:00:00. > :00:20.in advance of the general election. That is
:00:21. > :00:24.baby over again. When we eventually did find out, we were very angry,
:00:25. > :00:30.very upset and it was like losing her again. Many parents in the same
:00:31. > :00:38.position claim they were told no ashes existed. Also tonight, an
:00:39. > :00:44.11`year`old boy is arrested after 20 children were stabbed with a needle
:00:45. > :00:54.in the Black Country. The row over alleged infiltration
:00:55. > :00:58.over `` in schools by extremists. And we uncover the surprising links
:00:59. > :01:04.between reggae legend Bob Marley and rural shop she.
:01:05. > :01:10.And good news tomorrow is looking much better with more scenes like
:01:11. > :01:11.this. The weekend is arriving with a bang. I will have more details
:01:12. > :01:30.later. All were cremated
:01:31. > :01:33.in the last decade at But only one set of parents was
:01:34. > :01:39.given the ashes of their child. Many others were told nothing
:01:40. > :01:41.remained, although industry experts Our reporter Amy Cole has been to
:01:42. > :01:47.meet one A few hours after this footage was
:01:48. > :02:14.filmed, her parents put her to bed. I found Olivia. She was publicly
:02:15. > :02:17.grey colour. She was a limp, like a little rag doll.
:02:18. > :02:19.Olivia died from Sudden Infant Death syndrome in 2007.
:02:20. > :02:26.Her family chose to cremate her ` a decision they now regret.
:02:27. > :02:42.You were told there was no ashes. You have since found out. We were
:02:43. > :02:46.very angry and upset. You seem very tearful. It is very painful.
:02:47. > :02:49.Ken West writes a blog for a funeral website.
:02:50. > :02:52.He used to work at Emstrey Crematorium where Olivia
:02:53. > :02:55.was cremated and believes that bad practice led to the ashes not being
:02:56. > :03:09.When I worked there in the 60s and early 70s, it was policy to recover
:03:10. > :03:13.the remains of small babies. We didn't do many cremations, maybe one
:03:14. > :03:18.or two a year at the mumps. Certainly, I was familiar with the
:03:19. > :03:32.tray and always that cremated remains would be given back to
:03:33. > :03:36.parents. All cremations have been said to be carried out by strict
:03:37. > :03:42.standards but the authority said it would begin and end the stick.
:03:43. > :03:44.Charles Crosland has been supporting the Perkins family.
:03:45. > :03:47.A baptist minister for 30 years, he says the loss of
:03:48. > :04:00.All cremations have been said to be carried out by strict
:04:01. > :04:10.For the parents, the tragedies go on. My wife wanted a teaspoon of her
:04:11. > :04:15.ashes so she could have them put in a necklace or offering or something
:04:16. > :04:18.to keep close to home. And we couldn't even get that.
:04:19. > :04:20.The Co`op, which now runs Emstrey Crematorium on behalf of
:04:21. > :04:23.Shropshire Council has told Midlands Today that it's recently installed
:04:24. > :04:26.new equipment with specific settings and a special tray that collects
:04:27. > :04:39.There's more on this story at the BBC news website for Shropshire.
:04:40. > :04:51.Thank you for joining us. Later in the Himalayan invader causing mayhem
:04:52. > :04:55.in the macro one. `` Moorlands. It grows enormously tall and strangles
:04:56. > :04:59.all the other beautiful flowers. An 11`year`old boy has been arrested
:05:00. > :05:03.after 20 children were stabbed with None of the pupils at Morton
:05:04. > :05:07.Community School were seriously hurt They're now receiving treatment
:05:08. > :05:12.as a precaution against infection. Here's our health correspondent,
:05:13. > :05:23.Michele Paduano. This school is home to 700 pupils
:05:24. > :05:30.but just one may have damaged its reputation. On Monday morning, an
:05:31. > :05:35.11`year`old is alleged to have stabbed 20 children with a needle.
:05:36. > :05:40.The mother of one was not happy. It is not good enough. They shouldn't
:05:41. > :05:46.be needles in the school. Another mum's fan was stabbed in the face.
:05:47. > :05:53.It is horrible, traumatic. The kids are traumatised as it is. To protect
:05:54. > :05:58.them, all the children were vaccinated against hepatitis. Most
:05:59. > :06:05.of the students are back at school. Some have been to the hospital. They
:06:06. > :06:10.have kept them off as a precaution. Public health said the chances of
:06:11. > :06:15.any child coming to harm was minimal but there was a possible risk. If
:06:16. > :06:20.there was to be a virus present then the one that is most transmissible
:06:21. > :06:23.is hepatitis B so to protect the children against that, we started
:06:24. > :06:28.them on a habitat is being vaccination programme. It is
:06:29. > :06:35.believed the boy took diabetic needles from his mother. This is a
:06:36. > :06:39.frustration. In the old days, they could have dealt with this quietly
:06:40. > :06:44.in`house but we live now in the world of social media. The pupil has
:06:45. > :06:52.been bailed by police while they investigate.
:06:53. > :06:59.Allegations of the plot by hardline Muslims to take over some schools is
:07:00. > :07:01.now a row. Reading `` leading educationalists are questioning the
:07:02. > :07:07.impartiality of Ofsted investigators. This all started with
:07:08. > :07:14.some scathing comments from the Home Secretary? Yes, it is the most that
:07:15. > :07:19.she wrote a very sharply worded letter to Michael Gove about claims
:07:20. > :07:24.first reported by the BBC that warnings about all this were issued
:07:25. > :07:31.as long ago as 2008 two Birmingham City Council and 2010 to Mr Gove's
:07:32. > :07:35.own department and she challenges him and asks him to explain how
:07:36. > :07:40.central and local government appeared to have been unable to
:07:41. > :07:44.act. Subsequently, both Cabinet ministers have issued a statement in
:07:45. > :07:48.which they state they are working very hard together to tackle the
:07:49. > :07:52.issues raised by these allegations but it certainly does nothing to
:07:53. > :07:55.dispel the sense that there is a really bitter argument going on at
:07:56. > :07:59.the top of government about the governance and oversight about our
:08:00. > :08:03.schools in general and in particular how this does or does not fit into
:08:04. > :08:09.the other investigation being led by the former head of counterterrorism
:08:10. > :08:15.Peter Clark. Turning to the Ofsted investigation, what exactly the
:08:16. > :08:18.educationalists saying? It is certainly a very distinguished group
:08:19. > :08:23.of experts including the former Birmingham chief education officer
:08:24. > :08:27.Sir Tim Brickhouse and in a letter to the Guardian, they are particular
:08:28. > :08:34.concerned about the Ofsted emergency investigation into schools. They say
:08:35. > :08:39.that it beggars belief that school is described by Ofsted less than a
:08:40. > :08:44.year ago as outstanding are now deemed by Ofsted to be inadequate.
:08:45. > :08:49.It says it casts a question of the impartial itty of Ofsted itself. It
:08:50. > :08:56.is hard to see where this will end. What do you think happens next? Next
:08:57. > :08:59.up we will get the Ofsted report. Then the Education Department
:09:00. > :09:04.themselves are due to report later this summer. Politically, this will
:09:05. > :09:09.continue for some time. Tristram Hunt, the Shadow Education Secretary
:09:10. > :09:17.has accused Mr Gove of being ministerial incompetence. Letters
:09:18. > :09:21.have been sent to the former governing body at an Islamic faith
:09:22. > :09:26.school in Birmingham, `` banning them from the premises. The team has
:09:27. > :09:29.been turned away from the school three times after they were denied
:09:30. > :09:34.access. The council says it is clearest league concerned about the
:09:35. > :09:38.school's financial position with debts of over ?900,000.
:09:39. > :09:48.That debited leader of Stoke on Trent City Council pull shot on has
:09:49. > :09:54.stepped down after using fake names on the radio. He sent messages in
:09:55. > :09:58.support of council policies. The leader said he had made a mistake
:09:59. > :10:02.that has now done the right thing for the city.
:10:03. > :10:07.West Midlands Police have released a recording of a woman dialling nine
:10:08. > :10:14.990 complain about the sprinkles on an ice cream she had bought from an
:10:15. > :10:19.ice cream van. By releasing this call, police said on to highlight
:10:20. > :10:46.the importance of using my 9`iron for emergencies only.
:10:47. > :10:57.We are joined by Chief Superintendent. Good evening. You
:10:58. > :11:04.can't help smiling at this but there is a serious side? Well, it is
:11:05. > :11:11.particularly extreme example but we do get a lot of calls. Around 1500
:11:12. > :11:14.calls a day and around 10% of those are cool that really shouldn't be
:11:15. > :11:20.999 at all. That should only be open for emergencies. What was your
:11:21. > :11:25.reaction when you heard this? We do hear quite a few so I'd guess it is
:11:26. > :11:29.no surprise to get quite a few similar sort of things, often
:11:30. > :11:34.involving disputes between taxi drivers and neighbours and so on.
:11:35. > :11:40.Quite often we have examples that should not be for the police at all.
:11:41. > :11:49.We would prefer people to call police on 101 which is our most ``
:11:50. > :11:54.nonemergency number. Does that work? Yes, it absolutely does. It is a new
:11:55. > :12:00.facility, we're really proud of it, we get a lot of calls a day. 90% of
:12:01. > :12:07.our calls are answered `` within 30 seconds. 999 for emergencies only
:12:08. > :12:12.please. What other dangers if too many people call my 9`iron? It ties
:12:13. > :12:18.up 999 line for people who have genuine emergencies and we really
:12:19. > :12:23.would like to keep those open. We want to get police officers where
:12:24. > :12:29.they are needed. So, if it is not an emergency, please dial 101. We ask
:12:30. > :12:33.you to think again in the sort of examples where frankly, they should
:12:34. > :12:40.not be calling the police at all. 999 is for emergencies only. Our top
:12:41. > :12:44.story. Parents despair over the mystery of what happened to their
:12:45. > :12:54.babies ashes. Your detailed and brighter weather forecast comes
:12:55. > :12:57.shortly. Also to Matt, the story behind 50 Kisses, a new film being
:12:58. > :13:01.made in the Midlands and premiered this weekend.
:13:02. > :13:09.And one man's abiding passion to record the best of our ancient
:13:10. > :13:13.churches for posterity. Volunteers are out in force in the
:13:14. > :13:17.Staffordshire Peak District battling the invasion of foreign weeds.
:13:18. > :13:35.The dreaded Japanese knotweed can wreck the foundations of houses.
:13:36. > :13:47.On the banks of the River Manifold in Staffordshire, searching for the
:13:48. > :13:50.Himalayan balsam. These volunteers are hunting for a plant which
:13:51. > :13:57.threatens to crowd out other wildlife. The plant was introduced
:13:58. > :14:02.It is taking over the native flower was on the river bank and this
:14:03. > :14:07.becomes a real problem because it just becomes a forest of Himalayan
:14:08. > :14:11.balsam and you lose all the other species that we like to have one
:14:12. > :14:15.hour river bank. The plant was introduced to Britain in the 1800
:14:16. > :14:22.and escaped from Victorian gardens into the countryside. Later in the
:14:23. > :14:28.year, each plant will develop pink flower was. The pods can scatter far
:14:29. > :14:32.and wide. That is why these conservationists are uprooting them.
:14:33. > :14:37.It is hard work but worth it to help give other plants a chance. It grows
:14:38. > :14:46.enormously tall. And it strangles all the other beautiful flowers. It
:14:47. > :14:49.helps keep the countryside looking as it should, it doesn't get
:14:50. > :14:54.overgrown with species that aren't natural to the environment. By
:14:55. > :15:00.coming and clearing it, we feel it is a really worthwhile job and we
:15:01. > :15:04.are very privileged to be part of the team. Across the countryside,
:15:05. > :15:08.other invasive plants need to be dealt with and horticulturalists
:15:09. > :15:15.have concerns over the spread of some non`native species. They spread
:15:16. > :15:19.so fast that efforts to control them are extremely expensive and we are
:15:20. > :15:24.very unlikely to eradicate them unless we adopt some novel methods
:15:25. > :15:27.of control. The dedication of these volunteers should help preserve the
:15:28. > :15:31.natural beauty of this countryside but it is work that should continue
:15:32. > :15:44.all year round to ensure the landscape is protected.
:15:45. > :15:49.There will be more about this on the breakfast show tomorrow morning.
:15:50. > :15:56.Now, what possible link could rule Shropshire have with Bob Marley? To
:15:57. > :16:00.find out, we need to wind the clock back to 1916 when one of the
:16:01. > :16:04.country's biggest training camps of First World War training camps was
:16:05. > :16:16.in Westray. Think Bob Marley, think Rastafarian,
:16:17. > :16:25.think reggae and think of performances like these on Top of
:16:26. > :16:33.the Pops. What you don't readily think is rural Shropshire. 25,000
:16:34. > :16:41.soldiers were based here, training for tough times in the First World
:16:42. > :16:48.War. Among them, Norval Marley. Born in Sussex, he later chapter ``
:16:49. > :16:53.travelled to Jamaica and then back to the UK where he was apparently
:16:54. > :17:03.constructed in 1916. Within weeks, the tough training camp, he reported
:17:04. > :17:08.problems with incontinence. The Army examines him and find nothing really
:17:09. > :17:14.physically wrong. One the medical reports has a hint that maybe this
:17:15. > :17:19.is a man of nervous disposition. What happened to him after his
:17:20. > :17:24.medical examinations? He is downgraded in his medical grading
:17:25. > :17:30.and ends up in the Labour Court. So, he is not going to serve at the
:17:31. > :17:44.front or overseas, he is going to be occupied entirely on menial duties.
:17:45. > :17:48.In Shrewsbury, reggae artist Beth Pryor performs her Marley inspired
:17:49. > :17:56.mash up and is amazed to discover the news about her hair red's
:17:57. > :17:59.father. Bob Marley was charismatic and strong. He is seen as a great
:18:00. > :18:04.writer, great performer, great figure, but his father, you know, is
:18:05. > :18:09.seen as this week man who didn't serve and couldn't serve due to
:18:10. > :18:17.health problems. Old records and a trailer detective work helped the
:18:18. > :18:27.journalist I'm Earthsea stories. I met a lovely lady and she found all
:18:28. > :18:33.these amazing documents with Norval Marley's name on it. It was just
:18:34. > :18:40.great. About who he was, where he came from. So, when was Bob Vaughan?
:18:41. > :18:50.Fast forward to the end of World War II and Jamaica. Norval Marley was 60
:18:51. > :19:03.and mate `` met his wife but it was tough. He was a white man and I was
:19:04. > :19:10.a black girl. I guess he was like the black sheep with his family. Bob
:19:11. > :19:15.Marley saw little of his father, he died when Bob was ten. His time in
:19:16. > :19:20.Shropshire was far from reggae and far from Ruth `` far removed from
:19:21. > :19:31.Jamaica. Isn't that fascinating. Could 50
:19:32. > :19:36.Kisses be a surprise hit? It is a new feature about 50 kisses on one
:19:37. > :19:41.Valentine's Day. Our arts reporter has been talking to some of those
:19:42. > :19:46.involved. Kisses, we give them, we've received them, and in this
:19:47. > :19:51.film, there are plenty of them. 50 Kisses was an initiative created to
:19:52. > :19:55.connect screenwriters with film`makers so we created this idea
:19:56. > :20:00.of writing the two page script that must contain a kiss and we said on
:20:01. > :20:07.Valentine's Day. And so you get films like this. This film is called
:20:08. > :20:13.poster boy. For the writer, it is a venture into the world of cinema.
:20:14. > :20:16.This has been my film school in a way. It has put me right into the
:20:17. > :20:20.middle of a very supportive film making community and I would not
:20:21. > :20:25.have had that otherwise. But it is not just writers who have been given
:20:26. > :20:28.a chance to show off their work. Film`makers were invited to create a
:20:29. > :20:33.feature based on the scripts admitted. Amongst them, I called
:20:34. > :20:40.Mannion who worked with the production in Staffordshire. It is
:20:41. > :20:45.hard to get your work out and into cinemas. A lot of indie film`makers
:20:46. > :20:52.release on the internet. To be united as a collective is actually
:20:53. > :20:56.really good. 50 Kisses is that crowd created feature. In other words,
:20:57. > :21:00.lots of different writers and film`makers have come together
:21:01. > :21:04.online with their productions and together they have made a feature
:21:05. > :21:10.length film. It'll be shown this Saturday in Birmingham and is also
:21:11. > :21:13.during festivals. This project has given emerging producers, directors,
:21:14. > :21:18.writers and production staff a chance to see their work on the
:21:19. > :21:23.silver screen and that is a priceless opportunity in a world of
:21:24. > :21:33.film`making which can often be hard to break through.
:21:34. > :21:40.Joining us now is Pip Piper lectures at Birmingham City University. So,
:21:41. > :21:51.is this the way forward was to mark crowd creating, bringing people
:21:52. > :21:59.together? Sadly, we seem to have lost Pip Piper. Hopefully, we will
:22:00. > :22:03.get him back. Now, when Reggie Portman was taken ill in 2000, he
:22:04. > :22:07.decided to do something with his enforced free time and go and draw
:22:08. > :22:12.his local church. He had always loved drawing, and it was an
:22:13. > :22:20.important part of his recovery plan. 14 years on, there is no stopping
:22:21. > :22:26.him. The sky is blue, the birds are in song and Reggie Portman arrives
:22:27. > :22:31.at a church in a beautiful setting. He sets up his easel and gets to
:22:32. > :22:35.work. I can't think of a better spot, the tranquillity, the piece,
:22:36. > :22:41.the birdsong. A lovely day at the office. In fact, he enjoys it so
:22:42. > :22:46.much, he has now drawn more than 300 of the 400 or so churches in the
:22:47. > :22:49.dioceses of Hereford which takes in South Shropshire, Herefordshire and
:22:50. > :22:55.parts of Powys and Worcestershire. Reggie, whose age remains a mystery,
:22:56. > :23:04.uses a special device to help with measurements. That is very clever.
:23:05. > :23:11.Once the pencil drawing is complete, he goes over it in ink. Sometimes,
:23:12. > :23:17.when I have been doing it, I have fallen asleep. If the weather is
:23:18. > :23:21.good, he can draw three churches in a day and to save him travelling
:23:22. > :23:29.home, locals like to offer him a bed for the night. This will be his
:23:30. > :23:33.fourth night. I think he is rather `` rather hoping to be of regular
:23:34. > :23:37.because we are fairly central to the places he is doing around here. We
:23:38. > :23:42.will have this unique collection. Reggie hopes to complete the project
:23:43. > :23:51.by next summer and is looking for something else to keep this. Someone
:23:52. > :23:55.suggested doing public houses. But that might take too long. He has
:23:56. > :24:02.given his drawings to the dioceses and with more than 400, it will make
:24:03. > :24:09.for a very big exhibition. Let's have another go of talking to the
:24:10. > :24:14.film producer Pip Piper who lectures at university as well. We are
:24:15. > :24:18.talking about this film 50 Kisses and the concept of crowd creating,
:24:19. > :24:23.by bringing different people together, is this the way forward? I
:24:24. > :24:28.think it is, the decree for independent producers and film
:24:29. > :24:32.directors and writers. Films have always been made by very large
:24:33. > :24:37.groups of people soak in a way, it is not different. I think it is the
:24:38. > :24:40.internet that is making things possible in a way that they weren't
:24:41. > :24:44.possible before, bringing groups together, enabling them to connect
:24:45. > :24:47.and make something and put it out there in a very different way than
:24:48. > :24:52.it has been before. Couldn't it all get a bit messy with so many people
:24:53. > :24:57.involved? In traditional film making, you would always have very
:24:58. > :25:02.traditional roles, the expectations would be very clear, so, yes, there
:25:03. > :25:09.is a potential danger that if it is not done in the right way, who owns
:25:10. > :25:13.the film, what they can do with it afterwards, yes, there are dangers.
:25:14. > :25:19.But if it is put together correctly, it could be a recipe for success. Do
:25:20. > :25:24.you think we could get a Blockbuster this way? Wouldn't it be great if we
:25:25. > :25:28.could. It would be absolutely fantastic for the region. There are
:25:29. > :25:35.a lot of crowd funded projects as well happening. Crowd funding is a
:25:36. > :25:41.serious phenomena, 2007 at all kicked off. We now have over 600
:25:42. > :25:44.platforms across the globe. Across that five or six year period,
:25:45. > :25:47.billions have been raised for creative projects and that is
:25:48. > :25:52.happening in the region. My own company, we have crowd funded number
:25:53. > :25:58.of our own independent films, raising thousands of pounds towards
:25:59. > :26:02.those. That enables you to work in a different way. Where you had to go
:26:03. > :26:07.to other funders in the past, you can be a little bit more nimble.
:26:08. > :26:14.Thank you very much indeed. Dismal weather again today but a bit more
:26:15. > :26:20.hopeful tomorrow. It has been an appalling day`to`day. As we head
:26:21. > :26:25.through into tomorrow, it is a much better picture. Fine and dry weather
:26:26. > :26:29.to come with the sun coming out as well and the temperatures slowly
:26:30. > :26:33.starting to rise. Today, we have had this blanket of cloud and this area
:26:34. > :26:39.of rain sitting over the top of us and it has really affected our
:26:40. > :26:45.temperatures. We only got up to 11 or 12 Celsius today which is well
:26:46. > :26:48.below where we would expect to be. We will get clear spells developing
:26:49. > :26:53.and the temperatures will fall away so called a night than we have seen
:26:54. > :26:56.recently. The rain clears through the morning and Thursday is a much
:26:57. > :27:02.better day. The spells of sunshine to come through. Temperatures
:27:03. > :27:07.climbing back up to where we were at the start of the week, hovering
:27:08. > :27:12.around 18 Celsius, so not a bad day at all. Some late afternoon sunshine
:27:13. > :27:16.to enjoy and overnight, we are going to start to see those skies clearing
:27:17. > :27:20.so our temperatures are going to fall away once again. Another cold
:27:21. > :27:26.night. Friday is looking like another good day, too. We have an
:27:27. > :27:31.early yellow weather warning in place for heavy rain. We start to
:27:32. > :27:34.pull in humid air from the continent on Friday and that will collide with
:27:35. > :27:38.this weather system on Saturday giving us some very lively
:27:39. > :27:42.thunderstorms so do make the most of tomorrow and Friday because it is
:27:43. > :27:47.getting a lot worst. I will be back at 10pm with the latest updates.
:27:48. > :27:53.Have a good evening. Goodbye for now.
:27:54. > :27:56.When the first travellers crossed America, they were faced with this -
:27:57. > :28:12.The very nature of the American personality was defined.
:28:13. > :28:15.Ray Mears explores the land behind the Hollywood legend
:28:16. > :28:18.and discovers the wild that made the West.