Marcia Shakespeare, mother of 17-year-old Letisha Shakespeare who died after a gang-related drive-by shooting, says she welcomes any effort to help tackle the issue.

Ms Shakespeare (pictured) has campaigned against gang violence since her daughter's death in 2003.

Charlene Ellis, 18, also died in the drive-by shooting in the early hours of 2 January 2003.

Charlene's twin sister Sophie, cousin Cheryl Shaw and friend Leon Harris were injured.

Express and Star

A body has been discovered in Essington , external- but the incident is not being treated as suspicious.

Nathan Chin questions how orders banning gang members from the city will be enforced.

A "trusted" window cleaner who said he needed water but once inside stole more than £1,000 in cash from an 86-year-old woman has been jailed for two years, say police., external

Joshua Woodhouse, 26, of Cotterills Road, Tipton, initially denied stealing the money from the woman's home, though pleaded guilty to two burglaries between 21-24 April and 17 May this year after a secret camera was installed when relatives contacted police about money going missing.

Woodhouse was one of only a few people to have been in the property in West Bromwich, say police.

Image source, West Midlands Police

Fulham defender Tomas Kalas' sending off after just 39 seconds features among the EFL stories you might have missed.

Express and Star

A nursery owner has been left devastated, external after thousands of pounds worth of play equipment was stolen or destroyed by yobs.

A 90-minute match on Saturday contained only 47 minutes and 40 seconds of actual football - so are fans being left short-changed?

West Brom manager Tony Pulis says he "can't wait" for proposed changes to the summer transfer window to be agreed.

A fly-tipper who dumped waste all over Birmingham has been jailed for two-and-a-half years

Andrew Smithson, 33, from Perry Barr, dumped furniture and builders' waste on streets for three years.

Robert Snodgrass is wanted by Aston Villa after the Scotland midfielder finds himself out of favour at West Ham United.

Plans to close roads to allow a massive cycling event involving 15,000 riders to take place have been approved by Worcestershire County Council, despite vocal opposition.

The 100-mile Velo Birmingham bike ride will follow a route that goes through parts of north Worcestershire, external on September 24.

Farms and businesses on the route have raised concerns that their trade will be disrupted by the event.

The county council says the event organisers have "worked closely" with it to "make sure that the concerns of those people who live and work along the route have been addressed".

The route for Velo Birmingham, which the council say is the biggest event of its kind outside of London, will travel through villages like Wolverley, Bewdley, Ombersley and Belbroughton and the town of Droitwich.

Birmingham Mail

The wraps are coming off a new flagship H&M store, external due to open inside the old BHS building in New Street.

Anna Clancy had denied using a company credit card to order make-up, fake tan and other items.

Pink balls and floodlights hint at a brave new world as day-night Test cricket gets under way in the UK, but will television still be king?

As England prepare to play their first day-night Test against West Indies, BBC Sport looks at whether this is the future of the five-day format.

Allen Cook
BBC Local Live

The name of a man whose body was found in Cannock , externalat the weekend has been revealed by police as Ryan Shenton from Green Lane, Wallsall.

The 25-year-old was discovered on Saturday morning in a secure yard off Market Place.

Image source, Google

Police say they think he may have fallen from the top of a building at the back of Quartz Bar.

It's not clear exactly what happened and officers want witnesses to come forward while they comb through CCTV footage.

Giles Latcham
BBC Midlands Today

A Birmingham man who fly-tipped waste in the city has been jailed for two and a half years.

Andrew Smithson, 31, (pictured left) from Perry Barr admitted dumping domestic and builders' waste on residential streets over a three-year period.

He ran a business claiming everything would be disposed of legally and recycled.

Joel Ducille, 26, of Great Barr, (pictured right) admitted working for Smithson and was given a 10-month suspended jail sentence and a hundred hours of community work.

The Boulton, Watt and Murdoch statue will reappear late next year.

Stephanie Barnard
BBC Local Live

A statue of three of Birmingham's famous industrialists are being moved today to make way for building works.

The bronze statue of Matthew Boulton, James Watt and William Murdoch was placed opposite Centenary Square in 2006 after it was moved from outside the Registry Office on Broad Street 14 years ago.

Birmingham City Council say the statue is going into storage until next year when it will go back on public display once building works in the area have been completed.

The Anthony Gormley statue, Iron Man, is due to be removed from Victoria Square near Pinfold Street next month, as work gets underway to redevelop Paradise Circus.