Updates on Tuesday 26 January 2016
More news, sport, travel and weather from 8:00 on Wednesday
That's it for live updates today. We'll be back from 08:00 on Wednesday with the latest news, sport, travel and weather updates for Birmingham and the Black Country.
A orange cornsnake has been found in a bin in Wolverhampton.
Image source, RSPCAThe RSPCA says the snake, measuring about 121cm (4ft), was found by a member of the public on Walsall Street, in Willenhall on Wednesday last week and is now in the care of Proteus Reptile Trust in Dudley.
Anyone with information is urged to contact the animal welfare charity on 0300 123 8018.
All academies affected by a bomb hoax this morning are open for lessons tomorrow.
Oldbury Academy which closed after receiving a threat at about 09:00 this morning tweets...
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’.
Some dry spells will develop overnight, but there will be further spells of showery rain at times too.
Winds will remain strong and temperatures will stay on the mild side with lows of 9C (48F).
Alex Hamilton with Tuesday's afternoon weather forecast for the West Midlands
Nick Owen
Presenter, BBC Midlands Today
Our top story on BBC One at 18:30 - Inadequate and understaffed... Yet another highly critical report into hospital care and yet another NHS Trust in our region likely to go into special measures.
Our health correspondent Michele Paduano will have the latest at Walsall's Manor Hospital this evening on Midlands Today.
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’.
The principal of Bristnall Hall Academy in Oldbury says "it's unbelievably frustrating" that the school received another hoax bomb threat.
The school was evacuated this morning for the second time in a week.
Bristnall Hall was one of six schools evacuated in Birmingham and the Black Country, although the school re-opened at 11:00.
Vince Green said: "Last week there was a lot of anxiety because people weren't clear and when we did it again today people were quick to work out that it was a similar incident.
Quote MessageIt was irritation, frustration and anger for me. We have to take the safety of our young people and our staff very very seriously.
Vince Green, Principal of Bristnall Hall Academy
BBC Sport
Tuesday's League One game between Fleetwood Town and Walsall is postponed because of a waterlogged pitch at Highbury Stadium.
Read more on BBC News as West Midlands Police are fined £50,000 after a firearms officer had part of his trigger finger sliced off in a machine.
Image source, PAThe policeman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, initially resigned but has since returned to specialist firearms duties.
Judge Richard Bond said: "Whatever the fine, it cannot compensate the officer for the pain, injury and distress that has followed this terrible accident."
Royal Sutton Coldfield Observer
Parishioners at an Erdington church will now be able to sit and enjoy, external one of its recently-added facilities thanks to a generous cash boost.
Image source, Sutton Coldfield Observer
Stephanie Barnard
BBC Local Live
The top stories in the BBC WM newsroom at the moment include:
- Five schools in Birmingham and the Black Country have stayed closed after receiving a number of hoax bomb threats this morning
- Police continue searching for suspect after a machete attack in Birmingham yesterday
- The NHS Trust which runs Walsall Manor Hospital says it's urgently making improvements after inspectors found serious failings
Royal Sutton Coldfield Observer
A man from Erdington who was part of a multi-million pound cigarettes, external smuggling gang has been jailed.
Image source, Sutton Coldfield ObserverSocial media users have backed a hunt to find a stolen van used as a "pop-up" gourmet pie shop.
Birmingham-based Pietanic said its 1960s Citroen H van, nicknamed "Claude", was taken over the weekend.
More than 850 people retweeted the firm's plea, external to find the vehicle, which was believed to have been stolen from a storage facility.
Six West Midlands schools have today received hoax bomb threats , external- just one week after a similar scare caused four schools in the region to be evacuated.
Image source, Express and StarA speeding driver who knocked down and killed a man has been jailed for three years.
Image source, West Midlands PoliceUninsured Omar Tariq, 31, of Denton Road in Stourbridge was doing 61mph in a 40mph zone when the Mercedes E250 convertible he was driving hit Peter Price (pictured), police said.
Mr Price's father Bob Harrison said it had been a "long and very difficult" 15 months.
"The loss of Peter has been devastating to all who knew and loved him."
BBC Midlands Today
A school in Birmingham is closed again today as staff strike over fears it could be turned into an academy.
Workers at Small Heath School (pictured) are worried the move will affect their pay and working conditions.
Protests are also planned for tomorrow and Thursday.
Firefighters were called to deal with a chimney fire in Walsall last night., external
Image source, Walsall Advertiser
BBC WM Sport
Wolves midfielder Dave Edwards (pictured) will undergo surgery in the next few days after it was confirmed he'd broken a bone in his foot.
The Welsh international is facing three months out.
Image source, Getty ImagesPolish winger Michal Zyro will be out for up to two months with a calf problem.
Hartlepool midfielder Brad Walker is spending a second spell on trial at Molineux, he played in the under 21's 3-2 defeat to Villa last night.
A Walsall man trashed his girlfriend's living room in a fit of rage, external after he discovered her smoking his tobacco, a court heard.
West Midlands Police has been fined £50,000 after a firearms officer severed part of his finger while disposing of a sub-machine gun.
The Health and Safety Executive brought the charges after the top of the officer's index finger was removed after it became trapped when he was using a shearing machine to dispose of the weapon.
The force pleaded guilty to the breach in health and safety legislation, external and says stringent measures to maximise the safety of staff when disposing of firearms is now in place.
BBC Sport
Struggling side Aston Villa have confirmed the appointment of Eric Black as first-team coach.
The 52-year-old quit as assistant manager of Rotherham United on Monday ahead of his switch to Villa Park.
Image source, Empics
