:00:00. > :00:00.BBC weather website. That is it all from the BBC's News
:00:00. > :00:08.Hello, welcome to Midlands Today. The headlines tonight.
:00:09. > :00:11.As thousands of cannabis plants are grown in suburban homes across the
:00:12. > :00:19.West Midlands, could this be the latest weapon in the fight against
:00:20. > :00:25.drugs? Scratch and sniff cards. Each property that is used as a cannabis
:00:26. > :00:28.farm is not housing a family or other people who are in housing
:00:29. > :00:30.need. We'll be asking an expert about the increasing problem of
:00:31. > :00:33.cannabis farms across the region. Also tonight, a criminal
:00:34. > :00:38.investigation begins into the death of a 90`year`old patient at Stafford
:00:39. > :00:42.Hospital five years ago. One of the best of his generation `
:00:43. > :00:48.the funeral takes place of a Staffordshire soldier killed by a
:00:49. > :00:53.suicide bomber in Afghanistan. He was a smashing guy, a professional
:00:54. > :00:55.soldier. A brilliant dad and a fantastic husband.
:00:56. > :01:00.The new wave of bands known as B`Town, adding a new chapter to
:01:01. > :01:04.Birmingham's rich musical history. And while some are calling it an
:01:05. > :01:07.Arctic blast, others might say it was just a brief windy spell with a
:01:08. > :01:19.dip in temperatures. Either way, it's coming. All the details for you
:01:20. > :01:28.later. Good evening. A surge in the number
:01:29. > :01:31.of cannabis farms on inner`city estates has prompted the council to
:01:32. > :01:37.give scratch and sniff cards to raise awareness among residents. It
:01:38. > :01:41.is hoped they will help police drive drugs off our streets. Birmingham
:01:42. > :01:45.city council say they evicted 20 residents for cultivating cannabis
:01:46. > :01:49.in their homes. West Midlands Police say they have destroyed more than
:01:50. > :01:55.400 cannabis farms at this year alone and with each plant estimated
:01:56. > :02:00.to be worth ?450 each, it is a big business that can ruin communities.
:02:01. > :02:06.In a suburban street in Birmingham, this is what is going on behind
:02:07. > :02:10.sealed windows. Cannabis farms. The criminals tapped into the main
:02:11. > :02:15.delicacy supplier, putting the safety of the house and neighbours
:02:16. > :02:19.at risk. This cannabis farm is being destroyed. It is on a lovely
:02:20. > :02:23.residential street in Birmingham. Whilst many people think that
:02:24. > :02:27.cannabis is harmless, these farms are being run by organised crime
:02:28. > :02:34.gangs and the question is, how would you feel living next door to one?
:02:35. > :02:37.This man is still worried about drug dealers in his community after a
:02:38. > :02:42.cannabis farm was raided in his street. There are decent people
:02:43. > :02:52.living here. We don't want this problem. I wanted quiet life. I
:02:53. > :02:56.don't want to be living with 90 or a hundred people a day wandering
:02:57. > :03:00.around the block. Birmingham City Council say they have a zero
:03:01. > :03:05.tolerance approach to cannabis farms. They have already arrested
:03:06. > :03:10.people this year. It's not just people having a few plants on the
:03:11. > :03:14.balcony. It is taking over entire properties and bringing undesirable
:03:15. > :03:20.people into the road at all hours of the day. Cannabis scented scratch
:03:21. > :03:26.and sniff cards are now being issued to help the public identify the
:03:27. > :03:32.drugs in communities. But can a scented card be an essential part of
:03:33. > :03:39.a good citizen's toolkit? I wouldn't be able to tell if it was cannabis
:03:40. > :03:45.or not? No. Just a funny, grassy smell. It would register. I don't
:03:46. > :03:51.know what cannabis smells like! Police cannabis disposal experts say
:03:52. > :03:58.the cards are drawing attention to a problem. It is representative of the
:03:59. > :04:02.smell. There are lots of different strains of cannabis but this
:04:03. > :04:05.educates people. Anyone who thinks there may be a cannabis farm in
:04:06. > :04:12.their neighbourhood can contact Crimestoppers.
:04:13. > :04:17.With us as Marcio Dixon who helps people in the community with
:04:18. > :04:22.problems. Good evening. What you think the scratch and sniff cards? I
:04:23. > :04:26.agree that the police need to be doing as much as they can to raise
:04:27. > :04:30.the profile that they are doing something about is you. And also
:04:31. > :04:37.involving communities and make them more aware. Do using these will
:04:38. > :04:40.help? Potentially. There will be some people who won't mind
:04:41. > :04:43.contacting the police to let them know information and other people
:04:44. > :04:50.will stay away from that kind of involvement. How big is the problem
:04:51. > :04:56.with the cannabis farms in the immunity? We have seen a lot of
:04:57. > :05:01.people coming through who were using `` you are using cannabis who were
:05:02. > :05:05.not using it before. That may or may not be a direct result of having
:05:06. > :05:09.more cannabis farms around. But with the economic downturn that we have,
:05:10. > :05:14.people look at different ways of being able to earn. We talk about
:05:15. > :05:22.cannabis farms, can you explain what they are? It is a way of describing
:05:23. > :05:26.a place that people have set up. It could be just somebody's living room
:05:27. > :05:36.or bedroom. It could be the entire flat. That has been converted. What
:05:37. > :05:41.are the problems for young people taking cannabis? We have seen with
:05:42. > :05:50.young people that they are taking cannabis from the age of 12 or 13.
:05:51. > :05:54.That young? Yes. People are talking about their drug issues and why they
:05:55. > :05:58.were using from an early age so we are able to see that some people are
:05:59. > :06:04.suffering from mental health problems. The jury is still out,
:06:05. > :06:07.were they predisposed or has the cannabis sparked that? It is
:06:08. > :06:14.difficult to say but some of the impact that we have seen is
:06:15. > :06:19.financially, mental health and that fascination `` and the observation
:06:20. > :06:22.that people are more withdrawn. Coming up later in the programme,
:06:23. > :06:31.why a Warwickshire town's trying to become the first in the region to be
:06:32. > :06:35.designated 'dementia`friendly'. For the second time, a criminal
:06:36. > :06:40.investigation is underway into the death of a patient at Stafford
:06:41. > :06:44.Hospital. It follows a major review by Staffordshire Police and the
:06:45. > :06:49.Health and Safety Executive into death at the hospital between 2005
:06:50. > :06:54.in 2009. The latest investigation will focus on the death of a 90 year
:06:55. > :07:01.madwoman in 2008. Liz Kopper joins us from Stafford Hospital. What do
:07:02. > :07:12.we know about this latest case? This is the case of 90`year`old IV barn
:07:13. > :07:17.`` IV barn. She came here after she suffered a fall in her home in
:07:18. > :07:22.Stafford. Over the next four days, she had a further three falls at the
:07:23. > :07:27.hospital, commentating in her death. Details of her case are being passed
:07:28. > :07:33.from the police to the Health and Safety Executive who will be taking
:07:34. > :07:37.the X `` examination further. This follows the case of Gillian Astbury
:07:38. > :07:41.where there was an HSE prosecution. In her case, the trust pleaded
:07:42. > :07:46.guilty. We are expecting a sentence in the New Year. What further
:07:47. > :07:52.details have the police given? They have given us details of the
:07:53. > :07:57.progress of the investigation. You get a sense of the scale and scope
:07:58. > :08:03.of that investigation. 209 cases are being looked at. A specially trained
:08:04. > :08:08.team of officers is looking at the evidence. All the families have
:08:09. > :08:17.their own designated police officer to keep them in touch. So what next,
:08:18. > :08:23.lays? The police have another 173 cases to look at and they say it is
:08:24. > :08:28.complicated by the nature of the investigation. In some of those
:08:29. > :08:32.cases, the police have yet to trace relatives of the patient in the
:08:33. > :08:39.hospital. This investigation involves not only the police, also
:08:40. > :08:45.the CPS, the Care Quality Commission, the nursing admin `` the
:08:46. > :08:50.Nursing and Midwifery Council. So it shows how all`encompassing the
:08:51. > :08:54.investigation is. The funeral is taking place of a
:08:55. > :08:58.soldier from Staffordshire who was described as one of the best of his
:08:59. > :09:08.generation. Warrant Officer Ian Fisher of the 3rd Battalion, was
:09:09. > :09:17.blown up in how manned. `` was blown up in how manned.
:09:18. > :09:24.A straight talking soldier, one of the best many of us had ever worked
:09:25. > :09:28.with. At Lichfield Cathedral, serving soldiers and old soldiers
:09:29. > :09:40.pay their respects. It has left an entire regiment numb. When he comes
:09:41. > :09:46.`` I still keep thinking he will come back on the next flight. He had
:09:47. > :09:49.been a master of Warrior tanks. He had relished the strategy of
:09:50. > :09:59.manoeuvring them to keep his troops say. He was 42 years old. He leaves
:10:00. > :10:09.behind a widow and two young sons. Ian Fisher was the 446 member of the
:10:10. > :10:12.armed forces to be killed in Afghanistan since 1991. The kernel
:10:13. > :10:17.of the regiment said that he had lost count of the number of funerals
:10:18. > :10:27.like this he had attended. `` the Army colonel. As we face a
:10:28. > :10:33.determined and very capable foe, we also need to match and over match
:10:34. > :10:40.him in everything we do. I am very confident that we do `` what we do
:10:41. > :10:46.as an Army is supported by the people whom we serve. Warrant
:10:47. > :10:50.Officer Ian Fisher ask for the music from the film Gladiator to be played
:10:51. > :11:05.at his funeral. A soldier to the end.
:11:06. > :11:07.A hundred and forty jobs are at risk after the Birmingham`based
:11:08. > :11:12.stationery firm Osbournes went into administration. Staff at its head
:11:13. > :11:16.office and 20 branches were told today. The company was founded as a
:11:17. > :11:20.printers in the city centre in 1832. All of the stores are being kept
:11:21. > :11:24.open in the run up to Christmas ` and it's hoped a buyer can be found.
:11:25. > :11:27.It has been a difficult time for the high Street which has come and it is
:11:28. > :11:33.in making losses over the last two years. The decision was made by the
:11:34. > :11:35.directors to place the company into administration. That would give it
:11:36. > :11:39.the best chance of finding a positive solution. The Chief
:11:40. > :11:43.Constable of the West Midlands has announced he's ending the practice
:11:44. > :11:45.of forcing police officers to retire once they've completed 30 years
:11:46. > :11:49.service. It follows a consultation about the use of the A19 pension
:11:50. > :11:54.regulation which has resulted in 559 officers leaving since it was
:11:55. > :11:58.brought in in March 2011. As well as now being able to keep experienced
:11:59. > :12:04.staff the force also plans to start recruiting next year.
:12:05. > :12:08.Anyone caught driving under the influence of drink or drugs over the
:12:09. > :12:13.festive period is to be named online by West Midlands Police. They're
:12:14. > :12:17.also offering 200 pounds to anyone who reports a driver who's
:12:18. > :12:25.subsequently convicted. The names of people charged will be published on
:12:26. > :12:29.the police website and on twitter. Protesters from the Midlands
:12:30. > :12:34.fighting for the removal of shared space road layouts, where cars,
:12:35. > :12:40.buses and pedestrians have equal priority, have taken their campaign
:12:41. > :12:44.to Westminster. The group, calling itself Sea of Change, want traffic
:12:45. > :12:48.lights put back on various road schemes in Coventry, Warwick and
:12:49. > :12:52.Leek town centres. They say they don't feel safe but official figures
:12:53. > :12:58.show the crossings are safer than what they replaced.
:12:59. > :13:03.This is the film that the campaign group Sea of Change took to
:13:04. > :13:07.Westminster. It shows a blind people struggling to deal with so`called
:13:08. > :13:11.shared spaces in Warwick and commentary. Coventry resident Jim
:13:12. > :13:17.Smallman is featured, he has long campaigned against them. I hope the
:13:18. > :13:22.government will listen to our problems. They have taken our lights
:13:23. > :13:28.away. But them back so that we can use our city like we used to. The
:13:29. > :13:33.campaign has been organised by Sarah Gayton who became involved when a
:13:34. > :13:40.similar scheme was introduced in another town. Blind schema `` blind
:13:41. > :13:47.people are being excluded from the city centre. They are staying at
:13:48. > :13:53.home. Today, their film was screened to a selected audience including
:13:54. > :14:01.MPs, and people from the Dutch embassy from where the idea of
:14:02. > :14:06.shared spaces originated. But it is insisted that traffic lights for
:14:07. > :14:10.strivers to slow down. Statistics show there has been a fall in
:14:11. > :14:18.accidents at junctions like these. The speed of cars has also fallen
:14:19. > :14:22.from around 24 mph to 60 mph. In the five years before this was implement
:14:23. > :14:30.it, there were 16 accidents. Since then, it there have been none. It is
:14:31. > :14:33.safer than it ever was. The statistics may be stark, but Guide
:14:34. > :14:39.Dogs for the Blind want things to be done. The council have listen to
:14:40. > :14:43.some of our suggestions, but they have ignored others. You end up in
:14:44. > :14:48.an area like this that blind and partially sighted people cannot
:14:49. > :14:51.access. The council is under pressure to add traffic lights but
:14:52. > :15:00.they insist that that would put more people at risk.
:15:01. > :15:05.Our top story tonight, as the number of cannabis factories surge ``
:15:06. > :15:11.surges across our region, residents are being given scratch and sniff
:15:12. > :15:14.cards they can detect the drug. Your weekend weather forecast comes
:15:15. > :15:19.later. Also, a new sound wafting across
:15:20. > :15:25.Birmingham, the new guitar bands known as B`Town. And with the
:15:26. > :15:30.weather getting colder, we find out if the gritters are ready and who
:15:31. > :15:33.decides where and when to send them out.
:15:34. > :15:40.If you have a story that we should be covering, please get in touch.
:15:41. > :15:55.You can e`mail us or reach us on Facebook.
:15:56. > :15:58.A Warwickshire town is aiming to be the first dimension friendly
:15:59. > :16:02.community. There are millions of people with dementia in the UK with
:16:03. > :16:11.numbers set to rise to 1.7 million in the UK `` I2018. An estimated 21
:16:12. > :16:16.million people in England have a close friend or family member with
:16:17. > :16:20.dementia. The Alzheimer's Society believes more should be done to
:16:21. > :16:27.reduce the stigma, a bit `` amid concerns people with the disease and
:16:28. > :16:31.feel isolated. In the 1960s, Ted Hemming was a male
:16:32. > :16:38.supermodel. His face was seen on billboards around the world. Today,
:16:39. > :16:45.the 75`year`old struggles to recall much of his exuberant youth. Ted has
:16:46. > :16:49.Alzheimer's disease, the most common form of dementia. He grew up in
:16:50. > :16:56.Ulster, and he is here with his wife ready to convince people that
:16:57. > :17:00.dementia can affect anyone. I would come home and found him wandering
:17:01. > :17:05.around. In the end `` in the past, it was not talked about. It was
:17:06. > :17:10.like, mental illness, you mustn't say anything. Now it is out in the
:17:11. > :17:14.open. From shops to public transport, the Alzheimer's Society
:17:15. > :17:19.is challenging people to create a dimension friendly community. There
:17:20. > :17:23.are criteria, including a willingness to breakdown stigma,
:17:24. > :17:27.increasing awareness of the condition and also local health
:17:28. > :17:35.professionals should ensure access to early diagnosis. The Alcesterr
:17:36. > :17:45.campaign opened here two years ago. Families affected me tear to share
:17:46. > :17:49.stories. This woman's mother died a few years ago with the disease. We
:17:50. > :17:53.do singing and dancing, she would have had a go at it. Just because
:17:54. > :17:58.you have dementia, you don't forget what you used to do. Ted Hemming has
:17:59. > :18:10.been used to fronting campaigns but this one is closest to his heart.
:18:11. > :18:14.We are joined by David Ash, Midlands operations manager for the L Simon
:18:15. > :18:23.Society. What is the picture for the West Midlands, do we have a figure
:18:24. > :18:31.for the numbers? The picture around diagnosis rates is varied. 64% of
:18:32. > :18:38.people get a diagnosis but only 32% in other parts get a diagnosis.
:18:39. > :18:42.Herefordshire is the worst for diagnosis in the UK. What do you
:18:43. > :18:49.make of the idea of a dimension friendly community? It is a really
:18:50. > :18:53.lovely initiative. The idea being that dimension friendly communities
:18:54. > :19:00.allow people to engage in the community, very often with people ``
:19:01. > :19:06.people with a diagnosis withdrawing to a family unit. A lot of their
:19:07. > :19:09.friends do not want to talk to them because it is awkward or difficult.
:19:10. > :19:18.A dimension friendly community mean that more people will be aware of
:19:19. > :19:22.dementia and organisations within the community will also be aware.
:19:23. > :19:27.They will be able to engage in their community and feel more supported.
:19:28. > :19:32.Perhaps this could be done in Herefordshire, why is it so bad in
:19:33. > :19:40.that county? It is difficult to say. Sometimes it is around resources.
:19:41. > :19:47.Sometimes there is no not the organisation. Some councils have put
:19:48. > :19:51.money into memory clinics. A great example of a dimension friendly
:19:52. > :19:55.community is the Courtyard Theatre in Herefordshire which has done
:19:56. > :20:02.loads of work to raise awareness of dementia. But we also need loads of
:20:03. > :20:08.good as Asians to sign up as dementia friends.
:20:09. > :20:14.There is a new type of music in the air to add to Birmingham's musical
:20:15. > :20:20.heritage. Bands like Duran Duran have sold millions of records but a
:20:21. > :20:34.more recent scene has emerged in B`Town, based around guitar bands.
:20:35. > :20:44.The glory days returning the city? In rehearsals for their biggest
:20:45. > :20:51.headline tour so far. Peace are a big band. This scene has been around
:20:52. > :21:00.for a lot longer, people are just starting to notice. The National
:21:01. > :21:11.music and media have labelled the current music scene B`Town. Peace's
:21:12. > :21:25.album has made the top 20. I guess we were lucky, we were always making
:21:26. > :21:33.the first impression a bit. But it is not just Peace glove enjoyed
:21:34. > :21:38.chart success. Swim Deep have also seen their album go top 20. But not
:21:39. > :21:43.everybody in Birmingham wants to be associated with the B`Town band. It
:21:44. > :21:47.started to great with people in Birmingham. There was a backlash
:21:48. > :21:54.with people saying they didn't want to be called a B`Town band. But it
:21:55. > :21:56.had people talking about Birmingham. They were not
:21:57. > :22:05.necessarily have talked about the city before. `` they would not
:22:06. > :22:08.necessarily. Despite the hype, the two biggest musical successes to
:22:09. > :22:11.come out of Birmingham have got nothing to do with B`Town. The
:22:12. > :22:21.re`emergence of black sabbath saw their new album topped the charts
:22:22. > :22:27.across the world. And soul singer Laura Mvula's debut album was a top
:22:28. > :22:38.ten Hill `` top ten hit. She was also a big winner of a MOBO award.
:22:39. > :22:43.Despite getting the publicity, Peace are keen to lose the B`Town label
:22:44. > :22:49.and forge their own identity. No one is ashamed to say that they started
:22:50. > :22:59.in Birmingham, . It hasn't been a hindrance. B`Town may be a fad, but
:23:00. > :23:04.with Peace doing their tool up to `` in front of 3000 fans in Birmingham,
:23:05. > :23:11.the biggest band to come out of the scene could have a much longer
:23:12. > :23:15.appeal. The weather forecast in a moment. It
:23:16. > :23:24.is due to get colder. The gritters will be on stand`by, but who decides
:23:25. > :23:27.where to send them, and when? Last winter, Staffordshire's
:23:28. > :23:33.highways team were coping with freezing temperatures and snow fall
:23:34. > :23:37.between December and April. The team is ready and waiting in case it
:23:38. > :23:41.should happen again. But it is not as simple as watching the forecast.
:23:42. > :23:47.There is a science as to how much grit goes down. This tells us what
:23:48. > :23:52.the weather is going to be like for the next week. We can see that it is
:23:53. > :23:57.going to be cold overnight for the next five or seven days. So we need
:23:58. > :24:03.to get ready for action and we will probably get `` be going out
:24:04. > :24:07.gritting. The data includes the ground temperature and weather snow
:24:08. > :24:13.is likely or not. Unlike regional forecasts, it can forecast exact
:24:14. > :24:16.conditions on different roads. This is one of several weather stations
:24:17. > :24:20.around Staffordshire. It records weather conditions around it which
:24:21. > :24:27.is sent to the depot which knows where to great. Tonnes of great have
:24:28. > :24:30.already been stockpiled with an extra 10,000 tonnes in reserve. That
:24:31. > :24:34.should keep us moving and there is a science about how it works. It is
:24:35. > :24:39.mixed with Brian and molasses to make sure it sticks to the road.
:24:40. > :24:44.What we are trying to do is get the right amount of this, sold, or
:24:45. > :24:50.great, onto the road, mixed to the moisture on the road, so it stops it
:24:51. > :24:54.freezing. It does not stop there. High`tech gritting lorries are
:24:55. > :24:59.helping those that go out to keep us moving. It can control the width of
:25:00. > :25:04.the spread, the angle of the spread and how much we apply. And with the
:25:05. > :25:11.cold weather only just starting, there is a busy few months in wait
:25:12. > :25:13.for our teens. Probably not cold enough for
:25:14. > :25:23.gritting yet, but who knows? The gritters will need to be out
:25:24. > :25:27.later in the week, because it is turning colder. All the hype
:25:28. > :25:31.surrounding the Arctic blast is probably not worth the bother. It is
:25:32. > :25:37.only with us for a brief period of time and it is will `` it will be
:25:38. > :25:41.mainly affecting the Northern part of the country, not the Midlands.
:25:42. > :25:46.This is how I would sum up the next bit of the week, it will be windy on
:25:47. > :25:53.Thursday and colder by Friday. It is this area to the north`east with the
:25:54. > :25:57.tightly packed isobars and the cold from sinking southwards during
:25:58. > :26:02.Thursday. Behind that is the colder air. We can see what is going on in
:26:03. > :26:06.Technicolor and in pictures from this air mass child. Milder air
:26:07. > :26:11.coming across on Thursday but it is on the cusp of his colder air which
:26:12. > :26:14.will be rushing along with these north`westerly winds behind it. That
:26:15. > :26:24.is what is bringing the cold to riches on Friday. Tonight, a lot of
:26:25. > :26:28.cold air with a cold front. That is bringing light, patchy rain. But we
:26:29. > :26:35.are looking at the odd heavy burst in that. It is moving quickly. As it
:26:36. > :26:43.clears, temperatures fall. There is just the slim chance of a bit of ice
:26:44. > :26:47.on untreated services because of the damp and falling to bridges. This
:26:48. > :26:52.rain will be clearing southwards tomorrow morning. Then a largely dry
:26:53. > :26:58.day. Just the odd shower. In a lot of sunshine developing from the
:26:59. > :27:07.North. Ten bridges will rise to about 79 `` seven or nine Celsius.
:27:08. > :27:11.Tomorrow night, the skies were clear so we are looking a fairly
:27:12. > :27:25.widespread frost. It images below freezing in the countryside. ``
:27:26. > :27:36.temperatures below freezing. The headlines. Britain's
:27:37. > :27:40.schoolchildren for further behind in the global classroom. And a surge in
:27:41. > :27:45.the number of cannabis farms across the West Midlands. A criminal
:27:46. > :27:47.investigation into the death of a 90`year`old woman at Stafford
:27:48. > :27:49.Hospital. I will be