Birmingham Post

Runway Is Grounded

A new pounds 2 billion runway at Birmingham International Airport will be delayed after forecasts suggested fewer aircraft would operate there than first predicted. The airport said it may not now build the controversial new runway until 2020 - four years later than anticipated.

Weekend Chat Led to Switch

A weekend chat with Sir Alex Ferguson confirmed Eric Djemba Djemba had no future at Manchester United, it was revealed last night as he signed for Aston Villa. The Cameroon midfielder has completed a pounds 1.35 million deadline-day move to Villa Park and could come into contention for tomorrow night's trip to Fulham after signing a four-and-a-half year deal.

Abuse Fear After Pupils Mock Up Phone Pictures of Teachers

Schoolchildren are using their camera phones to mock up photographs of staff abusing pupils, unions have warned. Midland officials said the incidents raised worries about pupils using them to falsify evidence in allegations of abuse.

Jackson Family Speaks Out As Fallen Star Arrives in Court

The tortuous task of finding 12 jurors who can ignore everything they have read about Michael Jackson began in a California court yesterday and could last for a month. The fallen king of pop arrived for the start of his child- molestation trial in Santa Maria to be greeted by a crowd of fans shouting encouragement while pressed against fences to see their idol.

Heard's First Year Far From Easy One

Richard Heard's first full year in charge of Britain's fifth biggest airport has hardly been the easy introduction most would wish for. Some of his difficulties were perfectly predictable. However, one problem with perhaps the biggest potential to cause Birmingham International Airport harm, sitting just nine miles down the A45, probably was not.

Mps to Ask M6 Toll Bosses: Why Is There so Much More Traffic?

M6 Toll managers have been summoned to Parliament to defend the road's performance before a committee of MPs. They will be quizzed at a hearing tomorrow following claims the creation of the M6 Toll, north of Birmingham, has actually increased congestion on the motorway it was designed to unclog.

Mp Under Fire Over Call for Economic Migrants Ban

The Birmingham MP who called for a ban on any more economic migrants entering the country faced a backlash from Labour colleagues yesterday. Roger Godsiff, Labour MP for Sparkbrook and Small Heath, could face deselection by his local party after he broke with his party's official policy on immigration to warn that 'enough is enough'.

Edgbaston Development On Boundary

Calthorpe Estates has agreed a deal with housebuilder Redrow to create a high-quality residential scheme as part of plans to develop land opposite the Warwickshire County Cricket Club ground. Outline planning permission has been granted for a mixed use scheme on the nine-acre site at Tally Ho, Edgbaston, Birmingham.

Police Out, Says Mp

Uniformed police officers of all ranks should be forced to spend at least two hours of each shift out on the beat, an MP has demanded. Labour's Brian Jenkins, MP for Tamworth in Staffordshire, urged Home Office Ministers at Commons' question time to make the switch in exchanges on the need for more visible community policing.

Trying to Dispel the Myths About Police

It is not often that the public sees what goes on behind the scenes at a police station. But that is exactly what is happening at Steelhouse Lane, the historic complex from where West Midlands Police oversees law and order in Birmingham city centre as Jessica Shepherd reports In the space of two hours I had been handcuffed, fingerprinted and thrown into a cell.

Blues Star Yorke May Contest Driving Ban

Soccer ace Dwight Yorke has been banned from driving for six months after he admitted tailgating other motorists at speeds of up to 100mph. The Birmingham City striker was clocked by traffic police speeding around 30 miles over the legal limit and getting to within ten feet of other drivers, Chorley Magistrates Court was told.

Funding to Help Trust Restore Windmill

The restoration of a medieval windmill in Shropshire is under way after historians were granted Government funding to protect rare flowers and wildlife on the site. The Windmill Preservation Trust, which cares for the stone structure in Much Wenlock, said the cash would help maintain and preserve 250 different species of wild flowers and grasses as well as rare bee orchids and three different types of wild orchid.

Post Office Sponsoring Rural Award

Rural businesses which make a dramatic contribution to local communities in the Midlands are being urged to enter an awards scheme honouring their achievements. The Post Office is sponsoring a Rural Action award at this year's Business in the Community Awards for Excellence.

Cage Plea Made to Gaming Breeders

The shooting community is being urged not to use battery-type cages to produce gamebird eggs. The British Association of Shooting and Conservation has set up a meeting of all major shooting organisations in response to concerns about the cages.

Owners Urged to Get Passports for Horses

The Government has warned that vital veterinary drugs could be withdrawn by the EU if horse owners fail to comply with new passport regulations due to come into force later this month. Nearly 500,000 horse passports have been issued as part of the new rules but as many as half of all owners have still not applied, Ministers confirmed yesterday.

Disease Gave Farm a New Beginning ; Farmers Val and Andy Edgecombe Tell Helen Gabriel How Foot and Mouth Helped Them Turn Their Children's Farm Attraction Into a Success

When Broomey Croft Farm was forced to close due to foot-and- mouth in February 2001, Val and Andy Edgecombe thought their dreams of living the rural life were over. But the children's farm, at Middleton, near Birmingham, made a successful recovery and was recently named top attraction in the 'up to 20,000 visitors a year' category at the National Farm Attractions Network's Farm of the Year awards.

Mps Back Curb On Animal Rights Extremists' 'Reign of Terror'

Tough new measures to crack down on animal rights extremists, following attacks on a Staffordshire farm, have been broadly welcomed by MPs. Fanatics will face five years in prison for harassment or violent protests, while staff working in animal research or breeding, including couriers and cleaners, will be protected from intimidation. Police will be given powers to arrest anyone protesting outside homes and powers will also be introduced to ban protesters from the vicinity of someone's house...

Regions Should Help Fight Climate Change

Britain's regions have an important role to play on the issue of climate change, Environment Secretary Margaret Beckett said last night. She was speaking to business and local government leaders at the South West Climate Change conference in Exeter, Devon.

Brum Is 'Key to Prosperity'

The future prosperity of the Midlands depends on Birmingham's ability to act as a driver for economic regeneration and a gateway for inward investment, according to regional local government leaders. Councillors representing the seven West Midlands districts agreed a draft discussion paper setting out the case for the Birmingham City Region - placing the emphasis heavily on promoting Birmingham as the capital of the Midlands.

Prescott Wants a Rethink On City Mayor

The debate about whether Birmingham should be run by a directly- elected mayor is set to erupt again, after the Government backed the idea for Britain's biggest cities. A five-year plan for sustainable communities, launched yesterday by Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott, envisages a shake-up in the way local authorities are run.