14/04/2017 Midlands Today

A student from the University of Birmingham has been

killed in a stabbing on a tram in Jerusalem.

In a statement, the university said it was deeply saddened to hear

about the death of Hannah Bladon and that it would be providing

support for any student affected by this terrible event.

The 21-year-old was attacked on a tram close to the old city

where thousands of Jewish and Christian pilgrims were gathered

She was taking part in an exchange programme at the Hebrew University

in Jerusalem and had been in studying in Israel since January.

A 57-year-old Palestinian man has been arrested

Extra patrols are being carried out across the Midlands Rail network.

British Transport Police are checking for trespassers,

and trying to prevent people from coming to harm on the railways.

Last year, there were over 140 recorded incidents

There has been plenty of research into why people

Almost a quarter of offenders say it is just for the kicks.

This young person on the Midlands network is seemingly oblivious

I've seen several incidence that just defy belief -

running across tracks in front of trains, playing chicken

with trains and even laying down in front of trains and taking

Operation Disrupt is about to enter its second and final week.

British Transport Police are making spot checks on dens and hiding

places where youths might congregate and get into trouble.

They are getting bored and smashing bottles, which

leads to other things, like throwing ballast on the tracks,

placing ballast on the tracks to see what happens when a train hits it,

which is obviously causing us disruption.

Incidents railway trespass are currently at an all-time high,

and what is interesting is that nearly a half of all offenders say

One of the most awful ones I dealt with was on a level

crossing with a young man using the crossing

He didn't hear the train approaching, the train

couldn't stop in time, and it did strike him,

A train running at 125 mph takes over a mile to stop.

Extra patrols are also taking place in Birmingham, Coventry,

The hope is that any Easter holiday spike in crime or disruption

Special events have been taking place across

the Midlands for Good Friday - one of the most important days

Our reporter Bob Hockenhull joined hundreds of others,

taking part in a "Walk of Witness" in Birmingham, remembering

Christians not just in this country, but around the world.

Amid the shops and offices, a procession of nearly 300

Bringing an air of calm to the familiar streets of Birmingham.

When you think of all the unrest in the

The turnout today has been very good

Yes, today there has been more

including some followers of other faiths,

walked to the city's two Cathedrals, St Philip's and St Chad's.

The city is also home to three Coptic Christian Churches.

Victims of two bomb attacks in Egypt last weekend were prominent

in the thoughts of many taking part today.

We know that the attacks against them were attacks against freedom.

We are grateful for God's gift of freedom that we enjoy here,

and we want to seek to promote that within our city.

We just have this fellowship today, and in anticipation

of Resurrection Day on Sunday, when Jesus

A traditional message in a turbulent world.

Those who took part in the walk hopefully also brought a

In Sport, Coventry City have been relegated to the fourth tier

of English football for the first time in 58 years after their 1-1

draw against fellow strugglers Charlton.

One again there were protests before the match by some

And we have a couple of late results to bring

In the Championship, Wolves lost 2-0 to Brighton,

both goals coming from Championship Player

Wolves manager Paul Lambert said the team started well

but against an experienced side had once again had missed

While Burton Albion lost 2-1 to Ipswich.

Finally, if you're planning a DIY project over the Bank holiday

weekend then you're not alone - BBC Midlands Today is also

We'll be broadcasting from a temporary location

for the next couple of weeks before coming back to a revamped studio.

I'll leave you with the weather forecast now from John Hammond.

Hopefully you saw some brightness earlier on,

but it was a disappointing end to your Good Friday.

There has been rain around through this evening,

but the good news is that will be clearing through tomorrow.

Bright and breezy, but it will feel cool again in that wind.

Still the odd drib and drab left behind for the early hours,

but the rain will clear away and by Monday morning most of us

A cold start to Saturday morning, temperatures well down

It never gets terribly warm through tomorrow,

so you will need to wrap up, despite the fact that

more sunshine tomorrow compared with today.

The odd showers near Staffordshire, up towards the Peak District,

but most of us will stay entirely dry.

Not really helping the temperatures, though -

Looking further ahead, expect some rain on Easter day

before it brightens up again on Monday.

Here is Tom with the national outlook.

Good evening. I don't think everybody was a happy bunny today

with the weather. We had some rain. Some of