit, and then you get this increase | :23:52. | :23:56. | |
in power, and you just fly and skim across the water. What you want to | :23:56. | :24:00. | |
do is hit a ramp, that is the adrenaline rush when you are 30 or | :24:00. | :24:03. | |
40ft in the air looking down, and you try to rotate. It is quite a | :24:03. | :24:06. | |
scary feeling, but that is the buzz you want. | :24:06. | :24:11. | |
Bizarrely, Ben's prize for winning in Scotland was this silver sword. | :24:11. | :24:15. | |
Now he is heading for the south- west to the final event of the UK | :24:15. | :24:18. | |
Wave tour this weekend. Next stop, Cornwall. Just a quick pit-stop | :24:18. | :24:20. | |
back in Shropshire, forecast is looking good, easterly winds, could | :24:20. | :24:25. | |
be pretty cold, but I think I can try and win it this year. | :24:25. | :24:27. | |
So, Ben's boards are all on board, and the windsurfer's whistle-stop | :24:27. | :24:37. | |
:24:37. | :24:42. | ||
tour is off to Penzance. Ian Winter, Fancied? 30 or 40 ft in the air? | :24:42. | :24:48. | |
As long as the water is warm, I wouldn't mind! And A reminder that | :24:48. | :24:51. | |
time is running out fast for you to submit your nominations for this | :24:51. | :24:54. | |
year's BBC Midlands Sports Unsung Hero Award. For all the details go | :24:54. | :24:56. | |
to bbc.co.uk/sportsunsunghero or the Midlands Today Facebook site | :24:56. | :25:02. | |
and download the form. You can also call 0845 308 8000 and we'll send | :25:02. | :25:06. | |
call 0845 308 8000 and we'll send you one in the post. That closing | :25:06. | :25:16. | |
:25:16. | :25:23. | ||
Now for a look at the weather. It won't be weather for windsurfing. | :25:23. | :25:26. | |
We saw a gradual improvement today, but there'll be a more dramatic one | :25:26. | :25:29. | |
by tomorrow. You may have noticed that already it's begun to feel | :25:29. | :25:33. | |
colder. That's because the warm air has now moved off to the south, | :25:33. | :25:36. | |
while we're now lapping up the colder polar air that's flowing in | :25:36. | :25:38. | |
from the north. So the transformation will be to sunnier | :25:38. | :25:41. | |
but colder - much colder conditions over the next couple of days. So | :25:41. | :25:45. | |
we're calling it a cold snap because I don't think it'll be any | :25:45. | :25:47. | |
more prolonged than that. We really see that clearing-up process | :25:47. | :25:50. | |
beginning in earnest tonight - the cold front that's been heading | :25:50. | :25:53. | |
through the region today finally exits from the south later on so | :25:53. | :25:57. | |
there could be some rain for southern counties to begin with. | :25:57. | :26:00. | |
But after that it's looking a lot drier with clearer spells, | :26:00. | :26:03. | |
especially so in the north and temperatures in rural spots of | :26:03. | :26:10. | |
maybe two or three celsius for a touch of frost. But by tomorrow | :26:10. | :26:12. | |
morning we'll see the cloud dissolving quite rapidly under the | :26:12. | :26:16. | |
intensity of sun. A lovely day with blue sky and sparkling sunshine but | :26:16. | :26:19. | |
a wintry feel to the day with temperatures rising no further than | :26:19. | :26:21. | |
seven to eight Celsius, and in brisk north-easterly winds there'll | :26:21. | :26:31. | |
:26:31. | :26:32. | ||
be an added wind chill as well. It will fall -- it will feel more like | :26:32. | :26:40. | |
But the temperatures really will plunge overnight tomorrow. In some | :26:40. | :26:42. | |
cases to just below freezing leading to a widespread ground | :26:42. | :26:52. | |
:26:52. | :26:52. | ||
frost, even a touch of air frost. Temperatures will dip to just below | :26:52. | :27:02. | |
:27:02. | :27:04. | ||
zero. A similar scenario on A look at tonight's main headlines: | :27:04. | :27:07. | |
Signs of growth at last as the economy moves out of recession. And | :27:07. | :27:10. | |
the family of a BBC journalist who apparently committed suicide want | :27:10. | :27:12. | |
an inquiry into whether managers dealt with his concerns. | :27:12. | :27:16. | |
Just before we go, police are are appealing for help to trace a nine- | :27:16. | :27:19. | |
year-old boy who went missing from his home in Aston in Birmingham | :27:19. | :27:22. | |
earlier today. Jahavrie McLenan ran away from his home on Yew Tree Road | :27:22. | :27:25. | |
following a family argument just after 1.30pm. He's described as | :27:25. | :27:28. | |
black, with short dark hair and was last seen wearing a light blue | :27:28. | :27:31. | |
denim jacket, white T-shirt, black tracksuit bottoms with a red stripe | :27:31. | :27:38. |