19/01/2017 Midlands Today

When you are representing a cathedral, people can make comments

that really aren't appropriate for them to see on the website so we had

to take that decision. The call to prayer was part

of a multicultural exhibition Police search for thieves who used

a JCB to smash through the wall of a Worcestershire shop to steal

a cash machine. We heard what proved to be

the cashpoint machine being taken out of the wall and put

onto the back of a pick-up truck. Why your five a day is close

to costing a fiver. A steep rise in the price of veg

as temperatures in Europe plummet. Watch out, Birmingham, Strictly is

coming to town. And from Strictly to sunshine.

Yes, it's finally on the way. From the dull and drab

to the gleaming. I'll have all the good

news for you later. It started as a celebration

of multi-faith culture, but escalated into a row

about a video on facebook. The Dean of Gloucester Cathedral

is defending his decision to delete a video from social media,

which showed a Muslim prayer The film, which featured a local

imam, had been posted on the Cathedral's Facebook page

as part of a new exhibition celebrating the city's

different faiths. But it attracted fierce criticism

and what the Dean described Filmed on a mobile phone,

a traditional Muslim prayer read by a local imam

in Gloucester Cathedral, The video attracted some criticism,

much of it offensive and the cathedral removed the entire

post from its Facebook page. The prayer wasn't part of a service,

but was read as part of the cathedral's exhibition launch

which also included Rasta drumming, St Mary's Cathedral in Glasgow found

itself the target of criticism in similar circumstances last week

after a local Muslim student read That took place during

a Christian service. Imam Hassan, who read the prayer

at Gloucester Cathedral, He said: "I take great

inspiration from the work done Gloucester Cathedral representatives

say this incident was fundamentally The exhibition intended, they say,

to start conversations about faith. Although they admit the online video

lacked any context and say they'll A little earlier our reporter

Andrew Plant spoke to the Dean of Gloucester about his decision

to remove the video. We are delighted to have this

amazing fave exhibition in here and obviously when you want people to

discover new things about themselves -- faith and about each other, that

can become controversial and I had to take a decision at the weekend

that the post that was on our Facebook page wasn't actually

helping and sometimes in particular when you are representing a

cathedral, people can make comments that are appropriate for a them to

see on a cathedral website. What could have been done differently

with that post? More context to render the deal? That was the

problem. That kind of social media doesn't allow for the proper

explanation and for those who were here, it was a fantastic event and

for those who have been coming in great number to see the exhibition.

People go away and pressed and interested. One of the problems is

how much time do you get to actually explain? This is all about people

talking face-to-face and that's what people need to do when they come and

see us. By taking it down, does that suggest to people there was

something wrong with having an Islamic prayer read here rather than

just moderating the comments? Some people might think that. This whole

exhibition is about different faiths in a place of fees and that prayer

was not during a Christian service. It was in the Chapter House and

that's a place of learning and discovery. We are confident that was

the right thing to do. It does come to a point where I'm not there to

provide a full room for other peoples comments. This is our

canvas. Thank you very much indeed. Although that post has been taking

down now, the exhibition is on at Gloucester Cathedral for another

weeks. Andrew Plant reporting. Police are searching for thieves

who used a JCB to smash their way through the wall of a shop

in Kempsey near Worcester Most of the side of the shop

in Church Street was destroyed in the raid which took place

in the early hours of the morning. What's left of the side

of the village shop in Kempsey near Worcester, after thieves ram

raided the building and stole the cash machine in the early

hours of this morning. Ann Pursey, who lives close

to the shop, was woken Looked out of the window

and we could see a JCB across the road and the bangs

continued for a little while and then we heard what proved

to be the cashpoint machine being taken out of the wall and put

onto the back of a pick-up truck. I've spoken to a couple of people

who saw part of the robbery. One person told me that the JCB

drove into the building on a number And another person said

one of the thieves had a weapon of some type,

maybe a baseball bat or an axe. They thought to try and stop

anyone who was trying Thieves had stolen the JCB

from a nearby farm. Following the raid, they abandoned

it in the middle of the A38 This morning, as a result

of a member of the public contacting the police,

we did locate a vehicle and as a result we have located

the cash machine that was taken. We've located those in a nearby

village in a field. Again, they will be examined for any

forensic opportunities. Many customers, unaware

of the robbery, were shocked at the scene they found

at their village store. I don't know how much was seen

or heard during the night, but I'm rather surprised

in the centre of the village that a lot of the residents

round here must have I just don't understand how

they can get away with it. You'd think somebody would have been

alerted to it straightaway, Rebuilding work will now begin

so that the shop and life in this Worcestershire village can

return to normal. The car maker Jaguar Landrover

has been fined ?900,000 after a worker lost a leg

following a car accident. The employee was injured

at the company's Lode Lane plant in Solihull after a delivery driver

lost control of a Range Rover Sport being driven towards the start

of the production line. He became trapped between two cars,

leaving him with injuries which meant his right leg had

to be amputated. JLR was found guilty of breaching

Health and Safety rules. A date's been set for the trial

of three police officers accused of giving a false account

to investigators, following the death of man who'd been detained

under mental health laws. 29-year-old Kingsley Burrell,

was arrested in 2011 in Winson Green in Birmingham

and later suffered a heart attack. West Midlands Police officers

Paul Adey, Mark Fannon and Paul Greenfield are due in court

on the 11th of September. A group of MPs have been on the road

in the West Midlands today, The Exit the EU select committee

is travelling around the UK, to hear more informally

what business leaders and others Today, they were in areas

which voted strongly to leave, listening to opinions

in Wolverhampton and Stoke. Everyone has a point

of view on Brexit. I don't think Theresa May's handling

it very well at all. Just don't take notice

of what the public is saying. Yes, I do think it's

going along well. But not everyone gets to tell

the politicians what they think. That was the chance

these students got today as the rather grandly

titled Selected Committee For Leaving The European Union

came to Wolverhampton. Half an hour behind closed doors

with the politicians responsible for analysing the Government's

plan on Brexit. I think it will lose an element

of what this university is about because of Brexit

because we won't get that Sadly, the Leave campaigners

weren't coming today, such as Michael Gove,

but it was a very Remain heavy panel that we were talking to and that

came across evidently. We're going to find out

within the next week, few weeks or so, when they trigger

Article 50, I think, as to whether some of those concerns

have been listened to. But it's sort of a wait

and see at the moment. Here in Wolverhampton,

more than 60% of people The Brexit committee's been

in the building behind me, meeting business leaders

and students among others, to find out what they're excited

about and what concerns Whether people were Leavers or

Remainers is not the point any more. We're leaving the European Union

and our job collectively is to make sure we get the best possible

deal for Wolverhampton, cos we're here today, but also

for the whole of the country. After Wolverhampton,

it was north to a tile factory in Stoke-on-Trent,

where confidence is high. I think the fact that the MPs have

come out of London to come and have a look around the region

to see what is being I think on a level playing

field scenario as long as there are no major disruptions,

we're very confident we can continue to grow the business

as we have done in the past. These MPs say people can influence

what Brexit will look like. Our Political Editor Patrick

Burns is with me now. How unusual is that for a select

committees to go out on the road like this? It's not really unusual

at all. It is just that Brexit is so important that everyone is talking

about this one. Every Government department there is a departmental

select committee of MPs, it is their job to scrutinise the work of that

Government department and to see the impact of its policies on the

ground. In my time, I went with select committees everywhere from

road construction projects to football grounds, even on one

occasion in the innermost recesses of the nuclear power stations. Heavy

times. This wants to hear the views of business leaders and young

people. What happens with all those opinions that they gather? Way into

dusty file territorial? The actually write them into a report. All those

opinions get drawn together into something which I think is actually

an example of democracy at work, that report becomes an influential

part of the process right at the heart of our Parliamentary

democracy. It's not bad. Why ever committees having these hearings in

private? To enable people to speak without inhibition. Hilary Benn is

that the committee's discretion. People may feel sensitive to be

interviewed in full glare and can speak freely. Thank you, Patrick.

NHS prescriptions drugs are being wasted on an industrial

That's the warning from health officials, as concerns grow that

some repeat prescriptions are being dispensed unnecessarily.

But in Walsall, the local clinical commissioning group has managed

to reduce drug waste significantly by introducing practice based

Ram Raman from Walsall has a range of long term conditions

I've called you in for your medication review.

Today he's come to his GP surgery for a chat

Just looking at a couple of items you've had on your repeat list.

It's a chance for her to make sure he's taking his medicines correctly

and remove any items from his repeat list that he no longer needs.

OK, so you don't need that one any more?

By making sure patients only get prescribed the items they need NHS

Walsall is saving money, in Mr Raman's case

Even if a small amount of money individually, if put together,

surgery wise or nationwide, that's a huge saving.

According to the Department of Health, wasted prescriptions cost

For every pound invested into a pharmacist being in the practice,

we have shown that we have saved nearly ?2.50,

so it's kind of an invest to save, really.

Simple things, like encouraging patients to check their

prescriptions before leaving the pharmacy is also

Once it is out of the pharmacy, the pharmacy cannot recycle it

and even if you bring it back, they have to dispose it of and it's

But it's not just about educating patients.

Some of my patients actually come to me saying, "Look, I've been

telling my pharmacist for the last three months, I don't want this

I'm not taking this medication and this is a ?100 medication."

It's my job to stop those medications but also to pass that

same message to the pharmacist, saying, can you please

with your patients exactly what they need before putting

So by encouraging patients to get more actively involved

in their own medicines management, NHS Walsall is cutting waste

and freeing up cash which can be ploughed back

Thanks for joining us on Midlands today.

Your detailed weather forecast to come shortly.

first there was walking football, now it's a gentler form of netball

which is encouraging women to get active.

And missing your Saturday night fix of strictly?

We'll be backstage amongst the sequins as the tour

Now, if you're striving to eat your five a day,

you may have noticed a shortage of some green vegetables and salads,

That's because snow and freezing weather in Spain and Italy,

where many of those items come from at this time of year,

At Birmingham Wholesale Market, traders have seen prices of items

such as courgettes quadruple, and shoppers too are

Have you noticed a shortage of some of your favourite vegetables

Everything from courgettes to spinach has been in short supply.

And shoppers in Birmingham have had plenty to say about it.

Every single thing has gone up in the shops now and people

Everything's going up and you're just trying to make the most

of what you've got and still eat healthy as well and buy

It's a daily thing that you actually going to need, fruits, vegetables,

Most of the stall holders here get their produce

from the wholesale market and the traders there have noticed

Peter Marshall has been a vegetable wholesaler

Never has he paid more for crops from Spain.

I think we have to start leaving armed guards here at night now,

And here's a flavour of just how much prices have risen.

Few examples - aubergines, five kilo box, was ?7

24 pieces of brocolli, generally 7.20, now 15.50.

I gather this is going to be next, coriander,

This mobile phone footage of snow covered coriander crops was sent

to Peter by his supplier in Murcia in Spain yesterday.

At this rate, coriander won't be on offer on the market for long.

Gianfranco Zola just can't find that elusive first

win as Birmingham City manager, can he?

You're right, Mary, seven games in and Gianfranco Zola

Birmingham City were beaten 3-1 at Newcastle United in their FA

That means Wolves are the only one of our teams who have made it

The travelling fans set off full of hope.

After all, they won 5-1 in their last FA Cup

but there would be no repeat this time.

Newcastle may have given three players their first team debuts,

but they were still sprinkled with quality and Yohan Gouffran

enticed Adam Legzdins into bringing him down early on.

Matt Richie scored the penalty and with just nine minutes gone,

If Gouffran played his part in the first, the second

was all his own work, flicking the ball cheekily

past his marker to send the Magpies two goals clear by the break.

On the touchline, Zola fretted, but his second half

Lukas Jutkiewicz arrived just after the hour and, within minutes,

it was his header which played in David Cotterill to

In fact, Jutkiewicz had the chance to draw Blues level, but his header

As they pushed forward in search of the goal

to take them to extra time, Birmingham were caught out

at the back and Shelvey squared for Ritchie to get his second

and book a trip to Oxford in round four.

We were 2-0 down after the first 45 minutes for our own mistakes.

With all the due respect to Newcastle.

We probably created enough maybe to score even the second goal,

So Wolves are our only team left and they now know they travel

to Liverpool for a lunchtime televised tie a week on Saturday

after the Merseysiders overcame Plymouth in their own replay.

And that means Zola is now the first Birmingham City manager since 1889

to fail to win any of his first seven games in charge.

More tributes today to Rachael Heyhoe-Flint,

her death making the front page on many of today's papers, such

Yes, England's cricketers wore black armbands during their one day

international in India today to honour her memory.

The Wolves Vice President was captain of the England womens'

cricket team for more than a decade and led them to victory

A half century from Worcestershire's Moeen Ali today wasn't quite enough

to help England them win in Cuttack though.

Now, you may remember not long ago we told you about the sport

of walking football, which is aimed at getting more

people out of their armchairs and doing something more active.

Well, now a netball equivalent has been launched

and there are new groups springing up across the Midlands.

Our reporter Kevin Reide's been to one in Coventry.

For many here, joining a netball team was a daunting prospect.

But the pace of this "walking netball" at Coventry's Xcel Centre

Walking netball was launched by Sport England just a year ago

and already there are six groups like this running

The skill level may not be the best, but it's the exercise that counts.

And like walking football, it's all about getting

Marianne Piercy's in remission from cancer, having had both

This is a great way for me getting back fitness and trying

to lose a bit of weight, meeting people and playing

this week, 500 school children took part in

a special tournament organised by Wasps, who now

Former England International Tamsin Greenway was there

with encouragement for those considering walking netball.

Walking netball is great because it just takes that added element out

and actually we've seen such an increase of women getting back

into netball that perhaps played it at school or played it a club,

maybe went off and had kids or just stopped playing and drifted off,

Back at Excel and there's one member who's pregnant.

Obviously the ladies probably take a little bit more of a step back

occasionally from me and I try not to put myself too

It's really nice to be able to join in and still play that team sport.

I haven't played since I was 15 and left school and I've had major

Come back, join us here and we'll welcome you with open arms.

Sport England say anybody is welcome to sign up.

Great to see people enjoying sport. You don't have to be raising about

to get fit. Thank you, Dan. If you're a Strictly fan

and your Saturday nights have become a little bleak without it,

then we have good news! The world of sequins and sambas has

landed in the Midlands as the BBC Strictly Come

Dancing Tour kicks off in Sarah Bishop has been

to meet the team. A warning - her report contains

some flash photography. It's become a national

institution, must see TV. And for the next few months,

the show goes on tour starting here at the Barclaycard

arena in Birmingham. For BBC sports presenter Ore Oduba -

this year's surprise champion - I just had the enthusiasm for this

show and absorbed every He wowed audiences with his fancy

footwork and innate sense of rhythym, but it was former

politician Ed Balls who won people's hearts with,

well, his energy and enthusiasm. MUSIC: Gangnam Style

by PSY Gangnam Style was an

absolute privilege. After the opening night

in Birmingham on Friday, it heads north next week and then

come back to London. For me, the tour is kind

of like a bit of old memories, coming back to places that

I played maybe 15 years ago and having the opportunity

to dance my favourite dances It'll be an emotional

roller-coaster for sure and Ore This has been the most incredible

experience of my life. I've learned to dance,

I've made a best friend, I've been on the show that I've

loved for 12 years. He put his heart and soul

into Strictly, didn't he? Ore, I present you

with a box of tissues. You're going to need

them because your first You're welling up already

at the thought of it. And, no, Ore's old dancing partner

Joanne hasn't dyed her hair. This is his tour partner,

Karen Cliffton. Venezuelan-born professional dancer

who's married to the show's Kevin. Feel as though it's groundhog

day with the weather, We are looking forward to that of

sand maybe. We hope sooner we can say goodbye to the dull and dreary

weather. Perhaps not the fault. We will start to see some chinks

developing in that thick layer of cloud. Tomorrow will be looking at

seems like there. In the south of the country where this is, it has

been a different story. If we get what they are getting comment this

is what we could end up with, some sun, frosty foggy mornings and

nights as well. It will be colder as we head into the weekend and

temperatures will dip by a few degrees. For tonight, we are looking

at quite a bit of cloud, this lingering front is still across us.

We will get clearer skies pushing up from the safe as this high-pressure

nudges a way to the east. Starting to develop an easterly flow bringing

in that clearer, colder air. You will notice that kicking in and

having an effect as early on as tonight. Through this evening, we

will see that cloud shrinking away from the south and starting to make

an effect across the south eastern corner of the region. You can see

the blue ticking over, that's as the temperature started to below

freezing. Further north here, we still hold onto that cloud which

will keep those temperatures above freezing. If frosty start the day

tomorrow morning, summer fog as well during the first part of tomorrow.

Sunshine breaking through and starting to spread northwards as

well. Those of you in the north would be deprived from this either.

It was a bit played earlier in the morning but it will be a dry day,

sunny and temperatures up to five or six Celsius. Cooler than today

because of the easterly breeze. Heading into tomorrow night, we see

those clearer skies taking an effect. Temperatures dipping

Whiteley, leading to a fairly widespread frost and fog and that

will develop into the morning for Saturday. The weekend is looking

very nice indeed. Sunshine but the temperatures depressed in little

bit, fallen to around three or four Celsius.

If you're a follower of our Facebook page,

you will want to take a look at this and if you're not, you don't know

It's a film about Ahaon the dog, who is helping

save other dogs lives by being a blood donor.

But the wolfhound is so big, he can't be weighed to check

on his health at his local vet in Stourbridge.

He has to go to a nearby scrap yard instead.

And you can see the full story at bbc.co.uk/birmingham.

Tomorrow we'll be hearing from Stoke Ciy's Peter Crouch

as he goes in search of the 100th Premier League goal of his

Goal number 99 came last week against Sunderland.

Now he'll be looking for his 100th against Manchester United.

I'll be back at 10.30 with your next Midlands update.

Have a great evening. Goodbye.