:00:00. > :00:00.That's all from the BBC News at Six, so it's goodbye from me, and on BBC
:00:00. > :00:16.Hello and welcome to Midlands Today. The headlines: police to introduce a
:00:17. > :00:22.nice surrender to get weapons of city streets. We have seen a slight
:00:23. > :00:25.increase over the last 12 months. Tonight the family of a teenager
:00:26. > :00:34.stabbed to death calls for tougher sentences on knife crime. Also
:00:35. > :00:39.tonight... I am live where the river seven continues to rise and should
:00:40. > :00:43.peak overnight. I'll be here later with all the details on how much
:00:44. > :00:46.rain we can expect, and why strong winds are just going to add to the
:00:47. > :00:53.problem. Your full weekend forecast coming up later. ?1.2 million, the
:00:54. > :00:57.cost of the new library of Birmingham website. It was not put
:00:58. > :01:03.out to tender. The council says it is value for money. Heidi finally
:01:04. > :01:05.gets the music breakthrough. She beat 80,000 people to win a singing
:01:06. > :01:21.competition. `` 18,000. Good evening. The Environment Agency
:01:22. > :01:24.has issued three severe warnings for the River Severn in Gloucestershire
:01:25. > :01:27.and there's another 21 warnings in place in the Midlands. Flood
:01:28. > :01:30.barriers have been erected along the River Severn in Shrewsbury,
:01:31. > :01:33.Ironbridge and Bewdley, where our reporter Ben Godfrey is this
:01:34. > :01:40.evening. So, Ben, how are things looking there tonight? We have had
:01:41. > :01:46.between ten and 20 millimetres of rain today. The barriers have been
:01:47. > :01:54.installed. They are three feet high at the moment. More rain is planned
:01:55. > :01:59.and that is of concern. How concerned are you by the levels here
:02:00. > :02:05.tonight? The levels have been rising here all day. Nothing to concern us
:02:06. > :02:10.at the moment. Probably another but also to go. They are doing their job
:02:11. > :02:14.at the moment. Let's talk about the River Severn in Gloucestershire
:02:15. > :02:20.tonight with some severe weather warnings in place. Some high tides
:02:21. > :02:31.are connected with the surge of water. That is potentially quite
:02:32. > :02:36.significant. What kind of a risk will it be tomorrow? It is very
:02:37. > :02:41.complicated to predict what will happen. There is the combination of
:02:42. > :02:46.high tides, fresh water and sewage or meeting together. In some areas
:02:47. > :02:51.it may get over the top of flood defences. I know you are concerned
:02:52. > :02:56.about days ahead. It is a very unsettled outlook. More rain on
:02:57. > :02:59.Monday and Tuesday. The rivers are already high and the catchments are
:03:00. > :03:06.saturated. Through next week we could see levels building again. You
:03:07. > :03:12.can see the levels are very high at the moment. There are pins down here
:03:13. > :03:16.which are covered. These areas are used to being filled with water at
:03:17. > :03:21.times of flooding. The message they want to get across is that they are
:03:22. > :03:27.open for business this weekend and people can access the area. Rebecca
:03:28. > :03:31.will have the full forecast later. You can keep up`to`date with the
:03:32. > :03:41.latest flood warnings, travel news and weather on your local radio
:03:42. > :03:47.station this weekend. A Burton on Trent brewery switches a new
:03:48. > :03:53.production line on. Happy Chinese New Year. The campaign for an
:03:54. > :04:04.archway to mark Birmingham 's Chinese quarter. The family of a
:04:05. > :04:07.teenager stabbed to death after a fight in Birmingham are calling for
:04:08. > :04:10.tougher sentences for those found guilty of knife crime. 15`year`old
:04:11. > :04:14.Hassan Mahmood died last summer. Two people have been stabbed in the city
:04:15. > :04:17.in the past 24 hours, one of them fatally. Today West Midlands Police
:04:18. > :04:23.said they would be introducing a knife surrender as a way of getting
:04:24. > :04:29.knives off the streets of the city. This man knows the true cost of
:04:30. > :04:39.knife crime. His 15`year`old nephew was stabbed to death in Birmingham
:04:40. > :04:43.last July by another teenager. The whole process of seeing the body and
:04:44. > :04:51.going to hospital and having to bury him. It was just terrible. The
:04:52. > :04:55.17`year`old killer was found guilty of murder this week. When he is
:04:56. > :05:07.sentenced next month, the judge must send a message. You'll Athey need to
:05:08. > :05:12.give out life sentences. They should give them full life sentences. That
:05:13. > :05:22.is the only way to deter them from doing it. Six months on, knife crime
:05:23. > :05:28.afflicts Birmingham. Police were called to reports of a disturbance.
:05:29. > :05:35.The 31`year`old victim was rushed to hospital but died there later.
:05:36. > :05:37.Yesterday afternoon, a 17`year`old boy was stabbed and seriously
:05:38. > :05:44.injured. A 15`year`old is being questioned. The community lurker and
:05:45. > :05:52.part`time radio presenter says more needs to be done. We have asked for
:05:53. > :05:56.a life amnesty. We want better education in schools. People must be
:05:57. > :06:02.made more aware of the consequences of carrying knives. A spate of
:06:03. > :06:07.killings in Birmingham last autumn caused horror and revulsion. Police
:06:08. > :06:12.concede it has been a bad 12 months but say overall they are making
:06:13. > :06:20.progress against knife crime. We have seen a slight increase. It is
:06:21. > :06:24.hard to put contacts to rent `` a context around each and everyone of
:06:25. > :06:29.them. We need to redouble efforts with everyone. To that end, the
:06:30. > :06:33.police are planning a nice surrender, a variation on the
:06:34. > :06:36.amnesty. The killer will be sentenced in four weeks time.
:06:37. > :06:40.Birmingham City Council has confirmed tonight it's reviewing its
:06:41. > :06:44.?120 million a year contract with service company Capita. Since 2006,
:06:45. > :06:51.Capita has run the city's IT, call centre and billing services. The
:06:52. > :06:55.contract was extended to 2021. But tonight the council say they don't
:06:56. > :06:58.know how much it would cost to break the Service Birmingham contract.
:06:59. > :07:01.Capita has been criticised for charging over a million pounds to
:07:02. > :07:06.build the new Library of Birmingham website. But the council insist it
:07:07. > :07:06.is value for money. Our Correspondent David Gregory`Kumar
:07:07. > :07:19.has been investigating. A modern library needs a website,
:07:20. > :07:23.but did Birmingham's cost a lot more than it needed to? FOI requests
:07:24. > :07:26.reveal the new Library of Birmingham website cost ?1.2 million pounds and
:07:27. > :07:31.an extra ?190,000 a year to maintain. Compare that to another
:07:32. > :07:39.shiny new library, The Hive in Worcester, their website cost
:07:40. > :07:43.?10,000. And Shropshire Council say the ongoing costs of their library
:07:44. > :07:46.website are just over 1000 pounds Even if you compare Birmingham to
:07:47. > :07:52.another new UK superlibrary the costs are high. There is not much
:07:53. > :07:59.colour in it. It is simple and does the job. It is keeping the costs
:08:00. > :08:06.town. Why do you want to keep costs down? We cannot afford it. That is
:08:07. > :08:14.honest. We cannot afford to do that. Austerity has made us change the way
:08:15. > :08:17.we things. Even if you compare Birmingham with another UK super
:08:18. > :08:19.library, the costs are still high. Liverpool Council spent ?50m on
:08:20. > :08:23.their refurbished Central Library. But they told us the website cost
:08:24. > :08:26.them four hours of staff time updating pictures and tweaking text.
:08:27. > :08:29.Like Shropshire it was all done in house. Birmingham out sourced the
:08:30. > :08:33.job to a company called Capita. And the Library website is by no means
:08:34. > :08:36.the biggest contract Capita has with Birmingham Council. They also have a
:08:37. > :08:40.multi`million pound deal to run IT, call centre and billing services.
:08:41. > :08:51.Capita Service Birmingham. But the details are secret and critics want
:08:52. > :08:56.it released. Way too much money has been spent. It could be done at half
:08:57. > :09:02.the cost. That contract could have been cancelled 18 months ago. I
:09:03. > :09:06.could have been wrong. Capita told us they agreed publication back in
:09:07. > :09:10.October last year. The council say today it could be published by the
:09:11. > :09:13.end of February. Only then will it be possible to tell if the
:09:14. > :09:14.multi`million pound Capita Service Birmingham contract is a good deal
:09:15. > :09:22.for the city. I spoke to the Deputy Leader of
:09:23. > :09:26.Birmingham City Council, Ian Ward earlier this afternoon. I asked him
:09:27. > :09:31.if the contract to design and run the website for the Library of
:09:32. > :09:39.Birmingham was put out to tender. Well, this contract was market
:09:40. > :09:46.tested. You need to remember it was not a contract that I set up. It was
:09:47. > :09:50.set up by the previous Conservative ` Liberal Democrat administration.
:09:51. > :09:55.When I came into office, the first thing we did was to have it
:09:56. > :09:59.independently validated by an outside organisation. Their report
:10:00. > :10:03.confirmed the contract was value for money for the city council and that
:10:04. > :10:08.there was value in continuing with it. We have to deliver more for less
:10:09. > :10:16.money and that is why we are renegotiated the contract. Where are
:10:17. > :10:20.you with the renegotiation? The core contract costs ?15 million. We have
:10:21. > :10:25.said we will reduce that by ?20 million for the next financial
:10:26. > :10:31.year. That is built into the budget. We are negotiating to see what
:10:32. > :10:35.exactly that will mean. There will be a ?20 million reduction. At the
:10:36. > :10:42.same time, we are considering all the other possible options. The
:10:43. > :10:47.detail of the spend, the breakdown of that, it is not available to your
:10:48. > :10:57.taxpayers. Published accounts are available. The 2013/2014 numbers
:10:58. > :11:04.will come out. The details of the contract we have with Catheter, many
:11:05. > :11:09.of those details of commercially sensitive and are not published.
:11:10. > :11:16.Having said all of that, we are going to publish the contract on the
:11:17. > :11:23.website. All of the commercially sensitive information will be
:11:24. > :11:30.redacted. When will that be? By the end of February. The contract is due
:11:31. > :11:35.to end in 2021, how much will it cost to terminate it early? There is
:11:36. > :11:40.no figure. We are involved in negotiations as to what the figure
:11:41. > :11:47.will be. Said there was no figure put on an early termination? There
:11:48. > :11:51.was no figure, no. We have agreement about termination of the contract.
:11:52. > :11:55.There are various conditions set around that. It would not be normal
:11:56. > :12:01.to put an actual number into the contract. There is an agreement in
:12:02. > :12:08.place about early termination? There is. We have driven value out of this
:12:09. > :12:12.contract. We need to be clear as to what is the best way forward and the
:12:13. > :12:16.most cost`effective way for the council. A former head teacher from
:12:17. > :12:19.Stoke`on`Trent has pleaded guilty to a series of sex offences. Robert
:12:20. > :12:22.Haines, who held the post at Thistley Hough School in Penkhull
:12:23. > :12:26.has admitted two counts of sexual activity with a child while in a
:12:27. > :12:29.position of trust, five of making indecent images of children, and a
:12:30. > :12:35.further charge of causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual
:12:36. > :12:38.activity. He'll be sentenced later. Detectives are questioning a
:12:39. > :12:41.22`year`old man in connection with the murder of a woman in the
:12:42. > :12:45.Worcestershire village of Hanbury. School Road has been closed all day
:12:46. > :12:57.as forensic officers carry out their investigations. Officers were called
:12:58. > :13:01.to a house yesterday at 4:35pm. They attended a female in her 40s who had
:13:02. > :13:09.suffered a number of stab wounds. The lady died at the scene. Two
:13:10. > :13:11.companies in the West Midlands have announced major investments today.
:13:12. > :13:16.The Burton`based brewery Marston's has opened a ?7.4 million pound new
:13:17. > :13:21.bottling line. And flybe confirmed it is making Birmingham Airport its
:13:22. > :13:24.largest UK base. The company is introducing seven new routes out of
:13:25. > :13:35.the airport and creating 50 new jobs. What we have done is make sure
:13:36. > :13:41.we are focusing on the areas of growth and good profit. In areas of
:13:42. > :13:47.the country which are not so great we have had to change our programme
:13:48. > :13:49.a bit. This is a good news story for the West Midlands and Birmingham. In
:13:50. > :13:52.Burton, the multi million pound investment in Marstons also
:13:53. > :13:55.benefited local companies who built the new bottling line. It comes as
:13:56. > :13:58.overall beer sales have risen, and are at their strongest rate for a
:13:59. > :14:02.decade. Here's our Staffordshire reporter. Burton's MP switching on
:14:03. > :14:05.the new line which will fill 18,000 bottles of beer an hour. It's an
:14:06. > :14:14.investment which comes as the brewery's gearing up for increased
:14:15. > :14:19.production. We are seeing a real resurgence. Drinkers are recognising
:14:20. > :14:23.that cask ale is interesting, flavoursome and great to drink. They
:14:24. > :14:28.are coming back to beer. They are also getting new drinkers. It is
:14:29. > :14:33.great to see women, who are recognising how wonderful British
:14:34. > :14:38.beer is. In the last year there has been an increase in the number of
:14:39. > :14:41.points sold. More of us are drinking beer at home and it is due to the
:14:42. > :14:44.good weather in the summer. And it's that increase in supermarket sales
:14:45. > :14:51.that's behind the building of this new line. This line will be running
:14:52. > :14:56.for I suspect well over 25`year is. This really does secure the jobs for
:14:57. > :14:59.the company in Burton on Trent and the people who work for Marstons.
:15:00. > :15:03.Other firms in Burton have benefitted too. This is Briggs, a
:15:04. > :15:06.company that's been in the town since 1740. It makes stainless steel
:15:07. > :15:15.tanks and has supplied the brewery with new equipment for the
:15:16. > :15:19.production line. When we won the project, we all acknowledge this is
:15:20. > :15:25.a very important contract, not only for bricks but for the town. The
:15:26. > :15:28.economy has suffered over the last few years. Being supported by
:15:29. > :15:31.Marstons with the order was very important. This line's now up and
:15:32. > :15:34.running seven days a week, continuing the long and proud
:15:35. > :15:44.tradition that makes Burton Britain's brewing capital.
:15:45. > :15:50.The Prime Minister 's right`hand man at Westminster has dismissed claims
:15:51. > :15:54.that the economic recovery is limited to London. The Parliamentary
:15:55. > :15:58.private sector is of David Cameron said the study does not paint an
:15:59. > :16:05.accurate picture of the economy in the West Midlands but is showing
:16:06. > :16:09.signs of recovery. We are seeing a massive growth in the Midlands. In
:16:10. > :16:17.my constituency you can see unemployment down to 1.9%. You can
:16:18. > :16:21.see investment with Jaguar Land Rover building a new engine plant.
:16:22. > :16:29.Manufacturing is starting to plough ahead. In the Midlands, we are in a
:16:30. > :16:33.premier position to benefit. And you can see more on this on the Sunday
:16:34. > :16:36.Politics at 11am on Sunday with Elizabeth Glinka. This is our top
:16:37. > :16:40.story tonight: Police to introduce a knife surrender to get weapons off
:16:41. > :16:44.the city streets ` as the family of a teenager stabbed to death calls
:16:45. > :16:47.for tougher sentences. Rebecca's standing by with the weekend
:16:48. > :16:54.forecast. A warning it'll be wet. Also in tonight's programme... It
:16:55. > :16:58.could be their biggest deal in the Midlands on transfer deadline day as
:16:59. > :17:07.Stoke City agree a deal with Sunderland for Lee Cattermole.
:17:08. > :17:13.It's Chinese New Year and a campaign is being launched tonight to raise
:17:14. > :17:16.money to pay for an arch to mark the entrance to Birmingham's Chinese
:17:17. > :17:19.quarter. It's one of the few major cities in the UK without one.
:17:20. > :17:23.Lindsay Doyle is in Chinatown tonight, so Lindsay how much could
:17:24. > :17:30.this all cost? It will cost an astonishing ?1 million. I am told
:17:31. > :17:35.the Chinese community is confident it can raise that money. Birmingham
:17:36. > :17:39.is one of the last cities in the country with a large, vibrant
:17:40. > :17:45.community not to have an arch. Liverpool, London and Manchester all
:17:46. > :17:53.have one and Newcastle have two. I am joined by the chair of the
:17:54. > :18:01.Chinese Festival community. Apologies. We seem to have a problem
:18:02. > :18:06.down in the Chinese quarter. Now, it is transfer deadline day. We only
:18:07. > :18:11.have a few hours left. Dan has the details. Stoke City have agreed a
:18:12. > :18:15.fee with Sunderland for the midfielder Lee Cattermole in what's
:18:16. > :18:17.likely to be the biggest deal in the Midlands on transfer deadline day.
:18:18. > :18:20.But while Premier League clubs across the country have been
:18:21. > :18:28.spending millions lower down the divisions it's all about trying to
:18:29. > :18:31.find a bargain. It has been one of those days when the assistant
:18:32. > :18:36.managers get to meet the media because the managers are too busy
:18:37. > :18:40.doing deals. This is Lee Cattermole, the man Stoke City believes will add
:18:41. > :18:46.extra bite to their midfield and beef up their bid to avoid
:18:47. > :18:55.relegation. He has attributes which can enhance any club. He is a good
:18:56. > :19:02.footballer as well. He is certainly a player that can bring good
:19:03. > :19:07.qualities to any side. Signing a new player in the January transfer
:19:08. > :19:11.window can be a massive gamble. This month, Premier League clubs have
:19:12. > :19:15.spent ?100 million foot at a very different story in the championship
:19:16. > :19:26.for Birmingham City. When Southampton release Aaron Martin,
:19:27. > :19:44.they snapped him up. There is no money to spend on wages. At West
:19:45. > :19:54.Bromwich, what did Pepe Mel make of it? Maybe two, three new players
:19:55. > :20:00.here. Midlands clubs have not exactly been splashing the cash. The
:20:01. > :20:06.main moves have been away from him. Wolves are a classic example of
:20:07. > :20:10.that. Lee Griffiths, one of three strikers who left today. Beyond
:20:11. > :20:16.cygnets and has gone on loan to a Norwegian club.
:20:17. > :20:24.Three strikers out the door. What about the ones that got away? There
:20:25. > :20:31.are bound to be dozens of those. Wes Houlihan, midfielder with Norwich
:20:32. > :20:35.City. They were reluctant to sell because Paul Lambert did not want to
:20:36. > :20:39.sell to him. We thought West Bromwich Albion might come into that
:20:40. > :20:44.that has come to nothing as well. The transfer window stays open until
:20:45. > :20:48.11pm. All those that do go through will be listed on the BBC Sport
:20:49. > :20:53.website. And let's not forget it's a big weekend for Rugby with the start
:20:54. > :21:00.of the Six Nations. And what a prospect for Gloucester's Jonny May.
:21:01. > :21:05.The biggest game of his life, without a doubt. He needs to play
:21:06. > :21:14.for England against France in Paris. He is 23 and a winger. He says he
:21:15. > :21:17.just cannot wait. It is probably the biggest thing for a World Cup in
:21:18. > :21:23.terms of rivalry between the home nations and the way the nation gets
:21:24. > :21:31.behind each of its team. It will be amazing with France being such a
:21:32. > :21:41.passionate Nason. `` nation. I have heard the stadium is amazing. I
:21:42. > :21:49.think he is right. Let's get back to the Chinese quarter. Hopefully we
:21:50. > :21:53.have re`established the line. I am joined by Jeffrey from the Chinese
:21:54. > :21:58.Festival community in Birmingham. We were talking about the magnificent
:21:59. > :22:04.arch, what will it look like? It will go across the road. We are
:22:05. > :22:08.starting to fund raise tonight. It is a vibrant area. Hopefully
:22:09. > :22:12.businesses will get behind it and also the Birmingham public to buy a
:22:13. > :22:22.brick and we will get an arch built in Birmingham. Wonderful! We deserve
:22:23. > :22:28.one. What plans to rehab for Sunday? It is a free event. The street is
:22:29. > :22:33.shut and a fairground. Come down and enjoy yourself. All that remains to
:22:34. > :22:37.be said is to wish you a happy New Year from the Chinese quarter. Just
:22:38. > :22:41.as Heidi Browne was on the verge of giving up on her dream of being a
:22:42. > :22:44.singer, after ten years of trying and accepting a job in engineering,
:22:45. > :22:59.her path's taken an unexpected twist. She beat more than 8,000
:23:00. > :23:02.people to take the Open Mic UK title. Ben Sidwell's been to meet
:23:03. > :23:11.the Shropshire singer`song writer. A warning his report contains flashing
:23:12. > :23:16.images. The winner is... Heidi. You can see on the video, I am walking
:23:17. > :23:21.out in astonishment. Then there is all confetti. My friends were
:23:22. > :23:33.telling me about what happened. I was like, did it? Did it? Ten days
:23:34. > :23:38.have completely changed her life. Don't touch my hair... I was meant
:23:39. > :23:44.to be starting a new job, a sensible career path. I had to bring up and
:23:45. > :23:55.say, sorry, I cannot do it. I need to devote my time now to music.
:23:56. > :23:58.Heidi joins the list of winners of Open Mic UK, the most successful
:23:59. > :24:09.being Birdy, who's gone on to have chart success, including a top ten
:24:10. > :24:14.album. I sat next to Jake Bugg and he got picked and I was not. Each
:24:15. > :24:17.time I was the one that was not pushed through. I was starting to
:24:18. > :24:27.lose heart. This reignited my belief. White rabbit she comes from
:24:28. > :24:33.a musical background. Her dad is a successful session musician. She has
:24:34. > :24:41.done everything herself. She is very driven. She has written loads of
:24:42. > :24:45.songs and has worked really hard. As the winner when she gets ?5,000
:24:46. > :24:49.towards the development of her career and is set to record her
:24:50. > :25:00.first single. She's also hoping to tour Europe later this year.
:25:01. > :25:08.I am sure I am not the only one getting very wet and windswept
:25:09. > :25:12.today. Rebecca's here with the weather. A warning, she's got a lot
:25:13. > :25:24.of warnings! Plenty of hazards to come over the
:25:25. > :25:28.next 48 hours. The first one is ice. Then we move on to strong winds and
:25:29. > :25:32.some showers by Saturday. Through Sunday, we start to get a brief
:25:33. > :25:39.respite as things calm down but only for one day. Then we have got
:25:40. > :25:43.attention turning to flooding. Three severe flood warnings in place
:25:44. > :25:47.across the Midlands. 21 flood warnings and more than 30 flood
:25:48. > :25:51.alerts. This rain is coinciding with high spring tides to mark and a
:25:52. > :26:01.storm surge. If you are concerned, that is the number... The rain is
:26:02. > :26:05.slowly moving away. Behind that the air is colder. Some could turn a bit
:26:06. > :26:10.wintry, particularly over high ground. Then the risk of some frost.
:26:11. > :26:14.The Met Office has issued a yellow weather warning for ice. As we wake
:26:15. > :26:19.up tomorrow morning, it'll be treacherous and assert. It has all
:26:20. > :26:27.changed. The yellow weather warning will be. Winds in Hereford and
:26:28. > :26:33.Shropshire. There will be gusts of up to 60 miles an hour. This will
:26:34. > :26:36.clear away and they will rattle through the region. Most of the
:26:37. > :26:43.showers will be scrawny through the day. The possibility of some hail.
:26:44. > :26:47.Rather unpleasant with the strong winds and rain. Temperatures
:26:48. > :26:52.hovering between six and eight Celsius. By Sunday, things do come
:26:53. > :26:56.down briefly. We will start to see perhaps a little bit of sunshine
:26:57. > :26:59.through Sunday afternoon. It would still be a breezy day. Temperatures
:27:00. > :27:05.again hovering around seven, eight Celsius. It does not last. By
:27:06. > :27:09.Monday, we have this next band of rain moving in. There is another
:27:10. > :27:13.yellow weather warning on that as well and it stays and settled into
:27:14. > :27:17.the new working week. Tonight's headlines from the BBC... Meredith
:27:18. > :27:20.Kercher's murder. As guilty verdicts are reinstated for Amanda Knox and
:27:21. > :27:21.her former boyfriend, she says she will never willingly return to
:27:22. > :27:32.Italy. Sandbags at the ready. Police to introduce a knife
:27:33. > :27:35.surrender to get weapons off the city streets, as the family of a
:27:36. > :27:39.teenager stabbed to death calls for tougher sentences. That was the
:27:40. > :27:44.Midlands Today. I'll be back at 10pm with the latest ins and outs as the
:27:45. > :27:46.transfer deadline draws to a close. Have a great evening. Goodbye.