Clare Lissaman
BBC News Online

After several hours of rain in Birmingham, 15 minutes before the vigil outside the city's council offices only a few people were waiting.

But by 10:55, about 100 people, a mix of council staff, other workers and some shoppers, had gathered under umbrellas in Victoria Square.

The new Lord Mayor of Birmingham, Anne Underwood, said in her first two weeks in office she had attended two vigils after terror attacks and she hoped another vigil would not be needed for a "very long time". She also urged people to carry on with their daily lives.

Ahead of the minute's silence, Cannon Peter Sellick, from the city's St Philip's Cathedral, led prayers for "peace in our communities" and those working to keep it.

He also led prayers for "comfort and support" for people suffering as a result of Saturday's attack in London.

There is a risk that people will be intent on disrupting the voting process, according to one expert.

Clare Lissaman
BBC News Online

People up and down the country have observed a minute's silence to remember the victims of the weekend's terror attack in London.

Ahmed Bhayat, a worker at Birmingham City Council, said he joined the minute's silence as a "mark of respect" to the victims of the recent terror attacks.

"People are doing these terrible acts and we should demonstrate we are united as one," he said.

Clare Lissaman
BBC News Online

David Harrison, a chaplain at Birmingham City Council and the city’s QE hospital, said the terror attacks in Manchester and London had left some people "anxious" and led to them seeking religious guidance.

His own son and daughter-in-law, who live in London, had been at a restaurant near London Bridge when the terror attack unfolded on Saturday.

"They saw people running and had to decide whether to go or stay," he said. "They went down a side street but the restaurant they had been in was later in lock down," he said.

Mr Harrison had not known they were out that night but learnt when they sent a message on WhatsApp, telling him they were safe.

He was attending a minute's silence in honour of the dead.

Express and Star

Shops at Merry Hill shut when a bag of rubbish sparked a partial evacuation today. , external

BBC WM

Two men have been arrested on suspicion of possession of firearms after police stopped a car on Little Aston Road in Walsall earlier.

The force says it was an intelligence-led operation that led to the arrest of two men in their 40s.

Firearms were recovered and trained officers deflated the car tyres with special rounds to disable the vehicle.

Image source, Google

Lucy Martin
BBC Weather

Strong winds will continue overnight with gales over hills and more exposed areas.

Showers will start to ease through the evening with some clearer spells developing. Lows of 11C (52F).

BBC WM

Police have seized guns and cartridges from an address in Northfield, Birmingham following an early morning raid.

Two men, aged 31 and 23, along with a 16-year-old boy, were arrested on suspicion of possession of a firearm and remain in custody for questioning.

Officers said the two raids were pre-planned and no-one was injured during the incident.

Two men burgled more than 50 pubs and were caught after a high-speed chase.

The married couple deny indecently assaulting boys and enraging public decency in the 1990s.

The disruption to rail services caused by an obstruction on the track at Five Ways, will now last until 6pm.

Trains may be delayed by up to 20 minutes or cancelled.

London Midland services between Lichfield Trent valley / Lichfield City / Four Oaks and Longbridge / Redditch and CrossCountry services between Nottingham and Cardiff Central are affected.

Clare Lissaman
BBC News Online

Emma Angell, from Kidderminster, works in Birmingham as a civil servant and attended the minute's silence.

She said: "I think it is just important to pay your respects.

"These people (victims) were out enjoying themselves and you wouldn't expect this sort of thing to happen really - but this has followed attacks in Westminster and Manchester," she said.

"I think it is important to come together and show we won't be beaten and they (terrorists) won't win.

"My little sister lives in London but fortunately she was home. It is terrifying."

Daniel Wainwright
Data unit - English regions

An extra one million voters have joined the electoral roll ahead of Thursday's general election.

Official data released by councils to the BBC, Press Association and ITN shows some areas have seen the voter register rise by more than 10%.

There was a surge in interest after the election was called on 18 April, with 150,000 applications made on that day.

Wolverhampton South East tied with Leeds Central for fourth place in the areas with the biggest increase in registered voters.

BBC WM Sport

Wolves have ended their interest in signing Derby forward Andreas Weimann on a permanent deal, BBC WM reports.

The 25-year-old scored three times in 21 appearances while on loan at Molineux last season and the two clubs had discussed a transfer.

But Wolves will now not take the deal further after Nuno Espirito Santo replaced Paul Lambert as head coach.

An obstruction on the track at Five Ways, Birmingham is causing disruption to services between Birmingham New Street and Longbridge, the Network Rail website reports, external.

Trains may be delayed by up to 20 minutes or cancelled.

London Midland services between Lichfield Trent valley / Lichfield City / Four Oaks and Longbridge / Redditch and CrossCountry services between Nottingham and Cardiff Central are affected.

Disruption is expected until 17:15.

The man whose bike makes the big splash has been jailed over smash-and-grab raids on fruit machines.

Exploits of 16 Normandy veterans are remembered more than 70 years after D Day.

A new experiment aims to discover the impact of traditional ploughing on soils and crops.

Leona Smart
Broadcast Journalist, BBC WM

A section of Merry Hill shopping centre in Dudley was evacuated this morning.

It's after employees at Paperchase found a suspicious paper bag.

Police later found the bag contained rubbish and say the area was evacuated just as a precaution.

A 37-year-old taxi worker died after being knocked unconscious near Embassy Taxis in Nechells, Birmingham on 26 May. He died on 4 June.

Det Insp Paul Joyce, said: "We are still trying to understand what happened but we are led to believe that a customer visited the taxi office in Nechells after being picked up earlier in the evening.

"There was some sort of disagreement and he became aggressive and assaulted the member of staff."