:00:00. > :00:00.the windscreen first thing in the morning. That is
:00:00. > :00:00.Hello and welcome to Midlands Today. The headlines tonight:
:00:07. > :00:09.A holiday of a lifetime which turned to tragedy, family and friends pay
:00:10. > :00:18.tribute to the Warwickshire couple viciously attacked on holiday in the
:00:19. > :00:22.Caribbean. Losing somebody is bad enough but when it is murder, we
:00:23. > :00:24.were just completely knocked sideways.
:00:25. > :00:28.We'll have the latest from St Lucia on the death of Roger Pratt, killed
:00:29. > :00:30.while trying to protect his wife. Also tonight:
:00:31. > :00:33.An horrific attack in a Birmingham street. Police hunt the thugs
:00:34. > :00:36.involved and the drivers who passed without stopping.
:00:37. > :00:39.The dangers of a cold home, how thousands are putting their lives at
:00:40. > :00:43.risk because they can't afford the energy bills.
:00:44. > :00:46.The history behind the hype ` James Turner Street before the cameras
:00:47. > :00:55.came in and rebranded it Benefits Street.
:00:56. > :01:00.And there has been a wintry fail to things but it is not just the
:01:01. > :01:01.temperatures dropping, visibility is also. Fogg could cause major
:01:02. > :01:13.disruption. Find out more later. Good evening. Friends and family of
:01:14. > :01:17.a Warwickshire man killed on his yacht in the Caribbean say his widow
:01:18. > :01:21.was badly beaten in the attack. A postmortem examination is being held
:01:22. > :01:24.today on Roger Pratt. His wife, Margaret, found his body floating
:01:25. > :01:29.near their boat, Magnetic Attraction. Three men are being
:01:30. > :01:33.questioned by police in St Lucia. Joan Cummins has the latest.
:01:34. > :01:37.75,000 British tourists visit St Lucia in the Caribbean every year.
:01:38. > :01:40.For Roger and Margaret Pratt from Moreton Paddox near Warwick it was
:01:41. > :01:46.another stopover on their world trip on board their treasured yacht
:01:47. > :01:49.Magnetic Attraction. They arrived in St Lucia on New
:01:50. > :01:52.Year's Eve before heading south 14th January to Soufriere and the
:01:53. > :01:57.volcanic world heritage site the Pitons. They were delayed by customs
:01:58. > :02:02.so decided to continue to Vieux Fort, far from the main tourist
:02:03. > :02:07.trail. It was there they were attacked just before midnight on
:02:08. > :02:15.Friday. A postmortem is being held today to establish the cause of
:02:16. > :02:23.death. Today we will continue our investigation. The officers will be
:02:24. > :02:30.on the ground in view fought to interview possible witnesses, this
:02:31. > :02:35.is the `` maybe conduct searches. They spent ten years planning this
:02:36. > :02:39.trip of a lifetime. On social media, Margaret had said it was like taking
:02:40. > :02:41.a leap into the unknown. Nobody would have expected it to end so
:02:42. > :02:45.tragically. Neighbours told me that Mr and Mrs
:02:46. > :02:50.Pratt had decided to sail westwards, rather than around Africa with its
:02:51. > :02:55.known piracy threat. They would not have taken any risk. Very cautious
:02:56. > :03:02.and he is so meticulous in everything he has done. I remember
:03:03. > :03:06.chatting with him on the drive before they left here, about two
:03:07. > :03:08.years ago. Just a genuinely nice man.
:03:09. > :03:15.Throughout the trip, Margaret Pratt diaried the couple's progress
:03:16. > :03:18.online. " Roger went to a session on piracy, it makes sense. " In
:03:19. > :03:21.Martinque, Margaret wrote how they'd been concerned about youths.
:03:22. > :03:24."Roger stayed up until midnight to protect the boat". The flag was
:03:25. > :03:26.flying at half mast at the Royal Yacht club in Norfolk, where the
:03:27. > :03:28.couple were members. "Roger stayed up until midnight to
:03:29. > :03:34.protect the Fellow sailors said piracy advice to skippers was very
:03:35. > :03:41.clear. The instructions are not to take them on, so to speak.
:03:42. > :03:44.Typically, it is to have as many of the female members of group below
:03:45. > :03:50.deck and as many of the male members on deck, as a show of strength, if
:03:51. > :03:53.you are approached. It is one of those things that you do not expect
:03:54. > :03:57.to happen. They were really enjoying themselves, doing what they have
:03:58. > :03:59.always wanted to do and it has ended like this.
:04:00. > :04:02.Mrs Pratt, who was beaten in the attack, has been released from
:04:03. > :04:08.hospital and is now helping police establish exactly why their dream
:04:09. > :04:12.ended in tragedy. Well, the BBC's Michelle Fleury is
:04:13. > :04:19.on St Lucia. I spoke to her a few minutes ago to find out the latest
:04:20. > :04:24.developments. The postmortem into Roger's death has just begun. This
:04:25. > :04:28.will help determine the exact cause of death because up until now,
:04:29. > :04:37.details have been fairly sketchy. The medical chief supervisor here in
:04:38. > :04:42.Fife told me earlier that he could confirm that the body had been
:04:43. > :04:49.brought on Saturday and he was dead upon arrival. `` in Vieux Fort. His
:04:50. > :04:52.wife sustained soft injuries and was later released. I am standing in the
:04:53. > :04:56.fishing port of Vieux Fort and you can see beyond me the commercial
:04:57. > :05:01.block and beyond that you dog. That is where their boat was murdered
:05:02. > :05:06.when this tragic incident happened. `` you want that the dock. And you
:05:07. > :05:11.tell me more about the men being held? The investigation is ongoing
:05:12. > :05:15.so people are fairly unwilling to dock. Plenty of speculation ongoing.
:05:16. > :05:18.What we do know is that three men have been held in custody. No
:05:19. > :05:22.details or charges have been brought. Certainly something
:05:23. > :05:24.everyone will be keeping an eye on in the years ahead `` the days
:05:25. > :05:27.ahead. Coming up later in the programme:
:05:28. > :05:30.Felling hundred of trees all in the name of nature. Restoring Kinver
:05:31. > :05:36.Edge in Staffordshire to its historic heathland habitat.
:05:37. > :05:41.Police have released shocking CCTV images of a man who was mugged on
:05:42. > :05:44.the street in Birmingham as he walked home from a party. The
:05:45. > :05:47.51`year`old was knocked unconscious by one of his attackers, another
:05:48. > :05:54.repeatedly kicked him while he was being robbed. More than a dozen cars
:05:55. > :05:56.drove past without stopping. A warning ` Sian Lloyd's report
:05:57. > :06:04.contains images you may find distressing.
:06:05. > :06:08.It was the early hours of the 15th of December and the CCTV footage
:06:09. > :06:14.shows the victim turning round after an odd checked, later found to be a
:06:15. > :06:18.plate, was thrown. A second man appears from the shadows and punches
:06:19. > :06:23.him, which knocks into ground unconscious. As the 51`year`old lies
:06:24. > :06:29.help was on the street, the man rifled through his pockets, stealing
:06:30. > :06:34.a watch and mobile phone. `` lies helpless. Then, in an act of
:06:35. > :06:38.violence that is too sickening to show, the first attacker begins
:06:39. > :06:43.kicking the victim in the head. It is no more than one month since that
:06:44. > :06:46.horrific attack was carried out on this street in Birmingham. West
:06:47. > :06:51.Midlands police say they need the public's help. More than a dozen
:06:52. > :06:54.cars passed by as they assault took place and they urgently want the
:06:55. > :07:01.drivers of those vehicles to come forward. Police say their latest
:07:02. > :07:06.figures show the number of robberies in this area of the city has fallen
:07:07. > :07:09.but that this was a particularly vicious attack. A collapse of that
:07:10. > :07:16.nature, let alone the punch that precedes it, could have easily
:07:17. > :07:19.resulted in this being a murder investigation. A passer`by
:07:20. > :07:23.eventually called the emergency services. The man was the Jews the
:07:24. > :07:29.injured and needed stitches to his face and head. He is still too
:07:30. > :07:32.shaken to speak about his ordeal. Walsall Manor Hospital has been
:07:33. > :07:38.closed to visitors after an outbreak of Norovirus. Eight wards were
:07:39. > :07:41.closed on Saturday but the Trust has now taken the precaution of
:07:42. > :07:44.restricting admission to all wards. It says two of the outbreaks have
:07:45. > :07:47.been caused by people visiting who have unknowingly brought the
:07:48. > :07:51.infection into the hospital. We all will have noticed how the
:07:52. > :07:55.cost of energy has risen. Many, particularly the elderly, face a
:07:56. > :07:59.daily struggle to keep warm. This time last year, almost 40 people a
:08:00. > :08:03.day were perishing in our region as the overall figure for excess winter
:08:04. > :08:06.deaths rose by a third. As the frost starts to bite again, Anthony
:08:07. > :08:13.Bartram reports from Stoke on Trent on the health risks of a cold home.
:08:14. > :08:16.Getting cold when you're old can be dangerous. Last winter saw death
:08:17. > :08:25.rates rise by a third, most of them pensioners. We have one or two
:08:26. > :08:30.neighbours that have died too early, if you know what I mean, through not
:08:31. > :08:33.being able to have the heating on an extra hour at night.
:08:34. > :08:36.These high rises in Stoke on Trent are draughty and hard to heat. Reg
:08:37. > :08:40.Shaw and Beryl Shaw have lived here for 32 years and worry about the
:08:41. > :08:44.headlines they read. 31,000 people were ambushed and killed by the cold
:08:45. > :08:51.in Britain last year ` 3,400 of them here in the West Mids ` which was up
:08:52. > :08:54.by a third on the previous winter. It was a big jump. Pensioners'
:08:55. > :08:57.charities say it's about time something was done about it.
:08:58. > :09:00.Health professionals say the difference between life and death
:09:01. > :09:10.among the most vulnerable can be measured by a few degrees. Think
:09:11. > :09:15.about it. A very cold spell, and elderly may have a stroke or a minor
:09:16. > :09:19.stroke due to the spike in blood pressure. They will call the
:09:20. > :09:25.emergency services, get into the stroke unit, that is costing
:09:26. > :09:30.thousands of pounds, less than ?30 for that night to be get warmer.
:09:31. > :09:33.On the other side of Stoke, Lawrence and Sheila Cooper also keep a close
:09:34. > :09:38.eye on their thermostat and go to some pretty extreme lengths to keep
:09:39. > :09:47.warm. This is what I wear when I am really cold. I cannot see you! This
:09:48. > :09:52.is something else. We have been on a low wage for as long as they can
:09:53. > :09:58.remember. There are loads of people that cannot cope with that. As the
:09:59. > :10:02.evening draws in, neither homes are as warm as the professor would like
:10:03. > :10:10.but there are far worse cases of course. Your bedroom was 15 degrees,
:10:11. > :10:15.far below what should be recommended. The blood pressure
:10:16. > :10:20.handled very well so personally, on this occasion, we do not see a major
:10:21. > :10:28.problem that is happening to your blood pressure.
:10:29. > :10:33.Pensioners are being urged to keep warm this winter but charities
:10:34. > :10:35.supporting them want more help so they can afford it.
:10:36. > :10:39.When it comes to energy costs, people in rural areas face a limited
:10:40. > :10:43.choice of fuel. With no mainline gas, oil is a common option. But
:10:44. > :10:46.that can bring its own problems, as our reporter Laura May McMullan has
:10:47. > :10:49.been finding out. High in the Staffordshire Moorlands, she caught
:10:50. > :10:51.up with Christine Staples who had a tank of central heating oil stolen.
:10:52. > :10:54.Staffordshire Police investigate around 40 similar fuel thefts a year
:10:55. > :10:56.in the area. Living in the Staffordshire
:10:57. > :11:00.Moorlands, Christine Staples knows all about winter weather and about
:11:01. > :11:08.how vital it is to keep her home warm. She's got two children and a
:11:09. > :11:11.husband to care for. That was made harder when they were completely
:11:12. > :11:23.stranded with no heating because thieves stole their central heating
:11:24. > :11:28.oil. We were totally snowed in. There was no way that you were
:11:29. > :11:31.getting in or out with anything. There was no chance of a lorry
:11:32. > :11:38.coming and we could not get out, you have to wear it out. A rural crime
:11:39. > :11:41.survey showed that fuel is the third most attractive commodity for
:11:42. > :11:48.thieves targeting rural properties, especially with a 23% hike in oil
:11:49. > :11:55.prices over the last five years. All theft is a crime `` Oil theft is
:11:56. > :11:58.a crime that the CLA, Country Land and Business Association want the
:11:59. > :12:02.Police and Crime Commissioners to put high on their agendas. We find
:12:03. > :12:07.that this is taking place across every county in our region. We have
:12:08. > :12:10.6000 members in the Midlands region and there are very concerned about
:12:11. > :12:13.rural crime. Rural homeowners are being warned to
:12:14. > :12:15.be vigilant. Christine knows first hand how costly and cold the effects
:12:16. > :12:28.of oil theft can be. So what about your energy costs? How
:12:29. > :12:32.can you go about reducing your bills? Many of us will have thought
:12:33. > :12:35.about that. But how about zero bills? That's what one couple have
:12:36. > :12:39.achieved at their home in Birmingham, after a conversion that
:12:40. > :12:42.sounds too good to be true. Before the conversion, the energy bills at
:12:43. > :12:48.this house would have been ?1250 a year. Today, they pay nothing. In
:12:49. > :12:53.fact, the electricity company pays them about ?2500 a year for the
:12:54. > :12:57.green electricity they generate. Well, to find out more we can join
:12:58. > :13:07.our reporter Joanne Writtle at the house in Balsall Heath. How does it
:13:08. > :13:14.work, Joanne? It is completely airtight. This is synthetic door is
:13:15. > :13:18.full of air pockets to keep the air and it can only be opened after the
:13:19. > :13:21.front door is closed. This is the original Victorian wall, because the
:13:22. > :13:25.whole house has doubled in size. From the outset, this Victorian
:13:26. > :13:29.house powers above its neighbours, with solar panels on the roof to
:13:30. > :13:34.catch the maximum amount of sunlight. There are mirrors to
:13:35. > :13:38.reflect light. It really does cut a striking figure in this street. I
:13:39. > :13:43.joined by the homeowner, John, who is also an architect. Tellers what
:13:44. > :13:47.people want to know. How much does it cost for you to do all of these
:13:48. > :13:52.measures and how long will it take to be give your money? The green
:13:53. > :13:56.measures cost about ?47,000 and that covers the triple glazing of the
:13:57. > :13:59.whole house, the insulation, they would warning stove and all those
:14:00. > :14:02.over panels. The key point is that they will pay for themselves in
:14:03. > :14:07.about eight years and we have been here four years, we are already
:14:08. > :14:13.halfway there. Give us some examples of a gun. The insulation is really
:14:14. > :14:15.important. This is the cellulose chewed up a newspaper insulation,
:14:16. > :14:22.which is used in the roof and much of the walls. I have got here part
:14:23. > :14:24.of the airtight membrane. The whole house is wrapped up in a membrane
:14:25. > :14:30.like this, which keeps drafts out the whole time. Fantastic. If this
:14:31. > :14:36.house was transported to the Arctic, what would happen? There has been an
:14:37. > :14:38.amazing views of research and this houses better than zero carbon. It
:14:39. > :14:43.is actually carbon negative in the UK. The amazing thing is that if it
:14:44. > :14:47.was transported into the Arctic Circle, where there is much less
:14:48. > :14:54.sunlight and it is colder, it would still be carbon negative. That is
:14:55. > :14:56.fantastic. The error here is constantly monitored. It is amazing.
:14:57. > :15:00.'s thank you very much. And Inside Out West Midlands has a
:15:01. > :15:03.special programme looking at the whole subject of rising energy bills
:15:04. > :15:15.and their impact here on BBC One at 7:30 this evening. It is 640 parts
:15:16. > :15:18.per million. `` 6:43pm. Our top story tonight:
:15:19. > :15:22.A lovely couple ` family and friends pay tribute to the Warwickshire man
:15:23. > :15:24.killed in St Lucia and his wife who was badly beaten.
:15:25. > :15:26.Your detailed weather forecast to come shortly with Rebecca. Also in
:15:27. > :15:30.tonight's programme: Tributes pour in for the Wolves and
:15:31. > :15:40.England goalkeeper Bert Williams, who died at the weekend aged 93.
:15:41. > :15:42.It is Albion's new head coach's debut and he would like to make a
:15:43. > :15:50.winning start tonight. A charity which runs a school on
:15:51. > :15:52.James Turner Street in Birmingham has written to the Education
:15:53. > :15:57.Secretary, claiming pupils are being stigmatised. It's become one of the
:15:58. > :16:02.best`known addresses in the country, since Channel 4 started making its
:16:03. > :16:06.Benefits Street series there. The programme makers insist it's a fair
:16:07. > :16:10.and balanced documentary. But critics have branded it poverty
:16:11. > :16:20.porn. Giles Latcham reports on a street with a proud history now
:16:21. > :16:25.mired in controversy. A little girl outside her parents'
:16:26. > :16:27.home 100 years ago. A wedding party any street built by the Victorians
:16:28. > :16:36.to house the aspiring working classes.
:16:37. > :16:43.And here is Channel 4's snapshot of the same place. Did he swear? At the
:16:44. > :16:47.school at the end of the road, they say their pupils are being
:16:48. > :16:52.stigmatised and their complaint to the Education Secretary and Ofcom.
:16:53. > :17:00.It is disrupting our children. We have to make sure that they are
:17:01. > :17:03.getting the best education that they can and this programme is hindering
:17:04. > :17:06.that. The reputation that there is no legal for the area is not one
:17:07. > :17:10.that we want our children to be associated with.
:17:11. > :17:14.We have kept her distance from James Turner Street. Since Channel 4 has
:17:15. > :17:18.begun airing the programme you might be surprised to learn that there is
:17:19. > :17:23.a degree of hostility towards the media among some residents. Monday,
:17:24. > :17:26.day of transmission, a degree of transmission also.
:17:27. > :17:29.A local pastor says the production team told him the programme was
:17:30. > :17:34.about community spirit. People here, he says, feel betrayed. Everybody is
:17:35. > :17:39.feeling that they are all part with the same brush. That is the problem.
:17:40. > :17:41.It causes a bitterness, hurt and distrust because when somebody says
:17:42. > :17:48.something, you expect them to do that. This is a map from 1888 which
:17:49. > :17:57.shows James Turner Street have built. There was no welfare stayed
:17:58. > :18:00.them. The street offered tradesmen and Artisans a optimiser. You would
:18:01. > :18:04.only have to look around the corner to see the other world, the prison
:18:05. > :18:11.down the road, the Asylum, the workhouse, to see why it was... You
:18:12. > :18:18.were remaining employed and working hard! Hard`working families.
:18:19. > :18:21.Modern`day James Turner Street was never so famous. They are even
:18:22. > :18:26.talking about it in France. Nearly 60,000 people have signed a position
:18:27. > :18:28.calling for it to be taken off air. Channel 4 say it is a fair
:18:29. > :18:31.portrayal. The Italians called him the Cat and
:18:32. > :18:35.Gordon Banks said he was the best ever. Tributes have been paid from
:18:36. > :18:38.around the world today to the former Wolves and England goalkeeper Bert
:18:39. > :18:42.Williams, who died yesterday at the age of 93. Williams began his career
:18:43. > :18:51.at Walsall before the war, but it was with Wolves that he made his
:18:52. > :18:56.name. He made 420 appearances for the club and was part of the team
:18:57. > :18:59.which won the FA Cup in 1949 and the League Championship five years
:19:00. > :19:03.later. Williams also won 24 caps for England and was their goalkeeper at
:19:04. > :19:07.the 1950 World Cup. One of the 1966 World Cup winners, Gordon Banks,
:19:08. > :19:10.grew up idolising Williams. He called him the most agile goalkeeper
:19:11. > :19:14.ever. Matt Murray was one of Bert's successors in goal at Molineux. He
:19:15. > :19:17.described him today as a proper legend but, more importantly, a true
:19:18. > :19:20.gentleman. Wolves chairman Steve Morgan said today that Williams was
:19:21. > :19:25.a fantastic footballer for both club and country. The club opened a book
:19:26. > :19:28.of remembrance at the ground today and the flags were flying at half
:19:29. > :19:31.mast. They'll have a minute's applause before kick`off on Saturday
:19:32. > :19:41.and are planning a memorial service at which fans will be able to pay a
:19:42. > :19:44.final tribute to their hero. As a young lad, I thought he was
:19:45. > :19:50.fantastic. He seemed to stop everything. I stopped seeing him
:19:51. > :19:51.when he retired but I think he was the best goalkeeper at this club I
:19:52. > :19:55.ever saw. Awarded the MBE for services to
:19:56. > :19:57.football and charity in 2010, Bert Williams was a true Wolverhampton
:19:58. > :20:00.Wanderers legend. Our sports reporter Ian Winter got
:20:01. > :20:03.to know Bert well. He's at the Hawthorns tonight, where West Brom
:20:04. > :20:06.play Everton this evening. We'll talk about Albion's game in a
:20:07. > :20:11.moment. But first, Ian, what's your outstanding memory of Bert Williams?
:20:12. > :20:15.Mary, Bert Williams once told me that for all his medals, his cups
:20:16. > :20:18.and his international caps, the two things he valued most were lots of
:20:19. > :20:25.good memories and lots of good friends. Bert was a top`class
:20:26. > :20:31.goalkeeper and yet so modest and unassuming. He was fiercely proud of
:20:32. > :20:35.his Black Country roots. And he always said he felt so lucky to play
:20:36. > :20:40.for his beloved Wolves that he would have played for nothing. That was
:20:41. > :20:45.Bert, a true gentleman. So tonight, the spotlight falls on Albion
:20:46. > :20:48.against Everton. And more developments today in the ongoing
:20:49. > :20:53.row surrounding the Albion striker Nicolas Anelka? Yes. Just to recap,
:20:54. > :20:56.Anelka performed a controversial gesture after scoring during
:20:57. > :21:03.Albion's 3`3 draw at West Ham just after Christmas. Although Anelka
:21:04. > :21:07.argued it wasn't racist, it did receive a lot of publicity and it
:21:08. > :21:12.infuriated members of the Jewish community. Today, Albion's main club
:21:13. > :21:16.sponsor Zoopla have decided to not renew their sponsorship, which was
:21:17. > :21:21.due to run out at the end of the season. Meanwhile, the FA have yet
:21:22. > :21:28.to decide what action, if any, they'll take against the Albion
:21:29. > :21:31.striker. Tonight, all eyes on the new head
:21:32. > :21:35.coach Pepe Mel. His first taste of the Premier League against Everton.
:21:36. > :21:39.Albion are currently lying 14th, just three points above the
:21:40. > :21:50.relegation zone. If Albion win, they'll go tenth, just above Aston
:21:51. > :21:53.Villa? `` TRANSLATION: Martinez is having a good campaign but West Brom
:21:54. > :21:58.are going to approach in a positive frame of mind and do not intend to
:21:59. > :22:02.be aggressive. If they win, they will go tents,
:22:03. > :22:07.just above Aston Villa? Yes. Villa now have 24 points after their 2`2
:22:08. > :22:10.draw at Liverpool. Let's look at the action from that. It was probably
:22:11. > :22:14.their best first`half performance of the season. They raced into a
:22:15. > :22:17.two`goal lead thanks to Andi Weimann and then Christian Benteke, who
:22:18. > :22:20.looked really sharp again. That was ten minutes later. But they had to
:22:21. > :22:23.settle for one point instead of three, after Liverpool fought back
:22:24. > :22:28.to level the score. But tonight, it's all about the Baggies. And
:22:29. > :22:31.we'll have all the goals in our late news at ten.
:22:32. > :22:34.Thank you very much. Almost 1000 trees are being felled
:22:35. > :22:37.at a Staffordshire beauty spot to try to recreate a lost landscape.
:22:38. > :22:41.Kinver Edge near Stourbridge, famous for its ancient rock houses, was
:22:42. > :22:46.once covered in lowland heath ` a habitat that's declined by 80% in
:22:47. > :22:49.the UK in the last 200 years. Bob Hockenhull has been finding out
:22:50. > :22:56.about plans to restore the Edge to how it once looked.
:22:57. > :23:00.Kinver Edge, once private farmland, was given to the nation in 1917.
:23:01. > :23:06.With the First World War still raging, its previous owners wanted
:23:07. > :23:09.it to be a landscape fit for heroes. Move forward nearly a century and
:23:10. > :23:14.the casual observer might wonder if that wish is being met. Acres of
:23:15. > :23:22.trees are being torn down by giant machines. I know it looks a lot like
:23:23. > :23:27.a war zone and people wandering through will be wondering what we
:23:28. > :23:30.have been doing. It is part of a clearly planned, very much thought
:23:31. > :23:36.about Management plan to return this area to lowland heath so we have
:23:37. > :23:39.started to fail all of the Scots pine that is here. What you can see
:23:40. > :23:44.are the remnants of the job trees. These are all going to be removed,
:23:45. > :23:48.chipped and of the area will become nice and clear to let the heathland
:23:49. > :23:50.developer. Lowland heath, consisting of
:23:51. > :23:54.heathers, gorses and fine grasses, dates back to the Iron Age on Kinver
:23:55. > :23:57.Edge. The habitat is recognised as being internationally important. But
:23:58. > :24:03.it needs managing with the help of grazing animals and in the last
:24:04. > :24:07.century, woodland has taken over. Because it has been seen as
:24:08. > :24:13.wasteland in the past, it has all was been subjected to agricultural
:24:14. > :24:19.improvement, housing developments and this has led to a loss of
:24:20. > :24:23.species. We are obliged for future generations to take care of these
:24:24. > :24:28.important cultural and ecological landscapes.
:24:29. > :24:32.The work is being carried out in the winter months so as not to disturb
:24:33. > :24:36.any birds or other species. If all goes to plan, in a few years' time,
:24:37. > :24:38.this area will be teeming with wildlife.
:24:39. > :24:48.And where the trees have been felled, there's already signs that
:24:49. > :24:51.nature is taking over once again. It felt like January today. Is cold
:24:52. > :24:54.and bright the theme of the week, It felt like January today. Is cold
:24:55. > :25:00.and Rebecca? Not so much cold and bright.
:25:01. > :25:06.Definitely cold but dull is the theme. The Met Office has issued a
:25:07. > :25:11.weather warning for fog. Plenty of fog around and right the way
:25:12. > :25:14.through. Tomorrow morning it could cause some disruption to your travel
:25:15. > :25:18.and allows extra time you're driving because it is going to be quite
:25:19. > :25:22.dense tomorrow morning. It will be a faulty start to the day but we will
:25:23. > :25:27.get some spells of brightness as they make way through the day. As we
:25:28. > :25:33.move into tonight, we have already got temperatures falling away
:25:34. > :25:36.rapidly. There is going to be some widespread fog starting to develop
:25:37. > :25:41.and a frost also, as those temperatures dropped down to below
:25:42. > :25:48.freezing. We could see them getting even lower. So some freezing sports
:25:49. > :25:52.by the time we wake up tomorrow. Tomorrow, it is a cold start but
:25:53. > :25:55.then it is going to all change because we have got this band of
:25:56. > :26:01.rain working its way through. Ahead of that, we will see list thing
:26:02. > :26:06.before goes about. `` see it lifting the fog a little bit. Be aware of
:26:07. > :26:10.those icy stretches tomorrow morning. We will start to see the
:26:11. > :26:14.wind lifting it and will get some spells of brightness, the best of
:26:15. > :26:17.those in the East. Further west will keep some cloud and it will be quite
:26:18. > :26:21.dull. The course of those dull conditions, it is going to hamper
:26:22. > :26:25.the temperatures. Those winds will take the edge of the values. Then we
:26:26. > :26:29.see the next band of rain moving through. It makes its way across,
:26:30. > :26:32.right the way through the evening. There will be some heavy bursts in
:26:33. > :26:36.there also. It is only going to add to the flooding we have seen
:26:37. > :26:39.recently, eventually clearing away behind it as we make our way through
:26:40. > :26:43.into Wednesday morning. Temperatures helped a little bit by all that rain
:26:44. > :26:47.and cloud. Then we have more rain to come through Wednesday. Either time
:26:48. > :26:51.we make it to Thursday, temperatures are continuing to follow little
:26:52. > :26:55.bit. It is turning more wintry towards the end of the week.
:26:56. > :27:01.Thank you, Rebecca. The headlines: The Lib Dems in crisis. Its former
:27:02. > :27:04.election mastermind Lord Rennard is suspended over the sexual
:27:05. > :27:07.harrassment grow. Mikaeel Kular's murder is charged
:27:08. > :27:10.with his murder. His body was discovered on Friday.
:27:11. > :27:15.A lovely couple, family and friends paid tribute to the Warwickshire man
:27:16. > :27:20.killed in Saint Lucia and his badly beaten wife.
:27:21. > :27:22.A horrific attack in a Birmingham street and the drier who passed
:27:23. > :27:27.without stopping. That was the Midlands Today. I'll be
:27:28. > :27:30.back at 10pm. Have a great evening. Goodbye. `` the drivers who passed.