Summary

  • Lorry drivers jailed for fatal minibus crash

  • Family jailed for ammunition supply ring

  • Men murdered dad after 'money row'

  • 'Frenzied' double stabbing knifeman jailed

  • Three teens stabbed outside school

  • Ambulance abuse note woman evicted

  • Tumour survivor breaks Atlantic record

  • HS2 payments still unclaimed

  • Arrest after knifepoint taxi robberies

  • Updates on Friday 23 March

  • Click on Related Stories to view stories from your area

  1. Entry to M6 closed due to lorry firepublished at 15:20 Greenwich Mean Time 22 March 2018

    BBC News Travel

    The northbound entry at junction two of the M6 has been closed to avoid further traffic joining the long delays caused by a skip lorry fire.

    M6 lorry fireImage source, Phillip Hammond / Compete Traffic

    Traffic remains held northbound between J3 and J3A whilst the fire service deal with the blaze.

    The southbound carriageway, close to Corley service, has been reopened.

  2. Deadline to register to vote fast approachingpublished at 15:16 Greenwich Mean Time 22 March 2018

    Fifteen councils in the West Midlands are up for up for election on 3 May, including the whole of Birmingham City Council and a third of seats in Coventry, Dudley, Sandwell, Solihull, Walsall and Wolverhampton.

    Ballot box

    The deadline to register to vote is just a few weeks away on 17 April.

    You can do so online on the government website, external.

  3. Council considers child abuse inquirypublished at 15:15 Greenwich Mean Time 22 March 2018

    The council has already called for a government-led inquiry into claims about hundreds of cases.

    Read More
  4. Your pictures: Scenic Shropshirepublished at 15:03 Greenwich Mean Time 22 March 2018

    BBC Weather Watchers

    You can always count on BBC Weather Watchers in Shropshire to send us some stunning scenic shots from the countryside.

    The first was taken by Skye in Clee Hill.

    Clee HillImage source, Skye

    This picture was taken by Foggy in Ludlow complete with sheep and what looks like a little bit of snow on the hill tops.

    Send us your weather pictures here.

    LudlowImage source, Foggy
  5. Worcester sign Scotland scrum-half Hartpublished at 15:01 Greenwich Mean Time 22 March 2018

    Worcester Warriors sign Scotland international scrum-half Grayson Hart on a deal until the end of the season.

    Read More
  6. Hundreds gather for service of popular ambulance workerpublished at 14:48 Greenwich Mean Time 22 March 2018

    Hundreds of staff from the West Midlands Ambulance Service have gathered in Kidderminster to pay tribute to a popular colleague.

    Funeral serviceImage source, West Midlands Ambulance Service

    Emergency medical technician Gavin Hunt died after being involved in a car crash in the town in February.

    Gavin HuntImage source, West Midlands Ambulance Service

    The 52-year-old joined Hereford and Worcester Ambulance Service in 1997 and was due to be presented with his 20-year good conduct medal in March.

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  7. Broken down lorry blocks roadpublished at 14:38 Greenwich Mean Time 22 March 2018

    BBC News Travel

    A broken down lorry is blocking a road in Coventry.

    Charter Avenue is shut in both directions as the lorry blocks the road near the junction with Wolfe Road.

    Broken down lorry
  8. School fence to 'stop pupil intimidation'published at 14:30 Greenwich Mean Time 22 March 2018

    Pupils at the Birmingham school have been subjected to "threatening gestures", a council says.

    Read More
  9. 'Radical change' needed on countrysidepublished at 14:24 Greenwich Mean Time 22 March 2018

    BBC Science and Environment

    The UK government is failing rural communities and the natural environment, a report says.

    ShropshireImage source, Getty Images

    The Lords Select Committee document says there should be radical change in how the countryside is looked after.

    It recommends stripping the environment department Defra of its power to regulate on rural affairs, and reforming the Countryside Code.

    The Lords said Defra had focused too much on farming and agriculture, rather than other aspects of rural life.

  10. MRI scanner unveiledpublished at 14:10 Greenwich Mean Time 22 March 2018

    A new £1m MRI scanner has been unveiled at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital.

    Funded by the league of friends, it can scan for cardiac problems among other procedures and is one of only a handful of its type in the UK.

    MRI scannerImage source, Royal Shrewsbury Hospital

    Find out more on tonight's BBC Midlands Today from 18:30 on BBC One.

  11. Watch: BBC presenters star in One Born Every Minutepublished at 13:56 Greenwich Mean Time 22 March 2018

    BBC WM

    BBC WM presenters Sunny and Shay starred in last night's episode of One Born Every Minute, external.

    The current series is following births at Birmingham Women's Hospital.

    The couple fell in love on a Bollywood film set but Shay's mum didn't approve of their relationship. The episode follows the pair as they expect their first child together.

    Media caption,

    BBC WM's Sunny and Shay star in One Born Every Minute

  12. New council homes almost finishedpublished at 13:44 Greenwich Mean Time 22 March 2018

    New council houses are being built by Dudley Council. The local authority said in the next few weeks, 29 new homes will be ready to rent.

    When further developments are completed, there will be 118 properties for sale and 39 for rent through the council, 34 of which have already been completed and rented out.

    The five remaining homes are due to be completed at the end of this month.

    In addition, up to 20 council homes on a development off Middlepark Road in Dudley will be available to rent in the next month.

    Councillor Laura TaylorImage source, Dudley Council

    Of the 130 homes being built on the site by Keepmoat Homes, 42 will be available for council tenants and the remaining properties for outright sale.

    Councillor Laura Taylor, cabinet member for housing, said: "We want to continue to raise standards and build quality homes that are on a par with what’s being developed in the private sector but are affordable to our tenants."

  13. Football: 'Stoke can stay up' says chairmanpublished at 13:30 Greenwich Mean Time 22 March 2018

    BBC Radio Stoke Sport

    Stoke City chairman Peter Coates believes the club can stay in the Premier League this season.

    Stoke are in the relegation zone with seven games to play, but Coates said he's refusing to give up hope.

    They face Arsenal away after the international break on 1 April.

    Peter CoatesImage source, Getty Images
    Quote Message

    What we need is a good run, there are other clubs down there with us, we're not isolated, you've got to believe we can do it and I think the management and players do believe that and we've got to turn that into results."

    Peter Coates, Stoke City chairman

  14. Thousands of contractor jobs lined up for HS2 stationspublished at 13:16 Greenwich Mean Time 22 March 2018

    About 50,000 jobs are expected to be created as the contractors responsible for designing the two new HS2 stations in the West Midlands are announced.

    The Birmingham terminus for HS2 will be built at Curzobn Street, while a second Interchange station will be built in Solihull, near Birmingham Airport.

    Both projects are expected to encourage regeneration in the areas.

    An artist's impression of Curzon Street StationImage source, Birmingham Chamber of Commerce

    The process to decide who will build the Curzon Street and Interchange Stations will start later this year and conclude in 2019.

    Businesses are being advised by local authorities to start now and ensure they are well placed to take advantage of the billions of pounds of investment in the region from HS2.

  15. School shootings 'America's biggest failing'published at 13:03 Greenwich Mean Time 22 March 2018

    BBC Newsbeat

    A student originally from Coventry, caught up in a school shooting that saw 17 classmates killed, said he still supports the right to own guns, outlined in the US constitution.

    Lewis MizenImage source, Lewis Mizen

    Lewis Mizen first moved to Parkland, Florida, nine years ago and is a student at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, where students were shot after a 19-year-old man opened fire.

    He says school shootings are one of America's "biggest failings" but still supports the second amendment - that's the right to "bear arms".

    "I'm perfectly happy with people owning handguns to protect themselves," Lewis says.

    "It's not the only country in the world where people own guns", he says. "But it is the only country where it's easier for me to buy a gun than it is to buy spray paint."

    Lewis will be joining the march in Washington DC on Saturday as part of the Never Again campaign.

  16. Your pictures: Lovely Leek and woody Warwickpublished at 12:44 Greenwich Mean Time 22 March 2018

    BBC Weather Watchers

    Here's a couple of lovely pictures sent in by our BBC Weather Watchers.

    The first was taken in Leek by Videoman of some really low lying cloud.

    LeekImage source, videoman

    SteveC sent us this tree-lined snap taken in Warwick, with blue skies and it's nice to see the sun is out.

    Send us your weather pictures here.

    WarwickImage source, SteveC
  17. Pottery firm manufactures Royal Wedding rangepublished at 12:33 Greenwich Mean Time 22 March 2018

    Matt Lee
    Reporter, BBC Radio Stoke

    A Stoke-on-Trent pottery firm hopes this spring's royal wedding boosts Staffordshire's economy.

    Halcyon Days is manufacturing a range of mugs, plates and teapots to commemorate Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's marriage.

    The firm is one of only 14 to hold royal warrants, a certificate for providing goods and services to the royal households.

    They've produced luxury merchandise for more than 70 years from their factory in Fenton.

    Royal china
    China
  18. How can a trauma centre help patients?published at 12:21 Greenwich Mean Time 22 March 2018

    How a Powys lorry driver was helped at Stoke's major trauma centre after an accident.

    Read More