:00:00. > :00:00.A reminder of our main story. Nick Clegg tells his supporters to
:00:00. > :00:00.stand firm, dismissing talk of
:00:07. > :00:11.The headlines tonight: Stoke City Council under fire
:00:12. > :00:14.for spending ?400,000 on the Chelsea Flower Show ? it?s
:00:15. > :00:17.facing ?20 million in budget cuts. The Council say they were at Chelsea
:00:18. > :00:18.to sell the city's enormous potential.
:00:19. > :00:22.Also tonight: Governors at a Muslim faith school
:00:23. > :00:23.say they will resist new leadership imposed by the City Council `
:00:24. > :00:53.accusing them of a witch`hunt. We will resist any illegal actions
:00:54. > :00:55.by anyone. Preparations are under way at
:00:56. > :01:00.Lichfield Cathedral to honour Stephen Sutton.
:01:01. > :01:05.Snake in the grass, but for how long? Preventing the extinction of
:01:06. > :01:12.the endangered ad. It is not quite as straightforward
:01:13. > :01:14.as Waterworld blue sky, the devil is in the detail. `` while two were the
:01:15. > :01:28.sky. `` blue sky. accusing them of a witch`hunt.
:01:29. > :01:30.A row's broken out into the cost of a garden exhibit at the
:01:31. > :01:33.Chelsea Flower Show. Stoke`on`Trent City Council spent
:01:34. > :01:36.more than ?400,000 on the garden ` called "Positively Stoke"
:01:37. > :01:38.to try to boost the city's image. But the authority is under severe
:01:39. > :01:41.financial pressure ` ?20 million of cuts were announced
:01:42. > :01:45.this year with more to come. At upwards of ?400,000,
:01:46. > :01:48.the cost of the garden at Chelsea is about the same as proposed cuts to
:01:49. > :01:52.services for vulnerable adults in Stoke`on`Trent.
:01:53. > :01:55.Liz Copper reports. The garden at the Chelsea Flower
:01:56. > :02:00.Show ` entitled "Positively Stoke", but its price tag has left some
:02:01. > :02:03.politicians positively furious. The leader of the opposition
:02:04. > :02:09.group at Stoke`on`Trent City Council has been highly critical.
:02:10. > :02:21.I want to talk about Stoke`on`Trent and the people in this city. High
:02:22. > :02:25.unemployment, low pay, let us start addressing what we need for the
:02:26. > :02:33.people of the city. We are not do it by spending ?450,000 at Chelsea.
:02:34. > :02:35.Council has been highly critical. Stoke`on`Trent's garden,
:02:36. > :02:37.which won a silver gilt award, cost taxpayers ?400,000.
:02:38. > :02:41.Birmingham City Council also had a show garden ` it won gold
:02:42. > :02:43.and was funded mostly by sponsors ` costing taxpayers ?5,000.
:02:44. > :02:46.Meanwhile Leamington Spa's Chelsea garden, which won a silver medal,
:02:47. > :02:47.was paid for by donations, with a ?1,600 contribution
:02:48. > :03:00.from the town council. The City Council say nobody is
:03:01. > :03:05.available to be interviewed, but that Chelsea in shirts were able to
:03:06. > :03:07.promote the city, its industry and its potential to an influential list
:03:08. > :03:11.of key figures. from the town council.
:03:12. > :03:13.And 40 key figures were invited by Stoke`on`Trent to a gala dinner
:03:14. > :03:17.at Chelsea. Government ministers were among
:03:18. > :03:20.those on the guest list; so was one of the city's MPs, Tristram Hunt.
:03:21. > :03:22.Some tickets cost ?732 a head. So back in the Potteries, what do
:03:23. > :03:31.voters make of the expenditure? The council should be sacked and get
:03:32. > :03:36.in someone who knows what they are doing. To waste money on that is
:03:37. > :03:43.just stupid. They are shutting down all folks' homes. Why spend it on
:03:44. > :03:54.things like that? What right have got to spend it on that? Found that?
:03:55. > :04:00.What do they get for that? This young man has just gone to Halifax
:04:01. > :04:04.to open a bank account, so that he can be in control of his own money.
:04:05. > :04:09.He might make a better job of controlling Stoke`on`Trent money.
:04:10. > :04:12.voters make of the expenditure? Stoke`on`Trent City Council's said
:04:13. > :04:15.exhibiting at Chelsea is a way of generating economic growth ` but
:04:16. > :04:17.it's also generated controversy. Well, Stoke`on`Trent City Council
:04:18. > :04:20.didn't want to talk to us on the programme tonight.
:04:21. > :04:38.But you have been getting in touch on social media.
:04:39. > :04:42.Coming up later in the programme: Filling and not fattening `
:04:43. > :04:44.apart from the bacon, cheese, and mushrooms ` why Staffordshire
:04:45. > :05:03.oatcakes are growing in popularity. Governors at a Muslim faith school
:05:04. > :05:10.are claiming the City Council has undermined them in what amounts to a
:05:11. > :05:13.witchhunt. A new leadership team is due to arrive next week, but the
:05:14. > :05:20.governors said they will resist all attempts to let the council take
:05:21. > :05:22.over. The school governor went to the
:05:23. > :05:27.Department of education headquarters today to see the education
:05:28. > :05:33.Secretary. He has been running both Islamic faith school and so was it
:05:34. > :05:37.boasts some of the best exam results in Birmingham. Ostensibly teaching
:05:38. > :05:49.is inadequate and management programme. The cancer went to the
:05:50. > :05:53.place `` the council `` claimed the cancer was acting illegally, and
:05:54. > :05:58.said when pupils returned from half`time on Monday he would refuse
:05:59. > :06:05.the governors entry. We will refuse any illegal actions by anybody. We
:06:06. > :06:12.believe every decent piece for good citizen has a result `` a right to
:06:13. > :06:17.resist this kind of tyranny. In a letter, a senior council officials
:06:18. > :06:35.says... Birmingham MP says the council is
:06:36. > :06:43.acting within its rights. There is nothing illegal. The executive
:06:44. > :06:47.boards are allowed by the education act in order for local authorities
:06:48. > :06:52.to go access to schools and turn a failing school around. So there is
:06:53. > :06:55.nothing illegal about this, this is a normal procedure councils take
:06:56. > :07:07.when they want to go in and support and help to filling school.
:07:08. > :07:10.Concerns about the school are not directly linked to the ongoing
:07:11. > :07:14.investigation into the Trojan horse letter, the supposed plot by most
:07:15. > :07:22.loans to take over the running of governing bodies. But at this
:07:23. > :07:26.school, they say their case is a further example of the City Council
:07:27. > :07:33.failing to run the city's schools fairly and effectively.
:07:34. > :07:38.In a separate development, the BBC has been given in `` an exclusive
:07:39. > :07:41.interview by a prominent headteacher who says the Government was warned
:07:42. > :07:46.for years ago about a so`called Trojan horse plot by Muslim
:07:47. > :07:54.extremists to take over some schools in the city.
:07:55. > :07:59.That Trojan horse plot emerged back in March. It was an unsigned
:08:00. > :08:04.document but hey as lead to some 200 allegations being given to the City
:08:05. > :08:08.Council which are now being investigated not just buy them but
:08:09. > :08:20.also by the Government. We have had schools, teachers and pupils denying
:08:21. > :08:24.these allegations, but not a headteacher from Mosley is saying
:08:25. > :08:27.that he warned the Government four years ago about this matter, also
:08:28. > :08:34.that he was aware of headteachers being put under extreme pressure,
:08:35. > :08:42.extremely non`Muslim headteachers, over the past two decades. Over
:08:43. > :08:46.those 20 years, I know of places where these kinds of tensions and
:08:47. > :08:50.politics have exploded. As a result I know that headteachers have had
:08:51. > :08:57.nervous breakdowns, lost their jobs, schools have been newly torn apart
:08:58. > :09:03.and it is intensely difficult. What have the Government said about these
:09:04. > :09:07.claims? They are saying this headteachers spoke to them as part
:09:08. > :09:12.of a general policy discussion four years ago. They are also saying they
:09:13. > :09:22.have done more than anybody else to tackle the problem of extremism in
:09:23. > :09:27.schools. And the `` and newly elected UKIP
:09:28. > :09:33.councillor who allegedly posted homophobic comments on Facebook says
:09:34. > :09:41.he has no regrets. A lot of people agree with me. I
:09:42. > :09:51.have been looking doors, `` knocking.
:09:52. > :09:56.You can hear the full interview on BBC Hereford and Worcester.
:09:57. > :10:01.Aston Martin is to create 250 jobs at its plant in Warwickshire.
:10:02. > :10:03.The luxury car maker is investing ?20 million to extend
:10:04. > :10:05.manufacturing at Gaydon. The new engineering, manufacturing
:10:06. > :10:13.and commercial jobs will be created over the next few months.
:10:14. > :10:16.As the Staffordshire County Show got under way this morning some farmers
:10:17. > :10:19.in the region were expressing concern about how UKIP's success
:10:20. > :10:22.in the European elections might impact on British agriculture
:10:23. > :10:23.and the subsidies paid to UK farmers by the EU.
:10:24. > :10:36.Amy Coles reports. Set against a changing political
:10:37. > :10:41.landscape, David has farmed in Staffordshire all his life. He is
:10:42. > :10:46.mindful that UKIP's dominance in the European elections could affect the
:10:47. > :10:50.number `` limit of European money he receives. If we came out of Europe
:10:51. > :10:55.it would lead to a reduction in subsidies. If we were more
:10:56. > :11:00.self`sufficient and imported less, our prices could go up and could
:11:01. > :11:05.compensate for that. I am more concerned about HS2.
:11:06. > :11:11.While it will take time for the UKIP dust to settle, this Conservative
:11:12. > :11:15.councillor and farmer says he just wants a fair deal. I want to begin
:11:16. > :11:21.with is that sterling in Europe is a good rule for farming and farmers.
:11:22. > :11:27.If it is, yes, we need to trade on the global stage, and as an English
:11:28. > :11:32.farmer I want to stay English, but I also want to make sure I get a fair
:11:33. > :11:37.price for migrants. Another big issue is the decline in
:11:38. > :11:41.the number of young people entering agriculture. A lot of young people
:11:42. > :11:47.`` there are a lot of young people here today, but what will tempt them
:11:48. > :11:50.into farming? We were talking about the technology coming into
:11:51. > :11:58.agriculture, especially on the machinery side. I think this is
:11:59. > :12:01.going to peak young people's interests. `` attract their
:12:02. > :12:07.interests. Keeping people interested is what the show is all about.
:12:08. > :12:14.There is plenty to see and do. It has been very good. Lots to do and
:12:15. > :12:20.lots to see, lots for the kids to see.
:12:21. > :12:27.The show is on tomorrow as well and is expected to attract over 60,000
:12:28. > :12:32.visitors during its two daily spell. `` to day.
:12:33. > :12:34.Amy Coles reports. Thousands of people are expected
:12:35. > :12:38.in Lichfield over the next two days to pay their
:12:39. > :12:40.respects to Stephen Sutton, ahead of his funeral on Friday afternoon.
:12:41. > :12:42.The 19`year`old from nearby Burntwood died
:12:43. > :12:45.from cancer earlier this month. He raised almost ?4 million `
:12:46. > :12:47.his inspirational story touching the nation.
:12:48. > :12:49.Ben Godfrey joins us from inside Lichfield Cathedral where
:12:50. > :12:50.the commemorations will begin tomorrow night.
:12:51. > :13:05.Ben, what is the sequence of events? At 6pm tomorrow Stephen's body will
:13:06. > :13:10.make the final journey from his home here to Lichfield Cathedral. This is
:13:11. > :13:16.the native area. You can see a platform, where Stephen's often rely
:13:17. > :13:23.on tomorrow night and again on Friday morning and afternoon ahead
:13:24. > :13:28.of a private service. People will be invited to file past the coffin, to
:13:29. > :13:33.light a candle, to sign a book of condolence, to lay flowers. Hundreds
:13:34. > :13:37.of people have signed the book of condolence already, one message from
:13:38. > :13:42.a 9`year`old girl said, Stephen, you were very brave. How will people be
:13:43. > :13:50.preparing their Lichfield and Burtonwood? Lichfield Cathedral is
:13:51. > :13:54.saying this is an unprecedented event. They simply do not know
:13:55. > :13:58.however how many people will be there, but are preparing for
:13:59. > :14:05.thousands. 100 volunteers will be here. If you have been to Lichfield
:14:06. > :14:09.this week you will have seen tonnes of yellow ribbons, assemble,
:14:10. > :14:14.Stephen's mother said, of the way he brought light into people's lives.
:14:15. > :14:22.She says she wants people to wear yellow and not black.
:14:23. > :14:32.Tomorrow evening we were becoming live from Lichfield Cathedral.
:14:33. > :14:36.Stoke City council is under fire for spending ?400,000 on the Chelsea
:14:37. > :14:41.Flower Show while facing ?20 million on Budget cuts.
:14:42. > :14:48.Your weather forecast to come shortly, also at night, you are
:14:49. > :14:51.never too old for basketball. `` also tonight.
:14:52. > :14:54.And part of a Warwickshire high street for over 60 years, the end of
:14:55. > :15:02.the road for a unique craft pottery. Ben, what is the sequence of events?
:15:03. > :15:04.Tasty, versatile and delicious, the oatcake is a Staffordshire
:15:05. > :15:07.tradition. And it seems "oaties"
:15:08. > :15:09.have never been more popular. Joanne Writtle reports
:15:10. > :15:10.on how the taste for real Staffordshire oatcakes is now
:15:11. > :15:30.spreading far beyond the county. Cheese and mushroom with brown
:15:31. > :15:36.sauce, definitely. Cheese and tomato. One thing seems certain, to
:15:37. > :15:41.get the authentic taste, many say the oatcakes have to be made here in
:15:42. > :15:46.North Staffordshire. What they are made from however is a secret. My
:15:47. > :15:54.wife does not know the recipe. Just me, and my dad. Keep it close to
:15:55. > :16:04.your chest! Half an hour away, they make 95,000
:16:05. > :16:10.oatcakes a week. Alex learned the trade from his dad
:16:11. > :16:15.who died three years ago. Now he is making test batches on a grand scale
:16:16. > :16:20.one mile away at his new factory, with the aim of quadruple link
:16:21. > :16:29.production. I am living my dad's dream. If he could be here today, he
:16:30. > :16:33.`` it would be great. Alex and his father spread the word about
:16:34. > :16:40.oatcakes far and wide. It is not just the expats from
:16:41. > :16:44.Staffordshire that have moved away and are ordering online again, it is
:16:45. > :16:51.people who have driven past them and driven through Stoke on Trent, they
:16:52. > :16:55.will search us on Google and to be honest we have got a few customers
:16:56. > :16:59.here who have standing orders, where every week it is direct debit and
:17:00. > :17:07.they get the oatcakes in the post. Other healthy? There is only 81
:17:08. > :17:17.calories. But it is what you put on them. Bacon and cheese with red
:17:18. > :17:21.sauce. Alex's favoured? Cheese and bacon, but I do like mashed potato
:17:22. > :17:36.and cheesy beans. Springwatch now, and our team
:17:37. > :17:38.have been out looking for adders. Adders have been in decline
:17:39. > :17:41.in recent years, and it's now feared our only
:17:42. > :17:44.venomous snake may be extinct in many parts of the Midlands.
:17:45. > :17:47.Our environment correspondent David Gregory`Kumar went to meet one
:17:48. > :17:52.of the people trying to stop the adder from disappearing completely.
:17:53. > :17:56.A cool misty morning on the Malverns doesn't strike me as me as good
:17:57. > :17:59.weather for cold`blooded snakes. But expert Nigel Hand says once we
:18:00. > :18:01.climb to the top, things will have warmed up.
:18:02. > :18:02.Along with the Wyre Forest, the Malverns is
:18:03. > :18:09.the Midlands' adder stronghold. But as numbers decline, it is
:18:10. > :18:14.becoming harder to find them. the Midlands' adder stronghold.
:18:15. > :18:18.But as numbers decline, it is becoming harder to find them.
:18:19. > :18:24.Fortunately for us, Nigel is one of our best adder spotters.
:18:25. > :18:31.He is almost black and white. This is his breeding colours. How many
:18:32. > :18:42.are left on this site? We have had a dozen this year, three breeding
:18:43. > :18:46.females and the rest are males. The female adder looks different
:18:47. > :18:49.from the mail, although they both have striking markings.
:18:50. > :18:53.You might think that pattern would make it stand out, but as I have
:18:54. > :18:58.discovered this morning they are hired to see because the pattern
:18:59. > :19:02.starts to resemble the dead bracken in the undergrowth. `` difficult to
:19:03. > :19:07.see. But Brecon is being removed and
:19:08. > :19:12.adder habitat is being built on and fragmented. It would be great to see
:19:13. > :19:19.a female today, but with just 12 in this area it will be tricky.
:19:20. > :19:27.Although we do find the Midlands' other native stake, the grass snake.
:19:28. > :19:33.That is feigning death. I really thought we had killed it.
:19:34. > :19:39.We do go on to find a female adder. Had so little bit less striking than
:19:40. > :19:44.the mail, but still with that diamond pattern.
:19:45. > :19:47.of our best adder spotters. With expert help, we've had
:19:48. > :19:48.a good day adder spotting. But as numbers collapse, most
:19:49. > :19:56.of us are never going to see one. Worcestershire we have two viable
:19:57. > :19:57.sites, Warwickshire they are possibly extinct. Staffs we are down
:19:58. > :20:01.to really one good population. of us are never going to see one.
:20:02. > :20:04.possibly extinct. Staffs we are down to really one good population.
:20:05. > :20:06.But Nigel and others are working hard to help
:20:07. > :20:17.the Midlands adder survive. They are special. It is a lovely
:20:18. > :20:25.thing to recount when you first saw one. They are our future generation.
:20:26. > :20:26.But the sad fact is an ad in the bracken is an increasingly rare
:20:27. > :20:41.sight. `` and adder. the Midlands adder survive.
:20:42. > :20:45.And if you are lucky enough to see an
:20:46. > :20:48.adder, then do remember they are our only poisonous snake, so watch don't
:20:49. > :20:52.touch and treat them with respect. You can read more about the problems
:20:53. > :20:54.faced by the adder on David's blog at bbc.co.uk/davidgregorykumar,
:20:55. > :20:55.and Chris Packham and the Springwatch team are back at 8:00
:20:56. > :21:07.on BBC Two tonight. We are living longer, and keeping
:21:08. > :21:14.fit is key to living life to the full. Every week people over 60 take
:21:15. > :21:19.part in sport at the University of Worcestershire.
:21:20. > :21:27.Ascott poll is proving a big hit. `` basketball. Inside the Arena of
:21:28. > :21:33.the University of Worcester, the name of the game is Ascott Pole.
:21:34. > :21:41.The age of the players is over 60. `` Ascott Pole. `` basketball.
:21:42. > :21:46.Every Wednesday for the past ten weeks this sporting band of brothers
:21:47. > :21:52.and sisters have been honing their new skills. They've's career is to
:21:53. > :21:59.be fighting fires, now he is fighting fit. He is the oldest
:22:00. > :22:03.member of the group, at 80. I played tenpin bowling, badminton, table
:22:04. > :22:08.tennis, I belong to two working groups which I walk an average of
:22:09. > :22:12.ten to 12 miles a week, basically trying to keep fit. What do you do
:22:13. > :22:17.in your spare time? Wondering what I can do next!
:22:18. > :22:24.At 72, maybe is a positive youngster who loves tap dancing and now
:22:25. > :22:28.basketball. Great news for Doctor Susie Hart who believes great
:22:29. > :22:35.fitness is vital for a healthy lifestyle. The nice thing with this
:22:36. > :22:40.is it is a team game, so there is a service allows Asian element and
:22:41. > :22:46.also a competitive element. `` a social element.
:22:47. > :23:17.So the message is clear, you don't have to be over six foot six to play
:23:18. > :23:22.here, simply over 60 will do nicely. Hanley and Adam's high Street has
:23:23. > :23:28.been home to Torquil Pottery since 1960. Reg Moon made a living out of
:23:29. > :23:34.clay. It is here where his daughter absorbed years of experience to
:23:35. > :23:41.become a potter. But after 54 years, it is all coming to an end. I will
:23:42. > :23:44.be sorry, obviously, and all the customers who have become friends
:23:45. > :23:54.over the years I am going to miss them. It is a big deal, really, but
:23:55. > :24:02.it is time for a change. And this is the final show, the
:24:03. > :24:08.grand finale. In 1985 Reg Moon and his wife set up this case. Since
:24:09. > :24:14.then exhibition 's have been set `` held here twice a year. Roche and
:24:15. > :24:23.his wife were great friends to me, I have always loved his prop ``
:24:24. > :24:29.pottery. `` Reg. It was like coming back to see a family. We shall miss
:24:30. > :24:33.it tremendously. A lot of people came to see this exhibition from all
:24:34. > :24:41.over the country. For five years, they have continued
:24:42. > :24:49.their parents' legacy, but now it is time to go. Sad, because it is my
:24:50. > :24:53.family home going, and we have enjoyed doing the exhibitions. At
:24:54. > :24:57.the same time, I will have my weekends to myself again.
:24:58. > :25:02.This final exhibition is just as historic as the building here, a
:25:03. > :25:08.former coach house. So when it all comes to an end on the seventh of
:25:09. > :25:19.June, this truly is an end of an era on the high street here.
:25:20. > :25:23.May seems to be fizzling out. Let us find out if something brighter is
:25:24. > :25:28.around the corner. The weather has put a dampener on
:25:29. > :25:33.things recently, so I am hoping for a smooth `` a few smiles by Friday.
:25:34. > :25:40.Currently however we are caught up in the clutches of this frontal
:25:41. > :25:48.system which since yesterday has caused all this activity. As this
:25:49. > :25:52.curls southwards, this is where things improve. All eyes on Friday
:25:53. > :26:01.then as the day of change. But at the moment story is as it stands. It
:26:02. > :26:06.is very much one of cloud and rain. There is a lot of cloud over night,
:26:07. > :26:12.some drier interludes as well. Over the hilltops it could produce some
:26:13. > :26:18.patchy fog. But it is keeping things very mild, with lows of just ten to
:26:19. > :26:23.12 Celsius. A fairly dismal, damp start to tomorrow for all, but you
:26:24. > :26:27.will find that the emphasis for this rain will shift southwards during
:26:28. > :26:31.the day and we will see brighter weather developing particularly in
:26:32. > :26:36.eastern parts. But the cloud is still there towards the north and
:26:37. > :26:40.west, so temperatures will be pinned back to around 14 or 15 Celsius.
:26:41. > :26:47.When we get the sunshine, highs of around 17 or 18, but that will also
:26:48. > :26:51.trigger perhaps sharp, slow`moving showers. Those will gradually fade
:26:52. > :26:55.away tomorrow night, and as I said, for Friday, things will start to
:26:56. > :27:00.pick up. Why we have been on air, a newly
:27:01. > :27:03.elected UKIP councillor from Worcestershire who made racist and
:27:04. > :27:08.homophobic comments on Facebook has been expelled from the party.
:27:09. > :27:13.Redditch Borough Council and Dave Smalls said he stood by his views
:27:14. > :27:17.that migrants are scroungers and homosexuals at servers. `` at
:27:18. > :27:50.perverts. The very nature of
:27:51. > :28:06.the American personality was defined. Ray Mears explores
:28:07. > :28:09.the land behind the Hollywood legend and discovers the wild
:28:10. > :28:12.that made the West.