:00:09. > :00:13.Good afternoon. Cider makers in the Midlands fear production cotld be
:00:14. > :00:16.hit by a shortage of apples following one of the wettest winters
:00:17. > :00:20.on record. It comes as the Chancellor this week moved to help
:00:21. > :00:24.the industry by announcing ` freeze on cider duty in the Budget. Lindsay
:00:25. > :00:28.Doyle reports. Cider apple trees and floodwater
:00:29. > :00:31.don't mix. At Evesbatch Court Farm in Herefordshire the meticulously
:00:32. > :00:43.planted Orchard could be hiding a sorry secret. With the wet winter,
:00:44. > :00:47.the young trees, we are worried about the rainfall and we are
:00:48. > :00:50.concerned we will not see the damage until the summer.
:00:51. > :00:54.Amongst the tiny emerging btds some of the trees are showing a greenish
:00:55. > :00:57.tinge, a possible sign of d`mage, if trees stand in waterlogged soil for
:00:58. > :01:05.more than fourteen days the roots can be killed off. The trees take 15
:01:06. > :01:09.years to grow but there is ` fear they will be lost to saturated
:01:10. > :01:13.soil. Bacteria thrives in standing water. This year's budget s`w the
:01:14. > :01:16.Chancellor George Osborne freeze the duty on ordinary cider, a dhrect
:01:17. > :01:23.response to flooding in the West Country, for cider makers, lanner
:01:24. > :01:28.from heaven. It is a positive step for the government to do th`t. We
:01:29. > :01:33.are price sensitive and it hs stopping consumers buying products.
:01:34. > :01:38.If we invest in the future, planting orchards costs a lot of mondy.
:01:39. > :01:41.Just four months ago the National Association of Cider Makers
:01:42. > :01:44.predicted a bumper crop for this year, the best for ten years in
:01:45. > :01:48.fact, a little ironic but the farmers are not writing off their
:01:49. > :01:51.saplings just yet, they shotld know by May how and if the trees fought
:01:52. > :01:55.the deluge. A woman from Birmingham who suffered
:01:56. > :01:59.a seizure in the street had her purse stolen by a bogus Good
:02:00. > :02:03.Samaritan while she lay unconscious. Police say two women seemed to go to
:02:04. > :02:07.the aid of the 25`year`old `fter she collapsed in Summer Row last month.
:02:08. > :02:11.They've now released CCTV ilages of two women they want to speak to
:02:12. > :02:14.about the incident. A spokesman said it wasn't clear if the two were
:02:15. > :02:19.together and that one of thdm may have been genuinely trying to help.
:02:20. > :02:21.A public meeting to mark thd 30th anniversary of the murder of
:02:22. > :02:25.Shropshire peace campaigner Hilda Murrell is being held later. Miss
:02:26. > :02:30.Murrell, who was 78, was abducted from her Shrewsbury home and killed
:02:31. > :02:33.in 1984. Building labourer @ndrew George was eventually convicted in
:02:34. > :02:38.2005, but there are some who still claim the security services may have
:02:39. > :02:42.been involved in her death. Tonight's meeting is being held at
:02:43. > :02:46.the Morris Hall in Shrewsbury. The family and friends of a baby
:02:47. > :02:50.girl born 15 weeks prematurdly are holding a fundraising event for the
:02:51. > :02:53.hospitals that saved her life. Daisy`Mae Little was born at
:02:54. > :02:57.Russells Hall Hospital in Dtdley last December weighing less than two
:02:58. > :03:01.pounds. She also received specialist care at New Cross Hospital hn
:03:02. > :03:05.Wolverhampton. Parents Jennx and Wayne were finally allowed to take
:03:06. > :03:08.her home this week and todax a range of fundraising activities is taking
:03:09. > :03:12.place at Mary Stevens Park hn Stourbridge.
:03:13. > :03:18.Time for a look at the weather now, here's Kaye Forster with thd
:03:19. > :03:22.forecast. Good afternoon. A cold start to the
:03:23. > :03:27.weekend, if you snow showers as well the morning. It will be a mhxture of
:03:28. > :03:33.sunshine and showers for thd rest of the day. Most of the showers falling
:03:34. > :03:38.as rain but there could be hail and sleet. Some gusty winds as well
:03:39. > :03:44.Feeling quite chilly, seven or eight degrees. The showers become fewer
:03:45. > :03:49.and further between tomorrow so more sunshine or those staying on the
:03:50. > :03:52.cold side. Midlands Today is back with the main
:03:53. > :03:54.local football and rugby results at 5:20pm here on BBC One. Unthl then
:03:55. > :04:14.have a good afternoon. Bye`bye. Hello. The weekend started with
:04:15. > :04:18.snowcapped hills and blue sky. Since then, more clout has built and the
:04:19. > :04:26.showers have broken out widely. Some heavy downpours and hell stones --
:04:27. > :04:30.he'll stones. This is all part and parcel of the colder weather
:04:31. > :04:37.weekend. There is a wintry flavour to the showers. It is snow we and
:04:38. > :04:40.there are frosty and icy nights Over recent hours, you can see the
:04:41. > :04:46.cloud has built up as the showers have developed. There are organised
:04:47. > :04:50.showers moving east across England over the next two hours, and there
:04:51. > :04:57.will be thunder with this and maybe snow over the Northern Pennines The
:04:58. > :05:03.higher up you go, the more sleet and snow. But even at lower levels, you
:05:04. > :05:09.could see sleet mixed in. Heavy downpours around and gusty winds,
:05:10. > :05:11.and maybe thunder. You will also notice the drier and brighter spells
:05:12. > :05:12.in