:00:07. > :00:11.A yellow weather warning is in force across the West Midlands tonight,
:00:12. > :00:14.with the potential of snow in high areas and ice forming on untreated
:00:15. > :00:18.Strong winds, after freezing temperatures, will also add
:00:19. > :00:20.to the possible hazards facing drivers and commuters
:00:21. > :00:28.Our reporter Ben Sidwell is at Stoke-on-Trent for us now.
:00:29. > :00:43.As you can see, it is pretty snowy. I'm just outside the city centre
:00:44. > :00:47.here. A couple of inches have fallen here. I will tell you more about
:00:48. > :00:50.what is happening around in a moment. But I have been looking at
:00:51. > :00:54.the first day of winter here in the Midlands.
:00:55. > :00:56.The first significant snowfall of winter and it was the A53
:00:57. > :00:59.near Leek on the Staffordshire moorlands that felt it worst.
:01:00. > :01:00.By mid-afternoon it was spreading further south.
:01:01. > :01:03.This the scene on the eastern slopes of the Malvern Hills.
:01:04. > :01:07.The fine dusting settled on the Lickey hills south
:01:08. > :01:11.of Birmingham, no dramas, but still quite exciting for some.
:01:12. > :01:14.Well, there is only a bit of it, but it's really nice.
:01:15. > :01:20.It's the first time she has seen snow, so we brought to have a look!
:01:21. > :01:22.No rest for the gritters as attention switches
:01:23. > :01:26.The concern now is ice on untreated roads during tomorrow
:01:27. > :01:32.Watching all this with more than a passing interest,
:01:33. > :01:36.a self-styled entrepeteur and inventor.
:01:37. > :01:38.In the back garden of his home in Kempsey near Worcester,
:01:39. > :01:43.he designed and built a sledge come skiboard, he calls the Axi-ski.
:01:44. > :01:46.It was intended as a one-off for his daughters but has gone
:01:47. > :01:50.into commerical production and sold 27,000 over ths past five years,
:01:51. > :01:58.It only needs a little bit of snow and it looks like he's got his wish.
:01:59. > :02:03.We have waited six years for this moment and finally,
:02:04. > :02:08.the Axi-ski is going to see some action in the UK and I'm so excited
:02:09. > :02:13.and I know an awful lot of customers of mine are also excited.
:02:14. > :02:16.In the end, for the rest of us, this much anticipated weather event
:02:17. > :02:21.But with snow still forecast overnight, it could be a very
:02:22. > :02:24.different picture in some parts of the Midlands when we wake
:02:25. > :02:40.Many places in Staffordshire have got a scene like this. I was
:02:41. > :02:44.travelling up the M6. Conditions are very difficult and gritters are out
:02:45. > :02:47.across the West Midlands. John Fraser from Worcestershire County
:02:48. > :02:50.Council told me that they are more worried about the ice and the snow.
:02:51. > :02:55.That may well turn back to rain and wash away the salt
:02:56. > :02:59.So we need to keep a very close eye and make sure we are out
:03:00. > :03:02.and about putting some more salt down because we expect
:03:03. > :03:14.The snow is falling again. If you don't need to come out and drive,
:03:15. > :03:19.don't because we have seen a number of cars slipping and sliding
:03:20. > :03:23.already. It is very icy out here. There will be problems in the
:03:24. > :03:28.morning, maybe even some school closures. The best thing to do to
:03:29. > :03:30.get the information is to tune into your local BBC radio station. Ben,
:03:31. > :03:33.thank you very much. Tributes have been pouring
:03:34. > :03:36.in to the kindness and talent of the former Aston Villa,
:03:37. > :03:38.Wolves and England football Every club in the Football League
:03:39. > :03:42.will hold a minute's applause before this weekend's fixtures,
:03:43. > :03:44.after it was announced today that the 72-year-old
:03:45. > :03:45.had died suddenly from Just a warning - Nick Clitheroe's
:03:46. > :03:51.report contains flash photography. The playing side, and are not just
:03:52. > :03:54.talking about on the field, I'm talking about it completely,
:03:55. > :03:56.it's a shambles. What's the point of
:03:57. > :03:58.saying anything else? Graham Taylor always told it
:03:59. > :04:02.straight, but he got results too. Within nine months of his arrival
:04:03. > :04:04.at newly relegated Aston Villa in 1987, he led them to promotion
:04:05. > :04:09.back to the top flight. With a combination of outstanding
:04:10. > :04:12.signings and brilliant coaching, he then took Villa agonisingly close
:04:13. > :04:15.to winning the league title, before being snapped
:04:16. > :04:19.up by England in 1990. I should never have let him go,
:04:20. > :04:22.really, but they wanted He was one of the few that
:04:23. > :04:31.I got on very well with. A well-educated man, articulate,
:04:32. > :04:38.and always had a smile on his face. I think the key thing
:04:39. > :04:40.with Graham is, and anybody that worked with him,
:04:41. > :04:44.the staff at the football clubs, He treated the tea lady,
:04:45. > :04:47.the man on the door, the same way as he would treat
:04:48. > :04:51.his multi-million-pound striker. In 1994, Taylor returned to club
:04:52. > :04:57.football with Wolves. There were only a handful
:04:58. > :05:00.of clubs who I would have come back into football
:05:01. > :05:02.for and Wolverhampton Wanderers In his one full season at Molineux
:05:03. > :05:09.they made it to the promotion playoffs but that was as good
:05:10. > :05:11.as it got. Behind the scenes, though,
:05:12. > :05:14.Taylor's role was critical in sowing Graham was very instrumental
:05:15. > :05:18.in how our academy and youth structure looks today and the plans
:05:19. > :05:22.that were implemented at that time have meant that we have gone
:05:23. > :05:26.on to have a strong academy structure, that is largely due
:05:27. > :05:31.to the work Graham did in the 1990s. Wolves have lowered the flag over
:05:32. > :05:34.Molineux to half mast and are preparing a special
:05:35. > :05:37.programme for Saturday's Championship match,
:05:38. > :05:39.which appropriately is against Both sets of fans will get
:05:40. > :05:43.the chance to say goodbye to one of the region's best-loved and most
:05:44. > :05:50.influential football managers. And thank you to all of you who've
:05:51. > :05:53.been adding your own tributes to Graham Taylor on our Facebook
:05:54. > :06:00.page at facebook.com/midlandstoday. 44 people have been made redundant
:06:01. > :06:02.and more than 100 other jobs are still at risk,
:06:03. > :06:06.after the Redditch firm AMS went AMS, which installs shop interiors,
:06:07. > :06:10.was founded in 1919. But the administrators KPMG say
:06:11. > :06:14.the company has faced significant challenges in recent times,
:06:15. > :06:18.because of increasing competition, and the general pressures
:06:19. > :06:22.within the retail sector. A pilot scheme to help ease
:06:23. > :06:25.tensions between students at Coventry University and local
:06:26. > :06:27.residents is being rolled Student Wardens have been carrying
:06:28. > :06:35.out patrols since January last year, It follows complaints
:06:36. > :06:38.about litter and noise nuisance It's thought the university's 30,000
:06:39. > :06:49.students add ?100 million A charity in Leamington Spa
:06:50. > :06:54.is appealing for people to donate their winter fuel
:06:55. > :06:57.allowance, if they can afford it, to help the town's homeless -
:06:58. > :06:59.and those struggling For the past six years, the Heart
:07:00. > :07:04.of England Community Foundation has been supporting projects
:07:05. > :07:06.like Helping Hands. It helped Kenny Crawford get a job
:07:07. > :07:09.and move off the streets - he's now one of the charity's
:07:10. > :07:10.volunteers. I was at the bottom of the ladder
:07:11. > :07:14.and I thought there was no way out. But I can't imagine
:07:15. > :07:17.what it is like for people worse off than me that aren't able to work
:07:18. > :07:23.and have other addictions and things Warwickshire Wildlife Trust
:07:24. > :07:29.is hoping to set up four new primary schools,
:07:30. > :07:30.which would put nature The idea behind the Nature Schools
:07:31. > :07:39.is that as much learning as possible And as our Environment
:07:40. > :07:50.Correspondent David Gregory Kumar reports, the first one could be open
:07:51. > :07:53.in the Midlands as Brandon Marsh nature
:07:54. > :07:56.reserve near Coventry, home to some excited woodland
:07:57. > :07:58.creatures, getting Brandon Marsh is also headquarters
:07:59. > :08:01.for Warwickshire Wildlife Trust. And it's the trust that is
:08:02. > :08:04.leading plans for nature Some of these children could be
:08:05. > :08:07.amongst the very first pupils. Children at our schools will still
:08:08. > :08:12.have to learn their times tables, learn to read and write,
:08:13. > :08:14.but we are preparing an educational philosophy that will allow teachers
:08:15. > :08:17.to achieve that learning outside, using the natural setting
:08:18. > :08:22.as much as the classroom. Initially four nature-based primary
:08:23. > :08:24.schools are planned, with two in the Midlands -
:08:25. > :08:28.one in Smethwick, and the other one, Warwickshire Wildlife Trust,
:08:29. > :08:30.which has been identified as possibly going into
:08:31. > :08:33.Camp Hill in Nuneaton. They have already got their eyes
:08:34. > :08:37.on a site and indeed a building. It's definitely an urban
:08:38. > :08:39.area but it's the area that was identified by local
:08:40. > :08:42.authorities as with greatest need for a new school
:08:43. > :08:45.and we are going to make the most of any outdoor space there is there
:08:46. > :08:48.and create new outdoor spaces A garden, an allotment,
:08:49. > :08:51.wildlife areas. Parents visiting the reserve
:08:52. > :08:54.today were excited. Some have already looked
:08:55. > :08:57.into applying to the new school. She loves being outdoors
:08:58. > :09:00.and we would like that The outside is an amazing place
:09:01. > :09:06.to learn and I think you can have so many experiences that are not
:09:07. > :09:12.traditional education that still give you the same knowledge
:09:13. > :09:15.that you would have in a classroom, If all goes very well the UK's first
:09:16. > :09:20.nature school could open Fancy becoming an otter
:09:21. > :09:32.spotter in Birmingham? The Canal and River Trust charity
:09:33. > :09:34.is recruiting volunteers to help it build up a picture
:09:35. > :09:36.of where the animals Numbers are on the rise again
:09:37. > :09:40.after efforts to improve the quality Let's find out how low
:09:41. > :09:46.the temperatures are due to fall, I'll leave you with the forecast
:09:47. > :09:48.from Rebecca Wood. It certainly has been
:09:49. > :09:53.a wintry day today. There has been a wintry flavour
:09:54. > :09:56.to some showers particularly across North Staffordshire
:09:57. > :09:58.where we did see some snow. As we head through the night,
:09:59. > :10:01.a change is on the way, The wind direction is turning
:10:02. > :10:05.to a northerly and it is bringing down much colder air
:10:06. > :10:07.and through the morning that could give us some
:10:08. > :10:10.lively snow showers. We have a Met Office yellow
:10:11. > :10:14.weather warning for ice. That is because where we have seen
:10:15. > :10:16.all that rain and snow through the day today,
:10:17. > :10:19.with those temperatures falling away, there is a risk
:10:20. > :10:22.of plenty of icy stretches So, overnight tonight,
:10:23. > :10:26.widespread frost. As we start tomorrow,
:10:27. > :10:36.there is a risk of treacherous Do stay tuned to your BBC local
:10:37. > :10:42.radio station through the morning. Still wintry showers around
:10:43. > :10:44.for the morning rush hour. They will clear away
:10:45. > :10:47.and we will be left with something There will be very
:10:48. > :10:53.cold temperatures. The wind chill making it
:10:54. > :10:55.feel more like minus 2C. More information in
:10:56. > :10:58.the National forecast. I will leave you with the outlook
:10:59. > :11:03.for the next two days. note. If that's not your sort of
:11:04. > :11:11.thing, Sunday will be cloudier and milder.
:11:12. > :11:12.Good evening. It was such a mild December, wasn't