Our coverage across the daypublished at 18:00 British Summer Time 22 April 2016
That's all for now. We'll have more news, sport, weather and travel updates for Birmingham and the Black Country from 08:00 on Monday.
Have a great weekend.
Updates on Friday 22 April 2016
More news, sport, travel and weather from 08:00 Monday
That's all for now. We'll have more news, sport, weather and travel updates for Birmingham and the Black Country from 08:00 on Monday.
Have a great weekend.
Corinne Wheatley
BBC WM, Journalist
The chief executive of Wolves has written to the leader of the city council, external who has questioned the club's decision to have its shirts sponsored by a payday loan company.
Jez Moxey (pictured above) has told Councillor Roger Lawrence that Wolves and The Money Shop will be delivering a financial education programme to young people in Wolverhampton.
He also says the time to judge the agreement with The Money shop will be over the course of the three-year sponsorship deal.
The letter is also addressed to a number of other local politicians.
Sutton Coldfield Local
England’s Chief Inspector of General Practice has placed Falcon Medical Centre in Sutton Coldfield into special measures, external following a Care Quality Commission inspection which found the quality of care to be inadequate overall.
Former Aston Villa, external boss Ron Atkinson says the club will not bounce back until they get rid of the current crop of players.
He told BBC WM's Aston Villa Football Phone In Special last night: "You've only got to look at other major clubs. You look at Leeds. You look at Sheffield Wednesday... I mean Portsmouth have gone right through haven't they?
"So unless they get their act together and do it properly, they've got no divine right to say they're gonna come back up. I mean with the current crop they've got they won't."
A woman who died following a serious collision in Stourbridge on Saturday has been named by police, external.
Nadine Foster, 18, was believed to have been a passenger in a Ford Focus which hit a wall at about 00:20 on Hagley Road, Oldswinford.
Her family said: “We are devastated to have lost our beautiful Nadine. She was a loving mother, daughter and grand-daughter.“She was a happy, smiley girl and the light of our lives."
Mary Rhodes
Presenter, BBC Midlands Today
We celebrate 400 years of William Shakespeare this evening.
Also on the programme:
- A victim of the Alton Towers Smiler crash, Chanda Chauhan, describes the aftermath as being like a "horror movie" as the theme park admits health and safety breaches
- Hundreds of people have attended a memorial service for Darren Cooper, the leader of Sandwell Council, who died last month
Join me for BBC Midlands Today at 18:30 on BBC One.
Detectives investigating a "vicious attack" at a Birmingham petrol station have released new CCTV footage of men they want to identify.
During the assault at the Gulf Service station, Bristol Street, on 9 April, a group chased a 25-year-old man across the forecourt and repeatedly punched and kicked him while he was unconscious on the floor.
Three men have been arrested and bailed pending further enquiries and police are now seeking a further four in connection with the attack.
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Rather cloudy this evening, with any remaining patchy rain soon clearing south. A cold night to come, with clear spells allowing temperatures to quickly drop with a frost in places. Lows of 2C (36F)
A cat that went missing four years ago has turned up 13 miles away from his owner's home.
The tabby, named Roman, disappeared in April 2012 and despite appeals in newspapers and on social media, was never found.
His owners, the Thompson family, gave up hope of ever seeing him again and went on to move house.
They were surprised to get a call from Birmingham's PDSA Hospital saying they had him in their care, four years on.
A Rugeley mum became an unexpected star of a Birmingham Hippodrome show after going into labour during a performance, external of Mary Poppins.
Walsall, external's interim head coach, Jon Whitney, says his players must use any nerves as "fuel" to propel them towards automatic promotion from League One.
The Saddlers are third in the table, three points behind Burton Albion, with a game in hand, as they prepare to visit fifth-placed Bradford City, which is the live commentary game on BBC WM on 95.6FM tomorrow.
Whitney said: "The players have put themselves on a pedestal... They have to live up to that expectation and our players are good enough to cope with the demands."
Corinne Wheatley
BBC WM, Journalist
Here are some of the main stories from BBC WM in the newsroom today:
- A Wednesbury woman who was involved in the crash on Alton Towers' Smiler rollercoaster has been speaking about her ordeal
- Hundreds of people have attended a civic memorial event celebrating the life of Sandwell Council leader Darren Cooper at West Bromwich Town Hall
- Aston Villa defender Jores Okore says he does not want to play for the club again this season
The chairman of crisis-hit Birmingham Women's Hospital is to resign following an investigation into its “deteriorating finances”, external.
Elisabeth Buggins, who joined the Trust in 2011, has decided to pursue “other professional and personal interests”.
Chris Blakemore
BBC WM
Jores Okore is training with the under 21s after saying he does not want to play for Aston Villa again this season.
It is after he refused to be a substitute against Bournemouth earlier this month.
Villa caretaker manager Eric Black said: "I'm not having that attitude in the group. I'm just not doing it and I'm not prepared to work with that attitude in the group.
"It's difficult times for everybody. I can understand that but I just found it slightly bewildering that he would decide at that point, the night and the eve of the game against Bournemouth, which was a massive game for us, that he didn't want to contribute."
Hundreds of people have attended a memorial event for Darren Cooper, the leader of Sandwell Council, external, who died last month.
He first became a councillor in 1991 and had been leader since 2009.
Acting council leader Steve Eling said: "We were very keen to ensure that we could bring in as many members of the community, particularly people from community organisations and residents in his own ward, and there's been a fantastic response to that."
Royal Sutton Coldfield Observer
A letting agent and her former boyfriend have been jailed for a total of seven years, external after stealing more than £400,000 from a Sutton Coldfield lettings agency and its clients over two years.
Lichfield celebrated the 90th birthday of Her Majesty The Queen at a special event in the city centre, external on Thursday.
Chris Blakemore
BBC WM
Here are some of the main stories from BBC WM in the newsroom today:
- A Wednesbury woman who was involved in the crash on Alton Towers' Smiler rollercoaster has been speaking about her ordeal
- Hundreds of people have attended a civic memorial event celebrating the life of Sandwell Council leader Darren Cooper at West Bromwich Town Hall
- Aston Villa defender Jores Okore says he does not want to play for the club again this season
Royal Sutton Coldfield Observer
A college in Sutton Coldfield has been slammed, external for 'ineffective safeguarding', poor progress of its students and for having staff who are 'insufficiently qualified'.
Andrew Dawkins
BBC News Online
Plans for a devolved West Midlands "super authority" are untested, a watchdog has said.
The region is set to elect a mayor next year as part of plans to decentralise government functions.
But arrangements for the West Midlands Combined Authority are "more complex" than similar deals in Greater Manchester, The National Audit Office (NAO) said.
The government said there was much to do but "huge progress" had been made.