A Wolverhampton man has been jailed for 13 years after being caught smuggling cocaine into the UK from Jamaica in tins of dried milk powder, the National Crime Agency say.

Image source, National Crime Agency

Michael Kellar, 59, of Church Field Road in Wolverhampton, was stopped at Birmingham Airport in April with 4kg (9lb) of cocaine hidden in his luggage.

Kellar had previously been arrested, but never charged, in 2012 when almost 5kg (11lb) of liquid cocaine was found hidden in tins of fruit punch in a suitcase with his name on.

He was sentenced on Wednesday.

West Midlands Police has said it has learned "crucial lessons" about how the force managed people with mental health issues following the investigation into the death of Kingsley Burrell in custody.

Image source, Burrell Family

Mr Burrell died in March 2011, four days after being detained under mental health laws. His family contests that Mr Burrell suffered from mental health problems.

An inquest into the 29-year-old's death in 2015 concluded neglect by police, paramedics and hospital staff played a part in his death.

Police said officers are now given improved training and work with paramedics and psychiatric nurses when responding to incidents involving people with mental health conditions.

The force said this new approach has "led to a dramatic drop in the number of people deemed necessary to detain under the Mental Health Act".

The container is a "safe place" for people in Stoke-on-Trent to go to discuss issues around immigration

Three railway workers narrowly avoided being hit by a train travelling at 125mph (200 km/h), the Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) has said.

Image source, PA

The organisation said there had been a "near miss" on 18 September on the Dutton Viaduct in Cheshire.

The line-side workers "managed to move clear of the track less than half of a second before the train passed them", the RAIB said.

No-one was injured but the train driver was "shaken by the incident", it added.

Shefali Oza
BBC Midlands Today

We're forecast winds of up to 60mph overnight and some showers too.

But it should all be gone by the morning and tomorrow we could see temperatures back up to 14C (57F).

Birmingham's bins will once again be collected on a weekly basis following recent strike action, the council has announced.

Image source, Getty Images

Normal service is expected to resume on Monday.

The backlog of rubbish left uncollected due to strike action has meant that the city's waste has often been left or picked up less frequently on non-routine days.

The strike, which began on 30 June, was suspended in September after the High Court granted an interim injunction against the council's bid to make workers redundant.

Binary questions after two weeks of two-party politics.

Plans to reduce dog fouling in public spaces in Cheshire have attracted more than 1,000 responses.

Cheshire East Council, external is considering introducing a public space protection order, which would allow council officers to order dog owners to keep their pets on a lead and issue fixed penalty notices.

The local authority says the powers would help keep dogs under control, and tackle the amount of dog mess it has to clear.

The consultation ends next Tuesday.

BBC Sport

Telford Tigers have signed 23-year-old Finnish defenceman Kim Miettinen.

Since moving to the UK he has won successive NIHL North titles with Blackburn Hawks and Solway Sharks and last season recorded the most goals, assists and points for a defenceman.

Image source, Solway Sharks

Miettinen was also named in the NIHL North first All-Star team at the end of last season.

For the first time farmers in the Midlands are exporting fresh liquid milk overseas.

New bus services Worcester are going to be closely monitored, Worcestershire County Council is promising.

It says it expects the new services, which launch on 16 October, to improve "journey reliability and journey times", but says it wants to make sure they provide a good experience for passengers.

Image source, Google

The buses will run to and from Lowesmoor and the traffic monitoring is expected to last two weeks.

A union is planning legal action on behalf of staff made redundant by Monarch Airlines.

Image source, PA

About 1,900 employees lost their jobs when the firm went into administration overnight earlier in the week.

Unite says there is a strong claim for compensation, as Monarch failed to consult workers on redundancies and didn't give staff the necessary notice or statutory pay.

Monarch was one of Birmingham Airport's biggest carriers.

Police are hunting three men who threatened a woman at the Cheshire Cheese pub in Dawley with a knife and took money from the till.

Image source, Google

The robbery took place at 22:15 on Monday and the woman, who also had money taken from her purse, was left shaken and with slight neck injuries.

All three were wearing dark clothing and balaclavas.

The IPCC is investigating after Andy Cash was bitten by a West Midlands Police dog in Birmingham.

Port Vale appoint Gateshead manager Neil Aspin as the League Two club's new manager.

The 24-year-old victim of a stabbing after a mass brawl in Manchester has been named as Jordan Ross by police.

Image source, Greater Manchester Police

The father-of-one, from Birmingham, died after a "large fight" spilled out from Suburbia nightclub into John Dalton Street on Saturday, police say.

Dorian Graham, 29, of Hamilton Grove, Old Trafford, has been charged with the murder of Mr Ross and the attempted murder of another person.

A cat has been given oxygen after being rescued from a house fire in Shrewsbury, started by a faulty dishwasher.

Fire crews were called to the detatched home on Shelton Fields at 08:58 this morning and found smoke filling the kitchen.

They put the fire out in under 45 minutes and nobody was hurt.

The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) has started an investigation after a man was injured by a police dog during an incident in Northfield, Birmingham.

Image source, West Midlands Police

The man was bitten when West Midlands Police officers responded to a report of roof tiles being stolen from a former golf club on 4 September.

He was taken to hospital with bite injuries after the dog seized his leg and has since made a complaint to police about the incident, the IPCC say.

BBC Sport

The new Port Vale manager is a former defender who played 410 times for the club over 10 seasons.

Neil Aspin has left National League side Gateshead to return to the struggling League Two club who sacked Michael Brown last month.

Image source, Getty Images

Former Vale manager John Rudge will join 52-year-old Aspin at Vale Park as the club's football advisor.

A police investigation is underway into allegations of misconduct at Herefordshire Council and an officer at the authority has been arrested.

The woman in her 40s has been questioned on suspicion of willful misconduct in a public office and West Mercia Police says she has been released on bail while their investigations continue.

Image source, Google

The leader of Herefordshire Council, Tony Johnson, said he was aware of the investigation, but couldn't comment any further.

Herefordshire Council itself say it is unable to comment on investigations, but will work with the police.