Express and Star

A drink driver who deliberately rammed a police car off the M6 Toll after a high-speed chase has been jailed for a total of 50 months, external.

Video footage showed Mark Abraham smashing into the Staffordshire Police patrol vehicle, sending it careering up an embankment and back down, Stafford Crown Court heard.

Daz Hale
Presenter, BBC WM

Det Con Ross Somerfield, from Birmingham Police, said investigating the alleged funeral plans fraud was proving "complex", external as the owner of the company from which the plan was bought, has since died.

"We've been speaking with the new undertakers, funeral industry regulators, banks and others to progress the investigation," he said.

"At this time we have identified one victim, but if we prove that the plan was an elaborate fraud then I suspect that there may be other victims out there. Unfortunately many people will only discover too late that they or their loved ones been conned."

Daz Hale
Presenter, BBC WM

Detectives have said they were contacted in late November 2014 by undertakers after a grieving family approached them looking to access the pre-paid funeral fund of an 83-year-old ma from Four Oaks.

It is alleged that his plan had been purchased in 2005 from the former owner - now deceased - of Samuel James and Sons, a funeral parlour on Fox Hollies Road.

When his wife and son came to access the £3,900, no records of the scheme could be found by the industry's governing body.

Det Con Ross Somerfield, from Birmingham Police, said: "The relatives of the man are finding the situation particularly distressing, external as it comes while they continue to mourn their loved one".

Qasa Alom
Presenter, BBC Midlands Today

An extra £1.6m is being put into child protection in Birmingham following criticism of the city council.

The plans were announced this morning as the council set out its budget for the year ahead. The authority has also decided to keep most school crossing patrols.

Hear more from BBC WM's political reporter Susana Mendonça on Midlands Today on BBC One at 13:40.

BBC WM

In the news at 13:00, the Library of Birmingham's opening hours are going to be cut as part of the city council's budget plans.

They'll drop from 73 to 40 hours a week, while council tax is also going up by nearly 2% for the second year in a row.

John Roder
Match of the Day commentator

Aston Villa head to fellow strugglers Hull City tonight knowing defeat could edge them closer to the bottom three.

Aston Villa forward Christian Benteke could be recalled after being dropped to the bench against Chelsea.

Image source, Getty Images

Ron Vlaar (left) may play after five weeks out with a knee injury and loanee Scott Sinclair could make his first start.

Tom Richardson
BBC News Online

At this morning's council briefing on this year's round of budget cuts, I asked councillor Penny Holbrook how the Library of Birmingham, which opened to much fanfare in 2013 at a cost of £189m, had ended up facing significantly reduced opening hours and cuts to its services.

She said part of the problem was that no-one could have foreseen the scale of cuts local authorities would face when the library project was first commissioned in 2007.

Image source, BBC/Getty Images

"When you lose £70m from your budget you have to make cuts somewhere," she said.

"Unfortunately, the vast majority of spend we are going to have to cut is on the opening hours."

Midlands Today

Work has begun to reinstate the Royal Shakespeare Company's studio theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon.

Image source, Stewart Hemley

Built in 1973, it was closed in 2006 to make way for the temporary Courtyard Theatre. "The Other Place" will open next year to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's death.

Daz Hale
Presenter, BBC WM

Police are investigating an allegation of fraud, external in Birmingham involving funeral plans.

I've just been speaking to one of the victims who raised the alarm.

Phyllis Whitburn discovered the funeral plan for her late husband Brian no longer existed after the 83-year-old died from cancer.

He had paid his money to the former owners of Samuel James and Sons, a funeral parlour on Fox Hollies Road, but there was no record of Mr Whitburn's money being paid to a funeral plan provider, said police.

You can listen back to the interview here.

Steve Hermon
Journalist, BBC WM

A campaign to help get more police officers back on our streets has been launched.

West Midlands Police Federation has started it because they say the amount of bobbies on the beat has reduced by 17% since 2010.

We'll have more on this in our headlines at 12:00.

BBC WM

Lots of you are getting in touch about the news that opening hours will be cut at the Library of Birmingham.

Chris Brown tweeted, external: "A building built for the public which is having public access reduced? Surely this hasn't just happened?"

A.A. Abbott tweeted, external: "The @LibraryofBham is a tourist attraction+icon as well as an amenity. It should keep its hours.The coalition must reverse its cuts!"

Keep your comments coming via email or Twitter, external.

Tom Richardson
BBC News Online

At a Birmingham City Council budget briefing this morning Brigid Jones, ITS cabinet member for children and young people, said the authority had not received a response to its request for further government funding to improve its much-criticised social services department.

In November she said the council was seeking £123m over the next three years - around £40m per year - in order to boost its children's services department, but the response "had not been forthcoming".

The council, she said, has found £21.5m of the amount but still needed the extra cash to ensure it could meet increased demand for frontline social services.

Mary McHenry has emailed us about the opening hours cuts at the Library of Birmingham.

She writes: "How can this be allowed to happen? The library is feted worldwide as an attraction to be visited and yet the hours are to be savagely cut. This is so short-sighted.

"Are our leaders so unimaginative that they cannot find other revenues to finance the library? It is humiliating for the city."

Have your say on the decision to cut opening hours at the library. Get in touch via email or Twitter, external.

Tom Richardson
BBC News Online

On the day it's revealed opening hours are to be cut at the Library of Birmingham Ian Ward, deputy leader of Birmingham City Council , said the authority had reviewed its plans to cut school crossing patrols, external in response to sizeable opposition.

He said feedback from parents and a campaign co-ordinated by the Birmingham Mail, external had prompted "serious thought" about the issue from the council, which will now maintain patrols in 190 of the city's busiest locations.

The council also plans to introduce more 20mph zones and increase its use of CCTV to enforce parking outside schools in a bid to increase road safety.

Steve Hermon
Journalist, BBC WM

Birmingham City Council says it will raise council tax by 1.99% for a second year in a row.

It means that a Band D property that pays £1158.43 would pay an extra £22.61p a year or 43p a week.

We'll hear from Sir Albert Bore, the leader of the council, in our 11:00 bulletin.

Hilary McConnell
Producer, BBC Midlands Today

We've had our morning meeting to discuss the stories we're looking into for today's programme.

We're gathering reaction to the latest on the budget proposals for Birmingham City Council. Hours are to be cut at the library, but school crossing patrols will not be affected and the city council will invest more into child protection services.

We'll be following Aston Villa as they head up to Hull for a must-win game, and our arts reporter Satnam Rana has been meeting two actresses from Doctors who've been nominated for Screen Nation TV & Film awards, external.

Stephanie Barnard
BBC Local Live

You can read Birmingham City Council's full budget report for 2015 online now., external

Clare Lissaman
BBC News Online

The opening hours for Birmingham's new £189m library are to be cut by nearly half to save money, the city council has confirmed.

The authority said the opening hours of the library, which opened in September 2013, would fall from 73 to 40 a week.

Plans to make redundant 100 of the 188 library staff are still being discussed, but the council expects at least 90 people will lose their jobs.

The Labour-led council said it must cut nearly £113m from its 2015-16 budget.

Steve Hermon
Journalist, BBC WM

It has been announced in the last few minutes that the Library of Birmingham's opening hours are going to be cut.

The city council has confirmed it is giving the go ahead for it to be reduced from 73 to 40 hours a week as part of its budget plans.

We will have more on the announcement live on BBC WM from 10:00.

West Midlands Police want to speak to these four men after jewellery and cash was stolen from a home in Netherton.

Image source, West Midlands Police

The force have released these CCTV stills as part of an appeal for information, external about the raid on Prince Street in the afternoon on 17 January.

The suspects ran off when the home-owner returned.