15/08/2014 Midlands Today

to be lower than average. Make sure you pack your jumpers if you are

going away. Nothing

in there to stimulate anybody. The parents

of the children are taking legal The innocent`looking plastic

bracelets containing dangerously high levels

of cancer`causing chemicals. The phthalate rate was absolutely

massive and quite alarming, so that is why we wanted to bring it

to people's attention. It stretches over a thousand acres,

with 20 miles of fencing and 18,000 toilets `

welcome to Shropshire's V Festival. All grown`up,

we catch up with trainee guide dog Zeus ` but his future isn't quite

what was expected. And August has already been rather

wet ` but there's a chill in the air too

next week as arctic air blows in. Good evening,

the parents of two severely autistic children are taking legal action

against a Stoke on Trent special school, which they say held them

for periods of up to two hours in a Joszef Bickerton is said to have

pulled the handle off the door in an attempt to escape the 'calm

room' at the Abbey Hill School. The City Council says

the allegations are exaggerated. Our Health Correspondent Michele

Paduano has this exclusive report. This video was taken of

Jozsef Bickerton at Abbey Hill School before

the trouble started, but as he grew bigger he was harder to handle

and he was put into a 'calm room?. His mother consented to him

being placed there, but she had no I wanted to go out other parents who

may have had this happen. You just trust professionals. And Joseph was

like that. This is the room where he

is said to have been held. One one occasion, he charged

the door, urinating on it and Lawyers fear

his human rights were breached. Too first to try and get them to

undertake a full and effective investigation into the use of the

calm room at the school. and also to seek declaration from the court that

human rights wrongs have been committed.

It was a former teacher at the school who told parents what

She never approved of the calm room and believes she

suffered detrimental treatment for raising the issue.

It was only about six feet wide. They could have been used as a store

room. It was a deprived room. There was nothing in there to stimulant

anybody. It felt like a cell. Following two investigations,

the school stopped using the calm Another mother who works for the

local authority also signed consent forms for the room but claims she

did not know how one person spent in there. The child was stripped

seminaked and urinated on one occasion `` on one occasion.

In a statement, Stoke on Trent council said:

"We take any child safeguarding allegation extremely seriously,

particularly those relating to disabled or vulnerable children.

We investigate concerns straight away along with police

There was no evidence that the door was held shut for long periods."

But incident reports obtained by his mother appear to show that he

was held in the calm room for periods of up to two hours.

A letter threatening legal action has now been served on the council.

They are legal, and they can be used. Some of these autistic

children, particularly when they reach puberty, can be quite

aggressive. The National Autistic Society says they should not be

enforced `` that should not be enforced segregation because of

aggressive children. I spoke to one teacher who works at another

Establishment and said they have recently introduced a calm room but

it is a padded room which should only be used for children who are

actually harming themselves not as a response to their aggression towards

teachers. Clearly, the Stoke`on`Trent council said this

should only have been used for a few minutes and not for a long period of

time. The logs today suggested they were used for longer. I put that to

them and they said they cannot say any more because of legal reasons

because they are in this process now.

Anticipation mounts with the start of the Premier League, we'll look at

They've taken playgrounds by storm across the country.

Loom bands are bracelets made from weaving small and brightly

But Birmingham's Assay Office, which tests all types of jewellery, is

warning some of the plastic charms you can buy to attach to the bands

could contain dangerously high levels of cancer`causing chemicals.

These loom charms are a sample of a batch recently sent in for testing.

A few weeks ago, they found some charms contained high levels of

Those charms never reached UK high streets,

but chemists here are concerned that if a company avoids testing

I've just bought these for a high street store or do you think? This

is the type of product we have seen high phthalate in. It conforms with

European standards and there's a lot of text it which I can't understand

so it is very difficult to tell. They are doing we could issue is to

test it. Why can these be potentially hazardous to health? I

think usually, the issue is that they have high levels of band

phthalate. They should have less than 1% but somewhat over 50%. The

phthalate will get into your system through sucking and the charm

handling of a bracelet is a high risk item. Birmingham Trading

Standards said it takes the style of children's toys seriously. We do our

own checks on warehouses that themselves are retail premises. We

keep on the lookout for products that may be dangerous by checking

all the legislation is compliance. But do parents check the safety of

their children's toys? I'm more concerned about food. I just check

if ? la any bits hanging. She knows better my daughter. Toys do not go

anywhere near her mouth. Back at the lab, the charms I bought will be

tested next week because of the unusual packaging.

An investigation has been launched into an outbreak

43 cases are being investigated in the West Midlands.

It's believed 34 of those are linked to an earlier outbreak at

Three people died in hospital is carrying out a review into the case.

the deaths were in people who had significantly deteriorated

conditions. They were elderly. One is being investigated by the coroner

and the other two, the death certificates were not filled in. It

was a contributing factor will A petition against the downgrading

of Services at Sutton Coldfield's Good Hope Hospital has been

delivered to Downing Street today. Under the proposals all general,

trauma and orthopaedic surgery Campaigners trying to stop

the changes are hoping the petition will put pressure

on the Trust to rethink its plans. Members of the Kurdish community

from across the Midlands have held a They were protesting over

the situation in Northern Iraq. They're calling on the

British Government to provide more support to the Iraqi Kurds

so that can defend themselves This time next week we should know

who the new Police and Crime commissioner will be for the

West Midlands. The election takes

place next Thursday. The position became vacant following

the death of Bob Jones in July. Tonight, members of the public will

get a chance to question the four So Sarah,

have many people turned up? it is a little disappointing. Only

about 30 or 40 people. They were hoping for around a hundred. But it

is the summer and it is a Friday night. You can see the candidates on

the stage behind me. There are four of them. What is their job really

about? Hold in the UK's third largest police force to a camel an

easy job. The new police and crime commission's role is to listen to

the public and victims of crime and ensure the budget is spent where it

matters the most. David Jamieson is standing for Labour, a former MP and

transport minister, his top priority is to recruit more offices. my main

pledges that we can't see the recruitment of the 450 new officers.

This is one of the few authorities doing it. I pledge to keep on the

community policing, Bob is in the local neighbourhood that you can

actually see. Most of all, I want to make sure that we are listening. Les

Jones, is standing for the Conservatives. He was to cut red

tape and her ties the front line. I want to improve the technology. The

equipment they have on the street is very outmoded, very out of date. If

we can bring that up to date, examples from other parts of the UK

should we can increase the amount of officer time on the streets with

very little investments. Keith Rowe is standing for UKIP. He would aim

for zero tolerance. I want to be tough on crime, we want more police

on the beats. We want zero tolerance, we want criminals to be

locked up and we want closer working relationships with all of the

communities. And the Liberal Democrat Ayoub Khan, who declined an

interview, said his main aim was to cut response times and improve crime

prevention. With me now is Desmond Jaiddoo who organised to my's life

events. Desmond, what did you think is important about this event? is

important that the public get engaged with the candidates. They

are not cardboard cutouts. Accountability starts now, not when

you are elected into office. People need to make informed decisions

based on where they are going to put their cross next week. Not long

until the polling stations open, then. What is your message? They

should be receiving information through the letterbox is your

message? They should be receiving information through the letterboxes,

have a look, make an informed decision on who you will vote for.

Polling stations are open next week from 7am until 10pm. It is important

that people engage in the process. Briefly, are you happy with the

turnout and I? A bit disappointing, but it is better than nobody coming

at all. We are in for a rowdy debate. Let's hope so. We'll be hit

with full coverage at 1025. We will knew who the new West Midlands

Police and crime commission is sometime on Friday, August 22.

It's the biggest festival in the Midlands and thousands

of people are already at Weston Park on the Shropshire`Staffordshire

border for the V Festival, featuring acts including The Killers,

The site covers 1,000 acres, with nearly 20 miles of fencing and

But what does it take to put on an event this size?

It is a mammoth task. V Festival may only be here for one weekend, but

organising it is a year`long operation. we start planning as soon

as we finish this year's. We stop running for 2015 straightaway. In

essence, we bring a small town into this park. And is all the associated

infrastructure. With up to 90,000 people here each day, the team have

to bring their own water supply, power, waste disposal, fire station

and even a field hospital. On the main stage, workers must get

everything right for this year's headliners, The Killers and Justin

Timberlake. It is quite militaristic. We stick to the plan,

everyone knows their role and it is great. The main stage can hold up to

50 tonnes of weights. This year there 500 lights and effects which

are run by control channels. Nearly all the bands actually bring their

own tracker own technical teams to operate the lighting during their

show. The guys have been showing me. It really isn't that difficult.

Maybe I could do so myself... Out on a campsite, there are construction

problems of a different type for the punters. I'll probably leave my tent

at the end of the festival. I probably work carried out back.

While most people will enjoy what is on the main stage, one man will

spend the entire two days deep below the stage. His plays is

affectionately known as the underworld. This is the man in

charge of power. I don't see anything done it, nothing at all. I

can't even hear it. I have my headset on, I'm listening to the

lighting designer but never trust us. I'm listening for problems. If

there's a problem, I'm interested. If all of the staff do their job

correctly, then this festival will go well. They will go home happy

leaving the workers with a small task of dismantling the entire site

in ten days. if you're planning to go to the

V Festival or avoid it, then BBC Radio Shropshire and BBC Radio Stoke

will have regular traffic updates Locked in a room the size

of a cupboard, the severely autistic children held for up to two

hours at a special school Your detailed weather

forecast to come shortly. Part wrestling, part martial arts,

part British Bulldog. The World Kabaddi League

come to Birmingham. The trainee guide dog says goodbye

to his foster family Markets

in the West Midlands must re`invent themselves to survive fierce

competition from supermarkets. That's the warning from the body

overseeing British markets. Many are being urged to go

online and use social media In this region,

the trade can be traced back to the 12th century ` but reports of the

demise of markets appear premature as traders learn to live alongside

the modern`day retail experience. We've been hunting for bargains

for centuries. This is Birmingham,

through 1920s and ?30s, through wars and rationing, recessions and the

birth of the high street ` markets This is a copy of the market's

Charter. This gave legal right to the steward of the late other market

at his castle in Birmingham on a Thursday. And so the bullring

markets were born. When the Bullring Shopping Centre

arrived in the 1960s, people still spent their money

at the open market next door. Greg Pierce is

a fifth`generation fishmonger. Next year, in the indoor market,

his family will mark 175 years we must be doing something right for

over a years. Is great that people still come to us. They know they can

get fresh stuff in the mega markets. In the Rag market you can find miles

of material and a character This is the famous rag market. It is

picking up. If you years ago, it was going downhill. But it is picking up

again. It's said around 6 million people

use these markets every year. You'll always find traders looking

for reduced rent ` some here told We want zero increase the Shia. We

work closely with the committee members in all the markets to make

sure we discuss why, if there is rent increases, those are reinvested

in the markets. This week, we've seen signs that

markets in our region are slowly recovering from the recession `

their punters are coming back, There are still engaging characters

pitching their wares and many The high street has seen about 300

retailers disappear. Markets must reinvent themselves. Increasingly,

the public are looking for experiential times.

But perhaps the biggest challenge is finding the custodians `

the traders willing to pitch up to sell for generations to come.

Speak macro Matthew Hutson Smith has won at the international athletics

Championships. In the women's 1500 metres, Hannah England from

Birmingham missed out on a medal, coming home in sixth place.

So while many will be watching football this weekend,

It started in India and is now played in 26 different countries.

And for the first time, the World Kabaddi league is coming

Nicola Beckford has been finding out more.

Millions of people are fans of Kabaddi.

This weekend the World Kabaddi League's top players

come to Birmingham's LG area as part of their international tour.

The global audience is what we want to reach out to. This is basically

what we're trying to achieve this global league by packaging the sport

for an audience which is not that Rocco has not seen it.

It's a tough contact sport ` a mixture of rugby and wrestling.

Spee macro it is not as brutal as it feels. If you're watching from the

The United Singhs will face the number one team in the league

Eight international teams will go on tour over the next few months.

Just over a year ago, we met this little pup.

Zeus is being trained to become a guide dog and we've followed his

Today he left his foster family for the last time.

It's time for the Barrington Earps to say goodbye.

And he's well aware that a good start would help to erase

They've brought in eight new players, including

But they're still one of the bookies favourites for relegation.

Everybody is entitled to their opinion. Icon control any of that.

We must make sure that we are as well prepared as we can be for every

game we play. We have to go into every game and do it right.

Hopefully, we will get good results.

And you can keep up to date with the all the match action on your BBC

After a very mixed week, let's find out how

I want to draw your attention to some statistics from The Met office.

We have already reached average rainfall for the month and were only

halfway through. And is more rent, as we had through the next few days.

So there is rain this weekend and the winds are strengthening as well.

But there will be some bright spells, the sun will be out. It will

be a total wash`out. But, by Sunday, it will feel chillier. Overnight

tonight, things were only halfway through. And is more rent, as we had

through the next few days. So there is rain this weekend and the winds

are strengthening as well. But there will be some bright spells, the sun

will be out. It will be a total wash`out. But, by Sunday, it will

feel chillier. Overnight tonight, things will com down. We have had

some lively showers, and all recently some polls are developing.

Temperatures will fall away. We are looking at highs in towns and

cities, but lower in rural spots. It does mean that for people going to V

Festival it will be a fresh start tomorrow and through the weekend,

although largely dry, temperatures will fall. So we begin tomorrow with

clear spells and some, which will make things pleasant through the

morning. But, it not a cloud over as we had through the afternoon. The

cloud will make ten badgers struggle a bit, but winds are also

strengthening and they are coming from a North westerly direction.

Temperatures up to 20 Celsius. As we had through tomorrow night, things

start to calm down. We will see clear spells developing, but, then

we have this weakening weather fronts. It brings with it some rain

and temperatures are lifted a little by that. As the cold front sinks

southwards, we will see things getting a little wetter. Sunday, not

quite as good as we were expecting, but it will improve a little bit

behind on that. Molson shines come through the day and temperatures at

around 19 Celsius. Temperatures at around 19 Celsius.

Pushing back the fighters of Islamic State.

Britain agrees to send weapons to the Kurds.

And locked in a room the size of a cupboard, the severely

autistic children held for up to two hours at a special school.

Just before we go, the result of a poll to see if people love or loathe

the city's infamous ring`road. To mark the 40th anniversary of the

road being built, BBC Coventry and Warwickshire have been running a

vote. 78% of people say they love the road. And a song is being

recorded next month to mark the anniversary. Quite extraordinary.

the good, the bad and the soggy-bottomed.

I'm Jo Brand and I'm serving up an Extra Slice of Bake Off action

I'll shine a spotlight on all the goings-on in the tent -

the good, the bad and the soggy-bottomed.

And every week, I'll be joined by the latest baker to leave the tent.