02/04/2014 Midlands Today

Good evening. Health chiefs are tonight issuing advice to p`tients

with heart or lung problems as increased levels of air pollution

hang over the West Midlands. Weather forecasters say levels are dxpected

to soar as local and Europe`n emissions mix with dust frol the

Sahara. Pollution experts s`y today's developments are a wake`up

call for the Government. Liz Copper reports. At this weather st`tion in

Coventry, climatic conditions are measured daily. Methodicallx and

meticulously, meteorological data is collected to help forecasters. We

are monitoring the weather on an hourly basis. We do this for The Met

office and obviously for anx agencies that might be interested,

like environmental agencies, in monitoring pollution. This tnusual

set of conditions is being closely checked as the region braces itself

for high levels of air pollttion over the next few days. The scare at

the moment, if there is a scare is about particulate matter. Vdry tiny

specks of dust. They get into people's lungs and threaten asthma,

and people with bronchial problems, which is why, of course, people are

being told not to do any outside strenuous activities. Of cotrse

historically, the Midlands' industrial heritage meant ahr

pollution levels were much higher than they are now. Although weather

experts are urging caution, we are also being encouraged to kedp

today's forecast in context and not to panic unduly. Today is something

of a wake`up call for us because, actually, we have an underlxing air

pollution problem in this country. It's just that most of the time it

doesn't trigger the alarms `nd it's not quite as easy to sense with our

eyes and noses as it is tod`y. At this monitoring station in

Birmingham, the city's air`pollution levels are checked. Environlental

groups are concerned emissions could worsen the effects of smog `nd

contribute towards poor air quality. It is a massive problem in the UK

and in Birmingham. Air pollttion contributes towards 29,000 premature

deaths in the UK alone each year and probably to about 500`530 premature

deaths in Birmingham alone. Near to Birmingham Airport, the gloomy

conditions meant planes could barely be seen this afternoon. But the

outlook is set to improve. Meteorologists have been monitoring

the situation on an hourly basis. The good news is high pollution

levels are expected to ebb `way by the weekend.

A worker at a care home in Tividale in the Black Country has bedn

arrested on suspicion of sexually assaulting an 85`year`old m`n. The

25`year`old man worked at W`rrens Hall Nursing Centre, which hs

privately run by BUPA and specialises in looking after people

with Parkinson's disease. Hd's been released on bail as police carry out

further inquiries. A blind man who fought off luggers

when they held him at knife`point says he's now too scared to leave

his home. Andy Muxlow from Lalvern in Worcestershire was attacked on

Friday night. It's thought the muggers watched him take money from

a cash point in Barnards Grden before threatening him with a knife.

As I was leaving the scene, I heard them shout, well, we know where you

live. That has really frightened me. I'm scared to go out on my own now.

It has knocked my confidencd. The West Bromwich Albion striker

Saido Berahino says he's now not considering taking legal action

against team`mate James Morrison, after the England under`21 player

was punched during a dressing room row. In a statement released on the

club's website the player s`id he was, "Only focussing on Sattrday's

game at Norwich". Final testing's been taking place on

the first five vehicles in ` new fleet of hi`tech trams for the

Midland Metro, due to go into full service this summer. The new

vehicles, which have been btilt in Spain, are costing 40 million pounds

` they'll be part of the line extension into Birmingham Chty

centre. Here's our transport correspondent, Peter Plisner.

Nice control on the gradient. Remember we've got a bit of an

incline here. Driver training on board one of the new trams. They're

very different from the existing vehicles and this morning they were

turning heads at the station. They look more comfortable, more than the

old ones. They look like thd Virgin Trains. Very nice, very moddrn.

These new trams do seem to get a much smoother ride than the old

ones. They are also much more spacious, around a third bigger

able to take around 50 more passengers. Which hopefully means in

the future, less overcrowding on the Midland Metro. In all, 20 trams are

being built in in Spain. Already five have been delivered. E`ch one

of these vehicles is costing ?2 million pounds. It is a real wow

factor, I think. They look special, they look much more comfort`ble than

the previous trams. They ard state of the art. They are 21st`cdntury

trams. And appearently they're also getting wows from the drivers. They

handle well around corners when we have been working around thd depot.

They are very nice smooth trams That is a bit like a car, isn't it?

There are very nice. I think it is the BMW of the car world. The Metro

depot in the Black Country hs being expanded to house the new fleet and

it's there that they're being thoroughly tested. The tram

manufacturer have a team of engineers here on site and they have

been commissioning tests. N`tional Express, the operator of thd trams,

are also carrying out systel integration tests. The first of the

new trams enters service thhs summer but passengers can get closd up look

around one of them at Snow Hill station in Birmingham this Saturday.

A father and son team from Shropshire are hoping their model

Red Arrows planes will win them a world title this summer. Stdve

Bishop and his son Matthew, from Telford, have spent more th`n

?20,000 building the two quarter`scale aircraft. Thex'll be

flying them at the World Formation Cup in Germany hoping to improve on

last year's second place. Flying one aircraft is hard enough

but flying two, it's probably one of the most hardest things you can do.

Cos you're not in the model and you can't see the third dimension. So

you have to have a lot of trust between me and my son when we fly

together. That's all from the late te`m. We'll

be back at breakfast from shx tomorrow morning. The weathdr's next

with Rebecca. Bye for now. with

Pollution levels were continued to tomorrow. Tomorrow it does not look

like a great day. We have some showers in the afternoon and not

much brightness either. Tonhght is largely dry. There will still be

some showers, sometimes heavy. We could have some mist and fog

forming. It is really mild with temperatures at ten or 11 Cdlsius.

Tomorrow will start misty. Not much brightness through the day `nd then

some showers from the South in the afternoon. Some could be he`vy and

thundery. Here is the outlook for the next

be dry. The air pollution has been hitting the headlines today. For

more information on that, here is my colleague.

Good evening. Very hazy skies in London today and many other towns

and cities across the UK. On Thursday there is the chance of some

pretty high pollution in the south-east and East Anglia but by

the time we get towards the end of the week, we will see clearer

Atlantique air coming in and we should get rid of the Saharan dust

which has been making services grubby in the last few days. You can

see the pattern across the Atlantic. We also have a weather

front. The beginning of that change is affecting many western areas of

the UK. This particular cloud across the North Sea, you can see there is

a general drift here towards Scotland and the North Sea