Updates on Wednesday 18 November
More news, sport, travel and weather from 08:00 on Thursday
Ged Scott
BBC Sport
Freddie Lindgren will be back in Wolverhampton Wolves' colours in 2016 the speedway team has announced.
The Swede, aged 30, has finalised a deal to return for his 13th season with the club as he aims to bounce back from a tough 2015 campaign.
Image source, Empics
Royal Sutton Coldfield Observer
A new multi-million pound rapid assessment unit has opened to patients at Sutton Coldfield's Good Hope Hospital, external.
Image source, Royal Sutton Coldfield Observer
Qasa Alom
BBC Midlands Today
The clear-up is under way after windy weather overnight toppled chimneys, blew down trees and disrupted travel.
And government figures show that commuters who drive to work in the West Midlands are facing longer and longer journeys - a continuing slowdown compared to the year before.
We will have more on Midlands Today on BBC One at 13:30.
Police are investigating after a man broke into a leisure centre in Lichfield, external.
Image source, Lichfield MercuryPolice have thanked everyone who shared an appeal, external to locate a missing man who had last been seen in Cannock.
Image source, Cannock Mercury
Alex Homer
BBC Local Live
Here is a recap of the top stories in the BBC WM newsroom:
- Train delays after a tree fell on to the line at Coseley in high winds - affecting services between Birmingham and Wolverhampton -could last all day
- A fourth strike is being held at a Birmingham school over fears it could be turned into an academy
- Dutch drug smugglers may have used a fleet of ambulances to smuggle cocaine and heroin with a street value of up to £1.6bn into the UK,a court heard
Ten hyperlocal blogs covering areas in and around Birmingham will be publishing a live blog of Monday evening's local Labour leadership election hustings, external, ahead of the vote taking place on 23 November.
Birmingham Eastside
The Football Blog Awards take place this Thursday, and Birmingham has two representatives on the shortlist, external.
Matt Lynch, the editor of Read Aston Villa has been nominated for the “Best Young Football Blogger” award whilst Aston Villa blog 7500 to Holte have been shortlisted for the “Best Football Club Blog.”
The double lane closure we reported earlier on the M6 northbound was down to a fallen lamp-post, according to Highways England.
Allow Twitter content?
This article contains content provided by Twitter. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Twitter’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’.
Dutch drug smugglers may have used a fleet of ambulances to smuggle cocaine and heroin with a street value of up to £1.6bn into the UK, a court heard.
Leonardus Bijlsma, 55, and Dennis Vogelaar, 28, who had fake paramedic uniforms, were arrested in Smethwick in June, Birmingham Crown Court heard.
The ambulance trips had been "going for weeks and months," prosecutors claimed.
Image source, NCA/PAThe two Dutch nationals deny conspiracy to smuggle Class A drugs into the UK.
Hundreds of armed police officers are on standby, external across the West Midlands to respond to terrorist attacks.
Image source, Express & StarTrain delays between Birmingham New Street and Wolverhampton, due to problems at Coseley, are now expected to continue until the "end of service" today, according to National Rail, external.
Something old, something new, something borrowed, something...baked?
Walsall baker Lara Mason has captured her matrimonial moment with a life-sized wedding cake of her and her husband, including his own marriage survival kit hat.
Image source, Lara MasonShe has previously taken home gold awards in the Cake International competition with a a life-sized Prince George cake, and cakes of actress Jennifer Lawrence and Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow.
Alex Homer
BBC Local Live
Here are the top stories in the BBC WM newsroom:
- The winds from Storm Barney brought down The Fort Shopping Park's tower and have brought trees down on to train lines, disrupting services
- A fourth strike is being held at a Birmingham school over fears it could be turned into an academy
- Dutch drug smugglers may have used a fleet of ambulances to smuggle cocaine and heroin with a street value of up to £1.6bn into the UK, a court heard.
The winds from Storm Barney have not only taken their toll on train services this morning but last night they blew down The Fort Shopping Park's tower.
Image source, @andrew_buck
BBC WM Sport
The Warwickshire and former England batsman Jonathan Trott says the advent of day/night Test cricket in Australia will dramatically change the way players prepare.
The third and final Test between Australia and New Zealand in Adelaide next week is the first ever Test match to be played in day/night conditions, and using a pink ball.
Trott said it was a different concept for players as much as it was for spectators and it would mean players "needed to do a lot of night practising".
Image source, Getty ImagesA statement on Small Heath School's website said it was closed to all pupils today.
It stressed the situation was "unchanged from when the associations last took strike action in October; that is there was currently no proposal to make Small Heath School an academy, external".
Staff at a Birmingham school investigated over the Trojan Horse allegations are holding a fourth one-day strike over fears it could be turned into an academy.
Members of three teaching unions are involved in another walkout at Small Heath School.
Image source, GoogleThe school was inspected by Ofsted following claims it was involved in a takeover by hard-line Muslims.
It was found "outstanding" but has since been put into special measures.
No trains are running between Lichfield Trent Valley and Birmingham New Street aftera tree fell through overhead wires in high winds. Services between New Street and Wolverhampton are also delayed.
Buses are running between Sutton Coldfield and Lichfield City, and Lichfield City and Lichfield Trent Valley.
Image source, Network RailThe issues were caused as Storm Barney hit the area with winds of up to 70mph.
Engineers are working on resolving the issues, Network Rail said, adding it hoped to have returned services between Lichfield City and Sutton Coldfield by 12:00 GMT.
After a dry but mainly cloudy start, the rain arrives this afternoon. Find out more about the rest of the forecast.
We will be seeing some showers this afternoon.
