:00:11. > :00:19.tonnes of paper destroyed after fire burns through the night at a
:00:19. > :00:23.factory, closing a main route into Birmingham. This is a particularly
:00:23. > :00:25.difficult type of incident, we put out fires and we're not leaving
:00:25. > :00:28.until it is done. It's been revealed that a train
:00:28. > :00:31.carrying aviation fuel was stopped before passing the scene. Also
:00:31. > :00:37.tonight:. Claims that police are spending far too much time dealing
:00:37. > :00:40.with mental health problems, which should be handled elsewhere.
:00:40. > :00:44.police are a can-do organisation they are the first and last resort.
:00:44. > :00:50.But their raw limitations to what they should be doing and what they
:00:50. > :00:52.are qualified to do. All coming down to the last 90
:00:52. > :00:55.minutes this weekend - can Kidderminster Harriers clinch a
:00:55. > :00:59.place in the Football League? Ten years after his first appearance
:00:59. > :01:02.on Midlands Today, the young sax player off to one of the best jazz
:01:02. > :01:12.schools in the world. And temperatures have already peaked
:01:12. > :01:18.
:01:18. > :01:20.this week and so have the winds. Good evening. It's emerged that a
:01:20. > :01:24.train carrying aviation fuel was stopped before it passed the scene
:01:24. > :01:27.of a massive fire in Birmingham early this morning. Firefighters
:01:27. > :01:31.were tackling a blaze at a paper mill near the M6 when they realised
:01:31. > :01:36.the train was due to pass by. Thousands of tonnes of paper and
:01:36. > :01:44.cardboard caught fire at the Smurfit Kappa plant, after ten o'clock last
:01:44. > :01:46.night. It's been brought under control but it could be days before
:01:46. > :01:49.the fire actually burns itself out. Cath Mackie reports.
:01:49. > :01:55.A wall of fire lights up the night in Nechells in Birmingham. These
:01:55. > :01:57.dramatic scenes lasted for hours. The view from the fire service
:01:57. > :02:02.hydraulic platform was equally powerful - a seeming sea of flames
:02:02. > :02:07.at Smurfitt Kappa paper mill, waking local people from their sleep.
:02:07. > :02:10.it out of my window, I have come out, I have just seen them rushing
:02:10. > :02:15.down there to control the fire. morning the flames were still
:02:15. > :02:22.licking the sky as 100 firefighters fought to keep them under control.
:02:22. > :02:25.At the height of the blaze, it was really intense, a severe fire. We
:02:25. > :02:28.had 10,000 tonnes of cardboard and paper on the sides. No one was hurt
:02:29. > :02:34.- but for fire crews it was a powerful reminder of the dangers of
:02:34. > :02:38.the job. 30 years ago in September, firefighter Freddie Flynt was killed
:02:38. > :02:43.when a bale of paper fell on him and crushed him. So this is a difficult
:02:43. > :02:47.type of incident to fight, it covers seven acres out of 22 acres, but we
:02:47. > :02:50.will not leave until it is done. mile an hour winds sent the smoke
:02:50. > :02:53.and ash billowing towards nearby homes, where people were told to
:02:53. > :02:55.shut windows and doors. West Midlands fire service say they
:02:55. > :02:58.managed to avert what could have been a highly dangerous situation
:02:58. > :03:02.this morning. They were told by Network Rail of a train which was
:03:02. > :03:05.due to pass by the here carrying highly explosive aviation fuel. The
:03:05. > :03:07.train was stopped eight miles from the site and after a safety
:03:07. > :03:10.assessment was carried out it was allowed to continue its journey 45
:03:10. > :03:17.minutes later. People working at other businesses on the site weren't
:03:17. > :03:27.allowed inside. One of them, Carl McGuire, was forced to work from
:03:27. > :03:27.
:03:27. > :03:30.home. The way the recession is, we have struggled anyway, so this is
:03:30. > :03:33.another nail in to be coughing, so to speak. It is pretty tough at the
:03:33. > :03:38.moment but luckily, I don't do we have lost any major work. It is just
:03:38. > :03:41.disruption again. The cause of the fire's being investigated. It's not
:03:41. > :03:51.thought to be suspicious. Fire crews are expected to remain here for at
:03:51. > :03:54.
:03:54. > :04:00.least another 24 hours. Let's speak to Simon Shelton from
:04:00. > :04:07.the West Midlands Fire service. What is the situation this evening?
:04:08. > :04:10.situation is we still have about 14 appliances on site, which equates to
:04:10. > :04:15.about 75 firefighters. We do have the fire under control but it is
:04:15. > :04:23.still burning intensively. It has been ever so windy, as that caused
:04:23. > :04:26.extra problems? Yes, the wind is a significant hazard to us, it does
:04:26. > :04:31.increase the intensity of the fire and the risk of any essential fire
:04:31. > :04:37.spread through embers that leave the site and landing any neighbouring
:04:37. > :04:42.properties. We do have it under control now, we are expecting the
:04:42. > :04:49.winter died down throughout the night. Any idea what caused the
:04:49. > :04:52.blaze? No, we don't know what has caused the fire at this moment, our
:04:52. > :04:57.main priority is to get the fire under control, which we have done,
:04:57. > :05:02.and then work with the site owners and ourselves to put it out. Will
:05:02. > :05:09.the paper mill and nearby companies be able to operate tomorrow? It is
:05:09. > :05:14.unlikely tomorrow, local businesses will still be affected, we offer our
:05:14. > :05:17.apologies but for obvious safety reasons, we have two look at the
:05:17. > :05:25.impact of the fire itself and the safety within regard to the
:05:25. > :05:29.adjoining premises. Thank you very much for updating us.
:05:29. > :05:32.The fire has closed the one of the main routes in and out of Birmingham
:05:32. > :05:35.- the A47 Heartlands Parkway - in both directions since 10.30 last
:05:35. > :05:38.night. The latest is that it's still closed between Saltley Viaduct and
:05:38. > :05:43.Cuckoo Road. Tune into BBCWM for the latest travel news if you are
:05:43. > :05:46.planning to travel around the area. Coming up later in the programme:
:05:46. > :05:54.Written in the stars - a new type of cosmic explosion uncovered at
:05:54. > :05:57.Police offficers are spending too much time dealing with people who
:05:57. > :06:00.are mentally ill - they end up in the criminal system, when they
:06:00. > :06:02.should be getting help elsewhere. That's the view of Staffordshire's
:06:02. > :06:05.Crime Commissioner, who claims thousands of hours are being spent
:06:05. > :06:12.on mental health issues which police aren't necessarily qualified to deal
:06:12. > :06:17.with. Joanne Writtle reports. Too many people with mental health
:06:17. > :06:20.problems are being criminalised when they need help elsewhere. That's the
:06:20. > :06:23.claim of Staffordshire's Police and Crime Commissioner Matthew Ellis.
:06:23. > :06:33.He's commissioned a report, and says thousands of hours of police time
:06:33. > :06:36.every year is being spent on mental health matters. We need better, more
:06:36. > :06:41.focused services, which deal with things before they get out of hand.
:06:41. > :06:44.At the moment, the police are having to take people into criminal
:06:44. > :06:49.environments, custody suites, because there aren't always places
:06:49. > :06:54.of safety for individuals that are ill. Our job is to protect life and
:06:54. > :07:02.save life of these individuals are at their lowest point, they have it
:07:02. > :07:04.crisis. We are the last resort. filmed here using police officers to
:07:04. > :07:07.restage a typical scenario. Stoke-on-Trent's custody suite's one
:07:07. > :07:10.of 20 in the UK to have a two-year pilot in which psychiatric nurses
:07:10. > :07:18.work with police to help fast track those with mental problems out of
:07:18. > :07:22.the criminal justice system. This woman is leading the project in
:07:22. > :07:26.Stoke. It is important because it does divert people away from the
:07:26. > :07:30.criminal justice route and helping them find support in the community,
:07:30. > :07:34.they may need to find employment, register with a GP to get their
:07:34. > :07:37.medication sorted, or help with accommodation. Since this pilot
:07:37. > :07:41.began last June, 1,400 people have been assessed by nurses, with 400
:07:41. > :07:44.being diverted away from the police cells to get help. Half of them
:07:44. > :07:46.haven't re-offended since. Meanwhile, Staffordshire County
:07:46. > :07:56.Council, the police and NHS are working together to address the
:07:56. > :08:00.problem in various ways. Now we are looking at having nurses that could
:08:00. > :08:04.potentially work on the front line with the officers, so going out on
:08:04. > :08:07.the streets with police officers who are being called to distress calls
:08:07. > :08:10.or mental health calls. It's hoped that nurses will eventually help in
:08:10. > :08:20.custody elsewhere in Staffordshire, as work goes on to tackle the wider
:08:20. > :08:24.
:08:24. > :08:27.problem. A breakdown in hand washing is the
:08:27. > :08:31.most likely cause of an outbreak of a deadly superbug which killed two
:08:31. > :08:33.babies and was found in four more in a premature baby unit. An inquest in
:08:33. > :08:36.Stoke on Trent heard how the neo-natal intensive care unit was
:08:36. > :08:39.isolated and new infection control measures bought in, after Jessica
:08:39. > :08:46.Strong died last June from the rare superbug. We're joined now from
:08:46. > :08:54.Stoke-on-Trent by our Health Correspondent, Michele Paduano. What
:08:54. > :08:58.happened to this premature baby? Jessica Strong was actually born at
:08:58. > :09:02.26 weeks in Nuneaton, and was transferred across to
:09:02. > :09:06.Stoke-on-Trent. She was doing well at first, breathing on her own, but
:09:06. > :09:12.on the 29th of June last year, she crashed and died suddenly before
:09:12. > :09:16.they managed to establish that it really was this disease. The baby
:09:16. > :09:21.had been transferred into the unit from Wales with the superbug, and
:09:21. > :09:27.that particular baby, the family found out, had had that disease
:09:27. > :09:31.passed on to five other babies and they are very upset. I don't believe
:09:31. > :09:39.it has come from a parent, it is definitely come from a member of
:09:39. > :09:45.staff. It has come from inside. one can ever bring our daughter
:09:45. > :09:48.back, I am so upset. It does have -- had to come through West End, they
:09:48. > :09:58.had to replace cleaning staff, and obviously I love my daughter
:09:58. > :09:59.
:09:59. > :10:02.debates. God bless you. What more can you tell us about the superbug?
:10:02. > :10:07.It actually lives in all of our guts, and for most of us it is
:10:07. > :10:14.harmless most of the time, but this professor actually found the first
:10:14. > :10:18.outbreak of this in 1984. We as microbiologists are always surveying
:10:18. > :10:22.the top of bacteria causing infections so we will pick up a
:10:22. > :10:26.first case, if we see that, we may institute control measures at that
:10:26. > :10:33.point. Certainly if we get a second case, with molecular fingerprinting
:10:34. > :10:36.we can show they are related and we can strengthen the controls,
:10:36. > :10:45.involving hand washing, careful cleaning of cots and
:10:45. > :10:49.decontamination. Has the hospital than anything since this outbreak?
:10:49. > :10:56.Has -- the hospital says it has instituted a new cleaning regime and
:10:56. > :10:58.is cleaning the cots in a different way. It also says it has two
:10:58. > :11:02.infection control nurses and a quality nurse working with the
:11:02. > :11:07.ward. They say they were devastated themselves and are now rolling out
:11:07. > :11:10.what they have done as best practice across the rest of the country.
:11:10. > :11:14.The Gloucestershire Coroner Alan Crickmore has appeared in court in
:11:14. > :11:17.London, charged with fraud and theft offences worth nearly �4 million.
:11:17. > :11:20.The 57-year-old solicitor from Cheltenham is accused of a total of
:11:20. > :11:24.21 charges, some relating to the estates of people who had died
:11:24. > :11:26.between 1998 and 2011. Today's hearing at City of Westminster
:11:26. > :11:36.Magistrates court was adjourned until June, when it's expected he
:11:36. > :11:40.
:11:40. > :11:43.will be committed to Crown Court for trial.
:11:43. > :11:46.Kidderminster Harriers could be promoted to the Football League on
:11:46. > :11:49.Saturday. If Mansfield fail to beat Wrexham, then Kidderminster can win
:11:49. > :11:53.the Conference Premier title by beating struggling Stockport County.
:11:53. > :11:56.If the Harriers miss out on the title, they could yet gain promotion
:11:56. > :11:59.via the play-offs - a remarkable position to be in after a terrible
:11:59. > :12:02.start to the season. Dan Pallett reports.
:12:02. > :12:04.They were snapping into the tackles in training this morning. And not
:12:04. > :12:11.surprising. Under manager Steve Burr, Kidderminster Harriers could
:12:12. > :12:15.be one win from returning to the Football League. It would be
:12:15. > :12:19.tremendous for a club like ours. They dropped out of the division a
:12:19. > :12:27.view years ago, to get back in the division would be a fantastic
:12:27. > :12:31.achievement. The supporters, the director, the chairman. It has been
:12:31. > :12:36.an incredible season here. They lost their first five games and drew the
:12:36. > :12:39.next five. Since then they have been on an incredible run, winning 27 out
:12:39. > :12:43.of 35 games. If they win one more they will be back in the football
:12:43. > :12:47.league. It's quite a story. So today the Kidderminster Shuttle published
:12:47. > :12:53.a 20 page supplement dedicated to the Harriers. Reporter Pete McKinney
:12:53. > :12:58.has covered them for five years. But he's never known it like this.
:12:58. > :13:01.town are up for this, there is no doubt about it, a few years ago
:13:01. > :13:05.Kidderminster Harriers were having severe financial problems, the town
:13:05. > :13:09.rallied them to save them. Now the town is rallying because the
:13:09. > :13:12.Harriers had given them something to get their teeth into. They have
:13:12. > :13:15.given them something to get excited about. But they're not promoted just
:13:15. > :13:25.yet. Kidderminster are second and only the champions will be promoted.
:13:25. > :13:30.
:13:30. > :13:34.-goal victory against struggling Stockport then Kidderminster will be
:13:35. > :13:38.promoted. It promises to be quite a day. Some players thrive off that, I
:13:39. > :13:46.thrive off that. It would be nice to play in front of a view thousand, it
:13:46. > :13:54.would be a first experience for me, night 13 years ago when the Harriers
:13:54. > :13:56.were last promoted to the football league.
:13:56. > :13:59.What a sensational season they have had.
:13:59. > :14:03.There'll be full match commentary on Kidderminster's match against
:14:03. > :14:06.Stockport on BBC Hereford and Worcester. Kick-off is 515 on
:14:06. > :14:09.Saturday evening. Our top story tonight: An accident
:14:09. > :14:19.averted - a train carrying aviation fuel is stopped from driving past
:14:19. > :14:25.
:14:25. > :14:34.the scene of a massive fire at a London Marathon celebrates her 18th
:14:34. > :14:39.birthday with a run. Ten years after his first appearance
:14:39. > :14:49.on Midlands Today as a schoolboy, he is off to one of the best jazz
:14:49. > :14:52.
:14:52. > :14:55.schools in the world. Astronomers from the University of Warwick have
:14:55. > :15:00.found a new type of massive cosmic explosion. The researchers
:15:00. > :15:05.discovered massive bursts of energy. They now think it is caused by a
:15:05. > :15:10.huge star exploding at the end of its life. Our science correspondent
:15:10. > :15:16.is with us now. Just how big are these exploding stars? They are
:15:16. > :15:20.massive. Some of them at the end of their lives do not fizzle out, they
:15:20. > :15:24.explode as a supernova. They produce lots of stuff including gammaray
:15:24. > :15:34.bursts is. That is what the scientists have been studying with
:15:34. > :15:34.
:15:34. > :15:42.NASA. I asked one of the researchers have big they are. They are as
:15:42. > :15:52.energetic as you get. They release more energy in the time they are
:15:52. > :15:53.
:15:53. > :16:02.bursting then the sun in its lifespan. How do they study the
:16:02. > :16:07.stars? This is a rocket that was launched by NASA. It is a satellite.
:16:07. > :16:15.It is up in space and it is looking for bursts of gammaray is from
:16:15. > :16:21.supernovas. It has seen over 700 since its launch in 2004. It swiftly
:16:21. > :16:26.can change direction to study it. Usually a gammaray burst is about
:16:26. > :16:30.the a few seconds, a minute. The University of Warwick has noticed
:16:30. > :16:36.that some have been going on for hours. This is something we never
:16:36. > :16:40.knew happened before. This is really important research coming out of the
:16:40. > :16:46.University. It is really exciting. We have got an artist 's impression
:16:47. > :16:51.of how it might look. Those are the gammaray is pouring out and then it
:16:51. > :16:55.suddenly goes supernova. If you were nearby, that is probably one of the
:16:56. > :17:00.most spectacular things you could see anywhere in the universe.
:17:00. > :17:09.from cosmic events, we are going to talk about Kenneth Branagh's pants.
:17:09. > :17:13.The costumes being retrieved from the RSC's wardrobe collection.
:17:13. > :17:18.It will give the public the opportunity to discover exactly how
:17:18. > :17:25.the stars of the stage measure up. The hour has come, the very
:17:25. > :17:30.minute... The critics were mesmerised by Patrick Stewart's
:17:30. > :17:35.Prospero in the 2006 production of the Tempest. Now audiences have the
:17:35. > :17:44.opportunity to see how his clothes were given me stranded arctic look.
:17:44. > :17:48.All of this would be handcrafted by our department. To create the really
:17:48. > :17:52.lived in feel. It has to be something that would last a year's
:17:52. > :17:57.worth of performances. Although it looks distressed, it is robust
:17:57. > :18:02.enough to be worn for eight performances a week. It gives the
:18:02. > :18:08.block an opportunity to get up close to the wardrobes of the famous. --
:18:09. > :18:17.the public. More than 30 eyes items are stored in the costume store.
:18:17. > :18:22.Each offers a snapshot into the star's history. They work well on
:18:22. > :18:28.their own but the whole point is that they were part of a production.
:18:28. > :18:32.A small stitching army create and maintain hundreds of costumes every
:18:32. > :18:37.year by hand. Brenda has worked here in Stratford for more than 40 years.
:18:37. > :18:44.She has dressed them all and even had her name included on a cloak
:18:44. > :18:53.worn by Derek Jacobi. We are all on here, all of the costume department.
:18:53. > :19:01.I am just here. A bit of graffiti? ! Why not? Quite a compliment. Even if
:19:01. > :19:06.nobody else sees it may you know it is there. The exhibition opens this
:19:06. > :19:12.weekend to coincide with Shakespeare's birthday celebrations.
:19:12. > :19:17.The London Marathon is only days away. Hundreds of people from across
:19:17. > :19:23.the Midlands are getting ready to compete. One of the youngest will be
:19:23. > :19:28.Alicia Forsyth-Forrest from Warwickshire who has just reached
:19:28. > :19:31.the minimum age of 18 to take part. For many teenagers, turning 18 is
:19:31. > :19:37.the excuse for a big party. But Alicia Forsyth-Forrest from
:19:37. > :19:40.Warwickshire will be putting on her trainers and preparing to raise 26
:19:40. > :19:44.miles around the streets of London. She will be the second youngest
:19:44. > :19:54.runner in the marathon. To make things tougher, she has been fitting
:19:54. > :19:57.
:19:57. > :20:01.training in around studying for her A-levels. It has been quite hard but
:20:01. > :20:06.I have been working in the morning and running in the afternoon so it
:20:06. > :20:10.has been all right. Security for Sunday's race has been stepped up
:20:10. > :20:14.after the bomb attacks on the Boston Marathon earlier this week which
:20:14. > :20:19.killed three people and injured more than 170. But Alicia never
:20:19. > :20:24.considered pulling out. I was very shocked to hear about Boston and my
:20:24. > :20:29.thoughts are with them. It is really touching that we will have a 32nd
:20:29. > :20:33.silence for them. I am proud to be running the London Marathon and
:20:33. > :20:40.hopefully people will come out and celebrate. We are British and we
:20:40. > :20:47.keep going. Obviously, I think is nothing more sad than hearing our
:20:47. > :20:53.friends across the seas are as troubled as this. Of course, you are
:20:53. > :20:56.concerned whenever any member of the family is in a big crowd. She was
:20:57. > :21:01.inspired by the illness of a relative to raise money for the
:21:01. > :21:05.Brain Research Trust. She certainly will not feel alone on the streets
:21:05. > :21:11.of London. As well as her family, her entire class from school will be
:21:11. > :21:15.there to cheer her on. Happy birthday and good luck to
:21:15. > :21:19.Alicia! A group of celebrities in a pink Rolls-Royce have been in the
:21:20. > :21:23.Midlands today as part of a charity challenge to raise �1 million for
:21:23. > :21:27.Breast Cancer Care. Chris Evans, Gary Barlow, James May and Professor
:21:27. > :21:35.Brian Cox are driving from Land's End to John O'Groats to help launch
:21:35. > :21:38.the fundraising project. Everyone is bringing a personal touch to the
:21:38. > :21:47.whole event but we are all driving are taking it in turns. Chris
:21:47. > :21:55.started. Fell asleep at the wheel. We had a police escort when I was
:21:55. > :22:01.driving. Gary has a gas, stove in the bank. We have had sausage
:22:01. > :22:06.casserole already. We will have a curry in Carlisle. Ten years ago,
:22:06. > :22:09.BBC Midlands today featured the story of Alex Woods a talented
:22:09. > :22:15.saxophonist who was already playing in bars at the age of 12. Fast
:22:15. > :22:25.forward a decade and his talent has grown and he has now been offered
:22:25. > :22:25.
:22:25. > :22:29.the chance to study at possibly the best jazz school in the world.
:22:29. > :22:37.There are not many young men who have their own jazz quartet but then
:22:37. > :22:42.Alex Woods has always been cool. He started on the saxophone when he was
:22:42. > :22:46.just nine. By the time he was 12, his dad was his agent and he was
:22:46. > :22:52.playing in pubs and clubs for his pocket money, albeit with a few
:22:52. > :22:57.reservations. When I am on stage, I do not want to be booed but
:22:57. > :23:05.hopefully that will never happen. Has it happened? It is one of those
:23:05. > :23:08.things you say that you should not say. There is still time! He won a
:23:08. > :23:12.scholarship to study at the Birmingham Conservatoire and is now
:23:12. > :23:17.on target to achieve first-class honours. He has been offered a place
:23:17. > :23:22.to study in New York this September. Bidders for postgraduate study at
:23:22. > :23:27.the Manhattan School of Music. It is a two-year course. It will be to
:23:27. > :23:31.study at the school which is in the centre of New York. It should put me
:23:31. > :23:37.in a great position for a successful career. He is highly creative and
:23:37. > :23:42.has all of the skills you require of the profession as well. In terms of
:23:43. > :23:52.reading and great sound and ensemble skills. I think his prospects are
:23:53. > :23:54.
:23:54. > :24:02.very good. Quite how good audiences in New York will judge.
:24:02. > :24:12.We have had brilliant sunshine today. Pouring rain. Winds. When is
:24:12. > :24:17.
:24:17. > :24:21.winds last night. Showers today. Those take a back-seat for the
:24:21. > :24:30.sunshine for the next couple of days. That takes centre stage.
:24:30. > :24:35.Things will be looking largely drive. It will be cooler. What is
:24:35. > :24:40.driving the changes is once this front passes through we have
:24:40. > :24:44.pressure building from the south-west. The slackening isobars
:24:44. > :24:49.mean lighter winds. High pressure dominating. Very nice for the first
:24:49. > :24:54.half of the weekend. Then the next weather system comes in from the
:24:54. > :24:59.west by the end of Sunday. This evening, a few showers affecting the
:24:59. > :25:03.north and east of the region. These will clear in the next couple of
:25:03. > :25:08.hours. For the first half of the night, fairly clear skies. The cloud
:25:08. > :25:13.will thicken up ahead of the front I spoke of. That comes down from the
:25:13. > :25:21.North West. That will introduce light rain to some areas. They can
:25:21. > :25:31.start to tomorrow. For most of us could that should continue through
:25:31. > :25:34.
:25:34. > :25:41.much of the day. There could be the odd shower which could be prolonged.
:25:41. > :25:46.In the lighter winds, it will feel reasonably pleasant. Tomorrow
:25:46. > :25:55.night, there could be a touch of Frost. Gardeners watch out. For the
:25:56. > :25:59.weekend, Sunday, there could be rain later on in the day.