05/01/2017 Midlands Today

Hello, and welcome to Midlands Today.

Under severe pressure hospitals across the region struggling

to cope, with patients forced to wait hours in A

Hospitals in Dudley, Stoke-on-Trent and Walsall have been

Two men jailed for growing cannabis

with a potential street value of a million pounds

And after the coldest night of the winter so far,

things are beginning to warm a little as we approach the weekend

but not before another numbing night of sub-zero temperatures.

Pressure is mounting at hospitals across the Midlands as accident

and emergency staff struggle to cope with growing numbers of patients.

Ambulance crews say they're experiencing long delays getting

patients into casualty departments and hospitals in three areas

In Worcester the situation is improving, but problems persist

with stories of patients waiting in corridors for treatment.

From there, our Health Correspondent Michele Paduano reports.

This was done immediately. Ten in mind as emergency Department. This

morning on a high level of you. According to the ambulances are more

than 500 hours of delays as sweet vilification. Doctors orders in you.

Obviously we have more patience in losses and in a few minutes. We

expect this will have an effect over the next few weeks. The situation is

beginning to ease. But earlier this week the corridors were filled with

people. The BBC has learned of the death of the last. A man fled into

the corridor and size station. They terminally ill woman spent 35 hours

in a terminally ill woman spent 35,000, though, and one hanged

themselves on the board. There is nothing to live this directly with

pressures, they that admits they have been busy.

Some people are waiting a long time. We are sorry for that, but it's the

intense pressure that your lender. It's not just us, there are other

half of the fourth the 20 really vision. -- thereafter others across

the country. And Michele joins us now

from outside the Worcestershire Royal Hospital, Michele,

what's the position there now? I've just checked the accident and

emergency department. They were for ambulances outside and I'm told

numbers inside are reducing. They haven't got to corridors full as

they had previously. This is still a concern. Two years ago an emergency

doctor was called in due to concerns of the and emergency department. The

Care Quality Commission put them in special measures 18 months ago due

to the inadequacies of the accident and emergency department. Before

Christmas Day was a health Summit of this department. They still haven't

managed to get it right. There is going to be a review across the

whole of Worcestershire of services. There is talk that they do need a

system wide way of dealing with this problem. So why is it we are

experiencing these precious right now is that well, we have an ageing

population which is causing travel. We are not getting more money to

deal with it. Over Christmas you get a perfect storm. You can't get

people treated elsewhere all get people into the system. This year it

has been with an normal. One doctor tweeted that he felt that

you were coming off NHS. A shire horse breeder and a former

landscape gardener have been jailed for their involvement

in a "sophisticated" and "commercial" cannabis factory

in barns at a farm in Staffordshire. The court heard how police

seized plants and packages of the drug worth hundreds

of thousands of pounds. A third man will be

sentenced at a later date. This is police footage

of what was described in court as a sophisticated and well

established commercial cannabis Detectives say it has

the potential to produce Stafford Crown Court heard how

police these plans and packages It was located here at Newchurch

near Burton upon Trent. Police say the cannabis factory

at this remote location had been It's believed plans

were afoot to expand Martin Young, on the right,

paid ?28,000 a year to rent the farm He was jailed for three

years and two months. Ian Locke, wearing a hat, was jailed

for two years and three months. The court heard how the former

landscape gardener from Newport in Shropshire has moved to the farm

shortly before police raided. The court heard that

Raymond Nicholls from Birmingham hasbeen diagnosed with cancer,

and will be sentenced later. All three men admitted cultivating

cannabis and possession The rural location enabled them

to work in a specific way. And to continue their business

without being overlooked by any other buildings,

or any other traffic, really. They have nursery rooms for plans,

and they also had preparation rooms that were specifically built

behind hay bales. The recorder, Michael Ellson,

said that although involved, Young, Locke and Nicholls were not

the overall directing minds behind The court heard that another man

is still wanted by police. A Birmingham Labour MP and former

Cabinet minister says the Education Secretary should

intervene to defend the anonymity of witnesses in the so-called

Trojan Horse Affair. Whistle blowers who gave evidence

to the inquiry into an alleged Islamic plot in schools

were told their names But now the Education Department's

considering releasing their identities to lawyers

representing teachers who're facing Our Political Editor

Patrick Burns is here. So, is the pressure

mounting on the Government? It's certainly mounting

on Justine Greening. The Education Secretary is accused

of "making a complete mess of this" by the Labour MP who represents two

of the five defendants facing It's nearly three years now since up

to 50 whistle blowers gave evidence to the inquiry into an alleged plot

to instil hardline Islamic influences in inner city

Birmingham schools. They were told their identities

would be protected. But now the department's lawyers

have written to them to say their names may after all be

disclosed to the I want the Education Secretary to

get on with this process which is descending into chaos. You've got

teachers accused of very serious offences, they leave Viacom also,

British justice. But we've got at 250 came forward on the proviso they

were guaranteed anonymity. -- at 250 came forward.

Liam Byrne tells me several witnesses are his constituents.

They've contacted him to tell him they fear for their own security

and they feel betrayed by the Government.

So the two big questions: what will this do for the "whistle

blowing culture" which we keep being told is to be encouraged.

And did the head of that inquiry, Peter Clarke, have full authority

to offer them anonymity in the first place?

It's not clear what Peter Clarke offered anonymity about. It was in

relation to the enquiry he was conduct. He says he offered that no

information would be shared. But it's not clear that he was in a

position to offer anonymity disciplinary proceedings taken

disciplinary proceedings taken against people.

The Department of Education say they're not putting

anyone up for interview, but they tell me it's

critical that the tribunals are conducted correctly.

But because these proceedings are in progress it would not be

As you may have heard in this news hour, the renowned campaigner

for the rights of victims of sexual violence, Jill Saward,

She waived her right to anonymity after she was raped

during a burglary at her father's vicarage in Ealing in London

in 1986, she was the first rape victim in the country ever

She'd been living in Staffordshire for many years and died in hospital

It is part of my past now, when I talk about the rape it

The victim of what became known asthe Ealing vicarage rape,

Jill Saward was just 21 when she was attacked by burglars

who broke into her father's vicarage in Ealing in West London.

The case was the focus of a massive media attention,

not least because the perpetrators of the rape received shorter

sentences than a man who was only convicted of burglary.

The judge told the court that her trauma had not been so great.

She and her father, who was also injured,

I didn't want them to destroy anything else.

So forgiveness gave me that liberation, that

Neither at the time, and as far as I've been able

to examine my sensations since, not once have I felt

In 1990 she waived her right to anonymity and co-wrote a book

She became a campaigner for the rights of victims of sexual

She regularly appeared in newspapers and television.

Recently she argued against a campaign to grant

anonymity to people accused of sexual offences.

I think it's important that the moment somebody

is questioned we are made aware of the name of that person.

So that it can encourage other people to come forward.

So many people have been convicted because other

The family announced her death with deep shock and sadness.

They said she dedicated the past 30 years of her life to helping others.

And tonight people have been paying tribute to Jill Saward.

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, said she was a heroic

and remarkable campaigner for the victims of rape,

and Jeremy Corbyn has said she was a courageous campaigner

for the rights of sexual assault survivors.

Her work led to crucial changes in the law and attitudes.

The Attorney General said it was only after her attack

and campaigning that the law changed to so that victims could challenge

JCB has won one of the biggest single orders in its 71-year history

a $142-million dollar deal to supply the United States Army

The Staffordshire digger maker will produce more than 1,600 rough

terrain forklifts for use around the world including loading

and unloading aircraft and shipping containers.

The family of a man badly injured in an attack in Birmingham two years

A Coventry charity which helps people with benefit difficulties

says it's expecting homelessness to increase as benefit

As many as 800 families in the city are set to loose

The government says these cuts are fair and necessary,

and will help encourage more people back into work.

She's already being sanctioned after being overpaid in benefits,

and with the new cuts will be ?136 pounds per month worse off.

Providing for her three children is becoming increasingly difficult.

I've put a fake smile on my face every day so they think

An estimated 800 families already struggling with those ?100 a week

from their income. Staff believe it will push some of them to the brink.

Families have been made homeless by the cat already. This will continue

to happen. They won't be able to pay for their food or fuel bills. They

But government says the new system is fairer and provides clear

incentives for claimants to find work.

It adds that the total benefits a family can now claim

is the equivalent of a ?25,000 per year salary.

But with few qualifications and children to raise alone,

Helen Portsmouth can see no way out of finding a decent job.

A constant black hole. With no end. No light at the end, should I say.

It's just everybody around me is forward.

The cuts are coming, and are being applied in stages.

In Coventry they begin on January 16th, in Birmingham on January 23rd.

The weather's been a major talking point in the last 24 hours,

bitterly cold, the coldest of the winter so far, I'm hearing.

And it's produced some magnificent pictures.

I was spoilt for choice today so it seemed a shame not to show a few

The sun and frost seem to have brought out the best

From the Manor born, this beautiful frosty morning scene

from Wolverhampton to the babbling brook and woods of Staffordshire

and the swans looking as cool and calm as ever cutting

through the ice at Kenilworth in Warwickshire.

We've got more lovely pictures to come in the forecast later,

but if you'd like to join the hoards of people already signed up

as weather watchers, we'd love your contribution.

All you need to do is got to bbc.co.uk/weatherwatchers

Thanks for joining us on Midlands Today, this is our top

story tonight: Hospitals across the region struggling to cope

with the number of patients, as they're forced to wait

Also in the programme this evening: Hardly ideal

weather for new born lambs, but no fewer than 11 have arrived

And how come heavy metal legend Tony Iommi's written a choral piece

Construction work on the National College for High Speed is gathering

pace, as you'd expect at a place with a name like that!

It's costing more than ?20 million to build and it's claimed to be

the first all new further education college in the UK since

the 1990s.The complex, in Birmingham, will take its first

students in September and our Transport Correspondent,

Peter Plisner has been given exclusive access.

It might look like just another building rising up from the ground,

but the new National College for High Speed Rail promises

to revolutionise training of the railway engineers

It's very much emulating what you would get in the

And this is the new colleges Chief Executive, Claire Mowbray,

she can't wait for the first students to arrive.

We're looking to train people aged 18 and over, we

are looking to engage with people in employment

within the rail sector, but also those people who are

leaving, maybe, college or school and they want to come into the rail

industry and start to get trained to go into employment.

And this is what the new college will look like when it's finished.

In Birmingham they'll specialise in management

and digital technology, while a second new centre

in Doncaster will deal with design and construction skills.

It is the first sector focused college that we've got.

brand-new start from scratch college since 1993.

There will be a cafe and a glass sided workshop.

There will be an atrium there with stairs up to

There'll be 3000 students studying here when it's

And with the first students arriving in September the new college

is certainly going up fast, construction work only started

in May and the man in charge says it's certainly a challenge.

This one is slightly more challenging than

others because it's been a quick start-up.

From conception to getting onto site.

While most students will eventually work on HS2, the new college

will also play a leading role providing civil engineers

A sheep farmer in Staffordshire's celebrating the arrival of 11 lambs,

despite the usual breeding season for ewes being in the spring.

It's thought two escaped rams in the summer are to blame

This little one is the result of a bit of early passion in the

You would normally have to wait until spring to see newborn

lambs, but at this farm in Staffordshire 11 have come a long

Well, we kept the tups away from the ewes.

We didn't want any accidents, they were two

field away, but nevertheless the tups got into the

surprise, at the end of November when there was a lamb in the field.

We thought, the tups would never have caught the news for the

short space of time they were in that field in July.

This lamb that Deborah is holding now is number seven of the 11, born

three days before Christmas Day, and a real cutie.

Lambs are normally timed to be born when the grass is

starting to grow, fortunately mild conditions mean there is some

grazing to be had, so the new offspring are let out

It's a beautiful day, we've got a lovely frosty morning.

And on top of that we've got a lambs running around, really happy.

It's nearly six weeks since the first lamb was born, Deborah

still can't get over the lengths the tups went to to reach the ewes.

They went from all the way over there, through there, through the

And ended up at that gate, then got to

Even though she loves the lambs, Deborah

This year the tups will be put a mile away from the ewes.

And we'll make sure there is no way they could

actually sent these ewes, or indeed, anybody else's ewes.

So clearly, any further misplaced passion won't get

Bob Hockenhull, BBC Midlands Today, Staffordshire.

One of the world's great rock superstars has written a track

Tony Iommi, guitarist with Black Sabbath, said he wanted

to 'give something back' to his home city.

Ben Sidwell's at the Cathedral, where the track was played

in public for the very first time this evening.

Ben, this is quite a different direction for Tony, isn't it?

You could say that. Gone are the guitars and hard-rock, replaced by

something tranquil and ecclesiastical. In a moment I'll be

speaking to the man himself, that phrase I've been finding out about

the track. He's the man who, along

with the rest of Black Sabbath, But Tony Iommi's latest

composition is very different. I've done stuff with instrumental

acoustics, but to do something like this, for Birmingham, to be involved

with the Dean and the choir, this whole thing, I've

really enjoyed it. The track How Good It Is,

has seen the formation of a very While Tony's written the music,

it's the Dean of Birmingham, the Very Reverend Catherine Ogle

who's composed the lyrics. Every cathedral loves to be in place

of gathering where people are To bring together

different sorts of music, different genres, and create

something beautiful and harmonious Especially written for

Birmingham Cathedral, this afternoon its composers got

to hear it in situ for The combination of the choir

and the music that Tony put To be able to listen to it,

especially in the situation as well. Well, you may be able to hear the

music playing in the cathedral. Let's speak to Birmingham's answer

to Lennon and McCartney. This is something you wanted to do for

Thurman, why was it so important is that I'm from Birmingham.

I think it's a great thing to be involved with. Certainly being

involved with Catherine and doing something with the choir.

It was very different for me. It's an unlikely partnership, how did you

get together? We matched mutual friend. We talked

about doing something then, didn't we? And that's what happened.

Let's speak to the Dean of Birmingham, the very Reverend

Katharine. For you this is a significant find photos of you. Tony

and Black Sabbath finished touring next month, you leave them on

Sunday. Yes, that this is a lovely project,

the culmination of so much work. The cathedral brings people together and

sometimes surprising people off altogether to make something

beautiful. We are proud of this project.

Will you will together again? Will you be on the new South album?

Who knows, this was a great project. -- Black Sabbath album. His song is

available so get on the Internet where you can find it.

I should think sales of scrapers and de-icers rocketed today!

But I'll say it till the cows come home,

your pictures today were Fab - u - lous!

From fields to tree lined roads and vistas of distant hills,

everything sparkling in frost and sun but the headline from last

night was the temperature, the coldest spot in the region

was pershore in Worcestershire with lows of -7.

The cold place in England was Benson in Oxfordshire at -8 making it

the coldest night of the winter so far for England but this is how

things progress as we head towards the weekend,

a bit of rain to get through tomorrow but it opens up

the way to much milder conditions and drier ones too as

You can't ask fairer than that, could be a bit cloudy but a small

price to pay for saving on the heating bill.

A widespread frost as temperatures plummet. -12 -4000 fifth still very

cold. Cloud edge in from the west. It will be a frosty start tomorrow

and cold as well. Gradually the cloud invades from the West and

takes over, removing the sunshine. Like patchy rain in the afternoon.

It could be heavier in places. You can see very little of it around.

Milder tomorrow with Pfizer five to six ounces 50 today's as we look

further ahead, that rain clears stewards into Saturday followed by

lots of love the arts'. I'll be back at 10:30

with your late update. We're looking for someone

who can sing, someone who can move. Someone who can keep an audience

on the edge of their seat. Something like this

could change my life. When you're born to perform,

Let It Shine... Magical new drama...

The Worst Witch. Shall we? Absolutely.

..DI Goodman... It's been lovely, our little holiday

romance. ..is back on the case.