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Updates from Monday 14 May to Friday 18 May
Jo Tidman
BBC Midlands Today
A convoy of ice cream vans playing chimes has paid tribute to Birmingham's longestserving ice cream van man today.
Mac Leask, 82, died last month. He'd sold ice creams in Pype Hayes for 46 years.
As his coffin travelled to Erdington's Abbey Church this morning, it was followed by a line of ice cream vans.
Allen Cook
BBC News
Several Warwickshire and Worcestershire players will be nervously awaiting this afternoon's announcement of the England squad to face Pakistan on Tuesday.
England selector Ed Smith will name his first side since being appointed national selector in April and is tipped to make changes.
Image source, Getty ImagesChris Woakes and Moeen Ali
For Warwickshire, there are question marks over all-rounder Chris Woakes after a disappointing winter while teammate Olly Stone's being tipped for a call-up after taking 15 wickets this season at 12.40.
While another player who had a poor winter, Worcestershire's Moeen Ali, could also face the axe, Pears' players Joe Clarke and Josh Tongue have been discussed as future Test players.
The provisional squad to face Pakistan will be named at 15:00 BST today.
Mr Melvin Andrews was dumped in a garden in Stoke-on-Trent underweight and covered in mites.
Read MoreIt's blue skies all over the West Midlands this morning as there's a hint that summer is just around the corner.
These three photos are from our BBC Weather Watchers - Thommo in Alveley, Carla Sienna Rafe in Clifton Campville and Susanne in Stourbridge:
Image source, Thommo
Image source, Carla Sienna Rafe
Image source, SusanneAllen Cook
BBC News
There are now 100,000 more people in work in the West Midlands than a year ago, according to official figures., external
That's the largest rise in employment compared to the same period in 2017 for any region outside of London.
Image source, PAThe Office for National Statistics also says unemployment fell by 14,000 to 139,000 in the three months to March.
Local Democracy Reporting Service
Carl Jackson
Plans for a new nightclub in Birmingham have been rejected as police say they'd always oppose a club being based on the site.
West Midlands Police said weapons were brandished inside the Prisma club in the early hours of 28 January and a 26-year-old man was treated for cuts to his face.
The venue on Bristol Street was shut down following the incident, but a proposal was lodged to open Domus in its place, which the applicant said would have attracted the city's Greek Cypriot community. , external
His representative said they'd addressed all the "things that went wrong" and found solutions.
But city councillors refused the application citing concerns from the police over the prevention of crime and disorder.
Stoke-on-Trent Live
The Stoke-on-Trent Live page is covering these top stories today:
Shrewsbury Town players have been given a bit of time off, after qualifying for the League One play-off final.
They face either Scunthorpe or Rotherham at Wembley on 27 May and manager Paul Hurst says he and his coaching team won't be letting up, with a chance of playing in the Championship on the line.
Rotherham play Scunthorpe in their second play-off semi final tomorrow night after the first leg ended 2-2.
Quote MessageIf we're going to stand any chance at all, we have to be still ready to perform and not take our foot off the gas."
Paul Hurst, Shrewsbury Town manager
Local Democracy Reporting Service
George Makin
There are no longer any UKIP councillors in the West Midlands after Dudley councillor Kerry Lewis defected to the Conservative party.
The Tories now have one more seat than Labour on the council - 36 to Labour's 35 - leaving the party only needing the support of the Dudley's one independent.
All six of Councillor Lewis's UKIP colleagues lost their seats in the recent local elections, including MEP Bill Etheridge, who encouraged the party's leader Gerard Batten to "think about his future" following the defeats.
The only other UKIP councillor to win a seat in the region was Robert Hall in Solihull, who quickly said he would be sitting as an independent.
A fake speed camera has been set up by a man from Clows Top, Worcestershire, to encourage motorists to slow down.
James Dyke made it out of some guttering, plywood, a mirrored beer mat and some yellow paint.
Mr Dyke said one woman had stopped her car to ask if it was real, but that the reaction had been "mostly positive".
He wants a real speed camera installed in the village.
Nicola Beckford
Reporter, BBC Midlands Today
It's been estimated that thousands of people who never worked for the construction firm Carillion are being told that their future pensions will be reduced following its collapse.
It has emerged that pension funds linked to companies taken over by the Wolverhampton-based construction giant have also been affected.
Gareth Stapenhill from Stoke-on-Trent worked on the railways until 1999. Now he's been told his pension will be reduced by 10%.
"I was fuming," he said. "I've paid into that pension for years and I'll be losing 10% which is a lot of money."
Here's a quick look at the stories making the headlines in the Express and Star, external this morning:
A horse dumped in a back garden in Stoke-on-Trent is looking well after he was taken to the care of a farm rescue centre in Blackpool.
The pony, known as Mr Melvin Andrews, was left in the garden in after a 13-year-old girl responded to an advert online saying he would be put down if nobody took him in.
Here he is on the day he was dumped:
Image source, RSPCAThat was on 27 April, but below is a photo tweeted by World Horse Welfare who took him in, of Mr Melvin Andrews looking much healthier.
The charity said he is a "very sweet little pony who has a bit of a cheeky side".
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A new study has found that asthma sufferers in the West Midlands are more likely to die than patients in other parts of the country.
Image source, Getty ImagesThe report, published by experts from the University of London and the University of Edinburgh, also discovered that wealthier children and young adults are also more likely to die from the respiratory disease than their poorer peers.
Researchers said it was an "unexpected phenomenon" when they found that mortality among five to 44-year-olds was 19% lower in the most deprived 20%, compared to the wealthiest.
Further research has been called for to investigate the findings further.
We're in for another pleasant day, dry and warm with plenty of sunshine, with a little patchy cloud this afternoon. Highs of 21C/70F.
Latest weather for the West Midlands
An 18-year-old man is held on suspicion of assault after the disorder on Monday.
Read More
Riyah Collins
BBC News
A cat trapped between two houses in Rowley Regis was rescued by firefighters who removed bricks to free him.
Image source, Oldbury Fire StationSimba was wedged between the houses for more than two hours as a crew from Oldbury Fire Station worked to get him out.
Watch commander Adam Joyce said the crew tried "all sorts of techniques" to free the cat after they received a call from his owners at about 20:15 last night.
Image source, Oldbury Fire Station"Really this was going to end badly if we didn't take action," he said, because Simba's breathing was "very distressed" and after two hours he was starting to get tired.
Safely removed - along with a few bricks - the fire service said Simba now has "eight lives left".
The number of people in Herefordshire and Worcestershire being prosecuted for avoiding council tax has hit record levels, leading to calls for more people to seek debt advice.
Image source, Getty ImagesOver the last year, more than 26,000 people were sent a court summons by councils in the area - up by a fifth since 2013.
Amanda Singleton is from Redditch Borough Council, which has seen one of the largest increases, and advised that if people are struggling they should get in touch with their local council.
"Councils will be keen to try and help sooner rather than later," she said.
A 20-year-old man is in hospital after being stabbed in Rugby last night.
Image source, GoogleThe incident happened at about 19:15 following reports of a large group of people fighting with weapons on Hollowell Way.
An 18-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of assault.
It happened in a residential area and police are appealing for anyone who may have seen the disorder to come forward.
A fire which destroyed a rangers' hut in a Warwick park was believed to have started accidentally.
The blaze took hold of the hut in Nicholas Park in the early hours of Saturday 5 May.
"There is nothing to indicate it was started deliberately," said a Warwickshire County Council spokeswoman, adding the cause was recorded as accidental.
The hut, which is believed to be more than 100 years old, was damaged in an arson attack last August. It was used by rangers who look after the park.
In the 2017 incident, offenders "posted a burning item through the letter box" causing damage to the hut's flooring, external and ground in front of it, Warwickshire Police had said.
