:00:00. > :00:00.The headlines tonight: Saved after months of uncertainty,
:00:00. > :00:15.over 700 jobs are secured at an engineering firm in Coventry.
:00:16. > :00:20.The team have worked very hard. The workforce are very committed to the
:00:21. > :00:22.business, and it's good to say that all that success will be realised.
:00:23. > :00:24.The company's been bought up by an industrial group with 17 other
:00:25. > :00:26.engineering businesses in the region.
:00:27. > :00:28.Also this evening: A paramedic's recovering after being seriously
:00:29. > :00:31.assaulted by a patient he was trying to help.
:00:32. > :00:41.We go to people without question. If they need us, we go. It's not, you
:00:42. > :00:42.deserve it, you don't. We don't deserve to be attacked for trying to
:00:43. > :00:43.help people. Police apologise to a Birmingham DJ
:00:44. > :00:46.after he was pulled over in his Bentley and told
:00:47. > :00:48.it was a fact that black How the mighty are fallen and turned
:00:49. > :00:52.into beautiful works of art. And the winds caused havoc today,
:00:53. > :00:55.but mix rain with Arctic air and tonight and tomorrow,
:00:56. > :00:58.wee could be struggling with snow. Join me for the detail
:00:59. > :01:13.in a short while. Having spent Christmas
:01:14. > :01:18.and the new year fearing for their jobs, at last some really
:01:19. > :01:21.good news for more than seven hundred workers
:01:22. > :01:23.at an engineering firm in Coventry. Covpress, which makes body panels
:01:24. > :01:31.for Jaguar Land Rover and Renault, had been in administration since
:01:32. > :01:32.September. But today they've been taken
:01:33. > :01:34.over by the industrial group Liberty House.
:01:35. > :01:44.Joanne Writtle reports. A bright day for 740 workers in
:01:45. > :01:48.Coventry who have faced an uncertain future for months.
:01:49. > :01:54.It is a relief, really, to realise that we have been taken over, and we
:01:55. > :01:58.can only go one man that is forward. Covpress, major supplier for the
:01:59. > :02:02.likes of jaguar Land Rover, went into administration four months ago,
:02:03. > :02:08.despite doubling its turnover to ?100 million in the space of
:02:09. > :02:11.three-year 's. Now, industrial group Liberty House has saved it.
:02:12. > :02:15.There were lots of smiling faces today. Apps we allowed employees
:02:16. > :02:18.today to spend a lot of time on their iPhones to eating their
:02:19. > :02:22.friends, because generally, there is a feeling we have been underrated.
:02:23. > :02:24.This woman was particularly relieved. She and her partner both
:02:25. > :02:28.working and have a three-year-old son. The past six months have been
:02:29. > :02:31.really worrying. Since we went into administration,
:02:32. > :02:34.everyone is worried about their job security. Today, there is more of a
:02:35. > :02:39.positive atmosphere about the factory.
:02:40. > :02:42.The workforce is very committed to the business, and it's good to see
:02:43. > :02:44.that all that success will be realised.
:02:45. > :02:50.To give you an idea of the impact this company has, just about every
:02:51. > :02:54.jaguar Land Rover car made in the Midlands has a part on it made here
:02:55. > :02:59.at this company. Not only that, they make gas meters, panels for
:03:00. > :03:03.recycling companies, all sorts of things.
:03:04. > :03:07.The chief executive of the Global Liberty Industries Group has
:03:08. > :03:12.travelled to the company's bases in Dubai and Poland this week alone.
:03:13. > :03:15.Why, then, did they decide to buy Covpress?
:03:16. > :03:20.Acquiring this has given us a real high-quality short window to the UK
:03:21. > :03:26.market. It is a key supplier, and I'm reliably told this business is
:03:27. > :03:29.part of a core platform for Jaguar Land Rover, meaning we are a
:03:30. > :03:32.critical part of their supply chain, but also the UK automotive supply
:03:33. > :03:39.chain. A year ago, they saved jobs snapping
:03:40. > :03:44.up 17 engineering businesses in the Midlands, among them this one, 920
:03:45. > :03:47.Engineering in Leamington spa. You know you have your mortgage and
:03:48. > :03:50.your family, you can't plan anything else out in your life will stop so
:03:51. > :03:54.you are just hanging on in there hoping someone will buy you out, and
:03:55. > :03:58.frankly, Liberty did. I have been here 40 years, and I
:03:59. > :04:01.think they will invest money, so hopefully, we are on the right
:04:02. > :04:04.track. Back in Coventry, there are now
:04:05. > :04:07.plans to expand, welcome news for workers at the newly owned Liberty
:04:08. > :04:09.Pressing Solutions. Our Business Correspondent Peter
:04:10. > :04:12.Plisner is at Covpress this evening. So, Peter, why was Liberty
:04:13. > :04:26.so interested in this business? Well, Nick, this was a good business
:04:27. > :04:29.and a good fit for the company. Another Liberty House business
:04:30. > :04:32.already makes parts for the car giants Nissan, and now, as you say,
:04:33. > :04:38.they are making parts through the acquisition of Covpress for Jaguar
:04:39. > :04:41.Land Rover, GM and Renault. It is also a good fit strategically for
:04:42. > :04:44.Liberty House, which is developing itself into a vertically integrated
:04:45. > :04:50.business where they make the steel and then make parts, and those parts
:04:51. > :04:58.are being sold to big companies, and of course, they are also -- they
:04:59. > :05:01.also have interest in renewable energy. So they make the electricity
:05:02. > :05:05.that makes the steel that makes the parts.
:05:06. > :05:10.And how has this company survived, when so many others have fallen?
:05:11. > :05:12.Well, it is an interesting one. Covpress went into administration
:05:13. > :05:16.with full order books, practically unheard of. They had cash flow
:05:17. > :05:21.problems, and I think the reason they were sold as a going concern
:05:22. > :05:24.was because they have strong, loyal customers like jaguar Land Rover,
:05:25. > :05:30.which has led to the good outcome, with 740 jobs secured. Unusually,
:05:31. > :05:33.their pension fund is being transferred to tee two, and that is
:05:34. > :05:36.normally unheard-of. Normally, they are rescued by the government's
:05:37. > :05:37.payment protection fund. Thank you.
:05:38. > :05:39.An ambulance technician is recovering after being viciously
:05:40. > :05:41.assaulted by a patient he was trying to help.
:05:42. > :05:43.Bob Burness was treating an unconscious man who had been
:05:44. > :05:45.found in a stairwell in West Bromwich,
:05:46. > :05:49.He agreed to talk to our reporter Nicola Beckford to raise awareness
:05:50. > :05:57.of the rising number of attacks on ambulance staff.
:05:58. > :06:04.The results of a brutal attack. Ambulance technician Bob Burness
:06:05. > :06:07.thought he was on a routine call out, but it ended up with him being
:06:08. > :06:10.the one taken to hospital. He just went straight into a
:06:11. > :06:15.physical assault and head-butted me straight in the face. I was too
:06:16. > :06:21.close to move out of the way, so he made contact with my nose and mouth.
:06:22. > :06:24.This caused a significant nosebleed and watering of the eyes, and a bit
:06:25. > :06:29.of disorientation. Bob joined the Ambulance Service in
:06:30. > :06:32.2008. It is not the first time he has been attacked.
:06:33. > :06:36.I have been scratched, beaten, pushed downstairs. The list is quite
:06:37. > :06:41.long. Unfortunately, I am not unique. It has happened to most of
:06:42. > :06:45.my colleagues at some point. Psychologically, it is by far
:06:46. > :06:50.nowhere near the worst. When you get somebody with an infectious disease
:06:51. > :06:54.is spitting in your face and you have three or four months of blood
:06:55. > :06:56.tests to see if you have got something, that tends to play with
:06:57. > :07:01.your mind a bit more. This is where the attack took place
:07:02. > :07:08.last Tuesday. It is an area that Bob Burness says is low-risk, which goes
:07:09. > :07:13.to show that attacks like there like these, can be hard to predict.
:07:14. > :07:17.And attacks on West Midlands ambulance staff have been
:07:18. > :07:21.increasing. Between April September 2014, there were 325 verbal and
:07:22. > :07:26.physical attacks on staff. Last year, during the same period, there
:07:27. > :07:30.were 469 attacks. The man who assaulted Bob Burness was sentenced
:07:31. > :07:36.to 12 weeks in prison under ?250 fine a sentence the Ambulance
:07:37. > :07:37.Service says is not tough enough. I don't think it is actually a
:07:38. > :07:43.deterrent. I think overall, the stance on this
:07:44. > :07:47.is that we want tougher sentencing for people that assault our
:07:48. > :07:50.emergency service staff, because overall, they are there to help you,
:07:51. > :07:54.not to hinder you. Bob has now recovered from the
:07:55. > :07:58.attack and is back at work. He says it is an outrage that staff are at
:07:59. > :08:00.risk of being assaulted by the very public they are trying to help.
:08:01. > :08:03.Lots of you have been sending your best wishes to Bob
:08:04. > :08:05.and expressing outrage about the attack over
:08:06. > :08:16.on our Facebook page, where there's more on the story.
:08:17. > :08:18.A couple who stole clothes valued at more than ?100,000
:08:19. > :08:22.Ionut and Mirela Vasile were arrested after stealing high
:08:23. > :08:24.end clothes from Harvey Nichols in Birmingham in December 2015.
:08:25. > :08:26.CCTV footage then showed them shoplifting goods
:08:27. > :08:27.from stores in Manchester, Edinburgh, London,
:08:28. > :08:35.A 54-year-old woman's been arrested on suspicion of murder after a man's
:08:36. > :08:38.body was found in the Henley Green area of Coventry.
:08:39. > :08:42.Paramedics were called in the early hours of the morning to Henley Road,
:08:43. > :08:47.following reports that a 50-year-old man had suffered a cardiac arrest.
:08:48. > :08:50.The Midlands Air Ambulance is to receive ?1 million of Treasury
:08:51. > :08:53.cash from banking fines to help pay for a new helicopter.
:08:54. > :08:58.The charity, which covers the West Midlands and Staffordshire,
:08:59. > :09:01.says it means they can now place an order for a new
:09:02. > :09:08.The Metropolitan Police in London have apologised to a Birmingham DJ
:09:09. > :09:11.who was pulled over in his Bentley and told it was a fact that
:09:12. > :09:16.black men in gangster clothes commit crimes.
:09:17. > :09:18.27-year-old DMO Deejay was stopped by officers near Leicester Square.
:09:19. > :09:22.What the officers didn't know was that the whole incident
:09:23. > :09:44.was captured on a camera set up in the DJ's car.
:09:45. > :09:52.DMO Deejay joins us now from our London studios. Good evening to you.
:09:53. > :09:55.Good evening. This has caused quite a number.
:09:56. > :09:57.What do you make of it? It has been pretty crazy, to be
:09:58. > :10:00.fair. How come you had a camera at the
:10:01. > :10:08.ready in the first place? I had that car given to me to do a
:10:09. > :10:11.promotional video for my supporters, where I was delivering me mixed CDs
:10:12. > :10:17.to their house, quite a lot at night, and the cameras are actually
:10:18. > :10:21.connected to the car so I can get the whole scenery of London, so when
:10:22. > :10:25.I edit it I can add that into there. Luckily enough, I did not know it
:10:26. > :10:29.was rolling, but was rolling when I got stopped, so when I went back to
:10:30. > :10:33.edit it, I saw the footage and could just about hear it, so I had to turn
:10:34. > :10:36.up the volume. So, what did you think when the
:10:37. > :10:41.officer said to you what he said? When he said it to me, it registered
:10:42. > :10:46.in my head, but it did not register in my head. I did say to him, you
:10:47. > :10:50.can't say that to people. But he was saying, it is just a fact. It is not
:10:51. > :10:53.racist, it is just a fact. I said, do you know what, that is just your
:10:54. > :10:58.opinion. You must have been horrified.
:10:59. > :11:01.It is humiliating, to be fair, it is humiliating.
:11:02. > :11:04.And it is not the first time you have been stopped, obviously.
:11:05. > :11:10.No, it is not the first time at all. So the Met Police and apologise now.
:11:11. > :11:13.Have you accepted their apology, or do you want to take it further?
:11:14. > :11:16.I accept their apology, but I would like to create some kind of
:11:17. > :11:19.awareness about this. There are other black people who get stopped
:11:20. > :11:23.in this situation, it is frustrating at times when you need to be
:11:24. > :11:27.somewhere and they are taking time out of your day just to do stuff
:11:28. > :11:31.they do not really need to be doing, especially when you have a NPR
:11:32. > :11:34.monitors, and if something is up, you can tell already. These are
:11:35. > :11:40.traffic officers, there were three people in the traffic car, and only
:11:41. > :11:44.one officer who was really enforcing the kind of, it is a black thing.
:11:45. > :11:48.The other two were all right, but there are all the facilities for
:11:49. > :11:53.them to do their prior checks and find out the car was all right. In
:11:54. > :11:56.the end, I was completely clean. They let me go, and after they tried
:11:57. > :12:00.to educate me on why I got stopped, which I was quite confused about.
:12:01. > :12:04.DMO, we will leave it there, thank you for talking to us.
:12:05. > :12:08.As we mentioned earlier, the Met have apologised, and in a statement,
:12:09. > :12:31.they said, we are aware of the footage circulating.
:12:32. > :12:34.A blind man from Birmingham has won a national award for his efforts
:12:35. > :12:38.Mohammed Rashid has had to overcome many cultural and religious
:12:39. > :12:41.Some Muslims believe that dogs are unclean but,
:12:42. > :12:43.thanks to Mr Rashid and friends at his local mosque,
:12:44. > :12:46.his guide dog Solo has been welcomed into his community.
:12:47. > :12:48.Our special correspondent, Peter Wilson has spent the day
:12:49. > :13:02.Can I touch his poor? You certainly can!
:13:03. > :13:07.Mohammed Rashid is well-known to the children of St John's Primary School
:13:08. > :13:11.And Will 'S Park Hill. He And His Guide Dog Solo Are Volunteers. For
:13:12. > :13:15.Many Of These Birmingham Children, A Guard Used To Be Something Fear, But
:13:16. > :13:22.Not Any More. . Petrified. Where you? Why? Because
:13:23. > :13:25.I have never met a dog before. I have never stroked a dog or seen
:13:26. > :13:30.one. Two two has changed my life in any
:13:31. > :13:35.different ways. He has given me back my eyes. -- Solo. He has given me
:13:36. > :13:39.back my sense of independence. Mohammed was blind and got his dog
:13:40. > :13:43.three years ago, but many Muslims do not trust dogs. Mohammed had to
:13:44. > :13:47.convince his own family was the right thing to have Solo in their
:13:48. > :13:53.home and their lives. My wife being from Pakistan,
:13:54. > :13:58.obviously, she was saying, no, I can't have a dog in the house,
:13:59. > :14:02.because it is not the norm. If you have the dog, I am going to have to
:14:03. > :14:06.move, or you are going to have to move, one or the other. It is me or
:14:07. > :14:11.the Dunhill Olivia. That has all changed, and his wife
:14:12. > :14:16.loves Solo, and has even decided to keep her husband too! Mohammed's
:14:17. > :14:19.cousin is also blind, and she has faced criticism for relying on a
:14:20. > :14:23.guide dog. Rouble see me, the way I'm dressed,
:14:24. > :14:27.and then they see the dog. I have had things said to me like, you are
:14:28. > :14:31.not a proper Muslim. People say, if you have a dog, don't dress like
:14:32. > :14:36.this. Choose one of the other which it will be.
:14:37. > :14:39.Mohammed has won awards for his work for Guide Dogs For The Blind. A
:14:40. > :14:43.local businessman has also helped win over the community inspired
:14:44. > :14:47.Hill. Back home, we have the dog in our
:14:48. > :14:54.family. People love dogs, and they love dogs here as well. But if the
:14:55. > :14:59.dog is wet, we cannot touch them, because we cannot pray. When the dog
:15:00. > :15:05.is Jaidee, you can touch them, you can play with the dog, there is no
:15:06. > :15:06.problem, and we should be fine with dogs.
:15:07. > :15:11.There are both positive and negative references to dogs in the ground,
:15:12. > :15:16.but there is no getting away that many Asian people are very fearful
:15:17. > :15:24.of dogs. But Solo have both done more than anybody else in the
:15:25. > :15:28.country to overcome those fears. -- Solo and Mohammed. At the local
:15:29. > :15:33.mosque, everyone has been positive about the guide dog.
:15:34. > :15:36.They have even installed a kennel so that Solo is safe while Mohammed
:15:37. > :15:41.praise. Not having eyesight doesn't mean I
:15:42. > :15:45.can't still be a devoted Muslim, because with the help of my guide
:15:46. > :15:51.dog, to come to the mosque, I can still have the same outcome and
:15:52. > :15:54.achievement as people with sight. Solo and Mohammed have both changed
:15:55. > :16:01.each other's lives, and they're working to help others too.
:16:02. > :16:07.Good to have you with us here and Midlands Today. The top story this
:16:08. > :16:09.evening: After months of uncertainty, over 700 jobs are saved
:16:10. > :16:10.at an engineering firm in Coventry. Parts of the region are bracing
:16:11. > :16:13.themselves for snow in the next 24 hours or so, but today one
:16:14. > :16:16.of the big problems has Yes - these were some of our peak
:16:17. > :16:20.gusts across the region today and as you can see, the strongest
:16:21. > :16:23.were recorded at Leek in Staffordshire, which
:16:24. > :16:24.is near to where this van was spotted being buffeted
:16:25. > :16:27.by the winds, pinned to the bank while the wheels lifted off
:16:28. > :16:30.the ground and many more incidents reported today including road
:16:31. > :16:32.closures due obstructions caused by the winds.
:16:33. > :16:34.And soon there'll be snow. I'll have all the details
:16:35. > :16:36.on that later on. Also in the programme,
:16:37. > :16:39.the craftsman transforming fallen Business owners in Kidderminster
:16:40. > :16:53.are demanding to know what's being done to re-ignite
:16:54. > :16:55.multi-million pound regeneration plans they were promised
:16:56. > :16:57.to keep their High Street alive. Some shop keepers have told us today
:16:58. > :17:01.they've had their worst Christmas in decades -
:17:02. > :17:04.they're struggling to attract customers when there are so many
:17:05. > :17:07.empty units in the town. Joan Cummins has spent
:17:08. > :17:20.the day talking to traders. Worcester Street in Kidderminster
:17:21. > :17:25.used to be the heart of the town. Now, with vacant shops and to let
:17:26. > :17:30.signs visible everywhere, it feels in need of care. In 2015, we spoke
:17:31. > :17:35.to this man, who had been business since 1979. Back then, he did not
:17:36. > :17:40.think things could get worse, but they have.
:17:41. > :17:45.We are down nearly 50-60% down in the last year. We are putting our
:17:46. > :17:51.pension money in the shop to pay the bills. I got one customer on Monday,
:17:52. > :17:56.nobody on Tuesday. It is nearly 11 o'clock, 12 o'clock in the morning.
:17:57. > :18:03.Nobody comes inside the door, not even this morning.
:18:04. > :18:08.It was hoped developers would flatten Crown House behind me,
:18:09. > :18:11.described as one of the ugliest buildings not only in Kidderminster,
:18:12. > :18:13.but also in the country. But that has been shelved.
:18:14. > :18:17.The property developers are in the private sector, and at the end of
:18:18. > :18:20.the day, if the money does not stack up for them, they have to make
:18:21. > :18:25.commercial decisions for them and their shareholders. We are putting
:18:26. > :18:28.in ?1 million to open up Worcester Street to traffic. There will be
:18:29. > :18:37.learned in the latter part of this year.
:18:38. > :18:42.In 1998, -- 19 88, this area was captured on camera. But nearly 30
:18:43. > :18:46.years on, people are accepting that things have to change.
:18:47. > :18:49.It is very sad. I was born in Kidderminster, and I find it awful
:18:50. > :18:54.to look around here. High Street are probably becoming less necessary.
:18:55. > :18:57.They are open for a few months, and then they go downhill.
:18:58. > :19:01.The High Street is changing, and I think people need to be aware of
:19:02. > :19:06.that. People themselves are aware of it. They are happy to use the
:19:07. > :19:15.internet, but I think we shops and the retailers need to be cleverer.
:19:16. > :19:19.But retailers on the street are being more pragmatic, saying 2017 is
:19:20. > :19:20.a battle to survive, rather than thrive.
:19:21. > :19:22.A new dance group launched in Gloucester last night,
:19:23. > :19:24.hoping to draw on the popularity of Strictly Come Dancing.
:19:25. > :19:27.Gloster Swing Dance attracted around 140 people to its opening night,
:19:28. > :19:29.with many people trying it for the first time.
:19:30. > :19:36.Have you ever wondered whether a winter of dancing
:19:37. > :19:38.on the telly makes more of us have a go?
:19:39. > :19:40.Well, this is what happened in Gloucester last night,
:19:41. > :19:49.Well, this is what happened in Gloucester last night,
:19:50. > :19:56.140 people turned up, and for those beginners
:19:57. > :20:07.The one thing you need to remember about swing dance, you can go wrong
:20:08. > :20:10.for the whole hour! See you later. And I'm sure many did go
:20:11. > :20:12.wrong, but gradually, the room moved as one,
:20:13. > :20:25.probably ahead of time. You can be fat, then, old, young,
:20:26. > :20:28.black, white, enabled or disabled. You are welcome swing dancing.
:20:29. > :20:31.I just want to do it properly. Never having done anything like this
:20:32. > :20:35.before, it is good to feel like you are doing something new.
:20:36. > :20:36.Just so friendly, getting together and dancing. Who doesn't like
:20:37. > :20:41.dancing? We dance to New York, we dance in
:20:42. > :20:45.Spain, we danced and loads and loads of places. Did lots of collaborating
:20:46. > :20:47.for charity, and it is the best thing ever.
:20:48. > :20:49.Anyway, back to the professionals, and a special moment.
:20:50. > :20:51.Five weeks ago, Gary Boon had a heart attack.
:20:52. > :21:05.If I wasn't fit, slim, a nonsmoker, a nondrinker, and if I didn't do
:21:06. > :21:07.this, I may not be here now. This has saved my life. And it looks like
:21:08. > :21:10.it could change many more. From the exotically mobile
:21:11. > :21:12.to something that's stubbornly static, dead trees, and a man who's
:21:13. > :21:15.been making a living out Robot Cossey is well know in region
:21:16. > :21:22.for his sculptures and if you live anywhere near Hednesford
:21:23. > :21:28.in South Staffordshire, So what is it that makes him turn
:21:29. > :21:33.felled trees into works of art? Who better to find out
:21:34. > :21:45.than our Arts Reporter Satnam Rana? Chipping away at his sculpture in
:21:46. > :21:47.Hednesford Park in South Staffordshire.
:21:48. > :21:49.I just love creating things out of something that would normally go on
:21:50. > :21:49.the fire. Robot Cossey is a man who works
:21:50. > :21:52.with nature's waste. He gives dead trees
:21:53. > :21:58.a new lease of life. I think when I am on the chisels, I
:21:59. > :22:01.am thinking about, obviously, I am focusing on the area that I am
:22:02. > :22:06.carving, but I am also thinking about what I'm going to do next.
:22:07. > :22:10.At the end of last year, 16 over-mature trees were felled
:22:11. > :22:13.in the park to make way for new ones.
:22:14. > :22:16.But some were pollarded for Robot's work.
:22:17. > :22:22.These sculptures are all part of a Heritage Lottery Fund Will Toggle
:22:23. > :22:27.Funded Project To Enhance Enjoyment For Passers-by. And If I'm Right,
:22:28. > :22:29.there is so muddy behind me right now taking apart a graph of them. .
:22:30. > :22:31.The Friends of Hednesford Park and Canncock Chase COuncil have
:22:32. > :22:34.worked with local schoolchildren to come up with the designs,
:22:35. > :22:43.I wish I was as talented as him to be able to bring them back in this
:22:44. > :22:46.way. I have noticed them a the past few times I have gone through the
:22:47. > :22:49.park, what a creative thing it is to do.
:22:50. > :22:52.It is nice to see when you walk around the park. You follow the
:22:53. > :22:55.statues around the park. If he does some on the other side, which he
:22:56. > :22:56.probably will do, it is a nice journey around the park.
:22:57. > :22:58.Robot's work stretches right across the region from Solihull
:22:59. > :23:08.It is therapeutic. That is a word for it. Especially when you are
:23:09. > :23:10.working in a park like this, it is really nice.
:23:11. > :23:12.From stumps to sculture, he's the tree man who
:23:13. > :23:19.Yesterday we took you back to a very cold 1982,
:23:20. > :23:25.where Shropshire set the record for the lowest
:23:26. > :23:32.Hundreds of you got in touch with your memories.
:23:33. > :23:35.Karen Fryer told us it was a week before she got married,
:23:36. > :23:38.her husband-to-be David got stuck in Wales, but he made it in time,
:23:39. > :23:41.she says the day was "perfect, clear blue skies and pure white snow."
:23:42. > :23:44.Hazel Hampton remembers "heating soup and water for tea on the log
:23:45. > :23:50."burner as the oil for the central heating had frozen in the pipes".
:23:51. > :24:03.But we're in for a testing day or two, aren't we, Shefali?
:24:04. > :24:09.Yes, gusts of 50 miles an hour in some parts today. And mortar come.
:24:10. > :24:13.This was the scene at other stone railway station today, or a
:24:14. > :24:20.trampoline was blown into the overhead lines. But elsewhere
:24:21. > :24:24.throughout the region, more subtle. Beautiful, dreamy sunsets after day
:24:25. > :24:28.here in Worcestershire. That get onto the meaty stuff, the rain and
:24:29. > :24:32.snow heading our way for tomorrow. This is what is happening in the
:24:33. > :24:35.next 24-48 hours. Winds will become lighter through tonight, then
:24:36. > :24:39.tomorrow, my other, with this area of rain that across the southern
:24:40. > :24:44.half of the country, which will bump into colder air sweeping down from
:24:45. > :24:48.the North. At that meeting point, that snow will be created. It all
:24:49. > :24:53.clears away, with high dominating by the weekend. A relatively benign
:24:54. > :24:59.picture for this evening and overnight. A lot of dry weather
:25:00. > :25:02.about, cloudy skies, a few clouds dripping in through the Cheshire
:25:03. > :25:05.cat, with some having a wintry element, but nothing much to speak
:25:06. > :25:10.of. Temperatures will be above freezing tonight. In the south of
:25:11. > :25:16.the region, milder air starts to feed him. Into the morning and
:25:17. > :25:19.overnight, we start to see the rain cutting across the southern half of
:25:20. > :25:23.the region and the two central parts as well. Some will be light, a lot
:25:24. > :25:27.will be heavy, and it will meet up with the colder air. We haven't
:25:28. > :25:32.mentioned quantities as such for these areas subject to warnings.
:25:33. > :25:35.That is Herefordshire, Worcestershire, in Warwickshire,
:25:36. > :25:39.where there is a bit of a white out. The rain will last for several hours
:25:40. > :25:44.and could be heavy in places. Temperatures only rising to 4-5.
:25:45. > :25:49.Into tomorrow night and evening, the snow will persist in River Wear, and
:25:50. > :25:53.we have showers moving into the Cheshire gap which could turn wintry
:25:54. > :25:58.as well, so a warning for Shropshire as well. Perhaps 2-3 centimetres of
:25:59. > :26:01.snow at low levels, ten centimetres in high places, but that is the
:26:02. > :26:03.absolute maximum and it is localised. Ice will be a problem as
:26:04. > :26:10.we head into Friday morning. Thank you. I am filming in all that
:26:11. > :26:11.snow tomorrow! Water you thinking ?!.
:26:12. > :26:14.I'll be back at 10.30 with the late bulletin.
:26:15. > :26:34.Have a great evening. Goodbye.
:26:35. > :26:38.I think my political beliefs are really quite straightforward.
:26:39. > :26:41.I believe that our country needs to work for everyone.
:26:42. > :26:43.Not just for the rich, not just for the privileged,
:26:44. > :26:47.not just for those who know the right people or who've got