:00:07. > :00:00.Good evening. for the news where you are.
:00:07. > :00:10."I keep looking at her photo to say I've let you down."
:00:11. > :00:13.The words of a heartbroken widower who was duped
:00:14. > :00:18.The so-called "distraction burglars" tricked their way into 80-year-old
:00:19. > :00:21.Colin Bennett's home in Sutton Coldfield to steal his
:00:22. > :00:25.late wife's wedding ring, jewellery and over ?3000 in cash.
:00:26. > :00:37.I talk to her now and I say, "I've let you down," and I have
:00:38. > :00:44.Colin Bennett first set eyes on Irene at school
:00:45. > :00:50.They went on to have two children and were married for over 50 years
:00:51. > :00:56.She had dementia, and Colin nursed her.
:00:57. > :00:59.Her wedding ring - symbolising their enduring love -
:01:00. > :01:06.I just can't stop it, you see what I mean?
:01:07. > :01:09.Yeah. It breaks my heart.
:01:10. > :01:13.If I told you, I am a very hard man normally, but this has just pulled
:01:14. > :01:17.Last Wednesday morning, at around 11 o'clock,
:01:18. > :01:20.a man called at Colin's door in Streatley falsely claiming
:01:21. > :01:26.After seeing an ID badge, Colin let him in but left the door ajar.
:01:27. > :01:31.The trickster ran the tap in the kitchen for 20 minutes
:01:32. > :01:34.while his accomplice sneaked upstairs and began rifling
:01:35. > :01:42.An 18 carat gold chain, earrings and ?3,200 in cash was stolen.
:01:43. > :01:45.All that money was meant for your son, Neil?
:01:46. > :01:48.?2,000 of that money was Neil's benefit money,
:01:49. > :01:54.Colin couldn't pay it into the bank last week
:01:55. > :01:57.because he's still recovering from a knee operation.
:01:58. > :02:01.Colin, what advice would you give to people knowing what you know now?
:02:02. > :02:05.All I'm saying to the pensioners, if we want to break it,
:02:06. > :02:09.and we are the only people that can do it, we have got to say to these
:02:10. > :02:11.people, I'll go and phone first, and if they're telling
:02:12. > :02:26.Do the police have any idea who the burglars were?
:02:27. > :02:28.He's described him as white, five feet eight inches tall,
:02:29. > :02:31.in his late twenties, and he was wearing a dark baseball
:02:32. > :02:41.Police believe he may have already started to sell on some of Colin's
:02:42. > :03:05.possessions. The issue here is about a lack of
:03:06. > :03:10.eyewitnesses. These people tend to target vulnerable, older people
:03:11. > :03:13.potentially living alone. It is unbearable for victims like Colin,
:03:14. > :03:17.facing a double loss, a family bereavement and then the loss of
:03:18. > :03:22.some important family possessions. Ben, thank you.
:03:23. > :03:25.Two of the region's cattle breeders say compensation for farmers whose
:03:26. > :03:27.livestock is affected by TB isn't nearly enough.
:03:28. > :03:29.Last December, Staffordshire farmer Ernie Durose had almost his entire
:03:30. > :03:31.herd slaughtered to stop the disease spreading.
:03:32. > :03:33.And tomorrow, Michael Brown from Herefordshire will send one
:03:34. > :03:35.of his best breeding cows to be culled.
:03:36. > :03:38.He says he'll only get back a fraction of her value,
:03:39. > :03:41.which he puts at ?15,000. Nicola Beckford reports.
:03:42. > :03:45.Michael Brown is counting down the hours with this cow.
:03:46. > :03:49.He says she's one of the most perfect cows he's ever bred.
:03:50. > :03:53.But she's tested positive for bovine TB and now she's one of two cows
:03:54. > :04:00.When she started to develop, she was obviously an elite cow.
:04:01. > :04:04.She stands out, to me, in amongst all the others I've got.
:04:05. > :04:08.Michael's been breeding prize-winning cattle
:04:09. > :04:15.He says that DEFRA have completely underestimated his cow's true value.
:04:16. > :04:23.They bring farmers, get full value for their animals,
:04:24. > :04:25.--neighbouring farmers and I'm getting a paltry amount of ?1,857
:04:26. > :04:30.I mean, what the future might have held for her,
:04:31. > :04:36.she could be worth infinitesimal amounts of money.
:04:37. > :04:38.But the department say they have a well-established system
:04:39. > :04:42.in place for determining compensation for TB affected cattle,
:04:43. > :04:44.which takes into account an animal's pedigree,
:04:45. > :04:50.It's not just the cull that's a problem on this farm.
:04:51. > :04:53.DEFRA have placed a ban on moving any cattle,
:04:54. > :04:57.including these bulls, at the height of the selling season.
:04:58. > :05:01.By the time it's lifted, it'll be too late to get a good price.
:05:02. > :05:04.And it's not just here that's been hit by TB.
:05:05. > :05:07.This Staffordshire farmer lost almost his entire herd of Guernsey
:05:08. > :05:11.dairy cattle to the disease before Christmas.
:05:12. > :05:19.The young stock cost you money, the cows make
:05:20. > :05:23.Obviously I want nothing to pay for that, so that comes out of me.
:05:24. > :05:26.The level of compensation, certainly for me, is that I couldn't
:05:27. > :05:31.replace the cows that went with the compensation that I received.
:05:32. > :05:35.Back in Herefordshire, Michael has accepted
:05:36. > :05:38.that he will lose two of his best pedigree cows.
:05:39. > :05:41.What he can't come to terms with is the compensation pay out.
:05:42. > :05:50.The cows will be sent to abbatoir tomorrow and slaughtered on Friday.
:05:51. > :05:53.With the starter's gun having been officially fired today
:05:54. > :05:55.for the general election, two of the region's long-serving
:05:56. > :05:59.Labour MPs have quickly announced they won't be seeking re-election.
:06:00. > :06:02.Prominent Brexit campaigner Gisela Stuart is to stand down
:06:03. > :06:08.Elected in 1997, she told supporters in an email
:06:09. > :06:11.that she will give her full backing to "whoever is selected
:06:12. > :06:16.Also saying goodbye to Westminster will be Rob Marris, the member
:06:17. > :06:23.He lost his seat in the 2010 election to the Conservatives,
:06:24. > :06:29.An ex-prisoner who shot to notoriety as one of only two men ever
:06:30. > :06:32.to escape from Shrewsbury Jail has been back behind bars today.
:06:33. > :06:36.Walter Groom escaped in 1961, he was on the run for six days.
:06:37. > :06:40.Today he returned to the former jail to explain to our reporter
:06:41. > :06:44.Joanne Writtle how he's to become a tour guide for a day to talk
:06:45. > :06:49.Walter Groom never thought he'd want to go back to jail,
:06:50. > :06:53.but 56 years after escaping, he's brought his wife Barbara back
:06:54. > :06:58.Welcome back, Walter. Thank you.
:06:59. > :07:00.Graham Goodwin was a prison officer here.
:07:01. > :07:05.Walter's escape from here is legendary.
:07:06. > :07:08.Walter was known and spoke of over the years, because being the only
:07:09. > :07:14.Older officers that were here at the time
:07:15. > :07:17.and as I came here in the 80s, those stories would get
:07:18. > :07:21.This was Walter aged 25, he served three
:07:22. > :07:24.sentences for breaking into shops and in amongst the line
:07:25. > :07:35.There was only a pot to do your bits in.
:07:36. > :07:38.In 1961, Walter escaped with another prisoner,
:07:39. > :07:44.I was approached by another prisoner and he was
:07:45. > :07:51.I thought, that would be a challenge.
:07:52. > :07:53.It took 16 days to plan and, in basic terms,
:07:54. > :07:59.There was a man out here, about here, and we had to go down
:08:00. > :08:03.there and remove grills, the tunnel led to another
:08:04. > :08:07.manhole, which was outside my cell window and out into the yard.
:08:08. > :08:11.We made a human ladder to get over the wall.
:08:12. > :08:14.Can you believe now that you actually did it?
:08:15. > :08:20.Walter was captured after six days on the run.
:08:21. > :08:28.Today though, he doesn't need to scale walls to get out.
:08:29. > :08:31.And you can catch up with Walter on May Day, May 1st,
:08:32. > :08:34.when he's back at the old jail to give guided tours as part
:08:35. > :08:37.of a special history day at the former Shrewsbury Prison.
:08:38. > :08:39.The new Birmingham City manager Harry Redknapp says he's facing
:08:40. > :08:42.a big challenge to keep them in the Championship this season.
:08:43. > :08:46.His arrival follows the resignation of Gianfranco Zola
:08:47. > :08:49.on Monday, with Blues just three points above the relegation zone.
:08:50. > :08:51.At his first meeting with the region's media this
:08:52. > :08:53.afternoon, he explained how his sudden
:08:54. > :08:59.When I got home, half past two in the morning, my wife was asleep.
:09:00. > :09:05.I said, "I'm going to Birmingham at the end of the season."
:09:06. > :09:12.Everybody I know thinks I'm mad, but I'm here,
:09:13. > :09:18.I met the representative the other day of the owners and they seem good
:09:19. > :09:22.We've got big plans for Birmingham, so I think there's no reason,
:09:23. > :09:25.if we survive this year, which I'm sure we can,
:09:26. > :09:27.Finally, the Staffordshire Paralympian Lee Pearson has spoken
:09:28. > :09:29.of his joy after officially receiving his knighthood
:09:30. > :09:32.The 11-times dressage gold medallist was knighted
:09:33. > :09:35.by the Duke of Cambridge for his services to equestrianism.
:09:36. > :09:37.The 43-year-old rider, who's competed in five Paralympic Games,
:09:38. > :09:40.described receiving his honour as the "most surreal
:09:41. > :09:45.That's all from me, have a good night.
:09:46. > :09:48.I'll leave you with the forecast from Shefali.
:09:49. > :09:53.This is how most places started the day, with plenty
:09:54. > :09:56.of sunshine and blue sky, but a rather lot of cloud
:09:57. > :10:00.Here, in parts of Staffordshire, that cloud started to
:10:01. > :10:04.And we've got more cloud over the next couple of days.
:10:05. > :10:07.Mainly a dry picture, just the odd spit of rain here and there,
:10:08. > :10:08.but a slightly warmer feel to things.
:10:09. > :10:11.We've got a couple of fronts slipping in from the north-west.
:10:12. > :10:13.They're going to affect us tonight, tomorrow, later on Friday,
:10:14. > :10:16.but high pressure to the south-west, always keeping
:10:17. > :10:21.Let's take a closer look at tonight then, and we've got clearer skies
:10:22. > :10:24.further south and we've got more cloud further north.
:10:25. > :10:27.But if you're looking out for JO25, that astroid, only a million
:10:28. > :10:30.miles away from Earth, then the best chance of seeing
:10:31. > :10:33.that is if you're in the south of the region.
:10:34. > :10:35.But not with the naked eye, through a telescope.
:10:36. > :10:38.It's going to be a mild night compared with last night as well.
:10:39. > :10:40.Temperatures are only down to about eight or nine Celsius.
:10:41. > :10:43.So it's frost-free as we head into the morning today.
:10:44. > :10:48.But temperatures will shoot up to about 14, 15, even 16 Celsius
:10:49. > :10:50.across the south-west, so reasonably warm tomorrow
:10:51. > :10:55.But it's a cloudier picture, that cloud sinking southwards producing,
:10:56. > :10:57.again, the odd sit of rain here and there.
:10:58. > :11:02.I'll leave you now with the outlook for the next few days.
:11:03. > :11:04.going into the weekend as well. A similar story across the UK. Thomas
:11:05. > :11:14.matter has that story. Good evening, before we get to the
:11:15. > :11:21.forecast, I want to show you a map which depicts how dry it has been
:11:22. > :11:26.during the course of April. Brown is below average rainfall, blue is
:11:27. > :11:29.above average. You can see how Brown the map is. Some areas in the south,
:11:30. > :11:33.some counties have only seen a few percent so far in April. Not
:11:34. > :11:34.necessarily a