Updates from Monday 4 to Friday 8 September 2017
We'll be back with regular updates of news, sport, travel and weather from 08:00 on Thursday, but breaking news will appear here this evening and into the morning.
A Tamworth personal development coach, external has been given high praise helping pop sensation and TV personality Kerry Katona 'whole again'.
Emergency crews were called, external to Broad Lane North, Wednesfield, at around 13:00 today.
A man is recovering in hospital after being bitten by a police dog in Birmingham.
Image source, Bimmy MaughanVideos - widely circulated on social media - appear to show traveller Andy Cash being dragged behind a caravan by a police dog clamped to his leg.
West Midlands Police say they were called to reports of the theft of roof tiles from the Old North Worcestershire Golf Course on Monday evening. A 34-year-old man arrested on suspicion of obstruction was released pending further investigation and a 31-year-old woman arrested on suspicion of assault was later released without charge, they said.
The Independent Police Complaints Commission is now assessing the conduct of the dog handler.
Shefali Oza
BBC Midlands Today
It's been a mainly dry, sunny day today for most of us but that's unlikely to continue in the next 24-hours - here's the next few hours forecast.
You can also stay updated with the latest weather for your area by going to the BBC Weather website.
Shefali Oza
A rapist has been jailed after he filmed himself abusing his victim while she slept before later assaulting her in the street.
Image source, West Midlands PoliceAlex Somerfield, 23, from Handsworth, was found guilty after experts managed to retrieve the evidence from his phone even though he had deleted it.
Somerfield has been jailed for eight years for rape and a further 12 months for perverting the course of justice after he repeatedly contacted his victim in an effort to make her change her statement to police.
A disgraced former Dudley councillor, external and magistrate who took hundreds of indecent images and films of two young boys has been given a suspended jail term and ordered to register as a sex offender.
Clinicians at Birmingham Children's Hospital have raised concerns about the death of a previously healthy nine-month-old baby.
Image source, Hamza FamilySada Hamza was admitted on 29 July but the following day her breathing became more erratic and she died.
Her mother, Sakar Hussein, says she repeatedly warned doctors about her daughter's deterioration.
The Trust which runs the hospital says that a full investigation will now take place into the circumstances surrounding Sada's death.
Quote MessageI said, 'please don't look at the machine anymore, please have a look at my daughter...her lip's gone blue, her eye's gone blue. She was even biting her tongue.'
Sakar Hussein, Sada's mum
BBC Sport
Warwickshire are struggling on day two of their County Championship Division One match at Edgbaston.
The Bears are 145 for 7 in their first innings, in reply to Somerset's 282 all out.
You can listen to ball-by-ball commentary online via the BBC sport website.
The family of a man who died following a collision on the M42 has said he "will be missed by family, friends, neighbours and members of the community".
Raymond 'Ray' Goode, 84, who lived in both Coventry and Spain, died following the crash last month.
Ray's wife Jane was also injured and is recovering in hospital.
Image source, Police handoutRaymond Goode and wife Jane
A Peugeot 307 was in collision with the Vauxhall Agila in which Mr Goode was travelling.
The incident occurred at around 20:50 on the southbound carriageway near to junction 10.
A 36-year-old man from Birmingham arrested following the incident on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving has been released under investigation.
The Birmingham Brummies are preparing to take on Kent Kings at Perry Barr tonight.
A win for the Brummies will mean they secure a play-off place in the National League.
You can follow coverage through the BBC WM webpage.
A member of staff at Dudley Zoo has raised more than £800 for the attraction's orangutan appeal by tackling a 10,000ft skydive.
Image source, Dudley ZooAdam Wrench, 27, took on the challenge to help the zoo meet its £800,000 target to build a new outdoor enclosure for their four Bornean orangutans.
Quote MessageIt was an amazing experience and was really exhilarating. I’m so glad I did it and I’m delighted with the amount of money I raised for such a worthy appeal, which exceeded my original target.
Adam Wrench, Dudley Zoological Gardens Keeper
A Birmingham MP has urged the city council and unions to resolve the ongoing bin strike within days not weeks.
Refuse workers are continuing to dispute plans to restructure the waste collection service which they fear will lead to job losses.
Jack Dromey, the MP for Birmingham Erdington, says the 10 weeks of industrial action has gone on for far too long.
Quote MessageThis dispute should be resolved in days not weeks and I am urging all parties in this dispute to give top priority...to sort this.
Jack Dromey, MP for Birmingham Erdington
A Birmingham house has been turned into an impromptu tip, external – after tons of household rubbish, car parts and mounds of tyres were dumped on the drive.
Clinicians raise concerns after a nine-month-old dies at a Birmingham hospital.
Read More
BBC Midlands Today
Researchers at the University of Wolverhampton have found a way to recycle unwanted plastic and turn it into potentially life-saving products.
The team is using bacteria to transform polyethylene plastic into bio-degradable form to produce materials for medicine and agriculture.
They've even managed to grow human cells on 3D printed plastic.
Quote MessageRecycling should be something we educate people about...if we just dump it [plastic] into landfill, this carbon will be just locked there for hundreds of years. So recycling and creating new technologies...is very important.
Dr Iza Radecka, Researcher at the University of Wolverhampton
People living in the Kings Heath and Moseley areas of Birmingham have been told to expect discoloured water to run from their taps while work is carried out.
Image source, Getty ImagesSevern Trent Water, external say - although unappealing - the water is is of no risk to health.
The organisation suggests running the cold tap for 20 minutes to help clear the discolouration.
West Bromwich Albion's Rekeem Harper has admitted he needed a brief rundown on Blackburn's history before he decided to join the League One side on a season-long loan.
Image source, Getty ImagesRovers won the Premier League title in 1995 - five years before the 17-year-old midfielder was born.
Quote MessageComing here [Blackburn] I didn't even know until I sat down and spoke to Hal Robson-Kanu and...he told me they won the Premier League...I didn't even know that. It made me even more excited if I'm honest.
Rekeem Harper, West Bromwich Albion loanee
Every MP in the West Midlands has been sent a video, external showing effects of funding cuts to policing in the region.
The Police Federation - which represents the majority of the force's officers - has teamed up with a Birmingham production company to highlight the problem of cutbacks.
The video features the reduction in officer numbers, rising crime figures and closing police stations.
More than 2,000 officers have lost their jobs since to 2010, according to West Midlands Police Federation.
They say this is because of £130m in budget cuts, the highest figure across the country.
The federation have released a two-minute video highlighting the effects this has caused.
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