27/02/2017 Midlands Today

The headlines tonight: for news where you are.

900 pupils told to stay away from school after a group

of travellers take over their car park.

The children that come into the school have a right to be

educated and to be able to get into the school

Some of the senior pupils were able to go in,

It's called sugaring: how older men help young students pay their debts

When I don't see him, I get ?500 per month.

But when I do see him, I know, guaranteed, I will get ?1000

A spectacularly good day's work, as a Chinese vase valued

Aiming high: after passing forty points, Albion

set their sights on their best ever Premier League finish.

And vibrant colours most likely replaced by monochrome black

Grey clouds and a covering of snow, just before

Around 900 pupils at a school in Birmingham were told to stay

at home this morning after travellers pitched up

Around 20 caravans drove onto Shenley Academy in Weoley Castle

On Saturday, they were given a 24 hour eviction notice,

It meant a large part of the school had to close today.

Those pupils that did go in for lessons were given a police

This was the view at Shenley Academy this morning on what should have

been the first day back after half-time. At 7:30am, police and

council bailiffs moved into a Viktor the travellers. By the morning they

were on the move but it came too late to prevent the destruction.

Much to the dismay of staff and parents. We were hopeful after the

eviction notice that they would be gone 24 hours later. The reality is

that hasn't been the case. So 800 children have not been able to

attend school today. No reason to take over school. People have to go

to work. There is no way kids will be up to get education with this on

the field. With more than 20 families on the site, including

large numbers of children, clearing took some time. There was also

frustration among travellers who blame the council for a lack of

legal sites. It's your fault. We're not getting any stay anywhere. We

asked the council to provide us with the car park for a few weeks. It's

not fair on the children either. Not being able to stay based on a school

because we'd have to keep moving from country to country. In fact,

Birmingham City Council operates just once legal site in the north of

the city. It is not open to families. Two new sites are open to

discussion. Something that the West Midlands Police and Crime

Commissioner says should be a matter of urgency. We need sites for them

to go. The local authorities have got to find a common solution to

this, working together and not shunting the problem from one place

to another. When we arrived this morning, this was full of caravans

and vehicle. They have gone and the clear up is going on behind me. But

the travellers left something behind them, a gun pony. If they don't come

back and collect the school will call the RSPCA -- a young pony.

Local people told me they were evicted in this spot two weeks ago.

This is a spot that is mobile but not going away.

With me now is the West Midlands Police and Crime

They did move on fairly quickly so that must be a relief to you because

you said there is not enough sites? It is truly disgraceful that those

travellers can take over a school site like that and stop children's

education, the inconvenience to dead parents and the cost. What we need

are enough sites across the West Midlands and particularly in

Birmingham, where the police can direct people to go if they start

going onto sites. Like Shenley Academy. Has anything come out of

this? Just a fortnight ago I had a summit. Two things came out of that.

Firstly, all local authorities, possibly through a combined

authority, to look how to join together and stop Timea stopped

shunting the problem from one place to another. They maybe move on

Walsall all Coventry. Finding sites is easier said than done. People

don't want the sites. But the is enormous. People are paying the

costs out of taxpayers' money. We need to move people on. We need the

proper sites and look if any change in the law need to take place to

give the police more power. How would you be sure people, that

travellers could be in a field near them tomorrow? The police always

take action. The police will always step in in legal action. But this is

a matter for councils to deal with. It is not a police matter in that

sense. The police will deal any breach of the law. What is that? If

they damage property or get rowdy. Somewhere on Saturday night some

were arrested for offences on the street. Police will deal with that

but the real long term issue lies with the local council. I would say

to local people, get onto your local councils and say, just what are you

doing about this issue? Are you providing the proper sites and the

alternative places, proper hygiene, proper waste disposal and also where

you can pay rent to use the site? It's so it's not a loss to the

taxpayer. Thanks for joining us. A BBC investigation has found

an increasing number of students in Gloucestershire are turning

to sex work to pay their debts. "Sugaring" is an American phenomenon

where young women find older men online who'll fund their education

in return for sexual It's a world where the women

are called sugar babies, Look online and you will find dozens

of students posting adverts It is like online dating,

but with one big difference: the man Coco has been doing

this for two years. She lives in a bedsit

in Gloucester and dropped out of her college course last year

because she couldn't Is there an expectation that

you will have sex at some point I mean, it's just, for me, it's just

like a normal relationship. Coco is one of a growing

number of young people who are funding their education

in this way. When I don't see him,

I get ?500 per month. But when I do see him, I know,

guaranteed, I will get ?1000 A recent study by Swansea University

found that 4.8% of UK students So who would pay someone for a sugar

relationship, and why? I have spent months trawling

the internet, contacting dozens of men who advertise themselves

online as sugar daddies. Finally, one of them has agreed

to meet me, on the condition This is Darren, that

is not his real name. Something along the lines of,

40-something businessmen with his own hair and teeth

would like to meet female for sugar If there was money being exchanged,

and sex, did you see it Because is that not,

in a sense, exploiting women I wouldn't actually

know where else to go. For the students, there is no

anticipated sexual relationship. Ron Roberts is a psychologist who is

concerned about the impact of this. As debt has mushroomed,

so has the proportion of people who can now openly admit to working

in the sex industry. What's the response been

from the universities? I wouldn't even has go as far to say

they have ignored it, Take no notice of it,

deny there was a problem. With the average student debt

now running at ?44,000, it is easy to see why some turn

to sugar dating as An elderly man has become another

victim to die as a result of Storm Doris after the car

he was travelling in was crushed High winds brought the tree down

on the car on the A49 near Church Stretton

on Thursday morning. The man, who was in his 80s,

was taken to North Staffordshire A High Court injunction order's been

served on two operatives of an unlawful waste site

near Rugeley preventing them from importing

or processing materials there. The order relates to Denis Ward

and Steven Reeves-Morgan who had been bringing waste

onto Oak Tree Farm at Slitting Mill. Some of the material has

been burning on the site Chicken farmers in Shropshire say

they're unhappy with new rules to tackle bird flu because they vary

between England and Wales. Farmers on the English side

of the River Severn say they have to keep their birds locked up,thus

losing their free range status. No such restrictions apply just

across the ater in Wales. Our Rural Affairs Correspondent

David Gregory Kumar has This week, strict new rules

to deal with the bird flu But this Shropshire chicken farmer

has spotted something strange about the government's new "high

risk areas" designed So what did you think

when you saw the map? There was the high risk area,

outlined there, there was a huge And Melverly in Shropshire

is at the heart of the problem. So the high risk areas are based

around a bit of water where migratory waterfowl might come

in and bring in disease with them. And here is one near Telford,

and as you can see, But look at this one that is not

far from Shrewsbury, As you can see, there is an enormous

chunk that has been taken out of it. The end result is that in this high

risk area, chickens, turkeys and geese must stay locked

up on the English side of the river, The thing is that this

is England and this is where you have the enhanced extra

bio-security measure and the birds all covered,

where was just up the river there is Wales, where they can

free-range their birds. This is why we have the high risk

area here, because of this river. This very nasty form of bird flu

poses no risk to humans, but it can kill 80% of a flock

of farm birds in a matter of days. The man in charge in England

insists the two different I can't speak for Wales,

Wales have made it very clear to their farmers that they need

to consider very carefully their risks and take whatever

action is appropriate. And that includes housing

if they are at high-risk. But this difference could cost

English farmers money. Those who have to keep their birds

inside like this will lose There are no such problems for Welsh

farmers just over the border. What would you say to somebody

who has got birds on this side of the river compared to somebody

who's got them over there? I'd be inclined to move my birds

on to that side of the river, collect my eggs over there then

bring them over here and sell them It's the same situation

all along the boarder Very different rules

to tackle the same disease. And you can read much more

about this on David's blog Bidders at an auction house

in Birmingham were left stunned today when a Chinese vase,

valued at ?1,200, sold for...wait Valuers and the seller had believed

it was a twentieth century copy of a style of vase dating back

to the 1500s. But several antique hunters realised

it was the genuine article. At the start of today this Chinese

vase was thought to be worth But in an auction house sale

in Birmingham's Jewellery Quarter lasting just four minutes,

its true worth proved to be closer to a million:

?810,000 to be precise. I have never sold anything of this

valley before. So it was a moment of excitement for all of us at the

auction house. A bid of ?810,000 then.

Stephen Whittaker was in the chair as seven bidders-

three in the auction room, three on the telephone and one

on the Internet sent the price of the vase soaring.

Fellows Auctioneers first suspected they might have undervalued

the porcelain antique when one bidder flew in from Japan.

But it was a buyer from China on the telephone who made

It proves that you can come if you've photograph something well and

describe it well, even if you don't get the date right, people will come

and find. The Internet is a great tool, it allows people to reach into

the darkest corners of the West Midlands and find what they are

looking for. So why it was the vase valued so cheaply? The head of

antiques says he took advice from two expert, including the seller

based in Germany. They were adamant it was the 20th century copy worth

just hundreds of pounds. It is one of those situations where you see

999 copies and that 1000 will be the right one. So it is a really special

day for Fellowes caught, it hasn't happened before. So after a

successful bid, this vase will make its way back to the country where it

was made. Before it makes that journey, it will be kept securely

here in Birmingham enabled. And it's not a bad day's work for the

auctioneers either. They will pick up ?100,000 in fees. Memo to self,

check the attic tomorrow urgently. Thanks for joining us

here on Midlands Today. 900 pupils were told to stay

away from school today after a group of travellers took

over their car park. Sounds as though

we're in for a cold snap, which will bemuse

my burgeoning daffodils! We catch up with the adventurer

who paddle boarded down a crocodile infested

river unscathed. Tomorrow, Birmingham City Council

will make the final decision on where the ?70 million

worth of cuts will be made in their budget for

the forthcoming financial year. which provides help for homeless

and disabled people, as well as victims

of domestic violence, Today, protestors made a last ditch

attempt to try stop the cuts. They came with blankets to make

one final, very visual, Today, when we do the flash mob,

this is a pretend exercise, but this could easily have become

the visual reality for Birmingham More and more people will end up

homeless on the streets. Today was the third protest this

year in Birmingham against millions of pounds worth of cuts to the city

council's Supporting People project, which pays charities and housing

associations to provide services for some of the city's

most vulnerable people. What we're saying is this

is really a false economy. You know, that these are not

going to be savings. These services, if they are cut,

the costs go elsewhere. That is even more expensive -

financially, socially - you know,

to individuals and communities. In a statement, Birmingham City

Council say they are proposing to halve the cuts planned

for the Supporting People budget in 2018/19, and have already

significantly reduced the cuts Whether this protest has

made any difference, we'll find out tomorrow,

when Birmingham City Council While many protestors understood

that the council has to save money, they believe they shouldn't

cut services that target

the vulnerable in the city. They've only got so much money,

cuts have to be made, and I would hate to be the person

who makes the decision about where those cuts

are going to be. I'm here because

I'm passionate about St Basil's and what they do

for every young person. Every young person that comes

into the hub isn't just a statistic, they're a person and they're

treated as an individual. Point made, protestors

can now only wait until tomorrow for a final decision

from the city council. Onto sport, and some worrying

financial results Villa made quite a loss in their

relegation season last year. Yes, they lost

?81 million last season. That's three times greater

than the season before. Of course, the club is now

in the Championship But certainly shows the big job

needed to turn the club around. Betters days for

the Baggies, though. So that should mean that

West Bromwich Albion have secured another season

in the Premier League. But can they now match

or even better their best

Premier League finish of 2013? It's been a while since Albion

were aiming so high. 1981, in fact, when they last

finished higher than eighth The team, including

the likes of Brendan Batsen, a best-ever Premier League

finish is still possible. They dealt with adversity

against Bournemouth on Saturday, falling behind to Joshua King's

fifth minute penalty. Craig Dawson's deflected

shot put them level. And, by 21 minutes, a mistake

by goalkeeper Artur Boric allowed Gareth McAuley to put in Albion

in front, and they stayed there. But Stoke City now look

locked in mid-table after losing 4-0

at Tottenham yesterday. All four games were scored

in the first half. And the Stoke boss, Mark Hughes,

said their performance In the Championship

the fall-out from Friday night's Birmingham City hope to hear

tomorrow if their appeal against Paul Robinson's red card

against Wolves is successful. The Blues were successful

in grabbing the points. Mikael Keiftenbeld put them in front

after Carl Ikeme dropped a cross. And David Davis

doubled the advantage Nouha Dicko's second half reply

proved to be just a consolation. We'll never know what

Villa's James Chester Chester scrambled home

the only goal of the game All four of our sides

in League One lost. But Cheltenham are showing signs

of life in League Two. They won 1-0 at Leyton Orient

and back-to-back wins have lifted them six points clear

of the relegation zone. And in the last hour, we've heard

that Villa's Leondro Bacuna has been charged with violent

conduct by the Football Assocation. It follows his red card

for his confrontation with referee's assistant

Mark Russell. Onto rugby and the Midlands players

were to the fore again at Twickenham But only one of our Premiership

sides won at the weekend. They beat came from behind

to beat Gloucester 35-22. 25 points from Jimmy Gopperth

including three tries. Wasps are six points

clear at the top. But Worcester lost 24-14

at Northampton and are only two points

above the bottom club Bristol. Very disappointing news

for speedway fans in Coventry? Yes, it looks like the Bees

have ridden their final race Last season, they finished

seventh out of eight teams But the Speedway Promoters

Association say after failing to agree a deal

with the Brandon owners. So there'll be no speedway

in Coventry for the first

time in 70 years. And finally, well done to

the Telford Tigers ice hockey team? Yes, for the second time

in three years, they've won

the English Premiership title. They clinched it with a hard-fought

victory over Bracknell. Doug Clarkson scored a hattrick

as the Tigers won 7-3. It means they've been

crowned champions with three weeks

still to go before the play-offs. Coach Tom Watson said

it was a remarkable achievement Well done to Telford Tigers. We will

resist the urge to say it is going well for the wasps but not the bees!

Thank you. Just before Christmas,

we told you about an intrepid adventurer from Gloucester

who was undertaking a challenge that certainly wasn't

for the likes of me. Kev Brady was aiming to paddle

board down the length of Sri Lanka's longest river,

all on his own, avoiding the attention

of crocodiles along the way. Well, I'm pleased to say he's done

it, but he's not finished yet. I'm picking up some

good current out here. Gloucester's Kev Brady is a man

not shy of adventure. In 2015, he swam the entire length

of the River Severn. Now he's successfully

paddleboarded down the Mahaweli

river in Sri Lanka - encountering elephants,

bears and even crocodiles. There was a crocodile

that ran down the bank, and this crocodile

was about 13 foot or so, and it just came

hurtling down the bank It looked like it was

coming straight for me. Not content with just one success,

Kev's now trying to make his way around the island, carrying

all his belongings on his board. But he's had a few

problems on the way. I remember one day

when my fin broke, and then I just kept

hitting loads of rocks. Over the course of two days,

I made it two kilometres. It was just painfully,

painfully slow. It was just like,

"When is this going to end?" Back home in Gloucester,

his mum and sister say he hasn't always

been the outgoing type. He was quite a shy and quiet kid,

he loved being at home. He would just toddle

round the garden all day with a little container,

looking for bugs and insects, Yeah, he wasn't really

adventurous or outgoing. With the monsoon season

still active, Kev says he's taking

every day as it comes. Just keep paddling the coast until

I get to the mouth of the Gin River, And we're going to head

50 or 60 K upstream, and hopefully see some more

elephants and crocodiles. Kev's out in Sri Lanka until March

before planning his next adventure. and, with the cricket season

starting six weeks on Friday, there's talk of some

wintry weather on the way. It certainly is, but we should get

things sorted by then. You never know. It has been a mixed bag today,

temperatures between four and nine Celsius today. It has been gusty as

well. You can see what we have all of this, hailstones through the

Western West Midlands. You can also see it is snowing quite heavily in

Staffordshire. We have also had sunshine and showers. Somewhere over

that rainbow, we have more showers, because it is a busy picture this

week. Low pressure dominating, frontal systems pushing in from the

Atlantic. Rain feeding up from the south by Wednesday, but it is moving

slowly, so probably moving across the region on Wednesday night, and

more rain spilling from the north-west during the course of

Thursday. The timings on these fronts are changing all the time, so

later in the week is problematic to pin that detailed down. Let's take a

closer look. This sums up what the week is like, showers and rain. Cold

at times, gusty winds from the south-west, but they will be

originating from polar regions. Wintry as well, especially over the

higher ground. For this evening, we have showers across the region.

These will continue into the first part of tonight, and you can see

from those white blobs that they would treat. They will remain as

slow as to project tumbles away. The temperatures tumble to one or 2

degrees. Possibly below freezing in rural spots. We have a nice on

untreated services, and we will have a warning for much of the region.

Difficult driving conditions for untreated roads into the morning

tomorrow, but a dry start and sunny start with sunshine and showers late

in the day. Again, some snow. I'll be back at 10:30pm

with your late update. To be in the Lords,

you have to be punctual... literally have to slam

the door in somebody's face. What right do they have

to tell ME about my fashion sense.