:00:00. > :00:08.throughout the evening on the BBC News Channel. We are back with
:00:09. > :00:11.Good evening. Shopping centres across the region
:00:12. > :00:15.have been busy today as thousands of people turned out for the Boxing Day
:00:16. > :00:18.sales. There were 100 metre queues to get into Telford Shopping Centre
:00:19. > :00:21.at 6am, while retail managers in Cheltenham and Coventry were both
:00:22. > :00:25.expecting more than 25,000 shoppers today. And customers also seemed
:00:26. > :00:36.ready to spend, as Sarah Falkland reports.
:00:37. > :00:43.It is quarter to six. Are you ready to shop?
:00:44. > :00:48.That is all 2000 of them ready to spend money. That is how long the
:00:49. > :00:54.queue was at Next at 6pm. Right at the front was this lady with a
:00:55. > :01:03.raffle ticket. How long have you been waiting?
:01:04. > :01:09.Six `` since 12:30am. And the queue at Selfridge's began
:01:10. > :01:16.to grow. This woman had been holding the top spot since 4am.
:01:17. > :01:21.It is the adrenaline rush that I get being the first and spending money.
:01:22. > :01:30.An estimated 200,000 people will be shopping in the Ball ring today.
:01:31. > :01:36.Football is down than before Christmas. But to spend is up. How
:01:37. > :01:45.much have you spent? ?1400. It took me half an hour. I've
:01:46. > :01:49.bought three of my siblings with me. I am feeling all right and happy.
:01:50. > :01:53.Do you think that you got good bargains?
:01:54. > :01:57.Yes, I did. I got a whole wardrobe for my husband and.
:01:58. > :02:04.It has been a very strong start for us today. Next and Selfridge's
:02:05. > :02:09.queues were probably longer than they have been in years.
:02:10. > :02:15.But what of Rebecca, who was hoping to buy designer handbags?
:02:16. > :02:20.There was a blue one on the side, I thought I wasn't sure, I later went
:02:21. > :02:31.back and it was gone. The moral of the sales, those who
:02:32. > :02:34.snooze lose. Insurance assessors have been
:02:35. > :02:36.examining the wreckage of flats and businesses destroyed by fire in the
:02:37. > :02:39.centre of Birmingham yesterday. Firefighters were called to
:02:40. > :02:42.properties above a shisha bar on Digbeth high street early on
:02:43. > :02:45.Christmas morning. Two people were taken to hospital with broken bones
:02:46. > :02:48.after jumping to safety. 11 more were rescued from neighbouring
:02:49. > :02:51.buildings. Detectives have been given extra
:02:52. > :02:54.time to question a man after the body of an elderly man was found in
:02:55. > :02:57.Stafford. The 22`year`old was arrested on suspicion of being unfit
:02:58. > :03:01.to drive through either drink or drugs. The body was found in
:03:02. > :03:04.Shakespeare Road in Highfields in the early hours of Christmas
:03:05. > :03:07.morning. And an investigation's under way
:03:08. > :03:11.into the death of a man in Kidderminster. He was found this
:03:12. > :03:14.morning in a pond in the front garden of a house in Chaucer
:03:15. > :03:15.Crescent. He hasn't yet been formally identified by West Mercia
:03:16. > :03:18.Police. Moving onto sport and today's
:03:19. > :03:21.football fixtures. We'll start with the Premier League, where Aston
:03:22. > :03:24.Villa lost to Crystal Palace 1`0. Stoke City travelled to Newcastle
:03:25. > :03:30.and were also beaten, 5`1. West Bromwich Albion held Tottenham to a
:03:31. > :03:33.1`1 draw. In the Championship, there was a
:03:34. > :03:36.draw too for Birmingham City, who ended the match against Wigan 0`0.
:03:37. > :03:39.Onto League One now and Coventry beat Peterborough 4`2. Walsall lost
:03:40. > :03:42.to Bristol City, 1`0. Port Vale were at home to Notts County, beating
:03:43. > :03:51.them 2`1. Shrewsbury lost to Tranmere 1`0. Wolves came away with
:03:52. > :03:54.a win, beating Crewe 2`0. In League Two, Burton Albion beat
:03:55. > :03:58.Northampton, the score there 1`0. And it was a similar story at
:03:59. > :04:03.Cheltenham, who beat Exeter 1`0. Finally the Conference, with a 1`1
:04:04. > :04:09.draw between Tamworth and Nuneaton. And Kidderminster beat Hereford 2`1.
:04:10. > :04:17.Time to check on the Midlands weather now.
:04:18. > :04:24.Good evening. We have wet and windy conditions now because of this low
:04:25. > :04:29.pressure. It has been developing out of the Atlantic and has begun to
:04:30. > :04:36.work its way in. It will increase the wind, up to 50 mph. This band of
:04:37. > :04:41.rain moving to the east. There will be localised flooding. Throughout
:04:42. > :04:47.the first part of tomorrow morning, then, once the rain clears, there
:04:48. > :04:53.will be some brightness, but it will stay very windy. The winds will read
:04:54. > :04:56.is `` reach gale force at times. But better weather on the way for the
:04:57. > :05:00.weekend. More on the weather in a moment. And
:05:01. > :05:06.the programme will be back at 10:15pm. Goodbye.
:05:07. > :05:13.Hello there, most of us have had a quiet Boxing Day, mostly dry,
:05:14. > :05:17.chilly, lingering mist, light winds. That is all about to change. The
:05:18. > :05:23.next storm arriving on our doorstep right now, over night tonight will
:05:24. > :05:27.see wet and windy weather. The winds peak tomorrow lunchtime. It has
:05:28. > :05:31.started raining in Cornwall, the rain will sweep eastwards. For all
:05:32. > :05:38.of us overnight wet and windy weather. Snow to the Pennines. For
:05:39. > :05:45.most of us wet and very windy. 40-50mph gusts inland, 60-70mph
:05:46. > :05:49.around exposed coasts. Any extra rain will be unwelcome particularly
:05:50. > :05:55.for those most prone areas across parts of southern England and up
:05:56. > :05:59.into East Anglia. 10mm inland, 0mm around the coast. The rain could
:06:00. > :06:03.well linger for a time across the south-east. It will clear.
:06:04. > :06:06.Brightness, but a whole lot of showers wrapped around the centre of
:06:07. > :06:09.the low pressure across the west of Scotland. It will not feel all that
:06:10. > :06:10.cam foshl out there. Particularly