:00:09. > :00:13.Good evening. It's been a day of clearing up after yesterday's huge
:00:14. > :00:16.storm which left a trail of destruction. Several families were
:00:17. > :00:19.forced to abandon their homes after what's described as a mini`tornado
:00:20. > :00:25.swept through a village in Warwickshire. Giles Latcham reports.
:00:26. > :00:27.Filmed by a villager in Galley Common near Nuneaton, debris
:00:28. > :00:35.everywhere, the immediate aftermath of freak weather some are describing
:00:36. > :00:40.as a mini tornado. I looked out of the window and I could see this
:00:41. > :00:44.tornado whipping round. Next thing we knew the whole lot was coming
:00:45. > :00:47.down. Three families were moved out
:00:48. > :00:52.overnight, their homes left uninhabitable. We had a load of
:00:53. > :00:57.rubble collapsing. My mum got scared, I heard her shouting, and a
:00:58. > :01:07.policeman knocked on the door saying part of the roof had come off. Look
:01:08. > :01:11.at the back of this VW here, the tiles still in place. Can you
:01:12. > :01:15.imagine what damage they would have done if they had hit a person? My
:01:16. > :01:19.father's quite shocked. He's lived in the village for as long as I can
:01:20. > :01:24.remember. We've never had anything like this happen. At a nearby riding
:01:25. > :01:28.school, they were rehoming their horses today, the storm ripping the
:01:29. > :01:33.roofs from a row of stables. There were horses running around
:01:34. > :01:38.everywhere, as everybody had to run to let them out. It was pretty
:01:39. > :01:41.frightening. This series of pictures shows the storm's progress across
:01:42. > :01:45.the region, the darkened skies illuminated by lightning,
:01:46. > :01:48.accompanied by hailstorms. The lightning struck at Ha'penny Green
:01:49. > :01:51.near Bridgnorth and travelled down the television aerial of a house in
:01:52. > :02:01.Stirchley in Birmingham, starting a blaze. One big bang and the next
:02:02. > :02:07.thing I knew it was right up to the ceiling, all the flames. It cracked
:02:08. > :02:10.all the window. A woman was treated for smoke inhalation after lightning
:02:11. > :02:12.set fire to homes in Stourbridge, but there are no reports of serious
:02:13. > :02:18.injury. Two international energy companies
:02:19. > :02:21.have told the BBC that they've ruled out fracking in the West Midlands.
:02:22. > :02:27.They say the geology of this region will prevent commercial drilling.
:02:28. > :02:32.Ben Godfrey reports. Dart Energy wants to start fracking in the UK.
:02:33. > :02:36.The multinational operates a third of the 33 licensed sites looking for
:02:37. > :02:42.oil and gas in the West Midlands. But their boss says they won't be
:02:43. > :02:47.fracking here. This is our less attractive area from a technical
:02:48. > :02:52.perspective. Our geologists have looked at the subsurface and we
:02:53. > :02:57.think it is unlikely to be a significant player in unconventional
:02:58. > :03:02.gas. Fracking involves drilling into shale and widening tiny cracks, some
:03:03. > :03:07.less than a million metre wide. Water, sand and chemicals are pumped
:03:08. > :03:14.in at high pressure to flush the gas to the surface. Another energy firm,
:03:15. > :03:17.Cuadrilla, which drew protests at its Lichfield headquarters last
:03:18. > :03:22.year, is also ruling it out here. The Prime Minister is offering
:03:23. > :03:27.councils incentives if they support fracking, such as keeping more money
:03:28. > :03:30.in tax revenue. We've got to look closely at what the Government's
:03:31. > :03:35.offering for that. That's balanced against the need for cheaper energy.
:03:36. > :03:39.There needs to be, if fracking did come about, real advantages to the
:03:40. > :03:44.community. There's certainly no political consensus. While
:03:45. > :03:48.Staffordshire hadn't ruled out fracking applications, over the
:03:49. > :03:51.border and Conservative`led Cheshire East council, which includes George
:03:52. > :03:56.Osborne's constituency, doesn't it want it here. One planning expert
:03:57. > :04:00.says there needs to be more public debate about fracking. We don't at
:04:01. > :04:07.the moment have a coherent energy policy, so fracking is being evolved
:04:08. > :04:14.within this gap in policy. It might appear as an opportunist cash and
:04:15. > :04:18.grab. While shale rock in the West Midlands isn't even as commercially
:04:19. > :04:26.viable for fracking, others have thought about drilling into coal
:04:27. > :04:29.seams to extract methane. The Government has been defending
:04:30. > :04:32.the salaries paid to HS2 bosses. The chief executive appointed to run the
:04:33. > :04:36.high`speed rail project is being paid ?750,000, and the new Chairman,
:04:37. > :04:39.Sir David Higgins, who visited the Midlands this month, has a salary of
:04:40. > :04:41.almost ?600,000. They're tasked with ensuring the ?43 billion scheme is
:04:42. > :04:52.completed on time and on budget. It is a large salary. It is huge!
:04:53. > :04:56.There is no question about it, but I'm pleased that engineers rather
:04:57. > :05:01.than bankers can be seen to get big rewards for delivering what will be
:05:02. > :05:04.very important pieces of national ininfrastructure.
:05:05. > :05:10.Football, and the region's interest in this year's FA Cup is over. Stoke
:05:11. > :05:13.City's 1`0 defeat at Chelsea means none of the Midlands clubs has made
:05:14. > :05:15.it through to the fifth round. Now, what's happening with the
:05:16. > :05:16.Midlands weather? Charlie Slater has the forecast.
:05:17. > :05:17.it through to the fifth round. Now, what's happening with the Good
:05:18. > :05:20.evening to you. We've had a bit of everything today. A lot of wet
:05:21. > :05:25.weather. Unfortunately there's more to come as we go through the night.
:05:26. > :05:30.What's more interesting, because it is cold, some showers could turn
:05:31. > :05:34.wintry. We are talking accumulations of snow mainly over higher ground,
:05:35. > :05:40.where you might get a dusting. But you could get snow at lower levels
:05:41. > :05:45.as well. Quite an icy start to Monday. As we go through the day,
:05:46. > :05:49.there is more wet weather to come. When you throw more wet weather into
:05:50. > :05:52.a cold air mass, you might get more sleet and snow.
:05:53. > :06:02.We're back just after 10.15pm. Until then, have a good evening. Goodbye.
:06:03. > :06:07.Until then, plenty more news on our website. Bye-bye.
:06:08. > :06:12.Good evening. will keep going through the nights
:06:13. > :06:17.tonight and as the air turns colder,
:06:18. > :06:21.tonight and as the air turns wintry. A mixture of sleet and snow
:06:22. > :06:22.leaving us with the risk advice The band of rain has cleared