13/04/2017 Midlands Today

Hello, and welcome to a special edition of Midlands Today.

We're live in Stoke Heath in Coventry, and tonight we're

Friends old and new are celebrating a special birthday, and the power of

community spirit. Everybody helped out, because nobody had anything

anyway. It wasn't a case of having more than somebody else, nobody had

anything. Over the next humans, we will be delving into the BBC

archives and talking to communities we do not often hear from. -- the

next few months. Valley House has helped thousands of vulnerable

people across Coventry. I will be tea dancing indoors with people from

Stoke Heath, but will you be able to be outside this weekend? Find out

later. More families are coming forward after the avoidable deaths

of at least eight babies in Shropshire. If they had got her out

sooner, I truly believe it would have been a different story right

now. And advice for motorists head of the Easter bank holiday, one of

the busiest weekends of the year on the roads.

Good evening and welcome to Coventry.

Let me take you inside the charity Valley House.

They've welcomed around 50,000 people through their doors over

It's the perfect place to start our new series

These special programmes will celebrate the unsung community

heroes, who make the West Midlands such a great place to live.

Over the next half hour we'll take you back to the 70s

of neighbours in Stoke Heath who turned an old council house

into a safe haven for local people who had fallen on hard times.

We've also been finding out what community spirit

Shefali's with some people who know all about that.

Yes, I've been well looked after by these lovely people.

A bit later, we will be hearing how they've been catching up

on old times and helping us find the good samaritans in the area.

84 Valley Road opened in 1977 as a homeless

The support it offered was pioneering.

The local volunteers who set it up thought their idea was a simple one.

It was what tight knit communities did, they looked out for their own.

Our Special Correspondent Peter Wilson brings us up to date

with a charity that really did begin at home.

The BBC programme, Open Door, in ancient indeed, captured in an

exciting new community project. The people of Stoke Heath, Coventry, had

taken on a house owned by the council.

It became more than a hostel for the homeless, it offered hope and a

sense of family. One of So life begins at 40

for Valley House. We'll hear from its new chief

executive a little later. Thank you for having us and making

us feel welcome. Tell us about what Valley hosted with you. It got me if

it on the ladder, somewhere to live. Post before I came to Valley House,

I lived in a tree in the local park for a couple of days. When I came

here, they helped me out. And it moved on from there. Is it fair to

say without Valley House, YouTube and not be together, would you? We

met there, we have been together 35 years, we have three children. -- U2

would not be together. Is it possible for it you to sum up what

Valley House has done to the community? Cel I think it has

brought people together, to be honest. Back in those days, people

work together. I have seen how it has developed to know. I have not

gone down there, to be honest. Thank you for sharing your story with us

and making us welcome. Plenty more from Stoke Heath litter in the

programme, but now we will go back to Nick in the studio.

In other news, Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital trust

are accused tonight of failing to properly investigate the deaths

Jack Burn and Sophiya Hotchkiss died shortly after birth,

but their families say their concerns were

The local coroner is now considering opening an inquest

As Michael Buchanan revealed yesterday, there've been at least

eight avoidable baby deaths in Shropshire in three years.

Michael joins us now from our studio in Shrewsbury

How do these new families say they have been failed? Essentially, what

they are saying is that the deaths of their babies were not properly

investigated, or they were not involved in any investigations.

Advice from the Royal College Of Obstetricians And Gynaecologists

says that families should be involved so that the most can be

learned from each case. One woman was concerned that she was feeling

unwell, and about the health of her baby, but she was left in a side

room for 40 minutes. By the time staff came to check on her, they

realised that her daughter had a weak heartbeat, and though her

daughter was born, she died just hours later.

If they had got her out before, I truly believe it would have been a

I would not be sitting here talking to you, because I would have a

three-year-old running around. It is not just that case, we'll so

spoke to Healy Matthews. In March of 2015, she had a long and difficult

labour, lasting 36 hours, with many delays and mistakes, and although

her son, Jack, was born, he also died within hours of his birth.

Since we realise this and investigated this, because we have

spoken to the coroner, who is now considering opening an inquest into

Jack's death. I want an inquest, I want something done. More research

into it, and someone held accountable for killing my boy. I

was expecting a healthy baby. What has been the Trust's reaction to

this? The trust has said that they investigate all deaths, and they do

learn from it. They acknowledge that they need to communicate -- the need

to improve their locations with families, and in these two cases,

they did not engage fully with the families.

A cash machine has been stolen from a Post Office

in Malvern after it was rammed with a stolen mechanical digger.

The building in Barnards Green was attacked at 3:20 this morning.

The cashpoint machine was then dragged along the road

before being abandoned at Blackmore Industrial Estate.

A puppy dealer has been jailed for 33 months

for trading in sick and dying dogs in Staffordshire.

Jamie Parvizi from Scholar Green near Stoke-on-Trent

admitted 21 offences of cruelty and fraud.

The RSPCA launched an investigation after receiving complaints

The charity says the sentence is the longest prison term ever

More than 17 million drivers are expected to take to the roads

over the Easter Bank Holiday weekend and many of them will be passing

But be warned, as figures from WAZE, the crowdsourced, sat nav app,

show that Good Friday afternoon is the worst day to travel,

with drivers spending 25% longer in the car than the average Friday.

Here's our Transport Correspondent Peter Plisner.

This is what you will probably encounter at the

busiest times, but there are ways of war avoiding the worst congestion

busiest times, but there are ways of avoiding the worst congestion

On busy days, people really see the value of this...

Finlay Clark runs the free traffic up, WAZE, which it is claimed is one

of the most accurate satnavs when it comes to traffic alerts.

All of the information we are getting is from

real drivers out on the roads, so everyone is crowdsourcing and

sharing their traffic data, so we can see all

the traffic hotspots on the

road, and route you around it so that you avoid the traffic.

Satnavs will certainly come in handy, as

extra journeys over the bank holiday weekend

put even more strains on the

It has been a mixed picture on the roads so

far today, but tomorrow, Good Friday, is expected to be

the busiest, as five million drivers head out on the

The busiest time will be between 10am and 2pm.

Saturday could be busy too, as shoppers mix with long-distance

Just as well that Highways England has lifted many roadworks.

We think, based on previous experience, it does make quite a big

and significant difference to people's movements.

But not for drivers on the M5, where long-running roadworks are set to

continue for now, and further up the motorway,

next Tuesday sees the

start of a two-year renovation scheme on a viaduct.

We are trying to encourage people to use

other modes of transport, or if you have to use the car,

Could you get around Birmingham using another route?

The best advice, both before and after

Easter, has to be, avoid travelling at the busiest times.

The Easter weekend is often vital in the football season,

After the joy of winning at Wembley, their relegation could be

They're 11 points from safety with just 12 to play for.

And there'll be a protest march before tomorrow's game

The Sky Blues Trust says the club has killed stone dead any

feelgood factor from Wembley by freezing season ticket prices

rather than reducing them next season following relegation.

They also claim the vast majority of season ticket holders

And it's crunch time for Gianfranco Zola

His position looks increasingly shaky, doesn't it?

Zola has won just twice in 20 league games.

Tomorrow they play a Rotherham side who are bottom

If they can't win that one, the risk of relegation grows.

I don't think Zola could survive the drop no matter how much

Cricket, and Warwickshire begin their first home game

Yep, and surprise, surprise, there's rain in the forecast.

But it's not just heavy rain that can cause disruption.

Rebecca Wood and I have been finding out why the weather is so important

The start of the cricket season, it is freezing 's bitterly cold,

normally wins. Typical, isn't? Yes. The weather is not just important

for cricket spectators, isn't it? The staff as well. Meet Gary Barwell

and his team. For the past few months, they have been mauling and

preening to make sure that the pitch is second to none. But just like any

Gartner, they have been keeping a close eye on the weather. I will

have a look at the weather Pouille 56 different signs a day. I have

five weather apps on my phone, and it is just for up-and-coming events.

The weather has such important impact, so many games have been won

or lost because of it. What is the worst type of weather you can

encounter? Vein is the one that everyone looks at. -- theme is the

one that everyone looks at. Is as much harder to catch the ball with

cold hands, but when you see them polishing the ball, so there is a

smooth side and a rough side, the more moisture in the era, the harder

it is to bat, so it can affect who wants to bowl first, who wants to

bat first, and it can change the whole dynamic of the game. Catch!

Just about. Too much rain can cause disaster for everyone. The season is

underway now, and it is pretty likely that over the next six

months, rain will stop play. Even when the weather is so bad there is

no cricket, there is always a picnic. Oi!

Worcestershire start their season tomorrow.

Meanwhile, across the border in Gloucestershire, a panel

of council officials could be set up to deal with a row

When you look at the history of Coventry, and Stoke

Heath in particular, you can see the strong community

This part of Coventry was a prime target during the blitz.

The car engine plant became a munitions factory -

it was targetted by the last of the bombs which fell on the city

There's a different kind of fire-fighting going on today.

Local authorities across the country are having to pull their belts in.

Since 2010, Coventry City Council has lost

?95 million a year Government grant funding,

with another ?36 million - 15% of the overall budget -

This means a lot of challenges for places like this.

LJ Winterburn, the chief exec here has joined us.

There are tough choices being made, particularly for the many charities

like this one who are providing a range of services for the council.

How do you prioritise? We are being hit quite severely by funding cuts

from local authorities, but we have decided to be proactive in terms of

looking to our local community to come up with fundraising ideas and

initiatives, and turn to local trusts and foundations to continue

the work we are doing, rather than looking to cut services. Watched

your volunteers mean to you? Cel they are massively important.

Through them, we are able to provide a range of services that are not

available through Government grants. If there is anybody out there, who

would like to volunteer for Valley House, please get in touch with us.

Please sun up the future, how do you see it? It is about innovation,

working in partnership with other organisations and the local

authority to provide the best services. I can see why you got the

job! Thank you very much. Throughout the day on social

media, we've been asking what does community

spirit mean to you? Mike Buick posted on Facebook,

"Community spirit is invaluable. "Yet in today's society,

it rarely exists." Jackie Kay-Finnegan

said, "Brilliant. "They've helped so many

people over the year, "keep up the good

work, Valley House" Keep your thoughts coming

on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. Shefali is over in the Valley House

garden, with some new friends. We've been having a lot of fun,

I've even had my dancing shoes on! Have you all been having fun? Cheers

CHEERING let's find out what

makes Stoke Heath such a smash hit with the people

who live here. We sent legendary music

producer Pete Waterman back I have worked with international

artists, but Stoke Heath is still home.

You can take the kid out of Coventry, but you cannot take

Coventry out of the kid. I was born in that from there. Everybody knew

my mum, Stella. My mum was Stella and my dad was John, and added that

the new Stella and John. If you wanted something you went next door,

and if you could not afford anything, you went into the shop and

the you paid them on Friday. That was the community we were in. On

this crass, I played for England, box fighting and, I won the World

Championship three times on here. It was great, and everybody joined in,

and if you did not have something, you could borrow it, and it was as

simple as life was. That was my childhood. I am here to see what

kids today do. Like Scott have a look. Hello. How are you doing? You

ever, with ideas for yourself? I go to the trees and climb around, and

see if I can get to the top of the tree first. It is a safe

environment, so you do not have to feel uncomfortable. They will look

after you. When I was here, I took it for granted, that is what

community did. When you are older, that committee becomes very

important to you. You can bring a community together at a place like

this. When I was a kid, this was an allotment, but noticed the Stoke

Heath Community Centre. Without the volunteers, he would not get a

decent cup of tea, and a piece of cake. You have got to work with

children, that is why we started the youth club, because children had

nowhere to go. You can probably relates to that, coming from you.

But now you are under threat? And had ten people help the community?

If we do not do it with volunteers, we cannot do it at all. What is

amazing here, as you look at the older people, you look at the

volunteers, and you realise that you cannot pay for this. It is genuine

commitment to the community. We are trying to raise ?1000 for Ashley.

Ashley needs a chest brace, and it is ?1000, which in this day and age,

is not a lot of money, but the NHS will not fund it. So we do things

like that, we take them camping, three days, we go camping, and stay

overnight. It is a lot of work, but it is fantastic. Community spirit is

alive and well, it is fantastic. If you can help them, you can, because

that is what community is all about. You know, Stoke Heath Community

Centre is such a busy place, youth club, adult education,

mums n tots, dance classes, I waltzed over there this

afternoon for a tea dance. There is nothing like a bit

of Latin music, is there, to get you in the mood,

but I tell you, this community centre is the beating heart

of the community, I love coming here to come

and meet my friends, get out of the house, unite the community,

and talk about all the music. Just enjoy the friendship,

and the hospitality that happens Because it is a really

friendly community. As you can see, we all mix,

so we all know each other. I am glad I was endorsed earlier on,

because it has been quite cold today, I had a light coat on a

couple of hours ago, but now I had to put on a parka. Quickly

noticeable breeze, it is cooler than that. There is a lot of cloud

plaguing us, it will be cool, and some rain at times, but on the

positive side, there is some sunshine on offer, and plenty of dry

weather as well. The best they will be Saturday. Let's take a look at

the background story, and from that pressure chart, you can see that we

are going to see Atlantic fronts are going to see Atlantic fronts

that will bring in some rain over the weekend, and any rain will be

down to a minimum. Tonight, some clear spells at the moment, but lots

of clouds, which will thicken up from the Northwest. It should stay

largely dry, however, just a few spots of rain across the north of

the region, temp stuffing down to about seven Celsius. There will be

flickers of brightness in a cloudy day, temperatures rising to between

12 Celsius in the north to 14 Celsius in the south, with a

moderate north-westerly breeze. Tomorrow night, the rain and showery

outbreaks of rain will move southwards, but they will soon be

out of the way, but the start of the day on Saturday will be quite sunny.

Some pleasant spells of sunshine, but Saturday will be a two layer day

with a noticeable breeze. On Sunday, a bit of rain to the north, but

Easter Monday will be worst of all. Clearing up in the afternoon. From

all others on Midlands today, have a lovely Easter. --