13/02/2017 Midlands Today

Hello and welcome to Midlands Today. failings at one of

The headlines tonight: Deal or no deal - a BBC Midlands investigation

discovers the offers which aren't so special - customers

being overcharged at Tesco, We'll find out what your rights

are when deals are displayed but out of date.

Also tonight: Our health is at risk - claims from tenants

who say their complaints about mould are being ignored.

I can't live like this any more. It needs sorting. It's terrible.

Banning Trump from Birmingham - the Labour MP who wants to put

a block on a possible presidential state visit coming to the Midlands.

Making fairy tales come true - behind the scenes as Cinderella

And from this over the weekend to temperatures of ten Celsius

How closely do you check your supermarket receipts?

A BBC Inside Out West Midlands investigation has discovered

overcharging at some Tesco supermarkets.

The chain has promised to check its prices much more carefully,

after undercover reporter Jonathan Gibson gathered

evidence proving customers were being overcharged.

He found the same problem in 33 of the 50 Tesco stores he visited.

I'll be talking to Jonathan in a moment, but first let's see

what he discovered here in the West Midlands.

Jonathan's here now, you must have had a pretty full

trolley by the end of this exercise, what first put you onto this story?

Like most people, I love a bargain and supermarkets like Tesco are

always advertising bargains, the kind of offers that help us help

persuade us put more in our trolley, convinced we will pay the price on

the shelf at the till. That's what I found that Tesco because a special

offer labels are being left on the shelves after the special offer has

ended and in some stores, quite a few of them.

How did you prove to Tesco it was a big problem?

Let me introduce you to the trolley full of special offers that aren't

quite what they seem. I picked up all of these multi-byte offers at

Tesco stores across the country but in every case, the till price was

more than the shelf price because they were being advertised as being

on offer when they went. Workers are supposed to remove the labels so

shoppers don't get misled but when I asked staff in Coventry why this

wasn't happening, I got a surprisingly frank response.

So what are people's rights when this kind of thing happens?

To be fair to Tesco, whenever we should staff that we paid more at

the till than on the shelf, they refunded the difference, but as a

spokesperson for trading standards said, just because we have noticed

the mistake doesn't mean 20 other people haven't. If you see something

clearly priced, you should expect to pay that.

So what is Tesco doing to put things right?

We sent our dossier of evidence to Tesco. It decided it did not want to

be interviewed but provided a statement saying it takes great care

to deliver accurate tracing to customers. They are disappointed

that there occurred and will be working with the stores involved to

reinforce responsibilities to customers. Since own investigation,

Tesco says it will be double-checking the accuracy of its

prices at every store, that's 3500 stores nationwide.

Jonathan's story has been seen by millions of people on the BBC

News website and lots of you have been telling us about your

And you can watch the full report this evening

on Inside Out West Midlands here on BBC One at 7:30.

The amount of shoplifting from convenience stores

across the country has reached record levels.

A survey of more than 7,000 local UK shopkeepers estimates they're losing

For one beleaguered shop owner in Coventry,

the situation is so bad, he's been forced to put bicycle

This is a man who has reached the end of his tether, so much so,

he's decided to tether the handles of the store's meat fridge because

When a customer comes in, the alarm goes, which alerts our team and one

of them have to come down to uncoveniently open

the padlock for our customers to get into the chillers.

We've had to do this for the amount of theft we've had.

Paul has CCTV, but says it's time-consuming to monitor.

He's also taken to shaming thieves by putting their picture up in store

He says shoplifting is costing his business big time.

Government need to give them more support and resources so we're

all working together in a good partnership.

In statement West Midland Police said:

But the Association of Convenience Stores says 71%

of retailers it surveyed said they were dissatisfied

with the response of police to reports of theft.

For now, Paul says he'll continue to do what it takes

"We can't live like this" - the frustration from families

in Coventry, who say they're suffering from poor health

They say the blame lies at the door of the city's largest

social housing landlord, Whitefriars, which manages more

The tenants got in touch with BBC Coventry and Warwickshire,

It's all behind my children's high chair.

Laura Burch has been living here for four years.

The mould, she says, has been around just as long no

matter how often she cleans it, it keeps returning.

My daughter is coughing through the night.

It's affecting his school work because he's awake

After Laura sent these images to the BBC, Whitefriars did

come round last week to make some repairs.

They've told us they've spent ?1,000 in her flat dealing with damp

and Laura's recent complaints are linked to a minor water leak,

My curtains have gone black and mouldy.

We've uncovered a wider problem on this street in Willenhall.

At almost every home we called at there were signs of mould.

I paint it every three months and it comes back.

And with it anger from tenants who believe Whitefriars

I've redecorated the property about five times in four years.

When something is wrong, they're chasing you,

but when you're chasing them, they're not interested

Whitefriars manages council houses, and last year boasted an 87%

customer satisfaction rate, so when we introduced one leading

councillor to Laura Burch, we were expecting real surprise,

but the surprising truth is he'd seen it all before.

We'll be looking to take this up with the housing ombudsman

because it shouldn't take this kind of pressure and time to get action.

We've seen funding for social housing associations decrease year

on year and we're beginning to see the impact on people's living

No one from Whitefriars could meet us to discuss.

In a statement, they said their homes are "structurally sound"

They claim the vast majority of cases are about condensation,

so they're asking tenants to clean, crank the heating up and ventilate.

West Midlands Police have confirmed that four men have been arrested

in connection with the theft of ?3 million worth of engines,

The machines, which were taken on January 31st,

were recovered from two locations in Warwickshire earlier today.

The men aged 47, 40, 29 and 56 were arrested on suspicion

of conspiracy to steal and have been bailed pending further inquiries.

The Archers actress, Sarah Coward, has died of cancer at the age of 69.

Ms Coward had played Caroline Sterling on the BBC Radio

She was diagnosed with terminal cancer last year, shortly

As well as her regular role in the show, she was also

You may have seen reports over the weekend suggesting

the possibility of President Trump visiting Birmingham,

Venues such as the National Exhibition Centre are apparently

being considered, although details of his visit are yet

This has prompted Labour MP for Hodge Hill, Liam Byrne,

to start an online petition against a Birmingham rally

This is a man who has shown tremendous disdain for veterans, for

women, for telling the truth, for the rule of law and minorities so if

I thought we could bring him to Birmingham, taken out for a curry

and changes made on a few things, I be helping him role that the red

carpet but I think it would be a one-way conversation with massive

demonstrations, a bill that the police would have to pick up and I

guess we got to ask yourself to be want to spend millions hosting an

almighty row that might end up damaging UK and American relations?

Your petition has had just over 1000 signatures. It says the people of

Birmingham are not that fast. We asked people early.

I don't think he should come to a multicultural

I don't think he'd be welcome at all.

I certainly wouldn't welcome him in the slightest.

People should be allowed to go wherever they want,

but he might not get such a good reception.

He might be all right in the town centre,

but if he goes to other areas, he'll probably get a bit

I mean, the alternative is Hillary Clinton, wasn't it, really?

Who should definitely be banned from Birmingham.

Mixed reaction - some of your constituents might feel

there are issues closer to home of greater concern.

How serious do you think it is, the idea of Donald Trump coming here to

the Midlands? I think it could be the Government tried to dig its way

out of a hole so it will be a controversial visit. The security

when he comes to London will be enormous. I wanted to give people

the chance to weigh into the debate if they are opposed to it. I don't

think it's a good idea. I think it will be divisive rather than

unifying but we'll see what people think. I presented the Prime

Minister in the Commons the matter how many people signed. It's my job

to represent the people of my constituency and wider Birmingham. I

would encourage people to debate on my Facebook page. People have said

we should have free speech, but a majority of people have said we do

not want someone like that around here.

If you were watching Midlands Today on Friday,

you'll have seen our exclusive report on the unexpected

A Birmingham organisation which provides therapy

to some of the city's most deprived children.

A week and a half ago, Alison Selvey who runs the company,

This raised questions, whether money paid by schools to the organisation

Since our report Ms Selvey has been in touch and Elizabeth Glinka

The Big Community had contracts with dozens of schools,

supporting children dealing with everything from divorce

to domestic violence, so when news broke they were in trouble it

created some panic, something director Alison

We've worked really hard so when the decision came for me

to close down the company, it was never going

Can you understand people would be confused?

Hindsight is a wonderful thing and could I have communicated

Alison says Big Community has helped 40,000 children over the years

and is still completing its contracts in some schools.

In 2015-2016, Birmingham City Council says it paid

the organisation ?140,000 and that's in addition to the academies

where the company has individual contracts,

so there is now concern about what will happen

To be clear, any school which has paid your oganisation and may now

not get the service, will they get their money back?

Any money owed to schools will get their money back at the end

I would never leave schools or children vulnerable in Birmingham.

It's not me and anybody who knows me and has worked with me

Alison says it's now the responsibility of the Council

to fill the gap left by the demise of Big Community.

Growing up with two profoundly deaf parents meant Wayne Barrow learned

sign language before he could speak English.

It's a skill that's now winning him hundreds of thousands

Wayne, from Birmingham, regularly posts videos of himself

He's also started a petition to get sign language put

Classic hits with a twist all courtesy of Wayne Barrow

His Sign Language renditions have proved popular on the Internet

with one video getting 1.2 million views.

They're also getting a positive response closer to home.

It's almost opened up a new world to my mum, because she has never really

understood any music before so it is making her realise what music is all

about. Both Wayne's parents

are profoundly deaf. The popularity of his signed pop has

encouraged him to start a petition asking for British Sign Language

to be included on the Just knowing those signs

can make a huge impact. I thought I was getting all these

views and thought it was the perfect opportunity to get involved in the

petition because it seemed to have such a big response.

At Dunchurch Bowton Junior School near Rugby, they're already

Last week, these children took part in Sign2Sing,

an annual fundraising event to help deaf charities.

They've learned to sign have to learn to sign

Is hard at first when you're just learning signs that you can't really

control and then next you just get on with it. You get practising. Once

you keep on practising, it just comes to you and will be able to do

it quicker. It would be good if everybody could communicate to deaf

people. More than 12,000 people have signed the petition. If it is

successful, needed there will be a new way of signing off our reports

one day. Wayne and Lizzie for BBC Midlands Today.

Let's talk about the weekend's sporting action with Dan.

Not a bad weekend for our Premier League clubs,

Our four teams in the championship will be hoping for a quick recovery

after failing to win a point between them and they became. It was a

miserable weekend in the second tier. At least three of them have

the chance to bounce back. Let's get the pain

over and done with. From Birmingham City's Friday night

humbling at Sheffield Wednesday to Burton's 4-1 defeat at Brighton,

it was pointless weekend And both Wolves and Aston

Villa lost 1-0 at home. Villa conceded a late winner

to Ipswich's only shot on target. And Wolves lost to

table-topping Newcastle. At least they still have the FA

Cup to look forward to. Our Premier League

teams fared better. Stoke City beat Crystal Palace 1-0

thanks to this excellent goal. I got a few earlier in the season

when I first played there. I had a bit of a drought

so thankfully I got one today and hopefully I'll go on another

little run again. There was late drama at West Ham -

the home side thought they'd got a late winner when Manuel Lanzini

scored a stunner on 86 minutes. But Albion have great battling

qualities and deep into injury time, Johnny Evans headed an equaliser

for a 2-2 draw. The West Ham manager Slaven Bilic

was less than impressed. Shrewsbury Town were our second team

to win at the weekend, Freddie Ladapo scored

the winner again. His goals are helping

Shrewsbury climb away So not much to cheer

on the football front, but there were some great stories

in rugby union. That remarkable game

at Cardiff on Saturday. The match wining try came

from Wasps' Elliot Daly as England came from behind to beat Wales 21

points to 16. Wasps gain further credit and lock

forward Joe Launchbury The Premiership also

returned this weekend. A defeat for Gloucester,

a draw for Wasps, and a memorable And so important in terms

of their survival. Saracens are the European Champions

but they were weakened Ryans Mills scored all

of Worcester's points kicking eight And it gives Worcester

a five-point cushion over I was worried when I heard the

commentators saying that wasps had shot themselves in the foot!

And on Friday we featured Hartpury and their domination

They scored seven tries. Let's just see one of them. The top of league

one, absolutely flying. Promotion is guaranteed. The coach said he was

very disappointed to concede four tries.

You've heard the story of how Cinderella got

to the ball, but did you know the Birmingham Royal Ballet's

production needed the power of some 4,000 horses to make

As the company's huge convoy of trucks rolled into the city,

Ben Sidwell was invited back stage to see Cinders return

home to the Hippodrome for the final leg of the tour.

It's not just the dancers who have to perfect their moves

when the Birmingham Royal Ballet go on tour.

Birmingham is always our biggest presentation, where we have

everything, the whole stage available to us. Through just what

is needed to take a show like this on the road? They got ten

articulated lorries full of scenery, costumes, lighting and a stage and

of course Cinderella's coach. They also need more than 150 people,

staff, dancers and musicians and it costs tens of thousands of pounds

every week just to get Cinderella onto the stage. Certainly in the

ballet world it is a big lighting thing. In terms of rock 'n' roll,

maybe not as many lights, but in terms of theatre, it's right up

there with one of the biggest lighting sets. Let me explain some

of the technical challenges. They hippodrome stage is one of the

biggest stages anywhere in the country. Sunderland, one of the

features, the stage comes to about here. Just about half the size of

Birmingham, yet they have to fit all of this on to that. The dancers may

be the start of the show but they know just how important the

backstage team are. -- stars of the show. They work through the night

and they are at every venue before us setting it up and everything. We

make sure the floor and scenery are perfect and put the light in the

right place and by the time the dancers get there, everything is set

up perfectly for us. Cinderella is on the Birmingham hippodrome from

the 50s to the 25th of February before heading out on tour around

the country. -- 15th. An iPad featuring this wedding

day photo was handed into West Midlands Police

and officers are asking The image has been shared on social

media in the hope of getting the iPad back to its owners ahead

of Valentine's Day. Anyone with information is asked

to contact police on 101. It would have felt like spring today

if it wasn't for the southeasterly breeze but temperatures have

improved since yesterday. Plenty of sunshine right across the region and

some definite tell-tale signs of spring. This is how the rest of the

week is looking. Warmer days ahead of us but the Knights could be on be

chilly side and development of cloud initially but then we could see some

breaks in the cloud and brighter spells developing by the weekend.

Right now we're between high pressure to the east and low

pressure to the west and the low pressure is going to start driving

through some troughs and weather systems from the Atlantic but the

main difference is the wind. It starts to veer from southeasterly to

southerly and eventually westerly by mid week so this is what is going to

be drawing in the milder air. Through this evening, we start with

clear spells across the region. The cloud is going to bring clear spells

and temperatures remain above freezing around 123 Celsius -- one

and three Celsius. Where we get cloud spells, it will be cold and we

can see mist patches and fog tomorrow morning. Tomorrow, the

global start to thicken and across the region it will spread so there

will be flickers of brightness so a cloudy day than today and light,

patchy rain developing from the southwest but temperatures will rise

to between six and nine Celsius tomorrow so perhaps a touch milder

than it was today and that wind will be easing from the southeasterly

direction. We keep hold off that cloud through tomorrow night so

we've got those spits of rain and temperatures will be higher tonight,

down to about five or six Celsius and that continues into Wednesday,

so a cloudy, damp start to the week. Tomorrow, we'll be meeting Molly the

rescue dog. She's having a pacemaker fitted following a charity appeal

that has raised over ?3000 for the operation. You can find out how it

goes at 6:30pm tomorrow evening.