BBC Local Live: Birmingham and the Black Country

Summary

Engines 'worth £3m' stolen in JLR heist
Teenagers sentenced over taxi stone attack
Lettuce shortage the tip of the iceberg
'Dr Evil' in court over 'removed ear'
Berahino 'served eight-week suspension' before leaving WBA
Lorry stuck in central Birmingham for second time this week
Man jailed for 14 years for sex assault on baby
Updates from Friday 3 February 2017

Live Reporting

Graham Taylor funeral: Mourners arrivepublished at 12:37 Greenwich Mean Time 1 February 2017
Katy Lewis
BBC Local Live
Most mourners have now arrived at St Mary's Church in Watford for Graham Taylor's funeral.
Watford heroes Luther Blissett and John Barnes arrived together.
Sir Trevor Brooking, former Watford managers Malky Mackay and Aidy Boothroyd, David Platt and former Luton manager David Pleat are also at the church.
Meanwhile, the crowd is being treated to the Vera Lynn song We'll Meet Again being played out of the speakers.
Image source, PA
Image source, PA
Image source, Getty Images
Image source, Reuters
Image source, Getty Images
Graham Taylor funeral: 'A man who feels like family'published at 12:25 Greenwich Mean Time 1 February 2017
Douglas Marshall
BBC Journalist
Graham Taylor was a massive part of Watford for many football fans, and emotions are running high in the town this lunchtime ahead of his funeral.
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Graham Taylor funeral: Former Watford players arrivepublished at 12:23 Greenwich Mean Time 1 February 2017
Douglas Marshall
BBC Journalist
Former Watford players are also arriving for Graham Taylor's funeral.
So far I've seen Kenny Jackett, Tommy Smith, Alec Chamberlain, Sean Dyche, Malky Mackay, Ross Jenkins, Steve Terry and Steve Sherwood.
Crowds of fans are also growing outside St Mary's Church.
Graham Taylor funeral: Mourners begin to arrivepublished at 12:09
Katy Lewis
BBC Local Live
Mourners, including the great and the good of football, have begun to arrive at St Mary's Church in Watford for the funeral of Graham Taylor.
So far former Peterborough and Barnet manager Barry Fry, former Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson and ex-England midfielder Tim Sherwood have arrived.
Image source, Reuters
Image source, Reuters
Image source, Reuters
Graham Taylor: Hundreds of people now in placepublished at 12:23 Greenwich Mean Time 1 February 2017
Douglas Marshall
BBC Journalist
Mourners are now arriving outside St Mary's Church in the centre of Watford and there are maybe a couple of hundred people so far.
At the moment Buddy Holly songs are being played to the crowd - he was Graham Taylor's favourite singer.
Transfer deadline day round-uppublished at 12:12 Greenwich Mean Time 1 February 2017
Steve Hermon
Journalist, BBC WM
Aston Villa were the busiest of Birmingham and the Black Country's teams on transfer deadline day, with three players in and four out.
There's a handy overview of all the movements here... , external
Man charged following fatal crashpublished at 12:02 Greenwich Mean Time 1 February 2017
Amy Woodfield
BBC Local Live
A man has been charged with causing death by dangerous driving, external following a crash on the M69 in Leicestershire.
A 55-year-old from Bedworth is due in Leicester Magistrates' Court tomorrow where he also faces a charge of perverting the course of justice.
The crash happened in May 2016 between J1 and J2 of the motorway. Kerry Pemberton from Birmingham was taken to hospital but died from his injuries.
Bruce apologises for Villa away defeatpublished at 11:59 Greenwich Mean Time 1 February 2017
Manager Steve Bruce apologises to supporters for Aston Villa's "embarrassing" display in the 3-0 away loss against Brentford.
Read More
Fancy getting physical with the Shelbys?published at 11:56 Greenwich Mean Time 1 February 2017
Do you want to go toe-to-toe with the Brummie gangster family.
The creators of crime drama Peaky Blinders are looking for male boxers, aged between 18-25 and from the West Midlands.
No previous acting experience is required, but you must be a confident boxer and physically fit.
Image source, Caryn Mandabach Productions Ltd & Tiger Aspect Productions Ltd 2016
Previous casting calls resulted in roles for Harry Kirton from Northfield, Birmingham, as the youngest Shelby, Finn, and Coventry's Jordan Bolger who plays the son of Jeremiah Jones.
Image source, Twitter/Tiger Aspect
Tiger Aspect Productions , externalare asking anyone who thinks they "fit the bill" to email pb4casting@gmail.com.
Weather: Gale warning for Fridaypublished at 11:41 Greenwich Mean Time 1 February 2017
People in our area are being warned there could be gale-force winds on Friday., external
The Met Office has issued a yellow weather warning from 06:00 on the day, saying there could be gusts of around 50-60mph.
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Drivers face M5 closures over 18 monthspublished at 11:20 Greenwich Mean Time 1 February 2017
BBC Midlands Today
Motorists face 18 months of closures and reduced speed limits along a busy stretch of the M5.
Repairs to the Oldbury viaduct will mean a section of the route, between junctions 1 and 2, will be affected from April.
Alternate sides of the carriageway will be closed while work is carried out, and the speed limit brought down to 30mph (48km/h).
The viaduct, built in the 1970s, must be waterproofed and repaired.
Graham Taylor: 'An incredible person'published at 11:16 Greenwich Mean Time 1 February 2017
The funeral of former Aston Villa, Wolves and England manager Graham Taylor will be held in Watford on Wednesday.
Former Villa and Wolves players pay tribute to their ex-boss.
Latest: Tunisia inquest; aerosol explosion; train farespublished at 10:59 Greenwich Mean Time 1 February 2017
Louise Hancock
Newsreader, BBC WM
The latest headlines for Birmingham and the Black Country include:
- The inquest into the deaths of 30 British tourists at the Tunisia terrorist attack in 2015 will hear what happened to three members of a Black Country family
- A Birmingham woman has been taken to hospital with severe burns after an air freshener aerosol can exploded
- Rail companies including Virgin Trains and CrossCountry will trial a new ticketing system from May, aimed at giving passengers the cheapest fares
Woman suffers burns after aerosol can explodespublished at 10:42 Greenwich Mean Time 1 February 2017
BBC WM
A woman has been taken to hospital with severe burns after an air freshener aerosol can exploded.
Firefighters were called to an address in Saltley, Birmingham, yesterday morning.
Image source, West Midlands Fire Service
The 50-year-old victim had used a knife to pierce the can, the contents of which caused a vapour cloud which was ignited by the naked flame of a gas fire.
West Midlands Fire Service say two of the victim's adult children were in the house at the time and the son managed to throw the can out of a window, suffering burns to his hand in the process.
Dudley school back in special measurespublished at 10:17 Greenwich Mean Time 1 February 2017
BBC WM
A Black Country school which was previously turned around by a "superhead" is again in special measures.
Dame Maureen Brennan helped gain an outstanding rating for Hillcrest School and Community College in Dudley, in 2007.
Image source, Google
Ofsted inspectors who visited the school in November rated it "inadequate" in all five areas tested, including outcomes for pupils and quality of teaching.
They said leaders had failed to take "urgent action" to stem the decline, while GCSE outcomes were poor in most subjects.
Birmingham hospitals to merge managementpublished at 09:48 Greenwich Mean Time 1 February 2017
BBC Midlands Today
Two of Birmingham's specialist hospitals are to merge.
Birmingham Women's Hospital and Birmingham Children's Hospital are to be run by the same management team.
It's hoped the move will provide better care for patients.
The two hospital names and locations will remain the same, but the staff will form one new team.
Tunisia inquest: Evidence into deaths of West Midlands menpublished at 09:32 Greenwich Mean Time 1 February 2017
BBC Midlands Today
The events leading up to the deaths of Adrian Evans and his father Patrick, as well as his nephew Joel Richards are due to be examined.
The three were killed when gunman Seifeddine Rezgui killed 38 tourists at the five-star Riu Imperial Marhaba hotel in Sousse, Tunisia, on 26 June 2015.
Adrian Evans was from Tipton whilst Patrick and Joel were from Wednesbury. Joel was also a student at the University of Worcester.
Image source, BBC/Family picture
Former Wolves and Villa manager's funeral to take placepublished at 09:08 Greenwich Mean Time 1 February 2017
Louise Hancock
Newsreader, BBC WM
The funeral of former Wolves and Aston Villa manager Graham Taylor is taking place later with hundreds of people expected at the service in Watford.
Taylor had two spells in charge at Villa Park and was a passionate supporter of the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire, which will benefit from donations, at the family's request.
His funeral will take place at 13:00 at St Mary's Church in Watford, Hertfordshire.
Cheaper rail fares pleasepublished at 08:43 Greenwich Mean Time 1 February 2017
Rail companies including Virgin Trains and CrossCountry will trial a new ticketing system from May, aimed at giving passengers the cheapest fares.
Image source, PA
It's part of an overhaul of the entire system, with East Midland trains also taking part.
It's estimated people could save up to £260 per journey.
Weather: Is it going to rain all day?published at 08:20 Greenwich Mean Time 1 February 2017
BBC Weather
A damp start but a good deal of dry and fine weather around through the day time today with some sunny spells mixed in with plenty of cloud. Highs of 10C (50F).