:00:00. > 3:59:59from the BBC News at Six. So it's goodbye from me. On BBC One we now
:00:00. > :00:11.join the BBC's news Hello and welcome to Midlands Today.
:00:12. > :00:14.The headlines tonight: Unpalatable and unacceptable says the leader of
:00:15. > :00:22.Wolverhampton Council, as cuts of ?123 million are confirmed over the
:00:23. > :00:32.next five years. Look before you cut. You may be doing people who are
:00:33. > :00:36.desperately in need and injustice. We'll be asking the where those cuts
:00:37. > :00:39.will come and talk live to the city's only Conservative MP.
:00:40. > :00:42.Also tonight: Get to emergencies quicker or risk being fined ?3
:00:43. > :00:46.million. The stark warning to West Midlands Ambulance Service.
:00:47. > :00:50.Stoke's rising obesity problem, what the city is doing to help the one in
:00:51. > :00:52.three who are putting their lives at risk.
:00:53. > :00:56.We meet the talented young musician and athlete who's setting her sights
:00:57. > :01:03.on the Commonwealth Games. She also has a bobsleigh silver medal! I am
:01:04. > :01:08.still only 19. I've hopefully got a long career ahead of me.
:01:09. > :01:13.And if recent weather patterns are anything to go by, it's never stays
:01:14. > :01:19.calm for long. After a day of rest, get ready for a night of rain.
:01:20. > :01:25.Good evening. In the last hour, senior councillors have approved a
:01:26. > :01:35.fresh round of multi`million pound budget cuts. The decision to cut
:01:36. > :01:37.?123 million over five years from Wolverhampton Council's budget was
:01:38. > :01:41.described by its leader as unpalatable and unacceptable. In a
:01:42. > :01:44.moment I'll be talking to a senior Labour councillor in Wolverhampton,
:01:45. > :01:46.and also the city's only Conservative MP, but first Sarah
:01:47. > :01:55.Falkland's been gauging opinion in the city.
:01:56. > :02:00.They want to cut, cut, cut. It's just disgusting really. Why? Why
:02:01. > :02:02.have you got to cut everything? There's anger on the streets of
:02:03. > :02:09.Whitmore Reans in Wolverhampton. Council cuts of ?123 million are on
:02:10. > :02:13.their way. Unemployment here is more than double the national average and
:02:14. > :02:16.over 10% of households are single parents. Peter Walker is one of
:02:17. > :02:23.them. He says the cuts have gone too far. We all need a bit of help at
:02:24. > :02:27.this moment. It's a bit too much, especially because no 1's got any
:02:28. > :02:31.work. If we had work, it wouldn't be so bad. Sandra Grimme uses the
:02:32. > :02:34.library for CDs books and twice. Under the current proposals library
:02:35. > :02:39.opening hours be reduced from over 50 hours a week to just 15. What
:02:40. > :02:44.they think and what is put in practice are two different things.
:02:45. > :02:48.You cannot cut people down that have been used to access to things and
:02:49. > :02:51.say you can only have so many hours a week. Over at the Lighthouse
:02:52. > :02:55.Centre, they've learnt to cope with cuts. A vinyl night is one of the
:02:56. > :02:58.many diverse attractions here apart from the draw of the cinemas.
:02:59. > :03:01.They've had to be proactive specially as the council's
:03:02. > :03:08.withdrawing half their grant and could now shut them out all
:03:09. > :03:12.together. We have been working from hand to mouth in terms of budget
:03:13. > :03:16.cuts and building our audiences to fill that gap. We just don't know
:03:17. > :03:26.until we are told formally and it is a worry. Pensioners Ezra and Sylvia
:03:27. > :03:35.Ricketts are beginning to wonder what they're getting for their
:03:36. > :03:40.council tax. Only facilities we get our dump bins being emptied. They
:03:41. > :03:48.say they might struggle to do that. Well... What do they do with the
:03:49. > :03:51.money they are getting? The council would say that is the problem. The
:03:52. > :03:52.government is not giving them enough.
:03:53. > :03:58.Live now to Wolverhampton, and Councillor Andrew Johnson. Good
:03:59. > :04:09.evening. How are you going to save this money? Well, we've taken a very
:04:10. > :04:14.difficult decision tonight, to make even more cuts over and above those
:04:15. > :04:18.that we have already been forced to make, because of the incredible
:04:19. > :04:24.reduction in our government grant. Basically, we've lost over half of
:04:25. > :04:33.the ground that the government gives us for council services between 2010
:04:34. > :04:38.and 2015, 2016. That is a huge cut. It means we will have to take out
:04:39. > :04:42.?123 million over the next five years out of the budget, which is
:04:43. > :04:45.virtually impossible. Virtually impossible but you have to do it so
:04:46. > :04:50.what effect will this have on the people of Wolverhampton and the city
:04:51. > :04:56.itself? It is already having a dire effect. It is not something that we
:04:57. > :05:00.want to do. I can completely empathise with the frustration of
:05:01. > :05:05.the people you have interviewed today about the cutbacks. We have
:05:06. > :05:12.already had announcements about libraries, much shorter hours, but
:05:13. > :05:17.it will affect every part of the council's service. We simply cannot
:05:18. > :05:21.make cuts of this magnitude without having service reductions which will
:05:22. > :05:28.impact on the public. Will anything be protected? Well, we will
:05:29. > :05:33.obviously protect statutory services we have to provide. For example, we
:05:34. > :05:38.spend a great deal of money looking after children as is absolutely
:05:39. > :05:42.necessary and morally right. We will protect those elements of the
:05:43. > :05:46.service. But basically, in order to make cuts of this magnitude, every
:05:47. > :05:54.part of what the council does will be affected. Do you accept that one
:05:55. > :05:57.politician's cuts is one politician's savings. Cuts are being
:05:58. > :06:03.made right across the country, not just at Wolverhampton City Council.
:06:04. > :06:08.Yes but Wolverhampton City Council has faced worse cuts than many other
:06:09. > :06:14.councils that serve far wealthier areas of the country. Also, the
:06:15. > :06:17.local government sector has faced bigger cuts than any other
:06:18. > :06:24.government department. This is really unfair on the people we
:06:25. > :06:29.represent. Thank you. Wolverhampton South West MP is our `` at our
:06:30. > :06:34.Westminster studio now. Picking up on that last point, this is really
:06:35. > :06:37.unfair on Wolverhampton. As in everything in life, there are two
:06:38. > :06:41.sides to the story. Councillor Johnson there was talking about
:06:42. > :06:44.expenditure and how it is the fault of central government. But if you
:06:45. > :06:49.look at Wolverhampton council's own figures, their current day`to`day
:06:50. > :06:55.spending is about ?250 million and what they are projecting to spend
:06:56. > :07:00.over the next five to six years is ?312 million. That is an increase of
:07:01. > :07:02.25%. The reason these figures look so bad is because no other
:07:03. > :07:06.government department and no other body that I'm aware of is looking to
:07:07. > :07:10.increase spending over the next five to six years. If anything, they are
:07:11. > :07:23.just basically looking to stand still. That is what is making the
:07:24. > :07:25.figures look so bad. You saying that councillors are crying wolf? ?123
:07:26. > :07:28.million over the next five years... They say that will have a real
:07:29. > :07:30.impact on services, all but the essential services. You can present
:07:31. > :07:33.the figures and the statistics in a certain way. It is important that
:07:34. > :07:36.everybody who is watching this today and everybody who is a Wolverhampton
:07:37. > :07:40.resident gets the full facts and a real sense of what figures are.
:07:41. > :07:50.Talking about the residence, you will have heard one word which kept
:07:51. > :07:55.coming up time and time again: Why? The simple fact I would put out
:07:56. > :07:59.there, Mary, and it isn't often publicised. I'm sorry Councillor
:08:00. > :08:02.Johnson didn't refer to it. Wolverhampton City Council have
:08:03. > :08:07.debts of over ?500 million. The interest on that debt is ?25 million
:08:08. > :08:12.a year. That is the saving that the council are looking to make. What
:08:13. > :08:16.makes it slightly worse than that, they are looking to borrow an
:08:17. > :08:20.additional ?75 million this year. When you look at that debt
:08:21. > :08:24.bombshell, for every household in Wolverhampton, that is a cost of
:08:25. > :08:29.?5,000 around every household in the city. We are not just talking about
:08:30. > :08:34.Wolverhampton. There are cuts and savings which have to be made in
:08:35. > :08:37.various areas in the West Midlands. ?840 million in Birmingham, ?109
:08:38. > :08:43.million in Staffordshire. What are you making sure to `` what are you
:08:44. > :08:47.doing to make sure the West Midlands gets a fair deal? The prime Minster
:08:48. > :08:50.came here a couple of months ago and spoke candidly about how we will
:08:51. > :08:54.survive in the future. In the 21st century, it's not just government
:08:55. > :08:57.that every household who is going to have to live within its means. The
:08:58. > :09:14.reality is, we cannot shirk that responsibility.
:09:15. > :09:19.Coming up later in the programme: One man's rubbish is another man's
:09:20. > :09:24.treasure. An award for the recycling project raising funds for local
:09:25. > :09:27.charities. West Midlands Ambulance Service is
:09:28. > :09:30.at risk of being fined ?3 million for breach of contract because it's
:09:31. > :09:33.arriving late to too`many emergency calls. Its Chief Executive, Anthony
:09:34. > :09:36.Marsh, told staff a fine would take money away from front`line services,
:09:37. > :09:39.affect the training of paramedics and the buying of new equipment.
:09:40. > :09:40.This report from our Health Correspondent, contains flashing
:09:41. > :09:43.images. There have been problems with
:09:44. > :09:46.ambulance responses in rural areas for some time. The death of new born
:09:47. > :09:49.Kate Stanton`Davies in Ludlow in 2009. Problems getting Thomas
:09:50. > :09:52.Passant from Bridgnot to hospital in 2012. This Christmas day an
:09:53. > :09:57.82`year`old waited four hours for an ambulance in Oswestry. Ray Salmon
:09:58. > :10:05.who represents ambulance workers says its not their fault. The system
:10:06. > :10:08.is simply under too much pressure. Everything contributes to demand on
:10:09. > :10:13.the Ambulance Service. They are working as hard as they can. They
:10:14. > :10:18.cannot do any more. It is a comeback... Taking this many of them
:10:19. > :10:25.would be a disaster. It is so ridiculous. It's no laughing matter.
:10:26. > :10:29.West Midlands Ambulance Service should reach 75% of Red one calls in
:10:30. > :10:34.eight minutes. That's patients who cardiac arrest or stop breathing. In
:10:35. > :10:37.the West Mercia area of Herefordshire, Shropshire and
:10:38. > :10:40.Worcestershire, it reached 68% last year. But on bad days it was just
:10:41. > :10:44.better than 50%. In Coventry and Warwickshire it was 73%. The trust
:10:45. > :10:46.has nine minutes to reach Red two. That's all other life threatening
:10:47. > :10:51.conditions, but in Birmingham just missed it last year at 74.5% and in
:10:52. > :10:55.the Black Country it was around 73% last year. The chief executive told
:10:56. > :11:01.staff in a weekly briefing that fines are a real risk. Nobody from
:11:02. > :11:05.the service was able to go on camera. In a statement, the trust
:11:06. > :11:08.said it hoped the commissioners would reinvest finds in the
:11:09. > :11:11.Ambulance Service to ensure safe care for patients. But what simply,
:11:12. > :11:15.the money back. One former ambulance boss has little sympathy. He says
:11:16. > :11:22.the service isn't using its resources properly and needs to
:11:23. > :11:26.restructure. The proper way to get a fast response is to look at your
:11:27. > :11:33.history, look at where the calls come from, look at which our
:11:34. > :11:37.life`threatening, look at how many ambulances you need to meet that
:11:38. > :11:40.demand and then prioritise where you put the ambulances. West Midlands
:11:41. > :11:43.Ambulance told staff that the fine would take money away from paramedic
:11:44. > :11:46.training and new ambulances. And Michele joins me now.
:11:47. > :11:52.How likely do you think this fine is?
:11:53. > :11:55.It should happen. They are bound by contract law and I know some of the
:11:56. > :12:00.commissioners are disgruntled but nobody today wanted to talk to me. I
:12:01. > :12:03.suspect that they are embarrassed this has gone into the public
:12:04. > :12:08.domain. They realise they cannot really enforce this fine. The
:12:09. > :12:11.Ambulance Service said it needs an extra ?6 million. It wants ?2
:12:12. > :12:17.million for Shropshire. I suspect the modern `` money will recycle it.
:12:18. > :12:22.Is it right that ambulance targets can result in a fine?
:12:23. > :12:26.A lot of it is out of their control. Turnaround times in hospital,
:12:27. > :12:34.problems in terms of lead blocking and so on... Lots of people have
:12:35. > :12:37.sympathy. Certain people think they should have restructured and they
:12:38. > :12:42.have had extra money to do this sort of thing. They are still not meeting
:12:43. > :12:47.the targets which have actually been debased to some extent. This is the
:12:48. > :12:50.private sector coming in. If you do it right, you get paid. If you
:12:51. > :12:54.don't, you won't. An investigation's underway after a
:12:55. > :12:58.man died in a fire at his home in Worcestershire. Crews were called to
:12:59. > :13:00.the house in the Charford area of Bromsgrove yesterday afternoon.
:13:01. > :13:04.Firefighters attempted to rescue the man who was in his 40s, but were
:13:05. > :13:11.unable to save him from what they describe as a severe blaze.
:13:12. > :13:14.Environment Agency staff have installed temporary flood barriers
:13:15. > :13:17.in the Worcestershire town of Bewdley. The removable barriers are
:13:18. > :13:20.in place as River Severn water levels are expected to rise
:13:21. > :13:22.overnight. The Cabinet Minister responsible for
:13:23. > :13:25.Britain's prisons says the disturbance at Oakwood near
:13:26. > :13:32.Wolverhampton at the weekend was the result of teething troubles. Up to
:13:33. > :13:34.20 inmates were involved at the privately`run prison, threatening
:13:35. > :13:38.staff and damaging cells. Justice Secretary Chris Grayling say Oakwood
:13:39. > :13:41.was one of the best prisons in the country.
:13:42. > :13:43.The problem of obesity has been described as reaching epidemic
:13:44. > :13:51.proportions in Stoke on Trent. It's estimated it costs the NHS in the
:13:52. > :13:57.city ?50 million a year. With the new year, comes a new drive to
:13:58. > :14:00.tackle the problem. Nikki Brennan lost four stone in a
:14:01. > :14:08.year. And thanks to a healthy lifestyle has kept the weight off.
:14:09. > :14:12.It's had a transformational effect. Life changing, yes. For my children
:14:13. > :14:17.as well. I mean, I started doing things from scratch, making fresh
:14:18. > :14:20.food which has made the children learn how to cook things a healthy
:14:21. > :14:23.way. It's been good for them as well. Some of the members of this
:14:24. > :14:27.gym have been referred here after having heart problems. They're given
:14:28. > :14:35.help by experts from a cardiac rehab team. There is no point in a patient
:14:36. > :14:38.working with us for five weeks, doing fantastically well and
:14:39. > :14:42.achieving what you set out to achieve and then going back to their
:14:43. > :14:45.previous lifestyle. We are looking at a long`term change. It is all
:14:46. > :14:48.about long`term behavioural change. But getting that message across
:14:49. > :14:52.hasn't been easy. The scale of the problem's concerning, One in four
:14:53. > :14:55.ten to 11`year`olds in this city is classed as obese. The figure for
:14:56. > :15:04.adults is almost one in three. And the cost to the health service is
:15:05. > :15:07.expected to rise. It is reckoned around one in ten deaths could be
:15:08. > :15:10.avoided if people who live a sedentary lifestyle did at least
:15:11. > :15:14.half an hour's exercise five days a week. For those who've made the
:15:15. > :15:20.commitment to come to the gym, the effort's paid off. You've got to
:15:21. > :15:26.want to do it and it's the same as cutting out the rubbish you eat.
:15:27. > :15:32.Yeah, it is all that. You've got to want to come. It looks a lot harder
:15:33. > :15:36.than what it is. It's a lot more enjoyable when you get here and
:15:37. > :15:39.start doing it. The challenge is to persuade more people in the city to
:15:40. > :15:46.see the benefits of exercise and to help rein in what's become a serious
:15:47. > :15:50.problem in the Potteries. This is our top story tonight:
:15:51. > :16:01.Wolverhampton City Council confirms cuts of ?123 million. A senior
:16:02. > :16:05.councillor says it will be virtually impossible. Your detailed weather
:16:06. > :16:07.forecast to come shortly with Shefali. Also in tonight's
:16:08. > :16:10.programme: Already a bobsleigh silver medallist, now this talented
:16:11. > :16:14.law student is aiming to represent her country in the long jump.
:16:15. > :16:15.And walking in the air since 1993. The Snowman comes home to the
:16:16. > :16:28.theatre where it all started. Many of us have things we no longer
:16:29. > :16:31.need, but are too good to go to the tip. A Warwickshire based project
:16:32. > :16:34.has taken advantage of this and won an award for it. Their recycling
:16:35. > :16:41.scheme ploughs the profits into supporting local community schemes.
:16:42. > :16:45.Wellsbourne tip was threatened with closure two years ago under council
:16:46. > :16:48.savings, a charity stepped in and with the help of volounteers and a
:16:49. > :16:57.small workforce the site has now been praised by Downing Street. The
:16:58. > :17:01.system is simple. People dump their rubbish, they're helped to recycle,
:17:02. > :17:11.which in turn raises cash to keep the centre running. The scrap value
:17:12. > :17:15.of small appliances is worth about ?150 per tonne. They are getting
:17:16. > :17:19.around 20 times a month and the money from that helps pay for staff.
:17:20. > :17:22.David Cameron wasn't recycling his Christmas waste today but there were
:17:23. > :17:29.plenty of others grateful for a local resource on their doorstep.
:17:30. > :17:32.More local involvement more personal responsibility. I think it's
:17:33. > :17:42.excellent. I hope it encourages other people to bring things along.
:17:43. > :17:46.It is important that every time `` town has a facility like this. We
:17:47. > :17:51.get income from wealthy cycling and items we resell in the shops. The
:17:52. > :17:57.business pays for itself essentially. The re`use shops offer
:17:58. > :18:00.more than just bargains. Cash raised here will go to local charities and
:18:01. > :18:03.it offers opportunities for volunteers. It is a feeling that
:18:04. > :18:11.you've done something and contributed to the community. When
:18:12. > :18:14.you are driving out grants of ?500 to ?1000 to a small group, that
:18:15. > :18:19.money can actually make a really big difference. There are thousands of
:18:20. > :18:23.community groups throughout Warwickshire which are under the
:18:24. > :18:25.radar. Now almost in a full recycling circle the volunteers are
:18:26. > :18:32.going to decide which local charities should benefit from the
:18:33. > :18:36.profits of our rubbish. Time for sport now and Ian has news
:18:37. > :18:39.of one football club who've got a new manager and one who are still
:18:40. > :18:44.looking. Good evening. Just 24 hours after
:18:45. > :18:47.sacking Steve Burr, Kidderminster Harriers have named Andy Thorn, the
:18:48. > :18:50.former Coventry City manager, as their surprise choice to take over
:18:51. > :18:53.at Aggborough. Thorn has been scouting for England since leaving
:18:54. > :18:56.Coventry 18 months ago. His first job is to halt a dismal run of four
:18:57. > :19:00.defeats in five league games. Harriers have slipped from second to
:19:01. > :19:03.seventh in the Conference Premier. But still no sign of a new
:19:04. > :19:08.appointment at West Bromwich Albion, more than three weeks after the club
:19:09. > :19:11.sacked Steve Clarke. The latest bookies' favourite for the job is
:19:12. > :19:15.the German Thomas Schaaf. He spent 14 years as manager of Werder
:19:16. > :19:19.Bremen. His impressive CV has five major trophies including one
:19:20. > :19:23.Bundesliga title. In League one, Shrewsbury Town lost
:19:24. > :19:26.again, their fifth defeat in a row at home, beaten 2`0 by Leyton
:19:27. > :19:30.Orient. Shrewsbury missed a few decent chances to go in front. But
:19:31. > :19:34.they fell behind just before the half hour mark. And a late header
:19:35. > :19:43.sealed the Shrews' fate. And lifted Orient above Wolves into the
:19:44. > :19:47.automatic promotion places. Two years ago, Jazmin Sawyers jumped
:19:48. > :19:52.into a bobsleigh and won a silver medal at the Winter Youth Olympics
:19:53. > :19:55.in Austria. Now, Jazmin is bidding to compete in the long jump at this
:19:56. > :20:00.Summer's Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. 2014 could be a big year
:20:01. > :20:02.for the versatile young athlete from Stoke`on`Trent, who's possibly the
:20:03. > :20:12.busiest, most talented teenager I've ever met.
:20:13. > :20:30.Nine months ago, Jazmin Sawyers had never played a single chord. Then
:20:31. > :20:34.she spotted a guitar in a charity shop, taught herself online, wrote a
:20:35. > :20:37.few songs and now and now she's playing gigs with an EP out soon.
:20:38. > :20:41.There's no doubt about it, Jazmin's got talent. And not just for music.
:20:42. > :20:44.Because first impressions don't begin to tell the full story, about
:20:45. > :20:48.the university law student with a passion for sport. I am ridiculously
:20:49. > :20:51.busy. There is barely a free moment but I prefer it that way. It is
:20:52. > :20:55.manic but it works. Midlands Today first met Jazmin when she was only
:20:56. > :20:58.13. Competing in the high jump at Birmingham's Alexander Stadium. The
:20:59. > :21:02.rain poured down, but her star potential was on the up and up.
:21:03. > :21:05.Three years later, she was competing at the Winter Youth Olympics in
:21:06. > :21:12.Austria. Touching 70 miles an hour in the bobsleigh. She was thrilled
:21:13. > :21:16.to bits to win a silver medal. Unbelievable. There are no words.
:21:17. > :21:20.Honestly, it's the best feeling I've ever experienced. But this is where
:21:21. > :21:23.Jazmin's true love really lies, in the long jump. And her sights are
:21:24. > :21:28.firmly set upon the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow this summer. What
:21:29. > :21:36.is the connection between Bobsleigh and long jump? People ask that. They
:21:37. > :21:39.are similar. With both use print and jump. One is nice and you are
:21:40. > :21:41.pushing something. But the skills that you need are really similar.
:21:42. > :21:44.You've got speed and power. To qualify for the Commonwealth Games,
:21:45. > :21:48.Jazmine must add an extra seven centimetres to her best jump before
:21:49. > :21:54.the team is announced in June. But she's confident she'll deliver in
:21:55. > :21:58.time. We've got the Bobsleigh, the long jump, your music, your law
:21:59. > :22:03.degree, your part time job. What do you do in your spare time? There
:22:04. > :22:08.isn't any spare time. I make sure there isn't any! You are buzzing
:22:09. > :22:12.about 2014, aren't you? And excited. I feel myself constantly excited at
:22:13. > :22:20.the moment. I got so much to be excited about and what a great way
:22:21. > :22:30.to be. With guitar in hand, her stage name is Jazmin Jayne. But in
:22:31. > :22:33.the athletics arena, it'll be the long jumper Jazmin Sawyers, who's
:22:34. > :22:36.bidding to make a name for herself in Glasgow.
:22:37. > :22:39.Only one thing's for sure, the next few months will be even busier than
:22:40. > :22:46.normal for Jazmin. Good luck! You saw her here first.
:22:47. > :22:50.Seen by over one million people worldwide, the stage version of the
:22:51. > :22:52.Snowman is back in Birmingham to celebrate its 20th anniversary. The
:22:53. > :22:56.live version of Raymond Briggs' children's classic was created at
:22:57. > :23:00.the Birmingham Rep. The magical tale of a young boy's
:23:01. > :23:04.adventures when his snowman comes to life on Chrismas Eve. This stage
:23:05. > :23:14.version was created in 1993 at the Reperatory Theatre in Birmingham. It
:23:15. > :23:19.is very much about that. It is associated with the stage version so
:23:20. > :23:22.when we take it to London, it plays in London's West End every
:23:23. > :23:27.Christmas. It's Birmingham 's name that is up there. It has been to
:23:28. > :23:32.Japan, Holland, career, all those people around the world have seen
:23:33. > :23:39.what was made in Birmingham and exported from the Wrap. `` Rep. The
:23:40. > :23:43.show's music is well known. Walking in the Air reached number five in
:23:44. > :23:47.the UK charts in 1985 when Aled Jones sang it. But the additinal
:23:48. > :23:55.music for this show was composed right here backstage. They are
:23:56. > :24:00.starting to rehearse the cast and I'm going to write new dances on
:24:01. > :24:06.things so it would be great to try it. I will adjust them and I can be
:24:07. > :24:08.there. It was fun and it works brilliantly actually. I'm very fond
:24:09. > :24:17.of this theatre. The Birmingham trademark is all over this show. All
:24:18. > :24:20.the costumes are handmade here in the wardrobe department, taking the
:24:21. > :24:26.workmanship right across the world. Now, there are 60 costumes per show
:24:27. > :24:32.and 11 snowman costumes each taking a week to make. They are made out of
:24:33. > :24:39.11 miles of white net. And it's not just costumes made here. The
:24:40. > :24:44.original boy was from Solihull. This is the first place that I was on
:24:45. > :24:52.stage. This is Birmingham. This is the way I remember it, Birmingham,
:24:53. > :24:58.and the fact it was the first place to show the Snowman, is quite an
:24:59. > :25:09.honour. And for the next ten days, the Snowman is back where it
:25:10. > :25:12.started. As we saw earlier, flood defences up
:25:13. > :25:18.in Bewdley. Shefali, that suggests more heavy rain tonight?
:25:19. > :25:23.Warning from The Met office for this evening, tonight and running into
:25:24. > :25:28.tomorrow morning for Herefordshire and Shropshire. They will be heavy
:25:29. > :25:32.rain. That will not only add to current problems but lead to a delay
:25:33. > :25:35.in recovery. At least today gave us a breather and there is more dry
:25:36. > :25:39.weather to come. Focusing on the positives, this is how it is looking
:25:40. > :25:43.for the dry weather over the next few days. It is dry tomorrow and
:25:44. > :25:46.dryer on Saturday. This is when we have the rain arriving. It will
:25:47. > :25:51.arrive tonight and it is this crossbow feature coupled with low
:25:52. > :25:54.pressure that is pushing it through. After that, under the front will
:25:55. > :25:57.come through on Friday. This one could also have some heavy rain
:25:58. > :26:01.along it. It is followed by high pressure which settles things down
:26:02. > :26:06.for Saturday. What we cannot project onto in this current run is the rain
:26:07. > :26:10.that will arrive later on Sunday and into the start of next week. What we
:26:11. > :26:14.also see towards the weekend and also into next week is temperatures
:26:15. > :26:18.dropping and it becoming a lot colder. For this evening, we had
:26:19. > :26:22.this rain leading into the West earlier on today. It has now
:26:23. > :26:29.stretched across this reason `` region. It is not all light rain. In
:26:30. > :26:32.fact, a lot of it will be heavy. Particularly so for the western half
:26:33. > :26:36.of the region. It will clear during the early hours but will be followed
:26:37. > :26:42.by fairly lively, heavy showers as well. Temperatures will be down to
:26:43. > :26:46.six or seven Celsius. Still on the mild side. These should clear by
:26:47. > :26:50.tomorrow. If you clipping the extremities of the North. On the
:26:51. > :26:54.whole, they will be dry, bright and fairly sunny and places. Just a few
:26:55. > :26:58.dotted around the north eastern half of the region through the day. A lot
:26:59. > :27:02.of dry weather to be had in highs of seven to eight Celsius. Tomorrow, we
:27:03. > :27:08.sense things becoming a lot colder. It is dry, we have clearing skies
:27:09. > :27:10.and the temperatures will be near freezing with a touch of Frost. Rain
:27:11. > :27:21.later on Friday. Try on Saturday. Tonight's headlines from the BBC: It
:27:22. > :27:24.was the death that sparked riots in London and beyond. A jury decides
:27:25. > :27:27.Mark Duggan was lawfully killed by police A US military helicopter
:27:28. > :27:30.crash in Norfolk `` four people died when the aircraft came down last
:27:31. > :27:34.night Wolverhampton City Council confirms cuts of ?123 million must
:27:35. > :27:37.be made over the next five years And get to emergencies quicker or risk
:27:38. > :27:38.being fined ?3 million. The stark warning to West Midlands Ambulance
:27:39. > :27:43.Service. That was the Midlands Today. I'll be
:27:44. > :27:45.back at ten o'clock with more on the likely impact of those cuts in
:27:46. > :27:48.Wolvehampton. Have a great evening. Goodbye.