Summary

  • Live updates from Monday 12 to Sunday 18 February

  • Click on Related Stories to view stories from your area

  1. Chelsea 3-0 West Bromwich Albionpublished at 23:23 Greenwich Mean Time 12 February 2018

    Eden Hazard scores twice as Chelsea return to winning ways against bottom club West Brom to help ease the pressure on boss Antonio Conte.

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  2. Our live coverage for the daypublished at 19:05 Greenwich Mean Time 12 February 2018

    That's it for our live coverage for today.

    We'll be back from 06:30 tomorrow with the latest news, sport, travel and weather from across the region, but keep checking overnight for stories and updates.

  3. Birmingham man injured in Grand Canyon crashpublished at 19:03 Greenwich Mean Time 12 February 2018

    A man seriously injured in a helicopter crash in the Grand Canyon is from Birmingham, according to his Facebook profile.

    Jonathan Udall, 32, was with his wife Ellie, when three of their friends were killed in Saturday's crash.

    Becky Dobson, 27, Stuart Hill, 30 and his brother Jason Hill, 32, who were killed in the crash, were away celebrating Stuart's 30th birthday.

    Jonathan UdallImage source, Caters News Agency
    Image caption,

    Jonathan Udall and his wife Ellie Milward, both on left, were injured in the crash

  4. Rowers unable to avoid crash with bargepublished at 18:42 Greenwich Mean Time 12 February 2018

    Claudia Berry
    BBC News

    A group of university rowers hit a barge in the second of three crashes on the water near Worcester yesterday.

    Jo Wainwright -Scarret, who works at the Camp House Inn, saw a team of rowers from the city's university as they tried to turn at Bevere Lock, but were caught by the crashed Showman Pub barge, which had earlier lost control on the same stretch of river.

    Rowers on the boatImage source, Jo Wainwright-Scarrett

    The barge, which had been towed by a tug, was stuck on landing platforms, half in the water and didn't allow enough space for the eight-strong crew to turn their craft to head back down the river.

    Shortly after, a recovery boat sent to help the rowers also crashed into the barge.

    The University of Worcester says its usual investigation procedures are being followed after the collision.

  5. Blues still not 'out of it' - Cotterillpublished at 18:35 Greenwich Mean Time 12 February 2018

    Birmingham City boss Steve Cotterill says he never thought Blues were out of relegation danger.

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  6. Dumped glass tank 'could have been deadly'published at 18:33 Greenwich Mean Time 12 February 2018

    A large glass tank dumped near a nature reserve could have had "potentially deadly" consequences, according to a councillor.

    Sandwell Council staff are investigating who is responsible for abandoning the tank outside Sheepwash Nature Reserve, in Tipton. If caught, they face a potential £400 fine for fly-tipping.

    The 5ft by 2ft tank was then smashed, leaving broken glass around the corner of Dunkirk Avenue and Elizabeth Road.

    The tankImage source, Sandwell Council
    Quote Message

    I don’t like to think about the consequences of a child, adult or animal stumbling upon it – the consequences could have been potentially deadly. It doesn’t bear thinking about

    Councillor Elaine Costigan, Sandwell Council’s cabinet member for public health and protection

  7. Three men jailed for drugs offencespublished at 18:23 Greenwich Mean Time 12 February 2018

    Three men from Wolverhampton have been jailed for supplying drugs in Worcester.

    Kane Cooper, 19, of Meriden Road; Brandon Elsmore, 19, of St Anne's Road; and Ryan McGoldrick, 20 of Catsfield Crescent; were sentenced at Worcester Crown Court earlier, external.

    Cooper was jailed for a total of 42 months, McGoldrick was sentenced to 30 months and Elsmore was also jailed for 30 months

    Items siezed from the menImage source, West Mercia Police
  8. Will there be snow tonight or tomorrow?published at 17:59 Greenwich Mean Time 12 February 2018

    Rich Davis
    BBC Weather presenter

    It was a cold morning, especially in those places which saw snow and ice.

    Here's how tonight and tomorrow morning are looking.

    Get the latest forecasts for your area at any other time via the BBC Weather website.

    Media caption,

    Rich Davis

  9. Couple jailed for murdering friendpublished at 17:55 Greenwich Mean Time 12 February 2018

    The couple left Dionne Clarke to die after inflicting her with 69 injuries, the jury heard.

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  10. Parkinson's sufferer 'ejected over walk'published at 17:43 Greenwich Mean Time 12 February 2018

    Chris Cartlidge says he was told to leave Halfords after his symptoms caused his leg to stiffen.

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  11. River rescue after three boat crashespublished at 17:34 Greenwich Mean Time 12 February 2018

    Eleven people had to be rescued from the River Severn after three collisions on the water.

    First a barge, the Showman, crashed into a landing stage.

    The river's current proved too strong for the tug that was towing the barge, and so both boats were pulled to the side and moored just below the Camp House Inn.

    The scene of the accident

    Then a university rowing boat collided with the barge, followed by a rescue boat which was trying to salvage the rowing boat.

    No-one was injured in the crashes which all happened within a few hours of each other, just below Bevere Lock near Worcester on Saturday.

    The University of Worcester said it was grateful to members of the public who were quick to assist the eight rowers and provide them with hot drinks and blankets.

  12. Ejection seat firm 'put lives at risk'published at 17:24 Greenwich Mean Time 12 February 2018

    Red Arrows pilot Sean Cunningham died after being ejected from his aircraft in 2011.

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  13. Wine bottle attack on ambulancepublished at 17:08 Greenwich Mean Time 12 February 2018

    No-one was injured but North West Ambulance Service said the crew and patient were "very shaken up".

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  14. Whitney out to keep Walsall fans singingpublished at 17:01 Greenwich Mean Time 12 February 2018

    Walsall manager Jon Whitney wants to keep the disenchanted Saddlers fans singing - but in a positive way.

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  15. 'Promising signs' in search for urban otterspublished at 16:59 Greenwich Mean Time 12 February 2018

    David Gregory-Kumar
    Science correspondent, BBC Midlands Today

    People trying to track how otters are doing on West Midlands' canals say they've come across "promising signs".

    An otter

    The Canal and River Trust wants to see how the animals are faring on the waterways, external, as it's thought they're making a comeback due to better water quality and work to improve habitats.

    Around 60 volunteers have started covering 200 miles of canals around Birmingham and the Black Country, looking for signs of otters such as their spraint or poo.

    Quote Message

    We're getting some really promising signs. I had one of our volunteers on a stretch of canal going up towards Tamworth that's found somewhere around 20 spraints on a section only about seven or eight kilometres long which is really amazing."

    Hannah Bristow, University of Birmingham

  16. Bike hire scheme in citypublished at 16:52 Greenwich Mean Time 12 February 2018

    Worcester is developing its own bike hire scheme.

    It has been launched by the University of Worcester, which has 50 e-bikes, made by city company G-Tech, external.

    Currently it is only available to staff and students who pay a £30 membership and can then hire the electric bikes for 24 hours for a £2 fee.

    One of the new electric bikes for hire in Worcester

    The bikes are currently at two hubs based on the university's city and St John's campuses.

    Katy Boom, who is running the project, says they want big businesses to express their interest in having their own bikes, to encourage more workers to ditch their cars.

  17. Signalling fault causing delayspublished at 16:44 Greenwich Mean Time 12 February 2018

    BBC News Travel

    A fault with the signalling system , externalbetween Shrewsbury and Machynlleth / Pwllheli is causing disruption to services between these stations, the National Rail website reports.

    Trains may be cancelled, delayed by up to 30 minutes or revised.

  18. Call to train staff after Parkinson's man asked to leavepublished at 16:31 Greenwich Mean Time 12 February 2018

    Hazel Morgan
    Journalist, BBC Radio Stoke

    A charity's calling for retail workers to be given training about Parkinson's disease after a man was asked to leave a store.

    Halfords in Trent ValeImage source, Google

    Chris Cartlidge, 51, who was diagnosed 10 years ago with the disease, external, says he was told to leave Halfords in Trent Vale, Stoke-on-Trent, last month as he was "walking funny".

    Halfords have apologised for any embarrassment caused.

    Quote Message

    We're calling for a little bit more awareness and a little bit more understanding and we hope that Halfords can actually start by leading with an example and embracing our call to take on some training."

    Benali Hamdache, Spokesman for Parkinson's UK