Former police officer convicted of abusing boys
Young refugee reunited with dad
Money stolen from vulnerable adults replaced
Updates from Friday 21 October 2016
Staying dry overnight with clear spells allowing mist and fog patches to form once again.
Turning rather cold with winds remaining light. Lows of 6C (43F).
BBC Midlands Today's Shefali Oza has your forecast
Walsall report a profit of £417,000 for the 2015-16 season - the 11th year in a row that the club have been in the black.
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Corinne Wheatley
BBC WM, Journalist
The headlines from the WM newsroom this afternoon:
- A 21-year-old man has been shot in the arm in Stechford
- Newborn babies in Sandwell and West Birmingham are to be given a box to sleep in
- A Wolverhampton dad who has covered more than 23,000 miles to support Birmingham Children's Hospital is preparing to climb Mount Kilimanjaro
Image source, GaryAutumn is quickly becoming my favourite season because of the great pictures being sent in from our BBC Weather Watchers. Gary sent in this one from Oldbury.
If you want to become a BBC Weather Watcher and upload great pictures along with the forecasts from where you live, head to the website to sign up.
A group of students has been criticised for dressing up on a pub crawl as the victims of the Alton Towers rollercoaster crash.
Outfits worn by the group - from the University of Nottingham - included fake amputated legs.
Leah Washington, who lost a leg in last year's crash involving the Smiler ride, described their actions as "disrespectful".
Among the 16 victims was Chanda Chauhan from Wednesbury.
Image source, TwitterFigures for murder and gun and knife crime in the West Midlands have risen.
They went up 28% in the 12 months to the end of June regionally - compared to 24% nationally.
Crime recorded by the individual West Midlands force, though, has generally bucked the trend in England and Wales, rising six percent in the period compared to eight percent nationally.
Image source, West Midlands PoliceThe difference, according to the force's deputy chief constable, external, meant crime dealt with by its officers was "lower than many areas of the country". The regional spike in violent crimes is said to be down to change in recording practice.
Quote MessagePolice forces now face different challenges because crime is changing. More complex crime, requiring specialist support to victims, like domestic abuse, online crime and sexual offences necessarily take longer to investigate thoroughly but we still tackle offences like burglary that can have a lasting personal impact."
Louisa Rolf, West Midlands Police Deputy Chief Constable
The long-awaited development of Connaught Square in Digbeth will see River Rea, external revealed for all to see again after it was hidden away in culverts for decades.
BBC Radio Stoke
A public meeting is being held tonight to get people's views on plans by Cannock Chase Council for £2.1m cuts a year. , external
The leader of the authority, George Adamson, said earlier this month that it was "facing the most difficult financial position ever".
Image source, GoogleThe council says it is looking at a funding deficit that peaks at £2.15m in 2018-19 and has drawn up a financial recovery plan which includes proposed cuts to CCTV, council offices and positions., external
The meeting tonight is taking place at the Cannock Chase Council offices from 18:30.
Annabel Rackham
Journalist, BBC West Midlands
The Environment Agency is urging homes and businesses to stop disposing of oil and fuel in an unsafe way.
The organisation says its officers have dealt with a number of incidents in the last few weeks where oil has polluted the Worcester and Birmingham Canal.
It says a two-mile (3km) stretch of the waterway has been impacted, with seven swans requiring treatment from animal rescue groups.
Image source, Environment AgencyOil on Worcester canals
The leisure centre in Halesowen was closed earlier due to an electrical fault.
It has now been reopened, the local authority has confirmed.
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It's been a fairly cloudy morning. A little brighter this afternoon with just a chance of a shower.
Highs of 13C (55F).
Latest weather for the West Midlands
Adrian Goldberg
Presenter, BBC WM
A Wolverhampton dad who has walked, run and cycled more than 23,000 miles to support Birmingham Children's Hospital is preparing for his toughest challenge yet.
Neil Taylor raised more than £97,000 by running marathons in Paris, London and New York, along with bike rides from Paris to London and John O'Groats to Lands End. Later this week, he'll attempt to climb Mount Kilimanjaro.
Image source, Neil TaylorNeil Taylor and daughter Kiahna
Doctors at the hospital saved the life of Neil's daughter Kiahna after she was born with a heart defect and underwent five corrective surgeries.
He was on my show this morning and you can listen back to it here.
Image source, AP
BBC WM Sport
Plans to cut the number of libraries from 16 to one in the Walsall area are revealed.
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Ben Godfrey
BBC Midlands Today
I'm out with West Midlands Police at a park in Aston.
Officers are on the hunt for weapons hidden by offenders.
They've already found quite a few.
The force says it believes offenders hide knives until needed so they won't be caught carrying them.
Crime figures released by the Office for National Statistics, external show that "crime is changing not falling", the West Midlands' police and crime commissioner says.
According to David Jamieson, data shows a rise in fraud and sexual offences which require more intensive police work and investigation than "traditional" crimes.
Quote MessageThe Government needs to recognise that the police are dealing with increasingly complex crimes that require intensive investigative work and support police forces properly. Despite what the Government promised last year, police forces are still facing real-terms cuts in funding.
David Jamieson, West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner
BBC Midlands Today
A wildlife centre says it's "struggling" to cope with the growing number of exotic animals being abandoned by their owners.
The number of exotic animal licences issued across the region has increased by 40% in a decade.
Jenny Morgan, manager of The Gentleshaw Wildlife Centre in Eccleshall, external, says staff have been forced to look for new ways of coping with the rising demand for their help.
A wildlife centre says it is "struggling" with a rise in abandoned exotic animals
Corinne Wheatley
BBC WM, Journalist
The headlines from the WM newsroom this afternoon:
- A 21-year-old man has been shot in the arm in Stechford, West Midlands Police says
- Newborn babies in Sandwell and West Birmingham are going to be given a box to sleep in
- A child refugee is to be reunited with his father in Birmingham after ten years apart
Patrick Burns
Political editor, Midlands
It has to go down as one of the most anguished decisions in recent British politics.
It's certainly one of the longest drawn out.
Throughout the last Parliament the argument went back and forth between Heathrow and Gatwick over the site of a new runway to ease airport congestion in the south east.
Click on this link to read my latest blog post in full.
Image source, Reuters
Monica Rimmer
Journalist, BBC Online
A 21-year-old man has been shot in the arm, West Midlands Police says.
It happened last night in Lea Hall Road, Stechford, at around 17:10.
Sergeant Lisa Jones said: "We believe this to be a targeted attack and fortunately the man’s injuries are not life-threatening.
"We urge anyone who has not yet spoken to us to get in touch."
