03/04/2017 Midlands Today

A 23-year-old man's been remanded in custody charged with the murders

of a mother and her son in the Black Country.

Aaron Barley, of no fixed address, appeared before a judge

Seated in the dock accompanied by a female custody officer,

the 23-year-old man accused of the murders of a mother and son.

13-year-old Pierce Wilkinson died at the family home in Greyhound Lane

in Stourbridge along with his mum Tracey.

His father, Peter, Tracey's husband, suffered wounds

Any hearing that lasted seven minutes, the defendant

His trial will likely take place in the autumn

Yesterday the Wilkinsons' 18-year-old daughter, Lydia,

who was away at university when the attack happened visited

the family home to see the many floral tributes left outside.

Her brother, nicknamed Pippin, she described as fun-loving,

Mum Tracey was, she said, loving and caring, a wonderful mother.

In statement she also said: Aaron Barley had never lived

at the family home but had been helped by the family

In court he's been described as of no fixed address.

Lydia's father, Peter, remains seriously ill in hospital.

Police have released images of a man they believe murdered a

stranger in a random attack at a Birmingham tram stop

57-year-old Anthony Banting suffered multiple stab wounds

and died at the stop at Winson Green on Friday.

Police say they've stepped up patrols in the area,

but they're still keen to trace this man as well as potential witnesses.

We have identified two and well-being in the area had exactly

the right time. But while we have not identified those individuals so

I would call out to them that if they wrote those individuals in that

road at that time I would like them to contact the police.

Health campaigners have reacted angrily to the news

that the Children's Accident and Emergency department

at County Hospital in Stafford will remain closed

Services were discontinued last August,

but a recent review has found that reopening them

would still be "unsafe and unsustainable".

Here's our Staffordshire reporter Liz Copper.

For more than six months now, children from Stafford needing

emergency treatment have been coming here to Stoke-on-Trent.

It is one of the larger hospital A departments

Now there is confirmation this arrangement shall continue.

The number of children who would use this

Therefore, it is much better to treat this very small group

of very sick children in larger hospitals,

such as the Royal Stoke here, or Wolverhampton.

Since the Children's Emergency Centre in Stafford was shut,

up to ten extra patients per week have been transferred

The trust said it has made the changes to make sure

safe children's services are delivered at both hospitals.

The minor injuries unit for under- 16s at Stafford will continue

But 46% of patients have been attending with minor illnesses.

The plan is to start a GP-led services.

Campaigners who fought to keep services at Stafford view this

It affects so many families, so many children.

When are they going to see sense and stop doing this to us?

The adult A department at Stafford will be unaffected

The trust says there will always be

a senior member of staff trained in resuscitation on duty

And our reporter Laura May McMullan is outside County Hospital

in Stafford for us now, but it's not the only hospital

in our region struggling to provide services, is it, Laura?

This certainly isn't. Because of financial pressures as has been the

tool to recruit enough staff. they've been struggling

with staffing for a while. Elsewhere across the region

in Worcestershire - maternity and children's services

has already moved from the Alex in Redditch to Worcester

for safety reasons. And in Shropshire,

the department moved from but could now move

back to Shrewsbury. It's a similar picture in

Warwickshire and the Black Country, again, with paediatric services

all being affected. Well, here at the county

hospital in Stafford, following the review today,

bosses say it's too soon to confirm whether or not the children's A

department will ever re-open. Scientists have begun a ten-year

experiment to monitor the impact climate change might have

on a traditional English forest. Staff from the University

of Birmingham have installed equipment which will pump carbon

dioxide into the air, so they can see the way

the plants and wildlife adapt. Our science correspondent

David Gregory-Kumar has the details. At first sight this wood

in Norbury in Staffordshire Ancient oaks are just

about to burst into leaf. But this entire wood is now

a massive scientific experiment. The important thing about this

experiment is that we have taken It is very much about how the plants

interact with the microbes These masts will pump out

greenhouse gas carbon dioxide, artificially raising levels

of the gas to where scientists think Then they'll see how

the wood reacts. Only the researchers and scientists

can actually go inside the heart of the wood inside the towers,

is because that area Shortly, this is going to be

the most measured woodland anywhere We want to follow the carbon

that we are adding in as it comes into that woodland,

it is taken up by the plants We want to follow it as it goes

through the ecosystems. Some of it will be stored and some

of it will come out. The entire aim is to keep the impact

on the wood to a minimum. Making sure any changes

are down to the extra When it is all over,

everything will be removed. When we are finished,

we will take the towers away. We will let the forest go back

to its natural resting state. For the next ten years, this weird

is the site for an extraordinary Network Rail has begun

moving an estimated 250 tonnes of fly-tipped waste

from the railway in Telford. It was discovered close

to the Ironbridge Gorge World

Heritage site in December. Work's been taking place to try

to find out who's responsible. It's thought it will cost

the taxpayer ?40,000 to clear. Museums and other attractions

at the Gorge, which it's hoped will bring more

tourists into Shropshire. The Museum of Iron is due to re-open

this weekend but managers want to create

new exhibition areas and cafes, to attract an

extra 100,000 visitors a year. It is important that all old story,

part of our local as well as our national history. It is important

but we recognise it in these terms as a World Heritage Site, so we have

a really important story that is as important as Hadrian 's Wall and the

Pyramids. Coventry City football fans

are still celebrating after the club won

their first silverware in 30 years. 45,000 Sky Blues fans made the trip

to Wembley on Sunday to see their team win

the Checkatrade Trophy 2-1 against Oxford -

and of course, they haven't stopped

talking about it since! For further users well. -- for 30

years as well. Well there seemed to be plenty

of sunshine around today - I'll say goodbye and leave

you with the full forecast

for the week ahead, from Shefali. Well from the outset it looked

you knew it was going to be All shown off to the best

effect by the sunshine. There was a nagging northerly

breeze that the edge off temperatures but they still managed

to rise to 16 celsius in Coventry But apart from the odd

niggle here and there, it's a largely dry and settled week

with some chilly nights Tonight is not one

of the settled, chilly nights - It's very mild with first

the cloud and now the rain Quite cloudy with very. That cloud

will peel back from the north-west, leaving us with spells of sunshine

by the afternoon across the South West, up to about 14 Celsius. Still

bad northerly breeze blowing about will continue through tomorrow

night. In shouldered spots we have clear skies, and that will be across

the region, we could get a touch of Grant Forrest. Some fog patches into

the morning on Wednesday. They should live quite quickly. After

that, B will see some pleasant spells of sunshine developing. Some

clouds starting to stream in from the North. Further ahead, that high

pressure still firmly in control, keeping things dry for Thursday, but

on settled on Friday. is remaining settled. It will feel

fairly warm and dry as well. Good evening. Some rain spreading in

across the Atlantic overnight. As it does so we will see some fresh

Atlantic air following on from behind. The pollen levels will drop

but the temperatures will also drop. Some rain to go with the cloud. It

is moving its way from west to east. Drying up in not an island and

eventually it will dry up in most of Scotland. The fresher Atlantic air

is following on behind. In major towns