West Midlands Police has launched a crackdown on motorists parking dangerously in Birmingham.

School fundraisers have already secured half of a £1,000 target to replace stolen equipment.

Tom Cooke
BBC Coventry & Warwickshire

An explosive device was been used to try and break into a cash machine, say police in Kenilworth.

The machine at the Nationwide branch on Warwick Road was targeted just after 02:00 this morning.

Image source, Google

Detectives say the thieves couldn't break into the machine and left empty-handed.

A Black VW Golf and two motorbikes were seen in the area at the time, which police are trying to find.

Kian Buckler died in hospital days after the motorcycle he was travelling on was in collision with a car.

BBC Radio Stoke

A Stoke-on-Trent MP is calling on the government to make sure more people in the city don't become homeless as a result of budget cuts.

Gareth Snell, MP for Stoke Central, told Parliament that £1m is set to be cut from the city council homelessness budget and that responsibility was being pushed on to charities such as the YMCA.

In response, the Communities Secretary Sajid Javid said more than £1bn was being spent nationally over the next three years to combat homelessness.

Two Labour councillors on Stoke-on-Trent City Council are calling on all agencies in the city to come together to address the issue of homelessness.

Last week, the Conservative and independent alliance which runs the council made a u-turn on its decision to fine homeless people £1,000 who were found sleeping in a tent.

A teenager who died after the motorbike he was travelling on crashed with a car, has been described by his family as a "cheeky chappy who was full of life".

Image source, West Midlands Police

Kian Buckler, 15, was taken to hospital after the collision, at the junction of Lunt Road and Boswell Road in Bilston, West Midlands, but died on Friday.

Mother Tina Richards said: "Losing my beautiful son has left a massive hole in my heart.

"Kian was loved by so many people and touched so many hearts."

A man arrested after a grenade was found at a house in Staffordshire has been released while investigations continue.

Blurton Road in Longton was cordoned off , externaland nearby homes evacuated yesterday morning.

Staffordshire Police says the 28-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of stealing firearms.

Litchfield MP, Michael Fabricant has been giving Parliament a guide on how to pronounce Dudley.

He tweeted, external: "So do I get a part in Peaky Blinders next series?"

Detectives are appealing for witnesses following reports of gunfire being heard in Southam, Warwickshire.

Officers were called at about 10:00 yesterday to reports of a firearm being discharged at an address in Kestrel Row and concern for the safety of a resident.

Police confirmed there was evidence of a gun being fired but no injuries were reported.

Forensic examinations are being carried out at the scene, along with house-to-house enquiries.

Coventry Telegraph

Some of the stories making the headlines on the Coventry Telegraph website today are:

• Raiders try to blast open cash machine using 'explosive device', external
• Cov woman graduates despite being told she had two weeks to live, external
• More than 200 Coventry children living in temporary accommodation, external

Officers will be stopping cyclists because they are wearing dark clothing or have no lights.

BBC Hereford and Worcester

Worcestershire County Council has announced the name of its new permanent chief executive, external.

Paul Robinson is currently the chief executive of Derby City Council, and has worked for more than 30 years in local government.

Image source, Worcestershire County Council

Subject to final approval later this week, he will take up his new post, which is expected to earn him more than £150,000 a year, in April.

He'll replace an interim chief executive who's been in the post since the departure of Clare Marchant in the summer.

Stephanie Barnard
BBC News

A storage container full of Christmas decorations ready to transform a school hall into a grotto has been broken into, causing thousands of pounds worth of damage.

Greenwood Academy says it needs to raise more than £1,000 by the end of the week, otherwise it will have to consider cancelling the winter wonderland event that it has held for the past four years.

Image source, Trevor Evans

Greenwood Academy says equipment and decorations costing more than £1,000 has been stolen, including a generator, PA system, lighting, Christmas costumes and decorations.

The school is appealing to local businesses for help to save the annual event which is due to take place on 20 December.

Image source, Trevor Evans

Image source, Trevor Evans

The New Vic Theatre in Newcastle-under-Lyme has appointed a new associate director.

Zoe Waterman joins having previously directed The Kitchen Sink for the theatre in 2016. She has also worked with the Royal Shakespeare Company and Theatr Clywd, among others.

Image source, Mathew Foster

The New Vic, in Newcastle-under-Lyme, is one of the foremost producing theatres in the region and one of the few in the UK to specialise in in-the-round productions.

Playhouse Creatures, directed by Zoe Waterman, runs at the New Vic from Friday 2 until Saturday 24 February.

Stephanie Barnard
BBC News

This week we are counting down to the City of Culture 2021 announcement.

Coventry, Paisley, Stoke-on-Trent, Sunderland and Swansea have been shortlisted.

All this week we'll be looking at the cities and towns as the winner is announced on Thursday at 19:00 on The One Show., external

Today we're looking at Coventry - but as Stoke-on-Trent is also shortlisted we couldn't go by without showing you the city's official video....

For those who supporting Coventry - check out the BBC News video which we posted earlier.

Ian Naude admitted asking for nude photos of the girl and sending naked pictures of himself.

The world-famous Iron Bridge has been covered up while repair work on it continues.

The £3.6m project in the World Heritage site has been described by Historic England as its largest since becoming independent of government.

The 238-year-old structure, described by English Heritage as "one of the wonders of the modern world" is under threat from cracking due to stresses in the ironwork.

The bridge, constructed over the River Severn in 1779, was the world's first single span arch bridge to be made of cast iron.

Stephanie Barnard
BBC News

Rail operator London Midland is getting ready to leave the rails in the West Midlands after losing the franchise earlier this year.

This morning, commuters at Birmingham New Street were being given "farewell cake".

Though sometimes grand gestures don't always go to plan... The company printed the wrong best before date on the box, of April 2017.

A spokesman told the BBC: "The printing on the box is wrong. If you inspect the inside wrapper you will see it says best before April 2018."

Sounds like the firm was running early.

West Midlands Trains Ltd will take over routes currently operated by London Midland from 10 December.

The side of the box says: "A different rail company takes over on 10 December. It's been a pleasure."

In August, the Department for Transport said the deal would see almost £1bn of investment and new, longer trains.

Birmingham Mail

Here are some of the stories making the headlines on the Birmingham Mail website this lunchtime:

• Hundreds of Toys 'R' Us jobs at risk with 26 UK stores to close, external
• Motorist arrested after schoolgirl seriously injured in driveway crash horror is released by police, external
• RSPCA advert shot in Birmingham dogs home goes viral, external

BBC Business Live

Toys R Us has confirmed plans to shut "at least" 26 of its stores in the UK, putting up to 800 jobs at risk.

The toy chain, which runs nine stores in the West Midlands, said the closures would start in spring next year and that there would be "no disruption for customers" over Christmas and New Year.

Image source, Getty Images

Managing director Steve Knights said the chain's "warehouse style stores", which it opened in the 1980s and 1990s, had become "too big and expensive to run in the current retail environment".

Toys R Us has 106 stores in the UK and employs some 3,200 staff, but is understood to have made a loss for seven out of the past eight years.

There are no details yet on which stores will close.