:00:00. > :00:00.Hello and welcome to Midlands Today. all from the BBC News at Six -
:00:00. > :00:33.Hello and welcome to Midlands Today. The headlines tonight. A
:00:34. > :00:36.sale of Birmingham City Football club a step closer ` the parent
:00:37. > :00:39.company in advanced talks with a British consortium. The hidden river
:00:40. > :00:51.valley getting a multi`million pound make over, restoring habitats and
:00:52. > :00:53.reducing flooding. Join me at the Hay Festival where books and
:00:54. > :00:59.literature are being celebrated. But, there's much more to broaden
:01:00. > :01:01.your mind here. And the Bank Holiday weekend may have proved to be a huge
:01:02. > :01:07.disappointment and today didn't anything to raise hopes, but the
:01:08. > :02:13.start of June might. Find out more later.
:02:14. > :02:15.trust helps teenagers chase similar dreams. We promised ourselves that
:02:16. > :02:22.when we got better, and I say better because it's like suffering an
:02:23. > :03:08.Georgia wrote this bucket list of about.
:03:09. > :03:13.Georgia wrote this bucket list of things she wanted to do. Now, people
:03:14. > :03:17.are trying to fulfil them. There's even a scuba diving scholarship on
:03:18. > :03:23.offer for a suitable youngster. I had no idea that she'd written a
:03:24. > :03:26.bucket list. To be honest, I'm a little bit superstitious and I'd
:03:27. > :03:34.probably have said, don't be doing that. But, as it is, it was done.
:03:35. > :03:38.She must have done it, from the writing and the content, when she
:03:39. > :03:42.was about 15. Walking around in a chicken outfit for the day, raising
:03:43. > :03:46.money for charity. It shows what Georgia was like ` give blood, save
:03:47. > :03:49.a life. Dye your hair ginger. Georgia did dye her hair and like
:03:50. > :03:52.Steve's police colleague Nikki Burkitt, who fulfilled wish number
:03:53. > :04:00.nine with Steve's help, raising ?1,500. It's the next best thing for
:04:01. > :04:05.Georgia doing it, isn't it? Oh, yes. Everything on that list, she'd have
:04:06. > :04:08.definitely done. Three students received a trust grant to head to
:04:09. > :04:11.Morocco, building an irrigation channel to prevent flooding.
:04:12. > :04:17.Meanwhile 11`year`old Emma was given ?250 towards a wheelchair. Born with
:04:18. > :04:21.cerebral palsy, she needs it to get around more easily. Emma's
:04:22. > :04:24.wheelchair adapts to allow her to take part in sports and other
:04:25. > :04:32.activities such as this after`school cycling club here this primary
:04:33. > :04:36.school in Telford. If I keep using my bike I might get stronger muscles
:04:37. > :04:43.because I don't have to pedal with my legs. I use my arms instead.
:04:44. > :04:47.Georgia's impact has been positive. But the man who strangled her at his
:04:48. > :04:51.parents' home in Wellington wants to appeal against his whole life
:04:52. > :04:54.sentence. Last December Stafford Crown Court was told that Jamie
:04:55. > :05:01.Reynolds had the potential to become a serial killer. The Williams hope
:05:02. > :05:07.to attend the appeal court. I will be there for whatever for Georgia. I
:05:08. > :05:09.will stand up for her because there is nobody else that's going to do
:05:10. > :05:14.it. Joining me now is Chief Inspector
:05:15. > :05:17.Richard Langton, from West Mercia Police, who's the chairman of the
:05:18. > :05:22.Georgia Williams Trust. Good evening. When you created this
:05:23. > :05:33.charity, did you ever imagine you would top ?60,000? No expectations
:05:34. > :05:38.at all. If I'm honest 12 months ago we had no idea where this journey
:05:39. > :05:43.was going. I had no idea what we were doing. What we did understand
:05:44. > :05:49.was there was a real urgency to act and to capture the public feeling.
:05:50. > :05:54.To put some order and structure around a spontaneous fundraising
:05:55. > :06:00.that was happening. 12 months on to be talking about having raised
:06:01. > :06:12.?60,000, we've succeeded our wildest expectations. There was a real sense
:06:13. > :06:19.of just doing something to try and make a situation right. The more
:06:20. > :06:24.that we explore this idea, the more support and passion was coming out
:06:25. > :06:28.for it. We very quickly established a charitable trust. Since then the
:06:29. > :06:35.story has touched so many hearts and minds. Also, it has fired
:06:36. > :06:40.imaginations. We've had some extraordinary fundraising. George's
:06:41. > :06:47.list has really hit a note with people. There is lots more planned.
:06:48. > :06:52.We can see how the charity has made an impact. You were based in
:06:53. > :06:58.Wellington at the time of the murder and were a colleague of George's
:06:59. > :07:05.father. As a fellow officer, had that affect you and your colleagues?
:07:06. > :07:10.It had an extraordinary impact on everybody involved. It was so
:07:11. > :07:15.personal. We like to think the trust, even in those early days,
:07:16. > :07:22.gave an opportunity for colleagues to have something positive to focus
:07:23. > :07:27.on. I speak on behalf of colleagues, but also on the other
:07:28. > :07:32.organisations that meant a lot to Georgia such as the air cadets and
:07:33. > :07:38.the local football team. All those people whose lives she touched can
:07:39. > :07:42.look to the trust now and in the future for a positive memory and
:07:43. > :07:51.legacy. Is there an ultimate aim for the trust? To keep it going. To find
:07:52. > :07:55.new and exciting ways to raise awareness and funds so we can
:07:56. > :08:06.translate that money into grants to help young people. Thank you. You're
:08:07. > :08:09.watching Midlands Today, good to have you with us. Coming up later in
:08:10. > :08:12.the programme ` Life after Europe. I'll be asking what next for
:08:13. > :08:37.outgoing MEP Nikki Sinclair. And ahead of its first festival, the
:08:38. > :08:40.Black Country gets its own anthem. It may have been a bank holiday
:08:41. > :08:46.weekend here but over in the Far East it was very much business as
:08:47. > :08:49.usual stop for 24 hours share`trading in Birmingham
:08:50. > :08:55.International Holdings was suspended on the Hong Kong stock exchange.
:08:56. > :08:59.Why? So that the parent company of Birmingham city football club were
:09:00. > :09:02.able to confirm they'd received an offer from interested party a
:09:03. > :09:08.minority purchase of the football club. Earlier today we had this
:09:09. > :09:15.statement from the acting chairman. He said the IHL remains in advanced
:09:16. > :09:19.talks with the British consortium with a very strong North American
:09:20. > :09:23.investment fund. So is the light at the end of the tunnel? Steve McCabe
:09:24. > :09:30.is from the Birmingham city University business School. Is the
:09:31. > :09:38.light at the end of the tunnel? For blues fans I hope so. It depends
:09:39. > :09:43.what they get. That is the $94 million question isn't it? Surely
:09:44. > :09:54.any potential purchaser would want 100% control. This may be the first
:09:55. > :10:00.step to complete ownership. So that they are going to have to take a
:10:01. > :10:07.hit? Quite clearly. How important is it to retain their listing on the
:10:08. > :10:13.Hong Kong stock exchange `` they will want to keep hold of it. The
:10:14. > :10:18.club's owners thanked the fans for their patients. Is there any chance
:10:19. > :10:24.this deal would be concluded before the start of the season? The fans
:10:25. > :10:29.must be at the end of their tether. They need new players. Thank you
:10:30. > :11:27.very much indeed. Our Environment Correspondent David
:11:28. > :11:32.Gregory`Kumar joins us now from beside the banks of the
:11:33. > :11:40.River Tame in Warwickshire. Tonight we're roughly halfway
:11:41. > :11:42.between Tamworth and Birmingham. This is Kingsbury Water Park,
:11:43. > :11:50.the River Tame just over there. It's a site full of dog walkers,
:11:51. > :11:55.sailors and bike riders. Today we've seen woodpeckers, heron,
:11:56. > :11:59.sand martins and barn owls. And all of this is part
:12:00. > :12:13.of the massive new This valley is getting a
:12:14. > :12:21.multi`million pound make over. You will spot 20 of wildlife, which is
:12:22. > :12:27.amazing because the river is a hostile habitat these days. The
:12:28. > :12:34.whole river and many other rivers have seen a lot of man`made features
:12:35. > :12:41.putting `` put in. Ready to try it and get water from one place to the
:12:42. > :12:49.other. `` really. We are trying to slow the flow down to hold water
:12:50. > :12:56.back, and that will end up... Reduced flooding is one benefit of
:12:57. > :12:57.this new project, stretching from Birmingham to Tamworth, North
:12:58. > :13:03.Warwickshire to save the Staffordshire. At its heart is the
:13:04. > :13:10.River Tame, not about by people and industry but now being returned to a
:13:11. > :13:14.more natural state. `` knocked. It will be a huge task, but right
:13:15. > :13:20.across the Midlands all our waterways need a bit of love. Here
:13:21. > :13:30.in Worcestershire this man has seen plenty of extreme weather. We have
:13:31. > :13:43.had deeper nesting for the first time in over ten years. `` dipper.
:13:44. > :13:49.So we are seeing signs of improvement.
:13:50. > :13:54.The restoration of the Tame Valley were easily be the biggest project
:13:55. > :13:58.of its kind in the Midlands, and it is not just about flooding or even
:13:59. > :14:03.helping wildlife. There are also canals involved, and
:14:04. > :14:10.as part of all this is food rich will be restored by the canals and
:14:11. > :14:15.rivers trust. `` footbridge. Back on the banks of the River Tame,
:14:16. > :14:21.somewhat a lot football pitches are said to be radically transformed. We
:14:22. > :14:29.will let people explore wetlands in the flesh, and put in some viewing
:14:30. > :14:33.platforms. They are even aiming at creating jobs as part of the scheme,
:14:34. > :14:40.helping wildlife is not just for the birds.
:14:41. > :14:48.Earlier here we were lucky to see some of the newest arrivals, five
:14:49. > :14:53.adorable baby barn owl chicks. Stefan Bodner has ringed hundreds of
:14:54. > :14:56.chicks over the past decade, but last year was the worst year on
:14:57. > :15:01.record, hardly any chicks were born here. This year though, things are
:15:02. > :15:08.looking up. Five chicks, perhaps slightly small
:15:09. > :15:12.but looking healthy otherwise. The parents are probably in one of the
:15:13. > :15:18.other boxes. Once the chicks start growing it gets pretty crowded and
:15:19. > :15:25.smelly, and they shift of two another box and sit there and then
:15:26. > :15:27.come back and provision they done in the evening or the middle of the
:15:28. > :15:33.night. We find the parents in a nearby box,
:15:34. > :15:37.hopefully this year barn owl numbers will begin to recover.
:15:38. > :15:40.And we'll have more on barn owls later in the week.
:15:41. > :15:44.In the meantime, if you want to learn more about the Tame Valley
:15:45. > :15:48.project or even get involved there's more details and a link on my blog
:15:49. > :16:00.A year on from her murder, Georgia Williams' parents talk
:16:01. > :16:03.of their pride at the legacy created by their daughter.
:16:04. > :16:05.Your detailed weather forecast to come shortly.
:16:06. > :16:09.Also in tonight's programme ` not just about books, how the small
:16:10. > :16:19.border town has built a worldwide reputation for the Hay Festival.
:16:20. > :16:21.As the dust starts to settle after the European elections,
:16:22. > :16:24.the outgoing MEPs will be starting to think about their futures.
:16:25. > :16:26.One of them is Nikki Sinclaire, formerly
:16:27. > :16:30.of UKIP who stood this time for the We Demand A Referendum Now Party.
:16:31. > :16:46.You have five weeks left, what are you going to do after that? It is
:16:47. > :16:50.too early to say. I have been working for 20 years trying to force
:16:51. > :16:59.this issue, so I will probably keep the pressure on that. So staying in
:17:00. > :17:03.politics, because the amount of energy required for this type of job
:17:04. > :17:10.is immense, but then when you stop, what do you fill it with? It has
:17:11. > :17:15.been 80 hour weeks for five years, so what I am going to do now, that
:17:16. > :17:22.is a good question. I will always be working towards what I think this
:17:23. > :17:24.country needs. Will you see `` will you be standing at the General
:17:25. > :17:30.Election? I think that is extremely unlikely.
:17:31. > :17:36.I think it was Tony Benn that said he was going to retire to actively
:17:37. > :17:40.engage in politics! Everyone was predicting UKIP would
:17:41. > :17:46.do well, but did you think they would do quite so well, over 27% of
:17:47. > :17:52.the vote? I do congratulate them. I thought it became Nigel Farage
:17:53. > :17:59.versus politics, and I think the machine came in and people wanted to
:18:00. > :18:04.protest. He calls himself the fox in the Westminster henhouse. I call
:18:05. > :18:11.upon the main parties to be the farmer with the shot gun and shoot
:18:12. > :18:14.the Fox. I mean, not shoot Nigel Farage but shoot the issue. They
:18:15. > :18:20.need to call this in and out referendum. Nigel Farage is only
:18:21. > :18:25.representing the frustration of the British people, and the main parties
:18:26. > :18:30.have been ignoring that for far too long. It is about time they actually
:18:31. > :18:34.listened to the British people and gave us that referendum.
:18:35. > :18:40.Returning to you, a couple of years ago you were arrested on suspicion
:18:41. > :18:45.to defraud the European Parliament. You are still on bail. How has this
:18:46. > :18:51.affected you personally? It hasn't been helpful, and it is obviously
:18:52. > :19:05.not very nice, that our snake clear I refute all allegations. `` let us
:19:06. > :19:10.make clear. It has been absolutely awful. I haven't even answered
:19:11. > :19:19.questions on this for 18 months, it has just hanging over my head. You
:19:20. > :19:26.feel, well, I am innocent so it is absolutely frustrating. It is an
:19:27. > :19:31.anomaly in our legal system but I don't think should be allowed to
:19:32. > :19:38.carry on. `` that identifies that `` that I don't think. You will pick up
:19:39. > :19:44.?32,000 in severance pay. Will you take it? It was me who leaked this
:19:45. > :19:51.document. Unlike the BBC... Will you take it? I cannot get a job in
:19:52. > :19:56.another Parliament, most people get a redundancy payment, and unlike the
:19:57. > :20:00.BBC I am quite transparent. Thank you for joining us.
:20:01. > :20:06.around the world to a small town on the Herefordshire`Welsh border.
:20:07. > :20:09.The festival attracts thousands of literary fans each year `
:20:10. > :20:12.but Hay is not just about books, as our Arts Reporter Satnam Rana
:20:13. > :20:22.The Hay Festival, known for its celebration of books and literature.
:20:23. > :20:29.For 27 years people have been coming here to explore and challenge their
:20:30. > :20:38.minds. But this is the other side of the
:20:39. > :20:44.festival, hands`on experiences. For local businesses it is also a
:20:45. > :20:47.showcase. It is one thing to go for the intellectual element of reading
:20:48. > :20:53.books, but working with your hands is also really exciting, and
:20:54. > :20:58.thought`provoking. You can see the excitement we are generating here.
:20:59. > :21:02.This has become a festival which is looking to the future. Away from the
:21:03. > :21:05.main site, fashion students are making ethnically and
:21:06. > :21:11.environmentally sustainable garments. The festival's about
:21:12. > :21:19.culture, and I think fashion's are really important part of that. `` a
:21:20. > :21:23.really important part. This is a festival which has grown
:21:24. > :21:26.year`on`year, attendance is in fact up a 16% already with a quarter of a
:21:27. > :21:30.million people coming through the doors.
:21:31. > :21:34.And it is an integral part of the local economy as well, generating
:21:35. > :21:38.?60 million for Hay on Wye and they surrounding region.
:21:39. > :21:44.Thousands come here for the two week period. This year some locals may
:21:45. > :21:47.spot themselves on this, a film about rubble life which is
:21:48. > :21:55.premiering at the Festival tonight. `` rubble life. This footage was
:21:56. > :22:03.shot by a local businessman. It is all made up of countries shows, the
:22:04. > :22:08.Queen's visit, weddings and birthday parties, it is a beautiful
:22:09. > :22:11.collection. So away from books and literature, there is plenty to
:22:12. > :22:16.experience. You turn to somebody who is next to
:22:17. > :22:19.you in the queue and you've got stuff to talk about, and they are
:22:20. > :22:24.here because they are open`minded and they want to have a good time.
:22:25. > :22:28.The Hay Festival is a field full of fun for anyone who involved ``
:22:29. > :22:33.enjoys life, books, people and thinking.
:22:34. > :22:36.The Black Country is famous for its industrial heritage,
:22:37. > :22:39.the delicacy of faggots and peas, and of course the long`time debate
:22:40. > :22:42.over which towns north of Birmingham are actually within its boundary.
:22:43. > :22:45.And from today the Black Country has its own official anthem,
:22:46. > :22:48.composed ahead of the area's first ever festival next month.
:22:49. > :22:57.Performed with pride and passion for the Black Country past and present,
:22:58. > :23:16.the official anthem for an area steeped in history.
:23:17. > :23:21.This year it was time to celebrate ourselves again. We wanted to get
:23:22. > :23:28.out and celebrate the black complete, remind people we are still
:23:29. > :23:34.out to have a good time and enjoy ourselves. `` black country.
:23:35. > :23:38.The version of the patriotic classic I Vow To Thee My Country has been
:23:39. > :23:41.composed in honour of the region's first Black Country day in July.
:23:42. > :23:57.There have been small communities of people celebrating, but now we have
:23:58. > :24:00.the full council back in it. This also celebrates the invention
:24:01. > :24:02.of the world was Mac first steam engine.
:24:03. > :24:05.Aside from celebration, the song has a certain poignancy, dedicated to
:24:06. > :24:08.Steve Evans, magician and comedian he died in January following a two
:24:09. > :24:12.He shared his story on radio, television and online,
:24:13. > :24:20.touching the lives of people from all over the world.
:24:21. > :24:26.We are so proud to be able to get involved in an initiative like this
:24:27. > :24:32.and celebrate the diverse community of the whole of the black country,
:24:33. > :24:36.and use an anthem like this to raise much`needed funds for the hospice in
:24:37. > :24:58.memory of Steve Evans. Tip from Tipton, top of the charts.
:24:59. > :25:03.Any sun on the horizon? There is, but you will have to wait
:25:04. > :25:07.to the end of the week. Currently we are continuing where we left off
:25:08. > :25:11.which means more unsettled conditions to come. We start with
:25:12. > :25:15.some wet, cloudy conditions, but those temperatures begin to pick up
:25:16. > :25:20.as the week goes on and finally we end with some drier weather by
:25:21. > :25:30.Friday. But really it is this one occluded front that is proving to be
:25:31. > :25:35.the nuisance. It floats southwards, but it is the length it takes to do
:25:36. > :25:39.this that will mean rain with us for the next couple of days. But then
:25:40. > :25:44.the high pressure builds in behind us, bringing improvement by the
:25:45. > :25:49.weekend. Currently we have still got the debris of today's rain to get
:25:50. > :25:52.through, and it is still quite rain `` wet in parts of Stoke and
:25:53. > :25:58.Lichfield. But you can practically locked the part of this `` the path
:25:59. > :26:05.of this front. The rain is starting to intensify in quite a few places,
:26:06. > :26:09.but we will see some heavy outbreaks from time to time tonight.
:26:10. > :26:14.Temperatures will remain in double figures for most at around 10
:26:15. > :26:18.Celsius. As we head into the morning tomorrow, although it is still wet
:26:19. > :26:28.during that time, we will find the rain is and confine itself to
:26:29. > :26:32.northern parts of the region. If we get any breaks, I think the best we
:26:33. > :26:35.can hope for in terms of temperatures if `` is 15 Celsius.
:26:36. > :26:42.Otherwise it will be around 12 or 13. Further outbreaks of rain
:26:43. > :26:45.continuing through tomorrow night, but it will study drier up in a few
:26:46. > :26:49.places with patchy mist and temperatures around 11 Celsius.
:26:50. > :26:55.Drying up by Friday. European leaders gather in Brussels
:26:56. > :26:59.to work out how to respond to the shock
:27:00. > :27:01.of the anti`EU election results. Rolf Harris begins his defence
:27:02. > :27:04.against allegations of sexual abuse, A year on from her murder,
:27:05. > :27:08.Georgia Williams' parents talk of their pride at the legacy created
:27:09. > :27:14.by their daughter. And the sale of Birmingham City
:27:15. > :27:15.Football club a step closer `