Summary

  • Click on Related Stories to read updates from your area

  • Updates from Monday 14 May to Friday 18 May

  1. Man 'broken' over fear of deportationpublished at 21:07 British Summer Time 16 May 2018

    Two members of the Windrush generation describe to MPs and peers the ordeal of facing deportation.

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  2. Pilot 'lost control in wife murder'published at 20:53 British Summer Time 16 May 2018

    Andrew McIntosh tells a court he took an overdose in 2013 because he was unhappy in the relationship.

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  3. Our live coverage across the daypublished at 19:00 British Summer Time 16 May 2018

    Andy Giddings
    BBC News

    We'll be back with the latest news, sport, travel and weather from 07:00 tomorrow, but keep an eye out here for more updates this evening and into the morning.

  4. Burglary investigation discovers drugs worth £50,000published at 18:55 British Summer Time 16 May 2018

    Drugs with a street value of more around £50,000 have been seized by police at a house in Nuneaton.

    Officers carried out the search at the property on Green Lane as part of an investigation into a cash machine theft and they arrested a 25-year-old man from Coventry on suspicion of burglary.

    A 38-year-old woman from Nuneaton was arrested on suspicion of possession of a Class A drug, believed to be cocaine.

  5. New leisure deal 'to save £1.4m a year'published at 18:50 British Summer Time 16 May 2018

    Local Democracy Reporting Service
    David Irwin

    A new agreement's been reached over how two leisure centres will be run, which the council claims will save about £1.4m a year.

    North Solihull Sports CentreImage source, Google

    Solihull Borough Council had chosen to end a previous partnership covering Tudor Grange Leisure Centre and North Solihull Sports Centre (pictured).

    Today, it says it has a new 10-year deal with leisure management firm Everyone Active which will see all existing staff kept on and will start on 1 June.

    The council says it's been working on the deal for two years and the new company has pledged to invest £1m in the first year of the deal.

  6. 'Bag of bones' stray restored to healthpublished at 18:46 British Summer Time 16 May 2018

    A stray dog, described as a "bag of bones" by Worcestershire's dog wardens, has returned to full health.

    She's been named Princess Cinderella and was found in Worcester last month weighing less than a quarter of her normal body weight.

    Thin dogImage source, Worcestershire County Council
    Thin dogImage source, Worcestershire County Council

    Since then vets have been slowly restoring her health and confidence.

    Quote Message

    Despite this unnecessary and disgraceful suffering, Cinderella is doing well and she has such a brilliant temperament. I believe this is what got her through.

    Pip Singleton, Worcestershire Dog Warden

  7. College locked down after man with knife reportedpublished at 18:38 British Summer Time 16 May 2018

    Stafford College says its campus was locked down last night after a man suspected of having a knife entered the premises.

    The college says it happened at about 17:00, the man was on site for around three minutes, but the campus was shut down for around two hours.

    Stafford CollegeImage source, Google

    It says no-one was hurt and police arrested a 19-year-old in connection with the incident.

  8. Wasps 'have a few surprises in store' for Saracenspublished at 18:31 British Summer Time 16 May 2018

    BBC Sport

    The Wasps scrum-half Dan Robson says they will have a few surprises up their sleeves when they take on Saracens in the Premiership play-off on Saturday.

    He said their opponents are an experienced side that knows how to "grind down teams" and he said they've had some tough matches against them this season.

    Dan RobsonImage source, Getty Images

    The scrum half, who was named in the England squad this week, also warned that Saracens have a strong kicking game.

    Quote Message

    We've learnt quite a lot playing against them the last couple of times and hopefully we've got a few things up our sleeves that can surprise them and we can really go and take the game to them."

    Dan Robson, Wasps

  9. Here's tonight and Thursday's weatherpublished at 18:24 British Summer Time 16 May 2018

    Shefali Oza
    BBC Midlands Today

    It's been a mixed picture for the West Midlands today on the weather front, with some sunshine around, but also drizzly showers.

    Here's how it's looking tonight and for tomorrow:

    Media caption,

    Shefali Oza

    You can also get a latest forecast at any other time by heading to the BBC Weather website.

  10. Strictly's AJ Pritchard in Celebrity MasterChef line-uppublished at 18:19 British Summer Time 16 May 2018

    BBC Entertainment and Arts

    Strictly Come Dancing professional dancer AJ Pritchard is taking part in the latest series of Celebrity MasterChef.

    AJ PritchardImage source, PA

    The eclectic 20-strong line-up also includes Dolly Parton's younger sister, Stella, and reality TV stars Gemma Collins and Spencer Matthews.

    The contestants, including Stoke-on-Trent dancer AJ Pritchard, will face regular judges John Torode and Greg Wallace.

    The upcoming 13th series will be broadcast on BBC One over the summer.

  11. More neighbourhood officers under policing changespublished at 18:14 British Summer Time 16 May 2018

    Sophie Calvert
    Political Reporter, BBC Radio Stoke

    More police officers in Staffordshire are to move out of stations and base themselves by the side of busy roads, waiting to respond to emergency calls.

    It is part of a new strategy to tackle crime, published by Staffordshire Police, external

    Staffordshire Police logo by doorImage source, Staffordshire Police

    One of the changes will be around how 999 calls are responded to with three "hubs" based in Hanley, Cannock and Burton.

    From there, the response teams will be sent out around the county and will base themselves at key road junctions or other areas where demand is high.

    The force also says there's going to be 144 more officers moving to neighbourhood teams over the next two years with a focus on local crime prevention.

  12. Murder probe launched after man shotpublished at 18:09 British Summer Time 16 May 2018

    Abdul Rahman suffered gunshot injuries to his chest and later died in hospital.

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  13. Overheated plug blamed for firepublished at 18:06 British Summer Time 16 May 2018

    Allen Cook
    BBC News

    A house fire that saw a pet cat given oxygen after being rescued was caused by an accidentally overheated extension plug., external

    Cat getting oyxgenImage source, Staffordshire Fire Service

    The fire service was called to Thelma Avenue, Brown Edge near Endon, Staffordshire on Sunday night after reports of a blaze in a house.

    Crews found the cat inside as they were putting the fire out and used a special animal mask to give it oxygen.

    Today, the fire service say it all started when clothing fell on top of a four-way extension plug socket, causing it to overheat and set the clothes on fire.

  14. Mysterious hole in pavement filled with concretepublished at 17:57 British Summer Time 16 May 2018

    A five foot deep hole, which appeared in the pavement in Tipton on Monday, has been filled with 13 tonnes of concrete.

    Sandwell Council says there is no record of any mine workings on Mamby Street and has suggested it could be the remnants of an old canal wharf.

    Hole with concrete inImage source, Sandwell Council

    The authority said the hole started the size of a fist, but turned out to be larger when they opened it up to investigate.

    Quote Message

    It was a bit of a mystery. We were told on Monday evening about this small hole in the pavement and staff secured it with fencing while we could take a look at what was going on."

    Councillor David Hosell, Sandwell Council

  15. Officer 'failed to check' on inmatepublished at 17:51 British Summer Time 16 May 2018

    The Independent Office for Police Conduct said there was a case to answer for misconduct.

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  16. Shrewsbury hope to take 20,000 to Wembleypublished at 17:48 British Summer Time 16 May 2018

    Shrewsbury Town have sold 4,000 tickets so far for their League One play-off final, but say they're confident of selling closer to 20,000 by the day of the match.

    They're still waiting to learn who they'll play, with Scunthorpe and Rotherham playing their play-off semi-final tonight.

    Wembley StadiumImage source, Getty Images

    Shrewsbury took 12,000 fans to the Checkatrade Trophy final at Wembley in April.

    Tickets for the League One play-off final went on sale online at 08:00 this morning.

  17. West Midlands mayor to advise on East Coast train linepublished at 17:40 British Summer Time 16 May 2018

    BBC Business News

    The mayor of the West Midlands, Andy Street, is going to be an adviser to the government as it takes control of rail services on the East Coast Main Line.

    Today, Transport Secretary Chris Grayling told Parliament that temporary state ownership would provide the smoothest transition to a new operator., external

    An East Coast Main Line trainImage source, PA

    The service is being renamed London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) a brand last used in the 1940s.

    Chris Grayling told MPs that he wanted LNER to have "employees at its heart", so would ask its new board for proposals to enable staff to share directly in its success.

    He added that Mr Street, who's also the former chief executive of the John Lewis Partnership, would give "informal advice" to the team on this issue.

  18. Shaft repairs while the trains still runpublished at 17:35 British Summer Time 16 May 2018

    Work starts to repair a shaft high above West Coast Main Line while 400 trains a day thunder by.

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  19. Council defends £175k spend on new binspublished at 17:31 British Summer Time 16 May 2018

    Local Democracy Reporting Service
    Kerry Ashdown

    Council leaders have defended spending £175,000 on new bins in the past 12 months.

    Bins

    Nearly £90,000 of the spend by Stafford Borough Council was on replacement bins and almost £75,000 on bins for new properties.

    It comes as the authority is charging residents up to £40 for replacement general waste bins and £10 for recycling and garden waste bins.

    Quote Message

    In total less than 2% of the 175,000 bins in circulation are replaced through loss or damage annually – against a comparison of around 5% from other authorities."

    Councillor Frank Finlay, Cabinet member for environment and health, Stafford Borough Council