:00:00. > 3:59:59connection with a murdering Belfast back in the 1970s. That is all from
:00:00. > :00:10.the BBC News At Hello and welcome to Midlands Today.
:00:11. > :00:14.The headlines tonight... He was killed by the stress of his
:00:15. > :00:18.job, says the widow of a school teacher who died from a heart attack
:00:19. > :00:25.at the age of 37. I do think that being a teacher
:00:26. > :00:29.contributed in a big way to us losing a husband and father.
:00:30. > :00:33.We'll be looking into the stresses of teaching. Also tonight...
:00:34. > :00:36.Mugged in the park ` a youth worker talks about the knife attack that's
:00:37. > :00:40.left him permanently disfigured. It started in Birmingham, and is now
:00:41. > :00:47.in 40 countries around the world ` Islamic Relief celebrates 30 years.
:00:48. > :00:50.The beautiful thing I have seen is the generosity of people
:00:51. > :00:56.irrespective of race, colour and creed, across Great Britain and the
:00:57. > :01:02.globe. Which singer`songwriter has
:01:03. > :01:05.surprised these schoolchildren? Find out later on.
:01:06. > :01:09.And downpours recording half an inch of rainfall in an hour today, but
:01:10. > :01:16.better now than later ` the Bank Holiday's looking good. For all the
:01:17. > :01:21.detail, join me later. Good evening. The widow of a
:01:22. > :01:26.schoolteacher who died of a heart attack at the age of just 37 says he
:01:27. > :01:29.faced intolerable pressure. She's written directly to the Education
:01:30. > :01:34.Secretary, Michael Gove, urging him to act to reduce the stress on
:01:35. > :01:38.teachers. A poll earlier this year claimed 50% of all teachers had
:01:39. > :01:45.considered quitting the profession. She's been talking to our reporter
:01:46. > :01:50.Liz Copper. I should be proud that my husband
:01:51. > :01:54.was a teacher but right at this moment I am not, I am sorry that he
:01:55. > :01:59.was, because if he had a different job he might still be with us.
:02:00. > :02:02.Words from a widow to the Secretary of State for Education. This is
:02:03. > :02:05.Gareth Utting on his wedding day three years ago. He died suddenly,
:02:06. > :02:12.aged 37, from a heart attack, leaving behind his wife and three
:02:13. > :02:16.children. It is real families and real people
:02:17. > :02:22.being put under an enormous amount of strain and suffering as a
:02:23. > :02:27.result, and of course we have suffered the ultimate.
:02:28. > :02:35.Gareth Utting worked here, at this secondary school at Wem in
:02:36. > :02:41.Shropshire. He taught here for ten years. Staff and pupils were amongst
:02:42. > :02:44.the mourners at his funeral. And, as his family continue to grieve,
:02:45. > :02:49.there's been support from teaching groups.
:02:50. > :02:54.I think teachers do get a bad deal. They are under a lot of pressure to
:02:55. > :03:00.achieve and often they may not feel that they can tell somebody they are
:03:01. > :03:07.stressed. Also, especially in young teachers and those who want to
:03:08. > :03:10.impress, if they talk about feeling stressed it could actually be like a
:03:11. > :03:13.barrier to them progressing in their profession.
:03:14. > :03:17.Gareth Utting's wife says she doesn't blame Michael Gove, but does
:03:18. > :03:25.want him to listen. I know that Gareth's death was not
:03:26. > :03:31.directly caused by his being a teacher but I do think that being a
:03:32. > :03:37.teacher contributed in a big way to us losing a husband and father.
:03:38. > :03:43.The letter's been posted to the Department For Education today.
:03:44. > :03:46.On the half of all the pupils and teachers out there, I beg you to go
:03:47. > :03:51.back to the drawing board, learn from your mistakes, gained knowledge
:03:52. > :03:58.and please don't send me your condolences. `` gain. Gareth
:03:59. > :04:02.Utting's family say they're not seeking sympathy but empathy for
:04:03. > :04:05.teachers. They want that to be his legacy.
:04:06. > :04:09.Well, the Department for Education has declined to comment. But Alison
:04:10. > :04:13.has since posted her open letter to Michael Gove on Facebook ` this has
:04:14. > :04:16.now been shared almost 50,000 times. And plenty of people have been
:04:17. > :04:19.commenting online today. Sian Crew says "This should be on the front
:04:20. > :04:35.page of every newspaper, very powerful."
:04:36. > :04:40.And Georgina Norgrove asks "Powerful food for thought. Maybe it's about
:04:41. > :04:47.time it was not just thought, but put into some sort of action?"
:04:48. > :04:50.Coming up later in the programme... Remembering Dolly ` fundraising gets
:04:51. > :04:53.under way to pay for a statue of Worcestershire and England cricket
:04:54. > :04:56.great Basil D'Oliveira. This is youth worker Gareth Howles,
:04:57. > :05:00.the victim of a senseless and brutal mugging in which he was slashed
:05:01. > :05:03.across the face with a knife. Thankfully, he's now on the mend and
:05:04. > :05:06.today he returned to the Wolverhampton park where it happened
:05:07. > :05:10.to try to help police find his attacker. Here's Giles Latcham.
:05:11. > :05:13.There's no hiding this scar ` Gareth Howles will have it for life. And
:05:14. > :05:22.there are mental scars too that wake him in a cold sweat.
:05:23. > :05:32.Every day you get to, three hours sleep. I do get flashbacks. It is
:05:33. > :05:36.getting better gradually. The attack happened in this park as
:05:37. > :05:40.Gareth went to care for his disabled grandfather. It was roared daylight
:05:41. > :05:46.and the first Monday of the Easter school holidays. `` broad.
:05:47. > :05:49.Gareth fought back but before running off the mugger slashed him
:05:50. > :05:53.with a Stanley knife. He lost a pint of blood and spent two and a half
:05:54. > :05:57.hours on the operating table. Gareth's a youth worker and that was
:05:58. > :05:59.why he returned to the park today to relive his ordeal.
:06:00. > :06:03.I just don't want it to happen to anybody younger than me because they
:06:04. > :06:08.might not be so lucky. They could easily get stabbed in the ribs or
:06:09. > :06:11.anywhere, in the heart, and die. A knife surrender scheme is under
:06:12. > :06:14.way in Birmingham at present following a spate of fatal stabbings
:06:15. > :06:17.last Autumn. Police in Wolverhampton say knife crime is under control,
:06:18. > :06:20.but agree this was a shocking incident.
:06:21. > :06:30.Gareth has been really brave coming out and telling us about the
:06:31. > :06:35.incident. We are looking for a person 6`foot three inch male, mixed
:06:36. > :06:38.race, probably local to the area. There are two council operated CCTV
:06:39. > :06:43.cameras close by but both are broken.
:06:44. > :06:50.There is a chance the man who did this to you is watching this. What
:06:51. > :06:53.would you say to him? If you are man, hand yourself in. Don't be a
:06:54. > :06:57.coward. He's going back to work tomorrow.
:06:58. > :07:00.Getting back to normality will take longer.
:07:01. > :07:04.The funeral of a soldier who was killed at Tern Hill Barracks in
:07:05. > :07:06.Shropshire has taken place in County Antrim this morning. 32`year`old
:07:07. > :07:09.Corporal Geoff McNeill, of the First Battalion, the Royal Irish Regiment,
:07:10. > :07:13.was given full military honours during a service at a church near
:07:14. > :07:15.Portrush. He was found dead at the barracks near Market Drayton in
:07:16. > :07:22.March. Another soldier has been charged with his murder.
:07:23. > :07:25.Detectives investigating the murder of the Coventry teenager Nicola
:07:26. > :07:29.Payne have re`arrested two people. A man and a woman, both in their 50s,
:07:30. > :07:33.were released on police bail this afternoon. 18`year`old Nicola went
:07:34. > :07:37.missing in 1991. No trace of her has ever been found. Police say the
:07:38. > :07:48.arrests follow the discovery of new evidence.
:07:49. > :08:02.Shadow Health Minister Andy Burnham was in the West Midlands today to
:08:03. > :08:06.launch the Labour election campaign. I think people have decided they are
:08:07. > :08:10.fed up with this government, they are fed up with Cameron and Clegg
:08:11. > :08:15.not listening to their concerns. Labour will step forward and give
:08:16. > :08:20.them an alternative and build to a general election victory in 2015.
:08:21. > :08:23.And the West Midlands based "We Demand a Referendum Now" Party also
:08:24. > :08:26.launched its European manifesto election and campaign today. It's
:08:27. > :08:30.led by Nikki Sinclaire, who was elected as a UKIP MEP five years
:08:31. > :08:37.ago, but left to form her own party. She's one of seven current West
:08:38. > :08:41.Midland MEPs. This is a one`off election, a
:08:42. > :08:45.one`off campaign to re`elect somebody who is proven to be one of
:08:46. > :08:51.the hardest working MEPs in the region. Immunity work, mobile
:08:52. > :08:55.surgery, etc. The people of West Midlands know that they will get
:08:56. > :09:01.somebody who will represent them if they elect me.
:09:02. > :09:04.And, for more about the European elections in this region, there's a
:09:05. > :09:07.blog from our political editor, Patrick Burns, who's been studying
:09:08. > :09:11.this year's crop of Euro hopefuls. It started with a 20 pence donation
:09:12. > :09:14.from a small boy 30 years ago. Since then Birmingham`based Islamic Relief
:09:15. > :09:17.has provided over half a billion pounds of aid to more than 40
:09:18. > :09:19.countries. And today the International Development Secretary,
:09:20. > :09:22.Justine Greening, praised the charity's key role in helping the
:09:23. > :09:32.world deal with disaster. Bob Hockenhull has more.
:09:33. > :09:35.He is writing down what we are giving to each person.
:09:36. > :09:38.On the ground in Pakistan providing emergency aid after an earthquake
:09:39. > :09:41.kills 75,000. One of scores of disasters Islamic Relief has
:09:42. > :09:45.responded to in its 30 years. The charity began humbly in an office in
:09:46. > :09:52.Moseley in 1984, set up by student doctors from the University of
:09:53. > :10:00.Birmingham. This is a far cry from its humble beginnings in an office.
:10:01. > :10:04.Like Sir Bob Geldof, they were inspired to do good after seeing the
:10:05. > :10:10.BBC Michael Buerk report on the African famine.
:10:11. > :10:15.Sadly the need for organisations like Islamic Relief is growing, not
:10:16. > :10:20.decreasing. As it has grown the charity has had
:10:21. > :10:25.to face concerns it could be exploited by extremists.
:10:26. > :10:30.That accusation has been going around for quite a long time but we
:10:31. > :10:35.have a saying, let the works speak. We don't have too justify our
:10:36. > :10:47.position, we are an independent, neutral humanitarian organisation,
:10:48. > :10:53.helping all those in need. The government says it works closely
:10:54. > :10:55.with the charity. We use tried and trusted
:10:56. > :10:58.organisations like Islamic Relief and we know we can get that person
:10:59. > :11:05.on the ground to those who needs help.
:11:06. > :11:12.There are also many ordinary volunteers raising money. This
:11:13. > :11:19.teacher organisers sponsored treks. I have been mountain climbing for
:11:20. > :11:22.years and I decided to combine my passion for mountains with my
:11:23. > :11:35.passion for relieving the suffering of the poor. The charity's biggest
:11:36. > :11:40.challenge in 2014 is Syria. This is our top story tonight.
:11:41. > :11:44.The widow of a schoolteacher who died from a heart attack at the age
:11:45. > :11:46.of 37 says he was killed by the stress of his job.
:11:47. > :11:49.Shefali's ready with our detailed weather forecast. Also in tonight's
:11:50. > :11:52.programme... After most of our police forces got
:11:53. > :11:57.rid of their horses to save money, new research asks was it a false
:11:58. > :12:01.economy? And we meet the last surviving pilot
:12:02. > :12:04.from a secret squadron sent to protect the Arctic Convoys which
:12:05. > :12:12.kept Russia in the fight in World War Two.
:12:13. > :12:28.The next convoy to pass, out of 35 ships only 11 got through. `` convoy
:12:29. > :12:32.to us. Police horses used to be a familiar
:12:33. > :12:36.sight in our major towns and cities, but ever tighter budgets mean most
:12:37. > :12:38.forces have got rid of their mounted units. Gloucestershire is the
:12:39. > :12:42.exception. Now research into the effectiveness of mounted police in
:12:43. > :12:44.the county has found there's a big difference in the public's
:12:45. > :12:46.relationship with the police when officers are on horseback. Here's
:12:47. > :12:49.Steve Knibbs. Across the country mounted police
:12:50. > :12:52.units are disappearing as Chief Constables face difficult cutbacks.
:12:53. > :12:55.Here in Cirencester they're back on the streets for the first time in
:12:56. > :13:01.decades. And they're certainly turning heads.
:13:02. > :13:06.I think it is wonderful, the more they are round and seen the better
:13:07. > :13:10.it is for everybody. Everybody talking about it and it is really
:13:11. > :13:15.good, another angle to introduce the children to the police force. The
:13:16. > :13:20.horses are attracting a lot of attention but unknown to the people
:13:21. > :13:24.talking to them they are gimmick `` guinea pigs for a serious piece of
:13:25. > :13:29.academic research to see how effective they really are.
:13:30. > :13:31.And, while rural areas are used to horses, here in the centre of
:13:32. > :13:34.Gloucester it's pretty rare. Following closely behind are
:13:35. > :13:37.researchers from the University of Oxford, recording how many people
:13:38. > :13:40.come up to the police and whether their reactions are good or bad `
:13:41. > :13:44.and early indications are pretty positive.
:13:45. > :13:47.It is much more visible policing than community controls. People
:13:48. > :13:54.interact with the officers more, they will chat with the officers and
:13:55. > :13:56.interact with the horses. The research has been commissioned
:13:57. > :14:00.by Gloucestershire's deputy chief constable who's the national lead on
:14:01. > :14:03.mounted policing in the UK. He's not promising that we'll see new mounted
:14:04. > :14:07.units cropping up once the results are published but just wants it
:14:08. > :14:09.focus the mind of Chief Constables as they look at their resources.
:14:10. > :14:14.It may lead to discussions around regional hubs, better that than they
:14:15. > :14:18.disappear sporadically. It's thought the research is a world
:14:19. > :14:22.first is and results will be compared to a survey carried out in
:14:23. > :14:26.London at the same time. But it's already showing that if you want the
:14:27. > :14:38.public to talk to the police ` bring in the horses.
:14:39. > :14:53.A fundraising campaign now to build a statue to Basil D'Oliveira. A man
:14:54. > :14:58.has set out on a walk to raise money.
:14:59. > :15:02.Mark Ashbourne is blind but that does not stop him loving cricket or
:15:03. > :15:10.being adventurous so today he set out on a four`day walk in aid of
:15:11. > :15:13.charity. It was all his idea. I said I am thinking of walking from busted
:15:14. > :15:18.to Glamorgan and people said they would sponsor me, others said they
:15:19. > :15:24.would walk with me. You must be delighted. Yes, it is absolutely
:15:25. > :15:31.brilliant, it will make it a lot more fun. The walk is raising money
:15:32. > :15:37.for the Basil D'Oliveira Foundation. It has the support of his family and
:15:38. > :15:43.his grandson is taking part. It is a great thing. I spoke to my grandma
:15:44. > :15:50.this morning and I am sure he is watching us from above. In 1968
:15:51. > :15:55.D'Oliveira was chosen for England against South Africa, the country of
:15:56. > :15:59.his birth. It was the era of apartheid. The South Africans cancel
:16:00. > :16:03.the tour because in their eyes he was coloured. He died in 2011 but
:16:04. > :16:08.his foundation lives on, giving young cricketers the chance to take
:16:09. > :16:15.up the game in England and South Africa. At 7:30am today the walking
:16:16. > :16:20.party left and will arrive in Cardiff in four days' time, for the
:16:21. > :16:28.next Gloucester match. `` Gloucestershire. The original
:16:29. > :16:31.fundraising target was ?2000. They have already passed ?11,000. It is
:16:32. > :16:41.all thanks to one man's determination.
:16:42. > :16:49.We are joined now by our intrepid Walker, Mark. Where have you got to?
:16:50. > :16:57.We are just at the traveller's rest outside Ross on Wye. How many miles
:16:58. > :17:05.have you covered today? The 23 we set out to do. My feet and legs are
:17:06. > :17:10.very sore. It really took it out of us. It has been good because they
:17:11. > :17:16.have been a lot of us, good fun. Absolutely. What got you into this
:17:17. > :17:22.idea in the first place? I have always wanted to support the
:17:23. > :17:25.D'Oliveira Foundation, I thought if I was going to do something I would
:17:26. > :17:30.want to make a difference rather than just a couple of hundred
:17:31. > :17:36.pounds. I thought, let's do a sponsored walk but let's make sure
:17:37. > :17:42.we leave the day after Worcester game finishes and arrive before the
:17:43. > :17:46.next one. The only way to make that happen was between the Berkshire
:17:47. > :17:50.game yesterday and asked playing in Cardiff. I thought if I do something
:17:51. > :17:56.stupid like that I want some sponsorship. I said to friends, if I
:17:57. > :18:02.am going to do this 74 miles are you going to sponsor me? That has grown
:18:03. > :18:11.out of all proportion is, with 12 people walking fantastic. What
:18:12. > :18:16.inspires you about Basil D'Oliveira? He is a legend, being a fan he was a
:18:17. > :18:20.legend as a player but also the difference he made on the world
:18:21. > :18:24.stage, helping to bring down apartheid in South Africa. There is
:18:25. > :18:33.no place for apartheid in the world and basil helped to bring that down.
:18:34. > :18:37.`` Basil. A World War Two fighter pilot has
:18:38. > :18:40.written a book about his role in a secret wartime mission. Eric
:18:41. > :18:43.Carter's job was to try to protect vital Arctic convoys carrying
:18:44. > :18:46.supplies to keep Russia in the war. Their destination was Murmansk, but
:18:47. > :18:49.many ships didn't get through ` they were sunk by German U`boats or
:18:50. > :18:54.bombers. Ben Sidwell has been talking to the last surviving pilot
:18:55. > :19:02.of 81 Squadron. Northwards to the Arctic Circle...
:19:03. > :19:07.It was a mission so secret that not all even their closest families knew
:19:08. > :19:10.they were going. The pilots suggested were amongst the best in
:19:11. > :19:19.the country. Among them was Eric Carter from Birmingham. You don't
:19:20. > :19:25.think of dining at 21. We just got on with the job the best way we
:19:26. > :19:28.could. They spent ten months in the Arctic Circle with temperatures
:19:29. > :19:36.around 40 below zero. Their mission was to go along with convoys carry
:19:37. > :19:46.`` carrying vital supplies from Britain to Russia. The next convoy
:19:47. > :19:53.to us, out of 35 ships, only 11 got through to Murmansk. This
:19:54. > :19:59.international expert on World War II believes that few `` although few
:20:00. > :20:10.today know about the Mission Eric and his comrades played a key role.
:20:11. > :20:18.It introduced the Russians to modern fightersand fighter tactics. They
:20:19. > :20:20.had the knowledge of how to fly and operate the Hurricanes, and that was
:20:21. > :20:26.the building block to create their own modern air force.
:20:27. > :20:37.The German propaganda minister came on the radio one day and said, we
:20:38. > :20:43.know you have got to Russia but, sorry, chaps, you will never get
:20:44. > :20:49.home again. Thanks to Eric's book, future
:20:50. > :21:01.generations will be able to see what he and his comrades went through to
:21:02. > :21:07.help win the war. Laura Mvula has risen to fame in
:21:08. > :21:18.recent years and she has just returned from America.
:21:19. > :21:24.A lunchtime session with a difference. Students at this school
:21:25. > :21:31.in Cheltenham are treated to a live Internet performance from
:21:32. > :21:34.singer`songwriter Laura Mvula. The Birmingham conservator our graduates
:21:35. > :21:39.will be performing at the Jazz Festival tonight in Birmingham. This
:21:40. > :21:45.is her way of giving something back to the next generation of musicians.
:21:46. > :21:51.This is the region that nurtured me and gave me confidence and the place
:21:52. > :21:57.that I keep coming back to, to refuel and get a sense of who I am,
:21:58. > :22:02.and all of that is so important and I feel indebted and I feel so
:22:03. > :22:05.welcome and every time I come back. For once, teachers did not have to
:22:06. > :22:11.hush their students, although they had plenty to say afterwards.
:22:12. > :22:16.Shocked! Because obviously I like her and her music and I have all ``
:22:17. > :22:21.I have always said to miss Smith that I wanted to meet her. I saw her
:22:22. > :22:26.at the Jazz Festival yesterday but seeing her in the room I was shaken.
:22:27. > :22:30.It is nice to see some body who has achieved it already because she
:22:31. > :22:37.gives you inspiration. I really enjoyed it. I have never really met
:22:38. > :22:41.anyone famous before. Laura's rise to stardom has been
:22:42. > :22:50.rapid. Since the race of her debut album last year, Singing To The
:22:51. > :22:54.Moon, she has been nominated for various awards. Today she answered
:22:55. > :23:02.questions about this and much more. Why did you decide the `` to perform
:23:03. > :23:06.at the Jazz Festival? Because it is great! It is a bit of a dream for me
:23:07. > :23:11.if I am honest. This is part of the education
:23:12. > :23:18.programme for the Cheltenham Festival, ringing a taste of the
:23:19. > :23:28.Jazz Festival to these young people. A school day like this one, well, it
:23:29. > :23:35.is simply special. A day to remember. We are inching
:23:36. > :23:47.closer to the bank holiday weekend. Will the weather behave itself?
:23:48. > :23:53.After today's thunderstorms things are improving. The storms today were
:23:54. > :23:58.localised. That's what motorists were confronted with in Dudley. The
:23:59. > :24:05.rain was hammering down. We have had reports of about half an inch in the
:24:06. > :24:10.space of an hour. Some of the worst thunderstorms in England were
:24:11. > :24:16.breaking out here. We are now looking at things improving over
:24:17. > :24:21.bank holiday weekend, mostly dry and warming up. There will be one cooler
:24:22. > :24:24.day in between and that is tomorrow. We have a cold front heading down
:24:25. > :24:28.from the north tomorrow at because pressure is building behind it the
:24:29. > :24:34.effects of it will be significantly weekend, so just the odd shower here
:24:35. > :24:43.and there. It will be an incentive for the winds changed to these
:24:44. > :24:49.north`easterly winds. Temperatures slowly but surely climbing. We have
:24:50. > :24:54.some thunderstorms breaking out over the region tonight but they will
:24:55. > :24:58.fade out overnight. The cloud will break in a few places so
:24:59. > :25:02.temperatures will get slightly lower tonight, down to about seven
:25:03. > :25:07.Celsius, and that is why we have a chillier start tomorrow. Frosts may
:25:08. > :25:12.return over the bank holiday weekend, certainly tomorrow night.
:25:13. > :25:17.This is the scene tomorrow, much more dry than today, and there could
:25:18. > :25:21.be the odd shower here and there. Temperatures will only be up to 11
:25:22. > :25:26.or 12 Celsius, 13 for the south`west. Tomorrow night, things
:25:27. > :25:28.will clear up significantly, temperatures dipping to about three
:25:29. > :25:52.Celsius, with a frost. 'The last two generations have been
:25:53. > :25:56.robbed of an opportunity 'And yet it has greater impact
:25:57. > :26:00.on our everyday lives than anything 'We need to put this issue
:26:01. > :26:04.to bed now, 'and not leave it
:26:05. > :26:06.for another generation.' I want a Britain that is free
:26:07. > :26:10.to control its own destiny.