31/03/2017 Midlands Today

Hello and welcome to Midlands Today. The headlines tonight...

A 23-year-old is charged with the murders of a mother

and her 13-year-old son in Stourbridge and the attempted

Aaron Barley has been charged following stabbings

Wolverhampton turn children's services rated with failings

to good in five years - we look at how they've done it

The 38 stone 33-year-old in danger of going blind,

we track her specialist surgery which could save her life

The thought that I could've gone blind, because of overeating, is...

I'll be finding out why thatching and other traditional rural skills

are being taught at this Shropshire school.

And if you're planning on spending the weekend outdoors,

will the weather be blooming marvellous, or not very pretty?

Find out in the forecast a little later.

A 23-year-old man has been charged with the murders

of a mother and son, who were stabbed at their home

Tributes have been paid to Tracey Wilkinson, aged 50,

Pierce's father, Peter, was stabbed and injured.

Aaron Barley has also been charged with his attempted murder.

From Stourbridge, Giles Latcham reports.

Once school was out, it began - a steady stream of children,

many of them from Redhill, where 13-year-old Pierce

was a pupil - gradually laying a carpet of flowers.

At the school today, fond memories of a popular boy.

Pierce was a loyal, caring and conscientious people.

-- Pierce was a loyal, caring and conscientious pupil.

He'll be sadly missed by all members of our school community.

He always met everybody with a smile and was a kind

He was a loving son and brother and our thoughts and prayers

remain with his family, in particular his father Peter

Pupils and staff are on site today and are being offered

Police were called to an incident at the family home in Stourbridge

at eight o'clock yesterday morning, in which Pierce and his

In the picture, the family's beloved greyhound Mandy.

The woman who helped re-home him two years ago was here today to pay

They were easy to talk to and they loved the dogs.

When they homed Mandy, we knew that she was going

Not only that, that they would be great advocates for the breed.

Shortly before four o'clock, the police said they had charged

a 23-year-old man with the murders of Tracey and Pierce Wilkinson,

and the attempted murder of Peter Wilkinson.

That man is Aaron Barley of no fixed abode.

He is due before magistrates tomorrow.

Peter Wilkinson remains in hospital in Birmingham tonight -

his condition described as critical but stable.

Giles Latcham, BBC Midlands Today, Stourbridge.

"Stable and settled care", delivered with a "clear sense of vision".

Words you may not associate with childrens' services in this region.

But today, Ofsted has rated Wolverhampton as "good",

putting it in the Top 20 in the country.

Five years ago, there were failings, with the majority of childrens'

services departments in the West Midlands struggling.

Our Black Country reporter, Ben Godfrey, has been given

exclusive access to see how they've turned things around

I went into care, because, when I was at my primary school,

they realised I had a red mark on my face and they thought

that my mum was hitting me and they realised

Gareth Rafferty was placed in care at the age of three.

The support of foster parents have helped him fly through school.

He's set to go to university next year.

Luckily, because I'm 18 now, I'm allowed access to my file

and I've spoken to the people in the council and they are more

than happy to help me and, like, Transitions are helping me,

and they're going to get me some clarity, really,

to find out what actually happened when I was younger,

Support for care leavers like Gareth is one reason why

Ofsted has today rated Wolverhampton's Children's Services

as good, at a time when the majority of departments in our region require

We've done a lot of work that was recognised by Ofsted,

in relation to children missing, some of the most vulnerable

children, in relation to children subjected

They used to call these children's centres, now called

The name may be longer, but the time taken to handle

a referral is shorter, now social workers, health visitors,

midwives and the police are working side by side.

Unlike many authorities, Wolverhampton says it's been able

They've also managed to slash their bill for agency staff,

And the children in care number is also down by 20%

And that's due to early intervention.

This week, 300 social workers came together and they'll

Those who work mainly with adults will deal more with children,

and vice versa, to better understand family relationships.

There's a lot of work on parenting and parenting skills,

building the confidence and competence of parents

in their difficult job of looking after sometimes some

Tyrese Walker is 14 and has dyspraxia.

His mum Tracey needed help to build a better relationship

with his school to ensure he was getting the right sort

They support worker that I had, she had somebody in the family that

had dyspraxia, so she fully understood really what

For this children's services department, in one sense,

Some children are still not getting help fast enough.

Trying to get a hold of people in the Transitions

team is quite difficult, so they might be busy.

Sometimes, they don't pick up the phone and there is that issue.

Wolverhampton is still among the most deprived areas

of the country, but the quality of its care for children is making

other local councils sit up and take note.

Ben Godfrey, BBC Midlands Today, Wolverhampton.

interesting to hear the detail of how they have turned things around.

It's staggering, but just two councils in the whole country

are rated as "outstanding" - the more affluent areas

of Kensington and Chelsea and Westminster.

Here, under Ofsted's current framework, Wolverhampton joins

Look at the West Midlands combined authority area

The likes of Birmingham, Coventry, Dudley and Sandwell continue to be

rated as "inadequate", but are making some

The barrage of constant criticism is centred on failing to share

information effectively, failing to put children first,

social workers struggling with heavy workloads.

And they don't always put the child first. Quite a mixture of various

bell. -- mixture of areas. Does anyone have a

solution that fits all? I've spoken to senior social workers

who say their colleagues are doing incredible jobs

in tough circumstances. It is with the best intentions for

the children. Wolverhampton, as of last summer,

had more than 2,000 children needing It was more than

7,000 in Birmingham. OK, it's a bigger city,

but there growing calls to make those larger departments smaller,

even breaking them up. It will be interesting to see

whether Birmingham and Sandwell, both holding voluntary or charitable

trust, are both making changes. That could make taking the management out

of councillor oversight into the hands of social workers, front line

workers who may have the best will at heart, some people have said.

Interesting, thank you. At 5'3" and 38 stone,

obesity was causing Today, she has undergone

specialist surgery, which she hopes will save her life

and allow her to care Surgeons say it's increasingly

difficult for them to get funding for this type of operation,

despite a rapid increase in obesity. Here's our health

correspondent Michele Paduano. I was out drinking most nights,

eating whatever we wanted, and I went to the Isle of Man

about 13 stone... Yeah, about 13, and by the time

I came back, I was nearly 20. I got stuck in a rut,

so I wasn't going out and I was quite happy in the flat,

because we'd not long been here, and I was really happy,

but then, I just ate and ate. Aged 32, she couldn't even walk up

these stairs and needed help. You're fairly skipping

up that staircase! Yeah, I am now.

But not before? I would have had to stop and sit

down quite a few times. Just to get up the stairs?

Yeah, even to go down. Clinically depressed,

she stopped going out. If it hadn't havebeen

for my children, I seriously... She needed emergency surgery to put

a shunt into her brain In cases like Rachel,

where actually her obesity men In cases like Rachel,

where actually her obesity meant she was losing her eyesight,

it is quite extreme, but she's a lady of 33 years old,

she's a young lady, she can make all these changes now and can

completely turn everything around The hospital put her on these energy

drinks and a 600-calorie-a-day diet. They kept her in for

six weeks for detox. You have already lost a small

person, haven't you? Yeah, I've just got a few

more people to lose now! As a result, she has lost seven

stone in six months. For the past week, she's lived

in Heartlands Hospital, preparing for an operation

which will close off most of her The last two years have been hard

and I have worked hard and I do deserve this surgery today,

because I put my effort in, Normally, this operation takes

around an hour and ten minutes, but in Rachel's case,

because of the complexity, It should be worth it, though,

because, in two months, We should be able to do a bypass,

given this picture. Overall, so far,

I think it looks doable. This surgeon, Rishi Singhal,

says that the NHS is cutting back on this type of operation

at the time of an obesity epidemic. When I was told, at the beginning

of the journey, it is a 12 month waiting list, I couldn't see an end

to it, but I just want them to know to hang in there, don't give up,

just keep trying and the thought I could've gone blind,

because of overheating, is... It's frightening and I

just don't want any other That was Rachel Murray

talking to Michele Paduano. And we can tell you tonight

that the operation was successful. we'll bring you news of her progress

on the programme next week. Union staff at BMW's engine plant

at Hams Hall in Warwickshire have It follows the announcement

by the German car company that it was planning

to stop their final Our reporter Sian Grzeszczyk

has been following According to the Unite union,

it was overwhelmingly in favour It involved union members at all

four of BMW's plants in the UK, and 93% voted in favour

of potential strikes. That's on a 72% turnout,

which union leaders say shows the strength of feeling

over this issue. So what impact will the planned

pension changes have? Well, some workers believe

they stand to lose as much as ?160,000 if the final

salary scheme is closed, They've already had protests

here in the Midlands and been to lobby bosses in Germany,

who say they need to offer a pension that is sustainable

and affordable in the future. This is a company, remember,

that is unbelievably profitable. 6 billion euros profits

just recently published and we've consistently said to them

that it is completely unfair, in the circumstances

that we are in, that they should no dates have been set

for any strike action. Instead the unions are hoping

this will put pressure on BMW And there will be more on this

on the Sunday Politics with Patrick Burns

at 11am, here on BBC One. A worker has died after becoming

trapped in machinery 40-year-old Jamie Peakcock

from Oldbury suffered serious injuries in the accident

at the steel firm, He was taken to hospital,

but died on Monday. The Health and Safety Executive

has launched an investigation. The actor Jeremy Irons

has joined the campaign against plans for an incinerator,

on the outskirts of Gloucester, The group, Community R4C,

have referred the contract to the competition and markets

authority, claiming the scheme's anti-competitive, and that it

discourages recycling by making it We have to reuse it,

and we're in a world of limited resources and you see all over

the world this push to recycle. And to build a mammoth

incinerator in this beautiful part of the world is,

I believe, a step back. Gloucestershire County Council says

the new facility will save taxpayers more than ?100 million and makes

enough clean electricity Thanks for joining us

on Midlands Today. 23-year-old Aaron Barley is charged

with the murders of a mother and her 13-year-old son

in Stourbridge, and the attempted Your detailed weekend weather

forecast to come shortly. "No-one protected me at the club" -

former West Brom player Saido Berahino says he ended up

hating the team he joined And how two wolves, rejected

by their pack, are settling Many traditional buildings

in Shropshire are in danger There simply aren't enough trained

craftsmen to maintain them. So conservationists have decided

to go into schools to teach teenagers the necessary skills

to preserve the county's The engine house here, built in

1784, once an integral part of Shropshire's mining industry.

Historic England feared this important building was about to

collapse. No craftsman from 50 miles away have been brought in to repeal

it. -- and now some craftsmen have been brought in. The other using

traditional skills that is now dying out. Using cement on a building like

this is extremely damaging and should be avoided. We have a dire

situation nationally I think with most skills, and kids generally are

taught, if you end up in the construction industry, it means your

field, but it is the absolute opposite that is true. So youngsters

at the community college in Bishops Castle are being taught traditional

skills to inspire them to become future guardians of the county's

heritage. There are lessons in stone missionary, timber framing

techniques, making and applying lime mortar and the ancient art of

thatching. We have been amazed at how skilled and adept they are and

how quickly they have picked up the skills, young stonemasons making

work that is of professional quality. It has been very

interesting to do and to find out how they used to do it in the olden

days. Thatching is one of the ancient

crafts, so old its origin is almost unknown.

Many of Shropshire's houses were built before 1919, using traditional

methods, so it is important to get youngsters interested and trained

up. This has been my favourite, plastering. And you have enjoyed it

and me do it in the future? Yes, probably be a builder or something

like that. It is quite satisfying if you get it

right? Absolutely. What do you make of that? Great job.

And a great work from the children too, and hopefully it will inspire

them to get working with the historic buildings.

Smooth finish from Bob, I'm impressed!

A big weekend ahead for Coventry City.

We'll get to the Sky Blues trip to Wembley in a minute.

and he's been speaking about his drugs ban.

Yes, Berahino says he failed a drugs test earlier this season

because someone spiked his drink in a nightclub.

You might remember it came out when Berahino joined Stoke City

from West Bromwich Albion in January that he'd served an eight-match ban.

Now he's admitted to Football Focus on BBC One that he was irresponsible

For me to get banned for something that I really haven't

So it was spiked? Yeah, definitely.

Because if I was going to get high, like the specialist said,

you would have taken an amount way you want to get high and it

would have came higher, the numbers were have came higher

would have came higher, the numbers would have came higher

He has also had the backing of Mark Hughes today.

It happens in this day and age, unfortunately.

I think a lot of people have been victim of that, so, um,

that's always been his stance, so there's no reason

to disbelieve that. It can happen.

I understand he has been critical of his former club West Brom?

Yes, he claims the club offered him no support during that drugs ban

and that he hated the place by the time he left.

That will be sad given he joined at 11. Yes.

Now the Albion head coach Tony Pulis is clearly getting fed up

He said today that life is "too short" to worry about what has

Coventry City fans are counting down the hours to their first Wembley

More than 43,000 will make the trip for

Sunday's Checkatrade Trophy final against Oxford United.

But it's not just the supporters who've been dreaming

of the big occasion, as Nick Clitheroe found out.

Cup final week is a time for giving it everything in training and making

sure the manager wouldn't dare leave your name off

But it's also a time to imagine fulfilling your childhood ambitions.

When you're sort of with your friends, you sort of go,

we should play Wembley, like your back garden Wembley

or something, so, yeah, it's a nice opportunity,

it's one that you probably might not ever get again.

It's every boy's dream, really, to lead your team out

You know, recently, I've been having a few dreams about the moment.

To actually live it will be quite surreal.

And if they want some inspiration as to what it would feel

like to get their hands on a Wembley trophy, then they only have to look

Manager Mark Robins and goalkeeping coach Steve Ogrizovic

It's a one-club city and it's had a great tradition over

It's a one-club city and it's had a great footballing tradition over

the years and it really is unfortunate what's happened.

At some stage, this club will turn around.

Let's just hope that Sunday is the start of it.

It's 30 years since Ogrizovic and his team-mates sent the city

So it's little wonder that 43,000 fans have snapped

In a season apparently destined for league relegation,

they deserve more than just a day out, though.

You know, brilliant support and the players are lucky to have

Everywhere you look, there are signs of that

enthusiasm from the supporters for Sunday's cup final.

The good news for them is that the players

Nick Clitheroe, BBC Midlands Today, Coventry.

One other piece of football news for you.

Hereford FC have been told they will have to replay

their abandoned match against Didcot Town.

The game earlier this month was called off minutes from the end

after disturbances on the pitch involving players and fans.

Hereford were winning 2-1 at the time.

And the really big weekend and Europe for the wasps?

European Champions Cup quarter-final against Leinster in Dublin.

Wasps are the current league leaders.

Leinster are top of the Pro 12 ie the clubs of Ireland,

It's a bit of an Ireland v England rematch.

The Wasps director of rugby Dai Young has urged his players

He believes that will be good enough to win the match.

Looking forward to that one. And it will be fantastic, and we

will be at Wembley and hope we don't put the mockers on it.

We have not had a good record, but we will be there. Come on the Sky

Blues. Thank you, Dan.

Two wolves, who were rejected by their own pack, are settling

into life at a wolf sanctuary - in Shropshire.

BBC cameras followed the pair as they made the journey

from a private collection to their new life

It's all thanks to a man who's spent more than 30 years

Our Rural Affairs correspondent David Gregory-Kumar has more.

In a valley somewhere in Shropshire, a pack of wolves.

And the man who has dedicated much of his life to helping them.

Tony Haighway has been rescuing wolves for the past 35 years.

His sanctuary is called Wolf Watch UK, and it's been in this secret

So, Tony, this is an amazing landscape.

Well, Shropshire isn't agriculturally manicured, like a lot

Farming practices here are very much the same as they have been

And in Hertfordshire the latest, rather sleepy, wolves -

brother and sister - set to start a new life

I mean, the female, this one, actually had

quite an easy time of it. Yeah.

It took us two minutes to catch her. The male gave us a runaround.

Because it takes longer than we expected to catch

the pair of wolves, we arrive at the Wolf Watch valley

Go round the back of the gate and put her there.

But eventually, both pups are safe in their new home.

All right, we're running quite a bit behind schedule,

so we're not going to release the wolves now, we're going to wait

overnight, let them get used to their new surroundings,

then we'll be back in the morning to set them free.

At first light, Tony is out with a chicken breakfast.

Good boy. Come on, boy.

Clearly, she's not ready to come out just yet,

I think what I'll do is I'll just leave now and I'll let them come out

on their own and we'll see what happens.

It must be quite, quite fearful, you know, to be brought

into a new environment, lots of strange people

So we leave them to it and, eventually, they take their first

David Gregory Kumar, BBC Midlands Today, Wolf Watch.

They are beautiful! I am sure you will want to see more, and you can.

And you can see how the wolves settle in and get

And you can see how the wolves settle in and get on with the rest

of the pack on Inside Out, tonight at 7.30 here on BBC1.

One of the world's most extreme litter picks is taking

place at Symond's Yat on the Herefordshire/Gloucestershire

border this weekend, as dozens of climbers clean up

The volunteers will be hundreds of feet above the ground removing

litter, checking and replacing safety pegs and tidying up loose

Good luck to them. Some gorgeous sunshine today. Height desert

looking for the weekend? -- folk is it looking for the "Mac there will

be a lot of showers around tomorrow. There has been plenty

of lovely sunshine today. Temperatures made it up to 17

Celsius in Coventry. But after a cold front cleared

through during the early hours today That theme will continue

into the weekend, tomorrow. The first day of April will come

with the traditional April showers. Sunshine around, but they could be

just about anywhere. It is feeling pressure, but by

Sunday, feeling that I am bright. Tonight starting to see the showers,

driven by a weather system moving its way through, the first show was

pushing their way through through the next few hours, some clear

spells and feeling fresher, temperatures falling away, more

organised showers when we wake up tomorrow. We will see those showers

working their way through from the West as we head through the data

model, they will pay up by the afternoon, sunny spells around that.

And with lighter wind in the sunshine it will not feel too bad.

But some thunder in the showers and slow-moving, you will know about it

if you are caught under them. But those die out through the overnight

period into Sunday but these guys were clear and temperatures falling

away, dipping down to four or five Celsius, lower than that in the

countryside, gardeners beware. Lots more sunshine to come through

Sunday. 43,000 expected to take the trip to Wembley and there will be

some cloud but it will be dry, coverage on BBC Coventry and

Warwickshire throughout the day. Staying settled for the rest of us

with lots of sunshine. Thank you for that. That is all from

us for now, I will have your late news after the ten o'clock News.

Have a lovely weekend.