Updates from Monday 6 to Friday 10 November
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A senior West Midlands Police officer been suspended on suspicion of an offence under the Official Secrets Act.
Assistant Chief Constable Marcus Beale faces allegations relating to a failure to safeguard sensitive documents.
Jennie Aitken
Newsreader, BBC Radio Stoke
A Stoke-on-Trent pharmacist has told BBC Radio Stoke his staff have been attacked and threatened by heroin addicts coming in for clean needles.
In one instance, Navid Kaleem said a "bloodied" needle was held against a pregnant member of staff at the Shelton Pharmacy.
Image source, GoogleHe's still running the service from the Norfolk Street pharmacy, but says he wants to stop it completely.
Stoke-on-Trent Community Drug and Alcohol Service says it regrets the unfortunate actions of an individual earlier this year that caused the closure of the service at the Shelton pharmacy.
It says there are still 11 pharmacies in the city that provide a needle exchange service.
Quote MessageWe've seen a staff member being held at knifepoint, demanding methadone. We've had a bloodied needle held against a pregnant staff member, demanding clean needles."
Navid Kaleem, Pharmacist
BBC Midlands Today
Almost 21,000 people in the West Midlands are homeless, according to new research by the charity Shelter, external.
It's found that the number of people sleeping rough or in temporary accommodation in the region has risen by 22% in the last year.
Image source, PAThe definition of homelessness under law includes rough sleepers, single people in hostels and those in temporary accommodation.
Birmingham topped the list with one in every 88 people in the city without a permanent home.
Coventry and Solihull have the next highest numbers of homeless people.
Two men from Stourbridge have been jailed for killing an 18-year-old mother when racing their cars at twice the speed limit.
Nadine Foster, the mother of a five-month-old, died in hospital after the crash on Hagley Road in April 2016.
She was a passenger in a car driven by Dylan Stringer which crashed into a wall and destroyed a bus shelter during the street race, police said.
Image source, West Midlands PoliceJoseph Chance, 25, the driver of the other car, was found guilty of causing death by dangerous driving.
Neither he nor Stringer had insurance or MOT for the cars, police said.
Chance, of Murcroft Road, was jailed on Tuesday at Wolverhampton Crown Court for eight years and banned from driving for 14 years.
Stringer, 24, of Wychbury Road, admitted causing death by dangerous driving, and driving without insurance or a licence and was sentenced to six years in prison and was banned from driving for 13 years.
Here are some of the some stories making he headlines on The Sentinel website this morning:
Here's a couple of pictures from the BBC Weather Watchers, this first one features Bruce the dog taken in Lower Broadheath, Worcestershire by Mikesnapper.
Image source, MikesnapperLyonshall, Herefordshire is the backdrop for this lovely photo taken by Johnqa.
The sun looks glorious bathing the orange trees in sunlight.
Image source, johnqa
Monica Rimmer
BBC News
Birmingham City Council leader Ian Ward has told the BBC it is in "no-one's interest to be going to court" to solve the bin strike dispute.
Refuse workers put the strike on hold at the end of September following months of action in a row over job cuts.
Councillor Ward said: "There'll be costs for ourselves - the council, there'll be costs for the trade union so we want to avoid that.
"[The dispute] That's cost in excess of £6m, so that's been very, very expensive and obviously again we don't want to repeat that, because it's not good value for the taxpayer."
On 20 September the High Court granted an interim injunction against the council's bid to make workers redundant.
A trial to determine if the council acted unlawfully in issuing redundancy notices is due to start on 27 November.
A 17-year-old gymnast from Bromsgrove is hoping to make a big impact at the World Trampoline and Tumbling championships in Bulgaria this week.
Kallum Mulhall, who trains at the City of Birmingham club, has been selected as part of the four-man tumbling team for Great Britain.
He's previously won a medal at the world age group championships but this will be his first major senior competition.
Malvern Hills District Council has pulled out of a deal, external to buy the town's old NatWest Building.
The bank closed in June with several commercial businesses wanting to buy the building with bids to turn it into a restaurant and live music venue.
Image source, GoogleThe council was the preferred bidder, wanting to turn it into its new headquarters, also housing tourist information.
But last night it said it had decided to withdraw the bid after structural survey flagged up significant repair costs.
Five rail operators are facing disruption due to strike action by the Rail, Maritime and Transport union.
Workers on Southern, Greater Anglia and South Western Railway are striking for 48 hours, while staff on Merseyrail and Northern have walked out for 24 hours.
The union is in dispute over driver-only operated trains, also known as driver-controlled operated.
Some of the headlines on the Express and Star website this morning include:
BBC Midlands Today
An NHS trust that provides mental health care in Warwickshire has been told it needs to improve services, especially for young people.
A report by England's chief inspector of hospitals says waiting times for children and the young are too long.
Image source, Getty ImagesIt also criticises the risk to patients on elderly care wards because staff aren't monitoring them enough.
The Care Quality Commission rated the Coventry and Warwickshire Partnership NHS Trust as requiring improvement.
The trust says it's already begun work to tackle the problems.
Monica Rimmer
BBC News
There was plenty of action in last night's Checkatrade Trophy matches.
Port Vale's new signing Chris Regis scored on his debut, as they beat Crewe Alexandra 4-2 to reach the knockout stages.
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Last year's winners Coventry City beat West Brom's Under 21 side 2-1, but Walsall's 1-0 win over Shrewsbury meant the Saddlers go through to the next round ahead of Coventry City.
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BBC Shropshire
A report into Shropshire Council's finances will be considered by a committee today.
The Conservative-run authority has to save £36m over the next five years.
Members of a scrutiny committee will meet this afternoon to discuss the findings.
The local authority says the savings are needed due to government cuts and increased demands on services for vulnerable adults and children.
The bin strike was suspended in September after the High Court granted an interim injunction against the council's bid to make workers redundant.
Image source, PAA trial is due to take place on 27 November to determine if the council acted unlawfully in issuing redundancy notices.
The council said talks between the authority and the unions are "moving forward positively" ahead of that trial.
For more on why refuse workers went on strike, see here.
Kathryn Stanczyszyn
Political Reporter, BBC WM
The bin dispute in Birmingham has cost the council £6m, the leader of Birmingham City Council has told BBC WM.
Leader Ian Ward said there was "no choice" but to get a resolution before a trial is due to start on 27 November.
Image source, Getty Images
Matt Lee
Reporter, BBC Radio Stoke
Police are appealing for witnesses after a teenager was stabbed in the street in Stoke-on-Trent.
Ashford Street in Shelton is cordoned off this morning with blue and white police tape as investigations continue into the stabbing of a 17-year-old man yesterday evening.
Paramedics were called to the junction with Boughey Road, near to Staffordshire University, at 16:30 - they treated the man for a single stab wound to the chest.
He was taken to the Royal Stoke University Hospital, where he is in a serious condition.
BBC Shropshire
The Independent Police Complaints Commission is investigating the alleged rape of a 13-year-old girl by a police officer from Shropshire.
PC Ian Naude, 29, from Market Drayton, has been suspended by his force Cheshire Police.
He appeared in court earlier this week charged with rape following an alleged incident reported to officers in Crewe on Friday.
A study led by the University of Birmingham and the city's Women's Hospital has recommended that all newborn babies should be screened for critical congenital heart defects within 24 hours.
About two in every 1,000 babies born across Europe have the defects which are a major cause of infant deaths.
The study found current tests only catch half the number of children born with the problem.
Researchers want hospitals to use a new test which measures oxygen levels through the skin.
Rich Davis
BBC Weather presenter
A crisp and chilly start to the day, with perhaps the odd mist patch. 9C (48F)
Latest weather for the West Midlands
