He's thought to be one of the youngest chocolatiers in the country and he has a shop in Knowle, Solihull. 

Joseph Vaughn is 17 years old and recently celebrated a year of business at his shop, 1683 Chocolate Place. 

Image source, Google

Sacked Aston Villa manager Roberto di Matteo says he is "deeply disappointed" not to be given enough time by the club.

Jennifer Meierhans
BBC News Online

Your Questions: "Why are there black steel horses along the rail line between Birmingham and Wolverhampton?"

Here's a clip from Midlands Today back in 2014 with sculptor Kevin Atherton who created the 12 life-size steel horses.

What have you always wanted to know about Birmingham and the Black Country?

Ask us here and your question could be making the news.

Experts debate the issue of immigration with residents of Birmingham. Ritula Shah is in the chair.

As levels of immigration have risen to historically high levels so too has public concern about the issue: a series of opinion polls indicate that UK voters rank its importance as second only to the economy.

In the past year, two leading liberal thinkers have published controversial books warning against the dangers of excessive levels of immigration.

Prof Paul Collier, a development economist from Oxford University, and David Goodhart, director of the think tank Demos, both argue that if mass immigration is not properly controlled it has the potential to undermine trust and a sense of mutual obligation.

In front of an audience hosted by Birmingham City University, the two men debate their ideas with Nazek Ramadan of Migrant Voice and Susie Symes, Chair of the Museum of Immigration and Diversity.

The event was recorded as part of Birmingham City University's City Talks series on Tuesday 17th December 2013.

Presenter: Ritula Shah Producers: Hannah Barnes and Jane Beresford Researcher: Nayha Kalia.

Chris Blakemore
BBC WM

A 21-year-old woman was punched and robbed as she was walking along a canal towpath in Brierley Hill, police say.

West Midlands Police say she was attacked by a man riding a bike as she made her way along, external the towpath off Ashton Park Drive around 17:15 on 2 October, after leaving the Merry Hill Shopping Centre.

The woman was punched in the face "a number of times" before being pushed to the ground and having her bag stolen.

West Midlands Police say they want to speak to anyone with information. 

BBC Weather Watchers

BBC Weather Watcher Di's Walk sent in this gorgeous picture from Sutton Coldfield. 

If you have a picture you would like to share, you can send it on email, Twitter, external or the BBC WM Facebook page, external.

Image source, Di's walk

A police officer who admitted sexually assaulting two women is jailed for four years.

Peter Wilson
BBC Midlands Today Special Correspondent

As we've reported already today, the families of those killed in the Birmingham pub bombings are holding a peaceful protest outside the Conservative party conference today.   

I was down there earlier and saw some of the families with posters. 

Washington Irving was the first superstar of American literature, and the first American author to gain international respect. Many of his most famous stories, including 'Rip Van Winkle' and 'The Legend of Sleepy Hollow', were affectionate hymns to his native New York State and the rural idyll of the Hudson Valley - so it's perhaps surprising to discover that they were written while Irving was living in the industrial hotbed of early 19th century Birmingham.

Irving was in the city to forge links with British businesses and help rebuild his family's finances back home, which had been hit hard by the Anglo-American war of 1812; he went on to spend around twenty years in Europe before heading home to enjoy the wealth he'd earned as a writer.

Birmingham novelist Catherine O'Flynn tells the story of Irving's time in the city, and of the relationships he built with British writers like Walter Scott and Charles Dickens, whose own Christmas stories were heavily influenced by Irving's own. She discovers how Irving has been taken up by academics as a pioneer of transnational writing, and hears from Joe Queenan, who lives in Irving's home town and who regards Washington Irving impersonators as the most loathed individuals on the east coast of the United States.

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 2013.

Louise Hancock
Newsreader, BBC WM

This morning's headlines for Birmingham and the Black Country include:   

- A 21-year-old woman has been punched and robbed as she walked along a canal towpath, external in Brierley Hill

- Police say newspaper reports claiming DNA breakthroughs in the Birmingham pub bombings, external investigation are false

- Families of those killed in the bombings will hold a peaceful protest outside the Conservative party conference today

BBC Weather

There’s more cloud around at times throughout the day, but there’ll also be some sunshine. Highs of 17C (63F).

Tonight will be a dry and slightly milder night with lows of 11C (52F).

A former West Midlands Police officer who admitted sexually assaulting two women while on duty has been jailed for four years.

Steven Walters, 48, pleaded guilty last month at Stafford Crown Court. 

Speaking outside the court, West Midlands Police Chief Constable Dave Thompson said, external: "A police uniform should be a beacon of comfort and protection. PC Walters has engaged in criminal activity that has shocked me.

"I am deeply sorry for what has happened and apologise on behalf of the force.

"There is no place for a criminal like PC Walters in this force, I don’t accept his apology, and I have no hesitation for dismissing him without notice."

A West Midlands police officer has been sentenced to four years in prison, having already been dismissed from the force for gross misconduct, after admitting two sexual assaults.

Former Birmingham police response officer, PC Steve Walters, 48, assaulted two women last year, one in the back of a police patrol car and the other in her own home after she’d dialled 999 asking for police assistance.  

Walters pleaded guilty to both offences last month at Stafford Crown Court.  

West Midlands Police Chief Constable, Dave Thompson, said it was "one of the worst violations of policing integrity I’ve ever seen".

BBC Sport

Former Birmingham City manager Steve Bruce is the man for the Asron Villa job, according to former Blues midfielder Robbie Savage.

Bruce, who managed Birmingham between 2001 and 2007, is favourite to replace Roberto di Matteo at Villa Park after the Italian was sacked on Monday.

Former Manchester United defender Bruce, 55, has been without a club since leaving Hull City in July.  

Giles Latcham
BBC Midlands Today

Sikhs from the West Midlands have travelled to Malawi to help feed hungry children.  

The food has been donated in the spirit of Langar, a tradition dating back 500 years.  

Jagjit Singh, the founder of Zero Hunger with Langar, tells his story.

The dogs seem impressed with the speed they were rescued.

Express and Star

A  pub in West Bromwich town centre which had its licence suspended over claims it was taken over by a gang , externalinvolved in drug dealing and organised crime is to stay shut for at least the next few weeks.

Monica Rimmer
Journalist, BBC Online

West Midlands Police say reports in a newspaper at the weekend claiming potential DNA breakthroughs in the Birmingham pub bombings investigation are false. 

The force has issued a statement saying reports, external, allegedly based on a leaked memo, are misleading and there is no new DNA or fingerprint evidence.

Image source, PA

The statement says the coroner and family members concerned with the inquest were already aware of this.  

A teenager who died after a stabbing in Cheltenham was from the West Midlands, police have confirmed. 

The 17-year-old, who's believed to be from Wednesbury, was attacked on Sunday night and died in hospital yesterday morning. 

A former police officer and scoutmaster kept a list of boys to whom he was sexually attracted, a court hears.