27/04/2014 Midlands Today

to you. There's more throughout the evening on the BBC News Channel I'm

Good evening. back with

Good evening. A tower block has been blown up in

Birmingham City Centre in what demolition experts have called one

of the most challenging jobs they've done. The former student

accommodation tower was just six metres from the nearest building.

Engineers have spent almost a year working on how to bring it down

safely. Cath Mackie reports. It's 21 storeys high, it's hn a

built up area and it's about to be blown up. The 1970s student

accommodation block at Aston University in Birmingham pltnged to

the ground. There was a nervous moment as clouds of dust filled the

air. But they soon cleared to reveal all had gone to plan. How rdlieved I

you, on a scale of one to tdn? 2. It is a complex job in a tight space

and it has been 100% successful It was an early start for hundreds of

students as nearby buildings were evacuated for safety. The fhre

alarms went off so it was a start to wake up at that. It was quite

impressive. Everyone like the explosion, I do not think anyone was

buried about `` worried abott the building. The precision of this

explosion is quite extraordhnary. We were told we'd be left with a two

storey high pile of rubble, and that's what we've got. It'll take

about eight weeks to clear ht. It's another dramatic change to the

Birmingham skyline and it'll make way for a five acre green open space

at the centre of the university Cath Mackie, BBC Midlands Today

Birmingham. And

`` The police officer at thd centre of the so`called plebgate row is

seeking libel damages from former Chief Whip and Sutton Coldfheld MP

Andrew Mitchell of up to ?200,0 0, according to court papers. The

Metropolitan Police Officer, PC Toby Rowland, is suing Mr Mitchell for

suggesting he was not telling the truth about the dispute at the gates

of Downing Street in 2012. Lr Mitchell was accused of swe`ring at

police and calling them plebs ` allegations he has denied.

Hundreds of people took to the stre.ets in Gloucester this

afternoon to remember Hollid Gazzard. `` took to the strdets The

20`year`old hairdresser died in February after being stabbed while

working in a salon in the chty. Today a charity walk brought family

and friends together. Hollie Gazzard was well`known in the

pub where she used to work `nd customers and staff remember her

smile. Today it was beaming out from hundreds of tea search as hdr

friends, family and people who just wanted to show their support

gathered for a charity work in her honour. `` T`shirts. There `re so

many people. Not everybody knew her but everybody is a supporter. She

was really, really good. We had friends from a few years ago, we

used to go out with her. Evdryone has pulled together to support her.

Absolutely bowled over by the amount of people that have turned out

today, fantastic. She is well`known for doing self these, and it is a

proud day. Hollie Gazzard dhed in February when she was stoppdd by

working at this beauty salon. And ex`boyfriend has been chargdd with

murder and will stand trial the autumn. Today was about remdmbering

happier times with the imagd of Hollie Gazzard the image of the

afternoon. Nearly ?3 million has now bden

raised for the Teenage Cancdr Trust by Stephen Sutton from

Staffordshire. The figure now stands at ?2.8 million pounds is rhsing

constantly. A charity comedx gig arranged by Jason Manford whll be

held for the 19`year`old cancer patient in the centre of Birmingham

this evening. A number of wdll known comedians are expected at the event,

which was sold out within four minutes. The venue has alre`dy made

ten thousand pounds from ticket sales and expects to add to that

during the evening. One of the largest outdoor Vaisakhi

celebrations in the world attracted tens of thousands of people to

Birmingham today. The annual procession, which marks the

formation of the Sikh nation in 1699, converged on Handsworth Park

for a day of celebrations. 200 members of the Royal Mercian and

Lancastrian Yeomanry marched through Shrewsbury this afternoon. The

regiment is being disbanded as part of army reorganisation, and its

headquarters in Telford are being moved to Edinburgh.

Birmingham City Ladies are out of the Champions League. They lost 3`0

to the Swedish side, Tyreso, in this afternoon's semifinal. Afterwards,

Captain Karen Carney praised her team's performance. I think everyone

gave everything today. Everxone is busy distantly pointed and we do not

think we deserved three goals but we have to be big about it and use it

as motivation to go on in the league.

And just one other football result for you from League Two. Burton

Albion lost to Chesterfield by `0. Good evening. Showers were the order

of the day but by night it hs going to be drier. The showers will be

failing. The cloud will be increasing. There are showers this

evening. They will start to fade. We will see the cloud increase with

possibly mist and fog in pl`ces too. Not a cold night. Still the

risk of showers here and thdre as we head into Monday morning. A great

start and drizzly in places, but the cloud should live through the

morning. We should see more showers in the afternoon and some could be

heavy. Temperatures not doing too badly.

That's it from us. I'll be back just after a quarter past ten. Bx for

now. Good evening. After an unsettled

weekend, the same culprit will be staying with us through the early

part of the new week. No pressure is set to continue producing a fair

number of showers across England and Wales. Still some hefty ones to come

through this evening, particularly across the Midlands, South Wales and

south-west England. Rain will spread from the south-west of Scotland into

Northern Ireland by dawn. A mild enough night. Monday, after a gloomy

start for many of us, the cloud and Risley rain across Northern

Ireland. A reasonably dry start across England and Wales but come

the afternoon, that low-pressure centre is still close by and it

looks like it will start generating some pretty hefty thundery showers.

A few for south Wales, certainly across