:00:00. > 3:59:59Campaigners say prices are rising three times faster than wages. That
:00:00. > :00:00.is all from BBC Hello and welcome to Midlands Today.
:00:07. > :00:10.The headlines tonight: Name and shame ` two police forces
:00:11. > :00:18.criticised for publishing names of drivers charged with drink`driving.
:00:19. > :00:25.The police have pulled you for a reason and stop to and you have
:00:26. > :00:28.blown into the breathalyser and failed. What do you expect?
:00:29. > :00:30.A top lawyer tells us Staffordshire's Crime Commissioner
:00:31. > :00:32.should resign. Also tonight, bouncing back `
:00:33. > :00:36.businesses report an increase in sales at the end of last year but
:00:37. > :00:42.they're still struggling to find skilled staff. We've got an ageing
:00:43. > :00:45.workforce and we are currently taking apprentices on to try to
:00:46. > :00:49.bridge the gap. Save our open spaces ` the fight to
:00:50. > :00:52.stop the sale of a historic part of city`living.
:00:53. > :00:55.100 reasons to love Birmingham ` the film`maker out to change
:00:56. > :00:59.stereotypes. And one of the rare occasions today
:01:00. > :01:02.when the sun shone and unseasonably mild weather brought an early burst
:01:03. > :01:04.of blossom. Is nature confused or just trying to tell us something?
:01:05. > :01:19.Join me later for the forecast. Good evening. A top lawyer has
:01:20. > :01:22.called for the Staffordshire Police and Crime Commissioner to resign
:01:23. > :01:25.after his force decided to name and shame people who've been charged
:01:26. > :01:29.with drink and drug`driving before they're convicted. Nick Freeman says
:01:30. > :01:34.the policy could prejudice cases before they get to court. The
:01:35. > :01:36.policy, which has been running over the Christmas period in
:01:37. > :01:39.Staffordshire and West Midlands Police force areas, was designed to
:01:40. > :01:43.make people think twice about drink`driving, as Liz Copper
:01:44. > :01:46.reports. It's a year`round message, but the
:01:47. > :01:51.annual Christmas drink`drive crackdown is always launched with
:01:52. > :01:54.publicity. This year, though, it's courted controversy, too.
:01:55. > :01:57.Staffordshire's one of several forces which have published the
:01:58. > :02:03.names of drivers who've been charged with, though not yet convicted of,
:02:04. > :02:06.drink`drive offences. Nick Freeman's a lawyer who has made his name
:02:07. > :02:15.representing motorists. It's earned him the nick`name Mr Loophole. He's
:02:16. > :02:19.highly critical of the move. There's an enormous prejudice with naming
:02:20. > :02:25.and shaming prior to conviction. Because some of these people are
:02:26. > :02:28.going to be `` who have been charged will be acquitted and there are lots
:02:29. > :02:31.of allegations not supported by the evidence. In response, Staffordshire
:02:32. > :02:34.Police have said the campaign is aimed at promoting responsible
:02:35. > :02:39.attitudes to drinking over the festive period. We know that during
:02:40. > :02:45.the Christmas period, drink`driving goes up during the year, so this is
:02:46. > :02:48.a campaign to liberate targeted to reduce people getting behind the
:02:49. > :02:52.wheel of the car who have had a drink. Joan O'Brien, who was a
:02:53. > :02:55.mother of six, was killed by a drink`driver. Her family think it's
:02:56. > :03:00.acceptable to name suspected drink`drivers via social media. I
:03:01. > :03:03.know what people are saying ` it is going to get back to your family and
:03:04. > :03:07.friends and everybody will know and it has gone viral and worldwide and
:03:08. > :03:11.everybody will know you are a drink driver with you have done it or not.
:03:12. > :03:15.But the police have pulled you over for a reason, they have stopped you
:03:16. > :03:20.and you have blown into a breathalyser and it has come back as
:03:21. > :03:26.failed. What do you expect? The police accept the policy has been a
:03:27. > :03:30.controversial one, but what do drivers think? I don't like
:03:31. > :03:35.drink`driving and I think it is quite acceptable. I think it is a
:03:36. > :03:38.good idea, yeah. Drink`driving is a no`go. In Staffordshire, the police
:03:39. > :03:41.say they'll be evaluating the success of this year's campaign and
:03:42. > :03:44.won't be drawn on whether the name`and`shame strategy will be
:03:45. > :03:48.repeated. And Liz joins us now. Matthew Ellis
:03:49. > :03:58.has defended himself and his force over this issue? Well, he hasn't
:03:59. > :04:02.been available for interview today because of a long`standing family
:04:03. > :04:08.commitment that he has written about this issue on his blog and responded
:04:09. > :04:12.to Mr Freeman's comments. He said this is a proactive campaign that
:04:13. > :04:16.has been launched by Staffordshire police to raise the issue of
:04:17. > :04:19.drink`driving and the tragedy it can cause, and he said if one person is
:04:20. > :04:22.safe because more people are thinking hard before drinking and
:04:23. > :04:28.getting behind the wheel of a car, that has got to be a benefit. For
:04:29. > :04:31.his part, Mr Freeman says he supports any effort and any campaign
:04:32. > :04:35.to cut the number of drink drivers on the road. He just thinks there
:04:36. > :04:40.are better ways to do that, and in particular he would support a
:04:41. > :04:46.campaign where people who convicted of drink`driving offences are. He
:04:47. > :04:49.believes that would have a much bigger impact and would be much more
:04:50. > :04:54.effective. Thank you. This issue has caused quite a debate
:04:55. > :04:58.on our Facebook and Twitter pages. Richard Hancher tweeted, "This seems
:04:59. > :05:01.to fly in the face of innocent until proven guilty. And why only for
:05:02. > :05:05.drink`drive offences?" But Nick Insull says, "Name and
:05:06. > :05:08.shame. If they've failed a roadside test they're guilty, but it could be
:05:09. > :05:11.a good deterrent. Anything to stop this behaviour."
:05:12. > :05:15.On Facebook Justin Hales said, "We name suspects charged with murder
:05:16. > :05:18.and other serious offences. It's in the public interest. This is no
:05:19. > :05:21.different." Ruth Simmonds said, "The police
:05:22. > :05:24.should name and shame once convicted, but not before the matter
:05:25. > :05:27.has gone to court." Sam Coxhead said, "It's not a
:05:28. > :05:31.deterrent. People who drink and drive don't worry if they are going
:05:32. > :05:35.to kill someone, so why would they worry about Facebook or Twitter?"
:05:36. > :05:38.Rob Thomas says, "As far as I'm concerned, you shouldn't be allowed
:05:39. > :05:41.to drive even after just one drink but I do wonder what has happened
:05:42. > :05:49.about innocent until proven guilty. Are we now marching towards trial by
:05:50. > :05:52.Twitter and Facebook?" Thank you for all of your comments.
:05:53. > :05:56.Coming up later in the programme, tackling a growing rat population
:05:57. > :06:01.with science. How the rampant rodents are being controlled with
:06:02. > :06:04.the help of a laser beam. Economic recovery is gathering pace
:06:05. > :06:08.among businesses in the Birmingham area. A survey carried out by the
:06:09. > :06:12.city's Chamber of Commerce suggests an upturn in orders at home and
:06:13. > :06:15.abroad is fuelling confidence. It's forecasting further improvements in
:06:16. > :06:18.the year ahead but warns that a shortage of skills is still
:06:19. > :06:23.hampering growth, as Giles Latcham reports.
:06:24. > :06:28.BSA is a famous Birmingham brand with a proud history but it's busy
:06:29. > :06:32.investing in its future. 70% of its workforce is over 60, and that's
:06:33. > :06:35.because they're the ones with the skills. So they're taking on
:06:36. > :06:43.apprentices like Tim, training them up for a kind of engineering that
:06:44. > :06:49.fell out of fashion. Most people are new at University barely knew what a
:06:50. > :06:54.lathe was, let alone what it did. So to end up in machinery is quite
:06:55. > :06:59.unusual. These lathes are destined for Pakistan. It's a big contract
:07:00. > :07:06.and the order book is looking healthy. I think the future is rosy
:07:07. > :07:12.if we can address the skills gap and the access to finance, and then I
:07:13. > :07:19.think we will grow and grow fast. They are not alone in their optimism
:07:20. > :07:23.here. 400 plus firms responded to a survey and the consensus is that
:07:24. > :07:26.they are turning a corner. ?? WHITE 44% of manufacturers reported
:07:27. > :07:30.increased sales in the UK market compared with 33% in December 2012.
:07:31. > :07:35.52% said exports were up, a big leap from 37%. In the service sector, 46%
:07:36. > :07:46.reported increased sales at home, the highest since 2007. It is still
:07:47. > :07:51.fragile economy and we shouldn't get carried away, but, my goodness, this
:07:52. > :07:55.is a great start to 2014 because it is the businesses that will make
:07:56. > :08:00.sure we do have the jobs and the wealth to pay for the lifestyles we
:08:01. > :08:03.all want. At Hydrapower, they make pipes for everything from wind
:08:04. > :08:10.turbines to torpedoes. They, too, sense an upturn in 2014. The first
:08:11. > :08:14.quarter is certainly looking quite good for us. We have seen an upturn
:08:15. > :08:19.in the schedules that have come through. And the budgets and
:08:20. > :08:22.predictions we have for the rest of the year are quite good as well. In
:08:23. > :08:25.some quarters, unemployment remains stubbornly high. Others, though,
:08:26. > :08:32.start the new year convinced there are reasons to be cheerful.
:08:33. > :08:35.Administrators called in following the collapse of a Midlands
:08:36. > :08:39.stationery company have confirmed 17 of its 20 stores are to close.
:08:40. > :08:43.Osbornes was put into administration last month. At the time, it employed
:08:44. > :08:47.140 people and had its headquarters in Birmingham. Closing`down sales
:08:48. > :08:52.are now taking place at 14 shops but it's hoped that three can be saved.
:08:53. > :08:55.The body of a Worcestershire man who was last seen four days before
:08:56. > :08:59.Christmas has been found in a bin store at a block of flats. Stuart
:09:00. > :09:03.Caswell from Redditch told friends he was popping to the shops on 21st
:09:04. > :09:07.December but didn't return. His body was found in a bin cupboard at the
:09:08. > :09:12.flats in the Winyates area of the town on New Year's Eve.
:09:13. > :09:19.The number of flood warnings in the region has risen to 20. `` 26. Areas
:09:20. > :09:24.of Gloucestershire along the Severn Estuary are affected. A high tide on
:09:25. > :09:27.the Severn tomorrow morning is expected to create a tidal surge, or
:09:28. > :09:31.bore. Elsewhere, the Wye in Herefordshire is expected to peak
:09:32. > :09:35.this evening. It was built more than 100 years ago
:09:36. > :09:39.to improve the living conditions of workers in the city, but now people
:09:40. > :09:42.with homes on the Moor Pool estate in Birmingham could lose their
:09:43. > :09:45.community facilities. The idea behind the Garden Suburb Movement
:09:46. > :09:49.was to give families green spaces and a better standard of living. Our
:09:50. > :09:57.reporter Bob Hockenhull is in Harborne for us now. So what
:09:58. > :10:01.facilities are up for sale? Well, there are also is. There is the main
:10:02. > :10:05.hall which is used to stage events like plays and it has mother and
:10:06. > :10:10.toddler groups. There are also tennis courts, a bowling green,
:10:11. > :10:13.allotments and even a shop. All of these could be converted for
:10:14. > :10:18.different uses and that is something the residents here are desperate to
:10:19. > :10:22.avoid, because they see this area of Birmingham is a hidden gem.
:10:23. > :10:25.Built on rolling fields in 1907, the Moor Pool estate was devised as a
:10:26. > :10:28.green alternative to the back`to`back slums where many
:10:29. > :10:31.residents of Birmingham lived. Town planner John Sutton Nettlefold
:10:32. > :10:35.oversaw the construction of the 500 houses which today represent one of
:10:36. > :10:41.the few intact garden suburbs in the country. Residents say the community
:10:42. > :10:44.spirit is still alive but under threat, because the estate's current
:10:45. > :10:52.owners want to sell off its facilities. Well, the big fear is we
:10:53. > :10:56.won't have the heart of the state any more, that it will be lost to
:10:57. > :10:59.the local people and all of those who come down from outside and use
:11:00. > :11:03.the community hall. Grainger, the company which took over the running
:11:04. > :11:08.of the estate 11 years ago, is giving the community first refusal
:11:09. > :11:13.to purchase the assets. We have got till September this year to do
:11:14. > :11:18.that. We have to raise about ?300,000 to complete the deal. It is
:11:19. > :11:20.very important that we achieve it. It is a once`in`a`lifetime
:11:21. > :11:26.opportunity to keep Moor Pool for the future. The community has
:11:27. > :11:31.already raised ?16,000 through fundraising, but nearly there is a
:11:32. > :11:34.long way to go in a short space of time, so it is appealing to
:11:35. > :11:38.organisations like the Heritage Lottery Fund to help with grants.
:11:39. > :11:41.The fear is other prospective buyers would develop the land and not
:11:42. > :11:43.maintain the community facilities, something lifelong residents like
:11:44. > :11:53.Barbara Ikin find hard to contemplate. I have roamed all of
:11:54. > :11:59.the little avenues and bypasses, the passages, I've written my bicycle,
:12:00. > :12:03.my children have done the same. `` ridden. And if that is taken away...
:12:04. > :12:10.It is nothing. Base`mack will have gone for ever. `` Moor Pool.
:12:11. > :12:17.Instead, the residents hope it'll be preserved as an estate others aspire
:12:18. > :12:20.to copy. Grainger, the current owners, haven't put anything up for
:12:21. > :12:25.comment but it is hoped the residents will get the first chance
:12:26. > :12:29.to buy these facilities, and these facilities the residents not only
:12:30. > :12:32.want local people to use, but the whole of Birmingham, and they have
:12:33. > :12:36.or be invited school groups down to show them the estate, which they are
:12:37. > :12:39.very proud of and feel is a good way of living.
:12:40. > :12:43.If rats aren't your thing, you might find our next story a little
:12:44. > :12:47.unnerving. Pest control services across the West Midlands are some of
:12:48. > :12:50.the busiest in the country. 48,500 rat treatments were carried out in
:12:51. > :12:55.2013 ` that's almost a fifth of the UK total. With a treatment costing
:12:56. > :12:59.on average ?80, that works to nearly ?4 million a year. But now
:13:00. > :13:03.scientists in Birmingham have created a new way of controlling the
:13:04. > :13:09.rat population. Our science correspondent David Gregory`Kumar
:13:10. > :13:12.has the details. In the Midlands and especially
:13:13. > :13:15.Birmingham you're never far from a rat. So, not surprisingly,
:13:16. > :13:19.Birmingham is the place in the UK making the most calls to pest
:13:20. > :13:25.control experts like Carl Richards. So, what are these holes? Is this a
:13:26. > :13:31.sign of a rat? These are burrows, which is typical of quite a fairly
:13:32. > :13:36.sized infestation. Traditional traps entice rats in with poisoned bait.
:13:37. > :13:41.But there's no way to control the amount they eat and or the dose of
:13:42. > :13:45.poison they get. The problem is, in some parts of the country, rats are
:13:46. > :13:48.becoming resistant to the poison we give them and they are passing on
:13:49. > :13:52.that resistance to their offspring. We are looking at a generation of
:13:53. > :13:56.poison`resistant super`rats. Scientists worry that it will take
:13:57. > :14:04.more and more poison to do the job, and that poses problems. We are
:14:05. > :14:08.putting more poison down to try to kill the rats that are freely
:14:09. > :14:12.roaming in these areas and you often don't notice there is a massive
:14:13. > :14:16.amount of poison hidden in a little black box at the side of the road or
:14:17. > :14:19.at the side of your house. But at the University of Aston, they're
:14:20. > :14:23.working on a completely new type of rat`trap that avoids all these
:14:24. > :14:27.problems. It works by spraying the rats with a toxin, so unlike normal
:14:28. > :14:34.traps, they don't have to eat the poison. They are dosed with it. It
:14:35. > :14:38.is a fixed dose and they go on to die from that poison at a later
:14:39. > :14:42.time. The rat enters the trap and breaks a laser beam that allows an
:14:43. > :14:46.in`built computer to work out how big the rat is and the precise dose
:14:47. > :14:51.of poison to spray directly on to the skin of the rat to kill it. Rats
:14:52. > :14:56.aren't just a problem in Birmingham. Worldwide they carry disease and
:14:57. > :15:02.destroy crops. So a new type of control would bring benefits for
:15:03. > :15:06.everyone. Our top story tonight:
:15:07. > :15:10.Name and shame ` two police forces criticised for publishing names of
:15:11. > :15:14.drivers charged with drink`driving. Your detailed weather forecast to
:15:15. > :15:18.come shortly, with Shefali. Also tonight, an early contender for
:15:19. > :15:27.goal of the month? Find out how this helped Coventry City secure three
:15:28. > :15:35.points. John bridesmaid Birmingham the
:15:36. > :15:39.battleground... `` John bride made. And why this film`maker is on a
:15:40. > :15:42.mission to bring you fascinating facts about Birmingham.
:15:43. > :15:45.2014 will be a busy year in politics, with elections for seven
:15:46. > :15:48.Midlands seats in the European Parliament, as well as polling in 19
:15:49. > :15:53.of our local authorities. It's expected to set the scene for next
:15:54. > :15:56.year's general election. And, as our political editor, Patrick Burns,
:15:57. > :16:00.explains, all eyes will be on our key marginal Parliamentary
:16:01. > :16:05.constituencies. Dudley. Famous for its castle, and,
:16:06. > :16:09.of course, its zoo. But who'll be the kings and queens of the
:16:10. > :16:13.political jungle in this town of two marginals? It comes down to
:16:14. > :16:17.target`setting, because one of the many unfamiliar features of this era
:16:18. > :16:20.of coalition politics is that both main parties have their sights set
:16:21. > :16:31.on separate sets of marginal seats in their pursuit of a majority in
:16:32. > :16:34.the next House of Commons. Here in Dudley, for example, in Dudley
:16:35. > :16:39.North, Labour have a majority of just 649. And in Dudley South, the
:16:40. > :16:45.Conservative majority is under 4,000. So the mood on the streets
:16:46. > :16:48.surrounding 19 councils, including Dudley, holding elections in May,
:16:49. > :16:51.will be closely monitored by political strategists gearing up for
:16:52. > :17:01.the general election less than a year after that. Increasingly,
:17:02. > :17:06.election campaigns have been aimed at that small group of swing voters,
:17:07. > :17:10.those who change their mind, and, increasingly, a small group of swing
:17:11. > :17:13.seats, and that is why so much attention is focused on the West
:17:14. > :17:16.Midlands. Our Parliamentary marginals have traditionally been
:17:17. > :17:18.predominantly two`party affairs. All of Labour's top`ten targets are
:17:19. > :17:22.currently Conservative`held, apart from Liberal Democrat Birmingham
:17:23. > :17:24.Yardley. And all the Conservatives' targets are currently Labour seats,
:17:25. > :17:29.apart from Solihull with its precarious Liberal Democrat majority
:17:30. > :17:32.of 175. And just look at how many of those swing seats also happen to
:17:33. > :17:38.feature among the list of council elections in May. This time, though,
:17:39. > :17:42.the Parliamentary parties have a gate`crasher. If UKIP's poll ratings
:17:43. > :17:51.are anything to go by, the European elections could see them pushing the
:17:52. > :17:54.Conservatives into third place. The conventional wisdom is that the
:17:55. > :17:59.Conservatives will be damaged by voters defecting to UKIP but this
:18:00. > :18:03.misreads the data. UKIP are party of disaffected voters, and especially
:18:04. > :18:09.during the Labour years of Tony Blair and then Gordon Brown, many
:18:10. > :18:14.working`class Labour voters to UKIP. The issues were living standards and
:18:15. > :18:18.employment in particular. So both parties stand to suffer in these
:18:19. > :18:21.areas. Which sets things up intriguingly for the strategists
:18:22. > :18:24.here at Westminster. They know May's European and Council elections will
:18:25. > :18:32.strike up the mood music for the general election a year after that.
:18:33. > :18:35.We move into 2014 with it being clear that we made the right
:18:36. > :18:39.decisions to try to rescue the country and put that for party
:18:40. > :18:43.interest and rescue the country to try to protect the low paid by
:18:44. > :18:48.cutting taxes on the low paid and trying to get a fairer society, but,
:18:49. > :18:52.at the same time, trying to deal with a very difficult financial
:18:53. > :18:58.situation, which now seems to be coming good. The East Midlands is a
:18:59. > :19:01.battle ground area and there are seats in Redditch and Warwickshire
:19:02. > :19:08.that we need to fight very hard for, which is why your job will be even
:19:09. > :19:11.more exciting come 2015! The Conservatives will be reminding them
:19:12. > :19:15.about the economy, how well we're doing, the European referendum,
:19:16. > :19:19.those sorts of things. But it is about setting the mood music for the
:19:20. > :19:24.big election, the general election, in 2015. Save the date. The European
:19:25. > :19:27.and local elections are all on Thursday 22nd May, to bolster
:19:28. > :19:30.turnouts and cut costs. Forget Super Tuesday in those US Presidential
:19:31. > :19:35.Elections. We'll have Super Thursday.
:19:36. > :19:44.And you can read more about the year ahead on Patrick's blog.
:19:45. > :19:49.Ian Winter is here with the sport, and a good start to the new year for
:19:50. > :19:54.most of our football clubs? Let's not get carried away! The new
:19:55. > :19:59.year is still less than 48 hours old. But we almost started 2014 with
:20:00. > :20:02.a clean sweep in the Premier League. Only 15 minutes gone at Sunderland,
:20:03. > :20:06.when Lee Cattermole delivered a very generous gift to Gabby Agbonlahor.
:20:07. > :20:11.The Villa striker said "thanks very much". And this proved to be the
:20:12. > :20:15.only goal of the game, to give Aston Villa a very important victory.
:20:16. > :20:19.1`0 was also a popular score for Albion's caretaker coach, Keith
:20:20. > :20:21.Downing. A late penalty from Saido Berahino was enough to beat
:20:22. > :20:26.Newcastle. Four games without defeat, six points out of 12 over
:20:27. > :20:31.the festive period. And we came so close to a hat`trick
:20:32. > :20:36.of 1`0 victories? Yes. Stoke City have a new hero. Four minutes after
:20:37. > :20:38.the break, Oussama Assaidi, on loan from Liverpool, scored another
:20:39. > :20:43.excellent goal to raise the decibels at the Britannia Stadium. That's his
:20:44. > :20:48.fourth for Stoke, and they've all been crackers. But it wasn't enough
:20:49. > :20:51.to win the match because deep into stoppage time, Jermaine Pennant
:20:52. > :20:55.conceded a penalty and Leighton Baines, the man who never misses,
:20:56. > :21:03.levelled the score at 1`1. A frustrating finale for the Stoke
:21:04. > :21:07.fans and manager Mark Hughes. What does David Beckham have in
:21:08. > :21:11.common with Carl Baker, the Coventry City captain? Becks married one of
:21:12. > :21:15.the Spice Girls ` Bakes didn't. But they have both scored a goal from
:21:16. > :21:17.their own half of the pitch, and, as Nick Clitheroe reports, Baker
:21:18. > :21:22.achieved that remarkable feat, to seal Coventry's victory against
:21:23. > :21:26.Rotherham. There has been plenty of drama on
:21:27. > :21:30.and off the pitch at Coventry City this season but this topped the lot.
:21:31. > :21:34.2`1 up but facing a last`minute penalty, Joe Murphy's save delighted
:21:35. > :21:37.the travelling fans. But that was only the start. From the following
:21:38. > :21:40.corner, and with the Rotherham keeper up in attack, the Coventry
:21:41. > :21:45.captain Carl Baker broke away to score this amazing goal. So, despite
:21:46. > :21:49.starting the season on minus ten, Coventry are just six points off the
:21:50. > :21:53.play`offs now. Wolves are even better placed `
:21:54. > :21:58.second and on course for automatic promotion. But they made hard work
:21:59. > :22:01.of it at Tranmere. A man down and a goal down, they needed Dave Edwards
:22:02. > :22:05.to rescue a point. Walsall are also in the chase in
:22:06. > :22:08.League One. They're just a point off the play`offs after a win that
:22:09. > :22:12.proved very memorable for James Chambers. The defender's winner was
:22:13. > :22:16.his first League goal at the 274th attempt.
:22:17. > :22:19.But what about the teams at the wrong end of their respective
:22:20. > :22:22.tables? Birmingham City's ten` game unbeaten run has lifted them five
:22:23. > :22:27.places clear of the Championship relegation zone. But it would be so
:22:28. > :22:31.much better if they could just win at home. Yesterday's draw with
:22:32. > :22:38.Barnsley was their fifth in a row at St Andrews, where they last won on
:22:39. > :22:43.first October. We gave the ball away cheaply which results in a free kick
:22:44. > :22:48.and they put it away incredibly well. It was frustrating in the
:22:49. > :22:51.dressing room today because we felt a goal could have given us the
:22:52. > :22:55.points we needed. Shrewsbury Town didn't win a game in
:22:56. > :22:58.December but a new year brought a new start and three precious points
:22:59. > :23:01.at Oldham, thanks to Aaron Wildig's winner.
:23:02. > :23:04.Tomorrow evening, we're up for the Cup, with Kidderminster Harriers.
:23:05. > :23:07.Thomas The Tank Engine and Sherlock Holmes ` just a couple of the more
:23:08. > :23:10.surprising characters with Birmingham connections. A film`maker
:23:11. > :23:14.who's so fed up with the stereotypical way that his home city
:23:15. > :23:18.is portrayed has made a movie to prove there are 100 reasons to love
:23:19. > :23:27.Brum. Sarah Falkland has been finding out more.
:23:28. > :23:31.They do claim there are more canals in Birmingham... Than Venice. Than
:23:32. > :23:34.Venice! And hearing that well`known fact
:23:35. > :23:39.about Birmingham over and over again, that finally did it for
:23:40. > :23:42.amateur film`maker Steve Rainbow. It kind of annoyed me that this was all
:23:43. > :23:46.that people thought about Birmingham, so I thought, there must
:23:47. > :23:51.be more to Birmingham than that, so why did some research and the year
:23:52. > :23:55.later we have my short film. It's an hour`long film containing
:23:56. > :23:58.100 facts. Made in a year on a shoestring budget, the film tells
:23:59. > :24:02.you how Birmingham's Alexander Parks invented plastic. I'm wearing a
:24:03. > :24:08.black T`shirt now and it is the same one eye war in virtually every shot,
:24:09. > :24:12.and you will see a lump there, which is an old`fashioned microphone
:24:13. > :24:17.stuffed into my T`shirt. The film will tell you how Alexander Parkes
:24:18. > :24:20.invented plastic. Did you know that Thomas The Tank Engine came from the
:24:21. > :24:29.imagination of a curate from King's Norton. And how in 1940, it was
:24:30. > :24:33.documented in Birmingham how to make an atomic explosion. And Dame
:24:34. > :24:43.Barbara Cartland, writer of over 700 books and the prolific romantic
:24:44. > :24:46.author, was born here. I have no idea why I'm talking in this
:24:47. > :24:51.ridiculous voice! ?? WHITE Steve's film has already had over 5,000 hits
:24:52. > :24:54.on YouTube, and he hopes to get it out to every secondary school in the
:24:55. > :24:57.city. And you can read more about Steve's
:24:58. > :25:06.film and find out how you can contribute more facts about the city
:25:07. > :25:07.on the BBC Birmingham website. Some welcome sunshine around today,
:25:08. > :25:19.but is it just a blip, Shefali? I'm afraid to say it is. Thank you.
:25:20. > :25:24.Totally out of character from what eye can see for the rest of the
:25:25. > :25:27.week. The fora go into the gory details, I just wanted to mention a
:25:28. > :25:34.couple of facts about last month. It has been mild and also it has been
:25:35. > :25:38.quite stormy. In fact, these were the rainfall totals recorded across
:25:39. > :25:44.some parts of the region last month, but if I'd tell you they represent
:25:45. > :25:49.20% above average it gives you an indication of how wet it has been.
:25:50. > :25:56.It is all down to this, which is the Jetstream, a fast flowing current in
:25:57. > :26:01.the upper atmosphere, and when it is to the south of us all the West, it
:26:02. > :26:05.gives us those stormy conditions. We have a couple of storms heading our
:26:06. > :26:09.way over the next few days. The first stormy period arrives later
:26:10. > :26:12.tonight and then we have some activity on Saturday but not
:26:13. > :26:17.amounting to storms. The next big event arrives on Sunday pushing in
:26:18. > :26:19.from the West. You can see there's a couple of storms heading our way
:26:20. > :26:22.over the next few days. The first stormy period arrives later tonight
:26:23. > :26:24.and then we have some activity on Saturday but not amounting to
:26:25. > :26:27.storms. The next big event arrives on Sunday pushing in from the West.
:26:28. > :26:29.You can see those very tightly packed isobars with `` low`pressure.
:26:30. > :26:32.Back to this evening, it is quiet for the eastern half of the region,
:26:33. > :26:36.at the area of rain here is starting to push in from the West, though it
:26:37. > :26:40.should move out of the way quite quickly, so you will find in the
:26:41. > :26:46.early hours it will be a much try a picture. We could have about 20
:26:47. > :26:49.millimetres, about an inch, and considering ground is already
:26:50. > :26:52.saturated, that could make quite a difference. For the morning
:26:53. > :26:57.tomorrow, deceptively dry with sunshine and a few showers flitting
:26:58. > :27:01.across the region, but then more potent showers starting to push up
:27:02. > :27:07.from the south`west through the rest of the afternoon and particularly in
:27:08. > :27:12.the evening tomorrow, another period of wet weather with gusts of 50
:27:13. > :27:15.mph. Tomorrow night, the showers will eventually fade away leaving us
:27:16. > :27:20.with much drier conditions towards the end of the night, with clearest
:27:21. > :27:23.bells, but then, as I've said, rain. Today and storms on Sunday.
:27:24. > :27:30.Tonight's headlines from the BBC: Trains fares rise by an average of
:27:31. > :27:33.2.8%, up three times more than incomes.
:27:34. > :27:36.Name and shame, as two police forces are criticised for publishing names
:27:37. > :27:38.of drivers charged with drink`driving.
:27:39. > :27:43.That was the Midlands Today. I'll be back at 10pm with more on the
:27:44. > :27:48.optimism for growth among some of our businesses. For now, goodbye.