:00:00. > :00:00.the News of the World. That's all from the News at
:00:00. > :00:10.Hello and welcome to Midlands Today. The headlines tonight...
:00:11. > :00:16.Raiding the reserves. Plans to recruit 550 police officers in the
:00:17. > :00:20.West Midlands force. The money has to come from somewhere, I suppose.
:00:21. > :00:27.If it is in the reserves, take it out. If we need more police, we need
:00:28. > :00:30.more police. Seems a lot to be spending on police.
:00:31. > :00:33.I'll be asking Police and Crime Commissioner, Bob Jones, why he
:00:34. > :00:35.believes the force needs to end its recruitment freeze.
:00:36. > :00:39.Also tonight... Police are searching for the mother of a baby girl found
:00:40. > :00:44.abandoned in a public park. Yellow back ``...
:00:45. > :00:50.We need to make sure the mother gets medical attention.
:00:51. > :00:54.No bonuses for Coventry's binmen. The council stops Christmas payments
:00:55. > :00:56.over fears of equal pay claims. Unique and compelling. The First
:00:57. > :01:02.World War diaries of Warwickshire's Private Harry Drinkwater.
:01:03. > :01:04.And lashing rain and howling winds. Sounds like the perfect weather for
:01:05. > :01:06.Halloween unless you're outdoors. How's it looking for trick or
:01:07. > :01:19.treaters? Find out later. Good evening. Hundreds of new
:01:20. > :01:24.officers could be recruited into the West Midlands Police force. The
:01:25. > :01:28.Police and Crime Commissioner, Bob Jones, has revealed plans to recruit
:01:29. > :01:34.550 to the force by 2016. The application process would start next
:01:35. > :01:37.year. It would be paid for by using ?60 million from the force's reserve
:01:38. > :01:43.budget. In addition, he's suggesting an extra ?3 would be added to
:01:44. > :01:50.council tax bills for two years. In a moment, I'll be talking live to
:01:51. > :01:53.Bob Jones. But first, Sarah Falkland assesses if using cash reserves is
:01:54. > :01:58.the right way to maintain the police.
:01:59. > :02:01.Just six weeks into training, these are some of the first recruits that
:02:02. > :02:05.Staffordshire Police force has seen in three years. No need to dip into
:02:06. > :02:09.reserves to pay for them. There are just 28 in total. It is not about
:02:10. > :02:13.increasing numbers, but getting new blood into the force, so the 20th
:02:14. > :02:23.new pool regular officers coming in half freshened things up. `` 28 new
:02:24. > :02:27.pool. It is moving forward well. The commissioner here thinks reserves
:02:28. > :02:30.are for a very rainy day. Is that what they're having further south,
:02:31. > :02:36.then? In the West Midlands, there are rounds of an thousand 500 police
:02:37. > :02:43.officers, but that is down by 1300 one three years ago. Crime is on the
:02:44. > :02:48.increase. The police and crime commission says that that justifies
:02:49. > :02:51.raiding the surplus. With English Defence League rallies and mosque
:02:52. > :02:54.bombings, 2013 has been an onerous and expensive year for the West
:02:55. > :02:58.Midlands force. 550 new officers will undoubtedly make a difference.
:02:59. > :03:04.But is it right to raid the reserves to pay for them? The money has to
:03:05. > :03:08.come from somewhere, I suppose. If it is in the reserves, take it out.
:03:09. > :03:15.If we need more police, we need more police. We need them as a back out
:03:16. > :03:19.`` as a back`up. It does seem extravagant. Another option for
:03:20. > :03:22.police forces is to off`load assets. Warwickshire Police have been trying
:03:23. > :03:26.to sell their HQ in Leek Wooton for the best part of a year, though. At
:03:27. > :03:30.least reserves money is quick cash. But what of the new staff recruits?
:03:31. > :03:34.Did budget constraints nearly put them off? It is what I have wanted
:03:35. > :03:38.to do for as long as I can remember, to be honest, so to be here in these
:03:39. > :03:42.times is more than a privilege than it could ever be. Police reserves
:03:43. > :03:47.are supposed to be for a rainy day, taxpayers' money accumulated and
:03:48. > :03:52.once they're gone, they are gone. Clearly, Mr Jones is not just in
:03:53. > :04:02.visiting a short, sharp shower, but. Paul. `` but a full storm.
:04:03. > :04:06.Bob Jones, the West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner, is with me
:04:07. > :04:11.now. Why have you chosen to spend the money on recruitment? It is
:04:12. > :04:16.money for a rainy day, and we are coming up on a rainy day. We have
:04:17. > :04:22.seen crime increasing. We feel, if we get there levels of demand like
:04:23. > :04:25.we saw in July, the only way to get those police officers to respond
:04:26. > :04:32.with be taking them out of neighbourhood policing, intelligence
:04:33. > :04:36.led policing, all the things helping to keep crime down. It could be a
:04:37. > :04:42.vicious circle of ever`increasing crime. You say crime has risen. By
:04:43. > :04:47.how much and what types of crime? Issues such as low`level violence,
:04:48. > :04:56.such as domestic violence. Burn up by about a modest amount, about
:04:57. > :05:03.2%`4%. 2.5% according to your last report? Absolutely, in line with
:05:04. > :05:07.other forces. If we continue having the loss of police officers we have
:05:08. > :05:10.had in recent years, we will be in serious danger of not being able to
:05:11. > :05:18.respond to that demand without reading neighbourhood policing,
:05:19. > :05:22.offender management, etc. The image of the police has taken a knock
:05:23. > :05:24.recently over the plebgate affair. Is recruiting more officers an
:05:25. > :05:28.attempt to rebalance the reputational damage? I think the
:05:29. > :05:32.reputation is another issue, but clearly, police officers and under
:05:33. > :05:36.pressure from a whole range of things, such as less colleagues to
:05:37. > :05:42.support them, this staff to support them, and it is starting to show,
:05:43. > :05:48.things are starting to creep. So this is a response? It is trying to
:05:49. > :05:52.stem those losses, maintaining the levels of service, dating
:05:53. > :05:59.communities in the way we have at the moment. We do not put this
:06:00. > :06:02.injection in, the continued loss of officers means they cannot respond
:06:03. > :06:07.to the level of demand we have seen. Finally, do you have the full
:06:08. > :06:14.support of the Chief Constable Chris Sims? Absolutely, this is a combined
:06:15. > :06:20.strategy. He believes not recruiting since 2010 that it is essential we
:06:21. > :06:26.refreshed the `` refresh the force as soon as possible. IQ. `` thank
:06:27. > :06:29.you. Coming up later in the programme...
:06:30. > :06:33.Stoke lays out its best china to impress the Chinese Ambassador.
:06:34. > :06:36.A newborn baby has been found abandoned in Birmingham. The little
:06:37. > :06:39.girl was discovered in a community park in Stechford just after two
:06:40. > :06:47.o'clock. Our correspondent Michele Paduano is there for us now. What
:06:48. > :06:50.more can you tell us? The baby was found in these dishes in earlier
:06:51. > :06:57.today. This was cordoned off as police carried out searches. ``
:06:58. > :07:03.these bushes. It was a little white girl found inside apparel in a bag,
:07:04. > :07:09.and police said she was only here for about an hour, as she was very
:07:10. > :07:14.warm at that point. She was found by a man walking his dog. His dog came
:07:15. > :07:22.into the area, refusing to leave. He was shocked by what he found. I was
:07:23. > :07:29.in my car and I was told that his dog found a baby in the park. He was
:07:30. > :07:35.as white as a ghost. Then the police turned up. The bag was taken away.
:07:36. > :07:40.We did not realise it was a baby until the police walked past me with
:07:41. > :07:47.a plastic bag. What have the police had to say? They say the girl as
:07:48. > :07:52.well. She was taken to hospital by ambulance, about three quarters of a
:07:53. > :07:58.mile away, and sniffer dogs were used to find a trace. But all they
:07:59. > :08:01.want to do is to help the mother. We have extensively searched the park,
:08:02. > :08:05.we have officers speaking to neighbours and local houses to try
:08:06. > :08:09.and find the mother. We do not know where she is at the moment and I
:08:10. > :08:13.would appeal to hard to come forward to the hospital, because we need
:08:14. > :08:19.hard to receive medical attention to make sure she is fit and well
:08:20. > :08:22.herself. Police say anyone with any information, however trivial should
:08:23. > :08:28.call 101, seeing the mother may actually need medical help. Thank
:08:29. > :08:31.you. Police have spent the afternoon
:08:32. > :08:35.searching around the Alcester area of Warwickshire looking for the
:08:36. > :08:38.prisoner Alan Giles. The 56`year`old absconded from Hewell Prison in
:08:39. > :08:41.Worcestershire on Monday, where he was serving two life sentences for
:08:42. > :08:44.kidnap and murder. The public are being warned not to approach him.
:08:45. > :08:49.A 23`year`old man pleaded guilty at Wolverhampton Crown Court today to a
:08:50. > :08:52.charge of stirring up racial hatred. Christopher Philips, who used to be
:08:53. > :08:56.known as Darren Clifft, admitted posting videos online of him wearing
:08:57. > :08:59.a Ku Klux Klan costume and carrying out a mock hanging of a life`sized
:09:00. > :09:02.black doll. The Birmingham singer, Laura Umvula,
:09:03. > :09:06.has missed out on the prestigious Mercury Prize for the best album of
:09:07. > :09:10.the year. The 27`year`old from Kings Heath had been the favourite to win
:09:11. > :09:14.the award for her Top Ten album Sing to the Moon. But the prize went to
:09:15. > :09:20.singer James Blake for his album Overgrown.
:09:21. > :09:23.A young mother who had to have a hysterectomy following the birth of
:09:24. > :09:27.her first child says she's disgusted at receiving no apology from the
:09:28. > :09:30.hospital which treated her. Hayley Sanders from Birmingham has now been
:09:31. > :09:33.given a five figure settlement after lawyers claimed staff had failed on
:09:34. > :09:38.four occasions to spot that she'd got an infection. Laura May McMullan
:09:39. > :09:43.reports. Four`year`old Jayden loves playing
:09:44. > :09:47.with his young stepbrother. It's helped to complete the family that
:09:48. > :09:53.Hayley Sanders thought she'd never have. She gave birth to Jayden in
:09:54. > :09:58.2009 and was discharged from hospital, despite having a number of
:09:59. > :10:06.high temperature readings. Hospital staff failed to detect this was a
:10:07. > :10:12.sign of infection. I did not expect it to lead to that. I expected to be
:10:13. > :10:18.able to go home, see his first smile, laugh, first chuckle, and I
:10:19. > :10:27.never got to see any of that. I just saw hospital ward after award after
:10:28. > :10:29.award. `` after ward. Medical lawyers believe, if her
:10:30. > :10:33.symptoms had been acted on sooner, she could have been treated by
:10:34. > :10:35.antibiotics. As it was, Hayley became so ill she needed a
:10:36. > :10:40.hysterectomy. She was very traumatised, as you would expect,
:10:41. > :10:44.from what happened and has to live, not only with the psychological
:10:45. > :10:49.impact, but the physical impact, constant reminders that she cannot
:10:50. > :10:52.have children in the future. She were treated here at Hartland is
:10:53. > :10:57.hospital in Birmingham, which has agreed to pay a five figure sum,
:10:58. > :11:05.despite not agreeing liability in this case. `` Heartlands Hospital.
:11:06. > :11:24.In a statement, it said... Are you playing, Jayden? Miss
:11:25. > :11:33.Sanders says she hopes lessons have now been learned from her case.
:11:34. > :11:38.Private documents seen by the BBC reveal that Coventry City Council is
:11:39. > :11:42.stopping paying Christmas bonuses to its refuse workers. For the past
:11:43. > :11:45.three years, binmen have received a bonus for extra work carried out
:11:46. > :11:48.over the festive season. But now the council's taken legal advice about
:11:49. > :11:51.the payments, following concerns it might lead to claims from other
:11:52. > :11:57.staff under equal pay or sex discrimination rules. BBC Coventry
:11:58. > :12:00.and Warwickshire's political reporter Sian Grzeszczyk has been
:12:01. > :12:09.investigating. So how much were these bonuses worth? Binmen were
:12:10. > :12:14.paid ?100 each. ?15,000 was paid in 2010. According to this private
:12:15. > :12:19.report, it was the formally dub of Coventry City Council, a former bin
:12:20. > :12:23.man himself, who asked officers to start making these payments. This
:12:24. > :12:28.was as though he visited the depot in 2010 and was asked why one of the
:12:29. > :12:32.binmen, can we have a bonus for extra work done this Christmas? He
:12:33. > :12:38.said yes, but according to the report, went against the advice of
:12:39. > :12:41.officers warning against this plan, because there was a fear of the
:12:42. > :12:47.goodwill of the workforce would be lost. So the report says it was the
:12:48. > :12:54.decision of the previously do. It usefully to him? I did, and asked if
:12:55. > :12:59.he agreed with that version of events. He said he disagreed, that
:13:00. > :13:04.that is not how he remembered it, it was nothing like that. I spoke to
:13:05. > :13:08.the Conservative opposition leader at Coventry City Council, who told
:13:09. > :13:13.me he is very concerned. We will ask who knew what when. Apart from the
:13:14. > :13:21.counsellor, who gave the orders for this? Why did Council officers not
:13:22. > :13:26.insist that it was very much against legal advice? And therefore, they
:13:27. > :13:30.chose to pay it? We are very worried. Is there any concern this
:13:31. > :13:35.could cause problems over Christmas? The council is worried it
:13:36. > :13:41.might cause disruption, coming up with a contingency plan meaning they
:13:42. > :13:45.would spend even to ?5,000 on agency workers if there are any problems.
:13:46. > :13:52.They have told staff they will not be getting any bonuses. `` to spend
:13:53. > :13:59.?75,000 on agency workers. They say it is not worth risking legal action
:14:00. > :14:02.on this. Thank you. Well, you've been getting in touch
:14:03. > :14:04.with us with your views about whether the binmen should be paid a
:14:05. > :14:21.bonus. Linda thinks if the binmen get a
:14:22. > :14:23.bonus, the council would then have to give bonuses to "dinner ladies,
:14:24. > :14:26.cleaners and other council employees." While Donna says it's
:14:27. > :14:29.their job description to collect rubbish. "If the binmen refuse to
:14:30. > :14:32.collect rubbish over the Christmas period, then give their job to
:14:33. > :14:39.someone who is willing!" Now, China's Ambassador was in the
:14:40. > :14:42.Potteries today. His Excellency Liu Xiaoming visited Stoke on Trent to
:14:43. > :14:45.discuss business and investment opportunities. It was a chance to
:14:46. > :14:48.showcase some of the Midlands exports, as the UK's trade with
:14:49. > :14:51.China continues to grow. Our Staffordshire reporter Liz Copper
:14:52. > :14:57.met the Ambassador. In Spode's China Hall, the meeting
:14:58. > :15:01.of two ceramic empires. This was a visit highlighting links that are
:15:02. > :15:10.both cultural and industrial. In China, we have more resellers, in
:15:11. > :15:14.terms of materials and I think the labour force is more competitive,
:15:15. > :15:22.but I think Stoke`on`Trent has its own strength in terms of know`how,
:15:23. > :15:27.high technology, new technology, very complementary to each other.
:15:28. > :15:30.This gives young designers their first fitting... The Ambassador was
:15:31. > :15:34.shown round the Biennial exhibition here. It's a celebration of all
:15:35. > :15:37.things ceramic. As well as seeing the work of the new ceramic
:15:38. > :15:41.designers, the ambassador is also holding talks with established
:15:42. > :15:47.pottery companies. Churchill China is one company with links stretching
:15:48. > :15:52.back more than two centuries. Its factory in Stoke on Trent utilises
:15:53. > :16:00.very modern Chinese equipment. There are not a lot of people around here
:16:01. > :16:06.making this. We are deciding it, having it builds, then it was
:16:07. > :16:12.shipped back here and in sold `` and installed and we are making 4000 ``
:16:13. > :16:15.we are making 400,000 pieces per week. At the Potteries Museum, the
:16:16. > :16:19.Ambassador was shown precious artefacts from the Staffordshire
:16:20. > :16:23.Hoard. This was a chance to showcase not just the area's history, but its
:16:24. > :16:32.potential for future investment. One of the conversations we had today
:16:33. > :16:35.was with an engineering company that invests in power with China,
:16:36. > :16:38.hopefully all of this leading to investment and jobs. Stoke on
:16:39. > :16:41.Trent's past is marked by the entrepreneurial spirit of potters
:16:42. > :16:44.whose ware became internationally famous. It's hoped this visit will
:16:45. > :16:51.spark new enterprises to boost business.
:16:52. > :16:52.This is our top story tonight. Plans to recruit 550 police officers
:16:53. > :16:59.to the West Midlands force over the Plans to recruit 550 police officers
:17:00. > :17:02.to the West Midlands force over `` by 2016. Your detailed weather
:17:03. > :17:05.forecast to come shortly from Shefali. Also in tonight's
:17:06. > :17:08.programme, a rugby resurgence. The challenge of rekindling the passion
:17:09. > :17:11.for the game of the seventies ahead of the World Cup.
:17:12. > :17:15.And join me in Stratford`upon`Avon where, for once, Shakespeare is
:17:16. > :17:24.taking a back seat as the town celebrates Halloween.
:17:25. > :17:29.Nearly 100 years on, the diaries have come to light of a First World
:17:30. > :17:33.War soldier recounting the horror of life and death in the trenches.
:17:34. > :17:35.Private Harold Drinkwater from Warwickshire fought with the
:17:36. > :17:40.so`called Birmingham "Pals" regiment and survived four years of
:17:41. > :17:44.slaughter. Never before published, they're being hailed as a unique and
:17:45. > :17:54.compelling account of the war it was said would end all wars. Giles
:17:55. > :18:00.Latcham has been read ing them. Outside, the error was livid as
:18:01. > :18:07.shrapnel was bursting. Come and gone in an instant... I took him into a
:18:08. > :18:12.shelter, but he was going fast, his leg practically blown off. I stayed
:18:13. > :18:20.with him until the end and saw him going West. The recruiting Sergeant
:18:21. > :18:25.said he was half an inch too short. But Harold Drinkwater wasn't easily
:18:26. > :18:28.deterred. He found his way to the western front with the 15th
:18:29. > :18:32.Warwickshire's, the Birmingham Pals, and he lived to tell the tale, day
:18:33. > :18:35.by day, in his diaries. She wanted to join, was a volunteer. He went
:18:36. > :18:42.into the trenches in 1915 and ensure years of warfare. `` she wanted to
:18:43. > :18:49.join. He came out with a gallantry award and survived, a real survivor,
:18:50. > :18:53.that came through to me. The original pencil handwritten
:18:54. > :18:56.diaries, written among the blood and mess of the trenches. A retired
:18:57. > :19:00.Birmingham businessman bought the diaries at an auction 30 years ago
:19:01. > :19:04.and quickly realised their author was a man out of the ordinary. He is
:19:05. > :19:09.as tough as nails and change through every page of the diary, that he is
:19:10. > :19:16.not going to be beaten, come what may, he will not be beaten. Harold
:19:17. > :19:19.Drinkwater was born here in Stratford upon Avon in 1889, one of
:19:20. > :19:23.five children of a well`to`do boot maker. He was educated at the same
:19:24. > :19:28.school as Shakespeare. Maybe it was here that he learned to tell a
:19:29. > :19:35.story. And what a story it is. I tumbled into the trenches myself,
:19:36. > :19:40.almost on top of the man lying on top of their Germans. This is not
:19:41. > :19:47.war, it is slaughter, snowman, however brave, can advance against
:19:48. > :19:53.shower of bullets. `` no man, however brave. It tells the story of
:19:54. > :19:57.men, since boyhood, going to work together.
:19:58. > :20:03.When they went into action, they would probably die together. Private
:20:04. > :20:08.Harold Drinkwater went on to become a civil servant, really speaking of
:20:09. > :20:15.the war that too many of his friends. Through his words, the war
:20:16. > :20:18.echoes back to us. Talks are to go ahead between the
:20:19. > :20:22.owners of Coventry City football club and Coventry Council over the
:20:23. > :20:25.future of the Ricoh Arena. The club's owner, Joy Seppala, has
:20:26. > :20:28.written to council leader Ann Lucas accepting the offer of a meeting.
:20:29. > :20:32.Coventry City moved out of the Ricoh in the summer in a row over rent.
:20:33. > :20:37.The arena is 50% owned by the council.
:20:38. > :20:40.Rugby lovers are hoping the World Cup will help restore Birmingham's
:20:41. > :20:43.reputation as a centre for the sport. Two matches in the 2015
:20:44. > :20:47.tournament will be staged at Villa Park. A conference was held there
:20:48. > :20:49.today to look at plans to increase the game's popularity. Nick
:20:50. > :20:54.Clitheroe reports. Rugby's greatest prize. The Webb
:20:55. > :20:57.Ellis Trophy. The World Cup was at Villa Park this morning, safely in
:20:58. > :21:04.the hands of Will Greenwood, one of England's winning side of 2003. In
:21:05. > :21:07.2015, this ground will stage two group matches in the next
:21:08. > :21:10.tournament. The challenge for Birmingham is to use that
:21:11. > :21:15.opportunity to raise the profile of rugby in the city. I think we have
:21:16. > :21:19.to work with the RDF view, getting that investment into Birmingham,
:21:20. > :21:26.building the facilities and investing coaches. `` work with the
:21:27. > :21:30.RFU. See this city not just in the top league of rugby, but have people
:21:31. > :21:34.from this city laying in the England team. So two years out from the
:21:35. > :21:37.tournament, hundreds of people who love the sport gathered this morning
:21:38. > :21:41.to discuss ways to share that passion with the wider population.
:21:42. > :21:44.There are views that the Asian community are not interested, but we
:21:45. > :21:48.found through working with schools that is not the case. We want
:21:49. > :21:53.everybody. Birmingham does have a fine rugby history. In the 1970s,
:21:54. > :21:57.Moseley were one of the best teams in the land. But they failed to cope
:21:58. > :21:59.with the sport's transformation to professionalism. After some
:22:00. > :22:02.difficult years, Moseley have been rebuilt as a community club.
:22:03. > :22:05.Planning permission has been granted for a new stand at their Billesley
:22:06. > :22:12.Common ground, but with extensive facilities for other sports too.
:22:13. > :22:18.Given that we are the second city, we should be able to generate more
:22:19. > :22:22.rugby in the city and build on such an assist `` build on such
:22:23. > :22:27.initiatives as the Rugby World Cup coming in the next few years and, by
:22:28. > :22:30.increasing participation, the community game, building new
:22:31. > :22:38.facilities that will help us move that former. `` move that former.
:22:39. > :22:42.There's certainly still a demand. Moseley have 17 teams from the first
:22:43. > :22:45.15 to the amateurs of Moseley Oak. But if Birmingham wants to become a
:22:46. > :22:47.true rugby city once again, then that World Cup legacy cannot be
:22:48. > :22:53.wasted. Now in case you hadn't noticed, it's
:22:54. > :22:55.31st October. Halloween! You would think with the Shakespeare
:22:56. > :22:57.connections and the beautiful Warwickshire countryside, businesses
:22:58. > :23:01.in Stratford upon Avon wouldn't need to do anymore to draw visitors. But
:23:02. > :23:04.they've been embracing the Halloween spirit, with a festival which has
:23:05. > :23:08.actually lasted for the whole of this month. Ben Sidwell's in
:23:09. > :23:16.Stratford for us now. So are ghosts big business? I tell you what,
:23:17. > :23:24.Halloween is big business. We spent ?12 million net in 2001. We are
:23:25. > :23:29.expected to spend this year, the third biggest event behind Christmas
:23:30. > :23:35.and Easter. Festival is the longest anywhere in the country, funded, run
:23:36. > :23:38.and organised by local businesses. Let me speak to the organiser Dave
:23:39. > :23:45.Matthews. Why do it? You have Shakespeare's here. There is more to
:23:46. > :23:52.Stratford than Shakespeare. It is a quiet time, the main to this season
:23:53. > :23:54.over, 1000 people will come to Stratford for the Halloween
:23:55. > :24:00.festival, massive business for the town! Was is it about Halloween,
:24:01. > :24:06.that aims to have only taken off in the last few years? I think it is
:24:07. > :24:16.back to basics. We have had programmes like Great British Bake
:24:17. > :24:23.Off, and this is about getting together, doing things as a family.
:24:24. > :24:29.Ticket sales for things like walking here, ?400,000. 100,000 visitors. We
:24:30. > :24:36.are talking about 14,000 tickets just for the pumpkin father. All of
:24:37. > :24:41.its funded and supported by independent businesses. Not just
:24:42. > :24:50.things going bump in the night, not what it is all about? No, this is
:24:51. > :24:53.very much an art festival. There are performances such as Phantom of the
:24:54. > :24:58.Opera. We have storytelling, arts programmes, face painting, all sorts
:24:59. > :25:05.of things for the family. It is getting dark, but the night is young
:25:06. > :25:07.in Halloween terms. If you are stalling across the streets of
:25:08. > :25:12.Stratford, watch out, because you are night `` you are never quite
:25:13. > :25:16.sure few you will meet. True indeed. Thank you.
:25:17. > :25:22.Last day of October. Earlier in the week, Shefali was warning us it
:25:23. > :25:25.could be a very wet start to November. Still the case?
:25:26. > :25:29.It is, but we hope not to see a repeat of the stormy conditions that
:25:30. > :25:37.we saw in the south of the country. As far as the Midlands go, it does
:25:38. > :25:40.not look like anything major, but if you are out and about this evening,
:25:41. > :25:46.or have some Halloween parties planned outdoors, things could be
:25:47. > :25:50.worse. We are looking at some showers, but also quite cold, and
:25:51. > :25:55.with the cloud, temperatures not as low as previous nights. Tomorrow
:25:56. > :25:59.looks more menacing. We have low`pressure moving from the
:26:00. > :26:03.south`west. The heaviest rain will stay to the south of us, but still
:26:04. > :26:08.containing some heavy rain. The wind will be like. I pressure builds for
:26:09. > :26:14.Saturday, then the next system closing from the West. `` higher
:26:15. > :26:19.pressure builds. The key points for the weekend are starting off dry on
:26:20. > :26:25.Saturday, but Saturday will be the wettest of all, meaning that if you
:26:26. > :26:29.are holding any bonfires those could be affected. Quite windy, heavy
:26:30. > :26:34.showers, followed by gusty wind on Sunday. But this evening, some
:26:35. > :26:40.showers around, mainly confined to the north of the region. And as
:26:41. > :26:43.those die away, clear spells developing across parts of
:26:44. > :26:48.Staffordshire, temperatures could be low at seven Celsius. Otherwise
:26:49. > :26:56.quite cloudy tonight, temperatures down to 10 Celsius in the side.
:26:57. > :26:59.Towards the end of the night, the next system appealing in western
:27:00. > :27:04.fringes, not going until tomorrow morning. Driver the eastern half of
:27:05. > :27:09.the region, then rain moves in from the west, stretching across all
:27:10. > :27:14.parts by the end of the day. Tomorrow will be wet, fairly heavy
:27:15. > :27:18.rain across the north, but light to moderate elsewhere. Temperatures
:27:19. > :27:21.rising to about 12`13dC, but with light winds. That is something, at
:27:22. > :27:27.least. Tonight's headlines from the BBC. A
:27:28. > :27:30.day of revelations at the hacking trial. From a secret affair to
:27:31. > :27:33.intercepting the voice mails of rival journalists.
:27:34. > :27:35.And plans to recruit 550 police officers to the West Midlands force
:27:36. > :27:41.over the next two years. That was the Midlands Today. I'll be
:27:42. > :27:45.back at ten o'clock with the latest on the search for the mother of a
:27:46. > :27:46.baby abandoned in a public park. Hope you can join me then. Have a
:27:47. > :28:25.good Planet Earth - it's unique.
:28:26. > :28:29.It has life. To understand why, we're going to
:28:30. > :28:36.build a planet...up there.