0:00:00 > 0:00:04That's all from the BBC News at One - so it's goodbye from me -
0:00:04 > 0:00:05Hello and welcome to Midlands Today. - so it's goodbye from me -
0:00:05 > 0:00:12The headlines this lunchtime. - so it's goodbye from me -
0:00:12 > 0:00:15It's a constant problem throughout this region,
0:00:22 > 0:00:26Stoke-on-Trent council has a zero tolerance approach and we have
0:00:26 > 0:00:31issued hundreds of tickets for fly-tipping.
0:00:31 > 0:00:33Hundreds of new jobs to be created here and abroad
0:00:33 > 0:00:35by a Solihull-based estate agent.
0:00:35 > 0:00:38And we meet the Ice Maidens who are racing against the clock
0:00:38 > 0:00:44to reach the South Pole.
0:00:44 > 0:00:47Good afternoon.
0:00:47 > 0:00:52It's a constant problem throughout this region,
0:00:52 > 0:00:54but in Stoke-on-Trent flytipping is particularly bad,
0:00:54 > 0:00:56with more than 8,000 cases in the past year alone -
0:00:56 > 0:00:58that's a rise of over 1000 such incidents
0:00:58 > 0:00:59in the previous 12 months.
0:00:59 > 0:01:02But the Council say the increase reflects the fact
0:01:02 > 0:01:04that they are tackling the issue proactively, encouraging residents
0:01:04 > 0:01:07to report incidents and taking action against those who dump waste.
0:01:07 > 0:01:13Our Staffordshire Reporter Liz Copper sent us this report.
0:01:13 > 0:01:16This is part of a concerted effort to deal with thousands of complaints
0:01:16 > 0:01:18that come in from members of the public about fly-tipping.
0:01:18 > 0:01:20We are joined by Dominic Gratton from Stoke-on-Trent City Council.
0:01:20 > 0:01:23Dominic, explain what we have got here.
0:01:23 > 0:01:26This appears to be builder-type waste, so you have got
0:01:26 > 0:01:34wood, plastics, paints.
0:01:34 > 0:01:36Generally waste in the wrong place blighting on the community.
0:01:36 > 0:01:39Even though you have thousands of complaints that come in,
0:01:39 > 0:01:41in the last year or so you have only had 26 prosecutions.
0:01:41 > 0:01:45What would you say to those who say that is a very low
0:01:45 > 0:01:46rate of prosecution?
0:01:46 > 0:01:50You have to remember 26 prosecutions in court for environmental offences
0:01:50 > 0:01:53including fly-tipping.
0:01:53 > 0:01:55There are other methods of disposing of offensive materials,
0:01:55 > 0:02:05fixed penalty notices and Stoke-on-Trent has
0:02:08 > 0:02:11a zero tolerance approach and we have issued a number of fixed
0:02:11 > 0:02:12penalty notices for fly-tipping.
0:02:12 > 0:02:15How do you go about tracking down the perpetrators of this?
0:02:15 > 0:02:17A number of methods including evidence from the waste itself,
0:02:17 > 0:02:19by looking through the wasteful letters.
0:02:19 > 0:02:21CCTV, the signage behind us says we use CCTV.
0:02:21 > 0:02:22And assistance from the community.
0:02:22 > 0:02:24People see people depositing waste coming forward
0:02:24 > 0:02:25and reporting that to us.
0:02:25 > 0:02:27Thank you very much indeed for joining us.
0:02:27 > 0:02:30Now, the council has five teams working five days a week to clear up
0:02:30 > 0:02:32this waste and they insist they continue to adopt
0:02:32 > 0:02:32a zero tolerance policy.
0:02:35 > 0:02:38Hundreds of new jobs to be created here and abroad
0:02:38 > 0:02:39by a Solihull-based estate agent.
0:02:43 > 0:02:45Hundreds of jobs are set to be created at online
0:02:45 > 0:02:46estate agent Purple Bricks.
0:02:46 > 0:02:47The Solihull-based company is expanding rapidly,
0:02:48 > 0:02:49both here and abroad.
0:02:49 > 0:02:52The growth of online agents has also meant big changes in the way
0:02:52 > 0:02:53traditional estate agent operate.
0:02:53 > 0:02:55Our business correspondent Peter Plisner is at the Purple
0:02:55 > 0:02:56Bricks HQ this lunchtime.
0:02:56 > 0:03:03Peter, what's the attraction of selling your house online?
0:03:03 > 0:03:07Well, Nicola, it's cheap and convenient although you do pay
0:03:07 > 0:03:11regardless of whether or not you sell your house. This lunchtime, we
0:03:11 > 0:03:15are in the Purple Bricks call centre where they have around 3000 calls
0:03:15 > 0:03:20every day. It's an office growing fast, expanding into new offices
0:03:20 > 0:03:25fairly soon. Online agents have shaken up traditional estate agents.
0:03:25 > 0:03:30Earlier we spoke to one agent offering a similar package to Purple
0:03:30 > 0:03:34Bricks.If you can't beat them, join them. We could have sat back and
0:03:34 > 0:03:40said, it will all go away, people when stand for this. But in this day
0:03:40 > 0:03:45and age where people have a screen stuck in front of their face, people
0:03:45 > 0:03:49want it quick, easy, cheap and value for money.Joining me here from
0:03:49 > 0:03:54Purple Bricks is the co-founder Kenny Breeze. Please tell me, rapid
0:03:54 > 0:04:01expansion, expanding into the US now as well.Indeed, Purple Bricks is a
0:04:01 > 0:04:06well-established company now trading for three and a half years selling
0:04:06 > 0:04:11three and a half thousand claims -- selling thousands of homes every
0:04:11 > 0:04:19month.With estate agents, you don't pay until you sell often but you
0:04:19 > 0:04:33charge an upfront fee.As I said...
0:04:39 > 0:04:48We invite all of our customers to take full advantage of our customer
0:04:48 > 0:04:51service, and we transact thousands of homes every month and our service
0:04:51 > 0:04:58is the best in class.Many thanks. Purple Bricks currently have a 75%
0:04:58 > 0:05:03share of the online market, which is 7% of traditional sales.
0:05:03 > 0:05:07Thank you very much. We had a few technical problems there, so
0:05:07 > 0:05:10apologies for the sound quality.
0:05:10 > 0:05:13A senior West Midlands Police officer has been suspended
0:05:13 > 0:05:15on suspicion of an offence under the Official Secrets Act.
0:05:15 > 0:05:17Assistant Chief Constable Marcus Beale faces allegations
0:05:17 > 0:05:19relating to a failure to safeguard sensitive documents,
0:05:19 > 0:05:22which were stolen from an unmarked police car in May.
0:05:22 > 0:05:27He'll appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court next month.
0:05:28 > 0:05:30A soldier from Lichfield is among a group of six women
0:05:30 > 0:05:33who are preparing to undertake a race against the clock
0:05:33 > 0:05:35to the South Pole and write their names
0:05:35 > 0:05:38in the history books, as the first large group of women
0:05:38 > 0:05:39to achieve the feat.
0:05:39 > 0:05:42The Ice Maidens have been preparing for the trek for two years.
0:05:42 > 0:05:49Lee Maden reports.
0:05:49 > 0:05:55The ice maidens have hit the ice in Antarctica. And when the weather
0:05:55 > 0:06:00clears, their mission will begin. These pictures are from a recent
0:06:00 > 0:06:04training expedition in Switzerland, making sure they know how to get out
0:06:04 > 0:06:09of crevasses and can last the 75 days it's expected to take to trek
0:06:09 > 0:06:16coast to coast across the continent via the South Pole. After leaving
0:06:16 > 0:06:21Heathrow Airport and their loved ones 11 days ago, the ice maidens
0:06:21 > 0:06:25headed south. First to Chile, where they told me on Skype just how they
0:06:25 > 0:06:29are going to cope.It's definitely going to be repetitive and that's
0:06:29 > 0:06:34one of the harder aspects of the expedition. Its day in, day out,
0:06:34 > 0:06:37your body aches and you have to get up the next day whether you want to
0:06:37 > 0:06:41get up or not because no one is coming to get you. You have to carry
0:06:41 > 0:06:47on with your journey. Everyone has different ways of coping. I like to
0:06:47 > 0:06:52break my day down into different sections.The six soldiers will be
0:06:52 > 0:06:57monitoring how their bodies change compared to men's in the conditions
0:06:57 > 0:07:01of up to minus 40.We will be looking at how our body consumes
0:07:01 > 0:07:05energy now and what it does at the end of the expedition, whether
0:07:05 > 0:07:08changes at all, and we also have sensors detecting our heart rate,
0:07:08 > 0:07:14breathing rate, how hydrated we are, that sort of thing.250 soldiers
0:07:14 > 0:07:18applied to be an ice maiden and gradually they got whittled down to
0:07:18 > 0:07:21the final six, who have now spent two years training for this maiden
0:07:21 > 0:07:24-- moment.
0:07:24 > 0:07:27Time for the weather now and it was a crisp and clear
0:07:27 > 0:07:29start this morning - are we in for more of this
0:07:29 > 0:07:29start this morning - are we in for more of this
0:07:29 > 0:07:30chilly weather, Shefali?
0:07:30 > 0:07:35We probably will have more frosty mornings, yes. It was a very frosty
0:07:35 > 0:07:39morning, very crisp and cold, but plenty of sunshine around and we
0:07:39 > 0:07:43will see more of that sunshine through the rest of the day.
0:07:43 > 0:07:46However, we are looking at fluctuations in temperatures over
0:07:46 > 0:07:50the coming few days. It is cold today, it will be warmer tomorrow as
0:07:50 > 0:07:54this bank of air starts to move in from the north, and cold again by
0:07:54 > 0:07:58the time we get to the weekend. We could be in for a spell of cold
0:07:58 > 0:08:01weather by the time you get a Friday night as well. This was the
0:08:01 > 0:08:06satellite picture earlier. A slice of clear skies sandwiched between
0:08:06 > 0:08:14two areas of cloud and that cloud will slowly close in on us over the
0:08:14 > 0:08:16next three hours. Enjoy the sunshine busted lasts. It is beautiful out
0:08:16 > 0:08:22there. A little bit chilly. It is three tonight that that cloud starts
0:08:22 > 0:08:27to make inroads and it will move in from the north-west, spelling
0:08:27 > 0:08:30southwards, with a little bit of rain to go with that. Not very much
0:08:30 > 0:08:38but temperatures falling a milder to 25 Celsius. For tomorrow, a milder
0:08:38 > 0:08:42day to begin with, brighter skies by the afternoon, but as I said, it
0:08:42 > 0:08:45will be milder. Highs of 15 degrees in the south-west.
0:08:45 > 0:08:47Thank you.
0:08:47 > 0:08:49Later on Midlands Today, we will hear from comedian
0:08:49 > 0:08:52Adrian Edmondson and actress Kara Tointon who are both starring
0:08:52 > 0:08:54in the RSC's forthcoming production of Twelfth Night.
0:08:54 > 0:08:56The production also features Dinita Gohil as Viola.
0:08:56 > 0:08:58Now Dinita, grew up in Birmingham and went to school
0:08:58 > 0:08:59in Sutton Coldfield.
0:08:59 > 0:09:02She'll be making her RSC debut.
0:09:02 > 0:09:07She'll be making her RSC debut.
0:09:07 > 0:09:13It's really amazing. I mean, I grew up coming to see stuff on this stage
0:09:13 > 0:09:18and so many performances that were so inspiring, yeah, so to be back
0:09:18 > 0:09:23here playing Voeller, really, I mean, it's a dream come true.
0:09:23 > 0:09:24That's all for now.
0:09:24 > 0:09:27Amy Cole will be back at 6.30pm on BBC 1.
0:09:27 > 0:09:29Do join her later if you can.
0:09:29 > 0:09:30Have a lovely afternoon.
0:09:30 > 0:09:33Bye for now.