Summary

  • Jail for gorilla mask rapist

  • Two accused of murder over Aldridge stabbing

  • Fatal school bus crash investigation "to take months"

  • Weekend serves Spaghetti closure

  • Refuse workers on strike

  • Updates from Friday 14 July 2017

  1. Warwickshire's Gunn becomes England's leading wicket-takerpublished at 17:12 British Summer Time 12 July 2017

    BBC Sport

    Warwickshire's Jenny Gunn has just become England's all-time leading wicket-taker in one-day internationals.

    England are closing in on victory over New Zealand as they attempt to secure a place in the semi-finals of the Women's World Cup.

    Jenny GunnImage source, Getty Images

    Gunn has taken two key wickets, with New Zealand needing 78 runs from five overs.

    You can follow all the action online.

  2. Birmingham drivers spend 46 hours a year looking for parkingpublished at 17:11 British Summer Time 12 July 2017

    BBC WM

    How long does it take you to find a parking space in Birmingham? New research says we spend 46 hours a year searching the streets.

    The study, by traffic information supplier Inrix, found the average time spent looking for a spot across the UK is 44 hours a year.

    They say major cities in the UK need to embrace new technology to make parking easier.

    Parked cars
  3. Fake death mum jailed for insurance scampublished at 17:07 British Summer Time 12 July 2017

    Arafa Nassib encouraged her son to claim a £136,000 payout saying she had died in a car crash in Africa.

    Read More
  4. 'Well planned attempt' to defraud insurance companypublished at 16:10 British Summer Time 12 July 2017

    A mother faked her own death in a "well-planned attempt" to claim an insurance payout, the Crown Prosecution Service said this afternoon.

    Arafa Nassib, 48, told her son to lodge a £136,000 life insurance claim.

    Lesley Milner, of West Midlands CPS said: "This was a well-planned attempt by a mother and son to defraud an insurance company out of a large sum of money.

    Arafa NassibImage source, PA
    Image caption,

    Arafa Nassib

    "They went to great lengths to succeed with the fraud, obtaining documents on headed notepaper and a forged death certificate.

    "However, investigations revealed that Arafa Nassib had never been admitted to the hospital and was, in fact, alive and living in Canada."

  5. Mother who faked own death in insurance scam is jailedpublished at 15:41 British Summer Time 12 July 2017
    Breaking

    A mother who faked her death in Africa and instructed her teenage son to lodge a £136,000 life insurance claim has been jailed for two-and-a-half years.

    Arafa Nassib was rumbled when investigators found no trace of her supposed grave in Zanzibar, off the coast of Tanzania, and were told she was living in Canada.

    Arafa NassibImage source, City of London Police

    Nassib's 18-year-old son Adil Kasim was given a "lenient" 12-month community order at Birmingham Crown Court after the pair, both of Lower Rushall Street, Walsall, admitted conspiracy to defraud Scottish Widows.

    The court heard Nassib, 48, racked up debts of £80,000 before deciding to travel to Zanzibar, where she was said to have fallen victim to a car crash in April last year.

  6. Poppy pins made from battlefield shellspublished at 15:31 British Summer Time 12 July 2017

    Memorial pins are being made in Birmingham to pay tribute to 60,083 fallen British soldiers from The Battle of Passchendaele.

    Read More
  7. 'Severe' shed fire in Astonpublished at 15:04 British Summer Time 12 July 2017

    The fire service is dealing with a severe shed fire in Aston.

    The service tweeted, external the pictures and said it was working hard to contain the fire.

    The fireImage source, Aston Fire Station
  8. Prisoner who was released early in custody in Birminghampublished at 14:33 British Summer Time 12 July 2017

    A prisoner who was released from jail months in to a nine-year sentence after a clerical error has been recaptured in Birmingham, police said.

    Ralston Dodd, 25, was arrested on Tuesday night after being at large for several weeks, according to the Metropolitan Police.

    HMP Thameside
    Image caption,

    Dodd was released from HMP Thameside

    He had been jailed in November after admitting a knife attack in which he stabbed a man three times in the back following an argument in the street.

    Police said he has been taken to a police station in Birmingham.

  9. Dudley school girl wins Christmas stamp competitionpublished at 13:58 British Summer Time 12 July 2017

    BBC WM

    A Dudley school girl is behind the design of this year's Royal Mail second class Christmas stamp.

    Arwen Wilson, aged nine, beat off competition from more than 200,000 children across the country with her picture.

    StampImage source, Royal Mail
  10. New speedway track application submitted by Cradley Heathenspublished at 13:30 British Summer Time 12 July 2017

    Steve Hermon
    Journalist, BBC WM

    A planning application has been submitted to build a speedway track for the Cradley Heathens - 22 years after the team left their old Dudley Wood home.

    The plan for the Queens Field site on the Lion Farm Estate in Oldbury has been handed to Sandwell Council by the Supporters Trust.

    Perry Barr siteImage source, Empics

    It would also include a host of other sporting facilities, including rugby and cricket pitches, a BMX track and basketball courts.

    The Heathens have been track sharing in Wolverhampton and Birmingham ever since reforming 2010.

    The Heathens take on Plymouth in the National League at Perry Barr later today.

  11. Prisoner released early by mistake is arrested in Birminghampublished at 13:02 British Summer Time 12 July 2017
    Breaking

    Ralston Dodd, the prisoner who was released from jail months into a nine-year sentence after a clerical error, has been arrested in Birmingham, the Metropolitan Police said.

    Dodd, 25, was jailed in November after he admitted stabbing a man three times in the back following an argument on a north London street.

    Ralston DoddImage source, MET Police
  12. Unemployment up in the West Midlandspublished at 13:00 British Summer Time 12 July 2017

    Monica Rimmer
    Journalist, BBC Online

    The unemployment rate in the West Midlands has risen by 6,000, bringing the total number of unemployed people to 166,000.

    According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), that equates to 5.9% of the West Midlands population being out of work.

    UK unemploymentImage source, PA

    Nationally, UK unemployment fell by 64,000 to 1.49 million in the three months to May.

    It meant the unemployment rate fell to its lowest since 1975, at 4.5%, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) added.

  13. Bowler out for the season after being struck at Bear's gamepublished at 12:43 British Summer Time 12 July 2017

    Nottinghamshire bowler Luke Fletcher has been ruled out for the rest of the season after being hit in the head by the ball in a T20 Blast match at Edgbaston on Saturday.

    Luke Fletcher injuryImage source, Getty Images

    He was released from hospital on Sunday after being struck by a straight drive from the Bears' Sam Hain and, after consultation with doctors, will not play again in 2017.

  14. Virtual reality brings 1800s art to lifepublished at 12:05 British Summer Time 12 July 2017

    BBC Midlands Today

    Virtual reality is being used to recreate one of the earliest exhibitions of photography which took place in Birmingham more than 170 years ago.

    In 1839, the British scientist William Henry Fox Talbot presented his photographic prints to the public at King Edwards school in the city.

    Artwork

    Most of them have faded or are kept in special vaults.

    Now the artist Mat Collishaw is using virtual technology to allow modern audiences to see them once again, at the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery.

    Visitors can put on headsets and walk through the gallery as though it is the 1800s.

  15. Boy, 15, to face trial for murderpublished at 11:39 British Summer Time 12 July 2017

    The teenager is charged with murder after a 23-year-old man was fatally stabbed.

    Read More
  16. Car hits stationary car and housepublished at 11:39 British Summer Time 12 July 2017

    A car hit a stationary vehicle and a house last night.

    West Midlands Ambulance Service says it was called to Field Road in Bloxwich shortly before 23:40 last night.

    Two people had been travelling in the car, one man in his 20s was able to get out.

    He was treated for "serious chest injuires" and cuts to his arm and taken to hospital.

    The driver, also a man in his 20s, was unresponsive and taken to hospital with a head injury.

  17. Sisters 'threatened and racially abused' on trainpublished at 11:15 British Summer Time 12 July 2017

    Three sisters have allegedly been racially abused and threatened by a man with a dog while on a train, British Transport Police say.

    Officers are appealing for information and have released an image of a man they would like to speak to in connection with the incident.

    The women were travelling from Kings Norton to Redditch on Saturday when a man joined the train with his Staffordshire Bull Terrier dog and sat next to the sisters.

    When one of the women, who was scared of the dog, asked him to move it, he threatened to make it bite them, police said.

    Man's faceImage source, British Transport Police

    Police say when the sisters moved to another carriage the man followed them and became "violently hostile" and used "racially abusive language".

    Quote Message

    The behaviour of this man was shocking and completely unprovoked. All three sisters were terrified of this man’s actions, especially when he threatened to set the dog on them."

    PC Piotr Gass, British Transport Police

  18. Wolves sign Cambridge United goalkeeperpublished at 11:06 British Summer Time 12 July 2017

    BBC Sport

    Wolves have signed goalkeeper Will Norris for an undisclosed fee on a three-year deal from Cambridge United.

    The 23-year-old made 93 appearances for the U's after joining from non-league Royston in 2012.

    Will NorrisImage source, Getty Images

    Norris was described as the best goalkeeper in League Two last season by Cambridge boss Shaun Derry.

    He has joined Wolves a day after fellow goalkeeper John Ruddy, and five days after long-serving Carl Ikeme was diagnosed with acute leukaemia.