19/02/2014 Midlands Today

you. That is all

Hello, and welcome to Midlands Today.

The headlines tonight: Time doesn't heal.

The parents of murdered teenager Georgia Williams talk of their

anguish. We get further and further away from our daughter. It does not

heal at all. Also tonight, a suspected victim of

domestic violence receives a profuse apology from West Midlands police as

two police officers under investigation after abusive remarks

were left on this teenager's phone. I felt imperative that I express my

shock to the complainant and my unreserved apologies.

Assessing the damage, the clear up gets underway as the flood waters

begin to fall. Too little too late. Nothing is being done.

Have spade will dig. He's volunteering to unblock ditches in

flood hit Herefordshire and wants more of us to do the same. We have

got to the stage now where if we do not do something we will have

nowhere else at all. So, is the weather going to help or

hinder efforts? So far, so good, but with more rain forecast after today,

how bad could it be? I'll have all the details for you later.

Good evening. The parents of murdered Shropshire teenager Georgia

Williams say only the charity set up in her name is keeping them going.

In their first full television interview, Steve and Lynette

Williams thanked the people of Wellington for their support. But

they said the pain of Georgia's loss would haunt them forever.

It gets worse. We get further and further away from our daughter. It

does not heal at all. It's eight months since Steve and Lynette

Williams saw the community of Wellington come together for the

funeral of their 17`year`old daughter, Georgia, who was an air

cadet. Life for them gets no easier. But the charity set up in her name

to help young people enjoy the outdoor pursuits she did has

provided comfort. It has helped us over this past nine months, because

people have been doing semidivine things, and it has made us go out of

the house, where as we were inside these four walls and that was it. In

December, Jamie Reynolds was jailed for life for strangling Georgia with

a noose. Experts said he could have gone on to be a serial killer. The

psychologists that interviewed him have said that he will always be a

danger to women, so he should never be let out, never. Reynolds

handcuffed Georgia and killed her at his family home in Wellington, a

short distance from where she lived. I picture what Georgia's last

moments were like every day and think to myself, no`one should go

through that. She must have been terrified, and I would imagine got

the chance to plead for her life, but Reynolds showed no compassion.

The community of Wellington is still sharing Georgia's loss. And people

like Mike Sheridan are helping to raise money for the Georgia Williams

Trust. He's about to walk from Lands End to the AFC Telford United

football ground, where he and Georgia were match day volunteers.

After her story broke last year, like most people, I wanted to do

something to help, and I was given the opportunity to raise money for

the charity and I jumped at it. Chief Inspector Steve Williams heads

up the Georgia Williams Trust. For many years he has been a colleague

of Georgia's father, who's a detective constable. It has been

phenomenal, the interest and the wicked people have got behind the

trust. We have raised over ?40,000 and we have started to release some

of the money to people. And for Georgia's parents, the

charity has helped them try to look forward. Our home had become a

prison, and people were encouraging us to go out and support the charity

and show our appreciation. We would just like to thank everybody who was

involved in it. You're watching BBC Midlands Today.

Good to have you with us tonight. Coming up later in the programme:

How the on air farmers in the Archers are getting to know the real

life drama in the flooded fields of Worcestershire.

Trust in the police is once again in the spotlight tonight. The West

Midlands force has offered a profuse apology to a suspected victim of

domestic violence after an abusive rant was left on her mobile phone,

apparently by police officers. A senior officer told us she is

shocked and devastated by the allegations.

Teenager Alex Faragher had called the police claiming she was a victim

of domestic violence. Later, two police officers telephoned her. The

call went to answer phone, and it's claimed their highly abusive

comments were then recorded. Because of the poor sound quality we've

transcribed the conversation. For years, the police have given out

the message that women can come forward in confidence and trust to

talk about domestic violence. Today, a senior woman police officer wanted

to talk from the heart. Commander Rachel Jones has personally

apologised to the victim. I was shocked, but also devastated for the

complainant themselves, for other victims of domestic abuse, him and

fearing this will undermine reporting domestic abuse to the

police. You cannot have confidence in the individual. Can you have

confidence in the service? Yes. This is not a reflection of the work and

care and compassion of the police staff across the West Midlands. The

police officers have not been suspended, but while the

investigation takes place, they are not dealing with the public.

Domestic islands is a huge problem. One woman's group spoke out tonight.

To pick the phone up is a real big breakthrough for a woman, and then

to be let down by the system, there is going to be a lot of training for

these officers so they can value what women go through. The woman at

the centre of this controversy has so far spoken only to the police and

the newspapers. To the latest on the floods now, and

with the waters falling, families in Worcester have begun the job of

cleaning up flooded homes. Ben Sidwell reports from a Worcester

street some say they've been abandoned.

This is a familiar sight in Diglis Avenue in Worcester. Every one of

the 24 houses were flooded, not just with river water, but also with

sewage. We are going to be like this for possibly another two or three

months. Hopefully shorter than that. We just do not know at the

moment. A few doors down at number 22, Matt

Beesley's garden is still deep in water. More than a week after the

river came in, he and the other residents are still waiting for

authorities to help. It is frustrating. We have had calls

telling us what people are going to be doing and that is where it stops.

The clean`up has begun here, but most of the is the residents

themselves. You can see, it is a huge task. Many of these people

might still be out of their house in two or three months, and it is

really frustrating, the lack of help.

And it's not just the inconvenience. Manhole covers were lifted by the

floods, meaning the water is also a major health hazard. Is dirty and

contains extra bacteria, and although those materials will

dilate, Windy floodwater lease, we have to make sure things are

properly cleaned up. So just how dangerous is the flood

water in the city? To find out, we've brought in a specialist to

test it. This equipment will tell us how easily harmful bacteria can grow

in each water sample. Firstly, bottled water. Unsurprisingly, the

results are very low. Next, the river itself. With safe levels

between zero and 32, the river water only gives a reading of two. This

shows that the aquatic environment would not really support bacterial

life, which is good. Back in Diglis Avenue, it's time to test the water

in Matt's garden, and here the results are simply shocking. 1007

internet and 74. I never expected it to be approaching 2000. `` 1774.

While we were there, at last what looked like help for Matt.

Representatives from the City Council and a charity. But

incredibly, Matt was told the street had been divided in two and someone

would be along in a couple of days to see him. Too little too late

trying to keep people happy. Nothing is being done. I am seething, I

really am. The water may be dropping on this street, but frustration and

anger among the residents at the response they've had, is definitely

on the rise. And I've got murky looking water

samples, this is some of the River Severn water and this is some of the

water we collected from near the homes we saw in Ben's report. That

is pretty disgusting. Ben Sidwell is in Worcester tonight. Any idea how

long it will take to clear up the residue?

I do not think anyone really knows exactly, but the estimated gas is

that some of the houses, probably two or three weeks to clear up, but

it could be months before the whole city is cleaned up properly. Let's

speak to the man who is in charge of the clean`up here. David, we have

heard from the residence a huge amount of frustration, growing

anger, and they are saying that today is the first day they have had

any contact in ten days. I would like to sympathise with anyone who

has been flooded. We have been in touch with a number of people in all

of the flooded properties over the last week or so I'm including the

fire service in the early stages. `` or so, including the fire service.

From today, we have allocated and environmental professional to each

of the households to give some personal advice. Do you think you

have done enough? It is a big event. There is an enormous amount of

resources being deployed across the agency team. There are difficulties

getting into clean up when there is still wants her on the ground.

Tomorrow morning, we will be up at that particular avenue with a large

resource beginning a full`scale clean`up. The clean`up is the

important thing. Absolutely. The water has gone down from the

houses, and our first priority is to help the householders. You can see

how much the river is still quite high. We would like to get it

cleaned as possibly `` as quickly as the public can. We have to leave it

there. The good thing is, at the river is dropping quite fast now.

The floods have disrupted lives, damaged homes and devastated

thousands of acres of farmers' fields. Against the force of nature,

it can seem there's little we can do. In Herefordshire, though, one

man believes he can make a difference. And as Bob Hockenhull's

been finding out, he wants others to follow his lead.

This is an entirely voluntary road maintenance team. Michael and his

family are out clearing ditches near a remote village. A little bit of a

struggle here. After months of torrential rain, many of the roads

have been flooded, and are in a poor state. With no sign of counsel

repair teams arriving, Michael has decided to take action himself. I

have got to the stage now where I think that if we don't make an

effort, we will have no roads to dry on in these little backwaters here.

I think it is a bit of a joint effort required by all. The general

public, ourselves, the farming community, everyone. If everyone did

a little bit I think we could minimise this problem. Michael is

campaigning for more residents in rural areas to help. He says the

lack of effective drainage is ruining countryside roads. As you

can see, the water is starting to flow away from the road as a result

of the work being carried out here, and it is not just ditches that the

team is attending to. They have also been clearing away debris from

gullies and strain. The number of potholes growing day by day, the

budget is tight, and it is welcoming, the can`do spirit of

Michael. I would love our people to do this sort of work was to their

properties. The council can do some work itself, but we do not have

duties and lots of places to clear roadside date `` drainage. An extra

?20 million is to be spent on highways, but now the garden or's

labour of love will have to continue. We will not have any roads

if it stays like this, so it is better to do it now. Clearly, this

family will not let the flood speak them.

This is our top story tonight. Time doesn't heal, the parents of

murdered teenager Georgia Williams speak of their anguish. Shefali will

be here with the weather forecast shortly. Also tonight: Set up in the

60s to challenge conventional art in Birmingham, the Ikon Gallery turns

50, but is it still cutting edge? There's been another sharp fall in

unemployment in our region. Today's figures show the biggest quarterly

reduction in any region outside South East England. 226,000 people

are now out of work here, that's down 31,000. But at 8.3%. Our

region's unemployment is still more than one percent above the UK

average. Our Political Editor Patrick Burns has been studying the

figures. Patrick, what's the significance of these numbers? They

confirm the virtuous circle between falling unemployment and rising

employment. On the last month, Last month's report by the accountants

KPMG, which showed job creation here was outstripping every other region,

including growth in full`time working. `` there are people who are

working part who wants to work longer hours. But it's not good news

everywhere, is it? The 2,000 job losses announced yesterday by

Wolverhampton City Council more than outweigh the 1,400 that will be

created up the road at the new JLR engine plant. I regret to say there

will be more announcements like that as other spending plans for the

coming year. That is one reason why the unemployment is 1% above the UK

average. The worry is that public sector jobs are being lost, but that

is being outweighed by the creation of jobs in the private sector. What

worries me is youth and long term unemployment concentrated in parts

of Birmingham, Black Country, and North Staffordshire, which have some

of the UK's highest unemployment rates, low skills, poor educational

attainment. And we have important elections coming up. The government

says this confirms that their plan for the economy is working, helping

people into real productive work. But other figures also out today

show that wages are still lagging behind prices. There are predictions

that wages could start catching up in a big way later this year, just

in time maybe for a feel`good factor before the general election.

Interesting. Thank you. More than 50 firefighters are

tackling a fire at a luxury housing complex in Leamington Spa. Eight

crews were called to Blackdown Hall in Sandy Lane this afternoon. An

emergency rest centre has been set up at a nearby school after the

building was evacuated. There are no reports of any injuries.

A 22`year`old man has been arrested on suspicion of murdering a

Gloucester hairdresser at a salon in the city. Hollie Gazzard, who was

20, was attacked inside Fringe Benefits on Southgate Street just

before six o'clock yesterday evening. She later died in hospital.

It's believed the victim and the alleged attacker knew each other.

This is an isolated incident, an incident whereby the victim and

suspect did know each other, they were in a previous relationship. I

want to ensure people that this is a safe community.

50 years ago the Birmingham made Mini was the car to dry and mini

skirts were causing a sensation on the city's streets. But the art

scene was pretty conventional, until a new gallery opened with a mission

to bring cutting edge exhibitions to Birmingham. And it's still going

strong. Our Arts Reporter Satnam Rana is at the Ikon Gallery for

birthday celebrations tonight. And it's been an eventful half century,

hasn't it? The artwork is continuing today.

Tonight, celebrations are underway for the 50th birthday. The gallery

has had five directors, and here is a taste of what has happened so far.

The bullring shopping centre is symbolic of the new Birmingham.

There is nothing quite like it anywhere else in the world.

1965. The Rotunda had recently become part of Birmingham's skyline.

And over near the Bullring, a so`called gallery without walls has

been founded by emerging contemporary artists in a glass

kiosk. John Salt, who went on to pioneer the photorealism movement,

painting images that look like photos. He became the first artist

to exhibit at the Ikon. His is work is back on display for its 50th

birthday. I was really pleased to be offered the show there. The first

show there was really making history. The 1970s brought a move to

the Pallasades to get closer to the local audience. It was here that the

Ikon was bombed by the IRA, the likely target being the army and

navy recruitment office next door. The early 70s was a time when we

head a great optimism on the crest of a wave of a can`do attitude, so

it had expanded enormously. Lots of visitors, lots of people who would

not normally go to an art gallery, and that was very intentional. The

1980s and UB40 are making sounds across the city, and the IKon is now

in another home. This time, a disused carpet factory in John

Bright Street. And then, in 1998, a final move to the former Oozells

Street School where it won lottery funding to covert the Grade two

listed building. And it's here where a year long series of exhibitions

and events begin today to mark 50 years of contemporary art in

Birmingham. Tonight there is a great buzz in

this gallery for the opening of the celebratory exhibition by an

artist. I am joined now by the current director of the gallery.

What has the success been down two and the last 50 years. Essentially,

it is the fact that it is such an independent art gallery and it is

quite old. We try to be as relevant as possible. We want to engage with

the local community. You have about 130,000 visitors coming through the

door every year, but what about those people who do not come into

galleries? We like to think of ourselves as outgoing. We are doing

things all the time out and about in Birmingham and in the region. The

most exciting project we have this year is a canal boat which is being

crewed by young people, sailing from Birmingham and around the Black

country, and they are going to meet lots of people along the way and

there will be so many events and performances. This gallery is about

giving emerging artists a showcase. Yes, right from the beginning, the

gallery was there to support young artists. Of course, young artists

get older, and we are celebrating the 50th anniversary, so the young

ones who started it are in their 70s and 80s, and we celebrate them, what

younger ones are coming up all the time. Thank you very much. This is

the start of a year`long set of celebrations. In 1964, at the artist

came up with the idea, and it was in 1965 that the gallery opens to the

public. A final word tonight on floods, and

they've been adding reality to the drama in Radio Four's The Archers.

Millions tune into the programme each day, made in our studios right

here at BBC Birmingham. Episodes have been re`written to reflect the

flooding crisis. To get a real insight into the problem, some of

the cast visited a Worcestershire farmer whose land is under water.

Just a warning, this report from David Gregory Kumar contains shots

of the Archers characters! Fact meets fiction as Archers

actors, Tim Bentinc and Felicity Finch see first`hand the reality of

life on a flooded farm. It is coming up through the floors in the shed.

That isn't any good at all. Farmer Steve Page has lost whole fields to

flood water on his farm near Worcester. He's had no choice but to

bring 1,000 of his sheep inside and that costs. At the moment it will

cost us an extra ?300 a day to keep them in. We have been underwater

since Christmas, and it looks as if we could be for the next month or

six weeks. Ambridge too is preparing for a

flooding storyline. But for the actors confronting the real thing is

a sobering experience. To actually hear their problems and what they

are having to face, it is an extraordinary thing to see it in the

flesh and it pulls you up, no doubt about it. One of the things that

hadn't occurred to me you're talking about when the water recedes, I said

that would be `` what's with the grass be like, and he said it would

be contaminated. Farmers will be coping with this for months. Talking

about this story and the programme is a good way to remind people about

farming after the flood water goes down. The Archers flooding storyline

continues this evening. David and Ruth don't look like that in my

head. We have got some are sunshine and

the way this week, tomorrow, to be precise. This is how the rest of the

week is looking. We have got rainfall followed by showers and

then it turns windy and cold by Friday, followed by the next area of

rain. The track is uncertain as is the timing of that. I do not often

do this, but I am going to skip ahead to next week, because there is

something significant to talk about, the jet stream, which I am

sure you are familiar with. Things always get worse the further south

it goes, and it could slip further south for Monday and Tuesday, going

into Wednesday as well, so we could be looking at more significant

amounts of rainfall. Or the immediate future, let's look at this

rain that is heading our way overnight. We have a few showers

dusted about the region, and then this band of rain moves in from the

west. It is not particularly heavy, and the heaviest outbreaks will be

about ten mm at most, but under that cloud and the winds, the

temperatures should the main well above freezing. We have further

pulses of rain moving through central and eastern parts of the

region through the morning tomorrow, but it clears away to sunnier

conditions, and that is going to take us up to about 11 Celsius

tomorrow morning. A few blustery showers to go with that as well.

Tomorrow night, skies clear and the temperatures start to plummet. That

pesky jet stream! Tonight's headlines from the BBC: The hacking

trial is told Tony Blair advised News International's Rebekah Brooks

on handling the scandal just days before her arrest. Time doesn't

heal, the parents of murdered teenager Georgia Williams talk of

their anguish. And two police officers under investigation for

leaving abusive messages on this teenager's phone.