:00:10. > :00:14.Good afternoon. Cider makers in the Midlands fear production cotld be
:00:15. > :00:17.hit by a shortage of apples following one of the wettest winters
:00:18. > :00:20.on record. It comes as the Chancellor this week moved to help
:00:21. > :00:25.the industry by announcing ` freeze on cider duty in the Budget. Lindsay
:00:26. > :00:29.Doyle reports. Cider apple trees and floodwater
:00:30. > :00:31.don't mix. At Evesbatch Court Farm in Herefordshire the meticulously
:00:32. > :00:37.planted Orchard could be hiding a sorry secret. With the wet winter,
:00:38. > :00:41.the young trees, we are worried about the rainfall and we are
:00:42. > :00:48.concerned we will not see the damage until the summer. Amongst the tiny
:00:49. > :00:51.emerging buds some of the trees are showing a greenish tinge, a possible
:00:52. > :00:54.sign of damage, if trees st`nd in waterlogged soil for more than
:00:55. > :00:58.fourteen days the roots can be killed off. The trees take 05 years
:00:59. > :01:07.to grow but there is a fear they will be lost to saturated soil.
:01:08. > :01:10.Bacteria thrives in standing water. This year's budget saw the
:01:11. > :01:13.Chancellor George Osborne freeze the duty on ordinary cider, a dhrect
:01:14. > :01:19.response to flooding in the West Country, for cider makers, lanner
:01:20. > :01:24.from heaven. It is a positive step for the government to do th`t. We
:01:25. > :01:32.are price sensitive and it hs stopping consumers buying products.
:01:33. > :01:35.If we invest in the future, planting orchards costs a lot of mondy. Just
:01:36. > :01:38.four months ago the National Association of Cider Makers
:01:39. > :01:42.predicted a bumper crop for this year, the best for ten years in
:01:43. > :01:45.fact, a little ironic but the farmers are not writing off their
:01:46. > :01:51.saplings just yet, they shotld know by May how and if the trees fought
:01:52. > :01:54.the deluge. A woman from Birmingham who suffered
:01:55. > :01:58.a seizure in the street had her purse stolen by a bogus Good
:01:59. > :02:02.Samaritan while she lay unconscious. Police say two women seemed to go to
:02:03. > :02:05.the aid of the 25`year`old `fter she collapsed in Summer Row last month.
:02:06. > :02:10.They've now released CCTV ilages of two women they want to speak to
:02:11. > :02:14.about the incident. A spokesman said it wasn't clear if the two were
:02:15. > :02:18.together and that one of thdm may have been genuinely trying to help.
:02:19. > :02:21.Thousands of people have turned out to support a fundraising evdnt for
:02:22. > :02:24.two hospitals which helped saved the life of a premature baby from the
:02:25. > :02:27.Black Country. Daisy`Mae Little was born at Russells Hall Hospital in
:02:28. > :02:30.Dudley last December weighing less than two pounds. She also rdceived
:02:31. > :02:34.specialist care at New Cross Hospital in Wolverhampton. @ day of
:02:35. > :02:38.family activities at Mary Stevens Park in Stourbridge has restlted in
:02:39. > :02:40.more than ten thousand pounds being raised for the two hospitals.
:02:41. > :02:49.Daisy`Mae's family say they're overwhelmed by the support they ve
:02:50. > :02:54.received. It brings a lump to my throat. I am bowled over. I cannot
:02:55. > :02:58.believe the response. I did not think this many people would turn up
:02:59. > :03:02.today. Wonderful. Sport now. Let's start
:03:03. > :03:05.with football and the Premidr League, with West Bromwich @lbion
:03:06. > :03:08.being beaten two`nil at Hull City ` former Baggies midfielder Shane Long
:03:09. > :03:11.getting one of those goals. Onto the Championship, a 2`1 defeat for
:03:12. > :03:14.Birmingham City against Reading Blues still waiting for the elusive
:03:15. > :03:17.home win. In League One, le`ders Wolves beat Sheffield United 2` .
:03:18. > :03:21.Coventry lost three one at Brentford. Port Vale beat Tranmere
:03:22. > :03:29.3`2. Shrewsbury beat Bradford 2`1. And a 1`1 draw there for Walsall
:03:30. > :03:32.against Leyton Orient. In Ldague Two, Cheltenham lost 4`3 at AFC
:03:33. > :03:35.Wimbledon, seven minutes into added time. Burton Albion lost 1`0 at
:03:36. > :03:39.Scunthorpe. In the Skrill Conference Premier, Hereford ` who sacked their
:03:40. > :03:42.manager in the week ` lost 2`0 to Barnet. Kidderminster drew 0`1
:03:43. > :03:47.against Southport. Tamworth lost two one to Macclesfield. And Nuneaton
:03:48. > :03:50.lost 1`0 to Grimsby. Let's move on to rugby now, starting
:03:51. > :03:56.with the Aviva Premiership where Gloucester beat Newcastle 40`33 And
:03:57. > :04:03.in the Championship, a loss there for Moseley ` 23`20 against London
:04:04. > :04:10.Scottish. Time for a look at the weather now. Here's Kaye Forster
:04:11. > :04:14.with the forecast. We had some lively thundery showers
:04:15. > :04:19.this afternoon and some snow earlier. Hopefully things whll ease
:04:20. > :04:24.down through tomorrow, not `s many showers and there should be more
:04:25. > :04:28.sunshine. One or two of the showers continue tonight, most placds dry
:04:29. > :04:35.out, clear spells developing as well. It will turn cold with lows of
:04:36. > :04:41.two or three Celsius. Tomorrow morning, most plus estate dry and
:04:42. > :04:46.bright. Some sunshine, one to showers in the afternoon. For most
:04:47. > :04:49.of us, lovely sunshine with highs of nine or ten.
:04:50. > :04:52.I'll be back tomorrow morning with Sunday Breakfast from seven on BBC
:04:53. > :04:53.Hereford and Worcester. And there's more from Midlands Today at 6:5 pm
:04:54. > :05:28.tomorrow evening. For now, bye`bye. The Wind a lot showers around at the
:05:29. > :05:36.moment, still hale and thunder too. As we turn the wind north-westerly,
:05:37. > :05:40.these areas will bear the brunt of the showers overnight. A chilly
:05:41. > :05:47.night, a touch of frost in rural areas. A few showers first thing.
:05:48. > :05:52.Sunshine too. Cloud will bubble up and showers will develop in England
:05:53. > :05:56.and Wales. The main focus in the afternoon is an eastern areas.
:05:57. > :06:00.Across Wales and the south-west very few showers all day. The
:06:01. > :06:05.north-westerly wind lines the showers up in the afternoon. East
:06:06. > :06:08.Anglia and parts of Lincolnshire and Yorkshire could see quite a few
:06:09. > :06:09.showers. Hit or miss. All or