The police officer has been cleared of having improper relationships with anti-hunting activists.

A knife disguised as a pen has been removed from a school in the West Midlands by police.

The pen was handed to a teacher by a pupil at a school in Willenhall, Walsall and was later given to police on 8 May, West Midlands Police said.

Image source, West Midlands Police

The force is investigating how the knife came to be in the boy's possession.

Local Democracy Reporting Service
George Makin

Nearly 50 rough sleepers in Sandwell could be helped to find homes after the government chose the West Midlands as one of three pilot areas for a new homelessness initiative.

Image source, George Makin

The move will provide an extra £9.6m to the region, helping fund stable and affordable accommodation for the homeless presently living on the streets.

The cash will be shared out between the West Midlands’ seven metropolitan councils and Sandwell is now waiting to see how much it will get to help bring the homeless in from the cold.

This winter, council officials helped 45 rough sleepers living on the streets of the borough.

A man who carried out a "premeditated, violent and callous" murder on his father in a stabbing, has been jailed for life.

Image source, West Mercia Police

Daryl Sampson, 29, of Broomhall Cottages Worcetster will serve a minimum term of 24 years for the murder of Robert Sampson.

Birmingham Crown Court heard how, during an argument, the defendant brutally assaulted his father before pulling out a hunting knife and stabbing him in the chest.

Georgina Davies, Senior Crown Prosecutor with West Midlands Crown Prosecution Service said: “The defendant claimed that his father was the aggressor and that he stabbed him in self-defence, however, we were able to prove that this was not the case."

A man has been jailed for life for the murder of a man, found with stab wounds on Boxing Day.

Image source, Warwickshire Police

Twenty-nine-year-old Scott Bosley was found outside a house in Kettlewell Close, Warwick, almost five months ago.

Harry Stone, 21, of Sutherland Close, Warwick, has been sentenced to at least 18 years in jail after admitting a charge of murder at Warwick Crown Court today.

A widow is hoping to raise £50,000 over the next few days when her knitted and crocheted garden goes on display at the RHS Malvern Spring Festival.

Clare Young took up knitting as a form of therapy after her husband died. The garden is a tribute to him.

Rob Tromans, the former deputy PCC, won a seat in the Nuneaton and Bedworth council elections.

A senior educational figure from Worcester is calling for the appointment of a commission for student mental health.

Image source, University of Worcester

Ross Renton, Pro Vice Chancellor of the University of Worcester, said dealing with the growing problem should be a priority after figures showed an increase in the numbers of first-year students disclosing problems.

The suggestion is included in a new paper published by the Higher Education Policy Institute and the charity Brightside which puts forward ideas and advice on widening access to higher education.

Other proposals include founding new Oxbridge colleges to help boost social mobility.

Local Democracy Reporting Service
Carl Jackson

A school which put up a 10ft (3m) tall fence to protect pupils from abusive neighbours has finally won permission to keep it in place and finish building it.

Image source, Birmingham City Council

Members of Birmingham City Council’s planning committee declared the safety of children at Twickenham Primary School in Kingstanding was paramount and gave approval to the corrugated metal boundary despite residents complaining it made their gardens feel like a prison.

The school found itself cast into the spotlight earlier this year when it emerged its pupils had been subjected to abuse, threats, intimidation and even items thrown at them from locals.

Balaclava-clad intruders had also targeted the school grounds.

Manager Scott Ruscoe says there is "room for improvement" even though The New Saints won the Welsh Premier League for a 12th time.

Birmingham Live

Among the stories on the Birmingham Live website today:

• Ceiling collapses at Nechells E-ACT Primary Academy, external
• Woman has acid thrown in her face, external
• Appeal to find mystery woman as husband charged, external

League Two side Coventry City sign Brentford midfielder Zain Westbrooke on a free transfer.

A Birmingham primary school, where pupils were injured after part of the ceiling collapsed, will remain closed for the rest of today and tomorrow.

A statement issued by Nechells E-ACT Primary Academy said parents of all year-six pupils would be contacted regarding SATs tests, which start on Monday.

More than 2,000 potholes have been reported on Warwickshire's roads in just a little over a month, according to the county council.

The local authority said the cold weather brought by the "Beast from the East" was partly to blame.

In March, the Department for Transport announced £1.4m of extra funding to repair roads in Warwickshire.

Warwickshire County Council said on average 15,000 potholes are reported annually - although it expects that figure to be higher this year.

England cricket star Moeen Ali, who grew up in Birmingham, has backed new national plans to engage and fund prospective players from South Asian communities.

The England and Wales Cricket Board's (ECB) today launched an action plan to improve recruitment within the game.

Image source, Getty Images

All-rounder Ali, 30, who was raised in Sparkhill, said: "Growing up in inner-city Birmingham, I fully understand some of the challenges and barriers for young South Asian cricketers.

"I see many of those challenges now when I help my dad coach at his cricket academy.

"Many parents are still struggling to afford kit for their kids, and the new bursaries will give emerging players the opportunity to continue to improve and develop in the game."

The ECB's action plan is being launched with a series of events, including a street tape-ball competition at Sparkhill Park.

Major roadworks on the M5 motorway in the Black Country have fallen three months behind schedule, Highways England said.

Repairs to the Oldbury Viaduct, between junctions one and two, have been ongoing since the beginning of January last year.

The motorway was due to fully reopen to traffic this October, but it's now feared the disruption could continue into next year.

The family home will be torn down unless a further £200k is spent on a replacement roof.

Nechells Primary, in Birmingham, has been evacuated after part of the ceiling collapsed, injuring four people.

The ambulance service said crews were called shortly after 09:20 to the scene, and treated one adult and three children for minor injuries.

Image source, Google

Parents are being contacted to arrange the collection of pupils.

If parents are unable to pick up children they'll be taken to nearby Heartlands E-ACT Academy and will be returned to the school to be collected at the end of the school day.

An investigation has been launched, said the school, which has an incident team at the scene.

Pupils have been injured after a school ceiling collapsed on a year-two classroom in Birmingham.

One youngster was taken to hospital following the incident at Nechells E-ACT Primary Academy.

A Worcester man has been found guilty of killing his father in an attack last year.

Image source, West Mercia Police

Robert Sampson died in hospital after suffering head and stab injuries when he was attacked on Crookbarrow Road, in Norton, Worcestershire, in November last year.

At a Birmingham Crown Court hearing today Daryl Sampson, 28 of Broomhall Cottages, Worcester, was found guilty of murder.

He's due to be sentenced later today.