:00:00. > :00:16.Hello and welcome to Midlands Today. The headlines tonight:
:00:17. > :00:23.Mothers whose sons were fat`lly stabbed meet gang members to urge
:00:24. > :00:32.If we can stop other people from going through what I have gone
:00:33. > :00:35.through, that is what we want to achieve.
:00:36. > :00:42.?775 million to improve transport and create jobs across the region.
:00:43. > :00:46.This is saying to local people, here is the money and the power, what can
:00:47. > :00:50.you do to drive growth in your area? We'll examine how it'll transform
:00:51. > :00:52.Wolverhampton and the funding How did commuters get on
:00:53. > :00:56.at the start We talk to Wimbledon wheelchair
:00:57. > :00:59.champion Jordanne Whiley on And while some parts
:01:00. > :01:03.of the region were brought to a standstill by yesterday's
:01:04. > :01:05.hailstorms, be prepared for more. The mothers
:01:06. > :01:19.of two West Midlands men who were stabbed to death plan to medt gang
:01:20. > :01:22.members from across the country to The Save A Life:
:01:23. > :01:30.Surrender Your Knife project will Blades handed in will be tr`nsformed
:01:31. > :01:36.into a giant sculpture of an angdl, in
:01:37. > :01:42.memory of those who've been killed. They live miles apart, but their
:01:43. > :01:51.grief has brought them together Three mothers met
:01:52. > :01:54.in Manchester to honour thrde sons Lisa McNeill's son Danny was 21
:01:55. > :02:01.a father to a baby boy. In April last year, he was fatally
:02:02. > :02:22.stabbed with a sword in Oswdstry. It was just for. I miss him so much.
:02:23. > :02:24.`` just awful. Having him around, it is difficult to cope.
:02:25. > :02:27.Alison Cope is the mother of the Birmingham rapper, Ddpzman.
:02:28. > :02:31.He was stabbed through the heart last year.
:02:32. > :02:40.If there is anyone who can get that message across, it is usually those
:02:41. > :02:58.who have been directly affected such as the parents.
:02:59. > :03:00.Lisa Collins' son, Fusilier David Lee Collins from
:03:01. > :03:03.Manchester, was an off`duty soldier stabbed to death in Cyprus hn 2 12.
:03:04. > :03:06.The women are backing a new campaign called Save @ Life:
:03:07. > :03:08.Surrender Your Knife and will urge gang members to give
:03:09. > :03:19.This flick knife and this m`chete have been handed in to the campaign.
:03:20. > :03:21.The British Ironwork centre in Shropshire will take
:03:22. > :03:25.the knives and build a 20 fdet tall sculpture, known as Knife Angel
:03:26. > :03:35.We wanted to do something qtite incredible. One gentleman brought in
:03:36. > :03:39.at carving knife. Very sharp. He found his song with it in the
:03:40. > :03:47.street. He wanted to disposd of it safely. He wanted to being readied
:03:48. > :03:55.in sculpture. This will represent everyone who has lost a lifd tonight
:03:56. > :04:08.is. There will be memorial plaques along the bottom. `` to knives.
:04:09. > :04:09.Later this week, West Midlands Police will rd`launch
:04:10. > :04:12.To date, a spokesman says they are aware
:04:13. > :04:15.of just 11 knives placed in knife banks outside places of worship
:04:16. > :04:17.Three Police Forces ` including Greater Manchester Police
:04:18. > :04:20.` have offered the mothers `dvice, but no official backing.
:04:21. > :04:22.It may take months for the Knife Angel to take shape,
:04:23. > :04:25.but these parents now feel they have to get personally involved.
:04:26. > :04:36.What direct impact can these parents have?
:04:37. > :04:48.Well, there is frustration `mongst the mothers. Perhaps tradithonal
:04:49. > :04:54.campaigns might not be the right way to go at the moment. They m`y need a
:04:55. > :05:01.fresh approach. Hence this hdea for a sculpture. A big communitx arts
:05:02. > :05:11.project that the parents can encourage gang members to
:05:12. > :05:19.participate in. This could be more positive than just a knife hn a
:05:20. > :05:25.black hole. What more by the police doing to
:05:26. > :05:30.take knives off the streets? There are three bins like this.
:05:31. > :05:42.Another two will come into tse later this week. There will be another
:05:43. > :05:50.three in Birmingham on Thursday And one in Edgbaston as well. That will
:05:51. > :05:58.be in honour of the schoolghrl who was stabbed to death on board a bus
:05:59. > :06:01.last year. The debate about campaigns against knife use will be
:06:02. > :06:03.ongoing. The Caribbean comes to
:06:04. > :06:07.Sutton Coldfield. The Barbados rugby sevens g`in
:06:08. > :06:10.a lot of fans as they prepare A man has been arrested aftdr two
:06:11. > :06:15.of his relatives were found dead The bodies were found shortly
:06:16. > :06:35.after 5am this morning. Well, you can see there is still a
:06:36. > :06:42.police code in there keeping the public away from the tent and that's
:06:43. > :06:47.semidetached house here in Solihull. Forensic teams have been in and out
:06:48. > :06:51.of the property all day. Police were called early this morning to reports
:06:52. > :06:58.of an attack. When they got here, they find two bodies. I unddrstand
:06:59. > :07:02.they are from the far east but have lived here for many years. This is a
:07:03. > :07:11.quiet residential street not far from Solihull town centre. Lany
:07:12. > :07:16.local people are concerned. It is a quiet and nice street. This is
:07:17. > :07:21.obviously very shocking. Thhs is a good neighbourhood and it is a nice
:07:22. > :07:25.place. Calm and quiet. Generally speaking, this is peaceful. What
:07:26. > :07:35.have the police had to say? Police have told us they ard
:07:36. > :07:37.questioning a 23 year man. He's being held on suspicion
:07:38. > :07:40.of murder and they say he's related At this stage,
:07:41. > :07:52.they're not looking for anyone else The police have told me thex will
:07:53. > :07:53.carry out investigations here for the next five days.
:07:54. > :07:56.The Government has announced a six`year programme of invdstment
:07:57. > :08:01.across our region in job crdation, house building and infrastrtcture
:08:02. > :08:08.The Growth Deal pledges mord than ?160 million next year.
:08:09. > :08:13.And of course next year just happens to be a general election ye`r?
:08:14. > :08:17.A General Election year in which nearly 30 West Midlands
:08:18. > :08:19.marginal seats will be in contention between Labour and the
:08:20. > :08:22.Conservatives, as our two bhggest parties vie with each other for
:08:23. > :08:30.So you don't have to be too much of a conspiracy theorist to see a
:08:31. > :08:33.link between many of these projects and the key Parliamentary sdats
:08:34. > :08:35.The Growth Deal is divided between our region's six local
:08:36. > :08:48.Among those, ?163 million worth of schemes starting next ye`r, are
:08:49. > :08:52.?2.4 million to roll out super`fast broadband in Worcestershire,
:08:53. > :08:54.and the creation of a new r`ilway station at Anstey Park,
:08:55. > :08:59.But these projects were dechded not by the election strategists,
:09:00. > :09:03.but by the six enterprise partnerships themselves, in
:09:04. > :09:09.The Prime Minister came to Halesowen College to make the announcdment.
:09:10. > :09:12.I put it to him that Labour were promising something
:09:13. > :09:15.more ambitious, with more money and more powers to be devolved to
:09:16. > :09:29.Well, we are actually doing it, not just talking about it. This is the
:09:30. > :09:34.end of the Whitehall knows best culture. This is saying to local
:09:35. > :09:39.areas, there is the money and the powers, what can you bring forward
:09:40. > :09:44.to drive growth in new local area? We are in the black country Brody
:09:45. > :09:49.will see 6000 jobs, 1000 holes built, once developed, railway
:09:50. > :09:55.stations built, it is an exciting locally driven growth agend`. That
:09:56. > :09:58.is good news for the region. One of the biggest benefici`ries
:09:59. > :10:00.today is Wolverhampton, where the city
:10:01. > :10:03.council must cut its budgets by ?123 Our reporter has been finding out
:10:04. > :10:07.if the Government is merely giving with one hand, having already taken
:10:08. > :10:12.away with the other. Wolverhampton will benefit to
:10:13. > :10:14.the tune of ?18 million. Part of that will go towards
:10:15. > :10:16.rebuilding the train station, giving its car park a revamp
:10:17. > :10:34.and eventually linking the station It would create more jobs for the
:10:35. > :10:38.Midlands. I think it is really good. It creates opportunities for people
:10:39. > :10:41.and gives a better feeling for customers. There is always room for
:10:42. > :10:52.improvement is everywhere. Loney well spent. It is quite tirdd. It is
:10:53. > :10:57.in need of some work. The announcement comes at a timd when
:10:58. > :11:06.the City Council has to savd ?1 3 million over five years. Thhs is an
:11:07. > :11:10.opportunity for growth and to create jobs outside of local government
:11:11. > :11:14.with partners in the privatd sector. I am hopeful that people will take
:11:15. > :11:17.comfort from the announcement. The Civic and Wulfrun Halls have
:11:18. > :11:19.played host to the likes Now ?9 million will be spent
:11:20. > :11:32.on a raft of improvements to We want to take these holes into the
:11:33. > :11:35.21st`century. We are rebuilding the stage 15 feet further back to
:11:36. > :11:40.increase the arena size. Yot're going to create more bar sp`ce. We
:11:41. > :11:43.are putting another balcony right around Europe to create a f`ntastic
:11:44. > :11:48.beer pit atmosphere. The extra balcony was
:11:49. > :11:52.the suggestion of the lead singer John Penney is now a promothons
:11:53. > :12:06.officer for the Civic Hall. What the performer wants to see when
:12:07. > :12:12.they walk on stage by the fhghts of the eyes. You want to see the crowd.
:12:13. > :12:13.We went for another balcony. We will get another set of whites of the
:12:14. > :12:25.eyes to look at. The cash being given to
:12:26. > :12:27.Wolverhampton will give the city As austerity cuts take hold,
:12:28. > :12:31.a glimpse of optimism It is worth remembering that the
:12:32. > :12:34.six local enterprise partnerships replaced the regional development
:12:35. > :12:36.agency Advantage West Midlands. It awarded growth funding worth
:12:37. > :12:39.significantly more this each year, before the current Government
:12:40. > :12:40.scrapped it. Ministers say the LEPs have
:12:41. > :12:43.the advantage of being trulx local, so they know how best to target the
:12:44. > :12:46.money to trigger strategic growth. Now, if you want to find out exactly
:12:47. > :12:50.how the money is going to bd spent in your area,
:12:51. > :12:52.we've put all the details on The widow of former
:12:53. > :13:01.West Midlands Police and crime commissioner Bob Jones has
:13:02. > :13:04.paid tribute to her husband, as plans were put in place to `ppoint
:13:05. > :13:11.an acting commissioner from Monday. Sarah Edmondson described hdr
:13:12. > :13:12.husband, who died last week at the age of 59,
:13:13. > :13:18.as entirely modest and unassuming. She said he would go to the ends
:13:19. > :13:21.of the Earth to sort out people s A temporary replacement will be
:13:22. > :13:24.remain in post until a by election A woman has been jailed
:13:25. > :13:30.for assaulting a 90 year old resident with dementia at the care
:13:31. > :13:33.home in Coventry where she worked. Suzanne Edmondson was seen pinning
:13:34. > :13:35.the man to the floor at the Chasewood Care home hn Exhall
:13:36. > :13:39.in February, as well as swe`ring Today she was jailed
:13:40. > :13:43.for two years and eight months after pleading guilty to ch`rges
:13:44. > :13:47.of assault and ill treatment. An inmate from Hewell Jail
:13:48. > :13:51.near Redditch was released It is thought Anthony Dougl`s was
:13:52. > :13:56.freed after being mistaken for a rescuing a cow stuck in a dhtch
:13:57. > :14:31.in Shropshire today. Crews were called to Minsterley
:14:32. > :14:32.near Shrewsbury, where a ramp was dug and thd cow was
:14:33. > :14:36.rescued using specialist eqtipment. The animal was given
:14:37. > :14:38.the all`clear by a local vet. Parts of the Redditch to Birmingham
:14:39. > :14:40.railway line closed today and will stay shut for eight weeks
:14:41. > :14:44.to allow engineers to carry out Network Rail is adding thred
:14:45. > :14:46.kilometres of track Trains will terminate at Barnt Green
:14:47. > :14:50.and passengers from Redditch and Alvechurch are being offered
:14:51. > :14:52.a replacement bus service Our Transport Correspondent
:14:53. > :14:55.joined some commuters. An empty platform at Redditch this
:14:56. > :14:58.morning with no trains in shght The bus was taking
:14:59. > :15:00.the strain instead. For the next eight weeks,
:15:01. > :15:01.passengers using Redditch and Alvechurch stations will go
:15:02. > :15:10.by road in instead of by rahl. I don't mind. I wouldn't want to get
:15:11. > :15:14.the bus the whole journey. But I want to support the rail network.
:15:15. > :15:19.And so too it seems did othdr passengers on the bus this lorning.
:15:20. > :15:27.It is only eight weeks that it will take a little longer to get into
:15:28. > :15:29.work. This has been set up puite effectively.
:15:30. > :15:32.Although going by bus wasn't as direct as by train this lorning,
:15:33. > :15:40.most seemed happy with what had been arranged.
:15:41. > :15:42.There is a park and ride scheme available.
:15:43. > :15:45.And Cathy was one of those switching back to rail at Northfield.
:15:46. > :15:49.And it wasn't long before a train arrived.
:15:50. > :15:55.Some people have turned up `nd have been surprised. They are pldased to
:15:56. > :16:04.see the number of buses we `re running. We have put months of
:16:05. > :16:07.planning into this. Our teal has put lots of work into this.
:16:08. > :16:10.This is the reason for the summer shutdown, improvements at Alvechurch
:16:11. > :16:15.Both will allow a more freqtent service to here and at Reddhtch
:16:16. > :16:19.Meanwhile, it is journey's end for Cathy.
:16:20. > :16:24.No problem whatsoever. If it is like that every day, very happy
:16:25. > :16:25.passengers. But those opting to take
:16:26. > :16:28.their cars into Birmingham hnstead With the summer closure of the A38
:16:29. > :16:32.tunnels under the city, Mothers whose sons were fat`lly
:16:33. > :16:44.stabbed meet gang members to urge Your detailed weather forec`st
:16:45. > :16:48.to come shortly from Shefalh. On the trail of Birmingham's
:16:49. > :16:53.artistic history. The sculptures celebrating
:16:54. > :16:56.two centuries of artists. If you have a story you think we
:16:57. > :16:59.should be covering on Midlands Novak Djokovic wasn't the only
:17:00. > :17:19.player waking up with a hard fought Wheelchair athlete Jordanne Whiley,
:17:20. > :17:28.from Halesowen, also came away a She won the doubles with partner
:17:29. > :17:48.Yui Kamiji. It was really tough. The first set
:17:49. > :17:56.did not go to plan. We sortdd it out and had asked `` had a solid start
:17:57. > :18:04.to the second set. The playdrs talk about the difficulty of the
:18:05. > :18:13.transition to grass as a surface. We all may train the week leadhng up to
:18:14. > :18:18.Wimbledon on the grass. It hs not a surface we are used to and ht is not
:18:19. > :18:24.easy for us because we mainly play on hard court. You are on course for
:18:25. > :18:29.the Grand Slam. What would ht mean to you to win the US Open and
:18:30. > :18:36.achieve that very rare calendar Grand Slam? Wimbledon was one of the
:18:37. > :18:43.biggest achievements of my career so far. I am not quite there ydt. The
:18:44. > :18:49.Dutch won the Grand Slam last year. It is time for a British person to
:18:50. > :18:57.do that now. You have brittle bone disease. Does that make you more
:18:58. > :19:04.prone to injury is? I don't have it in my upper body so I am sthll able
:19:05. > :19:10.to play tennis as normal. I just need to be careful not to crash into
:19:11. > :19:16.anything. In the Wimbledon final, I went into the side barrier. Luckily
:19:17. > :19:23.it was soft so I was not dohng myself any damage. Your father was
:19:24. > :19:29.an athlete? He won a bronze medal in 1984 for the 100 metre track. Peter
:19:30. > :19:34.cup tennis as a hobby when he married my mother. I wanted to
:19:35. > :19:37.follow in his footsteps. Chhldren copy their parents. I saw mx dad
:19:38. > :19:47.playing tennis. I started playing and I have never looked back. I had
:19:48. > :19:51.only just turned three years old. I am interested in your thoughts on
:19:52. > :20:01.the prize money. ?12,000 between your and your partner. In the main
:20:02. > :20:06.doubles draw, it is ?325,000. It is tough. Every year, it there is an
:20:07. > :20:11.increase in the prize`money. The thing is, the public are not aware
:20:12. > :20:16.of wheelchair tennis. They don't know what it is and how good it is.
:20:17. > :20:21.We need the sponsors and we need people to recognise it in order to
:20:22. > :20:25.have the prize`money that able`bodied people are getthng.
:20:26. > :20:31.Trust me, we are working just as hard. We would like that to happen
:20:32. > :20:35.one day. It is going that w`y. Fingers crossed. How was thd
:20:36. > :20:42.champions Ball last night? Fantastic. I finally got out of my
:20:43. > :20:49.trainers and tracksuit and put on a nice dress. I didn't get back until
:20:50. > :20:53.3am, so it was a good night. Great to speak to you. Congratulations
:20:54. > :20:57.again. Thank you. And if you are inspired
:20:58. > :20:59.by Jordanne's story, the BBC Sport website have ` special
:21:00. > :21:02.feature on her, in which shd pays special tribute to her fathdr Keith,
:21:03. > :21:05.who she describes as a cool dude. There has been a flavour
:21:06. > :21:08.of the Caribbean in Sutton Coldfield The Barbados rugby sevens tdam have
:21:09. > :21:11.based themselves at the local rugby club,
:21:12. > :21:14.to prepare for the Commonwe`lth And they've gained a whole `rmy
:21:15. > :21:21.of new fans. They're a long way from Barbados
:21:22. > :21:25.but feeling very much at hole. The Caribbean island's rugbx sevens
:21:26. > :21:28.team are in Sutton Coldfield to But they wanted a break
:21:29. > :21:41.from training so decided to get It brings a new atmosphere to the
:21:42. > :21:48.camp. Everyone is feeling the pressure. It was a way to rdlease
:21:49. > :21:51.tension. Back home, we chill on the beach.
:21:52. > :21:53.The bikes have been provided by Bike North Birmingham.
:21:54. > :21:56.In return the rugby team act as poster boys for the council's
:21:57. > :21:59.initiative to get more people cycling in this part of the city.
:22:00. > :22:05.And their popularity doesn't end there.
:22:06. > :22:13.Absolutely fantastic. We had a social event a couple weeks ago and
:22:14. > :22:24.they were pride of place. Rdally good bunch of lads. They ard in a
:22:25. > :22:28.very tough group. Captain Sean Ward is
:22:29. > :22:31.a car mechanic back home whdre their In February they were resigned to
:22:32. > :22:34.watching the Games on television then Nigeria
:22:35. > :22:45.dropped out, Barbados took tp the It is an overwhelming feeling. You
:22:46. > :22:48.have to calm yourself. Stay focused for training. Best foot forward It
:22:49. > :22:51.is a big deal for us. Even winning a match
:22:52. > :22:53.at the Commonwealths will bd some But they can definitely makd
:22:54. > :22:56.their name and they've alre`dy made A sculpture trail across Birmingham
:22:57. > :23:04.city centre has been created to celebrate 200 years of the RBSA
:23:05. > :23:06.in the city. The Royal Birmingham Societx
:23:07. > :23:13.of Artists has provided a platform for artists for over two centuries,
:23:14. > :23:15.connecting them with audiences. Our Arts Reporter has been
:23:16. > :23:19.on the trail. What have a cathedral, cafe and
:23:20. > :23:24.convenience store got in colmon But these are just some
:23:25. > :23:31.of the buildings hosting Jo Naden from Stourbridge is
:23:32. > :23:35.a member of the Royal Birmingham Her work is being shown
:23:36. > :23:39.in Birmingham City Centre as part of the 200 year celdbrations
:23:40. > :23:53.of the society. I have various public artworks in
:23:54. > :23:58.and around outside the city. This is a nice opportunity to show the
:23:59. > :24:04.smaller scale works. Partictlarly in environments where people are not
:24:05. > :24:06.accustomed to discovering sculpture.
:24:07. > :24:08.The idea is to follow a trahl across 17 venues.
:24:09. > :24:10.Over 50 sculptures are on show in different places
:24:11. > :24:19.We need to engage with our public more. Just staying in calorhes means
:24:20. > :24:21.we expect them to come to us. It is important that we go to thel.
:24:22. > :24:24.The trail also highlights the city's connection with the RBSA
:24:25. > :24:26.At St Philip's Cathedral in Colmore Row, a contemporary piece is
:24:27. > :24:29.lit up by stained glass windows made by former president
:24:30. > :24:44.The idea is to raise greater awareness of the city. Conndcting
:24:45. > :24:50.the business district with this side of the ring road to the othdr side
:24:51. > :24:52.of the ring road where you find the Jewellery Quarter.
:24:53. > :24:55.And it is in the jewellery puarter where there's the most unlikeable
:24:56. > :25:04.Every time someone comes in, there are three or four of them. Loads of
:25:05. > :25:06.people are coming in to see yet And the final stop `
:25:07. > :25:09.the current home of Home to artists who've sparked ideas
:25:10. > :25:13.and handed them down to us And if Satnam's report has hnspired
:25:14. > :25:22.you to follow the trail we've put all the information you need
:25:23. > :25:25.on our Facebook page. A sunny start to the week
:25:26. > :25:41.for most of us. Norway. That is a funny question! We
:25:42. > :25:46.have had a taste of what is to come this week with the heavy hahlstone
:25:47. > :25:53.showers yesterday. This week, we start off with showers. In the
:25:54. > :25:56.middle of the week, heavy r`in. It will be quite warm. We can see more
:25:57. > :26:03.graphically what is going on from the pressure chart. These wdather
:26:04. > :26:07.fronts bringing the showers. Will pressure starts to dominate. Apple
:26:08. > :26:12.West later on. It is a two pronged West later on. It is a two pronged
:26:13. > :26:17.attack. The rain will be pepped up by the presence of low pressure To
:26:18. > :26:26.all of this, it will be quite warm. We are seeing showers moving in from
:26:27. > :26:29.will be the brunt of those before will be the brunt of those before
:26:30. > :26:35.they start to die away later tonight. Are largely dry picture
:26:36. > :26:41.through the early hours with some cloud and clear spells. Temperatures
:26:42. > :26:47.well up double figures. This is how we start tomorrow. A dry note and
:26:48. > :26:55.you cannot rule out the odd shower here and there are. Then showers
:26:56. > :26:57.break out all over the placd in the afternoon. Spilling him frol the
:26:58. > :27:03.north`west along the breeze which will be moderate. Any showers will
:27:04. > :27:11.be slow`moving and they could be heavy. Reasonably good tempdratures
:27:12. > :27:17.for the time of year. Tomorrow night, the showers will fadd. This
:27:18. > :27:22.pattern will repeat through the week. Showers during the dax and
:27:23. > :27:26.then dry during the night. There is an exception and that will be on
:27:27. > :27:30.Wednesday. Most of Wednesdax could be drive. More rain arriving on
:27:31. > :27:38.Friday. I'll be back at 10pm with more
:27:39. > :27:43.reaction to the Growth Fund