An inquest is expected to conclude today into the death of a schoolboy who died after being discharged from Worcestershire Royal Hospital in March last year.

Image source, PA

A coroner heard that eight-year-old Callum Cartlidge from Redditch "would have survived" if he'd had a blood test that could have identified a rare disease.

Paramedics transported him 21 miles to A&E in Worcester, despite living two miles from another hospital.

Kathryn Stanczyszyn
Political Reporter, BBC WM

In recent times Labour has enjoyed a large majority in Birmingham, holding two-thirds of the 120 seats; with the Conservative opposition on 25%, and the Lib Dems just under 10%.

But 2018 sees new boundaries drawn up and every seat up for grabs after a damning report a few years ago saying Birmingham City Council just wasn't working properly.

Failures in governance, problems in children's services and the Trojan Horse schools scandal all added to the criticism and the local authority has been under the watchful eye of an independent improvement panel that reports to government ever since.

BBC News Travel

One lane is closed on the A500 southbound slip in Staffordshire following emergency repairs to a man-hole cover.

Motorists are being warned of delays in the area, as the lane is expected to remain closed until midday.

Emma Thomas
Reporter, BBC Midlands Today

Local election results so far show the Conservatives have made a net gain of 27 seats across the West Midlands region, with Labour losing control of Nuneaton and Bedworth Council.

Voters went to the polls in 16 areas in the region with the Tory gains mostly coming at UKIP's expense.

But it wasn't enough to increase the number of councils under their control.

Labour made a net loss of seven seats across the region.

Dudley, Walsall, and Worcester also now have no party in overall control.

Charlie Slater
BBC Weather presenter

It should be a dry, cloudy day with a few bright or sunny intervals and highs of 19C (66F).

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

The 70ft-long (21m) dinosaur replica is leaving Dorset to continue on its UK tour.

Stephanie Barnard
BBC News

It's been a dramatic night in Dudley and we've seen high tension here.

Here are some of the highlights:

• UKIP lose all but one seat in Dudley, including MEP Bill Etheridge
• Labour lose Nuneaton to no overall control
• Labour fail to take Walsall
• Asha Mattu, widow of former mayor Elias, takes his Wolverhampton seat

Elsewhere, the counting starts later including in Birmingham where all seats are up for election for first time in 14 years.

We'll be bringing you live results and reaction throughout the day.

Nick Watson
Sunday Politics Midlands

In terms of who runs what very little has altered in the Midlands.

Nuneaton and Bedworth was the first result in and it saw the only change as Labour lost overall control thanks to a surge in support for the Conservatives who picked up nine seats – eight of them at Labour’s expense.

This was in part due to the collapse in the UKIP vote across the region, which saw the party all but wiped out from local government here.

Image source, bbc

In Dudley, UKIP lost six of the seats it was defending, including the Sedgley ward of MEP Bill Etheridge. The Conservatives were the main beneficiaries but they remain tied with Labour on 35 seats each and the council is in no overall control.

The Tories also made gains in Walsall but again not quite to take them to victory although they are now the largest party there.

In Worcester, another hung council, the Conservatives are also the largest party but it’s the Greens who hold the balance of power there after picking up an extra seat.

The Liberal Democrats comfortably held on to the only the council they run in the region in Cheltenham.

Overall the Conservatives have made a net gain of 27 seats in the region so far with Labour making a net loss of seven seats.

The majority of those Tory gains have come in areas of the region which voted heavily in favour of leaving the EU.

Simon Gilbert
Political Reporter, BBC Coventry & Warwickshire

Labour have a firm grasp on Coventry.

The party gained the Earlsdon seat for the first time in more than 20 years leaving them holding 40 seats.

The Conservatives have 13 and Independent's one.

Rob Mayor
Political reporter, BBC WM

The Dudley Labour group leader says some of the wards "were on a knife edge" between parties but he is happy the party has kept 35 seats.

Pete Lowe told me: "We started the evening with 35 seats, and we are walking out with 35 seats. We've gained one councillor and lost one. We've seen a total collapse of the UKIP vote - and the cut of those votes have gone to the Conservatives rather than ourselves."

James Fanning
Reporter, BBC Shropshire

Roger Lawrence, Labour leader at the City of Wolverhampton Council, said it had been a good result for the party.

"We've held all the seats we were defending. We've gained one and possibly two.

"I think people recognise that our elected members work hard for them, we are organised and good campaigners and active in local communities and it pays dividends."

Labour’s Celia Hibert gained Penn from Tory David Mackintosh.

The new council is made up of 51 Labour councillors and nine Conservatives.

Ben Sidwell
BBC Midlands Today

The only party to make any gains in Worcester's council election this year has been the Green Party, which has taken their number of councillors from two to three.

The party was able to secure Battenhall from the Conservatives, a ward previously held by the city's mayor, Steve Mackay.

Neither the Conservatives nor Labour were able to secure a majority: the Conservatives fell short by just one seat, securing 17 when they needed 18.

Labour, which previously ran the council with the support of the Green Party, lost one seat, taking them down to 15.

Stourbridge MP Margot James says the Conservative party has made a "big impact on front line services" and will continue to work hard in Dudley.

She told BBC News: "We have won five or six seats off UKIP but also one off Labour. The UKIP vote has crumbled and we have been the main beneficiary of that.

"We did take control of the council and I'd like to pay tribute to the leader Patrick Harley. The team has made a big impact on front line services and people have noticed that."

The council remains under no overall control with the Conservatives needing to win at least 16 wards to take control.

It was a target for the Labour party.

Seventeen seats were up for grabs at Nuneaton and Bedworth Council tonight and 10 went to the Conservatives, an increase of eight from the 2014 elections.

It wasn't quite enough though - 18 wards were needed to form a council majority, so the council is now under no overall control.

Labour held 14 of the seats up for election and lost half of them- all of which went to the Conservatives, who also won a seat previously held by the Green Party.

Laura Francis
Broadcast Journalist, BBC WM

It's been a "disappointing night" for the Labour Party in Walsall, one of its councillors said.

The borough council remains under no overall control - Conservatives have 30 seats, Labour 26, Lib Dem 2, Ind two.

The party missed out on its Walsall target, with the council remaining in no overall control.

Councillor Ian Robertson, who was re-elected in Blakemore Ward says Labour "shall move forward and help serve the people of Walsall".

The new council is made up of 35 Labour, 35 Conservative, 1 UKIP and 1 Independent.

Conservatives had needed to win at least 16 wards to take control.

They did gain two seats and UKIP MEP Bill Etheridge lost his seat.

Rob Mayor
Political reporter, BBC WM

The Conservatives have gained two Dudley seats from UKIP and Labour so far.

Halesowen North is a Tory gain from UKIP. Belle Vale ward was a former Labour seat.

Jake Cooper, 18, said: "The Conservatives are giving young people a chance to stand up for their communities".

The Conservatives will keep running Dudley Council for the next year.

Labour cannot take overall control of Dudley with results from 21 of the 24 wards up for election declared. The party had needed to win at least 12 wards to take control.

Patrick Burns
Political editor, Midlands

UKIP MEP Bill Etheridge has said he has been let down by the leadership of the party.

He was speaking after he lost his Dudley Council seat of Sedgley.

Image source, Getty Images

"We've all been obliterated," he said and placed the blame firmly with Gerard Batten who assumed party leadership in February.

Mr Etheridge said Mr Batten "cannot lead" and "should be ashamed" of the lack of support for local council candidates.

In an interview on the Daily Politics Show on Tuesday, Mr Batten said he had inherited nothing when he assumed the leadership, and that there was "no election campaign".

The Dudley UKIP group leader Paul Brothwood lost his Wordsley seat and also blamed the national party leader.

The Labour party holds onto Sandwell Council.

The new council sees Labour hold 70 seats and the Independents have two.