BBC News England

Ambulances and emergency response vehicles in the West Midlands were deployed hundreds of times to the same member of the public in a year, the BBC has learned.

Across the UK, a total of 8,303 emergency calls were made by the five most frequent callers.

An NHS spokesman said the calls were often related to mental health, chronic pain and alcohol or drug dependence.

The figures were released after a Freedom of Information request to the UK's 14 ambulance trusts.

They showed West Midlands Ambulance Service received 1,171 calls from the same person in 12 months.

An ambulance was sent to them 489 times and the person was taken into hospital 75 times.

Figures also showed a second persistent caller rang the 999 emergency number more than 900 times in a year.

Allen Cook
BBC News

Water supplies in the south of Birmingham should, external now be back to normal, according to Severn Trent.

Image source, Severn Trent

The water firm's been battling a huge number of burst pipes in the area with the thaw following last week's freezing weather, leading to low pressure or even no water.

This morning, Severn Trent says it's confident all customers have their usual supply back and have therefore closed down bottled water collection points in the city.

BBC Sport

Shrewsbury Town fans will be heading to Wembley this season for the first time since 2009, after winning their EFL Trophy semi-final.

Image source, Rex Features

The only goal of the game against Yeovil Town was scored by Carlton Morris, who powered in Shaun Whalley's cross.

It means Paul Hurst's side will play in the final against Lincoln on 8 April, continuing their superb season as they also chase promotion to the Championship.

BBC Midlands Today

The union Unite is calling on the government to block a hostile takeover bid for the Redditch-based engineering giant GKN.

Workers from Jaguar Land Rover will be among those supporting employees at the GKN Driveline base in Birmingham this afternoon.

Image source, PA

They will be demonstrating against the planned takeover by Melrose.

That firm specialises in buying up industrial companies it believes are undervalued and restructuring them before selling them on.

Speaking yesterday to MPs on the Business Committee, Melrose said it aimed to make the business better but Unite questioned its long-term commitment.

Rich Davis
BBC Weather presenter

It's looking like being a pretty good day for March, having started off dry.

Here's how the rest of the day's looking across the West Midlands.

You can get a forecast for your area at any other time from the BBC Weather website.

Allen Cook
BBC News

Welcome to our live service for Wednesday.

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.

One caller rang an ambulance service 3,594 times in 12 months.

Carlton Morris heads Shrewsbury into the Checkatrade Trophy final at Wembley, as Town beat Yeovil in their semi-final.

Warrington Wolves half-back Declan Patton is banned for five matches following his red card at Hull FC on 2 March.

Rochdale bounced back from their FA Cup defeat by Tottenham by climbing off the foot of League One with victory at Walsall.

Lewis Grabban scores against his former club as Aston Villa keep up their push for a top-two finish with victory at Sunderland.

Garry Monk's first game in charge of Birmingham ends in defeat by his former club Middlesbrough at St Andrew's.

Andy Giddings
BBC News

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

Express and Star

Some of the top stories on the Express and Star website today are:

• Government failed to retrieve £364m from Carillion, external
• Parking cameras switched on at Oldbury Green Retail Park, external
• Bilston High Street murder suspect sobs during speech to jury, external

Hospital car parking charges in Stoke-on-Trent are staying the same for visitors, but staff will see fees rise by 5% from April.

The University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust said its aim was to "benchmark against other NHS organisations" and that its charges were below the national average for staff parking.

Parking for visitors will remain £1.80 for the first hour's stay and £3 for one to two hours.

The maximum charge will be £9 for eight to 24 hours.

Local Democracy Reporting Service
David Irwin

More than 500 homes in Solihull have been empty for more than six months.

And a further 496 properties have been left without anyone living in them for less than six months, despite a chronic housing shortage in the West Midlands.

Now Solihull Council is taking “targeted action” to get unoccupied properties – which, in extreme cases, have been empty for years or even decades – back into use.

This follows concerns that some dwellings not in use for prolonged periods are becoming eyesores, or are at risk of attracting anti social behaviour.

Two hundred cannabis plants, with an estimated street value of £125,000, have been found.

The plants were found in three rooms of a building on the Hilton Park Industrial Estate, in Essington, Staffordshire, but there was nobody there when the police raid was carried out.

Image source, Staffordshire Police

Police also said the electricity supply had been diverted to power the equipment and that work had to be carried out to make the building safe.

Villagers have criticised the prospect of major new development on green belt land, saying they fear the area losing its rural character.

A new study, carried out on behalf of councils in Birmingham and the Black Country, has suggested a major new town could be built, near Barnt Green (pictured below) and Alvechurch.

Image source, Google

Bromsgrove District Council has already said more than 2,000 homes will be needed on green belt land, to fulfill the area's own housing need.

A driver unloading power tools from a van in Corley was attacked and robbed by a group of four of five men, police said., external

Officers were called to the incident shortly before 15:00 on Tamworth Road yesterday after the gang attacked him with a stanley knife.

The 36-year-old suffered cuts to his legs and arms and minor injuries to his face.

Police are appealing for any witnesses to come forward.

Lee Blakeman
Port Vale commentator, BBC Radio Stoke

Port Vale striker Dan Turner says he's found this season extremely frustrating after losing his place in the starting line-up.

He scored three goals in the first two months, but has failed to hold down a regular first team place under the management of Neil Aspin.

Image source, Getty Images

He is hoping to cover for the injured Tom Pope at the weekend.