:00:00. > :00:00.The headlines tonight: far this year.
:00:07. > :00:10.A celebration of life for Stephen Sutton, the teenager who died from
:00:11. > :00:23.cancer having raised millions of pounds and moved millions of people.
:00:24. > :00:28.It's so emotional but it is so lovely
:00:29. > :00:40.Suspended from the Labour Party ` the deputy council leader who sent
:00:41. > :00:44.bogus texts to the media, pretending he was six different people.
:00:45. > :00:47.Why the Midlands now has fewer barn owls than ever before
:00:48. > :00:54.The Rats are back on the road ` Herefordshire's own Boomtown
:00:55. > :00:59.superstar headlines in Cheltenham this weekend.
:01:00. > :01:04.It reminds me of County Wicklow, where I spent a lot of time
:01:05. > :01:11.And after an unsettled week, things are looking calmer
:01:12. > :01:16.But does that mean we're going to see much of the sun?
:01:17. > :01:29.Your full weekend forecast is coming up later.
:01:30. > :01:35.'He's been an inspiration to us all' ` just one of the many tributes paid
:01:36. > :01:37.to Stephen Sutton during today's service at Lichfield Cathedral.
:01:38. > :01:40.In the past twenty`four hours, thousands
:01:41. > :01:44.of people have filed past his coffin and laid flowers in his memory.
:01:45. > :01:46.The teenager from Burntwood, who died from bowel cancer,
:01:47. > :01:53.helped to raise more than ?4 million for the Teenage Cancer Trust.
:01:54. > :01:55.In a final tribute, this morning thousands of people from
:01:56. > :01:59.around the world tweeted pictures of 'thumbs up for Stephen'.
:02:00. > :02:01.Our reporter Bob Hockenhull has spent the day in Lichfield,
:02:02. > :02:09.So a memorable, an inspirational, day for many, Bob.
:02:10. > :02:16.Indeed. 11,000 people have now been through
:02:17. > :02:20.the doors of Lichfield Cathedral over the last two days to pay their
:02:21. > :02:28.respects. They brought clubbers, good wishes and condolences. It has
:02:29. > :02:31.been a celebration for an ordinary member of the community, the likes
:02:32. > :02:41.of which this country has probably never seen before. 19 balloons for
:02:42. > :02:48.19 fulfilled years. An uplifting finale of two days of celebration.
:02:49. > :02:53.An hour before, more spontaneous applause as his family arrived.
:02:54. > :03:03.Their greed and pride shared by strangers. He made me think to
:03:04. > :03:11.man. It has completely changed my man. It has completely changed my
:03:12. > :03:16.life and the way I think. A final goodbye from those who knew him.
:03:17. > :03:26.Stephen Todd this boy to play drums. `` Stephen Todt. He was very
:03:27. > :03:32.inspirational and funny. You just want to show your support. He has
:03:33. > :03:45.brought the whole community together. At 11:00am, he very modern
:03:46. > :03:46.gesture in a traditional setting. He thumbs up for Stephen, a sentiment
:03:47. > :03:54.that dominated the day. Crowds of that dominated the day. Crowds of
:03:55. > :04:06.people are still coming up to get in. Thanks to Stephen, 30th of May
:04:07. > :04:13.2014 will be memorable day in Lichfield Cathedral's long history.
:04:14. > :04:23.Inside, wise words relayed to those outside. On behalf of us all,
:04:24. > :04:31.Stephen, thank you. And so at last, time to say goodbye, but not
:04:32. > :04:38.quietly. The Coffin left its place to drums. A fitting sendoff for
:04:39. > :04:44.Stephen, the drummer boy who certainly let the world know he was
:04:45. > :04:53.here. With me now as the Reverend. A big
:04:54. > :05:04.day for you and your community. Ken Stephen's legacy last beyond today?
:05:05. > :05:12.`` can Stephen's legacy. Given the huge public outpouring be seen
:05:13. > :05:14.today, I think it will. This Cathedral has seen many momentous
:05:15. > :05:22.events over the centuries. Where does today stand with that? I think
:05:23. > :05:28.it is a fanfare for the common man. It is the first of its kind. We have
:05:29. > :05:35.never been a royal chapel like Westminster, so we have not had much
:05:36. > :05:40.publicity. This has been a very, very special day and we try to
:05:41. > :05:47.honour someone who has won the hearts of the local community and
:05:48. > :05:54.the national community, to. Did things go as you expected? Largely
:05:55. > :05:55.without a hitch. We have just been surprised that the volume of
:05:56. > :06:05.and the length of time they wanted and the length of time they wanted
:06:06. > :06:10.to spend your. `` spend here. It has all been very good. Stephen has now
:06:11. > :06:22.raised more than ?4 million. The school governors who say they're
:06:23. > :06:27.the victims of a 'witch hunt' by local authority that's acting
:06:28. > :06:33.illegally. The Deputy Leader of
:06:34. > :06:37.Stoke`on`Trent City Council has been suspended from the Labour Party
:06:38. > :06:40.after he sent bogus text messages to Councillor Paul Shotton sent
:06:41. > :06:47.a text to BBC Radio Stoke supporting council policy,
:06:48. > :06:52.but signed it 'Jean in Fenton'. The radio station then discovered it
:06:53. > :06:55.wasn't the first time he's used BBC Radio Stoke's political
:06:56. > :07:12.reporter Phil McCann joins me now. Cancel or shorten was rumbled during
:07:13. > :07:19.coverage of the council's controversial spending at the
:07:20. > :07:22.Chelsea Flower Show. One text message, apparently from gene in
:07:23. > :07:31.Fenton, said the council were spot on. The production team then wanted
:07:32. > :07:34.to talk to Jean on here. They called the number but got this.
:07:35. > :07:41.I'm sorry I'm not able to take your call at the moment.
:07:42. > :07:48.If you leave a message, I will get back to you as soon as I can.
:07:49. > :07:56.This wasn't the first time he had done this, was it? No. After that,
:07:57. > :07:58.they checked all the text messages sent from the number and found that
:07:59. > :08:02.they were all supporting the council they were all supporting the council
:08:03. > :08:07.and criticising its opponents. At the all appeared to be from
:08:08. > :08:16.different people. He used names like Steve, Dave, Tracey and Alison.
:08:17. > :08:30.Talking of labour's opponents, he called them a joke.
:08:31. > :08:38.What has happened as a result of this? Cancel or shorten has
:08:39. > :08:44.apologised. He has released statements saying he is plain
:08:45. > :08:48.stupid. The Labour Party has suspended him. But there are calls
:08:49. > :08:52.In my view, the previous Labour councillor who masqueraded
:08:53. > :09:02.I think that is the proper thing for Councillor Shotton on this occasion.
:09:03. > :09:10.Calls there for Paul Shotton to resign. An investigation is being
:09:11. > :09:18.started but we will have to wait to see what happens.
:09:19. > :09:21.125 years of manufacturing history came to an end today when production
:09:22. > :09:23.finished at the Goodyear Dunlop motorsport factory in Birmingham.
:09:24. > :09:26.Unions and MPs had campaigned to keep the Erdington factory open or
:09:27. > :09:30.But the American owners declined, leaving hundreds
:09:31. > :09:33.However production at Dunlop Aircraft tyres
:09:34. > :09:40.Governors at a Muslim faith school in Birmingham, who claim the
:09:41. > :09:43.City Council have undermined their school, are holding a meeting
:09:44. > :09:47.with parents this evening to discuss what they claim is 'a witch hunt'.
:09:48. > :09:50.Lindsay Doyle joins us now from Al Hijrah in Bordesley Green.
:09:51. > :09:57.Lindsay, what's the background to this meeting?
:09:58. > :10:08.The fundamental purpose of tonight's meeting is to inform
:10:09. > :10:12.parents of the developments. The Al Hijrah is at the centre of claims by
:10:13. > :10:20.Ofsted of poor governance and financial mismanagement. The
:10:21. > :10:27.their posts. A new team will comment their posts. A new team will comment
:10:28. > :10:33.on Monday. Waseem Yaqub, the chairman, has called for three weeks
:10:34. > :10:44.grace until the students finish their exams.
:10:45. > :10:47.Is it unfair to ask local authorities to wait three weeks so
:10:48. > :10:53.The building is not going to go away.
:10:54. > :10:57.Is it possible for him to consider, out of his magnanimity,
:10:58. > :11:09.What have Birmingham council said? Last night, an official, Peter Hay,
:11:10. > :11:22.wrote to him. The estimate the deficit to be ?880,000. Early, we
:11:23. > :11:29.had ?400,000. He said the school's reputation has been damaged.
:11:30. > :11:31.The number of barn owls in the Midlands is
:11:32. > :11:35.at an all time low thanks to the freezing spring of 2013.
:11:36. > :11:37.And vanishing habitat makes it harder than ever
:11:38. > :11:40.In the latest of his Springwatch reports,
:11:41. > :11:43.our environment correspondent David Gregory`Kumar, has been meeting
:11:44. > :11:52.One of the most beautiful parts of our patch and all this grass is
:11:53. > :11:58.teeming with tasty mammals for the local barn owls.
:11:59. > :12:01.The Staffordshire Moor itself is a massive spot for barn owls.
:12:02. > :12:04.There are lush hay meadows and patches of grass which gives
:12:05. > :12:11.them a really good vole population, which is what they need to breed.
:12:12. > :12:15.They have closely monitored barn owls since 2000 and
:12:16. > :12:19.in that time have seen a booming population of 54 peers in
:12:20. > :12:27.Well, this was spring last year here.
:12:28. > :12:32.Plenty of snow at exactly the wrong time.
:12:33. > :12:34.Females need to put on weight before they lay eggs.
:12:35. > :12:37.With the snow cover we have had during
:12:38. > :12:40.March, they weren't able to get enough prey and find enough small
:12:41. > :12:45.mammals under the snow, which meant that they didn't start breeding.
:12:46. > :12:48.Helen is part of the group trying to find
:12:49. > :12:52.the barn owls new places to live because we have taken away so much
:12:53. > :12:57.of their natural habitat, including converting barns into homes for us.
:12:58. > :13:07.Providing homes for barn owls is a practical way to help.
:13:08. > :13:10.If there is a local barn owl pair looking for a home, they could
:13:11. > :13:17.Barn owls usually have three to four chicks,
:13:18. > :13:25.This is the finishing touch for our newly`installed barn owl box.
:13:26. > :13:27.It's some wood shavings to go on the floor.
:13:28. > :13:31.Birds themselves won't bring in much of any nesting material and by
:13:32. > :13:36.the time there are adults and four chicks, it can get stinky in there.
:13:37. > :13:40.So perhaps it is no surprise that adults often move to a different