BBC Shropshire

Shropshire's fire service has become one of the first in the UK to install pet oxygen masks on all its fire engines and appliances.

Image source, Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service

It says small animals, such as cats and dogs inhale smoke four times faster than humans and can collapse very quickly.

The service launched a fundraising campaign to buy the masks nearly two years ago, and now have a total of 28 which are on all of its response vehicles.

BBC Breakfast has apologised for broadcasting a caption that suggested Trinity Mirror Group was buying the Wolverhampton-based Express & Star newspaper.

In fact Trinity Mirror, which owns the Daily Mirror and is the UK's biggest regional newspaper owner, is set to buy the Daily Express, Daily Star and OK! magazine, among others.

The £126.7m deal to buy the publishing assets of Northern & Shell is expected to lead to savings of £20m a year for Trinity Mirror.

Trinity Mirror already owns the Birmingham Post, while the Express & Star newspaper is published by the Midland News Association, not Northern & Shell, as BBC Breakfast made clear later.

A collection of iconic television puppets is due to go on display at Wolverhampton Art Gallery.

The exhibition, which opens to the public tomorrow, includes characters from the small screen dating back 80 years.

Basil Brush, Zippy from Rainbow and Lady Penelope from Thunderbirds are among the familiar faces.

BBC Hereford and Worcester

Herefordshire Council says an "administration error" meant people whose homes could be demolished to make way for a new city bypass weren't given any notice that they were on the proposed routes.

Image source, google

The residents of Kings Acre Road only received letters late last week and many only realised when they saw the possible routes online.

The council has apologised for the mistake which they say was down to "human error".

In a statement they say it "wasn't acceptable" for residents to find out through the press or social media.

Police will be back at a Stoke-on-Trent school this morning after it was put on lockdown yesterday.

Children were told to get under tables and sit with the lights off in their classrooms, parents said, after teachers at St Peter's Academy were concerned about a group of people approaching the school.

Staffordshire Police said an officer would be attending the site in Fenton today.

The school says the incident passed safely and praised the calmness of all involved.

The keys to Dudley Hippodrome could be handed back to the council just over a year into a five-year lease.

Image source, Dudley Metropolitan Council

Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council cabinet approved proposals at a meeting last night to start legal proceedings to take back the building.

Black Country Hippodrome Ltd (BCHL) took over the theatre in 2016 with the aim of reopening it, but council officers said it had "failed to achieve key milestones".

Council leader Patrick Harley said the building had become an "eyesore" and the local authority would be taking it back "with regret and a heavy heart".

A mental health team is to review the way it cared for a man suffering from paranoid schizophrenia who stabbed a stranger to death.

Alaeldien Ahmed, 27, was convicted of manslaughter by diminished responsibility after he knifed Anthony Banting more than 50 times at a Birmingham tram stop.

Image source, British Transport Police

Det Ch Insp Paul Langley, from British Transport Police, said "it was just a completely random and unprovoked attack".

Ahmed had spent several months in a secure unit in hospital in Birmingham.

The court heard he had called his medical team on the day of the attack because he was suffering from delusions and headaches.

Seven athletes from the West Midlands will parade in the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics in South Korea.

Over 17 days, more than 3,000 of the world's best athletes will compete in 102 medal events in 15 sports.

Image source, Getty Images

Charlotte Gilmartin from Redditch in Worcestershire will become the first from our region to compete, when she races in the short-track speed skating tomorrow.

You can follow all the action across BBC TV, radio and digital channels, as well as the BBC Sport website, where live streams and on-demand clips can be viewed on desktop, tablet and mobile.

• Day-by-day guide to what's on
• Full schedule and results

A couple found guilty of murder after their victim was left gagged and bound with duct tape and cable, will be sentenced on Monday.

Image source, Family Handout

Dionne Clarke, 27, was found dead at a house in Nuneaton in June.

Dominic Wallis, 28, and his 20-year-old partner Elizabeth Ellis, both from Nuneaton, were found guilty of her murder at Birmingham Crown Court.

Image source, West Midlands Police

Wallis's parents, Karen and Kingsley Wallis, were found guilty of perverting the course of justice.

A man has been arrested on suspicion of false imprisonment and assault after a 24-hour stand-off with police in Coventry.

Officers went to an address in Briscoe Road in the Holbrooks area of the city for a planned arrest at 03:00 yesterday, because they thought a woman was being illegally held at the property.

The 44-year-old man refused to co-operate and threatened to hurt himself.

West Midlands Police say the incident ended just after 02:30 today.

Rich Davis
BBC Weather presenter

It will be breezy and cloudy today with some sunshine but also wintry showers with top temperatures of 7C (45F).

About 450 jobs are believed to be under threat at the 2 Sisters chicken production plants in Smethwick and Wolverhampton.

A processing plant at Cambuslang near Glasgow is also under threat - with the possible loss of another 450 jobs.

The company said it would be creating up to 1,000 new jobs within the poultry supply chain across the UK, including 400 at the West Bromwich plant.

The House of Commons Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee held a month-long inquiry into the food group's actions after an undercover report by the Guardian and ITV News claimed workers at its West Bromwich site were changing the slaughter dates to extend the shelf-life of meat.

Vanessa Pearce
BBC News

Welcome to our live service for Friday.

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

Stephen Laing, curator of the British Motor Museum in Warwickshire, explains why people in the UK drive on the left.

The 70ft-long (21m) dinosaur replica only just squeezed into its new home in Dorset.

A petition with more than 28,000 signatures calls for speed cameras and crash barriers at the underpass.

Alaeldien Ahmed is found guilty of manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility.

Andy Giddings
BBC News

We'll be back with the latest news, sport, travel and weather from 07:00 on Friday, but keep an eye out here for more updates before then.

BBC Coventry & Warwickshire Sport

Coventry City say nearly 26,000 tickets have been snapped up for Saturday's home clash with Accrington Stanley.

Image source, Coventry City Football Club

As part of the Sky Blues' community day, tickets have been given away to schools or sold for just £5 in advance.

Mark Robins's side will be looking to make it eight wins in a row at the Ricoh Arena.

West Brom striker Jay Rodriguez says he is "in disbelief" about being charged with allegedly racially abusing Brighton defender Gaetan Bong.