Updates from 29 January to 4 February 2018
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BBC News Travel
Roads around West Midlands Safari Park have reopened following a serious crash earlier.
The A459 was closed between Bewdley and Sutton Park Road in Kidderminster after a pedestrian was hit by a van.
The World's Strongest Man, Newcastle-under-Lyme's Eddie Hall, has won Britain's Strongest Man for the fifth time.
He finished seven points clear of his rivals in the event in Doncaster yesterday.
He described it as a tough competition and was pleased his severe hip injury a couple of months ago didn't hamper his dead lift.
World's strongest man Eddie Hall shows off his strength
Hall, a father-of-two, has dedicated the past few years of his life to extreme training, polishing off a staggering 10,000 calories a day.You can read more about his regime here.
Image source, GoogleRoadworks at one of Crewe's busiest roundabouts are starting today and are expected to last for 10 months.
Leighton Hospital has warned staff, patients and visitors to allow extra time for journeys, as it's expected that the works may cause delays.
Crewe Green roundabout is to have its traffic lights removed and made more oval shaped, the council said, in order to reduce congestion.
BBC WM
A BBC WM investigation has found that weight loss surgery across the West Midlands has risen by 30% in the past four years.
Image source, Getty ImagesChildren as young as 14, and people in their 90s were among 2,500 people undergoing bariatric surgeries and procedures, the investigation found.
But is it a bad thing? Tam Fry from the National Obesity Forum says, in the long run, it's money well spent:
Quote MessageIt avoids treatment for the diseases that spring from obesity, such as diabetes. So although it is quite expensive as an operation, it actually pays for itself within about two to three years.
Tam Fry, National Obesity Forum
Image source, West Midlands PoliceFour people have been arrested after the phone they stole at knife point was tracked "immediately" to a house in Cheylesmore, Coventry.
Police said a 37-year-old man was threatened and robbed, external at his home at about 03:50 GMT on Sunday.
All of the victims possessions were recovered after his iPhone was tracked to Clay Lane.
Emergency services are at the scene.
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Part of the A34 in Birmingham is closed after a fire broke out in terraced shops and flats.
Read MoreHere's a quick look at the top stories in the Express & Star this morning:
There's still people out there who hold information about what happened to Nicola Payne, external, detectives believe.
Eighteen-year-old Nicola went missing in 1991 as she walked to her parents' home in Coventry.
Image source, Family handoutLast week, an anonymous donor raised a reward for information to £100,000.
Also, a new witness came forward with information as a specialist forensic team carried out searches at a country park.
Anyone with information should contact police or call Crimestoppers, external confidentially.
Workers in the Midlands are amongst those most at risk of losing their jobs to robots, a report claims.
Mansfield, Sunderland, Wakefield and Stoke-on-Trent are amongst areas where it is estimated more than a quarter of jobs could be lost to automation and artificial intelligence (AI) by 2030.
Image source, Getty ImagesRoles in shops, administration and warehouses are the most at risk.
The government has said developing AI could create a net increase of 80,000 jobs a year , externalin countries with a population the size of the UK.
Headlines from the Birmingham Mail:
BBC Business News
Carillion "wriggled out" of payments into its company pension schemes as its troubles grew, while it carried on paying shareholder dividends and bosses' bonuses, say MPs.
Image source, Getty ImagesThe Work and Pensions select committee is questioning the way pension investments were managed at the collapsed outsourcing giant.
The Wolverhampton company which manages a huge variety of public sector and private projects around the UK, collapsed under a growing mountain of debt two weeks ago.
A man has died after being hit by a van outside West Midlands Safari Park, in Bewdley, Worcestershire.
The pedestrian was pronounced dead at the scene earlier.
The A456 is currently closed between Bewdley and Sutton Park Road in Kidderminster.
Firefighters have been working through the night to damp down a large fire which broke out in a row of shops and flats in Birmingham.
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The blaze, on Stratford Road, Sparkbrook, affected a row of terraced properties.
At its peak - around fifty firefighters attended the scene.
Alex Hamilton
BBC Weather
After a wet and rainy morning it should be a drier afternoon with sunny spells and scattered cloud with highs of 12C (54F).
Latest weather for the West Midlands
BBC News Travel
Minor delays on rail services through Birmingham New Street this morning after an object had to be cleared from the overhead wires in the area.
All lines have reopened but there could be some residual delays to services.
Vanessa Pearce
BBC News
Welcome to our live service.
We'll be bringing you all the news, sport, travel and weather for the West Midlands.
We love to hear from you so share your news, thoughts and photos of the area with us via email, Twitter, external and Facebook., external
