02/01/2014 Midlands Today

Campaigners say prices are rising three times faster than wages. That

is all from BBC Hello and welcome to Midlands Today.

The headlines tonight: Name and shame ` two police forces

criticised for publishing names of drivers charged with drink`driving.

The police have pulled you for a reason and stop to and you have

blown into the breathalyser and failed. What do you expect?

A top lawyer tells us Staffordshire's Crime Commissioner

should resign. Also tonight, bouncing back `

businesses report an increase in sales at the end of last year but

they're still struggling to find skilled staff. We've got an ageing

workforce and we are currently taking apprentices on to try to

bridge the gap. Save our open spaces ` the fight to

stop the sale of a historic part of city`living.

100 reasons to love Birmingham ` the film`maker out to change

stereotypes. And one of the rare occasions today

when the sun shone and unseasonably mild weather brought an early burst

of blossom. Is nature confused or just trying to tell us something?

Join me later for the forecast. Good evening. A top lawyer has

called for the Staffordshire Police and Crime Commissioner to resign

after his force decided to name and shame people who've been charged

with drink and drug`driving before they're convicted. Nick Freeman says

the policy could prejudice cases before they get to court. The

policy, which has been running over the Christmas period in

Staffordshire and West Midlands Police force areas, was designed to

make people think twice about drink`driving, as Liz Copper

reports. It's a year`round message, but the

annual Christmas drink`drive crackdown is always launched with

publicity. This year, though, it's courted controversy, too.

Staffordshire's one of several forces which have published the

names of drivers who've been charged with, though not yet convicted of,

drink`drive offences. Nick Freeman's a lawyer who has made his name

representing motorists. It's earned him the nick`name Mr Loophole. He's

highly critical of the move. There's an enormous prejudice with naming

and shaming prior to conviction. Because some of these people are

going to be `` who have been charged will be acquitted and there are lots

of allegations not supported by the evidence. In response, Staffordshire

Police have said the campaign is aimed at promoting responsible

attitudes to drinking over the festive period. We know that during

the Christmas period, drink`driving goes up during the year, so this is

a campaign to liberate targeted to reduce people getting behind the

wheel of the car who have had a drink. Joan O'Brien, who was a

mother of six, was killed by a drink`driver. Her family think it's

acceptable to name suspected drink`drivers via social media. I

know what people are saying ` it is going to get back to your family and

friends and everybody will know and it has gone viral and worldwide and

everybody will know you are a drink driver with you have done it or not.

But the police have pulled you over for a reason, they have stopped you

and you have blown into a breathalyser and it has come back as

failed. What do you expect? The police accept the policy has been a

controversial one, but what do drivers think? I don't like

drink`driving and I think it is quite acceptable. I think it is a

good idea, yeah. Drink`driving is a no`go. In Staffordshire, the police

say they'll be evaluating the success of this year's campaign and

won't be drawn on whether the name`and`shame strategy will be

repeated. And Liz joins us now. Matthew Ellis

has defended himself and his force over this issue? Well, he hasn't

been available for interview today because of a long`standing family

commitment that he has written about this issue on his blog and responded

to Mr Freeman's comments. He said this is a proactive campaign that

has been launched by Staffordshire police to raise the issue of

drink`driving and the tragedy it can cause, and he said if one person is

safe because more people are thinking hard before drinking and

getting behind the wheel of a car, that has got to be a benefit. For

his part, Mr Freeman says he supports any effort and any campaign

to cut the number of drink drivers on the road. He just thinks there

are better ways to do that, and in particular he would support a

campaign where people who convicted of drink`driving offences are. He

believes that would have a much bigger impact and would be much more

effective. Thank you. This issue has caused quite a debate

on our Facebook and Twitter pages. Richard Hancher tweeted, "This seems

to fly in the face of innocent until proven guilty. And why only for

drink`drive offences?" But Nick Insull says, "Name and

shame. If they've failed a roadside test they're guilty, but it could be

a good deterrent. Anything to stop this behaviour."

On Facebook Justin Hales said, "We name suspects charged with murder

and other serious offences. It's in the public interest. This is no

different." Ruth Simmonds said, "The police

should name and shame once convicted, but not before the matter

has gone to court." Sam Coxhead said, "It's not a

deterrent. People who drink and drive don't worry if they are going

to kill someone, so why would they worry about Facebook or Twitter?"

Rob Thomas says, "As far as I'm concerned, you shouldn't be allowed

to drive even after just one drink but I do wonder what has happened

about innocent until proven guilty. Are we now marching towards trial by

Twitter and Facebook?" Thank you for all of your comments.

Coming up later in the programme, tackling a growing rat population

with science. How the rampant rodents are being controlled with

the help of a laser beam. Economic recovery is gathering pace

among businesses in the Birmingham area. A survey carried out by the

city's Chamber of Commerce suggests an upturn in orders at home and

abroad is fuelling confidence. It's forecasting further improvements in

the year ahead but warns that a shortage of skills is still

hampering growth, as Giles Latcham reports.

BSA is a famous Birmingham brand with a proud history but it's busy

investing in its future. 70% of its workforce is over 60, and that's

because they're the ones with the skills. So they're taking on

apprentices like Tim, training them up for a kind of engineering that

fell out of fashion. Most people are new at University barely knew what a

lathe was, let alone what it did. So to end up in machinery is quite

unusual. These lathes are destined for Pakistan. It's a big contract

and the order book is looking healthy. I think the future is rosy

if we can address the skills gap and the access to finance, and then I

think we will grow and grow fast. They are not alone in their optimism

here. 400 plus firms responded to a survey and the consensus is that

they are turning a corner. ?? WHITE 44% of manufacturers reported

increased sales in the UK market compared with 33% in December 2012.

52% said exports were up, a big leap from 37%. In the service sector, 46%

reported increased sales at home, the highest since 2007. It is still

fragile economy and we shouldn't get carried away, but, my goodness, this

is a great start to 2014 because it is the businesses that will make

sure we do have the jobs and the wealth to pay for the lifestyles we

all want. At Hydrapower, they make pipes for everything from wind

turbines to torpedoes. They, too, sense an upturn in 2014. The first

quarter is certainly looking quite good for us. We have seen an upturn

in the schedules that have come through. And the budgets and

predictions we have for the rest of the year are quite good as well. In

some quarters, unemployment remains stubbornly high. Others, though,

start the new year convinced there are reasons to be cheerful.

Administrators called in following the collapse of a Midlands

stationery company have confirmed 17 of its 20 stores are to close.

Osbornes was put into administration last month. At the time, it employed

140 people and had its headquarters in Birmingham. Closing`down sales

are now taking place at 14 shops but it's hoped that three can be saved.

The body of a Worcestershire man who was last seen four days before

Christmas has been found in a bin store at a block of flats. Stuart

Caswell from Redditch told friends he was popping to the shops on 21st

December but didn't return. His body was found in a bin cupboard at the

flats in the Winyates area of the town on New Year's Eve.

The number of flood warnings in the region has risen to 20. `` 26. Areas

of Gloucestershire along the Severn Estuary are affected. A high tide on

the Severn tomorrow morning is expected to create a tidal surge, or

bore. Elsewhere, the Wye in Herefordshire is expected to peak

this evening. It was built more than 100 years ago

to improve the living conditions of workers in the city, but now people

with homes on the Moor Pool estate in Birmingham could lose their

community facilities. The idea behind the Garden Suburb Movement

was to give families green spaces and a better standard of living. Our

reporter Bob Hockenhull is in Harborne for us now. So what

facilities are up for sale? Well, there are also is. There is the main

hall which is used to stage events like plays and it has mother and

toddler groups. There are also tennis courts, a bowling green,

allotments and even a shop. All of these could be converted for

different uses and that is something the residents here are desperate to

avoid, because they see this area of Birmingham is a hidden gem.

Built on rolling fields in 1907, the Moor Pool estate was devised as a

green alternative to the back`to`back slums where many

residents of Birmingham lived. Town planner John Sutton Nettlefold

oversaw the construction of the 500 houses which today represent one of

the few intact garden suburbs in the country. Residents say the community

spirit is still alive but under threat, because the estate's current

owners want to sell off its facilities. Well, the big fear is we

won't have the heart of the state any more, that it will be lost to

the local people and all of those who come down from outside and use

the community hall. Grainger, the company which took over the running

of the estate 11 years ago, is giving the community first refusal

to purchase the assets. We have got till September this year to do

that. We have to raise about ?300,000 to complete the deal. It is

very important that we achieve it. It is a once`in`a`lifetime

opportunity to keep Moor Pool for the future. The community has

already raised ?16,000 through fundraising, but nearly there is a

long way to go in a short space of time, so it is appealing to

organisations like the Heritage Lottery Fund to help with grants.

The fear is other prospective buyers would develop the land and not

maintain the community facilities, something lifelong residents like

Barbara Ikin find hard to contemplate. I have roamed all of

the little avenues and bypasses, the passages, I've written my bicycle,

my children have done the same. `` ridden. And if that is taken away...

It is nothing. Base`mack will have gone for ever. `` Moor Pool.

Instead, the residents hope it'll be preserved as an estate others aspire

to copy. Grainger, the current owners, haven't put anything up for

comment but it is hoped the residents will get the first chance

to buy these facilities, and these facilities the residents not only

want local people to use, but the whole of Birmingham, and they have

or be invited school groups down to show them the estate, which they are

very proud of and feel is a good way of living.

If rats aren't your thing, you might find our next story a little

unnerving. Pest control services across the West Midlands are some of

the busiest in the country. 48,500 rat treatments were carried out in

2013 ` that's almost a fifth of the UK total. With a treatment costing

on average ?80, that works to nearly ?4 million a year. But now

scientists in Birmingham have created a new way of controlling the

rat population. Our science correspondent David Gregory`Kumar

has the details. In the Midlands and especially

Birmingham you're never far from a rat. So, not surprisingly,

Birmingham is the place in the UK making the most calls to pest

control experts like Carl Richards. So, what are these holes? Is this a

sign of a rat? These are burrows, which is typical of quite a fairly

sized infestation. Traditional traps entice rats in with poisoned bait.

But there's no way to control the amount they eat and or the dose of

poison they get. The problem is, in some parts of the country, rats are

becoming resistant to the poison we give them and they are passing on

that resistance to their offspring. We are looking at a generation of

poison`resistant super`rats. Scientists worry that it will take

more and more poison to do the job, and that poses problems. We are

putting more poison down to try to kill the rats that are freely

roaming in these areas and you often don't notice there is a massive

amount of poison hidden in a little black box at the side of the road or

at the side of your house. But at the University of Aston, they're

working on a completely new type of rat`trap that avoids all these

problems. It works by spraying the rats with a toxin, so unlike normal

traps, they don't have to eat the poison. They are dosed with it. It

is a fixed dose and they go on to die from that poison at a later

time. The rat enters the trap and breaks a laser beam that allows an

in`built computer to work out how big the rat is and the precise dose

of poison to spray directly on to the skin of the rat to kill it. Rats

aren't just a problem in Birmingham. Worldwide they carry disease and

destroy crops. So a new type of control would bring benefits for

everyone. Our top story tonight:

Name and shame ` two police forces criticised for publishing names of

drivers charged with drink`driving. Your detailed weather forecast to

come shortly, with Shefali. Also tonight, an early contender for

goal of the month? Find out how this helped Coventry City secure three

points. John bridesmaid Birmingham the

battleground... `` John bride made. And why this film`maker is on a

mission to bring you fascinating facts about Birmingham.

2014 will be a busy year in politics, with elections for seven

Midlands seats in the European Parliament, as well as polling in 19

of our local authorities. It's expected to set the scene for next

year's general election. And, as our political editor, Patrick Burns,

explains, all eyes will be on our key marginal Parliamentary

constituencies. Dudley. Famous for its castle, and,

of course, its zoo. But who'll be the kings and queens of the

political jungle in this town of two marginals? It comes down to

target`setting, because one of the many unfamiliar features of this era

of coalition politics is that both main parties have their sights set

on separate sets of marginal seats in their pursuit of a majority in

the next House of Commons. Here in Dudley, for example, in Dudley

North, Labour have a majority of just 649. And in Dudley South, the

Conservative majority is under 4,000. So the mood on the streets

surrounding 19 councils, including Dudley, holding elections in May,

will be closely monitored by political strategists gearing up for

the general election less than a year after that. Increasingly,

election campaigns have been aimed at that small group of swing voters,

those who change their mind, and, increasingly, a small group of swing

seats, and that is why so much attention is focused on the West

Midlands. Our Parliamentary marginals have traditionally been

predominantly two`party affairs. All of Labour's top`ten targets are

currently Conservative`held, apart from Liberal Democrat Birmingham

Yardley. And all the Conservatives' targets are currently Labour seats,

apart from Solihull with its precarious Liberal Democrat majority

of 175. And just look at how many of those swing seats also happen to

feature among the list of council elections in May. This time, though,

the Parliamentary parties have a gate`crasher. If UKIP's poll ratings

are anything to go by, the European elections could see them pushing the

Conservatives into third place. The conventional wisdom is that the

Conservatives will be damaged by voters defecting to UKIP but this

misreads the data. UKIP are party of disaffected voters, and especially

during the Labour years of Tony Blair and then Gordon Brown, many

working`class Labour voters to UKIP. The issues were living standards and

employment in particular. So both parties stand to suffer in these

areas. Which sets things up intriguingly for the strategists

here at Westminster. They know May's European and Council elections will

strike up the mood music for the general election a year after that.

We move into 2014 with it being clear that we made the right

decisions to try to rescue the country and put that for party

interest and rescue the country to try to protect the low paid by

cutting taxes on the low paid and trying to get a fairer society, but,

at the same time, trying to deal with a very difficult financial

situation, which now seems to be coming good. The East Midlands is a

battle ground area and there are seats in Redditch and Warwickshire

that we need to fight very hard for, which is why your job will be even

more exciting come 2015! The Conservatives will be reminding them

about the economy, how well we're doing, the European referendum,

those sorts of things. But it is about setting the mood music for the

big election, the general election, in 2015. Save the date. The European

and local elections are all on Thursday 22nd May, to bolster

turnouts and cut costs. Forget Super Tuesday in those US Presidential

Elections. We'll have Super Thursday.

And you can read more about the year ahead on Patrick's blog.

Ian Winter is here with the sport, and a good start to the new year for

most of our football clubs? Let's not get carried away! The new

year is still less than 48 hours old. But we almost started 2014 with

a clean sweep in the Premier League. Only 15 minutes gone at Sunderland,

when Lee Cattermole delivered a very generous gift to Gabby Agbonlahor.

The Villa striker said "thanks very much". And this proved to be the

only goal of the game, to give Aston Villa a very important victory.

1`0 was also a popular score for Albion's caretaker coach, Keith

Downing. A late penalty from Saido Berahino was enough to beat

Newcastle. Four games without defeat, six points out of 12 over

the festive period. And we came so close to a hat`trick

of 1`0 victories? Yes. Stoke City have a new hero. Four minutes after

the break, Oussama Assaidi, on loan from Liverpool, scored another

excellent goal to raise the decibels at the Britannia Stadium. That's his

fourth for Stoke, and they've all been crackers. But it wasn't enough

to win the match because deep into stoppage time, Jermaine Pennant

conceded a penalty and Leighton Baines, the man who never misses,

levelled the score at 1`1. A frustrating finale for the Stoke

fans and manager Mark Hughes. What does David Beckham have in

common with Carl Baker, the Coventry City captain? Becks married one of

the Spice Girls ` Bakes didn't. But they have both scored a goal from

their own half of the pitch, and, as Nick Clitheroe reports, Baker

achieved that remarkable feat, to seal Coventry's victory against

Rotherham. There has been plenty of drama on

and off the pitch at Coventry City this season but this topped the lot.

2`1 up but facing a last`minute penalty, Joe Murphy's save delighted

the travelling fans. But that was only the start. From the following

corner, and with the Rotherham keeper up in attack, the Coventry

captain Carl Baker broke away to score this amazing goal. So, despite

starting the season on minus ten, Coventry are just six points off the

play`offs now. Wolves are even better placed `

second and on course for automatic promotion. But they made hard work

of it at Tranmere. A man down and a goal down, they needed Dave Edwards

to rescue a point. Walsall are also in the chase in

League One. They're just a point off the play`offs after a win that

proved very memorable for James Chambers. The defender's winner was

his first League goal at the 274th attempt.

But what about the teams at the wrong end of their respective

tables? Birmingham City's ten` game unbeaten run has lifted them five

places clear of the Championship relegation zone. But it would be so

much better if they could just win at home. Yesterday's draw with

Barnsley was their fifth in a row at St Andrews, where they last won on

first October. We gave the ball away cheaply which results in a free kick

and they put it away incredibly well. It was frustrating in the

dressing room today because we felt a goal could have given us the

points we needed. Shrewsbury Town didn't win a game in

December but a new year brought a new start and three precious points

at Oldham, thanks to Aaron Wildig's winner.

Tomorrow evening, we're up for the Cup, with Kidderminster Harriers.

Thomas The Tank Engine and Sherlock Holmes ` just a couple of the more

surprising characters with Birmingham connections. A film`maker

who's so fed up with the stereotypical way that his home city

is portrayed has made a movie to prove there are 100 reasons to love

Brum. Sarah Falkland has been finding out more.

They do claim there are more canals in Birmingham... Than Venice. Than

Venice! And hearing that well`known fact

about Birmingham over and over again, that finally did it for

amateur film`maker Steve Rainbow. It kind of annoyed me that this was all

that people thought about Birmingham, so I thought, there must

be more to Birmingham than that, so why did some research and the year

later we have my short film. It's an hour`long film containing

100 facts. Made in a year on a shoestring budget, the film tells

you how Birmingham's Alexander Parks invented plastic. I'm wearing a

black T`shirt now and it is the same one eye war in virtually every shot,

and you will see a lump there, which is an old`fashioned microphone

stuffed into my T`shirt. The film will tell you how Alexander Parkes

invented plastic. Did you know that Thomas The Tank Engine came from the

imagination of a curate from King's Norton. And how in 1940, it was

documented in Birmingham how to make an atomic explosion. And Dame

Barbara Cartland, writer of over 700 books and the prolific romantic

author, was born here. I have no idea why I'm talking in this

ridiculous voice! ?? WHITE Steve's film has already had over 5,000 hits

on YouTube, and he hopes to get it out to every secondary school in the

city. And you can read more about Steve's

film and find out how you can contribute more facts about the city

on the BBC Birmingham website. Some welcome sunshine around today,

but is it just a blip, Shefali? I'm afraid to say it is. Thank you.

Totally out of character from what eye can see for the rest of the

week. The fora go into the gory details, I just wanted to mention a

couple of facts about last month. It has been mild and also it has been

quite stormy. In fact, these were the rainfall totals recorded across

some parts of the region last month, but if I'd tell you they represent

20% above average it gives you an indication of how wet it has been.

It is all down to this, which is the Jetstream, a fast flowing current in

the upper atmosphere, and when it is to the south of us all the West, it

gives us those stormy conditions. We have a couple of storms heading our

way over the next few days. The first stormy period arrives later

tonight and then we have some activity on Saturday but not

amounting to storms. The next big event arrives on Sunday pushing in

from the West. You can see there's a couple of storms heading our way

over the next few days. The first stormy period arrives later tonight

and then we have some activity on Saturday but not amounting to

storms. The next big event arrives on Sunday pushing in from the West.

You can see those very tightly packed isobars with `` low`pressure.

Back to this evening, it is quiet for the eastern half of the region,

at the area of rain here is starting to push in from the West, though it

should move out of the way quite quickly, so you will find in the

early hours it will be a much try a picture. We could have about 20

millimetres, about an inch, and considering ground is already

saturated, that could make quite a difference. For the morning

tomorrow, deceptively dry with sunshine and a few showers flitting

across the region, but then more potent showers starting to push up

from the south`west through the rest of the afternoon and particularly in

the evening tomorrow, another period of wet weather with gusts of 50

mph. Tomorrow night, the showers will eventually fade away leaving us

with much drier conditions towards the end of the night, with clearest

bells, but then, as I've said, rain. Today and storms on Sunday.

Tonight's headlines from the BBC: Trains fares rise by an average of

2.8%, up three times more than incomes.

Name and shame, as two police forces are criticised for publishing names

of drivers charged with drink`driving.

That was the Midlands Today. I'll be back at 10pm with more on the

optimism for growth among some of our businesses. For now, goodbye.