:00:09. > :00:11.A woman from Staffordshire has welcomed a new law which means
:00:12. > :00:13.from today it's illegal for drivers of wheelchair-accessible private
:00:14. > :00:16.hire taxis and black cabs to refuse to carry wheelchair passengers
:00:17. > :00:24.Two years ago the BBC investigated Balga Vandeel's claims
:00:25. > :00:29.that she was regularly being discriminated against
:00:30. > :00:31.and she says up to till now - little has changed.
:00:32. > :00:38.Balga Vandeel's used taxis in Stoke on Trent for years
:00:39. > :00:41.but she realised she was being charged more than her friends
:00:42. > :00:49.Sure enough, secret filming revealed several clear cut cases of drivers
:00:50. > :01:00.charging her more than an able bodied person for the same journey.
:01:01. > :01:03.She presented her film to Stoke on Trent city council
:01:04. > :01:10.We can do as much re-training as possible
:01:11. > :01:11.with existing drivers but
:01:12. > :01:14.we should also work with some of the disabled groups in the city
:01:15. > :01:17.to make sure that anyone who uses the
:01:18. > :01:21.services of our drivers know what to expect.
:01:22. > :01:27.new laws have come into force meaning this kind of discrimination
:01:28. > :01:30.is now illegal, and could mean a fine for a driver of up
:01:31. > :01:34.I'm really, really excited to say that from today, it is going to
:01:35. > :01:44.become illegal to charge extra for carrying a wheelchair.
:01:45. > :01:51.There will be assistance for wheelchair users to
:01:52. > :01:53.get into taxis and for using wheelchairs.
:01:54. > :01:55.Stoke on Trent city council is now encouraging disabled users
:01:56. > :01:58.to report any such offences and say they will take action.
:01:59. > :02:05.Most taxis have these telescopic ramps which don't help all
:02:06. > :02:20.There is a way to get a 1-piece around what court comes into it, you
:02:21. > :02:23.have to measure out the gap, have always changed, have fitted in.
:02:24. > :02:26.But John Walley, who's driven for 16 years and just bought a new cab
:02:27. > :02:31.at over ?31,000, says it's up to drivers to up their game.
:02:32. > :02:42.You want to do the job and you want to do it properly.
:02:43. > :02:44.The council is giving a period of grace
:02:45. > :02:48.for drivers to comply and is drawing up a future list of wheelchair
:02:49. > :02:49.friendly vehicles which any new drivers must buy
:02:50. > :02:55.Well, our reporter Laura May McMullan is in Stoke for us now.
:02:56. > :02:57.We saw the council making pledges in Kevin's film -
:02:58. > :03:05.but did they make good on what they promised to Balga?
:03:06. > :03:11.Well, the pressure is certainly mounting on any taxi driver who
:03:12. > :03:16.thinks it is still acceptable to charge disabled patterns is more
:03:17. > :03:20.than able-bodied people. Stoke-on-Trent City Council says it
:03:21. > :03:23.has had a part to play in helping to make changes and they have
:03:24. > :03:28.introduced a number of actions since that secret filming took place. We
:03:29. > :03:33.have worked closely with a number of groups and individuals to make sure
:03:34. > :03:41.the training we give to drivers is appropriate.
:03:42. > :03:45.refreshed that and we've sent that out to all licensed hackney carriage
:03:46. > :03:47.We've put information out to the general public
:03:48. > :03:50.about overcharging as well because it's quite a complex area
:03:51. > :03:52.and there are some nuances which mean sometimes it's difficult
:03:53. > :03:58.And does this new law affect all drivers? Not quite everyone. It is
:03:59. > :04:03.worth sorting out there are one or two exemptions and that is because
:04:04. > :04:06.the new laws fit under the disability legislation. If a driver
:04:07. > :04:12.themselves is not fit all strong enough to help and assist a disabled
:04:13. > :04:20.passenger, they would be forced to but they will have to apply for
:04:21. > :04:21.exemptions from the law. -- they would not be forced to. For that,
:04:22. > :04:24.they need a note from the doctor. A brother and sister from Birmingham
:04:25. > :04:27.have appeared in court in London It's alleged that 21-year-old
:04:28. > :04:29.Ummariyat Mirza bought a knife and other items,
:04:30. > :04:32.while planning an attack in the UK. His sister Zainub is accused
:04:33. > :04:35.of sending him links Both were remanded in custody
:04:36. > :04:44.until the end of the month. An NHS physiotherapist from Solihull
:04:45. > :04:50.is facing deportation back to India Anand Kumar, who's been working
:04:51. > :04:53.in Britain for the last eight years, has been told he can't stay any
:04:54. > :04:56.longer because of a change He's now started an online petition
:04:57. > :05:00.to highlight the issue. He has called for it to be lowered
:05:01. > :05:08.to ?28,000. Anand Kumar says he was encouraged
:05:09. > :05:12.to come to the UK to train He's now settled in
:05:13. > :05:16.the Midlands with his wife, but faces deportation back to India
:05:17. > :05:22.in 2019 when his work visa expires. We are the trained workforce,
:05:23. > :05:28.trained by the NHS. Non EU workers must
:05:29. > :05:35.have a basic salary of ?35,000. Even though he earns more
:05:36. > :05:41.through overtime and private work, ?35,000 salary is unachievable,
:05:42. > :05:45.especially outside of London, especially
:05:46. > :05:47.working in the NHS and I personally feel
:05:48. > :05:48.that it is disrespectful of the service
:05:49. > :05:59.we provide to the NHS. Anand has started an online petition
:06:00. > :06:01.asking for the salary Anand says many of his colleagues
:06:02. > :06:09.here at the Good Hope But the Government's
:06:10. > :06:13.said it brought in the ?35,000 threshold because it had
:06:14. > :06:16.become too easy to recruit workers from overseas rather
:06:17. > :06:22.than training up UK citizens. Yet physiotherapy is an occupation
:06:23. > :06:24.struggling to attract enough staff. The UK needs 500 new recruits a year
:06:25. > :06:30.just to stand still. The Chartered Society
:06:31. > :06:40.of Physiotherapy says to lose We have a shortage of
:06:41. > :06:43.physios in this country, a If you speak to most of the local
:06:44. > :06:47.managers in the West Midlands, they will say,
:06:48. > :06:49.to fill band five and Anand says he could move
:06:50. > :06:54.to London to boost his salary but his life and heart
:06:55. > :06:59.is now in the Midlands. The home of Gaelic Sport
:07:00. > :07:04.in the West Midlands for almost 30 years-
:07:05. > :07:27.Parc na Hairan is The road's design means it would go
:07:28. > :07:33.straight through a site used by Gaelic sports teams from all over
:07:34. > :07:36.Britain and Ireland. Highways England says its not
:07:37. > :07:38.made any final decisions Wildlife experts are warning that
:07:39. > :07:41.a new form of animal trap, designed to kill pest species
:07:42. > :07:44.like rats, stoats and weasels, could The hedgehog population's been
:07:45. > :07:47.declining for a long time now, despite efforts
:07:48. > :07:49.to boost species numbers. Our Environment Correspondent David
:07:50. > :07:50.Gregory-Kumar's been following two rescue animals
:07:51. > :08:00.which are being rehomed. For Mark Ecclestone,
:08:01. > :08:02.this is his office. He makes a living copicing this
:08:03. > :08:05.ancient wood on the edge of Telford and he's looking forward
:08:06. > :08:07.to providing a home This is the end of a
:08:08. > :08:10.long journey for two Staffordshire hedgehogs,
:08:11. > :08:11.brother and sister. Rescued, kept safe over the winter
:08:12. > :08:14.and now ready to be released into the wood and under
:08:15. > :08:16.Mark's watchful eye. We're not quite sure
:08:17. > :08:18.which one is the brother and which is sister, because it is quite
:08:19. > :08:21.difficult to tell when they are Overall hedgehog numbers
:08:22. > :08:26.continue to decline and now conservationists warn
:08:27. > :08:28.they face a new danger. This animal trap from New Zealand,
:08:29. > :08:30.now licensed for use here. In New Zealand, this trap
:08:31. > :08:33.is used to kill stoats, Here, the government
:08:34. > :08:37.insist this trap can't be the British hedgehog preservation
:08:38. > :08:42.Society is still really worried Obviously, because
:08:43. > :08:48.they were developed Hedgehogs have enough to deal with,
:08:49. > :08:51.they are in decline and the another thing we have
:08:52. > :08:54.to worry about in terms And numbers are declining,
:08:55. > :08:57.at a startling rate. This year, for some
:08:58. > :08:59.reason, hedgehogs have We're just getting
:09:00. > :09:01.around about 70% less records and they got
:09:02. > :09:03.this time last year. These two are starting
:09:04. > :09:06.a new life in a perfect But for the rest of our hedgehogs
:09:07. > :09:19.life remains as difficult as ever. A special service of dedication has
:09:20. > :09:21.been held at Hereford cathedral to mark the installation
:09:22. > :09:23.of a million pound artwork. It's been designed to honour
:09:24. > :09:26.the Special Air Service which has "Ascension" is made up of two parts
:09:27. > :09:31.- a nine metre high stained glass window and a monument made
:09:32. > :09:37.from stones taken from Scotland, We wanted it to be about the past,
:09:38. > :09:39.present and future. Something not cluttered, something colourful be
:09:40. > :09:44.simple but had meaning. Something that underscored are understated
:09:45. > :09:47.excellence. What was not boastful in any way. Sounds beautiful. I will
:09:48. > :09:55.leave you with a look at the weather.
:09:56. > :10:01.Good evening, certainly fine and dry today. Some sunshine, in sunshine,
:10:02. > :10:06.temperatures up to the mid-teens but more of this to chase around to
:10:07. > :10:11.moral. Trapped under that high, lots of clouds, hit and miss but it is.
:10:12. > :10:15.Where we have it, temperatures are not going to fall way too far. In
:10:16. > :10:24.shelters, rural sports, dipping down to 2-3 C. When we see that, a jot of
:10:25. > :10:30.graphs frost. A chilly start for some to moral. -- grass frost. The
:10:31. > :10:35.crowd will thin and reckon we'll get some sunny spells. For today, the
:10:36. > :10:38.north and west of plenty of cloud cover. We will see that breaking
:10:39. > :10:43.down a little more as he had through to moral. More brightness across
:10:44. > :10:48.Staffordshire and Shropshire. 14 Celsius across the board, heading to
:10:49. > :10:54.the weekend, better news, high pressure slipping with much warmer
:10:55. > :10:58.air coming up. Temperatures heading into the need to hide genes. Moral
:10:59. > :11:00.that any national forecast next. I that any national forecast next. I
:11:01. > :11:13.Hello. There was some warm sunshine around today, but it's set to get
:11:14. > :11:16.even warmer this weekend. 18 Celsius in London this afternoon. This was
:11:17. > :11:21.the scene in Chiswick, much quieter than it was on Sunday for the boat
:11:22. > :11:24.race. Under the cloud for example here in Cumbria, temperatures
:11:25. > :11:29.struggled to make double figures. Through the night we're going to
:11:30. > :11:31.hang onto a lot of cloud across north-west England, North Wales,
:11:32. > :11:35.Northern Ireland and western Scotland, where there will be a bit
:11:36. > :11:37.of drizzle on the breeze. Zero skies across many southern and eastern
:11:38. > :11:41.parts of England, together with eastern Scotland and in the
:11:42. > :11:43.countryside again, temperatures won't be far away from freezing.
:11:44. > :11:44.Just