12/04/2017 Midlands Today

The headlines tonight: The small fish being smuggled for big money.

Baby eels from the river severn, selling for ?6000 a kilo in Asia.

People that are smuggling them and taking them abroad, I just hope they

get caught. We'll be looking at what's

being done to stop the trade, and how legal fishing

of the elvers can be protected. The Health Secretary orders

a review of a number of baby deaths in Shropshire,

which could have been avoided. My girl is gone because they

couldn't be bothered to do the job. Warming from Staffordshire Fire

Service after this electrical reel bonfire. -- this electrical reel

caught fire. The lengths Adam Peaty has to go

to retain his Olympic swimming Gold. First stop -

the British Championships. And the quiet of the Midlands

countryside - the perfect setting for a picnic blanket and hamper this

Easter weekend, provided it's Security is being increased

along the River Severn, to stop baby eels being smuggled

out of the country. Border Force found 200

kilograms of baby eels - They were being illegally

transported to Hong Kong, where they could have sold

for up to ?1.3 million. We're live by the the River Severn

tonight near Tewkesbury with our Rural Affairs Correspondent,

David Gregory-Kumar joins. So is it a good spot

to fish for elvers, David? after dark tonight this stretch

of the Severn will have plenty continuing a tradition that

goes back centuries. But is all this threatened

by the advent of potential Full moon means high tides and peak

elver catches on the river Severn. These are all legal elvermen

using their traditional elver nets. But alongside the illegal fishing

for elvers on River Severn there is now a worry

there is a growing amount of poaching and then smuggling

of elvers out of the country. Something the legal elvers fishermen

relieved to not like. If we do not look after the fish

we haven't got any fish here. So people who are smuggling

and taking them abroad, well, Because eels and elvers

are endangered, and beause the appettite for them in China

and the Far East is so large, But those who break the ban can

make a lot of money. Elvers here tonight that will go

to the elvers station, they are getting what we currently

believe the price is - But most importantly those elvers

when sold into Asia can be worth as much as ?6,000 per kilo,

so that is what makes it attractive for smuggling, if you like,

and the theft of elvers. This is the UK's first large-scale

elver smuggling bust - Hidden under legal fish,

three trays of elvers with a street value of ?1.3 million -

more expensive than beluga caviar. And with elver season now

at its peak on the Severn, the authorities are stepping up

efforts to stop the smuggling. I think it has always been there

since the export to Asia stopped. At the end of the night the legal

trade end up at this elver station. The catch is weighed -

in this case nearly a kilo - To the illegal trade though

it's worth a lot more. It spoils it for everybody

because no doubt there will be some restrictions put on or something

and we will all be suffering, Increased efforts to stop smuggling

will help legal elvermen So David, how do you tackle elver

smuggling which is taking place under cover of darkness,

in remote locations? It is all about intelligence

gathering. If you talk to the border force, until this boss that he threw

for ?1.3 million worth of illegal elvers, this crime was not even on

their radar but now we see it is big money and it has an endangered

species so they want to work with the Environment Agency are also

worth the elvers fishermen to preserve fishermen -- preserve the

elvers for the legal fishermen. What happens to the elvers that are

caught. They are a delicacy, not so much in this country but you will

find them on Spanish have passed menus, for example. That's about 40%

and the other 60% are sent out to European rivers for conservation and

try and boost the numbers and so that is why smuggling makes people

so angry because for every kilogram that ends up any restaurant in China

is one kilogram less for the conservation efforts here.

And you can read more about the efforts to combat elver

The Health Secretary, Jeremy Hunt, has ordered a review of a number

The BBC has learned there have been at least eight avoidable deaths,

over three years, at the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust.

Five of them were partly due to the same problem -

a failure to properly monitor the babies' heart rates.

I'm joined now by our reporter Joanne Writtle.

Joanne what further details do you have?

The BBC's learned of at least 10 suspicious deaths at the Shrewsbury

and Telford Hospital NHS Trust since 2013.

Inquests and legal action against the trust have found that eight

Two others were never properly investigated,

In September 2014 twins Ella and Lola were still-born.

A letter from the trust to their mum Kelly Jones from Shrewsbury

said their deaths were partly down to a "delay in recognising

deterioration in fetal heart traces."

That midwife came in trying and saying I am so sorry. -- she was

crying. It was too late, the damage was done. My girls are gone because

they could not be bothered to do their job.

She was born at the Princess Royal Hospital

As with several of these deaths, staff failed to properly monitor her

When she was five months old, she died from complications

I can only take it day by day sometimes. If I am lucky week by

week. But I look back on it and the person who I was and the life I had,

it is unrecognisable to who I am now and where I now am.

Joanne, this is not the first time maternity services

in Shropshire have come under fire, is it?

You may remember Kate Stanton Davies here.

She died just six hours after she was born at

But her parents Richard and Rhiannon had to fight for seven years to get

the trust to accept its failures had contributed to her death.

Now they're calling for a public inquiry into continuing failures.

The health trust says the rate of stillbirths and deaths

of new babies in Shropshire is equivalent to the

But says its learning from failures to properly monitor heart rates.

Nationally there has been an initiative called Saving Babies

Lives recognises throughout the NHS this is a challenge for all

organisations and we have been at the forefront of trying to bring in

systems to improve our ability to diagnose when things go wrong in

terms of the fatal heartrate monitoring.

Well, the health secretary has now ordered a review

A Shropshire man with terminal motor neurone disease,

has won the right to challenge the law on assisted

67-year-old Noel Conway has fought for a judicial review

which could result in some terminally ill adults being able

Last month the court refused to allow a hearing,

but that decision has now been overturned.

Supporters are now looking forward to a full hearing of the case

I am delighted, of course, and Noel is

delighted that finally he will have his day in court

to explain why people like him deserve the right to

a dignified death and get to hear exactly why he thinks that is the

case, rather than, as we heard in the High Court originally,

not being given permission to even hear the

There's been a significant increase in the number of violent crimes

against men in the West Midlands, accused of bringing

The number of reported cases have more than tripled

from three in 2014 - to 13 last year.

Our reporter Audrey Dias has been speaking to a man who faced threats

and abuse from relatives when he told them he was gay.

When 30-year-old Sikh man Manny Singh Sidhu from Birmingham

came out as gay he faced threats and abuse from other

relatives and his community. People would write stuff like,

certain cousins, "no batty men aloud," "no gay boys allowed

And then I confronted one of them and was told

His family feared his decision would affect his sisters and immediate

family's so-called honour. The fear had always been let

the daughters get married, from my parents, and then you can

So they were like, we are going to ruin their marriage,

we are going to ruin their engagement and prevent

I've been given figures from West Midlands Police that show

13 men suffered honour related violence last year,

And the force think the real numbers are higher still.

It is hidden crime and people find it very difficult to come forward

and report these matters, but I think it is very difficult

for men to come forward culturally as well because men are meant to be

the powerhouse of family and meant to shut up and get on with it.

Whereas women are allowed to be vulnerable and allowed to cry.

That fear of reporting the crime has a knock-on effect for charities

like Kikit working with men at the heart of the

community in Sparkbrook. In terms of the data,

it is such limited data to identify and try and gather the need is very

difficult because people just do not come forward and do not

want to give their details and do not want to give any

information about themselves and so everything is very discreet.

Gay men are seen as particular targets for honour abuse,

and Manny has now produced a book and a video with his mum

It is about living the life you are told, keeping up

appearances, living according to how people think you should.

He's hoping it will stop others suffering in silence.

Audrey Dias, BBC Midlands Today Birmingham.

A 58-year-old man from Stoke-on-Trent has been arrested

Police were called to an address in Cardwell Street, at around 04.30

this morning, where they found a woman's body.

Officers have been carrying out increased patrols in the area today

The body of a man has been recovered from a canal in Birmingham.

Police were called to a stretch of the waterway near Winson Green,

just before half past seven this morning, after

They're now trying to establish the man's identity.

Police are appealing for witnesses to a machete attack

on a 22-year-old Birmingham man, which left him with

Officers were called to reports of disorder in Carters Lane,

The victim has now been released from hospital.

Staffordshire Fire Service has revealed that an an old electrical

cable reel, was the cause of a house fire, in which an 83

Lucy Lester died yesterday, she's the second elderly person

in the county to die in a fire in less than a week.

Our reporter Ben Sidwell is outside her house for us now.

Ben, what more can you tell us about this fire?

Sadly this seems to be where the fire happened behind us, as you can

see. We'll find out exactly what happened but these two people are

two of 56 of the last ten years who have died from fires in

Staffordshire. Of those 5673% over 65 or over, 50% had mobility issues.

With me is Brian Moss from Staffordshire Fire Service. This is

the cable with think caused the fire, it is an electrical extension

reel cable that many of us will have. What are the dangers? With

this one it is particularly old and was used to par work quite a

high-power halogen heater. The cable was not freely extended and remained

wrapped spoiled up over time that broke down the installation and we

believe that overheated. Is some belief she may have gone to try and

investigate this fire, that is something you just do not want

anyone to do? It is a possibility we cannot rule out. Our advice to the

community has two B if you believe there is a fire or you discover a

fire get out, stay out and ring the emergency services and we can deal

with it. There is a campaign launched by

Staffordshire Fire servers which says if you have an elderly person

near you keep an eye on them and if you have concerns contact the Fire

Service directly. Thanks for joining us

on Midlands Today, this is our top story tonight: The small fish

being smuggled for big money - baby eels from the River Severn

selling for ?6000 a kilo in Asia. Shefali will be here later

with the weather forecast. Also in tonight's programme: A tail

with a happy ending. The dog lover who helped close down

a puppy farm and bring the owners to justice -

with his adopted rescue pups. And he's not basking

in the glory of his gold - how Adam Peaty is targetting

another Olympic swimming "Mindless thugs" - that's how

vandals have been described - after destroying dozens of gnomes

at a tourist attraction It's the second time in a year that

Etchills Wood Railway Up to 100 garden gnomes

have been smashed, many of which had been donated

by families and schools, after a similar collection

was vandalised last September. It's been a shock for

all the volunteers. Their gnome village

at Etchills Wood Railway in Warwickshire was vandalised

last Thursday evening. We're devastated really,

and the members are devastated as well because this is the second

time it's happened and we had a marvellous response

from members of the public. School children have

arrived with us, birthday parties have arrived,

families have arrived with gnomes to reinstate

from the previous occasion. It was only last September that

around 40 gnomes had been smashed and scattered

across the miniature railway here. A collection that's been lovingly

restored over the years To think that people

have donated them out of the goodness of their hearts

and it's all destroyed. I think it is despicable and I can't

understand the reasoning behind it. It is very upsetting,

isn't it, Reggie? It is just disappointing

because I think it is a very nice display,

to have gnomes and things around I am sad because the gnomes

have been crushed. That people can do

something like that. Some of the items have been hit

with such force it's even managed to break solid

concrete gnome houses. Well, in the woods here there

are wildlife cameras so Warwickshire Police are currently

viewing those images. Up to 100 gnomes have

been destroyed this time round but volunteers are urging

families to still come and enjoy They say they'll soon

be back on track - When dog lover Tom Mather

bought two Westie puppies, within five days of him getting

them home, they had died. Tom had unwittingly purchased

the pets from an illegal puppy farm, where the animals were kept

in filthy conditions. He helped bring the owners

to justice and has now adopted two more dogs,

who were born after their mothers were rescued

from the farm by the RSPCA. Meet George and Archie,

two happy dogs whose lives could easily have turned

out so differently. Their mothers were among 37 puppies

seized in an RSPCA raid on an illegal breeding farm

in Bickenhull near Solihull. They'd endured terrible

living conditions - a complete contrast to the lives

George and Archie are now leading with their owner Tom Mather

from Bedworth in Warwickshire. I don't like to think about

what could have happened to them. They have been really

lucky and they've landed I don't think they know how good

they have got it, really. The illegal puppy trade,

which Archie and George were part Complaints to the RSPCA have

quadrupled in 80 years. Last year the charity received

nearly 3700 calls from worried Tom too was a victim

of Solihull puppy farmer Sean Kerr, who is serving

a six-month jail sentence. 16 months ago Tom bought Westie

puppies Ben and Max from the farm. Five days later they died

from the highly contagious disease parvovirus.

What he was doing is obviously Using living animals as commodities,

it is not fair, it is cruel, it is inhumane and the punishment

does not fit the crime. George, a Shih Tzu cross

and Jack Russell terrier cross, Archie, have been fostered by Tom

for a year. With the conclusion of the puppy

farm court case last week, he's now been told he can adopt them

for good. They are so loving Tom's advising anyone

who buys puppies to carry And says he's delighted to get

the opportunity to at least make sure George and Archie have the life

they deserve. Bob Hockenhull BBC Midlands

Today, Warwickshire. The Wolverhampton, cyclist

Andy Tennant, has helped the British team pursuit quartet into the bronze

medal race at the World Championships

in Hong Kong. The British team set the fourth

quickest time in the heats, and will now race Italy

for bronze tomorrow. Tennant is looking to add

to the silver and bronze medals he won at the worlds,

in London, last year. The Birmingham gymnast Joe Fraser

has been named in the British team for the European Championships

in Romania next week. It's the first time he has made

the squad for a senior competition. The 18-year-old won the British

men's title last month. Fraser is joined in the team

by his Birmingham The Staffordshire swimmer Adam Peaty

says he's determined to become the first Briton ever

to successfully defend Peaty won gold in the 100 metres

breast stroke in Rio last summer. His road to retaining the medal

starts way ahead of Tokyo in 2020 - beginning at the British

championships which get All he has to do is look down

at his arm for a reminder, But, to be honest, he was very unlikely

to forget the 57 seconds which changed his life

in the Olympic pool in Rio. The 22-year-old from Uttoxeter

is already targeting a repeat at Tokyo 2020.

You always want to get a peak performance out

in the next Olympics, but again it is very hard

to peak at each Olympics. No British person ever, I think,

has defended an Olympic title, Perhaps the biggest change for Adam

since he became Olympic champion has been moving his training

base to Loughborough. His personal coach Mel Marshall

is now National Lead coach at British Swimming's performance

centre but it hasn't changed their relationship.

People ask me all the Yeah, he has changed but he has

changed for the better. He copes with the media really well

and tries his best to try and still give back to the community

and get involved in The other vital element in Adam's

rise to Olympic champion has been Mum Caroline talked him out

of quitting at 14 but he's also grateful that he wasn't pushed

into the sport too early. I think I have been more successful

because I have not had that grilling from a young age and I am enjoying

it a lot more from 16, 17, whereas kids who have done it

from a young age are sometimes, not everyone, but sometimes burning

out by the time they get to 15, Defending his British title

and qualifying for the worlds will be the target when he steps out

in Sheffield next week. Long-term though it's Olympic gold

again and becoming the first man ever to swim the 100 metres

breaststroke in 56 seconds. How's it looking for the lead up

to Easter weekend, Shefali? That brisk breeze was the wind of

change and it was meant to kick in sooner than it did but that meant we

got to see any few more hours of sunshine and very pleasant across

the region. Thicker cloud started to sink in later in the day. For many

it remained dry with just a a few around but for the Easter weekend it

looks like this. Plenty of dry weather but the besties will be

bestowed day on Easter Monday. Some rain on good Friday and Saturday but

some sunshine around and cooler days and nights. Currently it looks like

this, high pressure to do with keeping these fronts slipping down

from the north quite a week. The one affecting us today moves out of the

way by tonight and the role model leaving us with drier conditions and

lighter winds. A couple of front come-down from the north by Good

Friday bringing this rain. But mostly light rain. This evening, a

few spots of rain at the moment but they will clear out as will be

cloudy during the early hours so much clearer conditions overnight

and in the early hours temperatures drop. A little cooler in the

countryside. Those cooler might persist for a few days. The chilly

start tomorrow but some pleasant sunshine first thing and the cloud

bubbles up in the afternoon and that, if ticking off, could set off

some rain but mainly dry tomorrow. A light breeze from the westerly

direction. Tomorrow night, the cloud thickens up from the North West

ahead of those systems coming in from the North producing a bit of

rain by Good Friday but it will be showers on Saturday. Drier towards

the end of the weekend. I was particularly interested to see

how warm it is tomorrow as we are on the move.

Starting in Stoke Heath, Coventry, we're taking the team on the road,

with help from music industry legend Pete Waterman who grew up there.

of a pioneering local charity which has helped tens of thousands

of local people, and celebrates its 40th birthday this weekend.

I'll have your forecast, and here's a little taste of what Mr Waterman

We have this crass and I played for England, I won the World

Championship three times here! It was fantastic. It will be great fun.

I hope he can join us tomorrow at 6:30pm and I will be back tonight at

10:30pm.