10/02/2017 Midlands Today

There's been disruption to road and rail traffic in Herefordshire,

after a lorry loaded with 28 tonnes of grain CRASHED into a house

No one was injured in this morning's accident near Lemster,

but train services were badly affected and the road had to be

The lorry crashed into the house next to a level crossing

in Leominster in freezing conditions just before 6am.

It was stuck on its side, embedded into the brickwork

The man who lives there, who does not want to be named,

spoke to BBC Hereford and Worcester earlier.

I guessed something had gone into the house.

I knew it wouldn't be a train because it wouldn't be

I jumped out of bed, put on some trainers and came

As you can see, the lorry won't go anywhere.

The lorry was carrying 28 tonnes of grain.

The recovery operation took all morning as a structural engineer

advised crews on the ground, and power lines were taken down.

We first wanted to make sure everyone was all right and not

injured which I am happy to confirm is the case.

Next, it was about how do we recover the situation as safely as possible.

Unfortunately it has had a big effect on the railway network

and roads, inconveniencing people quite a bit.

Slowly, steadily, the lorry was winched away revealing damaged

A friend of the owner gave his reaction.

I was delighted to see it was standing.

It doesn't seem to be too badly damaged.

You must be worried about your friend?

Oh, yes, very worried, quite a shock.

As you can see, after several hours, the lorry has now been moved,

the clear-up operation is going on, and the bricks that were damaged

Trains between Shrewsbury and Hereford were cancelled

By early afternoon, things were getting back to normal.

Joanne Writtle, BBC Midlands Today, Leominster.

A 75-year-old man has died following a serious

It happened at a property on City Road, in Edgbaston, just after 4.30.

West Midlands Police said nothing could be done to save the man,

who was pronounced dead at the scene.

His Death Is Not Being Treated As Suspicious.

People in a remote part of Herefordshire say they'll be

forced to travel at least 14 miles to their nearest bank,

after their last local branch closed it's doors for good.

One customer in Kington was SO frustrated he decided

to ride his horse to deposit his last cheque.

It's one of 62 branches being closed by HSBC this year.

The bank says 93% of customer contact at that branch was done

on the internet or the phone, and not in person.

Now, it's a moment 30 years in the making -

a Staffordshire father has finally met the daughter

A DNA test confirmed that John Duncan was indeed the father

And incredibly, it seems they spent years going to the same pub

without knowing they were father and daughter.

Many an extraordinary story has been told in pubs.

A 52-year-old psychological coach from Stone, happy married,

This is Fifi who, approaching her 30th birthday last year,

decided now is the time to find her father,

Two strangers who were frequenting the same pub.

I went on holiday to a very beautiful place, sat on the edge

of a loch with some writing paper and decided to go for it and do it.

Fifi Giannitto wrote this letter to the man

she believed to be her father, a man who hadn't seen her

grow up because he was unaware she even existed.

And I hope you want to be in touch with me.

Fifi had done her own detective work, finding her father's address.

John Duncan received the letter and struggled to believe

I turned up to kind of explain that I wasn't her dad.

But John did agree to have a DNA test.

The number came up as 99.99% positive, so there is

And I just sat there, I don't know how long I sat

I can't tell you, I just sat looking at that screen.

You have waves of emotion of anger, happiness.

John had a relationship with Fifi's mother in the 1980s,

Why, after 30 years, were you not aware that John was your dad?

She had her reasons, we don't really want to focus on that part.

We are just happy that we've found each other now

I think he is wonderful. Amazing.

I am so happy he wants me in his life.

She is kind, she's intelligent,

she's beautiful. She's caring.

She's everything you could want in a daughter.

As if this story couldn't be any more extraordinary,

Fifi and John's paths have probably crossed before.

So, we could have been standing at the bar next to each other,

Proving that some surprises are worth the wait.

Ben Godfrey, BBC Midlands Today, Stone.

In football, Birmingham City fell to a 3-nil

The home side took the lead early in the first half

Birmingham's best chance came when Craig Gardner hit

But moments later Sam Winall extended Sheffield's lead before

the result was put beyond doubt through Adam Reach's late goal.

We'll be back tomorrow afternoon at 4.05pm.

I'll leave you now with the weather from Rebecca Wood.

Good evening. We have had some wintry flurries today but also some

signs of spring arriving at there. They will be chilly and this weekend

will continue to stay cold, and plenty more cloud to climb, thick

enough to squeeze out and showers at times. This evening and overnight we

have clear spells and where we get those temperatures fall, seeing them

dipping down to a possible -3, but also wintry flurries, pushing their

way in from the east, so we are not quite out of the woods just yet and

into tomorrow that north-easterly breeze is going to continue to bring

some showers right away, and at times they will fall as something

sleety, snowy, and they wintry mix out there so it will be a cold start

to tomorrow with the showers blowing through eventually there will start

to turn more to rain, and temperatures will left up to a

possible 2-3 Celsius. Think of this weekend, and here is the national

forecast. exception to that rule probably over

the hills where again there could be a bit of snow, but not accumulating.

Another cold However I paint this weekend's

picture, I'll need a palette of grey. Thereby a a lot of cloud

around but I managed to find some sunshine. I don't know how but there

was a couple of hours towards the south-west in Cornwall, a beautiful

day. The south-west saw glimpses of sunshine. Further east, cloudy, cold

and grey with winds off the North seep and a scattering of wintry

showers. Yes, rain sleet and snow, a dusting at lower levels through the

day. It brought this beautiful picture on the outskirts of

Aberdeenshire. But enough of the sun, let's get