:00:00. > 3:59:59weekend. That's all from us. Now the news
:00:00. > :00:08.where you Hello and welcome to Midlands Today.
:00:09. > :00:11.The headlines tonight: New journey times revealed for the
:00:12. > :00:18.high`speed rail network, as the Government announces a revised
:00:19. > :00:22.business case. We could see an increase of around 50,000 jobs as a
:00:23. > :00:25.consequence of HS2. That is economic growth we cannot do without.
:00:26. > :00:28.But it's been revealed the new line won't generate as much money as
:00:29. > :00:31.first thought. Eight arrested in early`morning
:00:32. > :00:33.raids, as police investigate a suspected sham`marriage ring in
:00:34. > :00:36.Wolverhampton. Join the Bone Marrow Register ` a
:00:37. > :00:44.heartfelt plea from a leukaemia patient whose transplant failed.
:00:45. > :00:50.There is no reason why it happened to me. Maybe if I were to give it a
:00:51. > :00:54.reason it would be so why can spread the word now and get people to sign
:00:55. > :00:57.up and save somebody else's life in the future.
:00:58. > :01:01.And we'll tell you the tale of this 1,700`year`old coffin, a metal
:01:02. > :01:05.dectector and a grave`digger. And for those of you who need to be
:01:06. > :01:09.concerned, it's going to be colder than usual tonight, with the
:01:10. > :01:17.likelihood of some frost. All the details later.
:01:18. > :01:22.Good evening. New detail emerged today from the Government on
:01:23. > :01:26.estimated journey times for passengers using HS2 trains from
:01:27. > :01:30.stations around the Midlands. The information was released in a new
:01:31. > :01:34.business case for the proposed line. The first part of the high`speed
:01:35. > :01:38.rail link will cost more than ?21 billion to build, the line would run
:01:39. > :01:42.between London and Birmingham. The benefit to the West Midlands economy
:01:43. > :01:48.would be between ?1.5 and ?3 billion a year, according to a recent report
:01:49. > :01:54.by accountants KPMG. But it'll be another 13 years before the first
:01:55. > :01:58.trains run between the two cities. But with a brewing political row,
:01:59. > :02:01.will the project ever get going? In a moment, we'll hear from our
:02:02. > :02:04.political editor, but first, this report from our transport
:02:05. > :02:07.correspondent, Peter Plisner. Back in the driving seat on HS2?
:02:08. > :02:11.Well, that's where the Government wants to be. Today's publication of
:02:12. > :02:21.the new business case should move the high`speed rail debate up a
:02:22. > :02:25.gear. If you look at the moment where the first line runs from and
:02:26. > :02:28.develop and happening around King's Cross St Pancras, that is the result
:02:29. > :02:35.of Britain being connected to Europe with a high`speed rail `` railway.
:02:36. > :02:38.We've known for some time that journey times between London and
:02:39. > :02:41.Birmingham are expected to be cut from an hour and 21 minutes to just
:02:42. > :02:45.49 minutes. Now the Government has published figures for other parts of
:02:46. > :02:48.the region too. A journey from Stafford to London that currently
:02:49. > :02:51.takes an hour and a quarter is expected to be reduced to 53
:02:52. > :02:55.minutes. And it's estimated the trip from Cheltenham to Leeds would be
:02:56. > :03:00.reduced by almost an hour from two hours and 50 minutes to just one
:03:01. > :03:05.hour 55 mins. In addition to faster journey times, the case today also
:03:06. > :03:08.rests on the need for more capacity on the rail network. The West Coast
:03:09. > :03:12.Main Line to London is already incredibly busy but predictions are
:03:13. > :03:15.by mid`2020, it will be fuller. Today, opening a new logistic depot
:03:16. > :03:18.in Coventry, Network Rail was adament that HS2 was the only way of
:03:19. > :03:27.providing the capacity that's needed. If you try to cannibalise
:03:28. > :03:31.and keep rebuilding things that almost 200 years old, the original
:03:32. > :03:35.part, that would be a huge mistake. It is much better to leave that for
:03:36. > :03:39.more local commuter services and freight, and to build a brand`new
:03:40. > :03:43.long`distance line next to it. Those opposed to HS2 maintain that more
:03:44. > :03:48.can be done and they say that even today, the new business case is
:03:49. > :03:51.fundementally flawed. The Government and HS2 have got this thing wrong
:03:52. > :03:57.and it is disgraceful that they should apply voodoo economics to try
:03:58. > :04:02.to justify HS2 and purport that this nation needs a high`speed rail and
:04:03. > :04:05.that without it, the nation will suffer economically. Today there
:04:06. > :04:08.also was more political debate on HS2 following Labour's threat to
:04:09. > :04:11.withdraw support from the scheme. In Birmingham, the City Council's
:04:12. > :04:21.Labour Leader maintains that the party is still behind it. The Labour
:04:22. > :04:25.front bench are not saying that they are against HS2. In fact, I think
:04:26. > :04:28.the economic arguments for it are overwhelming. Overwelming or not,
:04:29. > :04:31.many are still sceptical about merits of HS2, and the publication
:04:32. > :04:37.of yet another new business case clearly hasn't changed their view.
:04:38. > :04:41.I'm joined now by our political editor, Patrick Burns. There have
:04:42. > :04:49.been a number of negative stories surrounding HS2 lately. Do you think
:04:50. > :04:53.today's announcement is about the Government taking control of the
:04:54. > :04:58.project? That is certainly what they are trying to do and we have heard
:04:59. > :05:01.there one of several strong statements from the Transport
:05:02. > :05:08.Secretary. That is what they are trying to do. And allied to a
:05:09. > :05:11.recognition that, yes, bringing down the business case lightly and
:05:12. > :05:18.accepting that speed is not the be all and end all of it. That is a
:05:19. > :05:21.recognition. The Government did over it the case on speed at the
:05:22. > :05:26.beginning and not so much the case on capacity, which is the real
:05:27. > :05:31.issue. That is why the opposition leaders are accusing ministers of
:05:32. > :05:35.delay and dither on this project. Ed Balls told us on this programme he
:05:36. > :05:40.would be keeping a close eye on the project costs. Do you think
:05:41. > :05:43.opposition to HS2 is growing within the Labour Party? A few days after
:05:44. > :05:48.Ed Balls said that to you, Ed Miliband said to me he was fully in
:05:49. > :05:52.support of high`speed rail. He understood why his Shadow Chancellor
:05:53. > :05:56.wanted to keep a close eye on the numbers. I think he was really
:05:57. > :06:02.saying, I am fiscally prudent, as well as striking a chord with the
:06:03. > :06:07.anti`HS2 campaigners. The voices raised again this amongst Labour
:06:08. > :06:11.have been Alistair Darling, John Prescott and Peter Mandelson, and
:06:12. > :06:15.none of them are directly involved in Labour's decision`making on
:06:16. > :06:19.this. Labour will soon come to the end of their re`examination of this
:06:20. > :06:23.project and the Parliamentary Marathon will begin. We will then
:06:24. > :06:26.see who stands where on this and we hope a bit of clarity on numbers
:06:27. > :06:32.will show the costs stack up. What about Sir Albert Bore's comments
:06:33. > :06:37.today ` how significant are they? Very significant. He has written to
:06:38. > :06:40.the Transport Secretary warning of open warfare is senior figures keep
:06:41. > :06:44.on speaking sceptically about this, so there is a calculation and this
:06:45. > :06:48.is what David Cameron was getting at when he said the whole project would
:06:49. > :06:51.fall if Labour pulled out their support. He is saying, you would
:06:52. > :06:58.have to blame your own party if this whole thing falls down.
:06:59. > :07:02.Coming up later in the programme, more than local pride at stake as
:07:03. > :07:06.Birmingham City and Stoke City go head`to`head in the League Cup.
:07:07. > :07:09.We'll be live at St Andrews. Eight people have been arrested in
:07:10. > :07:12.early`morning raids in Wolverhampton as part of an investigation into a
:07:13. > :07:15.suspected sham`marriage ring. The Government is trying to tighten up
:07:16. > :07:18.the rules on immigration applications, thousands of which
:07:19. > :07:21.they believe are based on fake`marriage or civil`partnership.
:07:22. > :07:26.Our special correspondent, Peter Wilson, has the story.
:07:27. > :07:29.As dawn broke, a specialist team of 60 police, immigration and National
:07:30. > :07:37.Crime Agency officers set out for addresses across Wolverhampton. They
:07:38. > :07:43.were targetting a suspected sham marriage ring involving Eastern
:07:44. > :07:51.European women and Asian men. An early arrest included one man
:07:52. > :07:56.suspected of being a fixer. The people we've arrested today are the
:07:57. > :08:01.Eastern European brides and grooms we suspect of enacting sham
:08:02. > :08:06.marriages to Pakistani nationals so they can stay in the UK. So, what is
:08:07. > :08:08.a sham marriage? Usually a ceremony involving a non`European national
:08:09. > :08:14.marrying someone from the European Economic Area. It enables people to
:08:15. > :08:18.stay in the UK and work and claim benefits. It's also big business.
:08:19. > :08:23.?10,000 is often paid to the organisers to fix a sham marriage.
:08:24. > :08:35.Between ?2,000 and ?3,000 is paid for a European Union bride or groom.
:08:36. > :08:37.Our previous experience of investigating this sort of
:08:38. > :08:41.criminality always shows there is an organised element behind this with
:08:42. > :08:44.an organised crime gang making thousands of pounds from arranging
:08:45. > :08:49.sham marriages to enable people who would ordinary sleet ordinarily not
:08:50. > :08:53.the allowed to stay in the UK to stay in the UK. `` ordinarily. The
:08:54. > :08:57.investigaters have been working closely with the local registrar.
:08:58. > :09:01.The West Midlands is second only to London for the highest number of
:09:02. > :09:09.sham marriages in the country. It is very difficult for us as registrars
:09:10. > :09:15.to take these marriages because they are making a mockery of the
:09:16. > :09:22.immigration laws and of the marriage act, and that is something we are
:09:23. > :09:26.very frustrated about. Two men from Wolverhampton went up to Scotland
:09:27. > :09:30.for a civil partnership ceremony just recently but they, too, have
:09:31. > :09:35.now been arrested and are now being questioned about sham marriages.
:09:36. > :09:39.A woman has appeared in court charged with the murder of a man in
:09:40. > :09:43.Wolverhampton. 53`year`old John Fletcher was found at a flat in the
:09:44. > :09:46.Market Square on Sunday afternoon. He'd been stabbed. 49`year`old
:09:47. > :09:49.Caroline Loweth, who is unemployed, has been remanded into custody and
:09:50. > :09:53.will appear at Wolverhampton Crown Court tomorrow.
:09:54. > :09:57.A prisoner serving two life sentences for the murder and kidnap
:09:58. > :10:00.of a teenage boy has escaped from a prison in Worcestershire.
:10:01. > :10:03.56`year`old Alan John Giles was in an open part of Hewell Prison near
:10:04. > :10:08.Redditch when he absconded yesterday. He'd been in jail since
:10:09. > :10:14.killing 16`year`old Quinton student Kevin Ricketts in 1995.
:10:15. > :10:18.A badger cull in Gloucestershire may not reach its target, even though
:10:19. > :10:21.it's been extended for another two months. A report by the Government
:10:22. > :10:25.agency Natural England suggests some badgers may have caused new
:10:26. > :10:31.outbreaks of TB in cattle, as they were escaping marksmen.
:10:32. > :10:33.After six years fighting leukaemia, 22`year`old Kathryn Cartwright from
:10:34. > :10:39.Sutton Coldfield has just months left to live. But she's hoping to
:10:40. > :10:43.leave a lasting legacy by appealing to everyone to consider donating
:10:44. > :10:49.bone marrow. Around 325,000 people are currently on the British Bone
:10:50. > :10:54.Marrow Register. To join, you have to be over the age of 18 and under
:10:55. > :10:58.49. Once on the register, the chances of being a suitable match
:10:59. > :11:02.for someone are about one in 100. Sadly, it's too late for Kathryn. No
:11:03. > :11:05.bone marrow will save her now, as she's suffering with complications
:11:06. > :11:10.from a liver transplant she had four years ago. She's been speaking to
:11:11. > :11:18.Sarah Falkland. Her days may be numbered but she
:11:19. > :11:23.hasn't lost her sense of humour. I've started the day on the front
:11:24. > :11:28.page of the Sunday Mercury. Next to a picture of a woman in a bikini.
:11:29. > :11:32.Because, clearly, our stories tie together! Kathryn Cartwright is
:11:33. > :11:37.blogging about what are likely to be the last weeks of her life. I'm not
:11:38. > :11:44.scared to die because they won't know. I will be gone. And it will be
:11:45. > :11:47.fine for me. I don't have to then... Go through what I've seen other
:11:48. > :11:55.families go through when their children have died. It doesn't scare
:11:56. > :11:58.me. It just makes me sad. Here in the middle, before she was
:11:59. > :12:02.diagnosed, Kathryn had always wanted to be a photographer. She never
:12:03. > :12:05.imagined her own life being told in pictures like this. There have been
:12:06. > :12:09.more operations than she can remember, pain that she can never
:12:10. > :12:16.forget. And now she's getting infections her body can't fight.
:12:17. > :12:19.They can keep treating them but eventually it will get to a stage
:12:20. > :12:23.where I go in with the temperature and they won't be able to get it to
:12:24. > :12:27.come back down, and that is when they will know I have only got a few
:12:28. > :12:30.weeks left. If the quality of her bone marrow transplants had been
:12:31. > :12:34.better, things may have turned out differently. And it's her dying wish
:12:35. > :12:40.that others will have more of a chance than she did. Bone marrow
:12:41. > :12:44.donation is so much easier than people think because they hear the
:12:45. > :12:51.word transplant and think it means surgery, and my hairdresser thought
:12:52. > :12:55.it meant it would take somebody saying, how long does it take to
:12:56. > :13:02.recover? About six months? And they said, it is about a day. `` and ice
:13:03. > :13:06.said. Bone marrow donation is so much easier than people think. Her
:13:07. > :13:09.bucket list is getting shorter. A virtual hug from Stephen Fry,
:13:10. > :13:13.instead of the real one she'd hoped for. A stranger has made her a
:13:14. > :13:16.glorious cake. What would make her most happy, though, would be if you
:13:17. > :13:18.signed up to the Bone Marrow Register.
:13:19. > :13:21.I'm joined now by Simon Bramhall, a transplant surgeon at the Queen
:13:22. > :13:24.Elizabeth hospital in Birmingham. How difficult is it to find the
:13:25. > :13:27.right donor for bone marrow? Bone marrow donation is difficult. The
:13:28. > :13:32.process to go through to match donor and recipient is much more complex
:13:33. > :13:38.than it is with other transplants. For example, the liver transplant
:13:39. > :13:43.she had. So it is quite difficult. There is a perception that donating
:13:44. > :13:48.bone marrow is a painful process. Is that the case? I think it can be. I
:13:49. > :13:51.think doctors do their best to make sure it is relatively pain`free but
:13:52. > :14:01.it is very short lived and the patient recovers extremely quickly
:14:02. > :14:04.from it, and in fact, they are back to normal the next day and have a
:14:05. > :14:08.small plaster on, which is not the same as all transplant procedures,
:14:09. > :14:12.of course! We have had quite a lot of response on Twitter and the
:14:13. > :14:15.general consensus is that there is a lack of information, especially
:14:16. > :14:20.about bone marrow donation. They cite Germany as having one of the
:14:21. > :14:28.highest registers because children are made aware of it. How important
:14:29. > :14:31.is donation of organs? It is incredibly important. At least have
:14:32. > :14:39.the conversation with one of your loved ones and about what your
:14:40. > :14:43.wishes would be. Whether it be bone marrow or another organ, in the
:14:44. > :14:48.unfortunate circumstances that could happen where you were going to die.
:14:49. > :14:51.It is that conversation in the family home that will make all the
:14:52. > :14:59.difference. Would you support an opt`out rather than opt`in donor
:15:00. > :15:03.system? I think when you look at it superficially, the path that the
:15:04. > :15:08.Welsh are going down, in other words, the opt out half, would seem
:15:09. > :15:14.to be sensible. However, there are a lot of complexities that people
:15:15. > :15:19.don't realise. So, the legal aspect, the logistic aspects, because you
:15:20. > :15:22.would have to contact every single person in the country and ask their
:15:23. > :15:26.permission. You would have to have a very, very good database that is
:15:27. > :15:31.very secure and I am not sure that in the UK we are particularly good
:15:32. > :15:35.at keeping national databases particularly secure. So all those
:15:36. > :15:39.things are very complex. As it currently stands, the system we have
:15:40. > :15:43.in England and Scotland is probably the right one, although it would be
:15:44. > :15:47.very interesting to see over the course of the next five years what
:15:48. > :15:50.the effect of the change in law in Wales will be. Thank you very much
:15:51. > :15:53.indeed. Our top story tonight ` new journey
:15:54. > :15:57.times revealed for the high`speed rail network, as the Government
:15:58. > :16:00.announces a revised business case. Shefali's here with your detailed
:16:01. > :16:03.weather forecast in just a moment. Also ahead, the volunteers sprucing
:16:04. > :16:11.up Cannock Chase...ready for Christmas 2017.
:16:12. > :16:14.If you have a story you think we should be covering on Midlands
:16:15. > :16:29.Today, we'd like to hear from you. Please get in touch.
:16:30. > :16:35.Two metal`detector enthusiasts have unearthed an unusual find in
:16:36. > :16:37.Warwickshire. A rare Roman child's coffin, believed to be
:16:38. > :16:43.1,700`years`old, was discovered in a field near Atherstone. It's being
:16:44. > :16:48.called a significant archeological discovery and is now being studied
:16:49. > :16:50.by experts in Warwick. It was a particularly poignant find for one
:16:51. > :16:54.of the detectors who's a grave`digger, as Ben Sidwell
:16:55. > :16:58.reports. It may not look that exciting but
:16:59. > :17:07.this lead coffin is believed to be one of the earliest Christian
:17:08. > :17:08.burials anywhere in the Midlands. It is definitely archaeologically
:17:09. > :17:14.significant because it is unusual for the region and certainly from my
:17:15. > :17:17.experience, it is quite rare. The coffin is thought to contain the
:17:18. > :17:20.remains of a young child from a wealthy Roman family who lived in
:17:21. > :17:23.third`century Britain. Archaeologists in Warwick studying
:17:24. > :17:30.this rare find say it could answer many questions. There's a lot we can
:17:31. > :17:34.tell from the technology in the actual coughing construction. There
:17:35. > :17:43.is a lock that the pathology of the bones can tell us. `` a lot. And it
:17:44. > :17:47.also tells us something about the way people were behaving at that
:17:48. > :17:52.time. So what has this cemetery in Nottingham got to do with a coughing
:17:53. > :17:56.found on the Warwickshire border? Well, for one of the archaeologists
:17:57. > :18:02.it had more than a small connection to his Dave `` day job. Steve
:18:03. > :18:06.Waterall works as a grave`digger, although his passion is
:18:07. > :18:09.metal`detecting. But when he and a fellow enthusiast picked up a signal
:18:10. > :18:13.in a field near Atherstone, they had no idea they'd just come across the
:18:14. > :18:16.most significant find of their lives. What a surprise! We knew it
:18:17. > :18:21.was on a Roman site but, yeah, it was the pinnacle of the day. And as
:18:22. > :18:24.things have unfolded, this is far greater than we initially thought.
:18:25. > :18:27.In the village of Witherley, close to where the lead coffin was
:18:28. > :18:34.discovered, there's plenty of excitement, but also a hope it'll
:18:35. > :18:37.eventually be returned. I think the general feeling of people I have
:18:38. > :18:41.spoken to is that they would like it to be returned to the village.
:18:42. > :18:44.Obviously that is where the child lived. Otherwise they wouldn't have
:18:45. > :18:47.been buried here in the first place. Archaeologists say it'll be next
:18:48. > :18:53.week before the coffin is opened to find out what's inside. Only then
:18:54. > :18:57.will its future be decided. It's a big night for Birmingham City
:18:58. > :19:05.and Stoke City. They meet in the League Cup and Dan Pallett's live at
:19:06. > :19:10.St Andrew's right now. There's more than local pride at stake tonight,
:19:11. > :19:16.isn't there? You are right. Both could do with a win to their mood.
:19:17. > :19:22.Birmingham City, 20th in the Championship, against Stoke City,
:19:23. > :19:26.17th in the Premier League. Stoke haven't won since August in the
:19:27. > :19:29.league. Their problem is a lack of goals but Birmingham City's problem
:19:30. > :19:35.is even bigger, a lack of money. Here's Ian Winter.
:19:36. > :19:38.The Midlands storm that never happened yesterday will kick off at
:19:39. > :19:42.St Andrew's in less than an hour. So, wear thick gloves if you're
:19:43. > :19:49.planning on staying out late. Like the Birmingham goalkeeper, Colin
:19:50. > :19:56.Doyle. And if it all comes down to penalties, are you prepared? Yeah!
:19:57. > :20:00.It is the pressure on the goalkeeper to take that and naughty and you are
:20:01. > :20:09.not expected to save from 12 yards. They are expected to score. When
:20:10. > :20:12.they last met in the Premier League three years ago, Nikola Zigic scored
:20:13. > :20:16.the only goal for Birmingham. But earlier, Ricardo Fuller helped Stoke
:20:17. > :20:25.win the game 3`2. So tonight, who knows? Between them, Birmingham and
:20:26. > :20:29.Stoke have taken just 19 points from 22 games in the championship and the
:20:30. > :20:34.Premier League. No wonder both clubs fancy a good cup run to kick`start
:20:35. > :20:39.their season. We know it is going to be tough but we are looking forward
:20:40. > :20:43.to it. It is exciting to have a home tie between these Premier League
:20:44. > :20:48.teams. We know they will give everything they have got because
:20:49. > :20:51.their crowd is passionate. So it is not an easy fixture for us by any
:20:52. > :20:55.stretch of the imagination. Reporters and supporters alike could
:20:56. > :21:00.be in for a late night if all comes down to penalties. And if it does,
:21:01. > :21:08.don't nip off early to beat the traffic. Let's speak to someone with
:21:09. > :21:15.very happy memories of the League Cup. You reach the final in 2001.
:21:16. > :21:20.How these two clubs would dearly love to get that far. Yes. They
:21:21. > :21:25.might be able to capitalise later down the line on other teams by
:21:26. > :21:31.playing a weaker team, so it is a good opportunity for both of them.
:21:32. > :21:37.Stoke nearly got a good result at Old Trafford last week. That doesn't
:21:38. > :21:42.bode well for Birmingham? But Birmingham had a great result at
:21:43. > :21:46.Derby so it is setup for a terrific cup tie. Stoke favourites but so was
:21:47. > :21:52.Swansea City in the previous round and they lost 3`1. Well, it should
:21:53. > :21:57.be an electric atmosphere and you never know which way it might. The
:21:58. > :22:01.Blues won this competition three seasons ago. It is an opportunity
:22:02. > :22:06.for the clubs away from the top end to go a long way. Yes, it is a great
:22:07. > :22:10.opportunity to go into Europe, get good funding from this cup.
:22:11. > :22:24.Hopefully tonight we will see two goods teams and a great top `` cup
:22:25. > :22:29.tie and a great match. And tonight's game is live on both BBC WM and BBC
:22:30. > :22:32.Radio Stoke. It's a 7:45pm kick`off. And we're guaranteed a Midlands side
:22:33. > :22:36.in the quarterfinals. It might seem a bit early to be
:22:37. > :22:39.thinking about Christmas trees this year, but on Cannock Chase rangers
:22:40. > :22:41.are already preparing trees for Christmas 2017. Forestry managers
:22:42. > :22:45.have introduced the traditional pines as a possible source of future
:22:46. > :22:48.revenue. They're being tended by some of the hundreds of volunteers
:22:49. > :22:53.who work on the Chase, as Holly Lewis reports.
:22:54. > :22:56.It started off as a way of filling in gaps where trees had been felled,
:22:57. > :22:59.but now Staffordshire County Council hopes these Christmas trees on
:23:00. > :23:07.Cannock Chase might be sold at festive events in the future. We are
:23:08. > :23:12.always looking at commercial opportunities but what we have to
:23:13. > :23:15.remember is, Cannock Chase is a nature site, an area of natural
:23:16. > :23:18.beauty, and the last thing we want to do is spoil it with
:23:19. > :23:21.commercialism. 2,000 trees have been planted across the Chase and are
:23:22. > :23:25.being nurtured by volunteers. Over the past four years, more than 500
:23:26. > :23:31.people have regularly given up their time to help out, from school groups
:23:32. > :23:34.to pensioners in their nineties. 27`year`old Gavin Evans has been
:23:35. > :23:43.volunteering every week for the past four years since he saw an advert in
:23:44. > :23:48.the newspaper. My mother spotted it and I thought I would respond to it,
:23:49. > :23:52.and I thought, that is the sort of job I have always wanted to do.
:23:53. > :23:59.Outdoor work, meeting friends, using different tools. Growing Christmas
:24:00. > :24:04.trees is a labour`intensive business. These small trees were
:24:05. > :24:07.planted three to four years ago. But it will be even longer before they
:24:08. > :24:16.are ready to be taken indoors and decorated. Volunteers are essential
:24:17. > :24:20.to projects like this one. Without the volunteers, this would not be
:24:21. > :24:23.happening because the county council don't have the money for this sort
:24:24. > :24:26.of project. Christmas trees will be on sale at the visitors centre from
:24:27. > :24:30.the end of November. They're bought in every year from Warwickshire but
:24:31. > :24:33.rangers hope it won't be long before these trees will be lighting up the
:24:34. > :24:41.windows of local homes and businesses.
:24:42. > :24:49.It looked a lovely day out there but it was so windy where rivals, tiny
:24:50. > :24:54.`` I nearly got blown off my bike. `` where I was.
:24:55. > :25:00.We have a ridge of high pressure building from the south responsible
:25:01. > :25:03.for that and this is where the winds will be lighter, but those together
:25:04. > :25:09.with the clearest skies tonight and the drop in temperatures will be to
:25:10. > :25:13.a touch of Frost, more particularly in the countryside. So we will see
:25:14. > :25:17.this ridge of high pressure killing off any remaining showers, leaving
:25:18. > :25:22.us with a dry night and largely clear skies, which will lead to
:25:23. > :25:28.temperatures dropping as low as one degree in rural spots, and sheltered
:25:29. > :25:36.areas, which is where we will get the frost. For towns and cities,
:25:37. > :25:40.those of six to eight degrees. So, a crisp, autumnal start, and chilly
:25:41. > :25:45.but lots of sunshine to start with, with cloud thickening up from the
:25:46. > :25:49.West. This will introduce some rain towards the tail end of the day and
:25:50. > :25:53.two northern parts of the region. This could be quite heavy but for
:25:54. > :26:04.the vast majority, a dry day, just turning cloudier. It is during
:26:05. > :26:09.tomorrow evening and night that the and starts to cross the region
:26:10. > :26:14.towards the East, and as it does, it becomes patchy and lighter, but then
:26:15. > :26:21.again it ends up dry, clear and cold, so the potential for some
:26:22. > :26:25.frost in rural spots. On Thursday, we start dry and sunny once again
:26:26. > :26:29.but we have showers developing through the afternoon with rain for
:26:30. > :26:37.Friday. This is what I want to draw your attention to. It is Friday that
:26:38. > :26:40.opens up the door to this weather at the weekend. You will notice a
:26:41. > :26:44.couple of areas of low pressure moving in from the Atlantic, so
:26:45. > :26:49.quite an active scene for the weekend. These areas of low pressure
:26:50. > :26:54.are not going to be as fierce as the ones we had on Monday but they could
:26:55. > :26:59.be fairly intense, so, all in all, looking at some gusty wind over the
:27:00. > :27:05.weekend and heavy, blustery showers. But Friday itself, there will be
:27:06. > :27:07.heavy rain but I think it should clear by the evening and overnight
:27:08. > :27:09.as we head into the start of Saturday.
:27:10. > :27:13.Tonight's headlines from the BBC: Bosses from the big energy companies
:27:14. > :27:16.face MPs' questions about their profits.
:27:17. > :27:18.New journey times revealed for the high`speed rail network, as the
:27:19. > :27:22.Government announces a revised business case.
:27:23. > :27:26.That was Midlands Today. Before we go, a warning that rail services in
:27:27. > :27:29.and out of Birmingham Snow Hill are severely disrupted tonight following
:27:30. > :27:33.an incident at Small Heath, so the advice is to check with your train
:27:34. > :27:37.operator before travelling. I'll be back at 10pm, when we'll be live at
:27:38. > :27:40.St Andrew's with details of the Cup game between Birmingham City and
:27:41. > :27:48.Stoke. Have a great evening. Goodbye.