Browse content similar to 08/04/2014. Check below for episodes and series from the same categories and more!
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London. If you want more details, you can head to our website. Now on | :00:00. | :00:00. | |
Hello and welcome to Midlands Today. BBC One | :00:00. | :00:22. | |
Hello and welcome to Midlands Today. The headlines tonight Apologies to | :00:23. | :00:25. | |
the family of a severely autistic teenager after they were left | :00:26. | :00:31. | |
without adequate support. There s just not enough funding for people | :00:32. | :00:33. | |
like Charlie. We'll be asking an expert how this | :00:34. | :00:37. | |
sort of situation can be avoided in the future. Also tonight, W`rwick | :00:38. | :00:43. | |
Castle, Coventry Cathedral ` two of our finest visitor attractions | :00:44. | :00:46. | |
getting together to build even more success. The more that the public | :00:47. | :00:49. | |
realise what they have on their doorstep, the more people use it and | :00:50. | :00:52. | |
value it. Creating great powerhouses of | :00:53. | :00:54. | |
economic development. Ed Miliband's vision for cities such as | :00:55. | :00:55. | |
Birmingham. A shock for water workers | :00:56. | :00:58. | |
investigating stinking sewers in Telford ` had they found de`d | :00:59. | :01:00. | |
piranha fish? And not much to rave about hn the | :01:01. | :01:04. | |
weather this week, but then again no real cause for complaint, though the | :01:05. | :01:07. | |
rise and fall in temperaturds might be something to keep an eye on. More | :01:08. | :01:09. | |
on those later. Good evening. A family with a | :01:10. | :01:18. | |
severely autistic teenage son was placed at unnecessary risk because | :01:19. | :01:21. | |
Birmingham City Council failed to provide them with enough support. | :01:22. | :01:25. | |
That's the finding of the Local Government Ombudsman who's now cold | :01:26. | :01:28. | |
on the council to take action and pay compensation. It was in October | :01:29. | :01:31. | |
2012 that Sally Clarke from Kings Norton first contacted the council | :01:32. | :01:35. | |
to ask for help with her son, Charlie. But by February 2003, the | :01:36. | :01:41. | |
council had closed the case without telling her. Both Sally Clarke and | :01:42. | :01:44. | |
Charlie's school continued to plead for help, but it was only when the | :01:45. | :01:48. | |
ombudsman intervened in Jantary this year that the council admitted it | :01:49. | :01:50. | |
had failed. Joanne Writtle reports. Charlie is severely autistic. His | :01:51. | :02:03. | |
family in Birmingham need a lot of support. Last year, he was very | :02:04. | :02:07. | |
violent and stuff. I think hormonal as well, it played a part. We were | :02:08. | :02:14. | |
having to deal with a lot of violence and self injuries `s well, | :02:15. | :02:18. | |
which was tough. Charlie spends most of his time at a | :02:19. | :02:23. | |
specialist residential home. But at weekends, his family was left to | :02:24. | :02:26. | |
manage without help. They eventually had to go to the local government | :02:27. | :02:29. | |
ombudsman to force Birmingh`m City Council to re`think. | :02:30. | :02:33. | |
This was a young man, he was quite capable of overpowering his mother | :02:34. | :02:36. | |
and she was physically assatlted and was at risk of that. The cotncil | :02:37. | :02:43. | |
delayed conducting an assessment, and this goes back a couple of years | :02:44. | :02:47. | |
now, and what I've asked for in my recommendations is to make sure an | :02:48. | :02:50. | |
assessment is carried out as soon as possible, indeed, with a month and a | :02:51. | :02:55. | |
proper plan is put in place so that she is no longer at risk of harm. I | :02:56. | :03:01. | |
think it is lack of funding. There's just not enough funding for | :03:02. | :03:04. | |
people like Charlie, autisthc people and people with disabilities | :03:05. | :03:07. | |
generally. There's just not enough funding in those areas for the | :03:08. | :03:17. | |
services that people need. Only three weeks ago, Birmingham | :03:18. | :03:20. | |
City Council was ordered to pay compensation to the mother of | :03:21. | :03:23. | |
another unnamed child with special needs because she wasn't getting the | :03:24. | :03:26. | |
support she should have. Me`nwhile, the council says it's apologised to | :03:27. | :03:29. | |
Charlie Clarke's family, saxing it will now re`assess his needs to | :03:30. | :03:37. | |
ensure he gets appropriate care It's been really stressful. I'm just | :03:38. | :03:40. | |
holding it together now. I'l coming out the other side of it. It's been | :03:41. | :03:52. | |
a tough year. Charlie's mother will also be paid | :03:53. | :03:56. | |
more than ?1,000 in compens`tion for the council's failure to help her | :03:57. | :04:00. | |
cope with her son's actions. Joining us now from our London | :04:01. | :04:03. | |
studio is Simon Shaw from the National Autistic Society. Good | :04:04. | :04:07. | |
evening to you, Mr Shaw. Is this sort of failing comlon? | :04:08. | :04:15. | |
Yes, we hear of this are far too often, families who do not get the | :04:16. | :04:19. | |
support they need quickly enough from councils who are required to | :04:20. | :04:24. | |
provide services. It must leave affected families in | :04:25. | :04:30. | |
despair with nowhere to turn? Yes, families often talk about the stage | :04:31. | :04:33. | |
where young people are moving from children to adults services as a | :04:34. | :04:39. | |
cliff edge. It is important that councils do take action. | :04:40. | :04:45. | |
The government is reforming plans. Hopefully, this should happdn less | :04:46. | :05:03. | |
often. It comes to something when the ombudsman has to get involved. | :05:04. | :05:08. | |
Yes, it should not have got to the stage at all. Councils have a duty | :05:09. | :05:15. | |
to assess and meet the needs of people with autism in their area. | :05:16. | :05:20. | |
Why do you think councils do not get involved as much as they should Do | :05:21. | :05:24. | |
they not realise how import`nt it is? I think there are a number of | :05:25. | :05:31. | |
challenges for local authorhties. Fundamentally, it is a leaddrship | :05:32. | :05:35. | |
issue. Local authorities should ensure that autism is a key priority | :05:36. | :05:40. | |
for them. There are roughly one in 100 people who have autism so it | :05:41. | :05:46. | |
should be on the list of ardas they need to think about. Are yot | :05:47. | :05:53. | |
confident the sort of thing will not happen again? I think all local | :05:54. | :05:59. | |
authorities need to review their process. The new autism str`tegy | :06:00. | :06:05. | |
came out last week and this is an opportunity to introduce a | :06:06. | :06:15. | |
StepChange. Thank you. Thanks for joining us this dvening. | :06:16. | :06:18. | |
You're watching Midlands Today from the BBC. Coming up later in the | :06:19. | :06:21. | |
programme A vital meeting ` councillors decide tonight on | :06:22. | :06:23. | |
controversial plans to build some 30,000 new homes in Gloucestershire. | :06:24. | :06:31. | |
Arts and culture is bringing over ?170 million a year to Coventry and | :06:32. | :06:34. | |
Warwickshire and supporting hundreds of jobs. Now some of the cotnty s | :06:35. | :06:38. | |
biggest attractions, includhng Warwick Castle and the RSC, have | :06:39. | :06:41. | |
come together to highlight their importance to the local economy And | :06:42. | :06:45. | |
today the new CW8 group met with the head of the Arts Council to make | :06:46. | :06:48. | |
their case for continued support. Here's our Arts and Culture reporter | :06:49. | :06:52. | |
Satnam Rana. As the spring sun glistens on | :06:53. | :06:55. | |
Warwick Castle, tourists make their trip take in the medieval m`rvel. | :06:56. | :07:00. | |
This is just one of the eight leading arts and culture | :07:01. | :07:02. | |
organisations that have united to form CW8, a network to tell us and | :07:03. | :07:06. | |
businesses about the role they play in the local ecenomy. It is about | :07:07. | :07:18. | |
raising the profile. There hs limited funding for all of these | :07:19. | :07:20. | |
attractions individually and I think that we have a much greater voice | :07:21. | :07:24. | |
when we come together and ptsh our message collectively. | :07:25. | :07:26. | |
So what's the message? Well, the CW8, which includes the Roy`l | :07:27. | :07:29. | |
Shakespeare Company, brings 3.5 million visitors to Coventrx and | :07:30. | :07:31. | |
Warwickshire. The eight oganisations employ 1,400 full`time staff and | :07:32. | :07:42. | |
thousands more volunteers. @nd collectively, they turn over ?8 | :07:43. | :07:45. | |
million. And this was the mdssage being sent to the chair of the Arts | :07:46. | :07:48. | |
Council in today's meeting `t the Warwick Arts Centre. The more that | :07:49. | :07:53. | |
the public realise what thex have on their doorstep, the more thdy will | :07:54. | :07:57. | |
use it and value it. Not only will they earn more from them, btt the | :07:58. | :08:00. | |
government will see how important the arts and culture is to people | :08:01. | :08:04. | |
and continue to fund us. Recently the Arts Council has been criticised | :08:05. | :08:08. | |
for not spending enough outside the southeast London, so today's meeting | :08:09. | :08:11. | |
was a reminder of what it c`n spend its money on here. | :08:12. | :08:14. | |
After the motor industry, the West Midlands is probably the most.. The | :08:15. | :08:18. | |
most important thing going on here is arts and culture. We've got a | :08:19. | :08:23. | |
national institution, the Royal Shakespeare Company. In the three | :08:24. | :08:33. | |
years up to 2015, the Arts Council will be investing more than ?60 | :08:34. | :08:37. | |
million in the arts and culture in this area because it is verx | :08:38. | :08:41. | |
important. To many of us, a trip to attractions like Coventry C`thedral | :08:42. | :08:44. | |
is a day out. But cultural leaders want us to recognise the role they | :08:45. | :08:47. | |
play in our region. Today's meeting with the Arts Council wasn't just a | :08:48. | :08:51. | |
business pitch. It was also a moment to remind all of us about the value | :08:52. | :08:55. | |
of arts and culture on our doorstep, the value of Coventry Cathedral and | :08:56. | :08:59. | |
much more. And why? For every pound of public money, our money hnvested | :09:00. | :09:03. | |
in arts and culture, ?4 is generated to the wider economy income in | :09:04. | :09:16. | |
Coventry and Warwickshire. The Labour Leader has been hn | :09:17. | :09:20. | |
Birmingham to set out a vishon of devolved powers for Britain's major | :09:21. | :09:23. | |
cities. Ed Miliband said he planned to reverse a century of | :09:24. | :09:26. | |
centralisation to make sure the new city and county regions bec`me great | :09:27. | :09:29. | |
powerhouses of economic devdlopment. Our Political Editor Patrick Burns | :09:30. | :09:32. | |
was at the event and joins le now. Patrick, what's the thinking behind | :09:33. | :09:51. | |
this? It is the brainchild of Lord Adonis. Examining how major cities | :09:52. | :09:56. | |
can punch above their weight economic league and in skills and | :09:57. | :10:04. | |
technologies. There is a debate about greater Birmingham and I asked | :10:05. | :10:10. | |
Ed Birmingham Ed Vaizey expdcting other areas to buy into this. There | :10:11. | :10:30. | |
is a huge opportunity for authorities to come together, to | :10:31. | :10:33. | |
work together with a proper partnership and get much grdater | :10:34. | :10:36. | |
control over the things that matter to them ` transport, skills, | :10:37. | :10:39. | |
economic development ` so they can shape their own future. We have had | :10:40. | :10:41. | |
other ideas, like regional authorities, what is so difficult | :10:42. | :10:43. | |
about this? It is to find a broad econolic | :10:44. | :10:51. | |
sweep, but also keep" communities. It sounds like the notes stored and | :10:52. | :10:57. | |
turned report set out by thd former Conservative Prime Minister Lord | :10:58. | :11:03. | |
Heseltine `` Conservative mhnister Lord Heseltine. | :11:04. | :11:15. | |
I've talked very much about devolution from Whitehall to city | :11:16. | :11:18. | |
regions. If we are talking `bout balancing the economy of thd UK we | :11:19. | :11:22. | |
need to see growth in the chty regions and this is the way to do | :11:23. | :11:24. | |
it. And this is meant to be Ed Liliband | :11:25. | :11:28. | |
showing that he is coming up with original ideas, how original is it? | :11:29. | :11:32. | |
Opposition talks about and then starts centralising once in office. | :11:33. | :11:38. | |
Michael Heseltine proposed this 18 months ago and I put it to Dd | :11:39. | :11:45. | |
Miliband that he was rehashhng his ideas. How can you plan loc`l skill | :11:46. | :11:55. | |
needs and plan local budgets when it is controlled from London. We would | :11:56. | :11:59. | |
give power to areas like Birmingham and work with other councils to make | :12:00. | :12:04. | |
a real difference. He says the big thing is thhs is | :12:05. | :12:09. | |
backed up by devolved spendhng power worth ?20 billion. | :12:10. | :12:19. | |
Thieves have caused thousands of pounds worth of damage after | :12:20. | :12:22. | |
breaking into the Severn Arda Rescue base in the Wyre Forest. Thd windows | :12:23. | :12:25. | |
of two Land Rovers were smashed with fuel and one of the inflatable | :12:26. | :12:29. | |
rescue crafts stolen. A spokesman says it'll disrupt their abhlity to | :12:30. | :12:32. | |
respond if there's an emergdncy The M6 in Warwickshire is still | :12:33. | :12:34. | |
closed southbound after an `ccident involving two lorries and two cars | :12:35. | :12:37. | |
this morning. The carriagew`y between junctions three and two | :12:38. | :12:40. | |
won't be reopened until early tomorrow morning. The Highw`ys | :12:41. | :12:43. | |
Agency says the motorway nedds to be resurfaced. There is report of heavy | :12:44. | :12:51. | |
traffic in the area. A public inquiry has begun hnto | :12:52. | :12:55. | |
plans for a new multi`million pound business park around Coventry | :12:56. | :12:58. | |
Airport. Both Coventry City and Warwick District Councils h`ve | :12:59. | :13:00. | |
already approved the Gatewax scheme. But a government planning inspector | :13:01. | :13:03. | |
will make the final decision on the development being built on green | :13:04. | :13:07. | |
belt land. It could create tp to 14,000 jobs. Protests are expected | :13:08. | :13:21. | |
tomorrow as councillors in Gloucestershire vote on using green | :13:22. | :13:24. | |
belt to build new homes. More than 30,000 houses are planned for the | :13:25. | :13:27. | |
area around Cheltenham, Glotcester and Tewkesbury. The plans h`ve | :13:28. | :13:29. | |
proved to be especially controversial as Paul Barltrop | :13:30. | :13:31. | |
reports. The people have made their voices | :13:32. | :13:34. | |
heard repeatedly. Why are people pressing to build in | :13:35. | :13:38. | |
the green belt? This is going to be the biggest incursion into green | :13:39. | :13:44. | |
belt ever. For years, there've been protests | :13:45. | :13:47. | |
over the long term plan for where to put new housing around the county's | :13:48. | :13:51. | |
main urban areas. The focus now shifts to council chambers. This | :13:52. | :13:53. | |
evening, Gloucester councillors will assemble here to vote on thd plan. | :13:54. | :13:56. | |
They follow Tewkesbury, where members yesterday narrowly backed it | :13:57. | :13:59. | |
after a heated debate. And tomorrow protests are expected when the | :14:00. | :14:02. | |
strategy goes before Cheltenham councillors. Campaigner Richard | :14:03. | :14:05. | |
Lloyd will be at tonight's beating. `` meeting. It's very difficult The | :14:06. | :14:11. | |
government mantra is growth, growth, growth, but it's how you deliver it | :14:12. | :14:15. | |
in practice. The green belt was put in place to keep Gloucester and | :14:16. | :14:18. | |
Cheltenham apart, that is its primary purpose. It is therd for a | :14:19. | :14:21. | |
good reason. But the most sustainable location to put urban | :14:22. | :14:24. | |
extensions are into the gredn belt and you can't get away from that. | :14:25. | :14:28. | |
Visiting Gloucester today, the government's housing ministdr. He | :14:29. | :14:32. | |
meets the staff on the council's housing offices. They want to tackle | :14:33. | :14:43. | |
the shortage of housing. Thdre is a willingness to build and develop, | :14:44. | :14:46. | |
but whether it will meet thd demand, there are 240,000 new homes required | :14:47. | :14:50. | |
each year and we are nowherd there near that. It is something that has | :14:51. | :14:53. | |
to be addressed nationally `nd at local level. | :14:54. | :15:00. | |
The coalition know that new developments are often unpopular so | :15:01. | :15:03. | |
it has set rules to say councils cannot say no to all house building. | :15:04. | :15:07. | |
I am not going to debate about where it should be. That should bd about | :15:08. | :15:11. | |
local people making choices. We have said to councils, go out and have | :15:12. | :15:14. | |
those debates. These are tense moments. But I think it is hmportant | :15:15. | :15:18. | |
we don't just look at the f`ct that there will be a house built there. | :15:19. | :15:25. | |
Think about the local econoly in those communities which are | :15:26. | :15:27. | |
concerned at the moment. People will get a job as a consequence of that. | :15:28. | :15:31. | |
These were the last homes btilt by the council 25 years ago. There is a | :15:32. | :15:35. | |
determination for a new era of construction to begin. | :15:36. | :15:45. | |
This is our top story tonight: Apologies to the family of ` | :15:46. | :15:48. | |
severely autistic teenager `fter they were left without adeqtate | :15:49. | :15:49. | |
support. Your detailed weather forec`st to | :15:50. | :15:52. | |
come shortly from Shefali. We could do without that bitter wind. | :15:53. | :15:55. | |
Also in tonight's programme. Can we all enjoy the wonders of | :15:56. | :15:58. | |
modern science? A series of special events in Birmingham are ailing to | :15:59. | :16:01. | |
make us do just that. And had they found dead pir`nhas? A | :16:02. | :16:04. | |
shock for council workers investigating extra smelly sewers in | :16:05. | :16:07. | |
Shropshire. If you have a story you think we | :16:08. | :16:11. | |
should be covering on Midlands Today, we'd like to hear from you. | :16:12. | :16:29. | |
There are calls tonight for more research as the number of | :16:30. | :16:33. | |
Parkinson's Disease patients is set to double over the next 20 xears. A | :16:34. | :16:37. | |
leading academic is in Downhng Street this evening saying that the | :16:38. | :16:40. | |
West Midlands is involved in some of the biggest drug trials in the | :16:41. | :16:43. | |
world, but more investment hs needed. Here's our Health | :16:44. | :16:47. | |
correspondent, Michele Padu`no. Imagine never being able to stand or | :16:48. | :16:55. | |
sit perfectly still. At 56, Barrie Smith is, through illness, having to | :16:56. | :16:58. | |
retire and spend more time hn his garden. His Parkinsons symptoms mean | :16:59. | :17:09. | |
he can move but not keep sthll. I can hoe perfectly well. I c`n't hold | :17:10. | :17:13. | |
the hoe very well. Because ly resting tremor kicks in. And the | :17:14. | :17:17. | |
more I try to stop it, the worse it will get. Barrie takes pills for the | :17:18. | :17:27. | |
missing dopamine in his rain. Recently he was admitted to hospital | :17:28. | :17:30. | |
and had access to drugs. But Parkinsons UK says ignorancd means | :17:31. | :17:33. | |
six in ten patients are affdcted. In some parts of the country, people | :17:34. | :17:38. | |
find great difficulty in getting their drugs at the time thex need | :17:39. | :17:43. | |
them. I can only imagine th`t that is pretty much like a living hell. | :17:44. | :17:51. | |
At City Hospital, they're aware that, with an ageing population | :17:52. | :17:55. | |
Parkinson rates are set to double in 20 years. Parkinsons patients are | :17:56. | :17:58. | |
prone to falls and injuries. More work needs to be done to stop | :17:59. | :18:02. | |
into hospital in the first place. At into hospital in the first place. At | :18:03. | :18:07. | |
the moment, there are 75,000 admissions are you at the cost of | :18:08. | :18:12. | |
over ?100 million. Professor Carl Clark has just submitted a 05 year | :18:13. | :18:16. | |
study into the best treatment for Parkinsons to the prestigiots Lancet | :18:17. | :18:19. | |
journal, but today he will call on Government for more investmdnt. The | :18:20. | :18:23. | |
key message for the reception at Downing Street is that we are going | :18:24. | :18:27. | |
to have to face the problem of Parkinson's disease just as people | :18:28. | :18:30. | |
have to face the problem of dementia, which I think people are | :18:31. | :18:36. | |
more familiar with. He's hoping that at Number Ten, he will be ptshing on | :18:37. | :18:40. | |
an open door. Michele Paduano, BBC Midlands Today. | :18:41. | :18:49. | |
From steam engines to beer brewing there's a long, proud history of | :18:50. | :18:51. | |
scientific invention in Birlingham and the wider Midlands. Now | :18:52. | :18:54. | |
Birmingham is launching its first`ever year of science with all | :18:55. | :18:57. | |
sorts of events for all sorts of ages. We sent our Science | :18:58. | :18:59. | |
Correspondent David Gregory`Kumar along to find out more and he joins | :19:00. | :19:03. | |
us now from the Library of Birmingham where the Year of Science | :19:04. | :19:06. | |
was launched. David, what c`n we expect? | :19:07. | :19:09. | |
We got a taste of what we c`n expect today. There were hands on | :19:10. | :19:12. | |
experiments for children of all ages. Some of top scientists from | :19:13. | :19:18. | |
our universities were on hand to explain what we can expect. | :19:19. | :19:27. | |
In front of the Library of Birmingham Science, buskers attract | :19:28. | :19:30. | |
the crowds. Inside Marmite, robots and plenty of liquid nitrogdn | :19:31. | :19:32. | |
introduce Birmingham's Year of Science. It's astounding. Wd've got | :19:33. | :19:36. | |
a range of really brilliant researchers, including rese`rchers | :19:37. | :19:41. | |
from the universities in Birmingham. It's an opportunity for people to | :19:42. | :19:44. | |
come and hear about that research and to engage in dialogue as well, | :19:45. | :19:48. | |
to ask questions, to find ott what implications are of that schence for | :19:49. | :19:51. | |
themselves in their own livds, for making political and economhc | :19:52. | :19:54. | |
decisions and all those sort of things. | :19:55. | :20:00. | |
In Birmingham and the Midlands, science is a serious business. | :20:01. | :20:17. | |
Today, we've got a really strong scientific background as well. We've | :20:18. | :20:20. | |
got 40% growth over the last eight years within the science sector one | :20:21. | :20:23. | |
of the fastest`growing areas of the economy. We've also got 14,000 | :20:24. | :20:30. | |
students who are years studxing science, more than any other | :20:31. | :20:32. | |
regional city. Not far from today's launch event, | :20:33. | :20:35. | |
we find this statute Boulten, Watts and Murdoch who did everythhng from | :20:36. | :20:38. | |
steam engines to improving the brewing process. They are a sign of | :20:39. | :20:42. | |
the long and proud scientifhc tradition of Birmingham and the | :20:43. | :20:44. | |
Midlands. And recognising that history, the year will culmhnate in | :20:45. | :20:47. | |
the British Science Festival in September. A massive sciencd event | :20:48. | :20:50. | |
that has been going since 1831. We want to really make science a | :20:51. | :20:54. | |
part of a city's life for a week. We want to say this is the biggest | :20:55. | :20:58. | |
thing you should be thinking about. We want to have events, talks, | :20:59. | :21:01. | |
ideas, drama, comedy all focused around science. It is there so the | :21:02. | :21:05. | |
public can see what science is really about and connect with | :21:06. | :21:06. | |
scientists. A year of science in this most | :21:07. | :21:12. | |
scientific of cities. If yot are wondering what they were dohng at | :21:13. | :21:16. | |
the end, I think it was an experiment to work out lung | :21:17. | :21:21. | |
capacity. If all this has ghven you a taster for wanting to learn more, | :21:22. | :21:28. | |
you can find all the details on our Facebook page. There are pldnty of | :21:29. | :21:33. | |
events, many of them free and for all levels of scientific | :21:34. | :21:38. | |
understanding. For me, the highlight will be in the autumn. They say | :21:39. | :21:51. | |
there was not even a word for scientist when the first schence | :21:52. | :22:01. | |
festival took place in 1831. Education as always. | :22:02. | :22:08. | |
Would I be right in thinking that many people at some point m`y have | :22:09. | :22:11. | |
flushed a dead goldfish down the toilet? Well, imagine the strprise | :22:12. | :22:14. | |
Severn Trent workers got whdn they went to clear a very smelly drain in | :22:15. | :22:18. | |
Telford and found what they believed to be piranhas blocking the pipe. | :22:19. | :22:20. | |
Yes, piranhas! Ben Sidwell reports. | :22:21. | :22:26. | |
There's something fishy that's been plaguing the residents of Ndw Street | :22:27. | :22:29. | |
in Madeley, but even they wdren t expecting the horrors that lurking | :22:30. | :22:40. | |
down below. I just came and the manhole cover came up and when I | :22:41. | :22:44. | |
looked down, there was a piranha down there. | :22:45. | :22:50. | |
Barry Briggs, who first cold for help, knows a thing or two `bout | :22:51. | :22:54. | |
fish, he's got plenty in his back garden. But even he was shocked when | :22:55. | :22:58. | |
he found out what had been causing the stench in the street. You would | :22:59. | :23:01. | |
like to think they are in somebody's house, not in thd drains. | :23:02. | :23:04. | |
The last thing you want to be is on the toilet when one of them pops up. | :23:05. | :23:09. | |
This is what Severn Trent workman came face to face with when they | :23:10. | :23:13. | |
went to investigate below the ground. It's not everyday that we | :23:14. | :23:18. | |
find fish, particularly big fish the sewers so we were surprised. And | :23:19. | :23:25. | |
it's not just piranhas. In January, a blockage near Bridgnorth was | :23:26. | :23:28. | |
caused by piles of pants th`t had been flushed down the toilet. With | :23:29. | :23:37. | |
planners in the water systel, it's time to call in the experts. At | :23:38. | :23:40. | |
Ripples Waterlife in Telford, there's rather a snappy trade on the | :23:41. | :23:43. | |
more dangerous varieties of fish. But whatever type you have, the | :23:44. | :23:47. | |
advice is not to flush them down the loo. It would be better to bury | :23:48. | :23:55. | |
them, or burn them on a bonfire something like that. If you put them | :23:56. | :24:01. | |
in the bin, they will start to smell. If you put them down the | :24:02. | :24:07. | |
toilet, they can block it. So what does Arron make of the toothy terror | :24:08. | :24:11. | |
lurking in Shropshire's sewdrs? This is the fish. It's not ` | :24:12. | :24:17. | |
piranha. Hopefully tonight they ll sleep more soundly in their beds in | :24:18. | :24:21. | |
New Road, knowing the worst the fish in the sewers will give thel is a | :24:22. | :24:23. | |
nasty suck. Smelly sewers aside, what's in the | :24:24. | :24:28. | |
air tonight, Shefali? Nothing as nasty as that. Now the | :24:29. | :24:46. | |
coalfish lashing out at us. All pretty good this week. It whll be | :24:47. | :24:54. | |
relatively warm during the day, but watch out for prostate | :24:55. | :25:01. | |
`` frosty nights. High pressure is very much in control. There is a | :25:02. | :25:10. | |
cold front descending from the North on Thursday night. But I thhnk the | :25:11. | :25:17. | |
effects of that will be weakened by that high pressure. We are just | :25:18. | :25:23. | |
talking about light, patchy rain. This evening, and for the fhrst part | :25:24. | :25:28. | |
of tonight, clear skies. Temperatures could fall lowdr than | :25:29. | :25:35. | |
last night, three Celsius. We could see some patchy frost first thing. | :25:36. | :25:43. | |
In towns and cities, lows of five or six Celsius. More moisture heading | :25:44. | :25:48. | |
in from the North West giving us some patchy mist and fog for the | :25:49. | :25:54. | |
morning. Starting off on a larket note tomorrow morning, cloudy. `` | :25:55. | :26:05. | |
murky. Sunshine later, but that could set of odd shower. | :26:06. | :26:15. | |
Temperatures rising to about 13`14 Celsius, reasonably warm. More in | :26:16. | :26:22. | |
the way of cloud tomorrow nhght and the breeze could pick up as well. | :26:23. | :26:27. | |
Just the odd shower he had `nd there. Some rain later in the day. | :26:28. | :26:41. | |
Don't forget, I'm going to be presenting two radio shows on BBC | :26:42. | :26:44. | |
Coventry and Warwickshire over the Easter holiday ` at 6pm on Good | :26:45. | :26:47. | |
Friday and Easter Monday. And I m hoping that listeners will get in | :26:48. | :26:50. | |
touch with their questions on Twitter. | :26:51. | :27:00. | |
It would be good if you could get those questions in two me bx the end | :27:01. | :27:07. | |
of the day. Tonight's headlines from thd BBC. | :27:08. | :27:10. | |
The Oscar Pistorius murder trial ` the athlete relives the momdnt he | :27:11. | :27:12. | |
shot his girlfriend. And history is made as Irel`nd's | :27:13. | :27:15. | |
president is welcomed by thd Queen for the first official statd visit | :27:16. | :27:18. | |
to Britain. And apologies to the family of a | :27:19. | :27:21. | |
severely autistic teenager `fter they were left without adeqtate | :27:22. | :27:29. | |
support. Warwick Castle and Coventry | :27:30. | :27:31. | |
Cathedral are getting together to build it even more success. | :27:32. | :27:35. | |
That was the Midlands Today. I'll be back at ten o'clock, with the latest | :27:36. | :27:42. | |
football scores. Have a gre`t evening. Goodbye. | :27:43. | :27:48. |