30/03/2017 Midlands Today

where he was running with the ball and was then tackled to the ground

and went over the line to score a try with opponents still hanging

onto him. We believe the suspect was known to

the family and we do not believe this was a Berkeley or robbery. I am

live in Stourbridge where I have been following these horrific

heartbreaking events. Take off for a new airline in

Birmingham, more than 20 new destinations and 200 jobs.

As Coventry City head for Wembley, we are recalling their last minute

with too much rope -- with two FA Cup winning heroes.

And find out why getting your foot on the first rung of the ladder is

as important to amphibians as to humans.

It has officially been declared the warmest day of the year so far but

how warm did it get here in the Midlands? A full forecast later as

well as a look ahead to the week ahead.

A mother and her 13-year-old son have died,

after being stabbed at their home in Stourbridge.

The boy's father survived the attack and he's being treated in hospital.

Police were called to the house in Greyhound Lane this

morning, where they found the family with severe stab wounds.

A short time later, a Land Rover taken from the house was stopped

Our special correspondent, Peter Wilson, reports.

The emergency services were met with a scene of horror and heartbreak. A

mother stabbed to death, her 13-year-old son lay dying inside the

family home. The boy's father had stab wounds to his chest and back

and was found in the back garden. He remains in a critical condition.

They are believed to have been inflicted by a man known to the

family but not a relative. Tragically, there was nothing that

could be done to save the woman. She was pronounced dead at the scene. A

land Rover Discovery taken from the house at Stourbridge crashed into a

recall in a nearby road, driven by a man in his 20s. He has been arrested

by the police. The Ambulance Service say everything was done to try to

save the life of the 13-year-old boy. A child with very serious

injuries was in cardiac arrest at the scene. He was treated very

quickly and given life-saving treatment before being taken to

Birmingham Children's Hospital. Sadly, despite the best efforts of

our staff on scene and those at the hospital, the child has subsequently

died. The house in Greyhound Lane is the home of Tracy and Peter

Wilkinson. He is a 47-year-old company director stop a close friend

who has known him for ten years spoke to me as news began to break

that this successful Black Country businessman has lost his wife and

his teenage son. I saw him just a few weeks back, what can I say? He

is like any other person living in the local area, very friendly,

supportive, he offered me a drink actually, so we were just chatting

and he was looking to help us, he was with the Conservatives in the

area, and he has been helping me for years. This part of Stourbridge is

smart and quiet. Neighbours, even the local postman, were trying to

take in the shocking news. It should not happen for a car that doesn't

belong to anybody else. Crazy. We heard about the crash nearby and

connected the two and it is just tragic. This afternoon the land

Rover was taken away and the main road reopened. The man who took the

Discovery appears to have been driving around the streets of

Stourbridge for more than 30 minutes. He was pursued by the

police. He has driven into the brick wall but also collided with a police

patrol car. Tonight more flowers laid at the scene. The message on

one of the bouquets speaks of an amazing family.

And Peter joins us now from Greyhound Lane in Stourbridge.

What are the latest developments this evening, Peter?

I understand that family members are at the bedside of Peter Wilkinson at

the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham. School friends of who

they say is Pierce Wilkinson, the 13-year-old boy, have been arriving

in greater and greater numbers to lay their flowers. The school

itself, Redhill School in Stourbridge, has said that it is

offering trained professional counselling for any school pupil or

parents who need it and I think the news here is just beginning to sink

in about the enormity of what has happened here.

There's been a number of major developments announced

Supermarket company Lidl has opened a new warehouse

In Stoke-on-Trent, 50 jobs are to be created with the opening

The Hilton Garden Inn will be built as part of the Smithfield

In Dudley, plans were unveiled today for a ?30 million

It will offer technical degrees in construction,

What we want to create is a centre in Dudley with fantastic training

facilities that those young people and adults who've already got their

technical skills up to level four and five can top

and make them even more productive in their workplace.

And a new airline arrived in Birmingham today,

which has created more than 200 jobs.

Jet2 will fly to 23 destinations, but all of the routes are already

So travel experts are predicting a price war.

There was a new kid in town on the tarmac

Leeds-based airline Jet2 is expanding further south,

creating more competition and more than 200 jobs.

The more the merrier, I think it is fantastic. The more choice you have

the better deal you can make. It is good to have more airlines.

On board this brand-new Boeing, they were preparing

I feel very privileged to be part of the team,

part of the new operating base, and to be actually in

New flight attendants Rachael from Nuneaton and Jo from Stafford

say the airline's arrival has proved a good opportunity.

Lots of jobs, lots of cabin crew we are taking on.

And I think it is just exciting for local people to be able

to travel easier to Birmingham, to get to all of their

From Paphos to Prague, Jet2 will fly to 23 destinations

from Birmingham this year, and there are plans to introduce

The question is, can the airport cope with all

The airport has had some complaints about delays getting

through security and collecting baggage, so will more airlines

There's no doubt over the last couple of years

we have had growing pains, and this extra growth we have had

has been a challenge, but we have staffed up this year.

We are investing over ?100 million of our shareholders' money

in new facilities, new baggage, new security systems,

and the aim is to make that journey smoother.

With other companies already flying the same routes as Jet2,

some travel experts are predicting a price war.

I will leave it up to the competitors to decide

what they want to do, but we will carry on

And regardless of which airline they were on, these passengers

were only too happy to leave behind the rain for a few days of sunshine.

Bob Hockenhull, BBC Midlands Today, Birmingham.

An inquest's been hearing how a 27-year-old man killed himself

with a euthanasia drug he'd bought online.

Josh Smith had "meticulously planned" his suicide,

His family have complained to South Staffordshire

and Shropshire Healthcare bosses for not doing enough to help him.

Joshua Smith wanted to get better, say his family.

But he'd been troubled with depression, attempting to take his

At an inquest in Cannock, his family heard how

after repeated medical assessments he took his own life days

before he was finally due to see a psychiatrist.

He constantly heard, "I can't help you, we're

going to discharge you to the next service, we're going to refer

you back for some more assessment and to be asked the same questions

again," and I think in the end that just all became too much

and it actually added to his mental distress.

Josh's family and friends searched near his home in Stone after he went

By then he had overdosed on a lethal substance called Pentobarbital

His body was found near a canal in Meaford.

It is a euthanasia drug, but Pentobarbital has also been used

in executions over in the US and in kind it's also a drug

that was originally used for therapeutic reasons

but in the UK it's illegal and people shouldn't be possessing

The coroner, Andrew Haig, said Josh committed suicide

He said whilst there were no gross failings by South Staffordshire

and Shropshire NHS Trust, matters could have been

The trust declined our request for an interview but they issued a

statement saying whenever a serious incident like this occurs we carry

it out a full investigation and make sure we recognise and learn any

lessons. In this place it will include a review of the internal

review and assessment process. Detectives have liaised with Customs

and Excise and discovered that the lethal substance bought online came

from China. Border controls will now be alerted.

It's been confirmed that a troubled Birmingham secondary school

will close at the end of August, despite a campaign to keep it open.

People in Druids Heath called for Baverstock Academy to be saved,

but the BBC's been told the official decision to close it was made today.

The school's been in special measures since 2014 and also

Labour's candidate for West Midlands Mayor has pledged

8000 apprenticeships for the region if he's voted

Launching his manifesto with a tour of colleges,

Sion Simon said it was essential to provide a new generation

He's also promised a cap on bus and tram fares,

a doubling of new "affordable" homes and the creation of new jobs

by reclaiming derelict land for development.

We get ?8 billion worth of infrastructure spending in the

devolution deal but currently there is no commitment on apprenticeships.

I am saying for every million pounds that we invest in

infrastructure in the West Midlands we need to deliver one

apprenticeship to upskill our young people to take advantage of that

investment and turn it into jobs and careers for the future.

Businesses on the route of a planned 100-mile cycle ride say it will cost

them thousands of pounds' worth of lost trade.

Roads across the West Midlands will be closed to traffic

Some residents say it will leave them trapped in their homes.

The organisers say the closures are necessary for the safety

The Holt Fleet near Worcester is situated on the busy A4133.

It's the only way by road to get to the pub.

But on Sunday the 24th of September it will be part of the 100 miles

of roads across the West Midlands closed for the entire day

We are being forced to shut for the day because there's no

We would normally do about 250 carveries on a Sunday,

and if it's a really nice day weather-wise everybody comes

to sit by the river, because we're a popular spot,

Starting and ending in Birmingham, the ride will pass

through the Black Country, Staffordshire,

Worcestershire and Herefordshire, with the whole route

Velo Birmingham say the closures are necessary to facilitate the safe

They say they are working closely with businesses and residents

to minimise any disruption the closures will cause on the day.

Andrew Jones from Collington near Bromyard said the road closures

will mean people living in a 20-mile square area of Herefordshire will be

Due to travel to Bristol Airport to work that day, the pilot has been

told by Velo Birmingham that they won't change the route.

You're basically being told by a private company seeking

a profit that they're going to keep you trapped in your home for over

nine hours and there's nothing you can do about it.

But not everyone is unhappy about the prospect of the ride.

People are going to come here, they'll do their ride

here, they might say, oh, this is good cycling,

let's come back and spend two weeks on holiday here cycling,

it's a good place to ride, we're lucky to live here.

It's an absolutely fantastic opportunity for local cyclists

to use traffic-free roads and not be intimidated by cars.

With organisers already asking cyclists to preregister for next

year, businesses fear this won't be the only time they lose

Imagine almost every night having the same recurring nightmare

about a traumatic event you witnessed and at the same point

It's a common symptom of post-traumatic stress disorder

Now a therapist from Cheltenham has just finished investigating

a potentially revolutionary technique to help people

change their nightmares and get a good night's sleep.

Here's our Gloucestershire reporter, Steve Knibbs.

It is not his real name, but Peter was woken up almost

every night by a recurring nightmare, reliving the moment he

saw his friend killed by a propeller.

Right at the end there is a clang, like a bell, which was a large

propeller, and I mean large, it wouldn't fit in this room.

In his own words, he said the lack of sleep

Including children and grandchildren, wife, next-door

It's often a difficult cycle to get out of.

Justin Havens has been researching a technique called

planned dream intervention, effectively teaching the brain to

Resetting their sleep cycle, if you like.

And you do it by creating something for

your dream shelf, something to allow the dream to continue.

The reason people are being woken up is because

the dream is not continuing, normally because it is something

Justin's three-year research involved over

100 UK veterans suffering with PTSD and over half

saw improvements and a drop in symptoms.

One soldier dreamt every night that he was being chased

and woke up when he was jumped on and dragged to the ground.

He would often fight his wife in bed.

But he changed the scene to a rugby match

where he was running with the ball and was then tackled to the ground

and went over the line to score a try with opponents still hanging

All we are doing is priming the dream process, helping it on its

way. We are not doing anything magical or mysterious, just helping

that process. Magical and mysterious it may not be but for Peter changing

his nightmares changed him for the better. It turned the gong sound

from being a deathknell to, I don't know, a dinner gong or a cathedral

bell, front doorbell, any other sort of Bell. It has changed my life

totally. Justin is now writing up his research and plans to share it

not just with military charities but also others helping those suffering

from trauma. Thanks for joining us

here on Midlands Today this evening. And what a beautiful day it's turned

out to be weather-wise, we're looking forward

to your forecast, Shefali! And why not, on what was the warmest

day of the year so far? It may not have been brimming

with sunshine but it boasted some impressive temperatures -

find out how warm it got And I hope the weather will suit

the frogs, newts and toads. It's all about building them

special little ladders. Well, South Staffs Water has

unveiled a new multimillion-pound treatment plant that uses

ultraviolet light to turn raw reservoir water

into pure drinking water. It means the company can

cut back on traditional chemical treatments,

such as chlorine. We sent science correspondent

David Gregory-Kumar Blithfield reservoir

east of Stafford. Supplying water for over 200,000

South Staffs Water customers. And the treatment plant

near Lichfield that turns reservoir water into drinking water has had

a bit of an upgrade. This is the water treatment works,

commissioned in 1952, and ultraviolent treatment plant is one

of our latest investments to enhance the quality of water for our

customers. So large tanks that were used

to store water onsite have now been converted

to the new ultraviolet Work began in 2015 and four new UV

reactors have been installed. All without interrupting the water

supply to South Staffs customers. This is one of the UV Chubut that

will be cleaning the water. It is worth about 250 quid and there are

30 in each UV reactor, this bit here.

The UV tubes clean the water and allow South Staffs to reduce

traditional chemical treatments like adding chlorine.

Water flows over the ultraviolet lamps as the final stage of

But will the customers notice a different taste to the water?

We hope they will. How quickly they noticed the distance remains to be

seen. Based upon the reduced level of chlorine we are using, we hope

that our customers will get a better experience. That is one of the

primary drivers that doing this work. -- for doing.

This new facility is one of the largest in the UK.

Similar technology, though on a smaller scale, will be

30 years ago Coventry City won the FA Cup for the one and only time

in the club's history, an absolutely cracking game

On Sunday, the Sky Blues return to Wembley in the Checkatrade Trophy

Ian Winter has been to meet the postman

and the warehouse manager who - for their own very special reasons -

would love to see Coventry repeat their Wembley

It really is 30 years since this pair of Sky Blues legends won the FA

And Dave Bennett reckons he's not watched this footage since 1987.

I have never seen it before so it is interesting watching it. I watch it

about once a week. this is the first of three goals

which won that classic cup and created a unique place

in Coventry City folklore. We heard just one the biggest games

of our lives and I was just hoping to get down the stairs without

falling down! He had been on the drinks the night before. I had

sweated that out, don't worry! Throughout this troubled season,

Alan Layton has been driving the Coventry City team coach

to away games. Only once has he returned home

with victory in League One. But this weekend, Alan will take

a winning mentality to Wembley. My priority on Sunday is to get the

team there safely, comfortably and as quick as I can and for them to

win the cup. Have they ever done anything like it? Not in Coventry

City's history. Sky Blues fanatic John

Shaw is Alan's boss. 30 years ago, he joined thousands

of others on the streets of Coventry to welcome home the FA

Cup winning team. Not least because the family firm

is taking 28 coachloads to Wembley. We obviously handle lots of big

events where the clients are quite used to it but it is a bit more

personal when it is your own team. How much does that give you an extra

buzz? That is what makes this team. It could kick-start their careers so

I hope they feel the importance of performing there, first all for

themselves but also the club and the fans.

But Sunday's game is tinged with sadness for both Dave and Micky.

Frustration at their club's imminent relegation to League Two

and disappointment that Coventry City haven't

invited their most famous players to be their guests at Wembley.

I think it will be 3-2, they will emulate what we did, score three.

Who will score three goals for us? No idea. So relegation looks like a

definite now, but winning at Wembley will be quite a silver lining.

And, on Midlands Today tomorrow, we'll meet the players

as they prepare for the big game, including captain Jordan Willis,

a local lad who says he's been dreaming about Wembley.

I'm not sure if you're a fan of frogs, toads

- but the sad fact is that millions of them die every year

after becoming trapped in roadside gullies.

Now an experiment's under way near Coventry to try to help them.

Volunteers are installing specially created ladders,

which allow them to climb their way back to safety.

It's estimated that an average of ten amphibians die in each

and every one of the nation's 17 million

Once inside, they simply cannot escape the steep sides,

but now volunteers from Warwickshire Amphibian

and Reptile Team have created a special ladder to change this.

The ladder is made of stainless steel, and on one side is attached

Quite simply, the creatures can get a grip on this

We are still in the process of testing the theory,

but we assume that they are actually using these things,

and we've actually been able to see them climbing out of the gullies

Certainly, when we go and check gully pots where we have ladders,

we are not finding the amphibians in the gully pots where

Solihull Borough Council is allowing them to be installed in 20 gullies

It's good to know we are making a difference to the population here,

so hopefully the numbers that we are getting out

of the drains here will be able to get to the ponds and breed,

and it will hopefully keep the population going.

It's a small team carrying out the work,

and, if it's to be a success, more people will be needed.

About ten or 15 of us were doing drain checks,

It's a pleasure to help animals, to rescue them, and we really hope

that we can recruit more volunteers to check...

Warwickshire Amphibian and Reptile Team are calling

for the ladders to become an integral part of new gully

designs, and anybody who wants to volunteer is asked

Kevin Reide, BBC Midlands Today, Balsall Common.

So how's the weather looking for frogs, toads and newts?

And indeed for cricket fans, with the county season starting

Let's just say that there is some rain for the amphibians and some

drier weather for the humans. I hope that all of you were satisfied with

today's weather. It is a bit chilly and spitting now but in Birmingham

temperatures reached 20 Celsius today, the warmest day of the year

so far, and some 19s and 18s elsewhere in the region. The drier

parts of the rest of the week will be tomorrow afternoon and on Sunday,

meaning most of the time there is some rain around but in the form of

showers. This is what is producing it, a front nestling up against us

to the West. That will shift eastwards through the night, then

another feature to the south by the time we get to April. That will

generate and trigger some fairly hefty showers. For tonight we can

see that we have some of that rain to the West, which is now going to

be producing some showers, splinter showers come as it heads further

eastwards. That will be on the light side, that rain, so not much of it

around tonight, but a lot of cloud, which will hold those temperatures

up to around 11 or 12 Celsius, so quite mild overnight. Even through

the morning tomorrow we will see some showers rippling through the

region and they will topple up from the south-west. Not particularly

heavy. They will gradually fade through the day so by the afternoon

much drier and pleasant spells of sunshine. That will take

temperatures up to 15 to 16 Celsius, not quite up to today's standards

but -- but very respectable for the time of year. It is competing with a

stiff westerly to south-westerly breeze around 15 mph. Tomorrow night

it looks dry, very clear. For the start of the week end, Saturday, not

too bad but the showers will have a lot quickly, they could be heavy

with some hail possible. I'll be back at 10.30

with your late update. For full sets and more from

the weekend,