20/02/2014 Midlands Today

forces and protestors. That is all from BBC News. It is goodbye from

Hello, and welcome to Midlands Today. The headlines tonight:

Turning the tide after the floods ` firms look to social media to drive

home their message ` "open for business".

We are an independent retailer here in Worcester, and we had two days

last week where we didn't have a single customer.

We've spent the day in Worcester talking to shop owners who've had a

week they would clearly love to forget.

Also tonight: Seven years ago, this village was under water ` what

lessons can we learn today from the great floods of 2007?

If you can show a united front, I think that's the one thing I want to

get out there ` then you will get an awful lot more help.

Bishops accuse the Government of driving people into food and fuel

poverty. To find that families and

individuals are not getting enough to eat in one of the richest

countries in the world is a scandal. And stranded in the Atlantic, but

determined to carry on ` the rowers who refuse to admit defeat.

And the latest rainfall figures have just been released, and I'm afraid

they make for grim reading. So how much rain have we had and how much

more are we due to get? All those details coming up in the forecast

later. Good evening. One week after the

highest water levels in living memory, the fightback is on ` that's

the message from Worcester shops and businesses tonight, who hope

receding water will mean increased takings. The number of people

spending money in the city dropped by 10% at the height of the River

Severn floods, but a major social media campaign's under way to entice

people back. Ben Sidwell reports. What a difference a week makes. This

was the scene in Worcester last Thursday. Seven days later, with

people starting to return to the high street, shops and businesses

have joined forces to try and get a united message across that Worcester

is still very much open. The high street has been dead to be honest.

It is quiet. We have had the odd people in and out. Luckily we have a

lot of customers that have come in. It has been a quiet few weeks.

Unlike during the last big floods of 2007, the city now has the power of

social media, and they've turned to Twitter in an attempt to boost

trade. Businesses can help themselves and help others to show

we are open for business. We have taken to social media to get that

message across. The response has been phenomenal. And businesses have

gotten in touch with us as well to tell us about their experiences.

Like this one. This boutique only opened in October, and here, without

a doubt, the last ten days have been the toughest they've faced so far.

It has been difficult for us as a business. We are an independent

retailer in Worcester, and we had two days last week when we didn't

have a single customer. Much closer to the river, and at the Diglis

House Hotel, they're still pumping out the water. Like many businesses

in the city, they've lost trade over the last ten days because customers

presumed they were flooded and shut. I think people have been worried

about coming in, and at some point last week, rightly so, but now the

roads and motorways are open. There is no reason why people should not

come to Worcester. While we were at the hotel, a tweet likely to bring

joy to many in the city. With the river levels dropping fast, the

clean`up has begun. Welcome news for businesses like this cafe. Is

getting back to normal. We have a few of the regulars realising they

can get to West, so they are starting to get back in. Today on

Twitter, it was the free parking that everyone was tweeting about.

Another attempt to help attract shoppers back to the high street,

and reinforce the message that the city is well and truly open for

business. If you want to talk to us on

Twitter, as many businesses have been doing, you can contact us.

Plenty more ahead tonight, including: The soldiers helping the

British Army bring tonnes of equipment home from Afghanistan.

And the special home in Birmingham continuing to help families of men

and women wounded in action. 20 nurses from Stoke`on`Trent are

being sent to Stafford Hospital to ease a staffing crisis. The hospital

was taken over by administrators in April last year after an inquiry

into its higher`than`expected death rate between 2005 and 2008. Staffing

is tonight being described as a "very fragile situation" by the

hospital chief executive. Our Staffordshire reporter, Liz Copper,

is outside the hospital now. Liz, what more did you learn at the

meeting? This comes down to one main issue,

the shortage of nursing staff and the difficulties the trust has

placed in recruiting and retaining nurses. We learned today that 20

experienced nurses from the NHS in Stoke`on`Trent will come to

Staffordshire for three months. There will arrive in Monday and be

on the wards on Tuesday. We also learned that 15 beds will be made

available in Wolverhampton, and I will help alleviate the pressure. To

discuss this, we are joined by a campaign. Give us your initial

response. Witham we are happier than we thought we would be when this

meeting was called. We thought our ANC hours would be reduced. This is

good news is we're getting some or staff. We have this problem of not

being able to recruit staff, and this has been due to the prolonged

process. The chief executive described the situation as fragile.

It is concerning. We need the decision next week that there has to

be stability and future of the staff. People have mortgages to

pay. They need to know the certainty of their future career. Thank you

for joining us this evening. Next week will be a very important week

here at the hospital. We are expecting to have the decision from

the Secretary of State. His decision on the administrator's plans for the

future of services here at Stafford. It is hoped by the board

that the decision at the least will provide some measure of certainty.

Thank you. 27 bishops, including four from our region, have written a

letter condemning the Government's "punitive" welfare reforms, which

they say have forced people into food and fuel poverty. The Bishops

of Birmingham, Gloucester, Lichfield and Tewkesbury believe too many

people are having to choose between "heat or eat". Bob Hockenhull

reports. The Government says the sun is

starting to shine on the economy again, but church leaders are

painting a bleaker picture ` one of a society with too many people going

hungry. I'm absolutely delighted to have the opportunity to speak up for

those who can't speak for themselves. Inequalities in Britain

have grown over the last two years, in spite of everyone's best efforts,

and to find that families and individuals are not getting enough

to eat in one of the richest countries in the world is a scandal.

The Bishop of Birmingham's signature is on an open letter to the Prime

Minister criticising failures in the benefit system. It states, "This is

a national crisis and one we must rise to". In reply, the Government

said it aimed to make people less dependent. But for Becky Beasley,

collecting her food parcel at Sparkhill food bank today, those

words cut no ice. She is suffering from depression, struggling to find

work, and her benefit payments have been delayed. The Government should

have ?50 a week to live on like we do. If we didn't have food banks, we

would be begging on the street. The Government isn't seeing it because

they haven't lived like that. The food bank here says that the

Bishop's letter is particularly timely, because earlier this week it

set a new record, giving out 41 food parcels in the space of just three

hours. The Bishop's letter also points out wages have stagnated

while food prices have risen, so some in work are struggling as well

` an assertion backed up by supervisors here. Some people are

perhaps on a zero hours contract, and so they are not able to claim

job`seeker's Allowance, and suddenly they find themselves in a desperate

situation when they are not able to get any money. In addition to the

letter, the church in Birmingham is to produce a hunger journal,

allowing those who were skipping meals to tell their stories.

With the December deadline looming, the mammoth task of withdrawing

British troops from Afghanistan is stepping up a gear, and soldiers

from the Midlands are in the thick of it. It's costing the UK ?300

million to leave Afghanistan. 5,500 containers of equipment will have to

be brought back, along with 400 tonnes of ammunition cases. The

supply convoys are being driven by soldiers from our region. They run

the risk of roadside bombs on a daily basis. From Helmand Province,

Jeremy Ball reports. Imagine getting stuck behind this

lot when you are trying to get to work. More than 50 heavily armoured

trucks travelling in convoy. It's called a combat logistics patrol.

There are drivers here from Tamworth and Telford. Mark Hanslo comes from

Sutton Coldfield. It's pretty fun, to be honest. IED threats are

probably one of the main problems we have out here. It's mostly pressure

plate or operated IEDs, that if a vehicle rolls over it, it explodes.

It must be frightening when that happens. I wouldn't like to be

underneath it when it goes off. The convoys are collecting millions of

pounds worth of sensitive equipment from British bases that are being

closed, including weapons, vehicles, and power plants. It makes them a

prime target for the Taliban. That's why these huge force protection

vehicles are pushing rollers in front of them. They are designed to

take the force of the blast if they hit an improvised bomb. In fact, the

protection is so good that hundreds of British soldiers have survived

IED strikes. The latest occupational hazard is known as a pillow charge

IED ` a sack full of explosives that is thrown underneath their vehicle.

I wasn't expecting the bang when it went off, so I was a bit jumpy. A

lot of the kids, you get 50% who wave at you, the other half will

throw stones at you or gesture to you. What surprised you most? Having

six people on one motorbike. It's quite crazy. Just the way they live,

the way they drive ` it is quite mad, you know? This driving is

pretty unusual too. It is an army heading home after more than 12

years at war. The UK's military role in

Afghanistan since 2001 has brought with it a heavy human toll. The

number of deaths stands at 447 ` with nearly 2,200 people flown back

to UK hospitals after being wounded in action. Many of those servicemen

and women are brought to Birmingham, with families from around the

country heading to Selly Oak to support their loved ones. And, at

times of enormous emotional strain, help is provided at a special home

in the city. Since 2003, more than 2000 British personnel have been

seriously injured in Afghanistan. Seeders like Stephen. We were going

through the desert and I hit an IED. From the damaged that it did in

my legs, they decided to amputate one of my legs.

Like thousands of his colleagues, Steven was flown to the UK to be

treated at Birmingham's Queen Elizabeth Hospital. Fiancee Amy was

there throughout. It was heartbreaking. He flew back, and it

is like your world falls apart when you hear the news. With Steven in a

coma, being close was vital ` and that was made possible by the

military charity SSAFA and their base in the city. It may look like a

normal house on a Birmingham street, but to the people that stay here,

it's much, much more. Since 2009, the families of 1,800 injured

servicemen and women have stayed here at Norton House, and today it's

celebrating its fifth birthday. To help with the birthday celebrations,

volunteers from the 167 Catering Regiment were on hand. There are a

few of us who come down and volunteered to cook for the

families. It is a worthwhile task, and we enjoy doing it. Norton house

can accommodate several families. This is a fully functional disabled

room. You have touched a lot of people 's lives. Some people stay

for one night, some people say for seven nights. And after five years,

many former residents and volunteers were back to celebrate ` including

Caroline Boyd, who was one of the first to use the house when her son

Sami was injured in 2009. All you had to concentrate on with your son

getting better, and you didn't have to think about driving home or

making food or doing anything. It was the most incredible place, and

looking back on it, it was fantastic. It is a fantastic

facility. As the campaign in Afghanistan draws to a close, the

number of people being injured has dropped ` but as Birmingham remains

the main centre for military casualties, the need for Norton

House and the support it offers to their families continues.

Your detailed weather forecast to come shortly. This is our top story

tonight: Turning the tide after the floods ` firms look to social media

to drive home their message ` "we're open for business".

Also in tonight's programme, we revisit one of the worst flood`hit

villages from 2007. What lessons can be learned seven years on?

Friends of a rower stranded in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean say she

won't give up until she finishes the 3,000`mile race. Hannah Lawton, from

Stoke`on`Trent, and her team`mate, Lauren Morton, are waiting for a

replacement rudder for their boat. This is where they are now ` almost

1,000 nautical miles from the finish in Antigua. In a moment, I'll be

talking to a rower who knows what it's like to be stranded at sea, but

first, here's Dan Pallett. He's a worried parent, and why he

wouldn't he be? John Lawton's daughter, Hannah, seen here at the

front, is trying to row across the Atlantic with her friend, Lauren

Morton. They prepared for months, but their progress is slow after

their rudder and two spares were broken in a storm. So the pair and

their boat, Inspirational Friends, are 1127 miles away from the finish.

If the storms have been bad on mainland Britain, at sea, it's even

worse. They've had a lot of problems with the boat. Serious problems with

the boat. Some competitors have abandoned the race with similar

issues, but they decided to stick with it, to endure and hopefully

complete the challenge. Hannah's blog posts highlight how tough it

has been. She has written that the dangers are very real and can be

scary at times. This is the race website. Here is the finish line in

Antigua in the Caribbean. As of midday today, Inspirational Friends

are still way out here. That is 980 nautical miles from the finish.

Hannah's a coach at Worcester Rowing Club, where this week, the clean`up

is underway after the floods. Vicky is a friend who has been in regular

contact via e`mail. She says the pair are determined to finish the

race as they are rowing in memory of a friend, Elena, who died of cancer

aged just 23. They are raising money for two charities, Jo's Cervical

Cancer Trust, and Martin House Hospice, who cared for Elena when

she was ill. I think the inspiration behind her as a friend, the way in

which she faced the illness, they're not going to stop. Inspirational

Friends have already been at sea for 78 days, and they hope to reach

Antigua by the end of next month. This is one race where taking part

really is everything. We wish them well.

So, what's it like to be stranded at sea, up the creek without a paddle `

well, rudder? In 2004, Richard Wood became the 11th person to row across

the Atlantic. It took him 101 days ` and he's here now. Good evening.

What will the women be going through right now? Tremendous psychological

battle. It is really tough. I was coming down a big wave, lying in my

cabin relaxing, and suddenly I knew there was something wrong with the

boat. I could feel it. I went out onto the deck and I put my feet into

the thing that stirred the boat, and there was pressure on, so I knew

something had gone wrong. That is the rudder? It is upside down. The

original parts was the aluminium piece the rudder was in, and the

next morning, I spent ages trying with ropes to find a different way

of steering. I realised I couldn't do anything and I was stuck. Anyway

I could get out of it was to use my initiative. I spent a few days

trying to think hard to get myself out of this. Mine was an

old`fashioned boat made of plywood. You must have tremendous physical

and psychological strength. Henry Ford once said if you think you can,

you can. That's what it is about. The real about Ocean rowing is to

never give up. Can you remember clearly? Absolutely. It was amazing.

It was good when the wind was up because she could get on top and

serve the waves. You could do 65 miles a day. I would predict they

won't get their until April now. You have had a stroke. But you would do

it again? I wanted to prove that there is life after stroke. I didn't

want to sit down and become a blogger. Life is a disabled person

is horrendous. What will you do? I want to be the first disabled person

to read the Pacific. But you have one side not working. Yes, my right

side is not working. To be able to do a world first, I have to have the

disability, so if I didn't have that, I would be able to get a world

first. Think is coming in an inspiration.

?1 million needs to be found to restore one of the finest examples

of medieval architecture in the country. 15th century Beauchamp

Chapel in St Mary's Warwick is said to rival the best of Westminster

Abbey ` yet few are aware of its existence. Joan Cummins reports.

St Mary's church in the heart of Warwick was established in 1123. The

reformation, great fire of Warwick, and centuries of industrialisation

have started to take their toll. Richard was described as the richest

man in England when he left money for this ?5,000 chapel in the 15th

century. Now it will cost more than ?1 million to keep it in

21st`century condition. It is in a state. It is a wonderful building,

and it does need to be restored and is renovated for future generations

so that we can pass on this treasure. Whilst a ?40,000 grant has

been awarded to repair falling masonry on the outside...it's the

hidden treasures within the Beauchamp Chapel that are now the

focus of a restoration campaign to preserve the priceless medieval

craftmanship within. This chapel was built with the greatest skill by

obviously very competent medieval craftsmen. Richard de Beauchamp

built it specifically to commemorate a person and to have masses and

services held in memory of them for ever. This is one of the best if not

the best resource for that. Originally the tomb of Richard

Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick, was a place of pilgrimage. He was

recognised as a national figure who supported the monarchy and even

presided over the trial of Joan of Arc. The people, I think, would have

been in mentally impressed that they was this place that is so beautiful

and colourful. We have visitors from all over the world, and they come in

here and just marvel and say, it has been a highlight of our day.

Restoration work will begin in the spring on what's regarded as a

hidden gem of the county. ??NEWLNE Back now to the story that's

dominated the news for the last ten days ` the floods. On Tuesday, our

reporter Joanne Writtle visited Severn Stoke, a village near

Worcester, where some residents have been cut off by the River Severn.

Five miles downstream is Uckinghall, which was devastated by the floods

of 2007. Seven years on, Uckinghall is flood`free. Joanne's been there

today, seeking advice and solace for homeowners currently knee deep in

water. The village of Uckinghall looks calm

and dry today. Not a flooded home in sight. Hard to imagine then that

this was the same village in 2007. It's all thanks to ?1 million of

flood defences, including this wall and gate. Anne was used to being

flooded. Three times in total, the last being 2007, which was the

grandaddy of them all, when the water came up and through the

letterbox. What is it like now? Absolutely brilliant. This Tudor

house is dry now, but seven years ago, water poured in, causing

devastation. The flood defences have made all the difference. It wasn't

easy to get them. We had to work hard at it. We had to get together

as a group and put communal effort into it. Judy heads up the flood

action group. Part of the defences include a pumping station. She says

it's important not to be complacent. This is Charlie Two Pumps, and we

love him. It won't fail. We have three villagers who are trained to

manually override the pump if it should fail. I've also got another

wonderful villager who, every day during a flood situation, comes out

and checks it four times a day. Just by the pumping station, this is the

clay bend that was built. Over here is how far the river came up a few

days ago. In actual fact, the banks of the River Severn are half a mile

over that way. This was Judy's cottage under water in 2007. It took

two years to repair the damage, but today, it is flood`free. The water

came up to about, I would say here. I had chest waders on, which is

useful. 20 homes were flooded here seven years ago. Judy's advice to

others fighting for defences is stick together for a long fight.

Have faith, and the defences they now have is clear. Quiet confidence.

I know that doesn't sound like a celebration, and I have to say that

when my cottage flooded, I remember actually opening a bottle of

champagne the next morning because I felt I needed it. Isn't that odd?

This time, I had a cup of coffee and went to bed.

Well, we've been told today that this has been the wettest winter on

record. Not a total surprise! It all seems a bit quieter now. How's the

forecast looking, Shefali? It is a sad statistic, but no

surprise. We have one more week to go before the season ends, so all

the records have been broken, and all that is loved to say by how

much. This year's figures narrowly beat the previous record set in 1995

by about one millimetre. We have had 487 millimetres of rain. There is

still more to come this week. We have another wet day ahead of us on

Sunday. This will produce more rain then we had last night, because the

jet stream is looking further south. This is the system that will bring

it in. It is a one sector sequence, and it will be to higher

temperatures, because over the next few hours, we are looking at

temperatures dropping. They could be a fair amount of rain. You could see

the ice bars. Winds will be strong as well. We won't see a repeat of

the recent storms. We're looking at a few more showers in the region.

They are gradually going to peter out later on. The frequency will

decrease. We're looking at largely dry conditions and clearer skies. A

very different night from night, where we have clearer skies, drier

conditions, and colder ones as well. Temperatures dropping to around two

degrees. This colder air will come in contact with the showers as the

activity steps up through the day tomorrow, so we could see some hail

or possibly snow mixed in there over the highs. A good deal of sunshine

in between, and temperatures rising up to seven or eight degrees. It

will be tampered by that story breeze coming in from the south

west. Thank you. Tonight's headlines from the BBC:

The deadliest day of Ukraine's protests ` many are killed as a

fragile truce breaks down. And a week after the record`breaking

floods, Worcester business owners use social media to entice shoppers

back to the city. That was the Midlands Today. I'll be

back at ten o'clock with your latest update. Have a good evening.