Summary

  • 2 Sisters plant in Smethwick could shut

  • Chocolate factory gets £75m makeover

  • Wolves boss named manager of the month

  • Updates from Friday 7 April 2017

  1. Good morning for Surreypublished at 13:11 British Summer Time 8 April 2017

    Surrey 405-4 v Warwickshire - Lunch

    Mark Church
    BBC Radio London commentator

    A very good morning for Surrey as they continue to bat under the blue skies of London. Kumar Sangakkara and Dominic Sibley added 55 until Sangakkara fell to Oliver Hannon-Dalby for a graceful 71.

    Sibley has looked rock solid and once again Surrey looked booked in to bat all afternoon.

  2. 'Saints can't afford a defeat'published at 11:03 British Summer Time 8 April 2017

    West Brom v Southampton (15:00 BST)

    Mark Scott
    Match of the Day commentator

    When Tony Pulis signed a  contract extension  in October, the club said establishing West Brom as a top-10 team was the aim.

    A win on Saturday would not only go a long way to ensuring they end up there this season, it would also keep them on track to equal their best league finish since 1981.

    It was always going to be a tough ask for Claude Puel to continue Southampton's impressive run of improving their position season on season.

    But a cup final appearance and ending up in the top eight would represent a good return in his first campaign as Saints boss.

    To have a chance of achieving that, they can't really afford a defeat in this one.

    Tony PulisImage source, Getty Images
    Image caption,

    Tony Pulis' West Brom have only won one of their last five matches

  3. Catch up on the FA People's Cuppublished at 10:11 British Summer Time 8 April 2017

    #PeoplesCup

    If you haven't seen it already (or even if you have!), you can catch up with the best of the action from the FA People's Cup regional semi-finals here.

    Here's a taster...

    Media caption,

    FA People's Cup: top 10 magic moments from the semi-finals

  4. Three things you wanted to knowpublished at 09:36 British Summer Time 8 April 2017

    You have been using Your Questions to ask about the West Midlands - here are some of our answers.

    Read More
  5. Pundits pick their Player of the Yearpublished at 07:48 British Summer Time 8 April 2017

    With voting for the PFA Player of the Year award about to close, 15 BBC pundits reveal who they think should land the prize.

    Read More
  6. 'Running helped me beat sight loss misery'published at 00:47 British Summer Time 8 April 2017

    Lucy Edwards, who went blind aged 17, is set to run the London Marathon after finding a passion for jogging.

    Read More
  7. Zenga appointment was big mistake - Shipublished at 22:26 British Summer Time 7 April 2017

    Wolves director Jeff Shi says naming Walter Zenga as head coach was the "only big mistake" made by the club's Chinese owners.

    Read More
  8. Stoneman's Surrey debut ton hurts Bearspublished at 18:34 British Summer Time 7 April 2017

    Surrey opener Mark Stoneman hits 165 on his debut as the hosts close on 327-3 against Warwickshire at The Oval.

    Read More
  9. Jobs at risk over chicken plant closurepublished at 18:23 British Summer Time 7 April 2017

    The 2 Sisters Food Group says the plant, which employs 630 people, was "ageing".

    Read More
  10. Our live coverage across the daypublished at 18:00 British Summer Time 7 April 2017

    We'll be back with our usual mix of news, sport, travel and weather from 08:00 on Monday. 

    Have a great weekend whatever you have planned - the weather forecast looks good.

  11. West Midlands mayor: Send us your questionspublished at 17:56 British Summer Time 7 April 2017

    Have you got a question about the West Midlands mayor election which takes place next month?

    We want you to send us your questions.The mayor will be able to make decisions on important issues such as housing and transport.

    Submit your questions via this link.

    Hearken form
  12. Council vehicles involved in 100 crashes during last two years published at 17:51 British Summer Time 7 April 2017

    Express and Star

    Council vehicles were involved in more than 100 crashes in Sandwell during the last two years, it has been revealed., external

  13. 2 Sisters plant could close putting 600 jobs at riskpublished at 17:50 British Summer Time 7 April 2017
    Breaking

    Boparan Holdings Ltd which runs the 2 Sisters chicken cutting processing factory in Smethwick is holding consultations about closing it.

    "The factory at Bevan Way, Alpha Business Park, is ageing and has significant challenges to meet the standards required by ourselves and our customers," a statement said.

    Up to 200 roles at other locations will be offered to staff, the company said, and added it would look at other ways of redeploying.

  14. Weather: A sunny weekend aheadpublished at 17:40 British Summer Time 7 April 2017

    Rebecca Wood
    BBC Weather

    It's going to be sunny and warm this weekend, with temperatures reaching 19C (66F).

    Dare we say it could be time for the first barbeque of the year?

    Media caption,

    Rebecca Wood has your forecast

  15. Listen: Wolves director talks about mistakes at the clubpublished at 17:36 British Summer Time 7 April 2017

    Mike Taylor
    BBC WM Sport

    Wolves director Jeff Shi says the biggest mistake made by the club's owners Fosun so far was appointing Walter Zenga as head coach. 

    Shi went on to praise Zenga's successor Paul Lambert and insists that winger Helder Costa has not been signed with a view to making an instant profit this summer.

    Listen to the first part of my interview;

    This Twitter post cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser.View original content on Twitter
    The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
    Skip twitter post

    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 BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
    End of twitter post
  16. Gethin boxing bout in Manchester this weekendpublished at 17:23 British Summer Time 7 April 2017

    Martin Gethin will be aiming to add another title to his collection tomorrow night. 

    The 33-year-old won the IBF International Super Lightweight belt last November.

    This Twitter post cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser.View original content on Twitter
    The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
    Skip twitter post

    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 BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
    End of twitter post

    The Walsall boxer will face Jack Catterall who is defending his WBO Inter-Continental super-lightweight at the Manchester Arena.

  17. Man arrested over tram stop murderpublished at 17:18 British Summer Time 7 April 2017

    Anthony Banting was on his way to meet his son in a nearby pub when he was stabbed to death.

    Read More
  18. 400 million chocolate buttons per day...published at 17:16 British Summer Time 7 April 2017

    Peter Plisner
    BBC Midlands Today

    Cadbury workers protesting back in 2009 against the Kraft takeover. Their main concern was the future of Bournville - a site that's made chocolate for more than a century. 

    Cadbury workers protesting back in 2009

    Winding down the factory is unlikely after the chocolate firm announced a £75m boost with ultra-modern new production lines. 

    Daily output at Bournville has now increased to over one million Creame Eggs, five million bars of chocolate and a staggering 400 million chocolate buttons.

    New Cadburys production line

    Almost 240 people have left Bournville as a result of the new production lines - union's say it's been a tough process but good for the factory Bournville.   

  19. One million creme eggs per day...published at 17:04 British Summer Time 7 April 2017

    Cadbury's owner, Mondelez International has installed four new lines at the factory.

    Read More